"Rain" on Upekzar

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"Well, it at least gives me some insight into our current situation if nothing else," Taeli stated with a shrug. "There is a powerful one Sith at work to maintain such illusions and spells. On the bright side, three tests down, only one or two more to go ... then we have Zannah's holocron and it will be safe from Sith clutches."

The path ahead was clear and with a bit more caution in her step, especially given the new information, she and her sister continued along the path. She had to wonder how a Sith could be acting here and yet the holocron was still present. Perhaps they were using the dark side energies of the planet to watch them? They would need an anchor point for their presence though, something or somewhere powerful in the dark side, to actually reach out and effect the surroundings. Only a few Sith that she knew of could do that, and the list would shrink as they advanced along the path.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded, Sith spirits were one thing, but a live Sith to deal with?

“Do you think they’re waiting for us to take the Holocron and then attack us? Testing us to see if we’re good enough to get it for them? It sounds like a Sith thing to do? Or is this some Zannah groupie do you think?”

Corvus tagged along the path, allowing her senses to stretch out, wary of so many different forms of attack suddenly.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"Depending on who it is, those are definitely valid concerns," Taeli stated. "Until they make another move, we will just have to keep going and deal with whatever else they throw at us. We have to be close though."

As they continued along the path, Taeli started to frown a little. There were whispers, all sorts of different voices drifting around them. They weren't saying anything clear, but she had a feeling the whispers were designed to tempt them into the dark side. Every step made them just a little bit louder ... part of the next test perhaps?

Eventually, they reached a large open circle with an empty pedestal in the middle ... the illusion of Zannah standing behind it.

"I see you survived the demons," Zannah's illusion stated. "Impressive for a pair of Jedi ... many have fallen to that test. What you seek is here, but it will only be revealed once you pass this final test. I sense ... both of you have felt the darkness before. One of you was one of us ... one has only ever been tempted ... how disappointing that you both rejected the darkness."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus listened intently. She was glad her sister was with her — but then, she wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t. “We’ll endure,” she said to her elder sibling. Her voice spoke the truth, not of hope of wishful thinking.

Finally they reached the clearing and listened as the illusion spoke more. “Given it would be easer to fall to the Darkness than to resist it, I would suggest we may be worthier prospects than you’ve ever entertained.”

Corvus’ voice wasn’t confrontational, or even defiant. It was matter fact. It was weak to simply fall to the Dark-side. An easy option. Not that being a Sith meant anyone was less powerful, or worthy. Their youngest sister was still a Sith after all and by all accounts formidable. But by the same token, it was wrong to dismiss the Jedi as weak.

“I wonder what will disappoint her more,” she said openly to Taeli. “Failing...or succeeding?”

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"It takes strength to resist the dark side," Taeli replied, agreeing with her sister. "I only became a Sith in the past because they scooped me up at a moment of weakness. It must grate on your spiritual nerves that Jedi are about to reclaim your holocron."

"On the contrary," the illusion of Zannah said, "it shows just how powerful you two are and what assets you might become if you fell into ... as you say weakness. You both crave knowledge, I can sense that about you both, and what knowledge isn't more tempting than that of the past. My holocron holds many secrets of the Sith arts, just waiting for someone to learn them and further the cause of the Order of the Sith Lords. Darth Bane taught that even if you hate your enemies, one must still respect them and the Jedi are no exception to a true Sith."

As the spirit or illusion spoke, the area around the clearing began to darken with shifting shadows. The dark side energies were almost palpable now, an oily smoke substance that wanted to reach out and grab the two Jedi and ... well one knew what the dark side wanted to do.

"A reflection of what you could be is your final test, I wonder just how you'll react when you face that which you hide away behind the Jedi," Zannah's illusion said. From the quickly darkening shadows, a mirror of both Taeli and Corvus appeared, lightsabers in hand and dark side corrupted. As they appeared, Taeli gave a gasp as she sensed the conjurer's signature. She had only felt that presence a few times among her time as a Sith ... but now it all made sense on who could have been watching them.

"Sis, we attracted the Eye's attention," Taeli said as their mirrors ignited their red saber blades.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus concluded that Zannah spoke a lot of sense. She had learned from the teachings of Bane, if only to use it for good. Ad if she ever fell to the Dark-side, she mused she’d be more of a Rule of Two Sith than one of the current crop of One Sith.

