Outside of the Sith Temple waited a garden where any Sith may have a plot to plant and meet for a private meeting. There are fountains, benches, high walls of exotic plantlife and flowers bloom along beautiful paths. In the center of the garden is a circular pool of coral and rare fish given as gifts to the Sith Empire.
High Mage Serratus
When Serratus arrived in the Garden Square, he inhaled deeply. The mingling smells of the various plants were overwhelming and he coughed suddenly. Whoever had planned the garden, he felt, had not thoroughly thought it through.
Nonetheless, Serratus made his way to an empty patch of grass, crossed his legs and sat down in the dew. There were no other Sith in the garden, meaning there were no other Sith to get in his way. He expanded his Force presence, tentatively at first, and then with abandon, until the entire garden was held within his grip. His own breathing had become more drawn, the effort was unsurprising.
Serratus began probing the various plants as well as the coral and fish in the central pool. He started stealing tiny bits of life from each, not weakening them noticeably, but nonetheless collecting a considerable amount of life within himself. The sudden burst of youthfulness and energy was refreshing but, though he was loathe to, Serratus had to surrender it as part of his experiment. Serratus located a weak and dying plant. He started pumping the life into it, revitalising it. When all the life was emptied, he contracted his Force presence once more and rose from his position on the path of grass.
He made his way to the plant he had just revitalised. Minutes ago it had been grey and whithering, now it was vibrant green and blossoming. But it unnerved Serratus. There was something distinctly unnatural about it. Serratus saw a rather ugly, common plant near by and ripped all the life from it with ease. There was a considerable amount and he started to pump it into the revived plant.
When he was finished, Serratus took a step back in disgust. The plant's leaves and petals had turned to flailing tentacles and its stamen to sharp teeth. Its stem was now thrashing in a snake-like manner and was covered in scaly growths. Holding back his urge to vomit, Serratus quickly destroyed the plant. Perhaps distributing life was not such a good idea.
The plant had unnerved him even in its normal state. He knew why. It was a violation. He had violated nature by reversing the plant's death. He had brought darkness to the plant of a kind wholly different from the dark side of the Force.
But now was not the time for such self-disgust. He had an idea to investigate. He walked over to a particularly imposing gorgt tree. With the Force, he focused his presence into a short stocky limb of the tree. It was extremely difficult and required more effort than Serratus had ever needed to wield the Force. He noted the irony that affecting minute things was so difficult when there were several models of spaceship he could throw at least a hundred feet.
Eventually, Serratus managed to make his Force presence small enough to fit into the limb. With much more difficulty, he started manipulating the inside of the limb, the lightsaber plans he had memorised years ago shining brightly in his mind.
To an outside observer, Serratus would have appeared to be in a trance, but in reality, he was so focused on the task at hand that he could simply not focus on the outside world.
Maybe he was in a trance after all...
Several hours later...
Serratus fell backwards to the ground, weary and his concentration all over the place. He had completed the task at a heavy toll to himself. On a lighter note, he would sleep pretty well tonight.
Serratus reached out with the Force once more, detecting the inside of limb to make sure that he cut at the right points. With the Force, he applied pressure at two points on the branch, cutting clean through one and squeezing one into a single point so that it fell of and looked as if it had never been attached to a tree. Sap leaked from the branch and Serratus scooped it up. He applied intense pressure to it with the Force and it turned into clear, translucent, perfectly formed amber. Serratus removed the fruit of hundreds of hours of work and hundreds of pages of research sold to private companies, a Corusca gem, and inserted it into the stick, then placed the amber on top of the cut end of the stick. Sealing it with the Force and transferring energy from other plants into a bulbous growth at the pinched end, which swelled as more was transferred.
Serratus held up the stick with a certain reverence before pushing down on a knobbly growth near the cut end. For a moment, a long shimmering blade of light appeared but then quickly fizzled out and Serratus's first attempt at an organic lightsaber burst into flame. Serratus removed the Corusca gem and then dropped the lightsaber to the ground.
"It seems my experiment will require more work."
Without a second glance, he swept from the Garden Square, heading back towards the Grand Corridor.
