Private In the well of madness

[Diarch Rellik]

Location: DSD-Vault, Private Meditation Chamber

The chamber was dim, lit only by the soft glow of ambient lighting. Here, beyond the reach of bridge chatter or petitioners, Rellik knelt alone at the center of the floor. His mind reached outward. Searching the force to find the place that lingered in his dreams. A vision of a maddening whirlpool in the force. A graveyard of ships and lost people. It clawed at him, praying it could latch unto the dark side within the Diarch and feed upon it. A yawning pull of madness and sorrow. It was in his meditation that he found it. A sector of space left mostly uncharted. If this anathema wanted to pull on him, he would conquer it in return.

He rose, heading to the communicator on his ship. Searching his memory for trusted people who would be able to help him in a mission like this. Preferably an anchor that could hold him down from succumbing to the madness itself. After pondering for a while there was only one person he thought would be perfect for the job. On Kiev'ara he was a balanced voice that helped the team stay focused. Activating the comm and sending a recorded message for Zinayn to call back to.

"Zinayn, I've encountered a distortion. A place where the Force bleeds strangely with a madness thick and coiling. I am calling to ask for your aid directly. I need someone who is solemn and strong in their emotions, in the force. Someone who will not succumb to the dark easily. It is for that reason I am requesting to meet at your earliest convenience. Respectfully, Diarch Rellik."

He closed the channel and stood in silence. Already, the pull of that place gnawed at him. But soon, they would go and see it for themselves.

Darth Avanthyss Zinayn

 

[Zinayn]

An image had been in his mind for the past hour. Actually, it could have been a day. Time tended to move differently when one was laser-focused. Zinayn sat in his private quarters on Aurora Station, lights dimmed, unscented candle lit on the low wooden table in front of him. His breathing was slow; so slow that a non-Force-sensetive observer might think he had died. He sat cross-legged on a simple woven mat, focusing on the image. A scale was in his mind. Durasteel. Untarnished.

The picture moved. The scale tilted from side to side. He reached out a finger in his mind, touching the middle. It steadied. Right...in the middle...of the comlink. The image had changed, and he suddenly became aware of the thrumming of the deck beneath him, and the incessant pinging of his communication device. He had no idea how long it had been ringing. Having succeeded in centering himself yet again, he got to his feet and turned on his holoprojector. It was Diarch Rellik.

Concern etched his features. Zinayn looked the same as the Diarch did once the message played out. A distortion in the Force? One that was so maddening that Diarch Rellik had requested aid? It had to be serious. The Chiss grabbed his lightsaber, communicator, and katana and headed out the door.

As he walked briskly through the corridors, gray robes flowing behind him, he got several amused and worried looks by Lilaste passerby. Zinayn paid them no mind as he entered the turbolift to Hangar 4. His hand grabbed for his comlink, and he made a call to the Diarch's frequency.

"Diarch Rellik, this is Zinayn," he said, voice steady despite the minor furrow in his brow. "I received your message. I am ready and available to accompany you. I must admit that you have piqued my curiosity. Shall we meet at the naval dockyards?"

The turbolift chimed and Zinayn swept out, nearly avoiding an astromech and a Lilaste pilot. His gaze searched the busy hangar for any sort of shuttle (he didn't have a personal one) and locked onto a new model being wiped down by a cleaning crew. "Excuse me! I need to use this shuttle. Urgent business," he said, tone leaving no room for debate. The crew members looked at each other, passing a silent message. Then, one-by-one, they packed up their equipment and left.

Without waiting for a response from the Diarch, he entered the shuttle and set in a course for the dockyards.

Darth Avanthyss Diarch Rellik

 

[Diarch Rellik]

The message came through as Rellik stood before the Vault's viewport, eyes fixed on the stars beyond. Zinayn's voice filled the room. Turning to his second in command - he requested that he give the access codes to the Academies flight staff and to get them into his personal hanger and allow shuttle access. With a prompt efficiency of the Diarchy Navy he relayed the request.

"Clear Bay 9. Allow open shuttle access by request of the Diarch."

The landing went fine as normal and Rellik made his way from the command center to meet Zinayn. Informing his staff to prepare them for launch, for them to be ready to leave immediately. For the man himself, he made his way to greet his friend personally. He had not had a chance to work with him side by side since Lah'mu he thought. Those were good times and it was where he got the cloak he wears today.

As the shuttle came in Rellik was ready to begin their new adventure.

