Look at the Recluse

[Sienna Vekarr]

Pant. Pant.

The damp leaves slapped against her skin. Fresh rain made the girl’s boots sink into the soggy earth, her long hair hugging her face as she ran. Drenched in two days of rain and sweat, the black robes beneath her lackluster armor clung to her body.

Pant. Pant.

Branches snapped and leaves smacked against her pursuer, its ambiguous white and red mask a haunting reminder of what failure looked like; what true terror felt like. The Hounds were dark, so dark it felt like they blotted out what little sun there was on this planet at times.

Pant. Pant.

A downed tree, her hand pressed against the wet, rotting wood and she vaulted over it. There was no time to stop, it would catch her first. A light drizzle began, the drops of water quickly becoming a torrential downpour. Cursing under her breath as her wet hair obscured her view.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

Snap-hiss.

She could feel it. Above her! Her lightsaber ignited, its green blade. Stopping in her tracks along a thick trunk overlooking a bog she looked up and peered through the darkness of the canopy. No? Quick, wet footsteps slapped against the thick bark as the Hound ran to meet its prey.

She turned around quickly, barely stopping the blade in time. Pushing her attacker back, she herself stumbled along the slippery trunk. The Hound crouched, its breathing audible even above the roar of the rain in the canopy. Rain evaporated off of their blades, the only sound breaking the steady hum of their blades being the hiss of the water as it went up in little white wisps.

Hunched over, arms trailing behind its back, the Hound rushed at the girl. It swung its blade wildly and in quick succession between a flurry of punches and kicks. It took all of her concentration to keep herself balanced and stay on the defensive.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

The Force crashed into her chest, knocking the wind out of her lungs. Her eyes shot open in surprise and her mouth opened as if to shout but not sound was released. The fall felt like it lasted forever.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her heart raced as the Hound leaped from the trunk after her, its lightsaber gripped in both of its hands, ready to plunge the red blade into her heart. There was a thud, Sienna winced in protest and the battle was over. A gurgling sound came from the Hound she had impaled with her green blade. Heaving a heavy pant she pushed the body of the Hound from her and stood, dusting the mud away from her trousers.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

Relief that had taken hold was immediately warped into regret as a feeling of dread washed over her. She could feel them, so distinct, yet all the same. Whipping around, ready to fight tooth and nail for her life she looked on at the three Hounds.

“Come on then!” she shouted. Those masks only added to the eerie silence that came from them. She didn't know if they were laughing or if they were analyzing her. All three stood or hung from branches of the gnarled, grey trees. Their blades were active, humming in harmony in the heavy rain of the bog-world as if ready to devour her like the vornskr that stalked her in the night.

One of the Hounds held a burlap sack. It tossed it down to her, its contents jingling during its fall. She used the Force to guide the falling sack into her arms. The first thing she noticed about it was the weight. The Hound carried it with one hand and tossed it like it was nothing. Sometimes the things truly frightened her. Calling on the Force and her heritage she attempted to trace the short history of the bag. She couldn't sense anything malicious from the burlap sack, but she remained suspicious nonetheless.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

“Thank you…”

Her voice trailed off as she looked up to the branches. She hadn’t noticed them leave in her concentration she hadn’t noticed the three Hounds leave her alone in the swamp. She set the bag down and searched the downed Hound for anything useful before leaving the area. The lightsaber parts were in much better condition than her own and it was carrying a blaster and a few extra energy packs. Deciding it would be easier to simply take the entire utility belt than wiggle the holster off she threw her own empty belt on the burlap sack and strapped the Hound’s around her waist, blaster and all. Clipping both lightsabers to her belt picked the sack up and slung it across her back with her old utility belt.

The trek to the promised ration drop was several miles East of where her fight had ended, but it was still day out and the only thing she really had to worry about was the occasional arachnid. They weren’t nearly as terrifying as the vornskr in the night. With a heavy sigh as she entered the clearing with the large rectangular box of rations in the center. Her eyes brightened and a grin inched its way across her face before she sprinted over to the box, sliding the top off with the Force before she even arrived to the black plasteel container.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

Within was the food for the night and a few more days as well as a back pack meant to hold it. Of course as usual there was a flare gun at the bottom of the box with the same piece of flimsi stuck to it. To humor her father she reached and took the flimsi note from the flare gun.

