Chapter 17: The First and the Last (Part 3)
Notes: Mixing a bit of Legends and Clone Wars together for a certain scene later on.
The time spent in Zannah's-no-Siri's hideout ended all to soon for her tastes.
She had been taught a few basic incantations; first and foremost was dabbling in illusions. An incantation worked a bit differently than just straight up projecting the illusion into the mind of the target, something even Jedi could do, such as Yarael Poof if Siri recalled correctly. Sith Sorcery could wrap the illusion around Siri herself, rather than relying on being able to affect an opponent's mind, though she could do that quicker than relying on an incantation. Siri could confidently mask her appearance to something nondescript and average. How to mask her appearance as someone else however would require studying someone intensely, and perhaps getting a skin, blood, or hair sample if she wanted it to be really convincing.
Zannah told her she should abduct someone off the streets either during an upcoming missions or downtime and practice.
She learned how to assault the senses and mind of another. Brute force mental battering through the Force was wasteful, and easily repelled. Zannah spoke of sharp, pinpoint precision strikes, like a needle to pierce into shields and inject the Dark Side in like a virus. It could distort the area around the victim, disturbing their sense of sight, hearing, smell, and touch. If she got that off in the middle of a lightsaber duel, well... it was pretty much over if she could capitulate on it.
Finally, Zannah spoke of Mental Domination. Not Force Persuasion, but actual domination, to be able to Force them to do things they would never willingly do. Zannah spoke fondly of making families and friends slaughter eachother, or sign away their wealth and property, or betray their supposed allies. Things of that nature. While Siri wasn't close to it yet, Zannah spoke of mind-slaves, creating a network of sleeper-agents that could be bent to her will and activated with phrases or her power. It was... so chilling and yet enticing to even think of it. Churning guilt, apprehension, and yet greedy longing.
Of course, this was all, according to Zannah, basic stuff, and things Siri would have to master before she came back for more. So, they hid the tome of Freedon Nadd behind a false wall in the base, and left. Though, there was one thing Siri did bring with her...
She sat in the cargo hold of the ship, fiddling with Zannah's saberstaff. It... called to her. The Kyber in it was... something else, something powerful. It felt nothing like a Jedi's kyber, nor even like the kyber Siri had bled herself. She loosely probed the crystal, feeling the echoes of it's previous owners. Zannah, she vaguely identified as being a more complete echo, and someone else, someone immensely powerful and dark, intensely focused and dominating.
"It's called Bane's Heart."
Siri looked up to see Zannah's form materialize from her Holocron, red light illuminating the area. "My Master gave it to me, and I constructed my lightsaber around it. Both the lightsaber and the kyber inside it bear the same name. Extensions of his will, echoes of his power and instruction."
Zannah's lips peeled back into a sneer. "No matter how much I tried to dominate it myself, it still always held out in connection to it's old master, even after he died."
"It's still connected to you too," pointed out Siri.
"I suppose it is," mused Zannah, "The kyber is picky in who it accepts, and when it does, you're bound to it."
The Sith tilted her head thoughtfully. "It seems to have a thing for you."
Siri ran a hand along the lightsaber, touching the crystal again with the Force. It hummed, not screamed, but hummed at contact. It wasn't... broken, not like a normal crystal at least. It had chosen it's path, and right now, it chose her. She fell into meditation, pulling her emotions to herself in a swirl and then the crystal's force presence. She bound herself to it, and it to her. It whispered of promise and power, if she would learn to wield and treat it right. She was more than willing to accept.
When she pulled out of her meditation, Zannah was still watching her. "Do you want to make your own lightsaber with it?"
Siri saw no hint of emotion for or against it in Zannah's face. She didn't answer directly, eying Zannah's lightsaber thoughtfully. "What form did you use?"
"I used Form III almost exclusively, though I was versed in others."
Siri gaped a bit. "Wait, what? A Sith specialized in Soresu?!"
Zannah scoffed. "Why not? Do I look like a muscle bound brute who could use Djem So or the other more aggressive forms? No, patience, cunning, and quickness were my strengths in a fight. I mastered the form to such a degree that the rhythms of it became a matter of instinct. I could focus on using force techniques and my sorcery mid battle, trusting the defensive walls I could make with my lightsaber to cover me."
"Well, when you put it like that, Soresu does seem like it should be favored by a Sith Sorceress," admitted Siri.
"Perhaps, what forms are you proficient with?" asked Zannah.
"I've been learning Makashi," said Siri.
Zannah nodded. "Good for facing Jedi I suppose. It could serve you well."
Siri bit her lip, struggling a little bit with indecision. "Well... do you think you... could teach me how to wield your lightsaber?"
"No," said Zannah flatly, though... there was something in her tone...
Siri scowled at her. "Why not?"
"Because its custom made for one," said Zannah, "Its not even an average saberstaff, the handle is elongated even more than normal, and the blades are shorter. It sacrifices reach and leverage, but allows greater speed and maneuverability."
"You're point being what exactly?" asked Siri, it sounded like the Sith was making a sales pitch rather than trying to shake her off it, "Do you doubt I wouldn't put in the time, patience, and effort to learn how to wield it?"
"It's MINE! Take the crystal and make your own," huffed Zannah.
"Possessive much?" jabbed Siri, "Besides, it's not like you're going to be using it again."
Zannah glowered at her, though her lips were twitching...
Siri squinted at her suspiciously. "You're playing again. You want me to wield it."
Zannah's glower turned into a sheepish grin. "Maybe."
She grew serious. "But a saberstaff, especially mine, is nothing to fool around with. You need to have a firm understanding of how to position yourself, and how to wield your chosen form, before you use it. You need a... long stick, or a staff, to practice with before hand so your mistakes don't lop a limb off. And we have oodles of kata's to go through for Soresu."
"I um... have some experience with Soresu," admitted Siri, thinking back to her time with Ur Manka.
"Oh? Show me then," ordered Zannah, "I'll see what you know, and build from there. We have a few days until Korriban, so let's make the most of it."
