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text; un: nox (backdated to mid-month)

[Ordinarily, Nox was someone who liked to keep his findings to himself unless anyone cared to ask, but he did make exceptions when the findings were something that could potentially benefit the group as a whole. So, given that the subject of his current study was something of a threat to every living thing in Trench, Nox thought it best to at least share some of his preliminary findings as he made them. Mostly because he wasn't sure if there was anyone else who safely could do the sort of things he was doing ~~or who was crazy enough to try~~, though he did make sure to include an image for reference.

Specifically, he included an image of him standing dangerously close to a certain massive serpent-like creature with a habit of spitting massive jets of flame at anything that moved. Something it had been in the middle of doing, just not at Nox. Precisely what it had been aiming at wasn't clear but, if how relaxed Nox appeared was any indication, it could at least be assumed its target wasn't a person. And while the image wasn't enough to get a perfect sense of scale--even he couldn't tolerate standing right next to the damn thing for more than a few seconds--even standing a few meters away still made one thing clear: It was big.]

I've yet to identify what exactly this thing is, but it's distinctly unfriendly. I thought it might be wise to compare notes in the event anyone else was studying the creature. Including some examples of what doesn't work against it.

Above all, it should be assumed this creature is indiscriminately hostile by nature. If it detects you, it will attack you, and in doing so will try to kill you. Its behavior so far does not seem to indicate its actions are the result of any sort of territorial behavior or fear of predation. The creature does not appear to give any warning or satisfy itself with simply chasing away anything that strays too close, it simply attacks until it believes it has killed its target. As a result, 'playing dead' once the creature attacks is not advisable, as there is a high probability the strategy will end with anyone involved actually being dead. Additional observations are as follows:

1. The creature appears capable of altering its size, although how or to what extent it can do so is unclear. This is the largest I've seen it appear so far, possibly because I've been angering it most of the afternoon. But I've seen it emerge from the ground smaller. Whether this is the only "living" specimen or if its numbers are simply too small for anyone to reliably encounter multiple individuals is unclear. Consequently, it is not clear whether there are any differences between male and female specimens, or if male or female specimens exist at all as it does not appear this creature is "alive" in any traditional sense. See Observation 2 below.

2. I do not sense anything resembling a consciousness in the creature. And I do not mean that it merely lack's sentience, I mean I cannot sense any sort of mind or will to speak of. Consequently, attempts to pacify the beast through the Force or any similar means are likely to fail. Due to being ill-suited to even attempting such a thing, I have not been able to test this hypothesis, but I have no reason to believe such an approach would be successful. While I would appreciate any confirmation, for reasons that should be readily apparent I do not encourage anyone to go out of their way find a conclusive answer.

3. I have no idea how to harm it. Lightsabers are capable of at least causing some degree of physical damage to its body, but it doesn't appear to do anything more than produce superficial injuries (at least at first glance). If the creature can feel pain, it hides it well. Sith lightning has also proven ineffective, something that further suggests the creature either cannot feel pain or has no mind to interpret the sensation. Striking it with the Force appears to do nothing more than produce a physical response proportionate to the strength of the impact, as would be expected. Whether vileblood-enhanced weapons produce any different results is unknown as I have none at my disposal, however, the creature's size alone means that even if effective it would require considerable effort to seriously wound or even kill the beast.

4. The creature lacks any identifiable eyes and appears to be blind. It's capable of sensing me even when cloaked, so signs point toward either a particularly acute sense of hearing or it senses movement via vibrations through the ground. While I'm curious to know just which is the case, ultimately I doubt it matters--even if you don't move, if you make too much noise the beast takes notice and responds accordingly. And as mentioned previously, that response appears to be exclusively violent in nature.

5. I've seen it exhale a jet of flames at a range of approximately twenty-five meters. I cannot say for certain if that is the limit of its reach, only that it should be assumed if you are anywhere within that distance you are well within range. Efforts to identify a minimum safe distance are ongoing, but difficult due to inconclusive and frequently unpredictable results. Sometimes the creature will move closer before attacking, others it will simply react to the provided stimulus from wherever it happens to be at the moment. I've not been able to isolate any particular reason for why it chooses which course of action to take.

6. While the reasons and methods behind this remain unknown, the creature's body radiates a tremendous amount of heat--enough to be considered a cause for concern in itself, as it can reach dangerous extremes even when the creature isn't actively trying to harm anything. Even if you have a means of approaching the creature without being detected, it is not advised to remain near the beast for anything more than a few minutes at the very most. Temperatures vary based on proximity to the beast itself and will increase dramatically at all distances when the creature becomes aggressive, which is a risk that should be taken into account should you consider approaching the beast. When agitated it may burst into flames, though this does not appear to cause any discomfort to the creature itself.

