Ask Tales of Frogs and Shadows

[Veles]

Dagobah, location unknown
2232 local time

A wretched swamp world not too far from the main trade routes but so remote and inhospitable that few had touched down on its surface in its ancient history. A planet discovered and forgotten, scouted and catalogued, only to somehow slip through the cracks and be lost again and again. Empires had risen and fallen and it had simply been there, shrouded not by its location, but by something else that none could quite place their finger on. Perhaps there was something sinister in the dark bog, hidden by the canopy of gnarled branches and drooping leaves, deep within the forest that never saw the sun. He watched it through the window as their ship jumped out of hyperspace and the green orb slowly grew in front of them.

Dagobah. Home and final resting place of a Jedi Master who had always known more than he let on and who had somehow managed to discern the intricacies of the Galaxy, the inner working of the Force itself. Perhaps it had been this slimy backwater planet that had cleared his mind and opened his eyes. Perhaps he had just been an outlier, fated to be a sage the likes of which the Galaxy had never seen. Veles did not know if the answers could be found among the bog, and he was not here for answers. He was here out of curiosity.

Ever since his deep dive into sorcery and the mentorship of the Empress, he had begun to notice things he previously had not. As the power grew within him, it seemed as though the Galaxy opened itself up to him, as though the darkness perked up and began tugging at him from different corners of charted and uncharted space. To search every whim out would take a lifetime, but there were places that stood out from others. The darkness he felt emanating from Dagobah had threatened to drive him mad as he scoured and searched for mentions of the planet or its location. Partly helped by various texts and partly guided by following the tug, at last he had managed to find it.

"Approaching the surface," the pilot declared into their comms. "T minus 5 minutes to landing."

He turned away from the window and strapped his seatbelt on as the ship entered orbit and they began making their descent. Many an expedition had sought Dagobah out, only for the explorers to find themselves trapped in the swamp's waters. They would not be worrying about that today; an experienced pilot and appropriate ship ensured that. He was no longer a Champion stumbling aimlessly through the Galaxy. He was a Sith Lord now, and the responsibility hung heavy over him, a welcome burden. It ensured, at least, that he would not be left in want of anything ever again, now that the power was at the tips of his fingers.

The craft shook a little as they approached the ground, the wind humming as it clashed with the durasteel of the hull. Veles' gaze shifted upwards, his eyes setting on his companion for this trip. A clever mind and swift fighter indeed, but that was not why she was here. Truth be told, the Lord had taken an interest to the girl. Perhaps just harmless curiosity. Perhaps a subconscious desire to poke and prod and see what the teachings of Caelestis instilled in his only student. Nevertheless, Malou was the most competent Acolyte he had ever met, and he knew the promise she showed. And above all, he remembered Taris, and the way she carried herself in battle. This was someone who deserved to accompany him on this trip, who he knew would use any knowledge gained.

Oh, how he'd changed since they last met. He was not much older now, but the past two years had been eventful, and it was even visible on his physique. Slightly thinner but still just as toned, an appearance that many foolishly interpreted as frail. His skin paler than ever, his face bearing the telltale bruises of one who convened with the Shadow. His eyes had succumbed to the dark side, even the whites corrupted into a black sclera dark like obsidian. Then again, Malou was blind. He didn't suppose she would notice much of a difference visually, but the heavy, deep presence he radiated was unmistakable.

"Yes, it is a swampland," he admitted, clearing the air before the subject was even brought up. "But I promise next time I'll take you somewhere hospitable."

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Between all the jungles and swamps she'd marched through in the past few years, Malou would have been perfectly content to never set another foot in the hot, murky, wet environments ever again. Yet here she was, aboard a ship en route to none other but Dagobah itself. More so than maybe any other planet, Dagobah was the swamp to end all swamps. On top of the sickly gray mud riddled with microorganisms science had never seen, creatures that lurked beneath translucent brown water, and the constant stench of algae and decay, Dagobah was a place so blanketed by the Dark Side that the Jedi could probably hide an entire temple there.

Suffice to say, she wouldn't be all that happy to be on her way there if it weren't for one specific thing: she was going alongside Darth Veles. The last time she'd seen the man had been at the last Serennian party, but the last time they'd spoken had been close to two years ago. Taris seems like such a long time ago. She even had the saber he'd found and given to her from that crashed ship on her person. A lot had changed since then; she had changed a lot since then. She was taller, stronger, older, and even a bit more talkative. Her acolyteship under Artorgias—Darth Caelestis—had served her well.

She wasn't the only one who had changed, though. Veles had changed a lot, and while the color of his skin and eyes were lost on the Miralukan's colorless Sight, his aura in the Force was not. "Surprise" was not the word she would use to describe her reaction to seeing him again, though. Malou wasn't surprised that his ascent to Sith Lord came with power, though she wondered if his someone creepy appearance was an effect of that or just a coincidence.

Despite being a bit weirded out by his odd change in appearance, Malou didn't have any negative opinions on Veles beyond that. He happened to be one of the few Sith Lords she didn't dislike for one reason or another.

"As long as we don't spend the entire time trudging through mud," was her humorous response to his assertion. No, she wasn't happy she was about to delve into a swamp, but there were worse things and they were already here. It as too late to complain. "What are we looking for?"

tag: @vamp

 

[Veles]

They touched down on the surface, and it seemed their pilot had managed to find an impossibly rare patch of flat, open ground to land on. The cream of the crop when it came to soldiers, Veles expected nothing less from an Imperial. He unbuckled his seatbelt and rose from the seat, glad to finally be able to stretch his muscles and breathe some fresh air.

