First Reply The Galaxy Provides...

[Caedyn Arenais]

Jedi Knight Caedyn Arenais sat alone in the cockpit of The Repertoire, his eyes closed and body motionless as he meditated on the Force. Instinctive Astrogation was an advanced form of space navigation where the pilot relied solely upon the Force for direction and traversal across the many perils of spaceflight, aided not by the most impressive and yet often taken-for-granted technology common in the Galaxy today.

Caedyn had shut down the navigation computer and sent Lexas and Chip off to recharge so that there wouldn't be any distractions. This journey was part of his spiritual pilgrimage, a quest for discovery and answers surrounding the Will of the Force and the Way of the Galaxy. As a Jedi Knight, the age of forty, a veteran of numerous war fronts and a servant of the Force, it wasn't as if Caedyn lacked the experience and knowledge of life in the Galaxy; Just that he now sought to deepen his connection to the ethereal presence that connected every living being and spanned a distance far beyond the borders of known space.

Where Caedyn was headed now, however, he did not know. There was freedom in the uncertainty of his voyage. A sense of endless opportunity while pursuing this form of exploration where his handling of the controls of the Repertoire was guided solely by his connection to the Force. His consciousness was entirely absent from the present, his mind having delved so deeply into his introspective trance, that his piloting the Corvette was entirely subconscious.

A tremor in the Force brought Caedyn's mind back to the present, his eyes snapping open and his hand pulling back on the throttle, bringing the Repertoire out of Hyperspace. The light of stars slowed, ending the blurred lines of space and suddenly revealing the blanketed ocean of darkness dotted with the stars of distant Galaxies back into sight. Before Caedyn's eyes was a new world, the name and coordinates unknown.

What Caedyn would find there, was anyone's guess.

 

[The Battalion]

Wearing: Channeler's Skin, Consort's Ring

Armed With: Heart of Edges

Arrived in: House Io A-Wing

Objective: Scout


After her rebirth as the third Darth Phyre, The Battalion had been taking a more hands on approach to day to day operations, arranging, and often participating in scouting missions. This was vital, not just to continually keep her one skills sharp but to provide the House potential resources.

She had allowed The Dark Side to guide her to this world, a world of red crystal growths and saltwater lakes.

She felt the Force here, and she knew it was a world on a precipice between light and dark.

It was her duty to bring this place to the Dark Side. To consecrate it in the name of the Unholy Spirit.

She had selected a great outcropping of growth, dripping her own white, acidic blood around several growths of crystals, and sat in the middle of them, meditating, chanting in high Sith, trying to turn this location into a focal point for the Darkness...


Caedyn Arenais

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

The Battalion

Whatever planet lay before the cockpit view of the Repertoire, Caedyn could feel the presence of the Force in complete balance. Ashla and Bogan, the Bendu that bound them to the great glowing orb directly ahead. With both hands on the controls, Caedyn once more drove the throttle forward, this time sending the Repertoire into full thrust for the planet's orbit. Soon descending into the atmosphere.

The vessel's sensors remained inactive and Caedyn piloted the ship while reaching out with his emotions to the Force for further guidance. He could feel the ebb and flow of the Force encompassing the corporeal body of land and air, yet knew nothing of the civilization or natural world that he would soon meet.

Something caught his attention, a sensation of innate power that coincided with the Bogan, yet tipped the balance. Whatever the source, it struck him as unusual and foreign in the otherwise natural cycle of energies he had sensed just prior. The change was sudden, and Caedyn could not help but suspect this was no mere coincidence of timing. Turning the Repertoire ever slightly on its trajectory, the vessel skirted through the clouds and broke the cover of the skies, diving well into view of the landscape below.

Closing his eyes yet again, Caedyn opened himself up to the Force in his complete capacity, hiding not his presence. There was life nearby, sentient, intelligent and capable. He could sense the budding darkness, not in this person but in the way their influence had started to pervert the natural scale of balance. His brows furrowed and a sigh escaped through pursed lips, he opened his eyes and knew that a confrontation was about to take place. In what manner, whether civil or otherwise, would be up to whoever was down there.

