Fantastic Beasts and Where to [Copyright]

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Family." She said as she pulled her on pack onto her back and began to head out of the camp. Their journey would be a long one, probably taking most of the day. She took extra ration packs and this time a smaller tent that she and Jamie could share for if they reached the tomb. She hoped that wouldn't be the case, but at the very least she wanted to be prepared for the worst.

"Or so the story goes." She said with a shrug. "The King of Iziz, that lineage, was related to Freedon Nadd for quite some time. They used his power, his teachings in order to remain in control of Onderon, or most of it anyway. The Jedi eventually deposed them, but the story goes that some are still lurking within the Nobility, waiting, watching for a time that they can rise up and take back whats theirs."

She didn't know if that was true, but her grandmother said no.

"Comparing the cruelty of Sith is...hard to say the least, but Freedon Nadd was one of the more famed ones at the time if that means anything." He was powerful, that was really all Aela could say for sure on the subject.

"He never held an Empire." Aela went on. "But had renown nonetheless."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Interesting." She commented as the two broke into the rays of daylight on Dxun. The transition in temperature could be felt almost immediately as the harsh rays of sunlight burst through the trees to embrace the skin. Jamie had already somewhat tanned in just the couple of days they'd spent thus far. Another few and she would feel a burn begin to form, at least on her arms and face, if not her legs and neck as well. The ambient background was filled with the echo of insects and birds of all sorts. Dxun was alive, a jungle that hardly knew rest, predators and prey all around. For a moon it was incredibly active.

The path Aela took Jamie on led the two down a rather substantial hill, one full of loose rocks and sediment, outgrown vines and roots, and tall grass. All in all the trek down was a rather dangerous one, having to watch out so that they didn't trip up or wind up sliding down. Thankfully Jamie's boots were made for this very type of adventuring. Adventuring about outside of Theed was a great way to pass the time when she had some to spare, and often found that she needed suitable footwear for the task.

"You think after hundreds of years there would still be nobility, family even that had any lingering desire to see a Sith Lord's legacy return? That is more a stain on their history than anything."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela shrugged.

"Some people don't see something like that as a stain. They take it with pride." For a second she paused. How much did Jamie know about Aela's family history? Did she know who her father was? What her grandfather had been? Aela found it unlikely given that the two of them had never really talked about it, but now...now seemed like a good enough time to bring it up. Lessons had to be taught the right way after all.

"My grandfather." She began. "Was the Sith Emperor Moridin."

Perhaps Jamie didn't even know who that was. "My father was a Sith Lord for half of his life until my mother helped redeem him."

A bit of awkward family history for her.

"I've fought the Sith most of my life." True enough, ever since she'd been sixteen. "But I know people...branches of my family that aren't all too keen on fighting the Sith themselves. One of my Uncles is married to one."

They didn't really talk about or with Uncle Sven all that often, for good reason she supposed.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Of course Jamie had no idea who Aela's grandfather was. She didn't know the names of any Sith, aside from the ones previously explained to her. Why would she? They had no influential impact on her small, isolated life. Until very recently she wouldn't have even been able to pick apart a difference between Jedi and Sith. To her, they were just groups of people that could use the Force and hated each other. It was that simple, really. So when Aela described her grandfather as a Sith Emperor, she had no idea who she referred to, or what he looked like. It was before she was born, that much she knew.

"That's..." She paused, in both her words and stride. "And interesting family dynamic." She finally said, before slowly continuing behind Aela.

Jamie wasn't interested herself in being one of the folks who hunted Sith in an effort to exterminate them, but she also wasn't looking to get into bed with one either.

"Your uncle married a Sith?" She asked. That statement confused her. What kind of turmoil would that create in a family? What kind of rifts? "That must make for interesting family gatherings."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"They don't really attend." Aela cleared that up right away. "It's a very long story."

Though they had a long walk. "I'll explain, but only in an effort to...elaborate on how complex Sith dynasties can actually get."

