Dancer in the Dark

[Anara Valnor]

The cool night wind of Tython caught her hair and sent it flying behind her like a blood stained banner, the hem of her onyx dress stirring around her thighs. This planet was new to her as she had only arrived a few days prior, but already she was out in the wilderness exploring as was her habit. Behind her the lights of the city glowed, but they did not disturb the peace she sat tucked away deep in the dark depths of the forest. Still she was tormented with how different things were, how many lives had been lost and how everyone she had held dear was gone. The healing process was a slow one for her, but she was on the mend and her adventures into the wilderness only helped.

Moving lightly on her feet through the forest she danced about, humming to herself as the urge to sing rose up in her. Amber eyes glowed as the Force swirled around her, its Song filling her mind as she lifted her voice in song. Her voice echoed off the trees and they danced with her voice, their branches creaking and shifting as they came to life to join her voice in song; the very world came to life and created the music that accompanied her voice.

"I hear your voice on the wind
And I hear you call out my name

"Listen, my child," you say to me
"I am the voice of your history
Be not afraid, come follow me
Answer my call, and I'll set you free"

I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice, I will remain

I am the voice in the fields when the summer's gone
The dance of the leaves when the autumn winds blow
Ne'er do I sleep throughout all the cold winter long
I am the force that in springtime will grow"​

As she sang she moved to the music surrounding her, her bare feet dancing lightly across the ground. She continued to sing, moving through the forest as the light of the moon danced off her fiery mane and pale skin; she resembled a forest sprite. Still singing she danced out onto a small well worn path and continued deeper into the forest.

"I am the voice of the past that will always be
Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields
I am the voice of the future, bring me your peace
Bring me your peace, and my wounds, they will heal

I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice that always is calling you
I am the voice

I am the voice of the past that will always be
I am the voice of your hunger and pain
I am the voice of the future
I am the voice, I am the voice
I am the voice, I am the voice"​

 

[Ben Watts]

Things on Tython were moving much quicker than Ben had anticipated. To say that he was pleased would have been the understatement of the year. No longer were the Jedi in shambles and struggling to get by. With the support of the Repbulic, and a group of Jedi that been believed in, things were certainly looking up. Of course he could not help but worry a bit about the Sith. He had come into contact with the first Sith he had seen in years, and even though he was much weaker than Ben, he showed a bloodlust for battle the likes of which Ben had never seen. Which meant that some of the stronger ones were going to be much much worse.

His thoughts were stopped, though, when he heard something faint. It was tiny, at first, but it grew louder and louder until Ben noticed that it was a song. That could only mean one thing, Anara. He recognized the voice anywhere, it was far and wide more beautiful than any singer he had ever heard, plus it was enhanced by the force so that helped a little bit. Since she had been promoted to Master she and Ben had not spoken much. He was always busy doing something whether it be training Padawans or going to battle for the Republic so he had not had any time to congratulate her.

He walked in the direction of her singing while smiling and humming to the tune of her song. He had heard her sing on a few occasions and it was nice to relax and let her voice wash over him. Ben did not get many chances to listen to any sort of music so it was extremely relaxing and comforting to him. It did not take him long to reach her in the forest, and when he did, he propped himself against a tree and just listened to her sing. He closed his eyes and let the music do all of the work until she was finished.

"When are you releasing the single?" Ben said with a smirk.

 

[Anara Valnor]

"Huh?"

Turning Anara was surprised to see that she was no longer alone and was unable to stop the embarrassed blush that spread across her cheeks; as usual she had been so caught up in her music that she hadn't heard his approach. The man leaning against the tree just behind the moss covered boulder she stood upon was a fellow Master, Ben Watts. She didn't know him well and so his sudden appearance was puzzling; they had only spoken a few odd times in passing. Quickly recovering she ran a hand through her wild mane of hair, amber eyes sparkling as she was still wound up from singing.

Singing always soothed her mind and the sparkle now present in her eyes was one that wasn't often seen now; for the moment she felt like her old self. She stepped down from the boulder, the skirt of her dress gayly dancing about her thighs with the movement. "I just did...sort of..." She smiled brightly as she leaned back against the boulder, running her hands across the soft moss absently.

"So...what brings you out here so late?"

