| We hope you enjoy your visit. You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free. Join our community! If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features: |
| Wave of Darkness: Prelude, Black Army Camp | |
|---|---|
| Topic Started: Aug 9 2008, 09:48 PM (135 Views) | |
| Ra Cul | Aug 9 2008, 09:48 PM Post #1 |
GameMaster
  ![]](http://209.85.117.197/static/1/pip_r.png)
|
Fire, ash, and destruction. It is the history of our galaxy, summed up in three easy words. But underneath those three words, I can offer you three more, that equally sum it up. Love, hope, and life. Half a year. Amazing how much difference such a short span of time can make. On myself. On the people around me. On the galaxy as a whole. Six months ago, the galaxy's major warring factions, the Republic, and the Combined Armies Alliance, had broken down to infighting. Infighting, that after several months, had broken out into full scale civil wars. It was insanity. Friend and family, fought friend and family. Former enemies became grudging allies. I fought my twin. My supposed dark half. I defeated him, or would have, if my cousin hadn't unexpectedly made her presense known. Her blow, by all rights, should have killed me. I know, even despite valiant efforts to heal me...to save my life....it very nearly succeeded. My mind was cast adrift. And I wandered the paths of a thousand, thousand futures. Each one as dark as the next. Only in one path, one desperate course of action, did I find what I sought. To end the fire, ash, and destruction, I would need to rain down those three dark aspects upon the galaxy, like they had never been rained down before. My promise....my call to battle was genuine. And end to the endless wars. An they flocked to my banner, from every corner of the galaxy, from every walk of life. Some came for the ideal. Some came for the guidance. Others came for glory, and combat. Still others came for power. In the end, they all came for one thing. Deep down, they believe I will not fail them. In six months, my army has destroyed most of their ability to create the weapons and instruments of war. In six months, we have turned their attentions away from warring amongst themselves. In six months, we have swelled our ranks to nearly equal their combined might. In six months, we have made them afraid enough to stand together, to oppose us. In six months, we have rolled across the oceans of space, slowly building, like a massive wave, approaching the shore. Three days ago, the Republic world of Commeanor fell to us. The Black Banner, with it's single shining star, flies from the capital. Three days ago, I addressed the galaxy, and told them I was coming for Coruscant. I told them I had the power to remove it from the came forever. I showed them my Eclipse Dreadnaught. I even told them when I was coming. Large numbers of my army have been on Coruscant for weeks. Trickling slowly in, amongst the stream of refugees from worlds that fall before me. My fleet is gathered. My Knights are ready. Where once, they were only five in number, each of those five, now command five Knights of their own. Each of them is trained well. Jedi. Sith. Legion. Min. Black Knights, all of them, now. My name is Hadrius Cul. I am descended from a line of Force users, mainly Jedi, over four thousand years long. I am also descended from the line of Thomas Darque. I have studied under Mannanan, the Bladedancer. I have studied under Jedi Grand Master, Zann Riegal. I have fought alongside Isaac Leonhart, and against his father, Heiseto. I gathered the Twelve, and stood against the Ancients. I am the master of the meld. My eyes blaze with an inhuman red light, and I have made the legendary twin Cul sabers, legendary, once more, their red death known the galaxy over. I am Hadrius Cul, but to most of the galaxy, I am better know as the Black General. And I am the last, best, hope the galaxy has. Hadrius stood atop the hill. He was flanked by several of the Black Knights. Down the hill from him, thousands of the Black Army stood, sat, kneeled....waiting for him to speak. Across the galaxy, his words would carry, via his connection to some in the Force....or the private holofrequencies his army used. He focused inwards briefly, gathering upon his conviction. His iron clad belief in what they were doing. His head bowed, and eyes closed, almost as if praying. As he raised his head, and opened his eyes, that conviction poured out through the semi-permanent link he'd established with the entirety of the Black Army. Through use of the Meld, he'd established a similar focus, to use on his army. A form of battle meditation. "It is our time." He turned slowly, his eyes surveying his entire assembled force. "Everything we have done. Every sacrifice we have made. Every hard choice. Every loss we have endured. It has been for this moment. The tide is rising. the Black Tide. Our tide. And they have done as I knew they would. They have assembled, all of them, at Coruscant. They have rallied together, in one place. And it is there, we can end all of this. It will be there, where the endless war finally ends. It will be upon the metalic fields, polluted skies, and cluttered spaceways, of Coruscant, that the Wave of Darkness crashes upon the shores of the war mongers, the tyrants, the deceptive and decietful!" He raised his arms slowly, holding them out, as if over his people. "I know we will fight, as we have always done, valiantly. Heroicly. I know many of us will not survive that day. It is our one last great sacrifice. It is our one last, final task. When it is done, we can all go home. The war...the endless war...ends at Coruscant. There will be no quarter asked. Their will be none offered. And their will be none given. Not by us. Not by them. They know, as we know, Coruscant is where it all ends." Hadrius' sabers drifted to his hands, and he slowly raised both arms. "We are the Black Army. We are the Wave of Darkness, crashing upon the shores of endless war, endless suffering. We will extinguish the fire. We will blow away the ashes. And with our very lives, we will end the destruction." The twin sabers burst to life, blazing red, matching the fire burning in Hadrius' eyes. "We are hope! We are the future! We are the living embodiement of the Black Banner! And we will not fail!" |
