A Sith and a Jedi walk into a Ruin

[Coren Starchaser]

The Jedi Master who was helping to establish a Masters Council, and helping to lead the Jedi into a gathered focus and grouping was doing what he could to track down some of the histories. He was armed with one of the Jedi Compasses that he had found in one collection of artifacts or another. It was rumored that Skywalker himself had such a compass and it was how he had found the world of Ahch-To. A world that was lost to the reaches of time but found by one of his own teachers, Jorus Merrill. And now Merrill had retired from the main stage, and that left a hole in the Force.

And in the offerings of what Jedi and Masters there were.

Coren was doing his best to pick up that slack, and that meant equal parts piloting and exploring, but he was also a soldier, the paladin of the Jedi. But he could only get so far fighting, and it wasn’t going to allow him to forgo what needed to be done. The Jedi were not soldiers, but they were defenders. And he was the type who would take a very active, over zealous role in combat. He knew he could create the wall between the good and the evil.

But today he was taking a wall between history and ignorance. He had been surveying the Core and Territories with his Roving Line. Today he was dropped on a world that wasn’t charted well. It was a tropical world. He wanted to minimize his signature on the world and was given a commlink to contact the retrieval boat when he was ready to get off the world. A bit of making his way through, he was armed very lightly, the reports gave him no cause for extra protection. An aging Levantine Sanctum multi-array rifle that would be seen as a bow with many different types of projectiles. And he had a shoto lightsaber. He was working on a few things with Tiland lately, and training to use less weapons was one of them.

But hell if he was going to give up a ranged capability. But the Jedi was checking his compass and there it was, the temple. Just… way up there. On the hill.

He looked around and started moving, his clip increasing, the Force helping aid his forward movement as it could. Nothing too strong, but still, it was how he worked.

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Though much of her time spent away from Dromund Kaas was in her capacity as Triumvir of Strength, today was a different story. For some time now, Darth Avacyn had been chasing down several leads from an old text she had found in Krest's old chamber in Bastion's Sith academy. She had 'inherited' the place after ending the life of her old master and after discovering the text she had been exploring all the locations it mentioned. It had started out as a series of explorations born from curiosity, but when she started finding old and valuable artifacts it turned into something more akin to an interplanetary treasure hunt. This time it brought her to the planet of Ahch-To and the temple she was now exploring.

The woman was dressed accordingly to the tropical climate of the planet, her outfit showing she wasn't expecting much in the way of hostility. Still, a pair lightsabers hung from her hips in case their usage did become necessary, but armed further she was not.

She had not made it far in yet, but the interior look seemed to already fill her with some sense of disappointment. Its design harkened back to the Jedi of old, though Avacyn did not let that keep her from going further in. She had to come from far to get here and there often were surprises to be found in old temples such as this. There was no reason to turn back quite yet. Not much light filtered through into the temple and so Avacyn took an unlit torch from one of the many pillars that held one, using her free hand to light it through the application of fire shaping.

Using the light that emanated from the torch, time was taken to take inventory of the main hall. In front of her was a large set of stairs that led to multiple chambers, which she decided would be the first area to explore. The redhead kept her eyes and senses peeled as she made her ascend and stepped into one of the chambers.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Jedi Master was always more than happy to get back to his roots of exploration and understanding the past. He knew the Jedi Orders saw him as some legend, some hero who would fight to his last breath. And they were not wrong. But war even tired out the one who hoped to take the Sword of the Jedi mantle before that curse was thrown to another. He knew war, but he knew the past, he knew how things could fall worse than they already were.

And he was going to defend all he could.

Following in the footsteps and advice of Jorus, Coren had finally taken up the mantle as a Jedi, and was doing his best to lead the ones under his guidance through these dark times. And going to the source? That was important for him. How did they move the Jedi when things were very dark? Getting to the top of the hill, he looked at the view. Oceans, tropical jungle, and ruins around a temple. He nodded as he pushed the door forward. Stepping into the chamber, he took out a glowstick and cracked it, spraying light around the room.

