Bosthirda, the Cathedra: A Hesperian RP
- Closed to non-Hesperians -
Please read and reply to the pinned post in the Hesperians sub-forum before posting here, to make known your intent to join the Hesperians.
IC: High Priestess Hesper
Bosthirda ― Sanctum of the Veil
- Closed to non-Hesperians -
Please read and reply to the pinned post in the Hesperians sub-forum before posting here, to make known your intent to join the Hesperians.
IC: High Priestess Hesper
Bosthirda ― Sanctum of the Veil
Bone-weary yet alight with a kind of strange excitement, Hesper swiftly picked her way down a dilapidated cobbled pathway stretching through a deep and verdant canyon, her dark skirts rustling about her legs and bare feet. Reaching upwards on either side of her were canyon walls dripping with green ivy, ferns, lichens, moss, and brackish water—somewhere overhead, birds trilled and warbled unfamiliar songs. The air was pleasant; the coolness of morning still clung to leaves, skin, and breath in the bottom of this deep entrenchment, though the midday sun hung brightly overhead. Ahead, a grand and ancient-looking keep jutted out of the rock of the canyon, high above the valley floor, with stone walkways and steps leading up to its cavernous entrance. Clearly abandoned yet nebulous and pulsating in the Force, Hesper knew at once she had found what she was looking for:
The hidden retreat of Supreme Prophet Kadann.
Deserted a century and a half ago when the Prophets were slaughtered, it was a relic of a bygone time and a religion long dead. Hesper was fascinated by it; after all, she had chosen the planet Bosthirda to claim for its history with the esoteric cult. The planet itself possessed a strange magnetism in the atmosphere that dimmed comms signals, much like the planet Kesh that the Lost Tribe made their home, though somewhat different and weaker. And, as the surface was riddled with deep chasms and canyons, the stone sides of which were lushly foliate and home to the few vertical cities that were carved out from the rock and spilled onto the flat valley floors, the sheer depth at which Bosthirda's sentient life had settled further prevented clear communication with the galaxy beyond. So it truly felt like a remote getaway, off-the-grid and difficult to find. Bosthirda was a beautiful world—a peaceful world, if one could call a planet steeped in dark side energy peaceful.
Soon, Hesper reached the steps leading to the Supreme Prophet's former stronghold. "The Sanctum of the Veil," she whispered to herself, breath cool on her lips as she tried the stronghold's new name, pausing briefly to crane her neck to look up at the magnificent structure. The stairways were damp under her naked toes, and she climbed them with measured grace, robes fluttering in the gentle canyon breeze like moth wings. Higher and higher she climbed, until at last she came to the cavernous entryway to the retreat itself.
Servants, slaves, and laborers had been sent ahead of their arrival to make ready the Sanctum, and the breadth and furor of their work was evident: the onyx larmalstone floors had been polished until they shone, the stone columns holding up the lofty ceilings were scrubbed from top to bottom, massive urns overflowing with exotic flora were placed artfully among the many pillars, and two gleaming, enormous bronzium statues of humanoid forms draped head to foot in veils that looked to spill artfully over their pedestals and onto the floor stood on either side of the entryway like sentries, arms folded beneath their solid bronze veils. And, at the end of a long black runner that stretched from the entrance to the end of the long great hall stood a grand stone cathedra atop a raised dais, decorated with radiant, gleaming bronze in the shape of the Hesperian sigil, mounted on the back of the throne like a brilliant halo that would encircle the head of whoever sat upon the magnificent chair.
Stepping into the Sanctum of the Veil, Hesper breathed a delighted sigh.
She padded down the runner carpet towards her cathedra; her long pale gold hair rippled about her shoulders as she went. She paused before the throne and turned to face the entry to the Sanctum. Then, regally and deliberately, she climbed the three steps of the dais, and lowered herself into the resplendent cathedra. It simultaneously felt wrong and right― Hesper had never been one who desired to lead. The spotlight had never been attractive to her; she always preferred to keep her clout in the shadows. Yet as she sat upon the emerald-colored cushion, and rested her hands atop the bronzium arms, she felt at home. This was a seat from which she could build a home for her like-minded fellows among the Sith and among the House of her master, the House of Dreadwar.
"Come," she declared, raising a pale hand in a beckon to any followers who had trailed in behind her. "Come before the cathedra."
High Priestess Hesper sat forward, one keen grey eye and one clouded opal eye scrutinizing those who would come before her― they would feel as if they were being examined both within and without, and as if their pasts and futures were being discerned. The hall was silent for a long while as the priestess looked at each figure before her.
After a while, Hesper sat back in her cathedra, leaning her head against the hammered bronze corona affixed to its back. She closed her eyes, and for a time, she rested, waiting for something yet to come. Those who had followed would also wait, perhaps impatiently, having been made to stand before the dais without a word more of instruction or greeting.
Then, Hesper opened her eyes and blinked hazily, as if gazing through a diaphanous mist, or peering into a future yet lived. She smiled.
~