Merrin grabbed what few belongings she possessed from her bunk aboard the Stinger Mantis. Since the first words whispered to her days ago, there had been no further words sent from Mother Talzin. Despite wondering why Mother Talzin had spoken and what she had meant in regards to 'magicks', Merrin could puzzle out no further answers.
Cal and Cere had been looking for leads on any leftovers from the Haxion Brood. After their last adventure in taking out the Empire's construction of the Shroud and defeating another Inquisitor, Cal was trying to persuade the rest of the crew to help find other ways to hurt the Empire.
"Males," Merrin mumbled to herself as she walked down the ramp in clear exasperation. Cere, who was near enough to the door, smiled in amusement as she watched Merrin walk by before the former Jedi turned back to whatever task she had appointed herself while they allowed Merrin to disembark.
Merrin stepped off the ramp and stepped over to her friend Cal as he stared out past the Tomb of Kujet. For the moment she just observed him. She knew that for Cal, and to a lesser degree Cere, felt an oppressive presence from the dark side of the Force while they were on Dathomir.
"There's something out there Merrin," Cal said with certainty. His face though only seemed to indicate his confusion at not being able to sort out what it was that he was feeling. "It's something different, I thought maybe Malicos was alive and free or had possessed someone but this feeling isn't from the tomb…" He trailed off as he tried to put his feelings into words for her.
Merrin was unconcerned however. She gave him a hug trying to help him put off his uneasiness as she stepped out of his reach she gave him a smile, "It's nothing to worry about. I'll contact you when I'm ready to run around the galaxy with you causing trouble for the Empire."
Cal nodded and shook off the feeling of the dark side presence and started questioning BD-1 about what he could do to help. The little droid whistled back and Cal laughed as he took up after BD-1. Merrin took a breath of Dathomir's air and for a moment luxuriated in the feeling, while she no longer needed the presence of the planet to drive her magick, it felt nice to be so close to it again. She made her way past the destroyed parts of the Nightsister enclave and folding her magicks around her faded from the sight of the more dangerous vermin.
It had been a long time since she was last here and Merrin found herself lost in thoughts of her sisters and all that she had seen and experienced on the Mantis. She found herself in the remnants of what used to be her home while on Dathomir. It was a bit run down considering the length of time she had been gone but found that the magicks used to ward it from the pests of Dathomir had held and it was blessedly free from black bane spiders or anything else unpleasant.
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After Merrin had settled in and she had watched the Mantis take off and carry her family to another place, Merrin could find no other excuses to delay her attempting to commune with the ghost of Mother Talzin. Why after so long was she drawn back to the Dathomir? Merrin sat herself inside a ritual circle used to attempt to reach the spirit realm and pulled on her magicks to connect her to the spirit realm.
As she chanted and focused her power into a point so that she could pierce the veil into the spirit realm she was startled from her muttered spell making as she heard the light laughter of a woman. Struggling as quickly as she could to her feet Merrin immediately cut off her magick flow to the spell but was shocked to feel the magicks pulled from her control.
"Sister Merrin," came the royal and comforting voice of Mother Talzin. Merrin turned quickly, looking around her shelter to see where the voice had come from.
"Mother Talzin?" She asked as her eyes flicked from one dark shadow to another in an attempt to find some explanation for the events happening around her. With another amused laugh the magicks seemed to draw themselves into a line and flow across the room to the doorway where the green magicks flowed around the form of a woman forming a green corona around her.
"Indeed," said Talzin as she stepped forward into the room and up to Merrin. "I had hoped you would come," She said warmly as she looked over one of the few living Nightsisters. Merrin had grown and Talzin knew she was a powerful practitioner and one of the few remaining hopes for the Nightsisters. With luck Merrin and Harry's daughters would be able to bring them back from the brink of death. Hopefully they, along with her beloved son's daughters, would be able to gather up the tattered remains of the Nightsisters and bring them back to prominence and oppose that Sith, Palpatine. Maul was quite successful in his endeavors when she had last been able to feel his presence from the spirit realm.
"Mother Talzin? What is," Merrin began in shock, seeing the spirit freely moving and not bound to a 'window' to speak through, "how are you here?" She finished in distress. Talzin raised a green wreathed hand and touched Merrin's cheek. The young woman flinched in surprise at the cold feeling but was more in awe that she could feel the individual touch of the woman's fingers.
