Breakdancing Banthas and Other Illusions!

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

"Yes," he nodded "No Leviathans, but, possible tukata and pelko bugs. Among other things."

Fantastic. Well, at least Darth Krayt wasn't waiting nor the spirit of Exar Kun. That he knew of. Who could say with these dastardly Sith ruins these days. The dead didn't want to stay that way on the Dark Side. It must've been terrible to want to come back that badly.

The transport finally touched down with a final hard jolt. The Twi'lek pilot shot him an apologetic look over his shoulder. Dune shrugged in reply. At least it was over, for now.

"Well, we're here. Better get going."

The Bith hurriedly undid his restraint and made his way to the boarding ramp, lest Matsu decided to take off again.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

Matsu gave a nod of her head. "Yes but pelko bugs are onluy dangerous if you are unaware they will usually avoid things bigger then them unless it is wounded." The hounds of the darkside though they were a dangerous thing as she brought her hand up gathering ambient light into her palm lighting up the area and the carved stone of the ruins while she was going into it. Most of the jedi masters attention on letting the force to guide and illuminate the path. She was looking upon everything there while the twi'leks were setting up a small base. Having some dancers was one thing but they needed to have other skills and why not hire the best who could protect themselves in a pinch. Slowly she stopped tossing the glowball into the air.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

OOC: Aes Sedai?

The Sith had been his life entirely too often lately. Dune wasn't afraid but his distaste was plain as he followed along. Leviathans, terantatek and who knew how many other unnatural Sithspawn that shouldn't exist. Then there were places like this enclave, designed to overawe and dominate as opposed to be beautiful and blend into the environment.

He wanted to study his books and meditate but, no, they had to go and create places like this. Arrogant and self-serving came to mind when he looked at this place. Unnatural and monstrous were other appropriate adjectives. The Bith wrapped himself within the Force as if to cleanse the darkness around him.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

As Matsu entered and let the lightside of the force pulse from her. The sigil was working and granting the vision of enlightenment as it flooded her senses with the force while she could react and move a little quicker looking back as him. "We should get you the necklace Corvus helped the produce more of them." The sigils had been upgraded and worked on by the jedi grandmaster to become a beacon to flood and protect the wearers with the lightside of the force as Matsu turned back around and kept walking into the temple. Finding ancient sconces while she spared fire in her hands to light them with the smell of old burning oil.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

The place was old and decrepit, but then, such was the housekeeping in Sith Temples. Too busy building monuments to their own glory to dust and sweep the place. Such a waste of materials and manpower to build it in the first place. Who could say how many Twi'lek could've been housed with the stone, duracrete and such.

His olfactory senses were assaulted by the scent of the rancid oil as it spluttered to life. At least it still cast illumination, though spotty. What was with them and shadows. Perhaps they needed them to wax the corners of their moustachios and practice twirling their capes.

"Hmmm, perhaps we should," he said while looking around.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

Matsu was looking over many of the things and turned back to look at him. "Maybe though this might be different, given some of the history in this region of the galaxy. The sith tribe got lost on Kesh and that is closer so some other ships might have been able to come off course.... There is also just them being brought over as slaves from the rakata." Her attention was on a few of the things while bringing force energy to her hand as it illuminated the area hitting mirrors that were caked in dust while she wiped at them letting it reflect the fires brightening the area but not fully. "Search for a couple more mirrors and we might be able to get a visual."

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

"Ah, really," he said with genuine interest. The Rakata had been a mystery being as they'd disappeared, only leaving technology and events made murky by tens of millennia. Even their ancient technology was still far beyond current standards. It had also proven to still be a threat to civilisation itself in the form of the Star Forge.

"Kesh, yes, I remember mention of a lost tribe of Sith there. Their influence corrupted that world in mere generations. But here on Ryloth, I'd had no idea. Either theory sound reasonable as an explanation."

The Bith had not been created by the Rakata unlike species such as the Twi'lek, but it was feasible that they too had been transported. Certainly his people were among the earliest explorers of the galaxy. Perhaps aspects of Rakatan technology had influenced the highly intelligent craniopods of Clak'dor VII. Certainly they wouldn't have been able to operate leftover technology without the Force.

