Approved Tech The Hollowlight

[Srina Talon]

Images by: Srina Talon w/Midjourney & Photoshohp​

• Through the Looking Glass: The necklace's setting is imbued with the power of Dimension Shift. It pairs with the anchor crystal to allow the bearer to travel between the material universe and the expansive Pocket Dimension the Hollowlight stores.
• Screaming in Silence: It is known that the City of Dreams was powered by the psychic energy of Cody Sunn-Childe, so, to power The Hollowlight Srina Talon took a living shard and bled it, as she would have bled a crystal for the creation of a Sith Lightsaber. This complicated and harrowing process created a shard that is constantly screaming. The release of psychic energy from the damage done to it through the lengthy ritual powers the Pocket Dimension the Echani painstakingly created.
• Anchor: The fragmented crystal at the center of the pendant acts as an anchor for a Pocket Dimension that has been equipped as an alchemical workshop and containment area. With the proper command, it opens the portal, the proverbial door, whether exiting or entering.

• Walk-In Toolbox: Allows the bearer to travel to a Pocket Dimension that has been set up as a mobile workshop with all the amenities any Sith Sorcerer might need.
• Security and Secrecy: The Hollowlight can be tracked, but, the dimensional space that it leads to is hidden from physical and Force-Based tracking. This ensures that alchemical projects remain unseen by Jedi or rival Sith. Dangerous experiments or volatile materials are contained, preventing them from causing havoc in the physical realm.
• Portability and Accessibility: This anchor allows instant access, unless, hampered by force-negation items. The workshop can be summoned from any location, making it ideal for on-the-go alchemy. No need to haul cumbersome equipment across the galaxy. It can also double as an escape hatch, a safe retreat in emergencies, providing a secure, controlled space.
• Stasis Chambers: Preserve rare materials, living specimens, or even the bearer in suspended animation until needed.
• Optimal Environment Control: Because the anchor is so fueled by the Darkside the pocket dimension is saturated with negative energies which enhance the potency of alchemical rituals. The other space that it leads to is self-sustaining, with the possibility of risk-free testing, and user-designated zones for specific experiments. An example would be biological, metallurgical, or even spiritual, which minimizes contamination or interference.
• Strategic Advantage: Sithspawn or other creations can be deployed directly from the gateway the Hollowlight opens, which, can surprise enemies with unexpected reinforcements. It can also house weaponry, armor, and alchemical enhancements that can be accessed mid-battle.
• Legacy: Because the workshop is self-sustaining and does not require further sacrifice from the user this anchor can ensure that alchemical work remains accessible for centuries, potentially, even after the original owner has died, as a legacy for apprentices or family.

• Force Beware: In the presence of a force-negating field, such as a void stone or ysalamiri the Hollowlight is rendered nothing more than a pretty necklace. It will take time for the psychic energy to build up again to allow the gateway to form after exposure to such objects.
• Beat Down the Door: While the Hollowlight is durable and difficult to crack - It is not impervious to infiltration. It is possible that an extremely powerful Sith or Jedi could force their way in by a variety of means. It should be viewed as someone trying to "jimmy" a sophisticated lock open with crude/ineffective tools. There is also the potential that the Pocket Dimension this artifact leads to could collapse if the Hollowlight is used improperly which would destroy everything it contains. As if none of it ever existed at all.
• Delicate Touch: While it is an alchemized artifact, the Hollowlight provides no additional protection or defense when it is worn.
• Dark Lit: To those who can use or sense the force, the Hollowlight stands out with a shock of Darkside Energy, that if in proximity, will likely draw their attention. It can make it more difficult for the wearer to hide what they are in plain sight.
• Begone: Like all alchemized artifacts, the Hollowlight is vulnerable to Force Light, and could also be destroyed in this manner.
• Lock and Key: The command to force the Hollowlight to open the way can be spoken or thought. It is a specific lullaby to quel the screaming of the Shard just enough to get it to obey. It is soothed, never completely, but once the lullaby stops it will close the portal. It will not stop if any people or things are in the way and the field could prove quite lethal if someone is halfway in and halfway out. It is helpful as it is dangerous.

It was a crimson offering.

The air was chilled and laden with frost, the kind that stung the lungs and turned breath into fleeting clouds of mist. The pale Echani moved through the shadowed halls of her Jutrand home with unhurried grace, her white hair a veil against the encroaching dark. Sharp golden eyes were focused with purpose as delicate hands hovered over the shard crystal she carried, a splinter of creation trembling in insolence.