"Ah yes," Talzin purred as she turned and walked to the doorway, motioning for Merrin to accompany her. "Not long ago someone came to Dathomir. Someone powerful and the magicks used in his arrival allowed me to walk the land. Albeit tethered, as I seem to be to the young man," she mused as they came to a stop near the edge of a cliff face that overlooked a long forest down far below the mountain they occupied. Mother Talzin looked out over the landscape in the same direction that Cal was looking in earlier Merrin noted as she followed Talzin's gaze.
"Magicks Mother?" Merrin asked, confused at her explanation. Only the Nightsisters had ever used the old magicks the Nightbrothers had never… "Arrived?" Merrin whispered in horror as her mind caught on the spirit's words. "One of Sidious' Inquisitors?" She hissed.
"No," Talzin said through her laughter at Merrin's surprise and anger. Talzin's eyes glittered with purpose, "That old man had nothing to do with Harry's arrival."
"Then who…" Merrin was cut off as Talzin held up a hand in front of her to stop her speaking. Merrin huffed at the action but stilled for Talzin to elaborate.
"Harry Potter," Talzin drew out the words as she seemed to ponder on their possible meaning. "He fell through the altar to the Fanged God," she said and pointed off the mountain and down towards a hillock several hundred kilometers away that looked slightly misshapen. "He arrived through the archway of the altar and I was able to see it!" Talzin exclaimed. Her eyes alight with a controlled hunger. "The power that brought him through it tore through the veil of the spirit realm and let me step into the realm of the living," Talzin explained as she turned her gaze back to the landscape she and Harry had traversed over the last days. "His rage was magnificent," she purred, "he tore through the stones of Dathomir without hesitation. His magicks are powerful and potent. I was able to draw on the residual energy he clawed into the planet to bring my form fully onto Dathomir," Talzin turned to Merrin, smiled, and continued in a whisper telling the young woman a secret, "but I still need some 'extra magicks' to project my form to be seen."
Merrin nodded in understanding, having experienced Talzin pulling on her gathered magick to have this conversation. Mother Talzin's actions confused her however. Merrin had not been involved with her when she was younger and had no idea what she was like, but now, Mother Talzin almost seemed manic with regards to the male she was speaking about.
"Why have you called me here Mother? What do you need me for?" She asked after letting the silence between them settle, each in their own thoughts. Merrin absently twisted her fingers, being in Talzin's presence brought much of her long buried insecurities forward just by being near her.
Talzin smiled wickedly as she continued to look out past the landscape and over Dathomir. "You need to learn something of his magicks," She stated authoritatively. Looking at the girl from the corner of her eye, Talzin readied herself to see the girl's response to her next statement, "your daughters will need his power to bring back our Coven." Merrin's shock and dread at her explanation resonated with the old spirit and she drank in Merrin's reactions like a fine imported wine from Alderaan.
Merrin was stunned at the words from Mother Talzin. She had spent years away from Dathomir experiencing life in the galaxy. While she hadn't given up on avenging her sisters, Merrin was smart enough to understand that the best way she could do this was by eroding at Sidious' Empire and killing every Imperial in revenge for her sisters. Merrin hadn't ever considered bringing them back! Bringing back the Nightsisters? Sure she had dreams and longings to have some way to bring back all the Nightsisters that were killed by the Separatists and Emperor Palpatine… But not by birthing a whole new generation of Nightsisters!
And what about Cal? She wanted to explore what was between them, she had stayed with him after all, instead of going with Fret and Irei. Merrin didn't know what to do. She supposed that unless there were other survivors of the Nightsisters or until she had daughters and taught them about magick, she would be the last Nightsister. Merrin had never really considered it. Did she want to rebuild the Nightsisters? Mother Talzin sounded like she did. Merrin's anger flared bright and hot. Talzin wanted her to just be a broodmother?! How dare she! The dead witch wanted her to just push out sucklings on her say so?!
Cal…Would he understand if she decided she did want to teach any daughters she might have about Dathomir and magicks? Merrin only felt weary as the situation she found herself in here on Dathomir evolved. Without warning she was needing to consider much more than just what the next mission might bring.
Her spiraling thoughts were broken up by Talzin laughing. "Oh sister, you don't know anything about him," Talzin explained through her laughter. "Just gather him up and see. If nothing else I can think of some other way to extract his secrets," she mused as she pondered on the mystery that was Harry.
