Private In my Father's House

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

At first, Brandyn backed away. His nose wrinkled in protest to the dust cloud wafting through the air. He really didn't want to inhale that stuff. Who knew what was in it?

"Isn't there some sort of procedure you have to follow that would mean I didn't have to be here for this part?" He protested.

Curiosity, though, got the better of him. He waved his hand about as he stepped through the dust, and peered into the sarcophugus.

"Well, I'll be a Wookie's shaved armpit," he muttered, "would you look at that."

Nestled in the midst of a rather large pile of dust, surely the remains of whoever had long since rotted away, was a rather ancient looking piece of jewelry. A large necklace, layered in fan-like tiers, long enough to cover the chest of an average sized human. Across the item were more engravings, similar to the outside of the sarcophagus, but the centerpiece of the jewelry appeared to be a corner piece from a Sith holocron.

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

“On the contrary, as curator of this collection, you have to be here,” Miri replied, her tone amused.

As the dust cleared, she was soon swept up in the romanticism of discovery. With gloved hands she reached in and picked up the necklace, holding it very carefully as she examined it more closely.

“Is that… part of a holocron? Oh, intriguing. But then the holocron itself must’ve been destroyed,” she murmured. “And whoever decided to put it as the centerpiece of a necklace was likely using it for ritualistic purposes, especially with these runes carved on the beads. Or maybe it held sentimental value…”

Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

"Whatever the reason...it gives me...chills," Brandyn said uncomfortably, but still with enough curiosity rising to reach out and run his fingers across the inscriptions on the artifact.

"Some sort of...Sith worshipping cult...or...something worn by a ruler?" He wondered out loud, "do you think this is the item that has the connection with the saber?"

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Staring at the necklace, Miri’s dark eyes were full of wonder… and coveting. She hated seeing beautiful treasures like this left to gather dust in some rich fellow’s collection. But it wasn’t like she could steal it—and certainly not from right under the curator’s nose.

Her gaze shifted to Brandyn. “Most likely,” she replied. “You did say they amplified each other. I imagine it is quite powerful even on its own…”

Slowly, almost as if in a trance, she held the necklace up to her throat as if to try it on. The shiny beads brushed against her chest; the glittering chain draped over her clavicle. Her fingers met at her nape, ready to fasten the clasp and wear the ancient, spooky artifact like it was little more than any other piece of jewelry…

Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Even as Miri's words began to fade, Brandyn stood taller, head listing to the side. He knew this moment. The moment of temptation, the moment of weakness. At first he tried words, "So powerful that it is...affecting you?" The words seemed to fall on deaf ears as she listed the artifact to place it about her neck.

Two steps was all it required, and his hands reached for one end of the jewelry. "My friend...I do believe that it would look better...back...in the tomb where it came from," he said, with her hand in his. His eyes searching hers trying to grab her attention without any sudden act of desperation.

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"My friend...I do believe that it would look better...back...in the tomb where it came from."

"What makes you think that?" she snapped. "Do you think all treasures should be left to rot? Someone made this. It was meant to be worn, to be seen..."

Though he reached for the necklace, it was a noncommittal gesture. Little more than a warning. She continued in her attempts at fastening the clasp, though this proved rather difficult, whether because the necklace didn't think she was worthy of it, or because it's universally hard to fasten clasps behind your head.

Brandyn Sal-Soren

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

"Miri," Brandyn called out, louder and scarily sounding like his father. It stunned Brandyn for just a moment, but proceeded to grab at the necklace and pull it away from the archaeologist.

"Get a hold of yourself, before it gets a hold of you," he said, attempting to wrest it from her grasp.

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

The paternal, authoritative tone of Brandyn’s voice jolted Miri. Her expression grew strained, some hidden emotion rising to the surface. It weakened her enough that it was easy for him to pry the necklace from her grasp—until her grip suddenly tightened again.

And she aimed a punch at his face with her free hand.

Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

He watched cautiously as she loosened the grasp. The necklace was just on the tip of her fingers, Brandyn just about to pull it away, when her fingers curled around it again, and a punch came in for his face.

"What..."

It wasn't time to talk though, but action. Brandyn yanked on the necklace, both pulling at her grasp and throwing her off balance. The punch missed his face, flying behind his head, but her forearm still managed to collide with the side of his head. Going with the impact, Brandyn tumbled over the sarcophagus which was pushed off of its perch.

Now on opposite sides of the the large stone tomb, and holding on to the necklace together, Brandyn attempted through his haze to emanate a light side aura that might sooth his compatriot.

"MIRI. LET GO! I don't...want to fight you."

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Brandyn dodged her fist, but Miri wasn’t done yet. With a snarl she pulled back to elbow him in the face, wanting nothing more in that moment than to seize the necklace for herself.

But the necklace itself seemed to have other plans. As soon as it had an excuse to give her up—that being Brandyn’s application of Force Light—the artifact released its hold on her psyche, leaving Miri staggering backwards.

She fell on her rear on the floor. Blinking rapidly, she clutched her head. Her pulse was pounding in her temples, and her head ached horribly. “Wha… What happened?” she asked, having no memory of the past few minutes.

Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Stumbling backwards, Brandyn found the artifact drop from his hand just as its lusty tendrils of dark intent started to skirt the edges of his own mind. He shook his head, dispelling the lingering feeling of the encroaching malevolence. Brandyn glanced at the artifact, and then back to Miri.

