The Misty Mountains

[Telunaris]

The Misty Mountains​

It had begun. At least, in a manner of speaking. Telunaris's journey had actually begun in an entirely different part of the galaxy altogether, but now it felt more real, more... legitimized_as opposed haphazard. From the solace and serenity of Tython, Telunaris had departed to one of the least stable regions of the galaxy. Considering the galaxy had been at almost constant warfare for the last century, that alone was saying something. Between the two galactic powers of the Republic and the Hutts, the Mid Rim regions were a hotbed of random skirmishes and smaller-scaled conflicts erupting between the Core Worlds and Hutt Space. Unless one happened to have had the misfortune of actually living_there, most sentients of the galaxy tended to avoid the Mid Rim, between the two superpowers. But of course, as luck had it, this was exactly where Telunaris needed to be.

Ruusan. At a glance, one might look to the planet and see... nothing. A diverse world, to be sure. Desiccated deserts and vast, craggy canyons were carved in some regions of the planet, and yet lush valleys and forests glittered mountainous ranges in others. Then in-between, humid and swampy plains with bog-like wetlands. And of course, it teemed with life in abundance; the Force was very_strong there, very potent. But without that distinction, Ruusan seemed almost like a poster world for 'unremarkable'. No great cities, no events of battles of great importance taking place there; at least, none still preserved to history. But beneath the soft soil, perhaps there was more to the unassuming planet than met the eye.

Unbeknownst to Telunaris beforehand, and understandably so, Ruusan was once the site of a Jedi enclave. It was abandoned now, although the reasons of which appeared somewhat vague. Conventional wisdom held that it was probably the site of one of the early attacks by the Exiles, but were that the case, the planet had fared unusually well in the aftermath. No Abominations, no cities purged or bombarded from metal to mere memory, just... nothing. Through supposition, Telunaris could only conclude that the site was somehow compromised, was attacked through means that avoided foundational destruction, or fell into disuse due to the demand for Jedi at the battlefront. Whatever the case happened to have been, the Ruusan Enclave was abandoned and had been so for almost the entirety of the war.

Telunaris was dressed for danger, wearing his armor and concealing it and his weapons by way of his cloak and hood, but he wisely opted not to partake of the journey alone. Two Jedi came alongside him; Vollen Shai and Bruce Guleya, both members of the Jedi Council and both veterans of the Liberation of Tython and survivors of the horrors that once roamed the Jedi homeworld. Save for his evaluation to Masterhood himself, it had been some time since he'd last seen either Jedi. In fact, normal circumstances for Telunaris to associate with his Jedi brethren was almost entirely restricted to the battlefield. Departed on a mission or not, it was pleasant in its own way to have companions around, far removed from any cities or civilization and without the presence of enemy soldiers, or worse., around them.

"I know I haven't been a Jedi, nor a Master, for as long as you two", Telunaris began, striking up conversation. After all, the humidity and mucky ground left little to be impressed about. "But had either of you known that the Order once had a presence here? I know many the sanctuaries are held as secret until the need for them arises, but I had never even heard that the Jedi had an enclave here, much less why it was just abandoned. It just seemed... strange, doesn't it?"

@Nightfall096 @Zigara

 

[Vollen Shai]

There was a stillness to Ruusan, he could feel it in the water, smell it in the air. Something so lost now rediscovered, or about to be so, as if the planet waited with bated breath for itself to be remembered.

Vollen was sure he wasn’t the only one that could feel it, even the quiet of their voices in the vast landscape seemed to break the atmosphere it so fittingly created for itself with the heat and the fog. Though it didn’t feel oppressive, it felt potent. And he was ready for anything. With all his regular equipment on his, his armour and weapons covered by a poncho that fit loosely over the top, ready to be dropped ata moments notice, this expedition into what seemed from any perspective but that of the force like the middle of nowhere. There was no one around except themselves, and that felt only right,

“Much is buried away in our archives, more than I’ve ever studied anyhow. If there were someway to find them all again...” Vollens voice drifted off, his mind only able to hope of the chance that they could reclaim all that was once lost to the Order. Such would be a great boon against the darkness in these times. Dark times.

He shook his head,

“But we’re onto something now, that’s enough. Though anymore might be your purview now, right Bruce?” Vollen offered with a smile. The Order was a brotherhood, and here today he was with brothers, it was nice to have them with him now, ready for what this search might bring. What Master Telunaris has found, well, Vollen looked forward to finding out.


