"You must forgive me," he shouted back over the howl of the wind. "I have only yet begun to learn how to use the All with any finesse, and it took much in combination with my Sith magicks to create the tree to protect the Lady."

A shrill of snow shot against his face from seeming nowhere, slamming into his eyes. He grunted, shaking his head and hunching against the cold even as he swiped at his eyes to clear them.

"Come, you are correct, my Lord. Let us hurry before we are all in dire need of the tender mercies of the Healers!"

With that he turned, leaning backwards against the wind that threatened to physically blow him up against the stone wall not more than six meters distant from them. Bracing, he slogged through the drifting snow, his rich robes becoming wet and sodden with great, weighty clogs of growing ice. By the time he reached the door he looked more wampa than Sith there was so much snow adhering to him. But at length he reached the double doors, and flung them open with one great push.

The wind pushed them into the Great Hallway, along with whispering trails of skirling snow. As the last of the party stumbled in, Aeylmaar waved his hand.

Behind them the doors slammed shut, closing out the storm, closing them in.

"Come, let us go to my Father's Sanctuary," he said, a little hitch catching in the tone of his voice. Biting his lip to keep it from trembling, he continued to lead the party into the bowels of the Temple of the Sorcerers.

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

“Aeylmaar,” he said as he walked. “Do you think the snow storm outside is strange? Could it have something to do with your father’s condition? The planet is deeply rooted with the very essences of Sith magick, perhaps it mourns in empathy with the Dark Lord?”

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

"I don't know," he finally admitted.

"There is some merit in what you say; I will say that I too find this storm a strange one. Our world is fairly arctic overall, but storms of this strength, and judging by the amount of snow without this temple, duration, are indeed few and far between for the equatorial region of Khar Delba."

He paused a moment to turn and cast a worried look toward Phalomir.

"I could not even see the other buildings of Choyapenthe, let alone any of our citizens. They must have been forced indoors by the storm's ferocity."

Biting his lip as he speculated further, he then turned back and continued leading the party along the huge foyer until, passing through a set of richly appointed doors, they came into the Great Receiving Hall. There ahead of them stood the Seat of Office, the grand and bejeweled throne of the Dark Lord. Next to it, a smaller one meant for the clan's Dark Lady stood in dust-covered silence; it had been long since a Lord had taken a Lady for his clan.

Aeylmaar's eyes dropped to the floor as they quietly passed by the looming embodiment of the Sorcerer clan's leadership. Soon they came to the double set of doors set in the wall off in the distance behind the paired thrones; he brought the little band to a clustered halt in front of it.

"Beyond lies the Temple proper," he said simply, as a refresher for those who had already visited this place, as well as a reminder to all to tread softly. Nodding to see the sober expressions planted on everyone's face, he opened the doors and led the party through.

Murmers and the sounds of footsteps came to their ears as they entered into the temple proper. A little bit of the burden Aeylmaar carried seemed to lift as the noises of life brushed against him. Smiling a little, he continued ahead for a bit, finally stopping at nearby door. He gestured briefly at it.

"Therein is our Dining Hall. Should any of you wish to refresh yourselves, you are most welcome.

"But my Father's chambers are this way; come."

He continued on, not bothering to see who, if any, had taken him up on his offer to remain in the Dining Hall while the others ventured further into the bowels of the temple to find Aelvedaar.

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

He livened up again when led through the doors to the dining hall. He smiled at Aeylmaar upon his offer to freshen up, but shook his head.

“I think the snow and cold has made me as fresh as I dare be today,” he said, following Aeylmaar to his father’s chambers.

Which I am sure will also be familiar to me…

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

I couldn't help the occasional ripple of unease that shot through me as we moved along, my feet treading as softly as they could, my eyes everywhere. For wasn't it here where I had last been imprisoned?

But yet, it had been Aeylmaar who had released me.

Now, one part of me was saying, hey, that's kosher. He's one of us, isn't he?

But yet... now the majority of our party, less Sis, was conveniently gathered together in the same spot. And all of us at the mercy of beings with a power at their command I found rather, well...

Incomprehensible.

