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"Peace is a lie." Speech.
'There is only Passion' Force Ghost/Flashback/Alien Language/Droid.
"█▄██▄▄█▄▄█▄" Inarticulate/Creature Roar/s.
"With Passion I gain strength!" Holo-communication Speech.
XxxXxxXxxX
Previously:
It took far too long to reach his destination. By the time Harry reached the Tower steps the window had closed and Harry was gasping for air. His vision was fading and his ears were filled with a white noise as he felt his body starting to fail. His right leg felt as if it was on fire from the strained muscles of his previous spinning and he felt as if one possibly more of his ribs had broken from just how heavily his chest was heaving as he fought for breath.
Stumbling forward, Harry fought his way up those last few steps and staggered across the small landing and into the interior of the Tower.
Unable to go any further Harry allowed gravity to finally win the fight against him as he sank to the ground, relishing the feel of the cool stone against his burning skin.
The last thing he felt, as darkness took him once more, was a faint rumble and a jolt as the stone floor beneath him started to lower.
XxxXxxXxxX
When Harry woke once more the first thing he noticed was, he was wet.
Wet and floating.
His eyes opened slowly, carefully and he looked through a blue watery substance to see a room of metal. Grey and black and brown colored steel glittered in the light that refracted through the bubbling liquid he was submerged in. when a brief moment of panic hit him; fear that he would drown, he felt a breath of fresh air push its way into his lungs and felt the presence of a face mask covering his nose and mouth.
With the knowledge and reassurance that he could breath underwater, Harry took the time to take stock of his situation.
He didn't hurt.
He floated in the tank; suspended comfortably with the breathing mask and clad only in a pair of form fitting shorts and he didn't ache. His bones didn't feel like they were creaking and shattering, his lungs didn't burn from the exertion of breathing and his muscles didn't feel like they were on fire.
"Oh, you survived. How, unfortunate." A tiny, mechanical voice broke through to him.
Harry turned toward the voice and his eyes widened when he saw, a robot. As tall as Aunt Petunia and just as thin, the robot had crooked joints and a gaunt; skull like face.
"If you had died then I could have not needed to waste my time on you." The robot commented as it approached the tank Harry was submerged within. "Why the Great Master had to ensure my medical protocols were so strict I will never understand. I could have been a combat droid, but no the Great Master wanted a Medical Droid."
The robot, no, Medical Droid, fiddled with a console next to the tank, examining readouts displayed on a holographic readout.
After a moment the Droid looked from the readout and over to him, cocking its head to the side thoughtfully. "I don't suppose I could convince you to allow me to terminate you. For medical reasons?"
Harry blinked in shock at the sheer casual way the Droid had asked if it could kill him actually stunned him for a second before he quickly shook his head in the negative; denying the Medic's apparent fond desire.
The Droid's shoulders fell and its head hung down sadly, apparently quite upset at the refusal. "How unfortunate. Perhaps another time then. Oh well, hold still while I drain the Bacta, your treatment is complete, a quick post recovery test and you can be on your way."
Harry nodded in understanding and waited and watched silently and with wide eyes as the liquid he had woken within; Bacta according to the Droid, was drained out of the tank, lowering him to the floor.
Thirty minutes later and the Medical Droid had cleaned Harry's body of any remnant Bacta and removed the life support equipment that had allowed him to breath.
It was, better. While not as relieving and wonderful as when the ghost had filled him with The Power, the pain that Harry felt now that he was out of the healing Bacta and back in the unforgivable world was lessened almost incredibly so. It was almost nothing more than a dull ache at the back of his mind and his body simply felt only faintly tired.
"If you continue to deny me permission to medically terminate you then you will need to remain on a strict regime of stims and bacta treatments for the next forty-five rotations." The Medic Droid supplied as it pressed a needle into the side of the boy's neck. "The treatment should boost your biological functions and immunity system. I have been informed by the Taskmaster that the Great Master intends to apply his own treatment to further your recovery."
