Ask Lothal Wolves Among Wolves

[Renfry]

Renfry had landed her ship in the middle of nowhere at the edge of a mountain range, disembarking and sitting on the open plains as the breeze blew over her and the grass. Each world had its own ecosystem and its own ebb and flow that needed to be adjusted to, and she took the time to do just that while she awaited Emryc's arrival.

She didn't like spending time on Sullust, but it had better records of the Sith, the Shadow, and the past than anything else, and what she'd found there had led her to Lothal. Records indicated that Lothwolves had been thought extinct, but during the time of the Empire they'd made some sort of a reappearance. Now that she was here, she could feel how everything here was... bright. The Force here moved far differently than it did on Sullust or on Devaron after they'd corrupted the Nexus. The Light, the Sith called it. It was very Light here.

Perhaps that was why the Empire had suffered defeat here. And yet, there were records dating back to Sidious's days that indicated this had a link to what they'd seen in the vision on Dathomir: the world beyond the Veil.

She opened her eyes and looked to the mountains, beginning a short distance away. If she knew animals - and she did - then she knew the most likely place for them to make a den was somewhere like this. Not that the creatures would be easy to find, but with the proper pressure applied, she thought she could force the creatures to come to them. Then perhaps they would be able to get some answers about what the creatures were, what this place's ties were to the Jedi and the world beyond the Veil, and how they might exploit it. And given the vision on Dathomir - Emryc's vision - she thought he might find this place interesting as well.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc hadn’t bothered to ask why they were coming here until he already entered the system. His memories of Lothal weren’t exactly pleasant - he was stuck here after a hypergate mishap. However, he usually obliged Renfry’s requests without asking too many questions as she was one of the few people that held those cards with him. Naturally, this bit him first chance as he stared at his datapad after he had parked his ship.

For a while he simply sat there, staring at her answer on what they were doing. It was a well crafted message that made it sound incredible and purposeful, but Emryc saw right through it. He glanced up at the piloting terminal, half debating simply taking off and leaving again.

Emryc decided to finally get off his seat and make his way over to meet with Renfry. He was already scowling by the time he walked towards her.

“You mean to tell me…” He began as he came to a stop by her, “That we are here because you want a puppy?”

 

[Renfry]

Renfry could feel him approaching and opened her eyes from her meditation only to discover he wasn't particularly happy. He came to an abrupt stop and she tried not to laugh at his assessment of the situation.

Well, yes, but also no, she said, pushing herself to her feet and brushing off her hands.

Since that puppy also may be the key to figuring out the vision from Dathomir, she said, glancing at him to see what he made of that. She had no idea if he knew anything of Lothwolves, but he seemed unusually ornery about being here, so she decided that pressing her luck by dragging this out probably wasn't the right way.

Lothwolves have an inherent connection to the Shadow, she said, and old reports indicate they had some connection to the world beyond the Veil, she finished. That was what they had seen - or felt - in the vision.

Puppy is just a bonus, she said, suppressing a smirk. Unless, of course, you're not interested in finding out more, she said, her typical sass threatening to rear its head.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc blankly stared at Renfry as she explained about Lothwolves. It was a look she had grown accustomed to, along with others he frequently kept the company of. She finished up by teasing about him not wanting to find out more. He blinked slowly as he looked at her.

“I don’t care,” He said flatly, “I came because you were excited about it,” He muttered before turning around to begin walking. He wasn’t a fan of Lothal, especially not after his last experience. Emryc wasn’t too thrilled about being out in nature in general. He saw the mountain ranges ahead of them, silently wondering just how far the cities were.

Anything relating to Dathomir brought back unpleasant memories. He knew his mind couldn’t be broken, but even then that discomfort lingered. He would see this through regardless.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry had not been expecting that at all. He stared at her as she spoke like he so often did, but that response was not what she anticipated. Surely that wasn't actually the truth, was it? She stared at him blankly for a moment, blinking.

Oh... okay then. Well, thanks, I'm glad you came, she said awkwardly, clearing her throat, hoisting her backpack over her shoulders, and starting to walk toward the mountains.