Why it requires such a defense mechanism when it is both incredibly difficult to harm and apparently incapable of registering pain from any injuries it does suffer remains unclear. If at all possible I hope to obtain samples of the smoke it releases when it does set itself alight. Further study might be capable of explaining the method by which it does so, if not better explain the reason behind such a response. Basic respiratory filters appear to be capable of at least protecting one from any of the expected hazards of smoke inhalation, though obviously does little against the heat itself. As such, maintaining a safe distance remains still advisable even with such precautions.

7. For anyone in possession of similar abilities, the phantom stride technique allows me to approach the creature unnoticed. Any abilities that might be considered some form of teleportation would likely work as well, provided you can arrive silently and without having to move in any way on arrival. You will want to be sure to arrive both quietly and already in contact with the ground (see previous uncertainty regarding whether the beast responds to sound or through detecting seismic vibrations; notes on the creature's general temperament). One result of experiments to determine how the creature senses its surroundings suggests that levitation or flight may also be promising methods of approaching the beast undetected as well, but it is by no means assured. Further study would undoubtedly be best undertaken by someone capable of actually performing such a feat, though it should be attempted with the appropriate level of caution.

Any additional observations will be shared as appropriate and in as timely a manner as is possible. Also, due to the creature's highly aggressive nature, I've been forced to instruct Jen'taral to keep her distance from me for the time being. Though I will be sure she's taken care of both before and after setting out to locate the creature for additional study, should any of you encounter her in your travels I would appreciate your checking in on her. I'm sure she would also welcome any morsels you could offer if you do come across her. Don't worry, she isn't a fussy eater, and you aren't on the menu unless you're stupid enough to try mistreating her. I would just advise against trying to pet her or play with her until I know just how she'll tolerate it. So long as you're feeding her there's a chance a light touch or two would be permitted, but I would still caution you to contain your curiosity and avoid trying to pet her or something. Not unless you're just that desperate to visit the nearest healer.

[ooc note: Nox's observations are limited to things he can reasonably observe and deduce on his own and over the course of a limited timeframe, so by no means should anyone feel constrained or limited by anything he's said so far. Any character coming across this who then wants to confirm if he's completely out of his mind can also find him continuing these observations in the corresponding prompt in the open event log.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

This is Padawan Bridger - haven't run across this creature, so nothing useful to add. Sorry.

But I have to ask - phantom stride. That's a Force thing?

It is.

I'm told the Jedi choose to refer to it as the shadow stride. Whether that's due to it being predominantly used by the Order's Shadows or there's some other explanation for the discrepancy I'm not in a position to say.

For reasons that should be rather obvious, the Jedi aren't particularly eager to let me set foot anywhere near their temple. If I were to so much as set foot on Tython ever again it would risk both military and diplomatic catastrophe for the Alliance.

[He doesn't respond immediately, because he's scrambling through his notes and other sources from the Jedi Archives that he keeps on a holocron that thankfully came with him when he came here.]

Tython I have references to. Although I think in my time, it's been a very, very long while since there's been a populated temple there. Not seeing anything about shadow stride, but with my limited sources, not surprising.

[He doesn't have anything that would be remotely considered restricted. Primers for initiates and younger padawans, kindly curated by archivists, mostly. And all of it woefully out of date, relatively speaking.]

The same could be said of my time. Its location was lost for centuries, until the current Grand Master rediscovered the world some twenty years ago as a young Jedi knight.

If you wish to provide context to whatever references you possess, you could consider Tython the birthplace of your order. First with the Je'daii, which served as something of a predecessor, then the Jedi Order itself following the end of the Force Wars. A period the Jedi still know little about, though they certainly know more than the rest of us.

[So, yeah, not a place they were particularly eager to let a Sith visit, technically aligned with the Republic or not. Of course, the fact he led an assault on the Temple the last time he was there wasn't exactly winning him any points either.]

But regardless of whatever name is used, the technique is one of the few that require someone to have a natural talent for it if they want to have any hope of learning it. I would not consider it impossible otherwise, but it would no doubt require considerably greater effort--the kind that would consume several years of your life, devoting yourself to learning to successfully perform a single technique. Even longer to master.

It requires the user to use their connection to the Force to manipulate space itself to create a path in which to travel. It is difficult to properly explain how exactly it works, the best I can do is to say that in order to get from point A to point B, you would first bridge the two points and warp the space between them until they're one and the same, allowing you to technically occupy both at once. You would then sever that connection, but ensure you remain anchored firmly to Point B.

