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

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

The group moved ever forward, preparing for the mission at hand, Lorn was steel-gazed and Bastila again turned to try and lighten the mood and that was when Bastila realized… it was easier said than done.
The scent struck first. Burnt ozone, blood, med-gel, the acrid tang of scorched flesh. The walls wavered, then knit themselves into the dim-lit medbay she knew she had never stepped inside, yet it welcomed her like a place long remembered.

And there he was.

The man on the cot. Bruised, battered, eyes glazed as though smoke from some distant battle still clung to them. Bastila’s breath hitched. She didn’t know him, not truly; but her chest clenched with the ache of someone who did.

“Are you still here… or am I dreaming again?” His words rasped, fragile, as though every syllable threatened to break him.

“Yes… yes, I’m here,” she whispered. The answer came unbidden, sliding from her tongue as if rehearsed a thousand times. But it wasn’t her voice. Not entirely. It was hers and not hers, an echo pulled through her throat. She stepped closer, trembling fingers reaching for his shoulder. Why was she touching him? Why did she need to?

“Just… stay,” he breathed. “Just for this breath. Let the silence not swallow everything. Say my name again… say it so I know I’m still in your world.”

His name rose in her mouth before thought intervened. “Lysander.” The sound was alien, yet her lips shaped it with aching familiarity. “Lysander, of course you are. Soon, I’ll take your hand and hold it tight because I need you too.”

Her heart lurched. I don’t know you. The thought screamed in her mind, but the words weren’t hers to stop.

“Sibylla.” His lips curved faintly around the name, reverent, fragile as glass.

Bastila’s breath snagged. That wasn’t her name. The sound of it pressed against her like an ill-fitted mask, heavy and suffocating. For a moment she wanted to protest, to correct him; I’m not her. But the medbay shivered, tugging her back into the rhythm.

“My friends thought I was an idiot,” he murmured, “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,” Bastila answered. Her lips shaped the words as though guided, but her chest tightened, awareness flaring: Why am I saying this? Why does my voice sound like hers? She forced the rest out anyway. “Just… try to stay awake. Focus on me. Just my voice.”

“I’m trying…” His tone shredded thin. “But it’s like… I’m losing pieces every time I speak. I don’t know how to hold onto you when I don’t even know what’s real.”

Bastila turned instinctively and saw another figure. Dark hair, eyes sharp and knowing. The name came, uninvited, Aiden. She knew him, but the recognition pulsed like a memory trying to graft itself into her bones. The World Between pulled at her edges, whispering that none of this belonged to her; yet her hand clenched tighter, as if anchoring to both men at once.

“Right…” she breathed, half to Lysander, half to the phantom who wasn’t hers. Gold light bled through the seams of the medbay, and her composure fractured. Tears stung her eyes, sudden and foreign, the grief not her own yet sharp enough to cut.

“This isn’t real…” The words slipped raw, as though her awareness pierced through the memory. Her gaze darted across the shifting room, across the face she ached for without cause. It’s hers. Not mine. But the longing throbbed in her chest all the same.

“You’re not really here,” she whispered, fighting to steady her voice. “You no longer are.”

OUTFIT: XoXo | TAG: Sibylla Abrantes EQUIPMENT:

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[Sven Halestorm]

W O A H​

Tag: Aiden Porte | Lorn Reingard | Ala Quin

One second, his eyes were held in a dark hallway, following in the footsteps of Lorn Reingard . At the next moment, his eyes struggled to adjust to the light of the near ethereal landscape that lay in front of him. Where am I? What is this place? As his eyes finally adjusted, her glanced beside him to see Aiden, his mind already on the task of setting about figuring out the situation unfolding.

To the other side was a scene out of a storybook. Ala Quin ran to the arms of her beloved in front of his eyes, her words seeming to echo across the landscape, all he could do was try not to stare and take away from the beloved's reunion. His focus turned back to the lake in front of them, one he had seen in front of him from his youth, and a couple lay together, his eyes unable to recognize them.

What those around his physical form could see was beyond his mind in that moment, his mind wandering to what this place was, to what they were doing there, and why he and Aiden had been brought to this place. It was as if his mind were looking at the pieces of a puzzle, but the picture was on the opposite side, and all he could do was try to find the edges and put them together.

What did I get Myself Into?​

 

[Cali Ziiva]

Friends! None
Not Friends? None
Objective: Have a Good Time
Equipment of Note: Mobile Workshop, Lightsaber (Blue) with Lens Modulator, Bubblegum Popper Gloves

​

The Zeltron held up a small, bulky device and turned it over in her hands. "You know, I think it could use a Force modulating actuator." But those didn't grow on trees. Not that Katabasis had any trees inside the temple anyway. As the device lowered, her bright eyes shifted aside and noticed such a component laying on a workbench off to the side. "Oh, there's one!" She plucked it up with a giggle and started hooking it up.

"Huh," her pink head flopped to the other side as she worked, "I kinda remember a time when one of these vanished. Like, I swear it was into thin air too. That was back on Illyria."

"Back on Illyria?"

Cali bobbed her head as she managed to finesse a connector into a deep socket. "Yep! Well, you know, Xobos. You were there! Back with that naughty Dark Lord that a cutey could just hug to death with all he did to you for 'training.'"

"He did hire you to be Chief of Manufacturing."

