Private To Hell and Back

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Eyrecae gave the pair an apprising look. “At last the reunion comes! I am, of course, glad to see this family reunion, though it was not without cost.”
As Eyrecae moved up to get a better look at what was happening her foot brushed something. Looking down she saw where Kaida had lain was an area where the red and black soil had fused like glass, but it was steaming not with heat, but with cold. Beside it, where Lavina had fallen was a similar piece, smaller, but glowing with heat.
“Ah, power transference,” she said, kneeling down. Her gloved hand traced the slag and found indeed they were cold and hot to the touch. “Keep these, but mind they are not touching, and mind you do not touch them. They deserve study.”
Yohara was indeed fascinated by them, and cleared some room on the trolley, encasing both in some metal boxes with rocks stacked around them.
“Indeed, they shall make a fine specimen for my study on the Force,” she said, as though she owned them now.

XXX

Brak'Vrasz meanwhile paid no heed to what was happening below. Instead he stomped up the hill carrying the resonator in his hands. He came to the second barrier, and without a second thought he walked through.

The second layer of the veil parted before him, where so many attempts to pierce the first had failed from the Sicarii or the Harrowed.
He started to place the resonator, when suddenly the sounds of battle came upon the wind.
It was not just him who heard it though. Down below everyone heard the noise of explosions, of engines. Several spun around, expecting an ambush, but instead the noise was illusory, but soon visions came to them all, even the Force Dead, to see a terrible day…for most.

Az’vakarz, Death Sorrow. It was a name all Kar’zun and Eldorai knew. Until recently it had been celebrated with a national holiday by the Eldorai, the day their power and authority had forever been assured. It was the time when the ruthless, violent and cruel ‘Arish’ had been driven back to their dens and then forever prevented from harming the Eldorai again.
The Kar’zun were forced to ‘celebrate’ this day in their reservations, to understand how their violent traits had been corrected by the due influence of their Eldorai benefactors. Secretly though, it was an unhealing wound which gnawed on all Kar’zun. None of them celebrated the death blow of their race, their people, their culture, but not all had revenge in their hearts though. Most just wanted to be left alone to do their own thing.
However of all the thousands of combatants that day some 950 years ago…only one was still alive. Brak’Vrasz had been there, and now they saw the truth. It was not like the glorious propaganda of the Eldorai, but then nor was it the cruel massacre of the Kar’zun tales. It was war, plain and simple, destructive, bloody and vicious.

Brak’Vrasz was a young Kar’zun, barely an adult when he marched to war. Here he marched with his helmet, armour and heavy rifle. At his side was a vicious looking blade which would almost be a sword to an Eldorai, but which was merely a bayonet or light melee weapon to him.
As they marched in formation they moved through a broken village and then on to where the rumbling was coming from. Overhead there came the howl of aircraft dogfighting and fired artillery shells hammering home all around.

“Company, forward! Shields forward!” The order came into his helmet’s receiver.
The Kar’zun and Eldorai fought in startlingly similar ways, or perhaps not so startling considering they were fighting each other for so long. The Kar’zun would move forward in threes, one carrying a heavy shield not unlike the Eldorai Taegis, another carried an assault rifle, and a third carried an assault weapon not unlike a shotgun for close range. The shieldbearer carried a heavy pistol or glaive for defence.
Brak’Vrasz moved forward with his much older comrades, warriors as tough as granite, but they had been kind and taught him well. This was a key moment, there was no time for snobbery when all of them knew this battle could decide everything.

The Eldorai defence lines stretched before them. Trenches defended by mines, protected by artillery and heavy anti-personnel weapons which could hurt even the rocky Kar’zun. Kar’zun were slow, everyone knew that, but once they got going they were like lava or the rising tide of a tsunami, unstoppable.
From horizon to horizon the attack charged forward from cover. As soon as they emerged the Eldorai opened fire. Unlike their later descendants they did not use the staser, but rather heavy slugthrowers with a calibre and weight of fire designed to hurt their enemies. Immediately both sides intensified their artillery both to break defender and attacker. The Kar’zun advanced, not in a line, but in three person columns, using the shieldbearer to take the lead. These shields, massive and thick plates of steel, could take any infantry weapon and deflect it easily, though a direct hit by a shell would cause havoc to the tight groups.

The hail got worse as the Eldorai literally fired for their lives. Brak’Vrasz fired wherever he saw an enemy emerge from cover, but he wasn’t sure if he hit anyone.
“Company, charge!”
A Kar’zun warcry was a terrifying thing. It sounded like the bellowing echo of a great rockfall. As they neared the first trench the Kar’zun emerged from behind the shieldbearer and charged. Old Naz’drava the assault specialist simply jumped into the trench and stood on a wounded Eldorai until she stopped moving, then blasted another one full in the chest with the shotgun. Gore and viscera spattered everywhere. Brak’Vrasz meanwhile took aim at a retreating Eldorai soldier, fired and missed. The woman turned back around and fired at him, and his armour shuddered and buckled, but it was only a glancing shot. Grimly, he took aim and downed the Eldorai with an aimed trio of shots to the torso.
Special troopers moved forwards after them, flamethrowers and Kar’zun using the Sarzmigar. However, they were barely needed except to clear a couple of foxholes and bunkers.
“You hurt, pebble?” Kag’zarn, the shieldbearer asked.
“Not serious.”
“Good. There were not many of them here. None of their cursed witches.”
Screams in the background were cut short as the last Eldorai bunker was immolated with flamethrowers.
Brak’Vrasz kept his head down in the trench as the battle raged on, but at that moment they did not seem to be involved. It had gone well so far. He knew it was not over yet though.

