We Do Not Sow

[Ylva Wolfsbane]

In another universe, maybe Enyo and Ylva would be the same person. Their life stories were pretty similar to each other. Ylva, like her, was broken and reconstructed over and over again to be the perfect hunter, the perfect warrior. Which, she wasn't complaining and was actually thankful for, because there was no place for weaknesses in her life. "Isn't it a good feeling? To be strong, to have the power to hunt by your own? I've trained with my siblings when I was a child. They were weak, when I was getting strong. When the time came, I crippled some and killed the others without a second thought. They were just chains that held me down. And now those chains are broken. My sword was a gift of my strength." Once again, Ylva smiled at Enyo's words. Bloodshed was needed for the strong to survive. And weak people were just thieves wasting space in this galaxy. Once again, Ylva wasn't the kindest soul of the universe when it was about power. "Bloodshed is how this galaxy survived thus far, and how it'll continue to survive. We are doing it a favor by adding more bodies to the pile." Predators like them, well, it was good to be at the winning side at this war.

When she talked about travelling across the stars, without some of the fancy words that she didn't understand that much, the thought of it made her think for a second. She has never experienced something like that before and now someone was giving her a ticket for it. Or was she? Who knows. Maybe curiousity made her think that she was. Or was that boredom? Probably. Her expression changed to a more thoughtful state, as she sighed, but then started talking, still seemed to be thinking. "Well..." She said, then added. "I had my fair share of adventures in Midvinter. And now, it is plain boring and disappointing. If the galaxy is as entertaining as you said, I would give it a chance. Besides, I would have someone to show me the way to the enemies' location." Was it a pledge of loyalty, or submission to the human? Nope, not at all, but it was still better than staying here and letting her inner fire die slowly, or go totally blind and get lost in the crowd. If the human showed any sign of weakness, she would be the first name in her to-kill list. Enyo probably knew that. She added then, bringing her hands closer to the dying fire. Never ever mentioning the Valkyri that they killed and its consequences. She would be fine for that matter. They didn't deserve to live anyway, they were too blind and weak. "So, if that was an offer, I accept. That is, of course, if you have enough space in your ship for a giant and her sword." Small spaces weren't that good for a Valkyri, she had the possibility to break things if there wasn't enough room for her movement.

Whatever happened from now on, it was going to be a whole new journey for the giant. She hoped she would get more skulls to crush along the way. The sound of a totally different world than she was used to live was a bit tedious, but the giant was always up to challenge. Would she adapt to the technology that she has never seen before, or would her body adapt to the different climate? Only the time would tell. For now, she stood up. "Well, we need more wood for the fire if we don't want to die until tomorrow. It is getting weak."

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Ylva Wolfsbane"]


Enyo's words concealed some deep-seated issues. She was the clone of a woman some treated as a living legend. Many hated Siobhan Kerrigan, but many also loved and adored her. She had a legion of followers who'd storm the gates of hell for her and her command of telekinesis was legendary. It was a tough act to follow. Enyo hated her mirror and everything she believed Kerrigan stood for her, yet she was also jealous of her.


Here on Midvinter, whilst talking to the feral Valkyri, she could as if she was independent, confident and strong. In truth, she seldom felt like that. She'd been bloodied in battle, but those who'd fallen to her blade had been small fry. "My sister [member="Amara Zarides"] keeps telling me there's more to life than bloodshed. If that's the case, it does an awfully good job of hiding from me since I've yet to discover it. I don't kill wantonly, but I don't feel guilty about it either," she remarked.


She scrutinised the Valkyri. The woman's mannerisms were savage, and she could easily turn on Enyo. She was governed by her passions and the thrill of the hunt. However, in a way this also made her behaviour predictable. In the same way as that of a dangerous predator. She wondered how the giant would react to her first time in hyperspace. The same applied to a foreign climate and alien technology.


"Alright. You can come along. The ship should have enough space. Just don't break anything," she said bluntly. Her mechanical body whirred and clanked when she went to look for some wood. Out there, the blizzard still raged and blew snow around, though it was not as intense as before.

 

[Ylva Wolfsbane]

Words that the human said made Ylva frown. There is more to life than bloodshed... Was there? Who knows. Ylva wasn't the one to think about philosophy and the true meaning of life. Living simple was pretty simple and efficient for her. "If there is more to life than bloodshed, I am as clueless as you." She said, then added. "I've been given a sword, and taught to kill. That's all I know. And I am fine with it. I've seen enough here to hate the other options." Midvinter was a lovey-dovey fireplace after all, the irony. It was interesting that the woman had a sister, one more thing Ylva learned about her. "Maybe your sister can tell us someday, huh? Seems like she knows what's more." Maybe Enyo wouldn't want a feral Valkyri around her sister? Still, she felt like she didn't know Enyo at all, even though they were stuck in here for, how long has it been now? Who knows, people of Midvinter probably didn't have a clock since that would be too technological. At least, she still knew the blizzard continued raging on, even though it was less intense now.