Respect and liking weren't the same thing. Corvus could differentiate and she knew her sister would too.

“The eye?” Corvus repeated. She wasn’t as up on the current pecking order of the One Sith. Perhaps she should be? The trouble was that they were such a secretive bunch. No web-site you could look them up on. A who’s who of the One Sith would certainly come in handy from time to time. Or a ‘bring your nemesis to school’ day perhaps?

She dismissed her thoughts as foolish and focused on the task in hand. She stared at her image. “Do you think they’ll face their counterpart, or switch?” It was an academic question in truth, any second now she would find out. But for now, her saber stayed where it belonged. On her belt. The Force, which she trusted implicitly, hadn’t told her to act yet.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"[member="Darth Isolda"], Eye of the Dark Lord," Taeli said, eyeing her mirror warily. It was like looking into a mirror of the past, seeing herself as she had been. It was slightly unsettling for her to see herself as Arcanix standing there, red saber in hand. "One of most powerful Sith, quite gifted in Farsight and illusions. And it's a mirror test, sis, just like one of the old Jedi trials ... we have to face ourselves."

Turning to face her mirror, knowing who was behind this and sensing ... possible amusement ... she bowed towards her dark self.

"I accept what I was in the past ... and I have no fear of facing it," she said, unclipping her saber from her belt. She didn't ignite the blade yet, but she knew what was coming. She had been the person in front of her after all.

"You have far more to fear than you realize, the dark side isn't done with you yet Taeli Raaf," Arcanix hissed at her before unleashing a torrent of Force Lightning at her. The attacks from these projections would be no less real and Taeli knew that all too well.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

As Taeli spoke, it was evident what would happen. The mirror of herself faced off against Corvus.

Whereas Taeli had the benefit of being a Sith once and knowing what to expect broadly, Corvus had never fallen. But she had lived for years with a slither of a gatekeeper's personality lodged in her mind. And she'd suffered the effects of Taint from both a Sith ring and a Sith sorcerer on Kashyyk. If you added in the episode when she'd escaped hell, she had a good idea what Corvus the Sith would be like.

A Banite for a start. And as a natural Empath, strong in the Dark-side, although there was little here to help her alter-ego.

As the yellow eyed Corvus approached, the violet hued version stood firm.

"Look at me. Look at what you could become," the Sith Corvus taunted. "You could rule instead of serve. Imagine it. Rebuild the Sith in the image of Bane. You would be revered for centuries."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

While Taeli might be a touch fascinated to see how Corvus and her mirror were interacting, she had already been forced to ignite her lightsaber to absorb the Force Lightning directed at her from her mirror. Oh joy oh joy.

"You had it all," her mirror snarled, lightning still pouring from her hands. "Power, wealth, influence ... everything a Sith strives for ... and you threw it all away. No wonder your little sister hates you, she views you as weak for throwing away everything you worked so hard to build."

"Family is far more important than anything the Sith offered to me," Taeli replied. "Because of the dark side, I lost my parents."

"Because of the dark side, you also gained your real family," Arcanix hissed, the lightning cutting off as it had little effect. Taeli had to admit that it was a valid point, if she hadn't lost control ... she never would have found out about her sisters. Kark, she had been good with the whole logic of falling into the dark side. "The act of destruction revealed a greater truth, a greater knowledge of who you were. Isn't that what we strive for? To gain more knowledge?"

"While all of that is true, it also was the start of my turning to the light," Taeli countered. "I was accepted for what I was by Corvus, no matter that I was a Sith. That is a true bond of familial love."

"Then what sort of bond did you ultimately have with the Raes?" Arcanix said. That was one comment that stumped Taeli and her eyes narrowed. She hated being stumped and it was a bloody dark mirror of herself doing it too.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus could hear Taeli talking to herself — or rather to her alter-ego. But she couldn’t afford to be distracted.

She had a slight inkling as to how her rival would act, given she’d glimpsed what it would be like to be a Sith a couple of times before at least. And, truth be told, it wasn’t as if she hadn’t heard the internal debate many times herself. Especially when she’d met Silara alive for the last time.

