Private In This World Or The Next

[Ishani Dinn]

When next Ishani visited the Netherworld, she didn't know where she would end up.

The portal spat her out in the middle of a scraggly field. She fell, barely breaking the impact with her hands and knees. Wincing, she slowly eased herself up into a sitting position. No broken bones or sprains, but her palms were chafed and scratched.

All around her, rolling hills spread out across the barren landscape, now and then jutting with jagged rocks. Behind her, the portal coughed up two more figures. The first was Arlo Renard, a Mystic Master. He had been Ishani's mentor, he had some experience with traversing the Nether—and he was a friend.

The other was Alina Tremiru, a vampiress whom Ishani had attended the Royal Academy of Korriban with during her Sith days. The two women were little more than acquaintances, but she had offered to help, and Ishani needed all the help she could get.

Arlo somehow managed to keep his feet, landing in a slight crouch like a cat. His violet eyes darted, surveying their surroundings, and while he relaxed his stance he remained slightly tense. "We're probably in one of the endless wastelands that dot this hellscape," he muttered. "Just pick a direction and walk until we spot a familiar landmark."

"Really?" Ishani asked, standing up. "That doesn't sound very... safe."

"This is not a safe world. But it does have its own sort of logic, and one of the laws of that logic is that you will eventually find something, so long as you keep going." He glanced at his two companions with raised brows. "Trust me."

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

An immortal in the after life.

The joke alone was enough of a reason for Alina to join Ishani Dinn , but then again. It was Ishani. One of the last vestiges of her old life, and the only one she knew of that didn't.. That wasn't Sith anymore. Grant it, she didn't expect the trip itself to be so disruptive. The moment she landed in the craggy field she was coughing, doing her best to not straight up hurl.

Not like she'd spit up much, but the last thing either of the two with her needed to see was- Yeah, she didn't throw up.

"Ugh.. Whatever you say. .. We have to leave through the portal too, don't we?"

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Aye, we'll mark it on the map once we figure out where in Hell we are," Arlo replied to Alina's question with a casual wave of his hand.

Ishani had been surprised to learn that Arlo had a map of the Netherworld. The hologram was "handmade" in the sense that he had built it up over time, across years and occasional incidents where he'd been forced to travel there. Like most Chaldeans, Arlo was very wary of the Netherworld and its denizens, but past experience had made him less fearful.

Turning to Ishani, he said, "This was your idea, child, so you decide which way we go."

Gulping, Ishani spun around. The wasteland was pretty uniform; everything around them looked the same. She pulled out a compass, but the needle spun wildly. "Um..."

Beside her, Arlo suddenly grabbed the compass from her hand and slapped a different device into her palm. "Regular compasses don't work here. Use mine."

The compass was much more archaic in design, lacking any digital features. It probably worked with magnets, like the ancient ones. She watched as the needle righted itself. "Well, uh, how about we head north?" she asked.

"Works for me." Arlo glanced at Alina. "Any objections?"

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Great.." She was being sarcastic. Heavily sarcastic. Last thing she wanted to do was step through that portal again. Though, being stuck here? Her gaze shifted around. .. No life, or at least, no life that she could sense normally. No heartbeats, save for the two with her. Her gaze eventually settled back on Ishani Dinn and.. A compass? Wait, a real one? She stepped over, peering down at the antiquity curiously.

".. Huh? Yeah. North. That works."

 

[Ishani Dinn]

So their journey began, with the trio setting out on foot, headed north. Ishani's eyes scanned the wastes, looking for any landmarks with a distinct shape or coloration, but there were none. She disliked the sense of not knowing where she was, but there was little to be done about it.

She had one comfort: the string tied around her neck. Shaped a little like a noose, its counterpart was another piece of string in Realspace, binding her to reality via a metaphysical cord. Quite the improvement over the alchemized rope she'd been using to keep portals open during previous visits. This time, she wouldn't be limited in how far she could venture.

"So, Alina," Arlo began, trying to make conversation. "Are you here to help in the reuniting of old lovers, or are you just curious about the Netherworld...?"

There was a slightly sour note in his voice when he spoke of the lovers, his tone ringing with disapproval or perhaps disappointment. Ishani pursed her lips, knowing what was coming if Arlo was allowed to bring up the topic.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"I'm here to kick the shit out of him for leaving her. Again." Whatever the reason, Alina didn't care. Arcturus Dinn was in for an ass whooping when the Sangnir found him. If she did. She hadn't the last time, much to her dismay. Maybe if she had things would've been different. A sorrow filled her eyes for a moment, but she blinked it away to instead put on the pout of 'I kick peoples asses when they piss me off'.