"A place so dark it rivals even the depths of Fortress Vader," he divulged, not specifically mentioning that he did not quite exactly know. "An evil more ancient than most one encounters in this Galaxy."

And why? Because the quest for knowledge never ends. The occult was a field of study so incomprehensibly infinite that it was no wonder many sorcerers sought out ways to extend their lives. Despite the consequences and tribulations--which were certainly not light--the sheer and incredible amount of knowledge and power may well be worth it. To convene with entities that prowled the Galaxy millennia ago was not just an impressive feat--it was a way to learn things that had been long ago washed by the passage of time. There was no besting that. Having such an advantage over others rendered one impossible to touch. It was what propped up eternal rulers.

The door hissed open in front of them and the silence of the ship was broken by a cacophony of sound that rivaled the bustling of Coruscant. The night--so dark that Veles could not see his hand in front of his face--was awash with the whistles, howls, groans, roars, and growls of more creatures than he could imagine, beasts that had not been discovered, let alone studied. It only made him more aware of the dangers of this planet.

"To say that we're venturing into uncharted territory is an understatement. I daresay we're the first to step foot on this world since the Great Purge. It's not that there is much we don't know about Dagobah--there is simply not much that we know." He stepped off the ship and onto the blissfully solid ground. "Be careful, have your wits about you, and remain vigilant."

The ground gave way to mud and then to water quickly, and Veles traversed the planet as if it was daytime, his mind observing the land around them with the Force. It was that way that he not only felt but saw the thousands of creatures that surrounded them in the trees, in the buses, on the ground and within the waters. Some appeared harmless, others he knew were best avoided. There were more predators than anything else around them, but they all kept a wide berth, even the fearsome and horrific beasts of Dagobah cowering in the presence of the Sith Lord.

He walked without difficulty, his steps light and fluid, as if he had been traversing the swamps of this world his entire life. Stepping on stones and logs, his cloak not even touching the water, leaping from place to place, Veles strode forward, never straying too much from his companion. Despite his reputation and appearance, he actually cared about those around him, so he never let Malou get too far behind. Not that it would be very difficult for the Champion to keep up. After all, that's why he had brought her along.

"I suppose you've heard of the Jedi Master Yoda, no?"

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

An ancient evil so dark it rivals Fortress Vader? Every time someone mentioned something about an ancient evil, Malou's mind jumped back to that cave and the events which had transpired there. Nothing she had faced since had compared to that. She hoped whatever they were looking for would not test her the way she had been tested then, but Malou was not a woman ruled by fear. Rather, and in spite of her reservations, she thought it sounded incredibly interesting.

When Veles stepped off the ship, Malou followed suit. The dark of the night was lost on her, so as she descended down the ramp and began to follow him into the swamp, finding her way was not a struggle. With her Sight, Malou could see things that were not possible to see with her own eyes. The texture of the bark, the bugs that crept among the crevices, the shapes and forms of creatures prowling the night—all of these things were seen by her always and at once. The Miralukan had tried to explain how her Sight worked to others before, but it was impossible for her to put to words how much she could see. Compared to the blurred lines and formless shapes she could make out with open eyes, the Sight was unmatched.

Malou, despite being far less graceful than the man she was following, was able to keep up enough that he wouldn't often need to wait for her. It helped that she could simply mimick his steps, jumping from rock to log to root seconds after his own feet left the objects. From what she could tell, the direction they were moving in didn't seem to be headed toward any particular way. The aura of the Dark Side was present wherever they went. It reminded her of Exegol, but it was completely different. Exegol was cold, lifeless, and the Force there was more of an empty evil than anything else. Dagobah was teeming with life. The Force here was alive in the violence of the beasts who made this planet their home.

"Yes, of course." Malou spent a lot of her free time looking into the history of both the Sith and the Jedi. Yoda was an interesting creature. She knew little about him, but enough to know he had been one of the most powerful Force users while he had been alive.

"Does he have something to do with why we're here?" Surely Yoda wasn't secretly a Sith lord. The thought might've brought an amused smile to her lips if she wasn't currently wrestling her foot out of the mud.

tag: @vamp

 

[Veles]

"You could say that," he conceded, ducking under a low hanging branch as a two-headed snake hissed and snapped at his head with a sound that was not unlike the ignition of a lightsaber. Some creatures were braver than others, more so out of ignorance than strength. "His life here lead to the discovery of the place we are seeking. It is where Luke Skywalker had a vision that spurred him to cut his training short to leave the world and aid Han Solo and his sister Leia. Even for him, stepping into the cavernous chamber proved to be a challenge."

Frogs and reptiles leapt out of his way as he approached, and he could see waves within the murky waters, the trails of creatures fleeing as fast as their fins could carry them. Everywhere they went, the entire portion of the swamp went silent. He moved with confidence, following the tug like a bloodhound to game. Dathomiri magick drew heavily on one's ability to zero in on the tugs and pulls of different planets and locations, and even using it required a channeling of energy from Dathomir, so he was able to visualize exactly where they were going even if Malou could not tell.

It was not particularly far because the coordinates he had given the pilot were close to the cave. As they neared, a feeling grew within his gut, a discomfort that slowly became dread. It was strange for him to feel this way, an alien emotion that his confidence rarely permitted him to actually feel dread. A million questions raced through his mind, but he did not give chase to any. He was focused and concentrating on preparing himself psychologically for what may follow. Regardless, that feeling would either lead him to the reason he was feeling it or simply dissipate, so there was no need to doubt and speculate.

