Chapter Forty-One: Lineage and Legacy

"Good, my apprentice," Darth Bane drawled from where he floated in the dark as I whirled through the movements he'd taught me. He sent tendrils of shadow towards me-enemies he conjured with the Force-all of which I took down easily with the staff that doubled as my training saber. I took the liberty of adding in a few of my own improvised moves, trying to be sporadic and unpredictable as a true master of Juyo could do. While Bane made no sign of approval, he didn't scold me for my change either.

It was its own form of praise, in a way.

Finally, the onslaught of shadowy figures stopped, my master allowing my a moment to breathe. The pseudo-saber dipped down to hang at my side, my breathing coming in hard, tired pants. Despite having been training under his tutelage for months, Bane never failed to push me to my limits in our sessions.

In the last month or so, he'd been even more persistent. He forced me to use my abilities along with my fighting more and more. Forced me to enter dangerous places on Korriban-booby-trapped tombs and nests of terrible creatures. To travel the uninhabitable terrain and survive for days.

In the end, my hatred for him grew by the day. And with it, my power did as well.

Still, whenever I would leave his presence, the rage would fade to a low burn. The things he told me about the jedi, which I often believed fervently in training, would stop making sense. I'd tried to take King Adas' advice and find Yilria, but she seemed to be avoiding me. As my abilities in the Force grew, I could feel her watching me, but could never summon her.

It was like she was waiting for something.

In my searches for her and with the help of the sith abattar, I'd found other specters. Pompous Kissai, dressed in elegant robes with upturned noses. They scowled at me and cursed me in their native tongue, calling me a mix of names from half-breed to trespasser. Had they been alive, I may have feared their power and the dark forces they commanded. But they were dead...stuck on the planet they once called their home. I had no reason to fear them.

I knew I didn't need to fear them due to my running into some Missassi spirits-the warriors of the Sith species. They were huge and lumbering, with ridges on their heads. Their eyes glowed yellow with no sign of pupils or irises. Their spirits had tried to attack me, but had only passed through. Still, I did my best to avoid them. They were unnerving at the very least.

I'd been able to speak with Adas more. He seemed to enjoy telling me stories about the old Sith ways, as well as what I could do, were I the sith'ari. I did my best to deter him from that possible fate when we spoke, though.

While I didn't tell Bane about my communication with the dead, I knew he could feel the conflict within me. Adas spoke of a society with a rigid caste system dependant on race. He talked about warfare and the glory of battle. It made me wonder if I was really meant to be doing what I was doing. Sure, Bane was teaching me about the Force. But his teachings were dark. Deadly. And they turned me against the people I once loved.

I would recognize these truths when I would leave my training, only for me to fall into Bane's grasp the following morning like a creature deprived of water. I yearned for how powerful he made me feel.

And that scared me.

"You're distracted today, apprentice," Bane commented, floating before me with his hands folded behind his back. I glanced up at him from my kneeling position where I rested, resigning myself to a small nod.

"My apologies, master. My mind has been racing. With your training, I sense so much more."

"Yes," he hummed, regarding me. "Have you felt the ancient power rising?" I lifted my brow at him, clearly indicating that I had not. "One day you will be tapped into the Dark Side in the manner that I am. I have felt a new power in the darkness rise...as well as an old one returning."

"An old...Sith?"

"He was an apprentice once. The one who stood in Dooku's place before him."

My breath hitched. I'd remembered the stories about the Sith Obi-wan had supposedly killed on Naboo back before the Clone Wars began. Nearly ten years before Jango died. "Maul?" I asked, unsure. "He was killed. Split in two."

"Yes," Bane allowed with a low chuckle. "But anger and hatred fuel the Dark Side of the Force. He kept himself alive. And I foresee he will rise with a new apprentice."

"What about the rule of two?" I interrupted. "There is already a master and an apprentice."

"And so they will be dealt with." I looked up at my master with a twinge of fear.

"By the Sith Lord?"

"By you."

I blanched. "Master, I am not ready. I haven't even-"

"Silence. What I foresee is the future and has yet to come to pass. Though the apprentice rises even as we speak."

"How can an apprentice rise without his master?"

"How indeed," Bane hummed, obviously pleased with my thought. He liked that he felt that I couldn't rise to power without him. I felt my anger grow at that. He felt it too. "Your hatred for me grows by the day, apprentice."

I looked away. "I am grateful for your teachings," I said through my teeth, donning the placid face I perfected as a slave.

"Don't try to trick me," my master demanded, the room darkening with his power. "I see your thoughts. I sense your feelings. You've grown to hate me. Were I alive, you'd wish me dead."

I hesitated to respond. It was true. When I was in his presence, I was alway overcome with rage and aggression. Had he been alive...would I have already tried to kill him?

The spirit of Darth Bane waved his hand dismissively. "This is often the ways of the Sith. Your anger towards me will push you to one day surpass my power. So long as you keep control of your rage, lest the Dark will consume you."

