Open Blood In The Snow

[Ambrosia]

'Shit.' While Ambrosia was safe from the acid by virtue of being behind the creature's mouth, she was still in danger of falling into the growing void as the acid traveled up the webbing and back toward her as well. 'What do I do?'

Rather than wasting time thinking and planning, Ambrosia went off instinct and backed up as quickly as she could, putting distance between her and the broodmother. This put the creature in between her and Thel which... well, better him than her.

'This is a tunnel. There has to be somewhere it continues.' Glancing back at Thel and the spider, Ambrosia would scamper back further into the cavern, trying to put more distance between her and the broodmother. Her eyes frantically scanned the walls, looking for any sort of indent that might indicate a blocked tunnel. But she found nothing. 'Maybe if I...'

"HEY!" Ambrosia turned around, shouting out the man who's name she actually never bothered to learn. She reached both hands out, using the Force to try and thwart whatever the broodmother was attempting to do currently, whether that be spraying or attacking the other Sith. She would need his help for this. "BURN THE WEB!"

They would have very little time to spot and escape into any tunnels that revealed themselves, but it was their only shot. They couldn't turn back now, not with the web in that direction already melted away. Hopefully, too, the fire would deal with their enemy in the same way it wanted to deal with them.

Hopefully, he knew how to use pyrokinesis.

roll to find easy escape: 5/20

---

The rumbling of the cave shook the walls of the cavern. It made Tempest's journey across the chasm easy, but it made the next part much more difficult.

After Tempest crossed the chasm, she would step onto a solid plateau of stone. Where before there had been nothing but an empty cavern that followed the stone plateau path to the door, stepping onto that plateau was like breaking an illusion. Tempest would blink, and suddenly the once-empty cavern was now filled with bioluminescent plants and old, crumbling ruins. The door from before was no longer visible, but she might still get the feeling that her journey forward would lead her to it.

Something else she would note immediately - the rumbling from the moving of the rock had never really stopped. As she started forward, presumably following the ancient path before her, a distant but bone-chilling roar would echo through the blue-hued cavern.

Something had woken up.

@DMCK @Altaris

 

[Thel Xeros]

The creature’s response to being attacked by the two Sith was quick. The huge Kinrath reared up and began to spray a glowing green liquid in Thel’s direction. Instinctively, he thrust out both arms as he dropped to one knee, using the force to create a small barrier around himself. The liquid deflected off the barrier, covering the webbing either side of him. As the Kinrath’s attack stopped, Thel lowered the barrier he had created. Glancing to the side, he noticed that the liquid was rapidly dissolving the webbing and eating its way towards his feet. Acid. Turning his head, he just about noticed the creature swinging its front left leg towards him. He swiftly rolled backwards, narrowly avoiding the Kinrath’s leg and the acid that had been converging on his previous position. Not that he was clear of the acid yet. Rolling back onto his feet, he could see the acid eating away at the webbing. Glancing at one of the holes the acid had formed, revealed nothing but a seemingly endless black void.

Continuing to move backwards, Thel was beginning to run out of space. Acid burned away more and more of the webs that formed the floor. The large Kinrath was desperately scrambling to get its legs onto what were now only thin strands of webbing. Thel noticed that the other Sith had managed to get to the other side of the chamber. She began to gesture towards him and called out in his direction. He desperately scanned the room, looking for a route to the other side. Suddenly, it came to him. That’s it. The Kinrath was suspended above the drop, in the middle of the room. The webs holding it in place were being burnt away, which meant Thel had to be quick. Backing up against the wall behind him, he took a small run up and leapt into the air. Using the force to aid his jump, he spun in the air and landed onto the back of the creature. Fortunately, it wasn’t in a position to throw him off. Taking a few steps, Thel jumped towards the other side of the room. His landing wasn’t a graceful one, but he had got across. Rising to his feet, he quickly checked behind him. The Kinrath was trying to find its footing, but it looked inevitable that it would fall into the chasm.

“Burn the web!” Thel’s head snapped in the other Sith’s direction. They didn’t have much time. He hadn’t practiced pyrokinesis much since his time as an acolyte, but they didn’t have any other options. He pulled off his gloves and then held his hands over the wall. He tried to remember what he had been taught. Come on. Slowly, he could feel the heat begin to build around his hands. If he wasn’t careful, he would burn himself. He focused; imagining the heat forming a flame that would scorch the wall. The heat grew more intense. “Here we go.” He projected a stream of flames. Barely able to contain it, he moved his hands from left to right. The fire burnt away layers of webbing and revealed a small tunnel. He allowed the flames to dissipate and took a few seconds to catch his breath. By this point, there was only a small portion of the web floor remaining. The tunnel that had been revealed was small. The Sith could only go one at a time. Thel wearily got to his feet. “Quick, you can go first.”

