Private Undying Ritual

[Darth Nexion]

The harsh acid rain of Vjun poured down on Darth Nexion's cave. He was recently tasked with the mission of bringing forth an undead army to be used by the Empire. It was a simply task for one such as him, he was an accomplished necromancer after all. However, the problem came when he was told the army had to be an indefinite one; one that would not fall down to the ground after a certain period of time. It was, admittedly, one of Sith Necromancy's downsides. Yet, Nexion knew what he'd have to do: until he amends the current ritual so he could do it anywhere in the galaxy, he would use the Force Nexus located here on Vjun to amplify his power.

It had two upsides: he'd strengthen his power in the force and he'd gain his own permanent, private army. Sith Necromancy ensured that the user retained full control over the undead, so long as they have the will to maintain themselves.

At the current time, Nexion was in the cave he'd taken up residence in. It was a deep cave, a small entrance which led to several winding tunnels before arriving at a large anti-chamber section via one of the routes. Surrounding the floor were bodies, rather recent ones. Some he'd dug up on his way here, others he'd killed on his way here. He knelt down at the back of the chamber. He'd carved out some of the stone into a shape with the crude resembling of an alter. As he knelt, he focused his power into his ritual, channeling the power the planet's force nexus to amplify it.

Valery Noble

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"The dead aren't dead. They are simply waiting for someone to answer their call."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

Valery arrived on the desolate planet of Vjun, her senses immediately assaulted by the dark, twisted energy emanating from its Force Nexus. The acidic rain hissed as it struck her cloak, but she paid it little mind, her focus entirely on the task ahead. She had tracked the source of the disturbance to this remote cave, where the malevolent presence of Sith rituals clung thick in the air. As she neared the cave's entrance, a narrow and unwelcoming gap in the rocky terrain, she could feel the oppressive darkness growing stronger with each step.

She wasn't too late, but she needed to hurry.

Entering the cave with her own presence in the Force suppressed, she was greeted by the chilling silence, broken only by the distant sound of water dripping from the ceiling. The deeper she ventured, the more the dark energy enveloped her, guiding her toward the heart of the ritual. The winding tunnels twisted and turned, the oppressive atmosphere weighing heavily on her as she navigated the labyrinthine passages. She moved silently, her hand resting on her lightsaber, ready to draw it at a moment's notice.

But she would not reveal herself until she needed to.

Valery could feel the presence of the Sith Lord ahead as she slowly drew closer, his power swelling as he drew on the Nexus to fuel his dark work. The faint flicker of light from the chamber up ahead confirmed her suspicions — this was the source of the disturbance. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself for the confrontation that was surely to come, continuing forward with resolute determination.

Darth Nexion ​

 

[Darth Nexion]

Nexion continued to focus on the ritual. It was a lengthy one, but it was worth it. As he delved further into the ritual, energy began to spread from the crude, stone alter. The energy, green and purple in colour, makes it's way towards Nexion, and continues to spread to the bodies surrounding the floor. Nexion, still in a meditative position, opened his eyes to show them glowing a green and purple as well.

"There it is. The power I need for the ritual. With this, we shall start the creation of an unending army. Come now, you useless husks, rise from the grave."

As he could feel the power and was about to channel it into his Sith Necromancy, he felt a presence. A strong one at that. He stood up and turned around to see the Jedi Grandmaster, Valery Noble opposed to him at the entrance of the cave's anti-chamber. The power dimmed from his eyes, but it continued to swirl around the floor, pouring itself into the corpses in the cave.

"Well, well, this is a surpise. What an honour it is to meet the Jedi Grandmaster herself. Is my work really so worrisome that you should come here yourself? Good news for me then."

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"The dead aren't dead. They are simply waiting for someone to answer their call."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

"Don't pat your own back too much," Valery said after stepping into the cave, her eyes shifting between the Sith Lord and the lifeless corpses he was trying to alchemically return to the world of the living. This wasn't the first time that Valery had seen such an unnatural ritual — the Sith Order had weaponized an army of undead and turned it against the Alliance — but every time she saw and felt an abomination like this in the making, she still felt a shiver go through her spine.

This was the worst of what the Dark Side could do.

"Whatever ritual you're hoping to complete, it ends here." She turned her gaze away from the dead and focused purely on the Sith Lord before her. She had never seen him before, but she would never underestimate an opponent.

