There can be only one! (Tund)

[Sirella Valkner]

Sirella smiled at the girl and gave her a little wink. She genuinely liked the shy little piece of meat. Then Ashin spoke and Sirella laughed. "This is why you enticed me here isn't it? To counter their power with mine?" The stairs were long still, with runes etched into their side. "Hold." Sirella commanded examining the rules. "We're stuck in an Illusion."

She traced her fingers along the dusty stone. Runes lit up under her power up and down the stairs. Looking down the stairs Sirella saw her own reflection mirrored a thousand times down the hallway. "A powerful one. They know we're here, and have prepared well."

 

[Allyson Locke]

"I had a feeling..."

Spencer paused for a moment and took in a deep breath. The force barrier faded from the group and she closed her eyes, doing this allowed her to enter the meditation she needed to see through it or attack the person who was creating it. Illusions were funny things they always liked to leave a trace of who was creating them. Spencer followed this connection to a group of the sorcerers. They made it too easy for her. Using Force subjugate she concentrated on draining the force and the illusion directly from their minds causing the illusion to waver.

 

[Sal Katarn]

The stairs continued ever on. Endless. Eternal. Shorn wondered if they would ever end. Then Sirella revealed it was an illusion. Of course. It made sense. Seth wondered if it was possible to learn such power. He imagined it quite useful. Regardless, they now knew they were trapped in an illusion. Didn't that make it no longer an illusion? After all, an illusion is merely a figment of the mind. Once realized, should they not be able to then escape the illusion with ease? Questions. So many questions. And always answered with another question.

The First Apprentice soon dispelled the illusion and they continued onward.

They entered the temple itself. Twisted images, thornlike and cruel lined the walls in grotesque structures. Refracted, colored light sprayed from colored glass at the opposite end of the temple. Candle chandeliers, black as was everything else in the room, shone dim light.

Sudden chanting filled the room, quick and deep. Seven sorcerers stood in hooded robes at the end of the temple, hands clasped beneath long sleeves. Shorn felt his spine crawl. The figures suddenly lifted their hands, faces still hidden beneath the hoods, and raised them toward the gathering. Darkness coalesced about the group as the sorcerers began to form their spell.

"What sorcery is this?!" Seth cried in alarm.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

"Probably Sith," said Ashin phlegmatically. "Bastardized Sith. Derivative."

Without drama, without ceremony, she raised her hand and a ray of golden energy soared across the chamber to latch onto the face of the most central figure. She began to drain away his Force energy and even his life. Instantly it was as if she had grabbed the bridle of a riding nerf as it stampeded past. Whatever rites the sorcerers of Tund had rediscovered, this magic was well within 'expert' categorization.

Force drain. To the face.

 

[Sirella Valkner]

Sirella responded chanting in return. She placed her hand on the ground as she chanted furiously. The words all melded together she spoke with such speed until finally she started to raise her hand. The red glow of corrupted force energy started to materialize as she lifted her hand up. It was as if she was pulling a wet rag off the ground, only that rag was power. A small best, a diminutive form of a smoke demon, formed in the shape of a queer looking lizard. The small force formed creature darted forward toward one of the sorcerers, it's ethereal tongue lashing out of it's head at him...

 

[Eldoc Quasat]

Eldoc ignited his saber, It was killing time, He had waited for to long to actually join the fray with the empress and master Valkner, but well better late than never. He surged forward, his saber out, as he began the dance of death yet again. He did indeed love a good fight, and these sorceres.. were still chanting as he closed the distance, and he didn't like the look of it . Why was he doing this again? The little sorcery he did know Master Sirella, had taught him. Well no turning back now, as eldoc closed the last bit of distance. This was going to be a fight for his life for sure.

 

[Skorn Draclau]

@[member="Velok"] @[member="Sasha Santhe"]

Meanwhile back on Tund, Skorn was running for his life. The old Sith had not been kidding when he said they were all converging on that location. It was as if the cavalry and the backup showed up at the same time. He launched his rock at the first man that showed up and then simply turned about and fled. He had the book after all, and if he kept it out of the hands of the sorcerers they wouldn't be able to unleash those massive spells they had been creating all this while.

A saving grace.

For their part the sorcerers were occupied rather well by Velok, Sasha and the rest of the gang. And the few stragglers who did give chase to Skorn were lost along the way. The Draclau could really run when the need of the hour demanded it. Catching his breath and his bearings he realized that he was hopelessly lost. However that mountain peak jutting out on the horizon seemed familiar.

"Of course."

