Forgotten Morality

[Vakarian]

Korriban:​

Several Weeks after the Bombardment.​

​

It seemed a lifetime ago that he had been a member of the Silver Sanctum Coalition - an order dedicated to mutual openness in terms of accepting all walks of life under their roof. It was a shelter for the searching; those searching within themselves for their path in the galaxy. In a time when the Republic was in its decline and the Galactic Alliance was taking its war to the One Sith, the Sanctum stood apart and at relative peace on a galactic scale. Of course there was conflict, one could not toss a stone and it land in a place that had not seen conflict in the vastness of space and landscapes of the many planets that littered the systems. It was a common acceptance and relative fact that conflict could be found in all nooks and crannies of the galaxy at large. It was a time of Chaos and War, and unfortunately the lives of the innocent were caught in the crossfire between the major powers; Major powers who have long since forgotten the people in favor of their own agendas -- or so a great many had come to believe.

The independent devotee of Helm had been half a galaxy away, delving deeply into the God's sense when he felt the massive tremor that had originated within Silver Jedi space - the very place he had once called home. He had been away from them for many months now and had long since abandoned trying to keep up with their activities. He was trying to find himself, to find where he fit in the galaxy at large; what his part to play was in the grand scheme of things. He'd met a few people so far, and a great many of them he could call friend, and some he could not. That was the way of the galaxy, the way of life in these times. You made friends. You made enemies. You were lucky to have more of the former, or you had the misfortune to have a fair number of the latter; no matter the case, it was utter chaos.

It should not come as a surprise considering the ever present conflict between the Jedi and the remnants of the Sith that still lingered in the tattered remnants of fallen empires and kingdoms. As the great powers fell, new ones rose in their place and as expected, the battle between Ashla and Bogan was ever manifested in the veiled morality of the Jedi and the shadowed truth of the Sith. The innocent had always been caught in the crossfire of every conflict ever fought between the two powers; the Jedi blinded by their fierce disapproval of Sith teachings and the Sith clouded by their instinctual hate of the false moralities of the Jedi.

The young Valkyri did not know what to believe, did not know what to think. He was still a child among his people, though an adult among others. He had much more to learn before he could even begin to comprehend or decide on which path that he would take. For a time, he believed that his path lay with the Silver Jedi, in their willingness to accept all walks of life openly and warmly, however when that changed -- he was no longer sure if that was his correct path. He left with the Lady Mara Merrill and traveled with her for a time. It was a short while after their separating once again that he felt the outcry of death and despair as life was ripped from the planet below. Icy eyes glanced from the observation deck towards the ancient homeworld of the Sith below, the darkness radiating from the planet in waves of calm malevolence, its tendrils reaching for his mind already -- a few thousand kilometers above the planet. He shivered slightly as he only imagined the clawing at his mind would intensify as he reached the surface of the planet.

" This is as far as we go, Master Jedi. ", came the soft reply of the twi'lek captain. A fair blue taint upon her skin and decorated lekku. She was probably considered quite beautiful among her people, but the Valkyri boy held no interest in her in that capacity. He was here to satisfy his own curiosity, to see the truth that had spread across the galaxy like wildfire on the plains; the Silver Jedi had bombarded Korriban and killed thousands upon thousands of souls on the Surface. The Commonwealth was supposedly on the warpath with the SJO, having lost some of their own in the bombardment. The young padawan didn't want to believe it, not until he saw the truth with his own eyes.

He didn't want to believe that they were capable of such horrors, an order that had been his beacon of hope in an otherwise hopeless galaxy. That was why he was here, in the heart of darkness, to find the enlightenment of truth. How ironic was that?

"Very Well. I give you thanks for carrying me this far, and ask that you have someone drop me off planetside and I will make my way to the site by foot. I do not wish you and your crew further discomfort. ", he replied with an equally soft tone and followed the captain to a shuttle that delivered him to the surface within the hour. He bid the shuttle farewell as it took off again towards the ship orbiting the planet and he drew his strength to his limbs, inhaling deeply and delving into the God's sense, to allow his gods to guide his way to his goal.

