#as in my version of kotfe

[a-master-procrastinator]

So, I have a headcanon regarding Outlander and Valkorion

Spoiler territory for pretty much the whole game (mostly Jedi Knight and Sith Warrior class stories and all expansions from Shadows of Revan).

How does Outlander (especially non Force user) defeat Valkorion in KotET? This question bothered me (and I'm sure all of you) for quite some time. And frankly, the game doesn't answer it very well. So I did some thinking, searching and theorizing, and found a solution that I will bring in my personal stories. Just thought it would be interesting for others to see as well.

Explanations offered in the game:

Valkorion's power had become weaker at some point (as noted by Arcann in chapter 8 "Taking Flight", and indicated by events on Ziost, since Theron wasn't possessed, and by Valkorion in chapter 9 "Eternal Throne", when he said that he needed Vaylin's power to destroy Outlander's mind);

Arcann and Vaylin helped defeat him;

The holocron was the instrument of Valkorion's defeat (but it's never properly explained how exactly);

The "kneel before the dragon of Zakuul" phrase worked on Valkorion because the Outlander said so.

It doesn't sound too bad, but when I tried to go into details, it didn't make much sense. "My mind, my rules" was really out of nowhere, also kinda goes against the previous experience of Outlander not being able to do anything about Valkorion before that. And Arcann and Vaylin being on your side isn't the key either because even the three of them were still losing, it only changed after the main character said the key phrase. And why the heck does it even work like that? Because they said so? Gee, should've thought about it a few chapters before, no?

Now, what I came up with doesn't really go much different from that, I just made some adjustments to make it flow better (at least for myself). I'll talk through my thoughts in chronological order, so bear with me (I tried to summarize it at the end, so scroll if you want the short version).

Vitiate learned to transfer his spirit as one of the ways to be immortal. It can happen either through a ritual, which is preferable since it's easier, doesn't weaken him, and he doesn't need time to adjust, but it does require consent from a person, or killing the previous host, which does weaken him for some time. The longer he has possessed a host, the greater the loss of power will be upon the transfer. It's not to say that he isn't dangerous, quite the opposite, but perhaps he can't do some 'impossible' things (like consume a planet or shatter a mind) just like that.

He was at his full power before the events on Belsavis and Voss, timeline wise. Remember how easily he possessed the minds of the Jedi on the strike team? Yeah, Jedi Knight broke free, but that's bc they're super strong (and the main character in their storyline).

But because of Baras Vitiate had to be released from the body on Voss by being killed, which made him slightly weaker, just enough for the Hero of Tython to kill him again on Dromund Kaas. That made him lose more power (because he possessed this body for much longer than that Voss), and Vitiate tried to find a new host and regain his power (either by Revan reviving him or consuming all life on Ziost). His attempts were not successful, so he retreated to Zakuul.

That would explain why after being 'killed' yet again on Zakuul (thus losing two of his main hosts) Valkorion wasn't powerful enough to possess the Outlander's mind (regardless of their class). He was in a pretty vulnerable position, so he came up with a plan. We'll get to it. For now, Valkorion understands that if the Outlander dies, he'll be even weaker and probably won't be able to get a new host, so he protects the Outlander while pushing them to use his power.

Every time the Outlander agrees to do so gives Valkorion more control over their body, and even if they never agree, the bond grows stronger as time passes, it's just faster when Outlander uses his power. Eventually it would be just strong enough for Valkorion to use the main character's body without their permission (like in chapter 16). But he's still not powerful enough to break their mind, so he goes to the next part of the plan.

Valkorion manipulated the main character into killing Vaylin (and Arcann, if applicable) because he needed to consume her power to destroy Outlander's mind (which is what happens in chapter 9). But he made a couple mistakes in doing so. First, he underestimated how smart Commander is, and how the bond allowed them to take his form to survive. Second, by consuming Vaylin's spirit, Valkorion gained not just her strength, but also her weakness, which is the conditioning.

But wait, didn't Vaylin free herself from it? Sort of. I saw a suggestion from another player that Vaylin didn't get rid of conditioning itself, but rather the lever that triggers it. It's possible because the process on Nathema didn't exactly according to the plan. And because of that, Valkorion also gained her conditioning after consuming her spirit.

So, what does that mean? What does it do? Well, I think that when the key phrase is said in presence of Vaylin, she temporarily loses her connection to the Force (or it becomes so weak that she can't use it), thus isn't a threat. And the same happens to Valkorion when the main character attempts to use it on him in KotET chapter 9, at least for long enough for the Outlander to kill him. This way the victory isn't dependent on one's power in the Force, and it fits a non Force sensitive Commander as well.

What about the holocron? I explain this as it only binds, commands and releases spirits, as we see with lord Dramath. It's not the key to Valkorion's destruction, but it is still important because it is used to free Vaylin's spirit from Valkorion after her death (and Arcann's, if applicable), which gives Outlander a potential powerful ally.

[Just a little addition that has very little to do with my explanation, but wanted to mention - in the throne room, when Valkorion breaks Outlander's mind, he takes over the body and attacks your companions. They hold off long enough for Commander to put their mind back, and at that moment Valky loses control, and the body is unconscious.]

So, to sum it up:

Valkorion is weaker after being killed on Voss, Dromund Kaas and Zakuul, hence why the Outlander can resist him, regardless of theirconnection to the Force;

the holocron found on Nathema can bind, command and release spirits, which allows Outlander to free Vaylin (and Arcann, if applicable) from Valkorion;

the bond formed between Valkorion and Commander allowed the latter to survive after having their mind destroyed;

Vaylin didn't completely get rid of the conditioning on Nathema because the process didn't go as it should've, it just removed the trigger;

by consuming Vaylin's spirit Valkorion gained both her strength and her weakness - her conditioning, that's why it worked on him, and it temporarily weakened his connection to the Force.

I know this isn't perfect, there are probably plot holes that I haven't noticed or poorly explained, but I like it much more. Why do I even bother with this explanation?

I just love doing mental gymnastics around KotFE-ET, and this particular part was difficult yet entertaining to figure out.

But honestly, probably most important reason is that it works for every class (so even non Force-users are fitting here) because strength in the Force is not the key. Valkorion underestimated how observant and clever Outlander is, and I think it works better for their characters.

[eorzeashan]

had the sudden thought after ruminating on my Nightmare Pilgrim victory from last night, but...good lord, I bet Eight reeks of dead Force-user by now. He's killed so many of the most potent Dark-Siders that it's got to have stained his signature in the Force with an undeniable presence. It might even have changed him unknowingly.