Entry, nothing more. Ornate only in the way it should. Old Jedi.

He nooded as he saw the dark staircase. Down. He knew that it could hold more there, and it was, actually, the only way to proceed.

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

When Avacyn stepped into the chamber, she took a moment to look around and take inventory. She first spotted the numerous stone coffins that seemed to have been untouched for hundreds upon hundreds of years, neatly arranged in two rows and a path that ran inbetween them. At the other end of the room was an old stone tablet placed upon a pedestal, though she was much too far away from it to see what was carved into it. All along the walls and the four pillars that supported the ceiling more texts were present, but the woman was unable to identify the language in which they were written.

Places such as this one were rarely unguarded and so Avacyn took careful steps forward, remaining keenly aware of her surroundings in order to avoid any traps or other things of that nature. However, when she got midway towards the stone tablet she halted and it was not because of anything about the temple itself. It was the presence of another, someone who carried with them an incredible amount of power within the Force, yet even more alarming was the fact she not only recognized it, it was one steeped deeply in the Light.

Starchaser.

The Sith Lady's curious attitude made way for the huntress' mindset, her target the master Jedi who in a twist of fate only the Force could shape had found himself inside the same abandoned temple as herself at the same time. Her left hand instinctively reached for one of the hilts that hung from her hips, but decided to keep it there for just a while longer. She turned towards the entrance of the chamber and went to sit down on one of the coffins, knowing it wouldn't be long before he would join her. If she was able to sense him, the opposite was true as well and although their first encounter had been a short one, if Avacyn had learned one thing about him it was the fact he would never turn down an opportunity to raise his weapon against a Sith. And for Avacyn herself this was the opportunity to bring home the head of one of the Empire's greatest enemies.

She almost licked her lips at the thought.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Relaxing from the battles was one thing, but Starchaser had more on his mind than just the martial combat against the Sith. There was the concern of his very way of life being wiped out. And he knew that life better than most. The Alliance was gone, the Jedi he followed were shattered. The Jedi themselves were always thrown to the ends of the galaxy. Going back further, he was hoping to find what Skywalker had reportedly done to unite the Jedi. To focus the light.

And these temples? According to Jorus they were visited by Skywalker. Maybe this could help Coren’s own focus on doing just that. Getting the groups together. With the New Jedi Order, he was working with many different groups, but the Jedi were more tense to work together then. Now? Now the galaxy was changing. And Jedi and other supporters of the Light seemed to be more open to cooperating. But the texts here were ancient. From his pack, a small probe was released to begin review and logging of the text.

He continued down, reaching out to the Force, the light of his own aura casting dim illumination on the temple. Entering the next chamber, there was something in the Force that was telling him the situation wasn’t what it seemed. Danger sense, the light keeping him alive, hell even Zark providing insight from the netherworld, he turned to view the room, casting more light, not the damaging kind, the illuminating kind.

A glance around and he saw one of the Triumvir.

“You don’t belong here.”

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

The first hint of the Jedi Master's approach was the dim light that slowly seeped into the chamber, accompanied by his footsteps, and Avacyn kept her eyes firmly on the entrance from which it did, awaiting its source's arrival. Coren too would be able to notice the signs of the Sith Lady's presence outside of the Force and they were nearly mirrored, his own light was met by the flickering light of her torch and his footsteps by the tapping of her foot while she patiently sat and waited with her legs crossed. Upon entry into the room she seemed to not at all be bothered by the situation, as though it wholly failed to have any effect on her, though the anticipation hidden underneath was something she couldn't deny to herself.

"I was a Jedi myself once, many, many years ago," Avacyn replied while she calmly uncrossed her legs and got to her feet to face Coren. "Am I not allowed to take a trip down memory lane, back to my childhood?"

She turned to look at him directly.

