SWRPF Archive Leá Monde

Yeah, time to zap.


IC: Kara Dysar

City Streets- Path to the Great Cathedral

Frustration boiled in Kara as she decapitated yet another one of the undead. She was fighting as fast as she could, but she was hampered by having to stick close to Rosencrantz. And even that wasn't working too well: the undead were starting to bunch up in an attempt to get away from the monster, and they were beginning to claw at the bounty hunter. "I need more space!" he cried.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vic lunge at Rosencrantz, slashing and kicking at the undead that were attempting to bury him. But that was only a stopgap measure: their real problem was still the stone monster, and Rosencrantz's blaster had done exactly no damage to it.

Her heart thudded. She had made her choice in the forest - this was the same thing - the fact that Vic was present should make no difference. What did it matter how the undead were killed, so long as they died? It was the same as slaughtering them with a lightsaber, only ... faster.

Kara flung out a hand. Lightning exploded from her fingertips as she compressed down her anger and frustration, channelling it into the Force, and she was rewarded by seeing the hapless undead in its path explode into dust instantly. This is what I should have done from the start. Baring her teeth, Kara used her lightning to clear more space around her, then directed the stream of dark energy up at the stone monster.

TAG: Winged, nem

 

City Streets- Path to the Great Cathedral

Vic lunged towards Rosencrantz, battling off the undead that were attempting to bury him, freeing up space around the trapped bounty hunter. As the pair of them continued to repel the undead hordes with saber slashes and blasterfire, Kara Dysar faced down the stone titan that was rampaging towards them.

She flung out a hand, the darkside answering to her call instantly. Lightning blasted forth, causing the hapless undead in its path to explode into clouds of ash and dust. The Zeltron easily and efficiently cleared the space around her, and directed her power up at the stone monster.

The streams of dark electricity crashed into her foe, causing its stone torso to crumble- but slowly. It continued to advance, even as it gradually became smaller and smaller in stature. It appeared that Kara's attack was working- but it would not be strong enough to stop the creature before it reached her.

And though neither Sydney nor the snowflies were anywhere nearby, it seemed that something was urging her on, telling her: More anger! More fury! And with that urge came the certain knowledge that were she to simply to give more of herself to the darkness, her lightning would strengthen and blow the stone creature into oblivion.

Tag: nemisis, Xan

 

IC: Vic Horkin
~Leaá Monde~

Vic heard a loud crackling noise, a sound that he had become familiar with earlier on in his trip when one of the Sith cultists had used. It was unmistakeably Force Lightning. It startled him at first as he realized that a Dark Side being had come out of no where to attack them with Force Lightning. However, he felt no immediate danger, at least no more than what he had felt just moments ago. With a quick search through the Force, he could not feel any extra presences. Though, there was an odd feeling emanating from his Jedi friend, Kara.

The human Jedi turned to look at the Zeltron and was utterly shocked with what he saw. Kara, the Jedi Knight, had her hands in front of her and white-hot bolts of lightning zigged and zagged its way towards the giant stone creature. Vic was speechless. Where had she learned that? Why was she using it? Had she turned to the darkside? All these were thoughts that crossed his mind in a fraction of a second. He had no time to dwell on them, however, as the giant stone creature was still coming at them - though it was crumbling with every inch of lightning that smashed into it.

Although the attack was working, Vic could not allow Kara to continue to use that wretched Dark Side attack. With every passing second, he could feel, through the Force, that she was quite enjoying it. The stone monster was getting closer, though, and would most likely crush into Kara and kill her instantly. It appeared that, if she were to pump up the power, then the stone creature would dissipate totally. He did not want that because then she could possibly be totally lost in the Dark Side. However, Vic was too far away, and there were too many undead in between he and Kara to stop her and save her. He then decided that the best thing he could do is let her be.

TAG: Winged_Jedi, DarthXan318

 

IC: Kara Dysar

City Streets- Path to the Great Cathedral

The power ... it was almost dizzying. Intoxicating. Kara felt a laugh bubbling up in her throat and forced it down; that would really complete the image of insanity that Vic undoubtedly had of her right now. Instead she fed the emotion back into the Force and watched in satisfaction as the undead around her exploded into dust and ash.

But the stone titan was a different matter. Stone crumbled into nothingness where lightning arced over its torso, but it still kept coming - at this rate, it would be on her before she could destroy it. The lightning was working, but it was too slow ...