You know, they were thought to be extinct for a long time, she said, unclear whether what she was saying was out of excitement, awkwardness, or simply a desire to explain.

Even now there were some - perhaps even most - who thought they were extinct and that any rumors coming out of the Imperial era were just that: rumors. But there was enough evidence out there that she was convinced they were still around. She could almost sense them.

I want to head into the mountains where they'd have their den and then start spreading darkness to draw them out. They seem to be territorial, trying to destroy whatever imposes on their territory, she said. She wasn't selling this well, was she? They were definitely going to get attacked if they did what she said, but that was fine. That was why there were two of them.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc remained silent as she rattled off a bunch of trivia about these wolves. If the facts interested Emryc, which they did, he gave no indication of it. Instead, he paused every once in a while to see what he just stepped on, frowning every now and then as muddy goop covered the bottom of his shoe.

“How many are we dealing with?” He asked after a while when they were coming up on the start of the mountain range. He wasn’t entirely sure of the plan, and he hoped it wasn’t simply a steep climb to nowhere. Emryc shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the view in front of him. Being on a space station meant he didn’t see these things very often, and he was being exposed to a variety of different terrain now.

“So what, are you going to do some voodoo magic and talk to these wolves?” He glanced over at her skeptically, “Maybe wait for a full moon and howl at it? See what happens?” His voice was deadpan as he spoke, blank face fighting to keep from grinning.

 

[Renfry]

How many were they dealing with. That was an outstanding question, and would have required some hard numbers that she definitely didn't have. Despite her ability to sense a great deal about nature, gaining the specifics wasn't so easy.

Hard to say for sure. No more than a half dozen, hopefully not that many, she said. If they traveled in larger packs than that they'd probably have been spotted already, but fighting a half dozen horse-sized wolves wasn't exactly a fun time.

That's assuming they all come out and we can't isolate any of them, she said, trying to make it sound better and probably not succeeding.

Nature can be unpredictable, she echoed his words from the boat.

She glanced back to see him fidgeting with his shoes that now were covered in mud and bit the inside of her lip to try not to chuckle. He didn't really like this sort of thing, did he?

She turned around to look at him, frowning in offense at what he said about her howling at the moon. Did he really think that about her?!

Excuse me!? I do not... she stopped dead and blinked.

That was a joke, she said a moment later as it registered. Despite him not smiling, she knew him well enough to be able to tell and she quickly turned away to avoid letting the redness of her cheeks show.

She cleared her throat and tried to pretend like nothing had just happened.

Kind of. I'm going to use glyphs of warding to isolate one. I'm hoping that with a combination of one of my other rituals and the skills you used at the Nexus we can control one, she said.

This was all assuming that the plant went anything according to what she hoped. She had low hopes of that.

I saw your holonet address, she said a moment later.

You looked good, and you were very convincing. How've the responses been? she asked, knowing that was about as open-ended a question as she could ask. Galactic politics weren't exactly her strength and her simple attempt was to not sound like an idiot with whatever was discussed.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc mouthed the words ‘glyphs of warding’ in exasperation when he faced away from her. He kept walking, sidestepping past puddles and mud. He mentally thought they could simply use the Force to restrain and jump a damn animal. How did a glyph even work really? It didn’t sound very quick, and he mentally began to wonder if this entire operation would be him trying not to get mauled.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Renfry mentioned him on Holonet. Emryc was silent as he kept walking, looking at the ground, “I’m convincing because I believe in it,” He said coldly. In many ways he did. More and more he began to wonder if the Eternal path was the right one. They were dangerous thoughts, but he had gotten bolder over the years. He began to question how much control he truly had.

“I’ll be gone a lot,” He said simply after a while. Emryc already began getting calls for meetings and forums to gather in. It was only a matter of time before he was constantly planet hopping. His days of artifact hunting were limited now. The fact that he was even here was a testament to Renfry’s standing with him even if she would never realize it.

