Ask Korriban Reading the Runes

[Roman Kallo]

TEMPLE LIBRARY, KORRIBAN​

Roman had decided to just go for it.

Vague symbols and markings continued to assail him in his dreams. The usual replay of the day's events, memories and hopes violently interspersed with burning text or blood-scrawled script, all in a language he did not understand, if it was a language at all.

What was it and was it good or bad? He dare not mention it to Master Azar, in case it was some madness that the Sith culled you for. No, he needed some answers first.

He had heard Korriban had great libraries, but he was only a mere acolyte and was wary of rooting around in places above his station. Instead, he had found a smaller one, an old library adjoined to the temple his Master had first taken him too. It was quieter, out the way, but would hopefully hold some knowledge he could use. He headed down early morning in his casuals, his light top contrasting with his dark arm tattoos. Korriban was far too hot for his favored leather.

He found the door pushed to and slowly opened it, stepping inside. A few lamps lit the dim room, illuminating dusty hard copy books and a smaller, modern shelf of datapads.

"Hello?"

Spoiler: OCC Note

Open to any Sith for social or study. Might switch to Ask if a couple join.

 

[Corra]

Perhaps it was fate that they had both ended up here. Corra had been plagued by dreams for her entire life, and the fact that she had felt the call back on Umbara to travel to Sith space where she was going to meet with someone else plagued by nightmares... it couldn't be coincidence.

Corra had also taken to one of the smaller libraries, settling in to a corner where she had been sitting for the better part of two hours now without being disturbed. At least until she heard a creeeeeeeeak as the door slowly swung on its horridly rusted hinges, causing her to nearly jump at the sound.

Yes? Who are you? she asked, head cocking slightly to the side as she wasn't sure if this was someone higher up the food chain than her.

@Alhon

 

[Roman Kallo]

Once his eyes adjusted to the gloom, Roman spotted the young girl in the corner. Big eyes flashed at him from beneath a vibrant purple bob as she looked at him inquisitively. He stepped into the room, encouraged that she was not some crusty hag barking at him to get out.

"Roman Kallo" he answered "acolyte". He had found his natural directness generally went down well in Sith circles and his success blowing up Imperial Czerka had earned his name some recognition.

He wound his way towards her between the reading tables, realising her eyes were purple too unless he was mistaken. "How about you?". She was quite young, so probably not some big shot Sith just yet.

"What you reading?" he jutted his chin at the information in front of her, wondering what had brought someone else to this dusty little library.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

I'm sure that if Corra had known she was not categorized as "krusty krab... I mean hag" she would have been happy.

Okay, another acolyte, good, she thought to herself. Likewise she was glad she wasn't being yelled at or told to get out. That was half the battle in the Sith: ending up in a position where you could learn without being crushed at someone's whim. A tightrope walk.

Acolyte Corra, she offered. She could have tried to lie about her rank, but that was as likely to get her into trouble as anything. That kind of thing could land you in deep crap real quick if the higher ups found out.

Treatise on Visions and Prophecy, she said, raising the book up so that he could see the spine. It's a bit dry, she admitted honestly. Darth Kaynous was apparently not big on being straight to the point. Honestly, guy seemed kind of hung up on himself.

What about you? Weird place for you to end up, she said. It wasn't a flash place or somewhere that attracted a lot of visitors. In fact, its texts on prophecy, visions, dreams, and other such "abstract" concepts were often looked down on by the average Sith. It was why it got so little traffic compared to the larger archives.

@Alhon

 

[Roman Kallo]

Roman was relieved the girl was relatively new too. That kept it simple.

"Nice to meet you" Roman smiled, settling himself down into a chair opposite her and resting his feet on another. "Cool hair". Purple hair was hardly the most out there thing in the galaxy, but Roman had spent too long constrained by the edicts of the Imperial Knights and now loved anything that broke with convention.

The fact she was not enjoying her book was not encouraging, especially as she looked way more into this kind of shit than him. "Oh really? I guess they can't all be smart and great writers eh?". Even though he had no real idea what he was talking about, Roman suspected hardly any of the authors would be great writers, but he was trying to be optimistic.

"Yeah I just kinda...came for a browse" he replied, not sure how much to say or how to say it. After realising that sounded dumb, he added "I saw some symbols and stuff, wanted to come down and see if I could find out what they meant". He glanced around aimlessly, as if the relevant text might just remove itself from the shelf and scurry over to him.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Thanks, she said, not meaning to have the smile that now tugged at her lips, reaching up to push some of the hair back over her ear.

