Private Broken Down

[Raphael Gallustrade]

It was one of those days... Well, admittedly, it wasn't too bad of a day, but it was just one of those days where Raphael, once more, found himself hunting down something dark. He wasn't fans of these things... It always made his little... tattoo carving, itch and he had to fight with himself to scratch it. Admittedly, though, he wasn't anywhere near the epicenter, and yet he could still feel the power that was exhuding from the temple, in front of him. There was way too much of the darkness coming from it. He knew that as he got closer, it was only going to get worse. Something was causing this though, and he was going to stop it, if he could. At the very least, he would get data on what it was.

His ship sat probably about fifteen miles off from the temple, itself, yet still he could feel that power, that darkness. The voices in his mind began to whisper a bit louder. The damned, the trapped, the tormented... Oftentimes, he wasn't sure if they were just in his head and he was just crazy. Well, that was quite probably true, in some respect, but he wasn't going to count it, for this time. If it was needed, well, he'd just meditate when he got back.

There were many possibilities and one of the biggest was that some dark jedi or some sith would come after it. That meant that, no matter what, people would be coming after it. He didn't know what kind of sith poodoo this was... what kind of knowledge had been left here... If it was any at all, but he didn't care. It had to be destroyed.

With that finally decided, Raphael took his slugthrower pistol and loaded it into his side holster, double checked his lightsaber, making sure that it was still in his jacket pocket. Hopping out of his ship, he opened the cargo area and pulled out his blade, before putting it onto his back. It was the best way to simply get through this. Destroy whatever it was, or just get some understanding of what it was.

"Alright," he muttered to himself, as he cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders. "Guess I know what today is for..."


Serina Calis

 

[Serina Calis]

Location: Ancient Temple
Tag: Raphael Gallustrade

The chill of the dark energy seeping from the temple was palpable, a whispering promise of power and secrets long buried. Serina Calis had felt its call across the stars, a siren song that resonated with her deepest ambitions and darkest curiosities. She stood at the threshold, her elegant Jedi robes fluttering slightly in the foreboding wind that swept through the ruins.

The temple before her was a relic of a bygone era, its stones steeped in the Dark Side, each one echoing with the remnants of ancient Sith rituals. Serina's heart raced with anticipation and a twinge of fear—this was the kind of place where legends were born and destinies were forged. Her blue eyes, usually piercing with confidence, now reflected the flickering shadows of the temple's ominous corridors.

In her hand, her lightsaber felt heavier than usual, a constant reminder of the path she was on the brink of straying from. Yet, it was not her lightsaber that she planned to rely on today. Her mind, attuned to the Force's darker currents, was her true weapon. She reached out, feeling the oppressive energy that seemed to seep into her very bones, tempting her with whispers of unlimited power.

Serina was no fool. She knew the dangers that lay in such places—traps for the unwary, spirits of the fallen Sith that might still cling to their forsaken sanctum. But her thirst for knowledge, for an understanding that transcended the simplistic dichotomy of Light and Dark as taught by the Jedi, drove her forward.

She had come in search of a specific artifact, rumored to be hidden deep within this temple—an ancient holocron containing lost techniques and forbidden knowledge. The potential to unlock such secrets, to hold in her hands the power to reshape her understanding of the Force, was too compelling to resist.

As Serina delved deeper into the temple, her senses sharpened, attuned to any disturbance. That's when she heard it—the faint sound of movement, a disturbance not of this place but brought by someone else. Her heart skipped a beat. Was it another seeker of darkness, or perhaps a guardian of the light come to purge this place of its shadows?

Quietly, she slipped into the shadows, her hand lightly touching the hilt of her lightsaber, ready to defend her claim to the ancient power hidden here. From her hiding spot, she watched the entrance, her breath steady, her mind racing with strategies. Whoever was coming, they were about to walk into a den of history and power, and Serina would be there to meet them—either as an ally or as an obstacle.

 

[Raphael Gallustrade]

The place was as silent as a tomb, and it very well could've been one, for all he knew. He always found sith, at least the ancient ones, to be a weird bunch of folks. Get worshipped like a god, on some far off world, die, and then be buried in a giant temple or tomb with a bunch of traps hoping that your stuff or teachings would be found again, someday. It seemed like such a waste of energy, to him. What bothered him was that there were people these days that seemed to want to follow in such footsteps.

He didn't open his senses in the Force to this place, wouldn't have helped him, regardless. All of it would've just shown up as black anyways... That was the one thing that he disliked about the darkside, whenever he saw it, it just showed up as blackness and opening himself up to the Force here, would've just made him blind. But there was a weird... shift... It was almost like a dissonance in the rhythm of the world.

Raphael unclipped his sword from his back and lightly poked the ground in front of him a few times, before he was finally satisfied that there were at least no traps. He stopped for a moment and thought about his next move. Obviously, he needed either a better understanding of what it was or he needed to completely destroy what was here. Getting rid of it would've been the most important part.

Admittedly, it would've helped, if he had even the slightest inkling of what, specifically, was going on at this planet, but he'd have to put that aside, for the moment. He would have to think on this... Why did it feel like his senses were screaming at him...?

Serina Calis

 

[Serina Calis]

Location: Ancient Temple
Tag: Raphael Gallustrade

Hidden in the shadow of a crumbling archway, Serina watched the newcomer with a mixture of curiosity and caution. His movements were methodical, his presence measured yet clearly wary of the dark influence permeating the temple. He didn't seem to rely on the Force to navigate through the treacherous halls, which was unusual for someone who delved into such places. Instead, he used more primitive methods, probing the ground with a sword—a stark contrast to the typical Force-wielding explorers or Sith relic hunters she expected to encounter.

As Raphael hesitated, seemingly caught in his thoughts, Serina took the moment to assess him further. His aura was muddled, obscured by what seemed like a conscious effort to shield his mind from the dark energies around them. It was clear he was experienced with such environments, perhaps even overly cautious, given his methodical testing for traps. But there was something else, a tension in the air around him that suggested he was more than just a wary adventurer.

Her curiosity piqued, Serina considered her approach. She could reveal herself and engage him directly, which carried its risks but might also yield information or an unexpected ally. Alternatively, she could continue to observe, gathering insights into his purpose here, which seemed aligned with her own—to understand or destroy the dark artifacts within.

The temple's oppressive silence was suddenly more a cloak than a barrier, and Serina decided to make her presence known. Stepping lightly from her concealment, she allowed a sliver of her Force presence to emanate, just enough to register on the periphery of his senses—like a whisper in the vast darkness.

"You're cautious. That's good," she said, her voice low yet carrying in the hollow silence of the temple. "This place can be less forgiving to those who aren't. What brings you to such a forsaken place?"

Her blue eyes studied him intently, gauging his reaction. She kept her hand near her lightsaber, not yet drawing it but ready to react at the slightest hint of aggression. Whether he was friend or foe, Serina knew that alliances here were as shifting as the shadows.