Another pea in the pod

[Ashra'syle'nuruodo]

Drawing her lightsaber into her injured hand Asylen deflected the bolts into the ground with a quick swipe of the blade. Other guards approached from behind the mercenary two of them driving the butt end of their weapons towards the back of his neck while the Chiss woman closed on him her red blade glowing with the rage that burned inside. She pushed her mind on that of the mercenary as she stepped forward toward him. She was intent on leaving him a gibbering fool and if she had to destroy his mind to do that she would not shy away from it.

[member="Mit Tuxaire"]

 

[lordmitmar]

argh... what the hell? shes in my head... argh... he moaned, dropping to his knees, "ah, I give up.." he muttered, he slid the blaster away from himself and put his hand behind his head, "I give up..." he muttered again. get her out of my head!!! he hated sith and their force powers, so unfair... They always hid behind their force, to weak and scared to fight like real men... "Make it stop!" he screamed, it was unbearable, having someone else in your mind, contradicting everything you think.

[member="Ashra'syle'nuruodo"]

 

[Crystal]

[member="Mit Tuxaire"] [member="Ashra'syle'nuruodo"] [member="Oka Osaa"]

Crystal stood watching, though she was already bored. The fools were taking far more of her apprentice’s time than she should have allowed, but that would change rather quickly she suspected. The Chiss was after all, her apprentice and only had so much patience. More than she did, evidently. Was that a bad thing? Well that would depend on what the fools did next….

She was delighted that Asylen returned to them with the weapons of the fools. Cameron got to decide what would happen to them, which suited her just fine. But he requested memory adjustments. The Priestess smiled. It had been a while since she’d adjusted a memory on an unwilling subject. She’d enjoy it.

Crystal nodded to Cameron, then followed Asylen who was dismissed. And the foolishness started again. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for it to end. Asylen had her fun attacking his mind, and he wanted it to stop.

Crystal picked up both Mit and Oka with a Force grip around their neck. It wasn’t choking them, yet. But should they try to resist, she would choke them unconscious. Conscious or unconscious, they would be levitated to a transport. As they were transported to a star destroyer, their ships navigation systems and any other pertinent information about Exocron or their journey there, would be permanently erased from records.

Once the data had been erased, and the rest of their data copied, the unwelcome visitors would be escorted to a neutral planet. As a parting gift, Crystal forcefully removed their memories of Exocron and replaced them with memories from the neutral planet. Nothing particularly special or significant as to not warrant investigation. Unconscious, they were put into their ships and the ships were removed from the star destroyers, hopefully never to be seen or heard from again. Should they be seen in Moross space again, it was likely they would be destroyed.

 

[Oka Osaa]

Oka looked around. He was in his ship in space. B7 talking away, he just ignored it. After that, he flew off in space.

- Leaving Thread -

 

[Blackthorne]

"Of course, Aesir," came the Stewardess' reply to her God's command. With a short glance back at the mess below in the courtyard, she followed the dark man into the Temple, through the throngs of pilgrims and worshippers and Crusaders. She walked in the Aesir's wake, feeling small and insignificant despite her own power, rank, and standing within the Crusade. Everyone in the presence of an Aesir was small ...except, of course, for the presence of another Aesir.

Voices hushed as they passed through, denizens dropped to kneel in his presence, some shied from his gaze, others quickly turned and rerouted their path. Aatrox's presence within the living realm had brought with it uneasiness. Given the God's penchant for deception, many deemed him untrustworthy. Loxa was perhaps no different, though she could not say whether her wariness of the man was mistrust, or simple intelligence. As a Stewardess is was not her duty to give any one God more favor than another. It was her duty to know, see, and preach them all with balance.

When they reached the Deceiver's hall she followed him to the end, golden eyes drifting across the swirls of smoke slowly roiling across the floors. There, before his throne, she once more slowly dropped to a kneel. She did not say a word nor did she deign to think she knew just what the Aesir intended to speak on. It was not her place to question or understand a God.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

As was his typical level of apathy to the various renderings of respect when his thoughts were occupied, Cameron swept past various Crusaders with barely a hint of recognition. Fortunately, he was not one of the Gods most would expect to utter a kind word or flash a smile. Surely, he would be a terrible divine symbol of benevolence.

When they reached his hall of worship, the large Sith remained standing by his usual seat. Turning, his silver-green gaze immediately drifted downwards to find [member="Loxa Visl"]. "Rise, Stewardess." What he knew of the woman was almost purely from reputation at this point. Sure - he'd been perhaps tangentially present during a handful of her exploits, but she was much more prominently a follower of Inari prior to being appointed by the Aesirs to preach the word of them all. In many ways, she actually was more powerful than any other member of the Crusade.

