Private Witch Way?

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
​

The Galaxy was at war. The Sith Empire had fallen upon itself. If rumors were to be believed, the last bastions of the old ways were dying. It was due for another rebirth. It was only a matter of time. Cycles begat cycles. An emperor rose, an emperor fell. And with him, his empire. it was always the same. The end may be in sight for this Sith Empire, but the Sith as an ideal would endure far beyond the halls of Bastion. This was the last place Voph should have been. Yet here he was.

On the planet of ice, Rhen Var, there stood a temple. One older than even he. And within, he hoped to find answers. Srina and Gerwald had invoked a great many questions. Questions that he was not willing to ask them. Or even, questions they could not answer. Or sometimes, questions he wasn't sure he himself knew entirely. As he entered the temple, his hand reached up to clutch the gemstone hanging from his neck. It had shown him this place. A place he had been before, even if he could not remember it. There was something here he would need. It was just a matter of finding it.

Still, the name echoed in his mind. Ektheros. Why did that name sound so familiar? And why did it bring such a sense of dread with each utterance? Voph felt the very core of his being shiver at the mere thought of speaking it. As he stepped further into the frozen antichamber, he looked around. This temple...it was not unlike one he had visited long ago. Records stated it was a Jedi temple. And yet something felt off to him. The Jedi had not been in this place for a long time. As he surveyed the area around him, he could think of a single thing

Ektheros.


Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

"Go to Rhen Var, young sister. You journey to destiny begins there..."

Those were the Mother's last guiding words to her before leaving Dathomir. Sidoris was not familiar with the system. The planet was cold and dead for so long, there was nothing in records that indicated anything of value. At least not on the surface. The Mother of the Nightsisters was never clear on her advice-at least not to Sidoris-but her riddles did lead to a fortuitous result.

The blind witch set the vessel down upon snow and ice and cold ground. She exited, taking in the chill of the air. She was not used to it, having endured the thick, foggy realms of Dathomir's forests for years until now. She pulled her thick feather cloak around her and walked through the snow that sunk against her ankles.

Reaching through the Force-at least what little of the Force she stayed connected to-and brought her path to a temple, hidden in a ruin of frost and rubble. She approached boldly at first before sensing something...someONE else. Her steps now were cautious as she entered, keeping to the shadows, as her sisters taught her, and keeping her Force-guided sight on all alert. One hand slipped under her cloak, holding the hilt of her Duskblade should this other adventurer prove unfriendly.

Kyyrk

 

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
​

Voph was kneeling on the ground before the ruin of a statue when he was discovered. The cold didn't bother him. In fact, his white armor seemed to be quite at home in the harsh white of the planet's horizons. He was inspecting an inscription on the base of the once great effigy. A language he couldn't read. Nor did the Force enlighten him. He wasn't sure if such a thing was even possible. He was transposing the runes to his datapad when he first sensed the girl.

She seemed no older than he appeared. Kindred spirits, he recognized immediately. Even though the mysteries of the Force had granted him sight, there was still much the internal eye saw that his physical ones could not. He did not flinch nor react to the presence of the woman. There was no need to. She was cautious. Fear, possibly, as the underlying motive. She did not mean him ill will. Not yet.

"If you are here for knowledge, you won't need it." Voph didn't know what she was reaching for, but his instincts told him a weapon. It was the only reasonable explanation as to why she would be reaching within her cloak. Voph stood, and turned towards the source of the disturbance. And as he did, three things became quickly evident. He was touched by the Force, same as she. He carried a mighty greatbow, a fitting compliment for his two-meter stature. And he did not carry a lightsaber. The hallmark of Jedi and Sith everywhere. Conspicuously absent from his belt. "If you are here for me, make it quick."

Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

Her presence was betrayed by her power and connection to the Force. She felt it in him. He felt it in her, of course. In her mind she cursed herself for not trying to hide it better. Her body went stiff the moment she was called out. Not moving nor wavering. Soft and quick like a shadow she was. When he made his offering to either kill him or seek knowledge she finally emerged. She believed he could see her, the sight of something literally bleeding out from the shadows likely a unsettling sight. She still kept her hand on her blade if this was to be a trap.

"You are not what I seek," Sidoris answered. "What I have come for..." She didn't want to admit she had no true idea what she was seeking. "What I have come for may be what you're keeping me from however. Step aside."

 

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
​

Voph's eyes narrowed the slightest bit as he studied the woman before him. She stood nearly a half meter shorter than he. His eyes roamed across her figure, though it was not clear if he was searching for weapons, or trying to figure out how best to fight her. But before the question could be answered, he stepped back, offering a slight bow. His left hand came up and gestured to the guts of the temple behind him. He would not stand in her way. Far be it from him to deny one of his own kind knowledge. If they could be considered his own kind. He wondered for a moment how he must seem to her. He was, after all, the only of his kind.

