Private Rokanan's World

[Eloise Dinn]

Eshara’s eyes fixed upon the blade pointed at her throat. She laughed. “And what is it you desire, mortal? What could you not bear to live without?”

Dark sorcery wove a web of illusion, transforming the throne room into a vision built from Amani’s subconscious. The dream closed in, powerful and difficult to resist—after all, it was what she wanted most.

Eloise continued to duel against her brother. It was difficult; she had to pull her punches, not wanting to hurt him even as he tried to hurt her. “Marcus!” she cried. “Stop!”

But Marcus didn’t seem to hear her. Her twin, who had been her best friend from the moment they were conceived together, was trying to kill her. She told herself it was only Eshara’s power making him do this, but no matter how she pleaded with him, he wouldn’t stop. Only at the sound of Altrea screaming did he falter, temporarily shaken out of the enchantment.

The mutated guards were coming after the girl. In the shadows, their shapes had been vague and ill-defined, but now as they staggered into the light their twisted bodies were on full display. Creatures that might have been animals or sentients had been stripped to their barest components and remade into monsters of hunger, with gaping maws where there ought not even be mouths, reaching tongues and grasping arms.

Eloise had a decision to make. She could continue trying to reach Marcus, hoping that Altrea’s distress would provide an opening she could exploit… or take advantage of the reprieve and incapacitate her brother, removing him as a threat. The latter option was very tempting, but if there was a chance he could help them defeat the goddess...

“Don’t just stand there, do something!” she shouted at him, using Force Push on the monster closest to Altrea, gambling on his love for his family being greater than whatever he felt for Eshara.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani was surprised to realize that Eshara was a powerful user of the Force. She watched the room around her being to morph, taking advantage of her unprepared mental state. As it did, she lunged at the woman with her blade, hoping to hit her before she lost sight of everything. Then when Amani turned to look around, she saw a Tythonian valley, with verdant fields and azure skies. Rolling hills and regal mountains cradled the valley on either side, and on the horizon a sparkling, placid lake could be seen. In the middle of it all was a lone homestead. The base of it, unmistakably her childhood home, but it had been refurbished and expanded upon. There was a healthy garden in the yard, and farm animals grazing nearby.

Amani couldn't help but admire the resplendent sight. She meandered to the front door, and after a moment's hesitation she dared to open it. Inside was a cozy living room, with a lit and open hearth giving the space warmth and light. Sitting on a couch was Alicio, his features a little more weathered, but no less handsome. Sitting beside him were August and Liana, more noticeably older, probably around 12 or 13. And standing in the doorway to the kitchen, was her parents. Old, but healthy, and beckoning.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Something in Marcus’ eyes changed. Eloise feared the worst, and started to back away. But her brother ignored her, instead lunging at the monsters. He killed one of them with a bisecting sweep of his blue blade; the rest turned on him, but they were no match for his strength and honed prowess.

Eloise joined in the battle. Together the twins made short work of the mutants, leaving strewn body parts lying around the throne room. Altrea raced over, standing between her older brother and sister.

Eshara’s eyes narrowed. “Those were my pets,” she intoned.

“And this is my family,” Marcus shot back. Eloise could sense his anger, but it was controlled and focused. He was using it to disrupt Eshara’s influence over him. “I won’t let you hurt them.”

The Goddess of Madness and Desire stared at them, before a smirk curled her lips. She leaned toward the hypnotized Amani, still under her thrall. “The Sith have come to Tython. You can sense their Darkness. You must stop them before they reach home. If you don’t, they’ll destroy everything.”

Amani’s vision warped, the tranquil domestic scene now invaded by dark forces. Where Eloise, Marcus, and Altrea stood, she would see three Sith Knights out for blood.

Between dueling her brother and defending her sister from the monsters, Eloise had admittedly lost track of Amani, figuring the Jedi Master could take care of herself. “Master?” she cried in alarm upon seeing the state she was in. “Amani!”

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani approached the apparition of her parents in disbelief. Alicio and the kids gave her smiles and waves as she passed. "About time you joined us, Grandmaster." Her dad said, emphasizing the title. Amani blinked in surprise.

"Food's almost ready. Lia and I were hoping we could make it together, but that's okay. We've got all the time in the galaxy now." Her mother continued.

"What?" Amani muttered, all she could think to say.

"Well… the wars are over aren't they? The Sith are finally gone. Your job is done."

"We can just be a family now."

