Private Twisting Nature

[Maiev]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Council Chambers
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

Maiev hadn’t expected to be back on Coruscant so soon, least of all in the Council Chambers of the New Jedi Order. She stood before one of the large windows, looking out at the cityscape that stretched on forever.

You’d hardly think this planet had been attacked within recent memory.

At least until you looked in certain directions, such as towards where the Senate build once stood untouched. But she wasn’t here to lament on the most recent invasion of Coruscant, her reason was potentially far more wide reaching, much to Maiev’s concern.

In the wake of her time on Kashyyyk, helping the Wookiees alongside Jonyna Si . Maiev had been suspicious of what they had discovered there. She hadn’t voiced it at the time, as the witch was uncertain on the matter. That was until she had set out across the galaxy, visiting planets where force-sensitive fauna were present.

What Maiev had discovered greatly troubled her, about the very balance of nature across the galaxy. Feeling like she had enough evidence, the witch got in contact with the NJO’s Council, in part to hopefully reach Kahlil Noble. If there was anyone who’d potentially be the best suited for this, it was him. Her message had been fairly brief, but made a point to emphasise her concern about Darkside influence.

By some sheer luck, the man himself was the one who answered. Apparently he was already on Coruscant working on something. It didn’t take long for Maiev to make the journey from her residence to the Jedi Temple.

Now, it was just a matter of waiting.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil glanced to his side, giving a simple nod to the golem he had been talking to. There was still so much to get handled with them, but they were making headway, day by day. Now, though, his attention was pulled elsewhere. Alone he stepped into the room, giving a smile to the woman who waited within. News of dark sided creatures wasn't anything new in this day and age, but he felt it was his duty as a Jedi to help handle them.

"Maiev yes? Been to the city much?"

He stepped beside her, glancing down at the city world around them, hands clasped behind his back.

"It recovers quick."

Maiev

 

[Maiev]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Council Chambers
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

Hearing the doors slide open, Maiev turned her head to glance towards whomever was entering. She smiled upon seeing Kahlil, giving him an affirmative nod. Her gaze returned to the cityscape as he stopped beside her.

“Not until the past few years. Lived a pretty nomadic life for a good portion of my life.” And while the witch didn’t mind practically living on her ship, there had always been something missing. “But eventually I figured I needed to finally put down some roots, you know?”

The city, or at least the upper levels anyway, had indeed recovered well. But Maiev knew those in the lower levels had suffered too. They might not have gotten directly bombarded by the Dark Empire’s attack. But that kind of thing trickled down from the top, both literally and otherwise.

But that wasn’t the reason Maiev had requested this meeting.

“Tell me Master Noble,” she began, turning to look at the Jedi. “How intune are you with Nature?”

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Intune enough to know when there's imbalance, maybe enough to keep animals from attacking me. Not too much more than that, though. Why?" He raised a brow, glancing to Maiev with a rather curious look to his eyes. Nature was the furthest thing from Coruscant, he'd learned. Which meant it had to do something with the request she'd put in.

"What is your request about, exactly?"

Maiev

 

[Maiev]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Council Chambers
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

“My request…” Maiev began, pausing for a moment to debate how to appropriately word what she wanted to say. “Is about a potential phenomena, where something is manipulating the balance of nature, through the Force and across the galaxy.”

“Every planet with a percentage of fauna and flora has its own ecosystem. And as you know, the Force reaches out to pretty much every living thing in the galaxy. Be it the strongest stream, or the slightest sliver.” At this point the witch had turned to fully face Kahlil, hands gesturing about almost automatically.

“It began when I-” Out of the corner of her eye, Maiev was reminded of the circular terminal that sat in the middle of the room. Knowing it was capable of producing a galactic map, an idea struck her. “May I?” She asked, gesturing towards it.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Kahlil nodded his head as he waved a hand, flicking on the table for Maiev to use as needed. She had already caught his curiosity, but the involvement of how the Force connected with all life certainly had his attention. "I take it something or someone is altering the flow in some way?"

Maiev

 

[Maiev]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Council Chambers
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

“A more worrying thought is that it could be a new natural occurrence forming. Or worse yet, something leaking out from the Netherworld. Force knows that particular Crisis left its mark on the galaxy.”

Maiev strolled over to the console, immediately getting to work setting it up for what she wanted. “But yes, my strongest suspicions are towards something or someone behind this, particularly embroiled with the Darkside of the Force.”

The holotable projected a map of the galaxy above it, before zooming in towards the Mytaranor Sector, highlighting a particular planet.

“It started here, on Kashyyyk. Where I ran into one of your fellow Council members, Jonyna Si. We ended up helping a Wookiee settlement with a problem they were having.” The witch went on to explain how the locals were having difficulties repairing their wall from the Mandalorian attack. A number of local beast dens had been caught in the mix, destroying their territory. Thus leading the beasts to attack the Wookiees whenever they tried to repair their wall. “We helped cover one of the sectors, finding the den to be filled with nothing but carcasses of the creatures; Kinrath.” Maiev let out a sigh, turning to lean against the console and look towards Kahlil.

