Always Searching, Never Finding

[Varyn Rask]

As soon as Varyn's ship had dropped out of hyperspace, he could tell that this was a world that was gripped with the Force. Its tendrils stretched out across star systems to connect it to millions of other worlds and billions of other lives. That may not have been an abnormal thing for a world like Coruscant where the planet's influence could be seen by everyone - Force sensitive or not - but this was not Coruscant.

Rhen Var was a frozen wasteland, and it had no visible value to the rest of the galaxy. It was a nothing world that echoed through Varyn's mind without end. Unlike Ilum, this one was not about following Andraste's path, it was about finding his own answers. Answers to questions he didn't even know how to ask yet. Answers about the path of the Empire, the path of the Sith, and the nature of the Force itself.

Dav brought the ship down through the atmosphere, and Varyn didn't even seem to be aware of it. He was a thousand lightyears away, already feeling a connection to the Force that pulsated here. Like the pounding of a pulse in an artery, the power of the Force was just below the surface, pounding away for those who could feel it.

It was power.

When the ramp slid down, Varyn grabbed his cold weather gear without thinking, making his way down as if he was being called by something. He barely even felt in control of his own body as he began to walk, and walk, and walk. It must have been several miles when he reached the tree.

There was no explanation for it. Nothing survived out here in the frozen wastes, but this had, and something had led him here. Sculptures of ice encircled it and Varyn reached out to run his gloved hand along the edge. The cold seemed to leap straight through his gloves, but he noticed the wind had died down now, leaving him in near complete silence except for the crunch of his boots in the snow.

Why did you bring me here? he asked aloud. It was nearly whispered caught in his throat, but there was no answer. No voice from beyond this world reached out, and there was only the silence. @Malon

 

[Elias Reach]

Rhen Var was the worst kind of cold. It was the kind of cold that bled through any cloth protection and cut straight through flesh right down to the bone. Elias Reach was certain that one needed the Force to survive on such an inhospitable planet—specifically the dark side of the Force, for it was only through the dark side that true strength and endurance could be gained. He had come here for just that reason: to go where the dark side would test him the most in order that he might uncover the reasons why he had felt such odd disturbances in the Force of late. Disturbances no one else around him seemed to notice or feel in turn.

There was a place on the surface of Rhen Var that bled with the dark side of the Force. An ancient assortment of stone monoliths surrounded a single frozen uneti tree — the only tree on the entire bloody world, as far as he knew — in a spiral pattern. The meaning of the pattern was lost on him, but the tree he understood. The uneti tree was Force-sensitive and, old texts said, were used by the Jedi at their temples. But this tree alone reeked of the dark side of the Force. Rumors told of unspeakable rituals preformed here. Sacrifices that bled this sacred place the way a Sith might his kyber. It was said that, in such places, one could look deep into the Force and see things that were impossible otherwise.

Eli didn't know whether it was all an old Sith legend, exaggerated by years of retellings, or whether there was some truth to it; but he supposed he would never find out until he tried to meditate upon it. He needed some sort of resolution to these echoes he kept feeling through the Force. Perhaps, with the power of the nexus, he could reach deep into the dark side and follow the echoes back to their source. He reached out and touched the bark of the tree with his gloved hand. It was like touching a block of ice, but he felt the dark energies rippling beneath it.

Closing his eyes, he focused the dark side within him and began a shallow meditation. Unbeknownst to him, the ancient runes on the monoliths surrounding the tree began to glow crimson. However, he felt the cold winds begin to rise and whip around the tree as if responding to something unholy within it. Eli's palm twitched against the bark and he was about to begin to probe the Force and fall deeper into his trance when he felt a small disturbance. Annoyed, his eyes flittered open. He was no longer alone. Someone was here. Someone was coming. @Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn's hand brushed along the stones as he walked closer to the trees. He took the path winding through the stones until he was nearly upon the tree when he saw the figure. He didn't know who it was, and for a moment he wondered if this was some sort of projection from the Force itself. That was right until he felt the flash of annoyance. It was a very human emotion, far more basic than anything the Force manifested.

Who are you? he asked. Though his voice was somewhat muffled through the cold weather mask he wore it could still be heard by the man sitting before him. There was a light probing in the Force as he measured the man in front of him. He was a thin and athletic-appearing man, but his features seemed normal to look at. It was below the surface that Varyn found things more interesting. His presence in the Force was marked by unmistakable darkness: a swirling vortex of it that seemed as if it were ready to burst at the seams at any moment. It was fighting to break out, but the man seemed to keep it under his control... for the moment.

That alone was telling about him. He was certainly no Jedi, which Varyn was more than happy to know. A Dark Jedi? Another Sith? Something else altogether... some unaffiliated Force cult? Varyn wasn't sure, but he figured he would find out soon. His approach was cautious through the snow, watching his every movement, but not lashing out. He didn't doubt this one wanted to be left alone, but the Force had drawn them both here at the same time. Varyn didn't believe that was an accident.

But just because he didn't believe it was an accident didn't mean this one would feel the same. Violence was imprinted on Dark Siders whether they wanted to be or not, and it often caused them to lash out. Varyn wouldn't be surprised if the spark of annoyance flared into full-blown anger and violence at being interrupted or more than that, at being Forced to share the darkness here. @Malon

 

[Elias Reach]

Instead, Eli's annoyance turned to cold calculating. He too felt the other man's dark presence in the Force. Another Sith was the most likely explanation, but even that was only a small comfort. Another Sith now-a-days could mean an enemy or a rival, depending on which side of the civil war they fell. Drawing one of his twin sabers, he ignited the crimson blade and pointed its tip at the stranger like an accusing finger.

