Arya woke to a low humming sound and an incredible pain in her neck. She looked around and saw she was in the common area of the ship on a metal bench. She propped herself up on her elbow and her entire body was racked with pain. She swallowed and found her throat extremely raw and sore. She thought about the last thing she remembered. She was training with Maul and he had made her angry. She had felt something then. Something powerful. Like an incredible force bursting from the center of her chest. Then nothing. Had she fainted? That would be an embarrassing look for her. She would look weak to Maul. She heard footsteps approaching from a nearby corridor and soon enough Maul himself walked into the chamber and sat at a table in the center of the room. His red-yellow eyes fixated on Arya.
"Sit" he commanded.
Arya was thinking about defying Maul again, but then she remembered how Maul had beat her easily in the training room, so she just nodded. Standing up proved difficult as both of her legs were bruised from falling off the wall. Every step hurt as she walked slowly to the chair opposite Maul.
"What happened?" Was all she could manage with a raspy voice.
Maul slid a glass of something towards her. It was a milky green color and did not look appetizing at all. "First, drink this. It will help with the soreness in your throat." He waited as Arya obediently did as he commanded. When she finished drinking the entire glass her throat did indeed start to feel better. Then Maul began to speak.
"You almost ripped apart my ship in the middle of hyperspace. Had I not incapacitated you, you would have killed us both."
"How?" Arya asked
"With the force." Maul struggled to keep his impatience at bay. "Your close proximity to another force sensitive being must have triggered something in you and allowed you to use the force without knowing it. You lost control of your temper and in doing so radiated waves of force energy that, if they had grown any stronger, would have destroyed my ship and sent us both to die in the vacuum of space." He looked at Arya with a look of dissapointment, but the look faded quickly. "An extremely strong force-sensitve being such as yourself can cause quite a bit of damage without even knowing it if they are not properly trained." He sat in deep thought for a moment and then continued. "My guess is you had a temper long before I found you, but you were young and not as connected to the force as you are now. With that in mind, know that I am not mad that you almost ripped apart my ship. Your hatred and anger are good things that I do not want to discourage as they will help you to unlock powerful abilities with the force. But, you also need to focus and control that anger, or your strength with the force will be useless and self-destructive."
"But what IS the force?" Arya said in a frustrated tone.
"I will tell you what it is if you can promise me you will not try to harness its power until we reach Dathomir. There will be ample time and resources for you to hone your skills with the force once we will reach my home planet . Can you promise me you will wait?"
Arya nodded quickly.
"Very well." Maul took a deep breath and began. "The force is a living energy that surrounds and makes up all living things. It is the reason for existence, and it allows certain entities who are sensitive to it, such as you and me, the ability to harness this energy and do certain things with it." Maul waited for her response.
"What sort of things?" she asked.
"Firstly, it allows you to move objects without touch. This you have seen already, with the trees in the grove on the night we met, as well as…yesterday." Maul looked at Arya as if he expected her to throw start throwing another tantrum at the mention of his force choking her. Nothing happened, and she seemed generally interested, so he continued. "It also allows one to have quicker reflexes, additional strength and speed, and for some extremely powerful entities it allows some level of precognition, or the ability to see very briefly into the future, allowing for an edge in battle. Some have claimed, as did my former master's master, Darth Plagueis, that with enough power, one could create life or even stay deaths hand."
Arya looked up hopefully. All the family she had lost, or was close to losing flashed through her mind. Could she become powerful enough to possibly bring them back?
Maul held up a hand. "Do not think of those you have lost who were close to you, for they will stay dead."
Arya felt herself flood with sadness and disappointment. What good was all this power if you couldn't do anything useful with it.
"I only say this because Darth Plagueis's work was not fully confirmed. And even so, it would take decades, and even centuries to learn what he discovered. He was an absolute master who practiced the darkest side of the force. Also, if you brought back a loved one using the dark side of the force, do you think they would be the same as before they died?" Arya thought about this for a moment and then shook her head to show that she understood.
"Now" Maul continued, "There are two main orders of force users that it will be of value for you to be aware of. The Sith, who I have told you about already." Maul paused for a moment, "And then there are the Jedi." He practically spat the last word.
