Chapter 16: The First and the Last (Part 2)

"Could you explain the Rule of Two?" asked Siri, "Because while I like the whole 'one to hold the power the other to crave it' line, I don't understand it that well. It's... supposed to stop infighting? But infighting seems like its entirely forced with just two."

It hadn't taken Siri that long to explain to the Holocron (or soul fragment she supposed) what she had learned. She was only a few years into the apprenticeship, but the extreme disapproval radiating from Zannah was... enlightening. Apparently, Sidious was holding back compared to what Zannah would have done.

Zannah raised a very unimpressed eyebrow. "Honestly Sidious... why can he not be bothered to explain the most fundamental part of our line in depth?"

The elder Sith began to pace, the red glow from the Holocron swirling, giving the room an ominous tint. "The Sith Order has always had one specific 'fault', if you will. Sith always turn on eachother, the phrase 'Treachery is the way of the Sith' is not embellished in the slightest. Always, when victory seems assured, we betray one another, and the Jedi swoop in for victory. Or an old betrayal causes things to fall apart later, case and point being Darth Traya."

"Who?"

Zannah waved a dismissive hand. "Insane old bat. Her apprentices betrayed her and cast her out, only for her to come back and train their destroyer, when they had come so close to completely wiping the Jedi Order out. What the heck was that Jedi's name... Sarick? Sulrik? Surik? Something, doesn't matter. Sith were plagued with mass betrayal, limiting our number down to two, save for when the apprentice is selecting their own in preparation of usurping the Master, fixes this."

"And how does training someone who is guaranteed to betray you fix the issue of betrayal?"

Zannah grinned. "It sounds like it makes no sense on paper, doesn't it?"

"Just a bit."

Zannah crossed her arms, a dark look crossing her face. "It's not about betrayal, it's about mass betrayal. Or betraying at an ill-opportune time. With many Sith, the unworthy can team up to kill a more powerful target who is worthy. Then, when the dust settles, the so called team turns on eachother like rabid animals, and all that's left is a pathetic specimen where once there was someone who could have improved upon the Sith."

Zannah scowled. "For the other instance, say... Darth Revan and Darth Malak, serve as an excellent example. Revan and Malak were crushing the Jedi Order and the Republic, had Malak not betrayed Revan when he did, in the middle of an important battle, the pair would have gone on to almost assuredly destroy the Republic and convert it into a Sith Empire, one to challenge the one that turned them."

A devious smile crossed her face. "I would have paid good money to see two Sith Empires fight to the death."

She turned to face Siri. "The Rule of Two does not function like this. There are only two fully trained Sith out at a time. Betraying your Master before you have learned all or most of their secrets is like intentionally crippling yourself. Without others to conspire with, there are less... foolish encouragements to try early and get yourself killed. You have to be careful in how you betray your Master, because if it's openly, you risk revealing the Sith Order and upsetting the Grand Plan. Out of sight, out of mind, far away from the prying eyes of the Jedi is when the confrontation should be made. Betraying your Master when they are in the middle of an important stage of the Grand Plan is also foolish. It should be when their use has either come to an end, or you can handle things without them."

"Not that I have any inclination to spare Sidious, why kill your Master?" asked Siri, puzzled, "Surely they'd still be of help to the Grand Plan even in old age?"

"While not incorrect," admitted Zannah, "A Sith cannot be weak, we must be tested, pushed to our limits and beyond. Almost no Jedi would serve such a challenge at the stage of mastery for a Dark Lord of the Sith, save perhaps their current Grandmaster, but that's not going to happen unless its time for the Grand Plan to be enacted. The only other source of challenge, to prove ourselves worthy, is to defeat our Masters. To kill and take their place, proving ourselves."

Siri crossed her arms. "It still seems stupid and a waste of resources. Not to mention, dare I say it, a risk to your Grand Plan."

"How so?" asked Zannah, cocking her head.

"You're having two insanely powerful beings go head to head against one another," said Siri flatly, how could the Sith not see this? "What if they kill eachother, or the apprentice is permanently crippled in the encounter despite killing their Master? Doesn't that defeat the purpose?"

Not to mention if one of the Sith turn from the Dark Side? Not that she was a full Sith yet, as Sidious loved to point oue, but she... had almost done that for Ur Manka...

