Beyond - Legends The End of All Light (Post-NJO AU: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, L/M, H/L, many more) Updated 11/29/14!

Title: Legacy of the Sith (Book 4): The End of All Light
Author: YodaKenobi
Timeframe: Post-New Jedi Order, 33 ABY
Characters: Anakin Solo, Jacen, Jaina, Tahiri, H/L, L/M, Kyp, Jag, everyone else who's ever been seen, spoken, or mentioned in a SW story
Genre: Adventure, Mystery
Keywords: Frozen Donkey Wheel
Summary: A mysterious empire controlled by a Sith Lord from deep in the Unknown Regions has become a part of the Galactic Alliance and is determined to destroy the Jedi Order.
Notes:

This is the fourth and final story in the "Legacy of the Sith" series. It is the sequel to "The Age of Heroes", "Exodus," and The Lands of the Dead. Don't be fooled by the prologue, Legacy of the Sith takes place 3 years after my New Jedi Order AU series ("Revolution," "The Eighth Cortex," and "The Living Force") which replace "The Final Prophecy," and "The Unifying Force," an an alternate ending to the NJO.

However, I've tried hard to write this in a way that it will be accessible to new readers without the need to trudge through all of the previous stories.

A big thank you to Dooku-Darklighter and Rew for their betawork and invaluable advice on this story And thanks as well to all the people who have been following this tale over the years. I'm in your debt and I hope that you'll feel like this was worth your time and effort when it's over.

Dramatis Personae

Aero Gin; bounty hunter (female human)
Alema Rar; Jedi Knight (female Twi'lek)
Anakin Solo; Jedi Knight (male human)
Aya Osyris; Kasanaan Tribeswoman (female human)
Ayddar Nylykerka; former Galactic Alliance Intelligence Director (male Tammarian)
Baliss Phlora; Jedi apprentice (female human)
Ben Skywalker; child (male human)
Booster Terrik; captain, Errant Venture (male human)
Brosh; commander of Thrawn's household phalanx (male Chiss)
C-3PO; protocol droid
Cakhmaim; Leia Solo's bodyguard (male Noghri)
Callista Ming; Sith Acolyte (female human)
Chaf'ros'tombi; Ascendancy scientist (male Chiss)
Cilghal; Jedi Master (female Mon Calamari)
Cordoba; crime lord (male Hutt)
Corssa; Commander, Empire of the Hand (female Chiss)
Dagan Osyris; Kasanaan Tribesman (male human)
Danni Quee; scientist (female human)
Darak; assistant to the Magister (female Ferroan)
Dorrin Kogg; senate speaker (male Sermarian)
Emala; war profiteer (female Squib)
Evlyn Tabory; agent to the Chief Syndic (female human)
Faybol; Darth Malig's Hand (male Kuhr)
Ferani; Tenel Ka's Chamberlain (female human)
Fiver; Anakin Solo's astromech droid
Fyor Rodan; Chief of State of the Galactic Alliance (male human)
Garm Bel Iblis; former general (male human)
Garrison "Malachor" Shan; Jedi Knight (male human)
Gelaa; priestess, deception sect (female Yuuzhan Vong)
Ghent; Galactic Alliance Intelligence slicer (male human)
Gilad Pellaeon; Grand Admiral, Imperial Remnant (male human)
Gorba; crimelord (male Hutt)
Grees; war profiteer (male Squib)
Hala Rozess; Sith spy (female Zeltron)
Han Solo; captain, Millennium Falcon (male human)
Harrow; Sith Alchemist (male Rezor)
Iella Antilles; Jedi ally (female human)
Ilandra Grim; Nightsister (female human)
Irsa; Elder (female Rakata)
Jabitha; Magister (female Ferroan)
Jacen Solo/Darth Havok; Sith apprentice, General of the Raithian Armies (male human)
Jaden Korr; Jedi Knight (male human)
Jagged Fel; Chief Syndic, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet (male human)
Jaina Solo; Jedi Knight (female human)
Jakan; High Priest (male Yuuzhan Vong)
Jarl Pace; Imperial Remnant General (male human)
Jonah Solo; infant (male human)
Jysella Horn; Jedi apprentice (female human)
Kirana Ti; Jedi Master (female human)
Kurol; shared consciousness of Faybol's brood
Kyle Katarn; Jedi Master (male human)
Kyp Durron; Jedi Master (male human)
Kyrn; colonel, Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet (female Chiss)
Lando Calrissian; entrepreneur (male human)
Leia Organa Solo; Jedi Knight (female human)
Lorra Klorne; Commander, Galactic Alliance Fourth Fleet (female human)
Lowbacca; Jedi Knight (male Wookiee)
Luke Skywalker; Jedi Master (male human)
Lura Ve; Dathomiri Witch, Singing Mountain Clan (female human)
Maichen; child (female human)
Malig; Dark Lord of the Sith (male, unknown species)
Mara Jade Skywalker; Jedi Master (female human)
Marro; former slave (female Twi'lek)
Meewalh; Leia’s bodyguard (female Noghri)
Mirax Horn; art dealer (female human)
Necil Krace; Jedi Knight (female Iktotchi)
Nen Yim; Master Shaper (female Yuuzhan Vong)
Nyll; Commander of Raithian Elite Commandos (male human)
Octa Ramis; Jedi Master (female human)
Plagueis; Sith Lord (male Muun)*
R2-D2; astromech droid
Raynar Thul; Sith acolyte (male human)
Relequy A’Kla; senator (female Caamasi)
Rowel; Assistant to the Magister (male Ferroan)
Ruu; former Shamed One (male Yuuzhan Vong)
Saba Sebatyne; Jedi Master (female Barabel)
Sayge; captain, the Exodus (male human)
Shada D’ukal; Talon Karrde’s business associate (female human)
Sidious; Sith Lord (male human)*
Sligh; war profiteer (male Squib)
Strack; General, Raithian Army (male, unknown species)
Streen; Jedi Master (male human)
Ta’laam Ranth; Minister of State (male Gotal)
Tahiri Veila; Jedi Knight (female human)
Talon Karrde; independent information broker (male human)
Tekli; Jedi Knight (female Chadra-Fan)
Tenel Ka Djo; Jedi Knight and Queen Mother of the Hapes Consortium (female human)
Tionne; Jedi Master (female human)
Tesar Sebatyne; Jedi Knight (male Barabel)
Than Ulgran; director, Galactic Federation Security (male human)
Thrawn; former Imperial Grand Admiral (male Chiss)
Tolok Saa; former Warrior (male Yuuzhan Vong)
Traest Kre’fey; Admiral, Galactic Alliance Fifth Fleet (male Bothan)
Tresina Lobi; Jedi Master (female Chev)
Triebakk; senator (male Wookiee)
Tweeter; Jaina’s astromech droid
Uhla; shaper (female Yuuzhan Vong)
Valin Horn; Jedi Knight (male human)
Vergere; former Jedi Knight (female Fosh)*
Vigorn; Head of the Queen Mother’s Royal Guard (male human)
Voss Parck; Admiral, Empire of the Hand (male human)
Wayleen Gaffar; barman, Chalmun's Cantina (male human)
Wedge Antilles; retired general, Jedi ally (male human)
Winter; Jedi ally (female human)
Wrev Caster; Jedi Knight (male human)
Xuon; Elder (male Rakata)
Zekk; Sith Acolyte (male human)