Zinayn Darth Avanthyss

 

[Zinayn]

The shuttle descended into the bay, making a gentle touchdown on the deck of the hangar. Zinayn rose from his seat, strapped on his katana to his left hip, and lowered the landing ramp. Diarchy crews made haste to a different shuttle, fueling it up and performing maintenance checks. The Chiss walked down the ramp with mechanical precision, and yet with a sense of urgency as well. The doors at the opposite end of the hangar slid open, and Diarch Rellik strode in. Zinayn gave him a nod and moved to meet him.

"Diarch Rellik, I came as soon as I heard your call. I sense that time may be of the essence regarding this maddening pull you feel. I admit that I have not felt this disturbance as you have. That makes it all the more important that you asked someone to go with you. If this darkness seeks to ensnare you, it will be very disappointed when we conquer it. Together."

Zinayn glanced over at the shuttle again, and the crews were packing up. Their transport was ready. Gesturing towards it, he asked, "Shall we?"

Darth Avanthyss Diarch Rellik

 

[Diarch Rellik]

A wave of elation came over the Diarch as he laid eyes on Zinayn. He was much more at peace seeing him in person and knowing he would be by Rellik's side for what was to come.

"I agree, this darkness in the force. It is consuming, alluring, and pitched in a wave that ripples through the galaxy in its own way. We should waste no time."

He followed Zinayn's hand and began walking to the shuttle, boarding, and strapping in he took a moment to look at his friend. "I feel like it has been to long. I am glad to see you my friend. Thank you for joining me on this mission. I must be honest and say it could be dangerous."

With a controlled bust of the thrusters, the shuttle began to move. The two had begun their journey to the well of madness. The Diarch, unsure of if it is the right thing to do and how they will help mold this portion of space but something so obscure and vile must not be left at the least - un-seen. Could it be a Sith ritual, a natural phenomena in the force. Only time would tell.

Zinayn

 

[Zinayn]

Zinayn boarded the shuttle and strapped himself into the pilot seat, the Diarch right next to him. The Chiss guided the shuttle out of the bay and set the course. The autopilot would do the rest. He faced Rellik as he spoke, and it did occur to Zinayn that it had been a while since they'd seen each other. Weeks, maybe months since they truly talked to one another. He had to admit that he'd had his reservations about the Diarchs that one day Laphisto and he had come before them in the very beginning days of their close alliance. But through the fires of war, those suspicious had been put to rest. Battle and trauma were the two things that brought people closer than anything else, Zinayn thought.

"It has been a while. You've been busy running the Diarchy, and when you're not doing that, you're out fighting. You're a very busy man, so I am glad to see you, regardless of the danger this calling may present. I've seen you stand up to powerful adversaries and come out victorious. This will be no different," he said, lips turning up in a smile.

After a couple hours of conversation, and the occasional lapse of comfortable silence, the shuttle dropped out of hyperspace. Zinayn read the scanners, eyebrow raised slightly. An uncharted world? He knew the galaxy was vast, but it still surprised him to see a planet so far from civilization that it hadn't even been explored yet. The scanners showed little to no technology on the surface. Whoever the inhabitants of this world were, they weren't very technologically advanced. If, of course, anyone actually lived here.

Suddenly, a kerclunk sounded from the aft section of the vessel, and warning lights flared on the piloting console. Zinayn frowned as he read. The engines were down? How was that possible? The maintenance crews had just checked the transport before they'd left.

But regardless of how the craft had malfunctioned, the fact remained that they were now hurtling towards the surface of this unknown world. "Hold on tight, Diarch!" Zinayn said with a strained voice. He pulled back on the yoke, trying to level out the shuttle, but the atmosphere had already grabbed hold. Wind howled outside, and the shuttle creaked and groaned miserably as the wings threatened to rip apart. The Chiss diverted all power from weapons and shields to the stabilizers and repulsorlifts, and the flight evened out just barely. The clouds parted ahead, revealing dry grassland below. Still pulling with all his strength, Zinayn willed the Force to bring the shuttle up. The nose began to level out, but it was too little, and far too late. "Brace!"

The shuttle impacted the ground hard, jolting Zinayn up and stressing the crash webbing over his waist. Dirt flew up and covered the forward viewport, and the shuttle began an uncontrolled skid through the savannah. Good thing there weren't any cliffs nearby.

The skid continued for seconds that seemed like days, but eventually calmed and stopped. Zinayn let out a breath that he didn't remember holding. "Well. We're here," he announced with a grimace, pain knifing into his abdomen. There would be a nasty bruise there in a few hours.

