Populate The Legend of Set and Veré: Palinode [THR Populate of Cyrillia]

[Ala Quin]

Reference threads: Your Goddess Will See You Now, The Legend of Set and Veré: Epistrophe

Welcome back to Katabasis, ancient, desolate world of the Sith.

After the catastrophic excavation of the the Heart of Descent killed the archaeological team, and left Jedi Master Ala Quin possessed by the ancient Force being known today as Shiraya, a plucky team of Jedi and a Naboo-lore devotee has found the answer for saving their friend, and restoring balance to the world of Katabasis. Should the Jedi expedition fail in their mission, there is no telling how much destruction the ancient spirit of Set could do to the High Republic or the galaxy at large.

The Temple of Broken Chains was built millennia ago by ancient Sith looking to tap into the immense energy stored with in the Heart of Descent. The altar still hums with the memory of ancient Sith ritual sacrifice, and the now empty groves that run down to the floor and into the engram carved into the floor still have the hue of red from ancient rites.

Jedi will stand guard in the Temple of Broken Chains, ready to face any malevolent Force that might emerge from the Heat of Descent.

But the Heart is bleeding, time is warping...and visions...will be had and shared by all.

​

A detachment of guard droids walk beside the hovering medical bed on which lies the still muttering, sedated Jedi Master Ala Quin. Her words are a garbled mess of half coherent statements and cries. Her heart rate increases with each step closer to the Heart.

The machine used to imprison the ancient Force being lovers, Set and Veré (Shiraya), has been reassembled. With it about to be activated, the door to the World Between Worlds will be pried open once more.

Thought to be safe from the effects of the time twisting effects of the leaking World Between Worlds, concenred government offiicials, pilots and military personal stand ready to assist in a last ditch effort should the Jedi fail. But even in orbit above the Sith world, the effects of the time twisting visions will still be felt.

Spoiler: THREAD MECHANICS

First post will simply be setting the scene, you are already on site, in one of the three locations.
- Include a D20 die roll in your post.

Your next post will be determined based on the result, as the visions start to take over. If you need a point of reference, think about the Shadow Warrior to the Ahsoka series. The following is the determiner:

If you roll and even number, you will be the one to experience the vision.
If you roll an odd number, you will be inserted into someone else's vision, to witness and possibly participate in it. How do we determine who? Simply by figuring out whose roll you were closest too. Example: You roll at 7, Don the Jedi rolls a 10. You are 3 away from Don's roll, everyone else is 5 or more away, so you are in Don the Jedi's vision. If it is a tie, pick someone you have not interacted with. If it is still a tie, flip a coin.

Rolling a 2, 4, or 6 = positive vision of your character's past
Rolling a 8, 10, or 12 = bittersweet vision of your character's past
Rolling 14, 16, or 18 = negative vision of your character's
If you roll a 20, you will be stepping into a vision of Set and Veré's past that I will write with you.

Consider a 20 always rolled by me, as my posts will always be Set and Veré visions. If you are rolling an odd number that is closer to 20, you will be stepping into the Set and Veré vision with me.

I hope this works!

For the sake of the thread, every character will be physically in one of these three locations, but will be able to interact with anyone in the thread per the Thread Mechanics listed above.

What is sung may be unsung, yet echoes never die.
Fragment from the Lost Hymn of Veré​

 

[Ala Quin]

The hum of her hoverbed had been drowned out by the dominant low rumble of the machine that whirred back into life. The obsidian orb that floated above the tri-pronged repulsor engine emitted a gravelly sound and glowed with an unearthly red energy. The activation of the device caused her heart rate to spike.

"Calm yourself, Jedi Quin," came a poor attempt at soothing her. She was, of course, unresponsive.

Behind her eyelids, her eyes moved rapidly. Her chest rose and fell in rapid successive shallow breathes. All the while, her lips parted and words with little coherence fell out.

"Oh the swings...of things and...hair a flutter...eyes...eyes...sparkle...sparkle..."

One of the droids seemed annoyed, or perhaps concerned. Their mannerisms were too rigid to convey precise emotion. The droid that had attempted to calm Ala now attempted to calm their compatriot. "She has reportedly been this way for many weeks. Historians still seek to understand what is mostly garbled nonsense. But for her...these words seem to have meaning."

◯ ◎ ⊚ THE WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS ⊚ ◎ ◯​

"Where are we?" Ala stood in a void. Nothing under her feet, surrounded by completely blackness, and yet she stood illuminated and able to see the goddess before her.

The goddess, with long flowing auburn hair and a pale complexion, stood with her back turned to Ala and her arms crossed over her chest. "They have done as I feared...returned me to Katabasis...the wound in time is reopening..."

Ala looked about, trying in vain to see beyond the inky blackness of her surroundings. "Katabasis? Why...what are they going to try and do?"