*deceased​

"There was no father." —Shmi Skywalker, The Phantom Menace.

 

Prologue: Conception

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, two beings were conceived—one was a creation of the Light and the other was the embodiment of Darkness. One, an expression of purity meant to bring the Force into balance. The other an avatar of evil destined to send it all spiraling into chaos.

Because the Force—that great energy that surrounds, binds, and penetrates every single thing in this universe—has two sides.

One is Light.

One is Dark.

The Ashla and the Bogan.

And now these two sides will meet one final time, in one final battle to settle it all. These creations will play out a struggle older than the stars, older than the first spark of energy that lit the heavens of this galaxy—older than time. This is not a conflict between two beings for planets or wealth or even lives.

It is a fight for something far more elemental, something we all feel but most never even know is there.

This is a war for the Force itself.

And when it's over, the galaxy will never be the same.

The dead will rise, heroes will burn, and those left alive will weep.

This is the end.

And this is how it begins.




Spinning listlessly in space between the boundary of the Republic and the territory the Sith Empire had fled to millennia before, was a fogged sphere of dark clouds and dust. It drifted in a black abyss spattered with clusters of glaring white stars, its perfectly round edge glowing with the same bright luminescence of every other atmosphere-housing planet in the galaxy, the reflected light of one star in particular, to which it was anchored.

The planet was called Naraka and there was absolutely nothing special about it.

A handful of small cities stood half-buried in the sandy dirt, artifacts of a world that had once been a home to more life, before the droughts several hundred years earlier had left these towns all but abandoned. The rest of the planet was an endless horizon of nothingness.

A wasteland.

Its face was caked in rock that formed crumbling mountains and wind-cut badlands, sun-scorched sand dunes that wept grit with every updraft, and chasms formed by deep fractures gouged into its depths all swimming in a shaken dust bowl. Dried-up valleys that had once been dismal brooks and gulches appeared as blackened scars from space, puckered by the fissures webbed out from them into the crust, the disfigurements left on a withered corpse.

It was across one of these furrows that Dagan Osyris marched, traveling over Naraka's parched surface with its white hot sun baking everything around him and the day's haul dangling heavily in a pack clutched within his right hand, nearly dragging in the sand beside him. The strap looped around his fist dug cruelly into the calloused palm, but it was a satisfying sort of pain—the sort that told a man his hours of journeying that day over Naraka's unforgiving terrain had not be fruitless.

Most excursions were not so profitable.

He was swaddled in rags and a long, tarat-hide duster badly bleached and weathered from the sun. A faded red scarf knotted at the back of his head was draped over his nose and mouth and a pair of black goggles with sand-scuffed lenses protected his eyes. Strapped diagonally over his shoulder around another pack filled with supplies were the blaster rifle and bladed-staff he would never dream of venturing into the wastes without, the barrel and long, serrated blade towering up above his head like a sensor array.

Dagan crested a blazing dune and looked out over the horizon towards the Ukur mountains. Ripples of heat danced over his home there, undulating just below the hazy sky where Naraka's two moons could be seen as mere ghosts of themselves in the late daylight. He smiled tiredly at the sight, knowing what was near as the suffocating wind like the hot breath of Chaos swept over the valley and kicked up a cloud of swirling dust around him.

Unfazed, Dagan started down the drift and hiked towards the base of the mountains, feeling the cool of its shade soon fall over him as he stepped beneath the ridge's shadow.

He was a member of the Kasanaan tribe, one of the few, loosely-configured clans of scavengers that managed to survive on Naraka in the years after the droughts. Like Dagan and his mate, most of them were human, and spent their days searching for treasures buried across the dustscape when they weren't simply looking for something to eat.

