Ask Salvaged Memories

[Talak Rand]

Somehow what Oren said was oddly comforting in its own way. Talak was used to being alone. Living alone, eating alone, fighting alone, planning alone, and the list went on. Since leaving the Sith, he'd had Trys and to some extent Hannibal to work beside him, but knowing that he wouldn't face whatever was inside here alone was a nice feeling that he wasn't entirely used to.

We'll be fine, he reassured, willing to put himself beside the Jedi for this, even at his own risk. It was the least he could do, and probably the right thing to do.

He followed along with the Jedi, but as they reached the edge of... nothingness, Talak looked down. He had his reservations about plunging over the edge, but before he could stop to investigate, the Jedi was already dropping. He knew he couldn't leave the man along down there, and let out a quiet sigh before taking the step over the edge as well.

The blue glow of his saber was somehow unnaturally stifled during his descent, robbing him of any additional light or information of what was around him. It was only through the Force that he was warned to slow his descent before splashing into the water below.

The water immediately caused him to begin to shiver in the cold. It wasn't heated and this wasn't an outstandingly warm planet, but there was something far more problematic here: a dianoga. Now here was a creature he'd never fought before and would have been fine to never fight at all.

Get to the side! he shouted, splashing in the water as his saber came around to try to keep the tentacles at bay. It slashed across one and cut deeply, but it still held on to itself.

He started to push off to a small ledge on the side but without a great deal of success. A pair of tentacles reached out to either side, trying to wrap around Oren's torso on one side and his legs on the other and drag him down into the disgusting water to his death.

 

[Oren Zapan]

​

The water tasted terrible, and he was almost certain they would catch some sort of disease from the muck, but he didn't have time to worry about that. He heeded Talak's words and began to swim to the side, but would quickly feel a pair of tentacles begin to slither through the water like some sort of snake, as it attempted to coil around the man's waist.

Oren would kick his feet as he held his lightsaber a bit over his head, clicking the blade alive which lit the dark damp area with a white light. He could see mountains of trash bobbing in the trash, but the scary thing was the giant eye that darted above the water. He saw as Talak sliced towards his own tentacles, but had little success, and knew he should try for a different approach.

Calming himself, he would twist his wrist as he flicked his saber through the air, guiding it with the force towards the optical appendage, the blade swirled through the air in a circular fashion and would slice through the eye, causing the eye to sever from the body and a large shriek would break out across the water as the tendons coiled. "Swim.." Was all the Jedi Master would say, as he guided the blade back into bobbing hand.

He would swim several meters, expecting the beast to come lunging for them again, but his attack on the tendon seemed to critically injure it to the point it had given up. Pulling himself up from the water first, Oren would hold out his hand to help Talak up before continuing on.

The laughing was louder now, as they made their way forward, and Oren began to wonder if the beast they had fought was really that real or if it was something in their imagination. The trash seemed to shift and move as they walked forward, walls would slide down behind them and others would open up, almost as if it was guiding the two of them towards a destination. Something didn't seem quite right about this.

 

[The Storyteller]

The Trial of Flesh
​

The two men would find themselves within a large vacant room full of scrap and trash. It's cold here and quiet. The entrance had slowly shifted to a close and there would be no way for the men to turn back now. All around them it seemed that the trash had slowly began to shift to something still mundane, but the inklings of something other could be felt in the room. All around the ceiling and the wall that directly faced them was various signage from ships, old scrap and merchandise, the words reading out.

There was a door here...it's gone now.

Before them were two holes that lead into the wall, both black and dark, placing a lightsaber towards it would reveal nothing. The first trial of flesh had only begun.

tag: @Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak swam like a mad man through the horrid, rank water toward the side. He could hear more splashing - so much splashing - behind him and a horrid screech that told him something had happened that the creature didn't like. What that was, however, he didn't know.

He made it to the side a moment later, spinning around to engage from a better position, but saw nothing. No sign of the creature they'd fought, no sign of severed body parts, nothing but water and trash. It somehow felt wrong, but Talak also wasn't going to spend too much time questioning his good fortune.