Was she... was that a flirting action? She wasn't sure, and she could feel her cheeks starting to heat up ever so slightly.

He moved along moments later and she couldn't decide if she was happy or disappointed about that.

Ah yes, her curiosity was piqued now as she listened to him talk about whatever runes he had seen. He was very vague, which usually meant that there was something more to that story.

What kind of runes? Where did you see them? she asked.

 

[Roman Kallo]

She seemed to like the compliment, but didn't give one back. Roman gave her a smile for now. He didn't often go for girls but the fiery dynamic types could sometimes light his fire.

"Runes?" he realised as he repeated it the word that he may well have heard it before. "Yes" he said more confidently "runes exactly". In truth, Corra was already teaching him things. The symbols he was seeing were runes.

He drew out a cigarra and set about lighting it, reasoning he could smoke here if he wanted. Besides, it helped him think.

"I see them in my dreams sometimes" he explained, his eagerness to know more outpacing his caution "each time is a bit different. A sharp 'V', three entwined circles, dashes and lines that look like nothing at all".

His brown eyes studied her intensely, watching for any hint of a reaction. "You know anything about them?".

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra was all ears now. Runes seen in his dreams? Yes, that sounded familiar in its own way. Her dreams were a bit different than what he described, but that didn't mean that she didn't suffer from flashes of things she couldn't understand. Normally it was glimpses of events that she didn't know if they were past, present somewhere across the galaxy, or future, but why couldn't it be runes?

She pushed a piece of blank paper across the table to him.

Can you draw them? she asked as she stood and crossed the room to begin looking for another book. His description was little to go by, but it didn't sound like it was ur-Kittat that he had seen.

She finally found the book she was looking for and plucked it from the shelf. It was a reprint, and even then its pages were old. She started flipping through looking at the various runic symbols inside to see if any of them matched up with what he saw and/or drew.

Can't say that I know what they mean, but that doesn't mean no one does, she said.

How long have you been having these dreams? Every night? Some nights? Only at certain times of year? she asked, wanting to just bombard him with questions. He was one of the first other people she had met who actually admitted to being plagued by unwanted dreams, and it was... a relief in a way to find someone else.

@Alhon

 

[Roman Kallo]

Roman had been prepared for Corra to shrug off his strange ramblings, or maybe laugh out loud at his jumbled descriptions. Her genuine interest caught him off guard.

"Erm...." he stuttered, looking at the sheet of paper she had pressed in front of him. "I guess I could try....". The unblemished page was strangely intimidating, making it hard to even start.

Roman took a jagged pencil in his hand, setting the tip to the page and slowly drawing his first black line. His tool was poor and it did not flow easily on the rough table, but he persevered. It was not unlike when he scored markings into the wooden hull of the slave ship all those years ago, a fascination that had kept him alive.

"Just some nights" he answered as he worked, disappearing deep into his drawing for a few long moments. His brow furrowed, his grip on the pencil hardening as he curved off his lines and went back over them, shading, scoring, redoubling their width. Roman was not even aware of the passage of time, or that Corra had got up from the table, so consumed was her in the work that now seemed so important.

His nose was almost touching the paper when he zoned back in, leaning back heavily with his work complete. The paper in front of him was now violently scarred across the center with three dark black circles, their forms pressed close like links in a chain. Roman could scarcely believe he had drawn the mark, something about the shading almost made it leap off the page.

"I know..." he breathed, feeling a little out of it all of a sudden. He could already imagine what Corra would make of his handiwork. "Not much imagination right. Most guys would be dreaming about sex, drugs and rock and roll...".

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra seemed entirely undisturbed by his handiwork as she started flipping through the pages of the book to try to find some symbols that would match.

Pfft, you can get that stuff in real life. This... she said, motioning like a total nerd toward the things he had drawn ...prophecies and visions. Not everyone gets those, she said, her face turning a bit more serious.

They're a curse as often as not, she said, taking a deep steadying breath that came from her own personal experience.

But! If you can interpret them, sometimes they can lead to important things, she said, spinning the book around to him.

