---STYGIAN CALDERA
---ZIOST
A world of crystalline wonder where the sun shone bright yet the cold pierced the very bones of all who found their feet walking upon its surface. Ziost was home the Great Citadel of the Sith Order. Typically used less and less these days - Darth Tormentous had, in his time, created a grand library and archive where physical tomes and treasures were to be kept. Now forgotten. The Citadel was a towering monolith as large and vast as any grand cathedral one could imagine. But now it was just a cold empty tomb. Like much of Ziost.
Beyond the Citadel lay vast forests once vibrant and green as far as the eye could see. Now they were all frozen in time as the Dark Side of the Force covered this place like a blanket and stole away that which would have ever considered life in this place.
Yet beyond this petrified forest lay a glorious mountainscape where thundering mountains froze and glaciers stilled their path. Peaks of ridiculous height, some of which stole so high no oxygen hardly existed at all. Canyons broken and carved alike speared pathways where depths fell unto an unending blackness. Caverns snaked through mountains, some through solid ice, others through the frozen rock. Ancient waterfalls and reservoirs.
Ziost was a place of singular beauty. But one of heartbreaking sadness. The Darkness that lingered here was powerful. Many a story had begun here and ended just as quickly. Empires had made seat of Ziost only to vanish like dust on a breeze.
Darth Tormentous had not made Ziost what it is today but he had come to this place often. Where Moraband was the gateway to the Stygian Caldera and rightfully the capital of the Sith Order. Ziost was the ancient relic of mystery and forbidden secrecy. It was that darkened gemstone that never truthfully shined.
Wind whipped at his cape as he stood from a jutting outcrop in the mountains. His view was dominated by endless valleys, saddles and ridges of the natural landscape. Often he traveled the mountains. There was so much to learn out here. So many secrets just waiting to be discovered. If one desired power. They would not starve for it here. But power as one would have it was not truthfully power. One’s power came from not the high standing tower on their own two legs - but with a mighty base from which no storm could blow against.
Tormentous looked up to the stars above and so he reached to those that would hear him.
A sense of promise.
A sense of power.
The Cold
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Professor Mors
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Re: The Cold
With a cry, Sa'ato's study filled instantly with ash, smoke, and a good bout of dry heaving. The Neti scowled down at where he assumed the ruined tincture he'd been laboring over had met its untimely end. Three hours of work for cheap pyrotechnics! What a waste! It took several minutes and some aid from the Force to render the interior of the room visible once more. No sooner had the professor finished cleaning up before the shockwave from a very different sort of eruption rippled across his thoughts. No– not an eruption– an entreaty, an invitation roaring up from the Dark Side. Posed, the professor wagered with a thin smile, by its supreme emissary.
Not missing a beat, the professor strode out from his personal sanctum and made towards the upper levels with all possible speed. Along the way, he caught, quite literally, a stumbling grunt of the Order by the scruff of his dirt-stained jacket. "Inform Acolyte Austjor that her presence is requested in the hangar", the Neti growled quietly, watching intently as the poor servant's complexion blanched at their proximity. The hapless sentient could only nod, before bolting for the nearest corridor and questioning why their luck was so lacking. The academic, somewhat struck with curiosity, watched until they ran from view, shrugged his shoulders, and continued on.
Upon reaching the outer hangar and the blocky exterior of the Mudhorn, the Neti stomped aboard and began to prepare the old Pursuer-class for launch. Having sensed the general direction of the summons, it did not take him long to complete this task. Such being the case, Sa'ato took care to check the various ship provisions: cold weather gear, rations, and potential shelter and accessories. He made a handful of trips to and from the nearest supply depot across the way, content that if Aliclair happened to appear while packing, she would board of her own volition. The Neti could not be completely certain she too had heard the call– but the balance of probability was encouraging…
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Sa'ato Mors
Sa'ato Mors
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Aliclair Austjor
- Full Member
- Posts: 252
- Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2021 5:03 am
Re: The Cold
Brutchus could hardly contain his excitement. It'd been far too long since he and his Master gone hunting together, and now he had an amore to share his adventures with. His spiked tail wagged vigerously as he paced within Ali's quarters while his feminine counterpart just watched with curiosity. She'd been made a companion for about a month or two now and adjusting to her new life with the itchy collar and wearing a tether from time to time but the meals and roof she'd gained in exchange from being a homeless mutt in the sandy dunes wasn't half bad. Opening her large jaws to release a yawn, she casted her eyeless sockets toward the feline in question. Aliclair had hardly noticed the beckoning call of the Lord of Torment with her own plans circling her head. Though, it did earn spiked hackles of the felidae hybrid for the moment he did signal out. But it was brushed away.
