Lorash clicked the last piece of the lightsaber together, tightening a screw with the same subtle articulations she'd used to stack pebbles. A much more difficult exercise, but Nabeila helped, guiding her through the motion in the Force. The jedi master had manifested beside her, glowing with a soft blue light that seemed almost to blend with the light of Tython's twin moons, making her somewhat indistinct. The shrine was open to the sky, a series of twelve pillars arranged into a circle even though the roof had long ago collapsed and rotted away with neglect. At the center on a raised dias stood a singular statue, no doubt once of some ancient jedi, but the features were utterly obliterated by the elements.
"What now?"
Nabeila's eyes crinkled at the corners when she smiled, a hint of warmth and approval mixed with her amusement. Now we begin. Ignite it when you are ready.
The young woman got to her feet, taking up the basic balanced stance that was the first she'd learned of Niman, holding the lightsaber at an angle across her body. With a single flip of the switch, both blades ignited in a brilliant golden glow. There was just a tinge of amber to it, but the heat pouring off the burning blades was incredible. Lorash moved it experimentally. The handle was long enough to mimic a staff to a degree, though there were certain movements and manipulations she wouldn't be able to do without burning a hand off. "But how are you going to–?"
A rock whizzed at Lorash's head and she stepped off line in a single angular movement, striking it down with the lightsaber. Most of the stone completely evaporated, but a few spatters of molten rock hit a pillar of the shrine and clung, cooling slowly.
I told you, Lorash. I can still manipulate the Force. Now strike me if you can. Nabeila took up a different stance of Niman and the ghost of a lightsaber appeared in her hands, burning blue in the moonlight. It was a double blade as well, the hilt a mirror image of the one Lorash was using.
Lorash dodged the next rock, this one slightly larger, and jumped to clear the distance between herself and Nabeila. When she swung at the ghost's head, the phantom saber parried with a very real force and heat. It was the first clash Lorash had ever felt and she almost dropped her saber in astonishment. Nabeila threw out a palm and a wall of force hit Lorash in the chest, sending her flying backwards.
The young woman barely managed to catch herself, keeping her feet even as she slammed hard into the pillar. It hurt, but it was a love tap compared to Seia's bind. The specter she was facing whirled closer in the moonlight, sweeping at Lorash's legs. She dropped one end of the lightsaber, parrying like she would with a staff.
A rock struck her in the hip on the other side, one she hadn't even heard coming. Lorash staggered a little, but recovered quickly enough to kick out at Nabeila. Her foot connected with the handle of the jedi master's lightsaber, shoving Nabeila back out of her face to a further distance. While her first reaction at Nabeila's dirty fighting was shock, it quickly faded to determination and a hint of gratitude. This was a test of what she could handle, but Nabeila wasn't coddling her any more than Seia would have.
Lorash let her sense of the Force and the world around her expand. She couldn't see Nabeila clearly when the jedi master was in the moonlight, her silhouette much more defined in the darkness, but she could feel the Force ghost's presence. With a flick of her lightsaber, she destroyed the next two rocks, each one about the size of a fist. It was an impressive display of coordination, since one had rocketed towards her feet and the other her head, forcing her to use both ends in a singular movement while also using distance to keep herself safe from Nabeila's phantom weapon.
There was a definite difference in style, however. Where Seia would never give her a moment's peace under the brutal onslaught of her training stick, always in motion, Nabeila spent more of her time playing a defensive game and forcing Lorash to constantly shift her focus, attacking only whenever she saw an opening or a slip.
The twin-bladed lightsaber wielded by the ghost was like an impenetrable wall for Lorash. Every blow she made was batted aside as if trivial, and Nabeila made use of constant angular or spiral movements to navigate the space around Lorash, always finding a new place where Lorash had to attack at strange or unpracticed angles. Lorash found herself relying on sense to guide her weapon more than her eyes, forced to attack and parry over her shoulder or behind her back even as she adjusted her own position with the same whirling and deceptive movements that Nabeila was far more comfortable with.
This time, a rock the size of her head nearly collided with her ribs. Lorash had to hurl herself out of the way, hitting the switch on her lightsaber so she could safely roll with the blades extinguished, then swept her thumb across it again as she sprang to her feet.
Quick thinking. You learned that from watching Seia.