I let a little sigh escape me as I continued along the flame-lit corridor, not willing to share my half-formed suspicions with anyone just yet, deciding that it would for the moment be a better thing to just continue on and keep my eyes and ears open.

And hope like all the gods in the universe that if push ever came to shove, that weirdness everyone kept saying I had--

Ok. So I had helped move an entire kriffing solar system!!

Somehow-- or had I?

--would rear its ugly lil ol head in our defense should the going suddenly get rough.

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

Somewhere behind him, Terrin heard Jasyn mutter something about the Dining Hall and brandy, so he paused suddenly to shoot a quick disapproving look Jasyn's way, no doubt drawing the attention of others in the group.

"Just like old times," Jasyn quipped, obliviously happy with himself. "No brandy allowances, no Sith to stop us from enjoying the spoils..."

Jasyn paused at that, as if just realizing something very peculiar in his last words.

So it wasn't just him who felt somehow out of place. Maybe the news regarding Jharmeen's death had just travelled rather quickly, though Terrin doubted Lord Aelvedaar would be sharing that information with anyone just yet...

They were continuing on. Jasyn was kriffing right when he said there would be no brandy. Terrin cleared his throat as they followed Aeylmaar deeper into the Temple, and at last he interjected a simple question, wondering at the same time if Jasyn's random comment had sparked concerns with anyone else.

"I'm afraid I'm not very knowledgeable about the Temple on this planet since I haven't been here since...

...well, before the Sith were brought into this time. Is Khar Delba not as populated as K'eel Doba, or might everyone be staying elsewhere due to the storm?"

[ 03-29-2006 10:20 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Terrin Danner ]

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

Something was not right here. And what in the fates was wrong with him? Jharmeen was dead, apparently taken without the will of All that Is...

She stopped in her tracks. "Wait a minute. Maybe we should be going back to Kori'san, and not here. We are beyond the game. If Jharmeen's death is beyond the game...

...taking her soul and her body back there should be allowable. And..."

Shayla trailed, her greeny-blue eyes defocusing, a thousand thoughts and memories suddenly streaming through her mind.

Of her initial meeting with Jharmeen. Of helping Recinis bring Jharmeen back from death. Of all the lessons Jharmeen had taught her and of her finally grasping the concept of the All. Of their trials with Roan and with the Master, and fighting for Jharmeen's life from one whom they had thought was Aelvedaar. Of her escape from the Master's captivity, and of those rather life-like bodies of Phalomir and Jharmeen they had seen on Kori'san...

Shayla's mind spun, trying to find answers, still not willing to accept any of this as truth. Your true potential, Shayla Stargazer...

She needs you...

Shayla blinked, the image of that Sith in her vision swimming into focus, his tatoo of entitlement plain as day.

A Sorceror. This was no chance meeting, no random event. Somehow it just had to be true. Somehow, she had to help Jharmeen...

...and she wondered if perhaps she did know how to do so after all.

Blinking the fog from her eyes, Shayla turned to the others. "All That Is stopped time so that we could protect the force on Kori'san from misuse. And yet All That Is did not remove our memories of that place...

...was it indeed for such a time as this? And might All That Is stop time once more, for an act that is beyond the game? We need more than Its help to bring Jharmeen back. Perhaps we need it to regain her soul as well...

...and to deal the Master the hand he deserves at the same time. After all, we've managed to bring her back in times past and perhaps we are not the only ones to have done so at that."

And in that moment, Shayla related all of her memories to the others, from her vision to her capture by Graysith to the frozen bodies and the many times she had been saved from harm in the past.

Hoping to all the fates that these memories she had been lead to would somehow bear fruit.

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

“That place does hold power, and I am sure it is no coincidence the ancient Armorers chose that site to build their Temple. I have assumed all along that we would need to bring Jharmeen back to that site, and my suspicions were confirmed with the message from That Which Is. What we must do, and Thoran will correct me if my presumptions are incorrect, is retrieve her spirit and unite it with her body in that Place of Places, allowing Thoran to use the power of that place to make her whole once again.”

Thoran winked at Phalomir and gave a “thumbs-up” sign. Phalomir nodded.

