Private The Far Lands

[Sawa Ike]

Then:

The Fortress of the Dawn was always more of a foreboding place,, the Onna walking around and on patrol.. the years of change that had come to Atrisia with this Jishi Era was... welcoming to say the least. It might be led by the light but it saw the Commonwealth vastly improving, expanding its trade and even the lowest farmer compared to many other places in the galaxy. Hell she would even say that the poorest Atrisian was on par with most Coruscanti elites and upper levels. Just the trade value of what was produced and as the worlds and moons were being terraformed and transformed into production centers of technologies, farmstuffs and livestock that was traded across the Commonwealth and galaxy... the value only increased and she had benefitted from it just as much.

The energy vampire sat in her throne room of the fortress and looked from the large seat down the dias at the ones assembled. her guards gleaming in their silver armor and her silvery eyes reflected the light. Torches for show but there was normal new lighting as well. She listened to the ones who had come from Ashthorne bringing news. "We have been working on the different fields you offered. Founding a new village will be tricky Lady Sawa but not impossible." He was speaking when someone charged into the room. Dressed in black clothing and a cloak it was one of her spies she used in the other cities and had worked to have an information network among the other colonies aand spreading them throughout the galaxy. "You have news?" She said it and looked at Rava Namimi.

"Your granddaughter Elise has had a child."

Now:

The fortress in the current Jishi era had continued to thrive... more so as Sawa sat there and lounged in the chamber. Ivory marble statues pouring water into the bath chamber as the steam rose. THe design showing different forms and the sounds of her food splashing in the water lightly. Crystal clear save for the small trickles of blood from the wrist of the one woman while Sawa stayed there. THe chalice coming to her lips when it was done. Akano Namimi was standing there next to Rava and the two were looking forward as the Atrisian vampire spoke. "Find the boy Jacen Nimdok , invite him here. Make no effort to hide it form his mother Elise Ike as we are not trying to circumvent her... I just want to meet him." A smile was on her face and she rose up with the chalice not leaving her lips as she drank and was feeding from the force energies around her.

"Beep" The sound of K2 as the little murder droid was there and being cleaned seemed excited.. he was in some ways lazy in his older age and the thought he should have gotten regular memory wipes to avoid these sort of quirks was there but then he wouldn't be as... valuable in terms of killing vast amounts of people when he was sent to handle problems... or enforce her will. The sound of The Shamed One came as she was getting some bacta applied to her wrist and the wound with a batch to staunch the bleeding. She was used to it and used the same line easily enough. Sawa was walking and would wait to see how the boy reacted, it had been years sure but Elise and her were not waging war against each other which was good enough... family didn't have to be lovey dovey with each other all of the time.

"Come to me child."

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Then:

Professor Errik Nimdok rushed into the room. Immediately his eyes fell upon Elise, lying in bed. She was sound asleep, no doubt exhausted. Errik approached her side, lightly brushing his knuckles along her temple, pushing back a lock of black hair damp with sweat. His heart ached as he looked at her, so full of love and gratitude.

"Is she all right?" he asked in whisper, turning to face the midwife. Even now he felt a crushing guilt. He should've been there for the birth of his son, but the situation on Coruscant had kept him occupied. Within the past twenty-four hours, he had witnessed so much pain, suffering, death and destruction, losing someone close to him would have broken him completely.

"She is doing well," the woman replied reassuringly. "But the child is very weak. We aren't sure if he'll survive the night."

He followed the direction she indicated, spotting an incubator. Slowly he walked toward it, peering over the edge. Inside was a tiny newborn, clearly underweight and premature. The child was lying so still, Errik wouldn't even have known he was alive had he not been able to detect his life in the Force. Even that was faint.

"May I hold him?" he asked. The midwife nodded, and he started to reach forward—only to hesitate. His arm had been cut off by Darth Solipsis' lightsaber during a duel in the Senate Chambers. While the limb had already begun to grow back, it was still only a stump. He reached into the incubator with his surviving hand and gently scooped up the baby.

