The Force Itself

[Varyn Rask]

Spoiler: OOC

You all know the drill. It's not PvP tagged, so someone should come join me

Varyn had come to Ilum following the pilgrimage he couldn't explain. It was one more step along the paths Andraste had walked, or even if she hadn't been here for the battle of Ilum all those years ago, it had no doubt shaped her and the first Exiles. As soon as he'd set foot on the planet the cold was overwhelming. Despite having worn appropriate gear, it seemed to chill him to the bone.

He'd made his way into one of the caves and out of the torrential snow when he felt an entirely different type of cold. It was a chill that reached beyond the bone and cut to the soul. To those attuned to the Force it was unmistakable and overwhelming: a darkness caused by profound loss of life. It had nearly knocked Varyn from his feet when he first felt it, and he had moved to a wall to ease himself down.

Crossing his legs, he reached out to the Force. At first keeping the physical chill at bay was distracting. He found it difficult to center himself in the Force, but after a few minutes more, the world around him seemed to fade away. The Force wrapped him in a cocoon that kept the elements at bay as his spirit came free. Although still aware of what went on around him, his spirit began to walk the tombs of tunnels of Ilum, but following a whisping trail of the Light. Nothing in this projection of the world was quite the same, though. There was an almost palpable tension in the air, and dozens of the tunnels seemed to vanish all at once.

His spirit walked on, being drawn ever further inside as he searched for whatever it was that was here: whatever the Light was leading him to. Black ravens of unnatural blackness seemed to appear from nowhere, swooping down around him in the plane of the Force, throwing their taloned feet against the sphere of Light in an attempt to extinguish it only to be thrown back with every attempt. Their screeches grew ever maddening, and with each step, the sound only became louder.

Finally, he saw it: swirling vortex of black ravens at the center of the cave... pure darkness. In his mind's eye they swept in at once and descended upon the Sith. Like a bad dream, his spirit flashed back to him just before they tore at him, and his eyes flashed open again, forcing him to recoil with a gasp from the overwhelming darkness.

Whatever was here, he had to find it. He had to know what it saw, and he needed to know what it knew, no matter what it cost him.

 

[Razir TaResh]

Razir spent a good amount of time studying the history of the Sith. Illum was a significant world to the birthplace of the Sith. It was one of the places the Sith had decimated the Jedi centuries ago.

He wasn't sure what drew him to the icy world, but he could feel the tendrils of Force pulling him through space towards there. Was it smart to come alone? Probably not, but if this world held secrets of power, he wanted to find them.

As he grew closer, the whispering in the back of his mind grew louder. It didn't seem to be calling to him specifically, but it was reaching to whoever was listening.

He stepped out of his ship into the cold air. He was used to the hot, dry air of Korriban, this was quite unpleasant. He followed the call of the Force until he came to the clearing.

He had never experienced anything like it, pure, uncontrolled darkness. He almost didn't notice the others, the Force overwhelmed his senses.

He moved forwards, slowly.

 

[Freyja Storm]

Freyja's venture into the cave had not long ago ended, whereas many of her companions had left the planet she had remained. She had signalled for Kara and The Vanir to join her on the planet, more for the warmth of the ship than the company of her pilot. There was something still on the planet that drew Freyja in, though what it was and what kind of draw she felt Freyja could not tell. Her ship sat atop one of the great ice shelves of the planet, the white paint of the ship blended well with the snow drifts around it, giving it some form of camouflage to anyone who flew around the planet.

Freyja herself was sat in the rear of the ship, her legs crossed and her arms laying across them, focusing on the force and the crystal that sat in her lap. She was not sure exactly what was needed but something told her to focus in on the force on the planet. To allow the entity of that binds the galaxy access to her body, mind and soul. As she released herself into the flow of the force she felt it, a giant hole, a tug greater than any she had experienced before. It felt as if there was a chasm in the force and the planet itself below her, how she had not noticed it before she could not tell, perhaps she was to introvertly thinking, now as she expanded her mind she could feel and notice it.

Without a moment's hesitation or thought Freyja stood up, pocketing the crystal and headed out of the room. The droid Kara kept around beeped at her happily, but Freyja just walked past, picking up her blaster and sword before throwing on a large cloak and heading down the landing ramp. "Hey, where are you going?" Kara called from the cockpit. "Out, I'll be back," Freyja said as she disappeared out of the other women's sight and into the snowy tundra below. The wind wiped her dark hair away from her face as she came out from behind the bulk of the ship. Her mind was still open to the force giving her guidance, without having to use her natural eyes, she could see a fissure in the ice ahead, which lead down into the darkness. As she reached its edge she noticed not only that empty feeling but another essence, something different, something that reminded her of, her home...

