Trek through Wayland

High Prophet Crozeus · Trek through Wayland

High Prophet Crozeus stood in front of his own craft in the main Temple hangar. He was waiting for his apprentice. They were about to depart on their last mission together. He was dressed for jungle exploration and combat, wearing a light dark tunic and a shirt of orbalisk shell mail. His lightsabers were all fitted appropriately.

In his hand he held a slender box fashioned out of some expensive wood, the name of which Crozeus had forgotten.

Durza

Durza entered the hangar, and saw his master, holding a box made of wood. His orbalisk-shell armor was a sight, especially since there were very few orbilisks to his knowledge. "I am here, but you could probably have sensed me already." Durza said standing at his master's side. Durza was not wearing his robes, but an officers uniform that he sewed himself out of the appropriate cloth. It was in the style of the sith students uniform of Darth Revan's time, that he found a holograph of in the library, and found a fancy for. He always liked antiques. He also had a backpack, with items he thought might be useful, such being 2 reusable grappling hooks, two flares, a comlink, 5 thermal detonators, a DLT-20A blaster rifle, enough food rations to last a few days, and a condensing canteen.

((The Sith Student Uniform like from KotOR 1))

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus greeted his apprentice with a nod.

"This is for you. May it serve you well."

He handed the box over to Durza, and at his nod Durza opened it. Inside it was a polished silver and chrome alloy lightsaber. It could be used as a double bladed saber or separated into two individual blades. Set into velvet holders around the hilt were crystals, both of power and colour, and lenses to focus the blade in many different ways. The whole thing, if being purchased, would cost somewhere around three hundred thousand credits. Crozeus had taken a selection, with permission of course, from the Church armoury.

The High Prophet smiled slightly. He knew his apprentice was obsessed with changing his lightsaber. Perhaps now he could settle on something he liked... on the other hand he could become worse! It didn't matter. This was the second time Crozeus had been on a mission with an apprentice. He didn't want to think about the others. Maybe, finally, he would be able to knight someone.

"Durza, we are flying to Wayland. I trust your ship, or one you can commandeer is somewhere in this hangar," Crozeus said, waving his hand over the vast collection of ships and people in the hangar.

"Follow me there. I will explain what we are doing when we get there."

With that Crozeus left the box in Durza's hands and climbed into his ship, The Masar's Revenge. He prepped for launch, thinking about the last time he made his Infardus, as it was known. His pilgrimage. Durza would have an incredible experience. Or he would not be able to take it. He would become incredibly powerful, or he would go mad. Or die. Or worse.

Crozeus took off, the previously informed dockers knowing not to question him as he soared through the early morning skies into the atmosphere and finally into space He waited for Durza's ship to fall in line with his and then he would jump. For now he watched the lumbering Star Destroyers on patrol, mammoth vessels compared to his fighter.

((Durza, I expect your posts to be of decent length, at least two good sized paragraphs in each. Think about feelings, emotions, the area around you.))

Durza

((Yes sir))

Durza was honored by the gift, but he would have to add the crystals to it later, and he watched as his master flew away. He realized he was wasting time, so he began to look for his ship. "I had been training so long, and had given no thought to my ship. I have no clue were it is" He said to himself, not caring who heard. "I guess I'll just have to commandeer one" He thought.

He began to move his eyes over each gleaming ship, looking for the one he thought would work best. "It has to have a hyperdrive, so It can't be a fighter" He said to the Technician standing beside him. He decided on an old Mon Calamari light freighter, "What ship is that?" he said, gesturing towards the light freighter. "That's the "Tarentatek", its an Mon Calamari Shipyards MC18. But why would you want that one? its ancient"
Durza simply said, "Does it run?"
"Yes, but..." The Technician replied
"Then its fine, now go, and get it ready"
The Technician said nothing, and prepared his ship.
And 30 min. later he had set his hyperdrive co-ordinates to Wayland.

He sat in the pilot's chair and began to work on his new lightsaber, presented to him by his master. He opened the box and pulled out the long hilt. He split it in two, and then begand to add the crystals, and lenses. In the first he used a Sigil crystal, a red crystal for color, and a Vibration lens. He did the same to the second, but instead of Sigil, he used Jenroux. He lifted himself out of the very uncorfortable chair, and went to his quarters. He ignited the double-bladed lightsaber, and began to train, "After I master, or at least get used to this, I'll split it in two and train with two" He said to himself, gazing at the blood red blades. He hated the smell of this ship, and couldn't wait to be on Wayland, although, it might smell worse.

