Ask There and Back Again

[Yondir Fenn]

Spoiler: Music OOC

A dark rider.
A darksider.
He speaks
Of family.
A family
Jedi have.
He has.
Yondir.
Another.
A man.
Another
Man.
Quin.
Faen.
Yondir.
Together.
From
One
Into
Three.
Who
Between
They
Must
Succeed.

No mystics.
These Jedi.
A Mind Trick.
Jedi business.

“Get— out of my head!”
So Yondir advances!
His grip strengthens!
Ignorance, yet knowledge.

Faen’s brother had information.
With each other, they wil gain it.
“You will tell us about the target.”
“He is— in the Ash Mountains.”

Chaos, yet harmony.
With a dark rider’s lips.
Yondir controls his grip.
Passion, yet serenity.

“No, I can’t tell… shouldn’t talk.”
In a darksider’s mind, Jedi walk.

“Stop your Jedi tricks!”
The Jedi Knight twists.

One of his arms is up.
His eyelids—so closed.
But inside, O they widen.
Extended, fingers spread.

“What are these creatures?”
Calm speech, solid features.

“Th-They…are…mutated…
Y-Yes…they are…undead…”

Like him?
Or as in
Virus?
AMS?

“He is no mere thief then.”
“No…he...is…an…enemy...”

The chief’s description of him
As a scrawny unfed chicken
Really didn’t match this one bit.
Faen’s brother’s losing vision.

Despite sharing their arms
If the Jedi press too hard
They’d tear his mind apart
And what is left of his heart.

Yondir, Faen and Quin
Kind of look like this.

Spoiler

@Charles @Sicadorito

 

[Faen Akatosh]

Faen was inside, thanks to the help of both Quin and Yondir. The Seer saw more than he had asked for however, and so, unbeknownst himself, he fell to his knees with his hand still outstretched. Dark visions became clear as day for Faen- ones of his brother being tortured as a captive to some mysterious diminutive race the Seer couldn't recall. How poorly they treated him- they pushed Boramiir to the brink until he gave into his inner rage and slaughtered his way out of that dreaded underground city.

Then, he came into contact with a Sith during his travels back home. The Sith had triggered a beast in Boramiir- and it hungered for revenge and blood. The vision changed to Boramiir meeting in a shrouded cloak with others of the same garb. One pointed to a holo projection of a ring with strange runes engraved into it. Then, they dispersed. However, every time the came close to discovering the ring, an apparent wretch would transform into some dark dread lord who seemed to summon wraiths to fend for himself while he escaped.

"Brother..." Faen opened his eyes, making eye contact with his dark sibling, who's eyes were wet with tears. "Have you seen enough of the monster before you?" Boramiir stuttered forlornly. "I only see an elder sibling of mine... Take my hand. Please. We can stop this once and for all. For your sake and for mine." Faen's brother was bitter because of how long he had been without love. Maybe if Boramiir could feel the kindness of others, the Jedi could redeem him.

"The others won't like it... They'll see me as a traitor. A heretic siding with the Light..." Boramiir clenched his fist bitterly, before relaxing it and taking Faen's offered hand. "But... I will not sacrifice my own blood. Not a single drop." Faen smiled and brought himself along with this sibling up to their feet. "I will warn you all, however, that this will be no easy task. The Fel do not take lightly to those who would forsake the Darkness. Neither does the Master of our Ring."

@Sicadorito @Die Shize

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin let go as soon as tears began to appear in the man’s eyes. He wouldn’t be able to take much more without breaking, and he didn’t want that to happen. He watched as Faen reached out to his brother, once more remembering that even though this man had tried to kill them, he was still the other Jedi’s brother. Quin didn’t have any siblings, but he could imagine the pain of watching a loved one go through something like this.

He held his breath when the other knight held out his hand, resisting the urge for his own hand to drop down to his hilt as he eyed the rider warily. He half-expected him to strike out against Faen, but to his surprise, he seemed to have come to his senses, giving them an honest warning instead.

