A Dark Blade (Kara)

[Darth Shadow]

@[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]
This writer is making evil and sinister plans to use this knowledge.

Meanwhile, the actual forging of the weapons could finally begin. The furnace raged, though Shadow did not do anything other than remove his outermost robe to combat the heat.
Soon, with the heat intensified by complex and expensive air channels, they were ready.

Shadow took several of the ingots from the Gromas crate and put them into the giant crucible before them. Soon an acrid smoke began to rise up as the metal began to warp, then to liquefy. Requiring hotter temperatures than steel to break down, it soon melted and could be poured into specially prepared moulds. With this done they could begin the actual process of hammering.

Taking one of the long metal blanks from the heat with the Force, Shadow commenced his first round of hammering. He heard Kara’s efforts and knew she was doing the same, the both of them using the Force to swing their hammers, and more, often using the Force instead of a hammer, to physically pound the metal.

This part of the process they knew well, and continued until the third hammering when Shadow stopped to see how Kara was doing.

 

[Lief]

It felt good to be back at this again, she had missed the forge so dearly. With a sigh of appreciation she brought one of the large bars of refined phrik and heated it in the fires of the forge, moving it with the Force as she had been instructed to do so many years ago. It was like second nature now. When it hit the correct temperature, practically aglow with a white dazzling light - at least in the eyes of the Umbaran - she extended a hand. The summoned hammer settled into her palm like Mjölnir when Thor came'a calling.

Immediately she struck it down upon the heated bar which settled upon the anvil. Pound, Pound, Pound. The noise was, at first, deafening, but soon it became little more than background noise. It was all part of the process, part of the mystical pull she felt when working metal. Then the bar was once again reheated and it began all over again. Like the stars it had an underlying quality which set her at ease. As the time passed it was coming along nicely, and her gaze turned across to note that Shadow was now watching her. "You made a monster the day you showed me the Forge" she remarked, with a quirky half smile, "I am grateful you opened such horizons for me, My Lord."

@[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

@[member="Lady Kyros"]
Shadow made a sardonic mock bow. "It was always my goal to cultivate someone from this generation with both skills and intelligence. In you I have found that. This is just one more skill you will need. I am glad I meet your approval...."
As the hammering continued, they soon reached the first quenching point. "Not into water, into the venom," Shadow told her, gesturing to the vat of greenish innards and gore.
"As you do so, reach out to the Force and feel the metal, feel the vitality and power of the venom, bond the two with the Force as well as the mere blade. Make them one...this shall be our start."

 

[Lief]

She watched him for just a moment, and then continued with the hammering and heating process. When he deemed them ready to continue she glanced across to the vat of venom and frowned a little. "Of course, Lord Shadow," she said as she brought the soon-to-be-blade down into the vat. It hissed and spat against the heat, and as it did so she began to focus.

Drawing upon the Force she sent it down through the metal. Grasping onto it she expanded her awareness out into the venom too, feeling the life force it held, its potential and bubbling vitality. Through the Force she began to meld the two, her eyes closing slightly to allow an opportune amount of focus. It was tiring, considering this was the first time with the venom.

@[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

@[member="Lady Kyros"]

“The power of the Force permeates all things, not just our physical forms. Sense the metal for what it is, an unliving part of the Force, bind the venom into it. And then…continue.”
Pulling the now foul smelling blade from the grizzly vat, he thrust it back into the furnace and heated it again.

And so it continued, hammering and reforging, every second time the blade would be quenched with water, the other with venom.
When finally they reached the sixth quenching he stopped her again.

“This is where we truly begin our work. This is where we turn this blade into something truly special. This is when we use alchemy. Take a sharp knife, and when the blade is red hot on the anvil cut your skin so some of your blood falls onto it. Call on the Force to bind it to you like you did with the venom, hammer your blood into the metal so they are sealed and bonded as one. With the Dark Side as your ally none can use this blade against you once it is bonded to you.”

 

[Lief]

Following the continued instruction of her former Alchemy Master, she focused in on the very make-up of both blade and venom, noting what made them a presence in the Force and drawing the two powers together, entwining their presences' to become one and the same along the blade itself. And then she too brought the blade from the putrid vat and thrust it into the glowing flames, heating it so that it too glowed.