Because, in spite of the world's desolate terrain, there was a surprising amount of salvage planted within it. Millennia before, Naraka had been the sight of a massive space battle between two powerful forces, and the debris of broken monstrosities and flotsam had eventually been caught in the planet's gravity and brought down to its surface in flaming arcs. Ships and terrain vehicles were still being exhumed by the tribes, taking anything that was usable and cannibalizing the parts of the rest. There were other relics, from other times, and even the remains of modern-day off-worlders who had the misfortune of landing on Naraka without an understanding of the Kasanaan's protectiveness of it.

There were so many crashes, but almost always something of use found amongst the bones.

Over time, the Kasanaan had become something like hermit crabs, taking the clothes, homes, and technology of the dead and making it their own. They were far from primitive but had no means for manufacturing their own goods. Those with starships did their trading off-world rather than inviting strangers into their own territory, but the tribe, like the others on Naraka, was largely secluded, even from each other.

The Kasanaan lived apart from one another in hollows, tents, caves, or homes fashioned from the remains of old ships, interacting only when there was need. Dagan would often go weeks without seeing another tribesperson besides his mate, and he enjoyed the seclusion.

They were a world of two and that was enough for him, really.

Ignoring an old feeling, Dagan reached the base of the Ukur and began to climb, his boots working up the path cut around old boulders over smoothed stones he knew by heart. It wasn't long before he reached the mouth of their modest dwelling and slipped inside, feeling his muscles rejoice as he set aside the day's salvage and began to remove his pack and weapons.

He pulled the scarf down around his neck to take a deep breath free of the dust outside and was surprised not to smell the aroma of cooking meat wafting through the cave. The women of the Kasanaan were largely the hunters of the tribe, and though young and not particularly skilled, his mate rarely failed to find something for them to eat, and usually had it roasting over the open hearth by the time he returned from his own tasks. Naraka didn't have much to speak of for animals—at least, animals that one wanted to find—mostly just leathery lizards that could survive on the world's harsh terrain and the bloated sand slugs that grew as large as Dagan's forearm.

Frowning at the absent aroma, Dagan removed his goggles, revealing deep whisker-like wrinkles spreading out from his eyes and creases in his brow from a lifetime of squinting. He traveled deeper into the cavern, intent on inquiring about their meal and detailing for his mate the little successes of his own day. There wasn't much in his bags except old scrap, but he could find other Kasanaan to trade it to for things he needed. In time he was hoping to build his own dune-skimmer. If another tribesperson could work out a fair deal with off-world traders for fuel, he might be able to afford to even run it.

When Dagan entered the swell of the passage where the entrance became their living area, any thought of either subject was swept so far from his thoughts it would have taken him minutes to remember what had been on his mind if asked to recall it—seated beside the empty fire pit in the dim light of the glowpanels ringed around the cavern was his mate Aya.

And she was weeping.

Dagan put aside the rest of his things, quickly removing his duster before racing to her side.

Aya was nearly a decade younger than thirty-four year old Dagan—still just a young woman. She was beautiful and slender, with long black hair and the first shadows of wrinkles forming at the corners of her thin lips, more from frowning than smiling.

But when she did smile, Dagan was certain it was the most perfect thing in the galaxy, even if he'd lived his entire life on a world with no claim to that word in any way.

"Aya..." the man said tentatively, sinking down on his knees at her side and reaching out to cup her face. "What's wrong?"

Her features were partially obscured by her little hands, but when he pulled them away, he saw something he did not expect on her tear-streaked face. It was a look that might have been mistaken for agony, her eyes brimming with tears that wobbled and spilled hotly down her cheeks, the muscles around them tight and pained, and her mouth drawn back in a way that showed her teeth beneath quivering lips.

But she was not hurt—she was overjoyed.

"Dagan..." she sobbed, almost unable to speak. "I am with child."

Her husband sat back on his heels, stunned, the color draining from his sun-hardened face. Dagan's surprise went beyond that of the typical shock fathers across the galaxy received upon such news. They had been unable to conceive a child after more than three years of trying. Not without high-tech resources scavenged and traded for, the Kasanaan had examined them both with full body medical scans and found that Aya was not capable of having children—or as the Kasanaan healer had so tactlessly put it, she was "as barren as Naraka itself."

Dagan felt an old, familiar emptiness at the memory—one he always brushed away quickly—now filled with confusion.

"But, cherished one," the tribesman stammered, "that's... not possible... Are you sure?"

Aya nodded enthusiastically, a little squeal of joy coming from her delirious smile. "Yes! I saw Healer Soma today while you were scavenging... I didn't want to tell you because... well, I didn't... I didn't want to raise your hopes too if it wasn't true, but it is! It is! This is the work of the Maker, Dagan. I can feel it. A miracle!"

Dagan laughed, smiling so big it made his face hurt. He was crying now too and kissed his wife, laughed, and kissed her again. "It is," he agreed, cupping her face in his hands. "It is indeed."




Months later, when Soma was hunkered down between Aya's open legs as she wailed, there was a moment when Dagan would wonder the opposite.

The birth was a difficult one. Aya's screams hurt him deeply, casting the first doubts. Dagan saw blood—too much blood, to possibly be normal—and this ignited the first real flares of panic within him. However, the moment when Dagan began to wonder if his mate's pregnancy was instead a curse came when he saw the tribe healer's eyes at the moment of birth—they were wide with horror.