With approval from the woman about joining the team, Ylva started her search for fuel for the fire as well as her. No promises would be made about not breaking anything, after all, Ylva would find someone or something that annoyed her eventually, but for now, she answered as she continued searching. "I can promise you that about the objects, but people, I need to meet them first to decide that. Some of them have a great punchable face." She said simply, some would take it as a joke, but the giant was serious about that last sentence. Soon, they would find some wood and rocks laying around and the fire would be enough for them to survive. Ylva started to feel quite sleepy, after all, it had been a hell of a day with a lot of events. For now, we are probably about to have a timeskip to the morning. Hopefully, the blizzard would disappear by then.

And the morning would bring more adventures for the two.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Ylva Wolfsbane"]


Enyo was not a heavy sleeper. This had not been the case before Korriban. Archangel had raised her in a monastic way and subjected her to military discipline. Once, when she'd fallen asleep while being assigned a sentry role on Gehenna, a Reaver had almost gotten the drop on her. The scar on her lower lip was a permanent reminder of how foolish she'd been to let down her guard.


Now the realm of Morpheus eluded her. The incessant rasp of her breathing interfered with her ability to rest, let alone sleep. In the rare moments when she could fall asleep, she found herself stuck in a nightmarish jumble of twisted, recurrent memories that unfolded amidst excruciating sounds. This was not sleep.


The synthskin that had been used as a substitute for what was seared from her face and torso itched incessantly. The phrik ribs did not feel right and made the itch she felt even worse. Sometimes, she still felt phantom pains where her cybernetic limbs connected with what little flesh she still had. Archangel's medical droids had assured her that this would pass and that, given how sophisticated her implants were, these sensations were more psychosomatic than real.


She found she had cause to doubt them. But it did not matter. She would overcome and turn this shell into a strength. She would not be caged. Sleep? She barely needed it. Thus she arose from the ground even before the sun rose. Outside, the blizzard had passed.


The clone sniffed, as if she'd smelt something foul. "We're not alone," she spoke quietly, though Ylva should be able to hear her. Ever since her reconstruction, she'd found her ability to perceive beings at distance had been diminished, but she had other ways.


Her keen ears heard the footsteps when beings marched through the snow with all the subtlety of a Reek. Whoever was coming was remarkably self-assured. She smelt the deluded sense of entitlement, then her jaw tightened when she caught a whiff of the light side. The footsteps of one of the intruders were stronger and more insistent. She suspected that this one was a Valkyri. The energies of the dark side slithered and coiled around her like a snake.


"Jedi. Two," she spat the word 'Jedi' as if it were an insult. "I suppose Ear has heard your prayers and decided to bid you good morning by giving you prey. Get ready for slaughter. They've probably sensed us, but they lack the...proper fighting instincts," she added dryly. Her lips curled into a cold, feral smile. The desire to do battle and spill blood rose up inside her. She removed her lightsabre's hilt from her belt, but didn't ignite the weapon yet.


Further outside, two Jedi approached the cave. They wore the traditional brown robes of their order, though they'd also donned thick coats to protect themselves from the rage of the elements. "Be careful, my young Padawan, we are getting closer. I sense great darkness in this cave," a tall, broad-shouldered Jedi Knight spoke. He had a majestic blonde beard and an infallible mane of the same colour.


"I can sense it, Master!" his Padawan, a young Nautolan girl, declared a bit too eagerly. "They must be the villains who slaughtered the people in the village. We can take them on together. We must bring them to justice!"


"Padawan, control your feelings. Jedi do not lash out in anger or seek revenge. That is the path to the Dark Side. Only if they do not surrender will we use force to pacify them. Otherwise we'll bring them before the King and teach them the path of peace."


"But, Master, if we give evildoers the chance to strike first, aren't we asking them to kill us? They're murderers who don't understand any language other than force," the girl insisted. "All those dead people demand justice. We must fight fire with fire."


"Janina, you're letting your passion cloud your judgement. Remember the Code. 'There is no emotion, there is peace'. Aggression it not strength, it is a weakness and a sign of fear. Now follow my lead and we shall prevail over evil," the Master's exasperated tone brokered no contradiction. One could probably hear Janina's sigh from a mile away. Enyo wanted to strangle them already.

