Dathomir

[Joreel Ordo]

((Thanks Xae!))

 

Everything was dark, the man could not see anything around him but pitch black. Even his own body could not be seen in this dense vision. Where was he. He runs but nothing is gained, he looks around, but no light can be see from anywhere to illuminate his darkened vision. A flash hit his eye and his head spun looking to see what it was that caused it. And there it was in the distance. So minute it was easily mistaken at first. Just a tiny white dot in the distance, it could be just a speck of something floating, or a spaceship kilometers away. There was no question, he had to go for it, he had to get out of here, where he had nothing, no one. His fiancee was gone, his life was abandoned, his body missing.

 

How long had he been in this darkness. A month? A year? It was hard to tell time when there are no suns or moons, no watches. No sense of time, and space apparently disappeared from his perception as well. Was this death? If so why is this white dot here now after all this time? Could it be a prison? But no, where would his body be? He heard of the ancient Rakata prisons, but then space existed only away from the rest of the world. His body does not exist here. So where was he? And what was that light. Did it even matter anymore after all this time?

 

The man had no reason to worry. His life was useless sitting here not trying to find out exactly what it was that he had dropped to, become to, lived till. It was a time for action. Time to pick up, whatever it was that moved him. It felt like walking, but with no movement, not touching, no senses, just will of mind. He looked toward the white dot and marked his destination. He began to run. Faster and faster he ran...or whatever this is. He could see his dot come closer, it became rounder, then closer and closer. It was bright, blinding his sight, be he had to go it was his destiny to reach this point. He made it he stepped through the light. And he felt as if he were falling.

 

The feeling lasted for a mere moment and then was followed by a tremendous crash and fleeting pain. In a rush he could smell, he could feel, he could hear. He heard birds chirping in the background creating an ambient noise. He heard the ground move as his body writhed with agony in his unpreparedness for movement. His eyes were shut, still covered with darkness. But his body hurt. He pushed his feet into the ground, trying to regain the feeling of movement without will of mind. it was hard to big his heel into the dirt and regain balance.

 

A roar, one like no other could be heard from a distance, and John opened his eyes in a moment. That roar was something John had felt he would never hear again, and in the depths of his fear hoped he would not. Adrenaline rushed through him, and he began to breathe heavy. His eyes knew what they saw but it couldn't be. It was impossible for this to truly be what he saw.

 

The roar belonged to a beast, a Ordonian Toarnus. This beast was gray in fur, with teeth bare, eyes gleaming blue, but fearsome. It's hind legs rode high on its body as though it was meant to be bipedal, but its long arms make it gallop upon like a dog.

 

John used his adrenaline to kickstart his feet, and he got up as soon as he could and began to run. He looked behind him every once and a while, noticing that some of the portions of the forest were much larger than he last remembered seeing them. As he looked the Toarnus dropped down from the cliff and began to chase after John, digging his claws into the trees leaving them scarred as he made his way toward his prey. Running forward John tried taking fast routes, little foliage for him so that hopefully the Toarnus would give up. But as John looked behind him, the beast was gaining on him, and his legs could not take him as fast as he needed to go.

 

The Toarnus was gaining on him and John had to become inventive. He saw a thick tree nearby, and decided he could climb it faster than the beast and kill him from afar. He moved to the tree and stuck out his arm to begin using his scaling features of his Mandalorian armor when he noticed his arms were bare, scrawny, child like. His hands were small, and nubile. He was unarmed, unfit, and now, as he heard the snarling get closer, dead. He turned to look the best in the eyes, his body trembling, his mind begging for the forgiveness his lips cannot utter.

 

This was it...he was going to die...the Toarnus pounced and the boy threw his arms in front of him hoping for anything but this. He braced, and in his last moments he could see death before him. He saw the harbinger himself, and John begged him. The harbinger gave him a nod and the boy John heard a nasty blast and he opened his eyes, looking to the creature that was going to kill him. All around him, trees were bent in a spherical perimeter, and the Toarnus was not recognizable. What one could determine laid in many different locations in front of the young John. He was saved.

 

A dark hole appeared beneath him and in an instant the darkness returned and an omnipotent voice filled the room.

 

"You have passed your test, you are ready to lead your people."

 

A light blue light engulfed everything John could see and his eyes finally opened.

 

He awoke to a night sky, the billions of stars and gleaming colors of random gases in his gaze. He gets up and the clank and clunk of him doing so makes him look down. Everything is here, armor, weapons, his hair was just as he left it. his hands, gloved, his lightsabers on his belt. He had returned, he was back from whatever that darkness was. Looking out in the landscape he saw something very familiar. This was a planet he was drawn to, was meant to go to. This was her home, the home of his love.

 

He could feel the force around him. feeling at peace and centered for the first time in a while. It's guidance never felt wrong to him, and he followed it much like that light in the dark. Yet as he accepted his place in the force he felt a dark feeling from the planet, and its filth was immeasurable. John quickly took his mind to it, and bringing to force to him, ran with a burst of speed toward the source of this dark tinge on the planet. He was a Jedi Knight afterall.

 

As he arrived to the source he was horrified to see nothing but carnage everywhere, heads were lopped off. Body's fractured and bent in ways that would scar the mind. But the Jedi Knight knew his duty, and knew psychological games alone could not hold his faith in the light side of the force, his faith in establishing peace in the galaxy, anger did not tinge the Mandalorian Jedi. Only patience to seek the one responsible and bring the being to justice.

 

Looking around the landscape he embraced the souls of these departed, and their living force asking them to direct him to the one who destroyed them. To their murderer. His mind was clear and the force gave him the answer he so needed, and as such he ran in the direction, feeling the tinge of the dark side behind him and in front of him. He ran into the wild nearby and leapt into the canopy dashing from branch to branch until he came upon a man who was bathed in blood. Hartel jumped from the trees and landed gracefully before the man.

 

"What happened to you?" Hartel asked politely in Dathomiri, though the force was telling him already of what this man had done already, he felt outright aggression would have been against his honor.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Auros was not startled by the voice, he'd felt the stranger coming. Slowly and silently, he turned towards the armored fool, a dark, bored look worn on his face. There was something about this stranger, something that tickled at his mind, something that he couldn't quite place.

 

He looked the man up and down, disdainfully noting that the man's battle-scarred cyan armor stood out horribly against the vibrant green foliage and rustic trunks of the Dathomirian jungle. Auros's lip curled as he noticed the robe draped over the back of the armor. A Jedi. A filthy meddling Jedi.

 

And one cowardly enough not to show his face, he venomously thought as the curled lip broke into a snarling grin.

 

Jedi were the ruin of his clan.

 

First there was the roving Jedi that had crash landed a few miles from the settlement ten years ago, the beginning to the end. Sure the hermit hadn't really bothered them for the first year and a half he was on the planet and had forged something of a tolerance from the clan's High Priestess, but then his ever curious and infuriatingly disobedient sister had come across the wayward Jedi. The end of that relationship concluded with Xae-Lin running away with the Jedi as he fled the planet. For appearances sake for Eri'anya's, their mother and High Priestess of the clan, power and position, the clan was told that Xae was kidnapped by the vile hermit and that a price had been placed on their heads.

 

Then, seven years later, the brat showed back up with another Jedi in tow, armored and silent as he watched the auburn-haired thorn in Eri'anya's and Auros's side engage in combat with their mother for a vie at power for the clan. She claimed to have joined the ranks of the outsider witches, and came offering god-knows-what. She killed their mother and took off with his only daughter, helped along by the Jedi in black. Jedi were quickly disgusting the Dathomirian man.

 

Last night he had to cleanse the chaos that had become his clan, and now standing before him was yet another accursed Jedi, who curiously spoke his particular dialect of Dathomiri, not something that was widely known.

 

Now there could have been a few explanations for this. One, he could have used a mind invasive pull to steal the words from Auros's own mind. Two, he was very familiar with a member of his Clan, likely Xae-Lin. Three, he'd been lingering undetected for sometime under the cover of the Dathomirian jungle.