The Repertoire circled around, passing overhead of the grove in which a figure could be seen from the cockpit. They were crouched, or huddled low to the ground, difficult to make out from the speed and angle of the ship, but Caedyn's suspicions were confirmed nonetheless, leaving the Jedi Knight to guide the Corvette down toward the outskirts of the clearing, where the sight of crystalized rock formations could be seen giving off a vibrant red glow in reflection of the Repertoire's lights.

Upon landing, Caedyn proceeded to disembark. Wearing the tell-all signs of a Force User, his Jedi Tunic. Staff in hand, his lightsaber swinging from his belt, he walked in pace down and out into the open air, his eyes sought to land upon the individual responsible for the manifestation of power.

 

[The Battalion]

Darth Phyre's flesh shuddered in a hidious manner as she meditated, perverting the crystals with her hate and rage, her magical ritual slowly amplifying the effects she had as she changed in High Sith...and then she felt a gated disruption. A wielder of the Light Side.

Darth Phyre smiled as she ceased the ritual, still retaining her new host's love of bloody Lightsaber combat.

The Sith Sorceress, Dark Lady of Obsession floated off the ground with the Force and turned in mid air, flying slowly to away from the growths of crystal to meet this new presence. She remained floating a few inches off the ground as she finally encountered him, her arms folded, her white and black catsuit a dead give away as to her allegiances.

"Ah..." she hissed, her eyes pupil-less orbs of a slick, rotting yellow color.

"A Jedi comes to shackle yet another world to peace and harmony. The Dark Side alerted me to this place just in time! We can't very well have you robbing this world of its true destiny..." Phyre said, taking a slight bow even as she floated, her flesh still rippling and bubbling on her face every now and again, momentarily deforming her stolen exotic features.

"I am Darth Phyre, Matriarch of the Cult of The Brain Demon since the Gulag Era. And I shall bring this world to the embrace of the Unholy Spirit...regardless of your objections. What say you?" she asked, not counting any real distinction between herself and the previous Darth Phyre her wife had eventually murdered. In her mind, if she bore the face, the name, and the act, there was essentially no distinctions between her or the Phyre that had taken over The Amalgam. Thus, it didn't matter how many times a Darth Phyre was killed. There must always be a Darth Phyre.

Caedyn Arenais

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"A Jedi comes to shackle yet another world to peace and harmony. The Dark Side alerted me to this place just in time! We can't very well have you robbing this world of its true destiny...".

Caedyn's head lifted, pausing at height for but a brief moment as he pondered the words of the Woman standing not so distant from him. His hands both held the Staff at centre mass and he touched the pommel down to the soil between his feet, his shoulders falling with his gaze as he released a slow drawn out exhale.

"You appear to have my intentions mistaken, Darth Phyre" The Jedi Knight replied, speaking up so that she could hear him, yet his tone of voice came across in a much less confrontational manner than she seemed to commit; "This World in its natural state can care for itself plenty without our intervention" He suggested, his left hand leaving the staff and motioning to the woman suggestively. He was speaking for both of them.

"Your name and title are familiar, though I cannot place it" He added, speaking of her introduction. The title of Darth was of Sith origin, yet he was certain he had heard of a Phyre in the past, somewhere. "What attracted me to this place however was the exertion of your influence upon this planet's natural state. I would much prefer that neither of us intercedes where the Force would otherwise allow it to flourish" He explained, his desire to see the world free of foreign influence no matter what their alignment in the Force suggested.

"To what end are you seeking to manipulate the nature of this place, may I ask?" He questioned, remaining in his position and not making any moves nor suggesting inciting a confrontation with her. First, he wished to understand what drove her, and then if she provoked him, Caedyn would respond in kind. Only if she provoked him.

The Battalion

 

[The Battalion]

"Ah, you at least know of me. Curious...too few Jedi of this era remember the Cult of the Brain Demon other than our more recent actions. You should have seen us during the Gulag Era." Phyre replied.

"A world is meant for cultivation. To one end or another. This world could care for itself, yes, but how would it be improved without The Dark Side?" Phyre asked. "Spreading its strength to such a world makes it better."

Phyre folded her arms.

"I seek to make this world a locus for The Dark Side's influence. It will become perfected. A place that will cleanse the weakness in those who settle it."

She floated up, gesturing to a cloud as it crackled with lightning.

