Ring of Fear (Illyria)

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]
The punch was seen coming, but it came with such speed that she only turned away a little. Thus, the blow connected with her cheek rather than her noise, bloodying her face and jarring some teeth loose.

Enraged, she drew a knife from her wrist sheath and was about to try and bury it in her rival’s throat when…pain.

The pain was terrible, agonising, like a thousand burning spines being inserted into her brain, like being burned and frozen and torn apart all at once.
With a small scream she dropped the knife and fell to her knees.

“Enough…enough please! Stop it!”

Through the haze she saw that Qual was also suffering…Sumiko must be the source.

The sword observed the situation with amusement. “Aww, couldn’t you let one of them maim the other first?”

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


She did not get to crush the Eldorai's nose, but it was still satisfying to make her face bleed. The sun had seared her skin, but her hatred and anger gave her strength. Seeing the Eldorai hardened her skin and tried to grab the elf.


However, before she could make a move to intercept the strike or try and strangle Illyria herself...she felt agony. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt before. She howled in pain when a thousand burning shards were driven through her brain. She could not think or defend herself. She felt weak and helpless.


She dropped to the ground. "Please...please...stop," she begged pathetically, slipping into her native Xioquo language when she panicked. It was no real comfort that Illyria seemed to be suffering just as much as she did. Her helplessness made her angry, but it was an impotent anger.


There was no pity to be found in Sumiko's eyes. Today had been a lesson for her in many ways. Not just when it came to her acolytes, but also her far too sentient artefacts. "That's but a foretaste. I can use my powers to conjure up your worst nightmares and bring them to life before your eyes. I can drive you mad with fear, eradicate your sanity and leave you a raving lunatic for the rest of your life," she spoke coldly.


The Atrisian snapped her finger and at once the mental onslaught ceased, though both Space Elves would probably be in pain for a while. Zyanya felt like raising her hand against the Witch, but she still felt paralysed, as if her limbs would not obey her will. "If childish pettiness makes you fail in your duties again, I will do just that. You are outcasts, abandoned by your people. Your old world is dead. You can remain enslaved to it, or become something greater."

 

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]
Illyria looked up at Sumiko. It rankled her to be humiliated in this way, but there was no choice. Sumiko was simply too powerful, and like Shadow had done once, she had showed her power and overwhelmed her.
“I submit, Mistress, I will obey you,” she said. She had a killer headache.

Around them the riot was starting to clear up. It was time to move on.

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


To be humiliated like this was a strong blow against her pride. It reminded her of the time spent under the yoke of her mother, but she was just as helpless as Illyria. The Sky Woman had forced her dominance upon her, now Zyanya's only choice was to submit. Like her people submitted to the humans and Eldorai. Unlike those weaklings, she still had fighting spirit. She would remember this day. "I will submit...Mistress. I yield to your power," she finally said. Her head hurt like hell.


Sumiko seemed satisfied. "Good. Let the pain be a lesson to you. Draw strength from it. Fulfil your duty, and one day your power in the Force will surpass that of your people by far," That was very encouraging!


Then she took off towards their destination, which happened to be a safehouse. Conveniently one that was a good deal away from the site of the massacre. Ambulances, medics, reporters and riot police were slowly arriving on the scene. Unsurprisingly, the paparazzi arrived first, for they were drawn to the slaughter like hounds who'd smelt blood.


Having no other choice, Zyanya followed Illyria. It's the slow that takes its time, the knife that waits years without forgetting that slips quietly in between the bones and cuts deepest, in this moment she remembered Ixtar's words. She loathed the Eldorai even more than before...and yet the more cunning part of her could not help realise that this rivalry was destructive. She also had the suspicion that Sumiko wanted it in order to manipulate them more easily. For now, she held her tongue.


One of the alien protesters lay sprawled across the ground, with a nasty stab wound and suffering from a concussion. "P-please...help me," he begged . Zyanya put her hand to his abdomen, but instead of healing, she drew upon her power to suck out what was left of his life force. He tried to scream in agony, but she muffled his cries and soon he gave up the ghost. His head hit the ground like a sack of credits and she walked over him without a care in the world. After all, he was just a lesser being.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]
Illyria rose, head still throbbing, and followed the other two. What passed for the law on Taris was arriving to investigate, but by the time they did the trio were well and truly gone.

