OPEN ↠ HEART LIKE ICE

[faderifting]

WHO: New Rifters & Inquisition Members
WHAT: A journey south to make new friends and kick some ass
WHEN: Drakonis 15-25
WHERE: Sunless Lands
NOTES: Violence and language assumed. Warn for anyting else. OOC post.

The Sunless Lands are not, in fact, sunless. This time of year there can be as many as eight hours of daylight, some of it blinding where it reflects off of snow and ice that stretches from the southern edge of the Kocari Wilds as far as anyone can see, broken only occasionally by rocky masses of land jutting out of the snow cover or barren tundra peeking out in patches where constant, unforgiving wind has pushed it aside. You'll be traversing this span primarily on foot—there are sleighs, too, pulled by hardy dogs, but they're carrying essential supplies rather than spare people. The only way to get a ride is to successfully feign passing out.

Beyond the dogs, the area isn't devoid of native wildlife: white fennecs hunt rodents underground, and a herd of excessively fluffy wild druffalo is seeking out whatever vegetation it can find. But hunting down a meal or two early and preserving rations for further south would not be a bad idea, because the further south the team travels, the more inhospitable the terrain grows, and the less life can be seen. And sometimes not much of anything can be seen, when clouds roll by and burst with snow thick enough to halt progress entirely for hours.

The nights are cloudy as often as clear, but when they are clear the sky is split by green and purple ribbons of light.

I. THE RESCUE

Two days' journey south, the monotonously icy horizon is broken by something new: smoke rising in interrupted puffs, an intentional signal. Someone is out there. Chances are, it's the rifters, with or without their first group of intended rescuers. But there's no way to be sure. And approaching with caution is wise either way. Rifters have strange powers (and strange personalities), and they've been out here for days now, dealing with demons and Maker knows what else on their own. For all anyone knows, they could be the reason for the rescue team's disappearance. Orders are to approach carefully.

Then, once contact has been made and initial concerns have been allayed, make sure those poor people have something to eat, and try to figure out where their original rescuers disappeared to.

II. THE STORM

After the rifters are recovered, there's still the matter of the red lyrium mine to address. Another two days' journey south will put the group within good range of the mine: not so close as to be seen, but close enough to be able to get there in a couple of hours as needed.

Halfway there, however, in the middle of the day, progress comes to an abrupt half when the darkest clouds yet gather suddenly on the horizon and barrel down on the group, bringing with them a glut of snow that reduces visibility to only a few feet and wind that roars so loudly you have to shout to be heard. Magic can help some with heat, but the storm shows little sign of quickly abating and with hours of deadly cold conditions to deal with, digging in and getting cozy for a few hours might be the most feasible solution for everyone.

III. THE VILLAGE

Shortly before the point everyone is aiming for—one marked by an enormous stone carving of an owl, several times taller than a man, that's inexplicably been left by the ancients in the center of the tundra—something else appears not far to the west. On closer inspection, it turns out to be a circle of low-sitting animal-skin tents pressed down into the snow to protect them from wind, rocky fire pits, and abandoned sleighs. Overall, it's a cross between camp and village indicative of a nomadic group that's staying a while but not forever.

It's empty now, with a coating of snow on most of the structures that indicates it's been at least a few days since anyone was here. Closer inspection reveals personal belongings inside the tents, including toys and clothing belonging to children—and, in many tents, chunks of red lyrium in the center or beneath the skins that form the beds, each piece emanating heat. They probably thought it was safer than fire.

Wherever they went, they don't come back while the Inquisition is there. But the activity does get noticed. A few hours after arrival, enormous white bears apparently moving in a pack come within a hundred yards of the camp and pace at a distance, watching the interlopers with wary interest. Some of them are wearing collars or harnesses decorated in the same style as the tents. For enough food, they may come closer, and they'll turn out to be abnormally tame.

