Byss

[Skyshatter]

There was an aura of mixed emotions surrounding Lok after the group left behind Felucia and began the trip to Byss. Atop the supplies, Lok sat in a near brooding position, one leg brought up to his chin and the other dangling off one of the crates as he submersed himself in thoughts. On one hand, he felt he had came off too abruptly at Master Kil despite his past and feelings toward her Order. But on the other hand, his trust in anyone who carried the title Jedi whether it be Padawan, Knight, or Master had been lost long ago. He felt that maybe he had mixed the two in his words before departure. But on the same token, as wise as her words had been, he held no knowledge of the woman he had been tasked with protecting.

 

As their journey deeper into the Core traversed, the more he could feel the flow of their surroundings dim against the backdrop of the lightside. It was as if the deeper they went, the more chaos became apparent, primordial and leaving a chill. He often felt this during his past within the Jedi Order during his pilgrimages to Tython, but this time, it came with a calling. As if whatever awaited them, knew of their journey toward it. And it's affects on the others lingered in the air. Tension, expectations, his own brooding, the unknowing. It was ever present in this singular journey and most felt more than one of these, including the pilot. It made the journey it's self feel bleak and hopeless.

 

Especially in Ruin's actions.

 

"I was once a member of the Jedi Order." Lok spoke to Ruin as his pacing began, feeling an unsettling need to explain himself to the droid's artificial intelligence. "But that was a few years ago during the beginning when Master Eleson, myself, and a few others felt that the Order's inaction served no one and decided to fight against the Council's wishes. We found a home with the Imperials and became Knights in service of it's Empress, unbound by the Jedi Tenents and open to our own delegations in her name. So now, when we fight, we fight for the betterment of her and her people."

 

And what he spoke was the truth, even as the sadness of the beginning shown upon his face and deep in his eyes. He did not crave war, but he would fight it to the very end of it meant saving others from having to. And having been labeled as tyrants and evil in the militant sense, he knew too well how the drawbacks of such burdens could be carried. And yet, if he was truly a tyrant or evil, then he felt what he was, was necessary, for what they faced was by far worse than anything he or his Order could every produce. If it meant walking the fine line between light and dark, he would walk it until the day he would fall and face the execution that would follow. That was the truth of his duty.

 

And he was proud of that very duty.

 

Lok could feel Byss as they exited hyperspace, an aura of relaxing from the tension of the journey briefly settling amongst the crew before the tension of the darkness pulled upon them all. It was an uneasy feeling, almost similar to the onset of anxiety or schizophrenia lingering in one's mind before being completely incapacitated and swallowed up by it. Rising from his perch, he followed the others to the cockpit for a visual assessment. As beautiful as Byss appeared, there was darkness in it. What life could be felt, felt corrupted and twisted as did the planet it's self, through the soil and to it's very core. And the lingering Imperial settlement upon the horizon felt to be at its heart. There was no doubt in his mind as he looked Leena's way that what she spoke of originated here. It was strong, like eyes watching your every move while unable to be found when one was to turn toward it's errie feeling, leaving the hairs upon the back of your neck lingering straight.

 

"I owe you an apology, Master Jedi." Lok spoke through a hard admission once they departed the ship and he was able to pull Leena to the side. "I allowed my distrust for the Jedi Order to cloud my judgement and allowed for me to judge your situation with blinded eyes. This world is wounded and there is a darkness in the horizon. I can feel it now that we are here. The Force here seems to want to attack us instinctually, unnaturally rather than flow in harmony. The Darkside is very strong upon this world."

 

Lok grinned briefly, scratching at his dreaded hair.

 

"It isn't any easy thing for me to admit..." Lok began in another explanation. "But I judged you as a Jedi and not as a person, and something I tend to do when it comes to members of the Order. Our history isn't one I am fond of, especially in my departure with Master Eleson and the others, our views and opinions shunned which led us away. It left a bitter taste in my mouth I guess you can say. But either way, my apology still stands."

 

As hard as it was to express his change of heart, the evidence was in Lok's voice and in the Force that swirled around the Onderonian. Lok has always held an additional sensitivity to the Force, capable of feeling it's flow and current deeper than most. Perhaps it came from his Beast Rider heritage due to their ability to commune with the untamed beasts of Onderon and Dxun and their natural worlds. But standing on Byss shined a new light upon his weary eyes and he could feel the bitter cold of the Darkside nipping at their heels and threatening to overcome their resolve. In this, he was happy to be present. The Force may have worked in mysterious ways, but his arrival felt almost preordained.

