Ask Lothal Wolves Among Wolves

[Renfry]

Renfry looked up at him and nodded. Okay, she said. She'd never actually made an attempt to teach anyone from the ground up before, but as First it was expected that she would one day.

She looked away and squinted for a moment, thinking about where the best place would be. Theoretically, it could be taught anywhere, but certain planets were easier to start out on than others. As it turned out, she knew what some of those planets were.

Either Felucia or Dathomir would work best, she said. She knew he was no fan of her homeworld, and she didn't have a strong preference for either. She guessed he would pick Felucia, but she left the decision to him.

And that was when she saw him looking over at Siph once again. It was only for a moment, but didn't escape her notice.

You should get to know him, she started, but continued speaking a moment later. We didn't lobotomize him, she said, anticipating his objection.

He acts that way toward you because you're his alpha now. That was what you did, wasn't it? she asked. She recognized the behavior, and she knew that Siph could sense Emryc's... disapproval? Was that the best word? It would continue to act submissively toward him as was in his nature until the conflict with his alpha was resolved.

She motioned over toward the wolf, indicating that even if he didn't want to, he should.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

“Dathomir it is,” Emryc said curtly. He wouldn’t let his past feelings on the planet govern the actions of his future. He knew that learning the art where it originated always held more weight to it. Emryc began to walk again, slowing down to let Renfry lead the way on where the gateway would be.

He glanced at the wolf when Renfry referenced him, “He gave up too many parts of himself during the ritual,” Emryc said as he looked forward, “As Sith we have to break and rebuild ourselves many times over. We have to pick and choose critical things to keep during that process. He has lost much of what made him who he was,” He thought about when their two minds had converged and he glimpsed into the wolf’s past, “I don’t care to know who he is now. He is your companion and it only matters what he conveys to you.”

Emryc stared off into the distance, vaguely remembering when he had to aimlessly hike across the plains for many miles, “You do know where this location is, yes?”

 

[Renfry]

She was somewhat surprised to hear that he picked Dathomir, but then, he was nothing if not pragmatic. She certainly wouldn't argue with him about it, and it probably was the best choice of planet in the galaxy.

Dathomir it is, then, she said.

She listened to his explanation about Siph, wondering if he somehow thought the same about her. He'd pointed out how similar they were. No, that wasn't right, she decided and pushed the thought aside. Stop projecting yourself onto stupid things that don't apply, she reprimanded herself.

Yeah, we're almost there, she said. And it was true. Within a kilometer, they came to a large, open space, but there was no sign of anything here.

This is where the temple used to be, she said, and yet there was almost no evidence that there had been anything. The wolf turned and started heading in another direction, and Renfry followed, having expected this.

There's a collection of old Jedi writings in another cave nearby. They might have something about the gate, she said. Or maybe not, but either way, if there was anything there at all, it would likely be worth it to find.

They reached the cave in short order and Renfry headed inside without hesitation. She could immediately tell that it had once been lived in. Although everything was worn from the time that had passed, there were remnants of old furniture that had decayed over time, and that gave hope to Renfry that they may actually find some sort of records of the temple that used to be here.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc silently followed her as they walked, staring out into the open field as Renfry announced it as the location. Siph began to bound towards it, suddenly more energetic than before. He was frolicking around like a puppy and Emryc simply stared at the wolf’s antics for a moment.

He turned and followed Renfry towards the cave, genuinely curious about any evidence of the Jedi of old. The cave had a musty and damp smell and he found himself scrunching his face a little. Emryc had to duck to enter to avoid hitting his head, eyes gazing over the furniture.

He stared at the walls, brushing away at it where he could spot some faint markings. He couldn’t quite make out what it said. The Force manifested here, and it hummed with life. It was the Light, and it almost curiously prodded at his mind like an errant fly. Emryc brushed it aside and kept walking.

“Why isn’t your friend telling us what to do?” He asked after a moment. Wasn’t that the entire point of bringing the stupid wolf?

 

[Renfry]

Renfry continued poking through the room, seeing if she could find anything of use before heading deeper inside.

My friend... she began, continuing to rummage through some old items before looking at a set of carvings at a different point in the cave ...is the only reason we found this cave, she said. This location hadn't been found by the Empire or in the hundred years since the disappearance of the temple, and that wasn't by accident.