You should have...

"Well...," said Zannah slowly, with a hint of surprised chagrin, "You're not wrong, there is a risk. However, each generation of Sith is stronger than the last, the apprentice is generally always going to surpass and destroy the master. At no point, in the duration of our line, has that ever became a problem, to my knowledge."

"Still stupid," grumbled Siri.

"Well, when you're the Dark Lord of the Sith, do something about it," snapped Zannah snidely, "The Rule of Two was made to destroy the Republic and the Jedi. Whether it continues to be the best way of life for the Sith afterwards, who knows. So long as the Sith reign dominant over the Galaxy, our form doesn't really matter if but for once in our existence we can get our shit together long enough to destroy the Jedi and win."

"Which you say is a given at this point."

"It should be, but I have half the mind to think Sidious is going to kriff it up somehow," Zannah snubbed before sighing, "Ah forget it, I'm just a bit stressed I suppose."

"How can a Holocron get stressed?" Siri asked, a bit skeptical.

"Hey! I've got part of a soul," said Zannah with a pout before getting serious, "We're so close, I can feel it. You may... will, be the last true apprentice before the Grand Plan is enacted," She glances at her Holocron and then Siri, amusement crossing her face, "The first and the last, fate or Force perhaps."

Siri snorted. "Melodramatic."

Zannah flashed a grin. "Only sometimes, darling."

Okay, Siri was really starting to get confused. "Why do you act like that?" asked Siri, "Silly and coy one moment, full on Sith Lord the next?"

Zannah's grin turned feral. "It's part of my charm darling. It throws of my opposition, makes people uncertain how to act to me, makes them underestimate me, or perhaps infuriate them in the middle of a situation. Dun Moch is quite fun after all."

"Dun what?"

Zannah made a face. "Oh Force, come on Sidious! This is basic knowledge! How could he not teach you this yet?"

"Kriffing slacker," muttered Zannah before speaking up, "Dun Moch is the art of distracting your opponent in battle, though it has applications elsewhere. Typically with taunts, jeers, and jests to expose their weakness. To make them doubt themselves, their beliefs, their intentions. It's especially useful against Force Sensitives, as such doubts disrupt their connection to the Force. Concentration is incredibly important for Jedi, and Sith too I suppose; breaking it has wonderful effects for their opponents."

Siri blinked a few times. "Oh. That... sounds useful..."

She thought of Bruck and Obi-Wan, how Bruck used to always taunt Obi-Wan and make him angry, how it had always gotten Obi-Wan in trouble with the Masters...

"Very useful," she murmured, examining the concept in her mind, "Could you teach me this? I assume its more than just throwing random insults out."

"Dun Moch, is in essence, psychological warfare," said Zannah slowly, "It requires both an understanding of who and what your opponent is, what drives them, what has made them who they are, their thoughts and feelings, and how you may use those against them. And that is only the active part."

Zannah placed a hand against her own chest. "I incorporate it into my very being. How I act, how I speak, how I move around others."

She turned sly. "Never doubt the power of swinging those hips of yours, or bending in a certain way. The female body is an amazing weapon that has defeated more than one man for me before I even opened my mouth or drew a weapon."

Siri flushed a bit.

Zannah laughed. "Oh little one, you have so much to learn. We'll get to Dun Moch, among other things, in time. There is so much to teach, from my own skillset, from what I learned about ancient Sith Lords..."

"Whose your favorite Sith Lord of old?" asked Siri.

Zannah looked rather surprised, then pleased, then sheepish about the question. "Well, I might be a bit biased, but Freedon Nadd. His writings and doctrines are, after all, what kick-started my delving into Sith Sorcery."

"Sith... Sorcery?" asked Siri.

Zannah licked her lips slowly. "In time young one, you're not quite ready. You need a bit of practical experience first. To that end..."

The Holocron waved a hand at the door, and Siri felt it unlock. So it hadn't been Sidious keeping her in here...

"Now, do you have something like a string or a necklace that you could attach my Holocron to?" asked Zannah, "I wish to... personally guide your training."

Siri rummaged around the room eagerly. Zannah promised to teach so much to her...

