Private Return from the Void

[Gerwald Lechner]

R E C O N C I L I A T I O N​

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Kyyrk

Voph had returned, and yet he had not.

The reality of that lone fact bothered Gerwald more than it should have. So much had happened surrounding the events of his supposed death, that the lupine did not even know where to begin with receiving him back into the fold. The man had been a mentor of sorts to the wolf, and the one person responsible for paving the way to his ascension to the position of Lord Commander. Gerwald could only be grateful for it, even if he did not feel he was best suited for the weight of that mantle.

So why was there resentment, hurt?

Gerwald should have been told. Voph should have included him in his plan. Instead he simply did it. The one person he told, Srina Talon , found out through a letter. The former Lord Commander had always been a man of action, but there were some actions that needed counsel. Even if there was no other course of action, Voph should have allowed others to speak to it. Why did he have to simply decide when the Knights had suffered enough devastation already?

There was only one way to have his questions answered, yet, it seemed the man in question had lost his memory. He did not know who he was. Even if he knew who he had been, he did not know. Still, Gerwald had to try.

A missive had been sent requesting a meeting. After the destruction of the facilities on Roon, Gerwald had moved operations to Naboo. The presidium was located in Theed after all, and the Lord Commander wanted to ensure the Knights were not so far removed from the Confederate Capital. It was preferred to other locations, and the natural beauty of Theed made a great backdrop for the wolf. His office boasted a full view of the scenery and landscape the capital city had to offer.
When his guest arrived, the man would find Gerwald leaning against the rail of the balcony. There was nothing formal about this meeting, not particularly. The lupine just needed to know how much of the Voph he remembered still existed. Besides, their last meeting had left quite the impression. The miraluka was there somewhere, he somehow knew to mention Naedira. Voph was the one man who had much needed intelligence about his two most consuming passions, freeing Naedira, and the source of Roon’s devastation.

Whatever it took, Gerwald would find a way to get the answers he was looking for.
​

 

[Kyyrk]

H O M E C O M I N G
​

Voph was perturbed at his summons to the office of the Lord Commander. Nothing had been said as to its purpose. And after the man's callous handling of the masquerade ball, Voph could only wonder what else lay in wait. Voph strode through the halls of the new citadel softly. Reverently. He knew from public record that, even were he capable of remembering it, this was the first time he'd been within the halls since its completion. Prior to this, he'd led a small master's enclave near Theed. The only presence the Knights Obsidian had.

Roon was a favored stronghold, yes, but under Voph's rule the Knights had held Geonosis as their seat of power. Roon was just one of many secondary locations. The Thorn Academy on Apatros, once the gathering of all Knights inclined to the darker methods of their calling, was now poised to become the chief academy of the Knights as a whole. The Castle of the Solanaceae on Ryloth, the secretive bastion of all things witchery, still stood tall and silent, daring the galaxy to invoke the wrath of those within. And the White-Gold Tower of Vylmira. Voph had returned there once since his own return. Where once their stood a mighty garrison of warriors, there now stood but ash and rubble. Roon may have been the least of the Knights Obsidian, but unlike its brothers, it endured unscathed. Voph wondered for a brief moment if this was why he had chosen there as his return.

Voph paused as he exited the elevator at the appointed floor. The hall before him spoke of great histories. Of great leaders and greater warriors. In a way, the Knights Obsidian held the Confederacy together. They were some of her fiercest warriors, her most stalwart defenders. Voph was overcome with a feeling that he didn't belong here. It was not meant for him to set foot on this hallowed ground. Why would someone like him ever be worthy to darken the door of such prestigious beings?

Voph paused outside the door, taking a moment to collect himself. Then he stepped within, pausing just inside the door until he was invited further in. His white armor was polished to a degree that would make even the queen of winter, Srina Talon , seem warm by comparison. Instead of a helmet, Voph's hair hung about his head in simple curtains. Neatly brushed, not a hair on his head was out of the place it was assigned. Voph's purple eyes glowed with a newfound intensity as he looked around the room. A familiar feeling struck him. One of remembrance. No memories came to him, but he knew this room. The office of the Lord Commander. He'd been here before. But when or why, he could not say. Voph's eyes eventually fell upon the wolf on the balcony. And the armor that he bore. An armor that also seemed familiar to him. "You summoned me, My Lord?"

