Rhen in the Cold

Rhen's awareness of what happens to her after the stormtrooper's blaster rifle stuns her into submission is fragmented at best. Whenever she feels herself starting to claw her way back into consciousness, someone stuns her again. A needle pricks the bare skin of her neck, its contents clouding her thoughts and weakening her muscles. She feels herself being moved and manhandled as machinery whirs and people around her shout instructions. Then, abruptly, everything is very dark and very cold.

She doesn't know how much time has passed when she finally comes back to herself. All around her is a reddish mist that reminds her of Dathomir - only Dathomir isn't cold like this. The climate there varies, sure, but it's between "humid" and "dry heat" depending on whether you're closer to the mountains or the swamps. From somewhere in this distance, very faintly, Rhen thinks she hears Sekar Mirah calling her name.

Rhen looks around cautiously, trying not to broadcast that she's awake in case she's being observed. She strains her perceptions, both hearing and Force attunement, to locate Sekar Mirah, and to take in her surroundings. If she feels she isn't being observed, she'll call back.

When Rhen reaches out with the Force, she senses Sekar Mirah nearby, but nothing else discernible - just a deep, ever-changing swirl of power. Wherever she is, it doesn't seem like a physical space, but more like some kind of dream realm. She's experienced states of being like this before, usually while meditating with a coven. It's been a long time since she entered a meditation this deeply before, and certainly she's never done it alone.

Getting no sense of danger, she calls back to Sekar Mirah. Moments later she sees Sekar Mirah emerging from the mists, looking intensely relieved. Sekar Mirah throws herself into Rhen's arms. "I'm so glad you're here," she says. "But where are we? Do you have any idea what is happening to us?"

Rhen squeezes her fiercely for a moment before stepping back a pace, holding her but at arm's length so she can see her face.

"I'm happy we're together, wherever we are. The last thing I remember is being drugged, then I woke up here. Or maybe we didn't wake up... It feels like meditating with with a coven. Deep, like when a Mother was leading."

"But the Empire must have us. And why is it so cold?"

Sekar Mirah's face is frightened yet determined. She knows she can overcome any danger as long as Rhen is there to face it with her. "Yes. I remember a little of that too. There were so many of them. I was in and out of consciousness...I think I heard one of them say something about trying to freeze us? However that can be done. I don't think they were prepared to meet people like us on that moon. I'm sure they are even less prepared for what the others are going to bring to their doorstep." A quick, fierce grin, suggesting she regrets not being able to see whatever form that might take.

"I agree this is like a meditation, but I don't sense anyone here except you. I would expect to feel other sisters here along with us. Perhaps if we both try it together...?"

Rhen matches Sekar Mirah's fierce grin at the mention of the Imperials' unpreparedness to meet their friends. Then a thought strikes her.

"I've heard something about freezing people. I think it's something bounty hunters do. Could that be what's happened to us?

"Well, regardless, you're right. We should try to reach out together." Rhen sits down cross-legged, facing Sekar Mirah and holding her hands. They synchronize their breathing and reach out through the Force together.

"It could be. There is little we can do about it now, I fear. But I trust our friends to help us, if they can."

Sekar Mirah squeezes Rhen's hands as the two of them settle into the meditation together. Nothing happens for what feels like a long time. Then, finally, Rhen hears a familiar voice echoing in her mind. It's Mother Lampir.

"Rhen...Rhen? Is that you? Please. I need your help."

"Mother Lampir! Yes, it's Rhen. And Sekar Mirah is here with me.

"What's wrong, Mother? What's happened? Are you safe?"

"Our enemies on Dathomir have imprisoned me. With your help, I might yet be able to break free. Can you find me in the mist, daughter? Please follow my voice if you can."

"Stay strong, Mother. We will find you. Just tell us what has happened, and we will come to you."

Rhen pulls Sekar Mirah up and releases one of her hands, so that they can walk side by side. "We should go to her. Please help me to follow her voice. Together I'm sure we can find her."

Sekar Mirah nods and walks beside Rhen. Hand in hand, they move through the mists. Mother Lampir, seeming to understand their plan, directs them toward her with humming, song, and something resembling an explanation of how she came to be here:

"The last time we spoke, I told you of the revolt being staged by the Nightbrothers. You brought Nazdesh and her child to safety, and for that I am grateful. But the uprising has continued. Worse still, they are gaining ground. I do not know how they have learned the things they have learned, only that their power in the Force has grown. Though I have kept myself physically safe from them, it appears they have found a way to reach me through the Force - to imprison me within my meditations. With your help, however, I believe I can break free."

"Their power in the Force has grown?" Rhen says, looking at Sekar Mirah with concern. "That is...disturbing."