“How much further?” Emryc asked, bringing his wrist up to check the chrono. He wasn’t exactly a big fan of hiking.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry was surprised to hear what he said, and wasn't sure she believed it. But then, he didn't seem to have ever done a great deal of lying to her. What did that mean, then? He didn't believe in the Sith? For all his prayers and worship? Or perhaps he just didn't believe in the Eternal's vision of the Sith. She wanted to ask and pry, but held her tongue for now.

When he mentioned he would be gone a lot there was a momentary spike of disappointment. It seemed as if they had reached some sort of an understanding after everything, and... well, she didn't want to never see him.

I see... she said, a hint of that disappointment making it into her voice.

Guess I'll just have to track you down, she said, partially in jest and partially not. She wasn't sure how - or rather if - he would react to the statement, but she was paying close attention.

We're almost there, she said, sensing his anticipation. Truthfully, she just needed an open space that was near where the wolves were likely to make their home.

As they made it to a small valley among the hills, she stopped.

This should do, she said, producing a sword and beginning to do the same thing he'd seen her do many times before. Glyphs and runes were drawn into the ground with the blade all along the edge of the opening.

This'll act like a gateway so we don't have to fight many of them at a time, she explained. He'd always taken an interest in her magick, and while she wasn't sure he'd care this time, she explained anyway.

It took her several minutes to complete the symbols and the corresponding straight and curved lines that would finish the gateway, but eventually it was finished and she moved back toward the center.

Here, she began to make several other symbols on the ground.

Once we've captured it, we'll be able to start the other ritual that's... longer, she said. In truth, this ritual would take quite a bit of time, but also may prove to be something he was interested in.

It's how to break a sentient mind and subject it to your will, she said. Would you like to learn it? she asked.

If he chose to, she would walk him through the steps and he would begin to understand that it was quite similar to bleeding a lightsaber crystal, just more time and labor intensive. If not, she would proceed.

If we both meditate, they should be drawn to us, she said. Their minds weren't exactly bathed in Light, and their presence here would draw out the creatures.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc said nothing in response to well… most of anything she said. However, enough time had passed to where that was nothing new. It wasn’t unique to her, he was like that with most people. However, it was clear he was always listening, even when he stared off in another direction and didn’t engage in any dialogue.

He silently turned to watch her as she worked on the glyphs. He thought about how she mentioned ‘fighting many of them’. Emryc shook his head, glancing off towards the mountains, “They are wolves in the end,” He said calmly, “You will need to show the alpha who the new alpha is and the rest will fall in line,” Emryc grinned faintly, “Not so different than the Sith.”

Emryc turned to look at her again, curiosity dancing in his eyes at the thought of learning something new. He was slightly suspicious - why was she offering this up? Ah yes, so he would share what he drew from the Holocron and other knowledge she wanted from him in exchange. Nothing was ever done for free, and he was glad to know her reasons.

He said nothing, simply crouching next to her to show that he was open to being taught. He couldn’t deny this type of magic piqued his curiosity, and he hoped it would serve him one day. At the end of it, he would sit down and silently meditate next to her.

 

[Renfry]

If even a fraction of what she'd read about the Lothwolves was true, it was likely that they were far more intelligent than any other animals, but she supposed they would both find out soon. Perhaps he was right, perhaps a show of strength was what it took.

As she showed him the ritual, he would discover that a great deal of it was focused around the symbols she drew and the associated words she spoke as she created them. If he could remember both, he would be able to recreate the base of the ritual on his own, channeling the natural energy of the galaxy through the symbols much as one would channel it through oneself. The rest of the ritual would come when the animal was captured.

The meditation stretched on for a time and Renfry sensed it before she saw or heard it. There was something coming their way and it was no lothcat. The mind was far more complicated and yet driven by animal instinct. Her eyes snapped open and she stood, moving toward the glyphs at one of the ends of the clearing, laying a hand on them as they began to glow with a faint green color.

They're coming, she said. As soon as one gets through, I'm closing the circle, she said. It would be trapped inside with them and vice versa.

Can you hold it in place? she asked. She had no doubt that he could hold it for some time if he put his mind to it. She had seen him work and his power was quite impressive, restraining a creature - even a large one - would be little trouble for him.

