Beyond - Legends The Way of the Sith: Dark Jaina, post-Invincible AU. Concluded, 12/10

Darth Jasa better watch his back...I'm somewhat surprised she didn't decide to kill a non-Sith family member, but I guess I'll see how this turns out!

Thanks for the update and for regular updates!

 

When Jaina strikes Caedus down, I wonder where she will find an apprentice?

 

Woot! A twins showdown!! I enjoy those muchly. Caedus getting his rump handed to him by Jaina is always very satisfying LOL

 

?Is there some special Sith way that I?m supposed to see things? Like a set of morals and rules that govern my use of the Force? Or am I just thinking too much like a Jedi??

It will all change after the sacrifice, Vergere thought. Aloud, she replied with ?That will be up to you.?

?Stupid riddles,? Jaina muttered. ?All you ever do is talk to me in riddles and then leave me with more questions than answers. Listen, Featherbag, are you ever going to tell me the truth??

Vergere ruffled her feathers a bit. ?What did Jacen tell you about me? Did he, by any chance, mention what I had told him to keep in mind throughout the lands of the dead??

?He wasn?t too talkative about Yuuzhan?tar, and for good reason.?

?This is true for you as well; what one sees in the lands of the dead is not to make its way back to the living,? Vergere replied. ?Do you not recall that everything I tell you is a lie??

Wonderful! And that last line was KILLER!

 

Jaina: Caedus is in for trouble. And you never know how the sacrifice is going to turn out...
Cambius: Hmmm, try the Sith-apprentice department, usually made of disgruntled Jedi...
Jade: Well, I do rather love it... twin showdowns are fun to plan and write.
Vader: Thanks! I had to use that, since that's Vergere's trademark. It's going to have to appear again.

Another update. This is part 1 of chapter 13, which looks like it'll be two or three parts due to the amount of stuff that has to happen here.

---

[i]Chapter 13: Death

part 1[/i]

?We?re leaving tonight,? Vergere announced, materializing on the hotel room?s couch.

Jaina jumped a bit, surprised that she was still not used to Vergere?s odd appearances and disappearances. ?We just got here, Feathers. Why do you want to leave so quickly??

?The lands of the dead await you,? Vergere replied.

?I thought this was the lands of the dead.? Jaina rolled her eyes. ?Did you find somewhere else with more ghosts and horrors??

Oddly enough, Vergere smiled a bit in response. ?The lands of the dead cover many places, and where we are heading is one area you shall need. Recall what Jacen went through- he emerged changed, and you shall, too.?

As Jaina entered the coordinates for their next destination into the navicomputer, she couldn?t help wondering where they were heading. She glanced at a map of the galaxy, with coordinates written in for the major systems- these coordinates were entirely unfamiliar. Privately, Jaina had a suspicion that they were headed somewhere to know to navigational charts- somewhere like Zonama Sekot that moved, or somewhere that wasn?t plotted?

Vergere remained silent and invisible throughout the long ride. Jaina continually glanced around, looking at the brightly lit areas to see a hazy feathery alien, or expecting a bright blue shape sitting on the pilot?s chair when she entered the cockpit. Strangely enough, Vergere was never there, and it was clear that the Force-ghost didn?t want to answer Jaina?s questions about the place they were going.


Finally, the navicomputer beeped, drawing Jaina?s attention back to piloting. She brought the shuttle out of hyperspace, scanning the sky around her. There was a planet there, not one that Jaina recognised right away. She examined it, looking at her scanners for a place to land.

Next to her, Vergere finally materialized into a slightly hazy form. ?Ah, you have finally arrived at the gateway. I presume you?ll find somewhere acceptable to put us down.?

?Yeah.? Jaina began steering into planetary orbit. ?Where exactly are we??

?That?s for you to find out.? Vergere glanced at the controls of the ship. ?Look especially for clearings surrounded by temples of some sort.?

?Temples? This is one of the Sith planets, right?? Jaina gave Vergere a questioning look. ?No wonder this wasn?t on the charts. The Sith wouldn?t have let anyone else know about this planet.?

Vergere didn?t verbally respond. She scanned the planet?s surface, finally focusing on one clearing near a large complex of crumbling temples.

As Jaina set the ship down, she became aware of the dark aura surrounding the place. She felt as though she had been to this planet before, if only in a vision?