Then, the light seemed to dim. Darkness loomed over the home, and Amani ran to the front door. She opened it, seeing three Sith standing outside, ready to ruin the life she fought so hard for. Everything told her as much. The sights and sounds, they all felt so real. But there was an emptiness. The Force was telling her otherwise. Amani focused on the truth buried underneath, taking a moment to make peace with it. She turned back to her parents.

"This is... beautiful. But it could never be. I made peace with that a long time ago," She wanted it of course. More than anything. But it was just a dream. Amani knew that. She looked towards her parents one last time, then swung her pike towards the real threat. That of Eshara, a darkness that had been pupeteering this mirage all along. "And you can never try to replace my family."

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

For a few long, terrifying moments, Amani seemed fully under Eshara’s sway. But before she could fall prey to the goddess’ trick, she snapped out of the trance and turned on her. Eloise dared to breathe again.

Eshara halted the slash of Amani's pike by grabbing the metal base of the blade in her fist. She stared down at the Mirialan with disappointment in her gaze. “So be it,” she said. “Go free, so that you may die with the rest of them!”

Force lightning arced across the floor. Eloise tried to erect a protective barrier, only to find it swiftly overloaded by the sheer power behind the attack. The agony of it drove her to her knees. Marcus, who tried to use Tutaminis to absorb and redirect the energy, screamed in pain as he found it similarly overwhelming. Altrea was smart enough to levitate above the floor, thus saving herself from a likely fatal dose of electricity.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Eshara reacted quickly, catching the pike by its haft. She was skilled, more so than Amani would have imagined. A powerful Darksider even without any apparent formal training, at least not one that Amani recognized. But as strong as she was, Amani was no slouch herself, being a trained Jedi Master. Now Eshara was picking on someone her own size.

Amani's senses warned her of the coming lighting, and she sprang up into the air with impressive height. Eloise and her siblings were quickly overwhelmed, and if left to their suffering, would likely die. Amani needed to act quick. She dove back down, plunging her pike downward to impale Eshara vertically— Or at least, force her to act, and risk losing focus on her electrical onslaught.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eshara dodged the attack, moving to the side to avoid being impaled. Her concentration lost, the lightning ceased. Both Eloise and Marcus collapsed, whether unconscious or in too much pain to move. Altrea burst into tears, crying for her parents.

Meanwhile, an annoyed Eshara closed an invisible hand around the Jedi Master’s throat. The pressure increased to the point of choking…

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

The current came to a stop, which at least kept anything worse from happening to the Dinns. Amani was met with a sudden, growing pressure around her throat. She strained, finding herself unable to breathe. The Jedi spat a cough, but remained calm. Options for freeing herself were hard to come by, with allies incapacitated and her focus split; But Amani was a trained Jedi master, and when all else failed, she called upon a more raw, more primal power.

Her clenched fists unfolded, and with it, a Force Wave billowed across the throne room like a hurricane gale, its strength more potent to those closest, such as Eshara. Perhaps that would be enough to knock her off her feet, and free Amani from her grip.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Eshara was thrown backwards with a cry, knocking over the throne. It fell to the floor with a tremendous clatter. The foundations of the fortress itself shuddered, stone and steel creaking under the strain.

Eloise was roused back to awareness by the trickle of dust from the ceiling against her cheek. She started to rise with a groan, body aching, when she spotted Eshara rising from behind the overturned chair, fury in her eyes.

“You think you can challenge me? I am desire incarnate. I lived before your grandfathers were born, and I will go on long after your bones are dust!”

A thick and inky darkness consumed the chamber, blinding them. Eloise tried to sense their whereabouts with the Force, but it told her that Eshara had multiplied—three copies of the same presence now manifested, all converging upon Amani. Suddenly lightheaded, the Padawan staggered, further weakened by a drain upon her essence. The darkness itself was feeding on them, drawing the life from their bodies. Fear for her siblings' safety gave her enough of a boost to block it, but so far Eshara had prevented them from coming to Amani's aid.

"Altrea, make a light!" Eloise ordered.

Her sister created a small ball of luminescence, which dispelled the darkness. But Eshara had had time to change positions, making it unclear which of the doppelgangers was the real her.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani didn't give Eshara the satisfaction of a retort, beyond an unamused glare. Then darkness consumed the room, and Eshara's presence multiplied. A trick of some kind, no doubt, but not one the Jedi could afford to ignore.

