Ask Dathomir New Recruits

[Renfry]

Renfry made her way up from the Vault deep within her temple after a day of experimentation, but her work for the day was far from over.

A group of off-world hunters had returned to the planet to give report. Selected for their skill in battle, hunting, and magick, they had been taught the basics of technology and living off-world. In truth, even after nearly a decade on and off Dathomir, she still preferred this planet. There were a great deal of intricacies of the rest of the galaxy she had never really bothered to learn. She knew many of the hunters had begun to feel the same, but most had acclimated well enough to get the job done.

She took a deep breath and the palms of her hands rubbed down over her eyes and cheeks as she emerged from the tunnel leading to the vault. She took a right and headed for the throne room to check in with the hunters. In particular, one of the women had caught Renfry's eye. Reputed to be particularly competent and even savvy in dealing with off-world matters, Renfry had decided she was someone worth getting to know.

 

[Zara]

Zara stood at the edge or a stone outcropping, a naturally formed balcony just off one entrance to the throne room of Renfry's temple. Her eyes closed she took a deep breath in through her nose. The smell of the air, of Dathomir was serene. It brought a smile to her face that had been missing for several months. Soon she would bathe in the river of her clan home, reconnect with spirits and her sisters.

However the sensation of true willful power moving in the shadow would quickly bring her back to the here and now. Such sensations were still so strange to her but it also meant that the reason she had returned home had now arrived. Zara turned from the ledge and slowly walked back into the throne room. Taking her place among several other sisters from other clans. All she assumed had been selected as she had.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry could sense the mixture of joy and nostalgia that filled the air now that the women were home. It was a sensation she knew well after having spent several years away from home before her return.

Perhaps unexpectedly, Renfry intercepted Zara before the woman made it back to the throne room and the others.

Zara, isn't it? she asked, motioning back toward the outdoors. The red sun was still middling in the sky, but she could already sense the stir of energy ebbing through the air as the day came to a close. The night predators would be out soon, and the entire cycle of predator and prey would be flipped on its head. It was a wonderful, balanced chaos.

Good to be home? she asked, looking out over the horizon before looking back to the other woman. She knew she had floundered more than a little when transitioning into working for the Sith and finding a place in the galaxy. Her hunters would no doubt experience similar trials, and so she tried to make herself available at least at times to help them. It was an experience that had been incredibly shaping for her, and yes, if she were honest, it was even a fond set of memories.

@Taz

 

[Zara]

"Oh.." Zara gasped. Nearly bumping into Renfry as they met in the doorway. "Queen Renfry. I.." She stammered a bit. Zara would bow her head and stand at attention. Reflex from her training with the Sith. "Yes my Queen." she quickly answered. Zara then looked up to see Renfry motioning for them to return to the outside and gave a nod. Following quickly behind as Renfry walked.

The huntress returned her gaze to the falling sun as she noticed the Queen do so. A small smile warmed her face as she to thought of the balance. How the light must retreat for the darkness to take over.

"Yes. My Queen. Although not quite a year, if feels as if it has been much longer." She answered honestly. Zara had embraced the challenges of joining the ranks of the Sith and learning from their warriors but lacked the idea of adventure. It was a task. One that she felt would help her sisters and her clan over all and for that she answered. But she longed for the feeling of the water and mud under her feet. The feeling of the river rushed over her body as she allowed herself to be taken by the current.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry smiled almost warmly as the other woman stammered for a moment. As cold and harsh as she could be to outsiders and enemies, she still had a genuine love for her people.

A year? she repeated. She hadn't realized it had been that long, and she knew now why the woman was so glad to be home.

And what did you think of everything out there? she asked. It was a whole different world. From planets that were all technology and others that were inhospitable to outsiders. Everything was different than being here on Dathomir. She was curious how the other woman had adjusted or if she had adjusted.

@Taz

 

[Zara]

Zara gave a nod of confirmation as the Renfry repeated her own statement of time. For the young woman it had indeed been a year from becoming what the outsiders call an Acolyte to achieving the rank of Marauder. Zara could care less of the ranks and titles but she did admit to herself that the experience did seem to grant her greater ability to use and understand what she knew to be the shadow.

She thought a moment before answering the Queen's question. It was Zara's understanding that the Queen had spent several years off world prior to taking the thrown. It was how she found and returned with the Son of the Fanged God. However her own experience was far more simple. "I have seen several worlds that could compare to Dathomir, and a couple that a little more the sand. Far as the eye can see or the shadow can feel. Just Sand.." Zare made a face, like dry mouth. "Computers still puzzle me, as does flying in ships. Dasa is helping me." she said absently about her Sith issued droid.

