Delving through the Past

[The Dark Man]

[Ambience]

Our salvation lies ahead of us.
Go forth.
There is nothing left to leave behind.

The mines held an eerie silence over Kessel. This place had long ago been abandoned, and there was no saying what force had caused such a reaction in the slavers. It looked as though everything had been dropped so that they could flee, and even the slaves did not tarry in their escape. There were skeletons that sprawled across the tunnels where in the mad dash for survival, they had fallen and been trampled upon by countless others. Of the two living beings who remained behind, only one had ever returned, and it could not have come at such a greater time in need. Ekul Selah moved through the darkness, the Force aiding him in his sight, his robes swept about him in an inky blackness, a darkness that was all consuming to the light. He moved stealthily now, cautious of phantoms and spectres. Where myths and legends had proven false, Ekul Selah had first hand seen the stuff of horrors. A space wraith, and he knew well they lived in these mines now, occupying them as they brooded silently through the eons.

Jedi Selah tossed a glance over his shoulder towards Graxin Rade, studying his features from behind his large, oval spectacles. By The Dark Man's waist swung an ornate hilt of a lightsaber with an Electrum detail, reserved for Jedi Master's, and was for obvious reasons, suspicious at beast, as Ekul Selah himself were merely a Knight. Its design and make was unique in the galaxy, with a Wintrium frame providing near-indestructibility, a focusing crystal that provided a golden thin but slightly shorter blade and an Electrum exterior shell. Not to mention the fusion of two different Force Signatures, meaning it had two Masters for which it served. "We've never met, formally, of course," he said in a tone that sounded like gravel down a metal chute, and waved his hand subtly as he spoke, "Though I do remember a rugrat of your appearance running around Tython some two decades ago." A thin lipped smile grew across his lips, "Age is a most curious thing indeed."

 

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Kessel was never a place Graxin never would have dreamed of seeing personally. The asteroid of slavers was known across the galaxy for its residence's brutality and immorality. In short, it was one of the few places the Jedi truly needed to be, but the Order had busied itself with other matters. The Knigt himself had jumped at the matter to accompany Selah into the mines. He wished to see the famed dungeons for himself, though truthfully the son of Krag was a bit underwhelmed.

Other than the perpetual sense of malice and death enshrouding the cavern, there was little of interest. Then again, it was not his duty to find the interesting things. It was to keep the peace and defend those who needed it, and after fighting alongside him on Csilla, Selah deserved his assistance. So he had come, leaving his Padawan on Ossus for the time being. The boy needed a few days to ready himself for the challenges of true training anyway.

His robes were drawn tight around him, the material made of leather rather than cloth. Two lightsabers, one a simple stick of durasteel bound in leather, the other a foot and a half long; slick like a stealth ship, and pointed for the purpose of intimidation hung at his hips. "Quite the charming place, isn't it?"


[member="The Dark Man"]

 

[The Dark Man]

"Charming - hardly," The Dark Man replied, keeping his eyes geared ahead of him. He gave a wary glance down a passing tunnel, and his Force aura rippled momentarily, writhing in reflection of past memories. The familiar scent of pain and fear submerged from his aura briefly, and when it reared itself, it was gone as quickly as it had come. He was once more the centre of calm, peace and solitude. The aura radiated off of him in such a way that one could never be sure if he ever even had opinions or thoughts, such was the stillness of his mind. A serenity he had reached through decades of meditation. He believed there were those who understand the Force, acknowledged it, respected it, and used it. These people were those such as Kiskla and her merry band, and then there were those who were truly and deeply spiritually connected to the Force. Those who experienced it on another plane of existence, but they were rare and far in-between. "Talk isn't cheap for you, is it?" The Dark Man spoke, the words slowly oozing out from his thick lips.

