The light breeze rustled through the evergreen forest leaves rippled in unison as snowflakes swirled slowly through the branches, sticking to the already heavily laden boughs, the remainder lazily floating to the ground.
Kycian squealed in delight as he stumbled through the drifts, chasing the wet cold crystals, Rhona on his heels ensuring he did not wander too far from the thatched cabin.
Winter had come all too quickly, forcing Ana and her son to abandon the temporary shelter, driving them indoors to the warmth and safety of Rhona's small home.
Ferine had been snowed down weeks earlier, the loading ramps were frozen solid, unable to be opened from the inside or out, stranding them at the base of the singing mountain.
They could not make the journey to the Nightsister's territory during this season, Rhona had warned her of snowstorms severe enough, that according to legend, they even drove the Rancor to begin winter hibernations many moons ago.
Brushing the snow off a nearby fallen tree Ana sat to take the weight from her tired feet, Rhona and Kycian were still within an earshot but now out of her sight and she pulled the wrist-pad from within her robe, Far, as instructed, had forwarded all messages on a scrambled frequency directly to her, she had watched the hologram countless times alone at night, as she watched it again now, with bitter tears forming in her eyes.
"Wherever you are, I only hope that you're safe."
Jango's face froze at the end of the transmission, the face that had once made her feel safe and protected now made her feel only sadness.
Rhona had realised before she had herself, the elder woman felt the life growing inside her, while Ana had been too busy wallowing in her grief and self-pity.
This should be a happy time, she looked back and recalled feeling the joy that grew in Maul's hearts when he discovered he was going to become a father, she didn't think she could find the strength within herself to contact Jango, much less tell him, she wondered if this made her the most terrible being who ever lived, until she remembered exactly how he had betrayed her, annihilated all trust between them, and endangered her son.
Of course, this new life would be potentially in every bit as much danger as Kycian was, now that her father undoubtedly knew of his existence, perhaps it was kinder to terminate this pregnancy than to bring another innocent life into harm's way.
Every time she had this thought she envisioned Boba's sweet little face, kind and thoughtful, and she lost all resolve to ask Rhona to brew the draft that would end it all before it could truly begin.
She remembered holding Maul's son for the very first time, feeling the ethereal completeness that motherhood brought to her, and she knew that she could not go down that path.
But how fair would it be to birth a child, only to have them live a life on the run? dragging them from one side of the galaxy to the other to keep them concealed from her father, that was no life for any child.
Ana switched the wrist-pad off and tucked it away as she heard the pair returning, upon looking up Kycian's happy face greeted her from afar, cheeks rosy red from the cold air, furs encrusted with a fresh dusting of snow, bright purple juices from winter berries thawing in his fists, ran down his hands and rolled inside his sleeves.
There was no love purer than his embrace as he hurled himself into her arms and offered up his smooshed berries, which made her stomach churn, but she took one nonetheless and popped it into her mouth swallowing quickly while his little face beamed with pride.
Rhona followed not far behind, her arms full of freshly dug roots to skin and throw in her forever boiling stew pot.
Ana preferred not to ask what else had gone into the cauldron hanging over the hearth inside the cabin, all manner of lizard, rodent and fowl no doubt.
"This should be enough," Rhona grunted as she trudged through the snowfall "Are you feeling alright child?" hoisting the bag filled to overflowing with berries up to re-adjust it on her shoulder her eyes narrowed on Ana.
She stood with her son in her arms and smiled tightly,
"I'm just fine."
Rhona nodded slightly and plodded forward toward shelter with Ana following in the path she made through the snow.
When they had first landed on this world the wilds had been alive with the sound of life, but the cold season was eerily silent, it seemed not only the Rancor went into hibernation during this season, the only creatures she had seen seemed to be what Rhona created her fur coats and throws from, small curious creatures with pointed ears, long legs and bodies, bushy tails, luxuriant fur, darker than night, that moved faster than the eyes could follow, or large lumbering beasts with long shaggy grey hides, strong, scaled tails, and three horns crowing their oversized heads, Rhona referred to simply these creatures as 'The Wanderers.'
