Private Act I, Where Children Toil, Toys Waste Away

[Lunafreya Solidor]

T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.
V O I C E | Here.
G E A R | Here.​

The promise of a new dawn rising in the east always made her shiver. Not because Lunafreya expected great things, but it was the magnificent aspect that hope gave people their will to move on, to carry on with their lives in the hopes that this new dawn would bring them. She could find respect for that in her black heart, a lot of respect. Now, Carn Ravaryn was finally hers, the maze-like tunnels built inside the three infernal volcanoes called the Byt where Carn Ravaryn was built on its slopes finally belonged to her, the Coloi lost their homeland, those that escaped went deep inside the country to parts yet unknown to her, those that were captured were now being processed for joining her ranks, or at least being taught to do it so, if they failed, their genetic templates at least could prove useful for her work. Now little remained for actually calling Ilmaren as her own, general Drakkon ensured Lunafreya that it would be within a cycle, the submission of the remaining tribes that lived in this land, still three cities remained for conquest and Lunafreya would try to enjoy herself with that. On the back of her quarters, one of her fools kept on playing his instrument for her amusement.

“Your Grace.”, the snarling sound of the alien’s voice called behind her. Lunafreya leaned her head to see Goldar’s severe face while dressed in golden armor. In Diabolico’s absence for preparing the next steps of her plan, Goldar was the one in charge of her Ruffians, and the one she could use for such demeaning tasks that involved bloodshed and subduing civilizations to her will.
“Glittering Goldar.”, Lunafreya had little idea who gave him that monicker and she cared very little for it. It was given due to his personal choices of using weaponry and armory made in tones of platted gold. “Muster the remaining forces from the conquering of the Byt and proceed on moving them to besiege Dol Vammer on the west side of the planet. The Mustafarian occupying the city and its surroundings shall not give you any trouble, few tribal leaders and war chiefs, but still, try bringing me as many of them as you find.”
“Bringing them?”, the alien snarled at her, forcing Lunafreya to look directly at his golden eyes, making lower them to the ground, facing at her feet. “Are we selling them too?”

“We are putting them to work, Goldar, you filthy monkey-ass donkey.”, her words made his lips twitch as she approached, gently raising that hand of hers, dotted with skin as pale as fresh milk, with her nails painted with a bright tone of yellow. Her touch on the side of his face was gentle, forcing him to look upon her violet sharp eyes. “Now, now, don’t growl my dear. You are the captain of the Ruffians and you shall act accordingly to your tittle. Mustafarians are worthy opponents for thine blade to practice, and their survivors shall enrich us by working relentlessly on extracting the resources of this planet for what is to come.”

“Is the fire to be lightened, my princess?”, hearing that made her lips twist on a cunning smirk, one that was more than enough to make Goldar understand quite well what it meant and what it implied. He took a step back and bowed down respectfully, proceeding to do her bidding, and as he left, the well-dressed figure of Gentiana came inside, awaiting by the door side to see if she had anything else to say.
“Go fetch the little turd and have him meet me at the canyon he met Sunfyre.”, Gentiana bowed down in such a manner that was more than enough to make even the most majestic king in this galaxy blush from his own miens. As the near sentient piece of the machine left, Lunafreya turned back to face the giant colored window she was gazing before Goldar’s appearance, her violet eyes saw nothing but the wastelands that lived under the Byt’s shadow, eternally plagued by thousands of years of its infernal rage, where rivers of smoking lava, caverns of obsidian and valleys of dark glass were now bathed by the sun rising. “Shine out, fair sun until I brought a glass...” her beautiful voice chanted, almost as if she was singing while sipping a little more out of her crystal glass filled with reddish ambrostine. “Let not light see my shadow as I pass.”

 

[PERSENUS]

It had been well over two years since Persenus had started taking meditations seriously. It was on Lothal that he had first began his journey into self-temperance through it and he had improved greatly ever since then. Persenus, however, never could become above "crude matter". He understood that his body was a weapon, a tool, and a means to an end, that he should be above it - a principle in self-enhancement that he internalized even before joining the Sith and is also a viewpoint many Jedi share to some extent, but the point of view did not allow him comprehension beyond the self, which was crucial for the use of healing.

His wounds regenerated at a staggering rate, in comparison to a normal being, but it wasn't enough to piece himself together completely. Alchemical machinations allowed him survivability beyond the normal being but the only other time he had healed his wounds was in that Sith Temple after having almost bled out. Like this time, he was given bacta treatment with it, with bacta doing the heavy lifting. Accelerating his healing took focus and commitment but Persenus didn't exactly have much else to do other than sit and rest. It was a slow, arduous process, and Persenus' impatience was being tested with the silence in the dirty but fanciful decor that surrounded him.

However, something came of it. He had eaten better than he had in many months here. With the healing process kicking with muscle repair, as he had definitely overworked more than a few groups of muscles, the proteins had kicked in quicker. He had put on a few pounds of muscle in his healing, The week had given him ample time to, ironically, put him in better health than before his injuries if it was not for the still incomplete recover of several bones. His left thigh bone, his right rib cage, and especially his right femur were still in recovery. He could go on with the thigh bone and rib cage, pain like that was bearable among everything else that Persenus had felt through his life, but the femur was something harder to pull through.

