Gates Of Tomorrow

[Lief]

╫ A L T I E R ╫​

GATES OF TOMORROW​

Reaching flora and underbrush grasped toward him as he made his frantic way through the verdant forests of Altier. His usually tousled hair was now well and truly unkempt, partly stuck to his forehead with sweat and sap, and his face was beet red in the cheeks yet sickly pale in the less fleshy regions. He panted, he heaved, yet he did not slow as he snapped branches underfoot and tore vines from where they hung in his way.

A devilish roar painted a much broader picture; if Valin's approach had been loud, then that which chased him was thunderous in its clamor. Whole trees shook, each step sent avian creatures soaring into the sky beyond the dense canopy, and the ground practically quaked. Had it been a faster beast, the boy was certain he'd have been squished underfoot already. Instead he managed to keep ahead by just the skin of his teeth, clinging to the Force in hopes of avoiding any sort of pitfall which might spell an early grave.

In the brief moments he'd caught glimpse of the creature, Valin was certain he'd never seen anything like it. Over the years he had been fascinated by bestiaries, hefting great tomes, or information packed datacrons, that cataloged a hundred thousand animals from across the known systems, but this thing was something else. It stood leagues above him, similar in relative bulk to a rancor with a much longer maw and a winding, opposable tail which pulled whole trees up, roots and all, with ease.

It was the teeth that worried him the most, though, as opposed to the sheer size of the thing, jagged things run through with the flesh of previous meals. The boy could only imagine how bad its breath smelled; what a decidedly horrible way to go, crushed between sharp boulders and breathing in one last inhale of foul smelling air. No doubt that alone would end him.

Valin had no clue just how long he'd been running. He had always been known for having long lasting endurance, a long distance runner not a hundred meter sprinter, but this was something else all together. A whole different beast. The humidity, the obstacles, the damn plants which seemed to fight for a grasp of his ankles at any chance they got, each added an element that couldn't really be replicated in as sterile an environment as a training room.

Heck, even the wilds of Kashyyyk had been easier to contend with.

And then he saw it, salvation, one great big towering bastion that peeked through the trees and promised a clearing up ahead. The ruins proved to be as jagged and poorly kept as the beasts teeth, barely held together with mortar and rivets that hadn't really stood the test of time. It was an odd amalgamation of stone and metal, natural and artificial materials, that was jarringly out of place in so lush and untamed a land as this.

But Valin didn't care. Anything that got him out of the reach of the fiend behind him was most welcome, and as towering a behemoth as the creature was the ruin proved larger still.

Without a second thought, and upon approaching the ancient threshold, Valin pushed off from the ground and leaped further than he'd ever mustered before, crossing through into the ruin and missing the swiping hand of the beast by mere inches. Well, he thought he'd missed it.

When he rolled onto his back, and shuffled himself further back into the antechamber, he realized that a small trail of blood was following him. Only then did he feel the burn of an open wound, and when he looked down he saw the long yet shallow gash down his right leg.

It took every ounce of willpower the boy had to keep from passing out or throwing up at the sight of it, his already clammy skin turned ghostly pale at the sight of blood and exposed flesh.

Valin was going to die here, he realized, and there wasn't a single thing he could do to stop it.

 

[Darth Sibilus]

ALTIER​

EXPANSION REGION​

To say that Altier was a hostile world would be a gross understatement. The air, so laden with moisture that it was near impossible to breathe without a respirator, clung like stubborn cobwebs on Darth Sibilus' face. His sweat mingled with the unholy atmosphere, his whole body sodden as if he had been subjected to monsoon. The air possessed hidden weapons too - writhing, swarming masses of biting bugs assaulted the Sith Lord relentlessly, extracting his precious ichor and leaving irritated red masses in their wake. Nevertheless, these were menial concerns to the Sith Lord. The distant wails of vicious creatures were what kept the Epicanthix sleeping with one eye open.

The planet seemed to be alive with the Force. More notably, the planet reeked of the Bogan. Sibilus had noted it as unusual, especially for a planet so relatively close to the Core, yet so isolated. Even from afar, Darth Sibilus had sensed its pull, and like a Karkarodon on a blood-trail, he could not resist an opportunity to satiate his curious nature. Perhaps it was destiny, if you believe in such a fantasised concept, and Sibilus did not. His faith was cemented in the Force; the Dark Side evidently willed that he travelled there and uncovered the secrets surrounding the world - surrounding the vast ruin he found himself staring down now.

Who was he to deny such a blatant invitation?

It had been just over two weeks since he had landed his shuttle on Altier. Sibilus hiked without rest, the Dark Side infiltrating his muscle and sinew, ordering it, coercing it to continue without fatigue or the need for rest. The Sith Lord had promised his body rest once he had discovered the secret of the planet, the reason why the Dark Side had called him here. It had taken him days to find it, and a lesser man would attribute the shock discovery of the ruin to 'luck', but Sibilus knew better. There was something here, something that the Force wanted him to seek and claim for his own. Darth Sibilus would be damned if he would let it elude him.

