Open Invasion Tree of Life: Attack on Ithor

[Karys]

Death Enabled l Ithor l Open to 1 Sith and 2 Jedi​

Hatred is a virtue.

Ithor, a world that had been attacked by Raze. The Sith Lord had brought death to the Jedi and ruin to their temple. The world had recovered under the tender attentions of the peaceful Ithorian herds and Jedi who took back up postings there. So long as the tree of life blossomed, Ithor would rejuvenate itself.

That wasn’t acceptable.

Transports touched down in groves across the world but three landed at the Tree of Life’s grove. Ithorians gathered around the vessel to greet the pilgrims they believed to be getting ready to disembark. But when the ramps lowered, it wasn’t pilgrims the Ithorians faced. Instead, it was a mix of battle droids that fired indiscriminately into the Ithorians and Epicanthnx warriors that charged out behind them. Many died in the first volley as the droids marched out. While the Epicanthnx pursued and butchered the slow, old, and wounded.

Death had come to Ithor.

A pair of figures steadily walked from the disembarkation ramp. Karys paid no heed to the dying civilians around him, is golden eyes were focused on the massive Tree of Life. He would corrupt the Tree, and kill its defenders, its roots would spread the corruption of the Dark Side throughout this world. Ithor would suffer his wrath, the first of many worlds that would taste it.

As he marched towards the Tree of Life, he drew Sadowbane from its sheathe. He gripped it tightly in his golden prosthetic hand both of his hands were covered by his beskar vambrace. On the back of his belt, nestled horizontally, was the hilt of his lightsaber. The rest of his form was covered by black robes.

Hatred is a virtue. The words echoed in his mind.

 

[Wikkwok]

Wikkwok felt a disturbing sense of familiarity as his dropship touched down on Ithor. His homeworld of Endor had a similar forested terrain and his culture had a strong sense of reverence for the great trees of their world that rivaled the Ithorians. Even though Wikkwok had long ago left his world and eschewed the Ewok culture that he saw as weak, such sentiments were hard to shake.

But shake them he must because today he was not there to give tribute to a life-giving tree but to destroy it.

His first official combat as a mission as a Sith. A worthy accolade - it surely meant that those above him were finally beginning to trust him and see his potential. He knew that was a difficult ask, given his appearance and humble origins, and he wasn't going to mess it up.

His dropship doors opened and he and his accompanying squad charged out towards the Great Tree, as his pet condor dragon soared overhead and stretched its wings.

Homeworld aside, he'd destroy the tree and prove himself a Sith.

 

[Macote Hassan]

Macote was no Master. Far from it. He was just a Jedi with a chip on his shoulder. On Ithor for a peaceful meditative retreat to help deal with that chip, the onslaught of blaster fire onto the planet indiscriminately changed things. These monsters had to be stopped. They had to be put down like the rabid animals they were, like the abominations their willpower manifested. Macote had run on Denon, on Coruscant, but no longer. Here he would fight.

He donned his ceremonial armor attached his lightsaber to his hip. As he joined the Ithorian defenders and the Jedi defense forces broadly, he saw a curious sight. Was that an...Ewok? Charging with the enemy forces? Oh he had to fight that little critter. Rallying troops to his side, Macote and the Jedi Defenders met the forces of the Sith.

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[Vanya]

It was unheard of for people to be allowed onto the surface of Ithor. The Ithorians lived in their great cities floating above the surface, but in a moment of unity with the rest of the galaxy, the Ithorians had opened the surface of the planet for a week only for people to make pilgrimage to their scared tree.

Vanya - a Nightsister in her soul and a Jedi by trade - had leapt at the opportunity to make the trip herself and provide "security."

And there was security. Jedi and Ithorians had made sure that the area was closely monitored given the sacred nature and the extreme hesitation of the Ithorians.

Vanya opened herself up to the Essence, letting the sacred light of the tree flow into herself only to feel...

Her eyes flashed open as she felt the cold, black chill of hatred pulsating from one of the oncoming ships. A beacon of pure hatred that rang out like a warning siren over this planet.

Get everyone out of here! Evacuate the area! Raise the alarm! Vanya shouted, waving down one of the security troopers.

