Tearing Down the Old

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn had grown more used to the empty nothingness of Korriban over the last several months. It was vast, scaldingly hot, and still not a place he enjoyed going, but it was also without question one of the most vibrant places in the galaxy when it came to the Dark Side.

He had only met the Sith Crusader in passing, but the man had access to something that had piqued the Emperor's curiosity, and at the end of the day, Varyn still barely considered himself an Emperor. He craved to get away from the administration of being the Emperor and back into the metaphorical saddle of combat and exploration.

This was an opportunity for that, and also a chance for him to gain something that might prove valuable in the future. So, the enticed Sith Lord - ever paranoid - had come out to meet the Crusader. He'd arrived first, scouting out the area and drawing on the Dark Side here to prepare himself for the arrival of the other Sith.

Tick-tock, tick-tock. @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

He was not late.

You did not meet with the damned Emperor of the Sith Empire and arrive late - unfortunately for him, it seemed that the Emperor of the bloody Sith Empire liked to arrive early. Earlier than even Zeven himself and Zeven had decided to be at least half an hour early, which meant the Emperor had arrived even earlier.

That was a great start.

Arriving at the agreed upon meeting place, Zeven came dressed in his typical Sith armor with both his own lightsaber strapped to his waist and the lightsaber of The First Blade as well. He had been drawing the Dark Side to himself as well as he approached but that was more so that the Emperor could feel who was approaching him through the Force. Once he was close enough, he released the Dark Side back into the area and into himself.

Falling to one knee in the sand before the Emperor, Zeven bowed his head in acknowledgement of the man's superiority over him and his position within the Empire.

"My Emperor."

He didn't look up and would in fact not look up until directed.

"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me today. I have a gift for you."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

On the bright side for Zeven, Varyn's promptness (perhaps even excessive promptness) wasn't something he held against others. If you were truly late, that was another story, but even as it was the Crusader had arrived early by anyone's standard. Perfectly respectable.

Varyn watched the man approach and then promptly drop to his knee. Initially when people did that to him, Varyn had been a bit taken aback. People bowing to you for the first time was an odd sensation, but he'd grown accustomed to it as a formality fairly quickly. But in that formality, he'd promptly noticed the arrogance of many Sith within the Empire today. They thought themselves equal or superior to the Emperor, not paying respect. Although Varyn's ego wasn't so large as to demand swift and definitive punishment (because really that was just stupid) the gesture hadn't gone unnoticed.

Rise, he said to the Crusader as he looked the other man over. He was perhaps slightly younger than Varyn, athletic, and strong with the Force in even a cursory assessment. If Varyn had to guess (and such conjecture seemed to be the backbone of his successful rule thus far) the man would rise through the ranks fairly quickly. That guess was only reinforced by the gift he referenced.

The Emperor reached out with the Force, gripping the First Blade in the Force and pulling it to himself, letting it settle lightly into his open palm. And an impressive gift it is, he praised. As soon as the blade touched his palm, he could feel the power of its former wielder. While Varyn had never been much of a practitioner of psychometry, he didn't think that it would have taken much to unveil at least some of the secrets of this weapon.

But for all of its power, Varyn could quickly feel something else from the blade. The power was that of the Light, and as soon as it touched his palm, he could feel a heat emanating up his arm. It wasn't a soothing or relaxing heat, but one that felt as though it wanted to burn the person holding it. The Kyber crystal was alive and it wasn't happy to be in the hands of a Dark Sider.

How did you come by this weapon? he asked as his eyes flicked back from the hilt to the man who had brought it. He had no doubt that it had to be quite a story to have brought such a powerful, Jedi weapon.

 

[Darth Tagus]

Zeven was waiting for it so when the command to rise came he did so gracefully and without pause. Standing tall before the man who had collected the power to call himself Emperor, Zeven had to admit that this was the kind of man he could respect on a personal level as well, which boded well he had to admit.

People performed well for people they actually managed to respect.

He almost instinctively went to stop the First Blade leaving his side but managed to hold himself back from reacting aside from a small twitch of his fingers. It was just a reaction to having his prize taken from his possession so suddenly, even though he knew, logically, he had been about to hand it over anyway.

