Knowledge Within Twilight

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

It had been some time since she had gone out in search of one of the more exotic Force sects in the galaxy to increase her own pool of knowledge and abilities to draw upon. However, she had decided, while she waited for additional information to surface on her current search, to journey to the moon of Dyspeth to seek out the Disciples of Twilight. This time though... she was not going in the guise of a Jedi.

She had reached out to Connor and brought him along on this little expedition so he could learn some rather valuable skills for the nascent organization he was attempting to build, or so she had heard. Either way, his continued training in the dark side would continue and she would get to see how he could handle himself against masters of illusion and the balance between light and darkness in a physical sense.

"Tell me, how goes your adjusting to the Sith?" she asked, the hyperspace jump indicating they were still a few moments out from their destination.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor had welcomed the call from Taeli. It proved there was still something in him she saw worth drawing out.

Sitting beside her in the ship that traversed the stars, he had enjoyed simply being around her again and drinking in all she had to say about the Dark Side and how he was faring.

"Adjusting is fine. It feels normal, and natural. But, the past holds me back. I know his face and name are proving difficult for others to adjust to, so that needs to be fixed. I still have your manuscript, however."

It was true that adjusting was easy, but fitting in was harder. An established group of people with far less complex history as he now had to decide if he was worthy to stand along side them.

"Some are making it difficult, as to be expected, and others are making it easy. I don't know if that's all part of the process. Either way, I'm doing what you advised. Establishing foundations and taking what I can."

He looked to her.

"How goes your adjusting to radiating the Dark Side more and more?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"We must fight and struggle for the places we hold in the hierarchy of the Sith," she replied easily. "You will engender envy for your successes, ridicule for your failures. There will be those who will only ever see you as an upstart, one that needs to be curtailed. Others will see you as a chess piece, just one more Knight to move about the game against their rivals. And yet others will see you as a credible power, one that they are willing to support to see their own stature rise. Such is the way of the game we Sith all play, even when we are united under one banner."

She crossed her legs.

"One does not need to adjust when they never stopped," she continued. "I have been experimenting with alchemy and sorcery for the entire eight years I have been with the Jedi, pushing and prodding the boundaries we have been contained within back bit by bit. So many secrets were lost, and I have made it my goal to rediscover as many as I can. To that end, I have begun searching for... an invaluable piece of the puzzle. Today's journey is a quest for knowledge, for both of us. The Force sect we go to... see is renowned for their ability to manipulate light and create illusions, something you will likely find quite useful for what you hope to build."

 

[Connor Harrison]

The statement rang true for the former Jedi.

"I am under no illusion about my place in an Order, be it Jedi or Sith. Light or Dark. I will just do what I must to be seen as an important part of said Order, and one who will take respect but also give it. To lead others but be led. I have no desire to sit atop a throne of skulls, but in my own way I will find my position of power and help others feed from it."

He looked down at his hands, one warm flesh and one cold metal.

"I have heard about alchemy and dark arts and the power it holds. I will be watching and learning from you make no mistake. There is a great deal of information to that sort of power that is under estimated, but I am very eager to know how it can be used and also mis-used."

He turned to look out of the ship’s viewport.

"What knowledge is it you actually seek today? What do you want to leave with?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Besides increasing my own pool of abilities, I'm looking for... a name," she answered vaguely as the ship dropped out of hyperspace. She didn't plan on elaborating on what name she might be seeking, considering this new Connor, while more interesting, didn't have her confidence yet. Before them, a shadowy moon was in sight, a few ships coming and going from the colony on the surface. She was unsure why the original colonists had chosen the moon of Dyspeth to colonize instead of the planet, but it wasn't really important.

Their ultimate destination was on the edge of the colony, where the Disciples of Twilight dwelt. They had no idea that, for many, it was likely going to be their last day on this side of the Netherworld. She wanted that name, and she would do whatever was necessary to find it. She drew out the mask she had created to conceal her identity, placing it upon her face and taking on the guise of the Lady of Secrets. A brand new lightsaber, unlike her previous ones, was now hidden in the folds of her robes.

"No names," she stated as their ship landed on the outskirts, the lamp lowering. "No survivors."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor knew when to not ask any questions, and he took the cue from Taeli. A name was their objective, and that is what they would leave with.

He waited until the ship came down and settled and they could leave, and he stood a few steps behind. He watched her place on a decorative mask, and handle the lightsaber in her delicate palm.

"No names. No survivors." A smirk grew. "We'd be in real trouble if I even HAD a worthy name."

Maybe his travels would present a guise for him to take; this dark entity that used the shell of man long cast out to the dark soils of Maena.

He stuck by her and took in the quiet evening that had drawn in and seemed to cloak them.

