Dathomir

[Raia Montar]

Raia leaped up into the trees as soon as she was out of sight of the clearing where the Shine had landed, attempting to put as much distance between her and the clearing so she wouldn't be tempted to go running back to Emily. Hearing Roe'gall's haunting howl stopped her in her tracks as she caught herself on a branch, just barely keeping her footing. Her leaving really had been best for Emily as well so she was free to make her new family with Jaina and Tirzah, even if through some unexpected twist of fate's knife it didn't include Raynuk any longer. Just thinking about it brought fresh pain to her heart and she fought to keep the tears from her eyes.

 

A chill ran up her spine as she got the distinct feeling that she was being watched, or at least tracked as she'd used the magicks to speed her way through the forest as she'd done many times before. Drawing her bag over her head and hanging it on a convenient branch, Raia withdrew the lightsaber that Raynuk had gifted her and dropped down to the forest floor, igniting the twin blades once she'd landed. Whatever it was, was coming towards her, and fast. She was still too far from her home village for any of the patrols to have ventured this far out, so whatever it was had to be a threat.

 

Swallowing, she set her feet into a crouch and waited as she caught a glimpse of a great beast crashing through the underbrush and skidded to a stop about one hundred yards away from her.

 

Roe'gall! she thought relieved as she clipped the lightsaber to her belt and crossed the remaining distance to throw her arms around the mutant tuk'ata. Her heart swelled as she realized that her teacher was doing her best to continue to look out for her as best she could, to the point of surrendering what Raia knew to be her only comfort and connection to her now past relationship with Raynuk Montar. Or maybe having Roe'gall around only served to remind Emily of what she'd lost and sending him with Raia had simply been the logical choice to make in the matter.

 

Emily seemed to deal in absolutes a bit as of late. Her all or nothing demand of Raynuk, Raia realized as the point Raynuk had tried to make to her back on the Ravenhammer, had been the catalyst for their split as much as the event that had spawned the demand in the first place. Again the vision she'd painted floated into her mind's eye again, and she sincerely hoped it wasn't true, for several reasons.

 

Roe'gall shook his head, and it was only then that Raia had realized that she'd been holding on to him as she'd gotten lost in thought. "What am I going to do with you?" She asked, stepping back to look at the beast again, knowing that none in her clan had ever seen such a creature before. "Emily sent you to protect me, didn't she?" The tuk'ata nodded his head and let out a slightly resigned wumph.

 

The young Witch began to pace, trying to think of a way to allow him to fulfill Emily's mandate while protecting him from the xenophobia of her clan. "You have to stay hidden. Hunt as you need to, but away from my clan, understand? You can't be seen or they'll kill you."

 

Intelligent eyes met hers and Roe'gall bowed low in acknowledgment, though Raia could tell it was done begrudgingly. Satisfied, she sprang back up into the trees to retrieve her bag and continue her journey, confident in his ability to keep up with her.

 

--------

 

About two hours later and in the twilight of the day, Raia approached the outer edges of her clan's territory. Deciding it would be harder to hide the lightsaber and comlink if they decided to search her bag, she climbed a nearby tree to hide them in a hollow as Roe'gall clawed at the base slightly to mark it. Taking care to make sure that her tattoo was fully covered she took a deep breath and stepped past the warding spells that would alert the others to her presence. Casting a quick look behind her, she noted that Roe'gall had made himself scarce, but had likely been smart enough to flank her and cross the barrier at the same moment she did.

 

Only about ten minutes into her steady pace and the familiar roar of Rancors met her ears and she knelt where she stood, her face clearly visible and her hands cast wide in a sign of peace. Within moments two of the great beasts and their riders were upon her, the recent attacks likely putting the clan even more on guard. "Raia Selik, daughter of High Healer Leiantra Selik. I come open-handed back to my sisters..."

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk took the seat that Draken motioned to, watching the droid silently cross the room a body bag thrown over its shoulder, as if it was a normal everyday chore for the droid. His attention turned back to Draken as the man began to recount what the pair had learn up to this point. The news of something having gone wrong was disconcerting to say the least, and Raynuk's concerns were only heightened as Draken passed the datapad to him. When Draken mentioned the resurrection spell however, Raynuk's eyes shot up to the man as Draken continued. The fact that the Nightsister had blocked something from her memory was reason enough to proceed with caution, and Raynuk began to think of all the possible scenarios and outcomes that could have come to pass for a memory to be forgotten like that. Raynuk was about to inquire further as to what Draken knew of the location he had mentioned, when Alora took the break in conversation to broach the subject that he knew would come eventually.

 

“Raia not with you? I felt Emily briefly and she didn’t seem herself. What has happened?”

 

The 'down to business' facade fell away from Raynuk almost instantly, and he visibly leaned back into the chair with a sigh. He of course knew that Draken and Alora had noticed that Raia, who had left Coruscant with Raynuk, was no longer there with him. The information that Alora had felt Emily briefly was a curious tidbit, but dwelling on that would not give Alora -- or Draken -- the answers they were curious about. Finally, as he looked between Alora and Draken with a pause, he leaned forward again, steepling his fingers with his elbows on his knees as he jumped into recounting what had transpired.

 

"As Raia and I left Coruscant, the girl was subjected to another vision from the Force; this time it was of a girl, a few years younger than Raia, floating weightlessly, seemingly dead. Raia got the sense that the girl was alive, and in serious trouble, and after some time spent with a star chart, told me she knew where the girl was, and was insistent that we needed to save her. So..." he paused again, a whisper of a smile crossing his face as he thought about the absurdity of it, "I relented, and off we went on our detour. We found a ship in the middle of nowhere; it had suffered an internal ion mine explosion. Every system was dead; gravity, life support, power, lighting, everything. But we found the girl behind a locked door, unconscious and barely alive. It wasnt until I brought her back on board my ship that I fully realized who it was; it was Jaina's daughter. And the ship was Jaina's ship."

 

Raynuk paused again and watched the both of them, particularly Alora, react before he continued.

 

"I told Raia to watch over Tirzah -- thats her name by the way -- while I went back to the other ship to try and get at least some of the systems restored so that it was safe to fly again. But..." He sighed again, "Something happened while I was on the other ship. I never got the chance to find out completely. I told Raia to let me know when she woke up, which she did, but by the time I got back to the ship I found both of them comatose in the med-bay. I tried everything to bring them back, but when I tried to move Raia to her room on my ship it became apparent that the two were somehow linked in close proximity. It was some sort of Force-dream that the two were sharing, but it was more powerful than anything I had seen Raia experience; I attempted to dive into the Force after them, but it threatened to consume even me.

 

"I knew I needed help, and since Emily went looking for Jaina, I sent her a message. She had already found Jaina. So the two of them came with a Jedi who was apparently friends with Jaina, and we set about trying to pull the girls out of whatever they had gotten themselves into. Jaina and Emily tried to go in after them but... I dont know, they were rejected. Then the Jedi mentioned how it seemed Raia had bonded more with me than Emily... So Jaina and I went in after the girls."

 

Raynuk paused again, deciding that the full story of what he saw within the Force-dream didnt really matter to the point of the story, which he was slowly and unfortunately coming to. "The dream was... unique to say the least. We found the girls, but Jaina and I had to work together to convince the girls that it was all an illusion that they needed to break free from. We had to leave together, hand in hand, just as we had entered, otherwise we risked the whole damn thing collapsing in on us. So when we came out, Jaina and I were still holding hands, both of us feeling the gratitude of having the other there for support... "

 

Raynuk trailed off and then leaned back again, a hand running through his hair as he forced himself to look elsewhere; anywhere but at them as he continued. "Emily saw that... and freaked out in anger and rage on both of us. Jaina ran in the face of Emily's anger, and then Emily unleashed hell on me with words and refused to believe that I ever cared for her, asking if this had been my plan all along, that I had used her and was now discarding her like she was nothing... In the end she gave me a terrible ultimatum; a life where I was allowed to care for only her, or my life on my terms but without her."

 

He spread his hands as he finally found the will to look at his two friends again. "I think you can deduce what option I chose. I dont do well with ultimatums, especially one like that. In the end, Raia was caught in the middle. The girl was angry -- is angry -- at both of us for splitting from each other. I encouraged her to stay with Emily; she is the girl's master after all, and I know Emily. She does not do well alone anymore. Raia had harsh words for me before they both left, but she was mad at Emily too... If what you say is true Alora, perhaps Raia parted from Emily as well.

 

"And that, my friends... is the terrible horrible no good very bad day that I have endured. And that is why Raia is no longer shadowing me."

 

Raynuk took a deep breath for the first time in a long time. Draken and Alora were possibly his two closest friends and allies at that moment, and they were the first people he had been given a chance to talk with about the whole ordeal that weighed on him. Merely telling them of it eased that burden more than he would have thought. For a long period he was quiet following his recounting of the events, waiting for and expecting a slew of questions to come from one or both of them.

[Delta73]

Tac-Officer Grimswald leaned into his comm mic and addressed the commander of the united Black Sun. With a flick of his hand he sent a series of data and coordinate points that outlined a large clan of dathomiri witches. “Commander, this attack would have the most profound effect on the local savages. The Spring Valley clan live in the Qari River Delta and a precise attack would devastate both the clan and the local population that relies on their abundant harvests for sustenance. This would of course also open the opportunity to exploit the local commodities market.”

 

The Marie flew into a hovering pattern over the planet, its long and short range scanners pinging away furiously for more villages or any ships on an intercept pattern.

 

_________________

 

 

Delta awoke, his head foggy with concussive force of a dozen turbolaser blasts. He was lying in what he could only describe as a wicker bed in the middle of a nightsisters house. His armour was gone, lying piled in the corner, its paint blast faded away, leaving the bare Beskar’gam underneath. When he took a deep breath, he almost screamed in pain. Lifting the sheet and seeing the darkened bruises under his skin, Delta could only assume that he had experienced some very severe injuries. But his body tingled. A tingle that he had experienced before. Nightsister Magics. He cursed and looked around. He was alone, but he knew not for long. Delta rolled to his side and attempted to stand. His legs collapsed and suddenly the dirt floor was so very close. He could taste the dirt and sweat that covered his face. He pulled himself into a crouch and coughed. He was covered in burn lines where the concussive fire blast had wrapped around the armour and burnt through his supposedly ‘fire proof’ inner jumpsuit. What a crock of shit. Then it hit him like a hammer between his blue eyes.

 

Qaela

 

“You loved her. Just as you loved me once.”

 

The voice was distant in his ears. It still held a hint of childhood innocence, that grated painfully at his heart. Every syllable too difficult to bear. But the march of her voice was as unrelenting as the hail of blaster fire that had taken her life. And just like with her, he had been at fault. Every drop of their blood was on his hands.

 

Delta crawled to the burnt pile of armour and began to fasten it to the tattered remains of the clothes he had been wearing. A strange sense of urgency making him hurry to the point where he nearly forgot to fasten his gunbelt on properly. He was in no condition to fight. Or at least that's what he noticed when he stood and the armour merely fell away. Delta curse and grabbed the tunic that had been laid out on a low table and dressed like a peasant instead of a Mandalorian Warrior. In that instant two lordly looking females appeared at the doorway.

 

Delta tried his best wink to break the tension before he was dragged off."Now ladies, there is plenty enough of me for the both of you!" But they overpowered him despite his overwhelming manliness and charm. It was not one of his better moments. But he could have always chalked it off as having been hit with a turbolaser the day before and not at all because of his awful personality.

