Fragments of the Past

[Venris Helion]

[member="Serena Bouie"]

"I can't see anything...but I feel it." Venris whispered without turning away from the void ahead of them and the unknown guardian who blocked their path. "Stay close." He reached over his shoulder and grasped the hilt of his vibro blade, ready to draw it if he needed the weapon.

Venris crept closer to the shape that blocked the hallway,mand shuddered as he felt an exhale of breath wash over him. This thing stank of death, and he could feel it's eyes boring holes through him.

"Who are you...?" Venris whispered.

The figure slowly reached out, slowly becoming more visible against the darkness even if they could not see its features. A glove clad hand rested against the side of Venris' face, a chilling cold shooting through the fabric and making Venris freeze where he stood.

The figure leaned in close, wrapping its other arm around Venris and drawing him close until it's hooded head rested next to his head.

And then it spoke.

"I am..." The figure whispered ever so softly, "The final step before your damnation."

Then the figure turned its head and looked Serena in the eyes...and she would see a green glow escape from the hood before Venris' light sphere suddenly turned on of its own accord, illuminating the hallway again and showing that they were alone.

Venris sucked in a breath that he hadn't realized he'd neglected to take. His entire body shook as he struggled not to drop the lightsphere. "Tell me..."

He slowly turned to look at Serena, his face pale. "Tell me I'm not the only one who just saw and heard that."

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Serena could feel cold and sense the ominous but she did not completely see what Venris could see. Her empathy told yes something was there, and then she could feel Venris stiffen as if the cold had frozen him to the spot where he stood.

Out of instinct she touched his arm, reassurance that life still flowed through his veins and that she was still here.

What was it that had revealed itself to Venris, and the question what lay ahead? She had not encountered the evil intent of spirit or sith since Velusia and to feel the cold that felt like death was a sensation she did not want to explore.

She was not one to step into danger, she was the thinker, the searcher and in this passage that she knew nothing about only told her in waves of sensation something was not right.

"I could feel it Venris" her words were soft any louder might attract it back. "It was cold, dark, and intends nothing good" She bit her lip nervously as she tried to think. If it were a spirit they needed to be mindful there were stories where spirits enticed the living to allow them to inhabit them. Of course that was only after offering power, or gifts that were craved by the living.

"What did you see?" Did what he see match to what she felt? Her fingers curled harder around the hilt of the saber, her knuckles turned white. She held her breath as she looked ahead.

[member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Serena Bouie"]

"I saw...a figure, right here. It wore a cloak and a hood...and...it spoke to me." Venris recounted what had happened moments ago. "It said it was...the final step before my damnation." He shook his head. "That's enough for me...I know when not to test these temples any further. Let's go..." He trailed off as he stared back the way they had come. "What happened to the light of the main hall?"

Even though they had left it far behind, when they looked over their shoulders they could still see the golden glow of the main hall far behind them. But now all that lay behind was a void as bleak as the one ahead.

Suddenly the corridor felt much colder, and the light from the sphere in his hand all the more dimmer.

"The door probably closed after we came in," Venris said after a few moments, "Let's head back. I saw the lever on our side as we started down this passage, we can just-" The sphere went out entirely, plunging them both into darkness. "...either this temple has a sadistic sense of humour or somebody is really trying to mess with me today."

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[member="Venris Helion"]​

​

This was not going well she found her nerve a bit jangled. What was it about ruins that just invited issues? Venris recanted to her what he saw and what it said, she had felt cold and ominous neither of which were promising of a happy ending.

She had a single thought come to her just as the light went out. She stared where the light had once been not thinking she reached over and touched Venris' arm her fingers laying against the bicep as she searched with her eyes the chamber they were in. Her other hand remained firmly gripped to the hilt of her light saber.

I have found that pushing ahead when being shoved to stop often yields a result. A result indeed. Serena inched her foot along the floor there were ridges where the edges of tiles and stone had worn away with time. She let out a breath she had been holding she wished now that she had paid more attention to the design of the passage.

She thought she heard a sound she twisted around moving her hand from his arm to the wall....click.......sssssssssssssssssssss. The rush of sand running the stones.