Zeven watched as the Emperor examined the blade but said nothing - the Emperor had spoken but until the very end he had not actually spoken to Zeven expecting any kind of input from the crusader. He stood almost at attention but not quite as the Emperor spoke.

"I went seeking it specifically, My Lord. I wanted to make my mark on a piece of Jedi history, to take it before they could." he smirked ever so slightly, "I worked with a Jedi to track it down... she believed I was an archaeologist. Or at least she believed it enough to reveal it's location by unlocking a Jedi holocron with it's location hidden within, something I would never have been able to do."

He nodded to the blade.

"We fought and I won - but I left her alive. I wanted her to know, the Jedi as a whole to know, what had become of one of their precious heirlooms. The intent was always to corrupt the blade's kyber crystal and I sought out and located a Sith holocron for assistance in the oldest forms." he revealed, "It was my intent to have you wield their blade against them, corrupted almost beyond their comprehension but still so very recognizable."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn could feel the ripple in the Force not just from the weapon, but also the man when he'd taken the saber from him. He had wondered if it would bother him, but didn't stop. Such actions were expected of an Emperor, and the power felt good. The whisper in his mind fed off of it. As much as he didn't want to admit it, there was an intoxicating feeling to having that kind of power.

He let the saber continue to linger in his hand despite the burning up his arm. He drew on its power nonetheless because with the pain was another intoxicating scent of power. He breathed in deeply and the corner of his mouth tugged up ever so slightly. The story was an interesting one, but he wasn't sure how he felt about its ending.

The saber floated through the air again, this time back to the Sith Crusader. It levitated in front of his chest just waiting to be taken. Varyn motioned with a hand for the man to seize it before he released his psychokinetic grip.

It's your reward, he said, A reward for your service. He let the thought sink in that the man was going to keep such a legendary weapon. It was no accident that Varyn didn't horde such items for himself. To reward initiative and service was to inspire a powerful Empire. The type of Empire that Varyn hoped to form the Sith into.

But I will help you break it, he added. There was power and knowledge to be gained simply from the breaking of such a weapon, and he was still certainly interested in such an endeavor. The Crusader - who he knew wouldn't remain a Crusader forever - would be able to wield the weapon against the Jedi for himself.

The thought of the Jedi brought him back around to his first thought, however. The concern. The Jedi. Why did you really let her go? he asked. It was clear he wasn't satisfied with the man's answer that it was to take information back to the Jedi. The whisper told him otherwise. He had made a similar move once upon a time, but with intent of his own, and with a captive to boot. While Varyn seldom enjoyed questioning after the fact, ignorance was as dangerous as any enemy's blade, and ignoring a threat or mistake could easily cost everything. @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

A reward for his service huh?

Reaching out physically, Zeven took the First Blade as it floated towards him and held it in his hand for a moment. It seemed to recoil from him in the Force and he was happy to see that the crystal inside still raged at him without actually resorting to rage. So strange for the Light to revile him without actually letting itself be consumed by actual emotions. He clipped the blade to his belt and let it rest there, unhappy with it's current existence.

"Thank you, my Lord." he declared with a bow of his head, "I admit to having some form of attachment to the idea of wielding it against the followers of it's former master."

The Emperor of the Sith was going to help him break the crystal?

Well that worked.

Reaching to his back, he pulled out a small Sith holocron that he had taken from a cave working with Tasha. He held it up for the Emperor to inspect.

"I found a holocron of ancient corrupting knowledge to assist us, my Lord."

The Jedi?

Nikka.

Ah Nikka.

Zeven smiled a little bit, a faint expression. He hadn't actually lied about anything he had said to the Emperor but he knew that it was time to be honest with the man beyond just what he was asked.

"I originally let her go because of what I said; I wanted Jedi to know." he paused before adding, "But since then I have come to believe that she can be turned. There is a great well of emotion inside of her and her Jedi Master is lack - slow and weak of mind. She has power comparable to my own, the emotional reserve to become a Sith and a weak tether to the Jedi Order. I believe she can be persuaded to leave."

