The Dark Crystal (CIS - Mandragora / Dark Acolyte)

[Er'in Tenel]

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R Y L O T H​

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(Night Side)​

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SITH ACADEMY​

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Hidden on the dark side of Ryloth, located beyond the crystal plains and hidden beneath an eternal lightning storm that is but one element of the numerous obfuscation and warding spells that protect the location, the ancient Sith Academy on Ryloth established by the Brotherhood of Darkness before Darth Bane established the Rule of Two has lain almost unplundered for thousands of years, barring one minor occupation by a group of rogue bandits who sought to establish themselves as Dark Jedi warlords, who were quickly put down by the Jedi.​

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Acting on instructions from the Vicelord of the Confederacy to secure further occult power to aid in it's defence, Er'in Tenel and Kat Van-Derveld have worked to locate the ancient Sith Academy and are seeking to lead the interested among the Dark Acolytes and the Mandragora to explore the structure, clear it of the terrors and obstacles that no doubt haunt it, and then to claim it as a joint home for those who would use the force to protect the own and their homes... or who might use it for darker purposes.​

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The Academy itself was mostly protected by the inhabitants and the powerful wards that obscure its location to this day, however over the centuries numerous ghosts, sithspawn and other terrors have found their way to the place, drawn by the dark side. The entire structure is over run with sithspawn zombies - who resemble conventional zombies insofar as they're dead, these creatures burn with the dark side and are quite capable of moving at speed, they are also remarkably resistant to force powers that do not do gross physical damage. The ghosts of the inhabitants - and victims of the academy also haunt the structure, providing almost the reverse problem, being immune to all weapons except Sith Blades and other imbued or alchemical items, but being weak to the force itself. Some are also still coherent and can communicate - they may prove valuable long term allies to the wise.​

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Parts of the structure have been breached with the spirit world and confused and angry spirits of the dark side of Ryloth wander the halls, waiting to be returned to their proper place in the natural order.​

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What will become of this dark temple to secrecy, assassination, deception and spying? That is up to those who go to cleanse and rebuild it.​

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This encounter is heavily occult and force based, other characters are welcome, but please be advised this is focused on the Mandragora and the force user Dark Acolytes.​

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Spoiler: Academy Map

Spoiler: Academy Map

1. The entrance is guarded by warded doors that have been blown asunder, but ancient traps may remain.
2. The training hall, occupied by terrible sithspawn zombies and the horrific tests of stealth used to train Dark Jedi assassins in their force powers.
3. The main hall, a central nexus of power, currently protected by an ancient and complex occult puzzle testing knowledge of Sith Lore. It also contains the trophies and kills of the Academies students.
4. The sorcery chamber, mostly dangerous due to currently being occupied by uncontrolled dark side energy.
5. The summoning chamber is empty... except for a juvenile Leviathan in stasis which will awaken when the room is entered.
6. The library is guarded by the ancient, potent and angry ghost of the librarian, but contains the lost records of the Brotherhood of Darkness.
7. The forge / alchemy chamber is empty, but wild lava and corrupt ichor and essence fill the area, rendering it unusable.
8. The Hall of Shadows is dark and terrible, filled with traps and shadowy monsters to claim the unwary.
9. The Hall of Dread is filled with the terrors of all races - living weapons held here to be unleashed by the order.
10. The Armoury contains ancient alchemically treated lightsaber and blaster resistant lightweight armour, assassins blades and a few replacement lightsaber components as well as a great deal of several thousand year old mundane equipment such as blasters, shields and the like.
11. The Hall of Wraiths contains the ghosts of the victims of the assassins who trained here. They are very angry.
12. The Hall of Spirits contains a breach into the spirit realm, into which lesser spirits have poured and are now trapped and confused.
13. The Secure Vault is protected by a complex force lock requiring the headmasters key (see location 14) and holds some of the most valuable treasures - each of course guarded by a deadly force trap.
14. This is but the first level of the spire - there are many other rooms and chambers above waiting to be claimed. The only one of importance to this story however is the headmasters chamber at the top of the spire, which contains his angry ghost (a master level force user ghost) and his belongings.