"By all means, then. Do not let me stop you." Voph let his arm fall back to his side, but did not break his gaze from the woman. "I, too, am but a seeker." His accent was strange. It was akin to the tongue of the Empire, but...not. As refined as a noble, and yet....not from any family of import. "I urge you caution. These ruins have a certain...quality about them." He turned, looking above at the grand arches in the ceiling. As he did, a small owl-like creature lit from his perch, and flew out a crack in the architecture. "Something tells me that the deeper we travel, the less alone we shall find ourselves."

Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

The more he spoke the more off this stranger seemed. Sirdoris sensed no ill threat, but he could have been masking it better than she could. She took careful steps when she came up to the statue he examined, her Force sight giving her an idea of its shape. It was...unfamiliar to say the least. Despite his words she was too focused on the craved stone before her. That drew her to looking about the ruins itself.

"Whose temple was this?" she asked, titling her head to him without looking away. "Not the Jedi...but not the Sith either." She faced him now, hands still hidden. "Did the Nightsisters come here?"

Kyyrk

 

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
​

Voph turned to look back at the statue as the woman drew closer to it. "I do not know that it is a temple to who, so much as a what." He gestured to the base of the statue. "The runes on the base are in no language I've ever seen, Sith or Jedi." I think. He wouldn't say it out loud. But truth is, his vast sums of knowledge were not nearly as good as they used to be. "I'm not aware of the Nightsisters ever having visited Rhen Var. Of course, I haven't heard of the Nightsisters leaving Dathomir for anything shy of a grand prophecy."

Voph lifted an arm, and the small owl from earlier landed on his forearm. He reached over with his other hand, and gently stroked the back of the small bird's head. Whatever creature it was, it was clearly friendly to the man. But for some reason, it did not seem to behave as a pet. It seemed...far too intelligent. "For that matter, what brings you so far from Dathomir? Assuming you are one of them?"

Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

The flutter of wings caught Sidoris off-guard for a moment. She shied away as the creature came to the mysterious man, resting on his less like a pet and more like a comrade. The more she stayed the more questions grew in her mind like weeds. This was getting her nowhere.

"I have my reasons," she replied blunty. "I do not intent to share them with someone I've only just met on this wasteland of a frozen world." She knew it sounded harsh but she was not quick to trust anyone, regardless of intentions. Something like that had to be earned, another lesson learned in her sisterhood.

Kyyrk

 

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
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Voph shrugged. "Understandable." He turned and moved towards the back of the chamber, towards the grand doors leading further into the structure. "Rhen Var was traditionally the world of the Jedi. But these ruins predate even that." Voph paused, and turned to look over his shoulder. "Of course, I'm sure you knew that." It wasn't clear if he was calling her bluff, or being sarcastic.

He placed a hand gently upon the door, looking up at the large structure. "The name's Iskellion. For how little I am sure you will use it." Voph stepped back, looking over the door. "It's locked. A force lock. Hidden to the physical world shy of tunneling through the door. Even then, it seems rather sturdy." He glanced over his shoulder once more. "How good are your eyes?"

Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

"Thrall," was the only name she used when introducing herself. It was better than nothing. He already struck her as somewhat arrogant when he made the comment about her knowledge of the temple's origin. As far as she knew he had all the more qualification as to the ruin's nature than she did.

When they arrived at the locked door Sidoris was put off by his question. Her true eyes were as useless as a babes, her sight however came through the Force and the powers beyond. It begged the question though of why he could not see. Was it possible it was like her? Afflicted in some way?

"Depends on what you are trying to see," she replied, coming up next to him on what to do about the door lock.

 

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
​

For a brief moment, Voph's eyes glowed with an intense hue. The Force was at his command. As he searched for the lock, he frowned. Thrall? He hoped the name was not self-given. The implications were...less than ideal. And it made the man wonder if the two of them were truly alone. The woman gave answer to his inquiry. While she shared his blood, she did not share his skill, it would seem.

"Focus your mind. Calm your breathing." The tone in which he spoke this was not a command, but an instruction. Even then, it felt more as a reminder. He did not say this for fear that Thrall was overactive, but to help guide them to a not yet familiar path. His hand moved to a certain spot on the door. "See the knot of energy within. How it writhes within the tranquility of its still surroundings."

Voph closed his hand into a fist, and there was an audible click as the lock slid away. "The Force can show you a great many things. But only if you quiet your mind to listen. Herein lies the challenge." He spoke as a teacher. With all the confidence of someone that knew Force Sight as if it were breathing. But the subject was abruptly changed as the door slowly swung open. "Tell me, have you ever heard the legend of the Dread Masters?"

Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

The ways of the Force were not unfamiliar to Sidoris, but their reach was not something that impressed her. The more primal powers she had learned from the Nightsisters was a greater source than what the Jedi or Sith could understand. Yet the ways of the Nightsisters and Dathkmori's witches was not as far reaching as the methods of the Force users. Even when Iskellion had managed to open the door, after providing some lesson Sidoris did not ask for, she remained unphased.

Her attention perked when he mentioned something about Dread Masters. "I'm not familiar."