With a blink, she turned and looked over at the Miraluka with wide eyes. "Just because he wasn't completely thick doesn't mean I forgive him for all his shenanigans. Hello, by the way, Xobos!" A grin split the Zeltron's face open.

"You know, I'd totally, like, leap up and hug you. Kinda missed you."

"I'm right here."

Giggles caused the pink woman to shake atop her mobile workbench. "I know, right? You are! But, uh, you aren't. You know? Do you know? I don't know." Cali took a moment to look around at the large workroom she'd occupied for a time on Illyria. There was her mega-huge guard bot by the door and everything. "These kinds of things are weird. Is it an illusion? Is it all in my head? Or is it some kind of spatial-temporal-flux-thingy? You know, I just might have something to find out..."

As the Zeltron set down one device and started to lean from one side to the other to search various storage 'drawers' the Miraluka reached out to touch Cali's hand, which brought the energetic motion to a stand still. "Real enough for the both of us."

"Yeah," Cali smiled for a second. "But, you know, Xoxo, I'm the one that has to live with it afterward. Uh," she straightened up and shifted a little closer atop the floating platform, "maybe a hug? Huh?" The Zeltron leaned forward to embrace the other woman.

"I'm not crying."

"You can cry for the both of us."

Cali's embrace tightened. "Stay." She buried her face in Xobos' neck. "I miss you," she murmured.

Briana Sal-Soren​

 

[Ala Quin]

◯ ◎ ⊚ THE WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS ⊚ ◎ ◯
VISION TWO​

Ala clung to Lorn, and every word he spoke. Between each declaration of intent, she pressed her lips against his face. The frantic nature lent towards inaccuracy and the kisses peppered his cheeks, nose, and occasionally pushed against the corner of his mouth. "I know...I know...I know you will...please...don't give up hope..."

She held on to him face buried in his shoulder as the mist passed over them. Her heart pleading for him to stay. Within her she felt a tug, a pull that threatened to whisk her away, but Ala melted into his arms while her mind sunk into the Force. And when she opened her eyes...he was still there.

"You're still here," she whispered, words muffled as her faced pressed into his shoulder.

The scene about them had changed, as had their companions in the moment. Instead of the sunlit lakeside, Ala opened her eyes to see stone walls with thick mortar between uneven layers, and flame-light dancing across the walls. Instinctively, she turned her tear streaked face towards the goddess. Between her and Veré stood two Republic officials that she recognised as being Abrantes'. The goddess was looking at Ala, an expression of shock on her face.

"You held him here." Her words were circumspect. Hearing a goddess sound confused was in no small way disconcerting.

Ala glanced back at Lorn, and frowned. It didn't seem a big thing, despite it meaning everything to her that he was still here. She reluctantly dropped out of his arms, but nestled in under his arm quickly — unwilling to be apart from him.

It was only then that she noted the surroundings and made sense of the ambient sounds beyond the goddess. Her cheeks flushed immediately. The goddess dipped her head, noticing Ala's understanding.

"You are all in a memory of mine. A most pleasant...though intimate...memory," Veré said with her normal melodic timbré having taken on a deeply melancholic harmony, "I apologise for any awkwardness this might cause you all."

Ala pushed past the initial embarrassment, and spoke softly. "You looked surprised that Lorn was still here."

The goddess walked away from the memory filled room that none of them could quite see inside. As she did, she made eye contact with the younger Abrantes, and smiled warmly. Within the child, Shiraya seemed to acknowledge a kindred spirit.

"You don't know how you did it," she said, mourning the dawning reality as she looked out over the night time vista of Dee'ja peaks ancient terrain, "which tells me what I must do. For I have been a fool."

The sky darkened. Stars blinking out one by one. The air chilled with an unnatural breeze that moved nothing.

"Set has arrived."

The cloud that pushed towards them from the hills was not the mist of previous moments. Instead, it was a darkness, thick and inky. A spiritual bile that rolled across the earth like molasses...and yet would outrun them all.

Ala looked at the Abrantes', and then up to Lorn. Her eyes said it before her lips could move. Please don't go.

| Outfit: xxx | Tag: Lorn Reingard Cassian Abrantes Sibylla Abrantes |

NEW THREAD MECHANIC: I am picking a number for vision three. The closest rolled to this will experience the presence of Set in vision 3. He will be seeking his long lost love, but has been corrupted by millennia trapped in the single moment where he lost her.​

 

[Vizion Trozky]

KATABASIS
THE TEMPLE OF BROKEN CHAINS​

“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."

Vizion let off a light snort, but continued to check out the surfaces of the temple. She was right, that was the last thing they needed - acid-spitting wasn't the only thing a Rhak-Skuri could bring forth. And speculating on what could be lying in wait was strangely one of only a few ways to keep the disquiet managed: thinking of your worst lived experiences to tell yourself that this present one was not insurmountable in comparison.

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

But that didn't work for everyone. "Not trying to freak anyone out," he replied softly in mild protest, his attention split between whatever it was lurking and pressing against his metaphysical senses, and the slow way his small group were 'casing the joint'... and that felt an apt phrase: they didn't belong here. That was part of the sense he was getting.

"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."

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

Vizion slowed, caution rippling through the air. "I think it knows we're--"

But the temple shifted and blurred around him...

​

Vision #1 - Ossus - Six Years Ago

...as did feelings, when the sense of light calm and contentment washed over him, and the sight and smell of abundant greenery filled his vision as it settled.

"--here."