[Raia Montar]

From atop one of the Rancors, Raia watched as the forest ultimately gave way her natal village a measure of nervousness overtaking her as they came to a stop and she set foot on solid ground once more. Acutely aware that she was being watched, she let the warriors of her clan shunt her silently off to one of the guest huts that often doubled as a place to house prisoners, from the rare outsider to the more common violator of the Elder Mandates that had been enacted to keep the Raging River Clan safe following a particular Nightsister/Sith attack some years back around the time Raia was still a very young child.

 

Her own memories of the attack were hazy at best, long suppressed by the years and the stories she heard from the adults of an outsider who'd orchestrated a Nightsister attack to paint himself the savior of their clan in a bid for power. Raia knew anything outside the clan was feared and viewed as pollution by the council. She caught a glimpse of the still-smoking jungle far to the west of the clan just as she was roughly shoved into the hut. Prisoner it was then.

 

-----

 

It was several hours before anyone came to meet with her. It shouldn't have surprised her that it was Mitra, a wizened Elder Council member that had always been the holder of clan history for as long as Raia could remember. It was said she knew every child, including the males, that were born to the clan, so it made sense that she would be the one to come visiting to verify that the girl captured in the forest was who she claimed to be.

 

"Greetings child," she began with the same patience and sweetness Raia had remembered from her early years, but there was an undercurrent of distrust and suspicion that caused Raia to shift on the cot slightly.

"Elder Mitra," Raia returned the greeting cooly. "I've come home."

"Interesting that it should be now young Raia Selik. Rise so that I might look at you," the woman ordered.

 

Obediently Raia rose, stepping toward the middle of the small hut, as the woman circled her appraisingly. Raia could see her mouth moving and knew a spell being woven when she saw one. "Tell me, child, you've come back to us changed. All this time in the jungles, are you still fit to heal? Why return to us much as the dead do now?"

 

Raia looked up sharply thinking about why Raynuk and the others had come to the planet and the visions she'd had regarding the cultists. "The dead rise?"

"Silence!" Mitra admonished, holding up her hand. "You will remain here until we decide what to do with you."

"Can't I at least see my mother?" Raia begged. The other woman gave no further answer and left the teenage girl to the silence of the hut and her own thoughts.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken nodded as he listened to what had transpired in the recent past between Raynuk, the two women and Raia. He stroked his beard as he contemplated a possible course of action that Raia may have taken. "Raia may have returned to her clan. Apart from you and Emily, she could sought refuge with them until she figures some things out." He paused for a moment then went back to their previous discussion. The answer to Raynuk's unsaked question already in his mind.

 

"The Canyon is familiar to me because I have been there been in years past. This is the third time that I have been to this planet and both times previous I had some interaction with the Raging River clan. The first time I was with a Witch from this planet who was under my protection and Nightsisters from the Standing Rock Clan attacked them. We beat back the ambush with extreme prejudice, much to the shock of the Witches. I returned here several years ago just before Alora's disappearance, I had come in search of knowledge but found the Raging River clan under siege by the Nightsisters. It seemed to be a stalemate until I arrived where I took the attack to be an affront and unleashed a second attack on the rear of the Nightsister ranks. I had killed eight of them before they had noticed but by then it was too late. By the end of the battle, seventy'eight Nightsisters lay dead including the Matron of the clan.

 

I pursued them into the Canyon and slew six more before I came upon a cache of knowledge. I plundered two large tomes and one scroll, the Raging River clan gained ten square miles of additional territory. The Nightsister whose body you saw being removed was one of the last remaining members of the Standing rock clan, they never recovered from the attack and were forced to result to desperate means to hold the little ground that remained to the clan, which I suspect is why they resorted to the resurrection spell in hopes that they could later use it to resurrect their clan sisters. The backfire of the spell may have been caused by the lack of properly trained Nightsisters."

[Alora]

She watched as Raynuk leaned back in his chair Alora could tell something was weighing on him. As he began to recount what had happened she listened with interest regarding Raia’s vision and how there had been the sense of urgency to follow through. That they found Jaina’s ship and daughter was a surprise. Hearing about how the ship had been neutralized and the girl left for dead triggered a surge of anger within the young woman. Who the hell would kill a child like that? She thanked the stars that Raia had had that vision and that they were able to save the young girl.

 

That anger turned towards concern when Raynuk told them that the girls had gone into a kind of Force-dream that even He couldn’t bring them out of. She was relieved somewhat when he told them about Emily and Jaina arriving but that quickly reverted back to concern when the two women couldn’t bring the girls back either. That they had a Jedi with them was puzzling … so was the fact that Raynuk and Jaina were able to bring the girls back where Emily couldn’t. That may have been part of the hurt she'd felt in Emily's message to her.

 

It surprised her with Emily’s reaction, never having thought that she would be jealous of Raynuk’s past, though not knowing both sides, and being friends with both of them, she couldn’t pick sides. She would remain neutral and offer both of them her sympathy’s. Alora could understand how Raia would be feeling as well, the anger at both of them when she had just started to feel safe and secure. Raynuk’s explanation, and the sense she got from Emily filled in part of the puzzle. Standing up she stepped closer to Raynuk, giving him a hug. “I am sorry you and Emily parted ways. Know that I’m here… not only for you, but for Emily and Raia as well.

 

She stepped back, taking a seat next to Draken once more. Her thoughts went back over what he’d just told them. "Raia may have returned to her clan. Apart from you and Emily, she could sought refuge with them until she figures some things out." The Sith Mistress half turned towards Draken as he spoke, another thought coming to her, “Do we know which clan Raia belongs to? If she’s here, I do hope she’s safe from whoever it is that just unleashed that attack.” She fell silent again as he turned the conversation back towards the Nightsisters though she kept thinking back to what Raynuk had told them before.

 

“Do you have any idea who it was that took Jaina’s ship and left Tirzah for dead? I don't know Jaina all that well though I'd gladly offer my support for any revenge sought on the perpetrators.To do that to a child...” Her violet eyes flashed with her anger towards whoever would do such a thing.

[Raynuk Montar]

Draken's past on Dathomir was sure to prove useful in the hunt for the cultists, but it was clear that whatever happened with the Standing Rock clan did not bode well. IT seemed like the only way they were going to find out what happened would be to travel there themselves, and who knew what kind of mess they would be walking into. He graciously returned the hug that Alora gave him, a small smile crossing his face at the proof that he was still cared for in some people's minds. He had never questioned that Alora was his friend, or that she was of a caring nature towards him, but it was still nice in the aftermath of what had happened to be reminded of it.

 

"Never doubted it Alora, and thank you. As for whoor why the girl was left for dead in the middle of nowhere... I dont know. I didnt exactly get the chance to ask about it after I emerged from the Force-dream. I dont even know where any of them had come from as a matter of fact." He suddenly realized with a flicker of concern, before he shook his head, scattering the thought. "For right now though, none of that should concern us. Im sure Jaina and her Jedi companion will want those answers for themselves; both left their comm frequencies with me, so I can always check in later and see if they found anything, and get those answers if need be."

He stood up slowly, stretching his wrist as he continued. "For now, It seems that our best bet is going to be to make our way to whatever is left of the Standing Rock clan if that is where our trail leads us."We should prepare for anything. The ritual they used on me..." He paused before finishing, as if grasping at a whisper of a memory in his mind. "I dont know how, but I could feel the fact that it barely worked on me, and I came back in a fit of rage and torment. Nearly choked the life out of Emily before Roe'gall tackled me to the ground. Whatever went wrong here could be worse. Draken, since you've had dealings with this clan previously, I will follow your lead on this. I am ready to go whenever you are. "

 

The fact that Raynuk had become -- or possibly taken upon himself -- the role as 'leader' of this hunt of the Cult of Morthos was not lost on him. The others had followed him across Korriban and Coruscant so far, going where he directed, following plans and ideas he laid out. But this was not about him, and he knew it. This was about pulling back the curtain on the cult, and even though Raynuk knew the Dathomiri language nearly as well as Draken, the other Sith had far more practical expeirence in terms of interacting with this planet; both in terms of combat and diplomacy. So Raynuk was perfectly content with falling back into the role of a Sith Warrior -- a bruiser and a soldier -- and let Draken point them in the best direction. As if it was somehow needed, Raynuk gave Draken a nod to reinforce his statements and state of mind.

[darth shadowlord]

"I dont know how, but I could feel the fact that it barely worked on me, and I came back in a fit of rage and torment. Nearly choked the life out of Emily before Roe'gall tackled me to the ground. Whatever went wrong here could be worse. Draken, since you've had dealings with this clan previously, I will follow your lead on this. I am ready to go whenever you are. "

 

"Not that surprising actually, based on what the scrolls speak of. I am surprised that it was that short of a time that you regained your memories and control. The affect seems to be longer depending on how long the corpse has been dead. I suspect that yours may have been a milder case considering that it hasn't been that many years since you died." Draken stroked his beard for a moment as he considered what they could face. "There is a possibility that I hadn't considered yet. When the spell went wrong for them, it may have caused a form of walking functioning living corpse to rise if the spell failed before the proper sequence could be carried out. If this is the case, it shouldn't be hard to defeat or rather destroy the corpses.

 

The canyon is about three days on foot from here to the east and unreachable by ship. It is beside the river and the only real dangers to us until we get there would be the Fauna and potentially the Witches which seem to have renounced their ties with the outside world. This could prove to be a problem as the path we would need to take would have us near their territory. We leave when darkness falls." Draken stood up and called his staff back to his hand, then opened the door to the ship and headed out into the compound. He walked over to the stables and headed inside the darkened building. He slowly walked through the stable, seeing how the horses reacted to him and how they reacted.

[Alora]

That the ritual had caused Raynuk to wake in a rage was something for them to keep in mind when they went to the Canyon. Alora recalled something she saw within the memories of the Nightsister, it was something that she had a brief glimpse of before the Nightsister had blocked the rest of it. Replaying it over, she conjured up the memories via her illusions for them all to see and look over. The image was of a face, twisted with rage. You couldn't tell if it was male or female from the glimpse they saw. She replayed it again wondering if the men would see anything within the memories.

 

"I guess we should be prepared for anything when we get there. In the mean time, I think I'll see how our little guest is doing then I'll get busy in the galley." Alora stood and headed towards the bedroom, finding the little cub still curled up on the end of the bed. She sat beside her and stroked her soft fur. "I guess I should give you a name if you're staying with me." Her soft words were met with a rumbling purr. She picked the cub up and headed back to the others, stroking and murmuring to the panther cub as she went. She sat down for a moment and looked up at Draken and Raynuk. "Any suggestions for a name for this little girl?"

[Raia Montar]

Sunset.

 

Sunrise.

 

Sunset.

 

Sunrise again and the only person Raia had seen aside from the guards in that entire time was Mitra who brought her meals and did her best to pry what information she could from the girl about the situation regarding the dead that had risen to threaten the relative peace of the village.

“For the last time, Elder Mitra,” Raia tersely responded to this latest series of inquiry, “I don’t know anything about the Walking Dead. I finally got tired of my wanderings and just wanted to come home, back to whatever I can of my life here. Why won’t you let me see my mother? Is she dead?”

 

The older woman scoffed, still believing there was more to Raia’s simple and vague tale than the girl was sharing. “Hardly. Unlike you, she knows her duty to her clan and is seeing to our needs. She has not the time or the inclination to deal with a willful child.”

 

“Why am I under arrest then?” Raia finally worked up the courage to demand.

 

“Simple…” The woman sighed as the guard collected the bowls from Raia’s meal, no where nearly as good as the food on Coruscant had been. “You are a traitor to our clan. You selfishly turned your back on us and for that...you can’t be forgiven.”

