Bringing Dawn (Corvus/Taeli)

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

Deep in the Ossus Temple, Phylis has requested that the Raaf sisters joined her. Lately her skills in Alkahest had grown strongly, to the point that she was confident in forging a weapon for the Jedi to give them a greater chance in the war with the Sith. Though blades were somewhat outdated by lightsabres, they retained some important properties.

Today she wanted to start the process which would make a weapon for the Jedi Order using her new skills which Corvus could carry and use well.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Phylis Alince"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

When Taeli had gotten the message, to say she had been excited was a touch of an understatement. She was getting to learn something new after all, that would always make her day. The fact it was something that she was familiar with in some way didn't bother her at all, she was just happy to be able to learn more.

Master Alince had apparently created a light side version of alchemy, which Taeli figured might have once been a thing as the Jedi had once used swords that were similar to Sith swords, but the art had died out eons ago when the lightsaber became the pre-dominant weapon of choice for both Orders. Today would prove to be a fascinating time, and even better, she got to spend it with her sister.

"Can I say I'm a little excited?" she asked Corvus as they both made their way towards the designated meeting place in the Ossus Temple. "I mean in a way this was a secret long lost, but also in a way, it's a brand new technique and application of the Light side. It's just so cool!"

She was letting her more carefree side show right now, but she didn't care if she was supposed to be a calm and collected Jedi Master. She was excited about knowledge, and nothing could put a damper on her parade.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was known for being attentive and freely giving of her time. She never gave it unwillingly and rarely saw it as a duty. But there were some that asked and instead of complying, Corvus got rather excited at the prospect of working with.

Master Alince was one such Jedi. If only she’d learn to catalogue her data correctly, Corvus wouldn’t have to pretend she couldn’t see the floor when she visited her. The desire to tidy up and put the datapads and flimsies in some sort of classification order was far greater than the lure of the Dark-side.

Corvus knew of their exploits that attempted to work on alchemy from a Light-sided perspective. And she suspected the Jedi Master would not give up until she had either perfected something or was close. So the excitement was double-fold.

"Can I say I'm a little excited?" her sister said as they met en-route. Clearly Corvus wasn’t the only one to think this way. Her beaming face no doubt revealed to her older sister just how she felt.

“I know how you feel,” Corvus echoed. “I feel like a Padawan again.”

So they arrived together and knocked before opening the door – like two giggling Younglings allowed to play with lightsabers for the very first time.

[member="Taeli Raaf"] | [member="Phylis Alince"]

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

When the dynamic sisterhood entered Phylis was hard at work. So hard that she’d actually forgotten they were coming.
Eventually she looked up and frowned. “Taeli, Corvus? Why…oh…right, yes!” she said, finally remembering.

“Well, hmm, yes, I wanted to talk to you both today. As you know, my pursuit of information on Alkahest has reached a new level. Just recently I was able to successfully use the Light to infuse a weapon to make it alchemically unbreakable.”

She produced her rather curious Alkahest blade and showed it to them. Though made of soft copper it was properly unbreakable like a Sith Sword and the Light Side clearly infused it. She offered it to them to examine themselves.

“I propose we make not just a test, but a proper Alkahest weapon, a weapon which can contain and channel the Light. A weapon for you, Grandmaster,” she said, looking at Corvus.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was used to Phylis' eccentricities - it was something she found particularly endearing about the Jedi Master. So she simply waited for the credit chip to drop as to why they were there.

Once Phylis started to speak, Corvus listened intently. No detail was too small to be important. There could just as easily be a test later! But the news surpassed even Corvus' expectations. Phylis had achieved what they'd commonly considered to be something of a holy grail. She allowed her sister to handle the blade first whilst she sensed it. It had a distinctly Light-sided aura and she suspected would cause more damage than an identical but unchanged dagger to a Sith.

But the next news took her breath away. Such a weapon would be priceless and to be considered the custodian was something Corvus felt entirely embarrassed about. This was one of the emotions she'd recently learned and felt her cheeks flush as she knew the others would see the effect Phylis' words had - even if they couldn't sense it.

