Dominion Dark Thoughts of Late | Mandalorian Enclave Dominion of Mon Gazza

[Runi Kuryida]

A crisp wind swept through the establishment with neither door nor window suddenly open to give cause. Even the lights dimmed as though the source of their power were somehow chilled by the breeze. It lasted only a second and vanished as it had come -- without warning.

While some had jumped out of their seats in surprise -- or perhaps in disbelief from some imperceptibly brief encounter with the Beyond -- most were content to stay occupied in their own troubles, or at least their drink. None seemed to have noticed the unexplained appearance of yet another soul in their midst. One that stood sporting a cloak of feathers and a bird-like helmet rather than a more 'traditional' Mandalorian make.

Runi, however, was no so ignorant of the abrupt shift in her surroundings. A moment ago she had been helping souls find their way through a fog that threatened their return to the Manda, and now she was... wherever this place happened to be. Not inside the Nether. How strange that she would be pulled out of that place and into here. No one seemed inclined toward some mystical ritual gone awry.

Slowly, the Speaker of the Mandokarla reached up and removed her helmet. Hazel eyes scanned the interior once more as she tucked her helm away at her side.

The roll of glass against a countertop drew Runi's attention. Not to the drink, one among many, but to the one that had cast it away. The Shaman could not help but notice the man's pain -- even with his back to her. A wounded soul. Burdened. At risk of becoming truly Lost before it ever left this plane.

Slowly, Runi stepped forward and set her helmet down on the other side from where Soloman Priest sat. Her eyes glanced at the man's drink before a lone finger dipped and rose for the bartender's attention. "Long night."

 

[Soloman Priest]

Soloman ignored her, his attention set solely on the shock boxing championship. It didn't really interest him that much, but it was a distraction - from the person next to him, from the thoughts in his head, the impending doom. Yet as he drank his beer, she still didn't move, waiting for the Bartender to bring her a drink. Persistent, at least.​

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"Something like that.", he said, glancing to the other drinks next to him.​

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He adjusted them to the side to reach his hat, resting it back on his head as his gaze fell to watch the liquid in the bottle swirl about. The thought occured to him that he'd have to go to the bounty guild, get another few pucks to hunt down. The longer he waited around here, the longer he'd have to himself - and that was never good for the soul.​

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Runi Kuryida​

 

[Runi Kuryida]

"Nights are short, but the things that haunt it linger long after. You can ignore them, but that doesn't make them go away. Most feed on the desire to be rid of them and the helpless born of their presence. Dangerous cycle. Dangerous life." Runi nodded slightly to the bartender when the glass was set down before her. "If you go it alone."

"Name's Runi. I heard a whisper you could use an ear to bend, or a shoulder to lean on. Not just anyone causes a schism between this world and the next bringing me to them." The cloak of feathers lifted slightly in a shrug. "Normally, I travel by ship. Fewer haunts and specters gathering in a place that way."

She let the man mull over what she'd said to gauge his reaction. Expected it wouldn't be that easy. Mandalorians were a stubborn, hard-headed lot -- which was why their culture hadn't been crushed despite all that had happened to them over the ages.

Soloman Priest

 

[Soloman Priest]

"You make it sound romantical.", he said with a snort.​

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"You're not a very good therapist, but you sound like a pretty good witch. Or a cultist. This the part where you try and indoctrinate me into your cult?", he said, glancing over to her.​

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"Go on then, give me your sales pitch."​

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Runi Kuryida​

 

[Corbin Vasher]

Spoiler: Equipment

STARSHIP: Tra'tena SPEEDER: Burbr ARMOR: Burbr'Katya
WEAPONS: Ravenfire - Burbr'sacitr - Burbr'sacitayr - Nuhaatyc'bedtr​

"Corbin. Corbin, wake up"

Corbin woke up in a frantic sweat, the faint sound of an unknown, feminine voice still ringing in his ear. Who was that? The voice was not of anyone he knew, yet she had seemed so familiar...
He stood and stretched. At least he was feeling a bit more normal after some sleep. Unfortunately, that sleep had not been restful. He wasn't sure why the Netherworld seemed to affect him the way it did.

"Everything all right?" one of the Mandos keeping watch asked.

