Magic is Force: Chapter 28
Frozen in place by the fear that suddenly gripped her being, Meetra stared down at the bane of the Jedi Order. The Sith gazed at her with his sulfur colored eyes, His pale skin gave him almost a ghostly figure. Tendrils of the Darkside pricked at her consciousness, tempting to sway her.
A slight hiss could be heard coming from Solembum, his dagger pointed straight towards the Sith. What do you wish to do, Meetra?
"The only thing I can do," she said lightly. Lightsaber in hand, she slowly walked over the blood soaked field. With every step she took, it drew her ever closer towards the Sith.
Without a word or indication, Lord Fóvos began his own approach. The two Force wielders continued their advance towards each other at a slow pace. Neither made an attempt to initiate the first strike. When fighting against other Force-users, it was always a necessity to determine their strength - physically and with the Force.
Raising a hand sparks of red electricity arched between Fóvos' fingers. In a shocking display of power of the Darkside, a torrent of red-hue lightning left Fóvos' hand and danced across the battlefield. Instinctively, Meetra brought her lightsaber up in time to deflect the lightning attack. The electricity raced up and down the length of the yellow blade, creating static discharges. With a slight flick of her lightsaber, Meetra redirected the lightning into a passing wave of Urgals. Their cries of agony quickly added to the chorus of many others who suffered pain and torment. The flesh of the Urgals quickly charred to a crisp and their whole entire body began to disintegrate.
Gathering the Force, Meetra released a Force wave aimed directly at the Sith - attempting to test his Force barrier. The wave of energy quickly reached its target but as if water upon rock, the wave was deflected by an invisible shield surrounding Lord Fóvos. The air around him shimmered from the impact but overall, the Sith was perfectly unharmed.
The two continued to test each other's defenses as they continued to close the gap. Lord Fóvos repeatedly fired quick bolts of lightning to which Meetra would deflect off her lightsaber or protect herself with her own Force-barrier.
Lord Fóvos easily blocked any Force attack that Meetra sent against him. Her Force waves were stopped dead by the Sith's own barrier or were batted away by his blood-red lightsaber. A slight grin slowly began to grow the Sith's face.
"What's wrong, wench?" Lord Fóvos exclaimed. "Are you too afraid to fight me directly?"
Drawing upon the Force, Meetra launched herself forward racing towards Fóvos. Her lightsaber no more than a blur of light amidst the dark surroundings. To any normal being, her strike would have instantly ended their life; however, her opponent was no ordinary man. With years of trained combat prowess and Force-heightened reflexes, Fóvos reacted to Meetra's attack. His lightsaber made contact with Meetra's, the two blades producing a high pitch wail as they touched.
"I'm not afraid," Meetra grunted as she struggled to break past the lock of the two blades.
"So you say," Lord Fóvos replied back, the muscles underneath his dark robes bulged as he tried to push back. "But I can sense it in you. And your fear shall be his demise!"
"I won't let you hurt him!" She yelled. She deactivated her lightsaber allowing Lord Fóvos' blade to sail through the air where her blade once was. Ducking and performing a pirouette, Meetra was now directly behind the Sith. The yellow beam of light reappeared once more from its hilt and Meetra swung low making for an attempt at the Sith's legs.
The yellow blade missed however as Fóvos performed a front flip, his legs no longer in harm's way. He landed only a short feet away from Meetra when she made another attempt. Rushing forward, she swung high towards Fóvos' head but was quickly parried.
Lord Fóvos quickly reposted, bringing his arm back and lunged forward, the point of his lightsaber trained to her breast. Frantically back stepping to gain some distance, Meetra brought her lightsaber down across her torso, parrying the strike. The two continued to engage in each other in a series of parrying and reposting; neither gaining ground over the other.
Solembum's worry pressed against Meetra's mind like a blanket, draping over her conscious. Meetra! Hold on! She could sense there werecat's intentions through their mental connection; he was planning on entering into the fray to help assist. His long furry patches on his naked body stood on end and a harsh expression grew over his face. The muscles underneath his skin began to bulge in anticipation for an opening.
Meetra quickly shouted, No! Stay away, Solembum! This is a fight that you won't win.
In an instant, the werecat moved with grace and speed surprising despite his childish looks. He raced across the ground weaving, dodging between friendly and enemy combatants; and with much agility leaping over the corpses of the dead. With his blood-smeared blade, in hand, he brought it close against his chest, its point aimed towards the Sith's back.
Solembum! NO! Meetra's thoughts of worry and fear for her long-time companion unintentionally gripped her entire being. As their lightsabers locked blades once again, an ominous teeth-baring grin grew across Fóvos' face.