Force-users don't fade quietly when you kill them. They tend to leave a mark even when you exorcise them fully in a way that others can feel-- hence why their kind avoids places where they know many of them have been destroyed. There's a warning. Places and things gain a scent of unnatural death. Mired in enough of their blood, these things may even gain a power of their own, as seen through countless artifacts and dead zones in the galaxy where numerous Force-users died.

Light-Siders have the benefit of being able to purge it from themselves with varying degrees of success. But someone like Eight with no skill in the Force, not an ounce of the power they have, being drenched head-to-toe in an entire lineage of the most prominent Force-users to once walk this side of the stars and then the added connections of Jadus and the Dread Masters...he must be unbearable to those who even look at him. Things like that have happened before. Sacrifice enough Jedi, and you gain the ability to live forever. Eat enough life essence, and you can remove yourself from a physical body entirely. Immerse yourself solely in fear, and you can control fear itself.

Kill an entire bloodline, and you gain the ability to destroy nothing but lineages.

What whispers would one hear from the steel of his blades? What stain cannot be wiped from his soul? What does this weapon look like, now that it has killed Eternity?

[three-fulm-thaumaturd]

Dawn? Trailed.

Finished Dawntrail MSQ tonight. Assorted scattershot (and spoiler-heavy) thoughts under the RM.

-I came to DT without much preexisting hype or emotional investment. All I wanted out of this expansion was to have a break from being the main character who has to save the multiverse from extinction, again, and to have some cool scenery to look at and some banger music, and we sure got that!

-There are a lot of things about how this expansion was written that didn't effortlessly or instinctively emotionally appeal to me in specific, but that are, when I think about them, really good, solid workmanlike choices re: how to construct a video game narrative.

-I know J-media tournament arcs are “well worn” in the same sense that the Grand Canyon or the Marianas Trench are, but they provide a plausible pretext for the things that MMOs are set up to do. Better than a host of supposedly highly-realized and virtuous precursor beings insisting that we repeatedly justify our existence by fighting, for sure.

-Being Wuk Lamat's mentor/emotional support Eorzean/800 pound gorilla was an interesting conceit. I think the writers carried off "non-protagonist PC" fairly well, and I've played other games where that was tried and didn't work (lookin at you SWtOR, re: KotFE). Lamat'yi feels like a more competently-written version of Stormblood-era Lyse. She's got both a core personality that remains consistent and a trajectory of increasing competence and maturity. I think she's well constructed as a protag/viewpoint character: she's primed to like things and people, her ethos of addressing conflict by seeking understanding and consensus is a good pretext to deliver exposition, and she feels/empathizes intensely but doesn't get stuck on her own emotional reactions. I wouldn’t say I effortlessly enjoy her as a character, especially early on when the writing leans hard into her immaturity and desperation to be liked and to prove herself, but I understand and respect what that’s for. It’s no different than Naruto or early-OT Luke Skywalker.

-I like the variety of Central/South American cultural inspo (Aztec, Quechua, Yucatec Maya, Pueblo, etc), we got in the setting and culture for this xpac, and the conception of Tural as a very racially/culturally heterogeneous place where power comes from the aggregate of a complicated network of relationships that have to be negotiated on an ongoing basis. It's not zero-sum, and finding solutions that benefit everyone is hard but worthwhile.

-I was excited to be able to bring Krile, my favorite Scion, along this time. I feel like the ShB/EW A-team had enough presence to appeal to people who like them and not so much that they upstaged the new characters or the change of scenery.

-I think there was effort to add cinematographic interest to the many, dense cutscenes other than wide-angle shot/reverse-shot over paragraphs of text. Some of the camera angles (switching between the faces of my minimum-height lalafell and 2m+ Wuk Lamat) and long shots of characters' expressions resulted in...sometimes-intentional uncanniness and unintentional comedy. This probably was not the devs' intention (their intention was probably a performance with emotional subtlety that the graphics overhaul alas still doesn't permit), but my instinctive read was that it felt like unnecessary padding/stalling for time.

-Re: other stuff that felt like it unnecessarily lengthened the playtime and the amount of text to read, sometimes I resent that it feels like I'm being not just spoon-fed, but bottle-fed plot and character beats that are not complicated or hard to understand. Then I see people evincing failure to comprehend what they're reading elsewhere on the internet and understand why it's done that way. :\

-There's basically one trademark Ishikawa conflict: Local man driven to extremes by inability/unwillingness to come to terms with loss, aging, and death. There's also one trademark Ishikawa sin that characterizes all of the ShB-and-after antagonists: a delusional insistence on harming the living to feed the dead. Those come up so consistently that her style is instantly recognizable...and I wonder some about what she's experienced or how she's doing.

-The hairpin turn in the plot about 2/3 of the way in and the by-now very familiar tropes aren't my narrative jam at all, but it was engaging enough to mostly keep my attention until the end. I'm beyond weary of Ascians/Ancients and shard math, so I'm glad those things were referenced (and there's some interesting stuff to chew on re: Lalafell history in particular) but not focal.

-I'm a little mad, because my pre-Heritage-Found speculation that El Dorado was going to turn out to actually be an aetherologic Superfund site (which would explain the security, the giants charging in and coming back dead, sick, or unable to reproduce, the teratogenic effects on eg Blessed Siblings etc and the fight for control of it as a putative military asset) seemed to have a lot of fun possibilities. I guess you could argue that Living Memory might be a very abstracted nod in that direction.

-*Queen Sphene*? Really, you couldn’t have named her anything at all else???

-I'm not at all satisfied that "he felt overshadowed by his father's accomplishments and wanted to prove his worth independent of his unusual heritage" is sufficient justification for how Zoraal Ja was, especially prior to his first contact with Alexandria. I figured based on his behavior and Krile's remarks, that he had to be Tempered, or affected by an equivalent kind of magical compulsion.

-The final trial, and to a lesser extent the last dungeon are an unmitigated (and unmitigatable until mods become available again) accessibility nightmare if you're photosensitive or prone to motion sickness. I hoped the devs would take the feedback they got from the ShB alliance raid series under consideration but they sure didn't give a shit. Guess I'm not doing roulettes for a while.

[dingoat]

hi sorry I haven't gotten around to your ask yet I'm working on it, BUT I'm tossing the favorite SWTOR oc question back your way (and also whether they're following canon or doing their own thing).

I'd also love to know if you have any particular bothan headcanons you like a lot.

Hi hi!! Don't worry at all, please take your time with your response! We're all here for fun and interactions, not pressure, right? And thankyou for asking!!!

Now, part one is easy, haha. Ahuska is hands down my number one best favourite SWTOR OC, even if she appears somewhat differently in game than in my imagination. She's my main toon, the only one actually up to speed with game content, the only one with passable gear, lots of fun pets and mounts and outfits, and is currently working on polishing up her Mojo Dojo Copero Dream House.

