The Darkstaff (open)

[epsilon]

Cold air rushed in through an open window rustling the fabric of the fallen Jedi's robes at her feet. The Jedi, who's face lay hidden beneath the turned up hood, lay motionless while another, a few feet away, let out a helpless sound heavily laden with pain and strain. His hand cupped his side in a vain struggle to cease the flow of blood from a large wound. He would join his comrade who sat at her feet in death soon enough.

She stepped over the body, passing the bleeding Jedi and moving on to another who, like the first two, lay wounded though unlike the first two, he was still able to speak. "Don't..." was his gutteral plea, pulling her attention away from the exit of the room. Had he sat in silence, perhaps, he would have lived. Her right hand rose, shadowed by the darkness surrounding her though the rest of the room sat perfectly illuminated by the lighting above. This darkness was caused by an object clutched in her left hand, casting her, it and the area around her in immense darkness as it ate the very light around her making her movement virtually invisible until the last moment when power rushed to her call, alerting the Jedi of what was to come. His last words seemed to echo in the room..." There is no death..."

And death still came nonetheless...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Her back struck the floor, jolting her awake. At first, she lay there in shock, horror quietly building up until it formed a tight ball in her stomach as her ears rang with words from her dream. ~There is no death...~. What followed that was a single word that rang louder than the last phrase uttered by the dieing Jedi. ~Come~.

~Come...~

"No..." she answered as her hand reached up to clutch the sheets of her bed. Her numb fingers reached for her comm, sending a call to Ivory and soon after her, Drexel. Her voice was low, though there was no ignoring the underlying current of something wrong...terribly wrong. By nature, she was a strong being, a warrior with too much pride to relay weakness. Warrior or not, she still was no fool to ignore the severity of this situation.

Vc- I need to see you both...now.-

[stickers]

It fueled him, the angst of failure. The waste of potential. The what ifs and the could have beens. They fueled what he had become. They were the muse for the terrors that he held in keeping for the rest of the galaxy. They were the chorus to his nightmares, the refrain to his dreams, the sole reason for his existence.

For without failure there can be no success. Without death there can be no life. Unlike some Sith, he believed that just as much as he must exist - just as much as he must set the stage for the Force to become an extension of his will - He believed that all things must come to pass.

Anger must be nourished, catered to and developed. But from what well did anger spring from? Is any being angry for no reason, without any cause?

So he dwelled on his failures - the glory that had been - and should have remained his. These things he dwelled on, lived with - broiled over in his souls of souls, in his most inner thoughts.

For only by truly corrupting the soul of a hero could one become the most evil of evils.

Now he walked the paths of this world, a scarred man in his middle years, searching for more that would lead him to catharsis of his journey.

[ivory]

The comm going of lets her wake up at the instant hearing Epsilons voice she doesnt hesitates, but replies "vc~ on my way" and is only a few moments later out of the house, wearing one of her usual silk suits that manage so well to fool others. She cant remember if she had a dream, but she knows she rather rushes through the dark night of Theed then to continue to sleep. Something happend, something is about to happen...just what would it be? The dark cloud hiding Naboo had gone, but now there was a new concern, because the cloud had left them a gift..
The Staff

Reaching Epsis place she sneaks in, trusting Epsi to know it is her, because they are connected in many ways, and even if she would end up thrown through a window, she would survive it. On the other hand that wasnt pleasnt, so she called quitely "epsilon im here"

[epsilon]

"Trust in the force. It has guided you this far. You know well the future is never set and is in constant motion my love. The light has steared you in the right direction. Do not doubt it now." Solan's voice was a low hum from the comm resting a foot or so away from her. The study sat in darkness and within that darkness, she rested, a disturbing overshadowing of the dream she had minutes before. Her hands felt heavy as they lay on the desk, her fingers folded loosely together. She studied the outline of her fingers, her inhuman visibility clear and crisp in the dark room, then made her way up her arms and then past them as she turned her head to face the curtained window.