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

It was almost ironic.

Despite its best attempts to burn the Sith with acid - to melt the webs beneath their feet - the Kinrath found little success. Instead, its own tactics were turned against the Broodmother as she was left struggling to find her footing - the flames easily consuming the fibers that held the webbing together. Eight legs scrambled to grasp something - anything - that it might be able to latch onto.

But it was no use.

The Broodmother viciously sprayed the chamber with acidic venom in one, last-ditched effort to spite the Sith.. But it fell regardless. Its insectoid form plummeted into the chasm below, falling for hundreds of feet and into the void. Somewhere deep below, its body cracked and broke against the solid earth of the mountain. It’s faint, echoing hiss was all that remained.

Just as they began to crawl into the tunnel, Ambrosia would undoubtedly catch a glint of light back in the webbed chamber - as the final bits of webbing began to burn away and melt. A single shard of crystal that protruded from a burst Kinrath egg, hanging on by a bit of goo that oozed from the egg. She would have mere seconds to seize hold of the crystal before it dropped into the void. And she would feel the Force humming from within.

The tunnel itself was narrow - forcing the pair of them to crawl the rest of the way. Darkness would envelop them for what felt like an eternity.. Until the faint, glow of bioluminescent light could be seen up ahead. From the same chamber that Tempest had entered.

---​

Tempest furrowed her brows - a glare of displeasure flashing across her expression. The half-Annfyn wasn’t under any illusions that her trip into the caverns would be without obstacles, but that didn’t necessarily put her mind at ease. Whatever had woken up deeper in the cavern, the Dark Lord had no doubt it would prove difficult to deal with.

Igniting the crimson blade of her lightsaber, Tempest began to slowly progress deeper into the chamber - her gaze flicking across the room. She was careful to listen for the sound of any movement nearby, prepared for something to ambush her at any moment.

@lizziie @DMCK

 

[Ambrosia]

A memory flashed before Ambrosia's eyes and suddenly the Sith was filled with boiling malice as her palms and fingertips began to burn with the Force. Fire spilled out just before her hands like an Arkanian dragon's deadly breath, catching on the spiderweb and melting it away. She kept an eye out, searching for a tunnel as the webbing burned, and made a dash for it as soon as the entrance was visible. She reached it, turning around to watch to see if Thel would make it, but first spotted a twinkle of light nearby. On reflex she reached out with the Force, catching it in her telekinetic hands just as it plopped from the egg goop. 'A crystal?' It was intriguing enough to make it to her pocket, resting a millimeter away from her skin in its Dark hum.

"Ladies first," she hummed in response to Thel once he reached her. The Arkanian glanced back once more, then began to shuffle on her hands and knees down the darkening tunnel. The glowstick on her belt was again the only light, and with no room to light a saber, it would have to remain so. At least, at first.

"I see light ahead," Ambrosia said, pale violets locked onto the blue glow further up ahead. When they eventually reached the end of the tunnel, they would be greeted by the same sight Tempest had already. Massive stone towers, old ruins, bioluminescent plants, and crashing waterfalls lit up with some sort of bioluminescent algae themselves. Ambrosia ducked out of the stone path and rose to her feet just as the orange glow of fire painted the air far in front of them.

Something told her they should head in that direction.

@DMCK

---

It would not be long before Tempest met the creature which she had unknowingly disturbed.

The sound of air being forcibly displaced by leather wings would be just barely audible to her, and not long after the gigantic form of something crashed into a distant pillar. Rock splintered and split off, crashing to the ground and rocking the ground beneath Tempest's feet. It continued as if it hadn't even bumped into the stone structure, only growing larger and larger until it was exactly clear what the creature was:

A massive, skeletal Arkanian dragon cloaked in the Dark Side. Old, decrepit, and leathery flesh still stretched between its wings, and some of its bones, and glaring orange eyes burned from its eye sockets. A fiery color began to glow within its chest, and just as it finally broke over the ridge, flame poured out down toward Tempest like a tidal wave crashing onto the beach.

