The Secrets of Felucia(Paega Anginous)

[Christian Slade]

"For the most part.", he said plainly as he continued on the path, a slight smirk finding the corner of his mouth knowing that the woman wouldn't exactly love that answer. It didn't take much longer, however, for the path to widen and for their feet to carry them to the foot of a cave. It's opening was only about eight feet high, just tall enough for Christisan to pass through unharmed, which he did without hesitation.

His form easily melded into the darkness of the cave, considering he preferred dark clothing, but only a moment after he'd vanished into the darkness he was again found by the bright crimson glow of his saber which washed over his form. As he waded into the cavern he stopped all of a sudden, looking over his shoulder at Paega and waiting for her to follow. As he watched her he said, "From here on out we'll need the light of our blades. Our destination lies within the mountain, not outside of it."

He then slowly turned his head, golden eyes carefully looking into the deep darkness before him as they narrowed with curiosity. He listened to the force that washed over his body every moment, and it warned him of the others that he could actually feel breathing. His touch to the force so delicate and precise that he could even sense the reverberating pulses of their hearts running like rippling water through the force around him. The heartbeats, more than he'd predicted there'd be, beating like war drums as he took another step. "Practice caution, Paega. It seems like the Shaman of the Crescent mountain are still very much alive.", he whispered to her, his pace picking up little by little as he made his way through the darkness.

@[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

@[member="Christian Slade"]

"I'm glad to hear that..." she replied when Slade said he knew what he was doing for the most part, her tone being what one would find as being sarcastic. Before she knew it, Paega found herself standing next to Slade infront of an opening of a cave. The Sith Knight watched as Slade entered it without even hesitating. After a few seconds of observing her surroundings, Paega also walked forward and into the toatl darkness of the cavern save for the glow of Slade's lightsaber.

Paega ignited her lightsaber as well, and instantly the vibrant red lightsaber sprung to life, now glowing parallel to Slade's in the darkness. She could tell Christian must have sensed it too, or perhaps felt it better than she did, the danger that lurked within the depths of the cave. The blonde wasn't surprised to hear that their destination was inside the mountain. Probably deep inside too, Paega expected. Hopefully the artifact that they discovered would be worth their efforts.

It became apparent then, when the Sith Lord spoke of the danger, that Slade too had sensed that things were lurking in the darkness. I'll be careful, don't worry... she said to Christian through the Force. Her footsteps being nearly silent, Paega cautiously walked forward to keep up with Christian's pace.

 

[Christian Slade]

The deeper they sunk into the darkness, the closer the others felt in the force. They were of a dark orientation as well, just like Christian and Paega, which meant that they wouldn't likely take to kind to unwelcome guests. It was, after all, invasive and wouldn't likely be appreciated. Christian had dealt with them before, however, and he wondered if he might run in to any of them that he'd known in the past.

As they walked along in the darkness, a light could be seen at the end down the long corridor they walked through. When they reached it's end, they found themselves in a massive cavern, lit up by thousands and thousands of brightly colored crystals of every color one could possibly imagine. They glowed brightly with the living force of Felucia that birthed them into what they were. It was a beautiful sight, and as Christian waded out into the room he reached up and ran his hand across the wall to his right, the crystals glistening and burning a little brighter as his hand passed over them as if they were purring against the touch of his hand.

All of a sudden, however, the crystals flickered as a voice reverberated through the force, filling both he and Paega. "Who dares enter our sanctuary?", called a deep, dark and scratchy voice, as if it only just barely knew their language.

@[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

@[member="Christian Slade"]

Paega kept quiet as she followed Christian through the cave, carefully waving her lightsaber blade around to avoid bumping into obstacles. She squinted slightly and saw light some distance away. Was this just a short tunnel or something? Slightly confused but also simply curious, the blonde walked forward, and suddenly found herself along with Slade in a massive crystal cavern.

