Duel A Private Little War

[Ishani Dinn]

With her feet knocked out from under her, Rhi’s body was unceremoniously slammed into the dirt. “Ow,” she grunted, wincing. It served her right for thinking Arcturus would go easy on her, she supposed. At least she had picked a place with soft ground to spar upon.

She was doubly thankful that the kids weren’t here to see their mother get her ass handed to her by their father. They were aboard Beholder, with Zachariah Conway and Pharus. All except for baby Star, who wasn’t far away from his parents…

Danger sense warned her of another incoming blow. She rolled just in time to evade it, getting back on her feet again as the red lightsaber crackled against the grass. Configured at the lowest possible intensity, the blade’s heat was so mild it conferred only a painful shock on contact. Enough to leave a welt on bare skin, but no further injury. Still, this was practice for a real fight, and she had to do what she could to avoid being hit at all.

She lifted her green lightsaber to parry an overhead blow, then another which arced toward her left side. Finally, after what seemed an eternity of blocking, forced into a defensive mode, she saw an opportunity to strike back. Feinting a thrust to his chest, she turned it into an upward slash aiming for his chin…

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

High up in the mountains, between villages razed, abandoned, or sleepy, a flash of red vs green clashed against the afternoon sky. Having swiped her legs from under her Arcturus bore on just as any real opponent would do, uncaring of whether or not she was winded by the drop. Rhiannon rolled aside just in time for the ground to take on the singing blow, dry grass crackling against the low-intensity plasma.​

​

He continued on even then, raining down blow after blow as she blocked and parried. Both as unrelenting as the other. Here and there he balked sharp reminders, for her guard to be raised, or to watch her footing, where her strikes were sloppy, or weak. Short, a few words at most, he wasn't trying to wax poetic here or teach theory after all.​

​

The sound of gentle cooing in the distance drew his attention to where one of the Zaathri Rhiannon employed stood, bouncing Starlin in her arms. He was being rather fussy it seemed, but the fresh air was doing him some good. He only glanced their way for a fraction of a second, but it was more than enough for Rhiannon to capitalize upon.​

​

Arcturus lifted his chin at the very last moment, until her blade grazed just the tip of it, and slid back from her. "Son of a--" Despite the curse, he broke into a large grin, dipped his head into a bow of respect.... and then immediately slid forward to barrage her with a series of thrusts and slashes centered on her core.​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Her blade grazed the tip of his chin. Rhi grinned. “If you hadn’t moved, I’d have given you the closest shave of your life…”

Her smile turned into a wide-eyed grimace as he came at her swinging. One thrust poked her in the chest, tearing a pained gasp from her throat. But she recovered quickly, meeting him blow for blow.

She aimed for his legs, trying to sweep them out from under him. Once she had him on the ground, oh, she’d pin him there if she had to sit on him. He’d kicked her ass ever since they started training a few weeks earlier, she ought to be able to give him a taste of his own medicine by now…

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

A close shave, huh? "Maybe you should deal with my morning stubble from now on" he mused with a chuckle, despite the fact that up until now he'd remained markedly serious throughout their sparring, "Steady hand, close shave..."​

​

Soon they were trading blow for blow, no strikes actually landing on flesh just plasma as they danced this way and that through the mossy yellow moors. Then he struck her chest, a practiced lunge bringing the tip to her sternum. The gasp almost had him faltering, before she pushed him back with further strikes of her own. Blades clashed, clashed, then she struck his arm and he sucked in a breath.​

​

He took a step back from her when she tried to swipe his legs, but his foot struck a small sinkhole made of collapsed mud and he ended up on his back regardless. Frankly he was surprised by the speed at which Rhiannon took advantage of this, one moment she was stood before him the next she was hovering over top, pinning him into the soft heather-strewn peat.​

​

"Oof" the air expelled from his lungs wheezed, he'd twisted his ankle something nasty in the tumble. "Today's lesson: Sokan. Be aware of your surroundings, use the environment to your advantage. Damn soft soil."​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Her attempt at knocking him down failed—but Arcturus, in a stunningly clumsy move, tripped and fell on his own. Rhi was upon him at once, of course, though she straddled him more playfully, amused by this new turn of events.

