Lands of the Dead

Tosh looked around for the taller man, Valstrol. He glanced back at Sulie with that same wrinkled and wary expression on his face. "I don't like all this waiting...it makes me uncomfortable." Tosh muttered, but was at least glad he was alive enough in death to feel such things.

*A Great force energy is felt, as it leaves the land of the dead.*

*The Quarren Jedi master rushes from the Death Valley. He seems to be in urgent distress of some sort. There is no exertion on his face, as ghosts never exert anything, but there is pain, and excitement, and fear all in one. The alien finds Ganner standing silently at the front of the gates away from death, and when the monstrosity sees the approaching spirit, he booms:

You, Kanti Aini! You shall never pass my gates again! You have had a pleasant time in the living lands for long enough!

The Quarren ghost was expecting this. Ever since he came back with his apprentice also dead at his side, Ganner had refused to let Kanti through to the living world again. Kanti began his spiel regardless of what the monster said.

"I must go back to the living realm! My apprentice has gone to the darkside! I must convert him to the Light!"

Ganner was impassive and did not change his arguement,

You are not special. I do not care for your personal problems! Go back to your pitiful ending place!

Kanti shook his head in defiance. He retorted as politely as a Jedi master ever would.

"No, I will make you a deal, Gatekeeper of the Damned."

He continued with hurry:

"I will return to the living world and bring my apprentice back here dead. If I fail, than I shall become your personal slave. You shall have with me what you will."

YES. I ACCEPT. I ENJOY YOUR SOULS AT MY COMMAND. NOW GO, AND I SHALL AWAIT YOUR RETURN!!!

The gates swung open, and Kanti dived through before Ganner could change his mind for the worse. The Quarren Ghost would have one final chance to capture the Dark Soul of his Deranged Apprentice for better of for Worse. Soon, he would have to kill his Apprentice or have someone do the killing for him. Either way, he was too darned persistent to not have his apprentice killed and brought before Ganner for punishment.*

*Aleksandar walked the Lands of the Dead, staring hatefully at the Ganner. Thousands of years had he been here. Too long, much too long. He had shifted from sanity to insanity so many times it was bone chilling to think about. Corpses watched him, staring at him with empty, soulless eyes. He would soon join them, if he did not hurry and find a way out. But time was nearly meaningless here, lest you count what happens when you become one of them. He continued walking, walking eternally, never stopping, never tiring. His vengeance, should his second coming ever happen, would be in the thoughts of ever male, female, and youngling for years to come.*

*Harmony entered the realm and began to channel his force energies to form a Wight portal, a few minutes passed and the link to the real world was made...only good for one, but sufficient for Harmony to enter the natural world in his true form*

*After being lost for a millennia in the Lands of the Dead, there is a surge of energy and great Dark Side presence that was once lost is beginning to become whole again. A great barrier of Dark Side energy forms around the being. In the barrier, a great storm of energy and the Dark Side bring the soul of Lord Vulcan back to his body. The barrier starts to deteriorate and the storm inside beings to lighten up. The soul inside the barrier reenters the lifeless body of Lord Vulcan and a surge of energy destroys the barrier revealing the body of Lord Vulcan in a ball floating in the air. Now that body and soul are whole once again Lord Vulcan opens his eyes after being dead for quite awhile. He looks around and can already feel that things are different. He use his powers of Black Mist to teleport out of the Lands of the Dead to his homeworld of Korriban.*

*The portal became stable from the other side, Harmony sensed Keldak using his life-force to hold the portal open, before Harmony stepped through the portal, he left a small part of himself in the netherworld to preserve the light side of the force, Harmony then steped through the portal, into the natural world.*

*Jannab awoke in darkness. He recalled battling humans on his home world of Tur Yenagh, only to be felled by a bullet to the back of the spine. He now knew that he had died, for what else could this place be?*

*The Yuuzhan Vong warrior rose and stood at attention. He looked for his Amphistaff but found nothing.*

Jannab: "Of course. Though I have died, my companion has not. I am cursed to travel the realms of the dead unarmed and alone."

*He did not understand. Jannab had been killed in battle, his body had become an offering to Yun-Yammka. Yet he was barren of tools.*

Jannab: "Have the gods forsaken me? Had I failed somehow in my past life? This is wrong. I deserve better."