"I'm fine. Just gonna step out for some fresh air."

"I, uh, don't think that's a good idea. Should probably stay here until the Speaker gets back."

"Where'd she go?"

"No idea. But it was something important, whatever it was. I'm sure she'll be back."

Corbin shrugged. "I'll be fine. Be right back."

"At least take your armor!"

Corbin looked back to where he'd left his armor, fully assembled, standing over where he'd been sleeping, like a bodyguard. He really didn't feel like wearing it at the moment, not while covered in sweat. He waved the guy off and kept walking. Besides, he'd be able to use the Force to see through his armor and keep an eye on the camp.
He walked away from the camp, constantly fighting off the rush off emotion and energy that wanted to flood him here in the Netherworld. He was pondering the dream he had had, when he paused. He could've sworn he had heard the voice again....

 

[Runi Kuryida]

"Is that what you wanted? A therapist?" Runi picked up her glass, held it alof and then slammed back a drink. "I could ask about your past. I could even say 'nothing was your fault.'"

The cloaked woman pivoted on her seat to face Soloman Priest . "I won't. What I will tell you is that the Manda doesn't sit in judgment of what you have done. The only judge that matters is yourself. My 'cult?'" A smirk tugged at Runi's lips. "Seeks only to guide those in need. No credits. No promises of future favors."

"So, Wanderer," since the man had yet to surrender his name, "where are you headed?"

 

[Soloman Priest]

"Oh.", he said with a suddenly darker expression.​

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"Mando.", he said with an odd drip of resentment. His body shifted towards the holovision tournament again, square with the table, square with his drink.​

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"I know I did nothing wrong. The Manda said I was chopped liver over clan politics, the Manda watched my family desert me. If I'm going anywhere, witch, I'm going to an early grave.", he marked with finishing the last of his beer. In annoyance, he tossed it aside and reached for one of the warm ones before drinking more.​

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Runi Kuryida​

 

[Runi Kuryida]

"The Manda said no such thing, Wanderer." Runi's tone grew firmer in turn as well. "You can teach a hound, and it still will not hunt." So many people had learned the wrong lessons. Even the man before her now seemed to wallow in misconception.

Slowly, Runi stood to her feet as the man seemed intent on watching the holovision of a tournament again. "But Mandalorians are not hounds. Let me show you the fate that awaits a soul that judges itself worthy of damnation." With that she clapped a hand down upon the man's left shoulder.

A bone-bitter wind blew around them. A tempest scowering away the roof, the walls, and the foundation of the hovel they'd occupied. Everything razed until the very ground beneath their feet was gone in the blink of an eye. The two of them stood now in the broken landscape of the Nether from whence the Shaman had come. The pale glow of the misleading fog broiled nearby. The howls of pain and outrage from the fields left no moment undisturbed. Mere shadows of beasts prowled at the periphery of one's vision and were gone when you turned to face them head on.

Runi took a few steps forward despite Soloman Priest 's reaction. Her hazel eyes staring out over the broken realm, helmet cradled against her right side. "Fewer left now. Perhaps the tendrils of corruption have been cut at their base. I must find the root to keep this from happening again." Her eyes narrowed, the comments more to herself than for the man's benefit.

 

[Corbin Vasher]

Spoiler: Equipment

STARSHIP: Tra'tena SPEEDER: Burbr ARMOR: Burbr'Katya
WEAPONS: Ravenfire - Burbr'sacitr - Burbr'sacitayr - Nuhaatyc'bedtr​

Corbin still wasn't entirely sure he had heard the voice, but he felt like someone was calling to him. It was like being able to see something out of the corner of the eye that vanishes once one turns to look at it, only with sound. Sheer curiosity drove him on without a care as to if it were wise or foolish, safe or dangerous. He simply had to know.
He found himself staring up at a tall butte overlooking the area. He could sense a strange, yet familiar presence up there. The source of the voice?
Corbin began to climb. He could have fairly easily used Force Flight to reach the top, but it would've taken a lot of concentration and stamina. Plus, he really felt like exercising his muscles. That had always helped relax him. It helped keep the Chaos as bay.
The rock climbing was a great workout, taking what felt like an hour of time, though Corbin had no way of knowing what time it was, having left all his gear and equipment at the camp. He hadn't even brought a weapon with him. He pulled himself up onto the flat top of the butte, exhilarated but the effort and the height. He looked out over the landscape, taking in the sight of the Netherworld.
"Quite a change of scenery from the coastal plains of Susevfi, isn't it?" The voice said from behind him. Corbin spun around to face a woman with long black hair, pitch-black sun goggles, and robes that instantly made Corbin think of the Jedi. "Of course, I'm sure your mother would find this less of a drastic change, having been raised on Dathomir."