“Alright, Company, reform, move forward, there’s another line of the meats ahead. We need to clear them. Same as before. Move out!”
Obediently they moved forward. Behind them the tanks and vehicles were approaching to give fire support and bring supplies forward. Feeling hungry, Brak’Vrasz took out what looked like a small bar of stone from his pack…because that was exactly what it was. Grinding it down in his mouth he felt better and moved off with his comrades.
As they advanced this interval between trenches was wider. Strangely though, there was not as yet much fire coming at them. There was infantry fire of course, but nothing else. All along the line the Kar’zun advanced steadily. It seemed like an easy victory was on the cards; perhaps the Eldorai were retreating already?

Then the thunder rolled.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

Kaida gave Yohara an icy glare. "It's mine," she declared frostily, then took the frost rock from the trolley.
The sound of boots on the rocky, cursed ground announced Morwen. "You survived."
Someone else might have bothered with a challenging 'disappointed'. Kaida found that a waste of energy. "Yes."
"They sacrificed their connection to the spirits to breach the barrier," Tryana said loyally. "You should be grateful to them."
"Oh, don't worry, I'll bow and scrape all her icy highness wants," Morwen retorted sarcastically. "It's not like you lot don't have to go through the barrier anyway to get out of hell. Anyway, welcome to the realm of mundanity, Taldir. Now we're on the same level again."
The frost elf just looked at her...frostily. Then suddenly there was a tremendous noise, like the sound of thunder...or an explosion. "Frak! To arms!" Morwen yelled. Several of the elves and Kar'zun spun around. Even Kaida drew her lightsabre, not realising that it would be a lot less useful without Sciia.
"I hear nothing," Siona stated, though she retrieved her amphistaff. "It may be another mirage.."

However, even as these words left her bruised lips, it became clear that this was not the case. For everyone present at the anomaly, even those who were voids in the Force and beyond the touch of the spirits, saw the visions. It was a vision of bloodshed, slaughter and woe. Of Kar'zun clashing with Eldorai. Of blood-soaked trenches and craters filled with bodies.
"Az’vakarz," Mrak’vhar, a Kar'zun Hellbreaker spoke.
"The 'Day of Triumph'," Kaida muttered. "What a hollow one it was." She looked to Ashana...Lavina. As a child, she had been raised on stories about the 'glorious' victory over the demonic Arish. Good had triumphed over evil. The Eldorai species had been saved from annihilation. Ariane the Great was the greatest queen the Eldorai had ever had. It had stopped being glorious a long time ago.
"She was a butcher," Siona spat disdainfully.
Kaida said nothing. She watched the illusory battle unfold before her eyes. It was not going the way she had learned in school. Few things have been that way, she thought. Successive generations of Eldorai had been fed lies and distortions that served only to keep them ignorant and perpetuate the power of crown, temple and nobility.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Brak’Vrasz was moving forward with his comrades. Only a few shots were being fired from ahead, but the lack of artillery allowed the tower shields to absorb that firepower. Left to right it seemed like a rockslide was about to engulf the Eldorai positions.

Then the thunder rolled.

The sky, to this point only touched by smoke, began to boil and roil from the east, growing dark and heavy. That was not all though, there was a mechanical howl, and a terrifying vessel flew overhead. The Kar’zun used jets and bombers, but nothing touched the size and power of this monster. The vessel was easily over a hundred metres long and despite the efforts of numerous flak and aircraft was untouched.
“Skies, what is that?” Brak’Vrasz shouted over its roar.
“Keep forward! No lagging! On to them!”
The orders were drowned out as beams of red energy shot from the massive ship. Where they hit they tore Kar’zun to pieces, threw out their formation and disorganised the charge. The advance slowed.
As they came to a stop the ship powered overhead. From its bottom seemed to be dropping little blue spheres of light. Brak’Vrasz watched numbly as they hit the ground, flaring like the sun and sending shockwaves out. Kar’zun were not easy to kill, but sonic pulses affected their unique life chemistry and could kill one without leaving a mark on the outside, not unlike concussion waves on an Eldorai.
As his ears rung and he staggered dazed there came a banshee like cry.
“Death to the Arish! Glory to Ashira! Victory to the Queen!”
Spewing like ants from a disturbed next a host, no a horde, of Eldorai poured forth. At the forefront of every charge was the bright armour of the Angelii. The sky was now as dark as night, and lightning slashed down as the mystery vessel vanished from sight.

