<div align="center"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: impact;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 24pt;"><strong><span class="bbc_u">Star Wars: Heart of the Blade</span></strong></span></span></div><br/><br/><div align="center">(https://lumiere-a.akamaihd.net/v1/images/databank_ilum_01_169_328d126d.jpeg?region=0%2C0%2C1560%2C878&amp;width=960)</div><br/><br/><div align="center"><em><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: impact;"><strong>War rages across the galaxy! The Battle of Geonosis marks the outbreak of conflict between the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In preparation for the battles to come, Jedi Knight Dahla Sydeer oversees an expedition Ilum, where her two padawans will undertake one of the most sacred rituals of the Jedi Order: the construction of a lightsaber.</strong></span></span></em></div><br/>Engines straining against the screaming winds, the<em>Consular</em>-class cruiser<em>Nightrunner</em>came in low over the icy cliffs, a blazing streak of red against the pure white of Ilum's sacred grounds.<br/><br/>"Brace for landing; this is going to be rough!" called CT-1811, or "Busker" as his brothers called him. The clone pilot wrestled with the controls, as if trying to fight back the storm through raw muscle alone. Master Sydeer sat, utterly placid, while the ship rattled all around her. One of her padawans, a twi'lek by the name of Laera Novari, looked rather green around the gills, a rather marked departure from her usual violet complexion. The squad of clone troopers assigned to this mission were unreadable beneath their blank white helmets, though a few of them gripped the edges of their seat tightly.<br/><br/>With a sudden jolt that rattled the teeth of all aboard, the cruiser finally set down.<br/><br/>"Nothin' to it," Busker chuckled over the coms, though a note of residual strain lingered in his voice. "You're good to go, General. Glad it's not me going out in that cold."<br/><br/>Master Sydeer rose gracefully from her seat and pulled her hood up over the tall, elegant montrals that crowned her head. "Sergeant Fluke," she said, her voice level, but commanding all at once. "I ask that you and your men remain aboard the ship, unless some kind of emergency arises. This is one of our most sacred rites, and we prefer to keep it within the order."<br/><br/>"Understood General," Fluke said, saluting briskly.<br/><br/>Sydeer turned to her two Padawans, and motioned silently for them to follow her. The<em>Nightrunner's</em>boarding ramp lowered, exposing the trio to the relentless icy blast of Ilum's perpetual winter. Though if the cold affected Master Sydeer, she seemed not to show it. Walking, back straight, through the knee-high snow, she marched through the small opening carved into the sheer white cliff face. Within was a vast and gloomy antechamber. An icy dias sat in the middle of the room, with some manner of giant crystal lens suspended above. Oppose the entrance was an immense sheet of ice, a frozen waterfall, that barred passage deeper into this most sacred of places.<br/><br/>Master Sydeer set herself down on the frozen dias, cross-legged. "We have come at a bad time," she mused solemnly. "The spirits of this world are restless, and the storm must pass if we are to gain entry. Come, sit," she gestured to the space before her on the dias. Laera took a seat at the feet of her master, shivering slightly as she settled on the frigid ground. "Ilum resonates deeply with the Force. Clear your mind and reach out. Let us find peace even here, amidst the storm."<br/><br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">OoC</div><div class="spoiler_body">Feel free to interact as you see fit. Once Lass is settled and ready to clear her mind, make an Average (2 purple) Discipline check, with two setback dice - one for the frigid environment (unless you have some manner of cold weather gear), and one because the storm raging outside is oddly disruptive to peaceful thought.)<br/></div></div>