STAR WARS: An Ill Wind
Memory

As you grasp the Master's delicate three-fingered hand, you feel a brief tingle... then the memory flows into you, replacing your own perceptions with its surprising vividness. The small house vanishes; you stand now within a dark and vaulted chamber, clothed in alien flesh.

Your balance is different, and not just because of the gravity (maybe two-thirds standard). Your body is as slender as a reed, graceful yet strong. Your sense of smell is stronger. The air of the Sith Temple is chill and flat, without even the mustiness of a tomb. But the familiar scents of your fellow Jedi Knights surround you as together you step forward into the inner sanctum of your enemy.

The walls, like the rest of the temple, are black basalt. The oddly greenish glow of torches flickers across lines of strange glyphs and blasphemous carvings. A single shaft of sunlight (bright white, almost blue) falls from the ceiling high above to illuminate the dais and throne at the center of the chamber. On either side of the broad walkway to the throne are pits that drop away to unknown depths.

And upon the high-backed seat, wrapped in black robes, is your foe. The fist-sized crystal hangs from his neck on a chain, pulsing redly on his chest like the heart for which it is named. His cowled head is bowed as if in contemplation or slumber, but as you and your comrades enter, he looks up - and smiles.

"So. You have defeated my servants, survived the perils of my temple... and now you would challenge me."

Even from here, you can sense the wrongness in the Force that centers on him, swirling like a tangle of knotted skeins. You feel him gather that power to him as he rises, extending one arm toward your group.

"You are fools to think you could defeat a god. Now, feel my wrath!"

The glow of the Heart flares as the Sith's gaunt face twists in rage. Lightning lashes from his fingertips, knocking one of your friends back against the wall. The younger Jedi staggers to his feet, his robes smoking from the assault.

Together, the three of you ignite your lightsabers to do battle. After a gloating moment, the Sith draws his own. His saber blade matches the purplish-red radiance of the Heart.

Seaspray (your Caamasi perceptions tend to identify individuals by scent rather than names) moves to the attack first, followed by Nightbreeze - not out of eagerness, but necessity. The Sith leaps from the dais to meet them, his cloak spreading out behind him like dark wings. He lands on the balls of his feet and unleashes a flurry of blows at your fellow Jedi, the three of them spinning in a deadly ballet. You stand just out of the way, ready to assist when there's an opening.

Your chance comes soon enough: a missed stroke and a hard shove leaves Nightbreeze teetering on the brink of one of the seemingly bottomless pits. You reach out with a free hand and pull him quickly to safety while Seaspray keeps the Sith busy.

But one Jedi Knight alone is no match for a Sith with the power of the Heart at his command. Possessed of manic energy, his face a rictus that shifts from glee to anger and back in an instant, he beats against Seaspray's guard and finally penetrates it with a sizzling cut to her forearm. She hisses in pain and steps back - and the Sith drives his next thrust through her exposed knee.

Seaspray crashes to the stone walkway, catching herself with her unwounded arm. She looks up at the Sith standing over her and tries to raise her lightsaber in the other hand. Everything seems to slow down as he makes a sweeping stroke...

... and Seaspray's head goes into the pit, followed by the rest of her.

Chuckling darkly, the Sith beckons to you and Nightbreeze.

You put your grief aside for later and accept his invitation. Your feet carry you forward in a quick shuffle, keeping you balanced. Now it is your saber that clashes against the Sith's along with Nightbreeze, the two of you moving almost as one. Together you weave a cage of blue and amber light around his red strikes. The Force guides you in your serenity, while the Sith only grows more frustrated at his inability to get past your defenses.

Finally, with a snarl, he feints and then leaps backward to the dais again, turning a somersault in the air before he lands. "Enough of this! Now I'll show you my real power!"

His right hand clenches into a fist, and you stumble as you feel a hand close on your throat. Nightbreeze takes another two steps forward, then cries out as a sudden whirlwind lifts him bodily into the air and spins him around. The Sith cackles.

You fight panic and the urgent need to breathe, ignoring the growing tightness around your neck as you reach for and find your calm center. Though your vision begins to blur at the edges, you see clearly enough to notice the flaming brazier just behind the Sith. With your own grasp of the Force, you reach out and pull it over.

The choking hand vanishes and Nightbreeze drops three meters to the floor as hungry flames rush up the Sith's black robes. He shrieks and whirls, trying to beat out the flames; his sleeves catch fire as well. As you and Nightbreeze watch, the dark one becomes a screaming torch. The Heart flashes brightly amid the licking orange tongues.

Before either of you can do more than move a few steps in his direction, the Sith's blind stagger takes him over the edge of the dais and into the pit. His drawn-out wail echoes up to you as his flaming robes light his way to the distant bottom.

You and Nightbreeze stand looking over the edge for a long time, then leave without a word.

... the vision fades; you are yourselves again. Even that feels strange, after the experience of having been someone else and facing one of the Sith in a duel to the death. It's hard to believe all of that happened over a thousand years ago.