 

Auros was not aware of any attempt to penetrate his mind and anyone just lurking about in the jungle close enough and long enough to pick up the unique dialect would have been killed on sight or by one of the wandering rancors loyal to the clan. So the second option, far seemed the likelier of the three options.

 

Once again Xae-Lin continued to annoy him.

He allowed his annoyance to build, fester, and blend with his rage and rancor, bringing it to a boil as he faced this lone Jedi and unleashed a fury of lightening and malice on the Jedi, by uttering a single word, taught to him by his late mother.

 

He was determined to take the Jedi down.

 

((Okay, not exactly a duel, per se, at least not one that we'll need a mod on”¦Just a fight to go on for a couple of posts”¦fun shall we be having!))

[Joreel Ordo]

((Not wearing my helmet My face is clearly visible. ))

 

John had almost no time to react and flourished his lightsaber as quickly as he could, using his newfound adrenaline to give him a quick rehearsal on how to keep the weightless blade balanced in his hands. The lightning was caught on his blade and refracted into the trees nearby shattering them and causing some to bend forward hovering menacingly over the two men. Hartel eventually thrust his sword before him effectively throwing the lightning away from him. He looked to his attack, his hair now falling in front of his face with a shocked look on his face.

 

"Fool, I am not going to harm you! You look hurt! I can give you the medical attention you need!"

 

Hartel wasn't going to act foolishly though. He held his blade close enough to parry if necessary, the Mandalorian instinct to fight being quelled by his Jedi Code. The conflict of interest was draining on the man. If he could only strike and kill this murderer, who is obviously guilty, his mind could have a moment of agreement as he cut through him. Yet he remained honorable. The perfect vision of the Jedi Guardian.

 

Looking upon his attackers face he saw familiarity, but nothing he could place. His memories seemed to have faded in his long departure from reality. But there was something so familiar about this man. Something he should remember but could not. Had they met before? Did he have something to do with Xae?

 

All John could do was stand and await his attacker's next move.

[Joreel Ordo]

((Sorry gotta go save the galaxy))

 

Hartel had figured it was safe as the man had not continued his attack. Yet what was he to do now, the man was clearly a guilty violent being who had to be dealt with. Yet simultaneously, if he were the murderer, he would have no chance against any larger clans he would come across on the planet. Thinking it through John quickly took his lightsaber and sheathed it and taking his leave toward where from his memory previous Imperial bases had been found. He felt guilty about leaving the man there with the possibility of harming others, but he had no choice in the matter, he had to get off this rock and get back into the Galaxy and see what he had missed all these years. To see Xae again.

 

It took him a few hours to reach his destination of the old Imperial Starport located on Dathomir. It was properly abandoned, decaying, with the nature of this world starting to help it disappear. John feared of internal damage to the structure and possibly the starships inside. Hesitantly he gathered some of the force to him and blew open the door. The power grid seemed to be off for this station, as no alarms of any sort seemed to enable upon his breaking in. Thus Hartel spent a good majority of his time walking about the small complex looking for anything that appeared to be a master control.

 

After a few minutes he found his intended switch, and the generator hummed to life as the lights came on in the building. A few screens came up giving schematics of the area including the hangar which according to these logs, had a few TIE's still in their hangars. Rushing out to the hangar he found hat the log was wrong as only two TIE's and a few parts were scattered around the hangar. Luckily for Hartel, one of the two left was a TIE Advanced, which based on memory had a hyperdrive. Hartel climbed into the ship and prepped it for take off.

 

Within a few minutes he was airborne and burning lines in the sky as he se a destination for Gala, hoping to find the Jedi, Xae, and some peace of mind. To make things easier landing in a TIE Advanced, Hartel input the Jedi channels into his comm aboard the starship, and almost immediately, as if the Force had anticipated his action, a private comm came describing a mission. It looked like the Jedi would get no rest, he plotted a new course to Concord Dawn, as he was low on his equipment, and this ship, though elite, was just not suitable for the mission ahead.

 

He entered the blackness of space deeper going to his destination with earnest.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Auros howled in rage and anger as his attack was calmly deflected. The calmness of this one was quickly getting on is already limited nerves.

 

"Fool, I am not going to harm you! You look hurt! I can give you the medical attention you need!"

 

A low growl was all the response the half-crazed man gave. Medical attention indeed! Surely this fool could see that none of the blood that covered him was his. For the moment though Auros considered whether or not killing this impudent Jedi dog would cause his darling sister any pain. He stared intently at the man slowly circling, his eyes wild and red.

 

Then, suddenly, the coward ran away into the forest.

 

The low soft growl that emitted from his throat grew into a full-fledge roar of rage as he tore off in the woods after the man the cyan armor, looking to play out his frustrations and rage against the insufferable Jedi and their meddling ways.

 

For most of the day he tracked the stranger, his anger and stench growing stronger and stronger, effectively repelling much of the wildlife from messing with him. He was amazed at how fast the man had moved it was almost like a ghost.

 

As night fell, he saw a dark shape rising against the night sky, barely visible from beneath the canopy of the trees, and with a short flash it was gone. Curious more so now than vengeful, he somehow knew that the stranger was now gone from the planet. Perhaps if he followed the path of the spineless worm, then he too could find his way off of this dismal world. Slowly, a dark plan formed in his mind. He would track down and kill Xae, if it was the last thing he did. She would suffer ultimately as he had.

 

Some hours later as he traversed the pitch black of the Dathomiri forest, he stumbled upon the decaying husk of the Imperial Starport. To him, there was something almost poetically beautiful in the jagged decay and destruction scarred surface of the building.

 

He found the entrance easily enough, and was amazed at the sheer size of the hidden structure, all around him he could easily see the planet wreaking havoc on the systems and structures as it tried to reclaim what had once been its own. He whispered some more of the tribe's magic words, immediately feeling a slight pull as to what he was looking for. Finally he found a hangar, the roof partially caved in, blocking the main doors. This was likely the same hangar in which the filthy Jedi had found his escape.

 

If that Jedi slime can escape this choking place, then so can I, he poisonously thought, as he strode towards the amalgamation of ships and ship parts. He felt something unknown calling to him (or more accurately he was ripping the needed information out of the collective Force memory imprint of the place) as he managed to fit various parts together to create a Frankenstein ship.

 

Calling upon the ghosts of long-dead Imperial pilots and officers, Auros took the ship and caused it to roar to life, causing the structurally unsound hangar ceiling to begin creaking unnaturally, as he punched the exit course into the computer, connected some exposed wires and the ship rose into the night.

[Guest]

A large figure stood, silhouetted by the starlight drapery, on the hostile planet of Dathomir. Primal sounds of archaic nature echoed throughout and bemoaned their anguishing hunts; Predators searched for food in vein, only to grow hungrier... More desperate...

 

The large figure seemed to indefinitely stare upon what in the distance seemed like a small encampment as the cool night air brushed the hair of his topknot across the back of his bald head. A small sigh gripped his form as the figure, a dark titan, kneeled aside a great tree and prayed toward the sky as if his feeble words meant anything to the rest of the cosmos.

 

A series of slow cracks, came from the surrounding dirt laying among the trees as the figure rest upon bent knee and his eyes and ears caught it all, but hadn't a clue as to the source. The air was still and stoic, but from blurry night-like context a hoard of 10 Transdoshans caught the man by surprise. The figure hadn't a chance to respond before one of the feral lizards jumped up and ruthlessly slammed the man's neck against a tree with bent muscular forearm and the rest pinned his arms and legs to the same tree so their aid could not be provided.

 

"What haffee we hear brothherssss?" said the green abomination with claws clamped upon the gasping, hulking figure from before. "It ssseeeemmssss Bohja was praying to hisss falsssse sssspiritsss to mussster help for a encampment of ussselessss people. Sssshall we ssshow him hisss ussselesss effortsss?" finished the lizard with a horrifying glint in his menacing orange eyes.