IV. THE BATTLE

The red lyrium mine that Corypheus' followers built when their operations were crippled in Emprise du Lion is nestled in an icy canyon, with massive scaffolding built up the sides of the cliff and too many cages to count, though few of them hold living prisoners anymore. It's a massive operation, but one that's been crippled by its distance from civilization. It's sparsely guarded compared to its size, and other than the cliffs, it has minimal natural protection. The enemy has magic-silencing Templars, enormous behemoths, and a chained white-furred giant, but they are clearly not prepared to be attacked.

Ahead of the onslaught, traps are set and any surviving prisoners are evacuated under cover of darkness. Everyone else sent to fight either creeps down shortly before dawn, rappelling quietly to avoid notice in the dark, or waits at the top for the first surprise strike to provide enough distraction for them to descend more openly. If anyone has been particularly nice to the bears (see above) then it is entirely possible they'll allow themselves to be ridden into battle.

Once their presence is known, their orders are pretty simple. Destroy it all. Leave no one behind and nothing worth returning for.

Fire is a good strategy. Red lyrium doesn't do well in heat.

Comments

[provenforce]

She feels like he missed her meaning, but it doesn't matter as he makes that same plea he'd made in Snoke's throne room. Rule the galaxy. The thought makes her stomach turn, and she tenses, wrapping her arms around herself. This had been something she'd been thinking about for days, how she could have made the scenario go differently, changed things so he'd come with her. Changed things so that people didn't end up dead.

So far, she hadn't come up with anything, and she knows that he's only going to change his mind when he realizes on his own that it's a disaster. Letting out a hollow laugh at his telling her she's shackled herself she looks over at him, her eyes burning.

"You think I've shackled myself to this place? That I don't want to go back? I do. I might have found a place here, but I had a place there, too. With the Resistance." She bites down on the words, making it clear that she doesn't want what he's offered her.

"I've been here a year and a half. I have a friend who has been here three years. There may not be any going back, and I'm not going to... sit around waiting for a day that might never come." It hurts to admit, but after the blue flu, she's had to admit to herself that sometimes waiting hurts her more than the truth.

[letoldthingsdie]

"Maybe shackled wasn't the right word." He feels his own temper rising and it takes effort to try his best not to let the tension have power over him. He takes a breath, steadying himself. "I've been here less than a week. Being here a year or more... that can't be how this goes."

They needed to go back. Why he was in such a rush to do whatever it took to do that, not even he completely understood. Being cut off from the First Order took him away from the purpose in his life that he had worked for, even if all it had ever done for him was leave him volatile and downtrodden by Snoke's hand.

"I just need to know that if we're going to try and find a way back, that it really is us and not just me alone." Because he couldn't do any of it alone. He needed her. That might make her seem like an object to be used, but he could find no higher compliment than to be useful to someone he cared about.

[provenforce]

She does understand his desire to return to something familiar, but at the same time she feels the odd desire to try and convince him that this is where they're meant to be. She shoves it down, falling into silence for a long stretch, considering her options here. She could refuse, but she knows there likely is no point in that. Others have tried to find a way to their homes to no avail, as persistent as Kylo is, she still doesn't know if he'd have any kind of luck.

"I'll help you," she finally says, her hands sliding down to Padawan's neck, her fingers curling into the dog's fur. "But that also means you need to listen to me. If something is dangerous, or people will get killed, it isn't worth us getting home." She turns her head to look at him, her jaw set. He might be fine with collateral damage, but she's not.

[letoldthingsdie]

I'll help you. He remembers another time she's offered her help to him and he, so stuck on his pride, had insisted that she would be the one to turn to darkness. Neither of them had turned from their chosen path and Rey had only left him disappointed. Still, she had let him live and he branded her as foolish for it. Perhaps now they might actually meet somewhere in the middle.

"Fine. I think I can manage that." Even if part of him cared very little for others if it meant getting what he desired. He would compromise on this for the sake of her cooperation.

[provenforce]

Some of the tension pulsing through her eases as he agrees to her request, though she doesn't feel entirely at ease. She wishes she did, but while they both had their disappointments hanging between them, it seems unlikely for things to go back to the way they'd been before, when she'd been looking to him for answers where Luke didn't offer them.