 

[Ylva Wolfsbane]

Unlike Enyo, Ylva was quite a sleeper, and a loud one at that. However, her mind was quite open tonight and it didn't feel like she was sleeping, more like closing her eyes but being completely aware of her environment. Hunter instincts, even though Enyo proved she wasn't a threat yet, two predators in one den wasn't a good sign. And even if she slept, she was a hunter and was used to getting up very early so it wouldn't last very long. She thought about what happened today, first going on a patrol, then Enyo, then a huge blizzard, and now she was about to get out of this place and maybe find herself a real amusing life to live. One religious person would think it was Ear's work all along, since she loved to reward the believers who satisfied her the most. Ylva was one of those religious people. Anyway, time has passed and the voice of the raging blizzard was no more, one could only feel the cold that it left behind. The fire was down again as she couldn't hear a voice from it as well, but they didn't need that anymore. She fully opened her eyes when she heard Enyo whispering.

'We are not alone.'

After a second or two as she processed this, she heard the footsteps as well. Collecting herself a little and her brain finally could think much more clearly, she stood up. Enyo was probably using the magics...Force to determine who they were, which was kind of impressive, to be honest.(Force hate--) Ylva could determine two people, one small, one bigger, in fact those footsteps sounded pretty familiar, and that was about it. When she heard the word Jedi, she frowned, but there was a smile forming on her lips. It was the time to start her career as a Jedi-killer. The comment about Ear made her grin. "Remind me to sacrifice those two to Ear as thanks. I don't know how good of a prey they'll be to her, but that's a start." They lack the proper fighting instincts. Weakness. Ylva couldn't stand that. At all. The Jedi brainwashed her people enough, and Ylva was not going to get any of that anymore. 'The angels from the outer worlds.' She wondered how would they look like when they tore their wings apart. And now, her predator instincts kicked in, as she could hear their voices. Coming closer, closer, closer. As closer as their voices got, Ylva was getting the feeling of crushing skulls more and more.

"Smaller or the bigger?" She asked to the woman, then moved towards the boulder. "Mark your prey..." By mark your prey, she meant throwing the boulder at one of them. It was the time to see if Ylva made the right choice by following her.

[member="Enyo Typhos"]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Ylva Wolfsbane"]


"Bigger," she spoke quietly, her voice barely above a whisper. Holding her lightsabre in one hand, she moved towards the boulder. Her predatory eyes were affixed on her prey. She could smell their delusions and sense of entitlement from a mile away.


"I am Jedi Knight Balder Anlafsson. You have nothing to fear. I know of your crimes, but I also feel the good inside you. Let go of the fear and hatred in your heart. Come out of the cave, surrender your weapons and I will guide you to the light," the bearded Paladin of Righteousness declared dramatically. His aura radiated serenity, his blue eyes glittered with unwavering faith and concern, and his voice echoed with compassion and mercy.


"Master, they're going to ambush us! Attack!" his Nautolan apprentice cried out and ignited her blue lightsabre, charging. Evidently she had not really absorbed the teachings of her pacifist master. Clearly she was on the path to the dark side!


"No, Padawan...stay your...." Alas, whatever the Defender of Light had wanted to say was cut short when Enyo decided she'd had enough. Pulling at the tangled web of power that was the Force, she lifted the boulder and hurled it through the air with her mind.


Balder had been so focused on preaching that he did not perceive the attack until it was almost too late. The boulder smashed into him and thrust him down. Blood matted his infallible golden mane and immaculate beard. There was no reprieve for the Paladin, for Enyo charged. Her footsteps were heavy, her mechanical body whirred and clanked with every move. She could feel the gears moving inside her body, as she held the her burning violet blade's hilt with both hands.


There was an expression of regret on Balder's face when he ignited his own lightsabre, which, predictably, had a green blade. Drawing upon the Force and her formidable cybernetics, Enyo launched a powerful blow to split his skull in twain and end his prattling forever. It took all his strength to deflect her strike and direct her burning blade away from his body, and even then he was pushed back slightly and needed effort to regain his balance.


However, Balder refused to follow through with a counterattack. "I know you're scared inside," he said piously and more than a little patronisingly. "I do not want to fight you, but I will if I must. Surrender..." Enyo attacked once again. A blast of telekinetic energy rammed into his knee, and she launched a diagonal slash to carve him from shoulder to belly.