 

Raia visibly paled. What had she been expecting when she convinced Emily to leave her here. It was also suddenly very obvious why Mitra wouldn’t allow Raia to see her mother, Leiantra. Her mother was the only one among their clan who would vouch for her, and the three suns were almost up. If she didn’t, Raia knew the sentence all too well - death. Though, with Roe’gall lurking somewhere in the nearby jungle, her death, if it came at all, would not be the only one. Raia sincerely hoped it wouldn’t come to that.

------

In the next hut over, Leiantra Selik had been working her strongest magicks and spells to heal the male that had been rescued somewhere near a old battle field. She’d worked in silence, understanding little Basic and having no way to understand what strange utterances were coming from the stranger as she treated him.

 

The Witch healers combined practical application of their native medicines, along with their magicks to aid the healing process. This one seemed to be responding well enough to the treatment that he was well enough for the council to see him. Mitra and her cohorts would no doubt turn him away since they wanted little to do with the outside world at best...at worst, they’d get the information they could out of him and then kill him outright. The only thing keeping that from happening was the fact she’d been lying about his progress.

 

There wasn’t much else she could do to help him and the rest was on her own, so she sat with her back to the door and continued to chant words of healing in his direction.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken returned to the ship and looked at Raynuk and Alora. "There are horses in the stable in the southern end of the compound. They are strong and well trained, they will bare us and any supplies that we choose to bring with us." He glanced down at the wee cub Alora was holding and smiled. It hissed at him and he laughed as he looked back at her. "It might be best if you name her, I don't think that she likes me." He reached out and pulled a datapad over to him with the Force and began pulling up a topographical map of the surrounding area and the canyon. Quickly he began to examine the route that they would take. One way would take them across the valley which had more chance of them running into Nightsister and Witch patrols likely with rancors, the other would take them over a mountain, the mountain would be harder on the mounts but a bit faster. Finally he nodded and looked at the two of them.

 

"Time to go, gather the supplies that you need we leave within the hour."

 

-- Several hours later--

 

Draken stood up in the stirrups and looked around the hillside, near the bottom he could see a patrol of Nightsisters with several rancors. He motioned at the patrol, pointing them out to Alora and Raynuk. The patrol was headed in the other direction, heading towards the Witches outpost. He stroked his beard and pondered for a moment then decided to keep riding. It would serve him little good to aid them, besides there were far more important tasks that he need to complete. As they rode on, he caught sight of a feline shape lurking in the scrub brush near the trail. He chuckled and reached into the saddle bag and tossed a small parcel of meat into the brush. A low growl slipped out of the brush and the horse balked at the sound of it. Draken smiled and reined the horse in then placed on hand on its neck and calmed it with the Force. It would seem that the cat had taken an interest in him, this could prove very useful in the future. He would have to keep his eyes open for the cat.

[Delta73]

Trenches, Delta thought, were possibly the worst place a man or clone could die. Either you died from a mortar strike or a droid infantry rush, in either case a dead clone was just another nameless body to be added unceremoniously to the trench itself. Ninety Eight days the ‘Grand Army of the Republic’ had fought for every square kilometer with freight containers of blood. Even the Republic fleet could bolster no aide to the embattled troops, only able to run in supplies, men, and the occasional ground strike before they were beaten back by the tattered Separatist fleet. The stench of it all always seemed to bypass the respirators in his Katarn helmet, and he was currently laying underneath a few well on dead clones. He could vividly small the rot as he lay with his macrobinoculars trained on the separatist high command. He took a deep breath and watched until they were back to gazing at the holomaps. Gagging past his bile he twitched his index finger and slowly on of the bodies beside him shifted and his Jedi General creeped up beside him.

 

Kailen was in full clone trooper armour, two sizes too large, half melted away on the chest, where the previous owner had received a B2 hand blaster bolt. She did not seem to be all that effected by the stench and the crusty blood that covered her robes under the armour. The previous owner, RT-002874-T1 had rotted for nearly a month before Delta and Kailen had got to where he and his unit had died on the last failed attack. It had been easy enough to scoop the soup out and put the padawan now general in his place. And excellent disguise for any patrolling droid or human patrols, if a smelly one.

 

Over the course of an hour he slowly brought the rifle to bear as Kailen shielded their heat with the force. Watching all the while as the Republic Fleet began their final and most desperate push. He brought the scope to his eye and leveled it to bear on Separatist Leader of the Combined Gariidan Front’s chest. Delta let his breath out in a slow rush and pulled the trigger when the sound of the fleet battles turbolasers were loudest. Nothing happened. He pulled the trigger again and the faint whine of a depleted power pack nearly screamed in his ears.

 

“They are moving Ca’Aran, Force be damned, they are packing to move to second command.” Her voice came in a soft voice through the headset speakers. She sounded pained and desperate. This man had killed her master with a precision strike not two weeks before. And the pain was still fresh in her young mind. Delta quickly reminded himself that technically he was only ten and she, being 16 was older. Flash training and doubled growth rates being as they were, he still felt a protective love for her. “Kriff this.” She unclipped the lightsaber on her belt and instinctively Delta pushed her back down.

 

“Are you trying to get us killed ma’am, I don't think-” An explosion overhead heralded a swift end to their conversation. The Republic Venator-Class Star Destroyer above, known by her troops as the Green Hand, had taken a critical hit and had split amidships in the upper atmosphere at a loss of all hands. No distinctive blue lines of escape pod contrails could Delta see, and from the heavy gout of fire from the command bridge, even Jedi Master Kaf-Duran would not see another Gariidan sunset. Kailen’s howl of rage and shock was enough to spin every battle droid’s head in nearly a half a klick. She tore her helmet off and revealed her pretty blue eyes that now shone with fury. Delta nearly smiled. If it wasn’t for the horrid feeling creeping into his chest as she gestured with her hands towards the command bunker. Delta could feel the strength sweep from his tired bones as whatever force trick she was performing drained him to his core.

 

"Azagrath ensfare asfelt ezgarth"

 

The words were now so oddly familiar. In the command bunker, the Separatist High command were screaming in terror as their lives came to a brutal and bloody end. And yet on Kailen’s face there was a smile. A wicked smile that nearly stretched from ear to ear, all teeth, and filled with malice. Ice blue tears streamed down her face as she chanted the words from her youth. Delta reached for her, retching and screaming…

_____________

 

“Kailen!”

 

The scream brought him back to consciousness. He was on Dathomir. The homeworld of the two women he had ever loved. Strange he thought as he choked back unbeckoned tears, he hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye to either of them.

 

The smell from his dream was still there. It was rank and dark. With a cry Delta realized that he was in fact in significant pain. The magiks of the healer had removed most of the toxins from his burned skin but had not been able to save his right arm. It lay in repose across his bed. Black and rotten. A nightsister in the process of amputating it with a vibroblade.

 

“Oh Kriff!”

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk nodded deeply to Draken as he exited the ship, taking a few moments longer to himself before Alora likewise stirred. Feeling oddly out of place being left alone in the room, Raynuk stood again and exited the ship as well, returning to the Ravenhammer briefly. He went through the process of telling 2V that he would be departing on a journey soon, and that no, he did not need the droid to accompany him, no matter how well programmed the droid was in tactics. The point seemed to be driven home and 2V acquiesced when Raynuk informed the droid about the multitude of predatory species that resided on the planet in addition to the fact that 2V was not armed at all; although the droid did use that opening to lobby for a weapon of its own. It cited the 'intrusion' of the 'tiny jedi' and how even Vex'aedr was armed; 'Your pet could bite through the plating on this ship' it had said, receiving only a dismissing laugh from Raynuk. In the end 2V agreed to stay and keep watch over both ships and was given the comm frequencies of all three Sith.

 

From there Raynuk briefly stopped in his room to gather the few items he thought could be of use; chief among them was the armored helmet that he had basically been gifted by Delta back on Coruscant. He knew the Black Sun vigo's helmet carried with it a suite of tools that could be of use, least of which were various vision filters -- low light and thermal -- as well as motion sensors and communications built in. What effect Vex'aedr's decision to use it as a chew toy had on the helmet and its system remained to be seen, but it was still better than nothing; if nothing else it was a protective helmet. Carrying it under his arm, Raynuk said his last goodbyes to 2-VSH before exiting the Ravenhammer, locking it securely behind him, and returning to Draken's ship. Between the two ships he found Vex'aedr, who was currently nosing through a storage crate that looked to have been knocked off a pile, most likely by the tuk'ata himself. Raynuk's reappearance and approaching presence brought the beast's head out of the crate, at which point it noticed the helmet under Raynuk's arm. Vex's head tilted to the side, silently asking the question "Why are you carrying my chew toy?" to Raynuk.

 

This is mine now. It has uses to me beyond a toy to keep you entertained. Raynuk voiced into his pet's mind, where it was met with a response akin to "That's okay. Plenty of things to chew out here".

 

The tuk'ata would remain there until the Sith headed out, and as Raynuk looked up, Draken was returning from somewhere else within the compound, and Raynuk followed him back aboard the ship. Alora looked up as they both entered.

 

"Any suggestion for a name for this little girl?" She said, holding the small cub in her lap.

 

Raynuk quirked an eyebrow, having been unaware that Alora had apparently found a cub recently, but turned to Draken as he told them of the trip ahead of them and the horses. The curiosity was replaced by a small smile as the cub hissed in Draken's direction and he replied before turning his attention to a datapad. Raynuk turned back to Alora and the cub, his eyes narrowing slightly at the little ball of fur.

 

"It should be a name that she will grow into; so it depends on whether she will be an exotic house pet, spending her time lounging around on couches and wandering around ships and apartments. Or if she is to be what Vex'aedr is to me; a constant companion, as fierce in battle as he is loyal to me, equally likely to snap a man's neck in his jaws as he is to affectionately lick my face." He answered, still a glimmer of a smile on his face. "But I would have to agree with your fiance; the name should be of your choice, but I will gladly serve as a sounding board on any name you think of."

 

Raynuk watched the small cub and its interactions with Alora until Draken looked up and said it was time to go. Raynuk indicated he was prepared, and began to move to exit the ship again before turning back to Alora.

 

"you might want to uhm... keep her away from Vex'aedr though. I dont know how he would react to her; he'd either try and adopt her, eat her, or ignore her; I dont think we should find out until shes a bit larger."

 

------

 

The trip towards the canyon was uneventful, giving Raynuk more than his share of time to lament and try and think of the last time he had physically ridden a horse; he figured it was back on Roon in his youth. But without a solid thought or goal to focus on in the interum, Raynuk's mind wandered and reflected. They were roughly halfway through the trip by Draken's estimates when Raynuk suddenly realized what the part of his mind that now shared a connection to Jaina was feeling;

 

Pain. He turned his attention to focusing on what he was feeling from her out of not only curiosity, but concern and boredom. Through that he came to know that it was not physical pain she was experiencing -- which he would be lying if he said didnt relieve him slightly -- but it was instead emotional pain. It was sorrow and grief, and now that Raynuk was consciously aware of it, her sorrow began to bleed into his own mind and became slightly distracting. He began to reach out to her through their connection, but mentally stumbled in the process, finding that his argument with Emily had left him nothing short of second guessing and gun-shy when it came to reaching out towards Jaina mentally. He needed to turn his focus to something else, even though he knew he would continue to be aware of her pain and sorrow. So he turned to look at his monster of a pet beside his horse.

 

Vex'aedr had kept up easily with the horses that the Sith rode on; the bigger challenge was to keep the horses from bolting the moment they laid eyes on the tuk'ata, which was entirely foreign to them. But by the time Draken paused and pointed out a patrol of Nightsisters and Rancors, Vex'aedr was right next to Raynuk, its own predatory senses heightened in this new environment. As they continued on and Draken chucked the parcel of meat into the underbrush, Raynuk had to verbally command Vex'aedr to not pursue the meat or the large feline that it was intended for. It was enough to make Raynuk consider putting a physical leash on the tuk'ata.

