Title: Tales of the Sith
Author: Jonathan Evans
Author email: noggins@btinternet.com
Republic Saga Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/republicsaga
Summary: Many years before the Empire a group of students at the University of Naboo unleash something that will envelop the galaxy in darkness.
TALES OF THE SITH:
CHAPTER ONE
By Jonathan Evans
The room was dark and a quiet humming sound filled the air as
the four human figures sat around a carefully constructed fire
that didn't send the entire building up in flames or, at least,
get them caught for what they were doing. The older of them all,
a twenty three year old with dark, chiseled features picked
up a bag and sprinkled some of the substance inside onto his
hand. With a loud snort his head shot back and his sighed happily.
"I must say we've got some good spice this time around," he grinned
as he offered it to the others who were more than willing to
accept this new gift.
A female next to him smiled as she wiped the remnants of the
line she just inhaled from around her nose. "The best Ryloth
has to offer, Troi," she giggled slightly. She passed it to
the nineteen year old next to her who took a long snort from
the pile he had just carefully sprinkled into his hand. "We
really should stick with this contact," he offered before
turning to the young man who, being next to him, completed
the circle. "You want some, Palps?" he asked.
Palpatine took the bag and, feeling brave, poured out more
than the others had. They looked at him with amazement as
he took it back with great ease. He shook his head as the
impact of the spice hit him with a bang. His ears rang
loudly for several seconds before everything around him
suddenly become crystal clear. He put the small leather
pouch aside and relaxed. Life happened to be pretty fine
right now. He had just returned to the Univerity of Naboo
after a years study on Coruscant. It was great to be able
to see his friends again. His small apprenticeship to the
Naboo Senator had been long and hard but he had learnt a
lot. A degree in galactic politics wasn't far off now.
Troi broke his concentration with a cough. "I think it's
time, don't you?" he said to everyone present. "Sara, you
brought the medallion?" The girl nodded and flashed a
large silver pendant. It was almost rectangular in shape
with rounded edges and strange, alien inscriptions on it.
"Sure have. Palpy, I hope you got the book..."
The young student reached back to his bag and pulled out
a huge tomem placing it on the floor in front of him.
The writing on the cover was unreadable, it was over seven
thousand years old and taking it from the vacuum seal in
the Coruscant museum had caused some slight damage. It
was, however, very much readable on the inside and that
was exactly what they wanted. "Do I ever let you guys down?"
he said flashing a smile. "It's been a year now since we
promised to obtain these items and now we're here. I can't
believe it."
"The Ancient Sith would be proud of us," Gerrin, Sara's
older brother added. He was in the same year of study as
Palpatine but was focusing more on the arts hoping to
continue his study in the prestigious Alderaanian University.
It was true. They had decided to meet up and perform a
spell of the dark arts to give them luck, and long lives.
Secretly Palpatine was hoping for a little more with Sara
but didn't like to say anything about it, she was with
Troi after all. It all really began when Palpatine said
that he was chosen to be taken away for Jedi training as
a young child but decided to stay with his family rather
than pursue the hard life in the temple on Coruscant. As
far as he knew there were no records about this in the Central
Computer but if there were, they'd be wiped as soon as he got
in a high enough position. The last thing he wanted was Jedi
keeping tabs on him for his entire professional career. Once
his friends discovered he had at least some midi-chlorians in
his blood they realised his potential for joining in on
their plans. Dabbling in black magic was something most people
could do but only the select few were possible wielders of the
Dark Side.
It was kind of scary and to be completely honest he didn't
want anything to do with it. Only bad things could come out
of it but, having made the deal to get the book from Coruscant
during his years absence he read up and realised it would only
be a little harmless fun.
Troi turned the pages of the book until he found what he
was looking for. "Here it is. Just like our research said.
The summoning of Al-Grageth, the third Dark Lord of the
Sith." His eyes closed and the four joined hands to create
a complete circle. The older student began to chant slowly.
"From the sands of time we call you O Al-Grageth. Through
the reaches of time we request your presence O Al-Grageth.
Through time we pull your spirit it to us O Al-Grageth.
Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah..."
"Korah Rahtamah Yoodhah Korah," Sara continued.
"Korah Syahdho Rahtahmah Daanyah," Gerrin said with a little
more passion than the previous two due to the effects of
the spice slowly reaching his brain. There was a silence
as everyone waited for Palpatine to say his piece. This was
it. Now or never. Whatever happened from here on in would
change their lives. He took a deep breath. "Korah Keelah Daanyah."