The crystals were glowing, and they looked quite similar to the types used for lightsaber. Perhaps they could be used for lightsaber construction? Paega wasn't sure, and she doubted anyone besides Christian and her had previously visited the place to seek lightsaber crystals. She found the crystal-studded cavern to be quite a magnificent sight. She watched as Slade ran his hand against the crystals, and was about to do the same thing Christian was doing when suddenly, a chilling voice spoke.

At the moment she heard the voice, Paega whipped around in anticipation. Yet, she couldn't see anything, despite the glow from the crystals. Uh, what was that? she inquired to Christian through the Force, trying to stay as calm as possible. Paega doubted Christian knew what it was either. Whatever that had spoken... sounded quite ancient.

 

[Christian Slade]

"That, dear, would be a Felucian Shaman.", he said, glancing over at Paega and smiling as if the thought of resistance actually excited him. "And he doesn't sound all too pleased."

Continuing through the cavern, Christian's golden eyes continued scaling the walls, noting that the crystals had gone untouched for a long time. He didn't see a place where a single one had been plucked from it's spot, meaning that it was likely no one knew of it's location. "We should remember to come back this way when we're done here.", he said, turning and finding another tunnel that lead deeper into the mountain.

"For now, we find the source of that voice.", he said, wading into the darkness of their new found tunnel path.

@[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

@[member="Christian Slade"]

Was Christian smiling? Perhaps this was the kind of thing Slade enjoyed doing. It appeared as though the fact that the Felucian Shaman 'did not sound all too pleased' delighted the Sith Lord, as if they were in for some sort of a treat. "That's good news..." she mutterred sarcastically. "You think the crystals here could be used for lightsaber construction?" the blonde inquired out of curiosity as they moved on.

As Slade had noted, the crystals were left untouched, meaning it was likely that very few knew of this particular location. Paega nodded to Christian's remark about remembering to return to the cave after being done.

Without hesitation, the Sith Knight followed right after the Sith Lord, plunging further into the darkness of the cave with only the light from their lightsabers to assist them. "And what should we do after we find the source of that voice?"

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian nodded as he walked along. "Yes.", he said, glancing over his shoulder at Paega. "The Crystals in these caves are in pristine condition and they've been here for, from what I can tell, hundreds and hundreds of years. They're perfect for crafting."

Continuing through the caves, Christian began to get a bit more cautious. He could sense that they were getting much closer to the source of the force signatures that were dwelling within the mountain. When they stumbled across them, they would have to play things right with them, unless they wanted quite an interesting, dark, and confusing fight with a bunch of Native Shaman Felucians.

"We'll do what comes naturally to us if worse comes to worse, but I don't know yet that this will be necessary.", he said, slowing down and sliding along the tunnel wall as he peeked around the next corner into another cavern, a glistening pool in the middle of it that had a curious blue glow shining from beneath the water.

@[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

@[member="Christian Slade"]

Paega nodded to Christian's reply regarding the crystals. Perhaps they would take some of the crystals on the way back, especially since it was likey that the crystals in the caves were likely to be of significant value considering their conditions.

As they continued on, the Sith Knight could feel Christian also becoming even more cautious. Wherever the Shaman Felucians were lurking, they were quite near them now. It was rather hard for Paega to judge the exact distance of how far they had traveled in the darkness. Paeag lowered her lightsaber so that she would be ready to defend both her and Christian if there was aggression by the Felucians.

"Acting on natural insticts is always a good plan." she remarked, as she also slowed down next to the tunnel wall. From what she could tell by looking over Christian's shoulders, there seemed to be some sort of a pool in the cavern they were looking into. "Any idea as to why that pool might be glowing..?" the blonde inquired, taking a few cautious steps forward into the cavern to get a better look.

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian stopped in the middle of the cave, staring down in the pool that glowed up at them. "Force sensitive crystal at the base of the pool seemes to the reason for this.", Christian said, golden eyes glaring through the waters and seeing only blue and green crystals, but they were massive as if their growth had been massively excellerated by something.

