Ask Sverend Frozen Embers

[Freyja]

Freyja remembered well how Trael had first taken her along when he had made his way to Deucalia. He had shown interest in her culture back then, and together they had followed traces of the past, but ever since Freyja had graduated, her own research in terms of her past had intensified.

She had hit Trael up rather quickly. She was a Champion now, and this time, she was the one with the plan. It had been more than a year since they had last met each other, but she doubted his interest in the Deucalians had decreased, so after she had found and translated an ancient text, she had decided shooting him a message was a good idea.

Freyja had posed as a history student before, so as she had combed through quite a few libraries, she had done just the same. With the newly found knowledge, she had a reason to once again travel back to Sverend, however not anywhere near her old home, but somewhere on the other hemisphere of the planet.

Sverend's past had always been connected to the Deucalians and following the legend, there had once been two ancient lovers, Eir and Tyr, capable of sorcery. Their family tomb was most certainly a point of interest, but if legends were true, the tomb wasn't just accessible like that...there was nothing else about the tomb in the records, but she'd find out soon.

If Trael followed the coordinates, he'd find himself landing in the middle of nowhere. The frozen tundra stretched around them seemingly endlessly and apart from a few smaller animals and thin trees, there wasn't much life around. Freyja was already waiting, her weapons and equipment securely fastened at her belt and back and arctic fox fur keeping her warm.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael had just started to get back into the swing of being an active member of the order. He had received a message from Azar’s, now former, apprentice Freyja. She was a champion and had reached out to him regarding something to do with the Deucalians and an old tomb. Naturally he was intrigued as he hadn’t given up his aspirations to have the tribal people under his influence.

Trael didn’t fly a ship to the meet as he didn’t have one yet. So he arrived on a speeder he rented from the closest spaceport. He was wearing multiple layers of warm clothing and had a single splittable double bladed saber on his hip. He stopped in the clearing where she was and turned off the speeder.

He looked around the vast tundra, “I’m either blind or there’s no temple here.” He quipped as a shiver went down his spine from the frigid temperatures. He hated the cold and yet he needed to endure it for his plans.

@LadyRen

 

[Freyja]

As Trael arrived, he was bundled up in multiple layers of clothes and thus his frame looked just massive. It drew a soft, innocent smirk for her and it wasn't hard to imagine that for him, the climate seemed rather hostile while she casually thrived.

"What a keen observation", she quipped back playfully, before she let out a dramatic sigh, "we must be at the wrong place". She trudged over to him and wrapped her arms around him for a short embrace, before she withdrew with a genuine smile. "It's good to see you again...it's been ages. How have you been?", she was oblivious to his time spent in prison, but obviously didn't forget that he had actually been quite kind to her.

What she did notice was that apart from the massive pile of clothes, he seemed somewhat different. The way he carried himself, even his presence seemed changed, so she quickly realized that she surely wasn't the only one who had grown up quite a bit. "It's a few miles in that direction...and we'll have to go underground", the ground until then was too uneven and unpredictable for vehicles, so she preferred continuing on foot.

"You sure you'll manage? It might get even colder", it wasn't that she doubted it, but she double-checked out of politeness. Did she have any more fur with her? As tense as he looked, it wasn't hard to tell that his muscles tried to prevent him from losing more heat.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

He was still casually taking in the scenery around them while she responded to his comment. A sound from his phone came in as he received a text causing him to pull it out and look at it. It was a message from Azar, “Hey darling, get me a nice fur coat and boots while you’re there. IMAGE ATTACHED.” Trael was looking down reading the text. As he clicked the image and it loaded up his face turned red and he was suddenly warm. Out of nowhere due to his focus being diverted he felt her arms wrap around him, he went to pull his saber out when she released him and backed up. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that. I’m not big on physical stuff and I’m in a committed relationship.” He said sternly, he knew it might’ve just been a simply hug but he was going to set his boundaries immediately.

He allowed himself to loosen up a bit after the hugging and answer her questions, “It has been a while. You’re now a champion, congratulations.“ He stated, “I did a lot of self reflection and acceptance. Now I’m trying to get reacclimated with everything.” He said elaborating on his recent dealings. He hoped she had developed her sense a bit better and gained some greater emotional control. He wasn’t going to babysit a champion even remotely. If she couldn’t look out for herself she shouldn’t have been promoted.

He looked out at the direction she pointed in. To him it seemed oddly patchy like if intended not to have vehicles used across it. “A few miles isn’t bad. The hike will warm me up.” He mused aloud, “If we’re going underground we’ll need light, unless you want us to wave around our lightsabers and shout we’re Sith.” He said not having packed a bag at all as he was expecting a simple temple expedition.

He was slightly surprised by her concern till he remembered he showed her the same once upon a time, “I’ll manage once we get moving. If not I can use the force to heat myself up.” He stated casually, “I’m ready to go if you are.” He stated as he began to walk in the direction she pointed.

