Dominion Helfrost | Dominion of Helgard | Warlords of the Sith

[Kascalion Giedfield]

//CHAPTER THREE//
LOCATION: X

​

STORY SET-UP: Once more, WAR has come to the frozen grave-world of Helgard. The great devastation known as the Warlords of the Sith have long sought to reclaim the world of Helgard under the Sith banner and add its people to their ranks. Such mighty warriors are the Helgardi that their presence within any warring organization would undoubtedly bring them new heights of glory and legend. Yet, such a task is no easy thing, and the world of Helgard would gladly destroy all who attempt to tame it, as would those who serve a higher purpose. As thunderous dangers awakened from the old eras await the would-be conquerers, challenging them to attempt the impossible and truly claim the frozen planet for their own, the Galactic Alliance springs into action. Arriving with disciplined tenacity, the New Jedi Order seeks to, at last, save the planet and its people from their lives of darkness and bring them into the fold as righteous Defenders of the Light.

Spoiler

Every Objective is open to both WotS and GA participants. If you have any questions on planetary or species lore not in the submissions, please let me know in DMs on Discord - BobertEZ.

OBJECTIVE ONE: THREATS OF OLD - From the Northern Seas, reports of mysterious rumblings beneath the waves emerge, as well as sightings of something beyond description. Dark whispers of a great and terrible beast that awoke during the chaos of the New Imperial Order's invasion of the world infest the local populace, threatening to turn the native people back into an age of superstition and fear that not even the Sith could hope to quell. Even worse, the rumblings have begun to harm the ice fields that stretch far beyond the borders of the waves. As more and more begin to split and crack, the danger of the cities of the Helgardi sinking into the waves rises, putting any and all future operations upon the world at risk. Investigate with your and put a stop to whatever threatens the sanctity of this world before these accursed waters encompass all of Helgard.

OBJECTIVE TWO - CHAMPIONS ARISE: As the world threatens to break itself apart, the battle for control remains everlasting. In the vast tundras of Helgard, the forces of the New Jedi Order and the Warlords of the Sith clash in the attempt to control the planet's native life and resources. Two mighty factions of the native species have formed to partake in this fight, supporting those they feel would best lead their people to the future. Cleanse those corrupted by the Light, cure this damnable stagnation, and take charge in the void left in the lack of leadership since the New Imperial Order's invasion of the world. Let the void swallow the Helgardi in a cold, dark embrace. For the Sith.

OBJECTIVE THREE - EXPLORE, FIGHT, CLAIM: Helgard is a vast world of opportunity despite its many threats and boasts a wide number of beasts and locations to explore. Visit Kjaransvik and catalog the histories of the Helgardi's greatest warriors. Or perhaps take a chance to delve into the ancient ruins of Helgard from Dómrgarðr and find lost relics to take back home. Do what you wish here.

 

[Darth Sinestruss]

---

OBJECTIVE ONE
||Advancing across the frozen ice sheets of the coast line||
||Looking for New Jedi Order/Galactic Alliance Opponents||​

---

Siqsa Kun zoomed over the ice sheets that churned and rocked over the frigid surface of the coastlines around the Helgardi cities. Normally frozen blankets of thick ice, they had become disturbed and deep ravenous cracks spread across them. Unusual for the season, if Helgard had warmer seasons at all. As the Sith Pureblood roamed the ice sheets she kept an eye on the hologram map that was projected from a miniature projector mounted in her vambrace.

The blue ghostly images flickered as the heavy fall of snow pierced the floating icons that depicted the terrain, the coastline, and the location of the probe droid she had sent ahead to scout. Siqsa knew little why the sheets had begun to crack, she assumed it may have been the collateral of the Galactic Alliance skirmish erupting over the ice sheets.​

"First the New Imperials, then the Old Sith Imperials, and now the Alliance," Siqsa groaned, "These worlds of our bewildered Order are indeed awash with undesirables."

Suddenly, an alert bleeped on her map. The probe droid had vanished, and in the distance, the loud thunder of ice cracking, breaking and sinking roared like the howling echo of an artillery shell going off. Siqsa swerved her speeder bike and skidded it towards a halt that she enforced with a hard plant of her black boot against the soft snow piled on the ice sheet.

