Placeholder 0128
Character
Location: Refinery Complex
Enemy: [member="Darth Vesper"]
Objective: Make peace with oblivion
The flames drew close.
Cedric had intended to try and persuade the Sith Lord one final time, but his opponent acted before he could find the words. The knight called upon the force to aid him, its ethereal energies flooding his limbs as the flames honed in on him. His legs moved, arms stretching outward to swing the blade - and then they didn't.
Agony unlike anything Cedric had ever experienced enveloped his entire being. The tornado of fire and ash ensconced him in its deadly embrace, preventing him from making any kind of escape. The armor began to melt around him, the skin melding with the phrik plates in an agonizing union of flesh and metal. Cedric could not find the voice to scream - the moment he parted his lips, the flames danced down his throat and singed his insides. Crackling lightning pierced his skin and charred his bones; the weight of his armor kept the tornado from lifting him.
The Blade of Ruusan fell silent as it fell from its wielder's hand.
Tears of raw pain fell down Cedric's burning cheeks as the skin was melted from his bones within the suit, his life fading within a span of seconds.
There will be others. My death won't stop the Light from rising again.
The pain began to fade. Something warm and comforting pulled him from the cage that was his body, urging his spirit to rise into a realm unlike anything he could have hoped to describe. He saw an endless city of gold limned by the comforting light of an evening sky. Three souls awaited him, each of them familiar and dearly missed.
Caida. Mother. Dad.
He reached out to them, the ties that bound him to reality growing weak the closer to them that he drew. The empyrean called to him, urging its lost child to come home. His life had been nothing but pain, loss, and service. He had finally earned his rest. His family and his people awaited him beyond.
His twin sister stepped forward from the gathering, a bright smile upon her face. She spoke words, though Cedric could not discern their meaning. He understood her outstretched arms and the tears in her eyes. He had missed his sibling terribly in the years since her passing, and it seemed the feeling had been mutual.
He could finally find peace; finally be with his family as he had always wished to.
No.
Unwelcome thoughts flooded his mind. The peace of oblivion was interrupted by the chaos of consciousness - memories of his friends, and his allies that were left fighting on Dubrillon. His thoughts traveled to his padawan [member="Cenric Marus"] and [member="Romi Jade"], both of whom were fighting for their lives at that very moment. They reached out to [member="Ras Val'kor"], the imperial that had shown him that even the darkest of souls were capable of compassion. To [member="Wyatt Morga"], the Jedi that had helped him to overcome the loss of his people. There were the others too, fighting for their lives against an enemy that sought to destroy their very way of life.
He couldn't leave them to fight alone. Not while he could still draw breath.
The knight drew upon those connections, the force flowing into his inert body like a river. It filled his entire being, and dragged him back from the brink of death. All at once, he was back in the realm of reality, his body his own once more. The tornado of flame whirled about him violently, its deadly touch forced away be an unseen force.
Cedric Grayson rose to his feet. His actions were not his own, but rather those of the force itself, the Light having recoiled against the fate Vesper had planned for him. He was no longer just Jedi, but a vessel with which the force would exact its judgement.
A single hand rose, flecks of golden lights falling from his fingertips. The power he commanded now was unlike any he had ever felt before, but he had full control of it. It warmed his heart, and entirely cast aside the horrible agony that had wracked his body just moments earlier. The pain was gone, his body momentarily restored.
Those golden flecks grew into a golden ray that threatened to blind him. He acted entirely on instinct, the force flowing through him in such a way that he had never encountered before. The golden light spread to encompass the tornado, dousing its flames and blocking the bolts of lightning.
After a few seconds, the tornado dissipated. Cedric stood alone in the center of the circle, his armor charred and cloak gone, but seemingly unharmed. The Blade of Ruusan jumped naturally to his hands, and when the blade came to life, it was not its normal cyan hue, but a flickering gold much like the Light in Cedric's open palm.
"You're wrong," the compassion was gone, replaced by steel. "I have nothing I need to prove to myself anymore. The only reason you're beyond saving is because you're too much of a coward to face what you've done. None of this was my choice Antherion."
The hand flung forward, a pillar of golden light flying forth to end Vesper's threat.
