Dominion The Blind World There Beneath | GA Dominion of the Plain of Terror Netherworld Hex

[Spirit of Prosperity]

While the destination of the mysterious hypergates has been revealed as Omni’s Netherworld domain of Oblivion, innumerable questions remain. Unable to shut down the devices, the Galactic Alliance scrambles to understand their purpose, and whether anything can be done to defend the realm of the living.

After an initial exploratory mission, the Alliance has established a permanent presence within Oblivion. Their mission: explore and learn more about this strange domain, and secure the entrance back to realspace from enemy incursion. Besides the occasional interaction with a foreboding but otherwise benign Netherworld denizen, things have generally been quiet. But that won’t last, as the greatest threats may to come not from the inhabitants of this strange world, but rather the landscape itself.

Objective 1: Ever Vex'd with Storms

With the immediate area around the hypergate secured, it’s time to explore the surrounding area and begin to understand why Omni created this strange Netherworld realm and why dozens of hypergates have suddenly sprung to life. Assemble a team and trek out to the aptly named Plain of Terror, a nearby desolate and barren wasteland stretching as far as the eye can see.

But be careful - dark storm clouds gather on the horizon, bringing with them not rain but rather strange phenomena. Broken rules of physics, drastic and horrifying mutations, strange manifestations of Force powers and even extreme changes in personality have all been reported while the storm is overhead.


Objective 2: Portal to Thy Faith

If the Alliance has any hope of survival in this strange realm, it needs a secure base of operations. Help establish a stronghold surrounding the Velusia hypergate which can be used to receive supplies, treat the wounded, and study artefacts. Just be sure to keep a close eye on your droids and technology - there have been reports of machinery acting strangely ever since it was brought to Netherworld, with some suspecting Onmi’s technomancy is at play.


BYOO

Whether in the Netherworld or Realspace, there are a million tales to tell.​

 

[Kal]

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS | Aaran Tafo​

This was new, very new. Kal wasn't sure he liked it.

It was hard to say how long he had been staring at the sands as if compelling it to move, but nothing. This was not his realm, not like the rest of the Nether. This place belonged to another and while he could exert some influence, it was almost as limited as the actions of the living outsiders.

Whatever else Omni might have done, it was reshaping this realm in his own image that Kal most begrudged him. The height of arrogance.

Nevermind the fact that Kal and his kind had done the same thing on a much, much smaller scale. Jealousy was not in his dictionary.

<The warriors of people's light are making their presence known, being-to-whom-we-currently-answer.> Eying the Grey One thoughtfully, Kal sent it back to its scouting assignment with a wave of his shadowy hand. The Galactic Alliance? He would not have expected them to move so quickly into the unknown, not with how slowly the Senate tended to stir into action. Vigorous action from the executive branch, no doubt.

They were a wild card, in all of this - he could only hope the involvement of mortal governments would not further destabilise the situation.​

 

[Aaran Tafo]

To put it simply. Aaran was less than pleased with the newest development on the Galactic Stage. It was naive of him to hope that perhaps after the Sith Empire had been crippled, dealing with the Maw and Bryn would be significantly easier now that they did not have to worry about a knife in the back.

But the Universe had other plans. Now these gates were springing up all over the Galaxy. Leading to a realm controlled by a crazed AI. One that had reached apparently godlike levels of power if it was able to carve out such a large portion of the normally chaotic realm for itself.

He read the reports, looked through the archives. Finding himself growing increasingly unsettled the deeper he looked. OMNI. Another mistake of the past come to haunt the present. Another mess caused by previous generation that the current one had to deal with.

Business as usual really.

And so, in search of answers. He set out alone into the wastes. A dangerous prospect to be sure. But he was not ill-prepared. He had scrouged up an old protective amulet to better defend himself from the environment turning hostile. Hoping that some of the denizens of this realm, provided that they were not hostile, would be capable of giving him the answers he sought.

Namely as to why all of this was happening. What was the AI's interest in the mortal world? Revenge? Curiosity? Or some alien motive that an organic mind would not be able to comprehend? Who knew how much time had passed for it. How long had it to constantly grow and improve?

These were all questions that needed answering.

Kal could no doubt feel it. A vaguely familiar presence that came into range. One that seemed to acknowledge them in return. And began moving closer. The Jedi intent on seeking out answers from the Netherworld native one way or another.

