“Later that same day, after Nyrette and Quin had done their warmups. “Ready, Pike?” Nyrette said, holding aloft a wooden training blade. “Don’t hold back. I want a few bruises.” She smiled and took her stance, a disengaged one where she lowered the blade to her hip and waited for Quin to make the first move. “No head strikes, yeah?” Quin asked. “These blades are a little blunt, don’t want to hit a temple.” She was a little worried for both of their safety because of the last time they sparred and she was out cold for an hour after Nyrette accidently hit her on the head. “Alright. No head strikes.” She said, smiling. “I still feel horrible about the other day, by the way.” “It’s alright. It happens. Have you seen Iisska’s nose? It won’t stop bleeding from how much Marquis has hit it. In fact, I’m sure it needs a splint now.” Nyrette shook her head, chuckling before she beckoned her student forward into an attack. Quin bowed her head, respecting her opponent whom did the same before she flourished her blade, flipping it over hand before charging at Nyrette, keeping her posture keen and precise as she went in for a quick slash. Nyrette jumped backwards and raised her blade as Quin struck out again vertically. Nyrette blocked it to the side, leaving Quin wide open to her opponent placing her hand on her chest and shoving her back, putting her off balance for just long enough for Nyrette to wind up and deliver a heavy handed cut to Quin’s ribs. Quin grunted in pain as it was obvious her teacher wasn’t holding back and frankly, neither was she. Quin snapped her elbow back, nailing Nyrette in the jaw before she stabbed at her reeling opponent’s stomach. Nyrette, jaw in pain, moved to the side just before it hit only to see that Quin was feigning it, instead replacing the thrust with a swipe at Nyrette’s arm, which she put up a feeble deflection and narrowly stopped her opponent from hitting her. She jammed her hilt up into Quin’s shoulder, stunning her for just long enough for her to pull up her blade and place the tip over Quin’s heart. Quin stopped cold. “FUCK.” She yelled and backed up. “Thought I had you that time.” “I didn’t expect the mixture of hand-to-hand, but your feigned attack was too obvious. Feigning an attack while your opponent is starting to recover won’t help much. If they’re helpless, finish them. Also...fucking damn.” Nyrette grabbed her jaw and squinted as the pain came shooting through her mouth. “Did you have to hit so hard?! Ah..,” she said, moving her jaw a little and feeling the teeth to see if any were broken. It was just a bruised bone. “Consider it payback for my bruised rib.” Quin shot back, mift about the overly heavy rib attack. “Now that hurt like hell. I’m not armored.” “It has nothing to do with armoring!” The two heard Iisska yell from next to the lake. “You just can’t take a hit!” He laughed as he stood next to Cheshik. The Trandoshan looked down to the Togruta and frowned, hitting him in the back of the head. “Iisska. Be of the quiet now. Pike work hard to build muscles, she can take more hit than you. Also, nose is bleeding.” “Because of you, dumbass!” Iisska yelled and put a hand to his bleeding nose. “Well, if you’re so tough, Iisska.” Quin yelled out. “How about you come and get me.” “Oh?! You wanna fight me?” Iisska snorted, making more blood come out of his nose. “Come on then!” ____ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoSuyUFiEYo “Da pacem custodivit. Percutiat esse faciendum opus in nomine tuo.” Lithe, tall, garbed in gray and black, a white silk mantle upon his back. Black boots underneath dark gray leather armored greaves, his left shin having a white plate from knee to foot. Matching to a dark gray vest over white chainmail, all of which underneath a black longcoat, reaching to his calves, gold embroidery along the back painted a cross within a circle of words in an unknown language. His right arm was plated in heavy white plate. In each leather armored hand he held two circular blades, each coming to three points at the end of three viciously serrated curved blades. His face was hidden, the mask of a long beaked bird hiding it entirely. Upon his head was tall sheltering, leather and weathered with black with gold embroidery painting the same symbol on his back, stretching farther to form ivy and vines along the brim and top. He placed the blades at his hip, small strings hanging from them hooked them to his gold embroidered belt. From under his coat he drew two gunpowder pistols and held them at his side. The voice that he spoke with was not natural, to all of his listeners he would sound far away, but be able to understand him as clear as crystal, as if being spoken to by something otherworldly. Neutral and barely more than a whisper, he spoke to the darkness that surrounded him in the twisted forest where he stood. “My keeper. Guide me on the hunt for my prey. A monster uses cunning and deceit to lure the innocent into its grasp and inflicts upon them the deepest of nightmares as it saps their will and life. This day, it’s own life shall be torn from its vessel and there shall be no remains for the vultures of the forest.” With a sense of duty and an utter lack of hesitation or fear, the man stepped into the darkness, the light of his keeper leaving him as he steps beyond it’s reach. He was alone and ready for the worst. ___ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW7Op86ox9g “This will be utterly unfair,” Quin scoffed. She ran her fingers up the edge of the wooden training blade and sighed. Iisska, now with a makeshift bandage across the bridge of his nose, punched the palm of his hand. His fists were wrapped. Marquis had stepped in and taken the gauntlets away. There would be no casualties in this childish fight; not on his watch. “If you’re gonna get scared and whine then just back down,” Iisska teased. “Oh, I’m not scared.” Quin slashed downward, flourished the blade with a few easy movements of her wrist and brought it back up to guard as she fell into a relaxed stance. “I meant this will be unfair for you.” Iisska rolled his eyes, “Ooh, fancy. I’m shaking with fear.” “Enough posturing. Come at me,” she demanded. He obeyed immediately. There was no tense testing of the waters, no circling, no poking or prodding. Only the furious charge of a wild beast. Quin flinched