Ask The Desolation Of Dathomir

[Emryc Thorne]

He had told Renfry exactly what he had wanted done. He had told her that he wanted Dathomir. And she had done nothing to obtain it. She had disobeyed him.

There was no aggression, no anger, no rage displayed. It was all methodical and calculated. The Sith Lord brought his personal ship in and he was flanked by two frigates. One of them was packed with Imperial troops, the other with V3 droids armed with heavy blasters.

The exit ramp to his ship lowered with a whirring churn, his boots echoing against metal as he descended down. He was adorned in the Kravos armor, helmet hiding his face from view. The two other ships had deployed smaller transports that landed nearby, ramps lowering as they began to march out into formation. Raze had gathered preliminary intel about the clan locations, one of them nestled in a valley just over a hill in the distance.

“You will engage anyone you see,” His mechanized voice spoke into the general comms, “And you will not stop until the Clan Mother yields.”

A makeshift camp was set up not too long after, the location prime for a garrison and rallying point. He would call in additional forces if needed, but he anticipated taking this particular clan easily with a mixture of organic and droid troops.

“Have air support on standby,” Raze commanded the frigates, though he doubted they would be needed. A scouting party was sent ahead to scope out the perimeters as the military forces prepared for combat. Analysis was done on the terrain and other conditions to ensure optimum leverage.

After a while, the scouts returned to report on the defenses, composed mostly of rudimentary traps. Raze knew their biggest defenses included the Force, and he would have to rely on swarming and overwhelming them for victory. Based on the reports, this clan wasn’t one of the more war oriented ones, but it wouldn’t stop him from laying it to waste.

One of the military captains walked up towards Raze, “We are ready, my lord.”

Raze gazed ahead at the valley, silent for a moment. He could hear the sounds of daily life ahead with his keen ears. There was laughter, chatter and excitement from various women.

“We march.”

And so they did.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry was already on Dathomir when the ships had descended. Though she didn't know precisely why they were here, you only really brought war ships for one reason. The stories of what had happened to her people a century ago came flooding back and a mix of fear, determination, and rage flooded through her. She'd spoken to spirits who had been there that day when her people had been hunted nearly to extinction. She wouldn't let that happen again.

Without a moment's hesitation she was gunning her way to the site of touchdown, slamming the speeder to a stop far enough outside the perimeter to not arouse suspicion. She knew that she'd be identified by the droids and soldiers as a "local" and likely be fired upon if she was spotted, so she didn't allow that to happen. To that end, she climbed.

She made her way through the upper branches of the vine-trees - a favorite of the Nightsisters when hunting and tracking - and made her way over the rally zone. And that was when she felt it. It was like a punch the gut when she spotted the ship. Kark the landing ships and even the frigates in orbit, she knew that ship. She had slept on that ship. She had slept with the owner of that ship.

The sense of betrayal she felt was immense. Was there another explanation for this? She hoped so, but he'd mentioned he wanted her to take over Dathomir. She'd simply not expected him to be this impatient. Perhaps that was what made her angriest. Or perhaps it was the fact that she still loved her family, and the idea that he was here to potentially kill them was infuriating.

She made her way along the tops of the branches and dropped like a cat from above. She landed directly in front of him, making no attempt to hide her impending approach from him or the fury that now burned within her. A half-dozen blasters turned to point at her, but none fired and at that point she couldn't have cared about any of the droids or soldiers.

What the kriff are you doing!? she said, an inch shy of yelling. She knew that he could have gunned her down right now or simply cut her in half, but she didn't care. It was a side of her he had seen before, but only rarely. It was wild, fearless, and completely uncaring about consequences befell her. The realization that he could very well simply amplify his attack on her people wasn't lost on her, but, well, stopping that was exactly why she was here. She'd given up on trying to figure out what the kriff he was going to do at any given time.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Raze wasn’t entirely too surprised to see Renfry. The surrounding soldiers had their guns on her at once. The Sith Lord never stopped his stride forward, steely mask gazing as emotionlessly as the face beneath it. The mechanized voice calmly called into the comms, “Continue the advance,” The soldiers shifted focus off of Renfry and continued the march.