Zara would then glance toward Renfry's lightsaber hilt and at her own. "These lightsabers are truly impressive. I'm still just learning to use mine really." She said and then looked to Renfry with more irritation or perhaps disappointment. "However most outsiders use the shadow so coldly," she said suddenly. "It is little more then a tool to most. Just another weapon to win the battle. I do not understand it."

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry nodded along with what Zara said, thinking of Korriban as soon as she mentioned the sand planets. Hot and desolate.

I see you must have ended up on Korriban, she speculated. A likely place for her to receive some of her training during the year. Also a largely dreadful world in most respects.

They are, she agreed, referencing the lightsabers. Her hand reached down and her fingers brushed lightly against the hilt of the saber. Even she was only "passable" with the saber. Her training with Morgan had helped significantly, but her magick would always be the most potent tool she had in battle.

Even more so than the tools we fashion with magick, she said. The Nightsisters had a history of summoning and crafting tools that pulsed with their power, but she wouldn't lie: the lightsaber far surpassed them in most ways.

As Zara spoke of the way the Jedi and Sith used "the Force" she nodded again.

They don't have the advantage of what we know, she said. Even when we're out there among the galaxy, never forget that Dathomir is your real home. We have a special bond that very few outsiders have ever known, she said.

Rather than getting too preachy about the doctrine of being a Sith or a Nightsister - something she had spent much time considering herself - she decided to pose a question instead, seeing what balance Zara had managed to find for herself.

Do you think they control the Shadow? she asked.

@Taz

 

[Zara]

Zara gave a confirming sigh of minor irritation and Renfry mentioned the Sith world by name. The planet seem void of all but it's connection to the 'dark side'. The training there would open her eyes to many possibilities, however she would not likely return if she could avoid it.

Her expression would perk up however, as Renfry acknowledged her appreciation for the saber weapons. She was even surprised to hear the Queen admit they were more powerful then those she might summon with their magicks. But, they were without a doubt remarkable. Her bow could hardly pierce the thickest trees on the planet, while the lightsaber could cut down an entire forest with little effort required.

Zare would quickly nod then at Renfry's statement of the sister's connection to their world, the shadow. How they danced with the sounds of the spirits since they were children taking their first steps on the soil between their toes. How this world literally breathed the shadow. The songs of it all around them. To Zara only a whisper perhaps, but to the most powerful of their would it was like the traffic of one of the city worlds of the core. "You are right of course." is all she could manage.

The huntress was blindsided then by the Queen's question. It was written on the Zara's face the moment the words left Renfry's lips. The wide eyes look would quickly morph into one of thought. As her brow furrowed. Then she spoke, "I don't know. I see how they wield the so called dark side. but I also see how it eats at them, slowly but surly. It is not the same. Not a respected companion as the spirits of the shadow are to us. The shadow is my home, it's my faith and my greatest weapon and shield. I do not see that in most if any of the outsiders."

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

This was one of Renfry's mean habits. She liked to spring questions on people to judge their reactions and get a more genuine response. People didn't usually enjoy it nearly as much as she did. At least she wasn't typically mean about it but she also wasn't always very straight-forward with her opinions of their answers either.

What Zara spoke of was precisely the concern that Emryc had voiced to Renfry before. He wanted to keep the corruption of the Dark Side at bay and for good reason.

But Zara also hit on precisely what Renfry had hoped. She was pleased to hear it because it meant she had gained insight while amidst the rest of the Sith.

Because we're an extension of the Shadow. A piece of it and we serve it even while it aids us, she said.

They might control it for a time, but in the end it always wins and always extracts its price, she said. She could honestly say she was thankful to have been born a Nightsister and not a Sith directly.

What will you do now that you're home? she asked.

@Taz

 

[Zara]

Zara would listen intently at to Renfry's words. Giving a slight nod in agreement with them. The huntress knew she was an extension of the Shadow. She was made from it, aided by end, and when the end came she would be returned to it. In spirit, and in the flesh with any hope.