@Zigara @Korvo

 

[Darth Kravos]

Darth Kravos hadn't been a member of the Jedi Order for years now, but even then, he'd not had the time to follow up on every lead or item he had read about from his days as a Jedi Master. He'd heard rumors in the archives that the Jedi had once had a location on Ruusan. He'd never followed up to look in on it, but today he'd finally come around to it.

The Dark Lord - and some of the most notable faces in the galaxy - had made their way to this world. It seemed peaceful and serene so far away from everything else, but it wouldn't remain that way for long. The war had finally come to Ruusan.

The Dark Lord could immediately sense the presence of others. It wasn't the Force of the world or the darkness of his compatriots, it was the warm Light that emanated from Jedi. It was a feeling he knew all too well, and Kravos knew that these days, it meant blood and burning was near at hand. He made his way in the direction of the source, seeing a trio of Jedi and hearing them talk as he held his saber hilt in his hand.

Everyone here would know everyone else. Perhaps not personally, but they were faces - or helmets - known across the galaxy. Even if you found them all, there aren't enough of you to man them. You're a shadow of what you once were... what you were supposed to be, Darth Kravos said, commenting quietly on the words that he had overheard from the Jedi as they walked. @Nightfall096 @Zigara @Korvo @Sreeya @Nefieslab

 

[Darth Evandrus]

What had begun as something of a mild adventure for Evandrus and his family, seemed to have turned into something more. As soon as they had arrived on the planet, he was glad he had come wearing his armour already. Blowing a kiss to Kravos and winking to their wife, Evandrus sealed his helmet into place and fell into step alongside his friend in his fully Warlord Armour, armed with two lightsabers and his usual pistols, clipped to the back of his belt.

As they approached, Evandrus almost wanted to sigh.

Of the three Force signatures they were approaching? Cregan Doldan had known them all and had called two of them his friends... but Darth Evandrus felt nothing for them save a faint swirl of pity in the pit of his stomach, which was squashed almost as soon as it had appeared.

This was no place for pity.

This was no place for remorse.

This was no place for hesitation.

And none of these things would be felt within Evandrus as he advanced towards the Jedi. He may physically have been the same man as when he left them last - but he was far from the same person. His presence in the Force was darkened and twisted. And although he was still smiling beneath his helmet? There was nothing kind to the expression any longer.

Holding his main lightsaber in his right hand, Evandrus sighed.

"Don't call them Shadows, Kravos - it gives them far too much credit." he corrected his friend as he cast his gaze over the group of Jedi, "A Shadow implies there is still a presence to affect the world around them. The Jedi are ghosts, not yet realising they are dead."

@Nightfall096 @Zigara @Korvo @Sreeya @Phoenix

 

[Andraste]

It had been some time since she had given birth, and it had been much longer since she had been in battle. Andraste hadn’t accompanied her husbands in any kind of adventures or missions in quite some time. As a result, as soon as an opportunity cropped up, she was more than eager to go. Cregan and Kal had always gotten along for the most part, and she could go places with them without worrying about one killing the other. She couldn’t say that much when Siris was in the mix, however.

Andraste even donned the armor she used during her fight with the old Sith King. She had been in conversation with the others, mostly complaining about how long the walk was. At the same time, she enjoyed being away from offices and diplomatic meetings. She was adorably tiny standing between her husbands, and it looked for a moment as if they were on a merry little adventure. However, she could sense the presence of others nearby, and Kal picked up on it at once.

She came to a stop before the Jedi, a grin gracing her face. She surveyed them quietly, not saying anything, her yellow eyes taking in sight of them. She recognized Vollen at once, though she didn’t know (nor care) who the others were. Andraste silently observed to see what they would do, deciding that today just turned exponentially more interesting.

@Phoenix @Nefieslab @Korvo @Cazar @Zigara @Nightfall096

 

[Jinlo Halan]

Looking up from the parchment notes she had been studying whilst crouched between the two male Jedi Masters as they conversed between each other, the raven haired female pursed her lips in thought momentarily before narrowing her eyes as she could sense an closing darkness. Raising to her full height, the Jedi master folded away the sheets of parchment and tucked them into one of the pockets that had been formed into the upper arm armor of her field medic armour that sat atop her white Jedi Healers robes. Slowly the raven haired Jedi turned to face the approaching figures her eyes narrowing slightly as she studied the approaching figures before widening in realisation just at who the three were, the two males were Sith lords Evandrus and Kravos, and the female accompanying them was by no doubt the Sith empress herself Andraste.