 

The figure of Bohja pressed on the tree still gasping for breath, looked at the lizard as if disgust were its description. His eyes, one of them a golden cybernetic and the other a deep brown, burned through the scaly fiend's armor, but after what seemed like an eternity passed his assailant did not appear to be phased in the slightest. In fact, the doshan laughed off the glare of vengeful desperation and slammed the man once more against the tree. By now Bohja's neck was badly bruised, but he was hanging on, his eyes kept their glare steady upon his focused opponent and almost in a mocking gesture, Bohja smiled as his neck of flesh seemed to grind off onto the tree' spitefully welcoming bark.

 

"Ignorance seems to befall-... *cough* you lizard" replied Bohja through rasping coughs, struggling for air. His breaths were shallow and the lizard's eyes waned, looking into Bohja's words carefully, but the man upon bark did not waver in his oration and as if in answer to his claim, he whistled as loud as he could, the sound echoing for a great distance before it dissipated into the wilderness no doubt catching the attention of a few beast nearby.

 

For a moment nothing happened and the lizards laughed at the feeble man, smashing him once more against the great wooded irony. The leader made a flicking motion toward the others that was hard to make out, but due to Bohja's condition he hadn't the vaguest expectation to catch it. Bohja's senses began to decrease now as shapes dulled and hearing came and went, but in the distance he could hear a dull sound as his cavalry arrived.

 

From the very trees the Transdoshans came from, a wisp of golden brown launched itself into the fray, destroying the Transdoshan's grasp with a clamp of its mighty jaw. The reptile reeled in pain at the large bird's bite and was about to reach back for another pounding, but Bohja was there to give him a pounding of his own. The other lizards that previously surrounded his assailant were gone and his dizziness still lingered so Bohja was hesitant to work out priorities, but with the pain of his neck fueling his vengeful spree, he turned back toward the lizard with a new metal imprint in his face and brought down yet another metallic hammer of revenge upon the poor lizard's guts.

 

Through his dizzy perception-less rage though, Bohja missed the smell of sulfur as it roared from the meadow beneath. He missed the town as it began to burn and when his head turned to take in the visage of crimson death, the strong figure crumpled down into a silent sob. His face contorted in familiar patterns, but his body didn't heave and water didn't flood from his eyes. A single tear was shed from his actual eye as Bohja lay in meditative silence. Images of a small girl swept quickly through his head as he cringed; images of a much larger woman pierced his heart with the foul cruelty of her death.

 

The large figure of Bohja, the once confident and shining pillar for the encampment below, had fallen to the ground in a state of broken ambition and misery. His dreams floated away from him, lingering out of reach, and for the first time in a long time Bohja strongly considered giving up his beliefs. The spiritual mumbo jumbo fed to him about an all knowing all seeing being up in the heavens seemed like pure bullshit now, as he lay here with his entire livelihood wasting away in front of him. Was this a sign? Bohja thought to himself,am I supposed to draw from this some lesson of where to tread next?

 

Bohja didn't know and didn't care at this point; in the past he'd done some nasty things, but made up for it, so he thought, by bringing his skills and talents to the people for help. He'd hunt for the people, steal money for the people and even on some rare occasion kill harmful humanoid invaders to protect the encampment from the harsh wastes of Dathomir and ”œevil”

[Qaela]

Qaela always dreaded coming into town. To do so meant that she was on a mission that took her into the world of the weak and away from the comfortable and familiar wilderness that was her home. It didn't matter what she liked or disliked, when Mother told her to go, she went. Disobedience was punishable by beatings or worse: Force induced pain and torture.

 

At least she was able to use a speeder, even if it was nearly a full day's walk from the current camp where Mother lived. Mother refused to allow any technology near her so the speeder was kept in a hidden location somewhat near the area the small Nightsister group liked to roam. When given the order to leave, Qaela and one of the male slaves took the short journey to the speeder and were able to get into town within five hours.

 

The tiny spaceport, the only on Dathomir, was too small to even deserve a proper name. Most of the Witches and all of the Nightsisters hated it and avoided it unless absolutely necessary. Qaela was no different in her loathing of the dirty, enclosed spaces between the buildings or the muddy landing pads that held the small assortment of ships owned by citizens of this planet.

 

Qaela and her favorite slave, Mortin, were approaching the spaceport in preparation for the girl's first real mission. As they approached the Night Dreams, she let loose a sigh. She had long wondered why Mother insisted that the ship be kept here instead of moving it near their camp as they did with the speeder, but Mother said that it was too easy to track a ship coming and going. Qaela supposed she should be grateful that the speeder was allowed to be within twelve hours march.

 

As soon as he pulled up next to the old YT-1930, Mortin smiled and said, "Goodbye, Mistress. I will see you when you return."

 

"We will be sure to notify you upon our approach," said Qaela. "Just be sure to make sure Mother doesn't catch you with a comlink, you are more useful without gashes and bruises."

 

Mortin nodded in agreement and patted his chest where the small comlink was safely stowed in an inner pocket. "I always do, Mistress."

 

The Nightsister nodded and got out of the speeder. She grabbed her pack and turned toward the freighter while Mortin drove off. They didn't know how long it would take for this mission to be completed, so there was no way to set up an arrival time. Because of that, Qaela would need to contact Mortin directly via comlink when they returned.

 

Waiting for her on the boarding ramp was the pilot and mechanic, Gorgeni. Qaela didn't know how Mother managed to acquire him, but he always did as he was commanded even though he insisted he wasn't Mother's slave. He was a human in his early middle age and fair to look at, but not nearly as handsome as Mortin was. Despite that, Qaela enjoyed spending the long nights during space travel with him almost as much as she did with Mortin.

 

"Well, this is it, isn't it?" Gorgeni said. "I didn't think Teyati would ever let us get onto some real business."

 

Qaela's eyes narrowed at his use of Mother's name, but didn't punish him for it. Mother said that she sometimes had to ignore the disrespect of others if one was to be able to use them. Of all their slaves and minions, Gorgeni was the only one who could easily abandon them without much fear of reprisal since he was currently their only link to space flight. While he had taught Qaela the basics of piloting, he was also the only one who knew how to fix and maintain the ship.

 

"Yes, it is, now can we get moving? You know I hate this place," retorted Qaela. "We have a lot of work and I would rather hurry and get it done than waste time. Mother won't be happy if we delay more than necessary."

 

"Relax," he said lightly, "Coruscant is days away, a few minutes won't make much a difference." Despite those words, he did back up and head to the cockpit while Qaela stored her things in the captain's cabin. Gorgeni used one of the crew cabins as his home, though he only slept there when Qaela wasn't on board. The captain's cabin held Qaela's various outfits, tools, and weapons appropriate to the rest of the Galaxy. She usually brought extra food or new trinkets from camp and changed out of her Dathomiri clothes when she boarded. Though she was most comfortable in the rancor hide armor and black robes, Mother said she had to wear the outsider's clothes while on the ship so she was used to them and didn't stick out while on missions.

 

Before she even finished unchanging, she felt the vibrations of the ship lifting off from the dirt landing pad. She had time to join Gorgeni in the cockpit before they made the jump to hyperspace.

[Qaela]

((Continued from the Sith Temple thread.))

 

During the long trip from Coruscant, Qaela meditated and sought to regain control of herself. Her emotions were all over the place and even she knew that they were becoming a danger to her wellbeing. She had to regain control over them before they drove her mad. Anger and hatred may have kept her alive after the Sith acolyte's attack, but they couldn't sustain her forever until she learned to properly control them.

 

After her initial outburst at him, Gorgeni kept at a distance. That was probably for the best as she didn't need him seeing her in the state she was in She was fortunate enough that he was not Force sensitive and couldn't sense her emotional state. It had taken a few days for her to reign in her emotions and regain nominal control over herself. The night before they were to arrive at Dathomir, Qaela felt she had harnessed her emotional state sufficiently to be presentable before her mother, Teyati. Even then, she didn't feel like seeking out the company of Gorgeni.

