On the path towards the future.

[Kyrel Ren]

Vader's Castle on Mustafar


Kyrel had been on mission after mission, weather it was hunting down the Jedi, the enemies of the Supreme Leader, or training new Disciples for the Order of Ren. Still even though he had now acquired a position of power within the Order and the First Order as a whole, and still something was missing. He may have been a Master but he had always wanted more then where he was. His goal of striving to be a Master of Ren and the Enforcer of Ren had been accomplished.

Still even on the hellish world he felt that he could gain more, more power to which that will better himself, and that of the Supreme Leader, some would say that he was going for his personal ambitions than that of the Supreme Leader, but that was not the case. He was merely wanting to acquire more power so that he could help make the Galaxy a better place under the reign of the First Order.

He gazed out the window, looking at the hellish landscape as he had a feeling, that he may acquire something after all. It was only a matter of time.


[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

The Outskirts of Vader's Castle​

Mustafar​

​

How had it taken her so long to approach this world of brimstone and fire?

She had scoured the Galaxy, visited countless sites of importance, flowed through the tomes of history, somewhere new, never staying in one place, for her entire life.

Yet somehow, Mustafar had eluded her.

The Prophet came down in the dead of night, yet the view beyond the transparisteel viewing port was as bright as any other. Magma bubbled and pooled all around, and even now, even with the cooling aircon on her ship, she could feel the sweltering heat it produced.

She had not come here with a purpose. Usually every move she made, at least since finding Jyn, had been cool and calculated, directed by the Force, but this? This was for her. To satiate her curious mind. Truly she had never seen anything like it, this odd world which lay before her now.

Boarding ramp lowered, and she exited swiftly into the night. Each breath she took burned her lungs, so she tried to focus on something else. Gaze shifted to the sky, but with all the light pollution from the lava lakes there were hardly any stars on show. As if she hadn't seen enough of them on her way over.

Most people would seek a vacation on an idyllic world of sand and surf, with long days, longer beaches, and tranquility. Asha? Apparently that wasn't her thing. First Thule, and now here. She wasn't looking for danger, truly she wasn't, but she had seen much of what the Galaxy had to offer. Did something a little more different really hurt?

She took a few steps away from her ship, and listened as the ramp contracted back in on itself with a hiss. There wasn't exactly a place to stay on this world, no resorts lay here, no hotels or little inns. The ship would be her base camp, and though night lingered she had no urge to sleep. She had been cooped up for too long, she needed to stretch her legs.

[member="Kyrel Ren"]

 

[Kyrel Ren]

Kyrel kept gazing out the window, meditating on the dark side not focusing on his rage but the darkness itself, finding comfort in the darkness, it has been one of his only friends, bringing him strength in times of desperation and when he had needed it most, but now he had gained everything he ever wanted, and always still wanted more. He breathed out a sigh as he gazed outside the hellish landscape. This world was his home, it was a place where the darkness thrived and where it had called to him. Now here he stood gazing at the blasts of fire and ash that went all throughout the land.

Then he spotted a ship coming in and had wondered who it was, and why certainly it looked not to be an Imperial supply ship, nor a Ren craft. This had made him curious as he then saw that it had landed on the pad on the outskirts of the Castle, but not that far. Kyrel raised his hood as he took the turbolift down to the hanger. The place holding his TIE Silencer and several speeders. He decided to take a speeder meant for two and journeyed to the landing pad in a quick haste.

He then finally approached the landing pad, and in front of him was a girl and a ship that made him curious. The girl looked to be no more then in her late teens, but it made him curious as he put the speeder to halt and stepped out, looking her up and down as he spoke. "Well.... You seem lost stranger. This is no place for a girl like you. Now before I take extreme action.. Why have you come here?"

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

She hadn't realized she had docked on a legitimate landing pad.

Truth be told, it had been the only patch of genuinely flat land she had seen for miles around, it seemed like the perfect spot to perch. Only now, through the rising steam which lingered in the air, did she notice the building in the distance.

More so than that, she noticed an approaching vehicle.

One step back brought her just a fraction closer to her ship, and her heart began to race. This wasn't supposed to happen, nobody else was meant to be here, out in this craggy land of obsidian.

She contemplated lowering the ramp, quickly boarding and leaving as quickly as she came, and yet... She stood her ground. It wasn't as though anyone had a monopoly on this world, after all. They couldn't make her leave... Right?

For the first time in a while she felt genuine uncertainty, a fraction of doubt which wavered within her core and threatened to offset her state of balance.

"In balance with chaos and harmony," she mumbled, under her breath, as she tried to quench the rising concerns, opening herself to the pull of the Force and finding only corruption in the air. A darkness that was almost suffocating. "I am the revealing fire of light," she said, with a little more conviction behind her tone, willing herself back into her usual state. She couldn't drift too close to the Darkness.