"Jacen," he whispered. "I'm here now, son." Sinking into a nearby chair, he unbuttoned his shirt and held his son against his bare chest so that he could feel his heartbeat. Jacen's tiny fingers curled and uncurled against his warm skin, but that was the only movement he seemed able to perform.

He needs blood, the professor realized. Using the Force, he influenced the midwife, causing her to become distracted. Once her back was turned, Errik bit the tip of his finger until it bled, then rubbed the cut against the newborn's lips. Finally, Jacen's mouth opened and he latched onto the wound. At first he could only suck weakly, but soon he grew stronger and more forceful. Errik withstood the feeding for as long as he could, finally pulling his hand away with a wince.

Jacen mewled softly, again flexing his fingers against his father's chest. Black blood smeared his lips and chin. Closing his wound, Errik wiped away the blood, then exhaled in relief. He was just hungry, that was all, he thought with some amusement. He laid his pinkie in Jacen's palm just before the tiny hand closed again. "You have a strong grip," the professor murmured, smiling for the first time in what felt like ages. "You will live."

Now:

"Come to me child."

As the gates of the Fortress opened for him, Jacen looked around, taking in the sights. The Fortress was huge, ancient, and imposing, even surrounded by a majestic mountain landscape. The guards stood over him like massive steel statues, armed with weapons that looked like they could easily disembowel or skewer an enemy with a single blow.

Intimidating as it all was, Jacen had little reason to fear. When the two women came to summon him here, he hadn't been afraid then either. Surprised and a bit confused, sure, but he wasn't scared. Why should he be? His great-grandma just wanted to meet him.

Oh, he knew what Sawa was. His mother had told him stories about how she had waged war against her grandmother and been cast down thousands of years ago. One only needed to pick up an Atrisian history tome to learn about Sawa's other exploits. She was quite famous in her day, and hardly unknown in the current era.

Perhaps deep down, Jacen longed for a mentor. His mother had raised him well, and she had always made him feel comfortable, but she was still his mother. There were things you simply didn't ask your mother, secret thoughts you kept hidden for fear that it would break her heart. He needed someone far from home who could guide and advise him. Maybe Sawa could fulfill that role, showing him how to be a proper vampire, if nothing else.

Jacen passed through the gates, pausing to listen as the heavy doors swung shut behind him. The corners of his mouth curled in a smile before he called out, "Grandma Sawa! Where are you?" His voice echoed through the cavernous halls of the Fortress.

Sawa Ike

 

[Sawa Ike]

Jacen Nimdok

"He is here." the pair said it looking at Sawa rose up. The chamber filled with her bed and around it the steaming waters. Not another bath area mostly it was more a sauna that people didn't like coming in and the mist could obscure her form in the center of the room. A small dome shield covering her so she wasn't in it but able to see perfectly. "Good." She moved through the doorway and the halls silently to one of the windows looking at the entrance of the fortress at the boy and raised an eyebrow when she heard him shout. A small wince not from pain but.... something her eyebrow going up as she moved quickly down the stairs and towards the doors as they opened to admit him into the inner chambers.

"Welcome home my sweet boy." THe smile on her lips curled upward and incisors flicked into place but there was nothing about the display meant to be scary as she approached. "Lets have a look at you then." Her smile remained and she stalked around allowing force energies to lap and crash but not probing or pulling... more just getting familiar... her eyes remaining for a moment as she settled and maintained eye contact before settling. "Wonderful." SHe said it and clapped her hands while servants came, exposed necks and wrists with slips for their thighs but they were covered in silks and jewels. She motioned with her hand. "Come then."

SHe walked and led the way deeper in. "If you are hungry there are what you could want. THe finest from across the galaxy just do not harm them. Fear adds a little spice but death destroys the vintage." She said it with a smile on her lips while more servants were following and leading in the way to a great hall. GUards at the doors but largely it was Rava, Namini and a few others who served under her. "Everyone." She spoke and her voice rebounded around silencing all conversation. "This is the child of Elise and the professor she brought here. Make him feel welcome." A smile was on her face and the mountain Chujo nodded welcoming to boy. "Welcome young master."

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"Welcome home my sweet boy."

Jacen smiled as Sawa entered the inner chambers. "So you're my great-grandmother. Pleased to finally meet you."