They headed first for a safehouse once owned by Shadow. It was several years abandoned but other than that it was usable. In reality it was an old shipping container which had been long abandoned but it allowed them to take stock and rest whilst they planned their next move.

They were right on the edge of an old section of long decayed and tumbled buildings. It was a harsh area where no official settlements were but thieves and pirates haunted the tunnels along with rakghouls and worse.
It was a grim trip, and would take much for them to reach their destination.

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


While the three ladies made their getaway, drama ensued. Unsurprisingly, the paparazzi were eager for a big story and were embelleshing events as much as possible. Naturally a certain Ms. Khalisah al-Jilani was there to make disingenuous assertions. Somehow, Udo Stark had avoided being killed and so he quickly launched into a dramatic speech, extolling his own heroism. He obviously did not mention the fact that he'd cowered behind his men.


In the meantime, the Rule of Three team arrived at the safehouse. The old shipping container was not the height of luxury, but was useable and offered them space. With Shadow's apparent demise, Sumiko had inherited a lot of his network, though not at all of it. For her part, Zyanya appreciated the chance to sit down and rest a bit. Her head was still throbbing and the burn on her face was slow to heal.


"Our contact is a Mon Calamari information broker called Mercurio. He can provide us with blueprints and a route to the base, or so he says. He used to work for Shadow. You will meet him at a bar called Zum toten Raben. If he's duplicitous, kill him. If not, pay him. I will finalise our preparations," Sumiko instructed them.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]
Illyria looked between the other two. She was keen not to upset Sumiko…after just been given a lesson. So she looked as eager as possible.
“I shall head there at once. I can handle this alone, stay here and recover, Qual,” she said with acidic politeness.

With that she gathered her equipment and made the door, hoping to eagerly depart before Qual could catch up. She didn’t want to have to deal with the Xioquo alone, she feared she might just off the annoying little sub-elf. Sumiko wouldn’t like that…but accidents happened.

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


"You do not know the phrase to identify yourself with," Zyanya said in a chilly tone. Unfortunately for Illyria, the Xioquo had gathered her stuff as well and was soon out of the door. Naturally she kept her hand close to her blade, just in case Illyria attacked her again.


For her part, Sumiko just watched the two depart and shook her head slightly, looking slightly bemused. Children..., she thought to herself. One could only imagine what Sumiko's idea of detention would look like, but it would probably be very unpleasant.


In any case, Zum toten Raben was the only bar in this squalid shantytown. It was as run-down as could be expected, dirty and populated by low-life, social miscreants, thugs and anyone who was so down on their luck that they'd been drawn to this old quarter of decayed, crumpled buildings. The kind of place no one right in their mind entered without carrying a gun.


Naturally, two ruffians loitering around at the entrance had to greet our two elves. "Oi, what we got here? A lovely elf. We don't get many of those. Y'know it's dangerous for two ladies to be here out on they're own," one of them spoke leecherously, making no secret out of the fact that he was oggling Illyria. "Want an ear massage?"


"My bro told me you lot only like the girls...but you haven't met a real human man yet," the other said, making an obscene gesture with his hand. Apparently the two were intent on confirming every sexist belief the Space Elves had.


Zyanya glared at the filthy, loathsome cretins. "Get out of my way, filth," she hissed through gritted teeth. She found all her beliefs confirmed by these foul-smelling, repulsive humans.


Alas, the man could not take a hint. "Don't be like that, beautiful. Why don't you take off his hood and we can...aaargh." As he stepped forward and touched her hood, Zyanya moved with lightning speed, and launched a punch against his solar plexus. This just happened to be the biggest nerve cluster in a human body. The ruffian howled in pain and crumpled to the floor. To add insult to injury, the Xioquo curled her fingers and crushed his manhood.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]
“Admit it, you like having unruly minions to receive your wisdom and to punish. It makes you feel so much more successful. Much better than real children as you can kill these ones and not feel any guilt. Not that I feel guilt when killing children of course. They’re better off inside me,” the sword declared somewhat egotistically.

