Equilibrium Attained

[Xan]

The sounds of the Shadow's Ascent filled Xanthus's ears, the various high and low notes of starship technology ringing throughout the air like a quiet symphony. The only other sounds to be heard were the sounds of his own breathing and the quiet footfalls of the narglatches that were his pets. All in all, it was an environment that would lead most to quiet contemplation or to fall asleep listening to the sounds of the engine. In Xanthus's case, the former option was the one typically chosen and it was no different now. Truth be told, he had reason to be fully awake and alert even without the need to contemplate at the moment; the Shadow's Ascent was currently making its way through Sith space, and not a far-flung outpost of the Empire either. No, he could practically sense the presence emanating from Korriban in waves of the Dark Side of the Force. Even in a stealth transport such as the Shadow's Ascent, he had to remain vigilant if he had any desire to arrive at his destination safely.

As to his contemplation, Xanthus had plenty to think about in his meditative silence. The thought that stood out the most however, was the resounding feeling that he was being called to a place most strange: Dromund Kaas. It would be difficult to explain to someone who could not feel the ebbing and flowing of the Force in the way that Xanthus could, but if he were to explain it in simple terms he would say that he felt as though he were being drawn to the dark and mysterious planet. For what purpose he could only guess, but he had decided long ago to place his full trust and faith in the Force and it had not led him astray yet. "But still, it does seem strange that I would be led here of all places." Xanthus thought to himself, deciding that he would simply have to be cautious as he began to approach the blue planet.

Touching down in a relatively clear space in the jungle, Xanthus took the time to put on his Prudii-class Shock Trooper Armor. Upon opening his eyes inside of the armor, Xanthus would be greeted by the sight of the HUD which he would check and use to check the remainder of the armor for malfunctions and anomalies. Finding nothing, he would then equip his three lightsabers and take a moment to think about Lutomi who had the fourth of the set. Where was she and what was she doing at the moment, while he was on the other side of the Galaxy preparing to explore a world which should have by all rights been forbidden to him?

Setting the thought aside, Xanthus would don his black armorweave robe and draw the hood up before telling his narglatches to remain on the ship and guard it. Finally feeling prepared for whatever he might face in the jungle, Xanthus started to set out, though before he could leave his ship he would grab one of his Sith Swords on an impulse. Feeling as armed and armored as he could possibly make himself at any given moment, Xanthus would take a deep breath and venture out and into the forest. Now the Force would simply have to serve him as guide once more, as it always had.

 

[Braden]

Braden sat cross legged in the middle of the cave a few hundred yards from the compound. It was the centre of the original order, it once held Revan's mask and a large statue of the Sith Lord and Jedi Master. Remnants of the statue were spread about the cave, Braden was meditating on the force, ever since he has come to Dromund Kaas both his view of The Force and the wider galaxy had changed dramatically and now he was trying to teach his views. It wasn't as easy as it looked and Braden had already lost a few of The Order's few members back to the more extreme Dark Side. That was when the hardest part of his job appeared, The Order was secret, unknown to the wider galaxy. Braden knew as soon as the Sith Empire found out about them a task force of Sith Crusader's would be sent to eradicate them. Because of that anyone who knew The Order's location and wished to flee back to the Sith had to be dealt with. Braden looked across to his family sword lying against the broken altar to his left, he had only just cleaned the last of the blood from the blade an hour ago.

"Cando, may the force guide you in the next life." he whispered to himself.

As he continued to meditate he felt a spark in the force. Someone was here, the essence of the dark side followed through him like a river. Had the Sith found them? Quickly he stood gathering his sword and cloak before jogging back to the camp. He made for the centre standing on top of a set of stones about two feet high lifting him above the surrounding tents so all could see and hear him.

"Someone has landed near by, they are strong in the force so we must be prepared. Shyripawaroo make sure everyone is on board the ships, you and the disciples last. I will go and meet the intruder, if I do not return or make contact in an hour leave. You know where to go."