For the next hour, Siri went through the katas with her own lightsaber, Zannah's critical eye on her as her lightsaber moved in tight motions, subtly dodging imaginary blaster bolts, parrying aside fake blades, until she called for an end to it. "You have the basics down, now, go through Makashi, I have... an idea forming."
She did so, careful cuts, viscous and precise stabs, parrying aside imaginary blows...
"Right there," mused Zannah, "Is perfect."
"I don't think I'm that good," said Siri with a pout, knowing it wasn't what she was going for, but trying a bit of Zannah's flair for herself. She kind of liked it.
Zannah grinned. "Not what I was talking about. Tell me, you understand, in essence, what economy of motion and energy efficiency mean, correct?"
Siri nodded. "Yeah, trying not to wastefully burn energy, following natural rhythms of your body, taking actions in a fight that require less effort, conserving stamina."
"Makashi focuses more in fluidity, Soresu more in energy efficiency, but they still use a lot of the same principles, specifically economy of motion, just going about using it differently," said Zannah, "One of my weaknesses, loath as I am to admit it, was when I was the primary aggressor in an encounter. Taking the offensive, rather than countering into it, is rather difficult with an defensive form."
Her gaze turned sharp. "Now, if you could mix and mingle those two forms together... well... that brings up possibilities, doesn't it?"
Siri frowned thoughtfully. "Hmmm."
"Or, if not fully mix them, you can easily lead in from one form to another. After a Soresu parry, taking an opponent offbalanced, rather than a simple counter attack you switch into precise, deadly strikes, a single mistake made by an enemy would be immediately and lethally taken advantage of," elaborated Zannah, "Or if you find yourself overwhelmed, your precision thrown off, you switch into defensiveness until you see the opportunity to retake the offensive. Think of it Siri, impenetrable defense, followed up with deadly precision when your opponent tires or slips up in a fight."
"It is tempting," admitted Siri before making a face, "Something to experiment with down the road. I'll need to figure out Makashi with a saberstaff first before I even think of mixing them."
"You seem to think that'd be a problem?" inquired Zannah.
"I recall Master Dooku, he's the Makashi wielder of the Jedi Order, commenting once that it's inferior with Jar'Kai and even a saberstaff," said Siri, "He taught a class I was in once."
Zannah scoffed. "Sounds biased, a personal dislike. Any form can be utilized with any kind of saber if you're creative enough. Makashi demands precision, something you need anyway with a saberstaff to not lop a limb off. You need immense technical awareness of yourself and your weapon to use either."
Zannah cracked her holographic knuckles. "Alright then, lets get to work. Theoretical lightsaber applications aside, you need practice.
So practice she did, all the way to Korriban...
The moment they exited hyperspace, Siri felt it.
Felt the Dark Side echoing through space in a way she had never felt before, calling her, beckoning her. Her heartbeat sped up, feeling as if something dangerous had just laid eyes on her, predators upon their prey. She felt like she was in the High Council's chambers, eyes of those much more wiser and powerful upon her, judging her. Except these eyes weren't light, weren't calm, and didn't have a fraction of compassion in them. The sensation only grew stronger and stronger as they drew closer to the red desert planet.
Siri's hands were shaking as they entered the atmosphere, and it wasn't from the ship rattling. Zannah's glowing form seemed to grow deeper and darker, more red to it's form, looking harsh, deadly, terrifying. Emotions started slipping out of Siri's control, fear and apprehension the foremost, her breathing picking up it's pace. Zannah merely smiled savagely at her as she directed Siri towards their destination. When they landed, Zannah led her to the landing ramp before coming to a stop.
"You will be leaving me here," ordered Zannah.
Siri gave a start. "What? Why?"
"Well, frankly, I've been awake an absurd amount of time," said Zannah matter-of-factually, "I could use a nice nap."
Then she grew dark. "And this isn't about me, it's about you. Your task is simple: Survive for three days alone on Korriban in the Valley of the Dark Lords. No more, no less. You are allowed to bring nothing with you but your lightsaber, and mine I suppose if you really want to, those that dwell here might find that interesting, one in particular."
"Dwell?" asked Siri, struggling to control her rising unease, "People live here?"
"The dead do," commented Zannah, eyeing Siri, "I told you already, Sith don't go quietly into the night. They linger, long past their due, in any way they can manage. The whispers that echo through the tombs here are not fake, are not paranoid jitters. I will give you no further warning save to remember what I have taught you thus far."
Siri nodded slowly, taking Zannah's holocron off her neck and setting it down on the floor. Zannah's eyes trailed her, offering no further comment, as Siri strode down the ramp. The moment her feet touched the dusty soil, a chill ran up her spine, releasing into a cold breath in the air. She let her eyes slowly take in the desolate landscape, of stone buildings and monuments. Yet... her eyes furrowed as she did so, a bit of displeasure rolling down her spine. The sensation of eyes eyes on her shifted, rather than judging, they were curious. It felt as if she were being probed with the Force, someone riffling through her thoughts, and yet not at the same time. It was a bit baffling, but, she dismissed it for now.
"I thought Korriban was supposed to be important to the Sith," murmured Siri, taking in the evident desolation and defilement around her, "Yet this place is in ruins."
She walked forward towards the nearest statue, looking up at the ruined monument. It was supposed to be of some Sith Lord, but the top half of it had clearly been blown away long ago if the aged scorch marks were any indication, rather than falling apart to the ages. Her eyes slid past, to an entry way to a tomb. Blasted open it looked like, if the rubble's positioning were to be trusted. This place had long since been ransacked, whether it was an assaulting force, or looters, she didn't know.
Both...
Her attention focused, eyes flickering, senses probing, but she couldn't make heads or tails where the answer had come from. What had been told to her was irritating either way. Good or evil, light or dark, the dead deserved their rest, and their due respect. She shook her head, she had a distinct lack of knowledge about this planet. The Jedi rarely talked about this place, any entries about it in the archive were locked, aside from knowing it was the homeworld of the Sith, few Jedi knew anything further. Even as a Sith Apprentice, she hadn't learned much more about the history of this place.