The days he had spent within the ruins had allowed him to piece together the story behind such a place, to a degree. He hypothesised that it had been the site of an old, long-forgotten battle - a Jedi Temple now left derelict and devoid of the Light Side, now replaced by the more powerful, more dominant manifestation of the Force's will. Darth Sibilus' forebearers may have attacked this once Holy site, and healed scores in the walls seemed to point to the use of lightsabers. Rock, metal and unnatural bindings were abundant, strewn across the wreckage with wanton neglect. The place itself was crumbling, attempting to repel another assault by the planet itself. Plants wound and suffocated the rock, causing it to crack and collapse under the immense pressure of the jungle. Trees, vines, creepers and other such plants had established their roots in the cut stone of the temple, and seemed set on keeping themselves there for the foreseeable.

By his fifteenth day on Altier, he had still not found his prize. On such a wild world, sentient life was easy to detect for the Lord, and those that carried the Force and did naught to disguise it were even easier to detect. His Sense was augmented by the planet, by the Dark aura he had surrounded himself in, and as such Sibilus had managed to position himself perfectly to intercept the young man as he bounded through the window, narrowly escaping one of the beasts the Lord had heard on his journey to the ruin.

Sibilus observed his newfound guest for a moment, molten eyes still and fiery with the power of the Dark Side here. He stepped silently down to the antechamber, moving out of the larger room it connected and into the one where Valin lay bedraggled. Even in his heat, he wore the traditional trappings of the Sith - a black cloak, admittedly from fine, lightweight material that obscured his face in shadow. A moment passed, as he allowed the young one to gather his thoughts. They were clear as day.

"I find your death improbable, child." he spoke eventually, voice lined with no hint of malice nor spite. It had a sort of ominous reverb, and it rattled around the antechamber before dissipating into the stone and the jungle. "Escaping such a beast is no easy task."

[member="Valin Seek"]

 

[Lief]

In his haste to escape the creature's palate, and assess the damage done to his leg, it was safe to assume that Valin had taken exactly zero steps to try and ensure there wasn't anything else, equally as dangerous, hiding out within the ruins. All logic had fled his mind in the seconds which passed; if this was a building, then surely nothing nasty would be inside. Of course, the fact that it was little more than a decrepit ruin at this point eluded him momentarily, nevermind the fact that even if it had been fully functional then surely it would have housed somebody, if not somebodies.

Regardless, the boy lay back against the ground the moment he was satisfied that the beast could not reach him any longer (though he heard it prowl around the exterior) and let out a long and shaky breath. His chest hurt as the last of the adrenaline began to fade, in fact... most of him hurt. His head pounded with dehydration, clothes stuck to his body the way his hair stuck to his head, and his heart refused to slow its charged beat. Valin was sick to his stomach, even went so far as to retch though nothing bothered to come up.

He hadn't been forced to exert so much energy in a long time.

Slowly he came to his senses, and heard the soft shuffling of fabric; only then did the boy realize that he was not, in fact, alone. There was a prodding within his mind, so subtle that he could hardly feel it at all, and in truth he didn't feel it so much as sense a slight change in the Force around them. Then the onlooker spoke.

Yeah, he'd definitely been prying.

Valin rose to a seated position, shaky arms just about bearing his weight after the excursion he'd put his body through, and turned his head in order to look upon the speaker. It was an odd voice, it was not emotionless in the way the stranger back on Serenno's had been, nor filled with eccentric glee like Lord Tyric's. He imagined it might be how the beast outside spoke if it had a voice, low and earthly - not to be messed with. He let out another breath, steeling his nerves, and finally met the man's gaze.

He was Sith, of that there was no doubt. The cloak was a good enough indicator, but the way in which the shadows seemed to cling to him was another, perhaps more glaring mark of the Order. There was something unnatural about it. There was something unnatural about this whole place, come to think of it. Had he known somehow that it was there when he first began to run? What exactly were the chances that he arrived here by mistake, the one structure on the entirety of this world otherwise consumed by nature?

Darkness clung here, the iniquitous aspect of the Force which he revered so deeply had sunk its talons in to the land and claimed it for its own.

As much as Valin did not believe in fate, he also daren't believe in coincidences.

"Who are you?" he asked, after seemingly staring at the man in silence for much too long, "How is it you speak of my thoughts?"

He knew how, of course, there was only really one power in the entirety of the Universe - to his knowledge - that could achieve such a thing. But he had to ask all the same. Perhaps if he found a way to survive this situation, he might look deeper into it himself. To know what one is thinking without ever having to ask? Why, that was a most wonderful prospect for one such as he. One less task to concern himself with... One more way to let the Darkside consume him.

Valin would never turn that down.

[member="Darth Sibilus"]

 

[Darth Sibilus]

Sibilus observed the Human before him silently for a while, replying to his steely silence and uncertainty with an iron-clad gaze. The Force was with him, the Sith could feel it as clear as day. He could feel both the Light and the Dark to meet it, though as far as he was concerned this child was more Jedi than Sith, if either title could even be bestowed unto him.

Drios noted quietly the trembling, the retching and the ghastly wound in his leg as clear as day; blood weeping from the gash and dripping down his leg as he raised himself delicately to a seated position. Darth Sibilus felt the fear quietly ebb away from being as he met his fiery gaze, before he stepped further out of the penumbra in order to expose his menacing frame and towering Epicanthix height. He would not break the silence yet, only observe and measure the child with nonchalant interest.