when the first blow swung down on her like a sledge hammer. She was only just swift enough to sidestep him and lightly deflect his arm away with her sword. The air hissed with their speed. Her blade shot up his side like a whip and cracked down. Quin shot away and Iisska stumbled back groaning and holding the back of his shoulder. It was Quin who charged next, her feet moving as if she were gliding on water, her blade thrust like a striking snake. Iisska pulled up in a frantic block. The point grazed off his forearm only to catch him in the shoulder again. She coiled, twisted and lashed out effortlessly. Every strike the extension of a dancer’s body. While her opponent merely stood against her onslaught, a rock dashed by ocean waves. In spite of his passive resistance she cut him down piece by piece until he all but curled in a ball before her. The final blow ripped across his jaw and she pulled the sword wide in a triumphant gesture. One of his hands hit the ground to steady himself. Every place he had been hit stung like fire. He was dizzy, sick, humiliated and blinded by the color red. His fist clenched. Every fiber pulled tight. When he saw the sword swung out behind her, he exploded. Iisska wheeled on her like an enraged bull. Quin gagged. Every wisp of oxygen was forcibly displaced from her chest. Her insides screamed out as muscles failed and ribs cracked under the impact of the headbut that threw her to the ground. The dirt seemed to hit her just as hard as Iisska had and it took all her strength to roll out of it and get to her knees. She could only breathe in whistles and gasps. Her stomach threatened to empty itself but she forced it down. Iisska stood over her, chest heaving, air hissing through his teeth, dark welts forming on his arms and face, blood running like rivers through his mouth and nose, shaking, eyes on fire. Quin made herself stand up and finally manage to suck in a full breath. She stumbled away to a safe distance and kept her sword out before her. A hand held onto her side. He waited patiently for her. “That won’t happen again,” she wheezed. She let her hand fall and held her sword firm. He pulled his hands up to shield himself and went back into stance. This time Quin lead with another thrust as graceful and tight as the last. Iisska threw it aside and was in her face with one motion. He cocked back, let loose and found himself with Quin’s left hand clasped onto his wrist like a vice. She twisted it hard and yanked him to the ground. A follow through with her blade on his back left him sprawling in the dirt. She quivered and her hand went back to her side. “You’re intimidating. You hit like a brick,” she nodded and took a breath, “I’ll give you that. However, you have no technique. At the end of the day you’re nothing more than a brat with guns that are too big for him. Not a warrior, but a rabid attack dog with no discipline and no understanding of the art of war. It’s no wonder Zen gave up on you.” The breeze stilled, birds stopped their chirping, the water of the lake stopped lapping at the shores. The clearing went silent. Breaths were held so tightly they could be snapped. Iisska rose up. “N-no,” Quin sighed, “That… I didn’t mean to say… What I meant is that you need to--” He stomped toward her. The blood was draining from her face and she snapped her sword up, holding it in both hands. The look in his eyes had her backpedaling toward the trees. She took a breath and steadied herself as he drew near. He got too close and she swung down at him hard. He blocked it with an arm and winced in pain. His other hand shot out, took the blade and tore it from her grip. “Enough!” Marquis yelled. He was walking toward them quickly, “This fight is over!” Iisska snapped the sword in two over his knee. Quin raised her hands. He plunged into her and the iron that wrapped around her neck as she struggled cut off any flow of air. The monster lifted her off her feet, brought her to his hideous face and snarled. His grip continued to tighten and quake. Tendons and muscles and airways strained. Everything was going dark. She was panicking, lashing out uselessly. She was going to die. “IISSKA STOP!” She could hear running feet and people yelling all at once. This beast that had taken the place of her comrade twisted, went to a knee and slammed her into the ground. The dim light that reached her was blotted out when he raised a fist. She could only feel the pain and the wailing, fear that smothered her thoughts when the brutal blows came down on her face one after the other. Time seemed to stretch out infinitely in an eternal moment of hell. She could hear the cracking and feel the breaking and was powerless to stop it, frozen in regret and terror. Finally the vice was pulled from her and she was released. The hell evaporated like wind-blown smoke. She curled, sucked in biting breaths and writhed away to an unknown place. Iisska was doubled over several feet away from her. Marquis and Cheshik were both on him with holds on his arm and neck. He nearly dragged them both over while they restrained him. Quin continued to struggle away from the mess of bodies. Nyrette knelt by her side asking questions that she could not register. She tugged on Quin’s arm trying to get her up. A soft hand ran over her face gently and quickly became, hot, wet and sticky. With help, Quin was on her feet, but she was still backing away. Nyrette tried to pull her back, she tried to slow her. “We need to go to the ship,” Quin finally heard her say, “Come on, you’re hurt.” Quin ripped her arm from Nyrette’s grasp and shook her head. She couldn’t go there. She wouldn’t go there. Not with him near. She turned and bolted into the forest. “Quin!” “Quin stop!” “Quin, please!” The voices were fading into the distance as Quin sprinted away from the Harpoon and into the darkness of the wood. Nyrette couldn’t keep up with her. She ran until she couldn’t hear the yelling between the others anymore. Until the only thing she could hear was the sound of her own breathing. She entered into a small grove where the trees refused to grow. A small pond was in the middle, devoid of any lichen, lily pads, or even fish. Darkness surrounded her save for the light coming from the pond. The sun was blocked out by the tall trees. Tears were streaming down Quin’s face, sliding