Faction Litanies of the Dark Side: Spoils of War

[Valia Muqai]

Valia furrowed her brow at Hyara's strange interest on the one particular wound on her chest. To her, it didn't seem any different from the others beyond its location on her chest, perhaps it was supposedly another fatal blow that failed to kill her, which wouldn't surprise Valia at all, considering her in odd inability to die which she had long noticed.

She stared at Hyara with utter confusion drawn across her face. The entire situation she had found herself in was bizarre enough that it made Valia wondered if she was still some sort of Sith sorcery that was making her see soldiers speaking a foreign language and appearing oddly similar to herself. She distrusted their aid, only accepting it as she had no alternative. To resist and fight back felt as if it would sink her further then.... a thought she hadn't had before, after spending so long fighting against the will of the Dark Crusade, having her will and morals eroded so thoroughly. Valia well and truly felt utterly lost in a way she couldn't describe, it was quite obvious to anyone paying attention to her expressions and body language. Hyara's words only intensified the feeling even further.

"The man was..." Valia realized she hadn't asked for his name, neither he asked for hers, only vaguely recalling what the woman, Theocha was her name, had addressed him as. "That woman, Theocha was it, addressed him as Lord Hegemon. The one in the bronze armor and red crest on his helmet. Never learned his name." She assumed that Hyara would illuminate her on that soon enough.

"And ride what exactly?"

 

[Hyara Hemstagon]

Hyara chuckled when she mentioned the way Theocha called the man. She covered her mouth with her palm, as her eye rolled up.

"Oh, thats the big boss man. He's with the Alcademons. Fancy bronze and all. Partypooper." she shrugged. "He ain't not with us cool bunch. Alcademons are all about show and not too much of skill. You might see him in the Harvest. Though I wouldn't hold my breath. Partypooper..." she shook her head.

She leaned back, her head resting on the crate, amidst a sea of pale braids, spreading like snakes towards all directions.

When Valia asked, at last, Hyara turned her head back to her, as if shocked by the inquiry.

"You kidding." she exclaimed. "You haven't gone on a Hound before? Girl, I dunno what you've been doing" she shook her head, returning her focus up once again. "But that ain't life...."

She went silent for a few breaths, as if daydreaming had intervened her trail of thought.

"You get to see it all. Revel in the thrill. No rules. No laws. Just...." she shook her shoulders.

"You gonna love it on the Imvonvol. Well... Till you get used to the smell... Oh, those maggots smell like -crap-... I don't allow none on my tower! Just me and the boys are enough to run the big lady. But first!"

She lifted herself up, shaking her shoulders along the elbow, as if mimicking a strange form of dance...

"We gonna get some Harvest fun, right?"

 

[Valia Muqai]

Valia continued to stare at Hyara with a look that only continued to indicate her persisting confusion at what was being discussed. She understood that the man that spared and took her was the one in charge, or one of the ones in charge. It was difficult to fully determine when all she had to go off from were the nigh cryptic messages of Hyara and Theocha, though Valia figured it was a safe assumption from how the Lord Hegemon carried himself.

"Look... I have no idea what you're or anyone else is talking about." Valia said, her hands held out for emphasis. "I don't know why everyone here assumes I just know everything when I don't! What do you mean by riding what? What is an Imvonvol? What the hell is this Harvest thing? None of this makes sense and I especially don't know why I am even here."

She huffed, slumping back against a crate. Once again feeling the ache of fatigue go through her. "Never even heard of whatever an Athysian League is, never even heard of the language everyone here speaks."

 

[Hyara Hemstagon]

Surprise was clear on Hyara's eyes, as she stared at Valia's outburst. In reality, Hyara had not, perhaps, realized the extend of what Theocha spoke of, or so she gathered now that she witnessed Valia's own collapse.

"Well, damn, girl..." she murmured, as Valia slumpered down. Hyara slithered her body towards the edge of the crate, her head picking down, causing her heavy braids to hand before and over Valia's face.

"You really are clueless..." she admitted, bitting her lips as she grimached grimly.

She stared at her for few moments, as if she searched for the words to speak.

"Where were you born?"

She eventually spoke up, her voice shifting as if driven to yet another realization; Or better, a recognition.

 

[Valia Muqai]

It felt oddly reassuring to see Hyara actually have a measure of understanding instead of spewing of further chastisement or riddles, which she had grown accustomed to hearing. How sincere it was, Valia couldn't tell, but she was at least glad for the minuscule silver lining she had been provided.

"Don't know, don't care. That isn't relevant." Valia mindlessly picked at a scabbed wound on her arm. Pondering between saying her next words or just leaving her answer as that.

"I am..." she paused briefly "... was a Jedi. Birthplace never mattered to us." her words were a quiet whisper. To say a simple truth hurt as much as the knife she drove into her heart. She had clung to the Jedi identity so hard and for so long it felt impossible to let go.

But how could she call herself one after what she had done.

 

[Hyara Hemstagon]

Hyara, as uncharacteristic of her as it was, remained silent; Listening. In many ways, she felt a connection with Valia which she could not identify. The pain, shared, was real, and she could not simply jest around it, until the voices once again take the helm and drive her onward, like the used to.

"I heard your kind was bred to be warriors." she said then. Her voice strangely calm. "You have no home, or parents. You don't have attachments." she continued. Words she had heard many times over, and, for a moment, felt so familiar though she had never admitted to any league in thought or act.

"You are forbidden from feeling."

Hyara slid down, planting herself right beside Valia, so much so that her shoulder touched hers. She turned her one-eyed gaze to her and nodded with her head.

"Go on. What's the story?"

 

[Valia Muqai]

Under any other circumstances, Valia would have shrunk away from Hyara's presence or pushed her away. To have someone in such close proximity was deeply uncomfortable and unsafe in her mind, as they could easily land a killing blow or worse. The Dark Crusade had conditioned her that much. Only one person she had allowed to stay so close to her then.....

"Not bred. Chosen. No Jedi is forced to stay if they wish to leave the order. The Jedi Temple is our home and we are not entirely forbidden from feeling. Emotions are normal, but it must not control you." It felt almost nostalgic for Valia to explain such things to Hyara. She had done so before, to those with common misconceptions of the Jedi Order. "But you are right, we are not allowed to be attached."

She fell into a contemplative silence again, wondering how and where she would even begin such a story or if she'd even want to. Especially out in the open and so soon after meeting Hyara, for all she knew, it could be used against her. Not that it would matter really, Valia had grown used to the pain.

"The story is that I was a Jedi, I was taken, then I was a Jedi no longer. You don't need to know anymore than that." There was a sudden, sharp edge to her voice as she answered that went as soon as it came that indicated it was not a discussion she was willing to go further on at the moment. "Now, you haven't answered any of my questions about this... harvest and riding whatever."