The darkness within (complete)

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Mustafar had its own place in the history of the galaxy. There were many that believed that while Tattooine had provided the birthing of Darth Vader under its twin suns, it was the fire of Mustafar that saw him rise from the ashes.

Darkness was no stranger to Mustafar it drew the Sith who in turn brought the Blackguard. It was the mission of the Trinity Assassins of the Blackguard to protect force relics. They were to increase their knowledge of the force it was in that quest for knowledge that Serena's father had found the reference in the Chronicles of Yavin. The archivist had written that a small two man team had been seen moving about the site of the temple of the Blue Leaf Cluster and the next day when the Jedi investigated they could see no true disturbances except that a large piece of the slimy black stone that adorned that had stood within the temple was gone.

The ruins of the temple were destroyed and all connection to that temple seemed to have been removed from the record. Her father surmised that the Blackguard had taken the piece.

Serena would now be going to verify an educated guess that her father made. If the piece was there on Mustafar she hoped it could help her with her problem having touched a piece of it when she was a child and to validate her father's research.

She had contacted [member="Venris Helion"] to join her. His experience with entities, and relics combined with his fighting abilities she felt he was the perfect companion for this. He would also allow her to do what she needed when it came to figuring out if she was in some way tied to this piece of history having touched it.

She sent a note to Connor

Master S - took your advice. Going to find the black stone of Exar Kun. Serena. FBWY

Spoiler

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

To Venris, the events in the temple where he had met Serena had taken place almost a lifetime ago after all that he had gone through. He had grown so much since then, done so many things, encountered so many people; when the message arrived for him in Tortuga asking for his assistance he had taken a moment to recall the young woman he had walked through a force anomaly with.

Luckily, one thing that had changed since he met Serena was that he now owned a ship of his own. The Renegade Knight, a Nova-One class frigate, was able to reach Mustafar in short order and post itself in orbit.

On the bridge, Venris and his crew were silently at work, watching for any signs of trouble and attempting to discretely contact or locate Serena. While his crew did this with technology, typing commands into consoles to adjust sensor setting and communication frequencies, Venris did this through the Force.

He reclined in his chair, resting his hands on the arm rests as he closed his eyes and began to immerse himself in the Force, feeling the currents of energy that flowed through Mustafar like the blood of a living being. He sought out the one familiar presence, scanning for her both in orbit and on the surface before calling out to her, attempting to alert Serena to his arrival so she could send more specific coordinates for their rendezvous point. In his time in the Rogue Circle he had also grown in his ability to use the Force as a result of training alongside and under other Force Users, all of them former Jedi and Sith or uninitiated wielders.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

She had arrived earlier she was not as lucky as [member="Venris Helion"] to have her own ship, she hoped in time she would earn one. She had come in with one of the ships borrowed from the Jedi it was parked on the landing pad outside of the mining offices.

Serena waited inside looking out at the river of lava as it slowly crept by behind the thick glass she could not feel the heat. She could imagine it well enough as the brilliant white streaked into the cooling reds and oranges. Cooling, she jested for certain. There would never be anything cooling about lava.

She was alerted that a ship coming into the higher atmosphere of Mustafar. "That is likely Venris, provide him coordinates of my location"

Venris how long had it been since she had seen him. Had anything ever become of his quest and the predictions made by the creature from the temple? He was still alive so that would give a partial answer to her question.

What else had he been doing though?

She smiled he was certainly different from others she had met in her journey. Maybe they were meant to meet, maybe there was something about their meeting that would play into the predictions of his future.

She waited for him while she watched the lava flow by.

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

Venris cracked a smile as his communications officer reported a transmission detailing a specific landing site. "Maintain orbit. I'll take the shuttle down."

As he left the cockpit, the helmsman glanced at his fellow crewmen. "Does he ever have any need for us off of the ship? I mean we only ever just drive him somewhere and he takes the shuttle down."

"Yes," The tactical officer nodded. "Down to a planet of witches, a planet ruled by a scary duchess and now a planet of lava. Maybe if you make a passionate argument about it he'll let you come along for the ride if you're into those sorts of planets."

This statement of fact silenced any further complaints the crew might have about their inactivity.

Meanwhile Venris took the shuttle down to the surface and landed at the same complex where Serena was awaiting his arrival. He set the shuttle down onto an empty landing platform and stepped down the ramp. Unlike the first time that they had met he was not carrying a collection of knives and other various blades on his person, but a lightsaber hung from his belt while a bulky Thundergun hung in a holster across his lower back and a smaller blaster pistol in a thigh holster opposite of where his lightsaber hung.