They turned to walk on with several careful glances back, but there was no more sign of the creature. Instead, the room began to shift as they walked, and there could no longer be any doubt that they were either in an illusion or they'd walked into an unnatural corner of the universe. What was and wasn't real was suddenly all but impossible to differentiate.

Talak moved forward, looking to the holes that were at the far side of the room as their surroundings began to shift. It was clear that this was what they were supposed to investigate, and a lightsaber revealed nothing. Even placing his saber blade into the opening seemed to simply swallow the blade or perhaps even dissipate it.

Talak transitioned his saber to his off hand and ran his dominant hand - a prosthetic - to run along the edge of the hole. It was almost as if it was filled with some sort of tar or actual ink.

The arm could still feel pain, but blunted compared to a normal arm, and it seemed like as good an option as any for an exploratory plunge into the black depths.

I've already lost an arm. Prosthetics can be replaced. Might as well make use of that, he said. Although he couldn't have known it at the time, his trial of the flesh was precisely losing the arm. He didn't know what would be on the other side of the inky black, but it couldn't have been worse than what he'd already lost. @TWD26

 

[Oren Zapan]

​

Oren peered about the room, it was quiet, only the sound of dripping waste from above could be heard. The room felt unnatural almost surreal, it seemed that the force nexus they had stumbled across was extremely potent more than he had ever experienced on Ifrane--he wondered how an apprentice could fair in such conditions, but quickly pushed those thoughts away.

He watched as Talak placed his lightsaber in the hole, the blue light seemed to suffocate within the confines of the squeeze, which seemed off. "This doesn't seem natural.." He would say quietly, "Who's to say that we truly fell down that hole?" He'd question the validity of their sightings for a few moments as Talak proposed placing his mechanical hand in the contraption. He peered down towards his own, considering it.

"I suppose, it won't hurt to try," he'd say quietly, nodding to the man as he placed his hand within the hole, he would stretch out, feeling a surging pain that quickly zapped up the arm, which caused him to pull the mechanical hand out. It seemed whatever it was, rejected the cybernetics and they were left with only one other option--their last good hands.

He would peer towards the man, as he slowly slid his left burnt arm into the contraption, hoping he would do the same. If Talak joined him, they both would find themselves pressing up close to the wall, their arms stretching out as they felt a searing pain of pricks and needles, far worse than anything they could ever imagine.

His teeth would sneer and grind as he extended the muscles as far as he could--his finger tips gripping a handle. When they began to twist in a 360 degree motion they would hear the tendons begin to tear and the arm slowly severe off with extreme pain. The pain would send them back onto the ground as the doors would slowly open, but something didn't seem right--blood that should have been pouring from the severed arms didn't, that side of their arm would be simply a void. What the..Is this a test... He took a deep breath, wondering what was really going on. The pain it felt real, but something wasn't adding up. Before them a door would slowly tremble open.

 

[The Storyteller]

Spoiler: Muse

The Trial of Wounded Spirit
​

The door would slowly rumble open, revealing a metal platform that seemed to stretch out before them, a dark black clung to the air, there was no trash as they could see, just blackness that went beyond the railings. As they stepped onto the platform, only the sound of their clanking feet would be heard. They wouldn't realize it, but as they progressed, injured and in pain that they would slowly begin to shrink, taking on the youthful kid versions of themselves--their severed arms still missing, and the mechanical had been replaced with their flesh again.

As they walked the air would chill and the two of them could see snow flakes begin to fall along the platform. Through the blackness of the unending stretch they would hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Quickly, they would see a young girl appear, her eyes seemed almost familiar, her hair different and the wrong shade, but she almost seemed nostalgic. A wide smile would form on her meek face as she peered towards Talak Specifically. "Hi.." She'd smile.

"What kept you waiting Talak.." Her hands would plant against her side as she peered towards Oren, "And who's your friend?"

tag: @Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak tried sticking his hand into the blackness without any success. Clearly whatever this was didn't like prosthetics and he was left with only one option.