“Wait until my opponent trips over his own two feet, got it,” she said, tapping her temple with a finger as if committing the moment to memory. Then she winced, touching the spot on her chest where he’d stabbed her. “You hurt me,” she complained, pouting even as she winked one eye. “Kiss it better?”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He chuckled at her summary, putting to bed for now any notion that they were still in serious training mode. "Or push them into unsteady ground, which can make them more prone to tripping, yes. Or back them into corners, or give yourself the high ground, use what lies around you as opposed to seeing your battlefield as just a flat space."​

​

Arcturus tried to sit up, but found himself straddled back down. He raised one arm up, settling a hand under his head as though he was sunbathing at the beach, and regarded her with a goofy level of adoration. "Oh no," he whispered, "I hurted your poor chest?" He pouted back at her, reaching up to settle a hand over the offended spot. Then he closed his fingers around the fabric covering it, and tugged her down toward him.​

​

His lips settled against her sternum almost immediately, and when he released her shirt his hand slipped up into her hair instead.​

​

Then, with his beauty distracted, he shifted his weight to set her on her back instead. This time it was he who was straddling and keeping her down. "Don't..." he panted, heart racing a mile a minute as though the advice he was about to give did not apply to him too, "Get distracted..."​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Rhi nodded along. It was all good advice, to be fair. She just couldn’t get the image of him tripping out of her head.

A little gasp escaped her as she felt his lips against her chest—only to be flipped over on her back as Arcturus turned the tables. “Arcturus!” she exclaimed. Then her eyes narrowed and her lips curled into a devious smirk. “Mmm, I know what I could do to get out of this situation… But I rather like it down here.” As she spoke, her hands started to wander, teasing and caressing him. “Now I’ve got no reason to fight. So I think I’ll stay a while…”

---

While the other Apsaras stood guard, the Zaathri called Altrea had been given the task of caring for the infant Inakhos. The child lay on a blanket in the grass, fast asleep.

Altrea’s six-fingered hand stroked his soft cheek, her fur having faded to a soft lilac, the color of contentment. She’d had a child once, though he’d been taken from her in the time before the coming of the Sky Goddess. Though Adamanthea had liberated the slaves of Arboria, there was no hope for Altrea to find her son. Most likely he had been sold elsewhere, taken to a foreign land far away. He’d been too young to remember her when they separated, and now he would be too old for her to recognize him.

A twig snapped underhoof nearby. Altrea’s tail cracked the air like a whip, her tail blade at the throat of the intruder in an instant. It was a Shaal, dressed like a farmer, looking rather frightened.

“F-Forgive me,” he sputtered. “I’ve come to beg for the Sky Goddess’ help…”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

That little gasp... Oh how easily it could have been his undoing. Did she not realize the lengths he would go to in order to see her happy, satisfied, safe? That if she just said the word he'd call this whole thing off and shower her in adoration instead? That tiny little gasp sent sparks through him, which were only heightened once he had her on her back beneath him. The way his name leapt from her lips... Divine. Simply divine.​

​

"Oh, you think you'll stay a while do you?" he echoed back mischievously, breath hitching ever so slightly as her fingers traced his skin. Leaning in closer, he brushed his lips against her ear, nibbling softly on the lobe. "And do you think your enemies will be so kind as to let you lounge unscathed?"​

​

Arcturus snatched the hand which was exploring and pinned it to the spongy earth, then with his other he slipped his beloved dagger into his grasp and brought it up to settle at her jaw, dancing between the underside of her chin and her throat.​

​

"Dead" he whispered, as he nipped her ear a little more firmly. Then all at once, as if he'd never been pinning her in the first place, he was back on his feet grinning down at her.​

​

"Again!" he demanded, in his best 'I'm the Master here' voice.​

​

Before they could reset their positions, however, their sparring was unceremoniously put on hold. His eyes drifted immediately to the nervous Shaal who was bothering Altrea, and in turn his son, picking up on his purpose here as his sputtered words were carried on the wind.​

​

"Approach" he commanded, voice actually taking on a more serious note as opposed to the pretend one he'd just been using with Rhiannon. If Rhiannon was not already on her feet, he'd reach a hand down to help her stand. "Seems even out here you're not free from duty, my beloved Sky Goddess..."​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

"And do you think your enemies will be so kind as to let you lounge unscathed?"