"But before we go out," said Zannah, watching hungrily as Siri moved to put the Holocron on a cord and slipped it around her neck and under her tunic, "Perhaps I should properly mask us. A Sith's Holocron's presence is difficult to hide after all."

Siri watched, curious, as Zannah chanted something under her breath in the Sith Tongue. She felt the Force swirl darkly from the Holocron, yet, it was different. She wasn't sure she's ever felt the Force so intently focused, assigned to one sole purpose. She gasped when she feels nothing short of a second skin wrap around herself though nothing is physically there. She felt it probe her Force Signature, and then not only copy it, but... Siri was gobsmacked. She probed the skin with amazement and disbelief.

She feels null.

Force Null.

And she can find no weakness in the facade, it feels natural. It is her, as if she didn't have the Force. She probes for her own mind through it, and finds a facsimile. It feels... normal. There are no mental shields to it. It echoes surface thoughts, but nothing deeper. It is so astoundingly perfect, no Jedi, even if they probed around a bit, would find anything wrong. One would have to be looking really deep, deep enough that it would cause pain and damage to an individual's mind, to find anything wrong, which is something a Jedi wouldn't do.

"How...," she whispered.

"Sith Sorcery is an amazing thing," teased Zannah before her voice turned seductive, "Full of purpose and focus, powers and abilities beyond your wildest dreams and desires. Now, lets pretty myself up."

Siri watched as again, Zannah chanted under her breath and waved a hand. The Holocron's red-light disappeared, but Zannah stayed out, and looked... more solid?

Siri yelped when Zannah physically smacked her shoulder. "Alright then! Lets be off."

"You... you... what?!" exclaimed Siri.

"What? You act like its hard," teased Zannah, "All I did was compact particles around my image. It's a play on illusions, making something appear and feel and sound like it's not."

Siri hesitated, reaching out and touching the Holocron's arm, amazed at how real it felt. It felt like cloth under her arms, she trailed her fingers up, touching skin at the neck, it felt so real...

"Can... can you teach me this?" Siri whispered in awe.

"Ah... we have a potential disciple of sorcery do we?" asked Zannah in a hushed voice, a hungry look in her eyes, "Good, good. Yes, you'll learn Sorcery alright."

Her voice turned possessive. "You'll be my heir. A credit more to my teachings than Sidious's."

Siri shivered at the possessiveness, but didn't turn away from it. She wanted everything Zannah would offer and more. She wouldn't give the relic the pleasure of being called Master, but, she'd still learn.

"Now come, I already told Sidious I'd be stealing you for awhile, I have his, permission," spat Zannah, "To take you on a few trips."

Siri trailed behind the physical-gatekeeper, still awed by how real she had made herself appear with sorcery. The sound of rustling clothes, of breathing, of footsteps, the way the holocron could interact with things...

"Isn't this kind of the immortality you'd desire?" asked Siri, "You can go about and..."

"It's not real Siri," cut off Zannah, just a tang of frustration in her voice, "I can deceive others..."

The Sith appeared uncomfortable for a moment. "But not myself. I'm disembodied, I can't feel a damn thing. And it's risky to take my Holocron out into the world. If it's destroyed, I'm gone."

Siri went silent and followed the Sith out of the compound and into the lower levels of Coruscant. "Now, watch a Master at work..."

And Siri did watch. Sometimes close, sometimes at a distance (but not to far, Zannah's gatekeeper needed to be at least somewhat close to the Holocron) as the elder Sith interacted with the low lives of Coruscant. She pressed everything she could to memory, how Zannah acted depending on who she was interacting with. Coy, innocent, flirty, aggressive, teasing, anything and everything. Within a few hours, Zannah had a small gang wrapped around her finger, her charm, and a little bit of dark whispers from her Holocron, enslaving them to her will without them even realizing it.

"Darling," she whispered into the ear of their leader, "I came to you for more than your good looks."

The man, a hardened burly thug of a twi-lek leaned forward and kissed the illusion, lips crashing against Zannah, a hand coming to cup a breast through her tunic, making Siri flush, yet again. "And why's that, beautiful?"

"I heard whispers," Zannah purred, leaning into him, running a hand along his face, fingers, brushing softly against his lekku in a tempting manner, "Of a rival gang, wanting to kill you, take your men and your territory."

The man growled, grasping her hand. "Who? Where?"

