First Reply Broken Cycles

[Jace Rhane]

Rhand, Unknown Regions
​

The galaxy was vast, and it held dark secrets. Some, more than others, were better left unfound. If Jace had his way, the secret he was looking for, would remain unfound. It would lie in the crypt in the bottom of that chasm on Rhand for all time, until the stone that surrounded it rotted away, and all the darkness within was buried beneath millions of years of soil, rock, and clay. But-

He was not going to get his wish. Rhand was a planet, but it felt alive. And not in the good way. Rhand was a planet of shadow, of lies, evil buried beneath. Every Empire, every evil thing in the galaxy, had tread on this planet in one way or another. Seeking, displaying, or providing aid to the dark side. The dark side in antiquity- malice given shape, given form, given purpose. All the way back to the ancient Rakatan Empire.

Prophets of the dark side, villains, Sith Lords- they all came here, seeking, harboring, conveying. They left behind evil, tainted the ground that they walked on. Prairies interspersed with deep chasms made for good temples and tucked away vaults. Vaults that were, for the most part, hidden, unknown. The Mandalorians- the ones that were friendly with the Sith, were not far away, and the Sith in the deep core lie in wait, lie far away enough to not care, but close enough to be a concern..

The Vaults hidden beneath this particular chasm were able to be located thanks to black market find after black-market find. Jace was only able to intercept one message, but if the location was out there in the underworld, it was only a matter of time before someone came looking. He was looking for a vault holding dozens and dozens of Taurannix Chapbooks, something he wished the Sith, or any other nefarious person really, would not get their hands on. He crouched, checking the map and conferring with the droid he brought with him.

Roughly 200 meters to go, then a 150 foot descent.

Easy-peezy. Provided, well, nothing else, or no one else, impeded his progress.

 

[Tegan Starfall]

Location: Me I am Rhand , One with the World
Tags: Jace Rhane

---

A ghostly figure appeared over the man's shoulder as he looked at his map. She couldn't really be sensed not in this form on Rhand because she was one with the world itself. How long had it been since she had forged her soul with this world's soul. She remembered the day the Confederacy had attacked but very little after that. That day she had chosen to merge her soul with this world.

A glimpse of a memory passed through her mind though one that told at least part of her had escaped and lived on. She brushed it away though quickly as her ghostly visage looked back down at the map the man was observing. She took note of the location marked on it. He was trying to find her treasure; he was trying to steal what belonged to her.

How could he do that? How could he come here to defile this sacred place. Steal the treasure from her temple, which was the whole world itself. She was this place and it was her, and his filthy boots were getting dirt all over. Tegan thought for a moment, scratching her invisible chin as she did so.

Finally came to mind as she started to solidify into a semi solid form. Then she spoke up from directly behind the man as if appearing out of thin air because she did. "Welcome to RHAND!" She screamed joyously as a wide innocent but creepy smile crossed her devilish face.

"Are you her for vacation or looking to relocate. We have a lot of real-estate options if you are looking to move here. Though I must warn you the locals are a rowdy bunch. Granted most of the Maw is gone now so you won't have to worry about raiding parties as much."

That creepy smile hung on her face, as Tegan played her little game with the newcomer.

"Though, you might want to live closer to port Sorrow." She pointed off in the direction the far-off city was. Well rather what was left of that city anyway. "The Ruined City is to the north, though you might want to avoid that place crazy cultists live there." Her crazy cultists but that was beside the point.

 

[Jace Rhane]

Rhand, Unknown Regions
Tegan Starfall
​

She wasn't dead, she wasn't alive.

She was... something else. Jace, however, didn't flinch. He stopped, paused, and politely removed his hood. He examined her up and down, an analytical and curious gaze. No part of him felt malicious over the force, he had the inclination that he could not tell a lie, just based on the way he looked at her.

And a part of him turned his head. Maybe not quite a Sith. But definitely not a Jedi. He knew that, just by being close to her. He knew the Sith all too well.

"Just here to get rid of something before someone else comes for it."

He said so plainly. No subterfuge. No lies. No deceit, no hiding his purpose. It might've been refreshing to her, or aggravating. He walked further along, his droid cooing as it rolled along. It wasn't his droid, but one of the Jedi's that he was borrowing. He folded his hands against each other, vambraces lightly clasping against each other. He took a moment, crouching, observing the landscape (and judging for an ambush) and taking it all in.