The Sith Lord would not desist his delving into Valin's mind, exploring his thoughts briefly to gather the information he needed. It was hardly difficult - the young man's mind was completely exposed and utterly vulnerable to Sibilus' attempts to infiltrate his brain, though the Sith was less than surprised.

"You don't need to know who I am as of now. You already know what I am." Sibilus finally uttered, removing his hood to expose his visage, before continuing slowly, "Why are you here, boy?"

Sibilus was truthfully at a loss - perhaps this young one was what had drawn him to this place? Perhaps a demonstration of his power would be prudent to levy his reaction. With that, he extended his hand and raised Valin to his feet via telekinesis, eager to discover more about this unexpected encounter.

[member="Valin Seek"]

 

[Lief]

Truth be told the unwavering certainty held by the man before him, the steely gaze which did not once stray from his, was almost reassuring. For months now Valin had been fumbling in the dark, forced to choose his own path through a maze of confusion and ideals he did not yet understand. Even before then, even under Tyric's guidance, he hadn't exactly had the most reliable or sane guidance. His Master had been an eccentric old fool who sought only to to find his swansong, to ascend upon the pedestal of Masterdom, to be recognized for his out of the box thinking. Whether the boy would actually learn anything would depend solely on the day, on Tyric's mental outlook.

Suffice to say, he hadn't been in the presence of someone who seemingly knew who he was, who was confident in his abilities. The man before him amplified the flaws that Valin had found within his former mentor over the years, and made him wonder how he'd come out the other end in one piece. His confidence was somewhat infectious, the way he spoke as though absolute, and the boy drew upon that presence and raised his head just a touch higher.

"The ship was knocked off course," he began to explain, though somewhere within the words he felt his body begin to lift into the air. It was strange, the feeling which overcame him in that moment. His leg ached to be dangling like that, and yet by being suspended in place as he was he was able to quickly remedy that and keep it just the way it needed to be to bring him some relief. Of course, the feeling of the Force literally encompassing his body was new and alien to the boy; the Jedi had been slow in their methods, and had never once turned the more controlling aspects of the Force onto their students during his time there, and Tyric taught more by lecture and example.

Valin couldn't recall the last time he'd been on the receiving end of it.

He blinked, and tried to recall where he'd been in his explanation before the telekinesis took its hold. Oh, right... The ship.

"The hyperdrive malfunctioned, or something, I guess," Valin didn't know much about starships, though he did know it was odd just how far off course they'd ended up, almost like something had reached out and pulled it away, "and this was apparently the closest body. Landed close enough to that thing -" he gestured to the beast still sniffing around beyond the walls, with a grimace "- to draw it's attention to the crash site. Pilot wasn't dead before then, I don't think."

He gave it just the briefest consideration, before attempting to shrug and realizing that his center of gravity was remarkably odd right now. Almost like he was suspended in a gelatinous substance.

"So, you see... I don't mean to be here. Though I am glad I took the one route which led to a structure..."

For a moment there he pondered on the situation. Should he have been using some sort of title throughout? Spoken to him like he had the stranger back on Serenno? He did have Valin suspended within the Force, after all, there weren't many circumstances that could be considered quite so humbling.

Though he considered it, the boy didn't bother to correct himself. He wasn't yet beholden to this stranger, nor was he representing someone else in their home. Here he was simply Valin, and Valin was simply, well, nothing he supposed. Without his Master he wasn't exactly a Sith, without his parents support he wasn't even really an heir to their prestigious bloodline. He was just a boy, stuck on some crazed world, dangling in the air and making little steps toward remedying the situation.

There were ways to resist it, he knew, the effects of the Force, but Tyric sure as heck hadn't taught him how. And truth be told, Valin doubted he had the nerve to do so anyway. Though... He was dying, in a manner of speaking, so what was the worst that this stranger could do?

[member="Darth Sibilus"]

 

[Darth Sibilus]

Sibilus felt the initiate relax further, and the Sith facilitated this, not once averting his gaze from the young man's eyes as he scrutinised and judged him evermore. He relinquished his grasp on Valin, allowing him to fall to the ground before stepping towards the window, where he could observe the beast that had brought the child here. It was like nothing he had ever seen before, and frankly gruesome and somewhat intimidating. However if it bled, it would die. That would soon be the Sith Lord's next task, as a peculiar feeling alerted him to the fact that he may just have found what he travelled across the Galaxy for.

But that didn't matter as of now. Drios' focus was still cemented on the Human who was now slumped behind him; and who he was.

"An interesting tale, to say the least. We are never in the wrong place, boy. Nobody truly means to be anywhere. The Force guides us to where it wills us to be, and I sense that you are with the Force." Sibilus replied finally, inclining his head to slightly over his shoulder to bring the Human into view, folding his hands neatly behind his back. The silence would continue for a moment, painstakingly extended by the Sith Lord's own manufacturing as he still studied him. He did not exude fear, nor had he been instilled to be wary his superiors as Drios had once been as an Acolyte. Perhaps answers to the questions the Epicanthix had begun to form would be a suitable way to break the silence. He noticed that he didn't refer to him as My Lord - perhaps it was ignorance, or blind arrogance. The answer remained to be seen, but Sibilus would soon come to the root of it.

