Chapter 36

Year 5 Month 8 Day 11

After the destruction of the siren palace, Pyrrha and Jaune were teleported to the realm of Ashla, the opposite of Salem's realm. After nearly dying, Pyrrha was made the Priestess of Ashla.

Pyrrha was told about what she had become. She had a light around her, almost becoming blinding to her. But Jaune was with her, so she was calm. If she had him, she could do anything.

"We do not expect you to fully understand your responsibilities. You will have time until you join us fully. You will be allowed to come and go as you please and open the vault underneath beacon academy. We need to be careful. If Salem finds you, you will die." One of the white robed figures said.

"Hold on, what's going on? I don't understand any of this." She said.

"You were about to die after your battle with that priest of Bogan. We are the Priests of Ashla, fallen spirits of ancient Jedi masters and those who followed the light God. We have seen that you are the only one who can become the Priestess of Ashla. The very fate of the world depends on your training." One of the priests said.

Pyrrha looked at them.

"Unlike Bogan, Ashla gives his chosen time to prepare. You will become more than what you can be. You are a prophetess of Ashla, chosen since before your birth to one day take up this position. The power you have shown against the darkness shows this. You have proven more powerful than many Jedi." The priest of Ashla said.

"Ashla, isn't that the name of the God of light? I though the Gods didn't interfere with Remnant anymore." Pyrrha said.

"The Relics are aspects of the Gods. When they are brought together, they will have full reign on Remnant again. Ashla, the god, and Bogan are related to a certain planet." The spirit waved their hand, and the image of a planet with two moons showed itself to her.

"Tython, the birthplace of the Je'daii, has two moons, one you can see in the sky here." The spirit pointed to the sky, Pyrrha and Jaune saw a whole moon in the sky. "It is a light side nexus of the force. In Salem's realm, you will find the dark side equivalent. The Jedi and Sith are in such high number not only because they have children, but because the planet is the greatest force nexus in the known universe. The ground you walk is part of this great force nexus. The Semblance, the Aura, and dust all come from the force. The Gods once lived on those moons, but when the Je'daii abandoned their teachings, the brothers left to find another place that suited them. They found this planet and settled here, making the planet breath through the force. After they arrived here, they found that some humans followed them. Salem and Ozma, or Oscar as you now know him, lived in the time when they had daily sway on the planet. But Salem's original body raised all life against the gods. They had to restart, leaving Salem, who became the greatest priestess of Bogan, and Ozma. Thousands of years passed, and they both still walk the planet. Faunus were created by the Gods after the destruction. You, Pyrrha, are the latest of the Priestess of Ashla. And you may become the greatest of all. You are called to rise at the end of this deadly conflict. Your calling will take much from you, but you will have the power to succeed." The priest said.

"I don't get it at all." Jaune said.

"You will return to your world. But you will be called to return here to gain further instruction."

A portal of light opened behind them. Jaune looked at the priest, then walked through it. Pyrrha looked at them, spirits in white robes for the benefit of mortals. She wondered if they had always been there. She went through the Portal.


Month 9 Day 14

Empress Vox looked at everything, and realized that one horrible truth, the woman they captured who they though were the spring maiden was a false maiden, and all evidence point to Raven Branwen, who has vanished. It had been over five years since the attack on the capital, and Vox didn't hear anything from Salem. That was good, but she wasn't afraid. She had an army of loyal Sith who would destroy any who try to attack the capital.

But that's not what disturbed her, what disturbed her was the fact that she calculated to defeat Salem at this point, there would need to be a joint operation of all three major forces on Remnant. It would be a hard thing to form, but It would be needed. If Salem somehow got the second relic, she would send out the call to destroy Salem, but she would rather not fight her. It would most likely be the last battle anyone could fight for quite some time. They would need to invade the continent that has not life on it. The Grimm had all gathered in one place and had been doing so for over a decade. She had to guess that was where Salem was, but she would need help confirming that. She wondered how she was going to get all of them to join her.

She closed her eyes and meditated. She tried to see the future. She saw a brief image of a massive army. Then the vision left. She didn't see who it was, or even if it was current. Maybe it was just a memory of the last war she fought. But whatever it was she had to let it go.

Soule walked in, with his daughter in his arms. She was the newest royal born, Princess Elisa. She watched her niece move in her brother's arms and she turned back to the window.