He was walking, and the background chatter of young voices at play elsewhere, carried on the breeze, made him glance over his shoulder when a sharp yelp of laughter rose above it, and his steps slowed for half a moment, a reflex born of awareness cultivated for years. He slowed when it started to become clear to him what this might be. He slipped a hand under his shirt, as if to itch his stomach, only to not find the pocked scar that should be there. That confirmed it - six years. Another place.

Might as well have been another timeline.

Words came to him. "Sorry," he chuckled, turning to his sister, "guess I'm a bit jumpy, still," what they'd encountered on Devaron had been one of his first times contending with such a thing not only away from his Master, but also with him being the most experienced with other padawans to think of — a taste of what was to come. Everything in those days fed into the long process of Master Sato's assessments of his readiness, more than they ever had. He continued, reiterating what he'd been saying, before the interruption.

"Really, I'm glad you're here, Runa,” he’d known she was Force-Sensitive like him for a long while, now. They'd both known at the same time, only they’d made different choices from one another. “I heard Master Ithar Pell’s taking you on? Great pull, I know he’s a good Jedi." The Arkanian had been an occasional mentor to him, over the years, as others had been. Different perspectives held value.

She looked around with a similar kind of curiosity as he’d had when he first arrived at Ossus, around a decade before. “Yeah, I heard he’s quite well respected,” she said, looking back at him. He'd known she had doubts, about whether she was making the right decision: not about her future as a Jedi, but because it was a huge change that came about so quickly. He’d assured her it was the right one, better to be trained well in the way of the Light, than risk being seduced into, and used by other paths.

Not that he’d ever met a darksider, much less a Sith, but Master Sato had painted enough of a picture for him, over the years of his training and their many missions together. Other Jedi had corroborated the facts. Vizion suddenly flashed Runa a grin, and threw an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her to him as they walked.

“Yeaaaah, there’ll be more than enough time for that, tomorrow, and every tomorrow after,” he sighed, sloughing off all that weighed on him, “we have the whole day to ourselves, Ru,” he said then, gleefully, throwing his other arm out to the landscape around them as they meandered towards the steady rebuild of Knossa City — he’d all but begged for them to let him give her the tour, take her around to meet the people that trained here and called this place home, “Welcome to Ossus!”

But just as his hand cleared its arc across the natural beauty of that ancient world of the Jedi, and returned to him with a laugh, the vision before his eyes began to change again....

Briana Sal-Soren • Runa Trozky​

 

[Briana Sal-Soren]

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

That was all the confirmation she needed, beginning a cursory walk around the room while listening to Runa and Vizion's chattering, checking for any signs or clues as to what might be in store for them, her boots clicking on the ancient flooring until she halted in front of a vertical split in the farthest rear wall.

Holding up her hand, Briana checked for any signs of a breeze passing through. Instead, there was a deep humming noise coming from... somewhere. The stone? Beyond? She couldn't tell. The Force tremored as the sounds around her reached a fever pitch, loud and horrible.

"Viz — " She'd began, turning sharp on her heel to try and go back to him and Runa, but her feet came out from under her instead; pulled into a feeling of weightlessness as she fell backwards, her field of vision disappearing altogether as she plunged into a dark void, spinning.

When she landed, or rather where she landed, Briana couldn't say at first, having lost all sense of self in the chaos of what'd just happened.

That is, until the familiar scent of fresh rominaria flowers, carried on a warm breeze, tickled her nose.

Sunlight fell over her in buttery golden hues, shining through the boughs of blooming Zaela trees, the deep maroon petals filtering down like snow from its branches.

She was...home — but not in any way that could still be real. The estate gleaming above her no longer existed, not in this form, at any rate. This was home as it'd been before the Cataclysm. Which was... impossible.

There was little time to ponder the possibilities of what it all meant, not with her attention pulled to a greater curiosity. The sound of delicate chiming bells and sweet murmurings rose from some place further ahead in the gardens and Briana followed it to the source, a soft gasp falling from her lips.

A few steps ahead stood her mother, her warm chestnut hair delicately curled, pulled half up and half down, entwined with veda pearls and mangana aqua jewels — jewels that'd come straight from the Ee'everwest vault, passed down through the ages in her family and loaned to every Ee'everwest woman to do with as she pleased on her wedding day. The neckline of her stark white gown grazed her collarbone, but hugged her curves everywhere else, only spreading out towards the bottom in a dramatic, fluttering sweep of silk fabric. The skirt and bodice stitched lovingly with gold thread, matching the wide sleeves that'd been lined with gold fabric, so whenever they turned down to her elbow, the color shone like the sun.

Across from her stood her father, cutting an impressive figure in his finely tailored suit. Always so sharply dressed. Strong, confident...a smile concealing all the terrible secrets that would soon destroy everything they ever loved, plastered over his face.

The eyes she'd inherited from him were fixed on his soon-to-be wife, thumbs grazing gently over her knuckles. His hair still black, before the stress of his final days had shocked it white, was brushed smoothly back. A handful of friends and family alike surrounded them, a younger Bastila in the front row, ten years old and swinging her legs on the bench in an effort to stay still, a crown of flowers tilting crooked over her head with a grin plastered over her face, stretching from ear to ear. Briana smiled faintly, remembering that crown, remembering wishing she could fix it.