"I sense both the Light and the Dark in you, Padawan." stated Sibilus bluntly, the facade of benevolence beginning to slip, revealing the Sith Lord behind the hastily-assembled front. It was not a question, and his tone indicated that it he seeked further clarification.

"Tell me your name." he ordered next, his voice now bereft of any interrogative tone. He could sense his subject's uncertainty, the muted acknowledgement of utter meaninglessness compared to the vastness of the Universe. It pleased him. The runt already knew his place beneath the Sith stood before him, regardless of whether he addressed him as my Lord or not.

[member="Valin Seek"]

 

[Lief]

Valin found himself unceremoniously dropped back to the cracked tile floor, and hissed in pain when he fell upon his lame leg. Part of him wished to seem the strong silent type, someone who had been hardened with experience and no longer felt the pain of petty injuries, but the truth of the matter was that Valin wasn't a very good actor, and anyway what use would it be. This man had been in his head at least once already, trying to fool him was ridiculous to say the least.

Besides, his leg did hurt... Why would he try to pretend otherwise?

By now the man had turned toward the window, the one through which Valin had made his daring escape from the beast outside; apparently the creature intrigued him as much as it did the boy. Whether it had eaten the pilot, gear and all, or chased him through the forests threatening a similar fate, did not matter. The bestiaries had always been his favourite books to look through. He was thoroughly impressed by how diverse lifeforms could be, the subtle differences which set one lizard apart from another, what made one creature venomous and another poisonous...

So no, Valin couldn't blame the older man's curiosity. Nor did he expect to keep his attention. After all, he was the one intruding for it was obvious he had been here prior to the boy. An unwanted guest, that's all he was. Nay, not even a guest. Just an inconvenience.

Had he still a right leg to stand on, he might have tried to make a break for it. Maybe the man would've allowed it, too. As it was, merely sitting was a task in and of itself. The damn beast must've had dirty claws, not that that would be a surprise given the rest of it, because he felt the pain spreading up through his leg. Great, just great. He'd read enough medical journals to understand that likely meant infection of some sort.

If only he'd paid more attention during those curato salva lessons, instead of moping over his fate.

He listened intently as the man began to speak to him once more, for what else was there to do in this predicament. While he knew most of what was said to be true, he sorely hoped the man wasn't trying to foster off some sense of fate onto the boy. To be guided by the Force was one thing, a thing Valin had experienced in minor ways once or twice when he was younger, and aspired to do in his own way where he could, but to believe that there was some preconceived plan?

Well... If that were the case, then whoever thought up his fate must have been drunk.

Valin didn't respond, not yet that was, instead he mulled over the words and used them as a distraction from his leg. The sickening sensation in his stomach had yet to disperse, nausea rising within him, and in truth he wished he had something in his stomach to get the damn thing over with. But, right... the words. Distractions.

The boy was about to speak, had even gone so far as to partly open his mouth, when the man before him spoke in blunt reproach. The reassuring effect he'd had on the boy slipped away if only slightly, leaving a much more callous individual standing over him. There was something frustrating and futile about being relegated to the ground, nobody could seem self-sure or strong from such a low vantage point, it was a physical embodiment of their status and Valin absolutely loathed that reminder.

Not quite so much as he loathed the title thrust upon him by the stranger.

"Don't let the Jedi hear you call me that," he practically spat the name of the Order, nostrils flaring in vehement disdain; damn this man for touching upon a soft spot. "I doubt they'd appreciate it very much."

A spark had ignited within him, evident within his eyes and just a hint within his tone, at the reminder of the path once traveled. Unwillingly, he might add. He tried then, rather ridiculously, to rise. He reached out to the wall closest to him, using it for upward leverage, and stood on shaky footing. The one leg was bent somewhat in order to alleviate some of the weight, which only left the other to pick up the slack.

Times like these were a painful reminder of how far he still had to go, of how little he'd managed to accomplish within the 18 years he'd had so far. Luke Skywalker was blowing up Death Stars, and here he was... fumbling around like an idiot.

"I'll tell you mine, if you tell me yours," he finally stated; it was obvious he knew he was pushing his luck, he was way out of his league right now, but even so he locked eyes with the man and squished down the urge to step down or flee entirely.

What was life without a little risk?

[member="Darth Sibilus"]

 

[Darth Sibilus]

A smirk writhed its way across Drios' face for a brief moment at the Padawan's - as he would now refer to him, apparent abhorrence for the Jedi Order. It was a sentiment shared by Sibilus; the Jedi were weak, their grasp of the Force was loose at the best and they were unable to achieve their true potential for they had no passion. No strength. No conviction. Despite their selfless musings and preachings of how they 'serve the greater good', the Epicanthix viewed them as hypocritical dedicated to engineering their own destruction. Drios was glad that this Human appeared to be, even at his young age, wise to the lies of the Jedi. "It doesn't sound like you'd appreciate it much either, Padawan." the Lord pressed, before falling into quietness once more.