But there's nothing...

Do it now! Vanya shouted, waving her arms emphatically to emphasize the point as the alarm began to go off.

When the Sith landed, they would find far fewer civilians to gun down than they had hoped and security forces with guns and lightsabers drawn to face the oncoming troopers.

Blasterfire and flashes of lightsaber clashed as the civilians evacuated.

For Vanya's part, she was dressed in red robes traditional to the Nightsisters, her lightsaber bursting purple in her hand as her eyes darted around the area.

She felt blessed by the Winged Spirit that she spotted Macote not far away.

Macote! We'll take them together. Stay with me and follow my lead, she said, though her eyes weren't on the Padawan. Her eyes were instead locked on the eye of it all. The man's skin may have matched her robes, but his heart and essence matched his own robes: black.

Her face hardened as she looked at him, his hulking frame, and his multiple weapons. There were beings in the galaxy who could be redeemed, and there were those who Vanya wouldn't even try. There was no warning to stand down and no call for surrender.

Don't hesitate. If you have an opportunity to put them down: do it, she said quietly to Macote. It wasn't the advice he would receive from most Jedi, but Vanya wasn't most Jedi. She could feel the life permeating this world. Around them and beneath their feet. Even the power of the tree itself spoke to her and gave her strength.

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[Karys]

Fear. Pain. Hate. Anger.

It permeated the grove as the lines of warriors crashed into one another. It swirled into a potent cocktail of emotion that Karys could draw off of. His golden eyes lingered on his goal, the tree of life, for a few moments longer. Then when a pair of forms pushed themselves to the forefront, Karys’ attentions shifted to them and he stopped his forward march.

If Karys was younger and less experienced, he might have charged in headlong into them. It was a poor tactic he’d employed on Ossus, one that almost cost him. Now, Karys knew to be cautious, he knew a planet brimming with life was ideal ground for the Jedi. He couldn’t play into their hands, instead he’d have to play on their impulses and weaknesses. He could see the pair of them, so surprises would be difficult for them to pull off on him. He let his hooded cloak slide from his body.

Karys watched as a woman in a red robe spoke to a young man. Karys didn’t hesitate in his action. The Force coiled around the Padawan’s throat and squeezed, ensuring he wouldn’t get a reply out. Even as Karys did this, cruel witchflames licked up Sadowbane’s surface while his guard rose. His golden eyes shifted suddenly to the woman, she’d have moments to decide on to do before Karys snuffed the young man’s life out with a sickening crunch. With the distance between them, he’d have time to react if she came at him.

He’d play on the Jedi’s need to protect the weak. He’d force action from them to protect one another. That was their weakness, they cared for one another. That would be how Karys killed them both, destroying them as obstacles.

Nothing more, nothing less.

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[Wikkwok]

Wikkwok's shuttle squad may not have the numbers that the Ithorian defenders did but the military capabilities of an agricultural world full of pacifistic herders were nothing compared to hardened commandos of the Sith military. The Ithorians fought valiantly but they were reacting to a surprise invasion with scant weapons and armor and they began to fall as Wikkwok's squad advanced.

The two sides, Ithorians and Sith troops, both began taking up position in the makeshift foxholes that littered the ground in the form of craters from turbolaser fire and the explosive impact of battling starfighters. Wikkwok walked by one foxhole, casually deflecting blasterfire with his shoto lightsaber when he felt a tremor in the force.

His shoto lightsaber in one hand, Wikkwok could the raw power emanating from Karys as his fellow Sith began his attack on the Jedi. Evidently, this battle would test Wikkwok in more ways than one as he now had to contend with the Sith's powerful rivals. Wanting credit for the attack, Wikkwok used the Pyrokinesis he'd learned on Endor and refined on Korriban to send a fireball screaming towards the younger Jedi that Karys had in his grasp.

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[Vanya]

Vanya had known fighting since her earliest days, and that ingrained things in her mind, not the least of which was not to drop your attention from your enemy. She didn't miss the way the Shadow flexed and arced nor did she just wait by while it happened.

Surge of the Briar was a classic Nightsister ability particularly among the Winged Spirit following Clans. On Ithor it was the logical choice, and no doubt that would mean that it was what the Sith was expecting.