 

They landed without incident and saw that Mortin was waiting in the speeder. Before she departed, she did apologize briefly to Gorgeni and actually thanked him for his work. It was rare for her to thank him, but after the way she treated him on this trip, she felt that it would keep him from growing hostile if she did. She needed all the allies she could get.

 

During the speeder ride back to camp, Mortin tried to coax the story of her adventures on Coruscant from her, but she didn't tell him much other than to say that the mission was a success. Of all the people in her life, Mortin was probably the closest one she had to an actual friend. Despite that, she didn't feel like opening up at this moment and losing the fragile equilibrium she had build up during the return trip.

 

It took a few hours to arrive at the drop off point, then another ten to march to camp. The long walk was painful on her healing legs, but not as much as it would have been a few days ago. By the time they had arrived, it was well into the night. Mother was waiting for them in her favorite chair when they came into camp. Immediately, her piercing eyes glared at her daughter and took in the leg braces.

 

She waved Mortin away and beckoned for Qaela, "Come, my daughter, tell me of your mission."

 

Qaela did as bidden and sat cross legged at her mother's feet. She ignored the pain that resulted from the move and kept her face impassive. "I have made contact with the Sith, but more has transpired than we had dared hope." She went on to explain her encounter with Haphaestus, who he was among the Sith, and his offer to train her. She spoke of Haphaestus' theory regarding emotion and strength, something Mother found amusing in the least. She told her about being in the Library and the Dark Lord's offer of an alliance between Sith and Nightsister. Mother wasn't happy that their identity had been so quickly realized, but Qaela assured her that there was no way to hide it from him and that he recognized her identity within moments of meeting her.

 

For long moments, the two sat in silence as Mother absorbed the new information. After more than an hour, she looked up and asked, "What happened to you? Who injured you so?"

 

At this point, Qaela's pulse quickened. Deceiving her mother would be difficult, but she wrapped the story in as much truth as possible. She explained that as part of the initiation trials, she had failed and been injured as result. As painful as it was to admit failure of any type, that admission helped divert Mother's attention from more exacting details.

 

"So you have embarrassed your Clan in front of the Sith," said Teyati somberly. "You disappoint me, daughter. Now the Sith believe us to be weak. We must now negotiate from a point of weakness because of your failure."

 

"And yet," Qaela said quietly, "they underestimate us and our strength. They will become confident that we are no threat and will feel freer in sharing knowledge with us."

 

Teyati considered for a few more moments before nodding, "That may be true. This Dark Lord is willing to teach you, yes? Learn what you can from him. Learn the Sith spells and study in their library and from any who gives you information. You will learn what the Sith know and you will then tell me. Perhaps we can take your failure and turn it to our advantage."

 

Relieved that she wasn't more angry, Qaela asked something, "Mother, these Sith are powerful and they are numerous. Teach me to cast an energy web so that I can defend myself if I am attacked."

 

Teyati's eyes flashed briefly in surprise before narrowing in suspicion. "That is a powerful spell, one you might not be able to handle."

 

"Let me try, I will not fail," insisted Qaela.

 

A few more moments passed as Teyati probed Qaela with her eyes and the Force. "Very well, we will begin tomorrow. For now, sleep. You will tell me more of what you learned while we train."

 

That night, Qaela slept alone in her tent. She had to keep her emotions under control here now that Mother was nearby. It wasn't as difficult now that she had faced her mother and not been beaten severely. It was a relief to be back in her own tent with the comforting fire outside and the smells and sounds of the forest all around.

 

In the morning, she woke and found that the male slaves had already made breakfast. After eating, she and Mother went to a nearby clearing where they did most of their training and began. It took hours, but by the end, Qaela began to understand how to cast an energy web that could entrap someone or something and cut it to pieces. It was a cruel way to kill, but that was exactly what Qaela wanted. If she could perfect this skill, she would be able to properly defend herself and even get revenge against the unnamed acolyte who raped her. No mercy would be shown to him, none whatsoever.

 

What Mother didn't know was that Qaela was learning more than what she was being taught. While the Nightsister spells were useful, they weren't going to do in a pinch against Sith. She had learned more from the Sith Library than what she told Mother. Namely, she had been studying on how the Sith access the Force. She applied that knowledge when being taught now to learn how to cast the spell through instinct and emotion rather than just through ritual and spell.

 

Struggling to comprehend both ways of casting the web meant that she had to do double the work. Her seemingly slow progress frustrated Teyati some, but the older woman dismissed it as due to the complexity of the spell. Right now, Qaela didn't want to let Mother know that her daughter was learning things that she didn't know because someday, knowledge and skills like that would make her more powerful than even the most powerful Nightsister.

 

By the next night, Qaela could cast the lethal web using either philosophy with moderate ease. It still required concentration, but she could bring it up effectively and quickly with larger and more powerful webs taking only a little more time. She was no master of it, but with more practice, she would be. Coupling the ability with the raw power of emotions applied using Sith philosophy would make it a very lethal tool against her foes. She couldn't wait until she could find a target suitable to test it on.

 

Qaela stayed at camp for a few more days so that she could meet up with a few of the other Nightsisters and report firsthand on the alliance Haphaestus had offered. The other Sisters were dubious as not all of them had been comfortable with Teyati's plans for contacting them. Many believed that because they laid low and avoided the attention of the Sith, they also avoided the destruction that often followed them. Plus, none had interest in attracting the notice of the Jedi. Nonetheless, they agreed to bring it up with other Sisters at their next Clan meeting. Until then, Qaela was to continue learning from the Sith.

 

After the meeting, Qaela and Mortin set off once more for the speeder to begin her journey back to Coruscant. The Nightsisters had completely healed her broken bones before leaving since they all agreed that it would do no good for her to be injured or killed because she wasn't at full strength. Qaela left that camp with plans both of her own design and those of her mother's.

[Qaela]

It had been a long time since she was last home, longer than any time before. During the flight, Qaela had been more civil to Gorgeni, but not as much as she used to be. He did guide her through reversion into realspace and the landing. Her piloting skills were improving enough to where she thought she might be able to handle the ship on her own.

 

By the time she met up with Teyati, she showed only a few marks from the lightsaber damage that would be healed in a few more days. During their trip, she had applied bacta to the worst of them to speed the healing. She wanted to appear as strong as she could after coming back so battered from the last time.

 

The older woman seemed interested in what Qaela had to report about her mission. Everything from robbing the armored speeder to being beaten by the Sith Master to the encounter with Nishant and more importantly the Grandmaster to killing the one who had insulted her was all told over a meal. She neglected to mention that she had wielded a lightsaber, one of the three forbidden things she was never to do. Teyati asked question and for demonstrations of some skills she had learned, a process that lasted well into the night. When she was at last satisfied, she dismissed her daughter so she could ponder on what to do next.

 

It was late and dark at the small camp, time for the various slaves to retire to their tents. Before she went to hers, Qaela tracked down Mortin, her favorite of all the slaves for many reasons.

 

"Hello, mistress," he said when he saw her. They had talked on various things on their journey to the camp and she had told him of Coruscant and its technology. He was fascinated with her tales of the speeders and billions of people bustling around. On a planet that had a population of only a few thousand, the concept of billions was hard to grasp.

 

She pulled him close and kissed him with passion. "Say nothing," she whispered between kisses. She had avenged herself and restored her pride as much as it could be, her vow was fulfilled and she could enjoy her carnal desires once more. She guided him back to her tent and sealed it behind them.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Qaela rise early, dressed, and left Mortin where he was. Male slaves rarely got to sleep until the sun began to rose, only when they were with one of the women were they allowed that rare treat. Though she wasn't sleeping in late, she would let Mortin do so as a reward for his services.