While she circled around him, Jacen took the opportunity to observe her as well. Sawa appeared quite young and beautiful for someone so ancient. He saw a resemblance between her and his mother, at least in terms of their physical features. And of course, she had the telltale vampiric fangs. Jacen's teeth were straight, white, and blunted. He had figured out how to use his shapeshifting abilities to completely hide all trace of his fangs a long time ago.

Jacen was faintly aware that she was gazing upon him not only with her eyes, but with the Force. His abilities were underdeveloped; he'd had no formal training in the ways of the Sith, Jedi, or any in-between, but there was an immense well of untapped power within him. Sawa pronounced him wonderful, and with a clap of her hands she summoned forth her servants.

"If you are hungry there are what you could want. The finest from across the galaxy just do not harm them. Fear adds a little spice but death destroys the vintage."

"Oh, um, that's... very generous of you," Jacen said awkwardly. Turning to look at the well-dressed servants, his face flushed. He wasn't used to people simply offering themselves to him like this. But he was hungry, and he didn't want to risk offending his great-grandmother by rejecting her hospitality. Rubbing the back of his neck, his dark eyes scanned over the rows of servants. According to her, he could choose any of them he wanted. Well, which did he want?

They were young and old, male and female. Most were human or near-human, but there were a few other species among them as well. He found himself drawn to an Atrisian woman, her girlish body wrapped in lilac silks and black hair intricately styled. She was pretty, but he picked her mainly because she looked strong and healthy and harbored no signs that she had been recently fed upon by anyone else. Approaching her slowly, he held out a gloved hand. "If I may?"

She placed her lily white hand in his, and he drew it up to his lips, planting a kiss against her knuckle. Then he turned it over, exposing her fair wrist. He waited a moment or two, rubbing his fingers over her bluish veins, watching her face for any signs of fear or hesitation, but there was nothing. She seemed completely fine with her station, or at least resigned to being his food. Still a little bit reluctant, he gently raised her wrist to his mouth and bit down.

He didn't drink much, just enough to curb his hunger. Releasing her arm, he licked her blood from his lips, then turned to his grandmother with a nod of gratitude. "Tastes good."

The woman slipped away to have her wounds treated. Sawa gestured for Jacen to follow her. She led him into a great hall, where guards stood at the doors. The servants in this area seemed to be of higher status than the ones regulated to being a food source, based on the way they were dressed and how they carried themselves.

"Everyone. This is the child of Elise and the professor she brought here. Make him feel welcome."

Instantly every conversation ceased and all eyes fell upon Jacen. Wiping a bit of leftover blood from the corner of his mouth with his hand, he smiled and said, "Hi."

Sawa Ike​

 

[Sawa Ike]

Jacen Nimdok

SHe only had a grin while he seemed to be looking around the hall. Walking around the tables and there were plenty there. She looked at them and squinted a moment as they got up and went to greet him, to meet him but most were just from her Onna in the higher ranks, a few from the village who served with their farmers. Rava and Namini were there and introduced themselves officially. Sawa finding a place to sit while there were a few others bringing other food for them. Kyushi dancers moving around the hall to entice as their darker Atrisian features gleamed. Pulling at the force energies as Sawa stroked the hair of one.

"The Kyushi, exotic, dangerous from their shadow towers they can lure in victims and feed upon them. The garhoon are more vicious but their bite is addicting, anzati are always hungry and us energy vampires... we serve a different purpose." She said it with a smile on her face while she sat back. "So many like us in different ways but all find their way here and to my club." The grin remained on her face. "Just something in case you are in need of a bite or haven. Your mother knows of it but her accepting it is different. Aoi may come around when she learns that you are here, likely she would want to meet you."

She said the last and it was more a possibility.. Aoi rarely left her fortress but Chujo was there and the massive Onna was built like a gamorreon in some ways but it was clear it was much, much more muscle then fat and his size was like a wookiee compared to the pig men so he was just a brick wall that towered over everyone and was the most loyal. He welcomed the boy the most. "HOw is the little bird? Your mother was always great to have around." His smile was big and genuine while going to a larger chair with food piled for all of them and Saawa bowed her head to it as she whispered. 'Relax, enjoy yourself."

