Valley Of The Dark Lords (Month 7, 32BBY)

Kevan wiped his brow as he looked across a barren landscape. Desert sand blew across the broken street and rock formations slinked through the old ruins as he and Amara, his mother walked. “Mother there is nothing here,” He said for the 10th time. Amara nearly growled. She held up the hand scanner and it continued to ping albeit slowly denoting some form a life...somewhere still existed. Or was here ahead of them. Talzin, the nightmother held her husband Tarian captive. She had sent Amara and Kevan here to locate Darth Andeddu’s holocron. She learned that count Dooku dispatched fallen Jedi Quinlan Vos and Tol Skorr and wanted to beat them to it  and use it to lure Dooku in order to kill him.

Just beyond the ruins were remnants of large ships from a battle that had happened here long ago. The desert had nearly covered the ships but pieces of them still protruded up out of the sand. “The tomb should be here, look sharp,” she said as she held out the scanner. Kevan held the old map of the Sith Academy that used to be here a long time ago. “The sun is just about set, we should try to find shelter until the morning,” Kevan said and then heard an odd sound. A ‘chittering’ and a ‘buzzing’ sound like some kind of insect “What’s that noise?” He asked.

The sun beat down upon them, but Amara paid it no mind. She was solely focused on one task...locating Darth Andeddu's holocron. Tarian was being held captive and she would do what she needed to in order to free him. Ever since he was a child, Amara had been training Kevan. He was strong, but she knew that Kaia was stronger. They had defied Talzin by handing Kaia over to the Jedi Council, but Amara did not want her daughter anywhere near Talzin. She had not seen her again, but she could sense that she was still alive. Amara was an extremely powerful and dangerous Sith. She was more powerful than Tarian, which was why she was training Kevan.

Kevan was weak in her eyes, but he was her son and she loved him despite that. She sighed at his complaining and was about to sharply reprimand him for it when she suddenly heard the same chittering sound that he did. She sensed something coming...no several things. They were small in size, but something in Amara's mind told her to beware of them.

"Let's keep moving."

As they moved the chittering grew louder and it was apparent, they were being followed. Kevan looked back often as Amara continued forward and used her scanner to guide her. The path forced them to go down a long slope covered in the desert dust. THe slope went down and down for quite a long time. At the bottom, the path opened up and what the desert sands had hidden was laid bare to them now they were on the same level. All around them were man-carved steps that led up to rectangular openings that led further into darkness. Some of the openings were still closed and they were tall, much taller than a normal person needed as an opening. It was so dark they could tell their were symbols above each opening but they couldn’t see what they were.

“Mother! Thit...this is it. THe Valley of the Dark Lords!” Kevan said as he looked at his map. He took a step forward and hit the holoprojector on his map device. All around them a bright blue overlay of the area suddenly appeared. THere were symbols in the center of the courtyard and they could also see symbols above each of the doorways as they stood in a circle around the square.

“That’s the symbol for Darth Andeddu,” Kevan said as he pointed. And as he shut off the holomap it was clear that the tomb was broken open...recently. The chittering seemed to die away and before long it disappeared altogether. Kevan struck a flare and held it up above his head. He checked to make certain his lightaber was where it should be and he followed his mother inside the opening to the tomb.

There was a long, narrow corridor. THere was some sand near the entrance but not alot. More proof that it had been opened recently. The corridor opened up into a much larger room that appeared to be dimly lit by flaming wall sconces all about the room. In the center was a massive effigy of Lord Andeddu and two men lit by a pale blue light were digging at a large door located at the base of the massive statue.

Amara could sense that they were getting close to Darth Andeddu's tomb. She moved more quickly as the light continued to die and she and Kevan soon found themselves being forced down a long slope covered in sand. They found once they were at the bottom that it leveled out and all around them were man-carved steps that led to rectangular openings. Above each opening was a symbol. Amara knew before Kevan spoke where they were. She impatiently waited for him for activate the holoprojector on his map. They were looking for Darth Andeddu's tomb...nothing else. They located the symbol, but as they approached the tomb they could see that it had been broken into very recently. Amara knew that there were two men inside the tomb. She put a hand on her lightsaber in preparation of drawing it.

