Author's Note: Behold a double upload! These are shorter, I know, but the next ones will be longer! Much longer! Promise!


-Chapter 79: The Unknown Legacy-

Location: The Jedi Temple

"No archive is ever totally complete."

"The information discovered on Generis has the potential to throw the entirety of history into question. Everything we once knew about the Infinite Empire's demise has now been called into question." Obi-Wan reported to an assembly of Jedi. Still on Generis, the holographic render stood before Master Yoda, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi Mundi and Shaak Ti, who were in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant. The distant Jedi had just completed his retelling of the Rakatan tablet, now being called 'the Site 33 Demon Tablet'.

"This revelation seems troubling. Such a solitary piece of powerful information... yet not one that is well known." Mace mused.

"We have our doubts as well." Kenobi agreed. "Which is why we think it's best to scour the archives and see if there are any other hints or reports of an 'Iron Demon' in other cultures. If only for the sake of correlation." He suggested.

"A wise decision, Master Kenobi." Mace agreed. "We will begin our search and report back to you with our findings." Obi-Wan gave a quick nod as his image faded and the remaining Jedi turned to one another.

"Grave this finding is. Grim was Master Obi-Wan's assessment." Yoda pointed out. "Believes he does in the existence of an Iron Demon."

"He did seem positive about the certainty of the script." Mundi agreed. "But the potential number of truths it actually refers to are limitless."

"However, it does give us a very clear path to follow," Shaak added, "if we search specifically for an 'Iron Demon' we should get immediate results."

"Good thinking, Master Ti." Mace agreed.


Later that day...

Convening in the Council chamber, the Jedi reunited with their findings. Kit, Aayla and Obi-Wan were present via holocom, the only ones outside of Mundi, Shaak, Windu and Yoda. They wanted to firmly establish this matter before revealing it to anyone else, hence the closed circuit of only a few individuals.

"As much as I'm sure we're all on the edge of our seats, I'm completely and utterly prepared for disappointment." Kit said as they began.

"Through older Jedi texts looked did I. To an Iron Demon no reference there is." Yoda revealed.

"I searched through some of the ancient Sith texts locked away in the lower levels. There is no mention of an Iron Demon in any of them." Mace added.

"Halfway there and nothing more." Obi-Wan mused. "Master Ti, Master Mundi, what did you find?" He inquired. The beautiful red Togruta Jedi shared a quick glance at the Cerean before continuing,

"Master Mundi and I did find something..." She slowly said, quickly gaining the attention of the Council. "More than we originally expected to find. Possibly more than what we had hoped to find." The other Jedi shared mixed glances, wondering just what their colleagues had uncovered.

"By all means, tell us more." Mace pressed.

"Most prominently, and more importantly to me, is a oral legend originating from my homeworld of Shili called the Huntress and the Demon." Shaak continued.

"The Togruta have an Iron Demon?" Obi-Wan pried.

"It would appear that they do." Shaak replied, indicating that even she had been unaware of this. "Legend says that a lone huntress was set upon by five Akul only for a demon of blackened iron to intervene. They say his strength was so vast he broke the jaw of an Akul while it bit into his arm."

"Akul are known for their powerful jaws, correct?" Aayla interjected. A friend of Shaak, the Twi'lek had learned a little about the wildlife of Shili and the threat they posed to the native Togruta.

"So powerful that no humanoid has ever escaped their hold." Shaak confirmed. "The Demon was said to have killed all five Akul with fire and fury before speaking with the huntress. His speech was broken and strange, like Togruti but improper. He asked her for an Akul tooth as well as a single marg sabl, a flower native to Shili."

"Why would he want those?" Obi-Wan asked with a raised eyebrow.

"The legend does not say, only that the huntress helped him find them. He offered to make her a headdress from the rest of the Akul teeth, but she declined as she hadn't killed them herself."

"So he's familiar with Togrutan culture... how very interesting." Mace mused with folded hands.

