Power Vacuum (Illyria)

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


It was then, when all hope seemed lost and the Padawan struggled against the techniques of the evil witches, that the spectral form of her Master manifested. There were ripples in the Force, then the ghost of Arlax Krees appeared inside the room.


His eyes shone with compassion and regret, his aura radiated benevolence and endless kindness. "My poor Padawan, I am so sorry for failing you. I never got to tell you how proud I am of you. Everything I've taught you was to prepare you for a moment like this," he said kindly, but his voice acquired a strong note of urgency, emphasising the crucial importance of what he had to say.


"Listen to me, dear. You must resist the Sith. I was able to glimpse into my murderer's mind before she slew me. They will use their zombies to consume all of Denon. Millions will perish. I would give anything not to force this burden on you, but now only you can stop them. They have an artefact to summon these hideous legions. But the power of the Light can destroy it and release these poor souls." It was all extremely melodramatic and cliched. In other words, just the sort of thing Jedi tended to fall for.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]
“Master! I knew you wouldn’t abandon me!” she said eagerly, jumping to her feet. “Of course, show me what I must do!”

On cue the force field holding her in stopped.

“D…did it hurt, Master? What’s it like?”

She stood there, waiting for her Master to lead the way.

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


"Yes, but there is no death, there is the Force. Let's make haste," Krees said piously, like a stereotypical Jedi Master. Sumiko had a fairly low view of them.


His spectral hand touched her physical one and he led the way out of the prison cell. "It's in the next room. An artefact of pure darkness. You must draw upon the Light and cleanse it. Rid yourself of hatred and anger. Even for the Sith. Let only your desire to protect the innocents of this world guide you."

 

[Illyria]

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]
“I…yes of course, Master. They’ll never turn me!” she declared.

And so she was led into the next rune where the puzzlebox of doom sat waiting. She stared at it, feeling the Dark Side in it.

“It’s so strong. Are you sure I can overcome it myself?” she asked uncertainly.

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


Of course, the pious Jedi Master had to show patience when his student started to doubt herself. Rather than grab her by the ear and tell her to bloody do as she was told, lest she face punishment.


Sometimes pretending to be light side was annoying. "Yes, you can. I believe in you. You were meant to do this," he said reassuringly. Then suddenly there was the sound of footsteps, coming closer. "Hurry," he ordered dramatically.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]
Chat’re concentrated, and as the voices came nearer she called on all the power of the Light in a single burst of energy directly at the artefact!
Heavenly choirs sung, brilliant light flooded down and Denon was saved by the gallant Jedi!

Not.

Instead peals of laughter sounded as the rune lit up a deep, blood red. The puzzlebox was suddenly surrounded by a force field, preventing further access.

“Wait, what’s happening, Master?” the Padawan asked in dismay.

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


There was no mocking clapping, no evil gloating along the lines of 'you silly fool, you've done all the work for me. Everything that has transpired has been according to my design." Sumiko lacked a sense of melodrama.


Instead there were ripples in the Force as the illusionary Force Ghost suddenly dissipated. In its place stood Sumiko and she grabbed the Padawan by the throat, holding her in an iron grip. However, her goal was not to choke the girl, but to drain her. Force Drain was the most efficient at close range and done by touch.


After all, there was a rune called Death. So she drew upon her power to suck the girl's life force out, sucking her dry as if she were squeezing the juice out of a tomato. The Padawan's life force would be violently torn out of her until she was nothing except a husk. Just a sacrificial lamb in a Dark Master's quest for knowledge and power.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]
The Padawan’s eyes widened, and she struggled against the spectral grip. In vain.

With a final, wailing cry she expired, and her death close by caused that required rune to glow.

In the aftermath, Illyria emerged.
“An excellent demonstration that youth do not belong in positions of responsibility,” she said dispassionately, looking at the dead Jedi.

“By my reckoning there are only three remaining. Then at last we will be able to open this device.”

It would be annoying if it was empty, and fitting of Shadow if it contained a bomb. They’d have no idea until they did. It might be wise to be a fair distance away, just in case!

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


And so the Padawan died. Alone, forgotten, and unmourned as the pawn of two evil darksiders. But she'd made a vital contribution by giving her life! It would be terribly ironic if the box contained a bomb. "I may experiment on her corpse later on," Sumiko remarked conversationally.


She gave Illyria a nod, looking dispassionate. A droid came in to carry the corpse away, she paid it no mind. Perhaps she'd put the body to good use by reviving the Padawan as a zombie. The witch wondered whether the girl would still be able to feel the Force as an undead. "Let's proceed. Move on to life," she pondered for a moment, frowning slightly. "Fetch a growing plant or sap." After all, it constituted a form of life!

 

[Illyria]

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]
Illyria nodded with calm dispassion. Neutral Evil had such interesting conversations!