They entered the tomb and Amara became aware that the chittering that had been following them seemed to have died away. She paid it no mind. Her focus was on one thing alone...the holocron. The long, narrow corridor suddenly opened up into a much larger room that was lit by flaming wall scones around the room. In the center, was a massive statue of Lord Andeddu and Amara could now see the two men she had sensed earlier digging at a large door located at the base of the statue. She unclipped her lightsaber and drew it. A second later it hummed to life and glowed blood red in the darkness.

"I suggest you step away and leave," she said threateningly.

The two men stopped what they were doing and turned to face Amara and her son. Amara recognized there two men immediately for they were well known and extremely dangerous. The thick, shorter man with long brown hair was none other than Tom Skorr. The taller, lither man with long black hair and a wild look in his dark eyes was Quinlan Vos. The two men grinned darkly at her as they knew her too but had never seen Kevan before nor knew who he was. To them that meant he was no one of any repute nor any real concern. In this way force sensatives like they were sized one another up. Those with age and experience that is. Kevan did not know them and had not yet developed that instinct as of yet. His grin was one of confident arrogance.

“Amara Keldera,” Skorr said. “It’s been a very long time,” he said. “I believe we fought together during the Stark Hyperspace Wars,” he said. “But you were a Jedi then,” he said with another dark grin. Vos had a very notable career but out of the two, Skorr was the better duelist. Skorr has been discovered as force sensative at a very early age and had been trained since he was a child. They both had once been Jedi but Amara sensed the dark side in them strongly, especially Skorr. Why were they here? Obviously for the holocron but why?

“Mother?” Kevan asked and pulled his lightsaber from his belt. Once he did that the two men did the same as just a reaction to his movements. “Whose the welp? Your pedowan Amara? How’s Tarian these days?” Vos asked.

Amara immediately recognized both men. She had encountered them almost 25 years ago during the Stark Hyperspace Wars. During that time she had still been a Jedi. She knew Kevan was not nearly ready to take them on and even if Tarian was here it would be an intense fight. However, she needed that holocron.

“Kevan is my son and Padawan,” she said as she disengaged her lightsaber, but kept her hand on the trigger. “Tarian is the reason I’m here. He is being held captive. He will be released in exchange for the holocron.”

Skorr and Vos shared a brief look. “Well...who has him, we could help you get him back but Lord Dooku sent us to retrieve this holocron,” he said. Amara knew there was tension between Talzin and Dooku. Dooku has abducted her son Maul and made him his apprentice. Talzin has no love for the Sith because of Dooku and just the mere mention of his name made Amara’s heart churn. He was the sole reason why Amara and Tarian were at odds with the witches in the first place. If she failed her she could lose everything.

Holocrons were ancient repositories of knowledge and wisdom. Opened only by a force sensitive individual a person could learn the teachings held within moments.

Vos, who was the stronger of the two in the force smiled. “I think Amara intends to try and take the Holocron from us Skorr. I can feel her desperation. Tarian must be in some pickle,” he said.

Knowing that Lord Dooku was the reason Skorr and Vos were here made Amara's stomach churn. She hated Dooku. He was the reason she and Tarian were at odds with the witches in the first place. She needed to get the holocron at any cost. It was going to be extremely difficult, but she had no other choice. She would not let Kevan share in this fight. They would certainly kill him. She would have to fight them alone.

"I need the holocron," she said again as she re-engaged her lightsaber. This time she engaged both sides of it. "And I intend to get it." Amara was a strong fighter, but she would be fighting two other strong fighters. This fight was going to take all she had and more.

Kevan, stay back.

No mother.

“I’ll take the boy,” Vos said and Skorr ignited his red lightsaber. Vos ignited his own but it was green. They separated and Skorr attacked…

Initially Vos just tested the boy. Kevan’s lightsaber was red like his mother’s. He was a good duelist but he needed more training. He was often too aggressive, dangerously so. Kevan deflected Vos’s attack and then struck immediately back at him. Vos smiled.

“So, the boy has teeth. This might be fun after all,” he said.

Skorr came in with his own lightsaber. It was a deep red light crystal and it roiled and pulsed visibly which gave it a menacing look. He blocked one side of Amara’a staff and hopped over the other. He blocked her strike to his back then twisted and parried as if he knew where he blow was going to come, which he did.