(I absolutely need to draw her as her proper bothan self in this outfit!)

BUT, where she matters to me even more than that is in her story/RP, and here things diverge... quite a lot, hahaha. Very very originally she was just a toon that I made to PVP alongside my husband with (I actually did think of her as a bothan right from the start), but when I found myself hungry for RP I fleshed her out a little to join a RP guild in game which is where her life really started (particularly owing to @koboldgirl and the exceptional times we've had writing together). The group's premise was a Mandalorian clan rebuilding itself after all the Zakuul business, but despite that vague timeframe her story never really touched on swtor events or canon characters (the toon is an Imperial Agent but she is not REMOTELY an Agent, even as much as I love the IA storyline). Over time I made a bunch of wonderful friends in the swtor community and Ahuska's story has intercepted a few others here and there, and from that perspective keeping the timeline vague/unimportant and away from key canon characters/moments has really helped with being able to have her interact with others without contradicting their own things they have going on. I think engaging with other characters/writers is what motivates me more than anything and I get a tonne of joy in seeing/considering/plotting how they might interact!

(Read more for things getting weird and werewolfy.)

Now, Ahuska also took a deep dive into an AU with @askshivanulegacy that started as a halloween drabble challenge and has somehow become literal years of very intense worldbuilding and fiction and words can't describe how much I love this story, hahaha. It's still very much Ahuska, and very much swtor, it's just... swtor if the Empire managed to perfect a weird-science-sith-alchemy-intelligence-conditioning combo to create a very star-warsy version of werewolves (and were-any-other-critter). The first generation were designed to be secret soldiers/weapons, but the project failed and Ahuska is the sole survivor, going on a wonderful journey of self liberation and learning what truly makes a monster. The second generation (and all subsequent) came from Intel refining the technology and utilising it as an extra toolset for the most elite of elite Cipher agents, which is where almost all the rest of the cast comes from. Naturally there's a lot of divergence from canon here by the very nature of things, but funnily we also lean on a lot more canon swtor story beats, particularly when we look ahead to the KotFE and beyond time period.

I have so much love for every iteration of Ahuska, honestly, and I know I've mentioned it here and there but she really truly did play a huge role in pulling me out of a pretty grim place, not only helping me rediscover a lot of creativity but also helping to restore my trust and faith in people in general. She's led me to people who are now my absolute dearest friends, which in turn has taken me quite literally, physically across this humble planet we live on. I genuinely believe sharing stories is a massive part of what makes us human and I get very sentimental when I consider what a significant place this silly little bothan holds in my heart <3

Now, it's getting late for me, haha, so I will probably visit the second part of your ask in another post, but I love that as a question! >3 Once again ty for sending this and I can't wait to hear about yours!

[cursedbeasts]

It is challenge wednesday, my dudes!

Cursedbeast's SWTOR challenge - a challenge I came up with all the way back in 2019

Free to use

Text version of the prompts:

Favorite player class (origin story)

weapon

Spaceship

Droid

Location

Vanilla companion

KOTFE \ ET companion

Less known character

[sullustangin]

Fic thoughts

Well, we've passed the 4 year mark since "the Captain" was created for "Lady of Emancipation." That was the first appearance of Eva in my SWTOR fic (and my first post on AO3) back in February 2020. In that fic, Bowdaar comes to Odessen after Eva wins Zakuulan fight club and bleeds into a bucket, much to the distress of Theron. It's set between Chapters 9 and 10 of KotFE.

I'm approaching that fic in the timeline, and while a lot of salient elements of Eva and my version of Theron remain, there are some differences. Some of the speech is clunky, and "Eva Corolastor" is not a named character. She's just the Captain, and at the time, I knew she was NOT my Cathar smuggler, Dyominia, who is LS5.

The Captain has no future, in her own mind. She hates slavery. She loves Theron. That's all there was. There's a lot more to Eva now.

There's a part of me that wants to revisit that plotline and revise it, but I don't want to pull a George Lucas and make the old version unavailable. I don' t want to take it down or edit it, because that's not what has been there for 4 years as a gateway to the rest of the series. I'm also sort of like "well, it's not completely out of character or inconsistent, even as Eva is now." Yet it is, plus I was shaking off about 11 years of fan fic writing rust at the time; I'm not 100% happy with it now, in retrospect.

I'm not deleting the old fic, but I'm divided as to how to handle it. If I incorporate the plot into a larger, different story, do I leave the old version within the series as a memorial to what was? Or remove it, and let the readers in the future stumble across it as they may? Or should I leave it as is, flaws and all, and not rewrite it at all?

[kemendin]

I have been wondering about for a few days now. How did Cas acquire the Rakata implants?

So for a bit of background, two of Caspian's core story elements (which I try to work into every version of him, in some way) are:

a) an unhealthy fascination with ancient technology (Wildstar: Eldan, ESO: Dwemer, Secret World: Third Age, etc)

b) getting his left hand massively fucked up in some way (mouthed off to the wrong crime lord, one of my other characters cut it off, woke up in a back alley and it was just gone, you know. Normal things)

Put these together and we end up with - ancient tech prosthetics!

In SWTOR specifically, Cas' ancient tech fascination winds up being the Rakata. Not sure where it starts - possibly on Tatooine with What Czerka Found (TM), possibly earlier, but in whatever free time the galaxy allows him he does a lot of research and studies whatever Rakatan artefacts he can get his hands on. (This is why Belsavis kinda sucks - he'd be having a really great time exploring the vaults if it weren't for all the ancient monstrosities being unleashed by stupid Imperials, not to mention wrestling with his Fortress trauma.)

Then we get to good times with the Revanites and their experiments with creating the Infinite Army by fusing Rakatan tech with living beings. The results are, naturally, horrific - but Cas can't help wondering if it was dialed back a whole, whole lot, maybe such tech would be viable as helpful implants. In what is not the most objectively good decision he's ever made, he makes sure the research is salvaged as much as it can be, and set aside (with extremely limited access, of course).

Fast forward to KOTFE and the carbonite nap. Like in canon, Cas nearly dies from the carbonite sickness, but it also ends up messing with his left hand in particular, leaving it shaky and weakened - not great for either slicing or holding a lightsaber, two of his best things. He compensates as best he can, and deals with it in his usual way - by gritting his teeth and pushing through it - until he faces Arcann again, and his already vulnerable hand is devastated by Arcann's Force lightning, to the point of being essentially nonfunctional.

