Bleeding the Black Rose [War of the Roses, Anaxes]

[Judah Lesan]

Tmoxin failed in her first attempt, but it was to be expected. Perhaps Xander's own personal feelings made him partial to her abilities, but Xander had hoped she'd pick up the skill. He nodded and stopped the man's heart.

"It is not telekenesis, but something deeper. Perhaps we should try it on something which is not alive first."

The statement was matter of fact as they had to keep moving. Their luck would run out eventually, and a battle would ensue, but the more the moved the more it could be avoided. For now the hangar was not occupied. They were alone, and the ship was Tmoxin's to take back. Of course they had to get in, and Xander had the solution. He smiled and walked up to the hangar door.

"The skill manipulates the atomic level of a thing. It is harder on a living thing, but on something like this door," Xander touched it and watched as it turned to dust, "you can simply reduce it to dust. With practice you could etch letters into stone, and do as you've seen me do before."

He alluded to the researcher without bringing it up exactly. Xander was working hard to redeem himself from that escapade. Though it was why, and how they met. In the end, it was the assassination that brought about thier currently acquantence whether Tmoxin like it or not. One day she would smile at the thought, but not until it was long last fresh in her mind.

"Your ship awaits. After you."

[member="Tmoxin Temi"]

 

[Loxa Visl]

Eske made a noise of intrigue, a few soft clicks echoing her.

Frolicking around in the woods didn't sound so bad to her, though spiders did not so much frolic as much as they stalked, ambushed, and hunted. Why, spinning webs through the trees was an endeavor she never lamented. It was art and also very necessary to her well-being. An Arachneri had to eat, after all.

Silent, fluid, the Will of Byss remained just behind and off [member="Darth Carach"]'s left shoulder, red eyes wide and unblinking. Delicate black-tipped fingers laced along the edge of her hood, pressing the material back and off her head to let the moonlight wash across alabaster skin. Their steps eventually took them from duracrete pavers to fresh soil. Ahead forest loomed - Eske could taste its various scents on the air...

Woooooooooooooaaaahhhhh.... the soft wooshing sound of book lungs drawing in breath in preparation while, absently, the Aarachneri began laying down a trail of thread along the ground with her rear leg pair. It gleamed faintly under the moon.

 

[Jairus Starvald]

His hand brushed the trees they passed, leaving nothing visible behind, but just as [member="Eske"] was leaving a trail of sorts, so did the Voice of the Dark Lord leave something of his behind. An echo, a little wisp that contained a fraction of his essence and would imbue the surroundings of the plane, expanding itself by feeding on the residue of arcanic rituals. What few knew was that these forests had been used as a staging ground in an ancient past, every time Carach blinked, he could almost see through the veil of time and notice the ley lines burning in his second sight.

"Beautiful." the Sith Lord said to himself, before realizing he wasn’t alone and that he was being quite rude.

"I trust this change of scenery is more agreeable for your physique, my Lady?”

Behind him he could almost hear himself, moving about, exploring the paths that he could not. There were times that Carach wished he could be at many times and places at the same time, it would have been quite something.

But as it stood he had to take what he could with what little time he had left here.

The large Sith suddenly halted, raising his fist in the air to designate that they should stop. Keen eyes pierced through the artificial darkness and noticed that which did not wish to be found - shadowlings, created for wars that no longer held any meaning in this current time.

His mind pressed heavily against hers - foreign, strange and yet his own was adaptable and flexible in the face of the unknown.

“Ancient enemies, circle around while I approach from the front.”

 

[Tmoxin Temi]

The hangar was now absent of any guards or threats. Not even a security droid was to be seen, which was odd, but perhaps a certain Sith Lord had become too miserly, and didn't think security was worth the expense. Or maybe he never thought she would come back for the ship.

At the hangar door, Tmoxin listened to [member="Darth Vizios"]'s explanation of the disintegration of solid material and observed as the door practically disappeared at his touch. She practically ran through the door, so excited to get her beloved yacht back.

"Where are you, beautiful?" she asked, looking around. Suddenly they spied it, just as she left it. The Sovereign Stingray II.

She assumed there would be nothing left inside, but if so, it most likely contained her stormtrooper armor and other various possessions that a lady would own. Weapons, wine, credit chits - those were probably confiscated.

"Now we just have to get inside the ship. And then we can take her for a spin."

 

[Loxa Visl]

"Hark," she hushed in return, "creatures of the nightly gloom, mine eyes do deceive."

Around she went, and up. With naught but the slightest disturbance did the massive arachneri glide up along the tree trunks, eight white spindle legs peeking out from beneath her skirts, pulling and curling with effortless grace. The boughs swayed easily beneath her bulk distributed with skill as she traipsed her way along those sturdy limbs.

Where the paused to collect eggs from a nest her eyes peered curiously down through the thicket and foliage, senses finding the man with no trouble. Eske could not see what foes he faced for she was not a beast immersed within such sorcery, but to doubt the seriousness of a Sith Lord was only a fool's errand. She pressed on along the branches until, finally, coming to the limits of the forest. There the Will of Byss waited silently for her Lord, tracking his movements through the trees until he would arrive.

[member="Darth Carach"]

 

[Jairus Starvald]

[SIZE=10.6667px]She sensed him… and then she didn’t. The Sith Lord had cloaked himself in the fabric of reality itself, erasing himself from anything but the barest forms of existence, his will imprinting himself on the ethereal plane and anchoring himself to it only. It was difficult. Each step taken was a step further away from his humanity, but these things could see past the shadows and this was the only way to approach them without pulling attention to himself.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Power was costly. Carach knew this better than most. His form passed through the clearing and burning eyes felt the scene before they saw everything - a formless mass close to the ground, miasmatic, no end nor beginning to the chaos, they were [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]eating[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Life itself, light. The clearing itself was colder where their tendrils passed. The Sith’s fingers hooked and angled, esoteric gestures created and fueled by will imposed on the Id. Few truly understood the origins of shadows… they were not darkness, not truly, instead they were the castings of light and nurtured into existence by it. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Remove the light… remove the shadows.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Carach had one chance and one only. Because if materialized in the space of reality, they would attack him. And he would only have a singular moment to execute his plan, before everything went to shet and his life- his very being was forfeited.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Preparations above preparations. Fabric of magicks woven over the field; phasing through the shadows without them noticing… yet. In his head the Sith counted and counted, and counted - until he realized he was stalling for no good reason. Now. Or never again. The soft whining of sudden friction, atoms coming into existence and assuming space where once it was spacious, it was all that preceded the sudden appearance of Carach’s silhouette.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]The shadows moved as once. Immediately angling towards their sudden adversary with the intent of destruction in their formless mind, but Carach was ready. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]The ritual was complete with power invested in will. A screech could be heard as fate realigned itself, for theatrical purposes the Sith Lord snapped his fingers and only a moment later the entire clearing was bathed in sudden, artificial darkness. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]No light. No shadows. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Eske"][/SIZE]