The evening dragged out much as the cold season itself, while the daub prevented much of the chill, they still huddled close to the fire, Ana observing as Rhona entertained Kycian with Magicks, causing all his berries to float up from his plate with a few words and a flourish of her hand, or changing the smoke rising from the fire from black to a red as bright as the Dathomir sun.
The decision to let Kycian learn the Magicks, the Force, had not been made lightly, but for his own protection she had relented, deciding it was better that he had some rudimentary understanding, if only to defend himself.
Often she flipped through the tattered old leather-bound books Rhona kept on the single rough-hewn shelf in the corner of the cabin, they smelled of the cured meats she kept only a shelf below them, but were filled with scratchings in a near undecipherable text, It kept her mind busy learning this new written word and the spells these words kept hidden.
Rancor, a word she recognized, and her brow wrinkled as her mind sought to translate the next words, how to subdue, or was it control?
A sharp pain struck her stomach causing her to gasp, she could feel Rhona's eyes on her but the older woman kept Kycian's attention, Ana wrestled mentally with the pain and felt between her thighs tentatively, when she withdrew her had from inside the furs her fingertips were stained red with blood.
Dread filled her, it was not supposed to happen like this, this was her decision to make, no invisible force or fate would make it for her.
As Rhona spied her blight her dark brown eyes narrowed in worry, she eased out of her seat as quickly as her body would allow with the cold affecting her ageing joints, and reached for a small urn hidden out of sight low down on her shelving, gripping it tightly in one hand she pried off the lid and reached inside, collecting a fistful of brilliant green powder, her lips barely moved as she knelt at the hearth and uttered words Ana did not yet understand, as she sprinkled the fine powder into the flames.
Rhona dusted off her hand on her furs and took Kycian by the hand.
"Time for bed child, say goodnight to your mother."
Anas' face was pale, her body cold, but she forced a warm smile and kissed Ky softly, wishing he sleep well, As the pair disappeared behind the draping of hides that separated the living area from the beds, Anas smile melted and she clutched at her abdomen, stifling groans of pain, doubling over, feeling blood trickling down the inside of her thigh.
Every fibre of her being willed the bleeding to stop, she tried to take deep and calming breaths but the panic kept welling back as if unabated by her silent plea to the Force, It seemed as if forever had passed before Rhona scurried back into the room, crouching by her side, rubbing her back.
"Breathe easy daughter, help is on its way."
Ana feared whoever she had summoned would arrive much too late, but gave Rhona a tight smile and took a deep breath into her shaky lungs, trying to release it as slowly as possible, Sitting back on her haunches, focusing on inhaling and exhaling until she fell into a deep meditation that numbed the pain of the contractions of her stomach.
This time it felt like no time at all had passed when she was roused from her peaceful state by the cabin door being hurled open.
She was tall, taller than Ana by at least a head, her shoulders broad, and as she removed her hood long and unkempt auburn hair dropped past her shoulders.
"Mother, what is this?"
The newcomer looked angry, beyond angry, furious, dark eyes wild as her gaze settled on the pale-skinned patient, her eyes darted around the room, falling on the stained furs discarded to the side.
"You called me here to aid a Nightsister?!"
"I called you here to save the life of an innocent babe."
Rhona spoke softly, but with such authority, as Ana had not heard before, if she were not already frightened, she would be now.
Rhona introduced the younger woman as Dathani, her daughter, accoucheuse of the Singing Mountain Clan, Witchdoctor who birthed all of the children in their village.
Dathani moved quickly, pulling aside Anas robes and pressing an ear to Ana's heart, again to her belly, before feeling her taught abdomen with her hands for several minutes.
"There may be enough time." She had muttered as she began withdrawing jars, bottles and vials from her pack.
"This is an old medicine child, but I have seen for myself that it will work, it will help to save your child." Rhona shifted aside to allow Dathani some space to work.
Dathani fetched an apron full of snow from outdoors and emptied it into a large glass jar, held it over the flames to melt the crystals until only water remained, powder after powder was added and stirred in individual rituals, Dathani chanting all the while, several roots dropped in through the narrow bottleneck, and it was left suspended for some time over the heat to allow the warmth to draw ingredients from within them.
