Nightbrother's village, Dathomir, The day after his arrival

A sharp gust of wind crashed into the side of the small hut that the Nightbrothers had thrown him in the previous night. According to them, he was clanless and until a head deigned to claim him, he would enjoy none of the paltry privileges that the others had access to.

Vader listened to the sounds of a community that was awakening to meet the day. Shouted greetings as well as foul language alongside a few punches were being exchanged between irritated Nightbrothers outside. He rubbed his eyes as his stomach rumbled hungrily. His tongue also protested being as bone dry as his home planet. Instead of whining about it, Vader slowly lifted himself on his feet, stumbling a bit before managing to find his balance. I've grown too soft, he thought. It was something that any true Sith would loath to his core to admit but he had to accept it as a reality. His former Master had been trained under harsh conditions in a number of deadly worlds. Sidious had devised suitable alternatives to harden his apprentice and sharpen his skills. But his increased political responsibilities had reduced his ability to sneak away for protracted amounts of time. That meant that Vader had only known life on Coruscant as the life of a child of the upper class and that didn't offer the same intrinsic challenges.

Another unforeseen upside, Vader thought. It was evident that he would make up for those deficiencies in the foreseeable future. He unlatched the door of the hut. Hot air and dust welcomed him to the outside. Other huts were to the front of him, connect with other taller ones with crude rope bridges and walkways. To his left, a huge stone tower-like building overlooked the village. To Vader, who had been raised amongst the skyscrapers of Coruscant, they looked like a cruel caricature of 500 Republica. Where the heart of the Republic's Elite brought to the mind images of wealth, cultivation and distinction, this ugly slab of rock only brought to his mind images of brutish unrefinement and barbarity.

My new cohorts leave much to be desired, he thought. His body's needs though quickly refocused his mind to the search of food and water. Following the sporadic groups of Nightbrothers, Vader found what he was looking for. A soup kitchen manned by two brothers was handing some kind of broth to the assembled horned men while a nearby trough, filled with water, was there to satisfy their thirst.

Perhaps due to being born on a desert world, Vader focused on quenching his thirst first. He rushed towards it, with a quicker step than he would have wanted. Kneeling next to it, he first threw water to his face, savoring the cold sensation before he cupped his hand, drinking deeply and greedily. After he was sated, Vader stopped for a moment, catching the reflection of his face on the surface of the liquid. His eyes were the color of light gold, the mark of a Sith. Instead of the usual pride that he would have felt under normal circumstances, this concerned him. Vader had been taught early on to hide his nature, an instinctive reaction of the Force according to his Master that he had honed under his guidance to the point that he could hide or reveal himself on command. The fact that this was no longer the case deeply unsettled him. Whatever this Talzin was doing to him was affecting him on more levels than one. The most important question is how she is doing it to me.

"Stop dirtying the water, you clanless cur"

The voice that came from behind him was that of another adolescent, a yellowish Zabrak, slightly taller than him. He was flanked by four more young members of the village. Vader stopped for a moment before he splashed some more water on his face. He stood on his feet and turned to face him. Their arms were tattooed and balled into fists. A few of them were even huffing and puffing as if he had killed the people they loved the most.

"Plenty of water for everyone, friend. See, I am done", Vader said.

"It doesn't matter. Clanless drink last", the Zabrak boy retorted.

"Oh I see", Vader said looking at the water over his shoulder for a second before turning back to the Zabrak. "Well nothing can be done about it now", he said with a move of his shoulder. He didn't care and he wouldn't budge to a bully.

"I'll make you spit it out", the Nightbrother growled and rushed towards him, fists raised and ready to deliver blow upon blow to the Sith Lord, the child that had so openly defied the dictates of his society, the fact that he had no idea about those dictates being irrelevant to his primitive conception of the world.

Vader, even in his tired and weakened state assumed a defensive position and braced himself for the Nightbrother's arrival. The Zabrak boy's fist travelled in a parabolic trajectory, aiming for his face. But when it was supposed to make contact with it, Vader's face wasn't there.

Ducking out of the way and leaning to the left, Vader delivered two swift hits on his assailants sides. The boy mewled in pain, a sure-fire sign that he should keep pressing his advantage while he could. Vader was in no mood to play fair, delivering a kick to the boy's nether region. The boy screamed and Vader smiled, the rumbling in his stomach forgotten, the rush of the fight and his opponent's pain giving him all the nourishment that he needed. Looking at the way that the boy was holding his belly in pain, Vader got an idea. With the same smile plastered on his, he grabbed the hurt boy by the back of his neck and guided him forward towards to the trough.

