Wearing their pressure suits for anonymity, Fay and Lily both walk across the plain toward the hills that hold the only entrance to the crystal caves. Overhead their ship passes them only a few 10's of meters above the hills, as it heads for the mountains and somewhere that it won't show up on most scans.
As the two of them find their way to the cave entrance, Lily looks around curiously, "Fay, I'm sure that Forri said the predators around here were aggressive, how comes we haven't even seen one yet?"
Fay puts her hand on Lily's head, "That, my little padawan, is because I'm using a force ability to make us seem like we're friends with the local animals. It's a weaker version of a technique I use to defuse violence, though it doesn't work on droids."
Lily nods, "It seems like a useful ability, though one that could be badly abused by people with the wrong motivations."
Fay nods in agreement, "Indeed, and the Sith are said to have their own versions of the skill I used to disable Asajj. Only they use them to dominate the minds of their victims. The fact is that both this ability, and the one I use to forstall violence, need a serene mind to use otherwise your own emotions will disrupt the technique."
Lily nods, "That's one thing that using the force has over magic, spells all tend to be very targeted or take a lot of concentration from the caster to maintain. Even transfiguration, which was James' area of expertise, is a once and done thing, and if you want it to do something you didn't, intend you need to re-transfigure it."
Switching on a head mounted flashlight, Fay makes her way into the cave, "I've been meaning to ask, are transfigured creatures alive?"
Lily shakes her head as she switches on her own flashlight, "Not unless they were alive to start with. They don't have a soul as their entire animating force comes from the magic the caster put into the spell. When the magic runs out, so does their life. One avenue of research I looked at and discarded was the creation of life using ritual transfiguration, there's at least one magical creature created this way. The quintaped was the result of one such ritual, although the popular stories say that they were transfigured wizards, the ritual books used them as a cautionary tale about not understanding exactly what you're doing. I considered using that magic to make homunculus, bodies that rely on magic for their very survival. I'd have used them as a decoy, but they take months to create, time I didn't know if I had."
Fay nods, "That is both reassuring and disquieting to know, as the Sith have used the dark side of the force to create new life through mutation and alchemical treatments."
The two of them pause their conversation as they come face to face with their first kinrath, an arachnoid almost the size of a human. Stepping to one side, they allow it to pass up the corridor towards the surface for a dozen meters, before it taps the floor a couple of times and slowly makes its way back towards them.
Looking up at Fay, Lily asks, "Will we be safe here? As, until I get a focus, I'm not going to be that much use with my magic."
"I should be able to keep their attention off of us, but these creatures are especially simple minded, and while that usually makes them easier to influence, that only goes so far. How are you going to get a focus down here?"
Lily pulls a few crude wands out of a pocket on her leg, "I picked up a branch from one of the jogan trees yesterday and had Plex shape it into wand blanks for me. If I can find a suitable crystal here, I can cut a sliver off and put it into the blank as the core."
Fay shakes her head, "I can't see how a wand can make that much difference to your magic."
Lily smiles behind her helmet, "You'll see. Shall we continue?"
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After nearly 10 miles of walking, and occasionally being carried while napping, through the twisting, turning, and occasionally cramped tunnels dug by the kinrath; the tunnel eventually transitions from mud and clay to the granite of the mountains.
As they walk through the natural caves, they start to see glittering crystals occasionally growing out of the walls and glowing with their own inner light.
With a smile, Lily removes one of the gloves from her suit, and runs her hand over a crystal, "They're pretty."
Fay nods, "They are, and they grow over thousands of years through the power of the force. If it's anything like Ilum, once we reach the main caves, they'll be thousands of crystals dotted throughout the caves. You'll need to meditate on the force in order to find the one for you."
Lily groans, "I've only just finished purifying the taint in the exorcism ritual. I don't think I can survive another just yet. I think I'll wander around till I find one that feels like a slight match and make a temporary wand. I can then use that to harvest slivers of the other crystals and find a better match in the future. It's probably not the way Olivander would do it, but it's a quick and dirty method for wand craft that Fleamont taught James and I, before he died. He thought it might be a necessary skill because of the war. A skill he said he was taught in the Grindelwald war by some old wizards. It means bleeding on the core before you seal the wand again, but he said it would make a serviceable wand until you got to a wand maker to get a perfect match."
