Gemlight

[Reylan Abraxis]

[member="The Handmaiden"]

Crystal Caves - Ilum​

​

The cave was quiet, almost silent, save for the distant whistle and howl of gale force winds that blew past the entrance. A healthy glow bathed entire caverns in a soft yet beautiful light of shades blue and green, generated purely by crystals embedded in the floors, walls and ceilings. Water, untouched for millennia yet as clear as glass, lay still in shallow halted streams that adorned many of the larger carverns. Even the air within the cave was serene, smelling neither foul nor stale, yet faintly of a pleasant flower that seemed almost familiar. One, if attuned to the force, would detect a dense light side presence from the moment they entered. Those who were not would simply feel calm and peaceful.

Just the mere experience of the cave was reward in itself for the perilous journey required to enter it. For the planet of Ilum, where the crystal caves resided, was covered in ice and plagued with blizzards of monstrous proportions. If that wasn't enough to deter the curious explorer, then perhaps the ruins of an old Jedi Temple and Imperial guardpost that were built around the cave entrance within might. With crumbling superstructures and well-made traps, an expedition inside was veritable suicide.

But Reylan Abraxis was not your average curious explorer. He was the son of a Jedi, following in the footsteps of his father. The defunct lightsaber hanging from his worn leather belt once housed a crystal taken from these very caves and it was Reylan's intention to replace that crystal. He had done well so far, having traversed first the ice sheets, then the decrepit temple and lastly, the trapped guardpost. Only a small cut on his cheek was any indication of a bad encounter with a trap, a bruise on his shin told its story of the collapsing temple and the ice that still clung to his facial hair was testement of Ilum's harsh environment.

Now, though, Reylan faced only the hardship of decision as he entered the cave, unsure of which crystal to claim for his own.

Or so he thought...

 

[The Handmaiden]

[member="Reylan Abraxis"]

Ilum.

Grand crystal caves, the source of the power of a lightsaber, a mecca, a place of pilgrimage and journey. Hundreds, no, thousands of Jedi and even Sith had made their way to this world. For many it was a right of passage, for many it marked their ascendance into becoming a true apprentice. It was something that had been done among both Orders for thousands of years. The Crystals marked ones maturity, signified that they were ready to hold the weapon of a Jedi. It was a large step, one that many had taken, and many more had failed in.

The Handmaiden stood within the crystal caves, her hooded figure looming within the dark.

A song played throughout the caverns, a soft song audible to only her.

The song was strong, powerful and even. The Handmaiden seemed to revel within it, her form simply shifting within the darkness as she moved through the crystal caves. Ilum was powerful in the force, the crystals each called to their would be master, each sang their own song. Yet they were eclipsed, out done by the glorious tune that played within The Handmaidens skull. She moved forward, her naked feet pressing into the freezing earth of the caves.

Slowly, as she approached the source of the song, she began to hum.

 

[Reylan Abraxis]

[member="The Handmaiden"]

The hardship of decision seemed to dissipate the further Reylan wandered into the cave system. A faint lullaby in the back of his mind was drawing him in, enticing him to take a right instead of a left, to tread deeper and further within the cavernous depths. It grew in intensity as the meters traveled racked up, until the song was almost loud enough to hum along to. And then, he felt it. The flicker of something else within his mind... Another presence. Barely detectable and, just as Reylan realised what he was picking up on, it disappeared - drowned out by the background force generated by the caves. His bristly eyebrows furrowed, a slight frown coming to life just as briefly as the presence had before Reyland dismissed the sensation as an anomaly and the frown disappeared.

Face returning to it's normal expression of steely determination, Reylan pressed on. Although he had dismissed the sensation, it didn't stop his hand from resting on the grip of the dirty blaster strapped to his hip. Following the call of the song that sung to him and only him, he ventured deeper and deeper.

Like a rugged spear penetrating a moist cave, moving towards the end in a determined fashion. And, although he didn't know it yet, the spear would encounter some sort of friction towards the end and an explosion would erupt...

Well, maybe, depending on if the friction was naughty or nice.

Damn, Christmas reference and a sexual metaphor.

Reylan smirked softly for some reason, perhaps because his writer was smirking.

 

[The Handmaiden]

[member="Reylan Abraxis"]

Ilum was calling.

The planet itself had always sung its own song. Of course those that ventured here often tried to sing back. To the Handmaiden this was a matter of fact, and as she passed through the crystal laden tunnels she found herself gazing at the odd structures that permeated the cave walls. Lightsaber crystals were not common in the galaxy, in fact there were few places where they could be found. Dantooine, Exocron, of course Ilum, and some random odd and end planets within the galaxy.

Handmaiden knew this.

The Sith forged their own crystals. Artificial and bound with blood. it was one such crystal that Handmaiden herself carried. It's song was corrupted and broken, torn and hurting compared to those within the cave. The old light that it gave off within her robe, the strange dancing waves that came from it would signify power, though perhaps it was something else. Slowly The Handmaiden approached the stranger, slowly she slunk through the darkness.

Her voice rang out, a soft rasp that seemed to echo throughout the caves. "Do you wander? Or are you lost?"