And Zannah grinned, weaving her tale. "It was in the run down park a level up, five clicks to the east, I think they called themselves the..."

"The Red Engines," snarled the leader, "Stupid Swoop Gang thinks they can get in on MY turf?"

"They are rather stupid, aren't they?" purred Zannah, "To try to challenge my powerful, handsome man."

The Twi-lek puffed up a bit. "Yeah, I think we'll be teaching them a lesson real soon."

He glanced over at Siri. "I'll get my men ready, you and your sister can stay here while we take care of business. We got food in the back if you get hungry."

Zannah waited until the man was gone, yelling angrily into his comlink, before rolling her hands and wiping off her fake-lips. "Men, so easy to play, and-oh come on, stop acting like a prude!"

"You let him touch you like that!" Siri exclaimed.

Zannah shrugged. "Your point being what? I just started a gang war for the hell of it in not even a half day of work with nothing but words, my good looks, and a very tiny use of the Force."

Zannah sat down on a crate and tilted her head back. "Can't really tell if they've gotten stupider over the years, I thought I'd have to at least work for it for a few days. Group's a bit sexist though, no woman of rank to try and counter my influence I suppose. Complacent too, not used to subterfuge."

The Sith crossed one leg over the other, staring at Siri. "The point is, that you must use anything and everything to your advantage. I carried on a multitude of deceptions for decades, both before and after I became the Master. Everything in order to further the goals of myself and the Sith."

"How can you hide it all though?" asked Siri, "There's been some conflicts yes, but, nothing major to show that you're working against the Republic. Surely there had to be some indication..."

Zannah howled with laughter. "Oh Siri, you don't get it, do you? The Sith have been propping up the Republic! Causing their opponents to act early and get themselves destroyed, or doing so ourselves. The reason the Republic and the Jedi are so stagnant is that we've indirectly encouraged it, destroying those who would force the Republic to change. And while they stay the same, we chisel away at the foundations. Not that it's hard to encourage their complacency, both the Republic and the Jedi want things to stay the way they are. Meanwhile, we adapt, we learn, we grow, we spread our influence and continue to gain in wealth, in knowledge, understanding, and power."

"And the Sith have been doing it for almost a thousand years," murmured Siri, understanding slowly and truly starting to dawn on her, the scope and complexity of it all, "They're pretty much going to roll over and let the Sith slit their throats."

"No doubt, we've already been influencing most major bills in the senate, or at least I assume that's still standard procedure since the last Lord of the Sith saw fit to appraise me of the Grand Plan's progress," mused Zannah, "All we need is a bit more setup, to get in a position of power either within the Senate to corrupt it into an Empire, or within a foreign power that will topple the Republic, and then a conflict, a war, that the Republic no longer has the experience, the will, the understanding, of how to face. We will come, as saviors or conquerors, perhaps both, who knows, and in the twilight of the conflict, both the Republic and the Jedi, will die..."

Zannah's lessons didn't stay onworld, taking a small ship of Sidious's for a spin.

After about a week of driving the Coruscant underworld into a frenzy that spilled into riots, Zannah took her leave, Siri in a mesmerized tow, before peacekeepers and Jedi arrived to try and mend the situation. So much influence... so much control... so much damage. Zannah did it all with practiced experience and ease. Siri couldn't help but crave to possess that power and skill herself. But Zannah wouldn't allow it yet.

"You still have so much to learn and experience before you try yourself," teased Zannah, "I still have so much to show you."

"So, where are we going then?" asked Siri, watching Zannah punch in an unfamiliar set of coordinates.

"To an old hideout of mine," said Zannah, "If we're lucky, it should be relatively undisturbed."

"Even after all this time?" asked Siri.

"Well, I don't think I got around to revealing it to my apprentice before she killed me," admitted Zannah, "I stored some of my artifacts there. Most importantly..."

Zannah watched Siri's face carefully, "It's where I stored Freedon Nadd's scriptures."

Siri's heart felt like it stopped for a split second, a hushed, hungry whisper escaping her lips, "His... his scriptures...?"

"Tell me, what exactly do you know of him?" asked Zannah.

"I know that he was an ancient Sith Lord," said Siri, "Sidious told me he was a... magician of sorts? I'm assuming he was referencing Sith Sorcery."