 

[Kerowyn Tempest]

-Imperatrix Mundi-

Wind rippled through her cloak, which had only begun to show the speckles of white from the snow above her.

Kerowyn hated the cold, she loathed this place of frost and dampness. But she was here for a purpose, called by an unseen force to this desolate place. She had heard rumours, rumours that needed confirmation, and so, here she was. The Vahla was clad in her dark armor, mask dawned on her face, still nursing the wound on her left cheek.

Ancient legends claimed that Ilum had once been the homeworld of the rivals to the Sith. The Jedi Order. The Jedi, who strove to eliminate the Sith, viewing them as aberrations of nature. The Jedi, who so brazenly interfered with the affairs of her people, marring their history with marks of the Light where otherwise there had been nothing but black hatred. The Jedi, whose foolery had ended in their utter destruction, until now they were nothing more than whispers, children's tales, myths of a bygone era.

But there was always truth in the old legends. If her travels to Mustafar were any indication, any possibility for the ancient to return was to be treated as though it was certain. The Jedi. For all their power, they lacked the imagination to use it. But no, this was impossible. If the Jedi had returned, the Empire would know, their brazen acts of heroism would be obvious. What then, was this calling in her mind's eye? It buzzed, drawing her closer to an open cavern.

She could feel something here. Something dark, cold, unnatural. Everything the Vahla craved for her own, even darker than the black flame that flickered in her heart. It was intense darkness beyond darkness itself, a nexus of energy pooled directly from the void, as though the Dark Side incarnate. Kerowyn did not unclip her lightsaber, instead stepping into the cavern cautiously. Ahead of her, she could see an unfamiliar figure having entered but moments before her.

"Hello?" Her voice echoed throughout the cave, and she cringed in response. That wasn't the plan, and it seemed anyone in the immediate area of the cavern system itself would now know she was here. Shaking her head, she simply continued onwards. If the being in front of her replied, she would wave, but otherwise, she continued to find her way deeper into the caves, attempting to locate the source of the Darkness that emanated from the planet's recesses.

 

[Alysanne Drast]

The Sith known as Varyn was not the only one following in Andraste's footsteps. Hidden from the Galaxy for years, the Jedi harbored another who was being guided down a similar path but the Force. Not too long ago she had thrown away the cloak of anonymity and declared to the Galaxy who she was, and today she was here to face the consequences. Though she did not know what they would be. All she knew that the Force wanted her here, for something.

Alysanne was seated cross-legged in a cave of her own, not too far from Varyn, separated by impenetrable physical walls, but barely a breath away through the Force. A small opening in the roof was letting in light and snow, a thin layer having begun forming on her hooded figure. But she felt it not, the Force keeping the cold at bay. For now.

Her spirit wandered, following another tendril of the Force. But where Varyn followed a thread of Light within the Dark, Alys followed a pulsating stream of Darkness, cutting through the Light that was all around her. Where Varyn saw ravens, doves guided her steps. Drops of darkness fell from the thread, splashing on the doves like that and scattering them. But still they flew on, till they too brought her to the cave. They flocked around something, but would not let her through, at least not like this.

Her eyes slowly drifted open in the real world, the cold suddenly hitting her like a million tiny knives piercing her skin. Rising to her feet, she did her best to shrug off the snow that had accumulated over her cloak, took a deep breath, and began walking. Towards the cave. Towards the Light. Towards the Dark.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

The Force was powerful here. It was a different kind of power from what he'd felt on Moraband, but unbridled power nonetheless. It both called him forward and shouted for him to stay away. It was soothing and terrifying, but perhaps more than anything, it had captivated the Sith. He didn't know what he would find or why he'd been called, but he proceeded onward nonetheless.

He reached out with his senses, and the cave system seemed to extend before him. Like a spider's web, there were countless tendrils that interconnected all who had come to the land itself. There was little by way of natural life that lived here in this cold, barren land, but there was life unmistakably present. They were plucking the strings of the Force, and Varyn could feel it, even if he couldn't place who or where it was.