"When you are finished with me, I would like to return to my clan. It's been to long since I have felt the welcoming currents of the Dreaming River. I am sure Mother Hja will also have a word with me. Or perhaps her First. Niether were very pleased with your rise. Or the Sith outsiders on our wrorld." Zara answered.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry listened to what Zara said, taking particular note of the dissent among the Dreaming River Clan. She wondered if it would require a quelling, and she put it as a note in the back of her mind. She didn't want to purge any more clans, but she would if she had to. Who were they to defy the will of the Son of the Fanged Spirit.

But there were many who hadn't been happy about the Sith presence here. Not that Renfry had allowed many of them to wander free. Most had been relegated to either a few small outposts on world or to the base on the planet's moon.

And what do you think? You've spent time with the Sith now, she said. It was a common theme she had noticed that those who spent time either at the palace or off-world came around to the ideas. She wondered if the same had held true for Zara. Or if the other woman would even be honest with her. That was the trouble with power: people often wouldn't give you the real story even when asked.

@Taz

 

[Zara]

Zara thought a moment on her words. She wondered if she had said to much. Had the question come from any other she likely would have said little more then return home to her sisters. But Renfry had chosen her nearly a year ago. Seen something more in the young sister then perhaps she could see in herself. So she returned the favor by being loyal to that choice. By tell the Queen what she needed to know about her people.

As Renfry asked her opinion of the outsiders, Zara took measured stock over the past year. Dathomir was home, as it would always be. But the Sith had shown her more then just her world. Here she learned a skilled huntress, perhaps even one of the best of her clan. Yet the Sith were showing her how to use those abilities to be an even greater predator for the shadow. She had of yet come to truly know few, yet could see something deeper within the whole then just a hunger for power. Although many still had that as well. With all this in mind she answered Renfry.

"I think the arrival of Lord Raze was a blessing for us. Your rise to power as Queen and now Councilor perhaps an even greater one. As much as I love my world and my sister, we have lived to long in the past. I do not agree with all of their doctrine, but I can understand a hunger for more. To be better then we were. We can learn from them to be greater then we are" she said, and paused a moment to gauge her Queen. "Perhaps one day even lead them as we do the brothers."

 

[Renfry]

Renfry listened carefully, agreeing with what was said. She hoped it was actually Zara's thoughts and not just what the other woman thought Renfry wanted to hear. But the thing that caught her attention more than any other was the final comment. It was an interesting comparison and one that showed Zara was no fool. Renfry appreciated that.

Have you run across any Jedi yet? she asked. In reality, the Jedi were quite rare in the galaxy. Many of the Sith may well have not crossed paths with them yet, but Renfry was interested in the other woman's thoughts on them. After all, they were simply servants of the Winged Spirit. While Renfry had always paid greater homage to the Fanged, she still recognized the importance that the other Spirit served.

As they continued to speak, Renfry started to walk, heading along one of the paths leading down the cliff toward the jungle floor below. She knew it would get dangerous out here soon, but she was not concerned yet. They had time before the nocturnal hunters would come out, and she always thought better while in motion.

@Taz

 

[Zara]

Zara was pleased that Renfry seemed to be in agreement with her thoughts. Her mother would not agree at all. Hja was stuck in the past. The clan had the Dreaming River, one of the main sources of the water of life on the planet, and that was enough for her mother. For most of the clan even. But something in Zara wanted more. It was not a hunger for power. But rather to see her sisters be more then just the guardians of the river.

They started to walk then, as Renfry asked of Jedi. To her amazement she had yet to meet one of the followers of the Winged Spirit. It was only a matter of time however. The conflict between the light and the shadow was an endless circle. The balance ever shifting, one ruling a space of time before giving way to the other. It was the way of nature, of life. A lesson Zara was told early as a young sister. "I have not. but I know I will soon." she answered.

Zara continued to follow Renfry down the path to the jungle. Her skin started to warm as did her blood. Like the predators of her world she loved to hunt at night. To her Dathomir was most alive when the moon(s?) were out. The thought of it brought a knowing smile to her face, but she quietly followed after the queen.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Sometimes Renfry enjoyed just returning to the jungle. It was an opportunity to run free and be without any restrictions on herself. While she still managed to find moments like that, they were more and more rare each day that passed.

I'm sure you will, she said. It was a bit of a shame she hadn't yet. Renfry would have been interested to hear her take on them, but perhaps that would be a conversation for a different day.

Did you ever do any beast taming in the past? she asked. Renfry wanted to ride... something. A rancor or a nydak or chirodactyl. She didn't know what, but something that she could ride and get her blood pumping. Of course the beast tamers at the palace could have provided any of those, but Renfry wanted the connection for herself. To control and bind to something.

