Mending Through Fire

[Maiev]

The witch's head snapped up, eyes widened slightly as she looked over at Elpsis.

"Oh Force no, nothing like that! They didn't do anything, he was nothing but a bit flirty here and there." At the same point though, they weren't wrong. Julian had been the one to perform the ritual that would separate spirit from witch, a very painful process that had nearly killed her, but instead had left her cut from the Force.

"I couldn't even see his companion at first, the 'Shadowman' as Julian called him." She continued to explain how Kalax had stepped in to help the witch to also see the mysterious being. How Julian had explained the shadow was both of this world and the Netherworld, able to exist between both. Kalax had correctly summarized that allowed him to physically step into the hellscape without requiring a gate. "I think throughout all of that, Kalax knew what might happen. She was far too uneasy, even if she tried to hide it."

Maiev ran her fingers through the sand, right hand scooping some up only to let it slip from her fingers shortly after.

"In hindsight now, it wasn't the first time it was hinted to me either. When I was on Arkas last, helping Siobhan..." She explained about the ritual that was required to help the matriarch recover her memories. How they had gone through several 'mental trials'. "Mine had been around my past, my...mother, warning me that time had drawn on for too long, and that it wouldn't last forever."

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Maiev"]

"Good. If he'd done anything to you, I'd flay him alive." Elpsis had always been protective of people she cared about and quick to resort to violence on their behalf. But her reaction was colder now. More belligerent. Though quiet, her voice had a fiery intensity it had not possessed before. She furrowed her brow slightly once Maiev had finished explaining. "Mother said you helped her. Did not mention specifics. I guess it's because they would have made her seem weak and not in control." Ironic, coming from Elpsis. "Never mind. What was it too long for?"

"A body is not designed to house two separate consciousness," Nyssa interjected. "Cohabiting takes a toll on the host. That is why any Sith spirit will flush out the host and consume it. Strange that at your ghost did not do that to you."
"Nyssa..." There was a strong element of warning in Elpsis' tone.
"What? It's a valid question. My mother and father had to extinguish one of my noncorporeal ancestors who wanted to stick around at any cost. Back before father became too fat to put on his armour." Even the breastplate stretcher had not been able to help.
"Kalax was not evil."

 

[Maiev]

Maiev had opened her mouth to speak, but Nyssa had beaten her to the punch. Instead, the witch continued to stare out into the ocean. Lost in her own thoughts, but still keeping some attention to what was being said.

"Kalax was not evil." She repeated, finally speaking up after the two had gone back and forth. "But Nyssa has it right..." Maiev sighed.

"Spirits generally cannot remain in the host with the original consciousness still present, at some point it gets overridden and replaced. My assumption, after learning what I have, is that I was able to coexist with Kalax because of when she did it." Maiev paused as a particular haunting memory began to replay in her head. Or rather, her memory of rewatching a memory.

"Kalax bound herself to me within the expanse of time between Life and Death. Between the moment when I was born...and when my mother died, with me in her arms." The witch's voice began to break then, the memory not relenting as she recalled having to watch that moment over and over again, back when she was last on Arkas. "We became one when I was barely alive, before I would grow, when I was malleable. That was how we were able to co-exist for nearly thirty years."

"But it could never stop it from happening, it just took a long time for it to happen. And would explain why I'm in the state I am currently, Forceless."

Part of Maiev, something that had a profound impact on her very being, was now gone. She at least had some luck on her side, and that she hadn't died from the process.

Though some days the witch wondered if that option would've been more preferable.

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Maiev"]

"I tend to," Nyssa affirmed a bit smugly. However, Maiev's further elaboration gave her some pause. The words were on her tongue, but she swallowed them. So the spirit happened to show up just after she was born and her mother had shuffled off her mortal coil, she brushed her mind against that of Elpsis. What a coincidence.