“10th infantry division,” He commanded. A platoon of soldiers and droids saluted in attention, pausing and awaiting orders, “Exterminate this dissident if she displays any physical aggression against us,” Raze ordered coolly. The soldiers leveled their blasters. There was a series of clicks and mechanized whirring as various parts moved and shifted to allow the V3s to train their weapons as well. Laser targets dotted Renfry’s torso and head.

Raze never stopped walking, his soldiers advancing further towards the clan. Some of the longer range guns began to fire as the assault began. An icy chill trailed the Sith Lord as he moved. Depending on what Renfry did, Raze would quietly pass directly by her towards his objective.

She could take the stance of overt aggression and risk being overwhelmed, or she could attempt to use words. Both paths would be an uphill battle.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry stood and watched him pass, her fist clenched at her sides as the guns focused on her. In that moment, she probably could have killed him without blinking an eye. In some ways it took her back to the moment she'd been possessed in the temple because of his actions, but it also brought out the memory that he'd pulled her out of it. She couldn't understand him, no matter how hard she tried.

If there was one thing she had learned about him it was that he didn't do anything without reason. She may have been terrible at figuring those reasons out, but they were there.

Stop the assault... please, she said. The words were almost strangled as they came out, a mixture of anger, fear, and disdain. She knew that this wasn't her Clan or her family, but even so, this was her home. She didn't want it to happen like this. Not like this. It wasn't often that she felt helpless in life, but the feeling gripped her profoundly now and it made her feel ill. The burning sensation at the back of her throat was overwhelming and it was all she could do to hold back from vomiting as she spoke.

Just... for a moment, she added. She didn't even know if she could get him to do that, but she figured it was the best she could ask for.

What do you want? I'll get it for you, she said.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Raze kept walking until he could oversee the village directly. His troops had already descended, bolts peppering anyone and anything they came across. Screams could be heard and Renfry would feel lives dissipating through the Force. Fires erupted as homes were destroyed. A few soldiers were tossed through the air as some of the more powerful sisters came out to defend.

If the Sith Lord heard any of Renfry’s pleading, he gave no indication of it. She asked her question and he did not turn to face her. It was a question she knew the answer to. He had answered it already in that cave on Lothal. The fact that she asked a question to which she already knew the answer was the sole reason that the attack never stopped. He gave no order to pause, gave no signal to draw back and no command to tell the 10th division to lower their blasters from pointing at her.

Chaos ensued ahead of them, women and children decimated. Homes burned, ways of life and traditions were erased. Specialized groups had been sent to extract any tomes or artifacts of knowledge, while another was deployed to find the Clan Mother and drag her out.

The fires from the distance reflected as orange hues against the cold, steely helmet of the Sith Lord. Raze spoke after a long moment, the mechanized voice as cold as ever.

“Obedience.”

 

[Renfry]

Renfry felt weak as she saw the slaughter happening below. As she felt it in her bones. This world was alive with the living and the dead at all times, and the song in the Shadow was now a screaming wail.

If she thought it would have stopped the slaughter below, she might have actually tried to kill him. She'd always been lured to the darkness inside of him, but it was one thing to risk herself and something else to watch her home and people pillaged. But it was moot. The consideration of striking out would end in her death and then the death of the others. She felt... broken. She hated him for this and she hated herself for allowing herself to be used and subjugated.

She wasn't sure she'd ever be able to look at him again and in that moment she had no interest in helping him with his goals, but she wanted to save her people. What was it that Kravos had always said: The safest hands are still our own.

Her knees felt weak and it was all she could do to remain on her feet.

I'll get them to yield. Just stop and I'll do whatever you... and before the sentence was even finished she proceeded to simply wretch onto the ground next to her, trying to catch her breath and wiping her mouth. She had been making plans already, but simply hadn't had time to follow through. She was not expecting him to act so quickly and violently since the last time they'd seen one another. And that was what left her feeling betrayed. She knew she was nothing to him, but this was far worse than what she'd anticipated. She realized just how much of a fool she was, but it was too late.

I can get them to stand down, she said as she recovered. No point in slaughtering an asset, she said.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

The attack continued and still Raze didn’t call it off. A pause hung in the air as Renfry vomited on the ground near him, and still his gaze remained on the massacre taking place before him. He heard Renfry’s attempts at convincing him and that seemingly elicited a response. Raze brought up his wrist, upon which his comms transmitter rested.