 

But then the fact that Vex'aedr outweighed Raynuk by a good 200 kilos caught up with him; even with the Force it would be sufficiently difficult to hold Vex back physically if he so decided to run off.

[Raia Montar]

Leiantra, looked up sharply as her patient awoke, his body metabolizing the sedatives she'd given him faster than she'd anticipated. A quick call to the guards and three other women arrived to assist in holding down the previously unconscious male while she finished her grisly work. "Trust," was all she said, checking to ensure the tourniquet was still securely in place to prevent the man from bleeding out completely.

 

"Dead," she pointed to the rotting flesh, then placed her hand on his chest, "Alive. Stay alive. I help." She hoped it would calm him enough that she could continue, though she took up another healing chant and the sound of the hut flap slapping against the frame was heard as a fourth and fifth figure, both males, appeared bearing a bowl, rag, and a brazier with some kind of metal heating within it. One man fanned the flames higher, while the other approached and placed the rag, rather forcefully, into the outsider's mouth. There was some sort of sweetly bitter root taste to whatever liquid it had been in before, another of Leiantra's healing elixirs, though this one had more to do with easing pain rather than actual healing work.

 

Once things had been set, and her patient secured once more, the High Healer of the Raging River Witches began the grim task of separating limb from life.

 

------------

 

Raia had been attempting to sleep, reaching out to assure Roe'gall that she was still alright like she had several times since she'd disappeared into the hut and hadn't been allowed out. The cry of a man in severe pain woke her with a start and her own instincts took over. The Force lent her speed enough to get past the lone guard, into the hut the sound emanated from.

 

"I can help!" She cried, stopping short as a double-shock of surprise caught her off-guard. Before Raia was not just her mother, but the man that held the fetid stench of death about him was none other than Ca'Aran-Delta. Somehow stifling the urge to cover her nose, Raia assumed her trained duties of assisting her mother, more than a little surprised at how it all came flooding back to her.

 

For her part, Leiantra could not question the blessing that was the sudden appearance of her lost child. She could only nod as Raia pressed her fingers to the man's neck and began relaying counts back to her mother.

 

Raia didn't dare begin the healing chants she knew, for fear of being swept up again in the Force, but she could at least translate between her mother and Delta. "Just because I'm helping heal you, Ca'Aran-Delta, doesn't mean I like you," she hissed quietly in Basic.

 

"You know this man, don't you Raia?" Leiantra asked in Dathomiri as she re-sterilized the vibroblade that had been knocked to the ground.

 

Yeah, he kissed me against my will and tried to get me pregnant, Raia thought to herself, more than half wanting to voice the thought aloud, but thought better of it and lied instead. "I've seen him wandering the forests while I've been away. He serves a Nightsister named Qaela, I'm not sure which clan."

 

Part of Leiantra wanted nothing more than to set her task aside and embrace her daughter, finding out all she could of why the girl had run away in the first place, where she'd been, and why she was back now. A greater part of her knew her duty to the clan, and that duty included keeping this male alive. Maybe Raia's familiarity with him could be used in their favor when it came to getting answers from the man. Surely that would please Mitral enough to let the girl remain, after the proper cleansing and re-entry rituals of course.

 

Leiantra looked at her daughter and nodded as Raia tilted the man's head so his gaze fell in the opposite direction of his arm, just as Mitral barged into the hut red-faced and indignant.

 

"Raia Selik! You have not been granted permission to leave your hut! You will return immediately!" the woman shrieked shrilly.

 

"I will not! My mother needs me to assist her in keeping this man alive unless you want him to die before you can question him," Raia spat back, rapidly remembering why she'd left in the first place - Mitral and her rules. Sure the council of elders governed the village, but it had been Mitral who'd set forth the rules that supposedly kept them all safe when really all it did was keep people from questioning the order of things. Raia hated her more than Delta, possibly as much as Furion, if not more.

 

"There are rules for re-integration child," Mitral began, pointing a gnarled finger at Raia. "Rules that must be observed and obeyed for the safety of the Clan. Surely you were old enough to recall when the Nightsisters and Sith descended on us?"

 

"Mitral," Leiantra intervened, "She can go back after she's done. When were you planning on telling me she'd returned?" With the last sentence, her mother's tone had gone as icy as Raia had ever heard it, especially towards the elder matriarch.

 

Taking advantage of the distraction, Leiantra didn't wait for an answer but took that moment to begin cutting flesh and bone heedless of the other's response or action. For Raia though, Mitral's words had stirred a long-dormant memory.

 

She'd been roughly three or four when their village had come under attack from one of the local Nightsister clans. The Sith had brought the Nightsisters with him to fight, their goal had been to wipe the clan of Witches out. Their homes had burned that night and many had died. Mitral had been the one to lead the non-combative members of the clan to safety. It had been her rules that had kept them hidden and from ruin afterward. At least that's what Raia remembered from the stories told around the fires of her early childhood and in the traditions handed down there after. Something didn't sit quite right with those memories and she wasn't quite sure what it was.

 

It was the smell brought on with the searing of hot metal against flesh as her mother cauterized vessels and veins on Ca'Aran-Delta's arm that brought the memories sharply into focus. There was a shadowy figure at the head of their Forces, red lightsabers in hand and male, but he did not appear to be fighting against them...

 

Another cry from Ca'Aran brought Raia's focus back to the present before she let herself get lost pursuing the memory.

[Alora]

As Draken went to check the stables and Raynuk went to his ship, Alora went to organise what she would need to take with her. She got the attention of the droid and instructed it to look after the cub for her for the few days that they would be away. She then prepared what she would need to take with her for this trip. It had been quite some time since she had ridden a horse… in fact, not since she was last on Leria Kerlsil. While she would need her armor on, she wanted some padding for the saddle. She knew that they would probably all end up rather saddle sore after this trip so slipped a tube of heat rub into her bag just in case it was required.

 

That done she sat for a while with the Panther Cub, bonding with her. She was sure a name for the cub would come to her though would take Raynuk up on his offer as a sounding board. “I would like her as a constant companion. I know these felines can be very aggressive when they need to be…” Her statement was followed by the cub hissing at Draken once more, causing Alora to laugh. She had a feeling that the cub and Vex might get along though was unwilling to test that theory yet a while… When Draken stated it was time to go, she settled the cub and joined the men outside.

 

The horse she was riding had an easy gait, Alora soon getting in the rhythm of being in the saddle again. She looked down at the Nightsisters Draken pointed to as they came to a brief halt though they soon continued on. The Sith Mistress grinned as she saw Draken throw the parcel of meat to the stealthy feline that seemed to have taken an interest in him. Alora had to stifle a laugh when she heard Raynuk call Vex off from going after the meat parcel. The large tuk’ata was well trained though and did what his master wanted… even if it was grudgingly. As they passed the feline she saw Vex look back once more before looking ahead and keeping up with Raynuk’s mount.

[Delta73]

Delta tried to relax into unconsciousness with the assistance of whatever foul root mix the nightsister had put onto the rag that gagged him as best as he could, but the awful vibration of vibroblade against bare bone could wake any man. Soft touch of fingers against his pulse brought him into sharp focus. A young, pretty, and all too familiar face stared down at him and Delta nearly felt his heart stop. His mind raced for something annoying to say against the girl but he was gagged. Sadly all the comments he might have made about being too cold and in need of bodily warmth were lost. More nightsisters barged in like the savages they were and causes essentially a screaming match between them, Raia, and the Healer.

 

In the momentary lull delta spat out the gag and stage whispered to the girl, “By the force don’t go and have a domestic love. If your village elder doesn't want us to date we can always meet behind the rancor stables.” He winked at her, in his best just kidding look but when they continued screaming in their language at each other, Delta wished one of the brutish females would just hit him over the head so at least he could have some peace and quiet while his arm got sawed off. And sawed off it was indeed. And then the burning brand at the stump made him grit his teeth and just stare quietly at Raia. He finally screamed again when the brand was taken away and he fell back onto the table.

 

“By the force, let’s not do this again in the near future. How are you little one? Running away from the Sith pack are we?” He used humor to mask his pain best he could. He wasn't a savage after all.

[Raia Montar]

“You have no right to call me that, Ca’Aran,” obviously striking a nerve with Raia at the same moment her mother asked, “Sith?” Raia winced, knowing that if Leiantra had heard it, Mitral and the others certainly had as well.

 

Leiantra turned to Raia, looking at her daughter as though she’d sprouted a diseased and rotten arm of her own.

 

“I knew it,” Mitral gloated, her keen eyes noticing something on the girl she hadn’t before. “The dead walking, strange visitors like this man, and you just happen to show up right on our doorstep as it all happens. Traitor!” the elder woman seethes, her face contorting into a sneer.

 

But Raia wasn’t looking at Mitral. Instead, she was looking past Ca’Aran-Delta to her mother, her expression one of pleading, one that bespoke a deep need for the woman’s acceptance. Her mother’s eyes flitted to her shoulder, where the scarf she wore had shifted just enough that a few of the lines of her tattoo were visible against the paleness of her skin.

 

Leiantra’s face was a study of pity, disbelief, and disgust as she ignored the clan elder and slowly approached her child. Raia didn’t shy away as her mother lifted the edge of the scarf further, ultimately unwinding it to reveal the tattoo that now lay spread across her upper chest and shoulders. Though it wasn’t merely the red Delta would have seen in Last Call. This tattoo had grown from the small, round medallion it had been centered just under her collar bones.

“My child is dead,” the healer said finally stepping away from Raia, her face hardening. “She was marked by the Dark Siders and she will share in their fate.” The woman’s voice had taken on an icy chill as she turned her back on Raia and strode for the door.

 

“NO!” Raia begged, reaching for her mother, managing to catch her arm, only to be shaken off. “Please…” she pleaded, “I never asked for this. I never chose it!”

“‘Never chose it’?” Leiantra turned around, hurt and betrayal apparent on her tired face. “‘Never chose it’? You chose it when you walked away from this clan, Raia. Being marked by the Sith was a result of that choice whether you intended for it to happen or not. The last Sith that visited our clan nearly destroyed my clan with his Nightsister allies. My child died the second she set foot outside the parameter.”

 

“Their fates are decided then,” Mitral interjected with false sweetness as she reached out to Leiantra and ushered her and the rest of the guards out of the hut, though the guards merely stopped just outside of the flap that served as the door and were soon joined by more.

 

Raia stood there, frozen in shock for several long moments before her knees simply gave way and fell to the dirt floor. A few minutes later two of the male guards came in and lifted Raia up and dragged her numbly back to her hut, where they took up guard to ensure she didn’t run off.

 

----------------

 

Not far away, Roe’gall paced back and forth in the jungle shadows eyeing the tree that Raia had hidden her lightsaber and bag in. He hadn't understood why the girl had abandoned her weapon in the jungle, so he'd spent the time she was sleeping clawing and shoving against the arboreal puzzle with all his might. After two days of weakening the base, it started to lean slightly indicating some progress had been made. Over and over again he dashed back a short distance and sprang at the tree which groaned louder and louder in protest until it finally yielded with a resounding crash, though no one but Roe'gall was in the area to hear it.

 

Even as the tree fell, the tuk'ata ran up the length, the hollow where the girl's bag lay hidden now easily accessible. With a clawed paw, he scooped the bag out of the crevasse and onto the ground where he wriggled his neck through the long strap. With his mission complete and a sigh, he trotted back through the jungle toward the Witches' village.