His last good arm was hesitantly placed into the socket, and he wondered what it would be like to have no natural arms anymore. He didn't have to wonder when he twisted and felt the arm itself feel as if it sheered off. It was in one way a familiar sensation, and in another far worse as it felt as though it was literally torn off.

He screamed in pain, but it didn't do anything. Whether this was fake or not, the pain was very real.

Still, the door swung open, and the realization that things weren't bleeding as they should have been should have registered as unusual for him. The sensation of something being "wrong" was unshakeable, but the illusion was far too realistic to simply see through. Like being in a dream and only realizing it when you wake.

They came into the next room and there was a young girl there. Talak frowned and squinted, trying to place her. She wasn't someone he recognized, but there was something vaguely familiar about her.

What are you? he asked. But he had a feeling it wasn't a single person. It was an amalgamation of people. The innocence stolen from those he had corrupted and those who had been corrupted alongside him. He wondered what it was that Oren was seeing. Surely his own vision wasn't the same? @TWD26

 

[Oren Zapan]

​

As Oren stepped onto the platform, everything around him had slowly changed, and within moments he was alone again. Talak wasn't with him at this moment and the junk world of Lothal had slowly given away to something more chilling and cold, he could hear the sound of gentle waves crashing along the pebble beach, the trees were still here and a thick layer of fog clung to the air.

Dantooine...The home to most of his training, the place he had learned to build his saber, the birthplace of his identity as a Jedi and the birthplace of the lifetime of guilt that had slowly built up inside of him. Oren walked along the rocky beach, his little boots trampling along, "This isn't real.." He told himself, or tried to or maybe it was? Was he a child or was he a man? Being stuck in this twisting land had left him questioning it all. Am I going insane..or am I holding on?

"Orii.." He turned to see those familiar golden eyes, and the trail of black hair. But, something seemed different, her posture and fur were slightly off. It was in that moment he would find himself changed back to a man, and the smell of the lake had filled with traces of salt--almost as if he was back on Rishi.

"Nashyr..." His words rung out, his voice cracking slightly, "You're not Nashyr..."

"Do I look like her?" She'd purr quietly towards man, "Are you looking for her here?"

The Jedi Master stammered as he took a deep breath, "No..she's dead."

"I'm not dead.." The Cathar would say with a slight smirk, her hands placing against her hips as she walked forward. "Were you supposed to meet her here?" She'd ask as her slender arms wrapped around his neck, the fangs of her teeth flashed for a moment as she cooed into the side of his neck. "My name is Nashine..."

His lone eye would narrow as he took a deep breath, he could smell the lavender against her fur, and her fingers that pressed against the back of his neck felt real. Maybe it was.."Nashine.." He'd say quietly, "I'm looking for Nashyr...do you know where she is?" His words were frayed with grief and desperation.

"You said she was dead.." The Cathar would raise a slight brow, letting out a huff as she let go of the near human, watching him as he walked a bit down the path of the beach. "Where are you going...you're going to leave me here?" She'd cry out in a bit of a panic as she ran forward. "It's not safe here, there is a darkness and I feel it..don't you.Please don't leave me Orii.."

Oren paused for a moment, considering her words, he could feel the chill and something didn't quite feel right. "Yeah...I feel it," he'd say quietly, a slight frown forming on his face as he saw the sadness and desperation in her eyes. "Fine..you can come with me," he'd say quietly as he continued on into the fog of the unknown, a deep pit filling in his stomach. You know this isn't real....what are you doing? Holding on...or denial?

tag: @Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak looked back, but Oren wasn't there anymore. But where could he have gone? Where was he? It was as if he was no longer in the trash heap but on the planet Gamorr. He was staring down blondie once again instead of the girl, but how was that possible? He had... brutally killed this man, and he could feel his own anger rising at the memory of what this scum had done.