{ [member="Graxin Rade"] }

 

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"Not really, no. I like people. They intrigue me. Talking is the easiest way to communicate with them, and you're the only person here." Graxin explained. His arms folded over his chest as they walked, more a reflex than anything. Where The Dark Man was fully entranced within the force; connected to it on a level that the majority of the order could only dream of, Graxin was somewhere in the middle. He had not devoted himself fully to the force, but he was learning to. The lessons were coming slowly. Each time he chose someone over the force's will, things only went badly. It was a reprimand to show him the right path, and though he was unsure he would ever reach a connection to the level of his companion's he tried. Right now though, he was uncomfortable. The tunnel was much too akin to the tunnels the Graug had stuck him and his mother in when he was just a lad. It even smelled similar.

"I have to learn about people. I missed eighteen years of interaction--sometimes I fumble over my words. If I talk, I get used to them, and people don't ask questions." He continued. It was more of an answer than the Dark Man wanted, but Graxin did not believe in giving half a story. Sometimes that made things awkward or uncomfortable, but the Knight had learned not to care. "If it bothers you, I can be silent."


[member="The Dark Man"]

 

[The Dark Man]

The Dark Man could feel the conflict within Graxin, and he twisted his neck to peer at him from behind his spectacles, briefly. He snorted in the fashion of a horse, nostrils flaring. "Do not be ridiculous. I would much rather a chatter-box right now than I would one who is gravely silent. It reminds me too much of someone I once knew." The Dark Man's aura fluctuated briefly, and were one to peel the layers and pry through it, they would know that there was a dark entity in his past. Simply known as The Silent, but long ago, he had been something else. A friend? perhaps.

The tunnels were damp. Every once in a while they would pass a tunnel branching off to one side or the other. The Dark Man would peer down each as he passed, but they were quickly swallowed up in a gloom. The handheld light in his hand sent flickering shadows dancing on the walls, expanding and contracting as they moved closer or farther from each other, or as the ceiling rose or fell. At several places they would have to crawl with their heads down, but for most of their passage there was ample room.

The mines had an oppressive feeling. After some time they would come to a large cavern with several tunnels leading out. A cavern opened up, and The Dark Man wedged his torch into the rock. Ekul thought a hundred times that shapes moved just outside the torch's glow. A wispy voice whispered in the stiff air, “I pray for the day this place burns.” The voice was familiar, familiar enough that it sent an involuntary shiver down his spine, and he shook like a wet dog. They were still two days march from the caves he was searching for, and already he felt something sinister lingering just beyond his eyesight. His hand fetched for the hilt of his lightsaber, but he passed it off as nothing more than his imagination working against him. "Did you hear that," he asked.

{ [member="Graxin Rade"] }

 

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Ah, good, so the Dark Man wasn't entirely serious. Graxin did not mix well with the more serious folk. He always had a joke to throw in, a witty comment to bring about a snicker, something to gain approval from those around him. Perhaps that was another issue that held him from achieving a full connection to the force. It was something the Knight pondered as they strode on through the tunnel, his hands going to pull his ebony hood up over his head to reduce the possibility of leaking water falling down upon his head. It occurred to him that he had never asked his companion's name. The younger of the two had always thought of him as simply the Dark Man, and never really thought to ask for his given name.

His lips parted to ask just that, when the whisper hissed through his ears like an uncomfortably cold wind. Graxin stopped in his tracks, and visibly shivered. "I did." he confirmed. Rade had felt a certain malevolence within the cavern from the moment they had set a foot within, but now he understood there was a true reason for it. Something resided here; whether it was a hollow remnant of a long dead being or a living creature, Graxin had no idea. He surmised they would find out very soon.

His hands drifted down close to his lightsabers as he narrowed his eyes, peering into the inky blackness just beyond the torch's warm glow. Try as he might, he could not make out anything scurrying within the darkness, nor could he pick up any living things beyond. " I suppose it's not one of your friends come to greet us then? Damn."

[member="The Dark Man"]

 

[The Dark Man]

"You may be correct," he quietly murmured with a tone of seriousness. "Though in saying it is an old friend of mine may be incorrect. It did try to kill me, when I was just a little younger than you." After more walking the would enter a series of twisting, turning passages that seemed to slant down. Soon they would hear the sound of water, coming from ahead. As they walked, the sound of rushing water became louder. They would enter another cavern, this one natural and larger than the first by several times. The tunnel they had been walking in became a ledge, twenty feet wide, that ran along the right side of the cavern.