 

----------------

 

Raia didn't move from the spot where the guards had tossed her for the better part of an hour a tumult of thoughts raging and jostling for dominance within her mind. Her own mother had turned her back on her. She'd been so stupidly naive to think running back to Dathomir was safe or smart. There were no allies to be found here and now that stupid mark that hung with a weight of its own around her neck had sealed her fate. It was just a matter of how long it would take Mitral to prepare the manner and method of Raia's demise.

 

She wasn't wanted. She didn't belong. She had no family and had alienated the only people who'd shown her any kindness in a long while.

 

Tears streamed down her face and she closed her eyes ultimately crying herself to sleep.

 

Her dreams were not pleasant.

 

----------------

 

It was dark when the guards came for her, grabbing her up roughly from the floor. Her body might have gotten sleep, but the dreams had left her far from feeling rested. Lies...everything she'd known, the rules had been built on a twisted truth that Mitral had built the reality of an entire clan around. It had made her sick to think how this one woman had coerced an entire group of people into giving up most of their freedom and choice for what Raia had come to see as nothing more than a half-life.

 

Raia struggled against them, the fear mixed with anger getting the better of her as they lead her out of the hut and into the center of the village, where two tall stakes had been set up and kindling set beneath.

 

There was a slight pressing at the back of her mind and it took her a second to realize it was Roe'gall, likely bristling at the edge of the treeline, obviously not happy with what he was seeing. His presence seemed to calm Raia somewhat, but now was not the moment to act.

 

Closing her eyes, she pictured him in her mind, a single command being shouted within her own head as she was lifted up and tied to one of the two poles.

 

Wait.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken eased himself off of the saddle for a moment and cracked his back, they had been riding for two days and would reach the canyon the following day. He glanced around him and felt a foreboding sense around him, the air didn't taste or feel right. The sounds from the surrounding jungle had gone silent as if everything was sick or dead around them. He looked at the nearby trees which appeared to be dying and pointed them out to the others.

 

"The last time I traveled here, the Nightsisters and their mounts were the only thing that were affected by the backlash when I countered the coven's spell during their attack near here. The only thing that I can think of is that the backlash from the more recent spell going wrong is the cause of everything dying." He was silent for a moment then reined his horse in so that he was now riding along the other two, he stroked his beard for a moment before continuing.

 

"This is my third time being on this planet, both times previous I have had dealings with both the Nightsister and Witches. The first time I was with a Witch who had left the planet was returning for what could be called a visit. This served both her purpose and my purpose as I had just begun my journey on the path of the Krath, she was seeking someone to come with her and I was seeking knowledge on how they worked their spells. Not long after we arrived they attempted to ambush us, although at a very great price. We wiped out all but one of the Nightsisters who we brought back to the Witches compound. They attempted to break her mind and found out how the Nightsister had known where to ambush us when we arrived but to no avail until I stepped in and broke her mental defenses with a concentrated battering ram of the Force.

 

The Witches were less then thrilled about my use of the Dark Side however desperate times. When we found out that they were planning an attack the next night though, their anger towards me cooled down a great deal. More so when I led the spearthrust against the Nightsisters and we drove them back. I left not long after that but returned several years later during a second attack on the Witches by the Standing Rock Clan. I joined in the defense of the Witches and we beat back the initial assault, the problem was that it was a diversion. The Nightsister matron had managed to wound the matron mother of the Witches at the end of the diversion giving them the opportunity to for the Nightsister coven to prepare a massive death spell targeting the village.

 

They managed to nearly complete the spell before I had found the weak link of the coven and crushed her mind. The death of the coven member cost them the control over the spell and it rebounded back on them, killing the Matron and the other member of the coven. It had been what the Witches were waiting for, they counterattack and overran the Standing Rock clan. The Raging River Clan gained about ten square miles of territory and a lasting peace from the surrounding Clans."

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk listened as Draken recounted his earlier travels on the planet, turning his attention to the trees around them when the topic was brought up. But he remained quiet in the moments following, finding himself both concerned with no answers, and also distracted; there was a nagging feeling of wrong that seemed to be growing as time went by. He could smell it in the air, see it in the trees around him, he could hear the silence of the forest around them, deafening in its own right, and he swore he could even taste it. But perhaps the more troubling fact was that Draken and Alora seemed to not share the sense that was gripping at him; sure, they could see the trees dying and hear the silence, but to Raynuk it was so much more vivid and permeating. Worst of all, it was almost familiar.

 

The more he focused on the growing feeling, the more sure he became that this was the path leading towards whatever the Cult of Morthos had been after on Dathomir. The Nightsisters and Witches always had their outlooks on their spells and abilities and how they differed from the workings of the Krath like Draken, but in this moment Raynuk could feel that whatever this was, whatever spell had possibly backfired to the detriment of the trees, it had influenced the ritual that brought Raynuk back; and that was something that was just as much a cause for concern as it was a step in the right direction.

 

Raynuk had remained relatively quiet for the rest of their journey before they broke to rest for the evening, facing the last leg of their trip at first morning light. Draken, who never seemed to sleep Raynuk noticed, offered to remain on watch while Alora and Raynuk rested. For his part, Raynuk managed to find a tree that was a decent size and had not been wholly consumed by the malaise of the area, and sat down leaning against it. Vex'aedr had been on edge for the better part of the trip himself, likely picking up on the sickness and death in the air as well as the unease that continued to gnaw at Raynuk. But with a chance to rest, the tuk'ata found a comfortable spot right next to his master, laying his snout on Raynuk's legs as the Sith reached out and idlely stroked the top of Vex's head. Together, they allowed sleep to come and wash over them.

 

The sound of soft, sad crying...

Flashes of disturbing dreams not his own...

Sadness and the feeling of being alone...

Fear, mixed with anger...

A flash of the future; flame and the sound of burning wood...

 

Raynuk jolted awake, not knowing how long he had managed to rest for. It appeared that there was no rest or repreive to be found in resting. Vex was instantly awake too now, looking at Raynuk as if waiting for a command. The Sith could feel the anxiety and unease from his pet, but it was not the same response that came from concern of having Raynuk jolted awake by visions; it was the same unease and concern that Raynuk was feeling in the wake of what he had seen and heard; things that he figured Vex had seen and felt too.

 

Raynuk had known that Raia had intended to return to Dathomir, to return to her clan, possibly for good. And given that Alora had received a message from Emily on Dathomir, it stood to reason that she had indeed dropped the girl off. But now? Now he was sure that the girl had done as she intended, but it had not turned out as she intended. He did not know what exactly had transpired, but he knew enough; she was angry, sad, scared, alone, and in trouble. His mind went back to her last words to him; barbarous and cruel, spoken amidst anger, disappointment and lack of understanding. But he did not care if she meant the words or not; for he had meant the words he had spoken to her. She may have given up on him, but he would not give up on her.

 

Raynuk's eyes refocused on Vex'aedr's face; steady, focused, and almost serine. The tuk'ata could feel everything Raynuk did, could see into the mind of his Master. and to a point understand the reasoning that rattled around in Raynuk's mind. Raynuk reached up and placed a hand on the side of his pet. He knew that Vex had also grown slightly fond of Raia, and could feel that the tuk'ata wished to go find the girl too, but wouldnt dare to run off to find her without Raynuk's express command. And if Raynuk was being honest, Vex'aedr had a much better chance of not only finding her, but of getting there faster. He gave Vex a gentle pat on the side, his brows furrowing slightly as if to make more of a point with his words, spoken with but a whisper.

 

"Go... Find her. Protect her if need be, but be mindful of the Nightsisters. You are a strange beast not from this world; they may run from you in fear, or they may attempt to capture you for their own devices. I do not know for sure. But I trust you to do what needs to be done. Go. Run Vex'aedr, show us the meaning of haste."

 

And with that, Vex'aedr spun in place, and sprinted off into the darkness of the jungle like a blur. Even with his white complexion, Raynuk lost sight of his pet after only a few seconds, knowing there would be no further rest for him until Alora, Draken and he continued their journey.

 

=================

 

The morning light came, and with it the trio of Sith mounted their horses once more and pressed on. His companions noticed the absence of Vex'aedr before they even set out, and so Raynuk spoke to them the truth; he sensed Raia was in danger and afraid, and sent Vex to seek her out. He could feel an unasked question lingering in their minds, but neither spoke of it as Raynuk set himself to press forward with their trip and their path. As they continued along the path, so too did the general sense of unease and dread continue to mound as the day progressed.

 

The group arrived at the mouth of the canyon in relative silence, a reflection of the eerie silence that persisted to surround them. They came to a stop then, each looking around; further into the darkening canyon as the sun progressed, and up the walls on either side, but there was no movement other than the shadows that grew. Raynuk dismounted, his gaze fixed on some unseen point deeper into the canyon as he gave his horse a gentle pat of thanks, and slowly progressed forward on foot, until a series of crunches under his boot broke his gaze. He looked down, and saw for the first time that the entire area around him, just below a thin layer of dirt and natural debris, was covered in bones of all kinds.

 

A few feet to his right he recognized the shape of a human rib cage; a few feet further a large piece of an even larger jaw that had been shattered. Raynuk stooped down to examine some of the bones at his feet, finding nothing extrordinary about them. But there were also no bite or claw marks that he could see. Behind him he sensed and heard that Alora and Draken had likewise dismounted and were looking at. and stepping on, the bones that were scattered.

"These have been here a while... long enough for there to be a layer of dirt over them..." He announced, sounding slightly obvious.

 

He turned a bone over in his hand, studying it. But there -- movement out of the corner of his eye. His eyes darted in that direction, further down the canyon amidst the shadows, but caught no other movement. Slowly, and without diverting his gaze, he placed the bone back down and stood. He was watching, and waiting. Seconds passed, unable to tell if there was actual movement within the shadows or if his eyes were merely twisting the shadows into an illusion of movement. He reached out with the Force, extending his senses further into the canyon. But he felt nothing; no life, only the persistant silence within the Force that was the same as the silence of the jungles around them. But Raynuk couldnt shake the feeling of unease that had grown, nor the sense that this was where he needed to go to follow the trail of the cultists, and so he continued forward, crunching bone under foot. An entire rancor skull crossed his peripheral vision on the right, his focus still aimed deeper into the canyon.

 

And then, with one more step of crunching bone, Raynuk heard it.

 

A garglely, wet, and primal scream. And it was right in front of him as something emerged from the shadows, and fast.

 

=================================

 

Vex'aedr was not a natural occurrence; the tuk'ata was tremendously larger than its naturally born species on Korriban, and also happened to be pure white as opposed to the natural black color. Vex'aedr was the second of Raynuk's mutated creations, a mix of alchemy, biology, and pure dark will of the Force. Vex'aedr was essentially built, bred, and created to be the apex version of his base species. He was larger, smarter, faster, and more deadly. But the most important traits Raynuk infused into the beast were its sense of loyalty and understanding. the tuk'ata would obey its master's commands, but not blindly. It had the capability of learning and making choices on its own.

 

So when Raynuk released Vex to track down the young girl that the tuk'ata had come to grow fond of, more so than any other humanoid besides Raynuk, the tuk'ata resolved itself to that purpose. Vex did not stop running as fast as it could for nearly six hours straight. And even then, it had only been to fill its stomach with a veeka that had been too slow to get away (but then again there wasnt much that was smaller than Vex'aedr and that could outrun him on this planet). For the most part, Vex stuck to the ground, zig-zagging through the trees and underbrush effortlessly. Twice he took to the lower canopy, jumping from branch to branch. moving only marginally slower than when his paws were on the ground. For Vex, every stride brought him closer and closer to his goal.

