Private A Fated Meeting

[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

Ossus. A world long-held to great importance to the history of the Jedi. The world contained the summation of their knowledge, or perhaps now more accurate to say the ruins of such, from untold generations. It is a world known to the galaxy since before the formation of the Republic, gracefully dancing between it's twin stars in a figure-eight orbit while it itself was orbited by it's moons Mim and Nerit. It was a world that had been lush and lively, devastated to a rocky and desolate terror, and then restored again over the millennia and, now most importantly to Aurelion, it was where he was being sent for a personal mission. To gather what knowledge and artifacts of the ancient Sith and Jedi he could and return to Dromund Kaas. But this was not the whole truth of his assignment here.

Aurelion had been stripped of his armor, and instead was given a simple robe over a simple jacket and shorts. While even his single, remaining eye had been covered by a full blindfold. Testing him, forcing him to adapt, and to see with the Force or perish on this mission. As was the case with the Dark Lord and his methods, Aurelion would adapt, he would survive, or he would die. It was an odd sensation to Aurelion, almost entirely unpleasant, as the Force once again fought his use. Squirming and writhing fitfully in his tenuous grasp even as he was nearly blinded by the vibrancy with which Ossus shone. Each tree, each patch of grass and creature, glowed with the Force. Softly permeating their being with their life and essence, causing it to swirl through the air, dance among the wind, connecting everything. It was beautiful, it was terrible, as the Force caused a pain to manifest behind Aurelion's eye. Already beginning to take on the form of a headache.

Thankfully for Aurelion, though it made him worry, the murmuring tendrils of darkness that flowed about him suppressed this pain to allow him to focus. To consciously turn his gaze away from the two Sith who had been sent to return and cloak the ship should Aurelion fail in his mission. While Aurelion bore a twisting cloak of Dark Side tendrils, coiled around him like the thorns of a massive garden of roses surrounding a lone marble statue, these Sith were.... worse. Far and away glowering with molten, obsidian hatred and blackness that Aurelion's eye watered, even through the Force, to look at. It did make him wonder briefly, however, what he looked like through the Force? Did everyone see things the same? Would these Sith appear different to someone like Prazutis, who dwarfed them in power? He did not know and, as the shuttle finally touched down quietly on Ossus' surface, he was pulled from his thoughts at the sudden rocking motion of the ship.

The Sith did not say anything, they did not need to, Aurelion was more than clear on what his goal was and with some time to prepare himself and exit the ship, Aurelion felt it vanish from his senses as soon as he exited the boarding ramp. If he were not able to turn around and look at the ship, he would never have any idea it was present through the Force, and the thought frightened him a bit. Than an expert of stealth, Force-based or no, could kill him from a mile away given even something half as effective. Shaking his head slightly Aurelion inhaled and winced as he truly gazed upon the lush splendor of Ossus now, the recent encounter between one of Sith splinter factions and the Silver Jedi leaving the ample opportunity for infiltration once things quieted down.

As Aurelion subconsciously laid a hand on his Lightsaber he felt the now twin crystals soothe him a bit, steady him, and he exhaled the breathe he was not aware he had even been holding in. Without allowing another thought of doubt to cross his mind Aurelion began to move through the lush landscape of Ossus, his senses kept steady by the familiar aura of the crystals in his Lightsaber as well as the Darkness offered by the tendrils that coiled and writhed around him. Though it was a rare time of peace and quiet for Aurelion, he hardly noticed the precarious balance teetering between Light and Dark, how the Force now naturally quickened his step and enhanced his muscles, how the low, throbbing pain behind his eye subsided into nothingness. As Aurelion came upon the ancient ruin and paused for a moment to catch his breathe, his realization of this was halted at the sight of an unfamiliar ship already present. Doubt immediately began to suffuse Aurelion's being, causing the whispers of the Darkness to spill over, breaking the tenuous balance, and made Aurelion wince as the sharp hissing of the Dark Side filled his mind. The pain behind his eye returning as he struggled to gaze clearly upon the ruins now, aglow with ancient, faded light as they were.

Aurelion could not help but hesitate. He had reservations about fighting anyone from the Silver Jedi, he had been a member himself not long ago after all, and he hardly doubted there was anyone in the Order he could beat even if he tried. Even still, he knew he had to try, even if it meant fighting a Jedi. Swallowing down the fear and anxiety in his throat Aurelion would slowly approach the ruin, noting the fighter was empty and that the person who owned it was likely inside already. Which he was slightly thankful for. With any luck he would be able to avoid them, get what he could, and leave without them never knowing he was there. As Aurelion approached the ruins and laid a hand on the ancient stone he winced, his ears ringing, as distant, echoing sounds reached his ears. The sound of voices, entirely unknown to him, calling out in a variety of ways and tones. Young Padawans speaking to one-another, patient Masters provided even-handed guidance in more level tones, and as he gazed back at the clearing in front of the ruins Aurelion jumped in shock as he saw them. The Padawans with their training sabers, the Masters watching patiently, all of them ephemeral, all of them very much dead and in the past. Long forgotten to the galaxy.