Ana did not know how she estimated how much time had transpired, but Dathani pulled the bottle from the flames and set it aside to cool, all the while glowering in silence.
Rhona had moved back in by Ana's side, speaking softly, or even singing to keep her calm.
Ana was surprised by her own despair, This was a life she had not known if she had wanted to live or let live, and now she knew, this life was precious, this life needed to live.
So she willed the Force again to save this small spark of life that so frailly clung to her, she would pay whatever price the universe wished.
When the elixir had cooled to tepid, Dathani brought it to her and indicated she drink, the murky grey concoction smelt horrid and burned her throat as it went down, leaving her lips and tongue numb.
Dathani continued her chant, her hands moving in specific patterns coming to rest on Ana's belly, her body tried to reject the potion and she found herself swallowing back the bitter fluids that found their way into her mouth.
Rhona continued to hush and comfort her, bringing her cool water and a snow-frosted rag to hold against her face.
The ritual seemingly complete, Dathani spoke bitterly to her mother the whole while in a native tongue, Ana could not make out any of what she said but could hear the disdain, the disapproval, in every word.
Several hours passed and Ana had fallen into a light sleep at the fireside, the contractions had passed and the pain subsided, her heart rate slowed, temperature steadied.
When her eyes opened next Rhona still sat in her chair watching over her, Dathani had disappeared into the night.
"How do you feel?"
"It doesn't hurt..."
Cautiously, Ana felt her stomach, but she was no medical professional, It all felt the same to her. Suddenly she longed for Jango, the first time she had since that night, to hold her as he had so many times before, his comforting arms were a vivid memory, it was hard to conceive it had only been two standard months since she had been in that embrace.
Rhona explained Dathani's resentment towards her quite plainly, on her great pilgrimage of womanhood she had come to be with child by a Nightbrother, she had told no one but her mother, she would have been exiled from the clan if they had known who had sired her child.
Though she had already trained under the tribal midwife for many years, her teacher had passed into the next life before the birth, her daughter presented breach, no one could turn her, she had no one to save her child.
Rhona had resorted to dark magicks to save Dathani's life when she began to bleed out after the delivery, and in doing so had seen herself exiled to live a life of solitude until the clan mothers decided she had served out her punishment and returned to the light, it had been nine years since that decree had been handed down.
Dathani had been left baron, unable to bear a daughter of her own after the stillbirth, and she blamed the Nightbrother, and in turn, the Nightsisters, for the tragedy that had befallen her.
Her bitterness in aiding a Nightsister was understood and accepted by Ana, she was only grateful, forever in Dathani's debt, for the assistance, albeit unwillingly, given to her.
Life carried on, on Dathomir, The snows of the cold season eventually gave way to warm sunshine and new life.
Kycian grew taller, stronger, he spoke words that were no longer jumbled, in Basic and Paecian, he seemed to revel in finally being released from the cramped confines of the cabin, into the fresh air, Rhona struggled to keep up with him, Ana, with a swollen belly and frequent bleeding, dared not even try.
All through the winter, her pregnancy had brought with it more complications, but now the most dangerous period had passed by, it felt good to be breathing in the cool morning air and soaking in the sunshine.
"Mama!"
She dropped her chin, readjusting her eyes to the change in luminosity and scanning the forest edge for her son.
"Come Mama, come!" His little voice pitchy and excited and he waved to her.
Ana gathered her skirts and moved across the grassy expanse to find him after he vanished into the undergrowth.
The sound of insects dimmed as she ducked into the first rows of trees, leaving the field behind her, birds chirped and sang as they danced through the canopy so thick with leaves over her head, She could still hear the sounds of the bolma, calling out to their new young as they grazed on the plains she had just left behind.
The terrain grew steeper the further one traversed into the forest, the mountain beginning to climb out from the plains and rivers surrounding her, Ana followed Kycian's loud chatter ahead, as he conversed in a loud and one-sided conversation with Rhona.
She often brought Ky out this far foraging, not wanting Ana to overexert herself Rhona always insisted she stay near the hut, But Ana had lived almost twenty-two years dreaming of this world, she wanted to know the land, feel close to it, hear it breathe and feel the tides of the force flowing with the currents of wind and permeating the dirt under her bare feet.
