Red glowing in the distance. Beneath a silhouette. Black in colour, black in essence. Black against the cream and ancient stone. The figure walked towards him. Womanly and welcoming. Hate and longing seeping out from behind those grey orbs. Sharp as stone. She smiled and sneered all at once, and he dropped to his knees before her.
"You left me." She snarled at a whisper, the blood blades of her weapon humming out her anger. He sobbed instantly, clutching at her feet and forcing his lips against her black boots.
"No-No! I'm sorry...I tried-" His eyes stung as they swam in his tears. He blinked upwards, staring at her stained-white features.
"You wanted this. You wanted me like this." His mouth slackened as his hands slid up around her hips.
"What?" The red of her mouth widened as she glanced down at him from her height.
"You can't deny your excitement. I can feel it. That is why you sent me to him. To free me from my inhibitions, to make me revel in your darkness. This is what you've always wanted." He clutched at her waist, desperate to pull the figure towards him.
"You're wrong! You couldn't be more wrong! All I want is the woman I love-"
"And you can have her," She beckoned him to stand as she offered up her lightsaber. He took it hesitantly as he followed her gaze. "at a price."
Slowly, her meaning dawned on him as his friends came into view, kneeling in a line, all bound at the wrists. He eyed the woman next to him as she glared at her captives with triumph; nostrils flaring in anticipation. She turned to face him, mouth hanging open in a half smile as she waited for his action; quivering in the heat of the build up. "Do it then...go on!"
"Please," He whispered as a hand reached out and brushed against her ashen cheek, his voice drowning under sodden features. "neither of us wants this."
"That is where you are wrong. I know you. I know your heart. I hear the lies you tell yourself and I see what it is that you want." Who's voice was that? It was not hers. Heavy and familiar. Did it come from within? Within himself?
"What is it then? That I want?" He followed her gaze down, down to the blades in his hand, and watched how her smile spread as they purred in approval.
"Power." She reached out a gloved hand and placed it on top of his, guiding the crimson blades towards one of the kneeling captives. "Power over the Jedi, power over the Sith. Power over yourself. You tire of the conflicting voices pulling you in different directions. Pulling you apart. You want to do the pulling, just like you wanted to pull me."
"I...I never meant to-"
"But you did though, from that very first moment on the bridge of your ship, you started to pull me towards darkness,you knew that I wouldn't be able to let you go. You were counting on it. Even when you were mindless you couldn't resist. You knew, deep down in the depths of your soul, you knew what you were doing."
"No! We have a connection! We love each other!" Her grip on his hand tightened as he struggled to break free.
"How was it forged? Our connection? Who were you when it was forged? The Dark Side is what bound me to you, Revan, your Dark Side!"
"NO!" Fury blinded him as she hissed at the words, and he wrenched his hands free in haste, slashing the weapon upwards as he did so. A sharp inhalation made him blink, and the red that clouded his vision continued to seep through even after the blades had retracted. She was on the floor now, a diagonal gash dominating her torso, contrasting the black. He registered a heavy thud against the thrumming of his heartbeat as the weapon slipped from his fingers to meet the floor. "Oh gods..."
She struggled meekly around the shoulders; struggling to move. To breathe. Within a moment he was sinking to his knees, hands hovering above her body as he moved to try and repair the damage that he had just inflicted.
"Don't-" He blinked through his tears as she spoke; pressing a hand deep into her cheek as he silently mouthed his words of regret. She simply stared at him, her defiance riding against the hard grey of her gaze. "You did this. You will. You will if you don't embrace it."
"Embrace what?" He pressed his hand harder into her face as he felt her fading from him. "Bastila, embrace what?"
"You know." As she spoke, her flesh slipped from his fingers, and darkness soon began to swirl around the man as consciousness called.
Revan spoke not one word as he passed through the darkened corridors of the Korriban academy. It was all his companions could do to keep up as he strode on without acknowledgement. The trio turned rightwards when they reached the end of the passageway. Revan slowed as he followed his feelings, leading him into a room that resembled a torture chamber. He glanced around briefly; eyes passing over several vacant cages before settling on one in use.
"You wanna have a go at this guy?" A voice called out from behind a control panel next to the cage. Revan shifted his gaze to meet the eyes of the man who was speaking. A student in possession of a child-like frame stepped forwards; the skin around his eyes was dry and flaking, and Revan blinked as he watched the student pick away at an irritated patch above his left cheekbone. "I give up. He wont spill for me."
"What will I be doing?" Revan queried as he folded his arms. The boy's hand slid down his cheek and under his jaw as he spared a glance towards the Mandalorian in the cage behind him.
"Get him to talk! He knows the location of a weapons cache...but you know what Mandalorians are like...stubborn as tuk'ata, stupid as a nerf." The Mandalorian growled from behind the force field as the student moved to leave, sparing Revan a quick glance while walking.