*Rage filled the warriors mind.*

*He screamed in defiance.*

*Dead but not defeated, Jannab began to move forwards. He wasn't certain if what he was perceiving was real or just an illusion, but it seemed real enough. For all extensive purposes he was alive, just in another form of reality. Perhaps this was simply the secondary dimension to which one traveled after their life in the previous was extinguished. He couldn't say, he simply was.*

*Jannab marched silently through the realm of nothingness, wearing only robe skin pants. The rest of his body was bare, though for some strange reason, still bore the marks he had been given while still alive. His ritual scarring, it still proclaimed he was a warrior, even in death.*

*The trek through the land of death was interesting for Jannab. He found that no matter how far he walked, he never reached anything that resembled a land mark. Yet when he thought of something material, it existed. How this came to be was unknown to him, it was like magic. Considering he was dead however, he wasn't altogether shocked. He just expected something more from death. To put it bluntly, he was bored.*

Jannab: "Is this all that exists beyond the plain of life? Am I destined to travel aimlessly for eternity, alone and in isolation?"

*He tore at his flesh in frustration, ripping out full strips of grey skin. Black blood oozed from his self inflicted wounds, only to fade in moments. The wounds healed and once more he was whole.*

*There was no escaping death. There was no escaping himself. And finally, there was no escaping his thoughts. He was trapped within himself...fated to be alone.*

*Death was nowhere near as comforting as Jannab had expected, but at least it was quiet. That was a plus, assuming of course that the isolation didn't drive you mad. He was already feeling his sanity slipping piece by piece.*

*He reflected.*

"No wonder we fear the demons of the Netherworld. This place changes a man, warps him until he's lost his mind. I feel my grip on this reality slipping. Soon I shall fall to the ranks of the perverse undead. Dead in body, but undead in that my mind still wanders."

*What felt like an eternity passed by, and so Jannab fell to the darkness. This was among the worst sort of darkness as well, for it was the darkness that spawned from his own mind.*

*In that moment of weakness, Jannab fell to Chaos. He vanished from the land of the dead and was taken to the darkest corner of the netherworld.*

*He was dead. For what seemed like a thousand years he mulled that over. At first he could remember nothing of his life. He floated in a void, thinking. That he could think at all surprised him. Obviously there was nore to death than just returning to the force. That thought cost him another thousand years. He had no idea of his name. He had no body, no voice. He examined each thought that came to him with excrutiating detail. Soon emotions rose in him and he examined these also. The dull black of sorrow. The bright blue of happiness. The dark red of anger. It was strange that they all seemed to have a colour. Soon he started on his physical senses. All he could hear was an strange rushing sound. As though he was in an open-top speeder travellingat high velocity. He opened his 'eyes'*

*Andru looked around. There wasn't really anything to see here. White sand disappearing into the distance in all directions. Looking up, he saw that the 'sky' was a deep saphire colour. As he looked up flashes came to him. Joshua. Dav. Tebana. Others he didn't know. He also felt..... Darkness. Not the literal sense of the word but evil. Chaos. Had he come back from the dead, he wandered but as soon as he tried to shuffle his feet, a natural living reaction, he found nothing to shuffle. He looked down and could see only a hazy reflection of his body. More images flashed to him. Joshua in a sleek starfighter. Tebana looking drawn and Dav sad. He ground imaginary teeth in frustration. He tried to recall his own life and grimaced as he remembered Haruun Kal. The Corruption! He could still feel it. As though he had taken a part of it into death with him. The fact that he could still feel the pull, though muted, of the Guardian told him that this plague that he had tried so hard to destroy was still out there. Was it the Corruption calling him back or was it his son and fellow Jedi? Not knowing how he was doing it, Andru Kierra-Solo reached out accross the Galaxy, accross the line between life and death, and was drawn to Tebana*

*And the Quarren Jedi ghost was catapulted back into the realm of the dead for the fourth or third time. He was thrown back behind the gates of the underworld in an instant, and thusly he was now sitting as much as a ghost could sit very ungloriously at the feet of Ganner. The massive ghost held with him a very eerie axe, which the blade was fettered and serrated. He held it as if he were prepared to use it. Having a very good relationship with Ganner, Kanti decided to try and smooth-talk his way out of the situation.

"Good day Ganner, I see you've found yourself a new sentry weapon."

The massive Jedi guard lofted the axe with one big hand and brought it slamming to the ground blade first near Kanti. The Quarren flinched naturally. He stuttered, but Ganner cut him off.

Where is the Dark Apprentice you promised you would return with?

Kanti got to his ghostly feet. He remembered how funny it was that in the Netherworld, ghosts could act as living people, but when ghosts entered the living, they flew around like birds and beasts. He began to try and explain himself while he nervously glanced at the dangerous axe only three feet from him.

"He was too powerful for me, your Guardsmanship. He defeated me through the Force and sent me back here in one swipe..."

Ganner seemed to enjoy hearing this information, and then he hefted the massive axe again.

What was your punishment you had promised me upon your failure?

Kanti stepped back as the axe blade was oriented towards him. He answered carefully.

"I was to serve you, I believe, but maybe, if you help me bring my Dark one back...he could serve you much better than I."

Ganner chuckled boomingly and Kanti couched down to try and avoid the massive sounds from hurting his sensitive inner ears. This made Ganner laugh even more.