between the bruises and cuts that marred it. She fell to the ground, staring at the dirt while she tried in vain to recover her breath. Droplets of tears hit the ground underneath her, dampening the earth and grass. She pushed herself up, gripping her side as she did. Her breath came out shallow and ragged as the adrenaline wore off and the pain hit her like speeder. She grunted with a pain and tears of agony streamed out again as her body registered the broken ribs and what felt like a fractured skull. “Dearie me. You aren’t doing well, are you?” Quin snapped around to see a bent over old woman with a huge nose. She had a borderline toothless smile and barely any hair stuck her her head. Her clothes were a little tattered, leaving a couple holes here and there and she wasn’t wearing shoes. Her face was covered in pock marks and blemishes, with recessed eyes that she couldn’t tell the color of. “My...you are worse off than I thought. Come with Tiabbat now. I will get you fixed up all nice and cutesy!” She tried to take Quin’s hand to lead her away, but Quin pulled away and took a step back. “Tiabbat? What? Where am I?” She said, looking around for a moment. She froze cold when she looked away from Tiabbat. In the corner of her eye, she saw something move around the old woman. Something dark. She snapped back and it was gone. “You are in my forest, Dearie. Do not worry. You are safe.” She reached out and grabbed Quin’s wrist. The hand was as cold as death and burned her skin to the touch. Quin tried to pull away but the woman’s grip was tight. “Do not fight me, child. Tibbat will get you healed up just fine!” She wrenched Quin forward and she was all but helpless to fight against it as she dropped to the ground for a moment, feeling her side explode in pain. She shut her eyes tight as she was dragged slowly away from the lpond towards the darkness of the forest. She opened them and she saw the dark thing from before again. She got a slightly better look at it now, a malformed thing with an unstable aura about it. She reoriented her body and dug her heels into the ground. “LET-” She raised her other fist and slammed down onto Tiabbat’s wrist. “-GO,” She fell back onto the ground as the grip was broken and she stood up in a hurry, grabbing at her side. “Child…,” The woman faced away from her. “This is my forest.” She turned around and Quin backed up in shock. The woman’s eyes had sunken into a terrifying emptiness, leaving nothing but a black void. “You have trespassed and now must pay.” The woman took a step forward, for a split second the reality around her shattered and a humungous black beast took coporeal form. The woman’s fingers snapped and cracked as they lengthened into claws. She took another step forward and the true beast under Tiabbat’s skin showed for a split second yet again, her legs and spine snapped as she grew in size, taking on more of her true form. Her jaw twisted and formed into a terrifying visage with long jagged teeth and a venemous maw. Her claws had taken on a dark blue hue and her skin became a sickening black. “Your Soul belongs to ME” The dark beast lunged at her with claws extended and Quin had to tear her self out of the deep undulating fear-trance that she was momentarily trapped in just to jump out of the way. Her heart was in her throat and thus she had nary room to scream or breathe as she scrambled to her feet and ran for her life. Plunging head long into the shadow of the forest, she felt the beast on her heels. Instinctively jumping out of the way before running into a tree, the beast slammed into the tree with a loud grunt. Quin rolled to her feet and took off, but before she got far the beast was already in the trees above her. She skidded to a stop as the beast dropped down in front of her. She could see it’s eyes now, white as phosphorous in the darkness. It bent down to head level and roared, freezing her in her tracks and momentarily stopping her heart. A swipe came up from underneath her and her chest was ripped open, throwing her back against a tree. She slumped down to the ground, dazed from hitting her head against the tree. She shook it off and opened her eyes to the beast approaching. She was frozen, unable to fight or run away. The beast had completely annihilated any chance of survival. Her breaths came out ragged as the beast closed in. A low growl emanated from it as it squatted back and lunged at her again. She shut her eyes, wincing, but just before hitting an explosion echoed from somewhere close and she opened her eyes to see the beast flying backward to hit a tree. It dropped to the ground and roared at the direction the explosion had come from. It tried to move but a brilliant flash of white hit it in the chest and head at the same time, throwing it backward again. From Quin’s side, a huge man stepped in front of her brandishing two strange looking pistols. She could hear a voice yelling at her but not from where it was coming from. “Stay down and don’t move.” The man put his pistols inside of his trench coat and threw out his arms, two flashes of white on his palms following the flourish to reveal two huge disk-blades. The beast had finally gotten up from the barrage of bullets and was staring down the man that stood between it and it’s prey. “Beast, you shall be purged of this land and you shal claim souls no longer.” With great speed, the man pulled his arm back behind his torso and threw the disk in his right hand, quickly followed by the left. The beast, on all fours, sprinted forward and ducked under the first but took the second in the shoulder, howling as the weapon burned it’s blackened skin. The blades reappeared in the man’s hands and he ran at the beast now. The beast lunged at him with claws extended and he ducked and slid underneath, coming up with both blades and catching the beast in the jaw, using the momentum to carry the beast right into the ground with great force. Dirt sprayed and the knight pulled his arm back for the killing blow, but hit nary but earth as the beast’s form dispersed and swirled around the man. The beast took on another form, one of a snake, and trapped the man in a vice. Being crushed, the man released his blades and forced his palms against the beast’s snake-skin.” Bellowing once again, the beast used it’s body to throw the man far from