The Holocrons Saga Part I
A Sith and Her Jedi - Volume I: The Return of the Sith
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Genres: Mystery, Tragedy, Romance, Adventure, Spiritual, Action, Fantasy and Science Fiction.
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Disclaimer: Everything is owned by Disney and Bioware and created by George Lucas. I am just playing with the world that they created. Advice, questions, critiques or casual conversation about the following is welcome and encouraged. 4th Edit: 21/08/16
An alternate universe Star Wars story by Falcon277
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Chapter 1: The Order of Revan
In the outer rim of the galaxy, far from anywhere decent, there is a planet whose face is scarred by the craters of innumerable wars between the light and the dark; Moraband was its name, yet it is rumoured that in years now long forgotten, in a much darker time it went by another.
To the casual lone freighters that would periodically pass the dead world in cautious silence it would seem a barren waste, not worth the space to which it clung. Yet to the avid adventurous veterans of space it was known to be a world that one should avoid at all possible cost. All; treasure hunters, greedy pirates, official archaeologists, inexperienced adventurers, any and everyone who had tried to brave the world in search of anything of value amongst the rubble of hundreds of civilisations were never heard of again. Thus the world was left alone for the most part, to silently drift until such a time that the galaxy decided to reclaim it.
It is on this world our story begins, for it was not a barren wasteland as many would make it out to be, to steer any who would dare its surface away. It was, in fact, all the galaxy had left of a once great and powerful religion. Amongst its ruins adherents of this forgotten taboo, tried to glean what little they could of their once glorious yet forgotten past. They were the Sith and they would endure as they always had.
These Sith went under the banner of Revan, a long dead and forgotten Sith Lord whose teachings they had found deep in one of the many tombs that littered their home. Thus, they were known as the Order of Revan.
Its members numbered one hundred strong with many more not worth counting considered weak. The upper echelon, all of whom were titled as Darth were the oligarchical body that governed the hopefuls, acolytes, adepts and apprentices. They answered to no one but the Dark Lord of the Sith. Her name was Darth Rizha, Lord of the Sith. She was a human who had as many enemies as she did followers. Her exploits were legendary. She had led the order of Revan for nearly two decades, yet curiously not once did she take an apprentice much to the confusion of those who pined for her attention. "There is not one among you that deserves nor could possibly learn what I have to teach," she would tell the hopefuls, acolytes and adepts, all of whom were looking to impress those above them to become an apprentice. That was however until she met a young green skinned, reddish blackened eyed Nautolan named Andratarax, who had the audacity to try to correct a mistake that she, Darth Rizha, Lord of the Sith had made, ignorant of her position and title, she was new to their family after all. The Dark Lord was quite amused by the look on the Nautolans' face when she recognised who she had tried to correct, all fourteen of her sensory tentacles shivered slightly. Yet to her credit she did not instantly grovel on the floor to ask forgiveness, she instead stood very, very still, unsure how to react. She was, after all correct. The Dark Lord instantly took a liking to the spark that existed within this strange ten year old girl, a spark that could one day, with careful training become a flame. Thus she declared openly and to all. "Hear me my Sith, for I Darth Rizha, Dark Lord of the Order of Revan have found one worthy of my attention and my teachings. She will be my apprentice and the next Lord of the Sith. Look to her, for she will embody all that we try to uphold. All praise our Lord Revan."
So it was that Andratarax became the apprentice of the Lord of the Order of Revan. From this master/apprentice relationship a deep friendship would blossom forth, built upon mutual and unwavering respect and loyalty over the next fourteen years. One may think that due to her special attention from the Dark Lord others would hold her in ill repute, this could not be further from the truth. Instead, her peers and her superiors all saw the potential that she held and recognised her as the heir to the Lord of the Sith. Her life was on track, she would, like her master inherit the order of Revan and continue to supervise the teachings of the next generation of Sith until she herself found one strong enough to replace her. Such was the way of the Sith.
Deep in the Tomb of one the many fallen sith before her, Andratarax meditated, listening to Revan's core teachings. "Peace is a lie, there is only emotion," the voices whispered, their tendrils surrounding her mind bade her to repeat.
"Peace is a lie, there is only emotion," she affirmed vehemently.
The voices continued;
"Through knowledge, I develop control.
Through serenity, I control my passion.
Through wisdom, I overcome ignorance.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
Through emotion, I gain ambition.
Through ambition, I gain power.
Through harmony, I gain clarity.