“Has the Clan Mother been located?”

There was a pause before an answer came through, “Affirmative.”

Raze began to walk then and Renfry was free to join him. He was in no hurry as he took a path that would lead towards the village. The entire time he did nothing to stop the attack, his focus trained ahead. For a moment it would appear as if he didn’t notice that Renfry even existed.

“Don’t be silly,” The robotic voice addressed her at last, his path taking him towards where he hoped to find the Clan Mother, “You have disobeyed me once. After this, you will be even more disobedient. I have no desire to wait for your inevitable betrayal when I can simply take what I want for myself.”

They were approaching closer to where the action was. There was a skirmish taking place just a few feet away. Raze turned to gaze in the direction of two Nighsisters fighting against several soldiers. Suddenly, they clutched at their necks and were lifted up into the air. This hung them up as targets shortly before they were peppered with bolts. To add insult, the dead bodies were then tossed aside into another group of women to knock them over. This caused them to get mowed down as well.

Raze didn’t lift a finger the entire time, slowly turning his focus back to look ahead of him as he continued his stride. He could sense a powerful presence in the Force and he knew the Clan Mother was near.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry continued on, knowing how this was going to go, and knowing there wasn't anything she could do to stop it. She listened to what he said, but it sounded distant as if it were being shouted down a tube hundreds of feet away.

She couldn't escape what was going on around her. She could see it, smell it, feel it. She wanted to shut it out, but she couldn't. It surrounded and penetrated her at every side.

She thought about simply walking away. She thought about joining the clans to fight. She thought about simply attacking him and getting it over with. Trying to kill him or forcing him to kill her. She knew that if they fought she would likely die, but she also knew she could go down swinging quite hard.

Then just kill me and be done with it, she spat like venom. Her eyes were cold and almost distant, filled with the same fiery rage that he had seen before. It was wild and violent, and the thought of simply taking her own life danced near the front of her mind. If he could simply take what he wanted for himself, then he had no use or reason for her. She realized she was a fool for thinking he valued her at any point. Her feelings of stupidity only deepened as she walked on. She'd simply been wrong about him and now everyone else was going to pay the price.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Renfry’s next words certainly caught Raze’s attention. He stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to face her. He watched her for a long moment, considering the words. As he did so, he silently had to wonder what part of him made others consider grasping at sentimentality or empathy as a means of getting to him. He surveyed Renfry, spitting her words out as if in defiance when it was nothing but the most pathetic form of defeat.

It was clear the woman had no idea who she was. She didn’t know where her loyalties lay. She didn’t know what strengths she possessed. She didn’t know the weight of the words she had uttered to him before. As the steely helmet gazed at her, her mind would suddenly be pierced in the most violent way. It was not unlike the possessing spirits in that old temple.

She would see her own thoughts. She would hear her own words of swearing loyalty. She would hear the comparisons she had made of herself to Kravos and how confidently she had stood by it. She would see vivid details she had learned about both Kravos and Andraste and what that sacrifice and loyalty meant. There was no rhyme or reason to the order of thoughts and it would assault her mind all at once.

Raze knew that there had been a connection between them and he exploited it to pierce her mind to remind her of how weak and fleeting she was. He would remind her how pathetic and worthless she was. He would remind her how she couldn’t even stand by her own words. She couldn’t stand by her own identity. She would hear her call herself a witch. She would see the ways she had already begun to turn back on her people and yet couldn’t stomach it when confronted with the truth in person.

Every moment she had spent with him came crashing into her mind. Every moment where she had fiercely spoken of her loyalty. Every moment where she had visions of standing beside him as the galaxy knelt before him. Every moment where she defiantly sought to claw her way till she got there. Then she would see her as the weak husk of a person begging for death now because she couldn’t confront the first hint of her old attachments. The two different moments in her life would converge and clash, and she would see a side by side comparison of herself. She would see her own fragility, her own weaknesses, her own lies. Lies to herself. Lies to him.