“Thank you, Boramiir,” he said quietly, giving the man a nod. It couldn’t have been easy to resist the dark side, but maybe the bond of family was stronger. That gave him a little hope.

“If it were easy, we wouldn’t be here, would we?” Quin smiled a little as he glanced at Faen. “But we’ll be careful. We’re not planning to lose anyone.”

@Charles

 

[Faen Akatosh]

Boramiir only gave Quin a simple nod. His face remained grim but Faen felt the tension relieve itself from his brother. Faen still felt the corruption of the Dark Side riddled throughout Boramiir, and yet Boramiir seemed at ease. Why did this bother Faen so? Because throughout his entire life he had grown up to understand that the Dark Side corrupts all into writhing monsters. So why was his brother different? Maybe Faen was wrong about redemption- about the Sith. Truly, all it came down to was the effort one made to change and be better. He hoped his brother was willing to make such an effort.

"I'm glad you agree. Let's get going, shall we?" Faen helped his brother onto the back of his horse and they would lead the way further up the mountain...

---

The journey had been long and tiresome, yet Boramiir seemed unfettered by the hours they had spent on the mountain. Though the determination was respectable, Faen still found it unnerving. It was as if Boramiir was incapable of rest- incapable of finding short lived peace. Faen's mind wandered back to when his brother spoke of being the Dark Side itself. Maybe this was one of the few perks to such obedience.

"We're close now," Boramiir muttered to the others. "Ready yourselves. This...thing is not to be taken lightly. It will deceive you." And with that, Boramiir jumped off the steed and continued on foot, heading towards the mouth of a cave. Faen did the same but waited for Quin. "I sense a dark presence...unlike anything I've felt before. That cave...whatever is inside... It's going to try our faith, Quin. I can feel it..."

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

On the way up the mountain, Quin felt himself growing increasingly concerned at how despite all that Boramiir had been through, he still seemed perfectly fine. He hoped that the man wasn’t pushing himself too hard. There remained a part of him that feared the worst, that Faen’s brother was somehow planning to betray them and simply waiting for the right time to strike, but he tried not to think about it too much.

He nodded to Boramiir at the warning before getting off his horse and following Faen to the entrance of the cave. It was completely dark inside, which was pretty much what he’d expected, but something about it didn’t sit well with him for whatever reason. Mentally shrugging it off, he would glance at Boramiir.

“Are you coming with us?” he asked. “You’ve gone through a lot today… do you need rest?” After Boramiir gave his answer for whatever decision he made, Quin would look to Faen.

“I think I feel it too,” he admitted. “But we’ll face it together. Whatever it is, it won’t be expecting Jedi.” At least, he hoped not. The riders had shaken him up a little as for the scale of what they were doing, and this all appeared to be a lot more than a simple “take back what’s ours” kind of deal.

Either way, Quin would step into the cave, keeping his saber out just in case.

@Charles

 

[Faen Akatosh]

Boramiir gave no quarter and continued making his way into the mouth of the cave. Faen sighed, but he was not worried for his brother- except for the whole falling to the Dark Side thing, of course. But if Boramiir had survived on his own for this long, then maybe he was capable of a feat like this. Quin's words of faith instilled hope in the Seer, and for that he was grateful. The Order needed more Jedi as valiant as Quin Leonkri.

"Foul wretch!" Faen heard Boramiir yell before two red lightsabers clashed together, illuminating the cave in a ghastly maroon light. The other presence was garbed in black robes and wore a black mask bearing no markings but eye holes. However, upon the new Dark Sider's hand lied a golden ring that almost entranced Faen. That had to be the thing they were after. Without hesitating any longer, Faen ignited his purple blade and rushed to help his brother.

"Alas...The Shadow to Be has arrived- dearest Boramiir, you have brought about our King!" The voice was hoarse and coarsed with evil unlike anything Faen had felt. The Seer swung at the opposing Sith's leg, to which it blocked it, but in doing so gave Boramiir the opening- but he didn't take it. Instead, the brother switched his gaze to Quin and deactivated his lightsaber. "Do not interfere, Light Bearer..." The damn traitor! What was going on? Who was this wretch? Was all of this a trap?