 

She was actually surprised to see Teyati still sitting in her chair near the fire. A few of the slaves were tending to breakfast, but she ignored them and sipped tea from a cup. Qaela silently sat down on the ground beside her mother and waited until addressed.

 

It took more than an hour for her mother to say something. "You are right to enjoy the company of males, Daughter, but take care not to grow attached."

 

Qaela blinked a few times before responding, "They have their uses, but they are merely males."

 

Teyati studied her face for nearly a minute before nodding in satisfaction, "Come, we have a lot to do before the other Sisters arrive. We will eat first, then you shall learn some new skills."

 

They ate their meal in silence before setting out to the same field she had learned many new skills in. "How are you with your sling?" Teyati asked.

 

"I am still able to use it well, though I am out of practice."

 

The elder Nightsister shook her head, "That will not do. Never abandon the weapons of your ancestors for when used properly, they can be even more deadly than the weapons of the corrupt Galaxy." She pulled Qaela's old sling out of her pack and handed it to her.

 

"Now," she continued, "sling a stone and hit me." As she said that, she began to back up to create some distance between the two of them.

 

They had done this before and it was a rare thing indeed for Qaela to succeed in hitting her mother. This time was no different. Time after time, she launched stones at her mother and every time, her mother either dodged or deflected them with a spell. Dozens of tries later, Teyati stopped them.

 

"Now," said Teyati, "tell me why you cannot hit me. Is it because you are a poor shot?"

 

Qaela shook her head, "No, I can hit a woman's head at fifty paces with ease, double that if I use spells."

 

"True, but then why can you not hit me at just fifty?" Mother asked.

 

"You dodge and are a powerful spellcaster who can counter my spells."

 

"True, and it will forever be that way until you learn to make your attack invisible. There are spells that can conceal objects from both the eyes and the mind. Combine that with your sling and you can hit targets, even spellcasters, before they know what is after them. First though, you need to learn how to mask your own presence so your opponents cannot sense you approaching."

 

For the next several hours, Qaela learned how to conceal her presence in the Force so that not even her Mother could detect her, but only for a few moments at a time. It was a most useful tactic, one that was fairly simple to maintain once the spell was mastered, but mastering the spell would be difficult. As before, though, she intentionally delayed her apparent progress so she could learn how to do it from Sith methods. It was taxing to learn the Sith technique on her own without any guidance, but she did.

 

When they returned to camp for supper, she still hadn't quite gotten down the technique. It would take until the middle of the next day to where she could maintain the stealth for up to a quarter hour. After their break for lunch, Teyati nodded her satisfaction at Qaela's progress. "Now, you need to learn how to mask the presence of small objects. The spells are similar, but instead of masking your own presence, you will be using it on an external object. You must bind the spells to the object you wish to cloak so that it stays with it. Doing so will allow you to make the object undetectable for a few critical seconds before the spell breaks apart. As it is limited in time, the use is really only good for projectiles and little more."

 

It took three days before Qaela was able to successfully cloak a stone well enough to hit her mother. When she did, her mother smiled and beckoned her to do it again despite the pain. When she hit Mother another two times out of four, she called a stop to it and beckoned a male slave to take her spot. "It won't be as effective since he is not a spellcaster, but it will still let you practice hitting a moving, living target while using the spell." She went to attend to other matters leaving Qaela to batter the hapless slave.

 

Hours later, after becoming far more comfortable with the spell, she and the bruised and bleeding slave returned to camp. Waiting for them were several of the Sisters, though not a full Clan Meeting. Qaela waited for them to address her and when they did, answered questions to the best of her ability. They had already been deliberating while she had been practicing and just wanted some confirmation from her before pronouncing their decisions.

 

When she heard them, Qaela was greatly disappointed. She shouldn't have been surprised as she had been the one to inform them and even recommend a few things, but she was not looking forward to what they wanted her to do. While she was with the Sith, the entire Clan had met in scattered groups and decided on a course of action. Now, with the new information, all that remained was to tweak it to account for the new details and to enact it.

 

* * *

 

The next day, she set out once more with Mortin to return to the Dark Dreams. That night, while comfortably in the slave's embrace, she had decided to take him with her off planet. That decision had resulted in a brief argument with Teyati, but the older woman relented when Qaela pointed out that she had her slaves here to attend to her needs and desires, it was only proper for her to have at least one to go with her increasing status.

 

Inside, Qaela was pleased at the small victory. Any victory against her mother was one to be cherished due to their rarity, but as she grew in skill and importance to the Sisters, she could begin to command more respect and privilege. Having another along to confide at least some things in would make her life easier.

[Qaela]

After her business on Gala, Qaela was more than happy to return home to the comfort of her own kind. Being around the Grandmaster was not fun. His presence was discomforting and even nauseating due to the light that surrounded him. It wasn't at all the enjoyable and soothing essence of darkness like what Mother and Haphaestus cloaked themselves in.

 

When she returned, as before, she gave a report of what happened. This time, the report was shorter than before. Her mission was a success, at least so far. She still had to deceive Haphaestus.

 

"So, daughter," Teyati said, "the Jedi will go to war with the Sith?"

 

Qaela would like to have thought that, but the Jedi were weak. She had warned their Grandmaster that the Sith wanted their blood, but she doubted they would actually go to war. "No, Mother, I don't believe they will strike. The Jedi are too afraid of open conflict and are not capable of fighting effectively in the shadows. More will need to be done."

 

The older Nightsister considered this. "You must speed up our plan. You must attack them and crush them where they are most vulnerable. Stir the anger between the Imperials and the Republicans until it begins to boil. Let those who are too seeped in the corrupt ways of the Galaxy destroy themselves."

 

Qaela had been looking forward to this. To put into practice her skills at hunting and evasion in a way that would bring bloodshed and destruction was what she had been trained for, at least by the Nightsisters. She was an agent of chaos and destruction.

 

"Before you go," Teyati cautioned, "you need to learn how to make yourself a proper weapon, one to combat the profane lightsabers of the Jedi and Sith alike. Tomorrow, we will begin, but for now you should rest."

 

* * *

 

The next day, instead of going out into the forest or a small glade, they stayed in camp. What needed to be taught didn't require space, just time and patience. In this effort, Qaela made no attempt to learn a Sith method. The spells were too complex and she doubted they could be replicated with any speed on the battlefield.

 

It took hours to be able to perform even the most basic enchantment. She continued to work on a simple wooden knife. As she began to enchant it and make it harder, she was able to sharpen it like metal. The more the enchantments were poured into it, the harder it became and thus the sharper it was. By the time she was finished, the wooden knife could cut as well as any metal knife but was much lighter and even better, more difficult for security scanners to pick up.

 

One of the male slaves carved out the two pieces of a hilt while she worked. When he was done, he used a resin to seal them together and provide a hilt for her knife to help further conceal its identity. Some holes were whittled in so it could be attached to a belt or chord, but for now, Qaela kept it free floating.

 

After three days of work, Qaela was able to perform the enchantments needed to harden an entire spear. She wasn't completely sure it would deflect lightsabers or blaster shots, but she would test it soon. She still didn't want Mother to know she wielded and used a lightsaber.

 

The day after her favorite spear had been enchanted and readied, she departed once again with Mortin to return to the pathetic little spaceport that serviced Dathomir. Once there, she collected the lightsaber Haphaestus had given her, the Jedi lightsaber, and some cash before leaving. She still had one more thing to do before she could go back to Coruscant.

 

She went to a vendor and bought clothes in as close to a Jedi fashion as she could find. After that, she spent several hours hanging around the area hunting for the right prey. At last, she found a perfect candidate, a drifter with few ties to anyone else. He looked haggard and battle hardened, perhaps he had served as a mercenary at one time or was an escaped slave who had fought his way to freedom. It didn't matter, she had plans for him.