The temples rose out of the forest, stone monsters leering over their wild domain. They towered above Jaina?s small shuttle, making her feel small and insignificant in front of the earliest remnants of the Sith. Vergere had once again disappeared, leaving Jaina alone. The temples themselves seemed to be speaking, tempting Jaina with great power if she could survive the upcoming trials.

Uneasily, Jaina wandered closer to the nearest temple, examining its vine-covered façade. Its pyramid shape was now poorly defined, but steps had once led to a platform at the top, swallowed by the trees growing through it. At one point, it had been decorated with ornate sculptures of dragons and monsters; the many years had covered the temple with moss and lichen, fading the sharp edges of the stone, but still unable to dim the malice. Befo

 

Something hidden....

Perhaps her path to her true power....

 

?Stop jumping at shadows.? Vergere materialized on the other side of the hydra. ?Though your logical mind might appreciate a short vacation, this statue is not going to attack you for touching it.?

?I wasn?t afraid of it.? Jaina quickly tried to defend herself, but Vergere had already seen through her.

?What do you feel in these temples?? Vergere abruptly changed the subject.

Jaina paused, opening her mind more fully to the Force and gathering her thoughts. ?Something? hidden. It doesn?t feel wrong anymore, like when I was a Jedi, but something that?s waiting for me to discover it.?

?Why don?t you look?? Vergere suggested as she faded into the shadows again, leaving Jaina alone.

After another glance at the hydra- once again, Jaina could have sworn it moved-

She entered the temple, wondering what awaited her inside.


Hmmmm.... Interesting. Love it!

 

Cambius: Perhaps...
Vader: Oh, this hydra is returning. I'll take any chance to include interesting animals...

And another chapter! It looks like Chapter 13 will be four parts instead of three. Or more. Sigh. Good ol' Muse, fueled by McDonalds coffee and stress...

---

[i]part2[/i]

The hydra twitched again, shaking off its toga of vines. It was alive and awake- the touch of the Sith-Lady-to-be had stirred it to life, and now it was ready to chase her. [i]Follow her,[/i] the Force encouraged. [i]She will need your? assistance in order to face her own demons.[/i]

Vergere re-materialized again, with a peculiar smile in her eyes. ?It seems that my apprentice?s suspicions about this place are correct.? She didn?t seem surprised at all to meet an animal that had formerly been a statue.

The hydra nodded one of its heads, tossed its wings, and leapt from its pedestal that a long-ago Sith had carved for it. The animal acted as though all was normal; clearly it had a mission in mind. Vergere picked up a feeling from the monster: [i]The Sith-Lady-to-be is waiting for me. [/i]

Vergere laughed. ?It seems I am not the only one whose mission was not finished with my death.?


Inside the temple, Jaina could barely see. It was almost pitch-black, with everything covered in moss and lichen. There was an odor of dampness and decay throughout the place, something like a musty basement that had been flooded and improperly cleaned. Under all of the moss, there were carvings- Jaina had a mental image of walls that had been decorated once, carefully created bas-reliefs telling the tales of ancient Sith and a future that the Force had deemed possible.

The vision of the Sith who had been Jaina stuck in her head. She knew she had seen a vision of her possible future, one that had been at least partially set on this planet. But in the vision, she had been on Korriban looking at a tomb on that planet, rather than a long-abandoned temple on some out-of-the-way planet.

Decay. That was all this planet represented, Jaina realised. It was a symbol of her past, dying away at last and leaving her a Sith when it all ended. She ran her fingers along a wall, feeling ornate carvings under the moss. Even the history of the Sith was decaying, dying. When a new Sith appeared, the old ones would fade. They didn?t learn from each other?s mistakes, didn?t recall the history that had both given them power and brought them down?

A tragedy. It was such a tragedy, Jaina felt. The whole world of the Sith was destroyed every time a new Sith was
created. If only they had remembered? if only Caedus had remembered that all of the Sith sooner or later destroyed themselves with the same mistakes that their predecessors had made? She entered a small antechamber, not knowing where she was in the temple or how she was to find her way out.

A soft blue glow emerged from the corner of the chamber. ?You have found the first of the great secrets of the Sith.? Vergere was in the corner, appearing out of thin air once again.

