he is well-intentioned, luke skywalker, and that is enough to warrant him grace. naturally, viktor had heard tales of his exploits, the stories of his valiant fight against the empire trickled down the running streams of information that filtered itself through the stars. his knowledge of skywalker does not consist of word of mouth alone, of course : the death of the emperor and empire, the death of vader, was a cosmic event, felt in the bones of every force-sensitive across the galaxy — the balance had shifted. as far as he may have been from the war, truth always finds its way to him, to latveria. and now, skywalker has found his way, here, too.
latveria. his latveria. an overwhelmingly verdant planet lush with forest and pine as much as it is with cryptic secrets and primeval knowledge. viktor likes to imagine that the beating heart of himself is intertwined with the planet's core, but there are things that she hides from him, still, knowledge of such a high caliber that it demands great effort. as loath as he is to admit it, there are times where even his options are extinguished. in that, it does not surprise him that the skywalker appeared to him now. viktor is a prideful man, but he is also insatiably curious. it is for the sake of scientific curiosity that he lies down his ego ( he tries to remind himself. )
viktor had lead luke deep into the depths of one of latveria's many forests and had subsequently brought him to a small, old, moss-covered shrine. the cold, near-obsidian stone of the building had corroded over time, opening it to the wilderness, and the wilderness had reclaimed it. where there was once a roof, there is none, now, and light trickles in through the limbs of the trees that canopy overhead. it is overgrown with flora; trees are attempting to invade it. many roots and vines have grown over the walls and now stretch their long tendrils towards what lies in the center of the temple, raised on a flat surface.
❝ here it is, ❞ viktor says, ❝ your holocron. ❞
like the planet that it has found a home in, it bleeds green. what appears to be the dark roots of some plant or tree that surrounds it has ingrained itself in its crevices, gripping the holocron covetously. it pulses faintly with a dull energy, hindered. trapped, perhaps. running along the roots seem to be small, scattered buds of some kind, waiting to bloom. they glow with the same energy as the holocron.
❝ despite my best efforts — ❞ ( and there is a touch of bitterness that infects his words, here. ) ❝ — i have been unable to open it, let alone remove it from this place. ... the trees refuse to lessen their grip. ❞ he gestures towards it, bidding luke to examine it for himself. ❝ what do you make of it, skywalker? ❞ / @dualsuns