 

Fourteen hours after he and Raynuk had been awoken by tremors through the Force of Raia, Vex'aedr slowed as it began to see signs of a populated village ahead of him. The tuk'ata had a basic sense of the Force, having been bred and trained to resist Force attacks, and so he sensed the presences of the people within the village. Slowly, cautiously, the white tuk'ata crept through the underbrush closer to the village. he took momentary refuge behind a tree that had been recently been felled, its entire root system ripped from the ground amidst deep claw marks. Vex'aedr was too focused to notice that the claw marks matched his own as he paused, using all his senses to ensure his approach had not been noticed, before continuing to sneak through the brush.

 

He was roughly fifty meters from the edge of the treeline when he had a warning through the Force before something landed two feet from him with a muffled thump and a growl.

 

A familiar growl.

 

Vex'aedr's entire body snapped to the side to face the danger with his own threatening growl on instict before his beastly brain registered that he was looking at his 'older brother' Roe'gall; Raynuk's first foray into creating a genetically mutated tuk'ata. But wasnt Roe'gall supposed to be with Emily? The question arose in Vex's brain before he eased out of his defensive stance and then playfully batted at Roe'gall with a paw in greeting, but was met not with a reciprocated playful greeting, but a whuff that was almost curt.

 

Wait.

 

It was the command Raia had given Roe'gall, and now the older tuk'ata was repeating it to Vex'aedr before turning to look towards the village himself. There was much to catch up on it seemed.

[Delta73]

Savages.

 

No matter the time or the place, people always stuck to their savage tendencies. Nightsisters always seemed to play right into the stereotype. Delta gulped back a pang of fear as he saw the twin stakes that he and the Dathomiri girl were going to be burned to death on. He stayed stoic and silent as he was shoved to the stake thinking over any way he could escape. He suddenly wished that Qaela or even Ar-Pharazon were nearby to force blast all these rough looking women and men out of the way and they could run. Not a realistic hope, but Delta knew that one had to maintain even the most unrealistic hope as to not fall to despair.

 

Delta leaned through the mass of poorly trimmed and even more poorly deodorized women and men and whispered to young Raia. “If we do actually end up getting burned at the stake just take a deep breath of the flames and you’ll knock right out. Your body will do the rest. It won't hurt a bit.” He didn’t mention the whole drowning on your own lung goo from your torched lungs. But compared to feeling your body slowly crisp away, that was minor. It would be a real god damned shame if both of them were to die anyway. One less pretty girl in the galaxy was always a tragedy.

 

Delta could feel his pulse quicken dramatically as he was forced against the pole and two men began quickly lashing him to it with crude fiber ropes. Not even some cool plastisteel binders. Kriffing savages. They couldn’t even tie a man properly for roasting. He growled at the heavyset woman that was tying him to the pole and holding his recently much shorter arm. “Hey make sure you tie that nub up real well, don’t want me escaping now.” She squeezed harder and delta treated her to a quick punch to her fat face with his free hand. “Take that you bantha!” Considering he was about to die and had not much else to lose he kicked her in the throat and then stomped her neck twice before he was resubdued. He looked to Raia and gave a fatherly smile as they finished tying him to the pole. “Would you like me to burn first? I afterall am the only one between the two of us that actually deserves it. Tell em that if you could, give you as much time to settle your demons or make a rescue attempt or whatever while they burn me first.” He grinned again, “Plus you get to smell human bacon so that's a treat.”

 

As the fire was brought forward to his stake, Delta relaxed against the bonds. Not the way he wanted to go, but at least it would be crispy.

[Sheog the Mad]

A comlink message arrives for Quietus:

 

 

<

 

A short sniffle is followed by the sounds of the wet smacking of lips, indicating the Hutt downing a bottle of Hydracane Brandy.

 

Included was an elegant selfie of the Hutt with the new Sith temple

 

 

[Zalis Krales]

Zalis felt the thrill of excitement as she continued to follow through on the targets that Delta requested for her to hit. She had no idea why, but she knew that such a destruction committed was one that would draw attention, and not from those that Black Sun really wanted or needed on their backs. Back so as it was, she was already here and launching attacks onto the poor villages, letting fire still spray. After she hit another target and watched things burn, she took notice of comm traffic and other ships a few clicks off to the Supremacy's right. It took her only a single moment to decide what she wanted to do next. She would hit the main water supply for the main land of the remaining villages. Taking control over the thrusters, she turned around in a fast barrel roll and made the final shot into the water. It was a base of lake that had three rivers that carried it out throughout the forest land. The fire wouldn't burn the water, but it would poison it enough to cause long term damage to those who drank from it. It was the max damage she could cause for the moment.

 

Turning the ship around, Zalis tried to get a ping on Delta and where he would be at. She sent a fast comm to him as she scanned for his life sign on her own scanners.

 

"Delta, are you ready to leave this backwater world and go spend credits in a more fashionable way? I know a casino..."

 

She had hoped that he would respond soon. She was already beyond done with the planet. It felt like she had been on it for a month. It would be good to open Corellian whiskey and buy something that would bring a profit back their way. If anything else, she had research she was still working on for weapons that would be promising in warding off Force users.

[Alora]

The further they went, the more uneasy Alora felt. She felt like they were constantly being watched though even when she stretched out with her senses she couldn’t find by what. It was unnerving to say the least. Everything had become eerily silent. Her danger sense prickled though she couldn’t pinpoint the threat. Her mount must have felt it too, skittishly dancing along the track they followed and balking at times as well. The Sith Mistress kept a hand on the mares neck to keep her calm. As Draken pointed out dead or dying trees and told them of his previous visits to the planet, Alora glanced at Raynuk. He was quiet but then, once Draken had finished his explanation, they all were.

 

When they stopped for the night, it took a while to get any sleep and what she did get was uneasy and nightmarish. She remained close to Draken through the night, only dozing for short periods of time. She must have dozed again for when she woke next there was no sign of Vex. She was quiet and watchful, adding concern for Raia to the list when Raynuk told them he’d sensed the girl in danger. She was glad he’d sent Vex to find and help her. They rode on towards the Canyon, each seemingly with their own thoughts. Arriving at the Canyon they dismounted and all noticed the crunch of bones with the thin crust of dirt over them. She noticed Raynuk paying close attention to the bones and looked closer herself. Her danger sense tingled further, causing her head to shoot up, her eyes darting round to see what it was causing it. The scream that was issued had them all reaching for their weapons, one hand went to her hilt, the other to her whip handle. The *snap-hiss* of her blade coming to life echoed along within the canyon walls along with the crack of her whip as she began to swing it in readiness…

[darth shadowlord]

Draken sat against a rock, his staff setting beside him then shifted slightly so that Alora was resting against him as she attempted to sleep. He glanced over at Raynuk and Vex, watched without making it obvious as Vex ran off. " You worry for her, Brother." He arched his eyebrow and nodded as Vex disappeared into the darkness. "She has potential and a great deal of power, so long as she can get past the fear that plagues her."

 

He stroked his beard and looked out at the gathering night. " We will find ourselves at the Canyon tomorrow, get some rest if you can. I will continue to keep watch." He turned his head away from the small fire that was still burning and back to the darkness. Reaching into his cloak, he removed a small scroll from a pocket and opened it. Scanning through it quickly, he found a technique that intrigued him. He studied it throughout the night as the fire slowly sank to embers. Finally he tucked the scroll back into its protective case and slipped it into a pocket as he reignited the fire and pulled a large skillet and some rations over to him.

 

-- Sometime later --

Draken dismounted from his horse and watched it leave the canyon, then he turned and strode into the canyon with Alora at his side. As he heard the scream, he smiled evilly and the staff ignited with emerald lightning as a trio of half rotted corpses leapt from the cliff, their mouths open in a banshees wail. He raised his staff and uttered a single Dathomirian curse as he unleashed a concentrated wave of the darkside to accompany the curse. There was a resounding crack as the wave struck the three corpses, they shuddered in mid air then crumpled as if they had an invisible wall. In the distance Draken could see a horde of corpse's hurtling towards them. He smiled as he saw them coming towards then stopped in shock as his eyes caught sight of five zombies on the edge of the cliff moving in perfect unision.

 

They took several paces forwards followed by several paces to the rear then canted their heads to the side at the same time. He continued to watch as they turned and their arms came up from their sides and their hands formed themselves into claws as they began to walk foward again in an odd exaggerated walk. He shook his head and incinerated a running zombie with lightning then shattered the corpse of another before glancing back up at the cliff to see if he had been seeing then. to his surprise they were still up there. Now it appeared that they were clawing at the air and shuffling closer to the cliff until a black blur tackled three of the zombies off of the cliff with a roar.

[Raynuk Montar]

it was the type of primal, ugly scream that would likely have caused any normal, sane humanoid to evacuate his or her bowels before turning and trying to tear out of the canyon. But for Raynuk and his friends, it was a scream that simply meant one thing;

 

It was go time.

 

From the shadows directly in front of him, a thin and wispy figure came charging right at Raynuk, still screaming as it closed the gap between them just a bit faster than would have been considered normal. But even it's above average speed was still slower than Raynuk's reaction time; by the time it was close enough, swiping heavily with both hands intending to claw at his face, Raynuk already had his primary orange lightsaber in both hands, slashing upward to meet the figure's arms. The blade severed the arms from the body with no resistance, the smell of burnt flesh rising from all points of contact. The severing of the arms however, seemed to only serve to unbalance the figure; there was no recoil or cry of pain. It was as if it didnt even notice its arms were gone, simply stumbling slightly before it recovered to deliver another primal scream at him and lunge at him with a jaw that only now Raynuk saw was little more than bone as it tried to bite at his arm.

 

His other, free hand shot up in a fist, delivering an uppercut to the chin that shattered the lower jaw and sent it flying in several pieces. But once again that seemed to do little in terms of causing pain or pause. On some level the figure was aware it now lacked lower arms and a jaw, as it instantly turned to merely thrashing at Raynuk; stumpy arms, kicks and even headbutts were thrashed harmlessly against his armor before he managed to get a grip on the scalp of the figure, but that grip soon let go as the flesh tore from bone in his hand in a rare moment of surprise for the Sith.

 

Several more screams from the shadows told Raynuk that this was about to become a much more popular area. Dropping the fist full of skin he managed to push the thrashing body backwards before performing a clean swing of his lightsaber that severed neck from body. The figure's head rolled to the side, bouncing off its shoulder before falling to the bones and dirt below, soon followed by what remained of its body as it slumped to the ground. From the corner of his vision he saw what this figure had been the harbinger of; a massive group of similar figures that were all emerging from the darkness and shadows, each intermittently screaming as they descended upon Raynuk, Draken, and Alora. The light coming from their weapons had pushed the darkness of the canyon back further to reveal at least fifty figures closing in on them from the canyon floor. Raynuk watched Draken dispatch a handful of them that had jumped from the canyon walls; apparently there would be no safe direction for the moment.

 

It was only then, in the brief seconds he had between decapitating the first and the arrival of the group, that Raynuk noticed that the head at his feet was still moving. one eye, lidless and bloodshot, continued to dart around while a disgusting and maimed tongue continued to lash from within the broken mouth. The face and tattered clothing on the crumpled body were barely recognizable; this had been a Nightsister once. The full scope of all the subtle clues that the group had gotten up to this point came to him then; this canyon and everything that was now within, was essentially beyond death; without pain, driven by primal instincts, and without reasoning. There would be many questions and answers to be had within this canyon. But first, it was time to live up to his legacy as the Sith Warrior he had been keeping in check. Raynuk sighed and closed his eyes for barely a moment, and focused.

 

Darth Quietus was required once more.