A long pause was finally broken with a deep, wounded sigh. "They can do nothing. But my hand will be forced...Set is already here."

| Outfit: xxx | Tag: OPEN |​

 

[Dacian Quee-Paddox]

Stellar Venture, in orbit above Katabasis

"So...is this sort of thing kind of common?" stammered Dacian, glancing downwards, "I mean, I know it's not really common. But things like this?"

The bridge of the Venture bathed the crewmen and guards from House Paddox in a soft blue light, making some of the guardsmen almost seem like ethereal heroes of old. Out of their number, a single lieutenant stepped out and doffed his helmet to reveal a lean face accented with a thin brown mustache. The officer's brown eyes met Dacian's with a small frown.

"I wouldn't say that, my lord," said Lieutenant Horn, "nothing about this sort of things is normal. Otherwise, there wouldn't be a need for this."

Horn swept his hand towards the expansive bridge viewport, showing not only a starry vista with Katabasis dominating the lower half, but a growing flotilla of vessels. Dacian's eyes immediately flickered to catalogue the types of vessels presence - a habit he picked up travelling with his father. That thought itself brought some concern to his mind - largely in that his father nor the forces that accompanied his father were present. But at the same time, it was refreshing to strike it out on his own. Dacian could only nod in agreement towards the House Guard officer while he settled in the captain's chair.

"I suppose not," agreed the young aristocrat softly, "but there seem to be so many oddities out there."

Horn briefly paused, "I suppose that is true too. But, we can only wait..."

 

[Aiden Porte]

Within the Worlds of Worlds
Inside the Portal due to events in: The Legend of Set and Veré: Epistrophe
Sibylla Abrantes
​

When the light cleared, the temple was gone.

He stood not in chains and ruin, but in light, soft, golden, familiar. The distant hum of Theed's courtyards, the scent of Nabooan lilies. Then the scene shifted to Coruscant two boys stood before a holographic display, debating in earnest tones about diplomacy, about justice.

One of them was him.

And across the courtyard, Sibylla's figure shimmered into focus, halo light flickering in her grasp, her breath quick and uncertain.

Aiden, the Aiden she knew, exhaled slowly, stepping from the edge of memory toward her. "Sibylla," he called quietly, his voice echoing strangely, as though the air here carried every word into eternity. "You're in an echo. A place built from moments. None of this is real."

He glanced to the younger version of himself laughing with the red-haired boy, a ghost of a life untouched by loss, by love, someone who had not yet felt the horrors of the darkside or the desolation that war brought "It will show you what binds me...... What I've buried."

His eyes turned back to her, steady. "But don't trust what it gives you. The Embrace shows truth, and temptation. Both wear the same face."

Behind them, the golden sky began to ripple. Somewhere far below, the pulse of Katabasis still beat, slow, heavy, patient.

"I am not who I was...Aiden, but my heart is still yours, Come with me. Please. I want to be with you."

A slow chill creeped up his spine as he closed his eyes instantly, bracing himself for the moment. He was prepared, but not enough as he took a shuddering breath and turned slowly and there she was walking towards him, across the veiled light, yet she collapsed before she could reach him. Her arm outstretched, trying to reach for his that was still at his side.

Aiden took a deep breath, focusing his thoughts.

"They aren't real, Sibylla." Aiden looked over to her.

"Why won't you fight for me? Aiden? Why won't you fight for me!?"

"I did fight for you..." The words shook Aiden to his core as it dropped him to a knee, his hand bracing the side of his head. It was a constant ringing in his mind. He steadied his breath and focused his thoughts once more. Rising to his feet, this was only the beginning.

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Orbit Above Katabis
Tags: Open
​

He stood behind the captain chair aboard Republic Intelligence Corvette pressed into service for this mission. Its viewports framed the world below, and somewhere down there, beyond the ionosphere, past that impossible barrier, was Sibylla.

Only Jedi were permitted to land. The planetary access orders had come through sealed channels, and even his clearance as an Agent from the Republic Intelligence Service hadn't been enough to override it. "Containment protocols," they'd said. "Force phenomena are unstable. We can't risk civilian exposure."

He'd argued. He always did. But in the end, protocol won. It usually did.

Now the hum of the ship's systems filled the silence. And Sibylla, stepping forward, defying every warning. Cassian leaned back, jaw tight.

The comm crackled. "Commander Abrantes, orbital telemetry is stable. Katabasis atmospheric readings remain erratic, but nothing is breaching the barrier perimeter. No surface transmissions since 0300."

He nodded faintly. "Keep monitoring. If anything changes down there, anything at all, I want to know.

"Yes, sir."

The channel closed, leaving him alone again with the silence.

Cassian stood next to the viewport. The planet hung below, vast and distant, yet it felt closer than anything had in a long time. His reflection hovered faintly over the clouds

He exhaled through his nose, voice barely a whisper. "Sibylla… what in the stars have you gotten yourself into this time?"

He knew she'd gone willingly. And what hurt the most was there wasn't a damn thing he could do but wait, watching the storm, listening for a signal that might never come.