If she joined the Sith... that was less clear.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

The Crusader seemed to be taking to his new weapon with enthusiasm, which Varyn was happy to see. There was something to be said for keeping those you worked with pleased, and in this case, he thought the Empire would be better suited if the weapon were in the hands of another.

Then they came to the matter of this Jedi. He wondered if there was more to the story, but the logic was sound, and he didn't press further for information. And perhaps more information to be gleaned about our enemy? he stated. He remembered the last time the Sith had captured a Jedi, and he knew the information they had gained from it. The potential to gain that - or send corruption back into the Jedi and split them in two - certainly was a tempting fate.

I'd like you to keep me updated, he said. He had to admit his curiosity on the topic was piqued. Jedi - more specifically fallen Jedi - could make devastating tools.

And with that, he turned his attention back to the holocron. It levitated just above his open palm. Its craftsmanship was extraordinary, and he could feel the power within it. It was a link to the past, but he also rebuked his mind as it wandered a bit. Look to the future, he reminded himself.

You found it? he asked, actually nearly having a chuckle at the words the Sith had used. It was an interesting choice of words, and he was sure there was a story behind that as well. He was curious what that might have been.

 

[Darth Tagus]

The information that could be gained from Nikka Toren was nothing to scoff at he knew. She was a healer and that art was most incompatible with the Sith arts and the Dark Side but she was a member of the Galactic Alliance and a Knight of the new Jedi Order so he was certain that she knew things that could be used to better the Sith Empire. If he managed to get Nikka to give him information or join the Empire, it would only mean good things for the Empire.

"Indeed, I will learn all that I can, my Lord." he vowed before pausing for a second and nodding, "You shall be informed of any new developments. If you ever feel as though she is too much of a liability... merely give the word and I shall bring her a swift ending."

It... it wasn't a fun thing to pledge that.

It caused something in his gut to twist awkwardly but it was nothing compared to his sense of duty and his conviction and dedication to the Dark Side. If he hated himself for the act then all the better - it would tie him to the Dark Side even more and that was something he needed to do.

He smirked ever so slightly.

"I relieved an unmarked pureblood tomb of the artifact." he admitted, "They seemed displeased, as did the owner of the tomb. Thankfully even the wraith seemed to accept the idea of it being used to taint the Light. I would offer to take you there but I fear I'm unwelcome back at that particular pureblood village."

Not that many purebloods liked him anyway.

"So my Lord..." he looked the Emperor in the eye for a moment as the First Blade disassembled itself in the Force, the bright blue crystal coming to hover between the two of them, "Shall we begin?"

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn could feel the man's apprehension at having pledged to kill the woman, but he could also feel a sincerity. The Dark Side often asked its followers to sacrifice what they cared about so that they could advance themselves. The pain, fear, and anger were extraordinary ways to fuel the Force, and it was no accident that many Sith would kill or destroy what they cared about most in order to advance themselves. They fed off of that power, and ensured that nothing held them back.

Varyn hadn't ever really gotten behind that. Perhaps it was that he had been - and still was - wary of the Dark Side or just that he didn't want to lose those few things he cared about. He was willing to put his life on the line, and had risked it many times, but that was different than killing someone you claim to care about. That was a sacrifice he wasn't too excited to make.

While saying that this other Sith loved the Jedi was likely going too far, he could understand the apprehension, and he sensed no line in the man's words. If he was asked, he would do it. Or at least he believed he would do it.

Varyn gave a nod of acknowledgment, but didn't press further for now. He wondered if the other man would feel a sense of relief at not being asked to kill her now, but they both knew that day might still come if she couldn't be turned.

We shall, he said, letting the holocron rise higher into the air. He reached out into the Force, letting his consciousness surround them both as he closed his eyes, seeing and feeling everything around him with a different pair of eyes. He let his power pour into the holocron as he muttered words under his breath. With a hiss and snap, the holocron opened and a red light flashed from between the growing cracks of the device's outer shell.

A moment later, a small figure appeared above the still-floating holocron, perhaps half a meter tall, and looked at the pair. Who disturbs me? he asked immediately and indignantly, looking at Zeven.

