Chase The Sun For All It's Worth

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

LOCATION: Jedi Academy, Ossus
OBJECTIVE: Dare to Dream, Learn of Things Unseen
GOAL LENGTH: 100 Posts/40,000 Words
MUSIC: Chasing the Sun by Billy Talent,
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"You should really get some sleep, Nyx... Why don't you rest for awhile?"
...
...
"We can finish this treatment tomorrow. It can wait, trust me."
...
...
"Oh, silly me. You're already asleep... Well, night then..."
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PROGRESS: 1 Posts, 33 Words
REPETITION: 7th Time Around the Sun

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

LOCATION: Jedi Academy, Dream World
OBJECTIVE: Dare to Dream, Learn of Things Unseen
GOAL LENGTH: 100 Posts/40,000 Words
MUSIC: Chasing the Sun by Billy Talent,
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Her body seemed to shake with every breath. It wasn't unusual. Even now, a month into her treatment, the soldier felt the poison working hard. Every day was a battle with the illness- with herself. Unless she wanted to get better... she never would. Dr. Stone couldn't allow that. No, she wouldn't. This woman, Nyx, as she calls herself, deserved to live. Despite her sins, despite her snark, her swearing, her faults... she deserved to live. Then again, didn't everyone? A harsh cough brought her back to reality. The Zorren wasn't doing well. But trying to continue her treatment would only make things worse. She needed to rest. She had to rest. Without another word the doc left, leaving her patient to sleep. Perchance to dream of better things. Of a life worth living.

She fell back asleep to the sound of footsteps,
Heavy boots knocking on thin tile floors,
Stepping away, leaving her to her own devices...

When her eyes opened again, she knew something was wrong. Seeing was far to easy for her. The usual blurriness was gone, replaced with clarity she had forgotten existed. Every little detail stuck out to her. From the pores on her skin to the slightest groves on the age-old trees. It was shocking, to see the world this way, as she once had. Before the poison. Before being locked away and drugged for four years... Where was she now? Had Ossus- had Corvus- been a dream?... Was... was she back there? On that God-forsaken planet? No... this was still the academy. There was the shooting range, off in the distance, here was the edge of one of the gardens. Yes. Talia Koveck took care of this area. A good girl... nothing like the Sith who had betrayed Nyx.

This was okay. She was okay. No one was going to hurt her.
Not here. They couldn't if they tried.
"Or so said this heart of mine..."

Someone else was here. Their slow, calm breathing mirrored the feeling that the gardens were meant to create, a peace like no other. But no one was in sight. It... it took a moment for her to realize that she was the one she heard. How long had it been since her lungs were unobstructed? Free to take in air as they saw fit? As she saw fit? Pushing those thoughts away was easier here. There was a calmness even she couldn't deny. A softness to the atmosphere that reminded her of her childhood. When things were better. Or at least when she was to young to understand what was going on. The woman smiled, letting her eyes close. Briefly her mind let her drift. She remembered her first few days here, being so paranoid, always checking every room for possible exit points. She recalled cussing out a few nurses for minor offenses. Looking back on it made her want to cringe. And then, of course, she thought of [member="Corvus Raaf"]. The one person that, at the moment, she considered calling a friend. But she hadn't called anyone that for months. Years, actually.

Maybe... maybe this time was different.
Everything changed by the time her eyes reopened.
It was less peaceful.
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PROGRESS: 2 Posts, 567 Words
REPETITION: 16th Time Around the Sun

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

LOCATION: Dromand Kaas, Dream World
OBJECTIVE: Dare to Dream, Learn of Things Unseen
GOAL LENGTH: 100 Posts/40,000 Words
MUSIC: Chasing the Sun by Billy Talent,
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This had once been her home. Dromand Kaas. Yes, this was where she had lived, in a towering estate deep within the jungle. Every floor at least ten feet tall, the full structure reaching far, far into the sky. Anyone could see it from miles and miles away. Overall there were at least a dozen buildings in the complex. It was on the roof of the tallest- the housing portion- that she found herself. Why was she here? Who felt the need to bring her here? All that she could find were memories. And those were from a time she had been trying to forget for years. Ever since she lived through them... Drapeam turned, taking in the sights around her. There- to her left- was a tall mirror, cracked in a few spots, leaning against the greenhouse. And to her right the staircase that would take her down to her father's personal floor. In front of her was the stretching expanse of her family's property.