The masked Sith chuckled as he delivered his own onslaught of attacks, and even when Faen parried the attacks and cut the Sith's arm off, he still barked his wretched laughing. Fury rose in the Seer as Faen took the ring from the corpse of a hand and leveled his blade to the Dark Sider's neck.

"What is the meaning of this, thief? I am no King! Not for the likes of you..." Faen growled, but the wretch only continued to laugh. "You should have taken your brother's deal when you had the chance... Now your fate is set in stone. Now you are doomed forever to bring about Order through the Ren-Logic your ancestors worshipped. If you do not kill me, Faen Akatosh, I will butcher your fellow Jedi while your brother flays your head from it's shoulders... Boramiir began muttering in a foul language, the same one he used during the fight with the black riders.

"We tell...the Council...nothing." Faen hissed to Quin before severing the wretch's head from it's body. The ring in his hands began to hiss and red letters began to glow in some strange inscription. Whatever this meant... the ring belonged to him now. It was his burden- his problem to deal with. Boramiir's face was indifferent throughout the strange events and his gaze turned to Faen this time.

"Faen...my brother... Do not disappoint us." And that was the last thing Faen remembered his brother saying before the Seer was entranced in violent visions of what was to come. He collapsed to the ground, clenching the golden ring in his hands... Boramiir turned to Quin and ignited his blade. "You will kill me or him... Take my place... or his... Take up your blade, Light Bearer, and cast away the Light you find comfort in. Today you will know Darkness as your master. Today... You will follow the Ren."

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Boramiir made the decision to come along, and though Quin was still skeptical about his decision, he reluctantly let the man take the lead as he walked alongside Faen. But soon, red light bathed the interior of the cavern and he heard the sound of lightsabers clashing. At that, he would break into a run alongside Faen to assist. He couldn’t help glancing at the gleaming ring on the masked man’s hand, though.

Perhaps that was enough to distract him for a while, because he quickly realized that Boramiir was no longer attacking the man with the ring. Instead, he told Quin not to interfere, and that was enough for him to ignite his lightsaber.

“What are you saying, Boramiir?” He took a step closer, but Faen had already cut off the arm of Boramiir’s ally. The cackle was all Quin could hear as his gaze swiveled over to them and saw Faen holding the glowing ring. He narrowed his eyes at the seer’s next words, however.

“There’s nothing here that needs to be kept from the Council,” he said levelly, facing the other Jedi. But then the man’s eyes seemed to glaze over, and he suddenly collapsed. His eyes widened in alarm. Something was wrong, very wrong. “Faen? Faen!” Quin rushed over, but he soon saw that he was still breathing. He looked back at Boramiir and the other man when they began to speak, but he kept his saber out like a shield in front of him and Faen.

"No one needs to die," he said decisively, his gaze switching back and forth from Boramiir to the former ring-wearer. “I will never give in to the dark side. It does nothing but corrupt!” He turned to Boramiir. “Snap out of it, Boramiir. This is your brother— he needs our help. Help me get him out of here, and we’ll both be there for you when we report back to the Council.” With that, he began trying to drag Faen back the way they’d come, still keeping his saber in front of him.

@Charles

 

[Faen Akatosh]

When Faen opened his eyes, he appeared back on the war torn planet he had always seen before. However, standing in front of him was the same masked demon who was the source of all this pain and torment the Seer had been through. The Seer held the ring in his hands still, but in the other was a bloodied blade. The masked Sith held a blade, too, but it was spotless and clean. Anger flooded through Faen like a wildfire, earning a chuckle from the masked man.

"I will end this! Once and for all... You will no longer torture me with your crazed visions of doom." Faen Akatosh was not the same man anymore. The masked man said nothing and simply nodded his head and raised his sword in agreement. And thus... the two became locked in some strange mental vision, battling for their lives.