"I imagine you don't want me here." He turned to look up at the phantom. No hate, no judgement, no anger. No malice. Almost just pity.

"I am Jace Rhane, a Knight of the Jedi Order with the High Republic. I am pleased to meet you."

Jace Rhane, the oathbreaker Sith Warrior too.

 

[Tegan Starfall]

Location: Me I am Rhand , One with the World
Tags: Jace Rhane

---

"I see." She said simply in reply to reason for being on here on her the world she had claimed so long ago. Yet it prompted a question from the devils' lips out of curiosity. As she looked the young child over more.

"Whom do you think will come here?"

She wanted to know both out of curiosity and also so she could be prepared if war came to her world once more. She could sense the light coming off Jace, it disgusted her, but she didn't take this or him as a threat.

"I don't want anyone here that wish to pilfer this world. It doesn't matter if you are Sith or Jidai." The way she said the word Jedi in the old tongue of the sith rolled off with a bit of venom in it. Letting him know she could sense it in him. "I have fought both and despise both. Both are weak in their own ways."

Yet she did not take action to attack. Though her mind was flooded with a thousand ways to destroy this man. Not kill him but just hurt him enough to send a warning possibly to the others who would want to come her with the same goals. For now, though as he introduced himself the impish figure held back.

"I have many names now, the locals just call me Rhand." She thought hard, trying to remember some of the other names she had. "I am Tegan Starfall, the witch'ari of Dathomir, of The Clan Howling Crags and Guardian of Rhand, One with Rhand." There were a hundred more titles she could have said that she collected over her long lives.

"Master of witchcraft and Sorcery."

 

[Jace Rhane]

Rhand, Unknown Regions
Tegan Starfall
​

"Whom do you think will come here?"

Jace gave a shrug after thinking a while, digesting what she said in regards to introducing herself. She was an enigma, something he couldn't quite grasp yet. He positioned himself at the top of the cliff, reaching his destination. He began to remove his climbing gear, preparing for the descent.

"Who do I think will come here..." Jace repeated, digging the anchor into the ground. A mechanical whir and the rod shot out with a hydraulic pop, anchoring itself into the ground. It'd support six times Jace's weight, so Jace felt particularly confident in it. "People who will come to pilfer it. I don't want to pilfer this place. I don't want what you're hiding. I want to destroy what's in that vault." Jace took a moment, crouching at the top of the cliff, taking in a deep breath. He looked up at Tegan, or what was left of her.

"If it won't be me, it'll be someone else, some other looters. Probably more. Probably worse."

Jace looked over at her, wrapping a hand around his knee as he watched the area. Taking in the sights.

"You picked a good spot to spend eternity, I suppose. What keeps you here, Tegan?"

Jace had a funny way of disarming people. He was an aggressive combatant, a brutally effective fighter. But he was also... gentle. Much more gentle than other Jedi. Perhaps it was the dichotomy of his past life, where his gentleness was learned rather than inherent. There was no subterfuge, no lies, nothing. Jace meant what he said. Through the force, lies and deception were oily spots on the surface of water. The dark side was much the same- oily shadows, twisting, corrupting, contorting. But Jace was a still pond, gentle and quiet.

 

[Tegan Starfall]

Location: Me I am Rhand , One with the World
Tags: Jace Rhane

---

Tegan hung there in her semi solid state watching the man as he dug anchors into the ground. The world an extension of herself she could feel it as he dug into the ground. Though it wasn't a feeling that could easily be described, worlds rumbled and moved dirt all the time. Earth shifted and reformed all the time, so it wasn't pain nor was it pleasure it was weird state of the fear of change and anticipation for something new.

As he spoke ambiguously of those that would come, it again reminded her of when the confederacy came. The day she changed into something more than she was, willing to sacrifice herself to save what she felt was hers.

"Once, I don't remember how long ago. I came to this world seeking power. I sought to see the end of this reality. It is corrupt, stuck in an endless cycle of war and death."

Unlike him she had come not to destroy, nor had she come here like others might to pilfer. Her orange eyes dim but noticeable looked at the young man. She could now sense a bit of remorse in him for something he did or someone he might have been she did not know.

"There is an ancient legend of this place. Three tribes came together; with their power they locked away the Gods of destruction so they could use their powers. They want to bring about entropy, the end of everything with that power. They called this power the dark."

