Rivalry [Ryn]

[Grawn]

The man walked silently this dark night, the only companion was the sound of the wind being carried across the land. The whistling sound and the light touch of air phased him none as his yellow eyes stared ahead, looking down a path only he could see. Only he could follow. The forests around him carried no danger to the lone wanderer, the dark grasping branches towering over his head seeking nothing more to remain as they are.

He came here for one purpose, as was always his purpose. His never ending goal, the very reason he existed. Power. His yellow eyes were not the only thing that gave him the ability to see as his mind was open, like an avian creature with its wings held out wide and proud. The Force brought him whispers of events recent or soon to come as he continued his almost pointless search.

The Force. It was entwined in everything and the man could see it all with his mind. The way it twisted and bend, the way it contorted with but a mere flicker of his consciousness. He controlled it utterly and yet without it, he was near nothing. Some, the Jedi primarily, would claim the users of this mystical power serve the Force in everything. Grawn Ianie didn't believe in such blather.

The forest soon ended and he found himself looking upon the lake before him. The light from the overhead moon shined brilliantly off of its still surface, in a sort of peace. What laid beneath was not anything close to the word he understood as peace. Beneath this waters tranquil surface, a struggle of survival took place. Aquatic creatures slept while some others tried their best to stay alive in an environment where enemies were around every corner.

Averting his gaze up, the spark of life coming to him, he blinked emotionless as he watched what appeared to be furry green balls with tentacles flying overhead. The word Bouncers came to the Siths mind as he watched the being fly with the wind, recalling their only way of locomotion being such. He walked toward the lake edge and looked down into its surface, seeing his reflection.

A man looked back at him. Black hair hung to his shoulders and two yellow eyes stared unrelentingly. A cloak covered most of his body, the hood drawn back. The moonlight shined off a metal shaft that was on his belt, exposed from the protective cover of his cloak. Grawn lifted his right hand, the cybernetic appendage with pointed fingertips casted over the body of water as he pours a tiny amount of power into the water.

Immediately the surface began to ripple, the rings extending outward into the larger area, disappearing into the distance.

"Sampson", Grawn muttered, looking to his right to see his black hound come to existence next to him. The hound knew what he wanted as it walked calmly into the water, not needing to question him with its blazing red eyes. The water rings came anew as the black beast waded out into the lake and then went under, gone from view. Minutes passed when the hound finally came back, a medium sized fish in its maw. The creature flopped helpless in the grip of a beast it could not escape from as Grawn lifted his hand out towards his prize.

The fish soared to his hand with little resistance. Its slimy scales were unfelt against Grawn's gloved hand as he gripped it tightly to prevent escaping what was to come. Gritting his teeth and letting out a growl, power surged out from his hand and into the fish. The hapless creature began to spasm and shake uncontrollably, doing so for several minutes until its death. The Lightning continued to a few minutes until the smell of roasted fish wafted into the Siths nose.

Walking back a few feet away from the bank, Grawn sat himself down and began to pluck the fish for meat. The sharp tipped fingers of his cybernetic hand made this task easy as possible as slowly the cooked meat was devoured carefully, leaving nothing but bones and scales next to him.

"All day I have been searching, yet I find nothing. I'm starting to think the dark side is leading me on a wild goose chase," the Sith remarked as he leaned back, his arms behind him to support him as he looked up into the starry sky once more. Sampson laid next to him and chewed contently on the fish bones, giving no hint of response to his Masters plight.

While flying his ship, The Red Fury, Grawn had sensed a spike in the Force on Ruusan. He had spent much of a day looking for what this spike had been caused by. Thus far, his search was fruitless. The Sith laid back and put his hands behind his head, listening to the sound of Sampson chew as his mind pondered. He would give the mountains a search in the morning, this was for sure. The forest proved dry and now the Sith considered sleep.

"I often wonder if you understand anything I say," Grawn yawned to his hound who had swallowed the last bit of bone and now sat looking at his Master quizzically. His yellow eyes looked at the hound for a moment before closing and letting out a deep sigh.

"Weakling"

Grawn's eyes snapped open as he jolted upward to see who dared disturb him. His eyes were open for a moment before a heavy boot smashed into his face and he hit the ground hard. With little time wasted, the Sith rolled backwards fast and stood up, igniting his blade. A man stood before him as his vision unblurred, his eyes adjusting after being hit with such force.

His teeth grit as the man before him smiled, bringing his hand up and waving to challenge him, mocking him. He needed little prodding as Grawn charged forward and swung, his blood red blade meeting a brilliant sapphire.

"Ah, come on now Ianie. Wheres the oomph?" the man retorted, throwing Grawn's blade to the side and striking forward. Grawn twisted his body to avoid the blades tip and used the Force to push the man back. The being only chuckled as he seemed unaffected and swung again. The Sith used the Force this time not to push but to propel himself back, giving him distance to balance but the man charged him furiously.

No time was given as Grawn found himself stumbling backwards, his grip uneven and his footing sloppy. Howling winds blew about him and the man as the Sith was pushed back. Growling, Grawn attempted to gain the upper hand and get aggressive, but found himself with a fist in his groin at a breakneck speed.

"To slow," the man chuckled as his knee slammed into Grawn's face. Stumbling backwards, dropping his lightsaber as his hands shot to his face, he opened his eyes to see a blade of blue come for him. His right arm fell away and he found himself falling backwards, the cliff edge rapidly distancing from himself as he screamed a single word.

"SUNDAR!", the man awoke with a raging scream, his eyes furious as he looked around. Sampson lifted his head, sleep eyes questioning him as the Sith slowed his rapid breathing.

A dream. A mere dream. Something he had not had in what seemed to be eons.