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Ala Quin | Open​

Lorn walked beside the hoverbed, his boots striking the ancient stone with a steady, deliberate cadence. The corridor felt as if the dust of Katabasis itself were trying to pull him down, and his cloak hung loose, its edges ragged from countless campaigns and sleepless nights in places like this. The faint light from the device ahead painted his features in shifting tones of crimson and shadow, deepening the hollows beneath his eyes.

He barely registered the droids mechanical voices or their clumsy attempts at comfort. All his focus was on Ala. The Jedi Master's pale face strained against the restraints, her lips moving in fragments of a language that made no sense to him. Each muttered syllable felt like a dagger in his chest, each breath a reminder of how close he had come to losing her. His hand twitched at his side, aching to reach out and steady her the way he once could with a word or a touch, but she was out of reach while Shiraya still lingered behind her eyes.

His amber‑flecked gaze never wavered. Though haunted by betrayals and wars, there was a gentleness in the way he watched her, as if protecting the last light in a galaxy that had taken too much from him. He had lost brothers, friends, even his faith, but he would not lose Ala.

The low rumble of the machine grew stronger, reverberating through the floor and into his bones. The obsidian orb's red glow reflected in his eyes, yet he did not flinch. He kept his stride with the bed, shoulders squared, every muscle taut, daring the Force itself to intervene.

Nothing would take her from him again.

 

[Cali Ziiva]

Friends! Lorn Reingard | Ala Quin
Not Friends? None
Objective: The Heart of Descent
Equipment of Note: Mobile Workshop, Lightsaber (Blue) with Lens Modulator, Bubblegum Popper Gloves

​

There was trouble on Katabasis. So, naturally, Cali Ziiva was there. The bright pink Zeltron that never stopped smiling even when Sith were trying to skewer her or Mandalorians tried to blow her up. That was no excuse for people to be rude, but a cute girl like her couldn't let them get to her, you know?

Though, she had to admit, it was taking effort to ignore the black cloud that hovered over Lorn's head.

Sitting on the edge of her workshop tied to the direction of Ala's hoverbed, Cali busied herself with various tools and data pads as they slowly made their way deeper into the temple. Place felt Sith. All kinds of creepy vibes. The churn of the machine didn't much distract her though; Cali was more than used to the sound of machinery at work. If anything, she occasionally tipped her head to the side with her pink hair flopping to one side as Cali listened to its voice. Some people talked to animals. Some to ghosts. Cali understood machines and electronics -- even the ones that literally couldn't speak.

"Shouldn't?" Cali blinked as her hands went still for a moment. "Shouldn't what?" Her eyes narrowed. "Should? Well make up your mind." The Zeltron shook her head with an exaggerated sigh as she resumed work on the device in her grasp. Never hurt to have a few toys available when everything went nuts. Things always went nuts. Cali could go on endlessly about all the crazy things, but Lorn wasn't in the mood; Cali was trying to be considerate.

"Uh, Lorn, could you go over this procedure again? You know these Force apparatuses can be kind of finicky. They're always old. They're never documented. I'll translate best I can, but you will be careful, won't you?" Cali was kind of worried for the guy. He was sweet for Ala, but there was a determination in the set of his jaw and to his eyes. Not to mention the sharp aura about him. It was too focused. She wanted them all to come out of this healthy and happy too, but this place screamed danger.

[Edited a typo and the die roll vanished: 12]

 

[Malora Varis]

THE LEGEND OF SET AND VERÉ​

Location – Katabasis, orbit
Objectives – Await the reports from the surface . . .
Tags – Open
Paraphernalia – Lightsaber, Bodysuit, Outfit

​

The Force sang differently within Katabasis' orbit, its chords laden with corruption, as though preaching its nature a plague. Yet beneath the thunderous loudness of its strings lay a subtler melody, soft, but noticeable, a foreign light amid the dark. Malora clung to her concentration, her eyes still closed as she remained by the tall glass pane. One hand rising to tap rhythmically at her side, maintaining order where discord threatened to consume. No instruction had yet been given, no summons to join the others in their hardships below. Mercy, some might call it. Though doubt tainted her mind. For with an orchestra so distant, yet so deafening, could it not serve as a cautionary tale? A warning to flee whilst the choice was still theirs to make? For when its crescendo may loud, Malora doubted that even the vastness of space would stand as a fortress strong enough to withstand it.

Her golden eyes opened to the sight of a million stars scattered across the abyss. Each shimmering like a note in some distant, unreachable harmony. Yet among its beauty lay the desolate sore that was Katabasis, its barren atmosphere unpleasant on the eye and ear. For its chorus had not relented, still pounded agonisingly against her mind. It wove itself into her every thought until she could not even hear her mind no more. Yet even amid the Force's song, the infuriating noise of nearby officers pierced through. Their voices nearly making her blood boil, as they argued about nothing and everything in never-ending cycles. Their latest complaint went on and on about how the ship was colder than usual. As if that were their priority?!