The combination of physical and Force-inflicted injury means his hand is difficult to get working properly again, and Cas finally has to concede that something needs to be done. So he goes back to the idea of Rakatan implants, and after a lot of VERY careful research and testing - and many vocal objections from Theron, who thinks this is an awful idea - Cas ends up with some cool implants that allow his hand to function normally again. There might be some other benefits too, haven't decided yet. At some point I'll muse more on the specifics, but for now this is just 'I like it and I do what I want'.

Arts by @yarpell and @yalaki respectively <3 (hi Scourge ;D)

[abysskeeper]

Trick, mistake, secret and skin

This 100% did not start with me thinking Trick was one of the words

Yeah ok, my secret is that I'm always on my bullshit about Trick too. Another readmore because I uh...always always ramble hard about my girl.

skin: How comfortable is your OC in their skin? Do they grapple with anything that lives inside them—a beast, a curse, a failure, a monster? How do they face the smallest, weakest, most horrible version of themself? Are they able to acknowledge it at all?

So, the key to writing Trick in any way, shape, or form is that she is, 99.9% of the time, never comfortable in her own skin and always contending with some type of monster writhing beneath her skin. Is she confident and capable in her abilities? Yes. Willing to lead and make the tough decisions? Yes. Self-assured and secure in who she is? No, never.

Is it a contradiction in a lot of ways? Yes, but the girl's a mess of martyr complexes and insecurities. She almost always, honestly believes she is the most horrible version of herself (a coward and a monster), and though she would only call herself as such in a conversation where it's directly referenced, she never denies the accusation and does all she can with her actions to try and make up for her perceived shortcomings. In reality, the worst version of herself is the girl who gave up for a time (there's usually some point in her history where she went selectively mute and actively tried to kill herself), and in that regard, Trick often pretends that girl actually succeeded. She rarely acknowledges that time existed, ashamed as she is by it, and on the rare chance it does come up...well, the ensuing conversation isn't pretty.

As for the monsters beneath her skin, it varies by verse, but she's usually contending with some type of darkness or beast that's a thinly veiled allegory for her rage, desperation, and trauma (because I'm like that). A few examples, in no particular order:

Pack-verse: In Trick's original universe (a dystopian urban fantasy/sci-fi mashup), she's a wolf shapeshifter who was experimented on as a kid, which ultimately resulted in the line between human and beast blurring within her. Meaning, she has a tendency to go partial-to-full werewolf when deeply upset, among other differences (improved senses, heightened instincts and reflexes, etc). She's terrified of her capabilities and tries to repress herself as much as possible, which only backfires. The whole character arc there is about her coming to terms with who she is and what happened to her, and accepting that that side of her (the rage, the desperation, the trauma) is not actually a bad thing (and is actually more heightened because of her human choices, not the animalistic ones).

SWTOR: I took the Jedi Consular story and ran with it. The effects of the Force plague linger after chapter 1, even after Morrhage is defeated. I figured that lending out your soul to protect fellow Jedi against a Dark plague probably means you don't get everything back properly, even if you did everything right. She doesn't suffer from corruption so much (I actually believe she's not corruptible because she learned the shielding technique), but she's almost constantly, subconsciously using the shielding technique on herself to battle off the bit of Darkness she inherited from those she shielded. Other parts of her are missing altogether. It causes her a lot of chronic pain, but over time she learns to deal with it...until chapter 3 when she secretly starts shielding the Children and accidentally inherits some of the Emperor's power. KOTFE and KOTET are the worst time of her life, and she never knew so much relief as when the Emperor finally died in EOO.

BG3: My new project and current brainrot. Trick's issues are a little different here, as she's dealing with divinity instead of darkness (her backstory fic I'm working on is literally subtitled "You've Been Touched by Something Holy"). Instead of dealing with darkness, she's dealing with the fact she's literally been touched by the God of Death and bares the scars (both physical and emotional. I'm using this as an excuse to finally make this a valid design and not just metaphorical) that set her apart from her peers. It's still very much a metaphor for her rage and grief, but has a new and exciting flavor that I'm still working out all the kinks of.

secret: What's one secret your OC never wants anyone to know about them?

Again, depends on verse, but Trick always has at least one, world shattering secret she's keeping to herself. Generally, no matter in what iteration, there are deaths in her past she doesn't want anyone knowing about. The numbers and her exact involvement often vary, but she always feels a sense of guilt for people she either directly or indirectly killed through her actions and/or inactions. Otherwise:

Pack-verse: Her primary secret she wishes no one knew is, exactly, the number of people she's been responsible for killing as an agent of the government. However, that isn't a secret she can hide, as most people know and/or remember her committing those crimes. Instead, the secret she's trying most to hide is the aforementioned experimentation and ensuing consequences. She doesn't want anyone to know just how monstrous she really is, and how utterly disgusted she constantly feels about herself.

SWTOR: She tries to take the fact she was born an Imperial slave to the grave, but it does come out eventually to the Republic or Alliance. Instead, the one thing she will take to the grave is what happened to her as a result of the shielding technique. She'll never speak a word about the non-corruption corruption (thus, she'll never ask for help) because she fears how people will view her or treat her if they ever knew. The only exception is Cipher Nine, sometimes, but that man can and will both take a secret to the grave and never once consider betraying her trust.

BG3: The fact she died and was resurrected by a God. It's kind of hard to avoid in full, given the golden scarring is a dead giveaway of something divine happening to her, but she doesn't easily share the full story. And having died and being resurrected stands in direct contrast to being a cleric (and unrealized Chosen) of Kelemvor, nevermind the fact it was Kelemvor who asked her to live and resurrected her in the first place. It's complicated.

mistake: What's the worst mistake your OC ever made? What led to them making it? Have they been able to fix it? How have they moved on?

Trusting Torren, in every verse. The worst mistake she ever made is trusting her...ex? Abuser? Mirror image and narrative foil? All of the above?

Regardless, Torren is always her worst mistake. She tried so hard to fix him, but he was one of those people who couldn't be helped, and did nothing but manipulate and use her further because of her goodwill. People got hurt and died because of it, no matter the verse. She got hurt (usually assaulted), no matter the verse. Torren is always the worst mistake, no matter what, and the only reason she ever trusted him was because she was young and naive and just wanted to help.

Usually Trick rectifies it by, eventually, killing him. It's the only way she feels like she can rectify everything he's done (to her and to others), and it is her burden to bare alone (though sometimes Tav insists on doing the honors). Even after he's dead though, it takes a long time for her to move on from everything that happened. When she has Tav, he usually helps facilitate her moving on quicker, but she can get there on her own with enough time away from the situation and a metric fuckton of painful self-reflection.

[consularmain]

4, 13, 17 for Minerva?

ty for the ask!