"Yes, my master."

I watched in silence, my heart rate finally returning to normal after my training, as the dark lord drifted over his stone sarcophagus. He outstretched his armored fingers towards the lightsaber that rested there.

"Take up your destined blade, apprentice."

I started, my eyes slowly lifting my gaze to the glowing yellow eyes of my master. He didn't move or say any more, waiting rather patiently for me to move. Finally, I overcame my shock and hesitation and rose from the floor to approach the sarcophagus. As it had before, the kyber crystal inside called to me.

Sad. Alone. Broken.

My fingers wrapped around the hilt as I lifted it from the sarcophagus. My abilities had grown since the last time I held it. Bane had spent months training and honing my power. And the kyber crystal, even in its shattered and bleeding state, could feel the power. It yearned for it. Craved it.

My thumb pressed the activator, the red blade coming forth and illuminating the tomb. It practically vibrated with power. Still, within the anger...I felt the loneliness of the crystal. It was broken and it longed to be whole.

I ignored it in my master's presence, swinging the blade experimentally. It was light, but heavy with power. I did a few moves Bane had taught me. I felt powerful. Good.

"Your blade suits you well, apprentice. It is bonding with your Force abilities well." I bowed my head in response, disengaging the lightsaber as I bowed. "Go. Take your weapon with you and use it should you need to. Train on your own and then return to me when you feel you are ready to advance your skills further."

"Yes, my master."

The fresher on my shuttle was starting to run low, I realized as I glanced at the wall panels through the water. I made a mental note to make another trip off-world to restock on supplies. Since Bane didn't need food or anything to survive, considering he's dead... I had to make regular trips off world for myself only. Thankfully, I still had credits coming in from my club on Coruscant, so I could actually pay to refuel.

Of course, the closest trading location was Florrum, so that meant I'd have to deal with Hondo every time. The first time, he'd tried to capture me for the bounty on my head, which I apparently had from both Dooku and from the Jedi.

He didn't succeed, of course.

And he had yet to try again, since my threats were still rather fresh on his mind.

I stepped out of the steaming fresher, thankful for the floral soaps I'd managed to pawn off of Hondo for a few spare kyber crystals I'd found on Korriban. They were synthetic sith crystals and wouldn't do the job his client needed...but he didn't seem to care so long as he got paid and wouldn't have to cross paths with any jedi.

"Tu zinot zo meistras, mazo zras zo grotthu."

I whirled at the familiar voice of Yilria, covering myself with the towel I'd been using to dry my growing hair. I wanted to yell at her for surprising me, but I didn't want to frighten her off either. Everytime I'd tried to find her in the past, she'd avoided me. I wasn't going to let this opportunity pass.

I moved past her slowly to scoop up and don the heavy Sith amulet, the power radiating through my chest. After taking a moment to steady myself, I wrapped the towel better around my frame and eyed the Kissai female. "I've been trying to reach out to you for months," I said gently, but not trying to hide my frustration. "Why now?"

She looked me up and down slowly. "I see your master has allowed you to keep the lightsaber."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I mused as I wandered over to my wardrobe, drawing out a fresh pair of clothes. My lightsaber rested on top of it.

I could sense the woman's anger at my words. "You've allowed him to control and give something that which was already yours to possess!"

I started at that, but my mind smoothed over it easily. "He's my master, I reasoned. My teacher. I wasn't ready to wield it until now." I turned away from her, pulling on my clothes slowly.

"You've used one before, have you not?"

"And I almost got myself killed," I growled in return, feeling the influence Bane has had over me for months. The Kissai pursed her lips at me, but said no more. I could feel her disappointment, though. I sighed slowly, forcing myself to calm down. "Why didn't you tell me you were my ancestor before?"

She looked my up and down again before turning to walk out of my shuttle. "Because you were not ready. And you still are not."

"Wait!" I called, struggling to pull my boots on as I stumbled after her into the cooling night of Korriban. "What am I not ready for?"

She whirled at the end of my gangway, glaring at me. "The truth."

"Why wouldn't I be ready for it? That's what I'm searching for here. You could have told me the truth when I first got here. It would have saved me a lot of time!"

"I needed to know if you were worthy, but I see that you are not," she hissed at me. "You came looking for answers and accepted the first you found. You are a slave."

My fists clenched as I stalked down the gangway to stand face to face with her. "I am not. I was born a slave but escaped it and have made myself better for it. I'm becoming powerful. You were free and became a slave. You died a slave. Who's the better between us?"

I expected to feel anger, but only felt sadness from her. "You, because you are blind. I was a slave. I was used and forced to carry a half-breed that I did not want." I backpedaled on that. I knew she was my ancestor-the first to crossbreed, according to King Adas-but it hadn't occurred to me that the mating may have been...forced. I shuddered at the thought.