This was a difficult subject for her. The branches of her family tree wasn't something she often talked about. As a child she had tried to learn about her grandfather, and what she had learned hadn't really pleased her all that much. It was one of the reasons he fought the Sith so vehemently, to push back against what her Grandfather had done. Perhaps that was naive in a way, but Aela granted herself that mercy, if only because someone had to.

"My Grandfather, Darth Moridin was a Sith Lord before the Gulag Plague. He figured out a way to survive it by creating some sort of ritual that extended his life. After the plague, Moridin rose to prominence in the now Defunct Sith Empire, claiming the throne for himself shortly after its founding." She took a breath. "While he was Emperor he started a war, killed many people...did a lot of bad things."

That part was easy to admit. "My Uncle is married to my fathers Apprentice, the woman that eventually killed him...because that's what Sith do. Both of them are...a bit removed from us for obvious reasons. I also had...another Aunt who was also a Sith, though I never met her as she died before I was born. My Father was a Sith as well like a said, until he met my mother who showed him...well that there was another path; redemption."

Legacy was complex. "Sith families are by nature complicated, my own included. Sith aren't generally monogamous so that leads to...well many children, many different paths, and many confusing situations."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

There was no immediate reaction from the apprentice. She simply walked in silence, words floating around her head as she tried to make sense of what Aela had told her. It was incredibly confusing to wrap her head around, more so because of the terrible history Jedi and Sith shared, and what made it even more difficult was the idea that someone like Aela, or anyone in her position, could simply turn a blind eye to a Sith in their very own family whilst waging wars against their kind.

"I don't really know what to make of that." Breaking the silence felt awkward now.

She kept walked a bit before she chimed in again, feeling the need to say something more. "Your uncle married a person as evil as your grandfather was? Nobody else in your family took issue with this enough to do something? They just...Ignore it?" It was a double whammy really, not only was her uncle married to a Sith, but he was also married to a Sith that murdered the Sith patriarch of their family. It was a whole circle of confusing facts and misguided morals that it made Jamie's head spin.

"And I thought I had family problems. My dad only had an affair with another woman and hid my half-sister from our family."

Suddenly her problems seemed far less important.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Well, in a weird way it's even more complicated than it actually sounds like." Which was of course a part of the whole problem. Her family had so many spiderwebs and different arms taht it was difificult to filter through it all. She was pretty sure she had a few cousins that she didn't even know about, which in it of itself was saying something about the size and extent of her family members. She frowned for a moment and then went on to explain.

"My Uncle and his Wife..." How did she put this? "Well, his wife is a Sith...but they aren't active. Mostly they've stayed away in the outer galaxy, living peacefully, and my Grandfather...well it's just the Sith way. My own father never cared for his father, and thus there's no reason to avenge him and he simply doesn't care about my Uncle as long as he keeps away from us and doesn't cause too many issues."

The simplest way of putting it. "My father is...well he's not a Sith anymore but he's rather enigmatic about the force in the first place. He doesn't like the Jedi, but he also doesn't like Sith. He thinks they're all idiots."

It was weird.

"But my family is just one of a thousand." Back to the topic at hand. "There are dozens of Sith Dynasty's, and most of them are exactly like mine. Complex, interwoven spiderwebs that seem to go all over the place, and thats how Freedon Nadd's legacy survived."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie's lips fluttered. She was beginning to get a headache with all the ins and outs and corners this conversation was taking. It was the strangest thing.

"I don't know that I will ever understand your family." She shrugged, though was interrupted by a patch of loose stone that nearly made her slip before she regained her footing, her hand bracing against the dirt to keep from falling. With a sigh she picked herself back up and brushed away the bit of debris that littered her shirt before continuing. "I can't imagine living like that really, knowing what darkness is attached to your family, out there, somewhere. It's like family members serving on two sides of a war yet coming together on Life Day for a meal." She laughed, "I know that isn't what happens, but you get what I'm saying, right? It's just so peculiar to me that you have that kind of turbulence, and yet, here you are, the way you are. I don't know, it's just...Funny I guess."