Harry nodded in minute understanding. The last thing he could remember before waking up in the Bacta Tank was passing out atop Glastonbury Tor; the destination Bane had instructed him to reach. It was not a far reach to consider that wherever he found himself now was the very place he had been seeking. Thus making the 'Great Master' the Droid referred to as Bane himself.
"Well, off you go." The Droid stepped back from Harry, moving over to the table and collecting the equipment it had gathered in treatment of the boy. "I will seek you out for your next treatment. Until then, try not to bother me with your organic condition."
Harry nodded as he slipped off of the stool he had been seated upon, a small smile on his face as he found amusement in the antics and behavior of the medic.
Watching for a moment as the quirky droid busied itself within the medbay, muttering under its 'breath' in a language that he could not understand, Harry finally turned away from it and walked out of the room. The space beyond the medbay was similar in design and appearance; walls of gleaming metal and lights lining the ceiling as the corridor turned a corner at either side of him to parts unknown.
Not sure where to go, Harry turned to the right and walked down the corridor on nothing more than impulse. When he passed by a closed door to his left he ignored it, an empty feeling giving him the impression of nothing worthwhile being behind it. When he reached another door to his left, here he stopped.
At Harry's presence the door slid open with a hiss of compressed air and a faint bluish glow emanated from within. Walking into the room, Harry's gaze almost immediately fell upon the seated spectral form of Bane; perched atop a small stack of crates on the far side of the room.
"An impressive display child." The Ghost spoke, motioning for the six year old to approach him. "While the test I gave her was different to yours, not even my Apprentice displayed such an instinctive grasp of The Force as you did that night."
"The Force?" Harry pondered aloud, briefly turning to consider the door as it closed behind him before returning his eyes to the ghost. "You mean The Power?"
Bane nodded. "A crude comparison for the vast and unexplainable truth, but a close enough approximation. You are a part of a wider universe than you could possibly understand child."
"How can I understand?"
Bane leaned forward, resting his elbows atop his knees as he peered down from his perch to the child that had come to stand a few feet from him. "I have you a test: find The Legacy, and you succeeded."
"I made it to The Legacy?"
Bane nodded. "The Legacy is a ship, hidden away on this pitiful little world long ago by my Will and Order. Buried beneath what the natives called Glastonbury Tor. You made it here, despite your limitations and immaturity. Despite the pain and suffering you endured. You passed my test." The Ghost rose to his feet and took the two steps to remove the space between the two so that he loomed above Harry; his gaze locking onto the six year old's.
Harry looked at the ghost; whom apart from simply staring back at him, did nothing. Bane had fallen completely silent and motionless from his perch. As if awaiting input from the child.
"What now?" The boy finally asked, unsure as to what direction things would go from this point.
Bane simply raised an eyebrow. "That I believe, is up to you child."
Harry furrowed his brow in thought, turning away from the glowing blue spirit to take in his surroundings briefly. Not too long ago he was helpless; weak and dying in a small cupboard and enslaved to the cruel whims of his relatives. Now he was standing in a genuine spaceship, getting medical treatment from a robot and talking to a ghost. But more importantly for Harry at this time, was the fact that right now, at this moment in his life; he was feeling the least amount of pain and suffering.
"This Power; The Force." Harry spoke up, returning his eyes to Bane with a hard, determined glint within them. "What is it?"
XxxX
What is The Force? I cannot begin to explain it to a satisfying level. Scholars and mystics have dedicated the lives of themselves and their Order to measure and organise its mysteries and origins.
I can tell you that The Force is everywhere. Inside all things that exist within this galaxy; living and dead. It is in the air you breath, the water you drink, the animal flesh you consume. It is in the earth you walk upon and the void between the stars you gaze at. It binds us together and fills the cosmos with life. But also death. If there is ever a truth to be applied to The Force when learning of it, it is this:
The Force is indifferent. There are countless groups that would claim that The Force 'fights with them' and teach of its favor like that of a higher being passing down a blessing upon them and a curse to their enemies. None of this is true. The Force is simply The Force. It has no will nor sentience beyond that of your own, neither does it carry any care for its use beyond that which you allow.