4. Where would you recruit them from? Pre KOTFE: Tython. You would have to go into the Jedi Temple and find a training room where she would be teaching a group of Padawans. Post KOTFE: The Force Enclave on Odessen. She would be meditating alone where Sana-Rae usually stands.

13. What gifts do they Love? Like? What would they say when you gave them a gift? Minerva likes Republic memorabilia, cultural artifacts, and weapon gifts. She loves luxury and courting gifts. Her dialogue for liked gifts would be: "This is lovely!" "Jedi do not need gifts. But... thank you." "Intriguing." Her dialogue for loved gifts would be: "Oh, how thoughtful!" "My friend, you shouldn't have."

17. What letter’s would they send post vanillia class story/SOR/KOTFE? This got looooong sorry I just loved writing these. I included both romanced and non-romanced versions :) I'll be posting these on ao3 for easier reading.

Post Class #1 non-romanced

Sender: Jedi Battlemaster Minerva Subject: The Emperor

He is gone. It almost doesn’t feel real. I have lived in fear of him for what feels like a whole lifetime, but it has truly only been a few months. 

I feel as though I can finally breathe again. The path to healing for myself and everyone touched by his darkness will not be simple, but I am determined to make amends for the things I have done. 

Thank you for standing by me, even through the worst of it. If you ever have need of me, I will be there. 

Minerva

Post Class #1 romanced

Sender: Jedi Battlemaster Minerva Subject: The Emperor

He is gone. It almost doesn’t feel real. I have lived in fear of him for what feels like a whole lifetime, but it has truly only been a few months.

I know I have been… distant lately and for that, I apologize. It was never my intention to hurt you by pushing you away – I only wanted to protect you, even from myself. 

I will never comprehend how you could continue to love me after everything he – I did. I do not remember much of my time under his control, but I know you had to watch me do… unspeakable things. I hurt the people that love me the most. I hurt you. 

I thought I was protecting you by pushing you away, by ignoring my feelings for you. But when I faced Vitiate in the Dark Temple, I wasn’t thinking of my duty as a Jedi or Scourge’s prophecy – I thought only of you. 

I once believed my love for you would only bring ruin to us both. But it’s the opposite. You give me strength. You give me focus. You give me a future worth fighting for. 

I have never been more glad to be wrong. 

Yours, Hanan

Post Class #2 romanced

Sender: Jedi Battlemaster Minerva Subject: Us

I never imagined I would one day be a wife but… here we are. 

It’s strange – a few years ago, I would have condemned any Jedi who gave in to such “weakness”. But I’ve never felt so complete, so strong. I have denied myself such joys for long enough. I want to know what it is to live. With you. I’m just sorry it took me so long to realize that. 

It may take me time to settle into marital bliss. Even longer to accept you won’t disappear. Please be patient with me. 

I love you. I hope you know that, even if I don’t say it enough. 

Your wife, Hanan

Post Class #3 romanced

Sender: Jedi Battlemaster Minerva Subject: Our Future

I have been meditating on the future lately. This war will not end anytime soon and I know it’s dangerous to make promises but if the galaxy is ever at peace in our lifetime… I want to leave everything behind and just be with you. 

I don’t care what the Council will think. You mean more to me than any Code, any rule, any vow. 

We have a future together, you and I. If that means falling in battle or living until we are old and gray, then I will gladly walk with you. 

All my love, Hanan

Shadow of Revan

Sender: Jedi Battlemaster Minerva Subject: Vitiate

I thought we were finally free. 

I was wrong. 

I do not care what I have to do, how far I will have to go – I will not rest until he is dead. 

I won’t stop until we are safe from him.

KotFE

Sender: Commander Minerva Subject: I still love you

Five years and you haven’t changed. I’m glad. 

You have always been my rock, the one thing keeping me grounded when I start to lose myself. I fear what would have become of me if we hadn’t found each other again. When Lana rescued me from carbonite and told me how much time had passed, I feared the worst. I couldn’t feel you. There was just… a constant ache reminding me I was missing my other half. 

I worried that after so many years, you might have… forgotten what we meant to each other. 

But you came back to me. And no Emperor or Eternal Empire will take you away from me. 

That I can promise you. 

Your loving wife, Hanan

[bardic-tales]

"The clones that Adaki uses on Dromund Kaas as Jadus are clones of Cynthia. He created them when she was separated from him the first time."

I'm curious, what was Cynthia's reactions upon seeing them the first time?

Hi! Hope your day is going well. And thanks for the ask. I always look forward to your SWTOR questions, as they tend to make me think. lol

That's one of the messed-up things in their relationship. Cynthia is rightfully disgusted about them. He first created them during the years spanning their first separation: when she was forcibly extracted from his home by Imperial Intelligence and the Dark Council, when he was rising as Darth Jadus.

When she first met them, he had them garbed in crimson robes and helmets obscuring their appearance from her. She only knew that they were feminine.

She often shows her fiery spirit with Adaki, knowing that she can bring her concerns to him. When she realizes that they are her, she tells him to get rid of them. He does -- showcasing his morally ambiguous nature -- but he spares one of them. I lost her name during the data glitch where I lost most of my work.

This clone accompanies Ellese and Gor'en to Zakuul when they go rescue Adaki during the events of KOTFE. Gor'en even asks Elle if she thinks that his father might have sought comfort in them during the years where Adaki was separated from Cynthia and how she even feels about them, as Elle is the twin sister of Cyn. Then, Gor'en makes quips that is his fantasy to be with multiple versions of Elle as Justin (my husband) and I were trying to keep the smuggler's personality intact with the RP.

Cloning and the Sith dagger play a large role in their love story, as it is how Adaki and Cynthia eventually reach immortality. He will not live without Cynthia.

[knamil]

The comics class I'm auditing is doing a comic of Little Red Riding Hood (the very old public domain version I think it's Grimm, but not sure). The class assignment for the week is to come up with 3 genres and the instructor is going to pick the genre and then the students have to tell the story in about 12 pages. (They also have to do full character turnarounds for each genre for each character. That is so fucking intense. I'd fail this class if I was actually taking it an not just observing. There is no pass/fail for the class. I'd still fail.)

So, I don't want to do that. Not interested in Little Red Riding Hood, but I have to come up with a story if I'm going to make my own comic to follow along.

Do you see where this is heading?

As I was digging through past fanfics and fanarts I found an AU story I wrote in 2014 or so based around the cut dialogue that had been datamined from the original swtor launch.

