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Post by Swirling Force on Jan 29, 2009 2:38:07 GMT -5
The temple was situated on a volcanic island in the middle of a deep lake and it could only be reached in foot by stepping stones. These were set a few centimeters beneath the surface of the water, which forced all who crossed them to approach the temple with their heads bowed, so they could watch their feet. The temple itself was made from polished black-colored obsidian that was studded with corusca gems. It was etched with Sith hieroglyphics and pictographs, that translated as magic incantations to protect the temple and call doom to its defilers. At its apex was a large statue of the Sith Lord Exar Kun and outside, there was a small courtyard. Inside, the temple had just one chamber and catacombs beneath it. These consisted of a number of chambers, interlinked by tunnels. The last chamber contained the sarcophagus of Exar Kun, where presumably his body was intended to be placed after his death
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Post by Exar Kun on Jun 6, 2011 19:32:15 GMT -5
*Exar Kun's private shuttle descends from orbit and sets down just outside of the Temple. Kun exits the shuttle and approaches the lake encircling the Temple. Directly across from the main entrance Kun finds the stepping stones that his Massassi warriors had carefully crafted. They sat just below the water-level, obscuring their presence just barely. Kun, however, knew exactly where each stone lay and quickly walks across the water with his head up - allowing the Force to guide his steps across the water.*
*After crossing the moat-like lake, he reaches the main steps to his temple and quickly scales them. The interior of the temple had been carefully sculpted and crafted - and while some portions of the temple had indeed been raided by smugglers and Republic archeologists the more secret regions of the temple were still secure. There were dozens of possible paths through the Temple, many leading into death traps. Others leading to bare rooms, and only a few actually held anything of true value - and those were incredibly difficult to discover. Knowing exactly the path to take to locate the Archive, Kun travels down one of the many torch-lit corridors off of the main hall to the right, which leads him down a spiral staircase of stone. This staircase then led to a room that had appeared to have been ransacked. Kun looks around the room a moment, and then walks back out. He traces his finger along a long thin crack in the stone archway just outside of the room and stops midway. He uses a subtle application of Force Push to blow wind through the crack. A click can be heard and the floor of the entire room in front of him begins to slide upwards with a loud grinding sound. The floor slowly passes by the archway and comes to a stop at just above head level - revealing a straight staircase leading down into the darkness below. Kun quickly walks down the stairs, he twists his hand in the air once more and sends another Force Push behind him which activates the hidden switch and causes the floor of the room now above him to descend. From below the trapped room, Kun can see the gears and mechanisms responsible for the elevating floor along either side of him in pillar-like mechanical structures. Though it may appear archaic and uncivilized, Massassi architecture was truly refined and practical.*
*Traveling down the dark corridor, Kun ignites one end of his double-bladed blue lightsaber to brighten his path. At the end of the corridor was a solid stone door with four engravings arranged in a diamond shape. Each one was a letter in the ancient Sith language. In the proper order they would spell a word. Kun studies it for only a second before twisting his free hand around to create ball of crackling blue lightning. He then shoots a burst of lightning into the letters - which glow bright. The top-most letter he blasts three times. The word spells; S-A-A-R-A-I. Ancient Sith for "truth." With each letter now crackling with sustained Force Lightning and glowing like magical runes, the stone door slides open revealing a magnificant dimly lit chamber with six central pillars supporting the temple far above. As Kun enters the room he shoots a jet of flame using Force Combustion to each of the six corners igniting the large sconces and illuminating the Archive. Scrolls, parchments, datapads, and even a few archaic computer terminals litter the Archive's walls and lowered section. Large tree roots have pierced through the outer walls and created cracks in the once-solid marble flooring and now cover much of the the ceiling and parts of the walls (See second image above). This part of the temple had been constructed long ago during Exar Kun's rise to power during the Great Sith War, and the information gathered here was everything he had collected regarding the Force and the Dark Side. He had been a historian for the Jedi Order and had sought out everything he could find. And find it he did. On Korriban. On Ziost. And on many other worlds. All that knowledge was assembled here for him to use. To defeat the cybernetic creature that had managed to overcome him he needed the secrets of these Archives, and he would find it. Kun was sure of it.*
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Post by Karnak on Jun 6, 2011 19:55:46 GMT -5
*When the stone door slid open, the kissai turned his attention from a particular parchment to the one entering the room. He had been studying the parchment and conditioning it by a small candle, seated at a desk. The sudden burst of additional light made him squint a bit before opening his eyes fully again. He looked in the direction of the one that entered the room again. It could only be one other person, but Karnak could never be too sure. Exar Kun had not visited this temple in quite some time. Though there was only one other person besides Karnak that knew the ins and outs of the temple. Though, not just the temple itself because Yavin IV was home to Karnak.