[Skyshatter]

When Lok first left behind the Jedi Order to follow Master Eleson and company, he was barely a Knight out of his Padawanship with little skill not knowledge. And during the battles and conflicts that followed, Lok found himself learning what he could from those he traveled with until they found a home within the Imperial Remnant under Empress Raven, affirming himself a skilled veteran and warrior of the Force. But access to knowledge wasn't what it was during his time with the Jedi Order, especially for the newly formed Imperial Knights. Knowledge was passed down, given by the Elder Jedi who lead to those who were deemed worthy.

 

It was his skill in battle and his wits that earned him the rank of Imperial Warden, the Imperial Knight's equivalent to the Jedi Consular. And as a Warden, and even as an Imperial Knight, it was his duty to sacrifice himself for the sake of others, to empower those under his command, and to protect the Imperium. And that was where his skills laid. This was what came to mind when Leena asked what he held to offer the group.

 

"I know a few tricks." Lok replied with an.  uncomfortable smirk adorning his face, the weight of his misjudgement still lingering on his shoulders and having weighed a little less since his apologies. "My specialty lays in support and combat.

 

With that said, as the others departed the ship, Lok took to the planet's surface and perched himself standing over the shore, the grass  of the beachhead flowing in the sea breeze as waves rolled upon the shore a few feet below and across the expanse of sight. The Dark Side here was strong. It could be felt in ever essence of life that roamed around their location, a thriving planet that ached to leech it's self of all life. Opening his mind up to the Force, he allowed his conscience to traverse it's waves, letting the emotions and thoughts of the combined lead his own. As he did, he let his presence flow into those around him, organic and inorganic, as he attempted to lift their weighted spirits against the tide of darkness that attempted to weigh down upon them. If they could not combat it's presence, he would aid them with his own.

 

"I would suggest we use the safety of the ship for tonight." Lok spoke standing atop the edge of the sea dune as he looked back from the shore in response to Leena's question. "This world is pretty well unknown and until we have a tighter grasp on our situation, I would suggest a solid fortification for night fall."

 

After Mon Cal and Outer Heaven, Lok thought it best to rely on a safety net until the reasons behind Leena's vision and their visitation became a little clearer. And he felt an unease that it wouldn't take long before things began to pick up. Similar to smelling rain before a storm.

[Skyshatter]

Deafening Silence was the calm before the storm within the Force as Lok spent the evening in unease and tension. As the others went about their own duties, Lok chose instead to center himself within the Force and explore the world from his mind's eye. And yet, Byss, as peaceful as it seemed in appearence, was a beast of another nature, hard to read and aggressive as if it's very core held a sentience within the Dark Side. For Lok, a warrior monk dedicated to the nature of the heart and of the balance between light and dark, it was especially so, for as his mind flowed upon the Force's current, so did the unease.

 

Just as the purple and orange haze met the blackened sky of the oncoming nightfall upon the horizon, Lok opened his eyes to catch it's beautiful sight as eerie as it was. Rising from his meditations, he dusted himself off and returned to the ship, his mind lost upon the unease he felt, and even smelled, upon the local air of this world as he made his way into the ship and removed his armor for a cleaning. For those present, a big difference would appear between Lok and other Imperial Knights they had met or spent time with. But Lok wasn't your average Knight either. Where most were draped in fine silk or polyester, Lok's garments were fairly common, cotton and handmade. As he sat there, his braids shifting against the movements of his form in his polishing, his commonwealth was abundantly apparent. It made sense given his naturally common personality and appearance, but to outside observances, it was hard to tell with his Imperial Armor adorned.

 

When his armor was clean and all remnants of Outer Heaven had been wiped away, Lok readorned the crimson plasteel, shifting his braids aside with his hand and laying back across the netting he had sat upon within the medium cargo hold as he folded his arms under the weight of his head and crossed his feet. The feeling of this planet, the unnatural currents of the Force, the unease in its beauty, all still weighed upon his thoughts as he gazed up toward the hold's overhang as he barely noticed Leena watching him from a distance. Looking her way briefly, the weight apparent in his eyes, he only spoke a solum "Goodnight" to her as she turned in for the night before he himself did the same. But for him, it seemed an eternity before he was able to embrace the calm of sleep and even in its passing moment, the calm barely took hold.