She knew then and there that he wasn’t taking the bait. “No,” she admitted. “But my charms are classified as a weapon of mass destruction, and this enemy seems particularly susceptible to them…”

His dagger touched her throat. She bit her lip as he nipped at her ear, one hand pinned to the ground—the other pressing her dagger against his inner thigh. “Likewise.”

He wanted another round. Rhi groaned as she rose to her feet, popping her neck—then froze as a Shaal approached. “Hello there,” she greeted. “What can I help you with?”

“My fields, Goddess,” the Shaal replied sheepishly. “They haven’t been fruitful. I called a shaman to help, and he made an idol out of dirt and moss to look over the crops, but still nothing grows.” He held out his hands to them beseechingly. “Your domain is all that is above the earth, and yours is all that is below. I know that you have the power to make my crops grow again. Bless my lands, make them fertile again, and I will give you whatever you ask.”

Rhi glanced at Arc, then smiled. “Your faith is reward enough. Show us the way to your fields.”

The Shaal bowed in gratitude, then turned to lead them. Rhi followed the farmer, expecting Arc to come along.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

"Nicely done..." The praise purred from his lips as he felt the pressing of her dagger against his inner thigh, that femoral artery so often forgotten when it came to protecting oneself from bleed out. Had this been real, had she seen fit to sink that dagger deep, he would be gone too. The grin he bore was all the wider for it, and once she was on her feet and the Shaal was approaching he leaned down to kiss her temple.​

​

"See, you're learning," he hummed, knowing that so often she doubted her abilities. Having lacked a true Master must have done a number on her self-esteem, and then to have a Master like Brunas? Who abandoned her? Yeah, no, he was incredibly proud of how far she had come.​

​

Still for now the fields needed them, so he followed alongside his beloved as they made their way down from the acidic moors to the presumably more fertile farmland below. Only when they arrived there, it did not seem fertile at all. The grass was yellowed, what few plants had begun to sprout were wilted and bent over, and overhead pesky birds circled in search of anything that did manage to sprout up with nutrients.​

​

Arcturus wrinkled his nose slightly, and with a soft wave of his hand he dismissed the flock who hastily retreated in response to his timely use of the Force.​

​

They came upon the Idol then, made of moss and peat, and Arcturus sank to his knees to delicately touch it. It thrummed with the untamed power of a naturistic shaman, the Force flowed through it yes but it wasn't as precise as it could have been, nor did it seem intentional. They did not believe in the Force so to speak, after all, but in natural magics. It was how they looked upon the likes of Rhiannon and he as deities as opposed to simply beings sensitive to the Force.​

​

Other than investigate the Idol, Arcturus offered little in the way of conversation or remark. This was his beloved's domain, after all, he would follow her lead and help only if she required it. Arcturus refused to undermine her in front of her own followers.​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Rhi couldn’t help but blush, less at his kiss and more at his praise. She admired Arcturus and held his judgment in high esteem; naturally his approval meant a great deal to her. “I may be a goddess, but I’m still your apprentice,” she said. “I want to learn all that you have to teach me.”

The journey to the farmer’s field didn’t take long. Altrea carried Star in her arms, flanked by the other Apsara. Upon their arrival, Rhi frowned at the state of the field. Clearly the mystical solution offered by the shaman had not cured whatever underlying issue was present.

Arcturus seemed interested in the idol, which was little more than a sphere of soil covered in moss. Two small plants had been placed in the top of it, somewhat reminiscent of horns. As Rhi approached it, she too could sense the energies imbued by the shaman.

