The Law Of Life: Mandalorian Empire Dominion of Ithor HexAA18

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

Location- enroute via speeder to the ithorian jungle surface
Objective- assist with communing with the ithorian priests
Allies- [member="Yasha Mantis"] [member="Tobias Dib"] [member="Loreena Arenais"] [member="Kaine Australis"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

Closer they got the closer the force felt like a river to her. Starting out like a small stream and widening out until it was like a current around her body cool and peaceful yet like it was....watching...then appeared that little yasha as star blinked again to try and clear her vision but yet there she was still before her and even came toward her and grabbed her arm wrapping it around her. Star at first hesitated then relaxed as she let the arm rest comfortably. Eyes glanced as shadows took over feeling the little yasha jump a bit as she spoke in mando'a

Narir va o'er, Ni malyasa'yr cabuor gar «Do not worry, I will protect you »

The best she could, yasha she considered a good friend sister even...for she accepted stardust as a vod even with her able to use the force. Once they had landed upon the surface she could feel something...something judging her as if looking through her like a book yet it was all around her. Stepping off and let little yasha tun as she watched she jumping from tree to tree, she couldn't help a smile as she chuckled and followed

This planet was beautiful, the trees gently swayed with the wind as it breathing...the air was warm yet not humid. Suddenly she was jarred from her thoughts feeling her arm or well least her armor arm being pulled as she looked to see little yasha freaking out and speaking in broken mando'a as she crouched to listen and looked to tobias as she stood and frowned

what does she mean tobias? Who's this...malkivoe?

Glancing up she felt the air suddenly change a bit ad well as the sound of water hitting her ears, seems they were upon a waterfall of some sorts

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Objective: 2!!!


Lori was puzzled. Puzzled about all of this. But maybe it was that outsider's outlook that was the reason that [member="Kaine Australis"] gave her the task to watch over him. Normally she was the perfectly trusting sort. But with some ghostly figure of a younger [member="Yasha Mantis"] moving around and even touching [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] , that made it all the weirder.

And the weirdness got worse. Or rather there was more of it. As soon as the speeder stopped and they all got out, Lori could feel the trees and vines. It was almost as though they were probing her, reaching for her without really moving. It wasn't malicious, but it wasn't innocent curiosity either. And that made her nervous.

She followed along right behind Kaine, noting how he chose not to touch the ground. Why was that? Did he not like dirt? Of course that couldn't possibly be it.

And then she saw the bird [member="Taeli Raaf"] land on him. Was it part of this forest too? Lori looked at the others, [member="Tobias Dib"] and the priests included. They didn't seem to bat an eye at all of this. It was strange.

She turned her attention back to Kaine, keeping an eye on him as she was charged to do. Hopefully everything would be alright soon.

 

[Darth Vulcanus]

Objective: Scream Internally

​

​

The horizon vanished, replaced by the blur of a winding city. The Dathu tried to stifle his screaming but as the air pushed him back and the windows of buildings flashed by, he screeched in momentary terror. Crash. The pod hit something solid and the world outside became a spinning miasma as the pod tumbled through the air. Crash! Another impact that tossed Marvik from wall to wall in a clatter of curses and metal - both of which were swallowed by the metallic scream of the pod as it skidded through whatever hellhole the Dathu had landed in.

Slowly, the screech of metal faded as the pod ground to a halt - leaving Marvik scremaing into a noseless void. When he finally opened his eyes, his scream died off into a squeak and immediately began counting all his limbs. "Osik" he murmured, patting his chest plate, "that's the last time I listen to a Verd about anything." he cursed, pounding on the side of his helmet in a failed attempt to pound a migraine out of his head.

"Oh sure, this whole not flying the can your in thing works out well." he cursed into the comm at Keira, hands fumbling for the door release, "next time I get in a Verd ship, pod or other stupid ideas you have - I'm at least checking that it has a steering wheel."