They all held hands tighter and began to sway. "Nyohah Keelah Korah
Rahtahmah." The flame in the centre of the room changed from
hints of yellow to blood red. Still they continued chanting.
"Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah!" The fires burst six feet
into the air. All four of the students felt the heat beating
on their faces. Palpatine opened his eyes slightly and
noticed the calm expression that everyone else displayed. Surely
they weren't worried like he was. "Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah!
Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah! Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah!
Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah! Korah...."
Before they could finish the next chant a loud voice boomed
down. "Why do you call me foolish children. I am Al-Grageth,
Dark Lord of the Sith. I am more than you! All of you!"
Troi opened his eyes with a smug expression on his face.
"I bind you Al-Grageth. I bind you to this world. Korah Daanyah
Keelah Rahtahmah!"
The Sith Lord screamed loudly. They had done it! They had captured
the essence of the Sith. It's power was theirs. Palpatine
couldn't believe it. He never thought it would be possible. His
face changed when the scream turned to laughter. "You do not
understand the Dark Side of the Force. You cannot control it.
You are merely puppets of the Sith!"
The flame exploded sending furnature in all directions, even
that held down to the floor. Palpatine dived onto Sara, shielding
her from the blast as it hit his back, reducing his clothing
to shreds of material. He covered her ears so that the deafening
explosion wouldn't hurt her as much as it did him. The final
part of the blast died off and he looked up.
Troi sat in the corner, shielded by a chair that was blown in
front of him. Sara looked dazed but she was the least hurt
of them all. Palpatine's gaze turned to Gerrin, or rather, what
was left of him. His remains were charred so much all that was
left was a blackened and brittle skelenton, steam hissing
from it. After what seemed like an eternity of staring at
this horrendous sight it turned to ashes leaving only a black
pile of dust on the floor.
Palpatine couldn't make sense of it all. Maybe it was the spice
that was flowing through his veins, maybe something else but
he felt different. His entire soul seemed super-charged to the
brim. Sara burst into tears at the sight of her brother's
excuse for a corpse while Troi just shook, apologising to
something that wasn't there.
Palpatine didn't know why but he smiled.
CHAPTER TWO
Author: Jonathan Evans
Author email: noggins@btinternet.com
Republic Saga Homepage: http://www.angelfire.com/scifi/republicsaga
Summary: Many years before the Empire a group of students at the University of Naboo unleash something that will envelop the galaxy in darkness.
TALES OF THE SITH:
CHAPTER ONE
By Jonathan Evans
The room was dark and a quiet humming sound filled the air as
the four human figures sat around a carefully constructed fire
that didn't send the entire building up in flames or, at least,
get them caught for what they were doing. The older of them all,
a twenty three year old with dark, chiseled features picked
up a bag and sprinkled some of the substance inside onto his
hand. With a loud snort his head shot back and his sighed happily.
"I must say we've got some good spice this time around," he grinned
as he offered it to the others who were more than willing to
accept this new gift.
A female next to him smiled as she wiped the remnants of the
line she just inhaled from around her nose. "The best Ryloth
has to offer, Troi," she giggled slightly. She passed it to
the nineteen year old next to her who took a long snort from
the pile he had just carefully sprinkled into his hand. "We
really should stick with this contact," he offered before
turning to the young man who, being next to him, completed
the circle. "You want some, Palps?" he asked.
Palpatine took the bag and, feeling brave, poured out more
than the others had. They looked at him with amazement as
he took it back with great ease. He shook his head as the
impact of the spice hit him with a bang. His ears rang
loudly for several seconds before everything around him
suddenly become crystal clear. He put the small leather
pouch aside and relaxed. Life happened to be pretty fine
right now. He had just returned to the Univerity of Naboo
after a years study on Coruscant. It was great to be able
to see his friends again. His small apprenticeship to the
Naboo Senator had been long and hard but he had learnt a
lot. A degree in galactic politics wasn't far off now.
Troi broke his concentration with a cough. "I think it's
time, don't you?" he said to everyone present. "Sara, you
brought the medallion?" The girl nodded and flashed a
large silver pendant. It was almost rectangular in shape
with rounded edges and strange, alien inscriptions on it.
"Sure have. Palpy, I hope you got the book..."
The young student reached back to his bag and pulled out
a huge tomem placing it on the floor in front of him.
