Faction The Red War: Rise! Immortal Dead | CIS

[Vytal Noctura]

THE RED WAR: HEALERS OF THE NEW ORDER
ACT I, SOLANACEAE SCENE I
RISE! IMMORTAL DEAD
DENTAAL​

"Approaching coordinates now."

"Take us in."

The Nightmother Vytal Noctura stood to one side as she observed the proceedings within The Bastion's command. After reports of 'unusual' activity on Dentaal it seemed appropriate to have the newly refitted vessel take the lead. It hadn't been so much as what was said, but the uncertainty in which it had been said that left the Witch expecting the worst. Which was one of the chief purposes of The Bastion -- handling the worst case scenario.

Once they returned to normal space, sensors went straight to work scanning the orbit of world below.

"Picking up a transmission on the emergency channel from Calif City," an Officer announced. "Patching it through."

A moment of static preceded the carefully paced and precisely leveled tone of an automated system. "--vessels are advised not to approach Dantaal. Message repeats: Planetary quarantine is in effect--"

"Ma'am-- Ah," a junior Officer stumbled over their own tongue with the raised brow over Vytal's green eyes turned in his direction. "I mean, Nightmother Noctura, Nether Watch reports elevated spiritual energy surrounding the Nethergate below. They recommend caution."

Nether Watch was the command tasked with ensuring the wards, seals, and pathways into and out of the Nethergate on-board were intact and functional. They also monitored for unusual activity just beyond the Gateway or anything that might involve the Nether in the surrounding region of space. If they had picked up unusual readings... Then the threat may be precisely why The Bastion had been summoned to this place. A great power must be disrupting the natural order on the planet below.

"Have Response Teams One through Eight geared up and launched in thirty minutes. If you are able to raise anyone below, or determine the source of the disturbance relay it to me at once." The Pale Witch's attention turned toward The Bastion's commander. With a slight nod of agreement from the one left in charge of monitoring the region, Vytal turned toward the lift. This was going to be one mission she did not remain behind while others gained experience through exposure. They were too close to Atrisia, and the message was all too familiar.

Word was sent to various parties aboard The Bastion that Response Teams would be mobilized to investigate a disturbance on Dantaal below with the Nightmother leading the ground forces. Hazmat gear was ordered placed on all descending ships in the event the threat was identified as biological in nature. The Confederacy may have developed a vaccine against Blackwing, but that did not mean they could take such a threat for granted if it had been dormant until now.

Two camps of three support squadrons were set up on the outskirts of the city. The other craft squadrons were sent to scout the surrounding region and determine the scope of the threat.

The Nightmother led one of those camps before the city with people quickly moving to establish a perimeter and connect various pieces of equipment to monitor the situation. The Pale Witch, however, had left the setup to others as her attention had been immediately drawn to the skyline of the silent city. No hover cars. No bustle of the living, sounds of blaster fire, or even boisterous advertisements. Few lights could even be seen from where she'd stationed herself for a moment. Why the very air felt...wrong. Even the spirits seemed restless; they could not even bring themselves to utter a cryptic word of advice.

This was not like Atrisia. This was worse.

"No groups smaller than three," Vytal announced as she returned to those gathered in camp. "We will slowly sweep toward the city center from this position. Identify survivors. Uncover any detail no matter how small about what happened and its cause. Solanaceae," she called the Witches to attention, "the spirits may not rise to do battle here. Be on your guard." Fortunately not all of their power came from returning the dead to life or manifesting a spirit into their world. It was, however, a grave threat... a darkness lay over this world. One they would need to undo lest Dentaal fall back into the lifeless state it had once suffered.

Tag: Shalita Verd | Ashelia Solidor | Var Talon | Open to CIS, KO, Solanaceae​

 

[Ashelia Solidor]

F O C U S | Var Talon , Shalita Verd , Vytal Noctura
G E A R | Armor, spear, pistol, chain.
T H E M E | Here.
V O I C E | Here.​

Something was wrong. The elzeri could feel it in her bones, they ached but not how they did when she visited Korriban half a century, in that occasion, Ashelia could feel her entire body in actual pain, but now, it seemed as if they grinding against one another and inflicting slighter amounts of pain through her entire body, warning the female to run as fast as she could. Her master, the Astrals watched over his soul, called that her seventh sense, a new way of her entire body for telling her when something had a familiar stench well-suited for the foulest things the galaxy had to offer. Eddard, or as he liked to be called, Ned, taught her everything she knew regarding the Atar, how to wielded, how to feel it, its secrets and its prices, for Master Ned, despite being a formidable warlock, enjoyed saying that ‘all magick came with a price’, and when he was long gone, having passed through the Gates of Eternity towards the Mansions of the Astrals to be reunited with the Atar, Ashelia finally understood what he meant.