"That's The Cult of The Brain Demon's actual mission in the end. We are divorced from the need for empires and empresses. The Dark Side can gain nothing more from such systems of governance. They are a relic, senselessly pursued by such Sith as Empyrean who cannot imagine a society where they cannot call all the shots from the Top-Down. We seek to make society, the Galaxy, better, through the Dark Side from the Bottom-Up." Phyre explained to Caedyn Arenais

"My influence will make it beautiful."

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn Arenais was less familiar with the apparent Cult than he was with her title itself. In fact, the Gulag Plague was an era before his time and so there was much that he had not witnessed in those years whereas his Father may have been far more knowledgeable on such groups, especially where Force Users were concerned.

"Your influence over this planet will pervert the very nature that is the Will of the Force. If this World was to be embellished with the presence of the Darkside, then it would have come of natural causes, where you are instead forcing your will upon it" Caedyn informed The Battalion , voicing his disapproval and displeasure with her actions and intent.

"Would your influence not be better suited to a planet such as Dathomir? Where the Darkside is already present in strength" Caedyn suggested. The Witches of Dathomir had been known to make use of their connection to the planet and the dark secrets that it held within the many ruins of ancient civilizations and cultures. Such a place would have been perfect for one such as Phyrus.

"I would ask that you choose somewhere else to practice this ritual, so that the natural cycle of life may continue on its course as preordained by the Will of the Force" Caedyn again suggested, not too much asking but informing her. He did not wish for their meeting to turn into a confrontation, yet he could not allow this practice to continue.

Serving the Force for the Jedi was not just about protecting the Sentient lives of the Galaxy. Natural life was the very essence of the Force wherein it connected all living beings, intelligent and otherwise. Oxygen was born of natural flora, and just as civilization breathed the air, so too did the Force breathe through life itself.

 

[The Battalion]

"I don't answer to the will of The Force." Phyre spoke. "I go where The Dark Side must be spread. A planet already blessed with the Dark Side doesn't need my influence. It's the ones that aren't blessed that do. Whether this inconveniences the Force's Will makes no difference to me."

She floated back down to the earth.

"You wish to stop me? Quaint. I have a better idea. You are very ugly to the likes of me. Your soul I mean. So resistant to the saving power of The Bogan. A poisoned and cursed existence is what you suffer. It always pains us Cultists to see such things. If you think it so evil, then I challenge you to bask in the power these crystals emit thanks to me. I challenge you to take in the Darkness."

She then smiled faintly. "Or we could do what us types usually do when we come to an impasse. You wouldn't be the first this week, certainly."

Her hand hovered around her Lightsaber. The Dark coiled within her as she prepared for his response, a terrible, rotting aura gathering strength, toxic and perverse and cloying, like grease against skin...


Caedyn Arenais

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

"Once again you are mistaken..." Caedyn informed The Battalion as his right hand left the Staff, reaching out in front of him and fingers unfurling so that his palm would face skyward. From within the centre of his palm, a spark would flare as the presence of bogan flooded him. The Darkside of the Force connected with Caedyn, yet did not change his presence but rather synchronized with it, and he maintained full control over the power that he wielded, Force Lightning being exerted from his very hand in a small display of his ability.

"The Bogan is intimately known to me. As is the Ashla and the Bendu. I was trained by the Je'daii Order prior to joining the Jedi. I have been taught to respect the Force, not just one aspect of it" The light dissipated from his hand as Caedyn relinquished control over the Force, the ethereal nature of energy around him once again returning to its placid state.

"Like it or not, we are all beholden to the Will of the Force. The evidence is in every consequence that comes of your actions, every struggle and every being that passes you in the street. This Galaxy moves upon its every whim" Caedyn returned his hand to the Staff, finally lifting the pommel from the soil around his feet and moving to close the distance between them, the Jedi Knight walking with a calm and almost careless demeanour.

"You should know that I am an experienced combatant, though I would prefer we resolve this amicably" The Jedi replied at the suggestion of a fight between them; "I would not take enjoyment in the hostility, however, if that is what you wish then so shall it be" Caedyn concluded. He stopped walking just shy of the striking distance between them, his staff now in his right hand held horizontally at his side.

 

[The Battalion]

"A practitioner of the Muddy side of the Force, eh?" Phyre noted at his display. "But you do not allow the Bogan to guide your every step...and I don't fear the Force Adept who gives their soul to so many sides of the Force. There's a good reason the Galaxy doesn't tremble at your Order's name any longer, while there are over a hundred reasons to tremble at the name of mine."