Inside her head a few different options showed up.

>Examine mirror
>Examine Greenhouse
>Examine Staircase
>Examine Property

Her first choice was obvious.

>Examine Mirror: The decoration had to be at least five feet tall, likely meant to hang on a wall by a dresser, and two feet wide. Something seemed a little off about it's positioning. But Drapeam wasn't able to figure out what just yet. So she continued investigating the object. Several large cracks were found on the dirty surface, each creating a web of other, smaller breaks. Most of the damage was towards the bottom and top. It left the middle section fairly clear. In the center was the reflection of a girl with flame-colored hair. That's what was off. Originally it had seemed like it was suspended in the air, reaching higher up then it otherwise would have been able to. But that wasn't the case. Drapeam, in this dream, was no more than six years old. A youngster. Now her reflection clearly reflected that. Her head was no longer six feet up, her hair a far lighter tone, and her build was thin, lanky even. Frowning the small child fought back tears. Why?... Tywin, her father, had voiced his disappointment in her progress. Of course that had made her sad! It also reminded her why she had come to the roof in the first place.
She knew what to do next.

>Examine Greenhouse: Thick glass walls were supported by plasteel bars, holding up the reasonably sized structure. Despite the materials used to construct it, the building was hard to see through. Admiring the plants inside required entering it. For a few moments Drapeam appreciated the design. Simple in appearance... more complicated in function. Somehow it let in just the right amount of light while preventing anything else from getting in. Well, at least the things that didn't have her Grandmother's permission to be in there! Ah, yes, her sweet Grandmama, Elissa... Surely she'd be tending her plants right about now? Yes, yes, she would. Hence the little girl's journey to her house's highest point. Every afternoon the old lady would spend hours watering, trimming, and feeding her beloved flora. And every evening she'd come down, ever so slowly, covered in dirt, to eat dinner with her family. Even for a Zorren she was old- nearly forty-nine-hundred! Never once, however, had she acted like it.

With a sniffle Drapeam went to enter the Greenhouse...
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PROGRESS: 3 Posts, 1140 Words
REPETITION: 20th Time Around the Sun

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

LOCATION: Dromand Kaas, Dream World
OBJECTIVE: Understand Lesson One: You Are Loved
GOAL LENGTH: 100 Posts/40,000 Words
MUSIC: Chasing the Sun by Billy Talent,
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>Enter Greenhouse: The door swung open with ease, revealing a paradise within. Shelves and shelves were filled with plants. All sorts, a huge variety one wouldn't expect to grow on Dromand Kass. But Grandmama Nyx had a way with nature like no other. A Green Thumb sorta gal. She had taught Drapeam of kindness, of love, of life when her parents had wanted to teach her war, anger, and hatred. They had neglected her. Elissa had cherished her existence- no longer able to have kids of her own- and did her best to raise her. This was the woman that had prevented the destruction of an innocent mind. Wait, no, that wasn't right. Reality showed she had only delayed the inevitable. Maybe though... maybe she had mad it so the recovery wasn't as bad as it could have been- as it would have been. Yes, that was it. Her softness had made a hard world just a little more bearable. That had done so much. It was enough. It had been enough.

"Honey, are you alright? Oh, darling, come here... is that mean ol son of mine giving you a hard time again?"