To those with the gift and capability to be sensitive to it, The Force carries with it unimaginable power. As you yourself experienced; it is the power to affect change and control over that which normally you possess none. In the hands and mind of a Master, The Force is a limitless power. Unmatched by any conventional weapon or tool and the very term 'impossibility' becomes a restrictive figment of a lesser mind.
I have seen men driven to madness and powerful rulers brought low under the sway of The Force. It is the power to make the very earth tremble and tear worlds asunder just as it is a force to restore life to the dying and drive away sickness and pain.
As I said, there are those that have tried to divide The Force; to separate its parts into neat little portions and impose their own order and doctrine into something that by its very nature is disorder. I confess myself complicit to this in life.
The Light Side. The Dark Side. Living, Unifying, Cosmic, Physical. Labels decided by mortal creatures with no true understanding beyond that which they wish when it comes to The Force. Truthfully, when one looks upon The Force they see only a reflection of their own desires. It shows you what you want to see and how you want to see it. In my youth I saw power and strength in followers of The Dark Side of The Force and so when I reached for it, I saw only what I wanted to see, the power of the Dark Side. The pacifist users who seek to use The Force for what they would define as 'good' and 'just' look only to The Light Side.
The Force is all of these things, and yet none. The Force existed long before any of us divided it into such petty concepts such as 'Light' and 'Dark,' and it will be here long after the last of us are gone from this galaxy.
I will not tell you that there is no such thing as 'good' or 'evil'. It would be a lie. Just as good exists in the galaxy so too does its counterpart. Just as The Force can be used to bring peace and happiness so too can it bring pain and death. The deciding factor in this is not 'how' The Force is used; but rather 'why'.
In short; The Force is a cosmic power beyond any other and capable of things that are beyond measure and reason. There are restrictions and limitations that are a result of the fleshy mortality of the user, but the only true impossibility is that no-one can ever truly know all there is to know about The Force. You can learn of it your whole life; master as many secrets and powers as you wish and still leave this life knowing nothing.
The Force is power. It is knowledge and wisdom.
I was once myself a powerful practitioner. I possessed knowledge of The Force that to this day are unmatched in its sheer power and mystery. And yet, for all that I knew, all that I had learned and gathered during my time amongst the living; I was nothing before The Force when I joined it in death.
XxxX
Bane paused for a moment, looking down to the now seated and raptly attentive boy. "I passed on a great deal of the knowledge I had collected to my apprentice, the one I had selected to carry on the Legacy of Bane. And then I died; as I chose and wished to the Order I had created in my life."
"When I learned to use the Force in my youth; I was trained to follow an instinct to channel my emotions and passions into The Force. It is a practice that an Order of Force users had declared as a means to channel the 'Dark Side' of The Force. It was a Sith practice as it is our passions that give us drive, give us determination to set goals and strive to meet them. I am sure you understand that there are emotions that are more powerful than others?"
Harry nodded in understanding; recalling his time at The Dursleys. "Anger and hate. My uncle was always more violent and loud whenever he was angry for whatever reason. He seemed to hate a lot of things and it was always a very vocal hate."
Bane nodded in agreement. "Yes. Even in those that are not sensitive to The Force are driven and enhanced by their feelings. Emotions such as hatred, anger, pain and fear inspire physical responses. They drive people to fight harder, longer and with greater fervor. When used by a Force sensitive it has an effect of enhancing the power of The Force just as in turn it magnifies the emotions that have been poured into it. A feedback loop if you will."
"So bad emotions make The Force stronger but at the same time makes the emotions more strong?" Harry interjected.
Bane smiled in approval; appreciating the input of the child to his impromptu lesson. It showed that not only was the boy listening; but he also understood.
"A simple but nonetheless accurate conclusion yes. It is the true danger of any Force sensitive when applying emotions to manipulation of The Force."
"How?"
"Power is an incredible and overwhelming sensation to feel. The sensation and heady feeling of such power incorporated with a steady, increasing flow of anger or hatred is a dangerously corruptible influence. I have witness lesser Sith lose themselves to that feeling and become nothing more than mindless animals; slaves to their own darkness and believing themselves gods with the power they believe they possess. They all fell to the Dark Side of The Force."