"I think you and I both know that this war has to end soon. We have an empire to run, and we need resources. We just need a treaty." Vox said.

"Have you talked to Sym yet?"

"He agrees with me, but we need a reason to band together. And there would only be one way to get the Alliance on our side."

"I'm assuming that it involves the Relic. The problem is that Raven is nowhere to be seen. Our best report is that she's in the Alliance. Where, we don't know. All the information we gathered on her is… outdated to say the least." Soule said. Lady Culls was set as their head of intelligence.

"But how do we get the invaders to join us?" Soule asked.

"We will have to recognize them as a legitimate nation. We need their force users and tech. And we're going to need the help of the Jedi."

"I can set up a meeting with one of their best. Karel and I have a… complicated relationship as you know." Soule once wanted nothing more than to kill Karel, but he has fought him so many times, and they both came out of it better than they were before. They were the whet stone for each other's swords.

"It will take at least a year in my best estimate before we're going to be ready to launch a final attack. Just look at the information that Recon Zero has given us over all these years, it all points to the central location of Salem's realm. There are too many Grimm there for it to be any other place, and from the ruins of Zollo that we raided after the Jedi revealed it to us, it points to the badlands being the location." Vox said.

"If we have a year, then there is time sister. You know that the people have started to call for another heir. Not many voices, but enough of our important backers. They want to restore the royal family to its once great heights. They want a royal class."

Vox grumbled. She enjoyed the process to create a child but hated the process of bringing them to life. But she agreed that they needed more royals. It was the best time now to have another child if she was going to have one.

"Normally, I'd ask you to bring an heir in, but…" She pointed at Elisa.

"I wish we didn't have to make a big deal out of this. But they have a point. They're thinking generations ahead. We can't live forever." Soule said.

"You don't have to give birth."

"No, I don't. You and Sym should talk. What should I instruct the other Sith Lords to do? With the influx of recruits, many of them have their hands full."

"Your apprentice, Sno, is she ready to be a Lord?" Vox asked.

"Almost, but she is still… too unfocused. She has power, but she burns through her hatred quickly. It seems I've failed to teach her when to use her power and when not to. But she will learn. I have no doubts about that. I've taught her quite well."

"Then, she will join you on your journey. She hates Karel, though I think that's more for embarrassing her when he beat her so badly." Soule said.


Month 9 Day 20

Sno was meditating, the nineteen-year-old Sith apprentice tried her best to control herself. She hated Karel for showing her that her illusion of being all powerful was destroyed. She had someone to fear. She had killed other Jedi before. Most of them were grey Jedi, but she just couldn't defeat him. He was more powerful than he looked. And she hated being reminded of that. She even overhauled her combat style because of what he said.

She felt the curved handled lightsaber she created, to help her in her Makashi mastery. She dropped her study of Shii-Cho. She felt the power behind it as she did her exercises against the HK droids, all of them put on the highest settings, all of them able to kill if she was not enough. But she was.

She opened her golden eyes, the greatest sign of her devotion to the dark side. She grabbed her lightsaber and made a flurry of motion, a blur to most. The first attack landed with an upward motion. Her dark robes flew passed a second droid, distracting it for a moment, which would be its downfall. Even it couldn't see her at the speeds she was going. And it too was taken down. Two more droids saw her and fired. She blocked some of the blasts but had to get to cover. She reached out with the force and pulled the droid forward off the high platform it considered safe. A bolt from the other droid ran through the HK unit, killing it instantly. She jumped in the air and tossed her lightsaber, it landed in the chest of the droid.

She was done with the exercise, barely breaking a sweat. She swiped the dust off her robe not noticing her master enter.

"You did well against those droids, but we are fighting Jedi." Soule said.

"Yes, my master. This was merely exercise." Sno said. Zia was also there, a rare sight to see both here. Sno put her lightsaber away and bowed.

"You have one final trial to go through before you can be called true Sith. You use the dark side light a battle axe. Fine in its own right, but not good enough for us. We don't need many more warriors. We need those Sith who are willing to use the dark side of the force. My master was a cruel man, but he knew when to use the dark side like a poison." Soule said.

"I understand master." Sno said.

"That is why we are going to test you. We are going to see the Jedi knight Karel. You are not to attack him." Soule said. She flinched when she heard his name.