"You know my mother?" Corbin asked, wondering who this stranger was and why she seemed so familiar.

"I did once..." The woman sounded sad. "I knew her for the first year of her life. Sadly, I was not strong enough to survive to raise my own daughter... But I am grateful to Tilsa for taking her in until she came of age and met your father. I doubt even Master Tiland Kortun would have foreseen her marrying a Mandalorian!" With the last sentence, she let a cheerful laugh, the sadness draining from her voice. Corbin just stared at her, the realization of what she had said slowly dawning on him like the rising of the sun.

"Wait... That means that I'm your... that you're..."

"Eulauhr, your grandmother. Nyx's mother. It's wonderful to finally meet you after all this time." She walked up to Corbin, reaching up to embrace him.

Corbin was simply stunned and bewildered. "How? How are you here? Why?"

"How? Never heard of a Force Ghost before? Don't tell me that library in that Jensaarai enclave of yours is lacking in that knowledge. I am here because I chose to be here, at this particular moment. As to why, I knew you would be here right at this particular moment. Unfortunately, I was never terribly strong in the Force, and I never fully completed my training to manifest whenever and wherever I want. I could only do it once and only within the Netherworld. I was able to foresee you coming here, so I chose to wait to use it for this moment. That way, I can tell you what I know surrounding your birth and your unique connection to the Force. What do you know?"

"My birth? I know my mother wasn't supposed to be able to bear children, and my birth was a miracle. Something about spear injuries. My father had saved her life, despite her being a Dathomiri Witch, and that led to her falling in love with him."

"This is a very simplified version, but yes. However, there is so much more than any of you could know. More than even I know, but I will share what I can." Eulauhr sat down cross-legged in a meditative pose. Corbin sat down facing her. "That injury had indeed pretty much destroyed her reproductive organs beyond repair. She should not have even been able to conceive. But, by some miracle, she was able to. Even then, there was no way for her to carry a child to term. She should have miscarried immediately after conception. She never would have even known she had been pregnant.
The thing is, for some reason, the very Force itself willed you to live. Why, I do not know. Perhaps because you had already beaten the odds in being conceived in the first place. Maybe there is a much larger reason. Regardless, as you were being carried, sustained by the Force itself, your spirit balanced on the very edge between Life and Death. For nine months, your soul was in constant contact with the Cosmic Force itself. That is why you have a different Aura, one that feels neither of the Light nor the Dark. It is because it is of neither. The Cosmic Force recognizes neither Light nor Dark, it is an uncorrupted unification of both and so much more."

Runi Kuryida | Soloman Priest​

 

[Tytos Saxon]

G U I D E
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Tag: Kyrrek Jal Shemal | Bhalmor Sharratt | Alora Vizsla | Venari Krayt

The Netherworld was an ever-shifting realm so steeped in the Force that if one tried to peel back the veil with their prescient senses, it was easy for those untrained to become overwhelmed by the energy that was flowing through and around them. Compared to the Netherworld, the plane of reality and the Living was a barren desert of Force Energy. It was disorienting, but for those who were trained well enough, it was also empowering.

The specter of a long-death Sith leapt from the ridge up high, ghostly lightsaber shimmering in the morning light -- although there was no sun -- as the phantom bore down on the shaman. Tytos flicked the spirit aside, rendering it apart with the Force as it let an unearthly, ground-rendering scream. But as its ghostly energies phased through Tytos as the spirit continued to dissipate, he walked forward unfazed.

The Force had brought the Netherworld to Kestri, throwing the world into imbalance. It was up to the Mandokarla, the spiritual shamans of the Mando'ade, to correct this before any lasting damage was done to the last Mandalorian stronghold.

