Ask What Remains

[Darth Raze]

Quite a bit of the planet’s surface was still toxic. However, some pockets were slowly recovering with active rehabilitation over the last two decades. This was the first time he bothered to set foot on the planet since he had glassed it so many years ago. To this day, the galaxy thought The Eternal was to blame, a cover Renfry maintained during her time as Empress. Yet it had been him. And he relished snuffing most of the life on the planet and driving the race to near complete extinction. The surviving Firrerreo were scattered all over the galaxy, but the planet wasn’t healed enough to reclaim.

“Do you feel it, pet?” He asked as he stepped off the ramp of the ship, “The presence of death. Is it not exquisite?” Even though Rax was not a trained Force user, the overwhelming tragedy that befell this planet would almost be enough to bring him to his knees. There was a wound in the Force here, a tear in the fabric of that plane. A great evil was done here, and it was done by his Master.

A planet that was once lush with vibrant green and jungles, now looked desolate. The Sith was adorned in a helmet that had to actively filter out the toxins in the air. Rax would have to do the same. This was the heading Raze gleaned from that cave on Hoth. This was the location of the Fourth Shard.

@Alhon @Braden

 

[Rax Khan]

Rax padded down the ramp, smelling the acrid air even through the filter muzzled on his snout. This place was poison.

"Yes, master. An unnatural lifelessness". The Fras scanned the desolate landscape, red canine eyes watching for movement or threat. Whatever their task, his first calling was always to protect his master and he was ever on the watch for threats to the Sith. But he saw nothing move on the graveyard Firrerre had become. His pointed ears pricked up, but caught no sound on the still air.

While his bodily senses were unmoved though, a deep foreboding penetrated his bones. A wrongness in the Force, maybe caused by what had been done here. Rax already listened more acutely to such feelings, knowing his master's designs for him, but this time it was so overwhelming it made him shudder.

"What could possibly abide here?" he asked.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

The Fras was making quite a bit of progress with his Master. He was permitted to speak without being spoken to first and could even ask questions without the Sith killing him.

“Tranquility,” The wraith responded. There was nothing quite as eerily peaceful as the aftermath of genocide. The echoes of the dead resonated like a beautiful dirge meant just for him. He created this despair, and in turn it made him into an irredeemable monster whose existence was an offense to the galaxy. And yet, he manifested because the Force willed it.

“I search for another shard,” Raze explained, holding up the one he presently possessed. There was an eerie glow to it - the shards all reacting when they were close to one another.

“Hone in on this,” He said as he held it out to the Fras, “Search for it. Track it. There will be obstacles in the path, but it is here.”

@Alhon

 

[Rax Khan]

His master's reply was cryptic, but it was far preferable to slitting his throat. The big cat knew he was walking an incredibly dangerous tightrope serving a being of such power. He had to consciously do his utmost never to overstep the mark.

When Raze held the shard out for him to see, Rax saw and felt the energies connected to it immediately. He had a heightened state of awareness since entering the Sith's service, but even more so in his presence. The Fras leant forward, sniffing the shard with the nose of a predator, breathing in its sickly scent.

Rax smelled the very edge of something similar, a wisp on the wind that called to this shard. He wondered already how much power such a small thing might contain, but it was not for him to concern himself with such things. His master sought another shard. Rax would find it for him, whatever the cost.

"North" the Fras growled, fastening on the scent. He turned and diligently led them in that direction, slinking between ridges and ravines, his red eyes always watching for clues or threats. His mind went first to the cave on Hoth and he wondered if something hidden might lie below a wasteland like this. But eventually, they crested an outcropping and Rax saw their goal as plain as day.

A jagged spire of rock reached high into the air in the mid-distance, perhaps a hardened seam of mineral exposed by the firestorm that had struck the surface. The spire was huge and unbalanced, a unnatural landmark that split the sky and likely drew all manner of things unto itself. Somehow, the Fras knew what they sought lay not below, but up there.

"We must climb, master. The shard lies at the summit".

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

The Sith was pleased that the big cat caught onto the scent both physically and through the Force. The Fras had proved quite reliable thus far and it was exactly why he stayed alive in Raze’s presence so long. The Dark Prince walked behind the Fras, taking in sight of the ravines and valleys created from the glassing. There was no life in sight and nothing he could sense through the Force.