He knew something was wrong.

"Oh, Maker..." he gasped as the healer pulled the reddened, slick thing free.

But both mother and child survived, and the thought that they might have been cursed moved far from the man's mind much sooner than one might have expected.

Dagan and Aya had been blessed with a son.

They called him "Namtar."

Years later, he would be given another name.




One hundred and four standard years later, an obsidian-plated spacecraft soared towards a planet very much like Naraka. Its black armor was fused with a maze of golden circuitry that seemed to gleam with some mystifying inner life while the dual ion drives that propelled it through the star-flecked void glowed a dark scarlet.

The dusty orb it approached swelled around it, eclipsing the stars as the ship shrank into its murky clouds, a black speck wreathed by a flare of blood-red engines. It sank through Korriban's atmosphere in a graceful arc on the planet's nightside and swooped down across the abyss of craggy rock and blowing sand.

A giant massif came into view, towering up from the world's broken crust and opening into a long stretch of gloom-wrapped terrain. Looming kilometers in front of the cliff like unsleeping guards were six monolithic statues of men in two rows. They were colossal things chiseled out of mountains, their feet still planted in what remained of each formation so that the two rows were facing each other, and they formed a sort of twisted welcoming party for any who entered to pass through, their heads bowed as though in deference to Korriban's latest arrival in the black ship.

The ship passed them just as smoothly, and the gloom that covered the valley atop the massif slowly began to peel away, revealing rows of ancient ziggurats and pyramids towering even higher. More statues decorated their corners, some brandishing staffs while others knelt as though shouldering great burdens—all had faces that were blank, their identities as secret as that of their visitor.

Stone obelisks stood scattered on the valley floor between the rows of temples cut into the sloped canyon walls, their faces etched with arcane hieroglyphs and hidden incantations. The obelisks were worn from time, and many were chipped, cracked, or broken, standing slanted in the rock or lying in fragments atop it.

It was called the Valley of the Dark Lords.

The tombs of the Sith.

The scarlet drive glows of the intruder's ship dimmed as the vessel slowed and banked right, coming to a hover on its repulsors and turning one hundred and eighty degrees before landing on the valley floor amidst the rippling dust and jets of billowing exhaust. Only a few moments passed before the Stealth Dagger's landing ramp was lowered and a cloaked figure glided fluidly down the plank—he almost appeared to float over the valley floor as he started across it, his cloak fluttering behind him over the webbed cracks stitched through the rock.

Slivers of pale moonlight peeked through Korriban's gray clouds to show the way. Had anyone living been there to witness the arrival, they would not have seen a face in the shadows of the figure's raised cowl, only a mask of black and dark red with a slim, Mandalorian-style visor slashed through its center—the mask of Darth Revan. The mask had been altered slightly some time in the thousands of years since it had slipped from the dead Sith's possession, and bore a small bulge of ivory marbling on the cheek of each side.

Its current owner traveled a half-kilometer into the valley before stopping at an unremarkable patch of dust near the carved obelisks. Though there was no marker or lump in the ground, having been worn down by the weather and its natural effects over time, he was certain that it was the resting place of Darth Plagueis—he knew this because it is where he had buried him.

Darth Malig squatted down and touched the packed dust and rock. He could feel what was left of his former master's decaying bones still beneath in the shallow grave he had dug all those years ago.

When everything had spiraled out of control...

Would he have given Plagueis the honor of burial in one of the vaults honeycombed within the valley's vaunted mausoleums if there had been time?

No, he thought grimly. It was better this way—fitting that what was left of him should rot in the shadows of the great Sith rather than being entombed amongst them.

Malig stood and stared down at the grave for a long time. It had been only a day since he'd returned from Apollyon and his apprentice, Darth Havok—who had once been Jacen Solo—had tried to kill him. In the process, the last of the boy he was had been broken, and together they'd discovered why he was the key to it all—why it was Jacen that Malig had always needed—and why they were fated to unite.

And now, it was finally time to move forward.

The last part.

The end...

There was something satisfying in that. Even the most faithful tired of simply chasing visions. To have one's faith confirmed, to see proof that he was right all along—that was a rare gift, and it made everything seem so effortless now.

Malig had been freed of any last phantoms of doubt.

When he looked up from the grave, however, his gaze settled upon a very real ghost. The specter stood only a few meters away in the night's gloom beneath the frame created by a broken obelisk that had toppled upon the pillar beside it. Its translucent form glowed with an aura of green energy and swam in a black cloak much like Malig's own, from which a pair of pale hands hung limply beneath the cuffs of its baggy sleeves. Hints of a bloodless, deformed face escaped the shadows of the phantasm's raised hood, but smoldering like hot coals within the darkness were the glowing animal eyes of a Sith.

"I knew you would find your way back here one day," the spirit said.

Malig regarded him for a moment before responding. "Then I suppose we have both been waiting for this moment."

Darth Sidious sneered, his stern lips drawing back to reveal a mouth of decaying teeth. "You have no idea."

"It doesn't matter," the Dark Lord of the Sith replied. "You can't do anything to me anymore."

There was a slight, almost imperceptible, fall to the ghost's face, before Sidious's mouth settled into a grim line. "I should have killed you, boy" he said, speaking in his peculiar manner that emphasized the last words of a sentence. "You were a coward to flee. That sort of cowardice is not worthy of a Sith Lord."

"It was patience, Sidious. I was waiting for the right time—isn't that exactly how a Sith is supposed to operate?"