 

The mob of what were essentially undead zombie creatures rushed towards the momentarily unmoving Raynuk, and anyone who happened to be watching this entire time would feel a moment of panic that he wasnt moving. But then, much like the primal screams that the undead had delivered, Raynuk exploded in movement. He delivered a swift kick to the head at his feet, rocketing it and a spray of bones into the crowd. But then each was pushed harder with the Force, turning them all into projectiles. Broken bones speared themselves into skulls and chests, or shattered legs out from underneath their owners. The zombie head smashed clear through the torso of one zombie before practically exploding into the pelvis of another behind it, felling both. The space around Raynuk became a flurry of orange light as the horde closed on him, his lightsaber blade dancing around him in a ballet of severed limbs and chunks of zombie. Lightsaber in his left hand, Raynuk blasted two zombies on his right with the Force with enough power to essentially blast their torsos apart as arms and legs fell away, leaving the zombies behind the pair with sharpened ribs jutting out of fresh wounds of impact. Raynuk moved as only a Sith who was a Master warrior could; blocking, deflecting and outright severing limbs used for attacks. At one point he physically smashed the skulls of two figures together, each skull disintegrating into bone fragments and goo as if they were simply two over-sized bird eggs, causing Raynuk to deliver a primal roar of his own as the dark side embraced and enveloped him further.

 

But still the horde closed as they emerged from the darkness of the canyon around him. Raynuk nearly missed one that had jumped from the top of the canyon wall onto him, managing to swat it aside with his right arm, sending it bowling into more around him. But following through with the swing, Raynuk's right hand came back up into position clutching another weapon; the warhammer of Krath design that carried the touch of the Dark side with it. From there, his arms became almost independent; his lightsaber slicing through body parts on the left, his warhammer crashing through bone and flesh on the right with sickening thuds, each pausing for spit seconds as Raynuk wielded the Force as its own weapon; throwing entire corpses at his opponents, bowling them over, ripping limbs from bodies, and crushing others with enough power to turn them to dust. With a mighty upward swing of his warhammer, Raynuk even sent three walking corpses arcing up into the air, where they were instantly turned to ash by arcing gouts of lightning from Draken's staff.

 

Through his own dance of destruction and darkness, he caught brief glimpses of Draken and Alora, each entangled with their own groups of zombies to focus on. But both were clearly holding their own against the increasing numbers. He caught sight of Draken as lightning continued to arc from his staff, briefly illuminating the entire canyon for a split second before obliterating four zombies that had not even gotten the chance to get within twenty feet of the Krath Master as they had jumped from the canyon wall, while Alora's whip and lightsaber movements looking much more like a choreographed dance as the Seductress spun and weaved her way from foe to foe, compared to Raynuk's 'unmovable object' approach to combat this time around.

 

But Raynuk never had much opening to simply watch either of his companions as the corpses never ceased their assault on the trio. Raynuk continued to weather the assault, ripping an arm from shoulder with the Force and then solidly turning that arm's hand to continuously impact against its owners skull until both sets of bone cracked and splintered.

 

"STOP HITTING YOURSELF, STOP HITTING YOURSELF STOP HIT-- Oops!" Raynuk roared defiantly at the corpse, not even looking at it, his gaze focused on the handful of zombies closest to him.

[Raia Montar]

Raia did not struggle as Delta had, having become somewhat mired in her own panic and disbelief about what was happening. Delta's words of comfort, however appreciated, only served to add to the surrealness of the moment and the confusion that whirled its sharp blades of doubt within her mind.

 

Around the village, the air began to feel heavier, thicker almost as though the entire planet was making its own pronouncement of Raia's guilt or innocence in betraying her clan. She could feel it, the call of Dathomir. The forests felt sick, choked, and desiccated and the wind from the north whipped up bringing with it the smell of death.

 

Again the combined scent of death and the smell of smoke helped the conflicting images within her own mind solidify. She'd been very young during the Nightsister attack that had decimated their clan, but not so young that the memories were completely buried by time and distance. Though they came disjointed, there was enough there that Raia was able to become more certain what flashes were true and which had been manipulated into being through the oral traditions of the clan that served to reinforce the values of maintaining one's place in the order of things.

 

She was rousted out of bed where she'd fallen asleep nestled against her mother's side. Her mother was gone, but there was the brilliant orange of flame and the unfamiliar sounds of battle outside their hut. Slowly she got up to sneak towards the light, only to be intercepted by her mother's first champion...

 

Flame leaping and dancing from one hut to another, women in dark clothing with vicious energy weapons that were making quick work of the Raging River Witches...

 

The staring, wide eyes of the champion and her tunic soaked in his blood as she'd found him after being separated. The loud cry of one of the Nightsisters who was running toward her half-crazed, whispers running through her mind, then the sensation of being picked up...

 

A man, dressed in non-Dathomiri clothes, wielding dual lightsabers with curved hilts lifting her up and away with the magicks from the Nightsister and setting her back safely with one of the witches as he closed to end the kidnapper's life, aiding the Raging River Clan not, as Mitral perpetuated, leading the Nightsister charge...

 

The lightsaber hilts...she knows the man, the Sith, that Mitral slandered...

 

Draken...

 

Her eyes flashed open as she allowed the wave of anger and growing energies around her to begin to flow freely. “Lairs! Hypocrites! All of you!” She coughed against the smoke as the wind began to whip and swirl into a frenzy around her and Delta. In a moment of clarity brought to her by the Force she replayed in her mind the events that had been twisted by the ruling council into the unrecognizable lie that they used to control the clan through fear. Draken’s role in saving her clan had been much bigger than the manipulated memories bore out.

 

That day, they’d been saved by a Sith. A male Sith, and one who had no true stake in the clan’s continued existence as far as Raia could tell from the bits and pieces that came flooding back to her that, through the Force, she knew to be the true account of events. The council had warped his good deed into something sinister and had leveraged it like a weapon against their own people to bring them in line.

 

The clouds began to grow darker and, in a matter of seconds, lightning latticed its way across them as the wind whipped at the flames, bearing them away from Raia and Delta. She now saw Mitral and the rest for the true evil they were. Anger burned through her as the flames of the communal fire outside of the two stakes leapt higher with every flare in her heart. She could feel the heat of the tattoo burning further into her skin as she opened her eyes that had gone a deep, dark brown.

 

"Lord Draken saved us that day," she growled, echoed slightly from the side of the trees where she could feel Roe'gall...and Vex?

 

What was he doing here? Did Raynuk send him? Are the others really that close?

 

She didn't have time to finish the line of though the rest of her denouncement of Mitral because, just then, multiple roars pierced the night air. Roars not belonging to the tuk'atas, but the familiar, primal roars of no less than four rancors being goaded on to battle.

 

Panic ensued among the Witches as they sought shelter and escape from the attackers. Mitral looked directly at Raia as she grabbed the torch from one of the other guards and thrust it into the dry kindling at the base of her stake, ensuring that Raia would burn even as the rest of the village might die.

 

Raia's own roar of anger matched theirs as she saw the tuk'atas tear towards her at a run, making fast work of their crude, but effective, bonds. Finally free, she gave into her impulses and the Force as the flames around them spread and danced as though to her will and call. Lightning crashed again and she felt the planet itself calling out to her to cleanse itself of the disease that had taken hold. Like nature...sometimes you have to fight poison with poison to win...

 

No longer caring if she came back from this, Raia gave herself over to the power. If the Witches wanted a Sith...she'd give them a Sith.

 

To Roe'gall and Vex'aedr she gave but one command. Hunt.

[Qaela]

As they marched into her tribe, Qaela had hoped that those who had not favored her exile would use the opportunity to rally to her defense. At first, it seemed that it might work, that they might not try to attack her. When she saw her children—much more grown than she had seen them last—her heart began to beat faster. It seemed an almost complete folly to hope that the Nightsong leadership just might hand her children over, but here they were.

 

The real reason why they showed her her children became clear as they began chanting a spell. Instantly, her heart was beating so fast she thought it might burst from her chest as adrenaline and pure fear the likes of which she hadn't felt in years slammed into her. She had heard of this spell and even read a few lines of it, but she had never seen it actually used. Thinking as quickly as possible, she summoned her children as closely to her as she could and tried to form a protective shield that might negate the spell being cast.

 

Whether she was simply not strong enough or that her enemies were too clever, she could feel her daughter be struck down in unimaginable pain by the spell. The spell clawed at the girl's mind and body until it was overwhelmed and she passed into unconscious oblivion. As cold as she could be, Qaela couldn't ignore the pain being inflicted on her daughter and allowed her concentration to be broken.

 

It was a fatal move.

 

Without her protection, there was nothing to protect the party. As soon as that happened, her clan struck out. Through her panic, she felt her sons die one by one in Ca'Aran's arms and felt pieces of her heart die with them. No stranger to pain, she had resisted and built up armor in herself against feeling anything she didn't want to feel. What she felt now was simply too much. She had never known that she cared that much, but losing her children was too great a pain for her to ignore.

 

She had a choice to make and she hated herself for having to make it. She could save her daughter or the man she loved, but not both. In a split second, she made her choice and spoke a spell fueled by her own blood and hatred. Even as fire rained down from the skies as result of Ca'Aran's bombardment, her body, guided by the Force, became as the wind. Part of her energy renewed the shield which absorbed or deflected whatever threat, physical or energy, that she couldn't avoid. With her limp daughter in her arms, Qaela sprinted and dodged and all but flew away from the scene leaving everyone and everything behind to die. She was so immersed in the Force that she didn't need to rely on her body's reactions, a good thing since her eyes were too full of tears to see much beyond a blur anyway.

 

When they were kilometers away, her energy failed her. Even if the Force was boundless, the flesh was not. Cradling her daughter's head in her lap, Qaela stayed in a thicket spending whatever energy she had left to undo the spell that afflicted her.

 

* * *

 

Days passed and her daughter did not wake. The spell had been unwoven and left her, but the damage to her body and mind was great. For all of her energy, Qaela was only able to halt the degradation and stabilize the girl. It wasn't optimal, but at least she was no longer sliding deeper into death.

 

She had relocated them several times to remain safe. Some of those who had not been in the village had scoured the region looking for survivors and salvage and others not of the Nightsong Clan had given into curiosity and investigated. Not knowing who to trust, Qaela elected to keep the two of them hidden at all times.

 

Food was not much of a problem: she had grown up here and knew what was edible and how to get food. What was a problem was that, as she was able to reflect more on what actually happened in her village, she slowly became more aware that a lot had changed here. She felt the deaths of many clans without remorse or sympathy. Ca'Aran's men were not the forgiving type, they would destroy whatever they could to avenge their fallen leader.

 

But was he really fallen? As she replayed her memories, she began to realize that, though clouded by the loss of her two sons, she had not felt the part in her heart that was Ca'Aran die. Even more interestingly, she could occasionally feel his presence coming and going. As astonishing as it may seem, she had to come to the conclusion that he was still alive.

 

She took her unconscious daughter through the woods constantly coming closer to where she felt Ca'Aran and knew that a fight was going to come. The only reason why he was still alive and still on this planet was if he had been hurt and captured. If he had been found by Black Sun, they would be long gone.

 

Quietly, concealing both her body and presence, she came to the village where they were keeping Ca'Aran. She watched for some time trying to find a way to get in and rescue her lover. Before she could do that, there was a significant amount of activity that kicked up. Cautiously, and using the amazingly good tech in the helmet she was wearing, she was able to zoom in and see the stakes being erected. This wasn't good at all.

 

She had weapons, true, but they would not be what was needed today. She needed the Force and to completely let loose against people whom she was truly tired of dealing with. These witches would not know what happened to them when she was finished.

 

After making sure her daughter was secure tied up in a sturdy tree, she returned in time to feel a discordant presence in the Force. It wasn't a witch or Nightsister drawing upon the Force tonight, but one trained as a Sith as well. With a wicked smile, Qaela realized that she might have an ally in this situation.