Lorash nodded, breathing hard as she went to swing for the next rock she sensed coming at her. This time, she connected only with empty air, realizing too late that it was a misdirection. Nabeila hurled her again, this time less gently, into another pillar. It knocked the wind out of the young woman, leaving her gasping. She barely kept hold of her lightsaber.
Nabeila didn't press the attack. She waited calmly, the very picture of serenity. Your sense is well honed, but even that can be deceived if you are distracted. I must say, though, you are better trained as a duelist than most of my students ever were. The specter shimmered and then split, a Nabeila stepping to each side. Now there were three enemies. How much did Seia teach you of fighting multiple opponents at once?
"We talked about it, but we didn't have anyone else to spar with," Lorash groaned when she had recovered her breath. She sucked in a greedy breath, trying to restore oxygen to her burning body. That blow had almost cracked ribs. She was willing to bet that all of the Nabeilas she could see in front of her were capable of those tricks. "She used to attack me from ambush spots when I wasn't expecting it to try and prepare me."
Fortunately, Seia had been a one-woman flurry of blows, so Nabeila's assault on three sides felt more manageable than an instant end to the fight.
Niman is more about creativity and quick thinking than simple responses to the other forms or even its own, Nabeila explained without moving her lips, her voice echoing so Lorash wasn't certain which of the three specters was the source. Seia's emphasis on improvisation will take you a long way. Your grasp on movement in the Force will be vital as well. It is a common technique among practitioners to manipulate both the blade and body of your opponent. Many jedi and sith alike say Niman is a weak form, but it leaves one less exposed and a clever mind with Force powers can elevate it significantly. It was meant to defeat a foe without dominating them, though there were some who had no equal even with it as their favored style.
Lorash absorbed the words as well as she could while dealing with the onslaught. Something clicked in her head as she frantically parried blows.
Only dead things stand still, Lorash. If you cannot defend with advantage or attack, use displacement, Seia said in one lesson.
Lorash waited for the next strike from the left and right to swing, then stepped back abruptly into the statue, letting the blows hit each other instead of her. She braced herself with one foot on the statue, rewarded by the opening of the clash as both Nabeilas to each side were forced to pull back. She hurled herself forward in a leap, extinguishing one blade and using the other like Seia's to bash the center ghost's aside, creating a window where she could slip out of the trap of the three of them.
The moment she was clear, she hit the ground in another roll and popped up on her feet, using a pillar to shield one side and forcing them to come around to hit her. She didn't even bother batting the next rock away. Instead, she thought only of its motion, one hand releasing her saber as she adjusted the course of the stone like Seia used to throw her, circling it around her body and then hurling it back with all the momentum gained by centripetal force. It was much easier to manipulate a moving object than a static one and she had determination to survive fueling her.
Excellent, Nabeila praised even as she sliced the rock cleanly in two. An interesting blend of Niman with Juyo. Your influences are showing, though I was always more partial to Soresu techniques as a complement. Its utility in reflecting back blaster fire cannot be overstated and it only strengthens one's defensive knack.
"That does sound useful," Lorash panted as Nabeila and her shades closed in. The young woman used the sweeping movements of her lightsaber to keep her opponents at bay, something the double-blade was better suited to than she'd been expecting. It just meant keeping intense track of what she was doing with both ends at all times.
Eventually, though, even with all of the conditioning from Seia, she could feel exhaustion closing in. Nabeila was tireless in her Force ghost state, utterly serene as she tugged and shoved Lorash around their battlefield, throwing in the occasional rock for good measure. The last shove sent her flying one way and her lightsaber slipped out of her hands as she went, flying the other way. It extinguished the moment it left her hands, clinking to a stop at the base of the statue.
You were trained well, Nabeila praised, her mirror images disappearing. I will have to compliment Seia when we see her again. I had not thought she was so well suited to instruction. Your determination is admirable and your intuition well-honed. What knowledge you have incorporated would take most jedi years to learn.
"Master Vori taught me a lot about the staff. It translated well," Lorash groaned from the ground. Her muscles burned as she tried to pick herself up. Everything ached and she knew she had a fine crop of bruises.
Your humility in acknowledging your master's teaching does you credit. Now, are you hurt anywhere? Nabeila looked her over, shimmering blue features a picture of concern.
"My ribs hurt," Lorash admitted. "But that's just the price of admission to a fight."