“It’s a little like one of our clay golems, isn’t it?” she remarked. Back at the Academy Arc had Nwit and Rhi had her Medusa. She’d been meaning to experiment more with the process in the years since, but hadn’t had the time. “I wonder if we could make it come to life. Not as a big rolling ball of peat, of course, but maybe we could shape it into something a little more advanced…”

But that wouldn’t necessarily solve the problem of the farmer’s field. Rhi stretched out her hand, and the plants immediately surged to life. But the moment she lowered her arm, they began to wither and wilt, the ground unable to sustain them. Her brow furrowed. “Something is wrong with the soil here. I'm no expert, but I don't think it's as simple as being imbalanced. It feels more deliberate, like something or someone poisoned the earth...”

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Spoiled earth?​

​

As Rhiannon made such a deduction, even calling new plant matter into existence, he could not help but frown. "We'll need to find the source" he remarked, and being that the ground was his domain he knew that it should be he who delved into it. He sat down, legs crossed, and settled both his hands atop the soil. Eyes closed, and for a moment it might almost seem as though he'd gone to sleep. He hadn't, of course, he was simply meditating.​

​

The problem went deeper, further, than even he had expected. He could feel the corruption seeping through the depths of the soil, flowing in from the East where the City of the Muses lay within one of the world's desert wastelands. An underground river perhaps, connecting the two? Either way he soon opened his eyes, and looked from the Shaal to his Goddess then the ball of peat and moss.​

​

"Like our golems" he hummed in agreement finally, as though she had only just uttered that comparison. "The ground is in need of purification, and I sense that the corruption runs deep, and far... It will take some time to correct."​

​

One hand reached out to the Idol.​

​

"What say you, my love? It is high time Chernsemie was reborn to the world, is it not? Together, with her, the soil might reawaken with life, purged of that which leaves it tainted." This would be a much larger undertaking than the creation of Medusa or Nwit, and he knew that. So he offered up a hand to Rhiannon, intent on bringing her to her knees before the Idol too. "It's been a long time since we last worked on a project together" he whispered, "Though not so long since we created life."​

​

Eyes drifted to their sleeping babe, and a small smile, filled with unexpected confidence, pulled at the corner of his lips. "What say we give them another miracle to marvel over?"​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Rhi waited for the diagnosis from Arc, watching him meditate in the meantime. Star continued to sleep soundly in Altrea’s arms, undisturbed by any of the going-ons around him.

When Arc next spoke, Rhi closed her eyes in silent dejection. Deep, far-reaching corruption. “And the source?” she asked, hoping for easy answers. But rarely were things ever easy.

"What say you, my love? It is high time Chernsemie was reborn to the world, is it not? Together, with her, the soil might reawaken with life, purged of that which leaves it tainted."

Rhi’s brow furrowed. Would having another child really help them? That was a long time for the farmer to wait for a baby to be born, let alone grow old enough to cure the field…

"It's been a long time since we last worked on a project together. Though not so long since we created life. What say we give them another miracle to marvel over?"

She blushed, blinked, and then blushed even harder as she finally figured it out. “Oh.” Laughing at her own foolishness, she knelt down beside him on the dead grass. “A golem for a daughter, you mean? Hm. Well, according to Marcus’ visions, it’s all boys from here. Might as well make our own goddess…”

Glancing back at the Zaathri and the Shaal farmer, she added, “They’ll expect a symbolic ritual. Here, sit with your legs crossed, and I’ll sit in your lap. Unless you’d prefer to lie down?” Once he had done either, she climbed on top of him and wrapped her arms around him. “There. The Sky Goddess above the God of the Underworld.” For a few moments she simply held him close, cheek to cheek. “I’ll call forth the winds to erode the soil, and then we’ll give life to what’s left.”

Already the breeze grew stronger, ruffling her hair. Dust began to fly off the ball of dirt and moss, wicked away by the gale, until all that was left behind was a female shape curled up in a fetal position, her skin green with moss and leaves a halo around her head.

“Meld with me like we did when we made our first Sithspawn together,” Rhi whispered. She could sense a tense expectation from the observers as they realized they were witnessing something much more significant than the blessing of a field. She and Arc drew from the wellspring of their belief, and from each other, feeding lifeinto the mound of soil which was soon to become Chernsemie …

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Chernsemie]

Sudden sensation.