He hadn't left the planet for a very, very long time. With so much time on his hands, the kissai knew many areas of the planet very well. He had been left as keeper of not only his people, but for Kun's personal archive as well. With little else to do, he was constantly organizing the information and keeping the archives in good condition. He set down the particular parchment and walked over to Exar Kun.
He gave a bow before speaking to the Dark Lord of the Sith.*
My lord, the archives are as you left them. Are you looking for anything in particular?
*Karnak knew why he was there, of course. Why else would he suddenly appear after so long in these archives? He was looking for something.*
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Post by Exar Kun on Jun 12, 2011 22:47:08 GMT -5
*Standing below a raised archway Exar Kun turns as he hears the voice of a nearly forgotten servant. Kun studies him for a moment, before recognizing him - Karnak Tetsu. One of the last members of the ancient Sith race and a Kissai amongst his people, a priest. Because of Karnak's devotion to the Dark Side and ancient knowledge Kun had placed him in charge of maintaining the this secret archive deep within Kun's temple... of course that was over fifty years ago.*
"Karnak.... I am glad to see you have not reneged on your duties of preserving the knowledge collected here. I am indeed looking for something in particular. I am looking for a technique to utilize against a single individual - a method of removing their command over the Force."
*The cybernetic creature that had slaughtered everyone within the Sith Academy on Korriban held tremendous control over the Dark Side. Kun had attempted Force powers such as Disable Droid and Lightning - powers that normally affected droids, but they seemingly had no effect on whatever this thing was. And it moved with a precognition inherent only to Force Users of the highest caliber when deflecting and blocking Kun's own lightsaber strikes. Brute force would not defeat this beast - nor would typical offensive Force Powers. He needed something else - something that targeted the source of the cybernetic creature's power - something that targeted the Force itself.*
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Post by Karnak on Jun 12, 2011 23:11:28 GMT -5
Ah yes. To sever one's connection to the Force. I believe your apprentice had fallen to such a technique. Yes, yes he had. A fate worse than death, I say. To no longer feel the Force.
*The Kissai remembered much of Kun and his apprentice's antics so many years ago. Of course time was of little concern to Karnak now. He had lived for so long and stayed in one particular area for so long that time just seemed something not in his scope of reality. Years passed, suns and moons rose and fell. Of course the apprentice he mentioned was none other than Ulic Qel-droma.*
I have found some information regarding such things, yes. Yes, I have.
*Karnak wandered off to find just where he had placed. No, not placed. Placed was so mundane and random to Karnak. Where he categorized the information was a much more correct way of stating it. Karnak eventually found his way to a particular shelf that held a holocron and a few old, yet well preserved, parchments.*
There is mention of such things you speak of here. Yes, right here. The parchments are well preserved as you can see. I managed to get many of the creases out and I restored the written words so that it is read much easier than before. Old things are so hard to keep up with, but I maintain them well. They do not escape my delicate handiwork.
*He picked up the holocron in particular.*
The keeper of this one is a bit...difficult to talk to. This one is not my friend, but this one speaks if persuaded correctly. I suspect you would find this one easier to talk to than I, however. This one holds secrets you seek, I think.
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Post by Exar Kun on Jun 21, 2011 16:18:30 GMT -5
*Kun looks over several of the papers. Some were written in the ancient Sith language, others in an archaic version of galactic basic. Detailed writings, all of them, and well preserved despite their age. Karnak's skills were unmatched - though from what Kun could tell, he had lost much of his sanity over the past fifty years. But when Karnak holds up the holocron, that catches Kun's attention. Not simply because of it's elegant pyramidal design and the delicate engravings along each side - but because Kun recognized the holocron immediately. It was one that he had personally retrieved from Freedon Nadd's temple on Dxun so long ago, before he had truly understood the Dark Side and the Sith. Kun sets the papers back down on the desk Karnak had placed them and carefully takes the holocron into his hands, looking it over. Kun reads the inscription along the base of the holocron and then translates it.*
"In umbris potestas est. In darkness, there is power."