In the nights he had spent in bed, when he had cramps in that leg, he would've preferred to have remained in that torture chamber where he and Lunafreya had first met. The femur was the thickest and hardest bone in the body, and when it snapped like it did, it often created the most painful of wounds. After the adrenaline passed, when he woke up to bacta treatment, he had the most painful wound he had felt in many years. Even through painkillers, it was painful. It was like a constant shock of electricity running through the fractured surface of the bone; strokes of lightning crawling up and down your leg.

That pained had dullened over the week but it was still there, causing him to grimace and wince when he forced himself out of bed. He could feel the echoes of it reminding him that it was still crackling every second of his meditation. He's busted kneecaps before; he had them shattered completely. It was nothing a little bacta could fix but a femur was what truly carried the weight of your body. He could walk now, run if he needed to, but he wasn't going to be using Ataru for quite a bit, probably not even Djem So as it is too taxing. He's going to have to rely on Shii-Cho until he gets his body fixed.

Then he was called by the mistress. He took a deep breath as he stood up, feeling the pain of his femur surge through him again. He did not grimace this time. He knew there was far more pain ahead of him. He was to hike up to where he had met the dragon and it wasn't going to be a leisurely one. He dragged his signature red scarf off the end table and wrapped it around his waist, hooking his saber upon it. Then took his vambraces and put on the boots - he wasn't going to walk up there barefooted like he had done in the past.

"Vytik chaosas nun." He said as he exited his room, moving out of the facility walls and up towards the rocky slopes. He used Enhance Attribute lightly to keep his strength up, to fuel his stamina and virility to reach his destination. "Maximum effort..." He heaved as he arrived.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

F O C U S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.
V O I C E | Here.
G E A R | Here.​

When the creature returned to her presence, Lunafreya was not facing him. Instead, her eyes were set in what was upwards, the tremendous sizeable mountain in front of her, the raging volcano thundering the heavens and bringing about immense clouds of ash and smoke. Still dressed on her cloak, she slowly turned to face him with her emotionless animalistic mask, both her arms were crossed in the back of her body, still encased on those strange and oily black gloves of hers. A moment of long silence took over their meeting, she was measuring him again, not just on the outside but also silently looking through the corners of that shattered mind of his, and when finally she decided to speak she did it so with a clean, low-tone voice.

“In the nearby future, when you approach, speak to me with the proper respect. I will not have any indulgent behavior in my presence.”, with that said, she once again turned to face the mountain, expecting him to join her to admire the view by her side. “This is the Byt. Three massive raging volcanoes that cover twenty percent of Ilmaren’s landscape, surrounding the vale where Carn Ravaryn is located, hiding it in perpetual clouds of ashes. This one, in particular, is named Barbegazi, in honor of some deity the locals had worshipped long ago.”

Without making a sound, she turned to face him, taller than she was, with her face hidden.
“You are to climb it, all the day to its infernal mouth where I left something for your care.”, slowly she went back to walking away from the mountain, her arm was stranded from the safe grip behind her back, with one finger standing pointing to the right where a long, endlessly long stairway carved on the volcanoes side could be seen. “Those are the 200.000 steps. They end near the mountain’s top, or so I was informed.”, her body turned to face the steps as she gave him a moment of silence. “You are forbidden of using any sort of weaponry, you cannot use the Force for healing yourself, detoxing yourself, for enhancing your skills, nor to increase any physical attributes. You can only use your lightsaber three times. Here.”, said that both hands came out of her cloak, one was holding his lightsaber, while the other was holding a bracelet. “The bracelet will check your levels all the way to the top. He will also electrify you every time you use your lightsaber, power will increase exponentially, and will release a deadly charge of 100.000 volts if break a single of those rules, am I making myself understood?”

 

[PERSENUS]

Hello, mistress, I have arrived, your grace or I am at your command, Tar- Tar-whatever the lizard told him to call her. Internally, he was repulsed at the thought but remained stoic in expression otherwise. Instead, he remained silent, hearing the briefing through and focused on the goal. It was with that mindset that allowed him to survive under his former master. However, he wasn't quite fond of being unable to use any other weaponry aside for the limited time with his saber. Particularly, his Vambraces would be of no use aside from their protective qualities.

"And am I to forgo any measure of armor, as well?" He asks, gesturing to his vambraces. They were disguised weapons, made to catch an opponent in bladelock. If Lunafreya would remember their altercations, the Echani had a penchant for customizing his weapons and creating machinations that increased the severity of his attacks, whether through versatility or through range control. He had obviously been versed well in the creation of weapons and armaments, fitting of his warrior background, though his other skills are lacking.