Darth Sibilus was impressed to say the least at the Padawan's perseverance, and his (although ultimately futile) attempts to appear strong for the Sith Lord. He was taught to never accept dominance - to be submissive was to be weak, to seek approval and forgiveness was to accept your position as the inferior Sith. And to be the inferior Sith meant only one thing in Sibilus' eyes.

Death.

The Sith Lord scoffed at the Padawan's brazen attempts to barter with the Epicanthix, and he waved a hand passively towards his uninjured leg that propped up his weight. He effortless applied enough pressure through the Force to send him tumbling back to his sedentary position before he would divulge his secrets. "You drive a hard bargain, Jedi." Sibilus half laughed, his voice carrying a hint of mockery, before retorting "The Dark Side does not work with petty deals."

"You are insignificant." he spat in disdain, looking upon the initiate with cold indifference. He would not betray anything, but machinations were slowly unfurling within his dark mind, plans unravelling and evolving. This short discourse had led the Sith Lord to a final conclusion, and now, just after a few moments in the presence of Valin, Sibilus was certain that the Dark Side had brought both beings here to meet.

Why, the Sith Lord had yet to ruminate on and meditation was required to ascertain the peculiarities of this event. As he had already detected the boy was with the Force, whether or not he was a worthy disciple was another question. "Now, tell me about yourself. Then we can deal with your injuries, unless you'd rather die in this forsaken place?" the Sith offered a smile, pale lips curling upwards to demonstrate his seeming openness and interest in Valin's past.

[member="Valin Seek"]

 

[Lief]

A somewhat permanent scowl had etched itself upon his features, deepening the lines in his forehead and pulling at the recent scars no doubt caused by the fallen spacecraft. Small things, more like cuts and bruises sustained by falling out of a tree as opposed to the sky. Nothing compared to his leg, that was for certain. Apparently he'd been lucky to that end, crashed ships were no joke.

Valin did not play anymore into the man's hands when it came to talk of Padawanhood, as with Vaulkhar back on Serenno when his mind cleared from its immediate reproach he was more readily able to accept the tactics being used. The boy knew what he was and was not, he did not need the validation of the man before him - he had lasted this long without it, after all. Still, the scowl remained. Perhaps his body sought to betray him, where his mind fought for a strengthening veil.

He stayed where he was, for as long as he could, not quite propped against the wall but close enough that he could reach out for its support should he need to. His leg burned something fierce, and he was certain that if he wasn't in the presence of another who brought distraction and an obvious threat to the table he'd have passed out long ago.

The Sith, however, had other plans in mind. As slowly as he had risen, he was knocked back down to the ground in the blink of an eye as his good leg was pulled from under him. He landed flat on his back, feeling the air knocked from his lungs as he hit the stone tiles, and this time it took him longer to reorient himself. One second he'd been standing, the next his world (and vision) had been turned upside down.

With a growl of frustration Valin forced himself back into a seated position. He glanced over the man before him as he spoke, declining the offered compromise, and tried to gauge what his reaction might be if he hobbled back to his feet. Was this going to end in more trips to the ground? Because Valin wasn't sure his exhausted state could handle much more of that. The visual representation of their status well and truly replaced, he opted to listen for the time being as the stranger degraded him and once more demanded information.

It was time for the boy to decide how much he was willing to push his luck. Thus far the man hadn't injured him in any way, even knocking him back to the ground had simply winded him as opposed to causing any long lasting damage. His now fiery gaze glared into the mans, smoldering rage beneath the surface. He reached out for the wall, pulled himself back to his feet, and exhaled a huff through his nose.

"I'm as significant as I mean to be" came his response, once his legs stopped shaking and he found his center of gravity; whether that was true or not, even Valin could not say. He hadn't exactly put much work into making something of himself, but given the past several months who could blame him? Though he had turned eighteen a few weeks back, the strange circumstances surrounding his upbringing, and his sheltered life, did not assist him on his path toward adulthood. What kind of madman gave a relative child as much freedom as Tyric had? Stoked the flames of his pettiness, allowed him to capitalize upon his more sloth-like qualities, to lean upon the Force as a crutch without consequence?

Then again, Tyric had far worse eccentricities. Why his parents ever entrusted him to the man was beyond him.

In truth, Valin had never even really known freedom like he'd been shown since his departure from Serenno. His future was in his own hands now, present situation not included, and that thought filled him with fear and excitement all at once. There were so many paths he could take, so many things he could do, that his head hurt from even thinking about it. Maybe insignificance wasn't a bad thing, for now at least, he had so much growing up to do, so much learning, that to bite off more than he could chew would be folly, surely?

He wouldn't know until he tried.

The promise of life beyond this day, and these injuries, coaxed the survivalist in him out and finally he seemed to relent. It was not with grace or contentment that he began to speak, in fact he seemed rather sour and displeased with himself for giving in to the interrogative proddings of the stranger, but he did so all the same. After all, deep down the boy wanted to live. Truthfully, who didn't?

"Valin," he practically chewed up the word as he spat it out, "My name is Valin, and I'm afraid there isn't very much to tell. I'm a student - I was a student - and apparently that was the only defining feature anyone ever sought to allow me." The boy took a slight step back, his brows were now well and truly furrowed as he let slip a little more than he had meant to in his bitterness. "I'm not a Jedi, the Jedi wanted me about as much as I wanted them; damn bastards need to learn not to take chit so seriously."