itself, slamming him against a tree. He dropped down, his fancy hat floating down nearby and flourished his hands, momentarily revealing the twin crosses and resembled the one on his hat and trench coat. His blades were summoned again and he walked towards the beast, whom hissed in retaliation. The form exploded into a puff of smoke, moving towards the man and taking on another form as it did; that of a great wolf this time. The man slammed his blades together and another flash of white followed. He ran a hand out along an imaginary edge and a greatsword, a golden flamberge, followed. He gripped it with both hands and met the beast head on, coming at it with an underhanded slash as the wolf-beast tried to tackle him. He followed the slash through, stepping to the side almost effortlessly as he did and ripped opened the beast’s stomach. Darkness spewed forth from the massive wound and the beast howled in pain. It jumped away before the man could do anything more and returned to the form it took when chasing Quin. It held its stomach, looking between the man and Quin. “She is already mine. Your efforts are in vain, Inquisitor.” The beast looked at Quin, grinning devilishly as it did. The Inquisitor unholstered a pistol and aimed, but didn’t get a shot off before the beast roared and took off into the woods. The Inquisitor wasted no time in running to Quin’s aid. When he got to her, she was fading fast. He took her into his arms and ran into the darkness. ______________________________________ Light. “Awaken, outlander.” Quin’s eyes slowly opened to see the man from before, having retrieved his hat and was sitting in a small chair before a white-flame campfire. “Do not be alarmed by the fire. It is of my own making, a spell that keeps monsters at bay...well, monsters not like myself anyway.” He said. “Feeling better?” She tried to rise from where she lay but found that she couldn’t move. She wasn’t restrained, but her body refused to respond. “Don’t bother. Vicar’s poison, it paralyzes its victims. I’ve neutralized it for the most part, but a few...problematic side effects will still take place at he had ripped open your chest and exposed your mind to the toxin so quickly. You should be able to speak, but I’m afraid that it won’t last long.” He sighed. “I am Lucius Keldon of Randor, Land of the North, pleased to make your acquaintance.” “W- won’t last long?” Quin strained. She swallowed hard, her mouth and face twitched with the effort of trying to move limbs she could no longer feel. “Vicar’s poison is much like that of a spider. To dull the body of the prey until they can no longer move. Soon enough you will fall into a deep sleep. Normally, Vicar would feed on his prey after they had fallen into the sleep, but this will not be the same case. You’ll fall into the sleep and he will see into your dreams, but you will be able to resist, unlike the hundreds of others he has devoured.” He said, stoking the pearlescent flame. “Resist?” she whimpered, “Resist what?” “He feeds on the fears of the weak. He digs through their mind to unearth their deepest fears and force them to experience them tenfold. Normally, the victim would be oblivious and could not realize that they were dreaming. You will be cut from a different cloth, so to speak. To...render it simple, you will not die while asleep. Persevere and you will awaken.” “... L- like a nightmare,” she whispered. Quin stared off into the night sky for a moment. Her eyes darted around the tiny patch of stars exposed by the tightly packed trees and the stark shadows and lights that danced around their branches as the fire flickered beside her. “You aren’t going to… do anything to me? What do you want?” He was silent for several moments, seemingly concentrating on something passed her. He reached out with his hand toward her face. “Your souuuul” He said strikingly then pulled back, forcing out a laugh. “I am kidding. I require nothing.” He bent over and sighed. “Apologies. Emotion takes it out of me.” He was silent for a moment then straightened. “If you would help me destroy the Vicar once you awaken, it would be appreciated, but you do not have to do any favors in exchange for your safety. If anything, I owe you one considering that you have become an unwilling pawn in my hunt for the Vicar.” “How… hnn-- kh--,” Quin struggled with words. Her tongue was beginning to go numb in her mouth, “How co-- could I be of any use… to you? I know nothing of th-- thi-- …” she trailed off and rolled her tongue and jaw in frustration. Her eyes were growing heavy. “We will see when you awake. For now. Sleep. Dream of the sheep, and remember. He has no real power over you. Persevere.” “Persevere.” ___ Quin’s eyes shot open and she looked around where she was, panicking. “Pike. Pike. Hun. It’s okay.” A familiar voice dashed her fears as her eyes settled on Nyrette’s. They were on the harpoon, on a couch in front of the fire in the lounge. “You were just having a nightmare, hunny. Come here.” Nyrette snuggled up to her lover, placing her head over Quin’s chest and embracing her. “See. Everything’s fine.” Quin felt herself come to a quickly growing calm and she started to relax. “Eos...was a dream?” “Eos?” She asked “Is...that a planet or something? Sounds like a cool band name.” “Wait…” She paused. “When did you cut your hair?” Nyrette’s normally mid-back length hair was freshly cut into an asymmetrical bob, highlighting her eyes…. “And...where is your mask. Why do you have…” Quin started to edge away from Nyrette, whom grabbed a hold of her shirt and held her in place. “Don’t worry about it.” she said. “Zenithar fixed it.” “Fix-” Something rang in the back of Quin’s skull. A voice to be precise. Zen’s voice. “Come on. You know that this is fake. I didn’t manifest from your memories of me for nothing.” “Nyrette...I have to get something.” Quin tried to leave again, but Nyrette’s nails dug deep into her skin, puncturing her chest. “NO. Stay here. Vicar will be here soon to take us out.” The pain was searing for but a moment before Quin’s mind reacted and the pain disappeared. “This isn’t right.” Quin pushed Nyrette off and stood up. Just as she did, something slammed itself against the lounge door. Quin froze and turned, feeling for her hip. Her fingers were met with a thin leather strap and cold metal. She drew the