Dathomir was a curious planet, Robb silently mused, if not a dead one.
To be sure, there was life here in abundance. Rancors stalked the strange, red-misted forests, either searching for food, mates, or competition, while their natural prey either scampered off to hide somewhere or openly challenged the beasts if they were strong enough. The trees themselves reminded Robb somewhat of weirwoods, though these trees were black and deathly-looking, by comparison.
However, there were no sentient beings on the planet. No civilization that would respond to them, be it by customs officials or by gunfire. Only the crumbling ruins of once-bustling villages, and the bleached white bones of whatever intelligent life-forms once lived on this planet.
And it seemed Maul knew the reason why.
To Robb, what passed for normal for the buggered former Sith was apparently to be as chatty and threatening as possible, like he never had a friend he didn't end up cutting down in a day of his rotten life. As they got closer to the main village, however, the Sith Lord grew quieter and quieter, as if he were walking through a graveyard.
An apt description for such a place, Robb mused to himself as he stared at a skull, yellow with age and eternally grinning.
"I take it you know what happened here," Robb asked at long last as they came to the main village, which was now nothing more than burned out huts, overgrown weeds, and more bones. "You've been pretty quiet since we touched down on this rock."
"Yes…" Maul drew out at last, evidently not pleased with his prisoner's apparent disrespect. "Palpatine happened," the former Sith Lord spat, his visage contorted in contempt for the Emperor. "That bastard murdered my brother, slew my mother, destroyed my home, and used me as a weapon to be cast aside once better prospects came into being for him," he seethed, before calming down somewhat.
Robb immediately thought back to all the people who betrayed him or his family. The Lannisters, the Karstarks, the Freys, the Boltons…
…Theon.
He stopped the train of thought almost immediately and groaned inwardly. Great, he was starting to sympathize with a man who made the Lannisters seem humble and kind, by comparison. He instead elected to say nothing, only nodding before Maul grunted and beckoned him to follow. A few more kilometers due west and they finally reached their destination- a massive cave, with a stylized, roaring woman's head carved around the entrance.
"What is this place?" Robb asked his captor. "It feels…old, and rotting."
"This," Maul began, his eyes full of remembrance, "is the hall of the Nightsisters. They were once the most powerful and cunning of the witches on Dathomir, and as such were a threat to Palpatine and his plans. Now, they are nothing but ghosts and ash. I wonder sometimes if the dead can weep over their lost glory? I know I do. They were…like a family to me," the former Sith Lord mused aloud.
"I'm sorry for your loss, truly am," Robb deadpanned, unimpressed with what he viewed at the Darksider's apparent attempt at guile. "But I want to know why you brought me to this place."
Maul glared at him. "This place sits atop a Force Nexus, the largest on this planet or anywhere in the sector, really. The Nightsisters came here to practice their arts and meditate on the nature of the Dark Side. I theorize that your so-called 'greensight' can work with any such nexus."
"And the access point to such a nexus?" Robb warily asked him and narrowed his eyes when Maul grinned coyly at him.
"An altar in the middle of the cave," he cryptically answered, before beckoning him to follow. "Come and see."
The inside of the cavern looked like it had belonged to some sort of cult, alright. The dark, misty cave was dimly lit with torch scones and eerie green light orbs that seemed to defy the laws of nature. And in the middle of this cave was an altar of granite, carved with ancient runes and pulsating with dark energy.
"And here we are, Master Stark!" Maul enthused, sweeping his arms wildly towards the altar. "Now, all we must do is wait for my apprentice to bring the Holocrons as promised, and then…well, then you will do as you are promised- "
"-or you will kill us all. Like you've repeated to me incessantly for the past twelve hours, now," Robb sardonically deadpanned, rolling his eyes at the former Sith Lord. Granted, it may not have been the brightest idea, but he had to admit that getting under the Darksider's skin was kind of fun. "But, I pay my debts, as do my friends. So, don't fret, my Lord of Dathomir," he mocked, which lead the former Sith to stomp over to him until their faces were mere inches apart, and Robb could feel Maul's rancid breath as he stared evenly into angry yellow eyes.
"I have put up with your mocking and your snide remarks for long enough," Maul seethed. "No more. The next time you speak like that to me again, I'll remove your tongue."
"Threats. How charming..." Robb retorted, opting to take a seat next to the altar instead of continuing the conversation with the old lunatic, anymore.
He sat there for what seemed like hours, watching Maul pace and fret. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, again. Soon enough, however, he finally heard the telltale whine of sublight engines powering down and the groaning of landing struts hitting the hard dirt. He wanted to sigh in relief- his pack had come for him.
"Ah, it seems our guests of honor have arrived." Maul quipped, adopting another coy grin as three figures stepped into the cavern.
