Karkun, upon seeing that the approaching individual was Koda'rai, and not some monster or murderer, deactivated his lightsaber and relaxed his muscles. He did not, however, put the lightsaber on his belt. He was far too cautious in this forest, especially with the dark vibe it was giving off. He was not going to feel comfortable until they were back in the Temple. And even then..
"Koda'rai happened to observe Karkun Kilbaine in a vision and Guidance brought this one here in all haste. There was another Jedi, in this vision...one with a woman and it was around him the lines of fate were behaving most strangely. Sadly, this one has not the ability to accurately tell where, when or even if such an event is unfolding."Karkun's mouth opened, and there was barely even time for that before Atsa began shooting off questions left and right. And it literally was left and right, because he was bouncing all around Koda. Atsa was practically talking to himself at that point, poor Koda probably didn't even know what hit him. Karkun was about to grab Atsa by the shoulder and tell him to calm down, but he didn't need to. Atsa just...stopped.
His focus went into one direction of the woods. It was the first real time Karkun had ever seen him focus on something so strongly. What was weird about it though, was that Atsa seemed devoid of all energy, and you could feel the happiness of finding people vanish.
"Atsa? You alright bud?"
His words didn't even seem to reach Atsa. Instead, the padawan began walking deeper into the forest, the dark itself seeming to try and wrap around him. But there was more to it, the tentacles of darkness could not seem to make actual contact with Atsa. It was as if there was a bubble around him.
Karkun was stunned. He couldn't seem to move a muscle, his mind trying to shake off the confusion and fear that was coming over him.
The realization that his friend and apprentice was disappearing into the dark was enough to break him of the trance and fuel his determination. He began to run after Atsa, who hadn't gotten too far. He quickly caught up to Atsa, in fact without any difficulties. He reached his hand out to attempt to grab Atsa's shoulder.
"Atsa, wha-"
But before Karkun could lay his hand on Atsa's shoulder, he must have blinked. Atsa was gone. Karkun swore he didn't blink, but it's all he could think of. Quickly, he stepped forward, just past a row of trees, and looked to the left. There was Atsa, still walking. He was a good distance down the way now, and Karkun was
Not going to loose him.
Karkun sprinted this time, using the speed of a Jedi to reach him this time. Karkun attempted the same action as last time, reaching out his hand. Once again, an instant of darkness interrupted Karkun's vision. Karkun lunged forward instantly, attempting to tackle Atsa if he had to. Nothing. Atsa had vanished.
Atsa? I'm coming buddy. Karkun looked around once more, and saw Atsa a ways down his left. He tried to catch up to him again, but when ever he ran, Atsa seemed to become further away. Karkun knew he was moving at immense speeds, but it felt like he was moving in the wrong direction. Like he was staying in place, and the forest just became longer and longer. He stopped and instead began to walk, which actually was working. He gained ground on Atsa, but once he came within 20 feet of him, he could not get any closer.
"Atsa! Atsa! What are you doing? Atsa!"
Trying to take advantage of the proximity he had gained, Karkun leaped to one of the tree trunks, and began leaping from tree to tree, kicking off each tree to get closer to Atsa. What he did this time though, was different. He bounded in front of Atsa, trying to serve as a wall.
"Alright Atsa, it's time to-"
Karkun couldn't even finish the sentence before being blasted backwards. He went through a solid tree, and then heavily impacted one behind it. Karkun fell to the forest floor with a thud, his consciousness fading.
As soon as Karkun bolted after Atsa, everything about the two seemed to vanish. Koda could no longer sense them, see them, or even hear them. The darkness literally ate them. The forest seemed to have gained a unique ability to play mind games, because Koda also couldn't figure out where the Temple was. All attempts were foiled, and the darkness and loneliness was enough to drive a person insane.
No matter what he tried to do, he would end up at the clearing. The clearing with the tree. It was inevitable, and the Forest would be sure to enforce it.
Jehaa had just gotten back from her run, and was ready for a well deserved nap. She couldn't shake a nagging feeling in the back of her mind. She couldn't identify what it was either, although the forest seemed to keep popping into her mind. Once her head hit the pillow, she was out.
Dreams of the forest swept into her head. Beginning with the forest brightly lit by the morning sun, the dream took her through her normal paths through the forest.
But the light began to fade from the forest, a the dark of night took hold. The trees' shapes were twisted and demented. The ground was devoid of life, dotted with dry, dead plants and twigs. Jehaa could see Atsa walking on his own, down the dark aisles the trees created. He face was blank, and his body moved like on auto-pilot. There was a dark figure leading him. Jehaa's focus begins to get closer to the figure, and as soon as her perspective is just behind the figure, it turns its head straight towards Jehaa.
She awakens in the same place she had just dreamed about, on the cold floor of the forest. A constant chill is felt, but it doesn't come from any wind or cold air. No, not any normal wind. Barely even 10 feet away from her is Marcus, who is standing across from her, facing her direction.
Elyssia gently broke from the embrace after a while of silence. She held eye contact, and then began to back away.