The lights in the shuttle were out, and the daylight was completely blocked by the layers of dust and sediment on the windshield. Some powerbank somewhere in the ship must have been destroyed by the crash. He reached into his cloak and produced his lightsaber, holding it up and pressing the ignition. Calming golden light flooded the cockpit, and Zinayn stepped past Diarch Rellik to the hatch, which was an uphill walk. He pressed the release. Nothing.

He considered using his lightsaber to cut a hole through it, but decided to use the Force to open it instead so there was some hope of the vessel being spaceworthy again. Zinayn waved a hand before the hatch, and the door squealed in protest as it fell open. Real light gushed in, and Zinayn extinguished his blade, returning it to his belt. He dropped out of the hatch and hit the ground a few feet below. Turning to observe the damage, he instantly took back his hope that the shuttle might be spaceworthy again.

Waiting for the Diarch, he squinted as he stared at the sky. Dark clouds were gathering overhead. The wind roared through the yellow grass, creating a whispering in his ears. A rumble was heard in the distance. A storm was on its way.

Diarch Rellik Darth Avanthyss

 

[Diarch Rellik]

Rellik closed his eyes still in the shuttle. He exhaled slowly, letting the silence settle over him. Then, he reached with the force. The swell of the force was truly darkening here. But he was looking for the eye of the storm. Whatever lay ahead wasn't some natural anomaly. It wasn't simply the echo of suffering. It had a presence. A will. And it knew they had come. Already it tried to wriggle his mental state loose. With gritted teeth he continued to search through it. Flashes of laughter, lost thoughts, and even memories of his own that had been twisted from what he remembered; all filled his mind.

His eyes opened. The normal light sand yellow color of his Sith eyes were now a more corrupted dark orange. A slight hint of infection already trying to wither its way inside. He walked out of the shuttle and joined Zinayn on the grounds of the Savannah.

"That way," he said, voice low, eyes scanning the northern ridgeline where the land dipped into a bowl-shaped valley. "It's not far. The pulse is strongest just beyond that rise. I can feel it"

"Zinayn," he said, beginning to walk, "I can feel the madness or perhaps something that has succumbed to it... watching us."

Darth Avanthyss Zinayn

 

[Darth Avanthyss]

This corner of the galaxy was sweltering with anguish. There was a sense of grueling competition, a perpetual power struggle. Predators struggle to fill their bellies on the lean, stringy meat of their prey. Prey becoming predator. An ever-evolving food chain. Brother feasts upon Brother. Mother devours child. Loyalty was a luxury, and it wouldn’t make for a meal. Every soul of every animal on this planet twisted with an unnatural hunger, one that could not be satisfied by anything other than living flesh. Whoever stepped upon this planet would be met with that same gnawing appetite.

In this stretch of flat land where they’d landed, there were a dozen or so other ships as it seemed the only suitable place for miles to land. Some of these ships looked old, with models that hadn't been used in hundreds of years. Some of them were so old they looked almost foreign. None of the ships showed any signs of life–in fact, there were a couple of bodies strewn about, fully decomposed and stripped clean of flesh by the inhabitants of the planet. One could see a couple of those inhabitants nearby–emaciated canines with yellow eyes and teeth, faces locked into permanent scowls, black fur mottled with scabs and disease.

As they saw the two exiting their ship, they’d approach, ears pushed back, wiry tails cowering between their legs. They sniffed and whined, ribs painfully visible beside bellies swollen with starvation.


• • •

The clearing was surrounded by thick forestry, thinner up ahead where the ridgeline and valley were visible. The trees matched the grass with a sickly greyish yellow on the base of their thin trunks, color gradating upwards into an inky black. The blackness almost looked like it was a disease having consumed the trees from the top down.

There was a speck of blue breaking up the flora, and if one focused they’d see a cerulean hand wrapped around a tree. Behind it a face peeked out–a twi’lek, young and round-faced. The twi’lek wore brown, modest robes… jedi garments. The child put a hand to their mouth as if to giggle, then took off into the woods to the left of the valley.

Diarch Rellik Zinayn

 

[Zinayn]

After the Diarch had clambered out of the shuttle and began to lead, Zinayn followed closely, eyes scanning the horizon cautiously. He hadn't initially seen the other starships, though he supposed that might have been because his transport had skidded for miles with no view of the outside from the cockpit. Suddenly, he felt his foot get stuck on something, and he tripped, meeting the dirt. He wiped himself off quickly and went to see what he'd tripped on.

A corpse lay hidden in the tall grasses, a few remnants of rotting flesh left on its body. As he looked at the skeleton, something gnawed at the back of his mind.

Death. Betrayal. Terror.

