The Marauder walked in complete silence for some time, having left Renfry and Tiamat on their own to study the runes more extensive than he had. The Axxilan shared in their interest of undecipherable texts, but he clearly didn’t see the value in mulling them over longer than was necessary to document the symbols. Their goal, after all, was to explore each of the passageways.
Repeatedly pausing to document the runes as he went, it didn’t take Jaikus long to begin noticing the changes before his eyes – independent symbols shifting together and forming a continuous chain across the wall – no doubt a message, but one he couldn’t possibly hope to decipher. Jaikus could not deny that he felt drawn to stare upon them – as if an invisible force was gnawing at the back of his mind, dragging his gaze away from the hallway and back to the runes. The longer he looked, the world around him seemed to fade with only the runes left behind – his mind expanding in ways he didn’t think possible until this moment. Where there had once been ignorance, the Marauder was bombarded with profound understanding.
It was the literal opposite sensation he had held oh-so-recently experienced on Telos. There, the Force had been viciously pried away from him until there was nothing but a void in his chest, feeling in those moments as foreign and distant to him as it had been before his induction into the Sith. Here, it felt closer to him than it ever had, the Marauder suddenly able to knit together mysteries that had once stubbornly eluded him.
It was an exhilarating experience, every hair on his body standing on end. Like a man in a trance, the Marauder was drawn away from the path he was on, stepping away from the center of the hallway and reaching out with a hand, slender fingers hovered mere inches away from the rune-carved wall as if to inspect them closer..
He hesitated.
Where there had once been a sense of wonder, Jaikus’ expression scrunched and wrinkled, as if all the sweetness of this new sensation had turned to ashes in his mouth. “No..” He muttered to himself, as much a way to ground himself as it was a statement of defiance towards whatever was listening. This.. was a trick. It had to be. It was all entirely too good to be true, as no knowledge of the Dark Side ever came so freely. Like cheap spice, it was undoubtedly laced with something sinister.
It took all his strength to do so, but Jaikus’ hand eventually fell back to his side, the Marauder taking two steps back and forcing himself to face the pathway ahead once again. Instinctively he reached for the lightsaber on his hip, clearly put on edge by the entire experience. Slowly but surely the Marauder continued forward, citrine eyes facing forward – only forward – and avoiding contact with the runes around him. To the best of his ability, anyway.
Repeatedly pausing to document the runes as he went, it didn’t take Jaikus long to begin noticing the changes before his eyes – independent symbols shifting together and forming a continuous chain across the wall – no doubt a message, but one he couldn’t possibly hope to decipher. Jaikus could not deny that he felt drawn to stare upon them – as if an invisible force was gnawing at the back of his mind, dragging his gaze away from the hallway and back to the runes. The longer he looked, the world around him seemed to fade with only the runes left behind – his mind expanding in ways he didn’t think possible until this moment. Where there had once been ignorance, the Marauder was bombarded with profound understanding.
It was the literal opposite sensation he had held oh-so-recently experienced on Telos. There, the Force had been viciously pried away from him until there was nothing but a void in his chest, feeling in those moments as foreign and distant to him as it had been before his induction into the Sith. Here, it felt closer to him than it ever had, the Marauder suddenly able to knit together mysteries that had once stubbornly eluded him.
It was an exhilarating experience, every hair on his body standing on end. Like a man in a trance, the Marauder was drawn away from the path he was on, stepping away from the center of the hallway and reaching out with a hand, slender fingers hovered mere inches away from the rune-carved wall as if to inspect them closer..
He hesitated.
Where there had once been a sense of wonder, Jaikus’ expression scrunched and wrinkled, as if all the sweetness of this new sensation had turned to ashes in his mouth. “No..” He muttered to himself, as much a way to ground himself as it was a statement of defiance towards whatever was listening. This.. was a trick. It had to be. It was all entirely too good to be true, as no knowledge of the Dark Side ever came so freely. Like cheap spice, it was undoubtedly laced with something sinister.
It took all his strength to do so, but Jaikus’ hand eventually fell back to his side, the Marauder taking two steps back and forcing himself to face the pathway ahead once again. Instinctively he reached for the lightsaber on his hip, clearly put on edge by the entire experience. Slowly but surely the Marauder continued forward, citrine eyes facing forward – only forward – and avoiding contact with the runes around him. To the best of his ability, anyway.