Nabeila laughed. That sounds like Seia's influence. Come, sit.
Lorash sat down on a mossy stone where Nabeila gestured, her whole body throbbing. There was no way she had any energy left to hike back down the mountain and knew she would sleep like the dead in the skeleton of a shrine. Even after the chaotic clashes of the fight, she felt Tython's natural serenity creeping back into the moment. The sky above was clear, awash with stars and nebulae when she tipped her head back to look at it, nursing her injured ribs. "I don't know. She took it relatively easy on me."
Perhaps she was gentler to you than her opponents, but she did not coddle you. You tolerate pain too well to have escaped her proper tutelage.
"You fought her. What did you think of her?" Lorash asked curiously.
Seia was a brutal opponent. Even with all of my training, all of my strengths, I was barely able to keep myself alive when we came to blows. There was no thought of victory in my mind, only survival through escape. Other sith I encountered who knew her said that even as a girl on Korriban, she had no one who could truly compete with her mastery of Shien and Juyo together. Her father crafted her into a weapon that gave even Mandalorians pause. It is why Malgus chose to take her with him when they sacked the Temple on Coruscant. Many other jedi knights were not as fortunate as I was. I heard she carved quite a path through the temple guards during the war.
"I feel like you'd give her a run for her money," Lorash murmured, taking off her outer shirt even as it clung to her back with sweat. She hadn't bothered with her robe on the hike up, leaving it in her bag with her bedroll.
I was able to use the ground and the pillars as a weapon against you. Seia is not so easily maneuvered. She knows how to play the game, as it were. More than once, I tried, only to find her using my own force against me. When our relations became more cordial, even friendly, I sparred with her on several occasions. Once she nearly bashed my head off with a kick. Not my first concussion, certainly, but perhaps the worst. Yaikâ gentled her considerably.
"I always assumed she left the Empire with him, but it sounds like she left it before him."
Indeed. She spent several years moving independently through the galaxy before finding herself an apprentice. I don't know much about his origins, but I know he was strong in the Light Side of the Force, stronger than any padawan I had ever seen. Both the Jedi and Sith wanted him. When it became clear to certain people that Seia had no intention of surrendering him…I think that is when the seeds of what happened were planted. One of her close allies, a mercenary captain, shot him while Seia was contending with a powerful foe, then tried to slit her throat from behind. He did not survive the encounter. By the time I reached them, nothing could be done for Yaikâ and she was barely better off.
" Were you the one who healed her?" Lorash asked, studying the specter intently.
As she had once saved my life, yes, I returned the favor. She was inconsolable when she returned to consciousness. Part of me wondered very much if I had made the right decision. But had she died there, she would have never met you. I think where once she might have rebuked me for my actions, now she has an appreciation for the good things in life that yet remain to her.
"I want to learn more about Niman and how to use it with parts of the other styles. You said Soresu is good against blasters?"
We will train often and introduce elements from the other styles I know as well, augmenting with lessons on manipulating the Force.
Lorash felt a disruption in her sense of the Force like a ripple across a clear pond. The mind was troubled, but not dark. "Merga is here. Can he see you?"
Only if I wish to make myself known.
"Probably better if you don't," the young woman murmured.
I can always present myself as one of Tython's ghosts if you encounter trouble. Nabeila's hand was warm on her shoulder for a moment, squeezing to offer comfort. You are not alone.
With that, the specter disappeared, and Lorash carefully wiped her face before returning the lightsaber to her belt. She gave no sign that she had seen Merga, letting the bothan approach in his own time. He didn't blend very well, glossy fur gleaming under the moonlight.
"Vori told me what happened, kid," Merga said finally, stepping out into the open. "It's hard to wrap my head around, honestly. I warned you what kind of trouble that whole group was."
"They would have been a lot nicer to you if you hadn't stolen from Seia," Lorash said, frost forming in her tone.
"A stolen jedi holocron has no business in the hands of a Sith wi–"
"It wasn't stolen," Lorash interrupted. "It was a gift, and one returned to its proper resting place. The worst part of that entire thing was that I hurt her trust to try to save you. It won't be a mistake I make twice."
Merga bristled at that. "I looked after you for years, kid. You're going to let her destroy that?"