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

It seemed that Sawa intended to give him a proper welcome. The atmosphere of the great hall grew more festive as food was laid out on the tables and dancers arrived to entertain them. Jacen watched as his great-grandmother stroked the hair of one of the dancers, explaining that they were Kyushi, another species of vampire native to Atrisia.

She spoke about the Garhoon and the Anzati, two other parasitic species. Jacen remained transfixed. He had read all that he could about these species, but he had never encountered any of them in person before. His upbringing at his mother's estate on Saleucami had been somewhat sheltered in that regard. But oh, how he longed to know more. To actually meet other vampires seemed like a dream, yet here was a safe haven for them.

He finally snapped out of his reverie at the mention of Aoi. "Of course," he murmured. He could not recall ever having met his grandmother; Sawa confirmed that the woman was very reclusive, even by the standards of the Ike family. It seemed like every vampire in their clan had isolated themselves from the galaxy. Perhaps that was done out of necessity, given their unique dietary requirements.

It was at that point that a very large guard took an interest in him. The man's name was Chujo, Jacen soon learned, and he seemed the most welcoming of all the various courtiers and servants.

"How is the little bird? Your mother was always great to have around."

"She is well," Jacen replied, his smile betraying how fond he was of his mother. "She enjoys her solitude and prefers a simple life." Apart from perhaps a housekeeper, Dixon Manor had no servants. Certainly it was not as grand as the Fortress of the Dawn.

Jacen was commanded to relax and enjoy himself. His smile widened as he took a seat at the table. Immediately a servant appeared to fill his glass. "Oh, I'm too young to drink..." he said, laying a hand on her arm to stop her from pouring. "... wine."

The servant's eyes widened as he held her gaze, as though she were entranced. Emboldened by the warm welcome he had received and the permissibility he had been afforded thus far, Jacen pulled her to him and (provided there were no protests from Sawa or anyone else present) fed from her neck.

He released her seconds later, more satiated than he had been by the woman he had so carefully drunk from earlier. While the girl hurried away to receive treatment, Jacen wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. His brow furrowed. Now, why did I do that? he wondered, feeling strange and rather guilty afterward. He met Sawa's eyes from across the table, and a question which had haunted him from the moment he was old enough to understand left his lips.

"Grandmother, is it possible to... control the vampiric hunger?"

Sawa Ike

 

[Sawa Ike]

Jacen Nimdok

THe boy was certainly bold more so she watched as he said perhaps one of the universal lines any of them said... had to not just be genetic but something every young vampire said at one point. Her servants welcoming and offering for the bite was fine... no one batted an eyelash at the sight and when he was done she motioned for her to leave as he asked a question. "It is quite possible. Depending on what level of control you want. It is all about managing your hungers. We drink from the force as much as from the blood and only doing one or the other will eventually starve you. Food can be quite a requirement as well... it might not taste the best but for appearances and some taste it is important."

She said it and remained there while she was eating for herself and the food was there in a small pile of meats, fish and even poultry on a bed of rice all sliced up with eggs and veggies. "We feast, our bodies can burn the calories to help with our hungers, feeding from the lusts of others is also possible though harder to teach it by display or coaching you. My servants are trained to make sure they are the best quality and rotated to prevent dangers to their lives. If you were prone to travel and had a companion it is easier and of course there is always animals though relying on them can be dangerous after a time as their blood can be contaminated and traces of the force to small to do much."

She still looked at him though and sat there eating. "Is it bad then? Gnawing at your gut? Making you see everyone as food?" A smile played on her lips. "Hmmm lets see." She ran a finger along the table and looked towards one of the servants as she had moved to the wall and motioned with her fingers. "Bring me my.." She stopped as the doors to the side opened and the little black droid came in. K2 rolling and several moving away from him as his chassis was gleaming from blood and viscera. "K2 how many times have I told you to cleanse yourself before coming here?" The droid beeped but stayed there at her side and she snapped as two of the servants started to clean. "K2 is our families companion."