Once, mayhaps, she might have interrupted them, silencing those fools before their voices grated her ears. But what purpose lay in that now? To engage in pitiful verbal clashes with subordinates whilst a corrupting planet still lay in reach. Her gaze drew upon its rocky surface once more. No traces of life. Nothing but a husk. And yet, bafflingly, her peers insisted upon venturing down. It was as if they lacked any sense of reason. Did they not possess the technology to study a planet from orbit. Why, then, jump into the lion's den when distance was an equally convenient path? To her, their choice seemed not merely reckless, but willfully blind. "Idiots." The word slipped from her lips like a breath, though whether it was aimed at the officers around her or those on the wasteland below--she could not say, or perhaps did not care enough to.

What she did know, however, was the rue she felt for ever setting foot on Naboo and getting swept up in these loathsome currents.

​

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

Within the Worlds of Worlds
Inside the Portal due to events in: The Legend of Set and Veré: Epistrophe
Aiden Porte

The world was unraveling around her as Naboo's courtyards bled into Coruscant's skylines; voices overlapping until she could no longer tell which belonged to memory and which to something older, ancient even. For someone who was not sensitive to the Force, it felt like stumbling into a living holographic reel, time folding and unfolding in endless spools. Surreal, terrifying, and far too real.

"Where are we?" Sibylla breathed out, voice catching as her halo light sputtered against the golden sky. Her eyes darted, wide and searching, only to stop on the new figure forming from the haze. A woman, her tone raw with desperation, her words a tether that pulled at Aiden like a hook buried in his chest.

Sibylla could feel it. The way the woman's voice gripped him, shook him, threatened to hollow him out. His breath faltered, his hand braced against his temple. She did not need to be a Jedi to recognize when someone was being torn apart.

Sibylla's body moved before her mind caught up. She reached out and wrapped her hand firmly around Aiden's upper arm. The pulse beneath her fingers was unsteady, but it was his.

"Jedi Knight Porte." She began quietly, trying to cut through the layered echoes. "Please try to focus on my voice. We need to figure out where we are, and how we can get out. And…" she drew in a sharp breath, forcing her own fear down, "how this all connects with the seal and Set and Vere"

Hazel eyes swept the fractured landscape, seeing Naboo, Coruscant, and something else all bleeding together, shifting too quickly for her to grasp. Thatb knot in her throat grew.

"This is an area I have no expertise in," she admitted, words softer, almost foreign to her own tongue. For once, Sibylla did not have the answer. She looked back at Aiden, her grip tightening on his arm as if her will alone could keep him steady.

"But I know this, time here is not what it is outside. If we linger, it will use that against us. Whatever this place is, it is trying to unmake you with what you've buried. Do not let it."

Her halo light flickered again, its beam scattering like a heartbeat in the void.

"If the Embrace shows truth and temptation both," she whispered, more to him than to herself, "then we decide which face we give it."

 

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

Bastila walked a pace behind Lorn, her boots softer on the stone, the sweep of her cloak trailing close to the wall. She had kept her silence for most of the passage, gaze fixed on the hoverbed and the frail figure it carried. There was no mistaking the weight in the task; this was not simply duty, but something more, a recognition of what it meant to carry someone through the fire and not know if they would come out whole.
The air between her and Lorn held a hushed respect. They did not need words to acknowledge their mission, nor the cost of failure. Still, as the droids muttered their tin-voiced reassurances, Bastila’s voice cut in low, dry enough to edge against the heaviness without breaking it.

“At least this time,” she murmured, glancing sidelong at Lorn, “I haven’t a blaster on hand to stun you with. That’s gotta count for something.”

The faintest curve ghosted her lips, but it faded as her gaze returned to Ala and she realised that maybe the humour wasn't the best at this time. The crimson glow deepened the lines of her face, and her tone, when she spoke again, was steadier, carrying the weight of conviction.

“We see this through. You have my word, no matter what it takes.”

OUTFIT: XoXo | TAG: Lorn Reingard EQUIPMENT:

​

 

[Vizion Trozky]

ignore!

 

[Vizion Trozky]

KATABASIS
THE TEMPLE OF BROKEN CHAINS​

There was little that could set Vizion Trozky on edge, little that put fear into him, and standing guard around a temple, an altar involved in countless ancient and bloody rites, he was predictably calm, yet alert, despite the general unease that clung to this place like rust on a nail. That seemed to be a feature of unwelcoming places like this, infused with the Dark, or inhabited by its denizens, or their creations.

He couldn't have predicted that his unintentional discovery, months back, would set the Order on this course, and endanger one of the few masters that stood amongst their number. They'd been few enough already, when the Nether had incurred them the loss of Kahne, a trade of his one life for a handful of others, a sacrifice that had been the late master's decision.