The alarm was raised. Even before it began to blaster her sensitive long ears Ashelia knew it was coming, and despite having her uncross her legs and stand up, the elzeri didn’t felt like obeying its calling, she wanted to do what her body told her to, and were it not for the cold breath of fate whispering on the back of her neck, she would have done it. Before leaving the room, she kneeled on the floor of her quarters inside the ship, the left hand of her body flowed throughout of pure instinct already making the invisible nine marks that represented the nine blessings of her people, and a special one for the patron goddess of her House, the Death Seraph itself, done in the fluid musical language of the elzeri.
“<O mighty Harpy that evokes the Lords of Aer to be humble, I beg thy mercifulness to act on my behalf today as it did in all my seasons. Bless me with thy courage in all my actions, guide my hand to drive out all that stand in my way and fill thine halls with their souls for thy pleasure to torment through all eternity for All Things must Die.>”

She felt no pleasure in saying those words, nor she should. Garuda wasn’t a loving deity, nor was she loved by the elzeri, for she was the Queen of Death, said to be the first storm and claimed to be the last, capricious and ruthless in nature, said to have a special place in her tempestuous heart for all Solidors. Although sometimes Ashelia had her doubts regarding that fact.
“May your talons be bathed in blood.”, the female said to finish her pray, standing up and calmly walking towards the door, entwining her lean fingers around the cold touch of her spear on her way out. One last sigh was given before picking up the pace towards the hangars, avoiding to stare at the faces of all those she met on her way to the elevators, and without having any need for asking, Ashelia knew why she was summoned, as she was one of the only members of the Solanaceae that sat on the Obsidian Council aside from the Nightmother.

"No groups smaller than three," Vytal announced as she returned to those gathered in the camp. "We will slowly sweep toward the city center from this position. Identify survivors. Uncover any detail no matter how small about what happened and its cause. Solanaceae," she called the Witches to attention, and that also meant Ashelia, that made sure to hear every word. "the spirits may not rise to do battle here. Be on your guard." When she was done with her speech, the Solidor mustered the courage in her heart to calmly walk towards Noctura, approaching her when she was busy with something else, Ashelia cleaned her throat in a polite attempt to call out her attention, as she chose a soothing tone of voice to manner her discourse.

“Nightmother, If I may take a moment of your time.”, her head leaned forward on a respectful half-obeisance to her elder. “Do we have any sort of information as to what is occurring? The Veil in this place feels... unsettling.”

 

[Shalita Verd]

IMMORTAL DEAD​

Equipment: Redwolf Armour | Taozin Amulet | Nether Scythes | Obsidian Lightsaber | Generic Throwing Daggers
Tags: Vytal Noctura | Ashelia Solidor

The assassin had been close to Vytal, observing everything due to her natural state of simple observation. It had been her job to be ever present and yet, silent and still; to be a shadow and absorb information like a sponge. In fact if she wasn’t absorbing information, the woman was more than likely dead, or at least planning something. So when someone who was used to being more or less a shadow was planning, then it would become unnerving. Especially for the unsuspecting victim. However, her position amongst CIS was mostly unknown. The woman had become somewhat a chameleon in that sense and while her true default was an assassin, only one maybe two actually knew her true purpose and another one or two others may suspect without giving voice to it. An assassin’s true purpose could never be revealed, which was why it was important for them to be everywhere and nowhere all at the same time.

Even now as her icy blue eyes watched the Nightmother, she respected the woman for not saying a thing; even though Shalita knew that she suspected. People didn’t make Nether Scythes for no real reason after all.

Although, upon hearing planetary quarantine, the woman couldn’t help but think of her Good Doctor back at Dosuun. Perhaps she might be able to harvest a sample for her lover and make use of it in her future works. An assassin always had to find new tools to add to their kit. The more flexible they were in their work, the better. New skills, new tools, new everything. Even when she was with Fevris, the shadow couldn’t turn off her natural instinct to absorb information and had quickly learnt a great deal about medicine and science while suffering from amnesia. So while it hadn’t been ideal, the woman had still gained information and a lover. Something that might never have happened if she had never suffered from memory loss. All in all, the current mission had piqued her interest and she began to wonder if she might be able to bring back a sample as a gift for Fevris.

It wasn’t long before they were all gathered at the camps, dressed appropriately in hazmat suits and listening to Vytal give out instructions. Shalita had felt the disturbances within the force and felt an aura that was indescribable, at least for now. She wanted to study the source of the disturbances, research it even, to see if it could be harnessed for her own uses against those that would dare to try and intrude upon CIS controlled planets. However, she was intrigued by the fact that the Nightmother had mentioned that the spirits may not rise and she wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that it was a quarantined planet. How fascinating, Shalita thought to herself as she watched a female approach Vytal. A female that she recognised from a planet that they had been on a long time ago.

The question posed was indeed interesting, but from what the shadow had gleaned, was that there wasn’t a lot of information that could be considered overtly useful. It seemed as if the witches might need to do most of the work and while Shalita wasn’t against work, not even she enjoyed going in blind. A woman who had mastered the way of shadows, knew that reconnaissance work was just as important as the implementation of a plan; to avoid any unnecessary risk. This seemed as if they were going in almost blind and so the woman with black hair, tipped with white, waited patiently to hear the Nightmother’s response. Perhaps she knew something that they did not, or perhaps she was very much in the dark as they were. It didn’t quite matter to her, because all in all, she may very much be carrying home a sample to her beloved to puzzle over.​

.

