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Open Terrain
Topic Started: Jul 27 2011, 04:46 PM (603 Views)
Amaurea
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Andolla
There is no liquid water on the surface of this world, save to the underground hot springs that spew from the core. Thees are few and far between. Even the Var themselves have difficulty surviving for long periods of time out in the open terrain of their homeworld. Frankly, if one is stranded outside, and away from civilization, the estimated rate of survival is 725 to 1, but we've been wrong before.
"In sleep dreams embody our hopes and our future, but when dreams escape into reality, they become nightmares"
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Tundris
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The faint roar of an engine was muffled by the wind's howl, and the sparse light that did show the way obscured the almost nonexistent beams that pierced the thick haze. Varukye was a planet dipped in a vat of unending night and allowed to see the Alnar star only for a few fleeting moments at night. It was just that from this far away- a star, not a sun. It gave no warmth to the world of winter, and it offered little to no light to see by.

But to Nivala like Tundris, this was the ideal time.

Sitting on his Driftrunner, the most prominent and quietest mode of quick transit from one subterranean colony of his people to the next- because only colonies existed outside Winterhold, and they were frequently found and slaughtered by the Var Takers- Tundris looked back over his shoulder to the men flanking him, one on the left and one on the right.

They were Keepers- men who had chosen not to take mates in order to protect the secrets of the Nivala, even at the cost of their lives. But their duty was so much more than just that. With a nod, Tundris gave his confirmation. All of them had heard the distress signal go up from Colony Furias. The closest Nivala outpost to the Var capital. The one that only housed men and women ready to live their lives in combat.

In short, it was grim news. The Takers hadn't come. Or, they had, but... something had gone wrong. The men were too flustered, too busy to give more information to Tundris and his men. That was why the help had been called in.

And the raging inferno that could be seen even from this far away told the three Nivala more than the men could ever had said in an encrypted transmission.
"It's that damned Priest again," Tundris said into his comm so that the others could hear his assessment. "If not him, someone working for him directly."

He stood up on the pedals, giving the throttle all it had. The other two followed suit, and their Drifters went into overhaul, picking up to their maximum speed, and the snow kicked up in a massive wake behind them.

Turning his hips, Tundris went into a quick turn, then sped back onto course, looking back quickly. The others had broken their ranks behind him, and they too were stricken with confusion. Why had he banked hard left? Both of their communicators had jammed, and Tundris quickly realized his had, too. They were dead men walking, and they suddenly realized why.


"It's a chilfkani trap," Tundris hissed as he kicked the emergency brake and the Drifter began a quick, yet controlled spin out as he reached back into his back pocket and produced it once more, his hand now more notably encased in a fingerless black glove. Making a few deft motions to coordinate his allies, he pounced forward at the thing he had spun away from, clenching his fist tightly, taking slow and steady breaths.

After all, it was already alerted. He'd heard the hissing, and the dull creaking of previously hypothermia ridden muscles slowly skittering into motion. It was a sound not usually altogether loud, but some Nivala were more attuned to sounds than others.

Like Tundris.

And that was the one opening he had. Either start up the defense now, or risk this Var being completely able to see them. And Var had a lot of physical advantages to play to, if you let them have all of them.


"Alright, thoughtchewer," he said through gritted teeth as he gripped at the world around him and spun it in his thoughts. His own senses began to blur as he forced reality to shift and whirl about impossibly around him, shattering equilibrium in it's path. Sensory Telepathy. Illusions. These were the tricks of his trade. Unlike his cryokinetic brothers, he had been born different.

But they respected him all the more for how he used it to keep them alive.
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Dusk
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Ebron was awake.

It was in the moment when he came alive that he was most dangerous, his consciousness collecting itself and exploding outward in a telekinetic outburst. Takers were taught to hibernate in order to maintain their body heat in the snow. It was the easiest way to hide, especially for those born white. Which was most of them.

His black eyes glistened in the light put off by the Driftrunners, and his howl pierced even the coarse screaming of the snowstorm. Dusk's beautiful invention, the static howler, hung from his hip, and did the job of killing and interfering their ability to coordinate verbally. Of course, that wasn't enough. It was never enough to just squelch their voices. Nivala had to die. Die, die...


Die.

I came here to wait, and finally, you show up. It's been days that I've been laying here, waiting for the others to finish their infiltration of the foremost encampment of you snowchildren. All just so I could lay in wait for you damnable Keepers to arrive on the scene.

Oh, we've no idea where you come from, but direction? We know more than enough. You always come from the same way.


The powerful wave emanated outward and knocked two of the Driftrunners on their sides, throwing two of the Nivala to the snow and burying them swiftly. It wouldn't hold them for long, but then, it wasn't meant to. Ebron liked to pick them apart, one by itty...

Bitty...


One.

And it's the most annoying of all. My vision is already spinning every which way, and I'm sure. Its that same damn Nivala from the last encounter. The one who doesn't play with ice. He plays with my mind.

And I don't like it when people get inside my head. I'll get you for this, snowchild.


Roaring aloud, Ebron's claws extended to their full two feet length, and he spun to face the oncoming Nivala, both hands flailing forward in the heat of his rage. Ebron was one of the eldest of the Takers, and arguably most devout of Dusk's men.

Probably why he was left on Varukye to hunt the Nivala. Zorbekku couldn't trust him not to kill. And that same reason was what made him most beloved of Dusk. And because of that, Ebron was decided. Failure was not an option.


"Rwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaar!"
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Tundris
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He could feel Echelon's life starting to fade, crushed beneath the Driftrunner's immense weight, and Tundris' eyes went wide, his command over the sensory distortion faltering for a moment as he looked quickly in the other Nivala's direction.

"No!"

But Tundris didn't have time to help. The Var was already coming at him. Fast.

Without blinking, Tundris' right hand flew up to the oncoming set of claws, and slammed into them furiously. The sound of metal's shrill cry broke out above the Var's scream, and Tundris grit his teeth as he brought his left hand up toward Ebron's shoulder, attempting to cause some joint damage. It would still be cold, still warming up after the hibernation, and if he were to touch it, Tundris could exacerbate that pain to the point where it would consume the Var's focus.

That would give him enough time to get to Echelon.

But why couldn't he hear the sounds of Duriel fighting to free himself from the snow? Had the other man already died?

Tundris couldn't let it get in his way. He had to distract the Var somehow. The larger creature was too much of a danger to be undermined. Especially this close.
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Dusk
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How did he...? Is that metal? That glove is more than it seems!

As his arm went wide, Ebron's eyes flickered a bit wider open at the impact of the punch. It wasn't much... wait...

"Gack!"

He felt the impact get stronger and stronger just before Tundris pulled away, and his hand flew to his shoulder, looking for the severity of the wound. It felt like his entire arm had been cut off, the pain was so intense that it couldn't have just been a punch.

All of his sensory receptors were telling him the pain was too horrible for him to move. And he was compliant, even though he was fighting within his own mind to move. To pounce on the smaller creature and end it's pathetic life, draining the psyche from behind it's walls in a delicious fight to the death.

And a Nivala couldn't win two different wars. Mental and physical, never both.

Or so Ebron had been taught. Dusk had been relentless. Kill them all, don't give them time to react. Give them back to Var'huryin.


Get out of my head, damn you! Out! Outoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutoutout!!!!
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Tundris
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This was the chance he had been waiting for!

As the Var went to a knee and started clutching at his shoulder, Tundris bolted toward Echelon. He pushed the Drifter over and beneath it, he found the broken form of his friend, groaning in agony and staring straight up toward the sky.


"Esh! Esh!" Tundris slapped at the man's face, attempting to bring him back to reality, but pain had destroyed his psyche. Echelon had become a delusional puddle of life, slowly fading into oblivion. Widened eyes beset the deep sea blue haired Tundris' face as his mouth went agape, and he choked on his breath. "Esh... no! NO!"

As Echelon went limp in his arms, Tundris felt a part of him die with the other man. His heart sank lower than it had ever gone, and still, he was not finished. He looked around, knowing he had to find Duriel.

Running quickly for the other Drifter, Tundris froze in terror as he saw it. Duriel's body had been thrown at high speed from his Drifter and he had died instantly from the torque. Every bone in his body had shattered upon impact. He didn't have to get closer to know. He couldn't hear Duriel's heartbeat, the man's blood had already set to freezing in his veins and his already pale body had gone white as a sheet, preserved by the eternal cold of Varukye. Hot blood was the only thing that showed the Nivala had ever been alive.

Turning to gaze at the Var with hatred in his eyes, Tundris knew that he couldn't beat the monster alone. Even though his only friends were dead, his desire to live was gone, and he had the ability to fight, he already knew that this particular fight was suicide. Engaging like this would give no advantage, and he would die without being able to warn his people that the Var had gotten more dangerous. They were adapting. They were growing more brutal and more cunning.

He grabbed hold of the Drifter and turned it over, kicking it immediately into high gear, speeding for Winterhold... there was no way the Var could follow him at that speed.


------------------

"I... have... to get back..." Tundris breathed out hot steam into the frigid world as he leaned forward into his momentum, and tilted just enough to turn the speeder. And then it happened.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

The Drifter suddenly overheated, and he looked around wildly as the explosion occurred directly beneath him. He was thrown, but luckily, he tucked into enough of a ball to shelter him from the brunt of the blast. The snow bank took him.

Where was he?

Digging himself out, he looked around and realized that these were the ruins of a former Nivala outpost. One where his people had been slaughtered in the cruelest of fashions, and the civilization that remained had been burned to ruin.

Staring up at the stars, his eyes widened. It had been another Var trap. They were lining all of the former encampments and villages with Takers, using them to kill anyone who was unfortunate enough to happen by.

He would have to sneak back... but... not yet.

His eyes clamped shut, and Tundris grabbed both sides of his head. He was alone, in a world that hated him. In a world full of creatures who wanted him dead solely because he existed. His two best friends. Echelon. Duriel. Both of them were dead. He had looked at both of them just before it had happened. He could have warned them... he... he...

And everything went black as the snow covered him, and consciousness faded away.
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Amaurea
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Andolla
Varukye....what a lonely ball of ice, snow and death.

Aurora piloted the small Calvadorian ship through the atmosphere, away from anything...save, perhaps, her destination. The ship, Calvadorian in make, would not be so recognizable after she was done with it. She had scanned the planet with the perfectly operational equipment on the ship....ah, what a fine ship it was. It worked perfectly, flew like a dream, smoothest ride she'd ever had.

Too bloody bad she was going to crash it.

So the icy surface of the last planet in the system came into view, and Aurora killed everything, flipping off switches with quick, fluid motions. The ship protested, telling her the obvious news that if she turned this off, the ship would blow up, and if she turned that off, the ship would stop flying. And she heard none of it.