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Spoiler: Potential Rewards

(This list is indicative and not exclusive, all usual factory / nexus rules apply)

1. Training in dark side powers (for anyone using the training rooms).
2. Minor to moderate Sith Artifacts (enhancing stealth, subterfuge & deception) - in vault.
3. Headmaster's Holocron (tuition and knowledge in the Dark Brotherhood & their techniques).
4. Sith Assassin Daggers (Dagger sized Sith Blades, potentially w/ other effects) - in vault.
5. Headmasters Lightsaber
6. Sith Ghost Servants
7. Spirit Servants
8. Scattered Dark Brotherhood records (library).
9. Limited (Knight level and below) Sith Sorcery & Alchemy

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Spoiler: Tags!

Dark Acolytes:
Srina Talon | Akabane Jarvik | Mirvak | The Fallen | Er'in Tenel | Daxton Bane | Katria Vekarr | Kurenai Yumi |Ryvan Tau'rae | Nyx | Ignis Imura | Kilia | @Saine

Mandragora:

Tmoxin Temi | Muad Dib | Rapax | Daxton Bane |Nassier Zirfae | Lady Psyona | Katrine Van-Derveld | Aoker Veru

 

[Er'in Tenel]

Er'in stood in front of the immense, twisted spire, watching with a vague sense of awe as lightning grounded on it's highest peaks from the black roiling clouds above and rain poured down in an endless sheet, dripping off the field of varicoloured crystals that surrounded her on all sides. It was, she thought, quite incredible that such a structure remained unfound and un-plundered for so long.

Behind her, the expeditions train of vehicles came slowly to a stop, circling the wagons as it were against the dangerous creatures that haunted the crystal plains - none as dangerous as what lay before them, of course.

She glanced over at [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] and gave the blonde Mandragora a brief smile. They'd actually found it! She believed they had from the moment they'd secured the final location in the library, but that was very different to seeing the hidden fortress of the Dark Brotherhood in all it's glory.

She turned her head up to the rain for a moment - worrying about getting wet here was completely pointless, the storm summoned by the ancient dark side sorcery to hide the structure from orbit was only part of the obfuscation magic, but it had natural side effects none the less. Er'in thought the sky looked a little like the stories she'd been told of Dromond Kass. A planet she hoped never to visit, frankly. They could do better here.

She unsheathed Saarai and held it up to check the edge, the black and purple runes of the Sith Blade flickering in the reflected light of the lightning strikes, then nodded and put the blade away again.

"Anyone who wants to be in the entrance party the fore, please. We can assume the exterior occult defences were penetrated by the Jedi, but the fact they left without destroying the place indicates we're going to meet considerable resistance within, besides... whatever mess the last inhabitants left behind. If you don't think you can fight sithspawn, do us all a favour and stay at the rear."

And from the legend, that included swarms of sithspawn numerous enough to wipe out entire villages. So there was every need for caution and a correctly... artful approach. She glanced over at Kat and shrugged slightly.

"Any words of wisdom?" She asked quietly. Because while she'd gotten a few adventures under her belt, this was by far the biggest expedition she was going to be involved in, never mind tasked to lead.

 

[Nyx]

Ryloth
Outside the Sith Academy

Nyx had seen many things in her life. She'd been around the galaxy, visited many of the civilized worlds, and killed plenty of things from them. Become an intergalactic mercenary, and you tended to do that kind of thing. So as she stood behind @Er'in Tenel and [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"], staring at the structure in front of them, she was so far not impressed. Plenty of big ole palaces bathed in the dark side around the galaxy, as far as she was concerned, but it was important to [member="Darth Metus"], so that made it important to her.

The woman sighed, moving her gaze from the big building to something a bit more solid: her two Ambassador revolvers. Big guns that shot big slugs coated in plasma. She popped open the cylinders checking the ammo count. Six shots in each. Good. She'd be needing them, apparently. Place was supposed to be heavily guarded. Good. She loved herself a good fight.

