Elves Reign (Self Training/Invite)

[Kaida Taldir]

"There has still been no statement from Chief Saelari on the crushing military defeat the rampaging hordes of the One Sith have inflicted upon the Republic on Manaan. Ahto City was sunk, the Progenitor, the source of the kolto that has saved so many lives over the millennia, is dead, and what is the Senate doing? Voting for a new Speaker."


The passion-filled, fervent voice of Maerys Cadalthor thundered through the holotelly as the Pundit of Pulchritude and demagogue launched into a diatribe about the Battle of Manaan. While Maerys' voice became more fervent with every word she said, Kaida, wearing but a sweaty tank top and shorts, worked herself through an intense fitness routine, of push-ups and sit-ups.



"Truly, this will strike fear into the heart of the unseen Dark Lord," the voice of Maerys was dripping with scorn and sarcasm. While Senators debate, Anaxes, Bilbringi and many other Republic worlds have been rocked by protests. How many more millions of innocents must fall under the yoke of the Sith before we get true leaders who realise what the true reason for the Republic's malaise is: Traitors in our midst, for how else could every single Sith invasion be a surprise attack, when the Republic or the Protectorate cannot even infiltrate a single special forces team into Sith territory without it being detected at the first opportunity?"



Naturally the analyst and news commentator was showing plenty of leg along with truly regal cleavage. Behind her was a large screen that showed casualty reports from Manaan, blended in with scenes of utter devastation as the Sith sacked the city and it sunk beneath the ocean. Her apartment was more utilitarian than comfortable and sparsely furnished. A couch, a dining table with chairs, a few lamps and really that was about it, aside from a plush bed off in the other room and two book shelves, which were stacked with various volumes, some of a historical nature, others novels.



Then the images on the big screen shifted and in their place the viewer could make out scenes showing the Senate holding yet another debate, with various politicians speechifying. This was followed by a scene of common citizens protesting outside of the Senate Building. Protesters who carried placards bearing slogans such as 'Hang the Traitors', 'The only good Sith is a dead Sith', 'While our children die, the rich party' could be seen being blocked by a pordon of Senate Guards, who had to stop a number of them from storming the Senate Building. Briefly there was a scene of protesters demanding peace negotiations clashing with the security forces. Then the screen shifted again and showed representatives from the Ession Reformation pleding themselves to the Army of Light.



"Is the Army of Light our new hope? Or is it yet another group of cowards and traitors that will disappoint us at the earliest moment? The One Sith and the Fringe, founded by the apostate Jedi Ashin Varanin, have a solid Axis? Why is Spencer Jacobs still Queen of Eshan, when her Fringe is in bed with the Sith barbarians? Where are our allies...the Protectorate, the Mandalorians? Are they so naive to think they can profit from..."


Maerys droned on for a while in this vein before Kaida got fed up and simply switched the holotelevision off with a simple mental command, whereupon silence descended upon her small apartment. She found that she preferred it that way. Long speechifying and demagogic outbursts had never been her cup of tea.



By now the Eldorai had moved on to doing chin-ups on a pipe suspended from the ceiling of the room, with a look of focus and concentration etched upon her features. The Cryomancer was by no means that physically strong, but she clearly kept in shape and her toned muscles glistened with sweat as she pulled herself up and down again and again. Before she finally pulled herself up over the beam and tossed herself over, spinning as she leapt down to the ground. Letting out a breath she picked up a towel to wipe the sweat off her face and back. The queen is just a massive demagogue eager for high ratings, but she sort of has a point, Kaida thought to herself regarding the 'news' broadcast. As they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day. The clouds were darkening and the Republic was in its death throes, about to be devoured by the Sith.



The Cryomancer had no strong feelings on the Republic, but it was still a cause of worry for her for Kaeshana's sake. After all, Fringe was right across the border. The truth was, it was naive to think that the great flood would simply pass by Kaeshana and leave it as an unspoilt island. What had Maerys said once during a broadcast, 'I can see Fringe from my house!' However, this did not change the fact that Kaida was a simple soldier. One sworn to protect Kaeshana from all enemies internal and external. She would have to do her duty to the best of her abilities, even if it meant facing a downfall.



Banishing these grim thoughts from her mind she quickly hit the showers and after emerging to get dressed had a quick breakfast. Which consisted of several nice burgers and veggies because, well, she was an Eldorai and thus had a fast metabolism. A strong wind blew her way when she stepped out of her apartment. Judging by the dark clouds up above and the tingling she was feeling in the Force there would be a storm coming today.


Kaida debated for a brief moment or two whether she should take to the sky and let the winds carry her through her prowess in the Force, then decided against it. Whilst flying was good fun, it was also very energy-intensive and thus wasteful. Although she was becoming proficient in it, it was still new to her and she knew that she would need her energy for what she had planned today. Over the years she had become a powerful cryomancer who could achieve remarkable feats of power by manipulating water and ice. However, her intense focus upon this art had meant that she neglected other avenues of advancement or let skills deteriorate. This was something that she could not accept. It was time for her to take yet another step into a larger world, as cliched as that sounded, to further her understanding of the Force and her repertoire of skills, as a soldier of the Eldorai people.


Thus she embarked upon her speeder, powered up the engines and took off into the sky. Her destination was the Citadel of Santaissa, where the barracks of the Angelii, the praetorian guard of the Star Queen, were located.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Even after all these years, even someone as cynical as Kaida had to admit that Santaissa was a beauty to behold. For the city was truly magnificient, with white stone buildings in the more select areas blending with newer, less fashionable districts. In the far distance one could make out the Visitors' Quarter, as the district reserved for foreigners was euphemistically called. There had been calls to expand it, along with some to allow offworlders to settle wherever they wanted in Santaissa. A monorail like device connected the spaceport with the rest of Santaissa, taking visitors directly to the city centre. Slowly but surely change was coming to Kaeshana, albeit with baby steps.



This Kaida reflected on as her speeder passed what was a construction site for a small church devoted to the Corellian Gods. In the old days allowing foreigners to proselytise would have been unthinkable, but times had changed, though just last week there had been an attack on foreign priests by an enraged mob of zealots. As a radical atheist, Kaida had little time for religion, but it was not her task to open windows into others' souls, but to defend all the good people of Kaeshana.


That said, she felt like shaking her head about the fact that at the same time Reformist Ashirans were working on building a church in the Visitors' Quarter to convert the foreigners. Outwardly Kaida had to at least pay lip service to the old faith, as her position as an Angelii officer demanded. Deep down she still deeply resented the double act, the lies and compromises, but she had learnt to live it. Further ahead the Ashira's Crown bases could be made out, the distant shapes of the massive Tempest cannons that were ranged into the sky, built to defend the Eldorai homeworld.


Kaida slowed down her speeder when she came close to the structure that dominated Santaissa. This was the giant ziggurat located in the middle of the city. This building combined temple, seat of government and palace all in one. Eldorai were everywhere, mainly females, though some males followed behind. Indeed, one sign of the changing times was that male Eldorai could be seen serving as soldiers alongside their female comrades!


The Seraph brought the speeder down and landed on the designated landing pad at the Citadel. It was an enormous, imposing fortress that stood tall and proud. Here the Angelii had their barracks and from here the Grand Seraph commanded them. Very knew anything concrete about her past, neither Kaida nor any of her battle sisters had ever seen their Grand Master's face and rumours abounded of why she kept it obscured with a mask at all time. A younger Kaida might have been eager to ferret out the truth, but now she was older and perhaps a bit wiser. Certainly more cautious. Aeda Shaytari was not a woman to be trifled with, though Kaida felt a high degree of respect for her commander.


These thoughts aside, she disembarked from the speeder and headed towards the imposing gates of the Citadel. As she approached them she was greeted by a heavily armed party of Eldorai warriors dressed in ceremonial armour. Their leader was a muscular blonde woman dressed in ornate golden armour and blue cloak, which could be considered the Angelii dress uniform. She saluted Kaida with her right fist over heart, a gesture the Seraph returned. "Seraph, I report no unusual occurences. Host Leader Anaris. May I check your papers?"