Raze would only give her a few moments to say something and act in response to the assault he inflicted on her mind. Those moments would tick by quickly. At the end of them, he would simply raise his hand. If that hand signaled, the bolts would shred through her and execute her on the spot.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry dropped to her knees, knowing full well what she'd asked for. He expected her to betray him so why prolong the torment? She'd rather just be done with it quickly. But what hit her wasn't a blaster bolt or lightning or a choking hold. It was something far more personal and more potent.

She saw herself for just a moment through his eyes. Weak and without purpose or direction. For all her words she'd sunken to the lowest point she had ever been, a pitiful lump of humanity and wasted potential. Why had she left Dathomir? To learn and grow, to become powerful, and to find her place. And yet now she was more pathetic than she had ever been. And why? What was at the core of that?

The core of it was that she was trying to serve two masters. It wasn't possible. You will hate one and love the other or love one and hate the others. There was no way to be split.

She'd once told Asminys that she didn't want to be prey, but that was what she'd allowed for years now. She fooled herself into thinking she was something else, but it had always been a lie.

She saw for a moment what he saw. She saw the possibilities and what it would take to get there. She was terrified and broken, but it fed the darkness within her. The piece that she had always been drawn to him and so rarely truly clawed to the surface. The pieces that had drawn her to join the Sith, corrupt the Nexus, and swear herself to him. And she had done that, hadn't she? She'd sworn herself to him, and now had withdrawn.

But she was Dathomir. It was wild and dangerous, and the predators didn't play well with one another. They were territorial, they consumed, they destroyed, they reached the apex. Yet here she couldn't bring herself to take part in a simple war. She was a hypocrite and she'd grown tired of being weak. She was tired of being... this. Be Dathomir.

Her mind returned from what she'd seen. Her breath was heavy and she knew she'd already pushed her luck far further than she should have. He hadn't killed her, so what did he want from her? But she already knew the answer to that, didn't she? For whatever faults he had, Raze had never lied to her and was direct almost to a fault.

Obedience.

That was the crux of it all. Get yourself together, witch. The words were almost not her own within her mind, and yet they were.

I'm ready to serve, my lord, the words were strangled at first and she still hadn't risen from her knees nor lifted her head to look at him for a moment.

She blinked away the tears struggling at her eyes and took a deep breath to steady herself before standing. She felt almost numb as she made it back to her feet, but her choice was made. She'd thought she'd made this decision at Ajan Kloss, but had never confronted the reality that she might one day return here, not just turn her back on it.

She'll retreat to the pits, she said, her voice becoming ever so slightly more steady as she spoke. There wasn't a hint of hesitation in Renfry's words that the Clan Mother would escape the droids and soldiers sent after her.

Have your men burn the pods, she said, pointing to large, sac-like pods that hung all around the village. Or she'll raise their fallen, she said. The statement made her heart pound. Ordering the defiling of the dead was... no, it was what was necessary. She wouldn't be swayed, and she forced herself not to think about it anymore.

I'll bring her head, she said. He would be able to tell she was stiff in her actions as if overcoming possession in a way, but she didn't stop or withdraw. She'd chosen her path.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Raze could see the shift in her mind and her demeanor as the assault raged within her thoughts. He could see her reflecting back upon herself, putting pieces together and seeing herself for what she was. The Sith Lord observed calmly as the attack and her subsequent reactions played out before him. There was carnage in the background, the villagers being butchered and torn apart. Their homes were raided and artifacts were stolen and collected, their secrets snatched from them forcefully.

He stood still as Renfry spoke at last, her voice strangled for a moment as she remained on the ground. However, it grew stronger with the words that followed and then again. Raze stared at her for a long moment, the cold visor never betraying how he judged her. He could have been considering her execution for all she knew. His hand remained up, not quite easing off just yet.

Her mind was a book he forcefully pried open, rifling through the pages and tearing out whichever he pleased. He wrote into it whatever he wished, etching and marking over words written there before. She was broken and remade, picking up new pieces to put herself together and leaving behind some old ones.

It was the nature of the Sith.

The hand relaxed at last and he tilted his head slightly to look over his shoulder, “Burn the pods,” He calmly gave the order to the same platoon that had been tasked to exterminate Renfry. The group quickly shifted focus, marching towards their new objective.