Veles could feel the cave much more strongly now, and its presence grew ever more powerful the stronger he got. There was no question of whether they were going the right way. He did briefly wonder if this was why he was on edge, or if there was something else that was off. Perhaps they were being followed?

He honed in on the area around them with the Force even more specifically than before, but came short of finding anything stalking them. No, it was clear it had something to do with the cave. To be expected.

The Sith Lord took a sudden right and then swung directly into a bush, seemingly disappearing through its leaves and branches. He emerged on the other side in a small clearing, just as dark as the others but much, much colder. It felt like he had stepped foot onto the snow lands of Hoth, though there was no howling wind to blow bits of ice to scratch his skin. Instead, it was silent as a grave. A stillness filled this clearing, one that was clearly not because of their presence here. A stillness that was caused by the place they stood in front of.

No. He furrowed his brows, and narrowed his eyes into the pitch darkness, his mind probing through again and again as though there was any way he could miss something so glaringly. No, he had been spot on from his first assessment. He stopped a few feet in front of the bush and a good few yards away from their destination.

The cave had been destroyed.

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

A challenge? Malou had mixed feelings on whether or not she wanted to uptake said challenge, but again, she was already here.

They didn't travel for very long before Malou the hairs on the back of her neck began to stand upright. The sounds of the swamp began to distance themselves until the echoes of amphibian life were far behind them. The only life here, other than themselves, were the larger, more sinister creatures lurking beneath the murky waters. The heavy sense of dread mixed together with this quietening of the world around them was eerie in a way Malou could not put to words. They were surrounded by nothing but life and death for miles upon miles, but something nearby drove that away.

Veles kept going though, so Malou kept following. He honed in on whatever he was searching for like a bloodhound. When he slipped right into a mess of bushes, she hesitated only a moment before she followed. The woody stems pulled at her hair and clothing as she slipped through, but it was not as dense as she had thought. Her Sight traveled out further than her body, defining the piles of rock and debris before she cleared the bush. Malou came to a stop just behind Veles, still studying the debris of the once-cave.

"Was this supposed to be it?" she asked as she strode forward. She placed a hand on one of the larger rocks and sent out a pulse in the Force, but she saw nothing but crumbled rock. Whatever had been here before was no longer, though the remnants of its evil still remained.

Before Veles could answer or Malou could comment further, the sound of foliage breaking thundered through the air as a massive dragonsnake burst through the bush and bared its teeth at them. It moved quickly for a beast so large, swiping its tail toward the Mirlukan girl. Though she tried to dodge, she underestimated the length of its reach and found herself bludgeoned by it. Malou was sent flying across the clearing as the dragonsnake reared and struck down at Veles, its teeth positioned to sink into the man's shoulders should they strike true. Its tail also came back around, intending to grapple him or cut him off.

Malou, though dazed from the blow, was able to concentrate the Force around her to soften her landing. Though she had cursed the gross, muddy ground before, she was grateful for its softness now. She hit the floor, rolled for a moment, then struggled back onto her feet. Her hands extended outward immediately, attempting to use the Force to hold the dragonsnake in place or at least slow its movements.

tag: @vamp

 

[Veles]

His eyes scanned the chunks of rock and splintered wood ahead, staring at the broken gnarltree as though he could stare through it, as though he could will it back to wholeness. Veles stepped forward to get closer as Malou spoke, and he'd opened his mouth to reply when the silence was broken by the sound of something massive rustling through the flora around them, followed by a hiss. The Sith Lord whirled around, one lightsaber already in his hand, just in time to see the creature send Malou flying through the clearing, so by the time it turned toward him, he was ready.

The only reason he knew about the dragonsnake was because they also populate Nal Hutta, where scientists have had the opportunity to study them. Their hide was blaster-resistant but not lightsaber-resistant, and he took advantage of that.

As the dragonsnake's massive head bore down on him, teeth bared, he threw himself to the right, avoiding it completely rather than going straight for the kill. Veles landed on his feet, though the mud made him stick in that same spot, and he sensed that the tail was coming toward him before he saw it. The Sith Lord raised his lightsaber up and over his back just as it reached him, far too late for the creature to react. The plasma blade tore a deep, sizzling hole through the dragonsnake's hide and into its flesh, though it withdrew too early for it to cut completely through. The massive snake hissed again, this time out of agony, and its entire body trembled as it felt pain, likely for the first time for the apex predator.

Veles withdrew his feet from the mud and leapt a few feet away, getting some distance between himself and the creature. With its tail injured, it would be easy to take down, but he did not want to commit completely in case there were more around. Within his free hand, green mist began to gather, crackling and popping as he concentrated power into the ball of energy.

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

In the time which it took Veles to get to gathering a green mist between his hands, Malou had recovered from her unwanted journey across the clearing. She drew her sabers—one in each hand—from her belt and prepared to attack. The Miralukan hesitated though, unsure of what Dathomirian magicks were about to be released on the beast.

It was a good thing she didn't spring forward right away, as another form burst through the already broken foliage. It was another dragonsnake, though it was maybe three-fourths as large as the one she and Veles had already been fighting. It was mad. Its jaw unhinged to scream in their faces, spitting saliva in their faces. Black eyes locked on Veles, betraying its intentions.

Malou took this as an opportunity to act. As its long neck struck forward towards the Sith Lord, Malou leapt forward with the aid of the Force and twisted her body so that her feet would slam into the beast's strained neck. The kick foiled its plan to take a chomp out of Veles and left a clear opening between him and the original beast. She brought her sabers up and over, then sliced both downwards symmetrically into the dragonsnake's flesh. It cried out in pain, the noise from which caused Malou to wince from the volume. When she disconnected from the creature and rolled away, its head was still connected to its neck, but its throat had been cut halfway through. It stumbled after her, further unblocking the first beast, and tried desperately to strike at her with its claw.