“Kill the witches!” Kag’zarn cried. He fired his pistol into a trooper, then a second, whilst allowing Naz’drava to catch an Angelii in the side with a shotgun blast behind her shield.
Brak’Vrasz caught sight of an Angelii heading for a neighbouring group who had lost their shieldbearer and fired, but she sensed his actions and her Taegis blocked the shots. She was heading towards him now, Sarix flaring a cruel, blue light.
Kag’varn meanwhile had been holding his position, but then lightning struck down onto his shield. The field surrounding it sputtered and died, but he held on. However, numerous Eldorai troopers ranked up and fired. Rather than the easily deflected solid shots though the red bolts like the giant airship had used hit the shield, melting and tearing great chunks out of the metal. Finally, he was forced to cast it aside and use his pistol alone.
Like a firing squad the Eldorai fired, and kept firing into him. Kar’zun could take slugthrower rounds and keep going for a while, but these new weapons blasted and tore through their rocky hide like it was butter. With a guttural cry old Kag’zarn fell to the ground.
The Eldorai troopers did not have much time to savour their victory though as Naz’drava struck, firing with his shotgun until the magazine was spent and three Eldorai lay dead on the ground.

Brak’Vrasz has his own problems though. The Angelii assailing him let out a wailing cry and charged. He fired desperately, catching her in the side with a bullet, but it was not enough. She was on him and his gun was sundered by a strike which stopped the attack long enough for him to fall backwards.
Blade raised, the masked Angelii attacked and Brak’Vrasz found he had no choice but to attack himself. Rising from the ground like a volcano he slammed into her, bearing her to the ground, his massive hand holding her wrist. The shield was still between them, but his weight upon it far exceeded her strength and the Angelii screamed as it was driven into her chest. At the same time Brak’Vrasz tightened his grip right until the unfortunate woman forearm broke. Raising his right arm his punch to her helmet ended her life. Blood spilt onto the soil from the shattered armour.

Around him as he stumbled upright he could see the day was going ill. Eldorai swarmed the Kar’zun, destroying those they could not overwhelm with firepower with their Sciia. In the distance a hail of vehicles were rapidly speeding through gaps to get behind and cut off retreat. Kar’zun reinforcements were moving forward, but too few.
“We need to get back, come on, pebble!” Naz’drava called.
As he turned though there was a flash of light and an Angelii in red armour struck, their Sarzmigar piercing Naz’drava’s chest and leaving him to topple to the ground.
The Eldorai Host Leader looked at Brak’Vrasz and rammed her Sarzmigar into the earth. Then, from her right hand she summoned a web of electrical discharge.
Desperately, Brak’Vrasz seized a fallen pistol from the dead Angelii at his feet. It was one of the new weapons and he fired it, but every bolt was parried away by the Taegis of his enemy.
The lightning struck. Every part of him started to convulse and burn. The gun dropped from his hand and he fell to his knees, smoke pouring from him.
Vision diming he saw the Angelii pull her blade from the ground and advance, raising it to kill.
A shot.
At first Brak’Vrasz’s dazed mind could not comprehend what had happened, but the Angelii Host Leader cried out and fell. Naz’drava gave a last salute, dropping the smoking shotgun and falling lifeless to the earth.
Brak’Vrasz staggered upright, but nothing was working. The electricity had done terrible harm, and having seen himself abandoned, he fell once more. The last thing he heard before the darkness took him was the cheers of the Eldorai growing fainter as they pushed on….

Brak’Vrasz was roused by the sound of voices. It was raining, and he lay in the mud alongside the ruins of battle.
He felt terrible, his pulse was irregular, and his vision blurred, his coordination jumbled. However, he heard voices in Eldarai.
“This is as far as they reached, Majesty.”
Slowly, like continental drift, Brak’Vrasz started to rise. However, immediately a heavy boot shoved him back down.
“Majesty, one of the Arish lives! Shall I give it the Goddess’ mercy?”
Brak’Vrasz was in no position to resist. He felt a blade, either Sarix or Sarzmigar in his back, burning.
“It is wounded, there is no need,” came a soft voice. Footsteps approached and the once glorious outfit of Queen Ariane – now spattered in mud and blood – approached.
Brak’Vrasz looked up, but the figure on his back drove his dead back into the mud. “Avert your eyes, Arish scum.”
“Peace, Seraph Taldir. It is not our goal to exterminate the Kar’zun. They must be made safe, they must never harm us again. I want all the prisoners spared. When at last their final army surrenders they will return home and they will never challenge us again. You, Kar’zun, you will remember what happened this day and know that resistance is futile.”
Brak’Vrasz managed to speak. “I…will never forget….”
“Good. Put him with the others, but do not harm him unless he attacks you.”
“Alright, on your feet, Arish.”
Brak’Vrasz could see the Queen in her white and gold armour watching as others were rounded up. As he was forced away an ornately armoured Angelii knelt before her.
“Majesty, it is done. The enemy is broken and in full retreat. Their King is dead and we have pursued them as far as the Ford of Lathae.”
“You have done well, Grand Seraph. There will be no pause. This eternal war ends. The sixth and ninth legions will continue the pursuit at dawn along with the 14th Army.”
“Majesty, our losses…”
“Are heavy but acceptable. We must push our advantage. See to it, Grand Seraph. And call the…humans…to us. I will reward them as promised so they can leave.”
He heard no more. The battle was ended.