*It was this holocron that had taught Kun the power of spirit transference - the method he used to preserve his consciousness even after his death on Yavin IV and again just days ago on Korriban. It held the secret to eternal life... but could it hold more? Kun holds the holocron in the palm of his hand and channels his energy into it in order to activate the holocron's gatekeeper. The holocron began to glow and a hazy blueish figure appears over the apex of the pyramid. It speaks with a gravelly harsh voice.*
"Exar Kun.... you come to me yet again? Was my most guarded secret not good enough for you? Now you wish to rip more knowledge from me? Speak Kun so that I may deny you!"
*Kun sets the holocron down beside the parchments and stares at the sharp-toothed spirit before him. His skin was charred and broken, and a ornate ancient black and gold crown sat atop his head. Similarly styled black and gold armor covered the gatekeeper's torso, and only mist formed where his legs should be - as it swirled around the peak of the holocron.*
"Lord Andeddu."
*Kun had discovered this holocron, the holocron of Darth Andeddu, deep within Nadd's Temple on Dxun. Originally Kun had thought it to be Nadd's holocron itself, but he soon realized that it was one much older. Nadd had discovered it himself millenia ago when he first rose to power on Onderon. It was likely the original source of his knowledge and as far as Kun could deduce this holocron was the oldest one of it's kind.*
"Your knowledge has served me well, Andeddu."
"That I have no doubt of. BUT, there is a but. I sense it. You would not be here if there were not."
*Kun raises an eyebrow at the ancient Sith spirit.*
"I require more from you. I require a way of extracting the Force from an individual."
"You wish to rip not life from a soul but the soul itself. Ahh, my young student of darkness - THAT is a worthy goal. Destruction of not the person, but of what makes the person. Ha! Yesssss.... I know of such a method. But what is it worth to you, Exar Kun?"
*Kun takes half a step toward the trapped spirit of Darth Andeddu menacingly*
"What you should ask yourself, Andeddu, is what you risk by not being forthcoming. You know my power, you know what I can do to you. Any hope you have of being released from this holocron prison of yours will perish here and now should you defy me. No amount of sorcery or manipulation will save you and then, Andeddu, you will truly be dead."
"Hahaha! So you resort to intimidation and threats, Exar Kun? How wonderfully stereotypical. Though... I must admit you do make a valid point. But first I must know, what do you plan to do with this knowledge? Why is it necessary knowledge after so many years?"
*Kun stares at the spirit. Karnak had not exaggerated when said that this one was difficult to talk to. Andeddu was blatantly unhelpful to those he did not consider worthy. Kun had run across a similar problem fifty years ago when Andeddu refused to share his power of Spirit Transference with Kun. Even the fact that Kun had been anointed Dark Lord by Marka Ragnos himself was trivial in Andeddu's mind. Only by forcibly extracting the knowledge by means of pure dark energy did Kun finally earn the smallest sliver of worth in Andeddu's eyes. Andeddu respected power and control over the Force - everything else was trivial.*
"A being has surfaced that threatens the future of the Dark Side. It aims to wipe out all servants of darkness and has already begun it's purge."
"And this being... this being is one of the light?"
*Kun considers lying to Andeddu, but he knows that the ancient Sith would sense his deception.*
"It follows neither the path of the Jedi nor the Sith."
"Such distinctions are of no consequence! For a being to purge dark Force users from existence, it would require a control over the Force that the light is incapable of supplying. I sense it within you, Exar Kun, this being that begun to remove your followers from this world is one that hails from the darkness."
*Kun stands still, unmoving.*
"So if this being is of such dark power, why would you wish to rip his power from him? Unless of course you viewed him as a threat. A threat you are incapable of dealing with on your own. So of course you come to me. You come crawling back to your master begging for more power, like a tuk'ata pup seeking milk from it's bitch of a mother! I thought you worthy, Exar Kun! So full of raw power and determination. But you run and hide from this threat that faces you. You seek knowledge for self preservation and nothing more - you do not learn for the sake of learning, you learn to use the power of others and then abandon it when it no longer is of use to you!"
"You will obey me! You will tell me the secret I wish to know! I am the Dark Lord of the Sith and the rightful heir to this knowledge!"
"Meaningless titles! Meaningless threats! I decide who is the rightful heir to my secrets. I decide who is worthy! And it is not you, Exar Kun!"
*The spirit of Andeddu fades away into mist and then the hazy image spirals back down into the holocron sitting on the table. The glow of the holocron fades away and Kun is left staring angrily at empty space.*
"Insolent ghost!"