Aurelion withdrew his hand from the ancient stone, his breathing heavier now, and closed his eye to the Force. Waiting for the vision to subside before opening it again, and cautiously backing away from the courtyard into the ruins. He had no idea what had just happened, what he had seen, and was now eager more than ever to complete his task and leave Ossus as soon as he could. His steps becoming hurried and frantic as the Dark Side tendrils thrashed in response to the emotion, leaving deep pits in the stone of the ruins as where they struck, disintegrating bits and pieces of the venerable structure without Aurelion even meaning to. Thankfully for him the visions did not return, and he paused briefly at a branching hallway, trying to decide which way to go. This pause was not voluntary, far from it, as Aurelion sensed the other person in the ruins his heart skipped a beat, for several reasons.

The first and most obvious reaction of Aurelion was fear in a cold and palpable wave that tremored down his lithe body. This person was.... amazing. They were as bright a light as Prazutis was deep a shadow, and Aurelion's mouth dried in terror at the prospect of facing someone like that in battle. However, this was not the only thing he felt, and the second emotion while not as obvious was much more enthralling to him. Despite knowing that he could take the right-handed path and likely complete his mission, avoiding this person entirely, Aurelion stared like a transfixed child down the left-handed path this person had traveled. A soft, dulcet song reaching him in a tone not unlike a lullaby. It was no physical sound, but it pulled on his heart, his soul, all the same. Before now Aurelion had passively followed the Force, been carried by it into situations and into meeting friends before, but this..... the idea of going down the right-handed path never even occurred to him. Aurelion was sure he had never felt the active will of the Force before, nothing like this had ever called to him, and his entire being ached to follow it..... and so he did.

All but stumbling down the path in a stupor Aurelion rounded corner after corner, ignoring ancient statues and wondrous architecture as he drew closer and closer to this person, this unknown brilliant light the Force inexorably pulled him toward. Each step echoing through the Force, through his being, and he was entirely unprepared to round the final corner. Entering what was obviously an archive for these ruins, Aurelion paid not a bit of attention to the ancient knowledge surrounding him, the goal of his mission. The dusty tomes and various ancient dataslates less interesting than rocks and dirt as Aurelion's eye widened beneath it's blindfold. Standing there in the archive he was only able to look for a brief moment, before he had to turn away, as he was entirely unsure of what he was looking at..... but it was absolutely beautiful. As Aurelion unknowingly gazed upon Valery Noble before turning his head aside, a powerful thrum like the plucking of a massive string pulsed through the Force, and for a moment Aurelion did not even think what he had gazed upon was anything less than an angel through the Force. Words could not do her justice how hauntingly perfect she had appeared to him, how that soft singing, that pull through the Force, had reached a silent crescendo within him as he looked upon her for only a moment.....

Closing his eye Aurelion could not bare to look at her through the Force again, still entirely unaware he had even looked at a 'her' to begin with. Instead he closed his sight from the Force, and pulled up his blindfold to reveal his single, soft blue eye and looked once again, only to be no less awestruck the second time. A woman, tall and gorgeous, with flowing chestnut hair and eyes that would suggest the Dark Side at first glance, but burned with an amber beauty like a smoldering set of twin suns, gazed back at him. He was.... breathless. Completely and utterly. His entire being erupting in a war of thoughts and signals from fleeing from this terrifying woman, to asking her name, to reaching out to her through the Force. The thought of his mission now gone from his mind.

However, after the shock of the first few moments, in the space of his now very loud heartbeat in his ears, Aurelion was not the only thing to react to Valery. If the now tumultuous writhing of the Dark Side tendrils was any indication the Darkness had noticed her too.

Aurelion shuddered at the darkness' reaction to Valery. It's hissing echoing through the Force, now doubt also audible to her, as it's intentions were more than clear and spiraling into a frenzy of emotion. It wanted to CONSUME her. To snuff out, smother and devour her brilliant light until nothing remained. Aurelion had.... never felt the darkness like this, and it scared him, the twisting grip of the Darkness upon him tightened to the point Aurelion found breathing difficult and his singular blue eye flickered an ominous shade of crimson for a moment, and Aurelion grit his teeth, closed his eye, and stepped back a step from Valery. His words coming out slightly pained, quiet, and little more than a murmur physically. But through the Force they were laced with regret, despair, pain and the dying remains of his wonder for her. "W-Will... you please stand aside? I need.... to leave. I need to have... what I came here for."