"You're wasting...your time." A deep and husky voice trembled from inside the cage. The prisoner looked half dead, but from beneath his brow, defiance raged like a wild fire. "I'll never tell you where the cache is!"
Revan stepped forwards, circling the cage as his companions looked on silently. "I don't recall asking you about that." He kept on at his drawn out pace as he observed the Mandalorian's nostril twitch; evidence, he concluded of the man's internal stutter.
"It doesn't take a genius to work out what you want, scum!" The prisoner spat after brushing off his captor's words, slamming a fist against the force field as he did so.
"Maybe I want to help. How would I get you out of there?"
"Get spaced! Get away with your lies!" The Mandalorian shouted as Revan paused to a halt in front of him. "How stupid do you think I am? You offer to help in exchange for what I know then you kill me anyway? What coward are you?"
Revan's stare hardened as the man continued his taunts. He could feel the cold pressure building at the top of his neck and chest, begging for release. He could taste the delicious desperation in his anger. Stronger than before. Stronger than ever. All he wanted was to vent.
"How did they even let a failure like you in here? At least a real Sith would have the balls to torture me properly! What are you gonna do? Kill me with kindness? Make me a cup of caffa and wait 'til I pour my heart out to you?"
"You don't want my help. I'm leaving." Revan said flatly as he turned on his heel; urgent in his attempt to remove the temptation from sight.
"Look at you!" The prisoner mocked as the man before him began to walk away. "I'm right here and you can't even bring yourself to do it? Pathetic!"
Pathetic.
As he lingered on the word, something clicked inside of Revan's mind, and immediately he felt as if he was not truly there. The feeling. He knew that feeling well. It had been so long since he had fully welcomed it, and now as it rose to greet him, he knew that he was powerless to free himself from its seductive tendrils. Revan found his feet faltering as he tried to move. Blackness snaking up around his ankles. All he could do was watch from afar as his body turned back towards the cage. The shadows from his depths flooded up around his shoulders and neck as he found himself shutting down the force-field protecting the prisoner. The protests of Jolee and Carth sounded muffled and diluted under the dark sea he was swimming in.
"Say something else." Revan heard himself saying as he drew face to face with the Mandalorian. "I beg of you."
The man before him rolled his head backwards as he allowed his neck to click, he seemed not to realise the danger he was in. That or he did not care. He looked to the two men in the background before meeting Revan's cold glare with one of defiance. "You are pathetic."
That sentence was all the justification that Revan's vessel needed. In that second, he succumbed fully to the weight that was pulling him down, and a dark shadow washed over him completely.
For the briefest of moments, the Mandalorian felt nothing. There was no pain as as the course pads of his feet began to rise above the cold metal floor. He felt no discomfort as he watched the man's hand twist and contort, gently pulling him closer. Then, all of a sudden, the hand seemed to stretch out like a flash; fingers reaching up in the air, up to the ceiling with urgency.
Carth tried to step forwards as the prisoner flailed, Jolee's hand at his forearm stopped him. The older man shook his head, and his stance was full of weight and seriousness. Something unusual and that told Carth to obey.
As Revan's fingers stretched further and further apart, the prisoner began to levitate higher, moving closer to his captor while his limbs spread out to the sides. Beyond the pain he was in, there was now an ugly tension rising in his body as Revan's face began to fill his vision.
"O-okay," The Mandalorian spluttered while his muscles groaned in protest. The face before him, the look was not of any average Sith that the prisoner had seen. There was no sign of a petty snarl, no callous smirk, no evidence of any enjoyment of the torture. There was only power and darkness."Put me back in the cage and I'll think about telling you where I've hidden the cache." Revan's head cocked to one side when the words reached his ears. It was if he did not understand. His free hand was now reaching out, reaching slowly towards the prisoner's head. Tension oozed from the man's neck as he struggled against Revan's telekinetic grasp. Soon however, the fingers were pressing against his skull.
This anger that was fuelling him, it was not a foreign thing. It was as familiar as his own heartbeat. As cold and distant as he had wanted it to be, he knew otherwise. Holding his victim in place, red began to burn in his eyes upon realisation. He leaned forwards, pushing his lips against the right ear of his prey, and he whispered, "I take what I want."
The prisoner's eyes widened as something strong and alien forced itself into his mind, pushing past the flimsy barriers with ease. The presence was not merciful as it ravaged each strand of conciousness; devouring currents of memory and thought with ease. The presence bore deeper, digging down to the core as it stripped the mind clean of information, riving at any snag of personality as the little branches of thought were torn down in Revan's wake. When it was done, The Mandalorian's limp body sunk to the floor; shoulders and cheeks twitching as his saliva began to pool around his chin. His heart continued to beat, but the trauma of the invasion meant that everything was gone. Revan glanced down at the body as the haze began to lift. His breathing became uneven and difficult as he realised what he had just done. He had felt like a stranger in his own body, though more in control than he had ever been. Had this primal thing been inside him all along? Or was this new? Had he ever been this way as Darth Revan? He did not know.