*Kun grabs the lip of the table and throws it into the air in anger, upturning the table and all it's contents including the parchments, candle and holocron itself*
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Post by Karnak on Jun 21, 2011 16:40:25 GMT -5
*Karnak had watched in silence at the exchange between Andeddu and Kun. The Kissai had hoped the gatekeeper more willing to share his knowledge with Lord Kun than himself. Though as he watched the two go back and forth, his hopes were dashed. Andeddu seemed more defiant to Kun than himself. This was not something he had predicted.
However, the exchange was not a total waste to Karnak. There was a dark being, one who commanded the darkness to an extent that was obviously beyond Kun's capabilities. Karnak would love to examine such a specimen himself. Someone that was strong enough to beat Kun would obviously make him realize his power and knowledge wasn't great enough and so he would come back here to learn more. No, not more. No, he would learn what was necessary. That was more accurate to say. When Andeddu saw what Karnak saw, he denied him the information Kun was seeking.*
See? I was right. Yes, I was very right. That one is most difficult to talk to. Gives me a very hard time. A very hard time indeed. He appreciates little, and gives even less. I spend less time with him. More time spent with other gatekeepers. More willing they are.
*Just as Karnak was mid-spiel, Kun overturns the table in anger. Karnak quickly Force Pulls the holocron to him.*
Oh no no no no no no no. That would be very bad. Very bad indeed. Could possibly possess me. Don't want that. Possession is bad. Yes, very bad indeed.
*The Kissai looked down at the ground to notice the candle beginning to burn one of the parchments.*
No! My precious!
*Karnak places the holocron on the ground, puts out the candle, and puts out the flame on the corners of the parchment. It hadn't gotten to any of the writings, but some were now crispy around the edges.*
Fire bad. Fire is very bad indeed. Nearly destroyed precious knowledge. Precious knowledge that I preserve.
*Karnak rolls up the parchments and places them on another nearby table. He had a few, some he built himself. He needed many areas to work and to categorize what he'd work on next. With the parchments on the nearby table, he'd work on them almost immediately. He went back over and picked up the holocron, eyeing it for quite awhile.*
You will not possess me, do you hear? I will not allow it.
*The holocron hisses at him in the ancient sith tongue.*
Defiant you are. Yes, very defiant indeed. Very unappreciative of the care I give you. Dust does not touch you, yet you care not. Others are more appreciative and forthcoming of their precious knowledge. They are my friends. You are not my friend yet.
*He places the holocron down on a shelf some distance away then returns to Kun.*
Were the parchments helpful, atleast? I find their knowledge on such matters limited, but they make excellent stepping stones.
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Post by Exar Kun on Oct 10, 2011 17:58:49 GMT -5
*Kun storms away from the table as Karnak scrambles to save the scraps of information as well as save the insolent Sith Lord's Holocron. Fuming, Kun drives his fist into a pillar, knocking away pieces of debris but not without damaging his own hand. He looks down at it, blood spilling from the gashes, and even some bone showing. But his hatred dulls the pain, and he uses the Force to stitch the broken hand back together in an instant. He glares at Karnak when the Kissai asks if the parchments were helpful.*
"They'll do."
*Days go by and Kun spends most of his time reading through ancient parchments and tomes and attempting to ignore the eccentric Kissai. Kun knew the answers he sought would only be found in Andeddu's holocron, but Kun refused to give the dead Sith Lord the satisfaction of him begging for the information. So instead Kun continued the search elsewhere. Focusing on the texts from the ancient Sith from the time of Ludo Kressh, Naga Sadow, and Marka Ragnos. But the closest he could come to finding what he sought was brief mentions of the Jedi and a similar technique used to sever one's perception of the Force. But he knew this method to be flawed. Not only was it rooted in the Light, but it was imperfect. Beings such as his former apprentice, Ulic Qel-Droma, had eventually overcome this severance. And as he had learned, so too had another Jedi by the name of Kali Black - an Exile for her part in the Mandalorian Wars.*
"There must be a way!"