"You were waiting for me to die. That is not the Way. You knew you couldn't defeat me yourself so you waited for someone else. Your failure to challenge me reveals your weakness. You are too weak to claim the mantle of Dark Lord and your inability will lead the Order to extinction."

"And yet," Malig said, "I am here and you are dead."

The hatred in the Sith spirit's eyes seemed to blaze at the perceived taunt and for a moment it appeared as though Sidious was too angry to speak, his jaw clenching tightly.

"What did you come here for then?" The man who had been called Palpatine asked finally. "Tomes? Holocrons? Samples? The Star Map?"

"Tomes, holocrons, samples, the Star Map," Malig nodded, pausing for a moment before his empty visor fixed its vacuous stare on Sidious. "... And the Grimoire."

Again something flashed over Sidious's features almost too quickly to be seen, but Malig's keen eyes caught it—fear. "You don't know where it—"

"Adas's tomb," the dark figure interrupted, nodding toward the towering temple encased in the canyon wall a kilometer away. Low on its own surface of tan stone, there was a gaping hole.

"How did you—"

"He told me," Malig answered simply.

Sidious shook his head, his wrinkled mouth tightening with bitterness. "He would never have done that, never just have given you what you want."

Again Malig paused, looking out over the gloom-filled horizon. "I found a way to convince him."

"It won't do you any good," Sidious glowered, but his voice was unconvincing—there was weakness there now. "Better beings than you have tried what you want to do and failed."

"You don't have any idea what I want to do."

"No?" Sidious sneered. "You're forgetting that I know who you are."

"Then you should know why I'll succeed."

"You are not the Sith'ari, boy—we both know that."

"No, I'm not," Malig agreed. "But the difference between us, is that I've figured out who is."

The wind cried through the Valley of the Dark Lords to fill the silence between the two entities as the Emperor's flaxen eyes burned with displeasure. It whipped the hem of Malig's cloak up at an angle, but Sidious's remained undisturbed by the night air.

"Solo will kill you."

Darth Malig shook his head. "Perhaps someday, you are right, but not before I've already won. Jacen is going to help me."

"Not Jacen," the specter said disdainfully, as though Jacen's name was poison in his twisted mouth. "The other one—Anakin Solo."

It was a last, desperate attempt to rattle him. Malig stared at Sidious but said nothing as the ghost continued. "He came to me, you know, only days ago, and I told him all about you. He knows everything now. He's going to stop you, boy, and then he's going to destroy you both."

Though the Dark Lord's mask remained as unreadable as ever, the grin of satisfaction that curled over Sidious's cruel lips proved that he felt the first twinge of anger from Malig. He was quiet for a moment, looking down at the grave he'd dug eighty-one years early. Then, he looked back up at his rival.

"You know, you really don't belong here," Malig said, advancing slowly towards the shimmering spirit, his boots passing over the crooked fissures in the stone. "You should be in Chaos—I know that's where you are now, Sidious, but projecting your spirit here on Korriban instead of staying where you are supposed to dwell is... cheating.

"This is the Valley of the Dark Lords, of the Sith great enough to be entombed here. This is their domain. And you've been allowed to stay far too long, to fester, to corrupt."

"You don't frighten me," Sidious cackled as Malig closed the distance between them. "What are you going to do?"

"Send you back to the abyss."

Before Sidious could respond, Malig's left hand reached into the spirit's chest, his fingers plunging into green light without any resistance. The dead man's face twisted in horror with a grunt of surprise as Malig found the dark flame within Sidious, the core of his spirit, and wrapped his hand around it.

Then, he squeezed.

A silent scream trembled through the night as Sidious's features froze in anguish, and his spirit crumbled into the wind like grains of glowing sand. Malig watched them go until the last of the floating embers was extinguished in the cold of night.

Then, he drew his hand back and started across the valley towards the temple that housed the remains of the first King of the Sith.

 

wow it's rolling

 

*gasp* Second!

Okay... can I just state right now that you are the King of Creepy? Just wanted to put that out there... *shivers*

The beginning was epic all by itself. I was full of anticipatory energy before I even got to the story!!

Its face was caked in rock that formed crumbling mountains and wind-cut badlands, sun-scorched sand dunes that wept grit with every updraft, and chasms formed by deep fractures gouged into its depths all swimming in a shaken dust bowl. Dried-up valleys that had once been dismal brooks and gulches appeared as blackened scars from space, puckered by the fissures webbed out from them into the crust, the disfigurements left on a withered corpse.

Again, absolutely splendid descriptions! They are so vivid you can't help but to feel like you're watching the story unfold rather than reading.

The mood was set exceptionally well here, and it segued into real-time effortlessly. I'm assuming the "flashback" bit was about Malig...

The conversation between Sidious and Malig was absolutely perfect! It was terrifying and fascinating at the same time to watch those two spar with one another. Malig's more than obvious superority was very well established, as well. Malig's ruthless act at the end was truly the best way to finish establishing that superiority. Well played!

And I just have to note, because this stood out to me as particularly brilliant- "I should have killed you, boy" he said, speaking in his peculiar manner that emphasized the last words of a sentence. Your description of Sidious' mannerism was so succinct, yet so precise, that I could instantly hear his voice in my head. Amazing.

Fantastic beginning to what promises to be a fantastic (if creepy) story. Heh. Not even a story so much as an Epic. I'm totally curious about Sidious' comment about Anakin killing Malig... But I'm sure all will be revealed in time.

You've definitely got me hooked, Yobi. I'll be around for this ride!