She glanced at the far horizon and narrowed her golden eyes to strain her vision. She couldn't see far, the snowfall was too thick, and without the probe droid her map's field of detail was reduced heavily to the sensors on her bike. "Jedi?" Siqsa hissed, "Perhaps...but what is...this danger I sense?"

 

[Molly Armstrong]

Objective I
Darth Sinestruss | OPEN
​

The incredible sound of the splitting ice made Kuric grind his speeder bike to a halt. Somewhere off in the distance, great crevices were forming in the extremely thick ice. The waves hidden deep below it were surging upwards, and his master had informed him that the ecology of the planet was taking a turn for the worst.

He was one of the few who knew that his master yet lived in some form after the battle of Malachor, and now he'd sent Kuric to aid the very world belonging to the one who had "killed" Vinaze. Whatever his master was planning, Kuric knew just to go along with it.

He kicked his speeder back into full thrust. He didn't have a lot of time to reach Darth Voyance's agent deeper into the ice fields.

He revved the engine of his bike as soon as he could see her dark figure in the distance, letting her know he was approaching. He pulled his vehicle up beside hers and dismounted.

"You're Kun? What have you found?" He asked gruffly. Cold was the enemy of pyromancers like himself, so the faster they could get this done and get off this ice ball, the better...

 

[Khamul Kryze]

Objective 3 (open to Jedi opposition)

In My Kingdom Cold​

Khamul brushed off the cold as he entered the ruins, leaving the bulk of snow behind with his ship. The Warlords sought many things on this planet, but he had his own agenda. There were plenty of tales revolving around these old ruins. Stories of ancient relics and powerful artifacts could be heard now and again. Khamul wasn't sure if he believed them, but either way, he meant to find out.

He kept one hand on his lightsaber as he descended into the ruins, making sure to remain prepared for whatever may be lying in wait for him. As he moved his way down into the ruins, he could feel the rumbles in the distance. It seemed that whatever was waiting for the Warlords had begun to rear its head...

It was no matter. Khamul would leave them to their mission, for now. Perhaps they would need his assistance, but not until he got what he came here for. There was knowledge to be had here, and power as well. And today, he was determined to find both...

​

​

 

[Placeholder 25346357]

OBJECTIVE III
OPEN
​

Helgard was a stark opposite in temperature to the deserts of Tash-Taral where she'd been sequestered since her fall to the dark side. Yet, they were strikingly similar in their desire to snuff the life of anyone setting foot on them, whether it was through snow storms or sand storms.

Maja grasped her aubergine cloak tightly in her hands and crossed her arms over her chest, enclosing herself to the elements a little more. She followed a group of Sith scholars and scientists, who babbled about things beyond her understanding or care as they shuffled through the dark and icy streets of Kjaransvik. The city was dead quiet, owing to the many sleeping dead who inhabited it. The whole place was a crypt, and the academics of the Warlords were having a field day.

Maja was only there as a scribe. Most of what she did with her days was sitting in a warlord's library with a book and a desire to learn more of the dark arts the NIO had tried to keep from her. She often traveled between libraries and befriended their keepers of knowledge with her pleasant and studious demeanor. But alas, she had to get out and help the war effort in some degree, so when she'd been offered a scribing job on an expedition, she took it.

As she moved through the streets, lagging behind the other apprentices who talked freely among themselves, she jotted notes onto her datapad about the architecture and the runic phrases inscribed on the sides of buildings. She had no idea what the inscriptions mean, but their beauty captivated her.

 

[Kascalion Giedfield]

It had been, in a sense, a lifetime since he had last been on the ice of Helgard. The last time he stood upon the fields left him broken and near-death - although he could not admit that even subconsciously. Bleeding and gasping for air, all in an effort to preserve the life of Lyra 'Sybila' Voikryt , his now-apprentice in "Darth Sybila," who had brought a fight to the Devil with the tenacity of a fallen angel. He won that fight, but it had left him in such a state that he had no choice but to seek out the truth and the Finality, as he had dubbed it.