The Dark Man eyed over the edge and could see nothing but darkness stretching below. The path rounded a curve in the wall, and when they would pass around it, they would be greeted with a sight. Across the cavern, a mighty waterfall spilled over a huge outcropping of stone. From fully three hundred feet above where they stood, it poured into the cavern, crashing down the stone face of the opposite wall to disappear into the darkness below. It filled the cavern with reverberations that made it impossible to hear it striking bottom, confounding any attempt to judge the fall’s height.

A strange sensation began to grow, as if remembering a cold chill. It had touched The Dark Man several times over the last hour, and a worry gnawed at his mind. Each time he had turned to look behind him. When he most recently turned his neck, another quiet call cooed down through the rocky corridor, “I feel it too, as if something is near.” He couldn't discern if it was memory or reality, and he looked to Graxin for confirmation. Suddenly the hairs on Ekul’s neck stood up, and the feeling of icy terror swept over him, more horrible than before. "It's watching us."

{ [member="Graxin Rade"] }

 

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"I suppose we should give it a show then, shouldn't we?" Graxin quipped to hide his fear. The unknown was something ost sentient beings feared, fo rthe unknown meant danger. It was his natural reaction to fear what lay ahead, to be wary of what might come. Yet, he was a Jedi. Fear would only slow his blade, muddy his judgement, or make him give up his task. That could not be allowed to happen. the Knight focused on the seemingly endless waterfall for a moment, and mumbled the all too familiar Jedi mantra under his breath. It served to calm him, and focus his thoughts on the task at hand. He would confront this being so long as the Dark Man needed him to.

"I'll follow your lead here, you have more experience in this case." the Knight added quietly as he allowed his fingers to wrap around the familiar cylinder that was his lightsaber. He did not dare ignite the blade, but simply holding it allowed him some some semblance of control. He would not allow his fears to control him. "Do you think it will try to harm us?" he added quietly. The knight lofted a brow, and focused his senses outward. It expanded his field of vision, in a way, beyond the faint torchlight.

He stepped skillfully over rocks and avoided narrow falls, but the thing that truly concerned him was beyond his reach. Wherever entity spoke to them was, Graxin could not pin him down. "I know you've dropped your name in service to the force, but if isn't too much, could I know what it was? I'm only curious."

Idle conversation. Idle conversation. Idle conversation.

[member="The Dark Man"]

 

[The Dark Man]

"I say it is best we avoid it, though if it does present itself. I can say with certainty that it will try to kill us." Soon he could hear the sound of water echoing through the tunnel. Hurrying forward, they would enter a large cavern. The biggest yet, as far as he could tell. The Dark Man began to orientate himself, he recalled this location well. They were near. Far away he could hear the faint roar of the falls, but in which direction he couldn’t be sure. Somewhere in the darkness lay the path that he had taken many decades earlier. The tunnel widened to a landing of some sort and disappeared beneath what appeared to be a large lake, constantly lapping against the sides of the cavern, filling it with muted echoes.

Sitting back on his launches, he looked about. The landing was packed earth and sand and appeared to be fashioned rather than natural. To his left he spied a pile of wood, nestled against a junction of the landing and the cavern wall. Crossing to it, he pulled out several pieces and started a small fire. The wood was mostly timber pieces, used to shore up the tunnels, to cut expenditures on metals, but mixed in were several branches and twigs. They were brought down by the falls from above, where the river enters the mines, he recalled. Underneath the pile he found weeds growing. He remembered a time long ago, he had found these very weeds and ripped them to fashion a belt.