"I was here before you," the young Sith said. He was still annoyed that his explorations and concentration had been broken. "Identify yourself first... and which Emperor you fight for."

Truth be told, Eli had little intention of fighting unless he had to, regardless of what the man said; but he was curious as to what a stranger was doing at this old monument. As he understood it, few people visited this place. The planet was cold, the monument wasn't particularly pretty, and was otherwise useless unless you knew what you were looking for. Eli was still working out that last part. But, he wondered, what about this stranger?

"More importantly," Eli's blade wavered ever-so-slightly, "what are you doing out here?" @Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

A saber ignited and flipped through the air, pointing at Varyn. He didn't flinch away from the man, instead tilting his head to the left slightly. He didn't draw his own saber, but instead opened himself up to the Force. It flowed powerfully through him and he pulled on the power contained here, feeding on it. He shouldn't have drunk in such dark power, but it felt good. Too good. That was the entire lure of its power, and it was a call he'd been hearing with increasing frequency. The other man would be able to feel the power radiating from him easily. Not quite that of a Sith Lord yet, but not without a mark of power to it and a quiet confidence.

He could have made a move against the other man to attack or defend, but instead he didn't move from his place in the snow. Neither of them seemed to. Perhaps neither wanted to fight or maybe they were just measuring one another up. Neither knew who the other fought for, which made the standoff last forever until one of them flinched.

Or... just don't answer that question. As the unknown Sith had pointed out, the why was far more important. Because the Force brought me here, he said simply. He didn't know why or for what, but there was a reason. Maybe even the man in front of him was the reason.

The Dark Side is on the move, he said. And I'm guessing that's what brought you here, too, so the better question isn't who I am but why we're both here, he said. And that would mean they would have to find common ground. He wondered if the other man would put his saber down or if they were still at their impasse. @Malon

 

[Elias Reach]

Eli thought about the man's reply for a moment. A long moment. His words hung in the air until they were overcome by the howling of Rhen Var's winds and the hum of Eli's lightsaber. And when the moment passed, Eli sighed and extinguished his lightsaber, clipping the hilt back to his belt. He then spread his arms in a wide gesture that swept the area.

"You're looking at it," Ryell said plainly. "This place, I'm sure you've noticed, is unusually strong in the dark side of the Force. This ancient altar was built to focus the dark energies that naturally permeate this place." Eli dropped his hands back to his side. "At least, that is what I speculate. I was about to test that theory myself before I was... interrupted."

That was a partial truth. In reality, the Sith Masters on Korriban believed this place to be one of a few places where a doorway to the dark side itself could be torn open. Eli wasn't necessarily convinced such places existed, but, if the rumors were true, unlocking such a doorway would quickly make him a formidable and powerful Sith. But he said nothing of this to the newcomer. Rival Sith had killed each other over less and he wasn't going to risk his discovery by divulging its potential true nature to a stranger.

"Now then," he continued. "I've answered your question — you answer mine. Who are you? Why come chasing the Force's whispers to a frozen hellscape like this?" @Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

That moment seemed to linger in the air as they decided what type of meeting this would be: one of violence or one of at least begrudging conversation. The howl of the winds were the only answer that Varyn received for a moment before the saber flashed out and the other Sith explained himself. He thought he sensed something more to the answer, but didn't pry. What he'd been given was already more than many Sith would have done.

Varyn nodded as he listened, thinking about what it was that they had both stumbled upon and what they might be able to use it for. Inevitably the conversation turned back to Varyn, and he ceded, giving up why he was here. There actually wasn't any real secret to it, as anyone with slight attunement to the Force would be able to identify it.

My name's Varyn, he said, still not offering what side of the war he fought for, but that hadn't actually been asked this time. The fact was, he didn't really have a side. He'd once upon a time been on the verge of assassinating the Emperor and had more friends and associates in the Old Empire than he did in the Imperial Republica. Despite wearing those colors, he thought his time there was coming to an end. The Old Empire was wrought with problems, but it was a place where he could work his way up, and perhaps make a hard-fought difference. Or he could die trying.

But to work his way up alive, he needed to grasp the thing that made so many Sith strong. It was the thing that had empowered the first Sith Lords five hundred years ago: the Dark Side. For a Sith who had made it this far, his actual use and grasp of the shadowy aspects of the Force was fairly limited compared to many, and though his raw ability in the Force was nothing to be scoffed at, he knew he would need more.

He walked toward the tree slowly, letting his hand glide along its icy bark. The darkness seemed to latch onto his hand, hoping to suck him into itself. After a moment, he turned to face the other man again.

I came here because the darkness is vibrant here, and I need to experience it, he said. It was clear that even if Elias had felt interrupted, Varyn wasn't really planning to go anywhere. They had both come for the darkness, and Varyn was curious to see how well they could work together... or not. They were here for the same thing, but many Sith didn't care for working together. Varyn may not have trusted the other man, but if he could learn more from having a partner, it would ultimately put him ahead.

If we're here for the same thing, then maybe we can learn from each other, he said. Of course there would likely have to be an information exchange, but that was acceptable to Varyn. Have you learned anything from it yet? he asked. He could practically sense the glare from the other man and rolled his eyes slightly. You lose nothing by working with me. What the Force has for you and I are not zero-sum, he said. @Malon