 

[Kal]

LOOKING FOR ANSWERS | Aaran Tafo​

It was not a long wait before a presence came his way. A familiar presence, one which reminded Kal of a violent confrontation in which he had been more or less uninvolved and the presence's owner a decidedly unwilling participant. In that singular confrontation, anyway, the man seemed a firm adherent of the Jedi way and a willing participant in the neverending conflict between the Light and the Dark.

Albeit not a particularly violent one.

Form coalescing into a humanoid torso of smoky shadows, Kal glided forward, opting for a swirling cylinder rather than legs - and shaking up just a bit of sand in the process, in stark contrast to the effect he had on Realspace. For them this world was less real, for him it was the other way around.

<Greetings Eyeless Watcher, what brings you and yours to this dismal corner of my fair home?>

The storm loomed on the horizon, promising chaos most spectacular, though at least for the moment he was thoroughly unconcerned. There were Grey Ones in between him and the worst of it, they are their more corporeal bodies would provide plentiful warning.​

 

[Bernard]

OBJECTIVE II
Portal to Thy Faith​

Following an exploration mission, the impromptu medical ward of the Alliance forward base in the Netherworld had quickly filled up. This environment was anything but a friendly place for intruders of the material plane. There wasn't much data yet, and the scouts had been stunned to silence or too panicked to make out any details, but something kept attacking Alliance forces as they ventured out into the deserts beyond. With a shortage of personnel until the next expedition arrived, a few volunteers were left behind to take care of the wounded while the rest of the first and second expeditions went to construct base defences or find out what was actually going on out in the deserts. Bernard counted among those volunteers.

"How can I help?" Bernard asked.

"Those supplies over there, they need carrying. Pick 'em up and follow me, I need to make the rounds anyways and you're the perfect pack boy," the medic replied.

He was a tall Trandoshan with a doctor's robe and glasses. The combination made for a most peculiar sight.

"Alright, lead the way," Bernard said.

Two crates onto the framework on his back, two cases filled with medicines in either hand, and a medical bag slung around his shoulder, he embarked to follow the doctor as he pulled open the curtain into the field hospital. The inside was cast in darkness. Bernard could make out the body heat of various humanoids in beds, seemingly covered by blankets.

"Oh great, power's out again," the Trandoshan's reptilian trill took on an edge of annoyance. "You don't happen to be an electrician also, do you?"

"I'm afraid not, doctor."

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Objective II: Portal To Thy Faith
Tags: OPEN
​

As the lights began to flicker within the Alliance base, one bright light appeared in a storage room. A security guard posted at the door saw the brightness out of the corner of her eye and turned to face it.

Then, the light abruptly ejected a figure onto the floor just as the electricity - and the strange phenomena - winked out, plunging the facility into darkness. Lighting a match, the guard slowly approached the prone figure lying amid the plasteel containers and crates of supplies. It looked like a human, male, maybe a few years older than her son. He was dressed in red and needed a haircut. Appeared disoriented, but that was no surprise.

"Hey kid, you alright? What's your name?" she asked.

The youth didn't respond, though he did look up at her. A pale glow shone from behind his eyes, like the tapetum lucidum of certain nocturnal predators. The guard's brow furrowed.

"Don't I know you from somewhere... ?"

She trailed off as he locked eyes with her. Slowly he stood up, maintaining eye contact all the while, and as he moved past her toward the door, her gaze followed him, but she didn't move to stop him. He darted outside, swiftly disappearing into the shadows - and the guard returned to her post, unable to remember why she had moved in the first place.

 

[Arash Garshasp]

Arash Garshasp, Stellar Centurion
Location: Sand Dunes of Plain of Terror
Objective One: Ever Vex'd with Storms
Action: Looking out before exploring, planning his trek

Spoiler: Equipment

VDS-02 “Bulwark” - Pattern Military Mobility Shield
VCS-01 “Aspis” Pattern Combat Shield
VW-03 Mk II “Apollo” - Pattern Solarized Disruptor Pistol
TTH/TPV-001 “Xiphos” - Pattern Plasmatic Vibrosword
TSFW-SG/02 Combat Powersuit; Gilgamesh Pattern
TTH/SIR-001c "Helius" - Pattern Battle Rifle
TTH/TSP-001 “Anhur” - Pattern Combat Swoop Bike
TTH/FDL-001 “Cerastus” - Pattern Force Lance
Thyrsian Solar Glaive

Interactions: Open

The sand dunes had appeared rather ordinary, not that Arash felt inclined to believe that sand would appear different between the normal space and the world of Oblivion. But I can’t pretend I wasn’t expecting a tad more. The young Thyrsian smiled all the same, his eyes burned with excitement to travel across uncharted lands and space. It was the age of discovery once again, a time that Arash had wondered would all be lost to him to explore. Terrors, uncertainty and even physics defying phenomena had been reported of the lands already scouted.