Yilria continued, her voice sad. "But I knew I was a slave. I saw what I was. I wasn't blind to the truth, nor revel in the newfound power of the Sith empire. I knew that the power was not my own, because I was not my own master. My slavery caused me to lose my way. As will yours."

I took a step backwards before slowly sliding down and sitting at the top of my gangway. She watched me, her chest heaving as she panted in a mixture of anger and grief. "I'm sorry," I whispered finally, feeling my own rage recede. "I never realized that…" I swallowed thickly. "I never realized that I…"

"That your Sith bloodline stems from a slave being taken by a master?"

I looked away, fighting tears in my eyes. They were for her. But I am ashamed to admit that they were also for me. "Have I ever not been a slave?" I said slowly. "I was born because of it. Born into it. And now you say I'm still one." She watched me, but said nothing. "Who was the man?"

She seemed surprised by my question. "His name was Remulus. Remulus Dreypa. He was a jedi once, before falling to the Dark Side. He came with Sorzus Syn."

"The woman in the tomb," I surmised. "They were some of the first to enslave your people." She nodded as I looked away again. "I thought your people were powerful Dark Siders. That you valued war and strength."

"We did," she allowed. "And we were eventually destroyed because of this belief." She moved slowly, as if not to frighten me, to sit beside me. "While many Sith used the Dark, we were not consumed by it. Many of these fallen jedi found our abilities and turned them to a goal of revenge, rather than just power."

I shook my head. "I still don't understand. How are you upset with me for what I'm doing? I'm learning. I'm growing my power."

"And you're losing yourself in the process, dear girl." I felt my anger begin to grow, but she calmed it with a gentle sweep of her hand across my cheek. It surprised me, since I had no idea she could actually make touch the physical world. Still, it was nice. Very few people in my life had ever touched me like that. Almost...motherly.

The last had been Padme.

My heart ached at that thought.

"How do I not lose myself and still learn from Bane?"

"You don't," she concluded, making me frown. "When you first arrived here, I felt your grief. Your confusion. Your anger. You were lost on your path. You lost who you are."

"I don't know if I've ever known who I am," I admitted slowly.

"Well you won't find out from Bane," she responded with a small smile.

"He thinks I might be the next sith'ari," I said slowly. "Do you think-"

"No," she cut me off, making my eyebrows raise. "The Sith...the true Sith...are gone. There's no saving us anymore, so there is no sith'ari. Not as we believed it, anyway."

"That's…a relief," I sighed.

To my surprise, Yilria chuckled. "I'm glad. You can find yourself, Kida. Find your purpose. You must push past the influence Bane has rooted within your mind. I sense your energies. Your conflict." She looked away with pursed lips. "You may have Sith blood, but darkness is not where your heart lies."

"I'm...sorry?" I offered, unsure of how to respond.

"Don't apologize," she smiled at me gently. "You are not a Pureblood. Also...I don't want any path forced on anyone. It is a truth we learned long ago in the most terrible of ways. I sense where your heart lies."

"Where?"

"Not here," she chuckled. "But not in the light either. The Jedi of your time are rigid and controlled. They encouraged peace, rather than passion, doing their best to eradicate emotion and attachment. They are the antithesis of the teachings of your new master."

"I wouldn't do well as a jedi," I responded. "Even if I would, I'm not only too old, but they are hunting me."

"They fear you for good reason. You have power, Kida. Power that they cannot control." I glanced down at my hands. "This is why Bane seeks to control it. To make you become what the jedi fear you will be."

"So I fit in neither?" I asked.

Yilria pursed her lips before looking out over the dark hills of Korriban. "Long before the Republic and Jedi Order that you know now, there was an order called the Je'daii. It was how the ones you know first began, but their teachings were...different. They observed that Ashla and Bogan-light and dark- both had to exist in their world in order for it to survive. As it does in nature, so it should be within ourselves. They called this Bendu-a balance between light and dark."

"How do you know about this?" I asked slowly.

"As I said, not all Sith allowed themselves to succumb to darkness. Others sought knowledge...which often brought balance."

"So...I should pursue a balance? Who will teach me this?"

"None survive," she allowed. "Though a certain jedi who has reached to you before often shared these beliefs."

"Qui-Gon Jinn?"

Yilria nodded. "Your path does not lie on this planet, Kida. It lies out there," she gestured to the star-lit sky. "With the people whose company you grieve so deeply."

I looked down again. "I don't think those people want me back."

"Then make them see that they do. Do not throw yourself away to a new slave master." She reached out her hand, my lightsaber flying through the air to meet it. I saw her flinch slightly as my kyber crystal cried out...and perhaps from the memory of Dreypa. She held it out to me with an open palm. "It is time you freed yourself from slavery."

Sith Translations:

Tu zinot zo meistras, mazo zras zo grotthu- You have a master, so are a slave

Author's Note:

Thank you to everyone for your patience. I haven't been good about posting and am trying to find time/inspiration when I can!

Happy Holidays!

-Ryder