What Wickedness Lies Below

[Dredge]

Most people thought the under-city was it when it came to the depths of coruscant. That it all came to an end where Hutt lords and bounty hunters made their dens, where drive-bys kept you up every night. But that wasn't true. No no no, there was an area lower than that, one where no one ventured. The depths, the space between spaces, the unknown. But that's not where we begin. We begin in a small trashy dive bar in the under-city. A place where highwaymen and vagabonds rest their weary heads and have a drink to unwind after making ends meet.

It's where we find [member="Chaon Vel"] more than likely drinking and contemplating dark thoughts. Thoughts that were sensed and deemed interesting by a higher power, or in this case, lower. Near closing time from the edge of sanity and reality, a dark shade sprung out from the pits traveling from shadow to shadow within the darkness of the under-city. A specter in the night that slunk through slowly until it reached said dive bar, and slipped in through the cracks under the back door.

Eventually the shadow would drift through the dimly light bar until it reached the darkened booth where Chaon sat. It blended seamlessly with the shadows behind him until a set of white glowing eyes opened to stare down at the boy. It looked him up and down until slowly a long black hand with jagged fingers like knives began to extend outwards reaching for the young man, pining to feel his flesh and blood betwixt themselves to test his metal. But as the hand reached forward the bar door opened and light flooded into the bar ever so slightly as to ward away the hand. So instead honey would be used to lure this one rather than vinegar.

"Oh my sweet sweet child of darkness. You are special, you have what I need. Is it power you seek?" a strange yet firm detached voice spoke to the young man ever so softly.

The shade from the darkness of the booth would remain in place hovering just above the young man, testing him and seeing if he indeed was the man his thoughts made him out to be.

 

[Chaon Vel]

It was late, and Chaon was tired. But he was not quite ready to go find somewhere to spend the night, not til his drink was finished. How did he get to Coruscant? He wanted to know the same thing. He had left his home, stowed away on a ship that he had been informed would take him to Nal Hutta. Instead, he was here and had to find another way. He needed credits, or a master. Or a master with credits. He just didn't want to be on a planet that was crawling with police, or Jedi. He wasn't ready to really fight skilled Jedi, not yet anyway.

As he sat, he could feel something around him. It almost felt like everything grew.....cold. And then, then came the voice. "Oh my sweet child of darkness. You are special, you have what I need. Is it power you seek?"

Chaon paused for a moment, knowing that the cold was caused by a dark presence. He paused, thinking for a moment. Then, even though not visible, he smiled sadistically. Power sounded pretty good, and Chaon was now intent on having it. "Power is all that matters."

[member="Dredge"]

 

[Dredge]

The voice let out a small dry chuckle when the boy spoke. He wanted power, craved it, said it was all that mattered. And while there was some truth to that, there was so much more on the spectrum that was darkness. He would be shown that, all within good time though. For now he needed to be tested, he needed to be deemed worthy. Chaon had to face his trials, give his pound of flesh.

The sharp jagged fingers would again reach out and this time they would rest upon the boy's shoulder. He'd feel that same shivering cold on him and soon after that the hand would clench slightly as the figure would extend itself from the shadows and reach down to whisper into the boys ear.

"Follow me, child. Down the rabbit hole to a place where darkness reigns and winter is eternal." The voice then faded from the man's ear and he'd see a slinking shadow rush across his table.

From there he'd see it glide on the floor and out the door from underneath it's cracks, oozing into it as if it were nothing but air. And once it exited and if he decided to follow it outside. With a good look around he would be able to see a single set of white eyes in the darkness and a dark form in a cloak standing next to a pit.

The pit seemed to go on forever in its pitch black darkness. All the boy needed to do was jump, if he wanted power he needed to prove his worth. For those who want power must first serve.

[member="Chaon Vel"]

 

[Chaon Vel]

The voice came again, this time prompting Chaon to follow. He could feel a cold hand reach out, resting on his shoulders. It felt as if it had come straight through his armor, resting on his bare skin. He listened to the voice call him to follow, and so he did. He chased the oozing darkness out of the bar, watched it seep under the door. He was quick to follow after it, hoping to gain the power it had eluded to.

The glowing white eyes were alluring. Chaon was quick to rush over to them, finding a being in a dark cloak. Beside it was the deepest pit Chaon had ever seen. It seemed like it would go on for eternity, never ending.

"Down here?" He pointed, not afraid of the being beside him.

[member="Dredge"]

 

[Dredge]

The large figure would tilt it's head to the side as it stared down at Chaon. It wouldn't say anything in response to his question. All it did was raise a hand in the darkness and level one of its jagged knife like fingers into the pit, the darkness, and the cold. It wanted him to jump, to enter the void where nothing returned from. Down there was where the man would find himself, test what kind of person he truly was.

Once the figure had pointed it's eyes would return to a blackened state and its oozing body would slither down into the darkness of the void. And from where the boy stood he'd be able to hear a plunking sound of a large object hitting water and sinking into it.

"Fall..." the single word uttered up from the void towards the young power hungry man.

It was time for him to make his decision.

