Private From Blood Cometh Iron

[Eido Wreyth]

Shadows danced about the old tomb, casting the grisly image of fallen Dathomirians amidst the flickering light of ritual candles, the flames tinged with green as Eido lit them one by one until a jagged star formed around her. Beneath them, grooves had been cut in the stone long ago, now filled as she gently poured a wooden bowl into the center.

'It had to be done, they left her no choice' she told herself. 'It was either you or them'

And as she poured, extinguishing the center candle, she fell to her knees. A voice on the other side continued to whisper, growing louder and louder. She didn't even know what she was speaking to- what the coven were trying to contact- but it wanted blood. And blood it shall have.

"From the stars cometh the earth, from the earth cometh life" She began reciting in Dathomirian, refusing to look at the fallen despite the fury in her crimson eye.

"From life cometh blood, From within the blood cometh iron. Without these kin fallen now cometh blood. Iron within. Iron without"

The young Dathomirian slide her own palm across the tip of a small horn about her head, wincing as her own blood became added to the mixture. Ink with which to write her desperate plea.

"Come forth o spirit, beckoned by iron to extinguish these six souls. Come forth o spirit to this waking world and whisper no more. From the Nether proclaim you will! And shout once more"

"please... tell me what I must do!" The Dathomirian fell to her hands and knees in exhaustion, shedding a single tear.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

"When tapping into the unknown, it is key to have a sound mind. Such a silly little thing, is it not? How easily your mind breaks when confronted by what you can never fully understand, a real scholar should know to never fear what isn't understood... Do not let whatever unimaginable hell you bare witness to break your mind open like an egg. Gaze longingly into the abyss, and take solace in trying to make logic of the illogical.

A better scholar- Nay, a seasoned occultist knows one thing... You are never 'summoning' this creature, merely just grasping to gain its attention."

- On madness and illogical logic, Adeline Noctua.​

---

The area around her was silent, as if every creature had fled in such a rush, you never once got to pay attention. Tension filled the air as the lingering presence drew in closer... Like how a spider spindles down to its prey.

Each of the dead coven members would slowly raise up off their backs, their eyes signaling each to still be very dead, and yet they all creaked back up within that loud silence.

"What is the most you ever gained from a deal? A contract..?"

Each of the dead sisters whispered in unholy unison, the whites of their eyes still glazed over.

"My attention has been gained, the price paid in full.. What is it you desire little one? What do you desire of the devourer? Knowledge?"

The corpse of the once leader of this ritual would shamble onto its feet, bones snapping and joints popping as something was happening... An eye falls out of its socket, exposing a single yet striking crimson glare that peered at the woman. The shadow of the body seeming to have horns and a set of wings, yet nothing was visible.

"Speak morsel and I shall listen."

This being commanded, the body shambling closer as the red eye kept its gaze.



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Eido Wreyth​

 

[Eido Wreyth]

She was forced to her feet by the sound of these waking dead, brandishing the knife between herself and the risen dead. She had seen the coven raise a corpse once before, but so too had she seen the corpse returned to mother death. Force willing, she would kill them again!

"What is the most you ever gained from a deal? A contract..?"

Eido gasped as she turned to face the first voice, only to be joined by several. The question was senseless. What had the coven ever given her? what deals had their dogma ever afforded? But no, soon it became clear that these were not the souls of dead kin speaking, but rather the thing she had invited to take their place. Or rather, to hollow them out.

"My attention has been gained, the price paid in full.. What is it you desire little one? What do you desire of the devourer? Knowledge?"


"Speak morsel and I shall listen."

"It- it's true then" She stammered, face tilt in horrified wonder.
"You're... real"

A moment of silence overtook her, absence of nature nor even wind not unnoticed. It was just Eido, and the burning glare beyond death.
She didn't even know what to ask, having just doubted such a ritual would even work, let alone that she would be speaking to such a creature as she was now.

"I- uhm" She swallowed, then straightened her posture in an effort to hide lacking confidence.

