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Ana DAmico

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The undulating blue miasma of hyperspace gave way to elongated stars, which then returned to their normal, twinkling dots in the void as they returned to realspace. Ana loved this part of space travel the most; seeing the beautiful blue swirl turn back into an inky nothingness broken up by distant sparkling lights. As the shuttle swung around, the viewports quickly filled with the beautiful view of their target planet. Its surface was a beautifully-marbled turquoise and emerald for the continents and seas, with a wide range of earthy tones demarcating the extents of vast expanses of sandy desert. Fat, puffy clouds floated listlessly through the skies, shielding parts of the globe from space while massive, jagged mountains showed their snowy peaks in certain places.

She could never grow used to this sight. Even with every new world she traveled to, that same sense of awe accompanied her. It had taken a considerable effort to get here, however. After some research into potential resting places of Sith artifacts or dark side nexuses, she stumbled across a set of galactic coordinates that might contain something of note. The downside, however, was that it had no major hyperlanes leading to it, and few pilots had even heard of the place. It wasn’t until they found a scruffy, near-senile old freighter pilot who’d been to the world exactly once before and thus had it logged in his ship’s navigation log were they able to find someone able to fly them where they needed to be. It certainly helped that his fee wasn’t too steep, and he seemed fairly interested in helping.

With some coercion (and perhaps a bit of pleading), Ana managed to wrangle Talak into coming with her to this heretofore unknown planet. There was no recorded information on it aside from rumors of Sith artifacts, so she had no idea what to expect when they landed. She hoped that her companion wouldn’t find this to be a waste of his time. Besides, he could use a break from… whatever it was he was doing since their last meeting on Tatooine. In fact, she hadn’t even asked him what he was up to since that ordeal. This would be a pretty good time to catch up; this excursion seemed fairly low risk.

”Erhhh…” the scratchy voice of the pilot called out on the ship’s intercoms, ”We’re nearin’ the, ah, whatever this place was called. Best be gettin’ ready, now.” At that, the ship began rumbling from turbulence as they breached the atmosphere, so she began gathering her belongings, which were fairly light. Aside from her clothes and bag, she only really carried her vibrodagger and lightsaber. She didn’t feel the need to have much else outside of whatever miscellany she had in her satchel. Everything seemed to work out so far with that plan.

When she was ready, she entered the common area with a bag of credits in her hand. The deal was a third up front, a third when they arrived, and a third when they departed. The only thing that worried her was that the pilot seemed legitimately senile, and it took her more than four or five attempts at arranging the deal before he remembered who she was and why she wanted his ship. The trip was smooth sailing, but she continually prayed that this man wouldn’t up and forget them the moment they were off the ship, or, more realistically, a day or so after they were gone.

She leaned against a table and waited for the ship to land, as well as for Talak to emerge from his hole.
 

Talak Rand

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After the last episode of Ana and Talak chasing down unsubstantiated rumors, Talak was very skeptical about this new plan. They were going out to some planet to track down some stories about some Sith being there. It was... dubious all the way around.

But after no small amount of convincing, he'd finally agreed to come along. He carried his regular equipment with him, and didn't dare leave anything behind aboard this ship. He was not certain it would even survive the jump through hyperspace and he trusted the captain even less than the ship.

At least they weren't going to another desert planet. So that was a plus.

While there were parts with deserts, Talak also saw lush, green plains and snow capped mountains as well as seas. It looked much more temperate than their last visit.

He came out of his room shortly after they dropped out of hyperspace, and the ship streaked toward a mountainous, forested area before setting down. The architecture outside looked impressively marvelous, but also... classic and from the remote parts of history. Metals were bypassed in favor of stone, and he felt like he'd taken a step back thousands on thousands of years.

You sure this is the right place? he asked, squinting and looking around. It didn't look like any spacefaring people had been here anytime recently, and there wasn't even a proper docking area. They'd had to land on a small mesa that was devoid of trees and would have to walk to the nearest village.

If you're looking for remote this is the place to be. Any clue what we're looking for? he asked as they started walking. The air was cool and the breeze was strong but not excessive. It was actually rather nice, if he were honest. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana peered out of the viewport at the archaic architecture. Grand, cyclopean buildings sparsely dotted the countryside as they flew, their greyish stone facades weathered by the elements over hundreds of years. They stood in stark contrast with the verdant plains and rolling foothills, and the occasional collection of small wooden buildings could be seen every few miles. ”The records, what little we had, did say that this was a place of remarkable… antiquity,” she mused, eyes glued to the viewport to see the passing landscape.

They zipped past most of these things until setting down on a small flat clearing. The grass waved like a green ocean as the ship settled and vented built-up air with a sharp hiss before lowering its landing ramp. As they began to walk towards the nearest village, she pulled up her datapad and began tapping through what few notes she had. ”Most of it is hearsay, local legends, and the sort,” she began, feeling the cooling breeze on her skin. In a way, it reminded her of Serenno, which was far better than Tatooine, Dxun, or Kashyyyk.