If she moved fast enough, she might be able to make it behind a nearby stone pillar.

@Altaris

 

[Thel Xeros]

Diving into the tunnel behind Ambrosia, Thel hadn’t failed to notice Ambrosia grab the crystal-like object. Not that he really cared. Escaping the giant acid spitting Kinrath and the seemingly never-ending black abyss was a greater concern.

The crawl through the dark tunnel was difficult, as Thel struggled to fit his tall frame through the cramped space. I should have stayed at home. Suddenly, up ahead, a light. “Good, let’s move quickly.”

Hauling himself out of the tunnel, he took a moment to compose himself. Not how I imagined this day would go. The chamber they found themselves in was impressive. Fluorescent light from the various forms of plant life shone over the ancient stone structures. Massive towers loomed over the two Sith. “I’m Thel, by the way. Who are you?”

Thel flung his small bag off his back, continuing to check around the chamber. A tear. His bag had been ripped open. Not going to be carrying any gold in that. He tossed it aside.

Fire. A fair distance away, but unmistakably a burst of flames. “I suppose you’ll want to head towards that then?” They had just fought off a giant spider. I suppose it can’t get any worse.

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Tempest couldn’t help but narrow her eyes - picking up in the sound of something impossibly large approaching. The Dark Lord immediately tightened her grip on the hilt of her lightsaber, as if in preparation for whatever was about to wretch itself from the darkness. The beat of leathery wings, and the figure to which it belonged, only drew closer with every passing moment.

The Dark Lord widened her own stance - bracing herself against the rumbling of the earth. “For fucks sake..” She growled beneath her breath, staring back at the Arkanian Dragon that sought her out. She could feel the Darkness that flowed through its body and kept its bone reanimated, fueling the strength that defied its age.

She only needed to see the glow of fiery orange - expanding within its belly - to understand what was about to happen. Without a moment to lose, the Dark Lord drew upon the Force and dashed behind a nearby stone pillar, moving with all of the speed and agility she could muster. The flames spread across the earthen platform and bathed everything in its path, bisected only by the pillar Tempest hid herself behind. She could feel the heat that rose up around her, embering smoking against the armorweave of her cloak.

Gritting her teeth, Darth Tempest turned to the pillar she took shelter behind. The Force roared forth at her command, coiling tightly around the natural stone formation, cracking and splintering it from the ground. The moment the breath of fire ceased, the Dark Lord thrust her palm forward and into the pillar - unleashing a concussive blast directly into the stone. It was the unbridled strength of a Councilor, and it would be enough to send several tons of stone hurtling towards the undead dragon, attempting to slam into its upper body and head.

 

[Ambrosia]

Spoiler: fight music

Hell would come raining down upon the ground before the dragon, a tidal wave of fire that cleansed the ground of its flora and left it smoldering in black coals and grey ashes. Even behind the stone pillar in which she sought shelter, Tempest would feel the suffocating heat from the flame press against her. Whatever this undead abomination had been in life, it was now tenfold what it was with the power of the Dark Side reanimating its bones.

The fire dissipated into the air as the dragon closed its maw and bore its teeth. Its wings, flapping in slow but powerful strokes that violently fanned the air underneath it, sent oxygen barreling away from it that only stoked the fires it had sparked with its deadly breath. With one more thrust, it began to fly forward again, only to be met with the opposing force of an entire stone pillar cashing into its neck and chest.

Though Tempest would not know for certain whether or not the reanimated creature felt pain, it let forth an ear-shattering roar (that would be especially painful for the half-Annfyn) as the rock impacted it. It had managed to turn its head in time, saving its face, but the stone had caused significant cracks and chips along the front side of its ribcage and the spine of its neck. A large piece or two fell to the ground. It was forced to the ground but managed to avoid being crushed under the complete weight of the rock.

The dragon roared again, its smoking eyes now dead set on the enemy before it. The fire burned and broiled in its chest once more as it took heavy steps toward the Dark Lord, shaking the ground with each one it took. Though it was not particularly quick, its sheer size made its advance toward the woman quicker than she might have expected.

Koraav faal suleyk do fin vulom, Mal Kro.
Dii yol fen al hin sahlo,
ahrk hi fen nok naal faal qeth Do daar us hi!​

It's voice boomed out through the cave from behind its bared teeth. Tempest would feel every iota of malice and contempt it had for her, and though she would not understand a lick of it, the message was clear: it had no intention of allowing her to live.

