(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
Sommer looked at her, her voice suddenly quiet.
"This place remembers things, doesn't it?"
"This place remembers things, doesn't it?"
Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos
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Private “Ashes to Aleen”
- Thread starter Sommer Dai
- Start date
Alyssa Kydd
Character
Alyssa's voice was dry, laced with awe.
"I think it does. And I think it's trying to tell us something."
"I think it does. And I think it's trying to tell us something."
(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
The jungle came alive after midnight.
What had once been bright with torches and dancing Aleena was now soft and surreal. The canopy above shimmered with bioluminescent spores, drifting down like snow made of light. Thick vines tangled between pale-trunked trees, and strange, rhythmic pulses echoed from deep within the land — not quite wind. Not quite voice. Something older.
Sommer stepped carefully along the moss-padded path, her hand out to steady herself against a tree that felt warm under her palm.
What had once been bright with torches and dancing Aleena was now soft and surreal. The canopy above shimmered with bioluminescent spores, drifting down like snow made of light. Thick vines tangled between pale-trunked trees, and strange, rhythmic pulses echoed from deep within the land — not quite wind. Not quite voice. Something older.
Sommer stepped carefully along the moss-padded path, her hand out to steady herself against a tree that felt warm under her palm.
Alyssa Kydd
Character
Behind her, Alyssa held a glow-crystal and whispered, "I still don't know how you heard it. The song underground."
(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
Sommer paused, brows drawn.
"It wasn't sound. Not in the normal way. It was like…" she touched her chest, just over her heart, "…like the planet sang inside me. And I had to follow."
"It wasn't sound. Not in the normal way. It was like…" she touched her chest, just over her heart, "…like the planet sang inside me. And I had to follow."
Alyssa Kydd
Character
Alyssa looked around, unease settling across her normally sharp features.
"You're sure the ILA didn't put this idea in your head?"
"You're sure the ILA didn't put this idea in your head?"
(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
"No." Sommer's voice was resolute. "But something did. Something below."
Alyssa Kydd
Character
They reached a cleft in the side of a vast root structure — wide enough for two people to enter side by side, yet partly overgrown. Trees arched protectively above it, their branches bent like hands shielding a secret.
The entrance throbbed faintly with energy.
Alyssa stepped forward and let her hand hover over the opening.
"Force well," she whispered. "Dormant. But not… dead."
The entrance throbbed faintly with energy.
Alyssa stepped forward and let her hand hover over the opening.
"Force well," she whispered. "Dormant. But not… dead."
(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
Sommer didn't move.
Her fingers tightened at her sides. Her pulse thudded. Because the hum that pulsed inside this cave… was familiar.
Too familiar.
Dark silk whispering behind her ears. A thousand voices folded into one. The memory of being hollowed out — of her mouth moving without her will, her body not entirely her own.
Azis.
"If he's still here," she said, voice hollow, "then what was the point of it all?"
Her fingers tightened at her sides. Her pulse thudded. Because the hum that pulsed inside this cave… was familiar.
Too familiar.
Dark silk whispering behind her ears. A thousand voices folded into one. The memory of being hollowed out — of her mouth moving without her will, her body not entirely her own.
Azis.
"If he's still here," she said, voice hollow, "then what was the point of it all?"
Alyssa Kydd
Character
Alyssa turned sharply.
"Sommer—"
"Sommer—"
(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
"No, listen to me. We burned the Vault. We killed his anchor. I almost died. I let myself become a cage. I let them study me. I lost pieces of myself. And if after all of that… he's still here?"
Her breath caught. Her hand trembled.
"Then maybe he wins. Maybe I was just the next body. Maybe I was never meant to be the end. Just a chapter."
Her breath caught. Her hand trembled.
"Then maybe he wins. Maybe I was just the next body. Maybe I was never meant to be the end. Just a chapter."
Alyssa Kydd
Character
The silence that followed was thick with jungle breath and distant water dripping through stone.
And then Alyssa crossed the space between them in three steps and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"You do not get to say that," she said fiercely.
Alyssa's eyes were wet but blazing.
"You are not disposable. You are not a footnote. You've fought too hard to let some lingering shadow of Azis convince you you're already lost. That's what it wants. For you to break."
She pulled Sommer into a hard, grounding hug.
"You're still here. I'm still here. And if something is waiting in that cave — we face it together. Because you are not some stolen vessel. You're Sommer Dai. You choose who you are. A GODDAMN survivor."
And then Alyssa crossed the space between them in three steps and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"You do not get to say that," she said fiercely.
Alyssa's eyes were wet but blazing.
"You are not disposable. You are not a footnote. You've fought too hard to let some lingering shadow of Azis convince you you're already lost. That's what it wants. For you to break."
She pulled Sommer into a hard, grounding hug.
"You're still here. I'm still here. And if something is waiting in that cave — we face it together. Because you are not some stolen vessel. You're Sommer Dai. You choose who you are. A GODDAMN survivor."
(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
The air grew cooler as they descended. The path narrowed into a winding staircase formed from ancient roots and petrified vines. Pale lights swam in and out of view in the corners — not quite bugs. Not quite stars.
And then they reached the pool.
A shallow basin of still, black water sat in the center of a hollowed chamber. The walls were etched in pictoglyphs — spirals, antlers, hollow eyes — and overhead, roots dangled like veins.
As Sommer stepped near the pool, the surface rippled. A face rose in the water's reflection — hers, but not quite.
And then they reached the pool.
A shallow basin of still, black water sat in the center of a hollowed chamber. The walls were etched in pictoglyphs — spirals, antlers, hollow eyes — and overhead, roots dangled like veins.
As Sommer stepped near the pool, the surface rippled. A face rose in the water's reflection — hers, but not quite.
AZIS/MORAVOKH
Character
Her own features… twisted. Paler. Lips painted black. Eyes too wide, too Blackened.
Azis. Or a memory of him.
And then he spoke, though the mouth in the water didn't move:
(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
Sommer recoiled.
But the pool didn't boil or burn. It merely settled, returning to silence.
But the pool didn't boil or burn. It merely settled, returning to silence.
Alyssa Kydd
Character
"He's not whole," Alyssa said behind her. "This place is only echoing his imprint. He tried to bind himself here… but the threads are fraying."
(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
She raised her hand. A soft golden glow flickered at her fingertips — hesitant, uncertain, but hers. Not Azis's. Not stolen. And with one word — a lyric from the old Aleenan melody — she let the light go.
It danced across the surface. The reflection burned away. And the chamber fell still.
It danced across the surface. The reflection burned away. And the chamber fell still.
Alyssa Kydd
Character
Smoke drifted from the far corner of the cave.
From it, the ILA emerged — just as silent, just as towering. Her antelope mask caught the faint shimmer of Alyssa's glow crystal, casting long shadows across the wall behind her.
From it, the ILA emerged — just as silent, just as towering. Her antelope mask caught the faint shimmer of Alyssa's glow crystal, casting long shadows across the wall behind her.
(Gilded Veil)- Founder / C.E.O.
She spoke at last — voice low, layered, and distant, as though time itself echoed her words:
The ILA's gaze — impossible to see, yet felt — held her frozen.
Sommer stepped back, confused.
The ILA's gaze — impossible to see, yet felt — held her frozen.
Alyssa Kydd
Character
Alyssa moved closer.
"What are you talking about?"
The ILA's head turned toward her. The roots groaned overhead.
"What are you talking about?"
The ILA's head turned toward her. The roots groaned overhead.