@Taz

 

[Zara]

"How do you see them ?" She decided to ask. Zara could tell there was a look of disappointment on the other woman's face and wanted to have another point of view. Most Sith despised the followers of the Winged Spirit for little other reason then they were the followers of light. Zara did not have that kind of hate yet. She would not hesitate in combat if it came to action but she did not hate someone for belief alone.

"I have, but it has been some time." she replied to the question of taming beasts. In truth it had been longer then the year she was away from home. Using the shadow to impose her will on others, even beasts, was a weak spot in her magicks. However she understood what a powerful tool it could be in her new role as a Sith, so it was something she intended to work on.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Zara's question wasn't an easy one to answer. It was part of the reason she wanted Zara's opinion. Emryc had advised her not to dismiss the Jedi as there was much to learn from them, but the truth was that she hadn't had many interactions with the Jedi. She had killed them on Ajan Kloss twice, fought them at Byblos, and killed them here on Dathomir. This was a world they were not welcome on.

They're complicated, she said. Not without their own merits, but more often than not an obstacle to overcome, she said. That may have been contrary to traditional Sith teachings, but she was a Nightsister, after all.

I want to fly, she said. It was a fit of fancy so to speak. She wanted to fly over the trees and watch the red sun set. Hopefully Zara wouldn't mind.

She continued on down the trail, stopping at an overhanging cliff some way down. Along the wall of the cliff below, she could hear screeching and cawing. Large, predatory bird-like creatures clung to the cliff face or mounted small overhangs.

She peered over the edge and mentally selected one for herself. How confident do you feel? she asked.

@Taz

 

[Zara]

It was not the answer she expected from the Renfry, but then again she really didn't know what to expect. The Queen of the Nightsisters had always danced to the beat of her own drum. Why should her opinions of the Winged Spirit be any different.

Zara would quickly smile how when Renfry mentioned wanting to fly. The tone of her voice sounding more like a younger sister wanting to play. It was an amusing thought to say the least. Zara gave a quick nod in agreement and followed her to the trail. Soon kneeling to peer over the cliff's edge after.

Zara eyed a bird of her own, but appeared nervous. "I think I can manage." she hoped.
@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

It was true, Renfry was out here to let loose a bit. While the naive, adventurous "space hippie" had been forced to take a back seat to the responsible Queen and Sith Lord, there was a part of her beneath the surface that simply wanted to run wild and free sometimes. The free spirit within her would never be fully tamed.

Zara's words said she was ready, but her face told a slightly different story. She realized it was perhaps a bit unfair to put her on the spot like this, but Renfry also had confidence in her. She had been chosen for her role for a reason and one of those reasons was ability to adapt and overcome.

Remember the fundamentals: sense its instincts, exude safety, display dominance, she said, giving a nod as she said it.

Without much more said, Renfry vaulted over the side, one hand steadying her and pushing out from the wall as she launched into a straight drop. She reached out to the Shadow, gripping herself to keep from breaking something as she landed atop the back of one of the animals.

And then she did just as she had told Zara. Her mind pushed through the Shadow, forcing itself upon the fog of the animal's mind as it began to panic. There was a moment of conflict as she forced her will upon it, sensing its mind and giving it an understanding that it would not be harmed by her.

@Taz

 

[Zara]

Zara took a deep breath and returned the nod to Renfry. No sooner did the talk Zare through a reminder of the basics, she leaped to her over. Throwing caution to the evening winds as she gracefully landed atop the back of one of the bird like beasts.

"Right." she said aloud. Shoring up her resolve.

Stepping off the cliff's edge, Zara allowed herself to free fall a moment. Her hand then reached upward, the shadow reaching to the cliff. Gripping the rock like a spiders web, gracefully lowering the huntress to the back of the winged beast. As she came to rest on the beast she raked her fingers into the feathers of the creature.

Just as Renfry instructed. She could feel the fear of the creature. It started to lurch and flap it's wings. Wanting the stranger off her back. Reaching out with the shadow, she felt the fear, the anger. Zara allowed her will to fog the bird's emotions. Panic quickly shifted to understanding. Woman and beast were companions.

Soon the birds calmly walked to the edge of it's birch. Looked to the jungle below and then the sky above, and then leaped into the air. Diving down for a heart stopping moment before thrusting out it's wings to glide above the jungle canopy. Zara wide eyed to take it all in.

@Phoenix