Don't go there, Nyssa. She's been through enough. There was a strong element of warning in Elpsis' mental response. One could almost feel the claws. It is all too convenient and coincidental.
And if she was vile, why is Kalax gone and Maiev still here? You said it yourself, two souls cannot coexist. Not that it matters anymore. Kalax is gone. Maiev only has herself and her memories. We don't want to think ill of our family. You know a few things about that.
Don't go there, Cinder.

While the two were having this telepathic dialogue, Elpsis found the time to actually talk to the Forceless witch. "So Kalax is gone - for good. I'm sorry. It's not the end. One day you'll see her again. When your soul rejoins the Lifeweb," she paused. "You have the memories and all she taught you."
"Yes, what she said," Nyssa added, then after a moment said, "Are you stuck with being a squib or is there a way to fix that?" The thought of being stuck in the realm of mundanity made her shudder. The Force was power. If you did not possess it, you were at the mercy of those who did.

 

[Maiev]

The witch was obviously oblivious to the mental conversation that was going on between Elpsis and Nyssa. Not that Maiev would've noticed anyway, her mind was still focused on old memories. She knew coming here would dredge up both bad and good, but it was better than outright trying to avoid it.

Which honestly, could that even be at all successful for the witch?

How can you simply ignore the lack of a presence, someone who had been around for years. It was like losing a loved one, but much worse. Maiev had quite literally last half of herself.

It was surprising the witch hadn't fallen into a spiral of depression by now.

Maiev snapped back to reality when she heard Elpsis speak.

"I know..." But it still hurts...and I don't think that'll ever go away. "I don't believe I'm exactly 'dead' to the Force. I mean...I can't say that for certain, I hope that's not the case but..." Maiev sighed, shaking her head from those thoughts. "No. I know there's still something there. It's just going to take some time to return."

Hopefully...

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Maiev"]

Elpsis nodded simply. "You can stay as long as you want. I'll help if there's something I can do." Perhaps it was selfish, but focusing on someone else also meant she did not need to face her own demons. Trying to focus on her work had been her default reaction ever since returning from Tephrike.
"Yes. I know some Sith rituals, too," Nyssa threw in. "Not all of them involve blood sacrifices," she added when Elpsis shot her a suspicious glare. "Not of people anyway."
"No blood sacrifices." Elpsis' tone brokered no contradiction.
"Fine, if you want to be a bleeding heart." The Pureblood threw up her hands. "What a magnificent trio we are. The Forceless witch, the scarred Phoenix and the Sith Marauder."
"Who loathes all the other Sith and is hanging out with people who kill Sith."
"Kill poseurs, you mean," the Pureblood corrected firmly.

 

[Maiev]

She turned to look up and over at Elpsis, a smile on her face. "Thank you." It was definitely apparent that Maiev's mood had shifted. Maiev had been slipping back into her sullen, quiet mindset prior to Siobhan pulling her out of the mental muck and giving her a focus.

But being around Elpsis and Nyssa had lifted the witch's spirits once more.

Maiev stood up, carefully shifting in the sand until she was upright.

"No rituals, Sith or otherwise. Besides, something like this would need a balance between the two. One cannot outweigh the other, else who knows what could happen."

The witch inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh air.

"A visit to Dathomir is likely going to be on the cards, which isn't going to be exactly easy. You know, given what the Mandalorians did, and with it now being in the domain of the Sith Empire." She turned around to face Elpsis and Nyssa, a bit more brightness in Maiev's emerald eyes.

"But that's not going to happen for a while, I'm not about to force anything this early."

[member="Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori"]​

 

[Elpsis Kerrigan]

[member="Maiev"]

"A journey to the land of witches. Sounds fun," Nyssa remarked. She would probably like to ride a Rancor. Or fight one on foot.
'Elpsis looked up at the sky. "It's getting late. You can stay here for as long you like, Maiev. It's not much, but it's cozy enough."
Nyssa snorted. "Since we're all in class, why don't you share your story, Red?"
"There's nothing to share. I got captured, bad things happened, I killed my captors. End of the story," Elpsis growled.