There was much to be said for having the ear of a God...even more to have the ear of all of them. "It will not be long, Stewardess." Silence lingered and expanded throughout the chambers, but the visage of Aatrox shattered it just as his general presence amongst the living shattered the perception that all was as it seemed. No doubt with him...it was not. He wondered what the Stewardess think if she knew, knew he was the reason for the disappearance of Inari. For her...damage. Yet while many thought her gone...the faithful knew she would return. "Not long before one of my brothers return to the void, to make way for a sister. Do you know how I came to be on the living plain once more?"

No. Nobody did. Not really.

 

[Metalhead Mike]

.

 

[Blackthorne]

A short glance, a slight glint of keen awareness, Loxa followed the subtle movements of the God before her with a calm, quiet reserve. Slowly, the Stewardess did rise back to her feet, robes baring all colors of the pantheon in some form smoothly falling back into place. In the darkness of Aatrox' hall the woman did deign to do something she did not oft do: she removed her hood.

Revealed beneath was the fair-skinned face of an unmarked zabrak female - a curious surprise to many who often believed her to be of simple human stock. Short, sharp horns lined the crown of her skull. Deep brown hair laced back in a long braid, disappearing beneath the neckline of her outer robe. The faint lines of old scars shown on what little exposed skin there was - a mere tip of the iceberg that spoke of her history as a slave, but aside from all this she seemed perfectly healthy in appearance.

Saffron eyes glowed balefully with subdued power at the question posed by her Aesir. They narrowed somewhat, a soft frown pulling at her lips.

"I do not, Aesir," was her initial response, followed by a pause, then - "yet the night of Aatrox's coming brought a shadow upon Inari's light - may she rest easy with her kin in the Great Hall."

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Even during his time in Inari's...service, Cameron had never really interacted much with [member="Loxa Visl"]. In fact, most of his interactions with the Stewardess were definitively recent. As such, when she removed the hood of her cloak, the Sith Lord took a brief moment to evaluate her features before he nodded his ascent to her reply. Extending a similar courtesy, the False God removed the hood of his own cloak, though Cameron knew that Loxa had seen his face before.

"A shadow upon Inari's light..." A deep, rumbling laughter rolled forth from the core of Cameron's being. "A shadow is a constant presence...whether in light or dark, there is no escape from its continuous existence. Inari's light and influence remains whether or not she walks this plain. However, I digress..." This was, of course, something the Stewardess would already know better than most. However, Cameron intended to arrive at the point. "I ruined Inari. This body...the man I encouraged Inari, Neth, and Kalee to appoint as my Hand, was...a surprisingly close confidant to Inari. I'm sure you've seen him, a dark shadow in the wake of Inari's blinding light. He distinguished himself in his duties advising Inari. I had hoped that by sending him to her, she might learn a greater...appreciation for the galaxy's less benign, honest facets."

Taking a step forward, the Sith Lord smiled warmly as he drew within but a couple feet of the Stewardess. Gazing down at her, Cameron allowed his gaze to slip over her multi-colored robes before returning to her Saffron gaze. "So. I came to this plain while Inari was still here...against what you could call the...approval of my kin. I placed myself in this body, and I sent Inari to darkness, more specifically to a plain where she will be forced to discover the darkness in herself, wrestle control of it, come to terms with its never-ending existence. If Inari finds her way back, she will be stronger, more capable for it."

Another brief pause. "In her absence, do be sure her followers understand the true necessity of balance between light and dark. I am called the Deceiver, and I am the most capable of manipulators. However, I am more concerned with the continued education and transcendence of the sentients. For only those that accept the Greath Truth...will be welcomed into eternity, granted the opportunity to gaze upon the true forms of myself and my kin." Taking another step closer to Loxa, Cameron could practically feel the rise and fall of her chest against his own with each breath she took. "You are a capable Steward, Loxa Visl. I have enjoyed...watching your efforts."

As a coy expression slipped across his features, the Sith Lord made a motion as if he was about to seize the Zabrak in his grasp, but he turned and proceeded back to his throne, actually taking a seat. "I will permit you to make your own inquiries at this time, Stewardess."

 

[Blackthorne]

As the Deceiver revealed his face and approached ever closer, those lanturn-like eyes of the Stewardess immediately dropped. Whether out of habit, fear, respect, or more likely a mixture of all three, she kept it from his own, figure holding firm while the distance closed. He came so close she could hear his heartbeat - a controlled, deep, resonating thrum on the eddies of the metaphysical.

Loxa's gaze remained fixed so naturally just off the side of the man's shoulder as he weighed in with divine judgement. It might not have been the topic of conversation, but rest assured no one stood before a God without facing their scrutiny. The woman kept her breath level, her own heartbeat steady - the efforts of someone who had learned to mask what fear laid beneath.

And there was certainly fear.

But fear was a thing Visl had come to terms with years ago, in the hands of Shadow Mother Inhix she'd faced all manner of horrors, all form of nightmares. She was...uniquely attuned to realizing the sensation and bridling it. Using it to her advantage.

