Private [1] - The Quest for Veil Essence [Lothal]- [Crimson Reavers]

[DM Player-Slayer]

OOc: Please dm me and ask if you wish to join and I will coordinate your character in.
OOC: You must ask to join. There is no post-order. First come first serve. Compete with one another or work together. The choice is yours and yours alone.

LOCATION: Lothal
TAGS: Jasper Kai'el / Fynch Kaleleon

In the heart of the enchanting planet Lothal, where twin moons cast a silvery glow upon the land, a tale of intrigue and daring unfolds. Amidst the whispering grasslands and dense forests, a mercenary group known as the Crimson Reavers prowls in the shadows, their presence a dark ripple in the tranquil quiet of nature.

One moonlit night, as the stars painted the sky with their luminous brushstrokes, the Reavers gathered in solemn assembly beneath the gnarled branches of a massive gnosi tree. Captain Sable, a figure cloaked in mystery, stood at the center, their gaze fixed upon a holographic projection.

Before them floated an intricate map of Lothal, showcasing its varied terrains and hidden treasures. At the map's heart lay a pulsating icon, marking the location of the fabled "Veil Essence" – an energy source of legendary power, whispered to grant dominion over the galaxy's very fate.

"Listen well," Captain Sable's voice echoed like a haunting melody. "Our client's desires are simple – the Veil Essence must be extracted, no matter the cost."

With a sweep of their hand, the hologram unveiled Lothal's formidable obstacles – towering mountains, wild beasts, and indigenous protectors who revered the Veil Essence as a sacred gift of their world.

"The path to the essence is fraught with danger," Sable continued, "but the rewards are immeasurable. Our triumph will carve our names into the annals of history."

As the Reavers exchanged determined glances, the Captain's icy stare seemed to pierce through each member's soul. The Veil Essence represented not just wealth or power, but a chance to reshape destinies, to control the forces that shaped galaxies.

Unbeknownst to the Reavers, across the verdant expanse of Lothal, whispers of their presence had reached a humble campfire. A group of unexpected heroes, bound had caught wind of the Crimson Reavers' mission.

 

[Rayne Lo'to]

Lothal
Tags: DM Player-Slayer , Kaleleon

Rayne was, as usual, unaware of what was happening in the world. She had been asleep, lying in the grass of Lothal's sprawling fields. A nightmare had shaken her from her sleep, images of impending danger. She rose, turning to observe the surrounding landscape. There was a campfire nearby. With the chill of the night setting in, the young woman made her way over to the flames.

Whenever she arrived, there seemed to be somebody already present. With a sigh, Rayne drew a vocoder from her pocket, from which she began to speak through

"Hey," she began, or at least the vocoder did. "Don't mind sharing, do you? I think I lost track of time."

She was losing track of a lot of things really. Rayne needed a bit of warmth to collect her thoughts.

 

[DM Player-Slayer]

OOc: Please dm me and ask if you wish to join and I will coordinate your character in.

Rayne Lo'to

There, she met a trio of interesting souls visible to her presently.

First, there was Joran, a burly man with a bushy beard, clutching a wooden tankard as if it were a dear friend. "Ah, come on in, stranger!" he boomed. "The fire's warmth is free for all, especially on a chilly night like this. You may call me Joran."

Next to Joran, Lila sat with focused eyes on her embroidery. Her face was weathered, bearing the marks of many years lived on Lothal. "Kindness is a rare thing on this planet nowadays," she said, glancing up from her needlework. "Welcome to our fire. I am Lila."

On the other side of the fire, Theron, a young man with a serious expression, diligently cleaned an energy weapon. "The more the merrier, I guess," he mumbled, without lifting his eyes from his task. "Name's Theron."

Joran's eyes twinkled as he noticed Rayne's vocoder. "Ah, so you've got one of those, eh? Lost your voice or just feeling a bit shy? Heh, doesn't matter much. We've all got our scars, visible or not."

Lila laid down her embroidery, looking earnestly at Rayne. "We were just discussing some unsettling rumors. Have you heard of the Crimson Reavers? Word is, they're on the hunt for the Veil Essence. I've spent my whole life on this planet, and that's something you don't mess around with."