"What have you done?" Carth shouted as Revan turned to face his companions. He felt the briefest of stings as he caught a glimpse at the disgust on the soldier's face.
"I retrieved the information." Revan coldly offered as he moved to leave, refusing to make eye contact as he brushed past the two men.
"You destroyed him!" Carth spat as he forced a hand to Revan's shoulder, making sure the man would face him.
Revan met Carth's gaze, before glancing down at the drained carcass on the ground. His dark brows knotted together briefly, as if trying to find something to offer up to his friend."He is still alive." He finally managed, though this only served to provoke more anger from the man before him.
"You've left a shell! He's as good as dead!"
"Why do you care Carth?!" Revan snapped as he shrugged off the hand from his shoulder. "I thought you hated the Mandalorians!"
"You of all people should realise how wrong this is, Revan." Carth retorted firmly. He used that name deliberately, as if trying to pierce through to the core. Though he could see that the man before him was not even taking note, he just wanted an end to the conversation, "O-or maybe the Jedi didn't go far enough with you, maybe they should have just killed you!"
Revan sucked at the insides of his cheeks as Carth hurled his insults towards him. The anger; he had not been prepared before. That darkness down below was so familiar, so welcoming. Instantly, he found himself thinking back to the ruins of Dantooine. He was standing before the ancient darkened stones. They were calling to him, begging him to enter.
"I have never felt anything like this before." Revan's lids slowly lowered, and a smile spread across his features as a feminine voice reached his ears; calling from a distance. Soothing him within a heartbeat.
"At least Bastila isn't here to see you like this." His eyes shot open at the mention of her name, green glow almost gone, and he found his restraint wavering once more.
"If you disagree with my methods, Carth," Revan growled through gritted teeth, knuckles turning white as his nails dug deeply into the centres of his palms. "You should wait on the ship."
"You don't see it, do you? You don't see what you're becoming!" Carth shouted as Revan moved to dismiss him, Turning on his heel and heading to the exit. "I tell you she's had a lucky escape, at least Malak is honest about what he is!" Revan's feet stalled beneath him, feeling fear jump in his chest at the thought of her at the Dark Lord's mercy. He couldn't fathom where the Pain was coming from. The soldier had known his words would hit the mark, he wanted to scream. He wanted to make him see how wrong he was. He wanted to hurt him and he knew how he could. "She's better off with him!" Carth found himself blinking into silence after he had pushed the words out. He had known that he had gone too far, yet a part of him had not expected the reaction that Revan produced. He did not understand who this was in front of him, turning with such fury; eyes filled with fiery crimson and yellow. Filled with hate. He was not prepared for the pressure around his throat as an arm stretched out and fingers tensed together. For the briefest of moments, he was unsure of why he could not breathe.
Revan pushed all of his hatred forth as Carth was lifted up into the air. He pretended it was Malak's life-force he could feel writhing between his fingers, and so he pushed down harder; squeezing his digits closer and closer together. A deep and toneless groan cut into the air as the Force began to vacillate between the victim and the oppressor; obeying its master's twisted commands.
"That's enough now boy," Jolee said, stepping in front of Revan and forcing their eyes to meet. He waited for any sign of recognition to appear on Revan's face, but it was like looking at a stranger. Face flooded with hate and worry. Carth's hands were now pawing at the invisible fist at his throat as he was pushed back against a wall. When he looked down at his feet, helplessly thrashing as they were against the stone, it occurred to him that he had been at the mercy of the Jedi all along. Not just Revan's mercy, but Bastila's, Juhani's, even Jolee's. How was anybody allowed to have this kind of power? "She wouldn't want this." Jolee whispered as he tentatively placed a hand over Revan's forearm, slowly coaxing the young man from his hate-filled stupor. "You know that."
Revan felt his body quiver as he thought about what Bastila would say if she saw him like this. Grey eyes filled with fear and disappointment and hope. His lips began to shake as he felt the darkness dissipating, and his hand fell limp beside him as he relinquished his grip on Carth.
"I'm sorry." The former Dark Lord managed as Carth dropped to his knees before him. The purple marks adorning the man's neck, forced Revan to acknowledge how close he had been to doing something terrible.
"It's not enough." Carth managed between raspy breaths as he struggled to he feet. "Logan, Revan...I don't know who you are. A shadow of both I think. The worst bits of both. But you're not anybody I recognise."
Revan flinched as Carth spoke, stepping forwards in an attempt to help him up. He spoke briefly, saying "Carth-"
"Just don't." The soldier snapped, rebuffing him in an instant. Carth glanced upwards into the taller man's eyes. Gone was the fury that shone from them so brightly a few moments before. They were green again. They were Logan's again.
Jolee tossed a med-pack in Carth's direction before eyeing him up and down. His gaze settled on the warm eyes of the soldier before speaking. "Maybe you should go back to the ship, collect yourself."
"No, it's better if I stay."