It had grown quiet again, whatever thing that haunted them had passed, for the moment."My name was Ekul Selah." The Dark Man glanced to him, "I no longer answer to that name." He took a glance ahead, and down at his fire, "Watch this." He threw some bigger timber pieces on a small fire, and soon it was roaring into brightness. Abruptly the cavern was glowing with sparkling light, as some sort of mineral, or crystal, caught the light and reflected it to be caught and reflected again. It was a glittering, sparkling rainbow of colours cascading over the walls and ceiling, giving the entire cavern a fairy-like quality as far as the eye could follow. The Dark Man stood in awe for a moment, drinking in the sight, for he knew he would never be able to explain in words what he was seeing. The thought struck him that Graxin Rade might be the only other living being to ever have witnessed the display.

{ [member="Graxin Rade"] }

 

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Ekul Selah. I'll remember that.

His lips parted to inquire as to what the Dark Man wanted him to see, when the older Jedi answered the unspoken question. The cavern was filled with radiant light, catching Graxin entirely off guard. He exhaled deeply, sighing in amazement at the myriad of colors the cavern gave off. The Knight could not name any kind of stone that would emit this sort of light--this was something special, something unspoken of even in the Jedi Archives. Had anyone else seen this? Graxin did not think so, otherwise it would have been advertised to the galaxy at large. The mineral would have been mined, and it would have ceased to be something special. He understood why Ekul might have kept this a secret now.

"This is amazing." he breathed. "I suppose you've kept this a secret then?" The Knight lofted a brow, and shifted his amber gaze over to the Dark Man. "I commend you for doing such if you did...this doesn't need to be spoiled by beings trying to make a profit."

The Knight offered a small smile, though it was a genuine one, and removed his right glove. The hand underneath was grotesque. The flesh was eternally charred by Dark Side fire; the skin twisted and warped after he had tried to heal it. marking of the Graug was carved into the fingertips, and it looked more akin to the hand of a rotting corpse than a living being. Graxin ran his fingers along the walls, and the hand seemed to be perfectly healthy in its movements. "The force must be strong here."


[member="The Dark Man"]

 

[The Dark Man]

"Not so much a secret. I just never bothered to tell anyone. This is the second time in my life I have seen this. Not since I was twenty-one." A smile was thick upon his lips, curving his cheeks and causing two dimples. "We should continue on. Best we do not wait for our friend to catch up." It was hard to tear his eyes from the glory of the vision, but The Dark Man forced himself. He used the extra illumination of his torch to examine the area he was in. There was nothing beyond the landing, but he did spy another tunnel off to the left, leaving the cavern at the far end of the sand. He walked along the landing. As he reached the tunnel, his fire died down, the dry timber being quickly consumed. Another glorious vision assaulted his senses, for the gemlike walls and ceiling continued to glimmer and glow. Again he stood silently watching the display. Slowly the sparkling dimmed, until the cavern was again dark, except for his torch and the quickly dying fire’s red glow.

He had to stretch to reach the other tunnel, but made it without dropping his torch, or getting his feet wet. Turning away from the cavern, he resumed his journey. He made his way for hours, the torch burning lower. He lit one of the new ones and found that it gave a satisfactory light. He was still concerned, but felt good about keeping his head under these conditions and was sure Master Ko would approve of his actions. After walking for a while, they would come to an intersection. He found the bones of a creature in the dust, its fate unknowable. He spotted the tracks of some other small creature leading away, but they were faint with age. With no other notion than the need for a clear path, The Dark Man followed them and realised they had once been his footsteps. Soon they also vanished in the dust.

He had no means to reckon time, but the thought that it must be well into night by now. There was a timeless feeling to these passages, and he felt lost beyond recovery. He kept his mind on pleasant memories of home, and dreams of the future. He followed the tunnel downward. This area seemed different from the other caverns and tunnels, its manner of fashioning unlike the others. He entered another cavern and looked around. Some of the tunnels that entered the cavern were barely tall enough for a man to walk through upright.

The tunnel wound downward and soon changed into a hall fashioned from great blocks of marble fitted closely together and polished smooth. The passage levelled out, and he walked along quietly. The tracks had vanished completely, for the stone was hard and free of dust. High over-head, The Dark Man could make out the first of several familiar crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling by chains. There appeared to be no means to lower them, and wondered how they could be lit. The sound of his boots echoed hollowly off the high ceiling. At the far end of the passage he spied a large set of doors, fashioned from wood, with bands of iron and a great lock. They were ajar, and light could be seen coming through.

