Stirring Up an Anthill

[Riamah]

Ra looked at the slick looking liquid on the ground. It smell of metal and likely was a last death trap for the foolish. The eye kept up it's hypnotic thrumming and flashing, still calling her forward. For a while, she stood there stumped as to how to get across the liquid. The thought came to suddenly.

Squatting down slightly at the very start of the puddle that covered the entire pathway, she concentrated with the Force to push out of the middle a pathway in the puddle for her to walk through. It took longer than she had hoped, but not long enough for the guard upstairs to have reached her yet.

Once the pathway was clear for her to walk on, she boldly stepped through and up to the eye.

Taking her bag off her shoulder, she reached out with it wrapped around her hand to pick up the eye and put it in there...not once touching it with her flesh.

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

Her solution to puzzle was not only creative but an innovative use of Force as well. The flammable liqud offered token resistance to her power as she was soon able to make safely across. From behind her she could hear the footfalls of several guards who were rushing to the inner chamber bubthey were too late, she had her prize as she wrapped her hand around the bag before pickimg up the Eye.

The Eye itself was a surprizing large sapphire colored stone covered with strange sigils and emmeshed in fine silver like metal mesh which pulsed with small electric arcs from an unseen power source. It was heavier than it tooked and she could feel the electric pulses despite the protection around her hand.

Suddenly, without warning, a immense pulse hit her, overwhelming her senses as vision filled her head. She was soaring through the sky like a bird, beneath her a feral jungle cat snarled in challenge. She swooped forward, claws reaching out to tear flesh. Screams filled her ears as blood flew through the air. Bones.......lots of bones and then darkness.

When she next awoke her mentor was peering over her with a look off concern. "Congratulations my dear, you have passed and received your vison quest. Tell me what did you see?"

 

[Riamah]

Ra woke up in one piece, returned to the forest clearing. She had one of her knives out in a heartbeat and looked around with wild eyes for a moment before she calmed back down. Her heart beating fast, she looked up at the professor who was looking down at her in concern.

Worried she had failed because she went unconscious, his words finally sunk in. She had passed! Letting out a of relief, Ra replaced the knife back into her sleeve. He asked what she seen in the vision.

"I was a bird of prey like an eagle with sharp beak and talons. There was jungle below me and a wild cat. The car saw me above and issued a roar of challenge and as I looked through the eyes of the bird, swooped down to attack the cat. Then there were screams, blood and bone. Nothing after that until waking up."

She reached into her satchel and drew out a canteen of water, taking a drink after telling her avatar what she had seen.

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

"It is different for everyone. When I was but an apprentice myself mine involved spiders and webs and drowning in lakes of blood. Not the best dreams mind you but a vision quest none the less. You will need to seek out the creature you saw and defeat it in one on one combat and come back with it so we can make your weapon."

 

[Riamah]

Ra picked up the little pyramid and started heading back to her ship with it and the balls in their cases. Her job now would be figure out what type of cat that was and where they were located.

Once she was on her ship, she showered, took a nap and when she woke up got to work on the task of figuring out what wild cats were out there. She grew up on Coruscant so had no idea what was out in the wild.

Sitting down with a cup of drink and her datapad, Ra got to work. There were mankacat, nexu, tuskcat and a few other feline like creatures, but only the mankacat really stood out to her.

Meditating on the holocron again, she probed it with the Force to awaken it and tell her professor what she found out.

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

When the professor appeared he was holding a small book in one hand and hand carved pipe in the other, blowing a perfect ring of smoke towards the ceiling, he inquired, "What have you discovered, my dear?"

 

[Riamah]

Ra held up the datapad with the information she had found, told him about the different wild cat species she learned about and that the manka cat seemed to be the most fitting of them.

"They are located on Kashyyyk, Alderaan and Tython mostly."

She looked at the avatar in question.

"Which one should I search?"

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

"It is not for me to say, as the vision quest was given to you. Perhaps the clue was in the creature whose body you possessed. Which planet has predatory avians similar to which you saw?"

 

[Riamah]

Ra looked at the floor of the ship for a moment before answering the professor.

"Oh I did not think to look that up. My mind was on cats, not birds."

In the future if she saw something like this again, she would look up both aspects.
​
"There were jungles and I don't think there any on either the rebuilt Alderaan or Tython, That just leaves Kashyyyk."

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

"That is an excellent conjunction, given the information provided to you. Once we have gotten your totem beast, I can instruct you on the proper way to prepare the raw materials we will need. It is no simple task of stripping bone from flesh, there is a proper way to take what what we need and maintain the purity of the core material."

 

[Riamah]

"What does a totem animal mean exactly?"

Ra looked at the avatar and stood up.

"What were those supplied I was going to need?"

He had told her once before they had really started training​, but she had not picked the items up then.

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

A holographic tome appears in one of his hands as he begins to explain, "The ancient practitioners of the Force believed that that Force exists in all life, to a certain extent we share some of the Force with a totem animal. This is a primal creature untouched by civilization that shares a link with us through the Force. By hunting such creatures we can forge powerful weapons which in turn grant us certain abilities that we would not possess otherwise."

"By slayimg the creature and taking their parts in a ritual matter we can preserve their essence so that we can use it at a later time. Which is why it wont work on domesticated creatures, their spirits are already tamed and subjugated, too weak for purposes of the ritual."

"Aside from the creature, you will need to obtain two kilos of pulped razor blade grass, half a pound of powdered mandalorian iron ore and 20 liters of hyperoxgenated ice from Naboo's poles. Once you have completed gathering the ingredients, you will make your way to Mustafar. Once in orbit, I will provide you with the coordinated for a weapons forge on that world and we shall complete your weapon."