"Alright; rope, arrows, medicinal herbs... am I missing anything? Ah, well; anything I miss here I can find on the land. Come, you two it's time to get an actual meal." the feminine Acolyte stated while grabbing her leg pouch to head out her doors. Just to be met with a sort of wondering worker of the Order once she opened them.
"Acolyte Austjor?"
"That's me. How can I assist?"
"The High Priest requests you to the Hanger. He uhm... didn't say more than that. A-am I free to go?" he stammered for a moment. Aliclair heard 'High Priest' and her tail slightly raised. Professor Sa'ato... what could he wish for the two to do now? Her ears swiveled a moment as she got lost in thought before snapping back to reality. "Hm? Oh uhm. Yes, of course." she mused softly, still briefly lost before regaining her composure. The grunt nodded in grace before hurrying away. The feminine just sighed before making her way to said Hanger to fulfil the request Sa'ato had made. "Lets see what chaos he wishes to brew now... she thought while making her way with her two Raqs by her sides. As she walked, something knawed at the back of her head. A beacon from Tormentous, followed by the Professor's summon. Aliclair had no interest in interacting with her Reaper.
The hybrid Acolyte made her way up the boarding ramp of the Professor's ship and called out; "If this is what I think all of this is for than I'm not going with you, Professor." she bluntly stated while standing there to rally her message then depart. However, The Darkside of the Force had other plans; the bottom of her tied footwraps caught onto a semi-poking screw. Unfortunately, she didn't catch it in time, pulling her foot, and ankle, to twist in an unnatural manner. Ali let out a pained yelped while struggling to not only get her foot free but to find balance, which ended in vain and her roughly landing on the exo-skeleton'ed back of Brutchus. He stayed as still as he could while his owner's anger grew in a poisoning aura. "F-fine. Be that way." she cussed the inanimate will that was The Force. The large canine laid himself down so that Ali could fix herself to sit on the ground of the Mudhorn, dislodging her wraps. The mate of Brutchus trotted further into the ship to give a happy greeting to the Neti, not having had seen him in awhile, her tail wagging slightly as to say, 'Wow hello, friend! My owner hurt herself in a dumb way; help her'
"Alright; rope, arrows, medicinal herbs... am I missing anything? Ah, well; anything I miss here I can find on the land. Come, you two it's time to get an actual meal." the feminine Acolyte stated while grabbing her leg pouch to head out her doors. Just to be met with a sort of wondering worker of the Order once she opened them.
"Acolyte Austjor?"
"That's me. How can I assist?"
"The High Priest requests you to the Hanger. He uhm... didn't say more than that. A-am I free to go?" he stammered for a moment. Aliclair heard 'High Priest' and her tail slightly raised. Professor Sa'ato... what could he wish for the two to do now? Her ears swiveled a moment as she got lost in thought before snapping back to reality. "Hm? Oh uhm. Yes, of course." she mused softly, still briefly lost before regaining her composure. The grunt nodded in grace before hurrying away. The feminine just sighed before making her way to said Hanger to fulfil the request Sa'ato had made. "Lets see what chaos he wishes to brew now... she thought while making her way with her two Raqs by her sides. As she walked, something knawed at the back of her head. A beacon from Tormentous, followed by the Professor's summon. Aliclair had no interest in interacting with her Reaper.
