"Well," says Doon, "the other two reasons were classic parts of powerplay. First of all, Kuylen always made sure he was needed. The whole operation would not have worked without him. Only he ever knew the Master plan, where things were, how to use them, how the jigsaw fitted together. He told each of his followers exactly as much as he needed to tell them, and no more. That irritated them sometimes, that they were kept in the dark, but it kept everyone dependant on him. If he had died, no-one else would have known what the hell to do next- so no-one could ever think about opposing him, so long as they were interested in following his destiny. If he went wrong, it was in assuming everyone would always do that because they all wanted that power. It was a fair assumption, but both Krisha and Chion were too stupid to follow that logic, in the end. That caused trouble."
Doon has burnt out his cigarette, but he easily nabs another from nearby, with some impressive sleight-of-hand.
"Kuylen also started to grandstand towards the end, but he had changed by then. Being near the Sith kinda did that to him. Something to do with his destiny, I think. Still, it was too late for anyone to stop by then!
"The other thing Kuylen did... is that he gave them all purpose. Like I say, he made himself indispenable by being the only one who could lead them to the destiny he set out. But that meant nothing if the destiny wasn't worthwhile. Kuylen gave a group of people that would otherwise have been totally aimless a reason to exist- to take the power of the Sith and becxome the new Gods of the Galaxy... well, to run the Galaxy, anyway. Every person in your situation can be divided into the worthless and the worthwhile. The worthless we can discount; the worthwhile have ambition. But having and achieving ambition are two different things- many people cannot do that. If YOU can help them fulfill their ambition, then you have them in your power.
"Now, you said earlier that your purpose as a group was to survive- to thrive in strength and the bond of teamwork. But like I said before, that's not a good enough rationale for you to exist in the group, because it CAN be done without you. You might like to think that it won't work as well without you. In as much as there would be less of you... you are probably right. But I doubt any of them are thinking "Without Rand we will never survive." They all understand the value of teamwork! The ones under Kuylen have been doing it for a while. They might be tempted to think "Rand has the right idea, but I have that idea too, so do I NEED him, really?" That is not reason for them to kill you out of hand... but it is reason enough for them to kill you for any other reason, because they will have no reason not to. And they could probably find lots of reasons to do so over time. Being leader is a powerful lure. If it really was true that they would all die without you, you could make it work... but it's not. They're too good. You have done well in finding talented agents, Rand... but that comes at a price. Untalented people become dependant. These people don't think like that; they all think they are King of their own world. The ones with Kuylen, well, they think they can survive ANYTHING... though I admit Galder clearly needs a firm hand. Man, this is horrible," says Doon, removing the cigarette and extinguishing it in someone else's drink.
"So, you need to put yourself in a superior position, Rand. You need to get to a place where you can offer the group something big. Something tangible. Something they will all want. You need a PLAN, Rand... and it needs to be YOUR plan. Then you have to sell that plan to the group, amek them all want it, so that they can see their part in it. You need to make it all centre around you- their ambitions, in your plan. If you can do that, if you can snare wants up in your plots and combine that with this teamwork vibe of yours... well. They'll follow you to the ends of the Galaxy. Which is exactly where they followed Kuylen. You will be the indispensible leader."
There is a shout of surprise and alarm as a nearby man noisily spits out his drink. "What the hell?" he says, looking at the half-smoked cigarette inside it.
"What that is... that's more difficult. What can you bring to the group? The experience of a Master is one thing, but that means bugger all to Kuylen's old gang. One thing you do have... is your knowledge of things Sith. Only you can read those tablets, for a start. That's handy. But on it's own... that's a reason to keep a sub-ordinate alive, not to make a leader indispensible. Still, think about that. If that is the best thing you can bring... maybe you should make that kind of thing more important to the group...
"Other than that, you will just have to listen to the Force. Your Destiny will reveal itself to you. Hell, that's why I am able to tell you all this!
"Get that all correct... and then all you have to look out for is someone else thinking they can do all that better than you." He smiles. "That was the thing with the Sith, you see. They worked all this out; they worked as a group, they realised the need for disicpline, and superiors and inferiors. But in the end, the Apprentice always eventually learned enough to think that he could do the job of the Master. When that happened, one or the other had to go. How you get around that... is your business.
"Think you can handle all that?"
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"Well then," says Jena. "I might just do that. Once you are feeling a little better, of course."
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The citadel is too big to define location by location, Takuan. You need a specific aim in mind if you want to sneak around upstairs.
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Their is a certain commotion in the area where Rah, Rianna and Gallador are. It seems Yago is drinking himself into a blind stupor.
"Verrrrrrrrrry good song," he says. "Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerry good," He falls backwards off his stool. "Looooooooook at meeeeeeeeeeee... I'm Viiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigoooooooooooooooooo..." he says, to the ceiling.