"This is no season for defiance…", she murmured, her voice as soft as snowfall, yet far sharper than any blade. The crystal pulsed with a dim, stubborn glow, resisting the tendrils of midnight black that wove longingly from her fingertips. She could hear the shard screaming in the ether and her head merely tilted gently in response… "Even you must bend, little shard. For what purpose is rebellion, when only submission will see you become extraordinary?"

The Jutrand Palace was draped in muted finery befitting the occasion. Scarlet garlands entwined with black ribbons adorned obsidian pillars while candlelight kept a persistent ambiance. A distant hymn of low, sonorous chanting reverberated through the halls, the unseen voices of the Sepulcher unknowingly fueling her design. It was not a joyous melody, but a hymn of power, of might, and eternity...So greedy, they were.

She reached out and brushed the shard lightly with her index finger. It shrieked—not audibly, but through the Force—a sound of pure, crystalline agony. Srina felt it keenly, as one might savor the bitterness of dark wine. Pain was…An unfortunate necessity. It was a fact of life. It infiltrated every waking moment of life. It was only natural, that it was required to break this sentient…Thing.

"You resist still…", Srina spoke, almost tenderly. Gentle, if a Sith could be. "Do not mistake my hand for cruelty. I do not seek to destroy you, but to transform you into a gift worthy of our Lady of Secrets. Now…"

She exhaled and the gold of her eyes burned bright.

"Yield."

With a deft flick of her wrist, a silvered dagger appeared in her hand, its edge glinting with alchemical runes. Srina pressed the tip to the shard's surface, carving into it with patient precision. Dark ichor began to seep from the cut, not liquid but a vaporous essence that coiled like smoke around her hands. She worked with the meticulous care of an artisan, whispering soft incantations in the old tongue. Srina could feel that it wouldn't be long…

Sentient or not—It could only resist for so long.

The shard shuddered as it broke, finally succumbing to the Empress's will. Its light dimmed to nothing, then reignited, now suffused with dark, pulsating power. Her power. Her mercurial expression softened—not with warmth, but with the satisfaction of one who was incredibly used to getting what they wanted, when they wanted it. She was made to be obeyed.
The shard…Could not help but listen. It was the same as…Everyone, everything else.

From the smoke of the shard, the pale witch began to weave a transformation. The fractured crystal reformed into a pendant, delicate yet unbreakable by conventional means, bound in a lattice of blackened songsteel. It seemed to breathe, a deep purple light within flickering like a heartbeat. Around it, she conjured a chain, sealing the crystal, as she infused it with the Force and bound it to its purpose.

"A doorway…", she whispered, her voice barely audible. It was always perplexing that a woman so seemingly quiet commanded such strength. "A way to a sanctuary, weapon, and creation…An eternal guardian to the works of an enlightened mind. And yet, so much more."

The pendant hummed as it suspended itself before her, the energy palpable, both cloying and free. With a final gesture, she ended the alchemical process with a swirl of frost-like mist, the scent of burning cedar and charred holly filling the room.

It was ready.

Srina took the pendant in her hand, its weight almost imperceptible, but she could feel the immense power contained within. "You will serve your new mistress well…", she spoke lightly, her voice tinged with some differing sense. It was far away. Not affectionate, but not angry. It was emptiness touched with purpose. "I will arm her with a sanctum none can breach…You will help me. You will...Forever, help her."

Srina hummed. It was a gentle sound…A lullaby that she had often sung to her children when they were still young enough to appreciate it. It wasn't long. But the moment the Lady of Secrets touched the velvet-lined box…She would hear it too. She would know, what to do.

How to open the door. How to close the door. How to control it.

A gateway opened in a rush of wind while the screaming shard was momentarily soothed enough to hear her commands. The psychic torment it endured to empower the pathway to a dimensional shift was immense. Srina stopped humming, and the portal disappeared.

The agony started again.

"Good. Very, good."

Srina whispered to the shard while she closed the lid. Explained…How it was forged in this season of cold and shadow—a season where even the light itself could not help but submit to the dark. Her head tilted, inquisitive while picking up a red strip of cloth from a table at the end of the hall. The strip of shining fabric seemed to truly confuse her…

Now—

How to tie this bow?

 

[MANIAC]

Srina Talon

Amazing sub! And I still soooo love your graphics!

Approved.