No, there was another strength that the Jedi had on their side that the Sith simply didn't have a counter to. The Bafforr trees of this world covered every inch of the planet, living trees that were connected through telepathy. The Tree of Life, itself, was here and no friend to the invaders.

Vanya didn't hesitate to lash out at the Sith's mind, drilling a metaphorical hole. The goal wasn't to kill or even maim him, but it was more than enough to break his concentration. Perhaps on her own he could have resisted her, but it wasn't just her. She allowed the voice of the Tree of Life and its "people" to flow down that conduit she had opened, speaking directly into Karys's mind to crack his shell with the collective energy.

The pounding music of this place would burn through his mind, its Light a stark contrast to the darkness within him and threatening to sap the very darkness out of him. Would it kill him? No. Would it keep him from gaining any kind of meaningful hold on her Padawan? Yes. If he did nothing about it, it would likely even knock him unconscious.

Why do you seek to destroy us? We will not be destroyed by you, countless voices yelled out in his mind.

And then a single voice was added to the sounds.

Come and fight me, coward.

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[Macote Hassan]

Before Macote could share some pithy one-liner about justice and freedom, his throat was closed by Karys's attack. He couldn't so much as sputter out a cough - as tears formed in his eyes, he saw that little fucking Ewok prepare an incantation. While his throat was being crushed, he used all of his power to resist, relieving as much pressure as he could against overwhelming force. As the ball of fire coursed towards him, Macote would use Vanya's attack to escape. Like a hare freed from a trap, the Kage split laterally across the battlefield the instant he felt Karys's grip lighten against throat. The fireball would crash behind him.

Around them, sharpened debris from the onslaught had gathered. Wooden stakes, shattered stones, sharp bits of metal. Macote would retaliate with a ranged attack of his own. He focused his telekinesis around these sharp objects, aiming them not at the Ewok but at Karys while he was under a mental attack. It would put their strongest fighter on the backfoot, if nothing else, trying to repel the shrapnel spray of material flung to impale the massive Sith Master.

He wouldn't rush hastily into melee. Yet, his entire body tingled as he thought about stopping these Sith and avenging his parents, his master, and every Ithorian whose life had been cut short this day.

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[Wikkwok]

Wikkwok's fireball would go roaring through the air, only for the Padawan to...duck? Somehow, the Jedi managed to get free and dodge the fireball just in time. Of course, given how lush the environment around them was, that meant that the fireball instead crashed into the tree behind Macote, catching it ablaze and spreading quickly to the surrounding grasses and other foliage. The air would shortly begin filling with smoke, threatening those of the Jedi forces without breathing gear in time.

The Force seemed to scream in pain as the tree caught on fire and the Tree of Life's children's voices in Karys' heads would be forced to deal with the pain of the flames. No doubt the focus and volume of their voices would be diminished in the Sith's head.

Wikkwok hadn't been ready for such a turn of events. Steeling himself had been easy enough to do in battle but he was still an Ewok and actually feeling the trees lash out in agony due to his actions sent him reeling. Placing a furry hand on his temple, the Sith Acolyte looked up. Logically, he should use these feelings to regret the inferno he caused, the lives that had already been snuffed out and either surrender or repent.

But that was not the way of the Sith.

Instead, he turned his pain and anger on someone else. It was that damned Padawan! If he hadn't ducked, those trees wouldn't be on fire now, would they? Screaming a primal battlecry, Wikkwok began making his way to the Padawan's position, his path made less visible due to his running speed, the smoke filling the battlefield and the chaos of the battle itself.

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[Karys]

Karys had expected many things from the Jedi. He knew the woman would likely try to break his concentration to save her ally. However, what he wasn’t expecting was the mental assault that Vanya unleashed upon him with the help of a living grove. The magnitude of the aided assault punched through his temporarily weakened mental defenses. The combined voices would have sent his mind reeling beyond simply breaking his concentration.

However, the fire permanently quieted several of those voices.

It allowed Karys to seal his mind against the intrusion. Yes, the Padawan had broken free of his telekinetic hold in the moment Karys had been caught off guard. From his peripheral he saw it as it sprinted away, a feeble little rat scurrying away from a larger predator. The debris it flying his way was telekinetically redirected and sent into the ground with contemptuous ease.