Theron, finally putting down his weapon, added his own thoughts. "If those rumors are true, we're all in danger. Meddling with the Veil Essence could disrupt the balance of this planet—perhaps even the entire galaxy."

Joran let out a hearty laugh, shaking his head. "'Balance,' you say? Those Reavers don't care one bit about balance or harmony. They're brutes. Show up, take what they want, and God help you if you're in their way."

Lila's eyes narrowed as she recalled a painful memory. "They were here, just a few weeks ago. Left a trail of destruction in their wake—burned down an entire village near the Zephyr Woods. Many were roughed up trying to stand against them."

Theron looked grim. "What scares me is how organized they seem. These aren't just random rogues. They have some sort of plan. That's what worries me."

Joran took a swig from his tankard before setting it down. "Oh, they've got a plan, alright. But they're not the only ones who'll be making history soon. There are those who would give anything to stop them."

As these words settled into the air, the campfire seemed to flicker as if in agreement, casting shifting shadows across each of their faces. Each seemed to share an unspoken understanding that the Crimson Reavers were a looming storm on the horizon of Lothal—one for which they'd all best prepare.

 

[Felix Faraday]

Campfire - Path to the Veil Essence - Lothal
DM Player-Slayer || Rayne Lo'to

A campfire. The gentle light of the fire glowing against the ever-growing expanse of darkness. Hoisting his travel bag in one hand over one shoulder, the lone mercenary continued walking towards the beacon of light. Felix almost thought he would never find another soul traveling this far out into the Lothal wilds. Especially in the direction of the Crimson Reavers. Not that it was necessarily difficult to map their trail of destruction and where they were headed. But to find other souls who appeared to be part of that violent group was certainly a surprise.

He held strong hope it would be good one.

Peering past brush and low-hanging branches, Felix pushed through stepping across leaves and grass. The forest shuffled around his movements as he made no attempt to hide his approach. Popping his head and shoulders around a tree, Felix began waving towards all the new strangers gathered around the campfire.

"Hello!" a smile with closed eyes followed his greeting, continuing to wave his hand.

Another step. A sharp snap echoed throughout the campfire as a rope snared around his legs. Felix only had a moment to look down to see what caught him before Felix's legs immediately yanked upwards and hoisted themselves towards the sky as the rest of Felix's body followed suit. A sudden pain as his muscles pulled suddenly in a direction not of his own making. A blur of the people and the light of the campfire crossed his vision, and before long what was once up was now upside down within Felix's vision.

And he was facing away from the campfire. Slowly, the rope twisted around and around until he began to face the group once more. Everyone's appearance was still blurry as his eyes welled up with water. That and the world was still spinning as he tried to get his bearing.

Only coherent and collected thought found escape.

"Hehehe . . . HAHAHAHAHAHA MWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"

An almost maniacal and crazed laughter escaped him. It bubbled from deep inside his gut and up his throat before exploding outward without regard for rhyme or reason. So much so that his entire body forward while upside down just to hold his arms around his sides. The pain of his laughter only made him fall further into hysterics. His pure ecstatic howling reverberated through the camp and beyond for all to hear.

Slowly and steadily, his jovial cries began to die down and settle into a more normal and steady laughter. His arms fell down past his head, hanging limply and letting gravity take the wheel.

"Oh man. That was a good one, guys! I really fell for that one," Felix chuckled between words before flashing a quick thumbs up, "Whoo boy! Okay, we all had our fun. That was an excellent prank but can someone please get me down from here?"

Wiping a tear from his eye (that was traveling the opposite direction it should thanks to, well, gravity), Felix glanced around once more. Everyone was becoming a little clearer now until . . .

"Wait. Rayne? Is that you?"

A bigger and bigger smile grew on his face as the realization slowly sunk in for what or rather who his eyes saw. His hands rapidly shook in excitement as a small giggle escaped him. A cheer broke past all self-control.

"RAYNE!"

Opening his arms wide as his eyes widened in glee, Felix almost scoffed in disbelief. "Where have you been? How are you? It's been so long!"​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Rayne Lo'to Felix Faraday

"This snare was supposed to catch dangerous predators, not bumbling fools," Braze commented, walking up to the ensnared Felix. He took a moment to size up the stranger hanging upside-down, his tactical knife already in hand, drawn from his boot. With a swift, precise cut, he severed the rope. But instead of letting Felix plummet, Braze skillfully used the Force to slow his descent, setting him gently on the ground.