| |
 |
 
|
| Ra Cul | Aug 10 2008, 09:13 AM Post #2 |
|
GameMaster
|
<From the journals of Marik Mornthay> I don't remember when it was, how how I came to realize I'd done it. By I know that the Force has guided me my whole life. I was born Marik Mornthay. A name I have not gone by for nearly twenty years. I was taken, when I was six, by a Sith raiding party. On the auction block, I was identified by a Sith Warrior, as having great potential in the Force. I began my training the next day. But, it has been a part of who I am, my whole life. I am a historian, a scholar, by nature. The Force has guided me, not only taking me to moments in history, but showing me how to find them. I see the future, with a clarity matched by few, and surpassed only, perhaps, by Kalen Amass, of the Jedi, and Culwyn Graves, of the Dark Legion. So, you see, I had plenty of warning of His coming. The Black General. The source of the Wave of Darkness that will cast it's shadow over our galaxy in time for my great grandchildren to still ache from it. I was one of the first to heed his call. One of the original five. That's right...everything He has done, began with the work of six. The Black General, and his fearsome Black Knights. Alone, we stole Pattin's 1st Fleet. Alone, we decimated Kuat Drive Yards. Alone, we walked the dark halls of Thomas Darque's Temple of the Forgotten. Alone, we changed the course of history, in a way no others have ever done. Alone, we made history. I told myself, early on, I had come only to bear witness. To experience, as an observer. Of course, early on, I played as his most loyal Knight. He never fell for it. I don't think any of the others did, either. Too often, we shared the Meld. It was then, I had realized, His vision....His dream....His indominatable will...His sacrifice.... Had become mine. I was lost in the intensity of it. Nothing in my rapid climb through the ranks of the Sith, had prepared me for the experience of Hadrius Cul's mind. When I came to him, I was Darth Malikei. I am now Marik Mornthay, Black Knight, and Disciple of the Black General. Never, as I stood upon the plains of Commeanor, had our purpose been so pure, had our reason been so right, had our very existance felt so....justified. And as I heard Him speak that day, standing beside Him in what history will never remember Him for, I could feel the fire in His words....His very being. And once again, without knowing exactly why, save the Will of the Force, I found myself believing. |
|
| |
|
|
|
| Jake Featherston | Aug 22 2008, 08:25 PM Post #3 |
|
Newbie
|
Andrew gazed out upon the Black Army. He had been working hard the past few hours, trying to turn the people of Commenor to the truth of the Black General's message. More than on any other captured world, they seemed to resist every effort to convince them. They had remained neutral even when the Republic split into Loyalists and the Alliance, impossibly demanding peace. And now that the path to peace under the Black Banner was presented to them, they refused! Denouncing a path of war, they said. Of war! And they would not be persuaded that through this final war would come peace. Bull-headed fools, he thought. And then the Black General spoke. Of course, 'spoke' hardly covered the event. Words came out of his mouth and, through some trick of the wind or the landscape or the Force, were magnified so that each person there heard clearly, but no one was deafened. And the waves of certainty that spread from the man had at least as much effect as his words did. Then there was the Meld. Utterly indescribable and utterly binding. Some of the people of Commenor accused members of the Army of selling their souls to the devil. The devil take them, dumb fools. "We will extinguish the fire." Andrew became suddenly alert as the Meld notified him that one of the Black Soldiers near the edge of the gathering noticed something suspicious. He cast his mind, using the soldier's body as home base, searching for the commotion. The instant he found the Commenorians, they fired a missile into the crowd. A hundredth of a second later, the fireball it produced was 10 feet wide. Another hundredth of a second later, the fireball was relocated to the middle of the group of Commenorians. The ones who had time to react stared in shock as the fire enveloped them. Andrew made sure most survived. No point in killing people unnecessarily, but this might help get the message across. The speech continued. "We are the living embodiment of the Black Banner! And we will not fail!" The crowd erupted in cheers, too aware of the Black General to give much if any notice to the attempted bombing by the Commenorians. Andrew nodded. Another excellent speech deserved such a reaction, and safety to give the speech. He made a mental note to congratulate the soldier who had notified him. That man was doing his job. |
|
|
|
| Calin Riegal | Nov 14 2008, 09:31 PM Post #4 |
|
Freedom Fighter
|
