As Elyrhis followed Maul into the village elder's dark, smoky hut, she was struck with three revelations at once, all of which she should have grasped earlier, but hadn't fully comprehended until the moment she stepped upon the threshold.
The first revelation was that Lord Maul had actually been born here, in this obsolete and dusty village. The second was that all the fully mature villagers, including the elderly shaman, had facial tattoos, though none of them so bold and starkly defiant as Maul's. The third revelation was that he had a real name, or rather, a name not relevant to his life as a Sith of the Dark Side. Somehow it had never occurred to her that her master had once been a child, had once been young and vulnerable. She had never known him to rely on anyone besides Palpatine.
In the center of the square hut was a small fire, and above the fire sat a pot, etched with complex designs that gave off a slight golden glow. A female Zabrak, dressed in a proper robe rather than rags, stood by the pot, stirring. It was too dark to make out the color of her skin or her robe, but her eyes were very bright. The space to the right of the pot seemed to be the living quarters, and the space to the left of the pot was cluttered with an assortment of strange things: various bones, feathers, jars, dried plants, etc.
The village elder led them to the right side, and seated himself on a cushion on the floor. He waved his hand at the female Zabrak. "Daughter, I have brought guests to our house. You may perhaps remember Khamier? He has grown much since we last saw him."
The female looked at Maul and nodded in acknowledgement. "Brother," she said simply in greeting, showing neither recognition nor overt politeness.
"Sister," replied Maul, moving his head only slightly in return. He lowered himself on a cushion in front of the village elder's.
Elyrhis, not having been acknowledged, stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do.
"You may sit," said Maul to her.
Glad to have a direct order, she too sank onto a cushion. The female Zabrak continued stirring her pot, watching the trio on the floor with interest.
"You said you already know why I am here," said Maul.
The village elder let out a wheezy snort that Elyrhis took to be a guffaw. "Of course I do. You're here to prove me wrong, after all these years. Me, and everyone else. And you're going to do it with her," He nodded at Elyrhis.
He leveled a golden yellow stare at her, who gulped nervously.
"I'm sorry," she burst out suddenly. "But I don't even know what's going on. Please tell me what any of this has to do with me."
The village elder recoiled, his eyes widened and astonished. He looked at Maul suspiciously. "What did she just say? Can she understand us?"
"Yes, I suspect so," said Maul calmly, as Elyrhis sat beside him, absolutely befuddled. "It is because of the bonding between her and me. She has been listening all this while, but unless I am mistaken, hasn't realized why she can understand us until now."
Elyrhis blushed. Worse than the fact that she was a fool was the fact that her master was aware of it more fully than she herself was.
"You have already initiated the bonding? You have already taken the first step then, I see. You are already a part of her, and she is already a part of you." The elderly Zabrak looked at him shrewdly. "So you think you're ready then? You think you are worthy enough for it now?"
"I need this." Maul's voice was thick with conviction. "One way or another, I will have it. You, of all people, know what I am capable of."
"That I do." The village elder folded his robes. "That I do. Since you have already initiated the bonding, there is little purpose in denying you. But then, you didn't come to give me a choice, did you, son? So I will do it."
"Thank you Father," said Maul, with a slight tic in his jaw. Elyrhis could tell that it was taking him a lot of control to show deference to someone besides Palpatine.
"But not today," continued the village elder. "I need time to prepare the necessary ingredients. A few days, perhaps."
"I don't have that much time to wait, Father," said Maul, his tic becoming more pronounced.
The elderly Zabrak glared at him. "You must understand, my son, I have never done it this way before. Never with a human woman. If you cannot wait a few days, then it will not be done."
A tense silence followed this proclamation. Then, Maul grudgingly nodded.
"We will wait."
"I knew you would. You may sleep and stay here while I prepare. Daughter," said the village elder to the female by the pot, "you can sleep under someone else's roof to make room for Khamier and the human."
"No." Maul stood up. "We came on a ship. We will stay there. I will come again every day to check your progress. There is no need to come look for us, so do not send anyone to try."
"My lord," Elyrhis began as the door to the S-1612 Rex slid open. They were back at the cruiser's landing spot, and Bloodfin had been safely stored back into the cargo hold. Maul had said nothing on the dry ride home, and Elyrhis, too busy pondering the strange meeting with the village elder, had decided to hold her tongue. Until now. Everything was just getting too confusing for her. "Why are we here? What was the village elder talking about?"
Maul lowered himself onto one of the seats in the main cabin of the cruiser, looking uncharacteristically tired. He rubbed his forehead, eyes downcast. Elyrhis kneeled at his feet, hands placed on his knees, looking up into her master's face.
"I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell you," he said. "I suppose…"
"Yes?" she prompted.
"I suppose this all began when I was a young Zabrak, here on Iridonia," he said. "You've probably figured out by now that my real name is Khamier, not Darth Maul. Of course, Darth Maul is just the name my master gave me."
She nodded.
He was silent for a moment, and then said, "That's where this all began, in the days before I met my master…"
Story Notes:
Sorry for not updating in so long! I've been on vacation for the past 6 weeks, and then I've been getting ready to start school again. But here it is, and the next update will be very soon. Also, I apologize for not having lived up to the M-rating for the past few chapters. It will come in the next chapter, I promise! Chapter 5 will be considerably darker.
For those of you who don't know, Darth Maul's home system is Iridonia, and he is of the Zabrak species. Iridonia has an extremely harsh climate, notably its dry desserts, and as a result, Zabraks evolved to become an extremely hardy, stubborn, and determined race. According to one of my sources, Iridonia actually exploded in a war prior to The Phantom Menace, but I only learned this after writing the last two chapters, and decided that I liked my idea too much to change it now, so please forgive me for any liberties taken.
Khamier has not been confirmed to be his true, canonical name, but it is a popular fan suspect, and I like the sound of it, so there it is.
For My Reviewers:
Charlie-Curtis, Cranberries: I hope these chapters satisfy you!
EKora: I'm grateful for your thoughts and suggestions as always, especially since I suspect that you're much more knowledgeable about the Star Wars universe than I am.
DJFireHawk: Thank you! I don't think much of the twists, as of yet. Maybe there will be more and better to come. I love Maul as well! I wish we'd seen more of him in the movies. He's a very intriguing character. I love the idea of Maul, but I also worship Obi-Wan.
Gizzi: I did think about leaving it as a oneshot, actually, but you know, when an idea gets a hold of you, you just can't let it go. So I had no choice but to continue. As to what Maul is up to, well, that will be soon to come.