"Learn from my mistakes of the past?" The woman had very few good words to speak about the way the Jedi life had treated her. It wasn't the true reason she had come here, though Avacyn wasn't much interested in explaining the real reason why she was here and now that Coren had shown himself to be here as well, her priorities had shifted towards him, trivializing her original objective. He was one of the greatest threats to the safety of her home and her family through his opposition of the Sith Empire, and for that he had to die.

The brilliant emerald color in Avacyn's eyes slowly began to make way for the corruption that hid underneath, showing clearly her intentions in that moment. With the reputation that preceded him she had no doubt he would raise his blade against her. She would welcome it, gladly even. In preparation, she began to twist the Force around her and made it to mirror the Darkness from which she drew her strength, creating a spike of power in the Force, but it was not Coren who reacted to that first.

It was the chamber itself.

As though it had been watching this entire time, upon drawing from the Force Avacyn instantly felt the chamber shake and rumble violently and in a way that simply could not be natural. She recoiled from the sudden nature of the phenomenon, causing her to jump backwards to make as much distance between herself and the Jedi as possible. It was only after the unnatural earthquake ceased that she noticed the chamber door had sealed itself shut, as though there never had been an entrance in the first place. It had become another part of the four walls that surrounded the two people inside with seemingly no way out.

"I must admit that was impressive, Starchaser." It was Avacyn's first impression that whatever had happened was Coren's doing. "That a new trick of yours?"

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

For Coren, using the Force to create light, or to push back the darkness was the same as breathing. This Jedi Master may not have the intuitive grasp on moving rocks and making things float, but he could navigate through the stars, as his name suggested, and in some cases, replicate the energy of the stars. Sometimes focused to route out the darkness in the galaxy,and while most of the time that was a literal translation, sometimes it was just to eliminate, or cause, more shadows, and not burn Sith where they stood. The latter, that was too much of a drain on the Jedi Master.

But as he threw his own light, he could sense the equal, the darkness in the Force out there. He heard the voice of the woman, and recognized it. One of the Sith Triumvir. The focus of Coren’s crusade. His hand was already on his lightsaber, and the light around him intensified, as a knee-jerk reaction. But her tone, he held back for a moment. “And then you fell to the wrong track.” He didn’t need to go into his past, the reverse.

She turned and the Alliance Patriot’s blue eyes traced the figure before him. Strength. Pavanos. He knew this one. She was part of the Sith Empire, and therefore was a foe for him, someone he could do well to eliminate. But if she was here, there may be more victory to a discussion, to understand the Sith and their interest in the world.

Darkness was coming from her, but he was already bathed in the Force. Waiting for the blast to come, he was deciding, maybe it was better to fight now, speak later. Typical for him, but his Masters, and instructors always tried to make him err on the side of caution.

His own shock could be registered in the Force, but barring that, the Jedi Master did eye the Sith. “Can’t let you ransack this Temple, Sith.” Even with the faux confidence, the Jedi was not putting his guard down. Not yet.

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

The realization Coren himself had no real clue as to what had transpired moments before either was relayed by Darth Avacyn through an amused scoff, even though she was keenly aware of the fact she was caught in some kind of trap. Coren's shock could have been hidden from those who could not connect to the Force but Avacyn very much noticed it, leading her to the conclusion that it was likely they were both locked into the chamber together. It was nearly perfect as an arena to host a battle to the death, the prospect of removing a key threat to her home still dancing through her mind. She could only imagine the blow it would be to the resistance that sought to bring down the empire she helped build, but not out of a wish to kill.

Death was often necessary and Avacyn was willing to use any and all aspects of it to accomplish whatever it was she set out to do, but rather than letting her aversion to death turn into bloodlust as she stepped further into the Darkness, she had taught herself to become numb to that sensation. The thrill of combat forged a powerful connection to the Force- the rush of returning a life to the Force was too and both allowed one to immerse fully into that source of power. Yet while the former made it possible to focus fully on battle, the latter too easily turned from forging the means to becoming an end. As such, Avacyn sought to temper the anticipation she felt towards the prospect of a confrontation with Coren, as it no longer aided her. At that moment, the chamber itself was the priority.