Still gasping for breathe and in pain from the constriction of the Darkness Aurelion drew his Lightsaber, not because he had told himself to, but because the Darkness stoked his fear and aversion. Flooded his mind with screeching whispers that killing this woman, that snuffing out her light, was the only way for him to have the peace he sought. That the pain would continue unless he obeyed. Regretfully, his heart aching as the last of his awe for her was smothered, Aurelion's wide, crystal blue eye would slowly shift to a soft, simmering red as he murmured. "I'm sorry...." Before igniting the Amethyst blade of his Lightsaber, the twin crystals snap-hissing to life and Valery would begin to feel a constant, draining darkness emanate from his Lightsaber. Like waves slowly eroding a boulder would this darkness pick and pull at her control, her vitality, slowly and steadily attempting to drain and demoralize her tiny bit by tiny but and Aurelion, his last thought before drowning in the whispers of Darkness, were simply....

I wonder if she heard me?



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[Valery Noble]

Valery Noble - The Battlemaster

For quite some time, Valery had been busy with her new journey in the Galaxy. She had managed to acquire a ship suitable for safe travel, met some Jedi, and learned a bit about the state of the Galaxy. But with her goal of establishing an Enclave in mind, she would now finally be taking the first steps for it, which involved gathering as much Jedi-specific knowledge as possible. Of all the worlds she could visit first, Valery felt drawn to one she had defended during her time in the past - Ossus. When she was there last, it was a barren wasteland of rock. But now, it had supposedly gone through millennia of recovery. She hoped that during said recovery, ties to the ancient past of the Jedi were preserved to some extent. Valery was very knowledgeable, but she hoped to find something of use there.

With some help from those she met, Valery had gathered some supplies, repaired her tunic, and recovered fully from her hibernation sickness. Once again, she felt the Force flowing through her, the way she had so long ago. She was like a fire of the Light, burning bright as a beacon for those around her. But she knew that Ossus' location wasn't the safest, and decided to suppress her presence in the Force. She would be ready to defend herself there if need be, but she was wanting to avoid conflict and potentially making enemies. So with a concealed presence and a ship built for Stealth, she traveled to Ossus.

Luckily, the journey through hyperspace was quiet and uneventful, boring even, but she had learned to appreciate it. After dropping from Hyperspace, she would immediately puncture through the world's atmosphere and continue her path over the surface. Normally, she would seek out a spaceport or official landing zone but Valery had different plans. It was unlikely that any of the remnants of Jedi architecture and knowledge was discovered. if it were, there would be nothing worth looking into left at the particular location. So somewhere on this planet, she knew a hidden gem would have to be present.. she could feel it. A deep breath was taken and while her hands maintained control of the ship, her mind would reach out to the Force, connecting with it and asking for its guidance.

"The Force is with me." she whispered.

Almost like a gentle tug, Valery could then feel something drawing her attention, whispering to her through the currents of the Force. She had felt it many times before, and learned to trust it. The Force was her guide, and she follows it no matter where it would guide her towards. Now, it drew her South, and she would perform a sharp turn to bring the fighter on the right course. With a determined look, she flew low over the planet, allowing her ship's stealth capabilities to keep her hidden. Only those directly underneath her flight path would see a glimpse of the matte-black fighter before it disappeared on the horizon again.

For several minutes, she would be circling over the area that she felt held a connection to the Force, but it was difficult to see anything from above. While some would have perhaps given up, Valery knew to trust the Force and decided it was time to bring her ship down to the surface. With great care, she would lower the ship and release the landing gear before setting the fighter down. Engines and on-board systems went offline, and the canopy opened up for her to climb out. As usual, she was wearing her dark-blue tunic but with brown robes wrapped around herself, a double-bladed lightsaber strapped to her belt and a hood drawn over her head, covering up the long, dark-brown ponytail. But after feeling a gentle breeze of fresh air, she decided to lower the hood, allowing her hair to cascade down behind her back. She shook it out and moved towards the source of the Force's nudge.