More; she needed more power. No: the Force needed more from her. Kara understood, instinctively, that this sort of power came at a price - a price she had paid willingly until now, and yet - part of her was always aware that it was wrong. It was wrong to use her rage to fuel the dark side of the Force; it went against everything she had been taught, and so she held something back.

That sliver of conscience was what had stayed her hand earlier. It was what she, at the back of her mind, had been counting on to keep her anchored in the Light despite calling upon the darkness. If she were to let go of that, embrace the darkness fully, there would be no turning back - but it might already be too late for that -

Darkness or death? The stone titan would still kill her with a blow, she was sure, and neither Vic or Rosencrantz could do anything to help. It was almost upon her - a few more metres and it would be in range to strike.

Perhaps there was already no turning back. Perhaps she had already gone too far.

Her eyes fluttered shut for a moment - just a moment. And then Kara Dysar, Jedi Knight, let go and embraced her anger and fury and darkness, pouring the full fury of the dark side of the Force into the stone titan.

TAG: Winged, Nem

 

We leave Chapter Four: A City In Darkness and our new background music is The World's Enemy.

And so we move into the penultimate chapter of our little tale.

Chapter Five: Sydney's Motives

The lightning suddenly amped up in power, and the Titan froze where it was, struggling to advance against the dark storm. A second later, it could fight no longer, and was thrown backwards into the air at tremedous speed, disintegrating rapidly as it flew. By the time it landed forty feet away, it was merely a shower of ash.

Kara Dysar stood with power still crackling around her fingertips, her eyes burning a fierce yellow. She felt a strange peace, similar to the serenity the snowflies had brought, except this time it seemed to come from the City itself. As if somehow, she was no longer a stranger in this place, no longer an intruder. The City had welcomed her actions, and accepted her fully into its dark embrace.

Oddly, the sensation felt rather like being...home.

Rosencrantz and Vic watched from a few feet behind. They had been able to fight off most of the undead, and the rest had scattered for some reason- perhaps out of some base fear when they had witnessed Kara's fury. Vic could feel the power of the darkside emanating strongly from his fellow Jedi- whether he would say anything was his decision, though he knew it would perhaps be wise not to upset her in her current state.

The night time streets were once again quiet. The Cathedral lay ahead. Light blazed from inside, and cries of battle and pain rang out into the air. The entrance to the fortress was unguarded- several cultists lay dead around it. It appeared the Imperial Knights were already storming the building.

Tag: Xan, nemisis

 

omg I have this track! I love Final Fantasy. (7-9, that is - haven't played the later ones.)

Also:


IC: Kara Dysar

Lea Monde

Slowly, Kara lowered her hand. Phantom electricity still danced across her fingertips as the sense of power receded; she braced herself for the weakness that came after, but there was none of it this time. Instead she felt a strange peace much like the serenity from the snowflies, except this time it seemed to come from nowhere in particular - no, it was coming from the City itself. And it was not just peace, but welcome as well: the City was welcoming her home.

Kara smiled.

It occurred to her that her lightsaber was still activated, held loosely in her other hand, half-forgotten in the heady rush of power. She didn't need it any more, not really, but there was no harm in carrying a weapon - especially since it seemed as if the Imperial Knights had indeed beaten them to the Cathedral. Well. She'd already killed three of them; perhaps she would get the opportunity to round out the set.

Kara began walking forward. Her pace was slow, unhurried, as she picked her way through the scattered ashes from the corpses they had slain.

TAG: Winged, Nem

 

OOC: Yeah, I'm a big FF fan too! Especially 8, which is quite simply my favourite videogame of all time for primarily nostalgic reasons.

Nem, I'm going to move you both on slightly, you can go back and post your reaction to Kara's darkside fury if you wish.

The Great Cathedral- Entrance

Kara Dysar had abandoned what remained of her Jedi soul, and given herself to the City. She walked at an unhurried pace, an eerie and unsettling resolve clear in her movements.

Rosencrantz and Vic followed after her, and within moments the trio arrived at the enormous iron doors of the Cathedral, peering inside into a grand hall lit by flame and littered with corpses. At their very feet lay dead cultists, still clutching blaster rifles and vibroblades. All of the bodies bore lightsaber wounds.

Screams and battle cries echoed outwards from deep within the ancient stronghold.

A young Jedi who had surrendered to the power of the Dark. A widower Knight who was struggling to keep to his mission and his ideals. And a mysterious bounty hunter whose motives remained clouded in shadow.

Together they entered the Great Cathedral, and began the final chapters of their story.