"Why... I wasn't here." she murmured. The vows being spoken were words Briana only ever heard through a flickering and unreliable holonet feed on Ossus, lightyears away. She remembered wanting so desperately to be there with them, to wear the pretty dresses, to be part of the Queen's courts again and take part in the festivities and celebration of something she and her siblings had only ever dreamed of for years. She remembered how much it hurt that she couldn't be. Not without betraying Brandyn and forcing him to give up his long-time dreams that she promised to see him through.

There'd been a touch of sorrow and resentment both then, but now it ached in wholly different way, realizing with stark clarity that this was the last time she saw her parents and family so truly happy. The last time they'd be untouched by the long shadow of grief that would undo them all in just a few short years.

And she hadn't been there to share it with them.

The vows continued, untouched by her presence as her parents leaned close, sealing their promises to one another with a kiss. The small crowd erupted in cheers, flowers scattering through the air like rain.

Tears blurred her vision, fingers curling into a fist that was then pressed against her chest, as if she could hold the moment there and keep it from fading. "I missed you both, so much." she whispered, a tired smile tugging at her lips. "I still do." It didn't hurt to admit it as much anymore.

TAG: Vizion Trozky , Runa Trozky


​

 

[Bastila Sal-Soren]

VISION 2

The laughter came first. It rang like windchimes through the corridors, bright and untamed, the kind of sound that only children could make, pure and unforced. Bastila darted across the polished stone floor, her small feet leaving smudges as she ran. The folds of her tunic fluttered around her knees, her braid bouncing against her back as she skidded to the left around one of the kitchen maids who gave an entertained yelp, Bastila’s heart pounded with delight as she shot under the table, her height easily allowing her to.
“Not fair, Bast!” Blaire’s voice followed not far behind, cracking on the edge of a laugh. “You always hide too good!”

She pressed herself into the curve of a stairwell, the wall cool against her spine. A single shaft of sunlight slipped through the shutters above, painting the space in amber. Dust motes danced in the light, slow and dreamlike, catching the scent that drifted from the orchard beyond the open window; peaches one of her favourites, ripening in the Naboo sun, their sweetness clinging to the summer air.

Above her, Briana’s voice rang out, singsong and teasing, “She’s downstairs! I saw her!”

Blaire shrieked with outrage. “BRIANA! No fair, you’re not supposed to tell!”

Bastila smothered her giggles with her hand, shoulders shaking, her knees drawn up close to her chest. She could still hear Brandyn’s voice counting steadily somewhere behind them; “...eight, nine, ten...” the measured sound of his voice grounding everything, as if nothing in the world could break that rhythm or the seriousness he put into everything.

But then the rhythm broke.

The echoes didn’t fade; they grew. Briana’s voice repeated, the same words again, “She’s downstairs! I saw her!” only softer, stretched, like a record skipping. Blaire’s laughter tangled with it, pitched too high, looping over itself until it no longer sounded quite like him. And Brandyn’s counting… started over. “...eight, nine, ten...” again and again, each one laid over the last until the numbers jumbled.

The golden dust drifting in the stairwell dimmed, no longer motes but ash, weightless and bitter on her tongue. Even the peach-scent seemed too sour, too thick, cloying, like fruit left out too long in the sun.

“I don’t want to choose…” A familiar voice, older than her, yet maybe it was her? For just a moment she felt confused and disoriented, a bridge of light standing between herself and…herself? "I Don't want this fate..."

Bastila buried her face in her knees, willing herself not to look, not to breathe too deeply.

And then, just as suddenly, the shift snapped back. The sunlight warmed her skin again. The motes were harmless dust. Outside, the orchard smelled sweet once more, as though nothing had changed. "She's downstairs! I saw her!"

She allowed herself a giggle and Bastila was again happy.

OUTFIT: XoXo | TAG: Brandyn Sal-Soren Briana Sal-Soren Blaire Sal-Soren [For reference] EQUIPMENT:

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[Cassian Abrantes]

Tags: Open​

The silence returned in full, thick as pressure at the edge of the hull. Cassian's breath fogged faintly on the viewport before fading, leaving him face to face with his own reflection again. a ghost wrapped in an officer's coat. The hum of the corvette steadied, and with it came thought, unwelcome and persistent.

He'd spent his life believing in control, in knowing the angles, the exits, the levers to pull when things turned sideways. But there were no levers for this. No report to file, no transmission to trace. Just a barrier between him and a world that refused to answer.

The promise still hung on his tongue. I'll never stop.

He wondered what that meant now. Was he promising her? Himself? He turned from the viewport, the deck lights cutting hard lines across the floor. Somewhere beyond the bridge bulkhead, officers moved in low murmurs, systems checking out, patrol reports ticking in. The ordinary rhythm of duty. But duty had always been the thing that tore them apart, hadn't it? The mission first, the cause before the heart.

He leaned forward, elbows braced against the edge of the console, eyes half-shut.

"Were you were right to go, Sibylla?"

The thought came unbidden. Just weary. She'd always chased the truth. He loved that, now he feared it would kill her.

"I can't lose you..."

The ship thrummed again, as though in quiet agreement. He looked back at the planet one last time. The barrier shimmered, distant and unreachable but for just an instant, he thought he saw a flicker of light at its edge, faint and pulsing, like a signal struggling through static.

Thus the white flame came again, and the world he was around was not lost, and he was somewhere else entirely. Cassian took a breath, his mind trying to make sense of this, and what it all meant.

He heard the words Set, they had arrived. There were others he didn't know personally, just by reputation. And before the lone the scene shifted and he was back.