He wanted to drink some water, didn't he?

In silence, Vader immersed the boy into the water, holding him down firmly by his neck and horns. The boy began flailing and jerking violently as he choked in the water that he so fervently wanted to keep away from him. Some Nightbrothers began cheering as they did with every fight, urging the boys to keep going or to the drowning child to fight back.

Vader had found his confidence once again, pushing down with all the strength that he could muster. "Come on, you were thirsty. Don't you want some water?", he mocked his opponent. His initial goal of scarring him enough to deter any future aggression had quickly shifted into a murderous rage, fueled by the crowds receptiveness and the pure undulated joy of a person dying by his hand. It was potent fuel for a Sith, so much so that he felt the Force coursing through him for a short, fleeting moment. Vader took advantage of it to its fullest extent.

It was at that moment that he felt a sharp sting on his back. It was his time to snarl like a mad dog, turning backwards while keeping the Zabrak into the water. His enemy's friends were holding rocks in their hands and they were ready to use them. Another projectile flew towards him. Vader barely avoided it, calling the Force to shield him from the rest.

The Force though refused to comply with his wishes.

He barely had time to realize his failure before the rocks connected with his chest and belly. Talzin's trickery was still having its effect on him. With the majority of his power stolen from him and not enough time to shift his patterns, Vader was plain and simply taken by surprise. He fell into the water, the pain throbing in his chest as he was immersed into the cold fluid. Then he heard the Zabrak being dragged out of the water before hands grabbed at him, dragging him out of the water and onto the ground below. And then the kicking began, sharp hits making contact with his belly, his face and his arms.

"Ahh! Krifin' ", Vader shrieked while shifting his body in an embryonic stance, trying to protect himself. All my fault… Weak, WEAK… He was smarted and stronger than this and he knew it but his edge was being blunted. Or was it ever there to begin with. Every kick, besides delivering a new sharp pang of pain, brought back, little by little the ingrained feelings of weakness and self-doubt that he had been battling with.

He wasn't sure how much time passed before the hits stopped rolling in. The boys stopped as a pair of heavy footsteps thumbed somewhere close by. As they came closer, the boys flew away like flies. Something blocked the Sun's light as Vader felt the area around him darken.

"Rise up, boy", a deep, harsh voice boomed above him. Vader opened his eyes and looked upwards. This Zabrak's face was also yellowish and black but he lacked the servile weakness that he had detected in Viscus' features. "Come on", he repeated. "We don't have all day. Your training must begin immediately. I won't have members of my Clan be defeated so easily."

Vader cocked his head to the left, surprised at such an obvious display of mercy. "Why?", he asked while grasping the hand of his benefactor, rising to his feet.

"Because you put up a fight and didn't show any fear", the large Zabrak said. He leaned closer at that point and whispered in his ear. "And because you anger Viscus. And that brings me joy."

Wooded area north of the Nightbrother Village

Vader had been on the tracks of his latest mark for three days and nights. The boar that Savage had tasked him with bringing back was a majestic beast with the stamina and cunning to evade him and keep hiding with great success. He had to employ every trick that his clan leader had shown him. Targeting its young, following the water of a nearby river. Now he was about to lay in wait close to one of its feeding grounds.

He carefully stepped over a rotting log, trying to remain as quiet as possible. Moving closer to a nearby rock, Vader drew his small bow and retrieved an arrow from his quiver. He would have to wait for a few hours before he finally saw it. The animal in his sights, coming from a species of boar that was utterly unknown to him, or somebody from the Core Worlds in general, before the Nightbrothers took him hunting with them… four or five months ago, perhaps more. Time was a difficult thing to keep on Dathomir without a calendar or in fact a reason to. He had tried but couldn't keep up with it for any significant amount of time.

The one thing that he knew for certain was that his training was taking up the majority of his days. Hunting, tracking, hand-to-hand combat, endurance training. It was a punishing schedule, his body feeling pained and exhausted every night. The lack of the Force was an added impediment but he was in the process of learning to work around it. He had found that while his ability to actively use the Force was severely diminished, the passive edge that it gave him was reduced but still there. He could hear and see as well as he could before but his precognitive abilities were not as good as they used to be. His reflexes had been affected too, bringing him down to the level of less skilled oppenents. I wanted to toughen up, didn't I?