She smiled as the droid beeped again. "And him yes, he is family. You protect family." It seemed to think about it and ejected a plasma thrower and tipped it up while looking at Jacen activating it in a thumbs up look for a brief moment but also opening its other compartments to reveal weapons... lots of weapons that were being cleaned and wiped down in case of any chunky bits like on the blades.

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

No one reacted to his drinking from the servant. That was to be expected, he supposed. Jacen found Sawa looking at him with a level of understanding he wasn't used to seeing in others. Even his mother could sometimes be cold and hard to read.

It wasn't just blood that he needed, it was energy. A person's life force. She explained that there were methods of bypassing their need to feed, but attempting to eliminate it entirely would lead only to starvation and death. "I can stomach food," he revealed, reaching for a piece of fruit as he spoke. "I even enjoy the taste. The Shi'ido half of me does, anyway. But it never feels satisfying." He had experimented in the past with trying to subsist on various other foods, forgoing vampirism entirely. It had made him sick, and his mother scolded him for not accepting what he was. He had begun to accept his nature, but... sometimes it seemed like such a hassle.

A companion? Someone he could feed from? No, that would be too weird. He couldn't imagine looking into the same person's eyes day after day, getting to know them and seeing them as a living, sentient being, and still draining them of their life force on the regular. Perhaps she meant he could have a companion who would help him find people to feed from. But where would he find the kind of person willing to do that? And would he want to have such a person around, entrusting them with his very health and vitality?

"Is it bad then? Gnawing at your gut? Making you see everyone as food?"

Jacen smiled faintly. "Sometimes. It's gotten worse lately." He was a growing boy, and his appetite had increased. He had always relied upon his mother to help him find food. She had the connections, the skills, the tried-and-true methods. Once he began to travel on his own, he found his meals were harder to come by. It was difficult to control the quality of his food, too. He was still a young man and didn't want to settle down in some castle, though it would've made things easier.

Sawa seemed about to have something brought in, but then they were interrupted by the arrival of a droid. Jacen stared in simultaneous revulsion and fascination at K2, who was covered in blood and gore. "Hello Kaytoo, my name is Jacen," he greeted the droid, unable to resist smirking at the plasma thrower thumbs up. "Should I ask whose blood that is?"

Sawa Ike

 

[Sawa Ike]

Jacen Nimdok

She listened and gave a nod. "It gets better with time, when you are young your body is adjusting. In a thousand years or so you'll have a lot more control and when you reach my age you can go for days without even longer. Control comes like with anything with time and we have a great deal compared to many other species." The smirk on her face though was for K2 as the droid looked at Jacen and chirped several times. "He says which one... and the others. When Ayuri happened, the followers of a warlord who enslaved the people were expelled from Atrisia... most of them the ones who were in my region well... K2 gets to make sure they understand the error of their ways."

She sat there and smiled though as the droid was cleaned off and clapped a little. "Now lets see what we have on todays agenda." Important matters never ended or stopped... one needed to handle them after all. "Hmmm there isn't much to do, I will have to visit Ashthorne for a bit to see some of the children but we have the majority of today free." She shifted and let her silvery eyes fall upon him with a smirk appearing on her face. "I can see how strong in the force you are, it runs well in our family... More then some know but it is important to know how strong you really are."

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"It gets better with time, when you are young your body is adjusting. In a thousand years or so you'll have a lot more control and when you reach my age you can go for days without even longer. Control comes like with anything with time and we have a great deal compared to many other species."

In a thousand years or so. Jacen stifled the urge to sigh. Well, at least he had something to look forward to... in the next millennium.

"I understand Binary," he revealed when Sawa began translating for K2. In fact, he could speak it as well, but that wasn't really a relevant detail. "What is Ayuri?" he asked, out of curiosity.

The droid was swiftly cleaned off, and Sawa claimed there wasn't much on the schedule today. She mentioned visiting some children in Ashthorne. Jacen knew Ashthorne was nearby, but not much else about the area. If she wanted him to go with her, he had no objections.

"I can see how strong in the Force you are, it runs well in our family... More than some know but it is important to know how strong you really are."