Besides, he's not going to fit in here. You barely did, she said, pointing out how he'd had to duck just to make it inside. They were going to be on their own going forward, though she doubted they would be down here for long.

She opened a chest and found... something. She couldn't be sure if it was what she was looking for, but there appeared to be datacrons of all different sorts hidden inside. She picked one up and activated it.

A hologram of a man popped out and projected into the room, clearly a recording and not one that could be interacted with like a holocron. The man looked exhausted, a cup of caf in his hand, and he reached up to rub his eyes.

Wow, what a day... or is it two days now probably? The Sith were repelled from the temple and there were a lot of casualties. I don't think I've slept in over 40 hours, and this probably isn't the time to do this, but if I don't do it while my memories fresh, I probably never will, the man said.

I treated 56 patients today with all manner of injuries: sabers, blasters, burns, you name it. So much death, he said, shaking his head sadly.

But you know, as I think about it, even amongst it all, the Force is still there. Even with the chaos and death, I delivered a baby today. Of all the things to happen today, that wasn't one that I expected. The couple is... well, they're unusual, but I kind of like them, he said, a smile playing across his lips and his gaze going distant in thought for a moment.

Ugh, anyway, I'll finish this up tomorrow. I'm exhausted, but just wanted to remind myself someday: even when its gets darkest, there's still a little bit of light out there. All right, as usual, Edin signing off, he said, and the recording went dark.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc watched the recording play out, noting the attire. He wore a lab coat and looked as if he were from a time very long past. Most medbay practices were handled by droids now with organics mainly around for oversight. He didn’t recognize the recording, but he picked up a few more datacrons, going through the contents. Most of it was dull, every day information, but one was curious.

It detailed accounts of Corvo Vis, a name Emryc recognized from history, and his time being imprisoned on Lothal. These were details not recorded in Sith history, only that he went on to kill an Emperor and then disappeared from known records altogether. Emryc grimaced at the recording.

“Treacherous filth,” He muttered quietly, collecting the datacron nonetheless. He continued to rummage through other texts and datacrons, drawing out the ones that spoke of the Jedi. It was clear that old texts and knowledge always hooked him. Emryc was far removed from the present, playing every single datacron, reading anything he could find and absorbing all the information.

“What are you hoping to gain here?” He asked after a while, putting down an old, useless book that detailed patient records.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry kept looking through the information and glanced over at what Emryc had found when she heard him mutter. An old Sith... or Jedi? She wasn't sure and frowned. She hadn't heard Emryc speak of him and she hadn't been able to make out what Emryc had muttered. She went back to her work.

Shortly, she came upon a book, genuine and leather bound. It reminded her of her grimoire and that immediately drew her attention.

Hoping to find anything mentioning the gateway or anomalies or... her voice trailed off as she began looking through its pages. One of them showed a picture that was said to be on the outside of the temple. There was something... familiar about it though she'd never seen the picture before. She was drawn to it somehow.

Do you know who these are? she asked, showing him the picture of the Mortis gods. Somehow she knew they were connected both to this and to her, she just didn't have that final connection point. There was a good chance she'd find it if she kept reading.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc looked at the picture in question, eyeing it for a moment. His face betrayed mild surprise then, eyes softening from frost to genuine curiosity, “These are known as the Mortis gods,” He said simply. He looked at Renfry and saw that there was curiosity there as well. He was never one to withhold from those that showed a desire for knowledge. He took the time to explain what they were to the best of his ability, which was limited. The galaxy at large didn’t know too much about them.

“It may simply be a myth - this other plane of existence,” Emryc said after a while as he kept looking through the books. He wouldn’t even know what it would lead to or what purpose it would serve. Legend told of the connection to Anakin Skywalker and bringing balance to the Force. The galaxy had been disbalanced for centuries since, and it was the case now. With Vader having been redeemed in the end, it made Emryc question whether he truly represented the darkness that was destined to bring that balance.

“From what I’m gathering, even if it did exist, to seek it with purpose would take a more powerful Force user than you and I combined,” Emryc wasn’t egotistical enough to consider himself undefeatable. He knew he had a long way to go, but this discovery certainly was one he would park inside his mind.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry listened with rapt attention to every word he told her. She hadn't expected to be able to simply open the gateway today, but she'd hoped that it was a bit more accessible than it sounded. In hindsight, she recognized this to be foolishness, and yet there was still something to be said for what they'd learned today.

