Dominion Ocean Breeze | GA Dominion of Glee Anselm

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

This wasn't good.

This was the kind of enemy that Mom and Dad would handle, not two Jedi Padawans. The sudden onslaught, fueled by greater strength and speed, forced her back into Soresu. Without striking back, she flourished her weapon around, deflecting his strikes instead of colliding head-on.

But she doubted that he'd get tired and leave himself open.

"Aris, cover me!" Vera jumped back all of a sudden, raised a hand, and focused her mind's eye on the skeleton. Mom and Dad were not here to help them, but a part of them was. Their teachings. All at once, the young Noble changed the very nature of the planet around the creature, increasing gravity the way her father would.

It was not nearly as intense as the Shield of the Jedi's use of the ability, but she did everything she could to bring it down, or at least slow it down.

Her brother could handle the rest.

"G-get... h-him..." Vera spoke with a strained voice, as every muscle in her body tensed. The ability was incredibly demanding, so she wasn't going to be able to use it for long.

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[Aris Noble]

Tireless and merciless Solomon struck out at the two, battering them aside with each cleaving strike to simply overpower them both. But as Vera asked for Aris to cover her, the padawan gritted his teeth and nodded. Sparks danced across his skin as he lashed up towards another incoming strike. Faster now as he let the heavy strikes glance off his blade. Again and again until the moment came.

The Skeleton froze. The weight on it's shoulders was too much, too sudden. In truth, it wouldn't of held them long at all, as they were already compensating for the increased gravity to continue their assault. But all it took was that one moment for Aris to lash out. In a flash he moved, bringing his saber straight through the skeleton's neck.

A clatter signified the blade falling from it's grasp. The runed, heavy sword's glow faded after a moment, as did the runes on the body as the giant being fell to the ground. For a moment there was silence, just the breathing of the Padawan's as adrenaline gave way to relief. Relief that was short lived, however.

"Good, blood of my blood." The body stirred before it sat up. Reached over to lift the skull from the ground as it stood. They carried the head in their arm like a helmet, turning to face the Padawan's again. Aris lifted his blade, readying himself for a continued fight. Only, there wasn't any danger there. Rather, Solomon turned towards the inner chambers ahead.

"Come."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

"You got him!" Vera exclaimed as the skeleton collapsed without its head. It was a beautiful sight, seeing that thing taken down by two Nobles after all its tough-talking. Relieved, Vera lowered her blade and looked at the body for a moment, her chest heaving to draw in enough oxygen to sustain herself. The fight with her lightsaber had already been quite demanding, but using the Force to bring gravity itself crashing down on him was something else.

She was exhausted.

"Let's cut him up, just to be-"

"Good, blood of my blood."

"AHHH!" Vera yelped and squealed, startled by the sudden stirring of something she assumed to be dead. In her moment of panic, she had jumped back several feet and drawn her blade again, her face bright red and her lips thinned into a line. She was both embarrassed and angry at the same time.

But also confused.

"...I don't like this, Aris," Vera muttered as she caught up with him, "We can't trust him."

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[Aris Noble]

Seeing Vera jump wasn't something Aris expected. A brow just raised, very slowly. He said nothing, but given how she'd actually jumped, well. He'd be bringing that up later. To make fun of her, even. Not now though, they were following a giant skeleton that seemed to be their ancestor of some kind. He frowned as he nodded his agreement. Whatever this was, it wasn't something he could fully trust.

"He has answers. We should hear them, and decide if it's worth listening to or not."

"Skepticism is wise. But do not dally."

Solomon spoke without looking to the pair as he continued deeper into the facility. A door opened as he neared, seemingly on it's own. Not even by influence of the Force. "The key you seek is here. Waiting for the proper hands to take it once more. It carries a grave burden, though. One I bore for the sake of our people. I take it something has happened to the Epicanthix to bring you here?"

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

Vera squinted at him. She saw that eyebrow perking up and if he decided to poke fun at her for getting startled, she'd wipe that little grin off his stupid face. But Arise was wise, it seemed, at least for now. He focused on the mission and followed after the Skeleton with similar skepticism.

She didn't like this at all.

Soon, the group approached a door that seemed to open without any input. Did it recognize who they were and open because of it? Vera squinted at it, then turned to the skeleton, "The Epicanthix homeworld was destroyed, and now the survivors are split into two groups. One ruled, manipulated, and oppressed by the Zambranos, and the other a free and thriving people who live under the protection of my family."

Vera was taking every chance she got to lay it on thick — she was a Noble, not a Zambrano.