-

Meanwhile, as Faen and the masked man seemed to be in a trance of some sort, Boramiir was preparing to engage Quin. However, the words the younger Jedi spoke seemed to stall the darkened brother, causing him to hesitate. Boramiir looked to his brother and then to the floor, like he was debating with his own ideals and Quin's. Finally, he glared into Quin, burning through him with the same rage his entranced brother had.

"There is no going back... I cannot be helped... it has already been set into motion." He growled darkly. "Killing me or Faen is your only option. Choose wisely, o Light Bearer mine..." Boramiir swung his lightsaber violently, cutting horizontally and aiming for Quin's torso before cutting diagonally hoping to cut his left shoulder. "The Jedi cannot save me... I am too far gone! There is nothing left for me but the desires of the Dark Side!"

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin was growing increasingly worried about Faen the longer his trance seemed to last. It was clear that the ring and the two darksiders with them were having some kind of effect on him. Why wasn’t it affecting him? Was it something physical about the ring? He had to get it away from the other Jedi.

He was about to reach down to grab it before Boramiir suddenly swung his sword at him. He was forced to drop what he was doing to lift up his own saber in defense, just barely managing to block his blade once as it came for his torso. He quickly moved his saber up as the sword came for his left shoulder, extending his left hand to send out a Force push at Boramiir to hopefully throw him back.

“There’s always something left, Boramiir,” he urged whether or not he’d succeeded. “No one is ever too far gone.” He didn’t know whether that was true or not, but he’d seen the doubt on Faen’s brother’s face at his earlier words. For now, he’d hold off on attacking to give the man a chance. Time was ticking for Faen, though, and Quin had yet to work out a plan to get both of them here without having to make any potentially fatal decisions.

@Charles

 

[Faen Akatosh]

The fight inside Faen's mind raged on, but the Seer had the upper hand in this quarrel. The mastery over Form VII made Faen a far more unpredictable opponent and this proved to be too much for the masked Sith. After cutting the Dark Sider's arms off, he made the dark visage kneel. However, only a shrill laugh escaped from the maddened Sith. Sith? Was he a Sith? Faen didn't think so. But whatever he was, he had lost.

"I've won, release me from this hallucination." But the masked Sith stopped laughing and tilted his head, as if he was confused with Faen's request. "I've won..." It repeated, perfectly mimicking Faen's voice. "I'm still alive. Kill me and you win. Kill me and you are free."

---

Boramiir scowled as the two blades connected, and the Force push did it's job giving the two more space. However, the twisted brother made note of Quin's eagerness to snatch the Ring for himself. Under his watch, it would not happen again. He outstretched a hand and coiled the Force behind Quin, attempting to pull the Jedi back towards him. Then, with his other hand, Boramiir swung to cut the Jedi at the torso.

"No... This is who I am... I will die this way..." The Dark Sider came to terms with himself. "You... You will kill me and take my place or perish."

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin felt himself violently jerked away from Faen and towards Boramiir as the man Force pulled him right back. No! He would once again have to block the blow coming toward his torso by turning his blade downwards and pushing out, forcing him to look away from the other Jedi again to face his brother. He seemed intent on Quin striking him down, and strangely enough, that only made the knight even more reluctant to do it. Although, he would have to get out of here soon.

“Stand down, Boramiir,” he warned. He leveled his blade upward in front of him in a defensive stance, nearly face to face with Faen’s brother. “You know you don’t want this.” If the other man didn’t respond in any way or would keep up his attack, Quin would turn his wrist to make his lightsaber go in a vertical circle in an attempt to disarm him. If Boramiir would try to attack by stretching out his arm in front of him instead, he would soon feel the searing hot plasma biting into his wrist before cutting it off entirely.

“I won’t kill you. But I will stop you from doing whatever it is you want to Faen.” The other Jedi needed him— he couldn’t give in now.