"I wish to know things. Things that only witches know"

But as she thought more, of what she truly desired, doubt was hidden even from herself if only for a moment as stared into the beyond, fascinated by the myriad possibilities it represented. She wanted so much more than what the coven represented. With them gone, destiny was within her own grasp now, and she was eager to take it.

"More, if you'd permit... Much more than what Dathomir or it's wretched mothers have to offer...! I want something beyond their grasp, beyond their chains. I want... away from this place, I don't want to be their equal..."

"I want to be better."​

"I think we both hunger for more" Eido withdrew almost as quickly as she had reached out, realizing that she needed to keep her composure when dealing with... with whatever this was.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Foolish and naive to simply ask for strength, it had been a moment since she had taught anyone or anything.

"All power, all strength... It all has a price, and the more you pay the more you get. I am willing to teach if you are to listen, willing to break you again and again until you can hold your own. Raw strength and a keen mind, this and more can be your own, so long as you are willing to serve me."

The main hand of the corpse reaches out as if offering a shake, yet the flesh of the fingers falls off. As the sickening thud of what once was smacks against the ground, a metal gauntlet now fully takes over the hand, its demonic claws tapping against the other surrounding metal till one is pointed at the woman,

"Correction, you will serve me or die. In return for your service I will give you an intro to the path you seek... Our contract can be expanded upon later, when you continue to crave more."

The voice spoke as if its command was final, after all... They had merely opened the door for the devil to enter, and here she was.

"What say you? Have you the guts, the drive? Does the path of power still allure you so?"

By this point, the corpse had fully fell off in chunks, exposing the armor clad form of Keres. Clawed gauntlet back to offering a simple handshake, seeming to be part of this twisted idea of a 'deal'




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Eido Wreyth​

 

[Eido Wreyth]

Eido realized too little too late that one should speak only briefly with demons, and cursed herself for opening her damn mouth. It was quickly becoming clear that she had shed one set of chains for another, and the one soon to hold them was a completely alien to the young Dathomirian.

"Correction, you will serve me or die. In return for your service I will give you an intro to the path you seek... Our contract can be expanded upon later, when you continue to crave more."

"I...!" She winced, her fears now realized.

Eido could only look on in horror as the shambling remains of a once proud- no, arrogant- Coven Mother continued to burst and crumble, The remains of a woman who once held such power over the village and command such fear over herself that none dared to question even the cruelest of intentions, now reduced to pathetic ruins that stained this ancient stonework. Eido shuddered, in both terror and awe.

In truth there were no options left to take but serve. Even if the option to stay had not been taken from her, there was no life to be had here. Another coven would rise to take this one's place, and every day would be a battle to survive, be it with men, beasts or the undead again. Even the farmland here was battling the rocky soil or poisonous weeds. At least this way, she stood a chance.

"I don't have much choice, do I"

"What say you? Have you the guts, the drive? Does the path of power still allure you so?"

"... It does"

She reached out again, this time placing her thin, malnourished hand in the demon's grasp. Her eye twitched, every fiber of her being now knowing that this was the wrong choice to make, although she had no alternative.

"What in Gorgara's name are you?"

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

As their hands would clasp, she could feel a sinking feeling deep within her guts. A stinging sensation is felt upon the hand, the dealer only letting go of their firm grip after the pain faded gently. Marked, a strange hex shape had been burned into the flesh, only to sink into the skin.

"We hardly ever have a choice, but so long as you commit... This one will shape you."

Small creatures would crawl out from under the hooded cloak of Keres, bat-like in appearance yet even Eido could sense their darkness, their little blackened hearts. Many pairs of crimson dots watched with interest, sharing the same crimson as their mother dearest.

"I am many things dear, the answer depends on who or what is asking. But, to keep it simple I am a Sith. You will call me Darth Keres, I am the master. And you are an apprentice, in time you will be given training."

The hooded figure with a soft voice gazes around, chuckling a bit.