Drapeam couldn't hold back her tears anymore. She rushed forward, wrapping her arms around her grandmother, letting out a tight sob. As usual the old woman didn't push her away or ask for an explanation. One would come in time. When it was ready to. Every breath came in quick, short shudders, the effort requiring her whole body. All the while her relative reassured her. Verbally. Physically. Everything would be alright as long as she could stay in her arms. Just let herself be hold for the rest of eternity. That wasn't going to happen though. The memory had gone that way... but this was the dream. The dream that had no real course, no real plan, just a series of uncontrolled events. Or so she thought.

"Maybe you're right about that. Do you know why you're here?" Drapeam shook her head. "It's because you have so much to learn, little one, so much to discover... You have forgotten to much. You pushed away your memories, tried to escape them, but they're important. What did you learn today? The real today, the last day I held you?"

Grandmother Nyx had never come down for dinner. Eventually she did leave the roof.... trading the highest point to the lowest- six feet down. It had left her only grandchild sad and lonely. No one else really tried to make her smile. But she always did. Drapeam practically channeled her family at times. Whenever it was needed she'd become a ray of sunshine, cheering anyone, and everyone, up. Every once in awhile she was even able to get her father to lighten up. That, however, hadn't been what she learned. Nah. She'd always been a happy kid. The only help she had needed was in staying that way. Of course, that changed, eventually. Today- or, in reality, thirty-four years ago, she had discovered something else. What exactly had that been? With a frown she did her best to answer.

"I learned that the people we love leave us. And when they do they don't come back." It was odd to hear herself talk. Even odder, however, was the look on her Grandmama's face. Disappointment. Suddenly she understood where her father had gotten it from.

"Oh, sweetie... How much have you changed? I hardly recognize you anymore. Think of what your father told you. What he did after I... Perhaps this is pointless. Move on, Drapeam, let your dream change. Don't let it change you- much. Now go on, little one, I'll be down for dinner in a little while." The child did as she was told. Her little shoes lit up on the sides as she made her way to the staircase, and into the darkness below...
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PROGRESS: 4 Posts, 1787 Words
REPETITION: 24th Time Around the Sun

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

LOCATION: Dromand Kaas, Dream World
OBJECTIVE: Understand Lesson Two: Bad Things Happen to Good People
GOAL LENGTH: 100 Posts/40,000 Words
MUSIC: Chasing the Sun by Billy Talent,
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>Go Down Stairs: The steps were as dark as can be. Quite different from the last time Drapeam had gone down them. When had that been?... Oh. Just a few days after Grandmama had passed away she had made her 'final' descent into her father's abode. Hadn't it been in the middle of the funeral? Yes, that was right, it had been. She had been sobbing uncontrollably, unable to stop herself. Tywin had whisper-yelled at her to go where the guests couldn't see her. Stupid girl, he had said, you can't let them see you be so weak. It had been the second-to-last time she had ever cried in front of her family. And while some Nyxai still lived... she doubted they'd ever see her again. Not while they considered her to be an outcast, a disappointment, a pathetic child. Definitely not when she did her best to avoid them as much as possible. She knew, however, that if she continued down into the room she would be forced into a meeting with her step mother. One of them, at least. It was a thought that nearly made her cry again. Oh dear... had her childhood self really been that much of a wuss? Well, that was what she was thinking as she held back those 'pathetic' tears.

"You little frakker! Get back here! How many times do I have to tell you to stay out of here?!?" Daeri. Either the third or fourth of Drapeam's not-mothers... and quite definitely the worst. Tywin had married her for her looks. She had married him for his money, his power. Whenever he wasn't around she ran about the household, ushering out commands, relishing in her false position. To disobey her was to disobey he who controlled the entire complex. Or that's what if felt like. If you didn't do what she asked (or failed to meet her expectations) she would whine to her husband and refuse to bed him until he punished you. Even if you had never done anything wrong. Sometimes if she was especially upset she wouldn't tell Tywin. No. She'd simply wait until he was gone... before having a 'talk' with you. Drapeam always dreaded those 'conversations'. They never turned out well. "I found you. Trying to hide in daddy's room, hmm? Don't you know you can't hide from me?!?" Her voice was like nails dragging down a chalk board. At least when she was upset. Which was almost always. This moment, as the Zorren girl recalled, had been an especially bad occasion. Daeri was madder than usual.

