Private A Korridor to Nowhere

[Onrai]

Parallelepipedia, Base Camp, Otherspace
Tag: Donne Toulemonde

Expeditions.

With the return of some of Onrai's Mawite comrades courtesy of the incorporation of the Dark Empire, the twice-false goddess had begun to further stir her forces into action. A combination of machines, men, cyborgs, and constructs were stirred into action as her campaign against the monstrosities of this place ramped up in rapid succession. There were already a few who knew of her private demesne here on the world she had named after the cubes whose unreality wept out onto the landscape, clashing with the planet's own surface that was both solid and liquid. Those such as Kurineth Cull and Marlon Sularen had only scraped the barest minimum of knowledge from this place.

That said, there was but one being who Onrai had trained and invested her power and will upon. Truly her knowledge of the Anti-Force was intimate beyond compare, her understanding of the operation of the abominable and untapped power within. In contrast to the power of the Force, which bound the universe together, the Anti-Force, unmoored and unbound such, a source of chaotic energies unlike anything anyone could expect to tap.

That being was one Donne Toulemonde. Onrai had summoned her to the base camp outside of the heaving carcass of Ooradryl as someone she trusted to go with her on an expedition to one of the dead and forgotten worlds within Otherspace. The knowledge she had reaped through the scouring of Mnggal-Mnggal from Mugg Fallow had come to fruition, and combined with such importance gleaned from the minds of the god-cubes, had given her an understanding of the worlds within Dark Illathurion - as well as the forbidden secrets they contained.

Now was as good a time as any to exploit them.

 

[Donne Toulemonde]

Donne’s relationship with the force was one of some powerful control, but it also manifested within her in a somewhat erratic way. Ever since her youth, her relationship with psychometry, the art of feeling and seeing echoes in the force, had been chief among her many talents.

Her study over the years with a powerful manifestation, such as Onrai, had only solidified further her unwavering desire to harness all aspects of the unseen powers that seemed to create such ripples of power throughout the galaxy.

As her Shuttle finally landed, she made the usual way to her tutor, feeling incensing her presence through the little breadcrumbs that were deposited by the living force. Even if she didn’t know where she was going, she certainly knew how to make her way.

She spoke with humility-when they had first met, Donne was a powerful woman in her mid 30s. Now, some three decades later, she had a wisdom, and a power, that her younger self could not have foreseen, but would have been proud to attained nonetheless.

‘Great teacher, I am here in answer to your summons. What is it that I can do to aid in your task? You know my body and mind are yours in service, always.’

She bowed her head with a serene respect.

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

"The time has come to further study the dead worlds within this space." She said, smiling at her acolyte, a student of the Anti-Force and the most devoted of her direct acolytes. How fortunate Onrai had been for this mortal being to supplicate herself and learn at the feet of a being who had touched worlds and resources unlike anything anyone could offer her. Even the Dark Lord of the Sith himself was but a peon when it came to knowledge of such utter unfettered esoterica.

"I've taught you much. The rituals of the Fellowship of Kooroo, the power of Dark Illathurion - the means of restoring life - and taking it. You have been invested with more of my power than that of any other who calls this place home, temporarily or permanently. Which is why it is with you that I intend to take this journey, a step into the void most profane that none else would dare walk. You've served me for many years, and now it is time for you to elevate yourself as we sojourn to one of the forbidden dead worlds."

From within the darkness of her wraithlike form, she retrieved a scroll a thing of parchment, something she had transcribed. It was a map of Otherspace, drawn in her hand and assembled based off the collective knowledge of the dead Kindred, their father, and the knowledged ripped from the abominable god of pestilence and cancer, Mnggal-Mnggal. A shadowed finger rested upon one of the worlds drawn on the map, places of significance within Otherspace, though reaching them would not be that easy.

"Here. This world. Korridor. We will sojourn there and find what rests there, claim it, and put it to use."