Kaida found the formalities a tad tedious, but rather than getting dramatic about things passed over her ID, which the the Host Leader checked by holding them under some sort of scanning device before passing them back. Her eyes seemed to widen when she realised whom she was talking to. "My apologies, Seraph Taldir. I did not recognise who you were. Please go through."


"No need for apologies. Being prudent is important. Carry on, Host Leader. Hallowed is the Goddess," Kaida responded simply, with something close to actual warmth in her tone.


"Yes, ma'am. Hallowed is the Goddess."


Formalities cleared up the soldiers stepped aside and let Kaida pass, which the Seraph promptly did. As the gates before her opened and she walked through she could hear the soldiers whispering among another.


"Wasn't she exiled and declared an apostate once?"


"She and her sister. My brother was with the Ariane's Fist on Gehenna. He says she and that human called Tempest summoned a storm to smash the demons. And that she took on a terentatek head-on."


"Someone here sounds like she's a fangirl with a crush..."


"Stop the chattering right now and get back to your duties. This isn't a high school!"


For her part Kaida left the chatter behind her as she walked through the halls of the Citadel. The old building was steeped in tradition and it showed, even though now the soldiers standing sentinel carried modern blasters rather than stasers. Even at this early hour it was a hub of activity, with soldiers, Angelii, staff aides and officers going hither and zither and with statues of fallen Eldorai heroines and of the Goddesses looking down upon them. Walls were decorated with religious iconography and images of past battles where the Angelii had fought, glorifying deeds of valour and heroism so that they could serve as an example to their modern battle sisters.


As she passed the large statue of Ariane the Great, Kaida found herself wondering what the ancient Queen would make of this Kaeshana. She had driven the Kar'zun to the brink of extinction and subjugated them, after the two races had warred for centuries for dominance over the planet, now Queen Tirathana the Seventh had allowed the stone people to return to their natural habitats and initiated tentative steps to let them be recognised as equal citizens. There was even talk of helping them be able to help them replenish the dwindling numbers of their race, in the light of their aid against the Legion of the Damned.


Noise could be heard coming from the chapel of the Citadel as organs were sounded. As much as Kaida might have given up on the faith, she still liked church music, but her path took her not to the chapel, but to a turbolift that would take her down to the vast training area of the Citadel. It was time to get some actual work done today.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Blessed are the righteous, the lights in the shadow. In their blood the Goddess' will is written.


Thus it was written in the sacred scriptures. There had been a time when Kaida wrestled with the meaning of these words. Did they mean the Great Goddess wanted bloodshed? That she was demanding her followers sacrifice themselves in her name? Or was it allegorical?



Ashira was the goddess of creation, but she was equally a destroyer and wrathful protector. It was her will that the Eldorai be fruitful and multiply, spread across the stars and bend the lesser races to their heel in her name. Much had changed since that fateful day when she listened to the heretical recording of Phylis Alince, heard her blasphemous words about the true history of her people. Now she knew that Ashira had never been a Goddess. Yet she was one of the chosen few, for though the ironclad theocratic control of the Ashiran Church had been eroded, most Eldorai still believed.


There had been a time when Kaida held the True Believers in contempt and derided them for being 'ignorant'. Now she knew how condescending she had been. Not everyone had the strength to see the truth and perhaps it was comforting to believe that there was a Goddess out there who cared for you and loved you, who held sway over a heavenly realm beyond the reach of the tyranny of Sith Lords, where all sins were forgiven you were earnest.



Even if time and again that same faith had been used to justify tyranny, imperialism and witch hunts. She cast these thoughts aside. Today she only believed in Kaeshana. Strong, open to the world but able to chart its own course, independent of foreign dominance. The turbolift came to a halt and she stepped out, passing through the vast training hall. As was common it was abuzz with activity. In various chambers, Angelii were training, sparring against one another or droids to hone their skills with the sarix or the sarzmigar. Loud noise could be heard coming from the shooting range as her battle sisters mowed down targets with bolter and blaster. She passed a chamber where a pyromancer faced off with a cryomancer, unleashing searing blasts of heat against an ice shield as both waged a battle of wills and elements against one another.


Finally she reached the training hall she had in mind. It was neither more luxurious nor more well-stocked than the others. Angelii did not believe in pointless frivolity, after all. However, being a commissioned officer must have some privileges, one of them being that she could secure a small room for her own use, without being disturbed. The Angelii soldier on guard, a Wing Leader Maeve, gave her a salute, which Kaida returned.


"Anything you need, ma'am?" the young soldier asked. Kaida remembered the girl from the Lost Kar'zun invasion. Apparently she was a Tempest fangirl. Long as she did not ask Kaida for the Dahomeyan's number all was fine.


"Yes, release the droids at my command. Don't interfere unless I order it," Kaida said curtly when she entered the room. Various weapons racks and training dummies had been placed in it, though for today her attention would not be on them. The reason for why she had come to the Citadel for training was simple. She wanted to hone and refine her defensive techniques, for it was an area where she was still lacking in, which rankled with her. Her most potent defensive power was to summon a shield of ice to wrap around her body, but though potent it had its drawbacks. Moreover, it was wholly impractical in a hothouse such as Mustafar or Gehenna, and so further improvement was needed.


In this case her inspiration had, ironically, come from techniques used by the Jedi and the Sith. She had already achieved some skill at summoning a Force barrier, now she was taking it to the next level. And so she sought to concentrate and focus, immersing herself within the Force as she stretched with her mind to touch the awe-inspiring power of the energy field that bind the Galaxy together. Her meditation was unhurried and calm as she centred herself. Then, as she tasted the power the Force possessed and was offering her, she sought to shape it to her will as she imagined its energies wrapping themselves around her body in a protective cocoon.



A bubble of protection conjured up by the power of the Force and sustained by its energies. Everything was energy. She was composed of energy, the Force was energy. So she sought to draw upon it to give shape and form to a defensive sphere, a globe of protection that would encase her body. Concentration was etched over her features and the strain was visible as she concentrated. Cold steam escaped her mouth as she breathed out but she persevered.



Tempus fugit, as they say. She soon lost track of the time as she achieved complete immersion within the Force, focused on nothing except it and her desire to shape it according to her will. Wing Leader Maeve was apparently growing concerned, judging by her expression. "Ma'am, are you alright?"


Then abruptly a shimmering blue globe of energy manifested around Kaida, effectively encasing her. The bright sphere flickered slightly, a sign that it was still weak and would require focus and energy to strengthen. In theory such a protective bubble would be able to protect the user against a wide range of attacks, deflect laser blasts, defend against lightsabres, vacuums and even inflict certain amounts of damage upon contact with the enemy, though it would require immense concentration on her part and require her to be stationary. All this would take time and effort. Now she just had to test the strength of the bubble, again and again, until she got the hang of it and was satisfied.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

"I'm fine. Unleash the droids," Kaida ordered laconically, though even the taciturn Eldorai could not keep the strain she was under out of her voice.


"Yes, ma'am," Wing Leader Maeve said obediently and pressed a button on a remote control she had been holding. There was something close to admiration in her eyes but Kaida paid it no mind since she was focused on maintaining the barrier.


Blast doors opened and suddenly the training room was filled with droids. Or, as the more conservative and traditionalist among the Eldorai would undoubtedly say, metal demons. Droids were still strongly distrusted by the Eldorai and they were very reluctant to use them in their army, but they saw use for training purposes and menial tasks. In this case Kaida faced skeletal battle droids with heads that resembled human skulls. They were armed with blasters an various other weapons and were soon joined by two droidekas that came equipped with high-powered lasers.


"Ready?" Maeve queried, holding the remote control in her hand while she looked upon Kaida, who took a deep breath as she held on to her barrier, seeking out the weak spots in the bubble so that she could strengthen her defences.


"Fire."

Maeve pressed the button and the onslaught began. Kaida was shaken as a hailstorm of bolts came flying her way from all sides and her barrier was battered. The shimmering blue globe flickered strongly as blaster round after blaster round hit it. Kaida panted as she tried to maintain the protective bubble, feeling it weakening though she poured energy into it. Intellectually she knew that she had to maintain self-control and not frantically pour energy into her defences, but it was difficult to carry that out while she was being bombarded, but nonetheless she tried.