She was out of its reach though, and its swipe fell short of her person. It collapsed, head on the ground, and struggled for breath before her feet.

tag: @vamp

 

[Veles]

Veles let the ball loose just as a second dragonsnake broke through the foliage, the Dathomiri magick hitting the first creature square in the throat and causing it to seize in pain. A patch of burned flesh formed on its neck, smoke rising from the charred skin, and Veles did not hesitate to finish it off.

As Malou collided with the dragonsnake attacking him, he leapt forward, ducking under the two of them, and flew through the air, tip of his lightsaber held out until it slid smoothly directly into the mouth of his opponent, exiting out of the top of its head. The serpent's entire body went limp and collapsed into the murky waters with a huge splash, covering the Sith Lord's robes in mud. He had to jump out of the way as a section of the creature nearly fell on top of him.

Turning toward Malou, he saw she, too, had been successful and her foe was panting for air only to find that it could not get to its lungs. Surprisingly resilient, it lay there fighting for life and perhaps anticipating that Malou put it out of its misery, and Veles did not intervene. Instead, he discarded his filthy cloak and extinguished his lightsaber, once again moving toward the ruins of the tree, his pounding heart slowly calming down. He tapped into the adrenaline still coursing through his body as he knelt down and placed a hand on a rock, closing his eyes.

For a few moments, there was nothing. Then, booming out of the void like a ship out of hyperspace, a vision coursed through his mind.

"What's in there?"

"Only what you've been too weak to bury," Supreme Leader Snoke replied, his voice cold.

The vision flickered for a moment, and then Veles was inside the cave.

"I don't want to fight you." Luke Skywalker stood still, his lightsaber hilt held in the fist of his mechanical arm unignited. His face hard set, it was not hard to note how troubled the old Jedi was.

"I don't care." Kylo Ren, his crimson blade poised in front of him defensively, the energy cracking and humming. He frowned, for a brief moment looking like a scared child before his face set into a scowl. He leaped forward, and their blades clashed, locking in place for only a heartbeat before Ren pulled his lightsaber back and--

It sliced through Skywalker, cutting down through his neck to his waist. Ren stood over the lifeless, charred and smoking corpse of his uncle, and there was too much emotion within him to discern what he felt.

"I'm ready, Master. I'm done." There was a finality to his voice that contrasted almost humorously with what Snoke replied.

"You are not done. It is far from over."

"Ben?"

Ren turned and faced his parents. Han and Leia stood still next to each other, much as Skywalker had. "Ben, please stop."

It was not hard to feel the turmoil within the young apprentice. "That...that isn't my name."

The cave was washed in a sea of red and the silence was cut by the loud whirs and screams of the lightsaber striking. Ren slashed and stabbed in a flurry, but his parents were not the target. He reduced some hanging roots to charred ash and stepped back.

"Well done, my apprentice. It is finished. I would like to see--"

The cave erupted, rock and wood flying in every direction like shrapnel, the earth exploding with a boom. And as the dust settled, Ren emerged, standing in front of Snoke, his face hard.

Veles' eyes flickered open and he rose to his feet, his heart racing. He looked around but saw nothing in the darkness, and the swamp was just as still as it had been before. This had been the most vivid vision he had ever had, the most immersive view of history that he had been imparted with. He hung the hilt of his lightsaber back onto his belt and sloshed through the water and over the corpses of the dragonsnakes until he was next to Malou, who was likely confused as she could be.

Then the darkness was broken by a flash of red and a snap-hiss as her blade ignited, and Veles realized it was not Malou that stood before him, but the Empress. What--

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou stood and watched the creature struggle for breath while she watched Veles deal with the other dragonsnake. Her sabers were still lit, and at any moment she could raise her hands and plunge them into the skull of the beast and end its suffering. She could, or she could continue to watch it suffer. For a few moments, she just stood there unmoving. Eventually, her arms followed the pattern and bled the life from the collapsed animal.

When she pulled her blade from its corpse, a new enemy appeared before her. The man before her called out, saying: "I don't want to fight you." Words left her mouth, responding with a voice that was not hers. "I don't care." Suddenly, she was outside her body, but it wasn't her body. It was a man with the face of Kylo Ren. This was not her fight, but his.

Malou watched as the scene unfurled around her, soaking in its details through eyes she could somehow see out of. It ended with the cave collapsing around her, the ground shaking beneath her feet, and suddenly she was in the dark. Why can't I see? Her eye twitched, blinking, and she felt the hair of her eyelashes brush against a familiar fabric. The vision had opened her eyes in more ways than one, so she quickly squeezed them shut.

The world returned to her, defined in the familiar colorless details she had grown so used to. She still stood at the head of the beast she'd slain. Veles was still to her left— "Malou." That was not the voice of Veles. Artorgias?

Her body turned with the attention of her Sight just to watch the backside of her master slip into the brush and disappear into the forested swamp. Without hesitation, she followed. Her hands reached out, grabbed the woody plant matter, and tore it away from in front of her, but the swamp was not there. The waterlogged filth she had trudged through on her way here and expected to see was instead a long corridor of smooth walls, dimly lit lights on support beams, and dead air. The silhouette of her master was making its way further down the hallway, leaving her behind.

"Master, wait!" Malou tore after him, her boots slapping against the cold, concrete floors as she chased him down the hallway. No matter how far she ran though, she never got any closer. Frustrated, she turned to look behind her to see if she'd moved at all from the entrance of the cave. The Champion's head dropped in her chest when she did not see the sickly green color of vines, but more endless hallway where she had just arrived from.