*Kun pushes a scroll away from him and onto the floor, having found it useless. The mechanical being that had swept through the Sith Academy and killed everything inside - including Kun himself - had to be stopped. Kun had always been unparalleled in his skill with a lightsaber, and his command over the Dark Side was similarly unmatched amongst both the Sith and the Jedi... but this creature... whatever it was, was neither Sith nor Jedi. It was something else, something far more dangerous. A rogue power in a galaxy torn by war.*
*Kun knew what he must look like now. Hunched over parchment after scroll, tome after holocron. Furiously searching for one answer. An answer that very well may not exist. He appeared to be mad. A man driven insane by his obsession over a single individual. Kun sits up at this realization of what he had allowed himself to become. He was not obsessed! He was a man of vision! His was a vision of dominion over the galaxy and defeat of the Jedi... and yet here he was in a solitary tomb far from the battlefield, far from both the Jedi and his own followers, his only company an equally crazy priest. No, he would not allow himself to become like Karnak. He would not abandon his vision. He had been defeated, yes, but he had risen again. He controlled death itself. Nothing could stop him. Not this mechanical creature, and certainly not his own mind.*
"I will not find answers here."
*Kun stands and looks around the massive vault of knowledge surrounding him. He had hidden these scrolls, parchments, tomes, and holocrons away years ago - to preserve the secrets of the Sith. Kun had been a historian of the Jedi Order, a chronicler of the past. Knowledge was what he lived for. But no longer. There was only power. And only through power would he achieve victory. Victory over the Jedi and victory over the mechanical enemy that had laid waste to the Academy.*
"Karnak,"
*Kun pushes the chair aside and walks over to where Karnak was now tending to one of the many shelves of knowledge.*
"You have served me faithfully for many years. I ask one final thing of you. Everything here, every scrap of information, every ounce of knowledge... it must all be destroyed. I can learn nothing more than what I already possess. And the secrets here cannot be found by my enemies. Let it all burn."
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Post by Karnak on Oct 20, 2011 0:27:04 GMT -5
*Karnak had spent much time during Kun's stay doing what he had always done. He kept his precious knowledge in excellent condition. He tended to every scroll, every tome, and every holocron in his posession. This wealth of knowledge was his life. It was what Kun had charged him with and what was considered precious to him.
He, himself, had actually managed to learn a good bit from the ancient sith lords of the holocrons that he kept and tended to. Every scrap of information he had read over atleast twice. He catelogued every bit of information held here. It was his daily routine and it was rarely changed up. Kun likely heard him muttering to one of the holocrons or debating the correctness of some scroll. Yet only in Karnak's demented mind did the scroll argue back.
Kun ignored him for the most part while he was studying whatever knowledge it was he needed. Karnak did his best to return the favor and keep to himself while he went about his business. On this last day did Kun finally speak to him fully. Karnak was tending to a tome whose cover was starting to come undone. Naturally Karnak immediately spotted the issue and was diligently mending the cover of the tome when Kun approached him and spoke to him.
Listening, Karnak became shocked at what Kun was asking of him. He would have to destroy his precious knowledge? Then what would he do? What would occupy his time? This request by Kun was basically asking Karnak to destroy his life. Yet it was Kun who had charged him with the precious knowledge to begin with. There was conflict in his twisted mind.*
Destroy the precious knowledge I have kept in excellent condition? You will find no other source of knowledge so well kept. Yes, nothing is better than the work of Karnak. No one's work is better! This knowledge is my child. I raised it, took care of it, cleaned and mended it. You ask Karnak to kill his child. A difficult request, a very difficult request indeed.
Yet it was a child given by Lord Kun to raise. Interesting is the two sides to this conflict, do you not agree? I enjoy a good debate. Two philosophical sides. I ask myself what would Ragnos do? But I do not know what Ragnos would do. Do you? I bet others would know what he might do. Others that are dead. Or not dead. Dead, but not dead in the many holocrons.
Hoho. Haha. Hehehe. Ahahahahaha! Oh can you just imagine the look on Lord Annuendo's face if he heard what you requested of me? That alone would almost be enough to make me accept without any debate at all! Oh but that would not do! Annuendo is a special case. His destruction is his release. That's very bad, very bad indeed. May possess me! That's a horrible thought.
Do you like posession? I don't. There was this one time when an ancient spirit took me over. I resisted, but he still talks to me from time to-wait! What? What did you say?! I make excellent tea! What? I will so! I will deal with him in a special way! Oh you shut up! No, you shut it! Bah! I have more important people to talk to.
*He stirs out of his crazed rambling to answer Kun, finally.*
Yes. I will destroy this knowledge. However, the holocrons will be tricky to destroy and Lord Annuendo's cannot be destroyed. Posession is bad. Yes, very bad.
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Post by Darth Sjena on May 10, 2012 1:18:39 GMT -5
OOC: Due to several key characters' departure, the conclusion of this scene planned between us was left incomplete. I will be writing out the scene as it was agreed between all parties.