 

Not wishing to reveal herself just yet, Qaela began to quietly contribute to the storm being stirred up by the second "victim." Using the rapidly increasing Force storm as a lightning rod that drew even more of the Force, Qaela tapped into it and fed it until it was nearly out of control. When her own additional spells were ready, she ripped apart the veil concealing her presence and struck without mercy or remorse.

 

Wind, lightning, and even the earth itself slammed into house after house in the village splintering wood and shattering stone. Anyone caught inside would no longer be in any condition to further interfere with her rescue attempt. Rage, fueled by the loss of her children, the betrayal of her people, and the overall shitty hand the Galaxy had dealt her, gave Qaela strength and purpose. Without a concern for being seen, she stormed into the village on a straight and brutal path to the man she loved.

 

Some of the village's guards attempted to confront her as she approached. Their weapons deflected off of her armor and their feeble spells quickly withered against her fury. With two Sith practitioners summoning and drawing storms, the Force was almost literally humming as they fueled each other. There was no attempt at finesse, no use of a lightsaber, blaster, or knife, and absolutely no remorse as Qaela shredded flesh and sinew using nothing but the Force and her wrath.

 

A rancor, possibly not knowing what to do in the storm, had the misfortune of stumbling upon her path and quickly succumbed to a spell that left dripping pieces of red, white, and blackish goo in her wake. She didn't care to single out any particular target, the only thing that mattered was Ca'Aran and getting him safely out of here. Outside of her initial devastating strike against the village, she didn't bother lashing out at anyone who didn't get in her way.

 

As she approached the two stakes, she vaguely recognized the other woman who was set to burn next to her love. Flames were all around, but they were not controlled by nature. This woman was controlling them so Qaela wouldn't bother to do anything to put them out as long as they didn't threaten her or Ca'Aran. She also saw the tuk'atas unleashing havoc of their own. Knowing they were not native to Dathomir, she figured they belonged to the woman and also ignored them. Provided they didn't get in her way, she would do nothing to stop them from their slaughter.

 

As she stalked closer and closer to her goal, she took her helmet off. She wanted to look into Ca'Aran's eyes without an HUD in her way. She had come back for him. She had left him for dead once, but somehow, she hoped he would understand that she had to save her last child. If he didn't, she would still save him and face his anger, but that didn't matter. As long as her daughter and lover were safe, it didn't matter what happened to her.

 

Being cautious of the other Sith trained woman, she approached the stakes and, pushing aside any flames between them with her own powers, she stopped in front of Ca'Aran. A quick gesture of her fingers and his bonds snapped setting him free. "Come with me if you want to live," she said as she offered him her hand.

[Alora]

As the zombies closed in on them Alora shifted far enough away from her companions not to catch them with her whip as it swung into action. The sound of the cracking whip was rapidly lost to the primal screams and general din of battle. With a flick of her wrist, the whip lashed out towards the nearest creature. It screamed at her as the end of the whip coiled around it’s neck, though it wasn’t a scream of pain. It seemed the pain/pleasure aspect of her weapon was not effective in this instance. The being in front of her seemed possessed and it’s expression familiar. In a split second she related it to the image she had seen in the Nightsisters mind. It cemented the fact of a spell going horribly wrong… if the dead and dying trees hadn’t been a sign of that already. The Sith Mistress pulled hard with the handle of her whip, bringing her saber up to remove the head from it’s body and found out quickly that it was not enough to just behead these zombies, she had to decimate them totally. As the head rolled in front of her, the body kept trying to claw it’s way towards her. Alora danced back, slashing her saber through it again and again until it was no longer a threat.

 

As more and more came at them Alora drew the darkside energies around her, letting the Force dictate her movements. Her feet performed a combative dance over the broken bones as her whip wrapped around the neck of another. With the Force behind her she pulled hard with her whip, sending the body of one spinning into another, both of them smashing against the wall of the canyon. Bones shattered and what remained of the two zombies clattered to the ground. Her crimson saber blade flashed through another of the seemingly endless supply of zombies, the ozone smell tainted by the stench of death.

 

Alora only caught glimpses of her companions, her attention having to be focused on the creatures that kept coming from the shadows. The one time she let her focus slip, one of the zombies got through her defenses and left a scratch down her face. Her violet eyes flashed with sparks of red as she sent the being smashing into the canyons rock face.

[darth shadowlord]

Draken began to draw heavily on the force, still unleashing lightning and destroying any of the waking corpses that came near him. Soon the temperature began to drop and tiny ice crystals began to form from moisture in the air dropping to the ground in the form of hail and the hint of ice along the skin of the zombies. Then the crystals seemed to grow larger and no longer had the dull crunch when they struck rock, now they shattered with a ping that sent shards flying in all directions. He strode forward past Raynuk and Alora, lightning continuing to erupt from the staff as the storm of crystals grew in intensity. He turned his head towards them, his eyes dancing with flames. "Mind your heads, it's rare that crystals will fall from the sky."

he

He raised his right hand towards the sky as lightning began to rain down all around them, incinerating any zombie within a five yard radius. Then all around him, shards of crystal began to materialize, some forming slowly from surrounding elements and others forming near instantaneously from the nearly visible waves of power surrounding him. Dropping his hand, he unleashed the shards to his front. each shard piercing the skull of a reanimated corpse and shattering as soon as it penetrated bone so that it mangled any remaining control that the bodies had remaining. As the corpses fell to the earth, Draken leveled his staff at a group of zombies that had leapt from the cliff and incinerated their skulls with lightning.

 

A roar sounded from his right and he angled his head slightly to see that the panther had moved to his side and destroyed a zombie that he hadn't seen. The panther snarled as it looked at the remainder of the zombies and Draken smiled as he heard it. It would seem that the feline was more then willing to protect his side for the time being, perhaps feeding it those times had been the right idea after all. He unleashed a second barrage of shards to his left, shredding a group of zombies that were about to attack Alora and embedding the crystals into the wall of the canyon behind her.

[Raynuk Montar]

Raynuk continued to fight back the flow of zombies, falling deeper and deeper into his battle trance as his Warhammer and lightsaber constantly connecting with body parts of the countless zombies that assaulted him. The increasingly destructive weather phenomenon that Draken was creating nearly went un-noticed to Raynuk given his focus, until a zombie that Raynuk had intended to bisect was suddenly turned to ash amidst a blinding lightning strike.

 

Mind your heads, it's rare that crystals will fall from the sky." Draken’s voice of warning came a few seconds too late for Raynuk’s liking, as he momentarily turned to watch the Krath as he summoned a cascade of crystal shards in front of him that took down a good fifteen zombies, clearing an opening further into the canyon.

 

It was an opening and opportunity that Raynuk was not going to let pass. He planted a kick on the chest of the nearest zombie, shattering its ribcage and sending it careening backwards into a group, knocking them all down, before he took off running towards the opening. He made it another twenty meters deeper into the canyon before he got swarmed again, his Warhammer and lightsaber springing to life again. This time however, Raynuk was continuously pushing forward instead of merely holding his ground. This change in tactics, a riskier offensive stance would reduce his defensive capabilities, but with the apparent lack of end to the horde in sight, they needed to push further into the canyon.

 

Raynuk continued to push, continues to press, and continued to cut his way through the zombies, leaving a trail of lifeless corpses and pieces of corpses behind him. It was only when he found himself set upon by not a simple undead Nightsister, practically falling apart from decay, but rather a Nightsister that still appeared to be physically living that Raynuk felt a measure of pause.

 

The woman was still just as feral and single minded as her undead allies, but lacked the look of death upon her body, and was also sporting an actual weapon which swung in aiming for Raynuk’s head. He parried the blow easily with his lightsaber, knocking the small blade from the hand before cracking the Warhammer into the side of her head. Thankfully, unlike the horde of undead, the blow was enough to end her attacks for good.

 

The onslaught of undead lasted for another twenty minutes before a much deeper, primal yell came from the far end of the canyon, apparently, a signal for all the other undead and mostly-dead Nightsisters to retreat, which they immediately responded to. By the time the yell came however, Raynuk had personally come upon twelve more Nightsisters who again appeared to not be physically undead. But the fact that they were as feral and zealous as the undead ones only served to cause Raynuk concern.

 

Instinct screamed for Raynuk to give chase, to hunt down every last one and destroy them. But Raynuk was not simply a warrior of instinct anymore; his life and experiences had given him a measure of logical thinking, even in the midst of a bloodlust rage of battle. That logic stayed and tempered his instincts, causing Raynuk to instead turn to check on Draken and Alora, ensuring that they had emerged from the attack more or less unscathed. Only then did he turn to examining the carnage that the trio had left behind. He first went to examine the first Nightsister that had set upon him, looking for any sign of what had occurred. While most of the other undead showed signs of causes of death – be it broken bones or wounds of some kind – this Nightsister showed no signs of trauma other than the Warhammer that Raynuk himself delivered. What he did notice however, was the faint, fading, signs of Nightsister magic upon the body. He knew from his own studies and through conversations with Draken that usually the Nightsister’s death magic was green, this body’s magic was an almost sickly purple color.

 

He looked up towards Draken, who was also coming down from the rush of battle, and called the Krath over to examine the body himself, pointing out the magics and notable different color.

 

“Clearly, someone tampered with a spell… This one was not actually dead when she attacked me.” He pointed out. “And that last scream… I think that was something, or someone different. I don’t know about you, but I’m not leaving this canyon until we know for sure what is going on, no matter how many zombies I have to cut my way through.”

 

There was a determination and fire that had set into his voice as he stood back up and turned his attention to the far end of the canyon, looking through the darkness of shadows that rested there. Then without another word, he reignited his saber, and continued forward into the darkness.

 

-----

Hunt.

 

That single word sent both tuk’atas loose upon the village of the Raging River clan like projectiles from a slugthrower. Vex’aedr leapt clear across the raging fire, the orange flames dancing off his pure white coat, tackling two witches to the ground, instantly tearing the throat out of one instantly with a snarl. Roe’gall took only a moment of pause, turning to look at Raia before following suit and defending the girl from what had once been her entire world.

While Vex’aedr was crashing, thrashing, and tearing through the witches that he could see, Roe’gall took more of a defensive role, staying close to Raia to protect her, following its orders from Emily the best it knew how. One witch attempted to test the fates, an apparent skilled hunter, and charged at the black tuk’ata with a spear. Roe’gall caught the shaft of the spear in his mouth and snapped it instantly before thrashing his head to the side, delivering what amounted to a fully body slam against the huntress, sending her sprawling backwards apparently unconscious.

 

By the time the other witch (Qaela) made her presence known within the village, Vex’aedr had trampled another pair of witches, and even managed to throw one another directly into the fire, where the witch emerged screaming and lit ablaze. Roe’gall recognized the newcomer first, immediately turning his entire body towards her, crouching down slightly with a snarl, solely intent on keeping himself between her and Raia. Vex’aedr quickly caught the tension of his ‘brother’, dispatching another with who had grown bold and closed with a blade by engulfing her entire arm within the white tuk’atas jaws. And much like he enjoyed doing with all of his pillows and chew toys back on the Ravenhammer, thrashed his head violently about. Only this time, the body thrashed against the side of his muscular torso, into a tree, and then against the ground that was quickly growing darkened by Nightsister blood before the body joint couldn’t handle the stress. With a pop and the sound of tearing flesh, the body was cast free from the tuk’atas violence, landing harshly at the feet of another Witch.

 

Vex’aedr wasted no more time in charging hard back to Raia, quickly snapping in beside Roe’gall against this new witch who looked just like all the others they had killed. To the tuk’atas, everyone except Raia was their prey. From where they were standing however, the witch seemed more focused on saving the one-armed man that had been tied to a stake just like Raia had been.