The Cathedral of Winds

[Ehrlich Mar]

Spoiler: Mission Summary

14. Cathedral of Winds
A Dark Sider has been killing people in the Cathedral of Winds on Vortex. The Vors wish this to stop. To increase the relationship with the Vors, a Sith has been dispatched to eliminate this Dark Sider.

Goal: Locate and eliminate the Dark Sider.
Location: Cathedral of Winds, Vortex
Slots: 1 Sith
Slots taken:
Difficulty:
Additional Notes: Avoid damaging the Cathedral of Winds.

Spoiler: Background Music

Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake" on the Glass Harp. Do not wait for the music to begin playing or it will not last for the duration of the post unless you read rapidly. Adjust your volume before reading if you choose to listen to the music.

The whole place was one massive instrument; every chamber, a horn, every hallway, a pipe, and every spire, an organ. The Cathedral of Winds was the definition of all sounds, and nothing in the entire galaxy rivaled it in terms of its majestic beauty or alluring symphonies. It's music was a healing balm, an elixir of life to even the deafest of ears. So pure, so lovely; what could possibly tarnish its angelic melodies?

How about murder?

From within those hallowed shafts and towers came shrieks of agony as Vors were slain in cold blood, and their cries echoed for miles as they were projected through the elaborate instrument that was the Cathedral of Winds. The taint of the Dark Side surrounded the place, and it's once-lovely tunes grew silent. The Festival of Winds was fast approaching, yet no Vors dared enter the place; for it had become a harbor of great evil. The hand of the Dark Side and its unseen wielder laid heavily upon the Vors, and their culture and their righteous indignation struggled to bear the weight of their oppression.

So the Vors appealed to their Imperial overlords: "Send aid," they said, "for we are being slain." The Imperium had more pressing things with which to concern itself, so it abandoned the mission to the Sith Order, and many Sith shared its disinterest and left the matter alone entirely. There was one, Sith, however, who had once attended the great Festival of Winds, and so closely did he connect music and the Force that the forestalling of the Festival sat ill with him. The sorcerer's Sith name was "Oro," and he traveled to Vortex alone to deal with the defiler of this rite, the sacred crescendo of what he believed to be the Living Force.

The accordant steeples of the Cathedral loomed eerily in the distance as Darth Oro arrived on Vortex, his speeder slowing to a halt at the makeshift docking bay the Vors had generously provided. He disembarked briskly and was greeted by the Head Gaoler and his entourage. The Gaoler stopped short of the Sith and raised his head to listen, for the extraordinary sounds of Oro's alchemical apparatuses had just reached his musical ears. He offered the sorcerer his cordial salutations in Vortexlex and asked him for his name, to which the Sith made a pained effort at speaking.

"ORGH-" he choked through his bandages, unable to muster the name "Oro" at such short notice.

"What was that?" queried the party's translator, coolly.

The Sith tapped his neck brace knowingly to indicate his impairment. He pointed to himself before holding up seven fingers.

"Seven?" asked the translator, surprised. "This is your name?"

Oro nodded. The Vor eyed him levelly before translating to the assembled company.

"I can speak basic," said the Head Gaoler in a thick, melodious accent. "I am sorry to ask you to land so far avway from the Cathedral of Vwinds, but it is protocol. No ships are allowed to fly vwithin a set perimeter of the structure. I'm sure you understand." Oro nodded his assent and gestured for his host to lead on, whereupon the pair began their promenade, followed closely by the Gaoler's attendants.