"This is the third night in a row Solan and though the first two nights, my dreams were dim images, the beckon of the staff was clear. " Solan's sigh came through heavy and worn. It was the sound of a husband who wished to be by his wife's side; it was the sound of a Jedi who know duty came first before all else and he would remain where he was regardless of what his emotions wished him to do. He was first and foremost a Jedi Master and everything else fell accordingly in it's place. His wife would have it no other way. The staff now lay under his watchful eye, protected by him and other Jedi. " t's difficult, this task you've undertaken Epsilon. I understand you above most know best the dangers of dark artifacts and the risks they pose on the order and the galaxy...but it is still a difficult task, one I still believe you should take a pause in doing until you have passed your knights test."

Her brow creased in disagreement. "This very situation clearly shows why I cannot take a 'pause' in my duties for the Order Solan. What if such an artifact had come into the hands of a Sith? Or a fledgling Padawan with neither the experience or understanding that I, you or other stronger members of the order have?" His response was silence. It was a discussion they had had many times. For now, the order on Ossus had approved of what she did for them but...his arguments were understandable. She just might do what he asked. Might...

She stood up, picking up the comm on her way past the desk to the exit of her study. She moved down her stairs with quick, lithe movements to greet the young Jedi woman waiting for her. "I had a 'dream' tonight, " would be her greeting as she guided Ivory into the living room, flicking on a lamp on her way in. Her words came in low soft sounds as she explained the vision, premonition if you will, adding at one point..." The Jedi's plea...his word, "Don't"...it wasn't a plea for me not to kill him. It was more him asking me to stop. To stop what I was doing. I feel there's more to his words." From there, she would continue until the very end in which she'd kill the last Jedi in the room.

Her nightgown pooled around her a she raised her legs to tuck them beneath her on the couch. Her hands came to a rest against her lap, one folded over the other as she waited for Ivory's thoughts on the matter.

[Setnos]

It was night yet something had been bothering Drexel... so he sat in a meditation chamber in just a pair of PJ pants with his comm hovering before him. His body quite lax and calm as he meditated on what was bothering him. The force was trying to keep him alert for something... there was a disturbance, that much was clear... but was it the staff? Rahll? Necrage?

Just give me a sign.

Then his eyes snapped open and the comm gave the tone of it being pinged. His hand moved up and plucked it from the air, answering the comm in a rather lucid, calm voice. "I'll be there as soon as I can." And then he rose to his feet and walked into his room to change. It was Epsilon... so it was about the staff. Something had happened with it... or perhaps something became more clear about the staff? He would find out soon. As he left the room, he was sure to dress the same as he always had, standard armor from his elbows to his finger-tips and from his knees to the floor, the rest was tradtional jedi attire. His arrival was not long afer Ivorys', he may have even been there sooner had he not changed... but that would have been an akward way to visit her. His right hand gave a gentle tap on the door, not wanting to wake anyone and knowing she was already up and about.

[ivory]

She is about to asnwer as she hears the tap on the door, and waits for epsilon to let the necomer in. relieved she sees its drexel and gives him the run down of epsis dream (if thats ok with you two)
then she replies thoughtfully "Hhard to see the future is..."
Her shade covered eyes rest on epsilon, she seems to ignore drxel but what she says is for the both of them "you and i know what we are epesilon, you and i know of what you are capable of, and i think the staff knows it as well. it calls the side that created you, that created me, and that we both decided against. Were failures to the dark course, were failures to the Staff. You had more contact to it, but i think everone there that night when the staff was removed from the tempel, has had heavy dreams. very heavy dreams. i think the knight in your dream begging you to stop, is your own subconscious. it wants you to stop thinking about the staff in a certain way before that happends what you did in your dream. You are even more prone to the darkside then anyone else is, there is more darkness within you then in anyone else i know. And the staff knows that as well. Like we said before it has to be destroyed as soon as we possibly can...and you should stay way clear of it."
She reaches across and lays a slender hand adorned with silver runes on epsis hands. the runes remind of shades mask, and of the tatoos on epsis hands and arms.
"ive only just got you back, i dont want to loose you already again"
Her last words were a whisper more felt then heard.