Kevan and Vos traded blows but Vos wasn’t fighting with his full potential. Amara knew that just from instinct. She was one of the most skilled and aggressive duelists alive but these men were much older than she and more experienced. Vos raised his hand and he lifted up large rocks then hurled them at Kevan. Kevan felt them coming and he easily evaded them and also Vos’s attack. “Oh I like your son Amara. I’m in need of a pedowan myself,” he taunted. Kevan felt his anger rise up and with it his aggression. Vos parried a flurry of strikes from him then twisted and kicked him in the chest. Kevan flew back then flipped and landed onto his feet. He did a twisting jump back and engaged him again immediately. Amara has taught him that move herself. Vos only just managed to get his saber up in time to block.

Skorr was strong. Far stronger than she was and his blows took effort to parry.

Amara did not have time to argue with Kevan. In the blink of an eye both men attacked. Thankfully, Kevan had gotten out his lightsaber and engaged it before Vos had reached him. Amara had a double ended lightsaber and she was able to activate either just one side or both. Master Windu had trained her very well on dueling, but in many ways he had also held her back. It hadn't been until after she had left the Jedi that her full potential had been unleashed. Even so, she still struggled against Skorr. Vos was not using his full potential against Kevan, that she knew by the fact that Kevan was still alive.

Amara was beautiful and deadly when she fought. She moved almost gracefully, but forcefully. She never hesitated during a duel and she always let her instincts guide her. Skorr managed to press her up against a rock and she felt the heat from his lightsaber near her face. She kicked him back hard and as he stumbled back a few steps his lightsaber struck the right side of her face. Her flesh opened just under her eye and traveled down her cheek. It was a nasty wound, but she would live.

“Mother!” Kevan yelled in a panic as he saw Skorr open up her flesh. In a sacrificial move, a Sith move, Kevan force threw his lightsaber at Skorr’s back. As he did so Vos struck at Kevan.

Skorr has to shift away from Amara to deflect the incoming lightsaber that spin toward him. It gave Amara an opening and she swung her lightsaber in a diagonal arc that cut through Skorr’s shoulder down to his opposite hip. It separated his upper body from his bottom and the two pieces of him fell. Vos’s green lightsaber took Kevan’s arm off at the elbow and Kevan fell to the ground unconscious but the sudden lack of awareness of life in him in Amara’s mind made her think Vos has killed him. In a rage Amara attacked all out. Her double edged lightsaber moved so fast the human eye could not separate the flickers of light. Vos defended as fast as he could but eventually her blade struck off his hand at the wrist. He fell back and clutched at his hand as he growled in agony.

Amara attacked Vos with more power and aggression than she ever had before. She saw her son lying on the ground, seemingly dead. She was nearly blinded by her anger and moved so quickly he could barely keep up. Her blade struck his right wrist and the hand fell to the ground apart from the rest of his body. She paid him no attention as he collapsed back on the ground. She rushed over to her son and saw he was still alive. She used her lightsaber to cauterize the wound and then looked back at the door where she knew the holocron was. She picked up both Skorr and Vos’s lightsabers as well as Kevan’s and her own. Vos was wounded but not dead. She moved over and began to force open the door to get to the holocron.

The door did not budge. And there were several score marks from what looked like lightsabers. There were tiny chips out of the stone from hammers and a shovel that lay nearby at the base of the wall. It was covered with runes and Amara could read them. They were written in the Sith language.

‘Only a true Sith can seek my knowledge and wisdom’ it read. There was a small circle in the center of the doorway and from the circle what looked like thin veins carved into the stone that expanded out from the circle to the edges of the door.

Amara became increasingly frustrated as she tried to open the door. She finally sighed and took a closer look at the doors. She saw the runes and was able to read them. She thought for a moment about what the runes said. She saw a small circle in the middle with veins running out to different areas of the door. A thought then came to her. She pulled out a small knife from her pocket and cut her hand she then held her hand over the circle and let her blood drip onto the circle.

As her blood seeped onto the circle she noticed that the white veins of stone began to take the blood from the circle into themselves. The blood began to move toward the edges of the doorway. After a few moments she heart and felt a distinct click and the stone began to move inward. Stone upon stone ground as the door moved and then it fell into the floor below. For a moment there was nothing but darkness in the large opening and then wall sconces flickered to life with red flame that illuminated the small room inside. It smelled of old dust and death inside the tomb.