With two lumbering strides, the dragon descended upon Tempest, fire spilling from its mouth as it snapped its teeth toward her exposed body.

@Altaris

---

"Ambrosia," she answered, her pale violet eyes staring unblinkingly at the eruption of fire in the distance. There was the echo of a large impact, then the unmistakable sound of a creature roaring. Speech - or so she assumed - followed. Tempest must be in that direction.

"We can't go back the way we came," she answered with a shrug as she began briskly heading toward the direction of the fight. She stayed on the lookout, The ground beneath them felt unsteady at times, and who knew what sort of dangers might befall them between here and there.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel took a few tentative steps. The ground beneath felt unsteady. Looking up again, he noticed that the glow in the distance hadn’t disappeared. Without warning, a loud crashing sound could be heard. This was followed by a blood-curdling roar which shook the chamber. He stood still. What are we walking into?

The stone floor below the two Sith began to crack; the towers either side of them creaked. “Wait.” Thel called out to Ambrosia in a hushed voice. As long as there isn’t another loud noise like that. Without warning, the ear-piercing sound of another roar reverberated around the chamber. He held his arms out to balance himself as the floor shook again.

Crack.

Time seemed to move in slow motion. The floor beneath the two Sith began to crumble, as the towers, structures and platforms in the chamber also started to crumble and collapse.

“Move!”

Thel began to run, diving forwards to narrowly avoid a collapsing pillar. Rolling back onto his feet, he continued to sprint. I wonder if Tempest is having an easier time.

@Altaris @lizziie

 

[Darth Tempest]

Even from a distance, Tempest didn’t fail to notice the cracks and fractures that spread across the Dragon’s ribcage and neck. It was evidence that the pillar had done its job, and caused a satisfied smirk to spread across the Dark Lord’s expression at once. Of course, it didn’t last more than a split second - as that ear-splitting roar ripped through the confined space.

Intense pain rushed to the half-Annfyn’s fluted ears - causing her to hunch forward in agony. Her teeth clenched tightly together, feeling as her own equilibrium and balance immediately thrown off. It was one of the few weaknesses of her species, and something that she had little defense against.

Exhaling harshly through her nostrils, Tempest brought the Force into herself once more - channeling the violent energies and concentrating them into the center of her palm. Just as the Dragon began to close in on her, the Dark Lord unleashed a concussive blast forward, attempting to blast the flames back towards the undead beast. Even if the intense heat did nothing, Tempest aimed knocked the dragon further away from her and safely beyond reach.

The strength behind the blast - she hoped - would be enough to worsen the cracks and fractures already spreading across the dragon’s body.

Elsewhere in the chamber, Ambrosia and Thel would feel the earth shake as a result of the ensuing battle. The weight of the dragon - in combination with Tempest’s own concussive blast - began to cause pieces of stone and platforms to crack and crumble along the walls, sending deep fissures across the ceiling above.

Ambrosia and Thel would almost certainly need to move quickly, to avoid being struck by any falling debris.

@DMCK @lizziie

 

[Ambrosia]

Fire would not harm the dragon.

Its bones were much too ancient and much too corrupted with the Dark side to succumb for the creature to succumb to its own breath. Nor would it tumble away to Tempest's blow. Its brain might be made of cobwebs and decayed matter, but it was no simple creature.

The dragon's talons - half mineralized from the ages - clawed deep into the ground, anchoring themselves to resist the pushback. At the very least, the cracks on the dragon's neck would splinter a bit further, but it wasn't enough for the undead horror to notice.

Roaring again, the dragon pushed its neck forward and snapped its teeth together, hoping to make a snack out of the Dark Lord's outstretched hands. In the meantime it slammed its tail against the ground, the force of which caused the ceiling above them to crack and splinter significantly. Bits of rocks and small boulders would rain down, threatening to crush the two underneath. While the dragon might be able to tank it, Tempest might not be so lucky.

That same tail would come violently sweeping around, attempting to bludgeon the Sith and send her flying away.

@Altaris

---

Ambrosia barely managed to keep her balance as the stone beneath her split under her feet. She was forced to choose a side, so she quickly twisted over toward Thel. Better to be together than separate, especially as the cave around them shook violently.