This planet reeked of it. The Force was wounded and howling with misery and all the emotions of the darkness. With a flourish of his cloak, Zinayn turned back and trotted to catch up with the Diarch. Rellik looked towards the ridgeline and the valley, and Zinayn nodded. He felt the madness now too. It was nearly overwhelming. Nearly. And now that Rellik had mentioned it, Zinayn felt something watching too.

"This place feels like an echo chamber of wrath, death, and horror. It's demoralizing, to say the least," Zinayn said, making a rare attempt at humor in this depressing environment.

The Chiss reacted with great speed as he felt something through the Force approaching. Two...three...five...six. Through the Force, Zinayn felt hunger radiating from them. Through the brush came six animals, all looking worse for wear. They were whining now, and he was aware of their ribs being very visible thorugh their skin. They were starving. "Diarch...I believe these creatures see us only as a means to gain calories."

His lightsaber sprung to life as the animals walked closer, now speeding up to a trot. Though his focus was mainly on the imminent danger they represented, Zinayn caught something in the corner of his eye, and looked up. Movement by a tree in the distance. He could see blue through the yellow grass. Squinting, he could now make out a young Twi'lek wearing brown Jedi robes.

Before he could look over to ask Rellik if he'd seen it too, the nearest animal lunged, teeth bared in a desperate bid for food. Zinayn brought his lightsaber up and split the hungry thing down the middle. Its two halves fell smoking to either side of the Chiss. Leaving three for Diarch Rellik to take care of, Zinayn caught one of the dangerous fauna by surprise with a hurl of his lightsaber, leaving a charred remnant obscured beneath the grass. Zinayn then brought his lightsaber up again, anticipating another lunge from the last of his targets. Instead, the animal moved to the most recently killed of its brothers, and began tearing at it with its teeth, gulping down muscle and flesh. How hungry it must have been.

Deciding to put it out of its misery, Zinayn moved forward swiftly and swung his blade up through its neck, ending it quickly. Trusting that Rellik could take out three small beasts, he turned his gaze towards the trees again just in time to see the Twi'lek run off into the woods.

"Wait! It's not safe in there!" he yelled, concerned that there might be more hungry predators in the trees. "Diarch, did you see the child? They ran off into the woods. I'm sure it's far more perilous in there than out here. And that Twi'lek is running straight towards the source of this madness. We must help."

An unwelcome voice entered his mind. Let the child die. Then you can feast upon its flesh and blood!

Zinayn frowned and shook his head. The madness would not get through to him. It couldn't.

Darth Avanthyss Diarch Rellik

 

[Diarch Rellik]

Rellik exhaled once through his nose. The Force pulsed here, sick and swollen. He had been meditating and focusing on the force since the moment his feet touched the ground. It was only at the words of Zinayn that brought him back to reality. Then came the scent, the wreckage around them exuding rot and death. Fractured hulls of corvettes, snapped wings of starfighters, and bodies stripped clean to the bone. The Diarch noticed that the bones themselves were marked with gnawing, a sign of starvation.

With a tingle at the back of his neck he cranked his head from the terrain to the treeline. Cold yellow eyes gazed back at his own. A pack of hounds skulked out from behind a wreck. One limped, but still bared teeth. All were gaunt with hunger, eyes dim. He reached back and unclipped a ration bar from his belt. For a moment, he thought to toss it. Then stopped. A sick hunger coiled in his gut. His fingers tensed. Jaw clenched. The food was his, these animals were already dead. Zinayn was right, they were simply hungry but so was Rellik.

The dogs lunged and his saber snapped to life. The first died mid-pounce. The second was scorched with his off hand by lightning. The third skidded in retreat before turning back with desperate hunger. It then lunged and the Diarch simply stepped to the side and slashed his blade down across its throat.

Silence returned. Only then did he speak again, voice low. "I didn't see the girl." He turned to Zinayn, eyes still dark orange with sickly edges of crimson creeping in from the corners. "She may not exist my friend. Could be an illusion. A lure." A long pause. "I've seen enough dark-side artifacts, enough Force Nexuses to know you don't ignore a thread just because it stinks of bait. Usually that is where the secrets lay."


His fingers curled slightly at his side. "We follow. Trap or not. It's our duty to try."


He looked once more across the field of bodies, then started forward.