And so the girl started to run. She could hear her step-mother coming after her, her heels clanking against the stone floor, her angry words cutting through the air. How old was she at the moment? That would determine whether or not she made it out. After all... the older she had gotten the faster she had been able to move. But this time she was ten. Only a decade old- and a decade younger than the women chasing her. Those ten years felt very small when a hand crashed into her back. Drapeam was sent flying forward, going hard into the ground. Her face hit the ground with a crunch. This was the first time she had broken something. Over the following months she'd break a dozen more. After that?... At forty years she had snapped almost every bone in her body at least once. Some more than three times (mostly ribs). But we're getting ahead of ourselves. A bloody nose was, unfortunately, still the least of her worries. Because the cause of it was standing behind her. Daeri was a large woman. Not around the stomach, but in most other places, due to muscle. How tall was she again?... Oh, six or so feet tall? Perhaps not the tallest... though she still had a lot more height then her victim.

"I'll teach you. I'll teach you a lesson you little schutta!" What happened next, even though it was a memory of questionable quality, was far to horrific for Drapeam to even consider describing. Instead she hummed loudly, letting the dream seem to go hazy. Static-filled. But some images still cut through the chatter: Blood. A snap here, a snap there. The first signs of bruising. Something- clothing- resulting briefly. Screaming. Pain. "Did you really have to skip through all of that?... I thought you said you'd been through worse! This is nothing compared to what he did, right?!? WHAT THE HELL DID YOU LEARN FROM ME?" Here it came. Another lesson she supposedly learned from horrible events. Was this going to be the theme of her entire dream? Was she going to have to relive these moments over and over again until she got the answers right?... Oh dear... she really hoped not. Maybe if she just... "Tell me what you learned when this happened. Or I will make you go through this all over again. And there will be no ignoring it."

"I learned that you're a little schu-" She was slapped. Hard.
"Don't frak with me. You have no power here."

"I... I learned that there are bad people... everywhere... even in the places that you're only supposed to find good people in." Daeri almost looked sad. Like she pitied her step-daughter in some strange, twisted way. But that didn't last. With a quick movement the girl was shoved back to the ground, a boot keeping her neck down. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a shadow... and knew exactly what memory would be coming next. Just the thought of it made her shudder. "Run... please. I know you hate me but please run or you're going to-" the foot on her neck lifted up before slamming into the center of her back. The woman who assaulted her yelled crude, colorful words, unaware of the danger lurking just behind her. And just like the first time this had happened...

Drapeam didn't pity her. Not even when the floor was covered in her blood.
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PROGRESS: 5 Posts, 2796 Words
REPETITION: 31st Time Around the Sun

 

[Artemis Vahl'Nyx]

LOCATION: Dromand Kaas, Dream World
OBJECTIVE: Understand Lesson Three: You Can Love Someone You Hate
GOAL LENGTH: 100 Posts/40,000 Words
MUSIC: Chasing the Sun by Billy Talent,
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>Stand Up: Once the scream had split the air she knew that Daeri was no longer a threat. When this had first happened- when it wasn't simply a dream- she had been horribly confused. Another two years had passed between those two moments. From when Daeri had left her bleeding, crying, covered in bruises, and when Sorren Elld-Nyx was brutally murdered before her eyes. Her six step-mother gone in a flurry of a blade and blood. How exactly had it happened? One might, of course, also be wondering what happened to the last woman who had hurt our darling Drapeam. That was simple. After a night of heavy drinking she had fallen off of the balcony. Rather tragic, really. But most didn't think so. Even Tywin barely paused to mourn the hateful woman. For the most part he simply missed the company of her bosom. What of the child she had so thoroughly abused? Oh, the Zorren couldn't have cried more. Not because she longed to feel a hard slap on her cheek again... It was because she couldn't believe the nightmare was over. In time she realized that a chapter had ended. Not a whole section or book. Just a little piece of her life. After Daeri came Neico. She was a lot better, even if she wasn't exactly the brightest person ever. Sometimes she'd even take her step-daughter out for fun little adventures in the forest.

