The Librarian

[Myr]

Myr stood on the steps of the massive Imperial Palace, his head tilting slightly beneath his dark robes as he tried to look upwards and take in the massive Imperial Palace using the sight of the force. It seemed to glow slightly, giving off a pale red aura of death and destruction, at its center, something seemed to pulse, energy and darkness that to Myr was familiar. It was the presence of the Dark Lord. The mass of power that emanated from him at all times.

The soulless smile widened, his lips cracking slightly as he did so. The familiarity of the feeling, yes, he was home, this was where he belonged.

Myr slithered forward, to say he walked would have been the greatest of lies. He moved like a serpent into the Imperial Palace, quick practiced steps leading him into Grand Hall. His robes fluttered and flurried about, shifting as though they were part of the night itself. No one tried to stop the creature as he entered the hall, no one touched him or even spoke to him.

The Sith Acolytes could sense his presence in the darkside, and the Yuuzhan Vong Slayers knew well enough what something like he was.

The former archivist looked about the room, the massive grand hall was said to be large enough to fit an entire Victory Class Star Destroyer, and looking upon it now the creature could believe such tales. The entire Citadel on Prakith could have fit in this one room, and as the force fled into him, showing him the massive expanses and crevices of the Grand Hall Myr couldn't help but be impressed.

He studied, and waited.
[member="Hal Terrano"]

 

[Hal Terrano]

Even in the Grand Hall Hal Terrano found no solace.

Between training, studying and ever-increasing trips to the local cantina Hal could find no rest. He found himself at the cornerstone of questioning. Faith. What am I? Who am I? Why am I here? These were basic questions that not even he could answer.

The idea of Hal Terrano did not match the reflection that came at him in the mirror. He remembered himself young, stalwart and stubborn, fresh faced, ready but when he gazed upon his reflection he saw, he saw this creature who was gaunt and pale, tired and perhaps even ready of the end. No, such pessimism would never do.

If he were meant to die then he would have perished within those four white walls.

And he did not.

So he would live, and continue to do so under the banner of the One Sith. Why the Sith? Where is your discipline? Where is loyalty? Where are your principles. Broken, that's where. Shattered and scattered, left for dead like Hal himself had been. The One Sith had rescued him, and thus he pledged what was left of his life to them.

His foot steps felt heavy as he paced through the centre of the hall, bumping into those who wandered within with those icy blues glazed over.

[member="Myr"]

 

[Myr]

[member="Hal Terrano"]

Myr saw the man coming of course, there was no way for him not to. While many would not have noticed Hal Terrano bumbling towards them, Myr was not a normal person, he did not have the gift of regular sight, but instead saw through the power of the force. Myr slithered to the side, sliding past Hal with a single serpentine movement, dashing away to the side and tapping Hal on the head in response, poking him to catch his attention.

“Careful.” It was not a warning or a threat, merely a suggestion.

The Miraluka had no idea if the man was a knight, lord, or another acolyte. It was an interesting conundrum as he did not want to offend, Myr knew well what that would mean for him, yet he also didn't want the man stumbling and hurting anyone else.

Most people were not as agile as he.

 

[Hal Terrano]

A tap.

Knock knock.

Who's there?

The creepiest individual this side of Coruscant.

The creepiest individual this side o- no no! That's not, it's not a joke! I don't have a punchline, please cease and desist! If you delve any further then I'm afraid I'm going to have to hurt you, and I don't want to hurt you. Or is this all a gambit? Do I want to hurt you? Perhaps, I do. Go on. Go on, I'll give you the punchline.

Terrano's head bobbed back slightly at the sight of the...creature, but a second later he regained composure. “My apologies,” he said, voice starched stiff, “lost in my own thoughts.”

The blonde man's eyes narrowed as he observed the sister character before him. He was unfamiliar, a face he hadn't seen before and while that wasn't too unusual not to know every face here this was a face that stained the memory.

“I haven't seen you before, who are you?” Hal asked bluntly, displaying his fine social skills.

[member="Myr"]

 

[Myr]

[member="Hal Terrano"]

Myr stared at the man for a moment, not quite sure what to make of him. His eyeless face seemed to focus on him, as though he were actually able to “see” Hal. Of course that was impossible, he could really only see Hal's outline within the force, he could sense and feel the whole of him, like no being had before.

What an interesting man.

“I am Myr.” He said quietly, almost hissing the words that he said. “I've only recently arrived.”

His words were a long drawn out hiss, they seemed to echo needlessly in the ear. It was strange, his lips only seemed to part slightly, yet his words were perfectly enunciated.

 

[Hal Terrano]

Myr, Myr, Myr. It rolled nicely off the tongue, even if his face didn't roll nicely off the eyes.

He was the type of man that could easily unnerve by appearance alone, but in the same breath Hal found himself made of sturdier stuff when it came to methods of intimidation. Even former stalwarts are not so easily spooked. In a peculiar way his decrepit appearance only served to attract the gaze of Hal, like a creature of the Dark Side,

“I am Hal,” he responded stiffly, folding his wiry arms across his chest, although to little effect given that this Myr character could not see, at least not in the same sense as you or I of course. “Welcome.”

Wow, good social skills, bruv.