Ezra and Kanan were expected, of course. Both of them were holding what Robb assumed to be the Holocrons, one an azure cube, the other a crimson pyramid, and both looked particularly displeased by the sight of the former Sith Lord.
Sabine, however, was not expected to be there. And she was looking like she was ready to eviscerate Maul with her bare hands.
"There you are, Master Jedi!" Maul exclaimed, waving his arms around for good effect. "Just follow the sound of my voice."
Ezra reached for his saber, apparently ready to cut Maul down for the insult, on top of the other crimes he had committed against them, but Kanan, ever the level-headed one, merely put a hand on his surrogate son's shoulder and calmly spoke to the demon who blinded him.
"We've upheld our end of the bargain, Maul," he pressed, with himself and Ezra placing the Holocrons on the altar. "Now, uphold yours and let our friend go."
The demon held up his hand. "Patience, my blind knightly friend," he mocked further. "My apprentice and I must first gain what we seek, and that is where your friend Robb comes into this with his powers. Once we have our answers, you and your friend may go."
Ezra snarled, crossing his arms. "Why don't I believe you?"
Before anyone could respond, Robb held up his arms. "My brothers, my lord, please. We waste time bandying words and threats. You will have the answers you seek- all of you," the lord of Winterfell exasperated. "But I first must know exactly what you seek."
That appeared to calm Ezra down, somewhat, though the young Lothalian still cast a wary glance at Maul. "Well, you know that both Kanan and I seek a way to destroy the Sith and bring balance to the Force."
"You are ambitious as ever, apprentice!" Maul attempted to flatter, though he was cut off by a growl from Kanan. "As for myself, I seek something far more simple," he spoke while he squared his shoulders. "My time is nearing its end, and the only mark I have made upon the galaxy was being Mandalore's leader for a brief period."
"Aruetyc demagolka!" Sabine cursed in Mando'a. Robb quirked his eyebrow at her reaction, though said nothing as Maul continued to speak as if she had not spoken up at all.
"All I want is closure, Lord Stark. A satisfaction that at least one of my goals had been met before death claims me."
The Grey Wolf tersely nodded, despite the vagueness of the answer, and turned to Sabine, who was still glaring daggers at the former Sith Lord. "Do you have anything you seek, Sabine?" he asked her a bit more gently than he had with Maul. "Anything at all?"
The normally proud, fierce, fiery, and willful Mandalorian woman crossed her arms and turned her head. "I have nothing that I seek."
A lie, Robb thought, and a bad one at that. He only needed to look into her normally lively amber eyes to see the truth; they had suddenly grown hard with the remembrance of loss and betrayal of the deepest kind.
"Are you sure?" he repeated the question. "There was a reason you came here, and it wasn't just to glare at Maul."
Sabine closed her eyes, and when she spoke, she did so only in a hushed whisper, barely audible to Robb's ears. "Absolution," she whispered. "I seek absolution."
Robb nodded, desiring not to press the issue any further.
"Alright," he proclaimed, kneeling before the stone slab, which had begun pulsating with green energy, presumably in some reaction to the Holocrons being placed upon it. "Here goes nothing."
Bran, if your listening right now, please don't let me fuck this up.
He placed his hands upon the altar, and immediately felt the familiar effects of traveling through the netherworld of the Force, and his mind's eye opened to the paths before him.
He first landed on a world of sand and rock, with twin, blazing suns scorching the white and tan desert. As far as Robb could see, the signs of life were few on this planet; so much so that it made Dorne seem like a paradise in comparison. Oh sure, there was a bustling spaceport in the distance, and some nomadic tribes who undoubtedly squabbled and fought with other tribes and the settlers here over precious resources such as water, which apparently was being farmed out of some sort of weather vanes, dotting the arid landscape like strange trees, but other than that, the apparently sane sentients had opted for greener, and cooler, pastures.
One such farm was only a few meters away from where Robb was standing, and if he was hearing right, was the location of a rather heated argument between two older gentlemen.
"For the last karking time, Kenobi; GET OFF MY KARKING PROPERTY!" the younger, angrier man shouted at the elder, hermit-looking fellow, who apparently was named Kenobi. "You've caused this family enough grief and heartache already! I'm not letting you drag Luke off on some damned idealistic crusade just so he can get killed."
Kenobi sighed. "Owen, by keeping Luke here for 'a few more seasons', you are only increasing his resentment towards you, and will drive him into seeking out other ways of exploring the stars. You seem to forget he has inherited his father's sense of adventure, the desire to travel to new places and see new worlds, as well as his sense of justice."
"And where did that get Anakin, huh?" Owen pressed Kenobi. "I'll tell you where it got him and his wife; dead! They died because of your meddling, your oh-so-precious Jedi and your bullshit prophesizing! If they had just stayed here if they had just put family before your precious Republic…" Owen trailed off for a bit, before fixing Kenobi with a hard look. "Luke would have never been an orphan, Ben."