Darth Avanthyss Zinayn

 

[Darth Avanthyss]

The whole place smelled like disease. The parts of the trees not dyed black were already dead. It became clear that every animal here was forced to turn into carnivores–there was simply nothing else to eat but each other. What fauna there were (and there were very few) drooled and snarled from afar, even though they knew there was no winning this fight. The leaves and branches didn’t break easily as one tried to force their way into the foliage. The inky black disease that seemed to eat the trees from the top down also seemed to preserve everything and locked it into place like an adhesive, sticking onto clothes and making it increasingly difficult to move.

The Twi’lek child seemed to effortlessly weave through the forest, glancing back occasionally to see if they were still following. It seemed to be a little girl, Padawan beads rattling behind her, still giggling as they pushed through the woods. As they progressed, the forest grew even thicker and darker and the flora seemed to twist in on itself unnaturally--almost painfully. The little girl's laughter grew more malicious. Her eyes lost their sense of playful bliss and she seemed to find amusement in their struggle to pursue her.

One would have the sense of being watched. It had an energy more akin to the forest animals than a sentient being. Hungry and vicious, biding its time.

The very air around the two seemed to sour and grow heavier. A heavy, nauseating stench permeated the air--it smelled like vomit, or stomach acid. It would give one the feeling that they were already being digested by the wilderness. The black disease appeared lower and lower down the trees as the two trekked deeper into the wilderness, and at some point it seemed it had infected the ground as well. The girl ran faster and yet she seemed closer, more visible. The ends of her fingers were black and her eyes rolled wildly. Her Lekku curled upwards in a strange spiral. Her skin started to seem more gray than blue.

There was no more laughter but she vocalized something more strained and animalistic. It was almost fearful as the two approached. One would realize then that their pursuit was no longer a chase, but a hunt—whether they meant for it or not.

A sudden, startling scream. She grabbed the front of her shirt like she was wounded, then crumbled into the brush and out of sight. Only a speck of her brown sleeve could be seen hanging on a branch. The noise stopped and suddenly the forest became very still and quiet. A stale silence hung in the air as one (presumably) approached.

It seemed the body had been there for a long time. The black foliage grew through her and cradled her. Consumed, just as the bodies of the other victims were. Nothing left to waste or even positively identify her besides ragged brown robes and multicolored Silka beads. On the chest of the robes was a long, jagged, seared gash.

"You shouldn't have come." The voice was almost meek--it had a raw sound, like the person speaking had been crying for hours. "I can smell your compassion... this is no place for you."

Zinayn Diarch Rellik

 

[Zinayn]

When Diarch Rellik turned to look at Zinayn, he noticed the darkness encroaching around the man's eyes. Where his eyes used to be gold, now there was crimson and orange taking over. The corruption of the planet was strong, so strong that had even spoken in his head. Rellik was more dark-side aligned, so the madness was likely having a greater effect on him. As they both turned towards the treeline to chase after the girl, who was likely an illusion of the darkness, the Chiss asked, "Are you feeling alright, Diarch? The haunting wails of this world through the Force are strong. The hunger even manifested in my mind as a voice, urging me to let the little one die. Have you encountered such a cruel advisor as that in your head?"

As they approached the treeline, Zinayn noticed the blackening of the trees from the top down. The branches were criss-crossed on their path, and yet the child ran effortlessly through, as if this was a maze that she designed. The Twi'lek's laughter was still ringing in his ears, now almost mocking as he tried to move through the foliage. When he came in contact with one of the branches, it was stiff and unyielding, and whatever substance or disease was on the wood rubbed onto his outer cloak, smearing it.

Zinayn unsheathed his katana and began slashing through the leaves and sticks, clearing a path. Yet the deeper they went, the more branches blocked their path, and the tougher they became. The girl's still ringing giggles were now interrupted periodically by his grunts of exertion as he swung. By all logic, with how slow Zinayn was moving through the obstacles, the girl should have been long gone by now. But she was still just as close as ever. An illusion, certainly. With one last cut, he was free from the branches, and his eyes were solely on the girl.

The sun was almost fully blocked out now, and the air reeked of acid. So he was in the belly of the beast already. Suddenly, the girl's steady laughter became more of a struggle, and she started flailing around rather than running. Then a bloodcurdling scream and she dropped. Zinayn was there in a heartbeat, kneeling down, and staring at a days' or weeks' old corpse.

Now he heard a voice. Unsure if it was in his head or a real one, he looked to Diarch Rellik as if to ask if he'd heard it too. The Chiss stood up and scanned his surroundings. Just more death. "Show yourself," he said, voice steady. He could hear the tears in the voice. "We can help you."