“Look who I am,” she responded. “Look at what I have become. How can you even consider tempting me? I did not crave responsibility or any aspect of greatness. I just wanted to be a good Jedi. To train Padawans. I did not ask to be placed on the Council. Or for my peers to choose me as Grand Master. But these things came to pass.”

“And I met a Force Ghost. She shared the one thing that shaped me beyond anything else. Be a candle she said. And I have, I believe. And her words reminded me of a mantra my first Master used to share.”

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

“In all the time there has been conflict between Sith and Jedi, the Light has endured. So why would I choose to become something that could never hope to defeat me? For I accept a balance in the Force, whereas I know you will not be satisfied until there are no more Jedi. That is possibly one of your most telling weaknesses. It blinds you. The hatred consumes you. Let it go. Turn to the Light-side.”

The Sith Corvus merely laughed. “Words. You Jedi believe that words alone will endure. Well what about the words of Melori? The ones that told you how she hates you. And blames you for our parent’s death. How does a Jedi deal with that? To be hated by someone you love so dearly? And where were you when our parents and siblings died? You failed them. I would not have.”

“Reflect on that. You know it to be true. Had you been a Sith, our parents would still be alive.”

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Unable to answer what exactly the Raes were to her now, so much had changed, but she desperately wanted to call them family as well. They had rejected her because of the dark side though, their fear of what she had become, what they thought she had become. She didn't blame them for that anymore, they had been right.

"They were right in the end, but I'm trying to make amends for what I did," Taeli said.

"Right? Right?" Arcanix laughed, walking forward now, her red lightsaber in a Makashi salute. "There was nothing right about it. They raised you as their own, greed propelled them to hide the truth from you, and the darkness revealed their lies to you. Allow the darkness to set you free again, to burn away the remaining lies in your life."

With that said, Arcanix rushed forward and Taeli met her blade, red glowing against purple.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus stared the other version of herself in the eyes. Violet locked with yellow and crimson.

Spoiler

“Conjecture. And since when did the wellbeing of our parents suddenly carry so much weight for a Sith? You might attempt to tease negative emotions from me. To force me to start the slippery slope that would lead to a fall. But your argument is weak. Because there is none.”

“If anything, you have given me hope.”

The Sith Corvus scowled. “What do you mean?”

“Ah…” Corvus replied, her voice slow and soothing. “I have touched a nerve, haven’t I? It would bother you if you strengthened my resolve as opposed to weaken it.” She smiled. “You see Melori, I hadn’t considered it before. She hates me because of our parents. Because of her love for our parents. And where there’s love…there’s hope. There must be good in her. It’s just a case of showing it to her and the Force will do the rest. Taeli is a prime example of that, yes?”

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

Once that first cross of blades happened, it accelerated quickly. Feints, parries, probing attacks to pierce the other's defenses ... they were true mirrors as their styles were exactly the same. Observe the opponent, gain information and wear them down until an opening appeared and then strike. Luckily, it meant she wasn't dealing with a continuous stream of dun moch as she had never been one for that in battle ... unless it ultimately served a purpose, such as turning a Padawan or infuriating an enemy into a mistake. Her mirror would know that though.

Deflecting another strike, she unleashed a burst of Electric Judgment into Arcanix's chest and sent her skidding back. Yellow eyes blazed in pain, the second blade igniting on her red saber and she came with a hiss.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Whereas Taeli’s fight was physical and quite noisy, Corvus’ seemed to be more a battle of words and wills right now.

The Sith version had her blade activated, every now and then moving to hold the lightsaber above her head, angled back and down at an approximately forty-five degree angle. Classic Djem So.

But she chose not to attack. And Corvus had the Force to tell her when to act — and presently it told her she did not need to. Her Teräs Käsi training plus her strength in Center of Being would warn her.

“Silent?” Corvus asked finally, the lack of banter stretching out now. “Less sure of yourself now? You need me to react don’t you? You need me to want to fight you. To draw my saber and attack. I sense your actions were supposed to provoke me. To access my emotions and make it easier to draw me into the Dark-side. I wonder if this is less of a test and more of a trap? Can I defeat myself? For to strike you down would surely lead me down a Dark path. One I’ll not tread. Stand aside. Dissipate. Do whatever you need to do, but I’ll not willingly fight you. How can I? You are me. And knowing me, I know I am redeemable. So that is my approach. Look into your heart. You know it to be true.”