He found some shelter and brought out the book, flipping eagerly through the pages. The peak, it had been mentioned in almost every page. They had drawn it in their diagrams. Careful to include it in every spell. Which made it important. His instincts told him it held the power source for the Sorcerers. Some sort of ancient Sith Relic in all possibility. But of course it could be the Sorcerers were simply a cowardly and superstitious lot. With the peak serving as some sort of deity.

Nodding to himself, Skorn pocketed the book and headed out for the peak. It looked far, but it wasnt like had anywhere else to go. Eventually he would try and get in touch with the other Sith. If his hunch checked out.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Skorn Draclau"]

Amid fire and light, much of it his own, the Dark Lord Velok roared out a challenge to the amassed Sorcerers and minions who flooded into the caves and crevasses of the hills. He found a vantage point on the side of a cliff, throwing lightning down at his enemies without regard for Sasha's droids. Mass destruction was something he did very, very well against Darksiders. His curses turned their Dark Side taint against them, corrupting them. He offset his own exhaustion by drawing upon their life forces, unveiling the hunger within him.

He intended to win this battle, singlehanded if necessary.

 

[Jacen Cavill]

Jacen's fighter was damage so he got back into atmosphere and jumped to hyperspace.

"Who cares if the Empress is mad, I can't fight if I will die."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

As Sirella's smoke demon and Eldoc's blade assaulted the seven Sorcerers, one dropped dead, his life and Force energies stripped away by the Dark Lord of the Sith. The hunger grew within her, and she lashed out again, ensnaring another from across the room. He chanted in response, and brutal pain assailed her skull.

Instant headache. Now that was a spell worth learning.

She ceased the Force Drain and mustered all her focus, continuing to walk across the underground temple against the full weight of the spell. Her steps slowed but continued on, each a gigantic effort.

She reached him, and stared up into an emaciated, Force-warped old face which twisted in fear. His concentration broke, and she grabbed his face.

And began to drain knowledge from his skull. He fell to his knees, and she held on, fingers digging into corrupt flesh that sloughed away from her grip until she touched bone.

 

[Kiyala Demont`]

"Hmmm why am I never invited to the festivities." Kiyala called out from seemingly no where but of course those of higher skill then her and had an affinity for magic would have seen her as she revealed herself stabbing one of the sorcerers in the back with her now ignited lightsaber. With that she'd leap over back within the ranks of the sith knowing that her mastery of magic wouldn't keep up to the sheer 'expert' level of magic that these sorcerers. "Wanna be Sith if you ask me." Kiyala shrugged while leaning on the wall while she was looked at the other Sith who were other wise preoccupied with the battle and stuff.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer rubbed her forehead, she had felt the force drain Ashin performed while she was connected to the sorcerers. It took her a minute to regain her composure. She didn't disconnect in time and felt a bit of her force aura taken.

After a few moments she entered the room everyone had filed into. Using the force she threw aside and into each other two of the sorcerers. Taking a moment again she connected with them mentally, this time taking over their minds. They were in a panic and we're easy to pick on. The men turned on their comrades and started to use force lightning on the remaining sorcerers

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Ashin ripped away the last of the knowledge she sought. Eyes blazing blue, she straightened up and looked on in approval at Spencer's mind control and Kiyala's backstabbery. Between them, Eldoc's blade, and Sirella's smoke demon, only one Sorcerer remained untouched.

His lightning struck Ashin and threw her into a wall. She shunted away the pain and forced her muscles to move rather than twitch; her force of will translated into power, and she regained mobility.

Stepping in close, she brought down her lightsabre, but he blocked it with an alchemical sword. She engaged him blade-to-blade.

 

[Allyson Locke]

Spencer felt in the back of her mind Ashin fighting against the last sorcerer. One of the mind controlled took his own life and she lost that connection. Instead of pushing into the mind of the last sorcerer, she turned his fellow sorcerers on him. Streaks of lightning surged towards him.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Ashin's solid, simple blocks met the heavy momentum of the Sorcerer's blade and did not yield. She shifted the momentum of the duel and hammered against his guard, driving him back against an ornate wall. She swept his blade aside, stepped in, and punched him in the face with her armored fist. She hadn't had the time to Force-enhance the punch -- at least, not the first punch. The second put him down for the count.

 

[Kiara Alanna Decoix]

"Fashionably late as always it seems." She said as a sorceror tried to pry his way into her mind. She turned to him flashing him an amused smile for only a second. "Aw you tried to mind fuck me didn't you? I'm sorry but I do the fucking." And with that the world would fall away from his perceptions as he would mentally find himself within her deepest nightmares, he would be repeatedly burned at the stake until his mind brought from such mental pain. As such his body would feel pain but only because his mind truly believed that he was being burned alive, unlike most illusions and mind altering techniques this illusion did not need to be believable by no one except Kiara. And oh how she would love to actually do this to the man, who at the pointed rolled and writhed along the floor screaming at the top of his lungs. With light steps she walked over to the man, placing a hand on him before speaking "I imagine you must think your in too much pain right now. Fool a true Sith never feels enough pain, maybe and just maybe if you overcome this I will find you and make you whole from your splintered mind."