The hybrid Acolyte made her way up the boarding ramp of the Professor's ship and called out; "If this is what I think all of this is for than I'm not going with you, Professor." she bluntly stated while standing there to rally her message then depart. However, The Darkside of the Force had other plans; the bottom of her tied footwraps caught onto a semi-poking screw. Unfortunately, she didn't catch it in time, pulling her foot, and ankle, to twist in an unnatural manner. Ali let out a pained yelped while struggling to not only get her foot free but to find balance, which ended in vain and her roughly landing on the exo-skeleton'ed back of Brutchus. He stayed as still as he could while his owner's anger grew in a poisoning aura. "F-fine. Be that way." she cussed the inanimate will that was The Force. The large canine laid himself down so that Ali could fix herself to sit on the ground of the Mudhorn, dislodging her wraps. The mate of Brutchus trotted further into the ship to give a happy greeting to the Neti, not having had seen him in awhile, her tail wagging slightly as to say, 'Wow hello, friend! My owner hurt herself in a dumb way; help her'
[ wip ]
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Jacobi Wylcott
- Full Member
- Posts: 515
- Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2017 8:41 pm
Re: The Cold
Had they heard him?
Knowing not of the truth the Dark One descended the high peaks. To strengthen oneself it was wise to form the base. This base would come. He knew at least this much to be true. But he had to prepare for the arrival and so he made his way down.
Icy fingers were the peaks of Ziost, stabbing out into the thin oxygen of this altitude and he left those threatening fingers behind. Many hours through the mountain trails swiftly covered over by fresh snow did not stop him from his path and through the heights he did wind until reaching the first of caverns. Ice formed of an ancient glacier’s waterflow.
He entered and made in to the cavern where a far distant glow echoed through the ice and gave the carvern an inner light. The glow was the flow of the earth itself. Molten rock rivers brightly glowing and churning through the deep. They case their distant glow unto the ice where the cavern took on a light blue and very often a deep blue yet ominous glow.
Tormentous moved into the depths of the cavern. The ice flows were slick even to his textured boot and he had to tread carefully for he knew not what lay at the end of one of these flows. Likely a frozen waterfall covered in stalagmites ready to impale a curious or perhaps clumsy adventurer. But for the depths of beauty in this cavern there was a sickness here. The Dark Side of the Force. It was more than the chill of the ice. It bore into you like a slow knife piercing the base of the skull. It was as a slow moving inevitability. Before you knew it - it had you in its icy grip and once its claws were sunk in - it was already too late.
Along the walls of this cavern were claw marks of a passing monstrosity of vast size. Easy to miss because they played to the eye and went beyond the natural scale. This was no trio claw obviously carved nor even the slash of a local predator. This was a gouge lain into the ice and beyond into the rockface. It defied typical perception and so the eyes usually wouldn’t pick up on them. Only the very aware or those with tracking experience would likely notice. Difficult, yet not impossible.
Tormentous moved further in, the winding trails within this cavern took him finally to the central body. A massive inner chamber of which the ceiling disappeared into the gloom. An ancient pool frozen solid overseen by a fifteen or so foot frozen waterfall. The edge of the southern spit of the pool lay another frozen fall - the pool being the midtier. The southern fall dropped off into nothingness with only the extreme distant glow of the magma flows below.
Finding his place now he moved to the center of the pool. Its smooth icy surface welcoming his boot falls as he crunched over it. Once in the center he looked down.
“Time to wake up.”
Knowing not of the truth the Dark One descended the high peaks. To strengthen oneself it was wise to form the base. This base would come. He knew at least this much to be true. But he had to prepare for the arrival and so he made his way down.
Icy fingers were the peaks of Ziost, stabbing out into the thin oxygen of this altitude and he left those threatening fingers behind. Many hours through the mountain trails swiftly covered over by fresh snow did not stop him from his path and through the heights he did wind until reaching the first of caverns. Ice formed of an ancient glacier’s waterflow.
He entered and made in to the cavern where a far distant glow echoed through the ice and gave the carvern an inner light. The glow was the flow of the earth itself. Molten rock rivers brightly glowing and churning through the deep. They case their distant glow unto the ice where the cavern took on a light blue and very often a deep blue yet ominous glow.
Tormentous moved into the depths of the cavern. The ice flows were slick even to his textured boot and he had to tread carefully for he knew not what lay at the end of one of these flows. Likely a frozen waterfall covered in stalagmites ready to impale a curious or perhaps clumsy adventurer. But for the depths of beauty in this cavern there was a sickness here. The Dark Side of the Force. It was more than the chill of the ice. It bore into you like a slow knife piercing the base of the skull. It was as a slow moving inevitability. Before you knew it - it had you in its icy grip and once its claws were sunk in - it was already too late.