That was when he heard the faintest sound. Was that a shout? The wind playing with his mind? The Force deceiving him? It could have been any of those or simply a hallucination of his own mind, but there was someone else here. He knew that much without question.

He reached back slowly and his hand drifted lightly along that reassuring cylinder on his belt, easing it free and gripping it tightly in his hand. His lightsaber was truly a part of him, and the Kyber crystal inside seemed to have taken on a terrifying mind of its own. In recent days, it seemed to call to him all the more as if the Dark Side itself spoke through it. It was one part of what had led him here today.

He steps were slow and careful, doing his best to avoid any patches of ice that might send him slipping. Despite being in a cave, the light seemed to shine right through the ice, providing him what he needed to travel without difficulty. So ever on he walked, drawing closer to whatever it was in the Pillar of Ravens. @Wit @Autumn's Firefly @Braden Drake

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Alys walked cautiously, ever so often brushing her hands gently against the sides of the narrow caverns as if to assure herself that they weren't covered in the dark tar she had seen seeping out from the tendril of dark. She knew she was walking a path that had been laid out for her by the tendril she had felt earlier, and that scared her. Despite the repeated mentions of the Jedi paradigm that fear was of the dark side, she hadn't found it as easy to overcome all her fears as they wanted her to.

It was at moments like this that she wished that she had progressed far enough in her training to have built a blade of her own. She got the distinct feeling that a lightsaber might not have done much good against whatever she might face here today, but something about holding one in your hands really calmed you down. There was a reassuring feel to them, and part of her wished she had one gripped within her hand right now.

But there was nothing to it, she was going to have to face whatever lay ahead on her own. Just her, and the Force.

As she finally rounded a corner, she saw the floor begin to gradually begin slope downwards, so much so that she couldn't see what lay beyond. But she knew what lay ahead. She had finally reached it, the cave with the doves. That was what lay beyond this last stretch. But even as she was about to steel herself to begin walking down towards it, she heard, or maybe just thought that she heard, something. She wasn't alone. Much later than Varyn, she too was beginning to become aware of the fact that she wasn't alone.

"Hello?" She called out softly as she began walking down the slope, towards whatever lay beyond.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Although he continued on, he saw no evidence of anyone else. There had been that initial call out and then nothing. He knew he wasn't alone, but he couldn't bring himself to pursue it. He was a curious person, but there was something far more interesting to him here. He wanted to know what the Force had to show him. He didn't know if it was the darkness or the light that called to him, but he wanted to respond. He needed to respond. There was an insatiable desire that needed satisfying, and he no longer felt in control of his own actions.

His path started shifting downward, and he continued on, taking careful steps not to slip on the ice that seemed more common now. He continued on until he came to a chamber with multiple entrances, and a pillar in the center that was being circled furiously by the flock of ravens. He wasn't even sure he was in the room anymore or if he had stepped from his own body and into the plane of the Force again. It felt so real, but there couldn't have been so many of the creatures present. It simply wasn't possible.

That was when he saw it: an orb of black that seemed to swirl with all different colors inside: purple, orange, red, yellow, and green all seemed to flash in front of images. He was too far away to see what the images showed, but he could sense in the Force that everything was centered around whatever this was. It was at the base of the pillar, and the center of whatever had called him here.

Just as he was reaching out to touch the orb, he heard that call again... or maybe a different call. It was a woman's voice, and it was accompanied by a cutting ray of light. She seemed to radiate a harsh and unforgiving Light that Varyn had an overwhelming urge to banish as if it scorched a piece of him.

Leave this place, he said. His voice came out harsher and raspier than he was used to, as if it was someone else's voice that said it. Even though he didn't embrace the Darkness, he didn't trust the Light. It was the slave of the Jedi, and the Jedi would tear down all rule and order. They were the agents of lawlessness, and needed to be destroyed. @Wit

 

[Freyja Storm]

As Freyja entered the Ice shelf, darkness and cold began to wrap around her, both physical and mental. The planet was aglow with the presence of the Force, long had Ilum been home to the Jedi slowly syphoning their light combined with the natural positive essence of Kyber Crystals had turned the planet into a nexus of energy that danced around Freyja on the surface. With each step though, that dance slowed, the light dimmed and the energy seemed to evaporate into the air around her. The natural light of the planet's blue sun began to fade, but like the cave where she found her crystal, hear to the walls seemed to emanate an unnatural light allowing her to see.

