Blood and Sand (OS dominion of N'zoth)

[Darth Ophidia]

[14/20]
Objective: 3. Recruit a lair of bandits.
Location: N’zoth.
Allies: OS.

As she turned the spike between her fingers, a general commotion sounded outside. Voices cried out orders in their unintelligible tongue as the roar of a dropship filled the air. Saiah stood up, placed a holodisk on the chair, and headed to the opening of the tent. She was done with this place. Right before her exit, she looked down to her right and saw a Yevetha female.

“You will be my eyes. Bring me accurate news of daily activity. Fail or attempt to trick me and I will kill the younglings.”

“The younglings, mi’lady?”

Just then, shrieks resounded as sith troopers broke into the encampment and begun searching for their young. They efficiently gathered them up, both those born and those still in their sack. Even the pregnant were taken to the dropship to be shipped off. Meanwhile, troops would be stationed there to maintain their loyalty. The next generation would be indoctrinated with the teachings of the Sith and with absolute loyalty to the Dark Lord. Saiah knelt down to better talk to the female.

“And you know that I know when you lie. There will be no clean deaths for traitors, there will only be suffering. Obey, and you, your young and your people will be rewarded. Rebel and you will suffer.”

She planted a soft kiss on the female’s head and raised her up. Then Saiah left, her robes flapping behind her, she took her speeder and met with the dropship. Once inside, Saiah would be taken to the nearest med-bay and patched up. Then she would enjoy a long shower and a cup of Csillan hot-beverage.

 

[Isar Kislo]

Objective: Hunt
Allies: [member="Micah Talith"]

Cadeyrn readjusted the large scarf that covered most of his face beneath the hood of his cloak as brilliant silver-blue eyes gazed out across the expanse. Due to the extreme reflection of the sunlight off the sand, Cadeyrn wore goggles that strapped over his eyes. A being of normal vision would have benefited from such a tool, but it was doubly important for Cadeyrn's eyes, optimized for night. There were members of his family that did not suffer the issue, of course. However, he did not know of any others that chose to actually feed on living sentients. It meant his genetic strengths were greatly increased but so too were his weaknesses.

Watching as Micah happened upon the lair, Cadeyrn grumbled to himself as the younger boy clearly went about preparing to lure their prey out-freaking-side to engage. Silently, Cadeyrn made a note to kill his cousin at the earliest opportunity. Slowly, the young Centurion reached a hand back towards a small pouch on his belt. The moment he reached the empty pouch, Cadeyrn cursed silently. They were about to do this in the sun and he was out of Spice.

Some ol' bull...

 

[Sage Bane]

Objective: 4, Duel with [member="Darth Pyrrhus"]
Location: Valley of Rejection
7/20

Sage could feel Tanek Santii's control breaking as the merciless beating that the Sith Knight was taking devolved the Togruta into little more than a raging, feral beast. It might have seemed cruel, and well, he supposed it was, but Santii had been on a stairway to success ever since he joined the One Sith. The Hand felt as if the boy needed to be reminded that it could all be wrenched from his grasp in an instant by a more powerful being. Knight Santii needed to be kept on his toes.

When Knight Santii's amphistave pierced the air with a whoosh, Sage ceased the chokehold so that he could pour his powers into his Force speed and sidestrafe away before it speared him in the heart. With a sharp cry, his own amphistaff biot erupted out of its banelith masquer. By the Maker, would it ever stop being so painful? The crowd of Yevetha roared at the sight of the three leathery serpents attached to the Sith Lord's arm.

Time to mop it up. No show would be complete without a few fireworks As Tanek gasped for air, Sage summoned a swell of powerful electricity, letting it dance through his body. It sparked and jumped all over the skin of his arm as he gathered it up. He raised his arm in the air and swung it towards his opponent, hurling a devastating bolt of lightning at the Knight. As he struck Santii, Sage's voice weaved into his mind.

Don't think of this as a loss, Knight Santii, think of this as a gift. As you are hit with the lightning yourself, you will gain the ability to use it in the future.

Once Tanek was incapacited, Sage turned to the audience and with one hand bent behind his back, gave them a graceful bow. If their show wasn't good enough for the Yevetha, then well, he would simply have to kill them all wouldn't he?

 

[Micah Talith]

[7/20]
Objective: Hunt
Allies: [member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]

Yeah, Micah gave a grimace, moving up towards one of the writhing grubs just out of reach. That month had been hell, he would recall, his hand flexing around the handle of the alchemized and Force imbued songsteel blade. Such a pain.

Looking back, maybe it was a bit ambitious, but he had finished the bracers a month prior and had decided to take upon himself a bit of a challenge. The last two weeks of the month long process would be the finishing touches of the blade. The Jal Shey imbuement. They were of a Force philosophy that would seek to improve their understanding of the Force. They would study such things as Force Nexus', the history of various species, and other Force Traditions. Yet what really set them apart was for their honed ability to imbue items with the Force.

