The Axxilan wouldn’t help but seem a profound sense of doubt wash over him, considering his commitment to the path they were on. This had only been the first trial of many ahead, and it was an experience that brought him closer to death than perhaps either of them were expecting. The path ahead of them still wasn’t entirely clear, but it was becoming increasingly clear that their survival wasn’t anything close to a certainty.
Jaikus utterly failed at trying to make it to the ship on the first attempt, falling face-first back into the grassy ground. A part of him was thankful that he’d only made it a few steps before his legs gave out, sparing him from colliding with the durasteel ramp of Andruil’s ship.
For the moment, he leaned back against a particularly uncomfortable boulder, citrine eyes flicked up to the sky as Andruil spoke. His brow furrowed a bit in thought, silent for a while after she finished speaking. He valued whatever information she could provide, and yet her insights now seemed to generation just as many questions as it answered.
“Perhaps the ancient one we’re trying to summon didn’t used to be dark, either.” He muttered, shrugging his shoulders. It was a complete shot in the dark, and Jaikus doubted the words at soon as they passed his lips. The presence they had felt in that vision was unmistakable dark, there was no question about that.
Just as he finished speaking, the Axxilan felt a brush against his ear – causing his body to tense and his head to quickly flick over his shoulder – revealing nothing was there. The unintelligible, faint voices of those countless supplicants seemed to linger in his mind, though it felt as if they had been breathed just behind him. It was something that left the Axxilan thoroughly perturbed, and the man felt a sudden desire to leave the planet.
Jaikus watched as Andruil staggered to her feet, making her way back to the ship. He lingered against the boulder for a few moments more making an attempt to join her. His last attempt at getting up hadn’t exactly gone well, and Jaikus took significantly longer to rise from the ground this time around – staggering to his feet and carrying himself forward with small, shuffled steps.
Trailing far behind Andruil, Jaikus finally made it up the ramp and into the lounge of the ship – plopping down into a chair next to the woman. More than ever, Jaikus was grateful that the Empress had invested in plush seating, sinking deep into the cushions as exhausted washed over him.
He eventually reached for the jerky and juice, taking a long drink before nibbling eagerly at the dried meat – breaking with his usually dainty way of eating. Quite frankly, Jaikus was simply too exhausted to bother with any sense of etiquette.
He paused going to town on the jerky when Andruil spoke, blinking a few times in response.
“Telos was.. Eventful.” He said, in what was likely the understatement of the year. Months had passed since he left that frigid planet, and yet the experience was one that lingered on the Axxilan’s mind as if it had only occurred a few days prior. There was a distinct pause just then, and for a moment, the Axxilan considered just how much of the experience as something he wanted to share openly.
“The temple itself is remarkably ancient, built in the mountains of the planet. Over the centuries the site was occupied by the Jedi, who built a temple of their above the older. Perhaps in an attempt to cleanse the site of Sith influence.” He shrugged his shoulders a bit.
“While it had been sealed for centuries, Lord Raze and I eventually managed to make our way inside.” He paused for a moment before he continued. “Neither of us knew what we would find in that place, but there was a nexus at the heart of the temple -and a powerful one at that.
“It was a place unlike any I’ve experienced in the past. Instead of amplifying it, the temple seemed to nullify our connection to the Force. It made progress through the temple… Difficult.” Jaikus drummed his fingers against his thigh, a complicated playing across the Axxilan’s face just then.
“Boobytraps, pitfalls, dead-end passageways...” He rattled off, remembering each and every different challenge that the temple had presented. “We encountered creatures within the depths of the temple, ones who had clearly been twisted over the centuries and resided there since it had been sealed.” He remembered the horrific, face-changing creatures that lurked within the shadows of the temple, and just how close himself and Emryc had been to death during that encounter. “Who, or what, they were remains a mystery. But they are long-dead by now.”
He exhaled. “Worst of all, the temple itself works to play tricks on your mind – inflicting hallucinations that you have way of defending against. Playing on your weaknesses, your doubts, your fears.” Jaikus tapped his fingers, pausing for a moment more. “It effected Raze more profoundly. Caused him to lose control and see me as the enemy, briefly.” The brief battle with Raze, one that had nearly killed him, was one that Jaikus wouldn’t soon forget.
He shook his head. “Suffice to say, that temple was no walk in the park to get through. Eventually.. We made our way to the heart of the structure, where the Nexus itself was located - teetering between the light and dark. It has since been pushed to the dark.”
“Afterwards, I continued deeper into the temple. That is where I found the scrolls.” Among other things, he almost said. Just as he did the scrolls, the Axxilan had spent a great deal of time studying the other artifact that he unearthed on Telos, and he knew the value it would’ve had for someone like Andruil. It was a possession that, for the time being, he kept close to his chest.