Fay frowns, "Why would you make a temporary wand? Surely it's a waste of resources."
Lily shakes her head, "I don't mean temporary like that. The wand will last for as long as any other wand. It will just never be quite as good as a wand made by a professional. My wand was 10 ¼ inches, made from willow, with a unicorn hair core. Whippy and good for charms. You should see if any of the crystals here call out to you too."
"What difference would that make?"
Lily caresses another crystal as she thinks, "In theory, magic is as limitless as the soul. It can do anything you could possibly imagine, but the same is true of our bodies, or the power runs on the ship. However, without a focus, using magic is exceedingly difficult and exhausting. Um, like trying to power the engines without a cable would use vastly more energy. However, using a focus, any focus really, is like connecting the generator and the engines with a crowbar. It gives your magic a path to follow, and allows you to direct it in the outside world. A magical wand, that's even a passable match, allows you to do things that would otherwise be too exhausting to even contemplate outside a ritual. You've made the silver solution, and you know how hard it was."
Fay shakes her head, "I could have simply refreshed my strength with the force, making the task trivial."
Lily nods, "I'm glad you didn't, as it would have defeated the purpose of using it as a way to help you find your magic."
Fay shakes her head, "I have to confess that it's less to do with that, and more to do with the revelation about how much the taint of the darkside on the force has affected my thinking. I can think of several moments, before I took Harry through the portal, where I perhaps didn't look deeply enough into problems I was dealing with because I was confident in my abilities and the visions the force gives me. It has left me a little unsure in my own judgement."
Lily turns around and reaches up to take Fay's hands, "Fay, you can't do that to yourself. I'm only 26, and I know I don't have all the answers. Merlin knows Professor Dumbledore didn't either, but he seemed to think he did. From everything you've ever said, you've always done your best and sought to be as fair and even handed as you could be. Knowing how much the darkside tainted your perceptions doesn't change the fact you were doing your best. That's what the cleansing rituals are for after all. They won't help if you revel in dark magic, or live off the darkside, as there comes a point where you can't even make the potion anymore. But for people who are actively trying not to stain their souls…"
"Lily, this isn't the first time I've dealt with self doubt, I doubt it will be the last time either. It just takes time to get past it, this time is just hitting me a little harder than before, as I'm fairly sure I would have died on Queyta, and I know that Master Knol would have done. No matter what some people think, Jedi aren't infallible pillars of knowledge and truth. We are called to act as voices for the living force."
"Fay, given our discussions on what to teach Harry and when, I think it's safe to say that we are going to continue to disagree on just what the Jedi order is. I'm going to do my best to make sure that he has the best life I can give him, and has the chance to choose his own path in the future."
Over the next hour, the two women continue to talk about the things that have been happening since they left the planet, and by extension the portal, for the wider galaxy.
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After nearly an hour of touching different crystals, Lily stops in the middle of the largest of the crystal caverns and her gaze turns toward the ceiling as a queer expression crosses her face.
"Fay!"
Fay looks up from a formation of crystals that sing to her senses, "Yes Lily?"
"Would you be able to lift me up to that cluster of crystals there?"
Fay puts a hand on the crystal that's caught her attention, as her other hand gestures to draw on the force and lift Lily off the ground. As she does, the crystal she's touching glows brilliantly for a brief moment, before it splits with a loud crack, and a long sliver of crystal breaks away from the corner of the larger crystal.
As the sound echoes through the caves, it's joined by a similar crack from the ceiling. The two sounds combine to the point it almost sounds like there's a cave in. As the last echoes of the cracks fade into silence, the sound of skittering feet rapidly takes its place.
As Fay deflects the attention of the first few kinrath that pass through the tunnel, she lets Lily down to the floor and warningly calls "Lily!"
Lily pulls her attention away from the missing part of her soul, that she's holding in her hand, and reaches for one of the wand blanks while looking up, "I just need a moment!"
Fay shakes her head, "I don't think you have a moment, we need to run as I think we've triggered some sort of reflexive response."
Lily licks her lips and ducks behind a stalagmite, "Just give me two minutes and I'll be done."