Such a life as a Sith, a story of wars and deaths and victories and losses, damaged by the histories of his own mistakes. All of it, now gone and forgotten as little more than a spurt of mortality. All because of his restoration. A rebirth gifted to him by his own efforts, the selfless sacrifice of Darth Vinaze , and the archaeological experience of the traitorous bastard Vector Monk . Gone was the skeletal tyrant that was Kascalion Giedfield. Gone was that doubter and miscreant. In his place stood the Devil - in his absolute purest form.

Kavar Lok Kas'Oni.

And his goals on this world, returned in a new life, were simple ones: reclaim his rule of the Helgardi and annihilate the New Jedi Order.

 

[Darth Bellum]

Purge
[ Theme ]
​

| Location | Helgard​

| Purpose | Cleanse [ OBJ II ]​

​

The light was a blight upon Helgard, with the recent invasion of it liberating the planet and its people from the Sith Empire's territories. With the presence of the New Imperial Order and now Jedi, the Helgaardians had been divided and with that division came weakness. Like the Mandalorians, a once-proud warrior race was laid low by the disease that came with clashing ideologies - a mistake that would be remedied with the excision of those that now stood to represent and fight on behalf of the light.​

​

Such was the natural course of things, for the natural order and status quo to be challenged the moment its stability was brought into question. Much like how the Sith Empire began to fall apart. And here the Helgaardians were, their faith shaken in the Dark side and believing that there was hope and salvation in following the Light. Hope drove them away, fear would bring them back.​

​

Upon snowy windswept peaks did the shadow of war fall, the figure of Darth Bellum appearing as he had his arms crossed over his chest. Despite the howling winds and blizzard that raged about him, not a single part of his ethereal figure moved, unaffected by the mortal realm as his cold, soulless gaze fell upon the battlefield that was set to be the stage where light clashed against darkness.​

​

​

 

[Darth Sinestruss]

---

OBJECTIVE ONE
//Location: Ice Sheets Helgardi Coastline\\
//Warlords Sith Nearby: Kuric Taumin, Maja Komnenic\\
//Enemies: N/A\\​

---

"You're Kun? What have you found?" He asked an arriving Kuric Taumin.

Siqsa turned to see him, she shook her head slowly, "I am not sure, Taumin...the ice sheets are breaking, at an alarming rate. Not even collateral from the battle would divide the ice like this."

A rumbling shake rattled across the ice sheets and shook the ice sheet Siqsa was on. Cracks split and erupted, the frigid seas below burst through and splashed bitting cold spray everywhere. The sheet began to sink and Siqsa quickly revved her speeder and zoomed off in a sharp turn to another ice sheet nearby. Startled and she stopped quickly, whipped her head around and then snapped it back to stare at Kuric Taumin.

"We should move quickly, and find the source of this break," Siqsa called to Kuric. Siqsa pondered on what was going on. There was a tinge of danger in the Force, a rippling signal of something immense lurking beyond her vision. It frustrated Siqsa. She despised not being in control, of having some element beyond her direct calculation and study. As the Mistress of the Shadow Hand, she made it her business to have intelligence at all times and the frostbitten and heavy snowed obscured realm of Helgard denied her all of this. She would have to resort on more esoteric means of intelligence gathering - she would have to rely on the Dark Side...and the Force.

---

 

[Romund Sro]

Clank... Clank... Clank...

Walking down the boarding ramp of his shuttle Romund walked into the blistering cold. His glistening armor grew frost on it quickly from the weather as any moister on it quickly froze. Around the shuttle members of his personal 909th regiment Gathered. Holstering their weapons before saluting to their commander, and father. Looking over them it greatly pained Romund that he could not salute back to them, at least not properly. He was missing most of his right arm and refused to gain a cybernetic one until he got himself his new one which was still in the works.

Acknowledging them he raised his one arm and told them to relax. The highest ranking soldier around him informed him of the situation. That the forces of the 909th deployed have all gathered and touched down on the ground. They were close to a settlement, one that was know to harbor jedi sympathies.