She had found a set of ancient ruins, belonging to the Jedi. It seemed there was hope for her plans

Stepping inside, Valery felt rather strange for a moment. The abandoned structure, the old statues, and architecture - it all looked like it had been here for thousands of years. But to her, it only felt like yesterday that she was defending locations like this, on this very world. She remembered the Jedi she fought alongside, the good moments she shared with them, as well as the bad. She looked down at the ground and let out a soft sigh. Valery knew she had to leave that part of her life behind her, but it wasn't easy for her at all. But after a moment of silence, she began walking through the hallways, her orange gaze focused and no longer disturbed by memories of the past. The only glimpses to those times she paid attention to were the images presented to her by the Force, as her fingers gently trailed over the walls and objects inside. She heard the voices of students and their Masters, training together during better times. She smiled softly at the thought and entered a large room, which on closer inspection, seemed to have been the archives to this place.

"Perfect.." she said with a slight grin.

This was exactly what she was looking for. The ruins looked like nobody had touched them before, so she was sure there would be information inside that would be of use to her. Within minutes, she found herself browsing through the libraries, picking up data files that were old and dusty, but still intact. She began reading about the Jedi past on Ossus, but also the Galaxy at large. But right as she was getting caught up in History, she felt something tainted by the dark side, sending shivers down her spine. Under normal circumstances, her refined senses would pick up on it far quicker, at larger distances too. Perhaps she was still not fully herself, or maybe just too distracted by what she had been reading. But either way, she was no longer alone within the ruins, and first felt the Force gazing at her, followed by a single, blue eye from the hallway she had entered through herself

She wasn't one to be afraid of the Dark Side, but she now felt her heart skip a beat. She had spent so much time preparing to avoid running into trouble.. and here it was, staring directly at her. She turned around and her orange eyes would meet with the young, partially blindfolded man. He looked so young, yet she felt the Dark Side's grasp on him.. she could even see it, as it manifested itself as tendrils of pure corruption, swirling around him. She couldn't help but feel bad for him - no person should ever have to experience what he was going through. She wanted to help him so badly, but she wasn't sure if she could.

"I'm not going anywhere." she replied, her tone filled with confidence, and her entire exterior showed nothing but strength. Seeing the visible darkness, and feeling its desire to lash out, Valery would immediately draw the Force up through her body, guiding it up towards the edge of her mind. She formed an almost impenetrable shield, one she maintained in case it tried to affect or control her mind. She was preparing to defend herself against it more actively as well, but something stopped her from doing so instantly.

Because as the young man stood in front of her, she picked up on something that made her hesitant. She could see his own hesitation and heard the tone he was speaking with. Through the Force, the Empathic Master felt his pain, his despair, and his regret for what he was about to do. A slight frown appeared on her face, which grew as his Amethyst blades burst to life. She looked down at it for a moment and understood that a confrontation was inevitable. However, despite that.. she had heard him. Valery understood. She looked him in the eye and for just a moment, offered a soft smile before the fierce nature of the woman took over.

"I'm sorry as well." she said with a sincere, caring tone. But one that indicated her readiness as well.

Valery then reached for the brown robes she had wrapped around her, pulled them off, and tossed them aside, thus leaving her in just the tunic she often wore into battle. She flicked some of her long hair behind her and unclipped the double-bladed lightsaber from her belt. She held the weapon at her side for a moment but then the twin-purple blades ignited, and she'd raise her left hand up in front of her. She wasn't getting ready in any traditional lightsaber Form stance - she had other plans that she wasn't quite revealing yet. But she was not going to initiate the fight, and her presence in the Force was growing drastically stronger, as she seemed to be channeling it to some capacity within her.

Now, both stood ready within the ruins, a Master of the Light and a young man enveloped in darkness. She had hoped to avoid this kind of confrontation but as she looked at him, and her vision shifted beyond the physical realm, she understood this meeting was part of something larger.

The Force, as always, had guided her here for a reason.

| Aurelion Nova |

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[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

As the mysteriously enchanting woman before him tossed aside her robe, her defiant answer echoed by her confident posture, Aurelion became even more aware of how out of his depth he was in confronting this person. The soft, kind smile she offered before returning his apology solidifying the gnawing worry in the pit of his stomach that maybe, just maybe, that thrum through the Force had not been a thread of fate snapping into place. But his own personal death knell at the hands of this woman. The thought turned his blood to ice, churned his stomach with fear, darkness seeping off of him in worry and no small amount of dread toward Valery.

The Darkness drank deeply of this worry, this dread, this palpable fear and relished in it. The tendrils coiling and writhing about Aurelion would hiss as they slashed through the air. Hungrily churning at the prospect of devouring and consuming Valery. Aurelion's grip tightened slightly upon the hilt of his weapon as Valery drew power into herself that made it oh so very clear he stood no chance. She was more a match for his Master than himself, but even still, he knew that if he attempted to leave this place without what he had been sent for the Sith awaiting him on the ship may very well do away with him for his failure. Regardless of whether his Master had ordered them to do so or not and he doubted they were under orders not to harm him if he failed.