After a while, he could tell they were going in the right direction. The shard he possessed began to pulse again, yearning to join with other parts of itself. They arrived near the bottom of a tall spire that disappeared into a thick, hazy cloud that formed from the glassing.

The Sith turned to regard the Fras when he spoke, “You, my pet, must climb,” He said simply. He took a few steps forth and dematerialized into smoke. If Rax looked up, he would see his Master reappear again high up on a ledge in the spire. To his credit, the Sith did not move on without the Fras. He instead sat down to meditate, connecting with the planet and tapping into the darkness that lingered here.

He would wait for his pet to join him.

@Alhon

 

[Rax Khan]

Almost every hour, Raze reminded the Fras that he was a fool. A pet, an insect, a small-minded irrelevance. So it was again when his master effortlessly vanished in a column of smoke, reappearing high above part-way up the spire. After all he had seen, how could Rax still have thought the great Sith would have to climb. Raze was beyond scaling rock; he had already scaled the limits of reality itself.

As always, there was but one thing to do. Obey. His master's commands were almost always tests in themselves and Rax had no intention of failing now he was just getting into his stride. He scampered toward the base of the spire, easily leaping up onto a low ledge and then again across to a narrow ridge, jutting out into the air.

It became harder as he ascended however; the spire was an unnatural formation with no path or easy handholds and the Fras had to be creative in finding his way up. He dugs his sharp claws into folds between the rock, scrabbling with clawed feet and sending dust billowing behind him. It was hard going, but everything worthwhile was.

He even tried to turn to the Dark Side his master spoke of to aid him, reaching out for anything to steady him. There was no obvious answer, though after a while he noticed his tail was helping out unbidden - not poseable by nature - yet still pressing itself to the rock and wrapping around outcroppings.

All the while, a distant echo sounded from the shard up above, that and the presence of his master driving him on and up. Eventually, he reached the ledge and hauled himself over the lip, rolling onto the ground and panting hard. Only now did he realise how much the climb had taken out of him, his single-minded determination having almost closed off his senses.

"I apologise for delaying you, master" he breathed, rising onto his paws and surprised to see Raze had waited for him. Perhaps a being like his master perceived time differently, or maybe he was merely waiting to administer some punishment.

Rax risked a glance past Raze, seeing that angle of the spire at this height made for more of a inclining path. With care, they could walk for a distance at least. That was if Rax was not flogged for his slow climb.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

The Sith slowly opened his eyes when his pet addressed him with an apology.

“No one influences my time but I,” He stated flatly as he stood up. He had utilized those moments to mentally plug into the planet, “I have located a site ripe for the creation of a Dark nexus. One which you will facilitate in creating.”

He didn’t elaborate further. He heard the Fras panting and huffing, but he paid it no heed. His gaze turned towards the steep wall of the spire that continued further up and disappeared into the clouds. There was a lazy wave of his hand, and the wall rumbled and groaned. Within seconds, a chunk of the wall abruptly thrust out, jutting out into a makeshift platform. Raze created several more of these as far as he could see.

Without warning, the Sith easily leapt up into the created platform, jumping again and disappearing into the clouds. The Fras would be able to do the same, negating the need to slowly climb entirely.

The closer they arrived at the summit, the thicker the clouds. They became dense, a torrential storm unleashed on the two that made the climb. Thunderstorms raged all around, streaks of lightning cutting across the clouds.

The Sith created a barrier around himself, leaving his pet to be drenched for now. He wasn’t the sentimental type, after all.

“Retrieve it,” He commanded, pointing to what appeared to be an altar in the center of the flat surface of the spire. There was a tiny little shard on it. Right away, the Sith could detect something was off.

@Alhon

 

[Rax Khan]

Even Rax's apology was beneath Raze. The Sith reminded him of his place with his every word.

The Fras thought he understand the mention of a nexus. Certain places held power, acting like a magnet for energies light or dark. He could not really imagine how a light side nexus would feel, or what the point of it would be. But he knew the comforting aura of a dark side nexus, like the icefields around his master's fortress. If Raze desired such a place be created here, then Rax would do whatever he could to make it so.

He stretched eagerly, raring to go as his master worked his powers on the rock. The steps he created were a godsend and the Fras leapt excitedly after the wraith, not for a moment put off by the gathering storm.

The clouds billowed around them as they ascended, rain beginning to fall and lightning slashing across the sky. Anxiety rose within Rax, but he pushed it down, his determination to excel overriding everything else. The hail of water made it hard to keep his grip on the wet stone, but he dug his claws into the granite, scratching and screeching his way forward.