".. Oh, and yeah. I won't die short of being killed, so I'm curious about what Hell's like. So.. Yeah. Why not get a sneak peak while I'm all-" Finger quotes. "Alive."

Ishani Dinn

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Assuming Arc is even here," Ishani murmured. Of course, with Kal having refused to give her any word of him, she had no way of knowing if or when he would be sucked back into the Nether. She had a sense that he was still in Realspace—little more than a feeling—but no means of confirming that fact.

"You seem pretty lively for an undead chick, if I may say so myself," Arlo remarked to Alina. "As for Arcturus Thesh..."

"Please don't start," Ishani warned. "I don't want to get into it with you."

"Then I won't get into it with you, I'll get into it with your friend." Arlo shrugged. "As for Arcturus, I knew this mess would happen. You can't come to a man out of the blue, tell him he has two little children, and expect him to just accept it—to say nothing of a man who's been lost for four years in the bloody Nether. Women have an immediate maternal instinct, but men don't. After all, we're not the ones who do the conceiving, or the bearing, or any of the like. That's why men find it easier to abandon their children, because they've little natural connection to them to begin with—"

"Oh, shut up," Ishani hissed. "Shut up, shut up, shut up. Force, not even my father would talk like you do!" She kicked a rock. "Arc isn't like that, okay? He's just... afraid, and he doubts himself, and he needs people to have faith in him, not put him down or—or kick his ass!"

Silence fell after her outburst, and Ishani was abruptly made aware of a distant background noise.

"Is that—?"

"Running water." Arlo shook his head. "Follow the sound, but whatever you do, don't drink it."

"As if I would even think to do such a thing," Ishani muttered, quickening her pace as she followed the noise.

Eventually, they came upon a long, winding river. Approaching the bank, Arlo hummed to himself. "This is the River of the Dead. If we follow it, we should be able to get our bearings."

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Lively, ha." She did laugh, a little bit. Though, she was still spiteful about her current state. Undead, Alchemized. Unable to live a normal life. Ishani could, though. And hell, Arcturus could too. "Naw, Arc didn't panic about having kids. Knowing him, he probably said some shit like 'I'm poison'. His heads too far up his ass for his own good." Then, she cracked her knuckles, her frown deepening.

"I'll kick his ass so hard his head finally dislodges itself."

No, she wasn't going to let that go. Arcturus Dinn was going to get beat.

Then, she heard it. Her frown only deepened more as they arrived. ".. Ah fuck this is creepy." She stepped over to the water, crouching down beside it to peer into the river. "You think people swim in here?"

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"Don't touch it either!" Arlo exclaimed, his tone reverting back to its more gruff state once Alina had stepped away. "Certainly not. The water's tainted. Touching it will poison your spirit, living or dead."

Ishani peered at the river, gnawing on her lip. All bodies of water, no matter how unnatural, called to the mer, and she'd be lying if she didn't feel that siren song now. She'd brought along her Atargatis Skin just in case, but she certainly wasn't about to swim in the River of the Dead.

"If we're going to follow the river, which way should we go?" she asked.

Arlo took the compass from her. "This part of the river runs northeast to southwest..." Up came the holomap. "Hm. If we cross it here, we'd be in the Valley of Lies..."

"That doesn't sound like a place we want to be in," Ishani remarked, eyebrows raised.

"There are no realms here we want to be in."

"Except for wherever Arc might be," Ishani said, nodding her head, eyebrows still up. "Which is probably Kal's little funhouse, where no girls are allowed. But anyway, we're just here to explore, scope the place out. I know there are places that resemble civilization—I saw them during my first trip to the Nether." With Arc, back at the Academy. She'd bought a wad of Living Clay from a vendor, and used it to make a golem... it had only been about four years since then, but it felt like a thousand.

"Then we should follow the river southwest, toward Masque," Arlo said. "Though we'll have to pass through the Dreamlands to get there."

Ishani sighed, rubbing her face. "What is Masque, what are the Dreamlands, and are they better or worse than the Valley of Lies?"

"Masque is also known as the Shifting Bazaar. It's a marketplace run by Shadows." Arlo suppressed a grin as Ishani groaned loudly. "The Dreamlands are exactly that. A land of dreamers."

"Land of dreamers, my eye," she muttered. Shouldering her pack, she turned southwest regardless. "It sounds better than the Valley of Lies, at least..."

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

The shadows, the Masque.

Oh. Wait. Alina blinked. She'd actually been to the Masque before. Oh god. Oh good god. She turned her gaze to Ishani and Arlo, getting up to leave the river behind. This wasn't going to be good. Or was it? .. Should be fine. Should be absolutely fine. "Alright, we go to the Masque. You uh, know the rules, right?" Ishani might not, but Arlo seemed to know quite a bit about the Netherworld.