When Amara crosses the threshold she saw the tomb, a large rectangular sarcophagus in the center of the large space. On the far wall was an alter of sorts with steps that led up to it. And there above the large, black stone alter was a red cube that flowed with a sinister light. It hovered in mid air above the alter.

Amara slowly stepped into the tomb. She moved cautiously but confidently. She had been deemed worthy and she felt a sense of pride in that fact. As she stepped across the threshold, she saw the tomb. Above the tomb was an alter with steps leading up to it. There was a large black stone alter with a red cube that hovered in mid air. That was what she had been seeking. She slowly stepped up the stairs and paused a moment before reaching out to take the cube.

As Amara brought her hand closer to the cube it seemed to glow brighter and the hum it gave off appeared to grow higher in pitch.

Amara touched the cube and gently pulled it out of suspension. She put it into the bag she was carrying and walked out of the tomb. Vos has crawled away, but Kevan was still there. She used the Force to lift him up and carry him back towards her ship. She wanted to get off the planet and get the cube to Talzin as quickly as possible.

The moment her hand touched the Holocron images flooded her mind. And emotions along with them. A Dark Lord tossing his red lightsaber at a Jedi. Hate and envy filled her and it was everything she could do not to fill herself with the dark force that she could channel. Hatred for Talzin. Love for her son Kevan and her husband Tarian. Love for a woman she did not know who had glowing red hair and green and gold eyes the woman was fierce in her expression just then and she knew the woman’s name. ‘Kaia’...

———————-

“It’ll be several days in hyperspace to get there. You might as well get on with your training,” Zarian said as he looked over at her. He piloted the ship and she usually co-piloted it. There wasn’t a lot of room in the cabin behind the cockpit. A bedroom, a galley and a lounge that they used for training. Zarian was her
Lover but he was also her Master and he didn’t allow her to shirk her training and they both knew she needed to work on her abilities to control the force. Zarian put the ship on auto and he moved back with her. R2 rolled up and plugged into the side of the center console. He’d make adjustments to the ships course if they needed to be made.

Zarian gestured to her spot on the floor and he sat across from her and crossed his legs. He tossed a handful of small, metal balls on the floor. As she closed her eyes and concentrated she began…

First she felt the pull of the force. It flowed like a soft breeze. She felt it brush by her face, rustle her clothes and then she felt it flow through her. It has no scent but she could feel its light though she couldn’t see it. She pushed out all emotion and pushed away her feelings. In her calm she grasped the force and lifted herself off of the floor. Zarian concentrates and frowned. Kaia’s problem was letting go. Surrendering to the will of the force and trusting in it to do what she needed it to do. She began to pick up the spheres one by one….

Suddenly the feeling of pain shot through her. It was as if her right arm had been severed suddenly. Her brow furled as she tried to control it but it was just too great. Her calm popped like a large bubble and she and the spheres fell to the floor. She was covered in a sheen of sweat and Zarian was there in an instant.

“Kaia...what is it, I felt your pain,” he said as he rubbed her forearm. It was still numb.

Kaia was a strong duelist, perhaps one of the best, but when it came to complete control of the Force she was still learning in some ways. Kaia had difficulty in fully letting go...surrendering completely to the Force and trusting in it. Kaia liked to be in control and this was something that Zavian had been trying to teach her for years. She had come close on occasion, but had never fully let go.

Kaia felt the Force flow through her as she pushed out all emotion and cleared her mind. She found a sense of calm and in that calm she began to float in midair. She sensed the metal spheres near her and began to pick them up one by one. She was close to fully surrendering to the Force...she was right on the edge...

Suddenly, a hot, searing pain shot through her right arm. For a brief moment, she tried to control it, but the pain was just too great. In a brief flash, she saw someone...a young man she did not recognize. She heard the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber and then heard him yell out and her calm was shattered. She and the metal spheres dropped to the floor. She grabbed her right arm and was surprised it was still there. It felt numb.

"I...I don't know what happened. I just felt a searing pain in my forearm and then it went numb. I saw something though. There was a boy, about my age, with dark...almost black hair and he was fighting someone with a lightsaber. He then yelled out in pain and then the vision was gone."