Grand Inquisitor Prognie
Lord Magisto, His Majesty's Darkest Knight, had been prowling the Sith temple today, having met with various upper Sith at random hours he had finally found a moment to enjoy air and the lonely companionship that came when one denied their presence to another. It wasn't like Magisto to keep himself surrounded, as the Darkest Knight he worked as the entity that forced others to embrace the Emperor's law.
The Dark Lord had chosen the Gardens as an easy hiding spot from the various sith searching for him, but it was there that his plans for a quiet moment changed. He noted the High Mage, having seen him in reports regarding the incident over a mysterious planet, Magisto made a slight detour to intercept him casually.
Rounding the corner he stopped, pretending to be surprised he stepped aside to allow the High Mage passage. But before the High Mage could escape Magisto spoke, "High Mage Serratus is it?" He waited for confirmation from the man, not because he truly needed it but because it all was just casual.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus turned to face the Darkest Knight.
"Indeed. I had rather hoped disposing of my usual and admittedly rather distinct clothing would make me less noticeable. But that is of little importance. Am I correct in saying that I am speaking with Dark Lord Magisto, Darkest Knight of the Eternal Empire and Military Advisor to Emperor Shadow?"
While awaiting a response, Serratus's mind roamed through the details he knew of Magisto and some simple maths brought him to the mildly amusing realisation that he and Magisto had both begin their Sith training at age 19.
Grand Inquisitor Prognie
Magisto smirked, he wasn't sure if if the High Mage was humoring him with naming his titles or simply being respectful. "It's much easier to be referred to as Lord Magisto, too many words in the mouth leave it open for error."
Magisto took a step out of the temple and into the gardens, he motioned for High Mage Serratus to follow, "Follow me if you will, perhaps as the High Mage you can tell me more about the garden." Magisto wouldn't even pretend he knew anything about the garden, he assumed someone well versed in such an area might find some fascination with discussing it.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus followed obediently.
"When Emperor Shadow had the Temple renovated, he decided to include this garden as a place of peace for Sith. I personally find it a good place to observe the power of the Living Force, although I can't stand the smell. Far too many aromas, all vying for attention. Like a soup with too many ingredients. If I remember correctly, the central pool was a gift from..."
Serratus scanned his memory.
"...the people of Mon Calamari. It has a miniature coral reef and several rare fish from Mon Calamari..."
Serratus drifted off momentarily. Maybe coral would prove a better substance for an organic lightsaber than wood...
"Forgive me m'lord, I seem to have lost my place. Oh yes! Yes, the pool, a gift from Mon Calamari, though I've often thought it was more a gift from Lord Prognie, the Mon Cals are very protective of their planet, I doubt the pool was taken with their consent. But Lord Prognie is, of course, the Moff. And here Lord Magisto, is the most valuable plant in the entire garden and, indeed, the entire galaxy. The beautiful, rare and semi-legendary Gemwood tree of Endor."
Serratus indicated a black-trunked tree with dark blue flowers, vibrant flame-coloured leaves and dark green branches.
Grand Inquisitor Prognie
Magisto feigned interest as he had fooled countless other sith with, the garden was the least of his concern. He simply followed the High Mage, making small comments regarding what was pointed out to him. "Interesting, such a destructive group of individuals wishing to stop and value the beauty of life." Magisto stood in front of the Gemwood, mildly impressed. "There's a slight irony in the story here, do you see it High Mage Serratus?" It was no secret that Magisto was a strong idealist when it came to the Sith. He was not a believer of life and love, those were things to overcome.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus caressed one of the fiery leaves and then turned to the Dark Lord with a look of curiousity.
"I think I do but I would like to hear what you have to say first."
Grand Inquisitor Prognie
"You don't need me to explain it High Mage, you can feel it all around us." Magisto took in a deep breath, then let the air out with disgust. "I am sure you are well aware that the force leaves behind signatures, even the smallest of influences can leave behind a small scar that can be located. This place is an example of what Sith can do what they learn of life, but it's also a poison that leads one on their journey back to the light." Magisto looked around, some of flowers had been grown naturally while others with the force.