Tag: nemisis, Xan

 

IC: Kara Dysar

Grand Cathedral, Lea Monde

Almost casually, Kara turned one of the corpses over with her foot. The Imperial Knights, all right - those were lightsaber burns, just like the ones at the entrance to the mines. A humourless grin tugged at the edge of her mouth as a stray memory crossed her mind; Anengy had doubted then that it was the Knights' doing. They had never proved it either way, of course, but Kara wondered if she would argue such again if she were here. And where she was now; Vic hadn't said.

For that matter, Vic was being surprisingly quiet. Kara had half-expected him to do something ... rash ... but she supposed her former colleague had more sense than that.

Former... it troubled her not at all to think of it that way. Already being a Jedi seemed so very far away, with the City's acceptance a comforting whisper at the back of her consciousness.

Kara stepped over the corpse and continued into the Grand Cathedral. Briefly she debated severing its head, but she had nothing to fear from the dead now ... if they were to rise, they would inconvenience her enemies more. So she picked her way through the corpses and flame at the same leisurely pace, following the sounds of battle.

TAG: Winged, Nem

 

IC: Vic Horkin
~Leá Monde~

Vic could not believe his eyes as he whirled around to the source of the loud crackling noises that was unmistakably Force Lightning. He first thought it was Sydney, that the mysterious Cultist had, once again, appeared out of nowhere. When he saw who actually was producing the lightning, who was the source of the hatred through the Force, he almost wished it was Sydney. Kara, the fairly younger Zeltron, had her hand outstretched and blue-white bolts of electricity were flying off her fingertips. Where had she learned that? Who had taught her? What had she done after she leapt through the portal after John? All these were questions that flashed through his mind as he witnessed the utter destruction of the giant beast at the hands of Kara.

The bounty hunter did not seemed too worried as he still managed to fight off the remaining undead creatures that stuck around. The rest fled, possibly out of fear of what would happen to them - if the undead could even have fear...Vic wanted to say something to Kara, but the feelings she radiated shocked him. It was not regret at having succumbed to the temptation of the Dark Side. No, she was calm, as if she had been practicing her entire life. He wanted to say something, tell her to come back to the light, to resist the ever threatening urge to fall...But he said nothing. Why? Was it out of fear that she would turn her powers upon him? Was it because he knew he would have done the same thing? He had no answer for that either.

The trio began walking towards the Cathedral which lay ahead, no one speaking a word. There was no doubt that both Kara and Rosencrantz could feel the shock that radiated through Vic. He tried to suppress it, but failed. He managed to keep his composure on the outside however, which was a good thing. Now, all he had to do was calm himself and hope he wasn't walking to his death inside the Grand Cathedral.

TAG: Winged_Jedi, DarthXan318

 

The Great Cathedral- Entrance Hall

The trio walked inside the hallowed walls of the Cathedral, with Kara striding a little ahead of her two companions. An uneasy silence hung in the air. The Force shrieked to them of death and chaos.

The Entrance Hall was enormous. An army of sculpted angels and gargoyles peered down from their lofty positions near the grand ceiling, and massive tapestries stretched across the stone walls, depicting mythical monsters and legendary battles. At the far end of the Hall was a lift that presumably led to the Cathedral's upper level.

This floor was almost completely empty of life, with corpses scattered among the pews like an unholy congregration of the dead.

But there was one person here, at least.

Standing in front of the lift, with dead cultists at her feet, was Neesa. Lightning crackled at her fingertips, and in each hand she held a silver lightsaber. She had clearly been stationed there as a guard, and from the fire that burned in her eyes, it was apparent that she had no intention of moving.

Tag: nemisis, Xan

 

Oho, trouble.


IC: Kara Dysar

The Great Cathedral- Entrance Hall

So much death. Corpses littered the entrance hall, scattered along the pews and the floor like a congregation of the dead. Cathedrals like this were once considered sanctuaries, Kara recalled distantly. Evidently it was not sanctuary enough for the Sith.

None of the corpses moved as Kara stepped over them. Perhaps they had to be dead a while ... Kara wondered if she could raise them. Now that would be something.

But there was at least one live person here. Kara's emphatic senses, no longer blanketed by the darkness - or rather, having embraced the dark side, there was no need for her to keep her natural empathy dampened for fear of it - caught a half-familiar sense of fury, of steely resolve ... and then Kara caught sight of someone she had last seen on the banks of the Tircolas Flow, clawing her way out of a pile of rocks. Neesa herself.

Kara grinned, an expression tinged with darkness and madness both. So much had changed since then.

"Hello, Neesa," Kara said. "So nice to see you again."