There is no Death - "
"-There is only sacrifice," Andratarax finished. "The Force shall guide me." Happy with her strength the voices unwound their web of darkness from around her. As she was released from the clutches of the Force she felt her lungs fill with the dusty stale air of the ancient sandstone tomb that she had ventured far into. So far in fact that little to no light from the surface had ever touched it's faded walls. One could almost smell the putrid stink of all the battles that had been waged on this very spot. The ebb and flow of power was exhilarating. To think that one day soon she would control the Sith much like those who had battled here thousands of years ago had. What path would she take them on? One of conquest? Or perhaps she could hire out her brethren as mercenaries like many dark force users did across the galaxy, going where the credits were more plentiful? Or perhaps like her master and her master before that and before that... They could remain here, on Moraband in secrecy? The thought that one day all would bow to her superiority excited and frightened her. Would her battles scar this rock like the many she perceived to have occurred here. She noted that it mattered not if the battle was for good or ill it smelled and felt all the same. Time devours every act of kindness, every deed of evil, time faded it until it meant little to nothing. Only their repercussions could be felt and they too would one day fade into the convoluted web of life that was the Force. Out of everything that she had inherited from her master, from her power to her wisdom. Her master's moral compass was not amongst the gifts that she received. Where her master was benevolent she considered herself one that stood further in the stream of grey that existed between the light and the dark. This was confusing to her, she felt split and stretched and it bothered her to no end. Thus she was here, in the deepest sanctum that she could find far from any living thing that would judge her insecurities, trying to find answers amidst the code that she believed with every fibre of her body. Yet no answers found her.
"Maybe I am not deep enough yet to fully immerse myself?" Andratarax questioned herself into her sleeve only for a purple and black husk lizard to crawl out from under her black robe and huff in agreement. "Oh you think so too Hazon?" she cooed as she scratched the small cat sized lizard under the chin earning her a deep purring sound from her pet. She was after all in the middle ring of the chambers that stretched deep underground. "There may yet be more powerful force connections deeper within." Hazon chirped excitedly then made his way onto her shoulder, animated and ready for their next adventure. Smiling at the antics of her friend she started off deeper into the tomb allowing the force to guide her. It was common knowledge that apprentices were not to delve too deeply into the tombs, that right was restricted for the Darths only. "Through ambition, I gain power," she chanted one of her favourite lines of the code, if only to sate her need for justification to break the unwritten rule of the tombs. Hazon bobbed in accord as the two made their way deeper into the labyrinth of tunnels. "Oh, and if you nibble on one of my tendrils again you will be walking with your own four feet." The lizard looked down in mock shame all the while eyeing the tresses of flesh that fell around her shoulders greedily.
It was some time before the pair came to a junction in the tunnel. Her options; left, straight or right. The rightmost passage looked decrepit and in disrepair, the ceiling looked as if it was just daring her to walk that way only so it could give way and crush her. Straight looked even less appealing, it led to an upward bound stairwell, the complete opposite direction from where she wanted to go. However, the left most route, while not apparently dangerous looked darker than the other two ways if that was possible in the pitchness that they found themselves within. Her course decided they headed left in search of a more robust connection to the past to help make sense of her feelings. If there was one way Andratarax thought could teach her all she needed to know of herself she must first look to those who had already been down the path of life, the answers she looked for were locked away in the past. If it was at all possible the further the two went down into the tombs the darker and darker it became until even the playfull chirpiness of Hazon was enveloped by the shadows that they encroached upon with every step they made. Andratarax could deny it no longer there was indeed a dark power present. A power that could help her. Her resolve bolstered with this thought she bounded off further down the lifeless halls in search of the origin of the gloom that hung heavier than any blackness of dark she had ever felt in the past.
No wonder the deeper tombs were reserved solely for those of great skill, a lesser mind would be burnt to the edge of a crisp with the power that now flowed through her. She almost felt a little betrayed by her master for not sharing such power sooner, if only for a second for all thoughts were dispelled from her as she ran up against a literal will not to move, causing her legs to lock in place. They refused to move. She could feel it. Something was watching her from with in the darkness up ahead. Her skin crawled. Hazon scurried deep within her robe grasping her close to her chest. The force screamed in warning. It was then she saw them, the glint of two pairs of hungry eyes sparkling in the shade with such deep malice. Terentateks.