?There are secrets of the Sith?? Jaina asked. ?Secrets that one might want to know in order to be a Sith?? She had almost stopped being surprised at her mentor?s surprise arrival.

?Of course.? Vergere was once again totally unruffled. ?Many of us have said, over the years, that we must remember the mistakes of the previous Sith in order to continue the Sith. Caedus started down the Sith path in hope of galactic peace and unity, and has since fallen into anger and hatred, destroying himself in the same way as his grandfather. I only hope you can do better.?

?I hope I can too,? Jaina replied softly. With the light from Vergere, she could see a bit of the hieroglyphs. There was a hydra, leaping off of a pedestal and walking into a temple. It followed a woman, followed her into the heart of the temple?

In the heart of the temple, there was a tomb. Odd hieroglyphs around the tomb carving made no sense to Jaina, but she understood the message. She had to find the tomb in the heart of this temple, and then? something would happen. Something

 

If Jaina can truly learn to not repeat the mistakes of her Grandfather, she would truly be unstoppable.

 

Jaina sighed. ?So we?re going to have another philosophical discussion while I wonder about my fate over the next few minutes. I don?t quite know why I?m here, but I think it has something to do with making me a Sith and something about the lands of the dead.?

?Lands of the dead?? Vergere echoed. ?Does that mean anything to you??

?Wait?? Jaina felt the realization hit her. ?As in, I?m looking for a tomb in the heart of a set of temples. These temples might have been burial chambers??

?Correct.? For once, Vergere looked pleased. ?Now, you must find your way out of these lands of the dead, and somehow be reborn when you leave??

Awesome update!

 

Cambius: Don't give Jaina any ideas, she doesn't need any...
Vader: Thanks! Glad you like it. I've been trying to construct a really interesting lands of the dead.

To all readers: Thank you so much, whomever nominated this story for 'Most Underrated!' You are all awesome and I'm glad you've liked this story!

Here is part 3 of chapter 13. There is one more part to chapter 13, and then two parts to chapter 14.

---

Jaina kept wandering. She really didn?t know where else to go; the temple she was in was large enough that she could explore it for weeks without seeing the same corridors twice. But without a light, it didn?t make much sense.

There was still the sense of the hydra or something else linked to the Dark Side. Whatever it was, it was still there and watching Jaina. She had tried again and again to contact it in the Force, but it acted like she didn?t exist.
Vergere kept appearing and disappearing, often leaving Jaina in total darkness. Finally, the feathery ghost returned just as Jaina was at another crossroads. She looked around, but couldn?t? see where the four corridors all lead. Vergere just sat there, watching her.

?Where are you headed next?? Vergere asked.

?I don?t know,? Jaina admitted. ?I?m not sure about anything anymore, and I?m wondering if wandering around an ancient Sith temple in the darkness was a good idea.?

?That?s up to you.?

Jaina rolled her eyes. ?I know. It?s always up to me, always what I make of it. So what if I don?t know what to make of it??

Vergere responded by disappearing.


?Ow! Kriff!? Jaina walked into a wall again. Ever since Vergere had disappeared, taking with her Jaina?s only source of light, Jaina was beginning to question her purpose in the temple. She wanted to get back to the shuttle and retrieve a glowrod, but every time she tried to get out, there was a new passage open.

Jaina glanced up as she heard something move. It sounded like one stone block was grinding against another, opening up some new passage. Perhaps there was a door in the wall?

When Jaina reached out to touch the wall, there was no wall there. A door had opened, revealing a new set of passageways. Best of all, there was a little bit of light visible at the end of the passage.

As Jaina stepped into the new passage, she was hit with a flurry of emotions from the past. [i]Please don?t kill me. You promised you?d teach another apprentice? You were never worth my time. This was all a test to see if you could do it. You failed. How do you know what you?re doing is right? If you don't trust yourself, who do you trust? You promised?[/i]

?Go away?? Jaina didn?t know what she was feeling. Somehow, she had opened up a portal into the past of the temple, and found why Vergere had called it the lands of the dead. Within the temple, memories of the ancient Sith were stored, and Jaina had just stumbled into them.

?Vergere?? Jaina asked hesitantly, hoping to find her mentor. ?Are you around??