With a nearby storm encroaching the area, Arash had little time to explore ahead before needing to hunker down for safety. Despite his initial bravado when accepting this job to explore, Arash wasn’t idiotic enough to brave storms never before experienced. Slowly Arash walked his speeder across the sand as his helmet scanned the area up ahead. There was no life detected for several kilometers away, but who knew the kind of monsters that roamed the dunes ahead. Who knows even if my scanners can detect them.

His hands eagerly gripped his speeder but Arash resisted the temptation to simply rush out there and explore the area by himself. Tapping his helmet once, he released the hatch and removed his helmet, the young Thyrsian looked out with his unassisted unfiltered amber eyes. A small gust of wind gently fluttered his hair, a slight reminder that the storm was approaching. And what the storm brings none knows, and even fewer equipped to handle whatever it might bring upon them.
​

 

[Aerarii Tithe]

MARKET RESEARCH // VICE CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE
CORUSCANT
H3xle

From his office high above the ecumenopolis, Aerarii Tithe considered the rabble below. It had been a busy few days for the local constabulary as they put down smatterings of riots spurred on by the recently discovered portals to the Netherworld. News of the hypergates had driven fear into the hearts of local collectives, some who believed that the end times were near. The furore had been peacefully suppressed for the night, but the Vice Chancellor suspected it would continue so long as the gateways to the other world remained open.

If he was going to guide the Alliance through this trying time - and make an unimaginable amount of credits doing so - he would need to better understand what he was up against and the opportunities the Netherworld presented.

“Sir, Sergeant Major Girani,” announced his senior chief of staff as they admitted the Alliance veteran into Tithe’s office.

The Vice Chancellor rose from behind his desk and met Vyk in the middle of the with a handshake and half-nod of acknowledgement. “Yes, yes, Sergeant Major, a pleasure - truely. Please, take a seat.” He led the marine to a pair of hoverchairs near a large transparisteel window overlooking the Coruscant skyline.

“Now, they tell me that you’ve been through to the other side - Netherworld, as it were,” Tithe explained. “Tell me Sergeant Major, what did you ascertain during your, ah, sojourn?”

 

[H3xle]

VICE CHANCELLOR'S OFFICE//CORUSCANT
Aerarii Tithe

​

Vyk had returned from the Velusia hypergate and was called directly to the Vice Chancellor's Office. While he was used to seeing the varying heights of Alliance politicians, it was mostly behind closed doors when giving briefs on this mission or that. These orders, however, pulled him in a more public way. In a sense, Vyk understood. This was a crisis that was far beyond the norm. It wasn't marauders, Sith Lords, or crab battles; this was some kind of confluence of two different dimensions. It wasn't something Vyk pretended to understand, he left the mystical mumbo-jumbo to the Jedi and their ilk.

As he approached the office of the Vice Chancellor, a Senate guard finally got the nerve up to stop his advancement. He still wore his armor, though he'd doffed his helmet and held that in his left hand while his right held his rifle in as non-threatening a grip as he could.

"Er, Sergeant Major. The Vice Chancellor is expecting you..." Vyk could tell that this Senate guard had seen combat, was likely a transfer from a combat unit to this detail. It was in the way her spine straightened when he approached and she didn't shrink back. "You can't go in so armed, though. Leave your rifle and side arm here and you can go in."

Vyk chuckled and nodded, silently placing the rifle on the desk beside the guard, then placing his helmet there as well. He removed the sidearm, still in holster, and placed it next to the other two items. He wasn't insulted, this was just the way it was done. Under more normal circumstances he'd have been in uniform, but Vyk hadn't felt like keeping the man waiting while he had one fabricated.

"Thank you, Sergeant Major." Everyone seemed a bit more relaxed, and he couldn't help but smirk at that. He was no threat to anyone in this building so far as he knew. "You may go in, you are being announced."

"Thanks." The salt water over gravel voice formed the single word that was accompanied with a nod. Then Vyk stepped past the guards and through the door held open for him.

“Yes, yes, Sergeant Major, a pleasure - truely. Please, take a seat.”