"Sith making life, it's irony. But you, you seem to have violated life, in this very garden." Magisto took in another breath, this time slowly appreciating what he was taking in. "I can feel the influence you've had here, you made life destructive. Perhaps I have under-estimated the true capabilities of the Mages."
High Mage Serratus
"This was not a Mage undertaking, but a personal one. I wished to investigate some theories of mine. But I must disagree with one thing you have said. While it is true that the Sith destroy much, nothing is wholly destructive. Observe."
Serratus used the Force to crush several flowers, the life leaving them instantly.
"I have destroyed those flowers. But the energy and matter that makes them up remains. It will eventually decay and become part of the soil, which will in turn be used by other plants to grow. Destruction breeds creation, Lord Magisto. There is a finite amount of energy and matter in our universe. We may convert one to the other and each into different forms of itself, but we can never truly destroy anything. Anything we "destroy" will eventually be used as part of the creative process of the universe.
For example, when the planet Alderaan and everything on it was destroyed by the Death Star, the Graveyard, an asteroid belt was left behind. Collision between these asteroids will form meteorites which will crash on other planets. The material that makes up those meteorites will add fertility to the soils that it lands in. Some that contain dormant bacteria or other micro-organisms may even start a new evolutionary process on the planets or bring life to planets without it. Thus, even the greatest destructive feat ever engineered by a Sith will eventually breed creation."
Serratus chuckled slightly.
"Every destructive action any Sith has ever made will eventually breed creation. It is impossible not to create."
Grand Inquisitor Prognie
"Such a philosopher, to see the world so broadly keeps the eyes sharp." Magisto smirked amused by Sith who sought to have such a philosophical view of the galaxy. "But that's not what the Sith intended High Mage, when we destroy, we destroy with the intentions of death. No matter what happens either, the motive is still there."
Magisto walked over and picked up a flower, clenching it in his fist he let a current of electricity. Unclenching his fist he revealed a burned flower, it no longer held the beauty it did when he had picked it up. "You see, when I destroyed this life, I had no care for the life it would help bring, but only about its destruction now. Now is the time that we live in High Mage, now is the only thing that matters. Evil is still evil no matter the good that may come after."
High Mage Serratus
Serratus turned to Magisto.
"Once again, I must disagree. There is no good or evil. Right and wrong are not what seperate us and our enemies. It's our different standpoints, our perspectives that seperate us. There's no good or evil side. Just two sides holding different views. Just morality and immorality, as defined by the beholder."
High Prophet Crozeus
"Indeed, they are naught but points of view. Those who we deem wrong would just as easily consider us to be the wrong ones, or the 'evil' ones."
Prophet Crozeus had just entered the Garden Square after a lengthy training session with his apprentice. He had happened to catch a snippet of what the High Mage and Darkest Knight were saying. It was still odd to Crozeus to see Serratus as a human, even though he had helped to sever the armour that was bonded to his flesh. The long dreadlocks, robes and staff almost didn't suit the High Mage as well as the full body armour did.
And then there was the Darkest Knight, whom Crozeus greeted with a small bow. He had never held a significant conversation with Lord Magisto.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus smiled at Crozeus as his older ally passed by, no doubt to meditate among the sickly-sweet smells or practice a spell of some kind. Serratus turned to Magisto.
"And furthermore, Darkest Knight, I would like to say that I view this Empire and the actions I carry out in its name as moral undertakings. I would be rather disturbed if you viewed the opposite to be quite frank."
Grand Inquisitor Prognie
Magisto eyed the man from the corner of his eye, intruding on conversations was not wise, much less when one's position was that of a mystery to some individuals. Still he retorted to both of them, "And isn't that the crux of saying that good and evil are nothing but points of views? Who is justified then? We are, we are what define the laws of the galaxy. If everyone so freely followed your ideas, everyone would be right and there would be chaos. Imagine it in this perspective, without a definition of what is good and evil, right and wrong, the galaxy would be filled with more people who were like us. Sith without the control we have implemented."
"Things need to be defined in a civilized galaxy, we are the iron fist of the Emperor, and his will is what decides what is right and wrong." Magisto sighed, "It seems this new age idea of 'grey' area is catching on fast. The times where Sith were Sith are leading us to Sith being simply grey jedi."