"Lily! I'm not a guardian, and I can't stop this many creatures while they're panicking without bringing the cave down on our heads."
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Hands shivering, Lily ignores Fay and concentrates on the grain of the wand blank and chants the words to a transfiguration spell that will open it up along the entire length from the inside.
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On the other side of the cave, Fay snatches up the sliver of crystal that broke away in her hand, and begins to climb the nearby wall, while the trickle of fleeing kinrath turns into a flood as they try to climb over each other in their attempt to flee into the tunnels.
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Once the wand has opened all the way to the core, Lily stabs her thumb on the sharp point of the crystal and lovingly, if hurriedly, smears her blood along the entire length of the crystal, before placing it into the groove and cancelling the transfiguration. Over the next few seconds the wood closes over the gap, and then seems to compress down around the crystal shard until only the rough wand is remaining. Almost lovingly, Lily reaches down to the wand with her bare hand and picks it up.
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As she's clinging to the walls, Fay curses and squeezes her eyes shut as the entire cave is lit by a fountain of golden sparks flying out from behind the stalagmite that Lily's hiding behind. Suddenly she hears Lily shout, "Glacius Maximus!" and the temperature in the entire cave drops several degrees.
Once she's able to see once more, Fay gasps as the dimly lit cave is now lit by a brilliant blue fire that's stuck to the ceiling. Towards the tunnels she can hear the skittering sound of the retreating kinrath, while deeper into the mountains is a large icewall blocking off the caves deeper in.
Looking back down to the centre of the cave, Fay looks at Lily standing there holding a nondescript stick in one hand, and starts to revise everything they discussed about magic.
When Lily waves her stick, no, her wand, at Fay and levitates her away from the wall as easily as she'd earlier lifted Lily to the ceiling, Fay can't help the yelp of surprise that comes from her mouth.
As she lands on the floor, the yelp of surprise turns into outright staring, as Lily conjures two armchairs, and a small table, with three stabs of her wand.
Impishly, Lily takes her helmet off and looks at Fay. "Well, come on then. Take a seat and I'll help you make your own wand."
Fay stares at the chairs for a long moment before walking forward on weak knees and gingerly sitting down in a chair. As she does, Lily pulls a second wand blank from her pocket and places it on the table. She then quickly glances at the wall of ice and the sound of scrabbling from the other side.
Gingerly, Fay pokes the table, "Is it real?"
Lily looks back and nods, "It is for as long as the magic lasts. I didn't put much in these so they'll probably be gone in a few minutes. Did you find your own crystal while I was looking?"
Fay fingers the thin sliver of crystal that has somehow survived in her gloved hand, "I think so."
Lily smiles encouragingly at Fay, "While I'm opening up the wood, you need to take your glove off and smear some of your blood on the crystal."
Fay watches spellbound as Lily runs her wand from the base of the blank to the tip. As the wand passes over the blank, the wood unfurls like flower petals opening to either side of the heart of the wood. At Lily's pointed cough, Fay tears her eyes away from the sight and hurries to remove her glove.
Once her hand is bare, she looks at the crystal sliver with a little consternation, before Lily suggests, "Just use the sharp point of the crystal to cut your finger or thumb, you only need a couple of drops of blood."
Once she's done that, Fay looks up at Lily, "Now what?"
Lily smiles, "Place it in the wand, and I'll seal it up."
A few seconds later Fay finds herself staring at a rough wand that looks as though it couldn't possibly contain the crystal sliver that she'd just placed inside.
Gently, Lily points at the wand and says, "Well, go on then, pick it up and give it a little swish."
Hesitantly, Fay reaches out and grasps the wand and lifts it up. As she flicks it to one side, it feels like the living force inside her bursts into song before it flows through her and down the wand at the same time as a spray of green, red, and purple sparks explodes from the end of the wand. At the same time all of her control over her emotions, and connection to the force, comes crumbling down and she feels like she's been cast adrift on a wave of exultation into the galaxy, with the planet floating below her.
An instant later the moment is over, and she comes crashing back to her body as the sparks peter out until she's only holding her wand. She only has a moment to process the fact that it is her wand, before the force seems to shout a warning about the farm.
Looking down at Lily, Fay urgently says, "Lily, we need to go, as the farm's under attack."