He hovered over the landscape, and found Crozues' ship. He landed nearby, and found his master standing next to his own ship.

High Prophet Crozeus

"Welcome to Wayland," Crozeus said, stretching his arms out to show the humid jungle around them that stretched for miles. The High Prophet knew the way to the Wayland Temple from the "Intern's Clearing" as it was known, as Interns were not allowed to land on the Temple itself... that would be cheating. The paths that Interns took, all of them different, had been all but overgrown by the jungle, so it was hard to tell where others had been. Many Interns had been lost in the jungles.

"I'm going to give you the lead. Use the Force to lead us to the temple. You should be able to feel it, just slightly, in the Force."

Durza

Durza sat on a stump, and reached out with the force. "Slightly" was the wrong word. He felt it, seething in the dark side, although, not that much.
He took a small bandana out of his pocket, and tied it over his eyes. He would use the force to guide himself through the thick, wet jungle. He felt not just the temple, but the creatures. He decided to try to avoid the organisms, if at all possible. He started walking, feeling everything, the animals, the trees, the small plants, and even the worms in the dirt. He found a tall tree, and climbed it to the top. From this vantage point Durza could see the dark aura of the temple clearly, seemingly not too far. He waved Crozeus to climb also, and then JUMPED! Grappling onto the trees hurt his hands, but it was worth it. He could avoid the creatures he could tell were dangerous, and could easily pass any creatures below, unless they flew.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus didn't particularly like climbing trees. However, he had given his apprentice lead, and with some reluctance he followed, although instead of climbing he simply levitated himself up to tree level height and glided along behind Durza. Soon Crozeus spotted a flock of Shy'rak, ugly bat like creatures that normally dwell in caves but some variants of them had adapted to the jungle.

Crozeus masked his presence, so they would not detect him. It would be up to his apprentice to deal with this threat. His first test. First of many.

Durza

Durza also noticed the Shy'Rak, feeling them with the force, and quickly reacted at a distance, hiding his presence, he sat on a limb, and took off the bandana. He looked around and found an old, dead tree, that was completely uprooted from the ground. It was somewere around 5 meters tall, and very thick. It would be adequate. He closed his eyes, and lifted it to the height of the group of Shy'Rak. He threw it at the small group, killingall but one. He felt this remaining foe with the force, and crushed it wing, leaving it as food for any predators.

He arrived at the clearing around the temple, his master still hovering behind him. He flew off the tree, levitating, and landed on his feet at the bottom of a large, viciously menacing staircase. He was dirty, and wiped the bark from the trees off of his clothes.

"Should we set up camp, and wait for tommorrow? Or just enter?" Durza said, watching his master land behing him.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus landed with an undignified thud and frowned. Landing was the one thing he hadn't quite got the hang of yet. Dusting himself off he looked at his sweating apprentice.

"Camping here would mean we would be frozen or eaten alive by the big cats of the jungle. We go in."

Reluctantly, Durza started off up the steps. Crozeus followed, deciding that it would be good for his fitness to go up the steps when he could just glide. However they were only up a thousand of the twenty thousand long staircase when they came under blaster fire from a group located further up. Durza and Crozeus flew into cover behind the wall of the staircase and made themselves as small as possible as blaster fire chipped the granite and left smoking holes in the rain in the stairs. Crozeus could not see where they were being shot at from - the fog and the rain was obscuring natural vision, and the darkness inside the Temple was hiding their enemies from view in the Force. Using mathmatics, Crozeus worked out that the fire was coming down from four flights above them. The flights of stairs were in groups of one hundred, snaking up diagonally.

"Bandits," Crozeus hissed. Usually they didn't go anywhere near the Temple, choosing usually to prey on unsuspecting pilgrims. The Prophets tended to scare them off, but they were fairly low down. Perhaps the Prophets hadn't even noticed. Very few manned the Wayland Chapter anyway.

"Four flights ahead of us. What do you think we should do?" Crozeus asked his apprentice. It seemed Durza was being tested before he could even reach the Temple.

Durza

Durza, trying to dodge the blaster fire, felt out with the force. He could feel their presence. He jumped over into a group of bushes, masking his presence with the force. He ran into the deeper forest. About a minute later, he was in the woods behind them. He watched them, deciding his next move. He leaped at the biggest of five men, thumbing his lightsaber on, and after slicing his head off, jumped into the limbs of the trees looming over the posse. He jumped onto the shoulder of the next man, letting his weight push his face into the dirt.