Already the blonde could feel the relentless rays of light beating down on her, beads of sweat once more forming on her forehead and neck. There were no trees in this area, meaning no cover and no shade. The full power of the sun was bearing down on the two as they walked, without a cloud in sight, and no shelter from the rising humidity.

"I should have packed a hat." Hindsight was always 20/20.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She shrugged.

"It used to stress me out a lot." Aela admitted. "When I was a kid I would stay up at night thinking about what my family had done, what they were responsible for. It was hard to think about, especially because I know there are people still out there that are absolutely terrified of my Grandfather."

There were even still people out there that half worshiped him, but she didn't mention that.

"Eventually though I came to realize that the simple truth is...my family isn't me. I'm not my aunt, I'm not my Uncle, I'm not even my mother or father. Their decisions aren't mine, and ultimately what I do can only count for me." It was really the only way to be okay with all of it, any other method and it would have felt like little more than an excuse she was giving to try and justify what her family had done. She had to accept it, move forward.

That, at least, she had come to terms with.

As Jamie mentioned the sun Aela peeked up at the sky, it was nearly mid-day.

"We're about half-way there." She guessed that from the amount of time they had been walking rather than the actual distance. "We can rest a bit if you like."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie would let the discomfort of the discussion subside, if not for Aela, for her own sanity. The idea of so much in one family was enough to stress her out. That was more than she needed.

"No, I'm fine. We can continue." She nodded. "The faster we get there the better." A smile peeked through, "Besides, if we rest we're just lingering longer in the sun without making any progress. Little point in that, right?"

What she would do though, is reach to the side of her, pulling free one of the bottles of water she had taken with her, and remove the cap with a flick of her thumb before taking a long sip of refreshing, luke-warm water. Even before she swallowed it her hand extended outwards towards Aela to offer the other Jedi a sip from it as well. If they were halfway there now, then by the time they arrived it would likely be late afternoon or early evening. The sun would be subsiding by then and hopefully be a bit less oppressive.

What she really hoped for though was a bit of rain. It would do well to cool down some, and provide a means to easily refill the bottles of water that had already been consumed. If not, they'd have to find a stream or river soon, before they ran out.

"On days I had to myself back home I spent a lot of time outside, in caves, wandering about, getting into my own little spots of trouble. Let's just keep moving."

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Naboo is wonderful for something like that." Aela commented with a smile.

She had visited the world more than once and had always found it to be incredibly pleasant. Even when she'd visited it with Adder and they had gotten shipwrecked. There was something about Jamie's homeworld that just had a quality of...well she didn't want to say magic, but it was special in a way that few other planets were. Even Aela's own homeworld of Borelais seemed to somewhat pale in comparison to the natural beauty of Naboo.

"I'd like to go back some time." She said. "Perhaps see a Sando Aqua Monster."

She smirked at Jamie, then continued their walk.

They wandered through the jungle. At times it almost seemed like it was rather aimless. Dxun was...well seemingly nothing but green. Eventually though Aela could feel the odd feeling of dread enter the pit of her stomach that signaled they were nearing the tomb.

The darkside always did that to her, and no doubt Jamie would soon feel it too.

They hadn't encountered a single Malraas or even their tracks on the way, something that gave Aela a moment of concern. The last time she had been here the creatures had been practically teeming around the tomb, and yet...they seemed to be nowhere nearby. Perhaps something had pushed them away, but for that to have happened....Aela frowned slightly, but didn't say anything about her concerns.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"Nobody wants to see a Sando. Usually if you do, you don't make it to share the story." In her life there had been dozens, if not hundreds of unaccounted deep water diving incidents where folks simply didn't return. Generally it was common acceptance that it was one of the sea monsters that had taken them, but the news would never directly relate the two, always opting for the more cautious disappearance while diving story. It tended to make people less worried about swimming at the beaches, not that the Sando's or most other monsters lurking beneath the surface of the planet would ever make their way to the beach like that.