As Valery readied herself Aurelion did not recognize her stance at all, which was unsurprising, as Aurelion was hardly more than a novice in every Lightsaber form besides perhaps Soresu. Which would be no help to him here beyond surviving for a few extra moments should Valery attack him. But he wasn't nearly as skilled as Taiia Mataan , the one who had shown him the first steps of Soresu, and he doubted Valery would simply let him walk away now. No. Now, he would have to fight. Now, he would have to face down a complete stranger, a gorgeous stranger at that. A gorgeous, woman stranger who's gaze seemed to pierce right through him. Despite himself, she was absolutely terrifying, like seeing an angel of death made manifest.

Shaking his head and deactivating one half of his dual-saber, Aurelion would take a simple Shii-Cho stance and, moving in toward Valery, felt something shift in the Force around the two of them. A soft static seemed to fill the air, thrumming between the two of them like a live-wire, and while at first Aurelion simply took it as the effect of the power Valery called into herself. The moment his first slash was made, and was blocked by Valery, time itself seemed to stand still and his eye widened as he felt a VERY familiar feeling rocking him to his core. Tremors of tingling energy sparking between the two of them as the first vestiges of a powerfully intimate Force Bond crackled along the Lightsaber blades like a lightning bolt.

Aurelion's presence, his being in the Force, would become clear to Valery in that moment. He was like a great glass tower, polished to a mirror sheen, and cracked to the point it looked as if it would shatter at a touch. Held together purely by it's own weight and the unseen force of Aurelion's will desperately clinging the pieces together. Each cracked segment containing the briefly flickering images of a nightmare that, in calmer circumstances, perhaps she would be able to see more clearly. But now? Now that tower shook to it's core. Now each and every crack, splinter, piece and wound would be as familiar to Valery as her own body for the span of a single second. As she would be aware of one fact above all else. Aurelion had seen her through the Force as well.

What did she look like?

Jolting back from the intense reaction, Aurelion stared at Valery in shock, his guard dropping low, and his mind was so distracted by the sensation that he lost complete control and restraint of the Dark Side tendrils. The extra appendages all but screeching like nails on a chalkboard as three spear-like, obsidian tendrils arced out toward Valery. Aurelion's mind now ablaze with confusion that burnt away his previous fear. The bond had not formed, but it had been like two, charged cables surging with energy being pressed into one-another. He could still FEEL the Force echoing the moment, the faint memory of the impact alone making Aurelion's eye briefly return to it's normal soft blue hue. Before he grit his teeth, confusion overtaking him as his frustration grew. He had already had a bond wither and die, having heard nothing from Nimue since he had been taken, and now? Someone else, who reminded him of her, made an even more potent reaction?

He shook his head once, twice, before lifting his hand and channeling his confusion, his frustration, into crackling crimson energy in the palm of his gloved hand. Valery would, perhaps, be a bit surprised to witness Force Lightning that was blood red in color as Aurelion shakily growled at her in a small voice. "St-Stay back. I don't know who you are b-but.... I can't fail here!" Before he would hurl the crimson lightning towards Valery. The energy unnaturally curling and arcing into Aurelion's own body as he let out a choked, pain-filled gasp in response. He did not know what the Force looked like to Valery, but it would be obvious to her that it was lashing out at him for using it. That great glass tower splintering and wounding itself further as the tortured soul within it lashed out in scared, aimless confusion.


| Valery Noble |


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[Valery Noble]

Valery Noble - The Battlemaster

While Valery drew on the Force, she would be watching him closely, analyzing not only his stance but his intentions as well, as they echoed towards the Master through the Force. She had been preparing to strike the darkness around him specifically but as she expected, he was going to attack before she was fully ready. With her experience, it was easy to recognize the stance he took, and in response, she drew the staff diagonally in front of her to prepare for a block. As the first sweeping strike came, she would twist and turn the core of her body and draw strength from her legs to force the blades into a lock. They hissed at each other on contact, and Valery would stare him down with a fire-like fierceness in her eyes. But as her eyes locked on, and blades clashed, something else struck her as well.

For a moment, she felt as if the Force was stringing the two together, but was repulsed by the clash of Light and Dark only an instant later. But in that brief moment, she could see through the young man more so than before. She felt what held him together, but also what shook him to his core. But while all these feelings rushed into her at once, she understood that her own self was briefly exposed as well. The strength and confidence she had within, like a solid foundation that could not be broken. But the deep, almost constant conflict within her left behind by loss and past suffering resonated through her as well, if only for a moment. Whether it was a weakness or a strength would be hard to tell, perhaps it was even both. But she did not like the fact that part of herself was exposed, and Aurelion would be able to tell, as her gaze became just a bit more fierce.

