Mission The Purification of Ukatis [NJO]

[Aliris Tremiru]

Trapping and ensnaring was a good idea. She nodded once to Loomi, giving a brief smile in turn to her. Braze was always about the speech, but for her it was just better to just share a smile. Reassurance in the simplest way. Her gaze fell back to Ko, the leader. Their leader for now. It was weird they were just a group of Padawan's without supervision, but maybe this was normal for Jedi?

It was her first outing like this.

"We'll use what we can so we don't have to kill."

Then a snap. A twig in the distance? She spun right towards it, flexing her fingers to bring out the liquid metal to float around her defensively. If she was being honest she wasn't sure she could defend herself let alone the others, but maybe she could? She'd have to trust herself, right? Hopefully.

".. We're not alone."

Ko Vuto | Braze | Loomi

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Valery Noble Jasper Kai'el Jem Fossk Dreidi Xeraic Dominik Borra Colette Kara Jade Kassogtha Cthylla
​

Cora exhaled slowly though her nose, straightening up when Jasper and Valery clasped either of her shoulders. She smiled back at them, tentative but genuine. Their words of support, simple and sincere, were a kindness she hadn't experienced in months.

This nexus wasn't as powerful as the one that had steeped Exegol in darkness, but it was pervasive in spreading its influence. A river as large as this broke off into tributaries that enabled its corrupted waters to spread.

"This river is as old as Ukatis herself, but this area has been off limits to all but a few for the past decade and a half." She glanced to Valery, then to Jasper. "I've spent much of my childhood playing in these woods, and nothing was ever amiss. The forest started to die about six weeks ago, right after the harvest festival came to an end. A week later, reports of frenzied creatures attacking travelers and villagers started."

Cora's gaze panned from the sickly foliage to the dark waters of the river and she shivered. It was as if an infection had broken the skin of the earth itself and threatened to spread.

"At first, we thought it could be disease driving them mad, but none of the rabid creatures tested positive for anything. We even sent samples to the infection control department on Coruscant."

The Princess shook her head. "Things have been getting steadily worse from there. We cannot let this escalate.”

Inhaling deeply, Cora let her lungs swell with the darkness, the light, and the presence of the Jedi, many of whom she counted among her friends. Friends she'd pushed away when she'd been suffering, but who hadn't hesitated to help when Ukatis was in trouble. Valery and Jasper, who she looked up to. Colette and Dreidi, her dear friends. Dominik, who she'd survived Exegol with. Even Kass and Oukranos, who had not been treated well by Ukatis initially, were here. There were others, too—some nearby, some further into the forest and the village, whose presences touched her newly heightened senses.

Cora drew strength from that, from them, and released the held breath. She turned to Valery.

"Lead us in cleansing the dark, Master Noble.”

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Ukatis, Woods
Tag: Braze | Loomi | Aliris Tremiru

After Braze ignited their own lightsaber, Ko grabbed his hilt but not activating it yet. Listening to the words of his friends some, but most of his attention was on keeping his awareness up. What Ko was most concerned with was getting possibly ambushed. He had no desire to kill this evening and appreciated Loomi’s concern for the woodland creatures here. But the Kel Dor padawan wasn’t gonna let harm come to his friends if it meant he had to put some down.

Hearing Aliris’s words he agreed, they weren’t alone. Feeling like something was there, just out of sight from them in the shadows. “I think we might be sur-”

SNAP!

Ko’s boot had made contact with a large rotting branch on the forest floor. Breaking it in half. Right as he did a bunch of crows around them in the trees began to fly away and caw loudly in the air. It startled Ko a fair bit as he backed away as the fluttering birds left the area in a noisy ruckus. The Kel Dor let out a sigh, thankful it was just a bunch of birds and finished what he was saying. “Phew, I was gonna say I felt like we we’re surrounded. Must’ve just been the crows though…” He said before finally looking back at the rest of his team to check on them and make sure they were alright. As he did however, emerging from the shadow’s behind them and into the emerald glow of Braze’s lightsaber was, a hand? A large ghoulish appendage with a predatory eye within its palm that looked to be coming from the ground behind the boy ready to snatch him. “Braze! Behind you!” Ko called out trying to warn his companion before dropping his glowrod and finally igniting his own lightsaber.