"I have no words," she said, almost apologetically. "I would simply be honoured,"

[member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Phylis Alince"]

Alkhest? Strange name, but who was she to argue about it. Taeli looked over the blade that Master Alince had made previously, her appraising eye moving over it slowly as she also probed it with the Force. It was similar to something that was Force imbued, but unlike those, this wasn't slowly fading in power.

While Phylis said she wanted to make a blade for Corvus to use, Taeli couldn't stop the smile on her face as she looked at Corvu's expression. Humble and everything to a fault, but it was nice to see an actual reaction instead of pure serenity.

"What did you use as the binding agent for the light side?" Taeli asked, handing the knife back to Phylis. "Being a former Sith alchemist, it's a curiosity because they use blood, spilled in anger, to harness and focus the dark side into the object being worked on. I know for a fact that isn't what a Jedi would use though. Needs to be something connected to life though hmmm sorry my academic is showing!"

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

Phylis had perhaps been around Siobhan and her friends for too long, as she was amused at the reaction she’d extracted from Corvus. In many ways the two of them were very close indeed in manner and opinion.

“Then I would be honoured to do so.”

Taeli though, well she knew the other side of the coin, the Alchemy side, so that made her especially useful here for the Alkahest.

“I use blood as well, but naturally in a different way. Formerly I used Force sensitive crystals infused with the Light, but in this blade I found an alternative. I was able to infuse the metal itself with the Light to make it stronger, to which I add the blood of the bearers to make it locked to them. As the Force has opposites, so is Alchemy and Alkahest – the same methods often, but from a different perspective.”

“In this case, I will need both of you to help me infuse the metal whilst I am shaping it so that it turns out a little more, hmm, aesthetically pleasing than this knife. As you know, Taeli, once the alchemisation is complete, the blade is virtually unbreakable and unchangeable, so we have to make it right before we seal it.”

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus listened. The majority of her learning was Jedi Lore. Her knowledge of the Sith was extensive for a follower of the Light-side but did not spill into any information about alchemy.

So she listened as they talked, feeling slightly out of her depth and wondering what she could add to the process - given the other two were clearly not just more knowledgeable - they were experts.

Corvus managed to understand she needed to help infuse the metal. She presumed this meant the giving of blood and she also mused that perhaps she might have to focus the Light-side of the Force into it - but that was more a wild guess on her part - at best a calculated stab in the dark (no pun intended).

[member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Phylis Alince"]

"Interesting process you have here, Master Alince," Taeli said as Phylis explained how she had gone about creating the knife. That would definitely work for smaller things, but from what she knew, to get a larger sword or something like it fully imbued, it needed to be dunked in a vat of blood while imbuing it. Now, Jedi wouldn't go for such a thing in creating their blades ... unless ... hmm an idea emerged. A liquid that contained the essence of life in it that wasn't blood ... would warrant investigating as the Jedi could use that instead of blood ... something to look into eventually.

"That is very true, once the process is done, the blade can't be changed further and good luck trying to break it," Taeli said, nodding at Phylis. "Just show us what we need to do, and let's get started."

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

It was true that the Jedi probably wouldn’t be too pleased about having vats of blood around. People usually needed their blood to live, so alternative means were required, or more importantly, better utilisation of resources. Sith might be able to afford having slaves drained of their vitae, but she would have to make do with less, since it seemed unlikely that Corvus would agree to losing an arm!

“Okay, the first step is to get the metal heated and hammered out. I’ve come to find that for the initial parts a mechanical hammer does well enough, but eventually I switch to using the Force as my hammer. It allows for more delicate precision and relies less upon physical endurance.”

“At the end I will be needing both of you to focus Force Light into the blade whilst I work on its molecular structure and binding the blood to it. Since the three of us want to be able to use it I think we

For now though…Corvus I will need a measure of blood from you. A test tube should be enough if you’re OK with that. After that I’ll get you to start hammering out the metal whilst I handle the other materials.