To that end, she inspected each tomb's entrance, each statue, in the vicinity. Hands and eyes tracing ancient stone, squinting at faded writings. Most of which she couldn't get anything out of. She hadn't a clue whose tomb belonged to whom. When she had finished, rather than bumbling into one or exploring at random, she moved to the center of the valley and sat down, pushing herself into meditation. The Dark Side swirled around her, pulling and yanking and demanding she go this way or that. She shoved aside it's desire and focused on herself, pulling her emotions to her, beating her fear into submission, destroying her apprehension, focusing instead on her anger at the state of this place, and her growing hunger and greed to learn what she could here.
She pushed into the Force a demand: 'Where might I find knowledge of Korriban, of what happened here?'
The answer was mocking, Siri could practically feel a sneer directed at her, 'All around you, little fallen Jedi.'
And she countered, 'There were many a lord of the Sith who began as a Jedi who went onto greatness.'
'Yet many more who floundered and became naught more than fodder. Which one shall you be?'
The Dark Side pulled away from her, and her meditation ended. It was going to offer her no guidance here. She supposed it indirectly had, no matter where she looked, she would find answers. Yet... there was a different pull, from Zannah's lightsaber, from the kyber, a whisper of which way to go, a yearning for something. She considered it, probing it curiously. It didn't answer, just pushed her forward. Siri knew better than to blindly trust a Dark Side artifact though, she would make her way towards it's desired destination, but at her own pace.
She slowly made her way into one of the tombs, pausing in it's entryway. She probed through it as far as she could, sensing for anything out of the ordinary. There were... clusters of energy in the tomb, and she made her way through darkened halls, igniting her lightsaber to use as a torch, until she came across one. It was... an oddity. It was a faint shimmer over one of the few readable writings on a wall. It was a blurring, as if there were dust on the wall that needed to be wiped away. She resisted the urge to do so, and probed it carefully. It was a trap of some kind, both a lure, and a snare. The pull to touch it and try to brush away the shimmer was still there, but if she did so... well... she had the sense that something would happen that wasn't quite beneficial. She was curious though, how it worked, what it's purpose was.
She shielded herself, and touched the wall. The Dark Side surged at her from the trap, trying to wrap around her with intense concentrations of energy, attempting to immobilize her body and disrupt her connection to the Force. She tensed under the assault before growling under her breath. A Jedi would have difficulty with this, she doubted anyone but a Master could break free of this without a great struggle. But she wasn't light anymore, and she had already braced herself. She pulled on the Dark Side, yanking energy out of the trap, enough to weaken it, but not destroy it. She merely wanted to access the Force uninterrupted. She studied it's construction, identifying that it was a form of Sith Sorcery.
The energy was bound to a source, in this case, the dark writings on the wall, and held within it. The energy would reside in it's bound object, dormant even over thousands of years until awakened by nearby sentient lifeforms. It would release subtle whispers in the Force when someone drew near, trying to bait them to touch it. When it did, it released it's energy as an overwhelming force that would subdue it's unaware prey. Those caught in it could be bound for an indeterminate amount of time. Someone unskilled or Force Null would probably be bound until the energy wore off, while those with skill and power would be required to expend energy to fight off the trap.
She considered the application of it. If one was trapped in it, it could take hours, perhaps even a day if they had to wait the trap out, to become free. That was a great way to weaken someone to hunger, thirst, and exhaustion. If someone fell into more than one of these traps... it could kill them due to dehydration or hunger. Not to mention how defenseless the prisoner would be, Siri could just walk up and drive her lightsaber through someone bound in the trap. It wouldn't have much of an effect on Darksiders, but... it could have uses against Jedi or regular people, and it would still burn through some energy of a Jedi Master.
She smiled at the shimmering writings, the trap, and began to pick it apart piece by piece, until it was gone, the writings themselves revealed to be dusty scribbles that mocked anyone foolish enough to fall into the trap. Then she started to practice, thinking of its form, feeling, and function, and put some of her energy into the writings, replacing the trap with her own. She didn't think it was as good as the one that had been there before, but... she had plenty of time to practice. She retreated the way she had come, exiting the tomb, and looked around the entrance. It was mostly just rocks and rubble, but... there! A small piece of a broken vase or something. A smooth, if but dirty thing. She picked it up and began again, pouring her focus into creating another trap. When she was done, she carefully set it in the rubble, pouring a bit of dirt over it, leaving only a bit uncovered. Someone walking through might spot it, thinking it was something more, and try to dig it up, only to be ensnared. If that didn't ward them off pilfering into the tomb, well, there were probably more dangers within anyway.
Again and again she practiced, leaving small dark energy traps near the entrance of every tomb in the Valley of the Dark Lords. The eyes on her reacted in different ways to her practice, to her adding protections to the tombs: some dismissive of her efforts, some pleased by them, most merely watching, not betraying thoughts or sensations. She didn't react to what she picked up, she wasn't doing this to appease long dead lords, but because she wanted to. To learn how to use such a thing for her own use, and a bit of a ward for places that should be respected. It was probably a bit to late on the latter unfortunately. She held little doubt most artifacts and the tombs themselves were desecrated beyond measure.
When she was satisfied that she had mastered the trap, she returned to venturing into the tombs. Winding hallways that led to one dead end after another, or a room already pilfered beyond belief. Some sarcophagus that were thrown open and defiled, ancient bones riffled through. Perhaps it was pointless to do, but, she gently rearranged the bones she came across, trying to recreate their form, and closed the sarcophagus, trapping each with she encountered afterwards. These ones though, she poured more energy into, more malice. She began to practice infusing the traps with what Sorcery Zannah had taught her, embedding a mental attack that would distort senses and cause pain to those who dared trigger them. Let anyone foolish enough to try to pilfer this place again suffer the consequences.
There was much more dark approval in the air this time, and a curious nudge. 'Do you so greatly desire to curry favor, little Fallen Jedi? Begging for scraps with these tokens to the ancient dead?'