Spoiler

As a courtesy, I ask that you refrain from speed posting simply because I do have ulterior motives for personal development on behalf of this character. Patience is highly requested.. I left this open to all manner of beings. Keep it civil.

 

[Audren Sykes]

The movement to exert control over the Stygian Caldera as a whole was not something Audren had been a part of. He'd been away on other business, including the shakedown flights for the Tarlanc and other matters. Belsavis had been a trial by fire, the other interaction just running through a heater. By the time he'd heard of the assault, more notably by the time he'd heard of those fighting against the Order, it had been too late for him to do anything.

Nasty rumors had propagated throughout the holonet in regards to the fighting. That always happened to some degree, but these were worse. Claims had been made that the Silver Jedi fleet had bombarded the planet Korriban. That would have been unusual, but not all so bad: Korriban was more or less a dead planet, or had been when he was there last. There had been talk of building a Temple there, but even active construction on a Temple wouldn't have brought the thousands or hundreds of thousands of civilians in that the holonet channels were claiming. The world was so steeped in darkness that most were driven away from orbit, let alone found their way to building homes on the surface.

The Sephi hadn't been in a hurry to get back, let alone go to Korriban. Both, however, were necessary.

The Jedi had left his Custodian-class frigate at the edges of the system and headed to the surface himself. If there was a population there, the Hathol would be threatening enough, there was no need to have a full, combat-ready frigate sitting ominously in orbit as well. Even if the frigate didn't fly the colors of the Silver Jedi, there was no point in taking chances. Not only that, but having the ship remain in orbit made it a bit of a target for any stragglers or opportunists wandering by. It was well-armed, but the crew was still new. Also, given the recent battle here, the stragglers could be anything from a starfighter to a full destroyer...the frigate would not be able to hold its own against the latter. So it was safely away, out of reach of other ships. More importantly, out of the planet's influence, the strong radiation of Dark Side energy.

Not for the first time on this planet, Audren wished he had a ysalamir with him. Or maybe Force-suppression gas or pill or something. It wasn't to hide him but to protect him. The Dark Side was strong here, so strong that he wouldn't even sleep on the planet. He'd spend the time and money to fly away from its influence in order to sleep. Call him paranoid, but the dreams he'd had the last time here...he had no desire to repeat them. He was more experienced now than he'd been then, could resist the darkness better. Yet he was not so arrogant as to think he could go head-to-head with a planet and win. He had his limits.

The heavy fighter was on final approach. It was time to get to the truth.

[member=Máni]

 

[Vakarian]

Already the darkside was trying to worm its way through the cracks in his mental wall, a feeling akin to pinpricks followed every dark whisper in an ancient alien language that clouded his hearing and muddled his senses. It was difficult attempting to see through the veil of darkness that seemed to have settled over his mind, made him feel as though his movements were sluggish and exaggerated. It was an entirely alien sensation for one to not feel like they had control over their own movements and actions, the same was twice-so for the Valkyri warrior. He had never come in contact with a force this pungent and effective. He was frightened and alone on a planet saturated in the darkside and he was the only source of Lightside energy on the surface, he had painted a target on his back coming to the planet alone -- a mistake that may cost him dearly should his mental barriers fall and the darkside enter his mind.

" Helm give me the strength to resist this corruption. Give me the strength to combat the workings of Velkar. " he called to the infinite space beyond him and the realm of his gods. He forged his way through the darkside energy that was assaulting his mind, creating a mental barrier of images from his childhood to repel the whispers of failure of disappointment that echoed in his ears. Whispers that told of his doom, the shattering of all he believed to be true, the truth of the Sith. He would not listen to the foul words of Velkar, meant to disorient, confuse, and manipulate any who failed to repel him. As he resisted, his movements felt as though they were becoming even more exaggerated, as if his limbs were slowly losing their will to move. He could feel the laughter of the unseen spirits that were watching his struggle, could hear their prayers of failure and doom. They wanted him to fail as they did, to be doomed to wander the vast realm that awaited those who could not reach Beornskald upon their death - to forever walk the planet, trapped, as a shade of his former self.