weapon with lightning speed and clapped the heavy blaster rifle down in her off hand, aiming it at the door. Nyrette had frozen as well as Quin had broken off of the rails of the dream, the true reality that Quin knew snapped into sight for a few seconds before reverting. The door exploded off of the metal hinges that had held it in place and Troopers in white and black came screaming into the room, dropping concussion grenades as they charged. They ignored their own bombs as they rushed at the two. Nyrette stood and went for the bar, trying to dive over it but one of the troopers dived into a roll and shouldered his blaster. Before Quin could get a shot off, the expert trooper had fired and Nyrette screamed in pain as the bolt hit her in the arm and ripped it right off. She fell to the ground and tried to crawl away, but a second trooper was on her and slammed her face into the ground. A pair of troopers charged Quin just before the concussion grenades went off. She got a shot off using her heavy blaster rifle, hitting a trooper right in the skull only for the bolt to just bounce right off. The concussion grenade went off and Quin was blinded by the flash of white. Crushing pain went through her body as she was tackled by the elite trooper, smashing her into the ground. She resisted for but a moment before the trooper planted his knee on her elbows and snapped them. She screamed in agony before the trooper’s fist slammed into her temple and she blacked out. ____ “Wake up, Quin,” ice cold water splashed onto her face. She violently shook her head and got a good look at her captor. Flanked on both sides by the same two troopers that beat her face in, a man that she knew from the republic placed down a bucket. He was well known in the Republic SIS as a hero. Wilhuff Tarkin. “Captain...Tarkin?” she said, exhausted. “Grand moff Tarkin,” he said, a scowl marring his face. “You have been on the run for quite some time now. It is good for the empire to have its most...loyal...agent in its hands again.” “The empire?” she asked. “What you once knew as the republic,” he smiled. “Lord Scurus has been rather kind in her erasure of the republic from the galaxy.” Her entire reality shattered as he spoke the words. “The entire republic...erased?” “Destroyed.” “Huh…” Zen’s voice rang out in her head again. “You should probably let me know that you’re force sensitive...or maybe this is a side effect of Miraluka bonding...that did happen to me too a few years ago. Either way. Yeah. You don’t remember this at all. Your dreams are giving you premonitions. Glimpses of the future. How exciting! Don’t tell Nyrette.” Quin closed her eyes for a moment, trying to regain her composure after her mind’s interjection. “No no. There shall be no sleeping for you. Ginger?” The soldier on the right nodded sharply and slugged Quin in the side of the head. She yelled out in pain and she was forced to open her eyes. Her mind struggled to keep calm with the mental abuse. “You will tell us where the rest are. Especially the Togruta and Gray Sith Lord.” She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. “Whisper. Remind her not to disobey me.” The soldier on the left clocked back a haymaker and let loose all over Quin’s face, snapping her head to the side and into the metal wall. Her ears rang loudly from the concussion that ripped her brain apart. A second one came her way that nearly finished her, but the soldier knew exactly how hard to hit. “More, sir?” The female soldier said. “She’s good for one more.” “Not to her. But to the agent. She will watch her mistakes come to fruition.” Tarkin said. “With pleasure, sir.” ______ “I can’t find her anywhere.” Nyrette’s voice rang in Iisska’s head. “I am unable to as well.” Marquis’ voice sprang up as well. “I don’t know where she might have gone. Delbor said to never enter the deep forest. She could be anywhere in there.” Cynthia’s soothing voice calmed Iisska a little. “Luke? Tristain? Do you know anything about this deep wood?” Marquis asked “Only that it is deeply cursed.” Luke said. “Nobody that goes in there returns. There was a few rumors a couple years ago about how even a group of inquisitor officers went to scour the deep wood for rogue Haemonculi and never returned. I don’t know if we will find her.” “You gone too far, Brother.” Cheshik’s words stung. “Quin gone. Soon you may be too. Not by my hand. By your own.” ___ Iisska came to outside of the Harpoon. His vision was hazy and he couldn’t remember how he got to where he was. “The...fuck?” He thought to himself as he groggily stood up. His shirt was spattered with Quin’s blood, like she had just run away moments before. The campsite was empty and the Harpoon sat alone. Seeing as it was the only place where everybody could be, he walked up to the opening ramp and stepped up and inside. He scratched his head as he did, his skin crawled from some feeling in his gut. Something wasn’t right. “Hey, Isska.” Isska froze at the sound of the voice. It was Zen’s voice. “Good to see you return from your drunken stupor.” “Zen…? Where have-” “Heard about what you did. They’ve left you know. While you were out. Packed up and went their separate ways. You betrayed Cheshik, Nyrette’s heart is shattered, the Twins are too afraid of you...now it’s just you and me,” Zen cut him off. He sat on a small crate with his feet propped up facing away from Iisska. “You left,” Iisska finally blurted out. “And I came back thinking that you would have handled things. Done as I have trained you to do. Seems that you have failed at even the simplest of things.” Iisska was frozen; His skin started to burn, boil under the pressure that was in the room. “And now Quin has passed away. You have no idea what you have done.” Zen stood up, kicking aside the box. “You have disrupted the balance by killing an innocent and turned to the dark beast inside you.” He turned. “And I aim to restore the balance.” He shot out his hand and a torrential force of power hit Iisska all across his body, firing him right back out of the hanger and head first into the dirt outside. He scrambled to his feet only for the force to grip his entire body and slam him into a tree, leaving a deep impression. He fell to the ground after peeling himself off and groaned, trying to get to his feet. Zen walked down the harpoon’s ramp, the