Along the walls of this cavern were claw marks of a passing monstrosity of vast size. Easy to miss because they played to the eye and went beyond the natural scale. This was no trio claw obviously carved nor even the slash of a local predator. This was a gouge lain into the ice and beyond into the rockface. It defied typical perception and so the eyes usually wouldn’t pick up on them. Only the very aware or those with tracking experience would likely notice. Difficult, yet not impossible.
Tormentous moved further in, the winding trails within this cavern took him finally to the central body. A massive inner chamber of which the ceiling disappeared into the gloom. An ancient pool frozen solid overseen by a fifteen or so foot frozen waterfall. The edge of the southern spit of the pool lay another frozen fall - the pool being the midtier. The southern fall dropped off into nothingness with only the extreme distant glow of the magma flows below.
Finding his place now he moved to the center of the pool. Its smooth icy surface welcoming his boot falls as he crunched over it. Once in the center he looked down.
“Time to wake up.”
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Professor Mors
- Full Member
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- Joined: Tue Sep 19, 2017 11:58 pm
- Location: Unknown
Re: The Cold
Sa'ato smirked as fate, for once, prevented his colleague from retreating at the first sign of trouble. In an instant, that momentary warmth was replaced with the Neti's usual severity. "You asked me to teach you the history of our order– you express a desire to learn the culture of the Sith–", the professor remarked coldly, before extending a sinuous finger toward the heavens, "Our Lord is pointing the way– he is calling us so we may share in the collective knowledge of our creed". The professor then turned about and hurried up the ramp of the old Pursuer-class. He did not bother to look over his shoulder, confident that his point had been made.
It did not take long to traverse the Gordian interior. In less than two hours, the professor found himself correcting and recorrecting approach vectors in an effort to traverse the snow-blasted lower atmosphere of Ziost. An additional twenty minutes presented him with visibility– another ten revealed a rocky outcropping that seemed unlikely to vanish if the local tectonics proved troublesome. Getting up from the pilot's chair, Sa'ato checked his armor, and ensured his lightweapons were firmly clasped to his belt. They would not require extensive provisions. This he knew, this he felt. Still, emotion compelled him to stop in the doorway, and carefully regard his feline copilot.
"I understand your bond with the pair is strong", the Neti commented dryly, watching Aliclair closely, "It is one thing to have them at hand in the larger galaxy– but where the Force is concerned, you might have been better off leaving them at the temple". Sa'ato was fully aware that the two skull hounds were hardly pushovers. He had seen them work firsthand, and was even grateful for their intervention, on occasion. Nonetheless, Ziost was Ziost. The predators of Yavin were mostly free of any sorcerous meddling. The same could not be said of Korriban, much less its distant, frozen cousin.
No, meddling was a discredit to this sub-zero sanctuary. Anything that breathed and dwelt here did so through the providence of the Dark Side itself. Simply put, any native life was in a league entirely its own. "I will not make such decisions for you, I merely caution you of what lies ahead", the professor offered in earnest, before concluding, "If you need companionship beyond what I can provide, you might consider requisitioning one of the Massassi, or else an alchemical familiar from the Lord Sovereign". With that, the arboreal academic finally moved to depart. Stepping out into the frigid wastes, he ignited his main saber in an attempt to sort the billowing snow from ground below.
Off in the distance, Sa'ato could just barely differentiate the onyx maw of a cave…
It did not take long to traverse the Gordian interior. In less than two hours, the professor found himself correcting and recorrecting approach vectors in an effort to traverse the snow-blasted lower atmosphere of Ziost. An additional twenty minutes presented him with visibility– another ten revealed a rocky outcropping that seemed unlikely to vanish if the local tectonics proved troublesome. Getting up from the pilot's chair, Sa'ato checked his armor, and ensured his lightweapons were firmly clasped to his belt. They would not require extensive provisions. This he knew, this he felt. Still, emotion compelled him to stop in the doorway, and carefully regard his feline copilot.
"I understand your bond with the pair is strong", the Neti commented dryly, watching Aliclair closely, "It is one thing to have them at hand in the larger galaxy– but where the Force is concerned, you might have been better off leaving them at the temple". Sa'ato was fully aware that the two skull hounds were hardly pushovers. He had seen them work firsthand, and was even grateful for their intervention, on occasion. Nonetheless, Ziost was Ziost. The predators of Yavin were mostly free of any sorcerous meddling. The same could not be said of Korriban, much less its distant, frozen cousin.
