Rynn Vizsla
Spawnslayer
Continued From: Operation Beskar Falls - Rebellion of Mandalore: Rynn’s Last Stand.
Pre-Death Watch and their Crusade | The Separation and the Founding.
What began, at first, as an intercession - ended in abject failure. While contractually-bound to the Ragnar Syndicate and utilizing whatever resources they could cobble together, the Oathsworn speared into the despoiled heart of the Mandalore system. Their actions held a two-fold purpose. The first was to stop the Rancidious Order from infecting whatever dwelled upon the planet’s surface with the malicious Blackwing virus. There were those amongst the band of pseudo-Sellswords who saw this threat as being greater than any other. However, others fervently believed their very honour - and the blood-oaths they swore - were at risk because of the actions of the, now victorious, Mandalorian Union. Their fates were their own and wholly unknown to the Cerulean-clad warrior, who fought for his life against insurmountable odds.
To Rynn, a Warrior of little renown and from a divided house, the Mandalorian Union was little more than Carrion. Beasts who stalked forth from the shadows only when their prey was weakened, searching for the next feast. He fought against the Sith Empire for some time now. Fighting alongside his erstwhile Brothers and Sisters from within the ranks of the Sons of Mandalore. He bled and watched the others he cared about - die - as they struggled to cripple the Empire and force them to release a Homeworld the Sith had long since despoiled. But, it was all for naught as the Union sought to steal what was rightfully his. He was infuriated, and that anger drove him to take a cause that wasn't his own. He would have vengeance for this grievous insult.
Yet, as the sight of the Graug Horde before him took shape in his mind, the petty notions of honour and vengeance faded out of focus. There would be another time for these insults to be answered for.
Thus, the young Vizsla elected to tackle the more insidious threat rather than carry out an act of petty vengeance against those who sought to stain his honour. However, in culling the infected herd from on-high - Rynn was torn from the skies by dark magics. While others would’ve been gripped by invisible hands, the Warrior’s mind fell prey to the manipulations of an evil presence. He experienced a terribly infectious case of vertigo, one that caused his hands to force his bonded, mechanical steed to plummet towards the despoiled surface of the planet below. It wasn’t long after the War Droid struck the surface that the Mandalorian was thrown from his mount and was painfully carried forth by his momentum.
With all the strength his agony-bound form could muster, Rynn stood to his feet and drew his blades. The honed Sabre glinted in the settling clouds of dust as it caught the light from Mandalore’s poisoned Sun, whilst the Kal that was gripped tightly in his other hand was bathed in shadow. He was readying himself for what would come - the inevitable Death that awaits all Warriors when their time has come. This was what the man had trained his entire life for. He wouldn’t cower before Death’s icy gaze. Instead, Rynn would stare back into the darkened abyss and smile warmly, as if embracing an old friend. Thus, the Mandalorian accepted his grisly fate. That was when the first of these crazed and infected berserkers stormed towards their would-be victim.
Rynn felt his skin prickle at the sight of the Beast. While these Graug were visually revolting to begin with, the sight of them ravaged by the insidious nature of the Blackwing virus was enough to send a chill through his spine. Although supposedly resistant to the infectious touch of disease, its flesh began rotting away as the virus consumed the organic matter. While there were portions of the Beast’s body that bore signs of regeneration, where the necrotic flesh was given a new lease on life. But, it wasn’t enough to stop the rampant spread of the virus. Dark magics drove both the Creature and the infection forward, but it seemed like the latter was winning out by comparison. But, regardless of how decrepit that damned Beast appeared, it didn’t diminish their alleged lethality.
Gore-stained teeth, alongside a pair of rending claws, the seemingly insatiable hunger for living tissue, was coupled with an inhuman and seemingly depthless rage. Rynn couldn’t tell why this Beast was infuriated - nor did he really care. It was an enemy that sought to sever his mortal coil, and it needed to be slain. That’s all that mattered in the end. His teeth clenched ever tighter as the Beast stormed forward, gracelessly sliding into the range of his weapons with swinging claws and a ravenous maw. The Warrior made the first strike as the Beast came closer, with a twist of his wrist and the rapid descent of his arm - the blade struck true. While their hide was hardened and seemingly reptilian, the weight and honed edge of the weapon carved the rotting flesh asunder.
The foul vitae poured freely from the severed limb, painting the Mandalorian’s grime-crusted boots in a disgusting hue. The Beast didn’t recoil like a wounded animal. Instead, it kept moving forward - barreling into the Warrior and taking them both to the ground. Rynn’s eyes opened wide in surprise before clenching shut as fresh agonies rippled through his armour and the flesh contained within. He was pinned beneath the Creature’s weight, as it fought to tear the armour from his frame - to break the seal and infect a new host. Not to mention to feast on what sweetmeats lay within. While the Mandalorian had accepted his death would transpire this day, the Young Vizsla refused to sit idly by as the damned Beast tore him to shreds. He struck out at the partially-zombified Creature, repeatedly stabbing their neck with his fighting knife - seeking to sever the skull from the spine.
His other hand - the one with the Sabre clutched betwixt his armoured digits - was trapped beneath the Creature’s weight.
He couldn’t get free. But that didn’t matter. He stabbed and stabbed, only for his vision to fade, and more vitae started to cake onto his visor. His suit began screaming at him, with more and more warning runes flashing in the encompassing dark. Suit breach imminent. Viral agents were detected. There was much time left, yet Rynn kept stabbing and stabbing away with his fighting knife. That was when the tip of the dagger struck true. Its forged metallic surface buried itself between a selection of hardened enamel, severing what remained of the Beast from their corrupted and defiled body. There was a vitae-sloughing gurgle as the last vestiges of life drained out of the partially-necrotic Beast.
It was dead, yet Rynn was still pinned beneath its now dead weight. There were sounds of thundering footsteps echoing nearby. He needed to free himself and needed to stand. His armour shifted, and so too did the Mandalorian. He kept shifting his weight, moving from one direction to another. After what felt like an age, the corpse flopped aside - unburdening the Warrior from the unwanted weight. He coughed then, as his visor’s self-repair systems activated to clear his field of vision. A thin, magnetically-contained line of plasma rolled across his visor - scouring the now-aqueous vitae from the transparent duraplast with carefully-calibrated and machined precision.
Using all the strength that he could muster, coupled with a fresh infusion of adrenaline-laced combat stims and bacta into his bloodstream, Rynn stood to his feet with blades in hand. He would fight on until his last breath was taken, or if the Fates were kind - the last of these accursed beasts dropped dead. As to what would transpire next? Only the Force and all of its mysterious ways would truly know the events of the future and how they’d unfold.
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//: Relevant and Referential Links:
//: OOC Information: As you can guess, this is a Skirmish thread to carry on my Character’s story from his incomplete arc in the recent Rebellion of Mandalore. Therefore the stage has already been set with a pre-determined outcome as the Mandalorian Union has been declared the Victors. However, that doesn’t mean everything ended as neatly as one might believe. Thus, the shrouded side-story that shall form the shadowy origins of the reorganized Death Watch and their Crusade will be shaped by the actions that transpire within this thread.
If your character was involved in the recent Rebellion of Mandalore, but never had a chance to finish their storyline? Please feel free to utilize this thread to see it done - if you haven’t already. If you’re looking to get in on the action - but never participated in said Rebellion? Hit me up via DM’s to get a quick preface before joining in.
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