What is going on? Fear gripped her throat as she turned back around, expecting again something different than what she saw. The hallway that had continued on endlessly in front of her was suddenly nothing more than a large door. It was opened ajar, and flashes of light flashed and glowed from within. Tentatively, she reached out and pulled it open.

"Hello Malou." There stood her master. Artorgias, Caelestis, the Count of Wessex. He lifted an arm and extended a hand out to her. It was an invitation. "Power," he began in his familiar voice. "Together we can cast aside your stagnation. You will find power and purpose through the Force." Malou listened to him speak and believed him with every bone in her body. She owed him everything she had and ever would have. He was still promising her so much more. "Take my hand. I will lead you there." His hand remained open, waiting to pull her along with him, so out she reached to grab it. Just as she was about to place her hand in his, it was forced to stop. Her hand made contact with some invisible wall, and the ripple of the impact shimmered outward from the impact like a water drop into still water.

"What are you waiting for?" The fire in his eyes—fueled by the promise of power—was suddenly no longer contained there. It spread to his face, to his hair, and to his clothes. His skin began to blister and the stench of burning flesh assaulted her uncovered nose. "MASTER!" Malou began to beat her fists on the invisible barrier, crying out as she tried to break through to reach the man burning alive in front of her. Her efforts, her desperation, made no progress toward him. All she could do was watch as the fire consumed him, leaving nothing but hot ashes where he once stood. "NO!" Agony strained her throat as she tried one last time to break through the wall, but there was nothing to stop her anymore. She fell forward and into the mound of ashes, coughing as they billowed up into her mouth and choked her lungs. Her arms tried to push her upward out of the ashes, but she found she could not stand. The void surrounded her; there was nothing but her and the ash that covered her hands and legs. She could feel the ground beneath her, but she could not see it. The force pushed her down, and down, and down until the concrete beneath her cracked and caved like glass. Her bones shattered, her muscles screamed, and the ash clogged her lungs until she couldn't breathe at all.

She was powerless. There was nothing she could do here. The Force was gone from her; she couldn't feel it. The world was gone. Artorgias was gone. She couldn't feel anything but the cold, stone floor that her body was being pressed into.

Floor! The pressure was gone and suddenly Malou could see. She slowly stood up, though she grimaced at the ghost pains still running through her body. The endless dark hallways were gone and she stood in the middle of a familiar room. It was empty of food, of decorations, of people, minus a figure behind her.

A red saber ignited behind her. "Hello Malou."

tag: @vamp

 

[Veles]

It was like the light had been switched on, but Veles found himself not in the mucky swamps of Dagobah but on Dathomir under a crimson sky, at the foot of the steps toward the Queen's castle. He looked around and found that the normally bustling village around was a ghost town, devoid of life. He whirled his entire body around, searching for answers, and yet none came.

And then he was soaring through the air impossibly fast, as though he had been hit by a freighter, his limbs uselessly fighting against the pressure. He writhed and beat against the empty air but he was powerless, and for the first time in a very long time, the Sith Lord felt fear. He was not Veles now, but Cinere, still a Champion who was struggling to come to terms with his solitude.

He blinked and craned his head and found that he was free-falling hundreds of meters above the surface of Dathomir, and he felt a scream bubbling up within his chest. He opened his mouth, and nothing came out. He screamed and screamed until he felt his vocal chords tearing and yet he was not making a sound. His body flipped, and he was now falling face-first, helpless as he watched the ground approach. He closed his eyes as he was about to make impact, but he never did.

Cinere opened his eyes and he was back in that shack on Dathomir, where he'd spent months in seclusion. A small fire was burning under the kettle and one in the fireplace, the serenity of the room contrasting with the pounding of his frenzied heart. He looked around and over his shoulder but he was alone. He tried to rise from his seat, only to find an invisible pressure was keeping him down.

"You've failed." The accusation cut through the silence like a poisoned arrow, and Andruil emerged from the doorway, her face bearing a look of utter disgust. "I should have struck you down the moment I saw you on the steps of my castle." She strode toward him didn't stop until her face was inches away from his.

"You are and always will be an outsider on this world. This will never be your home. You do not belong here."

No... His breathing came out in ragged pants, the weight of his fear and helplessness crashing down on him like a tidal wave.

"This is the only home I know," he cried out, and she laughed cruelly.

"I should have never divulged the ways of the shadow to you." She placed her hand on his chest and pushed and he was free falling again, the chair under him. He could see nothing but darkness, falling through the floor as if it had eaten him, his descent almost as if into hell itself.

Cinere landed with a sickening thud thud, his ribs and spine shattering on impact, the skin at his sides splitting open. Blood forced itself up his throat and he coughed it out in several splashes. He forced himself up, the pain of his injuries still making his nerves go haywire, and he had no idea how he was still alive.

He limped and stumbled through the darkness, his hand on his side as though it would prevent the blood from flowing out, his clothing soaking wet with crimson liquid. Andruil's face appeared out of the pitch black, zooming past imperceptibly fast, shoving him as she passed by. Her laugh echoed in his head and around him.

"Look at you." She shoved him again from behind, and this time he fell to his knees. "It is better that I purge you before you can do any lasting damage to my Empire."

