Woods darker than night

[Lyanna Vahlaar]

​

Even though broad daylight was piercing through the thick canopy of leaves and countless glow bugs leviated between the roots and branches, there was a certain darkness to the wood Lyanna had entered. The trees were reaching up so high,they apparead almost like the legs of giants whose upper body dissappeared in the coulds. Some of the trees were long dead and their bark was as white as snow, the most however were of healthy greyish-brown, covered with soft moss in patches. The odeur of resin hang in the air, sweet and balsamic, turning every breath into a blessing.
There was one specific tree however, which was not like the ones that surrounded it. Its trunk was of pure black, reminding Lyanna of the ebony- interior which adorned the rooms of her father. Spiderwebs rested between the many roots that had left the soil to cringe themselves in weird ankles in the air. The invisible threads meassured several arm's lengths, and whatever creature had spun them, Lyanna hoped it was not near-by.
The trunk was hollow, and Lyanna was able to use the roots to make her way up to the part of the tree, where it's crown began to unfold.
Embedded in the tight embrace of branches, that wrang itself to something like a a round construct, Lyanna could feel she had found what she was seeking in this force-forsaken wood. Glow of deep crimson shone through the branches, and for a moment Lyanna thought it pulsated, just like a heartbeat. Someone of the light side had sealed whaever lay hidden beneath. To entrust an artifact of the dark side to nature was a risky thing to do, but whatever soul had done the deed, it sure was done out of desperation, not free choice.
The seal was strong, the force-user who had erected it must had been a powerful one. Lyanna knelt down. Her fingers found the branches. Lyanna closed her eyes and summoned the force to her aid. After several minutes of meditation, the first fine branch gave way and unfolded. It would take quite a while to get ahold of the artifact, whatever its nature was...But she hadn't come here, just to leave without her mission accomplished.

Several hours passed by and Lyanna only interrupted her meditation when she grew thristy or heard an uncommon noise that caught her attention.
By now she could tell the artifact was a holocron. It's dark sphere made her uncomfortable, but she would not let an old item force her to retreat. After another while the calling of the dark side changed. It grew tempting, alluring, promising. But Lyanna knew the sweet call of the other side too well and her harsh training did not fail her. It had not power over her.
When she was almost done and nothing but a protective seal barrier was left to overcome, the Vahlaar became aware of footsteps. Subtly ones, that did not declare any hurry. Or was it just the whispering of the woods? The moaning of wind? What about the birds though? Weren't they singing some while ago? Why did they go silent?
She could not interrupt her treasure hunt right now! The seal was almost broken! So her eyes focused on the holocron in front of her, she would need to hurry!

 

[The Living Daylights]

The birds fell silent. The sunny flowers retracted their buds, almost folding in on themselves. The sky greyed like an old man's head as wispy hairs of clouds sailed above. The air grew cold. Karnhal, clad in black, ragged robes, walked through the woods, towards a single point - a tree that called to him with the allure of the dark side. Its branches were long and black, like Karnhal's unkempt hair. And its call was irresistible - it called to Karnhal in the same way that sweets called to children. It was more than a mere blind addiction, of course - the tree held a holocron that could be pivotal in Karnhal's ritualistic efforts to develop a new weapon for the Sith.

But someone else had arrived first. They would not beat him to his prize! Karnhal's grip on his bident intensified. With the Force, Karnhal cast a cursory observation of the humanoid figure trying to pry the holocron from the tree's branches. She was clearly not a Sith, but Karnhal could feel the anger and desperation running through her veins. It also prevented her from noticing his approach - Karnhal took the opportunity to mask his Force alignment. She would sense nothing more than the fact that he was Force-sensitive.

That she was attracted to a Sith holocron was proof enough that she was on the path to the dark side, and she was close to unlocking its secrets - only the seal of the holocron itself stood between her and the contents of the holocron. As admirable as her self-directed efforts to educate herself in the ways of the dark side were, she could easily destroy herself with such knowledge. Of course, that was no consequence to Karnhal, but he had no interest in taking chances - nor was he going to wait to lay his hands on the holocron.

Direct combat was not necessary... yet. There were ways that Karnhal could retrieve the holocron and still experiment with the girl and her intentions. Posturing so as to make himself look weaker, Karnhal began to lean on his staff for support and walk with a limp. In response, his footsteps became audible - the sound of leaves being crushed broke the silence of the woods. Summoning a look of concerned urgency to his face... Karnhal held out a hand to the girl and spoke in a false, rasping voice befitting the illusion of physical weakness that he had created. "Stop! Do not touch that holocron... it is dangerous. I must take it to the elders for the safety of all who walk these lands!"

