A Healing Retreat

[Maiev]

Maiev had walked and walked, trying to discern where exactly she was. The Wilds were typically endless, every corner and straight looking the same. But Maiev knew where to look, where to find the little details to avoid getting lost. In her mind, she figured even a memory recreation would include them.

Which quickly clued her into something not being right.

"I'm going in circles..."

In that same moment, a searing pain erupted in Maiev's head. It pulsed and throbbed, immediately unrelenting, enough to bring the witch to her knees. A silent scream tore from her lips, hands reaching up to clutch at her head.

Clever little spirit. Setting up defences even now.

The voice was familiar, Maiev knew it, but the name refused to surface.

If she had been looking ahead, she would've seen her surroundings suddenly buckle. The very air shifted and morphed, almost as though someone was messing with a barrier. And then it shattered like glass, and Maiev felt like she could breathe again.

But it was immediately replaced with the sounds of a stampede. That in itself confused the witch, knowing no known animal that stampeded in the Wilds. It became clear though when she saw someone running towards her.

At this point, Maiev had managed to stand up but only in time to catch a glimpse of the person as she phased right through the witch. Maiev blinked in surprise, her heart skipping a beat.

Female. Raven Hair. Violet Eyes.

Maiev was frozen, barely blinking until a flicker of several flames caught her attention. A mob was approaching, bearing torches and weapons. Even though she had witnessed someone going through her, Maiev still moved to the side when the group ran past. They were comprised mainly of women, with a few men within their ranks. And there was no mistaking the ragtag clothing of a poor Clan.

What the chit was going on...?

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Tegaea Alcori"]​

 

[Tegaea Alcori]

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Maiev"]

Chesna looked at the blade. It glittered coldly in the ethereal light. She knew well enough that a death here would mean a psychic shock enough to kill her in reality. Would that be a bad thing? She had been lying and covering up her sins for so long they had become second nature. Even her name was no longer what it should have been.

“Come, sister…do it now.”
Chesna looked up. “No.”
“Why not? You just said you were a sham, a disgrace, and that you deserved to die instead of me.”
“All true. There’s only one problem?”
“What’s that?”
“You’re not my sister.” The knife blurred and bit home. The apparition cursed and faded away.

XXX

Kaelin was on the floor, back pedalling as she had when faced by the wrath of the ascendant Siobhan. Now it was Tegaea who advanced and delivered a thunderous blow with the chair she had been bound to. The timbers shattered on impact and Kaelin sprawled.
Drawing out a broken table leg, sharpened like a stake she pinned down the Sith from behind.
“You will never trouble me again, I swear it. Now die!”
“You will never be free of me…I will always haunt your dreams.”
“We’ll see.” The stake descended and pierced the Sith’s foul heart. She vanished.

XXX

With a flicker the scenes bewitching Chesna and Tegaea vanished. They found themselves facing Siobhan, but now not the dark visage, but an ethereal version of her, but one pinioned by ghostly chains to the ground.

“I guess…we free her? Where’s Maiev?” Tegaea asked.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Maiev"], [member="Tegaea Alcori"]


Weakness, idleness and stupidity. Those were the greatest sins a being could have. She had been born into abject poverty, but clawed her way out of the gutter through grit, determination and strength. The Force had been her tool to accomplish this. She had thrown off the shackles Jedi and Sith alike had sought to place on her.

Many had died during her ascent to glory. Some casualties she regretted deeply. Many had been necessary losses. She was who she was and accepted no one's guidance other than her own. Now chains shackled her once more. Doubt was insidious. It was the little mind-killer, the slow death.

The moment you doubted your course, you were setting yourself up for a loss. She would never let doubt, self-pity and regret enslave her again. The ghostly chains that held her in place broke, one by one. The ghostly Siobhan fell to the ground.

"I don't know. Facing her own personal demons, I imagine," Siobhan muttered. She arose shakily. "You found me. So maybe we can track her down and get out of here. Let's go." There was a door with strange glyphs on it. Maybe it would lead them to spectral Dathomir.

 

[Maiev]

Maiev ran.

The sounds of the angry mob grew quieter the further she chased after the stranger. A face that was unfamiliar to the witch, and yet there was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind.

Female. Raven Hair. Violet Eyes.

A moment or recognition, even if Maiev had no memory of seeing the person before.

She eventually found her hiding behind a large tree. Breath ragged as she looked around hurriedly, likely ensuring she had lost her pursuers. After nearly a minute the woman seemed to relax a little, and the adrenaline started to wear off. Legs began to shake, forcing her to slide down the bark until she was sitting in the dirt.

Maiev approached with caution, even if she was aware none of this was real. Nothing but a mere spectator, to something someone wanted her to see. She crouched down before her, watching and waiting until the woman finally looked at her, or through her.

The young witch's breath hitched.

"...Mother?"

She had no memories of her, none. The recognition was based purely on instinctual thought. Both had the same kind of hair, a near similar facial structure. The only difference was the eyes, and even then, it was from a passing snide remark one of the clan elders once said.

Be glad you don't have your mother's eyes. I don't think anyone would've been able to stand seeing that traitor again.

Maiev remained where she was, staring at her mother as the woman seemed to calm down. But it was short-lived, as a simple snap of a nearby twig sent her mother into a panic and was immediately running.

"No, wait!"

The young witch attempted to follow her mother, but she only got a couple of feet before her foot slipped beneath a root. She tripped, and in the time between that and her face hitting the dirt, Maiev's surroundings changed once more.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] | [member="Tegaea Alcori"]​