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

As her mirror brought her double bladed lightsaber to bear on her, Taeli kept moving. Staying out of reach of the wild beast that was her mirror, she noticed that the mirror had shifted away from her old style into something she hadn't known. Figures the mirrors would only stay mirrors for so long, but she wasn't too worried yet.

Her sister seemed to have stumped the Sith Corvus, so progress in that regard. She just needed to beat hers in some way. Dodging another saber strike flourish, she blasted her mirror back with a Force Push to give her some breathing room ... then a torrent of Electric Judgment left her hand to force Arcanix on the defensive. Arcanix was skidding back along her heels at the strength of Taeli's lightning ... and then Taeli cut the flow off.

"You're not even a mirror of me any longer," Taeli said. "Wild and uncontrolled, that isn't me and wasn't me then."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

There were many ways to win...or lose. Corvus was a Jedi. Had her illusion made her connect to her emotions to fight. Or draw her saber, or become flustered, or angry - then she would have lost as readily as if the Sith version had put a saber through her heart.

The fact that the Sith facsimile had actually strengthened Corvus' resolve - had indeed made her feel more positive about her younger sister? This bouyed Corvus and her link to the Light-side. So conversely, it was as if she'd swamped the Dark-sided Corvus in Force Light.

As Corvus stood there, calmly observing her counterpart, the vision began to dissipate. Slowly but surely it faded. And Corvus remained tight-lipped.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"The darkness isn't done with you yet, Taeli Raaf," her mirror hissed, even as she started to fade away. The admission by Taeli that they were no longer mirroring each other had broken its power, that she wasn't even like that as a Sith had weakened it. "One day, you'll see all too well that your true place is among the Sith."

With that, the shadow of herself faded completely and the darkness around them lessened. On the central pillar, almost like water flowing down, a small pyramid with red symbols on it appeared. Zannah's holocron had been there, just waiting for them to finish off this challenge.

"We did it, sis," Taeli said, a huge smile breaking across her face. "Zannah's holocron, six years of searching for this bloody thing and finally found it."

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus observed the image of her sister dissipate and put the closing remarks down to a jibe – as opposed to a prophecy.

She was so focussed on her sister at this point that she didn’t even notice the Holocron until it was pointed out to her. Six years was a long time. She was pleased her sibling had finally found it, although her reasons were no doubt different to the ones she had when she started.

”Congratulations. Something of a life’s work then?” She didn’t approach the holocron but instead kept her guard up. With the Sith there was often a sting in the tail.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

"I don't know about a life's work, but a great deal of time and effort has gone into finding this," Taeli said, walking cautiously over to the holocron resting on it's plinth. Bending down, she pulled her glasses out of her pocket and examined the pillar more closely. Just faintly, she could make out a few runes etched into the side. They were so faint, no one would look for them ... especially if a Sith, newly rewarded and flush with victory. They would have been in for quite the nasty surprise if they touched the holocron as it was.

"One last line of defense," Taeli said, standing back up with a satisfied smirk on her face. "If we had grabbed it now, the result would have been rather unpleasant. Runes on the pillar would activate and trap you in an endless nightmare, every second worse than the last. You'd go mad in seconds, but it would feel like an eternity had gone by. Zannah was quite fond of fear spells."

Thinking for a second, she went to observe the pillar again, looking for the rune that powered the spell chain on it.

"Where are you, oh where are you?" she mumbled, using only brushes with the Force to clear away any dust. "Ah ha!"

A careful application of Force energy, one rune imploding later, and the spell chain unraveled with a violet hue like a force field dropping. Reaching out with a tentative hand, she grabbed the holocron and nothing happened.

"One piece of history reclaimed, and quite the important one at that," she said, placing the holocron carefully into her satchel.

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Whereas the retrieval of Obi-Wan's Holocron was a joyous occasion because it was the start of a journey, Corvus felt a slight anti-climax as this was possibly the end of one.

She was sure her sister was going to examine the Holocron and ascertain what it contained, it's usefulness for the purpose for which it was created was now gone. Or at least that was the theory. Real-life - and the Sith in particular - had a way of meddling with the best laid plans.

"So, how do you feel? I suspect that initially it was a search for greater knowledge and power. Now? I'm just curious is all."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]