 

Distant rumbling growing closer, the rattling and shaking of earth and steel, and heightened senses tore him from sleep's embrace just moments before the slamming and shifting of collisions. Lok jumped upward in the makeshift hammock to his feet as his mind slide into a hyperalert state, the Knight's natural reaction to place hand on blade and shift his gaze to his ally as she spoke. Reaching out into the Force, the first he was able to locate outside Leena was the pilot, Lady Zeris as the automations Ruin and Fera were more difficult to read. Without much thought given, Lok was quick to dart to her location and meet things head on in his own manner.

 

As the ramp of the ship descended, Byss it's self seemed to descend into hell it's self in the darkness of night. Silver hue enlightened the darkness as sapient plant based creatures seem to swarm the immediate area in droves as he brought his arm up to call upon the Force and defend himself against their glimmering gazes as their attentions turned upon him, but they seemed to be of one mind and regenerative as the onslaught sought to seek his destruction within the mudded veil of night. Spinning against the currents of the hive like sentients and sweeping his blade in arcward motions, Lok made his way toward Zeris and the two droids as quickly as he could, the screams of the sapiens echoing in the foreground of his movements as blade met foliage in his advance.

 

Byss had finally began to to reveal its self and it's nature was the stories of nightmares.

[Skyshatter]

It was a moment of chaos and fright, this singular moment of fight with no option of flight. A moment of consuming, of life and death, a moment of a warrior's rite. Lok's life had always been one of struggle, of survival and strife. From the moment of his birth where he spent weeks struggling to survive to this moment where survival meant everything in ways it had never presented its self before. A moment of clarity for the life of a soldier where he realizes the purpose for every action and decision made leading up to that singular moment, and in that moment, finds himself.

 

Lok had never truly fit in during his time as a Jedi, his personality considered brash and stubborn. He had always been uniformed, quick to place himself in danger's path for the sake of others without regard nor thought of himself. Even as he walked away from the Order along with Kyrie and the others, he did so not of vindication or righteousness, but out of compassion and humility. For in his eyes, not one single soul deserved to suffer and their burden was to be his own. He would take up their strife and claim it in their name so they would never have to carry it. That had always been his duty. That was his path as a Knight of the Imperial Remnant.

 

But now, in this moment of battle, survival had taken hold. His focus was absolute, his strikes true to his aim, and the Force that flowed through him was in near perfect harmony as he stood against the oncoming onslaught of creatures and their bloodlust thickening the air. And amidst it all, the truth of himself shined vibrantly. He was a kyber amidst the darkness, the silver hue of his blade reflecting his intent and the Force rippling his manifestation. For he was an Imperial Knight of her Majesty, tried and true. And against the darkness, he was to be her beacon of hope for all who laid eyes upon him. Where the Jedi had trained him, the Imperial Knights had perfected him. And he was to be their example to the Galaxy.

 

For in war, there is only indifference. There is no emotion nor peace, like a blade unsheathed. It is meant to be used solely for defense. And that's what the essence of his soul was. It was indifference.

 

Lok's gaze glimmered from behind the blackened blood that covered his face as his blade arched it's way through another, the weight of his actions being balanced by the weightless blade he swung in their defense. There was little to be said. They craved the organics before them, a task he had noticed before Fera had a chance to inform him. And that had placed them into the roles of his enemy, and in extension, the enemies of his Empress. Due to this, his gaze was cold and emotionless, stone and blank, as he slayed those who made their approaches. He felt no remorse no more than he felt sorrow for them who had chose to place themselves opposite. They were simply a task to be dealt with, like the task he had previously performed upon the ship just hours before.

 

And even as he felt the tug upon his boot that sent him falling into the mud beneath his feet as rain began to pour across the blackened night sky of Byss, he simply reacted, with a swing of his blade beneath his feet as he sliced the tentacle like vines that had wrapped around his ankle before barreling into a roll and taking on the next adversary. For this was life, and in life, you simply live. You may struggle, and you may fall. But life was life was life. No matter the moment, you lived. And you carried those around you with you into the next. That was his purpose and the Force echoed it.

[Skyshatter]

Amidst the chaos of the moment, there was silence encompassing all. Only the steady heart beating within his chest echoed within his mind as the momentum of clarity took hold of Lok's mind within the current of combat that encircled this sea of battle. Blood, rain, mud, air mixed within this singular realm of existence as life and death came to its peak of fruition. And these warriors rang tried and true against those who sought to claim them. For Lok, it was reaction to their actions. Mimicry of the masses. Death sought to claim all and all sought to claim life. For the inhabitants, it was life through death. For the group of aliens that stood to be nutrition, it was survival by taking life. And none truly held a semblance of darker natures. Only the natural order of life.