Under his helmet Romund nodded. He was unable to meet the Warlord's enemies on Malachor V from his wounds. He refused to stand by any longer, and now with his own Clone fighting force now joining the ranks under his banner in the Athiss Horde, he needed to come out of hiatus. Looking to his second in command he spoke. "Do not hold back for me... let loose the dogs of war." Around him the clone soldiers nodded and readied their weapons. With his words the 909th knew exactly what to do. To no hold back on their enemies, and go wild. After all, these were mere primitives right? With a simple warrior culture?

 

[Darth Immortuos]

​

Location: Helgard
Objective II: ???

There was much he could of observed. Taken in or made crude remarks about. From the champions of light fighting against the dark forces that be, down to the weather and its chilling dominion over planet.

The sith lords thoughts dwelled else where though. No telling what sadistic inqueries were in production with this one but the focus of his attention was all but given away. It was his eyes. Those beady sulfuric pupils that did all the talking. Like a scarecrow, Immortuos was motionless in the blizzard. Head tilted to the mountain ranges adjacent to him. The Overlord of Blackwing summoned his will and projected the sum of his thoughts to none other than the ethereal figure of Darth Bellum . A titan of a spectre observing the ongoing conflict just as Immortuous was. Once again their paths had crossed.

“ How tiring and agitating it must be to not have a tangible form. To not be as you once were. Assuming did once experience life. Does it bother you? That you are so dependent on the force to keep you a float?” He asked telepathically

 

[Aaran Tafo]

Objective II
Open​

While it was traditional for members of the New Jedi Order to garb themselves in modern clothing. It was times like this Aaran was glad that he still wore robes. They certainly did a great deal to ward away the cold of this world. The bitter chill was enough to seep into his very bones. Even as he covered himself from head to toe in arctic clothing, the cold still bit at him.

He could never understand why people would willingly live on worlds such as this. He was all for showing strength and proving one's mettle. But to try and live here just seemed masochistic.

But he would not judge. He had far more important things on his mind. Mainly dealing with the rather pesky problem of the various Sith that infested this planet like a plague It was curious that they were here. Considering how zealous the New Imperial Order were in their initial assault of this planet, one would reckon that most Sith would have backed off and left this world.

There was little time to ruminate over such things. Speeder blasting through the snow. The Jedi sat with his arms crossed in the passenger seat. Letting the droid steer him directly into where he felt the fighting to be the thickest. As always, he would act as the tip of the spear. Finding the biggest, nastiest threat he could sense on the battlefield and throw himself at it until one side broke.

 

[Kascalion Giedfield]

​

The oceans to the North had reached a stage of raging and broiling by the time Darth Sinestruss and Kuric Taumin arrived that the very waters themselves appeared to be afraid. Much of the ice bordering the ocean had already chipped and cracked and sunk under the frigid waves, falling to the cold depths as the world of Helgard threatened to tear itself asunder like no other. Sheets of frost swam over the waves as they reared up and back and down in great fury, the sounds of the world's unnatural vexation thunderous and shattering.

The Helgardi themselves who had chosen to join the investigation of the rumblings all felt a sense of dread when they arrived in their great transports, roaming over the fields and scanning for any sign of some danger they all knew was there. Hoping that it would make itself known to them.

They were the first to go when it did at last. It could not be stated for certain as to why it chose to attack these poor Helgardi who merely sought to cure themselves of this damnable fear of ancient things. Perhaps it smelled that. Was drawn to it like a moth to a flame and needed to consume it. Perhaps it fed off their fear like a Sith, craving it to survive. All that could be said for certain, however, was that it destroyed them in a flash of an instant as it broke upwards through the ice and snow, splashes of freezing waters crashing down onto the fields. Their screams were short, fearful, and angry, and the snap-shut of the thing's jaws as if the core of the world had just been hit by a hammer of the Gods.

The clouds of snow and the smoke from the now destroyed and burning transports - those which were not devoured in the few seconds that it made its attack - shrouded the thing as it breached the surface, making a clear identification impossible. Yet, those looking for it would be able to hear its great titanic roar. See the glow of its eyes - a blue, sickeningly primal gaze. Perhaps they would even be able to see its silhouette - fanged and long and writhing in serpent-like fashion before descending back down through the ice into the depths.