"Master how are we going to see him. And why?" Sno asked.

"As you know, Salem has tried to kill us more than once." Zia said.

"Yes…" Sno said. She had taken care of more Grimm in the recent months than she had in the rest of her life.

"We need to set up a peace summit. We cannot continue this war with Salem still in power, but I believe that we're going to need at least a year before it even happens. We just need to set up the initial meeting." Soule said.

Sno nodded. She had to admit, she was kind of excited to go to enemy territory. They had always fought battles, but that was different. The last time she went to Alliance territory without an army was when she first met Karel. She was only thirteen at that point. But she was so much stronger now. And she did like Rouge, but she wouldn't call her a friend.

"We're going in an hour. Be ready." Soule said. She was, with only a small pack with her. Whatever she was going to do, she had to do it with her master's authority. She wouldn't be able to leave his side without his permission.


She had to admit, even the harshness of Sith training was so much better than how she lived with her horrible uncle. That drunk deserved his death. She knew he would one day sell her off to a man to do horrible things to her, but she got her revenge on him, and his brats she once called cousins. She loved watching them die, her first murders, but far from her last. With the authority of her master, she brought death upon all her enemies, except one.

"Master, what are we going to do in New Mistral?" The first city that the empire captured, and a strong hold of the empire since the start of the war. They expanded far beyond its borders, but it represented something. It was of great importance.

"When we land, we're going to get an update from Lord Geth." Lord Geth was a pathetic Sith Lord who somehow proved to be of use to Sym. He was able to move troops around with great efficiency, and gather resources, but that was a job that a skilled General could do. Sno guessed that his head would be the prize for the crowned prince. Cedric had started being trained by his mother, but he was still so young. She had taught him how to levitate something.

"Master, am I to accompany you?"

"You will be free to do whatever you want, but this meeting shouldn't last much more than an hour." Soule said.

"I'll watch over her. Don't worry." Zia also hated Geth. She also had reason to believe that Soule hated him as well. He thought so highly of himself while giving so little. Sym was all that kept him alive.

When they landed Soule went to the meeting, and Zia led Sno to a bar. She was old enough to drink in the empire, as the age was eighteen. She followed Zia to a corner table, both hiding their identities, though she wasn't that well known except by the soldiers.

"You know how to get men around your finger, and even some women, but that's not going to help you on this mission. Karel isn't interested in woman like that. His loyalty is greater than almost any I'd ever seen on this planet." Zia said as a bottle of wine was placed in front of them with two glasses.

Sno hadn't notice her make an order.

"You've got a lot of talent, and you use it well, but you've got a problem with how you use it. Karel didn't kill you at Pare because he felt sorry for you. You tried to take him down by charging in. You didn't think. You can hide yourself to him. You could try so many things, but you lose yourself in the dark side." Zia poured her a glass. Sno considered what she was told.

"Did you poison the wine?" Sno asked. Zia smiled.

"That's what I'm talking about. You are direct. You don't get answers out that way. No, the wine is good, the cup on the other hand would kill anyone else in here. Here, give it to that drunk who just got cut off." Zia said. "Draw on the dark side when he dies."

Zia would have made a good Sith. Sno did as she asked. It was good to see him leave. She felt him go to a back alley and collapse. She drew on his death and savored it.

"Zia, what does that to teach me?" Sno asked.

"Have you studied poison?" Zia asked. She took a sip of the wine and handed the cup to Sno.

"The physical aspects of it, but I'm no Echo." She said, looking at the wine.

"Go ahead, I'd hate for it to go to waste. Echo has made himself a guru of poison, almost making it a religion. I have a respect for poison, but I don't worship it. It's a tool, like the dark side. This is your final trial. Don't kill Karel." Zia said.

She understood that already. But she would obey Zia's words like they came from Soule.

After the meeting was done, Soule called for them to meet him. He had just finished sending the report.

"That idiot never stops talking." Soule said.

"Come on husband." She held out her hand. Soule took it. Sno guarded them walking up behind. They would have to meet with Karel soon. Zia and Soule seemed not to care worry about that fact. Or was this a face they were hiding behind. She was so close to her answer, but it was annoyingly just out of reach. She sighed and let the issue go.