The young Jedi hopeful fell to his knees on the surface of Korriban, the dark sentience enclosing upon him, attempting to smother the Light that he clung to with a desperation of a child clinging to his mother in a time of crisis. He called to the God's sense to aid him, he was overwhelmed and the darkness was far stronger than he was. Help! his mental plea reverberated through the ever flowing currents of the God's sense to any and all who would hear him within the vicinity. His light was fading, his mental barrier failing. The young Valkyri crumpled under the weight of the darkness, his mind having since given into the intense pressure of the darkness.

He could feel the darkness rushing in, filling his mind with images of famine, death, torture and even his own parents - though twisted and become Vinterbound. He was powerless to stop the influx of malevolent energy and he withdrew deep within himself, attempting to repel the darkness in a sort of trance that he practiced before entering battle; a prayer trance. Beyond the white wall of his inner being, he could feel the sense of victory that the darkness exuberated.

He was not prepared for Korriban, made more malevolent by the violence that had recently occurred on the planet. He could not fend off the darkness alone, and that was what he was - Alone.
[member=Audren Sykes]

 

[Audren Sykes]

The moment he stepped onto the planet, the pressure intensified. He didn't know what the difference was between the span of a meter, but the increase happened the instant his boots hit the sandy ground. It was unfortunate that it was the case, but he'd fortunately been expecting it. His solution was simple: he paused, took a breath, then another. Meanwhile, he reached out to the Force and set up a mental filter of sorts, allowing only the Light. The Darkness still pressed in, and he couldn't draw power quickly, but he wasn't in combat. Slow and steady. It would shore any cracks he might have in his mental defenses.

It was only a matter of time before outsiders arrived, so the Sephi had landed on the far outskirts of the place. Beyond the borders in fact. That attracted its own sort of attention, but he was fully aware just how few of his species flew in Mandalorian-built starfighters. If unfriendly outsiders arrived, he'd be simple enough to identify and overwhelm here.

The outskirts of the place were in ruins, he could see that much even from this distance. He was about to head in closer when a plaintive cry reached him. Not his ears, but his head, through the Force. Along with it came a crushing sense of loneliness. It wasn't just some kid feeling lonely however, this had an actual sense of urgency. Nor was it an ordinary person caught by one of the many predators on this world. No, this was generated into the Force, and into the Light to boot. Or at least, not the Dark.

It felt like drowning.

Without a second thought, Audren turned toward the origin of the cry and began walking. As a decent person, he would have had an obligation to help someone who needed it. As a Jedi, that obligation was much stronger. Something not of the darkness calling for help in this place...not responding would be akin to murder. After several minutes' walk, the Jedi saw a body collapsed onto the sand. As he closed, he recognized the person from a previous outing...the rakghoul outbreak on whatever planet it had been. A fighter, a friendly, and back then still a learner.

There was no blood, no indication of any foul play other than the prone body. Still alive, that much was easily told, and on this planet injuries caused by predators tended to be bloody on the off chance the initial attack was survived. There was nobody else nearby, nothing to indicate a fight. Yet if the Darkness was oppressive to Audren even now, how much more would it be to one less experienced? The Jedi knelt near the other and expanded his efforts with the Force. Cables of Light-side power crawled along the earth, forming an irregular patch of ground where the Dark was severely weaker. It was far from perfect elimination of the Dark influence - the planet was too strong for that - but it was strongly mitigated. After all, the antidote to the Darkness was the Light.

"Wake up, young Valkyr. This is not a planet you want to fall asleep on."

[member=Máni]