"Yes, more light would be very helpful indeed. Though our enemy, the Sith do have a history worth learning more about. If only not to repeat it."

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

"That and would be really unfortunate to step in poodoo because we are walking around in the dark. That stuff doesn't show up with force sight." Practical to the last and she was going through it pulling up on the palm holo the information from the previous excursion here while she was going over the jedi knights notes complete with pictures and doodles. It was interesting her drawing of the map while going through it and lighting more of the torches to give them a clear view of the room. Doors opened and going further in as she set down a small beacon to mark the paths and adjusted it.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

Dune was making a point of examining the statuary. These creatures were unfamiliar to him, clearly not natural. Probably some creation of Sith Alchemy. They seemed to have a penchant for claws, fangs and spines. Based on what he knew, Dune expected poison or acidic substances to be excreted also.

"I wonder what other horrors these alchemists had been working on here," he said to Matsu "I expect these statues represented them, or perhaps their eventual goal."

"Clearly, they had no other intent than creating weapons. One might imagine the Force would be power enough."

They could never be satisfied, however. Always would they meddle and scheme in the shadows. Dune had begun to suspect the Sith would always survive in some fashion. It was the dream of the glory-seeking Padawan that they could be destroyed. The best that could be achieved would be achieved was containment.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

"Don't forget padawan the ancient jedi created monsters as well. It is more then just weapons." She could be repulsed but she knew there was one thing you did when you learned something... You experimented and the good ones tracked their progress, made notes and information for each step. Documented where they might have failed and wat they might have learned about other things. "And the jedi of recent centuries are not innocent. The old silver jedi created a monstrosity that lived on the force while trying to explore the state of oneness. More horrors can be unleashed by seeking understanding then malicious intent. These ruins are from things older then the sith just like the ones on Tython and Coruscant."

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

OOC: Knight, not Paddy .

"I'm given to understand the Je'daii of Tython were not Jedi, as such. Perhaps I'm splitting hairs on the subject."

The mention of this Force-eating monstrosity was news to him. Then again, he'd grown up on Ossus and then Lothal. They were about as far removed from the galaxy you could get while still being part of it. Also, as a Youngling and then Padawan, he'd not been privy to such news anyway.

"Yes, I forget the age of these ruins. I'd have to suppose some Dark Side cultists built them, if they predate even the Sith of millennia ago. Dark Side worship abounds throughout history. Whether the witches of Dathomir or the Shapers of Kro Var or the many obscure and nameless religious cults."

And many there were, dating back to when the Force was viewed as a deity or deities. Before the Je'daii sought true understanding of the mystic energy. The Dark Side had always been seductive with it's quick road to power. Dune couldn't fault beings without true understanding of the Force.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

Matsu listened to him and bowed her head in agreement. It was easy to sit and judge a culture that was ancient as not understanding but she had met some of the guardians that seemed to survive. Ancient being protecting a powerful darkside artifact from being used and... they were just like anyone else. Only using the time to evolve and blend in rather then being primitive. "Perhaps." She said it while going deeper and feeling it as the sigil glowed brighter. "I think we are closer." The room she went itno was bare and covered in nothing except with a flor grate going down while she stepped over it and listened. "Oh it would be like her to neglect to mention the climb down, sometimes I wonder about that twi'lek."

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

Evidently they were almost there. The room had an ancient-looking floor grate, surprisingly still intact and maintained. "Do you suppose this place is maintained by someone, or is this sorcery." He was thinking out loud and there was also the mechanism to activate this grate yet to find. As far as the former question, he probed delicately at the surroundings. Nothing significantly different but..."It does feel somehow interlaced with the Dark Side. Everything here is, but this feels somehow different, albeit subtlely."

That was another lesson, the Dark Side could be as much scalpel as hammer. These ancient creators expressed an intelligence that belief first impressions. Not just savages sacrificing banthas but clever in metallurgy and magicks too. The statues earlier hinted at work in alchemy as well as skill in the fine arts.

"Master Leina always liked leaving little surprises for me. I think she just wanted to keep us on out toes."