?Why do you need me?? Vergere asked as she materialized. ?You seem to be doing quite well on your own.?

?Yeah, but I found a whole bunch of dead Sith who kind of scare me.?

?What do you fear??

?Wait, what??

?What do you fear?? Vergere repeated her question.

Jaina thought for a moment. ?I don?t know. I?ve never really thought about that; I guess it?s some remnant of Jedi training where I learned not to fear anything. Well, you know what they think about fear, but I don?t think I get that anymore. Am I supposed to be afraid of this temple??

?A fear of temples?? Vergere glanced critically at Jaina. ?That?s a rather unusual phobia.?

?No, not of temples.? Jaina smiled in spite of herself. ?A fear of what?s inside the temples.?

?That might be understandable,? Vergere replied. ?You fear the unknown, returning to the past, and not being able to understand yourself. The reason you?re on the journey through the lands of the dead is so you can understand yourself and emerge reborn and ready to take on the mantle of Dark Lady of the Sith.?

?So I have to overcome my fear of whatever. A

 

Congratulations on the nomination.

Very fine update.

Your Vergere is very much in character LOL... frustrating and cryptic

 

I have to agree, your Vergere is spot on!

Jaina thought for a moment. ?I don?t know. I?ve never really thought about that; I guess it?s some remnant of Jedi training where I learned not to fear anything. Well, you know what they think about fear, but I don?t think I get that anymore. Am I supposed to be afraid of this temple??

?A fear of temples?? Vergere glanced critically at Jaina. ?That?s a rather unusual phobia.?

?No, not of temples.? Jaina smiled in spite of herself. ?A fear of what?s inside the temples.?

?That might be understandable,? Vergere replied. ?You fear the unknown, returning to the past, and not being able to understand yourself. The reason you?re on the journey through the lands of the dead is so you can understand yourself and emerge reborn and ready to take on the mantle of Dark Lady of the Sith.?

?So I have to overcome my fear of whatever. And running into this passageway and the secret door into it were probably hints from the Force??

?Think of it how you wish.? Vergere gave her usual cryptic answer.

?All right.? Jaina glanced around at the passageway. ?So if I keep going this way, sooner or later I?ll find that tomb I?ve been looking for??

Vergere faded out again, her smile telling more than her words. Many dangers await you, Sith-Lady-to-be. Find a way to defeat them, face your fears, and return to the world of the living?

Excellent update!

 

Jaina is close to a revelation....I can feel it.

 

Jade: Thanks! Darth Chicken is a fun character to play with. I wouldn't want her in my life, but on the computer screen, she's awesome.
Vader: Thanks! The fear of temples thing came from a role-playing game I was in, and it just seemed like it worked there.
Cambius: Oh yes, in all likelihood. What sort of revelation remains to be determined...

And here's the end of chapter 13, finally!

---

Jaina could see the long-dead Sith in front of her, watching her as she walked through their domain. They were paying very close attention to her every move, wondering who she was and what she was doing there?

?You know who I am,? she said softly. ?You know I?m here because my mentor thinks I need a journey through the lands of the dead.?

The ancient Sith responded. [i]Do you seek only your own destruction? Do you understand the way of the Sith well enough to be one of us? Why are you foolish enough to even attempt this?[/i]

Jaina shook away their doubts. ?That?s the problem. I don't know if I?m strong enough to be a Sith. Vergere would tell me it?s all mental, and I have to just find out what seems right to me. But she often doesn?t make a lot of sense to me.?

[i]The ways of the Sith include many things that some would find little sense in.[/i]

?Yeah.? Jaina didn?t bother with a sarcastic comeback.

[i]What do you expect to find here?[/i]

?A bunch of long-dead Sith.? Jaina couldn?t resist the wisecrack that time. ?Someone who?s been a Sith before and knows how to help me. I?ve already figured out something about a tomb in the centre of the temple and a hydra that had been a statue until I touched it, but otherwise I don?t have any ideas.?

[i]You know about the tomb. Clearly the Sith Lady trusts you. Normally she wouldn?t allow an intruder to find out that she is still here.[/i]

?There?s a Sith Lady waiting for me?? Jaina began to pay more attention, not sure whether she was excited or scared. ?Someone who really can help me?? [i]If I survive the encounter[/i], she silently added.