@LadyRen

 

[Freyja]

"Relax, it was just a 'nice to see you again' - hug", she immediately shot back, her eyes fiercely narrowing. She hadn't missed how he had moved to drawn his saber, and thus her guard was up. "Drawing a weapon is an obvious sign of offense in Deucalian culture", she stated flatly, before she could see his muscles relaxing after all.

"I didn't mean to offend you in any way. I'm sorry. Of course I can respect that", she clarified, not liking the tension, not wanting the tension on either side, but she simply hadn't anticipated such a strong reaction. It was all clear now though. Whether it was once again past experiences that bled into his reaction or simply a matter of handling things differently, she wouldn't agitate him like this again. It was all noted.

"Thank you", she curtly replied, gratefully inclining her head. What he told her about his developments sounded like an actual journey of self discovery, and in a way, it mirrored where she was headed right now. "Sounds good", perhaps it was even code for something else, but at this point, she wasn't going to ask for further elaboration.

"Lightsabers?", she raised a brow in disbe, seriously wondering whether he was thinking she was dumb. "We have fire", she turned her hand around, so that the palm was facing the cloudless sky, conjuring a little flame that danced through the chilly air. "I have torches, and flashlights", apparently another thing she had to clarify.

"And many other essentials for this journey", she knew the land, she knew how hostile it could get in frozen caves, and thus she nodded to the backpack that leaned against a snow covered boulder to their left. "I've got enough provisions for both of us", she reassured him, before she moved over to sling the backpack across her shoulder. She had planned this carefully, now she wondered whether she should have just gone alone though.

"Good, then let's go", she finally responded before she started marching, picking a relatively swift pace as she didn't want to waste daylight for their hike. "Do you know any Deucalian legends? There's a lot the tribes are telling each other about underground tombs in those parts", making conversation, she was curious about whether due to his interest, he knew these stories.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael didn’t miss how quickly she was also on guard. A ‘nice to see you hug’? None of the Sith from his past he’d met since returning really took part in that practice. “Grabbing someone hug or not in prison generally meant you were getting stabbed or jumped.” He explained flatly, drawing a weapon in most instances was an offense. But he didn’t need to clarify that part to her as the tension was passing. “You can’t just grab people out of nowhere, some might not stop at just reaching for a weapon.” He offered realizing he may have slightly overreacted but still not feeling unjustified.

When she questioned his mention of not wanting to use lightsabers and used pyrokinesis he quirked a brow, “I’d wager conjuring fire in your hand will also draw attention. I know we can make fire with the force but that doesn’t mean we should rely on it.” He said, Trael may have become more proficient in the force since he had to rely on it much more after he lost his sabers but he still didn’t like being over reliant on it and become useless without it. “Good, I’d rather use normal sources of light than my pyrokinesis. They don’t drain our reserves and won’t make us seem suspicious.” He explained clarifying his reason for double checking that there was some preparation done.

He nodded as she clarified that she had the necessary equipment. Hopefully her idea of necessary equipment was the same as his and not Azar’s. She was his apprentice and likely picked up a trait or two from him, he’d hate if it was his love of hiking. “It seems you prepared extensively for this. I’ll remember that for the next time we work together and not question it so much.” He said realizing he was being rather stand offish. He was normally in charge of packing for the expeditions, so he had a moment of running through his mental checklist.

He nodded as she agreed to go. He fell in beside her keeping pace rather easily. He looked up to the sky as she asked if he’d heard any Deucalian legends, “I’ve come across a few. Though none of them have to deal with tombs and temples.” He mused as they walked, “I’ve only heard of differing legends on a unifier of the people. What about you? You grew up Deucalian, what legends were you told?” He knew as a Deucalian she would know the legends and sagas better than him. Especially any about tombs and artifacts.

@LadyRen

 

[Freyja]

"Prison?!", her eyes widened ever so slightly as she gave him an incredulous look, the slightest hint of shock mixed with a decent portion of surprise in her voice. Not that prison was one of the worst things that could happen to someone, but she was more surprised that he out of all people made it in.

"I'm not randomly grabbing anyone, but I might greet an old friend somewhat more cheerfully every now and then", she explained rather quietly, however her tone indicating that she'd perhaps reconsider exactly that. He had a point. She knew that Sith couldn't even be considered friends just like that, but Trael had literally never wronged her. However, it seemed like there was much more that he had gone through that had changed him quite a bit.

"But I'm sorry, it won't happen again...I'm also sorry you went through rougher times from the sound of it", at least that was what she guessed from how he skipped from vaguely hinting at self reflection to revealing the involuntary prison vacation just like that. If he didn't elaborate further, she wouldn't dig deeper for now, so she was rather relieved about how the mood lightened up a little after though.