The first wolf appeared only moments later at the edge of the circle, stopping as if it wasn't sure whether or not it wanted to cross the threshold. It stared down at Emryc with a gaze that was almost knowing. While it couldn't see inside his mind, the gaze might invoke a similar feeling to having the attention of the Jedi Grandmaster on Ajan Kloss, albeit far less potent. It was almost as if the animal was judging him.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc heard Renfry’s instructions, but his focus was on the wolf that appeared. It was different than anything he had expected. The beast was far more than an animal, it had a cunning intelligence to it in the way it looked at him. The wolf approached, but it had no intention of coming into the circle. It instead purposely sat down at the very edge of it, gazing at Emryc as it did so.

Rage coursed through Emryc, and he wanted nothing more than to force his will upon it. It taunted him and invoked the same rage that Oota had. However Emryc had learned his lesson from then and had the welts to prove it. He calmly stared at the wolf, forcing his mind to return to tranquility. Several other wolves came to join the alpha, all sitting down around it.

Emryc stood up tall, meeting the alpha’s eyes. The two were poised as statues as seconds ticked by, neither threatened by the other. Emryc knew an offensive maneuver would invoke the wrath of the other wolves. The half Sephi did not speak, silently standing there to stare down the alpha that now lazily flicked its tail.

That was when Emryc did something to make the wolf bite. He averted his gaze. He looked down at the ground and bowed his head just slightly. The wolf, believing that it had won the standoff, immediately proceeded to attempt to penetrate his mind as a result to display before his pack that he was alpha.

The wolf was not subtle about piercing into Emryc’s mind, and it attempted to force its way in. The great beast yelped shrilly and jerked around in pure agony. It fell to the ground and rolled around, the other wolves quickly looking alarmed. The fortress that was Emryc’s mind had turned on the offense, unleashing an arsenal of artillery to bombard the intruder. His mind was merciless in its volley, sending salvo after salvo to viciously attack the beast’s psyche.

Emryc slowly turned to look at the beast again, his eyes flicking gold as a cruel grin played on his lips.

“You are not the only one with tricks,” He spoke quietly to Renfry, ice dripping from his words as he slowly walked towards the wolf. It collapsed to the ground and began to whimper and whine, curling up. The other wolves stepped back, tails between their legs.

Emryc coiled the Force around the beast and bodily threw it into the circle Renfry had drawn. It was too weak to fight against her and was at her mercy.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry watched what unfolded, her eyes capable of peering beyond the physical. She could practically see the battle of Wills between Emryc and the wolf. She could sense the simmering rage below his surface and the way he wanted to unleash it, but he didn't. That was what was so captivating about him and part of what drew her to him: he had complete control of a violently dangerous power. It was always just below the surface at any moment, and she'd seen it firsthand.

There was a moment where everything froze and then the tension snapped. Emryc appeared to be the first to flinch, but it was a ploy. The creature began to writhe on the floor and Emryc made his move, slamming the creature into the center of the circle. With her hand still on the glyphs, she activated them, though with Emryc's display it seemed less likely that the others would attack, but she wasn't taking any chances.

She moved quickly, and knelt next to the creature's head, pressing it down with a combination of her own hand and the Shadow. The other hand touched the glyphs and runes which began to glow like green fire.

She didn't respond to his comment. She knew that to be true all too well, but her mind was focused on the ritual.

Focus on its mind and repeat after me, she told him. She assumed he would want to see the ritual through to the end.

Maia, hin salen voz ent entuf bren u, she said, turning the energy of the planet itself against the creature's mind. The energy mixed with her own dark emotions and desires and would also do so with Emryc's before pouring into the creature.

Its mind - normally a domain of Light - was pummeled by waves of darkness. It began to writhe in pain under the assault but it was helpless to physically resist once it began. It could battle against them, but eventually it would be broken. The process would likely take hours, but its fate was assured.