Another thing that could be said for certain is that when this thing made its breach and quick attack, the rumblings had worsened to such a degree that merely tapping the icefields within two miles of the ocean's border would break them apart.

Yes, indeed. Whatever this thing was...it was the source of these rumblings. And killing it, stopping it...well, that was going to be a true test of skills.

 

[Molly Armstrong]

Objective I
Darth Sinestruss | Aaran Tafo | Kascalion Giedfield
​

The ability to feel through the force was natural for any force-user, but Kuric had never cared to hone his senses like his master, who was one of the best clairvoyants in the order, Instead he relied on the look of fear Siqsa produced. She jumped on her speeder and zoomed off, and Kuric promptly followed the girl.

Above them, a flight of Helgardi transports scouting from the air roared over, though they didn't leave the view of Kuric and Siqsa. As they moved off, the ice burst open with a crack like a thunder cloud had erupted just above them. Out from the ice, a serpentine silhouette in the distance shot up and grabbed a transport from the sky, and sent the others careening down as collateral damage. It slithered back below the ice before Kuric could truly understand what he had just seen, and the billows of black smoke from the distant wreckage were forboding signs to approach no further. He supposed it didn't matter. They were in the beast's domain, no matter where on the ice they stood...

 

[Darth Bellum]

Purge
[ Theme ]
​

| Location | Helgard​

| Purpose | Cleanse [ OBJ II ]​

​

Bellum's gaze remained locked onto the snowy field awaiting for either side to make the first move. Victory belonged to those bold enough to seize it with their own hands; whether it be through complete and utter domination with pure strength or through decisive cunning and deception. As the form of Immortuous appeared alongside him and began to speak the amalgamation of war and strife in the galaxy stood in cold silence, standing as if they were a frozen statue that watched over the mountains like a guardian. Only when the Overlord of Blackwing concluded his inquiry did the Lord of War speak, his voice the culmination of untold numbers speaking at once.​

​

" My body was merely a vessel to put actions behind my ideals into a reality. Even without it, my legacy lives on in those I have created through conflict and suffering, their hatred and rage burning and adding to the grand inferno I seek to engulf the galaxy with. The Sith Empire, Mandalorians, Iveric Tavlar - All tools to sate the hunger for power I sought in life. My wolves... "​

​

The skeletal gaze of Bellum shifted away, glancing over at Immortuous as his hollow eyes fell upon the Sith, " The Force is merely a conduit for my existence. So long as conflict exists within this Galaxy, I live on as war eternal, with my strength continuing to grow and evolve... And should conflict cease and diminish? The bodies of those who have been molded by my legacy will serve to be the vessels in which I once again set the gears of war to turn. "​

​

Darth Immortuos

​

 

[Khamul Kryze]

Objective Three (open to opposition)

Into the Mist​

Khamul continued making his way through the darkness, deep into the ruins below. As he walked among the ancient walls and cold pathways, he could feel something calling out to him. Some sort of energy had seemed to be leaving a trail for him. It was faint, almost as if it were a whisper. A lesser Sith might not have even noticed it...

But Khamul was no lesser Sith.

He moved forward for what seemed to be an eternity. The rumblings from earlier had almost ceased completely, causing him to wonder just how far underground he had gone. It seemed he had been walking for an eternity, and yet, he felt as if he had further to go.

That is, until he came to the door...

The path eventually ended, leading him to a large door, made of some sort of strange, ancient stone. Who knows how long it had remained here... unopened, untouched by those who walked the planet's surface. What secrets would it have in store for him?

Khamul approached the door, looking for any form of switch or button, anything that might allow his passage into the unknown. There was no sign of entry to be seen, however, and Khamul found himself staring at the door in puzzlement. There had to be a way. He would not be denied...

 

[Asmundr Varobalder]

THE_WARDEN
THERE IS NO CHAOS, THERE IS HARMONY
THE NEW JEDI ORDER | ICE SHEETS COASTLINE | OBJECTIVE II - CAUSE DISTRACTION
ATTN: Darth Sinestruss | Kuric Taumin

Dark, opaque lines intersected and swelled, consuming one another into an eternal abyss of darkness. Growing and growing in their hunger –– sometimes shadows evaded the black hole and travelled off to other networks, but mostly they stayed here; chasing one another in endless spirals.