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Ko Vuto Aliris Tremiru Loomi

There was a small jump elicited from the pale youth as the birds took flight. A tense moment passed and he let out his held breath.

Braze's senses heightened as he heard Ko's warning, his heart racing with a mix of adrenaline and fear. The sudden appearance of the ghoulish appendage caught him off guard, and he instinctively turned around, raising his lightsaber in a defensive stance.

Time seemed to slow down as his eyes locked onto the predatory eye within the appendage's palm. It was a moment of intense focus as Braze prepared to face the unknown threat. His mind raced, trying to assess the situation and formulate a plan of action. A sudden pang of fear and terror washed over Braze, threatening to paralyze him in its grip. But he knew deep down that he couldn't succumb to it. He had been in daunting situations before, and he had always found a way to fight through.

"Ack-! What the FRAG is that!?" He was expecting to be facing off against cute woodland critters– not this horrific abomination. This was not at all what he was expecting and his confidence took a sizeable hit.

Without hesitation, Braze engaged the threat as the appendage lunged towards him, Braze swiftly deflected the attack with his lightsaber, the clash of energy and the sizzling sound filling the air. He fought with precision and agility, his movements guided by a combination of instinct and training. His grip on his lightsaber tightened, his knuckles turning white. The familiar weight of the weapon brought him a sense of comfort and empowerment.

As the minor battle ensued, Braze's mind raced with thoughts of protecting his friends in this moment of danger. He felt a surge of adrenaline coursing through his veins, heightening his senses and sharpening his focus. With each strike and parry, Braze was careful not to let 'it' closer to either of the girls remaining between it and them.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Ukatis
Tags: Corazona von Ascania , Valery Noble , Colette , Kara Jade , Kassogtha Cthylla , Jem Fossk

​

"I'll initiate it again, but I'll need help to strengthen the wall of Light, and I need some protection in case we run into trouble."

"I'll assist where I can," Jasper assured.

His light was nowhere as strong as hers, but it was something he could share. That was better than nothing. Jasper was just content to be here and assist.

Cora's mention of how she used to play here as a child did get to him. It was... sad, in a way. There was a level of sorrow that came with a place of safety being reduced to a place that gave no comfort, especially when she had only recently been sacrificed by her own father for a position of influence. Jasper was not a man that was often controlled by anger, or really any emotion for that matter, but he reasoned that a meeting between him and that sorry excuse for a man would most certainly not end well.

No... that wasn't right. Would he really threaten an unarmed individual? It was just their proximity to the nexus. That was the problem here.

"Things have been getting steadily worse from there. We cannot let this escalate.”

"Then let's see that it escalates no more," he nodded.

There was no more time to waste.

 

[Valery Noble]

Ukatis

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Corazona von Ascania Jasper Kai'el Kara Jade Colette Kassogtha Cthylla Jem Fossk Open

Looking around, Valery could only smile when so many showed up to offer their support. Many within the Order knew about Cora's story and how much of that stemmed from tradition and expectations specific to Ukatis. But at the end of the day, they were all still Jedi, so when the call for help came, they responded immediately. Even those whose who had started off on the wrong foot with the natives.

The sheer size of the group would also help with the cleansing itself — the more Jedi working together to create a Wall of Light, the more powerful it would be, and the less demanding it would be on each participant. Alone, she'd potentially not survive cleansing a Nexus of this size, but with this many Jedi working together, she felt confident they could manage.

Once several Jedi expressed their readiness to help, Valery nodded and turned to Dominik Borra , "You may not be able to feel the Nexus, but it does feel you. Dark Side entities tend to lash out at the mind, so unless you have something to completely nullify the Force around yourself, I'll also be shielding you from this Nexus." If she was going to place her trust in him for personal defense, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to leave the Nexus and its mind-altering manipulations to her.