Baring Evandrus, the Jedi healer couldn't really say she had ever crossed paths with any of them. Evandrus, well was perhaps the closest she could say to have ever encountered, but then he was known as Jedi Master Doldan. But from what she could recall from what now must of seemed a whole other life time ago during her early days reintegrating into the Jedi as a Knight, Master Doldan was a completely different person altogether fromthe presence that stood in front of the gathered Jedi. Jinlos vibrantly glowing Ice blue eyes panned over each of the three Sith as they approached, her eyes narrowing slightly as her senses picked up on the slight vibrations in the force resulting from spoken words, but she was unable to determine what was said and by whom.

Such as the drawbacks from her current state of deafness, she was presently able to pick up on speach but couldn't make out what was precisely said, without the use of her wrist mounted transcribing device. Slowly she directed her gaze down towards the exposed screen, her gaze briefly scanning over the exchange that she would have assumed to taken place between the two helmed Lord's, given that the empressess lips hardly moved during the time three Sith had approached. Quietly she stood with her fellow Jedi, her breathing slowly reducing its pace as she composed herself, her ice blue eyes turning towards Vollen, guessing that he would take the lead on the situation. But then again, given how both the Sith lords were already baring their unlit lighsabers, she was mindful that things could go south in an instant. I Fracking hate these blue milk runs Jinlo thought to herself as she reflected on the situation around her.

 

[Aliyah Phoenix]

-Music-​

She wasn't supposed to be here. Aliyah was actually asked specifically not to go into battle. Gently reaching out, she tried to connect herself with the Jedi around her, if they'd allow it. I wasn't any surprise when they did, she became part of the Meld.

But all it took was a gentle panic through the Force, and a curiosity, as soon as she crested the next hill she couldn't turn away. What she'd been doing on Ruusan didn't matter anymore, not while she watched more than half of her Masters square off against three Sith. But these weren't ordinary Sith, they had a power about them the others didn't, and she could recognize two by reputation. And one by the way he felt through the Force, the same feeling she'd felt in a dive bar on Nar Shaddaa. The girl with dark hair was definitely the Empress, if that was Darth Evandrus. And if that was Darth Evandrus, that meant whoever was standing next to him was probably also a Sith Lord. Oh, great. She didn't bother to wonder why any of them where there, no point, she just made her way into the group of Jedi calmly, crossing her arms. She glanced at Master Halan for a second, nodding to Teluranis and Vollen. "Funny thing, that, you got most wrong. We're obviously still around, so you can have your jokes... but you're right.

Death is here." Aliyah would have unclipped both of her sabers and ignited them, but they'd been activated as she walked down the hill, before she started talking. She was wearing her Jedi Dueling Armor, with the DG-10s on each gauntlet. Her basic gear was still with her, but she'd traded her Outrider bow for a vibrosword instead, figuring it would be more useful on this planet. Turned out her instincts might not be terrible after all. "Your Highness. High Judge. I'm so-" she'd been seconds away from apologizing when her mind clicked and she put two and two together. The third man's armor was familiar, the company was also a dead giveaway... it was like the Force decided to put all her nightmares into a ball. And then throw that ball at her repeatedly over the last month. That night in the bar... had she met Darth Kravos?! I didn't have a say then. I do now. The hands around her sabers tightened and clenched, loosening a second later. He's just another Sith.

It didn't matter who they where, or what they where doing here.

It didn't matter that they'd come armed for battle and clearly looking for a fight, it didn't matter this was half the Dark Council. And it didn't matter if one of them butchered most of everyone she cared about, these things wouldn't shake her. She took a deep breath, centering herself in the Force. She'd imagined this scenario in her head a hundred times, and it never started like this.

She was yelling, or giving some speech about how she'd deliver justice, but not today.

Not today.

@Korvo @Nightfall096 @Phoenix @Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Telunaris]

Without another thought, Telunaris snapped out his hand and rapidly released a radiant impulse of pure Light Side energies toward the Sith, acting so as to sear the Dark Side within and around them. With the Light washing over them, it would induce a burning sensation and choke their ability to wield the Dark Side. As he did so, Telunaris simultaneously directed a telekinetic hold around the empress, so as to not only restrict her ability to move, but also even to crush her body. He didn't expect it to hold, but then it didn't have to. Because now, his role to play was over.

