Private Book Smart

[Kirie]

]

Location: Desevro Academy
Tag: Anet Raine

It was hard for Kirie to reply to Anet's warning, with her concentration fixed on putting one hand after the other as they descended, and with Anet clamouring quickly after her it wasn't exactly easy to stop and hook her legs around the ladder long enough to sign. She settled on a sort of opportunistic signing whenever the Acolyte about her seemed to slow or hesitate. Short, sharp binary signs that her droid chirped up so her companion could understand without looking.

'Acknowledged.' it told Anet.

She kept climbing. One run then another then another. It was hard work with the heavy knapsack and her breaths were becoming fast and ragged, muscles burning, palms sweating. They still had ages to go.

Worse, the deeper they went down, the temperature was slowly increasing. A dry, rolling heat carried on a breeze from further down, a breeze that brought with it an acrid tang like burning metal or a tar pit. Kirie tried to probe around with her mind, but she knew her ability was rudimentary at best. Her most reliable sense was the heavy dread feeling in her gut. That at least confirmed Anet's theory that danger lurked close by.

Another single hand command. A single sharp motion, a short answering chirp.

'Where-it?'

But Kirie needn't have asked Anet where the spirit- or whatever it was- was lurking, because every rung she descended it grew hotter, and the smell grew stronger, and she began to feel so very sick, and possessed by the strange urge to let go of the rungs, just to get away from the feeling.

Below them.

Kirie stopped without warning pre-empting the uncomfortable sensation of Anet's boot smacking into her head.

'What-do?'

 

[Anet Raine]

Anet felt her boot smack into Kirie's head.

"Sorry!" She whispered loudly with a quick glance down.

The heat and Kirie's concern did not help Anet, who was already deeply terrified by the prospect of being nowhere near the safety of ground. Though she did know a quick way to reach it, which is what had her nearly petrified. It was almost a miracle in itself that she managed to speak and climb.

Every impulse in her body said to climb back to the top, to give up on this, but a deeper part - the historian, the Sith historian in her... It needed to know what Kirie was after. The promise of knowledge and secrets too alluring to abandon. It could also have been the temple's influences, feeding her greed for discovery, and the temptations of power to follow.

"We need to keep going," she finally responded.

The two continued their descent, though Anet remained on high alert of their surroundings and what might lurk within the shadows.

When they finally reached the bottom and stepped off the ladder, Anet was surprised not to find any light. She was sure something was burning down here, maybe even magma? But no, not as far as her eyes could see, even infrared. "How odd..." She mused.

Without the fear of heights, Anet was suddenly a lot more confident despite the ghostly dangers that might have awaited them further on in.

"You lead the way..." She grinned at Kirie.

Kirie

 

[Kirie]

Location: Desevro Academy
Tag: Anet Raine

"We need to keep going,"

In her mad scramble to follow Anet's advice, Kirie hadn't even noticed they were near the bottom until her feet hit solid stone instead of the next rung. Sweat was running down her face now and she was panting. A little further up they had passed by a spot where it felt like her skin and hair was going to catch fire and the stench had almost made her vomit, the taste of bile on the back of her throat. They must have been closest there to whatever lingered nearby. She wished she knew more about the presences in the temple, their effects on the environment, their danger.

But they had both managed to half climb and half slide down the spot without a ghostly hand or some other horror reaching out to grab them, and the presence was still strong at the bottom, but not quite as aggressive.

Kirie pressed her palms against the wall and stretched, resisting the urge to kiss the solid stone, which was etched with the telltale markings that indicated it had been carved out by a mining laser. One of the connecting tunnels, then. One without lights, for the only illumination was the light of her droid's eye and the glow of the index showing them where to head next.

'There's headlamps in the bag.' Kirie signed, her breathing starting to steady. 'Quick, though. Whatever that is I think it might be getting close again.' The heat was rising again, and with it the light from the index seemed to get dimmer, black shadows gathering, dark and heavy in the corner of the lift shaft.

"You lead the way..."

'We may be able to call the turbolift down here and get back up with the Clerk's Credentials.' Kirie offered, shooting Anet a nervous glance. 'But I don't think we should risk it until this... Thing is gone.'

Kirie looked back up at Anet, but the Acolyte was waiting for her to move. She gave a decisive nod and turned heel, letting Anet heft the pack and leading them down the long, sloping hallway which split in two, one side going down rather steeply, and the other a more shallow climb. She took the left path, further down, grateful that once they got moving, the oppressive heat from the lift shaft gave way to the expected cold and dusty air of the deep underground. She could still feel it though, that rolling wind, caught the stench of metal when she stopped for directions. They were being followed.