Jacen's eyebrows rose. "I haven't been trained to use it," he said. "It's hard finding a good teacher. The Jedi wouldn't approve of my eating habits, and the Sith..." He just shook his head, as if nothing more needed to be said about them. "There are other Force traditions, I know. But their numbers are fewer."

Sawa Ike

 

[Sawa Ike]

Jacen Nimdok

"It was an operation carried out that saw anyone who collaborated with Mythos and his sith banished from the planet. Atrisians were overtaken, bent to his will and made to above all treat him as the welcomed hero rather then a conqueror." SHe said it with some disgust.. she might be evil sure... she was sith in many ways and had been in the orders from time to time... but she had come back to rule an area of her homeworld... her planet. Not someone elses that she wasn't part of, that she then insulted the people by killing and forcing everyone to thank you for it... it was sickening and those who had joined him in doing it well... K2 handled them.

"IT was a darker time but many were purged and allowed to live by the royal family... I am less merciful and as far as they know the people in question were sent offworld... I just never said for how long. NOw they are fertilizing the ground they sought to sell off." She shrugged to herself though and she was looking at him and offered the smile as he explained. "As your cousins will tell you the jedi can be accepting in the right circumstances... the sith would see it as helpful in the right situations but." She trailed off and moved, her body there in the seat and then she was standing next to him and looking with a thin smirk on her face.

"But other groups in the galaxy don't always know where to take talents. I learned from shapers the elements in my near six thousand years of life... and I have learned among the sith. I can say that the sith are helpful depending on the order that is in power at the time. The ideology being used between rule of two, one or their all encompassing." She shrugged though but brought a hand up. "Do you want to be taught my sweet boy.. to learn what you can do?"

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"I see." Jacen had heard of Mythos, and the events she described sounded familiar. He turned toward K2 and whistled approvingly in Binary.

"As your cousins will tell you the Jedi can be accepting in the right circumstances... The Sith would see it as helpful in the right situations but..."

Jacen remained sitting, but he tracked Sawa with his eyes as she stood up and moved beside him.

"But other groups in the galaxy don't always know where to take talents. I learned from shapers the elements in my near six thousand years of life... and I have learned among the Sith. I can say that the Sith are helpful depending on the Order that is in power at the time. The ideology being used between Rule of Two, One or their all encompassing."

"The Sith Order we have currently is just another evil empire," he said. "It even has the same leaders of previous incarnations of the Sith. I may have to feed on people to live, but I have no interested in conquest or destruction on a societal scale."

"Do you want to be taught my sweet boy... to learn what you can do?"

Jacen inclined his head. "Are you offering to teach me?" he asked.

Sawa Ike

 

[Sawa Ike]

Jacen Nimdok

His assessment of the sith was both accurate and inaccurate... evil was a few different things but it was trivial in terms of views and opinions on it weren't something to fight about. She smiled. "I am, if you have no one else... the force is strong in our family and it should be nurtured as should spoke with a smile on her face. "Never trust a sith. THey have a hundred motives for anything they do … ninety-nine of them, at least, are malevolent." She motioned and rose up to walk when she was checking over some of the tables. The servants were working on cleaning up while she checked over a few things but was going towards the back area and the statues when she brushed a hand against it.

"Ah here we go." She said it as the statues moved back and to the side into a small alcove and was opening into a hallway lined with murals of herself throughout the years. Different ones painted in Atrisian styles and could be seen as the styles changed throughout the years. She was leading the ways deeper and deeper into the fortress as there was a chamber filled with her various equipment. Swords, her Yasha Armor, dressed with sections of armor designed that would protect. She touched the blade. "Shōjō the Dark Blade of Atrisia" She had a grin on her face and it was ancient like many of the others when she trailed over to.

"Sarayashiki." She motioned up and pointed as she touched it and took it up. SLiding the strap over her shoulder letting Jacen see the Huggy Time Bears that were guarding the room. Large... looking like a children's toy but with a maw lined with teeth. The smile was on her face though walking past them while she tapped a box. "An Alchemical Shifter should you need it. It will make rocks and scrap into aurodium for spare credits or other things. We have been working on a few other things to help but the area is meant to be rich like the rest of Atrisia." THey were even more compared to the rest of the galaxy... a massive benefit.

