The Old and The New

[Alexandra Feanor]

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Alexandra had seen few people these last years. She had seen her old students once or twice, but after the collapse of the order and the scattering of her old companions, she was largely left to reside alone.
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Yet that did not bother her, quite the opposite to be honest.​

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The forest around her had grown, covering over droids that she had simply let fall into disrepair, no longer needing them to patrol the area. The forest had reached out, it claimed the old landing pads and spread out over the grounds of the old temple, and yet even as it claimed her complex, her home itself remained largely untouched. The shades of green, red, and blue were brightened by the filtered lights of the evening sun, great shadows cast out all around and the area was a place of beauty even without an extra feature to her home.​

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In those years, those many many years she had resided in her home. The creation of the force nexus before her and the sustaining of it for so long that she looked now at her work in feeding her energy into as nothing more than a fact of everyday life. Every day she came to the roof, to the garden which was kept in constant check and tended too for long hours by hand every day. She did not use the force to grow hers, not like her colleague did. Instead, there was only a single plant which sapped her energy, the energy she surrendered to it without a seconds thought. Even now her palm rested against the bark, feeling it push into her hands and smiling as her eyes closed and she sent the force through her, emitting a bright white light that shot out from the holes and ridges around her palm. She held that light there, feeding into the tree her very life energy and the light side of the force itself.​

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She could feel something new, though, her eyes casting themselves towards the clear area nearby, one clear enough for landings still. A few knew about this location, fewer yet of the location at which easy access to the location was possible. This being would have had to have gotten information from a friend, which left few answers as to who it may be. But she did not move, she continued her work until he would come close enough to be sensed, then she would choose how to handle this.​

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That man, [member="Darth Ignus"], would find around him this scene of life. Uncorrupted or untouched by what had been a corrupted and vongformed world a decade or two before. The Temple had been spared the corruption, as did the surrounding areas. The light nexus that was easily sensed would be one explanation but not the only. The woman he had been suggested to meet had ensured this area would not be touched, having been a former sith herself. So he was privy to the sight of wildlife approaching him without fear, to the life around him having grown naturally in comparison to the other places of the planet.​

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All that was left for him was to approach the former home of a woman who had once believed in Balance herself.​

 

[Leora]

This was quite possibly the most bizarre world he'd ever been to. It was entirely covered over by plant growth, but that wasn't the part that bothered him. Even when the ship had been landing he'd been able to feel the lightside nexus. Being one that spent a lot of time around those who utilized the light, he was familiar with its pull. But he, himself, was full of the dark, desirous of control and manipulation. He was a shadow upon a white sand beach. Not because he wanted to harm people, or destroy the world. Such destruction was not within the mental grasp of Darth Ignus. It made little sense to him, and so he rejected the outright notion that darkness was inherently evil.

Each step he took made him feel a bit weaker. One step. Another. The Maalraas that traveled with him, a darker female and a red male, didn't seem to mind it. They utilized the Force to hide themselves, but they had no concept of light and dark. They merely existed within it. The power of the nexus would do nothing to harm them, though they noticed its affect upon him, and so remained close.

It was surprising how many animals sought to approach. They wandered close to him, clearly curious, but were ultimately scared off by the predatory Maalraas who would let no creature come close to their master. Each that approached was turned away by the creatures, sent skittering back into the forest. Leos continued pressing forward, refusing to give in to the weakness that he felt overcoming him. Something had pulled him to this place and he aimed to find out what it was. It wasn't the nexus, but it could be something associated with it. Whatever it was, he wouldn't stop until he found it.

Eventually he happened across the old temple. It was covered in growth, but was surprisingly intact. Normally the vines and other greenery would have overtaken it and tore it down, much as it had done the myriad of droids he'd seen littered across the landscape. This place felt ancient, and yet new. He supposed it was the growth of the plant life that made it feel new to him. Everything else around was definitely old, or at least seamed it. He grimaced, wrapping an arm around his midsection as he walked forward towards the temple. With the presence of the nexus, he was certain that this place had belonged to some lightside sect or other, but he wasn't sure who.

"Arus, ikertu tenpluan."

The red Maalraa raced forward towards the temple and began to peer about it as Leos and Milan approached slowly. He didn't wear his armor on this day, just his robes and swords. If something malicious was lurking within, something that would attack him for being of the dark, he would have little protection against it aside from the Maalraas and his ability with Illusions. He didn't know what to expect, but he felt weary and wary of another presence nearby. He was not alone.

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Darth Ignus"]

Her hand and body went stiff as she looked to the side without a seconds hesitation. Her entire body ran with chills as it was someone she did not recognize but was still more than recognizable in the way they altered the force around them. Whoever had told her guest was going to be gutted next time she saw them for telling a dark Jedi or worse yet a Sith where she lived and she started for the edge of the roof. Her body froze after the second step, though, Alexandra seizing control of it from Hel who snarled and yelled terms at her of the vulgar variety, ones she quickly ignored though a quick Schutta back was enough to shut up Hel. That and Daeda's mind pushing the screaming half of her soul back down to the depths of her mind.