 

[Darth Tagus]

It was time to poison the kyber crystal of the First Blade, time for the two of them to taint a source of purity that had endured for thousands of years by his estimate. Or, you know, whenever the first Jedi Grandmaster had crafted themselves a lightsaber for the first time, which he was reasonably convinced was roughly a couple thousand years ago at this stage but that was something for historians to debate in their free time.

Right now was the only moment that mattered because right now they were preparing to poison this tool of the Light until it had become a weapon of the Dark Side and he felt genuine excitement at the prospect.

As the Emperor began to open the holocron, Zeven began to surround the crystal with Dark Side energies as he began to prepared for the assault on the crystal. It was always a taxing process to bleed a crystal but this one he expected to be even more troublesome than his own had been initially. Looking down at the figure that rose from the holocron though, Zeven grinned a little bit down at the form.

"Me again."

The figure visibly scowled at this.

"I see. And what folly do you seek my knowledge for?"

Zeven nodded towards the crystal and the Emperor of the Sith beside him, as if to remind the holocron figure that he was kind of in the middle of important business.

"The Emperor of the Sith and I are seeking to bleed this kyber crystal... the kyber crystal of the First Blade, weapon of the first Jedi Grandmaster. Will you lend us your wisdom to defile our enemy's history in such a way?"

He really hoped so.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn watched the figure trapped inside the holocron. It was about what Varyn would have expected of an old Sith Lord. It appeared to still be wearing armor that Varyn recognized from the early days of the Sith. It was a medium armor common to the period, but with its own specialized changes no doubt designed for the Sith Lord personally.

His presence - even the presence of his spirit - was commanding and confident even though it was only a piece of him that remained. He turned with an appraising gaze to both of them and seemed to sneer when Zevan stated that he was the Emperor. Varyn paid him no mind, for he wasn't even truly alive anymore. Not only that, Varyn knew he could crack whatever seals might have been placed to guard the holocron's secrets.

Varyn motioned for Zevan to hold up the First Blade. Do you recognize this weapon? he asked. It's symbolic significance and its well of energy are valuable for our war against the Jedi, he stated.

So the Jedi still persist? he growled. Perhaps this will be what you need to defeat them. First, you must reach out to the crystal and sense its history. Kyber crystals are living beings in their own right. You will break the will of the crystal as surely as if you were breaking the will of a human, he said.

Varyn considered this for a moment. During training, he had been hardened by his Lord against interrogation, and he knew what it felt like to have your mind ripped apart. It was enough to still send shivers down his spine.

He nodded toward Zevan, letting him begin the process, and Varyn would lend assistance if needed.

 

[Darth Tagus]

Zeven knew that the guardian of the holocron didn't like him much but he honestly didn't care what the un-living thing thought. The fact of the matter was that the holocron was possessed by Zeven and he had the power to subdue any of it's little tricks so it would obey him as it's master or he would simply discard it, relegating it to obscurity for the rest of history to spite it's awkward nature. But he doubted that would be needed.

Not for what he wanted to use it's guidance for.

He only kept the guardian there out of amusement after all - he would simply break it open if it seriously tried to hinder his progress with it's secrets. Still, he was happy for it's guidance as all three of them set to the task of taking something intrinsically Jedi and polluting it until it was Sith.

"Break it like a person." He narrowed his eyes at the crystal for a moment, "Interesting."

He had been surrounding the crystal with the Dark Side but it was time to start the actual attack. Continuing to surround the crystal in the Dark Side, to cut it off from any true connection to the Light from around them, Zeven began to form a mixture of hatred and fear into being, using the Dark Side to fuel it and the emotion to fuel the Dark Side in a symbiotic creation.

From the miasma surrounding the crystal, three spikes began to emerge. They grew closer and closer to the crystal as the Light swelled into a small barrier surrounding the crystal as the spikes touched the barrier and grew no more. Then he pushed harder, the spikes beginning to drill into the barrier of the Light from three separate directions, concentrated hatred, fear and power at the tiny tips making it harder to resist.