Taeli, I was thinking about the size of this item. If we mixed the infused crystals, water and our blood into a vat and tempered the blade in that, do you think it would carry the same potency? Otherwise, we may just have to make better use of the limited material available. Give it some thought, I need you to adjust the temperature and make sure it’s heating properly. You’ve done this before, so I’ll leave you to it.”

Phylis meanwhile had prepared the metal ingots. Most annoyingly, the Council had not approved her attempt to make the sword of out platinum! Apparently the million credit request had been deemed too excessive….

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was, as ever, a team player. She did as instructed and accepted the two Jedi with her were far more proficient in the art they were undertaking, so she continued to follow orders.

One of which was to share her blood, so she grabbed a sharp knife and cut her palm and allowed the drops to flow into a sterilised test-tube. Once the prescribed amount was given, Corvus closed the wound using Force Heal and handing over the still warm liquid.

Next she took clear direction and started to hammer the metal as instructed. She remained quiet and allowed the two brains of the party to work uninterrupted, only breaking her silence to check what she was doing was right.

[member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Phylis Alince"] [member="Corvus Raaf"]

"In theory, I suppose such a mixture could have close to the same potency," Taeli said, tapping her chin in thought. "If we added something that benefits life in some way, maybe bacta or another agent that supports life or has life teeming in it, it could have a better effect. But, that's for later testing I think."

Her mind was jotting down mental notes as she started breaking the crystals into a fine powder that would be infused with the light side of the Force. It would need to be very fine ... hmm perhaps ... in theory, the Sith used the dark side and the remaining energies in the blood to create their alchemy works ... but what if a Jedi used the light side and the energies that a living thing exerted, like microscopic organisms in the water, to create the same effect.

Taking the test tube of blood from her sister, she handed it over to Phylis while she continued to think.

"Tapping into the life that would exist in the water might also be a route to try, ask them for their assistance in providing energy to bind the metal with the Force," she mused aloud to Phylis.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

“Hmm, so what we’re looking for is stagnant water with a lot of pond life in it which we can use? Hmm, it’s not against Jedi ethics to kill bacteria…I like it. Can you find me some appropriate water whilst I get this started?”

Phylis took and stored the blood carefully. “You know, Corvus, I did have a sterile syringe here,” she said sternly. Tetanus was everyone’s problem!

Regardless, the metal was now hot enough, and with the Force she drew it out, laid it on the anvil and started to use the Force to hammer it. Invisible, yet concussive blows struck upon the metal.

After a moment she quenched it in regular water then heated it again.

“Right, Taeli, bring in the special water. Corvus, I’ll get you to add some Light to the water and your blood. Taeli, add some of yours too…use a needle this time please.”
She proceeded to do the same thing to her own arm and add it to the water.

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus shuddered. She had a phobia of needles. Cutting her hand with a knife was quite all right, but the thought of poking a needle in her arm? She paled slightly.

And then they both decided to extract their own blood! She had to look away until she was sure it was over.

And once the rather odd cocktail was ready, Corvus pulled the Force to her and closed her eyes for a second. Opening them, she felt her body full of the Light-side of the Force. Then she imagined it flowing through her and being channelled down her right arm before entering her hand. White light coalesced around her fingertips. Ethereal wisps then joined the liquid as Corvus poured the Light into the mixture.

[member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Phylis Alince"]

Taeli had to agree with her sister in eschewing the syringe. Something about needles and blood combined just gave her a queasy feeling she would rather avoid, and to think she was interested in medical stuff and had been dealing with injuries during her probation ... and she had been a Sith. Maybe it was only related to needles and her blood being associated with it, but regardless, she pulled a small sterile knife out and cut her hand open to fill a tube as well before going outside for a moment.

Filling a large container with water from the nearby pond, she brought that back inside to their workplace just as the metal needed soaked in it and the cocktail was prepared.

"Well, let's see if this works," Taeli said, adding her blood with the others and calling on the Light side to come help her. In a rush, she could feel the river of energy flowing through her, but she needed to store it so around and around the river went until she felt enough energy was stored up. Stretching her right hand, she let the energy flow out of its reservoir and down her arm to her hand. A white glow emanated from it as strands of light energy streamed from her hand into the mixture.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

“Hmmph,” Phylis said when she saw Sister #2 decide to go the knife routine. Fortunately, as Jedi, they could use the Force to heal. Regardless!