Andruil stepped forward, her lightsaber igniting in the darkness. His head pounding with pain, his entire body in excruciating agony, Cinere raised his face to look at her. He looked at her face, looked at the hatred and disgust on it, and above all felt the humiliation like a white-hot poker tearing into his heart. Rage bubbled within him, molten hot and incontrollable, until it threatened to engulf him completely. He could feel the air around him tensing up, the atmosphere tingling with electricity like a storm cloud. He raised both arms, his palms facing toward his Empress--

And green flames erupted, an imperceptible inferno that he had to avert his gaze from because it was too blinding. The rage and humiliation poured out through his palms, and again he yelled at the top of his lungs, barely able to hear his voice over the roar of the flames as they wrapped around Andruil, her clothes catching fire, and then her entire body disappearing behind the blaze. He did not stop until he felt the last of his energy leaving his body, and he slumped forward on his knees, tears still streaming from his eyes down his face and into his mouth, the sensation so alien to him.

"Perhaps there is some promise in you."

He looked up in shock at the Empress, untouched and unharmed. Cinere opened his mouth to speak, but only a croak came out as he watched her turn into ash from the head down and disappeared.

And then he was back on Dagobah. He knew because he could feel the humidity hanging in the air, could hear the croaks and shrill cries of creatures in the distance, muffled by the canopy. He was on his knees, his hand still on the stone, and he withdrew it as though it were on fire, his hands going to his body as he felt himself for any injury. He stretched his arms and legs and found that nothing hurt, then reached out through the Force and found that he was alone.

"Malou...?"

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

"M- Master?" There was fear in her voice; it was barely a whisper. She knew nothing of what was going on. One moment she was somewhere, and the next moment another. As she turned her body to face the man she'd watched burn to ashes out of her grasp, the scenery around her was suddenly the snow-covered courtyard of his castle. They'd trained here once, she remembered. The way he stood before her now was the same way he'd stood before her then, but it was different now. His eyes were on fire with nothing short of hatred.

"You're weak, Malou." His voice was no longer a source of comforting familiarity, but a pool of venom spat at the ground before her. The light of his saber crackled and flickered like a gasoline fire, though it stayed within the confines of its direction. Slowly it raised until it was even with her eye level. She could almost feel the heat of its fire, though she stood against the far wall. "I brought you under my wing because I saw promise in you." He began to advance toward her with heavy, intentional steps. "You haven't grown at all. You're still the same little girl who was scared to catch her father's ire." He reached her and swung forward with his blade to strike her up from her left. Still frozen in fear, blundering around in her sense of betrayal, it connected with her flesh and cut upwards thru her skin like a hot knife through butter. She stumbled backward into the wall behind her and strained her throat to prevent the scream of pain from crying out of it.

"HOW ARE YOU GOING TO GROW IF YOU CAN'T LET GO OF YOUR PAST?" The wind began to whip around them, spurred on by the anger of the man before her.

"YOU ARE NOTHING WITHOUT ME!" He raised his saber again, this time aiming to strike true for her neck.

It was only then that Malou could find the strength in her body to ignite the saber in her hand and raise it to defend against his blow. She pushed herself forward through the pain and the betrayal to trade blows with a man she cared about. He struck with fury, and with each blow she struck back with, the more furious she became herself.

"SHUT UP!" With all her might, she pushed her blade into his. Her heels dug into the icy ground, pushing forward into him until he had no choice but to stumble back. He had given her so much, but she was not helpless! There had been so much she'd learned on her own. He was the foundation; she was the architect.

The man before her shaped like Artorgias stumbled backward, his arms flailing outwards as he began to fall towards the ground. She held only one saber as she had back then, so with her free hand balled into a fist, the snow on the ground hardened to ice and leapt up to meet the falling man. Hot red blood bounced off the icy snow as he laid suspended there, caught and held by a spike of ice through his abdomen. Almost immediately after realizing what she'd done, Malou rushed over to try and reach him. Before her hands could extend out to grab his, like before, she was stopped. She could no longer move, and as the world faded around her, all she could hear were his last echoing words: "Power through your doubts and watch how strong you become."

He was gone. The snow-filled courtyard faded, and suddenly she was back in the hot marshes of Dagobah. But she was not in the clearing she had stood before.

tag: @vamp

 

[Veles]

He reached out through the Force, his tendrils extending in all directions, soaring through the air like tentacles; above bushes and under branches, around hulking predators and into the waters, over the canopy that made up the ceiling of the swamps and into the deepest crevices he could find. At last, he could feel her presence, a small pinprick a distance away from him, and Veles took off toward her.

He erupted through the bush they'd gone into to get to the ruins of the Cave of Evil, his feet finding stones to leap onto as he charged through the swamp much faster than before.

Stay where you are, he communicated, the message heard through her mind. I'm on the way.

The danger that the Champion had put herself through by wandering around was not lost on Veles; without his presence near her, she had become fair game to all sorts of predators, and considering how some had attacked them regardless of the Sith Lord's threatening aura, it was likely that Malou was open to probably every creature that prowled these swamps. It was absolutely critical that he got there as fast as he possibly could, or else Caelestis would find himself without an apprentice, and Veles did not even want to consider the consequences that would crash down onto his shoulders.

Green mist gathered and wrapped around his feet, green sparks exploding as his soles slammed into the ground. He moved imperceptibly fast, his body a blur of motion fueled by the urgency he felt stifling his chest like an overwhelming anxiety.

As he neared her position, the pounding of his heart calmed down ever so slightly, and he could see that she had not come into harm's way. He slammed through a bush and came to a stop a few meters away from her, the momentum sending his hair flying forward like the crack of a whip.

"I see the Cave did not get the best of you." For the first time, Veles smiled in front of Malou, genuine pride swelling within him. Caelestis did good work, all things aside. "Congratulations, Malou. Many have perished facing its trials."