Gerwald Lechner

​

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

R E C O N C I L I A T I O N​

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Kyyrk

”I did,” Gerwald said as he invited the man out onto the balcony. “I owe you an apology for the other night. Your return… drudged up feelings I thought I had dealt with.”

Gerwald waved his hand and summoned a cart which contained refreshments and assorted drinks, some alcoholic and others not. It had never been like Gerwald to beat around the bush when it came to business, and while this was not a formal meeting, there was still no reason to hide why the Lord Commander had given the summons.

He sighed as his head turned back to look out over the landscape below. The planet was beautiful, a good home for the Confederacy Capital. While there would be those that might argue it did not serve as representation of the founding ideals of the purple nation, Gerwald felt it suited what they had become. Naboo had always been a beacon historically, something the Confederacy had become overtime. The influx of refugees had made the Southern Systems of the galaxy something more than the warmachine it had once been known for.

The wolf wished to preserve it. Voph knew things which would help the lupine do just that.

“She would have told you who you are by now… whether you remember that or not?”

It was a start, the beginning of a conversation which would hopefully prove to be fruitful.
​

 

[Kyyrk]

H O M E C O M I N G
​

Voph stepped forward at Gerwald's gesture. An invitation for a drink, and an invitation to the balcony. Voph paused by the cart, looking at the selection. "I would have expected better." Voph's statement was simple. But it was not clear of his exact meaning. Yet it was clear enough he did not speak of the array of drinks before him. "Perhaps it would behoove you to seek council concerning reasonable expectation." Voph picked up a bottle of whiskey and began to pour himself a glass. This statement perfectly illuminated the prior. Voph was bold to speak so brazenly to the head of his order. And yet there was a feeling in the back of his mind that it was justified.

Voph turned to look at the man as he stepped out onto the balcony, strangely at ease within the imposing office. He took position beside the man, looking out over the city below. He had conspicuously not accepted an apology for the events of the masquerade ball, but then none had been offered either. Voph had his doubts about the man beside him. About his ability to lead. But those, he would keep to himself. The man, however, did not waste time with niceties, instead cutting directly to the matter of his summons. He asked Voph if he knew who he was. Voph didn't answer at first, simply lifting the glass to his lips, and taking a quick gulp of the amber liquid.

"She did. A name was spoken. One that has not been spoken since. The name of who I was. The Loyal Soldier." Voph glanced at Gerwald sidelong for a moment. A soft, dull throb was building behind his eyes. He brought his free hand up to rub his brow and alleviate the pressure. In a sudden flash of memory, Voph spoke. "Chained to ideals that were not his own. Burdened by duty to a nation he does not love. Loyal only to the power it brings him. And to the man who provides that power. The futility of war weighed heavy upon him." Voph paused, his hand returning to his side. He looked up at Gerwald.

"And in the end, escape was all he sought."

Voph spoke in the third person, not sure where these words came unbidden from. And yet he knew there was a modicum of truth to them. Voph was not sure what to think of this revelation, nor what Gerwald would think of this. Or perhaps the Voph before had been more open about such sentiments? Deep in the recesses of his mind, he felt a single word. Empire. But was such true of the Confederacy as well? He did not know. "I wonder how happy he was here. The man that you called Voph."

Gerwald Lechner

​

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

R E C O N C I L I A T I O N​

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Kyyrk

Even now he was as quick with the rebuke as though he had never stopped being the wolf’s mentor. Gerwald smirked. He did not need to have a snarky reply ready as the point had been made. Had Voph truly remembered him, he would not have asked the question. Gerwald rarely ever followed protocol, it was one of the reasons Gerwald was not the Lord Commander. There was something about his nature which had made the former leader choose him as his successor.

Gerwald sighed as he remembered the meeting. The words which he spoke, likely those which came from the Exarch herself, were certainly an accurate summary of the man he had once been. Yet, was it escape that he sought? Gerwald did not think so. No, there had been something else, something larger at play. Voph had not left to escape what had happened, but to try and correct it.