She frowned. "It's not about currying favor. Darth Zannah taught me to respect the Lords of the past, and I do so willingly, without prompt."
There was a hiss in the Force. 'So that's whose Holocron it is, the little lost girl, once again.'
She frowned at the insult to Zannah, but was curious about the 'again' part. Regardless, she pushed the feeling down and spoke again, "The condition of this place is appalling. Whoever lived here last didn't do anything to restore these tombs. Have any who dwelt here after these tombs were built bothered?"
There was no answer, just a swirl of dark emotions through the air. So, Siri resumed her search, crossing from one tomb to another, until night fell. Her stomach growled at her, but she ignored it. She doubted she'd find anything to eat in this forsaken place, she'd have to sustain herself with the Force and...
She had only a second of warning, through the Force, and a subtle growl through the air. She spun as something leaped at her through the darkness of the hallway. She dove to the side, slamming into a wall, but dodging whatever it was. She caught sight of a quadrupedal form, pale tough skin, a spiky spine, a long tail, a head with drooping ears and a maw full of sharp teeth. It's claws were viscous and sharp, it growled hungrily at her, and leaped again.
Siri narrowed her eyes, raised a hand, and blasted it back with lightning, sending it whining into a wall, hard. She strode forward as it slumped down, and drove her lightsaber through it, killing it within moments. "Well, guess I have something to eat then."
She didn't know what the hell it was, some kind of indigenous animal she assumed. She aimed a hand and began to cook it with Force Lightning, not trusting its meat otherwise...
And paused when more growling echoed down the hallway, more of the creatures prowling towards her, and judging by the sniffs she heard, her meal-to-be. She studied them, since they were slow and careful on their approach. They felt distinctly dark in the Force, and she was mildly surprised to realize they were slightly Force Sensitive. They eyed her warily, drawing closer and closer...
So Siri decided she'd try something Zannah had taught her, and aimed a hand, reaching for their minds with her power. She snarled and slammed into them with the Force, making them all whine and bumble around as she poured 'OBEY' into their animal minds. Tails tucked between their legs, and they sat down, whimpering. Siri's lips curled into a pleased grin, and she resumed cooking her meal. She made slices with her lightsaber, before bringing a bit of meat to her lips. It was... a rather foul taste, but the Force didn't whisper of any particular danger. The meat was tainted with the Dark Side of course, but she was already dark. So she ate quietly, until she was satisfied. She stared at the pack of beasts watching her, before she levitated the cooked corpse into the air and tossed it to them.
She raised an eyebrow at the barbaric feast as the animals tore into the corpse, biting and ripping and tearing until it was just bones. When they were finished, she bid them over to her, projecting an image of them curling around her. She kept her focus on them as they did so, watching for any signs of aggression. But her earlier domination, and the food she had given them, seemed to have pacified them for the moment. So, using them for warmth, she settled down for the night in the dusty tomb...
The next day found Siri still walking through tombs, with a pack of viscous animals as her companions this time. She studied them more than she paid attention to the tomb itself. They weren't natural, that was her first observation. They were infused with the Dark Side, regardless of age, it was seeped into their very being. Whats more, she could feel a pull from the tombs towards the creatures, a sensation of -protect-kill intruders-, not quite in those words. But the beasts considered these tombs their territory, and would kill anyone who ventured into them without a means to placate or kill the animals. Siri had the notion that these beasts were created to protect the tombs themselves.
Not that they had done that good of a job over the last thousands of years.
They had probably killed their fare share however. If one could shape life with the Dark Side, Siri wondered just what else could be created. She severely doubted these animals were the only thing the Sith had created. There was a sensation of mocking laughter through the Force, and a 'no, not the only beasts made', slipping through her mind. She pondered how such a thing could be done, and made a mental note to ask Zannah about it later.
The laughter in the air turned sinister. 'Would you like to meet something darker, more dangerous?'
An ominous feeling filled Siri at the whisper.
'We wonder if you would fare as well with a Terentatek as you did with the Tuk'ata.'
Siri felt a pull, a direction in the Force, off into the far distance. At the thought of following it however, she felt a lethal spike of danger. She had enough sense to project 'Not yet', into the Force as a response, getting more mocking laughter from the ghosts that watched her. She didn't know what a Terentatek was, but considering the danger rippling through the Force, it was probably wise to not pursue the matter at the moment. Whatever it was, it'd probably kill her if she met it at this point in her apprenticeship.
Instead, she decided to follow her kyber's insistent push. She sent the creatures, the Tuk'ata as the ghosts called them, up ahead a bit, selfishly using them incase there were any traps to be triggered. The halls had however been long since traveled, traps long since triggered. It was mostly just dust and echoes and laughter of the long dead that greeted her as she delved deeper into the valley's tombs. Aside from the dark energy traps, and the potential these beasts held, she hadn't found much yet. She wasn't sure she was honestly going to...
No...
There was something still here, she could feel it in the Force. She just didn't know what it was. Or if it had been here originally. The Dark Side loomed deeper and darker towards where she tread. The whispers of the ghosts grew ineligible, just gibberish, smacking at her senses and pulling at her mind. It was... unnerving, and unsettling. No matter how she adjusted or reinforced her shields, she couldn't properly block them out. It was distinctly distracting, and she had the notion that being here for to long listening to it would drive her insane.
She frowned and came to a stop, just standing there in the tide of dark voices. She closed her eyes and tilted her head, to listen, to try and understand. But it was like a howling buzz in the back of her mind. A sense of dislike, or unworthiness directed at her. She ground her teeth and growled under her breath. She dove into her memories, pulling at many different instances of Sidious's torture of her, how much she hated him, and turned it into a burning and biting maelstrom around her mind. Some of the whispers abated, others just grow more intense, dismissive and angry, as if affronted that this was the most of the Dark Side she could draw out.