Finding a living plant was more difficult than it sounded on Denon, but one was eventually procured and applied. That was apparently enough for the box and the rune glowed. That left only corruption and time.

“If we leave the Padawan’s body to fester a little that might be corrupt enough. Or perhaps some rotting meat? As for time…how does one apply an abstract concept like that?”

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


Sumiko gave the Eldorai a nod. "Use the rotting corpse. It's good recycling," she agreed. It was always good when Neutral Evil sociopaths acted in an environmentally conscious manner. There were so many things you could do with a corpse. You could even use the ashes as a fertilisier after cremating it.


She thought for some time about how they could harness time. It was a very abstract concept. The troll in her felt like putting an hourglass on the rune to see what might happen. "Time. A stasis field, perhaps."

 

[Illyria]

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

Though not simple, they managed to find something which would do the job and partly put the puzzle box into it, just enough so the rune was covered.

With a final flash, the rune activated.

Putting it down on the pedestal, Illyria watched as the box’s runes flashed a brilliant gold, then faded. Slowly, the box opened, unhinging like a safe.

They had prudently taken cover, but in the end it was unnecessary. There was no visible trap inside, and nor was it empty. Instead, there was a golden ring set with a gemstone of such dark scarlet it almost appeared black.

The ring emanated the Dark Side as strongly as any artefact they would have ever seen. It was clearly an object of great power…something worth hiding.

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul,
Ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.


Sumiko had suspected a trap and thus prudently taken cover when the box opened. However, as it turned out such caution had been unnecessary, for Shadow had not left them a farewell gift in form of a bomb. Rather, the box contained an ornate ring.


The dark red gemstone was almost obsidian. The Dark Side radiated from the ring in tremendous amounts. The sheer power contained inside the object was intoxicating. Sumiko stepped towards the box, hearing the artefact's siren call resonate inside her mind before she put a block on it.


"That's a far more gratifying reward than I expected," she remarked and reached out with her hand, taking ahold of the ring. She rolled it across the palm of her hand, examining it, while two of her fingers held on to it. "It's old...and very powerful. Masterful craftmanship. I will have to spend time studying its capabilities and limitations. You've done very well. Your assistance was invaluable, Illyria."

 

[Illyria]

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]
Illyria nodded at the praise. She was distracted though, and it took her a few moments longer to realise that the ring was starting to call to her. With a firmer mental block in place, she saw Illyria take the ring.

Walking over to the box she paused. “Do you want this closed? It could be useful for storing something.”

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


The ring oozed with darkside power. However, this could easily be a double-edged sword. From Sumiko's perspective it would terribly suck if she ended up being manipulated by the Ring of Power. Her evil writer would probably be amused and consider it poetic irony.


Regardless, she kept it firmly in her hand, but didn't slip it onto her finger. It would get tested in a future thread! Hearing her acolyte speak, she glanced over to her. "Good idea. Close it back up. It should be useful." Reassembling the box didn't take long. Opening it up again was a different story, but they knew how to do it now. "But don't lock it up again. It was a queen to open."

 

[Illyria]

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]
Illyria folded the box back, but stuck something in it to prevent the top sealing. It had been a queen to get open, and there was no point locking it up.
As she was wedging it shut, she noticed marks on the inside of the lid. Looking closer, she saw that it had been covered in finely engraved script. It was so compressed it had looked merely like odd artistic design.

“There’s writing on the inside of it,” she told Sumiko. “I cannot understand it though. It looks like ancient Sith characters, but the words do not make sense, all except the numbers ‘four’ and ‘two’ at the very top. Everything else is just gibberish.”

Doubtless it was a code which could be deciphered if they wished to expend the time and effort required.

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


And so the Cube of Eternity was folded back. Well, not completely. After all, it had taken a lot of time and effort so open it again, so locking it up would be a bit silly. Especially since they didn't have another Padawan available!


Sumiko made a mental note to acquire a light imbued object. In the light of the fact that so many Jedi artefacts had landed on the black market, it would not be difficult. Moreover, raiding a praexum ship sounded like good times.


Her fingers still held the ring and she spared the deceptively pretty piece of jewellry another glance. Even though her mental block was in place, she could still feel the ring calling to her. There was something about the artefact that told her it was more than just a dark side imbued object. More than a tool that could be used to call upon the terrifying power of the Force. There was a...presence inside it.


One that could just as easily backfire as be of use. It would have to be subjugated. She put the ring into her pocket as she cleared her mind. At this stage one might wonder what the Atrisian actually wanted. Beyond making sardonic comments and accumulating ancient knowledge. To put it plainly, it all boiled down to her own personal freedom after escaping totalitarian Atrisia.


"A code of some sort, I suspect. Let me have a look," she took the box into her grasp and tried to examine the finely engraved and at first glance rather confusing script. As might have become apparent by now, Sith loved riddles.