He leaned back into the chair. “After that, I left. I don’t know what connection it has to this entity or the other planets.”
Jaikus utterly failed at trying to make it to the ship on the first attempt, falling face-first back into the grassy ground. A part of him was thankful that he’d only made it a few steps before his legs gave out, sparing him from colliding with the durasteel ramp of Andruil’s ship.
For the moment, he leaned back against a particularly uncomfortable boulder, citrine eyes flicked up to the sky as Andruil spoke. His brow furrowed a bit in thought, silent for a while after she finished speaking. He valued whatever information she could provide, and yet her insights now seemed to generation just as many questions as it answered.
“Perhaps the ancient one we’re trying to summon didn’t used to be dark, either.” He muttered, shrugging his shoulders. It was a complete shot in the dark, and Jaikus doubted the words at soon as they passed his lips. The presence they had felt in that vision was unmistakable dark, there was no question about that.
Just as he finished speaking, the Axxilan felt a brush against his ear – causing his body to tense and his head to quickly flick over his shoulder – revealing nothing was there. The unintelligible, faint voices of those countless supplicants seemed to linger in his mind, though it felt as if they had been breathed just behind him. It was something that left the Axxilan thoroughly perturbed, and the man felt a sudden desire to leave the planet.
Jaikus watched as Andruil staggered to her feet, making her way back to the ship. He lingered against the boulder for a few moments more making an attempt to join her. His last attempt at getting up hadn’t exactly gone well, and Jaikus took significantly longer to rise from the ground this time around – staggering to his feet and carrying himself forward with small, shuffled steps.
Trailing far behind Andruil, Jaikus finally made it up the ramp and into the lounge of the ship – plopping down into a chair next to the woman. More than ever, Jaikus was grateful that the Empress had invested in plush seating, sinking deep into the cushions as exhausted washed over him.
He eventually reached for the jerky and juice, taking a long drink before nibbling eagerly at the dried meat – breaking with his usually dainty way of eating. Quite frankly, Jaikus was simply too exhausted to bother with any sense of etiquette.
He paused going to town on the jerky when Andruil spoke, blinking a few times in response.
“Telos was.. Eventful.” He said, in what was likely the understatement of the year. Months had passed since he left that frigid planet, and yet the experience was one that lingered on the Axxilan’s mind as if it had only occurred a few days prior. There was a distinct pause just then, and for a moment, the Axxilan considered just how much of the experience as something he wanted to share openly.
“The temple itself is remarkably ancient, built in the mountains of the planet. Over the centuries the site was occupied by the Jedi, who built a temple of their above the older. Perhaps in an attempt to cleanse the site of Sith influence.” He shrugged his shoulders a bit.
“While it had been sealed for centuries, Lord Raze and I eventually managed to make our way inside.” He paused for a moment before he continued. “Neither of us knew what we would find in that place, but there was a nexus at the heart of the temple -and a powerful one at that.
“It was a place unlike any I’ve experienced in the past. Instead of amplifying it, the temple seemed to nullify our connection to the Force. It made progress through the temple… Difficult.” Jaikus drummed his fingers against his thigh, a complicated playing across the Axxilan’s face just then.
“Boobytraps, pitfalls, dead-end passageways...” He rattled off, remembering each and every different challenge that the temple had presented. “We encountered creatures within the depths of the temple, ones who had clearly been twisted over the centuries and resided there since it had been sealed.” He remembered the horrific, face-changing creatures that lurked within the shadows of the temple, and just how close himself and Emryc had been to death during that encounter. “Who, or what, they were remains a mystery. But they are long-dead by now.”
He exhaled. “Worst of all, the temple itself works to play tricks on your mind – inflicting hallucinations that you have way of defending against. Playing on your weaknesses, your doubts, your fears.” Jaikus tapped his fingers, pausing for a moment more. “It effected Raze more profoundly. Caused him to lose control and see me as the enemy, briefly.” The brief battle with Raze, one that had nearly killed him, was one that Jaikus wouldn’t soon forget.
He shook his head. “Suffice to say, that temple was no walk in the park to get through. Eventually.. We made our way to the heart of the structure, where the Nexus itself was located - teetering between the light and dark. It has since been pushed to the dark.”
“Afterwards, I continued deeper into the temple. That is where I found the scrolls.” Among other things, he almost said. Just as he did the scrolls, the Axxilan had spent a great deal of time studying the other artifact that he unearthed on Telos, and he knew the value it would’ve had for someone like Andruil. It was a possession that, for the time being, he kept close to his chest.
He leaned back into the chair. “After that, I left. I don’t know what connection it has to this entity or the other planets.”
@Phoenix