I haven't played the latest swtor stuff. I played through kotfe/kotet and barely remember it (and since my favorite companion had not returned for a storyline that should have included him I'm still kind of meh about Valkorian in general. Like I have opinions, but I don't even remember enough about it to know if they're valid or I'm just salty) I know Scourge and Kira returned and I did all that content to see the new romances and get a little snippet about what happened with them, but it was too short for me to want to write about it.

ANYWAY, about that AU fic that I never posted. From all appearances I had played around with making it into a comic, but never even got into the scripting stage. I think maybe that's why I never posted the text anywhere?

I didn't actually remember the fic when I read it, I only know I had planned a comic because I have an empty scrivner file with the fic name and the word comic at the end.

The story itself is 6,000 words long which is SUPER short for me so I can see that I was trying to reign it in to make it doable within what remains of my lifetime.

(Sad side note: I usually abandoned comics projects because I estimated the time it would take to make them and came out with several years. I would have finished at least 3 full fanfic comics by now if I had just stuck with it so yeah. Time: it passes. I need to stop giving up on everything.)

SO yeah. Making a comic about Remi and Scourge. Completely AU. Nothing that happens after the main JK story happens at all. No makeb/revan/ziost/kotfe/kotet/etc. because the story was written before any of those things even happened.

My recent Scourge drawing was a panel test. :D

We do this, not because it was easy, but because we thought it would be easy.

That's the first act. Did I mention the text is only 6000 words? Clocking in at 22 pages the first act is the shortest text wise (1600 words). So... heh heh ehhhhh. Wish me luck?

[a-master-procrastinator]

Which of your SWTOR Companions are NOT with the Alliance?

I was inspired by this post by @swtorpadawan.

It's a good question, and it got me thinking (slowly, as always). For now, I've come up with fates of companions in Lette Legacy (Jett as the Outlander), and will work on others later.

Warning - Mentions of established character deaths below. And lots of spoilers for KotFE and everything after it.

In my headcanon the events of KotFE and onwards are different from in-game version, which impacts the fate of some companions. The most relevant differences are the fates of class characters (Bounty Hunter, Jedi Consular, Smuggler and Agent are in the Alliance; Jedi Knight, Sith Warrior, Sith Inquisitor and Trooper are not with the Alliance for different reasons) and the fact that the Alliance does not participate in the renewed war between the Republic and Sith Empire, choosing to stay neutral.

Also, the state of companions changes with time, so this is for the time around the events of 7.0 in SWTOR.

Jedi Knight crew:

Fideltin Rusk - continues his military service in the Republic.

Doc - after Ossus stays to help the Jedi in the renewed war.

Jedi Consular crew:

Zenith - continues anti-Imperial activities.

Tharan Cedrax - survives the Imperial attack on Meridian Complex and continues to work for the Republic.

Nadia Grell - after Ossus stays with the Jedi.

Trooper crew:

Elara Dorne - continues her military service in the Republic as a part of the Havoc Squad, takes Jorgan's place as second in command after he joined the Alliance.

M1-4X - stays with the Republic as part of the Havoc Squad.

Tanno Vik - does whatever he was doing in chapter 6.

Sith Warrior crew:

Malavai Quinn - stays with the Empire as one of Acina's officers.

Major Pierce - continues his military service in the Empire.

Jaesa Wilsaam - disappears after Emperor's Wrath's death, current whereabouts unknown.

Broonmark - killed while trying to assassinate a Wookiee senator on Alderaan.

Vette - killed by Vaylin on Odessen.

Sith Inquisitor crew:

Khem Val, Andronikos Revel, Talos Drellik and Xalek - all stay in the Sith Empire and work for Darth Nox.

Ashara Zavros - killed by apprentices of Darth Nox.

Bounty Hunter crew:

Skadge - just does his thing, if nobody shot him yet. (I don't even count him as companion, but since he is a companion in the game, I guess I had to add him). Jett never met him again after dropping him somewhere shortly after Belsavis.

Imperial Agent crew:

Vector Hyllus - continues his duties as Dawn Herald.

SCORPIO - merged with Iokath.

Kaliyo - dropped out of the Alliance after Vaylin is dealt with. I just don't think she would stick for much of what comes next.

So 22 out of 40 companions from class stories are not with the Alliance (obviously Kaliyo, SCORPIO and Vette were a part of the Alliance).

Honorable mention: Raina Temple - officially is not with the Alliance, but working with them to maintain communication between the Alliance and the Chiss Ascendancy.

[witching-by-the-willow]

Hey bestie!!Hello fellow anon!Ily both sm rn cause for some unknown reason I’ve been extra obsessed with kotw and can’t stop thinking about it.Literally.I’m reading every single goodreads review cause it’s the closest thing to discussing it.

Anyways sooo…Pride’s definitely the problem lol. Was Vittoria the only one Pride supposedly cheated on her with?This is not only miscommunication lmao.Wasn’t he kissing Vittoria and you can’t tell me he had no feeling at all for her.That’s cheating. That being said I wanted to discuss some things I noticed like I got the feeling Lucia didn’t leave only because of the whole Vittoria thing.That seemed like the final push and isn’t she happy and well rn?Why tf would they send her to hell’s version of Italy and not the actual Italy tho…

Also, I could swear it was said that Pride’s wife and her sisters’s hearts were torn from their chests.That’s why we all thought of them being the twins.So why the inconsistency?I’m pretty sure Kerri just changed her mind or forgot mentioning that.

Alsooo…I could also swear Claudia lost her mind in the first book.How come she’s fine and well outta nowhere?Not that I’m unhappy about it.I love her.She’s a sweetheart.I love both her and Vittoria way more than Pride,but strangely I kinda like him too,not sure why.And the irony of them being besties while everyone was trying to keep them apart isn’t lost on me.

Vittoria’s definitely unhinged and aggressive but she’s so interesting imo.I loved reading about her in kotw and that didn’t change in kotf.Can’t wait to read more about her.She brings the flavor…

Ahh wouldn’t be all love more of our collective baby Sloth

Can I just say, I love how some of you are having conversations through my askbox as anons? Like, this is so wholesome and fun to see 😂❤️

Lmao I also read every Goodreads review and listened to all podcasts I could find about this book while waiting for KOTC and after that KOTF, so I relate hard with you. 💀💀

And okay, coming to this. Not a surprise to anyone, it once again is a man who is that problem. 💀💀

Pride definitely fucked up big time, and I do definitely think he and Vittoria do have some unresolved feelings for each other, which is what makes this triangle a hot mess, I suppose? Like, the only thing that could make this even more unhinged, is if Vittoria and Lucia/Claudia also end up attracted to each other ajfhajbfjangnang (okay but listen, they were friends as "mortals". They did dates and everything. Is it really such a stretch to thing Claudia and Vittoria kissed at some point? Is it? Hmm? 👀)

"hell's version of Italy and not actual Italy" is sending me kahfjajgkabgja I would be so sour if I was Lucia lol. Though I think it's keep her protected with the shadow/star witches (I think that's what they're called?), and also because the Shifting Isles are never stagnant, I believe there was something about how they exist in multiple intersections of time and space simultaneously? so I think it would be way harder to find someone in there than in the real, mortal-world Italy.