Raze paused near the summit and the Fras drew up next to him, following his lead to the altar up ahead. The shard they sought must be atop it. It had to be.

His master did not need to tell him twice. Rax leapt onwards, making the last few steps and closing on the podium. The surface was crisscrossed with runes and markings beyond the big cat's understanding. But in the centre something gleamed beneath a transparent dome, a dome somehow strong enough to endure the elements on this deathly world.

Rax did not hesitate, possessed of a fierce desire to serve. He brought a clawed paw down hard, shattering the dome and reaching for the shard. He felt his grip close around it, even as every rune on the altar violently blazed to life.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

The altar came to life and Rax would feel the Force ripple through his entire body. He would realize right away that this shard carried the imprint of the power that it could possess. In order to get it to its full strength, they had to traverse much further away. Rax would see a faint glimpse of what looked like a lair. Not everything was dead on this planet, and it wouldn’t be so easy to claim this shard.

The Fras would be hurled back into reality and find his Master standing before him. The big cat had collapsed to the ground at some point, the Anzat standing over him like a looming shadow. The lightning illuminated his porcelain face, the blood red eyes gleaming in darkness.

Without a word, Raze reached down with a hand and grasped fistfuls of Rax’s fur.

The next moment, they were at the bottom of the spire again. The lands were calm, no sign of the tumultuous storm from the summit. Rax was still completely drenched. He would feel the severe compulsion to vomit as it was the first time he had teleported, his mind and sense of reality throw into complete disarray. His Master stepped away to allow that space, calmly inspecting the shard.

“What did you witness?” He asked his pet after the Fras collected himself.

@Alhon

 

[Rax Khan]

The Force rippled through Rax like an electric current through a wire. The Fras was momentarily thrown into the air, suspended and writhing in pain. The echo of power residing in the shard racked him and half a dozen images flashed in his mind. A lair far off, hidden in the planet's crust and wreathed in dark energies. Energies the shard desperately craved.

Rax was thrown down, rolling on the ground barely conscious, the shard still gripped in his paw. As he came to, he saw his master standing over him, managing to seem larger than ever before and silhouetted against the storm. The wraith reached down and the Fras felt the Sith's hands grasp his fur. The touch of a god.

His world was upended then again and suddenly they were free of the storm. The ground beneath him smelled different too. They had teleported he realised - both of them this time - and the realisation made him wretch. Raze took the shard from him, completely absorbed with it while Rax tried to rally himself.

"It must be taken elsewhere, master" he breathed, forcing himself up "to realise its full power. A lair, a way from here. The energy to restore it lies inside, but something guards it fiercely". The Fras had not seen what, but he felt its strength clearly.

@Sreeya

 

[The Storyteller]

As Rax held the shard of steel within his paw, violent visions would flash into his mind. Flashes of fire and brimstone, of death, destruction, wailing parents and crying children, business, homes, families completely and utterly destroyed. A rain of furious rage falling from the sky to scour Firrerre of all life, it was the desolation of the planet they now stood on. A reminder to anyone who picked up the object of what had caused this destruction. But in those terrible visions were flashes, flashes of a cave to the West, where a deep cackling voice called out to him.

Rax would continue to have this violent and terror inducing visions for as long as he held the piece of metal in his paw, but if he let go the location of the cave could falter from his mind.

_____​

Far to the West, where once a great jungle thrived was a desolate wasteland, a few lifeforms hardy and adapting had continued to survive on the toxic landscape of Firrerre. The visions pointed to a cave set into the side of a low hill, around it toxic ‘Redwine’ flowers over a metre tall spat venom from their crimson red flowers at anything that got close, ‘Snapping Cactus’ flung their barbed limbs in the direction of passing creatures and the ‘Crawling Magni’ a small bush spread its roots out across a wide area to trip and catch its prey.

The cave was around three metres high and at least six across, its edges were lined with claw marks where its owners had dug into the side of the hill to create their home. Inside a family of Firrerre Sand Vipers lay with their clutch of eggs.

Nestled beneath the pile of bones, rocks and branches that made up the nest was what Darth Raze was truly looking for. For they had been deceived the true Shard was not on the mountaintop, it lay behind a test of mind, of will and of strength. For it couldn’t fall into the wrong hands, less the galaxy come to ruin.