"We-" Ambrosia was cut off by Thel shouting out for them to move, so move she did. The Arkanian offshoot violently jerked to the side to avoid a falling rock, doing her best to keep up with Thel as she chased after them. The dragon's roar continued to echo around them, but the actual sounds of battle were growing closer. It still felt like they were too far to reach her soon, even if the flames from the dragon's fire cast dark shadows against them.

"Tempest might- " Ambrosia was cut off again, but this time by a massive boulder landing directly in front of her, barely missing her pale form.

@DMCK

 

[Darth Tempest]

Even through her armor, Tempest could feel the intense heat of its breath - flames lapping at the ground and sliding off its aged scales. Even as they fought, the Dark Lord couldn’t help but wonder at the origins of the creature. Had it decayed naturally, fueled by the Dark Side? Had it been the subject of some foul experiment - a creation of Sith long dead? Something else entirely? The thoughts swirled within her mind, only interrupted by the Dragon once more rearing in for attack.

Tempest barely had time to step backwards - attempting to dodge the gnashing jaws of the dragon. But even that wasn’t enough to step out of the conflict unscathed.

While her left hand came back down to her side, the right hand - flowing with the energies of the Force - was caught within its jaw. Razor-like teeth easily cut through the cybernetic - sparks and wires crackling as her entire hand was consumed by the drake. It left only a jagged stuck in its wake, causing the Dark Lord to narrow her eyes aggressively.

Still recovering from the loss of her cybernetic, Tempest had little defense against the tail that battered her away. It sent the significantly smaller half-Annfyn hurtling into the nearest wall, crashing against the stone surface with a painful thud. Even with the padding and protection of her armor, Tempest could feel sharp pain radiate across her ribs and her right shoulder.

Gritting her teeth, the Dark Lord extended her fingertips towards the Undead Dragon - malice and anger spreading out through the Force. With invisible claws, Tempest began to draw upon the threads of Darkness that animated the creature and powered it beyond death, siphoning them into herself without remorse. She allowed the energies to flow into herself, numbing the pain that spread across her bones. She sought to pull siphon every ounce of power from the Undead Dragon, until it was nothing but a pile of bones and decayed flesh.

@lizziie @DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel desperately dodged falling rubble. Large chunks of rock rained down, pelting the area around the two Sith. The gradual collapse of the floor made it impossible to just stand still and try to shelter from the debris.

He hadn’t paid much attention to how his fellow Sith was doing. Even if they escaped the falling structure, the sounds ahead suggested they would just be running into more trouble.

Suddenly. A loud screech echoed from above them. Thel glanced up, trying to find the source of the sound. Turning back, he narrowly avoided falling through a gap in the floor. A second screech reverberated around the chamber. Looking up again, he caught sight of a large, winged, creature. The creature was gradually descending towards the two Sith.


@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Ambrosia]

The dragon laughed as its tail struck her. It was a roar, but it sounded almost like a laugh. With no muscles to show emotion on its face though, Tempest could only guess at its sick amusement at her suffering.

"Hi kos sahlo, Mal Kro.
Yal nau fin golt ahrk dir!"​

Any sound of amusement quickly turned to malice as it spoke, heavy, powerful words crashing into the dead air of the cave. It spit her mechanical hand aside and advanced toward her, gnashing its teeth as it prepared itself for the final lunge. The fire in its eyes burned brighter. It was the guardian of this place, the harbinger of failure for anyone who entered! In thousands of years (Or perhaps it was eons? He couldn't say.) no one had defeated him.

The weak little half-Annfyn, in his eyes, was already lunch. He watched as she outstretched her fingers like an old woman begging for Death to take her. That was what he saw, so when suddenly his neck fell from its place, confusion laced the creature. Tempest would watch as the cracks in its necks turned into bones falling from place, severing the undead abomination's head from its body. It fell and crashed into the ground, but this had not killed him.

"Nas?
Dii klov!
Mal Kro, hi lost krent dii qeth!
Dur hi!"​

Rage boiled the dragon's bones. The flame in its eyes burned from orange to white to flaming blue. Tempest would feel the Darkness swell within him, and she would get a terrible feeling that this was still not over yet.

"Dir!
Hi fen funt ahrk zu'u fent naak hin slen!
Naak hin vulom!"​

The dragon let out another ear-splitting roar then snapped and gnashed its teeth at Tempest. It could not reach her, nor could it burn her, but it could see her. Thus, its body could still find her.