Karys would allow the rodent to scramble away. His golden gaze now focused on the Jedi who had violated his mind. He felt her scratching at the edges of his mind, challenging him to fight solely her. Karys obliged.

He crossed the distance between them, his gaze locked onto her and prepared to react to any Jedi tricks she might try and spring. The Dark Side roiled within him as he twisted it, preparing it for use at a moments notice. As he closed the distance and entered into striking range he would strike out at her.

Sadowbane was gripped in his left hand, he swung it upwards at a diagonal angle. The strike would begin at his right hip and come up across his torso, providing him with a measure of defense inlaid with the strike. If left undefended, Sadowbane would carve through the left side of her lower torso, pass through her abdomen and chest, before exiting through her right shoulder.

It was a simple and relatively safe opening attack. Designed to test defenses and reactions accordingly. To begin the process of understanding his opponent and hunting for flaws in her form for him to batter through.

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[Vanya]

The Sith had overestimated how much burning would happen. It was pushing it for an Acolyte to even cast a fireball let alone one with the power to burn down a forest that was lush and alive rather than crispy, decaying, and dead.

All that to say, that the fire was more akin to a puff of smoke than a raging inferno and withered out within moments. Still, the Pureblood managed to shake free of the attack, albeit no doubt with great strain to overpower the sound of the voices.

He closed, a roiling ball of rage and hate. Vanya should have been ice cold and impassive, but that had never been her. She was a fireball in her own way, the green flames of her home world running through her veins.

He swept in to cut her down, and she didn't shy away from meeting him. Vanya leapt backwards, falling away from him as her blade met his. Ironically, although she used a lightsaber now, her first fights had been sword to sword, and she was quite familiar with the movements he made. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she would wonder about his upbringing and how the Purebloods might have been like her own people.

Her own blade struck his, pushing it out to the side and ensuring that it didn't actually make contact with her body before she had cleared its swing and blocking if necessary, her left hand coming up and unleashing a small bolt of green energy at his chest that would singe skin and knock him back several meters if it struck: nearly like taking a light blaster shot to the chest: potentially lethal and definitely unpleasant.

A lightsaber could block it with ease, but his sword? Well, it did brim with dark power, so she had no idea what it could do, but maybe it couldn't block a concussion bolt. She wasn't holding her breath. Most people didn't choose to downgrade their weapons.

Even as she did this, she danced light on her feet and ready for the inevitable counter attack. Such was the serpent's dance.

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[Macote Hassan]

The life around them was full of energy. When Macote listened, tuned out the din of battle, he could almost hear the spirit of this world whispering to him, encouraging him, ushering him to the front lines. Their cause was righteous and the battlefield would be the ultimate demonstration of their upright moral consciousness.

That very same life would aid the Jedi. Macote reached out with the Force with his right hand while he gripped his saber in his left. Vines sprouted beneath the Ewok’s feet as he ran, which could entangle and trip him as Macote advanced to meet his opponent. The teddy bear’s ability to summon balls of flame made him dangerous, but Macote had no less than four feet of a reach advantage on this Sith.

Macote would use that to his advantage. He kept his blade high and defensive as he advanced, ready to deflect any ranged attack the Acolyte could throw. When he was within range, he angled the tip of the blade down and lunged to pierce the Ewok through the chest with the tip of his lightsaber. The glowing, plasma blade alone was about the size of the Ewok! While Wikkwok was reacting to the vines, the quick strike would end this battle before it started. Or so, Macote hoped.

 

[Karys]

Vanya leapt back and swept his blade to the side, avoiding it's damage to her. He mirrored her movement with her hand, extending his own free hand that had gathered power to release a portion of it into a defensive maneuver. Tutaminis, it required minimal drain from his stamina to banish the Force conjured green bolt that was meant to test his defenses. The attack dissipated, harmlessly and Karys half moved to resume his assault.

Then he felt the Ewok die.