 

It took only a few kind words and the promise of pleasure to get the young man into a more secluded alley. There, she changed her manner and asserted her power. After grabbing him with a simple spell of telekinesis, she held him in place a few centimeters above the ground. There, she told him what would in truth be his last few moments of life would be like. "You are going to put on these robes, then I will give you a functioning lightsaber. Defend yourself as best as possible, because if you don't, I will kill you. If you try to run or call out, I will snap your neck as easily as I am holding you up. I am giving you a fighting chance to defeat me, but if you do not take that opportunity, you will simply die and I will find another. Is that clear?"

 

The now frightened man nodded. She threw the brown and tan robes and tunic at his feet and watched him strip his old clothes off and put the new ones on. When he had done so, she handed him the lightsaber and showed him how to activate it. As soon as the blue blade sprung to life, the game was on.

 

Even if he had been a mercenary, he had no skill with a lightsaber. Against Qaela, he had less a chance to win than she had against Haphaestus or the Grandmaster. She was still unsure if her empowered spear would actually block a lightsaber. If it didn't, she would just switch to the red lightsaber or use the Force to kill him.

 

As he took some very shaky swings with the lightsaber, she decided to get this going. With her spear, she advanced and made some test jabs of her own. It took him two tries before he could actually block her attack with a clumsy swipe. The spear held well and treated the lightsaber just as if it were another short staff. Qaela smiled at the confirmation of her skills at enchantments and toyed with him a little more with the spear.

 

Seeing that he was not yet dead, the drifter became more confident. After all, he was a large man and she was a fairly slim young woman. He could easily defeat his opponent if only he would muster his courage and attack. What he didn't know was that Qaela was using the techniques taught by Haphaestus to fuel his own minimal courage and confidence just to get the needed aggression from him.

 

When he finally mustered the courage to charge, she decided the time for fun was over. She threw aside his attacks and drove him back momentarily. She planted the spear into the ground and drew her red lightsaber. Haphaestus would expect her to use such a weapon to kill a Jedi, so that is what she would use.

 

She didn't toy around any more and inflicted several wounds on him in a few swift seconds. She would need some explanation for why a supposedly powerful Jedi was so clumsy and unskilled, the wounds would help sell the story. After this, she had to fuel the man's desire to live so she could whip him into a frenzy or he would have crumbled into nothing. It was annoying more than anything, but she finally managed to do it after pacing around the corner where he had drawn himself in.

 

He made one last charge before it was over. His body fell to the ground just moments before his head landed a few meters away. From this, Qaela would be able to piece together enough memories to hopefully fool Haphaestus should he probe her mind.

 

She gathered the Jedi lightsaber and her spear and left. Walking confidently through the streets back to the landing pad where the Dark Dreams was berthed. A few minutes after she got on board, they were in hyperspace heading for Coruscant.

[Qaela]

((As the NPC Teyati.))

 

Qaela had been gone far longer than she should have been. Teyati was more annoyed than concerned at this point. If her elder daughter perished in her quest, then the task of completing her missions would have to fall to her younger daughter. The annoyance came from the extra time and delays that it would take to train the younger girl to the level that Qaela had been at. Plus, she was not sure if Qyrisa was up to the hardships.

 

The older Nightsister had just gotten back from meeting with several of the other Clan Sisters about other potential alliances to be made. After hearing the reports from Qaela, they had decided that the Sith were too self destructive at this time to consider allying with them. That meant that some other organization, order, government, or race needed to be considered.

 

When she arrived back in their makeshift camp, the various male slaves and the two non-spellcasting women that lived with them snapped to readiness. Food had already been prepared and was laid out for her in front of her favorite chair. Teyati sat down in it and began contemplating her plans.

 

It would probably be best to begin preparing Qyrisa for a journey offplanet just in case. "Bring Qyrisa to me," she told one of the females. The woman, though not a slave, was still bound to follow Teyati's commands to a degree. The woman went to go find the girl.

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa was perched high in the tree watching her prey. She had spent several hours following a lone Rhoa Kwi, which was unusual as they often traveled in packs, and now she was preparing to attack and kill the traveling reptilian. Qyrisa had scouted ahead the path that the animal was taking and knew that in a few minutes it would approach a large fallen tree which would cause the creature to momentarily stop. This was when Qyrisa would unleash her attack. For now Qyrisa watched from safety, waiting for her moment.

 

The creature reached the fallen tree as expected and stopped. Qyrisa grabbed her spear, stone blade down, and prepared to jump out of the tree. Her pulse quickened, her eyes focused, and her grip tightened. She was ready to kill. Qyrisa flung herself out of the tree and towards the creature's large head with her spear out.

 

She drove her spear down into the creature's head, eliciting a roar of pain from the animal. She withdrew her spear and thrust it into the animal repeatedly, but the greenish-yellow hide was tough to pierce. The Rhoa Kwi shook its' head violently, flinging Qyrisa to the ground. She rolled with fall and managed to come out on her feet. The creature stomped its' feet and charged at her. Qyrisa ran to the left and threw herself out of the way. As she looked up she saw the animal was preparing to spit, and a Rhoa Kwi's venom was very poisonous.

 

Qyrisa dodged the venomous spit and then ran towards a nearby tree. She quickly scaled the tree and then threw herself at the reptile again. She landed on its' head again and this time she aimed for the eyes and successfully pierced. Qyrisa continued stabbing the creature and when the creature was blind in its' left eye, it fell to the ground in surrender. Qyrisa withdrew her stone-bladed knife and began cutting at the tough hide. This was not an easy task for her, but she was able to slowly end the creature's life.

 

Qyrisa stood up and was full of pride at successfully killing a Rhoa Kwi on her own for the first time. As she grabbed her spear she noticed a woman standing by the bushes about twenty meters away. Qyrisa approached the woman and recognized her as one of the women from camp. The woman was not a slave, but she did not have the ability to cast spells and therefore followed Mother's commands without question.

 

”œYour Mother has sent me to get you. She wishes to see start training you to be a true Nightsister.”

[Qaela]

((As the NPC Teyati.))

 

Teyati felt her younger daughter approach and raised a single hand to gesture for her to come closer. "Daughter, your sister has not returned, nor have we heard anything from her. She was last sent to betray the Jedi Grandmaster and could have been killed either by Jedi or the treacherous Sith themselves. Since she has failed to return, you will have to begin training to take her place."

 

Her cold eyes looked over the girl and searched for any sign of weakness. "Speak now, do you believe that you are capable of withstanding the trials that will face you down this path?"

[Qyrisa]

Double post. Please delete this one.

Edited May 15, 2011 by Guest

[Qyrisa]

"Speak now, do you believe that you are capable of withstanding the trials that will face you down this path?" As Mother spoke these words, Qyrisa knew that she was being carefully watched for any signs of weakness. Even with this knowledge, Qyrisa's jaw clenched, her pulse quickened, and her stomach knotted up. She only hoped that Mother would think nothing of her visible fear and hesitation in responding, as Mother was omnipotent. That was what made Mother invincible to those around her and forced those she knew to be subservient. Opposing Mother was futile because she knew everything almost before you did. Qyrisa quickly washed away all of these distracting thoughts and stepped forward and boldly declared,

 

”œMother I am ready to learn the way of the Nightsisters. I will not let anything stand in my way of mastering everything I learn from you. I have watched what Qaela has endured and I am ready to go through the same trials with even better results.”

[Qaela]

((As the NPC Teyati.))

 

Teyati said nothing for the next full minute after her daughter had finished speaking. She finally nodded and stood up. "Come, we will go out and I will begin teaching you the most basic of our spells. Learn them well and you will earn your dinner. Fail me and you will go without food until you succeed."

 

The older woman took her daughter several hundred meters from camp to where a clearing was. Two male slaves followed them along the path. It was here that she taught Qaela some of her more recent lessons as it was away from camp and had plenty of space to practice. It was getting dark, but Teyati paid no mind to it. They were Nightsisters, night and darkness were their friends.