"There's more. The huntress took him back to her village, but he chose to wait on the outskirts. Many people saw him from a distance, including the elders. And then he vanished in a red light, never to be seen again." Shaak detailed, coming to the end of the story.

"How very curious." Kit surmised. "And you had not heard of this before Master Ti?"

"Until now, no." The Togruta answered. "It is a very obscure piece, not one widely talked about. For obvious reasons."

"Right. No one really wants to talk about a demon unless fear is in mind." Obi-Wan determined. "Master Mundi, what did you uncover?" He then asked.

"That, my fellow Jedi, is twofold." The Cerean informed him as he rose. Stepping into the center of the chamber, Ki-Adi pulled a small datapad from within his robes. "The first is a single journal entry written by a redeemed Revan after his return to the Jedi and the destruction of Darth Malak. In it, he writes 'It is dark today. Cold and dreary. The blackness around me feels piercing somehow, not unlike the time the Iron Demon appeared before Malak and I. That day will always stick with me, his presence, I fear, has been seared into my conscious forever. A sensation I shall never be rid of.'" That gave the Jedi pause. Revan was famous in history for not only defeating the Mandalorian Crusaders of his time, but also for his term as ruler of the Sith Empire. There was no questioning his status as a powerful figure in galactic history.

"So he knew who the Iron Demon was." Mace surmised.

"For good reason. Revan investigated the Rakata during his efforts to activate the Star Forge. It stands to reason he learned of the Iron Demon from them." Obi-Wan responded, his knowledge of Revan equal to the others.

"While a conjecture, it would affirm the information found on the Site Thirty-Three tablet." Kit agreed.

"Have for us another issue do you, Master Mundi?" Yoda inquired.

"More a topic than an issue, Master Yoda." Mundi politely corrected. Stowing the datapad, Ki-Adi then pulled a holoprojector and switched it on. "I discovered a Selkath pictograph, one that dates back to only a few decades after the fall of the Infinite Empire. It has no name, no references or even a title. But the imagery featured in it seemed so markedly similar to the Generis tablet, I thought it best to present it." He explained, revealing an image that was very flat, as though carved into a wall.

Contained within the image were multiple beings drawn to resemble Selkath with broad proportions and signature growths reaching down the corners of their long faces. Before them, with an outstretched hand, stood a figure in black. It was shaped like a tall man but with a short, vertical horn and a single bright red eye, and towered over the other figures in the scene. The Jedi took a moment to appraise the discovery and analyzed the image heavily.

"It is markedly similar to the image on the Generis tablet. Especially the eye. But the horn is new." Aayla observed.

"Indeed. The Rakatan relief showed only a pillar of fire, not an actual being." Kit agreed. "But that eye appears to be purposefully coloured, while the Rakatan one was more of an afterthought."

"But there are matching elements, further cementing the validity of this demon." Mace determined. Ki-Adi nodded and continued, switching images.

"A mural, one depicting the Sith Council of the Brotherhood of Darkness during the New Sith Wars. Many seen in it are recognizable; Skere Kaan, Bane, Githany," He listed off. The Jedi nodded, each one familiar to them. "But there is one who stands out like a sore thumb." Adjusting the size and view of the image, Mundi zeroed in on Darth Kaan and the future Darth Bane... and the being between them. All the Jedi leaned forward in their seats.

"My word..." Shaak breathed. They were all drawn to a pair of angular, blazing red eyes, set against a shadowy black head and framed by a pair of curved vertical horns. The majority of the body was cast in a similar whispy-black style, save for a few places where silvery muscle-like portions were plainly visible in-between the two Sith it was framed by.

"I've only ever looked at this image a few times and I've never seen that before." Mace quietly noted, his expression one of concern and focus.

"The Iron Demon has a face." Obi-Wan observed. "Rather unnerving, if you ask me, especially considering how the ancient Sith thought enough of him to be counted among their own number."

"This could be bad news if the Iron Demon lives." Kit interjected. "Supposing he were to return, he could prove a very powerful opponent."

"Let's cross that bridge if we come to it." Mace gravely responded.