 

[Corbin Vasher]

Runi Kuryida Soloman Priest​

Spoiler: Equipment

STARSHIP: Tra'tena SPEEDER: Burbr ARMOR: Burbr'Katya
WEAPONS: Ravenfire - Burbr'sacitr - Burbr'sacitayr - Nuhaatyc'bedtr​

Corbin listened to the ghost of his grandmother as she explained things. It was all a little difficult to take in, what with the constant bombardment of chaotic Netherworld energy. Still, he kept it at bay, doing his best to absorb the information he was being given. "But what does this all mean?"

"Mean?" Eulauhr shrugged. "I guess it means whatever you make of it. The source of one's talent matters less than what one does with said talent. Keep in mind, this does not make you any better than anyone else, simply different."

"What's the deal with the Netherworld? Why does it seem to affect me like this? Seems different from how it affects the other shamans. I'm having to fight it off even as we speak."

"Probably because it's so similar to your own Aura, yet you're not used to it. You have lived your whole life after birth in the Living Force. The Netherworld is tied to the Cosmic Force. Your soul probably longs to embrace it. At the same time, there's a corruption to the Netherworld, one similar to the corruption that created the Dark side. I'm sure that probably causes a conflict, with your soul also wanting to recoil from it. I believe there will come a day when you can embrace it fully without fear, when you will be able to control it completely."

"How do I get to that point?"

"You have everything you need. You have friends from various Force traditions, all with a unique view of the Force. Learn from them. Seek out others. Keep your mind and heart open, and you will find your own way in the Force."

Corbin nodded, "I can do that. I've been learning a little from Master Tiland Kortun and the Mandokarla. How do you know Master Tiland anyway?"

"I was once his Padawan, long ago..." She stood, dusting of her robes, which was completely unnecessary considering she was just a ghost. "I cannot stay any longer." She reached up, taking Corbin's face in her hands. "I wish I could spend more time with you, see everyone. But I must go. Tell Master Tiland I said hello and I will be waiting for when he arrives sometime within the next several centuries. I'm sure he will get a kick out of that.
And... Tell Nyx I love her, I'm sorry I wasn't able to be there for her, and that I'm so proud of her."

"Of course." Corbin replied, as his grandmother's ghost faded from existence.

 

[Soloman Priest]

His reaction to her movement towards her began and ended with trying to slap her hand away from him - but it never occured. He was touched, ripped away from his drinks into the cold endless expanse of the nether. There was no understanding in this empty, disgusting world - and the comforting sensation of his pistol at his hip was gone, leaving only an empty leather holster. Magicks never sat well with Soloman, and this certainly didn't help the situation.​

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Shivering, Soloman, kneeled down and glanced around beneath his hat. This place felt like the sun was blistering, but the wind zapped any uncomforrtable warmth it gave - replacing it with a digusting chill. It was every sensation he could imagine all at once, and none of it felt good. Disgusting magicks.​

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"Ever consider just letting a man drink in peace?", he said, looking into the endless fog to his right.​

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All he could think, however, was about how disgusting magicks were.​

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Runi Kuryida​

 

[Runi Kuryida]

Runi turned her head to look back at the man. "Ever consider that despite whatever it was you have done, or whatever it was done to you, your fate is still entirely in your own hands?"

The Shaman turned half way back around before she gestured out to the expense with one hand. "A soul will no purpose may find itself lost in these barren fields. Separated from the Manda. Never to be rejoined back into the world to find its true strength."

She finished turning back toward Soloman Priest and fixed him with her hazel eyes. "You are more than what your Clan claims. You deserve more than this broken land. But I cannot give it to you; I can only show you the way. If you wish it."

 

[Soloman Priest]

He watched the fog for a few moments longer, its cold creep filling his spine and running shivers down his back. Slowly, he brought his attention back to her and frowned;​

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"How do you know my fate isn't to drink myself into an early grave?", he said, still being half joking, half pessimistically obstinent.​

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Still, he shook his head and glanced back to the fog.​

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"Dar'manda ain't an easy title to shed, Witch. Mando politics haven't been my thing since I was a pup, and I don't see much hope in the faith."​

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Runi Kuryida​