Deep breaths. Maintain focus and clarity. Don't stretch yourself too thin by trying to divert too much energy to too many spots. Imagine blaster rounds being batted away by the bubble as if they were tennis balls being struck by a bat. Thus she persevered and soldiered on. Some laser blasts were dissipated by the bubble. Kaida felt a burning sensation that sent stinging pain shooting through her body though she called upon her Sciia to neutralise the burns by drawing on her inner cold. Gradually she managed to control herself somewhat as laser blasts shooting her way were deflected by the bubble. Maeva had to duck as a blaster bolt was deflected her way. Two droids were taken out by their own laser bolts and crumpled to the ground, taken out of commission, whilst the droidekas activated their energy shields as bolts flew everywhere through the room.


Kaida allowed herself a grim smile, though the strain was showing on her, as another droid was hit in the leg and fell. However, then she shook strongly and almost fell when suddenly a droid appeared behind her and began bashing her bubble with an electro-staff. Kaida bit down on her tongue to stifle a cry of pain as the strike came down upon her back like a hammerblow and sparks of electricity flew. It took up all her concentration to maintain the protective bubble and much energy was diverted to stopping the rain of blows.


However, fact was that it would do more damage to the droid than to her, as it damaged upon contact. Sparks of electricity, unable to penetrate, ricochetted off the bubble and struck the robot, which promptly shook strongly as it faced electrocution by its own weapon. However, there was no reprieve for Kaida when she felt a prickling within the Force, a warning that directed her to her flanks.


As it happened the warning came too late for in the same moment droids tossed a hail of concussion grenades her way whilst firing sonic blasters. Her ears were ringing, it felt like her eardrums were about to burst as blood seeped out and she just about averted her eyes when a flashbang was tossed in, casting the room in blindingly bright light. As the blasts of kinetic energy tore through the room, her barrier cracked and fractured. The detonations had forced Kaida to drop down to her knees and there she was now, breathing heavily and trying to make sense of things. The protective bubble had kept her safe from most of the attacks, but her focus had been broken and judging by how she was panting she was certain that at least one rib had been broken by the blasts.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

"Abort," Maeve pressed the button and the blasters fell silent. The droids shut down and the Wing Leader quickly rushed over to her superior, who for her part was not sure whether she should be grateful or annoyed. "Are you alright, ma'am, do you need help?"


"I'm fine," Kaida stated gruffly. She had never been good at admitting weakness. As a matter of fact she hated it. Moreover, she tended to equate failure with weakness. Of course, intellectually she knew that this was silly, but that did not change the fact.


"With all due respect, ma'am. You do not look fine," Maeve pointed out reasonably. Shooting her an annoyed look Kaida tried to get up but then promptly keeled over and would have fallen if the Wing Leader had not caught her. It seemed like her legs had given up the ghost on her during her Force immersion. Or perhaps the blasts had hurt her more than she thought. Very reluctantly she suppressed her annoyance and allowed Maeve to help her up and guide her to a bench.


"I'll be fine. Just need a glass of water," Kaida spoke as she sat down, whilst she looked upon the carnage she had caused, which manifested in several wrecked droids. But it had not been good enough. Of course she was only a beginner, but it still rankled with her. After all, the Seraph was a proud and stubborn woman. Perhaps her failing had consisted of focusing solely upon a static defence. She had only concentrated on keeping up the protective bubble and thus had been reactive rather than active. Kaida had read that this technique could have offensive use as well. This was something she would try out in the next round. The bubble could protect her, but not indefinitely.


The Wing Leader passed Kaida a glass of water and the Seraph immediately gulped it down, with drops of water dripping down her jaw. Not very dignified, but the exercise had cost her lots of energy. For several moments Kaida just sat there as she tried to regain her equilibrium and reflected upon her first attempt, trying to analyse where she had gone wrong and what needed to be improved. There were no quick fixes, as she well knew. Achieving mastery in any sphere of the Force was based upon willpower, effort and energy and Kaida liked to think she possessed those in spades.


Her limbs ached and her ears were still ringing but she tried to clamp down on the sensation. Pain was just weakness leaving the body and she would conquer this weakness. She could not allow mere pain to hold her back. Or failure in general. It's just pain, she thought to herself as she managed to focus. "I'll try again," she stated abruptly, her voice brokering no contradiction from her minion.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Limits. Training was all about finding one's limits, repeatedly testing and pushing them. Time, effort, energy and willpower. That was what it took to achieve what was defined as mastery over any aspect of the Force. Of course, mastery did not equate to invincibility. The Force itself was infinite, one's ability to use it was not. Nothing is impossible with the Force, but that does not mean that you can learn and do everything with it. Sooner or later, every Master of the Force faced a choice between 'throwing stones' and 'reading ripples', or, as Luke Skywalker had put it, between 'hearing a whisper' and 'shouting all the time'. In other words there was a massive tradeoff between power and sensivity. Between the ability to destroy and the ability to gain insight.



Kaida was not well-versed in Jedi philosophy and metaphysics. Indeed, her view of the Force was, when it came down to it, far more practical than metaphysical, especially since she had given up any faith in the Eldorai Goddesses. However, it was probably quite accurate to say that she was a shouter and a rock-thrower. Thus even if she sought to develop her skills in these areas, she would never be a great mentalist or a mistress of illusions, though learning how to become more proficient at countering such spells was on her 'to-do-list' of Force development.



Learning how to harness a protective bubble, by contrast, was something she should be able to master. Thus, after having taken a break, she got up again. A healer had looked her over, though naturally she was in no mood to follow the advice and take an actual time-out, she had gulped down another glass of water. She was still shaking when she arose and looked wobbly on her legs, but she forced herself to clamp down on such weakness.



"Pain is itself an angel; the taskmistress of life. Pain cracks the whip, and all that lives will move," Maeve spoke solemnly whilst Kaida walked to the centre of the room with a bit of a limp and sat down, beginning to centre herself within the Force.


Kaida raised an eyebrow at the solemnly spoken words; they sounded familiar to her. "The Ardarvian Scriptures?" she stated more than asked. For her part she found that it was no surprise that so many offworlders thought the Eldorai religion was just a pagan BDSM cult given that lines like that found their way into their sacred tomes. Then again, that might also because many Eldorai priestesses had a rather...liberal interpretation of Ashira standing for love.


"Much wisdom can be found in them, ma'am."


"And our foreign visitors love her...'rites'," Kaida spoke very dryly, perhaps remembering a certain Firemane couple that was always eager to attend the festivals of the Great Goddess of Law, Order and Justice, which somehow at times intersected with hardcore bondage. That said, she was not always averse to indulging in those rites, within the privacy of her home.


To live is to be a slave to pain, she thought. The words came from the same passage the Wing Leader had just quoted. The protective bubble could not shield her completely; to assume otherwise would be both illusionary and extremely foolish. The point of a shield was not to never get hit, but to give oneself a better chance of being able to soldier on after the hit. Pain could be controlled through the Force and the years of mental and physical conditioning an Angelii underwent. It could also be used as a weapon to hit back. And so once again Kaida immersed herself within the Force as she drew upon the massive energy field and willed it to wrap itself around her in a protective cocoon, though this time she was more patient and pushed less, instead letting the energies flow through her in their own time.


And so she pulled in what power she could draw from the massive, tangled web of the Force. She blinked and abruptly a transluscent bubble of Force energy manifested into existence around her. The globe of energy and power shimmered brightly as it gained shape and form, shielding her. Concentration was evident and etched across her features as she maintained the bubble around her. It would take time and plenty of practice before she had mastered this art, but she was determined. After all, failure was not something she could accept and even if she did, her duty certainly would not. And so she kept focus and maintained her immersion within the Force. With more time and training, keeping up the bubble should require less energy and focus from her.


For her part Maeve watched the display with something close to admiration written upon her features. Then she picked up the remote control and, upon a nod from Kaida, pressed the button. Immediately droids and droidekas whirled the way of the Eldorai Cryomancer, guns and stun blasters levelled upon her. Two even carried sarixi, as the traditional blades of the Eldorai people were known.