[member="Chaon Vel"]

 

[Chaon Vel]

Chaon watched the creature point, motioning for him to enter. Then came the word....fall. Chaon paused, thinking about the paths that laid out before him. He could return to the bar, waste the rest of his night and then go off to some other place, or other planet looking for a path to take. Or, he could take advantage of the opportunity that lied before him. The promise of power, and the idea that he could become stronger, that was all he needed.

He didn't jump, or try to climb in. No. He did exactly what he was told. He fell. He let his legs buckle and he collapsed, falling straight into the darkness, into a test.

[member="Dredge"]

 

[Amarthaer Saptheth]

The newcomer wasn't the only one that had caught Dredge's eye. No, there was another, one who had been under his dominion for too long a time to retain any semblance of stability or iota of sanity. But Amarthaer wasn't unhinged in the traditional sense of the word. In fact, she was quite typical at first sight, if one got past the rampant Dark Side corruption already eating at her physical appearance, not to mention the visible smoky aura that clung to her in wisps of cold. Yes, she was perfectly normal, at least for where she found herself presently. Her master had instructed her to be here, so that she might help welcome another into the fold. It was to be a test, he had said, a strength of this one's will to survive.

And so she waited below, within the shadows and out of sight, head tilted to one side as she watched the new arrival fall into an entirely new plane of existence. Her lips moved near-silently as a prayer to Vahl was uttered in a whisper, and with that she began to spin a reality only [member="Chaon Vel"] would bear witness to. A dark forest would take life before his eyes, seeming to be painted in black and white, though shocks of muted color would persist through the gloom. There was nowhere else to go but forward into the depths, the trees seeming to open up; a merciless maw waiting to swallow him whole. From within there would be only an unnatural silence, no signs of life present no matter how hard one looked.

As he traversed farther on his surroundings would become nearly claustrophobic, there being no real trail to guide him on just what the proper path was to take. From his peripheral vision inky shadows would begin to manifest, never remaining in place long enough for him to look them over properly. Whispers would infringe on the barest edges of his subconscious, on the verge of forming coherent words but never having anything to say. And still she only watched.

[member="Dredge"]

 

[Chaon Vel]

The fall seemed to take forever. Finally, Chaon hit the bottom. But it wasn't hard like a rocky or metal floor. It felt soft, almost like some form of gelatin. He picked himself up and looked around. He was doing nothing but gaining into darkness. As he stared straight forward, a bleak forest began to appear before him. He paused, worried he would mess up, possibly following the wrong path. But it was the only path that had seemed to reveal itself. So he began to walk, strolling through, his hand on his lightsaber. The darkness surrounded him, and as he walked, the forest behind him disappeared. It turned into darkness, becoming the very black void that he had landed in. He had never seen anything like it before. It was so realistic, but at the same time, Chaon felt that it wasn't real. There was something, he didn't know what, that seemed to make it feel fake.

[member="Amarthaer Saptheth"] [member="Dredge"]

 

[Dredge]

"Do not fight it, child. Let it consume you. Become lost in it. To obtain power, you must first let go of everything. You must first learn what kind of man you truly are." The voice rang out to the man slowly and calmly.

He'd be able to see the shadow standing behind a tree staring at him. The one white eye tracing his every step. But there was enough staring, it was time to show this child how to reach the darkest points of his mind. To understand that he needed to face insanity and morality. For Dredge did not know how far this one was willing to go.

"You must accept madness my child. Learn that it gives you power, that what other people see as insanity. Is clarity for us. The right to not have to live by their rules, their boundaries established by those looking to oppress." The voice said with a very very cold tone.

Soon the specter would float its way over to the boy. It looked down at him then cocked its head. His malevolence and unholy taint spreading through frigid cold air.

"Fear not, child. We're all mad down here." Then the entity would point once more.

Where his finger pointed trees would clear and shift, their roots coming up as they physically walked themselves backwards. Then far in the distance the boy would be able to see a small orange light glowing. The path was long and surely dangerous. What Dredge had planned for this child was to let the corrupted Vahl twist his mind with horrifying images until he was truly one of them.

[member="Amarthaer Saptheth"] [member="Chaon Vel"]

 

[Chaon Vel]

Voices. The same voice he had heard in the bar, and the same voice that came from the figure with the glowing eyes, as speaking again. Madness? Chaon was familiar. He had killed both of his parents after all, without any mercy. Madness was something he had tapped into, and it was why he was where he was now. What kind of man that was sane would have followed a dark spirit into a deep dark pit, not knowing where it would go? Yes, Chaon had come to the realization that madness would help him become who he needed to be.

He could see the glowing white eyes watching him from behind the bleak tree. It was creepy, but it did not deter him. He knew that the shadowy figure was his guide, and he was going to let it guide him until it no longer intended to. Then it floated over to him, speaking again. As it spoke, it pointed off in the distance. Chaon watched as the trees parted, giving way to a glowing orange light. Chaon looked back to the shadow, nodding before he walked toward the light. This was all a test, a way to see who Chaon really was. He wanted to become a powerful warrior. A true Sith. This was the path he needed to take.

[member="Dredge"]
[member="Amarthaer Saptheth"]