 

[Lyanna Vahlaar]

A call distracted her within the very last moment before she had been able to break the seal. The blue barrier bubble that was errected around the holocron had gained many rifts, some fine as hair, others thick as the branches that had kept it in their tight embrace before. But when Lyanna shifted her focus to the source of the call for a mere second, the barrier radiated a bright beam of light, and Lyanna had to retreat her hand quickly as the surface of the barrier grew as hot as a lava rock.
When the light faded, she could see how the barrier was fully intact again. Lyanna had to deny herself a curse. She felt exhausted even though she had been as good as motionless for many hours. Her body felt stiff and numb. The Vahlaar rose and turned towards the invader who had caused her to fail.
Her eyes regarded him without her expression betraying any thoughts of the womans concerning his person.
Either age or a weak physical condition forced him to support himsilf with a staff. His shape was mostly veiled by a dark cloak and the shadow it casted gave only little away from what lay beneath. His face was slender and the contour of his jaw was concealed by a long and sligthly curly beard. He had a high forehead with a cascade of black and grey and white hair falling down from its top. His cheekbones were high and fine and remembered Lyanna of the art of masons and the classical-cut visages they preferd to immortalize. His eyes were of the shade of stormy seas. His appereance in the force however was as calm as a rill.
Finally Lyannas lips curled to a smile "Spirits blessing to you stranger" was her greeting. Of course not everyone she encountered shared her faith, yet a blessing was understood as a peacefull greeting across all worlds and mindsets.
She dropped a subtly curtsey, not low enough to indicate a submissive bahviour on her side, yet it was to further underline her peaceful intention.
When she was done honouring her mother, as she had been the one to teach her the value of propper manners, Lyanna bowed and fetched a waterskin from the small leather bag she had carried up here. She pulled the cork, yet did not bring the waterskin to her mouth just yet. She regarded the stranger and her expression gave away just little of her thoughts "I know what my task here must look like to you. But you don't need to be concerned. I am a true servant of the light side. My name is Lyanna Vahlaar and some branches of my family hunt dark side artifacts for generations. We either destroy them or keep them hidden from our enemies till we find a way to break their dark powers. So you see we came here with the same intention, hm?" her smile grew warmer, yet it didn't quite reach her eyes yet "Yet I wish you hadn't interrupt me. Now I have to start all over again"

 

[The Living Daylights]

Karnhal smiled inwardly as the girl, who had introduced herself as Lyanna Vahlaar, claimed to be a "true servant of the light side". She spoke the words with conviction, but Karnhal could feel the emotions running underneath her skin - and contrary to her claims. Did true servants of the light side not control their emotions, rather than the other way around? Was one of the tenets of the Jedi Code not "There is no emotion; there is only peace"? The girl had smiled, as well, though her eyes betrayed curiosity, perhaps even a hint of anger that she had been distracted. And when the girl had fallen from the tree, Karnhal had felt a flash of surprised anger.

Deception was an art, and only practice could improve an artist's work. Lies formed webs of deceit, but even a finger could pierce the web with enough pressure. Karnhal had no doubt that if he continued to pressure the girl, she would eventually cave in and tell him everything. But he decided instead to play her game. He, too, was maintaining a ruse. This game of weaving webs of deceit was one that two could play - and Karnhal was no stranger to it.

Keeping up his insincere weakness, Karnhal took a single limping step towards her. His hand, still outstretched, came ever closer to her. He spoke again in that raspy voice. "I'm afraid not. I don't wish to undermine your credibility, but I sensed your temptation. This holocron had you under its spell, whether you knew it or not." Karnhal cast a falsely disparaging glare at the holocron before turning his head back to Lyanna. "This artifact - it is dangerous, unsafe for young minds such as yours." He pretended to swallow, as if in apprehension. "Even I would not dare break its seal," Karnhal lied. Then his voice took a slightly more powerful tone as he said "You must trust me. You must trust my judgment. You must allow me to take this back to the elders. Only they can safely thwart the danger it presents!" Even as he spoke the words, Karnhal produced an oily wave of hypnotic suggestion through the Force, subtly flowing through the girl's mind. He would see how malleable it was. Then he would decide how useful she was.

@Lyanna Vahlaar