 

The males began to light torches and scattered them around the clearing. There was some light, but it was still very dim. "You must first learn how to make objects bend to your will and move where you want them. Use these spells to hurl missiles at your foes or to clear paths. Until you can learn this skill, you will be unable to learn many other spells."

 

She began showing Qyrisa the spells themselves by hurling the small smooth stones around the field. Some she used to hit larger stones, others she used to make stones hover before them. By the time she had finished her lessons, it was fully dark and the only light came from the stars and the scattered torches.

 

When she was done, Teyati stepped back and said, "Show me that you have learned these spells. Hurl a stone at the farthest torch and continue to do so until you have cut it down and snuffed it out."

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa walked forward a few paces and then stopped. She knew that she must complete this task with ease if she stood any chance of continuing her training. Qyrisa also knew that Mother would not let her eat if she failed this task. She was nervous for performing her first Nightsister spell, especially with Mother watching her with cold, piercing eyes. Qyrisa tried her best to ignore Mother as she began to recite the spells she had just learned. Mother had been able to perform them in a barely audible tone, but having just learned Qyrisa had to speak slowly and rather loud to even lift a small stone.

 

Qyrisa focused intently on pushing her will onto the path of the rock. The first few attempts went mere feet and rarely landed where she intended. After a few minutes Qyrisa could lift a small stone and carry it a few meters to a specific point. She still had to focus more if she intended to cut down the torch that was nearly 100 meters away. Qyrisa's energy was already tapped from her adventure with the Rhoa Kwi earlier in the day, but she was determined to prove to Mother that she was capable. Qyrisa had always grown up in Qaela's shadow and Mother had always spent time preparing Qaela, whereas Qyrisa had mostly learned from private sessions Qaela would give. The two sisters were close, but Mother seemed determined to split the two and prevent any bonding. This attitude is what had brought the two as close as they were. Qyrisa would not fail at this simple task. It just wasn't in her capacity to fail

 

Qyrisa gritted her teeth and focused every bit of energy she had into lifting a flat stone with sharp edges. She let the rock momentarily hover a few feet off of the ground and then in an instant she transferred all of her focus on launching the rock at the torch. The rock flew at a pace too quick to follow with they eyes, but missed the intended target by a handful of centimeters. The stone skipped off of the ground and went into the nearby bushes surrounding the clearing. Qyrisa's fist clenched in anger for not focusing enough on her target and failing the first time. She was not prepared to give up by any means though. She picked up another stone and immediately hurled it at the torch. Without even bothering to see if it hit, Qyrisa picked up another stone and prepared to throw it at the torch. As she held the stone above the ground she screamed the spell at the top of her lungs and let the rock fly towards the target. She then picked up another stone and soon there were dozens of rocks flying towards the torch. She didn't care if she was even coming close to the torch anymore. She lost all focus on the outside world and the only thing on her mind was bending the path of the rocks.

 

After a few minutes of this frenzy Qyrisa stopped. Her breathing was labored and sweat dripped down her brow. She looked towards where the torch had been and all she saw was splinters of wood and darkness where a light had once been. She smiled in satisfaction, but knew Mother would have a lecture for her. Her hands were shaking and she could barely gather enough energy to walk towards Mother, but she managed to focus her will. The slaves were running about the clearing and gathering up the remaining torches to bring back to the camp. As Qyrisa approached Mother, she held up a hand. Qyrisa did not know what Mother had in store for her, but she could only hope that she was at least pleased that her daughter had completed the task.

[Qaela]

((As the NPC Teyati.))

 

Teyati was not impressed. "Screaming your spells does not make them more potent, or effective. Rather, they often give your position away and allows for your enemy to target you. Qaela was far better at this than you seem to be, but that is no surprise, she was better at almost everything than you.

 

"Focus on the spell, it will guide you and allow you to wield the power given to you by the Arts. Others in the Galaxy call it the Force, but that is simply another name for our birthright. You will practice further in the darkness. I do not care what exactly you do or if you sleep. In the morning, I will return and expect you to be better able to control your spells."

 

She gestured for the slaves to begin their return to camp and followed them. As she was leaving, she said, "Food will be brought shortly." She then left her daughter in the darkness to do what she thought was necessary.

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa looked at her feet as Mother spoke. She could not stand to look at her as she criticized her, though Qyrisa should be used to this by now. As Mother left, Qyrisa walked to the center to the clearing and sat down cross-legged. She spent a great deal of time calming her mind and focusing solely on what she must do. She then began to lift stones by softly speaking the spells. The first few attempts were at a normal talking voice which Qyrisa knew would still not please Mother.

 

After what felt like two hours of practice, Qyrisa could successfully lift a stone the size of her fist with only a whisper. She was still very shaky on guiding the stone with pinpoint precision, but she could get it to go roughly where she wanted. Qyrisa paid no attention to the food that had been delivered and instead focused on perfecting this spell. She felt it was time to give herself more of a challenge. Qyrisa reached out and softly whispered the spell. This time she was attempting to bend the path of a live animal. She started first with some very small salamander-like animals scurrying about in the clearing. Qyrisa was able to lift them off of the ground and guide them to another location with ease. She attempted to guide the animal while it was walking, but her knowledge of spells was not strong enough yet.

 

Qyrisa had lost all track of time and when she looked up at the sky she saw beams of sunlight breaking through the trees. She knew Mother would be coming shortly and would expect nothing but perfection. This time Qyrisa would show her she was ready.

 

"This time I will not give Mother a chance to spew poison from her lips." Qyrisa spoke to herself. She was ready to show that Qaela was not the only gifted child in the family.

[Qaela]

((As the NPC Teyati.))

 

Teyati came to the forest with two of the male slaves each carrying full bags. She paid them no need as they began setting up small targets at ranges starting from twenty to a hundred and fifty meters. Instead, she looked at her daughter as though searching for weakness. "You will need to knock all of these targets down. Do so in a timely manner and with accuracy and you may join Sister Cetrisi and I for breakfast. Fail and you will remain to continue practicing until I return before lunch to see if you have succeeded."

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa gritted her teeth and prepared to complete the task. Instead of focusing on being passionate with the spells, Qyrisa focused on careful mental precision. She faced the first target and searched for a stone on the ground. Qyrisa cleared her mind and focused on the stone. As the stone moved Qyrisa pictured it hitting the target fifty meters away. In the blink of an eye the stone flew across the clearing and struck the target dead center, knocking it to the ground. She grinned with satisfaction, but turned to focus on the closest target.

 

Qyrisa paid Mother no attention, knowing the woman would only distract her and promote failure. As she continued to almost effortlessly knock down targets Qyrisa realized the trick to spells. Focus and discipline were key, not passion. She had to work to make it happen. With this realization Qyrisa took down the remaining targets in little time and turned to face Mother. It was time to face judgement.

[Qaela]

((As the NPC Teyati.))

 

With a grunt of partial satisfaction, Teyati told her daughter, "You have learned something. That is good. Come back to camp for some breakfast, we have much to discuss."

 

At camp, the slaves had prepared a hearty breakfast of meats and eggs. Sister Cetrisi was already at the makeshift table and cast an impatient eye on Qyrisa, but said nothing. She had been traveling throughout most of the night to get here and was hungry, but dared not eat food in another Sister's camp before she was able to sit.

 

After some bare pleasantries that mostly involved curses against Jedi and the Witches, they ate. During the meal, Teyati told Qyrisa in detail what her sister had been doing and of the adventures she had had so far. Since the younger girl was to be continuing that mission, she had best know about it. Cetrisi was aware of the mission and the results so far, so she helped fill in additional details.

 

When they were done, Teyati offered to answer any questions Qyrisa might have.

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa thought for a few seconds before replying. While she did have some questions, she knew Mother would prefer if she figured them out on her own. There was one question Qyrisa needed to ask.

 

"Whrn do I begin Mother?" Qyrisa tried to hide her anticipation for the answer she was hoping for. For years she had been stuck on this planet, but now the possibility of seeing the galaxy Mother so passionately ranted about was within her reach. Qyrisa was ready to learn and grow and become more powerful than Mother ever thought.