Vader took a deep breath and stayed still before he let the arrow loose. As it traveled to its target though, the boar jerked to the left, transforming a killing blow to merely a grazing shot.

Kriff, he thought for singular moment before he sprang into action , running after the animal as it tried to escape. The wounded boar was surprisingly fast, dodging and dragging him deeper into the woods. Vader wouldn't relent, keeping up with its pace. He desired to add another victory mark to the tattoos around his wrists, a mark of honor amongst the Nightbrothers.

And so he pressed on while the animal dragged him deeper into the forest. The reeds were getting taller, making it difficult for him to calculate his steps. As the vegetation around him was getting darker and thicker, Vader felt that his window of opportunity was closing rapidly. He stopped for a moment and nocked another arrow. Aiming quickly, he let loose and the boar squeaked in pain.

"Yes!", he exclaimed as it fell down and writhed in pain. Vader began approaching with swift steps, retrieving a knife from his belt. He kneeled down next to the dying animal and delivering a killing blow to its heart. As the warm blood fell on his hands and the life under him seeped out from its container, Vader felt reinvigorated, no, elated. It was in moments like these that he could feel the Dark Side once again like he used to. It was for a few fleeting moments but he held onto them for dear life. They were only a taste of the power that he would wield once again when he found the key to undoing Talzin's curse.

You are getting closer, a whisper said through the woods, breaking the reverie of the kill.

What was that?, he thought, jerking upwards and sheathing the knife before he brought another arrow onto the bow. The voice was unknown to him, hidden behind a shroud of secretiveness.

You know me, the voice simply replied and Vader smirked slightly. "Finally. I thought that you had forgotten me, Silri."

The sound of curled leaves and broken twigs could suddenly be heard behind him, followed by the young Nightsister, or rather, the Nightsister's head. The rest of her body appeared through a mist as the girl gradually became fully visible in front of him.

"Sorry for messing up your kill", she said. "I needed you alone."

So I wouldn't have missed, he thought, as pride in his abilities swole within him. "I got it in the end. I always dο. You should ask your Sisters or my Master."

"Same Sisters that captured you?", she retorted, nipping his retort at the bud. Vader's face contorted at how easily he had stepped into that one. "I am curious", she continued after a brief pause.

Vader nodded in response, letting the Nightsister finish her thoughts.

"What's your way out? And what will you do when you are out?", she asked calmly. There was no calmness in her eyes though. Under the pale moonlight, Vader could see the glimmer in them. Sweet ambition.

"Why would I tell you? What stops you going back to Talzin and telling everything to her?", he asked carefully. Vader wanted to make sure that her interest was genuine.

"Nothing. But you need me and I need you", she confessed while taking a few steps towards him, closing the distance between them. Vader studied the grace with which she moved, completely comfortable in the harsh and alien environment around her. She was truly, even if she was close to his age, a dominant individual, willing to be more than what she was currently. Yet, he wanted to test her some more.

"You have nothing I need", he challenged her, moving forward himself. They were no less than a meter away from each other, the perfect striking distance.

"I can return your power to you."

Vader couldn't contain himself, performing a double take at Silri's forthcomingness. Marvelous, he thought. Absolutely marvelous.

"Are you that desperate?"

"I am the one with the lightwhip", she said, her hands lowering towards the hilt on her waist.

Vader didn't wait for her to use it. He was tired of being ambushed almost constantly. Now it was his time. He lifted his knee sharply and it made contact with her belly. Silri recoiled in pain bringing her hands around the area of the hit while Vader deftly moved behind her. Closing her mouth with one hand, he secured her close to his chest while bringing the knife to her jugular with the other. He pressed the blade just enough in order to draw blood. The Nightsister winced in pain while trying to get away.

"Knife's just as good, Silri", he whispered in her ear. Vader could hear her heart beating rapidly as fear permeated her bloodstream. It was a primeval fear that Vader himself had felt before. The fear of a hunter that was, for the first time, the hunted. He breathed it in and let it soak his psyche before he spoke again.