Back against the Anvil the blade was struck and shaped, quenched and relit. By now the light of the forge did not effect her at all, and she was working at peak efficiency, having found her flow and in many regards her muse. For this was an art form, and one she greatly enjoyed.

At his instruction she halted to glance across at him, nodding her head. A little blood in return for a blade? That was worth the loss... And truly it would not be a loss, given that it would become one with the blade. "When this is complete, I will need to seek out a skilled swordsman for instruction. Do you know of any?" She was a weakling at heart, she knew that much: it would not be as simple as replacing her lightsaber for the blade, the balance would be different, the weight substantially more...

Still, she took up the dagger and brought it against her flesh, allowing herself to bleed against the blade itself. All the while she refocused into the Force and began to connect and bind the two properties together. It was a little odd in comparison to the venom, but the blood was part of her... And that had to account for something.

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Lady Kyros"]

Shadow raised an eyebrow. “Know of one? I am one, Kara. At least, in the areas you are looking for. I am well versed in the art of Makashi and Soresu. When we are done forging the blade I can train you to use it as well.”

Taking a knife he spilled some of his own blood onto the spitting metal. Then focussing his powers in the Force he hammered and stamped the blood into the metal, binding them as one, and binding the weapon to him.

The process continued on for hours more until Shadow called a halt.

“This is the final step, Kara. Once this is complete then the blade will be finished. First, heat the blade and put it on the anvil, but do not strike it. Instead, forge the Sith runes of passion, strength, power, victory and freedom onto both sides. Then, call on the Force and summon Sith lightning into the blade, infuse it with the Dark Side and make that final connection to the blade. When it is done right the runes will glow, and its power shall be eternal.”

 

[Lief]

Kära followed suit when he continued to hammer at the blade, her eyes narrowing in sharp focus. If Shadow could teach her to wield such a formidable blade then so be it, training under him would be an honour... After all, had she not been doing so for much of her Sith Life anyway? No words needed to be said, he would know that she would accept such an offer anyway.

She focused on hammering the blood and binding it through the Force, the process tiring her despite her present state in the Sith; she was still learning, it would take time. Kyros was not one to rush processes or training, to do so was folly.

And then he halted them with his words, Kära was alert and was not one to be disrespectful thus she stopped to listen. "I have never trained in the art of Sith Lightning" she confessed, it was not an aspect which held any wonder with the young Umbaran. "Thus this aspect may not be one I can finalize; the rest I can do, My Lord," after all, this writer was not one to pretend to have learnt things she hadn't.

As she said this she began to focus on forging in the runes, written in Ancient Sithese as opposed to Galactic Standard Basic. It felt more formal, in many regards more magical, to do so. But Shadow would have to apply the Lightning; in one sense this disappointed the Sith Lord, as this weapon was supposed to be personal to her, but in another regard she was not one to learn something for the sake of it. Now all she needed was to see if Shadow was willing to perform the Lightning.

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]
“Never?” Shadow asked, surprised. It was true that those more versed in the warrior arts of the Sith could not use lightning because of the armour they wore interfering with the currents of energy, but he had never thought of Kara in that way.
“Then you have three choices, my dear. Either I can complete it for you, I can teach you how to use Sith Lightning…or we can use another method. There is an alternative, but it is more dangerous yet perhaps more rewarding. Far from what those Jedi fools say, the Dark Side can create as well as destroy, but what it creates is by nature a reflection of yourself. It is possible to transfer part of yourself into the blade, both to bind it to you, and to make the blade more powerful. It is rarely done in these times because if the blade is destroyed then you will be weakened…but on the other hand, each life taken with the blade strengthens you. Decide and we will complete this weapon….”

 

[Lief]

Kära had often been confused by the obsession with Sith Lightning, especially where writers were concerned. It wasn't even that great, after all destruction was so final whereas cunning permitted longevity for whatever cause you were pursuing. Perhaps that was why she had a tendency of enslaving her enemies as opposed to killing them?

Either way it mattered not at this present moment, Kära refused to learn the Power for one menial task. Especially not when presented with other options. Instead she inclined her head towards Shadow; "While the offer for further training is appreciated, Sith Lightning is not a talent I seek to know. I have done well enough without it all these years. At the same time I am not afraid to take risks. Option three will suit well enough."

With that she continued to inscribe the runes into the blade, and awaited further instruction from the man at her side...