Other than that, she had her signature jacket, two other .357 nine shot revolvers inside, two force-imbued vibro-axes on her belt, and her lightsaber at her side. She was armed to the teeth, and that was how she liked it. She stepped forward, leaning to the side to spit.

"I'll fight damn near anything for some loot. Sithspawn die just as well as the rest of us if you put enough bullets in them."

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Er'in Tenel

The Sith Lord was like a silent moving guardian in his ebony black armor, the only obvious weapons he appeared to carried were the three sabers he carried on his belt. But closer observation would reveal more weapons imbedded into the armors design, whether he would actually use them time would tell.

When the call came for fighters to go to the fore, there was no question as to why he stepped forward. There he waited for the mission to begin.

 

[Akabane Jarvik]

An ancient sith academy with a storm overhead, how lovely. It set the scene for a scary movie if it were the goal. Though he knew this was no movie, the storm and academy mixed together gave off that sinister vibe. When Er'in spoke of the dangers inside he regretted coming. He wasn't fearful of ghosts or spirits, it's just that he didn't know how to deal with them. Akabane was sure specialists came for those types of things but sithspawns were also an issue. Unfortunately, he didn't own a fancy weapon to handle them. Well... except a lightsaber, which was as good as anything most likely.

Akabane wore one of his many coats to today's adventure. The hood over his head as usual due to preference and the rain. As everyone arrived Er'in said everyone who wants in the front to go ahead. Two others volunteered and stepped forward. After a sigh he began walking to the front, hands in pockets. Akabane's red eyes fell on both of the individuals for a moment, then they went back to the building. He always enjoyed fighting even when he felt bad. Being in the front filled him with excitement, though that wouldn't show on his face.

He would wait for the expedition to start like the others.

[member="Er'in Tenel"] | [member="Nyx"] | [member="Daxton Bane"]

 

[Mirvak]

Mirvak rode in on his speeder, stopping 30 meters short of the slowly forming group. The wolf slid off of the speeder, taking his time to approach the group. He didn't completely mingle with the others, standing off to the side and merely staring down Er'in impatiently, arrogantly wondering why she was chosen to lead this expedition.

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

Kurenai had heard stories about this place long ago, but had never bothered to investigate, her mercenary work taking priory for the last 600 years, but it seemed the time finally came for the acolytes to explore the ghostly and deadly ruins that stood on the planet of Ryloth. Kurenai was not put off by the thunderous atmosphere and down pour, neither the talk of spirits and Sith spawn from within, all being things she had to deal with in the past, even if said dealing did not always result in victory, more or less just making the experienced solider immune to any scare tactic employed by the unholy beings.

Not that she would say so, such matters where private, and as such the pale skinned woman stood off to the side of the main group, equal distance away from the Wolf humanoid too, though in all honestly, she felt more comfortable around him. Probably the fact they had distaste for Er'in, Kurenai more over the fact another child who had seemed to arise out of the CIS military at random was leading such an important mission, even if she was a noble. "You lead I follow, besides that I have no questions, just that no one should get to over confident, just don't expect me to help you if you get into trouble".

[member="Mirvak"] l [member="Akabane"] l [member="Daxton Bane"] l [member="Nyx"] l @Er'in Tenel

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Location: Outside moving to the Entrance (1)
Post: 1
Tags: [member="Er'in Tenel"], [member=Nyx], [member="Daxton Bane"], [member=Akabane], [member=Mirvak], [member="Kurenai Yumi"]

With her speeder left slightly at back, Katrine let her sapphire eyes gaze upon the Academy they had located through their research. Not a single book had given a hint into the appearance of the structure so she was only just taking in the sight of the location now. It was breathtaking, for sure, the blond had decided as she smiled, glancing over to Er' into sporting a smile which she returned. "The books give no credit to its beauty," she admitted after a beat as she adjusted her coat, checked on her slugthrower and lightsaber, both hanging from her waist wrapped around her dress.