He looked at the man. Before anything else could be spoken between them, Gerwald had to know one thing.

“What am I supposed to call you now?”

It was a simple question, but it was also important. The warrior before him was not Voph, not anymore than Gerwald was simply human. There was more to him. Something colored his aura that had not before the sudden departure. The wolf would learn what it was, but in time. He trusted Srina enough to know that Voph would not have been welcomed back if something was amiss. Whatever was different about him, it was likely for the better.

Gerwald was surprised at the last question. Had Voph been happy.

“I do not think that is a question you want an answer to,” Gerwald paused as he walked over to the cart and poured himself a glass of whiskey. “I never knew him to be, and if he was, he hid it well behind a mask of duty, and the weight of the guilt he carried. Like me, there were promises he made which went unfulfilled, and after the events that led to his resignation, correcting his failure seemed to be the one thing that consumed him. Perhaps it is a blessing you do not remember, and yet… the part of me which does not want to disappoint him, wishes you could remember just enough to help me finish the work he started.”

The lupine took a sip.

There was the crux of it all. What was best for Voph might not be best for the Knights Obsidian, and the Confederacy, as a whole. Life, the Force, did not always work in what was best for all. It would likely be an impossible thing to do. How often could one find conflict between what was best for all and best for the individual.

He sighed. There was still one more question under the surface. Gerwald wanted him to talk about her. The wolf wanted to know, truly, if she could be saved. It was one promise he was not going to break.
​

 

[Kyyrk]

H O M E C O M I N G
​

Voph shrugged at the wolf's query. "The wintered one has demanded I pass as another, lest I invoke the ire of someone who wished me ill." Iskellion. Gerwald already knew this name. There was no need to repeat it. "Though in private company, she does still call me by his name." Voph. The name of the man he had been. Yet not a name he seemed willing to embrace for some reason. Though if he had a tangible reason, he did not share it. Instead, he simply took another sip of his drink.

His frown deepened a hair as Gerwald continued speaking. He confirmed Voph's suspicions that he'd not been a terribly happy person before. He spoke of Voph having left unfulfilled promises, and having been consumed by his failures. Voph's frowned deepened even further at this. "No. Not failure. He would not have been so selfish to right his own wrongs." Voph's head tilted to the side in slight confusion as he stared into his drink. How did he know that? "No, he...I left for a reason. What that is, I do not know. But...There is a feeling...deep down...that everything will be alright. For now."

Voph looked at Gerwald, squinting slightly as he studied him. "I do not know for what purpose I left. But I can only assume my endeavor was successful." Voph was silent for a long moment as he considered his next words. "I will admit that I do not understand the relationship we once had as well as I should, but... I do know that he would not have wished for you to concern yourself with his work. If he were truly in need of your help, he would have asked for it." What Voph spoke of next was said with a dispassion that could only be described as someone speaking of someone they are well studied on, yet had never met. All the more disturbing that it was himself he spoke of.

"Darth Voph, as you well know, was once a member of the Sith Empire. Second only to the Emperor himself, if rumors were to be believed. At the height of his power, he had half the galaxy under his control. He was but a shadow. A rumor on the lips of babes. Only those truly privileged knew him, and even they knew only a fraction of the man he was. The one thing that everyone knew of him without doubt was that he always had some grander plan at play. Were he not so concerned with the wellbeing of others, and rebuilding the galaxy after the most devastating war it had or has ever seen, he might have been a mastermind to rival Sidious."

Voph turned to look out over the city once more. "I do not know why he chose you to lead them. Or what he saw in you. But at that moment in time, you were the best choice before him." Voph looked back down at his drink, and took another sip. "Did it ever occur to you that he never sought your help because you already were helping him?" Voph let the idea hang for a moment. Though Gerwald had not explicitly stated a desire to help Voph, he had mentioned not wanting to disappoint him. Voph drew a deep breath, then said, "But, enough of the man I used to be. You and I both know that's not why you called me here." Voph turned back to Gerwald. He'd remembered his reaction at the party. When Voph had told him that she missed him. "Ask what you will, Wolf."