"Are you done?", Telunaris asked plainly to Kal and Cregan.

There was one thing in particular that Telunaris didn't quite understand about the Exiles, or Sith as they liked to be called now, it was their fascination with theatrics and posturing. Instead of attacking or seizing the moment, they deferred for attempts at goading and what Telunaris could only assume was half-hearted provocations. Their presences had been evident for a while now; a meeting between them was inevitable at this point. Telunaris had only personally known Cregan, but he still recognized Alais and Kal. Although by this point, they'd all taken new names for themselves for one reason or another, so it was all the moot point regardless. Even Cregan was far from the person he'd known so long ago, now.

A faint sensation had moments earlier washed over the entire Jedi group as their minds and senses had coalesced into a single gestalt. It was a state of confluence and fortified one another through the merging brought about by the initiation of Force Meld. Individually, the Sith were stronger than most here, only Vollen himself could equally contend. But they were all strong enough to hold their own, and they also held the advantage of numbers and more importantly, in unity; in a way the Sith never could. And it was a link Telunaris would draw upon, as would they all. The Force welled up inside him, but he didn't exert all of it. Not yet. For now, the Force would continue to build, ready to be used in a defense against either Kal or Cregan; Telunaris did not allow them to escape his notice.

The air was strangely calmed, with the only ambient sound being the rushing waterfalls scattered in the area, particularly a massive chasm-like waterfall at the edge of the swamplands. Between that and the large mountainsides, the place was in many ways akin to a cauldron. Sith trio stood some eleven meters away from the Jedi, with Alias standing between the other two.

⋮⋮_I understand_⋮⋮ Telunaris telepathically spoke to Vollen from their Meld. He didn't look to him, he didn't need to, nor did he need to elaborate. Passive thoughts were already shared, but this was something he wanted to affirm directly, the instant he attacked.

@Nightfall096 @Autumn's Firefly @Plebometer @Sreeya @Phoenix @Nefieslab

 

[Vollen Shai]

Vollen acted in an instant against the Sith that had appeared before them, against the Empress that had crossed his path too many times before. He held no hatred for them, but merely a peace in himself, honed after years of practice, ready to keep those by him safe.

Throwing his will into the force in an instant he simultaneously called from the sky a bolt of lightning via electrokinesis directly onto Andraste, with all the imapct and power of a natural bolt, while also performing an application of dull senses against her that would see her suddenly drowsy in an instant.

Being suddenly drowsy would certainly require intense focus to even try and combat, and equally the bolt would hit her and cause severe damage, if not incapacitating her straight away. Equally, the power of the lightning hitting the ground would throw the other sith that stood next to her, and likely jump into them too, though at a lesser level of electrical power, Andraste however would take the whole unless she could block it or move, though being drowsy and held, as well as hit by force light would severely limit any chance of that, if not preventing it outright. Even if she did move, the current would still chase, coursing toward the point of least resistance.

Equally, this would be combined with the crush from Telunaris, that would hold her in place and grip her even further, increasing these effects. Similarly, Telunaris' burst of force light that would hit the Sith would stagger and further debilitate them and any attempt to attack back or break their grips, searing and blinding them, the light cutting through the dark, again providing another effect that would mean it was even more difficult for them (and Andraste in particular given the other effects) to make any move in response and gather focus to attack.

Vollen equally had let the mind meld from his allies come in without question, linking them together.

Both his attacks were easier to use then to defend against, he still had focus to spare, meaning he was still ready and alert to respond to any such counters the Sith might use against them.

He didn't speak a word to the Sith, he had no intention of making the same mistakes as he had in the past. If this was to be a final meeting, he would put up a fight, though ready to be lost in the force, if such was called for.


@Autumn's Firefly @Plebometer @Phoenix @Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Darth Kravos]

He stepped quickly to the side to avoid any blast of light and the jumping lightning and blast that was coming a moment later, and he knew that the others would ensure anything else against him was stopped. Within an instant, Kravos lashed out. He gripped the left lekku of Ailyah, knowing they "were very sensitive to touch, and a damaged lek could cause severe harm to a Twi'lek." He gripped it and ripped it harshly enough to rip it straight off. With the Jedi having linked their minds, they would each experience the incredible, overwhelming, agonizing pain associated with it - enough to knock them out even. The meld may have given them increased resistance to pain, but having one's brain ripped open was certainly enough to overwhelm that, and as they said "a sufficiently powerful disturbance in the Force managed to overwhelm one Jedi that was part of the group, the entire group of Jedi would also be adversely affected."