Vizion could only hope that the outcome here was better. Focusing on this, the here and now, helped to stave off worry over what could have happened to the rest of his family, who were trapped in the Core under imperial subjugation, a thing that had woven, ever present, into the backdrop of his thoughts. His and that of his two siblings that had joined him in the Southern Systems. They had little to go on.

He glanced at the others after a few moments' look at the inside of the temple following their entrance into it, briefly lowering the blade he had ignited to better give him better light, but then he continued on, blade lifting again while he peered at shadowed, vaulted ceiling. There was nothing here but old blood, ancient symbols and scripts, and nearby, the Heart of Descent, for which the temple stood.

"Let's hope there's no giant, acid-spitting bugs here," he quipped absently — a reference to some other, earlier event, "or anything else that could make this place feel small."

Briana Sal-Soren • Runa Trozky​

 

[Sven Halestorm]

H E A R T​

Objective: The Heart of Descent
Tag: Lorn Reingard | Cali Ziiva | Bastila Sal-Soren

Sven's grey eyes scanned around them, his hand resting on his blade attached to his belt, his thumb absent-mindedly rubbing against the metal as he expanded all his senses outward, the uneasiness settling over him as they all continued their movement. Footsteps followed in the wake of the gentle hum from the Hoverbed.

It seemed even the fur on his cloak stood up on edge from their surroundings. His pace was well behind the group as he kept his head down, just doing his best to stay out of the way.

He could hear the hushed words coming from in front of him, his eyes flicking up to the sound as he listened, the weight of the situation seeming to be even heavier with every passing moment, almost as if the feeling of dread had fallen upon the group as a blanket wrapping them up in its grasp.

All they Could do Was
Keep Moving Forward​

 

[Ala Quin]

◯ ◎ ⊚ THE WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS ⊚ ◎ ◯​

The vast expanse of nothing changed. Stars rose from below their feet, blue and radiant though distant. Soon, Ala and the wispy thin goddess were surrounded on all sides by the distant glowing lights. Ala turned briefly to examine them through squinted eyes.

"What...what is happening?" She said. The change in the environment was new, having remained unchanged for weeks now.

"Dagir Valyn approaches."

The goddess sounded distraught. The second part of the name sounded familiar. "Not...Caer...Valyn?"

The goddess' shoulders slumped. It was the first time that she had looked frail, defeated. Ala felt her stomach lurch, and she reached for the taller woman, placing her hand on her shoulder. As she did, she felt a breeze, and a wall of cloud appeared before them, slowly moving across them both.

The star-field dissipated. With a single blink, it disappeared and Ala squinted as sunlight streamed across her face. The setting was immediately recognisable as Lake Country on Naboo. She felt the goddess wilt more beneath her touch. And as Ala rounded the taller woman, she quickly understood why.

There on the side of the lake, toes dipped in the water, was Veré herself. Younger, though age had not dimmed the beauty of the goddess like her newfound grief had done, and smiling.

"Did you find any?" She called memory of Veré from the lakeside, her tone light and playful. There was no immediate response, causing her to look towards a small hill behind her. "Set! Did you find any?"

As soon as the silhouette of young man crested the hill, the ancient goddess beside Ala turned, hands covering her face. Ala turned with her, to comfort, but instead...stopped...

Her eyes caught a brief glance of two figures standing further up the hill from them. Wind swept across her face, and she fought with her unruly locks to give herself a chance to see clearly.

"Lorn..." And two other Jedi.

She turned quickly towards the goddess, her demeanour becoming accusatory in a heartbeat. "Why are you showing me them? Why...him? They are not part of your past...why would you do this to me?"

The goddess took a moment to reply, Ala shook her a little in an attempt to wrest a response. "It is not me...they are here...they are here..."

"What?" Ala blinked several times, unwilling to believe it possible, and then she slowly turned to Lorn.

"They should not have come. Set will surely attempt to trap you all..."

The words would register later. Ala was already running. Her short legs moved as quickly as she could, heart thumping, eyes streaming, wind blowing her curls into chaos. And she jumped...

...into Lorn's arms.

The goddess turned away from the scene of Lorn and Ala's reunion. Tears tracking down her features as she was forced, in her turning, to confront the visage of her and Set sitting beside the lake. He had placed some flowers behind her ear. It had seemed like a childish, immature gesture at the time, but also one that made her heart melt for him.

She remembered the conversation that would take place after this. The conversation about their predicament. Veré, always the realist, would shatter this moment.

"You love me, do you?" Said her younger self to her winsome beau, "that will cause problems you know...he will not allow it..."

How Veré wished she had simply fled with him. Hidden in the dark recesses of the cosmos. Instead, she had wanted to make sure things had been done right.

The cloud approached again, threatening to whisk them all to another moment, another time...another person's memory.

