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anchanted-one · 5 years

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Eternal War Chapter 34 Disturbing Depths

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Vaylin didn’t sleep well when she was apart from Akahte. It was not the nightmares—Akahte’s shield could hold without her help for months if needed. She simply felt too restless without her Closest to keep her calm. Instead her sleep was restless. Brief spells of dreamless night-night time punctuated by suddenly waking up with a start.

Vaylin tore into the leftovers from lunch—a leg of Southern Mountain Nerf. It was as long as her own arm and maybe three times as thick at its broadest. It was, strictly speaking, not for one person to eat, but rather, large groups. It was wasteful for one person to eat by herself.

But what was the point of being Princess of Zakuul if she couldn’t do stuff like this? She washed it down with a large swig of her honey-sweetened juniper-berry mead. She allowed some to remain in her mouth, soaking her tongue in the fizzy sweet-and-sour liquid.

She burped loudly before answering the comm. “Yes?”

“”High Justice Vaylin, we’ve arrived at Ertruii.”

“Good. I’ll be there in just a minute. Be a dear and begin warming up the guns for me, would you?”

“Begin the Bombardment.”

Vaylin barely heard the order given. She was reaching out, just as Akahte had taught her. Through the Force. The planet on her viewport was populated by roughly seventeen million people. Most of that population was spread out into smaller towns and villages, but a good seven million were concentrated in eight major cities. The highest population of the five chosen. Such a pretty world to begin today’s festivities! She could sense all of the lives in these cities, as many brightly shining, beating hearts.

She could sense their emotions too to some extent—many felt nervous, no doubt about the presence of so many of Zakuul’s Warships in their orbit. They tried their best to ignore it, but their fear had built over the past half hour, rumor mills doing their part to fan the sparks until they started to catch flame.

That was when Vaylin had signalled to her Admiral to begin. Now she watched it play out, both through her eyes, and through the Force.

It was a pretty enough spectacle for the eyes—fireballs of different shades of yellow and red and orange began to blossom like a field of Zakuulan daisies. Fire began to spread across the land as grasslands and farms were set ablaze. The Superheated plasma disturbed air currents, splitting clouds into diverging streams that coiled like confused snakes, sunlight refracting through them like some cruel lens used to add color to an already violent spectacle. When a power plant was hit, it went off with a spectacular bang, expelling dirt and soil hundreds of feet into the air.

Shots targeted at areas with active volcanic activities triggered spectacular eruptions, ash and fire and magma being hurled hundreds of kilometers in all directions, artificial wind currents created by the bombardment eagerly spread the indignant fury of the volcanoes, earthquakes triggered by hitting faultlines triggered massive tsunamis. And so the land, air, and oceans of this world—which had been peaceful merely an hour before—rose up in anger against those that dwelled on it.

But the sights were nothing compared to the feels through the Force!

The flowing currents of nervous agitation she had been watching earlier had flared and grown into magnificent maelstroms of fear and panic—the people of this world had realized that the end of the world had come to them whistling a merry tune.

Observing the flood was observing life scampering to live as it attempted to outrun death… it was such an intense thrill! It sent tendrils of pure joy throughout every fiber of her being, the chills running down her spine unlike anything she had felt before!

As her thrill increased in its fevered pitch, she wondered if she couldn’t enhance the storm. In the past, Vaylin had messed with her prey’s emotions—more through instinct than fine control—but she had grown under Akahte’s tutelage. While each individual’s fear was… well, individual, it also interconnected with those around them—each person’s subconscious picking up the emotions of those around them, and being influenced by them. A hive emotion, as it were.

Grinning viciously, Vaylin grabbed a hold of one such… and put the fear of the devil into it. The effect was instantaneous; the fear became a wildfire, people gave in to its merciless grip.

This fire was much more local than the ones elsewhere on this world, but Vaylin focused on it as best she could, savoring the feel of the rawest panic she had ever seen—much as she had savored that mouthful of tea—and allowed that sensation to drown out awareness of everything else around her. It continued to grow worse, more explosive with each passing moment, and then it went off just as Vaylin’s own anticipation reached a crescendo.

Vaylin felt a powerful satisfaction in her belly the likes of which she had never felt before! It was good that she had chosen to use her private observation deck, for her pleasure was evident. She was gasping for breath, utterly drenched in sweat. Her limbs were trembling so hard, her legs felt so much like jelly, that she couldn’t even stand up!

She was panting, giggling wildly, as she gave up trying to stand again. That fire was out, madness having utterly descended on it like a blanket, suddenly dousing the sanity of hundreds of beings. Settling back in her couch, she gazed out hungrily and purred as a world burned.

Vaylin sighed contentedly as she lay back in her couch. The smell of soap from her bath lay gently around the room, heightening the sensation that she was in paradise. She took a sip of Chandrillan wine—shit, this stuff was good! One of many luxuries that made their conquest of the Republic feel sweeter—and placed the goblet on the table.

Ohhh yeah , this was the life! When was the last time she had felt so satiated?

Not since that time when Akahte had helped her get her first real sleep in years! And in many ways this felt so much better than even that! That night with Akahte granted her peace… but today had given her a thrill! All of that fear, it had… had… oh sweet Scyva, mother of the gods! Akahte—!