@Sreeya @Alhon

 

[Darth Raze]

The wraith allowed his pet to lead the way, finding the Fras to be useful as always. Raze was withdrawn into his mind, still reeling from the abrupt encounter in the plane of the Force. He had ventured into it to seek out the shard and had stumbled into a space where he found Emryc’s son. The boy had Raze's influence on him. The seeds were already planted. He just needed to cultivate them. Raze saw the Father in there, the being that claimed to support his existence as a necessity yet who found him repulsive.

Just like Emryc had.

Raze focused on the present, a gleam in his eye. His rage would be palpable and even the Fras would feel it. He paused for a moment to survey the plants and deadly natural traps that paved the way towards the cave.

“Do you smell the living?” He asked his pet, relying on the beast to sniff and smell for life.

In the meantime, Raze conjured the Force, unleashing it in a brilliant burst of flames. The fire would coat the first few Redwine flowers to burn them. He had no qualms with bringing yet another round of devastation to this planet to get what he needed.

@Alhon

 

[Rax Khan]

The journey towards the cave was nothing compared with the mental assault Rax withstood with each passing step. Flashes of death and destruction assaulted his mind at every turn, a gruesome recounting of the levelling of Fierrere and all of its people.

The cave was the only constant. Appearing as a mixture of memory and sending, it called to the Fras as surely as the power that had called him to his master's lair on Hoth. Destiny swirled around objects like the shard and it was foolish to do anything but to submit to such a pull. As they neared it though, Rax smelled poison on the air, his tail and every hair along his spine standing on edge. The cave entrance was covered in flowers, brightly coloured growths that held a deadly force.

But Rax need not have worried. His master merely turned his gaze on the opening and a wave of fire seemed to engulf the rockface. So many flowers died, foolish opposition in the face of extraordinary power.

"Yes, Master" Rax replied, still sniffing the air at his master's command "creatures of great strength, fiercely protective of their nests. Two adults, perhaps one youngling". The Fras snorted, readying himself. "What you seek lies beneath them, but they will defend this place with every breath".

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

The wraith listened to the assessment, displeased to learn that there were beasts in the way. However, it added an element of a challenge to this little venture and that wasn’t entirely unwelcome. The Sith gazed ahead, pausing for a moment as he faded into that wisp of green again, only to emerge further up ahead.

He surveyed the plants that attempted to attack him, casually burning a few of them right away. For the rest, a fissure streaked through the earth. The side with the plants on it shifted away to create a crevice from a real time tectonic shift. It was his lazy means of moving the offensive threats to the side instead of bothering with them at all.

His actions caught the attention of the beasts within. Almost at once, he could see the head of a massive sand viper slowly emerging from within the cave. Raze’s lips curled into a grimace.

@Alhon

 

[Rax Khan]

Rax readied himself, primed to defend his master if necessary even as the Sith revealed more of his own strength. Having burned away the dangerous vines, he split the rock itself to cast others aside. A master of fire and earth and no doubt much more, Raze was truly unlike any being the Fras had known. He knew it was partly foolish to think his master needed him, when he could destroy his enemies more completely than Rax ever could, but he would serve regardless. It was his way and his destiny.

He smelled the sandviper before he saw it, rearing up in readiness, his tail flat to the ground. The thing was big, with sharp teeth and claws and a long balled tail that thrashed angrily behind it. It shouldered out of the cave in a hurry, scenting the intruders and snapping at the air. Rax did not care, it would die.

The Fras leapt to the right, his own powerful limbs thundering across the hard ground before he jumped up and sprang along the rock ridge to one side of the cave. The sandviper was torn, sensing two foes and was slow to turn. Rax did not miss a beat, twisting and propelling himself at the creature from the side, his claws and teeth raking its hide as he barrelled into it. Beast rolled with beast and Rax fought furiously to push it onto its side, knowing its soft underbelly would be easy to rend open.

The sandviper screeched, half in fury half in shock. It did not know the scent of Fras, much less a god of darkness and it cried out to the others for aid.

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

Raze watched his pet leap into action to fight the viper. He could have let the Fras handle it all on his own, but then two more sand vipers emerged from the cave. The wraith stepped forth and channeled the Force through the creature. For a moment Raze was perfectly still, seeing through the Force and spotting vulnerabilities that revealed themselves in the beast. After a moment, there was a sudden, sick crunch. The entire creature’s body caved in on itself, its bones and joints crushing inwards at their weakest points. The beast didn’t even get a chance to cry out before it was dead.