The sloping shafts levelled out into a long room that was itself just another corridor, but lined on one side with shelves and various boxes, scrolls, statues, databases, safes and vaults. She even saw what looked like a holocron, tucked at the back of a high shelf, out of reach unless they could find a ladder or were brave enough to climb.

'We're close.' Kirie told Anet. 'Look around for a shelf that reads 'Ysgrim Collection Copies.' Each shelf was more accurately identified by a long string of code, but this one would also come with a written label, or so the index told her.

Kirie had lost the enthusiasm that Anet still carried. It had occurred to her earlier on their walk down to this level that if something happened to them here, it would probably take hundreds of years for their remains to be found, if they ever were.

At least they were close to their goal now.

 

[Anet Raine]

Anet knelt and rummaged through the bag until she found the headlamp Kirie spoke of, and fastened it to her head. The band was a little tight and uncomfortable, but that was the least of their worries down here. She flicked the switch until it was at a comfortable level for her eyes. Too bright, and the infrared would give her a headache.

'We may be able to call the turbolift down here and get back up with the Clerk's Credentials.' Kirie offered, shooting Anet a nervous glance. 'But I don't think we should risk it until this... Thing is gone.'

She gave her fellow acolyte an icy glare until she finally led the way; indeed, following up the rear with the hefty pack. Yet, the further they ventured in, the fresher Anet seemed. Her pace had increased until she matched Kire step-for-step, and seemed less affected by the weight of the bag, or the oppressive fear of whatever followed them as they went on.

Finally, they arrived at a place that interested them both.

"Now this is fascinating," she remarked while eager fingers felt up items on the shelves. "Why would they keep all this down here?"

Security was one thing, but this seemed rightly esoteric and excessive. Downright spooky, really, which she supposed made sense for the Sith of old who wanted to keep their collections safe from intruders and rivals. Was this place so old, or did the masters of their time seek to emulate the past? Or was there a convergent nature to the Sith across the rock's skip of time? She threw the heavy bag down onto the stone floor, uncaring of anything delicate within.

'We're close.' Kirie told Anet. 'Look around for a shelf that reads 'Ysgrim Collection Copies.' Each shelf was more accurately identified by a long string of code, but this one would also come with a written label, or so the index told her.

"What is so special about it?" She asked.

Before Kirie finished answering, a sudden heat rose between them, nearly scalding like flames, and her headlamp flickered until it went dark. Then the shelves began to shake around them.

Anet recoiled when an object flew off the shelf and nearly hit her. She stumbled backwards and bumped the back of her head against Kirie's.

"Ow!" She grumbled and rubbed the sore spot beneath her hair.

When she turned to face her, however, the scholar was suddenly hit by an invisible Force. Not something kinetic... more like she had just broken a fever. Goosebumps and cold sweat covered her skin, and--to her perspective--an immeasurable heat swallowed them whole, despite the lack of light or an obvious source of energy.

"Chaos... We're... We're inside of it!" Anet whispered loudly. "I... I don't know what we're supposed to do here."

So far it hadn't harmed them, but would that remain the case for long?

 

[Kirie]

Location: Desevro Academy
Tag: Anet Raine

She stood a few shelves up from Anet, working her way backwards across the indexed row while her classmate went forwards.

"Why would they keep all this down here?"

'Because it's not all that old.' Kirie replied, her eyes still scanning holographic labels as they flared up under the wave of her hand. 'This is the work of hoarders, not scholars.'

She anticipated Anet's next question before it came, already turning to face the girl wearing an expression that promised she was serious. 'I am learning to be a healer.' she told Anet. 'And before you try telling me it's stupid-'

Kirie trailed off. Her hair was standing on end and she flinched as the wave of heat rolled down the hallway, so fierce it felt like her skin was melting, and Kirie wouldn't have been surprised if her eyebrows had been burned off. She stumbled back, ducking down instinctively as objects rocketed off the shelves, one of them smacking Anet square in the face. The heat rose and it felt like they were in an oven. Every gasp for air burned her lungs and she had to fight to keep her eyes open, blinking through a stream of protective tears.

"Chaos... We're... We're inside of it!" Anet whispered loudly. "I... I don't know what we're supposed to do here."

Anet was right, and Kirie had seen something she hadn't yet. Behind Anet came a figure, stumbling towards them, its legs moving in stiff, jerky motions as if it didn't quite remember how to walk, or it was from a holotape whose code had become corrupted. Around the wispy figure an even less tangible flame flickered, seeming to phase in and out of existence and bringing with it wave after wave of unbearable heat. Kirie grabbed Anet by the shoulders. Her dark uniform felt like it was going to burn Kirie's fingers.