Without even a moment's warning, the Force pulsated, following its whim she dived to the side, crashing into the coarse wall. Just in time too. Two large bulks of shadows careened past her kicking up dust that had lain dormant for many centuries. Knowing they had missed their mark the two Terentateks blundered to a shaky stop. Turning to face their prey. However, Andratarax was ready now. Her humming lightsaber lit up the darkness with a red hue, revealing the brutes in all their unholy might. The frontmost Terentatek roared at the trespassing of light within their dark domain then charged forward. Andratarax waited, lightsaber at the ready. Watching the lumbering mass of muscle and the dark side run straight towards her. It was so close now that any who stood where she did would have succumbed to the thoughts of death. Not her. She was Andratarax, apprentice of Darth Rizha and she was trained well in the ways of the Force. At the last possible moment she saw an opening between the creature's large outstretched hand and its stubby right leg, she dove through while thrusting her lightsaber upwards through the shoulder of the uncoordinated beast. The sound and smell of searing flesh filled her senses as did the weight in her hand increase as her lightsaber cut through meat and tendons of the monsters arm. In that one quick movement she rolled onto her feet on the other side of the beast as it grasped the stump that was all that was left of its arm, roaring in pain. Green blood pooled through its grasping fingers onto the floor. Not letting up for one second she followed through on her attack, spinning her lightsaber backwards and then burying it deep within the back of the handicapped monster ending its pitiful moaning.
The second creature assessed its obviously powerful enemy that stood over the husk of its fallen brethren. It would be more careful. Andratarax noted the shift in tactics as she faced down her final foe. Circling one another the two entities of the force gauged the other, looking for any moment of hesitation or weakness as two supreme predators would. One with a humming red lightsaber outstretched and ready to dismember any who got to close. The other with ivory tusks and horns scraping against the floor and walls in a display of anger. The two circled until finally, Andratarax rushed forward intent to end her enemy, lightsaber ready to strike its mark. The Terentatek reared up and battered her with its clawed hand, flinging her into the wall. Her hip popped on the impact filling her waist with a burning sensation all the while filling her with rage. She got to her feet, however, the creature was already on top of her. Grasping her hand that held her lightsaber the beast shook her violently. "Now!" she screamed. Hazon zipped out from underneath her robes surprising the beast. He battered the creatures eyes with his wings confusing it. This simple distraction allowed Andratarax to slip her hand from the monsters grip. She then plunged forward with all her might skewering the beast through its heart with her blood red blade. The light left the creature's eyes as it fell sideways with a crash.
Placing her lightsaber back on her belt she outstretched her arm, which Hazon landed on, chirping in victory. "Who is going to be getting double portions tonight?" she asked. Hazon flapped his wings excitedly. "Yes. You are," she smiled at her partner in crime who clambered back onto his perch on her shoulder. The two then continued on in the darkness, leaving the bloodied mess of their victory behind them, following the radiating power that now shone as a star would in the tomb.
The epicentre of the force led her to in front of a great inscribed monolith. This was it. Surely, due to how strong this place was with the force she would be able to find what she was after. Slowly and carefully she stepped toward the stone block. She did not recognise the language that was written upon its surface. The closer she stepped the further from herself she felt. Until, finally, her hand rested upon its cold surface. She lost herself in a vortex of voices. And it was then she heard it. A man's voice, deep and powerful, like a storm, echoed in her mind.
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me."
Another code? She beseeched the voice to repeat what it had told her.
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion."
"No!" Andratarax screamed into the darkness. "There is only Emotion."
The voice continued. "Through passion I gain strength."
This was wrong.
"Through strength I gain power."
"Through emotion, I gain power," she corrected.
"Through power, I gain victory."
"Victory is never assured, no matter how much power one holds," she reasoned.
The voice growled, becoming more adamant. "Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me."
"What lies do you spin befouler of the ancient code of Revan?" she shouted into the tumultuous storm that besieged her scenes. Silence followed. Then, out of the darkness, a whispy form stepped forward. "Who are you?" she demanded, only to be greeted by incoherent deathly whispers. She repeated more forcefully, putting some of her power behind her words. "Who are you, being of shadows, to reveal such a heretical way of thinking?"
"I am no one," it hissed, its voice seemed to come from everywhere, yet nowhere.
"What have you just told me?" she asked.
"What you will need to know to survive, foolish one," the shadow explained.
Andratarax did not understand. "But what you say makes no sense."
The being nodded slightly. "If it did, I would know that you truly have no understanding of the force, for all things worth knowing take time."
She scowled at this response. She had not come all this way to play games. "Silence dark one!" she ordered. "You will tell me what I wish to know." Laughter filled the air around her, choking her of all senses. A laugh so maniacal in its insanity that it actually gave Andratarax pause. "Who are you?"