I think this might be a slaving brand from the ancient Sith. Like around the era of the Great Galactic War, she said. Of course, she had no idea that being from a slaving background this might cause him distress. She was clearly getting far too excited now.

If we can track down the Lord and his tomb... maybe there's something we're supposed to find! she said.

 

[Roman Kallo]

Yeah, there was no doubt about it now. Corra was not just interested in this stuff, she was practically high on it.

"A curse?" Roman did find some of the imagery in his dreams disturbing, but it was not like any of it could really hurt him, or bother him once he was awake. But she spoke like she knew. "How do you know these things? Do you see stuff like this too?".

He would not judge her anymore than she had him. To be truthful, anything she confided would only make him more inclined to believe she knew what she was talking about.

When Corra finally stopped leafing through the big book and told him he might have drawn a slaving brand, his throat went dry. "Woah, fuck that" he said on instinct, pushing back from the table. "I'm not going anywhere near slavers, alive or long dead". He jumped up, wondering if he too was getting too pulled into things.

Roman went to a small window, just a rough hewn square hole in the wall, breathing in fresher air. He lit another cigarra and took a long drag. Slowly, he remembered Corra was only trying to help.

"I was a slave once" he explained "for barely more than a year, but when they take everything from you, when you feel yourself slipping away more every day, it feels like a lifetime". Roman had found rituals and routines to focus on, but he was still not sure how he had survived. "Why would I, of all people, draw something like that?" he spat, looking back at the scrawled brand just long enough to feel sick. "How could be anything good?".

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Not a literal curse, she said as she saw him become somewhat concerned as she mentioned a curse. Yeah, okay, fair, she probably should watch her words when it came to that kind of thing.

He asked her how she knew about this stuff, and she considered lying for a moment or telling him something that was deflective, but what was the point? What was to be gained? Trying to make sure that she didn't appear weak? That assumed that the truth made her appear that way.

I have a lot of... unusual dreams and visions, she said. That was... true although it left out some key details intentionally. Details like she didn't know what she had them or what it was that she was supposed to do with them.

His reaction to her mention of a slaving brand left her puzzling, frowning and looking at him in an attempt to figure out "what gives." She was about to say something about pulling it together, but he wandered off for a moment as if trying to get his nerves, lighting a cigarra.

His emotions were in total flux, and even Corra could feel them like a tempestuous sea. Sith were driven by their passions, but sometimes Sith were driven by their passions rather than letting rational thought take over. It was a double edged sword.

Because it was in your dream. The real question is why was it in your dream? she asked. She didn't expect him to have the answer, but that was why they were here.

Besides, what if just ignoring it means the dreams continue? she asked, raising her eyebrows to emphasize the point.

I think there's an old temple nearby that's related to this, come on, she said. Who wouldn't want to go exploring!?

 

[Roman Kallo]

So Corra had dreams of her own. Roman wondered what hers looked like, trying to see that book again from earlier that she had been reading. But the unattended cig in his fingers began to burn, and he had to stub it out with a grunt.

"Well if I knew that I wouldn't be moping around this place" he shrugged, a little exasperated. Roman was not thick, he knew she was not expecting answers but trying to get him to think and be open to possibilities.

He gave her a hard look, this mere slip of a girl. She was starting to make him look like a pussy. The last person who had done that was Jace (@Sreeya ) and Roman had sworn he was a new man since joining the Sith.

Had Master Azar not shown him how it could feel to take control of his destiny without restraint? Had he not promised himself he would become the slaver, never again the enslaved? Maybe he should just take hold of everything, anything, no matter the risk.

Corra then suggested the dreams might carry on unless he did what she said. She even had a handy temple for them to pop to right now. "You don't take no for an answer do you" Roman relented. "Alright, we'll go see this temple, but if we get stopped by any big shots let me do the talking yeah? I might know some literal curses if they're needed".

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra most certainly didn't take no for an answer, and she looked quite pleased with herself that he decided to go with her to the old temple.

For once, it wasn't a tomb, but the temple had been long abandoned... allegedly.

Sounds like all the more reason for you to investigate: have to find the answer, she said.

Her eyes narrowed as he mentioned that she should let him do the talking.

Whyyy? she asked in that drawn out, skeptical way. She immediately became more interested - though still skeptical - when he mentioned knowing some actual curses.

Wait, do you really? she asked as she started packing her books up into her backpack and heading for the door.