[i]She does not normally appreciate disturbances to her rest. However, if you come as a willing apprentice, and show your humility, she may be willing to listen to you.[/i]

?Listen to me? I?ve come here to listen to her, I guess. Not to ask her questions.?

[i]Do not delude yourself; your honesty is so very important. The Sith Lady is here to answer your questions about your future, if you only know how to phrase them.[/i]

For a few moments, Jaina ignored the Sith spirits. She was already thoroughly unnerved by their very presence, and now they were speaking to her. Some portion of her rational mind told her to leave the temple and not come back, but the spirits still had more to say.

[i]You are already one of us to the point that you listen to us. What does that say about you?[/i]

?Featherbag already gave me all this lecture,? Jaina shot back. ?I know I?m probably not the best pupil, but you?re not being very helpful now. I?m getting out of here before the hydra gets me or you guys draw me into a centuries-long discussion of meaningless stuff.?

[i]You are impatient. Be careful.[/i]

Jaina ignored them once again and leaned back against the wall, which was completely covered in lichen. She couldn?t see any of the carvings under the growth, but somehow she knew there was something important there. There was a hydra again, and a pedestal outside the temple just like where she had seen the hydra?

[i]Ah, so you have met our gate-guardian. Clearly it thought you were worthy; otherwise you wouldn?t have made it this far into the temple.[/i]

?Where?d you get that thing?? Jaina asked. [i]Just one more question[/i], she promised herself.

[i]He was created by the Sith Lady, an alchemical monster who was her loyal guardian and companion. When she died, he chose to stay and allow only the worthiest acolytes of the Sith into our domain.[/i]

?So if you guys know so much about the Sith and this temple?s history, what can you tell me about getting to the tomb?? Another question. Jaina shook her head as she realized how well the sp

 

I have a feeling it only appears to be a dead end. Rather like a sithyly test of resourcefulness or sneakiness.

 

When life presents you with walls on all sides, you must break through to move on. Nice.

 

She does not normally appreciate disturbances to her rest. However, if you come as a willing apprentice, and show your humility, she may be willing to listen to you.

?Listen to me? I?ve come here to listen to her, I guess. Not to ask her questions.?

Do not delude yourself; your honesty is so very important. The Sith Lady is here to answer your questions about your future, if you only know how to phrase them.

For a few moments, Jaina ignored the Sith spirits. She was already thoroughly unnerved by their very presence, and now they were speaking to her. Some portion of her rational mind told her to leave the temple and not come back, but the spirits still had more to say.

You are already one of us to the point that you listen to us. What does that say about you?

I love how you're developing this story!

 

Jade: I have a feeling you're on the right track!
Cambius: And the walls are important, as you're about to find out...
Vader: Thanks! Sith are far too much fun to write.

And here's another update- part 1 of 3 for chapter 14. This story keeps getting longer and longer.

---

[i]Chapter 14: Temperance[/i]

The corridor looked like it was at a dead end. It stopped at a beautifully carved wall, strangely devoid of all moss and lichen. Jaina stared at it, and then at the walls around her- it was a dead end, with no way out. ?So where was the wrong turn?? she asked Vergere coldly.

Vergere sighed. ?Wrong turns are??

?A matter of perspective, I know,? Jaina shot back. ?So how do I get out of here??

Vergere began to fade into the darkness, taking the strange blue light with her. ?You must find your own way out of the lands of the dead.?

Jaina swore. She was now at a dead end inside an old Sith temple, with a hydra probably up to no good following her. Now Vergere had abandoned her, leaving her alone?

Alone was the point. Jaina could hear Vergere?s voice in her head- [i]You need to be alone. Find your way on your own, find your way out of this temple. Only you are to leave the lands of the dead.[/i]

Jaina reached out to touch the wall in front of her, feeling the millennia-old carvings still fresh on the wall. She felt something that she thought was a hydra, something that might have been a temple? or was she just imagining, feeling what her mind wanted to be there. If only she could see? maybe then there would be a way to the tomb revealed.

Jaina spun around, aware of a presence near her. It wasn?t the hydra- the thing had no presence but that of a statue, but it was something alive and near. She took a few cautious steps towards the last cross-section between the tunnels, but nothing approached her. It was as if she was sensing something that wasn?t there. One again, she wished for a lightsaber, or glowrod, or something that might let her see where she was going?

