MM5 - A Different Path [Closed]

[Juri Saizesh]

When a choice is made, act in confidence.

The Witch gathered her pack, and kept the rifle slung, but at the ready. The goggles worn, ready in case they were needed. Her backpack heavy with her physician's kit, and toolkit in case they were needed, the Explorer's knife felt heavy, but trustworthy as always.

She was as prepared as any Dathomiri could be. And with the Force as her guide, she ventured forth. It was dangerous, but she came alone. Her only ally, was the Force. The tools she wore, the talismans she crafted.

It had all been leading to this...

[Dapper Dog]

She finds the thicket from her vision, everything is quiet and still.

[Juri Saizesh]

Juri paused in the thicket, taking in the feel of it. She knelt, and quickly unlaced her boots. Removing them, and the thick socks, she stowed them with her pack. Toes dug into the earth beneath her, feeling the natural splendor of the verdant world around her.

Her eyelids fluttered, breathing in the clean air. A single step, then another. Following the vision.

[Dapper Dog]

After many steps she found the old woman sitting at the base of a massive tree feeding some large pond fish. She said over her shoulder, “There is a reason why I make my home in a deep near impassable forest, the locals don't bother me, they think I am a witch… which suits me just fine.”

[Juri Saizesh]

The scanner goggles were raised, as she softly padded closer to the woman, "It's quite the opposite for me. I live and work where I can be found, and I can be a witch to render aid." The words were soft, and calm.

"I would apologize for intruding, but that would be lying about my purpose. Respectfully, I have come to continue our meeting. I am Juri."

[Dapper Dog]

“You studied with Talzin, I think, “ she said succinctly.

“Welcome,” she added as he tossed some dried seeds into the pond for large fish with four eyes to feast on. Each nearly the size of her leg, lazily swimming in the clear waters.

[Juri Saizesh]

"I was one of her coven." She softly responded, looking to the fish she was feeding. Her head tilted, regarding them. "This is a place of wonder. It feels so... alive. Reminds me of home." Juri smiled, a hint of sadness to it.

"It has been a long time since I've been near another like us. We are in as much danger as any remaining Jedi, these days."

[Dapper Dog]

“Yes we are,” she responded.

“Some dangers are more immediate than others.” She then added, “You going to show yourself… you’re clever but not that clever.”

[Delia]

"Interesting, you are strong," Delia said her form becoming visible from the shadows.

[Dapper Dog]

“Zash,” she spat.

“I had hoped I would never see your face, and yet here you are,” she interceded putting herself between Juri and Delia.

[Delia]

“Would you believe I have changed, Riule?” she said calmly. “Time has not been kind to you.”

[Juri Saizesh]

Juri was surprised to see Delia, though perhaps given the other woman's ability, she should not have been. She stepped forwards, to the side of Riule.

"You two have met before?" An eyebrow raised quizzically, regarding the two women. "Delia has not been a danger in the time I've known her. What is happening here?" She asked between the two, keeping her breathing calm.

[Delia]

“It was a long time ago, she wasn’t much older than you are, she didn’t like how I parted ways with the Night Sisters,” she responded.


Riule replied calmly, “You used us and left us to die.”

“But you survived, can hardly blame me for that,” Delia responded. “I didn’t make the decisions that led to that outcome, your coven did, I simply chose the path that insured my own goals.”

Riule responded, “Not all of us did.”

“Decisions have consequences,” Delia said with a shrug.

[Juri Saizesh]

She said nothing, looking between the two. "I want to know." She spoke with confidence, her eyes flitting from one woman to the next. "Please. Tell me what happened? What were the choices, the decisions." Her gaze softened to show compassion.

"If our culture, the Nightsister tradition, is to thrive, we must learn from the past, and take new steps into the future. I cannot let our past, or our future, die."

[Dapper Dog]

Riule narrowed her eyes and said, “It was probably some hundred or hundred fifty standard years now, our coven leader Halzana had taken her in and she sensed her power and she was a sister to me, little did I know she cared nothing for us.”