She hissed in pain, feeling the pressure mount, and buckled to her knees, her lightsaber 'flashlight' clattering to the ground and extinguishing. There was a growl around her in the sudden darkness, from the Tuk'ata she had previously commanded. She could feel her control brushed aside by the ancient dead, and the animals starting to appraise her, sensing for weakness. She clenched her fists tightly, she was not going to die here from voices and animals!
So she went deeper, towards Master Galia's death. More voices fell away, but it still wasn't enough, those that remained pressed deeper, and she cried out in pain, pressure on her mind becoming oppressive and agonizing. So she went all the way, to her deepest, darkest memory, of Maul, threatening to kill Obi-Wan, to make him suffer as Siri had suffered, watching his master die before killing him. Siri gave a snarl of anger and hate, pushing it into the air and bursting it all around her like an unseen ripple. The Tuk'ata around her whimpered away, and the pressure on her mind abated.
The torrent of whispers were gone, instead there was an air of curiosity and bafflement.
'You hold much anger and hate you one, yet... you are not as you should be.'
'She does not have the air of a Sith about her, where is that molten glow in her eyes?'
'Why did the little girl's holocron wake us for this pathetic mess? It's still conflicted!'
Siri's eyes sharpened. Zannah had awoken the ghosts? She had brought people here before?
'Still so young and foolish, she still clings to the past, she fell for another, not for power.'
'She still has so much to learn before she is worthy of the tittle of Dark Lord.'
"Is anyone born worthy?" she countered harshly, still riding her anger and hate like a high, "I doubt any of you were given a free pass. You had to earn your places just as I will one day."
'Proving yourself or not, little fallen Jedi, you will never reach your potential so long as you still cling to the light.'
"And what makes you think I do?" she countered.
'Because you still hold a Jedi dear to your heart.'
The disgust in the air was palpable. Siri however was furious, she lashed out in all directions. It affected nothing however, merely drawing in more mocking laughter...
And then something darker spoke, and all other voices fell silent. 'Enough.'
Siri glanced down at her belt as the kyber in Zannah's lightsaber thrummed with anticipation.
'Come deeper young one, and let me gaze upon a heir to my line.'
So Siri did. She abandoned the pack of Tuk'ata and strode on alone after picking up her lightsaber. She followed the push of her kyber, and eventually, she detected something... familiar in the air. It felt like... Zannah's Holocron, but different. The room she walked into was large and antechamber-like, a hole in the ceiling allowing light down through. At the far end of the room was a sarcophagus. She clipped her lightsaer to her belt... and pulled out Zannah's, touching the kyber with the Force. It resonated with something hidden. A pulse of dark energy. There was a holocron hidden somewhere in this room, perhaps underground, or in the walls, she wasn't sure. She could feel it's presence, though, she figured that was because it was allowing her to. She slowly approached the Sarcophagus, noting that this room was... newer than most of the ruins. Whoever was entombed here wasn't as ancient as the rest, but the Dark Side here was more fresh, still carrying power.
A blue gatekeeper shimmered into view infront of the sarcophagus, causing Siri to stop as it revealed a massive figure coated head to toe in some kind of living-like armor. Even in the blue of the image, the eyes were still molten, burning, and all-consumingly dark. The figure, male, was ripped, muscular to an inane degree. He had a cape on his back, tied around him. Robes covering his bottom half, pauldrons on his shoulders, dark gloves covering large hands. A lightsaber hung from the sash on his waste, larger and thicker than most to fit into his grip.
The unknown Sith made a beckoning motion, and Zannah's lightsaber pulled at Siri's hands. She let it go, and it floated towards the Gatekeeper, resonating with it. Like... like it had been a former owner. This obviously wasn't Zannah, so that only left...
She knelt down, bowing her head in respect. "Darth Bane."
She crushed down on any apprehension, fear, or anything of the like immediately. The Gatekeeper didn't acknowledge her, merely caressing a hand over Zannah's lightsaber, speaking to it with a deep and powerful voice. "Zannah was always rather calculative in what she did, though this is hardly subtle of her. Even while dead, she still prods at me. She always did hold a grudge."
Siri hesitated briefly before asking, "A grudge, my lord?"
She felt eyes on her. "She never did forgive my seeking of immortality at the thought of her unworthiness. She came here often enough while alive to boast her prowess or the rising potential of her apprentice to so smugly rub in that she was worthy. And this is hardly the first time she's directed a potential to come here and have me do her work for her out of spite."
"Her work?"
"Look at me."
She obeyed, swallowing reflexively as those dark holographic eyes bored into her. "If I find you unworthy, I will kill you, and you would not be the first she's sent here to their death."
She froze.
"Open your mind, now."
The order was firm, and disobedience would not be tolerated. Before the creator of the Rule of Two, a mere Holocron or not, she dared not disobey. She bowed her head again, and lowered her shields. She felt the Holocron begin to sift through her mind, her thoughts, her memories. As it did so, she cautiously studied it. This Holocron wasn't like Zannah's, it was just a Holocron, not a soul fragment. Yet it still held immense power, amplified if she felt correctly by the Dark Side inhabiting the tombs of the Sith Lords. She wondered just how powerful the actual Darth Bane had been, and how powerful Zannah must have been to kill him, how the early Lords of the Rule of Two compared to Darth Sidious.
If Bane felt the thought, he didn't acknowledge it. He continued to look through and pry into her mind. He made constant comparisons, to her training as a Jedi Initiate and Padawan to her training as a Sith Apprentice, looking at her progress through both paths. He especially paid very close attention to her fall, scrutinizing it intensely. He studied how she interacted with others both before and after her fall, what she was learning from Sidious and Zannah, and her willingness to delve deeper into the Dark Side. He watched her failed sacrifice critically, but she did not get a sense of what the Holocron felt about it.
Finally, he pulled out...
...and then gripped her throat with the Force, lifting her up into the air and applying a warning level of pressure. "You have potential, young Tachi, but are conflicted in your purpose. You are potentially dangerous to the Rule of Two should this conflict turn in favor of the Jedi. This foolish attachment towards the boy, this 'Obi-Wan', could become your undoing, and make no mistake, you and he will meet one day to determine your fate. I feel..."