The Wookiee nodded before beginning to bark out commands in Shyriiwook, one of the disciples translated for those who did not understand. Braden made his way down from the rock, he through his cloak over his shoulders pulling the hood over his head before strapping his blade around his waist and making for the strong force signature in the distance. It took Braden about half an hour to finally reach the clearing were a ship sat and a man in black stood. He was covered in head to toe armour with multiple lightsabers and a sword hanging from his belt. Braden had yet to build his own saber, it was on his list of things to do before he founded The Order, but now it was just being pushed back further and further due to his new found commitments. Stepping out into the clearing Braden approached the man, the hood pulled low to cover his face. He kept his hands at his side making no threatening movements towards the man, he hoped he could solve this diplomatically and send the man in black on his way.

"Hello there."

 

[Xan]

For a few minutes, Xanthus found himself walking about in forest just beyond the clearing in which he had sat down the Shadow's Ascent. After several minutes passed, he found himself returning to his ship and staring at it. Tapping the tip of his finger to the helm of his armor, Xanthus thought to himself that he was missing something quite crucial in his anticipation: in situations such as these, he preferred to have actual plans rather than wander about aimlessly. Closing his eyes, Xanthus extended his senses outward through the Force. Taking a deep breath, he would perform the much practiced opening of his senses to the Force, stepping into the familiar channels of the ability as easily as one would step into well worn shoes.

The most important thing that he noted to himself was the fact that someone was approaching him with an appreciable amount of speed. He could sense something (though perhaps several somethings was more appropriate) just beyond the approaching presence, but chose to ignore it for now. At this moment, his primary concern was the approaching individual, as it should have been. Taking another deep breath, Xanthus would relax his hold on the Force and end the sensing ability. "It seems as though the Force smiles upon me today. Rather than have me wander about on this dark world, it sends someone to collect me on landing." He would think to himself with a wry smile, deciding to place his sword on his waist underneath the handle of one of his lightsabers. From there, he would simply wait until whoever was approaching arrived.

Fortunately the wait was not long and as the hooded figure approached from the forest, Xanthus's HUD showed them in crystal detail. The figure appeared to be male, and from what Xanthus could sense of him the man seemed to be steeped in the Dark Side of the Force. The Dark Side did not emanate strongly from the figure however, which led Xanthus to believe that he was looking at an Acolyte or at least someone who was at approximately that level of mastery. "Greetings. Who are you and why are you on this world?" Xanthus would say in response to the greetings offered by the man. His question was not forceful or aggressive in tone, but rather held a tone of simple curiosity.

 

[Braden]

The man in black replied quickly, it was not aggressive nor polite more abrupt considering that he was the one which had landed so recently.

"I am here to learn more of the force. And you my friend?"

Braden wished to keep the conversation light, he still did not know the man's intentions for arriving on Dromund Kaas. Yes the planet was steeped in dark side energy, power and history but this was long ago and Kaas was far from the centre of imperial might or Sith learning. He must have been hear for something but what Braden was yet to figure out, hopefully in time he would know.

 

[Xan]

To learn more of the Force? That was quite an unexpected answer to Xanthus. He was more used to people who felt of the Dark Side considering themselves to be at the pinnacle of enlightenment, or at least feeling as though they had to learn less of the Force and more of its power. It was a respectable answer, at the least.

"A statement that implies wisdom. I too have come to learn more of the Force." He would state, not taking his eyes away from the individual in front of him. Allowing a moment of silence to pass, Xanthus would then continue. "Well perhaps I should be more specific: I have reason to believe that the Force was influencing me to come to this planet. For what purpose, I do not know. In this manner, I have come not to learn of the Force per say, but more of its will." With that, he would pause again before asking a question. "Do you happen to have a name, fellow seeker of knowledge?"

 

[Braden]

The force influencing him? Now this was a strange turn, something Braden had not expected to hear.

"The force is a tricky master to learn, even trickier to understand. I am young, not well travelled and have only spent a little of my life in the force. But even I can come to that conclusion."

Braden waited he did not want to give his name to easily but again their was no sense in lying either. The man was strong in the force so could potentially detect his folly and what was a name but a tag? He had toyed with dropping his name all together or picking a new one when he formed The Order but had decided against it.

"Braden and yours?"