Okay, I don't remember this well, so correct me if I'm wrong. But I think the part about pride's wife and her sister having their hearts torn was in the Wrath POV bonus chapter? And that was, I believe, one of the initial crafts that Kerri Maniscalco was writing. So there are lots of things in those chapters that don't match with the book we got. I think they're meant more as some fun add-ons to read, rather than missing parts of the books we got.

And about Claudia losing her mind..... I'm pretty sure that was one of the witches, right? Like, even with Sofia Santorini, it was Nonna Maria who made her go mad, rather than her actually going insane. So they probably did something similar to Claudia ti get her away from scrying (because then she'd start remembering), and then fixed her, because well. You can't fuck up you boss' daughter like that permanently when she entrusted you to care for her. 💀💀💀

YES, them being besties even when they were always meant to be apart? Look what happens when there's no man to be fighting over. 🤌🤌

Oh yeah, Vittoria is interesting to read about, yes. But my gripe with her character is more like.... she's not exactly morally gray for most of her arc. She keeps switching between being absolutely diabolical, to being shown as an all-in-all good person. And that's more of a writing inconsistency. Like, I like the unhingedness, but I would really appreciate if we can decide what role her character is going to have in the story, you know? Because right now it seems like she is being swinged to play whatever part suits the point the story of the other characters is at, as opposed to having her own role and arc. So perhaps with more development, I'd appreciate her character more.

And oh yes, Sloth's time to shine when???

[tiffireads]

side note: my copy of KOTF got posted out TODAY so I officially finished the Kindle version like 4 days before it got posted despite preordering But That just means I can cry again when I reread the whole series over Christmas and try to preserve the new book smell for a big depression day

[chaos-enchanted]

undefined

The Twin Conquerors

Arcann and Thexan- Knights Of The Old Republic

[cursedbeasts]

Bestia's Wrath Chapter 4: Shattered Days

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Summary:

Bestia is having a trip and a half. My version of the dreamscape chapter from KOTFE, tailored to Bestia's past.

Beginning Notes:

Suggested listening for this part: Eternity Served Cold (Homestuck). The slowed down version in particular fits really well.

Bestia floated among the stars, somehow immune to the vacuum and cold of space. In front of her was an enormous black hole wreathed in orange matter. It spun slowly against the dark red background. She was being pulled towards it, and couldn't move. A black hand suddenly emerged from the black hole, the same complete empty black as the hole itself and outlined in flames. It reached out towards Bestia, and she watched helplessly. She lifted crossed arms in front of her face in a vain attempt at defending herself. The hand clamped down on her, and then there was a burst of warm golden light. It was blinding, and Bestia shut her eyes. When she reopened them, she could see the remnants of the black hole closing and dissipating before her. 

There was a flash of the same golden light behind her, and she wheeled around, to see a frail old man floating there. He was short, pale, and his hair was grey and fluffy. He was dressed in a simple white tunic with wide sleeves and a long skirt. There was a jagged tattoo running all around his neck in a wicked approximation of a collar. Bestia recognized him as Vitiate's latest vessel, Valkorion, and bristled immediately.

“YOU!” She shouted.

Valkorion raised his hands in a pacifying motion. The sleeves slipped down to reveal jagged lines of scars that circled his thin wrists.

"It's okay. I understand your hostility. Feel free to not believe me, but I am not Vitiate," he said gently.

Bestia didn't sense Vitiate's presence on him, and decided to humor him.

"What is this place?" Bestia waved an arm at their surroundings. The space around them was now filled with stars.

"You are sleeping. Your body is trapped and poisoned by the carbonite prison. What I did just now was repel an attack from Tenebrae, who tried to possess you." 

"Ah, a mindscape. Figures. Thanks for the save. I really appreciate it. Sorry for shouting at you."

"You are welcome. What does Tenebrae want from you?" 

Valkorion nodded, floating cross legged. Bestia followed his example. If they were to have a sad little heart to heart, might as well get comfortable.

"Vitiate has a grudge against me. Probably because I never groveled before him like he thinks everyone should, and because I saw him kill my mother. And maybe he's jealous of my big strong arms. He's tried to possess me many times but I managed to resist him so far."

She flexed an arm. Her Dread Master robes lacked sleeves exactly for the purpose of showing off her arms. Valkorion nodded, acknowledging the show, then smiled sadly.

"I am afraid I cannot say the same. I am not in possession of a will strong enough to resist him nor big arms. Being stuck on the throne for centuries is… withering."

"I gathered as much. I saw you in the throne room. I remembered you from back on Nathema."

"What did you do to earn his attention?" Bestia asked once done settling in.

"I wish I knew. I hazard a guess it was my power in the Force, and my isolated position. I lived in a tribe, and I discovered something about the gods we worshipped, and the tribe exiled me for speaking what they deemed heresy. I was left completely alone to fend for myself. Which… I don't know about your species, but humans are social creatures. Even the ones who love solitude need company from time to time. Being alone for so long messed with my mind. So when Tenebrae showed up, I clung to him. He was my only company. So I did everything he asked of me. I think I even fell in love with him. I went up against the machines that held our gods captive. Tenebrae lent me his power, and I was able to free the gods, one by one. They granted me boons. Extended life span. Strength in the Force beyond what I had. But with every time I accepted Tenebrae's help, he'd erode my will. Until, shortly after I established the beginnings of the first city, he took over. And since then, I was forced to watch." 

His voice grew more and more broken as he went on, spilling his story. Bestia felt pity towards him. He reminded her of her father in a way. Both gentle souls pulled into things against their will, tormented by Vitiate for the crime of existing. She signed, and reached out through the Force bond that linked her to the other Dread Masters. She couldn't sense anything, but it didn't feel torn and raw like it did when Styrak died. So at least that was good.

"I'm so sorry," She finally said. "I hope you'll find peace in the Force. You deserve it."

"I do not know if I'm dead yet. The wound that your child has inflicted was fatal, true, but Heskal is a great healer. Our lives are in balance for now, which is why we're here."

He paused, looking up and away, as if he heard something.

"Speaking of which. It seems I have to go now. They are trying to awaken me. I suppose my life is not over yet."

"See you in the real world then. We have Vitiate ass to kick."