In response to what she had felt, Valery would step back and grit her teeth while she watched him jolt back. Due to her control, she was able to focus quickly and watched the Dark tendrils move in to strike at her. Not wanting them to get close, she extended an arm and briefly projected a Barrier of Force energy out to keep it back. But her orange eyes remained fixed on the young man, as she heard the familiar crackling sound of lightning manifesting itself through the Force. Seeing its red glow was surprising, but she was well-equipped to deal with lightning and had an idea.

Standing back, Valery waited for the lightning to surge through the air, and raised her left hand up, the palm facing the incoming red beams of lightning. She focused and allowed the barrier that separated the flow through her body, and the environment, to fade away, thus allowing energy from the environment to become part of her. In the palm of her hand, a blue funnel of pure Force energy formed, and through it, she siphoned the lightning into herself, and trusted the Force, her ally, to convert it and remove its harmful effects. With this use of Tutaminis, she not only neutralized the dangerous lightning, but she also absorbed much of its energy, ready to be used for an attack of her own.

The strength of the Force within her significantly grew for a moment and right as the lightning ceased, she would ball her hand into a fist, and bring it close to her chest for a moment. Her eyes focused on the darkness that swirled around him, which she knew was the cause of all his problems and her own right now.

"Let's see who you really are." she softly said to herself.

Then, only a split-second later, she extended her arm out and directed the Force towards it as an incredible wave of Light, meant to push back and vanquish the Dark Side. She did not seek to kill or injure him greatly, but she had to know what was underneath those layers of darkness. Weakening it was the only way she would be able to tell, and she had built up a great deal of energy to make her use of Force Light potent. She knew that after this attack, she was likely forced to keep defending herself, but perhaps there was hope for this young man, who felt so broken during their brief time of bonding.

Hopefully, this attack would weaken him enough so she could end the fight swiftly. Above all else, she did not want him to suffer more than he already was.

| Aurelion Nova |

 

[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

Aurelion trembled in pain for a moment as the lightning coursed through his body, causing his muscles to spasm and skin to smoke and blister, the tendrils emitting a piercing shriek as pain wracked Aurelion's body. Unlike Valery he could do nothing to avoid the agony of the lightning, experiencing it's physical and spiritual effects firsthand, by his own hand, and being only just barely able to grit his teeth as he fell to his knees. Coughing and gasping for breathe before he lifted his gaze in time to see Valery harness the newfound energy into an ability Aurelion was actually familiar with. It seemed like a lifetime ago Aurelion had been introduced to the fundamental principles of the ability himself and now, as Valery unleashed it in an empowered, brilliant blast, he became very aware of just why so many Sith Lords took precautions against this ability.

The light that had, in his past, felt awkward but comfortable, now made him wince and close his eye. Turning his head away as it pulsed over him, burning his skin and making it tingle, while the Dark Side tendrils screeched horribly. Thick plumes of rolling, obsidian smoke leaving them as they thrashed in the air. Shriveling and shrinking more and more until, finally, vanishing entirely. Aurelion shook softly, as even behind his closed eye a harsh brightness bore down on him like the heat of a merciless sun, and Valery would be able to see another clue as to just who or what Aurelion was. As the Darkness was far from completely gone.

Unlike she may have first suspected the Dark Side tendrils were not something attached to Aurelion, far from it, as it would become obvious through the echoing remnant of the spark between them that the Darkness that formed the tendrils spilled from the center of Aurelion's chest. A dark, obsidian, broken heart lying there. Echoing with immense, deep-seated pain and sadness that spewed forth from this wound, seeping out of Aurelion and into the robes he wore in an inky deluge of pure, unfiltered sorrow. Tears began to well up in Aurelion's sky blue eye before rolling down his porcelain cheek and he looked up into Valery's simmering, orange eyes with a flurry of emotions behind them. Even as the tendrils began to re-emerge from behind him. Aurelion's voice coming out in another pained whisper "Please, I can't.... go back without something. They won't let me. I-...."

Slowly attempting to stand like a newborn animal, Aurelion's legs would shake, his arms too tired and weak now to even properly lift to defend himself as he stared into Valery's beautiful eyes. His voice catching in his throat briefly, before it would be apparent just how young and scared he was as he choked out ".... I-I don't want to die." With his arms and hands so numb, his fingers twitching softly and the Dark Side tendrils both drawing on him heavily to reconstitute themselves and stoking his fear to numb his pain, Aurelion was spent. His lightsaber deactivated, clattering the ground below him as it slipped numbly from his fingers, and he simply stared at Valery. He stared at her with defiance left in his eye, but only enough to stop himself from actively trembling in fear, and could not stop the emotion from painting his face.