"They are spirit stones.", a deep, scratchy voice echoed through the force as an interesting looking, and colorful creature stepped out from a neighboring tunnel and into the dim light. He stood there watching them with eyes hard to locate on the colorful creature that wore a head dress and interesting, but colorful fabrics. He was soon joined by a number of others who looked just like him, but were dressed in darker colors and stood silently behind him.

"They grow at such a rate because the force is more concentrated deeper in the mountain where we reside. They grow wildly where the force is dense and heavy in the air.", he said, following his initial statement. "Why are you here?", it then asked, to which it recieved only silence from Christian who turned slowly and squared his shoulders towards the creature.

"Do you remember me?", Christian finally asked, after a long silence.

@[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

@[member="Christian Slade"]

Had the creature that had appeared suddenly been any more aggressive-looking, Paega would have moved forward to cut the creature's head off. Paega was not fond of the deep, scratchy voice that belonged to the Felucian creature. The appearence of several more Felucians following the first did not do much to relieve her anxiety. Slade didn't look half as anxious, however.

The blonde Sith listened as the colorful creature talked, confirming Christian's guess about the Force sensitive crystals. And indeed, the mountain they were in at the moment did have a strong presence of the Force within.

Paega looked cautiously between Christian and the Felucian creature that had inquired as to why they were here. From what she could tell, it appeared as though the two knew each other. Or at least Christian seemed to remember, back from when he resided in Felucia, perhaps. Still cautious, the blonde woman held her lightsaber in a stance ready to attack if needed.

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian watched and listened to the Felucian, but as he did he could feel Paega growing fearful and he cautious, likely of the creatures that were before them. He, however, was not experiencing such uncertainty because he knew that they were the ones whos homes had been invaded.

"Yes. I remember you as I remember all things.", the creature said, glancing over at Paega with those small, beady eyes. "We are Felucian. Our grasp on memory recall is unmatched. I remember you perfectly, but you were a boy those few years ago."

"We apologize for coming unannounced, but I had to come back here. I told myself that I would come back one day, but I never believed that I would see you again.", Christian finally said as he reached out and took Paega's hand gently in his in an effort to calm her down a bit if he could. "I remember the things you told me about the force that day. They day before I left this place for what I thought might be forever."

@[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

@[member="Christian Slade"]

Paega observed the conversation between Christian and the Felucian with mild interest. It was interesting to note how the Felucian described Christian as having been a boy a few years ago. This affirmed her suspicion that the pair had encountered one another before. Christian may have possibly learned a thing or two from the Felucians when he was younger, in fact.

She almost flinched when she felt another hand taking her hand, before she realized it to be Christian's. On her other hand, however, Paega still held her lightsaber ready. "What do you know about the Force?" the Sith Knight inquired the Felucian, curious to hear the answer.

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian Watched the Felucian carefully as he heard Paega as her own question. She was brave to go asking questions as she did when she didn't already know these creatures, but she was also strong and well prepared to defend herself. "Many things we've learned over man many years of study and teaching to our own kind. Your partner is one of the only outsiders who we have shared our findings with."

Once this was said, Christian nodded to the leader Felucian, knowing that his eyes were open just a little wider because of him. "Their knowledge of the force is more spiritually driven. They know what love and hate and anger can bring through the force, yet they also practice meditation and calm nature in the force. They are practitioners of both light and darkness."

@[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

@[member="Christian Slade"]

"Ah, I see." Paega replied, observing the Felucians before her as carefully as Christian. So it was apparent that these were interesting creatures, with a rather unique connection to the Force. A spiritually driven knowledge of the Force was quite a difference to the often power or ambition driven approach taken by typical Sith towards the Force.

"So..." the blonde began, looking from Christian back to the Felucian. "...this is just a friendly reunion, right?" she inquired casually, her grip on her lightsaber hilt not loosening. Despite the talks, the tension between the Felucians and them remained high.