"Lead us in cleansing the dark, Master Noble."

Valery turned to Cora and dipped her head, "Very well. Focus on my presence, and allow me to guide you. Add your strength to my own, and let the light expand around this darkness," she explained, before stepping closer towards the river. Her hands began to rise, her eyes closed, and like a bright beam from the sky, rays of light began to surround the corrupted waters. The Dark Side screamed in the Force, as its strength was being purged away. The more Jedi who joined in, the more intense this effect would feel to them.

"Join me, and we'll cleanse this Nexus for good."

But as Valery spoke, something awakened within the waters in response to the Jedi's combined assault. The eyes of the dead opened, and while they remained unmoving for now, the Jedi began to fall into a deeper and deeper focus, making it far more difficult for them to notice.

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Ukatis
Objective: Kill the ichor
Tag: Thelma Goth

Silas rushed with no fear towards the ichor who was attacking his girlfriend, uncaring for his own safety after he jumped up high to slice down on its claws. The inky body fell to the floor, but it was quite clear that the thing was already trying to reform. Before it could come back at him, Silas raised a hand to send its form backward toward the river.

At the same, a few more began to appear from the river, bigger and more gruesome than the last "It's nothing we have ever faced before I'll tell you that!" he grunted as he stood beside Thelma. The pair of them were protecting one of the few entrances leading into Stonegrove, without them the town was sure to be overrun.

"We need to hold our ground, no matter how long it takes for the rest to purify this planet!" he said to Thelma with a deep breath "They cannot be killed now, but if we hold on long enough their stench will be wiped off this world for good!"​

 

[Colette]

Valery Noble / Corazona von Ascania / Kara Jade / Jasper Kai'el / Kassogtha Cthylla / Jem Fossk

Stillness was found with a deep, slow inhale and a long exhale. While this was far from Colette's first time on a mission it was still a moment that seemed to gnaw at her nerves. Not quite strong enough to really help Valery, not quite able to defend the rest without help. That wasn't a lack of strength or power, it was inexperience.

And why was that? How long had Colette been with the Jedi now, and why was it that she still wasn't enough? She clearly hadn't put the time in. How many hours were going to waste and how badly was she messing up the opportunity that others would have killed for?

And just exactly where was this thought coming from? It was a… It was…

Colette gritted her teeth and squinted to focus on where she was now and what was going on. Right, the river and the purification. The others had already begun, the sound of the immediate area around the kid began to resurface against the corners of her mind only to reveal that the river had come alive. A sigh parted Colette's lips and she swore she could have felt the very air curl and swirl around the corners of her lips.

These weren't her thoughts and actions. Something was trying to exert control, and it was close by. The pale blue blade of her saber lit up due in no part of her own volition, yet when it came to using it she managed to snap herself out of her state and turned around to face whatever it was that tried to influence her.

Except it had no shape, at least none that she could perceive, it was there but not quite. Was this because it was already inside her mind or was it because—

A wind swept around her. No, a shape, THE shape swept against her. She braced for impact yet felt nothing. In fact if anything she felt lighter, almost like she was flying. Which in reality she was, it was just all going far too fast for her to react. The ground greeted her with a violent thud no sooner than she was in the air. A headache spiked against the kid's skull and the wind was knocked out of her lungs.

Figures that she would be immediately knocked the hell out. The kid reeled on the ground for a moment to allow the world a moment to stop spinning. From the sound of things, her attacker had already moved on to someone else. For the moment she was most likely safe.

Most likely.

 

[Thelma Goth]

Wearing: xxx
Location: Outskirts of Stonegrove
Interacting: Silas Westgard
​

Before the entity could touch her, Silas came to Thelma's rescue, cutting down the ichor and pushing it back toward the river when it began to reform. He didn't have any answers either, stating that he had never faced anything like this before.