The laughter stopped. "It is too late foolish one."
Andratarax shook her head in confusion. "What are you talking about?" she flinched as the shadow dissipated then appeared but a centimetre from her.
"You will need to understand what I have just said to prevail in the coming days." It stopped. Its head turned to the side as if it were looking at something over some great distance. "They are here," it simply stated as it faded to nothing. The vision then split and folded in on its self to make way for a new one. Fire and death. Screaming and wailing. Chaos. All the sounds and images were so far away she could not make them out. Yet they grew louder and clearer with each passing moment. A heavy feeling settled in her heart. It was as if she knew what she was going to see but did not want it to be true. She hoped and prayed that she was wrong as the cacophony of violence got closer and closer. She could now smell the death. It reeked. Finally, the image gave way to clarity and beheld its horrific truth. The Order of Revan was destroyed. Friends she had known for what felt like forever lay slain beneath her feet. Standing amongst their corpses were two black silhouettes. She could not make out their faces for they were shrouded. Yet the two made her want to crawl away, far away, in fear. A voiced screamed out her name. "Andratarax!" from what sounded like a fair distance, causing her to take her eyes away from the dark ones. It was her master's voice. Looking back she beheld that the two monsters had but disappeared into the smoke and haze of destruction signalling the abrupt end of her force vision.
Opening her groggy eye's as if from a deep sleep she was presented with a worried Hazon, clawing at her face softly, on her chest trying to wake her up. "It's ok. It's ok," she tried to comfort the distressed lizard all the while her mind was racing trying to piece together what she had just seen. Had that been a vision of a possible future that awaits her in her leadership? A test? Then an even more scary thought occurred that made her bolt straight up right, frightening Hazon. Was it a vision of the present? She tried to open the connection that had formed between her master and herself. It was still there and open. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Andratarax?" the strained voice of her master flittered across their connection. "Run Andratarax. They are coming for you," her master's consciousness faded until it was but a small speck of its former glory.
Fear gripped her. Could the vision have been true? She called out to her master but no one responded. She tried again and was again left waiting in the silence of her mind. "Anyone?" she called out through the Force. This time, she was answered.
"Where are you child?" a cackling voice asked. "Ohh... I can smell your fear, don't worry I will find you," it whispered as if it were death itself.
That was all the encouragement she needed. She slammed shut her connection to the Force, bundled up Hazon and ran. She ran so far and so deep into the tombs that very soon she had lost her way. She stopped and collapsed against a wall, shuddering in fear. What had happened? She wanted to open herself to the force and find her master but the fear was too strong. So instead she did the only thing anyone of us would do. She cried in her helpless ignorance. She was scared. Hazon nudged up to her and tried to comfort her. She grasped him, thankful that at least she was not alone.
Andratarax stayed like that in the dark with Hazon for so long. Long enough that she knew not how much time had passed. For down in the depths time was perceived as a constant. In that time she had calmed down considerably. She touched the Force if only for just a bit, trying to assess her situation. It seemed as if the dark ones had gone but she couldn't chance that, she intervaled how far she progressed back into the stream of the Force. Little by little she crept back into her place within the universe. They had gone.
A presence touched her mind softly and delicately. Was it them? They were here! She was about to slam shut her connection once again yet the presence spoke. "Andratarax?"
"Master?" she whispered into the force.
"Andratarax," the voice said softer than the last time.
Her master was alive. "Master, where are you?" Silence. "Master?"
"Andratarax." Her master's soft voice said again.
"Yes master I am here, I am safe. Where are you? Are you hurt?" Andratarax asked worriedly as she got up, Hazon on her shoulder.
"Andratarax," Darth Rizha's voice trembled, yet that was all she said.
Andratarax tried to get her master to talk, yet she would not, she just continued to repeat her name over and over again. She had to get to her master. She began to try to retrace her steps within the tombs after her flight from the evil ones. Following the guidance of both the Force and her master's voice she gradually progressed through the darkness of the tombs of Moraband. Slowly but surely she made her way to the dry surface, all the while worrying that the dark ones would strike from the shadows any second. They did not. She arrived on the surface without pause. She fell to her knees. The Order of Revan was destroyed. Fires lapped at their temples, the bodies of hopefuls, adepts, acolytes, apprentices even masters were laid to waste before her. Was there no one alive? Tears stung at her eye's, yet did not fall. She had to find her master.