"But that doesn't make sense." Harry spoke up, confusion evident in his face. "If the Sith put their bad feelings into The Force and it was given back to them with more, then how is that the Dark Side? Shouldn't it be that they fell to their own weakness?"
Bane smiled, pleased with the thoughts of the child. It was a simple line of thought, most would call it naive in fact. But there was no denying the fact that the Earth child had hit the issue squarely. The emotional feedback loop of The Force did not invoke or summon the 'Dark Side'. Those that 'fell' to the 'Dark Side' and were lost within it had simply failed to master and maintain control over the emotions they had fed into The Force.
"An enlightened view not many are able to reach." Bane replied in approval. "It is the mistake of many to avoid blame regarding their own weakness and madness and simply lean upon the crutch of blaming the Dark Side of The Force. It makes for an epic tale of ultimate victory when a Force user who has fallen to the 'Dark Side' returns to the 'Light'."
"And I am able to use The Force?" Harry pointed out. "When you helped me use its power to get here, you said that I had the ability."
"That I did. While you are currently unable to call upon The Force on your own, I simply pushed open the doorway temporarily if you will."
"Is that why I'm always sick? Why it hurts so much?" Harry asked. "Sickness, pain and weakness; is that the price to be sensitive to this Force?"
Bane shook his head. "No. there is something wrong with this planet you were born upon. A great and terrible cancer that has twisted and tainted The Force here. To those that are not connected to The Force they could live their entire lives and not notice. But you; who was born with such a powerful connection, you feel the cancer that eats at this world as keenly as it does. Your body is weak and wracked with pain because the sickness that infects this planet is in turn trying to infect you. I have seen a handful of children born with a connection to the Force on this planet since my arrival here."
"And what happened to them?"
"They died." Bane replied, bluntly. "Without exception each and every Force Sensitive before you has died by the age of four. Unable to survive here in a world trying to kill them."
"But I'm six." Harry pointed out, wide eyed and filled with no small amount of fear and alarm at the revelation.
"You are exceptionally more powerful than those who came before you." Bane offered with a shrug. "Truthfully I am surprised you have lasted as long as you have in your condition. But in the end, you are currently dying."
"B-but I don't want to die." Harry pointed out, sad and with a growing tremor in his voice.
"Then don't." Bane said dismissively with a wave of his hand. At the boy's confused and teary expression he stood up and approached the boy, crouching down to look at him closely. "It is possible to survive on this toxic world. This place eats and corrupts The Force until it is nothing more than a Miasma of cancerous pain and death. But it can be staved off. I am here, now as nothing more than a manifestation of pure Force energy. By all rights the planet should have destroyed my very spirit. But I am able to endure because while my body may have died, my spirit and power endures. Even in death I can still use The Force in such a way as to stave off Earth's Miasma. It is what I did to you to give you the strength to leave your cage beneath the stairs."
"If you wish to live, then you will listen to what I have to say. You will learn what I have to teach and you will obey what orders I have to give." Bane rose to his full height, stretching his arms out wide. "Here within The Legacy I will teach you how to live. And when you leave here, you will teach yourself how to be Great."
XxxXxxXxxX
Merry Xmas and New year...you know, all that jazz.
First of all, well we're not going to apologise for the lack of updates. Xmas season has us busy with our personal lives which had prevented us from updating according to schedule. In the next couple of weeks we should be able to return to the Schedule of updates which will return as follows:
Week 1: Zero Chakra Plan
Week 2: Never Alone
Week 3: Throne of Babylon
Week 4: Risen in Light, Fallen to Shadow
Bane of Light and Inversion are free range stories that get updates when we have a free moment or if the mood strikes us during a week over what is scheduled (really not all that much given we tend to hype ourselves up for the coming week to avoid such a thing.)
Now then, this was not a very long chapter. It is more a bit of an info dump for Harry from Bane to introduce him to the new world he is to enter as well as explain to those who have waited patiently for a reason as to why Harry is so very frail and physically weak.
Next update from this story will be a bit of initial training to progress up to Hogwarts age.
Later.
….REVIEW FORCE DAMN YOU!