Finding the release lever, he pulled hard and the door blew from its seams - bouncing across the floor of the structure and crashing hard into the opposite wall. Groaning, Marvik stepped out into an alien world, unlike anything he'd seen before. From the looks of the room, it was some sort of lobby - wide, open and full of twisting tree-esque pillars that bent in the midsection to form a sort of flat surface akin to a desk. The lights seemed to come from nowhere as if the ceiling itself was giving off a glow of its own.

Cracking his neck, Marvik began a slow scan of the area - picking out the sounds of blaster fire somewhere outside in the distance. "No clue where I am, it'd be helpful if-

He stopped dead. In the far corner of the room, huddled in a fetal position was an Ithorian - and towering over him was the form of a green-skinned Trandoshan. Both of them starred wide-eyed at the metal man that just stepped from the pod that'd just came through the roof and Marvik stared right back. Carefully, he let his hand drop towards the holster on the far side of his body from them, eyes focused to the blaster held in the Trandoshans hands.

"So," He called from his outward comms, "this is awkward."

The Trando spun. Marvik dropped to a knee. Two blasters barked at once.

Marvik's heartbeat on the inside of his chest as the smoking lizard stumbled back and slid down the wall behind him, dropping his blaster and groaning in pain. Marvik casually picked himself up from his kneel, keeping his blaster lowered on the Trandoshan as he approached it and the shuttering Ithroian. The lizard bled profusely, crimson streams soaking through his bodysuit.

"That wasn't very nice." Marvik mused, pulling the trigger once more and ending the Trandoshan for good. The Ithorian lashed around on, pushing his back closer to the wall and away from the Dathu.

"Hey! Calm down I just saved you! Stupid alien..."

Marvik cursed to himself, reaching down to grab the alien up by an arm.

Last time I go anywhere with the Verds.

 

[Keira Priest]

Location: Haffa City
Objective: Still babysitting

"Dathu, what's your location?" Upon receiving no answer Keira assumed he was either dead or trying to avoid it, both of which caused their own set of issues in that he wasn't where he needed to be, which meant their entire leg of the mission was already thrown off. It wasn't that she'd been expecting things to go smoothly - this wasn't the first time she'd fought alongside Marvik or his clan - but she at least imagined he knew how to handle orbital drops. Apparently even that much was too gracious, which meant she would have to go hunting and hope he was still alive and well by the time she found him. Which was exactly how she imagined spending her time on Ithor, because it wasn't as if there were more important things to be doing.

With a flick of her eyes, she switched frequencies, speaking directly to [member="Alkor Centaris"], "Vod'ika, don't wait up. I'll keep an eye on Dathu, you go on ahead. We'll keep you updated." Rolling her eyes, she looked to the handful of others that accompanied her. "Rendezvous with the main force. I'll clean up here." As they moved out she turned on her heel, shaking her head and sighing. Sure, her brother got to lead the main force and head the frontal assault, and she was stuck picking up the stragglers and bringing up the rear. Something about that equation didn't seem right to her, especially given that they were attempting to stop an entire city from falling out of orbit.

His location pinged on her HUD nearly a half mile away, and again she sighed, resolving to kick his shebs personally when this was all said and done, or maybe before, depending. Ten minutes later she was approaching his last known location and still hadn't heard any blaster fire, which heralded either something very good or very bad around the next corner. Bracing herself, she rounded the final corner with her rifle raised, scanning the area before it came to rest on the form of Marvik and an Ithorian near the far wall. Lowering the weapon, she crossed the room.

"Nice of you to show up, Dathu. Mind telling me what was more important than making it to the rendezvous point? We're on a limited schedule, here."

[member="Marvik Dathu"]

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Location: The Grove
Objective 2: Commune with the Ithorian Priests
Allies: [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] [member="Tobias Dib"] [member="Loreena Arenais"] [member="Kaine Australis"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

The sound of the grove trickled into the ears of those present before the waterfall could be seen. Kaine Australis’ decision to hover was met with a joyful hum from the Ithorian Priests, his respect of their world steeping through the ground he refused to touch. Closer now to the fount, Yasha’s skin beaded with sweat. Her soul-self continued chittering at Stardust, running between her and Loreena.

At one point, little Yash’ika took a jumping swing at Taeli’s raven-form, whispering in hushed Epicanthix.