Merrick Trion stood off to the side of the Black General, savior of the galaxy. He did not stand behind him, no, that was not an honor he considered himself worthy of. It was reserved for his Black Knights, the closest and most steadfast followers of Hadrius Cul, The Black General, the savior. He had enough pride and honor in the position that had been appointed to him. He was Cul's admiral, the commander of his fleets. His heart swelled with pride as he savored that feeling. To play such a crucial role in this journey, to be even a part of the grand mosaic that was this quest, that was all Trion needed. He had been completely taken in and enthralled, consumed with the quest in which they were setting out. They set out to do which no one, not the Republic, not the Empire, not the Jedi or Sith had ever attempted, or even conceived. They set out to provide peace to the galaxy. Peace, that was the goal, and whatever steps were needed to achieve it would pale in comparison to the good that it did in the end. And here they were, approaching the crescendo of all their work. The enemy, the combined military forces of all the galaxy had gathered, ready for a final, end all battle. Failure was not on option. Trion would not fail. He was confident in his own abilities. He had learned from Geoss Pattin, who, though bordering on belligerent, was easily the most brilliant strategic mind in the galaxy today. Trion had spent years under him, his second in command, learning from him everyday. But he had something Pattin didn't. The increased awareness from the meld, it would allow him to coordinate his attack at a level Pattin would never dream of. No waiting for reports, simply fast, decisive an immediate action. Trion took a step forward and saluted by bringing his fist across his chest and bowing his head slightly. He was loyal to this cause to the end, there was no doubt, and he would see it through to the success it rightfully deserved, that the Black General deserved, a savior, a visionary. "We will not fail you General! We shall triumph, and the galaxy shall know peace, it is as you desire. We are with you!" |
| |
|
|
|
| Ra Cul | Dec 2 2008, 08:55 PM Post #5 |
|
GameMaster
|
The speech complete, Hadrius turned his mind to the task at hand. He nodded to Andrew, as he entered the pavillion tent that had been set up as a mobile war room. Far less grand than leaders like Pattin, Kravett.....something far closer to his people. Not that he didn't have access to better. He had Pattin's flagship, the Triumph, and a super star destroyer certainly had the facilities, especially that one. He had all of Commeanor at the moment. The tent on the hill was his choice. For an odd moment, he smiled, thinking Zann would have approved. Then he remembered, Zann still could not understand any of this. But he would, come the final moments. "Good job handling that disturbance, Andrew. As always, my faith and trust remains steady in my Minister of Security." Hadrius turned his eyes towards a holo-display of the Coruscant system. "Cale reports the advance fleet is past the outer perimeter. We have over a hundred vessels close enough to strike them from behind. His fighter regiment waits a short jump away, ready to strike. Jessa has reportedher ground troops are very nearly in position as well. Admiral Trion, is the Black Gate from Naboo secure on board your ship? We'll be making some solid use of that, to get our main assault force on planet." |
|
| |
|
|
|
| Leto Exellius | Dec 3 2008, 09:13 AM Post #6 |
|
Newbie
|
Avan was a cold statuette of self that day his mind was not where it needed to be. His focus was not where it should be intended, and Hadrius had warned him of such a connection. His students became much more like children than actual students. Asher and Skylar was narrowed down to Skylar. In the middle of a convoy mission on a planet surface he could not remember Avan watched a force cyclone tear Asher apart. Ambushed by the settlers they knocked Avan's student into the core of the cyclone. What troubled Avan more than Asher's death was his last words. "Remember who you are..." What was that to mean? In the last few months Asher lead onto knowing more than he should have. He speculated before and conversed with Hadrius that Asher may have the touch of premonition. This was a topic neither had a definite grip on. But Asher knew something as if in the ease he presented when he died... it was meant to happen a lesson. What did it mean then? He could not figure it out. Remember who he is. Avan knew exactly who he was and his purpose yet nothing changed. "Skylar please ease your thoughts... they speak aloud." Avan spoke chastising like to his only student who held a perfect orb of controlled gleaming flame. Her black suit bond against her with her dark firey orange hair tied behind her much like her Master Avan. Her eyes darted up at him rolling and scoffing. She would mutter in disagreement. "I know you and... he had feelings, bur you have to let them go." Her eyes sparked at him as she near exploded at him with a cracking voice of pain. "He?! Don't do that... make him seem like he doesn't exist and you don't care at all. He was... special and he made me feel... Avan eased in finishing her sentence and adding, "At home, yes he had that effect on us. However the plain fact is he is dead and we do not honor him by weeping over his memory. We must take Coruscant, and trust in the General. He will bring the world together and my Daughter will not have to fear the day she sees this banner upon every street as a sign of truth." Skylar quited as they both looked out upon the tents watching the soldiers prepare and order things. His mind reached out to memories of Hadrius reflecting on the moments coming to the present. Hadrius himself through their melding would without even in the Meld would sense this. Hadrius could always guess Avan's problem and seemed to give a logical solution. Avan found that Hadrius presented him with the missing piece in his training. Something he did not have the chance to learn from his former Master Isaac Leonhart... Resolve. Edited by Leto Exellius, Dec 3 2008, 09:14 AM.
|
  ^Epic Signature work in Progress 
| |
|
|
|
| 1 user reading this topic (1 Guest and 0 Anonymous) | |
| « Previous Topic · Waiting Stories · Next Topic » |
2:51 PM Nov 27
