It was in the dwindling afternoon light that Dissero sat between his forges, soaking in the heat of them, meditating on the ideas and hypothesis of The Whole and Oneness. Force Bonds existed between countless beings across unfathomable distances. The web of the bonded lay across the galaxy like a blanket slowly knitting and unraveling in unison. Where one bond formed, another ten broke. Where one broke, another hundred formed. Ceaseless in its nature, he had to wonder why he thought he could craft an artifact that would be able to find one single thread among the countless many.
Even if he could, in theory, create such a thing how could he possibly know the power of the bond?
He recalled a story his niece and now Matriarch told him when he was quite young. Quietus' Force Bond with Lord Cazador had been near instantaneous upon their first meeting. Though the two of them would not come to work closely together for some time after, she'd known the power of their bond in the moment they had.
The closer we are the stronger we become together. Never have I felt such ease tapping into the powers of the Force then when I am with him.
Over time that closeness deepened from mere physical proximity to emotional attachment. At the height of their power they ruled uncontested, and even though Quietus would never openly admit to it, Dissero believed she loved Cazador. The devastation brought upon her when he'd contracted the Gulag virus had very nearly left her undone.
They never knew why the bond had formed so unwittingly. Many would have ventured fate, much like Ashin had described people who continually ran into one another across the galaxy without ever really meaning to. Those that were part of a Whole, unknowingly, drawn together in search of Oneness, be it through mutual destruction or evolution. An instance of Celestial nature, as pure as it was random.
His gut told him the needle would not serve in this cosmic power if made from metal. Not phrik, not songsteel, not cortosis, not beskar, not electrum. Such things were far too unyielding. Too unnatural. He would need to dig deep in his skillset and knowledge base. He would need to test some theories he'd once held to be baseless. He would need to look at the limits of alchemy, and then he would need to break them.
Two days passed where, aside from meals, they barely saw one another. Ashin had uncovered the identities to all twelve stones - she would also need to complete their attunement. Then and only then would she be able to take those twelve aspects of being and imprint them into the crystal in the vein of her bond with Spencer.
The weather was fair, the day was still young. A gentle breeze lingered in through the open bay doors of the house, bringing with it birdsong, the sounds of the lake waters, and the aroma of the forges running hot. Amidst the passing of clouds over the sun, a tumultuous and sudden surge of Force energy swelled from the wooded area.
Then an explosion rocked the trees and billowed a massive, dark cloud of smoke upwards into the blue. The ground trembled, the windows of the house felt the pelting of debris, and a quiet settled over the grounds.