Time around the ship froze over, along with the wings, the metal, the very fuel within the rods at the back. With a quick shove, she knocked the canopy opened, and the wind speed ripped it from the ship, the frozen metal bolts holding it place, snapping with their brittle nature. As the craft made a nosedive for the white swirling surface of Varukye, Aurora pulled her legs under her, undid her safety harness, and leaped upward.

The wind whipped past her as the ground made to assault her light frame. That was ok. She was close enough to the ground to survive....hopefully. Tucking into a roll, she closed her eyes, and felt the sensation of thousands of pointed daggers pierce her. So much for a soft snowy landing. Hard thin ice had crusted over what she thought was a snow drift. What ever. It just stunned her for a bit.

Pulling the thick covering over her, and nestling under it, she let her mind fade in and out for a few minutes. Soon enough it would be time to move.

And her signal, her cue. A loud explosion rocked the area as the ship finally made hard impact with the icy surface of her homeworld, spewing metal shrapnel in every direction. Metal broke where it shouldn't have. Glass splintered. The ribs of the ship, keeping it together through the most horrid of circumstances shattered like they were made of wood. Such was the state of metal, frozen past the point of molecular stability. The whole ship literally went into splinters... nice, tiny, untraceable splinters.

It was time to move. Aurora stood slowly, wrapping the thick covering around her securely and began the long, blizzard filled trek toward the nearest Nevala outpost. She pulled her hood over her head, masking her eyes against the stinging wind with a gloved hand. This snow would certainly cover her tracks, and any Var looking to find who ever had crashed the ship would find it difficult. Heck, the only thing that told it was even a ship was perhaps the billowing smoke, that would stop soon enough. Even that was dampened by the falling snow.

And finally, she'd found what she was looking for. Looking up, she let her hand cover her eyes as she peered long and hard at the stars. The rotation of Varukye was a slow, steady one. She'd timed her assent right. And within the pin points of light called her stars, she found her assurance that she was indeed where she needed to be.

So she pressed onward.

Just a few more yards, and finally she'd come into view of the northern most outpost.

And she stopped.

Her eyes took in the sight, broken down structures, snow covered mounds that use to be houses, or vehicles, or people. No one was left here. There wasn't even any sign of blood, or Var tracks or anything that would tell her how the people here were killed... but she didn't need signs to tell her the obvious.

A shaky breath exited her body and she closed her eyes, lowering her head and shuttering at the thought. She knew the Var mind better than any other of her race, she was sure. And she knew their horrid ways, both of killing, and, of preserving life. Putting her hands to her mouth, she let herself sink down to the ground, and she wept for them, for the lost souls who had died at the jaws of the ice demons.

Silently she wanted Alkor here, for some strange reason. She just felt that, He should know his people. But then again, what he would see here would probably scar him more than anything else....especially a scene like this.

But what of Winterhold?

Perhaps there was something here that might get her there faster. She was prepared to walk, but, frankly, she didn't want to.


Be at peace my brothers, my sisters... you did not die in vain.

And she would make sure of that. She would bring her people back to the point at which they thrived. Because ... this, was not thriving. With a stilled breath, she began walking through the remains of the place, her eyes scanning here and there for anything looking like a driftrunner, or some other kind of vehicle.

And her boot hit something, sending her careening toward the icy ground.
"In sleep dreams embody our hopes and our future, but when dreams escape into reality, they become nightmares"
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Tundris
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He let out a dull groan as something hit him, hard enough that the impact bit into him above the chill of snow that had blanketed him. Tundris' eyes flickered open, and he half expected a Var to fall on top of him, which made him tense. He didn't have the fortitude to defend himself just yet. He had to hope the creature would be disoriented.

Pushing himself off the ground with the palms of his hands, the Nivala quickly backed up so that what ever was tripping over him would fall flat on it's face in front of him. One could never downplay ever single advantage they were given. Not in frostbitten combat. Varukye was an unforgiving and bipartisan world. It loved neither the Var nor the Nivala. Both sides knew that.

When Tundris quickly unsheathed his saber, Vorin'yar- named for the Var who's finger he had ripped the claw from, and since refined it by folding it together with froststeel, the Nivala hopped back, a disgruntled look on his face. His eye twitched madly and he glared down at the spot where the offender would have fallen with uncontrolled, heavy breaths blowing steam out into the frosted world.

Gritting his teeth, the white-clad Nivala did not wait to engage the creature. He was about to leap down on it, in fact, and end it's life with a few repetitive, impaling blows to the back, when he stopped dead.

He realized in that instant that it was a Nivala. And a woman. No sort of danger to him, and in fact, one of those whom he had sworn to defend with his life. In place of perpetuating the race, he had chosen to be one of it's Keepers.

Leaning down and sheathing his weapon, he grabbed her firmly by the back of her robes and began to pry her back up
. "You're not going to survive very long out here if you're that clumsy," he said without even knowing who she was. It wouldn't matter. Var and Nivala sounded immensely different. She would easily be able to discern one of her people. "Get up, quickly. Its a long way back home."
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Amaurea
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Andolla
A small cry of tension escaped Aurora as she felt something grab her, and she flailed, as if something was attacking her. Before she could make much progress in actually beginning anything damaging on the one holding her, he spoke.

He was Nivala.