“Examination showed the Kinrath turned on their own, killing each other. Which I will note, should never happen within a hive itself. The bodies reeked of the Dark side, odourless smell-wise but it was overwhelming through Force Sense.”

 

[Kahlil Noble]

The Nether, was it? Nothing good came of blending the lines between life and death like that. The former Necromancer couldn't help but smile a little, though. Interest. It was a brief smile at that, but, he was as ever a student of all facets of the Force. Though, that amusement faded at the notion that whatever was going on turned what should've been a hive of admittedly violent creatures but a hive none the less turned on themselves.

"And it spread? Where was the most recent sighting?"

Maiev

 

[Maiev]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Council Chambers
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

“Before that, I should add…the dens we investigated were relatively close to an entrance down into the Shadowlands. Now the Wookiees had stated nothing would really crawl out from there, as it’s a pretty steep climb for anything without the ability to fly.” Maiev paused, letting the words settle for a moment. “But we discovered a Terentatek in the depths of the caves, having a right feast on the Queen Kinrath.”

Maiev shook her head, still not quite able to shake those visuals from her mind. Not that the witch was unfamiliar with the brutality of nature, of predator versus prey. But the scene just felt so…wrong.

“And that raised a whole lot of questions. Like, if this is a phenomena through the Force, did it solely influence the Kinrath, and that activity drew the Terentatek’s attention? Or did someone influence the latter, directing it towards the caves and was somehow the source of the change?”

The witch was a mix of emotions, a number of which were seen on her face. It was all too apparent the questions, the uncertainty of it all, bothered her greatly.

“I checked with the Wookiees if anything similar had occurred, but it was the first time they had ever heard of such a thing happening. In terms of spreading, well I did a little investigation on other planets.”

Maiev turned around, interacting with the console once more. Zooming out on the galaxy map as it began highlighting each planet as Maiev named it. “I can’t speak for which is the most recent, but I did specifically travel to planets with notable force sensitive fauna, and-slash-or, scenes of significant balance shifts.”

“Myrkr. Discovered a pack of Vornskr at each other’s throats, and not because they were competing for food. There wasn’t a single Ysalamir in sight. But I did notice something off with their eyes. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good enough look without stepping into a dangerous situation.” As much as Maiev was confident in her magic abilities, being surrounded by a whole pack of Vornskr was not an ideal place to be.

“Korriban. I thought of the local Tuk’ata, but was unable to identify any abnormalities in their usual behaviour.”

“Ukatis and Mirial. Both had significant events that influenced the balance of nature. Ukatis with the corrupted Nexus, and Mirial with the zombie infestation back during the last Sith Empire. No abnormalities with their respective fauna, but Ukatis in particular is still recovering.”

“And finally, Dagobah. The last planet I investigated before coming here. My focus was on the Nudj, whose acts of aggression don’t usually go beyond hissing and puffing themselves up to be intimidating. Instead, they outright attacked me and only backed off when I started whipping out some magic. Even then, there was no hesitation…they went right for me.”

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Something is stirring the Force from these events, then? Where great use of the Dark had been, at least, or where the Dark is prevalent. A Sith experiment, perhaps?" Kahlil rubbed at his chin in thought. It wouldn't be the first experiment, or even the hundredth, on how to incite violence in others. It was an odd trail, though, to hear. Especially with Korriban specifically singled out to not have such events.

"Did you find anything to link them more than just a feeling?"

Maiev

 

[Maiev]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Council Chambers
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

“Well, that feeling is backed up by roughly twenty years being raised and taught by a clan, whose magick teachings entwined with nature, in all that it is, and those that survive in it.” Maiev glanced over at Kahlil, an almost cheeky smirk on her face.

There was also the memory ritual, but Coruscant wasn’t particularly suitable for that kind of thing.

“But yes, to speak practically. Of the creatures I was able to investigate, each had some physical discolouration included. As mentioned, Vornskr's eyes were sickly in colour. Whereas the Nudj, their skin was notably paler than usual. I couldn’t discern anything from what remained of the Kinrath, aside from the fact only the Queen was directly attacked by the Terentatek.” Which, now that the witch thought about it, it almost seemed like the culprit was targeting a specific kind of creature. Those that either capable of a hivemind, or had some semblance of ‘pack mentality’

Is that why the Nudj weren’t trying to kill each other? Because they were decidedly less aggressive in nature?

The thought did ultimately remind Maiev a big part of why she had directly contacted Kahlil.

“If it’s not too much on your plate, Master Noble. I’d like you to accompany me to Dathomir. Specifically to investigate the rancors there.”