 

[Ben Watts]

"Sleep seems to escape me these days." Ben said answering her question. It was true, he had so many things on his mind all the time that sleep was the least of his worries, and when he did sleep it was usually filled with visions that did nothing but worry him even further. It was obvious his lack of sleep, there were large bags under his eyes, and he had the look of a sleep deprived man. He felt it even more in his body which was only held together through sheer willpower and the force. He did not have time to go down because of sleep, though, he had to keep going for everyone who believed in him.

"What about you? Don't want all those Republic boys swooning over you while you sing?"

 

[Anara Valnor]

She nodded, wrapping her arms around herself as she rested against the boulder. "Sleep is for the weak anyway." She looked so serious as she spoke, but it didn't last as a smile cracked her mask. "At least, that's what a friend told me once..." She shrugged, brushing her bangs from her face. "I could probably help with the insomnia if you wanted though?" She had sung a few lullabys in her time, but always to children so she wasn't entirely sure she could lull a grown man to sleep. However, she was willing to give it a try if he wanted her help.

With a laugh she stepped away from the boulder and moved into a patch of moonlight, looking up at the stars above. "No, if I didn't like the attention I wouldn't sing..." Amber eyes turned away from the sky as she leveled her gaze upon Ben once more, a soft smile upon her lips. "I haven't been able to sleep either..." A bit of sadness crept into her gaze, but she quickly hid it as she looked back to the stars. "I've slept long enough..." Her last comment was whispered at it wasn't really meant for Ben's ears. With a sigh she looked back to Ben, smiling brightly as she pushed her dark thoughts aside.

"I just like to dance in the forest at night."

 

[Ben Watts]

Ben chuckled, "I will keep that in mind next time I cannot sleep." Ben folded his arms and he leaned against a tree as she stepped into the moonlight. He did not speak as she looked up at the stars, and in fact, he averted his gaze to the stars above. Sometimes he felt so small compared to the working of the Universe, but that was a conversation for another day. She mentioned not being able to sleep and that she had slept long enough and his interest was peaked. What did that mean?

"We all have little things that we enjoy." Ben unfolded his arms and he pushed himself off the tree and took a few steps towards the smiling Anara. "What do you mean you've slept enough?" He paused before continuing, unsure if the question was personal or not. "I don't mean to pry into your private life or anything."

 

[Anara Valnor]

She blinked several times, her cheeks heating up as light blush stained her cheeks. "Its...a long story..." Licking her lips she brushed her bangs from her face as she took a half step back out of the moonlight, rubbing her arms as though she were cold. She hadn't intended for him to hear her, but her voice had likely carried thanks to their surroundings. If he really wanted to know what she had meant, she would tell him, but she really doubted that he would believe her tale. Even I sometimes don't believe it... She glanced down at her barefeet, kicking a stray pebble aside before meeting Ben's gaze once more.

Smiling weakly she ran her hand through her hair, tossling it and making it look even wilder than before. "Long and unbelievable..." Once more she cast her amber gaze up to the stars above, their light reflecting in her eyes and making them appear as if they were glowing. Slowly she leveled her molten gaze upon him, tilting her head to the side just enough so that her bangs slide down to cover part of her face.

 

[Ben Watts]

Ben nodded his head and wondered if he should press on. He normally did not like pestering people about things of this nature, but she seemed upset about it, and he felt like he needed to try and be there to offer his support. That was what he did, right? Well, it was what he thought he did, sometimes he wondered if he was just an annoying pain in the ass who kept asking questions. He could tell some of the younger Jedi did not like being prodded and provoked by him, but he did it anyways, because if they were going to become real Jedi they had to lay their emotions out on the table less they be used by the enemy.

"If there is one thing I have come to learn from this Galaxy is that there is no such thing as unbelievable." He smiled lightly, trying to offer some sort of reassurance to lighten the mood a bit, whatever it was must not have been good. The wind picked up a bit and Ben tightened his robes around him. It was not cold but it was not warm either. Plus he was a bit of a pansy when it came to cold weather. "I've got time if you wanna share. If not, maybe we can talk about it another day and spend the rest of the night debating which star is brightest, my money is on that one." Ben pointed up to a star that was shining rather bright. He didn't know where he was going with it, it just flopped out of his mouth, oh well.

 

[Anara Valnor]

"I'm actually 428 years old..."

