Private Mountaintop

[Second Son]

​

The rumors came from far and wide. A seer, someone who could predict the future and show visions of what is to come. It was a rare power to have, but often just a rumor made by a swindler or liar. But that's not what brought him here. A shaman who has benefited the tribe for many years. An ancient being, no less. Long life was often a sign of the Force. All of these together proved to be too interesting of a source for the Second Son to ignore.

He landed near the base of the mountain, to avoid distressing the locals. He'd very much prefer not to have to kill anyone just to find the truth of a seer's claim to fame. His expressionless helm glanced around the landscape. The world was.. Pleasant. Nature existed and lived. Birds were chirping in the distance. He wasn't so cold that he couldn't appreciate the beauty he was witnessing. Though he didn't linger. He made his way up the mountain and avoiding any prolonged exposure to the locals. The less interaction he had, the less likely they'd try to kill him.

His path lead right up to the top of the mountain for where this shaman was located. He paused outside the hut, glancing it over for a moment. It looked.. Simple. Surprisingly simple for someone with this sort of skill. The Second would step in, his tall form having to bend over. His voice, heavily modulated by his mask, would speak up. "I am here for the Fate."

Ailana Venetia

 

[Ailana Venetia]

It's then, upon speaking, that the Second Son would feel a profound presence in the force behind him. Powerful, like a neutron star's weight on the fabric of the universe. Yet this energy is different. It does not sway more towards the dark, or towards the light. It is a neutral feeling. Wild as a free animal. sense given isn't like the force energy you'd sense off of a human, but more of the sense one would get from a wild untamed planet that's strong in the force, like felucia or dagobah.

A voice speaks up, the voice of a middle aged woman from the sound of it, but filled with infinite wisdom. "You have called upon me, and so I have come. Tell me, what brings you here, child of the empire? Or is it child of the dark side? Either way, you are here for a reason. No one visits me without reason. Seriously, it's kind of depressing. Everyone asks 'where's the fate?' but no one asks 'how is the fate?' Rude, wouldn't you say?"

When the second son turns around, he'd be faced by a cloaked figure wearing a featureless mask, the cloak itself looking tribal in nature, with various dyes and designs within it. She has a walking staff in her right hand, the blade at the top allowing it to function like a glaive should she ever need to into combat.

Second Son

 

[Second Son]

Behind his helmet his eyes narrowed. This sort of power wasn't something easily hid, especially from him. And yet, it had been. The emotionless mask turned as the Second Son looked to see this 'Fate' speak behind him. There was no denying the power he felt. Whomever Ailana Venetia was, these rumors had some basis in truth. How much, that was yet to be seen. A small chuckle escaped him though, as he listened to her words.

"I suppose it might be too late to ask how you are, then?" He motioned to the tent, his helmed gaze turning to look through it. "Rumors spread far. I'm here to see how well they hold up in person. If they do, I have a proposition to offer."

 

[Ailana Venetia]

"I am living. I suppose that is enough to not complain, yes?" A cackle echoes out from under her mask. The mask she wears is more like that of a tribe shaman, no voice modulator. It's just a mask. She walks past him to step into the tent. It's a nicely decorated space, much better looking than the outside. Various souvenirs sit about, along with various precious wealth she's acquired during her travels, or from those who wish to pay her for her services. Bags of gems sit beside a leather beanbag, that sits in front of the fire within the teepee. The fire is is surrounded by a bunch of smaller beanbags for guests. The beanbags makes sense, since the ceiling isn't too high. Fine silks are piled in a corner, a bird cage on a stand, containing a rare and colorful reptilian bird, sits behind the beanbag chair.

She settles down in her beanbag chair, and gestures for the Second Son to sit down as well. Shortly after, a tribe member comes in with two bowls, handing one to the Son, and then to The Fate. It seems to be some sort of orange curry, containing bird meat of some kind from the looks of it. "I'd say don't eat if you're not hungry, but you'll be insulting the tribe if you don't eat. Sorry to say. It's good though, I can promise that." She then takes in a deep breath, pulling down the hood, and then removing her mask. She only does this in private locations, hence the lack of clarity on her true face. Though, what myths the Second Son may have heard about her looks turn out to be true. Cream white fur, angular features, sharp blue eyes. Not for everyone perhaps. Though by Farghul standards? Beautiful, unbelievably so. She doesn't look a day over 25. Quite scary considering how ancient The Fate is supposedly. She takes a a bite of her curry, scooping it into her mouth with a spoon. "Hm, more spicy than usual. Anyways, you wish to see further into the web of fate, yes?"

