Interlude - Birth of the Void-Smith

As with the beginning of all things there is life. As with the end of all things there is death.

For Nitheal, his beginning was both.

His mother died giving birth to him, and the doctors had to hurry to save him. They succeeded, and Nitheal was kept at the hospital until his body was strong enough. He was placed into the care of the man who, while many thought was his father, was in fact… a criminal.

To say the man was his father was accurate. Yet to assume he was the woman's husband or lover was a great assumption. The man was vile. A drunkard bully down on life through his own creation. Nitheal was mostly taken care of by neighbors in the man's absence until the young boy was old enough to make his way to the hospital where he was born. The hospital became his home away from home. After all, his father was never around and he was a psychopath that beat him when he was. He got to know the nurses and doctors that helped him so early on, and instantly there was a fascination in the field of medicine. He was comfortable around wounded people, illness, and even bodies. He sought to help, and his young presence brought a smile on the patient's faces.

His latent Force power allowed him to feel their pain and their joy… And to feel their final moments.

That moment of such intensity when their life passes through them, and they feel such pain and joy both, as their life flashed behind their eyelids, only to shift into something new. Something his curious mind sought to reach into and touch. Something empty.

When he was old enough to ask about his birth, and to learn of his mother, he sought answers. The hospital turned him away with the best intentions, and he sought his answer from the unwise option. The answer to his question was a fist in his hair, blood dripping down his face, and a breathe that reeked of alcohol breathing out that he was a product of rape.

At this point he was old enough that the man could beat him and scar him without feeling guilty. Nitheal went to the hospital for help, and they told him to go to school. Nitheal went to the school and they thought him a freak. So Nitheal went into the wilds and there came across a wild dog. The dog did not consider him a freak, nor beat him, nor turn him away. It warmed up to him, and so Nitheal spent his time reading in the wilds. He felt the wild abandon and childish nature that never grew up within the animal, and the simple instincts of animals soothed him, as well as nature in the trees, the wind, and the earth. It soothed him, because he felt such a deep bond with it. In turn, it felt a bond with him, and animals he never would have thought would come near, welcomed him and protected him. It felt his pain, but did not know what to do to nurture it. When he returned home, he was always going to bed with new wounds, new scars, only to cry into the darkness. The Force reached out through him, and he found a dark mist escape him.

It was there within the wilds that the Jedi Master found him. She saw his deep bond with nature and sat beside him. She saw potential in him, and just like all other things before, she felt a bond with him. His bonds reached out to her and demanded she help him, and like the animals, she was drawn to him, to save him. He did not know he did it, only that he was always crying out to the Force, and the world answered. In his childlike way he was needy, and all tjings were drawn to him in turn.

"Young man, there is something special about you. Do you think so?"

"I am called a freak. Not special."

"No, I think there is something very special about you. You see, there are people with gifts. Great gifts, and one such sign is a deep bond with nature. Nature is life, and people like us act as a conduit for that life. I can teach you, if you want. There are people like us out there. You are not alone."

"I would like that."

It was there within the darkness that he cried out, for he knew his father would hold him back, and IT answered. Nitheal was shocked, and sought out the voice. He could not find it until he looked in the mirror. There, like the Jedi Master, a figure appeared before him. This one was shrouded in shadow, and was a child like him.

'Who are you?' Nitheal asked.

'You.' It answered. 'You have called for me. It was you that made me. You gave life to death.'

'I'm afraid.' Nitheal admitted.

'Yes,' It answered, 'That is why you made me.'

'I hurt.' Nitheal said.

'Yes. The man has hurt you.'

'I don't want to hurt.' Nitheal cried.

'Then don't.' It answered. 'Don't feel pain. Its best to just… do away with it all.'

The next day, the Jedi Master met with him, only to marvel. The sadness he had was gone. The pain, the grief, and the joy and love. He was calm. Completely calm, he was in complete harmony. Yet… the wild life around them fled from the young man. The dog put its tail beneath its legs and fled. Nature became quiet, almost afraid to so much as whisper. She found it unusual, and was wary. Yet in him she saw no hatred, no guilt, no darkness. He was simply… calm. The very pinnacle of what a Jedi sought to be.

"Does your father disapprove of you being a student of mine, young man?"

"No." Nitheal answered. "He's moved on."

Dead men can't do much, after all.

Years later, the man would stand on the plains of a world he intended to consume. He had no intention of dying, and so he sought to preserve himself. As he moved over the surface, he came across a young boy in the wilds. Curious, he watched him. The boy played in the wilds, chased animals, climbed trees, and slept at the creek. As he watched, he remembered the words of his Jedi Master.

There are people with gifts. Great gifts, and one such sign is a deep bond with nature.

The man looked at the boy, and saw he had potential. Great potential. But more than that, the boy stirred something in him. Something he had gone on without for years. Something he could barely remember. As the hours passed, he finally remembered his own childhood in the wilds when he played with the animals. He remembered the time when his bond with nature was a source of joy rather than feeding.

The boy opened his eyes sleepily, and stirred awake when he saw there was an adult standing over him. The boy cocked his head to the side as if he was looking at the oddest thing on earth. "Huh? Who're you?"

The man did not reply at first, rather continuing to study the boy. The boy sighed, "Not much of a talker are ya?"