 

But what was the root of this conflict? What drove the hunger and bloodlust of the inhabitants? As a warrior, Lok sought to clarify this distinction within his own riddled mind. Against a horde that acted in tandem, surely one stood above the rest. Cut the head off and the body will be helpless. His gaze shifted about the battlefield, his keen sight following the Force to discern the abnormal as he arced his blade toward the sky and sidestepped the falling form, cauterized limbs steaming as the slid apart. Stepping forward into his next opponent, Lok's mind expanded.

 

Echoes of intent and hunger flowed like sea breeze across the cliffs that stood as testaments of their conjoined thoughts, the sea below the depth of their singular mind. Lok was a ship upon the currents of the storm, flowing across it's surface in search of the beacon that guided all. As another fell to his blade, sweat beaded down his furrowed brow as he submerged himself into their depths and sought to find refuge within the calm of their chaos, and yet, it was too dark to truly see within the murk that led their onslaught. Focus would be the key and serenity would calm the storm. But could two beacons weather? Or would one falter to guide?

 

Whatever beacon guided the horde had long blinded the ability to see beyond, the minds fogged against the setting. Only the emotion and hunger came across clearly. It could felt, smelled, and tasted. But it was blind as well as deaf, it's purpose hidden for all intents and purposes. Lok delved even deeper, honing his focus as he rode among the waves of emotion and bloodlust, guiding his mind's eye toward the veil that blanketed sight, a lighthouse attempting to slice through the fog that blinded the shore. But not unlike Mon Cal, the darkness that hid it's presence from him felt ancient and powerful. And as soon as he managed to pierce the blanketed veil, it lashed out.

 

Lok faltered backwards as Leena's voice beckoned him through the Force, but it was too late. His mind fought to remain unfractured as the onslaught of the hives minds threatened to break his own and overtake him. Grasping at his head in unbelievable pain, he reeled backwards toward the ship and away from combat as the others began their retreat. But the darkness had grasped his mind too tightly, and after the moment of clarity that it revealed, Lok fell to his knees near the ship's ramp before falling unconscious. Face down in the mud, the Imperial Knight was defenseless.

[Skyshatter]

In the Darkness, there is light....

 

And Lok could feel it's pull as his mind wandered the void aimlessly, the insatiable hunger and lust surrounding his spirit and pressing against his mind. All were of one voice, of one thought, of one being, tempered only by its singular decree. And her gaze was beautiful, her eyes sharp and skin pale without flaw. She stood before him with a smirk creeping up toward the left side of her face as she coyfully allowed him to see her face in his unconscious state before she screamed across the vortex with fangs bared. But Lok was of the light and he stood firm against her temptations. He would not bow to subtle fear nor intimidation. For he had long faced his own.

 

Flashing back to Onderon in a time where Lok was but a blonde haired sprite, his time in the jungles were a common occurrence given his tender age. But such was the life of a Beast Rider. For they were of the earth as much as the beasts they tamed, living off what little they needed and leaving little marks of their existence. With his father to the front, they were taught to blend in with their environment as much as any predator or prey from the time they were able to stand and walk, never a sound until time came to reveal themselves to the beasts of the forests.

 

But Lok was a mere boy of three cycles, barely matching the weight of a large Gizka or new born Buma. So sound was little to be made, even in hyperactivity. These were skills that he would need later in life as with any tamer. But at his age, it was mere understanding and practice. The real danger stood in the footloose wanderings of a curious mind. And upon this day as the sun shown brightly across the Onderonian sky at three quarters, boredom took hold of said curiosity and Lok wandered away from the group mischievously. 

 

The cliffs of Onderon held many wonders, especially for someone small enough to fit through crevasses and smaller pathways uncharted by the tamers, and with their people having ancient origins upon the planet that dated millennia, there were spots that could catch eyes easily seen within if height matched sight. For Lok, on this day, there were older paths unused by the elders with paths marked by children of ages long gone. And in his curiosity, caves long forgotten. Soon, the presence, visuals, and sounds of the others disappeared entirely as his venture led him away and into these forgotten caverns that laid hidden away. And within the deepest of them, a hatchery.

 

For a child, it was a wonderment to behold, Drexl eggs laid about, some fresh while others laid fossilized by the passing of time and enlightened by scarce rays of sunlight illuminating the darkness. But the wonderment would not hold for long as shifting sounds and green scales bore themselves from the shadows and eyes not of his own met his. For in that moment fear and dread replaced his curiosity as Lok met eyes with a blooded Drexl, a creature rarely seen and born from the broods they tamed. For a Drexl to outlast taming and the wilderness for such a span was scarce. In fact, a blooded Drexl had not been seen in over a hundred years.

