Ask A Dark Awakening

[Wodan]

Mortis' undead gaze shifted across towards Celeste, his nose scrunched up as if he smelt something horrid as he looked at the young woman. “I am more a Sith dead than you are alive.” He sneered, icy venom thick within his words. “Do not try to woo me with flashy words, little girl. I was once a member of the Sith Council, I have seen your kind a million times over my lifetime.” “But you have never seen anything like this have you.” Wodan interjected, lifting the Shard slightly higher with the back of his hand.

The spirit's eyes slowly pulled themselves away from Celeste and focused on the Shard. For a time it just stared, Wodan could feel The Force flow around the spirit, slowly poking and prodding both at the Shard and both his and Celeste’s mind. Unlike her, Wodan needed to keep his own consciousness full of emotion and strength. The runes around them were full of latent power, but they would only hold for so long unless constantly refilled by the Sith Champion. Perhaps if he was stronger he could let his runes rest, but summoning a spirit of this magnitude at his level was dangerous if he was unprepared.

“Whoever crafted this was a master of the Dark Side. Stronger than any I have ever seen.” Mortis began, admiration clear within his cold voice. “Ha and you want access to it. Part of me wants to give it to you just to watch you fail.”

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Lord Mortis seemed amused, the spirit seemingly as feisty as the Lord had once been when he had still walked their plane and he wasted no second before he adressed her. It was good that he thought of her like this, as it proved how he underestimated her.

He had no idea what she had been through and what training she had received, neither was he managing to get in and find out for now, so she was rather satisfied with the results. She coldly glared at him, not doing him the favor of answering and instead still kept focused on her task, his words simply bouncing off her walls.

Again, the dark spirit reached out in another attempt to prod at their minds, causing Celeste to flinch a little from the strain the constant focus costed her. The Darkness that flowed around her was so tempting. A part of her just wanted to let go already, reveling in it all and simply embracing it, even amplifying it further, but Raze had literally conditioned her.

The memories of the pain he had inflicted on her was vivid and she often had a feeling that he was...watching. He had been doing that before, sometimes she felt like he was lurking in the depth of her mind and just waiting to strike with another force lightning, brining her to the brink of death again...

She couldn't let go. She couldn't let Mortis invade either of them. And hence, she had to keep her mind clear. She slightly gritted her teeth while blocking out the pain. What Mortis stated was the obvious, so she slightly tilted her head to the side as she icyly stated"Stronger than you" she interjected, studying him intently. "Can you even open it?" she questioned, her voice doubtful and cold. It would surely give him pleasure to see them break, why wouldn't he indulge? It was obvious that the artifact had been crafted by someone incredibly powerful, but she was wondering whether he really knew from whom.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Mortis chuckled at Celeste’s comment. “Stronger than anyone in my lifetime. I think even the great Empress Andraste would struggle to match the creator of this.” He replied, clearly in awe of the artefact. “And no, I cannot open it. Maybe if you let me out of here I could.” He said sharply, his body and mind quickly smashing into the barriers set up by Wodan and Celeste. “But I doubt you will let me.” He smirked.

The spirit stroked its chin as it floated. “Why should I help you? What is in it for me?” “Easy, if you don’t I will trap you here.” Wodan quickly replied, his yellow eyes had become even more bloodshot, the effort of keeping the Dark Side flowing through him taking a toll on his body.

Mortis laughed even more manically than before. “You do not have the power to bind me alone.” “No, but there are a dozen other criminals outside, I will slit every one of their throats and use that to bind you to this little box.” Wodan added venom in his voice as he slipped a small box from his pocket. “It will find itself at the bottom of the ocean.”

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The dark energy revolving around the dead lord was still palpable, yet she was still resisting it for now. With ice cold expressions she studied the former Sith lord intently, a little surprised by how easily he admitted he was obviously not powerful enough to open it on his own.

As he smashed against their barriers again, Celeste's face mirrored the slightest hint of a flinch again before she glared at him. Of course he proposed they'd let him in, but it wasn't hard to tell that he did not plan on just using them as support to open it. If they'd allow him to dive in, he'd wreck them and draw strength from them and nothing else. Maybe he'd then open the mysterious artifact, yet he'd keep it for himself and no one else.

As amusing as his lack of faith in them was, she didn't chuckle or even smirk. Instead, she just coldly added, "Your choice". She wondered whether he wasn't realizing that he was still trapped inside their runic circle and that he was still just a spirit - admittedly a spirit of a powerful lord, but a spirit still.

With combined forces and more traitors to execute as sacrifices, they'd manage to trap him. Yet, she wondered whether they'd find someone else to help. It was obvious that the power required was exorbitant and they didn't know what waited inside, yet Wodan seemed determined to figure that out soon.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Mortis flinched at the threat and Wodan smiled. As much as unending death was not a pleasant existence, at least the Sith Spirit could traverse part of the plane. Trapped with a box for all eternity was the last thing any creature alive or dead would want. The fact it was all a bluff and there wasn’t the required sacrifice outside was a chance Wodan was willing to take. The Sith used Fear to help fuel their connection to the Dark Side, the good thing about that is fear ran rampant in those who delved too deep.