The Gatekeeper tasted the air, the Force, in the sound of air being sucked in between teeth. "...that your choice may determine the course the Galaxy will take, one way or another."
His eyes bored into her. "He is your weakness, and you must snuff him out to achieve your full potential."
She tensed, protective and possessive fury raged through her at the elder Sith at the threat leveled at Obi-Wan. Bane narrowed his eyes in response and tightened his Force Grip on her throat, barely letting any air through. "Affection and love, possessive or not, have no place in a Sith. Our duty is to the Rule of Two, and the destruction of the Jedi, including your 'Obi-Wan'. It offers you no value nor power..."
A defiant thought rippled through her: Then why was it she could only appear to tap into the deepest she could go when he was threatened?
Bane scoffed before answering, "Because that emotion was your pathway to the Dark Side, now, it serves as your chain. It brought you into the dark, but still binds you to the light, a two-way conduit. You will not reach your potential in the Dark Side so long as that chain remains unbroken."
He released her, and she fell to the ground, taking ragged breaths before she stood up and glared at him. He didn't particularly seem to care, merely watching her. He flung Zannah's lightsaber at her with the Force, and she reached out to snag it before clipping it to her belt. He wrinkled his nose with irritation. "You have potential to become a Dark Lord of the Sith, to be worthy of the name Sidious gave you, to cast away Siri Tachi and become Darth Tyrosus. I foresee that you could become a powerful Sith Sorceress, rivaling Zannah one day, and a lightsaber duelist of such skill that few could penetrate your defenses or survive your attacks. You will not match Sidious's direct power however, just as Zannah did not match mine. Your cunning and Sorcery must be used to overpower and overcome that failing."
She felt pressure on her neck before she could even begin to feel elated. "Alternatively, you could be swayed back to the light. From what I see however, know this: The Jedi and the Republic would never trust you again. You would always feel their judging and hypocritical eyes upon you, finding you wanting, waiting for even the slightest slip up from you. You would always bear the weight of your so called 'sins', and that will always hold you down from what might have been your potential as a Jedi, which is far below your potential as a Sith. The Jedi share the finite power of the Force, while the Sith claim it for themselves."
What she could see of his face through his mask looked disgusted. "Or you could walk neither path, and end up forever in limbo, caught between the Sith and the Jedi till the end of your days, never reaching your potential with either side of the Force, your conflicted loyalties bringing you down and inhibiting your power."
The pressure on her neck vanished, and Darth Bane returned to a neutral look. "By rights, I should kill you and force Sidious to find a new apprentice. Yet... I have misgivings about him. His Master's plans to do away with the Rule of Two, and Sidious's own thoughts on the matter, disturb me. In addition, Zannah is right, in a sense, about his methods of withholding knowledge and power from the apprentice; she is also wrong, in that some power should be struggled for to encourage growth and remove complacency. The fact that he has taken an apprentice so early considering his own status is especially irritating."
Siri's eyebrows furrowed, trying to make sense of it. "What is that supposed to mean?"
"You will understand one day," said Darth Bane before taking on a deadly warning tone, "But do not think nor press about it now, it will only lead to your death at this point. You must carefully walk your path and bide your time. You must make your final sacrifice, become the Sith you are meant to become, and replace Sidious. Now, away with you, and tell my disrespectful apprentice of your 'weakness', perhaps she can make herself useful in getting rid of it."
Siri scowled a bit, brushing by the reference to Obi-Wan and shifting towards Zannah. "Well, she respected you enough to entomb you here, didn't she?"
"Hardly, this 'shrine' was made to mock me," snarled Darth Bane, motioning to the sarcophagus, "Open it."
Siri hesitatingly did, not wanting to disturb it, but still curious... and found it completely empty. "Huh?"
"My body was destroyed in my final fight against my apprentice," explained Darth Bane, "This place, and sealing my holocron here rather than keeping it where it may be of use, was her final stab at me."
"So she's vindictive," mused Siri, "And doesn't take any kind of betrayal well."
"No, she does not," agreed Darth Bane before glancing down at Zannah's lightsaber on her belt, thoughtful, "My so called heart seems to think you will make use of it, that, more than anything, stays my hand for the time being. Prove yourself and return later, then perhaps I may share some of my wisdom with you."
Without further word, the Gatekeeper turned away and vanished. Siri took a few minute to stand there, contemplative of the words, before deciding she would dwell on them later, when there weren't who knows how many ghosts and hidden holocrons to peer into her thoughts. She glanced up at the dwindling light and decided she would sleep here for the night before making her way back to the ship...
Siri's walk back through the abandoned tombs was... quieter than it had been coming in. The voices were mostly settled, sleeping or dismissive of her for the moment. Some still watched, but did not comment. Siri really didn't think there was much to learn from the long since desecrated tombs, hidden holocrons on the other hand... she felt that Bane's might not be the only one here, though she didn't have a clue where else to look. It was a thought for later she supposed. She felt the stirrings of hunger, and her throat was long since parched, but she smothered it over with the Force, she'd be back on her ship soon enough to eat and drink. She didn't feel like wasting her time looking for Tuk'ata's to hunt and eat. She wasn't sure she could force any meat down her dry throat at this point anyway.
Still, she counted this trip a success. She had, first and foremost, survived the incursions with the ghosts of the Sith and Bane's Gatekeeper, which had probably been Zannah's intention by bringing her here to begin with rather than to learn anything. So she considered it a bonus that she had learned how to make a kind of dark side trap. That had oodles of potential uses. She wondered if Sidious would be amused if she trapped her room and built them towards him...
Siri paused when she felt a snicker in the air, a dark cackle of laughter, her eyebrows furrowing. There was a sudden tension in the Force, rising steadily. She narrowed her eyes and cautiously pressed out with her senses...