The illusion that he had been subjected to was still there at the back of his mind, a nagging afterthought that would likely pester him for a long time and threaten to drive him to madness if he did not conquer it. The most important thing now was to get off-world, and he slowly realized just how far they now were from the ship. Veles reached into his pocket, grabbing for the transmitter that he carried specifically so that the pilot would have their location readily available for the moment the Sith Lord pressed the button to signify they needed him to come pick them up.

His pocket was empty. And slowly, it dawned on him that in his rush, it had likely fallen out of his pocket and into the murky water. The realization hit him like a hammer.

"Unfortunately, it seems we are lost."

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou just stood there, arms limp at her side for several minutes. She eventually raised them to expose her palms to the sky and tilted her head down toward them like she was staring with her own two eyes. It was in this position that Veles would find her, but the sound of his arrival caused her to break out of her trance. Her head and body swiveled around to face him and her hands dropped back down to her sides.

He was smiling at her. He was talking about the Cave, and he congratulated her. Power through your doubts and watch how strong you become. And that she had. She had been strong enough to face something many before her had fallen to. Slowly, a smile lifted the corner of her lips until her expression matched his.

"I guess a bit of a cave-in didn't do much to suffocate the- whatever was there." There was pride in her chest now, but like Veles, images of the illusion she had struggled against remained quiet in the back of her mind. She would have to face those illusions again sooner than she would like.

When Veles reached into his pocket but came out empty-handed, Malou quickly slammed a hand against her thigh to make sure her sabers were still there. Oh, good. If she would've lost either of them running around, there would be no getting them back. But unfortunately, Veles' lost transmitter meant that they had no easy way to find their way back to the ship. Should she have been a bit more experienced, the Miralukan might have been able to draw on the Force and extend her vision miles out to search for it, but she was not. She was too drained to even try.

"Do you remember which direction you came from?" It was worth at least asking. If not, the best they could do was find somewhere to hole up until the sun showed its face again. The light would do more for Veles than her, but predators had a habit of being more common in the blackness of the night.

tag: @vamp

 

[Veles]

Indeed, there was no suffocating for an entity--if that's what is was--of pure, ancient evil. It was interesting to him, however, how high-stakes that had felt. What would have happen if he failed? Would it have killed him? Possibly.

Nighttime had just set, so there would be long until daylight, and the two didn't have a place to sit and rest regardless. Veles was capable of pushing himself just a little more after that turmoil, though he was eager to just get back to the ship. He turned his head in different directions as he considered and surveyed the area around for other lifeforms.

"That I do, but the swamp seems to be blocking the way. We'll have to go around." He began heading toward the direction they'd came, since any more time spent here was time they were still in danger. He knew Malou would follow.

The two walked at a brisk pace for some time, not over-exerting while they were still vulnerable. Veles thought and considered why he could no longer feel the pilot's life force and there was a single possible answer, one that he did not like.

He remained silent about that, though, because there was no need to make others uncomfortable. If the pilot had been killed, he knew how to pilot the ship, and they would find it. There was no scenario in which they did not get off-world by daylight.
A constant murmuring nagged him for some time as they walked, until he zoned in on the noise and realized it was human voices. He turned toward the source and drew the hilt of his lightsaber, but before he could, a dart embedded itself into his neck, and one in Malou's. His eyes closed quickly after that, and he found himself unable to open them. Then he passed out.

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

When Veles moved, as did she. Malou had come to trust his judgment, and to a degree, him. If he thought it was best to try and get back to the ship as soon as possible instead of waiting around for daylight, then that was alright with her.