She smiled at his proclamation that all were beholden to the Will of The Force.

"So?" she replied. "Will's are made to be defied. To ignore. The majority of people obey it only because they don't accept they should defy it. Subvert it. Mock it. I certainly never gained anything good out of it when I obeyed it. And I wouldn't gain anything I'd actually want by following it now. Peace? Fulfillment? Harmony? Hollow. Shallow, even if they aren't lies. Unrewarding. Fighting just to end up in a realm where you are even more of a slave in death than you were even in life. The Bogan favors no such man as you, despite your wielding of it. No wonder you're still ugly."

The Red blade hissed to life, erupting from the hilt.

"Going on four centuries Jedi, and there's never been a meeting yet between one of you and one of me that was resolved amicably."

She lunged, elegant, and swift, looking to damage the staff rather than engage him immediately, her ghost swift slicing motion for the tip of the staff revealed her Makashi Discipline. Her weapon was charged with the very Power of the Darkness. It was a probing attack. One she didn't expect to succeed, but would be useful for studying how he responded.


Caedyn Arenais

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

As Darth Phyre lunged forward and sought to deliver a swift strike at head height, Caedyn Arenais quickly stepped backwards, his boots leaving the ground without a sound and landing just the same in one fluid motion, his right hand lowering the staff and his back arching to allow The Battalion 's Lightsaber to sweep through the air, inches away from his face yet missing all the same. It was a simple, yet effortless evasion that would be followed by several slower paces as he studied his opponent's lightsaber form and expected a follow-up attack.

Maskashi was a known style of combat to both the Jedi and the Sith alike, an effective sabre form against one-on-one confrontations. She appeared confident in her ability to match, if not beat Caedyn Arenais in the starting duel. The Jedi however focused on keeping himself calm, his mind on the present and his emotions reaching out to the Force for guidance.

"The Galaxy does not tremble at the name of the Jedi Order because we do not seek to incite fear and oppression" Caedyn commented on Phyre's initial refute, still not aware of the history behind her Cult yet none of which would aid her in their duel. The Jedi exhaled slowly, his breathing slowly paced for the time being, the presence of the Force swelling around him as he maintained as much strength and stamina as he could in the early stage of the fight.

"To what end, would this world's conversion serve your needs? What is your purpose?" He asked further, watching Darth Phyre closely. While she was seeking to gauge his presence in the battle, Caedyn was seeking to better understand her reason for being. Her objective and perception of the Force. Defying the Will of the Force was the polar opposite of Caedyn's direction in life, and he was interested to know more as to what she might achieve from the subjugation of the natural world, bathed in the Darkside of the Force.

It would be easily telling that Caedyn was not as committed to the fight as Phyre might be. He kept himself reserved and moved only when required to in order to keep his composure and remain standing as long as possible. He was in no rush and could maintain the fight for a considerable time if required.

 

[The Battalion]

"Not Jedi. Je'daii..." Phyre clarified. "People tremble at the name Jedi all the live-long day. But Je'daii?"

Phyre snorted. "The last time that fething Order made a difference was when her successor Orders tore it apart. I have nothing to fear from a Philosophy that's proven itself wanting at that level."

She grinned at him, the Dark Side fluctuations of this world that she had created making her flesh on her face bubble and shudder disgustingly, and effect that traveled down her whole body.

"Not my needs. The Dark Side's needs." Phyre further corrected in exasperation. "This worlds crystals..."

A hand covered by skin tight enchanted black fabric pointed to the growths of hundreds of crystals.

"Natural focuses for Power. This place..." Phyre said. "Will become a temple to the transformative nature of the Bogan. It will shelter and welcome those who have reached the end point of any remaining satisfaction that can be had following the light. When this planet is fully altered, they shall be able to hear it's words far better, for the planet shall act as a natural tuning fork, vibrating the Dark Side out across the space this world occupies."

She glanced around.

"Definitely not the proper place to build temples though. No. Too stuffy. Too formal. In order to worship the Dark Side here, it must be done out in the open, for the world itself shall be the temple."

She circled him, reaching into the depths of the Dark Side, she twisted the lines of the Force around her invisibly, save for the disgusting, vomit-inducing moments the flesh on her entire body would shudder hidiously for a split second as it metabolized the Dark Side. The mass of evil minds within her, including The Battalion herself, yearning to corrupt or destroy him as they collectively searched the Dark Side for the answer that would allow them to consume the soul of Caedyn Arenais .