“And he knows his fate if he deceives us,” Phalomir said to Thoran. His eyes narrowed. “Or fails…” he added. Thoran’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened in protest, but Phalomir turned back to Shayla and continued.

“So, yes, we will travel back there, but we must have both her body and her spirit. That Which Is is apparently allowing us this chance, and we are grasping it fully. But if the Master is holding her spirit, we will need all of the help we can get, which is one of the reasons we are here.”

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

...but also to get to her spirit to begin with. That Which Is does not like the cycle of the game to be broken, and has stopped the very hand of time to "fix" the game in the past. The fact that Jharmeen's death was not a part of the game has been clearly stated; That Which Is appeared to us... on Degobah. It wants us to fix the cycle, and apparently That Which Is also wants to help. Any ally we would have against the Master could not be nearly as powerful.

And as for being here to speak with Lord Aelvedaar..."

Shayla trailed as they approached two richly carved and bejeweled doors, "Let's stop talking about it, and do it."

And with a step of utter boldness and utter resolve, her mind on nothing other than restoring Jharmeen to the life so wrongfully taken from her, Shayla reached an arm to open one of the doors. They oiled open smoothly as she likewise entered therein, just inside the door.

"Jharmeen's death is not the will of the All, we have all been told this. Therefore there has to be a way to bring her back to us...and to herself. Lord Aelvedaar, please...

...we need your help."

[ 04-03-2006 09:37 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shayla Stargazer Petrolu ]

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

A bit of my misery lessens at the sight of them, only to expand to where I am nearly driven to my knees. For it is quite obvious they have come bringing news I already know, seeking help with a ronto too large for even my powers to wrestle with. I let out a sigh, wave my crystal into roiling silence, and turn toward the outer rooms.

"I know why you have come; I already know, and there is nothing I can do to alter time," I state, feeling the bearer of the apocalypse as the words of gloom and despair fall from my lips to ring, unwanted no doubt, in their collective ears.

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

...and truthfully, her heart felt that despair as well. But she was determined and not easily swayed, as she always had been. And perhaps there were things she knew that could help them, things that all of those who had come with her knew as well.

"We encountered That Which Is on Degobah where we have..."

She trailed, a momentarily glint of her deep feelings of grief surfacing. "Where she lays in protection."

Another moment of quiet. "That Which Is has stated that this is 'beyond the game.' I believe that there is a way to change this, to stop time, or to do whatever is necessary to get her back. Gods, but we have That Which Is on our side..."

She trailed, her thoughts returning to something she had recalled earlier, which had been seemingly dismissed. "And I have seen her body frozen on Kori'san, along with another of Phalomir's, in the past. I can't get the image out of my head, as if I'm being lead to it somehow. And I can't give up on her, not after all she fought for, not after the friend that she was..."

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

“Lord Aelvedaar,” he said. “I judged from your son’s concern for you that you must have known what had happened. But what Shayla says is true, and we have a way to right the wrong that has been done to her. My lov — Jharmeen was assassinated through unnatural means, her spirit disengaged from her body. This was at the order of the Master, who very recently tried to sacrifice me to the dark gods of the Darker Realms, but was himself seemingly possessed. Thoran, an old acquaintance, has the power to restore her spirit, but we must first take it from the Master.

“He is stronger than ever now, and we have it on authority from Thoran, who was a slave to the Master – and whose life depends on his honesty to me – that the best way to defeat him is by using the Finger of R’lous, which is most likely in Roan’s spiritual hands. Not completely trusting that opinion, we came to you to both inform you of what Shayla has spoken, and to ask for your wisdom.

“I feel that if That Which Is had decided to interfere directly, he would have done so already. I believe It is leaving us to our own devices to bring Jharmeen back – to return her piece to the game, if you will. It scolded us for restoring Terrin, but let us keep him, and left it to us to ensure that restoration such as that could happen no longer. But as Shayla said, It sees Jharmeen’s assassination as something outside of the game, and is granting us permission to restore her.”

[ 04-04-2006 12:16 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Phalomir ]

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

Like there was some kind of wall plunked right there between us, segregating us from each other as surely as if we were on opposite sides of the universe.

And that made me just mad.

"Look," I ventured, not moving from Terrin's side.