[Qaela]

"You began yesterday," Teyati replied. "You need to learn things that you do not yet know before you can go out into the Galaxy. Just as your sister did, you will slowly expand your knowledge until you are ready for missions."

 

Cetrisi looked at Qyrisa and said in a somber voice, "You will need to find out what happened to your sister. If she was slain, we must receive vengeance. If she has betrayed us, her death must be most painful."

 

Teyati held up a hand to forestall any further comments, "Yes, that will come in due time. I won't send her out seeking someone when she is more likely than not to become lost herself. She must learn the terrain and the habits of those out there before she can search for Qaela."

 

She turned to look at her youngest daughter, "Train well, learn your spells and fighting skills, and you will be able to speed up the time in which you are ready. Fail and you will work longer or another will replace you."

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa had the urge to lash out at Mother, but she knew that doing so would reault in very harsh punishments, and could even result in Qyrisa's training coming to an end. Instead Qyrisa bit her tongue and just nodded. She knew that with time she would learn enough that Mother's wrath would not fill her with fear, but for now she would bide her time and learn. Mother's day will come.

 

Qyrisa turned to Mother and said,

 

"What is my next task? This time I will not fail. I'm ready for what lies ahead." Qyrisa sat there waiting for Mother to reply.

[Qaela]

Teyati glowered at Qyrisa. "You are not ready until I say you are ready. It took Qaela years to be ready and she had far more intense training than you. I was soft on you, far too soft and that was my mistake. I should not have placed so much faith in your sister."

 

She looked at the girl and pondered. "You have not run the gauntlet in some time. Perhaps it will teach you some humility and prepare you for ambushes." The gauntlet was a two kilometer long path through the nearby forest. Qyrisa, would have to run it repeatedly while Teyati and three of her strongest male slaves would lie in ambush. They would use trip wires or snares to trap her, or worse, just jump out of the brush and knock her down with a club or staff. Qaela had been forced to run the gauntlet many times when she was younger to help her learn how to spot traps and avoid ambushes.

 

"Sister Cetrisi, perhaps you would enjoy participating as well?" Teyati asked. The other Nightsister considered for a moment before nodding.

 

"You have half an hour to prepare," Teyati announced. "We will see how you fare." She turned to gather up the supplies and slaves to set up the course.

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa decided to ignore the half hour of preparation and told Mother she was ready to begin now. Qyrisa knew she would stumble and her weaknesses would be shown in the gauntlet, but she also knew she had to train to be perfect. Qaela's drive to prevail had been forged in the gauntlet and so would Qyrisa's. Only Qyrisa intended to be even better than her sister. Faster, stronger, stealthier, and more efficient were goals Qyrisa did not just hope for, but were goals she knew failure was not an option for. Mother would never send her out if she did not at least best Qaela's accomplishments.

 

Qyrisa followed Mother, Cetrisi, and the male slaves as they made their way to the area for the gauntlet. As they walked Qyrisa eyed up the three slaves and looked for any physical weaknesses, yet she could find none. All tree were built for strength, but Qyrisa knew they had to be fast if they had been chosen to go out for a test. She knew the task that was ahead would challenge her, but Qyrisa knew if she did what she had been trained to do she would succeed. There was no other way for her.

[Qaela]

Teyati grinned at her daughter's eagerness, but it wasn't one of kindness or happiness, but predatory satisfaction. "The half hour isn't for you, but it is so we can get into place without you seeing us and to arrange our traps. Stay, and you will know when it is time to begin."

 

The six of them departed camp together, but left Qyrisa behind well before they got to the makeshift course so they could get into position. The three slaves would present the first three challenges, and the two Sisters were at the end. They would be far more difficult since they could conceal themselves with more than just the terrain and would employ spells as well as physical traps.

 

The path was slightly overgrown as Qaela had been gone for some time, but that only made it more difficult for the girl who had to run it. The slaves got into position with various snare traps and in ambush points with staffs designed to break before causing too significant of damage on their victim. The Nightsisters were concealed both physically and through spells and would wait to unleash further spells that would send Qyrisa hurdling through the forest if she did not anticipate and defend against them.

 

When they were ready and had properly concealed their tracks and presence as best as they were able, Teyati employed a spell that sent a mental summons to her daughter as a signal that it was time to begin.

[Qyrisa]

Qyrisa suddenly felt a presense of sorts which told her it was time to begin. Qyrisa knew Mother had sent the spell and she knew the gauntlet was fully prepared for her. She quickly took off and sprinted through the beginning of the slightly overgrown trail, taking little notice of her surroundings. About 45 seconds into the test Qyrisa hit a simple snare meant to trip her up. Since she was traveling so fast the force of her fall left her sore. Qyrisa picked herself up and took a slower approach to the rest of the gauntlet.

 

Qyrisa was quickly scanning the bushes looking for any signs of recent activity. Since the trail had not been used in many months, qyrisa knew there shouldn't be any signs of activity in the area. However, Qyrisa also knew that Mother would have made sure the slaves she chose were not careless about being stealthy. Qyrisa looked up ahead and saw a recently broken branch off of a shrub and stopped walking and scanned the area. She saw nothing, but knew something had to be there. Sure enough Qyrisa spotted an unnatural looking lump on the ground. In an instant Qyrisa lauched herself at the area and lashed out with her fists delivering multiple quick strikes. Her fists hit the ground, but she soon realized that she had found a dummy setup. As she realized this she was hit in the back of the head with a wooden staff leaving her dazed. She attempted to duck the next strike, but was momentarily slowed and took the next hit across her chest. The slave threw the staff at her and flung himself at her delivering a slew of punches. Qyrisa managed to dodge most of them, but one hit to her chin knocked her to the ground. The slave threw himself on top of her, but Qyrisa thrust her legs up and into the slaves stomach, flipping him over top of her. She then flipped herself up and delivered a swift kick to the slaves ribs. He cried out in pain, but Qyrisa delivered three more kicks to his ribs and ended with a swift kick to his face. Blood dripped from his nose, but Qyrisa knew he was not dead.

 

Qyrisa went over and grabbed the slaves staff and carried it with her for the rest of the test. She walked back towards the main part of the trail and continued down the path looking keeping herself aware of the next trap. After about five minutea of walking, Qyrisa spotted another snare and managed to carefully avoid it. As she walked around the snare a rock flew out and struck her in the head. Another rock flew out before she was prepared to block and then after a few moments a flurry of rocks flew out. Qyrisa lept towards a tree for cover and took a quick moment to prepare for her counter-attack. She clenched the staff and began to quickly twirl the staff and used her naturally enhanced reflexes to deflect stones off of the staff. As she got within 5 meters of the slave she launched herself at him and swung the staff with all the force she could muster. The staff connected with his temples and a sickening crunch followed the hit. Qyrisa worried she might have killed the slave, but did not take the time to check. She threw aside the shattered staff and went on her way. She wanted to hurry through the gauntlet and finish it in a time that might please Mother.

 

Qyrisa went back to sprinting down the path and she knew she was starting to near the end. She knew something was odd though because only two snares had been laid down. Qyrisa knew the gauntlet had been too easy. As this thought occured to her a Nightsister appeared from thin air and was in a fighting stance. Qyrisa got into a fighting stance and prelared to fight.

[Qaela]

Cetrisi's harsh voice began to chant a spell as the wind began to pick up all around the younger woman. At first, only leaves, dust, and small twigs pelted Qyrisa. The air all around her was swirling around picking up various debris and ripping foliage from the trees and bushes. In seconds, small pebbles and branches joined what was already in the air.

 

In one hand, the Nightsister held a spear of her own, tipped in steel that had been sharpened until it was razor sharp. Her free hand guided the spell she had unleashed. With cold eyes that held no mercy or compassion, she gazed at her prey as if daring the younger girl to attack instead of try to escape down the course.