”There are rumors of an, uh, ‘sorcerer’ experimenting on the people and generally spooking the populace,” she continued, reading through her collection of local legends, ”Most of it seems like folk tales, but there’s a connecting theme between all the stories that scream dark side alchemist to me.” She put her datapad away and continued to walk, noting the wild animals grazing in the distance. She turned her eyes towards Talak and looked up at him,

”The only downside is that this ‘sorcerer,’ ah, died years ago and was the adviser to one of the local monarchs, but surely they would have left some kind of legacy behind, right?” She was being optimistic; the last time they went hunting for something based on rumors alone, they ended up fighting for their lives for hours in the desert. Suboptimal, to say the least.

Their walk through the grasslands brought them to a simple dirt road, and cart tracks left imprinted in the dirt hinted that traffic was headed towards civilization. They continued along the road for some time until, in the distance, a couple of figures could be seen gathered around a broken-down wagon. She glanced up at Talak, then at the group ahead.

”Think they might know anything?”

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Sorcerers, weird histories and stories, and a local populace that was insanely disconnected from the rest of the galaxy. It all sounded a bit odd, but if you wanted a world to take over everything, this might have been the ideal one. He wondered if this individual had connection to the Sith, some other dark side sect, or nothing at all.

Hopefully there's something left, he agreed. The only way they would be able to find out was if they started poking around, and to do that they would need to head out.

They started the long walk along the dirt road when they saw people up in the distance. They had a broken down... vehicle of some sort. It looked like it normally ran on a repulsorlift, but was now scarping on the ground. It had been hauling some sort of livestock, and Talak could smell them almost before he could see them.

I guess we'll soon find out, he said as they closed in.

I told you to fix the engine before we left! Talak could hear one of them shout as they drew closer.

Please, you have to help us! Can you help us escort these yimnar to the market? a woman pleaded toward the two Sith. Now a yimnar was a large, cow-like creature with long, shaggy hair and horns. It almost reminded Talak of a smaller bantha, and his desire to escort these things to a market was less than 0. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana warily approached the group and its crashed vehicle, remembering well the last time they willingly followed a stranger into somewhere secluded (hint: it went poorly for everyone involved). The bickering grew louder the closer they got, and it looked like several poor farmer types were standing around it, stumped. Their predicament was an inconvenience at best, and Ana had to wonder if this jury-rigged piece of scrap they used as transport was the pinnacle of technological advancement on this world. It was apparent that this place had no space travel capabilities – at least none that they had seen so far, as evidenced by the lack of spaceports – and with scenery ripped out of a fantasy novel, it was likely that these were the first off-worlders these people would ever have seen.

The pleading woman wringed her coarse hands, the faintest hints of tears forming in her eyes as she awaited a response, and looked between the two Sith. One of the men wrapped a hand around her arm and gently pulled her away from the newcomers, stepping forward in her place while she meekly hid behind him. Ana had to plug her nose momentarily as the wave of stench hit her. Whatever the hell a yimnar was, it was putrid. Smelling like the acrid mixture of farts and a Hutt’s armpit, the fat, shaggy beast chewed cud and looked at the two Sith with utter indifference.

Its masters, on the other hand, looked at the newcomers expectantly. Several of the men present folded their arms across their chest or scratched their unwashed beards. They were all dressed as simply as they sounded, and the various clubs or heirloom swords on their belts looked like they were better suited to fending off predators than people.

”Erh, one moment, please,” she said, turning to look at Talak and hide the disgust on her face from smelling these things too long. ”I don’t think-“ was all she could get out before one of the farmers bleated out a snappy, ”You got you an accent that ain’t from here! And them clothes’re too nice to be like us simpler folk.” She glanced sidelong at him, then returned her gaze to Talak. ”As I was saying, I don’t think we should really… concern ourselves with this-“ ”Y’all rich?” he blurted out, chiming in again.

”And why’re you lettin’ a woman talk for you?” another interrupted, flashing a toothy scowl that suggested he had an equal IQ to his remaining number of molars. Ana, seething, turned to face the farmer with a frown that deepened by the second, but before she could speak up, the farmer continued by speaking directly to Talak. ”C’mon mister, yer not from here, so you surely could help us poor folk out, right? The market’s our last shot at getting enough coin to last us the next month, else we might starve ‘fore harvest season comes.”

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Talak was also not thrilled about the yimnar escorting job. Look, he sympathized with people in a tough situation, but he wasn't actually a Jedi despite sometimes acting like one. Helping every pleb that he came across probably wasn't the best use of his time.

And his opinions only darkened as they continuously interrupted Ana and then implied she shouldn't be speaking at all. It brought back memories of the misogynistic way that the slaves on Gamorr were treated, and something inside of him snapped.

The Arcanist reached out with the Force and wrapped his grip around the throat of the man who had made the comment, lifting him off the ground a few inches. His feet waved through the air and a mix of shock and horror waved across the faces of the people standing there.