"What else?"

"That he... trained Exar Kun?" said Siri, "He wasn't exactly clear on that, I'm assuming he meant his holocron."

Zannah shook her head. "No, that was meant quite literally. Sith are a stubborn lot, and more often that not, linger through pure strength of will, or ritual. His spirit educated Exar Kun, until he saw now more use of the ancient Sith and killed his spirit."

"So... he was like a ghost?"

"You could say that," mused Zannah, "What else do you know?"

"That's... roughly it," admitted Siri, watching Zannah scowl darkly, "Sidious didn't get to indepth with the ancient Sith, just basic history and roughly how it led to the Rule of Two."

Zannah huffed. "I'll go more indepth eventually, but not now, as a summary: Freedon Nadd was taught by Naga Sadow, who was taught by Lord Simus, former rival of Marka Ragnos. Sadow became the heir of Marka Ragnos, becoming the Sith Emperor of his time after disposing of his rival. He led the first war against the Republic before his defeat. He trapped himself in suspended animation, before Freedon found and awoke him thousands of years later. He studied at Sadow's foot until had learned all he could, then disposed of him."

Siri let a swallow pass down her throat as Zannah dropped the name of one legendary Sith Lord after the other (though she had never heard of Simus). "Like Exar Kun did to him, and so many did afterwards, leading to you."

Zannah nodded. "I was the last true master of Sith Sorcery. Others who came after me have dabbled somewhat into it, but none have rivaled me yet."

She grew snide. "Not even Sidious."

"So... it would give me an advantage over him then," said Siri hungrily.

"Potentially," said Zannah, "But, don't count it as guaranteed. He may have found other sources besides Freedon's scriptures, and while he may not personally know all the spells and incantations, he may have defenses against them you would not expect."

Zannah motioned to the hyperspace passing them by out the window. "Now, we have a few days before we get there, and I need to instruct you on how to handle the scriptures. They're kept in an enchanted tome, meant to protect them against the passage of time. I suspect the magic might have worn a bit by now. When we arrive, you must be very careful in how you handle them. They are not to be exposed to sunlight, nor fresh air, at least until their protections can be redone. There are... some limitations to my state of existence, some incantations that require a full-living essence to preform. You must learn them before we arrive. Come."

Siri followed her into the bedroom of the small ship they had been loaned, sitting on the bed as Zannah began to pace. "Now, first you must learn the words, repeat the first verse carefully after me: Kia drastâdisini tave stuyi iv amzi."

Siri shivered, hearing the Sith Tongue from an actual Dark Lord was... something else. "To withstand the test of time."

"In Sith," said Zannah mildly, "And be careful of your pronunciations. It must be precise."

It took a little over an hour of Zannah's intense scrutiny to say the words 'just' the right way. "Now, you must imagine in your mind, a veil of dark protection, destroying anything that would dare to defile the knowledge within. Will your possessiveness into the thought, your hunger and greed. Then, comes the second verse: Merji is itsu kia nuyak valia."

Bound in chains to my will...

It was quicker to learn this time, having started to grow used to Zannah's tongue in Sith.

"Then, you must will it so, feel the power and worth of what you desire," elated Zannah, "Linking your power in the Force to the object, wrapping it in your will, before the final verse: Zo jen' jenja kia muqurmyr kam buti manosi."

A dark shield to safeguard what is mine...

"Then, and only then, do you release your will to the Force, demanding it do as you will. Assuming you do it right, the spell will briefly manifest around the tome, like a dark bubble, before sinking into it," instructed Zannah, "It won't require you to maintain an active connection to it afterwards, but occasionally it serves to renew the enchantment. Now... I want to see you practice this, again and again, until we arrive..."

The world they came across was some undescript festering hellhole if Siri was asked. From space, it looked like a muddy green, covered in swampland, and seas, with very few clear landmasses. Zannah directed her to one. The moment they set down and exited the ship in a clearing that was 'supposedly' a few miles off from Zannah's former hideout, the elder Sith grew hostile. "Someone else is here."

Siri was relatively thankful that Zannah's masking spell was still around her. She carefully probed around the area, further and further out, until she felt a presence. It was... darkened, light receding quickly. Vaguely familiar in that Siri might have met it once.