Vyk nodded in as deferential a style as he could, and walked over to the hoverchair that was offered. He waited for the Vice Chancellor to sit, then sat as well.

“Now, they tell me that you’ve been through to the other side - Netherworld, as it were,” Tithe explained. “Tell me Sergeant Major, what did you ascertain during your, ah, sojourn?”

Vyk reached up and scratched his beard for a moment, looking out at the Coruscant skyline. It was strikingly different than most scenes he got to see.

"We rallied at the portal...thing...on Velusia. Captain Drake and Master Sarratt went first with my squad and I on their heels." He looked over at the Vice Chancellor then, meeting the mans eyes. "The terrain was distinctly different from Velusia, dry and all but barren it seemed. We were approached by beings that were purportedly natives of that land, or at the very least beholden to whom or what ever thinks they own the...Netherworld." He shrugged, not really having what he would consider an appropriate name for the place. "The first one wanted diplomacy, it seemed, while the second seemed more ready for battle. Both were cybernetic creatures, either fully machine or some hybrid of organic and machine. They both mentioned a being they served being called Omni..."

 

[Teica Giraan]

[Location: Somewhere in Oblivion]
[Teica Giraan - Post-death turmoil]
[BYOO]​

"I'm sorry."

The commander heard the deafening escape of the blaster bolt first, the terrifying roars and explosions, and finally-

Silence.

Teica’s head shook, eyes closing in nightmarish remembrance, and once again she felt the heat rushing over her. Explosions shattered her eardrums, Metal cut through her legs, her arms, her body, her-

And then it was over.

She should have been lifeless, lost to the memories of others, and otherwise wiped from existence. In any sane universe, she would have been gone forever, In any rational universe. But she wasn’t. Teica shivered, ghostly eyes flickering in and out, and just bordering off of generating tears. Her hands each gripped the opposite arm, while she clutched them close to her chest.

The former commander took a new form in the Netherworld, the spitting image of herself at the age of thirty-four, just a year before her…

The area surrounding her remained desolate, a haunting desert engulfing her in feelings of loneliness and regret. Occasionally, eerie winds would brush along limited plantlife, and cut across her hair-- now messy and unkempt, though she could easily have warped her appearance to fix that.

It had been days, perhaps, since she truly inhaled a breath of fresh air; days since she could truly feel both pain and happiness alike; days since she had seen another human being. No one else seemed to wander the sands, except for the brief shapes of unknown creatures disappearing in and out of sight. For the first quarter, the relative loneliness seemed to be a gift, a reprieve from the reminders of her mistakes, her wounds. But those feelings soon soured into grief, depression, anger. Loneliness, as she now knew, was the last thing she needed.

Everyone she cared about was gone. And Teica would never see them again. Those killed under her command were... somewhere. Somewhere wandering the dunes, the plains, the shores; seemingly doomed to an eternity of solitude. Those who still lived would know little of her final moments, simply condemned to live without answers.

She would be condemned to live with those answers.

Teica began to form contours in the sand, a single gentle finger gliding through and pushing the refined particles to the sides, seemingly at random-- though the precise movements seemed to suggest otherwise. Lines. Curves. All seemed almost planned out, carefully being dictated to her by a subconscious mind-- if she even had a real mind at that point. With her eyes closed, she continued the movements for another few seconds, before her vision returned, and she gasped in horror.

DIE. The lines now read, cackling her way, laughing, taunting.

The winds soon went quiet.

 

[Ishida Ashina]

EVER VEX'D WITH STORMS | NETHERWORLD | PLAIN OF TERROR
Michael Sardun

Drawing the back of her hand against her sneer, Ishida wiped away the final remnants of spittle. The Netherworld’s welcome had been unkind; scrambling her insides so her stomach was in her mouth and her mouth was at her feet. Her eyes felt like thousands of pounds pressed behind them.

And then all that sand, the tiny, gritty bits of ground up dirt and stone was as hot as it was cold. This place’s temperature sensitivities were entirely unchecked and she could feel its constant breeze against her exposed skin.

Her stomach knotted again, and she swallowed back the bitterness that threatened.

Everything about it was off and uncertain, and she looked up at the towering figure of the Jedi Master –– who spent half his time seeing this forever anyway.

“I don’t understand the purpose of this place.”

 

[Kai Bamarri]

The doppelganger was more than disoriented. He was grieving. For the second time in his short life, he had lost the closest thing he had to family.