And why shouldn't I let her speak?! he growled. His eyes were almost glowing and his voice was like venom.

And if I asked your poor wife how you treat her at home, what stories would she tell me about you that'd make me want to wrench the life from your body? he asked. By now, people were drawing their weapons, but others had begun to run off yelling about sorcery.

After a moment, he dropped the man back onto the ground and he tumbled over. The Arcanist's eyes swept over the people gathered with deadly intensity.

If you choose to do this, some filthy beasts will be the least of your problems, he said.
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana was certain her frown couldn’t get any deeper the more this inbred, no-tooth-having, sheep-shagging, one-branch-family-tree-having, winner of the pissed-in-your-gene-pool lottery spoke, but, against all odds, it did. This was the first time she’d experienced such patronizing behavior for simply being born a woman, and it shocked her, to say the least. Her face must have betrayed her surprise, because she saw some of the farmers sneer at her and say something in their lowborn tongue about it, judging by the chuckles that followed. Before she could react, however, Talak stepped up to defend her honor.

Ana watched with idle amusement as her aggressor was lifted off the ground with ease. His labored breathing and choked-out pleas for mercy were drowned out only by Talak’s fury and the screams of these ignorant farmers. ”S-sorcerers!” one cried out, fleeing for his life in the direction of the village, while another cried out, ”They’re gonna steal our babies again!” and ran back to his farmstead, sobbing and wailing like he’d just come face-to-face with the devil himself. What few remained sheepishly drew their weapons – a motley assortment of clubs, hammers, and tools of varying sharpness – and slowly tried to circle the two Sith.

The chief offender fell to his knees and gasped for air, coughing and spitting as he held his throat, and looked up at Talak with eyes filled with fear and rage. ”Yer dead!” he rasped out, ”And then we’re gonna take yer little girly here back with us an-“ Before he could finish his sentence, Ana slammed a solid wall of invisible energy into his head and sent him tumbling back against one of the yimnar, which mooed loudly at the impact. He was knocked unconscious and his wife screeched and ran over to his side, cradling his head like a child.

This second display made the other farmers hesitate and begin murmuring amongst themselves, looking at each other for an idea of what they were going to do. None of them had seen sorcery before, let alone two sorcerers, and they began to question their intentions here. ”He’s right,” she said, sweeping her venomous eyes across the remaining farmers, ”We’ll kill you here, then poison your crops and curse your families for the next ten generations just to wipe out your bloodline.” Her tone was like cold steel and she raised her hands, drawing the Force inward. Yokels were superstitious, and she was sure that a threat like wiping out their bloodline was enough to send them home. Everything went quiet except the wind, and the tension felt like it could have been cut with a butter knife.

Clang.

”Screw this,” one of the farmers said as he dropped his axe, turned tail, and ran off. He was followed by the others, all turning and fleeing, some leaving their weapons behind. When they were gone, Ana looked at Talak, smiled gently, and said ”Thanks for stepping in.” She spared the weeping woman a glance, looked at her husband, then continued on foot towards the village. However long it took them to arrive, she knew that there would be some kind of welcome party waiting for them thanks to the screaming farmers that ran that way.

”You didn’t have to do that,” she’d note as they walked, idly looking at the idyllic scenery.
 

Talak Rand

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These people just didn't know how to shut up, did they? They decided that an actual threat was the way to go. After all this, yes, threatening the pair was the way! That'd do it! Ana sent the man back, and the woman's apparent care for her husband was the only thing that saved the man from having his unconscious throat slit.

Eventually, they decided that fighting a pair of sorcerers and having their crops cursed - yeah, like they could actually do that - wasn't worth it. It was a nice touch that she'd added by threatening that, however.

No, I didn't have to, he said as they walked on. He gave a shrug as if to say "but I wanted to." He didn't like exploitation, and if they were willing to treat Ana - a foreign woman - that way, he could only imagine what they were doing to everyone else here who couldn't stand up for themselves.

Sometimes somebody needs to do something, don't you think? he asked. It was really at the core of his entire controversial philosophy. The philosophy that would literally tear the Sith Eternal apart... or at the least decapitate it.

They kept heading on toward the village at a leisurely pace. He knew there might be conflict when they made it there, but somehow it didn't seem all that pressing to him. The day was actually fairly pleasant, and he found himself wanting to enjoy it. And Ana was a pleasant person to spend it with.

So how're you feeling since our last... outing? he asked with almost a snicker. Their last outing had been anything but pleasant, and he hoped this time it would be much better. At least at this point, it seemed that they were the most powerful thing out here instead of the hunted. It was a pleasant change. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana shoved her hands in her pockets as they strolled along the dirt road. The wind felt good on her skin, and the sun wasn’t too obnoxiously overbearing like the last time she’d spent time with Talak. In all, minus the egregious social stratification and exploitation of others, this world seemed pleasant and as close to home as she could get without visiting the more civilized parts of the galaxy. There were even birds singing in the trees that didn’t threaten to eat them because, for whatever reason, every place she visited had some apex predator watching her every move.