XXX

Brak’Vrasz seemed to pause as the vision came to an end. He looked down at the Resonator, back up to the Eldorai and Kar’zun waiting below, nodded slowly, and hit the button.
Spiralling power flowed into him, and he let out a silent scream as it buffeted around him. Finally, he fell to his knees as the power finally dissipated. The veil was gone.

Eyrecae strode forward up the hill and picked up the device in her hands. “Brak’Vrasz, do you live?” she asked.
“I…endure…” he grunted.
Those below with the Force might that where the spirits had left Kaida and Lavina…they had returned to Brak’Vrasz.

XXX

Tryana looked at Kaida quizzically. “The humans from the stars helped the Eldorai win?” she asked, puzzled.
The irony of the isolationist Mistress Race having won only because they had used the forbidden technology of the aliens…and then covered it up…would escape no one there. Perhaps the Eldorai would have won without it…but perhaps not. If it had been the Kar’zun who had paid the humans, whoever they were, would they by now have ruled Kaeshana? Time could never tell, but so much had depended not on the will of the goddess but on the greed of a few mercenaries….

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

Failure. That was the word that summed up the Eldorai. They had not been created by the so-called Great Goddess Ashira; they were test tube babies spawned by megalomaniacal xenos. They had rebelled against their tyrannical makers; they had remained their willing slaves until said xenos nuked themselves into becoming primitive cannibals. They had not defeated their arch-enemy and won the battle for supremacy over Kaeshana; they had only won because humans from the stars had helped them. When an asteroid threatened to wipe out their entire race, they had gone cap in hand to another group of humans and begged them to save them. Now they were a scattered, broken race.

The Eldorai race was a comprehensive failure. It was ironic that they were the most technologically advanced elf race, yet in a way the most pitiful. Kaida felt only contempt. Perhaps being slaves was the only thing Eldorai were good for. "Yes, for coin," she said icily. "Pathetic."
Telara was more verbose. "Din we win any battles on our own?" she exclaimed. "We could've at least bothered to learn how their tech worked," the young Tyari opined. "Would've saved us a lot of grief."
"Admitting that the Matriarchy's creations are not perfect would've threatened the reactionaries' hold on us. I see you can add a Seraph Taldir to the family tree," Morwen remarked with a look at Kaida and Ashana. "Good to see your ancestor was as brutal as you, Angelii. I guess she'd be pissed about you running off with Dashdae."
"The Elder One fought bravely. The 'mistress race' would not have prevailed over us without the 'monkeighs' they scorn," Mrak’vhar said contemptuously.
"It is a lie. A mirage conjured by hell. One of the many that have been tormented us since we were trapped here," an Eldorai Hellbreaker declared. "Our ancestors fought against the enemy. They prevailed. No monkeighs saved us."
"Cannot handle Az’varik being pulled from her pedestal?" the Kar'zun challenged.
"Cut it," Morwen interjected coldly. "We're all here because the Matriarchy abandoned us. We're all leaving together because we want something better than reliving ancient blood feuds because aristos told us to hate one another. We're not our foremothers. We are one people now. And we don't need Ashira, humans or nobles."
"Morwen is right," Kaida finally spoke. "Now stop wasting my time with whining. Anyone who wants to sulk can stay and rot here with the ghosts."

"Our own stories may be a bit mistaken as well, if this is true," Siona muttered quietly. "The Butcher, though damned to the Void Stalkers, did not intend to kill all Kar'zun. No matter, there is one last barrier to overcome."
"Yes," Kaida agreed. All this small talk was exhausting her. "Be ready to move once it has been taken down." She glanced to Ashana, and took a breath. "When this is...over...we should, uh, talk," she said very awkwardly. For some reason it was more difficult for her than facing a horde of enemies. Or dealing with the fact that she had lost her Sciia. Nonetheless, she had to.

Tryana had stayed out of the debates. These Eldorai were so...complicated. However, her senses prickled. "Can you feel it?" she asked, then realised that most of the members of the party were deaf to the spirits' call. "The spirits have returned to him. He's been rewarded for his valour," she pointed at Brak'Vrasz.
"Win some, lose some," Siona remarked.
"This is going to be the start of another cult. I just know it," Telara muttered cynically, and probably realistically.

Meanwhile, Macrina and Eliyen had caught up with their Kar'zun comrade, ignoring the chatter that had been going on beneath them. "And many battles yet await you," Macrina said. Quite what the Illyrian had seen in her visions remained enigmatic. She did not seem upset by the Sciia returning to the Kar'zun though. "You've been reborn from the curse."
"Yes, nice to see you're not turned to stone yet," Eliyen grunted. She had always been the more direct one. "Couple years ago this...vision would've angered me. Now...," she trailed off and shrugged dismissively. She cast her gaze upon Eyrecae. "It's all down to you now."
"The one who hears the spirits, is made deaf to them. The liberated is exposed to it and must face their siren call," Raekana spoke. "I wonder what effect it will have on you? Perhaps you'll be like us when the deed is done. Regardless, go."