"No, it wasn't you." Though deciding against raising her weapon against Coren for now, the Sith lady remained on edge. She was cautious to not let her guard down and give Coren any opening for an attack much like the Jedi himself. While making sure to keep her attention on the man, Avacyn slowly moved towards the wall to her left, walking inbetween two stone coffins to get herself close enough to illuminate the texts carved into the wall with the torch she was holding. "And I wasn't planning on destroying anything within this place, either. Do not think me a brute." The stereotypes that Sith were associated with by many irritated her at times. Even Jedi history was worth keeping, even if just to know one's enemy.

"But," Avacyn said with an intrigue-filled tone as she approached the wall, "we sure have found ourselves in quite the scenario." Her line of sight finally broke with the man as she turned her head towards the wall, analyzing the texts while she absent-mindedly continued. "Unless, of course, you know a way out for yourself."

Her train of thought was interrupted however, when her eyes met a section of the wall that had words carved into it in a language she least expected in a place such as this. The woman let out an audible hum of surprise as she looked back towards Coren. "A Jedi temple with ancient texts carved into the walls, partially in the Sith language. How interesting."

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Explorer-turned-Warrior was not really surprised that there was some sort of trap here, but what he was more surprised with was who was here, and what caused it to spring. The Jedi was letting his guard down for the moment, it seemed that the temple didn’t want to let the Sith out, and he wasn’t completely sure that if he removed the Sith from the equation that he’d be allowed out of the Temple. He was a Jedi, but he was a bit more forward thinking with his use of the Force and ending the Sith.

He knew that fighting was going to be inevitable, but if he could put it off for the moment, they could figure out how to get out of here. By the off chance that a Sith could prove useful, he was not reaching for his lightsaber, but he was keeping the Force spooled up, making sure he had a metaphysical hand on it, if he needed to protect himself, or blast the Triumvir back for whatever reason.

Eying the woman, he wasn’t sure if she was telling the truth, but when she turned to him regarding the situation they were in, he nodded. Taking a walk around the perimeter of the room. “First time in this temple, but…” He pushed on a brick, feeling it give.

But nothing, just a crumbling brick in the wall now.

When she mentioned Sith writings, because he was sure as hell not going to mention that trip up on the brick. “Sith writing?” he couldn’t translate half of it, just knew how to identify it, but still… interesting.

“What were your people doing here?” There was concern in his voice.

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

"It does not seem this piece of text gives the answer to your question." That which it did say did not clarify much at all, in fact. The message missed its context and much like opening a book on a random page, it left Avacyn a bit lost on what it meant. "It mentions coffins, these coffins I will assume, and the fact they have something to do with the 'key' to something. Either there is text missing, or I simply haven't found it yet." Deciding to see if the latter theory held any water, she turned away from the wall and with torch in hand scanned the chamber again. When her eyes then locked with the stone tablet on the pedestal, she wasted little time making her way over to it, placing the torch in a sconce that was affixed to a pillar as she passed it. "Perhaps this is the start of the puzzle," Avacyn remarked as she approached the tablet. The text on it was in basic, albeit an ancient variant.

"When two minds meet, one which creates light and one which embraces the darkness, the path shall be revealed," the woman muttered as she read the tablet. "But divided, neither can walk it." It did not take long for Avacyn to understand what it meant. She almost found it to be comical. She was to work together with Coren if she wanted to ever make it out of the chamber, something she was quite certain she would never do again before now.

"You should probably read this," the redhead then said while creating some distance between her and the tablet, as to give him the space to do so without her being too close by. There still wasn't much in the way of trust from either side, even if there was going to have to be at least some degree of that moving forward. Their lives now depended on it.