Second Son

 

[Second Son]

​

He didn't answer, or at least not out loud. The expressionless being followed Ailana Venetia to sit. "You've got quite the collection for a mere tribeswoman." He mused aloud. Some seemed to fit the theme of the tribe, while others, like the beanbag chairs, seemed awfully out of place. It spoke volumes on just how many and what kind of people made their way here. He glanced to the bowls as he took his own seat. He was about to pass on the offer when the woman spoke. Ah. That's how it was.

The Second Son reached up to remove his helmet, unclasping where it was sealed. There was a hiss of air before he pulled it off and set it to the side. She was likewise met with a youthful appearance with startlingly white hair. A price of the darkness he controlled. His golden Sith eyes watched the woman take the first bite, just to be sure. While they likely could of poisoned his bowl separately, he was more worried on the taste. Only then did he take a bite. Which, wasn't actually half bad.

"No, actually. I've come because my master is intrigued with your abilities. I come with an offer. Serve him, and you will want for naught." He paused. "Of course, if your abilities prove true. Seers are rare in this age."

 

[Ailana Venetia]

"Ah, so you are but a child. Human? Or is there some other mixture in there. Do not feel pressured to tell. A woman's random curiosities are of no matter to the sith empire, after all." She pauses, using her spoon to take a bite of that curry. It was a spicy curry, made from some sort of chicken esque species. The spices were very flavorful, for sure. Definitely an exotic meal for someone from the empire, who likely lived on pre cooked meals instead of real homemade food. She takes a few moments, enjoying the flavor of that first bite as she chews. Only after she swallows the food does she finally answer. "Yes, I do have a lot. Though it's frowned upon by most of my sort...I am admittedly a bit on the materialistic side. These are all from offworlders. Gifts for my services. Others are things I picked up from other tribes. I am a highly sought out person. Thus, I am not mainly with one tribe." She shakes her head. "I drift from tribe to tribe, doing as I do. I am a neutral entity however, and do not participate in their wars. Petty squabbles for power, which would be shameful to waste visions of the future on." She sighs, waving a hand dismissively.

"But enough about tribal politics. Your master finds me curious, hm? Are seers that rare in the galaxy? I have never left this world. Or I have, but it was few times. I always came back. For I had nowhere else to go. Though...seeing the stars has always been quite enticing." She sets her bowl aside, blue eyes meeting the inquisitor's. "My abilities are not as future encompassing as you may think. Myths and tales exaggerate, no? Allow me to explain my power to you. Should you wish to experience it after, I will collect the herbs."

She pulls out a bunch of strings from her robes. Regular yarn from the looks of it. She begins wrapping and weaving it between the fingers of her hands, eventually forming a spider web. "Do you see this? This is the fabric of fate. Well...not literally. A representation, a euphemism. Imagine you are a spider, as is every person in the galaxy. You are given the space to make your own web. But that space is limited. Eventually your web begins overlapping and connecting with the webs of others, representing your actions and relationships with those around you, whether they're positive, or negative. Thus, you are always on a course to overlap and connect with other webs until the day your webbing thread snaps, and you fall into the abyss. I gaze upon this web, and see where your spider is heading, what threads it is about to touch. However that is only the vision done with you following your decided path. Should you, for some reason, change your lifegoals and things of that nature, and come back, your vision would be different. What you see, and what I see, are decided by your current chosen path, and can change when you choose another, for the spider on your web has the ability to turn around and go other places." She raises a brow. "Do you understand?"

Second Son

 

[Second Son]

"Fate is an uncertain path. It is good, however, to know some branches. Helps to make a more informed choice." The young man smiled kindly as he listened to Ailana Venetia 's description of her ability. It sounded just as he expected it should work, if her ability was true. The mention of herbs though brought a rather intrigued expression to the Son's face however. A drug trip? If it proved to actually work, he wouldn't mind. Though it sounded just as much a way to overwhelm those who come seeking information to kill and rob.