Arya felt a wave of hatred wash off of Maul unlike anything she had felt from him before. She staggered slightly but caught herself before she fell out of her chair. "I can feel your hatred." she said, "Or, something like hatred. I mean to say, I don't know how I know that it is hatred. I just do. Who are these Jedi, and what makes you hate them so much?...Master." She seemed worried that she may have overstepped her bounds, so added the "Master" at the end to hopefully please Maul. It seemed to have worked. Maul showed no signs of anger towards her question. He only smiled at her calling him master again.
"The Jedi," He began, "are a group of force sensitive beings who look to bring balance to the force and to the galaxy. They look to protect the weak and make sure no one group, or individual wields too much power. And it is because of their fear of power that they eliminate the Sith with extreme prejudice. They look at passion and emotion, tools used by the Sith to unlock deeper, more powerful connections with the force, as being evil. They cripple themselves by rejecting anger and hatred, both of which can help grant you powers beyond what a Jedi is capable of. But, they are skilled and powerful in their own right. There is a level of hypocrisy within their ranks. They say they do not seek power, but they look to control things to fit their own agenda. Sometimes even using brute force when they deem it necessary. It was a particularly skilled Jedi who severed my legs from my body. But, it was my anger and hatred towards him that allowed me to survive long after I should have died. Something a Jedi would never do, and therefore would have perished where I survived."
Maul stopped there and let Arya process all he had told her. She sat in silence for a while, thinking of what all this new information meant for her. Well she thought there's our enemy. The Jedi. That's useful to know.
"So, you belong to neither of these orders?" Arya asked. "Surely there are others like you who know the force but do not serve either order. People like me."
Maul shook his head. "Maybe, but only those who remain in hiding. If the Jedi find a force adept, they bring them into their fold almost immediately, lest that person fall to the dark side of the force. There is one thing you must know. Eventually you will meet a Jedi in our quest, and they will try to sway you to their side. Just remember what I told you about their limitations and hypocrisy. They have their own agenda, just as the Sith do, as do I. The Jedi will be your most formidable opponents as you look to gain strength with the force, but I feel that when your training is complete, they will cower in fear from you." Arya got a devilish look in her eye. Some of the most powerful knights in the galaxy cowering from her own strength was an exhilarating thought. She could not wait to get to Dathomir and start her real training.
Maul saw the look in his apprentice's eye and knew he had her. He was aware that bringing up the Jedi would be the one possible obstacle in gaining this girl's trust. Would their order sound more appealing to her? Would she try and flee to join them instead? He needed to know, so he took the risk of explaining their ways to her. But that risk seemed to have paid off. She seemed too intrigued by the thought of power over her enemies. This was a good sign. She must have been greatly oppressed on her own planet if her craving for power was so strong. Good. He could use that during her training. He decided that they could spar some more as long as he didn't push her too hard...yet.
"So, if we cannot test our skills with the force for the time being, then let us practice with weapons." Arya shook out of her deep thoughts of power and looked up at Maul.
"Master? I don't know if I'm capable of sparring today. I can barely walk."
Maul sneered at this. "Oh? So, you only fight when the conditions are perfect, and your body is in peak condition?"
Arya realized her mistake at once. "No, I-"
Maul cut her off with a wave of his hand. "I can tell you are talented, and have suffered greatly. But, know that the training you will receive from me will be more grueling than anything you have ever encountered. My former master drove me to the point of near death. He sent powerful Jedi after me and forced me to kill them. He…tortured me." Maul set his jaw tight. Thoughts of force lightning electrocuting every square inch of his body haunted him still. "And because of this harsh training, I am now one of the deadliest entities in the galaxy."
Arya opened and closed her mouth. She had trouble processing all of what Maul was saying to her. Her training with the faceless men had been some of the most intense she had ever experienced. What Maul was suggesting seemed so cruel, she started to think she had made a huge mistake joining him. "So..." she began hesitantly, "will you torture me too?" she hated that she sounded scared when she asked the question.
Maul looked at her thoughtfully for a moment "No." he replied. "My former master is one of the cruelest people in the galaxy, and one of my greatest enemies. My old self would have no problem driving you so hard in your training that you died. But you are too great of an asset to me, and I am not like my former master." Arya breathed a sigh of relief. "But," he continued "Your training may be so severe that you will wish I had simply chosen to torture you. Now come, join me in the training room." With that he stood up from the table and left the chamber. Arya followed as best she could.