Colored dialogue for the characters involved will be as follows: Darth Sjena Tobias Katarn Soln Tok Exar Kun Karnak TetsuThe events of this post take place prior to the 1 year time jump. The shuttle had landed in the forest a short ways from the temple in a small clearing. From there the three Sith led by Darth Sjena quickly approached the Dark Lord's Temple on foot. Tok had already warned Sjena that Kun likely knew of their presence - but it didn't matter. Not anymore. The cards had been dealt, now they had no choice but to play them. And Sjena always won. One way or another. Coming up to the lake that surrounded the Temple, Sjena removed her double-bladed lightsaber hilt from her belt and held it firmly in her right hand. There was a path across, this much she knew from the last time she had been here. She just had to find it. Scowering the edge of the lake, she finds it - a path of stones set just beneath the water line. "They are here," she called to her companions. Katarn and Tok joined her at the water's edge and cautiously they began to cross the lake behind her. Step by step she worked her way across. Suddenly a voice echos out across the lake and Sjena instantly pauses on the stepping stone she had just stepped out to. Looking up she could see that she was now directly in the center of the lake, halfway between the shore and the temple. The voice came from the temple steps, where a figure in dark brown, black, and blue armored robes stood. "You three were not what I expected to follow me here." Frakking hell, Sjena thought to herself. They were stranded in the center of the lake, and Exar Kun was fully aware of their arrival. The element of surprise was gone, as was any tactical advantage they may have had if they had reached the temple steps. "You didn't expect a lot of things, Lord Kun. That is why we are here," Sjena broached with an heir of caution. Kun took several purposeful steps down the steps of his temple letting out an unsettling laugh. "I did expect for you to make a play, Darth Sjena. I just didn't realize it would be so soon. And your present company is laudable. The silent brooding Katarn that always does whatever his Master says and my most loyal servant. Interesting choices. Tell me Soln, why are you here?" Soln steadies himself on the stepping stone just two back from where Sjena stood. Behind him was Katarn. Looking up at Kun he replied, "The Sith have been decimated, Lord Kun. We have lost much of what we once were, and the very survival of our Order is threatened. You are a specter of the past, you are a reminder of our failure." "So this witch has even turned you against me, Soln?" "No, Lord Kun. You turned me against yourself. You were defeated at the hands of the robotic monster that swept through the Academy. You failed to preserve not just your own life but the Sith Order itself. The library and all its knowledge was destroyed. The masters and all their secrets were destroyed. And the acolytes and all their potential was destroyed. And then, as a final insult, you used me with the full intention of killing me to suckle yourself back into the world of the living. These are not the acts of a leader. These are the acts of a coward and a traitor to his people." "You disappoint me Soln. How little you truly understand. Each of you." "We understand enough. We understand that you will drive the Sith into the ground and we will see the Empire destroyed by your choices." "I brought life to the Empire!" Kun screamed in rage, his humored mood suddenly switching. "Before I came the Sith were wallowing in the outer rim picking at their scabs! I rejuvenated the Sith! I led the Empire to victory over the Jedi on Dantooine! I orchestrated the seizure of Kuat and Corellia! I led the invasion of Alderaan! All along it has been me! No one else!" Katarn took this opportunity to finally speak up. "And now you have led the Sith Order to its annihilation. Good job." Sjena, having marked the next few stepping stones in her mind, creeps forward slowly step by step, maintaining her focus on Kun as best she can. "We cannot allow this. We cannot sit by and watch as the Empire crumbles around us from the flames you ignited. This ends now." "And how do you propose to do this, Darth Sjena? With that weapon in your hand? Ha ha! Girl, I invented that weapon! You couldn't even get close enough to scratch me with it." It was true, Exar Kun was universally recognized as the best lightsaber duelist in the galaxy. Both among the living and the dead. Only Sjena's former mentor, Darth Talik, could have hoped to rival him. And from what she had learned, Kun had easily defeated Talik and left him for dead on Kuat months ago. Sjena had picked up a great deal of lightsaber training from Talik, but not nearly enough to take on Kun alone. This is why she had brought Katarn and Tok. With one more step, she judges that she could probably make it to the other side with one powerful jump. "Then I guess you have nothing to worry about." With that, Sjena launches herself into the air using Force Jump. Flying toward Kun she ignites her double-bladed red lightsaber and swings it around in front of her as she lands on the first step leading up to the temple. She lashes out her left hand and a stream of blue and indigo Force Lightning courses through the air toward Exar Kun. Behind her, Katarn had lept over Tok and had used a Force Wave to disperse the water covering the stepping stones, giving him a easy path to the temple steps. Tok meanwhile had lowered his head and begun muttering some unintelligible arcane words. The fight was on.