 

[Riamah]

Ra listened to the professor with her full attention, he would see he had that. When he finished speaking of what the ancients thought, she would ask her next question.

"What would the cat provide?"

She tipped her head in interest, waiting on his answer.

When he went on to explain why a domesticated animal wouldn't work, she just nodded in understanding. It made sense to her.

Picking up her datapad, she made the notes on the items she was going to nee to pick up and figured she would get the ice last.

"Do you want me to contact you after I get to Mustafar?"

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

"As I have stated capturing the prey alive would be ideal although not necessary. While the ritual would work on the carcass, the items we would acquire would not be as potent as compared from a live sample. The cat would provide us with the brain, the eyes, heart, liver and spine. We would also need about roughly two quarts of blood for when we etch the runes on bones."

"To your other question, that is entirely up to you. As always, I will be here in my abode sould you require my counsel on any matters. If not then I can wait until you have gathered it all and we are in orbit over Mustafar."

 

[Riamah]

Ra nodded and watched again as the hologram faded away. She didn't have anything to use to capture the cat alive so she would have to kill it.

Setting a course for Kashyyyk, Ra sat back in her chair to run through her mind everything she was going to need to do before and when she arrived. Hunting was not something she had done before so would have to research that. She would also need some sort of container to keep the animal's parts in once she acquired them. For now though, she would stick to looking up the hunting of this animal.

She returned to the room where the holocron was, pulled out her datapad and started reading on the basics of hunting. She had the Force so that would be a great benefit that the guides never considered as they explained hunting. Ra would need to find the animals first, set up a sort of basecamp. Her ship would be fine for that and then observe the animals in their habitat for a few days so she could learn their routines and day to day lives.

After reading for a few hours and making notes, Ra fell asleep on the couch and woke up to the sound of the alarm letting her know she had arrived at Kashyyyk. Stretching on her way back to the cockpit, Ra lightly touches the console to bring her ship out of the blue and a returned to the black. Scanning the planet, she looked for a place to land in the wilderness. This proved harder than it sounded, but she eventually found one and brought her ship in.

The sun was just setting, so she had the night in front of her. Making herself some food, Ra sat down to eat and prepare herself for the next few days. After cleaning up dinner, she took a few more notes and went to bed. Waking up in the morning, she left the ship to find a location where she could watch the animals.

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

In their pride she was called Night Terror, two hundred pounds of muscle and claws that stalked its prey come nightfall. Even the local wookies have learned to avoid the prides hunting grounds, although there were still a few foolish ones who sought her as a challenge. Although to date, none of them were ever heard from again, with each death adding more to her prestige.

The pride had grown in number to ten under her leadership, and they spent most of the hours in the day sleeping under the thick jungle canopy, whiling away the daylight hours until it was time to hunt.

If asked, the locals will mark her map where Night Terror stalked, a thick portion of the jungle nearly ten miles wide through which a river ran through. They warn that the current is dangerous with multiple rapids and a waterfall as well.

 

[Riamah]

When Ra left her ship, she felt there were sentient beings not far off. Whether they would understand each other was another story. She had a good ear for languages and hoped she could pick up on the one here.

She walked into the camp, wearing her weapons, but holding out her hands to show she meant no harm. The wookies understood her and quickly passed on the information she was looking for along with a few supplies she might need. Bidding them farewell, Ra looked at the map they had provided and moved on.

It was day so the cats were likely sleeping, she still wanted to a lay out of the land and see what was there.

The pride was set up in a well supplied area. A river ran through with many places to hide. Ra walked through the land confidently and keeping her senses and eyes on the lookout for danger.

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

When the wookies learned what she was after, they shared in their own way the lore they had amassed about the beast and her pride. They told them they like to prowl when the sun has gone down, lurking in the shadowy canopy like hungry ghosts. They liked to bait their prey, running them ragged before the kill. There was bo safety in heights as the cats could easily climb the trees and sometimes launched attacks from above on unsuspecting prey. While the cats avoided the water, If the stories told by the superstitous wookies were to believed, Night Terror could easily leap across the raging waters with ease. The beasts senses were razor sharp capable of tracking its prey in complete darkness. Lastly they believed no firearm could ever pierce the demon cats hide, and it wasnt from lack of trying. Exactly how true the last rumor was would be put to the test should the situation arise.

While the young woman was scoutin about, Night Terror opened an eye lazily as its ears twitched away some lingering flies. Prey was lurking about, she could sense it but it was still too early in the day to do anything about it just yet. Unless the presence it felt grew stronger or closer it would seemingly go back to sleep. Plenty of time to investigate once the sun goes down.

 

[Riamah]

Ra walked the marked outline on the map as best she could and found the ideal place to lay her trap. Knowing she needed to be rested for the next stage, Ra would return to her ship and rest.

She woke up later in the day than she had previously and gathered up the items she thought she was going to need and set out to find the place she had seen the day before.

The location was near a clearing that had a stream in it that many animals visited through the course of the day. Some of them the likely prey of the cats at night. Testing the wind, Ra found she was downwind and anything visiting that stream would not smell her.

Rubbing some dirt on herself to further mask her scent, Ra got into position to observe the watering hole.

[member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Ra'a'mah

The day seem to pass rather slowly, perhaps it was due to the planets humidity or perhaps the odd sights and sounds of the jungle locale. The watering hole was visited by several creatures in turn, at various times of the day. All had in common a skittish nature as if they were always on the edge, a good indicator that she was in the right spot.

None of the beasts seem to notice her presence or they would have bolted as fast their legs could carry them. It was an hour before dusk when unexpected company paid her a visit, in the form of very large constrictor that sneak in from the canopy above.