It was not just his training and arsenal that had changed however. Venris had learned more about the prophetic warning issued to him by the spectral Sith Lord encountered in the temple, and the feeling of his days being numbered had made him a little more...open, the knowledge of his end possibly occurring within the next few years or months encouraging him to make the most of his time with what few friends he had. The first time they had met he had practically told Serena nothing of himself besides his limited use of the dark side, yet it felt like she was as great as friend as Vassara or Tyranus after that single venture. She could be trusted, and her presence brought him a sense of comfort whenever he thought about the looming shadow of that was cast over him bever since that day.

Venris walked to the front doors of the mining office and with barely a gesture influenced the mind of the guard, making him think that the hooded rogue carried no weapons with him. He proceeded inside and drew his hood back from his head as he set eyes on Serena. He didn't know it, but he'd had an almost grim expression on his face that melted away as he saw her, being replaced with a warm smile.

"Still looking to collect that kiss I owe you, Serena?" He asked after a moment of silence between them.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

She could feel him coming not like the first time when she had been so distracted that he had surprised her with his presence. She had turned waiting for him to enter the room.

There he was. She looked him over he looked good, nothing broken, but he did have a few additions to his person.

"You do owe me one" She said as she began to move towards him breaking out in a smile that was a cross between embarrassment and you caught me looking. "Are you keeping an accounting so that at some point we can settle up?"

They knew very little about each other, this mission though was personal in nature Serena knew she would be sharing things with him.

She stopped a few steps from him, "you are looking good" at least she had not said you're still alive. This was pretty much what she was thinking.

She was glad though, that he was, alive.

[member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

"Maybe," Venris shrugged in response to her question, "I like to wait until the time is right to settle a debt."

At her next statement Venris brushed one hand back through his hair, which had grown out a bit since their last meeting and was now tied back to keep from getting caught on anything during a fight. "Not as good as you, m'lady, but I'm happy to say I've yet to see any sign of my supposed 'damnation' occurring in the near future so you needn't worry about anything ruining this handsome mug of mine before I settle that debt with you."

He then surprised himself by pulling Serena into a hug. "I'm just glad to know nothing has happened to you either," Venris admitted as he pulled away, "But I believe we will have time to catch up soon enough, I do recall your message involving something about another relic hunt."

The relic he had claimed from the temple, the sith mask, rested in his quarters aboard the Renegade Knight. He had kept it for research purposes, but aside from a few vague names in the history of the Sith Empire he could not find anything specific. At times he'd been almost tempted to wear it, but was aware of how dark side relics tended to carry a form of taint around them that could corrupt minds over time. Thus, it remained locked away where he could not be tempted by it.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

She tried not to laugh, "Well it's good know you will still be a handsome devil when you settle up with me then" His hair had grown, and it looked good on him she wasn't accustomed to men with long hair but it did suit him.

He hugged her, she hugged him back. She liked hugs. "Yes nothing has happened to me" she relaxed for a moment and then he released her. She nodded as she mentioned the reason for her call.

"Yes. My forte it seems is to wonder the galaxy ever in search of the next item." She motioned for him to come and sit with her. "Let me give you some back ground so that you will know why we are here"

She settled in and looked across at him, "Have you ever heard of the Blackguard?" This was important as this was the organization they were looking into here on Mustafar that use to be the main temple for them.

[member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

"The basics," Venris nodded. "Order of dark affiliated force users, based out of Mustafar, supposedly purged a few centuries back and wiped out. If you explore enough temples you'll find a few things about them here or there." He sat down next to her and assumed his 'concentration' pose: elbows on his knees, hands folded and leaning forward a bit. "I also know they collected Sith relics among other things. Is that what we're looking for this time?"

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[member="Venris Helion"]​

​

"Yes the fact that they collected every type of artifact. That they were seen almost as Gray Jedi no allegiances after a time." Serena sat back, "my father studied artifacts he was fairly well known and sometimes people would send him things to look at. He also liked to find the hidden places, he believed every where that there were users of the force there were hidden rooms, hidden artifacts, that they held back secrets to preserve their order"

Serena shifted a bit, "When I was younger I went into his office and well it sounds like I picked up a piece from the Temple of the Blue Leaf Cluster that use to exist on Yavin, and was haunted by Exar Kun. Are you familiar with the temple and Kun?" She did not want him to not have any detail that could prove useful. She knew his mind worked in the most logical ways, but also out of the box seeing things that she did not see.

