Hubris | Valencia

[Darth Metus]

Location: Desert, Tatooine​

Tag: [member="Valencia Hadley"]​

Trials.

Eons ago, when the religions of the Galaxy were yet infants, those who groveled before the Light embraced suffering. They came to believe that agonies endured in the name of their repressive ways was a sign of growth. And thus, Trials became engrained into their culture evermore. To suffer was to mature. To survive was to emerge greater than before. Cayde was no Jedi. But even a creature as black as he could understand and appreciate the Lightbearer mindset. And, while he would never subject himself to their teachings, there was one truth he would borrow and instill within his newfound pupil. There was value in suffering. Strength to be found in moments of utmost toil. Thus, as the exposition to their tale, Cayde had bidden the former politician to Tatooine.

When the assignment fell into his lap - to elevate the Steward of Manda into a weapon - Cayde was given the opportunity to research the student who would be learning at his feet. The woman was certainly suited for the realm of scheming and bureaucracy. Her resume was several miles long and was riddled with every sort of posh achievement and well-to-do-accolade. Yet, only in recent history had there been any public evidence of [member="Valencia Hadley"] getting her hands dirty. And even then, the former Viceroy's presence on Eshan was the furthest thing from Frontline combat. In fact, if the reports were accurate, hers were efforts more humanitarian in nature.

Therefore, Cayde aspired to begin by stripping away the seeming foundation of her life. Comfort. Here, underneath the unrelenting heat of the sun, Valencia would find no relief. She would suffer, and in doing so emerge from the desert a being mighty enough to grit through any sort of Hell. Or. She would succumb and the Galaxy would be down one politician. If the Sin of Pride was being honest with himself, he would much prefer the former outcome. Though he did not have much faith in the grit of the woman, he did see the writing on the wall. Of all the vessels at the disposal of the Vicelord, he was chosen to undertake this task. His talents were seen as fitting, above so many others, to undertake this task.

He would not suffer a blemish upon his name for failure.

Thus, as the hour struck high noon, Pride awaited in the shadow of a monolithic rock formation. After miles upon miles of trekking through the shifting sands, this would be the sole source of "relief" from the suns' wrath. But even resting underneath the shadow was fleeting, for it did next to nothing against the sweltering sunshine. Nonetheless, it would be here that Valencia would find a reward for making it thus far - a fresh cantine of water - awaiting her upon a stone. Moreover, she would also find the mouth of a cavern cut directly into the formation. In the present, those responsible for the man-made entrance had long since abandoned their mine. Yet that which they hunted for was still in short supply within their mineshafts.

And this is how the first chapter would begin. Together, the politician and the warrior would descend into the bowels of the desert. Valencia would die. Wrath would Live.

 

[Valencia Hadley]

Location: Desert, Tatooine​

Tag: [member="Cayde"]​

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War was coming. Regardless of what position she held, of her intentions or actions; she could feel it in ever fiber of her being.

It was that knowledge that lay heavy on her shoulders as the former Viceroy trudged through the blistering sun, the breeze that blew across the dunes only serving to buffet the woman with waves of heat, like opening an oven on broil. She'd agreed to travel lightly, just was the wraith had demanded - but when he'd insisted that also meant food stuffs, she'd began to worry a bit. No water in the desert was a dangerous thing, even if he'd been honest about how far they had to go.

One days march into the dunes, and for whatever reason he'd insisted that it be done during the day, so she just openly baked in the sun. The shadow of a man was... Interesting. When she'd been informed by the man she'd promised her tutelage to had instead shuffled her off to another she'd been... Supremely pissed would have been a polite way to put it - but with some time to reflect she understood the need. Saying that the Vicelord was overloaded would have been the understatement of the millennia, and she knew he wouldn't just toss her off to anyone. If [member="Darth Metus"] believed that this [member="Cayde"] person was the correct choice, she trusted him well enough to have thought it through... Though it was a struggle to keep that trust up as she continued on through the blistering heat and sun.

As the hours dragged on, Valencia was purposefully silent. Her upbringing had been difficult, and she was no stranger to hardship - though admittedly she wasn't the biggest fan of heat. It would do her no good to complain, however; she was also quite sure that the blustery sand would be poor moral support. Instead she kept her eyes locked on the horizon and walked on in stubborn silence, enjoying some time to herself to consider what the rest of the day may have in store for her... Perhaps it was also best not to dwell on that.

She paused her trudging for only a moment as she crested a particularly steep swell of sand to the sight of a monolith of stone in the distance... One hand rose to absently shade her eyes as she scanned the horizon. It didn't appear that it was part of any greater structure - and there was no sign of a settlement sprawled along the tops of the dunes... Strange. The next hour seemed to melt away as she approached the massive jet protrusion, her efforts doubled as she could almost taste the shade the rock would provide like ambrosia on her tongue.