"It's great, is it not?"

They glance back to Eido, seeming to expect and answer to this random question.. Or was it so random?




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Eido Wreyth​

 

[Eido Wreyth]

The young Dathomirian grit her teeth, though she knew better than to resist the brand, even if she didn't understand the full scope of what was happening. Still, she eyed it curiously before it could fade, trying to ensure that the exact visage would not be forgotten. Something told her that every scrap of information given by her dark master- intentional or not- should be studied to it's fullest extent.

"We hardly ever have a choice, but so long as you commit... This one will shape you."

An oddly comforting thought, she mused. But into what exactly?


Then came the bats. Eido visibly recoiled, recounting one of the few things she would have rather forgot, and shapes in the dark. She stared, lip curled in disgust, and they stared back.

"I am many things dear, the answer depends on who or what is asking. But, to keep it simple I am a Sith. You will call me Darth Keres, I am the master. And you are an apprentice, in time you will be given training."

"Sith?" Her gaze lingered on the bats for awhile longer until she turned away, rubbing her hand where the mark had once been.

"Not a spirit then? The witches spoke that name once before, when they allowed a stranger in black to enter this place"
She let her eyes wander around the old tomb some, recounting all the times she'd listened in from small holes and corners. She was younger then, more reckless. The coven had shaped her into something more cautious, at least until today.

"I know the magic around Sith feels powerful, if nothing else"

Did that make her Sith now? would she become as powerful as the stranger someday, or perhaps even Darth Keres? her aura was chilling in it's raw malevolence.

"It's great, is it not?"

She turned to face Darth Keres, though she couldn't hold eye contact for long. Something about the question felt... wrong, like it had hidden meaning though she didn't know what exactly. A test perhaps?

"It's..." Eido looked up at her, biting her lip in thought "It's an opportunity to learn"

"An opportunity to learn more is a great thing"​

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

A sharp grin forms from behind her mask as the mostly innocent one spoke, the woman gestures all around them.

"Learning is indeed part of it dear, but look around! The bodies, those that wronged you for years. All deliciously butchered by your very hands! And you know what saved you this day? Your rage and will to live, this is how life itself functions. Without competition we grow slow and complacent, these worthless sacks of flesh grew slow... Never once did they expect to die by your hands, take pride in what you did today."

This apprentice, the newest of her kind.. Would learn quickly how merciless her new master was.

"Every. Single. Kill."

She then gestures to her saber upon her hip.

"It is you or them, and I will train you in every dividing line. Be it melee or ranged, by the end you will look back on this day and be thankful for the weapon you have become."

Adeline crosses her arms, pondering.

"Where is the nearest spaceport? Does this place even have such a thing?"



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Eido Wreyth​

 

[Eido Wreyth]

Eido had in truth never considered herself superior to the witches, only ever dreaming of a day when would be. But Darth Keres was right. Six force sensitives all day dead in a circle around them. All felled by her own knife. They said that she would disrupt the natural order of the village, and it had come to pass.

Eido stood straighter now, chin raised slightly as her new master spoke.

"Where is the nearest spaceport? Does this place even have such a thing?"

"Hmm" she put a thumb to her chin, mind abuzz with stories passed down by traders, and sights gathered on many hunts. Then, it came to her.

"You seek a place where the outsiders come from? Sometimes they land strange ships on the other side of this mountain, to the east"
She points in that direction, though she seems less enthusiastic than before.

"The witches sacrificed our weakest males, but some were traded with the outlanders for strange things. Sometimes plants, sometimes crystals. They have a camp there, and guns too. They don't like surprises"

"You don't plan on visiting, do you?" She asked nervously, though felt as if she knew the answer already, and began searching the room for an energy bow. It wasn't much, but she knew that a careful approach, it could fell man and beast alike. Although she gave Darth Keres a questioning look as understanding of her escape continued to expand.

"Do you- I mean-" She paused to correct herself, fearful of questioning her master specifically "Do most sith know how to sail these ships?"


Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Deep within Dathomir jungle

Tag | Eido Wreyth

"Many people know how to fly the ships, they are a part of life within the galaxy.. A life that you had been kept from- Did you even have a life before me? What all did you amount to? It was almost all for nothing, everyone around you never wanted you to be anything more. Now I will teach you everything, to me you are raw potential."

The woman menacingly taps her metallic claws together, smiling under her helmet.

"My dear, I do plan on visiting. You think I fear anything? Anyone? Today can be a great day, you get to see just some of the power a sith can hold."

Using the force, Keres takes a nearby pack and places it next to her newest student.

"Take it, whatever is in there once belonged to this coven. It is now yours to keep, use your instincts to guide us both to the spaceport."

She walks up to Eido, giving them a pat on the shoulder as the woman waited to see what this person did.
















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[Eido Wreyth]

Eido felt a deep seeded pain, knowing Darth Keres to be right. So much had been kept from her, every chance given was because she created it. But hearing from such a powerful being that she had so much potential, it also gave the young woman a certain sense of conviction that felt new. She was determined to prove her master correct, and for the first time in many years, she was thankful for the opportunity given.

"Take it, whatever is in there once belonged to this coven. It is now yours to keep, use your instincts to guide us both to the spaceport."

"Right away" She rummaged through the pack like a scavenger gleefully picking apart it's meal, taking inventory of food and tools quickly, including some alchemical ingredient that she recognized quickly.

When it was all said and done, she threw it over her shoulders and quickly trudged away from the tomb, leading her master out a long corridor with many caskets tucked into it's walls. Dust and brambles littered every surface, save for the center pathway where the witches walked or dragged sacrifices to the ancient chamber where it all began. Thankfully, with the witches gone, there was no one left to raise the entombed against them. Or so Eido assumed at least.

The corridor would exit high in the mountain which she spoke of, leading to a great stone bridge suspended over the waterfall which led to the Nightbrother village below. Eido would stop for but a moment, giving her home one last look in a wordless goodbye before turning her sights onto the horizon.


The trip would take them through a series of narrow passage ways with which she had become familiar. The bones of many small beasts and the arrows used to kill them were strewn about the twisting rockface, sometimes obscured by the ever shifting red mist that seemed dominate the grounds of this ancient place, smelling of the dark side at all times.

Eventually this would lead them to another mountain, Eido having come to a stop as she spotted the slaver camp in the distance. Tents and sheet metal sheds were arranged along rocky outcropping across from the two Darksiders, protected by low metal walls with razor wire and the occasional laser gate. It wasn't exactly the civilized space port that Darth Keres had requested, but there were a light freighter or two there.

Besides, Eido didn't know the difference.

"Almost there" She pointed, squinting at the encampment as a brief spike in negative emotion began wafting through the force.

"They don't like surprises much, but their motive to profit usually outweighs their motive for violence"

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Near slaver port

Tag | Eido Wreyth

Eyes watch from behind a visor as they looked over the camp, she knew their kind all too well... Even some within the order held slaves, but at this point did she really care? Was she even the same anymore? Was there any humanity left within?

"The only motive here that matters is mine, continue onward."

With a soft but firm voice she ordered, and when the both of them got close enough to be spotted she would pause. Ignoring any words they had, any looks given. Her focus was on her student, and she could taste their fear. This needed to be corrected, for the only one she should fear was Keres alone.

"Eido, take and learn how to use these."

The once slave had been tossed a simple but effective blaster, making it rather clear how diplomacy with Keres was.

"Stand firm my dear, even as but a lowly student you are a god. Lesser beings should bow to you, worship you even."

Quickly and easily, Keres uses the force to crush a man into a ball of bloodied mush.

"Sith. Are. Gods."

After the man is reduced to a mound of flesh, she watches to see what happens next, hand at the ready.
