But she vanished one day. Her head turned up in a speeder's front seat... her body was never found.

Sorren was introduced into the household a month or so later. Out of the night she came, shivering and shaking, claiming something about a speeder breaking down. In the pines where they found the vehicle a number of horrid beasts could be found. The fact that she had evaded them long enough to reach the estate... Drapeam always felt nervous around the woman. Though she didn't know it yet, it was because the force was warning her. If only she had been able to read those signals. Maybe then the whole mess that followed could have been avoided. Sorren would have never married her father, the two would have never fought, and the young girl would have never had to wash the blood out of her clothes. But the mess came. It came rushing down upon her without warning, filling the house with a tension like no other. Why had she decided to go visit the Greenhouse again? Why on that day of all possible ones?... Perhaps fate had simply had the whole thing planned out from the start. First a servant would start snooping around at night. Then the child, only a dozen years old, would wander up to her father's chambers. Quietly she'd start to climb the staircase... pausing when she realized that footsteps were approaching. With fear in her heart the girl would freeze, clinging to the walls, hoping to hide in the shadows...

"Miss Sorren! Need I remind you that though you are married to Sir Tywin, you are not allowed in his quarters?!?" A servant called out, followed by the sounds of boots hitting the tile. What was going on here?!? "Wait, what's that you have in your... oh dear. I knew it! I knew you were working for those blasted Sith Lords! I told Sir Tywin as well, but did he believe me? No! How could he- wait! Stop! Put that away this instant you insufferable-" He never finished insulting her. Sorren had, apparently, pulled out a blaster and shot him right in the head. That was the first time that Drapeam heard someone die. In a few moments she was going to witness another death far worse than that one. She, of course, did not know that. And in her naive panic the girl tripped down a few steps, coming to a stop just behind her step-mother. The older woman let out a gasp, quickly pointing the weapon at her 'daughter', before letting out a sigh of relief. It's just his kid... she had thought. Yet the gun didn't waver from it's position. Not until the sound of a door slamming open was heard quite clearly. She tried to spin around in time, she really did. But the spying schutta found out a moment to late that an angry Zorren was a very, very fast Zorren...

For once Tywin stood up for his child.

"Get away from my daughter, you schutta!" A sword- one named Umbra- cut through the air faster than your eyes could detect. With ease it connected to flesh. Tearing. Ripping. Slicing right through. One Nyx destroyed another. It was strange, really, to see someone you were used to hating everything actually... care about something. Especially when that something was you. Drapeam clambered to her feet, trying to ignore the blood that had splattered onto her clothes. "Oh God, Drapeam, are you okay? Did she hurt you?" She didn't answer. She simply let him pull her into his loving embrace, letting her chin rest in the crook of his neck. "I don't know what I'd have done if she got you too... you're my only hope of restoring honor to this family. You know that, right?" All the joy she had been feeling faded in an instant. Of course that was what he cared about. The honor. The family. His bloody-frakking-reputation. "C'mon honey. You knew this was coming. This is just a dream and you're just a foolish little girl who's not worth the dirt on my boots. Please, try to make it up to your papa. Tell me what you learned today? What horrid lesson did you take from the utter disappointment you caused me? Oh, I don't know why I'm even asking. I already know what your answer will be. I already know that you're going to end up even worse than I ever even had nightmares about."

"I learned that you're a karking piece of chite. And that blood of the covenant is thicker than water of the womb, you sick bastard-" she was slapped again.

"You know where the next stop is. Go to the dinner table. Your next mistake is waiting for you."
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PROGRESS: 6 Posts, 3831 Words
REPETITION: 40th Time Around the Sun