The lumbering, massive skeletal body descended upon her, slashing twice with its claws wherever she stood, knelt, or lay. It would attempt to crush her under them next, chasing her to wherever she fled if she managed to dodge. Tempest would find that the dragon's movements were slower though, and it was missing bones from its figure. A few rib cages, a claw, a spinal bone... and she would feel a bit of renewed strength from the Darkness she'd absorbed from it.

@Altaris

---

Another roar sounded. No, that wasn't a roar! Ambrosia's eyes found the bat-like creature just after Thel, and she immediately braced herself for another fight. It went from gradually descending to straight-up diving, headed straight for the one that stood out the most between the two of them - her.

"Shit." The Arkanian offshoot dove to the side, just narrowly missing its outstretched claws. One of the talons caught the fluttering of her poncho though, tearing straight through it and throwing off her balance backward. The thing thankfully couldn't just turn on a dime though, so she had plenty of time to recover before it came back for round two.

"If I find a way to ground it, can you kill it?" she asked Thel, hoping they had the combined strength to take it. Its body reeked of the Dark side, but not in the same way an abomination might. No, it had simply lived steeped in it for a while now.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

The creature dived towards the the two Sith. Thel tried to focus on it, whilst keeping an eye on the chaos in front him. Luckily, for him, the creature focused on Ambrosia. He stopped and spun around to see if she was ok. Fortunately, she was. The creature was flying off in the other direction, presumably getting ready to swoop around for another attack. He looked down at the floor, which was cracked and shaking.

“If you can get it down, I should be able to hurt it. We need to do this on the move though…” The floor shook violently, forcing him to one knee. “We’ve got to move.” He gestured for his fellow Sith to follow.

He did have a backup plan of sorts if she couldn’t get it onto the ground. But it was risky. He looked up and could see the creature beginning to swoop back around for another attack.

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Darth Tempest kept her eyes narrowed upon the Undead Dragon. She could feel the sharp pain that radiated from her back and shoulder where she’s collided with the wall. She could feel the frustration and anger that bubbled to the surface, being distracted from her objective within the caverns ahead.

She couldn’t understand anything that it said - but the intentions of the beast were clear. Only one of them could live to leave that cavern, and Tempest intended for it to be her.

It served as fuel to the Dark Side - feeding the energies that Tempest warped and twisted at her command. She drew upon the very energy that kept the Dragon animated beyond death, feasting upon the font of raw power. It eased the pain that she felt, and momentarily filled the Dark Lord with renewed adrenaline. Even still, she couldn’t deny that faint ache, the moment she ceased her siphon. A gnawing at the pit of her soul that simply hadn’t been there before.

Moving with renewed purpose, Tempest channeled the Force into herself, pushing off from the wall where she’d been thrown. The Dark Lord darted across what remained of the stone platform - forcing the Undead Dragon to follow wherever she guided. All she needed was space away from the wall, and adequate room behind her.

The moment she had her opening, Tempest gathered the Force into the center of her palm - slamming a concussive burst into the ground between herself and the Dragon. She deliberately angled the attack to send a spray of earthen shards towards the dragon, aiming to spray him with debris and further shatter the bones that held him together. The Dark Lord, however, allowed the Force of her attack to carry her bodily backwards - skidding across the platform and several feet further backwards.

 

[Ambrosia]

The Dark Lord was powerful. Never before in the dragon's life nor undeath had it faced an opponent that had challenged it like this, and it had struck down hundreds, maybe thousands in its time guarding this place. Still, it too was powerful, and it would not go down without a fight.

Tempest would barely manage to dodge the body's slashes at her, but the second attack and attempt to crush her would find partial success. A claw caught her leg, pining the Sith Lord to the ground by her foot and crushing the bone underneath. Tempest would be stopped dead in the midst of her dash and forced to the ground, but this was what provided the opening she had been looking for.

The force of Tempest's attack against the dragon hit its skeletal chest directly, splintering the bone with the impacts of the rocks thrown its way. Between the siphoning of its life force and the attack itself, the body stumbled back as Tempest skidded in the opposite direction.

Unfortunately for the dragon's body, the chasm it had flown over before was directly behind it. The head could only watch in frozen fury as its body scraped and fought to cling to the plateau, but it was weakened from fighting and losing its structural integrity from the power taken by Tempest. The head roared, thrashing about but moving only in place, as its claws failed to pull itself up. The bone left deep scars in the stony ground as it slipped further and further back until, finally, they scratched past the edge. The body fell, and the head screamed.