“Hush, little one. You’ve not much longer, yet.” The High Priest spoke through his hum, each step on the ground one taken in meditation. “There are many here, and fewer who belong than those present… yet only one shall know the stroke of death today.”

Here, in the balm of the Ithorian wilderness was the threshing floor. A sense of peace masqueraded in conjunction with the floral quiet, the only motion their bodies and the gently churning water. The High Priest continued walking as the two other Priests blocked the Mandalorians’ path. His feet slid into the water, ripples pouring outward from his singular journey.

“Ah yes. The time traveller… these waters know you, Kaine Australis. More a boy then, than the man you became. These vines know you not, but the water… it retains you. You must have sacrificed much for Ithor.” The Ithorian’s mouths worked in tandem, and perhaps then it would become apparent that the Ithorians spoke no Basic or Mando’a. Nothing but Ithorese and the balm of understanding given by the sentient and telepathic flora of the jungle carried cognizance at all.

Eyestalks scanning between those gathered, the High Priest let a sigh out of his twin mouths.

“Release her to the waters. They hide nothing.” Once Yasha’s body was released to the waters on the shore, she would start convulsing wildly, ink as black as a starless night spreading through the entire pool. Streaks of red poured from her back, hair releasing from its’ braided bounds.

The Eye of Solomon clung to the woman’s being, a poisonous and ever present scar. Trees rustled in no wind, vines encroaching on the pool. They latched onto her body, dragging her into the middle of the sacred fount, away from her protectors and loved ones. The water trembled, lashing at the shore.

“The Mark of the Dark Lord.” One of the Priests whispered out of one stereophonic mouth. “Master…”

“Look.” The High Priest chastised, as the sign of the Boar, the sign of the Wolf washed the eye away. "There is grave evil upon this woman's soul. Would you help her fight it? Would you cleanse away the marks upon her soul? Redemption is a privilege, not a right. Should the waters find no such privilege inside her, we will not aide you, nor will we allow you passage home."

A cry broke out, the little one running past the Ithorians and jumping into the water with a splash. She tried to cut at the vines with her spearheads…

… but went right through.

The sun shone, pleasant and inane on the scene of a child staring at her disappearing fingers.

“No! No, no, no, no, no!” Little Yash’ika shrieked, a piercing cry breaking the relative silence. “Toby!! Stardust!!”

 

[Alkor Centaris]

He received the last message from [member="Keira Verd"] and blinked. There was always a change of plans or a complication with her; yet within the Clan, she outranked him so he never spoke up. In retrospect, his voice might benefit her in that regard. Alkor made a point to take her aside about her spitfire tendencies at a later time. For now, the Fireteam was already moving further into the undercity and [member="Nicair Claden"] was waiting for a response.

"Yeah," he sighed at last. "We're ready. Change of plans, though. It's just us taking up the rear. Think you can handle watching their backs?" he gestured ahead, toward the ragtag band of shock troops who were now angling weapons and glowlanterns into the unknown.

It was less of a question than a ready check, because before the other man could answer, Alkor moved to descend the stairwell. He carried a single Verpine Shatterpoint, chosen for both its quiet rounds and smaller stature. They would be in close quarters- an assault rifle or DMR would prove almost useless, especially in the dark.

"Sir, my scans are picking up activity further in," one of the boys called across the comm.

"Can you get a read?" he asked.

"Energy, but nothing thermal. It's... not quite like any reactor readings we've got records on."

"Ithorian tech is very naturalistic," Alkor explained. "That's probably what we're looking for. Lock it down and head that way. Double time, since we're getting a spike in activity."

"Sir."

 

[Nicair Claden]

Alkor didn't wait for a response, and he didn't have to. Nicair gave a nod and jogged up to the shock troopers heading in ahead of the main force. Close quarters with no real way of knowing what was ahead? He couldn't keep himself from smirking underneath his helmet. This, this is what he'd been missing. While his tomahawk was good for melee combat, it didn't have any stabbing capabilities and required a relatively larger swing than his beskad. When heading into the unknown versatility is a must for survival.