Either way was something he could respect.

He raised a hand and the shadows in the room would coalesce behind him, forming a sort of Smoke Demon behind him. "Just in case this is a ruse, he will be watching. I don't want to get drugged and shipped off after all." The kind smile remained as he offered a nod. "I am ready to begin."

 

[Ailana Venetia]

"A summoned spirit. An interesting ability indeed." She cackles, a grin showing those catlike incisors. For a Farghul, she's stunningly beautiful. But not everyone has an interest in felines. She takes a bowl out the basket beside her beanbag, and begins pouring in various powders and herbs before using a spoon to crush them all into a fine powder. The smell is interesting, like lavender. Once done, she takes a handful of the powder into the palm of her hand, and stands up from her seat, slowly making her way over to him. "Get comfortable in that chair, hitting your head on the floor won't do you any good." She crouches down before him, dust in her open palm, and blows on it. He would instantly go blind, the green dust stinging his eyes, not like pepper, but instead as if he were looking directly into the sun.

To his perception, she never stopped blowing, the wind coming from her lips getting stronger and stronger, even as he was no longer blinded by the dust. Yet, he could not move. Forced to watch as somehow, the wind blew away that spirit he summoned, like a cloud. It picked up further and further until he was forced out of his seat like a ragdoll, sent flying through the animal skin wall of the teepee. Perhaps he expected to hit a wall or a tree, yet when he few out of the teepee. there was naught but open space, a pink nebula surrounding him. He was also no longer being blown, no. There was no wind. He was falling into an infinite abyss of stars.

He would realize as he fell, if he looked down, below him there were two massive orbs. One black, like a void in reality itself, a hole, and the other radiant and blinding, like a supernova. As he fell, he would notice he's falling between them both, and they're drifting closer to eachother. This takes a bit, giving him plenty of time to observe, and feel dread. Just as he was between them both, the two orbs collided. A massive explosion deafening him. Loud enough to shake the heavens of every planet in the galaxy, it's colors an incomprehensible mix of blinding light and blinding darkness as the force of the explosion sends The second son flying through the void. Yet, has he flew upwards from the force, he would realize he is once again falling, the teepee below him in space, just floating there. He falls through the hole he exited through, landing directly in his beanbag. It's then that, as if the vision never ended, he was back in the teepee, the sounds of the jungle and of talking tribesfolk audible outside. Across from him, past the fire in the middle of the teepee, he would see the seer, who is idly sipping on a glass of tea.

Now that he looks alive again, the seer cackles. "The first trip is always the worst. You've been out a few hours, kiddo. Tell me, how was it?"

Second Son

 

[Second Son]

"Very well." The Son got as comfortable as he could in the chair, though still looked incredibly suspicious of the whole thing. It helped that Ailana Venetia wasn't something horrifying to look at. Perhaps that's why she was so well known. A good looking seer was far superior to an old crone and such. He raised a brow as she lifted the powder, but before he could ask anything it was blown in his face. The vision. He expected it, but..

When he awoke the Son immediately sat up and gripped at his forehead. The calm demeanor he'd been holding this entire time was replaced by a cold sweat and panic. What he saw he didn't want to have to deal with. The light in him was a weakness. It should be purged, but it was a necessary façade. His gaze fell to the seer with minor annoyance before he cleared his throat and once more took on the expressionless state.

"It was.. Interesting. Your power is no lie."

 

[Talohn Atar]

"Indeed it is not. I do not lie, child. Not because lying is an insult to others, no. Lying is an insult to oneself, whether you're lying to yourself or those around you." She states, cryptically as ever. She picks up a pipe she had begun to smoke while he was passed out, and takes a deep inhale from it, allowing the smoke to flow from between her lips as she speaks. "You fear what is inside of you...your weakness, Yet what you perceive to be weakness isn't in of itself a weakness. Instead, your true weakness is the fear of what you perceive to be a weakness. After all, is fear not a weakness in your sith code?" She cackles. "You will only be a true sith when you no longer fear what is inside you." Odd advice, but sensible in a way.