She let herself be pulled to her feet, letting her mind dart around, trying to figure out who this Nivala was. Was he one of the survivors of this outpost? Did he some how manage to live through the slaughter of the others? No, something told her he was so much more. And that something was his voice. As she stood, and began to brush herself off, she turned to face him fully, her frosty eyes widening considerably at the realization of just who the person was. It couldn't be.

A muffled gasp was taken into her frost chapped lips and she just peered at him. The shock of reality, she truly was home. Who else was alive? Who had been taken, or killed? What was the state of things now, with her people, with their culture. Who was still in power? Who had been replaced? Either way, all questions banished themselves as she took note of the Nivala before her.


Tundris...

She fought with herself not to embrace him. She fought to compose herself, her own emotions and feelings, behind that impregnable expression she had created while among the Var.

I've missed you.

She whispered, wishing to ask more, to ask what had happened. What other outposts were in the state this one was in. She knew how far they were from Winterhold, and it was indeed a ways away...but how strong had the Var become in this region? She kept silent though, waiting on him to recognize her, as she had recognized him.

Because...it had been so dreadfully long.
"In sleep dreams embody our hopes and our future, but when dreams escape into reality, they become nightmares"
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Tundris
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"I don't..." he started to speak, to say I don't know you- it wasn't abnormal not to know another Nivala, especially after the Day of Secrets. A few of them had been strong enough to survive the genocidal fate that befell many of their race, and it was completely possible she was one of them. But she knew his name, and that meant he had to have known her at some point.

Looking at the woman for long enough to assess the situation, he narrowed his eyes and turned away.
"No. I don't know you."

He affirmed to himself that he didn't, because this was a woman he had once known, but no longer did. She came back, after all of that? No, he hadn't done enough to convince her to stay, he had never told her that there was a much happier fate for her here. Instead, he his heart had twisted and shattered into the tiniest of pieces. And there was no room left for Tundris to turn back and remember.

Not in his mind, at least. It hurt him to look at her. It made him want to cry. And Keepers could not afford emotions. They had a duty that came first. Drawing his white robes closer to himself, he pulled his hood up over his head and looked around, taking in the smell of the area.

And just as he anticipated, the foul stench of Var was heavy.

What bothered him was the smell of her, that smell that had been hypnotic to him, once upon a time. Before she left him, proving that his love for her had been little more than a boyhood dream. His father had been so proud of him the day he became a Keeper. To think, he ever had delusions of love or family.

Duty had always been the lot doled out to his family. He, the only son of a widowed father who became a Keeper, as his father before him. All of Tundris' friends were dead, all of his family, and now fate laughed in his face. Bringing Aurora back?

No. He wouldn't dignify that with anger, or sorrow, or even happiness. It was just cruelty, and he would be no less cruel in return.
"They've finally resorted to using their slaves as bait," Tundris spat, turning his head away completely, "or is it that you've finally gotten some sense and denounced your beloved Var?"
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Amaurea
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Andolla
Wait a moment... He'd said he didn't know who she was. Perhaps he'd not recognized her. Had she been away that long? She'd lost track of time, so much travel, so many bombardments of her mind. Time seemed to be the least of her worries on the Var ship. The only thing that was at the forefront of her mind while in captivity was keeping the secret safe, and finding out as much as possible about the Var's inner workings.

But then....what was that? Slaves as bate, beloved Var? Most certainly he knew who she was, and ... he was taunting her, insulting her for what she had to do, and what she'd gone through. His voice was like nails on a black board to her right now, and her expression fell for a moment. She quavered, the joy and relief at knowing he was alive, at running into him under the slimmest of chances, dwindled quickly.

And her mind replaced it with quick, overwhelming depression and rage.

She clinched her Jaw and felt her fingers coil up into tightened fists. How could he understand what she'd been through? How could any of them understand? None of her people knew what it was like out there, to the extent she did. At least those of this outpost, and those of many other barren ones like it had been killed.

And it was all for her people.

But, was this how they would see her now? A deserter? Some kind of scourged heretic? True, she could not see the fruits of her labor right now, but soon, the time would come when the Var would be discovered. Their wicked ways lay bare, their power ended. They would be watched, and in tern, they would stop hunting her people.

But, she was beginning to think that her kind wanted to be hunted, to hide in this icy hell of a planet, to be victims because that was all they bloody knew how to be. She began to tremble at the thoughts now passing through her mind and her eyes opened, their frosty gaze even more cold now, if that could be possible. She spoke in a quavering voice, on the verge of near mindless rage.


Is that what you think of me?

Her breath quickened and she squeezed her eyes shut, attempting to get a handle on her mind. But it was more difficult than before. Each time she grabbed the strands of her consciousness, they slipped free of her grasp, like they were so thin, so fragile now that the slightest touch could shatter them.

She'd not been freed unscathed. Her eyes fixated on him and for a moment, he was the center of scorn for her. A foil for who she was fighting for, something worse than the Var. Moving with out thought, acting with out reason, Aurora reached out, darted forward and grabbed firm hold of his shoulder, yanking on it so that he would look at her.

She not be denied a look from one of her kind again... not like back on the station. Not again.


I've been through Hell, and you chide me?!

Her voice had lifted in volume, her eyes glinted with some strain of mindless thought- irrational. She closed them, a small, torturned sound of something likened to laughter slipped free of her lips and she suddenly let go, turning away from him, shame filling her vision, her world. Aurora's hands came up and she gripped at her hair, lowering her expression to the ground. Her breath came in quick, short gasps as she quavered there. She spoke again, but her voice was softer, almost frightened.