The group watched his approach, some stood upright, some didn't. One was just finishing communication with who he assumed to be Alkor. Once the young man was finished he looked to Nicair.

"I'm here to keep you alive as long as I can," His smirk turned into a grin, some of the others in his troupe had more experience than the rest and gave a laugh. The ones that didn't stood a little straighter.

"Do as I say when I say and you'll probably stay breathing longer. Elek? Keep it tight but stay loose enough not to all die at once, make them work for it. Let's begin." All of them gave nods of varying levels of vigor and readied their weapons. Nicair took his place at the front. He may be there to watch their backs, but he wasn't going to keep himself from being the first one in. His chosen weapons suited him better on point, and seeing that he didn't much need the lanterns along with his armor blending in relatively well, he could close the distance in a few seconds. What was the old rule? A man with a knife can close ten feet of distance before someone else can draw and fire. Perhaps for an average person that would be true, but Nicair wasn't an average person.

The group stayed together relatively well, the more experienced warriors didn't group up as much. The fledglings would on occasion step on Nicair's heel. A swift verbal correction would usually be enough to remind them of proper spacing when in close quarters. Some of them needed reminders that he was even there, he stayed low enough that their lamps on occasion wouldn't even catch him in their light. Remembering where allies were at was a requirement when working in a team. It kept them from shooting each other or getting tripped up.

Nicair stifled a groan. He was getting bored. His grip increased on his weapons.

[member="Alkor Centaris"]

 

[Stardust Solus Skirae]

Location - the grove
Objective - assist in communing with the ithorian priests
Allies - [member="Yasha Mantis"] [member="Tobias Dib"] [member="Loreena Arenais"] [member="Kaine Australis"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

The grove, it looked so peaceful and the air was quiet. Stepping forward a bit stardust stopped to take on the area with awe before turning back to follow the group the the water stopping as he rpath was blocked by the priests. Taking a deep breath she looked to little yasha wondering what would become of her...listening ti the priests she frowned a bit as she looked to yasha, stardust prayed it was not her they mentioned who felt the stroke of death or little yasha but...she understood it was one soul separated...they needed to be United...a whole again whohc meant merging...least stardust thought so

Stopping she looked to yasha then kaine as she stepped aside, nervous she was indeed. Shes seen hell and her own evil self but never had she seen stuff like this...truly there was things that even stardust didnt fully understand.

Watching yasha being placed into the water she jumped back a bit watching the ink flow like a flood of darkness within the pool, taking a breath she calmed herself staying where she was as she watched he priest begin their work on yasha. Suddenly her ears were pierced by the screams of a child, paternal instinct kicking in as she swerved around to look at little yasha. Stardust wanted to rush to her yet held herself back as she closed her eyes and looked to Kaine who sat by the shore of the pond

you are not alone, kaine'ika, in this fight

Moving forward stardust sat behind him and to the right a bit, around it it all felt alive like slowly submerging yourself into a cool water that was the force. Once she was relaxed her eyes closed and allowed herself to slip into the force feeling it swirl around her...just the force...no light...no dark, balance maintained as she had practiced in saying

Flowing through all, there is balance

There is no peace without a passion to create
There is no passion without peace to guide
Knowledge stagnates without the strength to act
Power blinds without the serenity to see

There is freedom in life
There is purpose in death

The Force is all things and I am the Force

Words whispered to herself barely able to be heard, a roar almost could be heard around the grove as what formed would appeared to be a decent sized winged lizard bathed in a green light...to another person it could be a small dragon as it growled and roared towards the darkness as it extended its wings and flew to follow the boar right into the fight against the dark mass huddled about

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Objective: 2!!!


Lori watched the little spirit-form of [member="Yasha Mantis"] running around, moving from [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] to herself and back again. It was so strange. But she kept her focus primarily on her charge; [member="Kaine Australis"] .

She listened to the priests, her HUD picking up their voices. Of course Lori figured that it was she was one of the many that didn't belong. She was of course, an outsider and had only tagged along because she was asked to do so. For protection.

