Hoth: Blood and Ice

[Sylvain Torsin]

After the long night finally ended and the dim light of the azure sun lit up the distant entrance to the cave Sylvain finally tested out his legs to catch his bearings…

He walked over to the ‘room’ where they had heard the old man resting last night and leaned against the wall for a moment while he thought about waking him.

[Dapper Dog]

The Snow Man yawned and sat up on the stone slab he had used for a bed. His skin was haggard and his hair wild. At his feet sat their weapons, for now he did not seem willing to give them up.

[Layne Hoshin]

It seemed Sylvain was not the only one who'd gotten enough use of her limbs back to risk the effort of trying to stand up. Even if it felt like she'd been awake for a week or more.

Unlike her old classmate though, the first thing *she* did was see about retrieving her equipment. Her sabers in particular, and that old broken blade Spindral had once led her to. She didn't *think* this was a trap on his part; but she wasn't entirely discounting it either. Had to be ready for anything.

Unfortunately, they were gone.

She only found them in front of him, apparently being guarded by the old man. She supposed he had to be ready for anything too.

"..."

Watching him in silence, she didn't need to use words to ask the question of why they were here.

[Dapper Dog]

"You two are terrible at whispering," he said. "Welcome back to Korriban, though it seems a little colder than I recall."

[Layne Hoshin]

She sighed, remembering how difficult dealing with Spindral could be.

"That's because this isn't Korriban. This is Hoth."

[Dapper Dog]

"Are you sure?" he asked.

[Layne Hoshin]

She looked at Sylvain at that, an exasperated expression on her face. Not getting her eight hours was making her cranky. Not to mention the visions that were to blame.

"...Yeah... lot of stuff happening to remind me of Korriban, but we're pretty sure this is Hoth."

[Dapper Dog]

"I see," he responded.

"It will be a long walk back to Korriban then."

[Sylvain Torsin]

“Quite…” Sylvain replied.

“Good dreams last night?”

[Dapper Dog]

"I never have good dreams."

[Layne Hoshin]

She finally got to bring a palm up to her face in response to the conversation. She was far too tired for this.

"...You heard our conversation, right? So... why are we here?"

[Dapper Dog]

"You think the Sith Emperor is alive?" he said.

[Layne Hoshin]

Layne looked toward Sylvain to answer that. Her own vision didn't show her that, after all...

...and even though she'd told Syl *and* herself to stop whining about it, she was still struggling with the possibility it was true, and what that meant for everything she's done since... well, pretty much since leaving the Sith behind.

[Sylvain Torsin]

“Or some sort of… legacy project. Do you know of any ‘Eternal Empire’… beyond the one I hail from?” He asked.

[Dapper Dog]

“No, and the Sith Emperor… well as best as I can see he is neither living or dead. Ain't coming back in a form we could recognize but ain’t entirely dead either. Guess he is continually dying but refuses to dissipate completely,” the Snow Man responded.

“Now are you sure this isn’t Korriban? It feels so similar.”

[Layne Hoshin]

Something finally *clicked* in her mind. Or seemed to, anyway.

"A Wound in the Force," she said, "...I... guess it makes sense. Zash's ritual caused the same thing, and hers was... similar to his, I guess."

Damn it. Damn it!

[Dapper Dog]

"Yes, that could be it," he responded. "If only he were alive, then all would be as it should be."

[Sylvain Torsin]

“Is that… possible? It certainly doesn’t seem advisable…”

[Dapper Dog]

“Is that… possible? It certainly doesn’t seem advisable…”

"What?" the Snow Man responded confused.

[Layne Hoshin]

"If he was still alive, we'd all be *dead* now," she said, annoyed. "Wait... unless... you mean, bring him back *now*? To kill him properly this time?"

[Dapper Dog]

“That would be an interesting idea, but he is dead… and not dead. No, I welcome his annihilation, he is the truth of the Dark Side, or was. I do feel something, maybe that is why I lost Korriban? She must miss me terribly. Maybe we are all dead, the real laugh,” he mused before coughing up black red blood.

“Maybe I will join him.”

[Layne Hoshin]

She looked at the blood with mild confusion. "I don't understand..."

Layne shook her head. "If he's a Force Wound, it might be done another way too. But... no, I don't think it'd work. He'd have to want to be redeemed, and even if he could be convinced to, which I think is impossible, he doesn't deserve it."

She looked thoughtful for a bit... "... But... what is it you feel?"

[Sylvain Torsin]

Much like the last time he met Spindral, Sylvain had a multitude of questions… but none of them seemed to be the right one to ask this man… So he waited for the responses and tried to work his mind on the riddles.

[Dapper Dog]

She looked at the blood with mild confusion. "I don't understand..."

Layne shook her head. "If he's a Force Wound, it might be done another way too. But... no, I don't think it'd work. He'd have to want to be redeemed, and even if he could be convinced to, which I think is impossible, he doesn't deserve it."

She looked thoughtful for a bit... "... But... what is it you feel?"

"I feel old, little girl, so old," he said chuckling darkly. "There is no redeeming Vitiate, no. What you fear is the wheel set into motion, it spins and spins down hill until the speed is such that it may never stop without someone forcing it. But the wheel is large and you are small," he finished.

[Sylvain Torsin]

“Is there a way to divert the wheel? Even small things can turn the course of something large by small deviations…”