"What is this burden you mentioned? Dying and turning into whatever it is you are?"

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[Aris Noble]

For a moment the skeleton seemed to freeze. Literally did, actually, much like a droid who's programing had frozen. Midstep, midmovement, completely frozen. After a moment the voice rumbled out. "I see." Was all he said before he lead them into the main chamber. It was devoid of most everything, save for a console in the center that didn't seem to have any controls.

Solomon lifted a hand towards it, and it whirled to life. The Force pulled on it, making it function.

"The Forge comes with a great personal cost to you, but it sounds like something that'll be needed by our people, just as I did once, so long ago. Take the key, find the catalysts. The Epicanthix can't remain scattered."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

This was the first and only moment thus far that Vera felt a little sorry for Solomon. She couldn't imagine what it must be like, to have made the sacrifice that he had, only to find out that his homeworld was destroyed and his people were scattered and divided. Would it make him question the sacrifice?

Or was it all part of something much larger?

"What if we take this key and help our people at some terrible cost, only for disaster to strike again?" Vera questiones with a more critical tone, "Seems that's what happened to you. Why should we do the same when we clearly can't control the future like that?" She squinted and looked at her brother for his input.

"Can't we find other ways to help them?"

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[Aris Noble]

".. Did you not come here because you sought the power of the Forge?"

The head was turned to glance between the two of them. No emotion could be displayed with a skull, but the tone alone made it obvious. Confusion. Aris lifted the orb, glancing briefly to his sister. "No, we're here because I found this and it reacted to me. To our family. I was.. Trying to figure out what it was exactly, and what all this is. The guardian of the Forge mentioned a great destiny, as have you. We don't know anything of this."

There was a pause before the skeleton reached out. The console opened, revealing within it a similar sphere to the one Aris held, though clearly different in that it was smooth metal where Aris's was full of buttons and sliders like a puzzle box. "I used this to save our people when the Plague threatened to bring our ruin. I paid my cost because I did not find another way. If you do not find another way, this will work."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

Was the skeleton confused now?

Vera squinted at it but let her brother do the talking before she'd end up aggravating it into attacking them again. Solomon had obviously once made a choice for his people, but were they really destined to do the same? The Epcianthix were scattered, sure, but they weren't at war and they were safe on Niv Hani.

Why would they ever choose to make such a sacrifice?

"What does it do?" Vera asked as she stared at the spherical object he revealed, "You used this to help our people with a plague. How can the same object help us with our people divided?" Suspicious as always, Vera continued her interrogation, hoping for answers she was likely not going to get.

At least, not as straightforward as she would like.

"Aris, should I take this one? I don't like the idea of you carrying the burden alone."

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[Aris Noble]

"The plague was a threat, but more than that was how divided our people were. The Forge will give you the symbol you need to unite them." Solomon continued to hold out the orb in his free hand, his skull as ever tucked under the other. Aris's brow furrowed. He stared at the skeleton, seeming to mull over his thoughts. After a moment he looked to Vera and nodded once. This wasn't a burden he had to carry alone, so, he wouldn't.

"Just be careful, Vera."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

"I don't know if I like a symbol that causes..." She looked Solomon up and down and nodded to him and his skeletal body, "That, to a person. I believe our people need to be better and learn to stand together without others having to suffer for it. Do they really deserve it otherwise?" Vera looked at her brother and grumbled, knowing she was asking for something that just couldn't happen. The Epicanthix, in her opinion, had flaws that hadn't changed over thousands of years.

She wasn't going to just change that overnight.

"They're lucky we're Jedi..."

She gave her brother one last look and reached for the orb, expecting something to happen by touching it. Her Brother's artifact had made him feel aspects of the Force, so what would this one do? If anything at all.

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[Aris Noble]

"Perhaps. But they know not the cost. That was my burden to carry, child of Noble. There is nothing I wouldn't sacrifice to save our people, even if they'd never know." The orb was handed over, falling into Vera's grasp. It felt as smooth as it looked, but it didn't feel like cold metal. It felt warm, alive. In a flash Vera would see a vision, of who she could guess was Solomon putting the orb within an ancient facility, flashes of the catalysts around them. Obscure, but incredibly strong in the Force in their own way.

The orb itself, though, seemed to call to the catalysts. Aris's own began to glow on it's own.

"I hope you find another path, but if it's required, the Forge will give you what you need."

Then, reality faded. The two would wake on their ship, with no sigh of the facility. No markers, nothing save for the orb now in Vera's hand.