More than she did, that was for sure. Still, there was a very important rule.

"No messing with peoples connections to the Force, yeah?"

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Both Ishani and Arlo stopped and turned around to face Alina as she posed her question. The two exchanged glances, then Arlo snorted.

"Heh."

"There are rules against messing with people's connections to the Force?" Ishani asked, brow furrowed. Given that both she and Arlo were Mystics, the bulk of their skill revolved around the concept of disrupting the connections of others. It was how they leveled the playing field in battle.

Arlo simply snorted again, prompting Ishani to stare at him. "I don't believe in their ability to enforce any rules in the bloody Netherworld," he said.

"Uh, really—"

"They claim this is the afterlife, the dead are governed by no laws."

"Wait a minute, nobody ever said this was the afterlife—" Oh, who was she kidding. Who cares? Even if it was the afterlife, it held little mystique after seventy years of the galaxy treating it like the next Hologram Fun World, a playground for their imaginations to run wild and unchecked. "You just said Masque was run by the Shadows. That implies it's got some type of government, and that means laws."

"And your loverboy prefers their sanctuary to that of your bed." Arlo didn't mean to be cruel, and the way he spoke was void of malice, but his words stung nonetheless. "What would you have me do, child? We simply won't cause trouble there."

"What if trouble finds us?"

"Then we deal with it with ordinary weapons and—"

He was cut off by distant howling. The source was not immediately visible, but it sounded close.

"What was that?"

"Hell if I know." Arlo pulled out his spear. "Let's get going, and try to be quieter. We're better off avoiding combat with any beasts of the Netherwilds."

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Alina blinked slowly, staring between Ishani and the other. Truthfully, she didn't know much about the Mystic or their order. Yet their reaction was.. Troubling. Was that what they did? .. Huh, maybe she and Ishani had more in common than she thought. Or at least in skill set. Even if it was the only thing the Sangnir could really do with her connection to the Force. Still.

"Just, don't. Seriously. They get suuuper pissed if someone does. They'll hunt down anyone that messes with the Force. Cause y'know. That's how they exist." Who'd of thought knowing Kal would actually come in use here. She chuckled a bit, more watching the two argue. Then the howl. Her eyes squinted, scanning the horizon for movement. She could see farther than either of them.

But nothing. Not yet.

".. Yeah. Stop arguing so loud and we should be fine."

 

[Ishani Dinn]

The trio followed the river, as planned. All conversation ceased as they tried to make as little noise as possible.

Though this was far from her first taste of danger, it was the first time Ishani could recall being threatened in the Netherworld. With the fear and dread came thoughts of home, of her children. She didn't know what this place held, not truly, and while Arc may have been able to survive it... could she?

Alina had called her a pushover. Maybe now was her chance to prove her true strength. Then again, it would be best if they avoided the howling creature altogether. Yup.

They reached a craggy valley of sorts, with walls of rock rising up on either side of the river. The only sound was that of the water rushing over the riverbed.

Then, without warning, a large yellow-skinned figure leaped down in front of the group: a Varzig. Loping on all fours, its maw of a mouth was lined with jagged teeth, acidic saliva drooling down to the ground. Something about it made it clear this creature was sentient, but it was so bestial, so consumed by hunger, it might as well have been a mere animal.

It pounced on Arlo. With a flash of his silver spear, the Mystic impaled the Varzig. But now others were howling from among the rocks, a veritable herd of the things closing in on the trio.

"Run!" Arlo shouted.

Ishani summoned her sword, but obeyed the command.

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Oh for fucks-" Alina tensed, ready to run over and help Arlo with his newfound predicament. Course, the man already dealt with his foe. She blinked, then nodded. Alright, old guy can fight for himself. That's one less person to worry about. The only other.. Her gaze shifted to Ishani Dinn as she started to run. Then Arlo. God they were slow. She let out a needless breath before swinging a leg for the cliffside. In their time apart, Alina had learned quite a bit on just how strong she could make her body.

Rock cracked, shattered. She swung her leg again, lifting her gaze to watch as the herd of Varzig charging forward. Well, they were pissed. .. Wait why were they blurry? Her eyes weren't that ba- Oh shit wait that's just how they were. She gritted her teeth before bringing her heel around one last time. Another loud crack of stone. And finally the landslide she was going for picked up.

She cracked a grin before starting to run after the other two. Only to realize it might of been a little uh, too effective. Panic filled her gaze as she started to run faster, ahead of the cascading wall of stone and earth nipping at her heels.

"Run faster damnit!"

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Between running and trying to evade or fend off the horde, Ishani wasn't paying all that much attention to Alina. At least, not until the vampiress brought down a rockslide on their heads.