[stickers]

Now in the city of Theed he moved throughout it, seeking that which had drawn him to the city at all this evening. Something new in the air spoke to something that was old in him and it haunted him, he craved it like a drug.

Because the potential for power had become his drug.

[ciroco]

Cirocco stood closely to a building in a side alley, trying to keep as much out of the light drizzling rain that had been coming down on Theed all night. It wasn't the kind of rain that soaked you through and through. It was far more insidious, merely getting your skin slightly damp but chilling you to the bone. He knew the reason he was out here was close. He could sense the life signature close by. As soon as Stickers passes by the alley he steps out onto the main street

On the other side of the street, a large wolflike creature would suddenly appear out of thin air. Dark strands of smoke trail around it's paws as it steps forward, indicating that this is clearly a creature of the darkside.

"Greetings. Bit late for a walk don't you think?"

[epsilon]

There was a change in the air over theed, over Naboo itself. It wasn't a physical change and not something that directly affected the climate or air itself. It was a shift in the force, a darkening cloud that hung heavy to those sensitive to the ebb and flow of the force. Something was happening and soon, the veil would part to reveal what that something was. For now, it focused on one individual though soon, it would branch out to call to others...
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It happened in a moment. As Ivory rose to allow Drexel in, the 'summoning' echoed once more in her mind. It was like hearing another voice in the room though it was one only she could hear. She stared at Drexel as he walked in though with each step he took, his form blurred, becoming a hazy image...until he a deformed mass she couldn't make out. She sucked in a sharp breath as she stared around her. The entire room took on the same haze like quality, leaving her blind so to speak. Though she remained in place, the room shifted, the haze smearing and growing dark. Her eyes widened, though she had a feeling that would not aid her in seeing any better, an oddity as her vision was excellent in the dark...except that this darkness was a different kind of darkness.

She felt something touching her...hand? Reflexively, she jerked her hand away, unaware that the hand belonged to Ivory. She exhaled slowly, then extended her hand, searching for what touched her while speaking softly in a tense tone, " Drexel...? Ivory? I can't see." She assumed something was going on with her vision. An unknown Injury? This was her thought until again, she heard the summoning; ~Come~. The word filled her mind just as her fingers brushed against a solid mass. It was smooth, cool to the touch and...Force no...

A rush of air slammed into her and blew past her as her fingers closed around the staff. The wind soon died away though her hair and gown continued to ripple and sway, as if she stood in the middle of a wind storm. Inside the whirlwind of darkness, she lay with her arm extended to the staff. It was here, within this bubble of inky black that she finally 'saw'. She stood in the middle of a room, cast two thirds in dark and a third in light. It was as if the staff ate way at the very light in the room, leaving only a small part illuminated by the bulbs above. The room was a large square and in each courner, stood a Jedi. Each one in turn slowly frowned as they peered at her and while they couldn't see her, they sensed something was amiss. She fought to pry her hand away from the staff and at first, her fingers seemed 'glued' to the solid mass. It's summoning pierced through her mind again, this time with intense fever. It was a mandate that sliced through her senses and expanded, moving through her to the two Jedi in her room and outward, touching on the minds of two more individuals, Stickers and Cirocco. She would feel it's intent and call fiercely but the rest would hear it's call.

~COME~

It ended as abruptly as it had begun. The connection snapped and she was thrust back up and over the couch, flipped by an unseen force to land halfway across the room. Her bare foot struck a night stand, sending a lamp teetering over to crash onto the ground. She fell still, limp and momentarily stunned from the encounter.

The room would feel cold to the Jedi, cold and oppressive during the time she went 'under' though once the encounter ended, the room would return to it's normal state, feeling as it did before the encounter began.

Though she couldn't speak, there would be no denying how she would feel towards the object now. It was a danger to them all. They would need to move out now to see it destroyed.

[ivory]

feeling the change she looks over to Drexel, her eyes hidden behind the ever present shades. She kinda expected epsilon to pull her hand away from the touch, in that way she was much like the taller woman she wasn't a great fan of any kind of physical contact. but nonetheless she felt the disturbance, the shift in The tall woman's composure, she knows her for long enough to tell the slight changes. something cold and eerie seems to creep up, for a brief moment she thinks, if this was one of her beloved horror holovids, there would be green lights and mist creeping across the floor now, but it wasn't a movie it was real.