Flushing in anger and having been played like a little girl, Merrin nodded tightly and with an uncharacteristic pout stomped away from the ghost of Mother Talzin. As Merrin left, Talzin's mirth evaporated and a fond, if sad, smile graced her black lips. Talzin could feel the growth and change in Merrin as if the girl were wearing a completely different outfit. Being off the planet had forced the girl to grow and she had become powerful, more powerful than she had been when the girl had called for her help in hiding the ship from the Empire's sensors. More than a little pleased, and more than a little hopeful, Mother Talzin followed after Merrin.
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It hadn't taken long for Merrin and Talzin to make it to the Nightbrother Village despite the girl's distracted and frothing thoughts. While the Nightbrothers normally deferred to a Nightsister, Merrin's leaving of the planet and her absence had emboldened them to such a degree that the current representative of the Nightbrothers sneered at Merrin's 'request' for a hunting party.
"Why? You left. We don't care for your assumption that you can just command us after having been gone for all these years," the Nightbrother sneered as his raised voice began to attract the attention of other males. Some just ignored the situation but others seemed to close in on the single Nightsister as she spoke with the leader of the Nightbrothers.
Merrin took a moment to see the dangerous situation that she was in. In her absence the Nightbrothers had enjoyed not having to answer to anyone other than themselves. Now that she was back and demanding their fealty, they were likely to kill her, or worse, to retain their perceived freedoms. After a moment Merrin reconsidered her view of the situation, certainly it was volatile but certainly not dangerous, not for her at any rate. She was on Dathomir and as such her power was magnified here since she was now used to pulling from herself to fuel her magicks. Here, Dathomir was adding its own weight to 'her' magic.
"Because I require it," Merrin stated in a bored tone. With a twist of her wrists she held her hands in front of her and green fire bloomed around her. The heat pouring from her wreath of flames sent the nearest Nightbrothers staggering back in a panic as it washed over their persons. "I want you to gather a hunting party and search under every rock until you find a lone man. Then I want him brought to me…"
"Alive," Talzin hissed from the fire. She had stepped into Merrin's magick and formed the flames around herself to allow her to be seen by the Nightbrothers. Her spirit body towered over all the gathered Dathomirians. The Nightbrothers gasped and all of them knelt upon seeing her. "Sister Merrin is on an assignment given directly by myself. You will assist her in this, Cretay," Talzin paused at the male's name to make sure she had his full attention, "or you will be disposed of," Talzin spoke with the same easy authority she had in life. The weight of her words and her reputation wringing a great deal of fear out of the normally emotionless males.
With a quick nod Cretay issued orders for a team half a dozen strong to gather up their gear for a hunt in the wilds for a human that was wanted by the Nightsisters. As they did Talzin's visage faded from the flames that continued to flicker around Nightsister Merrin. Merrin gave them directions on where the male would most likely be found and Cretay nodded in understanding before he turned away to send his second at the head of the hunting party.
Internally Cretay winced. He didn't envy the other male's luck in attracting Mother Talzin's attention. If she was here, even as a spirit, he wanted nothing to do with opposing her will.
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Harry was tired from his exertions from the day. After sleeping off the Brula fruit's effects on his body Harry was much more clear headed to speak with Talzin. True to her word the spirit attended Harry and gave him knowledge of the land. She had drawn his attention to the spiders, Black Bane spiders she told him, and pointed out the aspects of the creature and ways to get the poison glands removed without getting the acid on his hands. Harry was not really in need of food, so her suggestions on which parts of the spider could be cooked and eaten were ignored. She had made a good point of checking for a nest nearby as a cluster of spiders like he had encountered should indicate one was nearby.
What he found was almost as eerie as the Acromantula nest in the Forbidden Forest. Webs covered the trees and any accompanying protrusions. Creatures were bound up in the webs in bundles. Harry had seen a few human sized and shaped ones and cut them down. Using his magic he was able to move the corpses and unwrap them. In the course of this he was able to get a look at a male of Talzin's species, 'Zabrak' she had said. The corpses themselves were fairly desiccated, resembling mummies rather than any kind of fresh corpse, but their gear was still salvageable. Following Talzin's instructions Harry made a pyre for the bodies and burned them.
Harry had taken what was useful. Despite being a relatively primitive culture the Dathomirians had some advanced weaponry. Talzin had laughed at Harry when he voiced that thought aloud.