"A dark Jedi," murmured Zannah, "Investigate."

Zannah grew more and more pensive, her fury tightly leashed, as they drew closer to the Dark Jedi. "He's near my hideout. It's possible he might have stumbled upon it. Either before he fell, lured to it's darkness, or perhaps the cause of his fall. How he came to this planet is, however, a mystery in itself."

They arrived some time later, after they tracked through marshland, Siri's clothing wet and stinking foul from the bog. Overlooking from a cliff in a dry area, a small canyon. It was filled with rocks and rubble, but looked as if someone had cleared a path to the bottom of it, rocks and foliage turned aside. At the bottom was a cave entrance, and exiting from it, was a hooded human man in ruined Jedi robes. Siri could feel a fanatical mad edge to him. He had done what Zannah had warned her of, delved to deeply and quickly into dark secrets he wasn't ready to know.

Siri knelt and peered down at him, noting the silver flash of a lightsaber hilt, and a second one on the other side of his belt, longer and dark, a saberstaff.

Zannah hissed, indignant. "That's my lightsaber! That unworthy craved dares to rob me...?"

Then her eyes went wide with shock and fear. "The tome!"

Siri's eyes shifted, noting a dark, blood red glyph covered book gripped tightly between his hands.

Zannah absolutely lost her shit. "HE TOOK IT OUT OF THE CAVE! THAT STUPID IDIOT! KILL HIM! KILL HIM NOW AND GET IT BACK INSIDE BEFORE HE DAMAGES IT!"

The dark Jedi looked up, startled at Zannah's howling, and set the book down on a rock, drawing both his blue lightsaber, and Zannah's double-bladed red one. "Whose there?!"

Siri vaulted down, igniting her lightsaber and dragging it down the cliffwall to slow her descent before she landed and leaped, rock after rock, towards the dark Jedi. Her rage was boiling. This IDIOT might have damaged the tome! Might have lost Siri who knows how much knowledge and power! She fed off that anger and growing hate as they closed the distance towards one another. The Dark Jedi lashed out, stabbing with his blue lightsaber while twirling Zannah's overhead. Siri parried aside the blow, spun out of the downward slash of the saberstaff, and then stabbed. Her red lightsaber piercing into the man's thigh. He howled and staggered, slashing wildly...

And Siri watched, bemused, as the idiot bisected himself with the saberstaff. "Well... guess that's why you don't use those without specialized training."

"THE BOOK!" roared Zannah from high above.

Siri briefly paused to collect Zannah's lightsaber, and then took off with a sprint, carefully grabbing the book and delving into the cave. It led to a tunnel that was partially submerged. She clipped Zannah's lightsaber to her belt, and held the tome high overhead as she waddled through. At the far end was a broken door leading into an underground complex. It looked like a lightsaber had carved into it.

Zannah's form materialized next to Siri and barked out, "Follow!"

Siri ran behind Zannah through dark or dimly lit corridors into a dusty looking study room, a illuminating glowstick dropped carelessly the center. There were clusters of old datapads, tools, objects, and more scattered around.

"Close the door," hissed Zannah.

Siri did so.

"Bring the tome to the desk," said Zannah, motioning to one, and watching critically as Siri did so.

"Don't even open it to check, we don't know if this was the first time he took the tome out or not, if it's weathered the air and sunlight for to long, it might damage the pages to do so," warned Zannah, "Do the incantation, then open it to check for damages."

Siri took a deep breath, slowly letting it out, focusing her attention on the tome of unfathomable power. Her ticket, her ascension into Sith Sorcery on the line. She held a hand over it and whispered in a harsh tongue. "Kia drastâdisini tave stuyi iv amzi."

She levitated the book into the air carefully, her hands moving through the air around it circularly. She imagined a dark sphere, within it, the book would rest. She imagined the Dark Jedi that had endangered the tome, and wrapped her fury, her rage, her hate of that fool around the tome as shell for it to rest in. She placed her spite of all that would damage it as a weapon just as much as a shield, that the tome was HERS, it was her possession! No one else's!

The air shivered around her, the Force whispering darkly into her ear.

The second verse ripped through her lips like a dark torrent. "Merji is itsu kia nuyak valia."