"It doesn't seem to be sentient," Thelma remarked. "If it was, we could try to reason with it."

If her words seemed naïve, the sincere sentiment behind them was endearing, at least. But could she hold off the darkness and protect the village until the other Jedi were able to purify the nexus?

A pair of hands manifested in front of her. She slashed at them with her lightsaber, only for another to appear behind her. She didn't even have a chance to scream before its oily grip closed around her.

 

[Dominik Borra]

OBJECTIVE: PURIFY THE NEXUS

​

"I've spent much of my childhood playing in these woods, and nothing was ever amiss.

Childhood. Playing in woods. He used to do that. A long, LONG time ago... he honestly forgot about that time of his life. He could only briefly remember it now, but all it lead to was the sight of his broken and dead mother. His enraged father. His father's slit throat and bulging eyes as he choked on his own blood. How GOOD it had felt seeing him struggle.

"You may not be able to feel the Nexus, but it does feel you. Dark Side entities tend to lash out at the mind, so unless you have something to completely nullify the Force around yourself, I'll also be shielding you from this Nexus."

The hell, she was talking to HIM about how Dark Side entities attack? He was the one who lived and trained with them! His hand gripped the handle of his scattergun and the finger tightened on the trigger. He blinked.

Why did he feel angry? He hadn't felt angry since confronting Carnifex, and before then he wasn't sure. He wasn't one brought to anger easily. And... he hadn't felt good about killing his dad. Satisfied that his hell was over, but not euphoric.

Dominik shook his head. He had let his mental defenses slip, or maybe this thing had a far subtler influence than an outright attack.

"Right. Thanks, Master Noble. I don't have anything short of putting a Void bullet in myself." He nodded to her again before his droid began sending him warning of incoming creatures. A few dozen, and sending in more. "Alright," he called out to the group. "Incoming hostiles. Get with Master Noble and help with the Light. Rest of you form a perimeter. We don't let-" He let out a shot at an incoming Racyon, blowing its head to charred pieces, its fat fluffy body thudding among the ashy roots. He racked the slide. "We don't let anything through. Stay your karking ground." A curse? That wasn't like him. The Nexus was still affecting him. No wonder the creatures here were feral. He let out two more shots at creatures sprinting between the dead trees.

 

[Kara Jade]

Appearance: Link
Tags: Corazona von Ascania | Jasper Kai'el | Valery Noble | Dominik Borra | Colette | Kassogtha Cthylla | Dreidi Xeraic | Jem Fossk
​

Kara had faced the Dark Side of the Force before, fought against Sith, Dark Jedi and other like-minded practitioners. But there was something more to how it felt, beyond the obvious of standing in the presence of a Nexus.

It felt raw and insidious.

Untamed much like nature, and untapped by anyone who’d use it to attain strength and power. It was quite literally a force of twisted nature, and it was growing increasingly irate at the presence of the Light. Kara couldn’t shake the feeling that the small amount of corrupted creatures and dark-fueled projections they had encountered so far, were nothing compared to what was soon to follow.

The moment Valery and the others instigated the purification, Hell was going to be unleashed.

Deep breaths Kara, deep breaths…

She could feel a dark presence, shapeless and without form as it tried to pierce through her mental defences. It was overwhelming, everywhere. Rather than try and be strategic, the presence took a brute force approach to pass through her shields. It inevitably found cracks and gaps, where the smallest of tendrils could slip through, searching for particular negative emotions.

Kara’s hands gripped her lightsaber tightly, feeling a rising sense of anger within.

Breathe Kara. Think of your son, of your promise.

The Jedi Knight’s attention snapped to reality as her cyan blade slashed forwards, taking out one of the hand projections that had tried to grab her. A corrupted Racyon charged towards her, but it swiftly met the same fate. Kara hated having to kill the poor creature, but it was far too gone.