"You're emotions have betrayed you," he said with such malice in his voice. Without even averting his eyes, Fóvos' relinquished one of his hands from his lightsaber, extending it backwards into an unknown direction. Tendrils of the Darkside pricked at Meetra's mind as his hand and fingers clenched around some unknown direction.
As her eyes traced the direction of Fóvos' outstretched arm, immense fear gripped her conscious. No less than fifteen feet away, rising into the air was Solembum. A small furry hand was gripped at his throat, attempting to claw at whatever was holding him in place. His breathing was labored as his chest rose and fell in quick intervals trying to draw in needed air.
With the fear gnawing at her, Meetra pushed harder against Fóvos' lightsaber. "This thing is precious to you it seems," he said with a same vile tone as before.
"Let him go!" Meetra screamed. She pushed ever harder against her opponent, but the Sith held his ground, not budging.
"Summon the boy and I shall."
"As if I would ever trust the words of a Sith," she said with such anger in her voice.
"Then you have sealed his fate," Fóvos exclaimed. His hand clenched tighter and an painful growl could be heard coming from Solembum. His attempts at struggling to free himself traversed into acts of panic. He dropped his dagger and proceed to use both burly hands to break free of Fóvos' force grip, clawing and yanking madly at the invisible force.
...M-Meetra, Solembum's strained voice echoed across her mind. She could sense his own fear grow by the second over the fact that in only but a short minute his life would be put to an unfortunate and tragic end.
"Decide!" Fóvos shouted in anger. "The creature's life or Karn."
She gazed directly into the yellow-slitted eyes of her long-time companion. Meetra couldn't bare to see Solembum struggle in vain to preserve what life still remained in his body. D-don't give in to this monster, Solembum said with such strain that Meetra knew he was struggling just to stay conscious.
"Choose!" Fóvos screamed in fury. The lines on his face grew rigid and and his yellow eyes grew darker.
As she struggled against the Sith's lightsaber, Meetra knew that she had to make a choice. A choice which she instantly knew which one she must make. I'm sorry, Solembum.
M-Meetra!
"...Fine, release Solembum," she reluctantly ordered.
Quick as lightning, Fóvos brought his leg up and force-kicked Meetra back several meters; the impact causing her to double over gasping for air. Seconds later, the body of a small child collided into her chest, knocking her onto her back. Solembum lay upon her breasts coughing violently, gasping for air.
"Solembum! Are you alright?" she asked worriedly as she attempted to sit herself up, cradling the werecat against her.
I'm alright, he said with much disdain. Worry about me later, now is the time too-
His words were cut off and her body suddenly erupted in excruciating agony when bolts of blood-red lightning ripped across their bodies. Their bodies were left paralyzed as their muscles convulsed from the electrical discharges. The lightning strike was brutal and savage, much like the Force-user that summoned it. Fóvos continued his relentless barrage to the point which caused Meetra to howl and Solembum to growl in pain.
As Meetra's body lay upon the cold dirt, contorting and twisting with not control, she could not do anything but experience the horrific memory of her long distant past. Lying upon the cold durasteel floor in the Sith Emperor's throne room, the torrents of Darkside energies circling and surrounding her - ebbing her life away. And with the memory came the resurgence of the emotions she felt that day as well: despair and loneliness.
"Your pain and suffering," cried Fóvos, "will bring him to me!"
The continuous onslaught of lightning did not recede in the slightest. Fóvos was fully intent on having Karn appear before him, and Meetra was taking the full brunt of it. Through the chaos, Meetra struggled to pull Solembum in close to her trying to act as a shield, allowing the werecat to be protected. Her energy seemed to be draining from her body, any attempt of her fighting back to become futile.
Once again, she was left to the mercy of her attacker. Once again, she was left to take on the world that pressed down upon her. And once again, there was no one there to protect her.
… Karn…
Ferocious yells quickly filled Meetra's ears as two new combatants joined the fray. Out of the corner of her squinted eye, she could make out the figures of a human and dwarf, both of their armor bloodied and smeared with gore. The human with his hand-and-half sword charged straight on into the stream of lightning, bringing his shield up to protect her and Solembum; while the dwarf flanked to the side to catch the Sith off guard. It took Meetra a moment to realize that Orik and Murtagh had come to her aid.
A gruesome cry of pain escaped Murtagh's mouth as his entire body was wracked in electricity - his shield doing very little help to protect himself. However, the stream of lightning that afflicted Meetra and Solembum broke, leaving them currently unharmed.
"Orik!" Murtagh cried as he soon fell to one knee, trying his best to stay strong against the torrents of lightning.