Something touched her mind rather suddenly. [i]You need not eyes to see.[/i]

?Who are you?? Jaina asked, surprised. ?What do you want??

[i]You?re so suspicious of everyone and everything. Relax a bit. Trust in the Force.[/i]

?It?s really hard to trust anything when you?re on some backwater planet, alone, and lost in some temple,? she replied. ?So are you going to help me get out of here, whomever you are??

[i]No. You need no help. You are the Sith-Lady-to-be, and you are strong enough to help yourself.[/i]

?Fine.? Jaina shook her head and continued slowly walking towards the crossroads. She wondered if the voice was just Vergere, playing some other Force trick to keep Jaina confused.

Something leapt out of the darkness and tackled Jaina. As she fell to the floor, her only thought was that she?d failed in her mission?


The hydra?s heads all perked up at the same time. It could sense that the Sith-Lady-to-be was ready for her challenge, ready to find her way out of the lands of the dead. She was about to enter the tomb. But the hydra hadn?t found her yet, and the hydra had to be there in order for Jaina to become a Sith.

The animal raced through the hallways, seeing the path through the Force. Jaina was so close, and so close to the tomb.

[hr]

Enjoy! [face_mischief]

 

This is beginning to get intense! Jaina really ought to trust in her feelings. She would do well to listen to them and not be so confused....

 

Jade: Thanks!
Cambius: Good advice... let's see if any of it gets through!

Thanks for putting up with my disappearances. Here's another (excuse-free) update- part 2 of Chapter 14.

---

Jaina sat up, shocked. Whatever had tackled her wasn?t in the Force. It wasn?t an empty area, but there had been anything in the Force where the invisible assailant had been. She could have brushed it off as just a bit of insanity provoked by the old temple, or it could be the Force telling her she was on the right path against her better judgment.

She turned back towards what she thought was the dead end. Perhaps it wasn?t so dead after all? She crept along the corridor again, and was stopped by banging into the wall. She was clearly at the end, which she no longer thought of as dead. Perhaps there was something in the carvings that would tell her how to get through the wall.

Through the wall? Jaina laughed softly. There was no way for one to pass through a solid wall, even if one was a Sith or in the process of becoming one. She ran her hands along the wall, trying to discern some shapes in the carvings, or maybe even a hidden door in the carvings.

A soft scratching drew Jaina?s attention towards the other end of the corridor. Something stood there, illuminated a bit by what seemed to be natural bioluminescence. Something that Jaina had been expecting?

The hydra sat there, looking like a statue, complete with moss. Only its burgundy eyes, occasionally blinking, gave a hint that it was a real animal. For several long minutes, Jaina and the hydra stared at each other, and Jaina had a distinct impression that it was speaking to her.

[i]Sith-Lady-to-be. Are you going to enter the tomb or just remain here?[/i]

?So that really is how I get into the tomb.? Jaina glanced back at the wall, now faintly illuminated. She couldn?t see a door of any sort, but the carvings told her all she needed to know.

Without a second thought, Jaina walked towards the wall.


The wall melted in front of Jaina and the hydra. She walked through it as though it were no more than a beaded curtain, and found herself inside? a tomb.

Like the other few chambers Jaina had previously seen in the temple, this one had a vaulted high ceiling and delicate carvings all around it. There were no visible doors in or out, leading Jaina to think that the only way to get in was passing through the specially designated walls. At the very centre of the tomb, there was a sarcophagus- covered in the same sort of carvings that were all around the temple. The sarcophagus didn?t have a name on it, but Jaina knew whose it was.

She fell back into her vision of the Sith woman who looked like her. There was the sense of a name, an identity- a life preserved here that was only to be remembered by those seeking the way of the Sith. Darth? Darth? Aella?

?Lady Aella,? Jaina greeted the presence. She now could identify the one who looked so much like her ?a long-dead Sith. As she fell deeper into the vision, the years melted away?


The hydra was now a shiny gunmetal-grey, with ruby eyes. It was so much smaller, a young one that had not yet spent its life waiting for another Sith to reclaim the ancient temple. It pranced along at the side of another dark-haired, amber-eyed Sith woman, one who had stayed in the shadows, been the power behind the throne in so many places.

