Battle of the Jedi Temple: Ebberla Daw vs Arcturus Wolfgang

[Mr. Teatime]

Another devil’s smile, followed by a shift in the energy in the air. Though tainted with corrupting dark side energy, the area directly surrounding Arcturus would be the dark grey of a water-heavy storm head, overshadowing auras from other fighting Sith like clouds concealing the sun. It moved gently, flowing with an unnatural grace in a spiral pattern centered on Arcturus. From what one might glimpse within this aura of his, there was little joy or love, but neither was there hate or rage. Only a calm, cold, and heavy weight permeated it, seeming to stifle the projected emotions of those around him. He had no called heavily upon the force yet, and so the storm had yet to break and reveal it’s core.

In the meantime, although Arcturus had several weapons available for his use, he remained unarmed, his arms relaxed at his sides and his posture straight and ready to load for a strike. “I apologize for the inconvenience. Although, perhaps you might be so kind as to tell me your name, lady Jedi? I find mutual knowledge of names to be most beneficial for…” And at that point, his entire aura seemed to disappear entirely as his whole body shot forward at extreme speed, stopping a mere two feet from the female Master. “Face to face conversations.” That smile widened just a little bit, his aura returning to it’s previous state almost immediately. This seemingly open stance was actually a rather well guarded form of the Forbean Defense. At the moment, judging from his aura, he mostly just wanted to talk at the moment, for whatever reason.

(OOC: Lemme know if there are any issues.)

 

[GABA]

Tython, Prior

Ebberla sat crossed legged in front of Dal, her face buried in her palms as she had spilled her fears, her doubts, and concerns. She continued to make every excuse she could to why she should, but Dal was just as persistent as the Corellian was stubborn. She remained quite for a very long time, the sweat from her workout long since dried and still clung to her skin, her mind was restless, her body exhausted from her own internal arguing.

Her return to the Jedi was the hardest thing she had ever had to deal with. She had to learn a new balance, control mostly and now as she sat and contemplated on what was the right thing to do, when she truly knew, she was allowing it to unravel.

"All I ever wanted to do was to help those who needed it, Dal." Ebb spoke quietly, " I had a calling, some may call it, and I did exceptionally well at it, but it also brought me a sense of naivety. My own knowledge and wisdom was still too youthful. I should have told Jhon, no, but I didn't; I should have stayed back, but I went; I should have had died, but I chose to live; I should have ran away, but I came back!" Ebberla threw her arms in the air in disbelief in herself as well as defeat, her eyes falling on the holo of Dal as she sat comfortably in front of the Jedi Master.

She sighed and threw her face back into her palms, "I'm a kriffing mess, Dal. I've got to be the worst Jedi ever."

"Ebberla, I could certainly name some of the worst Jedi in the Order, starting with-" Dal was cut off by Ebb waving her hand in the noetikon's face, signalling for her to stop, Dal let out a breath, "Remember the venom, Ebberla? You just let it spill just now, you admitted it's hurting you and those you care about the most, why do you still allow it to do so?"

The Jedi looked at Dal, "Because I fear..."

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Tython, Present

Fear flooded the temple, it was crippling, an effective tool, Ebberla knew from her own experiences of both a victim as well as a manipulator. She still gripped her magenta blade, she didn't stand still, picking up a pace, but it was calm, not anxious as some sentients presume it to be; she was meditating, listening to the Force as she directed her focus on the Sith Lord before her. Unlike prey that chose to run, she was prey that chose to face her enemy and fight; it was all that mattered at this moment, her and Arcturus.

The Dark Side continued to seep, its tendrils curled around Arc, its veins extending towards the Jedi Master. It was cold and suffocating, no emotion resided in it, emptiness, but not a comfortable kind, not the kind the Jedi teach, but a hollow darkness that seemed to drain Jedi who stood near it.

Fear was a lie, for Ebberla Daw understood it.

Arc stood like a snake, ready, poised to strike, the dark side clouded him, wrapped him in its shroud as the light attempted to burn through. He spoke, playing with her quip before he was snatched up in the tendrils of darkness, disappearing. Ebberla's mind sealed itself shut, eliminating the temptation of illusions, however, Arc reappeared before her, shorter than arm's length asking her name.

She quickly stepped back, taken by his sudden reappearance, her body twisted as she brought up her free hand releasing a powerful push of the Force in defense. She didn't bother waiting to see if it had an effect as she leaped from her spot, her lightsaber raised as she brought it down over head onto Arc.