Malou had kept her Sight close to her as to avoid straining herself, and that turned out to be a mistake. She didn't see the dart until it had punctured into her neck, and by then it was too late to react in full. Her hand slapped up to the spot and tried to yank it out, but she found her fingers would not work in the way she wanted them to. There was so slow closing of her eyes, but instead, her vision simply vanished as unconsciousness took her.

~~~~~​

When the world suddenly returned to her, both she and Veles were suspended in two separate cages above the swampy ground. From what she could tell, it seemed as if they were just outside a camp of sorts. A fire roared in the distance, around which stood several emaciated humanoids. There were between six and twelve huts made of dried mud and plants. She was far too tired to look into the details; she was still drowsy from the pain in her neck.

"Veles?" He still looked like he was out. Unfortunately, telepathy was a skill she had yet to learn. "Veles!" Malou called out his name again, her voice a loud whisper. She reached out with the Force to tug gently at his shirt, trying to wake him up.

// 300 posts :^)

tag: @vamp

 

[Veles]

He woke suddenly, his eyes flipping open as his shirt shifted. He looked around and was surprised to see there was actually light and he could see--

A bonfire in a village? Humanoid shapes in front of it? Oh no... Is this another damn cult?

He turned his gaze to the cage Malou was in and moved through what little space he had so he was closer to the side that Malou was on. He patted his body and found that his weapons had been removed, including his lightsabers. A flash of annoyance burned through him.

"Those assholes took my lightsaber!" he shout-whispered. They were nowhere in sight, so there was no using the Force to grab it. There was, however, something he could do so he got working.

The Sith Lord honed in on the bones that comprised the bars of the cage. They trembled for a bit and then cracks spider-webbed along the length of the bone, which shattered and fell to the ground reduced to shards. There was now a whole in his cage, and he ducked out silently, his body low and clinging to the shadows. He gazed toward the bonfire; he had not been heard.

Veles stopped just under Malou's cage and put his hands on the bars. Green mist slowly materialized and wrapped around his hands and wrists and he yanked--

The bones cracked open and Malou had an exit. He offered her his hand and would pull her down to a crouch in the cover of the darkness. "Split up and search the buildings?" he whispered, already reaching out through the Force in search of the kyber crystals of his lightsabers.

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Veles woke, and almost immediately discovered that his lightsaber was gone. Malou reached down to pat her pockets, and she too found that they were missing. That made two unhappy Sith. Malou dropped out of the bone cage with help from Veles, brushed herself off, then checked her pockets again just in case. There was nothing, of course. Damnit! She would be pissed off if she didn't get her sabers back.

"Yeah. I'll take the left and you the right?"

With that, Malou crept off to the left toward what she could now clock as seven huts of varying sizes. She made her way over to the closest one and did her best to keep her footsteps quietly. Fortunately, she wouldn't need to play the game of peeking around a corner to see if anyone was inside. There wasn't anyone in the first one, so she slipped in and surveyed the interior. There were several beds inside and—There!—a lightsaber that sat atop a crudely made table. Malou called it to her hand and quickly dropped it into her pocket. It wasn't Darth Senteur's though; she had to get that one back.

Malou moved onto the next hut, but found nothing. The same went for the next three. With two more on her side to go, she hoped it was in at least one of them.

tag: @vamp

 

[Veles]

He nodded and made toward the right side of the village, his steps silent and nimble. As he moved, Veles was already reaching out through the Force, and was able to zero in on the location of his lightsaber by the time he reached the first hut. Striding directly past it, he made a beeline for the one that he knew for sure was where his things had been stashed, ducking in stealthily.

A lone tribesman was sitting on a chair at a table, shirtless and deep asleep, his upper body sprawled over the table. Veles snaked his hand through the man's arms and onto his throat and squeezed, the Force ensuring the crack of bone and flesh snapping and tearing filled the silent room for a brief moment. He let go of the lifeless corpse and it crumpled off the chair and onto the floor. The Sith Lord found a chest in the back of the room, crudely crafted out of the wood from nearby trees. He grabbed his lightsaber hilt and tied it back to his belt, striding out of the hut with confidence.

He wasn't sure if Malou had found her lightsabers, but he did not necessarily need help in dealing with the villagers regardless. The Sith Lord approached the figures from behind silently, lightsaber hilt in hand.

Snap-hiss

Red clashed with the flickering light of the fire, and every single body turned to face him, their faces a dozen masks of shock. Wordlessly, the Sith Lord charged forward, blade extended at his right side. He slashed once and decapitated one of the figures at the torso, their upper body falling first before their legs. Veles could see their faces clearly in the bonfire, and they were frozen in terror. They had not expected for their prisoner to fight back.

He whirled and spun, turning villagers into corpses with smoking wounds, the flesh still sizzling as they crumpled to the ground. Screams tore through the night as they all suddenly came to and began charging him, some brandishing crude knives and spears. Veles leapt back to avoid being outnumbered, his eyes scanning the village square, an idea hatching in his mind.

He reached out his left hand, lightsaber poised defensively in front of his body. The bonfire erupted into a green flame and increased in size tenfold, so intense that he could feel the heat beating on his face. The blaze spun once and then descended onto the villagers, their screams only intensifying as they caught fire, their bodies falling and writhing desperately on the ground as every nerve in their body burned. He felt nothing as he watched them die, his face set, his lips pursed as he concentrated on the sorcery.

By the time Malou would emerge from the hut with her second lightsaber, the majority of villagers had been reduced to charred corpses still burning on the ground. One last tribesman ran past Veles, and he reached out through the Force, grabbing the man by the neck and pulling him brutally to him, the man's legs dragging painfully across the ground, his shins and knees instantly bleeding.

"Are there more of you?" he asked, his voice cold.

"No," the villager cried out. "We were the last of the Children! We did not mean to entrap you, oh Magical One!"

He furrowed his brows. "The Children?"

"Yes! Our parents came to Dagobah to survey the land and wildlife but were stranded. No one came to rescue them and they settled down here and raised us." The villager's face lit up as he talked of his parents despite his predicament. "But the supplies on their ship spoiled, and they brought us better food! We rarely get other humans around here..." He spoke quickly, his voice strained by the pressure on his vocal chords, his breath coming out in struggled pants.

Realization dawned on the Sith Lord. He scowled in disgust and impaled the man with his lightsaber without saying anything else, then let his body fall unceremoniously to the packed soil. Veles looked to where Malou had emerged from the hut.

"We can wait here for daybreak and then search for the ship."

@lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

While she continued to search for her saber, Malou heard sounds of violence screaming through the camp. The whine and hiss of Veles' saber cut through the thick swamp air as it cut through the people who attacked him. It was the distraction she needed to find her saber as any of the persons still within the huts quickly left to try and defend her home.

It was within the sixth hut Malou found her second saber, and she emerged before Veles as he cut down the last of the so-called "Children." "Alright," was her answer to his proposal.

They still had several hours before day would break, so the two had quite a bit of time to kill. Instead of searching the huts for the least vile place to lay own and get some rest at, Malou opted to pull out a woven reed mat from one of them and set it before the still-burning fire. There she sat with her face to the fire and her shins tucked beneath her. She could feel the heat of the flame dull and brighten with each breath she took as if she were breathing life into it herself. All fire needed was oxygen to burn, but there was so much that could ignite it.

"Hey, Veles?" Wherever he'd gone, he would probably still hear her. They had hit the quiet hour of the night where the fauna hushed for a bit. "What motivates you?" She had been thinking about that a lot recently. What motivated her? Was it just a desire to improve herself? Was it just the primal need to become a predator instead of prey?

tag: @vamp