"I do hope our paths will cross again."

He gave Bestia another sad smile, a small glimmer of hope in his eyes. And then, he disappeared. Bestia watched the space he occupied for a few moments. Her surroundings changed, the starry void giving way to orange cloud-choked sky, and Bestia found herself floating by the spire of the Dread Palace. The golden glow of the Phobis Device housed there was blinding, causing her to shield her eyes and look down. Two figures were moving down along the spire: Rammas, the odd Sith apprentice, was free falling, guiding her descent via Force telekinesis, and Tyrans, one of the Dread Masters, was zapping around on red energy wings. Rammas's eyes were closed, and Tyrans's mask was off, revealing a narrow face and a spiky white mullet of hair. This was their idea of fun, and were Bestia there and in a better mental state, she would have joined them. As the ground approached, Rammas opened her eyes. Black, a red line around a black horizontal pupil. Her hands shot forward, a blast of Force telekinesis stopping her rapid descent. She and Tyrans landed in front of one of the side entrances to the palace.

Bestia floated towards them. 

"Tyrans?" She called out tentatively. 

Neither him nor Rammas seemed to hear her, although Tyrans looked over his shoulder, puzzled. His eyes widened as a shadow fell over his face. Rammas turned to look too, her expression matching Tyrans's. Bestia spun around, to face a sky full of the same cross-shaped ships that attacked her and Marr. The Eternal Fleet. The force that has been attacking Outer Rim worlds.

Tyrans scowled and activated his mask, the wings spreading as he took off. Alarms went off, and Bestia could only watch as energy blasts started raining down all around. Dread Guard scuttled below, hurrying to board ships and either fight the invaders or escape. She watched as Tyrans met up with his sister Brontes up in the air, the two expertly weaving among the blasts. Despite the distance, she could hear their conversation.

"I've scanned the ships. Minimal life forms. The bulk of the forces are droids." Brontes said.

"Meaning our power won't work against them…" Tyrans sounded disappointed. 

"We could hack them."

"Turn them against each other?"

"...Or give them a virus or two and watch them self-destruct. Or even assume control." Brontes added to her brother's suggestion.

"We'll need time though. I'm not familiar with this tech."

"Neither am I. It's nothing like I've seen before. Not Gree, not Rakata…" she spun around and away from a blast from one of the ships. "I wonder if it has to do with Bestia's sudden departure."

"Yeah. She left and suddenly these bastards show up. Weird, but could be an inevitable result of Oricon being in the line of fire." Tyrans shrugged. "If we want to hack this, we'll need a sample. And we'll need time and space to analyse it."

"I suppose this calls for a tactical retreat then."

A particularly big blast fell upon the Dread palace, destroying one of the side spires.

"I hate to say it but no matter how I calculate it…" Tyrans watched the spire crumble as more and more energy rained from above. "Oricon's lost. We need to get the Devices, get our sample, and escape."

The two of them patched into the communications, sounding their retreat. Ships full of Dread guards scattered away from the planet. Many were shot down, but some escaped. A huge explosion hit the main spire of the Dread Palace, and she momentarily blacked out, seeing in flashes a vision of ships and shuttles scattering. Pain wracked her body. It was like Ziost all over again, she thought. There were other visions too, showing her fellow Dread Masters escaping: Raptus entering a shuttle. Brontes and Tyrans piloting a ship. Calphayus as well, his eyes glowing as he navigated through his own visions to one where he could escape. Styrak supported his son Mu’hass and Rammas, an expression of pure terror on his face. Ever since Darvannis, he was deathly afraid of fire. 

Pain overwhelmed Bestia, and she blacked out, only to wake up face down on cold stone. She lifted herself up slowly, looking around. She was in a bleak and damp place. An empty courtyard of some kind, with unfinished walls and shapeless piles scattered all over. With horror Bestia recognized the scene. The site of her biggest failure. The piles were dismembered bodies of many species. She looked down on her hands, and saw blood on them, and more blood staining the stones beneath. It started to rain, and the rain was blood too. This was a memory Bestia had buried as deep as she could. A great source of shame for her. A moment of lost control that resulted in deaths of thousands not even equipped to fight a raging Sith. Other Sith celebrated her for this, but to her the memory was wrong and sickening, a proof of her failure to control her rage. Those people were slaves. As far as Bestia was concerned, these people deserved to be free, and be paid for their work. They didn't deserve to die like that, killed by a sith berserker who just happened to be here. And then the Imperial sycophants painted the massacre as Bestia stopping a rebellion all by herself. It was pitiful, laughable, and shameful. Bestia swore to conquer her rage on that day but the memories never stopped haunting her. The rain got thicker, and Bestia scrambled to run away, but as much as she tried, she stayed in place. The blood rose higher and higher, until Bestia drowned in it.

She woke up and sat up with a scream. Her surroundings were grey and covered in ash. She looked at her hands, and there was no blood. She recognized Ziost's barren landscape. Her eyes were drawn to a figure floating next to a cliff nearby. The figure turned, face half concealed in shadow. Electric blue eyes glowed back at Bestia, same colour as her own. Sharack floated silently as Bestia reached out a hand to her daughter. The scene suddenly moved as if something was pulling Bestia farther away. 

She blinked, and then found herself face down again, on the floor of the throne room of Zakuul. She stood up, and saw the half mask prince, now emperor, sitting on the throne, with three figures kneeling before him: a Sith, a human, and between them, a golden masked figure in elaborate robes. 

“What is HE doing here?!” Bestia said out loud, frowning.

Come to think of it, it was in character for Raptus to bend his knee to someone powerful. Strength and power were one of the few things he respected. The only reason he stuck with the other Dread Masters was that they were the strongest thing around, and they had a Force Bond tying them together. A Force Bond that might have been his idea to begin with. Let's bind our minds together, he said. It will increase our power, he said. Bestia huffed. He might be kneeling to save his hide too, she thought. She then noticed a young woman in black prowling around until she stopped in front of the Pureblood, staring right at her. Her eyes were bright glowing yellow of someone who dove deep into the Dark Side of the Force.

“You… can see me?” Bestia asked in astonishment. The woman must have been astonishingly strong in the Force. Or it was dream logic.

The woman didn’t answer, but pulled out a lightsaber from her belt.

“What is it,” The emperor asked.

“Oh shut up, brother," The woman retorted, yellow eyes still boring into Bestia.

She then turned the lightsaber on, the golden blade stabbing right through the space Bestia occupied. The pain was surprisingly real, and Bestia doubled over. Darkness took over again, but was pierced by patches of blindingly white light, a hissing noise, and a vaguely familiar voice.

"Wake up. You’re dying."