Take me home... please... please just take me home.

She sounded like she was on the verge of weeping, collapsing right there and fading from existence. But she did not want pity from him. Right now she was indeed quavering, quavering in fear. But it wasn't from him, or his bitter attitude, or her people's thoughts of her. No, she shivered from fear of herself.
"In sleep dreams embody our hopes and our future, but when dreams escape into reality, they become nightmares"
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Tundris
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It was Tundris' turn to fly off the handle.

As the woman wheeled him around and screamed in his face, his eyes flew wide, and he stopped caring that they were surrounded on all sides by Var, all of whom were an indeterminate distance away. He could care less in that instant whether either of them lived or died, because suddenly, he just stopped caring about anything at all.

She had come back, and now, she just wanted to go home. He just stared at her, his eyes full of suffering and rage and hatred, and as she let go, his hands flew for her throat. He had never dreamed he might lose it, never thought he would even consider hurting her, and his heart sank into his stomach as his body moved on it's own.

And he made to force her to the ground, to shut her up, to strangle her. He couldn't help himself. His eyes were opened to the point where one could guess mania had overtaken him without seeing any other symptoms. In short, the Keeper had lost everything in his mind worth holding on to.

And he knelt over her, a knee on either side of her chest, and reached back for Vorin'yar.


"You don't deserve to go home. Echelon can't go home. Duriel can't go home. They fought for their people, died for them in a freak accident without even a chance to kill the Var who took their lives. And here you are, screaming in my face about what's wrong with your world?"

He brought the blade level, and pushed it toward his hand, opening a bloody wound on his thumb as the weapon trembled in his grip, and he could no longer control his breathing. He was about to start hyperventilating, in fact. If he hadn't already, he would be admittedly surprised, if he had the capacity for it right now.

So close he was to taking her life that he could see the images of her in his mind, back from before, when his heart was still whole. Tears fell from the edges of his eyes, and then came the images of his best friends. Echelon. Duriel. The instants before their death.

And the single Var who, in one instant, ended both of their wonderful, hopeful lives.

And these white robes. The damned white robes of a Keeper. All of this... all of it. It was Aurora, from the very beginning. His everything, and now, her life was hanging in the balance, on the very tip of his weapon.

Tundris was slipping. And he knew it.


"It doesn't matter what I think of you. I know what you did. I know where you are. I know where you could go, and what could happen if I let you. Do you not see these robes? Do you not see what I am, woman? Its my duty to kill you before you can become a threat to the Civilization you once claimed to love."

Once upon a time, Tundris had been a bright eyed, hopeful Nivala. One with the good of his people in his heart, and the purpose pushing him in everything he did. He had been the envy of other boys, for his talents and for his kindness. But Tundris had always been quiet. He had never shown anyone that he would ever be more than the perfect Keeper.

But Echelon had known. And so had Duriel. Both of them had sworn their lives to the ways of the Keepers long before he had, and both of them had urged him never to take the Oaths. The moment Aurora walked out of his life, it had all faded. The desire to do anything else was gone, and the life of service was something he happily embraced.

To see her here now undermined everything. To hear her say these things... he wanted to kill her, but gods, it wasn't his heart. It was his duty. It was every rational part of him screaming that he couldn't trust her. That it was just too much to be coincidence.

But he knelt there, on top of her, poised to end her life. His eyes did not reflect any emotion at all. His training, his conditioning, every moment of his life had lead to right now. There was nothing but what should be done, and what was going to be done. And Tundris to make the ultimate decision.


"You remember my name, woman. Do you remember who I was?" He asked her because he couldn't just kill her until she knew. She had to know the truth. The truth was what so many Nivala didn't know. The Keepers knew, though. And when the truth became known... that was when the Keepers acted. It was not right for her to die ignorant.

And he couldn't live if she died that way. He would die inside, all over again.
"Do you remember the man, Tundris? The man who died, all those years ago? You can't possibly know me. You can't know me, and I can't know you. Because that Tundris died when you abandoned him."

The heat of his blood flooded down her neck and boiled the surface of the snow, and the silence began to numb his ears. The teardrops froze on his cheeks, and Tundris felt his grip go limp. He just couldn't kill Aurora. Even if she was a threat to the people who he swore to protect, her life was too precious to him. But she would never know that. She only knew that he had loved her. Not that he still did.
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Amaurea
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Andolla
I light cry of startled shock escaped the trembling Nivala woman as the other surged toward her. His hand clasped her neck and drove her flailing body to the ground, pinning her there and griping her throat with enough pressure to cut off air flow for a few moments.

Aurora's eyes flew wide as her hands instinctively reached up to grip at the wrists of the one holding her, and she began to gasp for air. Her lips moved as if to speak, to say something, but to little avail. When his grip laxed she remained silent, listening to his chill, calm voice pierce her ears. Her eyes followed his hand as it went for his blade and she squeezed them shut. She deserved to die. Her mind was still working over the realization that she was no longer whole. Her mind was damaged so deeply that there didn't seem to be any remedy for it.

But little by little the understanding came. Names, two of them, dead, killed by a Var and unable to return home. Obviously he'd just gone through a loss. That could explain how rapid he'd attacked her. She couldn't blame him. She would have reacted the same way. But he continued. His duty, as a Keeper- a keeper, unable to marry, full devotion to fighting for the Nivala- was to kill her. To end her before her marred consciousness could threaten anything else. And his blade, she couldn't keep her eyes off of it. Now, she wished those few fleeting moments of freedom had of been spent more fully. She wished she could have gotten to know Alkor more, because, she'd felt some strange connection with him, even before she knew who he was.