Much more calmly now, she started walking and through the garden on the roof with care. She chose to take the stairs down, a set of stairs that were on the outside of the building and led down rather than simply jumping. She did not know who this man was, and even though she looked through the force now rather than her own eyes, she could only tell his connection to the dark and a rather vile scarring in the force around him. The man had delved, not as far as those like her former masters of the Zambrano, but he had delved far enough to make his mark on his thread.

Her eyes then moved to look for anything else. She did not look for signatures, but rather how the force moved and changed. And through that, she could tell there were multiple others, but could not tell what they were. Perhaps droids? It was hard to tell and she would have to keep an eye on those alterations in the flow of the force so to not be caught. As an after thought, the white furred being that was Daeda, an Ashlan wolf from the world of Myrkr, dropped from her robes and looked up at her. She commanded he keep watch from above as her second set of eyes, their minds connected so completely she would not the moment he saw something and where it was in relation to her.

A minute more of walking brought her to the base of the stairs and she soon walked through the trees, shading her silver clad body, hair mimicking the color it had been in her former body. The threads of silver melding in with her robes, and her eyes merely copying this, she was called the lady in Silver for a reason and soon enough she found and approached her visitor from the side.

"Hmm... and you are? I don't remember training you, and I certainly hope that you aren't some thief..."

Ignus would find a young woman, that by all accounts looked like a nineteen-year-old Echani rather than an old master like what Solan had told him was here. But any sith should know a look can be a bit deceiving.

 

[Leora]

Arus prowled around but found nothing. This was likely due to the fact that the woman he was seeking was not directly within, but was above. He came waltzing back, looking rather pleased with himself, but Leos pressed onwards because he had to. Somewhere out there was the woman he was seeking. He just had to find her. So he pressed onward despite the pain he felt at being so close to the lightside of the Force. He never would feel anything like this around Teynara. She wasn't a nexus, though. This made him feel sick to his stomach, and made moving forward painful enough that he had to think about whether or not it was really worth it.

But as he drew close, the presence drew closer until he heard her speak. Turning his head to the side, was a chore. He fell to his knees and took deep breaths of air, sucking it in as he looked at her. An Echani. Young. No, she was older, she just looked young. The nexus might be responsible for keeping her so young appearing.

"This is harder than I imagined," he said, offering a light chuckle. "I've only ever been near a darkside nexus before."

Arus and Milan were looking at him as he knelt, the latter turning her attention to the woman, but Leos reached out and put his hand upon her back, calming her. She and Arus both eventually laid down at his efforts. That just left him with the woman to speak to. The Maalraas would heed his commands. They wouldn't cause trouble unless she tried to attack him. Solan had been insistent that he be cautious, but that he also shouldn't have to worry too greatly unless he was aggressive. Leos wasn't really the aggressive type, so there wasn't anything to worry about in that regard. He took a deep breath and calmed himself.

"My name is Darth Ignus. Not my actual name, but that's what you can call me. I'm not a thief no," he said before pausing a moment to recover. "Solan Charr sent me to see you. He said it would be beneficial to what we're doing."

[member="Alexandra Feanor"]

 

[Alexandra Feanor]

[member="Darth Ignus"]


Alexandra's eyes watched the man as he fell to his knees, her own eyes quickly drifting up to the roof of her home. It was a good thing she had not converted the nexus to her necklace in its entirely yet. No that finality of her project was still in the process of completion but even with a portion of the Nexus gone, she had not realized how much was left. To anyone on the outside it would feel as normal as anything else and yet to her she had been there for so long that it didn't register. Her eyes refocused on the man now and she sighed, her body moving forward to come closer.

She was cautious, careful not to move in the least bit threateningly and once within arms reach she held out her hand to Ignus. The woman raised a brow at him and laughed a bit as she spoke, her voice soft and calm, soothing even as she spoke to him. "Come now, we can talk when you are away from my home. I find your reason for finding this place rather hard to believe, considering your being of the Sith... but it does make some sense." Her eyes turned on the Maalraas with an interested glance.

"Beautiful creatures, I am surprised at their obedience... something tells me that these are not creatures you trained just before coming here."

She would wait, the white fur of her own companion appearing and disappearing as it ran up and into her robes. It would remain hidden and out of sight, yet for half a moment looked to be a miniature wolf, something she paid no mind or reaction to. "Oh, and it is good to hear you are not a thief and that Solan had sent you here. I had thought would have to kill you before you answered. That would be a most unfortunate turn of events, i had just cleaned my robes the day before yesterday."