Two-hundred thousand steps was a long, arduous journey, but Persenus had gotten used to walking injured over the many years he had been in exile but a still injured femur would be a complication that he can't account for without the Force. His other, less favored leg also had a thigh bone injury, though much more bearable. Perhaps it would be better to walk on his hands? Folly.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

F O C U S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.
V O I C E | Here.
G E A R | Here.​

The moment she heard his question, Lunafreya couldn’t help her lips from outlining a smile beneath her animalistic mask. In a low tone of voice, Lunafreya declared.
“Dumb question.”, this place was more than that in her opinion. History was everything for her, reading of ages long lost to the stars was a delight to her heart. “You are to abandon anything that may slow you down in your journey. Nor armor, nor weapons, for you will not have use for them.”, turning back at the mountain her arms once again crossed behind her back as she proceeded with her monologue. “These are the Two Hundred Thousands Steps, built long ago by one of the Three Demonkings of yore. The Massassi slaves took years to carve all of its steps, many died during this deed and their spirits are said to still haunt the area, for when the wind blows from the north they can be heard, lamenting their fates on the wind. Barbegazi’s steam flows with dark enchantments, do not touch the water. The very air of the mountain is heavy with illusions, it will seek to enter your mind and lead you astray. Do not leave the path, no matter what happens, or else you will not find it again.”

The feeling then ran inside her heart was nostalgic, and yet, misplaced. She never climbed the Barbegazi in her life, but once was bound to follow another path, many years ago by one of her old masters, Draven, when she was young and foolish, hearing the exact same words he had once spoken to his little apprentice before entering the cursed woods of Nan Dungortheb. Now Draven was dead, by her own hand as he proved useless to her on teachings and achieving ambition, and here she was, training a humanoid alien to follow the path of the One. It was curious to her, how the years changed the person that we were and almost seemed to force us on doing things we would never have sworn we could have done, after Akabane’s death, Lunafreya vowed never to train another humanoid on her life, and if possible, never to teach anyone, for what was the point? In the end, all things were to end in darkness.

“You have three moons to reach the top, or else you will be forever lost in the visions that you may see.”, from behind her back arose a small circular machine, evidently a droid, with a large camera in its center, that floated to his side. It would be his companion the journey, a silent one bound to show her what would occur on the higher altitudes that awaited in his journey, at least as far as he could go. How many brave souls have not ventured on those same steps? Searching for the secrets of the mind? Procuring its honeyed promises of power and glory that awaited those at the top? So many had died in these steps, their deaths meant to pave the way for those thrilling through fate’s trail. Beneath her cloak, the female could feel her entire body shrugging, alongside the flashy red lights blinking on her waist, letting her know that a call was coming to her comlink. Turning away from the mountain, she began the walk back to the castle, but before she went too far, Lunafreya turned back and tossed him a leathery shaped bag with a cork in its top, filled with water. “Do not leave the path.”, her lips warned one last time before turning her back at him, only to vanish on a cloud of golden putrid smoke, the wind itself carried a simple screeching tune the moment she disappeared. Now he was alone, with his thoughts and the climb, nothing else to do and nowhere else to go but the climb.

 

[PERSENUS]

His lips curled ever so slightly in amusement. He seemed to find the same humor in his question, lingering before fading back out. He took off his vambraces, letting them slide off the tattooed skin as she began to speak of the history behind the mountain. Persenus wasn't particularly fond of lectures of old, wasting places of times long gone, he was already only listening with a passing interest. It didn't mean he disliked learning of them, surely, he was quite the historian and archaeologist when it comes down to it, but he preferred learning things by himself, or through his own understanding, like that time with the witch in the temple.

Demonkings. Fallen spirits. Stay on the road. Something about water. That was what he heard. He took a deep breath, massaging his legs well before he had to get on his way. Two-hundred thousand steps in three days wasn't exactly something he hadn't crossed before, sounded rather easy overall, but he knew better than to expect easy after the life he's lived. He took the water, snatching it out of the air. He was tempted to take a drink right now, but he had a feeling he needed to preserve what he had - an instinct he's developed over his years of exile.

He began his journey upwards. His leg was already screaming at him to stop, begging him to halt in his tracks and turn around, but he's ignored such cries before. Still, perhaps walking in a handstand wouldn't be as bad. Maybe he should've gotten a cast, after all. A crutch, maybe, even. Though, he assumed that his mistress probably would've made him leave it nonetheless. Persenus soldiered on through the pain, as always.

It helped that, to some extent, he felt lighter. He had grown heavier in his time healing, but he gained more strength than weight, as he was more powerful pound-for-pound normally. Still, he knew that even with the strength that he had now, he wasn't particularly threatening with a body in such disrepair. Persenus wasn't a skilled practitioner of the infamous Form Zero at all, but it seems that he'll have to exercise this. It didn't seem like he'll be of any skill in the kind of combat he was used to if it came to blows either, not without the ability to enhance himself or his skills.

Only then, did he begin to count what he could do. He knew he could use Clairvoyance still, to peer through lies and deceit, and manipulate the minds of others, though he was only particularly skilled at the former. He could still make use of Telekinesis, certainly. Perhaps he could make himself weigh less for the sake of his leg? He doubted he could maintain concentration that for that long without flinging himself into the air. The matter of electric shock wasn't threatening to him in particular, he could survive the so-called lethal electrocution, after learning of his previous upper limits by his former master's experimentation after his mutations, though he'd rather not relive it, not with his body in its already failing state. What made him more afraid of it is it may be a disrupting factor in intense situations.

