Intangibles

[Lief]

Ancient Jedi Temple​

Ankus​

​

How long she'd been sat within the cockpit of the ship she had acquired from what remained of the Jedi Order, Mysa could not say. From the viewing port she could see it, the archaic structure which had plagued her dreams during the journey over here, and as always, as with Erida, she could feel its corrupting state even from afar.

It ought to have been pleasant to look upon, such structures typically boasted white stone, which radiated the light and brought comfort... But nothing could cover up the stench of darkness which had fallen over it.

Letting out a shuddered breath, she tried to banish the memories of the previous two times she had happened upon this breadcrumb trail which had been left throughout the Galaxy, it felt as though the Alchemical Fiend had done it specifically to spite her, to torment her waking and sleeping hours.

There was too much to be done to simply sit still.

Who knew what lifeform had been twisted or left in a torturous state inside the Temple? Was it living, as some of the Younglings had been? Torn apart, like Master Fer'u? Or in some wicked state of limbo like the children who had torn him apart?

It did not bear thinking about.

But if she didn't deal with it, then who?

You could always tell Master Raxis... Or another of the Jedi. A taskforce could do far more than one person ever could.

But even then, how could she explain it to them? Random visions, random words, coming to mind? It didn't make logical sense.

And yet here she was. Here it was.

"S2" she said, to the Astromech who was somewhere in the ship, rising from her seat in the same moment and reaching for a small commlink. She wouldn't be caught without such again. "Keep a line open, relay anything I send back to Master Raxis..."

Without waiting for a confirmation beep, she began to venture through her ship, before descending into the world beyond. Each step she took felt heavier than the last...

 

[Preliat Mantis]

Ankus​

Temple​

​

​

​

Fel closed his eyes as his foot hit the first step to the temple. He could feel it, the ghost of the Jedi's energy there. Places that were strongly connected to the force rarely abandoned that feeling. However, Fel could feel the panic, the rage- the darkness within. It had uprooted the joyful, inquisitive and scholarly energy of the Jedi- and replaced it with what he could best describe as evil, as madness- darkness incarnate.

And for some reason, it called to him, beckoned him there to the temple.

He took a deep breath and reached up to the collar of his cloak, and tore it from his body. He was to face this darkness. That much he knew. He could not do that with his heavy cloak on. He stopped, before he reached for the lightsaber hanging off his hip.

Someone else was here.

Someone...like him. A focused energy. He closed his eyes and reached out. He acted as if though it was he was physically looking- and sure enough, the force could give him insight. He relaxed his shoulders and reached outwards, through the force.

Through the bushes and around the soil, someone walked. The plants responded to the person with indifference. Fauna did not wither away from their negative energy. They were...

He opened his eyes. Another Jedi.

Fel turned and sat on the steps, and folded his hands on top of his knees. He was not well-versed in the force enough to know anything other than the person was in fact, a Jedi with no indication of harm- but there was the constant reminder that he bore that the person could in fact, be not whom they appeared as.

[member="Mysa Snowstrider"]

 

[Lief]

As with Erida, the closer she got to the monolithic structure the more certain she became that she was not alone. Had [member='Seamus Valik'] tracked this place down, following the horrific events they had unearthed back there? Was the Fiend himself lying in wait? Or was it someone else entirely? Someone who might not have an inclining of what lay within...

The thought of going in blind filled her with dread, and for a moment she gave in to the torment which arose. A small breath shivered through her, before she grasped at the light which had never led her wrong, that which was locked within her, even when all seemed chaotic and at odds. With the clarity she garnered Mysa became aware of the fact that whoever the stranger was, they were not malicious. Her abilities with sensing had increased over the years, and she felt certain that deception would not work on her... At least, not if she truly dug.

No, whoever it was happened to be as light as she, though not as well versed as Valik had been. A fellow student, perhaps?

Whatever the cause of the light, she knew she was nearing on it. And sure enough once the Temple entrance was in view she saw upon the steps a figure, a man. Almost as though he was waiting for her, perhaps he had sensed her approach as she had his presence.

Tradition bade her to bow before him in greeting once she was close enough, a sign of respect and goodwill, though she remained wary enough that she could react if he turned hostile. The Force was her ally, after all, she had it even if she did not have time to reach for her lightsaber.

"Hail, friend," she said in the same instance, blocking out the sickening corruption which was practically leaking from the building behind him. "What brings you to Ankus?"