But all that was over now. The freed slave would be slaughtered as soon as she step foot on her homeworld. But he continued speaking...and thees words felt the most important out of all of them. The person she knew was gone, replaced by this Keeper, this man who 'didn't know her'. And then he said it, the last bit, her abandonment. But what did that mean? Had her presence meant that much to him, that with out it, he would do such a thing to his future?

Did he....at least at one point.... by some stretch of the mind, love her?

Her eyes finally left the sword as his grip laxed even more, almost releasing her fully. And she just looked up at him. Finally she whispered in a contemplative voice.


Chilfka, Why didn't you tell me this Tundris...

Her eyes peered up at him, a sad light within them as she slowly added, in a mournful voice.

Then, perhaps, we both wouldn't have died to ourselves. Perhaps we might have still existed.

She closed her eyes again, reaching up very slowly and putting a hand on her neck, massaging it gently.

Because, I didn't want to leave that Tundris... and I thought of him often. He gave me hope when I had none, kept the secret when I faltered under the claws of my captors.

She blinked a few times, the same frozen tears that assaulted his cheeks, coming to rest on her own.

Tell me he's not really dead....
"In sleep dreams embody our hopes and our future, but when dreams escape into reality, they become nightmares"
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Tundris
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The black blade, like the cold and heartless claw of a Var, pierced the snow beside Aurora's head as she spoke, and Tundris' teeth gnashed together as the heel of his palm pressed into her chest, just between the clavicles and below the neck, his fingers splayed perfectly to pierce the flesh of her neck if he felt the need in any instant to end her. He wouldn't give her the luxury of a quick death, not now that she had brought fire into the frozen wasteland. If for even a second she thought that using his emotions against him would work, he would end her with the haste and heartlessness doled out to the Keepers in preservation of the Nivala.


"Everyone dies, girl," he said in a hollow voice, the passion, the fear, the sadness all gone. There was nothing but the Keeper Tundris and the former Var slave. He couldn't allow anything else to taint him during these crucial moments. "Its foolishness to think they can be brought back. Our words mean nothing to the damned."

Looking around, Tundris sought any sign, a single inclination that the Var had caught on to his presence. If he even gleaned it for a moment that he was unsafe, she would die. There could be no trust for those who have been touched by the Var. Not even the woman who would, even now, hold his heart forever.

"They think they're clever, using a Nivala," he snorted, blood flowing from his tongue and open mouth down onto her face. He'd been cut earlier, only in a small fashion, by Ebron. Not that he knew the Keeper's name. And he hadn't closed the wound. In fact, he'd been numbing it all this time. That's how the blood made it's way to his mouth. Internal bleeding. "You think you're clever, appealing to the emotions of a dead man to cling to life while they watch... you know they're here. You can't possibly be stupid enough to believe we've been winning this war. And you came out here to get me killed. Maybe not me, but some Nivala is undoubtedly going to die because of you. Hell. Its probably going to be me."

He looked down at her with narrowed eyes. "I should kill you. I should end the threat. I should do my duty. But I'm a dead man. I can't kill anyone." He chuckled softly and closed his eyes, the taste of blood finally forcing him to the realization that he was wounded, and without treatment, was going to die. Better him than his people, of coruse. "Men die," he said with some finality edging his voice, "but sometimes, their love lasts forever. That's the only reason you're alive right now."

And Tundris rolled off of Aurora with his eyes rolling back in his head. The pain was gone, only the eternal cold of Varukye was still within his realm of perception. And his low, barely audible groan was the only sign that he was still alive.
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Amaurea
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Andolla
Aurora flinched and let out a startled gasp as Tundris' black bladed weapon rammed itself into the snow beside her head. And she looked at him, breath quickening. He thought she was toying with him? And why? Because she had been a prisoner, a slave to the Var. She supposed she couldn't blame him. She couldn't even trust herself. And no matter what she said, he wouldn't believe her.

But of course she didn't think they were winning the war. That was why she'd come back. She felt something warm, moist, drip onto her face and looked up at his face again, gasping in the realization that he was bleeding from his mouth. The thought of blood didn't bother her much anymore, but it was probably part of some serious wound.

As he spoke his last few words to her, and rolled off her, he fell unconscious and Aurora slowly, silently stood to her feet. If he thought there were Var around, she certainly would also. Her eyes scanned the horizon for a brief moment before she looked back to him. She had to get him out of this bitter cold. Well, the whole planet was cast in eternal winter, but at least she could get him inside. There were several buildings around here, all be it, most were falling in and none were in use. At least some of the structures would keep the wind off of him.

After making sure he was breathing steadily and his heart was functioning normally, she stood, looped her arms under his shoulders and began to pull him to the closest enclosed structure. Once that was done, she pulled him into the farthest corner from the door, and let him rest there. After a few moments of contemplation she sat next to him and looked at him for a few more seconds. Her mind was reeling right now. She'd almost died. He'd almost killed her, the one person she felt she could truest on her return, had almost killed her. The notion shook Aurora considerably.


I hope my leaving was worth it.

She whispered as she leaned forward and softly kissed Tundris' chill skin of his forehead.

You weren't the only one who hid their feelings.