Ala clung to Lorn, the sensation of the cloud approaching pulling her mind to the moment. She pulled her face away from his chest, and found his eyes. "I love you, Lorn...I love you..." And she kissed him as the cloud passed over them all.

| Outfit: xxx | Tag: Lorn Reingard Aiden Porte Sven Halestorm |​

 

[Briana Sal-Soren]

The disruption to the flow of life on this ancient, forgotten world, was in a word, disturbing — bleeding out like a wound that'd gone unhealed and was left to fester. The feeling reminded her, in a way, of the aftermath of Exegol, when the Hyperspace War had finally ended.

No one ever prepared her for how loud the silence would be when the battle was over, nor told her that the stillness would feel like a threat, rather than peace. This place embodied that feeling. The hollowness of it, the darkness without end. Even if she'd never been given the reports on Katabasis, Briana knew, as they descended down into that eerie silence, that this was the echo of something equally devastating.

"Let's hope there's no giant, acid-spitting bugs here," he quipped absently — a reference to some other, earlier event, "or anything else that could make this place feel small."

Sapphire eyes flickered toward Vizion, the corners of her mouth forming into the semblance of a half smile as she consciously released her shoulders, only now realizing how tightly coiled with stored up tension they were. “Don’t tempt it,” she murmured, taking on that sardonic Corellian lilt that only ever came out when she wanted to seem unimpressed, rather than how she actually felt, which at the moment was...unsettled. “The Force already feels like it’s trying to chew through the walls, last thing we need is a surprise like that popping up."

The banter was easy, welcome, and much more preferred than silence. Grounding, in a way. A small distraction away from the gore that littered the walls of the desecrated temple, a steadying anchor against the constant press of unease that whispered, again and again, that this horrible, dead place, didn't want them here.

Falling into step and keeping a steady cadence beside Vizion and Runa, Briana's gaze shifted to glance at the former. The orange glow from his blade painted the hard line of his stubbled jaw, highlighting that look she'd become intimately familiar with whenever he was intensely focused, an image that'd long been settled in her mind and committed to memory.

"But, there is something coming... I can feel it. Reminds me of Calladene, when we were near the celestial cradle. The power, the way the Force warped..." Her lips pushed to one side of her face, finding that it was difficult to try and put into words what that bizarre experience was like, to someone who'd not been present. "It's not the same, per-se, but the vein is similar. Another pathway, maybe."

TAG: Vizion Trozky , Runa Trozky | EQUIPMENT: Teyla's Lightsaber, Echo Stone, Astor's Dagger

​

 

[Aiden Porte]

Within the Worlds of Worlds
Inside the Portal due to events in: The Legend of Set and Veré: Epistrophe
Sibylla Abrantes
​

Aiden's breath caught in his chest as the woman's voice tore through the shifting air, not sound, but a memory with teeth. It struck deep, not through the ear but through the marrow. For a heartbeat he was nowhere: not on Katabasis, not beside Sibylla, not in his own skin.

Then her hand found his arm, and the Force, splintered and bleeding around them, surged toward the contact. He anchored to it as to a rope flung across a chasm. He drew in a sharp breath, forcing his focus into the present, into the sound of Sibylla's voice cutting through the blur. The echoes thinned just enough for him to see her clearly hair stirring in the false wind, light trembling in her grip, eyes clear despite the fracture all around.

"I—" His voice caught, then steadied, rough-edged. "We're inside the Embrace. It's… it's a weave of memory and will. It pulls from me, from you, from the seal itself. The stronger the bond, the more real it feels."

He pressed his free hand to his temple, willing the phantom pressure to recede. The woman's voice still echoed, pleading, loving, condemning, he could no longer tell which.

"Whoever forged the seal tied it to emotion," he said slowly, finding words between breaths. "Every sorrow, every defiance, it all becomes thread in its pattern. Vere's pain, Set's defiance… and mine."

His gaze lifted to meet hers. "You're right. It's using what I buried, everything I faced, to hold us here. If I give in, we'll be lost in its loop. But if we deny what it shows completely, we'll never understand how to close it."

The landscape shifted again, the the Lake County of Naboo, he could see figures in the distance. The force warped around them as if they were the center of this storm. Somewhere far away, the younger Aiden turned his head, sensing something, and the echo of his gaze felt like a blade against his older self.

Focus...

Aiden exhaled slowly, eyes half-closed. "Feel what was forbidden, love, grief, defiance, the same currents that tore Vere from Set. It believes that only by reliving them can the wound be healed… or widened."

He looked back at Sibylla, steadier now, her hand still a tether at his arm. "You said it shows both truth and temptation. Then we'll meet it with both, clarity and compassion and hope. If it wants to unmake me, I'll show it that grief can build, too. That love doesn't have to end in chains."

That's it...

The air rippled again, a soft hum threading between them, and the golden sky above flickered, a heartbeat of calm amid chaos.

Aiden straightened, centering his breath with hers, matching the rhythm. "Stay with me. If the world fractures again, don't chase the pieces. Anchor to what's real, your voice, your heartbeat, the light in your hand. That's how we walk through this, not by fighting what it shows, but by choosing what we carry out of it."