For Persenus, every second counts, and he'd prefer that none are wasted wallowing in pain after torturous electrocution after breaking one of those damned rules of hers.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

T H E M E | Here.
V O I C E | Here.​

Back at Carn Ravaryn’s safety, Lunafreya yearned heavily. At her side, another copy of the same droid given to the Echani kept floating, showing a small blue-ish holographic image of the same alien kept on showing what he was doing and when he was doing it. Still, Lunafreya barely gave a single glazing stare at the image the entire time as she moved to the war room, where they were waiting for her presence to decide the next steps, or as she liked to call it; the Chamber of Disappointments. In there, six figures awaited, already discussing the boring details regarding moving this many troops to, literally, anywhere. There was Valko Drakkon, the appointed Lord General of her Shadow Court, the holographic images of Admiral Giden Pellaeon still onboard the Arrogance, Rufus Praji, Vizir at JanFathal’s hold, Master Builder Rodrik Harlaw that didn’t care enough for standing up his seat when she got in, Captain Goldar snarling at others, and last and not least, Halion Nelacar, Master Steward in her service ever since she was but a child.

“Moving our navy to the northern part of the Elenna will provide with enough coverage from the incoming meteor storm.”, Pellaeon declared, his mustache moved up and down in a funny way even on the holographic image. “Will also provide us with enough room to hide the eager eyes that others may give. Questions are starting to be raised from where most of our navy ended it up, questions that cannot remain unaccountable for long, I’m afraid.”
“What? ‘Warring against pirates in the Bullshit System’ is not good enough for those bastards in Intelligence? What’s it been? Six months?”, Harlaw snarled and some of them puffed a whole set of almost soundless laughs, except for Pellaeon.
“Pardon me for not sharing your sense of humor, mr. Harlaw.”, as she approached her place at the table, and sat down without saying a single word, all of them immediately decided to shut their mouths. Some of them probably heard the tale of the one time she sewed a man’s lips for laughing too loud, elzeri’s earing were quite sensitive.

“Gentleman.”, her lips muttered. “With Goldar moving to subdue the insects in the east, we can proceed with our preparations for the braavoszian enterprise.”, there was still one step missing in her plan, such as the forces that held the frozen lands in the south of Ilmaren, but that was small change if compared with the other things they still had to do in this system before achieving control just the way she wanted to achieve control. Somewhere, somehow, the gods laughed and went back to their affairs rolling dices and making their bets.

The way ahead to the Echani was properly called by the people that built this place as; endless. The Endless Stairway, for its rocky path, continued without end, always going up, giving him the view of burning pits of lava, peaky hills made of obsidian, fields of stone, and misshaped trees. However, the view didn’t last very long as a green putrid fog, smelling of rotten eggs started to surround not only him but also the air around him, despite warned of nothing being entangled in its hallucinogenic properties, the Echani would soon find that it’s much easier to warn someone not to get yourself caught on a spider’s web than actually avoiding it. A Kubaza beetle could be seen by the echani, laying ahead eating the raw stones of an obsidian pile in the floor before the sight ahead completely disappeared from his eyes, but even so, the kubaza, noticing the incoming presence of a trespasser, the beetle ran away, fleeing the scene, up or down, inside one of the caves towards his hive.

It started as a breeze, gentle, and calm until the wind grew stronger. Its power continued to rise, and it didn’t seem to stop, with the wind came the grime of smoke tossed from a volcano, as it blew the wind could resemble bringing something different other than its howling sound. The faint sound of a screeching familiar voice of an old woman, whispering against the wind, so faint and soundless that it would almost pass by the alien if he wanted to.
“You were such a disappointment to me...”, the voice could be heard saying, “Such a disappointment...“ and as the green smoke ahead of him started to be given shape, the echani could see a white light glowing of what was obviously not the path to follow as it would lead him from falling the mountain’s side to his certain death. The lights changed and it was given shape on a scene, where a young woman sat down on a chair while holding something in her arms, the view was that of beauty in a planet suitable for his eyes.

“What a good boy, Vinas...”, the woman said to the thing on her arms, where if chosen, it could be seen clearly wrapped in fine line, a baby was found, looking at her. “Such a good boy...”
“A curse is what this boy is.”, the elder female whispered again, this time to the woman. “He will be the death of all of us, this disgusting little monster.”, when said the last words, the elder woman stopped looking at the younger one and turned her head to face directly at him, directly at her little Vinas.

 

[PERSENUS]

The smell reminded him of junkworlds. He's been on plenty on his journey, and he hated each and every one with a passion. The stench, the filth - it reminded him of the state that he was wallowing in. Suffering pointlessly; fighting just to survive; it was a exercise in futility. Yet he bore on regardless, pushing past adversity, creating his own hope in the depths of despair and anguish. However, as the wind whispered into his ear the voice of a figure he had wanted to forget, he had a sudden halt in pace.

"Uroke?" Grandmother? He spoke aloud in response. He watched the world spin around him to create this visions. He knew damn well that this was an illusion but it did not halt his anger at the fact that this damned mountain is digging into his memories. He doesn't remember this one specifically - he was likely too young to remember consciously - so perhaps it was burned into his subconscious. A part of him wanted to speak more, utter another word to what was obviously a mind trick, but he pushed it aside, quite literally.