"There's nothing more you can do lad, I'll look after him. Don't worry."
Carth observed the old Jedi's motionless expression for a moment more before shifting his head to the right. Revan's back was to him now. A hand at the right temple, running his index finger along the thin scar that marred that portion of his face. "Have it your way," Carth finally muttered as he stood to leave. He turned his head back for a moment. "just don't be too long."
"We wont be."
Revan glanced over his shoulder briefly, giving Carth enough of a head start before leaving the torture chamber. "So, you know where the cache is located?" His head snapped to the left after entering the hallway. It was the student from before. He was leaning back casually against the stone wall; fingers running steadily against the cylindrical object on his hip.
Revan halted as he raised a brow, arms folding in the process. "So what if I do?"
The student brought the foot that was pushed back against the wall to the floor, smiling upwards as he shifted."well I think it's only fair if I'm the one who takes credit for this."
A snort escaped from Revan's nostrils as the man spoke. "How do you figure that out?"
"I did most of the work! You only knew about the cache because of me," The student's right hand remained fixed on the hilt, while his left one reached up to pick at the flakes of skin on his cheek. "do you think you would have gotten anywhere if I hadn't plied the scum with truth serum in the first place?"
Revan eyed the man from beneath his thick brows, then he turned to face him fully. "You truly think you deserve the prestige? Take it from me then." He stretched his arms out as the student's face contorted into an ugly grimace; daring him to strike.
Red was thrust upwards suddenly. The blade the student was wielding, careened with a high-pitched snarl as it sailed towards Revan's neck. It then growled low after missing its target. Revan had slipped to the side, indifferent to the fire burning next to his face. It was now his turn to strike; body lithe as he called to his sabre. The weapon leapt to his hand in an instant, the gritty silver of the case glistening in the low lights. Green shot forth, crackling into the air with a deep and visceral purr. The blade hissed as Revan flicked his wrist downwards, obeying his command as it bore down deep into the opposition. The green cut through the darkened hilt of the student's weapon with ease, biting through the pommel as the student stumbled backwards.
"My lightsaber!" An unsteady voice exclaimed, unwilling and unbelieving. "You've-"
"Destroyed it." Revan finished as he loomed over the boy, unsympathetic as he observed pasty fingers gathering up the remains of the weapon. "Now just imagine what I would do to you." The dark eyes of the student flickered up once. The hardened stare that he found above confirmed to him his defeat, and he scurried away into the darkness. After informing Uthar of the location of the weapons cache, the pair headed out into the desert valley in search of more prestige.
The towering figures of Sith long dead, stood like kings atop shivering stand. Stone guardians of their resting places. They stretched high, arching over and above the duo as they entered The Valley of The Dark Lords. The sharp darkness of the air swirled around them. It cut coldly against the oppressive sun, burning deeply as it did against the skin. There were people, digging in the dust like little minions; slaves to the glory of the past. Revan felt the insignificance below as he stepped beyond the nearest group of scavengers. This was something that frightened him. Each a life-form, yet distant to him now. When had this hardening seeped in? He turned for the first entrance, and immediately he recognised it as the tomb of Ajunta Pall. Revan stood for a moment, looking towards Jolee as they waited for the heavy stone doors to grind open.
"What?"
"Nothing, nothing." The old Jedi grunted as they stepped into the ancient tomb, darkness soon engulfing them both.
Revan sighed as he felt the Force beginning to tint the edges of his vision, assisting him to penetrate the sea of shadows all around. "It clearly isn't nothing." He hissed while moving forwards, careful to avoid the slumbering traps and remnants of the forgotten on the floor.
"What do you want me to say, boy?" Jolee said as he shuffled carefully along the silent path, speaking at no more than a whisper.
Revan glanced behind for a moment, catching a glimpse of the older man's silvery goatee bristling in the unlit places."Maybe you can tell me why you didn't stop me."
"With Korriban running through you? You would have stopped us."
Revan slowed to a halt as Jolee spoke, darkness flooding his vision as he put his energy into himself for a moment. Searching for the truth."I've never been like that before...even as Revan, I remember control. Restraint."
"You were like that, briefly."
"How do you know?"
Jolee pressed a hand against Revan's back as a sign for him to continue."It's not like I had a packed diary while I was on Kashyyyk. I watched."
"You watched?" Revan asked, apprehensive about what was coming. "And what did you see?"
"You know what." Jolee looked around to observe the heavy recognition forming over Revan's troubled eyes. "That blackness you touched that was so very frightening. It is yours, boy. You will always be a Sith Lord on this planet. In places like this. You can remember it best here. But it doesn't mean it has to control you."
Revan pushed forwards along the flat and dusty hallway, running a hand through his black locks in exasperation. "I have no control though, do I?! Was that not evident earlier?" He stopped and slid back against a side wall as they approached a thinning bridge leading to an ever narrowing platform beyond. "I don't know, ever since the Leviathan...no, ever since I lost her...it's like all of my walls have gone. I don't know what I'm doing."