Karel looked at the message he got. Direct from Darth Soule. Bora read the message again over his shoulder and shook her head. This was a trap.

"I don't think so. Something about this is strange. Why would he tell us where he has going to be? But then again, this could just be a setup." Bora said.

"We're going to need to take precautions. Can we get Weiss and Rouge?" Karel said. He already knew that the others were busy. Pyrrha spent days at a time with Jaune and Silver in the vaults. Oscar told him that she was able to open it not because she was the fall maiden, but because she was the priestess of Ashla. He didn't get what exactly that meant, but he understood that Pyrrha was going to be unavailable for large swaths of time. Ruby was still with Roni, almost ready for her final trial. Yang was gone with Arin, Blake spent most of her time in Menagerie leading the red fang and the reconstruction.

His new second in command, commander Pixi, and all his armed forces would be too much for a simple discussion. Winter still hasn't returned from her duties in Atlas. Ironwood wouldn't tell him much about what she was doing. He's started to age rapidly.

Meg was around. And her padawan was as well.

Bora nodded as Karel finished the list and started calling them. He still wondered why he didn't have a bad feeling about this. Even with all the stuff they've gone through, Soule was still an enemy.

"We need this to be unofficial. We may be starting something that we'd rather not start." Karel said. Lance walked by and looked at the screen. He almost spat out his coffee, at noon.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"That's what we're trying to figure out." Karel said.

"You know… I'm not going to ask. Learned that's the best way to not get into trouble here." He started to walk away when Karel grabbed his shirt's collar.

"You weren't hitting on Bora's students, were you?" Karel asked with a glare.

"No, it was simple banter. You got a bright group of women there." Lance said. He was only a year older than the girls, but still, Lance's desires had brought more than one angry woman to his doorstep. He had to apologize to so many of them.

"Make sure it stays banter." Bora finished. Lance was let go.

"As long as I live under this house, I will not take it any further than that." Lance said, holding his hand to the sky.

"Good. I don't want you to ruin someone's life just because you wanted sex." Karel said. Lance started to blush.

"I don't go that far. I am looking for someone special." He mumbled under his breath. Karel worried about Lance, but he also needed to be firm with him. If what he said was true, then he'd be happy.

Erik walked in with a smile on his face.

"Looks like you need to have a chat with someone else now." Lance said as he walked away, fidgeting with something in his pocket.

"Why are you so happy?" Karel asked, as Bora closed the message.

"I just had a nice time with Sky." Erik said, walking passed Karel.

"Does he mean Pixi?" Bora wondered.


Some time later, Weiss, Rouge, Meg and Dan Rosa all met up with Karel.

"Earlier today, I got a message from Darth Soule. This seems to be an olive branch, but I can't tell. This meeting must stay off the books, so I gathered you all here. Unless I give the order, do not engage." Karel said.

"I don't like this." Meg said as she passed Karel.

"We need to see what it is." He responded.

Rouge and Dan were happy to see each other. Karel accepted Rouge as a part of his family and watched her become a young woman. She was still his padawan, but not for much longer. She made him proud. Her deep understanding of the Force combined with her extensive experience made her one of the finest padawans of the order. Though Karel thought of her as the finest. Meg might disagree.

Dan was a good man, and someone who treated everyone well. He hadn't fought along side him in a long time despite how often Rouge sees him. The orange haired youth reminded Karel of one of his clan mates back at the Jedi temple. He was a good fit for the Jedi, but Karel also kept an eye on him. He would not allow him to do anything bad to Rouge, though honestly, he didn't think Dan could do anything bad to her.

Weiss loved going on missions with Karel and Bora. They rarely got to do it after graduation. While the war was still going on, her father had started to call her back more and more to learn how to handle the company. Karel wondered if he were sick, but every time he would go talk to him about it, he would brush it off.

When they got on the ship, they took off. Weiss, Meg and Dan would hide close by, masking themselves so they wouldn't be sensed. Rouge and Bora would be with Karel as they went. He felt an air around the group of concern, but he still never got any feelings of danger. That didn't mean that he wouldn't have his lightsaber close by.

Karel and the others landed far enough away from the meeting spot that no one could notice. They were going to meet in an abandoned town, abandoned because of the Grimm, but they were no more in this section of the world, unless Salem had a say in it. It was far enough away from prying eyes, and Karel had to admit, it was the best place to meet for a meeting like this. He wondered how many switched sides here.