The writing on the cover was unreadable, it was over seven
thousand years old and taking it from the vacuum seal in
the Coruscant museum had caused some slight damage. It
was, however, very much readable on the inside and that
was exactly what they wanted. "Do I ever let you guys down?"
he said flashing a smile. "It's been a year now since we
promised to obtain these items and now we're here. I can't
believe it."
"The Ancient Sith would be proud of us," Gerrin, Sara's
older brother added. He was in the same year of study as
Palpatine but was focusing more on the arts hoping to
continue his study in the prestigious Alderaanian University.
It was true. They had decided to meet up and perform a
spell of the dark arts to give them luck, and long lives.
Secretly Palpatine was hoping for a little more with Sara
but didn't like to say anything about it, she was with
Troi after all. It all really began when Palpatine said
that he was chosen to be taken away for Jedi training as
a young child but decided to stay with his family rather
than pursue the hard life in the temple on Coruscant. As
far as he knew there were no records about this in the Central
Computer but if there were, they'd be wiped as soon as he got
in a high enough position. The last thing he wanted was Jedi
keeping tabs on him for his entire professional career. Once
his friends discovered he had at least some midi-chlorians in
his blood they realised his potential for joining in on
their plans. Dabbling in black magic was something most people
could do but only the select few were possible wielders of the
Dark Side.
It was kind of scary and to be completely honest he didn't
want anything to do with it. Only bad things could come out
of it but, having made the deal to get the book from Coruscant
during his years absence he read up and realised it would only
be a little harmless fun.
Troi turned the pages of the book until he found what he
was looking for. "Here it is. Just like our research said.
The summoning of Al-Grageth, the third Dark Lord of the
Sith." His eyes closed and the four joined hands to create
a complete circle. The older student began to chant slowly.
"From the sands of time we call you O Al-Grageth. Through
the reaches of time we request your presence O Al-Grageth.
Through time we pull your spirit it to us O Al-Grageth.
Korah Matah Korah Rahtahmah..."
"Korah Rahtamah Yoodhah Korah," Sara continued.
"Korah Syahdho Rahtahmah Daanyah," Gerrin said with a little
more passion than the previous two due to the effects of
the spice slowly reaching his brain. There was a silence
as everyone waited for Palpatine to say his piece. This was
it. Now or never. Whatever happened from here on in would
change their lives. He took a deep breath. "Korah Keelah Daanyah."
They all held hands tighter and began to sway. "Nyohah Keelah Korah
Rahtahmah." The flame in the centre of the room changed from
hints of yellow to blood red. Still they continued chanting.
"Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah!" The fires burst six feet
into the air. All four of the students felt the heat beating
on their faces. Palpatine opened his eyes slightly and
noticed the calm expression that everyone else displayed. Surely
they weren't worried like he was. "Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah!
Korah Daanyah Korah Rahtahmah! Nyohah Keelah Korah Rahtahmah!
Syadho Keelah Korah Rahtahmah! Korah...."
Before they could finish the next chant a loud voice boomed
down. "Why do you call me foolish children. I am Al-Grageth,
Dark Lord of the Sith. I am more than you! All of you!"
Troi opened his eyes with a smug expression on his face.
"I bind you Al-Grageth. I bind you to this world. Korah Daanyah
Keelah Rahtahmah!"
The Sith Lord screamed loudly. They had done it! They had captured
the essence of the Sith. It's power was theirs. Palpatine
couldn't believe it. He never thought it would be possible. His
face changed when the scream turned to laughter. "You do not
understand the Dark Side of the Force. You cannot control it.
You are merely puppets of the Sith!"
The flame exploded sending furnature in all directions, even
that held down to the floor. Palpatine dived onto Sara, shielding
her from the blast as it hit his back, reducing his clothing
to shreds of material. He covered her ears so that the deafening
explosion wouldn't hurt her as much as it did him. The final
part of the blast died off and he looked up.
Troi sat in the corner, shielded by a chair that was blown in
front of him. Sara looked dazed but she was the least hurt
of them all. Palpatine's gaze turned to Gerrin, or rather, what
was left of him. His remains were charred so much all that was
left was a blackened and brittle skelenton, steam hissing
from it. After what seemed like an eternity of staring at
this horrendous sight it turned to ashes leaving only a black
pile of dust on the floor.
Palpatine couldn't make sense of it all. Maybe it was the spice
that was flowing through his veins, maybe something else but
he felt different. His entire soul seemed super-charged to the
brim. Sara burst into tears at the sight of her brother's
excuse for a corpse while Troi just shook, apologising to
something that wasn't there.
Palpatine didn't know why but he smiled.
CHAPTER TWO