Of course, she could resist it, but with Evandrus going for the other, she was limited in what she could do, and the abruptness of the action would make mounting a full defense almost impossible.

As he did that, he also gripped her, preparing to throw her at JInlo with her sabers still active so that she would be impaled. Sure, she could try to resist that, but then she would be neglecting defending her brain tails. With Jinlo looking down at her transcriber, she wouldn't even see it - or hear it - coming.

Not to mention, the group would be contending with the effects of having one of its members heads ripped open, as the Jedi Knight would be unable to stand up to head ripping from two separate Sith Councilors. @Autumn's Firefly @Plebometer @Nightfall096 @Nefieslab @Sreeya

 

[Darth Evandrus]

No more talking - right to the action instead.

Being of the same mind as Kravos, Evandrus reached out with the Force for an obvious weakness - Aliyah's right lekku. He gripped it and twisted it savagely with enough force to twist it to such a degree that it would be severed. It would be agonising and then, once severed, would be crippling since it would, effectively, be severing a chunk of her brain from the rest of her body.

With half of his focus in the Force on tearing off the Twi'lek's brain-tail, Evandrus stepped to the side as well (away from both Kravos and Andraste) to make sure he was out of the impact/effective range of the Force Light and the incoming Lightning. As he stepped to the side however, he used the Force to erect a Force barrier around Andraste in a dome, protecting her against inbound attacks but allowing her to still attack.

Protect the wife now - focus on making them pay for making it necessary to do so later.

His attention was still on the enemies as well, however, and he was able to watch Telunaris pass out, eyes rolling back comically as he flopped to the ground in a most undignified manner.

Huh. Neat.

That would be one less Jedi to deal with considering the young man had literally thrown an attack of such power and magnitude that the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order hadn't been foolish enough to attempt. Wyck was a far better Jedi than Telunaris and he had passed out from a smaller application of this same technique after all.

@Sreeya @Plebometer @Autumn's Firefly @Korvo @Nightfall096 @Phoenix

 

[Andraste]

Andraste felt the Force coil around her rapidly and hold her in place. She knew multiple Jedi were targeting her and she wouldn’t be able to do much in the way of attacks with this situation. She saw the massive blast of Force Light hurtling towards them, large enough to hit them all and burn them badly. Andraste resisted against the crush (which turned out not to need much effort given Telunaris collapsing), jumping back at the same time. Thankfully, Cregan erected a barrier to stop the Light directly in its path, the ball colliding against the barrier and fizzling out. Dull senses relied more on distance to be effective. While she began to feel drowsy, it wasn’t nearly anywhere as effective as Vollen could hope given the distance from not only initially being 11 meters apart, but also from her already moving back from the Force Light blast the moment she saw it forming. She focused on her internal biology to speed up to counter the even slight inconvenience of the dull senses attack.

She also heard the crackle of lightning coming towards her, feeling the ill intent of the Jedi behind it. A grin spread across her face as the Jedi used a Light Side power offensively in a way that would forever taint him. He essentially used Force Lightning, and it was a power she was very well versed with. Andraste shot up her hand and invoked tutaminis to catch it and hurled the bolt directly back at Vollen. He had quite a number of things to contend with – he had used an offensive Lightning Power. This meant that he had effectively dulled the senses of all his allies courtesy of their Meld due to the highly dark side nature of his actions (However, if any of the Jedi that were partisans of the Force Meld had conflicting, or even just different, objectives or goals and couldn't agree as to the course they should take, the Force Meld actually became a dangerous liability in such situations, with all coordination not only being gone, but actually dulling_the groups senses.). This would include him and his focus would be hindered even if just for a moment. On top of that he was using dull senses. On top of that, his ally Aliyah was now experiencing mindnumbing pain. On top of that, his ally Telunaris had exerted himself entirely in the Force and was knocked out. All of this combined would make him all but collapse through the Meld. There was very little for him to do about the bolt of Lightning coming at him.

Andraste did nothing more, purposely staying on the defense to quickly react to anything else they did and drawing the Force to herself.