Loxa's eyes remained diverted even as the Aesir turned and retook his throne. Only when he offered her freedom to speak did she look back. Watching him, she became aware of the chill of sweat on her palms and at her neck. What queries did she have? What did you ask a God?

"If it is darkness you send to strengthen the Reviver, does she not strengthen you with her Light?"

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron was awash with emotion as [member="Loxa Visl"] forced his scattered thoughts of Amorella to become a torrent of intense images...some that were memories others that were, dare he say, fantasy. Fortunately, she was not the first woman to provoke such thought in his mind. Admittedly the last had died almost five hundred years ago...

More memories. Blah.

Inhaling deeply, the Aesir managed to level an easy grin at the Stewardess. To the critical nature of her point, she was in fact correct. "The Light pushes aside the Shadow. Yet...it is only in the presence of intense, well-positioned light that shadows can flourish. If there is no shadow, then it is because there is no light." On the surface that comment almost sounded...convoluted, but it actually made perfect sense. "Light and Shadow need each other." The pause that came next was...purposeful, but it was soon shattered by a truth that did not exist anywhere in the Book of Moross. He was writing his own story now. "This is why I need Inari and vice versa, but her temporary banishment to another plain was...necessary to make her understand why."

Love amongst the Great Hall? How scintillating.

 

[Blackthorne]

Silence became the Stewardess as she listened, feeling very much like someone who had just learned something she wasn't supposed to. With this came a new element of danger, especially considering the speaker.

The Deceiver needed the Reviver.

Loxa was not privvy to the passages of love, for she'd never been, but the idea of need. Of want. That was something she knew of.

"And what of the Deciever if the Reviver does not return?"

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

The expression that spread across the Aesir's face after the Stewardess asked her logical question could only be described as dark and foreboding. Dark purple mists began rising from the tips of Cameron's fingers as the ground beneath their feet began to quake violently and the what little natural light filtered into the room all but disappeared as menacing clouds seemed to materialize in the skies outside. Leaning forward slightly, the Sith Lord spoke in a voice that carried an undertone of a demonic whisper.

"If the Deceiver cannot have his Light, there will be no light."
If the Deceiver cannot have his Light, there will be no light.

The effects of the displeasing thought compounded by the time he'd already endured in longing...a longing he barely even understood, lasted for several more moments. A longing he was trying to put aside...but failing. Failure. Loss. Desire. Anger. Emotions. Strong emotions that made the Sith Lord much more of a powder keg than he typically let on.

Eventually, the Aesir allowed his emotions to stabilize and his surroundings to return to normal. [member="Loxa Visl"] had her answer. Was it a deception, though? Just a ploy to get the Stewardess to, perhaps, identify with his methods, efforts? Or was it simply the fullest extent of truth.

Certainly Cameron had pulled off greater manipulations in his life.

 

[Blackthorne]

The Stewardess took a step back at the sudden materialization of darkness within the Deceiver's hall. It was not as all-encompassing as that of the hall of the Devourer, but certainly the Deceiver's manipulation of shadows came second to none. The woman braced herself against the rising tide of dark energies, the sensation of it quite familiar to her, and against it she braced with her own.

There was no want to challenge the God, no, merely a want to survive. To continue to do as the Gods bid, for that is what she owed. The Priestess pulled upon the intangible elements of the Force, filtering through the bleak and corrupt to receive that of neutral energy and it was within herself that she stored it, used it to buffer the effects of the Aesir's growing wrath.

Pale golden eyes glowed, reaming with the power concentrated within, and with it she kept those corrupted shadows at bay. Even as the black fathoms abated with the steadying of his mind, she remained steadfast. A minor scion of Inari's light. An understated monolith of focused power. Her own heart beat strong, steady, illuminated eyes flashing as she took another step back and once more sank into a kneel.

Those who ignored the warnings of their Gods were foolish, and Loxa was not want to appear a fool.

"Then may her light in me never fail you, Aesir," she would pray for it, continue to shed it upon the masses in whatever way she could. The day the Mask stole the light from the Crusade is the day the Crusade would crumble and fall victim to Erebos' great hunger. So it is told.

[member="Cameron Centurion"]

 

[Cameron Centurion]

Cameron watched [member="Loxa Visl"] in silence for several moments. After what seemed like an uncomfortably quiet eternity, the sound of his deep voice cut through the air. "Go then, Stewardess. I will not delay you from your duties any longer. Your Goddess thinks highly of you."

Waving a dismissive hand, the Sith Lord leaned back into his seat. The entire throne was constructed of a dark blue and gray marble. It was definitively uncomfortable, but a God did not suffer the feelings of mortals.

 

[Blackthorne]

"As you say, Aesir," the Priestess dipped her head in a short bow before carefully getting back to her feet. Reaching up, Loxa pulled the hood of her cloak over her head once more and with a quiet glance of consideration to the Deceiver before turned and took her leave.