"You need to give yourself time to get accustomed to it, the taint within you has been buried for a long time, here of all places it is magnified. You will learn to control it again."
"I could control it when I first found out though! But now?" Revan smacked his head back against the hard stone behind him, motion equal in anger and self loathing."I don't want this darkness hanging over me, Jolee! Whatever he-" He hesitated in his reply, squinting as he remembered that he was no longer Logan. "Whatever I did that was so terrible as to leave me scarred like this, I don't remember."
Jolee reached forwards, gripping the man's shoulder in support and encouragement. "Look kid, you may not want to hear this, but some actions cannot be undone. You are not Logan. You cannot hide anymore. That taint that you have concealed, it will always be a part of you, just as the light is that burns so brightly at the centre of your soul. In time you will learn to accept both sides of yourself, You have done so in the past."
Revan felt hollow as he forced himself to stand. He thought of what he had done to Carth, he remembered the hate and mistrust that shone from the man as he dropped to his knees with his hands round his throat. He remembered the heat radiating from Bastila as the tears escaped from her beautiful eyes. The disgust on her face flooded forwards as she realised that she had been deceived. Her trembling words cut deep into his very soul, "You made me believe that you loved me!"
How can I accept myself when no one else will?
"What's that blocking the way?" Jolee's grunting in the dark drew Revan's attention. His vision followed a lazy finger over the bridge. An obelisk was standing proudly at the end centre, a large rune adorning its belly. Revan strode up to it tentatively as he searched for a way around. He activated his blade and smacked it against the structure a few times. Frustration seeped in as no mark was made. Studying the object for a moment more, his attention was diverted as he realised that there was something on the ground before him. An arm. Severed just above the elbow. It was clutching a datapad. Revan bent over slowly, soon freeing it from the limp grasp of its previous owner. He wiped a layer of dust from the screen before searching through the most recent entries. One was of particular interest, it read:
"There has got to be a way to get past this obelisk blocking the bridge! It seems to be made of some kind of unstable material... I'm willing to bet some kind of energy discharge will set it off. Blaster fire isn't doing the trick, however. I'll have to try some kind of explosive. I just hope that guard droid over there is as defunct as it looks."
Revan glanced over the chasm to see the slumbering forms of not one, but three assault droids, he was willing to bet that they were still very much operational. He sniffed as he returned his attention to the obelisk, sliding a hand into the crevice at its centre. It went deeper than he had expected. He smiled to himself as he produced a grenade, arming it before he left it in the hole.
"About time." Revan muttered to himself as he took a few steps back. Soon, an explosion was tearing through the darkened chamber. White rippling outwards; illuminating all the blackened places. Shadows taking their time to fall. The sound of it carried out well, seeming to move further with the light. Calling out to all corners. Calling out to the droids. Green was before his eyes in an instant, deflecting an orange bolt that taken aim at his head. His weapon was soon a blur as the droids sprang fully to life, showering the Jedi with their mechanical aggression. One soon found itself sailing upwards. The energy shield that shimmered around it, casting a blue bloom over all else. The lights then began to quicken and darken as the droid was tossed into the chasm below. Logan brought up his right arm to deflect the barrage directed at him as he threw his lightsaber at the two remaining metal guardians. No use, the shields were too strong. The blade returned to his hand within a moment, verdant glow deepening as it melded with the shadows. Revan brought his right arm up again, this time calling a storm to his fingertips. The tendrils lifted up, stretching high over the opening and reaching the robots with ease. The little fingers of electricity crept across the first one's shield, covering the shimmering bubble in purples and blues. Within a moment, the barrier had dissipated and the lighting began to ravage the metal body beneath. A hiss caught in his throat as blind heat brushed against his left shoulder, cutting through the fabric and burning into the flesh.
"Up here!" Revan looked up to see Jolee at the end of the bridge, pulling down hard on a lever in the distance. Before the remaining droid could fire another shot, it froze to a halt, shield and weapons deactivating in unison. After tending to the wound on his arm, Revan trotted across the bridge, nodding towards the older man as he moved past him. They followed the path as it lead into a narrowing hallway, coming to a stop before a solitary door.
"There's something...sad in here." Revan whispered as he cautiously reached out; pale skin around his eyes and nose wrinkling as he pressed a finger against the cold stone. He pushed on past his fear, walking through the door and into the room beyond. A sarcophagus lay in the centre of the chamber, the splendour of its golden door rendered insignificant by the stillness of its surroundings. Revan slid to his knees as he opened the door with care, revealing weathered bones and three swords at the centre. Before Revan could reach out, a chill swept along his back. He turned back towards the entrance to find the source of the sadness staring at him.
"Too long...too long in the cold and the dark. I am disturbed again? A human..."
Revan eyed the shimmering spirit with apprehension as Jolee quietly cautioned. "This spectre is full of the Force. Tread carefully."