TAG: Winged, Nem

 

The Great Cathedral- Entrance Hall

Neesa did not respond to Kara's eerily calm greeting, nor did she move, instead mantaining her rigid defensive stance. She remembered well how the Zeltron had collapsed a wall of stone upon her head- and she remembered watching Tieger slain by this arrogant Jedi.

She also had encountered Vic and Rosencrantz before- the former had used the Force to hurl her into the stream while she had been meditating over her comrade's corpse.

It was time, she decided quietly, to repay these humiliations.

Neesa arched her back, closed her eyes, and screamed. The sound was not normal, not human. It was a scream of rage, amplified and twisted by the darkside of the Force, and it would cause intense pain to anyone who left their ears exposed to it. The very ground shook as she shrieked, and Rosencrantz collapsed in agony to the ground, hands clamped upon the sides of his head.

Tag: nemisis, Xan

 

Sorry for the delay - RL etc.


IC: Kara Dysar

Grand Cathedral

Kara let out a yell of pain, clapping both hands over her ears. Her lightsaber clattered to the ground, extinguished. Screaming was not something she would have expected Neesa to do - at least not literally - and the combined assault of sound, fury and the Force caught her by surprise.

Blindly, Kara lashed out with the Force, throwing the raw power of the dark side back at Neesa. What exactly she was trying to accomplish she could not say - pain, more than anything else, fuelled her actions - she just wanted Neesa to stop.

TAG: Winged, Nem

 

The Great Cathedral- Entrance Hall

Blindly, Kara lashed out with the Force, throwing the raw power of the dark side back at Neesa. The mental attack manifested itself as a strong push, which threw the Imperial Knight off her feet and crashing into the stone wall, putting an abrupt end to her screaming.

Neesa wasted no time, however, in getting back to her feet, and this time stayed silent and still, assuming a defensive stance with her two sabers in hand.

Tag: nemisis, Xan

OOC: I'm going to be away until the 17th Sept guys, sorry bout the short notice. When I return let's power through and end this baby!

 

No worries.


IC: Kara Dysar

Grand Cathedral

The screaming stopped. Gingerly, Kara removed her hands from her ears and stood - she did not recall falling to her knees, but she must have. Her fingers came away bloody; she wiped them on her tunic before calling her lightsaber to her hand with a thought and igniting it.

Neesa had gotten back to her feet as well. This time she stayed silent and still, assuming a defensive stance with her two sabers in hand.

For a long moment, nothing happened.

Kara spoke again, but this time, she addressed Vic. The Jedi Knight had followed her in silence, but Kara could feel his shock and uncertainty - neither of which were of any use at the moment. Time to force the issue. "Well, Vic?" she called over her shoulder, not taking her eyes of Neesa. "Have you decided if you're going to help me or try to kill me?"

TAG: Winged, nem

 

Bump for great justice!

 

OOC: I'm back! Hurrah! I'll wait for nemisis to respond before updating.

 

Xan: I've PMed Nem, I think RL's got 'im. If he doesn't post in the next couple of days then we'll proceed just you and me.

 

Yeah, I think so too; he hasn't read the PM I've sent him yet, either.

Oh, well. Let's finish this.

 

OOC: Then let's do it.

The Great Cathedral- Entrance Hall

"Well, Vic?" Kara called over her shoulder, not taking her eyes off Neesa. "Have you decided if you're going to help me or try to kill me?"

The young Zeltron heard no answer- but saw Neesa's eyes flicker to something behind her. When she glanced around, both Vic and Rosencrantz had vanished...only the slightest trace of black smoke remained in the air.

Before Kara could even think about this sudden development, Neesa was upon her, hurtling through the air, sabers flashing at incredible speeds.

Tag: Xan

Nemmy, don't worry, when you get back I'll explain that little disappearing act and get you back up to speed.

 

IC: Kara Dysar

The Great Cathedral- Entrance Hall

Kara's eyes narrowed. So Rosencrantz knew that trick as well.

No time to ponder that. The Force screamed a warning, and Kara turned back just in time to see Neesa launch at her, sabers flashing in a blur of light. It was all Kara could do to defend herself, instinct and training and the Force guiding her weapon - she let Neesa force her back a step, and another. Neesa's twin blades were everywhere, giving her no opportunity to mount an offensive of her own.

It enraged Kara, to be forced to fight defensively. Once she would have fought down the rage; now she fed it back into the Force, felt its power grow and crackle in response. Her expression twisting into a vicious snarl, Kara locked blades with Neesa and shoved her back as hard as she could. Then the dark Jedi gestured, willing the Force to pick up anything not bolted down - pews, preferably, but dead bodies would do - and hurl them at her adversary.