This is what The Force showed The Warden. This is what The Warden knew of the Outer Rim’s struggle. This is what lead the great Viking to the blustering storms of Helgard; the cold biting at his skin and went largely unnoticed. This was the environment of his youth. Grey skies, stretching white plains, silver winds, crystal ice.

While the citizens of Helgard were being reinforced by the orderliness of the Imperials and New Jedi Order’s reinforcements, Asmundr had been drawn beyond the sanctuary of kindness –– to space where the great battle had occurred. To the sprawling, frozen waters that many of the evil tread.

It was a heavy, grunt-worthy effort to flex and tighten his hands and work to rupture the sealant of the ice over the waters. The planet’s crust was well fortified in the frozen barrier, but any disruption he could render, and keep the Sith away from the Jedi and civilians, he would do. And when it came down to conflict, he’d...deal with that when it came.

And it was coming. He could feel it encroaching far quicker than mortal legs could carry.

 

[Darth Immortuos]

​

" My body was merely a vessel to put actions behind my ideals into a reality. Even without it, my legacy lives on in those I have created through conflict and suffering, their hatred and rage burning and adding to the grand inferno I seek to engulf the galaxy with. The Sith Empire, Mandalorians, Iveric Tavlar - All tools to sate the hunger for power I sought in life. My wolves... "The skeletal gaze of Bellum shifted away, glancing over at Immortuous as his hollow eyes fell upon the Sith, " The Force is merely a conduit for my existence. So long as conflict exists within this Galaxy, I live on as war eternal, with my strength continuing to grow and evolve... And should conflict cease and diminish? The bodies of those who have been molded by my legacy will serve to be the vessels in which I once again set the gears of war to turn. "

Immortuos gazed to the conflict that surrounded them and threatened, least atthe time being, to consume the planet in action. Strife. All of this fueled this phantom of War's existence just as Blackwing fueled Immortuos's own. Immortality. Or so some would consider it to be. Immortality always came with a price though. Even as the Sith stood there next to his spectral friend of war, He could feel nothing.

The winds.
The frigid cold.
The very elements were naught but ash.

His very body was void of the need to inhale air or breath at all. There was no sensation of feeling or anything of that matter at all. No heart to beat. Only a piercing gaze and will that never cease to be. It was only after this careful consideration that the Undead Sith Lord realized something.

Bellum never answered the question.

" A rather important conduit. All that power, foresight and yet you cannot answer a simple question? Bellum. You speak of legacy as if I were to know you from life. You speak of the past as if you were heavily engrained in its flow." Immortuos had always felt as if he knew or met Bellum before but from where was always the question. Too many names and far too many faces to keep track of.

" Am I required to repeat my question?"

 

[Kascalion Giedfield]

​

The beast was a monolithic, feral thing. Gargantuan and ancient, it wormed its way through those frozen seas and sheets of ice with only primal rage on its mind. It sought nothing more than to simply destroy, to take "revenge" out on those who had awoken it from its deep, peaceful slumber under the waves. Unfortunately, that meant everyone currently on the chilled world. Helgardi, Sith, it did not matter. Any and all life would have to die and fall into the darkness below, to drown or be consumed by a fanged maw the size of a skyscraper. Crushed and skewered by teeth taller than any mountain. Coiled around by a hide longer than a star destroyer and thicker than the plating on the Death Star.

If any true, sentient thoughts could be formed by this beast, it would be about how apex it was on this world. How the things it now sought to mindlessly destroy in its violent rampage would praise it if it left them be. How a religion would form around it and sacrifices to its name would be made so regularly, the population of the planet would be reduced to a single man and woman. But it could not form these thoughts, and once more breached the ice fields with as much grace as a crashing starfighter, killing several who had decided to avoid utilizing hovercrafts and the like.

No longer obscured by the smoke of destroyed carriers, and only partially hidden by the waves crashing upwards with it and the shards of ice piercing the heavens, those hunting the great thing would grab their first clear look at their target. It was monstrous and serpentine and everything out of an old sea tale. A true creature of the oceans, roaring like a god of the waves.