No, meddling was a discredit to this sub-zero sanctuary. Anything that breathed and dwelt here did so through the providence of the Dark Side itself. Simply put, any native life was in a league entirely its own. "I will not make such decisions for you, I merely caution you of what lies ahead", the professor offered in earnest, before concluding, "If you need companionship beyond what I can provide, you might consider requisitioning one of the Massassi, or else an alchemical familiar from the Lord Sovereign". With that, the arboreal academic finally moved to depart. Stepping out into the frigid wastes, he ignited his main saber in an attempt to sort the billowing snow from ground below.
Off in the distance, Sa'ato could just barely differentiate the onyx maw of a cave…
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Sa'ato Mors
Sa'ato Mors
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Aliclair Austjor
- Full Member
- Posts: 252
- Joined: Fri Feb 12, 2021 5:03 am
Re: The Cold
From the ground, Ali could only offer the oaken Professor a small glare. The words she could spat at him were withheld for the time being and she just got to her functioning foot while slowly getting upright. It was hard to argue with the fact she did wish to learn all she could about the sith, Aliclair would just need to face her fears. Especially the source of her fears, the belly of the beast...
Ali went back to sitting on the metallic floors of Sa'ato's ship to effectively wrap her ankle and feet. It wasn't a major sprain and would recover within a day or two but the limp was unavoidable. "If The Lord doesn't want them around then they can stay here. I trust Brutchus will keep Karlic in check and not destroy anything; I do not need their companionship but when he senses me out of wack, he refuses to leave my side." she simply said while finishing the wraps. Standing and testing weight, the hybrid could walk on her foot but as predicted, she had a small limp. The feminine let out a sigh to release tensions within herself before noticing the type of planet the group was headed toward. "Damn, a frozen planet.. they wont do well in that weather. Unless." she thought before going into her pack to pull out a needle and thread while unrolling a bedroll she'd taken for her trip.
A rough 20 minutes passed and Aliclair bit the thread from her sown piece to reveal she'd made two makeshift canine jackets for the duo, along with a fur face cover to protect their skulls. The final touch was the canine booties that they did not like whatsoever. But after reassurance, and treats, they trotted about to grow adjust to them.
Aliclair's hackles couldn't help but to stay risen the entire trip. She could not believe she was just going toward the demon who started her Sith journey... but if The Force says otherwise, who was she to fight against it? Ali's ears swiveled back while watching the abyssal cavemouth come closer and closer. She opened her mouth to ask something but than shut it, deciding it'd be best to just toughen up and to go get prepared for the frozen wasteland based on what she had in her packs.
Ali went back to sitting on the metallic floors of Sa'ato's ship to effectively wrap her ankle and feet. It wasn't a major sprain and would recover within a day or two but the limp was unavoidable. "If The Lord doesn't want them around then they can stay here. I trust Brutchus will keep Karlic in check and not destroy anything; I do not need their companionship but when he senses me out of wack, he refuses to leave my side." she simply said while finishing the wraps. Standing and testing weight, the hybrid could walk on her foot but as predicted, she had a small limp. The feminine let out a sigh to release tensions within herself before noticing the type of planet the group was headed toward. "Damn, a frozen planet.. they wont do well in that weather. Unless." she thought before going into her pack to pull out a needle and thread while unrolling a bedroll she'd taken for her trip.
A rough 20 minutes passed and Aliclair bit the thread from her sown piece to reveal she'd made two makeshift canine jackets for the duo, along with a fur face cover to protect their skulls. The final touch was the canine booties that they did not like whatsoever. But after reassurance, and treats, they trotted about to grow adjust to them.
Aliclair's hackles couldn't help but to stay risen the entire trip. She could not believe she was just going toward the demon who started her Sith journey... but if The Force says otherwise, who was she to fight against it? Ali's ears swiveled back while watching the abyssal cavemouth come closer and closer. She opened her mouth to ask something but than shut it, deciding it'd be best to just toughen up and to go get prepared for the frozen wasteland based on what she had in her packs.
[ wip ]