Emryc would be able to sense a side of the Force that he rarely felt as it circled around them and poured through them both. He would be able to feel the creature's mind and would be presented with the opportunity to aid in completely dominating it. As during the ritual in which Sith spirits assaulted his mind, he would now be the attackers, grinding walls to bits one step at a time until it was done. It was like being taken to an entirely different world, but the victory was no less intoxicating.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc chanted the words after she did, forcing his will on the beast’s mind. The other wolves backed off. Their alpha had not been able to stand up to a threat, and he was no longer alpha. Emryc followed Renfry’s lead throughout the ritual, pummeling into the defenses that the wolf had. Most of it had already crumbled from the defensive assault of his mind. It was the first time he had the chance to test out Kravos’ teachings, and it left him with a thirst for more. It was a taste of power in its most brutal and raw form.

He was not aggressive about his assault on the wolf’s mind, he was methodical and like a surgeon making precision cuts. He neatly sliced into the mind piece by piece, unraveling the threads that allowed him to venture into another plane of existence. It was not a plane he truly knew how to navigate, and he looked for Renfry inside it.

Externally, Emryc was crouched next to Renfry, his eyes completely golden as he gazed into the ethereal plane of the Force. The ward was the only thing that protected them, both of them withdrawn away from the earthen world.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry could see - or perhaps it was more of a sense - Emryc nearby as they assaulted the creature's mind. They both worked without hesitation and she saw him take everything in his path apart, piece by piece and methodically.

Eventually, they reached the center of the creature's mind, its walls and defenses now ground away so that in front of them was a ball like a Light. She reached out her hand, letting the dark energies around them pour into the ball of Light.

And just like that, the poison was set. It began to permeate through the creature's mind and infecting everything. That was their cue to leave as it began to fester and expand.

Emryc would be able to sense her presence in the creature's mind fade as she let her mind heed the call of glyphs and draw her back into the physical world again.

The shock of returning made her gasp, and the first thing she noted was that the sun was down. The world was quiet around them and it appeared the other wolves had left, but this one remained. It sat up and looked at them, but the gaze was different. It now felt darker in the Force almost as if it awaited something from them.

Renfry put her hand on the wolf and smiled. After a moment she looked back to Emryc to see his status. She had no idea what kind of impact the ritual would have on him if any, but her curiosity was always present.

Do you feel how different he is? she asked. It was almost rhetorical because she knew he would sense it. The creature somehow felt almost wilder and yet didn't attack them. It heeded them, but only them.

Do you want to camp here or go back to the ships for the night? she asked.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc could sense the shift as they pierced into the wolf’s mind. However, it was a slightly different experience for him as the wolf had launched an attack and had been rebuffed. He could see into the wolf’s psyche and see flashes of memory. He saw the past and the present overlapped. He saw his own childhood and then the wolf’s life and his journey towards becoming alpha.

He was about to learn more when he was yanked back to the earthen plane by Renfry’s efforts. As he whirled back, he saw a great sorrow in the wolf as it relinquished its sovereignty. It was the same sorrow he had seen in Oota - an aura of disappointment that enraged Emryc.

His eyes jolted open as he returned to the present. He glanced over at the wolf, not answering Renfry’s questions immediately. He watched her pet it, his eyes narrowing slightly. Emryc slowly turned to look at Renfry.

“Show him some respect,” He said curtly, “He is not a kriffing pet, he is a companion.”

He looked back at the wolf for a moment, seeing the mixture of wild and a deep sense of wisdom both, “He is not so different from you,” Emryc said quietly.

He thought about her question about camping or going back to the ships for the night. He quirked an eyebrow, “What else remains to be done?”

 

[Renfry]

Despite his stoic face, Renfry could tell something was under Emryc's skin, though precisely what, she wasn't sure. He reprimanded her, and although she stopped her hand, she didn't pull it back right away. Perhaps he was right.

She found it interesting that he defended the wolf. He'd not struck her as the nature-loving type or perhaps it was simply this creature that he felt some sort of camaraderie with as well. She wasn't sure. She looked up at the wolf, seeing the look in its eyes that lingered. Its yellow eyes were like hers in more than just color. They held a hint of the wild and now the dark as well.