Another reason she had wanted him to come to Mustafar.

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

"Exar Kun...I don't know any jedi, Sith or other force user alive who hasn't heard of him." Venris nodded. "An ancient Lord of the Sith who spread terror across the galaxy and was betrayed by his apprentice, Ulic Qal-Droma, and also a collector of powerful and dangerous Sith relics from what I heard. As for the Blueleaf Temple, all I know is that it's on Yavin IV and it was constructed by another Sith Lord...and it has or had some blue crystal in its center."

He may have only spent his first decade or so in the jedi temple, but Venris had been an eager learner and taken well to history lessons. Even after leaving he had acquainted himself with any information available on history relating to the Sith and Jedi Orders along with other groups of interest like the Blackguard and the Night Sisters. Some things escapes him, but he committed the basic details to memory rather easily.

"Is the relic that we seek connected to Exar Kun and the temple?" He asked.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

Serena nodded, "Yes, I'm looking for anything connected to the stone, the one that they say looked alive" Serena reached into her pocket and brought out the sample, "This was sent to my father Venris. It's small and could easily have come from the ground on Yavin. I need to know if the stone had properties that would leave a dark mark, or pass dark energies onto me for having touched it"

She looked down he had been concerned about mentioning his skills to her when they met, she was not concerned that mentioning she might be contaminated with darkness would concern him. "My father died a few months back Venris, I can't ask him. I need to know though I'm sure you understand why."

She let what she said sink in, let him mull it over and she could see he was. His face in profile seemed to be deep in thought, strange she had not taken note of his face. His features reminded her of the nobles and royal lines she had seen so many portraits of, the deep blue of his eyes, complimented by his dark hair. Venris was indeed a handsome man.

[member="Venris Helion"]​

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

Venris considered this new revelation, masking any reaction he had to Serena's predicament as he rubbed his jawline with one hand and glanced out the window to their side at the volcanic landscape stretching out into the horizon. Serena was possibly at risk of being corrupted by a Sith based relic, something that had occured often through history thanks to the spirits of the departed Sith Lords clinging to the world of the living greedily, eager to claw their way back into this realm where they could continue to enjoy the pleasures of the flesh and stave off the coming end that they feared and the Jedi embraced. On the one hand this presented a terrible risk to himself and others, but on the other hand there was no definite proof that Serena was in such danger yet or at all, and Venris was not about to turn away a dear friend.

"Yes, I believe I do understand the feeling of having such a possibility hanging over my head." He turned his gaze back towards Serena, using an uncharacteristically soft voice and serious expression that clashed with his usually more vocal speech pattern and relaxed disposition. "And you need say no more, Serena. I trust you, and I will help you to find the answers you seek."

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

"I didn't want you to be surprised Venris. My father speculated that the Blackguard went ot Yavin and brought back a piece of the stone. Since this was their stronghold, I'm starting here, we may find nothing. But in case we do, thanks for coming. You've no idea how much I appreciate it." She sighed loudly she was relieved that part was over with.

"Ok, this" She put a datapad on the table and brought up a map. So, the old temple is a bit of trek from here. If you like it hot we are going to get really warm. But they did confirm that this was the location of their temple. Last person in said some of the lava tubes were wearing the walls thin, so..." She wasn't fire proof and she did not think [member="Venris Helion"] was either.

"Got any last minute advice before we start out?"

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

"Advice beyond the caution of 'don't slip into the lava'?" Venris asked rhetorically, rising to his feet. "We can cross any bridges we come to when we reach them. My ship can dispatch a rescue shuttle to pick us up if need be, one with heat shielding installed to be safe." He offered Serena a hand. "Shall we begin this new adventure, m'lady?"

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

She reached up and took his hand, "Yes and all those things good to know. So..should we do a little small talk while we walk out to the site? I mean the last time we didn't really say much, and..I'd like to know more about you."

He may not want to know more about her but she wouldn't hide her interest in knowing more about him. They walked out of the main offices toward the exit door, Serena took a deep breath perhaps her last of cool air. When she opened the door the heat hit them like a wall. Almost instantly she felt like she was covered in a sheen of sweat. This actually wasn't any worse than some of the things she had done for fun.

Just don't get burned was all she thought. She looked over and realized she still had his hand. She let go gently, "What have you been doing since our last outing?"

[member="Venris Helion"]

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

"I don't see why not," Venris said in response to Serena's proposal, and considered how to answer her first question. "Well...the most obvious change would be this."