“We had claimed a temple on a moon in the Yavin system, it was deep with power but that power was dark, but Halzana could not let it go, and eventually things came to a head… I found out that it was Zash that guided Halzana to this place and it corrupted her and nearly destroyed the coven… I came to her to ask her to help me turn Halzana from that path but she laughed in my face and said we made our choice and now we must live with it… I never understood why you did that, she loved you like a daughter.”

She finished, “It was just a test and experiment and she failed it and you did nothing as it tore the coven apart.”

[Delia]

Delia responded with, “Mother Halzana asked me and I told her what she wanted to know, she walked that path all on her own, I warned her where it could lead… she was not strong enough. That is not my failing.”

“When I saw where things were headed I left, there was no reason to stay, I offered to have you come with me and you chose to hold onto something not worth clinging to.”

[Juri Saizesh]

"The Dark..." Juri spoke up as she listened. "Can clour and corrupt. It needs someplace to take root. An active choice. We Nightsisters..." she pursed her lips, '... we balance ourselves on that edge. We have no qualm about conjuring the dead, inflicting pain or using out hatred or fear." Soft, purple eyes looked to Riule.

"But it is a choice no one can force anyone to take. Put in a position where the temptation is so great, and that power is so..." she hugged her arms, breathing in deeply, "... seductive. But to obsess over it, is folly. I cannot speak for Halzana, I was not there, but Mother Talzin let her Cunning and power drive her arrogance, and all but destroyed our coven." She then looked to Delia, no anger, no hurt. Understanding and compassion.

"But not all who fall are irredeemable. I have heard legends that there are those who came back from slipping too far, with the aid of friends. Halzana could have been saved, given effort. If she wanted to be saved." Another soft look to Riule.

"But the past can't hold us back, either. There are so few of us, Riule. How can I help? How can I recover our traditions, keep them safe, and rebuild the Nightsisters, we Witches of Dathomir? What new path can we forge?"

[Dapper Dog]

OOC: Charm check gain 2 boost die for the speech at Hard.

[Juri Saizesh]

MM5 - A Different Path - Speech with Pleading (Presence 2, Charm 0, +2eB for Roleplay, Hard, Destiny upgrade for Proficiency): 1eP+1eA+2eB+3eD 2 successes, 1 advantage


While normally she was a meek, reserved personality, something about her earnestness, or perhaps it was Destiny, allowed her to find her voice in the speech.

[Dapper Dog]

Riule listened and then said, "I will help you, it is what I was meant to do."

[Juri Saizesh]

It felt as if a great weight was taken from her shoulders. "Thank you." She bowed her head to Riule, a small, confident smile. Bright eyes then looked to Delia. "You are more than welcome, as well, Delia. I treasure your friendship." A step between the two women.

"We may not be on Dathomir, but we can build something here, or just travel the stars. And one night, the Waters of Life will flow again. I can feel it."

[Dapper Dog]

"Well since you are both here, stew anyone?" Riule asked.

[Juri Saizesh]

"That would be lovely. I haven't broken fast for the day yet. Too... anxious is the wrong word but not far off." She smiled at that, the Witch relaxing her posture.

[Dapper Dog]

“These lands used to be called the Cursed Lands by the Aznuri, it was a place of darkness and corruption. At some point the Jedi, they claim, aided their ancestors and cleansed it and now it is a place they now call the Calm. It sits at the head of many rivers, these waters feed into those rivers and the fish grow fat and tasty,” Riule replied as they walked.

“This is the last place I ever expected to see… her or another of the covens.”

[Juri Saizesh]

"The Force brings us to where we are meant to be. I never would have picked Bankor as a hiding place, but the Crimson Dawn... for a price... brought me here when I was certain I couldn't hide on my own." She responded, walking with the two women.

"And it brought me to Delia, to you. Or rather, it presented me with a choice, and I took it. But I also never expected to see another Witch again."