”You didn’t have to, but you did,” she replied as they walked, ”And that’s more than what most people would do. It was nice.” The thought of the yokels in a dead sprint back to their homes or to the village to warn of two ‘sorcerers’ who threatened to kill, plague, and curse their families for ten generations made her smile. They really only could have done the first thing in that list, but these people didn’t need to know that. The rest was just for added theatrics. ”Hopefully they learned that there’s always a bigger fish,” she said, removing her hands from her pockets to let them swing as she walked.

She cast him a sidelong glace at his question and shrugged, laughing at the stark contrast between then and now. ”I think it took me a week to get clean,” she said with a smile before holding up a hand, ”See? No more sand or blood. And you should have seen my drain. Cleaning up after was almost worse than the cause of it all.” She made light of the subject even though at the time it was a terrible ordeal. ”And I’ll take scared farmers over being hunted any day,” she shrugged and went quiet for a moment, looking off into the distance at a flying flock of birds. She half-expected something awful to go wrong right about now. Random sniper? Maybe a wayward rancor? Pack of wandering Jedi assassins? The possibilities were endless whenever they hung out, it seemed.

After a bit she looked back over towards him, ”How’ve you been? Aside from… really, really busy, I mean.” She chuckled nervously and looked back ahead. It was no secret he was the powerhouse among the lower ranks of the Sith Eternal, and she wondered just what he did in his free time. There was always something new going on in the galaxy; red sabers spotted here, Jedi arrested there, massacre here, so and so blamed, so on and so forth. Did he even have free time?

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Always a bigger fish. For some reason, Talak's mind latched onto that as soon as she said it. He had large plans for an Empire, and right now the galaxy was filled with bigger fish, but he wondered how it all would work out if they managed to create an Empire. Darth Sidious had been the biggest fish and he'd still been killed, but Talak found it unlikely that his "Empire" would ever reach that level. So many sharks in the water...

He listened as she talked about their last excursion, and he couldn't say he had fond memories of it. It had nearly cost them both their lives, and he had to agree that some scared farmers was certainly an improvement.

More of the same, he said with a shake of his head. There was so much to do, and if the Empire was to get underway then there was even more to do. Staging a coup was no small feat, and he lived in an almost constant state of concern that someone somewhere would find out something. He had his hands in so many fires - Jedi, Sector Rangers, Sith Eternal, vigilanteism, and bounty hunters - that it was almost growing difficult to keep track of who could know what without him being killed.

There's a lot of work to do to get the Sith Eternal... refocused, he said. He wondered what she had ultimately decided about his particular visions of the Order. He knew that they would likely have to do ugly things to gain power, but he hoped it would be worth it in the long run.

Have you given any further consideration to your place in the dark side? he asked. His own darkness had been growing in recent days, and he did his best to keep it focused on his enemies. Channeling that darkness and closing it off again was growing more difficult by the day, however. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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More of the same. Something about it was cryptic enough to tell her that he couldn’t tell her what it was he was doing, and she decided it was probably for the best. He was focused and out there doing big things, trying to change the galaxy. Whether it was change for the better was up for debate; Ana wondered if it was even possible to do something like that, but he seemed firm in his convictions, which held a certain nobility to it. She was glad to just zoot around the galaxy, occasionally find something of value, get into life-threatening shenanigans, and barely make it out. It was a simple existence, but pleasant enough.

”I keep hearing that,” she said in response to his refocusing statement, ”And I can’t help but wonder about the futility of it. There are those who would kill you for even having those thoughts, you know. Refocusing the Sith Eternal… it took considerable work to even bring us together, the Legions and Guardians.” She let her eyelids drop halfway, raised her eyebrows, pursed her lips, and shrugged. ”But things have a strange way of working out, especially around you, for some reason,” she said, considering briefly what might happen to Talak were the Eternal to discover his radical vision for the cult. Worse, she wondered what they might do to those who knew about it and remained silent.

Still, he seemed like he knew what he was doing, and maybe change was what they needed. She needed to give it more thought.

”As far as my place in the dark side,” she continued, ”I’m… not sure. If It’s the natural state, do we need to have a specific place within it? Regardless of my views, I belong to it anyways, right? Everything I do is in service to it; I just need to figure out what… exactly that service is.” She shrugged again. She’s put a lot of thought into her role among the cultists, and her place within the dark side, certainly. The question, though, was what role did they serve aside from being the arbiters of the Force? Trim the dead branches, that’s what they did. What more did the dark side demand of them?

She turned her head to regard him momentarily before looking back ahead. The tops of buildings loomed far in the distance, meaning that they were getting closer to the village, but it was still a bit of a walk left. ”And you?” she asked in kind, ”What do you think your role in all of this is?”

