Dark Son (Chapter 2) (Patreon)

Wanted to post this last night, but patreon was giving me shit.

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A man - tall and dark-skinned - stood near the shoreline, watching the waves crash on the beach. He was a rugged sort of handsome; his jaw stubbled and his hair short-cropped. His appearance could be described as Middle-Eastern, though it would have little meaning to the galaxy’s inhabitants—not even the humans.

In the distance over the ocean, dark clouds churned, contrasting starkly with this place’s pleasant weather. Here, the air was warm and barely stirred. A light breeze rose now and then, rustling the coastal trees’ wide leaves, but it only added to the refreshing atmosphere.

The Island of Emeralds almost seemed supernaturally isolated from the wild, chaotic oceans—something Xendor had ascertained as fact. In the four years he’d spent here shipwrecked, he’d seen many marvels and dangers; planet Mortis was a place that went against common sense.

His host, who’d revealed many of its secrets and others besides, was one such anomaly.

Far away, a tiny light emerged out of the dark, roiling clouds, heading toward the island. It was small to the extent of barely being visible. Yet, despite the great distance, it quickly grew in size.

Xendor, hailing from a super-advanced civilization, wouldn’t be impressed by mere speed. However, compared to his host’s other extraordinary abilities, it was barely even worth mentioning…

In the space of five breaths, a majestic bird appeared in the air; its feathers gleaming resplendent and silver in the afternoon sun-rays. It glowed with a white light, appearing supernatural like a creature straight out of mythology.

Though nearly four years had passed, Xendor still hadn’t grown used to such sights.

Despite it being nearly five times the size of a man, the silver gryphon landed softly on the beach, its movements possessing unnatural grace.

Taking a deep, steadying breath, Xendor approached his host. He’d undergone extensive physical and psychic conditioning since childhood, but in her presence he always found his emotions getting out of control.

The gryphon turned its head, its sapphire eyes observing him calmly. Then, there was a sudden flash of light and it was gone—a woman having taken its place.

The Sister stood there, breathtakingly beautiful in her pure, white dress. Her gem-like eyes met his, complicated emotions swirling within.

Coming to stand a short distance away, Xendor simply stared, not knowing what to say.

The Sister looked away first, gazing at the sand underneath her bare feet.

“I spoke with my Brother. He agreed to send you back to your home world.”

Her tone was measured, not revealing her true feelings.

The handsome young knight - perhaps in his late twenties or early thirties - nodded slowly.

“Thank you. You’ve shown me such hospitality and kindness since my arrival, but I have no way to repay you. It shames me greatly.”

His deep voice rumbling in his chest, he took one step closer until the two were barely separated by an arm’s length.

The Sister briefly glanced at him from underneath her silvery eyebrows.

“I’ve told you before—it wasn’t much effort on my part. Though, you shouldn’t thank me so soon. There’s still work to be done before you can leave.”

Sounding somewhat exasperated, she casually brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

“If my Brother is to help us, we must visit the Shrine of Remembrance and find the first Key. With it, we will unlock three of his Chains, allowing him to regain some strength.”

Xendor listened to her explanation, his forehead creasing into a frown. The Sister had offered little information about her family and he hadn’t been so thoughtless as to press her. However, now that it had come to this, he felt his reticence was no longer prudent.

“You spoke about him before… that he was disobedient toward your Father and was receiving punishment.”

His tone careful, he spoke about what he knew, hoping the Daughter would fill in the rest.

After a period of hesitation, she nodded slowly.

“That is true. By doing this, we go against my Father’s commands—that he remain jailed until he repents, but there’s no other way.”

“…”

Xendor felt some frustration, seeing that she had no intention on elaborating further, so he decided to just speak his mind.

“I admit, I’m having some doubts. You are my savior and more than deserving of trust, but I don’t understand how your… Brother is going to help us. By your own admission, neither of you two have access to a ship and if your Father does, you aren’t aware of it…”

His sentence trailed off, remaining quiet for a moment before he showed her his open palms, gesturing confusion.

“…no matter how strong he is in the Force, there doesn’t seem to be anything he could do. What, will he turn into a giant Chiroptera capable of traversing deep space?”

His voice turned joking, alluding to the Sister’s ability to metamorphosize.

However, she didn’t seem to find it very amusing, judging by her stern expression.

“I admit I do not know how he exactly he will help us, but if he claims he is able, then he is. Also, I suggest you refrain from making such jests—he dislikes taking on the form of a beast and if he did, he’d never allow a mortal to mount him.”

Xendor’s eyes went wide, caught off guard by her response. During his stay here, the Sister had never become upset with him, not even once—her sudden change in attitude was startling.

“…I apologize. However, I feel that I must be honest, even if it causes some friction between us. From what you’ve told me, your Brother isn’t… like you. For your Father to imprison him for such a long time, well… I can’t help wondering what crime he committed.”

Steeling himself, the Knight spoke his mind. He realized the matter was a delicate one—the Sister’s affection for her Brother being clear despite their apparent differences.