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
The Kar’zun rose, like a million years of continental drift consolidated into a minute. He stood tall and seemed to crackle with energy before it ebbed away from his skin.
“I…had forgotten how this felt,” he muttered. “Go, sister of the six, your destiny will be revealed,” he told Eyrecae.
Eyrecae stretched her arms, looked at the three of them. “Perhaps it shall. There is, however, only one way to find out.” She cast a curious glance at Brak’Vrasz before lugging the now humming resonator up the slope.

XXX

Lavina was too caught in her own thoughts to comment much on the vision. Once she had been a strong advocate for the Eldorai, but the revelations had broken the old certainties. Now this revelation neither surprised or angered her – she had assumed as much anyway. It would also explain the sudden presence of the last of the Eldorai Jedi on the galactic stage.

Kaida’s words though pulled her from her daze. She smiled. “Yes…when we are away from here we can talk. Catch up.”
It was just them in the galaxy now. Better to reconnect than lose one another for good.
“I’m…sorry…if I acted rudely towards you. I didn’t remember you.”

XXX

Tryana could see the issue was, to be blunt, fraught. “We used the outsiders’ help. If they had learned and expanded then as we had to…perhaps things would be different.”
“Well they didn’t, so here we are, a cosmic joke,” Telera said grimly.
“I…see. Yes.” She looked for a distraction. “Look, she approaches the barrier!” she said, trying to distract the others.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

"Yeah....it's alright. You're alive. That's what matters." Kaida responded awkwardly to Ashana. She would not admit that the lack of recognition had hurt. She would not show weakness. It could not be allowed. Compared to that, her apparent loss of Force-Sensitivity barely registered. She cast a glance at Tryana. Our people are a joke, yours are the humans' cat's paws, she thought cynically. But the Tygarans' dependency on the foreigners was more excusable. They were more primitive and had only known about the outside galaxy for a few years. The Eldorai, by contrast, had known better for centuries, but remained willfully blind.
"Then we stop being one," she said gruffly.
"And we do it without sucking on the humans' teats. All of our sisters and brothers who suffered and died demand nothing less than that we rise and make the blood they shed matter," Morwen swore.
"Not whining is a start." Kaida's capacity for small talk was now fully exhausted and she turned her gaze towards Eyrecae, as the primeval Eldorai pushed the Resonator towards the barrier.
"We must talk as well...when you're ready. There is an offer I have for you," Siona told Ashana quietly.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Ashana/Lavina looked intrigued at that offer, but she knew now was not the time. Her sister seemed so…laconic now…that attempts at further discussion might not even get a verbal reply. Besides, it was all based on the assumption they’d get off Kaeshana alive.

XXX

Eyrecae walked steadily forward, without fear. Cresting the last rise she walked into the final barrier.

Darkness descended, not just over Eyrecae, but over all of those watching. When it cleared shimmering figures could be seen in the gloom. They formed a ring around a central figure.

“Sisters, our destiny is clear. We take our positions and lead our people.”
One of the figures was massive, far too big to be an Eldorai or even humanoid. They looked even in the gloom suspiciously like a Kar’zun.

The central figure looked up, glancing at Eyrecae. “The final conditioning awaits you. Then you will be ready.”
“I understand, sister.”

“Despite our hardships we each have our purpose. We will survive, no matter what.”
“The Eldorai are ready.” Kaida knew that voice; Chesna.
“The Xio are ready.” A soft tone, quite different from the monstrous horror on Tygara.
“The Vashyada are ready.” Tylania, though the voice had none of her usual warmth.
“The Qadiri are ready.” Eyrecae of course.
“The Kar’zun stand in alliance with you.” A deep voice, one Kaida had never heard.
“Then go, and I will send word when the time is right. We shall be free.” That voice, must have been Ashira herself.
Did this mean the Kar’zun had a Paragon? What had happened to her?

The vision faded for everyone but Eyrecae. She had been watching from the outside, but now they turned one by one to her.

“You return here at last to witness the devastation, sister,” Ashira said.
“I see what messiahs have wrought for our people. I have only been awake a small while and I’ve seen what pining for myths and legends have wrought. Our masters are dead or gone. We don’t need to hang onto these old beliefs anymore.”
“We are their paragons. We are their progenitors.”
“That does not automatically earn respect. I have no claim over the Qadiri for what happened 25,000 years ago.”
“We know what you know as we are manifestations of your mind,” Tylania said. “Do as I have, advise, do not rule.”
“And do not, I presume, turn into a monster and die trying to eat everyone,” Mystra, or at least her mental manifestation, snarked.
“Or just go full hedonist like me,” Ardarvia added.
Eyrecae looked up at the Kar’zun. “They do not know about you.”
“They will. Seek out my disciple. He will lead you to me.”