He turned toward the void where the bridge stretched, voice firm but quiet. His hand reaching for hers....

"Let's move. Whatever the seal wants us to see… we see it together.

 

[Runa Trozky]

Here, the veil between the living and the spiritual felt fragile, as if a whisper away from tearing entirely.

The air itself felt wrong; like a sinister stillness. As if it had been poisoned by dark rituals, many centuries old, and the echoes lingered. Beneath it all lurked something unseen; something sensed but unnamed. To her, that was far worse than an evil she could recognize.

What dark rites had the Sith performed to taint this place? Or perhaps it had always been like this, and the Sith had merely stumbled upon it.

Occasionally, the shadows seemed to slither across the blood-stained walls, as though alive, yet, there was no source, no silhouette casting them.

At least, not yet. . . thankfully.

She looked at her brother, Vizion, and the vividness of his words about acid-spitting insects seemed to disquiet her a little more than she already was.

“Let’s hope not,” she said, the unease in her own voice betraying her calm.

Then she turned to Briana. “I feel it too, whatever it is. It does seem to be getting closer.”

Outfit: xxx | Tag: Vizion Trozky - Briana Sal-Soren | Equipment: Lightsaber
​

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Ala Quin | Cali Ziiva | Bastila Sal-Soren | Sven Halestorm | Aiden Porte​

Lorn's steps slowed as the others gathered around him. Cali's voice reached him first, lilting and playful even in this temple of shadows. For a moment, he almost envied her comfort in such a grim place. Bastila's words carried more weight, steady and resolute, and when their eyes met, he found no doubt, only a shared purpose. For the first time since she had stunned him, he felt no need to guard himself from her. He gave a small, sincere nod. He trusted her now, certain she would steady him if his emotions pulled him too far.

Sven, quiet and watchful as always, brought up the rear. Lorn felt the man's solid presence at his back, a reminder that even though this path was his to walk, he wasn't alone. For a brief moment, a rare warmth stirred within him: gratitude.

But when he looked forward, to Ala's pale, restless form, that warmth curdled into a sharp ache. His thoughts always returned to her.

Then the world shifted. The machine's rumble vanished, the stone floor giving way to an impossible shimmer of starlight beneath their feet. His hand instinctively went to the hilt at his side as he stumbled, scanning the unfamiliar vastness. Aiden and Sven were there too, caught in this strange vision. His chest tightened. What was this? A trap? A dream?

And then, he saw her. Lorn's heart stopped, then thundered. Ala. Free, not bound or writhing under Shiraya's hold. Radiant, her curls wild in the Naboo wind. She was running to him, her small frame flying across the hill, and Lorn, battle-hardened and scarred, a man braced against a thousand betrayals, was undone in a single breath.

"Ala..." The name escaped him, cracked, more a prayer than a word. When she leapt, he caught her, crushing her to him as if the galaxy itself might try to steal her away. He buried his face in her curls, eyes shut tight as his chest heaved. She smelled of warmth, of sun, of something he thought long lost. He held on, certain that if he let go, she would vanish.

"I've got you," he whispered, his voice breaking. "Ala. Stars above, I thought..." His words caught, choked down by the sheer swell of relief and grief twisting through him.

A cloud gathered, mist curling around them with silent menace. Lorn felt it tugging at her, threatening to pull her from his arms again. Ala's face lifted from his chest, her eyes locking with his, and her confession hit him harder than any blade: "I love you, Lorn..."

Tears burned hot and fell unchecked down his face. His forehead pressed to hers, trembling as he forced the words out, desperate and raw. "I love you, Ala. I swear to you, I'll bring you back. I'll tear this cursed world apart if I have to, I'm doing everything I can. Just...hold on to me. Don't let go. Please..."

But even as he begged, the mist swallowed the edges of her form. His arms tightened, frantic, trying to hold her in place as the clouds rose higher and thicker.

"No, no, not again, Ala!" His voice cracked in anguish as the world dissolved around them...

 

[Cassian Abrantes]

Tags:Open​

The hum of the ship deepened, low, resonant, the kind of sound that sat behind the ears and made thought harder than it should be. Cassian blinked once, and the clouds below blurred into white flame.


For a moment he thought it was a sensor flare. But the light didn't sting. It warmed.


He knew this place. Not the ship. Not Katabasis. Somewhere older.


***************

It began with laughter.


The memory came in gently, like a ripple spreading across water. Naboo's sun hung low in the sky, washing the lakefront in gold. The air smelled faintly of wet stone and blossom. Sibylla had her boots off, skirt hem tucked under her knees, sitting on the edge of the pier as she scribbled something into a journal. He could still hear the scratch of the stylus, the little frown she made when she got lost in a thought.

He'd come up behind her then, quietly, the way he always did when he wanted to see her before she saw him. Her voice carried across the water without her looking up.