Calling on the Force she directed the Light into the water where the mingled blood and little swimming microbes were already having a blast. With the three of their powers combined the water actually glowed gently.

Pulling the metal from the heat she hammered it, shaping the blade.
“Now, let’s make this work…” she said.
She dunked the red hot metal into the water, focussing upon the metal and the life inside the water, and the blood. Scientifically it shouldn’t do anything, but the Force defied science at times.
“Focus your thoughts on the metal, try and bind the Force, the blood, the life with the metal,” she instructed the other two.

Into the fire it went again, then the water, each time topped up with more power of the Light and more of the blood. Each time it went through the process Phylis could feel the forming blade start to have its own presence in the Force. Each time it was heated, beaten and slaked that power increased.

“Now, the final step, I will heat the blade the last time and forge it into its final shape, and you both direct the Light into it whilst I do that. We’re almost there!”

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus followed Phylis' instructions. As was typical for the middle Raaf sister, she found Force Abilities overlapping. Her work with Art of the Small had allowed her to modify things at a molecular level more than once. The last time she'd used it to free her younger sibling from cuffs.

So she used a similar process to enable the blood, the life and the Force to bind with the metal.

Once complete, she pulled the Force back to her and once more poured Force Light into the blade as its final shape was forged. In truth she had no idea if it would be a success, but she trusted in her two colleagues to make it so. They were, after all, the best the Jedi had to offer.

[member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Phylis Alince"]

Taeli smiled a bit as she was reminded of the whole process of shaping the metal to the shape one desired. Helping shape it, she kept pouring the Light side of the Force into the mixture of blood, Force energy, and microbe infested water and focusing her thoughts towards binding all the materials together.

It was different than Sith alchemy because they had the actual microbes helping them with the process, but in a way, she sort of preferred it this way. The microbes were perfectly willing to lend their aid into the process and the extra life force was adding an extra layer to the binding.

When they finally reached the last stage, Taeli nodded as the blade was heated and shaped one last time, light energy pouring off her hand into the blade itself.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Corvus Raaf"] [member="Taeli Raaf"]

With the two sisters pouring the Force into the blade, Phylis could focus on remaking the metal, forging it, and making it truly unbreakable.
Each time the metal touched the water she drew on the Force, drawing the life from the little swimming things to put into the blade, binding their life, the blood from the Jedi’s veins and the Force to it.
Each time she drew it out she poured more and more power into it whilst sculpting the blade into the form she wished. What mattered with Alkahest more than regular forging was a consistent shape and the aesthetic design. The blade would be unbreakable by any normal craft, so the metal’s tensile strength was actually irrelevant.

And so the blade was painstakingly made, filled with the Light Side, and when the time came she sealed it, altering the molecules so they formed a lattice strengthened by the Force. It was hard for her, but because she had Corvus and Taeli there to help her she was able to do it without over stressing herself.

Taking a final scouring pad down the blade she revealed the silvery surface of the perfectly made blade.

“I will need you both now to concentrate all your final efforts into it whilst I seal it. If there are any changes you’d like to make, it must be now.”

(Corvus, if you have that picture still now’s the time.)

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus admired the work of both her sister and Phylis. The whole concept of Alchemy was beyond her - but she was pragmatic. There was only so much knowledge you could fit into one head. So she continued to play her part, marvelling at the beauty of the blade that was being crafted in front of her eyes. It's symmetry and simplicity.

Her knowledge of blades told her this was a katana. A broadsword would have been too unwieldy for her to use, and this was more in keeping with the size of a saber and its weight would be more in keeping with what she was used to.

Spoiler

So she simply poured as much of the Light-side of the Force as she could into the metal as Phylis worked it. Her arms broke out in little bumps, such was the thrill of the crafting and she actually blushed. For this wonderous weapon of the Light would be hers to use. She was truly humbled.

[member="Phylis Alince"] | [member="Taeli Raaf"]