And felt something immensely dark, and alive, lock onto her Force Presence. A howl of hunger and rage ripped through the tomb she was currently in, and she felt the floor tremble with heavy, but distant footfalls. Something big was coming for her, and she felt death in the Force, hers, if she couldn't get away. She took off in a run without further hesitation
'Why run, unworthy little fallen Jedi?' came a mocking whisper from one of the remaining, hateful ghosts, 'After I brought our pet Terentatek over to play?'
Siri ground her teeth. "When I'm stronger and I next come back here, I'm going to find out whose ghost just spoke, and I'm going to rip you apart."
Mocking laughter rang through the Force, followed by a crash of a wall crumbling and another animalistic howl. Siri closed her eyes briefly as she ran, stretching out, feeling for Zannah's holocron in the far distance, and locked onto it. She used that as her beacon as she twisted and turned through the tomb, sprinting as fast as she could. The thumping of heavy footfalls drew closer and closer, until it echoed in the same elongated hallway she was currently in. She risked a look back... and immediately wished she hadn't.
Pursuing her was nothing short of a bipedal monster. Orange scaly skin. Massive reaching claws with talons bigger than Siri's head. Jagged spikes poked out of it's skin in every which way all across it's body. Massive tusks were sprouted out of the side of it's face, and its mouth was a gaping map of sharp teeth. Yellow eyes, almost as molten as a Sith's were, shined out with twisted hunger. Green ichor dripped off it's claws, its tusks, and out of it's mouth suggesting venom, as it ran after her on powerful legs. Large spikes coming of if its back swayed back and forth as it ran, lethally sharp. It felt her rising fear, and it howled at her, its roar shaking the tomb and causing dust and dirt to fall from the ceiling.
Siri faced forward and pumped the Force into her legs, picking up speed as her heart thudded wildly in her chest. There was no fighting this thing, not now. She wasn't even close to as strong as she would need to be. Considering the darkness and heavy hunger she felt radiating from it, she didn't think she could force it into submission with the Force. All she could do was flee, she didn't even bother trying with Sorcery or Force Lightning, she didn't think it would affect the beast. Her only hope was to put distance between her and it, and get her ship into the air. If Zannah threw a fit over it not being a full three days, well, Siri would space the treacherous bitch.
Siri hadn't been much of a sprint or long distance runner, no more than any other Jedi Padawan. Her Sith training had added to her endurance. Even with her more-than-average training, and the Force, by the time the second hour of none-stop running flew by, tiredness was bleeding heavily into her, and not the beast chasing her relentlessly. The Jedi had always taught that speeding themselves with the Force was to be done in bursts, extending it like this... was not normally done, whether it was simply something they didn't have experience in, or had some kind of consequence later on, she didn't know. She didn't particularly care and...
DANGER, DEATH!
Siri threw herself forward, feeling a rush in the air from a barely missed swipe. She hit the ground and rolled as the beast howled, stepping forward and over her in it's momentum, slamming into the wall at a turn. Siri reached up with the Force as she rose, and began to collapse the ceiling over the beast as she took off again. It wouldn't hold it for long, but Siri couldn't outrun it now, she need distraction and diversion. As the Terentatek battered its way free, Siri eyed statues and carvings in the wall, stretching out with the Force despite her exhaustion, and wrapped them in illusions, placing her face and her presence over them while trying to smother her own presence in the Force.
She turned another corner and ran at normal speeds, unable to keep up with her exhaustion in the Force as her lungs burned with exertion and the dry air. She heard the beast howl in rage, the smashing of stone as it moved to one illusion after another, sometimes a crunch from biting and chewing then spitting of stone. It's presence probed the air as it finished the last illusion, searching, hungering, yearning...
Siri managed to go another few hallways before it locked onto her again and howled, the echoes of its heavy footfalls sounding again. She was close now, almost back to the entrance to the Valley. Her legs were a mixture of numb and burning, only going on through sheer adrenaline and will. Her lungs felt dry and cracked and tight and burning, wanting to come out with each ragged breath. Her vision was a bit blurry at this point, and she had one heck of a headache forming, but she pushed through. As she burst into the Valley of the Dark Lords, she reached up and caved in the entrance of the tomb she had come out of with one last burst of the Force. Kriff the old bastard ghosts, they deserved their tombs getting messed up.
She bolted to her ship, and up the ramp, closing it with a desperate button smack and not stopping as Zannah's holocron lit up and her scowling form appeared. "What are you doing? It hasn't been..."
"Piss off your treacherous bitch!" snarled Siri in a pained gasp, "I've got a kriffing Terentatek after me!"
"Oh," said Zannah, "By all means then, please do take off. It might eat my Holocron if it gets a whiff of it."
Siri didn't waste her breath grumbling, rushing for the cockpit and turning the ship on and taking off in a panic. As her ship turned, stone blew out of the tomb entrance she had caved in, and the beast burst outward. Siri pushed the ship up as it howled and leaped for it-missing the hull by inches of its sharp claws that could have torn right through it. Siri took the ship into the space, punched in Coruscant's coordinates, and entered hyperspace. She sat there for a short time, panting to the point of near collapse, before she shook her head. Water first, then food, then she could collapse.
She moved into the cargo hold, ignoring Zannah, and grabbing a canteen of water from a crate, guzzling it down, and then another, before ravenously tearing into any food she could find.
"So, have fun in the tombs?"
"Kriff off Zannah," spat Siri.
"Awww, was the old man rude?" teased Zannah.
Siri turned and glared at her. "Do you want me to space your Holocron?"
Zannah pouted. "So inconsiderate, I just wanted my old master's second opinion."
"Bullshit," said Siri, pointing a finger at the glowing gatekeeper, "Just how many potential apprentices have you sent to die in there?"
"A few," admitted Zannah cheerfully, "Mostly I just send in Fallen Jedi who stumbled across my holocron to their deaths in the tombs. I was found by a worthy member of the line of Bane a few generations ago though and they ruined all my fun keeping me locked up."
Siri glared.
"Did Bane send the Terentatek after you?" asked Zannah, slightly puzzled, "He never did that before."