Bright sunlight flooded in between the silt grains of her eyelids. Wind chilled her clay skin, not blocked much by the fine filaments of moss. An urge to extend like a root searching deeper in the soil for evolutionary purpose.

As she unfurled her new body, its soil began to dry and crack. After all, she was made of what this soil was, not what it was yet to be. The problems plaguing this farmer's fields was apparent in Chernsemi's visage. She would have said it was painful had she had experienced anything else before this moment. She knew no better. It just was, for now.

She got up easily, but slowly, on instinct alone. Her limbs were heavy, heavier than most humanoid flesh, causing her to sway somewhat as she turned around to appraise the horizon and all of her surroundings: her parents, the barren field, and the Zaathri and the Shaal farmer. As she took steps forward towards them, a trio of blue-purple hyacinths sprung up in the bare footprints, soil on soil, that she left behind.

It wasn't springtime.

And those weren't crops.

In fact, the Shaal farmer had seemingly put that together. The crevices of worry had deepened over his face.

But Chernsemi was ready to explain that her gift was not simply pretty flowers. "Treat these well," she began, "as they live, harvest them as they die. Burn the bodies hot and return the charcoal to your land. It will take some seasons, but have faith, so that your soils may bloom with the life they once boasted."

Ishani Dinn Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

It was quite the intimate ritual, made somewhat awkward by the onlookers. No, he couldn't let it feel awkward. They were Divine beings, bringing life to an inanimate object. Whatever it took, whatever was needed to upkeep their position, he would do. Besides, he did so enjoy having Rhiannon in his lap.​

​

Together they worked to bring life into the ball of moss and peat, breathing air into its lungs until slowly but surely pieces were broken free to leave the shape of a girl in its place. ​

​

Eyes closed, his hands wrapping around Rhiannon, when the time came for them to meld, to more or less become one in the Force, he did so. Back in the Bat's lab, or so it felt. Hearts beat as one, bodies thrumming with the Force, with latent energy and that which was harnessed from the staunch belief of those around them. "I love you" he murmured quietly, for her ears only, "Another child... How exciting."​

​

His heart leapt a few beats. More children, more love to give and lives to cherish. Sure, the arrival of Chernsemie would be great for the land and its people, but a more selfish side of Arcturus was simply grateful for the opportunity to gain another child, a daughter no less.​

​

It wasn't until the moss and peat figure began to stir that he realized they'd actually managed it. It was like nothing else he'd ever experienced before, he felt a piece of himself entwined with Rhiannon, seeping from the both of them into it. Not borne of their blood, but most definitely of their souls, of the core of their beings.​

​

Blinking, he watched as she unfurled her body and arose, watched as she brought fresh flowers to life as though spring had only just blossomed, and as she immediately spoke with the farmer. As though she had not only just moments prior taken her first breath.​

​

"Amazing" he whispered, awestruck, "Simply... Magnificent." Even seeing it he could hardly believe it. Look at what they'd done!​

​

She provided the Shaal with the means to purify his soil, though Arcturus knew that several seasons without food to eat or barter could spell the end for this man and his family. He rose up, bringing Rhiannon with him, and glanced between Shaal and Semie. "While you toil these fields, and make them fertile once more, I will take on your service. You will work for me, and I will see you and your family fed and paid until such a time as you can resume your work here full time."​

​

He hoped that would help matters.​

​

Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

Rhi sank deep into the meld, just as she had aboard the Glass Menagerie and again on Korriban all those years ago. It felt as if Arcturus were draining her and filling her up simultaneously. That was the way this method worked; by pulling energy from each other, they were able to act as one, with neither flagging or falling behind.

"I love you. Another child... How exciting."

Smiling, Rhi giggled under her breath. She didn’t know how to put into words what she was feeling, so she simply transmitted it through their intimate bond, wrapping Arc in her love like a warm blanket. This was so unlike the experience of making a Sithspawn. She didn’t feel exhausted afterward—rather, she felt rejuvenated.

"Amazing. Simply... Magnificent."

Opening her eyes, she watched as Chernsemie rose to her feet. Flowers sprung up where she walked, and her voice was like summer rain as she spoke to the farmer. Then Arc stood up to add to her words. The Shaal farmer looked relieved to know that he wasn't being abandoned, and that there was a plan in place to restore his lands. "Thank you, divine one," he said, dropping to his knees and bowing his head in awestruck gratitude.