"I heard a story once that a group of people went looking for one to kill it, some kind of trophy hunting party I guess. Something like that. Anyway, about seven of them left, heavily armed, the works. Not a single one returned. Their boat was never found either. Just...Disappeared." She smirked, "I'm pretty certain everyone knows how that story ended." Then there were the other type of people. "On the other hand, there's always someone gloating about how they saw one, were able to somehow out-swim the thing, some even claimed to have scared one off. You can generally tell the ones who are lying."

They always spun the biggest tales, but they were fun to listen to nonetheless.

As the two neared the tomb Jamie felt the same feeling as Aela, a sickly vibe in the near distance, like a small knot in her stomach. By now she associated that feeling with the darkside, where before she would attribute it to nerves or anxiety. Now she understood what the feeling had always been, the presence of fear, death, anger, sadness, and suffering.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

She frowned slightly as they came closer and closer. She could see the tree-line begin to thin, the jungle slowly pulling back, retreating away from the dread that the Tomb emanated. She had seen it dozens of times before of course, life shying away from the power of the darkside. It was a testament to just how tainted the other side of the force was, the fact that the very plants themselves moved away from structures seeped within it.

"Keep calm." She reminded Jamie. "Peace."

She put a hand on Jamie's shoulder. "It's easy to forget around something like this."

That was truly an understatement. The Darkside was something with a mind of its own, it infected like a plague and spread just as effectively. Aela felt like she had to at least remind Jamie that she was the one in control here, that she could resist this.

"As for the Aqua Monster." She tried to return to more pleasant conversation. "We'll go see one, then surf on it."

Her tone of voice made it hard to discern whether or not she was joking.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie was calm. At least in terms of heartbeat and blood pressure.

She did feel a bit nauseous however. Queasy, yes, that was the word. The darkside tended to make her feel off, not herself. Such a potent source of it was unlike anything she had experienced in the past. It was almost an overload of sensory the closer they got. Still, she didn't show it on her face. She didn't want Aela to think of her as weak, or unprepared. So she pressed on forward, digging her boots into the soft soil beneath her feet as they got nearer and nearer.

"Don't think I'd want to even try that." She said, remarking on Aela's comment. "That's light years outside of my comfort zone. And if there was anything I'd imagine couldn't be tamed, that would be one."

Jamie had no idea of the intellect of the Sandos, but she hardly cared to find out. Those things were big. Big and scary.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Where's your sense of adventure?" She asked her apprentice as they stepped out from beyond the Jungle.

The first thing they saw was an open field, and then at the end of that stood the tomb.

It was a great, ghastly stone structure that seemed to stretch into the the sky. The air around it somehow seemed twisted, as though they were viewing it through an open flame. The stone was black, slanted and leading up into a single grand staircase towards a plateau. At the very top stood a massive stone door, a Sith Symbol carved into the very center of it. Around it was seemingly nothing, no trees, no bushes, nothing. Aela frowned slightly, then began to look around.

"I don't understand." She said quietly.

"Usually there's...dozens of Malraas." The creatures could hide well enough...but not in the open like this. "They should be here."

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"You're looking at it." She replied, full of sass.

Dxun was more than enough adventure for her, she needn't go swimming into the metaphorical belly of the beast, or, rather, the very real belly of that beast. This would suit her just fine.

From where they stood Jamie looked out towards the tomb. The desolation surrounding it was enough to make the hair on the back of her neck stand up. Even the symbol along the stone door was disconcerting. Her head turned so that her eyes could see Aela's concern, more so over the lack of Malraas than the tomb itself. Jamie knew little of the creatures, so she had no idea what their migrating patterns were, or their general habits. "Maybe they moved? Found a better location for food perhaps?" She shrugged, stepping out towards the tomb, calling back to Aela as she twirled about on her feet to face the elder girl, walking backwards now. "Or maybe they smelled two Jedi coming and decided to fly away!"