'Go.' She demanded, pressing the Clerk's credentials and the index into the girl's hand. 'I'm sorry for bringing you down here - Run!'

She gave Anet a shove, and turned to face the flickering spectre. She saw its eyeless head tild towards her, and the ghostflesh of its hands lengthened and grew sharp like talons. She keot her eyes on the thing, her hands raised in front of her. It took a another shuddering step forward. Only a few paces away now, and suddenly Kirie could feel it. A raw wound in the Force, an unnattural presence guided by some ancient, fraying will that kept it clinging on to the Galaxy.

Fuelled by fear and fervent energy, Kirie reached out on instinct, tendrils of the Force wrapping around the spirit with the twisting of her splayed hand. Stop. She told it. Get back. Its stuttering motion halted, it took a step back. Her will was stronger-

Then the heat flared again and Kirie's concentration broke, the will of the spirit slipping out of her grasp. It warped and shifted, becoming impossibly thin and tall as it loomed over her. How long had it been since this thing had been alive?

The spirit grew too bright to bear and Kirie screwed her eyes shut, choking on the smell of burning metal. Ah, well. she thought to herself. She'd tried, she'd failed. Maybe it was better this way. At least Anet would probably survive.

 

[Anet Raine]

"Hoarders?"

One suggestion, and it dawned on her- yes, this wasn't a library; it was a cache, and it disgusted her. Yet, before that anger was known, before she could respond to Kirie's defensive insecurity... it arrived. They were inside it.

As the scholar rose from her stumble, she saw the same figure Kirie had. Was this their ethereal stalker? Was this the source of all their trouble? A ward, a warning, a ghost? Anet stood frozen as if her body was no longer part of the equation, all while her mind tried to work the being like a puzzle. Then Kirie grabbed her by the shoulder. She was so out of focus that she hadn't read the woman's desperate signing, and her fingers only curled around the index card in instinct.

Kirie shoved her out of the way, out past the shadow where sight and Force could perceive her, and while out of the woman's sight, Anet was struck again by a flying object heavy enough to knock her cold.

Anet rose back to her feet a second time, accompanied not by the dark or the beast's eerie heat, but by the shining light of a star above, and tall fern leaves tickling her skin. The scholar's pale hand reached through the darkness and took hold of the shackle on Kirie's wrist. She pulled the acolyte back at the same time as she pulled herself forward.

To be inside it was intoxicating for her. Until now, Anet had largely shut herself off to the Force. She hadn't really known it before, however. It was an instinct cultivated in her youth when the Jedi came to her when she was a little girl. Her father had told them all but to fuck off, and kept his daughter from ever embracing those gifts.

But here and now? How could you deny what was consuming you? The Force beast's claws lashed out against her, easily slicing past cloth and flesh, spilling hot blood onto the stone floor. Anet placed the palm of her extended hand onto the creature's "chest" as she knew it. What she felt was a surface taut and smooth with tension like a knot in spacetime. It was an entity beyond fear or anger, driven only by unknowing torment and decay, so deep in its own despair that it had lost all awareness thousands of years ago.

She shoved her hand deeper inside it, even as dangerous amounts of her blood continued to spill out on the floor, and when she removed it, the entity unraveled in a shockwave that released a powerful scream that tore through the shelves and sent Anet flying back like a ragdoll across the floor.

The entity was gone, or so it would seem, and the scholar's headlamp flickered back on. Though she herself was unmoving and covered in cuts and blood.

Kirie

 

[Kirie]

Location: Desevro Academy
Tag: Anet Raine

Heat. Her hair was burning, skin blistering and bubbling as it sloughed off her bones. Only it wasn'y yet, it just felt like it. Kirie stumbled back, her sight overwhelmed, ears deafened by the roar of the flames, touch overwhelmed the sensation of burning, mouth filled with the taste of hot metal and throat straining in a scream that would never sound. She was a senseless being, aware only that she was being destroyed

And then there was another feeling, a yank on the chain around her wrist that sent Kirie stumbling forward. She fell hard to her knees, instantly, the heat abated, the cool air of the tunnel running over her skin like water. Immediately, her streaming eyes snapped open, and she caught sight of Anet stepping passed her. Kirie held out a hand to stop her but she was still gazed and her fingers grasped at air as Anet continued forward, forward until her shape stood, small and defiant, in front of the towering silhouette of flame. Kirie saw the being recoil at the challenge and snap forward in a blink, its claws rending Anet's flesh with a ferocity that sucked the air from the tunnel, leaving Kirie gasping.