Even the Varzigs began to flee, scattering in all directions. Ishani narrowly avoided being squished by a boulder, then had to throw herself away from the direction of the river. She couldn't touch the water, couldn't afford for it to even splash her...

Up ahead, Arlo was brought to a screeching halt by falling rocks. One large stone was dislodged overhead and began to hurtle toward him. Ishani let out a wordless cry, an instinctive scream in defiance of fate, and reached out with the Force. She halted the rock in midair, flung it away and kept running.

Ishani, Arlo, and presumably Alina outran the avalanche of stones, and kept going until they were free of the valley itself, only stopping for breath when they had no choice. Though she was panting, the adrenaline-jolted Ishani was quick to whirl on Alina.

"Why did you do that? You could've gotten us killed! You probably blocked off the way back to the portal, our way home!"

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Ah, shit. They made it. Alina didn't so much as end up panting for air, her lungs didn't work that way anymore. Instead, she stood guard. Between the two who did need a break. To breath. And the fallen rocks she caused. That was a lot more than she expected, but.. Did the trick. No more of the weird monkeys chasing after them, for the moment. Could that change? Maybe, but for now the trio was safe an- Oh Ishani Dinn was pissed.

Alina blinked in surprise, glancing from the fallen rocks to the other woman.

"I mean, we can just climb over the rocks. Or just y'know, cross to the other bank." But also yeah that could've gotten them killed. She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You guys are slower than them. I was just trying to stop them from following. .. Didn't know it was gonna cause that big of a mess."

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani had catastrophized the situation, making it seem worse than it was, but there was some merit to her outrage. What Alina had done was very dangerous. Still, at least it had succeeded in getting those creatures off their backs.

Adrenaline rapidly depleted from her body, and with it Ishani's anger fizzled out. She sank down on the ground, checking herself for injuries. Apart from a few bruises, she was unharmed.

Arlo's violet gaze shifted from Alina to Ishani before he spoke. "You used the Force to catch the rocks," he remarked, his tone deceptively casual.

Stopping what she was doing, Ishani slowly turned toward him, her brow furrowed and her lips pressed together. "You would have died if I hadn't," she said softly.

He continued to hold her gaze, and she was afraid he would launch into a lecture about the code of the Mystics. But all he said was, "Don't do it again." His tone was stern, but not excessively so. She was receiving a warning... for now.

Looking around, she took stock of their new surroundings. After moving out of the valley, the group had reached an open field, the lay of the land quite different from the rocky wasteland they had come from. This area of the Netherworld had life—not only that, it was a verdant pasture with green grass, wildflowers and weeds sprouting from rich soil.

"Is this... are we in the Dreamlands?" she asked Arlo. "It looks almost like a place back home..."

Arlo nodded. "It would seem so. Be careful—this realm is shaped by the wills of those who walk it, but it can also be influenced by the subconscious. Last thing we need is to face monsters from the Id..."

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

Oh this was awkward. Alina glanced between Ishani and Arlo, half expecting some kind of argument by how they were speaking. This had to be a mystic thing, right? Maybe she should've tried to learn more about Ishani's home and such before coming here. Maybe. Then again, the idea of another cultish Force order wasn't something that was too appealing to the once Sith.

Not that she had long to think. The area around them seemed to warp. Change. .. Oh. The dreamlands.

".. Oh. Well fuck."

Thinking about what could be in her subconscious was a pretty quick way to change the world around them. The greens around them seemed to bleed. Warping grass, leaves, flowers, all to the same shade of red. Blood. Alina laughed. Nervously.

"We should uh, go."

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Ishani glanced at Alina, puzzled by the urgency and nervousness in her voice. It took her a moment to notice how their surroundings were changing, the grass and flowers becoming bloodied.

"We shouldn't linger," Arlo cautioned. "We've got to cross the Dreamlands. I suggest we return to the valley and make camp there, then travel in the morning."

"Return to the valley?" Ishani echoed incredulously. "We'll just be attacked by those creatures again. Let's just make camp here." She started to walk forward across the gore-splattered grass, headed for a willow tree near an untainted lake. It would provide shade and shelter.

Arlo stepped forward as if to stop her, his mouth opening to utter a warning, only to hesitate, distracted by the sudden appearance of a figure in the distance. He stared at it in shock and grief, recognition creasing his features...

Alina Tremiru​

 

[Alina Tremiru]

"Back to the valley, deal with the monsters there. Stay here, deal with the monsters in our minds.." Neither really seemed fun, that was for sure. Though, the chance to leave seemed to evaporate as Arlo caught something. Alina blinked, looking over to him. Then to where he was looking. Something was.. There? She couldn't see it too well, but if this place responded to their dreams..

Did it also respond to nightmares?

"Gramps, you uh, doin' alright?"