The other plane exists, she said confidently.

On Dathomir, you can watch the spirits cross to the other side, but I've never heard of a gateway like this before that allows passage of flesh and blood, she said. And yet, she thought it existed. She was certain she would continue to investigate, but he was likely right: neither of them could have torn the gateway open again.

I'm going to have the droid bring the ship around and we can take... well, all of this, she said. She didn't care much for piloting and let "her" droid do most of it, and now that they were a bit out of the hills there was plenty of room to land. She saw no reason to leave anything behind.

As the ship landed and she began packing up what they could from the cave, she disappeared inside the ship and returned several moments later with a book in her hand that hadn't come from the cave.

It wasn't overly large with leather binding and pages that were clearly not manufactured in a factory. She held it out to Emryc.

You can start looking over the first few pages of this, she said. When he opened it, he would find every page was handwritten by her. There was writing both in basic and a language he'd likely not have ever seen and diagrams covered many of the pages. Although Renfry had committed most of her rituals and spells - particularly her most commonly used ones - to heart, having a reference and brushing up on specific words, gestures, and symbols was essential. She'd created the book while she was learning on Dathomir and it was her most prized possession.

While it was an excellent start for him to begin his studies, there was a great deal that wasn't likely to make sense to him yet, but the introductory pages were simpler spells with rituals becoming increasingly complicated and difficult the further into the book he went.

Please, be careful with it. I'll want it back when we meet up again on Dathomir, she said. If she actually had any doubt that he wouldn't treat it well, she wouldn't have given it to him in the first place, but she felt obligated to say it nonetheless. She didn't know if he would make some sort of copy of his own, but she didn't request that he didn't at least.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Emryc didn’t question her when she mentioned that the plane existed. He wasn’t cocky enough to pretend to know everything. If she had her reasons, he trusted they were sound. He watched as her ship came around, settling down to let them collect everything. Emryc lit another cigarra as Renfry packed things up. He used the Force to lazily float everything over. Datacrons, crates and other artifacts hovered with him before he directed them towards Renfry’s ship ramp.

He stood outside and quietly smoked while Renfry disappeared into her ship. His gaze remained fixed ahead at the cave, pondering on the history of it. He had pocketed a few datacrons for himself, but Renfry would know they were the ones associated with Corvo Vis.

Emryc didn’t look at Renfry at first when she returned or even when she began to describe the tome. He blew out a cloud of smoke at last before turning to look down at the book, nodding for Renfry to open it. He could tell it was an artifact of great importance to her and it contained a lot of insightful knowledge on magick. For a moment Emryc glanced down at the pages, drawing in from the cigarra and silently ashing it as he scanned over the words and the chicken scratch that was her handwriting. There were no reactions from him to her needless words about caution.

For a few seconds it would appear as if he had almost no interest in the book. He simply stood there smoking his cigarra and staring at the cave, occasionally glancing at the wolf. He finally took a last drag from his cigarra, wanting to finish it before he moved on.

“Why don’t you read off the pages while I do my best to distract you,” A cloud of smoke plumed from his lips as he spoke. He didn’t bother looking at her as he tossed the cigarra and stomped it out, “Let’s see what you manage to teach me.”

He said nothing more, turning and walking back towards her ship.

 

[Renfry]

That was not at all what she was expecting from him, which seemed to be par for the course. She could take guesses all the time, but they pretty much never seemed to be correct.

He didn't take it or pay almost any heed to it and after a moment she frowned and closed it. Well, then she supposed she'd keep it, realizing she was probably never going to understand him.

She was about to turn and walk away when he finally spoke up. And that was... again, not what she'd expected. She opened her mouth for a fraction of a second to say something, but had no idea what it was going to be. Probably an objection, except she didn't really want to object. in fact, she really didn't want to object.

He walked past her and into the ship and she paused for a moment before following with a shrug. Her mind started to wander to exactly how distracting she knew he could be and smiled slightly. All in all it could have gone much worse.

Probably not much, she muttered to herself as the ramp to the ship closed behind them.

//Thread