He pursed his lips then, setting his jaw to refrain from speaking anything more. Speaking about those haughty fools always left a bad taste in his mouth, it was probably their mentality of my way or the highway that ruffled his feathers the most. They hadn't wanted him in the end, but they still sought to exert their influence over him. Ha! No such chance.

[member="Darth Sibilus"]

 

[Darth Sibilus]

In response to the frown etching a grim path across Valin's face, Sibilus' visage lit up in a simper, seemingly internally pleased with himself. The boy's stubbornness and resilience in the face of adversity impressed the Sith greatly. Even when the Lord had shown his applications of the Force, albeit simply, to be greater, the young man still retorted with poison-tipped remarks and a sinister gaze. He reminded Sibilus of himself in some ways. He too had been a wanton rebellious subject once, struggling to find his place in the Universe.

An exhale of breath from his nostrils was his only response to Valin's statement about significance, for he was apparently amused by the comment. Whilst his significance was still pretty non-existent to Darth Sibilus, his resolve and stature was clearly elevated above the usual level. Sibilus assumed that the word 'no' had seldom been used against the child, but that mattered not. Rapux felt Valin through the Force once more, attempting to occupy the empty moments between their conversation with entertainment. He could feel the seeds of hatred already being planted in the lost boy's mind - he felt the regret, the anger and the discontent. These ideals could be spun into something more powerful, an important tool for Sibilus and the Sith. A new approach may be in order.

The Sith Lord listened to what Valin had to say, and measured his response carefully. Sibilus couldn't care less about what Valin called himself - he needed to know more about the being himself. If his suspicions were correct, the Epicanthix would have to tread more carefully hereon-in in order to properly execute the 'will of the Force'. The Lord lifted his left hand, producing a hologram projector that burst into red light, the image of a miniature, human officer humming above the projector. "Prepare the medical bay on the Punitor, and have a craft collect me and another from my co-ordinates. I believe my work here is done." he commanded to the ship, his ship that orbited Alteir awaiting the Sith Lord's return. Whilst the Lord had distanced himself from the Sith Empire for the time being, he still had control of some of the empire's vast assets, including the Punitor. It had served as a base for his wanderings across the Galaxy, with the Sith-Imperial crew aboard becoming ever more loyal to Sibilus himself.

Finally, he turned his attention to Valin, branding his face with a sympathetic mirage. "The Jedi were fools, and you wise to reject their counsel. They lie, corrupt and serve only themselves and not the Galaxy. You will find the Sith are far more... generous with their teachings." he mused, the bitterness shared by Valin expressed in Drios' tone. He extended an arm forward, reaching out with his fingers to help the child up from his position as a subordinate to the Darth.

"Come with me, Valin. Off of this dreadful world. I can teach you the ways of the Force, help you unlock your true potential within the Force. The Dark Side can give you meaning; the power to establish yourself in a way unachievable to billions of simple people across the Galaxy. You are not simple Valin - I feel the Force within you, the dark potential you possess. Through me and the Sith, you can use it. Bend the Force to your will. You can become... More."

Darth Sibilus would hope that this hasty recruitment would not be a mistake on his part.

[member="Valin Seek"]

 

[Lief]

Shortly after he was done with his footnote explanation Valin's good leg gave way of its own volition. There was no coaxing needed by the Force this time, no malicious intent, simply a wearing off of adrenaline and the surfacing of pure exhaustion which had been gnawing at him since his jaunt through the forest. As much as he tried to appear tough, there were some things a mere human would more readily succumb to than others and it was stupid to fight it at this stage.

So he sat, head leaning back against the same wall he'd been propping himself up with, and so he waited for the silence to break as tension stretched on between the pair. The next words spoken weren't even said toward the boy, and in a sense he was grateful for that. Respite was sorely needed, though evidently the man had intentions to bring him along on whatever journey lay ahead and at this point Valin had little intention of declining. The promise of a medical bay certainly sweetened the deal.

Once more he was under the thumb of another, superior being... But this time felt different to the others. Here he had a choice, at least in some way - no doubt to resist further would result in his meager life culminating to naught but an early grave - whereas before the decision had been taken from him. His mind wandered back to Tyric's estate, with its wrecked library and bloodthirsty household who no doubt wanted to see him hung out to dry or worse. Going backward wasn't really an option, staying where he was right now seemed even more foolish.

And besides the offer of training, real training, was too good to turn down. Especially if it would bring him closer to the darkness he craved.

Pulled back to his feet, this time at the behest and assistance of the Sith, he already knew his decision. In what capacity the training would entail he did not know, what level of formality it would be granted, but for whatever reason he found he did not care. The Jedi had been overzealous, Tyric incompetent, years of his life had been wasted and for what? He didn't feel as though he was any more suited to the position of learner than he had been on the day he'd been shipped away. Most of what he knew had come from his own studies, or had been twisted from the words of the Silvers.

"Okay," the boy said, surprising even himself with the rather underwhelming response to such a proposition. He took a few moments to regulate his breathing, and then nodded with a defined certainty. "I will learn what it is you would teach, but..." There was the frown again, though admittedly more thoughtful than his former scowl as he briefly paused to mull over the exact words he wished to use. "What would you ask of me in return?"