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Post by Darth Sjena on May 19, 2012 21:37:35 GMT -5
Though Kun had managed to ignite his blade and deflect Sjena's Force Lightning, it was little more than a distraction technique - forcing him to deflect the lightning and giving Sjena enough time to bridge the distance between them.
Together, Sjena and Katarn pressed the attack, forcing Kun backwards up the steps of his temple parrying and blocking the three red blades assaulting him. Sjena's double-blade spun and twirled around her in constant motion, clashing against Kun's own double-blade - the blue and red erupting into momentary flashes of yellow, white, and purple. Katarn maneuvered around Kun with his own red blade and aimed a precision strike at the Dark Lord, only to have it batted away at the last second by one of Kun's blue beams. A second later Kun blasts Katarn away from him and off the steps with a powerful Force Wave.
"You cannot win this Sjena."
Sjena launches herself into the air, flipping over Kun and landing on a higher step. Swinging her blade around she locks sabers with Kun, as the two beams of energy crackle and pulsate.
"You underestimate me, Kun."
From far behind the two, Soln raises his hands, having completed his chant and slowly the temple stairs themselves begin to quake. Pieces of the stairway begin to crack and break away from underneath the battling Sith's feet. Exar Kun looks down momentarily in surprise and Sjena takes the opportunity, she breaks the lock and crouches down as she swings her leg out at Kun's footing. The Dark Lord falls and tumbles down the crumbling stairs, stopping himself near the edge of the lake.
Sensing imminent danger, Kun quickly rolls to his left as Katarn's bright red blade plants itself vertically into the bottom step where Kun had just been resting. Leaping from the side, Katarn Force Pulls his thrown lightsaber back to him in midair and lands softly on the steps as Kun picks himself up and reactivates his double-bladed blue lightsaber.
"Fools! You'll bring the whole -- ooph!"
But Kun is unable to finish his taunt as a dripping wet stone that Soln had ripped from the lake bed flies through the air from behind and hits Kun full Force in the back, sending him careening into the steps. Less than a second later both Sjena and Katarn both lash out with Force Storm showering Kun with blankets of blue and indigo lightning. The dark energy wraps around Kun's body making his armor and robes smoke and burn.
After sustaining the barrage of Force Lightning and being joined by a silent watchful Soln, Sjena and Katarn end their attack on the Dark Lord. Wheezing heavily the defeated Dark Lord rolls over on the steps to his temple and looks up at his foes and begins to laugh.
"Ha ha ha ha! Now what... *wheeze* Sjena? You can't kill me... *wheeze* ... You know this. Soln has seen it!"
"Yes, I have. But I have also seen how this 'Vexxtal' trapped you."
Kun narrows his eyes in intense hatred toward the unassuming Kel Dor.
"We never intended to let you reanimate. When we kill, your spirit will be trapped. Forever. Katarn."
Katarn nods, knowing what Sjena was instructing him to do. He steps forward and punches Kun across the face, dazing him, then grabs a hold of the burnt robes around Kun's neck and begins to drag him up the steps into the Temple. Soln and Sjena follow, and they enter the Temple to remove the great Dark Lord Exar Kun from this galaxy once and for all.
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Post by Darth Sjena on May 19, 2012 22:37:22 GMT -5
Katarn drags the broken Exar Kun into the Temple and throws his body onto the cold stone floor.
"Where are we doing this?
Soln steps forward and looks around the atrium and the splitting corridors that led into the further reaches temple.
"It has to be someplace secure, someplace contained."
Sjena had been here before. She was the one that had found Kun's spirit drifting in the confines of his tomb. It was her and her master at the time, Darth Bandon, that had awakened and freed Kun from his former prison deep within this old temple.
"His former tomb will suffice. He was trapped there for fifty years, we will trap him there again for another five thousand. It is this way."