"removing her shades, revealing her entirely jet black eyes she says "epsi i cant see anything wrong with your eyes, is this the staffs doing to draw you in with false promises?" she reaches for epsis hand, holding it softly, yet assuring her that they were still there, and that she wasn't alone. One of Ivory biggest fears that she never told anyone, was to be alone, and she wanted to make sure epsi knew she wasn't alone. But suddenly epsi is thrown backward, flies over the couch and land's on the other side of the room. "what the ...?" rushing to epsis side to help her up again

[epsilon]

She put up a hand, halting Ivory from moving her. Her late dinner was threatening to reveal itself in an unhealthy manner if she continued to move much more at this point. She lay there for a few seconds more, allowing her body to calm itself before she spoke. "We need to get to Keren." She had an unsettling feeling that time was running out though for who or what, she wasn't certain. "And we should bring with us what masters, and knights capable of dealing with it, we can." One thing she was certain of though..."It won't be calling to me alone at this point."

[varkin]

Had been walking the streets, he was heading back to the Praxeum after a long days training to get some well needed rest. He felt something in the force, something that sent shivers down his spine and made the hairs on his arm stand on end. He was wearing his usually clothes; A navy blue Jedi robe with white trousers and equally white boots, of which all were covered up by a long black cloak. The hood was up covering his face. He closed his eyes and allowed the force to guide him to the source of this strange and the eerie felling he could fell... with every step he took the Jedi in him was urging him not to continue to head down the road he was on leading to the source of what ever it was he could feel... But the man in him, the human that he is, was far to curious to simply leave he had to find out what is was, even though every feeling in his being was telling him not to, but he didn't listen to them as he continued to walk down the street...

He soon arrives at a building and whispered to himself "what ever it is... its here" then looking around only to notice Cirocco and a man he had never seen before and a wolf like creature on the other side of the street, he remained out of sight of the two and the wolf like shadow thing. HE knew it was a beast of the darkside he could feel it "what is going on here?..." he whispered to himself taking cover behind a bin, he then thought to himself "i should just wait and see just what exactly is going on..." he could feel the presence of many Jedi and darksider as well as something else but knew not what it was.

[ivory]

Nods understanding andbacks of a little to give epsilon more space. "eight ill inform everyone, should you and i stay clear of it? with our spawn nature?" looks back and forth between epsi and drexel to find out what drexel had to add

[ciroco]

((okay first off sorry for the long interruption, rl has been keeping me busy))

Cirocco's hand instinctively shoots to the saberhilt on his belt and he falls into a combat stance as he feels the surge of darkside energy calling out to him. He growls and looks at the praxeum "what the hell...? Not usual to feel darkside energy from the heart of the jedi order...." He slowly straightens up again, continuing to look at the praxeum. "Dammit! The bloody staff! It has to be! That's the only darkside artefact they have in there powerful enough to make such a call. hmmm... Garm! Shadows. Now." The large wolfspwan retreats back into the shadows at the side of the street and vanishes completely from view. Turnign around, Cirocco looks straight at Varkin's hiding place, even though there's nothing there to reveal the presence of the Jedi "Oi, you, come out of there. Trust me, you do not want to annoy me by forcing me to come and get you. Not here, not today."

[varkin]

continued to watch Cirocco as he barked orders at the Wolfspawn raising his head slightly trying to get a better view, this is how Cirocco must have seen him he stood up and walked through the shadows his face completely coved by them before finally stepping out into the light that was casted by the moon reveling him self..." its just me Master Cirocco" he said in a husky voice as he walked closer to Cirocco..." Theres something no right in the force, i can feel it" he paused again placing his left hand on his utility belt next to his saber because Cirocco looked as if he was ready for a fight as he stood there ready to attack defend against something "but what" he said to himself in his head before tilting his head slightly arching at brow at the Dark Jedi Master..." Whats going on?... Master Cirocco" he pondered as he stopped and stood where he was, about three foot away from him.