force swirling around him in a hurricane of power and anger. Iisska finally got to his feet and put his hands up in a protective wall of the force but quickly remembered that he didn’t have access to it and winced just before another force of nature threw him into the air and redirected him mid flight, bringing him back down into the dirt with incredible force. In the split second of consciousness he had left, he wondered how in the hell he was still alive. With nothing but a sliver of his power, Zen raised his former apprentice into the air and drew him close for a choke hold, activating his lightsaber as he did. Zen wrapped his hand around Iisska’s throat, puncturing one side with how tightly he held him. Iisska struggled to breathe and tried to wriggle out. “I should never have dragged your sorry ass out of that junk yard. I should never have taken you as my apprentice. You are weak. Uncontrollable. Pathetic. Unworthy of even the lowest teachers. And now…” Zen impaled Iisska through his abdomen. “May you burn in the void.” ________ “-ska! Wake up!” Iisska shot up in his bed, his heart pounding, his body drenched in sweat. Cynthia stood next to him, a hand on his shoulder, looking worried. “You were screaming really loud. I was worried.” He couldn’t manage to catch his breath as he pushed away from Cynthia. He nearly fell while shambling off the bed, took a few steps, placed his back on the wall and slid down to the floor. “Get out of here,” he muttered. She didn’t move, instead watching him with her eyes furrowed in worry. She got up and knelt down in front of him, placing a hand on his. “It’s alright, Iisska. Talk to me.” “I said, get out.” He snatched his hand away from her and glared. “Iisska….” She said, not leaving his side. “NO!” He shot up and stomped to the other side of the room “Don’t fucking talk down to me! It’s not alright, okay!? It’s not!” “I’m not talking down to you.” She said, sitting still and watching him. “I’m just trying to help.” “Where is she?” he turned on Cynthia. “I don’t know.” “Don’t know?” he sneered, “What the fuck does that mean?” “It means that I don’t know where she is, Iisska.” She snapped back. “Well she didn’t just ‘poof’ out of existence!” “I know that. Nyrette, Cheshik and myself scoured all over. We couldn’t even find a trail.” “Don’t feed me that! She shouldn’t have been able to walk! And all the--” He made a gesture over his face and looked sick before cutting himself off and starting for the door. “There has to be a trail. I’ll find it.” “Cheshik won’t let you leave the ship.” She sighed. “He can’t stop me.” Iisska flung the door open. “Are you really going to attack another friend?” She asked. Iisska stopped and his shoulders tensed. He shuddered a little and glared back at her. “No. I don’t have to attack him, I just have to out-run him. What? You want me to stand around here and do nothing?” “Iisska, it would be best if you did. You...you have done a lot of damage.” She paused for a time. “They think you’re a monster.” He took a long rattling breath and put a hand on the doorway to support himself. There was the empty hallway. All he had to do was run down to the cargo bay as fast as he could and escape through the damaged hull. If only his knees hadn’t turned to jelly. He opened his mouth to speak and shut it again. “Iisska. Please.” “They’re right,” he shrugged, “Then I shouldn’t be here. No point in fixing up this pile of shit if I’m just gonna snap and kill everyone first. I’ll go find Quin, bring her back, then you’ll never have to see me again.” “I don’t want you to leave. It’s too nice seeing you every morning.” Iisska snorted and shook his head. “What kind of backward priorities…” He let himself take a few steps back into the room and paused before turning to face her. “Doesn’t change much. I can’t stick around… I don’t think.” “Of course you can. They won’t say so right now, but if you left...things would break apart. They...we all need you. Quin is resourceful, she’ll be back. That, at least, I know. There was something you told me you did before you came here...mediation, I think. Why...why don’t we try it and calm down.” She was a little nervous as she said it. “Pfft, eh, no offence, but that stuff never really worked out for me. Some things… and people can’t be fixed.” “It wouldn’t hurt to try, at least, would it?” “I dunno… sitting for a long time hurts my ass… and I might get bored.” He couldn’t keep from cracking just a hint of a smile. “Whatever you say.” _________ Thrown into a cell and left to rot, Quin didn’t know where she was. There was a solitary window across from her where rain pecked through the bars and into the room. A light thunderstorm was erupting outside, but the walls were thick enough that she could only hear the muffles through the window. She had watched Nyrette be dragged away to be executed for her crimes, she saw the entire crew killed without mercy, and now she was left to live with her choices. She sat in a corner of the room, the faint light from outside illuminating her while she had her knees drawn to her chest as she hugged them in sorrow. She was alone in the dark. Nobody was coming for her now as they had been all eliminated by the republic she used to know, rebranded as “The Empire”. She didn’t have the will to fight and survive anymore. Everything was gone. She was alone. Yet...something stirred in the dark. “Outlander...you have such a beautiful sorrow about you.” There, in front of her, she saw it. From the forest on Eos. The piercing white eyes of the creature of the forest. “I have dined on the souls of kings and queens. Arch-wizards and great witches. Few compare to the soul that I see now yet cannot reach. That god forsaken inquisitor has locked out behind a cell door and I cannot reach you, my child.” It sat at arms length from her, unmoving. She couldn’t bring herself to move. She wasn’t shackled or restricted in the slightest, her body simply refused to move anymore. “Child.” The creature’s hand entered the light, sitting mere inches from her body. “Take my hand. Allow me to take away the pain that you have endured. Let the nightmares stop.” She stared at the grotesque hand, matted scales and boils covering it from the decades of terror. Long fingers with razor sharp nails at the end. Her hand trembled as her mind fractured into