After all, nothing came for free; He'd learned that a long time ago.

[member="Darth Sibilus"]

 

[Darth Sibilus]

"Good." Sibilus whispered, sensing his resolve before Valin had even replied to his request, his iron gaze alive with burning passion and corruption. It was easier to sway Valin to his side than he had earlier anticipated, and the whole proceedings pleased the Sith Lord greatly. Valin would surely prove to be a powerful asset to Sibilus in the absence of the Sith Empire, and become a great weapon in the event of the shaky relationship with the Sith'ari becoming even worse.

He pulled his new apprentice to his feet, but would not act as a crutch to the injured initiate. Sibilus would step towards where Valin had bounded through, to observe the beast that still lingered outside the temple walls. If the pair were to escape this planet and rejoin the Punitor, Sibilus knew that he would have to eliminate the threat without the aid of his seemingly crippled apprentice.

He resumed the position he stood in before, turning his head slightly over his shoulder to half-observe Valin as he spoke, partly bemused at his underwhelming response to the Sith Lord proposition. Proper decorum would come to him with time, and he would learn how to address his master after his training had begun properly. "Your undying loyalty; you shall refer to me as My Lord or Master and devote each and every moment of your apprenticeship to me." the master paused for a brief moment, allowing his words to sink in with proper effect, before continuing on "You shall be my Apprentice, Valin." he hissed, the dark rumble once again returning to his sultry tone; a stark coldness filling the room in contrast with the humidity as the Force gathered darkly around Darth Sibilus.

"Now, my young Apprentice. I shall begin your training." he snarled darkly, molten eyes fixated in abhorrence at the beast below him, the Dark Side coursing through tainted veins as he drew power from the Force to annihilate the monster. This place, with its strength in the Dark Side only served to bolster his strength, tighten his resolve and compete against the great beast beneath them. With his blade remaining securely on his belt, Sibilus raised his right hand to the sky, focusing the Force and channelling the Bogan until it developed a physical form. A darkshear, as black and as impenetrable as the cosmos manifested from pure Sith energy formed in his hand, and Sibilus levied it against himself, shifting his body weight and flowing the Force into his muscles as they prepared to launch the shear into the beast's eye. The Force would guide the weapon, and it would strike true into the gaping abyss of its demonic iris. "With the Dark Side, you can manifest weapons of incomprehensible power. A Sith is never unarmed. A Sith never need flee. The Force is your ally, you bend it to your iron-will and slay all those who oppose you." with that, the Sith let out a sharp whistle, alerting the beast below to its impending doom.

The spear left his grasp like a lightning bolt, piercing the eye of the unknown goliath just how the Lord whispered in instruction. It struck true, and dissipated within the beast as an outburst of dark energy, leaving Sibilus panting from the excursion. "That is the power of the Bogan."

[member="Valin Seek"]

 

[Lief]

The boy watched as the stranger turned from him and walked toward the broken window once more; outside the beast still roamed.

No doubt he was figuring out the best course of action when it came to leaving, though Valin had seen the creature in full swing and wondered what one man could do to stand against it. Had he not been targeted by a swipe of the fiend's great claws he might have been able to make a run for it, but now that wasn't really an option. Besides, he'd done enough running for one day. Maybe now it was simply time to face it, they had the advantage of shelter at least so perhaps it could be broken down from afar.

His musings were soon interrupted, as the man glanced over his shoulder to regard him and speak of what the price would be. Valin couldn't say he very much liked it; he'd been a slave to the whims of others his entire life, left with little in the way of autonomy, and apparently that was a streak the universe wished to keep up. Still the promise of power was tempting, and would help to pave a future where he could rid himself of such shackles. He mulled it over, chewing on the inside of his lip as he did so, and frowned a relatively simple frown given the former scowls he'd been showing.

Undying loyalty. Well, Valin had never really been shown what it was to be loyal. If he had then maybe he'd still be back with the Silvers, or squirreled away within Tyric's estate until the man returned or until the boy simply withered away. Still there was something different now, about the entire situation. This arrangement was decidedly more mutual, even if the man presented it to be otherwise. Under Tyric he had been but a student, but this arrangement spoke to an Apprenticeship - and such a thing was made to set an individual up for future stability, for future independence. At least, so he'd read.

Knowledge. Meaning. Power.

What more could a boy his age ask for? And so what if it cost him time and patience.

"Very well, My Lord," came his slow response, each of the four words carefully spoken and the statement punctuated with a light inclination of his head. He had opted for the title he was most accustomed to, the term Master felt much too crass and belittling in that moment and he wasn't sure how it would sit upon his tongue. It would only further cement the parallels his new position had with that of a slave, and Valin refused to be anything of the sort if he could help it. Still, he spoke with a newly discovered respect... Something his previous responses had been sorely lacking.

The chill which enveloped the room soon after seeped into his joints and worsened their aches. He grit his teeth but did not balk, and took a few shaky steps forward toward the window in order to observe. What he witnessed was something otherworldly to a boy such as he. His exposure to the Force had admittedly been simple, for the most part, telekinesis, telepathy, and a small myriad of control abilities which helped to improve his body. Without the latter, he felt sure he'd have died alongside the pilot. Outside of such, he'd witnessed a little bit of alchemy, Tyric was always experimenting on some caged creature, but he couldn't for the life of him tell someone how that worked.