Donne Toulemonde

 

[Donne Toulemonde]

The journey was arduous. She didn't mind the physical travel, interstellar flight being part and parcel of the day to day necessity of most humans. However, the growing power that seemed to intensify as they approached their destination was more concerning. She felt it every time, despite decades of making such journeys. Her body, though strengthened by the living Force, was still aging and despite her mastery, she knew it would take a more severe toll each time she made the decision to venture with Onrai, who was more spectre than anything else.

Donne sat, as she had been taught, and muttered to herself the edicts she had learned, reading near a millennia's worth of writing, from before even ancient Palpatine and his dark lieutenant.

***
​

"What can you tell me about this world, Korridor?" she spoke quietly, sipping some water from a canteen.

Onrai

​

 

[Onrai]

"As much as I would like to say 'everything,' that would be untrue." The shadowed figure of Onrai said, standing before the woman in question. Soon, she believed, it would be time to strengthen Donne, to find a way to further reinvigorate her aged form. The rarity of a loyal servant, particularly one whose knowledge fell under the utter esoterica of Otherspace's many mysteries, was something she could nary afford to give up. Within the limitations of the shuttle, she stewed for a bit, focusing upon whatever shards of knowledge the minds of Ooradryl and his Kindred had gifted her.

"The world is dead, of that much I'm sure. The Charon have seen to the extermination of all but the hardiest of monstrosities in this plane. Whatever civilization once lived there, or whatever works once called the planet home are for us to discover. And discover them we will, for who else shall should we not?"

Donne Toulemonde

 

[Donne Toulemonde]

Donne's eyes glinted with a sinister glow as she listened to the powerful Onrai's musings about the desolate realm of Otherspace. The dark side of the Force whispered through the air like a malevolent breeze, echoing the power that resonated within the confines of the shuttle. She closed the cover of the book she as reading, its leathery parchment adorned with ancient Sith artifacts, and gestured towards the void beyond the transparisteel viewport.

"The decay of this world is a canvas upon which we shall paint our destiny," Donne intoned, her voice a low, resonant growl.

"The Charon may believe they have cleansed it, but in truth, they have merely paved the way for the rise of the Sith. In the ashes of their perceived victory, we shall find the hidden truths and arcane knowledge that lie dormant, waiting for those with the strength to wield it."

She smiled a little to herself, the connection of the Otherspace growing.

She stood, her robe cascading down her back and brushing the durasteel floor. She paced around the small chamber, the dark folds of her cloak swirling like shadows. "The Otherspace is a realm of untold power, a tapestry of ancient secrets woven into the very fabric of the Force. It is a place where the weak falter and the strong thrive, and we shall be the architects of its rebirth. To understand its lore is to grasp the threads that bind the galaxy itself."

She was certain of this.

Pausing, Donne fixed her piercing gaze upon the almost cosmic figure of Onrai.

"But I must remember, knowledge alone is not power. It is how you wield that knowledge, how you channel the darkness within, that defines your strength. You taught me this, Mistress. The Sith are not mere archaeologists of the past; we are the architects of the future. Otherspace is our playground, and its mysteries our tools. I must continue to embrace them, and I shall become a force to be reckoned with in the galaxy."

She was quoting Darth Caelitus, her former tutor and a man she would have followed to the ends of the known Galaxy. There was some irony that she now stood, long past its corporeal plane.

Onrai

 

[Onrai]

"You forget." Onrai said as she looked at Donne, eyes peering into the woman's soul. "The Sith are but a dot amongst the flow of time and the span of the universe. We are not Sith, though we may have once been - we are something much greater." She said, as the shuttle ride continued. For a few moments, she waited, letting the words she had uttered sink into her acolyte studiously and with great focus before continuing her explanation.

"I've told you before the origins of Sith ideology. They are of the Dark Jedi, whose teachings maladjusted those of the original Sith. Those Sith built their knowledge and society upon the backs of what they learned from the Rakata, whose knowledge was parasitized from the Kwa - and the Kwa were a student-race of the Celestials. All knowledge, all information seeded within this place goes back to them, or to one of the bastard spawn of Wutzek." She sighed - had not those called the Bedlam Spirits been disrupted and driven away by the mistake the Celestial had caused, perhaps the galaxy would be a more orderly place, with less ruins.