"That's the thing your Order never understood about us during the Plague. All they ever pay attention to is the aftermath of my Cult's handiwork on a city or village. They never understood The Cult is a corrective Force, trimming the garden of the Galaxy, separating wheat from chaff, through ritual slaughter, guiding even the common, Non-Force user who seeks us out into a better life through worship of the Dark Side. We save those souls who want saving. People who have been betrayed one time too many by the Light and it's servants." Phyre elaborated further, eyes closed, now sinking very deep into the Dark Side by how much her flesh was now shuddering, like an egg as it starts to cook in oil and turn white.

"The Unholy Spirit takes them, and their secrets, and whispers her own in exchange for devotion. That's all our slaughters really are. Taxes. The price to maintain our strength. Our devotion to making the Galaxy a better place on a net level." Phyre spoke, flesh occasionally warping on her face so badly it would pull away from the Skeleton, occasionally revealing glimpses of the sickeningly slick, unnaturally pearly white skull through the jaw or eye sockets.

Now The Dark Side whispered.

She lunged, a swift strike aided by enhanced speed, guiding her to his side in an instant, the Dark Side guiding her blade in a sweeping upward curving strike that threatened to cleave through his arm holding the staff, the Darkness seeking the punishment and death of this falsehood who would wield it's power without swearing himself to it totally. Ugly! Ugly!

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

The ascending sweep of The Battalion 's Lightsaber would be parried aside by the lower half of Caedyn's Staff as he struck out against the impending blow and forced Phyre's advance to be sent sideways while the Jedi stepped aside in the opposite direction once more, avoiding the strike and placing himself to the lefthand side of his assailant. "A better Galaxy through the corruption of the natural cycle of life," he remarked with disapproval, finding only contradiction and heresy in her words; "There is no limit to which the Force is capable, yet you serve to pervert the balance of natural order, bringing only deterrence to the potential this world is capable of. You are not improving the Galaxy, you are shaping it to your own design, effectively playing God" he accused the woman before him.

She would soon learn that his Staff held special traits that set it apart from any commonly made blunt-force weapon, crafted out of Turadium and Cortosis, both elements of which had been bathed and enhanced through Caedyn's own presence in the Light of the Force, the art of Alkahest had redefined his choice of aid in conflict. Despite its weight, Caedyn handled it with an ease that would come only to his personal use as the Staff was directly attuned to him, and its capacity for powerful strikes held a kinetic and ethereal force when required.

The influence of the Dark Side of the Force was unmistakably present in Darth Phyre, her very skin appearing toxic as the channels of energy coursed through her. Caedyn had seen many forms of affliction such as this, having encountered many of the Sith on the war front in the past. He was not biased towards their alignment in the Force, but where their actions disputed the very Will of the Force and the natural cycle of life, he held no tolerance.

As his left hand released the staff into his right, Caedyn extended his arm towards Darth Phyre with fingers outstretched. The Light of the Force surged around the Jedi Knight, enveloping him in great power whilst he focused all his strength into summoning the Force down through his left arm to project a great and blinding light from his palm. Force Light flooded the clearing from his hand, unleashed across all within sight, including the Battalion who stood most nearby. It was not his intention to take her life, but to remove her power from harming this world.

 

[The Battalion]

Phyre snarled as her attack was successfully turned aside.

"And the Jedi don't try to shape the Galaxy to their design? What do you call propping up Republic after Republic, Alliance after Alliance, extending them an undeserved authority and reach and life span, when the weight of their own incompetence, their own corruption, would have naturally led to their deserved collapse before the passage of even two or three decades on their own?" Phyre asked, feeling the Light Build in him and scowling at his hidiously ugly nature. He was the aberration, not her. The Dark Side was beautiful. Beautiful!

"If Republics, Alliances were genuinely good for this Galaxy the Clone Wars would never have happened. Palpatine's plans would never have gotten off the ground, because they genuinely couldn't have if the system actually worked. And the Dark Side would not have sent the Gulag Plague to finally free the rest of us from the death-grip of the Jedi's influence, when no army, or scheming or Sith of any kind could be effective any longer at stopping them from turning the Galaxy into a stagnant Train-Wreck, run forever by incompetent fools." She snarled, building up the Darkness in herself.