Every Sith was dangerous.

"I suggest you surrender now."

Darth Nexion ​

 

[Darth Nexion]

"Oh, I think I'll pat myself on the back a fair amount. Not just anyone can raise the dead, you know. I won't be the first to do it, not even the last, but I'll make an impact at least. But please, Lady Val, what do you intend to do?"

Nexion's voice was confident and mocking. He wasn't worried, not even a bit. He'd handles Jedi before by mocking them until they let down their guard. Sure, it may not work here, but even so... he wouldn't die.

"Ah, doesn't matter. But, this will be fun. You won't have to worry. Once your dead, either by my hand, or by the dead's hands, I can continue my ritual and you'll be risen with then. Sure, you may not retain your identity and sense of self, but you'll live, in a sense."

After his last sentence he paused for a moment.

"Yeah, the loss of identity thing is something I'm working to remedy. Picture it: instead of undead legions of barely functioning grunts, I could eventually raise competent leaders for the Sith's armies. Ones that won't fall!"

He grinned upon hearing himself.

"Oh, now I must get to work! Now, I will have to keep a few corpses for my main ritual but..."

Nexion extended his hands, raising the sections of bodies that were closest to Valery Noble .

"They should keep you company. If you would like to do me the favour as well of letting them kill you so I can raise with with them, that'd also be appreciated."

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"The dead aren't dead. They are simply waiting for someone to answer their call."

 

[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

Valery Noble's eyes narrowed as she watched the grotesque display, the reanimated corpses near her rising at Nexion's command. His arrogance was palpable, and while his words were laced with overconfidence, Valery remained centered, her connection to the Force grounding her amidst the dark energy surrounding them.

She had to remain focused.

"Your confidence blinds you, Nexion," Valery replied, her voice calm yet firm. "You're not the first I've stopped from completing such rituals, and you won't be the last." She ignited her double-bladed lightsaber, the violet blades humming with focused power to rival the intensity in her fiery eyes. "I won't allow you to desecrate the dead or corrupt the Force any longer. If you think these abominations will stop me, you are gravely mistaken."

Her eyes settled on the dead and a moment of silence passed. The very second the undead moved their muscles, Valery moved like a blur, her body accelerating far beyond her natural abilities as the Force began to flow through her muscles. Her violet blades lashed out, easily carving through the flesh and bones of the walking corpses.

He believed her arrival was good news for his plans, but he couldn't have been more wrong.

Darth Nexion ​

 

[Darth Nexion]

Nexion's eyes widened in shock. He knew she was good, she had to be, but he wasn't expecting it to be so quick. But, oddly enough, he smiled.

"Incredible. You would be an asset to have. I look forward to making you the first of my new generation of undead."

He walked away from the alter, not caring whether or not he was standing over the bodies, or on them. As he approached the Jedi Master, he brought out one of his twin lightsabers, igniting it to his right side. He also checked that his padawan-braid belt was still attached, it was.

"Please, Lady Val, allow me to see what makes you the Jedi Grandmaster myself."

He assumed a Form VI stance as he kept the smile on his face before pulling up his mask over his mouth.

Valery Noble

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"The dead aren't dead. They are simply waiting for someone to answer their call."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

"It'd be a waste to turn me into one of these mindless things," Valery said after she had cut down the first wave with the speed of a lightning bolt. Undead were dangerous, but mostly in large numbers. When they could surround, outnumber and eventually overwhelm even the most powerful Jedi.

The Sith Lord, however, was still performing his ritual — his army had yet to rise.

Valery then watched the Sith Lord draw his weapon, its crimson blade igniting into the air before he lowered it down to his side. But for just a moment, her focus was not on his stance or his weapon.

She looked at his belt and clenched her jaw.

Challenged to make the first move, Valery raised her hand and the Force began to tremble. Large chunks of rock were ripped from the walls and ceiling and were launched toward him at lethal velocities. At the same time, Valery moved herself, using the rocks to obstruct his vision while she closed the distance, ready to lash out in the aftermath of the rocks raining down on him.