The Valkyri roared when he felt a spike of pain shoot through his leg, and just about managed to parry her assault. Despite having formidable strength as a Valkyri, he utilised the Soresu form. It was built to outlast an aggressive opponent, but this was difficult when you faced a cyborg. Enyo came at him again, as implacable as an ox. His expression was pained when he drew upon the Force and attacked at last, switching to Makashi. A series of elegant jabs and cuts meant to weaken her defences yielded little, as she held her ground like a mighty glaccier, before scoring a cut on his thigh that made him curse in anger. Her duelling style was simple and unimaginative, but she was the stronger, bloody-minded one.


When she charged once more, Enyo was hit by an invisible wall. Though she did not fall, she stagered a bit, and then she saw the energies of the light side coalesce around the man's fingertips. Abruptly, she felt as if her senses had been deadened. Her perception suffered, she felt as if she were paralysed, for she was still enough of an organic to be affected by Force Stasis. "Do not force me to destroy you." He sounded almost pleading. Alas, his words only enraged her more. She would not be caged! Snarling like an animal, she broke through the hold on her body through sheer willpower and launched herself at the Jedi to literally ram him, delivering a heavy punch to his chest.


The result? The Jedi was sent flying, ragdolled like someone who'd just been rammed by a train. His lightsabre had cut through a joint but done little due to her phrik limbs. It flew out of his hand and when he impacted upon the ground, the snow was stained by blood. His body was a mass of pain, he cursed violently and spat blood, wheezing. Where once there had been serenity, now there was naught but anger and hatred written across his face, as if a flip had been switched.


Bringing up her lightsabre, Enyo launched a downward chop, but the Valkyri rolled aside so that her energy sword only burnt through snow instead of ending his life. The cauterised flesh smelt like a bad barbeque. He cartwheeled again and again, feeding on his pain to keep himself going. "You leave me no choice, villain! Now you'll experience the full extent of my power. I am the Sword of Light and will conquer the darkness!" he yelled. He raised his hands, then a torrent of blue-white lightning shrieked from his fingertips, arcing towards the cyborg.

 

[Ylva Wolfsbane]

"Good." She said, impressed. She didn't like the fact that she got the little whiny one, but a Jedi was a Jedi nonetheless. Besides, this one had a little fighting spirit inside at least. Once she heard the name of the bigger one and realized why she recognized those footsteps, she sighed. What a disgrace of a Valkyri he was, brainwashed by the Jedi and became a lost soul. She wondered if he even believed a word he said. She felt the rage building, wanted to tear the Viking's head by herself and let him at least be useful to Ear. However, the prey was already marked by the woman, and she respected that. Luckily, they didn't need to hear more brainless talking, as Enyo threw the huge boulder towards him and attacked. The other one was a lot closer to the cave, so like a predator she jumped on her, sword ready to cut and burn some flesh, it’s flame bright and living.

The girl, even though she had a good fighting spirit, was inexperienced, and it was quite certain. She couldn’t understand at first about the sword and how it worked, the way she looked at it made the giant grin. “The sword will not work on me. It’s very primitive, and I have a lightsaber, strongest of the weapons. I will end your life here, villain!” She started to like this girl. Such confidence. Oh well, every prey fought before they met their end. Unfortunately, Ylva wasn’t the one to do the “Come to the Dark Side, we have cookies.” talk. “Try it.” She said simply and then swung her sword in such quickness that you would think she wasn’t a giant. The girl struggled to immediately take a defensive position but she was successful, and the weapons clashed, flames falling to ground. When the lightsaber and the sword clashed, the confidence that the girl showed turned into confusion and she threw herself back.

“How is this possible? I thought.... Ahhh anyway! You are still going to die!” Then she used space magics to throw rocks at her from the distance. Some of them were big, some of them were pebbles. Did she really think some rocks would stop her? Ylva took a breath and started to run like a battering ram towards the girl, most of the rocks hit her and opened some wounds, but who cares? Needless to say, she still had that sword wound on her chest and it didn’t even hurt that much. More and more rocks followed until she reached her, and then as a last defense mechanism she put a huge one between her and the predator. Ylva, with the momentum she gained suddenly made a punch and swung it towards the rock. Her strength was enough to break it, and even reach the Jedi behind. When the punch connected with her face, the huge rock suddenly fell down, and the girl followed as she could only stop a few steps later from the pressure. It probably broke a lot of bones. The girl’s scream was like a treat, and it made her grin once again.