The Sith teleported again, this time now within the mouth of the cave. He didn’t bother fighting the last viper, knowing the Fras could take care of it. He bodily tossed the beast outside of the cave and into the crevice he had created behind him. It would only be a problem for Rax if the beast crawled out.

The moment he ventured closer, he felt as if a million pounds of weight pressed down on him. Raze gritted his teeth and dropped to the ground on a knee, one of his palms planting on the floor of the cave. This cave feasted on power, and he was a walking armory of the Force. All the strength felt sapped from him, and he felt like a simple, mortal man. It was enough to raise the hair on the back of his neck.

“Pet!” He called out, “Venture forth and seek the shard!” He commanded the Fras that was not yet trained, and therefore far less susceptible. Raze’s demeanor did not change. He couldn’t allow the beast to learn he was vulnerable here.

@Alhon

 

[Rax Khan]

The sandviper was strong and of a size with Rax, but it had lived too well on this world of ash and rock. Nothing challenged it, nothing tested it. It had wrestled with nothing but meager prey. Rax by contrast had lived on the edges of society, hunting in the wilderness for his very survival. His time with Lord Raze had only strengthened his ruthless instinct for survival.

The viper clawed at him, but the Fras forced its blows aside. It went to snap at him and he grasped its jaw with clawed paws, holding it fast and then forcing it apart. Bone cracked as the viper's jaw was dislocated and it screamed in pain, throwing back its maw. Rax struck, digging long claws beneath an armoured plate and tearing it from the flesh beneath. He sank his own fangs deep into the beasts neck, growling with pleasure.

By the time the Fras kicked the viper clear, his black and white coat was smeared with blood. The taste filled his mouth and fueled his senses, almost driving him wild. Once again, he felt the buttressing aura of the Dark, of his master's great and twisted power. He let it pass through him, reenergising every fibre of his being.

Red catlike eyes watched as Lord Raze destroyed and tossed aside a second of the beasts and threw the third into the great crevasse he had created. The latter clawed desperately at the rim, seeking escape. It was a small thing for Rax to pounce on the viper's grip, slashing it to pieces and trapping it back in the pit.

Padding forward into the cave, swelling with pride, the Fras was hit by a bizarre sensation at the threshold. It made him bristle, his hairs standing on edge as he sniffed the air, trying to understand.

But he had been commanded. "Yes Master" his mouth was still wet with blood. He slinked past the crouching Sith, wondering what works the man was about to reap. But it was not his concern. His task was to seek the shard.

In the end, it was surprisingly simple. The vipers had made the nest no larger than needed and the tunnel led quickly to a hollow recess in the earth. There, beneath a bed of rocks and bones, Rax ferreted out the real shard, already pulsing with a power beyond that of the first. He took the risk of taking it between his jaws and diligently carried back to Lord Raze.

"A prize fit for a god" he mused, placing the strange jewel in Raze's pale hand. "What power does it possess, Master?".

@Sreeya

 

[Darth Raze]

He felt sick without the Force at his every command. This body was frail, delicate and weak. It was nothing like the muscled machine that was the body of Emryc Thorne. He seldom thought about this vessel, the Force making up for any shortcomings. However, in the absence of it, he was all too aware of how pathetic it was compared to what he had. His fingernails clawed into the ground, his jaw tightening. No amount of rage could fuel his strength here.

The pet returned and he slowly pushed himself up to stand, still fighting back against the vacuum in the Force. He gazed upon the shard, feeling the pulse of power even from here. Without a word, the wraith reached out and took it from the Fras, inspecting it from all angles.

The wraith turned and walked out of the cave, feeling his strength return with each step away from the interior. At long last, he stepped out and felt that familiar power come back to his command. The Force ready to obey and act on his every will.

Without warning, the very clouds above them began to churn and swirl. The skies grew dark, graying rapidly before their eyes. Long, deep streaks of lightning crackled across the sky. One of those streaks snaked all the way down to the cave behind them, slamming into the top and collapsing it into nothing but rubble in a moment. The entire scene depicted what they had witnessed atop the spire.

Except this time, Rax would see his master slowly turn to face him, his hand lazily swaying to reveal that he was the one now conjuring this great, unnatural storm. There was a satisfied grin on that porcelain face. Those eyes gleamed with the lust of power.

“This is just the beginning, my pet,” He said, “The beginning of the end.”

/End Thread

@Alhon