It forced him to pause and re-evaluate his situation. He was fairly certain he could beat this Jedi in a duel but both her and her apprentice? Karys had done it once before but knew that was largely luck and the idiocy of Param's apprentice attacking him in the nude. No, Karys would have to retreat. But he wasn't stupid enough to believe that the Jedi would simply allow that. So, he released what was left of the power he had welled up as a concentrated blast of telekinesis.

It was unlikely that it would cause lasting damage to the Jedi. If anything, it would send her flying backwards even further, buying Karys distance and time to retreat. Something he would begin moments after unleashing the telekinetic shove. He wouldn't simply run away, he also knew it was unlikely that she would allow that. Instead, Karys would move back and away, facing the Jedi with his guard raised. His goal would be to board one of the ships and begin the retreat.

His ultimate goal had failed. The Tree of Life wouldn't fall but he'd struck at the heart of the Jedi's territory, his men had killed civilians and defenders alike. It was good enough. Karys would press a button on his bracer with his free hand which would sound a withdrawal and retreat.

The weak Acolyte had cost him his goal, Karys would ensure his people suffered for it.

/Exitattempt

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[Vanya]

Sometimes all it took was a moment. A single second where the entire galaxy swung from one direction to the other and the fate of a planet was decided.

Vanya barely even processed that that moment had passed with the death of the Ewok, and as the Sith allowed her to flick his blade upward, she struck. Their blades were tangled high up and away from the bodies of either of them, and Vanya's wouldn't allow his sword to come back down to position in front of his body.

Almost simultaneously with one another, the two Masters unleashed their blows. While the Sith unleashed a blast of telekinesis, Vanya unleashed a blow of her own: another concussion bolt. Tied up in casting his own telekinetic attack and with his sword away and unable to defend, the bolt would almost inevitably slam into Karys's torso and crack his sternum, crushing his heart, and singeing his flesh. There was simply too much going on for either of them to successfully grapple with their blade tangle, their own attacks, the attacks of their enemy, and the goings on of the rest of the battle.

Because of this, Karys's blow struck Vanya, too. She was thrown back by the blast, knocking her off of her feet and sending her rolling back a short distance before she leapt back to her feet, saber reactivating again and standing at the ready. It was beyond unlikely that the Sith was still alive, but on the off chance that he was, she would be ready. After all, being unprepared for the unlikely was a great way to end up dead.

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[Macote Hassan]

The Ewok's feet were caught in his vine. And then the Kage, lighting quick, closed in. His blade cut straight through the little Sith's chest, instantly granting an end to that swift battle that Macote had hoped for. He didn't take his mind off the battle in front of them, glancing over to Vanya as she defeated the Sith. Macote acquired the Sith's lightsaber, watching his pet Skyshriek mourn his partner from afar.

With their Sith commanders defeated, the rest of the forces were easy to scatter. Macote did not cheer with the fellows around him as the battle came to a close. No, he recognized the gravity of this moment. He pulled a piccolo from the folds of his robe, finding the notes for a mournful song. There was no glory, no great honor, in victory, Macote realized. It felt hollow. Even with the invaders dead and captured, it would not bring back the innocent dead.

Damn, he felt really emo. He couldn't let the Sith steal the satisfaction of this moment - of victory. He approached the Jedi Warden Vanya as he played, using the moment to recenter themselves before they busied themselves with caring for the injured and restoring the planet's balance. "This was a great victory for the people of this planet. For the Crusade - for our great struggle."

He disappeared into the crowd, helping the overworked medical crews as the terror of battle slowly faded from mind.

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[Karys]

Karys had begun to move even as his telekinetic blast went off. He moved to evade the welling power building within the Jedi. To clear the damning bolt and resume his withdrawal.

He wasn’t fast enough.

The bolt collided with him, it lanced into his chest burning flesh and snapping bone. However, his movement had spared him death. Instead of destroying his heart, the bolt slammed off its intended target and instead found purchase on his lung. The organ shuddered in reaction to the burning energies, collapsed as it was overwhelmed, and then was partially destroyed. Karys was overwhelmed with agony, his body was thrown from his feet and he sailed backwards. The blackness of unconsciousness took him before his form collided back with the ground.

He’d failed. Even in this, he’d failed. And now his life was at the mercy of Jedi.

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