Raze focused his attention back on Renfry, observing her quietly. There was a shriek in the background, followed by the sound of the earth cracking. Droids and soldiers were sent through the air, several of them dying almost instantly. Raze’s gaze never shifted from Renfry.

“Tear any knowledge you can from her and then bring me her head,” He commanded, the Clan Mother’s angry shouts erupting near them.

 

[Renfry]

Despite the returning confidence to her voice, at first Renfry simply felt numb. She pushed through the feelings of confusion and emptiness, forcing herself not to think on what she would do. Was she simply a slave to someone else? And if so, why? But she knew why, didn't she? She knew what she wanted to become, and this was the way. And her feelings toward Emryc... there was a draw there even though she knew what she wanted couldn't come to fruition. He'd never lied, but it didn't stop the gnawing hints of pain below the surface.

She heard the pods beginning to burn and the shrieks as the dead began to rise, but she turned her focus away from the unfolding battle and toward the Clan Mother. Her prey.

She took a deep breath and let the power of Dathomir flow through her. The world had a rhythm of hunters and hunted that was unlike any other she'd been to. Everything on this world was dangerous and there was almost nothing on the planet that wasn't in some way a predator. She let that aggression flow through, the darkness within her beginning to bloom like a rose basking in the violence that flowed in.

She pulled her hunting knife from her belt, paused only a beat as she took in the environment, and began to move. The village wasn't entirely unlike her own, and although she didn't know its precise layout, she had little difficulty navigating the bridges, ladders, and stairs that led her to where the Clan Mother was doing battle.

Renfry wasn't here for a fair fight, though. She happily let the soldiers and droids take the brunt of the Clan Mother's attacks as Renfry navigated above her and dropped down behind and slammed the knife into the woman's back, driving her into the ground. There was a vicious and animalistic quality to how the young Sith moved and whatever hesitation appeared to be there earlier was gone now.

The Mother struggled to get a grip on the young Nightsister, but Renfry had the advantage in every way and a solid grip eluded the woman as Renfry's knife and knee pressed into her back, pinning her down.

Renfry's other hand reached up and pressed hard against the side of her face, green flame burning the skin and weakening the will as Renfry hammered into her mind. The will of a Clan Mother - even one not of a warlike people - was strong though, and Renfry had no easy time overcoming it.

For several moments, the two seemed frozen in time, nearly in a stalemate as the physical struggle subsided and a mental one began. To break the stalemate, the young Sith began to twist the knife, running it through tissue as the flames continued to burn. The sight was grizzly but Renfry's goal was accomplished. She slammed through the remaining walls and took what she wanted from the woman's mind before finishing it.

With a final plunge, the knife slammed into her neck, offering death as a mercy before doing what she'd promised. True to her word, she took the woman's head, one half of the face completely scalded, and brought it to Raze, dropping it at his feet.

She was covered in blood, her eyes wild in a way he wouldn't have ever seen before, and even her impression in the Force was different. Something far darker that had only been lurking up until now was clawing its way to the surface, and it appeared unwilling to be satiated.

It's done, she said.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Raze stood as still as ever as the head landed at his feet. His gaze didn’t lower to the head, instead fixing on Renfry herself. She pulsated with more darkness than he had ever felt in her. The planet’s energies drew to her, only to be corrupted and twisted by her presence. She had committed a heinous act, one that would be felt deep within the spirits that lingered here.

Silence hung in the air for a long moment until he brought his wrist up once more, “Set the village ablaze. It needs to be visible for miles,” He spoke coldly, “Locate the other Clan Mothers.”

Raze never shifted his gaze from Renfry the entire time. His soldiers got to work and he started to walk then. He used the Force to bring forth the staff of one of the Nightsisters nearby. The staff planted firmly into the earth. The Clan Mother’s head then lifted into the air, hovering over until it planted atop the staff with a sickening squelch, gazing out towards the destruction left behind.

The Sith Lord paused to admire his handiwork for a moment before he began to walk towards an all terrain speeder, “This is only the beginning,” He said calmly, “We have much work to do.”