 

[Christian Slade]

The Shaman leader glanced from Christian to the young woman Paega before it responded to the woman's question, that same, emotionless monotone voice. "We have no quarrel with Sith, but we are not the only tribe on Felucia. Count yourself among the lucky that you happened across us once again instead of someone else.", the creature said, glancing back to Christian and locking his gaze on him for a time so that he would know exactly who he was talking about.

"We come seeking only knowledge in the force, old friend.", Christian said, to which the Felucian leader began to shake, a hiccup sound being emitted from it's body. It seemed to be some form of laughter, but by nature it was not malicious or negative. The next moment, the Felucian hushed and looked between them both as it said, "No Sith seeks knowledge. They wonder the galaxy attempting to quench an ever growing craving for power."

Finally there was movement, and it was on the part of the Shaman leader who moved away from his allies standing guard. It stopped in front of Christian and took either of his hands, holding them in it's own. It then slowly, and carefully moved over to Paega and took her hands in it's own for a moment. It then let her go and stepped back over towards Christian as it said, "There are few Sith like the both of you. You don't scratch and claw and scrape to obtain power in all it's forms, whether that be money, man power, machinery, political. You seek knowledge, the true power of the force. In this way, you will be the strongest Sith there ever will be, yet you will never be Sith."

Christian looked a bit confused by the last bit the creature had said, glanced over at Paega for a brief moment and then back to the Shaman. "What do you mean we will never be Sith?"

@[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

@[member="Christian Slade"]

It took Paega much willpower to resist the temptation to attack the creature when the Felucian Shaman reached forward to take her hands. Although these creatures had proven non-aggressive, Paega still did not trust them. They seemed to have much knowledge on the Force, and seemed to know well about the Sith although they had presumably never left Felucia. What the Felucians said next confused her, and even annoyed her a little.

"In this way, you will be the strongest Sith there ever will be, yet you will never be Sith."

Christian looked as confused as her, and voiced out the question that the blonde had been about to ask herself. The woman lowered her lightsaber to get a good look at the Felucian before speaking. "...then what are we?"

 

[Christian Slade]

The Shaman looked first at Christian, wondering how it might respond to him, but then it looked to Paega, as she followed up with one very similar question. What are we? It was the same thing that they both wanted to know. It was what they craved and needed. It was what they, in their own ways and at their own paces had been searching for a long time. They wanted to know what anyone wanted to know about themselves who knew better than to think themselves so simple that they could be summed up in a single word. They were just like everyone else who knew that they would never just be... something... one thing.

"It's not a simple thing to answer.", the creature said, staring at Paega for a time before looking back to Christian. It watched Christian for a long time, it's head falling to the side ever so slightly showing that it was in thought. "You are gods among your race. You have the power to use the unseen force.", it said, knowing that it's answer was incomplete.

There was a long silence for a time, no one moving a muscle as Christian and Paega hung on a thread wishing nothing more than to hear more, but the Shaman did not speak. Instead it meandered over to the pool of water next to them and reached inside. After a moment, the Felucian creature pulled gently from the water one of the, rather large, blue crystals and carried it over to the middle of the room. The next moment, all of a sudden, bright light burst from the Felucian's hand and spread through the crystal, pillars of light leaping out and scattering across the walls from every one of the many edged of the crystal.

The room's walls were lit up, the stone cast in a brilliant blue light from the many beams that were reaching out from the crystal the Felucian was holding. On the walls were many markings that were delicately etched and drawn. Markings that were both inherently dark and light. They shared the same wall, but were polar opposites of one another. Peace and destruction hand in hand, yet, the closer one looked, the more the cavern resembled the inner workings of a holocron not unlike the item they sought out.

"Those you believe are your equals are simple and narrow minded. They believe that the only way is their way, when really there are many ways, many dark paths and many of light. There are limitless ways to kill a man, just as there are limitless ways to save him, but to them there are only two certainties that they understand. They live, or they die. You are more like this crystal. In it there is a boundless plane of space where things may be stored, yet on it's shell there are many edges and corners that make it what it is. In it you could wonder for eternity, and in it you could lose yourself looking for a truth that only you, yourself, can provide the answer to."