So I don't think I need to explain just how badly things can go if you make a mistake.

[ooc disclaimer: someday Star Wars is going to stop introducing extremely heavy Sci-Fi superpowers with absolutely no accompanying explanation as to how in the heck they work, but that day is not today so I tried my best. Based on very little information beyond "messing with space-time via space wizardry".]

I've seen the general principle in action, with both wolves from my homeworld and Purgill. It just hadn't considered whether human or near human Force sensitive could travel on their own that way, too.

First I've heard of the Je'daii.

[He is so taking notes. Not taking any of this as completely accurate, per se, but it will all go into the holocron with citation to Darth Nox.]

That's the first I've heard of any animal being capable of the same feat. I don't know that anyone has. I suspect the Jedi would have named the technique after the creature in question, had they heard of it.

[At least unofficially, if nothing else.]

I don't know much myself, unfortunately. The Je'daii were an early group of Force-users who'd settled on Tython, eventually fought amongst themselves over which direction their new order should take, and the Jedi Order was founded by the victors.

The majority of my knowledge on the subject came secondhand, from my former apprentice. She was--and still is--a very capable jedi, but I have reason to doubt she paid much attention to the more historical aspects of her training. Her attention seemed more focused on the more martial elements of the training, though that wasn't to say she ignored the rest of her training. She just had a preference toward what was readily applicable.

If you want to know more of that part of their history, you would be better off seeking the input of Satele Shan or Gnost-Dural should either of them arrive. The current Grand Master and one of the Jedi's most prominent historians, respectively.

Edited 2022-01-28 21:00 (UTC)

Making note of their names, thank you. But I'm not holding my breath.

Edited 2022-01-30 22:30 (UTC)

Stranger things have happened. I'm not overly optimistic, but I'm not ruling out an unplanned appearance by either one of them, either. Or even both.

Although, depending on the last thing she remembers, Grand Master Shan's arrival may result in a somewhat delicate situation. Nothing that should endanger any of you, but reason enough for me to keep myself hidden until I know exactly what she knows.

I'd hope a Grand Master would consider the change in situation before they went on the offensive. =

Ordinarily I'm sure she would, it's one of the reasons I enjoy working with her. She's refreshingly pragmatic for a Jedi. Not only have we worked together previously to deal with various crises that threatened the galaxy as a whole, but she also provided additional training when I needed it some months ago.

But, due to certain misunderstandings and a significant failure in communication, I also recently put a one billion credit bounty on her son's head via galaxy-wide broadcast and accused him of treason.

That sounds like quite a story.

But here's my dumb history question - son? Not her apprentice?

I got the distinct impression that not many Jedi under the Republic had close ties to their birth families.

He's Republic SIS. You could write entire volumes, one year at a time.

You also aren't wrong, but that doesn't mean Jedi can't have families of their own. Obviously, I don't know the particular details, but I'd imagine it involves petitioning the council for approval in some way. Regardless, even if permission is granted, any resulting children will still be separated from the parents for their own training, should they show any affinity with the Force. My former apprentice--one of them, anyway--was one such case.

Ultimately, that separation saved her life. Her parents were among the Jedi slain when the Sith destroyed the Jedi Temple during the Sacking of Coruscant. Thankfully, she was offworld at the time, studying under Masters Ryen and Ocera.

The Temple of Coruscant has been destroyed before.

I'm trying to decide if that's encouraging or discouraging.

[Well. That sure is a lot but it's SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH and that is something he can always get behind. He's still recovering from his corruption, but he reads this anyway, thrilling on every word. He's taking NOTES. ]

I have notes from some of the creatures we encountered in the dream- none of them are quite like this, though. Can you get a sample from it?

From the main body, yes, though from past experience it appears to be less organic and more like very densely compressed earth or stone of unknown composition. Though I can't say that alone means much, I've not ruled out the possibility it's just something not common to my own galaxy.

Is it something you have the ability to analyze?

I can analyse anything with enough time and the right lab equipment. I just need to figure out the best way to get around it. I've studied magical rocks before, I can definitely give it a try, if nothing else.

Very well. I will see about procuring a few samples later today--and if you have any ideas on how to best capture some of the smoke the beast gives off, I am open to suggestions.

I've ruled out asking nicely, considering its general disposition. It would also need to be done quickly, and for the same reason.

Great! Maybe if you had some sort of suction- like a vacuum? That might be able to suck it up and keep it contained. You could attach it to a long pole then, not worry about getting too close to it.

Have you tried using any weapons made of a deer's antler against it? I know it sounds strange but those weapons are highly effective against native creatures when nothing else will work to harm them.

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