A race with a social hierarchy of ‘strongest rules’. And on a planet that was very intune with the Force; with a history of Darkside influence. That was two major boxes ticked that fit the MO of whomever was behind this.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Oh I'm aware a feeling is all it really takes for it to be proven right. But a feeling generally doesn't lead to a culprit in these situations." Which, thankfully, there seemed to be some kind of link between them. Pale skin across different species was certainly a link. Grant it, the request had him pause entirely as he glanced to the witch. And offered a faint smile as he dipped his head.

"Then investigating the Rancors we shall."

Maiev

 

[Maiev]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Council Chambers
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

“Touche, though in my experience it tends to at least point to pieces that then lead to a culprit.” It reminded the witch of her constant vigilance against the Pyke Syndicate over the years. At this point, she could practically smell the spice before she ever saw a single Pyke.

Kahlil’s agreement to investigate brought a smile to Maiev’s lips. With a wave of her hand, she turned the holotable off, and turned to face the Jedi Master.

“Unfortunately I didn’t bring my ship over.” Maiev had used her particular mode of travel to reach the Temple. “I’m assuming yours is readily available?” Although, she could potentially just ‘fly’ them both over to where she had parked hers. But then again, Maiev didn’t exactly want to make another Noble almost throw up.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"The Bastion is always ready, yes. We can use that to get to Dathomir." Which he already had a path to, but he wasn't going to just off hand mention that. For now, he just smiled and motioned for her to follow. It wasn't a long trip to the hangar, and there they'd be able to get on board and to their destination. "Is there a particular herd we're looking at?"

Maiev

 

[Maiev]

Location: Coruscant, Jedi Council Chambers
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

“I have a few in mind, yes.” Maiev began, following behind Kahlil before matching his stride. “By around this time in the year, there should be a few herds settling within the borders of my clan’s former territory.”

Returning to Dathomir was always something the witch enjoyed, less so setting foot where her clan had once been. There was a history there…one Maiev never desired to revisit if she could help it. It was not a burning hatred, but more of a silent loathing. Of what they had done not just to her, but her mother too.

Eventually, they reached the ship and Maiev glanced around as they boarded the vessel.

“So, this is The Bastion. Yeah, I can see why maybe some more room was needed for a family.”

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"This is her indeed." Kahlil patted one of the hydraulic rods on the way up the ramp, snickering. As big as the Bastion was, yeah. This wasn't the type of ship to raise a family on. Living alone? Living with Valery alone? Absolutely. But not with the kids. "Make yourself comfortable, I'll get the heading in. Don't mind the mechanic." Sassshra was somewhere on board, slithering through the air ducts to keep the Bastion running smooth. The ship was never empty, after all.

Kahlil made his way up to the controls, idly punching in the codes to get them heading off towards Dathomir. He was admittedly excited. Ever since he was a boy, the Magics that the Witches employed, he adored it. His earliest memories were of wanting to learn it, how to use it himself. Before everything turned to the horror that his childhood was, at least.

So, an excuse to go? Yep. He was on board.

Maiev

 

[Maiev]

Location: Bastion, Heading towards Dathomir
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

For Maiev it was always a bit odd to step onto another ship that wasn’t hers. One too many years spent living on her ship, too familiar with the earthy scents that were predominant throughout the vessel. In part to remind her of home, but also a result of trying to make one of the rooms a greenhouse of sorts.

Much as Kahlil had said to make herself comfortable, Maiev was far too curious to remain idle on the Bastion. She walked around a little bit, at least until she felt the Bastion lift off towards Coruscant’s upper atmosphere.

The witch made her way towards the cockpit, leaning against the doorway as Kahlil launched the Bastion into hyperspace.

“So, ever been to Dathomir before?”

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Several times. The necromancy the Witches had perfected was a big interest in my young self. I had a lab set up in one of the deep ravines on that type of magics. Tried to create artificial souls." Which had succeeded, he learned some time more recently much to his dismay. He sighed after a moment before giving Maiev a brief smile. "Labs gone though, at least."

Maiev

 

[Maiev]

Location: Bastion, Heading towards Dathomir
Outfit: Link
Tags: Kahlil Noble

Maiev raised an eyebrow at Kahlil’s words, partially out of surprise but also because of just how blunt he was stating such things. Then again, of what she knew of Kahlil, the man before her was a stark contrast to how he was in his younger years.

“Well, I’d give your younger self some points for location at least.” She let out a small chuckle. “Ravines are good for keeping such places secret, but magick like necromancy is powerful and needs a strong connection to the planet.”

So basing one’s experiments while effectively underground was smart.

“Ever interacted with any of the Clans?”

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"No, not directly. I didn't want to intrude any more than I had, and well, what I was doing wasn't something I think any of the Clans would appreciate." Desecration of the dead, first and foremost. He wasn't preserving corpses to be reawakened like in some of the Nightsister rituals. He was trying to bring sentience and life to corpses. Eventually he'd use it to try and make souls within new bodies, and even succeeded by accident in doing so.

But no, he didn't think anyone would appreciate what he did in that lab.

Maiev