Finally, her hand played with the bracelet on her other wrist as she took in the sights, letting her Sense reach out into the unknown territory. Katrine was expecting trouble, the Brotherhood held their own Dark Army, Sithspawn sought out to dominate based on what she had read. Besides, the Academy so protected even in texts, she didn't think it would be a light breeze walking in. Er'in spoke up, talking about the entrance, easily assuming occult defenses had most likely been dealt but they had most likely been met with considerable resistance. "Agreed," she said then. "We can expect a darkside organization to have it guarded in plenty of ways. Our purpose is to claim the Academy though, for the good of both Mandragora and the Dark Acolytes so today, we have to break all of them if we expect to use it," she had added.

Er'in had asked quietly another question, making the blond look at her. Kat thought of it only for a moment as she grinned. "Always expect trouble from a darksider." Yes, she did just say that to a darksider. It was partly an amusing statement because of it but it was also true. Then again, her parents had been Darksiders for so long that the statement was always amusing. "And have fun. Darkside trouble can be super fun. Just make sure you keep your spirits up no matter what happens inside." Also true. She really didn't know what else she was going to say. Katrine didn't have the faintest idea what they were supposed to actually encounter inside so she was really just winging it and guessing. Using the books being so coded and vague that it only made sense.

Someone else spoke, Katrine's turning to look at the girl with a cool jacket. She was related to Uncle Isley, Katrine remembered vaguely. She knew some of their names but she didn't know all of them and she didn't meet all of them in the future either so she couldn't really be sure about the girl's name fully. But she was willing to fight anything for some loot. "Great!" The blond told her cheerfully. In the corner of her eye though, she spotted Daxton moving towards the entrance. "Let's move. Remember, expect trouble at any and every corner," Katrine repeated, this time for everyone else as she moved behind Daxton, still concentrating on the very entrance. Darkness emanated strong vibe from everywhere. Definitely trouble on any and every corner, she decided as she moved, reached for her lightsaber which she normally didn't do.

When she focused on the entrance only, she felt something was up but her Sense pulled stronger just beyond that, something else. Alive and dangerous. "Stick together for now," Katrine suddenly instructed just before they would enter the academy, expecting something just beyond. "Something is waiting for us just beyond here," she explained, feeling the unfamiliar presence of darkness.

 

[Er'in Tenel]

Location: Entrance (1)
Post: 2

(music)​

Er'in nodded, closing her eyes for a moment to center herself as she walked up the ramp towards the entrance. She could feel the distrust of the others - well Chaos take them, she'd damn well earned his approbation, and for once she knew what she was doing. Of all the things to have a talent for, ancient Sith lore and magic was... unexpected. But pleasing.

"Kill anything that moves." She commented as she moved.

She drew Saarai with a single, near silent whisper, the purple runes on the blade glowing brighter in the dark side energy, the black edge of the blade weakly reflecting the lightning strikes.

The entrance was immense - grandiose - not at all what you might expect for a place dedicated to secrecy, but entirely in keeping with Sith-style architecture, although an expert would place it as well post the old Sith Empire, and nothing to do with the new one at all. Ancient Rylothian stone had been raised and combined with alchemy and blood sacrifice to make a structure that could likely weather turbolaser blasts. The gateposts were carved in intricate runes of warding and shielding - now broken enough that people could discern the way in, but strong enough the structure seemed to shimmer under normal vision and was functionally invisible to force senses - navigating using them was like walking through a room of black, non-reflective walls until you stepped inside the structure.

The great doors stood open, the obvious signs of a lightsaber cut followed by a telekinetic blow to the centre visible in the light of the torches the explorers had brought. There wasn't much choice but to go in really.

Then there was a sense of dark peace - the calm of a terrible cathedral - darkness at rest, a black sea. The whole structure resonated a dark passion so intense it could masquerade as calm. Anger at rest. Fear harnessed. Pain caught in the moment. The calm of a dark and scary night, or the depths of the sea.

