Saga - PT The Cold Ink Of My Heart

Prequels AU
Ship: Anidala
Rating: PG-13, N-17 on another site
Characters: Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader, Padme Amidala, Emperor Palpatine, etc.

Here's something I have been working on. This is an Anidala (or better to say will be) fanfiction. I won't reveal too much about it, but it basically goes around the idea what if Anakin was raised in the Korriban Academy, the Republic fell a long time ago and the Emperor coughPalpycoughcough is forced to find an apprentice. And of curse there is Padme somewhere, but evil as I am I won't tell you her position in all this as of yet...
There's of course much more to this story, but I cannot write it all down now, can I?

Before I set the ball rollin', let's introduce ya gals to this story in the form of several chapters! (Read: no Anakin and Padme together in the first chapters, that will come later on...)

Disclaimer: Just destroying George's sandbox. And Disney's.
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This story happened a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away...

During the regime of the New Empire, under the leadership of Emperor Palpatine, an academy was formed on the long forgotten world of Moraband. There, under the strict guidance of several Masters and the harsh force of nature, alongside the beasts which inhabit the planet, young students are trained in the ways of the dark side.

They will become agents of Evil, the Emperor's Hands. Each one of them is more powerful than any Jedi, Light or Dark... Each one of them has one, single goal: Becoming the Emperor's Apprentice. A being whose skill is unchallenged by any other.

But only one of them will become strong enough to rise above them. Strong enough to become the Emperor's apprentice, second in command and the only heir to the throne. Only one of them nourishes enough ambition, cunning, knowledge, and desire to achieve that goal. And within those ambitions lays danger and something more...
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It's said only the strongest will survive. Only the most prosperous will reach their goals.

Darth Sidious, or Emperor Palpatine as known to the public, believes otherwise. Only the most ambitious ones will reach their heart's desire. The ones who possess enough cunning and skill to manipulate events to their liking. Those are the ones worthy of the Emperor's attention. Not sycophants and imposters, but strong willed force-users.

Through, Palpatine doubts such a being exists nowadays.

Truth be told, if it wasn't for his loyal advisors, Sate Pestage and Sly Moore, not to mention his old age, he would have never set foot on the miserable shell of a once glorious planet. But due to the circumstances and his old Master's wish- who was death for a long time now- to keep the Bane dynasty alive, the Sith Lord in question will grant them all this wish.

Only this time.

After all, it was expected for the Emperor to pick an heir, someone to carry on his legacy and the fundamental ideas of the New Sith Empire. And what better place to find a being worthy of sharing his knowledge with than Korriban, or Moraband as referred by the non-force sensitive beings. It may be far away from its once glorious past and great Dark Side energy, but its ancient Sith Academies build by various Dark Side organizations still provided as a good training ground.

And the knowledge of ancient Dark Lords of the Sith -which Darth Bane studied from- was still kept in the library, located in the depths of the Academy, far beneath the Temple's main floors. It's a gift from the Force that the old scrolls were still in the shape as they were a thousand years ago- rows of shelves stacked with manuscripts haphazardly arranged and then forgotten- when Darth Bane formed the Rule of Two using Darth Revan's scripts as an outline.

The scrolls were, unfortunately, not the only thing that stayed the same over the years.
The Dark Jedi, now performing the duty of teachers, were as ignorant as the Brotherhood of Darkness considering the ancient knowledge and the power of the individual. This was something the Emperor wasn't looking for in his to-be apprentice.

Though, if he could find someone who was interested in the forgotten library, he was a step closer to leaving this planet.

And what a better apprentice than someone who understood the mistakes of the Brotherhood of Darkness and every other being who believed in equality. Equality, just like democracy, was a lie sold to the masses. To appease them. There are those with power, those with the strength and will to lead. And there are those meant to follow—those incapable of anything but servitude and a meager, worthless existence. The weak should serve the strong. Not the other way around, and certainly, not equally.

The Dark Lord of the Sith watched as the red and brown planet loomed closer. Blood Red clouds skittered across the horizon, under which stood ruins of the Valley of the Dark Lords with its many tombs- the eternal home of long dead Lords. At the valleys beginning, carved in the red stone stood the New Sith Academy. Weak light was cast from it and sucked by the all-remaining darkness surrounding the planet.

The only well-lighted place was the small, private spaceport, located in front of the secondary entrance.