You're right. He is, she said with a hint of admiration in her voice. Emryc's words were quite true. Despite all her knowledge of nature, she'd never seen a creature quite like this one before.

After a moment, she stepped back, still looking up to the wolf as he spoke again, saying that she and the wolf weren't so different.

I know, she said quietly, her voice contemplative. She had a feeling the two would become close, kindred spirits with time.

She shook herself from the thoughts and turned back to Emryc.

They were said to be the guardians of the world between worlds, she said.

There may be more we can discover about it, she said. Or perhaps that was an effort for another time. She had low hopes that they would actually find anything besides a few hints and clues, but it still may be worth the investigation.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc considered the words ‘world between worlds’. Was that where they had just been? Was it where he saw the memories of the wolf and his own? He looked back at the beast, the eyes wild and still bearing intelligence in them. Emryc looked up ahead, spotting what appeared to be a mouth to a cave.

“We can rest there for the night,” He said after a moment. Though he normally wasn’t a big fan of the outdoors, he did tend to capitalize on opportunities to embrace it. The space station and being on his ship all the time tended to get boring after a while. The cave was only a short distance away and he gathered up some firewood on the way.

Being a smoker meant he had a lighter on him at all times, and he used it to start a small flame. This was followed by a subtle manipulation of the Force - another trick he learned from the Kravos holocron - and suddenly there was a roaring fire.

Emryc walked over to sit down on the ground with his back against the wall. Night was setting in and he thought he could hear the distant roiling of thunder outside. The wolf kept staring at him and Emryc scowled at it for a moment before looking away.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry nodded, actually excited to be spending the time outdoors and camping. Lothal was a surprisingly nice world with temperate weather, few hostile bits of life, and... well, fewer trees than she'd like, but still.

She angled for the cave, watching him gather up what they needed for a fire and getting it going as she moved deeper into the cave to make sure they were alone. It never hurt to be thorough when taking up temporary residence in a foreign cave.

She came back several minutes later to find a roaring fire, the rolling of thunder, and some sort of staring contest between Emryc and the wolf. She chuckled when she saw it, realizing she was going to need to figure out its name instead of just calling it "wolf" all the time.

She took a seat near the fire and warmed her hands over it as she looked between the wolf and Emryc.

Are you two getting along? she asked, hearing a faint whine out of the wolf and then looking back to Emryc with a smile that she simply couldn't hide.

She looked back to the wolf again, its attention now broken from Emryc, and looked into its eyes. She could tell what it wanted somehow, though it never said a word, of course. She'd been in its mind.

Go, she said with a nod, and the wolf ran off again. It wanted to hunt, and while she didn't have high hopes that it would bring them back something to eat as well, one could always hope. They were its pack now, after all. For a moment, her mind wandered to what that would be like: hunting with the wolf at some point. The prospect was quite exciting.

But with the wolf gone to satisfy its instincts - now amplified by the ritual, she suspected - she turned her attention to her own.

She scooted toward Emryc with a smile on her face. He'd have seen this from her enough to know where it was going.

So now that we're alone, would you like me to entertain you? she asked, scooting up against the wall next to him and well inside his "personal space."

 

[Emryc Thorne]

The wolf had likely seen glimpses of Emryc's past when he saw its own, and that thought didn’t sit well with Emryc. He couldn’t be sure whether the wolf could actually divulge any of that information or not. There had been even more intelligence to it when it had its own will, and a lot of that had been taken away. He was silently thankful when Renfry bid it to go away. He didn’t need that thing staring at him all night.

Emryc was staring at the fire when Renfry scooted up next to him. He didn’t have to look at her to know the look she had. He had been reaching for a cigarra, but he stopped that. He slowly turned to look at Renfry, his eyes always frosty and face lacking any expression.

He didn’t say a word as he grabbed a hold of her, pulling her in to sit on his lap facing him. There was still no change in expression on his face, silver eyes icy and devoid of any emotion. Emryc’s hands rested comfortably against her hips.

“Tell me a story,” He said curtly, “A story of your people.”