Time seemed to unfreeze and Eyrecae looked down at the Resonator. It was time. She hit the button.
Pain wracked her, but she continued standing. As the visions of her sisters faded she glanced down at Brak’Vrasz. Of course it had been a manifestation of her mind, but perhaps there was something to it.
Finally, at last, Eyrecae fell to her knees, but soon she was standing to look at where the heart of the rift had been. All that could be seen now was ruins, blasted by war and disaster, looted and toppled.

Anyone who might glance at her with the sight of the Force might see that indeed Eyrecae was now dead to the spirits….

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

Darkness descended upon them. It was so thick that even a Xioquo might experience trouble seeing through it, for it was no natural darkness. But shimmering figures could be made out. Kaida knew most of them. One had to be Mystra, but she sounded...different. Softer. Normal, unlike the crazed tyrant Kaida had helped slay on Tygara. Perhaps there had been a time when she was not evil. Another was Tylania, but she sounded different, too. Devoid of warmth. Frigid. Did even the hippie Paragon harbour secrets? Another voice was that of Chesna. Then there was Eyrecae and the last female voice had to be Ashira. But there was another one. It sounded far too deep to be an Eldorai. A Kar'zun?

"The Progenitors," Brak’Vrasz declared with a voice like the explosion of a cannonball.
"I know that voice. It is the Lady!" Tryana exclaimed. "But it does not sound like her. And what is she doing on Kaeshana? Who did they want to fight?"
"More games, I'm tired of this," Telara muttered. She shared a glance with Kaida. "So the 'Mother's real, huh?"
"Just a woman," Kaida said laconically. A powerful, but flawed and ultimately mortal woman.
"And Eyrecae? She was..."
Kaida did not allow her to finish. "A woman who overslept." As far as she was concerned, that was that. There were more murmurs among the members of the group. Some expressed shock, others curiosity, and others again were dismissive and showed little reaction. Kaida blotted them out. The vision faded before their eyes, leaving them alone in the darkness. Then suddenly the dark was banished by an eruption of light. It was so bright that Kaida averted her eyes, for even her helmet's visor did not seem to shield her from it. She tried to call upon her Sciia, then realised it was lost to her.

"Close your eyes. Sciians, shield!" she ordered. Tryana grabbed Telara's hand, and the girl had the presence of mind to act in tandem with her. The few Sciians among the Hellbreakers reached out to, as a bubble encased the members of the group. The ground trembled, as the final layer of the barrier fell. Several members of the party were knocked off their feet and hit the cold, hard ground. Finally, it was over. Cautiously, the first of her comrades approached Eyrecae.

Yohara was one of those to approach her. Her environmental suit was dirty and coated in dust, but she seemed to have weathered the storm well enough. She had a delighted expression on her face. "Wonderful. Once again the scientific method triumphs over brute force and superstition. And the Resonator is still intact," she declared happily. Then she spared Eyrecae a glance. "Now what effect has exposure to the Nether energies had on you?" Without waiting for a response, she produced a PDA-like scanning device.
"She's dead to the spirits," Tryana interjected.
"Yes, I was about to say that," Yohara responded airily, feeling a bit annoyed that she had not gotten the chance to turn her toy on.
"She may have been hurt and all you can think of are your machines?" The Vashyada bit back.
"Expect the Harbingers to be all over you now. Maybe you'll get your own fan club," Morwen remarked as she approached the Paragon, her arrival heralded by the clap, clap of sturdy, well-worn boots against the broken ground. "Me, I never bothered with that crowd."
Raekana had caught up with them, but said nothing. However, she was looking at Eyrecae very intently, as if she had suddenly identified her as an intriguing puzzle she had to put together. Ahead of them lay ruins, wreckage and skeletons. The detritus of a once proud civilisation that had been so sure of its indomnitability, yet understood so little.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
At first Eyrecae did not react to Yohara’s approach. Instead, as the light cleared she continued to look at the Kar’zun. Then, a voice in her head.
“You are complete, my Dark Star. You will be a fine leader for your people. The time has come.”
She remembered that voice. The sound of it made her frown. The one who had made it was long dead, and speaking of dead she was supposed to be such to the Force. Something to consider. His words were correct in one aspect though.
“Yes, the time has come,” she said to herself grimly. Her eyes focused on Morwen. “’Tis the way of us, it seems,” she said with a shrug, walking down the hill.
“We are still going to need the Resonator. I know this has been an important moment for you etcetera but it’s not going to move itself,” Yohara said primly.
Eyrecae glanced at her, turning almost into a stare. She advanced a step towards the scientist, who took a hurried step back.
Instead, Eyrecae hefted the Resonator and walked down the hill.

As she stalked down the hill she stopped by Kaida. “We need to talk…once we are off Kaeshana. I have information you may find…useful. Come, let us not tarry any further. Let us leave this place of lost hopes.”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

Kaida gave the Paragon a look. "Agreed," she said laconically. No further word passed her lips. However, as she walked down, she turned around and took the time to look upon the wasteland. As far as the naked eye could see, there were nothing but ruins. Buildings had been broken and looted. Bombs had blown craters into the earth. Her right hand clenched into a tight fist. It could not have been for nothing. It would not be for nothing. Her people were stupid, whiny and petty. But they would endure. Even if she had to force them to.