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(A little DMing)​

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The shadows rippled, then moved with an unearthly moan that was enough to send a chill down the spine of even a Sith, backed as it was by the force and coming from more than a dozen mouths. What might have been taken for statues or corpses in the entrance leap to inhuman life with a jerky, alien speed that seemed to defy reality. The walking dead, tradition held, should be slow. These were not - they came at a run, never seeming to move at more than a walk, but their steps seeming to close the distance impossibly. Each had been seeingly tortured to death in a manner even some Sith might consider horrific - the pain of their death and the blood of their dying trapped within their twisted frames to reanimate them. Some were missing limbs - others heads - some were mere limbs alone, for it was obvious someone had fought their way through this gauntlet before, but not to put an end to it, merely to get inside. These creatures were visible in the force as dark knots of pain and suffering, animated to kill even as they longed for death.

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Er'in smoothly sidestepped to clear space for the more combatant of the expedition, raising one hand to let loose an experimental blast of lightning. As might well be expected from a creature animated by the dark side and seemingly resistant to all but massive damage, the monster charging her all but ignored the attack. Her other hand was already moving, bringing her blade round in a sharp arc to sever it's outstretched arms - she only partially succeded, one clawed hand dragging at her armoured robes as she let it past her, then took off it's head with a single blow - something that likely would have been impossible for a normal sword, but was easily within the power of a sith blade or lightsaber. That didn't seem to stop her foe however, and being blind wasn't the disadvantage it seemed to be as it turned back to engage her.

She frowned. There must be some motive core, some sorcerous element holding these creatures together, for they could not be living, But wherever it was, the creator had buried it deep. She stepped back smoothly, putting her back to the doorframe and holding her position, taking the other arm with a strike that fractured bone and tore sinew. The severed limbs still moved. But deeper within the room anyone could see bodies similar to these - many hacked to pieces, but some whole - all unmoving and without a signature in the force.

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] | [member="Kurenai Yumi"] | [member="Mirvak"] | [member="Akabane"] | [member="Daxton Bane"] | [member="Nyx"]​

 

[Daxton Bane]

@Er'in Tenel
[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]
[member="Kurenai Yumi"]
[member="Akabane"] [member="Mirvak"]

Daxton did not fear the dread force approaching their group, whether fast or slow it did not matter to him in the least. Whoever animated them probably was relying on the shock value and superstitious nature of weaker folk to undermine their spirits. Drawing the power of the Dark Side, the wind began to pick up, slowly rising im tempo as the undead approached them. Anything not ties down would either be fluttering in the stiff breeze or flying through the air, making walking towards his direction near impossible as the wind howled and spun like a tornado.

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Location: Entrance (1) -> Training Hall (2)
Post: 2
Tag: [member="Er'in Tenel"], [member=Nyx], [member="Daxton Bane"], [member=Akabane], [member=Mirvak], [member="Kurenai Yumi"]

Katrine had taken in the sight of the weapon Er'in had pulled as they were entering but her own hilt and slugthrower kept resting on her belt. Her powers were a far stronger choice and the blond relayed on them more than others relied on weapons. Even without going into full depth of what she felt, the wave of darkness was obvious, almost painfully so. Some of those feelings increased. Her Sense began to scream at her as she detected the emergence of pain wrapped in suffering, wrapped in darkness. "Trouble," she suddenly whispered as she carefully stepped into the small space of darkness, still needing through the darkness with her vision obscured by the design of the small space.

As she moved, Katrine steadied herself, drawing on the strength from within her. The adventure on Rodia had been extremely educational for the Witch, learning what she was capable of, learning how far she was willing to go, feeling the three spirits come to her aid when she had needed them which had been a blessing in its own right. Now though, she planned on going forth alone, no destroying the ecosystem. Ryloth didn't need that. There were more of them now, they would fight these battles that waited for them and come out successful.

With energy collected, Katrine rose her hands, bringing her palms towards her chest, mustering a large portion of energy before she released it, sending out a wave of pure Force energy pulsing towards the quick moving army, knocking back a large number of them, some of them knocking back others as they had fallen, Daxton's released energy of the wind pushing more ahead of them. "We can't stay, we need open space," Katrine said next, pulling on her lightsaber and bringing it to life as she hurried her step into the training hall, striking at the creature that had made its way to her with her lightsaber, cutting him in half. It didn't stop the creature though, his separated body party still moved.