"This feels like...a monastery world. I get that feeling there is something to this place. And I'm going to stick with that feeling because if you're here then there are big secrets to find I'm sure."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Those we seek are masters of illusions, and prefer to allow the galaxy to go about its affairs so long as they are not troubled by them," she replied quietly as they walked closer to the structure ahead. "They remained neutral even during the times of Sidious and Krayt, if the stories are true. So yes, this world is a monastery in some sense, a place where time has not affected the Disciples of Twilight. Many of them may be off in neighboring sectors, but several of their masters and acolytes still reside within their compound here."

There was the quiet crunching of dirt beneath her boots as they walked, the shadows of her cloak deepened by the slowly lowering sun on the horizon. To Connor, and anyone watching her, only the mask was visible from beneath the black hood.

"Today, you shall learn how a Sith extracts information."

 

[Connor Harrison]

"Extraction. I take it that will be a form on mentalism. And I’m guessing it’s something like the Force Drain?"

While Connor had vast experience in mentalism, there were many areas he had no strength in such as extraction and pulling what he could from the mind of another. The already damaged state of his own mind was evidence of many tough lessons learnt.

"Do you have a plan for this or do you want to just walk right in and take what you want. I’ll give you cover."

Up in the distance, beyond a line of woodland, fire seemed to rise up, flickering and throwing small embers dancing in the sky. Connor would expect Taeli to see it, but it could something or nothing. A small cry rang out.

"Some ritual? Are you expecting them to be distracted enough for you to take advantage of?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"Something like that," she replied as they continued their trek. Behind her mask, she gave a tight smile as he asked her what their plan was and he would provide cover. So much military training still in that head of his, leftover from the Silvers no doubt. Why should they need cover when the Force sect they came here for was not a militaristic order like the Jedi. They were more peaceful, and would likely use illusions to either confuse them or hide. A pity for them really.

She did indeed see the fire and smoke coming from the woods near their destination, and to her knowledge, the Disciples of Twilight did not use fire in their rituals. Light and shadows, yes... so perhaps, but the question became why host a ritual outside when they had their own compound?

"I somehow doubt so," she answered. "Remember, they are masters of illusions, much like the Fallanassi. I suspect we have been noticed already and they are trying to draw us away from there. We would likely reach the scene of the fire only to discover it is yet again further away. No, I expect them to attempt to ward us off or trap us in our own delusions, a pity for them really. Be on your guard."

The compound was nearing, the fire from before disappearing as the castor likely guessed they would not be forestalled in such a way. More illusions were likely to appear once they were inside the place.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Nodding, keeping quiet as they got closer through the trees, a few sounds coming from surrounding night-life, the fire did evaporate in smoke just as Taeli suggested.

He looked around a full 360 as he walked, the stone compound rising from the ground the closer they got to welcome in from the natural woodland. It was quiet, but the illusion of fire suggested this was a visit these elders had expected.

Slow steps forward from the grass onto the stone ground was the only sound. He heard a voice to his left, and then his right, and the movement of his head would indicate he was distracted by them. He pointed a finger to his head - they were putting tricks in there and he knew it.

Connor focused his sight ahead, stretching out to find the ripples of the Force that these distractions were radiating from, and he cut through the basic illusions of sound disorientation. It was a cheap trick that nearly worked, but he knew better than that.

"I can feel a group below the stones ahead, in a circular courtyard. Underneath."

He pointed ahead and drew a circle with his finger towards the ground.

"Unless I'm totally wrong."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Connor Harrison"]

"No, their elders lie beneath here," she said. "It is good you can feel them, it shows me that simple misdirection is not a challenge for you."

It would probably start to dawn on Connor that the real reason he was here, besides learning new techniques, was that Taeli wanted to test him in the field. She wanted to see what he was capable of, in this case if he was capable of dealing with people who could create illusions and bend light and shadow. It would be important in his training ahead to especially be able to detect when an illusion was being used, well basic illusions and phantoms anyway. She wasn't about to divulge everything she had learned from Nohemi and the Fallanassi.

"What else can you sense?" she asked. Her own senses could feel two Disciples sneaking through the shadows, likely hoping to ambush her and him. Would he sense them and how would he react if he did?

 

[Connor Harrison]

Looking ahead, he instead expanded his senses around the pair of them, not limiting himself to what he could see with the naked eye. He was very still, crouched down.

"We are being watched."

He pointed to the left, and up.

"However I can’t tell if they are real or not. I think they are. I can…feel their human emotion."

Connor turned to Taeli.

"I’m going."

He broke away and ran towards the stone outcropping that rose from the ground and stuck to the wall, back to it and with the suspected one watching up above. With his palm to the stone, he tried to feel them, but there was nothing. They had vanished, or were cloaked. Looking across to the Sith, he shook his head and pointed to the opposite side.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]