But Anet did not fall. She barely stumbled, instead she reached out and grabbed ahold of the thing, and even as it raged and tore at her with its awful talons she destroyed it. The heat diminished by the second at the towering column of flame flickered, wavered, and with a terrible scream, it exploded into energy.

Kirie was thrown backwards, her hands above her head to protect herself as she tumbled, smacking hard into a shelf and then an instant later, the hard stone floor. The impact rattled her elbow and her clenched fist, and sent a sharp pain down her hip. She rolled to a stop, and everything was still.

She lay still for a few moments, breathing deeply in and out. The passage was eerily silent now, save for Kirie's frantic breathing, and a strange, strangled gurgling sound.

Anet.

Kirie's eyes snapped open and she sat up fast enough to make her head spin.

'Anet?' Her droid repeated her question, emerging from behind a shattered shelf. 'Anet, are you alright?'

Gurgle, rasp.

Kirie could see her now, on her knees in the middle of the destroyed shelves. A dark stain was spreading around her, her lifeblood spooling out of her at a rate Kirie knew would mean Anet would see the Netherworld soon. How was she still upright? That itself was a wonder. Carefully, Kirie wavered to her feet, and walked a slow circle around Anet, until she could see the deep cuts across her torso that grinned at her like grisly smiles, their edges singed with the spirit's otherworldly fire.

'Oh no.' Kirie signed, horror showing on her face, because there was no denying it now. Anet would die without medical attention, and not even the first aid kit they had brought with them could help her now.

She looked around for the pack, trying to at least keep Anet alive a little longer. Instead, her eyes fell upon a book. A small but thick volume, with a dark leather cover and its name embossed in neat gold lettering on the front: The Book of Glass.

Okay. Okay. She could do this. Kirie kneeled beside Anet, placing a hand on her shoulder and with her free hand flicking through the passage until she found the one she had seen reference time and again. She read over the page once, and then again, and then carefully a third time, the burned pads of her fingers tracing over the diagrams, linking up the information with the accompanying chapter in Fundamentals of Dark Healing. She nodded to herself, confident she knew what to do but unsure she had the ability.

Kirie closed the book, turning her attention to Anet. She wished she could have taken the time to tell the girl that everything would be alright, to not panic, that she was going to try and help her. But she feared that Anet did not have enough time left for Kirie to pause and lift her hands. Already, as she pressed her fingers to the deep wounds in the woman's gut, she could feel rivulets of blood gushing out between them.

Kirie tried to focus her energy in the way she had read in the book, but she could'nt make it worse. She closed her eyes and she could sense the points Anet's spirit and body where she had been injured, but no matter how she tried, she could not make energy flow into her hands the way she had read. Oh, why did this have to be the first time she tried this technique? Just her luck.

She focused again on her sense of Anet. She was buzzing with the energy she had absorbed from the spirit, if only Kirie could redirect it.

'Anet,' Kirie signed with bloody hands, wincing as a flesh flow of red burst out from the girl. 'You want to live, right? I am going to help you, but you need to tell me how you want to live.' She wasted no time explaining, her hands found Anet's wounds again and she poured all her energy and concentration into them. Anet had saved her, Kirie needed to return the favour.

 

[Anet Raine]

Anet?' Her droid repeated her question, emerging from behind a shattered shelf. 'Anet, are you alright?'

The droid voice reached her, but it was like a silhouette behind frosted glass. From Anet's perspective, her eyes were open, but to Kirie they were closed.

A pale blue hand touched the blades of the tall fern that filled her view like a field of tall grass; there were no trees, no mountains in the distance, just an endless expanse under a turquoise sky with no sight of its star. In reality, her fingers tugged at Kirie's pants leg.

When the brunette's hand touched her shoulder, she'd feel it cold like the packed ice in Desevro's valleys. In contrast, the woman's wound was burning hot.

'Anet,'

She heard it, though Kirie only signed.

'You need to tell me how you want to live.'

Anet muttered, "How to live?" It was faint - somewhere between silence and a whisper.

The acolyte felt something when the entity had ripped through her. It wasn't just a touch of the Force, nor was it only her fear of death. When she sensed the entity's nature, when she realized how primal and lost it truly was... she felt stronger. Better than. It was that vain purpose, that reckless self-assuredness that drew the scholar to challenge it. There was no skill or experience involved; she just knew it was beneath her.

So when Kirie asked her how she wanted to live, it wasn't a question of overcoming death. It was a statement of purpose.

From where blood dribbled down her lip, an unexpected toothy smile formed. Her head stayed low, her eyes remained closed, but her right hand rose and placed itself on Kirie's left shoulder.

"As a Sith."