Ut oh.. with that the floor beneath their feet parted.

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Serena Bouie"]

Venris glanced down as he heard a 'click' from beneath their feet, and groaned in annoyance as he predicted what was coming. "I've heard that a thousand times, an it's never good."

When the floor swung open beneath them, Venris shot one hand up to try and grasp the edge and fell short. A curse escaped him as he plummeted into darkness below. He unsheathed two of his knives and dug them into the wall, trying to slow his fall rather than immediately stopping, which was the best he could do at the moment besides simply willing himself to slow down. He was more worried on how Serena would fare against this if she'd fallen with him, and turned his head up enough to see if she was above him, beside him or passing him.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Serena had been almost behind Venris when the floor opened and when it did she fell into the darkness, tumbling nothing like the free fall of cave jumping and without a chute her fall was fast and ended with a hard hit. It would seem that the designers wanted those who fell to survive if they could she landed on a large pile of sand but the jolt and shock of falling and knocked the wind out of her rendering her unconscious.

The darkness seemed to whisper around them now as if accepting some challenge or gift SErena did not hear a voice she heard the wind Venris might hear the voice. But what did it want, what did it protect so fiercely.

Serena would need time to wake up until then she was unable to let Venris know she was below him.

[member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

A few moments after Serene had landed, Venris managed to follow with a softer landing, rolling down to the edge of the pile of sand. He rose to his feet immediately and glanced around, his heart racing as he sought out Serena, who he saw near the top of the sand pile. "Serena!" He scrambled up towards her but paused as he heard the whispering from the shadows.

Rise...challenge...rise to a challenge? There were so many voices clambering over one another to deliver its own message to him that this was the best he could make out.

Rise to the challenge...or rot away in failure.

Venris looked for Serena's lightsaber, hoping to Illusive I ate the chamber they had been dumped into. As he did so he tried to awaken the young woman. "Serena, wake up, quick!" He gently shook her shoulders with one hand, using the other to look for her lightsaber.

[member="Serena Bouie"]

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Her head was pounding and someone was trying to wake her, "oww owww. ok ok" Her eyes fluttered as she opened them she could not hear the voices but the intent the emotions were beginning to press harder on her.

"Venris it's dark, it's in need" she spoke of the emotions that were in the room Serena rolled over so that she could push up to her knees, she turned her head each way looking for whatever it was that lingered around them. She got up and raised her hand to call her light saber to it. It had rolled as she hit, her neck was still sore and moving was difficult. She was sure she fractured something again.

But she could not sense another life other than herself and Venris, "I don't feel it here though...." she wished that she and Master Ru right now had worked more on farsight and as for her resistance training it had gone better but this presence it felt stronger.

She reached out for Venris as her footing was unsteady for the moment, "do you hear anything again?"

[member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Serena Bouie"]

Venris breathed a sigh of relief when Serena responded, glad that the young woman was alright. He may not have known her long, but he didn't wish any harm upon her as a result of his snooping in the temple.

"Yeah...rise," Venris listened carefully to make sure he had it right, "Rise...and face...I think it's telling us to face some kind of challenge...to complete some task. They're saying too many things at once, but the general idea is that we have to do...something, I don't know what, or the outcome is pretty grim." He took a few steps away from the pile of sand. "Is there anything in here with us? Any objects or doors? I can't see a thing, and my lightsphere still isn't working."

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Serena nodded, "let me see your sphere, the force is still here with us I think I can get it to work for a bit using light" A skill she had acquired a time ago when in the dark she had been lost much like this and needed light. A hard scary lesson as a padawan but nonetheless she had the skill.

Serena moved toward where she could feel Venris. You know this is about how all my missions go nothing is ever just smooth there's always something, or someone ready to devour me. She rubbed the back of her neck again she was still hurting. Her eyes were trying to adjust to the darkness, It looks like there are some braziers over there, can you make fire? There were some that could, of course a match could do it as well.

She shuffled her feet on the ground wanting to make sure it was still solid with no additional surprises.