The song of the caves seemed to stop.

 

[Reylan Abraxis]

[member="The Handmaiden"]

The moment his ears detected the first syllable of feminine speech, Reylan turned to face the point of origin in an instinctual reaction. Only after he turned did the man register shock, and split seconds thereafter, processed a fight or flight response as his eyes regarded the robed figure obscured by darkness a handful of meters in the distance. Fight was the determined response, as Reylan found himself retrieving an aging vibroknife from his belt, gripping it tightly in his right hand, and shifting into a defensive posture.

His entire response up until this point had been purely instinctual, a series of motions and actions that had been cultivated by twenty five years of life on a backwater planet that had its share of dangerous creatures that stalked prey in the night. That was why Reylan had drawn his knife rather than his blaster, and that was why Reylan's first conscious thought post-reaction was self-criticism for drawing the knife. Old habits die hard. Still, in terms of timing, he was lightning fast, having completed all of this before the woman finished her first question.

Adrenaline flooded Reylan's system completely whilst the woman finished her second question, to which Reylan didn't answer for a few moments as his brain juggled numerous different scenarios in preparation for combat and processed her queries. Finally, in a voice rough with disuse, Reylan uttered his reply...

"What?"

 

[The Handmaiden]

[member="Reylan Abraxis"]

The caves began to move, or seemed to.

It was hard to tell whether it was a trick of the mind or if the walls were actually moving, but slowly it appeared that the crystals around them began to shift, the cold and frozen walls began to move. It was almost hypnotic, the feint light of the crystals dancing about as The Handmaiden stood within their center. Bare feet struck against earth once again, a ripple of waves erupting out from beneath her as she took another step towards the man.

"Do you wander." Amusement rang within that deep rasp this time. "Or are you lost?"

Her voice seemed to echo within the caverns.

It did not come from her, but instead rang from all around them, shifting and bouncing off the walls as they moved.

 

[Reylan Abraxis]

[member="The Handmaiden"]

The illusion had little effect on Reylan, who was single-minded and entirely focused on the encroaching figure. For every step she took, he would take one back, and to the side, so that if enough steps were taken, the two of them would simply walk in circles. He had no intention of attacking, not unless this womanly figure did something that required aggressive action. Despite three quarters of his brain power being devoted to staying on guard in case of sudden attack, the quarter left over was rather perplexed at this woman's persistent questions that made little-to-no sense to him.

"Neither," he said dismissively. Although 'wanderer' was almost a perfect way to describe the man, Reylan had come to this cave with a purpose. Additionally, he wasn't lost, Reylan could find his way back out of the depths blindfolded as he subconsciously mapped his progress.

"Your intentions?"

His question was flat, as if he already half-knew the answer... These caves were hunting grounds and he was the prey.

 

[The Handmaiden]

[member="Reylan Abraxis"]

The cavern continued its odd spin, the crystals moving in an almost rhythmic way. She stood at the center of them, simply watching the man as he stepped away from her. Soft feet dug into dirt, waves rippling as she took yet another step forward. The hood seemed to shift slightly as her head craned to the side, dark tattoos revealed on her lower lip. For a moment she did not respond, instead she simply watched, listened, allowed the force to flow in its natural course.

An eerie silence fell.

The caverns ceased their movement. The crystals stopped their incessant glow, and suddenly everything became very dark and dim. Some might have called it oppressive, the light beginning to snuff itself out until only the two figure within the cave were illuminated. That rasping voice rang out again, coming from every angle.

"I seek those who are lost." It resounded, willowy and strained. "Guide those who wander, and question those who do neither."

Amusement carried through the tone.

 

[Reylan Abraxis]

[member="The Handmaiden"]

The unusual occurrences that propagated in this strange woman's presence again went unnoticed by Reylan, who was purely focused on her and her alone. Some part of him registered the loss of light, but dismissed it as he could still see her. As she stopped moving, so did he, yet he still stood in a defensive, loose, stance that afforded him the greatest chance to deflect or dodge any hostile action she may throw his way.

"Ask, then," he demanded in response to her last statement.

It was apparent that Reylan was neither a man of many words nor one with time for half-riddles and fancy speech. He was eager to diffuse this situation and carry on with his quest for his crystal but if he could avoid violence by entertaining this woman with her questions, then he would.

 

[The Handmaiden]

[member="Reylan Abraxis"]

This time, it was she herself that began to shift.

It was not obvious, not at first anyway. The light that encapsulated her seemed to begin to change color, shift and alters itself to. It would turn from pure white to blue, from blue to purple, then to a subtle, almost glinting red. She did not respond as the colors changes, only observed the man. Eventually the shift of color darkened, her cloak beginning to meld with the black caves around them both. Eventually, all but her face was gone, her horns still sticking out from beneath the now solid black hood.

"Why are you here?" The rasp resounded. "Do you seek completion? Freedom? Power? Absolution?"

The last was barely a whisper.

It would be marked by a feeling of encapsulation. The darkness would seek to bind, and tie, to wrap and ensnare. To snuff out but not kill.