Anything good? she asked as she headed out and climbed into a speeder to zoom off toward the temple.

The winding caverns and valleys of Korriban seemed to run together for a while until more buildings began to appear. Old buildings, one of which was the larger than the rest, expanding into the cliff behind.

We're here! she said, way too excited for what they were doing.

 

[Roman Kallo]

They had been in the speeder a good few minutes when it dawned on Roman that Corra genuinely believed he knew some curses. Despite his resolution not to give a shit about anything much, the look of excited expectation on her face made him hesitate.

"Well...depends on your view of what's good" he said, feigning knowledge he absolutely did not have. "What you really want to be worried about are the curses I can draw". Roman knew he was joking, yet he half wondered if that was possible. Sometimes he felt like the symbols he saw, that he could draw, could do something in the real world. But that was way too heavy to share.

Corra practically leapt out of the speeder when they reached the temple and Roman reluctantly brought up the rear. The place was huge and ancient, exactly as he had expected, but being so close to town he guessed it had been explored to death long before they turned up.

Still, he was about seizing the day these days. Roman strode in, deliberately elongating his stride to get ahead of Corra and look like he was totally up for this.

They found themselves in a cavernous entrance hall, where an elaborately carved tablet informed them this was the temple of rest for Lord Jakris Savash, a Sith Lord who had enslaved entire worlds to his cause. Nice.

"At least he was doing the slaving" Roman mused, looking around awkwardly. He saw nothing in here that looked like the symbols he drew, but it was clear the halls went deeper into the cliffside. "After this we're going to find out what your dreams are about, just so you know". He gave Corra a look that would brook no argument. She was learning far too much about him for him to not find out the same.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra's eyes were beginning to narrow as he dragged on about drawn curses. She highly doubt that he knew how to inscribe Words of Power.

Mmhmm, she hummed skeptically as she realized that he almost certainly did not know any useful or exciting curses.

They made their way inside, and she was glad to see that he had really warmed up to this as he did a run-walk inside.

Lord Jakris Savash, she repeated in puzzlement. I'm not familiar with him. Weird isn't it? Someone who conquered whole worlds and his name is just... almost forgotten, she puzzled, pulling out her EZPhone to take pictures of the inscriptions.

Ha, good luck with that, she grumbled as he said they would find out the source of her dreams. Her attempts to find out about her dreams had been... complex and unsuccessful for the most part.

And then she paused dead in her tracks, waving Roman over. Look, she whispered, pointing down at the remains of a fire and many sets of tracks.

This is all fresh. People have been here, she said. A cult? Yeah, definitely a cult.

 

[Roman Kallo]

Roman cracked his knuckles. A small part of him wondered if she was just making fun of him. An even smaller part wanted to hurt her just in case she was.

"Well life is for the living" he replied. It was hardly surprising Lord Jakris whatever had been forgotten. He was bloody dead, and most dead Sith did not even get mentioned at induction.

Roman didn't miss her brushing off about her own dreams though. Interesting, Corra was as defensive as him when it came to it.

When she called him over to look at the tracks, he was a little unsure what she expected him to say. "Yes, lots of people probably been here". It was hardly news. "Are you saying you think they'll know more than we can find here in the tomb?".

He had thought they were just where they needed to be, but Corra seemed to jump around. Chasing down or involving anyone else right now was a real uptick in the risk, but Roman told himself he was up for it if justified.

@Phoenix

 

[Corra]

Corra looked over at him skeptically, particularly the way he seemed to brush off others having been here. It started setting off warning bells in her head as she looked up at him.

Distrust was the way of the Sith, and part of her wondered if she had been lured here as some sort of human sacrifice or something. An appeasement to bring back this Sith Lord of old maybe?

A Sith Lord that's all but forgotten has a temple that everyone forgot about and you're not at all worried that we showed up and there's evidence of people living here? she asked. Sure it was "her" idea to come here, but the idea was on that anyone could have followed, right? Maybe the idea to come here had just been planted in her head by this guy.

Corra was becoming more and more sketched out by the moment, and made sure not to turn her back on Roman as she investigated the room. Or the tunnels for that matter, which left her with about a hilarious 30 degree area she could actually look at and document.

Maybe you should go back and see if anyone's just inside the entrance, she said. That would at least get Roman and the mystery footprints in the same area so she could more easily keep them in sight.

@Alhon