The Light came out hated, and blinding to Phyre. Shrill, pig like metallic squealing erupted from her as her flesh, and the suit, started to smoke and burn, and catch fire. Parts of her face and torso burst into flames and cooked off the body, falling to the ground in wet greasy splotches that burned into the ground they fell in.

But Phyre's extreme discipline began to at last take hold, the aid of countless evil minds empowering the whole, flesh on her body shuddering as she drew on the infinite well that was the Dark Side of The Force, placing absolute, unquestioning faith in its beauty and wisdom, and listened as it commanded her to go to her knees after she was driven backward by the Light.

Phyre did, and as the Light continued to burn her flesh, making part of her Jaw fall off and catch fire as she hit the ground, she drew more on that well, bolstered by what corruption she had already inflicted on the planet, and the power of the darkness itself, invisibly began to batter back the Light of Caedyn Arenais .

THE DARKNESS IS INFINITE. WITHIN AND WITHOUT. EVERLASTING. NO MATTER THE LIGHT, THERE IS A SHADOW SOMEWHERE. The Darkness proclaimed in the poisoned well of Phyre's flesh.

She stretched out her hand, flesh shuddering as the darkness and the light struggled in the air around him. Her flesh no longer sizzled, her eyes a completely rotting looking sulphur color as she sank into her holy calling, to free this world of his tyranny upon it.

The world's clouds crackled with red lightning, as Phyre focused on him, seeking to Drain the Force from his body. She wanted his soul, where it would be digested in her spiritual stomach the way the soul of Laertia's mother had been if she had her way.

She sank into, coiled and weaved the Dark Side around her, it pulsed from her body as she sought to drink whatever she could from Caedyn, if at all possible. This was not about debating Philosophy. This was about demonstrating why a pure practitioner of the Bogan, who devoted themselves sincerely to its worship, who submitted to its guidance (In this sense, and this alone, The Cult bore a disturbing resemblance to the Jedi Order) was superior to any one Force User who divided their loyalty.

Phyre was showing, not telling, the fundamental difference.

"I do not fear the Je'daii that practices ten thousand different disciplines once a day. I respect the Force User who practices one discipline, one philosophy, ten thousand times a day." Phyre hissed, supreme focus devoted to breaching his spiritual barrier with her pure devotion and strength in the Dark Side.

"Even your common clone wars Jedi knew this truth, young one...young, ugly one..."

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

The physical harm that the Light of the Force wrought upon The Battalion was not what Caedyn had anticipated in his unveiling of such a power, but the light was to diminish the presence of the Darkside within and around her. Instead, her body wildly reacted to the energy that Caedyn had released and Darth Phyre began to burn, boil and convulse as if she were the very Dark Side of the Force itself. Instinctively, Caedyn pulled back at the sight of the bodily harm, and instead recalled the Light, ceasing its effect upon her.

The damage had already been inflicted, however, and Phyre soon withdrew into the Bogan with all her ability and strength. She looked to the influence she had placed upon their environment, the corruption of the natural world for added power, and soon turned her focus upon sapping the Jedi of all of his strength.

In a bid to protect himself, Caedyn released his staff and instead brought both hands out in front of him, his eyes closing and brows furrowing tightly as he sought to project an external barrier using Tutaminis. The visible presence of the Dark Side being focused directly into Caedyn Arenais would meet his open palms and emit a glow of light in response, halting the Death Field as the Jedi Knight tried to keep it at bay.

"All people are flawed in their sentience, they make mistakes, an unavoidable result of free will...." Caedyn explained, speaking through gritted teeth as he had to summon everything he had in order to keep himself protected against Darth Phyre's Force Drain; "The Senate and the Jedi Order were two separate entities, and the Jedi did not enable the Emperor to succeed. They failed to discover him in their complacency" he argued, his right foot pushing through the soil to take a step forward, seeking to drive the darkness back.

Trained in the practice of the Bogan, Caedyn could feel the strength being sapped from the natural world around them in order to amplify Darth Phyre's power. The energy was palpable, and using the same method, Caedyn took a calculated risk by extending his left hand away from the Darksider and instead to the ground nearby where he would also summon strength through the influence of the Bogan, using himself as a conduit for revitalization. The power of the Darkside would fuel his strength and ability to defend himself from the power of the rogue Sith, yet it also forced him to battle with his own emotions, as the Bendu within him needed to remain strong enough to deter the darkness from taking over completely.