Droids squeezed the triggers of their guns and volleys of laser blasts shot through the air to bombard the bubble of protection into which Kaida had encased herself, sonic blasts joining the mayhem in an attempt to throw her off-balance. The onslaught of bolts created a wild cacophony of sound of bright colours as the transluscent, full-body barrier shimmered and flickered under the assault. Kaida sought to maintain balance and concentration under the extreme strain, even as she felt her barrier weakening as it was battered by laser fire and explosive blasts, with the Eldorai reaching out with her mind to find the weak spots and reinforce them before the droids homed in on them. In placed the bubble fractured and cracked and she felt her right arm go numb as a stun blast passed through when there was a temporary breach in her bubble, but she sought to soldier on, with deflected laser blasts taking out droids and with machines that brought down their blades upon her bubble damaging themselves. Amidst the massive strain, knowing that she could only hold this for so long, she sought to prepare her counterattack, her brow furrowed.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Every defence had its weak spots. No fortress was impregnable, no matter how strongly it was built and how numerous its defenders were. Likewise calling your new, state-of-the art super ship the 'Immortal' or 'Impregnable' meant you were just asking for someone to come along and prove you wrong by destroying it. Even the most powerful Masters of the Force were, no matter how potent their magical powers were, mortal, though some might have access to esoteric means to cheat death, as Palpatine of Naboo had so often done.



Ultimately, the Galactic Emperor had not escaped the netherworld forever. At the end of the Clone Wars, some of the most powerful Jedi Masters had been wiped out in hailstorms of blaster rounds fired by clone troopers. This was important to keep in mind. One need only ask Ki-Adi Mundi about how well he had fared against his soldiers when they turned on him...except he was sort of dead! Thus the protective bubble that Kaida had manifested was not impregnable. It could not protect her forever. Moreover, it was bloody taxing to maintain at adequate strength and left her completely immobilised, as it required her to remain stationary for it to protect her.


She shook under the severe strain as the protective sphere was battered again and again. She could only invest so much energy into maintaining it before it would break, and then if she had exhausted herself she would be unable to defend herself. To be sure, the protective bubble was fulfilling its purpose. Blaster bolt after bolt was absorbed or reflected by it, with droids being taken out of commission by laser blasts. The shimmering bubble rocked and flickered as grenades detonated, with the barrier being reduced bit by bit as kinetic blasts crashed against it and the sound of the detonations and sonic eruptions beat against her and her hearing concentration as if they were hammerblows. Blood seeped out of her ears and nose as she struggled to maintain focus. The headache showed no sign of abating but rather continued to beat mercilessly against her head as if someone was trying to bash it to paste with a hammer. Again and again her defences were tested as the bubble was peppered with bolts, explosions crashed against it and a shower of hot shards of shrapnel sought to penetrate it.


She could only maintain the bubble for so long and tried to conserve energy by shrinking it, with the shimmering sphere being markedly reduced in size as it drew closer and closer to her. It withstood the sword strikes of machines, damaging them in the process, then it bent, fractured and dissipated into nothingness when suddenly two automatons brought up flamethrowers, with blasts of scalding, burning heat leaping forth from the nozzles of their weapons and shooting right towards her. Kaida bit down on her tongue to suppress a cry of pain as her body was engulfed by flames and singed, searing pain shooting through her for the first few moments as she rolled across the ground, while bolts shot past her and above her head.


Managing to regain some clarity, she called upon her Sciia and harnessed it. Tapas brought down her body heat to comfortable levels, her power of ice mitigated and then put out the burns. As more flames came shooting forth she held out a freezing hand and plain and simply put out the fires, freezing the flamethrowers in the process. As she harnessed the molecules in the air and bent them to her will, a bitter intense cold was generated and spread across the chamber, getting nastier with every second. A numbing cold that made the ground slippery and could even freeze delicate machine circuits, whilst a numbing wind swept forth to grip droids and toss them through it. As pure coldness spread through the room Kaida smiled thinly, though her lips were bruised and burnt. Some droids charged her now with their weapons, though their speed was slowed by the terribly slippery ground and the ice that was beginning to cling to them, and the Cryomancer let out a long, drawn-out breath that manifested as cold steam escaping her mouth.


As had been said, the protective bubble, despite its name, had offensive applications as well. Should the user surround an attacker inside the confines of a protection bubble, it was possible that the attacker would wind up becoming a victim of their own attacks, having been trapped within its destructive radius. Due to the extreme concentration needed to sustain the bubble however, the user would have to be momentarily immobile in order to enact the bubble. Frost pearls had accumulated on Kaida's face and hands, intermixing bizarrely with the burns she had suffered from the fire onslaught. With her eyes a cold, crystalline blue she drew upon the power of the Force and summoned a protective bubble, not to encase herself, but the remaining droids.


In exactly the same moment as they began their attack. One stun blast went through before the sphere had surrounded them and caught her in the right leg beneath the knee, deadening and numbing it, then they were surrounded and engulfed. Blaster bolts backfired upon the machines, their circuits already damaged by the extreme cold they had been exposed to, and explosives detonated within the sphere, causing loud, powerful blasts that sounded like the roar of a wrathful god and made Kaida's ears ring badly. When the smoke cleared the floor of the training room was littered with broken droids and the smell of burnt electronics and circuitry was strong in the air. Kaida would have smiled as she looked upon the carnage she had caused during the session, but she lacked the energy for it. Perhaps pushing herself so soon after the first exercise had not been the wisest decision, but nonetheless she was satisfied. A small piece of shrapnel had lodged itself in her shoulder, causing a stinging pain that the Force fully failed to blot out.


Her breathing was more akin to panting as she tried to suck air into her lungs to give her oxygen and her body ached. Kaida crumpled to the ground from her exertions as Wing Leader Maeve rushed to her. When the Seraph awoke she would find herself in lying in a comfortable bed located in the medbay of the Angelii barracks, with a healer and Priestess of the Great Goddess Ashira seeing to her. One whom Countess Kerrigan and a certain [member="Cara Sampson"] knew extremely well.

 

[Vaena Askari]

"The little heroine of Gehenna awakens. You gave us a bit of a scare, child. I know how fond Angelii are of saying 'it's just pain', but you should not take phrases too literally. You cannot defend Kaeshana if you get crippled. Don't follow Lady Kerrigan's example too much," a soft, almost melodious and somewhat whimsical voice spoke up when Kaida awakened from her slumber.



She rubbed the sleep from her eyes, though the light shining upon her was far too bright for her liking. "I'm nothing like her. Who are you?" Kaida asked, apparently not really feeling like having small talk.


"My, my, you're a social butterfly, child. I'm Eileithya Saedaris. Healer and Priestess of Ashira. No worries, I have not said anything ill about you to the Goddess. You should not strain yourself though. Taxing yourself as you did has not agreed with your body," the healer spoke.


"You healed me up? Uh...thanks," Kaida responded a bit awkwardly before trying to sit up. Pain mercilessly shot through her body but nonetheless she managed and then tried to grip the bed railing, clearly wanting to get up and back onto her feet. She did not come far before she experienced a sensation of pain. She grit her teeth at the feeling, loathe to admit weakness and stubborn to the last. However, then a light but insistent telekinetic push pushed her back into the bed. She was taken completely by surprise by the manoeuvre but before she could react she suddenly felt telekinetic binds gripping her and keeping her pinned down.


"Hey..what the...let me go!" she exclaimed, annoyance and irritation evident in her voice when she realised that it was the Priestess' magicks keeping her restrained and unable to get back up. For her part Eileithya just gave her an innocent smile. Kaida could feel her limbs growing sluggish and weak whilst her strength seemed to dissipate, as if an invisible force was pulling her into a slumber.


"I will once you're act in a sensible and mature manner. That means not charging off to more training rounds until your body is ready for it. I swear, all Angelii are too stubborn for their own good. Now, will you lie still?"