But he was not without a purpose here. He had business in the Netherworld, a goal that had driven him to throw himself through the portal, and a drive to keep moving.

He darted from shadow to shadow in the darkened base, avoiding the guards on patrol until he had finished taking the form of one of them. Then, emerging in the open courtyard beneath a false sun, he walked across the tarmac, doing his best to look like he belonged there.

Bernard | Open​

 

[Sssar Taszzn]

Location: SRV-1 Scout & Retrieval Vehicle, near the Plains of Terror
Music

---

Sssar could not believe what he had heard when the reports of the mysterious gates had opened. A new realm of possibilities laid open in, for all Sssar new, a totally different dimension with several doors within the Alliance's sovereign space. With haste he had organized several scientists from Eclipse and four Spaceport Police Droid models for protection against whatever may lay on the other side. Using three, very old, slightly modified enclosed SRV-1 transports the Eclipse Expedition found themselves on the other side of the portal.

As the three transport convoy slowly came to a stop on the sands of the Plain of Terror the Filithar slithered out into open, then inhaled deeply "Thissss issss incredible." he hissed to his group of companions. The police droids took up sentry positions at the four cardinal directions while the scientists from Eclipse began to take samples and pictures of everything they could get their hands on including the sand at the landing zone. Sssar looked up to the sky as he saw it grow dark on the horizon, there was something deeply profound and beautiful about the experience. Here he was in a realm that few had the privilege to tread "Don't let thisss moment be wasssted friendssss. Leave the ssssand where it lay and enjoy the sssight with me." the scientists looked up from their scanners and sample containers for a moment the walked over to stand near the great serpent "Do you feel it?" Sssar asked in a hushed voice while the others looked between one another then to Sssar "Senator?" asked a Rodian man.

Then as he looked out towards the horizon then back to the Senator then up to the sky the scientist began to ponder. Slowly a realization crossed his face and the Rodian looked to some of his peers in which tears began to streak down their faces "In decadessss of war" Sssar began "Where millionssss have been taken. Plaguessss claiming billionssss. Planetssss sssshatttered. There issss peace here, true peace." for how long this would last would yet be determined. Here and now there were no superweapons, vast armies, incessant invasions, conquest. A place devoid of the endless war of realspace and the fear that had laid over the people who lived through it all. Had the Filithar had the biological capability to shed a tear, he would. This was a new beginning. From the perspective of the small team; Paradise.

 

[Kai Bamarri]

Tags: Kal Aaran Tafo Ishida Ashina Michael Sardun + Open

Kai must have done a pretty good job blending in, because no one stopped him. He made it to the main gate and went through unhindered. The guards who would have asked him questions about why he was leaving the base conveniently forgot that he had ever been there in the first place, the doppelganger having consumed their brief short-term memories of his passing.

Outside, sandy dunes stretched out in all directions. A bright sun hung in the sky overhead, but it gave off no warmth, and there was no breeze. The air was so still, at times it felt like there was no atmosphere here at all. He walked for some time, crossing the sands quickly. The sun never moved from its place over his head, and the landscape blurred and blended together visually. But Kai moved purposefully, as though he had a clear sense of direction—or was following a trail.

That was how he found her. An oasis had sprung up in the desert ahead. Lying beside the pool of water was the body of an Anubian.

Kai stood over her, looking down. <Are you Nefretiri?> he asked.

The Anubian slowly raised her head. Beaten and still bleeding from old wounds, her canine tongue panted and licked her dry, cracked lips, but she seemed either unaware of the water next to her or afraid to drink from it.

“Who—” she began, only to break off in wheezing coughs. “What do you want?”

At first, Kai said nothing. He crouched down, then sank into a sitting position, his posture drooping.

“Who are you?” Nefretiri demanded, struggling to rise. “I… can’t see you. But you said my name… you must know me somehow…”

<I was expecting more than this,> he replied. <I came here for revenge, but you’re already broken.>

“Oh.” Nefretiri laughed, a horrible low creaking sound like rusted hinges. “You wanted to settle a score with me, did you? Well, that narrows it down a little. What did I do to you?”

Kai closed his eyes, sharing with her a profound sense of loss, followed by the emergence of a hideously deformed satyr’s looming face. A face Kai hated with every fiber of his being.

Nefretiri blinked in surprise, then smiled. “Messala.” Her expression grew pained, however, and her head lolled against the sand, grains sticking to her parched lips and rimming her eyes.