{ [member="Graxin Rade"] }

 

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"Either way, it should be preserved--who is this friend anyway?" The Knight lofted a brow as they continued on. He tried his best to hide his amazement with the cavern--t call it a cavern now was an understatement. It resembled something closer to a grand hall rather than a dingy hole in an asteroid. It was special, and hidden for a reason. Someone must have lived here, and that someone was likely not very keen on visitors. Graxin shivered slightly at the thought, and stared up at the chandeliers as they passed. There was something off about them, but as to what it was, Graxin was lost entirely. He just could not place it.

Then he caught sight of the doors. The Knight's eyes widened in the dim gloom, and his fingers tightened around his lightsabers. It felt as if something was awaiting them beyond those doors, and it was not entirely benevolent. Perhaps it was the voices from earlier that set Graxin on edge--he wasn't going to let go of his weapons either way. It paid to be weary in a place like this. "I'm going to assume you knew this was here too, hmm?" The Knight waved a hand toward the wooden doors, and breathed a quiet sigh.

He was one for mystery and disvoery, but something about this was entirely unsettling. As if they were intruding on a holy grave, or something akin to it. It made his skin crawl. Taking in a deep breath, Graxin rallied himself. He stood up a bit straighter, and strode on dutifully behind Ekul. He couldn't not see what was behind those doors.


[member="The Dark Man"]

 

[The Upright Man]

The hall was bursting with riches. Ozuvyn Sar-Sargoth reached down, curling his clenched fingers on a gemstone the size of his fist. He stood amongst a pile of them, and a thousand other treasures as far as the eye could see. He was standing in a vast hall, fashioned out of the living rock of the mines. It was reminiscent of the Jedi Temple of Coruscant, as though it had been carved it in its liking. On all its walls could be seen large tapestries and banners, faded and torn; something about their look set even the fearless Sephi on edge, for they were as alien as they were ancient. At the far end of the hall, a seat of meditation rested on a dais. All was covered with the dust of ages. Elsewhere in the hall lay piles of scriptures, crystals, armour and cubic devices that held inlaid enamels with great craft. The High King of Gulamendis was surrounded by a routine of the most elite guardsmen of his world. Though even they had been prey to the dark terrors of these mines. Mysterious beings lurked in the shadows, and they had fought viciously. The Primeval death worshippers had been slain in their dozens, and where they had numbered fifty, they now only numbered twelve. Weary, injured and cautious. Their very aura in the force was filled with a miasma of anarchy. The High King towered over his men, garbed in Vonduun Crab Armor, and in his right hand he clutched an amphistaff. He dropped the jewel when he heard a voice outside. He craned his neck to look upon Anja, as if for permission.



Allies: [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]
Enemies: [member="Graxin Rade"] [member="The Dark Man"]

 

[Boethiah]

The abundant wealth of the hall was by far an unruly sight. A few of her remaining Umbaran guards stayed close by forming a shield around their worship, ever persistent of dying for her. A certain intoxication overtook Anja for a moment and although she was unsure of its nature there was a certain pleasure in its aftertaste. The grim reality of where she stood, an alien existence unlike any other for someone who had not experienced the deep galaxy since her people's exile centuries earlier.

Ozuvyn Sar-Sargoth was a recent ally that she had begun to bond with; he sharing in her ambitions for the boon of war. Death, destruction, chaos. They were all symptoms of The Primeval and for those who stood in their path, even as they too die, would know the deepest sense of fear. As Ozuvyn glanced back, Anja gave a deep yet silent stare; one allowing him to do as he pleased. She took a few steps forward, each echoed with renascence in the seemingly ancient caverns. At her side was a vibroblade weapon and in her hand was a modest yet ceremonial scepter. The Host Lord of The Primeval was not one who normally ventured far out of her flagship but this was a special case, she could feel the darkness inside her swell up on an orgy of turbulent surges, resonating her soon-to-be realized power. Whatever discovered would be made here, she knew they would change her forever.