Rhi slid from Arc's grasp. Once her feet were on the ground, she approached her daughter. “You are Chernsemie,” she announced her new child’s name to an utterly silent crowd. “The Goddess of Plants, Agriculture, and Spring. All things that grow upwards from the earth are yours. The God of Rain comes from my domain into his father’s; you come from your father’s domain into mine.”

Reaching out, she took Chernsemie’s hands in hers, noting how the tainted soil which made up her being cracked and fell away with every movement. “You aren’t well,” she remarked, frowning. “We have to find the source of this field’s corruption and stop it.” Or else something told her Chernsemie wouldn’t last very long.

Arcturus Dinn​

 

[Chernsemie]

The Goddess of Agriculture, Soil, and Spring turned to Arc and smiled. "That's very generous of you, father," she said regarding his proposed plan. "I forget that timescales very comfortable for me and my friends are not the same for," she paused to gesture to the farmer, "you. Forgive me, steward, and rejoice in this compromise of ours."

Her attention then shifted to her mother. Her smile grew, flaking off some more soil crust, but she didn't appear bothered. "Thank you very much, mother. Your gifts," she looked from woman to man, "are beautiful. If ever I squander them, till my body back into this field."

She looked down to herself and was slightly taken aback that she did not look like Rhiannon. "Am I not? I hadn't noticed."

Ishani Dinn Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Semie was a breath of fresh air from the off. She spoke with a gentle candor, words flowing poetically from her lips like honey from a dipper. When she praised him he found himself softly shaking his head. "It is you who ought to be thanked, daughter-mine" he claimed. "You bring about the real change, I only facilitate the time between."​

​

Turning his gaze toward the Shaal Farmer, he inclined his head.​

​

"Go now, work as she has bid and once the fields have turned make your way to the Sky Temple of our blessed Adamanthea. Rejoice, for Chernsemie has awoken from her slumber. See that her name is well traveled."​

​

With the farmer dismissed, he returned his focus to his wife and daughter.​

​

"I have high faith that you will not squander anything, beloved Semie" he stated, "But your mother speaks truth, you crumble just as the ground at our feet has been want to do as of late. Tell me, is there anything we might do to help?"​

​

Whatever she needed, they'd find a way to facilitate it.​

​

Chernsemie Ishani Dinn ​

 

[Ishani Dinn]

As the novelty of Chernsemie's creation wore off and it became easier to accept her as another daughter rather than just a golem, it occurred to Rhi that the girl ought to have a mundane name as well, complete with the Dinn family surname. Perhaps something natural-sounding, like Willow or Meadow or Heather or Fern. But that would have to wait until after they had stabilized her.

"Am I not? I hadn't noticed."

"You're kind of... crumbly, sweetpea." Rhi gestured to the soil flaking off of Semie's body. "We don't want you eroding."

The corruption had to be dealt with. Stretching out with the Force, Rhi sensed the source of it at last. "The water source is tainted," she said. Wiggling her eyebrows, she turned to her handmaiden Altrea, holding out her arms. Altrea passed baby Starlin—or rather the infant Inakhos, God of Freshwater—to her.

"We'll have to purify it," Rhi said, holding Star against her chest. Still a newborn, his green eyes had that newly-opened look, peering inquisitively at the world around him. "All of our power together should be enough. And then Semie will have healthier soil to draw from."

Now, she wouldn't actually include Star in the purification—that struck her as potentially dangerous. But she would make it seem as if he were participating for the sake of the natives' belief. Besides, he was due for another feeding. Might as well knock out two birds with one stone.

Rhi walked a few paces, closing in on the underground spring which bore the taint. She had heard rumors of mole people living underground, mischievous little buggers with an ambition toward technology and no sense of morality to temper it. Rhi had never seen a mole person, but there was clearly a supernatural element causing the corruption.

She knelt down on the ground directly above the spring and began to meditate, expecting Arc and Semie would join in.

Chernsemie Arcturus Dinn​