Taking a few minutes to calm himself, he looked over the horizon to see the sun peaking over. How long had he been asleep? The sounds of birds chirping in the distance made him sigh as he cradled his hand in his two hands. He would never let that day leave his mind. Never. Grawn shouldn't have survived, but he had and now here he was. On a planet searching for something that could be nothing.

"Lets get moving," the Sith ordered irritatedly as he stood, Sampson letting out a groan as he rose to his feet to follow his master.

[Dire Wolf]

((feeling blah, so posteh is blah. Sorreh branflakes)

A heavy sigh fell from the tall man's lips as he watched the forest from behind those blind eyes. To him, at least, it was beyond beautiful. The various woodland creatures played and went about their little lives, oblivious or uncaring of his presence. Had Ryn brought Rasann along with his tiny retreat the large cat surely would've been off hunting those same creatures. Instead, the big lummox was likely off purring and nuzzling Tal's thigh. Or Rajah's.

It was funny, really, he could catch whispers of thought and Tal's words even over the great divide between him and that big cat. Ryn's force bond with Tal allowed him to catch a few thoughts from her mind, but it was nowhere near as powerful as the bond between him and that blasted cat.

Ryn shifted around uneasily in his heavy brown Jedi robes. There was just something about those blasted brown things that cultured a certain kind of disdain in his heart. They were too heavy, and extremely hot for the blasted forest that he found himself in. That, and he felt naked out of the mandalorian armor that he'd worn for so long. The beskar gauntlet and grieves barely consoled him, so at least he could feel somewhat shielded.

That was precisely when he saw a dark shape moving through the woods at the edge of his vision. The various colors and hues shifted and swirled around the dark aura. He didn't recognize it as Grawn of course, as his own ability to see people with the Force didn't manifest until well after Korriban.

With another sigh, Ryn slumped his weight off of the branch and hit the ground with a soft thud. His presence in the Force had been wrapped tight around his body to begin with, but with the sighting of this possible Dark Jedi he found himself strangling his power to keep it from escaping. The man stalked from tree to tree towards this possible Dark Jedi, and only until he was sure that the man would see him did he pop out from behind a tree. He would not attack first, not anymore.

Jedi never do.

[Grawn]

Still nothing. He had been searching for hours now and the only thing of value he came across was a crystal cavern. This came to no surprise, Ruusan was listed as a major growing site for crystals that were compatible with lightsabers. He managed to pocket a orange one that had struck his particular interest and continued with his search.

Search for something that he was seriously considering let remain as is. Patience wasn't a virtue with Grawn and he didn't plan on starting now. Sampson walked beside him, the hound acting rather neutral and uninterested as the Sith opened his mind to the Force. He followed every echo, every hint, that would lead to what he sought. The spike he had sensed from space had promised something great and thus far, nothing.

His anger was leashed for the moment. Nothing could be done if he was unable to find this mysterious spike. Maybe it had merely been a echo of past events that demanded its significance be felt once more. The Force was ever the fickle mistress.

"Thats enough. If I'm correct, the ship is a good 10 minutes away. We've followed this ghost long enough, lets go home," he told Sampson, the hound yawning in response. Gathering the Force to his feet, he felt the power surge and pulled from his cloak a small tracking device. He had rigged it to Red Fury incase he got lost and there was no point in getting in such a state since he'd already lost much time to this fruitless search.

In a burst of energy, he ran in the direction the device told him. North was his destination and he'd be damned if he tallied here much longer. Trees and foliage flew past him as he dodged them, Sampson not to surprisingly being able to stay caught up with the Sith as he ran. He didn't even sense the presence of a old foe, a much hated foe, as he ran.

His mind was wracked with the meaning behind his dream. It felt much more then a stinging reminder of his past failures. The cybernetic arm did a much better job of telling him then any dream could. Grawn had felt so sure of his victory, so sure that he could finally eliminate one who had been such a pain in his side. Only to be dispatched himself and left for dead.

Grawn thought it once and he would again, but he knew he should be dead. Lady Luck in the form of Renata had intervened that fateful day but he often wondered if it was luck or the will of the dark side. That was, of course, a ridiculous notion. The dark side was his toy, not the other way around. But a feeling in his gut told him something had happened that day other then his downfall.

Bursting from the forest, he looked upon a vast valley. He could see his ship in the distance over the field of swaying green grass that let the wind take it as it would please. Overhead, more Bouncers carried on their path towards places unknown to the Sith. Taking a deep breath, he decided he would walk the rest of the way.

The blue sky didn't reflect his emotions as Grawn made his way across the field. His boots hit firm ground, giving him clear indication that rain had not fallen for some time. Looking to the east, the clouds seemed to be a dark gray.

"We'd best leave before it rains. I refuse to have the smell of wet dog in my ship," the Sith muttered, looking over to see a stunned expression on Sampson's wide eyes. A small smirk came to him and he pet the hound on the head. It would be a heart warming moment if the dog truly existed and it wasn't merely a warped mind projecting things beyond its comprehension.

Things went smoothly enough until a sight came to his eyes that puzzled the Sith greatly. Over the trees, a few bouncers flew and as if directed, fell right before him. He gazed upon the creatures, curious as to their intent, his mind ready to snap his lightsabers from their resting place.

"Danger" one whispered, looking over to its partner.

"You must leave, great danger" its partner spoke.

"The blind man, danger"

Grawn growled as the creatures began to talk constantly, the voices in his head making it hard to think.

"SILENCE!" the Sith roared and gripped the two in the Force, lifting them into the air. The struggling Bouncers squealed in his mind and it only made his grip tighter. Slowly, Grawn began to increase the power and the squeals became shrieks of pain in his mind.