Louder, Rhen replies, "We are coming, Mother. We will not allow you to remain trapped."

To Sekar Mirah she asks, "Do you have any idea how this could have happened? Did Mother Talzin ever say anything to you that could explain how the Nightbrothers could grow so strong?"

Sekar Mirah shrugs, not knowing anything more than Rhen herself does - but Mother Lampir answers the question on her behalf. "When the clans were slaughtered, many sources of knowledge that had once been carefully guarded by our sisters suddenly found themselves without a custodian. Those few sisters who survived did their best to safeguard the hidden wisdom from those who would exploit it, but they could not protect every bit of it. The Nightbrothers have grown powerful feasting on the secrets we kept from them." Her tone becomes more thoughtful. "Perhaps we were wrong to conceal such things. It allowed their resentments to grow. If we had treated them as equals, encouraged them to stand with us to strengthen Dathomir together..."

"Perhaps you are right, Mother," replies Rhen. "We are companions to Jedi now, and the old ways would have that as impossible. Without their aid, I would surely have failed to rescue Sekar Mirah."

"Are the Nightbrothers who imprison you able to be reasoned with? Do they know of the greater changes happening in the galaxy?"

"They seem to know little beyond what is in front of them at any given moment - just as it ever has been. Their concern is for Dathomir, not for the rest of the galaxy. I have not tried to reason with them - they have scarcely given me the chance to speak. Do you believe you might change their minds?"

"That...is difficult to say. Words are not my strongest weapons. I have a companion... But she is not here.

"If they will listen, I will try. But we will free you either way," Rhen says, with a significant look at Sekar Mirah. Rhen continues softly, for her ears alone. "It won't be the first time some of us have set them straight," she says with a smile.

Rhen and Sekar Mirah continue to trudge through the mists. The cold is constant and all-consuming, and Sekar Mirah is visibly shivering as she walks. Rhen is chilled to the bone too, but the cold doesn't seem to have any effect on her apart from the distracting, unpleasant feeling. By now she would expect both of them to be experiencing frostbite or hypothermia, but nothing of the sort seems to be happening. Whatever's going on in this strange realm, it doesn't appear to be at all physical in nature.

At last the mists clear enough to reveal a familiar figure in front of Rhen: Mother Lampir. She is bound to the ground by thick red tendrils of energy that encircle her limbs, waist, neck, and torso. Relief floods her face when she sees Rhen and Sekar Mirah. "Free me quickly," she whispers. "I can sense that the Nightbrothers are nearby."

Rhen's expression darkens on seeing her Mother effectively in chains. She squeezes Sekar Mirah's hand before releasing it and summoning her ichor blade. She then calls on her ichor reserves in preparation for conflict, strengthening her connection to the Force. She glances at Sekar Mirah, checking that she is similarly prepared. No words are needed.

Rhen and Sekar Mirah position themselves on opposite sides of Mother Lampir, then swiftly strike at the crimson tendrils.

Sekar Mirah grabs one of the tendrils where it enters the ground, braces herself, and pulls until she uproots it. Rhen's blade slices through another. When Mother Lampir's arm is free, she summons an ichor ball that she fires at the tendrils around her torso, burning them away. Little by little, the three of them rid Mother Lampir of her bonds. The tendrils seem to have some sort of regeneration ability, beginning to reattach themselves not longer after they are severed. It's easy to see why Mother Lampir needed help - alone, she cannot deal with all of the tendrils before they regenerate, but three people working together can overcome them.

As Rhen cuts away the last tendril from Mother Lampir's left ankle, she senses another presence approaching - Nightbrothers, probably at least three, maybe more. Mother Lampir meets Rhen's gaze as new power gathers in both of her hands. The question in her eyes is clear: does Rhen wish to stand and confront the Nightbrothers when they appear, or to leave before they can arrive?

Rhen considers for a moment, and decides that a confrontation is required. "I will not leave you to suffer this indignity again once we leave, Mother. It is time to resolve this matter, if we can." Rhen also visibly gathers power in her hands. "And if not, then it is time to leave an impression," she says grimly.

Rhen shares a grim but confident smile with Sekar Mirah before turning to await the approaching Nightbrothers, her expression forbidding.

The four Nightbrothers emerge from the red mist, clearly expecting to find something very different than what they encounter: Mother Lampir free, with Rhen and Sekar Mirah flanking her, ready to fight. They hesitate for only a moment before charging forward with their spears at the ready. The Nightbrothers are strong, but Rhen, Sekar Mirah, and Mother Lampir are stronger. In the initial clash it quickly becomes clear just how outmatched they are. They had come expecting to deal with one immobilized woman, and instead found three Nightsisters at full strength. One is knocked unconscious by a Force-aided sucker punch from Sekar Mirah, while two more find themselves entangled and pinned to the ground by Rhen and Mother Lampir's ichor balls. Rhen holds the final one (who seems to have appointed himself leader) at the point of her ichor blade while Sekar Mirah aims a bolt from her energy bow at his heart. "Yield or die," she says firmly, and the Nightbrother drops his spear.