The crystal began to fight back, beginning to glow brightly, the glow burning some of the Dark Side away.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn could feel the Force that flowed through their area darken, pulling in toward both the Sith and the crystal. For every darkness that was pressed upon it there seemed to be a flash of light to dissipate it. While much of the writings of the old Jedi had vanished, he'd heard espoused before the principle they held to that even a single candle could light a dark room. That if there was even a small light it would banish back any amount of darkness, but the thought was wrong. Darkness wasn't the weapon, it was merely a side effect of the power. Like a black hole which sucked in all light around it and smothered it within its gravitational pull, darkness was only a side effect of the true power.

As the Sith began to push against the crystal, the light seemed to push it back, holding the power at bay, and Varyn realized that sheer willpower wouldn't be enough to break the crystal. If they wanted to tear into the crystal, they would have to go below the light and suck it out of existence from within.

Varyn reached out to the Force, pouring his own energies into the same attack as well. The barrier pushed back, but it couldn't resist forever. Finally, it gave for only a moment. The shard lanced through the barrier and plunged into the heart of the crystal. A shard of the Sith's minds had made it through.

The two of them would immediately see another world in their mind's eye. It was a land of green grass and flowing streams that were clear as crystals. There was the faint sound of whistling wind, and it was utterly serene.

We need to find the heart of the river, he said. He didn't know how he knew, but if they poisoned the water source, polluting it with darkness, everything else would become corrupted as well. The river would carry the darkness far, flowing through the plants, ground, and every branch of the river. The darkness would spread like a wildfire, and whatever world that the crystal had created would be irreparably corrupted. @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

And suddenly they were somewhere else.

Zeven had no idea where they were for a split second. For a split second he was surrounded by peace and tranquility and he felt like this was a place he could stay. A place that would welcome him no matter what he had done. This place, the feeling it carried, was somewhere that would give him peace and all he would have to do was protect it. It wasn't even that much of a chore considering he would be protecting... wait.

No.

No that thought was foreign... wrong.

He narrowed his eyes and focused, focused on his ally, the Dark Side and the anger that was ever present in the pit of his stomach. It didn't change what he was seeing around him but it did change the little voice in the back of his mind. The voice quietened and quietened until it was nothing.

"This place has a seductive call to it." he remarked quietly, before scowling, "I don't like it."

He nodded to Varyn as they began to walk along the edge of the river, following the flowing water towards it's source. Looking down at the water, he scowled as he saw faces. His mother kissing him goodnight as a child... and then Nikka as well. He stomped at the water with a foot.

"It presumes to know us."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn felt that same sense of peace and serenity wash over him. It was as if the place attempted to rob them of their own free will and call them out of the darkness. For Varyn, he found it particularly alluring and homely, for he had never been one to fully embrace the Dark Side as many of his kin. It was a tool to an end, but that end was his only true goal. It was what consumed him night and day, and he wouldn't allow even this feeling of peace to take that away from him. He'd sacrificed much in personal comfort for his cause.

Begone, he hissed in his mind to the voices that now whispered in his mind.

It'll try to break us. Make us forget why we're here, he agreed with a shake of his head to indicate they couldn't let that happen. It didn't need to be said, but it was going to be an incredible test of their will.

The Emperor took a deep breath in steeled his nerve as he took his first step forward. It felt like the ground stuck to his boots and resisted him moving forward. He took note of it in case he had need to duel in here. He hated it, and knew it would hinder him in a fight, but he would have to overcome.

It's delved into our minds as well, he suspected aloud. Mental links went both ways, and this crystal had the strength that was a match for the pair, Varyn suspected.

If you let it, it'll take over your mind, he said, hoping neither of them would succumb because if they did, he suspected the other would have no hope either. He took a listen to the wind and began to hear what sounded like faint whispers or voices, though he knew they didn't belong to anyone, and he wondered if it was simply a trick of the wind.

