What are you made of? [Path to Transcendence 2]

[Darth Abyss]

Prakith, Unidentified Ruins


Nightfall was already over, as Abyss starfighter touched the surface of the volcanic mountains of Prakith. It was an old sith world, and had been home of Darth Andeddu for most of the ancient lords live and unlive. There was a reason why he was named The immortal God-King in the history books: The sith had discovered many secrets, but most famously those that allowed him to live far beyond his natural live, both with the use of a version of dark healing, and the more common art of essence transfer.

That by itself wasn't to interesting, at least not considering that others had reached and created the same or at least similar powers in the course of history. The thing that made him stand out was not his knowledge about how to transfer his essence, but his understanding how and why this ability even existed. Many could simply recreate it, but Andeddu had understood it from the start to the end, including the precautions that allowed a spirit to linger far longer than it should. Normally the force always pulled for the spirits of those attuned to the force, both the followers of light and dark. It was the way to stop this from happening, and especially a way to transfer this knowledge into an set of armor was what he was on the hunt for today.

He had decided that this journey wasn't something he would do alone. The relics of the ancient times were dangerous, and besides that Abyss needed someone who more skilled in alchemy, in the forging of metal and a overall deeper understanding of the more physical side of the force. So he called for his Acolyte Brother [member="Darth Lykos"], a powerful assassins, but also a skilled alchemist that had created many powerful objects over time.

His eyes rested on the ruins in front of him, and he could feel the dark side pumping below the stone he stood on as he waited for the other lord of the sith to arrive.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Head bowed, Darth Lykos sat in seiza, ignoring the rumbling of the engines of his starship beneath his knees, the vibrations running through the ship not serving to shatter his focus as his mind delved into the ebbs and flows of the Force, his focus tuned inwards as the autopilot slowly lowered the stealthed interceptor down through the atmosphere of Prakith. As a Zabrak that had fully embraced his more animalistic, primitive and feral instincts time in which he could sink into his own mind, reinforcing the metaphorical chains that restrained said instincts, were precious to him as it served to insure that no matter how close to that feral side of him he was, he was more than capable of keeping his stoic calm when necessary while being able to release said yearning instincts at will.

The ship landing knocked the Sith Lord out of his communion with the Darkness, leaving his one eye to slowly blink open and awareness of his surrounding to flood forwards, no longer restricted to simple subconscious perception. Sight, limited as it was, revealed his barren quarters, sound and scent allowing him to map out parts of his surrounding that he could not see, the Force filling in the gaps in a manner reminiscent of the proficiency many species held in the matter of sonar and using it to navigate.

Pushing himself to his feet, robes quietly whispering as fabric rushed over fabric until it settled around him, obscuring the outline of his form, Lykos methodically began to fasten his weapons to his person, the final one being the durasteel sabre sheathed within a finely carved wooden scabbard which was fastened to his belt. Seeing no need to take one last look at his surrounding before leaving now that he was prepared, sentiment not even registering on his emotional spectrum, the Assassin simply strode forwards on silent feet, carrying himself quickly to the exit of his, unnamed, ship.

With the stealth systems active, the only sign of his arrival that Abyss would have noticed was the slight hum of engines and the up-kick of a slight breeze before, shortly thereafter, the cloaked form of Lykos would seem to appear out of nowhere, single amber eye glaring out from within the shadows cast by his cowl; shadows which hide all other features of his face, baring his jaw. No long greetings were given as Lykos slowly strode forwards to the stationary figure of Abyss, no sentiment infuse gestures nor over the top actions. Instead, Abyss would be greeted by a single nod and a single rumbled, gravelly word. "Abyss."


[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Lykos."

Abyss returned the nod, not even mildly surprised as the man stepped out the shadows. The zabrak had done this more then once in Abyss presence, and slowly he had become accustomed to it. They were both shadows in nature, but [member="Darth Lykos"] always had been better at following in the invisible footsteps of their master, while he himself had more of a talent for pulling strings from behind, or in hiding in plain sight. The white assassin was also the more capable warrior of the two, a trait that would certainly prove useful in what was to come. Without taking his eyes of the ruin in front of him, he spoke, giving a short expiation to his fellow sith.

"I am sure you have heard of Darth Andeddu, the god-king?"

He made a few steps forward, lifting his left to point at the structure in front of him. From the outside it could've been any old sith fortress, but other than many places of ancient times this one seemed to still radiate a strong aura of darkness, are clear sign that there was danger awaiting them inside.

"I desire to claim his knowledge over the art of essence transfer, and I believe that it is hidden inside this ancient place. I can almost feel it calling for me."

Again he stepped a bit forward, taking anything in that he could see from here. It wasn't much, not even a sign what kind of danger was waiting inside, but they would find that out soon enough. Yet there was something else, an offer as no sith would ever do something for another without something in return.