The draining darkness was soon dispelled, but not before Eshara had disguised her true position with her doppelgängers. Amani was nothing if not a patient fighter, and she waited for one of them to make the first move, before making any attack of her own, "Your false godhood has gone to your head, Eshara. But you're still afraid to fight me head on?"

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

“Why stoop to your level?” the Esharas retorted in unison. All three of the doppelgangers struck at Amani simultaneously, each targeting a part of her body as if to cleave her into three pieces—

Eloise suddenly pounced on the one on the right, stabbing her lightsaber downwards as if to impale it. The copy whirled around, knocking the black-clad Padawan back against the wall.

The Eshara on the left was similarly lured into a duel against Marcus. Greatly weakened by the lightning, he was supported by Altrea, who darted about hurling water spells to distract his opponent. That left only the middle Eshara. Whether real or illusion, she struck out at Amani with cruel skill and vicious grace.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

"Maybe because you're afraid," Amani flourished her pike, remaining calm even as the three doppelgängers all charged her at once. Eloise leapt into the fray, distracting one of them, while Marcus and Altrea attacked another. That left just one, who continued her focus on the healer.

Amani began the duel without any counterattacks. She dodged and blocked, her motions fluid and concentrated. Eshara was no slouch, her ferocity matched that of a Sith, but Amani met her at every motion, every strike. Keeping her at bay was the name of the game, using the reach advantage of the pike to constantly maneuver just out of her space, and avoid an optimal hit.

Still, she couldn't dawdle forever, lest it risk the safety of the Dinns. So finally, when an opening came, Amani struck with a quick, efficient jab. Either it would stick Eshara and end it now, or force her to back up and give the mirialan enough space to switch stances. Assuming it was the latter, she would twirl her weapon in another flourish, and come at Eshara with a flurry of spinning and sweeping strikes.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

The jab didn’t get her, but the flurry of spinning and sweeping strikes eventually struck and dispelled the illusion Amani had been fighting. Eloise saw it dissipate in the corner of her eye, but she couldn’t focus on it for too long—the Eshara she was fighting was relentless.

“Do you really think your master will let the children stay here?” the goddess jeered. “She thinks you're mad for even suggesting it. She’ll insist on bringing them to Coruscant—and then what will happen to poor Caspian?”

“Get out of my head,” Eloise growled, taking a vicious swipe at her. Eshara parried the blow with ease, knocking Eloise backwards with a telekinetic shove.

Altrea blasted their Eshara with a ball of water, disorienting her just enough for Marcus to swoop in for the kill. The illusion vanished, leaving behind no trace—and beyond it, they saw the real Eshara advance upon a downed Eloise, lightsaber raised.

The Padawan screamed as the blade pierced her side, burning through her flesh. She tried to reach for her fallen lightsaber, but Eshara stomped on her hand, delicate bones crunching beneath her heel. The goddess raised her weapon to deliver a finishing blow.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Eventually one of Amani's attacks struck, but it merely dispelled the presence: an illusion. She immediately turned her attention to the others, fearful of the threat the real Eshara still posed, especially when the real one was still obscured. Picking the wrong one could give the other a dangerous opportunity to strike unharried, threatening equally dangerous inaction from Amani.

Before it could really matter, the second Eshara was dispelled by Altrea and Marcus. Amani saw it, and without another thought closed in on the last remaining villainess. There was a flash of anger as she stuck Eloise in the side, knocking her down for the coup de grace. Amani lunged in from the side, there was a swipe of light, and Eshara's raised hand suddenly separated from its extremity. Continuing in the same fluid motion, Amani stuck her blade in the woman's abdomen.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Missing a hand and gored by Amani’s lightsaber, Eshara gasped, then gave a final roar, preparing for one last psychic assault upon her killers. Behind the goddess, Eloise saw a strange light and a sudden swift movement—and then she heard a wet squelch. At first she thought it was Marcus. But as Eshara’s corpse toppled over with a gaping hole in its chest, she knew it couldn’t have been her brother.

Arcturus Dinn held Eshara’s still-twitching heart in his hand, black blood spurting from its valves and trickling down his pale, freckled arm. He crouched down, reaching for Eloise with his free hand.

“Daddy!” Altrea exclaimed, running to his side. Marcus followed her, though his injuries slowed his pace.

Eloise stared incredulously at her father through tears. He leaned over her, his searching gaze full of concern and pride and sorrow. His red hair was dusty, and there was black soot smeared around his eyelids and blood red pigment across his brow in a crude rendering of the God of Death's face paint. Considering how late his save was, the fact that he’d bothered making his face up at all was almost funny.