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Talak quirked an eyebrow as she asked if refocusing the Sith Eternal was even worth it or had a purpose. He certainly felt it was. He didn't want to see the group wiped out or see their potential lost, but he'd also become disinterested in the idea of genocide. That necessitated changes.

I see I haven't won you over yet, he said. Of course what he planned was radical and no small feat. Even after their previous conversation he probably shouldn't have assumed she would be won over to his view. It would come together in time, and he hoped she would support him when it did.

He listened to her and couldn't help but notice she still sounded quite uncertain of her place. He could hardly judge her for not having fully fleshed out the idea. Even he was still determining where he fell in the grand scheme of the Force, and determining that was becoming more difficult each day, but also becoming more clear. Another paradox, it seemed.

Debridement, he said. The galaxy is full of rot, and I'm going to cut it out, he said. The difference between he and the rest of the Sith Eternal was that instead of cutting off the whole limb, he'd rather save the limb and remove just the rot. Convincing other people of that was proving difficult...

I think the galaxy still needs predators and death, but I don't think the cycle necessitates wanton destruction, he said.

They continued to walk on until the village drew closer, and this time they were met not by villagers, but fully armed men. Bearing weapons and armor, they clearly worked for whatever regent was in this region, though rather than impressive soldiers, Talak got the impression they were more along the lines of armed bandits and thugs. Something about them rubbed him the wrong way immediately.

The Baron has demanded to see you, one of them said, stepping forward and taking the lead.

Talak glanced at Ana and shrugged before waving his hand in front of him toward the village.

Lead the way, he said. The soldiers moved to surround them on every side - five in all - and they made their way through the village with the eyes of the civilians on them as they passed. They were quite the spectacle it seemed.

Quite the welcome we received, he nonchalantly to Ana. He was actually just happy that they weren't directly under attack even if they were being escorted around by armed guards.
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana smiled and shrugged again at the conclusion of his response. Taking it upon himself to cut out the rot in the galaxy was a noble goal, and she wondered how far he would be willing to go to achieve that goal. He loathed harming innocents, but the task he wanted would necessitate the death of those who he wished to leave unharmed. Everyone, in some way, was culpable for the rot in their societies; the question was whether trimming a few dead branches would be better than simply planting a new tree. It would certainly be easier, to be fair, but if the plant could barely grow in the first place without rotting, then it might be time to replace it. Still, she could see where he was coming from, to a degree.

”Some rot goes deeper than others,” she replied and waved her hand dismissively, ”I just hope you know what you’re getting yourself into. This is about more than just pruning plants.” The rest of their walk was rather short, and they quickly arrived at their destination, or, rather, the welcome party for their destination. The group of thugs glared at them, each one brandishing a finer weapon than the farmers and with armor, to boot.

Ana returned Talak’s glance and shrugged in kind, beckoning for the soldiers to lead them to this so-called Baron. As they walked, Ana took the time to look around the village. Ramshackle wooden huts arranged unevenly bordered both sides of them as they walked, their equally disheveled denizens watching the newcomers with fear and suspicion. A few kids chased livestock through the streets before their parents yanked them up and away from the ‘sorcerers,’ scolding them for their reckless behavior. Ana caught the eye of a young boy and smiled at him, but the gesture was returned with a scowl and him spitting on the ground in her direction.

”Quite the welcome indeed,” she said in response to Talak. More and more of the townsfolk wandered out of their homes or leaned out of their windows to watch the procession, but none of them looked remotely happy to see the foreigners. ”Not exactly a warm one,” she added, which was met by a shove from behind and a curt, ”Shut it, freak!” Ana looked at him with indignation, but elected to remain silent during the rest of their escort. That one would die first, she decided.

Eventually the soldiers brought them up the hill to the “castle” that this Baron lived in. Its age showed through the weathered stone and rotting wooden doors but was otherwise impressive in nature. Here, more of the man’s guards sat about. A few men clashed swords, while others drank and made merry. At the far wall, a villager was tied up against a board with his back exposed while one of the soldiers reared back and lashed him with a whip. He cried out time and again, but the lashing did not stop. Ana wondered what crime he had to commit for such a brutal punishment.

They were led through the halls of the castle and up the stairs before halting in front of a large room. The lead man opened it and the two Sith were shoved inside before the other guards filed in and blocked the exit behind them. Almost right away, the heavy odor of alcohol hit Ana. It smelled like someone lit an alehouse on fire in here, and the large man with his back to them seemed like the source of the stench. He turned around and revealed his equally foul face: a fat, bulbous nose with two world-weary eyes sat in the middle of his pudgy, rosy face, while a thick, salt-and-pepper beard concealed the rest of its features. He glowered at the two and grimaced, showing his rotting teeth.

”Sorcerers,” he spat, ”You’ve any idea what the fhack we do to people accused of sorcery?” Before they could answer, he dragged his thumb across his neck menacingly. ”Now I’ve got two so-called sorcerers in my home with the farmers pissin’ their pants about you two ‘eating babies’ and ‘cursing their crops.’ Just who the hell do you think you are comin’ into my land stirrin’ up trouble, eh? I’ve got enough problems with this rebellion and my family as it is, you pissants.” His chair groaned under his weight as he sat down and steepled his fingers on his desk.