Kai kicked her with his foot. <I still want revenge.>

Grunting in pain, Nefretiri grinned. “Messala said you were a child.” She sat up. “Don’t you know where you are? If I’m here, it means I’m already dead. What revenge can you have on the dead?”

<You’re not really dead if you’re here,> Kai argued. He looked around, his expression strange. <This isn’t where people are supposed to go when they die. They’re supposed to become one with the Force.> He wasn’t sure why the Netherworld existed or what had created it, but it was unnatural. He could feel it. Perhaps his Bamarri nature made him more sensitive to it than the others, but he didn’t want to stay here any longer than he had to. It was also why he couldn’t accept that this trip into Oblivion may have been pointless.

“I used to be a princess,” Nefretiri said. “Then a queen and a sorceress. The Bryn’adul took all of that away from me. Then that Chaldean woman severed my connection to the Force. But the final blow was when they came for Messala… and that was when they killed me.” Her tone was gloating as she feigned sympathy. “I understand why you’re angry. I’d be frustrated too, if I was cheated out of my vengeance. You must feel like you have no more battles left to fight, hm?”

<They made me believe there was still a chance I could go back,> he said, his gaze distant. <They gave me false hope.>

“Who?”

<The people who say they want to help me. I’ve failed them.>

“It sounds to me like they failed you.”

<No.> Kai stood up. <I haven’t let them help me, not really. Because deep down, I don’t want to be helped.>

He reached out with his mind, methodically cutting into her and draining her of life. Nefretiri made a strange gurgling sound, then crumpled against the sand, what was left of her spiritual body fading back into the Force.

Kai swallowed, then turned and stumbled away, feeling a little better, at least.

 

[Michael Sardun]

Ishida Ashina

Sardun's transition into the Netherworld was far less aggressive.

"My first travel to these worlds were much like yours is right now." It almost sounded comforting. Such was the way of being Sardun's student. It was a school of hard-knocks, interspersed with little flighty moments of empathy. "You will get used to it. I did and you are much like me." Eyes calmly scanned the horizon before his attention was drawn by Ishida's questioning.

"Purpose?"

Beneath the gilded mask Michael couldn't help but smile. Perhaps it was more a tugging curve upwards of amusement. "Death has no purpose besides the one we come up with to feel better of the passing of friends, family and allies, Padawan."

She did not know of course that his opinion was colored in this case. The 'death' of Kismet (perhaps disappearance was a more accurate term) still rang through him during the quieter moments. Maybe that was what powered him on. Maybe a sense of failure, that he couldn't stop it and that he was forced to continue on without her.

"Do you feel that in the air?" His gaze was drawn to a dark point on the horizon. "A storm... hm. I do not think we want to be exposed to its apex once it reaches us."

No structures around them however.

"What do you think, Ishida. Shelter... or would you like to test the storm after all?"

 

[Ishida Ashina]

Still reeling, Ishida sought steadiness in a world that was rooted in the upside-down. Nausea pushed at the pearly gates of her mouth, threatening to spew back out between herself and the venerable Netherworld traveller. He spoke of purpose and its inadequacies, their similarities, and the coming storm.

Fighting through the undulations of the planes, Ishida hiccuped out her response and tried to focus on the same visual Michael Sardun transfized on.

"Test the storm." Always, always test the storm. Shelters would be temporary. And shelters were for those that were not as strong as she was training to be.

 

[Michael Sardun]

Ishida Ashina

He glanced back towards the hiccup.

Amused as feth.

Sometimes Michael forgot how young Ishida was. So stern and fierce. It were these little moments that reminded him... she was still a child in so many ways. It's a shame that this world of theirs did not allow for children to be children. That they were forced to send them out into the front lines and either die or be broken, until they could be reshaped into something more useful.

There was no use for children. Not anymore. Perhaps not ever again.

"Storm it is." Sardun agreed calmly as he took a step forward towards that the rising storm in the distance. "I was in a storm like this once before..." Thoughtful as he tried to stretch his senses out towards it. The ring on his gauntlet flared up in response as it always did. Magnifying... purifying and making them all clean of any sins.

"On Tython. The Sith had corrupted the planet-wide Nexus... and we had to purify it."

Beneath the gilded mask Sardun was skeptical.

"I am uncertain if this is a storm that can be tamed however. Perhaps... it can only be survived. What do you think, Padawan?"