Looked like Katrine learned something new every day but instead of waiting, her palm raised. "Sparks that burn, ignite," she muttered, "Sparks that ignite, come alive," and just above her palm, the particles of air began to hyper-accelerate, igniting after a few seconds with sparks of fire playing in the air. She released that fire upon the oncoming sithspawn in two, setting the separated sithspawn on fire before her lightsaber rose to meet another one coming her way.

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

Kurenai made to reaction as the group slowly entered the room, but she knew from the onset that trouble was brewing, nothing in life was ever simple, it was always a challenge, maybe that made things fun for others, to her more or less a nuisances, but it was good to keep her sensed sharp.

That would not mean she would go in guns blazing or start using and overly excessive amount of her forces powers, mainly as it had seemed [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] and [member="Daxton Bane"] had stepped up to the plate, both exhibiting large displays of strength and washing away almost all of the oncoming hoard of undead. The few that did manage to get past the onslaught of power falling to the sabers of said individuals, making what looked to be a reasonable challenge child's play, in her case quite literately.

She kept a slow pace, coming besides [member="Er'in Tenel"] as the group slowly advanced, keeping a hand on her Naginata the entire time, just in case the defenses fell somehow, "... those two seem to be having fun, this is a nice walk, tranquil, nice scenery, the smell could use some work though"

 

[Er'in Tenel]

Location: Training Hall (2)
Post: 3

"I suspect we may need some scented candles, I'll put them on the budget."

Er'in agreed with [member="Kurenai Yumi"] with a soft smile, sheathing her blade as Daxton and Kat more than deal with the hordes of shambling corpses. Glancing down at her feet, she took a long step over a suspect looking tile with faded runes chalked on it.

"And... I think, a sweeping crew. A blast proof one."

She looked up at the immense vaulted hall of the training room with a faint smile. "Well, they avoided the typical 'looming statue' old sith empire decor - or new Sith Empire... if anything I'd say this was very late pre-Bane Sith Empire, much more towards Darth Bane's period... which makes sense, from what we..." She ducked as a spiked blade flew out of nowhere, and a training... statue? It certainly wasn't a droid, more like something alchemically animated, reset itself back into a standing pose - the blade returning to its hand by telekinetic force. "... that is pretty cool. If I wanted to train to be an assassin."

She took a more careful look around at the rooms decor, noting the statues, the odd training devices - what on Ryloth was an automatically rotating lamp for? The purpose of the weighted balls was pretty obvious, and she wasn't about to reveal her weakness by barely lifting the novice one. She'd heard the 'size matters not' arguement - from the small green horses recorded mouth, as it happened, but internalising that lesson was... different to hearing it.

"Okay. We should probably search the place, make the obvious hazards safe so we can move in."

Shadows still moved in the darkness - the ancient dead defenders were not stupid, not at all, loping out of sight and retreating back into the shadows of the vaulted hall and beyond.

"And clear out those damn sithspawn, to the last corpse."

Spoiler: Tags!

Dark Acolytes:

[member="Srina Talon"] | [member="Akabane"] Jarvik | [member="Mirvak"] | [member="The Fallen"] | [member="Daxton Bane"] | [member="Katria Vekarr"] | [member="Kurenai Yumi"] | [member="Ryvan Tau'rae"] | [member="Nyx"] | [member="Ignis Imura"] | [member="Kilia"]

Mandragora:

[member="Fawn Alzi"] | [member="Muad Dib"] | [member="Rapax"] | [member="Daxton Bane"] | [member="Nassier Zirfae"] | [member="Lady Psyona"] | [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] | [member="Aoker Veru"]

New arrivals who are welcome:

[member="Darth Atrox"]

 

[Darth Atrox]

R Y L O T H​

Quiet footsteps carried the Sith Lord from his speeder toward the looming structure, a deep breath of air seeping through his agape maw, tasting the very darkness which poured from the structure, sensing the power locked within. The power he and his newfound comrades would seek to quell and establish a new stronghold for the Vicelord's Dark Acolytes and the Mandagora alike.

This was his new calling, the Master of Darkness' new purpose, and despite his belated entrance, he would wholeheartedly devote himself to this new group of beings he would one day call family.