She continued and stopped in another chamber, circular with a statue on the far end. "THis is Xavier your great grandfather for what he did. Powerful and ancient in many cases but he was shortsighted in more ways... he wanted his little world to spread out and rule but he didn't have the ambition to ensure there would be those strong. He believed in purity." She said it and looked at him... the statue was clear but neglected as she had it cleaned rarely but the circles on the floor served well as torch sconces on the walls lit up showing holocrons and scrolls. "SOme of the knowledge I have collected."

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Jacen considered the offer for a few moments, but it didn't take him long to come to a decision. "I would like to learn," he replied. "From someone who understands."

Sawa did understand him far more than most people could. In many ways she was an ideal teacher for him. At her beckoning, Jacen stood up from his seat and followed her down a secret passage leading deeper into the fortress.

After traversing through a dank, dark stone corridor, they arrived in an armory. Murals covered the walls, all of them depicting the same woman throughout different eras. Jacen recognized her features. It was Sawa's life story told in pictures.

His gaze roved over the armor, weapons, and other equipment. Sawa put names to some of the objects on display, then pointed to an alchemical shifter. "A magical money-minting machine?" Jacen asked, smirking at the thought. Well, Sawa had to be getting the money for all this from somewhere. The smirk was wiped off his face when he caught sight of the giant... bears. They stood guard over the room, their toylike appearance at odds with their gaping maws full of sharp teeth.

At last, they came upon a statue of a man. Jacen's eyes widened when Sawa revealed the visage was that of his great-grandfather Xavier. He stared at the statue for a long time while Sawa spoke of him. "He is dead, then?" he murmured, unable to keep the disappointment from his voice. He would never have a chance to meet the man, let alone get to know him. "What do you mean by purity?"

He noticed that the statue appeared dirty, its maintenance neglected. What did that say about Sawa's feeling regarding the man with whom she'd had a child?

His attention turned to the holocrons and scrolls. "What sort of knowledge is in these? Combat tactics?" he asked, hovering near the shelves but not touching anything. He assumed she would permit him to study their contents.

Sawa Ike

 

[Sawa Ike]

Jacen Nimdok

"He would have preferred Aoi not be involved with anyone other then an energy vampire. Not for paternal reasons... not because a lifetime for us compared to most species can be a blink of the eye... but because he believed in superiority... so I ripped his heart out and freed us to return here from the necropolis." The graveyard wasn't going to go anywhere after all and there wasn't many subjects to rule among the dead. She looked at the crolls and holocrons. "Some have combat tactics, others talking about power and philosophy. Tricky thing about the sith is they like to horde their knowledge so while they will hint and maybe even have it in there.. finding and convincing their gatekeepers to let you learn can be difficult."

She said it while she stood there and moved to one of the circles standing on the edge. "Stand in the center." A smile disappearing but she remained there while allowing the force to wrap around her and she got limber. Stretching just a little here and there when looking over some parts of it. The force going around the room and she tapped the floor letting the circle spin to so it adjusted tand small alcoves opened with smooth stones and other objects. "Combat is important but if you can't maintain focus with the force you will not be able to fuel your bodies natural attributes." She said it and crossed her hands in front of herself.

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

Jacen's eyes widened. "Oh." So Sawa had killed Xavier after he tried to control their daughter's life. That certainly explained a few things. Rather than dwell upon this revelation, Jacen quickly accepted it. His great-grandfather didn't sound like a great man. Perhaps his death was for the best.

"When you say Necropolis, do you mean the planet Dahrtag?" he asked, changing the subject. Before his father died, the professor had been working on a piece of research detailing vampire covens on Dahrtag, better known as Necropolis. The project remained unfinished, but Jacen was familiar with it, having read all of his father's works.

Sawa mentioned that the gatekeepers of Sith holocrons were unlikely to hand over their knowledge to those they deemed unworthy. "No wonder the Sith keep dying out every other era. They're too particular about who they teach, and their ways are forgotten," Jacen murmured with a smirk.