Do you hear that? he asked, shooting a glance at the other man and just narrowly catching something in the bushes. Whatever it was it appeared perhaps a meter tall and made of pure shadow. He wondered if it, too, was a trick of the eyes. This place clearly didn't follow the rules of their world. @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Yes he could see that being the way it would attempt to break them - with kindness, with acceptance and compassion. It would lure them in with whispers about how it would forgive everything when it reality it would do nothing of the sort. It would never give them forgiveness for what they had done. It was all a sweet-sounding lie that some people chose to believe in... but not Zeven. He refused to believe that the Light would just forgive and forget what he had done.

Because he sure as hells would not.

"It seeks to make us lay down our weapons and throw ourselves at it's mercy... it is an insidious and disgusting thing. And those self-righteous fools think we have a monopoly on corrupting influences. This 'Light' taints just as much as the Dark does; at least the Dark is upfront about it."

There was always a cost with the Dark and it never shied away from that truth. The Light took a part of you as well and then pretended it didn't, which was worse in his book. Keeping that hatred close to himself, Zeven wrapped himself up in the hatred like a cloak as he trudged onward.

He raised an eyebrow.

He didn't hear anything.

He could, however, feel something.

There was a dryness to the air that reminded him of something. Something that he did not expect to smell in such a place. It was the kind of dry smell that came when there was a clean-burning fire in the area, burning the moisture out of the air without leaving a chemical aftertaste just... the absence of moisture.

"Do you smell that?" he replied with simply, "It smells like... clean fire."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn nodded in agreement at what the other man was saying, thinking on his words. Varyn had had very little exposure to the Light, but what he - and all the other Sith - had been advised and taught about it was that it was a subtle and nefarious evil. That it was far more subtle than the Dark Side, and that made it all the more dangerous. His experiences with it had been brief and fleeting at most, with touches of it at some of the places of power that resonated with the Force, but now that he was here, deep within its embrace, he began to understand precisely what it was.

It was a seeping promise that could never be kept. It was a call to the mind that would always fall short. It was an inability to fulfill what it said, and that made it all the more dangerous. Deception was one of the greatest terrors of the Force, and the Light was swallowed by it.

It's all a lie, he said quietly, as much to himself as to the other Sith with him. His eyes were still locked on the shrubs and bushes that he had seen move, but the figure seemed to be gone now. Another fleeting deception of the Light Side? he wondered to himself. Perhaps that or a "guardian" of the crystal. He didn't know.

He took a deep breath in at the question, and immediately felt a stifling heat for his troubles. Yes, he felt it, and it was growing stronger. It was impossible to miss at this point, and Varyn had a feeling of dread that washed over him. He didn't know how he knew, but he knew what it was. It was a purging fire of this Light, ready to burn through whatever darkness had come to infest its lands.

Run! he shouted as the first pillars of pure white flame licked through the trees. Somehow, it was spreading and latched onto the trees and grass without actually burning or leaving a blackened trail in its wake. It was coming for the pair, and Varyn wasn't going to stick around to find out what happened if it touched him.

He turned and ran like he hadn't run in years. He had spent years training as an assassin, and the Art of Movement was a skill taught in at least the basics to virtually all acolytes when they were learning their agility training. Varyn had always enjoyed it, and found it to be stress relieving. He was glad for that training now.

The ground wasn't even at all with boulders, roots, and even small dropoffs ranging from five to ten feet that littered their path. The river! he said between breaths that seemed to be coming more heavily now than a moment ago. He didn't know if this "white flame" was as averse to water as real fire, but it was clear they wouldn't be able to outrun the fire forever, for fire never tired. @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Peace was a lie.

Anyone who tried to tell you that Peace was an ideal, something to aim for, was lying. They were trying to sell you something. They were trying to sell you a lie because that lie benefited them. Sure, as a Sith Zeven had done the same many times before and he would do so many times in the future but it went back to what he had been thinking about before. The hipocracy was what stuck in his throat when he thought about the Light.

Like right now.

The Light was taking the form of a literal wall of unholy vengeance in the form of a, once again, literal wall of white hot fire. It's practitioners would tell you that it was all about Peace and Love and Respect and yet it seemed to Zeven that it was, at least partially, nothing but fire and pain by another name.

"Karking hells... and the Light is peace...?"