As she finally reached the base of the massive stone outcropping she loosed was a sigh of relief that she was unable to contain. The oppressive heat on her shoulders and back seemed to lift all at once and she was almost staggered by the clarity it brought to her mind. She'd been unaware of how foggy she'd felt until she was allowed to breath the cool air for only a moment.

Hands pushed up the visor she'd worn to protect her face from the star that slowly baked the whole planet and then collected up the water skin. Hungrily she downed several mouthfuls before setting it down with a soft gasp, her eyes finding the man that had bid her attend him in this strange place. Despite the heat he seemed to be swathed in thick black cloth that blew lazily in the sweltering heat... Strange, this one. She slowly lowered the water skin and motioned with her chin towards the yawning opening to the mine cored into the side of the towering stone.

"So... Cayde was it? I assume we're going in there?"

 

[Darth Metus]

The Pupil always reflects The Master.

Long ago, when the Executor was but a learner in the Force and a youngling in age, the comforts of his life were stricken away. As a child, he clung fast to the side of his foster sibling. Wherever the young Templar went, her shadow was sure to follow. However. When it came time for Cayde to submit to the instruction of another, his dependency upon his foster sibling became a hinderance. It was at that time that a supremely younger Darth Metus made the decision to strip away this stumbling block. For as long as he called the Sith master, he would be forbidden to follow his sibling's footsteps. As a result, the young Cayde loathed his master - but also grit through his tutelage with fervor in the hopes of seeing his sibling again. Now, decades later, the same mentality made itself apparent in the case of Valencia Hadley.

On paper, the politician was the subject of a lavish sort of living. She wanted for nothing. A cur looking up at her lofty apartment would seethe with jealousy. Thus, Cayde's first goal was to deprive the woman of that which made her comfortable. He had no doubt in his mind that, in at least this, the Viceroy would prove herself worthy. After all, the assignment to cultivate the woman's talents came directly from the man he once called Master. If there was one thing that Cayde remembered about the Sith Lord was that those he devoted any attention to were valuable to him. And, if this woman were valuable enough to warrant Cayde's personal attention, then her resiliency would certainly be enough to weather the gauntlet he laid before her. It took well over a full day to complete the challenge...and yet, the Executor was soon greeted by the telltale sound of sand shuffling underneath feet.

Turning, his burning gaze settled upon the woman as she seized her prize. The water was cool. A welcome reward for making it thus far - and a testament to the sort of working relationship that Cayde had in store for the woman. He would push her. He would expect great things from her. Yet, unlike his own mentor, he was not cruel when it came to tutelage. He would not have her walk through the desert only to suffer within the caverns with thirst. But she would suffer overall. Silence ruled the man as she gulped down the refreshment. In the wake of her drinking, she posed a question - one that was standard and valid given their surroundings. To this, initially, Cayde provided only a small nod before motioning his offhand to the mouth of the abandoned Mine. "Yes." he began. "My name is Cayde. And your training will begin here."

From thence, he had no qualms about leading the way inside. For one, every second spent standing about was one moment less of instruction that could be imparted to the woman. And two, no matter how much heat the shadow of the rock formation prevented, there was no greater mercy than a darkened cavern. Stepping so much as a few paces within the mouth would provide Valencia with even greater relief from the heat of the day. She was welcome to continue to refresh herself as they walked along, for Cayde did not ask questions right away. In fact, he did not speak again until their path reached a point where the light behind them no longer illuminated the way forward. "When you think of a Force User - Knight Obsidian, Sith, Jedi - what first comes to mind?" The question was not intended to be a trick, but rather would color the flow of the lesson he planned to impart.

As the words escaped him, his dominant hand reached for and secured the hilt of his lightsaber. A single, effortless motion of his finger saw his crimson blade erupt into being - but the politician would have no reason to fear the spontaneous snap-hiss. While certainly an engine of destruction, for the moment, the weapon was intended to be a torch to guide their path through the darkness. Nothing more, nothing less. As they journeyed ever forward by the light of his blade, the features of the mineshaft would be made apparent. The ceilings were held in place by long bars of wood in a secure, yet primitive fashion. Beneath their feet, broken tracks where carts once ran would begin to make themselves apparent underneath the dirt. The air would become stale. Cool, yet stale all the same.

But soon, the light would begin to reflect off of the walls in an uncanny manner - as if thousands of tiny mirrors were imbedded into the rock. If Valencia took the moment to strain her gaze against the black, she would be able to make out the form of...crystals. Cayde stopped, only to pry one such from the wall and hold it aloft. He spoke no words just yet and awaited the answer to his first question. Only then would their journey make sense.

[member="Valencia Hadley"]