 

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
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Voph drew a breath as the door slowly began to creak open. "The Dread Masters were once powerful Sith Lords. A council of six, before the combined might of the Republic and Empire destroyed them. They turned on the Emperor, and sought to build their own. One ruled by their greatest weapon. Fear."

Voph turned to look at Thrall. "I have yet to see anything, creature or otherwise, as eldritch as the things that they have touched. But even they were not the creators of the horrid. Nor were they even the ones to perfect it. Their acolytes spread vast across the galaxy, flocking to sites of the twisted and unnatural."

Voph turned back to the door now open, a gaping darkness waiting to consume the both of them behind it. He reached behind him, and drew the bow that was upon his back. "But most importantly, I've never known one of their temples to be unguarded..."

Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

All at once Sidoris felt a message had been given to her. The Tales of these Dread Lords sparked an instant interest in her curious mind. To think that there were Force users to strong they used only fear as a weapon. Her sisters taught her deception and magical arts, things that could evoke fear. But never control it.

"How did they acheive this power?" she asked, not bothering with the details about the temple's possible defenses.

 

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
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Voph frowned as he spoke, the recollection...terrible. It was clear by his tone that he spoke not of an academic knowledge, but a practical one. He had not simply studied the Dread Masters. He had not simply learned of their war.

He had fought in it.

"The Dread Masters created Phobos devices. Great machines that would instill the darkest of fears within those around it. Nightmares and visions were plentiful upon the Dread Moon. And their corruption ran deeper still. With the Seeds of Rage, they turned even the forces of nature to their bidding." Voph fell silent for a long moment, pausing just inside the door. "The Phobis devices change you. Be you wielder or target. Any who willfully use them should be destroyed."

Voph turned back to Thrall, and uttered quietly, "And I fear we are on the cusp of a discovery that would make even the Dread Masters seem like babes in comparison."

Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

The words were meant to discourage. But Sidoris was only intrigued. And that interest grew with every sentence. Such a power would help her greatly against her family and any other enemies that would come. Perhaps this was to be her destiny, as the Nightmother had seen. Using whatever tools were hidden here to twist the wills of others. She could only do such a thing with one at a time, but what if she was able to enthrall an entire army or planet to her will? Bending their fears to her weaponry.

"Then let us go further in," she said, gesturing for him to lead. "Something so great should not be kept hidden to the galaxy."

 

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
​

Voph's eyes narrowed once more as he studied the woman before him. His left hand still gripped the bow tightly. "Such knowledge has destroyed the galaxy before. Are you willing to destroy it again?" The question was rhetorical, as he turned and moved deeper into the shadows without waiting for the witch's answer. The small owl had moved to the man's shoulder where it rested now, unblinking eyes locked on the girl. The hushed murmuring of Voph sounded almost as if he were speaking to it.

A short ways down the corridor, Voph spoke again. "Horace finds your garb fascinating. He's never met a witch before. Much less one with such...avian qualities." He turned to glance at the girl for a moment. "Strange that one with your blood would be found among the witches. I did not take the Miraluka to be a species that dabbled in such things."

Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

The mention of the bird speaking to him caught Sirdoris off-guard for a moment. She suspected they were friends but not to where the thing communicated with him. Such a thing was talked about by her sisters, those with the ability usually having a greater connection to the powers that shaped the galaxy...like the Winged Goddess. The fact this bird found her so interesting was shared the other way around.

"I am not like most," she said in answer to his probing of her nature and species. "And if I were interested in destroying a galaxy, I wouldn't bothering speaking to you. I would just...end things. But clearly there's more here for both of us..." She paused, considering the owl. "The three of us?"

 

[Kyyrk]

Q U E S T I O N S
​

Voph frowned slightly. He opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a thought. A thought shared between all three individuals. <<I am here to ensure his safety. Nothing more.>> Voph glanced away from Thrall as they passed a doorway, looking down the hall behind it. "Horace is very....duty bound." Horace preened his feathers as Voph spoke of him. It almost seemed as if the bird was proud of this acknowledgement. Praise, perhaps?

"There is more than one way to skin a Nexu. You may not intend to destroy the galaxy. But you will. Even those of us that set out to save it will destroy it eventually." Cryptic, as with many of the things he said. But the important meaning was clear enough: It was not that he expected Thrall to use the information maliciously. But doubted that she could wield it properly. And yet, he did not sound condescending. To wield this power was a terrible feat in its own right. He did not expect her to fail because of any lack of experience, but because the challenge was truly that great. "Tell me, have you ever heard the word 'Ektheros'?"

Sidoris Thrall

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[Sidoris Thrall]

Sirdoris jumped when she heard a whole new voice in her mind. At first she thought it came from behind or somewhere hidden in the chamber they stood. She sensed nothing. Nothing but the other Miraluka...and the bird. She looked at it, sensing there was more to this creature than what she saw or felt. That was the moment she began to realize this wanderer had a deeper connection to the magics of the galaxy.

"Never heard the name..." she answered, her attention darting between him and the bird while they continued on.