”Go on then, explain yourselves. Afore I have you gutted and tossed.”
 

Talak Rand

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He thought about what she said but didn't say anything more. The sad truth was that there would always be corruption. Talak was an idealist to an extent, but he also understood that reality could never meet an ideal. The problem he saw with the Sith Eternal was that ripping out the tree didn't actually mean that the new tree that sprung up would be any better. It was something to continue to think about in the future.

When the guard shoved Ana, Talak nearly whipped around and ripped him a fresh new orifice, but he stopped himself. He found it a bit odd that he was so defensive of her, but she was his student. Perhaps even a friend of some sort. He wasn't so sure she would agree, but he liked her regardless. Perhaps that was something to ponder later as well. Additionally, he didn't particularly care for bullies. Two sides of the coin that said "cut him in half."

The two were led into a castle that, despite being a bit rundown, was incredibly impressive. He wondered what it had looked like in its prime, and even now as he looked around, he couldn't help but take in the beautiful architecture.

Before long, they had made their way to the room that apparently held their judge and jury. The door opened and Talak was immediately slapped in the face with the smell of alcohol. The man in front of them swirled in the Force as a beacon of his own darkness. Waves of raw emotion overflowed from him in the Force in as strong a "smell" as the reek of beer.

He started yelling at them immediately, and Talak couldn't help but note that none of their weapons had been taken. Not that they likely would have known to look for a lightsaber either, but he was willing to bet whatever crude metals they were using here couldn't withstand a beam of plasma.

Probably shouldn't go right to killing, he reminded himself.

Talak considered for a moment how they could best approach the issue ahead of them, and decided that as much as threats seemed appealing, they weren't the most useful thing right now.

Actually, we're witch-hunters, he said. Okay, so that was a straight lie, but even if it weren't, he wasn't going to say their actual business. At least not in front of the horde of guards.

We heard about sorcerer problems in the area, he said. We came to look into it and potentially lend our services, he said. He had a feeling the Baron knew that he was lying, but after a moment he spoke up.

Yeh can get out! I've business ta discuss with the... "witch hunters," he said to the guards who left without objection.

Who are ya really? And dun lie to me or I'll have ya strung up in the sun to die a slow death, he threatened, looking back and forth between them. He clearly wasn't a man to be easily intimidated.
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana turned her head to regard Talak at the mention of being “witch hunters,” and refrained from scoffing. The reason they were even here was because they displayed witch-like powers; convincing this drunken mess that they were the opposite of what his own villagers believed them to be was a laughable idea. He might have been a simple man on an antiquated planet, but he didn’t seem like an utter moron. When he dismissed the guards, Ana gave them a passing glance to ensure that they actually left while the Baron spoke. When she was certain they were alone, she turned back around.

Even from where they were standing, she could smell the stench of wine and lunch on his breath. Hygiene, it seemed, was hardly a priority on this planet, or at least it wasn’t in this squalid little keep. ”He’s right,” she affirmed, ”We are hunters, but not for witches. Rather, consider us purveyors of ancient and forbidden know-“ She was cut off when the man held up a hand and waved it in a circular motion. ”The point, lass. I’ve no time to faff about with too many words.” Ana pressed her hands against her clothes and smoothed them out, clearing her throat.

”Apologies. We’re… not from here. We’re looking for rumors of a, erm, ‘sorcerer’ that advised one of the monarchs here. An… arch-magus, if you will.” She stared at him intensely because he glowered at her in kind, lips pursed in thought. She made up the term arch-magus, but it felt like it fit, given this planet’s storybook-like nature.

”And what does this sorcerer have that ya want?” he interrogated, furrowing his brows.

”We’re not sure, exactly. Information; perhaps items of interest to us. Do you… know anything about this?” she answered, considering the idea of probing his mind to find the answers she needed. She was certain he wasn’t particularly strong of will, but it seemed needlessly invasive if he ended up being helpful. As she asked her question, he pushed against the desk and stood up, turning around to look out the window behind him at his castle’s courtyard.

”I may… but these things don’t come fer free. Not to foreigners, like the both of yeh.” he said, clasping his hands behind his back, ”What’re you willing to do fer what I know?”

Ana looked at Talak and shrugged in an “I’unno” sort of way before answering with a, ”Anything… within reason, of course.” The Baron sighed, his chest and shoulders heaving with the motion, ”Yer hunters… but are yeh killers?” he asked before turning around and staring them both in the eye – first with Ana, then he moved onto Talak, his weary gaze betraying almost as much of his mood as his surface thoughts did.
 

Talak Rand

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Ah, so this one was as rude as everyone else. This entire planet was filled with wretched people, and he didn't find that he had much interest in helping him at all.

