{"id":1374,"date":"2021-04-06T09:07:48","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T14:07:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.com\/?p=1374"},"modified":"2021-05-03T23:34:56","modified_gmt":"2021-05-04T04:34:56","slug":"a-curiosity-to-sate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/?p=1374","title":{"rendered":"A Curiosity to Sate"},"content":{"rendered":"

My children.<\/span>
\nAwaken.<\/span><\/p>\n

The voices – if they could even be called voices – were a duality in themselves, sounding both like a raucous cacophony and tender whisper in perplexing harmony with one another. A battle raged around him and yet he heard the voices clearly above all else, a persistent tug at the corner of his mind.<\/span><\/p>\n

Awaken. You are needed<\/span>.
\nOne has awakened who will upset the balance.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was not one for being taken by surprise and yet the voices had done just that, and caused a distraction just long enough for his opponent to take advantage and aim a vicious slash aimed at severing his head from his body. The tip of the vibroblade ghosted along his jaw and left a thin trail of blood as he reared back just in time, his eyes flaring with annoyance as he only barely managed to deflect the rest of the strike. He countered quickly, sliding his pike down his opponent\u2019s extended blade and pushing the back-end of it forward to knock into the man\u2019s side.<\/span><\/p>\n

To keep the balance…<\/span>
\n…you must awaken.<\/span><\/p>\n

The other man staggered and he quickly pivoted to bring the pike\u2019s blade down onto his opponent\u2019s exposed collar and cut deeply into flesh. He withdrew the bladed end, watching the man gurgle in surprise before kicking him away to finish choking on his own blood just as the voices sounded in his mind again.<\/span><\/p>\n

You have heard the rumors…<\/span>
\n…and you must find the source.<\/span><\/p>\n

Shifting the pike into his left hand, he absently brought his right to the familiar long hilt at his waist as he turned his head as if searching for the source of the grating, yet soothing, call.<\/span><\/p>\n

Go, seek, and gather help.<\/span>
\nGo, conquer, and gain power.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brow lifted with curiosity, he reached out to sweep his awareness over the ship, hoping to sense what was amiss. He could feel the low hum of the vessel\u2019s engines and his flagship beyond, feel the vibrant energies of his crew as they moved through their prize, feel the thick cloud of death that hung like a low fog around those that they had cut down. Nothing out of the ordinary.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are many places…<\/span>
\n…places of strength<\/span><\/p>\n

Places of center…<\/span>
\n…places of pain<\/span><\/p>\n

Seek the planet where in ancient times the sides sought wisdom…<\/span>
\n…and now a new conflict has arisen where they seek dominance.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCap\u2019n?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His quartermaster\u2019s voice, far more tangible than whatever was calling out to him, had broken him from yet another disjointed trance and he returned his focus to the Falleen that had managed to come up behind him<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBridge secure,\u201d<\/span> he gruffly stated, turning cold eyes towards her.<\/span> \u201cHave the vanguard sweep the rest of the ship. Secure what we were after from the hold, and rig the engines. After that, recall the men back to the Interitus and prepare to get her underway. I want to be back in port in seven standard hours.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstood,\u201d<\/span> she nodded, peering around him at the bodies laid strewn about on the bridge.<\/span> \u201cWe takin\u2019 prisoners for ransom?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

There others will gather to share knowledge…<\/span>
\n…or subvert to your will.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo. Kill any you come across,\u201d<\/span> he answered immediately, rolling his neck from side to side and slowly dropping his hand from his belt.<\/span> \u201cBefore we jump out, turn the batteries on the prize\u2019s engines and finish her. Should take care of anyone we miss.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He heard her give a sound of assent before he stalked past her, no longer interested in the prize or the stash of valuables that was supposed to be in her hold. Instead, he headed straight for the hull breach so he could return to his flagship and make his own, separate preparations –<\/span><\/p>\n

Awaken.<\/span>
\nAwaken.<\/span><\/p>\n

– for Kaius had a new objective, and a curiosity to satiate.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My children. Awaken. The voices – if they could even be called voices – were a duality in themselves, sounding both like a raucous cacophony and tender whisper in perplexing harmony with one another. A battle raged around him and … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[80,18,23,28,81,19],"class_list":["post-1374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-storytelling","tag-eif","tag-empire-in-flames","tag-star-wars","tag-star-wars-galaxies","tag-swg","tag-swgemu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1374"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1374\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1465,"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1374\/revisions\/1465"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.empireinflames.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}