As the Emperor slowly descended his shuttle, figures in dark bowed low at his left and right, and a handful of their teachers, Dark Jedi, inclined their heads in the centre, under the shadow of the brown-stoned academy, right below a wide, stone staircase leading to the great hall and from there even deeper into the academy, to places only Dark Side users could stand living in without going insane.
Though, some would dare question the sanity of everyone who chooses to use the Dark Side.
"It's an honor to welcome you to Korriban, your majesty," The grandmaster, self-proclaimed Lord Kistor bestowed as Darth Sidious approached the Dark Jedi, his most trusted advisors falling like a shadow behind him.

The Emperor regarded the humanoid Dark Jedi in silence. It's been more than a decade when he last saw him- back to the days when he appointed him as the grandmaster- and every day of that decade was visible on the man. His shoulders were sunken and the few centimeters of his skin visible from beneath the heavy garment of his robe looked like skin stretched atop bone, adorned with blue veins showing from beneath. Teaching the ways of the Dark Side to his young proteges took its toll on him and probably every teacher on Korriban.

And they were capable of teaching them only a handful...

"Thank you, Lord Kistor." The Emperor said in his grave tone, " though, the honor is mine. Your academy received such high praises by my generals. I presume your students are obedient if you managed to keep such a high standards at this academy.

Silence. Kistor lowered his head even more, concealing his black eyes. "Yes, these students are a blessing," he managed after a moment of contemplation.

No, these students weren't an easy task to behold.

"And I'm positive you will find whatever you are looking for, my Emperor. After all, this is the home of the best swordsman in the Galaxy."

"I hope so, my friend," the Emperor said. "Otherwise, I would be very disappointed."

In you and my generals both.

It would be a shame to imprison, or even order a death sentence for some of his generals. A few of them proved to be quite valuable. He doesn't harbor the same opinion on those Dark Jedi, though...

"Yes..yes… Of course, my lord," The grandmaster stumbled. "That's the last thing we want."

"How wonderful. Now, I would like to see more of this academy. Maybe, see how you teach its students."

"Of course, my lord. Master Vriqiam's saber practice class is scheduled this morning. I'm sure she would be glad to have our emperor see her students' skills."

"Excellent."
The students watched in silence as the Dark Lord descended the ancient, stone staircase led by the academy's teachers. Neither moved for a long time, their minds too focused on the conversation they just witnessed.

"And I'm positive you will find whatever you are looking for, my Emperor. After all, this is the home of the best swordsman in the Galaxy."

At first sight, these were simple words, but if one knew how to interpret them in the right way, they held tremendous power.

Wicked smiles appeared through the crowd. Some figured it out, others watched in bewilderment at their comrades. And some smiled just so they wouldn't be left out, to show they were superior, but in truth, were as bemused as the lesser ones.

Though, every student gave his best to understand them.

And they understood them to an extent.

The Force whirled around them, nudging them to grasp the invisible opportunity given to them. This was the day they all trained for, for this was their opportunity.

The Sith Lord didn't word his reason for visiting this backwater of a planet, but that didn't stop most of them from figuring it out: It was time to pick up an apprentice.

One of them would become the next Emperor and Dark Lord of the Sith.

It was time to show all their skill and manipulate their way to the top. The few friendships in the academy will fall apart, as well as alliances. from now on, they could rely only on themselves.

And among the crowd was a student who understood the meaning of all by himself. For as long as he can remember he relied only on himself. He didn't have true friends- how does one know who a true friend is? -or followers for that matter. From an early age, he realized the key to surviving this harsh and unforgivable galaxy: From the very first breath you take you cannot rely on anybody. Not your mother, father, brother or sister.

And he had a mother. Only a mother.

But there wasn't companionship between them.

She was a Dark Jedi, and he, her son, was only a mean to an end. A mean to an end; a goal he, even all those years later, doesn't fully comprehend. She only wanted revenge. But for what? She never cared to explain to him.

After days, months and years passed away, the young student became more and more aware of his surroundings, and he came to the conclusion his mother was so engrossed in her plans for revenge, that she became unaware of her surroundings.

It's no wonder she was such an easy target for other force sensitive beings…

But he won't repeat her mistakes. He would wait. Plan his every move and word.
His emotions won't be his undoing.

When the moment comes, he will be the one to set course of his destiny.

And survive.

And he will survive.

It's written so in the stars.

In his very being.

Anakin Skywalker will rise above them all.

They are no match for him.

Some of them may not realize this, but from now on, nothing will be as it was...


*Mav Edit: Poll removed. We don't allow polls in the story threads.