Ask Rishi A Heart in the Dark

[Roman Antilles]

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Roman struggled to retain consciousness as well, he could feel his mind slipping into a deep slumber as his eyes drifted to close with every second seemingly making them heavier. Eventually though, they closed and his mind wandered away from the physical manifestation of his body; muscles going limp as the armored figure fully collapsed onto the cobblestone grounds. Just then, the decaying fixtures sucked remnants of skin and flesh from the corpses, and a pulsatile wave of dark force energy thundered through the altar and exploded outwards from its epicenter. The energy was enough to hurl both Champions as well as the Sith mages backwards several feet.

Roman's body flew several meters before landing with an unwelcoming thud. Dust bellowed out from where the sorcery had completed, leaving behind a smoky lobby floor. One of the Sith sorceress rose to her full height, wiping off dust from her robes she said in a quiet tone. "It's done..."

The ritual had completed, ghastly green fire lit through the majority of the Fortress as it seemingly now powered and those with force sensitivities could comprehend the deep power that resonated from the altar's depths. Roman slowly opened his eyes and attempted to get to his feet slowly, shifting his attention to see how Celeste and Armaj had fared during the testament.

@LadyRen @Morse

 

[Armaj Branthom]

The explosive climax of the ritual had been a bit of a shock. Armaj had never seen such a thing before and hardly could expect what was going to happen next. All the same he had been fortunate, or wise enough, to be near a stone column and behind the trooper. When the mighty flash occurred he had been stepping around the stone to take a look from another vantage point. He ducked down immediately, and the shockwave through the trooper back.

Armaj considered himself lucky and for a moment he was not sure if anyone had survived. The energy of this force was very powerful and sent even the Champion flying. What power could make that occur he could not understand, but it was magnificent and terrifying to behold.

The room came to. Armaj looked about seeing the others recover. He had some dust on his own cape, which he let lay. The green fire around the room gave him a confidence that they were successful.

"Well done, Champions." Armaj spoke. "Such a magnificent display of power. The Empire surely will benefit from the mysteries gleaned here." Armaj considered now that their task was done the rest of the value of the temple. "Perhaps I should send the troopers deeper and recover any relics of value to the Empress for study in Kaas City?"

Armaj would not risk an opportunity to excavate Sith or Jedi artifacts when they had been so perfectly presented.

@Faded @LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste had still been struggling to stay conscious while the pain was slowly starting to become unbearable, almost forcing her to faint, but then suddenly the ritual reached its climax and the champions same as the sorceresses were vigorously hurled backwards in a huge explosion of the sinister, dark force energy that was just unleashed.

She had not been able to shield herself from the impact as she had already been blacking out and so she roughly hit the ground while her limbs remained numb. She laid there motionless for a couple of moments until someone shook her awake. Slowly blinking she reopened her eyes, her throat dry and her body entirely exhausted while her eyes needed some time to focus. However now, she slowly realized that she had been woken by an Officer and as she sat up her gaze immediately fell upon her fellow champion and Officer Branthom who was already eager to go on.

Accompanied by a decent amount of dizziness and light-headedness she stood up, trying to overplay her stagger while she waited for Roman to answer. For her part, she could say that she was done for today. The ritual was completed and all she wanted was to relax now

@Faded @Morse

 

[Roman Antilles]

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Roman moved over towards Celeste, helping her to her feet as he whispered, "Feeling okay?" He inquired, wondering if the other champion had sustained any injuries during their testament. Once ensuring her health was oaky, he shifted his attention towards the pulsating green altar and advanced to it. A wide smile cast from the edges of his mouth albeit hidden completely under the visage of his durasteel helmet. He began to chuckle with a heavy sigh of relief escaping his body as he loosened finally and arms folded across his chest.

"Glad you enjoyed it Armaj. The ancient powers of the Sith in full display" He spoke proudly, personally thanking each of the sorceresses for their job well done as he began to inspect the excavation of the artifacts and relics. "Yes, you can bring them back to the high mages and empress for review. I believe our work here is done. Go ahead and instruct the troopers to begin preparations for departure as soon as the Fortress is secured."

Roman spoke, his armored form slowly walking away from the altar site and back into the jungle where their encampment had been set up. It was a well fought victory, and the ambitious Champion felt a heavy burden fall from his shoulders as he exited.

@LadyRen @Morse
/Exit Thread