"Yes, I definitely agree", she concluded in terms of using their tools instead of their own reserves, but she had obviously calculated all that. If something went wrong though, messed with the electronics or whatever, they had many other options. She doubted anything or anyone Force sensitive waited down there to notice their pyrokinesis, but saving their strength was definitely a good choice.

A slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips as be cut her some slack, but she didn't doubt it was rather hard for him to rely on her packing. They started marching anyway, and she was still hoping they'd find what they were looking for before nightfall. Either way, the skies were at least clear and there weren't any indications of weather changes in the air.

"Well fair", she started explaining what he knew about their legends and admitted that it wasn't a lot, so while her gaze scanned the path ahead, she began sharing a story relevant to their endavor. "There's a lot around...but I guess what might be important for today is one particular legend", she began, her mind wandering back to when her father had shared those stories with them all by the fire.

"My people believed that tombs and caves were often guarded by hellhounds. Infernal beats, guarding the entrance to the afterlife. I've venturing into quite a few caves as a child...needless to say I didn't run into said creatures, but looking back, I hadn't exactly explored any ancient tombs though", she continued, finally looking back to him.

"Why am I sharing this particular story? Well, while this isn't Hoth or Ziost, the planet still has some ties to the dark side. There's no nexus, yet we might encounter ugly things in there. Whatever we'll find, we have to be prepared...do you have any experiences with this kind of work?", she asked him while the fresh snow kept crunching under her steps.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael simply turned his gaze to her when she reacted the way she did about his mention about prison. “With that reaction it’d seem like you’re making an assumption about me going to prison.” He said, “Someone who asks as many questions as you do should know you don’t need first hand experience to know something.” He said as he checked his gear. “I do have associates that have been to prison.” He stated flatly.

He started to examine the surroundings as she mentioned the greeting of friends, “Well we got the boundaries sorted. If you want to continue being a friend you can if not that’s fine as well.” He said with a shrug. They had worked together once and were rather chill but his understanding of that Sith and how they can be has shifted. So calling someone a ‘friend’ wouldn’t come as easily as before. He turned his attention back to her as she apologized, “It’s fine. I didn’t go through rough times at all.” He said dismissively wanting to move on from this topic.

She agreed with his idea of not utilizing pyro more than needed. Sure it might be his specialty but he didn’t needlessly use the force. Their hike had started and Trael had been used to hiking with Azar so he hoped they would actually make good time. He expected little to no snack breaks and entire swathes of silence. That when the discussion over legends and tales began.

He actually listened to her story. Though that was mostly due to her saying it was relevant to their expedition. His face and expression were stone as they walked and he listened. He was trying to piece together the message she was telling when she got to the end and said it. She didn’t just warn him of potential dangers in the temple did she? Trael been around the block a few times he knew to always be prepared especially around dark side temples.

“Yes I’ve delved into a temple before. One could hardly be called a Sith without doing so.” He said after she finished his gaze staying forward examining their path. He wouldn’t strike up a conversation here unless she did, enjoying his first chance at a hike without bickering or arguing or stopping every thirty minutes. Why did he miss Azar hiking with him so much despite the hassle of doing so.

His mind wandered to the picture and how someone else would’ve had to take it. Who was with Azar now? Was it Voss? No he’d likely photobomb the picture. Karys maybe? No he’d much rather stab himself before taking a picture like that for Azar to send. it must have been him. The slightest bit of rage began to course through Trael at this thought. That husk was cuddled up with Azar right now while Trael was hiking in a frozen wasteland. His anger began to leak out into the Force slightly, though Freyja would have little idea what the source of his anger was.

@LadyRen

 

[Freyja]

Seriously, what was wrong with him? In this moment, when he desperately started backpaddling, she regretted not just having done this on her own. She had hoped they'd just get along well again and get this job done, but to claim he was acting weird was a severe understatement.

'Meant', he had said grabbing someone meant danger. A clear indication of a slip. For her, the case was clear. He had been to prison, why the fuck he made such an odd deal out of it though, she didn't know. She simply stared at him in disbelief, holding his gaze coldly, before she shook her head.

"You're acting weird", she stated flatly before she simply gazed straight ahead again. Perhaps the overly curious, somewhat warm acolyte Freyja would have asked again, would have even wanted to help, but she had learned to save her energy. She remained quiet as he continued and finally denied having gone through rough times at all.

She left it fully uncommented and while she asked herself whether he was in denial or just wanting to seem mysterious, she focused her main attention on their frosty surroundings. It wasn't just the air that was generally frigid, but an additonal eerie cold radiated off the Deucalian as she kept on marching, navigating the hostile terrain with ease.

While she was just making casual conversation, Trael found a quick way to piss her off by giving her an unnecessarily petty and provocative reply that this time, she took as an offense. Anger bubbled under her surface, but for now she kept it contained just as the temperatures around her lowered further.