"I am Jedi Master Ebberla Daw and today you will regret attacking the Jedi!"

 

[GABA]

Tython, Prior

Fear, it was a powerful tool and motivator. It restricted Ebberla, controlling every decision she had made up to now.

"...I fear what has yet to come, what could come. Look at what happened when I did know, if I didn't do what I did, just think about what could have happened." Ebberla pushed herself up off the floor, her frustration building. Dal clasped her hands in front of her, watching the Corellian pace for a moment, "What if it happens again, and I can't forget it? Or I can't stop anyone from seeing what I know? People trust me with their secrets, I cannot let them down."

"People also trust you to make the right decision, Ebb." Dal begun, "There are no short cuts, you can't predict the future, but you can be mindful of what you do now. Don't let youthful nativity cloud your judgement, Ebberla."

Ebberla placed her hands on her hips, not looking at Dal, "I..." she sighed, as much as she wanted to be right, she knew she wasn't, she had no more argument and gave Dal a defeated look.

"Your block is deep, hidden, buried, it's there, it's time to let go."

Ebberla relaxed her arms, her hands falling to her sides, her eyes closed as she let out a quiet breath of air. She relaxed her body, her mind next, the Force pulled around the former Sage Master, her thoughts bursting into a colorful array of patterns and images. She had used her synesthesia to encode her thoughts, voices and sounds; they all became a color, a distinct one for each person, she herself, had her own as well. It was how she was able to hide her thoughts and pick through illusions, no one knew her color code.

She broke through her own shields, barriers within her mind, places where she knew she could retreat if anything ever happened to her; they were safe, hidden between the obvious. The Force turned calmly around her as she reached deep into mind, following the paths that lead to voids, or so at least she was meant to think.

They were dark, colorless, giving them a natural association with the dark side, fear, evil, when really, it was herself generating her own fears of what laid there, fears that have yet to even come to existence, fears that did not exist. The black voids would leave anyone going around, there was no light, so why bother; it would leave a curious seeker to believe nothing was there. But there was something whole about the voids; the black was just a facade. Black was the lack of the absorption of light, this was the void, everything existed behind it and all she need was the Light.

The warmth of the Force emitted from her finger tips as she reached into the voids, it illuminated all that it touched as it burst into symphonies of light and sound. Ebberla was sent through a rush, everything she had thought she had forgotten returned, some of it joyous, some of it painful, but it all fell into place, her fears and worries evaporated as she felt a sense of wholeness return, a part of Ebberla she had thought she had lost was reunited with her once more.

The Jedi Master opened her eyes, back inside the training room. Dal was standing patiently before her, her hands still clasped before her as when Ebberla first closed her eyes. She was uncertain how long she was in her meditation, but was least concerned with at the moment. Dal quirked an eyebrow to Ebb, and the Jedi Master smiled. No words were needed to be spoken for they both knew what was done.

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Tython, Present

Arcturus flew backwards with Ebberla’s force push, the Jedi did not pause in her momentum as she leaped after him, her bladed rose overhead, bringing it upon the Sith lord as she arced in her trajectory. However, she would find herself intercepted with another Sith, taking defense and proving their loyalty to their dark servant. The Sith raised a particular war hammer, the Jedi Master’s blade crackled against the phrink shaft of the warhammer, sending sparks across their faces.

The Sith pushed off as did Ebberla. He swung the hammer, but his inexperienced showed. Ebberla jumped backwards, avoiding the anvil of the hammer, he took another step forward, swinging the hammer back around. Ebberla leaped straight into the air, her feet clearing the hammer; she could feel the suction of air beneath them. The Sith was taken by surprise, even more so to Ebberla’s swiftness as she brought her lightsaber through his elbow.

He yelled out in pain, an animalistic cry as he released the hammer to tend to his stump; Ebberla released a force push into the Sith, knocking him a safe distance away. The Jedi picked up the Warhammer, examining the Jedi etchings its handle and anvil, she had seen it before and now it was returned to the hands of the Jedi. She turned, reaching into the Force to look for the predator that was hunting her, but couldn’t see him, the halls were too crowded with fight. Her senses didn’t falter, she could still feel he was nearby, but other Sith would attack her, taking her attention elsewhere.

It would be too much though, the Imperium were cleaning through the Jedi who stood to defend, today it would not be their victory, they had to fall back, they had to leave Tython. The Jedi Master reached into the Force, giving the signal for retreat as she called out. She wouldn’t have them die so vainly if they could live and fight another day. The Temple was lost, and so was Tython itself.