 

[Renfry]

Renfry's eyes were locked on him. Locked onto that helmet she'd first seen on Korriban. She could see her own reflection in the visor, the blood on her face and the look in her own eyes. She was changing, and she was changing this world with her. She realized it would never be the same again, and the thought stole her mind for a moment. She thought of Korriban with the spirits that were twisted and corrupted there. Was that what she brought to this world? Was she twisting it to be something it should? Perhaps... but no. If the Twin Spirits saw fit to overthrow her, they would.

She watched as he ordered the burning of the village and mounted the head upon one of the staffs. She stopped at the head and looked at it for a moment. She wondered if it would be her fate to reach the same end someday: dead and mounted on a pole. No, she rejected that as well. The only thing the pair shared in common was the emptiness in their eyes.

She turned to follow after Raze as he headed toward a speeder, climbing inside and sitting in silence for a moment. Her mind churned with thoughts both about what had just happened and about what would continue to happen. She still had concern for her own clan, but she also knew the backing of her own clan would be important to achieving mastery over the planet. And she knew what she'd need in order to get that.

The Singing Mountain Clan, she said after a moment. I need their Clan Mother alive, she said.

Temporarily, she clarified. They've been our rivals for... years. They'll never accept me unifying the clans, and her public execution will lend validity to my seizing control of my clan, she said. She'd never truly detailed clan politics or hierarchy to him before, and while she'd tell him if he asked, she opted not to waste his time otherwise.

The Singing Mountain Clan was the closest thing to "Jedi" on Dathomir. Their ancestors were the sect she'd once told him about that rejected the Fanged Spirit. And yet, they should not be underestimated. Of all the Clans they were perhaps the most attuned to the wildlife of Dathomir, and they could perform incredible and dangerous feats in defense of their home.

As they rode on, Raze's comlink would beep again to the sound of his commander's voice. The man was a veteran and experienced soldier who knew his way around war.

Lord Raze, we've encountered steep resistance at the base of the mountains. Permission to begin aerial strikes? the man asked.

Renfry stiffened ever so slightly hearing the request, but said nothing. Bombs and cannons were indiscriminate and she didn't want them to be used, but she suspected the Matron would still escape to be hunted down. She left the decision about the approach to Raze, however.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Raze listened as Renfry spoke of the Singing Mountain Clan. It had been part of his calculations, but he hadn’t flagged it as an especially problematic clan. Was Renfry attempting to trick him by diverting the resources towards a lesser clan? Raze didn’t turn to look at her, the visor fixed ahead the entire way over. As a soldier’s voice buzzed into his comm, he felt Renfry stiffen slightly. His wrist rose as he paused for a moment.

“Denied,” He said curtly, “Secure any exit points and ensure that anyone that runs into the mountain caves gets trapped there to be collectively exterminated.”

Perhaps this clan was going to be a pain in his side after all. He issued the orders to divert course to join up with the group beginning the assault on the clan. As the speeder drew close, he could already make out smoke in the distance. He could feel pure rage and anger through the Force, the energy pulsing even from here.

He would enjoy this.

Raze stepped out and made his way towards the action. He tilted his head slightly to the right as a dismembered droid arm shot past his left ear. He could make out bodies of his soldiers nearby. Raze turned to see giant boulders lifting from the ground and launching towards a group of soldiers.

This time, however, the boulders paused mid air. Raze stepped closer, the boulders pushing back towards the Nightsisters that launched them. There were loud cracks that ensued moments before the boulders broke into thousands of pieces. It didn’t stop there, however, as those pieces blasted down like shrapnel with enough force to shred through skin. Screams and anguished cries echoed.

“They are making me do work,” Raze mused quietly. Renfry would know that was bad news. If he had to lift a finger, it meant that the chances of this clan being spared were next to none.

“Find the Clan Mother,” He said simply.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as he denied the right to orbitally strike. She didn't know why, and she wasn't going to ask. She simply prepared for the next step. She wondered how far the slaughter would extend. She wondered how much of her home would even be left after all this.

You're in it now, Renfry. The only way out is through, she reminded herself. She couldn't pull out now, and she wasn't going to back away from this. She would see the conquest through to the end.

She emerged from the speeder and looked out to the remnants of the village, portions of it burning in the distance. She could feel the death in the air. She could smell it, and it split her mind. In one vein it hurt her that it was her world burning, but in another it fed the predator rearing its head within her. There was a hunger for conquest and power that was intoxicating.