"Harry," She hummed in amusement, "Just because the Nightsisters didn't leave the planet often doesn't mean that we didn't trade with the galaxy." At Harry's flummoxed look the spirit laughed openly at him until she was able to calm herself by placing her hand on her chest. She proceeded to point out the weapons that they used on Dathomir were not of the 'Vibro' variety. She failed to mention what that meant. Harry had asked about the bow weapon that he had recovered from the only female in the group. Talzin had lost herself in thought as she looked at the remains of the female Zabrak for long enough that Harry began to be concerned about her. Talzin shook her head and addressed him, pointing to the bow, explaining that it generated a small plasma bolt as a projectile when the plasma string was pulled back and released, like a standard bow. Harry had appropriated the bow, an axe, and a knife that seemed useful from an incomplete hunting kit.
In return and in fulfillment of his promise, Harry had answered her questions about magic, his spells, and how he obtained his magic. To say that Talzin was surprised that magic was inborn to witches and wizards was apt. She briefly mentioned there was a coming of age ceremony that the Nightsisters went through to gain access to the magicks of Dathomir.
"That sounds strangely like what the Purebloods at home thought muggles were doing to 'steal' magic," Harry had mumbled. The shift in topic had brought Harry dangerously close to what had brought him to Dathomir and as Talzin probed he shut down the conversation. Talzin took note of his reluctance to talk about what he had experienced on his homeworld and was contemplating ways to get the information out of him so that she could use it, but sometime later. For now, his discourses on magic were enough.
Harry stood in the clearing they had found and built the pyre in, staring into the fire that was consuming the corpses. It seemed his angry brooding pulled on the wild and darker side of Dathomir, as not more than a few minutes after Harry pulled away from talking with Talzin he was confronted by one of Dathomir's more successful predators.
A Nydak rushed from the growth from Harry's right flank. Surprised at the size of the creature but not the appearance, it had created quite a bit of noise as it charged at him through the forest, Harry snapped his wand into his hand and with a flick of his wrist sent a cutting curse into the hide of the beast. The curse didn't even slow the beast for a moment. With a roar the creature swiped a long clawed arm at him and Harry dodged back from the swing but the creature was nimble, leaping forward it hit him with a backhand that connected solidly and sent Harry tumbling across the clearing. The bipedal creature stood almost half a meter taller than Harry and looked like a rough skinned, hairless gorilla, if the gorilla had small tusks like a boar and claws nearly as long as Harry's forearm.
"Bloody beast," Harry wheezed as he scrambled to his feet. The beast was formidable and apparently resistant to magic, so he might have to try blunt force instead. Snapping his wand forward with a quick flick of his wrist, Harry pushed his intent to bludgeon the beast's face but all he felt was a sharp twinge and a dull ache. Quickly looking down, Harry noted that his wand was, once again broken in twain, held together by the Phoenix feather.
"No…" He whispered in horror. His wand, his lifeline and greatest tool, was broken. The roar of the Nydak drew his attention and on instinct he dove to the right to get out of its reach. Panicking at the loss of his wand Harry found himself unable to figure out what action to take. Like a day ago, Harry felt the same helplessness that he had experienced with the Dursleys. He froze. "No. No no no…" Harry's words ran out quickly as he began to take huge gasps of air, his chest heaving trying to get his blood enough oxygen to run. But it was not to be as Harry's legs slumped from under him and he fell to his knees as he clutched the front of his chest. His heart felt like it was being compressed, the despair was paralyzing. Despair at having lost his wand a second time. Despair at being lost here in this plane of Hell. Despair at being as weak a person as he had been, hiding in the dark under the stairs.
The Nydak had scrambled after him and with a cry of triumph stood over him and grabbed his arms. The beast lifted him up and opened its maw to eat Harry alive. It was then that Harry felt the paralyzing wall of despair and panic shatter under the pressure of one thought. If he died here, he'd never see his friends again in the realm of the dead. He'd never see his little boy Teddy, he'd never see little Victoire, and he'd never see his own stolen child.
"No!" Harry growled in the face of the Nydak. In response to his rage, like yesterday his body pulsed and a wave of energy slammed into the Nydak, its grip shattered just as the beast's fingers did. Harry dropped to his feet and feeling the press of hate on his mind he followed it's prompting, he reached his left hand forward and closed his fist. The Nydak made a gurgling sound and stumbled as it clawed at its neck with broken fingers.