The Helgardi who bore witness to it cried out in fear and rage, spouting words of denial and faith and rallying. Yet, each cry, yell, and scream all bore the same word, which could only be the name of this monstrous thing.

Krokros.

Krokros.

The Powersnake.

 

[Molly Armstrong]

Objective I
Darth Sinestruss | Aaran Tafo | Kascalion Giedfield | Asmundr Varobalder
​

What was that peculiar emotion that surfaced inside him as the Snake reared its gargantuan form in full, straight towards them? Kuric wanted to call it fear. But fear was what a young boy had felt when the Zygerrians had whipped him for his failures. It was the feeling that he was helpless to stop the pain, and that the pain would come again one day.

This was something else. This was terror. This was the feeling that froze him to the core, something the frigid air of Helgard had not even been able to do. To know that the behemoth could, and was likely going to at any moment, obliterate his small existence without an afterthought... helplessness to stop impending death... that was terror.

Kuric closed his eyes as the beast came down with its jaws open wide, blocking out the sun. As it engulfed him, he heard the boom of the ice being torn apart around him.

Then pure darkness. He could feel the rushing of the water around him like a cold embrace of death. He was smashed against hard surfaces that he could not see as he was swept along, though his armour protected him.

He finally stopped tumbling at the push of the rapid waters. He found himself on some kind of solid ground. He mustered a small flame with his pyrokinesis to light the area. The cold pushed back at every chance before, but wherever he was it was warm enough to sustain his flame.

It dawned quickly on him that he had survived the beast’s attack and this was not some kind of afterlife. No… he was inside the beast. He was completely unfamiliar with its anatomy, of course, so where inside he could say. The greyish-pink walls of flesh pulsated and squished as he moved his weight around, standing up. The beast was so large its insides allowed Kuric to stand upright. His sword was nowhere to be found, most likely lodged somewhere else in the beast, or sinking to the abyssal depths of it’s home.

Kuric took his gauntlet, with its jagged black spikes, and cut along the wall of flesh. A small amount of the creature’s blood spilled, but nothing else happened.

He wiped the beast’s bile the best he could from his commlink, though by now he was covered in it. He opened his channel to Siqsa and hoped the signal would be able to reach out from these innards.

“Kun, do you read me? I have been swallowed whole by the leviathan!”

As he spoke and looked around to get further bearing on his situation, his desperation subsided. He had survived what only minutes before had seemed would certainly kill him without a doubt. Surviving such a thing… that was the way of the Sith.

Now he simply had to find his way out before being digested...

 

[Khamul Kryze]

Objective 3

The Rising Sign​

After spending some time searching the room, Khamul finally grew tired of waiting. He began reaching out through the Force, lifting the giant stone door with all of his might. He managed to slowly ease it upward... and upward... and upward...

Until it slammed back to the ground.

How large could the door have been? It baffled Khamul. There had to be something. The energy here, so steeped in darkness, and yet, sapping his strength somehow. Khamul gathered himself. He would not stop until he saw what was behind the door...

Suddenly, conjuring all the energy he could in his fist, Khamul let out a massive push of Force energy through his fist, slamming it into the door. Another... another... and another... he kept slamming his fist into the door, cracking it more each time. Finally, with one final blow, the door exploded into thousands of tiny pieces. Khamul stepped through the rubble, and into the room behind.

He was met with a dark room, surrounded with statues and reliefs of what appeared to be Sith, although he couldn't confirm within the darkness. In the center of the room sat only a small pedestal, made of black stone. Upon it sat a black book, swirling with glowing, crimson and green energies. It seemed to call to him. He could almost hear the book reaching out to him through the Force.

Khamul approached the pedestal, following the voices within the air as he finally reached out. As he lifted the book, Khamul felt a sudden surge of power flow into his body. It was overwhelming to the point of pain. Khamul let out a scream, but never let go of the book.

Finally, the pain subsided, and Khamul found himself on his knees, staring down at the tome. He didn't know what secrets it possessed, but he meant to find out...

Then, suddenly, another disturbance in the Force. This time, much larger. Khamul knew it had to be the beast he felt earlier. The book's secrets would have to wait. For now, he had a beast to destroy.