Meanwhile Illyria was watching Qual deal with the males. The other one was winding up a punch to let loose at the Drow from the side, and Illyria briefly considered letting him have a swing. But…these two humans had disgusted her, and so her blade was out and the vibroknife slashing across his wrist enough to sever the hand.

With a scream he fell to the ground and Illyria left him to try and tourniquet the wound.
Everyone was looking at them; not the most stealthy entrance. However, they soon went back to their drinks or other sins.

“Do you know where the Mon Calamari is?” she asked, scanning the crowd.

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


"All the beings in this den are equally repulsive to me. Their odours are most foul, as are their alien tongues," Zyanya responded. Apparently she was intent on expressing her racism in an as poetic manner as possible. To her, the cantina was infested with debauched low-life and inferior xenos that would be better off purged or enslaved. The air was rank with the smell of stale beer, smoke and blood that had not even dried yet.


"There," she spoke quietly, indicating a Mon Cal in the corner. Unsurprisingly, the fishman was guarded by two thugs. Other ruffians seemed to treat him with a degree of deference. This was probably because he knew where the bodies were buried - metaphorically and actually. "There's many xenos watching. We'll slip him a note with the code phrase and meet him in the backroom."

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


Truth be told, Sumiko probably did enjoy punishing and doiling out scraps of wisdom to her acolytes more than she should. "I'm sure your dinner appreciates your equal opportunities stance. Commanding and moulding those two has a certain charm to it, yes," she chuckled, apparently totally undisturbed by the rather morbid conversation.


"Actual children are so...messy and undisciplined. Treat them too well, and they become spoilt and indolent. Or run off to choose a conflicting alignment just to annoy you, then get sulky when you cut them down or possess them." Moreover, they were utterly useless until they became teenagers.


Ash nazg durbatulûk,
Ash nazg gimbatul,
Ash nazg thrakatulûk
Agh burzum-ishi krimpatul.


Briefly, her eyes focused upon the ring she held between two of her fingers. She could feel its siren call as it sought to touch her mind, filling it with visions of glory. What was it that the former Inquisitor desired in life? Power, revenge and control. Control was the means of survival. Control over her destiny and the Force. Power was a means to accomplish both it and her vengeance. As the Sith Code preached, passion, strength and power were stepping stones on the road to shattering one's limitations and achieving whatever victory one desired to pursue. A woman chose, a mere slave obeyed.

There was something about the artefact that set it apart from the typical arcane device. It had a presence, a life inside it. Like all beings, it hungered and desired to be fed. Its beauty was only matched by the danger it represented and the dark power radiating from it. She traced a finger across the beautiful golden ring and the elaborate markings on it. The formula had been written in Old Sith, which some called the Dark Speech. They were words of power, the sort one used to utilise dark sorcercy and consort with daemons. It had a gemstone of such dark scarlet that it looked almost obsidian. Due to the alchemised metal, it was virtually unbreakable. Finally she put it back in her coat pocket.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbLRDozffOc​

 

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]

Illyria instinctively resisted Qual’s suggestion…because it had been the Xioquo who had made it!

And yet…it was reasonable enough perhaps. “I will handle it,” she said softly. “You stake out the backroom. I’ll tell him to meet us there soon.”

Illyria swiftly vanished into the backroom and did not return. However, a waitress soon emerged and placed a free round in front of the Mon Cal and his goons. The waitress wandered off somewhat mechanically, but finally shook her head a looked a bit confused.

However, a message had been delivered with the code phrase and the location of the meeting. Soon Mercurio would stand and head for the backroom, ever wary….

[member="Sumiko Tanaka"]

The Ring was certainty less of a chatterbox than the sword but it was not without its own means. Whenever Sumiko would wear it she would feel stronger, more attentive. When she did not wear it though the feeling in the back of her mind of insecurity and need for it would grow….

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


So it came to pass that the Mon Cal and two of his goons arrived in the back room. For no real reason other than to show off his importance, Mercurio wore a golden chronometre. It looked very expensive, which was probably the point.