"Burn you great shite!" Harry snarled and made a cup with his hand in front of the beast where he just knew the thing's heart was. The Nydak was unable to make any sounds as its airway had been crushed but it had begun to spasm as it lost control of its limbs due to the internal pain. Bubbling blood seeped from its eyes and dribbled from its mouth as it flailed helplessly in Harry's grip. Harry's wandless blood boiling curse, amplified by his rage, burned the predator from the inside. The Nydak clawed at the ground and tried to get at Harry, the base instincts of the creature trying to get it to kill its prey.
Through all of this Talzin had watched. She was certain that Harry would be able to fight off the Nydak that had been drawn to him from the dark force presence he had been giving off. She had been surprised by the blade of magick that the male had tried to cut down the beast with. Most magicks the Nightsisters used wasn't so specialized, more like usage of the Force than she cared to admit. Talzin was disappointed when Harry froze, it seemed that he wasn't as good a specimen as she had hoped he was.
Granted, she pondered as she watched the best pick up Harry, a Nydak against any unarmed humanoid being was highly tilted in the beast's favor. But she had seen the damage Harry could inflict with his magicks and had much higher expectations of him than any other Nightbrothers, and indeed, most males in the galaxy, Force-sensitive or otherwise.
So it was with titillating excitement she found herself once more witness to Harry's grasp of magick. He may not have known it but Harry was drawing deeply on the dark side of the Force to fuel his magicks. She watched the Nydak begin to choke and spasm as his silent spells did something to the creature. Talzin was very pleased with his performance, when Merrin arrived she would have a very powerful genetic donor for her own daughters.
Talzin almost wished she could create herself another body just to experience Harry's power in the flesh. The woman in question cleared her mind of the exciting and lewd thoughts as she approached the young male.
Harry stood looking at the creature that had just tried to kill him, his chest heaving with the surge of adrenaline and hatred. Dark whispers pressed against his mind and in his current state, Harry let them in. The anger at the beast pushed aside the fear of dying and being cut off from his family. Inside, the darkness from the planet touched Harry's mind and that energy ignited into an inferno of rage from the spark of fear. With a hiss of absolute loathing Harry folded his magic around him and kicked the beast in the jaw. The dying beast flipped from its belly onto its back with a gurgled grunt before Harry leapt onto its chest and savagely began raining down blows onto its face. Instead of the Nydak however, Harry saw every face from the Dark Faction and his boiling fury of them taking away his family ignited like heated oil and with an inarticulate scream of rage Harry vented every milliliter of his contempt for Magical Britain on the beast under him.
"Harry," said a voice that seemed to slither through the dark haze that had held onto his mind like a needy lover. Pausing in his beating of Theodore Nott, Harry lifted his head, sweat dripping from his eyebrows and nose as he looked up and around.
Had Talzin not been dealing with powerful force-sensitive males from all over the galaxy she might have stuttered over her words or lost herself under Harry's gaze. As it was Harry's gaze was not his normal clear emerald, no, Harry's eyes were glowing a bright neon green with yellow tinted from the outside. She moved to the body of the beast as she spoke to him. At Talzin's feet the pulverized skull of the Nydak was leaking blood and various other pulpy fluids. Harry had the beast near dead before he finished one of Dathomir's greater predator's with his bare hands.
"Harry," she cooed again to soothe the male's rage, lacing just enough of her limited magicks into her words. "Harry, come back to me here. Do not lose yourself in the darkness," Talzin said with the love and care of a concerned mother. Slowly the glow faded from his eyes, and to her hidden wonder, reverted completely to their emerald. There was no yellow present, of any shade, in his eyes.
"I was," Harry started to say before the furious haze wafted from his mind, "they deserved it," he finished and set his jaw as he looked at Talzin.
"Who?" asked Talzin sincerely even as she hid a smirk.
Harry looked down at his feet and saw the Nydak's now lifeless body and then staggered as he walked through his actions moments ago. "What did I do?" he asked, confused. Harry deftly climbed off the corpse and backed up a few steps to look down at it. "My wand," he lamented as he looked to the ground where his wand had been discarded from the pulse of power. Gingerly he held his wand to his chest and cradled it like it was a dying child.