For being as short as most dwaves were, they were surprising agile over short distances. Orik with his large battle axe rushed to the side on Fóvos' left flank. He drew his axe back as he closed the distance and when barely two meters were left between them, he swung like a beserker. Sparks sprayed into the air as Fóvos' lightsaber came up cleaving the axe blade into two charred pieces - leaving Orik completely defenseless.
Still maintaining the stream of lightning, Fóvos raised his lightsaber high above his head; the blade suddenly glowed darker as if darkness itself was enveloping the blade. Thrusting his lightsaber down, a wave of darkside energy was released from the blade, cascading and impacting into Orik. His armor was wretched in on itself, splintering and the chainmail that coated his body was disintegrated. The small dwarf was lifted off his feet and send flying off into the throng of Urgal and Varden warriors.
Murtagh could no longer handle the barrage of lightning and finally collapsed onto the ground, writhing in agony. The armor that covered his body left became electrically charged, causing burns to coat his flesh. A malevolent laugh echoed across the field as Fóvos continued his onslaught.
On shaking legs, Meetra struggled to stand up. Her muscles continued to convulse and quiver as her body tried to cope with the additional electrical shock. She even had difficulty keeping her lightsaber in her grasp, her hand was shaking uncontrollably.
Even against the tremors that wracked her body, she made the effort to keep on fighting. She took the first step and with it another. Each step she took was an obstacle all in itself. Yet she carried through, drawing on the Force to calm her nerves. She pressed the button on her lightsaber, the yellow blade spurring to life. Her slow stride eventually increased. Her walk becoming a jog, her jog turning into run. Her body now returning to a state of normalcy.
Stepping into the electrical storm, Meetra brought her lightsaber up in front of her; the lightning was now redirecting itself from Murtagh to her amber blade. The lightning raced up and down the length of the blade, but the force behind it was nearly strong enough to send her skidding across the field. She dug her heels deep into the dirt, attempting to support herself.
Her lightsaber could not fully deflect the attack as bolts of lightning arced around her lightsaber, striking the ground - nearly hitting Murtagh - leaving large smoldering patches of dirt, even making contact with her. Slowly, the pressure that pushed against her slowly began to increase; Fóvos was advancing towards her. With each step the Sith took it increased the surge of his lightning.
What is he?! She thought. How is he this strong?
Seconds passed as Fóvos continued to advanced towards her. The ground beneath her feet began to crumble and give way under the sheer pressure of the attack. The force behind the lightning was growing stronger; strong enough to actually push Meetra back several feet. She dug her heels deeper into the earth until she finally came to a stop just a few inches from a convulsing Murtagh.
Against the crackling and popping of the electrical storm, Meetra could vaguely make out the words of Fóvos, "Where is he? Where is Karn?!"
"He's smarter than to fall for a trick like this!" she shouted against the noise of the lightning. "You think that harming me will bring him to you? You're surely mistaken."
"Perhaps harming you is not the answer then," Fóvos' voice trailed off.
Meetra wasn't sure what Fóvos meant by that but her thoughts were quickly jumbled when she felt a mental probe stab at her mind. The mental attack completely took her off guard; the probe burrowing deep inside her conscious. She immediately tried to throw up barriers to ward off her thoughts and actions but the damage had already been done.
The split second distraction was all Fóvos needed to gain the advantage; once again the Sith brought his lightsaber up, the blade developing a darkened hue. Tendrils of the Force painfully pricked at her subconscious, a sign telling her something was wrong.
"If harming you will not bring the boy to me," Fóvos began, raising his lightsaber high for her to see it. "Then perhaps your death will be enough."
Quickly retracting the lightning, Fóvos brought down his lightsaber. A wave of pure darkside energy left the blade; its grew until it was nearly two men tall. The wave carved out a three foot wide trench of earth as it made its way towards Meetra.
The wind whipped past her curled hair as the blast of energy came straight for Meetra. The amount of power emanating from it was far greater than any force power she had ever sensed. Whatever this new power was, it was meant for only one purpose: destruction.
Instinctively, Meetra was ready to leap out of danger and make a strike against Fóvos. However, she had to forcefully stop herself from doing so, for directly behind her on the ground lay Murtagh, unconscious - apparently the lightning did more damage to him than she originally thought. If she had jump to safety, Murtagh would have been caught by the blast and possibly kill him. And at the rate the wave was moving, there was no way she could grab Murtagh and get them both to safety. She only had two options: abandon Murtagh and save herself; or try to perform the impossible and block the attack.
Even if Meetra could bring herself to escape the blast, she would never forgive herself for letting an innocent life be lost. It was against the Jedi Code. Which meant that her only option left would be to take on the force-blast head on. But Meetra wasn't foolish, the power that backed it was far more powerful than she could ever have imagined. She doubt she could even stop it in time. But what choice was there left for her.