With the Force, Mother Lampir pulls the weapon into her own grip. She nods at Rhen, encouraging her to say whatever she wants to say to her literally captive audience.

"Brothers of Dathomir, you do wrong by ensnaring and trapping a Nightsister. You thought to seize a moment of weakness...though obviously less than you thought. But you never gave a thought to why that weakness occurred! Armies of Dathomir's enemies murdered everyone in their path. They only stopped because they don't know us, and they think everyone is dead. Yet they will return someday, and if they find us fighting amongst ourselves they will end us all.

"Change is always difficult, but the galaxy is changing with or without us. We cannot deny that. But perhaps, if we work together, we can survive it. There is a new Empire out there, and it obeys none of the old rules.

"Put aside your resentments, treat Mother Lampir with respect, and perhaps we will share the knowledge we have long held tight. If we stand together, perhaps we shall survive."

Rhen's voice turns cold. "But if you should trouble Mother Lampir again, we will return. And we will not be so accommodating."

The Nightbrother lowers his head, but his voice is still fierce when he speaks. "Promises are empty without action, Mother. Your daughter assures us of our value and importance as so many have done before. Yet for all these generations you have treated us no better than slaves. You must forgive me if I find it difficult to believe you now."

Mother Lampir's posture straightens and she looks the Nightbrother in the eye. "My daughter is right," she says. "Things are not as they were in the time of our ancestors, when we were each other's worst and only enemy. Never in the history of our people has Dathomir itself teetered on the brink of extinction, as it does now. New problems require new solutions."

With a wave of her hand she dismisses the bonds around the other Nightbrother, and gestures for Rhen to do the same. "If you will stand with us as equals and defend our world against any who may invade it again, and join us in pledging ourselves to each other as allies, we will share the knowledge you seek. This I swear on the soul of Dathomir." Rhen and Sekar Mirah can both hear the honesty and certainty behind those words, undergirded by the Force.

The Nightbrothers quickly accept the terms. They would be fools not to. An agreement is made to discuss the specifics of the agreement in the physical realm, with all participants on equal footing. The Nightbrothers bow respectfully and vanish back into the mist, leaving Rhen and Sekar Mirah alone with Mother Lampir, who shivers as if suddenly affected by the same cold Rhen still feels.

"My time here grows short," Mother Lampir says. "I must return to my body and tell the others what I have done. Some may hate me for it, but in time I believe they will come to see reason. I sense that you, too, are being drawn out of this place - or that you soon will be. Would that I could help you in whatever you may face next."

"If you have trouble again, Mother, reach out for us. We will find you here, or we will find a way to return to Dathomir. Stay strong."

Rhen grasps Sekar Mirah's hand again as she waits for Mother Lampir to return to her body.

"I will." Mother Lampir pauses and looks at Rhen and Sekar Mirah with obvious pride in her expression. "You have both come so far since you left Dathomir. I sense the will of the Force in your struggle, even through the hard times. I wish I could walk with you, but I know my presence is needed on Dathomir. Even so...perhaps I can help you by sharing knowledge." Now her attention turns to Rhen. "Tell me, daughter. In your travels, have you questions that remain unanswered? My own wisdom is far from infinite, but perhaps I could meditate on that which you wish to know and see what the power of Dathomir might reveal to me."

"I do, Mother. I encountered a species that lives on the moon Sura Sindo that seems to be connected strongly to the Force, not unlike Dathomir. The Sindonese are very strange, however, in that they apparently die if they are too far removed from their moon. I would like to understand why they cannot leave. Please be wary, however, as there is an ancient Sith spirit who lives there, and has probably captured the Jedi Master Damasa Kovani. Her powers of sight are great, and while she means no harm to the Nightsisters the same cannot be said of the Sith spirit."

"I will learn what I can. Be well, daughter, until we meet again..."

Rhen can't be sure if Mother Lampir fades away from her and Sekar Mirah, or if the two of them are the ones doing the fading away. Regardless, her vision is soon clouded by darkness once again. Strangely, the chill around her begins to fade along with it. Rhen can feel her body shuddering as her teeth involuntarily chatter - the first definitively physical sensation she has felt throughout this entire experience. Little by little, her consciousness returns to the physical realm, and all that awaits her within it.