Where Bane once trod

[Perth Levov]

Perth knew the history lesson off by heart. Carved into the rock face of the lower valley, the tomb of Sith Lord Marka Ragnos was actually built by the Sith Lord Tulak Hord long before Ragnos’ reign. Upon Ragnos’ death, a funeral procession climbed the massive stair case which led deep into the heart of the tomb. Following the burial, rival Lords Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh duelled upon the tomb’s outer courtyard as both Sith vied for Ragnos’ title. The tomb was sealed and Ragnos’ slaves buried with him, and with Sadow victorious the Sith Empire was led to war with the Galactic Republic.

With the Empire ending up on the losing side, the Republic ordered the destruction of Korriban and saw to the bombing of the Valley of the Dark Lords. Because of this, the tomb lay buried under sand and rubble for millennia as the spirits of the Sith seethed under the surface of the ruined world.

The tomb itself was a massive, sprawling affair, with many deep chambers and traps. Within the ceremonial entrance was the grand burial chamber. A long corridor lined with statues of nodding kings seated on their thrones loomed over passers-by, leading into an opulent chamber which ended in a larger than life statue of Marka Ragnos, seated on a massive throne.

A secondary entrance was located on the ground level of the Valley and was known as the burial grounds, as it housed the tombs of Ragnos’ slaves and servants. Deep within, Ragnos had crafted a massive pyramid to hold his holocron for all eternity – at least that was his plan. Placed at the apex of the pyramid, the holocron could only be freed with the dark side of the Force exerted through a true Sith.

Perth had a fondness for Marka Ragnos. He was powerful, both physically and in the use of the Force, and was considered to be among the most powerful Sith and Force-users in Sith and Jedi history, leading the Sith Empire to a Golden Age of their existence, conducting brutal and ruthless campaigns against his Sith enemies.

He had such knowledge about the Force, that even during his funeral, he was able to show himself to Naga Sadow and Ludo Kressh as a spirit, orchestrating their duel, thus deciding the future fate of the Sith Empire. But most importantly, he was proficient in the use of Sith magic.

And Perth travelled not in hope but due to some inexplicable draw. She knew of all of the tombs of the dark Masters buried on Korriban, and the secrets hidden inside them – once ripe for stealing and now long gone.

The Jedi pillaged the tombs when Korriban fell to them many thousands of years ago. Nothing of value remained – even before every Sith and would-be treasure hunter descended on them. But it didn’t stop them coming, hoping to find something thousands of others might have missed.

If nothing else, the spirits of powerful Sith Masters lingered in those tombs. And perhaps Ragnos would show if she were worthy enough? She’d been told it was a folly. That there were no longer ghosts or spirits still haunting the tombs. But the fact remained her notebook named the place.

It wasn’t a fallible source. She’d copied the contents from an old notebook in Bane’s former mansion. It was not, in and of itself, particularly useful. There were no spells or explanations of Force abilities. Instead it was full of clues. Some were obvious – like coordinated or place-names. Others were riddles, and many were unsolved. A few had already taken her to places that were abandoned or ruined.

But she invariably followed up on a lead once she found it – and this was to be no exception.

As Perth strode across the hot sand she noticed the sun sinking below the horizon. The blazing heat hadn't slowed her; neither would temperatures that were about to drop to near freezing with the setting of the sun. Physical discomfort – be it cold, heat, thirst, hunger, fatigue – had no effect on her, sustained as she was by the power of the Force.

For Korriban was alive with the dark side. If you spent any time here, you became oblivious to the subconscious hum it presented. And now under a kilometre from the valley’s entrance; she could see the shaded outlines of the tombs carved from the stone walls.

The last few rays of light still cast long shadows as she finally reached her destination. The Valley of the Dark Lords lay sprawled out ahead of her, now attempting to hide amongst the cover of the twilight’s gloom.

[member="Joon"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Like a predator, Joons hands sprawled out around the side of a pillar and she leaned forward slightly, hugging it, to watch the figure approaching the Valley. Her face moved forward, her amber eyes focused on the woman like she was watching and preparing to swoop in and take her head.

The Valley on Korriban was another place her former Master had mentioned in training, and a place Joon had wanted to go, but never had. Now, there was no better time or reason to continue exploring a place where the Dark Side was rife. Not so much an Imperial world, but a Sith one, and at the end of the day, the Sith and Imperial war-machines were unified in their goals.

As the girl continued walked, Joon slinked back to the pillar, spinning around and snaking out the other side to keep watching. With each step forward the girl made, Joon copied and moved to the next pillar, this one broken in half.

She had been here for a couple of hours now standing before each tomb she could find and each plinth dedicated to a fallen Sith Lord who had shaped the galaxy one way or another. It was only that she was in the right place at the right time she had spotted the girl’s arrival and fled.

The Dark Side masked the entire Valley, and it hung in the air and filled your lungs with each breath in. To Joon, the girl wasn’t clear in alignment – Jedi Knight or Sith Lord – it wasn’t obvious to her. She was either an ally in the greater scheme of things or an enemy, and one she could feed from and really make something of sacrificing a Jedi before the tombs of her enemies.

Joon watched a little more, before moving across to the final pillar, and after that she would have to move into the open to traverse through the valley and follow her prey, wherever she was going to do whatever she was going to do.

[member="Perth Levov"]

 

[Perth Levov]

Perth walked directly to the temple she wanted. Like all the tombs here, it had been dug out from the high stone cliffs that boxed in the valley on either side. The grand archway at the entrance had been built out from the cliff face, but the chambers that housed the remains of the Dark Lord interred within wound their way deep into the rock.