Onrai waited to hear Donne's response, curious as to the woman's views.

Donne Toulemonde

 

[Donne Toulemonde]

Donne gazed back at Onrai, her expression a mixture of contemplation and determination. As her mentor's words echoed in her mind, she felt a surge of defiance rise within her, mingling with a deep-seated sense of purpose.

"Indeed, Onrai, the Sith may be but a dot in the grand tapestry of time and space," Donne began, her voice steady and resolute. "But that dot holds within it the power to shape galaxies, to bend the very fabric of reality to its will. We are not mere followers of a long-forgotten ideology; we are inheritors of a legacy that spans millennia, a legacy steeped in power and knowledge. A dot they may be but this time belongs to them!"

She mumbled to herself.

And will always belong.

She paused, letting her words linger in the air before continuing with conviction, "While it is true that the Sith drew from the teachings of the Dark Jedi and the ancient civilizations that came before them, we have evolved beyond mere imitators. We have transcended our origins, forging our own path towards greatness."

Donne's eyes gleamed with fervour as she spoke, her belief in the Sith cause unwavering. "The Celestials may have laid the foundation, but it is we who wield the power here and now. We are not bound by the mistakes of the past; we are the architects of the future. And as Sith, it is our destiny to seize that future, to conquer and reshape the galaxy according to our will."

With a final nod of determination, Donne fell silent, awaiting Onrai's response, her resolve unyielding in the face of whatever challenges lay ahead.


Onrai

 

[Onrai]

"A legacy that was built off the schema of the Father of Shadows." Onrai said, in response to the initial comment of Donne's words. "And whose current ideals can be traced back to that of Ku'ar Danar, father of the Heresiarchs and architect of the Second Great Schism. A man who himself believed the Immortal Gods of the Sith did not exist. The Sith serve Nakhash and the Six willingly and unwillingly, and he cannot be allowed to pollute the galaxy with his touch." Onrai continued listening to Donne.

"The path towards establishing our new order is different from anything and everything the Sith would once have sought to achieve. The power of the Old Ones flows through me, the power to answer the prayers of those who worship me." She looked at Donne. "And yet, what Sith would? Those who have proclaimed themselves living gods under the banner of the Dark Side before have yet offered no supplication to their prayers. Did Kaine Zambrano arrive to his birthplace, to tend to the cries of millions of his fellow Panathans who screamed to the heavens, slashed themselves with blades, and even sacrificed one another in the vain hope their god would come and save them? Akala abandoned her own worshippers and found herself destroyed as a result. You would be better served talking your guidance from the life of Kara Volshe, the Sorceress-Queen of Ambria than these."

The duo were now within eyesight of Korridor, yet the world was eclipsed by the Void Horror and its abominable form, a great mass more sublime than the largest of the Sith's dreadnoughts, and its innumerable feelers projecting from the undulating dermis of its blackness. This was an abomination against nature, against the very order of the universe. Countless baleful eyes opened and closed, their sights gazing back at the two as best as they could as hungry mouths opened and closed, revealing rows of jagged, barblike teeth.

"This is... unexpected." She said. The Void Horror was supposed to be nowhere near this world according to the maps she had drawn. Had her expansion drawn its attention? If so, they were in tremendous danger.

"Foolish mockery of the vain Goddess." A voice rang out through the emptiness and the void, words ethereally clear, hate in them evident beyond compare. "What a false blessing it is for you and your neophyte to come here that I may feast upon you. Your essence will nourish me for millennia."

Already the creature's tendrils sought to ensnare their mode of travel, but Onrai moved it just out of their reach. Ancient curses filled Otherspace as Onrai eyed the creature through the glass.

"This is what the Sith worship, and what they were meant to worship." She said. "There is no bargain to be made with it, no supplication you can give for power. Only your life. This and many more can be found here."

Donne Toulemonde