A sudden commotion had Kara turned her attention towards her side, just catching sight of Colette as she was knocked off her feet. The blonde Jedi didn’t hesitate to dash over, falling into a sliding-stab combo as her lightsaber pierced the eye of an apparition trying to reach for the Padawan.

Kara opened her mouth to speak, but interrupted herself and spun around. Another Racyon jumped at her from a nearby tree, only to be frozen mid-air. Kara reached out, wrapping the Force around the creature. She spared it a glance, before yeeting it far away. No doubt it would return for revenge before the night was over.

“On your feet, Padawan Colette.” Kara said, taking a moment to look and make sure the young girl was okay. She would’ve offered a hand, but the Knight was keeping her focus on the enemies around them. “Find a happy memory, and clutch it close to your heart. The Dark will try and draw upon your negative thoughts and emotions. Do not let it.”

 

[Loomi]

Ukatis
Tags: Ko Vuto , Braze , Aliris Tremiru

"Ack-! What the FRAG is that!?"

Loomi was paralyzed for a moment, simply trying to process what she was even looking at, but Braze's voice brought her back to reality. There was danger here. She had to focus. The Godoan wasn't going to be the weak link here. Not again. Judging by how the arm reacted to being hit by Braze's lightsaber, the creature was far more resilient than it's appearance let on. There had to be something that they could focus their attention on...

Eyes. They had eyes.

"Braze!" Loomi shouted. "Th-the eye! Hit the eye!"

That had to be the weak point, a soft entry to the less durable insides of whatever these things were. It was worth a shot, especially if it was the difference of life or death.

There was a gentle tug at her leg. Then a yank. Loomi let out a surprised scream as she was pulled off her feet, scrambling to dig her fingers into the dirt. It was another hand, which had emerged from the brush. Panic educed, the Godoan's heart began to race. She was being dragged away. Could she even do anything about it? Drawing her sword meant losing her grip and detaching her leg meant losing mobility. She'd be dragged away anyways.

She was useless again... but she didn't want to be taken. Loomi could only cling onto the ground for dear life while desperately looking to her team for assistance.

That filled the girl with a great deal of shame.

 

[Aliris Tremiru]

Sithspawn? Natural? Some other twisted manifestation of the Dark?

Aliris just stared. These manifestations, creatures, they were always ever on her side. Some were even under her control. Demons, monsters. Why couldn't she move against them? Around, from the very darkness they were trying to illuminate with their glowrods, she could see more. More of the eyes. One, two, five, twenty. Dozens upon dozens, unblinking and unphased as they approached the light that had illuminated them.

She was panicking. Heightened heartbeat, quickened breath. She needed to move, to run, hell even fight, but she couldn't bring herself to. Was this what people usually felt when she made her own monsters? Was this what she did to people before?

Another hand came for her, shooting from the darkness to try and grab her by the throat. She collapsed with a yelp. Fear kept her legs from working, ironically the one thing that saved her from being snatched. Another yelp, but this one wasn't hers. Frantically she looked towards the other three. Braze was fighting. Ko was too. Loomi was- She was grabbed. No. Aliris threw her hand around to bring the only weapon she had around to at least sever the hand. Make a blade, cut, saw, didn't matter so long as Loomi was freed.

But the matter didn't form. The liquid metal around her collapsed towards the ground, pooling together. She couldn't control it. Why couldn't she control it? "No no no no." She frantically started trying to grab it with her own hands, only causing it to splash like a puddle, scatter further.

"Why!?"

She slammed her hand down, turning her gaze back towards where Loomi was being dragged. Okay, no metal. Breath. Just run and help. Bite, claw, it didn't matter right? Just- She couldn't see Loomi. Another of the hands stared her down, barely an inch from her face. Panic, fear, they rushed to the front of her mind.

Am I going to have to help you again, vessel?

Braze | Loomi | Ko Vuto

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Valery Noble Jasper Kai'el Jem Fossk Dreidi Xeraic Dominik Borra Colette Kara Jade Kassogtha Cthylla
​

Eyes closed, hands outstretched, Cora turned her palms towards Valery and concentrated on supporting the Jedi Master. Wisps of light began to suffuse across the dark waters, and the nexus raged in response.