pieces, she wanted to just take it’s hand and finally rest...but deeper in her mind, something sprouted from the tiniest of seeds. A miniscule light of hope in her. The sight of the harpoon and everybody smiling. In her mind, the shadows that had grown were being snuffed out one by one. She felt something in her hand; a handle of sorts. Her head swivled down to see what it was. A vibroknife. She refused to die. Leaping to her feet, Quin screamed and jumped at the monster in front of her. It didn’t react in time, only managing to yell in surprise as Quin slammed Nyrette’s knife into it’s throat. It bellowed and fell backwards with Quin on top of it, stabbing into it’s chest and face wildly while it convulsed and fought back as hard as it could. It got hands around her waist, but it was a waste of time for it as Quin planted a hand on it’s head, slamming it to the side while she plunged the knife deep into it’s cranium. ____ She bolted upright in the makeshift bed in Lucius’ camp, her chest heaving and her mouth parched. She was immediately given a tankard of water and a serving of salted bread. “It is uplifting to finally see you rise.” She downed the water and bread with reckless abandon, daring not to slow down for fear of falling back asleep. “Slow down, girl. You’re going to kill yourself.” She ignored him, finishing the loaf of bread in less than a minute and washing it down with a second tankard of water. When she had finished she sat back and ran a hand over her face, digging off the sleep-dust that had built up around her eyes. “You have been out of commission for about four days. For a time, I thought you might not wake up, but I am glad to see that my thoughts were misplaced.” He pulled a pack from behind him and placed it to his side. “Come. Stand up.” He stood and held out his hand, helping Quin to her feet. She nearly fell right back to the ground from not having stood in four days, but with Lucius’ help, she regained her footing and was able to stand decently well. “Walk and run around a littl-” In the darkness, a dreadful howling echoed through the forest. Quin felt a clawed hand wrap around her heart, she knew exactly what was howling. “It seems that we lack the time for you to fully recover. Here.” He knelt down and picked up the large backpack. “Some leather armor, a heavy crossbow, and some bolts. I dipped the bolts in holy water. Take them. She nodded, but only took the leather armor, saying that she doesn’t need the crossbow. “I insist, please.” But she refused again before pulling Nyrette’s vibro-blade from her boot, popping the visceral blade from it’s hilt. “A dagger...very well. The beast will fall either way.” He knelt down at the campfire and collected a few things that he had placed about. “Are you ready? Once I snuff out my soulfire, there is no turning back.” She strapped a leather bound piece of armor to her shoulder and a piece of leather armor to her chest, nodding. Lucius snuffed out the flame, leaving them in darkness. ____ Walking side by side, Quin and Lucius followed the howling of the dark beast that Quin had defended herself against. According to the Inquisitor, it was in the same part of the forest that he had found Quin in. Even though she refused to use the crossbow, Lucius had pleaded with her to carry several bombs of holy fire. They bounced slowly along her chest, hooked onto the leather armor, as she walked. They entered the grove for the second time and saw the beast by the river, holding it’s stomach. Black blood was strewn about the ground. It seems that Quin had done physical damage to the beast in her dreams, weakening it severely. It snapped around, staring them both down, and roaring loud enough to hurt Quin’s ear drums. “You! You dare approach me!” It screamed. It turned around fully and stood at full length. It seems Quin did much more damage than she thought as it’s stomach was completely ripped open. Black organs could be seen in the light given off by the river, there was a small pool of blood at it’s feet. “I will not allow you to live for your defiance!” “Stay your feet, Quin. Now is not the time.” The Inquisitor summoned his dual glaives and held them at his side while Quin took a couple steps backwards. The beast broke into a crazed four legged sprint, coming right for the Inquisitor. He threw his glaives at the beast as it charged him. Once smashed into the beast’s side while the other missed entirely. Lucius summoned his glaives again and smashed them together just as the beast was upon him, he wound back his flamberge and slammed it into the beast’s skull, but it all but ignored it. His blade was wretched from his hands as the Inquisitor was thrown backwards by the beast’s crazed attack. He slammed into a tree and dropped to the ground only to be slammed against it again and grabbed, thrown into the canopy only to drop down moments later. The inquisitor rolled to his feet, summoning his weapons again as his foe jumped at him from above. He dropped down and came up with his glaive, catching the beast in the throat, using his body to stop the momentum. Before the beast could overpower him again, Lucius ripped the glaive up the beast’s exposed organs and ripped at the throat. The beast broke off of the Inquisitor, stepping back for only a moment before wrapping a bloody hand around the Inquisitor’s throat, lifting him off of the ground several feet. The Inquisitor stabbed at the beast’s arm in an attempt to escape, but the beast used it’s free arm to grab at Lucius’ leg and slam him into the ground once, twice, thrice, four times, before swinging him around and throwing him into a tree with enough force to topple the tree itself. With the Inquisitor out of the way, the beast turned towards Quin. “I will have your soul, Outlander.” The beast’s voice rang in her head as it approached her. She grabbed one of the three bombs on her chest and threw it at the beast, but it just swatted it away before it could detonate. It exploded in the darkness in a brilliant white light for but a few moments before disappearing. “I know what you fear. I know what will break you.” Smoke enveloped the beast for several moments as it changed. Quin grabbed her dagger and popped the blade out of the sheathe, readying herself, but she was not ready for the monster that stepped out of the smoke. A