@Plebometer @Autumn's Firefly @Korvo @Nightfall096 @Phoenix @Nefieslab

 

[Jinlo Halan]

Whilst she had regarded the transcriber on her arm, Jinlo grasped the hilt of her weapon activating a solitary blade, her fingers wrapping around the body of the Kyber housing, her eyes phasing into brilliant white irises as soon as she connected through the Force to her bonded Kyber Jinlo’s body was engulfed in an ethereal glow, the rippling shroud of Force energies forming a shield around her body, that would provide Jinlo with protection from Force attacks being directed towards her.

Due to the hardened mental fortitude that restrained Jinlo's natural psychic abilities, the influence of the Mind meld would be blocked from Jinlo’s mind.

Sensing that the grouped Sith were starting to spread out, Jinlo rushed forward separating herself from the other Jedi, clearly avoiding the harm that would be inflicted by Aliyah's ignited light sabers.

The Force enhancing her speed, closing in a tight sweeping radius to bring her to the side of Evandrus, who despite holding the hilt of his lightsaber had still yet to ignite the blade.

Evandrus would be faced with the decision to either break his attempts to manipulate the Force to help Kravos harming Aliyah and protecting Andraste, potentially reducing the harm being inflicted on the Twi’lek and reducing the amount of protection being afforded to the Sith Empress and leaving her open to a reduced defence from the onslaught of Force attacks being focused on her by both of the male Jedi.

As she drew parallel to Evandrus’ side, she instinctively adjusted her grip on the hilt to enact a swift defence directing the blade downwards and across Evandrus' chest, ensuring the blade sank low enough to avoid a blocking counter. Her body carried the momentum of the attack so that she constantly face the High Judge. Strafing his side, Jinlo came to a standstill on the High Judge's flank, Ensuring that a following up attack or blocking counter could be raised quickly. All the while ensuring that as little distance remained between them, to grant time to counter any snap defense.

@Autumn's Firefly @Nightfall096 @Korvo @Phoenix @Nefieslab @Sreeya

OOC: Edited so hopefully I've made it much more concise and less my usual posting standard ^_^

 

[Aliyah Phoenix]

-Hopeless Wanderer-
or
-Broken Crown-​

Suddenly, there was pain.

An excruciating pain that Aliyah hadn't ever felt before.

Her mind became oblivion, but in the moments before her fainting she did something even Aliyah didn't expect. A thin layer of force energy formed around her Lekku and then boosted to full strength, maximizing her defenses and putting everything she had into it. And then her body was thrown helplessly across the battlefield, her lightsabers deactivating without their user's presence to keep them activated.​

@Plebometer @Sreeya @Phoenix @Korvo @Nightfall096 @Nefieslab

 

[Vollen Shai]

Vollen knew the force power he channeled wasn't what he had meant it to be, it was something else. Within a flash he dropped out of the meld, to spare his allies the brunt of any ill effects his differing intent might have offered them. Though, if he detected anything ill happening to his companions that would compromise the meld before this point, he would have dropped it then to avoid any ill effects, and not share any back, and if anything I’ll effects came through, he threw up a mental shield to hold them at bay until he was out of the meld and out of their effects. It wouldn’t have to last long as he would drop out moments later, meaning he could focus himself again without too much strain.

If Jinlo had managed to break Evandrus erecting the barrier, Andraste would have the force light to deal with, directly in her path that she had not moved out of the way of, meaning she would be hit by (having not dodged it in any particular way). And that meant it was unlikely she would have the focus to tutaminis (a significantly focus using ability) the lightning back to him while being hit with something so antithetical to her being, meaning Vollens ill-intended lightning would be coming down directly on top of her. Vollen would move in and close the distance between he and Andraste, lightsaber ignited and drawing the force to him, ready to defend from any incoming attacks, or dodge them.

If the shield hadn't broken, or the lightning was still headed his way, he would snap his lightsaber in an instant into his left hand, igniting it before it even landed in his palm, and dodged left and forwards diagonally instinctively, out of its path and continuing moving to close the distance between he and Andraste, blade at the ready to dodge any attacks or defences that might come his way, drawing the force to himself. He would move to her right flank and go for a cut across her shoulder from the top, left to right (from out to in) and down her side, trying to use his height to his advantage, it would be an awkward spot for her to block his blade, and she wouldn't merely be able to duck or step aside as it would move with her, or be coming from that direction

Either way, as he moved closer to Andraste the Dull Senses would grow stronger, and she would have to keep up her defense against it and increase it significantly to avoid going drowsy. He would be ready to counter any defences or attack as necessary.