~Celeste

 

Whoa...dark.

Very cool though, I've just read the first three installments of this it's so awesome!

Can't wait to read more!

Can you PM mefor this, please?

 

Awesomely cool start.

Would you PM me when you update, please?

Really interested in how this carries on.

 

A lot was racing through my mind, lots of comments, but that line from Shmi: chill bumps. supreme chill bumps my friend. And the actual story goes off and it's Ab Aeterno and THe Incident, giving us backstory. The chill of the baby being born, Malig's chat with the Emperor, and what is the Rimiore?

 

*Does the New Fic Posted dance*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe9_P6GljVA

[image=http://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r213/CloneCmdrWedge/gifs/Snakedance.gif]



What am I? Sixth? Not bad. Guess I should have posted that third parady trailer earlier though.

And when it's over, the galaxy will never be the same.

The dead will rise, heroes will burn, and those left alive will weep.

This is the end.

*plugs ears* LALALA! Not listening!




Namtar...? Wasn't that supposed to be...?

By the way, you're such a tease when it comes to Malig's identity. You say who he is, but not *who* he is, if that makes any sense.


Before Sidious could respond, Malig's left hand reached into the spirit's chest, his fingers plunging into green light without any resistance. The dead man's face twisted in horror with a grunt of surprise as Malig found the dark flame within Sidious, the core of his spirit, and wrapped his hand around it.

Then, he squeezed.

A silent scream trembled through the night as Sidious's features froze in anguish, and his spirit crumbled into the wind like grains of glowing sand. Malig watched them go until the last of the floating embers was extinguished in the cold of night.

[image=http://i301.photobucket.com/albums/nn71/ElliotSalem45/Resident%20Evil/Wesker.jpg]
"The right to be god... that right is now mine."

Oh, and I might be old fashioned or something, but I still want to see Palpy pwn Malig.

 

Amazing... awesome... PERFECT.



That is what I thought of the prologue.

The opening words, about one to embody the dark and one the light, was great, the birth of Darth Malig was awesomely done. The birth itself was creepy; from Dogan thinking about there being far too much blood, the horror of the other, the creepy world and creepy situation into which Malig is born, and the fact his name is Namtar Osyris, personifying two gods of plague and death... Cool.

The Valley of the Dark Lords sequence was a masterpiece; the Valley at night was described perfectly, and the description of Plagueis' old bones rotting beneath the sands, and of course the spirit of Darth Sidious. I love the fact Sidious' spirit seems to be even more rotting, more decrepit, more corrupt than his old physical form, and the image of a silent, green, ghoulish specter, lurking and festering in a Valley for the great Sith Lords of old, of an already scary Sith... brilliant.

We then have Darth Malig. One thing I like about him is that he's like an ancient Sith Lord. He's got Sith sorcery and alchemy, many arcane and unique powers (Force plague, healing), desires even more ancient Sith secrets, wants to usher in a golden age of the Sith, spread the dark side and become (or already is) a sort of dark side god, different from the grab for political power or focus on revenge against the Jedi that most 'modern' Sith demonstrate... the whole atmosphere surrounding this mysterious Dark Lord says ancient Sith to me. He also, like an ancient Sith, completely pwns others with the Force. I loved it when he grasped the center of Sidious' soul and sent him back to Chaos. Shows Malig can pwn almost anyone, even one who is already dead and should thus be near invincible.

Malig rocked, and this prologue rocked.

Love it!

 

A beautifully dark beginning. So good to see that we'll be getting your writing once more.

BTW, when will you continue with Blood Trail?

I'll let our conversation in the other thread lapse, since by now we're only taunting Del Rey.

Magnus

 

Did Malig just destroy Sidious's being, his spirit, or something? Did he like erase his existence? Or was he just sent to Chaos without the abiltiy to manifest himself in the Valley of the Sith.

Would I be correct to assume that "Namtar" is Malig.

 

Namtar, thats an old god of Mesopotamian religion, assuming him to be Malig it fits that he, who one day learns to revive the dead would have the same name as an old God of Death.

Amazing start YK!

 

great great great.

 

I wish I could say something clever, but I just can't think of anything other than: whoa, cool!

 

Keywords: Frozen Donkey Wheel

Your keywords are hilarious!! LOL

Dramatis Personae

Aero Gin; bounty hunter (female human)

Told you already she is awesome even though she is not in her best shape atm.

Anakin Solo; Jedi Knight (male human)

The one and only

Hala Rozess; Sith spy (female Zeltron)

They should have been careful about other spies ... after all they knew about them with the revelations after the death of Salo

Thrawn; former Imperial Grand Admiral (male Chiss)

Shouldn?t that be ?Thraawn? or something?

Wrev Caster; Jedi Knight (male human)





"There was no father." ?Shmi Skywalker, The Phantom Menace.

Was the turning point in the previous one already ... the no father thing



-----signature-----
Anakin Solo is my Constant





Prologue: Conception

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, two beings were conceived?one was a creation of the Light and the other was the embodiment of Darkness.

One white
One black



Theme of LOST

One, an expression of purity meant to bring the Force into balance. The other an avatar of evil destined to send it all spiraling into chaos.

Who is who ... well since you got up there the quote about ?no father? ... Anakin Skywalker ...

Because the Force?that great energy that surrounds, binds, and penetrates every single thing in this universe?has two sides.

One is Light.

One is Dark.

The Ashla and the Bogan.