What his newly taken Master conjured up was decidedly different. Darker even than the twisting of life, at least in how it affected the room around them. Sucking in all signs of light, like the vacuum of the never-ending void which lingered overhead. Though he knew not its name, the dark spear it had been manifested into was decidedly unnerving to look upon. Valin was simply grateful that it wasn't being directed at his person.

As the demonstrative lesson took hold, the boy could only think back to his paltry execution of the Force some weeks prior on Serenno. Causing tremors and pulling objects was seemingly nothing at all, though it made up most of his current arsenal, and much as the pure bogan energy in the man's hand set his stomach to jelly it also sparked sheer excitement within him.

The Force had endless possibilities, it would seem, and Valin intended to learn all that he could.

So he observed as silent as a mouse, watching as the spear shot through the air like a burst of lightning and found its way into the eye of the beast; at first the behemoth merely squirmed, but once embedded far enough the metaphysical object burst and took parts of the beast with it in an explosion of tenebrosity and cerebral matter.

In that moment there was no doubt that Valin had made the right decision; he didn't move following the display, he simply stared at the gory remnants of the beast which had tracked and chased him across half a continent and felt grim satisfaction in its demise...

[member="Darth Sibilus"]

 

[Darth Sibilus]

A small shuttle passed through the atmosphere, launched from Sibilus' ship and rocketed towards planetside. It streaked across the sky like a comet - a fiery trail arcing across the sky as it plummeted as closely as possible to the ruin in order to minimise inconveniences for the oft cranky Sith Lord below. It settled in a plume of long-settled dust and moisture, steam adding to the already humid climate as the shuttle doors opened, revealing a quartet of the ships staff, flanking a repulsor-lift driven bed for the Sith Apprentice to seat himself on for transport to orbit, and to the corvette. They manoeuvred around the fell beast, and stood to attention at the apparent entrance of the ruin, perspiration running down their skin and tainting their pristine suits within moments of leaving the cool shuttle.

Darth Sibilus would offer himself as a crutch to his injured apprentice, leading the way as safely as possible out of the ruin and towards the repulsorlift stretcher, allowing two of the enlisted men to take over. He would lead the way, sweating profusely, back to the transport before ordering the officers to take them back to orbit, and away from Altier. With that, he would turn to his new apprentice, eyes still alive with the flames of Viryzeyr as the Dark Side was yet to seep slowly from the Sith Lord, and the strength of the Force was still felt in its full, unadulterated glory in the very fingertips of the Epicanthix. "I sense the Dark Side in you, Valin." he would reply tardily, and simply to Valin, "You will make a mighty Sith under my tutelage, my young student."

Sibilus would not speak again until the duo returned to the Punitor in orbit, where he would command the crew to set course for Panatha. Caordos would provide the perfect setting for the pair to truly become acquainted with each other. All the while, the Sith Lord felt that he had unfinished business with Altier; perhaps there was more to be discovered on that forsaken world? That was a task that would have to be postponed, however, as Sibilus' attention had very quickly turned onto his newfound apprentice. It would be poignant to discover just what the young Human could do, and thus what Sibilus could teach him.

The Sith Lord remained troubled for the majority of the journey, hastily ordering an officer to prepare the medical bay and then private quarters for Valin before the Lord retired himself, entrancing himself in a deep meditative state to ponder on the frankly peculiar events that had just transpired. And what of the Empire? Was now truly the time to cut ties with his old allies, now that he had an apprentice of his own. Such questions would soon be answered with time, he mused to himself in an unlit chamber, levitating a foot or so above the floor, legs and arms crossed.

Time, and patience would tell.

[member="Valin Seek"]

 

[Lief]

It was only just becoming apparent to the boy that he was not, in fact, going to die on this backwater planet.

When the shuttle descended, marking its place within the forest with a billow of dust and leaves, he found himself helped toward it by his newly minted Master. The crew seemed wary of the behemoth corpse on the ground, but their loyalty to the man seemed strong enough to overcome it in order to approach on foot with a hover-stretcher. As soon as they reached the pair his Master peeled away and left him to the first aiders; it was strange to lose the confidence the man radiated, something he had unintentionally been drawing upon since their earlier meeting, but all the same the respite it afforded him was much needed.

Valin closed his eyes and simply lay back as the exhaustion crept over him. If not for the words of his Master he might have fallen asleep, succumbed to it in its entirety, but he held on just enough to open his eyes and look upon the Bogan-seeped man until he too fell into silence. The boy did not respond, it was clear that he was on his last legs, and by the time they reached the ship proper he had finally drifted into a torpored state.

What happened between then and his eventually awakening within one of the more private quarters of the ship was a mystery. What he did know was that he tasted the sweet aftertaste of bacta, and though it still pained him had a leg which was no longer hanging on for dear life. Perhaps that would mean it was no longer infected, too, which was nice. He was much too young for a cybernetic leg, after all...

[member="Darth Sibilus"]