The feeling of their surroundings seemed to bypass her armour completely. Was it all alive? Of course it was. But even more so. There was an intelligence there. Or maybe that was just a funny thought inside her head.

The water took Yasha as she was released into it. Strange dark tendrils were seen. Was the helmet causing her to see things that weren't there? Lori unclipped it and took it off, only to acknowledge that what she was seeing was real. It was Force stuff, it had to be. The warning of not being able to go home should those involved fail also hit her. She didn't want to become trapped. She wanted to be able to go back to a free Commenor some day.

Kaine wanted to stay and help. As did Stardust. So she was bound to remain as well. However her knowledge of the Force and how to use it was limited. All that she could do was build a wall around herself and to make a little ball of light. It was nothing like what she was witnessing here. It was nothing like the animal forms taking to the sky to fight like in some fairytale.

Lori's eyes dropped down back to Kaine and the bird ( [member="Taeli Raaf"] ) on his shoulder. She didn't want him touched while he was concentrating, so she picked up the bird by the neck and forced it into her helmet, securing it inside with a well armoured arm. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Alkor Centaris]

They moved toward the lower levels relatively unimpeded, with wisecracks and wit forging stronger bonds between vode as they moved. These were a fresher batch, and though they were Mandalorian and had been blooded, they came from different walks of life and were new to one another. It was a tradition to encourage teamwork between warriors by opening them up to new experiences and people. It was even more important when Alkor stopped to consider his own precarious position.

Someone with virtually no people skills, he was set at the helm of a ragtag group of young Mandos.

He lifted his sidearm every so often and swept the area to his sides and behind him, wary of how dark it was and how warm. Even with an advanced HUD, thermal scans were rendered almost useless under these conditions. It was perfect for an ambush.

Curiously, none came.

It was almost too good to be true as they pushed through to the lower levels, now closer than ever to the source of the energy readings. "What the hell," the scan operator muttered as he ran another precursory sweep of the rooms ahead. Still nothing appeared.

"I get the feeling something isn't right," Alkor stepped out into a bright, austere room in the wake of the others. There was no sign of the saboteurs. Nothing but...

"What in the Manda-?"

An armored warrior let out a sound of surprise as vine tendrils wrapped around him and ripped him from his feet. "Feth," Alkor hissed, "guns up! Now!"

He heard a gurgling sound, and the mercenary threw himself headlong into a diving roll. A spray of greenish liquid splattered across the ground where he had stood, and the white floor wilted into dark yellow, dead grass. "The room's alive! We need to move!"

[member="Nicair Claden"]

 

[Nicair Claden]

Something was happening behind the group. They could all hear it, the younger warriors visibly tensed, backs straight, knees bent, weapons at the ready. While all well and good, they needed to get used to the feeling.

"Sir, does that mean we missed something?" Nicair stood still for a moment, partly because he'd never been called sir before, partly because he was analyzing the possibility they had done what the boy said and missed something that could be killing vod.

"Impossible, if someone had laid an ambush they would have attack us. There was nothing on any scanner?" He received nods in response, all of them confident that they hadn't been the ones to mess up. It didn't take long for Nicair to put the pieces together.

Something wasn't right.

"About face, turn around, do a spin, we're heading back." Taking his position at the fore of the party he retained his crouch, this time working a little farther ahead than before. Something streaked its way across his helmet, he wasn't entirely focused on what it was at first, then it happened again. There were vines coming from the ceiling, vines that hadn't been there before.

"Sir, I think they're-" His words were cut off as one of the vines wrapped itself around his neck and hoisted him up off the floor. They may have been young and fresh, but his boys knew how to spring into action in such a way that they didn't all immediately die.

"Give me a little heat verda!" He shouted as he crouched down even lower to avoid the snapping vines. Whenever they got close he would give them a slash from his beskad or a shot from his hand cannon. But there were too many for that to be effective, and he had the hanging trooper to worry about.