"Keep it down," the youthful warrior chided. "You'll give away our position."

---

Theron: [Pausing, Theron finally holsters his energy weapon and crosses his arms.] "Well, that's one way to make an entrance. You might want to work on your stealth skills. Especially if you're heading in the same direction as the Crimson Reavers. They're not known for their sense of humor."

Joran: [Chuckling and shaking his head, Joran takes another sip from his tankard.] "Ah, the forest's got a way of humbling all of us, doesn't it? What brings you out here, young man? And more importantly, how do you know our friend Rayne?"

Lila: [Lila eyes Felix carefully, then resumes her embroidery.] "You seem awfully cheerful for someone who just got caught in a trap. Are you always this happy to be hanging around? It's not the best quality in these parts, with the Reavers prowling about."

Each of the campfire's inhabitants had their own way of assessing the newcomer. The air, once filled with Felix's laughter, now buzzed with curiosity and a hint of caution.

 

[Rayne Lo'to]

Lothal
Tags: Braze , Felix Faraday

Rayne had sat down and began listened to what the party had to say about these Crimson Reavers. She shook her head when she was asked if she was familiar (as Rayne typically lived under a rock when it came to wider galactic events). There was talk of some kind of Veil Essence, which she gathered was rather important given the manner that the party spoke about it. The 'galaxy being at stake' was certainly an alarming claim to find herself hearing in the middle of the night.

And then something strange happened.

"RAYNE!"

Opening his arms wide as his eyes widened in glee, Felix almost scoffed in disbelief. "Where have you been? How are you? It's been so long!"

A man had become snared in a nearby trap, a familiar face. Felix Faraday. Rayne let out an embarrassed sigh, signing out rather slowly in a hard to miss manner.

S T U P I D

"What brings you out here, young man? And more importantly, how do you know our friend Rayne?"

"We met at a festival," Rayne quickly answered. "Probably a few weeks ago." She turned back to Felix, who was being cut down by a younger individual with white hair. "I've been fine. Just... existing, I guess."

She went over to help Felix up and got a better look at the white-haired boy, and her heart practically melted. Rayne had a rather glaring soft spot for children. It was less motherly and more aunt-like, as she had more of an instinct to ruffle their hair and give them junk food, but there was still a great deal of protectiveness for youths in her nature. Rayne had to fight the urge to pinch the kids cheeks, but she very much wanted to.

Rayne sighed silently, giving Felix a disappointed look.

"Do mercenaries often get captured?" she asked. The tone should have been joking, but it was hard to get that across via vocoder. "Hey, you fight people, yeah? These people are about to save the galaxy or something, I think. You, uh, wanna do that?"

 

[Felix Faraday]

Campfire - Path to the Veil Essence - Lothal
DM Player-Slayer || Rayne Lo'to

Hanging limply and letting his arms fall limp as well, Felix's eyes watched as the short white-haired youth approached him before letting his gaze hone in on the knife the youth pulled from his boot. The others had their weapons at the ready as well, but Braze was the closest and approaching even closer. His eyes widened before closing as he began bracing for whatever happened next. Suddenly, the tension in his legs and upper body snapped loose as he felt gravity take hold and drop him rapidly towards the ground. Letting loose a small yelp as he fell, Felix's arms crossed in front of his face to help soften the blow of his landing.

Before a sudden softness to his descent lessened the possible blow. His body floated for a moment and flipped around until he landed on his rear end. A small noise of amazement escaped him before looing up at the white-haired youth. Grabbing his bag that had fallen loose from his hands when captured, Felix brought it close to himself before getting up. A small bow of the head followed.

"Thank you," Felix nodded some more before putting a thumbs up, "And right. Quiet. I'll be quiet."

His attention drifted away from the youth and towards Rayne . . . who was signing he stupid. Really, really stupid. His expression turned from happy-go-lucky to dour. His shoulders slumped before frowning. A brief sniffle followed as his eyes became downcast. Didn't she know he had a sensitive soul?