[member="Ozuvyn Sar-Sargoth"]

[member="Graxin Rade"] [member="The Dark Man"]

 

[The Dark Man]

"Friend is a poor choice of word. I was young when I first met it. I am still not quite sure what I encountered, but it is innately malevolent, and a creature purely of the Force. I was a slave when I was last here, and I had hoped I would never need return. That creature killed countless slaves and twenty of the spice mine guards. Though I think slaughtered is a more choice word - they were defenceless to it." He studied Graxin from beneath his oval spectacles, measuring and weighing his facial response, "But there is no need to fear, Rade, for we are both Jedi." The Dark Man was not arrogant, and he knew that the Jedi were not invincible. He knew well they were just as easy to kill as most others, if you know the right ways. Everyone had a weakness, even the famed Sith.

Something stirred, a perversion of the Force. Twisted and gnarled into a dark aura. It resonated from the hall, and instantly Jedi Selah's stomach dropped. Fear tried to tighten around his heart, but he quickly repelled the emotion and remained stoic. He knew his Master was long since dead, and never would his presence touch these halls once more, but neither did he like what he felt beyond those doors. He should have been more cautious of the torchlights that burned brightly, and the glimmer of light coming through the ajar door. He gave Graxin a knowing nod, and reached forward. His palm pressed against the heavy door, and it swung open.


{ [member="Graxin Rade"] [member="Ozuvyn Sar-Sargoth"] [member="Anja Aj'Rou"] }

 

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"I've heard of many Sith creatures that could be able to do that. Sithspawn of all sorts, truly. Do you think it might have been something related to the Sith, or was it more organic rather than corrupted?" He asked honestly. His expression was one of cautious curiosity, though he carried an air of caution about him. The Knight had been right to be wary of this place, it seemed. Whatever lurked beyond those great wooden doors, Graxin would be ready for it. The Dark Man was correct; they were Jedi. While they were not gods, they were usually harder to kill than the average man. The force guided them down the correct path, where the Sith twisted it to their own will. In that way, the force led them down their own twisted, makeshift path that always led to ruin. In the end, the Light always prevailed, and whatever awaited them beyond those doors would meet a similar fate.

The Knight fell silent as they reached the doors. Graxin stood ready as Ekul began to part the massive wooden barrier; the only wall between themselves and whatever twisted beast awaited just beyond. His fingers tightened around his lightsabers, and he nodded his agreement. It was time for the show to begin.

[member="The Dark Man"]

[member="Anja Aj'Rou"] [member="Ozuvyn Sar-Sargoth"]

 

[The Upright Man]

The assembled Death Worshippers waited impatiently, clutching in their hands a series of Chitin carbines that would propel Nang Hul at lethal velocities. None took cover. As though they embraced the danger of standing in the open. Anja had given her will, and now the High King stood before his slavesmen, amphistaff stretched thin into its spear form. When the door swung open, for a moment, there was no movement. Ozuvyn stared down the interlopers, and then his amphistaff spat venom. A glob of poisonous liquid that was targeted at the eyes of Graxin Rade. If successful, it was capable instantaneously blinding him before leaking into his bloodstream to restrict the oxygen supply. A salvo of beetles shot from the chitin carbines and tore through the stiff air.



Allies: [member="Anja Aj'Rou"]
Enemies: [member="Graxin Rade"] [member="The Dark Man"]

 

[Boethiah]

The swarm of beetles along with the poisonous attack of an Amphistaff brought a sense of new-found perspective to Anja. She was never particularly interested in such 'trivial' matters as weaponry; often relying on the strength of her own men rather than her own. When it did come to combat she had mastered a few aspects of martial-art, feats that she rarely shown except when training in her personal and very private quarters. The merciless nature of Ozuvyn's attack brought a shrewd grin to her face, a very dark sense of humor became clear as she awaited the grim fate of those lurking behind the door.

Whoever it -or they- were it was assumed that their fate was brief and painful.

[member="Graxin Rade"] [member="The Dark Man"] [member="Ozuvyn Sar-Sargoth"]