Ana was being nice and diplomatic. She was interrupted but didn't say anything. He could sense her unease, but how could he blame her? He was uneasy, too.

For an unknown reason his mind turned back to Tattooine. They had gone there in search of Darth Vader, and suddenly the idea that Vader would have ever put up with such absurdity from this man struck him.

He didn't deserve mercy. Talak could tell just from the man's aura that he was a being of violence and harshness. He was cruel because he could be, and Talak wasn't going to go kill for him.

Something snapped all at once.

You'll find out, he said to the man's question. The Force reached out and gripped the man's throat so tightly it strangled the cry to his guards. The Arcanist's voice was purely venom as he spoke.

You're going to give us the information we want, and then I'll decide whether or not to snap your neck, he said. The man - fat as he was - was now floating nearly a full foot off the ground, grasping at his neck. His face was starting to turn purple already, and the Arcanist simply held him there, unmoving.

If you call your guards, I'll gut you before they get in the room, he said as he set the man back down on the ground and loosened his grip.

I'll tell ye what'ere ye wanna know, he said, swinging his hand up in front of him as if to hold off any more torment.

You know the sorcerer we're looking for. Tell me where they lived, he said.

O'er the ridge, past the first town, and past the hangin tree. She were only called for sometimes, he gasped, still holding his neck from the earlier choking.

The Arcanist cast a glance over at Ana to see if she had any further questions, but also, more interestingly, to see what she would do with him.
 

Ana DAmico

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And just like that, the Baron was lifted off of his feet and into the air by his throat. His pudgy little face began to turn redder than it already was, and his portly form hovered about a foot off the ground. Talak’s sudden aggression shocked Ana, greatly. Aside from the time he tried to kill her, his instances of hostility were relegated to life threatening situations, but now he felt it necessary to exert his power over this ignorant, fat, local tyrant. Her eyes, for a moment, went wide in surprise and she cast him a glance before assuming a more indifferent expression for the purposes of maintaining their all-powerful, nonchalant appearance.

”I did say we’d do anything for information,” she reminded the man coldly, ”We’re not hired goons.” She raised her hand and waved it dismissively at him while he gingerly rubbed his neck, baffled by how someone could choke another person from afar like that.

”Yer not gonna get far,” he spat out, as foolish as the rest of his people, ”Lots of folk’re scared of yeh. Want to kill yeh.” He straightened himself out and took several deep breaths, staring daggers at the two Sith.

Ana smiled at him, ”Then you should send a runner to stop them from dying like dogs,” she said before turning around and beckoning Talak to follow; their work here was done, for now. They had nothing to gain from killing this man, and it'd only draw far, far more attention than they needed. The Baron took a swig out of some bottle and wiped his mouth, grimacing all the while.

”These parts’re dangerous! More than just farmers with rakes roamin’ about!” he said as he took another swig to cope with the circumstances. He was indignant, especially after being bullied in his own castle, but he wasn’t an idiot. He believed that the two sorcerers in front of him would follow through on their death promise, so he withheld from summoning his guards.

”We’re terrified,” she said dryly as she left the room, rolling her eyes and striding past the guards casually. One of the men reached out to halt her, but the baron’s voice from within stopped him. ”Let ‘em go!” he commanded, ”They’re… they ain’t trouble.” The guard withdrew his hand and glared at the two Sith, but did nothing further.

They would pass through the castle without incident, though not without angry, frightened glares from the guards. She paid them no mind, but once they were outside, she did glance at Talak. ”I’ve never seen you snap like that,” she said, noting the confused looks of the passersby now that they had no escort, ”I don’t blame you; he was insufferable, but something about you seemed… different.” She thought about the cruelty and venom in his voice and the hatred in his eyes. She’d only seen that in battle, not outside it. Normally he was more… collected.
 

Talak Rand

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The Arcanist was seriously considering simply killing the man even if Ana didn't. But then they'd have to fight their way out, and it'd turn into a pointless slaughter. Probably for the best that he didn't.

For as sharp as the Baron's gaze was, the Arcanist met him equally. He was unafraid, almost as if challenging this pathetic zit on the face of the galaxy to send his best. He would have welcomed the chance to slaughter every last one of them. How many less powerful than him had these people already murdered, robbed, or raped. The Arcanist spat on the floor as they left, his eyes sweeping murderously over the guards.

It wasn't until they were out of the castle and into the town that he seemed to relax once again. There seemed to be a power available at his fingertips these days that scared him, but also had a nearly limitless number of applications.

When Ana spoke up, it didn't take Talak long to respond.

He's a warlord. How many people do you think he's ordered beaten and killed? His men aren't anything more than bandits. People like that only understand violence and fear, he said. The idea of killing for that man wasn't particularly appealing to him either. If he had to choose between killing the Baron and killing for him, the choice seemed easy enough.