​

My Daughter,​

It pleases me that you have made it this far without my aide. I know this may seem harsh​

but there is a reason for the things that I do. Know that I have faith in you and that I truly​

believe that you are meant for great things within the Ember of Vahl. Remember, trust in​

the Goddess and she will provide all that you need to survive this ordeal. Or you could​

end it all with that flare gun and my Hounds will come for you and take you from this​

terrible place. May the Goddess guide your decision.​

-Areno​

She scoffed and tossed the note to the ground. In the clearing the rain was unforgiving, but she knew of a cave nearby that she could take refuge until the morning.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

The rain was heavy that night. Drops as big as her thumb fell from the dark sky and pelted through the canopy of the trees just outside her cave. The large fire put she had dug and the surging flame within was all that kept the vornskr at bay. She could hear their yips and growls all knight and well into dawn. They pranced along the edges of her dreams.

But with dawn came the little bit of sun that would scare them away from her shelter. Most likely that would be the last sun she would see all day. She hated this place. Hated it so much.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

Did she hate this place enough to take his offer? Would this just...go on forever if she didn't take his offer? For six years she had been here. Many a birthday went by without so much as a hello from her 'Father', she smelled like a swamp and hadn't had a good night's rest since the day she arrived on this godforsaken planet.

These thoughts ran through her head every day, but the sweet promise of power and vengeance kept her going. It was still early, which meant the Hounds probably hadn't gotten to her supplies yet. If they had she would have to find something else to eat and even after six years of foraging, it was still perilous on this ugly swamp world. The sun had become hidden behind the rain clouds and the gray canopy of the abnormal mangroves.

The pungent stench of death caressed her nose. She looked down from the branches, a Hound had found her way into one of the acidic bogs that dotted the landscape. Pity, but one less of the strange creatures for her to deal with. Her chances of survival just went up.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

She went over the objective of the day in her head as she passed through the trees. Arrive at her supply drop location and set up the relay that was to be activated there and get there before the Hounds. She scoffed. Fat chance of that happening. She rarely got to a drop before at least one Hound had rummaged through its contents. All the more reason for her to hurry.

The Force flowed through her, pushed her to her absolute limit as she raced through over the bubbling bog below.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

[SIZE=22pt]S[/SIZE]omething was off about the bog today…In fact, the entire forest seemed to be much more still than normal, even the vornskr had been more reserved during the night before. Landing on the limb of a gnarltree, long past the point in its life where the knobby white spider thrived under its weight. Gripping the bark as tightly as she could to keep from swaying she closed her eyes and focused. Something had happened here, something horrible. She could hear it sometimes, echoes within the Force. Often times these echoes were confusing and disorienting when she attempted to see through the dark forest.

Must…Harvest…Devour…

[SIZE=22pt]T[/SIZE]oday was no different. The whispers gnawed at her mind as she tried to find focus, tried to see what was making this place so much quieter. With an exasperated sigh she opened her eyes and looked down towards the datapad mounted to her forearm. The screen was dark and slightly cracked due to years of abuse in this deadly bog. She flicked the screen. Once, twice, three times. Dread fell upon her as the realization of what this could mean dawned on her. It couldn't be broken could it?

CRASH​

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

[SIZE=22pt]L[/SIZE]ike a beacon in the Force she felt the Dark Side draw suffocating close. With a snap-hiss her lightsaber was brought to life as a Hound dropped from the canopy above. Leaves fell and hid parts of his body from view. Its arms were above its head, ready to strike. Its red blade hissed to life, evaporating the water that fell from above on contact. Their blades connected over Sienna’s head, the Hound’s sinister white mask looked on ambiguously at the acolyte. Sienna’s gray eyes tried to find any sort of emotion in the black pits that served as eye holes in that horrid mask. She found none.

[SIZE=22pt]T[/SIZE]heir arms shuddered as the Hound pressed hard. The young girl shouted and pushed her blade up, disengaging the masked warrior. With her back to the trunk she watched as the Hound stumbled a few steps back, and then she realized why the bog had become so silent. From down below a great surge of water came, like a geyser. A long green neck followed, rows of sharp teeth within a giant head with beady yellow eyes perched on either side. The gapping maw shut, piercing the Hound and dragging him down. He didn’t make a single sound of protest.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

[SIZE=22pt]A[/SIZE]s the pair fell, the Hound’s struggle brought down the trunk. It cracked at the elbow and fell and Sienna fell with it. Cold rushed to meet her as she fell into the bog, the shadow of the great beast clear even in the murky water. Its eyes peered at her through the bloody water. She didn’t waste another second and she swam, bursting through the surface and gasping for air she swam to the muddy bank as fast as she could.