[member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Serena Bouie"]

Venris hesitated to answer for a moment. "I can...do something that could trigger a fire with the right material." He admitted, "But I'm worried it may cause you to think less of me, or more importantly not trust me. But...here it goes."

He held out his hands and exhaled, shutting his eyes as he dipped his consciousness into the dark side of the force...and unleashed his power in a shower of red sparks that struck the braziers and caused them to light up. The red force lightning ceased to crackle from his finger tips as Venris lowered his arms. He turned to Serena, head tilted down as he avoided meeting her gaze.

The use of Force Lightning was primarily by dark force wielders, especially the Sith who had made the technique infamous. However, there had been Jedi in history who had called upon Force Lightning while serving the Light. Venris did not consider himself a servant of either side however, as he was being tutored by a colleague in a much older tradition: the code of the Je'daii. That required a balance of dark and light, and though he didn't know for sure he assumed that this had allowed the Je'daii Order of ancient times to call upon abilities attributed to either side of the Force, so long as they maintained an inner balance of sorts.

Regardless of this however, it had caused Venris to be met with skepticism, fear, and even hostility by those who knew and feared the ways of the Sith. It was also why he was often called a 'Dark Jedi' despite being rather neutral in the spectrum of 'light vs dark'.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

She watched she did not move she looked over at him carefully it was then that she sensed concern. She did what she would do with anyone she reached out and touched his arm, "Let's see what's over there, I think there's more runes, or pictographs. She would not judge him right now he was doing what he needed to to help them both in a difficult situation.

Yes this meant that he had a dark tendency but he did not know that she had someone who killed monsters a difficult task when having to kill those who were the victims. So Venris ability to touch a part of the force that she dare not would not worry her right at the moment. Now if he decided to use it on her that would change everything.

But. Oh. She looked again at Venris, Oh maybe that's why you can hear it and I can't. It senses..' She didn't want to say the darkness that sounded rather ominous. She squeezed his arm and then let go, let's figure this out ok we can talk about what you did after we are out' ok so life as a Jedi was not as simple as life as a rock hound but she had to temper all she did with judgement, and judgement said Venris wouldn't hurt her if he had wanted to he would have by now.

[member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Serena Bouie"]

Venris could feel her wariness of him, but beyond that she did not seem to react as badly as many others had. He relaxed his body and stepped towards the new set of images carved into the wall. "Perhaps that is why I can hear the voices...could we have stumbled upon a Nexus of the Dark Side?"

He knew of only one such anomaly on the world of Tortuga, one that he and his allies had discovered after relieving the Hutt Cartel of a mining base on the planet. Needless to say they didn't go into said mine anymore, but Venris knew that such places could induce horrific visions and scenarios in the perspective of those within it.

The torches illuminated a door similar to the one they had opened before entering this wing of the temple. The woman at the center of the galaxy towered over the two, strands reaching out from her form to all corners, but this time there was an additional image carved beneath it...

This time it was a group of women standing in a circle, surrounding the hunched forms of people in hooded robes. Something seemed to be connecting the women to these people, who Venris assumed to be Jedi or Sith, something that left the hooded beings doubled over in pain or face down on the ground.

"This symbol..." He reached out and touched a symbol drawn over the new image, "I do believe I've seen this somewhere."

What he beheld was a crest associated with the world of Dathomir, the world of Witches and Mist where clans such as the Nightsisters performed magical rituals that accomplished unspeakable atrocities, or so the legends said. This image seemed to show one such clan conducting a ritual on a group, who suffered under the foul witchcraft being used against them.

Venris couldnt quite place it, having only seen the symbol while studying with his master as a child, but a jedi and well educated woman like Serena might recognize this.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Serena studied the carving her eyes scanned it looking at the details there were times it was in the details. Was this shadow magic practiced by the Night sister of Dathomir? She knew that the shaman of Dathomir had the ability to call up spirits but she did not know how they did it. Did it require the sacrafice of others? She knew the sith had a ritual that required blood, and life drain.