 

Lok stood firm despite his reaction to flee, his gaze caught in his surprise as he stared down the Drexl in a mixture of fear and wonderment as he noticed the graying of the scales and the wild gaze of its eyes. And in truth, Lok was more likely to be frozen in fear rather than firm in his relucance to flee. So the moment was locked and neither chose to move past it as it in its self passed frequently. And in its presence, it lingered for what felt eternally, until at last, the Drexl turned from the child with little doubt of retaliation and the child turned to flee. As fast as his feet could carry him, Lok took off and never looked back until he saw his father with tears in his eyes. When asked what was wrong, Lok could not bring himself to describe the event, and still hadn't to this very day.

 

For in the darkness, there is always light. And since that day on Onderon,  Lok has always been able to feel its pull. And as the presence he felt here on Byss showed its fangs, Lok smirked in return. There is light and darkness in every creature, every living thing. Nothing is beyond hope. Nothing is beyond redemption. And if he could connect with a wild and untamed Drexl that was near its life's end, then he could certainly stand against a lost soul such as the one that presented its self here on Byss.

 

Beginning to stir back in the real world, Lok opened his eyes to the Jedi Master's fish like face close to his own, its bulbous eyes staring down at him. Briefly freaked, Lok scooted across the duraplating floor until her face became recognizable before he settled with a smile. Hearing the storm raging around outside and the onslaught that tore at the ship, rocking it back and forth, Lok sat up and gazed around the room before settling on Leena. Despite the worriment they all shown, Lok's smirk remained. "A memory of my past came to me. As dark as this presence is, light still remains a part of it."

[Skyshatter]

The rest of the night laid uneventful for the Imperial Knight Lok Skyshatter, or as he was known on his world as Lok Shattered-Sky. As the others rested as best they could, Lok spent most of it removing and cleaning his muddied armor and patching the wounds that were inflicted. His ankle ached where the tendrils had bound themselves to him during the fight, and his body weighed heavily from the action. He moved against the soreness with minor hindrance even as he located scratches and a few minor cuts around the gaps of the plasteel. But the major of the damage laid in his stamina, the ache of tiredness calling to his restless mind.

 

But how could anyone sleep with the looming threat of enemies at their door? He would spend the rest of the night in the silence of his hammock, one leg propped against the supplies that held the makeshift bedding together as he watched over those that found solace in the deafening silence that inevitably fell upon them as morning dawned. And during that time, his mind played out the visions he received during his link with the beasts he fought. This world held a darkness that encased its very core and bled into any life it sustained. The mind he encountered in leading the horde was likely a byproduct of such a ill conceived fate.

 

As the others began to stir, Lok rose from his dreary rest and began locating the MREs, finding a box of nutribars mixed with a few packages of instacaf. After regaining what nutrients he lost over the course of the night, Lok replaced his patched armor and meditated to regain his strength. And as Ruin stepped out upon the shoreline, Lok followed. Letting the rain fall upon his face and rinse clean the murk from the night before, he turned his gaze upon the shore. It was just as he thought. The inhabitants they fought left little trace of themselves behind after returning to their home before dawn. But as with all life, presences cannot be swept away, and each lingers even after departure. A small piece is always left behind where one had been, just as a part of them would remain after they were to leave. 

 

But leaving this day would not be in the cards for Lok and this group. Leena's tribulations were of importance and Lok would not abandon her despite his dislike for her Order. Gazing down the shore, Lok cleared his nostrils of the local pollen before heading back to the ship. As he climbed the boarding ramp, he turned toward Leena. "Their presence lingers down the shoreline. I'm sure we can follow them and find the mystery behind them and possibly your dreams."

[Skyshatter]

Lok squatted as the group stopped, running her fingers through the sands as he looked toward the cliff facing, letting the moment of dread and unease climb his spin. Everything he knew as a Jedi, as an Imperial Knight, was thrown to the wind in the case of this world. It was saturated in the Darkside, even the small pebble like shards of glass that made up its sands and dirt. It felt as if every molecule and atom was drenched in its unnatural divide. 

 

And yet, there was life. There was flora and fauna all across this world, and even the Force that flowed from its core and across its surface tinged with it, as dark as it may be. There was life, but it was corrupted. And a world such as this, even all the exorcists within the Remnant would question their combined ability to cleanse such a saturation. Replacing his glove, Lok stood and averted his gaze toward the others as one by one, they dove into the murky depths below.