It has indeed ...
And then there are shades in between ... that see the Force differently

And now these two sides will meet one final time, in one final battle to settle it all. These creations will play out a struggle older than the stars, older than the first spark of energy that lit the heavens of this galaxy?older than time. This is not a conflict between two beings for planets or wealth or even lives.

It is a fight for something far more elemental, something we all feel but most never even know is there.

This is a war for the Force itself.

The stars, sparks of energy, and time should worry then

And when it's over, the galaxy will never be the same.

The dead will rise, heroes will burn, and those left alive will weep.

This is the end.

And this is how it begins.

... Lands of the Dead ... we been there in the previous story
And with the dead rising ... Oi right we get to see good ol? Palpy/Sidious you said



Spinning listlessly in space between the boundary of the Republic and the territory the Sith Empire

The Unknown Regions as they are called ...

had fled to millennia before, was a fogged sphere of dark clouds and dust. It drifted in a black abyss spattered with clusters of glaring white stars, its perfectly round edge glowing with the same bright luminescence of every other atmosphere-housing planet in the galaxy, the reflected light of one star in particular, to which it was anchored.

The planet was called Naraka and there was absolutely nothing special about it.

A handful of small cities stood half-buried in the sandy dirt, artifacts of a world that had once been a home to more life, before the droughts several hundred years earlier had left these towns all but abandoned. The rest of the planet was an endless horizon of nothingness.

A wasteland.

Sounds pretty much like that
Backwater planet just like Tatooine ... there is nothing there.

Its face was caked in rock that formed crumbling mountains and wind-cut badlands, sun-scorched sand dunes that wept grit with every updraft, and chasms formed by deep fractures gouged into its depths all swimming in a shaken dust bowl. Dried-up valleys that had once been dismal brooks and gulches appeared as blackened scars from space, puckered by the fissures webbed out from them into the crust, the disfigurements left on a withered corpse.

Yes sounds very much like Tatooine ... just less sand

 

Fourteenth!!
Better late than never, as I never say! The first chapter was...totally awesome(in a freaky sort of way)!!! If the world ends, remember one thing. I totally called it!!!! In case you can't tell, I'm HYPER!!! Great chapter, though.

 

Maggy: wow it's rolling

Yep Thanks for replying, and for the cover, of course





Celsete: *gasp* Second!

Nicely done

Okay... can I just state right now that you are the King of Creepy?

If I had a nickel for everytime a girl told me that...

Just wanted to put that out there... *shivers*

Thank you

The beginning was epic all by itself. I was full of anticipatory energy before I even got to the story!!

Thanks! I'm glad you liked it so much, and that you're excited as well.

Again, absolutely splendid descriptions! They are so vivid you can't help but to feel like you're watching the story unfold rather than reading.

That's really what I was going for. I wanted the reader to feel like they were flying down to the planet from space.

The mood was set exceptionally well here, and it segued into real-time effortlessly. I'm assuming the "flashback" bit was about Malig...

I think that's a safe assumption

The conversation between Sidious and Malig was absolutely perfect! It was terrifying and fascinating at the same time to watch those two spar with one another. Malig's more than obvious superority was very well established, as well.

I think Malig's only superior now that Sidious is dead. It's hinted at that the two met in combat in life and that Malig had to retreat because he was so overmatched.

Malig's ruthless act at the end was truly the best way to finish establishing that superiority. Well played!

Poor Palpatine

And I just have to note, because this stood out to me as particularly brilliant- "I should have killed you, boy" he said, speaking in his peculiar manner that emphasized the last words of a sentence. Your description of Sidious' mannerism was so succinct, yet so precise, that I could instantly hear his voice in my head. Amazing.

That's good to hear, I was afraid the dialogue didn't sound enough like Sidious at all

Fantastic beginning to what promises to be a fantastic (if creepy) story. Heh. Not even a story so much as an Epic.

Hehe. It's only going to get creepier

I'm totally curious about Sidious' comment about Anakin killing Malig...

I think that was just a desperate attempt to strike fear in Malig's heart. I don't think Sidious is operating with knowledge of the future or anything.

But I'm sure all will be revealed in time.

Yes. Hopefully this one will be finished more quickly than the last fic.

You've definitely got me hooked, Yobi. I'll be around for this ride!

I am very happy to have you along Thanks so much for reading and replying!






Goddess_At_Heart: Whoa...dark.
Very cool though, I've just read the first three installments of this it's so awesome!

Wow, you've been busy. I'm glad you're enjoying the series

Can't wait to read more!
Can you PM mefor this, please?

Will do. Thanks for reading and replying I hope you enjoy the rest of the story.





Ceillean: Awesomely cool start.

Thank you

Would you PM me when you update, please?

Sure thing. Thanks for the interest.

Really interested in how this carries on.

I hope you like it. Thanks again for reading and replying





corran: A lot was racing through my mind, lots of comments, but that line from Shmi: chill bumps.

Awesome. There were a couple other quotes I thought about adding, but I thought that one made a stronger point alone.

supreme chill bumps my friend. And the actual story goes off and it's Ab Aeterno and THe Incident, giving us backstory.

Hehe. I'm sure you caught the reference in the "one is light, one is dark" thing too?

The chill of the baby being born, Malig's chat with the Emperor, and what is the Rimiore?

A grimoire is typically a book of black magic for summoning spir

 

If you have a PM notification list, I'd love to be on it. I just finished your other story. Being a Han/Leia fan, I loved the banter between them and that you have them being in the heart of the action. My favorite, actually, was when Han had been captured and actually told them the true reason for his being there. That was truly inspired, and well done (except for him being tortured). It just had me thinking the minute he said it that they might just pull off a stunt like that! And they did.