He smiled, thinking back to past years as Leina's apprentice. Much more than met the eye was she. Clever, observant and very resourceful were things that all applied. You simply had to see past the silliness.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

Matsu was looking at him as she moved kneeling down and touching the grate as she looked. "You put too much emphasis on everything here being dark and twisted. The information found here allowed the creation of the sigils and led us to an ancient jedi station. We gained a lot of insight that was lost and even more that is discarded because others did not think of it first." She was looking at the padawan before going down with her attention on the grate and drifting into the lower level through it. She made another glow ball and descended touching down before looking up to speak. "Don't forget that there is a chance for light and learning within the darkness and the best place to hide secrets of the light is." RIght under the darks nose.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

"I didn't say there wasn't value in the knowledge. All such knowledge is important, without exception. What I'm leery about is the source. One does not simply dip their toes into the Dark Side."

Too many Jedi had fallen from that fascination with the other part. That was what he guarded against. He did not fear it, but he respected what it was truly capable of. The accounts of both Jedi and non-Jedi alike had described something of incredibly destructive power. A power that could quite literally drain the life essence from every living being on a world.

Since becoming a Knight of the Order, certain records had become available to him. One such being that of the former Emperor Vitiate and the consumption of his homeworld of Medriaas. The account was old and incomplete and yet had chilled him to the marrow. That was the power this place represented.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

Matsu looked up while she was listening and kept going down into the lower levels floating down. She didn't need to dip toes to find knowledge the jedi had placed here. What was down in the depths brought her attention around as she touched the ground and brushed some of the cobwebs off of herself. The glowball illuminating the older sections while she crocuhed down and looked at it going towards the Bendu sections detailing fighting on the worlds before other things came. She had met a bendu once or twice, the jedi had rescued a twi'lek which was why she had been wanting to come back here to see what they might have missed before she brushed some sections off and focused the force shaping and touching the earth to listen to the vibrations in the wall.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

"What are you looking for, Master?," he asked. Evidently, there was something but he wasn't exactly certain. Perhaps she was scouting ahead for danger and intended to descend. Or perhaps the analysis was the end unto itself. Yet another possibility was an item of value that Leina may have mentioned.

He reflected further on her ideas that not everything here was evil. Perhaps not, but the intent had been harmful. That counted for much in his estimation. Even a Sith Lord could do a good deed and yet it wasn't his actions but his intentions.

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

"I am looking for a key... well a something. Most languages have an alphabet near them so you can read it. The Bendu were big on meditation and ancient knowledge but they also explored some sections of the galaxy becoming je'daii and eventually jedi." The one they had rescued moved around and told them a few things mostly in ancient twi'lek which she didn't get much of but they had studied some of the Bendu on Ando Prime and Tython before it. They were old and respected as one of the groups leading to the creation of the ancient jedi. She was looking for what they had of understanding the force instead of something powerful... though the right knowledge could lead to more powerful things she had learned and was walking through the chamber with her hands holding the glow ball to light it up.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Matsu Ike"]

"Ahhhh, yes, the Dai Bendu monks," Dune said nodding in recognition. How very interesting, he thought. "Did they have something to do with this place? " he asked speculatively. Looking around slowly, this place struck him as very much in keeping with what he'd seen of the Sith Temples such as those on Korriban. Though invested in the Dark Side, they also followed the Light Side too. In general, this place lacked the sort of balance that the Je'daii were said to have strived for.

Her somewhat vague description had piqued his curiosity even more. A reference of some kind for ancient script told him there was important information Mastsu was after. "Do you know what this information pertains to?"

 

[Matsu Ike]

[member="Dune Rhur"]

Matsu looked at him and shrugged "I am not certain, what they left behind here was from decades of study of the force. Both light and dark and that is how the sigils and their dark counterparts were made. The amulets of tal allow from seeing them in action one to face maddening screams and howls from a phobis device and remain there. The darker tal'ra allows you to absorb the life force of those around you and empower yourself. The sigils are one of the few things able o resist them and protect the wearers from the dangers of the darkside they face. We got some of that information to make them here, I am hoping that there is more."