Private On Demon's Wings

[Lucien Dooku]

The Imperial world of Nirauan boasted a growing population with each week that passed and every gain that the Order made towards their cause. Imperials and non-Imperials alike flocked to the capitol world on the edge of wild space, with most seeking to support the cause against the Sith, or simply to seek out a better life in that part of the galaxy. Others arrived to benefit from the chaos that widespread expansion brought onto a world; vultures, if you will, who sought to exploit the newly-immigrated or gouge those who have already settled themselves on world. It provided the backdrop for an interesting culture developing in some of the civilian districts that were popping up across the expanding capitol of the city, and even across the world itself as a whole.

Lucien found himself strolling through many of the civilian-relegated districts often during the downtime he had when not off fighting in another system on the Order's fringes. He'd come to despise a majority of his fellow "Imperials", that is to say the officers who didn't take well to him being given a command, and in turn directed their malice in his direction. Luc didn't have the patience to deal with unfounded jealousy, or was it just prejudice? He could never tell with some of the Imperials he'd come to meet while on Nirauan. Their loyalty to the cause was more far solid than their motives, in his opinion. Luc's goal was clear-cut and straight to the point, even if he did technically stand on the fringe of being an Imperial himself. He wanted nothing more than to bring the fight to the Sith, and subsequently be there to lead the liberation of his homeworld from their rule. He wasn't sure what the future would look like leading up to that point, but at least he had a goal that even the Imperator himself found admirable, or at the least of strategic interest.

Perhaps things would've gone smoother had he kept the low-profile that was his plan from the beginning. The exiled prince initially just wanted to fight the Simperials for once, and simply contribute to the hopefully growing trend of no longer ignoring those who committed great injustices in their name. That plan quickly snowballed, and in the present time there was no escaping the infamous reputation that he held as a Jedi consorting with Imperials. It didn't even matter that he was only a Jedi whenever it proved convenient; he'd never been Knighted, after all, and it was safe to say that his lack of love for force cults would prevent that from happening anytime soon. Not like he cared, but recent interactions with the Jedi from the Alliance brought back fond memories of what it once felt like to be apart of a group where he at least somewhat fit in.

He'd gotten so use to being alone that it barely even bothered him these days, at least on the surface. There was a constant ache within his heart for something to cling onto; friends, family, something more, it didn't even matter what it was, as long as it was something. At the present time the only company he kept was his ship and his droid, and the trio had seen many stars together and visited plenty of worlds where life felt just as hollow there as it did here. The life of a soldier was an unfulfilling one, but it proved the only viable method that Serenno's youngest prince could use to reach out and grab his ambitions with his own two hands. It would've been neat to do this while having friends at his side, or at least comrades of equal standing that he could hang out with outside of the theater of war. But wishful thinking, right?

Right.

VIBES
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HOURS LATER​

Lucien shrugged at the thought, simmering the soft smile that had subconsciously formed down to a placid, blank expression. His aimless journey across Nirauan had brought him to the edge of the city and beyond, the force having whispered to him for the first time since his arrival onto the New Imperial homeworld. It was a rare occasion for the force to speak to Lucien in a manner that it did to those who actively sought its guidance, and he'd come to an understanding that perhaps it was not anathema to the idea of carving one's own destiny to occasionally let the will of the force do its thing.

He was guided to a grove on the outskirts of the main city after following the instinctual thoughts that guided him to the city's outskirts, and far beyond until nothing but the planet's arboreal backdrop remained. In the end he was presented with an untouched grove filled with ancient ruins from a time long lost to the past. Chiss and Imperial architecture mixed seamlessly together with the overgrowth that had long overtaken the area, and nature had long repopulated the remnant of civilization with native creatures who lived free of the danger that came with sentients settling in the area.

He couldn't help but wonder just for how long the grove would remain undetected, and better yet, undisturbed by the growing expansion of the city. He could feel the energies of the force all across the grove. In the trees, the animals, the ruins, the winds that seeped in through the foliage. For being so close to the growing capitol, the grove was surprisingly powerful in the force, and not in the dark side as one might expect from the planet's previous occupiers throughout time. In complete contrast to the vibes that overcame here when in Nirauan proper, for the first time in a long time he actually felt a sliver of tranquility sweep across his mind. It almost felt as if the force had guided him there to provide the Jedi with an outlet to find the peace that was buried inside of his heart.

After exploring the sights to be seen on the outside of the ruins, Luc doubled-back towards the edge of a lone stream that cut across the grove from either side. Leaping onto a boulder planted on its side, he sat cross-legged with his eyes shut, slowing his breathing to a crawl and focusing inwards on his thoughts. One after another he ran through the recent events in his memories, shifting them to the back of his mind until nothing was left but a clear void to focus his concentration on. Better easier than said, of course, as the life of a rogue Jedi made for many memories to contemplate.