"I must get to bed. It is late". She then turned and started to pass through the doorway. "I'll see you tomorrow", she said with a grin, before exiting the balcony and going to her room.
Once the bump of the door shutting passed, the silence once again ensued. The silence was a killer silence, an unnatural lack of sound. It was piercing, and it seemed to turn seconds into an eternity.
A presence was instantly felt by Marcus. A presence that was very...disturbing. It was coming from behind him. But what Marcus found, was that he couldn't turn to face it. He couldn't even bring his hand to his lightsabers. The lack of control over his muscles, lead to a painful pressure being exerted on them. He was being compressed, and it did not feel good. The pressure built until it felt like he was going to be crushed, but instead it was all released. The end of the pressure came with an explosion of pain and darkness, an experience unlike any other.
Marcus then found himself in the forest, directly in front of Jehaa. She was laying on her back, and looked like she was just starting to wake up.
Kelios was sleeping in his little hut that he had made. It resided just at the edge of the Forest boundary, and consisted of a single room that served as his bedroom. The masters allowed him to reside here because he found much discomfort sleeping inside, and the hut was the closet thing he could get to his old home.
His sleep was disrupted, however, by the sound of a girl crying. It was feint, but sent a chill down the sentinel's spine. Kelios was eaten by curiosity, and so he went out to investigate. The crying stopped as soon as he stood just at the forest boundary, and it didn't seem to come back. With a shrug, Kelios turned and passed it off as his mind playing tricks on him. He didn't take one step before both feet were pulled out from under him, and he was violently dragged back into the forest. The crying began again, and it became louder and louder as he was pulled in.
Adeline had left her master and headed to bed, as instructed by the masters. She fit right in with the crowd of padawan, who were all going to their rooms. And just like the others, Adeline opened the door to her room, and walked in. She was about to close it herself, but it instead shut on its own. The slightly confused Adeline turned to examine the door. The transparency that the door and walls usually had was changing. Black was slowly seeping down them, a black that looked like ink leaking down the surface. Adeline's first reaction was to back away, her head spinning around the room.
The blackness slowly reached the floor, and then began moving towards Adeline. She yelled for help, trying to gain someone's attention, but she received no response. She could not see past the room, and failed in her attempts to push the blackness away with the force. The blackness reached her foot, and slowly traveled up her legs. It was cold, in fact, it was blistering cold. The poor padawan had no defense to it, and as it consumed her face, her screams became gurgled.
Her scream suddenly pierced throughout the forest. She stopped once she realized she was alright, but the fear she felt was still immense.
She found herself in a clearing, with a giant dead tree in the center. Further down around the clearing was Atsa, and Karkun behind him. Koda'rai was past them, but she could barely make them out with the darkness clouding her vision. Kelios was on the ground not to far behind her. He wasn't moving.
Adeline meant to go and help him, but she was frozen in place from the horrible darkness that made up the tree in front of her.
Karkun's eyes slowly opened.
Wha...where am..."Atsa!"
Karkun was quick to his feet, and began walking around, searching for Atsa.
Karkun was walking through the rows and columns of trees, looking left and right, back and forth for Atsa. The sound of his own footsteps, and the occasional rustle in the area was all that could be heard.
As he was walking, he swore he caught a glimpse of Atsa turning at a tree in the distance. Karkun walked over, stepping on a twig here and there. The darkness around the trees seemed to bend and wave at times, causing the eerie feeling that something is there.
He did indeed arrive at the tree he saw Atsa turn right at. His right arm brushed against the trunk as he passed it, making the turn right. His head first looked left to be sure Atsa wasn't that way, and then he turned his head back right. His heart stopped. He was immediately face-to-face, with the woman that Atsa had seen.
Impulse forced him to jerk back, but he tripped. She was leaning over him, staring at him. She remained motionless. Karkun attempted to grab his lightsaber, but he was moving immensely slow as not to provoke the...thing.
The tip of his middle finger touched the hilt, and she noticed. Karkun blinked, and she was in his face. He grabbed his lightsaber now and swung it upwards. He found that he was swinging at air.
While standing up, lightsaber still activated, he spotted Atsa straight ahead. He, as always, walked over, his heart racing and lightsaber ready. He spotted Jehaa and Marcus off to his right. They were talking, or something. As he became next to Atsa, he could see Adeline also down to his right, with Kelios on the ground behind her. She was in the clearing, which Karkun just now noticed. Koda'rai was on the other side, facing the tree. The tree was...evil. That's all he could think of to describe it.
Atsa seemed to snap out of the trance he was in, but began walking towards the tree. He could see that woman at the trunk, beckoning to come in.
"Kar.... kun..... I.... can't.... stop.......!""Atsa, no!"
Karkun attempted to grab him and hold him, but once his hand came too close to Atsa, a surge of electricity was sent through the hand. He fell to he knees in pain and then looked back up towards the woman. He ran around Atsa, and charged the woman.
You won't get him.Lunging forward, Karkun attempted to bring his blade to the woman's neck. This attempt, unfortunately, was foiled when the blade when right through her, doing nothing. All Karkun had time to do was shift his face into that of confusion and fear before being pulled into the tree...