At the urgency in Fay's voice, Lily frowns at Fay's wand, "You need somewhere safe to put your wand."
A second later she points at Fay's utility belt, "Don't move, I'm just going to cast a spell on your belt."
Jumping off her chair, Lily tugs open one of the pouches, and waves her wand in a complicated pattern over the pouch while she mumbles a spell under her breath. A few seconds later she grabs her helmet from the table, "Fay, put your wand in that pouch and get your glove on. I'll apparate us as soon as you're ready."
When Fay doesn't respond, Lily snatches the wand from her grasp and drops it into the now expanded pouch.
Fay almost snaps at Lily when her wand's taken away, but instead takes a deep breath and forces herself to calm down, and push her emotions to one side. A moment later, her glove appears on her hand and she's sucked into a tiny tube.
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Forri grimly ducks down behind the corpse of the bantha he was trying to lead to safety, before it was hit in the head by a heavy weapon. As the incoming fire lets up for a moment, he pokes his head over the heavy bulk and takes aim with his vermin rifle, trying to buy time for his coworkers to lead the other animals to safety in the barn, and grab weapons from the small armoury in there. Scattered across the farmyard between him and the attacking droids, are the remains of the farming droids that tried to buy them time to escape after they received the message from Master Windu that a detachment of 50 droids was heading towards them.
As he ducks back behind the dead beast, Farri muses that they should have probably just run for the hills rather than trying to save the animals. But you can't be a farmer without becoming attached to your farm animals.
As he leans back over to return fire again, he hears a scream from behind him, as five droids shoot at someone. Clenching his teeth, he sights down his own rifle and takes three measured shots before another group of droids takes aim at him, forcing him to duck down once more. At least he got two of the soulless machines.
A couple of seconds later, he spots Liam waving at him from the 'hayloft' of the barn, and he crouches ready to sprint for cover, only for another group of five droids to round an outbuilding and open fire on the barn.
This process repeats itself over, and over, while the droids move from cover to cover, and they try to cut off all avenues of retreat. At the same time Forri and the others return fire to the best of their ability, while trying to prevent the droids from circling around the farm and surrounding them.
When all hope seems lost, there's a massive crack of thunder over the farmhouse, and everyone, including the droids, turns to look. When Forri spots a woman and child on the roof, he can't help it, he stands up and waves both hands at them, "Run you idiots, we're under attack!"
Instead of running, the child raises their hand and points a stick at the tool shed. A moment later the shed explodes as though it was just hit by a turbo laser, showering the ground with large lumps of ferrocrete along with the mangled bodies of the droids that were hiding behind it. At the same time, the woman makes a force assisted jump towards the barn, and scoops up the person that was shot earlier.
Reacting to the change in the battlefield slightly faster than the droids, Forri shakes his head and runs back towards the barn, while taking potshots at the droids.
As he's running, he stumbles to one knee when the rubble and tools from the shed grow legs and start attacking the droids. A second later the woman walks out of the barn and raises both hands in front of her. Across the entire farm, all the droids that are focused on the child lift into the air and start to flail around, before crumpling into balls of metal and dropping to the floor.
As he stumbles to the door of the barn in shock, there's a quite pop and the child appears beside the woman. Then she says, "I didn't know you could do that Fay."
Fay chuckles and points at the rubble that's running around, "There's a lot that you don't know child. Equally, I didn't know you could do that."
The child looks back and nods, "Blasting hex followed by a boatload of animation charms."
Fay looks up at the horizon, "We've only bought ourselves some time, there are already reinforcements on the way. Can your magic do anything for the injured?"
The child nods, "I can at least make sure they'll survive to get to medical treatment. If you can find some rope, I can turn it into a portkey to get us all to the cave entrance, but something that big will probably wipe me out."
Forri startles when Fay turns to him, "You're Forri aren't you? Take some of the padawans and grab what food and medical supplies you have and bring them back here."
Forri nods and calls, "Yes Master Fay!" as he immediately starts moving to obey the command.
As he's running into the barn to get a couple of volunteers, Fay points at a couple more workers, "You two, scavenge as many weapons as you can from the droids. The rest of you find some rope and tie the bantha's to it…"