"Dir! Dir dir dir!"​

Fire built up in its mouth as it screamed, but just as Tempest might have thought she was going to be burnt to a crisp, all light was extinguished. At the same time, there was a loud echo, presumably as the body shattered against whatever ground was below. It seems the Dark Lord was worthy, after all.

There was a different feeling in the air, as if another spell had been lifted, and if Tempest looked about she would notice an abundance of skeletal remains present that were not there before. Hundreds of skeletal remains, some much more ancient than others, lay slumped and broken about. Clearly, this dragon had killed many.

@Altaris

---

Ambrosia grinned, grit her teeth, and reached out in the Force with both hands. She yanked them downward, grabbing onto the avian's wings and forced them downward. The creature cried out in pain as it was unceremoniously forced from the air toward the stone, landing with wings splayed and its talons stuck under its body. The Arkanian grit her teeth, concentrating as hard as she could and putting all her energy into allowing Thel to finish it off.

@DMCK

 

[Thel Xeros]

Thel stopped and watched as the creature was dragged towards the floor by Ambrosia. It struggled and flailed but was gradually forced to the ground. The platform beneath them was still unsteady. Thel knew that he had to be quick.

He charged towards the creature and lunged at it with his lightsaber held in his left hand. The saber impaled through the creature’s eye and into its brain. It let out a loud screech which shook what remained of the platform below them. Gradually, the creature’s resistance weakened until, with a loud exhale, it succumbed to the wound. Thel pulled his saber from the creature’s skull.

“We should get moving. Hopefully, Tempest isn’t far from here.”

@Altaris @lizziie

 

[Darth Tempest]

Despite her best efforts, Tempest wasn’t capable of dodging the entirety of the Dragon’s onslaught. Pain erupted from the Dark Lord’s leg as it was crushed beneath the skeletal claw of the beast, shattering bone and slicing deep into her flesh where the fossilized talons made contact. Blood soaked into the dark fabric of her robes, and it was only through sheer willpower that the woman managed to unleash her Force attack.

The Dark Lord watched as the Force and rock ripped through her foe - sending the dragon skidding towards the chasm below. Even as the body plunged into the Darkness, Tempest kept her eyes in the head that remained - panic flashing across her expression as the flames began to gather in its maw - preparing to incinerate her within moments. The Force billowed forth at her command, but even Tempest worried that she couldn’t be able to erect a barrier completely in the short time.

But the attack never came.

Just as quickly as the flames began to appear between its fangs, Tempest watched as the unnatural glow faded from its eyes - the inferno growing within its maw vanishing like a doused campfire. At long last, the Arkanian Dragon was truly dead. If only barely, Tempest had survived - proving herself worthy against whatever challenge the beast was meant to represent.

Elsewhere in the cavern, Tempest could hear the sounds of conflict. Grabbing into a nearby ledge, the Dark Lord began to pull herself onto her one good leg - keeping her weight off the other and attempting to minimize the pain that lanced through her with every step. She could only hope that the two Champion’s would find success against their own opponents, as the Dark Lord made little effort to assist.

Instead, Tempest reached out with the Force - solidifying her grasp around one of the fangs that jutted from the dragon’s jaws. With a tug, the Dark Lord yanked her trophy free - grasping the razor-shape fang between her fingers. Her gaze lingered on the path ahead, where she could already guess that the artifact was waiting for her.

Limping forward, Tempest began to approach the doors at the far side of the room.

@DMCK @lizziie

 

[Thel Xeros]

After slaying the creature, Thel quickly moved in the direction of where he and Ambrosia had seen the flames. He anticipated an encounter with something far worse than the winged lifeform that he had just killed.

After some time, he eventually made his way into a more open area of the cavern. Holding his lightsaber in one hand, he looked over the vast array of skeletal remains. Moving closer to what looked like a large boulder, it became clear that it was the skull of some sort of huge creature. Lucky that Ambrosia and I didn’t have to fight this. Looking across from the skull, he spotted Tempest slowly limping towards a door. He was tempted to offer some assistance, but he didn’t think a Sith Lord would take too kindly to a champion offering to help prop them up. “Master,” he said, as he approached, giving a bow of his head to Tempest. Perhaps Tempest was about to find what she was looking for? Unfortunately, his own quest to find some gold had not been fruitful. However, helping Tempest and Ambrosia in this endeavour would perhaps hold him in good stead for the future.

@Altaris @lizziie