The ancient Lord sneered at the pair before relenting. “It is a piece, complete you would have no chance at breaking through and understanding. However the fractures in the metal mean it has fractures in its protection. Concentrate on the broken edges, find the fissures within the metal. That is your way in.” Wodan was shocked, it was a simple answer, but one he had never thought of, he had tried every other way to gain access to the Shard. But never through its broken edges.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

If he would decide to keep toying with them, they'd simply end it. Bring in more prisoners and lock him up. As he first flinched, Celeste couldn't help but to feel the slightest hint of satisfaction before she snapped back into it, full focus on protecting their minds, yet while their barriers still stood unbroken, he began to crumble.

Invoking fear was an easy way to wreck his mental barriers though and so despite not knowing how much Wodan had lined up, she went with it. As Mortis began explaining, Celeste mentally noted that they had no proof to what he was saying, yet it seemed oddly logical.

Finding fissures was actually a key word, as this was exactly what mental manipulation was also about. Right in this moment she focused even harder, assuming that as soon as they'd catch a glimpse of the solution to the shark's potential, Mortis would lash out again, but for now, he was just calmly outlining what needed to be done. "How many shards are there" she couldn't help but to wonder, slightly tilting her head to the side while she still glared at the spirit. When this was over, she would have a few questions for Wodan as well as she truly wondered where he had found the first piece.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

The spirit turned on Celeste, his face full of malice. “How would I know?” He replied, before turning back towards Wodan. “You have my knowledge, now release me.”

For some reason, Wodan trusted the long dead Sith Lord, it was probably a stupid mistake one he would immediately regret once he tried to tap into the Shard later that evening once he had settled things here. But something deep inside him told him that even if Mortis had not been one hundred percent truthful, what he had given Wodan would be enough for what he needed.

“Fine.” Letting the Shard drop to his chest, Wodan made a gesture with his free hand and whispered a few words in Ur-Kittat. The Rune on the side of Mortis’ neck began to glow, the ancient Lord screamed for a moment then both the rune and the spirit was gone.

Wodan collapsed back onto the floor, the strain of the ritual had sapped most of his strength from him. As he lay there taking huge deep breaths, Lord Mortis’ voice could be heard on the wind. “I will not forget you.”

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

The Sith lord's spirit immediately started begging Wodan to let him go, but Celeste was pretty convinced he wouldn't. They had their information and they wouldn't let him invade their minds, so they had accomplished what they needed. She exhaled flatly, her head already hurting from the strain but it seemed like they were done.

She turned to face Wodan again, however as he suddenly decided to let him go, she held onto strengthening their barriers for a little while longer, ensuring that the spirit wouldn't lash out one last time and attempt to tear open their very minds, but as his presence vanished, she immediately let go of her concentration and embraced her emotions.

The rage was the first thing that strongly washed over her, only fueled by the darkness inside this very room, the power radiating off the shard and the Force that heavily flowed through the halls. "Wodan?!" her voice angrily boomed through the room, her eyes shifting to gold as she furiously glared at the Champion. "You could have banished him properly, why did you let him go?!". Damnit, he was fucking dangerous and she was almost certain he'd come back to the shard once he'd materialize.

The aura around her shifted while her breathing intensified, wondering what a game he was playing now, but only then did she realize that he was not even in a position to argue much right now. She could feel how her nose began to bleed - a side effect the strain of the mental manipulation often caused - and she was staggering as well by now. Her knees felt weak and the pain in her head was terrible. Dropping to her own knees next to him and massaging her temples with closed eyes for a moment, she let out a growl through gritted teeth.

She wasn't sure what drove her, but she felt like a proper ritual to banish the spirit would have been better. As frustrated as she was, she still opened the eyes and looked back down on him, planting her hand on his chest for a moment and assessing his heavy breaths. Her gaze obviously flicked towards the shard again, her eyes slightly narrowing as she pondered on the cracks Mortis had mentioned. "He seems gone for now. You're safe" she still stated, now rather flatly again as the Champion found himself in a very vulnerable position right now while she was strained herself.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

His breathing was slowly beginning to normalise as Celeste began her berating of his actions. He turned to look at her, his eyes had turned back to gold, but still the burst blood vessels remained, a reminder of the strain which had just overtook his body. “Neither you nor I had the power to banish him after that. Not at least without risking both our lives.” He replied, falling back onto the stone floor.

Finally with the spirit now gone the guards which had been waiting by the door had the courage to approach the pair and check on them both. “Plus, an eternity wandering the jungles is a bigger punishment than banishing him from this plane. Also if he lied to me, at least I can come back and get some revenge.” He finished with a smirk.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She wiped the blood off her face, this tearing pain still radiated from the deepest parts of her mind. She knew it would stay for a while and while her pain tolerance had gotten high, it was still a nuisance. Also, she felt drained and it would takemsome time to recover, but Wodan seemed to be a little worse.