“Stand back—” he ordered Marcus and Altrea. Then he spotted Amani and froze. “Who are you?”

“Master—she’s my master,” Eloise managed to spit out, hoping to hurry things along and avoid prolonging the pain.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Eshara roared defiantly even after Amani had delivered the blow. Then suddenly there was an unpleasant squelch; Amani flinched as flecks of black gore hit her face, and Eshara's cries suddenly silenced all at once. There was a hole in her chest, where her heart used to be. The organ was now in the hand of a red-haired man, who looked far-less intimidating than he acted. The face paint was a nice touch though.

Amani lowered her pike, but kept it humming. Altrea had revealed who this man was— Their father. And Amani knew what he was. She said nothing, waiting to see how Arcturus might react to Eloise's explanation, to see if he'd attack the Jedi on sight. She gestured toward her padawan, "And a healer. She's hurt." The healer said sternly, essentially requesting he stand back so she can do her job without worrying about a Sith right behind her.

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

Arcturus didn’t even hesitate. “Heal her,” he said, taking a step back to allow Amani to reach Eloise. This new position had him standing over Eshara’s corpse, still holding her now motionless heart. The Shaalite guards posted at the doors around them struck up a chant, pounding their spears against the floor in a staccato rhythm. Her head swimming, Eloise caught only fragments, but she recognized the words of a popular hymn to Desdinova.

They thought her family had destroyed yet another "false god", she realized. Somehow they kept winning this game of charades, by sheer luck.

Her father’s pale blue eyes were wan with hunger. She had seen him get that look before, but she hadn’t understood what it meant until the fateful day she witnessed something she wasn’t supposed to, and her whole life as she knew it came crashing down. Apparently a bad deal with a shaman had left him with the bestial urge to devour the flesh of Force Sensitives. The powerful Sith lying dead at his feet was no doubt difficult to resist. But he didn’t raise the bloody heart to his mouth or sink his teeth into the myocardium. He had staked his claim, so to speak, but he wouldn’t eat her in front of his children. Eloise supposed that was one small mercy.

Her vision was growing dim, either shock or some drug Amani had given her causing her to slip away. Marcus said something, but she couldn’t quite catch it. Arcturus turned slightly, reaching out to embrace his eldest son, and Eloise caught a glimpse of the childish tattoo of two smiling stars on his wrist. When she was seven he had let her design and ink it on his skin. There was a spot of orange where she’d accidentally colored outside the lines, a mistake permanently etched on her father’s body. Forever, as he had warned her…

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani knelt down and began checking Eloise. First making sure the gut injury was clean, then figuring out the damage to her hand. Every now and then she glanced back toward Arcturus and Shaalites, as if afraid they'd turn on her at any moment. After applying some superficial healing to stabilize the wounds, Amani tried to scoop up Eloise in her arms, "She's going to need more help than I can give her here." She needed her medical lab. Actual resources.

"Are you going to let us go?"

Eloise Dinn​

 

[Eloise Dinn]

The stab wound through Eloise’s side was a mercifully clean cut, missing any major organs. But the damage to her hand was quite extensive, and would probably take some time to heal. Seeing Amani attempt to pick her up, Arcturus lifted Eloise in the air with telekinesis.

"Are you going to let us go?"

Arcturus moved to Eloise’s side, laying his clean hand over her uninjured one. His expression grew pained. The family reunion had been short-lived, and he clearly didn’t like the idea of being parted from his daughter so soon. But there was a weary acceptance in his gaze as he nodded. Had he known to whom he was speaking, he may have acted differently.

“To Coruscant, then?” he asked. He needed only to flick his eyes toward an unoccupied space within the chamber, and a portal appeared. The ecumenopolis’ busy streets were clearly visible beyond the doorway, which opened up onto the steps of the Jedi Temple.

"Bye!" Altrea exclaimed with a wave, none the wiser. Marcus just stood there, his expression inscrutable.

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Amani didn't say anything else to the Sith, only able to watch as Arc lifted up Eloise himself telekinetically, then created a portal straight back to Coruscant. She eventually took her padawan back in her arms, and began walking to the portal. When Altrea said her goodbyes, Amani glanced back, looking at the two other Dinn children left behind. It felt like there was something more she should do. But it didn't feel like she could, either. Accepting her own dissatisfaction, Amani turned to the portal, and left for Coruscant.

Eloise Dinn​