With that said, she now moves on to the next topic. "Now, tell me. What do I stand to gain from joining your empire? I will not be some padawan or plaything. I demand benefits and perks befitting of my stature." She points at him with her wooden pipe. "And the only one I wish to have requirement to answer to, is your emperor. These are high demands, I know. But I choose when to tell one's fate, and I refuse to be ordered to do so by some random sith wishing to see if he'll win his next battle. Seeing the visions is tiring, and the herbs are expansive. I do not wish to waste them on frivolous petty things. It would be a disrespect to my art. I will decide when I give visions, not anyone else. Unless it's the emperor. His very existence kind of overrules that. So if he asks, I will do. Tell me, what would your empire give me to make this worth my while?"

A bit greedy? Perhaps. She was a materialistic woman. But at the same time, she had a good thing going here. They'd have to show her something better to persuade her to leave. After all, on this planet, she was akin to royalty.

(Ignore the fact that this is the wrong account. OOPS)

Second Son

 

[Second Son]

The Son made no response to Ailana Venetia 's interpretation of his vision. Though it was clearly difficult to keep his expression the calm it was. He reached out and took up his helmet once more, setting it back so he no longer would have to try and hide his feelings. It was a difficult thing to do for him. There was a pressurized sealing sound before he'd start to speak again.

"I do not serve the Empress. The Emperor you speak of is no longer the Emperor. He has.. Retired, to focus on his other projects." His gaze turned to the room they were in, and he chuckled. "Far more than these trinkets you've been given. Lord Darth Carnifex rewards those who've become useful. And your visions would be plenty useful. You will not have to deal with the Empire and their Sith. Not unless you want to."

 

[Ailana Venetia]

She nods, looking ponderous. "When will I be meeting this emperor of yours? I do not have transportation offworld. Hopefully the wealth I am given will afford me my own ship. I've always wished to visit korriban.....Or is your lord elsewhere? No matter. You shall take me to him, and he and I shall talk over terms. Unless we are to settle the terms here? I do not fully know how your empire functions to be exact. Your lord though, he will have to understand that my visions do not provide all encompassing knowledge." She shakes her head. "The web of fate is a large entity, and I can only focus on one portion at a time, since it is impossible to comprehend otherwise. To delve further would destroy my mind, and were my mind to falter, I would lose this power altogether."

She takes a deep breath. "By the way, this is in no way an insult, and if you try to kill me for saying this, you will not succeed." She cackles, one of her eyes twitching a bit. "I have heard rumors of this carnifex. Will I have to fend of flirtatious advances? Is his uh...appetite as intense as they say?" She was a beautiful specimen of her species, but those who shamelessly flirted without respect for her station and sophistication really pissed her off.

Second Son

 

[Second Son]

"He is no longer the Emperor. I believe it is important you understand this. My Lord was, but he has since left the throne so he could be free to continue his work." He stood back to his full height, nodding to the exit of the tent. It was time to leave, if Ailana Venetia was going to join him. Though, he paused at her cackling. "You needn't worry about such things. While he does have his.. Harem. I am not a recruiter for it. He respects power, and those with it. He will only require you to be his seer." Once more the Son made his attempt to exit the tent, though found himself chuckling before he could. He was quite amused by this question.

"Is that a worry of yours? To be desired?"

 

[Ailana Venetia]

She nods, understanding his words. She would still get wealth. After all, while an ex emperor wasn't as powerful, he was still equally as wealthy, which meant many shinies for her. The seer takes a moment to put that mask back on her face, and pull up the hood. "So he does have a harem....though I suppose any sith lord worth their salt would." She stands now, picking up her staff. "I will tell my people to load my things on your ship, if that is ok...If not, the bird comes. I do not leave without the bird. It has been in my family for 1,000 years, and I refuse to leave it." She states, using that bladed staff to gesture to the bird cage. Upon closer inspection, it seems to be some species of convorees. It looks ancient, all feathers gray, and eyes that glow with a certain wisdom.

The seer opens that cage, and the bird hobbles it's way out to sit upon her shoulder. They would proceed to follow The Second son out of the tent. She cooly counters his next words. "I do not fear being desired. However, it his hard to do my work when someone wants to flirt with me more than see their future. The mask is here for a reason."

Second Son