Darth Avanthyss Diarch Rellik

 

[Diarch Rellik]

Inventory - Conviction - Blooded Seer Cloak - Spear

Rellik's jaw tightened as he regarded Zinayn, the weight of the question settling between them. "Yes," he said quietly, voice steady but edged with the weight of countless battles within his own mind. "This voice… the hunger that whispers cruel counsel, urging surrender to despair. It has been calling to me long before our arrival here. It is the same darkness that I felt in the force that tempted me to coming here."

He glanced toward the darkened treeline ahead, where the flicker of movement marked the girl's path through the twisted woods. "But I have learned to steel myself, to push back when the madness claws too deeply. The Dark side of the Force is no stranger to pain, but it demands strength. I can persevere. Your presence here is helping me stay grounded. Thank you Zinayn. If we must flee and return later for study, we should do so without hesitation..."

His gaze sharpened as they stepped beneath the oppressive canopy. The air thickened, suffocating and sour, each breath a reminder of the rot that clung to this place. Ahead, the Twi'lek child moved with eerie joy and tact through the forest that was now looking to eat them both alive. The Diarch began to wrap himself in his cloak with one hand and slash the vicious fauna with the other. His cloak was beginning to wave and float in its own wants. Leering to closely to the dangerous forest. The Spear on his back began to hum to him. The Warden calling for him to answer. Another person who could help the Diarch balance himself. To be a rock against the sea of madness. He did not take it in his hands. Already he could feel his cloak disagreeing with his mental state. Both it and the spear required him to be in a state of mind that deserved them, right now; he was struggling to control his own mind.

With the joyous laughter of the child turning to vicious animalistic noise the Diarch began to slow down. His brow started to form with sweat. As she devolved so did he. Faintly he spoke out, hoping Zinayn would here. "It is growing in strength." Through his eyes he saw illusions of his own. Black tar enveloping him, voices crying out with things he has never told anyone, gibberish, and cries of madness.

As the Twi'lik girl fell down and cried out he was snapped out of it. Following Zinayn's movement painfully he came up behind him slower than he got to the girl. His friend was already calling out. Doing his best to get them to come out and receive aid. All the Diarch did as he approached the body was feel grateful that the world had ate her instead of him. - As the thought crossed his mind he looked down to his hand and saw a black splotch that seemed to be traveling through his veins.

Zinayn Darth Avanthyss

 

[Darth Avanthyss]

Dead silence. The animals hadn’t stuck around. Not even a single insect hung in the air. It seemed like anything living cleared out not long after the ominous presence drew near. It was darker, too. This planet neared a white sun but its light was mostly blocked by the almost oppressive foliage. The areas of the ground reached by the infection clung to shoes like a glue trap. The rotting carcass of some large rodent laid in the infection like it had been trapped there, black ink matting their fur and seeping into its body. If one looked closer it would become startlingly clear that the rodent was still alive, snapping its head around to stare at them. It was half decomposed—how could it be alive?

"We can help you."

“Help me?” the stranger hissed. The idea seemed almost offensive to her. “Help me?! Help yourself!” There was the unmistakable zhwoom of lightsabers igniting, and a figure was illuminated in the trees by two searing red lights. The lights of the dual blades didn’t have the sleek, steady nature of any normal lightsaber. The scorching blades were jagged and unstable, and some of the pure energy occasionally crackled and flew off the surface before fizzling out on black leaves.

It seemed she’d been afflicted by the same illness as the trees. The slimy darkness infected her inside and out, forming unnaturally dark and shiny skin pigmentation around her eyes, lips, neck, and hands up to her forearms. Her eyes had the familiar yellow scleras and red irises of a Sith—another affliction that seemed to eat at her. She was almost foaming at the mouth, possessed by a vicious hatred. Tall with the emaciated frame typical of the wildlife in the area, yellow skin pulled taut over bones and muscle with no body fat to spare.

“Help,” she snarled again, like she was tasting the word. “Your ship couldn’t lift two feet off the ground. Way I see it… you have until you’re out of rations before you’re just another sorry link in the food chain.” Her lips turned upwards into a sneering grin revealing crimson-stained teeth that curved upwards like tusks. “To put you down swiftly would be most merciful of me, hm?It seems I’ll be helping you.”

In a flash she leapt from the tree to Rellik, saber poised for his throat. It didn’t seem like she wanted to duel or prove herself through a fair fight. She took the kill where she could see the opportunity. The easiest way to die on this planet wasn’t by lightsabers, teeth, or claws. It was by maintaining your honor—waiting until the opponent was ready, fighting them fairly instead of taking what you can. Honor, pride, and dignity were the biggest killers here. Whoever hadn’t died for it was all that remained.