His hand grasped down on his lightsaber hilt that he didn't even remember drawing. He wanted to slash this man down. To torture him and bring him to another sickening end. He darted forward, slamming the man back against the wall with his left hand tightening around the man's throat. The Force amplified his strength and he placed his saber against the man's gut.

He was about to ignite it when something stopped him. His love for Trys was part of what inspired his rage, but it was also what stayed his hand now. The Arcanist's fury had nearly killed Trys once. It had nearly torn them apart. It had nearly turned him into a monster and it had caused him to turn others into monsters.

His hand tightened around the hilt. He wanted to activate the igniter more than anything, but he didn't.

You deserve to die, he hissed, but it wasn't his place. Justice could have its day with him. He slammed his knee into the man's gut, buckling him over as he resolved to take him to the authorities, but before he could, the illusion faded and he was back on the trash world. His breath seemed to come with more difficulty that had nothing to do with the smell.

What was that? Some kind of test? he wondered. And perhaps more importantly, had he passed? @TWD26

 

[Oren Zapan]

​

Oren walked along the mist, his feet crunching through the rocks on the beach. He would peer back seeing Nashine with him, her smile wide as her slit eyes widened, "Enjoying what you're seeing?" She'd purr as she flared her fangs at the Jedi Master, her aura was drawing to him, and it screamed the feelings he had on Rishi, and that was the one thing he wanted back.

He saw her take the lead, peering towards him as her hand slid around his, "Follow me," she'd say quietly, she'd begin to diverge away from the path that he had been walking, her hand tugging on him as she winked. Oren paused, his feet sliding through the rocks as he sighed.

"We're supposed to be looking for Nashyr..."

"I am her," she'd pull into him, "But, I'm better...she was weak and she died," her hands would press against his chest, as she leaned in close to his lips. "More importantly, I'm weak...and I need you, I need you to stay with me..I need you to be strong and fight these demons for me..to stay here forever and be with me."

He felt her plant her head into his chest, as she cried, her arms wrapping around him. "I need you Orii..I need you to protect me like you failed to protect Nashyr...please..stay with me..." He could see something moving through the shadows, a large figure that moved towards them, he knew what was going to happen.

He could see the mangled flesh, and the thick red saber, larger than a blade should have been. He knew what was going to happen, she was going to be cleaved. He pulled himself off of her, his eye narrowing. "You're not her.." He'd say quietly, "This..isn't real, I was just telling myself..trying to convince myself that it was, but I know what happens." He'd say quietly. "It's my guilt, the guilt I've carried of your death, and those around me I cared for the most. I couldn't save you, but you weren't weak..you died like a Jedi, a Jedi that fought for and stood for the code.."

He'd step away, watching the anger building in the eyes of the cathar, though the large beast would stop as he spoke. "I know you loved me, and I know that I didn't say it back, but I did..and I do, I always will. You live on in me, your words and the happiness I felt will always be there. I've been holding it against me, feeling guilty for it all..hating myself, when I know you wouldn't want that..I'm so sorry that things went the way they did, but in the end I know that we will see each other again in the force, and for that I'm grateful..But, I have to let go for now, and continue on..The galaxy needs me, my work isn't done. I love you, but for now..this is goodbye."

He'd take a deep breath as the vision slowly began to vanish, Nashine slowly transforming to Nashyr and the beast, the manifestation of his guilt, slowly faded. "Goodbye.." She'd say quietly as she vanished and he was brought back into the trash platform, Talak beside him.

The Jedi Master would place a hand on his shoulder, he could feel the light radiating from the man, even if he couldn't recognize it, and for that he was happy. "You did well," he'd say quietly, not bothering to ask him about the personal trial he faced. Instead, he would peer forward, it seemed they had been walking through their dreamstate, around them were large holes that could have lead to their death or descent where even they would not be able to dig themselves out. Oren wondered if they hadn't followed the path of the light if it would have lead to them falling.