"You treat me like a disobedient child every time I do something you don't approve of, Merga. Not what I would call a great dynamic. At least Seia respects my decisions, even when she doesn't approve of them." Lorash felt her anger building, the urge to lash out crawling onto her tongue. It was so hard not to give in and just lay into the bothan. "And I would prefer if you used her name."
"It sounds like the Dark Side suits you better than anything Vori or I have done for you," he said acidly.
"I am still committed to becoming a jedi, but everything that happened with them was real. I won't pretend to feel otherwise."
Merga crossed his arms, watching her intently. Lorash kept her seat on the stone, mostly because she was still too exhausted to get up. "I thought Szorda Zul was the master of influence, but maybe I was wrong," he said finally. "She has her hooks in you like I've never seen."
"There are no hooks," Lorash snapped, fists tightening. Even exhausted, she wanted to throw a rock at him. Fortunately for Merga, she didn't have the energy left. "I love her. I assure you there's quite a difference."
"You might want to put that in the past tense."
Lorash's eyes narrowed. "What do you know, Merga?"
"The Imps moved a high value asset to Despayre for at least interim containment right after the showdown in the Diadem. Things don't usually survive on that prison planet."
A chill ran down Lorash's spine. She'd heard stories of Despayre: constant gales created by harsh tides, impenetrable jungle full of venomous animals and poisonous plants, forced labor conditions and minimal supplies to the prisoners set to toil there. Very few truths actually emerged, it was so tightly locked down, but the nightmares she'd heard about the conditions there from a few former corsairs among Corr's men who had supplied the work crews once or twice were enough to keep anyone awake at night. Her stomach knotted violently. Seia's strong. If anyone can survive, she will, Lorash told herself.
She felt helpless even thinking about it. Only military ships, prison transports, and the occasional contracted armed and armored supply ship could even enter the Horuz system. No amount of mastery of the Force or lightsaber training would get her through the blockade around that planet to find Seia.
Even if she is there, I doubt that is her final destination, Nabeila whispered in her ear. Remember that Seia knows many things of the Old Sith Empire. They will try to break her there, but they will use her elsewhere. Anything else would be a waste to those who crave power.
Lorash picked at the rock she was sitting on with her thumbnail. "Merga, have you heard anything about that asset being moved again?" she said.
"Kid, she's probably already dead," Merga said, his tone softening slightly. He was serious, not reveling in Seia's misfortune. "Wookies die there on the reg, and that's without stormtrooper squads executing anyone who rabble-rouses among prisoners."
"If you don't know, I'm going to find someone who does."
There may be another way of finding out, Nabeila said. In the old temple here on Tython, there is a seeing stone. With your connection to Seia and your experience with sensing through the Force, we may be able to catch at the very least a glimpse of her. If there are sith inquisitors in the area, however, they may be alerted. It is something we should do when you are more prepared, just in case.
Lorash swallowed hard, a lump forming in her throat. She wanted confirmation that Seia was alive now, but she understood why Nabeila wanted her to wait as well. If she accidentally alerted too big a fish, it could spell death for herself, Vori, and the twins. Nabeila, please, there has to be a way. I just want to know that she's alright.
I know, Lorash. The pain of not knowing is often worse than even the pain of the worst outcome. What we imagine can be so much more terrible. You must endure it a while longer and grow strong in the Force. Anything else jeopardizes everything for something that is not even a certain outcome.
She hated it, but she knew Nabeila was right. When Merga cleared his throat like he was going to say something, Lorash looked up abruptly. "You've said enough," she said, heart like a piece of broken glass. "Leave me alone."
Her tone seemed to cut Merga enough that realization of his overstepping flashed across the surface of his mind. "Look, kid, I'm just telling you like it is. The goal isn't to hurt you."
Lorash felt tears building. "It's a little late for that," she said bitterly, standing up with the last of her energy. She went over to her satchel and pulled out her bedroll, kicking it open on the mossy stone. "Go or I'll make you go."
Instead of arguing, Merga retreated back the way he'd come, down the path, and left Lorash alone with her worry and grief. She focused intently on the connection she'd once had with Seia, trying to recall that burning chain that bound them together. There was no guarantee that Seia would feel her reaching out, especially if she'd closed herself off so the Empire couldn't discern Lorash's location.
I love you, Seia. Stay strong and we'll see each other again soon.
Again, her only answer was silence.