Raekana's eyes had been following the pair, studying them intently. Some of her crew looked curious as well. "She was in the vision as well, Mistress," one of the Sicarii spoke, indicating Eyrecae. "What does this mean? What is Lady Death trying to convey to us?"
"It may be a deception of the Enemy," another Sicarii opined.
Raekana raised her hand, beckoning them to be silent, ere an argument could arise. When she spoke, her tone was soft. "Hasty judgement is the tool by which the enemy divides the faithful. The void has touched her. I shall seek revelation. For now...we emerge from the void."

"So what's the fleet like?" Morwen asked Siona. "Still held together by will and duct tape or are we down to cohabiting on monkeigh freighters now?"
"Our numbers grow, especially now that the royalists are tenants of the humans."
"Nice to know you didn't burn the place down while we were stuck in hell," Morwen said sardonically. "Still the same Archon?"
"Aye, Faethyra."
"Sensible woman. Least till the next coup. There's always one."
"Is it what you seek?"
Morwen shrugged. "I'm on the side of whoever not an overmighty piece of chit who's gotten too big for her boots."
Siona smiled thinly. "You follow Illyria like me. We're sisters. There would be a place for you among the Harbingers. The same applies to your people."
"Gotta start the recruitment pitches early, eh?" Morwen snorted. She spied Eyrecae, Kaida and Yoahara approach. "So congrats, barrier's down and none of us got sucked into the void with it. Any time your mighty chance your mighty fleet can show up now and play taxi?"

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
On that note, for dramatic purposes, the sky cleared somewhat and the clear light of the sun shone down.
A message crackled through on Kaida’s communicator.
“…ph Taldir. Come in, Seraph Taldir. Do you read us, this is the communication ship ‘Scryer’. We have detected the disturbance is clearing. What is the situation?”

Eyrecae meanwhile found herself waiting. She’d cocked an eyebrow at Raekana but made no comment. It was time to leave, and then she could concern herself with matters.
Instead she looked at Yohara.
“You are a skilled scientist and engineer.”
“Yes, I am. Thank you for recognising this,” the Eldorai replied a little prissily.
Eyrecae fought the urge to strangle the incarnation of pride. “I know that I am perhaps not the easiest person to work with, but you have done a job both good and correct.”
“You are not,” Yohara said. However, there was a brief moment of introspection. “Others may find the same of me…and you have performed an acceptable job.”
Knowing that was probably the most fulsome praise one would ever get, Eyrecae nodded.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

For the first time in ages, the sky cleared slightly and light shun through it. The spirits looked up, beholding the sun - the true, real sun, not the make-believe - and dissipated. Kaida's comm link crackled. The message was somewhat garbled. She understood it well enough. "Taldir. Disruption field's down," she responded tersely. "Uncertain for how long. Require immediate evac for several hundred survivors. Attaching coordinates." It was time to go, and leave Kaeshana. Forever.

"Finally," Telara muttered. She looked at Tryana. "We should visit those forests of yours sometime."
"I would gladly show you them," the Vashyada spoke, then frowned. "Though I hope the humans have not despoiled them."
"Hey, leave the cynical thoughts to me," Telara admonished her. She looked upon the blasted wasteland that had once been her homeland. A place she had hated and wanted nothing more than to get away from. And now? She bent down.
"What are you doing?" the Vash asked.
"I'm keeping this. To remember and stuff." With that, she collected some of the earth into her hands.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]

Eyrecae produced from the rubble a corroded tin box which still had a mostly working lid and no holes. She offered it to Telera to fill with dirt.
"In time we come a great distance, Telera, but it is the nature of life that we should never forget where we came from. Though this planet is a bitter shadow, it is what shaped you. Keep the earth so that in time you might even grow seeds in it, then at least it will not have been for nothing.”

Ships were starting to descend from the heavens. As they approached the broken base of the Forsaken there were even a few cheers and a good deal of bustling. No one was willing to be left behind again.

The Kar’zun acted as traffic conductors. As living walls they proved adept at funnelling people towards the ships.

Eyrecae, Kaida and their crew though headed for their own ship. Before they parted with the Forsaken, Eyrecae laid a hand on Brak’vrasz’s arm.
“I will contact you soon. The time is coming to find the lost sister.”
“Yes, I am surprised that the others forgot her.”
“Perhaps a bad memory. We need more information. What do you see?”
The Kar’zun’s distant gaze rose to the sun. “A realm of a thousand horrors, icy jungle, and the heartbeat of the beast. I must consult my visions further. We shall meet again…Paragon.”
As Eyrecae headed to the ship she glanced at Kaida. “Time for a family reunion….”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

"Yeah, um, let's not get too sentimental about it, alright?" Telara said a bit awkwardly. Nonetheless, she took the offered tin boy and filled it with dirt. Then she placed the box in her backpack. She looked around as the group made its way to their descending ship. "So we survived hell. Drinks? Who's paying?"
"Are you even old enough?" Siona queried cheekily.
"Old enough to get shot at, old enough to get plastered," the junior Shadow Angelii countered. "Hey, Try, your people got any good liquor?"