She heard him mention that he was going to have to do work, and she didn't envy those who were going to be in his way. She'd watched him at Ajan Kloss, she'd been the object of his wrath before, and she knew what he could do. She knew that an indescribably level of violence was going to come down on the village that would make them wish they'd been firebombed.

I will, she responded. Every one of her answers was short, and in its own way it was a testament to the change taking place within her. No smiles, quips, or sass she was known for. Just a pure, icy determination that in many ways wasn't unlike Raze's own.

She disappeared into the village, moving among the violence and being forced to evade locals and invaders alike. One would be hostile and the other wouldn't recognize her as an ally.

Meanwhile, in the village, the retreat was being covered by a small team of natives with their First at the lead. Comparable to the position Renfry had once held in her own clan, this woman alone would have been no match for Raze. The trick was that she was riding a rancor.

Although a feat, the riding of rancors had a longstanding history on Dathomir, and it lunged forward now - woman mounted on its back - as it swept its long, taloned claw at the Sith Lord.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Raze made his way through the village, channeling the Force and calling it to do his bidding. Cracks appeared in the earth, fissures dividing the ground and streaking through the very foundations of the clan’s home. Their huts collapsed, and he could see them running in various directions, only to be mowed down by blasterfire in any direction they ran. Raze made his slow advance, spotting a particularly important looking hut. It hummed with energy, and he knew he would find artifacts of interest there.

His musings were interrupted with the roar of a rancor. Most Sith would likely choose this as an opportunity to display great feats of strength after a dazzling show of combat. Raze was not most Sith. As he stared calmly at the overgrown beast and the scrawny woman perched atop it, he simply brought his wrist up and muttered some words.

The First charged the rancor towards him, the other women distracted by the droids and soldiers swarming them from all sides. More boulders were thrown, rolling right over some of the men. Raze watched the rancor approach, the thundering legs shaking ground and cracking earth. He didn’t step back from where he was, and he didn’t draw his saber.

The Nightsister on top looked confident as she glared at the lone man ahead of her, raising her spear high above her head. She was taking aim to throw it, and he glanced down at his wrist again before looking back up. He still didn’t move a muscle, steely gaze fixated on the charging animal that roared ferociously.

After a moment there was the distinct humming of engines. Raze could see the First’s focus shift from him and then gaze up. This was moments before blaster cannons strafed through the ground and peppered into the charging beast. A starfighter zoomed into view above Raze, banking around as it locked onto the beast again before firing off another volley.

The rancor’s roars turned from menacing to the shriek of a dying animal. Large chunks of flesh were missing and smoke rose from the back of its body. The beast’s forward momentum kept it going just enough for it to stumble awkwardly till the last few feet of its charge. With a low groan, it collapsed on the ground, the half open jaws conveniently coming to rest by Raze’s boots. Raze never had to budge the entire time.

The Sith Lord surveyed the dead rancor for a moment before glancing up. He could spot the First on the ground further back, crawling and groaning in pain.

Raze took his time making his way over.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry took in the carnage as she made her way through the village. The smell of blood and smoke was thick in the air, pools of it gathered as she passed through the first house and out the back window.

She scrambled quickly up a ladder, narrowly evading the blasterfire that ripped up after her. In a village like this, everyone knew everyone else, and it took but a single glance toward Renfry to know that she didn't belong.

A lightbow-bearing woman took aim at Renfry who brought her hand up, glowing green as it unleashed a solid burst of energy that slammed the woman into the barricade behind her. Renfry closed quickly, bodily slamming the woman again and plunging the knife up under her ribs, through the diaphragm, and into the heart. There was a sputtering cough, more blood splashing against Renfry's face as she withdrew the knife and let the woman fall to the floor. She picked up the bow and cartridges and continued on, the only mercy she showed was in placing a single shot through the back of the dying woman's head.

Grasping the bow in hand evoked a slew of memories. She'd little carried her own off world, but it had been almost inseparable from her when she was growing up. She'd spent hours honing her skills hunting game in the wilds. She thought of the hours she and Síle had spent exploring every nook and cranny of the valleys and mountains surrounding their home. She hoped and prayed to the Twin Spirits that Síle would survive the day.