At least this was all he told himself. He knew he could justify it within his moral code without issue, but what he couldn't justify was the necessity of it. Could he have gotten what he wanted without that violence? Probably. So why had he done it? The answer that terrified him was that it felt good. Trys had hit the nail on the head when they'd parted ways the first time: he liked killing villains.

Is he any different than the Hutts? he asked. This was the core of his justification, but he couldn't help ponder that she said he seemed different. He had felt different.

What do you make of him? Someone that deserves killing... or rather, "pruning?" he asked.

Their society is as basic as it comes. It was reset and still the rot remains, he said. The message was clear. Shouldn't they start being more discriminatory in who they killed? Even a society stripped of all its technology and advances was rotten. @Painus
 

Ana DAmico

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Ana could sense Talak’s immense disdain for the Baron and his thug soldiers as they left the castle, and it was further confirmed as he spoke about him. Without even directly saying it, she knew Talak wanted him dead, and she was of like mind. While it would have been incredibly satisfying to see him beg for mercy before they snuffed out what meaningless, pitiful life he had, they had greater problems that would have arisen. Wading through an entire town of hostiles, while it might have been good training, was fairly unappealing. They had the supernatural powers of the Force and their lightsabers, but it was an entire town and she doubted even they could slaughter every last one of them.

”He’s a bit dumber than the Hutts,” she remarked as they walked, ”He was a dirty, drunken, violent wretch, and I’d have liked nothing more than to be the one to stamp him out. But he’s a tool,” she continued, furrowing her brows at the locals who came out to stare at them as if they were zoo animals. ”And tools need to be used before they’re discarded. If his information proves incorrect…” she trailed off; Talak could extrapolate enough from that. Her attention was focused on the gathered group blocking the road out of the village.

A few of the locals, emboldened by their numbers and the fearmongering of the farmers, stood in their path with various tools and weapons. They were mostly all fighting age males, though some were older, and she even saw what looked like a boy just about to hit puberty wielding a rake. She halted and folded her arms across her chest, canting her head to the side.

”Git out of here, witch! Go away warlock!” one called out, which was met with angry shouts of agreement, ”Alls you magic folk do is bring famine and war wherever y’all go! We don’t want none of it!” Another man raised his sword and spat on the ground before speaking. ”Yeah! Git on out of here! Yer not gonna bully us no more! We got more’n you, and your magic ain’t gonna stop us!” This was met with more shouts, and Ana realized that this situation was a result of them terrorizing the farmers from earlier. Such stupid consequences for such little things.

”We’ll gladly leave and never come back,” she said, gesturing ambiguously before returning her hands back across her chest, ”But you’re all in our way of that.” It took a moment for her logic to hit them, and a few of the farmers looked around at each other. ”Shut it, witch!” the first man shouted, ”We’re not scared of you two! Y’all started it when you choked Drestin and nearly killed him! Bastard! Whore!” He brandished the sickle in his hands and spat towards them, his face a rictus of hatred. It seemed that, in their hysteria, the logic of blocking the only route out of the village they needed to go through and also demanding they leave did not seem utterly idiotic.

Ana sighed and looked up at Talak, ”Why do we never go to fun planets?" she asked, uncrossing her arms and beginning to draw the Force towards her. She was tired of being bullied by ignorant yokels, and she wondered how many times a day she could be called both a whore and a witch. It was growing old very, very quickly. Unless he intervened, she was going to make this bloody.

@Phoenix
 

Talak Rand

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Talak almost started laughing as Ana started talking about what the man was like. He was glad to hear that she didn't care for him either, and would have also liked to see him dead. But she did have a point about him being a tool. He recognized that if the Empire was to come to power he would likely - almost certainly - have to employ some unsavory people in order to create a more stable galaxy. It was the ugly truth that power wasn't innocent.

He was about to say something when he looked and saw the horde of semi-armed people blocking the road out. Ana proceeded to say almost exactly what he had been planning to say, and it didn't seem to have much of an effect.

She had a point about the planets that they always ended up visiting. Kashyyyk, Tattooine, and now this place... where were Naboo and Mon Cal? It was a shame that this world was so beautiful and yet it was infested with these... vermin.

Wow, he had just called some other human being vermin. He felt bad for a moment before realizing that they really were. Misogynistic, cruel, abusive, and stupid. Not a good combination.

He could feel the anger swelling within her, and he paused a moment. He wasn't sure he wanted to slaughter all these people, but he also could see what they were like. Hearing them call Ana a whore somehow pissed him off all the more as well.

He decided to make one last attempt, already feeling the Force swelling around her.

How about you move and we leave, he shouted. It didn't work. He had tried.

The lead one ran forward with a wood-chopping axe and swung it at Ana while several others started to circle as well. They weren't going to come in one at a time at the pair and fully intended to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Another brought... was that a rake? Yes, it was apparently a very spiky rake that he tried to swing at Ana's back as well. The Arcanist's lightsaber leapt to his hand in a moment and lit with a ghastly red glow. Perhaps the sight alone would be enough to stem the attack, but he wasn't counting on it. @Painus
 
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