"You being called here has two reasons. First I need a capable warrior to face what waits inside, and secondly I need someone with deeper insight into the art of alchemy. Whatever we find in there will be yours as much as it will be mine. Does that sound like an acceptable offer?"

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

"That name means little to me, I'm afraid. The history of the Sith is not my field of expertise nor understanding. That said, I do believe I know enough to infer as to what tales, exactly, you are referring to when it comes to the manner of his usage of Essense Transference." As Lykos spoke and Abyss chose to step forwards, closer towards the ruins before the pair, the Zabrak chose to say his own feet, remaining where he was, now behind Abyss. "The lure of knowledge that does not intrigue me serves as little initiative for me. That said, an attempt and desire to at least acknowledge broader reaches of knowledge is but simply logic if one wishes to progress forwards. For this matter, Abyss," he would stride forwards, bringing himself level with his fellow Assassin, "You have an ally."

Lykos' gaze shifted from the cloaked form at his side to rest upon the crumbling stonework in front of his in an almost lazy fashion, sharp attention to any detail hiding behind misleading actions; such was his fashion. From where the pair stood, little could be discerned as to both the state of the depths of the ruins and what manner of threat the long dead Sith Lord must have seen fit to leave behind so as to deter foolish Sith and others that fell sway to the Darkness and arrogance from laying their claim upon his secrets. And while an aura of almost tangible Darkness did hang heavily within the air, that, itself, did nothing to reveal the exact threats the two Sith would have to face, even if it did reveal what any lick of sense would; that traps and means of waylaying them were present.

"Is there any knowledge as to what exactly lays within these walls, Black?" The choice to refer to Abyss by the title that spoke of his position within the Sith Assassins was a choice deliberately made to ensure that an air of seriousness was portrayed. "Or is such information lost, kept within the possession of the ghosts of fools who fell here whilst seeking what we seek?"

A pause would hang heavily for a moment before Lykos would continue to speak, not choosing to wait for a response at that time. "And, shall we move? Or shall we remain with our feet frozen here, simply exchanging words?" The manner in which both questions were posed left Lykos' intent of wishing to have both questions answered simultaneously left clear to pick up upon as he allowed silence to fall fully between them - at least, until Abyss chose to break it, while his gaze remained fixed upon the ruins before him.


[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

To answer [member="Darth Lykos"] last question, the mindeater began to move towards the ruins, in a moderat tempo. It never failed to surprise him how painful less most of his fellow sith knew about the history of the order they devoted their live to. Yet he wasn't one to criticise those others for that, simply because they had other things to offer in return. In Lykos case that was battle prowess and alchemical knowledge, both traits he could utilize.

"All that is known about this place is lost, even to those like me."

He had a few ideas what could be inside, but beyond that it was another mystery to uncover. His guess was sith spawn, as Andeddu was know for his sheer power, and not for being overly treacherous, at least not for a sith. There was a far higher chance that they would've to cut their way through, instead of working around the traps and riddles that some sith liked to use to guard their lairs.

"I would stay ready for everything, but there is a high chance that we will have to fight against creatures of the dark side. Simply, deadly physical force, fitting for a man of Andeddus power."

They were slowly closing in to the entrance of the ruins, a gigantic iron door, that rested closed before them, to man runes and words of the old sith language carved into it as that it would be able to read them all. Yet most of them screamed danger already, and he could read the word death more than once.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

Humming softly in consideration at his fellow's words, Lykos kept his silence while slowly following behind the Mindeater. So he was correct in his initial assumptions, that the defenses that had served to protect the shades of the past had been strong enough to weather the unrelenting erosion cast upon them by the sands of time and were pwerful enough to ensure that any who entered did so but never left, their none-sentient intentions to jealously guard what they were to protecting continuing to be fulfilled. If what Abyss said was correct, though, mayhaps he was incorrect in assuming that the defenses that they would be coming up against in due time were not none-sentient but indeed were sentient, beasts created, molded and mutation through the practice of Sith Alchemy, transformed through the power of the Dark.

As the pair approached, Lykos' biological hand, his right hand, drifted to his left hip, landing on the hilt of his sabre, pulling the durasteel blade from within the finely crafted wooden sheath. Letting the sword hang at his side in a ready position, he slowly began to channel the Force through the blade; which would serve to enhance both its durability and it's cutting power. As he did so, viscous looking shadows seemed to form along the flat of the blade, like frost slowly spreading, clinging to the polished metal before, as they accumulated into being too much, they began to break free, drifting off to fall to the floor, vanishing into nothingness after passing around a centimeter away from the metal that they had formed upon.

Staring at the large, iron door, Lykos' single eye flickered as he read as much as he could. While he had no knowledge of the old Sith language, baring a few sparse words here and there, Runes were something he did know and, as such, he subconsciously began to rapidly translated them. Many of the small clusters he could spy, a lot of the artistically concealed within the carvings of large Runes, Runes that actually held no power but solely functioned to attempt to obscure the clusters. The only reason that Lykos was even able to notice them was because of the simple fact that he had presently begun to experiment with the same technique.