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

Vera's eyes opened and she gasped for air. Blinking, she looked around and noticed they were back in the underwater ship. Had they never left? She sat up, grumbled, and scratched the back of her head. That is when she finally realized something — the orb was in her hands, pulsing in the Force in a most peculiar way.

She looked at it for a moment, then turned her gaze up to look at Aris.

"You okay?" She asked him before she shifted to the edge of her seat, "That was quite an experience, but I finally saw this Forge he kept talking about. It won't be easy to get there, though. Or to be there without getting in trouble." She sighed and looked at her brother holding the other artifact.

"We'll have to figure out where to go next."

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[Aris Noble]

"You saw the Forge itself? Zaiya and I only saw the door."

Which meant it was real. There was something behind the door, waiting for them. Or just someone to open it, though he had a feeling that it would be them. The orbs they both now carried certainly made it seem that way. "I'm okay, though. This- When Zaiya and I found the door, it revealed a star map. It's why we came here. There were other planets on there marked. I'm guessing those have catalysts. Given how many were marked, there's probably redundancies? I'm not sure. We'll have to visit them all, see if anything calls to the orbs?"

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

Vera looked at the orb in her hand and sighed, "I agree, we'll have to visit the other planets. All of this seems heavily tied to us and our family, so we'll make it to the Forge together when the time comes." She smiled at him, wanting to convey that she'd do everything in her power to be by his side when it mattered. Mom and Dad were perhaps busy, but she knew that they'd also be there as support if they really needed it.

The Nobles would never back away from helping each other.

"Which planet is next?" Vera then asked, "We make a good team, so let's handle the dangerous ones together."

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[Aris Noble]

"Good."

Aris gave a brief smile. Just a little one. This was still too serious of a topic for him to smile for long, but he wanted to make sure Vera knew how appreciative he was about her assistance with this. He wanted to learn all of this, to make sure it wasn't a real threat to their family, whatever this destiny was. Then, he pulled out his datapad to click it on.

"These are some of the worlds. Zaiya and I are heading to Aldhani, though I'm not sure what we'll find there, if anything. Nothing says if a catalyst is still there, but it seems peaceful enough and it's worth checking out."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

Vera looked at the datapad and hummed. She wasn't expecting this many other planets to be part of the journey. Did it mean they'd have to collect more keys? It wasn't the impression she got when Solomon helped them acquire this orb, but perhaps there was more to these other planets. They had keys, but no idea where this Forge even was.

Maybe these other planets could help them find the Forge?

"Can I have a copy of this file? I want to meditate on it. Maybe I'll see visions that can help guide us." Every planet could have dangerous challenges, so maybe she'd be able to help prepare for them. Or help avoid planets they wouldn't need to visit.

"Any planet you think the two of us should go to next? Or do you want me to help pick one?"

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[Aris Noble]

"Meditate on a file?"

Aris raised a brow right up in clear confusion. He knew Vera could see visions with artifacts and the like, but a holoprogram? Still, he typed it up to send it to her in a message. "I'd appreciate it, yeah. If you got a feeling on which, we can head there. We could probably go everywhere actually, on the list, just to see why it's been mentioned. But we only need three catalysts at the end of the day."

Vera Noble

 

[Vera Noble]

BYOO

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Tag: Aris Noble

Vera squinted, "Don't make fun of me, you befriended a talking sword." She huffed this time, which she knew made her sound an awful lot like Mom. But she had already beaten him at a teasing battle regarding his Mom-like behavior, so if he tried his luck now, she had plenty more shots to take.

She was on a roll today.

"Even if it only needs three, we might need go go everywhere for other pieces of the puzzle. So far, we've looked at ways to get into the Forge, right? But maybe there are more challenges after that." It could explain why there were more than three planets marked on his map.

"We should start with the ones we know we can handle, though. I know we said it's our mission, but if something is too dangerous, we should ask for help from a Knight or Master." Could be their parents, but it didn't have to be.

She just didn't want to risk her life when plenty of Jedi would be willing to help if it was necessary.

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[Aris Noble]

"Seszil is a good friend to have. And clearly force based. My datapad isn't."

Was the Force really something that could be combined with technology? It might be worth looking into, now that he though about it. But that wasn't the point right now. He nodded slowly in agreement with Vera. They could only handle so much, he knew. Whether it was him and Vera, him and Zaiya, or even all three of them together.

"I can talk to Master Jonyna about it. I'm sure she'd help."

Vera Noble