He stood in the center of the circle as instructed. The floor moved beneath his feet; he maintained his balance, watching the parts shifting and settle. Small alcoves opened, revealing smooth stones and other objects within them. Sawa was adamant that he must first learn to focus with the Force. "How do I do that?" Jacen asked, though based on the appearance of the objects, he was starting to get an inkling of what she had in mind.

Sawa Ike

 

[Sawa Ike]

Jacen Nimdok

"Yes." She answered it clipped for the moment but she was checking on a few things there and touched the stones giving it a small nod of her head. "For feeling the force it is different for everyone. I think and feel about someone long ago." She said it but looked at him. "You will need to find something that connects you, something in your mind that allows you to feel it." She said it and walked around as she thought about whewre to start... usually the few she had trained already knew or at least thought they knew... there was a difference. "Alright." She moved to stand in front of him and sat down breathing in and then exhaling.

"Relax your body and quiet your mind." She lifted her hands up and cupped them facing each other. "Slowly allow yourself to expand into the center of your hands... feel the energy as it flows through your body from your breath into your lungs and coursing through your veins. Then allow it to pool and fluctuate." She said it while checking on some of the energy she was pulling for herself and blue white whisps of energy that expanded to rest between her hands. "You will be able to control it and as it expands control it... siphoning energy from it to make a loop slowly renewing yourself and then sending it back outwards as an extension of yourself."

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"You will need to find something that connects you, something in your mind that allows you to feel it."

Jacen’s brow furrowed. How would… Well, it was less a question of how and more of what would allow him to feel the connection.

He sat down, mimicking Sawa’s position. Relaxing his body, then quieting his mind, he began to drift, weightless.

"Slowly allow yourself to expand into the center of your hands... feel the energy as it flows through your body from your breath into your lungs and coursing through your veins. Then allow it to pool and fluctuate."

Something came to him out of the dark. A vague, shadowy image within his mind. The creases upon his brow deepened with concentration, but every time he tried to look deeper, it only became less clear. He panted from the strain, scowling in frustration and impatience.

Still, it was what he needed. Could he still use it, even if he didn’t know what it was?

"You will be able to control it and as it expands control it... siphoning energy from it to make a loop slowly renewing yourself and then sending it back outwards as an extension of yourself."

Jacen’s features became placid again, his expression almost serene. But beneath it all he was a storm.

From the tempest came power. Strands of energy, wisp-thin, then cord-thick, coiled around his fingers. He bated his breath until he could hold it no longer, then gasped for air. The strands faded away.

“I… That was…” Jacen didn’t know how to describe it. “I feel… good.”

Sawa Ike

 

[Sawa Ike]

Jacen Nimdok

She was remaining there and could feel it there.. she could see it forming as he focused and her words came out. "Better, you are doing it... now that feeling you have remmeber it. You will need to train your body... make it reflexive.. make it something you can access and use with barely a thought. ONce you can you can pull and use the force as you will and once that is done you can expand it and your understanding of skills within the force." She said it and didn't need to move as she allowed the force to move around the pair of them. "Now how do you want to use it? Do you want to be a warrior? Physically augmenting your movement, a scholar type with enhancements to the mind and knowledge... or anywhere in between it isn't just the jedi who have ranks.. all groups in the galaxy light and dark have groups and ways of using the force."

 

[Jacen Nimdok]

"Now how do you want to use it? Do you want to be a warrior? Physically augmenting your movement, a scholar type with enhancements to the mind and knowledge... or anywhere in between it isn't just the Jedi who have ranks... all groups in the galaxy Light and Dark have groups and ways of using the Force."

"What class are you?" he asked. Someone who had lived for as long as Sawa had, and who had no doubt been exposed to hundreds, if not thousands of Force traditions, probably considered the concept of belonging to a particular class rather absurd, but he was curious as to what her answer would be regardless.

As for Jacen, he wasn't entirely sure what he should be. Should he become a scholar, like his father before him? A warrior, like the warlords of his mother's family? Perhaps something in-between would work, since he felt no strong pull in either direction. "I would like to learn practical uses of the Force. Things that would allow me to get out of a jam, or help others with their problems. What class would that be?"

Sawa Ike