 

[Xan]

"Xanthus." The man said simply, nodding at Braden. Perhaps it was not the wisest policy to drop one's name quite so readily in an area of the Galaxy where you were in theory a wanted man, though to be fair Xanthus considered himself to be not all that high on the Imperium's currently list of concerns. The Rebellion had seen to it that the Dark Lord had plenty more to worry about than an errant Sith Master. Besides, this man appeared to be no more than an Acolyte, and Xanthus was not quite that rusty. A name would not provide him with a source of harm here, at least not one that he could think of at any rate. To the Acolyte's credit however (if that is what he was), he was quite wise for his station if his words were anything to go off of. "Yes, your statement is correct, though I did say that I had come strictly for that purpose. I am a student of the Force, a philosopher who studies its twofold nature. What of you? Have you come to this world to study the Dark Side, Acolyte?"

 

[Braden]

The Dark Side, it was such a basic name to use. Braden spotted two small stones at his and Xanthus's feet. He concentrated on the two stones and they slowly rose from the ground, they were around half a centimetre in diameter each, one white one black. He slowly began to spin the stones around in a circle levitating above his hand.

"The Dark Side? Its such an ugly term, placed on anything the Jedi didn't like the look of or were to frightened to use. The light side, that is the same. Just a term used by the Jedi to help justify their actions and solidify there self imposed 'saviours of the galaxy' title. And the Sith are just as willing to fall into the archetype of light and dark."

Slowly Braden began to spin the stones faster and faster.

"There is no Light or Dark, their is just the force."

As the stones accelerated they began to blur into one, no longer white or black they had mixed into grey.

"So in short no Xanthus, I have come to study the force as a whole." He smiled at the man.

 

[Xan]

Lifting his hands to his helmet, Xanthus pulled the thing off of him with a few sounds of disconnecting coming from the connection points between helm and chestpiece. Underneath the helmet, the ex-Sith was revealed to be smiling in a genuinely pleased manner. Giving Braden a polite nod of greeting and placing the helmet under his left arm, Xanthus turned his attention once more to the stones that Braden was levitating. Holding out his right hand, Xanthus turned his palm upwards and made a beckoning motion towards the stones.

As one, the stones came to his own hand and began to swirl until a grey ring had formed inches above his palm. Showing the grey circle to the man in front of him, Xanthus replied: "A fellow seeker of true understanding. I had not expected to meet another who follows the Grey path here on Dromund Kaas. Curious...did you come to your understanding through a master, or through personal enlightenment?" A fair question, considering the fact that the vast majority of Force adepts were decidedly Light or Dark in nature, with only a few deciding to learn he secrets of both sides. Almost invariably, this meant that almost every Grey path walker had an interesting story to tell, and Xanthus was willing to bet that this man would prove no different.

 

[Braden]

As Xanthus took the stones Braden lifted his hand to pull back his hood revealing his full face and scruffy hair, weeks of living in a camp had given him a more rough appearance compared to the previously prim and proper Prince of Troska. He looked over at Xanthus who was spinning the rocks as he had.

"No master, through this."

Braden reached into his cloak pulling out a small datapad, it was only a little larger than his hand. He pressed a button on the side and a small projection appeared before them. It was a bust of man with shoulder length hair, you couldn't tell the colour as the whole projection was blue.

"I spent hours in the archives on Ziost, reading about the history of the Sith and their always seemed to be something missing. Every Dark Lord hit a hurdle that they could not reach. Apart from him. A Jedi Knight, turned Dark Lord of the Sith turned Jedi. He mastered all aspects of the force. He is what lead me here."

 

[Xan]

From the sounds of the person's voice, Xanthus had been able to deduce that the male before him was young. When the hood went down however, he saw that the man was even younger than he had anticipated. He was perhaps in his early twenties? And yet he had already discovered the truth of the Force? "Impressive." Xanthus thought to himself as Braden brought out a datapad in explanation of how he discovered the Grey path. The image of the man combined with the story brought forth an image in Xanthus's mind, and he nodded a few times in understanding.