But there was little to do about that. Reaching up with the blanket she kept wrapped around her, she dabbed at the blood still caking his chin and lips before closing her eyes. He needed medical attention, and dragging him the whole way to Winterhold would do more bad for him than good. And she couldn't defend him properly against the Var... not like this.

And then she felt it, lodged in an inner pocket, something she'd picked up on the space station while she was in the medical facilities. There was a medic there, a Shilor to be exact, who had seemed to understand something about her, just by looking at her. She was unsure just how, or what the woman actually knew. But she knew the Shilor also were viciously hunted and slaughtered also. The difference was, the Shilor were nothing to their own attackers. At least the Nivala were of some kind of substance to the Var. Aurora shivered at the thought and closed her eyes, and her fingers around the object in her pocket.

Regardless to whether the medic knew her species or not, she did know the eyes of a victim. And she'd not said anything when slipping Aurora this object and walking away. Aurora had figured she knew what it was though. The Crystal in her hand pulsated with a silvery blue light and she looked at it for a moment, rolling it over in her hand. She'd seen thees things at work before, and the concept was confusing. But she didn't need to understand it for it to work. The Shilor had some of the strangest technology out there, and it was mainly because, only Shilor could use and create it. This though...


Well, the Tundris I once knew might have perished... but She squinted her eyes closed, fighting against tears that threatened to escape. I won't kill him again.

Moving closer she fingered the sharp edge of the healing crystal and slowly ran it's edge along the flesh of Tundris' palm. The act seemed strange to her, but as soon as it was finished, the stone lost it's blue glow, and the minor cut instantly healed itself with a flash of silvery-blue light. And that wasn't all the healing energy was doing. She only hoped that she'd preformed the action correctly. Everything else would be done in secret, invisible to her own eyes, internally.

Replacing the crystal where she'd put it, she glanced toward the exit. It was a good thing they were inside. The wind had picked up. The snow and ice was beginning to assault the walls. Standing she closed the rather shaky door and then, felt the stinging cold attack her frame. Shivering she looked over to see his own body subconsciously racked with trimmers also. It came to her, that they would have to rely on eachother for adequate warmth if either of them were going to survive the coldest part of the rotation period....what Varukye claimed as its night.

Closing her eyes, she figured that oddly enough, nothing would have made her more happier, yet nothing would have made her dread what she had to do any more than she was dreading it now. Taking up the blanket, she unfurled it fully and made sure it was securely placed around Tundris' still dormant body, before slowly resting herself beside him.

But dare she close her eyes?

Her frosty orbs lay on the door for the longest time, before her battle torn mind finally released its hold on her, and, with out realizing it, she'd fallen quite quickly, into a fitful nightmare filled sleep.

If he was to awaken before Aurora, he'd find the pain in his body little more than a dull throb, fading at best. Beside him, he'd also find the form of Aurora, quite unconscious. Her hands however would be clinched about her head, lips moving, inaudibly words trickling forth from them. The girl rarely slept anymore. Perhaps he might see the puncture marks lining the side of her head, giving testament to just how physical the Var had attacked her brain. Either way, her rest was granting her little in the way of energy....but it had always been that way, at least, for the last three years.
"In sleep dreams embody our hopes and our future, but when dreams escape into reality, they become nightmares"
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Tundris
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I ought to just kill her.

Those were the words pulsating through Tundris' mind as he stared hard at the woman who had saved his life. He knew that despite what his mind said, his heart would never let him harm her. The pain in his body had washed away quickly, but the cold was ever vigilant. Always was on Varukye.

She had curled up close to him, but Tundris had only watched her with a vacant gaze as she drifted off to sleep. The blade of his weapon was stuck in the ground on the other side of her, which would give her ample time to react if he moved for it. At least the woman had the wits to think of her own survival, even though she had saved someone who could easily have killed her.

He continued to look at her. He could see the damage done to her, and he felt the pain of having been unable to do anything for her. He could feel the mental scars as if they were his own. Because they were. He hadn't been man enough to tell her- if he had, they wouldn't be here right now. They would be married, and she would be the mother of his children.

And that thought was all it took.

Pulling her protectively to his chest and wrapping their bodies in the blanket, Tundris pressed his lips to her back, between the shoulders, and kissed her softly.
"I still love you. I'll always love you."

Wrapping his arms around her torso, unafraid of what she might do if she awoke to find his body pressed against her back, his arms clutching her to him, or his face buried lovingly in her hair, Tundris decided to let her rest. It would take too long, otherwise, for them to move quickly and quietly home. "I don't care if I can't have you. You're my woman. Sleep well, dearest Aurora..."
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Amaurea
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Andolla
Her soft murmurings became hushed whispers and soon faded all together as he pulled her closer. Her breathing evened out, and she slowly released her head from between her hands, allowing them to rest lightly at her chest. One of them trailed down her side till she felt Tundris' own arm wrapped around her, and her hand latched onto it, as if it were her lifeline to sanity.

As his lips touched her back and his words brushed against her unconscious hearing, the Nivala relaxed almost fully. Perhaps, this was the first true rest she'd had in the years sense her capture. and she relished every second of it.

There were no nightmares, no fearful terrors that woke her, no dreams.

There was only rest and a sort of absolute security.

Her eyes slowly cracked opened, laced with frost. Her eyes darted here and there as she realized who was holding her. A shiver ran through her frame and she felt the cooling sensation of tears just under her eyelids.


They tortured me with the thought of your death so many times.

She whispered, stroking his arm slowly and squeezing her eyes shut.

Nothing escaped them.... Not even what I hid from myself.