A small sigh escape his mouth.

 

[Aiden Porte]

Vizion Trozky Runa Trozky Sibylla Abrantes ​

Aiden felt the crack before he saw it, the sharp fracture in Sibylla's composure, the tremor of a heart torn open by a memory that was never hers. The Embrace fed on that and then she was leaving him, falling away as the scene shifted for him, and he glanced around. Washing over him like water down a ledge.

He reached toward her, the Force wrapping around his words like a steadying hand.

"Sibylla," he said softly, but with the weight of command and desperation beneath it. "Look at me."

But it was too late.

The light bled across his face, shifting between shadow and gold, but his presence was constant an anchor amid the storm. He stepped closer, lowering his voice until it was a quiet pulse that matched the flicker of her halo.

Vizion's voice reached him first, younger, lighter. Aiden's breath caught as the pieces fell into place the turn of the shoulders, the cadence in his tone.

He watched in silence as Vizion draped an arm around the girl Runa. Her face bore the same open wonder Aiden had once seen in every Padawan stepping into the temple's light for the first time. There was pride in Vizion's voice, an older brother's teasing joy, but also the faintest edge of caution beneath it. Even now, Aiden could feel that undercurrent: the instinct to shield, to teach, to believe and know that the galaxy could be held together by faith alone.

Aiden took a slow breath, steadying himself in the current of the Force. The vision shimmered at its edges, the laughter distorting into echoes that no longer belonged to this world. Yet the warmth between them, that simple, unguarded bond, remained true.

I told you hope is not some fools ideal, it is the greatest and noblest of aspirations....

Believe it...

Truly believe it...

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Ala Quin

Vision 2​

Lorn's arms clamped around Ala, every muscle straining as the mist pressed in. He pressed his cheek against her curls, whispering fiercely into her hair, "I'm never letting go. If you fall into hell, I'll follow." His grip was desperate, the hold of a man who had lost so much and couldn't bear another loss.

When the veil finally broke, he opened his eyes to find her still there in his arms. His breath hitched in disbelief. "I'm still here," he murmured, stunned, his voice trembling as his lips brushed her temple. "Still with you." A jagged joy surged through him, edged with fear, as if every moment with her was stolen, a gift a cruel fate was eager to reclaim.

He only released her when she nestled closer under his arm, unwilling to be separated. He kept her near, his gaze sweeping their new surroundings but never lingering. The intimacy of another's memory unsettled him. His jaw tightened. This was no place for them, no place for her. His eyes kept darting back to Ala, his fear plain: if he looked away too long, she might simply vanish.

The goddess's words washed over him, but what truly caught him was that flicker of surprise, the thought, you held him here. He glanced at Ala, searching her face as if she might know the answer, but she only nestled closer. He swallowed hard. "Whatever it was... whatever I did... I'll keep doing it." The words remained unspoken, locked behind his teeth, but they blazed in his eyes when he looked at her.

Then the air shifted. A foul, thick, choking darkness rolled across the land, something far more sinister than mist. The name struck him like a bell: Set. Lorn's hand instinctively went to his saber, but his heart knew steel and light would be useless against this tide. Still, he did not move. He would not run. He turned to Ala, pulling her tighter, his thumb brushing her cheek with reverence, memorizing her warmth.

"I won't let the dark take you from me," he whispered, his voice low and breaking. His eyes devoured her face: every curve, every line, the wild defiance in her curls, the gentleness in her gaze. "You are the only light I've ever wanted, Ala. If this cloud takes you, then let it take me too. Let me go wherever you go."

The black tide swallowed them, its unnatural weight pressing like stone upon his chest. Yet, even as it closed in, he kept his eyes locked on hers, refusing to blink, refusing to surrender that last sight of her. In the suffocating dark, he found peace, because all he could see was her.

 

[Sibylla Abrantes]

​

Within the Worlds of Worlds
Inside the Portal due to events in: The Legend of Set and Veré: Epistrophe
Aiden Porte Ala Quin Cassian Abrantes Lorn Reingard

Sibylla's lips parted, but her voice caught in her throat. The aching image of Lysander dissolved into nothing, and with it the fragile hope that maybe, just maybe, she could hold onto him one moment longer. The medbay, the smell of blood and burnt ozone, all of it crumbled like dust.

She felt the shell of her ears ring with Aiden's voice in a soft echo: Sibylla. Look at me.

But it was too late.

The air snapped, and she was somewhere else entirely.

Stone walls enclosed her, and the glow of candle light danced across uneven mortar and old timber. The shift stole her breath, leaving her disoriented. She spun, heart pounding, voice trembling with confusion.

"Aiden? Where are you…"

Then she saw him.

"Cassian!" The name tore from her chest before she realized she had moved. She lunged forward, arms wrapping tight around the broad shoulders of her brother. Relief and fear crashed together, her voice breaking. "How did you get here…?"

Her question faltered as she finally saw the others. A tall Jedi, broadshouldered, with a woman tucked close under his arm, dusky skinned, delicate, but with strength in her bearing. And Sibylla knew her. Recognition chilled her blood. The woman was Ala, the Jedi Master who had been forced to bear Vere's will.

Vere.

Sibylla's eyes darted past her to the figure watching with an expression that cut her breath short. The goddess. Her likeness was nearly perfect to the carved statue Aurelian Veruna had given Sibylla at the Veruna alcove library he'd given her -- only now a living presence before her.