Ben Kenobi's own gaze hardened as well, and his posture stiffened. "Anakin was my brother, too, Owen. Every day, I weep for his death at the hands of Vader, just as I weep for the death of my master, for Satine, for everyone I've ever lost because of the Emperor," the older man rebuked while he stepped closer to Owen. "But you cannot keep Luke from his destiny, Owen. He is a Skywalker, and he will be the one who will destroy the Sith; every day you keep him from his destiny, the Empire comes closer and closer to finding him. And if they do find him, the last, best hope for saving this galaxy will be gone."
Owen just continued to glare at Ben for the longest moment, before turning his back on him and angrily trudging back to his house, but not before throwing a parting shot his way.
"For the last time, Obi-Wan, stay away from my property, or you'll find a slug going through your head. No one is taking away Luke. No one."
Robb felt himself being pulled out of that vision, and into another. He next landed on a world that much reminded him of home. Snow covered the ground and the pine trees, and off in the distance he spotted majestic grey mountains, while he heard the howling of wolves in the distance.
For all its familiarity, however, he knew that this was not his home, for in the distance sat a fortress, Mandalorian instead of Northern in design and layout. Something pulled at him in the direction of this fortress, whether it was the Force or just plain instinct didn't matter. The Mandalorian guards manning the gates to this compound wore armor painted grey and gold, and the sigil adorning their armor and banners was that of Clan Wren; a black raven rising, wings displayed and elevated.
So, this must be Sabine's home, then, Robb thought to himself as he stepped through the door. He passed through the throne room, which reminded him strongly of Winterfell's Great Hall, and into the inner courtyard, which unlike the rest of the castle, was green and living.
He mused that this area, full of green trees and running water, served a similar function to the godswood in Winterfell, and in front of a great oak tree knelt a woman who looked much like Sabine, only older by some good twenty-or-so years, far less colorful, and far grimmer than the young woman he knew.
"Blessed manda," the woman began praying, "watch over our proud clan. Keep watch over my husband in his foul captivity. Guide my son on his path as a loyal warrior. Let my brother's spirit join you in your glorious fold. Help Manda'yim through these dark times..." Here the stern woman faltered, and Robb could hear differing emotions in her voice:
Pain.
Disappointment.
Regret.
Betrayal.
Longing.
"…and bring our daughter back into our fold. Show her the error of her ways, and help her to strive to regain her lost honor and soul. Let her cleanse herself of her treason and her shame."
Realization struck Robb, then. So, this was Sabine's mother, then.
"Countess Ursa!" one of the guards shouted. "My lady...summons from Sundari! Viceroy Saxon demands you update him on the status of our monthly tribute."
The countess scowled at the guard, who immediately bowed in trepidation of her scrutinizing gaze. "What more does that craven bastard want? He makes my husband a prisoner, he makes my son a glorified bodyguard, he forced me to declare my own daughter an oathbreaker and disown her lest I risk my clan's destruction, and yet he asks me for more?" she ranted. "If the Empire did not back him, I swear upon the bones of my ancestors that I would have cut his throat the minute he sided with that aruetii, Palpatine, over his own blood," she spat. "At least Maul had a concept of honor, no matter how primitive it was."
The guard must have been frowning beneath his helmet, for he expressed disapproval. "My lady, with all due respect, Sabine did betray us by designing that weapon for those outlanders. The same weapon they used to kill your broth-"
"I know full well of her treason!" Ursa snapped at him. "But she is of my own blood- she is my daughter! If I executed her for her crimes, I'd damn myself and the clan as a kinslayer. That is why I banished her from Krownest- it was the only recourse available to me!" she yelled, her stentorian voice on the verge of breaking with emotion before composing herself. "I will be there to answer the viceroy in a few moments. Just…please…let me pray some more."
Robb scowled. It seemed no matter where you went, the game of thrones was played- that vile political game that set men at each other's throats, tore families apart in bids for power, and cause the ruination of entire civilizations.
And sadly, he knew, the game would continue to be played, for there would always be the power-hungry and the corrupt.
And with those thoughts, he pulled himself out of the vision.
He came back to reality in a flash, gasping the dry, stale air of the cave in a deep, sucking breath.
"What is it?" Maul demanded of him. "What did you see? Tell us!"
Robb took a few more breaths before electing to answer. "I saw, first, a desert world with twin suns," he began, focusing on Ezra and Kanan, particularly. "There, I came across an argument between two men about a boy named Luke Skywalker, whose father was a Jedi named Anakin, and whose mother was a woman named Padme. One was a man by the name of Owen, who was the boy's uncle, and the other was an old hermit going by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi, or by the nickname of Ben. I only caught the end of their argument, really, but it seems that Obi-Wan thinks that this Luke is the one who will destroy the Sith."