"Why are you this forthcoming? Why are you helping me? What changed?", he spoke again. There was, of course a right answer and he was fully expecting to hear it in a bit. Silri seemed willing to give to him but his hand was blocking her from speaking. Vader let her stew for a bit before he loosened his grip just a bit. "Come on then. Spit it out." Silri was breathing heavily, anger mixed with fear emanating from her. A potent concoction.

"I thought about what you said", she said, her words coming out heavy and labored. "I saw it happen, like you said. The lies, the how good you are Silri, the others going like Thank you Mother Talzin, you are so good Mother Talzin. Yada, yada, yada", she said with bile oozing from every word. "I was disgusted"

Vader chuckled as she repeated the thoughts that he had turned her mind towards, the truth that she had been ignoring.

"Why you laughing?", she barked angrily.

"Because you gave the right answer, Silri", he simply said. And then he let go, pushing her lightly away from him. He retained his careful and prepared posture but he felt that he wouldn't need it. Not tonight at least. The Nightsister's neck was bleeding from where he had grazed her neck but she didn't seem to notice being more interested in what he would say next.

"I can offer you the tools to be mo…", he began saying before she stopped him.

"I don't want another Ta..."

"Stop!", he snapped. It was his time to do the cutting off. "When you understand the deeper meaning of what I'll teach you in the coming years, you will know that holding you back is the last thing in my mind", Vader continued, his eyes locked on her. "And if I do, well… You'll have your chance to prove to me that I am wrong."

Silence fell between them. Long, unobstructed and deep silence. Vader could hear insects chirping and snakes slithering around him while a soft rain began falling from the sky. It was as if the entire planet was waiting for her answer alongside him.

Silri was looking at the ground, the wheels inside her head spinning and working. Vader was intrigued, his inability to gauge her emotions through the Force like he normally would adding a tantalizing note of suspense.

And then, the girl spoke.

"Come with me."

A cave close-by

Silri had taken them through a winding path through the jungle. Surefooted and confident, the girl weaved through the jungle, guiding them towards what she claimed was a hidden cavern. Vader followed her without question but with his hand always close to the hilt of his knife. He didn't trust Silri that much just yet, not even to the point that a Master did his Apprentice.

They found the opening of the cave by following a small stream. It was a dangerous descent, with sharp and wet stones offering little in the way of safe passage. A few minutes later, Vader and Silri reached a grotto, illuminated only by the green flame of Nightsister fire.

"Good. You need to be naked for this. Then lay down", she said matter-of-factly, unbothered by her request. Vader looked around for anybody else, confirming that they were in fact alone. It's ah... It's nothing, he thought with slight embarrassment. It was a silly thing for a Sith Lord to consider but quite natural for a boy his age. He told himself that he was primarily the first one. How come she's not embarrassed too?

While he fought with his thoughts, Silri prepared some kind of thick broth. Working with the energy of a possessed person, Silri was crushing herbs and mixing ingredients, stopping only to consult a small piece of paper. She hadn't told him exactly what she would do but Vader had decided that he would have take this leap of faith. It was a calculated risk. He needed his connection to the Force restored, to remove any and all blocks that Talzin had placed on him in an attempt to stifled his Power. Silri also seemed to be honest about her defection.

As honest as Dathomirian Witch can be at least, he thought and carefully leaned back in order to rest his neck.

Minutes passed before Silri came back to him with a bowl in hand. The broth that she had a foul smell. "Yummy", he said, making a face of disgust towards the girl and the "gift" that she carried.

"Stand still", she told him and Vader followed the order, not moving a single muscle. Silri dipped her fingers in the broth and began touching him on his head and chest. Her movements didn't feel random. There was indeed a pattern to them, as if she was drawing.

"What are you going to do?", he asked softly, not wishing to impeded her progress.

"See this?", she momentarily pointed towards the place that he had cut her throat earlier. There was only dried blood now. He nodded and waited for her to continue. "My blood is not the same as yours. Talzin called it ichor in her lessons. This…", she stopped and lifted a finger full of broth, "…will make your blood like mine and then poof. No more block. The spell works only on human bodies", she explained and kept working.

"Did Talzin teach you that?", Vader asked surprised. It seemed to him that it was a powerful secret to hold.

"No, of course not. I copied it in secret", Silri said again in a flat tone, the question not bothering her in the very least.

"How can you be sure that it remained a secret?"

"Because I put the scroll into Anya's bed", Silri replied and a wicked smirk began forming on the side of her face. She was obviously very pleased with herself.

