Ask Dathomir The Fanged One

[Zay Kartan]

Zaylos' latest ship struggled under the atmospheric fluctuations of the crimson planet below. Dathomir was a planet wrapped in mythology, and Kartan struggled to stifle the anticipation he felt as he drew closer to the coordinates left to him by the shaman on Felucia.

The influence of The Fanged One was so powerful here that Kartan could practically see it. It was the uneasy feeling of being hunted without being able to see the predator. It was a presence Zaylos had come to know very well since his time on Malheion. The trials and tribulation he'd gone through in order to obtain the tiny crystal in his pocket had steeped him in The Fanged One's embrace and as he closed in on the ominous monolith before him, he was prepared to be tempered by it.

The CCM-220 Light Freighter he'd stolen on his way here set down with a shudder. The ship was already in bad shape when he nicked it and now as it set down, Kartan wasn't sure it'd move again without some TLC. He stepped off the ships boarding ramp and into the harsh environment of Dathomir. He peered upward toward the looming palace built into a mountain and then back to his Nav. This was it. He'd arrived.

The trek up wasn't as bad as he'd expected. The rough terrain wasn't much compared to lumbering force maddened monsters. Zay pulled himself up and over the final ledge, the exhaustion he would have felt months ago was a forgotten memory. Any fat he'd had on his body had been cleaved away during and after his time on Malheion and now he stood staring at his end goal.

The castle was a foreboding sight. A narrow bridge led into a darkened maw, from where he stood flickers of green firelight could just be seen. Kartan adjusted his utility belt, checked his dagger and then made his way into the darkness.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Andruil had been surprised when she'd heard from the man she'd encountered on Felucia again. He'd left and she'd grown busy. Much had changed in her life since they'd last met, and her recent ascension to the Council had consumed more of her time.

The coordinates that he had been given was not the landing zone directly out front. That area was actually already full, so he'd had to land further away and make the unpleasant trek through the jungle. It wasn't a long distance, but any distance on Dathomir could be precarious.

She saw him crest the peak of the rise. Nightsister guards stood at either side of the temple entrance. She stopped to speak to one of them as she waited for him to approach. She could sense the change that swirled around him. There was a darkness that wasn't there before. Good, that meant he had done what she instructed. Perhaps he was worth giving a second thought to after all.

But she had a great many things to attend to these days, new apprentices who were working through the ranks, and half an Order to run. If he couldn't prove himself further, she wouldn't waste her time. Yes, she had changed since last they met. A darkness clung to her now as well.

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

As he passed into the shadows and his eyes adjusted to the gloom, Kartan, spotted the pale-skinned crimson-clad sentries and set his jaw. He stopped five paces from them and clasped his hands in front of him casually.

His eyes fell upon the third figure. The swirling darkness of the fanged one was palpable from this being. They were submerged in the power of the dark side in a way he’d never experienced. They were not a maddened spirit seeking vengeance, nor a creation of its power but a conduit. They controlled the flow of power, manipulated it to their will...

They were free...

Kartan recognized the force signature that had pilfered his mind. It had changed substantially since their last meeting, but it was still that cool pragmatism that seemed to weigh his worth even now.

“I have the crystals.”

Zaylos reached into his pocket and produced a pair of gems that glowed faintly purple in the darkened corridor. His part of the mission was over. He only hoped she still kept her part.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry looked over as he presented the crystals to her. He looked as though he had been through quite the trial and ordeal. It was exactly why she had sent him out.

Indeed, she said, looking at the crystals in his hands. She didn't need them for herself, they would be for him, but the color told her a great deal about his current state. Or lack thereof.

Tell me about your trip. What did you learn? If anything, she said. It was very clear he was still being evaluated. It was likely a feeling he would have to get used to. She doubted he would ever be one with Dathomir. In fact, Raze, Son of the Fanged Spirit, was the only one she had ever met who had a true connection to the world. But that didn't mean there was no place for this one among the Sith. After all, she was a daughter of two traditions now.

She walked over closer to him, looking down at the crystals and then looking up at him. She looked into his eyes to see the wear behind them. The darkness that clung to him.

The women behind her looked quite unhappy with his presence, but they said nothing. They knew the repercussions of speaking out against one of her guests, and they also knew the precarious position that the Nightsisters were always in.

@Zay

 

[Zay Kartan]

Fear had no place in Kartan's countenance as he stood before the shaman. The flanking sentries glowered at him, but he paid them no mind. His attention was locked on the golden eyes that loomed before him, instinctively he shrouded himself in the dark side. Even as futile as it was he wasn't eager to have her rifle through his mind again.

Kartan recounted the excursion from the beginning. Mentioning the hounds and their cohesive feral intelligence, and then the horror of being hunted by the Titan. He took a moment to mention the tactics it employed. His gaze would drift a thousand lightyears away as he remembered the blood-curdling scream that reverberated within his skull as the beast attempted to disorient before attacking. Finally, he discussed the spirit.

Malheion was... enlightening. The crystals are from the saber of a revenant," his tone was matter of fact. A force manifestation that called himself the keeper of the nexus had nearly killed Kartan and the others with him but they'd managed to weaken it enough to break it's double-bladed saber before escaping.

As he spoke the shaman watched him with cat-like fascination. It was as if she was constantly debating whether she should devour him now or play with him first.

"My understanding of the force is..." he grouped for the right phrasing, "intimate now."

Having traversed the dark side world he'd been exposed to the raw fury of The Fanged One and he'd survived. He wasn't proud of the fact, he accepted it for what it was, fact.

"I won't pretend that I have unfathomable understanding, but I'm not longer a bumbling fool you met on Felucia."

One of the Nightsister's scoffed, but again, he ignored them.

"If you need more proof of my worth or willingness to learn, then name the task and it shall be done," he kept his tone controlled and respectful as he spoke.

He did not call her Master. That title wasn't one he would give so freely. She'd seen into his mind, she knew his past and knew of his enslavement. If she thought to be addressed as such, then she would either need to enslave him or teach him. To Kartan there was no other way.

@Phoenix

 

[Renfry]

Renfry cast a sideways glance at the Nightsister who scoffed and the woman was silenced immediately. She was in no joking mood. In fact, she was not in a particularly outstanding mood at all.

She listened to his story without further interruption. She didn't rifle through his mind this time. He didn't seem to hold anything back from her.

In good time, she said as he commented that he would undergo any test. It was likely to happen.

You've taken your first steps, now it's time to show you the rest of the path, she said.

She started walking away from the temple. The guards remained behind as she walked along the cliffs and drops along the edge of landing zone. She knew these cliffs like the back of her hand.

You've touched the Shadow. You've touched the power of the Fanged Spirit. He was silent for a long time until recently. That power now rests in his heir, she said. What of the Winged Spirit? Have you touched her power? she asked. She thought she already knew the answer to that. Her questions were cryptic and unhelpful, she knew. At the moment, it was less about teaching him and more about what she could learn of him.

@Zay