"I'm sorry for your loss Harry," Talzin said as she placed her hand on his shoulder. Her touch, ghostly as it was, did seem to provide him some comfort as he fought his swelling grief, the hot rage had burned and when it was exhausted from his body the vacuum was filled by his despair. His breathing shuddered as he gently fingered the wood and brushed the tips of his fingers along the vane of the feather. Talzin spoke again into the silence that was Harry Potter, "Nightsisters do not use such a tool in their magicks. Was it something special to you?" Talzin questioned.
"Yes," Harry croaked. Taking a moment to brush at his eyes he cleared his throat before speaking again. "The wand chooses the wizard after all," Harry parroted the words from so many years ago. Talzin nodded in some understanding, many Nightsisters had tokens of charms from their mothers or sisters that they kept and meant much to them.
Sensing Harry's need for distraction Talzin brushed her hand along the top of his head until the male looked into her eyes. With a small smile she gestured to the nydak's corpse, "As you saw, the hide of the Nydak is resistant to many forms of damage, and offers some natural protection against magick as well. You would be well served to make something of its hide. Have you worked with hide before?" At the shake of Harry's head she offered a comforting smile and continued, "It has been some time since I worked with hide myself but I can walk you through the steps." Harry was grateful for the distraction and after tucking the broken wand away in his mokeskin pouch Harry went to get the hunting toolkit and began to flay the hide from the corpse of the Nydak.
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Harry cursed and quickly put his left thumb in his mouth, sucking gently on the pad of it. For all that the Dursleys made Harry do every chore in the house he somehow had never had to stitch anything. Now glaring at the bone needle that he was using, he wondered why that was one chore he never had. Probably Petunia was concerned he'd have access to sharp objects, like scissors, that he might accidentally plunge into their throats? Harry scoffed at the thought. If he were going to 'pull-a-Riddle' he'd have used poison in their food.
Shaking his head free of the morbid thoughts Harry set back to his task. Talzin had walked him through skinning and butchering the Nydak. He was sure he wouldn't have been as queasy as he was but he perforated a few organs… The stench was a learning lesson he figured. Talzin amusedly mentioned not gutting the creature the way he had and had remarked how glad she was she couldn't smell anything as a spirit.
Harry was far less amused.
Eventually he had gotten the creature broken down, potions detentions were surprisingly good at developing transferable skills when rendering down a creature, Talzin walked him through a 'field tanning'. He didn't have all the correct materials but he was able to follow her instructions to get the hide stretched and worked. Whittling the bone into a fine enough point that he could pierce the hide was a challenge as he broke more than a few of them.
But here he was, just about finished with a long sleeved hide blouse and…chaps? Well whatever they were they should fit to up to mid-thigh and cover most of his legs. The blouse was almost done and would cover him from shoulder to knees with a 'belt' to hold it closed and keep it tight to his body. A single shoulder strap was added at the chest so that another strip of hide could loop in a bone ring and pull it tight to his right shoulder, preventing the blouse from being loose on his chest.
Simple? Undoubtedly. Crude? Definitely. Effective? …Well he hoped not to get hit by anything so as to find out, but Harry was hopeful.
"Well done," Talzin said as she inspected his in-process and completed portions of the hide armor. "You're certainly no master of working with hide but for a beginner that's a fine job," She complimented as she walked around his work area.
"Thank you," Harry responded absently to her as he worked. "Can you elaborate on why you think my summoning and banishing wandlessly was so easy to grasp? You mentioned it yesterday when I was working on my light spell?" Harry inquired and verbally returned them to that moment in their shared memory.
Talzin was silent for a time as she pondered her living companion. She had questioned him about his magicks and when his focus was broken he had seemed to be of the mind that he'd not be able to perform them again. Talzin knew this was a foolish thought, having observed him the first day, she had seen the lightning he conjured and it was remarkably similar to a dark Force user's lightning. Talzin was sure that Harry, whatever he was, seemed to bridge both Magick and the Force.
Slowly and carefully she began, "There is an energy that pervades the galaxy Harry. It's called the Force by those who can tap into it. Unlike the magick of the Nightsisters, it's seemingly part of everyone and everything," She paused as Harry looked up at that comment, confusion written on his face. Ignoring the look she continued to give the impression she had heard vague information on the Force and that it was separate from the Nightsister magicks, "Those proficient in its use are known to use it to do extraordinary things. The most well known is pushing, pulling, or levitating things."
Harry nodded as he finished his work and stretched his limbs, giving Talzin his full attention, "So do you think there's some connection with my magic and this 'Force'?" Harry pondered out loud.