Her deep breaths condensed in front of her in a steady rhythm while her fists were already clenched, but while she kept her silence, it was rage that suddenly started building up in him, too. "Okay, what the fuck is your problem today?!", she blurted out hissingly, finally, icily staring him down as she stopped in her tracks and faced him.

She was oblivious to the fact that whatever had gotten him angry, had nothing to do with her, but as she felt the snowy ground under her freezing up further, she remembered their first mission and how he had actually saved her from losing control entirely. Her breathing accelerated while her features slightly softened though, before she slowly let out a breath.

"I-...You made it fairly clear you're not looking for conversations right now, but before entering those tombs, I need your mind to be focused...and calm", calm was the key word here, as she kept forcing herself to remain exactly that - calm. She had grown up quite a bit, yet dealing with such hostilities was toying with her patience.

"If you need to release whatever you're bottling up, do it here, now", those tensions had to go. She didn't need the reasons behind his odd behavior, but it had to stop. Her body languages indicated that she was wary and attentive, yet waiting for an answer. Not hostile at all, even waiting for him to possibly ask for her help, just like he had given her his back then. "I'll even help you find some elks or whatever, but please tell me whether you'd rather just turn around".

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso-Drast]

Trael was quietly hiking taking in the silence and subtle beauty of the snow. He didn’t respond to her saying he was acting weird, it wasn’t worth a response, in a way she was right. Compared to the man she had met them years ago he had changed drastically. If she wanted to see that as weird it wasn’t his problem to deal with but hers. He didn’t see an issue with his answer as it was completely true, any sith that is worth mentioning or remembering had at one point went through a temple.

He was stewing in his own self inflicted rage when she yelled at him about what his problem was today. He never stopped and kept walking noting that she had in fact stopped. Azar never stopped to yell at me when we hiked. All he did was complain and yet he kept moving. He could hear the cracking of snow turning to ice as she stood there upset over his lack of words or even his rage he didn’t keep contained. Either way it didn’t matter he just kept walking his anger at the spiral over the image noticeably dissipating as he was now just annoyed. Why am I getting nagged for doing nothing but walking?

He finally stopped after getting ahead of her a decent amount if she didn’t continue on with him, “I can sense something off in the Force. We’re close!” He called out to her before continuing on. Once Freyja caught up he was standing at a vast opening and if she used the force something felt off, but it wasn’t clear. He crouched down placing his hand on the ground as a large area around him heated up quickly melting the snow and revealing the grass and dirt underneath. “That’s not the trick.” He mused aloud, “How do we find this temple exactly?” He asked as he stood up and wiped off his hand.

@LadyRen

 

[Freyja]

As she stopped, he was passing her without a word, his anger somewhat fading away and yet leaving behind countless questions. This was Sverend, she reminded herself, whatever was bothering him, was unlikely to be connected to his past. And yet, he seemed to be thinking of something that got him carried away.

Instead of taking her up on the offering, at least offering some kind of explanation or promising to get his shit together asap, the bearded man kept walking in silence, nd while the rage seemed to explode within her, nothing materialized in her pale features. She stared at him icily, but quietly, remained where she was for a few more moments and then continued trudging through the snow.

It was silent wrath that followed on her part. The most dangerous kind. Freyja hated when such tensions were followed by silence and he did exactly that. And he kept doing exactly that. In she was taking more than a mental note and remembered that this was something she could keep on drawing from. Whereever she went though, a cold, freezing aura followed.

She never lost sight of Trael, but when he stopped, she sensed the slightest tug in the back of her mind coming from a location somewhere further ahead and more to their right. Narrowing her eyes, Freyja checked the air, reached out with the Force and scanned for any other lifeforms, but they were all alone.

"That's not it", she simply called over, her voice devoid of any emotions as she continued moving, following that faint, however bizarre calling ahead. If he followed, he'd find her not far off, facing a massive mountain of snow. She removed the gloves from her hands and carefully ran her finger across a circle laced with delicate Deucalian runes, melted into the ice.

"Fire and ice", she translated softly, staring at the circle in awe for another moment before she turned to him, her features somewhat straighten. "That's it...Help me". She was hoping she didn't need to elaborate further and that he'd get the clue, but she carefully stepped back before she pointed her palm right at it, shooting him an expectant glance.

Once he'd join her in front of the mountain, she'd conjure a streak of ice that targeted the middle of the runic circle. As soon as the flames would join the ice, the whole circle would light up and burst into flames for just a moment, before the whole circle would start twisting and spinning and soon melt into an even bigger one, creating the perfect entrance into the cave.

"That's how we find the tomb...", the slightest smirk tugged at her lips as her gaze briefly flicked over to him, right before she headed in. He'd notice that the air coming from the cave was much colder than outside, and their steps would resound in the eerily, frozen corridor as they walked.

@Javier esschoolbus