They weren't here yet. They had some time to kill.

"Master, I've been wondering about that Holocron you gave me, the one about the Barsen'thor."

"Yes, what is it?" Karel asked. He had a copy of the Holocron of the third Barsen'thor. She was a Mirialan woman who was famous for her healing ability.

"She talks about healing powers in such a way that it just confuses me. Too many metaphors."

"She does have a habit of doing that, but you need to break them down. Knowledge from her is not freely given but earned." Karel listened to her more than once. He knew she was a great master, but the records stopped being accurate after she helped defeat Revan. They imply that she was the outlander and commander, but also the hero of Tython, Havoc Commander, and others. She was a mystery, but what was known was that she disappeared at some point with her crew. Or she stayed on the council. No one knows because it seems like the records were tampered with at some point.

"…But she does seem cool." Rouge said.


"I can see them coming now, just three of them. Soule, Zia, and Sno." Bora said.

Soule walked slowly into the town, seeing Karel and his two companions.

"I see you made it. Not a hard trip, but I must admit, I'm a but surprised." He looked around the town.

"You seem to think I'm going to have an army." Karel said. Sno glared at him, but not at Rouge.

"You can't blame me since you do have others here, but not many. I can sense them. You can't hide yourselves as well as you believe." Soule said.

"My insurance." Karel said.

"Because you don't trust me. How hurtful." Soule said.

"You are a Sith. Don't think I won't defend myself." Karel said.

"We're not here to fight. In fact, we're here to talk." He looked at Rouge for a moment.

"This war has gone on for too long. When it started your padawan there was about thirteen. Now she's grown up to be I'd say eighteen. In all those years we spent most of it fighting over feet of ground. And we killed each other in the millions. Do you have even the slightest idea of what Salem's forces look like?" Soule said.

"So, Salem is the reason for this discussion. I should have guessed that much. If I had to guess I would probably be off by well over half. She's been doing this of thousands of years. Before even your old emperor's father was born." Karel said.

"Exactly. So, I have a proposition for you. An idea to roll in your head, but you may just lose everything for suggesting it. Just for the consideration of the idea, I'll reveal one of the Alliance councilmen who are traitors to my empire." Soule said. Karel had to admit he was surprised to learn that more than one councilman were traitors. But he also had to admit, it wasn't too surprising.

"And what do you propose?" Karel asked.

"To introduce in about a year's time a peace summit."


Pyrrha continued to train, her body becoming finer, her muscles becoming stronger, and her reflexes faster. This training was doing wonders to her, making her more powerful than ever before. She was told that as the embodiment of Ashla she would see the light side enter her body and strengthen her in more ways than she ever thought was possible. She had to admit, she felt amazing.

After a series of rigorous training, she sat down by her family, and played with Silver's hair.

"You have shown yourself to be a quick learner. Even the famous Nomi Sunrider struggled more than you have in training." The priest training her said.

"What was your name when you were alive?" Pyrrha asked. The priest took off the masks they all wore and showed Pyrrha an old friendly, though strong face.

"I was once the Jedi Master known as Qui-Gon Jinn. It is a pleasure to be here. You should know, I am the newest priest in this order. It was strange when I woke up on this distant planet, but here I can show myself. So, you know, that praise I gave you was not idle. Nomi was one of the most skilled Jedi to ever live."

"Are you training me to become a Jedi?" Pyrrha asked.

"You are far more than a Jedi. Not even your friends Ruby Rose or Karel Allusis are a fraction as powerful as you are. But yes, you are going through Jedi training." A female voice said. The woman's voice was strong, but kind.

"Grandmaster Satele Shan. She is under your tutelage now?" Qui-Gon asked.

"Yes. Thank you for training her so far. Now, priestess, it is time for you to train under me. I served the Jedi order in both Peace and War. And I shall teach you all I know. What it means to be a peace time and war time jedi."

"I'm ready" Pyrrha said.

Author's Notes: So, I have established previously that Qui-Gon can appear on Remnant, so I thought I would bring him in for this part of the story.

The end is coming soon

Hope you keep reading and review this one. That's all I want, just someone to tell me that they read this story.

May the Force be With You

-DragonZlayerX12