Talzin hesitantly nodded, "That's why I had you try summoning and banishing objects as an exercise. If the Force is amalgamating with your magick then perhaps you'll be able to use it as the Force users do," here she trailed off as if unsure. Inwardly, she was certain that he would be able to pull on both his innate magicks and the Force as a weapon. Hopefully she could help him along and he'd be able to replicate more and more of his magick without a focus. If he could then any daughters birthed from him would be orders of magnitude more powerful than the Nightsisters in her day.
Harry looked down at his hands and absently opened and closed them as he stared at them. Force users. They certainly sounded like magicals. But what powers did they have? How did they impose their powers upon the galaxy?
Intent.
The word bore down through his thoughts and forced itself deeply into his mind. What was 'intent' but a person's will imposed on a reality but with reality bending powers? Magic conjured lights, created water, vanished objects into nonbeing, cut, crushed, burned, healed, and killed. Imposing your will on the world and magic made your thoughts reality. If the Force was anything like his magic then Harry wouldn't be bereft of his greatest weapon. And… if the Force and his Magic worked together then Harry could eventually accumulate enough power and resources to find a way back to his home.
Talzin watched as Harry slowly stood and turned his body to face a large stone that jutted from the soil. Harry raised a hand to it and with a breath, pushed. The stone remained stationary but flecks of dirt and pebbles did roll along the ground. She was confused, as she had seen him push and pull already with his magic without a focus. Why was it so weak?
Her answer came as Harry growled at the reaction and 'pushed' again. This time a weak distortion appeared in the air and when it touched the stone a deep thud sounded along with a pockmark in the stone. Again and again Harry thrust his will through magic and the Force. Again and again pits appeared in the stone, each one a little bigger and a little deeper. As if in a daze Harry dropped his hand and whipped his right across the air in front of him. A thin gash appeared across the stone. Repeating this action alternating his hands Harry gouged at the stone, cutting lines across it, deeper and deeper until with a final grunt of exertion Harry's amalgamated Force Sorcery slashed through the abused stone. The sheared off top of the stone ground against itself and fell to the ground with a dull thump.
Chest heaving from the work and an unfamiliar rush of excitement Harry's glowing eyes found Talzin's. "That was wicked!" His words were separated by his heavy breathing. "I'll have to practice old spells and see how much focus some of them are going to need," He said as he walked back to his lean-to where he had made a nest to sleep in. Harry pulled his new hide armor into his lap and began working it on and off his body, trying to familiarize himself with it. It wasn't long after this that Harry put his new gear down and walked the perimeter of his temporary ward stones to push a little magic into their matrices for the night. Luna had insisted that they create at least half a dozen sets of stones for use while on their expeditions. Harry had pulled them from his pouch days ago during his first break from 'processing' the Nydak.
Reassured by their steady thrum Harry went back to the lean-to, pulled out a packaged meal from his mokeskin pouch and set about thinking over how he might best use his Magic and the Force.
Talzin, having faded from the sight of the living during Harry's inspection of the wardstones, quietly observed the male and was quite pleased with the evening's course. Harry had taken very quickly to the idea of the Force and was able to internally rationalize using it along with his magicks. He would be very powerful.
Upon a cliff some distance away she felt the familiar build up of Nightsister magicks. Merrin had come. The painted lips of the Mother of Nightsisters grew into a delighted smirk as she let herself fly on the innate magick of Dathomir to the building nexus of energy.
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Harry was trudging under the heat of the early afternoon sun of Dathomir. This morning Talzin had spoken to him more about the Nightsisters that he would encounter on the mountain. He had packed up his wardstones and broken down the parts of his lean-to that he could use again before donning his new hide armor and moving in the same general direction he had been going days ago.
As he reached the shadow of the mountain and began to think about how he might scale the thing, Harry noticed that the forest of bone trees was thinning and gave way to a more swampy environment. He wasn't one for swimming through the muck so he turned to the side and looked for a vantage point he might be able to get to and scout the area to find the best way forward.
It wasn't long before Harry found himself sitting cross legged with his chin resting on his fists as he looked out over the swamp. Unless he was going to scale the cliff walls vertically, Harry's only way across was a naturally formed bridge of stone that showed signs of recent use. Recent Nydak use.