Cora's brow creased in a mix of heightened focus and concern. She could never completely shut the world around her out—especially so since she'd returned to Ukatis. Danger and noise wove into the space around her; friends and allies were fighting, some of them injured. The sound of Colette's grunt as she hit the ground caused Cora's attention to teeter into reality.

It was hard to center herself in a place like this. Not after everything that had happened to herself and to her home. Even if they cleansed the nexus and the forest quieted once more, Horace would find a reason to be displeased with her.

An emotional swell rolled over her, and Cora bit her lip. No, it wouldn't do to give into her feelings now. She could tend to them later. Quieting her mind, she poured her attention into the cleansing, lending Valery her light.

Something was wrong, even among the blackened chaos they faced. Cora's brow twitched.

"Master…" She murmured. "…something doesn't feel right."

 

[Colette]

Kara Jade

On your feet, Padawan Colette. Find a happy memory and clutch it close to your heart.

The voice felt distant, muted, but familiar, and it was a reasonable order to boot. The kid coughed and groaned but she got up nonetheless. Her chest and back hurt, her head still spun and it showed when she seemed to sway back and forth in a struggle to stay upright. She clutched her hand to her arm to make sure it was okay. It was fine, bruised at worst. The internals she couldn't quite speak for though. Colette spat out a small chunk of blood and moved her hand from her arm to her mouth to wipe away the rest of the blood.

Had she been back home, this might have been a problem, but this wasn't home and it wasn't a problem. For the moment there were other things to worry more about, such as helping Valery get this disease under control before it spread any further. She withdrew her saber and wrapped her fingers around it with a pale grip.

"Happy memory." She whispered and looked around her. Dying animals and corruption, trees like shriveled up dead husks. There wasn't much of anything here that spoke of happiness, nothing but a single person. Colette set her sights on Valery and gave a determined nod. This woman had faith in her to such an extent that they seemed to have agreed to an apprenticeship mere days after Colette had arrived, back when she was still an awkward mess and sort of called her master fat.

The thing that Colette chose to hold onto wasn't so much a memory as an ideal, one that she shared with her master. A love for people, flaws and all, and how at the end of the day Colette only ever wished she could be at least half the person that she perceived her mentor to be.

With that she marched up to Kara and took her side in the onslaught from racyons. This was not about the shame that these creatures were infested as much as the greater good. It wasn't unheard of back home that disease control meant doing things that would otherwise taint the soul, but things that nonetheless were needed for the sake of bringing a good change.

The pale blue blade of her saber ignited yet again with what she could only describe as malevolent means to a benevolent end. The world was still slightly off-balance, but the strength she pulled from those around her managed to outweigh that and Colette granted herself one last moment to center on herself before she too 'yeeted' a racyon that was rapidly emerging from the river with a purring growl.

There had to be a better way to do all of this.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Ukatis, Woods
Tag: Braze | Loomi | Aliris Tremiru

It suddenly felt like the team was out of their depth now. They were basically being ambushed now by three of these handsy apparitions, and possibly more past the surrounding darkness. It felt like it all happened at once, Braze struggling to fight the one that had approached him, Loomi was suddenly being dragged away, Aliris also seemed to be filled with anxiety as well, narrowly dodging another hand. A potent fog of panic filled the air around them. For only a second time began to slow, Ko closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Once he opened them the Kel Dor sprung into action. Needing to prioritize his targets. Ko rushed over to Loomi’s said before he was standing over the long arm dragging her. Flipping his lightsaber over into a reverse grip, plunging it down like an icepick into the monster’s forearm. Stabbing into it, but he didn’t expect to kill it, having heard Loomi’s advice. In burning pain the hand would let go of his Godoan friend and begin to reach up towards Ko instead.