"You follow the teachings of Lord Revan." He would say simply, not so much asking a question as stating a fact. A student of both sides of the Force, Xanthus had taken it upon himself to discover lore concerning those who had mastered the light and the darkness. Such study would naturally have been incomplete without encountering lore concerning one of the greatest of all Jedi and Sith. "Perhaps the greatest of all Force-adepts and most certainly a worthy icon. Do you study his ways alone, or are there others who venerate Revan as you do?"

 

[Braden]

When Xanthus mentioned Revan's name Braden smiled, as much as the man was a powerful Sith and Jedi both sides seemed to shun him due to his affiliation with the other. So Xanthus knowing and understanding who he was settled Braden slightly. The question of others in the Order brought him on edge though, Braden could tell that Xanthus was a powerful force user and if he had pushed his senses out in the force he may have found the camp. But still Braden had to protect them, even if it cost his life, but lying would not help either. He needed to know more about the man clad in black before him.

"When someone tells the truth, people normally listen." He smiled at Xanthus. He held the man's gaze for a short while before speaking again. "Yes there are some others who follow."

 

[Xan]

"Curious." Was Xanthus's response to the information that there were other followers of Revan than Braden. He wondered at how long this enclave had been existing, whether the Sith knew of their existence, and precisely what they had learned from Revan's lore. "A group of you venerate Revan on Dromund Kaas? I cannot imagine that the Sith don't know of this enclave's existence." Might as well start off with the question of most relevance to himself. After all, even if he had long ago slipped past the Imperium's "urgent" list, Xanthus was still a rouge Sith. This deep in Sith Space, it was simply better to be cautious even with the might of the Imperium being challenged by the Galactic Rebellion.

 

[Braden]

"The Sith, they have bigger things to worry about than us. Plus this system is on the borders of Imperial space and only a small settlement remains here so we have little no contact with anyone we don't wish to see." He looked back towards the tree line, it was getting close to the hour mark the camp would be getting ready to evacuate. But he still did not know enough about Xanthus to call and give the ok. "So Xanthus, you follow the middle path, but I feel the power of the dark side within you and the training to match. Why do you wish to know if the Sith know of our presence?"

 

[Xan]

Whether or not there was an implication, Xanthus perceived there to be another question behind the one that Braden asked him. "Eight years ago I attained the rank of Sith Master." He said with his voice taking on a matter-of-fact tone. "However this was rendered inconsequential when I abandoned the Imperium a while ago. Even if I am not all that high on the Imperium's list, I would still prefer to not be caught unawares by their agents or allies." Xanthus would conclude with a shrug. A relatively simple explanation, but one that contained a fair summation of a significant amount of time worth of events. "Which is why I felt the need to ask if the Sith knew of this cabal."

 

[Braden]

Braden gripped his handle tighter when he confirmed that he was once a Sith Master. He had known that he was powerful, but that powerful. He could only hope to hold him off for a few minutes at best and only if he was luckily.

"If you became a Master why did you leave? The power that title would have given you, in the premium government of the galaxy seems something hard to throw away." It seemed illogical unless there was a deeper motive here. If he was to trust this man with any more information he needed to know why he really turned his back on the Sith.

 

[Xan]

At first the only response would be a shrug, but before long Xanthus would speak in a manner that suggested that he had thought of this question himself more than once. "Indeed a good question. A Sith Master holds an enviable amount of authority and freedom simply by virtue of their title alone. To say that the Galaxy was my Krayt Dragon Pearl at the time would not have been too far off. Not to mention the respect and fear, and the fact that I was considered to be especially elite among the Sith. In fact, one might have called my life perfect." But why then would he have left it all behind? "However, I could not in good conscious be a Sith due to Andraste's...methods of governing the Empire. The woman is the embodiment of the negative aspects of the Dark Side, and I could not serve her...so I left and I don't particularly intend to go back."

 

[Braden]

"Her ways are. Well extreme is a light way of putting it. I trust you Xanthus, I cant tell you why. But the force tells me I can." Turning back towards the camp he raised the comm on his wrist to his mouth. "Shyripawaroo, stand down. We have a new friend." Turning back to Xanthus, he waved him in the direction of the camp. "This way."