"The Force is my ally, not merely one aspect of it" He reminded Darth Phyre, his feet briefly skidding through the dirt as she sought to drive him back with her control over the Darkside. "My resolve will not be broken!" he exclaimed as his left hand once more returned to his front and he sent a concussive telekinetic wall of energy back against her, attempting to break the stalemate in their show of power and control.

 

[The Battalion]

"Of course people make mistakes..." Phyre sneered. "It's why my Cult tends not to kill underlings who make them. "And the Senate and the Jedi Order may very well be two separate entities in theory. But they were not in practice."

She smiled as he dropped the staff, drawing on the same power she did. But he did not accept what she told him, that his lack of faithfulness to the Dark Side would prevent him from gaining the full benefits of what he was attempting, and worse, now he was having to fight his own emotions instead of accepting them to fuel his power.

Phyre flowed with and actively amplified the Power of the Dark Side, making her a super conducting loop in the Force that recycled the corruption she had already inflicted and amplified it further, spreading it out around Caedyn Arenais in the Force a blanket of hate and suffering.

A potent Sith does not look at every enemy as an enemy. They instead see them as allies, whether that know it or not. In that sense, The Jedi Order was Palpatine's greatest ally in the Clone Wars.

He hands rested to her sides, at The Dark Side's command, and she obeyed faithfully, commanded by it even as she commanded it to attack Caedyn's emotions, trying to seep into them subtly, without his notice, so he hopefully wouldn't notice any darker twistings of his soul.

The Dark Side permitted his insult to it just to enlighten him. As he drew from the power of the Bogan, she seeped more corruption into the ground. The spirit of the world steeped further into the Darkness as they both drew on the Dark Side now. She attempted to seep it into his very attempt to draw from it, hoping to overload it.

"The Force is your ally..." Phyre sneered as he sent out a massive telekinetic wave. She could taste his eagerness to prove his three-sided philosophy to the purity of her dedication. But he was far from her first Gray Force User. And he sure as hell wasn't her first Je'daii.

The Dark Side had grown even stronger and she drew it around her in a protective bubble as the wave slammed into her, but she was only staggered back slightly, empowered by the conducting loop.

"But it is my servant." she hissed, reaching into and tugging at his life with even greater ferocity.

And the Dark Side is BOTH our God. Now fall on your knees and beg it's grace. Let it make you beautiful and I shall spare you. she hissed into his mind. It's not too late. We can both make this world a glorious house of worship.

 

[Caedyn Arenais]

Caedyn Arenais continued to hold his own, dissuaded none by the almost prophetic words of a zealot. prophetic if he had believed as she did. He did not yet speak, focusing his mind and again closing his eyes as he buried deep into his pool of concentration and strength. Whilst drawing power from the planet and the presence of the Darkside, Caedyn used himself as a conduit of the light, cleansing the energy that was taken in with his left hand and turning it back upon The Battalion with his right hand outstretched in her direction.

Having seen how Force Light had so violently affected Darth Phyre, Caedyn chose not to use such power despite it being a very imposing and successful counter-weight to the dark side. Instead, he sought to target the mind, her cognitive self rather than attacking her physically. For the Jedi, if he could limit the amount of pain wrought against her and instead turn her mind to see the clarity that only the light could return to the Sith, Caedyn Arenais would do so.

With his right hand outstretched towards the woman, Caedyn sought to cleanse her mind of the influence of the Dark Side of the Force. Unlike himself, she had not maintained a balance in the Force but rather given herself entirely to the darkness and allowed it to poison and corrupt her ambitions, emotions and outlook on life. It wouldn't diminish the exertion of her power, but if Caedyn could reach her on a personal level then perhaps there was a chance that she might cease the corruption of the world around her.

"We cannot change what happened in the past, but we can still affect the course of events that lay ahead of us. However wronged you may feel, or what may have gone wrong, you have a far greater chance of improving life in the Galaxy by working with others, not against them" Caedyn tried to convince Darth Phyre, seeking to undo the 'us against them' mentality and instead encouraging the possibility of cooperation between her and those she believed to have wronged her.