Eventually feeling came back to her arm and the pain and images of the boy faded. Zavian held a hand to her forehead and he closed his eyes a moment as he tried to sense her surface thoughts. He too saw an image of the boy from her mind but it faded quickly and he retracted his hand.

“Come, let us begin again,” he said and helped her up. The training did not go so smoothly as it had adter that. He could tell Kaia was attempting to decypher the images and feelings she felt when the images came. Eventually he just called it off and he wasn’t pleased about it at all. Their ship continued to hyperspace toward Korriban and Zavian decided to lay down for a while.

———————

As Amara returned to the tomb entrance she found the Skorr was still dead and Vos was gone. He had taken his severed hand with him and Kevan has just now stirred.

“Ahhhh….ah, ah,” he groaned as he lifted up his stump. “It...it hurts!” He said as he tried to get control of the pain. He winced as he focused and with his mother watching he pushed the pain away then stood. He had done something few Sith would. He sacrificed himself for someone else. Most Sith were greedy and selfish. Kevan was not. He felt hate and envy certainly but he also felt love and compassion. He had probably saved her life.

Kaia was confused by the vision she had seen and wasn’t sure why she had had a vision of this young man. Were they connected somehow? She found it difficult to try and get back into her training and could sense Zavian’s frustration and disappointment in her. She sighed as she watched him go to lay down. She hated feeling that he was disappointed in her. She sat there for a while before she decided to try her training again. She sat down and crossed her legs and closed her eyes. She forced her mind to clear itself and took a deep breath. She released it slowly and found that sense of calm again. Her body slowly began to float in midair and she began to lift each of the spheres.

———————————————

Amara quickly moved back over to Kevan and saw he was starting to stir. She knelt down beside him and helped him up to his feet. She still couldn’t believe what he had done. He had saved her life. “We need to get you back to the ship.”

Kaia held up all 12 of the spheres and then lifted the large statue of the Krayt Dragon and then other things. As she drew closer and closer into that exchange between the midichlorians in her cells and their relationship with the force her awareness expanded.

Talzin meditated as she sat on her throne. All around her the Nightsisters performed on the men that had been chosen for this nights ‘holy rights’. They moaned as they basked in the pleasures of the flesh.

Talzin’s thoughts wandered out from the room and even beyond the confines of Darhomir. Kaia felt Talzin’s presence and when she opened her eyes Talzin was sitting across from her. She was in the throne room with her and the others Nightsisters as they were ravished by males of all different species. Talzin wore a tall ornate headdress and her flesh was pale and beautiful. Her face was painted white and her eyes were blue and painted as well. She wore a thing, nearly transparent gown that showed her flesh down her front.

“So finally we meet,” Talzin said. “You’ve grown powerful young one. I am Talzin, the nightmother. Come to me on Dathomir and take your place on my throne,” she sad. In some cases a Nightsister had sex with more than one male but they seemed to enjoy what was happening to them a great deal.

“Lord Dooku has defiled my son, Darth Maul and our attempt at his life has failed. He will try to destroy us by using General Grievous and his droid army,” she said. “Come to me and I will show you the meaning of real power!” She said.

Kaia suddenly snapped out of the meditation she was in and dropped hard to the floor. She gasped and found she was trembling. Zavian sensed something was wrong and quickly went to her. She told him what she had seen as they sat together. He had gotten her something to drink, but she was still rather shaken up.

“She said I was to take her place on the throne on Dathomir.”

“Calm yourself. Talzin is the Nightmother. The Nightsisters are witches. Versed in the dark powers,” he said. Zavian knew everything about Kaia’s family and her past but had not spoken to her about any of that. Mace Windu also did not talk about how she was delivered to the Jedi nor who her parents really were. As far as Kaia knew she was an orphan. Zavian was worried that if Kaia found out about her family she might try to reconnect with them. He did not know about Kevan though. Her parents had done everything to keep knowledge of him hidden.

Zavian looked at Kaia and knew he needed to tell her about her family. Kaia’s eyes looked at him and he saw the worry in them. He touched her face.

“Kaia, she can’t have you. You belong to me my love,” he murmured as he kissed her. Soft, gentle kisses to soothe her. He held her face in his hands. “You will become a Jedi Kaia. And then I will marry you and we will disappear...together and ride out this storm,” he whispered.