Zinayn Diarch Rellik

 

[Zinayn]

At the sound of lightsabers being ignited, Zinayn's hands went to his hip, where his katana was sheathed. His eyes were drawn to the woman standing on one of the blackened branches above, red blades crackling with unstable energy. The first thing he noticed about her was the disease on her skin. It was probably the same sickness that had infected all the other living things in this forest. Was it something in the air? If it was, he and the Diarch had already been infected, and the best course of action right now would be to defeat this Sith and attempt to hail the closest interstellar Diarchy comm station and leave as soon as possible to be quarantined.

Or else she was right. They would die here, one way or another.

She leapt from the trees with speed belying her malnourished appearance, and was slashing at Rellik with a clear intent to kill. The time to talk was over. She had chosen her fate. Trusting that the Diarch could hold up against her and keep her attention for a second, the Chiss positioned himself to the side as if he was spectating a gladiator match from the ground floor. He focused the Force in his legs, keeping his eyes on the insane woman, and his hands on his katana.

He pushed off from the ground like a Chiss nightdragon taking flight, the ground beneath him cracking under the pressure of the Force. When he was within striking range of her, he pulled the Harbinger of Balance, commanding the power of the Force into the blade, and aimed a cut horizontally towards the stranger's midsection, taking care to strike a narrow window with his slash so he didn't injure the Diarch too.

They were in dire straits. The longer this woman occupied them, the longer the disease had to work its way through their systems and drive them mad. Usually, Zinayn was a careful and thoughtful member of the Diarchy. If time was on their side, he'd advocate for taking a sample of the disease to a lab on Bastion to be studied. But he understood that that wasn't the case. He just hoped this insanity wouldn't spread beyond this isolated world.

Darth Avanthyss Diarch Rellik

 

[Diarch Rellik]

The crimson blaze came for his throat like a fang of the forest itself. Rellik's saber snapped to life in a flash of gold, intercepting the jagged red at the last instant. Sparks screamed into the dark as the unstable blade clashed against his own, the impact driving him back a half-step, boots grinding against the sticky earth.

The second blade whipped low, unstable energy crackling. His free hand answered with lightning, a crack of arcs snapping across the gap to meet it. His spear thrummed on his back, the Warden's voice pressing into his mind, urging him to claim its strength and balance. But his veins already ached, that black splotch creeping further up his arm, pulsing with every heartbeat.

Zinayn's presence cut through the haze. A flare in the Force, and then the gleam of steel. The Chiss leapt like a shadow unbound, katana streaking for her exposed flank. Rellik twisted with the motion, pivoting his own blade to hold her attention, his weight pressing against hers to open the narrowest window for his ally's strike.

When the two warrior's faces were close Relliks mind attacked again. Hunger. Fear. Survival. His blade pushed, locking jagged red against his gold in a contest of will and in his falling to the darkside he overstepped. Nearing the narrow path of Zinayn's blade coming down.

Darth Avanthyss Zinayn

 

[Darth Avanthyss]

As the Diarch held his ground against her attack, Avanthyss smiled. She could sense his inner struggle, and she delighted in it. She looked down at his neck strained with a blackening vein.

“It’s already taken hold,” she said to him with a sneer. “You’ll never be satiated again.”

She struck again with the second saber, but her eyes widened in shock as she saw the force lightning flicker to life on the man’s fingertips and stop the attack in its tracks.

“Sith,” she thought aloud, expression wavering. “Or…?” Avanthyss seemed bewildered by the two of them—they didn’t seem to have the traditional Sith-and-Jedi roles that she’d seen in her time. Before she came to this planet, it seemed so clear which was which… No. There was nowhere besides where she was now. Nothing existed outside of blackened forests and crying animals. Whatever dichotomy she may have known held no weight anymore. Even she was unrecognizable.

Hunger. Fear. Survival.

She found solace in the words—the concepts that she used to be warned about, trained against… they were now the only thing she could truly wrap her mind around. Now, they were finally on the same page. She didn’t counter it, but instead fueled his desperation and fear. Her lean muscles rippled as she pushed him further.

Exactly, she responded in her mind. As their faces neared, she flicked her eyes to his friend as if she was letting the man opposite her in on a secret. She muttered in a quiet tone, only audible to him. "He will realize, just as you do now… It would be beneficial to eliminate such a powerful foe before he even thinks to turn his blade on you." She said it sincerely, and she was being truthful. The way she saw it, it was only a matter of time until they fought a three-way battle. It would be advantageous for everyone to narrow the playing field.