His amphibian eyes darted from Illyria to Zyanya. Unlike the two ruffians from earlier, he felt no carnal desires because from the standpoint of a fish two elves simply were not attractive enough to stir his loins. For starters, they had far too much hair, their eyes were too small and their hands neither webbed nor clawed. Besides, their ears were too long. Moreover, they could neither live nor breathe underwater.


"All clear, sir. There's no listening devices," one of his goons said. He'd been scanning the room with some sort of fancy PDA-like device to make sure that no one had bugged it.


"Well, well, you said you wanted to meet me? I was having a very promising game of cards," he said when he entered. "Boss lady couldn't come herself. A pity. I remember when the old man was around," one of his goons pulled up a chair and he sat down.


"You have the information Lady Tanaka wanted," Zyanya interjected. His mannerisms annoyed her a bit.


"Do you have the credits?"

 

[Darth Libertas]

[member="Illyria"]


The ring was not much of a chatterbox, but it expressed its influence in other ways. Sumiko had not slipped it on, but she could feel its power emanate. It was like tendrils of darkness were stretching out from the beautiful artefact, seeking to ensnare anyone who believed they could control and harness its power.

The ring wanted to be wielded. It wanted a wearer to place it upon their finger and unleash its unimaginable power. A younger Sumiko had dismissed tales of sentient artefacts as hearsay and tall tales, but now she knew better. Did that make her wiser? That was probably up for debate. She made certain that the ring was firmly in her pocket, and awaited the return of the two dark elves. Hopefully they would not burn down the entire bar to get her the information. Not that she cared about the patrons, but it simply was not classy and would draw unnecessary attention towards her endeavour.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]
Illyria entered the room with a small case and handed it to one of the goons. The goon looked it over and nodded to his boss.
“The credits as requested. You help us, we help you. Her Ladyship sends her apologies,” she added. It suited her purposes to be the more polite one here compared to the oafish Xioquo.

The Mon Cal looked her over, bulbous eyes studying her. Then he nodded.
“Very well. I will give you the co-ordinates of the old base. Be warned though, that’s a Black Zone for Rakghouls. You go there, you’ll be eaten to the bone.”

Illyria took the proffered datapad and handed it to Qual. She could be useful by carrying it. It might make the Xioquo happy to have a goal and purpose.

“Thank you for the warning,” Illyria said as nicely as she could. She felt like inserting that they would be much better equipped to survive than the fish creature, but held off.

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


"Please extend my compliments to the Lady Tanaka. And good luck on...whatever you're doing down there. If you happen upon some of these dastardly DeathWatch fellows or, even more annoying, Revanites, do dispose of them," the amphibian said, his bulbous eyes darting from one elf to the other. He gave them a polite bow and departed the room.


Zyanya was stuck with carrying the datapad. It seemed to contain a sort of map. "Let us depart," she said simply. Outside awful music was playing. Why did all these bars have Bith musicians? Female aliens with worms in their heads were dancing. In all fairness, their colours were rather exotic. Zyanya liked the colour purple. Loathsome manlings were leering and jeering. Zyanya broke a manling's wrist when he tried to grope her toosh, then they were out. So far Taris was a rather revolting planet.


It did not take them long to reach the safe house. By now the sun had set. It would be dark by the time they reached the Black Zone. Zyanya had a working arrangement with darkness. Sumiko was waiting for them when they stopped by at the container. "You've returned. Good. And I hear no police sirens," she said sarcastically. "No complications?"


"No, Lady," Zyanya replied laconically, ignoring the implied barb. "The fish gave us this."


Sumiko accepted the profferred datapad and studied it intently for a few moments before putting it away. "We have the coordinates now. Grab what gear you need, then we head for the Black Zone." Murder and mayhem awaited them.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]
“Your gallant heroes return. I admit I was wrong…they neither killed nor copulated with each other. It will come soon though,” the sword commented smugly.

Illyria nodded and grabbed her gear. She would show Sumiko that she was more worthy by being prepared first and by pushing forward. Pride comes before a fall after all.

Their journey into the black zone would not be easy. They had to cross the Brell Sediment, an area of broken cityscapes where footing was difficult in place. From there it would be a descent into the Tularian Marsh and then on to the hidden base. All these areas were full of Rakghouls, beasts and scavengers. It was no walk in the park, that was certain.