"Oqu'k." Begone. He channeled the Force through himself once more, calling upon a telekinetic blast to clear away the fog that was hiding the true path. Hopefully, it would get rid of the smell too but he'll take what he can get. He had three days to get to the top. He couldn't waste time finding closure for wounds long dulled. He spat on the ground and moved onwards. His saber swung from side to side on his hip as he did.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.​

“Disgrace.”, the voice on the wind kept saying, howling with sheer spite. “Disgrace. Disgrace. Disgrace. Disgrace. That is what you are, Vinas.”, the elder female voice kept hammering so close that it almost felt as if she was speaking in his ear. “You killed me. You killed your father. You killed your mother. You are nothing but a monster. A filthy, useless, disgusting monster that no one will ever love.” Distancing itself from him, the voice vanished in the wind, laughing heavily in resentment, so much resentment that was almost pitiful. Anyone would feel pity for the creature that went up those stairs, even a cold-hearted queen such as Lunafreya would feel that way, she who enjoyed bringing broken pets to her magical palace in her attempt for healing, nurturing, and training them to do her bidding.

The fog cleared, not enough for the hellish view to returning at his sight, but enough for the path to be cleared. As the path got clearer, so did the adversities, just above from where he was moving, a crack on the volcano could be seen, dumping a stream of burning lava from above the path, falling like a waterfall above the stairway, splashing small drops of lava as it fell, melting the stone and turning it to obsidian as it froze. The wind howled again, this time it did not bring any flashing memories or sad illusions best fitting to a magician, it brought only a single sentence spoken with the voice of his grandmother.
“I should have killed when you were born.”, as she laughed, the female spoke one last time. “But is never too late for trying.”
From below, the echani could hear something, as the thousand pawns of a thousand screechy things churning from inside the mountain. But in this case, they weren’t coming from inside the mountain, and if he leaned over, he would be able to see, seven kubaza beetles climbing their way in his direction, their mouths foaming with hunger, their eyes were mad with rage, ready for the opportunity of a fight brought up by one of their own.

And much lower, beneath billions of pounds of stone and minerals, Lunafreya could hardly keep her eyes open. Valko was now talking for a long time regarding their invasion to Braavoszia, as if invading their cities filled with criminals was to be their greatest concern, and in all his attempts of explaining everything in such eloquent way was only achieving on keeping her extremely bored. Her index finger kept tapping her golden nail against the side of her chair, trying to control the urge to yawn, as an icy glance of her purple eyes were given at the holographic image floating by her side.
‘At least he is not explaining warfare tactics to me.’, her mind thought to herself, as a little smirk took shape over the left corner of her lower lip, as the alien moved on.

 

[PERSENUS]

BATTLE THEME
​

Disgrace. It wasn't a word that his grandmother liked to use. He remembered how she acted, and this was a good idea of how she felt, but not how she carried herself. Strict. Cold. She wasn't the type of person to express such passion, even if the passion was severe hate. If she was enraged at Persenus, she would simply task him with a dangerous or stressful tasks, like putting him responsible of feeding the exotic pets of her family - pets like the Rancor that his grandfather had travelled to Dathomir to conquer and capture.. In many ways, Lunafreya reminded him of her, so did his old master, and speaking frankly, most authority figures in the eyes of Persenus. She defined his defiance for them, why he was such a rebellious student.

What she liked to say was nothing. Outside of tasks, the two of them rarely ever spoke, and when they did, it was quick, concise, and formal. There wasn't a hint of venom in her words but perhaps the faint Force-Sensitivity in him allowed him peak behind the veil and read the darkness within her. In the end, what this apparition said was her thoughts loud and clear to him. He trudged on, braving through the sharp words, halting in his tracks with the threat against his life.

"Jumko vinzoxe. Jumko Juz'eme'q! Jumko Me'ze!" Damned beasts. Damned ghost! Damned Mountain! He exclaimed, summoning the Force once more. He instinctively reached for his saber, taking it off his scarf. He almost activated it, until his precognitive capabilities told him of the consequences. He reheard the briefing in his head, passing by in a moment. He faced scrunched in displeasure and annoyance as he replaced his saber with the strength of the Force at his finger tips.

Force Potency. It was the Force Form he was most familiar with, and it was the same form he had used to down the building on Nar Shadda. Mustering his strength once more, he would project his strength outwardly. The sheer telekinetic strength he had honed for many years came to him again, causing a distortion in the air, a sudden deep resounding boom rippling through the air as his Force Push parted away the very ground, ripping of a portion of the path as it did. It wasn't a Force Blast, nor any concentrated Force Technique, it was simply sheer strength, capable of kicking up a storm as it passes through, planning to hurtle these bugs right off the mountain.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

T A G S | PERSENUS ​

They didn’t stop their pace. Nor should they, the Force or the Veil as Lunafreya liked to call it wasn’t something that they acquainted with, it was just another thing that happened, a power of sorts, much like the skills of an animal, incapable of cowering their hunger from chasing after what they want it to have, such as satisfying their needs and bringing back a delicious treat to their hive, to nibble and tear it up to feed their younglings, so they would grow into fine hunters like they were.