 

[Allyson Locke]

The sorcerer stopped following Spencer's commands. He broke through while her mind was occupied. The man made his way towards her and force pushed her into the ground. The force continued to press into her.

Spencer groaned as she felt her chest started to give and cut off her air. Took a moment, but she had a stronger will. Pushing the force back she slammed the invisible pressure on to him and in using his hate for their intrusion she used the force to bind around his neck crushing it as she made a fist.

 

[Skorn Draclau]

@[member="Velok"]

Never really meant to be the sneaky kind, Skorn nevertheless managed to swallow his pride enough to stick to the shadows and crouch in the mud. The Mountain was certainly important. Thought not how this Draclau had anticipated. There was a hurried flurry of activity inside the Mountain, which was indeed hollow as he had suspected. There were no signs of any power source of any sort. But there was a ship...and a couple of Sorcerers and their henchmen rushing to and fro from the craft.

Unsure as to what he was witness to, Skorn turned once more to the book. This time focusing on what it had to say about the mountain.

"Abode....Great Chosen Abode? What the hell is a great chosen abode?"

There is something about the cry of a newborn babe, its got those strange frequencies and the damned things always hit all the right notes that you would notice the cry almost immediately. Especially if it sounds out inside a hollowed out mountain on a dark planet such as Tund. Skorn peeped out from behind his cover and saw it. The object of their affection. The reason behind this damned mountain. His power source.

It was a baby.

The Sorcerers held it in obvious awe. And were trying to keep it silent and pacify it. They carried it in an ornate golden carriage. Very royal. Suddenly the ship made sense. The whole "Great Chosen Abode" made sense.

"By the force, those massive spells...this place isnt the power source...this is the fulcrum. What the hell have they been up to."

One thing was clear, the Sorcerers wanted the baby off this planet. So first order of business was putting a stop to that. Thankfully with the Sith assault in full progress this place was sparingly populated. The Draclau charged out, drawing on the power of the Dark Side to aid him. His lightsaber was out in a flash and the first sorcerer fell before he had time to react. The other one managed to get a fear spell off, and the clouded poison enveloped the Shiido. But fear was an old ally to a Sith, a true born Sith such as him. He felt it rise up, felt icy claws of panic plunge into his heart...and he simply laughed. Loud his laughter resounded and the Sorcerer and his men took a step back. The more he laughed the more he could feel the fear losing its grip, the more he could control it. Channel it. His left hand began to spark up, shards of lightning began to envelop it.

He leaped at the Sorcerer and plunged his hand into his chest. Claiming his heart. The Sorcerer realizing that death was at hand, looked one last time at the baby. Mustering his strength he whispered into Skorn's ear with his final breath.

"Protect...the chosen one."

The rest ran. Skorn lifted up the blanket that covered the child and looked at it in amazement. It's skin was red, eyes of gold. It looked Sith, the purest Sith he had ever seen. And then he felt it, he felt the baby in the force and realized...this child could very well be the chosen one. Unknown to Skorn however was the fact that when the last Sorcerer had died, the only thing shielding the baby from prying eyes disappeared. The child drew on the Force with prodigal strength. To many he would appear a target, a threat...but to Skorn he was one thing and one thing only...leverage. He pulled out his comm unit and tried to contact Velok.

"Yeah...Old Man, I think I found what these nasty Sorcerers have been up to with those wide area spells...also I have a ship...so if you need a ride let me know...and uhh send me your coordinates."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

Breathing hard, Ashin stared down at the unconscious Sorcerer.

"I want to know everything they knew. I want them bound and bowing to the Obsidian Throne as Sith. Take them alive if possible."

Plastic ties floated from the belt of her armor and slipped around the Sorcerer's wrists. She set about binding other survivors.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

@[member="Skorn Draclau"]

Velok's commlink crackled with static as his lightning overwhelmed a storm front of minor Sorcerers. Their return attacks, mostly telekinetically accelerated rocks, battered him against the cliff face.

But gradually, both storms died and his picked his way out of the area of caverns, tunnels, canyons and crevasses. His huge three-clawed feet trod the bodies of the Sorcerers and their allies.

Skorn's communication came through loud and clear then, and the Dark Lord responded. He rattled off his coordinates. "Draclau, I'll take that pickup. I sense something impressive. I'm hoping it's whatever you found."