She broke the stalemate a split second before the Chiss swung with his katana, yelling with effort as she snapped both her sabers to the left and leapt out of the way. She rolled on the ground and landed on her knees before she thrusted a hand forward, compelling the force and redirecting the katana attack into his companion. Immediately after, she lunged forward with another kill strike—a downward slash aimed for his skull.

Diarch Rellik Zinayn

 

[Zinayn]

At the last moment, the woman tumbled to the side, evading his attack. A sudden wave of power hit his katana, nearly wrenching it from his hands, and redirecting it towards the Diarch who had overstepped. Gritting his teeth, he halted the momentum of the sword with his own Force push. Had he swung in a wider, more reckless arc, he might have hit his ally. This was clearly no random, wannabe Sith. Surely, she had some sort of combat experience before she came to be stranded on this planet. Maybe this fight wouldn't be over as quick as he'd hoped. Hatred for her flared up in his core, but was quickly extinguished. This world would not succeed in turning him to the dark side.

Zinayn took a quick glance at Diarch Rellik, seeing the black disease crawling up his arm. He hoped it wouldn't make him as feral as their opponent. Before he could think any more, the woman was leaping, crackling blades aimed for his head. His best option was to get her in a blade lock and use his cortosis guard to short out her sabers.

He brought his katana back behind his ear and then jabbed it forward, aiming for her midsection. The curved blade was not supposed to be used for stabbing, but damage was not his goal with the attack. He angled the thrust so the fyrirdogun metal would make contact with the energy of her lightsaber and slide past it towards her body while the cortosis guard touched her blade to short it out.

There was also the second lightsaber to worry about. His free hand went to his lightsaber beneath his cloak, which he produced and ignited just as one of her blades came crashing down, with his katana moving threateningly towards her face.

It was a strange, unorthodox defense, the Chiss thought as he really took a look at what he was doing. But the battlefield was ever-changing. And combat techniques had to change with it.

Diarch Rellik Darth Avanthyss

 

[Diarch Rellik]

Inventory - Conviction - Blooded Seer Cloak - Spear

The second crimson blade came down for his skull, jagged energy shrieking through. Rellik lifted his saber to meet it, but the black splotch in his veins burned hotter, spreading like fire beneath his skin. His breath caught. The world narrowed. All he could feel was the gnawing hunger pressing deeper into his marrow. His golden blade wavered for the briefest instant.

A flare of light erupted from the haft of the Diarch's spear slung across his back, not flame, not lightning, but a brilliance that did not belong in this place. White-gold radiance seared through the forest, spilling across diseased bark and rotted leaves, and then came the shockwave. It struck outward in a perfect circle, five meters in all directions. The Force itself collapsed.

There was a clash of blades but the Diarch was not present to witness it. Zinayn had stepped into the space between, katana and lightsaber crossing with Avanthyss's jagged strikes, their collision flaring bright in the spear's radiance. For the first time since entering the forest, Rellik was not fighting the battle with muscle or the force.

Malevolent whispers stopped. The visions of tar and teeth fell away. The hunger vanished. Even the weight of his own power fled him.For a heartbeat, Rellik was no seer, no Diarch, no vessel of the dark or light. He was only a man with a blade, his lungs burning with the simple rhythm of breath, his veins silent. The silence was jarring, like waking from a nightmare only to find oneself deaf. But within that void there was also clarity.

The Warden's voice, not in his mind but in the marrow of his bones, steady and immovable. "Do not be swallowed. Stand."

Deaf to the Force, the world felt alien. There was only the physical, the thrum of blood in his ears, the ache of sweat rolling down his brow, the weight of his saber still alive in his hands. It was terrifying. It was pure. The Warden's words burned steady in his chest, anchoring him.

He drew in a breath, long and steady, grounding himself in the rhythm of it. His eyes lifted to Avanthyss, still locked in combat with Zinayn, prepared to help his friend survive with or without the force at his side.

Darth Avanthyss Zinayn

OOC Note about the spear -

• Anti-Force Pulse: Emits a one-time shockwave (5-meter radius) that temporarily suppresses Force abilities and enhancements. Especially effective against precognitive or sustained powers.
• Void-Warded: Its soul-bound nature allows it to retain full functionality in Force-dead zones. While it cannot amplify Force abilities, the spear's special features continue to operate independently of the Force.
• Plasma Discharge (Solar-Lance): Crystallized Aetherium is plugged into the shaft of the spear via raw crysals or special Eitherium power packs to launch high-velocity, short-range energy thrusts capable of piercing Tank grade armor.