[member="Fel Drisk"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

He had to think on her question for a while, unsure of how to properly answer her truthfully. Not that he lacked a desire to tell her the truth, but he lacked the way to properly form into words at the time of why he was here. He blinked, and then withdrew his lightsaber hilt, looking to the corrupted structure behind him. He looked down the steps at the other Jedi, before speaking again.

"I suppose the same reason you are here."

He came with that realization, that she was probably here for the same exact reason. Although her understanding of it might've been better than his. He was here because something was pulling him within, whispering in his subconscious to come into the temple. As to what reason, he did not know- but he could not ignore the will of the Force, or whatever was in the temple. Not without serious regret later on down the line.

"What is this place?"

[member="Mysa Snowstrider"]

 

[Lief]

It was Erida all over again, the Force was drawing her in to these former wonders, and with her another individual who could keep her mentally checked, an anchor whether they knew it or not. Alone she had struggled, but together? Together the evil within could be brought to an end.

For now, at least, who knew how many of the sickening cauldrons existed in the Galaxy?

By this point Mysa had dealt with this twice over, she had a better understanding of what lay within, and so when the question came she let out a small sigh and frowned, glancing past him to the abandoned Temple.

"Once it was a Jedi Temple, a place of learning and of light. Now it is little more than a tomb, a cancerous darkness grows within..."

Why he had chosen such places she did not know, perhaps the Fiend thought himself a poet? Found it amusing to bring or find Jedi in such remote places, and corrupt them and it before leaving. On to the next one. A trail across the Galaxy, and Mysa did not want to know what awaited her at the end.

The first time there had been no survivors. Even the two younglings who had been alive when she first entered were dead by the end, they had sustained horrific injuries and she had given them a mercy. For all the time it took someone to pick up on her distress call, their suffering would have led to the same end.

The second time, a survivor had been pulled from the wreckage.

Who knew what would happen this time. All she did know was that the cauldron had to be destroyed, lest the corruption take over.

"What lies within will not be pleasant, if it's anything like the last," she stated, feeling more confident this time than she had on Erida, "If you wish to leave now, I would not blame you. If you wish to stay, and help, then stick close. We're stronger together than apart, the darkness plays tricks on you."

[member="Fel Drisk"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

Darkness. What he felt was nothing like he'd ever encountered before. The young Jedi turned and tapped his lightsaber hilt on his hop. He breathed in deeply then turned to look at the girl. She was being ambiguous. Perhaps that was part of it- or perhaps that was just the way she talked.

"What happened here- how did this temple come to be like this?"

Fel's eyes turned to the temple. It was....calling to him. The feeling wasn't a soothing, rational one like the one he experienced to come here. No it was....taunting, almost. Like it was telling him to come inside- demanding, almost.

"My name is Fel Drisk."

[member="Mysa Snowstrider"]

 

[Lief]

He showed no signs of leaving, which gave her moderate peace of mind. Who knew, perhaps Erida had been a fluke, perhaps it had been the presence of another which had stopped her from repeating the first instance. With a nod of her head she decided it time to give details, rather than being purposefully cryptic.

"I happened upon a Temple similar to this while answering a request for assistance by a Jedi, in a system close to Voss. The planet wasn't named, but it also had a Temple. Inside I found a massacre, a dead Jedi Master, younglings who were beyond recognition, and a man who was puppeteering them. I don't know who he was, I attempted to bring him in but it was a phantom, not the man himself. He'd warped the younglings, and they'd torn through their Master and themselves."

This was the first time she'd spoken about it without physically recoiling, or being forced to picture it all within her minds eye. She did take in a small breath through her nose, and her gaze shifted to the building behind him, but that was more to steel herself incase they found more of the same inside.

"There was a cauldron, filled with alchemized blood, which was the source of his corruption. I've found two of them now, one on Erida. Disturb the cauldron, spill out its contents, and it seems to break the spell. I can't say for sure if that's what awaits us inside, a similar massacre, but it's very likely. It feels and smells the same."

She looked back to him, realizing that she had not given her own name.

"I'm Mysa. Still want to do this?"

[member="Fel Drisk"]

 

[Preliat Mantis]

"I firmly believe that I must."

Fel took the first steps with the other Jedi, and released the lightsaber from the confines of it's holster on his belt.

"The idealist in me wants to believe that there is hope laying inside. The realist in me, however, knows that this will not end well."

He began to walk with her, ready to face the darkness within.

[member="Mysa Snowstrider"]