Quickly the Kel Dor padawan pulled the scatter gun from its holster on his back. Aiming it at the hand as it reached up to grab at him with one hand, right for the central eye within its palm…

BLAM!

Squeezing the trigger the firearm blasted out a tight pattern of projectiles right into the appendage's weak spot. It vocalized an anguished hiss before falling back to the forest floor. It’s large fingers clenching some like a large dying spider. Then practically melted into a black fog on the ground. All the while Ko remained silent, hoping that his actions could speak louder than his words through the panic among his padawan comrades. As the eldest he felt responsible for them.

At the same time Ko was oddly enough pleased at the attention they were getting now. Every one of these gloomy hands fighting them couldn’t fight their friends dealing with the Nexus or the villagers. Looking back to the blonde girl, with the clawed hand that gripped his lightsaber he reached a hand out towards Aliris. Two of his fingers uncurling from his weapon to help focus his energy. Right before the monstrous hand went to grab her as well it froze some, struggling to touch her. Ko was trying to telekinetically pull it back from her. The monster's fingers even bent back some from the pressure he was putting on it. Hoping that he could hold off the hand just long enough for Aliris to regain her composure or for one of the other two Padawans to capitalize on the now vulnerable monster.

 

[Fantine von Ascania]

At the edge of the forest, Fantine slowly lowered her hood. Soft palms—hands that were unused to the harsh manual labor of Ukatis' agrarian class—pressed against the gnarled, withered bark of a tree. Everything around her was devoid of life; dried grass crunched beneath her feet as she snuck after her sister and the Jedi, lingering behind the group of holy warriors as they ventured further into the cursed woods.

Taking in a deep breath, Fantine squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her fingers harder against the tree's desiccated trunk. For a moment, the husk seemed to regain some life. Ashy grey bark lightened to a saturated brown, and dehydrated branches swayed with a surge of vigor. The tree heaved and grew limp once, fading in color. As quickly as it had come, the renewed vitality had gone.

Beads of sweat had formed on Fantine's brow from exertion. Pulling away with an exhausted gasp, she stared up at the tree with a frown. Tending to roses in the garden of her estate had been far easier than trying to restore life to a dead forest. What little she had managed to actually do had not even stayed.

As she pondered the tree, something dark rose from behind her. A trio of corrupted hands stretched from the earth, poised above the young woman, ready to strike. They crested downward, falling upon her like a wave.

"EEEEEEEEEEEK!"​

 

[Braze]

TAGS: Loomi Aliris Tremiru Ko Vuto

​

As the large ghoulish appendage emerged from the shadows behind Braze, its predatory eye fixated on him. Fear surged through Braze, but he knew he had to face this threat head-on. He raised his lightsaber in a defensive stance, prepared to engage the creature.

In the chaos of the moment, Braze heard Loomi's urgent cry, directing his attention to the weak point of the creature - its eye. He took note of her advice, ready to strike at the eye if given the chance. However, the danger escalated quickly as more hands emerged, one of them grabbing Loomi and another reaching for Aliris.

Braze's heart pounded in his chest as he fought against the creature, trying to keep it away from his friends. He was well-trained, but this was far beyond anything he had encountered before. Panic began to consume him, and for a moment, he felt the grip of fear threaten to paralyze him. But he couldn't afford to let fear take over. He had to protect his friends, to be the strong and dependable person they needed in this moment of crisis. With a determined look in his eyes, he unleashed a flurry of strikes parrying it's attacks, trying to push back the creature and create an opening for his friends. the moment he saw an opening, he spun his blade with a single flourish and placed his left hand on the back of his hilt, and skewered the hand through its eye, using his hand on the back of the hilt, and his body weight to drive it through.

Meanwhile, Ko sprang into action, rushing to Loomi's side and skillfully using his lightsaber and scatter gun to fend off the creature dragging her away. With precise and decisive moves, he managed to free Loomi and weaken the creature.