She refused to.

A speeder drew up to the landing pad, and a man stepped out. She could tell immediately that he thrived on the corruption, his eyes were sickly, his aura dark, a practitioner of Bogan no doubt. A Sith? Hard to tell. It was always so difficult to tell.

No move was made for her to reach to one of the two lightsaber hilts on her belt. She kept her hands at her side, open palmed, and watched as he approached. A small intake of breath, before she inclined her head.

"Forgive me, I did not realize anyone would be here," Extreme action, she did not like the sound of that, "I mean no ill to you, Sir. If I am encroaching on your property, I can leave." Leave. She had just traveled across countless systems, and now she was likely going to have to leave? A brief flash of annoyance ran across her eyes, before she pushed it down.

It wasn't worth it.

[member="Kyrel Ren"]

 

[Kyrel Ren]

Kyrel was curious of the girl, she was equipped with two lightsabers, and it made him wonder if she was a Jedi. He reached out with the Force and sensed that she was indeed strong, she had much to learn but indeed she was strong within the Force, he was very curious about her and when she said that she would leave he held a hand out and said. "Oh no, you don't need to do that.... I invite you to be my guest... Now come, stranger, it is not safe to remain on this surface for too long."

He said as he escorted her to his speeder, as the eruptions became more active, bits of magma and ash falling on the ground as he escorted her to the passenger side of the speeder, within moments of humming to life, the speeder was off going through the rough and barren terrain within a matter of moments.

After some time they had finally reached the castle, with Kyrel landing the speeder inside the obsidian covered room as Kyrel escorted her out and onto a turbolift before arriving, at what looked to be a dining hall. He walked through the dark room, it was barely lit as it got most of its light from the lava network that ran throughout the castle. Kyrel finally smiled at her and spoke. "My name is Kyrel Ren.... I watch over this castle. Now, who are you, stranger." He said looking into her eyes and smiling.

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

She could feel his eyes upon her in thinly veiled scrutiny.

Every moment that she lingered made her regret for coming increase, this was like Thule all over again... Trapped on some world she couldn't readily escape from, with a darksider intent on eradicating her. Or worse. How she had managed to survive that ordeal, she did not know.

He told her not to leave, invited her to stay even, and she could not help but blink in surprise. "Oh, I don't want to be an inconvenience" she said, but before she could argue further his hand reached out toward her.

Her gaze shifted back to the ship, then to his hand. If she left now, perhaps there was a chance --... No. She reached out, unable to stop herself despite every bone in her body telling her to do otherwise, and took his hand, to be led toward the speeder.

Silence drifted between them during the journey, and her eyes fixed on the sights around them, after all she had come here to experience Mustafar in all its glory had she not? At least she wouldn't be stuck on her ship for most of the journey, but she had major reservations about the man at her side.

The view became obscured when they reached the hangar, and she swallowed back her doubt. Out of the speeder, into a turbolift, and out into a dining room beyond. She glanced around, taking in all there was to see in the odd light that permeated the room. It was just as warm in here as it had been outside, she was regretting wearing a jacket. Seriously... What kind of idiot wore a jacket to a place like this?

He spoke to her then and she tore her attention back toward him. Ren? Another of the First Order? Her mind drifted back to Connor, he had fully planned on cutting her life short, had she not talked her way out of it. She shuddered somewhat, why was she always finding herself trapped by darksiders?

She ought to have mentioned it, asked about his place within the First Order, but she did not. He didn't need to know that she was a Je'daii, she didn't need to know any more about his affiliates. No, she was not here on business. She was here to relax. To forget about the Force and her duties to it for a day or two.

"Kyrel," she reiterated, purposely avoiding using the title of Ren, "I... My name..." Did she be honest about it? Share her name with this complete stranger? She looked around the room again, resisting the urge to back up. It was... quite the castle. "Asha," she finally said, "My name is Asha."

[member="Kyrel Ren"]

 

[Kyrel Ren]

Kyrel had a pleasant smile on his face. He had welcomed the girl as his guest, and planned to treat her as such as he pointed to the table filled with food as he said in a calm tone. "Please drink, eat. You have nothing to fear." He said as he took his own seat on a chair at the end of the table. So far the girl didn't seem like she means any harm, and well ever since Kyrel was now human once more, his anger didn't get the better of him, and he had tempered his bloodlust.

He decided for once to show his hospitality to a complete stranger that he did not know about, but had a feeling that the Force might have brought the two together, for what reason he did not know. As he had thought she had seemed harmless, almost nervous as she spoke her name with which he had found to be adorable indeed.