grotesque, deformed, harrowing vision of Iisska stepped forward, his horns were misshapen and too long, his skin pitch black and scaley. His fists were balled up into large metal gauntlets that shined with the blood that still seeped from his stomach. He smiled, fangs extending past his jaw line, but all Quin could focus on was the bright white eyes that pierced the darkness. As he stepped towards her, he twitched and spasmed randomly, instability wracking him at his core. He charged at her, the ground kicking up into the air in his wake. When he reached her, he raised both of his fists into the air to drop them down on Quin’s head. She jumped out of the way and dropped a bomb at her feet. He dropped into it and it exploded in his face, making him bellow out in agony as the holy fire scorched his face. He came at Quin faster, throwing punch after punch at her. She barely dodged them with how fast they were coming, but with a haymaker barely missing her face, she came up and plunged her knife into the beast’s chest before ripping it out and sticking it right back into his chest, stabbing once more before he back handed her and threw her back. She landed on the ground only to roll to the side when the beast punched where her abdomen was. He followed her, punching right where she was as she crawled and rolled away. She finally got onto her hands and rolled backwards onto her feet only to be nearly caught off guard as the beast hammered her defence, mixing elbows and feet into each attack to keep her off balance. She found one more opening when he tried to sweep his leg. She jumped up into the air, flipping the foot long blade, and bringing it down onto the beast’s skull. She yanked it out and slammed it right back in, ripping it out the front of his face. It fell backwards in agony and shrieking, writing on the ground. Quin knelt down to look the creature in the eye. One of it’s eyes was missing and the piercing white eye was trained on hers, almost begging for mercy. She had none to give as she grabbed the last bomb on her chest and plunged it into the mess of organs in the beast’s stomach. She yanked on the fuse at the top of it and stepped back as the bomb went off inside of the unstable Iisska clone, enveloping it in holy white fire. It rolled on the ground back and forth, shrieking and bellowing in pure agony, begging for Quin to save it and for the pain to end. With one last ditch effort, he flipped onto his belly and struggled to his feet, turning to Quin. He looked at her, unmoving as the flames burned. “I have seen into your dreams. Your memories. Your future.” He said, reaching out. Quin stepped back and he dropped to his knees. “He will abandon you in the lust for power and become a beast like myself.” He whispered quietly. “A monster capable only of death.” He dropped forward and dissipated, the white flame burning away the monster until nary but the ash was left. One of the first rays of the sun broke through the darkness that covered the forest and shined onto Quin, whom was frozen in place, looking at the remains of the beast. The sun’s light overtook the grove and started to spread over the rest of the forest. Flowers started to bloom in excess as their life was returned to them. “Praise the sun!” Quin heard from in the distance. She saw the Inquisitor approaching, his arms were bent in strange directions and he was limping on an equally strangely bent leg. He held his hat in hand as he approached her. His clothes were torn and tattered but they seemed to be mending themselves via a white light. “Thank you, Madam.” He said to her happily. “If you do not mind however...could you...ah…” he held his arm out and Quin quietly grabbed it, bracing it against her shoulder and snapping it back into place. “Ahhh. Thank you very much.” He said as he went to snapping the other arm back into place as well as his leg. “You would make a fine Inquisitor, Quin.” He said as he reached to his face and took off the mask, revealing what was underneath. “Do not be alarmed.” He said as he revealed the skeletal head underneath. The jaw didn’t move as he spoke. “This is my curse, but it is not as harrowing as you may believe.” He said as he gazed up at the burning orb above them. “The sun, the representation of my dear lady Patron Hamara.” He turned to her again and Quin could hear a notable change in his tone. “My dear lady, if I heard the beast correctly, you are an outlander. Is that true?” Quin nodded. “Then I have another request of you if I may be so bold. I have see most of Eos and have been to every continent, but I have yet to see the stars. Might I accompany you?” Quin stood there quietly and stared at Lucius for a few moments too long after he finished speaking. Then her gaze wandered off to the forest around them. “I’m still dreaming,” she nodded. “No. You are not.” Lucius said. “Prove it.” He shrugged and slapped her. “See. Not asleep right now.” Quin’s hand flew to her jaw and she gave him a stunned pout. “You-- Tch! That was uncalled for! I just meant that… This is too much to take in so fast.” “Take your time. The woods should be safe now. If you need to sit down….” He tried to comfort her. “I don’t.” She sheathed her blade with a snap. “I’ll process on the way… and I would appreciate it if you would accompany me.” “Then lead the way, Ma’am.” “Certainly,” she chirped, “I assume that you will be giving me directions from the rear as I haven’t the slightest where we are.” “I...thought you did.” He admitted. “An injured and delirious foreigner sprints into a cursed wood where she is accosted by a nightmare beast and a skeleton with a knife fetish, the later of whom takes her unconscious body to a camp further into the wood where she remains asleep for four more days. He then drags her through more of the same indiscernible landscape to face a creature that has no business existing. You seriously think she knows where she is?” Quin asked, “... Do you know where we are?” He was quiet for a moment, staring at her through his mask. “I do not have a knife fetish…” he said, looking up to the sun. “It is early morning and the sun rises in the east, there is a caravan road that stretches along the eastern edge of the forest. We can go there and see where we are lead.” “A caravan road?” she asked, “I might be able to find our way to the ship afterall.”