She took a breath and forced distraction aside, continuing to move toward the Clan Mother. She could sense the woman was near, and she reminded herself that she needed her alive. She was running on instinct, and the instincts told her to kill.

Once again, she took her position from above, stalking the woman she could now see below. She had a pair of her daughters with her, though their focus was on the door ahead, securing it against the likely coming onslaught.

In the village, Raze would be able to see the First continuing to crawl away. She could sense the power approaching her from behind, and her fingers dug into the ground in pain and anger.

She rolled over to face him, a look of rage and fear in her eyes. In many ways the look would remind him of the same one he'd seen in his Weapon earlier. She spat something angrily at him in another language and defiantly brought her hand up to unleash a blast of energy at him, though its power was subpar at best.

And yet, in the back of Raze's mind, he would sense a greater threat on the horizon. It was vague at first as if something were just a bit off, but a moment later the ground began to rumble and shake as if something moved below the ground.

 

[Emryc Thorne]

Raze could feel the rage and pain emanating from the weakened woman on the ground. She was a respected figure within her village, second only to the Clan Mother herself. While the Clan Mother clearly had somewhere better to be, this one was left behind to defend the village. Raze could vaguely sense something else rumbling, and he knew it was some sort of offense they were working up.

His wrist came up and he quietly spoke into it, “Round up all the children,” Raze said simply as he finally approached closer to the First. The woman launched a feeble energy attack at him. His own hand came up, applying rudimentary tutaminis to absorb and deflect the weak attempt. He never stopped walking as he closed the distance between them.

Raze came up alongside her as she prepared to no doubt hurl insults at him. They were largely ignored as a gloved hand firmly grasped her by the hair. His steely helmet remained trained ahead and he never slowed his stride, bodily dragging the shrieking woman by her hair as he walked towards the village directly behind her.

Up ahead, his soldiers had rounded up all the small and frightened children into a group. The Sith Lord kept calmly walking, ignoring the squirming and resistance from the weak and injured woman he was unceremoniously dragging across the rough terrain.

Raze ensured that her people were rounded up and he walked directly between them. His voice calmly addressed the First, “I think it is in both of our interests for you to call off whatever that is,” Raze threw her to the ground amidst her people. Whatever defense they had planned on calling forth would have to now drill through the children and her family to get to him. And he would act accordingly if it was unleashed instead on his men elsewhere.

 

[Renfry]

Renfry moved in above the trio and moved silently. Her fingers wrapped around the string. She drew back quickly and released the first shot directly into the back of one of the women at the gate, sending her down with a grunt.

The second "arrow" was drawn and releasing by the time the first sister even had time to respond. She barely paused as the Clan Mother turned to face her. She could feel the flux of the Shadow around her, knowing the Mother was drawing on the power to attack or defend.

Renfry dropped the bow and then dropped down from the balcony she was on.

Traitor! the woman wailed, seeing that Renfry had sided with outsiders against those of her own world, friendly or not. Renfry summoned her own power - far more fresh than the Mother - and met her blow for blow. The impacts rippled through the Force to be felt all around. The fight went on for nearly a minute as the two traded blows, until Renfry found her advantage again.

One of the woman's spells was a bit too weak, and Renfry powered through it, landing a hard enough blow to break the woman's arm and allowing Renfry to close the distance. She grabbed the broken limb and wrenched the bone from the skin, focing the other woman into submission before slamming the butt of her knife into the woman's head to knock her unconscious.

I have her, please tell the soldiers not to shoot me, she said into her comlink to Raze. She didn't trust the soldiers to be able to tell the difference and she hoisted the other woman over her shoulder and began to carry her out with a bit of difficulty.

Meanwhile in the village, the First looked around at those gathered and the fate they would face. She didn't know why these foreigners were here or what they wanted, but she couldn't imagine that it was worse than this.

Still with a hint of hatred in her eyes, she looked at Raze and began to mutter quietly, her hand glowing green not unlike Renfry's when she summoned. She touched the ground and for a moment the rumbling didn't diminish but then it began to subside as if it traveled away. After a few moments more there was silence.