Gerwald Lechner

​

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

R E C O N C I L I A T I O N​

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Kyyrk

Gerwald smiled at the response. Srina certainly would make such a demand whether it was necessary or not. She protected what was hers, and certainly she saw Voph as one of hers.

“That sounds just like her.”

That was truly all there was to say on that matter. Everything else was... not necessary. They differed on why Voph had done what he did. The motivation for it did not matter, only that it had been done. Gerwald had succeeded him, and Voph had left. Voph had left without the intention of returning. Perhaps that was what had been the most painful. The man had not intended to return, and while Gerwald had not been ready for the position, the miraluka would have been there to lean on. Even in his return that was not possible now.

Eyes turned away from the man and looked off to the distance once more. The threat Gerwald had been concerned of was not over. It did not matter that this new version of Voph tried to assure him the job must have been completed. There was no way to be certain at this point in time. Gerwald knew one thing. Whether it had been Voph’s intention to keep Gerwald out of his work, it was his burden now, especially as the Lord Commander. His duty was to protect the rest of the Knights. It was WHY Voph had chosen him in the first place.

“I am not sure it is a question I should ask, but last time we met you spoke of someone that helped you. How was she?”

Gerwald hoped for honesty. The situation was already tragic. Rather than be allowed to simply die, Prazutis had abound the soul of Naedira Darcrath to a ring. A beast fed off what remained of her, killing the rest of her slowly. Why? Because he could. There seemed to be no other reason for it. The lupine had promised to free her, one way or another. Yet, their last meeting she had made him give another promise. He could not forsake the Knights for her. His life could not be a sacrifice to bring her back, and if there was a life to be lost, then it would need to be the part of her which remained.

This had not even been the reason he asked Voph to meet him. Yet his mind had gone to it. A slight diversion was okay. From there he would ask what he knew of the threat they faced.
​

 

[Kyyrk]

H O M E C O M I N G
​

Voph frowned. He could see the man's face as clearly as the intent behind it. He wanted the truth. "She is...How do I put this delicately..." Naedira had been in some degree of distress when they met. And he could not say that she was entirely whole. "She was well enough. I did what I could to ease her suffering. For all the good such an action may have done her." Voph turned back to look at the city, refusing to look Gerwald in the eye for what he was about to say. He closed his own eyes for a moment. Remembering a moment from what felt like a lifetime ago.

In other words Gerwald wanted to know if he was being selfish. Was he? Should he leave Naedira be? All he knew was that the woman's soul suffered where she was. It seemed her moments among the living seemed to be her only respite from the torture her spirit was forced to endure on the plane she now existed. If for no other reason than to free her from the torment, Gerwald had to try. He had promised to keep her safe, and where he had failed twice before, Gerwald would not for a third.

Gerwald nodded.

"It is what I want."

"I told her of your station. And she was proud of you, that you had risen so far among the ranks. She was, however, sad to hear that her love had left her." Well, more than her. Alkor had abandoned the Confederacy back during the Agents uprising. "But, she remains hopeful that you will find a way to destroy the ring. She is afraid that if you tarry for much longer, she may forget him entirely." Voph paused for a moment. Then sighed. "Tell me I made the right choice, wolf. That you won't burn this order to the ground chasing after a woman that never loved you."

Gerwald Lechner

​

 

[Gerwald Lechner]

R E C O N C I L I A T I O N​

WEARING: xxx
TAG: Kyyrk

What an ass! Gerwald could not think of anything else to say. The shot seemed to be intentional, to see how Gerwald would react. Would he allow the words just spoken to give the man the reaction he was looking for. The lupine simply shook his head. He started to walk away, pushing off the balcony he had been leaning up against. Gerwald could only offer a smirk at the moment.

It was quiet for longer than what was comfortable. Did he want to answer the question?

Gerwald turned on his heels and faced the man.

“You really don’t remember why you chose me do you?”

Gerwald closed his eyes and pressed the memory of that conversation, of that moment into his head. A dark Voph had only gotten darker. The events of the Cataclysm had left him a changed person, and no one had seen it better than Gerwald.