Kaida glared at her for a few moments, but the Priestess just gave her another one of those innocent smiles and so she nodded. "Yes," the Seraph finally said, though her annoyance was still evident.


"There's my good girl," Eileithya said sweetly and with a wave of a hand Kaida was freed of her bindings. Then the Priestess placed the open palm of her hand upon Kaida's forehead. Abruptly the Angelii felt energy coursing through her body, stilling the pain she had been feeling. Even the headache from hell seemed to have died down and she seemed to feel more relaxed.


"Thought it was the Ardarvian Priestesses who were into bondage," Kaida muttered to herself, though she found leaning into the touch. Apparently her body was not in the mood to do as she told it.


"Oh, you'd be surprised how broad-minded we can be. I gain my flock in all walks of life after all," Eileithya said sweetly and gave the Seraph a wink, then sat down upon the bedside. Only now did the Seraph actually give the Priestess a one-over. She was a striking woman with long, flaming red hair that reached past her shoulders, and hazel eyes. Her attire consisted of simple robes devoid of anything fanciful.


"Is that your idea of a conversion attempt?" Kaida asked dryly.


"If you want it to be! I think I can already count it as a miracle of the Goddess that I got the infamously unruly and stoic Kaida Taldir to do as she's told and have an actual conversation," the Priestess could not resist snarking. Kaida had the impression the woman was a massive troll.


"Amen," Kaida responded very, very dryly, though this only thinly obscured the fact that she frankly had no clue about how to deal with the Priestess. As has been said, she was a radical atheist. Strictly speaking the Church was an institution she intensely disliked. Time and again, the clergy had aided and abetted atrocities in the name of the Goddess, stifled the truth and been eager to burn so called heretics at the stake. Even now she could not escape the impression that it was holding Kaeshana back, even though she knew that it was wrong to tarr all its devotees with the same brush. Yet...Eileithya had a reputation for being very nonconformist. It was rumoured that she had been imprisoned on the Island of Fallen Angels, the prison where the Eldorai state had sent the worst heretics. Kaida, who had been charged by the Grand Seraph to oversee an overhaul of the facility, knew these rumours to be true.


Still...she was bloody infuriating and Kaida hated being what told to do. "I've seen how you yell at recruits. Have you ever thought of an alternate career as a Priestess of Ardarvia?" the healer joked, before she passed Kaida a glass of water, which the Angelii gripped with her hand and then gulped down. For a moment there was silence as Eileitthya just looked upon her, then she suddenly spoke up again. "You don't believe in the Goddess Ashira, do you? It's alright. Patient-healer confidentiality."


If this is an attempt to open my eyes to a fake Goddess, forget it, Kaida thought to herself, feeling rather grumpy. There was no point in denying what she believed. So after a brief moment of hesitation she shook her head. "No," she answered softly but firmly. "Got exiled for it. Travelled a lot, saw the stars."

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Eileithya just gave Kaida one of those beatific, yet enigmatic smiles that seemed to be her trademark and gently patted her hand. "I imagine this is the moment where I am expected to call down fire, brimstone and eternal damnation upon you unless you abjure your atheism and embrace the true faith! For it is Her will that all unbelievers be cast into the fiery pits of hell," she declared, pure fervour showing in her eyes, before she shook her head.



"I got kicked off my homeworld once for rejecting the true faith. And I've seen what we used to do to nonbelievers," Kaida said firmly. She simply could not figure out the Priestess. On the surface she seemed gentle, yet her beautiful blue eyes had a piercing quality to them as they looked upon her. It sounded far cheesier than Kaida would have liked, but she could not escape the impression as if those eyes were looking directly into her soul. For a moment a feeling of irrational suspicion welled up inside her, as she could not escape the suspicion that the Priestess was trying to probe her mind.


"I am not trying to creep into your head, Kaida," Eileithya spoke softly, her voice like a caress. At Kaida's perplexed look she just shrugged. "If I try to make you return to Her embrace, I will not use mental trickery to achieve that. That goes against my vows. We - the Church - made many mistakes in the past. No," she held up her hand when Kaida opened her mouth to speak up, clearly about to say something scathing.


The Priestess had long pianist fingers, but look close enough and you could see the scars. "Not mistakes, atrocities. Crimes. Some deeds were done out of malice, others out of ignorance, but innocents perished and we must answer for it before Her Court. Galliena Gallia was a brilliant scientist and a good woman. Nor am I certain Malya Helindan was as vile as the annals say she was," she spoke.


If only you knew, Kaida thought to herself. For just a moment she felt a surge of temptation build up inside her. She was one of the few who knew the truth. She knew that it was the Rakatan who had created the Eldorai as a slave race. Hell, she had met and fought alongside Ashira's 'daughter'. Right here, right now, she could ruin this woman's beliefs...then Kaida realised just how cruel she was being and a feeling of revulsion filled her. The fact that she knew the truth did not make her better than her fellow Eldorai, though it gave her more responsibility. Moreover, Eileithya had done nothing to deserve her scorn. "You weren't there when these acts took place. Hell, you've seen Installation 0867 from the inside. I don't blame you for the past crimes. But I've seen too much to believe in the Goddess. All those fools who think we have a goddess-given manifest destiny to conquer the galaxy should go take a look at the real world."


Eileithya nodded. "The Goddess helps those who help themselves. We grew haughty and lost sight of Her love. I imagine you've seen remarkable and terrible things out there in the stars. So did I when I was exiled. So much cruelty, destruction. A Galaxy so different from how we interpreted the scriptures. It was a big culture shock to realise we're not the top dogs. Then factor in all the atrocities that are committed on a daily basis, and it's understandable if someone doubts."


Something seemed to have shifted in Kaida. She would still prefer it if the Priestess stopped bugging her and had not kept her restrained like a child, but she felt more eager to open up to her. Perhaps it was because Eileithya was not being patronising. "Or how many rulers used religion to justify their ironclad grip on power and stifle reform even when pirates descended from the sky to murder and enslave," she said with a trace of bitterness. "I've heard the stories. You were tortured by the Investigators, you saw the Galaxy out there, why do still believe?"


Eileithya chuckled in response. "Because I've just seen one of the Goddess' miracles first hand: I got the infamously stoic and antisocial Kaida Taldir to open up and have an actual conversation with me. She is not even sounding impassive anymore. Truly, this is a manifestation of Her power."


Kaida gave her a rather annoyed look. She did not appreciate being trolled. "Oh, come, on child. No need to look so cross."


"It was a serious question."


"I know," Eilethya responded in a more serious tone, "and you shall get a serious answer. There was a long time when I doubted. I suffered...indignities in prison. Our torturers were very...vicious. The pain, the humiliation...they made me doubt. I hated the Queen, the Goddess...myself for being so foolish. But then...during the worst of torture, when my body was broken, splattered with blood and my mind being violated...a presence. She was warm, loving. She steeled my mind and my faith. It was in this moment that I knew I would be alright and there was someone out there whose realm is beyond the reach of inquisitors, politicians and dark lords. Then I knew that I could not recant my beliefs and if they brought me suffering, so be it. For the only court that can judge me is Hers. Of course, I cannot prove any of this. But whenever I look out of the window and see the beauty of our world, I see Her labours. That is where faith comes in. Her plan is ineffable and no one can claim to know Her will in full, but I believe She loves us, even with our flaws. Even you."


Despite herself Kaida looked genuinely touched by her words. This was not the usual cleric she dealt with. "Well, I wouldn't go that far to say that Ashira loves me. Not exactly on her list of favourites. But I respect that your faith is like that. The Church has too many holier than thou bitches as clerics. Err, apologies for the language," she said hastily, feeling a bit awkward.


"Ashira forgives you, I'm sure, dear, no need to worry," Eileithya said very dryly, giving Kaida an amused wink. "I was a young iconoclast once. Always pushing for change and reform. For an institution as old as our Church, change comes difficult. We all have truths dear to us and if someone came around and told us that everything we believed in was a lie, we'd be angry. But it's coming. We even have human converts. Actual converts, not those who just pay a visit to Ardarvia's festivals because they want a good spankin'," at that she chuckled lightly.