"Vere," Sibylla whispered, her voice unsteady, emotions crashing too quickly to sort. Anger. Awe. Sorrow. Longing. The sound of her own heartbeat roared in her ears.

And then, amid the suffocating silence, Sibylla heard it, muffled, indistinct sounds beyond the walls. She felt the blood rush to her face, heat rising to her cheeks. This was no projection of history. This was a private intimate matter, and the goddess's melancholic tone confirmed it.

Sibylla did her best to try to ignore it and focus on what was important. When Vere turned to her again, talking about how Set had arrived, Sibylla finally found her voice again.

"The seal to the entrance here is broken," she said, forcing her tone to remain steady to relay the information quickly. Sibylla wasn't sure how much longer she'd remain. She had to act.

"Whoever forged the technology used it upon the entrance to the World Between Worlds to trap you and Set, but it is leaking now. These distortions are bleeding out into Katabasis. That is why you and Set escaped, is it not?"

Sibylla eyes fixed on the goddess, pleading and resolute both.

"But how do we make it right? How do we free you both fully so you can finally be together, without letting this… this wound of memory and resonance consume us? How do we stop it from tearing Katabasis apart?"

Her voice cracked, but she held Vere's gaze, determination sparking in her hazel eyes.

"Tell me what must be done."

 

[Runa Trozky]

And then suddenly, abruptly, reality had shifted. And the foreboding air and walls of the temple. Seemed to unravel as it blurred and twisted out of form, into black, and back into existence into something else, and a time more...

~~Vision #1~~​

Beautiful...

Six years earlier in fact, the moment came like it was yesterday. And it seemed like nothing had changed.

Runa tilted her head slightly, from the slight shock of the change in environment and, with a considerate pause, a small smile tugged at her lips as she glanced toward him. “I… I’m glad to be here too, Viz,” she said softly, her voice carrying a quiet warmth that seemed to soak into the air around them. She took a careful step forward, letting her gaze drift over the verdant expanse of the grounds with wide, bright eyes. “It’s… bigger than I imagined. And… beautiful. I think I’m going to like it here.”

Her hand brushed back the hair behind her ear almost instinctively as she took in her surroundings, a mix of excitement and apprehension fluttering in her chest. “Master Ithar Pell…” She let his name roll off her voice in thought, regarding her master for a moment. “I really want to do my best for him, and for the Jedi. It’s just… everything is happening so fast.” Her smile widened. “But having you here makes it… easier. With you showing me the way.”

When he threw his arm around her shoulders, his familiar presence seemed to ease the lingering doubts and hesitation she hadn’t realized she carried. The weight of family expectations, of nobility, of their father’s lofty standards, it all seemed to fade away. For the first time in a long while, she felt content.

She let her eyes wander again, taking in the bustle of apprentices, knights and masters in the distance, and the sunlight streaming across the foliage. “Thank you for showing me around. I… well, I’m really looking forward to learning everything I can here.”

They had the whole day ahead for him to show her the temple grounds, but even more, they could catch up; sharing the stories of everything he had seen, everything he had done. That mattered more than anything in that moment.

As they walked together, she stole a content glance at him. “Ossus feels… so vibrant, alive. Like it’s welcoming me, in its own way. I think…”

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

 

[Cali Ziiva]

Friends! Sven Halestorm
Not Friends? None
Objective: The Heart of Descent
Equipment of Note: Mobile Workshop, Lightsaber (Blue) with Lens Modulator, Bubblegum Popper Gloves

​

Cali sat atop her floating mobile workbench with her legs dangling over the side. She'd been there for a minute after the world changed. Now the Zeltron was pretty sure the whole thing wasn't merely an illusion. She'd like to think her made-up worlds would be a little more cheerful. Maybe a grand party. Full of lights and fireworks and fun cool things. Not a playlist of some of her less favorite moments. Not to mention the slight deviations. Like it was all some kind of 'think you can do it different this time?' kind of trip.

With an exhale, she hopped down from the platform and turned around to fish out a line. With it secured on the platform at one end, she attached it to a loop on her outfit at the other. If this was some weird thing then being separated from her gear might cause it to vanish or something. Her pink digits also fiddled with some onboard electronics to have it record environmental readings.

Not that she needed to know where she was. Or where she was supposed to be. It was Naboo. One of its smaller communities. Not the capital, of course. Oh, no, as it turned out if this had been the capital a great journey would have been cut dramatically shorter. Instead, after a lot of wandering here or there and misadventures, the Zeltron found herself here. Outside of this moderately well-to-do housing complex.

The lightsaber hilt was drawn from the faux-blaster holster at her hip as she started toward the door. Seemed like the world was waiting on her to get this replay in motion, and Cali didn't much find the idea of being stuck in this moment in time ideal. Something would have happened to force it along anyway,s he reckon. With a knock at the door, she rocked back on her heels with a smile.

With cheer, Cali introduced herself to the woman that answered the door. Explained she happen to be in the area looking for a particular man. Someone she'd once met, and that had left something important behind in her possession. The lightsaber rose atop both hands.

"He mentioned leaving that in the care of a student..." They gazed upon the silvery road for a long moment. "You should keep it." A quick smile. "He never regretted that choice, and I couldn't take back a gift. Not from someone that helped him come home."

One hand settled atop the lightsaber with it caught between both hands. Cali looked down at it for a moment before her eyes rose again. "I don't know if I was such a good student," she giggled, "but I am glad he was able to find his way back."