She imagined the power it would grant her. The few hints that Zannah had given out thus far, the few spells the woman had cast. How Siri hungered for them and more. Limitless possibility to give her ever desire. She poured that into her mind as she let lose the final verse. "Zo jen' jenja kia muqurmyr kam buti manosi."

And Siri released it, and felt the Force scream around them, wailing like a damned choir as the sphere of dark energy she had imagined appeared around the tome. Slowly, it shrank, glistening as it settled into the book. She gently levitated it down, and shakily sank to her knees, feeling drained.

"Good, good," rasped Zannah, "Very good for your first spell, and with such purpose. You have promise, Siri Tachi, such great promise."

Zannah redid her physical illusion spell, muttering quietly under her breath, before she sat down at the desk and carefully opened the book, hissing with anger. "That fool!"

Siri staggered to her feet and loomed worriedly over Zannah's shoulder. The pages were worn, a little bleached, somewhat crinkled, ink runny here and there. "Is it salvageable?"

Zannah carefully flipped through a few pages before nodding and pointing across the room. "Yes. Go get me some flimsi and an inkpot. I'm going to need to redo a number of the pages, thankfully they still seem mostly legible, and I think I remember the ones that arn't quite fully there anymore."

Zannah grumbled as Siri obeyed. "Dammit, any later than we were, and this would have been lost to us. I should have had us come here first. That bastard would have destroyed all that knowledge due to incompetence and pranced off with my lightsaber. I can't even fathom where it would have ended up..."

Siri swayed for a moment as the Force took her, she saw the Dark Jedi from earlier facing off against some cyborg monstrosity with four arms and lightsabers, losing, and the cyborg taking the lightsaber. She shook it off, it wasn't going to happen. Though, she thought to be mindful of whatever the hell that cyborg was if she ever came across it. She delivered the crinkly flimsi, almost as ancient as the book, but in better condition.

"Don't touch anything else while I work," warned Zannah, "I need to carefully go over the area afterwards to check for protections and some of my old traps."

Siri took it as an exercise in patience as Zannah painstakingly restored the tome hour by hour, day by day. The Dark Jedi had brought a few supplies which she had found in a nearby starfighter. Foot and clean water she had to scavenge herself, (mostly relying on boiling swampwater) her own ship had a supply, but she'd rather not drain it unless necessary. Finally, when it was done, Zannah bid her draw close, the study room dimly lit with old candles.

"It will take time to refurbish and repair this place," said Zannah slowly, "But, if you so desire, I will bequeath it to you."

"I would," said Siri, giddy at the thought of having her own secret hideout, a thing of children's tails, but so much more here and now.

Zannah nodded. "Now, we're a little behind schedule since I had to burn time repairing this, so for now, we will focus our efforts on your initial lessons in sorcery. In time, you will have the opportunity to restore and explore this place and study the tome. It isn't living this place. I'll also need to spend time leaving traps for further would be robbers, you'll help with this."

"Why the rush?" asked Siri.

"Sidious gave me a timetable," admitted Zannah, "I will teach you what I can, but then we have to move onto the next stage of your training before Sidious wants you back."

"What's the next stage?"

"It's not what, but where." Zannah's smile was all daggers, and the word she spoke sent a chilling excitement down Siri's spine. "Korriban..."

Author's Notes: Aaaand back down the rabbit hole Siri goes. Threw in a reference to Star War's Galaxies with Zannah's lightsaber being pilfered by a Dark Jedi.

Anyway, we have 1 more chapter of this (part 3), and then maybe 1 or 2 more chapters with a showing of how damning Siri is going to start being towards herself, and a check in for Obi-Wan before we hit the next time skip (potentially a larger one). Thinking about heading for the Phantom Menace finally. IDK, we'll see. We already have a run down of how Siri's training and missions will go, not sure we need a full play by play, could come in as memories or flashbacks later on, I'll think on it.

Review Responses:

Sentinel951: 3, thanks broski.

AACM25: Hold that thought, it'll be funny in a cringy kind of way.

Dark Angels and Light Angels: True, but Zannah's selfish like that.

NErdman3000: Zannah might stronger than she appears yes, but not strong enough to take over a strong force sensitive. Leave a mark maybe, like Bane did to her, but not fully possess unless they let her.