She wanted to turn, to face him, to embrace him and never let go.

But he was A keeper now.

And that was something she'd not openly defy. She was still unsure what Tundris had become, but though she didn't hear his words consciously, she realized how he still viewed her. It both warmed and broke her heart.

Why did she ever leave?


I never believed them. You're too strong to die.

She found his hand with her own and squeezed it gently, firmly.

Too strong...
"In sleep dreams embody our hopes and our future, but when dreams escape into reality, they become nightmares"
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Tundris
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Tundris continued to hold Aurora as she spoke, his brow furrowing slightly. He knew the things she was saying were construed in her mind by mania and bitter, cold memories. The only kind a Nivala would ever find in time with the Var. Pain, suffering, and ultimately, loneliness.

He pulled her closer, somehow, his hands running over the bare skin of her belly as he pushed her shirt up slightly, and he kissed her neck.
"To hell with being a Keeper," he said softly in her ear, nuzzling her jaw. "I'll break every vow that would keep me from you."

The Nivala closed his eyes, tears streaming down his cheeks, the lines freezing on his pale face and twinkling beneath the pale glittering of the stars. The ceiling was broken and in shambles, only providing a bit of shelter, but it was enough that they could keep warm until it had fully passed. He had dreamed for so long of holding this woman in his arms, feeling her in his hands, and his cheeks were blushed.

He never dreamed he would have her like this, even in this sort of situation. Her belly felt so different from what he had imagined for so long, the part of her that would one day- at least he'd dreamed it- shelter and nourish his children. The very thought, coming back to him, made a lump build in his throat.

And he nibbled below her cheek, his lips sucking tenderly at her flesh, both his eyes rolling back. He could feel the heat in his stomach building, and his heart fluttering. He rubbed his nose over her cheek, and whispered in her ear.
"You're cold... if it pleases you, I would warm you..."

His eyes flicked away from her.

"...and... have you as my own...?"
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Amaurea
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Andolla
Aurora's breath quickened as he pulled her closer, placing his hand on her stomach and speaking so close to her ear. Closing her eyes, the memories and thoughts of what had happened fled from the growing emotions she was now assaulted with.

But he would brake his vow for her?

She was nothing to have a vow broken over. She was a tainted, battered, broken creature now; impure, disgraced, and wounded beyond repair. Why would anyone brake their vow for someone like her...someone who had abandoned him.

The sudden touch of his lips, his teeth against her cheek chased those thoughts away almost completely. The absolute closeness of their bodies even made her warmer. Her heart rate sped up, breathing becoming a little more rapid. Truthfully, she'd also dreamed of this moment, before the Var had taken those dreams and twisted them.

But, was this a dream? Would it suddenly turn dark, horrid? Like so many illusions before, would he suddenly attempt to kill her, or worse, would he be killed by something from behind that closed door? She was always left alone at the end of such tormenting dreams. Perhaps this was like that. Perhaps this wasn't even real. And her heart broke again, at the thought of it.


Tell me this is real...

She said, through a strained voice, threatening to brake down into frantic sobs. She pressed her back against him, as if to shield it from any lethal maneuver he might attempt...if, indeed, this was a dream.

Tell me this isn't some sick perversion of reality...some ghost in the back of my mind being summoned to torment me.

Her breaths became more and more frantic. Her body tensed up again, and she lifted her hand to her mouth, clinching her teeth around one of her knuckles to keep from screaming. She clamped her eyes shut and her frame began to shiver.

but... She'd healed him...She'd touched him, dragged him out of the snow and into a sheltered place. He'd already made to kill her once. He had been wounded...the ship, the planet's surface....

" and... have you as my own...?"

It couldn't be a dream... Too much had led up to it. She knew exactly how she'd gotten here. The station, Alkor, Tobias....her freedom.

And the question still lingered. Her body relaxed, the tremors stopped anda she took in a few breaths. Slowly, she turned her body toward him, and looked at him, her frosty gaze laden with apology and fear.


I'm so broken Tundris...

She whispered, lowering her head in clear shame.

They, didn't only attack me mentally... Her eyes glazed over slightly as another shiver ran through her. But she took in a steadying breath. But I'll be yours....if.. if you'll still have me.
"In sleep dreams embody our hopes and our future, but when dreams escape into reality, they become nightmares"
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Tundris
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He heard the words that came from her, and they created a blackness in the depths of his heart that he knew he could never fill. But he pushed those thoughts far away, behind everything that truly mattered right now. Even though he knew it was part of who she was now, and that he would have to come to terms with it, he also knew that it was the last thing she needed to worry over right now.

After all, he still loved her. All of the social taboos about virginity could be damned. Even if hers was not his to claim, it changed nothing. Her heart was still his.

Pulling her to him, a hand on each of her cheeks, he pushed his lips against hers and shivered- mostly from the cold- as he kissed her for the first time. It had been so long since he first dreamed of doing this, so long that he could not remember how old he had been when he first truly loved Aurora.

But the tears that had waited since that day finally came, right now.

And his hands slid downward, and he spoke softly.
"Look at me, Aurora. There is nothing else, not right now. There was never anything else. Not to me. Not right now." He closed his eyes. "Tell me later, but right now, be mine."

He had known what he had to do since she had condemned him to knowing what they had done to her. But they would pay later. He needed to save his Aurora now. And he could feel the bare flesh of her hips as the fabric of her clothing gave way, and he closed the distance between them, his eyes searching hers.
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