"You think you're subtle, Cassian"

"I think I'm improving."

"Mhm." She'd tapped the stylus against the page. "Then maybe I'll pretend I didn't hear you."

The corner of her mouth lifted, betraying the game.

He'd sat beside her anyway. The lake was still enough to hold their reflections, his coat, her hair, the two of them as dark shapes framed in gold. Somewhere beyond, music from Theed drifted faintly across the water.

"You ever think we'll get it right?" she'd asked quietly

"What?"

"The balance of things."

He remembered how long he'd taken to answer, the kind of silence she always let him keep.

"No, Maybe...." He'd said at last. "But I think we'll try."

"We will."

He smirked, as she she leaned her head against his shoulder.

*******************

The hum changed again, back to its steady ship-tone. The warmth bled away. The viewport returned, the storm below, the barrier flashing with pale blue light. Cassian's eyes opened, and for a moment his breath didn't want to follow. The echo of her weight against him lingered, even though it had been years since that day.

He reached out, fingers brushing against the cold transparisteel of the viewport. The reflection looking back was older, sharper at the edges.

"Trying's all we ever did," he whispered. "I promise I'll never stop....."

Outside, the barrier flickered, once, like a heartbeat under the clouds.

Then it was still.

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

Within the Worlds of Worlds
Inside the Portal due to events in: The Legend of Set and Veré: Epistrophe
Originally interacting with: Aiden Porte
Who is in the flashback memory vision with her: Dacian Quee-Paddox Bastila Sal-Soren

Sibylla's lips parted to answer Aiden, to tell him she understood, that she was still here with him, but the world around them folded like wet parchment. The golden sky above trembled, its light leaking through in fractured beams, and suddenly the chamber, the ring, the World Between began to slip away.

She blinked, and she was no longer on Katabasis.

"Stay with me. If the world fractures again, don't chase the pieces. Anchor to what's real, your voice, your heartbeat, the light in your hand. That's how we walk through this, not by fighting what it shows, but by choosing what we carry out of it."

And that's when Sibylla realized... it was easier said than done.

The scent hit her first. Burnt ozone, blood, med-gel, the scorched tang of burnt flesh. The walls around her shifted, reshaping into the half-lit medbay she had seen only through a flickering holoarray. And there, sprawled before her, not a grainy image but a living, breathing man, was Lysander.

His face was bruised, battered, his eyes glassy as though the lighting smoke from the Kaggath's fight still clung to him. His voice came ragged, soft, as if every word might shatter.

"Are you still here… or am I dreaming again?"

Sibylla's breath caught. It wasn't a holocall. It wasn't a projection. He was right there, with the same vulnerability she had watched through static now crashing into her as if for the first time. All the emotions she had buried, layered, compartmentalized slammed back into her chest like a tsunami wave.

"Yes… yes, I'm here," she whispered, even as another strained voice joined hers, her own voice from this moment, Sibylla stepping closer despite the impossibility of it. Her fingers trembled as she reached out, instinctively trying to touch his shoulder, to prove he was real. "Keep talking to me, okay?"

Lysander's gaze flickered, hazy but locked on hers. "Just… stay. Just for this breath. Let the silence not swallow everything. Say my name again… like it still means something, say it again so I know I'm still in your world too.."

"Lysander," she said, the name breaking from her lips before she could think. "Lysander, of course you are. Soon, I'll grab your hand and hold you really tight because I need you too."

"Sibylla." He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, her name spilling from him like a prayer. "My friends thought I was an idiot… to still believe in us. I didn't know how to let go. Will you… still stay if I fall asleep?"

"I'll stay with you even if you don't fall asleep," Sibylla replied, her voice shaking, her heart hammering as the medbay flickered between clarity and blur. "Just… try to stay awake. I need you to focus on me. Just my voice."

"I'm trying…" Lysander whispered, the edges of his words fraying like torn cloth. "But it's like… I'm losing more pieces every time I speak. I don't know how to hold onto you when I don't even know what's real."

Sibylla's throat burned. She turned her head, and for a fleeting second she saw Aiden standing there watching her with eyes full of knowing. The World Between whispered at the edges of her perception, pulling at her like a tide. She tightened her hand on Lysander's shoulder, on Aiden's arm, on whatever was still hers to hold.

"Right..." she breathed, half to Lysander, half to Aiden, her voice cutting through the shattering scene. The medbay flickered, gold light bleeding in at the seams, and for the first time, Sibylla's composure cracked, hot pinpricks filling her eyes as tears welled.

"This isn't real..." she whispered, eyes darting around the surreal ruin of past and present but the sensation of a heart and longing breaking anew was a healing scab ripped off in the sea of such realistic memories. Sibylla swallowed hard, and she closed her eyes, trying to breath, to think. To tell herself rationally, that this wasn't Lysander at all. Not anymore.

"You're not really here...you no longer are."