Two of them fell from the mountainside, desperately trying to grab over the rocks before they fell. One went downwards much like a bullet shard, all the way to the pointy end of an obsidian peak, making himself impaled by the stone, dying almost instantly, while the other one continued to fall, passing through the cloud of ashes and disappearing forever. The other five were not that unlucky, but howling bravely, they continued to move, spreading out through three different directions, as two of them climbed the mountain all the way to the stairs, little more than the place the humanoid alien had previously passed by. While the other two climbed upwards, also to the stairs, as one of them continued to move his drumming legs to the wall above where the echani was. As the fifth, braver than all the others, howled and jumped from his position, aiming to jump upwards towards his target.

Pawns up, screeching and foaming. This little bug was very keen on tasting some soft white human flesh this night, even if that meant to be tossed downwards like his brothers. That was the thing of the Kubaz Beetles, their hive minds shared them each other's pains and also desires, but it was in the hunger, that beastly endless hunger that they learned how to find actual verocity.

 

[PERSENUS]

In the spur of the moment, as they took positions, Persenus had nearly set his saber alight to fend them off again. However, the pain had already surged through him in the form of a vision, and he had just stopped moments before he had flicked the activation switch. Instead, he utilized a different use of his saber - as a blunt weapon. Perhaps this would still violate the agreement they had spoken off but Persenus was starting to feel his injuries proliferate once more after that first Force Push.

The shaft burst forth, lengthening his reach, allowing him to strike away from their long, sharp claws and mandibles. When up against beast with no care for their own lives he found that reach was one of his most important tools. You cannot scare a mindless monster as hunger has already driven its fear into the bowels of their subconscious, consigned only when satisfied and capable. In the face of brutes, one must use cunning and guile, and the smartest move was to not engage at all.

And so he wacked it. He wacked it really hard with all that his inhuman strength allowed without the use of the Force. Though, that may not be the wisest choice. Persenus researched Sithspawn and Alchemy but had little to no knowledge upon the natural beasts that roamed the galaxy that were beyond commonality. He had struck it with lethal force, capable of breaking several layers of stone, but did not know what happens when you strike such a creature with such intent.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

T A G S | PERSENUS ​

The cold metallic surface of his lightsaber’s handle struck one of the beetles right in his forehead, just between the eyes. Causing the large bug to stumble its pace backward, clearly disoriented, shaking its head, trying to understand what it was that happened, before howling with all of her might towards the Echani, rushing in his direction with his sharp talons raised upwards preparing to pounce, until... he stopped, two meters from him, raising his head upwards as a distant booming sound came from above, loud and terrible. The other kubazas raised their own heads, hissing among themselves before crying out loud with their hissing voices, genuinely crying out in pain, moving their paws fast, running to all sides, and going their way up the stairs.

The one that stopped in front of the Echani apparently refused to move. His head was still looking up, before giving one last sad glance at the Echani direction, angrily hissing at him, turning his back at the humanoid and making his way six meters down the stairs, from the place that Persennus had come from, before the mountain wall next to him exploded, in a burst of stones flying all around the air, not bringing about an infernal storm of lava from inside the mountain, as the dark thing that left the hole came very much alive, with its sharp large teeth closing around the kubaza, tearing it apart inside its mouth. As it stopped and moved its languid lean shape towards the Echani, the fireworm opened his jaws and roared, a thunderous sound that made the ground shake beneath his feet as the wind brought to his ear, whispering with patience the voice of his mother.
“Run...”, for the creature moved his powerful body forward, prepared to close his mouth around the area from which he stood, ready to swallow him whole, if possible.

 

[PERSENUS]

"Haz dzwol hask." Persenus muttered under his breath upon the entrance of the mysterious beast that had eaten his predator. He instinctually took a step up the stairs, beginning his ascent well before the ghastly voice of his mother told him to take his leave. When it did, he began his great dash. For all the fear that was fueling him to run, the pain told him that he would not be able to outrun anything in his current state. Not without the Force, at least. Facing a fireworm in his condition would not be a wise choice either.

He kept on, leaping up several steps at once. Two by two at first, then four by four. All the while, he cleared the way ahead with blasts of the Force, pushing apart the fog to make sure that he wasn't running in blind to his death. He didn't look back, the only eyes on the beast that he had was through the eyes of the Force, and his vision was rather blurry with them. Still, he knew better than to slow down only to stare back at doom. He was a survivor, a struggler, and ever instinct in his body was telling him to run.

Then the ground beneath him broke. One of the steps had cracked and broken underneath his step. He fell forward, his fractured femur landing on the steps. He grit his teeth, pulling back the scream that was well earned. "Fuck."

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.​

How amusing this must have looked to someone on the outside. Lunafreya would surely be entertained while awaiting many miles down from his position, on the safety of her keep. As he chewed his insectoid little snack, the firewyrm kept his eyes locked on the humanoid’s position, watching as he made a feeble attempt of escaping his jaws. Fool. The creature would say if he had any sentient independent thought, a brave attempt, but a foolish one without a doubt. He allowed the humanoid to go on until he turned on the mountain’s side and vanished, but without knowing, as soon as he accident happened on one of the steps, this huge serpentine beast began slid across the rocky obsidian surface of the volcano, dragging her large body like that of a snake, as the movement itself did not seem to take more effort as it would be breathing for that beast.