Darth Aella glanced around the chamber that had become her tomb, and slowly examined the new Sith in front of her. ?Welcome, Jaina Solo. You have finally found your way into the Sith.?

?My Lady.? Jaina was so surprised that she forgot her normal sarcasm. ?I consider myself honored to be in your presence.?

?Someday the galaxy will say this to you,? Aella whispered, reaching out to touch Jaina?s cheek. ?I know the answer to this already, but I want to hear it in your own words. What brings you here??

Jaina thought for several long moments as the hydra rubbed one head against her legs, like a cat. ?When I crash-landed on Korriban with my brother, I thought I was going to die. I never thought I?d become

 

Whatever might that challende be, hmmmm???

Caedus' days are numbered, methinks.

 

Cambius Methinks also that Caedus' days are numbered. And that he isn't the only one.

And more. Didn't I owe you amazing, wonderful readers this update a few days ago...? Here's the final part of chapter 14.

---

The hydra nuzzled again, demanding attention. Jaina mindlessly began to scratch behind its ears in a gesture she had used on numerous pets, and was rewarded with a bit of a purr from it. She gathered the hydra into her lap and kept playing with it, thinking.

Aella, if that really was her name, had given her something to think about. She had to trust in the Force to let it determine her destiny, which meant that the Force would determine her sacrifice. Jaina had kept the sacrifice out of her mind for quite some time, after having determined that Caedus would be her sacrifice. Now that she was trusting in the Force, she wasn?t so sure anymore.

Something had changed. Jaina didn?t know that it was going to feel quite like this- not tectonic plates, but instead an explosion. Suddenly it was all apparent- she had to look at the hieroglyphs in the tomb, piece together Aella?s life story, and then confront the Sith Lady. Then she could leave this planet and continue on the next step of her journey.

Reluctantly, Jaina removed the hydra from her lap and began looking at the carvings on the wall she had came through. It began with a girl, running away from what looked like the Jedi order, running into space.

She stowed away on a ship, landed on some far-distant planet- it looked like Korriban. There, she found another Sith waiting for her, and the next series of carvings showed her training.

It was all of the exercises Jaina had learned. The meditation, telekinesis, mind control, lightsaber skills- and some far more disturbing things.

There was a piece of stone that vaguely looked like an animal of some sort, and with this girl?s guidance, it began to shape the stone. The stone grew a head, a wing, a tail, another head? It was soon a hydra, chasing the young woman who was now almost a Sith.

Another Sith-Lady-to-be made the pilgrimage to this planet. There was a word carved there- Ziost- that told Jaina where she was. She kept staring at the carvings, her mind filling in all of the gaps that the carvings themselves couldn?t tell. She knew now that the other woman had searched the temples, which were even then long-abandoned and swallowed by the forest. She, too, had gone through the temple, walked through the wall, and found a chamber-

The chamber hadn?t been a tomb at that time. It was unused, just an empty room with nothing on the walls, nothing in it, ready for its occupant to arrive. Something within the chamber had come alive at the woman?s arrival, and had resulted in some sort of transformation.

The girl who had fled the Jedi was now Darth Aella. In one moment, one whirlwind, she was now the strongest of the Sith of the time yet also the least known of all of them. She stood there in the chamber, using the Force to carve her story into the walls.

Over the years, Aella returned to Ziost in between various behind-the-scenes political and military
work. Each time, she carved a bit more into the walls, setting her past in stone for all to remember.

She trained several apprentices, teaching them the way of the Sith that she had learned, bringing them to Ziost for their own trials, and then letting them loose in the galaxy.

Finally, one of them turned on her. Chased her across the galaxy, hounded her until there was nowhere else for her to go- except here. Aella retuned to Ziost and raced through the temple, finally entering the chamber that Jaina was now in. Aella finished the carvings on the walls and sat down in the very middle of it, waiting quietly.

The rogue apprentice found her, found his way into the heart of the temple, and challenged her in a lightsaber battle. Right when it looked like she was about to win, she turned off her lightsaber and was stabbed through the heart?

Jaina could feel herself there in the chamber that was now a tomb, so many years ago. She could see the horrified

 

I knew she could do it. I wonder if it occured to Jania how much Aella's story mirrored her own.........