With no other choice Meetra deactivated her lightsaber, flung her hands out towards the oncoming wave of energy. Upon impact with her force barrier, Meetra's body trembled and buckled from the sheer gravity of power that pressed against her. Just trying to maintain the barrier was proving to be too much of a strain. A pressure descended upon her body making it feel extraordinarily heavy. This pressure she felt; this pressure that was forcing her body into submission - This is the power of the Sith?!
I don't have much more! Meetra's strength was failing and soon her barrier would shatter; the attack destroying her and Murtagh.
"This is the end!" Fóvos exclaimed.
A blinding light pierced the darkened landscape as Meetra's barrier broke. A strong torrent of wind blew past her, knocking her to the ground. All sight and sound left her. This was it - the end.
"… Not today."
Her senses returning, Meetra gazed up in bewilderment; the wave of energy stopped barely a foot away from her. A powerful aura descended upon the field. An aura which instantly brought relief to Meetra's battered body.
She looked up to her left to see her savior, his robes tattered and torn but appearing to be uninjured. His hand was outstretched, a barrier was placed around the wave of darkside energy keeping it at bay. His eyes once sapphire blue were replaced by a pair of glowing amber.
"...Karn," she said aghast.
His face was stricken into a serious state; his glowing amber eyes trained onto the Sith. "Are you alright?" His voice was monotone, devoid of emotion.
"I-I think so," she slowly situated herself up coming to stand beside him.
"Good," Karn said. Slowly, he moved his outstretched arm to the side, the wave of energy mimicking it. His arm shook slightly as the wave of energy gave into his will. Releasing his grip, the wave of energy sailed right past the two of them, veering off into a rushing wave of Urgal bodies; ripping them to shreds.
"I've finally brought you out of hiding," Fóvos said. "I knew you would come to save her."
A yellow blade appeared at Karn's side as he activated his lightsaber. "You've chosen the wrong person to endanger, Sith."
"On the contrary," Fóvos declared, bringing his lightsaber up and pointed it straight at Karn. "I believe I made the right choice."
"What next," Meetra asked as she activated her lightsaber as well.
"Leave him to me. You're needed elsewhere," stated Karn.
Meetra stood there in shock, "Excuse me? You can't face him alone. He's too strong."
"Eragon's in trouble," Karn suddenly blurted. "He's at the base of Tronjheim at the Endless Staircase. Durza's there. You and Solembum, take Murtagh, find Orik and get them to safety. Then go help Eragon."
"The Shade?" Meetra said in surprise. "But what about him?" she glared back at the Sith.
"I've got him. I'll hold him off until you can get back."
She placed a hand on his arm out of fear for him, "Karn, are you sure? He's strong, stronger than any Sith I've ever face… His connection to the Darkside is… is abnormal."
"I'm well aware," he said, his voice full of resolve.
Her worry for Karn was starting to get the better of her. She wanted to stay to make sure that he would be safe. And if the two of them were to fight together, they could easily conquer Fóvos.
But then, I'd be endangering Murtagh, Orik and Eragon's lives in the process.
As if sensing her worry, Karn quickly reached out and took hold of her hand that was pressed against his arm, squeezing it ever-so-gently. "Let me take this burden, Meetra." This time his voice was full of emotion; his love and worry for her. "Let me take this strain of your shoulders. And when you feel you're ready, come back and share the burden with me."
Upon hearing his words, Meetra remembered the time from earlier that they both shared together. Both of them pledging to each other to share their burdens and strife. "You swear?" she replied
"I swear," he answered back, a faint smile crept across his mouth.
"Very well," she gave his hand one finally squeeze before pulling herself free. She deactivated her lightsaber, buckled it, and quickly dropped down next to Murtagh. Solembum with his charred mane, kneeling down next to the young man, observed the scene that was unfolding.
Solembum, are you alright? She placed a hand on his head.
I'll live, somehow, he replied.
Come on, we've got to go. Go find Orik. She took a hold of Murtagh's arm and pulled him onto her shoulders. We've got to get these two out of harm's way.
Very well, the werecat said. He didn't waste anytime and quickly dashed off into the fray of battle.
After hoisting Murtagh up onto her shoulder, Meetra glanced back at Karn, taking in his presence. In the pit of her stomach, she was dreading of having to leave his side. And even though it left her feeling worse about herself, she knew that this was the right thing to do.
...A Jedi does not let attachments cloud their judgement… She thought to herself. … Perhaps I'm becoming less of a Jedi than I thought…
Taking in a deep breath and drawing upon the Force, Meetra raced off after Solembum. Her path know was clear. I've got to hurry back to Karn as soon as possible. I will not let him carry this burden by himself.