Avacyn would wait unil Coren had read the tablet before continuing. "If it says what I think it says, we have to find the way out together. I'm willing to put our differences aside for as long as we're on this planet if you are." Her eyes searched for Coren's and although they were still teeming with the Dark side's corruption, they did show sincerity. That sound acceptable?"

[member="Coren Starchaser"]

 

[Coren Starchaser]

One language he didn’t take was Sith. He probably should have, and was making a mental note to do such when he got back to the schools. As a Sentinel and a Watchman, he needed to do prepare himself for these sort of situations. Having to trust a Sith to give him the information he sought? That was not good. But he was listening, he knew he didn’t have time to do much else here to do. They were trapped, and if he fought her now? Then it wouldn’t get him out of here. Maybe the Sith was useful at this point.

“Coffins, like coffins, or are you translating it wrong?” The Jedi was watching the Sith. Coffins, containers. He approached the tablet, hand going to his lightsaber. Just as a habit when he could feel the darkness.

Light and darkness. The opposites, there were a number of meanings for that statement, black, white, male, female, opposites that required the other. But this was a Temple, there was only one real answer to this. It was the Light Side and Dark Side. Cooperating. He had heard tale of it happening, when the Mandos rose up and became too unruly, when the end of times was approaching. There was evil, and then there was evil. He reached the tablet and reached out In the Force, seeing if destiny had given him some insight into the meeting behind the writings.

There was a sigh when Coren touched it. Light and dark working together. The man shook his head. “If it gets us out of here? And off this world, I can go on a bit of faith.” The man removed his hand from where his lightsaber was as he looked around. “Definitely going to be a bit of a trial.”

Maybe something that would cause both to understand the other side in this conflict. Maybe to accelerate peace?

Or to provide the sides with an easier understanding of the war they fought.

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

To Avacyn it felt nothing short of bizarre to cooperate with a Jedi, even more so considering the fact she was doing so with one of the most wanted in the Sith Empire. Their current position had given then little choice but had that not been the case, the only way their encounter would have ended was in bloody conflict. Now, they were to depend on each other in order to even make it out of the temple. So when Coren agreed on a truce, it was a welcome surprise to the woman. Her tendency to look at things pragmatically led her to see little issue with cooperation and it seemed Coren saw the merit in it as well.

"Excellent. I would much rather see us settle our differences on a worthwhile battlefield rather than rotting in here." A trial it most certainly was going to be, but the first step forward was now taken. If the reason this temple was built being to bring together Light and Dark, it was likely also one of the most important steps, but the puzzle itself now awaited. Deciding there was no use in being distrustful of the Jedi for as long as they were trapped in the chamber she let down her mental guard and focussed fully on finding the way out. "I'm going to check out the rest of the text I saw on the wall, see what I can find."

Avacyn returned to the wall, hoping that with the information from the stone tablet its meaning would become a bit clearer. "The word used here is most often interpreted as coffin, yes, but whoever wrote this hadn't quite mastered the Sith language. I am fairly certain it relates to the stone objects in this chamber, though." She continued reading, using a flame created from the palm of her left hand to light up the wall. It took Avacyn some time to read the text due to the grammatical errors it contained. After some time passed though, she turned around to look where Coren was. "I think I understand what the next step is."

After gaining the Jedi's attention, Avacyn walked towards one of what she had referred to as coffins and stood next to it. "Three of these are to be opened by 'the one touched by Light'. Whatever is inside of it is to be removed by 'the one touched by Darkness'. For the other three it should be the other way around. I didn't find anything about what is supposed to be inside these things, though, so we should be careful." She would wait until Coren stood on the other side of the container, then attempt to pull the slab that laid on top of it towards her. A shocking sensation born from the Force ran through her body, causing her to quickly take her hands off of it. Her face showed the mix of shock and pain as she took a step backwards and quietly cursed under her breath. "I don't think I'm supposed to open this one."

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​