"It's like there's something she's still got to do, and unless restored she won't be able to do it. Or else something that all of us, with her included, have to do. Hell, I don't know, but what I am sure of is that what Phal is saying is Khaandon's own truth.

"The Game Master of the Universe is giving us a second chance here. We need your help, dammit; I thought you loved her, anyway? What's with all the gloom n' doom when we've practically got our own private god in our hip pocket, helping us help ourselves?

"Who in Hell's Seven Circles do you think you are, to rebuff that?"

I fell into a quick and uncomfortable silence, hoping I'd offended the Sith Lord just enough to kick him out of his funk. For sure as Khaandon made li'l green worrts, we were gonna need his power in order to get back to where we had all stashed Koris'ian.

Not to mention the serious power we so direly needed if we were going to kick the Master square in the place where it hurt the most.

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

They disappear into the mists of the passed.

"You have my attention, and acquiescence; what is it that you propose to do? For there is more in the Darker Realms than your misguided father, Phalomir."

I pause fractionally, sweeping them all with a glance, letting a softened one linger on the fiery Galen.

"There is the Black Tower... and what it embodies..."

[ 04-04-2006 12:47 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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

She quieted once more, lost in her thoughts, trying to find a way to make her thoughts result in anything that could aid them in restoring Jharmeen.

A thought crossed her mind. "That Which Is destroyed the Claw because it had a power that superceded the natural order of All, of life. The Finger likewise supercedes the natural order...

...perhaps the Game Master wants the Finger taken out of the hands of those who would use it for evil and wants the
Finger brought to it. Perhaps its destruction--much like the relocation of Kori'san to the Elseness--will in turn "fix" the game so that Jharmeen can then be restored?"

Quieting at that, Shayla frowned, uncertain of her thoughts that she had spoken out loud...

...but wondering if indeed they held any merit.

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

He most certainly knew what, or rather [i]who the Dark Tower embodied other than the Master. And that was something he'd had altogether too much experience in dealing with...[/i]

Squeezing Galen's shoulder slightly, Terrin spoke up. "We know exactly who resides in the Black Tower as well, if it is Roan you refer to. But either we face him with the best kriffing plan we can muster...

...or we leave him with access to the Finger and Jharmeen's spirit. I don't even want to think of where that would lead..."

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

“Um, hey! Your Dark Lordship… Lordships, that is. I do happen to have a little information on this.”

He pushed his way past Matt and Jasyn, and then stepped around Erik, backing into Galen.

“Oh, sorry,” he said, turning to face her. He sidled off a bit to make room.

“I have been to the Tower, or as the locals call it, the Dark Hall. You can’t get in unless it wants you to, which sort of puzzles me as to how you got Phal out of there, but maybe the All has powers it can’t handle. Anyway, there’s more to it than you think. Roan may have the Finger, but he doesn’t know what he has. I’m not even sure the Master really knows what that thing is… but I do.”

Thoran closed his eyes, finding it suddenly difficult to speak.

“The thing is a tool, yes, but there is something else. Something inside of it. It reaches out, it speaks to you. It shows you things, great things that you will become as you use its power. I can only imagine what it has told Roan, or the Master. Yes, the Master once had it. He had in until it called to me, and in my haste to attain greatness I stole it and ran away.”

Thoran leaned against the wall and folded his arms.

“But even though I listened to its lies, there was something in me that fought it, and I was able to put it away long enough to travel to the ancient library and find out just what that thing is. After that, I took it to the only person I knew I could trust, the only person I knew who would be powerful enough to resist it and would know how to destroy it. But apparently not even he, the Lord of the Armorer Clan, could bring himself to destroy it.”

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

“The thing inside the Finger is T’elion de R’lous,” he said. “But that means nothing to me beyond a name. Tell me, Thoran, what this thing is, and perhaps it shall bring sense to why the spirit of Lord Rean gave it to me after our battle of challenge.”