Kaida made no comment. Perhaps the question of underage drinking was too mundane for her to get Lawful Neutral about. "The Kar'zun Progenitor." It was a statement rather than a question. "Would be helpful if he used clear Basic instead of speaking in metaphors," she muttered in reference to Brak'Vrasz.

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Eyrecae walked up the gangplank and seated herself in the passenger area after securing the Resonator.
“Who can say? Perhaps for the mystery and intrigue? More likely because he does see nature and life differently to us. Perhaps my sisters also answer so…or perhaps not.”

Tryana looked a little shifty. “Well….”
“Don’t hold out on us!” Telera insisted.
“It should only be used for sacred rituals and rites….”
“The ritual of victory is the best kind there is,” the Eldorai insisted.
Tryana seemed to consider this and nodded. “Very well, but I warn you, it is something of an acquired taste.”
She produced from her locker a small and thick glass bottle. Glasses were not easy to come by, so a few drops in a shared mug would have to do. On the plus side, the sheer alcoholic content would sterilise the cup from passing any germs.

The liquor itself was quite pleasing to the taste, but had a kick like a Yazgid’s charge. Too much of that would send any elf and most other sentients to the realm of Morpheus in short order!

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

Telara seemed to enjoy the kick. "Hey, you stopping already?" she called out, seeing that Kaida had drunk extremely little. Like, a drop or two.
"Someone needs to maintain a clear head," the ice lady grunted. That, and she had comically low alcohol tolerance and would not embarrass herself. Her graduation ceremony had already been embarrassing enough. Hopefully Lavina did not remember that. "If you have a hangover tomorrow, I won't care. You'll start training at 6am regardless."
"You just can't hold your liquor," Telara declared. Maybe the firewater was making her even more irreverent than she already was. "Ma'am," she added the last almost as an afterthought.
"5am."

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Lavina’s return of memory was a great thing, but it had unintended consequences. It allowed her to remember things from before her sister was a glacier.
“I remember a sister of mine who after her graduation went to…”she began.
The look she was getting was not just frosty, it was downright absolute zero.
She coughed. “Could be the amnesia playing tricks,” she said meekly. Kaida had never been especially a jokester but now she was positively internalised.

Eyrecae meanwhile downed the liquor she was offered in one go. She nodded.
“Not bad. Who would have known that the Vashyada were so fun of hard liquor?” she asked.
“It’s only for ceremonies,” Tryana said defensively.
“The many ceremonies you expected on this ship?” Eyrecae asked teasingly. She smiled though. “Thank you though, it is very nice.”

The ship was soon in hyperspace, and whilst the various crew and passengers might have headed to bed or watch Lavina slipped down into the hold where she found her sister.
“Kaida…is now a good time? We’ve got a few hours until we arrive….”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

Absolute zero was a good way of describing that look. Kaida hated being reminded of what had happened after graduation. Regardless, the ship entered hyperspace and the various crew members filed out. Kaida was down in the cargo hold, checking on supplies. She noted that they would have to make requisitions. Say what you wanted about the Matriarchy, the supply train had been mostly reliable, particularly if you were an Angelii. But with the Shadows it was a hand-in-mouth existence. Still, they would endure.

However, her solitude did not last for long. She had finished checking on a container when she heard Lavina appear. "Yes," she responded, closing the container. "I am...," she started, then sighed. Why was this so difficult? By comparison, the apparent loss of her Force-Sensitivity had barely registered with her. "Not sure where to begin. Or how. But I am...very glad you're back."

 

[Eyrecae Alzari]

[member="Kaida Taldir"]
Kaida had changed, but so had Lavina. For one the proverbial stick was no longer inserted up her behind, but she was also a lot less concerned with what others might think. Her sister and Siona excepted. Time as the near feral Ashana had given her vital perspective.

“I’m glad to be back, Kaida. Now I know just how royally karked our people are and how pathetic their hubris was I’m not sure what to think. The Shadows took me in, and you too, but what are we doing? To what are we striving? Survivng?”

She paused. “Eyrecae is one of the…the original Eldorai? So it’s true, everything we found in the Codex was true. Our entire history has a first chapter almost no one knows.”

 

[Kaida Taldir]

[member="Eyrecae Alzari"]

"Surviving. Defending our people. The less stupid part. I'm tired of killing them in petty wars for the benefit of numbskulls!" Kaida actually sounded...animated. She had even raised her voice. The frost elf looked a bit embarrassed. It took her a moment to compose herself. She took a breath.

"She is," she confirmed. "Apparently the 'Paragon' of the Qadiri, though she looks nothing like one. I met others. One went mad and tried to eat everyone. I helped kill her. Another's a whore. The third's a tree hugger, and surprisingly sensible." Kaida could not help being disparaging even when she was talking about someone she did not dislike.