"Shiny happy Church open to all races long as they assimilate into the superior Eldorai culture? Not moderately culturalist at all."


Eileithya shrugged. "We have to maintain certain admission standards! I just don't think the Goddess' love is limited to just us. It's haughty, not to say cruel to think we're destined to enslave everyone else because of our genes. We can't condemn pirates seizing our people as slaves if we want to treat others the same. Besides, this is a far better way to teach everyone that women belong on top!"


Kaida laughed. Genuinely. It surprised even her. Maybe there was a Goddess after all! "Well, you're not making a convert out of me, so if that's the goal you're on the wrong track. But...I've not spoken to a priestess like you before. Who doesn't act like the Church has always been perfect and the Queen has always been a pure paragon. Many could learn from you."


"Aww, thanks, but I'm really just buttering you up so that you join me in exploring the Goddess' love, dear. You really fill your uniform out well."


Kaida just shook her head. "Seriously, why is everyone here so oversexed? No wonder we keep getting stereotyped," she exclaimed with a hint of exasperation.


"Don't knock it till you try it, dear! Anyhow, since you're the serious warrior type and so eager to broaden your horizons to protect Her land, would you care for some training? There are some skills I could show you. There is nothing in the realm of bloodshed I can teach you, but I am gifted in other aspects."

 

[Vaena Askari]

Kaida looked a bit dubious at the unexpected offer. Truth be told, the Priestess' constant trolling was still a source of annoyance for her. "You want to give me training? Hmm. In healing? Or in talking people to death?" she asked sarcastically.




"Oh, is that what you think it is? My talking seems to have made you a lot more lively! Youngsters these days, no respect for their betters," Eileithya mock grumbled to herself. After all, she happened to be over two hundreds years old. Which, because Eldorai aging was weird, was not that old. But strictly speaking Kaida had only become an adult a couple years ago by Eldorai standards. "But, yes, healing."


Kaida shook her head. "I'm a soldier, not a healer."


"And I daresay it would be very useful if you could heal your own wounds. Or at least mitigate them. Apply the Force-based equivalent of band-aid and stitches. It might save your life. Or that of your Angelii sisters."


Kaida had to concede that logic, even though it rankled her a bit. "Point conceded. You think I have the talent for that?" The Angelii did have specialised healers, but she had never been trained in this art, though obviously she knew the basics of first aid. After all, you could not always rely on a medic being handy whilst in the middle of battle. Or the aforementioned medic got killed in a fight.


"Of course, I do, I just said so. I sense that you have the potential. Your focus is on using your Sciia as a weapon, calling upon your gifts to fight the enemies of Kaeshana and manipulate the elements. I doubt you'll ever be a great healer, that ship has passed for you, but you should be able to learn the basics. The Goddess' gifts aren't just about violence."


Kaida nodded at that. "Then I'd like to learn from you. Could you please leave the Goddess out of it though?"


In response Eileithya patted Kaida's hand. "It's alright, faith in Her is not contagious. I expect you to attend the next prayer session. I cannot have your sisters getting the wrong impression if their superior is continuously absent."


There was a somewhat reluctant nod from Kaida in response, and then the Priestess spoke up again. "Healing is a very delicate art. You are not calling upon your Sciia to serve as a bludgeon, but to mend what was broken. It requires finesse, focus, patience. It will be difficult at first, but you must not push too hard. Contrary to popular belief, you are not waving a magic wand to magically make even the most grievous injuries disappear within moments, but accelerating the body's natural healing process. There are very rare healers who can work miracles. [member="Coryth Elaris"] is one of them."


Kaida raised an eyebrow at that. "You're not counting yourself?"


At that the Priestess just laughed. "Modesty forbids. Besides, I am but a vessel for Her power. Oh, sorry, I forgot you did not want to hear of Her. Anyway, initiate levels will require intense meditation, but greater aptitude will grant faster regeneration. All things are energy. You are energy as well. Sciia, human, Eldorai, all life, runs through channels of energy. The universe is just one big flow. Understand this fact, then you channel the Sciiac energies through yourself. For an injury, you must then narrow your focus, bit by bit, blotting everything out in the world except the injury..and then shrink your focus down to microscopic levels. Your mind must get down to cellular levels, down to the smallest damage sustained, and call upon your Sciia to encourare regeneration, working yourself up bit by bit. It requires calmness, focus. Oh, and avoid the Dashdae Sciia. The bastardised, twisted art they call 'dark healing' is bogus. You might as well go ahead and infect a wound if you want to go down that route."



"Someone should tell that to Kerrigan," Kaida muttered to herself. She was not fond of the Countess or Dashdae Sciians in general. "I mean, right, I think I understand," she spoke up in a louder voice, though Eileithya had clearly heard what she had said. After all, elf ears actually served a practical purpose beyond being the object of certain sexual fetishes.


"Kerrigan is a good friend and a very brave woman, but she is unpredictable and walks a path that could easily led her to the abyss," the Priestess said solemnly. "But 'she who is without sin shall cast the first stone'," there was a hint of gentle reproach in her words directed at the Angelii. If the Goddess loved only angels pure as white snow, none of us would be welcome in Her kingdom, she thought.


"Tell that to the boys and girls who died on Gehenne because of her." There was a strong hint of bitterness in Kaida's words but then she focused again. "Right, let's leave her out of the conversation. I want to learn."


"Good. That's unusual these days. Watch as I demonstrate, feel how my Sciia flows through me. Focus upon nothing except its flow." With that she suddenly produced a small knife and, in full of Kaida, sliced across her upper arm, without making a sound. Blood began dripping out of the open wound, but then the healer touched it with two of her fingers and concentrated. Kaida could feel the healer call upon her powers as she willed her Sciia to let its energies course through the wound. Truth be told, given how skilled Eileithya was, this was a process that she could accomplish very fast with little energy since it was a very minor wound, but she was taking her time to let Kaida see how it was done. And so blood stopped seeping out and the wound closed, with the flesh looking as good as new minus some scarring.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Kaida had been watching Eileithya heal the wound within moments. Despite herself she looked intrigued. Perhaps the ice was melting a bit. "That's impressive," she said. No, she was lot letting a hippie religious zealot wrap her around her finger.



"It is, for such a small thing. So much time and attention is focused upon Sciians unleashing devastation by summoning force storms or chucking battleship. So little on small acts of kindness that can help people," Eileithya said softly, though then she looked thoughtful. "Of course, healing has a darker side as well. If you can cure disease, by the same token you can induce. End the pain or increase it tenfold." There was a flicker of something in her eyes as she spoke these words. Somehow Kaida had the impression that she was speaking from personal experience, but before she could speak up the Priestess brushed her off. "We all have a darker side, Kaida. No matter how much we'd like to forget it. Anyway, back to your training. Centre yourself and focus. Tell me when you're ready."


A part of Kaida, the one driven by her usual curiosity, really wanted to hear the story that had to be behind the Priestess' words, but she figured Eileithya would just try to deflect her attention with trolling or hit on her again. Besides, she was here for work reasons, not for idle pleasure. Duty as an Angelii and all that. So she cast these thoughts aside from her mind and focused, trying to centre herself within the bounds of the Living Force. It was a bit difficult to concentrate because she still felt the pain from apparently having had two of her ribs broken and her breathing was more laboured than she would have liked. However, she then felt a sense of calmness overcome her and the pain seemed diminished. Doubtless the work of the healer. And so the Eldorai Cryomancer found herself more able to relax. Truth be told, meditation was not that difficult for her. After all, she liked the quiet.


"I'm ready," she said firmly as she stretched out with her mind to touch the Force, which answered her call. The Priestess gave her an encouraging smile and abruptly took Kaida's upper arm and sliced across it with her knife. Obviously she had used the time in the interim to clean said knife up. Kaida showed no sign reaction as the small blade cut across her flesh and blood seeped out of it, beyond gritting her teeth slightly.


"I'm not really into bloodplay, you know," she joked because apparently even the taciturn Angelii could not resist the urge to use corny lines. Maybe she had been hanging out with Tempest for too long. Come to think of it, this one thinks they need a thread!