Before them sat a ship nestled along the trash, doors wide open and a feeling of light shun through the air. The words Resilience were etched across the panels. "I think it was testing us.." He'd say quietly, "For only a Jedi to find it.."

tag: @Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak had survived whatever that was. Perhaps it was the first step toward his path to becoming a Jedi. Or more likely one of many steps... his first steps had started a long time ago, hadn't they?

He glanced back at the holes in the ground that seemed as though they hadn't been there moments ago. He bent down to look down into it only to see that they went far deeper than he could see. He wondered how things could have gone differently with a single misstep and decided he didn't want to think about it.

There's a lot of darkness here, he said quietly. He wasn't convinced that it would have been only accessible to a Jedi. He wondered if there was a way for a Sith to pass through. Or what had led to so much lingering darkness.

He could feel something different in the Jedi now, and glanced at him curiously, but didn't say anything. Something told him not to pry. If the Jedi wanted to talk about it, he would. @TWD26

 

[Oren Zapan]

The Jedi Master could tell that Talak wasn't fully convinced at his explanation, his eyes had doubts and Oren understood where he was coming from. "Yes, there is a thick darkness here, a lot of pain and resentment that lingers far longer than anything recent...It feels like an insanity or a madness."

He stepped into the ship, which flickered to life, he saw a hologram of a woman flickering before them, the words Imani could be heard, but it would quickly die as power in the ship flickered away. "Where there is light, there is darkness. Darkness or negative feelings or emotions exist in myself, they exist in all Jedi--you see this is human nature. What separates a Jedi from many, is that we learn to try and control our emotions the best we can, both negative and positive. We don't shun them away like the Jedi of old, instead we learn to feel it and accept these thoughts or emotions and seek guidance if we must."

He stepped along the corridors of what appeared to be an ancient Corvette, "I saw her..in my visions, well an aspect of her. I saw the manifestations of my guilt that I've felt throughout my life. For the people I've lost, she always said that I held my emotions inside and that I put the weight of the galaxy on my shoulders...She was right," he'd say quietly, "The visions they wanted me to stay and to continue on, but I know that it would have ended up with that aspect of her dying before me over and over until I was driven mad..She's dead now, but I've forgiven myself for the guilt I felt, and I woke up."

He'd take a deep breath as he wondered what the man thought of his visions, would he judge him or would he have shared something similar? He didn't dare look towards the man, but instead carried on through the ship, letting the force guide him as he found himself entering the bridge. Before them a surge of light could be felt and Oren saw it sitting there, nestled along a mixture of rusted panels, hidden in a cloth.

He'd take it into his hands, unsure of as to what he found. "I think..this was what we were looking for." What was hidden in the cloth was yet to be determined, but Oren knew that it was only one step in a larger process. He peered towards the man, "It's time we find a way out of here." The Jedi would begin to walk through the halls, peering towards the mangled halls that jetted upwards. "I think we can climb up, and we'll be out of here.."The Jedi Master would leap across and would slowly begin to climb up the torn corvette and towards the exit of the trash caverns.

tag: @Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak listened to what Oren said about his lost love. He knew that feeling, and he had moved on, but he knew that it would take a long time before Oren had moved along... if he ever did.

It won't go away soon, but you'll see her again in the Force. For what little temporary relief that offers, he said. He remembered that he had had to overcome a vision of Zatara for himself just before he left the Sith.

All you can do is honor her memory one minute at a time, he said, and couldn't help but think that his own "redemption" was in many ways a dishonor to Zatara's death. Her death had been facilitated by an evil man to push Talak toward the darkness. Did that make her death a waste? Or did his redemption mean he was fighting against what had killed her?

The truth was that he wasn't living for her death anymore. He had moved on. He had Trys now, he had pushed toward his own goals and values, and he hoped she would have understood that.

He watched as Oren grabbed the prize... whatever it was, and started climbing. There was little else to do except to leave. He leapt up and continued the climb, ready to be out of this place, but also to spend some time in meditation. Perhaps it was time to find truths within himself as well.

//Thread @TWD26