He simultaneously pushed the remaining men onto their backs, lit his lightsaber, sliced the man under his feet's head off, and turned his attention to the remaining three. He pulled one of the blasters to his left palm. It was slippery with the mud, but he could use it. He shot one man in the head, leaving a hole in his forehead. He dropped it, jumped between the two men, and spun, slicing both in half. He ran back over to the side of the stairs, and jumped as high as he could, landing just a little farther up the stair than he was before. He continued up the stairs, wishing he was in a kitchen, relaxed, cooking.

That made him very hungry. He pulled the backpack off, opened it up, and grabbed a dry ration pack, and some glow rods, sticking the glow rods into his back pocket. He left the pack, and took off his jacket as he continued up the steps, simply dropping the jacket, not caring if it was ruined. Eating the food, although not the best thing He'd ever eaten, it still gave him more strength. A few minutes later, he was almost all the way up the stairs, or at least closer than before.

((Yeah, I'm sorry for that, I was in a hurry, and I was in a very stressful situation at the moment. Is it acceptable now?))

High Prophet Crozeus

((That is not sufficient. I assume you did that in a hurry, but it will not help you. I asked before for at least 2 decent paragraphs per post. You made many errors, both in spelling and in a roleplay sense - an apprentice does not have the ability to turn a mind. Edit your post.

Edit - thank you, that is much better. It is always a better option, if you don't have the time, to leave it.))

The High Prophet continued to follow his apprentice. He passed the corpses of the bandits and felt small life energies still in one. Unceremoniously, he stamped on his neck with his boot. He relished in the man's last moments. It had been too long since he had killed. Seeing Durza determinedly making his way up the seemingly never ending steps Crozeus quickened his pace. He had not eaten in days and he did not need to. He was sustained by the quick murder he had just committed.

After a good few days of climbing they reached the top of the Temple. Prophet Third Class Dal'Mach greeted them as they arrived, Durza almost dead from exhaustion, Crozeus breathing lightly. Dal'Mach was relaxing under a cover from the non-stop torrential downpoar.

"Ah, High Prophet. I have not seen you for some time," the elderly man said, heaving himself up to greet Crozeus.

"Nevertheless, it is good to see you. Safety and peace, brother," Crozeus replied, shaking the man's wrinkled hand warmly. Dal'Mach opened the old doors to the Temple and closed them behind the High Prophet and his apprentice. They were submerged in darkness almost instantly.

"We are walking down a great corridor. Stretching off it are several chambers. One is the one you are meant to turn down. It is calling to you. Can you feel it?"

Crozeus spoke into the air. He knew the layout of the Temple off by heart, at least the areas he had explored. Durza walked blindly, as his eyes were not yet accustomed to the dark.

"Stretch out. Feel the Temple around you. Where should you go?"

Durza

((What is supposed to be in the chamber? Is there something in particular? or do I make it all up?))

High Prophet Crozeus

((I will describe that. All you have to do is choose which way to go. Describe what your character is feeling. Remember he can only see with the Force, not his eyes, and he will be very disoriented.))

Durza

Durza slowly walked forward, slightly disoriented, but, having spent most of his life on corscant, and mostly in the lower sections, he was easily getting reajusted to the darkness. He remembered all those years he spent in the lower city, were everyone who passed by you one second, could turn around and kill you the next. The Hall smelled of age, and evil. Both were smells Durza enjoyed, and smelled often.

The walls of the Hall were made of a strange stone, covered with odd markings that he could not decipher. He could feel his Master's persence, looming behind his own like a great shadow. Durza used the force to give himself strength, for all those stairs made him tired. He was filled with exitment, hoping his knighting was soon. Durza turned his head, and looked at his master. He felt out with the force, and walked into one of the chambers.

(Sorry if it is a little short, but I'm just walking in a uniform hall, and entering a door... there's not much to say, so I made it as long as I could))

High Prophet Crozeus

((It was just what I wanted.))

The High Prophet smiled as Durza walked through the door. There was a Prophet in him, that much was certain. Crozeus raised his hands and light appeared from chandeliers and candelabras high above them. It showed just how huge the hall was - far larger than it would have appeared from the outside. One could not see the ceiling.