[SIZE=22pt]D[/SIZE]ragonsnakes. She had read about them before, but thought they only inhabited the southern side of the bog. She assumed wrong. The wild beast crashed from behind her with a terrible roar, crushing the trees in its path as it chased her through the bog. Why was she always running? She couldn’t run forever, but her lightsaber was far from waterproof. Sliding to the left she tried to trick the beast. It slid past her as it tried to pivot its massive body to chase her but…she was gone. With a growl the beast walked, its long neck searching through the gnarltrees. Sienna held her breath as the beast’s head passed the opposite side of the root she hid behind. It grunted, its breath blowing her soggy hair from her face. Satisfied there was no sign of the intruder it made its way back to the bog it called home.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

Its steps echoed through the wet woods. She was safe for now, the crisis with the dragonsnake had been averted. With a heavy sigh she stepped around the root she had been hiding behind. Heated air met her, a pair of beady yellow eyes stared back at her. Time slowed to a crawl as Sienna’s short life flashed before her eyes. Was this how she was going to die? A snack for some scaly water dragon? The jaw of the beast opened wide, she could see the fear in her eyes reflected in the golden orbs of her predator. Long, sharp teeth reached out to greet her and then she did something not even she expected.

Lightning erupted from her fingertips, zapping and dancing over the beast’s scales. It howled in protest and agony, its mouth shut and it retreated only slightly. With its body hissing and smoking from the attack it attacked again, only to receive an even more powerful stream of lightning. Fear fueled her, the Darkside fueled her. Only once had she ever truly felt the true intoxicating, euphoric high that the Darkside’s power held.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

It was incredible.

She felt like she was on a mountain, high above the clouds. The dragon though had since moved out of the way, and lightning continued to stream from the young woman’s fingertips, unable to contain her fear. The dragonsnake hissed and attacked from a different angle, Sienna still focused on where the beast had been moments ago. She screamed as the beast lunged at her.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

Wind rushed hastily around her small frame as the beast’s neck went crashing into the thick, mud-covered roots of the gnarltree. She felt herself become lightheaded, the strain of using so much energy draining her consciousness. Her vision became encircled in darkness. What had stopped the creature from ending her life? She struggled to keep herself up, but the darkness kept inching closer and closer. She felt her knees give out, a blank expression devoid of emotion consumed her normally pensive, perpetual scowl. With glossy eyes she fell to the swampy earth with a squish.

[SIZE=28pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=28pt]- -[/SIZE]​

She was small. Fragile, yet strong and his duty was to protect her should things get out of hand. Things had gotten out of hand. Standing just over two meters and built like a wookie the mysterious man stood from his crouched position and brought his shield to bear again. With a half shaven mop of black hair, olive skin and deep gray eyes he was quite the intimidating figure in his black armor. The visage of skulls adorned his gauntlets and a red, tattered glistaweb battle skirt hung from his waist down to just above his knees.

His nostrils flared once, and he prepared himself for battle once again as the dragonsnake stood shaking itself from its daze. The Dark Side flowed through him, it oozed out of him as he touched the mind of the beast, inducing a powerful sense of fear in the creature. It howeled in surprise and turned to run away, back into the swamp. With a sharp sigh the mysterious Black Knight slid his sithsword into its scabbard and lifted the young girl from the cold, wet ground.

 

[Sienna Vekarr]

Sienna woke to the warmth of a campfire, her limbs stiff and her head throbbing. Through her long, wet locks of raven hair she could make out her location, the clearing where her rations and flare were dropped. With hazy vision she struggled to make out several figures, one she recognized from her last few seconds of consciousness the other day, another was undoubtadly her "father". He could tell the way the Hounds circled him like dogs. Was he here to finish her? Had she proven too weak? Her hand fell to her utility belt where her lightsaber was normally, only to pull up a broken hilt.

"Worry not, young Sienna. She has called us home. I have merely come to collect you. For now...Your trial is over, congratulations are in order."

She scoffed and struggled to stand on her own but to no avail. Had he drugged her?

"You might be feeling a tad woozy. Andre, retrieve her and bring her on the ship. We're returning to the Fleet." Her vision fell to black again as the massive man she now knew as Andrew made his way to retrieve the young girl.