She genuinely smiled and tossed her hair from her face, glancing up at the star her had indicated. She didn't comment on his claim that the star was the brightest in the sky, instead she took another step away from him and nodded. "Its to long to tell in one night...but I can show you." Taking a deep breath she closed her eyes for a moment, clearing her mind as she allowed the Song of the Force to fill it. Its melody had changed just slightly while she had slept, but it still brought her the same comfort it had when she was much younger. As she gathered raw power into her body, she slowly opened her eyes and for a moment her eyes shone as bright as the star Ben had indicated just a moment before. "Just listen and relax..."

Her eyes slide closed once more and she tilted her head back, spreading her arms wide. A sudden wind rose and slowly clouds rolled in overhead, blocking out the stars and moon from sight. As she acted as a conduit for the raw power of the Force, her petite body trembled and the ground rumbled as she worked her "magic". Suddenly her eyes shot open and she leveled her gaze upon Ben, her eyes dark and distant.

"Now the day has come​

We are forsaken this time"​

There was a roar from all around and the forest trembled as music filled the cool night air. Voices of a haunting chorus echoed down from the distant mountains, a chill following in their wake. As the music rocked the area the first of many illusions appeared and in this first illusion a younger Anara was the star. The illusion changed from one memory to the next as she showed Ben a glimpse of her brothers and her friends, the heartache she felt radiating out from her body with each new image.

​

"We lived our lives in our paradise​

As gods we shaped the world around​

No borderlines we'd stay behind​

Though balance is something fragile"​

Her training and the love she still bore her Master appeared in quick flashes, but to quickly it was overcome by her trials with the Darkness. Those memories were dark and violent as the figure of the Sith Master that had turned her to Darkness looming over them all the while. Then his visage melted away and her new trials were depicted; her first encounter with a Sith by the name of Darth Moridin being the focal point.

"While we thought we were gaining​

We'd turn back the tide, it still slips away​

Our time has run out, our future has died​

There's no more escape"​

As she showed Ben the duel a cold sweat broke out upon her pale skin and her eyes glowed softly, her voice echoing off the massive trees around them. The duel ended with neither party winning and as that memory faded out, her next encounter with Moridin appeared. They were at a splendid Ball and he was in a disguise; he was there with the purpose of toying with her mind. She didn't show Ben the entirety of that night and instead moved to the day she had gotten a beautiful onyx pendant from an unknown admirer.

"Now the day has come, we are forsaken​

There's no time anymore​

Life will pass us by, we are forsaken​

We're the last of our kind"​

As she put the pendant on the Moridin's wraith appeared and quickly she cycled through all of her memories of her time bound to his ghost. That time in her life had been strange and despite her best efforts she had come to love Moridin, though to late did she learn how she would help bring him back to the physical plane. Slowly she brought that memory up and tears began flowing from her eyes as she watched so many lives snuffed out all for the sake of one man. Through her memories she projected her pain and the horror of having the Force ripped from her; she had felt deft and blind.

"The sacrifice was much too high Our greed just made us all go blind​

We tried to hide what we feared inside​

Today is the end of tomorrow
​

As the sea started rising​

The land that we conquered just washed away​

Although we all have tried to turn back the tide​

It was all in vain"​

With all life upon Byss snuffed out and her connection to the Force disrupted she allowed that memory to slip away. Trembling she suddenly collapsed to her knees and she tilted her head back once more, closing her eyes as she struggled to show Ben her last memory of Moridin. She was captured by his men and locked away in a sarcophagus to sleep through the plague that ravaged the Galaxy.

"Now the day has come, we are forsaken​

There's no time anymore​

Life will pass us by, we are forsaken​

Only ruins stay behind
​

Now the day has come​

We are forsaken this time
​

Now the day has come, we are forsaken​

There's no time anymore"
​

Finally she let her illusions slip away and with it the wind began to die down, the sky above cleared and she fell forward. She caught herself and panting softly, finished out her song with soft words.

"Now the day has come​

The day has come​

The day has come"​

Trembling she finally sat up once more, brushing the dirt from her hands as she looked up at Ben. She smiled softly, her eyes sad. "That...is what I meant..." Taking a deep breath she sat back and closed her eyes for a moment, her body continuing to tremble from the sheer amount of power she had just pushed through it. What she had done hadn't exactly been wise, but then she was always pushing herself beyond what she knew she could handle.