"No, that was one of the insane kriffing ghosts that haunt the place," said Siri.
Zannah grinned. "Aww, that's cute."
Siri huffed and muttered under her breath, "Treachery is the way of the Sith indeed."
Zannah snickered before glowering, "So, what did the old bastard have to say?"
Siri considered how best to lie to her...
-YOU WILL TELL HER-
Siri gasped as the Dark Side bled into her mind, a lingering feeling, a dominating force, echoing the presence of Bane's Holocron, flooded her mind; her eyes briefly went blank. "I have a weakness that Darth Bane said you might make yourself useful in getting rid of."
Zannah raised an eyebrow, a slow grin spreading across her face. "Oh this should be fun. He even left a compulsion so you couldn't hide it. He was always so considerate. So whats the dirty secret?"
Siri struggled to fight it, but couldn't. "I have feelings for a Jedi Padawan by the name of Obi-Wan Kenobi."
Zannah made a face. "Bleh. Love, isn't that sickeningly adorable?"
The Gatekeeper's face turned harsh. "Well, I suppose we'll have to find a way to nip that in the bud, won't we? I have to deliver you back to Sidious, but don't worry, I won't tell him. I'll think of something to cut the cord the next time I have you alone to myself..."
Zannah's Gatekeeper winked out of existence, and Siri felt the compulsion relax. Immediately rage and hate overtook her, and she poured into her mind, following the receding darkness to it's source and gripped it tyrannically. She fought the urge to rip it apart, and instead isolated it, fuming and pacing darkly through the cargo hold. Once she had sufficiently calmed herself, she sat down and fell into meditation to study the compulsion. It was unraveling slowly, its purpose fulfilled. Siri studied it as it went, poking and prodding to try and understand how a compulsion worked, identifying how it could possibly be hidden from those infected with it, and more importantly, for clue to how they could be made. By the time it was a mere echo, she felt she had some understanding of the sinister web it was weaved with, but she knew she'd need either Sidious or Zannah to finish her understanding of it.
Just to be sure though... she began to carefully search through her own mind, looking for similar hidden traces of the Force that were not her own, things hidden so delicately weaved with her own presence and mind...
...and was rather not surprised to see a few minor ones woven into her psyche. A dark smile played across her face. Well... now she had more to study, perhaps she didn't need to involve either Sidious or Zannah... especially considering that it felt like both had implanted their own in there. She slowly and gently prodded one, feeling it suddenly tense and gather energy before she ruthlessly gripped it, slamming down with enough Force to paralyze the compulsion. Her vision briefly swam for a moment, her mind flaring in pain, before she refocused and began to pick it apart, studying each piece of it.
This one was to encourage darker emotions, a subtle nudge to incur a more violent or hostile response. She studied how it was tied to her, what triggered it, and then tried to figure out what it had been about to do...
Oh.
It was like a warning signal, to warn its creator it had been found. Clever. Best to nip that in the bud. She began to pick it apart and destroy it, but not without understanding each part of it. Then a thought occurred to her. She couldn't stop Sidious from going through her mind yet, she wasn't strong enough. If he looked through and found his compulsions missing... how would he react? Pleased? Angry? Hmm... perhaps... could she use Force Illusions inside her own head? Now there was a thought. She focused on the lingering remnant of the compulsion she had just picked apart, and used it as a foundation for an illusion, wrapping a fake-compulsion over where it had just been. She inspected it, nit picking over a few things, before it felt similar enough...
But why stop there?
Zannah had showed her how to assault someones mind, and she had learned how to make a kind of trap on Korriban... why wouldn't it be possible to leave a mental trap in her own head? She grinned deviously, and underneath the illusion of a compulsion, she laced her trap, that if someone discovered the deception, it would spring and stab out at the intruder, injecting them with a sharp piercing stab of the Dark Side to disorient and disrupt their senses, not to mention inflict pain. If timed right... perhaps she could kill Sidious, or someone else peaking where they shouldn't belong, in the resulting confusion.
She cackled a bit before refocusing, going through each compulsion she found. They were, as she initially thought, minor things. Not controlling, but subtle, trying to influence and become natural to her mindset and personality. Things to encourage dark reactions, or suppress positives as the other end, though she noted those ones were worn down, not quite keeping up to her will. They could have been made stronger, but then something might have given away and let her in on their existence. She didn't feel particularly different as she continued to dismantle the compulsions, but, they were for active decisions she supposed.
She growled a bit under her breath, irritated that Sidious and Zannah thought to bind her this way. Was she just a pet project, a slave to them? Or perhaps... did they feel she needed some extra 'help' in overcoming her Jedi past? She considered that as she came to her last compulsion she could find, if she understood correctly... it was to suppress guilt. It was in relative tatters, she suspected Garen's death and the overwhelming grief and guilt had damaged it heavily. She hesitated briefly, but instead of destroying it, she repaired it, and with a bit of shame, exited her mind and her meditation afterwards. The Dark Side already weakened her sensation of guilt normally... but... she wanted to feel as little of that as she could. Still, she was satisfied she had learned a bit about compulsions, all she needed now was some practice using them.
She made to rise to her feet, before the room around her spun. She pitched to the side and landed heavily, groaning. Oh boy... yeah... she needed some sleep after today. Spending a few hours in her head ripping compulsions apart after all that exhausting running certainly hadn't helped. She forced herself shakily to her feet and made for the crew quarters of the ship. She'd sleep, perhaps reinspect her illusionary compulsions when she was awake and not so tired to check for potential mistakes, and then ready herself for her return to Sidious...
Review Responses:
Sentinel951: Mmm, 2 I think. One smaller one to check in with Obi-Wan, then another where we get to see Siri really damning herself and delving into Sith-Like depravity.
Nerdman3000: Mmmm, didn't initially plan on even giving it a name, maybe it could be Dagobah, maybe not, IDK. I'll keep just Darth Tyrosus, maybe if Siri had submitted to Zannah she would have gotten another name, but nah.