@Charles

 

[Faen Akatosh]

Whatever Quin believed was left of Boramiir was no longer there. Even as he lost his hand wielding his blade, hate still burned like a black flame in his heart. However, Boramiir didn't seem to be phased by the loss of his hand and rose his free one up to fire a volley of Sith Lightning, gnashing his teeth as he poured all he had into the onslaught. Quin would understand that Boramiir wouldn't stop, nor be stopped, until his heart neglected to beat any longer.

"Kill me in hate... Kill me in serenity- It does not matter. I will murder you or you will butcher me. You can't stop this." Boramiir hissed. "My people need their Shadow. They need their leader... They need my brother..."

---

Faen's eyes shot open and he wasted no time to grab the ring that laid beside him in the dirt. The masked Dark Sider went limp- it was finished. Faen Akatosh had won. What happened in that strange vision... Faen didn't think he could tell anyone within the Order. This was his fight now- his path, and he understood what needed to happen to the Ring. Faen was to destroy it, and with it, the heinous cult that worshiped it.

As the Seer stood over the dead cultist, he turned his gaze to his brother fighting the other Knight. Faen ignited his purple blade and lunged, plunging the blade through his brother's chest before he could harm anyone else. A tear streamed down his cheek as the evil glint in Boramiir's cheek faded to their natural hazel color.

"Brother... Thank you..." Faen fell to his knees, gazing at the artifact in his palm. "I will tell the council everything. You... You need to stay out of this, Quin. I feel that...that I might draw into something truly terrible. Let me take care of this myself... I need to destroy it. That... That is my future."

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

When Quin’s blade sliced through Boramiir’s hand, the Jedi expected him to back off or to at least try to recuperate, and he lowered his blade. However, not so much as a scream escaped the man’s lips, and instead what came back at him was a volley of lightning. With how quickly it happened, the knight didn’t have time to block it, and the electricity would hit him in the chest at full force. The impact sent him staggering backwards, and he dropped to his knee as the burning pain caused his vision to go white. His flesh felt like it was on fire. He’d been hit with Sith lightning before, but he’d nearly forgotten how much it hurt. And so all he could do was keep from screaming, let alone move at all.

As if rubbing salt in the wound, he could hear Boramiir practically taunting him. He wanted death, and it was going to come from one of them. Quin couldn’t think clearly through the agony— the crackling of electricity and the agony it brought was all that was in his mind at the moment. But all of a sudden, it would come to a stop, and the knight would fall forward onto his hands. The glow of a purple blade was all he could see, and when he had recovered enough to look up he would see Faen and the lifeless body of his brother in front of him. It wasn’t what he’d wanted, but Boramiir looked… at peace now.

“Faen… I owe you one,” he managed to gasp out once he’d caught his breath. Once the pain started to fade, Quin slowly got back onto his feet. A few seconds of silence passed after Faen finished, where the knight met the other Jedi’s gaze and simply listened. Then, he placed a gentle hand on the seer’s shoulder.

“You’re not alone in this, Faen,” he answered quietly. “I’ll go with you to the Council. We came here together— we’ll get out of this together, too. If you want to destroy the ring, I’ll help you.” He smiled briefly. “If it is something terrible, you can’t face it alone. I’d feel better if I had your back… and you had mine.”

@Charles

 

[Faen Akatosh]

"Thank you, Quin. I really appreciate it." Faen smiled gratefully to his companion. "There's a crate in the back... I think it holds the treasures that were stollen..." His gaze shifted to the ring on his finger, small red letters in the ancient language of Sith began to glow and the ring itself began to hum as if it were happy to be on Faen's finger. Before the letters faded, Faen read them aloud;

"Suffering...shall feed the Shadow... Death shall never sate it's Hunger... Hunger shall give it...Power... Power shall bring more Suffering..." But that last phrase held back the Seer's tongue. Suffer until you become Shadow, O Master Mine. This artifact needed to be destroyed- quenched in the Light. Yet, this ring seemed to drain it from his very being- was it possible to destroy it as a Jedi? Faen caught himself before he began dissenting into a thought process that he didn't want to deal with right now.