She contemplated which entrance she would choose. It was a massive, sprawling tomb with many deep chambers and traps. Its main entrance was located at the top of a steep staircase which terminated at a small platform. The rock around the tomb’s ceremonial entrance was carved in the likeness of the deceased Sith from the waist up; his open palms rested on either side of the platform and large fires were once lit on either hand. Within the ceremonial entrance was the grand burial chamber. A long corridor once lined with statues of nodding kings seated on their thrones which would have loomed over passers-by, leading into an opulent chamber which ended in a larger than life statue of Marka Ragnos, seated on a massive throne. It was the path most often travelled she presumed.

The secondary entrance was located on the ground level of the Valley and was known as the burial grounds, as it housed the tombs of Ragnos’ slaves and servants. During the time of the Cold War, the area had been infested by tuk’ata. Nearby was the entrance to the reliquary which was frequented by many Sith acolytes.. Deep within, Ragnos had crafted a massive pyramid that once held his holocron for all eternity. This was the entrance she chose.

As she got closer, she could make faded designs carved into the archway. Something was once written across the top to provide a warning or words of wisdom no doubt. Now they were so eroded, they looked like little more than scratches. She figured that the craftsmanship would have been awe inspiring at one time, but eons of desert winds had worn away most of the detail.

She paused on the threshold, taking in the air of forbidden mystery that surrounded the entrance to the tomb. She still sensed no change in the Force, however. Such was the auara generated by the valley, it was difficult to use Force Sense or Sight to identify any individual – unless they were very powerful. Stepping up to the entrance, she stepped over the great stone slab of a door that had long been destroyed as a barrier.

And then she marched boldly through the shattered portal. She made her way down the long entrance tunnel, moving slowly through the gloom. Half a dozen metres in, the darkness became absolute and so she pulled out a glow rod.

An eerie blue light filled the tunnel, sending a small swarm of deadly pelko bugs scurrying for refuge beyond the dim circle of illumination. They had been stalking her, closing in from all sides. She could now sense them there, lurking in the shadows all around her, but she wasn't afraid.

For pelko bugs, like many of the creatures indigenous to Korriban, were attuned to the Force. They would have sensed her arrival even before she entered the tomb; her relative power would inevitably draw them in. Yet it also kept them and their paralysing spines at a safe distance. Instinctively, the bugs could sense her power; and so they were wary of her. They wouldn't come close enough to actually attack her, making them nothing more than a nuisance.

[member="Joon"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

So the girl was an explorer, a trait close to Joon’s heart.

Exploring the past to understand the future.

She snaked around the final pillar and slid across the sandy desert floor below to watch the girl and what she did. Tomb raiding was not uncommon, but as this place was bathed in darkness, Joon was under the impression this girl was Jedi or Sith. Hopefully the latter, very much hopefully the former so she could break her bones one by one.

The girl vanished inside.

Joon didn’t wait, keeping low and moving fast as her training had taught her, eyes never moving from the entrance to the selected tomb which was magnificent in design and structure.

A glow emitted from inside, which could be a lightsaber or a practical light solution. Joon edged to the entrance and hugged the wall, leaning over to glance down into the dark passageway, seeing the light hearing…something.

Beasts or creatures of some kind.

Joon unclipped her lightsaber and held it out behind her and sparked the crimson blade to life with that sharp snap-hiss and a bloody glow bouncing off the rock around her. She started into the tomb to stalk her prey.

”Little girl…little girl…walking in the darkness…beware of monsters…" she cooed to herself, looking around at the light from behind as she followed the aura of this girl.

[member="Perth Levov"]

 

[Perth Levov]

Perth continued down the tunnel, winding her way past various chambers where once were stored material wealth and no doubt many Sith artefacts. The former would never be of interest to the Disciple and the latter were only of value if they contained knowledge. Too often she’d been asked to be part of a mission to recover armour or similar. To her, regardless of the previous owner, they were worthless as items.

So she walked on, not even checking if they had anything in them (not that she expected they would). The rooms held no interest for her; she was no grave robber. Instead she continued deeper and deeper until she reached a large chamber.

The pelko bugs matched her progress, endlessly circling just beyond the blue illumination cast by her glow rod. She could hear the high-pitched clicking – skreek, skreek, skreek – of the frustrated swarm: powerless to assail their prey, yet irresistibly caught up in the wake of her passing.

The chamber was dominated by an enormous stone statue, resting atop a pedestal. Despite the overwhelming aura of darkness here, this statue filled her with a sense of both fear and awe.

Still using the Force to scan for traps, she cautiously approached the statue, the blue light washing over it to reveal more and more details. The stone was carved with symbols similar to those on the crypt's entrance, but these hadn't suffered untold centuries of erosion. They stood out starkly, brutal and sharp. She couldn't read the unfamiliar language but she understood this was a significant relic – albeit worthless unless it could reveal some dark secret to her.

She reached the platform; it stood a little higher than her knee. She put one foot on it, then reached out to grip a protruding edge of one of the carved symbols on the side of the statue itself. She felt cold stone beneath her palm.

Using her hold to maintain her balance, she hauled herself up so that he was standing with both feet on the platform. Slowly, she turned in a great circle, as if she expected to find something…anything. There was nothing.

She wasn’t sure what she had expected to find, but it wasn’t this. The spirits of the ancient Dark Lords were beings of pure dark side energy; they were as eternal as the Force itself. The spirits could linger for centuries – millennia even – until a worthy successor came along. Or so the texts in the ancient archives said.

Did this mean they were wrong? Or that she was unworthy?

[member="Joon"]