There was an urge in his mind, that drove Knight Terrano to speak again. “Do you require any assistance? I can show you around if you wish.”

[member="Myr"]

 

[Myr]

Myr looked at the man for a moment more, his head tilting slightly as he watched the man through the force. Hal's force aura was an interesting one, a decadent, corrupted, twisted thing. A mocking mirror of what a Jedi had once been. Myr could see deep into him, could see the whole of him. It was an interesting study, but eventually his hissing voice rang out again.

“Yes.” He said. “That would be agreeable.”

The former archivist knew in theory where most things were here in the Imperial Palace, he knew the layout from the maps he had read with the force, absorbed really. Yet that was all theoretical knowledge, it didn't really apply here.

His smile brightened, lips cracking. “This palace is new to me.”
[member="Hal Terrano"]

 

[Hal Terrano]

At least he was pleasant.

Hal wasn't entirely sure why he offered to show the man around, being far more content to remain isolated from everyone around him. Dangerous way to live, in a spiral of your own self-loathing, leering, drinking. He didn't realise it but what he needed was another soul, somebody to talk to, vent to, perhaps even cry to if he could burst through the durasteel ceiling of his own stubborn nature.

Was Myr that soul? No, let's not go overboard here. Myr was a curiosity, a new intriguing face in a temple of so many bland and boring, same-old same-old.

Underneath that pallid cracked flesh there was an ominous greatness.

Hal began to walk, assuming that Mry would follow on. “How did you come to be here, Myr?” Terrano asked, looking back at the other man.

[member="Myr"]

 

[Myr]

[member="Hal Terrano"]

The serpent slithered after the Knight, moving behind Hal with quick practiced steps that seemed more to flow than anything.

“A ship.” He said pointing out the obvious.

Myr wasn't really one for jokes so it was difficult to tell whether or not he was serious, though by his deadpan tone it was easy to see that he was not in fact joking, even though he wore a permanent grin. The Creature moved after the Sith Knight, his eyeless face shifting all about the halls as if he was taking it all in.

Force sight was a strange thing like that.

“My family has lived upon Prakith for centuries.” He explained further. “I am the first to leave in a millenia.”

 

[Hal Terrano]

For the first time in what felt like at least ten eternities a smile came to Hal's lips. The creature's deadpan response stirred a familiarity of himself once upon a time. A certain seriousness that gave a swift uppercut to the jaw of disbelief, was he really so literal minded? Who could say, maybe the mysterious Myr was just a bit of a phallic reference.

“Prakith,” he repeated, almost musing the very word, Hal actually enjoyed the way that it rolled off the tongue, it was sharp, Prakith. “Never been, only ever read about it.”

His arms remained folded across his chest, as if he were a teacher listening to the excuses of his students. The face of judgement. Although that wasn't entirely accurate any more, was it? More like the face of excess and depression. Yowch.

“Why did you decide to leave?”

[member="Myr"]

 

[Myr]

Myr looked at Hal for a moment, taking his attention away from the grand halls around him and instead looking at the strange man once again.

“I was bored.” The Miraluka finally answered in truth.

Prakith had never been a very exciting world, after all there wasn't much to do on a desert world filled with cliffs and rocks. Especially when one was physically incapable of going outside. Myr's skin was extra sensitive to the rays of the sun, and Prakith's environment was especially harsh to him.

“I found that the Archives were...” He paused, searching for the correct word. “Unexciting.”

 

[Hal Terrano]

Boredom.

Something that Hal himself knew well. His time with the Jedi had mostly been spent cooped up, in a time where emotional Jedi reigned and the more solemn and disciplined characters were painted as murderers and monstrous Hal was given no chance to thrive. So he trained, he meditated, he learned. The archives became his home and the former Jedi could most definitely relate to their boring status.

They still found themselves walking through the grand hall, it was not grand without cause after all.

“I understand,” Hal responded, accompanying his statement with a firm nod.

“I assume you won't be swapping one archive for another then,” the man continued, finally unfurling his arms, “tell me what you've come to seek. What is your purpose?”

[member="Myr"]

 

[Myr]

“My purpose?” Myr repeated almost as a whisper. He had not really considered his purpose. He had simply known that he wanted off Prakith and wanted to see Coruscant, in fact he wanted to see much more than that. The galaxy was massive, huge and immense in its scale. He couldn't possibly see it all, but he wanted to see much of it, that much he knew.

“I supposed my purpose is to learn.” The creature finally said. “To become powerful enough to go where I please.”

Yes, that was it. He could not yet venture wherever he wanted, he couldn't waltz around the galaxy on his own. He needed time, he needed strength, and he needed power in order to see the rest of the galaxy. His smile broke across his face again as he nodded to himself, reaffirming his thoughts.

 

[Hal Terrano]

Well, it walks like a creep, it talks like a creep but at least it doesn't have goals like a creep.

Hal could not doubt that the pursuit of knowledge was admirable, superior to chaos, violence or death. Once upon a time he would have placed it below the purpose of discipline, but a different time, a different man. Tragedy tragedy tragedy, we know the story.

He trimmed the fat from any potential small talk, going straight for the throat of the matter.

“Do you have a Master yet, [member="Myr"]?”