He gave her a smile while speaking to her. "So tell me, Asha, what is it that brings you to this place?"

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

She had noticed, in that moment, how strange it was indeed that the table was already laid out and burdened with food; Asha did not sense very many lifeforms within the Castle, and only the man who had referred to himself as Kyrel was remotely close by that she could sense. Had he been expecting someone? Was this food meant for another?

Was it a trap?

Stop it. Not everything is as Thule had been. So this man is a darksider, you've met darksiders who meant you no harm, even if Ae--Master-- She frowned to herself, lost within her thoughts. Even now, even after so long, she couldn't simply refer to him as Aellin. But he wasn't her Master. Instinctively she lifted a hand to her throat, feeling a distinct lack of metal, to confirm, before immersing herself back into those thoughts. Even if there have been a few who had.

Besides, her stomach was betraying her. If she was to say she wasn't hungry it would make a liar of her with all the grumbling it was doing. She hadn't eaten in a while, but that wasn't uncommon when it came to Asha and space travel... It was difficult to keep track of time.

Stepping toward the table she took the seat to the left of his, on the longer side of the table of course not directly at his side, and slowly began to remove her jacket. It was so unbearably warm even inside the Castle, and as much as she didn't wish to expose herself any more than she had to, to make herself any more vulnerable, it was that or passing out from the elements.

"Thank you" she breathed, glancing across to where he was sat as she folded the jacket over her lap. Her arms which were now exposed bore more scars than someone of her age had any right to bear, and she did her best to hold his gaze to avoid him noticing as much. The rest of her body wasn't much better, but thankfully her face had never really been touched. Easy to hide it from the likes of Jericho.

No move was made to reach for food or drink though she knew deep down that she could not put it off for too long.

"Mustafar is simply a planet I have always wished to visit, but never had cause to," she explained, surprising herself with how honest her answer was, "I travel a lot, I've never stayed in one place for very long, so when I realized I hadn't visited I made time to." For a moment she chewed on her bottom lip, before sighing. Too much information, Asha, but thankfully it hadn't divulged too much about her.

"It's... Even more oppressive in terms of heat than I anticipated."

[member="Kyrel Ren"]

 

[Kyrel Ren]

He looked at her as if he had meant no harm, He may have been the Supreme Leader's attack dog, but he was by no means a monster. That is what he would have liked to think, despite his humanity being restored it did not change what was within him. Darkness nothing but a void, only a spark of light remained, but have been swallowed in the void Kyrel was lost to the dark side. He didn't have a choice in any sense knowing that he had sworn an oath to the Supreme Leader, the First Order, and to his Ren Brothers and Sisters. It was an oath that was worth his life, breaking it in any way could mean death, hence death would be his only freedom. Despite the atrocities he himself has committed, the horrible things such as the cries of children, and the gruesome agony of men, this girl still sat before him unafraid of who he was.

She didn't speak much about herself, which had left Kyrel curious of who and what she was. If she knew of the Ren or what this place was. Perhaps she knew nothing or something, but as she spoke of wanting to travel to the hellish world, Kyrel couldn't help but raise an eyebrow leaning forward slightly from his seat. He gave her a gentle smile and spoke once more. "A nomad... Then if you have come to this living hell of a world then you must know the dark side is very strong in this world. Tell me, Asha, as I am curious. Why have you come here? And do you know others of my Order?" He said as he couldn't help himself but see if she knew about the Ren and if it was a reason as to why she had come to Mustafar.


[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

A nomad indeed.

"Such is the only life I've ever known. Born and raised in space. I honestly struggle to understand what it is many see in planetary life, at least... The generic planets. Ones such as this, though? Or other more... Unique destinations? Well, what can I say? I'm a sucker for exploring new things."

The way he leaned in ought to have frightened her, scared her off a little, but after all she had experienced, all she had witnessed, she was simply... Numb to it. Instead she met his gaze, level and unabashed, and tilted her head curiously to the left. Sizing him up, reading all she could not only from his expression but what he betrayed through his body language. Such was the way of her people.

He was curious, hungry to learn more. His body was poised with anticipation. Such did not surprise her. She was a stranger within his home, an outlander no less. Few likely came to this place of their own volition without true cause.

"Given your name, I can only presume you're a member of the Knights of Ren," she began, unafraid to reveal that she knew of his people, "I have met one from your Order, though I dare say he was a lost cause. I don't think he truly believed in the path you and your fellows take. I do not come here with any true intentions, I did not expect to be met with anyone else. Just this hellish landscape."

And that was the truth of it. Whether or not he'd believe her was another matter all together. Again, though, she did her best to avoid revealing too much about herself without ignoring his questions.

Just because she was being guarded did not mean she had to be rude.

[member="Kyrel Ren"]