TAG: Winged

 

The Great Cathedral- Entrance Hall

It enraged Kara, to be forced to fight defensively. Her rage found an outlet in her counterattack, as she locked blades with Neesa and shoved her back as hard as she could, sending her stumbling backwards a few feet, though the Imperial Knight managed to maintain her balance.

With a gesture and the power of the darkside, a couple of pews and a dozen corpses rose into the air behind Kara, and sailed past her. She felt them fly just inches past her own face as she stood directing them. The projectiles smashed into Neesa and sent he crashing to the ground, bleeding from the mouth.

Before Kara could finish off her downed opponent, a long, thin spear of deepest black formed in the air above Neesa. It was a weapon of the Force, and it flew straight towards Kara's head.

Tag: Xan

 

IC: Kara Dysar

The Great Cathedral, Entrance Hall

Kara had a moment of fierce glee when Neesa went down, blood trickling from her mouth.

But only a moment. Before Kara could step forward and finish her, a thin black spear materialized in the air above Neesa and flew straight for Kara's head. Acting purely on instinct, Kara threw herself to the ground. Her hair ruffled in the wind as the spear passed centimetres above.

Foolish, she thought once her mind caught up. A weapon of the Force, propelled by the Force ... she might've been able to counter it the same way, but old habits died hard.

Not that she knew how to pull that off, exactly. The city might have welcomed her, accepted her - but it still had it secrets, kept them clasped close to its proverbial chest. She had only scratched the surface of what it had to offer.

No matter.

Kara bounced back up and lunged forward, lightsaber raised high and stabbing down. The battle was not lost. She would not lose. She would kill Neesa, and then Sydney, and then ... then the city would be hers.

TAG: Winged


Mm, darkness and madness. An interesting combination to play.

 

The Great Cathedral- Entrance Hall

Having avoided the black spear that had been hurled at her, Kara bounced back up and lunged forward, lightsaber raised high and stabbing down.

Neesa did not move quickly enough; indeed, she barely moved at all. Perhaps she knew she was beaten, and would not fight any more. Perhaps she was simply exhausted, and unable to stir her muscles. Or perhaps she simply could not contend with the will of the City, which was so strong, so overwhelming, that the distinction between the City and the darkside itself seemed trivial. And the will of the City seemed almost certainly to favour Kara.

And so it was that Kara's saber tore into Neesa's chestplate. The Imperial Knight immediately thrust herself forward into the blade so that it sank up to its hilt into her chest. Seizing her foe in sort of grim embrace, she screamed once again, straight into Kara's face. It was the same technique that she had used previously, but this time the inhuman shriek was fueled not only by rage, but by the final thoughts of a dying woman, and was all the more powerful for that. What was more, it was at point blank range.

Tag: Xan

 

Sorry for the delay, uni's been murder ... and I think I probably won't be able to post again until the first of November. I'm probably going to have to take a self-imposed vacation from the internet to get this damned thesis done.


IC: Kara Dysar

The Great Cathedral, Entrance Hall

Kara's blade plunged deep into Neesa's chest. Laughter bubbled up in the Zeltron's throat; this was so like her last encounter with Tiegar, and yet so different. He had gone down with a blade through the chest, too - a single swipe of the blade, searing straight through his chestplate. She wondered why they bothered with armour at all.

But Neesa was not dead yet. Kara's expression changed to one of astonishment as the Imperial Knight thrust herself forward on the blade, right up to the hilt, and seized the front of Kara's robes. The fallen Jedi had a moment to be alarmed before Neesa screamed, the same inhuman shriek that she had unleashed only minutes ago - but all the more powerful for its proximity and Neesa's knowledge that it was the last thing she would ever do.

A lot could happen in a moment. One moment to decide to follow Hardin the first time in the mines; one quick, impulsive slash of her blade and Tiegar lay dead at her feet. Her later decisions - following Hardin again, helping Sydney, accepting Sydney's help - had been made with a little more deliberation, but still on some level the product of an instinctive choice.

Listening to the Force was a dangerous thing to do, for a warrior of the light in a city steeped in darkness. But for Kara, now, it was the only option.

So as Neesa opened her mouth, Kara flung up her other hand and summoned the Force again, trying to block or absorb or turn aside the power of Neesa's scream. She didn't know if it would work - at this range the sound alone was agony - but it was the only defence she had.

TAG: Winged