"A Jedi? Here?" The spirit continued, glistening features knotting together in confusion, as if caught between the past and the future.
"I am not a Jedi." Revan hastily replied. The glowing apparition did not acknowledge these words however, continuing immediately.
"Why do you come to this dark place, Jedi? Why disturb my sleepless rest?"
Revan's eyes slowly widened as he realised who this must have been. "Are you...Ajunta Pall?"
"I had a name once...Ajunta Pall, yes that was it. I was one of many. We were servants of the Dark Side. Sith Lords we called ourselves...so proud." The spirit purred, a thousand darkened whispers carrying the words, glory and grief filling his ghostly voice. "In the end we were not so proud. We hid, hid from those we betrayed. We fell...and I knew it would be so."
"So, you're an ancient Sith Lord."
"Ancient? Has it been so long that I am to be called ancient? I have been here so long...so lost...I cannot remember." A pang of empathy worked its way along Revan's neck. Lost in the darkness, like him. He briefly wondered if he was destined to share this spirit's fate. "We were the first to rebel...to betray...to surrender ourselves to the Dark Side. So strong we thought...so wrong..."
"Who did you betray?"
"Our Jedi Masters of course...those who warned us against the teachings of the Dark Side, yet we embraced it in secret...revelled in its power."
"And then what happened?"
"We were...betrayed. Or did we act? I do not remember. But here is where we came to learn...to hide. Grow. And here we fell."
"What is this place?"
"Our temple. Our tomb. We revered power and threw off the teachings of our old masters." The spirit hesitated for a moment, sluggishly trying to recall something long forgotten. It moved forwards before continuing. "Our power...it...we were not the first to fall to the Dark Side. But we...had more power than those before us. It...came from elsewhere..."
Familiarity crept along Revan's spine and just behind his eyes as the spirit spoke. He immediately probed as the desire to know more overwhelmed."What do you mean? Came from where?"
"Our oldest secret. Only...only we would know, we Lords. Only we would know where our power came from..."
"Tell me the secret."
"I cannot, Jedi. It is a secret of so long ago...I no longer remember. You who bristle with the Force...you must find this place...Or...have you? Or did you? Or...will you? Oh, so...many images..." Surprise and confusion and understanding flooded the ghost's glimmering face all at once. The flickering pits where his eyes should have been, burned in recognition as he looked at Revan. "I...see your heart, human Jedi. I see your power, your pride, your hurting. You...you will find the old place, the dark place...and you will regret it."
"Why? What is at this place?" "Revan stiffened as he replied; upper neck and lower jaw clenching instinctively as darkened memories crept out at the back of his mind. But only ever at a distance.
"So much power...it is blinding. I...I remember so little..."
"Why do you remain here?" Revan queried, dismissing his fragments of thought completely.
"Remain? Do I...remain? I have regretted it all, all that I have done, for so long..." The spirit trailed, sadness in his voice filling his frame.
"I feel sorry for you." Revan couldn't help but say. His sorrow and regret mimicking the phantom's before him.
"Most of my brethren would desire only to take what power I have left...even if it would destroy them." The spirit looked up towards his open sarcophagus, eyeing the objects within for a moment. "My sword. I filled it with my pride. It is a corpse...just as I am a corpse. I wish it to be taken from here. I do not wish it to rot away as I have."
"What do you want me to do with it?"
"If you are wise...you will not keep it. In the end, it is what destroyed me. There were three blades buried with me. It has been so long...I do not remember which is truly my sword. Find my sword. Place it on the statue. If it is truly mine, then it will be yours."
"And if it isn't your sword?"
"Then you will...die. That is the way it must be."
"How am I supposed to know which one is yours?"
"There is one thing that I remember. Listen to me carefully. 'I am that which grips the heart in fright, hearkens night and silences the light.' it was written of my sword long...long ago."
"Right."
"Find my sword, place it on the statue."
Revan turned to gather the three swords in the sarcophagus before heading towards a statue resting at the back of the room. He eyed the statue's smooth stone features carved out by some long forgotten sculptor, and he noticed that the brow and nose were very similar to the spirit standing behind him. Its long robes seemed to flutter to its ankles while one hand stretched outwards, fingers leaving just enough of a gap for a hilt to fit into place. Revan discarded one blade immediately, a vibroblade with very little to show for itself. He then turned his attention to another. A long silver sword with a curved and blackened handle, this certainly looked as though it could fit the description. Revan ran two fingers along the tip of the weapon before grasping the hilt and inspecting it fully. White hot heat filled his senses as his hand began to burn. There was power here, but not in the way that the ghost meant. Revan then turned his attention the the final sword. Two slim and sickeningly sharp blades protruded from either side of an intricately carved handle, all wrapped in velvets and leathers. He observed it more closely, listening to the darkness that was pulsing through it; radiating from it. He slotted it into the outstretched palm and it fitted in without resistance.