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

“So it was handed down all the way to Rean,” he said, shaking his head. “Either the string of Dark Lords were weak, or they were very strong to keep that thing in check for so long. I know some of you have a thing about religion, either for or against, but I know this for sure. Telion is a spirit, the crap-job expert of the Sith gods, if you will. When they need a toilet scrubbed, he is given the brush. When they need a zit popped, he gets the tweezers. You get the idea? Well, that’s what the library told me, anyway. Whether or not it really gets it orders from some supreme set of Sith gods who may or may not be out there, that doesn’t really matter. What does matter is that the thing is only around when there is a crap job to do, and it will stick around until it is done. The Finger has nothing to do with Telion, it has its abilities and always will, it was made by the Armorers so long ago that even I don’t know when. There’s no record of it, but it is clearly a product of Sith technology and magick, probably made by the same nut who made the Eye of R’lous – and I distinctly remember spending quite some time inside of that thing. “

Thoran shook his head again.

“Well, anyway, after I got rid of the thing, the Master found out who took it and, well, pretty much bound me to slavery until I would tell him where it was. But now that Roan has it, I figured my time with him is over and I am out for some damn fine revenge. No offense to present company, but the Sith can kiss my red butt while I go make up for lost time traipsing across the galaxy. Oh, but first, I want to see the Master and Roan vanish from existence, and I want to set a couple of things right.”

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

"You're not the only one who wants that, buddy," I affirmed with a definite nod of my head.

"I'll be the happiest spacer this side of the Rift if you can figure out a way to eliminate those two slime-oes from the galaxy, assuming you know how to kill a dead guy."

It still gave me the heebie-jeebies to even state his name; I knew they knew who I referred to, though. That was confirmed by the instantaneous fire lighting in everyone's eyes.

I heaved a little sigh and leaned into Terrin, feeling his warmth, the beating of his heart.

"Kind of makes you wonder if there's any other handy-dandy devices out there like these two, doesn't it?" I tossed out before sending a meaningful look to Thoran. Even though leaning into Terrin, I somehow managed to convey an attitude of almost military attention.

"I sure hope you don't send that one lil ol matter we want to set right out the window in your attempt to settle your own bets, pal," I said, my eyes darkening. For after all, I still didn't know if we could completely trust this guy.

"Whatever those might be..."

[ 04-11-2006 12:35 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Galen ]

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

“No, my dearest little spacer gal,” he smirked. “I fully intent to get your little sissy poo and Phal’s little flower all together again. I have lots of reasons for that, and add another one. It looks like That Thing That Is doesn’t like what happened, and I don’t want the game master of the universe mad at me. Hey, call me selfish, but I have my priorities. Besides, I owe you all this, and I want to show you that I really am not all that bad. I was a slave when I did all that bad stuff, it’s not me.”

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

He trailed for a moment, his brown eyes momentarily looking Terrin and Galen's way, "I could say that's not me either. Unfortunately, with or without the booze, it is. Because it's still a choice. And you made a choice, slave or not. We'll see what happens now."

Pausing at that, Jasyn pursed his lips thoughtfully, the lightbulb almost visible above his head as it turned on. "And speaking of devices? What about that Nelba Kar thing? The one that was supposed to zap the bad guys, that we tried to get once? Could that thing...or something like it...help us now...?"

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

"Umm... ah, no," I stammered, letting an embarrassed sort of smile cross my face.

"I, er, kinda eliminated it when I sent it into a sun, courtesy of Yaoksi's TIE, Bee.

"We owe him a TIE fighter, Terrin," I turned to him, then fell silent once again while I waited for someone with the big guns to do something and get this show on the road.

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

...and we have the very hand of All That Is already backing us up. We need to go to Korisan and speak with That Which Is before we proceed further. In the time when we dealt with It in the past, It left us clues to know what to do next. I have no doubt It will do the same for us again. If the destruction of the Finger is what is needed...

...then we will be lead to that. But we can't truly know until we venture to Kor'isan and see what That Which Is wants us to do. That is, of course, unless there is some other way to contact All That Is aside from the location which houses the very heart of its Existence..."

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

I turn to the Adept of my Chosen One.

"What has this entity said to you, that you feel it is willing to assist us in this matter?" I ask, raking her with a flaming and intent stare while my clawed hand raises in the direction of Thoran, bidding he keep his flippant mouth shut.

[ 04-11-2006 10:33 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Aelvedaar ]

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