"Pain, destruction and death. That is what the majority of these Runes, those empowered at least, and the Runic Clusters deal in. Hm... They seem to not be focused outward, though some are. Most of the triggers seem to be something emerging from the inside, or something along a similar line. Just so long as we do not touch the door itself while entering, we will be fine. Further, nothing seems to be restricting the usage of the Force upon the doors. I do believe that this was a way to single out those with and without training in the Force. So, shall we?"


[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Wait."

[member="Darth Lykos"] knowledge already came in handy, as the zabrak was able to read the runes on the door as quickly as he himself was able to translate the old sith language. Yet he would rather be as certain as possible, as there still could be runes on the inside, while those on the outside only served as distraction. It was unlikely, but he would rather not take the risk. His left wandered to the amulet hanging around his neck, and almost silently he began an incantation to activate the artifact.

"Lyteti nuyak kanasaza, mazo irus darytis jen'. Kots avitsu tave itsu iv sis visuom, fasona akmuo ir macij nuyak xarnait"

While he spoke the words, words he wrote himself in the ancient tongue, the small runes of the amulet began to glow slightly, and whatever magic could've been infused into the door was cut of by the energy flowing out of the talisman. With a nod he symbolized the other sith to open the door, doing his best to keep his focus on the artifact im his left.

In the back of his mind Abyss could hear steps, so close to silent that his mind simply put it away as imagination. Yet while he wasn't aware of it, beasts of the dark side had already laid eyes on them, awoken right in the second that the two sith had entered the lair of their deceased creator. For an eternity they had been asleep, but now they had returned to guard what they had been made to.

OOC

Spoiler

Retagging everyone, because each thread of this arc seems to be at risk of dying.

 

[Xevek Nekonis]

The sudden order from Abyss had done nothing to raise Lykos' hackles. Indeed, the respect that the Zabrak held for his fellow Assassin meant that as the single word cut through the air, Lykos took a couple of steps back, letting his only just forming manipulation over the Force fade. There were not many people that Lykos recognised as being equal to him, let along above him, but Abyss held the distinction of being considered both. Naturally equal to him while holding a superiority, to Lykos, through the fact that Abyss' knowledge of sorcery and the magics of the Force outstripped his own, his skill laying within the rather obscure branch of Runes, and, as such, this acknowledgement meant that when it came to dealing with those matter, Lykos would follow Abyss' order.

Letting the arcane words dance within the air and enact their manipulations upon reality, Lykos simply waited for the glow of the amulet to fade and the whispers that it had brought forth within the Force to fade. As soon as it did, Lykos did not need to wait to see Abyss' nod before he would reach out through the Force to slowly push the doors open, revealing to him the interior of the tomb the pair wished to plunder of it secrets.

Stepping forwards towards the stone hallway, keeping pace with Abyss, Lykos' hand, the one grasping his sabre, came upwards so the the durasteel sword, still being enhanced, rested in a guard position. Before him, the sounds of footfall rang within his ears, just as the scent of something burnt at his nose atop the scent of dust and mold. Whatever that something was, it was waiting for them and Lykos was not willing to underestimate it considering that he and his fellow Assassin where trespassing into the tomb of a Lord of the Sith.

As the pair continued to move further inwards, Lykos would speak slowly and lowly, almost under his breath at a volume level just shy of a whisper but loud enough that it would carry to Abyss. "Something is waiting for us. Keep your guard up."


[member="Darth Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

With a slight nod to his fellow sith, Abyss reached for the hilt of his blade, while traversing inside the ruins which had been long abandoned by any sentient live. His senses weren't nearly as precise as those of a Zabrak, but even he could hear the faint sound of claws touching the ground. But that was not all he sensed. Once the two sith lords entered the ruins, it was like something was awakened, the darkness of the place suddenly a lot more vibrant and alive than before, sharing only very few similarities with the whispers of former power he was able to feel before.

His yellow eyes kept a close eye on the area, as they moved deeper inside, walking by crossing and pathways that would lead them somewhere else, following a far away presence he could feel right on the edge of his mind. There were many secretes hidden here, more than two sith could unravel in one day. With every step the sounds became clearer, something was closing in on the, something that new the corridors, paths and branches better than the two newcomers. They would walk right into an ambush, but the way the presence guided him, there seemed to be no way around it. Maybe that was the test that Andeddu had left behind, the strength to walk into a possible death without fear, in defiance of the danger that was awaiting.

The red blade jumped to live the second the first Tuk'ata jumped out of the shadows, claws and fangs ready to shred the sith lord into pieces. While his saber left a deep cut on the throat of the beast, another one was already approaching, and at least 6 more following behind. They were predators forged by the dark side, and they had lived within this tomb for ages. It wouldn't be an easy fight.

[member="Darth Lykos"]