"That is my sword...my sword that destroyed me." The spirit looked on sadly as Revan removed the sword once more. "Take it...take it and go! Leave me to my darkness that awaits."
"Surely you don't need to remain here?"
"No...need?" The spirit looked shocked, frightened even at the prospect of leaving. "What choice have I?"
"Return to the light. End your torment."
"Return? But I...betrayed them. Betrayed my masters. They would never allow me to return to the light. It is too late...too late..."
"It is never too late."
The spirit's shimmering head stooped to a tilt at Revan's words, and Revan shifted uncomfortably as he felt the presence bearing into his soul. "You say that as if it is fact. As if...you yourself can be redeemed. You are a Jedi and yet...so black...so lost...so much like me. After all the darkness that I have inflicted...I don't know."
Revan's gaze moved to the side and off into the distance as images of the past flooded his vision. He remembered heat swirling around him as he sunk to his knees, pressing the soft skin of his bond-mate's against his forehead as he tried to convince her that she was not lost to the darkness. He remembered her delicate fingers against his cheek, forcing their eyes to meet as she repeated the sentence. "One act does not condemn you, it's how you deal with the consequences that defines you. I see your sorrow and regret for all you have done. You need not linger in the shadows any more, Ajunta Pall. You are free."
"I...surely it is not possible...oh my master how sorry I am!" Revan pulled his greying cloak closer to his body as he felt something shifting the air and in the Force. The figure ahead of him began to fragment and dissipate before dissolving completely into the air around him. Only his voice remained as the duo made their way to the exit. "I thank you...Revan. Jedi Knight, Sith Lord. I pray that you may one day you may be granted the same freedom that you have gifted me."
As they made their way back towards the academy, Revan couldn't help but linger on what had just transpired. All of that hate, that darkness, it had melted into sorrow with such ease. Revan knew that it could never be that easy for him. As mournful as he was, there was a shadow that he could not place. A taint deep within him that he could not find the source of. There could be no reprieve from it now that he knew it was there. Revan briefly allowed himself to wonder if this was the result of the dark power that Ajunta Pall had mentioned. Had he discovered the source of it already? Had he been blinded by it? Corrupted by it? Was this what made him turn to the Dark Side in the first place?
"You did well boy."
Revan's green orbs settled for a moment on the softened lines working their way across the tanned skin around Jolee's eyes. They had come to a halt before an opening in the valley wall. "So why do I feel so sad?"
Jolee opened his mouth to reply, but before he could, a cold shiver ran through the air, drawing the attention of both men. The dimming entrance was shrouded in mist, and Revan immediately felt a familiar presence standing next to him. He turned to see a woman looking onwards, sandy locks shorter than he recalled, face framed with duty and pain. Her violet eyes were radiating with sorrow; a sorrow he could relate to. She ignited her double blade as she advanced into the cave, and Revan couldn't help but follow on behind her. Was this the past, or the future he was seeing? In truth, he was not sure, but the imprint of this woman was strong. Strong enough to warrant attention. Her glowing blades illuminated the shadowy passageway as her cloak cut through the mist below. Revan followed on, getting closer to her now as he weaved through the rubble and the overhang. A bright hiss in the dark drew Revan's attention, red flooding to view where the woman had been standing. He blinked past the crimson to see her, but she was already gone.
"Hold it right there! Whomever you are! We are not going back to the academy...we'll kill you if we have to!" Revan turned his attention to the blade that was thrust towards him. Following it to the hand. A feminine hand. Unsteady as it gripped the silver hilt.
"Bring you back?" He queried as he eyed the owner of the weapon. Ignoring the threat completely.
The girl was young. Dressed in the uniform of a Sith officer. Her black hair cropped short around her head. Instead of lending her an air of authority, it seemed to accentuate her vulnerability. The girl blinked as she dabbled with the idea of lowering her weapon. She kept it high as she dismissed her confusion. "What is it then if you're not here to take us back? What do you want? Speak up!"
Revan blinked a few times before replying, remembering what Yuthura had said about missing pupils."You're...the renegade students? The ones who ran away?"
"Renegade? Yes. We ran away before Master Uthar could execute us. Is that so hard to believe?" The girl sighed and looked down to the ground briefly, before lowering her lightsaber and deactivating it. "I am Thalia May. The others and I refused to murder some people on the whim of Uthar...so here we are."
The sight of several students cowering behind the girl – barely more than children – was enough to make Revan lower his head in shame. "I-I'm sorry."
Her brow furrowed in confusion as she listened to his words. Ignoring him, she continued. "We all thought that becoming Sith was what we wanted. But it wasn't. Now all we want is to get out of here."
"Maybe I can help you."
"Help us...is this some kind of trick?" The girl responded quickly, gripping her weapon tightly once more.
"Give me a chance." Revan said, stepping forwards with his hands outstretched. "Let me prove it to you."