She went on, not sure exactly why she was telling him this. Maybe it was because she hadn't talk to anyone but her crazy cultist for so long. Then again maybe it was because she didn't think it would matter in the end, because he probably wouldn't leave this planet alive. Part of her pitied him for making the choice to come here.

"I wanted that power. I wanted to destroy this reality. I wanted to end it, so I could rebuild it better. Don't think me arrogant in that respect, I knew whatever I created I would not be able to live. Just like everything in this existence I too am corrupted."

Her ghostly form looked out at the expanse of Rhand from where the man stood. Just like him she took in the sight for a moment. She had really never done that before, not in this form or her old humanoid form.

"But people came for this world, the people I choose to ally myself with were willing to abandon it. I chose to fight for it, die for it, I gave my soul for it. This world, its people have a vision. I believe in it, and I will never let anyone take it from them. Something new and beautiful like this world will come from entropy. That is why I am here, to cultivate the end and embrace the beginning that comes after it."

Her sights returned to the man and his droid as they looked out at the horizon.

"You know destroying what is in those vaults will not end the misery spiral this reality has found itself in? New weapons will be created not to end the bloodshed but to prolong it. Do you still see hope out there?" The ghostly like figure of Tegan looked up towards the sky. "Because I see none."

 

[Jace Rhane]

Rhand, Unknown Regions
Tegan Starfall
​

"Because I see none."

Jace steeled himself, locking himself into a climbing harness and gear. He looked out to the same horizon she was watching, blinking, taking in her words. He breathed deeply, turning to her and smiling.

"Hope tends to disappear when we stop looking."

He began to descend, but spoke like she was next to him. Something about her let him to believe that she could hear him regardless. He looked down, but also up, to measure his descent. Wasn't exactly a short skip, but wasn't long either, and he was roughly forty feet, out of the nearly one hundred, when he spoke again. He seemed to be thinking of what to say next the entire descent.

"Would you do it all again, Tegan? Commit yourself to this place, all over again, if you had the choice?"

Jace said, turning on his headlamp.

 

[Tegan Starfall]

Location: Me I am Rhand , One with the World
Tags: Jace Rhane

---

She watched as he began descending down the side of the cliff. His words of hope being lost after one stopped looking ringing in her mind as she just watched him in those moments of silence.

She watched more out of curiosity the physicality of climbing and descending lost on her now. Such effort needed to be exerted for barely anything gained. She wondered why he didn't just fly or levitate to the ground. In her days with a physical body she would have just lept from the cliff, felt the exhilaration in her pounding heart as the ground approached. Only to catch herself with the force in the last second.

He was missing out she thought to herself as her sights turned to the anchor in the ground. Two ghostly fingers reached out into the air as the man once more spoke out to her.

"I learned long ago, there are no do overs." Her voice stretched out to sound as if it was right in his ear. "What is done is done. The choice was made and that is what it will be. There is no time for lament or regret." The tone soft with a not a hint of sadness in the choice she had made.

As she spoke to him her ghostly fingers twitched back and forth almost as if in a dance. As she did the earth the anchor was plunged into began to give and break free.

"I wonder if you can fly?"

 

[Jace Rhane]

Rhand, Unknown Regions
Tegan Starfall
​

He caught himself when he felt the slack in his line go out, his fingertips digging into the rock with unnatural speed and precision. He began to climb down, and only said one thing in response:

"Rude."

He descended quietly, landing softly on his feet in the chasm, despite her attempts to thwart him. He touched down with grace, The vault door was not far from here. According to his map, roughly a hundred feet down, and through a small tunnel. No doubt, his host had placed traps. Perhaps she'd be polite enough to point them out. And try not to kill him again.

"Fly? Perhaps. Perhaps though, it's sometimes better to do the hard thing than the easy thing."

Jace was quiet for a while, walking to the tunnel that would lead him to the vault. His pack clicked and whirred. He

"You speak in finality. You didn't answer my question, Tegan." He stopped, just short of the tunnel. He could feel the foul dark side energy inside, twisting, whirring its way. It wanted out, to control, to empower. He stopped in front of the tunnel, turning towards Tegan. Though, in theory, he could turn anywhere.

"And it sounds like, you have nothing but time, and to think. So, what does one who is so gifted with time, think about?"