Even when in the midst of a warzone Aurelion had not felt so exposed before. Valery's deadliness combined with the echoing thrum she caused through the Force terrified him, because it pulled at his soul in a way he had never felt before. As if she were the reaper herself given form. A blazing, deadly light he knew he could not escape from. He did not know how Valery would react to getting stared at in such a terrified manner, if he had the energy to think about it, he would likely feel bad about it. At least, at the idea that it would upset her. But now? Now it was all he could do to stumble a step away from her, nearly falling over in the process, before he lowered his gaze and began to pant. The tendrils of darkness, now reformed, curling in front of him protectively and quivering with the apparent self-same exhaustion as Aurelion himself. Whatever happened next.... he was completely at her mercy.

Valery Noble

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[Valery Noble]

Valery Noble - The Battlemaster

Valery's eyes narrowed as she watched the wave of Light strike the young man and the darkness, gauging whether or not it had the intended effect. As she hoped, the dark tendrils were slowly withered away by the Light, removed like a shadow being exposed to a source of bright light. She felt the darkness around her growing weaker and began to move towards Aurelion with a purple blade ignited at her side, ready to finish the job. For most of her life, she had been fighting the Dark Side actively, purging its energy and followers, as the Jedi of her former Enclave didn't believe in Redemption. However, seeing this young man, and feeling what was deep inside as the bond formed for another split-second.. it made her stop.

She looked down at him and watched the tear drop down his cheek. She felt his pain and heard his words echo inside her mind. As a result, the grip on her lightsaber tightened, she gritted her teeth and looked off to her side for just a second. Every part of her former self told her to finish it, to end his suffering here and now because there would never be any other way he'd get salvation from the Dark Side. But deep down, she felt that the Force had other plans for them both and that she should show him mercy.

"Don't try anything stupid." Valery then said with a serious tone.

She walked over to him and noticed the Dark tendrils forming again. With a hand raised, she sent another pulse of Force Light towards it, hoping to keep it back while she raised a hand and got real close. She aimed to smack against the side of his head and right as her hand would make contact, she channeled a pulse of energy through her hand to strengthen the slap. With it, she sought to knock him unconscious for now, but not permanently damage him. As he went out, she looked down at him for a moment and smiled softly. Seeing him this way, he appeared so innocent. But she knew what was deep inside.

"Please, I can't.. go back without something. They won't let me l-"

She heard his words in her mind again and sighed, but something clicked at that moment. With him knocked out and the tendrils not being a threat, her senses extended and she felt two darker presences outside, not too far from the ruins. He didn't come alone, and these Sith felt a bit stronger.

"I understand." she then said as she looked down at him.

While he was unconscious, she would quickly move through the archives and collect all the data that she believed to be useful, especially anything related to locations of other Enclaves and Temples. For her journey to establish her own, she figured visiting older, former Temples would be the best place to start. However, she decided to leave behind a certain file with information about the structure they were in, and some of the Jedi history there. She placed it beside Aurelion's body and looked down at him just a moment longer, as she wondered whether or not this was the right thing to do.

"I truly hope you don't make me regret this." she whispered, but something told her she wouldn't.

With all the data collected, she again wrapped the brown robes around her and pulled the hood over her head. She shot the young man a final glare, and then made her way out. She would suppress her presence in the Force and follow her senses towards the ship he had used to get here.. the ship where two Sith would be waiting for him to return. But what she hoped they wouldn't expect was for a Jedi to appear and unlike with Aurelion, she was not holding back against these Sith at all.

What happened between her departure from the ruins and her departure from the planet was knowledge only she possessed. But after Aurelion would wake up, he'd find a data file on the ground next to him and when he returned, the bodies of the two Sith would be on the cold floor outside the ship. Knowing he couldn't easily explain them being dead if she had used the Force, she had chosen to strike them down with her lightsaber, marking them with the hot, purple plasma of her blade. She hoped he would be able to explain it, for his sake.

But both the data file and Sith bodies were a sign she had given him. A sign that she believed that there was a different path outside of death or a life corrupted by the Dark Side. But also a sign tied to the bond that had formed between them, even if it only lasted for a second. Now, she hoped it would be a catalyst for change.

| Aurelion Nova |

 

[Aurelion Nova]

Aurelion's Lightsaber

Aurelion lowered his head as Valery approached him, quaking with fear and terror at the prospect of what he felt to be certain death approaching him. The low, thrumming hiss of her blade all but filling his ears with it's usually quiet, calming noise that now reminded him more of the enraged swarming of hornets. If he had been bothering to watch her, gritting her teeth and looking away as in defiance of something, he would have thought it was cute. Her warning, on the other hand, was anything but cute. It only further filled Aurelion with a sense of helplessness and dread, a phantom of a nod being his only answer as he awaited what he was sure would be a lethal blow. A pained wince leaving him as she once again burned away the tendrils of darkness feebly trying to shield him from her.