"Alright I suppose we have few options. We're stuck in these caves, obviously, or we would have been long gone. There is a passage that leads to the exit, but there is a terrifying creature blocking the way. It is far beyond our strength. If you could destroy it, we could make it to the exit. Will you do this for us?"
"I will try."
Revan wandered up the unlit path. The path that the woman from his memory had taken a few moments earlier. The murky ground was overshadowed by the obscurity of the blackened knolls and crevices. Soon, he found himself at an opening. The beclouded burrow gave way to reveal a vast expanse. Spindly bridge at the centre, leading up to a pool of light. Revan steadied himself against a moistened boulder as he looked out into the boundless mists. The Force was very strong here. A million imprints magnified. Revan felt his vision blur and then focus to a razor's edge as the light and the dark swirled around him. Each aspect flowing in tandem. Many Sith and many Jedi had passed through here, he realised. It was as if he could feel each individual, experience each imprint. Drink deep into the collective pool of power. As he moved towards the bridge, he saw her again. The woman from the pits of his memory. She was off in the distance, over the bridge. Her hand was reaching out to something he could not see. A door? Before he could look on further, a ferocious cry cut into Revan's ears. The rock beneath him began to shake and crumble as a looming beast obscured his view. The colour ran from Revan's face at the sight of it. He remembered his bond-mate's face frozen in terror as the mass of hulking menace lurched towards her. He remembered the stab of blinding pain as its tusk burst through his unprotected flesh. Pushing through the haze of memories, Revan leapt gracefully into the air as he heard Jolee ignite his lightsaber. The terentatek's menacing claws swiped high as Revan flew above its head. He slipped through the sluggish attack, landing just behind the creature. Jolee threw his blade towards its head, distracting it as Revan dropped to his knees. The blade ricochet off the beast's impenetrable scales, and the old Jedi took a step backwards as a mammoth foot came crashing down towards him. The creature raised one hideous arm high, ready to swat its quarry off the bridge and into the depths below. Before it could, green began to glow beneath it, puncturing its exposed belly in an instant. There was a visceral whoosh as the blade plunged in, and Revan rotated his weapon from side to side as the terentatek howled in pain. Enraged, it threw its monstrous paws to the ground, desperately trying to dislodge the blade from its stomach. Revan rolled to the side, avoiding the violent slashes of the vicious creature above. Jolee observed carefully, waiting as it roared in fury. Its teeth wide and up in the air, he let his blade fly free. The lightsaber sailed towards the beast's waiting mouth, skewering the tongue and the throat and the brain. Revan scrambled backwards as the beast fell forwards, and it slumped to the ground with a grazing thump.
"That was a close one." Jolee muttered as he retrieved his now slimy lightsaber from the creature's ruined mouth.
"Yes." Revan replied whilst running his hands along his darkened robes. "Very close." He inspected the dead body for a moment, before crossing the bridge and searching for the exit. As he turned to head back towards the students, Revan found himself stopping in his tracks. Something deep and purple was glowing near a rocky ledge. Calling out in the darkness. Calling out to him. "What is that?" Revan heard himself whisper as he clambered over long forgotten rubble to get to the the beautifully mysterious object.
"A crystal, it looks like." Jolee replied as he followed on after his troubled companion. Revan reached out, grazing his fingers over the tip of the violet glass. He snatched his hand back on instinct, looking up to Jolee as he drew closer. "I...I felt it."
"Yes, I saw."
The younger man snorted and shook his head, dark locks falling forwards in the movement."No, I mean I felt it. Its power in the Force...I felt it in me."
"Let me see that." Jolee reached down to retrieve the lustrous crystal. He placed both hands against it as he focused on its presence. "Well, this is quite extraordinary. This crystal. It calls out to you, boy. It seems to be drinking in your aura, mimicking your imprint if you will."
"I'm not sure I understand..."
"People powerful enough can leave a trace...an echo..." Revan looked to his right at the word, looking for the woman he saw earlier. "this crystal has responded to yours, it is similar in a way to your bond with Bastila." A sting cut into his chest at the mention of her name. Grey eyes staring at him from a distance.
"I'm not sure I want that."
"You'd be foolish to throw away something as valuable as this, lad. Take it, see how you feel. It would make a marvellous lightsaber crystal. Besides, you'd look good in purple." Revan eyed the glowing object before pocketing it and heading back to the students.
"Is the passageway clear?"
"Yes, Thalia." Revan replied with a forced smile, placing a hand on her shoulder as he returned. "You're free to go."
"Really? I...I don't know what to say!" the girl turned to her companions, shocked. Dark eyes lighting up with a flicker of renewed hope. A flicker that Revan envied. "Thank you!"
Revan waited until their backs were to him before speaking out. "You could always try the Jedi."
The girl turned around, squinting as she tried to get a closer look at her saviour. "I don't know whether they'd accept us, but it's worth a try."
Revan's head fell forwards as a fresh wave of sorrow and guilt buffeted him from all angles.
They've accepted far worse.