@Sreeya @Phoenix @Nefieslab @Korvo @Plebometer @Autumn's Firefly

 

[Darth Kravos]

Darth Kravos could feel the pain surging through the air as he tore at Ailyah's Lek. She managed to pull together enough of a defense to avoid having her brain ripped out, and her sabers flashed out as she hurtled past Jin, but she wasn't getting back up. That was enough for now, and he swapped his attention to the next target on the battlefield. Telunaris was on the ground, though from precisely what, Kravos wasn't sure, so that left Jinlo and Vollen.

Jinlo had been his other target, so she was the logical one for him to swap to. He could see Vollen still moving, and kept an eye on him, but his real attack came against Jinlo. Cregan should have already had the advantage in that battle, but Kravos could still provide a helping hand.

He reached out with the Force and gripped the bottom half of her saber staff, igniting the blade so that it would - with any luck - pierce through her or take her leg off as she swung down, completely unprepared for such a maneuver. His grip would also ensure that until she dealt with the Dark Lord, the weapon would be quite impractical to use, as her speed of reaction would be far, far too slow to re-attack or counter any of Evandrus's strikes. @Sreeya @Nightfall096 @Nefieslab @Korvo @Plebometer @Autumn's Firefly

 

[Darth Evandrus]

Igniting his lightsaber as soon as he noticed Jinlo moving towards him, his lightsaber would ignite with plenty of time to assist in his defence against her attack, despite her Force speed, especially as he pushed himself backwards, his body turning to face Jinlo's strike so it would be coming from head-on rather than from the side.

Evandrus didn't need to continue to split his attention between the barrier and the attack on Aliyah as Kravos' attack seemed to have done enough so he focused instead on keeping the barrier up to defend his wife against the Force light and used the distance he had created between himself and Jinlo to catch the tip of her blade with the length of his own, keeping the point of her blade high and away from his chest.

By this time, the Force light had fizzled out and his barrier fell, leaving all of his attention free - a fact that he used to launch a bright burst of Force lightning underneath their locked blades but over the central section of her saberstaff. With how close she was to him, and her saberstaff blade magnetically locked with his own lightsaber blade, she would be hard pressed to defend against the branching electrical attack as it screamed towards her upper chest and throat.

Aware of the bottom half of her saberstaff however, Evandrus was prepared to evade a new attack from his now singular opponent as his barrier was gone as soon as the Force light was blocked, leaving him ready to use more of his focus.

@Sreeya @Plebometer @Autumn's Firefly @Korvo @Nightfall096 @Phoenix

 

[Andraste]

Thankfully the Light had hit the barrier and fizzled out before Jinlo got within range of Cregan. Outside of deflecting the lightning back, she had done literally nothing else, given plenty of chances to gather the Force. It was interesting – her opponents foolishly believed her to be at a disadvantage due to not using a saber. Her Force reserves were larger and she made up for her lack of skill with the saber with being the most powerful Force user on the field. She had plenty of time to plan her course of action against Vollen as she watched him dodge past the lightning.

He sprang into action to close the distance between them. Her rushing backwards from the Light meant there was even more distance between them now and he would have to cover a wide space to get to her. She teasingly grinned at him as she took a couple more steps back. Andraste rapidly coiled the Force around Vollen’s neck as he managed to close only about four meters from where he started, before he got anywhere near her with his sabers. It was a powerful hold that would constrict and choke him, and she used that to physically fling him backwards towards where he began his charge.

At the same time as the Choke, she used inferno on him. It was a very elementary use of the ability, and it immediately would heat up anything he wore tremendously. In his case, he happened to be wearing an obnoxious amount of durasteel. This meant that the metal would instantly become hot enough to melt his skin if he didn’t stop what he was doing to address it. The quickest defense was rapidly applying cryokinesis, but the rapid heating and cooling would ensure his armor became brittle and more or less useless. His other option was to toss everything off. Regardless of what he chose, this was something he would have to stop to address and abandon his attacks, his own choice of armor completely inconveniencing him in this situation. Because Andraste didn’t use the flames or project a fire of any sort, it took exponentially less stamina to use this tactic, all while she tossed him back through the air before his sabers ever came into range.