"What a pity. I'm late." Darth Atrox whispered to himself as he stopped, watching flashing hues of crimson dance within the hallway within, before securing his hood across his horned cranium with a resolute huff. It was true that the darkness within unnerved him, it reignited old memories of time lone gone - his expedition on Gratos, where he tussled within a dark tomb with a powerful Sith Lord or the massacre of the Anselmi people on Glee Anselm where he emerged from the surf and eradicated the fearsome warriors.

But those days were long gone, and it felt like eons since a young Sith Knight, Karak Kozen, had commanded troops beneath the banner of the One Sith and fearlessly climbed his way up the pecking order.

Atrox entered, tracing the steps of the ones who came before him cautiously, his burning eyes studying the ground which was illuminated by his scarlet blade which hummed a deep melody in the gloom. The ground was littered with animated corpses, but thanks to those already within they were either too mangled or too small to harm him.

All of a sudden, a surge of corpses leaped from the shadows and were upon him, but they appeared to be no match for the Sith Lord's agility and mastery of Ataru. He vaulted across heads of the undead, cleaving them into small pieces to ensure that they stayed immobile on the ground. Picking up the pace, he caught up with the other Sith and Witches.

@Er'in Tenel [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"] [member="Daxton Bane"] [member="Kurenai Yumi"] [member="Mirvak"] [member="Akabane"] [member="Nyx"]​

 

[Daxton Bane]

[member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

When the flames licked forward, Daxton rotated his hands in a clockwise motion as he tuned the Force to work with the magic she just wrought, combining the flames with his spinning wind. The result was a spinning vortex of air and fire, somewhat similar to a flaming pillar that pulled the undead into it then shredding them with bright orange flames.

Cutting through the amassed undead like a hot knife through butter, it left nothing larger than a thimble of flesh intact. At least nothing mobile left to pose a threat to them.

 

[Daxton Bane]

(Apologies for double post)

 

[Fawn Alzi]

Fashionably late, Fawn liked to consider it. Although she only recognized Er'in from the crowd, it didn't feel too strange slipping into the mix seeing as how many of them were already occupied. She wouldn't have wanted to get in the way of their fun, anyway, especially not before a formal introduction was had. She did, however, keep one hand on the hilt of her lightsaber just in case. The things looked awfully nasty, after all. Downright nightmarish.

"I suppose I shouldn't have expected anything less from a place like this," she muttered to herself and those close enough to hear her. "Part of me thought it was going to be fancy..."

 

[Er'in Tenel]

Er'in offers the one and only Darth present a polite nod, even if the Acolytes don't exactly have a structure that commands she obey anyone other than Metus. Then she slowly starts to walk further forwards.

"This is fancy, Fawn. Also, I imagine the living quarters are upstairs, and I've never known the Sith to stint on luxury. But then again, these people were not quite Sith. I suspect the structure is older than them, however."

She glances over at Kat, then around the whole group in general.

"I am not afraid to admit a failing, and I know I'm the least formally trained here despite being in charge. So I can't be the only one sensing that power - and it's not... just dark power. I can't put a name on what the other part is."

She then looks specifically over the Mandragora and witches present.

"Can you?"

 

[Kurenai Yumi]

Post: 3

"I believe one may need more then scented candles to rid this place of the stench of death... not that I really mind though, more of something the others might want". Kurenai had lived more than half her life on the battle field, as such the smell of corpses, not matter how old or rotting never really bothered her, but at the same time was not something she was going to smell if she could avoid it.

She kept in close step to @Er'in Tenel as the Sith Lord and which kept clearing out any zombies that continued their mindless charge towards the group, though dropping her guard for a moment to address the late commoners, another Zabarak and Witch, the two seeming to have cleaned up any stranglers that had only just come out of hiding.

"I am not sure why anyone would have though a millennium old ruin would be fancy, interesting perhaps, but fancy is pushing it a bit far, more so for dark cults, they seem to only have fashion sense for black and gloomy decorations". She relaxed her stance as the group gathered around, contemplating the next move on the expedition of the cavern like temple, Kurenai a bit surprised by miss’s noble admitting her lack of leadership and experiences.