"This could be a carving to remember the old ways of Dathomir when competition between clans was paramount, or when they were in the clone wars. It's hard to know. But I'm willing to go with calling up a spirit." She looked around :That could be what you hear a spiriit, a not so nice spirit. But who? and what does it want? and if spirit how to send it back" She growled slightly the answer had to be here in this temple.

Serena kneeled down to look at the corners of the carving, See this Venris, this is a Jedi rune, I've seen it many times it means push. So we either push with our hands, or use the skill push to move past..Serena kept looking to see if there was a specific place, and place that would make sense..she looked again at the woman, the tendrils that extended. Nah, that's too simple. The stone...I think we push it.

[member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Serena Bouie"]

"So it is essentially another door that leads us deeper into this spirit infested hole?" Venris asked, seeing the idea of leaving this place become less likely with every step they took. "Very well then, if this is a spirit and it wants something of us, then let us see where exactly it's tests and games will take us."

What was the connection between this woman who stood at the center of the galaxy and the practices of some culture of witches? And more importantly, why were they being herded to these points so that they might view and analyze these symbols? Something wanted them to see everything there was to be seen here, and any effort to leave had been quickly squashed. The moment he had spoken of heading back the way out had vanished and they had been dropped down beyond the point of returning to the temple entrance.

Another mystery was why only he could understand what was being said. Was it simply because he had delved into the darkness throughout his life and was now sensitive to this spirit's presence? Or maybe this supported his hypothesis about how the Je'daii of old had become less limited in how they could perceive and call on the Force by embracing both the light and dark sides equally.

All these could be answered later, for now they had another door to push open.

Venris held out his hands and shut his eyes as he began to push against the stone surface, letting the Force flow through him and out of his palms to ease the stone obstacle out of the way.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[member="Venris Helion"]​

Serena nodded, "yes like a labyrinth it will twist us around until it has us at its heart, and then only then will the purpose be revealed. That is if we live through it, I believe as we go in, the way will become more complicated, and there will be booby traps set to make us fail. But it would seem that we are to do this whether we want to or not."

Serena looked again at the woman, she could be a decoy she thought making us look in the wrong place. She was thinking now still scanning the picture. Then Serena looked to her left she had a thought but it would need testing. The next doorway would give her a reasonable sample. Serena was a powerful empath she had been working for months on building up resistance to thoughts and emotions seeping in without her permission.

She knew the Sith were coming, and if they found her they would try to pluck what she knew about their operations on Velusia. This mission was to have given her additional time to practice. She looked at Venris who was force pushing the door.

Another thought, what if it took one of darkness and one of the light to get through. That each test was designed that only one or the other could open the door, or see, or hear the spirit.

There were legends, there were other orders that..she was rambling. The hair on the back of her neck was standing up, the force rippled, Do you feel that she thought.

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Serena Bouie"]

Venris' whole body stiffened, becoming still as a statue while he reached out with his mind to locate the source of the disturbance. Yes...I felt that all too much just now. Be ready, either this temple has yet to finish with us or something else entirely is happening.

The chamber beyond was larger, wider, taller. It had pillars lining the sides and what appeared to be crypts that were so old they lacked even any holo-emitters to display the likeness of the person who had been buried within them. There were more images on the walls, some of Dathomiri witches and others of what appeared to be Jedi and Sith locked in battle, star constellations indicating locations of significant events.

Should we proceed? Should we try to climb back-

THUD. The trap door that had dropped them down could be heard slamming shut.

....up.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[member="Venris Helion"]
"Well so much for up" Serena looked back at Venris, "someone or something really would like for us to do what they want."

Serena looked again at the chamber. The one that they stood in with the braziers now burning brightly gave her more light. They had been looking so hard at the woman who seemed familiar they had not looked at the rest.

The wall across from the unknown lady was a large mural depicting a time long ago at the temple. Serena got closer, which temple what was, the four high spires, ohhh she thought, "it's the Coruscant Temple before the Clone Wars" Serena had only ever seen this temple of such legend in painted renditions but never like this. The Grand Hallway was shown with the large tapestries that hung down from ceiling to floor showing the exploits of the Jedi. It was believed that they were all destroyed. Serena stepped over to another section. Here in basic the thoughts and words of whoever built this temple.