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Kära Vi'dreya"]
Shadow nodded. “So be it, my dear. Heat the blade one final time, but do not quench it this time. Instead, levitate it with the Force before you and focus on it, much as you did before. This time though I want you to reach out to it with your feelings, direct your anger, your fear, your pain, everything upon it. Use the Dark Side and put yourself into the blade, make it a tiny fragment of your own self. When that is done, quench the blade to seal it and bind it to you. The effect can be…disorientating…painful. I will catch you if you fall,” Shadow promised, moving behind her.

This final step would make the blade truly special as it would hold a shard of Kara’s will in it. Shadow himself was not going to do that for his own blade. He would settle for a lesser power and keeping his own spirit intact.

 

[Lief]

The Way in which Shadow spoke of the process of made this writer think of the deathly hallows and the splitting of souls... It also seemed like merging of metallurgy and biological alchemy. Either way once the runes were completed she heated the blade back to a devilish glow and for a moment did nothing. Kära merely stared at the bright blade and focused inside.

Unlike most Sith, Kära had decided from the very beginning of her training to keep her emotions on a tight leash. That did not mean she forbade herself from feeling, that she rejected them as the Jedi did, instead it ensured that she was extraordinarily precise and in control when she did...

... It made her less impulsive, less of a threat to herself, yet far more in control and as such in many regards more deadly. It was easy to underestimate the constantly calm Sith Lord, believing that they harboured no emotion.

Käras eyes did something they rarely did, and showed a severe sign of corruption in the form of the iris' turning to a sulfuric hue, stamping out the icy blue she had become so attached to. Under her breath she muttered in a mixture of Umbarese and ancient Sithese, each word sounding more vehement than the last without the volume of her voice ever raising.

Corruption seeped from her as the true power that Kära held slowly revealed itself from her petite form, a secret she had held from all including the Ashborn until now. A power that was so corrupting and had the potential to be harnessed in such a way that Kära had refused to let it loose and instead bottled it up. After all, destruction truly was a last resort for this Sith.

Yet through the process at hand she realised that it too could be used to create, to bend and mold. Perhaps she had been misled... Or maybe she was of an age and at a certain stage in her life and training that she was aware of how best to utilise the intense emotions lost within her, the pain of a lifetime, the anger and hurt at all she had faced.

Ashborn had once mentioned himself as a monster, yet truly who was she to agree with such? If you dug deep enough you could find such in anyone. The air in the room was practically suffocating at this point, but she continued on... She was nowhere near finished, this she knew. For now the release of such emotion was fuelling her... But at some point she knew her small form would buckle

Kära only hoped the process would be complete by then...

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Kara Vi'dreya"]
Shadow watched with approval as the mortal husk of Kara Vi'dreya was cast aside and the true power beneath shone through. This was why he had such hopes in the girl, she had a deep strength which few did. The power flowing between Kara and the blade was a visible line in the Force, snaking tendrils of Dark Side energy.
Finally, he intervened and called the blade away from her and let her recover.
Holding up her sword he could feel the Dark Side emanating from it. The runes on the surface glittered with malefic intent. He offered it to Kara.
"Good! The ritual is complete. The blade is yours, Darth Kyros, use it well in bringing down our enemies."
Turning his attention to his own blade he levitated it before him and unleashed scintillating blasts of Sith lightning at it. Much like Kara, the strain of putting so much concentrated power into an attempt made the ancient Lord waver for a second before he completed the ritual.
After it was done his blade's runes glowed slightly. It was done.

 

[Lief]

When it was done, the petite woman stumbled backwards. Her breathing was somewhat laboured, and for the first time in forever Kyros permitted herself to show a little weakness. She was tired. She was drained. But she also knew that in another sense she was enlightened and strengthened by the flow of the darkside. Its corruptive nature proved intoxicating, and she craved for it even now, even when it began to retreat back into her, locked away.

She inclined her head over to Shadow. "Thank you, My Lord," she muttered, yet a part of her hoped she would not find need to use it. Death, after all, was far too final. There were better ways of making your enemies pay, and gaining more than just another body count in the process.

[member="Darth Shadow"]

 

[Darth Shadow]

[member="Lady Kyros"]
Darth Shadow returned the gesture and sheathed his new blade in a scabbard he had prepared for the creation.
The blades were done, and after what had seemed like an eternity, they were free to move on.

“Then we shall meet again soon, Lady Kyros. But for now, good day.”
And then he was gone.