"Not directly afterwards, no" she agreed with him, however shaking her head slightly, so that the pain wasn't intensifying. "But we could have still kept him locked and weaken him further". There was no point in blaming him though. She still sounded angry, now that she finally embraced all emotions and the powerful darkness within the room, but she finally forced herself to breathe deeply.

"I believe he might bother you again...stay on your guard" she gave him those words of warning, offering him a hand. Was it foolish for him to believe he would just spent his own personal eternity wandering around without a certain goal? Time would tell, but chances were high she wouldn't be there when he managed to come back and go for the shard.

Still, she was at least glad the ritual had worked and that they had mamanged to resist his attempts to prod at their minds. The Force still flowed through her and her emotions called for a relief, yet the incoming guards did at least offer some distraction. She greeted them with a nod, signaling they were alright before she turned to Wodan again. "So...you plan on finding out whether he was telling the truth soon?". She believed he was still curious to open it, yet it was fairly obvious that it had some deadly potential.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

He didn’t have the time, nor wanted to spend it waiting for the pair of them to be strong enough to banish Lord Mortis. Wodan had no desire to spend any more time on this planet than he had to and the Firrerrian was sure he could avoid this end of the planet if ever returned. The guards handed them both a bottle of water and the lead man helped Wodan back onto his feet. His body felt weak and he definitely needed to sleep, but it was still an hour or so by speeder back to the closest comfortable establishment.

“Once I've got my strength back and I am away from eavesdropping spirits.” He replied, Wodan didn’t add that he would be doing it well away from Celeste as well. She knew too much about the Shard for him to allow her anywhere near it when he tried to access its power. “What are your plans now? Any spirits of your own you wanna talk to?” He quipped as they began there walk back down the stairs and towards the waiting speeders.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She kept walking alongside him, her knees still weak and her head still hurting as her lips slightly curled into a smirk. She glanced up to him, analyzing the other Champion as he dodged her question. "You don't trust me, do you?" She asked him, folding her arms in front of her chest, "Just know that I could have easily rummaged through your mind and you wouldn't have been able to stop me", she let that linger in the air, not like a warning, but rather like a casual side notes and gave him a rather teasing grin.

What didn't make sense for her was that he had trusted her with his life and thoughts, but he desperately wanted to unlock the shard's power on his own. He really wanted it. And it intrigued her. It was not that she was planning to violently acquire it, but she was curious about what it was. And even without having to access the power herself, she wanted to understand it. "And no...I don't need to mess with any spirits for now. First I'd say we get back to the ships and rest a little".

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan frowned at both her first and second comment, of course he didn’t trust her and the near immediate threat after the fact gave evidence to his point. “We are Sith, we are not supposed to trust each other.” He said plainly, it was the academic answer they would have both been taught at the Academy, granted the truth was much more convoluted than that, but Celeste’s little threat had rubbed the tired Firrerrian a little up the wrong way. He had a number of reassurances that the woman wouldn’t have attempted to wrong him today, one being that he could have let Mortis attack her at any time, the runes restricting the Sith Lord belonged to him, he could easily let them down and guide the spirit to the easier prey if she attempted something.

“Good call, I could do with a bath.” He replied, stepping towards one of the two speeders, turning abruptly before the door and holding out his hand. “Thank you for your help today, Celeste. I owe you one in the future.” Although he was hoping the debt wouldn’t be called in too quickly, he needed to master this Shard first.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Her lips slightly curled into a smirk as she raised an eyebrow at him when he recited a statement that had been preached for ages. He had still neither fully agreed nor disagreed, yet she knew the actual answer to that question. "Very true, yet you did earlier..." he was still weakened...maybe she'd reconsider this anyway. It was tempting. Maybe he already had some information he purposely withhold for now and she doubted it would be very hard to access them..

She took a mental note, but decided against it for now. They soon reached their speeders anyway and it seemed like he definitely wanted to part ways now, which bugged her a little. "A bath sounds very tempting indeed..." she sticked with the change of subjects and switched to something more lighthearted as well, her voice trailing off a little before she took his hand. "Take care, Wodan" she genuinely meant it that way. He was toying with something dangerous and she still feared that trying to unlock it all by himself might not end well, but if he didn't gave her any other signals, she'd enter the transport.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

“See you soon.” Wodan called as he jumped into the speeder, tapping the Imperial Soldier who was manning the controls on the shoulder, the vehicle shot off into the dense jungle of Dromund Kaas, leaving Celeste behind.

Wodan wanted off this planet as soon as possible, he had pissed off an ancient Sith Spirit and from the language and facial expressions a living Sith Champion today. Sticking around was just asking for trouble, closing his one eye, fingers ran themselves along the sharp edges of the Shard, a sweet smile on his lips.

_____
End Thread

@LadyRen