Kanan's mouth dropped open. "Master Kenobi is alive?" he asked no one in particular, surprised and relieved in one setting. "Master Skywalker had a son, with Senator Amidala? "
Robb nodded, not at all surprised that the blind knight knew whom he was talking about. "Aye, it seems so," he replied. "But you need to fill me in; who were Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker?" he inquired politely, all the while noticing the dangerous gleam forming in Maul's eyes.
I'm going to regret giving that man my sword.
"They were some of the greatest Jedi our order ever produced," Kanan informed him, his tone full of remembrance and reverence. "Fine swordsmen, superb tacticians, and cunning warriors. They were responsible for more victories for the Republic than any other Jedi combined," he said, then laughed a little. "I particularly remember an incident where I actually impressed Master Kenobi by pointing out the flaws in the emergency code system."
Robb nodded, getting the picture that these two were quite the formidable pair. "Whatever happened to them?" he asked. Kanan's face soured into a frown.
"Master Skywalker died defending the Temple when the clones attacked it at the end of the war- he was cut down by Vader himself, from what I heard," he shook his head. "As for Master Kenobi, no one knew what had happened to him. He was rumored to be dead, of course, but from what I've heard, they never recovered his body as proof. Now I know he isn't dead."
"As do I." Maul interrupted, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. "You see, Mister Stark, this was my hope- that at least one of my enemies remained in reach for me to destroy so that at last I could die knowing that my life wasn't a complete waste," he drew, as his grin turned malicious. "And now I know that he watches over the prophesized Chosen One who can assist me in destroying Palpatine and his pet, Vader, unfortunately, your services are no longer required, Ezra Bridger."
Ezra growled as the two Jedi drew and ignited their blades. "Thought I smelled a trap."
Sabine agreed with the Padawan, drawing her twin WESTAR-35 blaster pistols. "Didn't I tell you that this stank from the start?"
Robb glared directly into Maul's eyes, cold sapphires meeting with hot, golden lakes of fire. "I'll give you one chance, Maul," he warned him, really wishing he had his sword on him right now. "Yield, and live. Fight, and die." Behind him, the altar became alive with green energy, and ghosts danced around the cavern, green and sickly and wrong.
Maul laughed, his voice cruel and hard. "What do you have to threaten me with, Stark?" he mocked. "Your fists? Your wit? Your friends?" he pointed, and Robb saw out of the corner of his eye a horrific sight.
One of those ghostly figures had rammed itself into Sabine, taking possession of the young Mandalorian warrior, and now the two Jedi were trying to fight off their possessed friend, Maul's droids, and the ghosts at the same time.
Robb snarled. "You knew this would happen!" he accused, eyeing his sword dangling on Maul's belt. Already, his mind was hatching a plan. It was stupid, dangerous, and it required to keep Maul talking.
But it just might work, provided that the bugger remained distracted and he wasn't carved in twain by a lightsaber.
"Of course, I did!" Maul shouted in triumph, now apparently too arrogant to activate his lightsaber and cut him down, instead boasting about his inevitable victory "Kenobi will be mine to kill! Skywalker will be mine to master! And I will crush those pretenders on Coruscant once and for- "
Robb immediately seized his chance, sprinting full speed at the Zabrak Nightbrother, who reacted far too late to stop him. The Lord of Winterfell tackled the Lord of the Sith to the ground, and in doing so, freed his sword and scabbard from Maul's belt, wrestling the blade free and rolling up into a fighting stance, the dark metal of the Mandalorian steel bastard-sword drank in the light of the cave around it.
Maul sneered and rose to his feet, activating his crimson-bladed weapon, glowing with an unhindered malice and rage that reflected upon its owner.
"It matters not if you die kneeling," Maul snarled, "or die standing. You cannot stop me from reaching my destiny." The former Sith adopted his own fighting stance, this one aggressive and offensive in tone. "And now it begins."
Robb shook his head. "No," He began, echoing his father from all those years past, "now it ends."
A/N: And this is where I stop. Fooking cliffhanger, mate!
"Legacy of Mandalore" heavily inspired me to write in one of the visions, here. I was quite surprised by Ursa's character, as I was expecting her to be much like a female version of Randyll Tarly (one of GoT's biggest cockbags). Instead, herself and Clan Wren felt more like House Stark. The only main complaints I had were that they made Ezra yet again act like a complete tool and that Sabine nearly got herself killed turning her back on a man who's the literal definition of "dar'manda". (I was also quite annoyed by the fact that Saxon thought he could just walk right into the Wrens' home, guarded by hundreds of soldiers, and simply execute every family member there with only four guys.)
Next chapter will focus on either Ezra or Sabine, with the chapter after that dealing with any potential fallout.
On an unrelated note, has anyone heard that they have discovered a habitable solar system with 7 Earth-like planets, only 39 LY away?
Until the next, and remember to keep the Resol'nare.