A brief pause. "I was just about to sit down for supper..."

"Oh! Maybe give me a minute to stow my belongings?" Cali grinned as the lightsaber fell to her side.

They chuckled and welcomed the Zeltron to return when she was ready.

Just how real was all of this? Did it change things? Would her past self show up after she vanished? Well, she didn't know how long this 'thing' lasted, but it hadn't given her enough time with Xobos, so it wouldn't be right if she literally vanished after being invited inside. A good excuse then to keep Cali outside until whatever was supposed to happen happened.

As she stood before her workbench, Cali brought the lightsaber up to examine it once again. This place could have at least given her the chance to return it to him before he passed. Not that either time she'd found this place his companion ever suggested he regretted a thing. Still, Cali had run through the galaxy looking for them only to discovery she could never return the saber to him. The one he'd left on Zeltros after she'd helped him recover from turbulent emotions within.

Turbulent emotions. Reminded her of Lorn. Too focused. Too stern. There had to be something she could do...

 

[Ala Quin]

◯ ◎ ⊚ THE WORLD BETWEEN WORLDS ⊚ ◎ ◯
VISION THREE​

The goddess looked up at the young one that spoke. Her passion was great. The goddess smiled softly, though melancholy clung to each motion. "You see clearly, child of Shiraya," she said, directly to the young woman, "the fissure was sealed, but someone picked at the scab. Not even the Sith were willing to open the wound again, only wishing the power leaking from it. There is...only one thing that can be done. I must find Set..."

She stepped closed to Sibylla, palm outstretched, and pressed against the young woman's forehead. Energy transferred. "...you shall be my beacon. Set will come to you. You...will bring him to me."

Ala a felt the tug again. A pull of inevitability, destiny ripping her beloved Lorn from her. She turned, burying his face in his chest. Muffled sobs filled the empty expanse of the World Between Worlds and in an instant, she held nothing. Lorn was simply gone.

Her hands slowly curled into fists. Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the translucent walkway that floated among the field of stars. Her fists hit the walkway, sending out ripples like a stone dropped in a still lake. "No...please....all I want...is just another...just one more moment...please..."

The vision had changed. Now instead of a vision of the goddess' past they were in the vast expanse of the timeless place. Voices echoed. Her mother. Her saviour when she was a child, Gaven. Caltin. Zakk. N'yssa. Ayra. The people from her past that had guided her. Loved her. Helped forge her. But there was no voice of the one she wept for most. No Lorn.

She did not look up. Could not look up. If she had, she would have seen the many pathways that this place offered. The many portals, and windows into other times. Scenes played out from her life, and from the lives of the Sal-Sorens that had joined her and the goddess in their place.

One such path curved upwards, to a circular two-dimensional portal sitting among three-dimensional space. Beyond the portal played a scene of a blonde woman preparing a syringe, the environment about her seemed like a storage area. Garbled sounds would be heard when within close proximity to the portal, sounds of celebration and dedication. Sounds of Naboo. Sounds of the E'Eeverwest Estate.

The goddess was looking down at Ala. Her face was a mixture of sorrow and wonder. "It cannot be..."

Her eyes rose to meet those of the two young women that had joined her and Ala in the World. One looked somewhat familiar, as if the goddess had seen her just for a moment upon her release. The name slowly came to her. "Bastila...child of Naboo...you were present at my release..."

The goddess' slight, ethereal frame, seemed more pale than before. She looked at both of the women that stood beside the grieving Jedi Master. "The age of Set and Veré has long since sunk beneath the tides of eternity, yet our lament has clung to the imaginations of the living. No longer. The burden of our echo shall be lifted. The breath of love belongs to the living, not to those that have already lost. Take it, and cherish what I was denied," her eyes fell on Ala again, "she and her Lorn have shown me this. I will not permit my desire to have what cannot be regained to rob you all of your time."

Her arm rose, finger pointing with casual grace towards the end of a long transparent walkway. At the end stood a a circular portal nested in a triangular frame. "Hurry...children of Shiraya...your future awaits...see it before it passes from hope..."

She then stooped, and wrapped her arms about the diminutive Jedi Master. "Come with me, Ala Quin. For a task of the uttermost importance is afforded you. Come...time lingers not for me or thee."

| Outfit: xxx | Tag: Lorn Reingard Briana Sal-Soren Bastila Sal-Soren |

NEW POSSIBILITY: Future visions. I will sprinkle in some possible future vision slots for vision 4.​

 

[Cali Ziiva]

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

​

"What have you done?"

The Pink woman stood at the far end of the room with the floor to ceiling viewport providing the perfect view of the planet below. A blue-white ring appeared to be slowly growing across the surface of the planet from a single point of origin. It covered hundreds of miles every second. It fed on the destruction it left in its wake. She could practically feel the screams of rage and terror.

But not through the Force. Because the sentients below weren't the sort the Force paid any heed; not more than the organics that occupied the galaxy and threw its power about so freely. Too freely. The sad thing was their power, earned or seized, wasn't the only one capable of untold devastation. Perhaps it could be said it was worse when those that weren't sensitive found new ways to level entire worlds. It wasn't merely from ignorance of their own power, or an immaturity of being handed such power too soon. They knew precisely what they were doing. They chose it. Willingly.

Cali pressed a hand against the transparisteel. It felt cold. Not from the vacuum of space on the other side, but from the failure on her's.