"You started this fight, but I will end it!"
Enemy: [member="Darth Vesper"]
Objective: Make peace with oblivion
The flames drew close.
Cedric had intended to try and persuade the Sith Lord one final time, but his opponent acted before he could find the words. The knight called upon the force to aid him, its ethereal energies flooding his limbs as the flames honed in on him. His legs moved, arms stretching outward to swing the blade - and then they didn't.
Agony unlike anything Cedric had ever experienced enveloped his entire being. The tornado of fire and ash ensconced him in its deadly embrace, preventing him from making any kind of escape. The armor began to melt around him, the skin melding with the phrik plates in an agonizing union of flesh and metal. Cedric could not find the voice to scream - the moment he parted his lips, the flames danced down his throat and singed his insides. Crackling lightning pierced his skin and charred his bones; the weight of his armor kept the tornado from lifting him.
The Blade of Ruusan fell silent as it fell from its wielder's hand.
Tears of raw pain fell down Cedric's burning cheeks as the skin was melted from his bones within the suit, his life fading within a span of seconds.
There will be others. My death won't stop the Light from rising again.
The pain began to fade. Something warm and comforting pulled him from the cage that was his body, urging his spirit to rise into a realm unlike anything he could have hoped to describe. He saw an endless city of gold limned by the comforting light of an evening sky. Three souls awaited him, each of them familiar and dearly missed.
Caida. Mother. Dad.
He reached out to them, the ties that bound him to reality growing weak the closer to them that he drew. The empyrean called to him, urging its lost child to come home. His life had been nothing but pain, loss, and service. He had finally earned his rest. His family and his people awaited him beyond.
His twin sister stepped forward from the gathering, a bright smile upon her face. She spoke words, though Cedric could not discern their meaning. He understood her outstretched arms and the tears in her eyes. He had missed his sibling terribly in the years since her passing, and it seemed the feeling had been mutual.
He could finally find peace; finally be with his family as he had always wished to.
No.
Unwelcome thoughts flooded his mind. The peace of oblivion was interrupted by the chaos of consciousness - memories of his friends, and his allies that were left fighting on Dubrillon. His thoughts traveled to his padawan [member="Cenric Marus"] and [member="Romi Jade"], both of whom were fighting for their lives at that very moment. They reached out to [member="Ras Val'kor"], the imperial that had shown him that even the darkest of souls were capable of compassion. To [member="Wyatt Morga"], the Jedi that had helped him to overcome the loss of his people. There were the others too, fighting for their lives against an enemy that sought to destroy their very way of life.
He couldn't leave them to fight alone. Not while he could still draw breath.
The knight drew upon those connections, the force flowing into his inert body like a river. It filled his entire being, and dragged him back from the brink of death. All at once, he was back in the realm of reality, his body his own once more. The tornado of flame whirled about him violently, its deadly touch forced away be an unseen force.
Cedric Grayson rose to his feet. His actions were not his own, but rather those of the force itself, the Light having recoiled against the fate Vesper had planned for him. He was no longer just Jedi, but a vessel with which the force would exact its judgement.
A single hand rose, flecks of golden lights falling from his fingertips. The power he commanded now was unlike any he had ever felt before, but he had full control of it. It warmed his heart, and entirely cast aside the horrible agony that had wracked his body just moments earlier. The pain was gone, his body momentarily restored.
Those golden flecks grew into a golden ray that threatened to blind him. He acted entirely on instinct, the force flowing through him in such a way that he had never encountered before. The golden light spread to encompass the tornado, dousing its flames and blocking the bolts of lightning.
After a few seconds, the tornado dissipated. Cedric stood alone in the center of the circle, his armor charred and cloak gone, but seemingly unharmed. The Blade of Ruusan jumped naturally to his hands, and when the blade came to life, it was not its normal cyan hue, but a flickering gold much like the Light in Cedric's open palm.
"You're wrong," the compassion was gone, replaced by steel. "I have nothing I need to prove to myself anymore. The only reason you're beyond saving is because you're too much of a coward to face what you've done. None of this was my choice Antherion."
The hand flung forward, a pillar of golden light flying forth to end Vesper's threat.
"You started this fight, but I will end it!"