The Shaman's hand suddenly grew dark again, absent of light, and the room fell dim again. As it did, the Shaman reached down and set the crystal on the ground in front of it. It then reached into it's satchel and pulled from it a beautiful, perfectly cut, spherical, red crystal with countless edges and corners. On each edge there was a symbol etched into it. Each symbol was of a dark origin, some of which Christian hadn't even seen before.

"Keep searching. It's what sets you apart from the others.", the Shaman said as it reached out and set the crystal in Chrsitian's open hands while he stood there, those golden eyes watching, his mouth ever so slightly agape, speechless for the life of him.

@[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

Paega simply stared right back at the Felucian as it gazed at her curiously. During the heavy silence that followed its initial comments, the blonde Sith shot Christian a quick glance, wondering how he was faring with this Felucian's comments. She gasped slightly in suprise when the Shaman pulled out an electric blue crystal, before it suddenly illuminated the dark cavern.

The young woman found herself busy observing the lit walls around her as she listened to the Felucian Shaman speak. Paega held a pretty generic idea about what the Felucian was speaking about. There were some Force-Users that believed the Force to be neither good or evil. In some way, the Felucian seemed to be talking about it in a similar way.

"Keep searching. It's what sets you apart from the others." Paega simply nodded, hearing what she believed to be the most straightforward answer. The most straightforward answer that she'd get from listening to this Shaman, anyways.

The Sith Knight looked over and saw the Felucian hand Christian a red crystal. Paega could tell simply by Slade's expression that he may have not expected being given a crystal this easily. That's what Paega had thought too. She had anticipated hostility from Felucians, and had guessed it would take some fights to get anything from Felucia. Instead, all it had taken was a stroll into the deep mountains, and a reunion with Christian's old acquaintance. "Thank you." Paega said with a grateful nod towards the Felucian Shaman, since Christian at the moment looked too awestruck and speechless to say anything. "We are very grateful for your assistance."

 

[Christian Slade]

Christian's amber eyes flashed with realization all of a sudden and he brought his mind back from it's wondering. He focused his eyes on the Shaman and took the crystal he held out, bowing to him as he took a step back from. He then looked over to Paega for a moment before glancing down at the crystal, his own eyes able to see the etchings within, hundreds of years of knowledge contained within an actual crystal. "Thank you, Shuda.", he said, finally revealing the name of the Felucian who seemed to have meant something to him once upon a time.

"There is no need to thank me, young wonderer. You search for knowledge as others search for power and wealth not knowing that knowledge is the key to unlocking both. On their aimless path, they bring death and destruction to those around them who would otherwise go on living untainted by their recklessness.", the Felucian then glanced over at Paega and bowed it's head before it said, "I am not foolish enough to believe that both of your paths will not be lined with red, among other colors, but at least this way, as long as knowledge is what you seek, the red lining your path will not be rivers of blood."

[member="Paega Anginous"]

 

[Paige Argous]

[member="Christian Slade"]

Rivers of blood? Well that was quite extreme. But if there was anything Paega had learned during her stay with the Sith Empire, it was that Sith indeed were extreme people, who were willing to spill an overly excessive amounts of blood to claim for themselves power and wealth. It was Paega's hope that she would not turn out to as unnecessary killers Sith were often viewed as.

"Thanks..." she said once more to the Felucian that Christian had called 'Shuda'. What Shuda had said were quite evident facts. Yet, the blonde Sith Knight could not help but question some things that the Felucian Shaman had talked about. Search for knowledge, Shuda had said. But was that really the only reason why there here in Felucia? Not because they wanted to acquire knowledge so that they could use it, for some sort of purpose. Paega wasn't so sure about the answer, and she knew she'd ask Christian about it once they were done talking to the Felucian.