Before them stretched shelves, countless rows of shelves, each stacked with a silvery orb, although they different in size and occasionally colour.

"Welcome," Crozeus said, "To the Hall of Prophecy." After a brief pause as Durza took the scale of it all in they started walking. They passed rows with Prophecies forseen by ancient Sith... Lady Saber, when she was Supreme Prophet, Darth Shadow when he was but a High Prophet like Crozeus, even Lord Prognie in his tenure as Supreme Prophet.

Crozeus stopped and turned, his face shrouded by the minuscule light far above them. "Choose a Prophecy. Any one. Bring it back to me."

((Check the Church's Chamber of Dark Visons))

Durza

((I will be absent for one week, starting thursday, and ending late wednesday.))

Durza

It took almost thirty minutes for Durza to find the prophecy he thought would be appropriate. He grabbed the orb, walked over to Crozeus, and held it before himself.

"The Jedi are here,
drawing nearer...

Taking more than one,
Before training is done.

The Grand Sith Empire,
Is quickly losing its fire.

Act now, strike fast,
To protect this caste."

Durza said, reciting the very true prophecy of the former Empress Saber, who was at the time of the prophecy, a Supreme Prophetess of the Dark Side.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus nodded. It was quite a well known Prophecy, as it was taken when the Empire was under serious threat. That was back when Chick was Empress. Crozeus thought for a moment and then spoke.

"What do you think about that Prophecy, Durza? What did you think it meant?"

Durza

((It seems that I have arrived somewhat earlier than expected.))

Durza pondered upon the prophecy, and then answered.

"I think it meant, or means, that most of the students fail, and that our numbers are thinning immensely. Even now it is true. And the end of the prophecy means that we have to recruit. We have to recruit ones that will be strong enough, and loyal enough. It is a prophecy that needs to be taken seriously, and acted upon."

Durza turned his back toward his master, and returned the orb to its original place. He glanced up for the first time in this room, and was his eyes gleamed in amazement at the huge collection of prophecies. He returned his sight to his master striking face, lit by the chandeliers hung high in the room. The room was silent for a moment.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus raised an eyebrow, smiling very slightly. When it came down to Prophetic Analysis, there were no real right or wrong answers. Sometimes, the Prophets would interpret visions entirely the wrong way at the time, and then realise later what it really meant. Sometimes, interpreting it the wrong way was what they were meant to do. It was fascinating, the way in which the Force worked. And that was why Crozeus loved his job.

"Verse by verse, apprentice. Think of the first two lines. The Jedi are drawing nearer, okay, pretty simple. You can't really read into that very much. What about the next two lines? Taking more than one before training is done? Or the lines after that? What is the Lady saying?"

For the High Prophet it was a fairly simple Prophecy to examine. However it was not his place to judge. He remembered being put in his place by the late Chapter Master of Wayland when he was but an Intern.

Durza

Durza thought about his next words. He then recited p\a part of the prophecy once more.

"Taking more than one, before training is done.
I believe this means that too many apprentices are.... failing."

"The grand Sith Empire is quickly losing its fire.
I believe this also means to be cautious of the lack of numbers."

"Act now, strike fast, to protect this caste.
It obviously means to take action. Although it may mean that there are fewer and fewer prophets, but I do not know the current number of them, or what the amount used to be, so I'm unsure."

He paused, almost out of breath, and then commented "It's a fairly simple prophecy to read, but still holds value in these wary times... What do you think High Prophet?"

Durza's anxiety was too much for him to handle. He had made it farther than Crozeus' other apprentices, but that didn’t make him prefect, or invincible. You could never be physically invincible, but you could be intelligent, and through intelligence, and wisdom, could be invincible.

High Prophet Crozeus

"It means that in those days, there were so many young Sith and not enough older Sith to have single Master/apprentice pairs. As a result, some Sith had to take on two or maybe even three apprentices. This happens now, though not as much."

Crozeus walked over to a shelf of orbs. "Back then, the Empire was under serious threat. Fortunately, apprentices that were... rushed through training at a rapid rate, Sith such as Dark Lord Alor and Darth Thrax. Thank Shadow the gamble paid off. Those Sith are now some of the most powerful in the Empire."

He turned back to Durza. "What do you think of the Empire today, Durza?"