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[Eido Wreyth]

Eido understood what was to come even before Darth Keres had given her the blaster, interrupting her as she attempted to notch an arrow. She stood in awe and terror as her master imploded a man in a near instant, causing the panicked slavers at the gate to open fire. It was only her innate sense of the force that broke her from the shocked daze, alerting her of an incoming bolt which she flexibly ducked under.

Without thinking much of it, she outstretched her arm to fire just as she had seen the slavers do, missing once and adjusting accordingly until the man was dead.

The second more difficult in that a shot grazed her arm, only briefly throwing off her aim. Fortunately, Dathomirians of her variety had a higher pain tolerance than most humanoids, and so she recovered quickly enough to gun him down with several more shots.

By now the camp was on full alert via the sound alone, and no one was foolish enough to open the gate, but neither was Eido foolish enough to try her luck with the razor wire. So instead, she used her energy bow to fire a grappling line at the nearest watch tower, hoisting herself up enough to swing over the wall and kick another slaver to the ground. He was executed by one more blast, this time with clean precision as Eido was quickly familiarizing herself with the weapon, even if these men were a low bar for training.


More blaster fire hailed into her position, forcing the Dathomirian to rely on speed as she moved from crate to crate and target to target, leaving Darth Keres behind. Though she had no doubt that her new master needed no help.

Even so, it would have been nice if Eido had help. This thought saw her stop somewhere between the ship and some of the slave pins. She looked at them with a mixture of fury and disgust, and though she suspected her master would have words about this, Eido began blasting locks open, diverting the attention away from herself as the slaver's "merchandise" turned on them.

Even if it was a matter of practicality, Eido smirked while making a run for the ship.

Perhaps I'm not rescuing them, but I'm still giving them a chance to rescue themselves She thought.

Adeline Noctua

 

[Adeline Noctua]

Equipment | In Bio

Location | Slaver camp

Tag | Eido Wreyth

The will to fight, the determination to push on. These were the things Keres watched for the most, her newest student being tossed into this mess and given a tool she had yet to use before? Ah but it all pleased her greatly! Eido would not see Keres anywhere around, all of the camp had been focusing the student almost this whole time up until she freed those slaves.

As the skirmish had ended, these newly freed people went to steal one of the other ships. With Eido being met with the image of Keres already in the ship they both wanted, metal claws shocking the dusty systems to life.

"Stupendous, now we may leave this place."

The woman closes the metal panel, taking a seat within the pilot chair. The doors start to close and lock in as the engines came to life, letting the Sith kick back.

"Keep that blaster, you will learn more about it later anyway."

Now that they had a moment, Keres pulls her hood down and takes her helmet off, setting it on the dash.

"How familiar are you with the Sith? Earlier you spoke of some stranger visiting your coven... What for?"




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[Eido Wreyth]

In the heat of the moment, Eido very nearly pointed her new blaster at Darth Keres, still unused to fighting beside non-dathomirians. Bare red or yellow chests and distinct tattoos made identifying friend from foe relatively easy, but it seemed to Eido that perhaps it had become a habit to unlearn.

So for now, she would stow away the old blaster, climbing aboard while her master prepared the ship amidst the backdrop of chaos behind them. It was a strange thing to her, watching so many lights come on in electrical symmetry, as if she had stepped into a whole new world just by boarding the ship. She more bumped into the co-pilot seat so much as sat down in it.

"How familiar are you with the Sith? Earlier you spoke of some stranger visiting your coven... What for?"

"Oh-" Eido looked up from the alien controls, a distracted look on her face due to both the strangeness of the ship's interior and that this was the first time she had seen her master's face despite having "pledged" her servitude.

"The Sith? Oh yes, the stranger. The witches called them Sith, said not to interfere. I heard something about a cluster of crystals, maybe the Nardithi Cluster? But the witches there don't get along with the coven, drove them to the tomb where our village was built"

She didn't know much about the force, certainly not through a Sith lense, but she knew the coven wasn't exactly happy to lose access to the cluster.

"They seemed really upset about it. I found it... amusing"

Adeline Noctua