After the dream followed pain. A pounding ache that spread from frontal lobe to upper spine. Pain so all-encompassing it felt as though a giant worm had seized his body and was now squeezing the very life out of him. Out of habit, he reached to his side, grasping a small tube in his palm and quickly bringing it to his neck. He felt the now quite familiar needle puncture his skin, but the hiss that had always followed the pain didn't come. The vial was empty, he had already used it earlier this night. His body was starting to build up a resistance to the chemicals that numbed the pain, numbed everything. It had been weeks by now, the constant pain was taking a toll, the numbing chemicals were his only relief. He had tried meditation, visited a Force "Healer", or at least the closest equivalent the Sith possessed. Nothing had worked, only the chemicals. Now they too threatened to abandon him to the agony of existence.
Slowly he rose from the cold mattress that served as his bed, moving to the small refresher inside his small residence on Telos IV's space station. It was nothing special, merely a small room with a bed, table, and a few bookshelves, refresher, and kitchen. It was functional and easy to maintain, it was more efficient that way, given the amount of time the Sith spent out in the galaxy, questing. He opened up a small compartment from the cabinet above the sink and retrieved another vial of the numbing liquid, using it immediately. The habitual feeling of the needle followed by the familiar hissing of the liquid as it was forced into his bloodstream. He remained there for a moment, looking into the mirror before him, observing his own eyes, watching as the muscles around them relaxed. It had been a while since he last saw his own face. Two, maybe three years he guessed, yet, this time there was no hatred he felt towards it. Only numbness.
A few hours later he was on his way to his personal starfighter, having finally finished up his research for the day. It was preparation for his next project, an excursion to the ancient Sith world of Ziost. The planet was fascinating to the Sith; everything about it had been stripped away by a lone madman. The echoes of the doom those people had felt were still palpable today, according to various legends. Though that was not the only thing he had done research on. Within his search history were also holonet sites that detailed various theories about black holes, from both reputable and the more ... superstitious sources. He couldn't explain entirely where his interest for these phenomena of nature originated from, but he indulged it nonetheless, if only for the sake of learning something unknown.
When he finally arrived at the fighter there was little time wasted before he already left the station. The lack of sleep this night came back to haunt him at this point, too. His movements were slow and sluggish inside the cockpit, his eyes half closed. The hyperspace jump from here to Ziost would be a good way to catch some rest he thought. Already leaning back in his seat he lazily tapped the controls to set the jump, then tapped the console a final time to engage the jump and moments later he found himself in the all-too-familiar white-blue corridor, already fast asleep.
It was cold when he awoke. It wasn't a sudden awakening, not like earlier this day, or last night, he'd honestly lost track. ´This time there was no pain to wake him suddenly, no aching muscles or feeling of unrest. His mind was clear, head devoid of pain. It was an unusual feeling, but not an unwelcome one. He had expected to see the tunnel of hyperspace before him when he woke up, but to his surprise, he found the empty void of space. He checked the navigational computer to- He was not in the Ziost system. Harok System, Unknown Regions. He ran a check of the navcom and refreshed its positional scans again. Harok System, Unknown Regions. How could this- His thought was interrupted by a sight that made itself apparent before him. Half the view out the transparisteel window in front of him had filled up with the view of a planet that slowly drifted to occupy more and more of the window. It called to him.
Images began playing in Atlas' head, memories connected that had previously only been accessible to him in short bursts. The entire extent of the dreams that plagued his nights made itself known. The weird compulsions he had felt began making sense, the memories that felt so vivid but of which he knew they were not his. This vision, this dream, it had been the root of all of it.
And it beckoned him to the planet below.
He landed the starfighter, his actions had been instinctive, as if on autopilot. The planet seemed overgrown with ... something. Something that may have once been alive. It gave way slightly when he stepped on it, a weird sensation that persisted on his way to his destination. Destination? When had a place on this planet become the target of his excursion? The Sith shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts through meditation with marginal success. He still felt as though something was there, guiding his thoughts in some way, but not nearly as strongly as before. The journey through the planet's curious and unfamiliar environment continued for a while, its path leading finally leading him to a temple, consumed by a long-dead creature.
He entered it, only to meet an unexpected sight. There were three others inside as well. He has kept most of himself concealed underneath the white robes he wore, only exposing the mask he wore on his face, and he kept up this appearance once inside. A human, a zabrak, and a mask. He studied the three for a moment before he made his presence known fully, though he doubted his approach had gone undetected in its entirety, he'd made no effort to conceal his presence within the Force. He approached the three, confidently and with little hesitation, entire body concealed by the white robes that trailed on the ground, hood casting a shadow on his own mask. The others were silent. A battle was waged between curiosity and caution. Curiosity won.
"You were steered to this dead resting place of the ancients by visions, I presume. Yes, kind strangers?" His voice broke the silence.
[member="Vaylin"], [member="Lark"], [member="Emile Kaiden"], [member="The Slave"], [member="Leo Vandermolen"], [member="Jorryn Fordyce"], [member="Izalith Vora"], [member="Morro"], [member="Darth Carnifex"], [member="Darth Lykos"].