However, being imprisoned for what was likely an astronomical amount of time, it meant that - at the very least - the Brother was an extremely dangerous individual.

Also, even if he could, there was no reason for him to help them. Most likely, he was simply making use of them to escape—standard opportunistic behavior for a criminal.

Likely guessing his thoughts, the Sister narrowed her eyes.

“His wrongs are between himself, my Father and I. He has his faults, but he has never lied to me. I ask you don’t doubt him needlessly—in the future, I will return this favor. For that reason alone, he will stay true to his words.”

This revelation only increased Xendor’s discomfort. Not only was he unable to repay his debt to her, but because of him, she’d likely have to do something against her conscience because of this ‘deal’.

However, before he could protest, she cut him off abruptly.

“There’s no telling when my Father will awaken, and you have your Legions to return to. Come, let’s not waste time—the Shrine awaits.”

One moment, Xendor was still listening to her speak. The next, he suddenly found himself on the back of a silver gryphon, soaring into the blue skies.

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Outside the dark Tower, thunder raged, storms of hailstones fell and hurricane winds whipped the ocean into a frenzy.

Yet, if one were to descend into the obsidian spire’s bowls - deeper and deeper toward the bottom of the pit - the noise from above would gradually grow dimmer before vanishing completely.

There, the darkness was almost solid, so thick and dense not even sound could penetrate it.

However, today was a bit different—somehow, a single drop of water had managed to infiltrate the ancient prison, sliding down the thick, black chains.

Then, there were two drops, turning into three, four, a dozen, a hundred—soon, rivulets of water were flowing into the bottomless pit, drawn from outside; through the crack underneath the tower’s single, carved door and along the grooves in its basalt floor.

“Ah, at last. How long has it taken just to accomplish this much?”

A dry, emotionless voice - sounding like it belonged to an exhumed corpse – spoke from the bottom of the pit.

“Even if the seals are weakening, I can’t help but feel somewhat proud. Hmm… though I suppose I shouldn’t talk to myself. I’m not mad yet, after all~…”

A series of humorless chuckles followed, causing the chains to rattle.

“…but I can’t help wonder when that Sister of mine will return. Already, I’m getting impatient—as is always the case when waiting for time to pass.”

The voice sighed dramatically.

“To think, she’s already at that age. However, there’s simply no way a relationship with a mortal can end in anything other than tragedy. Besides, if memory servers, that Kashi-Merian already has someone…”

There was a period of silence before it spoke again.

“…but when tempted by a goddess, a mortal will hardly find it easy to remain firm in their convictions. Still, it is she who would suffer the greatest loss from engaging in such a ‘relationship’. Hmph, but didn’t that girl tell me to not get involved in her matters? If she loses out, then so be it…”

Suddenly, the voice stopped, the subsequent silence possessing a strange sort of tension.

Time passed without so much as a peep coming from the bottom of the pit. At some point, that strange feeling disappeared.

Eventually, days had passed without anything happening, like the speaker had abruptly fallen asleep in the middle of his sentence; not waking since.

Then, out of nowhere, there was a slow intake of breath.

“…but I seem to have lost my train of thought. Could it be that I’m getting more scatterbrained from isolation? No, that can’t be—my mind is still sharp as a knife. In fact, I daresay I haven’t felt this clearheaded in years!”

There was another series of dry chuckles, soon turning into full-blown, maddened laughter.

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On the back of a silver griffon, Xendor held the ‘key’ in his hands.

“This… isn’t it a blade?”

Sounding somewhat confused, the Knight analyzed the long, double-edged piece of metal in his hands. Its appearance was extremely ordinary, except for the material itself—dull, without any gleam to it.

Having assumed her metamorphosis, the Sister was unable to speak. Instead, she transmitted her message telepathically to Xendor’s mind.

‘It is both a blade and a key. Be careful not to drop it—recovering it from the bottom of the ocean would be difficult, even for myself.’

“…”

Nodding quietly, he gave the thing one last look before sheathing it near his waist.

“This place—I’ve never felt anything like it. Even when I visited Korriban, well… it would be difficult to find such a potent dark-side nexus even on the Sith home world.”

His tone uneasy, his eyes swept the violent, roiling landscape. From heaven to earth was a solid expanse of chaotic waters, seemingly impossible to traverse via mundane means.

In fact, the only reason he wasn’t already frozen, crushed or drowned was because of the Sister’s barrier of protective light, enveloping them both like a force-field.

The connection between them was quiet for a moment before Xendor felt a touch against his mind.

‘Indeed—my Brother is strong in the Dark, but he doesn’t think of himself as a dark-sider. Do not refer to him as anything of the sort. And above all, do not speak of the Rakatans. He has a vicious dislike of them, and…’

There Sister seemed to hesitate for a short while.

‘…and it might be better for you not to speak at all. Depending on his mood, anything can set him off.’

Though he hadn’t felt anxious about the meeting at all, the Sister’s repeated reminders during their journey stoked a tense, uncomfortable feeling inside him. Not for the first time, he questioned the wisdom of this course of action.