"What had to be done."

"Had to be?" The Zeltron whirled around to stare daggers at the man in the uniform at the other end of the conference table. "Had to? We had a deal! They weren't going to harm anyone."

"You don't know that. What do they know of honor? The moment it became inconvenient or we turned our backs they'd emerge from the shadows. We wouldn't even know it until it was already too late. This was the only way."

"So you struck from the shadows when it was convenient instead? You've killed all of them!"

The officer regarded her in silent before he turned to leave. "You can't kill a machine."

Cali blinked. "Those 'machines' had more heart than you ever will." The doors closed and left her to slowly turn back to face the viewport again. Maybe everyone else on the ship couldn't care less; maybe they thought every droid or technological lifeform was an inanimate object for them to use, abuse, and throw away as they saw fight. The Zeltron Engineer, however, had seen their potential and desire to become more than their programming. Just because they looked Human people were scared and found murdering them a simpler solution to the possibility of walking down the street with one of them. Of laughing with one of them. Of finding out that maybe, just maybe, a machine might actually be better at something than them. As that were any different than finding another organic that was better at you than something.

They'd deserved better.

 

[Lorn Reingard]

Tags: Cali Ziiva

Vision 3​

Lorn locked his arms around Ala as the black tide swallowed him. His jaw tightened painfully, breath ragged, as the darkness pressed in like stone. He buried his face against her hair, whispering prayers and making promises, anything to keep her close, to anchor her to him.

But as the veil shifted, as the crushing darkness thinned and air bled back into his lungs, his arms were suddenly empty. Lorn staggered forward, as if the universe had ripped something from him. His chest seized with a sharp, unnatural ache, his body folding slightly as his hands closed on thin air. He looked down, desperate, needing her weight still there. But he saw only his own trembling hands, empty.

"Ala…" The name cracked his voice, raw and broken. His eyes stung before the tears came, and when they did, he couldn't stop them. They cut hot paths down his face, dripping from a man who had long since taught himself not to weep. He shook his head slowly, disbelieving, his lips trembling with words that wouldn't form. He had sworn to never let go. Yet, she was gone.

His chest ached as though the Force itself had reached inside and torn it apart. Every heartbeat was agony, a hollow drum echoing her absence. A quiet, tragic grief settled in his bones, heavy and cold, until his body felt like stone. He had lived through battles, endured betrayals, and seen friends buried or turned to ash. But this was different. This was her. His light, his anchor. And he had failed her.

He pressed the heel of his hand against his face, smearing the wetness away, but the tears kept coming despite him. His breath came in shallow, shuddering pulls as his eyes finally lifted.

The dark was gone. Now, transparisteel stretched floor to ceiling above him, the galaxy's light reflecting cold against his damp cheeks. Below, a planet was being consumed. A ring of blue-white fire spread outward, swallowing cities, mountains, and countless lives in seconds. The devastation poured upward, silent and endless, clawing at his chest almost as much as Ala's absence.

He blinked hard, once, then twice, trying to make sense of it, trying to anchor himself. And then he saw her. Cali stood before the viewport, her hand pressed to the cold barrier as if she could hold back the ruin below.

Lorn's voice cracked as he spoke, unsteady from the weight of his loss. "Where… where are we?" His amber eyes swept the alien chamber, haunted, searching for Ala, but finding only this stranger. He swallowed hard, fighting the tremor in his throat. "Are you… are you alright?"

He lowered his head, eyes narrowing as the destruction below flared brighter, hungrier. His tone hardened through the raw grief. "What the hell is happening? Why are we slipping into visions like this?"

 

[Cali Ziiva]

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

​

Cali blinked and turned her head to regard Lorn as he suddenly popped into existence. That... was surprising. Obviously Lorn hadn't been there the first time. How was he there now then? Somehow their paths through 'whatever' had crossed. So she couldn't be that far away from 'the moment,' which was really a relief. Times like these you started to worry you'd lost your anchor in time and random events was just how 'time' was going to be from now on.

"Uh, not somewhere you've heard of." Cali turned her gaze back out the window. "Not much was left for anyone to remember."

A soft, mirthless chuckle escaped the Zeltron before a smile sprouted as it was turned back in Lorn's direction. "Still alive, right? Still... time to do something." Not fix the past, apparently, but something.

"Oh," Cali stepped to the side to pluck a pad from her workbench that loitered by the wall. "Yeah, well, looks like everything we're seeing is real." She wandered back as she scanned the pad's contents. "As real as real is, anyway. Still inconclusive if we're literally moving through time too, but it isn't merely a dream. Though, you know, some people say dreams are just another level of reality. Not sure I'm sold on the idea, and if I were I'd feel sorry for some of those dreamt up realms."

"But why?" The Pink woman looked up and stared at Lorn for a second. "No idea. Probably has to do with the Machine. I did say these kinds of things were finicky. And I doubt this is what is was built to do. Which tells me either it's broken -- and I could fix it -- or someone is influencing its operation. To keep us from something, or in an effort to get to something."

The Zeltron tossed the pad back to the floating bench before she looked up with Lorn with big, bright eyes. "More importantly, are you alright, Lorn? I know you're concerned, but once we figure out 'this' we'll set everything right." The smile broadened to show confidence and radiate a warmth that was difficult under the circumstances, but completely natural for the pink Zeltron sharing the room with the man. She could sense recent events hadn't helped him emotionally, and Cali hated when people suffered.