Your cowering is amusing to me, Jedi. But I will tell you this! I have no need for your servitude! Thus, your contract with me brings me no good.

Kanti stood up incredulously. One could see the hope in his huige orb eyes. However, Ganner proceeded to rain on Kanti's parade.

I do have an associate who governs over other portions of the Netherworld. He has requested that you go and serve him for an extended period of time. Therefore, you shall join him and complete your contract there.

Kanti's heart fell. He now understood that Ganner was never nice, but was always just. Kanti felt foolish for thinking that he wouldn't have to hold up his end of the bargain. He simply looked into the shadowy recesses hiding Ganner's eyes and spoke his reply.

"I shall not fight you any longer, Ganner. I have taken advantage of your just manner for much too long. Do with me what you will."

Ganner nodded,

It is good of you to understand your place in my realm as well of the realm governed by my brothers.

Kanti nodded, but before he could ask his destination, Ganner raised the axe, of which's blade was now glowing a bright white. Kanti held his hands up in defense as the giant blade was brought down upon him, and soon he could feel his very being becoming stretched through the Force.*

*Drach's form begun to materialize within the Land of the Dead. The Chis looked at his hands then around at the vast emptiness that surrounded him. Drach walked forward a bit, then two seats seemed to appear from the ground. Sitting on one was Drach's former wife, Jocelyn. Drach sat down on the empty seat, looking curiously at Jocelyn*
"It has been a while my love" Jocelyn
"So it really is you and i really am dead?" Drach
"Yes it is me and yes you are dead" Jocelyn
"Where am i exactly?" Drach
"The Lands of the Dead. It is a part of the Netherworld that people can gain access back to the world of the living through. I feel that your role in the Living World is not up yet" Jocelyn
"There is nothing left for me in the lands of the living. My ability as a leader failed. Like many before me, i had to die for the Chiss to continue" Drach
"A sacrifice many an Aristocra before you had to make. You are not the first to die for the survival of the Chiss" Jocelyn
"But still, all that i have ever wanted lies here. My memories of you haunted me and now that i remember, i don't want to lose you again" Drach
"Drach, one day we will be reunited for all eternity. But that day has yet to come. Our people need a leader alongside Thrawn. You know you have always been destined for greater things. Firstly we have to get you able to contact the living world, then get you back there, which i will help you do" Jocelyn

*Jocelyn and Drach crossed their legs and sat on the ground as the chairs disappeared*
"Now Drach, empty your mind of all thoughts. Consider nothing but breathing in and out" Jocelyn
*Drach nodded and closed his eyes as he breathed in and out, not that it was really necessary seeing as he was dead. However he felt a strange peace come over him*
"Now try and visualize The Redoubt" Jocelyn
"The Redoubt? why there?" Drach
"Drach do as i tell you to" Jocelyn
"Very Well" Drach
*Drach begun thinking of the Redoubt, the Chiss' last resort. Between him and Jocelyn a small model of the Redoubt appeared*
"Now concentrate on the Brask Oto Command station" Jocelyn
*As Drach concentrated, the model seemed to zoom in on the Command Station, which was the entrance to the Redoubt*
"Excellent. Now tell me who you sense there" Jocelyn
*Drach begun reaching out to the station, feeling the life force of the Chiss within*
"My brothers, several ministers and Aristocra Thrawn" Drach
"Good, good. now think of Aristocra Thrawn and where he is within the command station" Jocelyn
*Drach concentrated on the docking bay and Aristocra Thrawn. The model zoomed in and a sort of smoke appeared around the edges of the model as the docking bay's ground formed, followed by the several people within. Drach seems stumped by the life force of one Chiss within the room*
"There is one within this room that draws my curiosity" Drach
"Of course, shadow children are not widely spoken about. You of all people should know that" Jocelyn
"He is a shadow child? from who's house?" Drach
"Drach, my love, look at the ground and the markings on the wall" Jocelyn
*Drach's concentration went to the walls and floor and he realized. he opened his eyes, the model maintaining on it's own*
"A member of the Nuruodo family?" Drach
"Yes, but whom does he belong to?" Jocelyn
"Nykr?" Drach
"You are correct" Jocelyn
"What does this mean?" Drach
"Nothing that really concerns you. It just means you have to wait before contacting Thrawn, just be aware he isn't a force user. So you will want to get sound on your model" Jocelyn
*Drach nodded and begun trying to get some audio so he could hear what was being said*

*As everything is happening suddenly Drach and Jocelyn can hear the voice of the people*

*Drach watched and listened as the meeting started. it seemed he would have to wait before contacting Thrawn. His clone commando's were seemingly the only one's able to help him return to the living plane. Very few other Chiss used the force and the one's who did it seemed were to weak to be able to help*