"Indeed." Mundi concurred. "I would like to put forth one final image I found in the archives. It was not found under my search for 'Iron Demon', but after reviewing the mural of the Sith Council, I found a similar image, but this one also dates back to shortly after the fall of the Infinite Empire. It is another painting, one drawn by an unknown artist of an unknown species but has been filed away in the Zeltros Art Museum." The Cerean explained, cycling to the next image on his projector. "What is of even further note is a title, inscribed on it in Aurebesh, which reads Our Demonic Savior." Those of the Jedi who could raised eyebrows while the rest bore looks of curious concern.

And then Ki-Adi toggled the final image, making all their eyes widen.

The image was surrounded in broadly painted flames of orange and red. In their midst was a broad black body, formless and without intricate detail. Strokes of silver sporadically lined the body, offering the briefest of textures and highlights to frame the shadowy being. In one hand, something resembling a column of fire rose from a closed fist, while the other hand was opened and clawed, as if reaching through the flames to grasp something.

And the eyes. Oh how the eyes pierced the soul of every Jedi observing. Bright red, like rich and healthy blood, set against a face of infinite black and outlined by two small, simple, geometric horns rising up towards the upper flames. The being looked dark and ominous, like a harbinger of doom and destruction, an instrument of death and fear... the Dark Side incarnate.

Taking in the painting, every one of the Jedi could see why the Rakata feared such a being.

"Four separate images by differing cultures, each with similar elements, sightings that are thousands of years apart... I believe the validity of this Iron Demon has been affirmed." Kit gravely assessed, his voice devoid of humour.

"Indeed. But this image gives us one of the better views of such a being. Notice the constant use of black with silver highlights." Obi-Wan pointed out.

"The Shili legend does claim the demon had skin like 'blackened iron'. Perhaps this design is reflective of that." Mace added.

"They do call him the 'Iron Demon' for a reason." Kit mused with a smile. The Council fell quiet as they studied the image once more. Then Yoda spoke up.

"Thoughtful, you are, Master Mundi." He noted. "In mind, something to say you have?" The Cerean did not immediately respond, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. He did have something to say, but it was a connection to dastardly he didn't want to give voice to it.

"In my opinion Master... it looks an awful like The Wraith." He finally told them.

"Now that you mention it, it does." Shaak agreed.

"Perhaps this 'Iron Demon' is something only the Sith know about and that influenced the design of their super-soldier, hoping to inspire fear through look and legacy alone." Aayla proposed. Her fellow Jedi nodded in agreement.

"How is it, I wonder, that they would've kept something this revealing a secret for so long." Mace mused aloud.

"In the dark, this information was not. Open it was, able for all to see it was. Blind have we been." Yoda responded, chiding himself and the rest of the Council.

"There are rumors of a cult dedicated to preserving aspects of the Dark Side." Obi-Wan added.

"You speak of the Sith Eternal." Mace interjected. "They have not been heard of since the battle of Ruusan almost a thousand years ago."

"Into hiding, the Sith went. Returning are they, their knowledge too perhaps." Yoda said.

"Regardless of the finer details, what we do know is that this demon was known to the Sith and is no friend of the Light." Mundi proposed. "Therefore, it does seem likely that the Sith who are behind the Separatist machinations would have a hand in reliving history through the design of their super-soldier."

"So long as the similarities end in image alone." Mace stated. "We know very little about their super-soldier program and Project Sunstorm. Hopefully their goal was to only terrorize through appearance and not through powers." The rest of the Jedi agreed with him, not wishing to see another like this legendary Iron Demon. Their gaze flicking back and forth between members and the image, the Jedi couldn't help but wonder about a potential connection between the super-soldier and the demonic entity. They observed the strikingly similar eyes, set in a shape and fashion much like Wraith's optics. They studied the column of fire in hand and how Wraith's unique firesaber mirrored the design quite eerily.

The longer they looked, the more they could see the helmet of The Wraith take shape within the face of the Iron Demon...


Author's Note: And the plot thickens like leftover soup...