Darth Nexion ​

 

[Darth Nexion]

Nexion smirked at the oncoming volley of rocks being launched towards him. He ran towards them himself and began to slice through them with his blade. As he left the sliced pieces in his wake, he continued to run forward but, surprisingly, pulled the sliced rocks with him, throwing them back towards Valery Noble .

"I saw you got a glimpse at my belt, you a fan? It took me quite a while to weave it together as well as I have, but I think I did pretty well. Recognise any of them? I hear padawan braids have a few differences between each one to make them unique."

He knew it's be impossible to taunt her out of sync with his usual way, so he decided that he should try a different approach. While slim, he may anger her if any of the braids belonged to any padawans she knew. Even if she didn't know them, she must be angry at the fact he's wearing them in the first place.

"If you want, I can tell you about some of the ones I'm proudest of while we duel."

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"The dead aren't dead. They are simply waiting for someone to answer their call."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

A flick of her hand sent the rocks up into the ceiling, shattering them all into small fragments and dust. The debris began to rain down on the two Force users, but Valery stood her ground and hardly seemed fazed by it. Her fiery gaze rested on the Sith Lord, the grip on her weapon tightening as he spoke about his belt.

She knew what he was doing — an attempt at baiting her into losing emotional control — but Valery wouldn't have been the Grandmaster if such tactics worked on her.

It only strengthened her resolve.

"If your tactics rely on angering me, you will fail." Valery drew her weapon and closed the distance with an explosive burst of Force-augmented speed. The blades of her weapon came around lightning fast, her mind focused, calm, and precise, and lashed out to strike across the Sith Lord's torso.

Darth Nexion ​

 

[Darth Nexion]

"Oh, I figured it probably wouldn't waver you, but that doesn't mean I was disingenuous. I truly do enjoy regaling others the stories I have of these Padawan braids."

Nexion kept his guard up and defended himself from the strike to his chest, but narrowly. He pushed the Valery Noble 's blade away from him and kicked her back, trying to gain distance between the two of them. His ritual was looking to be a failure, but that doesn't mean it would all be for nought. He could still feel the Nexus of the planet channelling through him, and could feel his power slowly increase. Regardless, he had to keep his focus on the Jedi. Even if they were only recently acquainted, he could tell there was a clear difference between them. He was no slouch among the Sith, but this woman was the Grandmaster for a reason.

Still, he kept his blade drawn, he kept the smile on his face, and he kept his eyes on his fight. He once again charges towards her and this time, slashed towards her neck.

"All you have to do is ask of any of them, and I can tell you exactly how my encounter went with them. Besides, their corpses also made very good test subjects back in the day."

It may have been fruitless, but he would continue to attempt to make her trick herself up.

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"The dead aren't dead. They are simply waiting for someone to answer their call."

 

[Valery Noble]

​

Outfit: Factory Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber

Valery remained utterly quiet.

With every passing second, she could feel the planet's Nexus offering him strength. Alongside it, he was trying to throw her off and make her lash out. He wanted her to trick herself up with his constant use of Dun Möch, but Valery had other plans. She was going to pull one of her preferred tricks against him.

As Darth Nexion closed the distance and swept his blade for her neck, Valery raised her own lightsaber into a guard. But right as they were about to make contact, she altered her body's connection to the world and phased through his weapon. A simultaneous dash forward not only caused his blade to pass through her, but Valery herself moved through him to get behind the Sith Lord.

Hoping his unexpected miss would throw him off-balance, and with her suddenly and quickly getting behind him, Valery spun with Force-augmented speed and used her rotational momentum to sweep her blade across his back.

An attempt to finish him, or force him to retreat.

Darth Nexion ​

 

[Darth Nexion]

Nexion's eyes widened upon the Grandmaster phasing through his saber, so much so he lost the smirk beneath his mask. He could tell she was behind him, and he had little way of defending himself. He turned his head and saw her slash her own saber horizontally at his back, so he leaned diagonally as quickly as he could.

He was mostly successful, but he could feel the blade catch his left side which caused him to stumble and grip his side. He recovered, but had a slight lean on his left side. He raised his blade once more, but also brought his left hand to his side, causing more of the corpses to rise. As he sent them forward, causing them to charge towards Valery Noble , he ran ran to the back of the cave again, hoping to finish his ritual quickly while the Jedi was distracted.

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"The dead aren't dead. They are simply waiting for someone to answer their call."