The girl collected her balance back, pushed herself from the ground and with such a rage, lashed towards her with the intent to kill. It seemed Jedi couldn’t control their minions. Amusing. Ylva dodged the first attack, slightly turning her body. Once again, once again. Playing with her prey was exciting for her. With each hit missing, rage of the girl was getting stronger. “Die die die die!” One of the attacks hit her on the arm, which immediately made her smile vanish, since it burned a lot. Well, lesson 1. Laser hurts more than steel. Ylva let out a growl, it was her time to rage. Her attacks got quicker and quicker with each hit, she aimed to kill. The Padawan was trying her best to deflect her attacks and get a hit or two for herself. She didn’t give her any chance to use her Force, since she would be too occupied to stay alive. At one time, as the girl tried to attack her once more, she caught her arm in the air and stabbed her in the stomach with an animalistic smile.

The girl cried out with the pain of both steel cutting her flesh and her insides burning, heavily breathing. However, before the attack could be fatal, she sent out a Force Push with her free hand and it caused Ylva to take a few steps back. The girl was free from her grip, so she immediately jumped back, bleeding, to have a breathing space and to revise her tactics. “No, no, no, no... I won’t... I won’t lose to.... argghhhhhh!”

Poor girl, she ran away from a quicker death, but got caught in her Master’s lightning instead which was directly aimed at Enyo. Ylva gave her a look to see how she was doing.

[SIZE=10.5pt][member="Enyo Typhos"][/SIZE]

 

[Enyo Typhos]

[member="Ylva Wolfsbane"]


Enyo's cybernetic physiology granted her many advantages: Superhuman strength, durability and endurance. However, a major downside was her vulnerability to electrical and ion attacks. This was a flaw she was well aware of. Sufficiently powerful discharges could make her unable to move or even breathe.


By giving into the Dark Side just because he was in a great deal of pain and losing the battle, Balder had conceded that his beloved Jedi Code was worthless. It was nothing except a compilation of platitudes meant to make him feel better about himself. A devastating storm of the Force shot towards the clone when the fallen Jedi Knight blasted her with Force lightning.


Enyo met the arcing electricity with her burning violet blade. The storm of lightning sizzled into her, causing a good deal of smoke. Bolts coiled around her lightsabre like snakes as she sought to deflect it. Strain was evident on her face, her cold eyes reflected anger and hatred. Balder roared in triumph when the cyborg staggered. The power flared through her, blowing up circuits, overloading systems and threatening to deactivate her. Her right hand slipped from her blade's hilt and began to twitch, clenching and unclenching violently, while sparks flew. Still, Enyo advanced, limping. Pain was just weakness leaving the body. Her body had been broken and reborn in the fires of hell.


"Soulless creature. By disfiguring yourself, you weakened your connection to the Force," Balder snarled, looking triumphant. His body was mass of pain, but he continued to drink from the fountain of the dark side. "I am Light, I am the Shadow. I will reunite the Jedi and vanquish..."


"Master...stop...aaargh...please," his apprentice cried out in pain, for the Nautolan was caught in the blast. Unfortunately for her, some of the bolts Enyo had managed to reflect ended up striking her. Her eyes were wide with fear.


"Foolish girl, you're unworthy of being my apprentice." Ignoring the Jedi's absurd tirade, the clone drew upon the Force. She willed its energies to flow through her body. When Balder ramped up the lightning, she harnessed her power to absorb some of the onslaught of electrical judgement, before it could devastate her crucial systems. If the Force was a stream of water, then she exact her will upon it and direct its flow. It was her inner flame, her birthright. Energy crawled over her, but still she advanced. Her right hand's palm produced a small arm cannon. The only thing Balder would see at this distance was a bright glow, then suddenly there was a muzzle flash and a beam of light sliced through his stomach, streaking out of his back.


"I will smite you...villain!" he coughed badly and weakly reached out with the Force. But when he tried to call upon the Light, the Force failed him. There was a bright, white glow around his fingers, then he cried when it burnt him. Terror and despair flooded him. His weakness filled Enyo with disgust. "No! This cannot be. How can the Force abandon me?"


A violet lightsabre swept down to slice through his hand, shearing fingers. He clutched the stump of cauterised flesh and looked upon his defeater. "The Force is not with you, pathetic pretender. Your lack of fortitude is your undoing. Soon your ridiculous order will be reduced to ash. I tire of your inane twaddle." Her voice dripped with venom and mockery. Rather than fire once more, she withdrew her mini disruptor back into her hand, then grabbed him by the throat and pulled him into the air. His struggle to escape the iron grip was futile. He hovered a breath away from Death's door, and it was time to kick him across the threshold so that he could feel the void's embrace. With a single, almost insultingly casual move, she ripped his head from his torso. His headless body crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes, and Enyo turned around, still holding his head.