Sitting bolt upright, she accessed her bond with her Dearest One, reached out frantically, hoping to feel her Sith’s unshakable love. She breathed in relief when she did, Akahte’s mind slightly recoiling in surprise at her evident desperation, offering a reassuring embrace.

But Vaylin was troubled. The connection… wasn’t it stronger than this? Had her mind made it look more all-encompassing than it actually was? It had to be… the alternative—the alternative was that the connection was weakening. But Akahte’s love for her was absolute; Vaylin knew with absolute certainty that if the link was weakening, it wasn’t at the Twi’lek’s end, but at her own.

The more she thought about it… Akahte had assured her that she didn’t mind Vaylin turning out destructive; only that she was living by her own will and not reacting to Valkorion. But even so, it pained her on some level, to see Vaylin go this way… and Vaylin was taking this route nonetheless.

Who am I? What is most important to me?

Captain Vinn of Vaylin’s personal guard followed her as this time, she chose to go to the bridge to see the bombardment of Voduuran. Neither he nor his fellows had been inside the private observation deck, but on emerging, Vaylin had been so evidently exhilarated that he suspected she had quite enjoyed herself. Her sadism—especially when her pet Sith was absent—was well known throughout Zakuul, though no one ever really talked about, even behind her back. Except for that Khroovan, Caradha. Vinn remembered his shudder at hearing the woman’s words… her open denouncement of Vaylin as a ‘gluttonous Chimaera’.

If Vaylin displayed a similar joy at Voduuran’s destruction as she no doubt felt watching Ertruii, the two dozen or so Zakuulans on board would witness it, and some might even answer the Khroovan’s call—heck, he himself heard the call strongly, for Zakuul, tried to ignore it.

But he needn’t have worried. Something had changed during the trip from Ertruii to Voduuran, and was completely occupying Vaylin’s mind. She watched the bombardment impassively, distracted, answering questions and occasionally asking for reports, but for the most part she just stood and watched.

Almost unheard, she hummed a song under her breath. Vinn had heard this tune before—a variation of a popular children’s song—but one whose pace Vaylin changed to sound very melancholic and wistful. She hummed the melody almost subconsciously when she was disturbed and upset.

Vinn was confused. What had happened these past few hours? What had changed her reaction to a similar stimulus so completely?

Arcann was trembling. He was in a state of total shock. The situation on his Capital World had fallen apart so completely, gotten from bad to worse again and again until it finally ended in a powerful show of his Empire’s inability to handle the Outlander’s attacks at the very heart of his Empire!

He was shocked by the Alliance’s daring sabotage mission on the relay station—they truly did know how to pick targets! Thank goodness they had been caught before they could blow it up!

In the aftermath of the attack, he had grown wildly angry and desperate to reassert some semblance of his power. He had ordered his security forces to fire on civilians, hoping that the carnage would kill his enemies.

Vaylin’s Sith had called him in private, berated his use of overkill, reminding him that he would never know if he had caught the perpetrators or not through the destruction. Had reminded him that if they managed a counterattack, his credibility would be even further diminished.

The woman had never criticized his rule like this before, and Arcann knew he had made a huge mistake. But before he could call off the security forces, he received word that the central droid control—Overwatch—had been assaulted, administrator Tayvor Slenn killed.

The Outlander’s people—acting in concert with the Khroovan’s little resistance as it later turned out—had taken the initiative and stopped his rampaging droids. Not only was this another blow to his image of invulnerability, it sent out the message that the Outlander’s people had risked their lives and saved the citizens of Zakuul from their own mad Emperor. In fact, that was exactly what one of the members of the Zakuulan resistance had said in a broadcast.

Arcann had never felt so powerless, not even when he had watched impotently as his twin died from his own wild attack.

Arcann barely heard the report that Vaylin’s ships had returned. He only realized she was near when her shuttle came close to the spire’s docking hatch.

Her nonchalant prance into the throne room ignited his rage again, and for once he didn’t care how unwise it was to explode at his sister.

“ WHERE WERE YOU? ” He thundered, voice echoing impressively across the large hall.

“Blasting five worlds to ash,” she said, appearing amused at his anger. “I made holos, do you want a copy?”

“While you were off, Father used the Outlander’s people conducted a savage attack on our Home.”

Vaylin cocked an eyebrow. “I don’t remember Father being this funny when He was alive.” She pouted.

Arcann was really not in the mood. “ AM I LAUGHING?” He roared.

Vaylin sobered up reluctantly. “Don’t think I’ve ever seen you laugh.”

“Our Knights have failed us yet again. A punishment is needed: Decimation.”

Vaylin was shocked. “Come again?”

“The ancient punishment for incompetence. The Knights report to the duelling pits in groups of ten and draw lots. The loser gets beaten to death by his comrades.”

“You’re going to kill off a tenth of our Knights?”

“No, our Knights are going to kill off a tenth of our Knights. The survivors will better understand that failure is no longer an option.”

Vaylin continued to stare at him mutely. “You know my command,” he snapped. “Go!” The look of dumbfounded surprise on her face as she was the one struggling to deal with him for a change… it was so satisfying!

#star wars #swtor #Anchanted-one #eternal war #OC: Arro #OC: Akahte #Lana Beniko #Theron Shan #Vaylin #Koth Vortena #senya tirall #Arcann #kaliyo djannis #Aric Jorgan

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