Still approaching, the firewyrm’s glowing orange eyes could be seen by the humanoid, shining amidst the dim lights of the Steps. Like two beacons of endless hunger, for he had trespassed his reach and in this land, he was crowned as king, unmatched by all of his competitors. An apex predator, brought off-world by its alien residents so long ago, this creature bred in Ilmaren through casualty, for it was a wide known fact that a firewyrm could produce gemstones inside its belly, expelling them in time through its lifetime, only to be sought by scavengers and hunters, not afraid of its fury. But soon, the Echani would know all of it, as the beast raised its head above his body, opening its infernal mouth with teeth as large as his torso, sinking himself forward to swallow him whole.

Darkness would come, as a long endless tunnel pushing him deeper inside himself as it swallowed the alien. But much like a parodical joke created by whatever mad deities Lunafreya had once worshipped in her long existence, there was a light at the end of that tunnel, a gleaming shining light, reaching out to him, calling him home. And the warm sound of his mother’s voice whispering inside his ear, no kind words, no wise knowledge to be passed on, it only pronounced a single word.

 

[PERSENUS]

"Oqoex." Go She uttered to him, snapping Persenus out of the cold sweat that he thought he was soaked in. It was only after darkness fell upon him that he closed his eyes - even if death called to him then to collect its due, he would not shy away from the last spark of life that he had. When he opened them again, he was at his mother's bedside. She was sickly, bedridden, had been for a few years. It wasn't because of any physical weakness, but one of the mind. For the Echani, words became null and void quickly, as emotion and intent cannot be carried by sound alone. They read each other like books, knew what every quirk of the eye entailed, and knew their mood by the rhythm of their breath.

But divining his mother's thoughts and emotion was most troubling for she did not move a muscle except for her mouth. She could not spare the focus to put to the rest of her body while speaking, forcing the two of them to converse purely by words. Yet even then, exchanges were few. He'd obey her teachings, read the books she gave to him, and she watched as her son grew up. Yet the young Vinas would always feel that she was imagining someone else in his place, the one that was to come before him, but he always pushed back the thought as it was fortunate enough that she had kept him around.

But "go" was something held much mystery yet clarity to him. "Go" where? He knew the answer, but he had asked anyways. [i}"Your father."[/i] She answered back, the strength still croaking from her voice. He pursed his lips, nervous and anxious, and his mother could see that well. She grasped his hand, lifting it with what she could muster. "Oqoex."

Reluctantly, he complied. At this point, he had never met his father before. All he knew was that he was staying in his ship in the more remote parts of the planet, according to the coordinates he was told. He was an outlaw, scum in the eyes of the upright noble household. Vinas did not know why. He knew his father was a part of an elite guard division before his exile but little more than that. Message came just earlier this day that he managed to infiltrate Eshan once more - to see him. He wanted to see his son.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.​

Out of her powers, combined with all of her knowledge made her a galactical menace. Still, not even with all her might could she see the visions the Echani would be having, it was not her place to do it so, for the Byt took what it had from its trespassers and transformed those things into whatever it would suit her best. Was that mountain the spawn of darkness that the Bloodstone created without having any desire in doing it so? Or was it the spells, carved to the living rock placed by Calidus the Demonking? She couldn’t answer that, for the answer to that was much deeper than Lunafreya could care, the Byt was older than she was and much older than the Bloodstone could ever have hoped to become, but now they were all specks of dust covering the Byt’s landscape, they were dead and she was still around, waiting, for those with ears to hear it whispering.

With white smoke, the vision would flow inside his consciousness bathing his self with the idea that this was what real. One moment he was staring at his mother, feeble and frail, forever imprisoned in that bed never to be free of her inflictions, and in the other, by his side, awaited the wrinkled and cruel face of his grandmother, the elder woman stood upright, leaned on a cane as both her ruthless eyes were locked in his position. Much like those of a snake, her lips moved to pour down poisonous words against her grandson.
“It’s best of you to go, much harm was already done in this house thanks to you.”, calmly and ignoring his existence, the old woman moved towards the bed, leaning by the female’s side, gently grabbing her hand, dismissing the boy. “You are nothing but a parasite like your father. That deserves not the precious gift that it was given to both of you.”, leaning over her own shoulders, the elder woman almost snarled. “Go away.”

The instructions told him to follow the road, a yellow-bricked road, never to strand from the path and continue its journey all the way to the gallows. A den of crooks and bandits, traitors and outcasts, where few dare going without good cause, for they all knew what sort of scum made their lair in this place, this accursed place. Perhaps in another life, and another world these instructions would be quite familiar with those spoken by an elzeri elder witch in a dying land.

 

[PERSENUS]

Uroke was often not this vocal of her displeasure towards him, not in front of his mother at least. She had other ways of showing her spite, ways that signified her without words and meaningless threats. Ways that caused pain, exhaustion, and tedium; subhuman ways made for slaves. He was an odd-jobber, the runt she could order to do about with any task below that of a professional but certainly above that of a novice child. One of her favorite things to do was to make him clean about the exotic pets, feed them, and clean up their wastes; even when chained, his grandfather's prized rancor still was beast he could not make folly of as an adult.