Katarn once again grabs Kun by the robes and begins dragging him after Sjena down the long twisting hallway toward Kun's tomb. After several minutes of dragging the defeated Dark Lord, they come to a large stone door. Sjena walks up to it and places her two hands on it. It was cold to the touch and there was no discernible means of opening it. But Kun himself had instructed her on how to open it, six years ago when she had first discovered the temple and its trapped occupant. Closing her eyes and concentrating she sends a stream of dark energy radiating through the door. Slowly it begins to slide to the side, grinding against the ancient stone floor as it does so, revealing the large inner sanctum of Kun's tomb. Statues of Kun were displayed on the six walls, each standing in a unique combat pose. In the center was a rectangular prism with a broken cover stone laying over the top. Sjena remembered when the stone was broken - Kun had channeled his spirit through her master, Darth Bandon, to reanimate his body. The energy transfer had fractured the stone tablet covering his sarcophagus and had nearly killed Bandon in the process.
"Put him on the sarcophagus."
Katarn nods once more and drags the now partially-lucid Kun over to the rectangular protrusion and throws his body on top of it, making it look more like a sacrificial alter than a sarcophagus.
"You think you can actually do this, Tok?"
The Kel Dor merely turns to Katarn at his question and stares.
"I know I can."
"Then let's finish it."
Soln nods and begins to walk around the perimeter of the tomb, chanting in a low whisper and occasionally touching the walls. Meanwhile Sjena moved toward Kun and ignites on blade on her red lightsaber. Standing over the defeated Dark Lord she looks down. His armor was cracked from the heavy impact and his robes were scorched and burnt. His pale skin was cracked, bleeding, and even partially melted from the effects of the prolonged exposure to the Force Lightning, and his breathing was erratic.
"You are pathetic."
Kun forces his eyes to open and look up at the one that had finally vanquished him - though she had hardly done so alone.
"You are not... worthy to take my place. You are nothing. You needed.. others... to defeat me. It is you who are... pathetic... Darth Sjena. You who could not even do her own... work."
"The mark of a great Sith is not solely her skill with a blade. True, I might not be your superior when it comes to direct combat - but I outsmarted you, I bested you. The Empire will serve me, not because of how many troopers I can cut down, but because I can lead them. I can plan, I can think. I'm not just a brute like you that simply attacks until he can't attack any longer. You are a beast, and I am a handler. That is why I am more worthy than you. I always have been."
Soln completes his incantations around the chamber and stops at the door. Joined by Katarn, he steps backwards into the hallway just outside the tomb and nods to Sjena. Sjena returns the nod and raises her blade high over Kun's twisted broken body.
"You may have beaten me today... but I will return. Maybe not tomorrow. But some day.... Some day a being will awaken me... and when that happens... the whole galaxy will tremble."
"Perhaps. But not me."
And with that, Sjena plunges her scarlet blade deep into Kun's chest and twists. An ear-piercing shriek erupts from the stab wound and a thick black and blue smoke begins to pour out of Kun's chest as his tainted spirit begins to escape the confines of his body. Sjena's eyes go wide and she quickly deactivates her saber and sprints toward the door where Katarn and Soln were already crafting a Force Barrier around the doorway. The screeching smoky spirit of Exar Kun followed closely behind her, intent on preventing her escape. Leaping clear, she dives through the open doorway, twisting in midair as she does so and using the Force to will the large stone door closed with a sharp flick of her wrist. The ancient slab quickly slams closed trapping Kun' spirit behind it just as Sjena hits the ground and rolls into the wall opposite the doorway.
Soln shouts several loud phrases in the ancient Sith language and Sjena looks up to see a faint blue ripple of energy begin to coat the door, sealing Kun's spirit securely inside. A minute or two later Soln stops and breaths a deep sigh of relief, enhanced by his respirator. The three Sith look at each other for a moment, coming the full realization that the Dark Lord was actually dead and defeated.
Slowly and unexpectedly Soln drops down to one knee and kneels before Sjena. A second later Katarn does the same and the two remain kneeling at the feet of Darth Sjena for several moments as she breaths in deeply. She was the new Dark Lord of the Sith. She now ruled the Empire. And she would bring death and destruction to the Republic and the Jedi.
"Rise. We have work to do."
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(OOC: This is the end of the scene in which Sjena rises to power. Due to the time skip and the disappearance of players, the events planned after this scene will not be RP'd. Shortly after this, Sjena, Soln, and Katarn meet Karnak Tetsu, keeper of Kun's secret archives. He gives Sjena access to Kun's archives and knowledge, which he had not burned as Kun had commanded - knowing that to do such a thing would have been a crime against the Force itself. Later the three would return to Korriban where Sjena and Katarn would ultimately launch the attack against Freedon Nadd's forces over Kuat.)
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