"Clear a perimeter around him!" They did as they were told, letting their wrist mounted flamethrowers loose if they had them or firing into the ceiling if they didn't. Nicair had to blink his eyes once or twice to adjust to the new level of light in the corridor. He was fairly pinned down, near to the floor, it would take him time to crawl back to the group, time the warrior being strangled didn't have. An idea flashed into his mind, whether it was a good one he didn't entirely know.

"You, green helmet! Light me up!" The other man nodded and the two around him drifted their efforts into his zone to appropriately cover him. Nicair gave them signal, bolted forward in a sprint, and was engulfed in flames. He'd designed his armorweave with streaks of metal from Antisoch, it would sting, but it wouldn't be enough to stop him. His timing was impeccable as he transitioned into a slide directly between the other man's legs. He let one of his heels catch the ground and let his momentum carry him into a stand.

He turned to the man whose legs he'd just been between and did two things. The primary was hoping he'd never having to think something like that again, and the other was to place a hand on his shoulder to get his attention, another thing he'd hope he'd never have to do.

"Crouch and stay strong." Upon doing as he was commanded, Nicar was able to jump up and use the man's body as a new point to put pressure on. He used his momentum and simply transitioned it in a different direction, one that would allow him to grab onto the vine and avoid putting any extra weight on the Mandalorian's body. He wrapped his legs around the hanging man and gained a good purchase with his right hand. With his left he used his beskad to cut the vine, easing his leg prisoner down until his feet were on the ground. Whether he was solid or not Nicair didn't much care.

He released his legs, then his hand and dropped down next to him. By this point they had made a solid perimeter, the vines didn't much react to anything other than fire and being cut. He opened up his commlink.

"Alkor, you're seeing this? We've got a perimeter established up ahead. Do you need support?" It wasn't like his ragtag group could do much to support a larger force like Alkor's, but they could sure do their best. The man next to him began to laugh once he had his breath back, it wasn't a usual laugh, Nicair was put slightly on edge.

"Hey," he put a horse collar in on the man to steady him, "you good?" The helmet nodded and the laughter abated enough for speech.

"Yes sir, that was.. ho, that was fun." Nicair sincerely hoped he was being sarcastic or grim. Otherwise the younger man had some experimenting to do.

[member="Alkor Centaris"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Objective 2 - Observing

Observing [member="Yasha Mantis"] [member="Kaine Australis"] [member="Loreena Arenais"] [member="Tobias Dib"] [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"]

Way back on Bastion, beyond the connection to the shadowy raven, a certain Sith Lady had her face in her palm. Why did no one ever listen to her? The raven gave a caw of irritation as it rustled on Kaine's shoulder as he started to summon some sort of spectral boar to fight against the darkness around Yasha... and then a glowing green dragon appeared, conjured by the Twi'lek. What in the bloody buggering hell? Why? The odds of disrupting Yash'a internal balance, of letting her soul connect in a natural way, had skyrocketed because these two took the idea of fighting the tear or stain on the young Mandalor's soul literally. Such direct interference, when Yasha herself needed to do it, would only... Amateurs! Rank amateurs!

She was about to say as much to the Warmaster when the raven was grabbed by another girl, and shoved unceremoniously into her helmet. The raven once again gave a caw of irritation and faded into individual shadows before reforming on the girl's shoulder, buffeting her in the head with its wing for the rudeness.

With another caw it alighted away onto a branch to observe more, its master fuming.

The Warmaster did not understand, nor did it seem the Twi'lek did, that the brighter the light... the darker the shadows that were cast. If they continued as they did, her soul might well reconnect... but she would have absolutely no control over her Force potential. No way to block it out or tame it, left at its mercy because she had not learned how to properly do so. No, the boar and dragon attacking the darkness would only cause harm... they just wouldn't see it yet. And if they succeeded, and shifted Yasha's internal balance too far... it would...

A vision of a potential future came... of the young Mandalor... and her daughter, but older... locked in conflict because they did not understand each other, could not understand each other. Splitting their family, their friends... causing strife and chaos.

 

[Yasha Cadera]

Location: The Grove
Objective 2: Commune with the Ithorian Priests
Allies: [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"] [member="Tobias Dib"] [member="Loreena Arenais"] [member="Kaine Australis"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

The little soul image walked across the water to sit at Kaine’s feet. She nestled in the moss and whimpered.