Deciding not to pick up the necklace, Brandyn instead rounded the sarcophagus, and stooped down at his Jedi compatriot's side. "You were temporarily taken by whatever dark entity has attached itself to that.."

He cast a almost flailing pointed hand towards the artifact.

"...thing. It happened to me last time I was here...hence my...discomfort with opening the sarcophagus. Are you OK? What did you feel just happened?"

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"My head hurts, but I'm uninjured." She clambered to her feet, still massaging her temples.

So the necklace had possessed her. Wonderful. But she thought her mind was strong enough to stand against such forces. She had been trained for it by her father, who was himself a skilled telepath...

"I don't know," she replied, her brow furrowing. "The last thing I remember was picking up the necklace. Everything after that is foggy. Did I... do anything improper while under its influence?"

Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

Relieved that she was feeling alright after the event, Brandyn relaxed slightly. "You didn't hear voices?" Brandyn asked, while cautiously pacing his way back to where the necklace lay on the ground.

A chill ran up his back as he recalled the ease with which the artifacts had influenced him, and now had done so to Miri as well.

"You didn't do anything untoward other than...try," He glanced back to her wryly, "and fail to knock me out."

"We need to destroy this thing," he said, looking back at the necklace. Even at the mention of destroying the artifact, he felt his heart race as if he were being stirred by some unseen force.

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"I... Not exactly?" Her brow furrowed. "Or if I did, I don't remember it..."

She had a vague impression of an impulse, but that was all. Brandyn admitted that she had attacked him.

"I'm terribly sorry. You weren't hurt, were you?" He looked like he was all right, but one couldn't be too sure.

"Really, that's not necessary," she protested, pursing her lips. Maybe in light of her apparent possession by the necklace, she sounded foolish, but she was still an archaeologist. She couldn't stand by and let him destroy it. "There are ways to neutralize its power without destroying it. An artifact like this ought to be preserved and studied, not thrown out just because it's cursed."

Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

"No," Brandyn said, dismissing the idea of any pain from her attack even as his face still stung, "I'm perfectly fine...don't worry about me."

Despite her protestations, Brandyn was not convinced. Not really even in the slightest.

"You know...we could just destroy it, and be done with it?" He said, head tilting slightly as he wondered if she were truly free from the control it weilded. Wandering slowly over to the necklace, keeping his eyes on Miri, Brandyn stooped to pick it up. "Surely, it is too dangerous to be left in this state for any longer..."

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

"You know...we could just destroy it, and be done with it?"

"I assume you are not a Jedi," Miri said, trying to maintain a sense of calm and patience. It was difficult, not only because she had been under the thrall of the necklace only minutes earlier, but also because Brandyn didn't seem to be listening. Or didn't seem willing to listen, perhaps. "But I am. Destroying an object from which knowledge could be gleaned is not the Jedi way. As I said, there are ways to preserve and study this artifact while rendering it powerless—"

Seeing him reach for the fallen necklace, she reached out and grabbed his wrist. Her grip was gentle but firm. "Don't do this," she said.

Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

"Removing evil from the galaxy is the Jedi way," Brandyn shot back with a bite in his tone that surprised him. He blinked a few times, trying to bat away the fogginess he felt encroaching on his mind.

Just before picking up the necklace, Brandyn paused and slowly withdrew his hand. The magnetism of the artifact pulled at him still, subtly at first but then as if with a will of its own and sensing that he was withdrawing the attraction increased.

"Why do we flirt with darkness....Miri?" Brandyn asked, as if he were really speaking to some unseen individual and had just tacked her name on to avoid showing his hand.

"It does not deserve...understanding," he said, eyes closing as he focused his mind on the light that seemed to slowly going grey.

His hand slowly began moving towards the metallic Jedi tube that hung from his belt.

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri’s gaze was fixed on Brandyn’s hand, reaching for the necklace. Only when she began to detect a darker tone to his voice did she look past the immediacy of the artifact’s safety, and see his other hand inching toward the lightsaber at his belt.

“They say that there is no understanding evil,” she replied softly. “It defies thought, for as soon as thought tries to engage itself with evil, it is frustrated because it finds nothing there to engage with. Evil comes from a failure to think.”

So. Was Brandyn now reaching for his weapon with the intent to kill her, unthinkingly? Unconsciously, even? “What are you going to do now?” she asked him, hoping that making him think enough to form a coherent answer to her question would at least slow him down, if not stop him from doing something they would both surely regret.

Brandyn Sal-Soren​

 

[Brandyn Sal-Soren]

"I am going to do what Jedi do," he said. His voice barely above a whisper.

Brandyn stood abruptly, eyes focused intently on the necklace, while his lightsaber flew the last few centimeters to fall into his hand. With a snap-hiss the emerald green blade burst into being. Brandyn spun it about to a backwards grip and plunged the tip of the blade downwards directly into the heart of the artifact.

| Miri Nimdok |​

 

[Miri Nimdok]

Miri was not a great duelist. Her skill with a lightsaber was sorely lacking. But her opponent had drawn his blade, and so she had little choice but to ignite hers as well. Violet light clashed with green as she parried his strike, preventing him from destroying the necklace.

"Brandyn," she said, her voice steely even though her nerves were shot. "Snap out of it! This is not the Jedi way!"

Brandyn Sal-Soren​