Andraste still continued the mild defense of keeping her internal functions going quicker to counter against the useless dull senses attack which hardly impacted her. She continued to step back to keep distance between them, so if he magically passed all her attacks his swings would still fall short of where she was. Throughout her attacks she had a bored expression on her face, her hands lazily moving around as she applied the devastating attacks, prepared for any last ditch efforts like saber throws…. She couldn’t tell if the lethargy came from dull senses or simply being bored…

@Plebometer @Nightfall096

 

[Vollen Shai]

As he pushed forward Vollen could sense the pain and exhaustion of some of his allies, so quickly had any hope of a plan dissapeared, whatever the situation was now it was something far more desperate, one that he wished he had never found himself in. And yet, this was how it had gone, despite all his years within the Order, dedicated to it, living it as best he could, here, today, he had failed.

Many times before he had failed too, his career, life, marked by far more than he expected to be forgiven for. Andraste had been present at multiple now, something now, seeing her before him now, must have triggered something. The memories of Jedha, unconsciously perhaps, but they were there, more powerful than he could have guessed if it they had shown their hand and directed him down a path to draw upon the darkness. It was something his conscious self could scarcely forgive.

Perhaps he didn't deserve to be, not anymore.

As he tore forward, he felt his throat suddenly restricted, tightening. His armour suddenly surge with heat. He had been caught.

As he felt the armour heat up he radiated cooling with cryokinesis, bringing the temperature back down to safe levels. Equally, he held the force off his throat from totally choking him. But something, something inside stopped him from totally pushing it away. Perhaps he didn't want to anymore. Holding her grip off enough to speak, Vollen addressed Andraste,

"Kill me then. It's the kinder option. I'd suffer more alive after what I've done now. I doubt I would pass into the force any longer, but at least I couldn't fall any further, fail no more than I already have. I'd probably only drag my allies down with me" he said, glancing round at his allies. He had failed. Finally, after so many years. He only wondered if the Empress would end him, if she had fallen as far as he thought... he didn't know. He didn't know what she'd do. Though he was certain she could sense his shame, his fears now. He had made his peace.


@Sreeya

 

[Jinlo Halan]

Despite the use of the force to enhance the speed of her movements, it seemed that it had not been enough to catch the High judge whilst he was distracted. The Sith lord's blade coming up to meet her blade, as the raven haired master adjusted her grip on her weapon she could feel a resistance to it's movements, as the other Sith lord used the force to grip the base of her hilt. Without hesitation the Jedi master increased her focus in the force to strengthen the barrier of Force energy that she had earlier enshrouded herself with, increasing the reach of the Force shield to encapsulate her hilt. Further increasing the level resistance to the Force based attacks she was maintaining.

By enshrouding the body of her saber in the same aura that permeated from her body, Jinlo was able to wrest control of her saber staff away from the interfering dark lord. Allowing her to increase her ability to defend against any counter attacks from the High Judge's blade, more importantly it allowed her to position the body of her hilt outwards to the side pushing against the magnetic lock of the bonded light sabers, angling the hilt so that the ignited blade would spring into life safely off to her side.

Yet it would seem that the subversion of her light saber, was the least of her concerns the High judge had taken advantage of the proximity between them to direct Force lightning towards her. The Force lightning would still hit her regardless, but the searing debilitating electrical burns would be reduced due to the Force resisting nature of her ethereal shroud, to the point it was more akin to an intense stinging sensation as if she were hit by a training saber.

Weathering through the pain, the raven haired master concentrated the ethereal light that was radiating from around her fingers, twisting and bending the properties of the Force within the hand closest to the base of her saber-staff hilt, before briefly raising the tips of her fingers away from the top of her hilt allowing for a blinding concentration of force energy to escape from her. With the High judges hands positioned around his light saber, there would be no protection from the brilliant blinding light that manifested from Jinlo's fingers, allowing her to obfuscate Evandrus' vision, creating a temporary blindness. As soon as the flash of blinding light escaped her fingers, Jinlo pushed the locked blade against her opponents with a sudden jarring forward and backward motion, to break the blades free from their magnetic lock before spinning the blade around in a clockwise motion, so that should the Sith Lord attempt to re-lock the blades it would be driven aside whilst the trailing blade moved to strike the Sith lord from beneath.