Unreviewed The Red Compass

[Briana Sal-Soren]

SPECIAL FEATURES

• A Sith artifact designed to work in conjunction with holomaps and navigational displays to locate people, places, force vergences, or objects connected to the wielder's strongest obsession, even when the target lies on a hidden or uncharted world absent from existing map data; when sufficient dark-side energy is committed to the compass, such locations appear only as blank, distorted, or undefined regions on the holomap.
• Requires the dark side to function. Emotions such as fear, rage, hatred, obsession, desperation, or possessive attachment must be continuously poured into the corrupted kyber core.
• Cannot be safely activated by Jedi or light-side Force-users because of its corrupting nature.
• Becomes more responsive and potent when fed by dark-side infused sites, Force wounds, or places marked by death and violence.
• Prolonged exposure may intensify obsession, possessiveness, paranoia, emotional instability, and potentially lead to insanity.
• Must be transported in a sealed containment vessel or Force-insulated reliquary to limit its influence.

STRENGTHS

• Guided Navigation:
  • When powered by the dark side and paired with compatible holomaps or navigational displays, the Red Compass can guide its wielder toward people, places, Force vergences, or objects tied to their strongest obsession. This includes targets located on hidden or uncharted worlds absent from existing map data, though such locations appear only as blank, distorted, or undefined regions rather than complete navigational entries.
• Dark Side Amplification:
  • The artifact becomes more potent and accurate when used near dark-side infused sites, Sith relics, corrupted kyber, Force wounds, or places marked by death and violence.
• Dark Side Empowerment:
  • When wielded by a dark-side Force-user, the Red Compass can temporarily sharpen focus, and aggression, making it easier for the wielder to follow the direction it provides.
• Difficult to Fully Suppress:
  • While light-side runes and Force-insulated containment cages can limit the compass's influence, improper sealing may allow its corrupted kyber core unintentionally radiate dark-side energy, up to a two-mile radius, with its effects being strongest within the immediate vicinity of the compass itself.

WEAKNESSES

• Dark Side Required:
  • The Red Compass cannot function without being fed dark-side energy. A wielder must actively draw upon fear, rage, hatred, obsession, desperation, or possessive attachment to awaken it.
• Hostile to Jedi Use:
  • Jedi and light-side Force-users cannot safely activate the compass. Using it requires emotions and power rooted in the dark side.
• Not Exact:
  • Even when paired with a holomap, the compass does not always provide perfect coordinates, guaranteed routes, or exact destinations. Depending on how attuned and fueled the kyber is, the compass may only create a general heading, probable route, or narrowed search zone.
• Fixation Based:
  • The compass responds to the wielder's strongest fixation, not necessarily their stated goal. If the wielder's emotions are conflicted, the compass may not point them in the direction they want to go.
• Corruptive Influence:
  • Prolonged contact can intensify obsession, paranoia, possessiveness, emotional and mental instability, and dependence on the artifact's guidance.
• Destructible:
  • The Red Compass can be destroyed by shattering its corrupted kyber core or breaking its alchemized frame, though doing so may be a gamble. The full breadth of what happens if it is destroyed is currently unknown, but is believed to be capable of releasing a dark side shockwave of significant magnitude, capable of killing all who find themselves within its proximity when it goes off.

DESCRIPTION

The Red Compass is an ancient Sith artifact that was recovered from a dark side temple by members of the Jakku Enclave. Following its discovery and recognizing the danger posed, the Jedi secured it within their underground vaults. For decades, it remained locked away under strict orders, as the Jedi could not determine how to safely destroy the object without consequence.

Its exact origin remains uncertain, but surviving records attribute its creation to a Sith alchemist who believed the compass would lead them to whatever they needed to claim power over their rivals and ascend through the ranks of the Sith Empire. According to fragmentary accounts, the alchemist eventually succumbed to the artifact's influence, growing increasingly unstable as they poured more of their rage and fixation into the corrupted kyber core. They are believed to have gone mad and died after failing to understand the full nature and strength of what they'd created.

Physically, the compass resembles a small navigational instrument fashioned from black obsidian, yellowed bone, alchemized metal, and a blood-red shard of corrupted kyber suspended at its center. Sith runes are carved into the inner frame and along the rim of the casing, while its needle shifts according to forces no ordinary instrument can measure.

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