 

[Vytal Noctura]

Vytal turned her head aside to behold Ashelia Solidor, one of the Confederacy's Obsidian Lords. Despite the formalities, the Pale Witch was pleased to have a moment to talk with one of her Sisters. Shalita's presence was also quite welcome even if the other woman did not raise a question of her own; but silence was often a hallmark of the woman's trade. "I feel a disturbance radiating from the heart of this city," the Nightmother replied softly. It was not a secret so much as those gathered not schooled in these topics might misconstrue what was shared. "It pulsates in waves. The closer we draw to it, the stronger the current. We must discover the source and contain it before another calamity occurs."

It was not on the level of The Eye -- yet. Nevertheless, the effect it seemed to be having in the surrounding region on the spiritual energies -- the Force, if some preferred -- was pronounced. They could not afford to ignore something with such power; and the Confederacy could not stand to suffer such a disaster once more so soon.

A small smile graced her black lips as her eyes swept from one woman to the next. "I am blessed to have you both here with me. Together we will unravel the secret." Even without conjuring the dead and with the spirits seemingly in disarray in the area, Vytal knew the pair with her could handle themselves. It was important for a Witch to train their body and mind as well as their connection with the world around them, after all.

With someone left in charge of the camp and other groups spreading out to follow the search pattern, the Nightmother herself was poised to venture forth. "Have either of you felt or heard anything to guide our path forward?" Vytal asked her companions. Just because she was the Nightmother did not mean she commune with every spirit personally. It was important to be surrounded by people as invested in understanding Creation as yourself if you had hopes to unravel its oldest mysteries.

The Nightmother was also interested how far Shalita had extended her reach into the mystical world. As a woman walking two paths her time was divided. Vytal still sought to ensure the woman learned much of the Mystic Art. While she excelled at a job she did not formally have -- assassination -- the Witch hoped to provide her opportunities to grow in other ways. You could only kill someone so silently.

Tag: Shalita Verd | Ashelia Solidor | Var Talon | Open to CIS, KO, Solanaceae

 

[Ashelia Solidor]

F O C U S | Var Talon , Shalita Verd , Vytal Noctura
G E A R | Armor, spear, pistol, chain.
T H E M E | Here.
V O I C E | Here. ​

A simple calm nod was done with her head as the female heard the explanation for what was occurring. Her elder was right as usual, there was something foul on that place, yet, it reminded her the heart of an old human being, beating slowly in the darkness, each time the beat came, it came stronger and faster. And perhaps, were it not for the impending inscrutability raised by the Nightmother’s question, Ashelia wouldn’t have paid any attention to that, it wasn’t like Korriban, no, for that place reeked of pure evil, gleaming in endless darkness and yet wasn’t as wild as Felucia, but despite that, the female stopped trying to descant what it felt like on the Force, there was something else. Beyond the sound of their voices and their breathing beneath helmets, her large pointy ears kept jumping upwards as she closed her eyes trying to bypass all of that which surrounded her trying to listen.

It was said that an elzeri’s hearing was so sensitive that it could listen to a baby wompa rat crawling through the fuselage of a ship as big as Star Destroyer. She couldn’t say much regarding rats, but there was something, onward from where they were, closest than she liked to admit out loud. Something that couldn’t be ascertained from where they were, almost as if it was scratching, like actual fingernails rubbing against wooden walls.
“Yar, Nightmother... I think I’m hearing something but it’s faint, very faint... The whole city is so... quiet.”, as she opened her eyes, Ashelia noticed how dark the sky was. “It’s a big city, yet, so quiet... I can’t say for sure where the noise comes from.”, her hand started to rub the metallic surface of her spear, an old habit of hers when she started to grow anxious. It wasn’t natural for a whole city to be so quiet, even in small villages like the ones Ashelia had visited on her days working as an agent of her father’s court there was always something happening, a cricket in the woods, the snoring sound of sleeping people, something, anything.

“Maybe If we got closer I may be able to catch something.”, it was only after speaking those that the elzeri noticed how low her voice was, almost as if she was rustling in the dark corners of a castle. It was a long time ago since she was inside a castle, and the last time some of a fracture from the Netherworld went down or whatever dimensional horror they called that thing. Ashelia still had fantasies regarding that day, especially about the things that occurred when that power turned friendly faces around her into monstrosities, forcing her to shoot her way to escape their claws, soiling her face with guts and blood only to forever ruin her peace of mind when laying down in her bed at night to sleep. There were certain doors that weren’t meant to be open, as certain mysteries that should not be answered under no circumstances whatsoever, for some things, far worse than death, awaited beyond those mysteries, whispering in the darkness waiting to teach you with the real meaning of fear.