 

[Ben Watts]

Ben raised his eyebrows when she mentioned how old she was. The look of shock on his face was apparent but he quickly tried to wipe away the look for fear of her maybe reacting negatively to his surprise. Four-hundred and twenty-eight years old? Sheesh, Ben thought he was old at a whopping thirty, all of the sudden he was met with a wave of questions and emotions. He had often pondered what it would be like to live for that long, would he be able to handle it, what would it be like? So many questions that would probably never be answered for him. He did not want to grow to old, the idea was interesting, sure, but he did not think he would be able to live with all of the pain and suffering that would come with it.

She told him to relax, and he did just that, relaxed. He had heard her sing on more than one occasion and he enjoyed it each time. It seemed as if this was how she expressed herself and he thought it was a very intriguing thing. Ben was a terrible singer, though, so it was not his forte. He liked to listen, though, so when she decided the would tell him he crossed his arms and prepared himself. Except for the fact that he was in no way prepared for what she was about to do. All of the sudden he was seemingly taken away from his reality and it was replaced by her illusion and her song.

As the song progressed his emotions were on a complete overload. He felt everything she was showing him, maybe not as deep as she did, but enough to fill him with sadness like he had not experienced in a long time. Ben was an expert at shutting off his emotions, he had not felt anything besides minor accomplishment since he found out his master had died, he had almost forgotten what it was like. It was overwhelming at first, but somewhere deep inside him, he liked feeling again. It was different, but powerful, and he knew why he was supposed to cut himself off from those emotions. He watched first hand as Anara fell to the darkside and fell in love with a Sith, all of it due to powerful emotions, at least that was his theory.

Memory after memory flooded his vision and it took every bit of his willpower to keep his composure through it all. He had no idea her life had been filled with so much pain, sorrow, and suffering. It was a miracle she was standing before him a Jedi. Almost as soon as it started it stopped, and Ben was left standing motionless above Anara, a look of sorrow played across his face. He thought the feelings of sadness would have went away after the song stopped, but it was still there, and he realized he was almost to the point of tears. Her emotions had gotten to him more than he expected, but he quickly gained his composure, and he bent down so that he was on the same level as her.

"I never knew you went through so much," He said softly, trying to formulate his words and figure out what he wanted to say to her. There was almost nothing he could say, but when did he ever keep his yap shut, he always had to say something. "What he did, those things he put you through, they were not your fault. The darkside is a very powerful thing, you know that, and it can get the best of anyone. You're here now, and I promise ,I won't allow anything like that to happen again, not as long as I am around." He did not really know what else to do, so he did what his body told him to do, and he stuck his arm out and rested it on her back offering a consoling touch. "You are stronger than most, not everyone would have been able to go through all of that."

 

[Anara Valnor]

"I'm a Valnor...It is in my blood to keep fighting on..."

Genuinely smiling she reached up and placed her hand on his arm, closing her eyes for a moment as she let her head fall forward. What she had just done had winded her, but with a little rest she would be good as new. Taking a deep breath she slowly opened her eyes, lifting her head to meet his gaze once more. "He is dead anyway...and I'm no lon ger bound to his ghost so..." Her feelings concerning Moridin were still muddled, but in time she would sort them out. "So I'm free of him..." With a deep breath she let her hand fall away from Ben's arm and she looked up at the stars once more.

"Thank you...I needed to tell someone...I just lacked the courage until now."

 

[Ben Watts]

"It is always nice to get things off your chest."

Ben crouched down and then plopped himself on the ground and he laid onto his back and put his head behind his head and looked up at the stars again. He wondered, briefly, if his robes would get dirty laying down but then he realized he did not really care. "So what is it like being asleep for thousands of years? I imagine it is no fun." Ben did not know if she still wanted to talk about the situation or not, but he figured he would ask, he was interested after all.

 

[Anara Valnor]

Hands behind her she leaned back, looking up at the stars with Ben, before turning her head to look down at him. A crooked smile found its way to her lips and she laughed, shaking her head. "It wasn't thousands of years...Thank the gods. It was a little over four hundred years...Silly." Rolling her eyes at Ben's foolishness she looked back to the stars, slowly allowing herself to fall back to lie beside him on the ground.

With one arm under her head, the other rested across her abdomen as her amber eyes stared absently at the sky above. "It didn't feel so long...It felt longer than an average nights sleep, but...I didn't realize I'd asleep for so long." Her voice took on a distant sound as her mind wandered back to the day that she was found and how frightened she had been. "My body sure knew though...It was a long time before I was back to normal...I suppose I got a bit of a taste of what it feels like to be old." A soft smile touched her lips and she turned her head, looking over at Ben with tired eyes.