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


The Brell Sediment was a maze of decayed walls and pits. This particular section of Taris had never been rebuilt following Darth Malak's temper tantrum. Thus ruins and debris lay everywhere, along with whitened skeletons. The air was strongly polluted and made Zyanya wonder whether she'd need a breath mask. Footing was difficult in the broken cityscape, even for someone as flexible as an elf. Of course, she would not dare show weakness. Illyria was pushing ahead and the Xioquo was fine with letting the arrogant Eldorai.


Her keen elf ears picked up on noise as she they made their way through the maze. It did not take her long to realise they were being watched before the trap was sprung. Suddenly, she sensed a grenade arcing through the air towards them. Swiftly, the drow reached out, now with telekinesis. All Force-sensitive elves had an affinity for an element, and hers was earth.


In her mind, she could envisage the metal of the casing and the internal components of the miniaturised, mechanical ball. As the grenade reached the zenith of its arc, she flooded it with energy, aiming to distort the metal with magnetic energy and twist it. As the grenade's sensors registered the manipulation, it exploded prematurely, causing a bright flash. Zyanya shielded her face from the flash, which had probably also affected the attackers.


Blaster bolts and sonic rounds rained down upon them. Angrily, she wrapped a magnetic field around one of the blasters and crushed it into little pieces,taking off the shooter's hand in the process. But a sonic blast left her dazed and caused her eardrums to bleed. Two shooters were abruptly lifted into the air and slammed into the ground when Sumiko unleashed the Dark Side upon them, crushing their bones.

 

[Illyria]

[member="Qual'Zyanya"]
Never one to hide at the rear when attacked by goons, Illyria moved to the attack swiftly. Whilst Qual moved one direction, Illyria attacked in the other.
Her purple lightsabre blazed, but if she expected it to intimidate, she was mistaken. These criminals were confident enough, or desperate enough, to fight them without running away. Blaster bolts she batted away, but sonic blasts were harder to stop, as were the grenades. However, she had a trick up her sleeve.

Calling on her Sciia she tore the metal plates from the ruins around her and used them to attack and block against, sending them like swarms of insects to smash enemies.
However, all of this activity against so many enemies could not go on forever. One of the pirates, a grizzled Mandalorian, moved in to flank her and opened fire.
Sensing her danger, Illyria desperately moved a plate to block her, but the blaster bolts pierced it, and the second one hit the Eldorai.

The blaster bolt missed killing her by mere inches, and instead tore through her upper leg and back. With an involuntary scream, she fell to the ground, and the Mandalorian closed in.

Souldrinker meanwhile had presumably been busy.
“One minion down. Better save her or you’ll be left with just the Xioquo…” the blade purred, enjoying the spectacle.

 

[Qual'Zyanya]

[member="Illyria"]


Battle erupted all around her. Illyria charged from one side, Zyanya attacked from the other, though in a less brazen manner. She did not fear Outsider technology like she'd done on Tygara, but it paid to be cautious. Her Force imbued blade could block blaster bolts to a degree, but lacked the precision of a lightsabre and did nothing against sonic blasts and grenades. Drawing upon her kindred element, she wrapped her magnetic power around a goon's grenade and willed it to detonate. Screams ensued when there was an explosion, but other goons sought cover and kept on firing. Using metal plates as cover or drawing upon the natural agility of her race, she sought to dodge their attacks.


Then she saw that Illyria was vulnerable and exposed. A blaster bolt had struck her and sliced through her leg and back. She heard the Eldorai scream, and a Mandalorian closed in to finish her off. The Xioquo had seconds to decide to make a move or not. Her rival was down, she could let her perish. It was what the arrogant Eldorai deserved.


But, if Illyria fell, Sumiko would hold it against her. A humiliated, humbled rival was better than a dead one. Levitating a rock with her Sciia, she sent it flying towards the Mandalorian, ramming him in the back. As he reeled against this unexpected attack, she summoned a powerful magnetic field and wrapped it around the Mandalorian's helmet and throat. Abruptly he stopped in his charge and his gun dropped out of his grasp. One could hear the grinding and twisting of metal, when Zyanya crushed the helmet, tightening it around the brute's head and neck before both were crushed.