But when Uroke did speak, it was for the opposite of what Echani did. Often, we spoke little to each other in rage or other intense emotions - everything can be understood is silence or violence. Uroke, however, had a way with words. She knew how to make them sting like lemon on wounded and aching palms. She did not talk often but when she did, she knew how to make the truth hurt more than usual.

Vinas did not speak back. He has never spoken back to Uroke. When it came to her, his mind became clouded. Pain, anger, rage; these were not things to describe what he felt from her words and the suffering she causes. It was like hooks braced against a hole in his chest before being pulled and ripped asunder, opening the abyss further. There was an emptiness that she pulled forth into the foreground, taking up the space in his mind and forcing him to remember what he was in the world.

He left without a word. With only a vibroknife on his person, he braved the roads. Upon his travel, he passed by a mansion far atop a hill. It was another noble house and they had a daughter. Vinas did not know then, but she was his one hope out of the rut, hope that lies in the traditions of the Echani and their intricate relationships forged by violence. And it was on his way to meet with his father that he first felt the harshness of that tradition, to feel blade against blade, to know physical pain dulled by adrenaline. It was his father that taught him how to fight, and even in his older years every blunt force applied onto him made him remember each guiding strike dealt upon him by his old man.

Lunafreya Solidor

 

[Lunafreya Solidor]

T A G S | PERSENUS
T H E M E | Here.​

Out of the ravine, a male slowly rose, using the palms of his hands to clean off the dirt and dust out of his clothes. His traces were those of an alien of Eshan, but had something in his face that clearly resembled the boy in front of him, even though his frown carried somewhat of spite in his expression, something that most familiar with that sort of emotions could easily detect as ‘disappointment’.
“Are you my son?”, he asked without delay, as gray smoke seemed to fill the area where they both were, revealing not the colors in the area but also what the scenario had. It was a small, dense grove, rocks awaited in every direction his eyes could see, and to those gifted with the arts of cunning would quickly notice how one of the rocks, not the largest, nor the smallest could be seen as almost… immaterial. “You are not what I expected.”

The wind carried out a faint tune, bathed in spite and cruelty, it wasn’t the appropriate hour for it, as the boy had not yet met the one that carried that voice. Festrous was the one that could produce such despicable smirk with his lean lips, but that had not yet came to be, that was not the hour, nor the place for the wind to be carrying that voice. That was the way with visions such as the one produced by the Byt, they knew every inch of a person as soon as they entered its realm, and used every single piece of those traumatizing feats in the past as it worked to achieve its goal: death. Not only kill its target but make it suffer, bring it to sheer torment, feed on its pain and sorrow, as the Byt grew fat and evil, surrounded by sulfur and grief.
“You look weak.”, the male said, drawing the scimitar sheathed in his waist, pointing its edge towards him. Jumping out of the rock, causing a cloud of smoke to rise in the air as he prepared his stance to attack.

 

[PERSENUS]

"Luxkiu'k?" Father? Vinas uttered as he met the man before him. He was told by his mother, back when she was still capable of moving about, that he took great resemblance to his father. The dark hair was a trait of his that he inherited which is why he was often ordered to by shaved bald by Uroke to hide his heritage. That blackened hair signified heritage foreign to Eshan and would easily be picked out and when he was still a Royal Guard to the Matriarchy of Eshan, he was recognized for his distinctive looks, and to see a child with that same appearance would arose suspicion after all.

Vinas, as he was in his later years, always had his focus put on one thing alone. It provided him clarity but much tunnel vision, clouding his peripheral senses; he would not notice the immaterial nature of his surroundings as of now, still consumed in the illusion before him. He reacted accordingly, playing out the scenes like from a book. When he was said weak, the fire that was Vinas grew weaker. Perhaps he had hoped that his father would be more welcoming to him, perhaps fill that hole that Uroke like to bring forth but those words on their own seemed to expand that hole permanently.

When weapons were drawn, however, that was a different story. Even before the completion of his martial training as all Echani are capable in, Vinas already had natural instinct. He had immediately grasped and withdrawn his own vibroblade. In his eyes that solemn sorrow was replaced by one of resolved fear and focused anger and emotion to the point where color was drawn out. There was no hatred in them, no hesitation; up to this point he has done what he needed to survive, and he will continue to do so. Vinas, Vin, Persenus - no matter what he was called he was always the stray dog fighting for scraps; a Struggler.

"Lu, taex?" Father, why? He asked, gripping the blade in his hand. There was a tremor in his voice but he remained steadfast in form. Even with his nerve, he was still a child then, crawling beneath the hardened mask was a boy still anxious in his first meeting with his father. "Jequxe..." Strength.... A voice uttered from beyond, behind the young Vinas. In an apparitional form, Persenus was founded from the smog that created the very same illusions. "Jequxe inex pu kaouqu oeke M'o zeuo!" Strength is the only thing I have!

He shouted into the abyss the Force began to flow through him, begin to pulsate through the air like howling winds, attempting to break the illusion through sheer willpower - even if he did not even know he was in an illusion in the first place. Such is the single-minded mentality of the Struggler - to survive upon instinct.

Lunafreya Solidor