A joke, and a rather stupid one, but she said it nonetheless.

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

"Malraas can't fly." Aela didn't get the joke.

"They're attracted to places like this." She frowned. "The only reason they would beg one is if something...bigger came along to do it, and that doesn't happen often. Boma don't like the Tomb, they prefer the ruins, and Drexl stay away too...its too enclosed for them."

Skreev maybe?

"Let's get a closer look." Saying that probably made Jamie's day.

Her apprentice had an odd fascination with history, and even if Aela had objected Jamie likely would have asked to get in closer anyway. Still, this odd little mystery was enough reason for Aela to want to peer into the tomb a little, if only to discover why the Malraas had fled the area. The creatures were clever, smart enough to know when it was time to run. So what had made them run?

It was a quesiton she wanted answered.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie's expression fell to a blank stare, a few blinks and a sigh. If she explained the joke it wouldn't be any funnier, so she instead just let it go. Turning back on her heels the girl trotted over towards the ruins. Even with the sickly feeling in her gut she was still more curious than nauseous, meaning she wanted to go inside and have a poke around at things. If they couldn't go to Korriban, this was a close enough second. Maybe she could check out the sarcophagus belonging to this Freedon Nadd fellow.

"Well, maybe we'll find some answers inside the tomb!"

She was eager. Maybe too eager? Either way she was going in. If this Sith Lord was such a renowned figure it meant that the tomb likely had markings and history all over the place. Anything of value was by now long since stolen, that much she was certain, but she wasn't looking to pilfer anything from the resting place, more so just gain more of an understanding of this Sith Lord. Most thieves paid little attention to historical significance engraved along walls, pillars, and such.

The girl took a few more expedited steps and started heading up the long set of stairs, feeling the ever growing oppressiveness of the darkside looming over her as she got closer and closer...

[member="Aela Talith"]

 

[Aela Talith]

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

Aela would have been mad, if she hadn't intended on doing the exact same thing.

"Wait." She told her apprentice as she followed after Jamie, plucking the lightsaber from her thigh and offering it to her. "Take this."

The hilt didn't seem to be anything special, infact it was probably the least special lightsaber that had ever existed. On the outside it appeared to be little more than a simple silvery cylinder, scratches lined the outside of the weapon, but other then that it was completely normal. "It has an Angraal crystal. They are lightside orientated and will fight off the darkside naturally. Hang onto it while we're in there."

Aela had several artifacts that did the same thing.

"Please don't lose it." It was clear that she wouldn't let Jamie go inside without taking it.

Freedon Nadd was long dead, his cult was probably long dead, any artifacts that he may have had were likely long gone, but this was sitll his tomb. The darkside lingered here in a powerful way, and Aela wasn't about to lose her apprentice.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Looking down at the weapon in her hand she cast her eyes back up to Aela as the two reached the top of the staircase.

"I'll be fine, but if you insist." She wasn't about to argue over a simple thing as holding a lightsaber, not if it meant she wouldn't have any objection to going inside. The tomb itself had clearly been broken into several, if not hundreds of times already. Not much remained of the entrance, save for the stone doorway that was simply enough sway to the sway with a gentle pull from the Force. Some dust and debris scattered as it was disturbed, but little else gave any indication of traps. Unfortunate souls that happened upon this place many, many centuries ago likely discovered their unfortunate fates, setting off the traps long before Aela and Jamie arrived. The blonde assumed well enough that the place was safe enough to enter by now.

With her free hand Jamie took her own lightsaber into her left hand and ignited it, providing some bit of yellow hued light for the two as she stepped inside, shining it along the interior walls ahead of herself. She remained cautious, even if she disbelieved in the possibility of encountering something dangerous. What she hadn't quite expected though was the intense surge of the darkside immediately after leaving the last traces of light behind at the entrance of the tomb.

"It's stuffy in here." She meant that figuratively and literally. The air was dense and oppressive, but so was the energy within the tomb.

[member="Aela Talith"]