I can't wait to see how this story goes. So far, the set up is really visual. I could see what was going on through your imagery.

Sidious, dead is dead, no matter how, and Malig is right, patience is a Sith characteristic (and sometimes a Jedi characteristic, too). It seems to me that Evil is always willing to bide its time, wait for the moment to wedge itself in. Good sometimes has difficulty with this, wanting to fix everything at once; when things don't work, Good often gives up.... and that is exactly what Evil waits for.

 

Yes, it's kind of like that, only different. We even get a scene with a guy standing on a sand dune looking out at two moons instead of two suns

I sense some sort of parallel here!

 

It has been my privilege. Honestly, I am already dreading when you finish this story and maybe won't write another. But at least I then can badger you to write that time-travel fic I always wanted from you.

I see. I can easuly understand the logistical problem with producing two chapters of different stories each week. Looking forward to the sequel, then.

 

And so begins the final descent into Chaos.

Whoever Malig is, and whatever it is that he intends to accomplish, one thing is for certain: the will of the Force shall prevail. It cannot be coerced or manipulated into submission. It will seek equilibrium, like the natural system that it is. Those who attempt to oppose this fact will surely be destroyed in the process, as so many in the past have been.


I anticipate that there will be no happy ending to this tale, nor should their be, for the so-called heroes of the galaxy. After all, violence begets violence. The only way to succeed may be not to fight what is coming at all, but rather, accept whatever consequences the illusion of power bestows upon the characters in question.


Only then, will the true meaning of Peace be revealed.

 

Loved the opening I'm so excited. Can't wait. I have a feeling that Namtar may either be Darth Malig or... Malachor

 

dm1: If you have a PM notification list, I'd love to be on it.

Will do

I just finished your other story. Being a Han/Leia fan, I loved the banter between them and that you have them being in the heart of the action.

Awesome! I love Han and Leia. They're still my all-time favorite Star Wars duo Glad to see another fan

My favorite, actually, was when Han had been captured and actually told them the true reason for his being there. That was truly inspired, and well done (except for him being tortured). It just had me thinking the minute he said it that they might just pull off a stunt like that! And they did.

Hehe. Han is cool like that I'm glad you liked it.

I can't wait to see how this story goes. So far, the set up is really visual. I could see what was going on through your imagery.

That's good to hear Thanks.

Sidious, dead is dead, no matter how, and Malig is right, patience is a Sith characteristic (and sometimes a Jedi characteristic, too).

That's a good point. I guess we'll chalk that up to another similarity between the two. Maybe Malig is right

It seems to me that Evil is always willing to bide its time, wait for the moment to wedge itself in. Good sometimes has difficulty with this, wanting to fix everything at once; when things don't work, Good often gives up.... and that is exactly what Evil waits for.

That's interesting and certainly seems to be true with the Old Republic. The Sith just waited until the Jedi became complacent and then finally took control Hopefully that won't happen again.

Thanks so much for reading and replying






G__Anakin: I sense some sort of parallel here!

Yes, but to what?





Magnuskn: It has been my privilege. Honestly, I am already dreading when you finish this story and maybe won't write another.

Well, not in this timeline. It ends in a fairly difinitive way. I have thought about possibly writing a viggie that takes place 10 or 20 years after the end to show what happens to the galaxy, but I don't know.

But at least I then can badger you to write that time-travel fic I always wanted from you.

You might actually get that connected to your second question there. The tentative title for the Blood Trail sequel is Flow Walk if that means anything

I see. I can easuly understand the logistical problem with producing two chapters of different stories each week. Looking forward to the sequel, then.

Yeah, I just got too fatigued on it. Luckily Blood Trail was an easy story to write. I will get to it some time, hopefully this year.

I appreciate the enthusiasm





L0B0: And so begins the final descent into Chaos.

Yep

Whoever Malig is, and whatever it is that he intends to accomplish, one thing is for certain: the will of the Force shall prevail. It cannot be coerced or manipulated into submission. It will seek equilibrium, like the natural system that it is. Those who attempt to oppose this fact will surely be destroyed in the process, as so many in the past have been.

That's an interesting philosophy. I guess it depends on how you see the "balance." Some people take that to mean a balance between the light and dark sides of the Force, as though they're equal parts, others think it means a harmony achieved by the elimination of those distorting the Force with the use of the dark side. Is the dark side a natural part of the Force or a perversion of it?

I anticipate that there will be no happy ending to this tale, nor should their be, for the so-called heroes of the galaxy. After all, violence begets violence. The only way to succeed may be not to fight what is coming at all, but rather, accept whatever consequences the illusion of power bestows upon the characters in question.

I think you make a powerful point here. One might say that Luke Skywalker did this to great effect in Ro

 

I would not recommend that, to be honest. Making such a definite epilogue would make it very constricting to write a sequel, in case you ever do get a hankering to add another story. Better to not constrain yourself such.

And while I am a bit sad to see you making such a definite statement that you won't continue this timeline of yours after the series ends, it's at least good to know that the characters may know some peace. Your writing has gotten quite dark over time, my friend.

Hah, that should be nice. Hoping for a visit to the Legacy timeline is probably too much to ask, since you already stated that you don't like it as much as I do, right?

Your output of one chapter per week is nothing short of astonishing, compared to the other fanfiction writers I know. Two were just a bit much to ask from you.

 

Exciting opening, very exciting.