The longer she spent here, the more Dathomir felt like she had found home at last.
The climb was arduous, she had to pause as she came to the break in the trees where her companions waited, rubbing her belly she caught her breath and straightened herself before stepping out onto the rocky outcropping.
Rhona had hoisted Ky up onto her shoulders so he could see, she pointed to the west to help him find what she had brought him to see.
"This is what you dream of, child."
"How do you know what I dream..."
Her voice trailed as she stepped up beside them, they were not very far up the mountainside but Rhona's home was far above the flats already, far below them, all the way across the plains and just before the marshlands, sat the clear outline of stone ruins, sweeping, crumbled, dark.
"The temple?"
"Aye child, what is left of it, dark place that is."
She couldn't tear her eyes away, it called out to her, her feet threatened to drag her there, for the first time in a long while she felt the tug of the darkness, that seduction begging her to find the power hidden deep within the decay.
She had never seen the object in her dreams, only felt its power, familiar, yet strange, a talisman of some sort she imagined.
"Come, daughter," Rhona tugged at her sleeve to pull her attention away from the ruin "Let's get you indoors, off your feet."
Ana only nodded and let herself be led away.
The fertile season dragged on, Ana grew rounder, and more often than not fatigued, but nothing could tire her so much as to dull her hunger to be near the temple, often she found herself on the same out-thrust of rock, sitting, gazing down in wonderment, as in some hypnotic daze, she would often come to an awakening unsure of how she had come to be there.
Some days it frightened her, other days she did not care, there was a familiarity to the sensation she felt sitting there alone, reaching out in the force to probe the ghosts of a thousand years past.
She could not walk the distance across the plain, so heavy with child it would be an absurd thought, but she could ride.
She sat by the fire late into the night, long after Rhona had turned in, before buzzing Far to life and calling for him to bring the ship to the far edge of the clearing.
Slipping from the hut into the humid night air, Ana stole across the clearing toward the shuttle and made her way up the boarding ramp.
"Is it primed?"
"Most certainly my Lady."
She swung her leg over the saddle of the speeder bike and flicked the ignition switch, It had been many years since she had ridden one of these, but it would get her to the place where she needed to be.
"Are you sure this is a good idea? You are in no physical condition to-"
The thrusters roared, cutting her droid off mid-sentence as she blasted back down the ramp.
The forest was thick, dark, alive, as the bike thundered through the trees, following the crushed bracken and animal paths where the light of two moons broke through the shelter, following the force when the light failed her eyes.
When the woodland finally broke giving way to the never-ending plains Ana felt freedom, true freedom, for the first time, and she relished every moment.
There was no one behind, no one ahead, no one to stop her no one to dissuade her, no one to control her, just her, the bike the wide grassy expanse ahead.
The temple was much further from the mountain than she had anticipated but the speeder tore over the distance as though it were simply a few meters, In only a mere handful of blinks she was finally there, the place she had dreamed of for so long, the place she had resisted but wanted to be more than anywhere.
Killing the thrusters Ana dismounted as readily as her heavy body would allow her, gazing up at the pillars, same as lined the courtyard in her dreams, reaching high as if daring to try scrape the night sky, the columns had long since lost their ornate capitals which lay crumbling, scattered on the ground at their pedestals.
The roof of the structure had long since wasted away but the walls stood proud, as if they knew their past importance, and refused to wither or die.
The statues had been robbed off their seats and the great stone slab of the grand mausoleum had been stolen away, leaving trenches in the earth where it had dragged, her hands rested a moment on what remained of the ancient tomb, there was such power in this place, dark power, raw, strong.
Yet it was fleeting, and in an instant the force she felt flowing all around her, through her, seemed to slip away, like an ebbing tide it drew her with it to the arch of stone, the entrance, in her dreams she had seen heavy wooden doors hung here, strong and unyielding, but open to her, inviting her in to drink from the wisdom within.
Without a moment's hesitation she took the steps and crossed the threshold into the darkness, igniting a glow rod Ana scanned the great antechamber, nothing but a thousand years of dirt littering the broken tiles of the floor.