Harry had hoped that Talzin would be around to talk to and bounce some ideas off of. While it wasn't uncommon for her to be silent and away from his sight for lengths of time she'd been quiet and out of contact for nearly the whole day. Harry wondered if the magic holding her here had run out and she had faded back to the spirit realm. If so, that was unfortunate but he knew it was likely to happen eventually.
Keeping an eye out for the Nydak that was surely around, Harry pulled out his 'appropriated' axe and energybow. With any luck the bow would be able to cause some damage to the Nydak before it closed the range enough for a melee fight. Harry was certain the beast would rush him as soon as it saw him. His plan was to have the axe handle over his right foot and when it covered half the distance to him he'd swap to the axe. His targets for the bow were the eyes and shoulders to see if he could attempt to cripple its ability to see and slash at him. Once within range of its arms Harry was going to engage with as many indirect attacks as he could rather than fight the thing head on as he had before. There were enough large rocks about the area that he could banish them into the Nydak. With luck Harry would be able to bait it to the edge of the bridge and then bludgeon it enough to force it over the side and into the swamp below.
Plan, as it was, in place Harry decided now was the best time to initiate. He had killed one already with his wandless magic so he felt that he could improvise if he had to and come out alright.
He had carefully made his way halfway across the bridge when he saw it. The Nydak was shambling along a stone clearing on the other side. The creature wasn't in a position to turn and charge straight down on him which gave Harry extra time for some extra bolts of plasma from his bow. Quietly Harry set himself up and laid his axe across his right foot before turning his body to square the Nydak. He really hoped flinging spells translated to archery accuracy…
Harry's first shot did hit the Nydak, but not in the eyes. His first bolt connected solidly with the tusk of the creature which subsequently got its attention. Cursing to himself Harry rapidly pulled back the energy string and fired off four more bolts before the Nydak was able to scramble onto the bridge. Two took the Nydak in its left shoulder, one missed completely, and the fourth shot the beast swatted at with its hands. As Harry drew back for another shot, half a dozen purple plasma bolts flashed from the cliffs and hit the charging Nydak in the back of the neck. With a gurgled roar the Nydak collapsed to its knees and clawed in panic at the back of its neck before a second volley slammed into it and the beast fell in a heap in the middle of the bridge. The smell of burning flesh permeated the air from the plasma.
Harry tentatively edged around the creature and kept his eyes on the cliffs. He was definitely outnumbered by whomever it was that was out there. Quickly crossing the open ground on the bridge Harry found cover behind a boulder and took a quick scan of the cliffside trying to spot anyone. Eventually the quiet got to him. Knowing that he was in a poor position Harry took another quick survey of the area when he spotted something.
A Zabrak male was sitting on an overhang on the cliff seemingly uninterested in its surroundings and bored. "Bait," Harry murmured. What was he supposed to do? These were probably a group of the people that could help him. Talzin was a great help but the spirit was gone now and Harry needed to find a place he could stay without having to worry about being hunted for his juicy bits in his sleep. Growling to himself Harry put his weapons away, tucked his hide armor tighter around his body and then stepped out slowly from behind the boulder with his hands out to his sides showing he had no weapons drawn.
The Zabrak male noticed him and said something Harry didn't understand as he waved Harry over. Slowly, eyes flicking from the Zabrak to the shadows of the rocks about and the cuts in the walls of the overhang, Harry closed the distance. Once he was within speaking distance below the Zabrak Harry stopped. A thick silence hung between the two.
"So, Hey?" Harry made a very poor attempt at introductions. The Zabrak said nothing but stood up and kicked a rope ladder down to Harry. With a slow lift of his eyebrow Harry shook off the lack of interaction and wondering, sarcastically, what could go wrong, Harry climbed the ladder.
At the top Harry stood to face the Zabrak and showing himself to be truly British offered his hand, "Afternoon, I'm Harry."
The Zabrak merely looked at the offered hand before he nodded up the mountain, "Going up?" he asked.
"I was thinking about it. Don't suppose you have a lift or something?" Harry said before a quick whistle sounded through the afternoon gloom. Harry stared at the Zabrak before he opened his mouth, "Wankers…" Harry fell to his knees as the sleeping agent coursed through his neck and into his bloodstream. Through his haze he heard the Zabrak he was talking to call out to one of the hidden members of his group. A quick rebuttal that Harry didn't quite catch before the Zabrak kneeled over Harry and pulled the dart from his neck.
"Then you're carrying him!" the Zabrak huffed before Harry's vision faded completely to black.