The path she took down from the surface was tight forcing her to contort her body to allow her to pass through, the smallest of gaps, sharps deposits of stone stuck out catching her cloak and trousers as she walked, ripping the fabric. It was a steep decline down further into the shelf, Freyja knew it would be hard work coming back out this way and mentally began to dread the climb back, forgetting that there was still the threat of something else dark and unworldly at the bottom of this path. Finally the path began to open up, allowing Freyja to move fore freely, eventually entering into a large tunnel heading both left and right. She stopped for a moment trying to sense something within the force, a guiding hand on which way to go. But instead of the force guiding her, instead, it was a voice. A gentle Hello, off to her right. 'Was that what she was here for?' Her hand rested on her blaster as she turned and began walking further into the cave.

She was only about fifty feet further down the tunnel when she heard a man in a harsh voice call back. Though if it was to herself or the previous voice she was unsure. Freyja stopped in her tracks, unclipping the strap on her blaster and checking the sheath of her sword just encase whatever was there was not a friend. Calming her mind she continued on, towards the sounds of the voices and the growing darkness. It felt like a lead weight on her chest as she walked, getting heavier with every step, but something about that pain was satisfying to Freyja exhilarating like a drug, she wanted more of it so she continued to walk. Her own light fought back against the weight of the dark helping her with each step. The track she was on leaned down again, she could see an end only a dozen or so meters away and whatever had pulled her here, was beyond that entrance. @Phoenix @Wit @Autumn's Firefly @Raydo

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Stepping into the chamber, her eyes fell noticed so much that it took her a moment to process all the information. There was the chamber itself, which was definitely not natural, then there was the orb, which seemed to be what had drawn her here, and then there was the man standing besides the orb. A Sith.

She should have been scared of him, worried at facing him after having been on the run from the Empire and the Sith for so long. But Corellia had changed all that, she had finally declared to the world what she was, and somehow she wasn't as scared anymore. And something told her that he wasn't the most dangerous thing here. That honor went to the orb, which held most of her attention.

Ignoring his words, she continued walking towards the orb, her eyes fixed on it. "I don't think you're supposed to touch it on your own. Neither of us are." She stopped a few feet from the orb, close enough to reach out and touch it. "Together, we have to touch it together." She had no idea how she knew that, but she was confident that it was the truth. She had no idea what the orb did, but something told her that neither of them had the strength to face its secrets on their own. And whatever he feelings might be about the Sith, right now she knew she had to put them aide.

"So," she said as she turned to glance at the Sith as she reached out with her right hand and held it mere inches from the orb, "do you think you can work with a Jedi?"

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn hated it. He hated the idea of needing to work with one of these Jedi, but there was no way to avoid it. He considered declining or rejecting her offer altogether, but if he did, he might never know what they were supposed to find. What he was supposed to find.

Fine, he growled as she drew closer. He may have hated her, but his desire for knowledge was greater. These Jedi couldn't be trusted. They were the ones responsible for the terrors and lawlessness that had run rampant in the galaxy before the Empire, and now they had returned to usher in another era of lawlessness. They would need to be hunted down and killed, but that could come another day.

He knew that she was only doing the same because she wanted whatever this was as well. They were using each other, and he wondered if it would result in the two of them ultimately killing one another... or not.

What he did know was that he couldn't wait any longer. He reached out his hand and touched the orb just as Alysanne would feel her hand pulled to it as well. The Force immediately began to flow into them both. For the first time in his life, Varyn felt like he was connected directly to the Force. Like he was plugged into it in a way he had never felt before. There was a flow of information and power. The whole galaxy and all of time seemed to pour into his mind in such an overwhelming capacity that after another moment he pulled back.

When he disconnected, there were only glimpses of what he had seen that still remained. The past still lingered in his mind. He could see the alternatives to where the galaxy was now. What if Andraste had never come into power? What if she had never been kicked out of the Jedi? What if Lapar had not cast his daughter aside? Or fallen to the Dark Side? As quickly as Varyn could explore every crack in the glass of time, they vanished from his mind and were gone forever.

And then just as the glass of the Force seemed to shatter, so did the orb. It had to have been millions of pieces as small as splinters when it was all done, black in stark contrast to the white snow. There was no putting them back together, and Varyn took a shocked step back as it broke. He wondered what it was the Jedi might have seen or if it was the same. He should have attacked her or tried to kill her, but he could only find himself curious, and frankly, he was still reeling from what he'd just seen. @Wit @Braden Drake