She was almost waiting for the spark flies of her imaginations to show up, to guide her where she needed to go, but there were none to be seen,
Shifting through the darkness, room after room, everything was still, everything was quiet, the occasional shuffle of small creatures scuttling out of her path, the wind blowing in off the plains whistling throughout the rooms and finding its way out through missing ceilings, Ana let the force guide her deeper into the complex, a spiralling stone staircase had withstood the ravages of time and she cautiously began to descend, one tentative foot after the other, and still the force pulled her along as though she were an eager animal on a leash.
Just when she thought there was nowhere left to go the Force guided her hand, a firm push on just the right stone, the clicks, screeches and scraping of an ancient mechanism, and the chamber became open to her.
One lone pedestal stood in the centre of the confined space, bookshelves lined the walls, long since emptied, she crossed the room with a deep hunger for the leather bound book laid out on the pedestal, only to find, when she gingerly opened the cover, it was devoid of any text, disgusted she shoved it aside when her eye spotted it, the barely noticeable rise in the spine, a deformity that shouldn't be in something that had been painstakingly crafted with every care,
Pulling a blade from her belt she neatly sliced the inside of the cover until it fell away from the front, the ring shone bright and new under her glow rod, a small roll of parchment tucked inside it.
This is what she was brought here to find, how long had this talisman been waiting for her to seek it out?
Gently she pulled the parchment out and pocketed it to study in better light, before slipping the ring onto a swollen finger.
Her vision went dark, images began to replace the inky blackness, confusing and muddled, faces that she knew, some she did not, Acid rain, refuse as far as the eyes could see, a spider made entirely of metal, hate and anger.
The death of a woman who looked like herself, A man made animal by an all-encompassing green mist, Betrayal that had already transpired, betrayals that were yet to come.
The mantle of Mandalore, not hers but within her grasp, lastly flames, the galaxy on fire, her father laughing amidst the flames and black smoke.
Ana's eyes flew open, she inhaled in a rush as though she had never taken a breath before, oxygen flooding her as she ripped the ring from her hand.
She felt suddenly cold, cold and wet, shifting her weight to pick herself up from the floor it became clear to her, her cloak was heavy with water.
"No, no, no!"
Horrified, she began to struggle to her feet as a contraction forced her down again.
Panic attempted to overwhelm her and Ana took several deep breaths to clear her head, this would be alright, there was plenty of time to leave and get back to Rhona's hut, collecting herself, the glow rod from the floor, attaching the ring next to Maul's kyber on the string around her neck, she tucked both items away inside her collar and made her way back down the passage to the stairs.
Pausing once at the bottom and again at the top to wrestle off the bouts of pain ripping through her abdomen with an unbridled fury, she made her way onwards with a fierce resolve.
The reverse trip was much slower than the original and she felt her lungs heave a sigh of relief when she could again see the light of the moons overhead, stumbling, Ana crossed back over the courtyard, closing her eyes a moment as she took rest leaning on the seat of the bike.
She felt it's presence before she heard it move, before the shadow passed over her, blotting out the moonlight and cutting off her escape.
She was afraid to move, to open her eyes, and when she did she wished she had not, there were no words to describe the beast, It towered over her on short stumpy legs, its huge, ill-proportioned arms hovered in the air above her head ending in long clawed talons poised near motionless.
The Rancor seemed to cock its head to one side, The puckered face of the creature appearing as though it were puzzled by her, tendrils of saliva hung from monstrous teeth, huge nostrils flaring, eyes too small for its head glinted in the pale moonlight, Ana took her moment to reach out and probe it it's mind, gripping it in her fist, using every ounce of strength that she could muster to break the creature, to dominate its will.
But Ana did not have the strength, as another wave of pain came on she could feel her grip begin to loosen, desperately as she tried to hold on it was in vain, she felt the beasts conscious slip out of her fingers and bloom into an incandescent anger.
The Rancor screamed out in frenzied rage as she doubled over her speeder bike, the last thing her eyes saw was it's enraged face as it swung at her, claws flashing, perhaps the text in Rhona's hut had read subdue not control she thought to herself as all before her eyes went black.