"That's good, child. It's more of an Ardarvian thing anyway," the Priestess winked at her.


Kaida suppressed a grunt of annoyance. "Could you stop calling me 'child'? It's bloody patronising, not to mention creepy if you keep oggling my tits." For some bizarre reason she sometimes had the impression that they had gotten...bigger since Gehenna. Perhaps the Force had decided a fanservice package was in order and thus given her a boob job. Or her writer was a pervert. In this one's defence, it's bloody hard to find images of female elves who don't look fanservicey. Or even wear proper armour rather than stripper outfits. And aren't Arwen, who was taken!


Eileithya made a good show out of looking very innocent. "As you wish, dear. And in my defence, they're very large and hard to miss. The Goddess must really love you to endow you with assets like that."


"Firstly, no more Goddess. Secondly, nothing more about my boobs," Kaida grunted. "Thirdly, back to healing."


"Yes, since if you keep procrastinating you'll spill blood all over your sheets. Use your Sciia as I did, narrow your focus down to the smallest cells. Will your energy to flow through your body and regenerate your flesh," Eileithya spoke softly, now suddenly all business again.


Kaida placed her hand above the cut flesh and closed her eyes as she gave herself to the Force. She tried to apply what the Priestess had ordered her to, willing the energies to flow through her body as she attuned herself to them, trying to narrow and shrink her focus, bit by bit. But...nothing happened. It took a great deal of concentration for her, but there was no give. Blood kept seeping out and there was pain. "It's not working," she spoke with a hint of irritation in her tone.


"Keep at it. Don't push yourself so much. Healing will come to you in time, if you don't force it," Eileithya said encouragingly. Part of Kaida could not help wonder whether the woman was trolling her, but then she dismissed that thought.


As a perfectionist, Kaida could not abide failure in anything. Especially not when she failed at a task, and so she focused upon it with renewed vigour, though this time she tried to go about it in a more relaxed manner and when she called upon the Force, she was less hurried and impatient about it. She looked upon the injury and visualised it in her mind through the Force, concentrating intently as she sought to narrow her focus, bit by bit, cell by cell, until she could see as she needed to. With concentration written across her features and an intent gaze, she willed her Sciia to send its energies coursing through her arm. She breathed in, and then finally achieved success. First the pain seemed to diminish and then vanish, blood stopped dripping out and the wound slowly closed. Breathing in, Kaida slumped back into her bed.

 

[Vaena Askari]

"Congratulations, you've taken your first step into a larger world. Goodness, that sounds terribly cliched," Eileithya said brightly, giving the tired Kaida a pat on the shoulder. For a novice she had done well. Force healing was no magical panacea, especially not at this low level. The cut would leave a scar for a while, but the Angelii had succeeded at healing it.



"Thanks," Kaida spoke laconically as she looked upon the sealed wound. "How far do you think can I progress in this?" she asked, being ever practical.


"It all depends on how much time and effort you invest in honing your skill," Eileithya answered, apparently feeling the desire to play the role of Captain Obvious. "Your heart is that of a warrior, but I believe you should be able to eventually learn how to heal more severe injuries, even major damage to tissue you and bone. Perhaps you can apply your gifts to aiding your battle sisters. I'd be glad to let you accompany me tomorrow when I make my rounds. Many of them are just as stubborn as you and have a habit of getting hurt during training," the Priestess passed Kaida a glass of water, which the Seraph eagerly gulped down.


"It's just pain. Pain is just weakness leaving the body. Every bruise suffered in training might mean one less limb lost in battle. So we must learn to be hard as durasteel," Kaida stated firmly and definitely. There was a certain logic to her was, one the Priestess did not deny.


"No wonder the Great Goddess Ardarvia is so popular," she could not resist joking. "But you are right, of course. War is hell. Your enemies will not go easy on you. So you must put yourself through your paces and push your limits as much as you can. What you shouldn't do is pretend is act like everything is fine when you're clearly hurt." There was logic to her words as well, as much as it annoyed Kaida.


"Fine. The trollish Priestess wins," Kaida finally admitted, the annoyance seemingly gone from her voice. Perhaps they were establishing something more like an actual rapport. "I'm not used to relying on others and accepting help from them. I pride myself on being self-reliant."


In response to that Eileithya nodded. "I know, and that's a good thing. As long as it's not overdone. No woman is an island. After all, you've come to rely on the battle sisters in your company, yes?" That was obviously a rheotircal question so Kaida did not respond to it.


"Think I broke a rib during training. More like two. It's being a queen," Kaida admitted reluctantly. Part of her found herself wondering whether the healer might have deliberately not done anything about that because she wanted to teach her something.


This was all but confirmed by Eileithya's response to her. "I know. Apply your powers, and you fix them. It is a very intense process, especially for a novice. If you like, I can repair them for you." Her words were gentle and her offer sincere, but there was a twinkle in her eyes that made it sound like a challenge.


"I'll do it myself," Kaida replied firmly, taking a deep breath. Somehow she had the impression that this was what the Priestess had both expected and wanted. Then again, Kaida had long stressed self-reliance and prided herself on not being dependent on others.



"Good." Unexpectedly Eileithya placed a gentle hand on Kaida's arm. "Open yourself and I can add a portion of my strength to yours. It will only be a small fraction because this exercise is yours to complete, but it will aid you. Act as you did when you healed the cut, just apply that lesson to a larger scale. . You must relax, reach out with your mind, reach inside through the pain to harness your Sciia. Narrow your focus to the smallest cellular level. Grip your ribs and mend what was broken."

 

[Kaida Taldir]

"You are energy as well. Sciia, human, Eldorai, all life, runs through channels of energy. The universe is just one big flow. Understand this fact, then you channel the Sciiac energies through yourself. For an injury, you must then narrow your focus, bit by bit, blotting everything out in the world except the injury..and then shrink your focus down to microscopic levels. Your mind must get down to cellular levels, down to the smallest damage sustained, and call upon your Sciia to encourare regeneration, working yourself up bit by bit. It requires calmness, focus."



It all sounded simple enough. Well, on paper at least. In practice it was tiring, exhausting and intense, requiring lots of time, effort and focus. Not to mention clarity of purpose and certainty. More than a millennia ago Yoda had said 'luminous beings we are, not this crude matter'. To Kaida Taldir this had always sounded terribly patronising once she had heard the saying. Suspiciously like 'luminous beings we are, not these crude plebeians'. Due to her past she was sort of allergic to arrogant elitism.


Yet it could not be disputed that the Force allowed those particularly sensitive to it to accomplish remarkable things. Did that make them better and superior to others, give them an inherent right to rule over for them for 'their own good'? Kaida thought not, even though she could not deny that there were moments when she felt a rush of power and glory when she wielded the Force to devastating effect.


For now her use of the Force was concentrated on ending the pain she was feeling and setting her broken ribs right. She took a very deep breath, her breathing coming out more laboured than she was comfortable with though this also served to spur her on, as she sunk into the Force and gave herself to it. With her mind she stretched out to touch the awe-inspiring energy field and draw its power into her, so that she might channel the energies of her Sciia into herself. With her being immersed within the Force, she sought to narrow her focus and gradually shrink it.



It was a long, rather tedious and tiring process. At the early level she was at this point, the concentration required was frustrating, but nonetheless she persevered, shrinking her focus bit by bit while envisioning her two broken ribs in her mind until she could, for want of her better word, see them through the Force. The damage was nasty, but something that could be fixed. When it came to use of the Force, half the battle was achieving the absolute certainty that you could accomplish the task you had set out to do, no matter how impossible it seemed to your rational mind.


As her focus shrunk down to microsopic levels and she perceived the smallest cells, she felt a rush of strength course through her being, along with the warm, uplifting energies of Asha, as the ancient Je'daii had called the so called light side of the Force. It was but a fraction of Eileithya's strength, for if she gave Kaida more than that would defeat the purpose of the exercise, but infused with her energies the Angelii found herself boosted. Her focus became sharper and through this she acquired a new level of clarity.


