Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Tethys Carrack]

Senya’s voice echoes, “This… was before. Before he took her, I will remember that night always.”

[...]
Even I this memory she can feel his presence, overwhelming and indomitable. For the briefest of moments he glance back but continues.

Did he see her?

Can memories do that?

OOC: Threat used.

"He went that way..." Tethys opens a hand toward the dark temple-like space. "What's the other way? Senya, do you know? Is it Vaylin?" She looks back toward the rainy balcony and path. As Luth said, splitting up seems foolhardy...

((OOC: Did EmperorMan 'feel' Dark? Light? Or neither, and just generically Huge?))

[Galen Panteer]

"If we don't follow him, I feel like we need to find Vaylin." Galen suggested. "We need to learn more about her."

[Luth Khalan]

Luth kept an eye out for a presence, as well, but didn't seem to notice anything as they spoke.

---

D5 Nathema - Perception to see if she notices the Emprah: 1eP+2eA+3eD 1 failure, 3 advantage


[OOC: If perception/vigilance was only relevant for Tethys, feel free to ignore it.]

[Senya Tirall]

"He went that way..." Tethys opens a hand toward the dark temple-like space. "What's the other way? Senya, do you know? Is it Vaylin?" She looks back toward the rainy balcony and path. As Luth said, splitting up seems foolhardy...

((OOC: Did EmperorMan 'feel' Dark? Light? Or neither, and just generically Huge?))

Senya's voice replied, "I think that leads to when I came to Nathema to save my daughter. Memories are flowing all around me."

OOC: Very dark.

[Luth Khalan]

She looked to Tethys. "The way he went, with the torches, may lead to what happened to her, then."

[Galen Panteer]

He nodded. "It could be useful to see what happened when the rescue failed, but seeing what she endured is important."

[Tethys Carrack]

Tethys looks pensive for a moment. "The three of you are right, I suppose. But we must be careful. His presence is... very dark, even in these memories. I have a bad feeling he's not without power here."

[Luth Khalan]

"It's probably worse here than most places," Luth agreed, looking to Tethys. She looked down the hallway lined with torches. "Let's go then."

Without hesitation, she began her trek toward whatever awaited them next.

[Aphr Ahaya]

Aphr followed on after Luth. It might be the worst spot and would almost certainly be a terrible idea, but it might give them the answers they were looking for.

[Galen Panteer]

Galen followed along, looking around for what they would encounter next.

[Tethys Carrack]

By consensus, the explorers set off down the arched stone hallway, following the man who called himself Emperor. Possibly even two Emperors.

Tethys is wary, on guard not so much for a physical ambush as a psychic one. Whatever Senya might believe about her Eternal Empire and its Emperor being too wise and enlightened for the Dark Side to twist them to its purposes, Tethys knows what her own senses are telling her.

[Vaylin]

The pathway is shadowed and long their steps echoing as they leave that room. The hall opens into a large circular chamber, in the center sits a child, their head shaved and tribal sleev tattoos covering both bare arms. She wear gray cloth rags and sweat is visible on her skin.

They see two other people observing, humanoid but not human with six fingers wearing what look like lab coats. One says to the other, “Remarkable, even after four doses she is still conscious.”

The other said, “The conditioning, is it taking?”

“Of course, just taking longer than expected,” the other said.

“Interesting so that is what mother is doing… exploring our memories… and she brought savages into my mind!” Vaylin’s voice hissed. A shadowy replica of her forms across them on the opposite side of the girl, “Like what you see, savages?”

[Tethys Carrack]

Tethys grits her teeth at the scene of the child in mid-... experiment? She breathes away her anger, but the conviction of this is not right that sparked that anger still remains, bright and clear.

And then a shade of adult-Vaylin materializes.

"No. I don't like it." Tethys answers her question, simply and calmly.

[Galen Panteer]

"No." Galen shook his head. "You should never had been put through this. No child should suffer at the hands of its guardians."

[Luth Khalan]

Luth observed what was going on, frowning. It was upsetting, for the same reason, but also a different one. This was personally disturbing. She hadn't expected that sort of scientific detachment from something Force-related. Not since she left for the Republic. "... No. What they said is true. Though it's also too similar to my experiences."

[Vaylin]

"Can't disappoint, father," she said in a sarcastic tone. She knelt down and picked up a toy, "He was always so demanding."

"At least he never abandoned our family. I know mother is watching."

[Tethys Carrack]

"Were you family to him?" Tethys asks, cool and gentle. "This doesn't look much like it."

[Luth Khalan]

"Well, it's not like you get much of an opportunity to disappoint fathers like that. You're a success of whatever they're trying to do, or you're... not," she observed. "She seemed to be under the impression that you and your brother chose him."

[Galen Panteer]

"I often thought the same of my parents, when the beasts gnawed at my flesh in the time it took my master to line up the perfect shot." Galen said, rubbing the scars on his neck. "I hoped they were dead. That was the only reason I could imagine for allowing the things that happened to me."

[Vaylin]

"I often thought the same of my parents, when the beasts gnawed at my flesh in the time it took my master to line up the perfect shot." Galen said, rubbing the scars on his neck. "I hoped they were dead. That was the only reason I could imagine for allowing the things that happened to me."

"Well savage parents raise savage children," she said with a shrug.

"Enjoy these memories, you will all be dead soon."

[Tethys Carrack]

Tethys cocks her head slightly, ignoring the blustering threat and fixing Vaylin with a steady regard. "Do you ever wish he hadn't done this to you?"

[Galen Panteer]

"Well savage parents raise savage children," she said with a shrug.

"Enjoy these memories, you will all be dead soon."

"Is that what she's thinking?" he asked, moving closer to the girl who would become Vaylin.

[Dapper Dog]

Tethys cocks her head slightly, ignoring the blustering threat and fixing Vaylin with a steady regard. "Do you ever wish he hadn't done this to you?"

OOC: Charm versus 3eC+1eD but get a boost die for the words.

"Is that what she's thinking?" he asked, moving closer to the girl who would become Vaylin.

Vaylin is silent looking at her past self suffering the experiments.

[Tethys Carrack]

The Force is murky and dark here, and Tethys doesn't try to draw on it. But her words carry weight on their own.

--

D5 Nathema--Rather tough Charm with a boost. If Influence shouldn't apply then just ignore it. Sense Emotions, player destiny: 1eP+1eA+2eB+3eF+3eC+1eD 1 success, 2 advantage, 1 Triumph, 3 Dark Side


Don't even try activating any Influence with those pips. Still somehow a total success wtf. Triumph to....? Connect to her somehow? Find a little spark of light in her? Shift her negative feelings about Senya?

Advantage to boost next PC or Senya roll.

Edit: on rereading, I think this is a case where Force Dice wouldn’t go anyway? Regardless, I guess for fluff purposes there’s hella dark side up in here.

[Vaylin]

Vaylin looks thoughtful, the words hitting her hard.