Voph pointed at the floor, then at himself as he said this. The question was purely rhetorical. They both knew that Voph took the blame. Voph was silent for a moment, his gaze dropping. Though he did not see in the traditional sense, his refusal to look Gerwald in the eye was universal. "We're at war, Master Lechner. Always have been, and always shall be. That is the burden of the gift you have been given. You have accepted a duty to those people less fortunate than you. And for that I commend you. We do not, as your kind say, see eye to eye. But I pray to the gods all the same that one day, when faced with a choice like this, you will have the resolve to march forward. To lead those who follow you into a new dawn."

Voph was quiet for a long moment, before turning his head back to stare directly at Gerwald. "You are still young. Your rank hardly earned. And yet in you I see potential. I see a hope and optimism that I have long since forgotten. And ever since the Vicelord named me to lead, you have been the most willing to do what needs to be done. So I pray that you can forgive me for what I am about to do." Voph looked down at his hands for a moment. "The Viceroyalty are to select the Lord Commander from henceforth. The Knight's days of self-governance are rapidly drawing to a close. But before I am forced to retire, be it by death or vote, I will make one thing clear. I am choosing you as my intended successor."

“I am here because you saw something in me that you no longer had. I have spent my days as a Knight Obsidian doing everything that duty demanded of me. There has not been one promise I have not been able to see through, save for one, one which you had pledged to help me in when the day came. Do not presume to think you know what I will or will not do.”

Gerwald took one step closer.

“But understand this one thing, and let me be abundantly clear about this. Our duty is as much to the individual as it is to the whole of the Confederacy, and the moment we lose sight of that, then we are no better than the monsters which threaten the livelihood of many in the galaxy.”

The wolf returned to his place at the balcony and looked out at the forest once more.

“It was not about love. She didn’t tell you, did she? We are bonded, in the force, her and I. What I feel for her goes beyond love. The woman is part of me, and everytime her spirit appears I can feel it. Prazutis did her a grave injustice, and Naalol, I tried to destroy the ring, but it did not want to be broken. I was willing to sacrifice her, keeping my promise to her, for the benefit of the whole. With tears streaming down my face, knowing that I was about to sever myself completely from someone that is as much part of me as my hand is.”

He looked back to Voph.

“Does this answer your question?”
​

 

[Kyyrk]

H O M E C O M I N G
"And perhaps, when I am gone, you can learn from my mistakes, and lead the Knighthood into the utopia you think it deserves."​

The aftershocks of the memory seeped through Voph's mind. A conversation held in the wake of the Cataclysm. When Voph was preparing for War. And he remembered in that singular moment, a single, burning feeling.

He was alone. None of the other Knights knew nor cared what threat they faced. And worse, Voph knew how it ended. Voph could never forgive himself because he had seen it before.

But then Gerwald spoke. Rebuked Voph for insinuating that his drive was about a mere lust for a woman he could not have. About the bond shared in the Force. And about the fear of losing that bond. Did that answer his question? "No. No it does not." Voph's gaze remained locked on the scenery below. "I chose you out of a sense of overcorrection. Of all those in the Confederacy that denounced me or my leadership, your voice harmonized the most. And I told you what you wanted to hear. I still remember that you always were a critic of the Lord Commander. You are truly well fit for the position if you dare to lecture me for doing the same."

Biting words, to be sure. But ones spoken with purpose. While Gerwald may chose to believe that Voph was some reborn being, the words he spoke were the same reservations he'd kept private in the past. "You may think that you were chosen to lead the Knights Obsidian. To take over in my stead while I went skipping across the galaxy to wallow in my failure. But it is so much deeper than that. You were chosen to lead wars. A war against an enemy we know nothing about, and a war against an enemy that would eat us alive as soon as look at us. Or have you forgotten Apatros already? You may have chosen to ignore the rumblings. But we lost more than Knights in the Cataclysm. And you were the one selected to clean up my mess. Did I think you a good choice? No. But you were the only choice. So prove to me that you are worthy of the mantle you have been given."

Gerwald Lechner

​