Durza

Durza cautiously replied

"I think, that while I believe in the rule of two, your solution seems to be working. What bane destroyed was and abomination, for it had faint ideas of equality. That is not a mistake made here, for there are superiors, and ranks. If you are weak, you will not gain rank. If you are of moderate strength, you will gain some rank. And, if you are the strongest, you may, just may claim the title of Emporer. I say that with all respect, and with no thought to overthrow, or succede the current Emporer."

He then said,

"I think the Empire will make it's way. It's path, in my eyes, is not clear, but I believe it will survive."

He walked over to Crozeus, and stood at his side, waiting for his wise Master's next words.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus nodded. "Sit down, my apprentice. Close your eyes. Feel this place around you. Strip away the walls and the plaster, the floors and the ceiling. Feel the living Force that pulsates through everything. Tap into it. Talk to it. Let it talk to you. It won't make sense at first, not to your brain. But you will speak. And I will understand."

The power of Dark Prophecy, also known as Dark Vision was not one that any Sith could learn. It effectively enabled Sith to see the future. And that was exactly what the Prophets were about.

((Create a Prophecy. It doesn't have to be particularly long, nor does it have to rhyme. It just has to be intelligent.))

Durza

Durza sat, cross-legged in one of the chairs. He let the force flow through his veins. He reached out, and felt Crozeus' presence. Beyond that, he noticed each Orb of Prophecy too, had a Dark Presence. Even the walls emanated a Dark Side Aura. Durza felt beyond that, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head, in a trance. He had felt not just the walls, but the universe beyond that. Each planet, teeming with life, and death.

The walls did not speak. It was the sound of the planets that had the loudest and most audible speech. The words were not words, but a screech, an alarmed scream from the universe.

His eyes rolled back forward, pure black. His mouth opened and out came a screeching voice, which shook the room. A voice that said,

"At the beginning of time,
There was the Force.
The Force was One.

The factions came,
Dark and light.
Yet The Force was One.

The battle has turned,
As the waves of Kamino sway.

The waves will turn again,
A victory for the Light.

Once again, lack of numbers,
Will put the Sith through strife.

But the Force will always be One."

Durza, fell of the chair, and landed on the floor. He was physically exhausted. Not only from this, almost mythical experience, but from the long trip, just to this room. Durza stood up, and looked toward his master. He realized soon, that his vision was impaired. He would have to constantly reach out with the Force. He did so, and walked over to his Master.

"Are my eyes still black?" He said.

"If they are, thats fine. They might be intimidating. And in any case, by having to use the Force to see, I will grow stronger... hopefully." He thought to himself, in the darkness.

((If this is too Dramatic, or too big, or if there is any problem, let me know, so that I can revise it, to be Canon))

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus smiled. "You are a Prophet, my apprentice. It is your way."

Many Sith did not live past their experiences in Wayland. Impaired sight was not the worst thing that could happen to them - in fact it was fairly light. Some of the Prophets deemed Crozeus lucky for what he experienced. He got his soul back. The moments of indecision, the times when Crozeus felt bad for the things he did, he felt distanced from the Dark Side... perhaps that was a greater curse than something more physical.

"What do you think it means?" He asked, his sharp blue eyes betraying nothing of what he was feeling. Wayland did that to him, sometimes. Brought back things best left hidden.

Durza

Durza, using the Force, gave himself energy. But that still didn't make his dry mouth any wetter. He answered,

"No matter what happens, the Force is one.
The battle will rage on for eternity, and the outcome is unforeseeable.
But the Force always shall be one.
The Light may win a victory,
And we need more numbers."

Durza said, and then "It's a simple Prophecy, although deeper meaning is possible upon scrupulous speculation."

Durza walked slowly back the chair and sat, relieved.
Although supplied by the Force, hunger and thirst were not sated.

High Prophet Crozeus

Crozeus sighed as he joined his apprentice. "We always, always need more numbers. We rule the heart of the galaxy. Trillions call themselves Imperial citizens. Yet our enemies are all around us. Our forces are stretched. And dissent is growing."

Crozeus was one of the youngest high ranking Sith. He was not yet thirty, though his ability had been proven many times over. Despite his youth, age was visible on him in the dark light of the chamber. As he frowned, wrinkles were clear behind his eyes and mouth, old scars that he had healed were visible once again as wrinkles.

"Come. Your part here is done. We can use the Chapter to rest for the night, and I think we could both do with a meal. It drains one out, being here."

Crozeus got up and left, leaving his apprentice to follow. Durza had learned an incredible power that day. That day would not be one he would soon forget.