Spencer Varanin

 

[Spencer Varanin]

The lush vegetation was indeed unnatural, being this close to the capital. The wild growth had been fueled and given life through the Force's light side, and a delicate hand-reared the seedlings to life. A mother's devotion to bringing life upon the world was apparent in the Force grown forest. As the young man found solace in the spring that spouted the Force like a fountain, his presence alerted the Mother. Trees shook, leaves rustled, and flowers hid their bloom while the woman stirred from her work. A hand brushed through the grass, comforting her children as she moved gracefully, an essence within the Force glowing blindly through as life was drawn to her. She could feel him reaching out, feeling the presence around him ebb and flow with the power of the Force. At this moment, nature and her children were the same. A human man joined with the ever Living Force, showing him the warmth of the light side, Ashla's embrace.​

A woman dressed in white stood at the base of the boulder, she watched the young Jedi breath in the world around him and expelled everything he was in the Force. She could feel his entity finding the peace that she wished people of all nations could feel. Her escape to this place had been her exile, and she had abandoned everything she had known to feel the Living Force once again. Time had stood still for her as she contemplated her life choices and the path her story had taken. Years of flow walking taught her only one truth, and there was no changing her path, which was the path she had chosen for herself.​

The Force worked in mysterious ways, but the Master of the Past and Present harnessed the Future. She knew the fallen Prince would find his way here, and she knew that she would be the one to find him. Was the boy her redemption? She moved from her stance at the base of the rock and retreated to where she resided, deeper into the world she had created to greet the lost Princeling.​

As his peaceful meditation continued, the moment of blissful tranquility, he would see a figure enter his mind—a woman showered in the light, glowing a hue of purity as she reached out to him. Fingertips would caress the edge of his soul, dancing along the curve of his face, her face would greet him with a smile. ​

I've waited so long for you, the lost son of Serenno. Find your peace, feel the light bless you. ​

The face would come into full view, as the angelic figure stood before him on the rock. Lucien would feel the swell of the Force rejuvenate him. Kneeling, the smile twisted into a smirk. The angelic figure, the embodiment of Ashla, would suddenly push him off the boulder with a laugh then suddenly disappearing.​

Lucien Dooku

 

[Lucien Dooku]

vibes~

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Lonesome contemplation was his goal after discovering the untouched grove upon a world that otherwise geared towards the inevitable clash with the Sith only several systems away. Luc had intended to keep the grove a secret after discovering it for himself, as the lack of Jedi or anything similar meant that sharing its location would only work to his detriment in the end. His presence there had only been temporary in the grand scheme of time, yet in spite of this, he felt a sense of peace and solidarity with the environment that surrounded him. It reminded him of more peaceful times in his past; his training beneath his previous master had brought him to similar places in his past, but never had he discovered such a place on his own in the decade of time since his inception into the force.

Then again, Luc had never desired such a place in his life until his exit from the life of a high-stakes spacer, and his transition into a something of a soldier beneath the Imperial Order. Life was stranger, he thought to himself, the beginnings of a smirk shifting to his lips as his attempts to shift his memories out of his thoughts had ended in failure. The memories of his times on the Infinity's Free had come to mind, and along with it the handful of people who he'd come to think of as friends during what felt like one of the funnest, wildest rides of his life. That period of time had come to mind mostly because it reminded him just how far he'd strayed off the path of a Jedi as he grew into the man who he was to become. Even his lack of concentration was a reminder of who he was, or atleast who he'd become after embracing the path which led him into his present.

Whilst the Jedi believed there was no emotion, Luc had embraced his emotions, his feelings, and honed them into a weapon that he could rely on to keep him moving forwards, even when all was lost. That weapon had kept him alive when all else had failed, yet the ties which he'd created were difficult for him to set aside, as doing so meant cutting himself off from the last thing he had left to hold onto in recent times. His memories and friends provided the fuel to Luc's spirit, which at times felt irreparably damaged by the void created with the loss of his first master, his home, and most importantly, his family. Many questions were left unanswered in the wake of the three most important things being ripped from his life at the time, and in the end his connection to the Jedi was left severed, and never to be repaired.

Despite lacking the discipline to maintain the focus required to shut out the things most important to him from his mind, Luc had somehow managed to thrive within the chaos that embodied his life. Even as his thoughts returned from the back of his mind, racing towards the front one after the other, the state of tranquility he'd achieved was seemingly unhindered by the unintended effect. His mind had delved into the recesses of chaos itself it seemed, the thought further supported by the appearance of a figure within his mind that Luc could not recall ever crossing before in his life.

"Hm." His eyes remained shut as the entropy of his thoughts began slowing to a crawl, his attention shifting inwards once more and focusing on the visage of the woman at the center of his mind who traced rays of golden light from all across his form. The feeling of fingertips reached out touched him, the feeling manifesting both internally and physically, with the latter leaving him perplexed in the wake of the feeling drifting off of his skin.

Blue orbs emerged from beneath shut eyelids as the presence of another emboldened him, the sight of that same woman from his mind appearing before him on the same boulder he was perched on. The force swelled around him, energizing him from the mentally-exhausted state from before. A weight had been lifted off his shoulders in the wake of her appearance, yet he was still left speechless at just what exactly was going on. That...would unfortunately not change, as the angelic figure before him would make the next move, pushing the perched Jedi off the boulder when he was at his most vulnerable, and laughing at his misfortune in the process.

Luc recovered shortly after smacking his head against the ground with an audible thud. Raising to his feet, he swiveled his eyes around the grove, more perplexed at just who that was than he was irritated at being pushed off a boulder. Whoever it was, they had dissapeared in that short period of time that it took them to knock him down and for him to get up. Turning to face the ruins behind him, Luc shoved his hands into his pockets, narrowed eyes peering into the darkness of the ruins with the assistance of force sight. "I'm... not being haunted, am I? Cause if so, you've definitely got the wrong guy." He called out, loud enough for whoever it was to hear him, if it even was a person, that is.