A Kindred Spirit, Vader thought and returned the smirk. "Now stop moving. I have to finish."

When she did, Silri cleaned her hands in the nearby stream and returned to him. Rubbing her hands, she raised a finger. "I'll have to put you down for the ceremony. Tell me when."

Vader breathed in and out. The ultimate leap of faith, he thought. Faith was something that he had been raised to mistrust and disbelieve in. Sith didn't have it for anybody other than themselves. Yet, he couldn't see any other way out of his predicament. If this was successful, he would take back his powers as well as the thing that every Sith Master coveted. An Apprentice. And this one had the right mindset, determination as well as use for him. Vader needed a spy on the other side if he was to escape Dathomir and a Nightsister herself would be a boon to his plans.

Break your chains

Vader nodded and Silri nodded back in agreement. She lowered her finger all the way to his forehead just like Talzin had and tapped. Vader's eyes rolled up into his head and the world turned dark.

This time, he didn't scream. Vader woke up on his own instead. He felt as if he had been asleep for several years. Full of strength and energy, he tensed and rose up looking around the cave. Silri was nowhere to be seen but she had gone to the trouble of covering his body up with a thin sheet. With the girl gone, Vader decided that he should test the effectiveness of her procedure. Kneeling, he closed his eyes for a moment and began talking short, controlled breaths.

And then the air stuck in his throat. He could feel drops falling from the roof, worms wiggling nearby, the water of the stream moving through his fingers. Electricity coursed through his veins as he could visualize his surroundings with almost perfect accuracy.

IT WORKED!

Wanting to see how much of his strength was back, Vader focused his attention on a nearby boulder and willed it to fly. The lifeless piece of rock readily complied, floating slightly off the ground. I'll have to get stronger, he thought but the beginnings of his return were there.

"I am the best"

Vader snapped his head towards the steep decline of the cave to find the source of that declaration. Silri was leaning to the rocky wall, that smirk plastered on her face once again, looking at her handiwork and being obviously content with it.

"You are good", he conceded. "But you can be better. Come here", he said while struggling to rise on his two feet. Draping himself with the covers that she had provided him, Vader stood and waved at her. "I promised you something." The Nightsister waited only for a moment before she began her approach. With every step she took, the Force whispered to him just as it had whispered during his own initiation, expecting a new initiate into the Dark. Only this time, it was closer to a rumbling chant. The Dark Side was stronger on Dathomir and Vader supposed that this fact played a part.

Dvasia, Dvasia, Dvasia

The word was repeated in his mind over and over again. It was an old Sith word for Ghost. Vader decided that it was very fitting. She's as pale as a ghost and she'll be hidden amongst my enemies. Very fitting indeed. The girl was in front of him now. She kneeled without being prompted, perhaps an reaction to the overwhelming strength that he once again possessed and made no attempts to hide.

"Silri of the Nightsisters, I ask you plainly…", he began reciting the words that had been addressed to him not so long ago. "Is it your will to join your destiny forever with the Order of the Sith Lords?"

Silri didn't hesitate for a single second. "It is", she only said.

Of course, he thought, slightly irritated. He had been taught the words but she hadn't. He cleared his throat, only to be ignored. Seriously? He cleared his throat even louder, catching her attention. Vader croaked his head slightly before she understood that she had to repeat his words.

"It is… my will to join my destiny forever with the Order of the Sith Lords."

Vader nodded his head imperiously, just like Sidious had and accepted her offering. "Then it is done. From this day forward, now and forever you will be known as...", he paused for effect, again exactly like he remembered his Master doing.

"…Darth Dvasia."

Author's Notes:

-Did I say that my last chapter was the largest? Yes well this behemoth came in.

-The fact that the Order of the Sith Lords is currently comprised by two evil kids is giving me "Addams Family" and "The Omen" vibes. And I like those vibes.

-I also wanted to show that there is still some childishness in Vader. He is not fully a grown up, rather a kid playing at being a grown up with a few skeletons under his belt. He is more mature but not an adult.

-This is the first time I write Silri in any extent. I imagined her voice and accent as rough and uncouth, considering that she has grown up in the jungle with a bunch of Witches. That is why she is using simpler words and expressions.

-Nomici, glad to see you back

-ELinkA, your enthusiasm is always welcome

-spiderfan, the Darksaber is DEFINETELY in my plans :)

-Till we meet again