Manually added by Battlelord Malisane Sadow

Manually added by Augur Sanguinius Tsucyra Entar

The Face of Fire

Artifact:

The artifact is a bust of an ancient, masked Sith Lord. A cowl shrouds and surrounds the mask, and the mask itself is ashen grey with faded, yellowed vertical stripes upon it's cheeks and up over the eye sockets. When a Force Sensitive touches the mask, it feels warm to the touch. After a few moments the eye sockets and mouth fill with apparent flames. Though this seems like an illusion, heat emanates from them as if from a real fire, and the bust becomes scalding hot to the touch. When the incantation is spoken by a Force user, they can feel something "tugging" at their mind. The stronger they are, the stronger this pull is, and it seems to tug one toward the outer rim.

Poem format: Tanka (5-7-5-7-7 syllables, in 4 stanzas)

In the far reaches
There is one who dreams in space
His mind a wild place
He waits and watches for signs,
Of a time to strike once more

His touch burns the flesh,
His will is made manifest
Burn the unworthy
Scald those who show true power
Grant them the vision to see

The path is open,
It unfolds before my eyes
The return is set,
I will travel the right path,
To be determined worthy

The inferno burns,
But my power will shield me,
I am judged worthy,
I will take hold of his strength,
And return with the wild one

Augur Locke Sonjie
10311

(I'm not sure my file uploaded right, so just in case...)

Objective 2: DEFEND YOUR CLAN LEADERS
Snapshot: https://www.darkjedibrotherhood.com/members/10311/snapshots/1740/3279

**Karma**

"Bentre!" Locke yelled, struggling to be heard over the sound of blaster fire. They were on Lyra's surface now, and the conflict was at full tilt. "Bentre!" Locke shouted again. He could see the Consul, several dozen meters away. The man didn't turn.

Locke had intel that indicated an assassin was after the Consul. He didn't want the man to die. If it had been one of the more destructive members of the Clan, then sure, but not Bentre. Bentre was a good Consul.

And he could be killed at any moment.

Finally, Locke gathered the Force. He wanted his voice to be louder. He did not know much about how his own biology worked, but he understood the Force, and he understood his instincts. He inhaled, filling his lungs with both air and the Force. He strengthed his throat. He formed the word in his chest and pushed it out, letting it erupt from his lips so hard that he made his own ears ring.

"Bentre!"

The Consul turned, saw Locke, and frowned. He ignored the confused look of his aides and rushed up to Locke, grabbing the other man's arm. "I told you to stay on the ship," he growled. "Especially after that stunt you pulled."

"Bentre," Locke said, ignoring that the other man held his arms. "You're in trouble. There's an assassin."

"Why should I believe you?" Bentre said. "How do I know this is not a trick?"

"Look, it's one of those Collective goons. A sniper, I think. I don't know how they expect to get you, but they could shoot from anywhere."

"How do you know this?" Bentre asked, letting go of Locke's arms.

Rubbing his arms, Locke fished out his datapad and showed the message he received. It was from a Sencara A'theri. "Look, they sent me a message. I was going to work with them to go after some other targets, but not you. And their orders are for you. Apparently."

"This is why I told you to stay on the ship," Bentre muttered.

"Hey," Locke said. "I may plot against my 'allies', but at least I'm honest and loyal with you. Got any idea how to stop her?"

"I could just step inside an AT-TE and wait. She wouldn't be able to find me then."

"Sure, great idea. Better than being out here."

It didn't take them long to find the nearest walker. Once they were inside, Bentre ordered the Sadowan troops inside to clear out, expect for those operating the walker. They hoped the assassin would still come and try to kill Bentre, and that was when they would deal with her.

After an hour, nothing had happened.

Bentre sighed. "When did you say this assassin was arriving?"

"Don't know," Locke answered. "Any time I guess."

As if on cue, a hissing sound filled the walker and smoke began to billow into it, clouding their vision.

"Oh wonderful," Locke muttered. He backed up until he was against a wall, waiting in the cramped space, trying to see if he could spot anything.

Suddenly, he felt pain on his head and everything went black.

---

When Locke later awoke, he found Bentre standing nearby and talking to one of their troops. On the other side of the compartment was a small form handcuffed and sitting on the floor.

"What did I miss?" Locke groaned.

"I waited until she hit you, then disarmed her."

"So I was her target? Did she double cross me?"

"Seems that way," Bentre said. "That's karma for you."

End