"I would be inclined to agree with you, but your kind does not live long, so it is better to learn as much as you can before your numbered days are up, I see no current problem in your leadership, unless you do something that puts us in danger... well if you can do something that puts us in danger". So far, they had no trouble with what lay before them, the witches and Sith lords probably being more than a match along for whatever foul creatures lay dormant in this place.

"I may not be a witch, but the power with which you speak of is noticeable... more of a raw unaligned power that speaks out, but I have a feeling something dark will come out if it".

@Er'in Tenel l [member="Fawn Alzi"] l [member="Daxton Bane"] l [member="Darth Atrox"] l [member="Katrine Van-Derveld"]

 

[Katrine Van-Derveld]

Location: Training Hall (2) -> Main Hall (3)
Post: 3
Tag: [member="Er'in Tenel"], [member=Nyx] [member=Akabane], [member=Mirvak], [member="Kurenai Yumi"], [member="Fawn Alzi"]

Another had charged at her, her blade meeting his chest upon the arrival before she spotted the flames suddenly spreading as she felt the Force at works, drawing out her lightsaber from the sithspawn it had been rammed into, letting Daxton handle the spread of fire.

Voice behind her had made her turn, her lightsaber still at her side as she looked at Er'in, who seemed to have been having fun with a statue of sorts. "All training is good training," Katrine pointed out as she watched the statue, her attention drawn at another round of attacks from the behind though the new arrival seemed more than capable of handling himself so the Witch chose not to interfere.

Er'in instructed the eliminate each of the creatures. "Cutting them up doesn't do much good, fire does," she recapped what they had figured out. There was mention of fancy by someone in the crowd before she heard mention of power that didn't belong to the darkside. Could she put a name to it. Katrine let her Sense spread out as she deactivated the blade of her lightsaber, letting her Sense feel out as far as it could go. She could feel the darkness stronger than anything else but it certainly wasn't the only thing. "There's more," she shared as her head moved an inch as she continued to use the Force to feel what was ahead. "It's a many things. We have our work cut out for us." It was a mess of things, all put together. Darkness, old, anger even other things. Though there was something else in the mist of all that that appealed to Katrine even though she couldn't put a name to what she felt.

"There is something," the Witch finally said, "something powerful and vicious yet precious." Her eyes shut, eyelids fluttering closed as she sought to reach out more, to better understand what she was sensing. It was something foreign. "I can't but it's important." In reality, it wasn't just one thing she was sensing though Katrine couldn't tell that from where she stood. It was a mix of things. Something massive that had not woken yet and something powerful which called to her attention. Then, it occurred to her that the two instances were opposite from each other, pulling her into each of the direction. The living energy though called stronger. "I choose door number one," she finally decided, her tone of voice rather perky before she turned back to [member="Daxton Bane"] and the newest arrival, [member="Darth Atrox"]. "Any chance you two could rid us of the rest of the sithspawn?" There were certainly more of them coming but she trusted two Elders could swiftly deal with them.

Kurenai caught her attention as she noted not sure why anyone would find a millennium old ruin to be fancy or interesting. "Hey, I grew up in a millennium old ruin. It can be quite fancy." The Singing Mountain Clan resided for the most part of the ancient structure built within the mountain, as did their rivaling group, the Spider Clan. Neither complained about their homes, even if that didn't suit the other group. Her eyes shifted back to Er'in after the woman had spoken her peace. "You're doing fine," Katrine assured her with a smile.

"Let's go, we gotta get this done. We can't possibly rest until the Academy has been taken and cleaned out from any trouble," she added after a beat, progressing through the central area of the Training Hall, keeping an eye on any possible sithspawn that might feel the need to charge at her again. They weren't mindless, it would seem though and they we well aware of the combined power the group had displayed. Enough that they didn't launch any random attack at the group as a whole, not as they made their way on. Something just beyond the small space ahead though was giving out an feel of strength, of power. Katrine tended to be drawn towards it even when she shouldn't have, which kept her going now.