Such was their skill that they were able to permanently imbue items that would not only enhance the abilities of the creator when used or worn, but would benefit any who wore or wielded them. Even if they were not able to manipulate the Force. This was a method he'd been using along with alchemy to increase his prowess in crafting items for defense and certain benefits. He was getting more and more skilled in the craft, and it showed.

The hiss and click of mandibles would alert Micah of the grub he needed for the bait. He would focus anew. Besides, that ever sharp blade certainly had its perks, he'd muse, creeping up behind the nearest grub. Deft feet took him silently over the desert, and his blade sang at the last second as the squishy sound of flesh and blood stained the sand red.

 

[Isar Kislo]

[4/20]
Objective: Hunt
Allies: [member="Micah Talith"]

Cadeyrn's shaded eyes focused across the expanse of the desert. As his cousin neared the final stages of preparation, the young Sith allowed his body to become partially submerged in the hot sand. Warmth spread throughout his body as he became merely a part of the landscape. Slowing down his heart-rate considerably, Cadeyrn began saving his energy.

Throughout his training with his mother, father, and uncle, Cadeyrn had grown accustom to a wide array of techniques. His uncle was much more direct and blunt in his actions. His father was much the same, but he tended to have more brutal, manipulative methods. His mother had taught the value of patience and how to center himself before any true action. She'd tried to teach him some healing hearts, but he quickly abandoned those once he realized that he possessed a natural affinity for self-healing the more blood he drank from living victims.

Finally - there was his grandmother whom primarily was concerned about his social development as a member of the Shamalain family. Cadeyrn couldn't say he much appreciated the 'royal' nature of the blood flowing through his veins, but it was a moronic decision to do that which might upset his grandmother. For now, at least. Truthfully...the only person Cadeyrn had not learned something from, truly, was his true uncle. The man was like a shadow that he was only partially convinced existed because he'd seen him maybe a few times.

Reminiscing about his training quickly faded as all of Cadeyrn's attention returned to the task at hand.

 

[Micah Talith]

Objective: Hunt
Allies: [member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]

A grimace would carve under the scarf that protected Micah's face from the arid heat and gusts of wind. If there was anything that stank worse than the eviscerated corpse of a Taun taun , it was a fresh grub kill. Not to mention, that slimy green goop that passed for blood just stuck to everything.

Wiping his songsteel blade clean, Micah would squint up towards the direction of the ship, where he knew Cadeyrn would be. A thought came to mind at his ailment with the sun. Could there be something that he could do as a trinket to help him with that? He cast a glance down to the grey blue hue of the lattice discoloration along the blade.

Much like he had forged this with his own hands, could he also forge an artifact for Cadeyrn?

It was certainly something to consider. For now, he had one bloody, slimy grub half his length as stink bait. Sheathing his sword, he gave a small grunt as he took his prize back over to the lair.

 

[Isar Kislo]

Objective: Hunt
Allies: [member="Micah Talith"]

Patience...really was not Cadeyrn's thing at this point in his life, so Micah taking forever to make preparations grated on the boy's nerves a touch. However, despite the unrelenting restlessness of his mind, Cadeyrn was capable of separating thought from physical action with quite a large degree of success.

As soon as Micah had prepared the grub and relocated it near the entrance to the lair, Cadeyrn smiled thinly behind the thin fabric of the scarf that covered most of his facial features. From his position, he could sense the approach of one of their prey not because of the Force...but merely from his hyperactive natural senses. A brief, soft rustling of sand was the only indication that Cadeyrn had vaulted from his hiding spot. No doubt - their prey was focused more on the lure and, perhaps, the warm human closest to it initially.

For all of his teasing and chiding, Cadeyrn knew Micah would be able to hold his own plenty long as the elder member of the family closed the distance via several long bounds to add an element of distraction and keep his legs from being caught up in the sand.

 

[Micah Talith]

[member="Cadeyrn Centurion"]

Bait was set and the fresh scent of blood would tickle the senses of the Terentaktek pack. Now it was just a matter of waiting. Micah would move towards the side, climbing up alongside the rocky entrance towards the top. From there he would have the advantage of the higher ground.

Since the Force was useless when attacking the Darkside beasts, this was all going to be done via mano a mano combat. Time to test out his sword and see how well it would handle up against it. He had to make this clean and quick, and he had no doubts that he could do it with the help of Cadeyrn.

Both had been trained well, and this was a perfect opportunity to showcase those skills.

The low thud of incoming footfalls from the first Terentaktek gave them the forewarning that the bait had been taken. Before long, the sickening leeching of the Darkside would increase as the enormous beast would near the entrance. Impatience was threatening to overwhelm him, but he took a breath. Gripping the hilt of his sword, he would watch with curious fascination as their prey came out of the lair towards the gutted grub.

Show time.