Into The Darkness {CIS | Knight's Obsidian}

[Alkor Centaris]

Alkor blinked incredulously. Was his attempt at humor... not humorous? Social conventions were just not his forte, it seemed. As [member="Scherezade deWinter"] seemed to become more upset, Alkor brought his lightsaber perilously close to his body. The residual heat alone was enough to induce agony, and was often employed in close combat to cause a glancing wound that proved more than enough to disable most opponents.

Still, he held the blade steady, eyes screwing shut as he endured the hellish pain that came with the blade boiling flesh and sinew together, certain that he focused his thoughts on drawing the heat inward and lancing the wound at the cellular level. It was hardly proper healing, but he would not bleed to death.

That was his only concern, really.

After several long moments, he exhaled loudly and disengaged the saber, and replaced it at his hip. "I thought I handled it well enough," he muttered, "I didn't put my lightsaber through you."

He watched the skyline as the woman worked her earthen magic, waiting for any sign of their ride out of that place.

 

[Paragon of Virtue]

Darkness had fallen over Kaddak, and this would not be the day that the Knights Obsidian banished it.

The giant piece of the earth that [member="Scherezade deWinter"] had managed to lift through the fog by use of the Force had succeeded, but just barely; it had taken three attempts from the Confederacy to get it right, sliding down into the fog to retrieve them. The first two rescue ships had gone down, pulled into the abyss by the dark and invisible tentacles that were such a deep part of the labyrinth that none were sure whether they lived there or were physically part of what it was made of.

Only the third attempt made it through, a small air carrier that barely had place to it the entire group that had been sent to investigate inside the labyrinth. It was the first successful attempt to get in there, the first time the Confederacy did not lose the entire group to the dark powers.

But no more.

There would be another expedition, another group that would face the Labyrinth at some point in the future. For now, the remaining Knights would be taken out. Some, such as [member="Alkor Centaris"], would be taken directly to the infirmary, despite the healing he had performed on himself. Others, would be escorted to briefings, given paperwork, asked to detail what they had seen and heard.

And in the future, they would try again. For the Knights Obsidian did not give up, did not give in. They would learn, they would become better, and they would take the labyrinth down.