He produced his lightsaber hilt from his belt and offered it to Serena to examine. It was not made of conventional components, but pieces that looked to be more hand crafted to fit together to form the hilt. "I found a Pontite Crystal on Ilum, one in a million. Feel how it just gives you that cooling sensation when you so much as touch it? Glare Ice Crystal...and it was quite the ordeal to get it."

"As for other things I've done...I've been kidnapped by pirates once, helped to stop a slaver convoy on Dredd, had an unpleasant encounter with the Jedi Order on Cularin...apparently they felt arresting me was more Imperative than fighting a Sith Invasion that was going on right outside at the time." He shook his head. "Priorities...some people just don't seem to know them."

Venris continued to retell tales of his adventures between their last meeting and now. He'd been all over the Galaxy, encountering renegades and the rare force wielder. But the most important part came last.

"I was hesitant to tell you this part, but I think you should know," Venris added. "...the woman from the mural in the temple...I met her, she's a Dathomiri Witch Iike the ones we saw in the carvings, a banished member of her tribe with great power and foresight."

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[member="Venris Helion"]

Serena carefully took the light saber turning it over and over in her hands, "this is beautiful actually. A pontite crystal? Really, that's amazing. As you say it fits together so well" was cool to the touch "I hope you don't have to use it very often" Serena handed it back.

Serena listened and smiled, "pirates, Jedi chasing you, slavers Venris you've been busy." The path was clear as they walked but the further they moved away from the mining office the more difficult the terrain became.

When he mentioned that he had met the woman from the mural Serena at first felt speechless, "you met her. You have to be pleased with that. She have answers for you?" Actually what she thought was that he had truly encountered his future. But what should she say about it.

"She know anything about the creature?"

Serena smiled.

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

"I have a feeling she knew a great many things, not all of which she was happy to share." Venris answered as he stashed his lightsaber in his belt. "She basically repeated the same thing that ghost in the temple told us before, only this time she implied that there was some way out of it for me...and unlike before I'm inclined to believe her. I don't know her intent nor her end goals, but she took interest in at least a few members of the crew I work with."

"So as of yet my future still appears unknown for the most part, slightly grim, but with a tiny ray of hope." He summarized.

 

[Darth Ren Malgus]

[member="Venris Helion"]​

​

"Perhaps it is a matter of trust Venris, Witches are very isolated they don't usually like visitors. So perhaps if she learns to trust you she would be willing to provide more information if it were available" Serena felt a bit automated as she spoke she shook her head what was wrong with her speaking like some robot providing an answer.

"I am glad that she offers hope I do not like this destiny that the creature gave to you, it seems rehearsed and. and. I don't want to lose my friend to it" Loss she didn't know if she could handle more loss. Still feeling this emptiness in herself from losing her father, if she started losing friends to. Well she was certain it would damage her for always.

The air began to smell of sulphur Serena, "Sooo was this witch a very alluring woman? I've heard stories about them.." She smiled rather weakly at him while she looked over at him. This was small talk after all and they were talking about things, so it should seem perfectly normal for her to ask such a question. Shouldn't it?

"

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Wren"]

"Oh this woman was anything but isolated or alluring." Venris shuddered at the memory of the woman. "If anything she has a far reach and is the furthest thing from alluring." He glanced up at the smog choked sky overhead. "She marked me, Serena. She marked me and several others in my crew as a way of...keeping an eye on us. She sees our struggles as amusements."

Venris realized he should not be worrying Serena with tales of his own troubles, not when she'd already faced such hardship. "But...I also believe she was being truthful about that way out, despite everything else I think of her." He added. "Call it a feeling...or the Force, either way."

He looked down at Serena, noting how different she seemed in some ways. Physically speaking she appeared the same, but there was something off about her, like she was exhausted or weakened, and the way she spoke sounded as rehearsed as the thing she had described. If there was some sort of influence over her by this relic she held then Venris would need to find out soon, the odds of removing such influence were dependant on how quickly they could be confronted. For now it might only be the beginning stages, where her mind was being attacked and weakened by whatever lay within the relic to make it easier to control her, if there was anything at all. It could also just be stress from the loss of her father, the hardship resulting from that loss; what she needed in either case was a friend to help her stay strong.

He smiled and looped an arm around Serena's shoulders. "Ah listen to me prattling on, I'm making this setting look cheery in comparison. Enough about curses and witches and fate, let's focus on the 'now' and go get you that relic you seek, shall we?"