"There's nothing we can do here, but once we get back to the Gallows there should be resources available for you to explore." She's not entirely sure how much of ways to get Rifters home has been studied, truthfully.

[letoldthingsdie]

He doesn't have anything to say to that in particular, instead focusing on being warm. He curls up his long legs tighter into himself - as much as he can with her animal curled up in their laps. Already he was questioning whether there was really much to find, if she had already been here a year and others had been here longer. What could he do then? He couldn't exactly rule a galaxy if he couldn't even get to it. What kind of life could he make for himself here?

"Assuming there is anything to find. You've been here a year. You'd know that better than I would." She was humoring him, he realizes. It really wasn't making him feel better. He felt useless just thinking about trying to find something and coming up empty handed.

[provenforce]

Rey sighs, shaking her head.

"Not necessarily. I haven't been involved with the Rifts and Veil project, except for when they need information from me. I'm not a researcher." That's just never been her. She's hands-on, she likes being able to take things apart and put them back together, get her hands dirty. She learned several languages and how to write them by reading, of course, but much of that education had been practical, too.

"There could always be something that was missed by others, that you might pick up. You're smart." It feels a little weird, complimenting him, but she knows it's true. That had been something she'd sensed about him from the moment they'd met. He'd been more curious than dangerous, wanting to learn, to understand their connection. She imagines he's like that in other aspects of his life, and she can't help the slight smile that touches her lips briefly as she imagines him elbow deep in the Gallows library, surrounded by dusty old books.

[letoldthingsdie]

He listens to her words but it's not until she compliments him that he feels something strange rise up in him. He realizes that it had been a long time since he had heard someone acknowledge his talents. His time with Snoke had been filled with training and no matter what he did to please him it had never been enough.

If he thinks about it, the last time he'd really been praised might have been as a boy, when his father first taught him to fly. Maybe there had been other moments after that, but he had been so lonely and lost in his own head for so long that nothing felt like it was good enough for anyone, not even himself. Snoke had long been whispering in his ear.

"Maybe. I'm just one person, though." And instead of accepting the compliment he immediately falls into the old pattern of self-deprecation. It would take time to comb through books and find various leads, but perhaps it was possible. He wanted to think that it would be. His dream for the future counted on it.

[provenforce]

"Sometimes that's all it takes," Rey replies, giving him a more sincere smile. She knows it's not the same, but she'd felt much the same when she'd realized that so much of the Reistance's faith had been placed in her, specifically. She shifts a little, turning so she can look at him without craning her neck, adjusting the blankets around them a little.

"There's other people who have looked into things, too. You can talk to them, find a place to start. I'll do what I can to help. Translating might be tricky, for a while, but you'll probably pick up the Common language quickly. It's a little more simplistic than aurebesh."

[letoldthingsdie]

"Then that's something I'll work on. Once we're not freezing in the middle of nowhere." The corners of his lips curl for just a second before his mouth relaxes into it's usual place. He moves to adjust the blankets more securely, relaxing with his arm around her. This time it wasn't meant to intimidate or force heat out of her. He wanted the both of them to be warm.

It didn't matter if they were here by design of the Force willing it or if it was just dumb luck that he had come through the Rift so long after she had. They were both here. He wished he could make her understand, as she had before closing their bond. He settles for making her warm instead.

[provenforce]

His arm around her makes her nervous, but not because she's afraid of him. It feels familiar in some way, and comfortable. The quiet and the closeness of this situation make it hard to hold onto the anger she still has, the disappointment in him asking her to destroy the galaxy with him. Because she knows that's what would have happened if she'd accepted his offer. The galaxy would have burned for it.

Still she relaxes a little, leaning in to his warmth, her left hand held open resting on Padawan's back.

"Hopefully we won't have too many storms like this slowing us down. The Gallows isn't much, but it's better than this." Even when there had been that blizzard that had flooded the place.