Aliris, on the other hand, struggled to control her powers and fight back against the monsters. Ko, sensing her distress, extended a helping hand, telekinetically pulling the monster's hand away from her, giving her a moment to collect herself. Braze had to admire Ko's quick thinking and even quicker actions. " Good job Ko-co~!" He praised stepping up behind Aliris to lend a hand moving to drive his blade through the eye skewing this one like he had the first with extreme force behind the driving motion. He had Aliris's back.

The forest was now filled with the sounds of clashing lightsabers, the sizzling of energy, and the anguished cries of the creatures as they were defeated one by one. Braze's initial fear began to transform into exhilaration, fueled by the desire to protect his friends and overcome the darkness that surrounded them.

However, in the dimly lit forest, a sinister presence lurked, ready to strike. Suddenly, from the shadows emerged the tall creature with antler-like appendages stretching out menacingly. Its body was cloaked in darkness, and its eyes glowed a malevolent crimson red, piercing the veil of night like fiery orbs. This eerie being moved with deceptive grace, its movements akin to a haunting jaunt, evoking a sense of terror in all who beheld it.

As the group braced themselves for the impending danger, they were met with a swarm of glowering creatures that could fly, but with a sinister aura. These nightmarish creatures swooped down from the darkness, their leathery wings creating an eerie symphony of unsettling flapping sounds.

The air was filled with a cacophony of chilling screeches as the flying horrors launched their relentless fly-by attacks. Each pass felt like a brush with death, their razor-sharp claws narrowly missing the members of the team. The creatures moved like shadows, elusive and impossible to predict, adding to the chaos and disorientation of the moment.

Ko was targeted by the tall antlered creature as it charged at him with a furious intensity. Its red eyes locked onto him, and a gut-wrenching feeling of dread may have washed over Ko in this moment. This creature seemed to defy the laws of nature, as if it were a manifestation of nightmares and ancient legends made real.

 

[Vulpesen]

"EEEEEEEEEEEK!"

Two sets of ears perked at a sudden high pitch squealing, both mount and rider snapping their heads to the noise. "Hyah!" Vulpesen shouted with a pull of the fur in his hand and as dig of his heels into Shadow's flanks. The fox, for her part, was quick to respond, whirling around and dashing off, her five tails thrashing through brush and ripping apart branches as she charged ahead. The pair were fast, fasts enough that Fantine's scream had hardly finished leaving her throat before a loud snap-hiss heralded a black and gold blade which bisected the first of the hands.

"Down!" Vulpesen shouted as he whirled his blade and slashed again, chopping downward at another hand. Given his mounted position, using his saber staff as it was designed would be at best, unwieldy. Rather, the Wilder kept his grip low near one unlit emitter, allowing the other end enough distance to reach down towards the spectral graspers.

Fantine von Ascania

 

[Valery Noble]

Ukatis

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Double-Bladed Lightsaber
Tag: Corazona von Ascania Jasper Kai'el Kara Jade Colette Kassogtha Cthylla Jem Fossk Dominik Borra Open

The very moment beams of light struck down from the sky to purge the darkness of the river, Valery found herself in a nearly unbreakable trance. She was so utterly focused that Colette's struggles didn't even register despite the bond between Master and Padawan. Dominik was struggling to keep the Nexus out as well, but Valery couldn't hear a single thing she said. She needed help from her fellow Jedi to cleanse this Nexus, and she couldn't lose her focus for even a second.

But the Nexus was going to resist.

Within the waters, the eyes of the dead had opened, and one by one, they began to rise. Their cold, pale bodies stood up, and corrupted eyes began to search for targets. Dominik Borra , Jem Fossk , Kassogtha Cthylla , Corazona von Ascania and more — none were safe from the undead, controlled by the currents.

Kill them all.​

Valery, however, still wasn't aware of the imminent threat and kept her focus on the cleansing. If she stopped or failed now, she wouldn't have the energy to try again. This was a one shot mission, and as long as she was kept safe, she'd make sure to see it through until the end.