Running alongside the Emperor, Zeven nodded in agreement when his lord suggested that they make for the river. Trudging into the water of the river, Zeven was rather alarmed to find that the water only came up to his waist and went no deeper. The current wasn't very strong either but once he was in the river itself something became clear to him.

The current had changed directions and was picking up speed because ahead of them was a sharp drop - a waterfall. At their backs, the wall of fire continued to approach. To their front was the drop and the waiting pool of water below. Taking a deep breath, Zeven nodded.

"We have to jump."

Preparing himself, Zeven pushed himself forwards, with the current, and he was suddenly out of the water and into the air as he fell towards the pool, the lagoon, beneath the waterfall. Plummeting downward towards the pool, Zeven braced himself but it turned out that he didn't need to. He was halted in midair by something not unlike the Force but still not the same.

Then the entire world seemed to tilt until the waterfall in front of him was now below him, a new stretch of river, and the pool that had been beneath him was now a swirling, light blue, portal at the end of the river.

The force stopped and he fell face-first into the waters of the waterfall turned river.

"... beats fire."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Rask]

Varyn placed his hands on a fallen tree trunk and leapt upward, smoothly vaulting over it and landing gracefully on his feet on the other side with barely a sound. It may have been an enjoyable (yes, Varyn had a few things he enjoyed) place for him to practice his free running were the world not trying to kill him and were there not a giant wall of flame chasing him down behind and trying to consumed him. Those two things taken together had a tendency to put a damper on one's enjoyment, even for Varyn.

He made a hard cut to the right and plunged into the river in two great strides only to reach the center and discover that there was no depth beyond his waist. Kriff, that's not good, he spat in his mind before he felt the tug of the river's current abruptly pick up and do unnatural things. It seemed as if there was suddenly more water, and he was being pulled toward a drop that roared and rippled with churning water and an ever-growing mist.

Like Zeven, he leapt but was stopped, slamming into the water in the opposite direction. He tried to use the Force to cushion his fall, but even so he slammed into the surface was enough force to cause him to grit his teeth as the sharp, stinging pain of a hard impact with water traveled up his back.

He burst out of the water and wiped the droplets from his face, throwing his short hair back as well as the now-soaked hood that hung down into his eyes.

He wanted to mutter angrily or burst out in rage, but he knew it would accomplish nothing. The world - this world - wanted to kill them, and Varyn wasn't going to let that happen. It was clear that whatever they had entered into had its own set of rules.

He plunged a hand into the water and felt the flow of the current. The water here felt oddly alive in much the same way that a flow of the Force might, but now that he thought about it, he realized that shouldn't have surprised him. At least it seemed that the fire had retreated, and they weren't in quite as immediate of danger.

The source has moved, he said. We'll have to climb, he said, pointing to the waterfall they'd just fallen from. They would have to scale the cliff face to reach the source, and Varyn exited the river, making his way up to the cliff face to take a look.

There were many handholds he could see, and he thought the climb shouldn't be too difficult. Assuming gravity decided to follow some semblance of logic this time. @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Tagus]

Zeven wasn't sure he was ever going to get used to trippy Force visions like this one but he was damned sure that he wasn't about to go looking for them in the future either. He was beginning to wish he hadn't even bothered trying to dominate this damned crystal... which was probably the crystal and the Light talking so he pushed those thoughts way down deep and held on tightly to his resolve before snarling a little bit at the Light's continued audacity in it's blatant manipulations.

Seriously - what was even with this place?!

Pulling himself up to his feet, Zeven spat out some water as he eyed the cliff. There was absolutely nothing to assure them that this wasn't going to turn out to be another ruse but they were both too far in and too stubborn to just stand around waiting for the next twist of their fates.

"See you at the top."

Taking a running start, Zeven jumped up towards the cliff, grabbing hold of two handholds before beginning the climb up. As he climbed, he couldn't help but get the impression that he should keep moving quickly. It was only as he was slow about moving his left hand from a handhold that he got an indication as to why.

The handholds closed up pretty quickly if they lingered too long.

More incentive to hurry up he supposed.

@Phoenix