Aurelion slowly closed his eye as Valery moved close, briefly thinking how nice the faint heat from her felt, before the blow to his head rocked him sideways. His very last thoughts before the darkness took him being of his Buir Taozi Fuyuan and her home on Tanaab, how much he missed her, and how sorry he was he wouldn't get to say goodbye. As his fading consciousness was so terrified he mistook the blow for something fatal, rather than simply rendering him unconscious. Left to crumple to the floor in a slight fetal position beside his lightsaber, his thin chest weakly rising and falling in small, even breathes. Almost appearing as if he had simply decided to take a nap there on the ancient floor like a lazy cat.

Some time later, after awakening with a start, jolting up and frantically feeling all over himself he was absolutely stunned he wasn't dead. His small chest heaving with frantic breathes as his eye wildly swept around the room, searching for Valery or any other threat before stopping on the small pack and the files it contained. Blinking slowly, repeatedly in confusion Aurelion tentatively opened the pack before letting out a small gasp. His eye widening as his cheeks blossomed with a faint blush, realizing now that Valery had not only spared him but.... had left these here for him. He fidgeted in place a bit, unsure of how exactly to feel about all of this, his head still hurting from the blow and making it hard to think straight didn't help either.

Gently gathering up the pack and sliding it onto his back Aurelion would quickly begin to walk out of the ruins, panting quietly and scooping up his lightsaber as he left. Once he was outside his suspicions were confirmed when he saw Valery's own ship was gone and this realization froze him in his tracks. The ship. The Sith. They were still waiting on him and this fact made him sit down, pull the pack of files from off his back, and set it in his lap before going through them briefly. A rough, heavy swallow travelling down his throat as goosebumps formed along his arms. Would this be enough? Would they find this unacceptable for the apprentice of the Dark Lord to bring them ONLY this? He shook his head, curled up his knees, and idly looked into the sky as it began to rain. Only to blink as he noticed a flower that he was fairly certain had not been there before.

Gently brushing one of the white petals Aurelion smiled softly before closing his eye and centering himself as best he could. His emotions were... far from stable right now and he wasn't entirely sure what to think. Clearly that woman had no qualms about fighting someone like him, whatever HE was now since he didn't feel like a Sith or a Jedi, but she had chosen to spare him and even... help him? He would have to repay her, somehow, someday. Opening his eye Aurelion paused as he watched the rain-soaked petals of the flower dance in the wind and, vaguely remembering Tabitha's reaction to the flower he had carved for her.... he hoped that maybe one day, if he ever ran into Valery again, well... maybe she would like a flower as well. Gently plucking the beautiful flower and safely stowing it in the pack Aurelion would begin to move back to the ship, steeling himself as best he could for the questioning of the Sith. Questions that would never be asked.

As Aurelion entered the clearing he knew the ship he had arrived on to be in, he paused, confusion and surprise warring on his face for dominance for a moment as he saw the bodied of the dead Sith. But he could not really comprehend them, at least, not at first. With his emotions running on empty at this point Aurelion could only numbly approach them, noting the lightsaber scorch marks on their armor, and he closed his eye as he realized that the angelic woman had also slain his... comrades? Allies? Jailors? He sighed, looking at the ship, and bit his lip. A brief desire to take the ship and flee into SJC space gripping him but.... no doubt Darth Prazutis would be able to find the ship should he wish to. Possibly even possessing some sort of fail-safe on it should it venture too far from where Aurelion's mission is supposed to take him.

Walking up the boarding ramp and cautiously sitting himself in the pilot's seat Aurelion focused as he tried to remember how to the Sith had flown the ship before. Needless to say it took him a few tries, and a few destroyed trees and startled wildlife, before he got the hang of it and at least got the ship off planet. After that managed to 'wake up' an astromech droid and let it handle the flying from there. Sitting himself down with the files he had.... been allowed to recover and thinking to himself if he would ever see that mysterious, beautiful and.... frankly terrifying woman again. Something told him that he would and the idea terrified him.... but as he softly cradled the still-wet flower in his hands, he faintly hoped that maybe their next meeting would be much better.



|| Valery Noble ||


--Thread End--


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