 

"Water. Why is it always water?" Lok questioned as he made the short trek to catch up with the group. 

 

It wasn't to say that Lok feared water. Nor that he lacked the power to course it. That wasn't the case. It was simply a primal fear that had always plagued him, a simple fear of darkness, the unseen, that set his nerves tingling. A few feet, he was okay, as light could penetrate. Even a few meters, and visually,  things could be still be made out. Any deeper than that, and only the cold blanket of darkness would be all one could know. Shaking, he approached the lunge. Grabbing his blade in hand, unactivated, he took a few deep breaths and followed the others into the cold abyss.

[Skyshatter]

Beneath the surface laid a world even more alien than its surface, devoid of life even amongst its reefs as Lok stared into the abyss that it was. Barely able to see Leena before him through the murk and mystery, Lok reached forth into the Force that swirled aimlessly, calling forth its will to calm his fear and aid his control as he fought both against the element he found himself in and his inability to breath. Feeling a warm embrace from the Force as it covered his body and his lungs relax against their natural urges as the pressure of the sea pressed against his form, Lok struggled against the crashing currents as he attempted to keep up with the Mon Cal in the lead.

 

The roll of the crashing tides and the pull of the sea pulled at his Force enveloped form, threatening to both throw him from the sea's depth and sweep him out to a watery grave, an eminent threat on both occasions for someone who only learnt how to swim after becoming a Jedi. But with the aid of the Force that wandered aimlessly around them and a little luck, Lok persevered, guiding himself as he tugged upon the stone and foliage that made up the ocean's floor as his form swept back and forth. 

 

When he surfaced with the cliff facing, wiping the salty water from his face and eyes, he turned to Leena's serene stare. "The darkness of this world is deep and ancient. It roots itself in its very nature, even as the sea calls to end one's life." Lok spoke to her as he adjusted his eyes to the dimness of the crevasse and looked around the outermost interior. "And it feels strongest here. We will need to be careful and to tread as lightly as possible. If those things from last night appear, they will have the advantage and our foothold will be limited."

 

With that, Lok turned his gaze toward the entrance and awaited the others, his Saber still in hand and unactivated. He didn't like the nervousness he felt, and it seemed to only get stronger once they arrived here.

[Skyshatter]

There was a coldness in the air, and not just from the dampness of their clothing and armor, nor from the salty sea air that surrounded them. No. This coldness was unnatural. And it seeped into one's very fiber of being down to the bones and soul, causing the chill of it to ache one's center. Lok's gaze shifted about as he stood center amongst the gathering group as he peered upon carved stone and ancient machinations through the gleams of light that managed to penetrate the cliff's side and underbelly. And in his silence, he focused his serenity.

 

As the others spoke and made entrance, Lok quieted his mind and his soul, using his skills as a former Jedi and current Imperial Knight to call upon the remnants of light that found patronage amidst the darkened aura. Focusing on his breathing and silencing his emotions, he stepped forward into the abyss one foot in front of the other, standing as a beacon of light adrift the darkness. And as the light engulfed the ancient tar and rolled forth, illuminating their path, Lok caught glimpse and knowledge of what had been their calling.

 

A smirk adorned his face as the Ancient Sith Temple within the cliffside was revealed, his gaze briefly shifting to Ruin before focusing upon the innards of the cavern that blossomed before them. So it was a world of the Sith, ancient and unbridled. The unnatural darkness of the world now made more sense, as the world its self likely was driven into creation by the darkness. Stepping aside the group, Lok ignited his silver blade and further illuminated the statues, some he recognized from Jedi Lore while others remained unknown and lost to time. And then there was the tree in the center of the room, the humming his blade reverberating as it changed directions toward its location.

 

"Sorcery." Lok spoke above the sloshing of his steps through the knee high water they still remained within as he made a limited approach toward the caverns center and the tree. "This temple is filled with it. It must be destroyed."

 

Lok's gaze turned briefly to Zaris before honing in on Leena and awaiting her interjection. It was the Jedi's nature to preserve such things for study, but Lok's nature had always been to destroy the remnants of the Dark, even as a former Jedi Shadow. His sole reasons was felt all around them, both in the blood the tree sought nutrients from and in the hauntings of the souls that perished. It was the source of the unnatural chill, and perhaps even the sentience he felt lingering at the edge of consciousness. Still, he wouldn't make a move until Leena replied, as he felt concerned. He wanted to see the effects of the realization.