Thus Kaida stretched out with the Force in an attempt to 'grip' one of her ribs, down to the smallest cells, and slowly mend it, fixing what was broken and putting it back together, trying to induce regeneration into it. She felt a surge of energy course through her as she harnessed her Sciia. For a few moments it seemed like she was getting somewhere as broken rib was seemingly being mended, which brought a smile to her lips, but then she became too eager in her ministrations and she suddenly felt a surge of pain course through her, making her grunt in frustration as the connection broke.


Eileithya smiled at her kindly as she sensed her frustration, patting her gently on the shoulder. Abruptly Kaida felt the pain within her body cease as the healer drew her energies into her, stilling the sensation. "Try again, dear. You were on the right track, just don't push too hard. Remember, finesse, calm, not a brute force approach," she said reassuringly, something she seemed to be doing a lot of.


Kaida felt like pointing out that this was easy to say for someone who was a master healer, but then she clamped down on that sentiment as the calming energies enveloped her. After all, if one of her Angelii recruits said that sort of thing to her she would give her a bollocking. Well, more like a good boxing. She was an Angelii, a veteran soldier. She had fought hordes of Reavers and even faced the terrifying Lotek'k, the Terror from Beyond, and not faltered. With her power she could summon blizzards and storms of ice. So she would succeed in this task as well. And so she banished doubt from her mind and once again turned her gaze inward, shrinking it bit by bit, as she looked upon her damaged ribs and called upon the Force to mend them.

 

[Kaida Taldir]

Limits. Training was all about finding one's limits...and then pushing them as far as you could. Likewise it was about will. Especially when one delved into the world of magicks, one had to believe that one could achieve the impossible.



It was a world Kaida had lived in for two decades now. By Eldorai standards she was still very young due to the weird way the space elves aged. Yet she had probably seen far more than most of her people, having travelled the stars and faced horrors like the Reavers and Lotek'k. She had also grown as a person, in her opinion at least. The young girl who had left Kaeshana had been idealistic but also insecure and frankly naive, but she had grown into a hardened warrior who had found her place in the world. Now she applied the same dedication to duty and single-mindedness she so often displayed to the singular task of setting her broken ribs right.


Despite her natural coldness, beads of sweat were dripping down her forehead and likewise gathering upon her hands as she concentrated. So intense was her focus that someone could have walked into the room and it was very likely that she would not have noticed. At least this time there was no headache from the seven hells tormenting her by beating against her skull, rather was completely calm and immersed in the Force.


Doubtless she would find that she was extremely tired and in need of a good rest after she had accomplished what she set out do, but that could come later. For now there was only her, the Force and the two ribs that were in need of fixing through her power. Her heartbeat was intensifying and her heart beat against her chest, before she felt a sense of calm overcome her and was able to relax more.


Her gaze had shrunk down to microsopic levels and so she could 'see' the ribs and the damage they had suffered down to the tiniest level. Working with this, she started with one of the ribs and manifested an invisible hand to touch it, very gently. Good things came to those who were patient and this was a finesse job, not a crude one that required brutal and insistent battering ramming. With her mind she reached out to 'scan' the damage that had been sustained, for what of a better word mapping the rib as she got a feeling for it.


Then, starting on the tiniest cellular level, she called upon the Force and let the energies of her Sciia flow through her being so that they might infuse the rib and bit by bit, regenerate it. She took a deep breath as she did so and would have wiped the sweat from her face if she had not been so immersed in her task. So occupied was she that Kaida quickly lost track of how much time passed during her efforts, for they demanded her full attention. Likewise it escaped her notice that a soft, light glow was emanating from her hands as she willed the rib to heal and be mended. As she pressed on the more tired she became, but nonetheless she persevered and gradually the task became easier. She no longer had to push rather the Force seemed to heed her desires and act...and then the first rib was set right. Breathing in needily Kaida laid down in the bed, her head bobbing lightly, then, willing herself into action once more, she focused upon the second one.

 

[Vaena Askari]

Eileithya was watching Kaida and monitoring her efforts. She could feel the ripples resonate through the Force as Kaida called upon her powers to mend her broken ribs. A small smile graced her face whilst she looked down upon her charge.



The Angelii was determined, she had to give her that, but then otherwise she would not have become a member of this order of Eldorai templars. Angelii training was gruelling and pulled no punches, for it was meant to separate the wheat from the chaff, leaving only the strongest and the most resolute who were willing to give their life in the defence of Kaeshana and act as the vengeful angels of the Great Goddess. It was a paradox that Kaida belonged to such an order, yet by her own admission did not believe in her. In the old days she would have been punished...severely.



There had been a time when Eilethya would have condemned her for it. Truth be told, it saddened her heart a bit that this soul would not let the Goddess in her heart, but she could see that her soul was still a bright one. She was serving the Goddess' will by fighting for the innocents and defending the people of Kaeshana. As a healer Eilithya was duty-bound by her vows to provide aid, to all those who had not succumbed to evil and malice. Besides, Kaida was really cute and trolling her was plenty of fun. And so the Priestess watched and, when needed, let her energies flow through Kaida to strengthen her. Stretching out with her senses, she could see the healing taking effect.


The second rib was gradually being set right and regenerated, soon it would be whole again. "Good work, dear. Keep at it. Be relaxed and let your Sciia flow through you. You have the gift for healing," she spoke warmly and softly. Eilithya was not blessed - or cursed - with the gift of farsight and so she could no see into the future or receive prophetic visions of doom, but she had felt the tremors in the Force. Above them the clouds were darkening and there was the nagging feeling - nay certainty - that a day of reckoning was at hand, a time of tribulations. There was no visions of the future, just a sensation of unspeakable malice and evil that was about to arise. A great storm that would not even leave sacred Kaeshana untouched.


A test of the Great Goddess? The awakening of the dark forces She fought on the exalted planes? Though darkness closes, I am shielded by flame. Goddess, you are my strength, my light in the dark, she thought to herself. Even a woman of the faith was not free of doubt. Even she had to at times wrestle with her faith, for though devout she was a common Eldorai as well, but her dedication to the Goddess was strong. A time of trials lay ahead of them and they would need warriors to see it through, like the Seraph who was lying in bed before her eyes and devoting all her energies into healing her wounds. The handmaiden of Ashira had to have faith that the end the Goddess would lead them into the light. It is always darkest before dawn, an old and often overused saying, but it still possessed some validity.


Eileityha felt Kaida's success resonate through the Force before the young Angelii spoke up, evidently very tired and exhausted from her efforts. "It's done...they're healed," Kaida spoke, greedily sucking in air to fill her lungs with oxygen as she breathed in. Judging by her tone and her expression, she was clearly rather surprised about having succeeded. Or perhaps she was just bloody tired and in need of a good rest.


"I know, excellent. I knew you'd succeed, my favourite little unbeliever," Eileityha said brightly, evidently returning to her usual bubbly self as she pulled her mind away from musings on doom, gloom and the apocalypse. Goddess, I beseech you to watch over this woman. Though she does not worship your image, her blade is drawn in defence of your children, she thought to herself.



"That was...intense. Thanks for all your help. I appreciate it," Kaida said softly, her gratitude sounding genuine. Eileithya passed her a glass of water and the Angelii gulped it down greedily, spilling a bit, though she managed to keep the glass in her hand and not let it fall.



"Nothing to thank, I was doing my duty. Besides, you're cute and put up with all my trolling. But are you sure you do not have a moment of time to spare for our Lady and Saviour, the Great Goddess Ashira?" Eileithya asked with an air of complete innocence.


"Sorry, I'm afraid my heathenry is deeply ingrained," Kaida replied, though unlike before she seemed amused rather than offended. "You're still my favourite priestess," at that she laughed tiredly.


"If you keep up the sweettalking, I'll start believing you're receptive to my flirting," Eileithya joked, then arose from her chair, stretching slightly. It seemed her body needed to be reminded that it had not been allowed to give up the ghost on her. "Rest, dear. I will see you tomorrow. You can accompany me when I make my rounds." Before Kaida could say anything in response she found herself slowly but surely drifting into a calm slumber as tiredness overtook her and the realm of Morpheus claimed her. Doubtless the process had been moved along and accelerated by the magic of the Priestess.