It was easier than she expected to walk amongst the broken bodies of those who just a day ago had been training and laughing with her. Perhaps the situation had not yet fully dawned on her, or perhaps she was just numb due to the amount of carnage that she was witness to. Whatever the reason, she did not stop at any of the bodies even though she knew most. Her goal was clear.
Entering the crumbling temple, that once housed the oligarchy, she scanned the remains of the Darths. Her breath hitched. Her master was not amongst them. "Quickly!" she said to Hazon. "Find my master. Find Darth Rizha." Hazon squawked an affirmative and gently took off from his perch and flew low over the battlefield. It wasn't long before she heard his desperate pleas for her attention. Running in the direction of his noise, faster than her legs could carry her, she made her way over to Hazon who was perched on a body, slumped over a mound of red-stained sand. "No," her lips quivered as she fell to her knees, wrapping her arms around the female's body and flipping her over. "Master!" she cried as she finally saw the bodies face. Darth Rizha wheezed. She was still alive. "Master... Shhh. I have you. I have you." Andratarax comforted as she cradled her lord. Her master coughed again, bubbling up blood. "Don't try to move. It's ok. I will get help." She swore, hoping her master could hear her. Her mind was formulating plans. Where was she going to get help from? Her thoughts broke.
Darth Rizha grasped onto her hand. Her eyes faintly open. She smiled at Andratarax. "I feared the worse," she said as she moved her weak grasp to Andratarax's face, who in turn wrapped her hands around her master's. "I thought for sure you had - " She couldn't finish her sentence as she coughed what little there was of her lungs out.
"Shh. Don't strain yourself. Take deep breaths. It is all going to be ok. I am here now. It is all going to be ok." Andratarax soothed.
Her master merely smiled. "Yes. Yes it is."
Andratarax looked at her confused. "Master?" Darth Rizha began to slowly close her eye's. "Nonononono... You can't die," she admonished as she grasped her harder as if she would try to cling to her master's very soul.
Darth Rizha laughed up blood. "Oh child. There is no death, there is only sacrifice."
"But why you?" Andratarax questioned woefully. "Why not me?"
"Because my apprentice it is time. You still have a lot to learn, but it seems time is no longer our ally," she wheezed. "I... Darth Rizha lord of the Sith proclaim you, my apprentice, from this day forth you shall be known as Darth Andratarax, Dark Lord of the Order of Revan."
Andratarax was shocked. "But Master! -"
"-No! no. You." Rizha unclipped her own lightsaber from her belt and handed it to her with shaking hands. "You are the master now. Go to Dathomir. There you will find an ally to complete your training. One who holds no love for our enemy. Find Talzin."
"But..." Her voice quivered. "Who did this?"
"You are not the only Sith still alive. Their. Are. Two. Others." Rizha's voiced faded into nothingness quickly followed by the glint in her eye. It was almost a beautiful death.
Darth Andratarax cried over the person who she would always view as her lord, her master and her mother. Weeping into her robe without a care in the world. The fires still crackled in the background. She looked down toward Hazon and smiled slightly, sniffling. "I guess... It is just you and me," she cried as she grabbed up her friend in her arms and hugged him. Hazon let out his own lament.
For the next week, Andratarax buried her brethren in the tombs. There they would lie with the lords of old as their equals. For her master, she placed her within the temple of Revan. There she would be closest with her lord. She sealed the entrance to the tombs so that no wayfaring traveller would disturb them. during that week she had plenty of time to brood on her master's final words; 'There are two others.' She deduced that whoever did this was a Sith. But why would they do this to their own kind, why would they destroy them with such hatred. Had Darth Rizha done something that had provoked the attack? No! she would not think like that. It was no one's responsibility but those that had committed this crime.
It took a couple of days for Andratarax to organise how she would be getting off planet. She had set up a distress beacon that would hopefully be picked up soon. Her mind looked toward what she must do. She must honour her master dying wish and complete her training under Talzin from Dathomir. She knew not what to expect having never heard the name but she trusted her master's guidance.
She looked down at her master lightsaber then strapped it onto her belt next to hers. She then pet Hazon. "Are you ready?" Hazon chirped slightly. After one final look at her Order's resting place she turned her back on everything and walked away. No words said. No nothing. As she walked her anger swelled. As the distance between her home and her family increased so did the rage that silently built up within her.
She knew not what exactly the future held but she knew one thing. She will either kill those responsible or die trying. Little did she know that fate had plans for her that not even the wisest could comprehend. She was the last member of the Order of Revan. She was a lord of the Sith and she was angry.