“Yaim. I vomd da ba yaim.” Home. I want to go home.

A flash of light, and the grove became the bastion of healing Ithor was meant to be. The trees aided in the chorus. Taeli was correct, that the larger the upswell of light, the more the Dark bit back. Chaos could unbalance the progression as slowly a vision of a little girl…

​

… marred by the Netherworld…​

​

… abandoned and cast aside….​

​

disappeared. ​

Could Yasha come to understand the balance in all things, or as Taeli predicted, would she leave her ability to understand her daughter behind? The hymn continued, casting the light and the dark in a shadow play of possible futures, both holy and obscene, until there was nothing left.

​

No vision of a little girl, nor boar, nor dragon. ​

​

Nothing but a young woman dressed in armour floating in a pool.​

The Ithorian Priests continued their song, as gentle vines from the surrounding trees cradled Yasha up and placed her on the shore. She moaned, her limbs twitching. The pond, which had been crystalline and pristine carried the taint and coal-like filter of Dark from Yasha’s soul.

“We will allow the Mandalorian Empire use of our space and access to our atmospheric cities on one condition, that if broken will mean your permanent expulsion.” The Priest who spoke had been previously silent, yet as the High Priest continued to reverberate in song, he rose and clucked toward the group.

“Yasha must never return to Ithor, neither to enter the Atmosphere, nor to touch our soil again. There is much in her soul, which gives us caution, uncertain is her future. Guard her well. Agree to her banishment, and we will give you what you seek. I will take you as far as the speeder back to your ship and no further. Now… leave.”

 

[Loreena Arenais-Valhoun]

Objective: 2!!!!!


The fact that the bird ( [member="Taeli Raaf"] ) disappeared from inside of her helmet was shocking enough. But to by thwapped by it too as it reappeared was quite another. "Hey!! Quit it!" Lori narrowed her eyes at the creature that she now figured wasn't normal. There was something fishy about it. Very fishy...

She observed the scene, keeping her eye on [member="Kaine Australis"] as she was tasked to do. But the whole thing went beyond her understanding. Perhaps her Dad could give her more insight, or maybe even Kaine as she considered him to be an uncle to her than anything else; her replacement Guardian after Jaster's passing.

Her eyes lifted to the Ithor priests, listening and watching their strange ritual of....well, cleansing as far as she could tell.

They were all being told to leave? Was that what she had heard? Lori placed her hand on Kaine's shoulder, perhaps to bring him back to the present or to remind him that she was there. More than likely he'd be the one to carry [member="Yasha Cadera"] to the speeder. "I've got you covered. Let's go..."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Yasha Cadera"] [member="Kaine Australis"] [member="Loreena Arenais"] [member="Stardust Australis Skirae"]

The ritual concluded, the raven sitting on the branch ruffled its feathers as the Warmaster tried to reach out towards it in the Force, to trace the connection back to her. Too weak, too exhausted to reach that far across the galaxy. Still, the attempt did show Taeli the man had some skill. He was foolish and unfamiliar with the limits of his abilities, and he certainly was not used to drawing on the Force for such a length of time and for that amount of power. The familiar disregarded his attempt, giving a soft caw, focusing its eyes on the woman draped in the Warmaster's arms.

Whatever her internal balance was and would be, Yasha could be sensed in the Force now. And she was strong in it...

This was going to change things. With a silent command to the raven, it vanished into individual shadows, disappearing into the ether for now. On Bastion, Taeli slowly paced, thinking about what her familiar had witnessed. The Warmaster being a Force Sensitive, already a suspicion, but now it was confirmed. That opened up potential avenues and Yasha... things would have to be handled delicately. She sighed as she pulled out her datapad. She would still need to inform the Emperor about this development, and she had a feeling she knew how this was going to go.

"My Lord, it is Lady Arcanix. One of my familiars just witnessed something you may find highly intriguing," she said, calling to [member="Darth Carnifex"]. "It involves the young Mandalor... you're going to want to hear this."