Out of the ruins we will rise, All who saw us that day cried, But here among the treasures you will find Those that came before us immortalized

Serena noticed the carved stone chests which she had mistaken for benches. She walked over to the first one. She kneeled down, running her finger along the edge it was sealed. She looked at the chest in the dim light wishing she had something bright, using her hand she brushed away years of dust and sand. An odd image, something with a tight little face that looked like it was frowning, and ears. He looked a little like @Kal ika . She put her hands on top she sensed nothing.

There was another great chest across from where she was kneeling. She was getting excited, she crawled across the floor brushing the front of the chest. The image there was clearly a Kel-Dor.

She looked over to Venris, "Remind me before we leave to come back here". Now that she knew these chests were there she would come for them if it was what she believed that this was a great find.

She now peered into the room that they were going to enter with the tall columns, "If you like I will go first." She put her foot through and stepped into the next room. As she stood there she could not help but gaze around across the room the next mural of the mysterious lady waited.

Serena took a step and her leg went right through the floor, "OH!!" She stepped back breathing hard,"ok..." Now that she looked at the floor there were tiles interlocking and visibly all the same. How to know which ones are safe, "I think using the navigation skill that I was taught will help to tell us what is solid and what is not. It's like looking for a buoy under the water" She shook her head, and then laughed trying to ease her fear.

"Venris, I recommend you follow me step where I step" Concentrating Serena began moving forward, what was solid what was not.

 

[Venris Helion]

"Aye, I'm right behind you," Venris said as he fell into step behind Serena, all the while trying to get a good look at the latest mural.

This one had yet another image added onto it, again of the circle of night sisters and their victims. The jedi were now standing on their feet, but were tethered to the witches by chains of what looked like smoke or fire, and were holding their blades out against another group of jedi.

"Somehow I don't think this was depicting the witches sacrificing Jedi," Venris spoke aloud, watching his step now, "It looks more like they're...chaining them, controlling them. Those tendrils look exactly like the ones from the first image, and those Jedi seem to be standing between others and the witches."

Did this have to do with that 'damnation' message from before? Why else would he keep on seeing images associated with these witches, with that woman? Was all of this some kind of warning?

Suddenly Venris noticed something off to the side, "Serena!" He whispered, pointing to what looked like a robed figure sitting cross legged on a stable section of floor off to the left, turning its head to follow them in an eerie fashion.

[member="Serena Bouie"]

(Sorry for the lack of consistency in using colours. I keep switching from my iPad to my laptop and back depending on where I am.)

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[member="Venris Helion"]

Spoiler

Not to worry mine changes because of how I post if I'm home you get colors, if at work, no colors. So it's all good

He was right behind her that was a very true verifiable fact she could hear him breathing, and feel it on her neck. Just how close was he? She didn't turn around to look.

Serena looked over at the mural pausing trying to take it in, "I know witches once helped the Sith, I'm not sure about the Jedi. The light side witches might but witches are reclusive, they don't just pick up and mingle with everyone."

She took another step still recovering from having almost fallen through the floor, thank the force for classes with [member="Shule Windspeaker"] about navigation, it was coming in handy right now. She tried to keep the tremble from her voice as her foot slid forward as she tried to sense density.

Then Venris nearly scared her to pieces calling her name. She looked from the tip of his finger to where he pointed. The very air seemed to still. "ok, I can see it, but my senses say we are the only ones in here" Which meant, what?

Spirit? A sensation of tightness started at the top of her head and slowly crept down her face, her arms, and her legs. The room began to chill every soft breath turned to a puff of white vapor.

Serena's foot began to reach over to tap the next tile..."I feel weird...I can't move my left arm Venris." Serena was sure that the resistance technique that [member="Connor Harrison"] had taught her was in place so was it this creature, image before them, or her own imagination working on her.

She slid to the next tile, she began to realize she needed to meet a Dathomiri Witch to learn more about them.

"I wish we could take pictures of these murals" but maybe once they were through this all of the traps would be gone..or they might be dead. Not funny Serena she thought to herself