To distract him, the others around the campfire began asking him questions. Lifting himself up slight by his legs, Felix crouched and scooted over closer to the group and the fire before settling down once more, putting his own bag off to the side of him. A sheepish smile broke through his sour expression as he rubbed the back of his head. No rebuttal would follow concerning Theron's estimation of Felix's stealth skills, but about humor however . . .

"Well, maybe no one has ever told them a good joke!" Felix's arms spread wide while shrugging with open palms, "Humor can be subjective, you know?"

A soft yet awkward chuckle followed before growing in intensity after Joran began to speak. "Yes, sir, they can. Although, I don't find forests to be all that scary myself. I was just taking a walk through the forest until I saw the light of your fire. Then I thought I should say hello!"

That awkward chuckle became a simple smile as Felix gave a friendly wave to all present. Then, one more question. This time from the woman embroidering. Lila.

"Not the best quality, huh? Maybe you're right," Felix nodded while bringing a hand to his chin, "But it did lead me to meeting a wonderful lady such as yourself making beautiful embroidery."

Leaning in a little closer towards Lila, Felix's gaze immediately fell towards her embroidery. Pointing a finger towards the weave of fabric, his eyes gleamed with curiosity.

"What'cha makin'?"

As he peered at the embroidery and enraptured by its making, Rayne's words reached his ears and he scooted himself around a little as a gloomy frown grew on his face. His head tilted to the side as his eyes closed, sighing in discontent. Why did no one need his freelance skills for something different than fighting? He could be a good embroiderer if he wanted (and practiced).

"Sometimes, but it makes us great escape artists with the practice," a smug grin and a chuckle followed as he answered her initial question before resuming his gloomy appearance, frowning once more. Pouting, Felix crossed his arms in a disappointed huff and turned his head away. "I don't like fighting. I'd rather learn more about embroidery from Lila."

Letting the pout fall away from his face, Felix dropped his arms to his side and rolled his eyes as a grin grew on his face.

"Buuut . . . if it's for the fate of the galaxy and my friends, I'll see what I can do. We wouldn't want you to stop existing because of this . . . "

Felix's brow furrowed as confusion swept over all other expression and emotion. He quickly tilted his head to look towards the rest of the group.

"What are the Reavers after again? I overhead something about a . . . 'veil essence'? What makes it so important that it would be dangerous?"​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Felix Faraday Rayne Lo'to

Braze, the pale Jedi Padawan moved to rejoin the group by the fire. He was certainly the youngest individual here. While his youthful appearance could invite skepticism, the lone nature of his presence carried its own serious implications. His master, Jasper Kai'el , was entrenched in helping on his mercy mission, tending to those afflicted by Sith-spawned maladies. The gravity of Braze's mission was emphasized by his solitary presence. Originally dispatched to collect intel on the circulating rumors and report back, Braze found himself unable to send a signal from his remote location. Coupled with news that the Crimson Reavers were mobilizing that very night, the circumstances left him no choice but to act. He was determined to put an end to the threat posed by the Crimson Reavers.

The young Padawan adjusted his stance, stepping closer to the fire's warm glow. "Let's not lose sight of the reason we're here," he said, eyes briefly making contact with each person. "The Crimson Reavers are an urgent threat to the galaxy. I intend to stop them, and we need to work together to ensure that happens."

Theron, a seasoned scout with visible battle scars, leaned forward. "You're absolutely right, kid. The Veil Essence is not something to be taken lightly. It's a force of nature, indigenous to this planet. It has the power to maintain or disrupt the ecological and spiritual balance here. The Essence is tied to the very lifeblood of the planet; in the wrong hands, the consequences would be catastrophic."

Joran, usually the life of any gathering, was somber. "Imagine the most sacred, powerful thing you know, and then multiply that power a hundredfold—that's what we're talking about. It's like holding the heart of the planet in your hands. The Crimson Reavers could use it for dark and devastating purposes. And it's not just a matter of local destruction; its effects could ripple across the galaxy. At it's very source it is an energy source of legendary power. "

Lila, who had been quietly embroidering a sigil, now set her work aside. Lila looked up from her needlework, her eyes meeting Felix's for a moment before she sighed. "It's an ancestral pattern. Said to ward off bad energy and protect against dark forces. Given our current predicament, it seems more necessary than ever, don't you think?"