"It needs to be destroyed." Faen took the ring off and set it down on a rock. "Hold out your hand and channel the Light from your palm into the Ring- it needs to go." The Seer closed his eyes and gathered the Force, pushing it through his arm into his hand until it began to glow. White Current was used to break Arctus free, so maybe it could break the ring, too.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

Quin smiled back at Faen as the other man appeared to accept his help. He didn’t want the seer to feel like he would be dealing with this alone. As Jedi— and as a friend— it was only right to help when he could.

Heading back to the back of the cave to grab the box that Faen had mentioned, he thought about the inscription that the other Jedi was reading as he made his way back.

“Sounds… dark,” he commented, setting the box to the side. He glanced at the ring, but he couldn’t see any inscription on it. But that had to have come from somewhere— Faen couldn’t have just made all that up. Nor would it make any sense if he did. Maybe only the ring’s wearer could see it.

Then, Faen mentioned destroying the ring with the Light. He wasn’t sure how it would work, but maybe he could try to break it apart. “Alright, let’s try it.” Quin stretched out an arm and closed his eyes, concentrating his energy around the ring. With Faen, he would attempt to shatter it with the Force.

@Charles

 

[Faen Akatosh]

Faen believed that with the might of both Knights, the Ring would shatter- however, he was in for a sore surprise. The power of the Light rebounded off the Ring and nearly broke Faen's hand, the Force creating a black shockwave of rage. The Ring was outraged with it's new Master- was that what Faen was now? The bearer of this foul creation? Quin feel the same things as Faen as the Dark Side immensely overpowered the cave, drowning out any and all light they produced. It was surprising that such a small artifact could hold so much power.

Foul traitor! You are the Lord of Shadow. This is the Ren. Wield it. Enforce it. Rule it.

The Ring whispered and Faen shuddered. Could Quin hear it, too? The Seer dropped to his knees as the Ring gathered the outburst of Darkness, swallowing it up until all that remained was the Ring and the Ring alone. This thing couldn't be destroyed with the Light Side. It needed to be destroyed by the very thing that created it. But the thought of succumbing to the Dark Side for such a thing only brought more pain to the Seer.

"Quin... I don't think we can destroy this." Faen began, closing his eyes as he knelt before the artifact that shattered his faith. "It needs to be... It needs to be destroyed by a Sith." Regret and guilt overwhelmed the Knight and Quin would be able to sense it as clear as day.

@Sicadorito

 

[Quin Leonkri]

As Quin tried to pull apart the ring, he felt as if it was resisting him the more he concentrated his power on it. Even combined with Faen’s, it soon got to be so much that it resulted in a shock wave that slammed back into his hand and arm. The dark side seemed to accompany it, washing over the entire cave and leaving him feeling as if he were freezing. The ring carried much power in the dark side, that much was certain.

Taking a sharp breath, he would look over to find Faen shuddering on his knees. Alarm kicked in just then, and Quin would hurry over to the seer’s side just as the other man spoke of a Sith destroying the ring. That… he couldn’t picture them doing.

“The Sith won’t destroy it. They’ll use it for their own benefit and cause even more destruction,” he said grimly, lowering himself to one knee beside Faen. It might have been a cynical view, but from what he’d seen, there was no way that a Sith would turn down power like this. “We should tell the council. They’ll know how to destroy it.”

@Charles

 

[Faen Akatosh]

"I think you're right," Faen agreed before igniting his lightsaber and attempted to cut the Ring or melt it to slag, but again, the strange artifact rebounded from the blade, sizzling with heat. "If you could, I'd like you to join me when I present this to them. It would be nice to have a friendly face in the room to have my back." Faen stooped down to pick up the Ring and then placed it in his suit pocket.

"Thank you, Quin." Faen turned to the fellow Jedi Knight. "I think that now, I can say that I trust you with my life." And hopefully, Faen could keep that trust.

/Exit Thread

@Sicadorito