High Mage Serratus
Serratus knew he shouldn't have, but he got angry.
"How dare you imply that I am any kind of Jedi, much less a weakling Grey Jedi with permanently sealed backside from sitting on the fence for too long. Have I not already said that I view what I do for the Empire as moral, as right? I find the implication that I am any sort of light-sider, quite frankly insulting. I have been cut off from the light side for over 20 years, Lord Magisto and I have half a mind to challenge you to a duel and prove that I am nothing but Sith, through and through."
Grand Inquisitor Prognie
"High Mage Serratus, when you have a point to prove, don't consider proving it-" Magisto stopped, he had been facing away from the High Mage, looking at the Prophet who had arrived so the Mage could not see the smirk that formed on Magisto's lips. Without hesitation he brought his right foot back connecting it into the High Mage's stomach, a pulse of energy releasing throwing the mage back. "-next time just prove it." Magisto's blade flew from his side and into his right hand, the hissing sound of the crimson blade revealing itself showed he was not merely playing a game.
"You know High Mage Serratus, the Emperor did not choose me as his Darkest Knight because I was fair. Such luxuries are never provided in war." Magisto charged toward Serratus, he would not give him a moment to recover.
Lord Aequitas
"Lord Magisto". The voice echoed throughout the garden. The Grand Mage stepped out of the doorway leading to the garden slowly. "So nice it is to see you again. I'm glad to have found you at such an..interesting time." He looked down at his High Mage who was now getting up. "Serratus", he hissed, "The HQ, now."
He nodded at Crozeus before turning hs attention back to the Darkest Knight. "I was just coming into the garden, you see, to examine a few species of flower for examples for my proposal of a botanical museum in Coruscant." Whispering, so no other but the former Admiral could hear, "And I'd rather you not attack my High Mage. He shall be dealt with for his isolance. You know the rules about dualing in the Temple grounds anyway."
Straightening back up, he cleared his throat. He looked at the Moff of Tatooine and jerked his thumb towards the door. He looked at the others. "I apologise for interupting your discussions. Gentlemen", he said and left he garden quickly, before another word could be said.
Grand Inquisitor Prognie
Magisto straightened himself, he returned his lightsaber to his side and watched as the Grand Mage lead his High Mage out in what he considered an embarrassing maneuver. "You know Grand Mage, the High Mage was about to prove a point. Perhaps you should let him indulge us."
Lord Aequitas
Aequitas stopped and turned around, "Lord Magisto, I have no problem with you dualing Serratus here, just not in the Sith Temple Grounds. I would glady watch a dual between you two, however quick it may be over for my old apprentice here." He smiled at the Darkest Knight.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus glared at Magisto before following Aequitas. How dare Magisto attack him not only when he was unarmed but in the Temple of all places! Serratus had never encountered Magisto before but even this brief encounter had been enough for Serratus to form his own opinion of him. An honourless cur who did what he did believing it was evil and not caring for a moment, who would attack a fellow Sith in a place of peace simply for disagreement and taking offence in an offensive statement. This was the last time that Serratus came to the Temple unarmed.
Serratus turned his attention to Aequitas.
"I refuse to take any responsibility for this. Magisto provoked me and broke sacred laws forbidding combat in the Temple. He called me a Jedi for Sidious's sake."
Lord Aequitas
"Admiral Magisto is a formidable character. It is not easy to sit through hundreds of space battles, seeing friends and family die, and not become a hardened person. Furthermore, I believe he's one of the three people to ever beat the Emperor in a lightsaber only dual. Granted, the Emperor was not in his usual mind but never-the-less, Serratus, he's not the person you get into a dual with."
He turned the corner in a long corridor. "I also have to punish you too, for your insolence. As such, you must take the evening off. You are forbidden to work for the next 12 hours. You must also visit a bar, or restaurant, and unwind. I believe that is a suitable punishment."
High Mage Serratus
Serratus frowned at Aequitas.
"Since when do I ever unwind? To most people that statement would be met by a sly smile but for me that really is a punishment. I can't even imagine where I'd go."
Lord Aequitas
Aequitas laughed. "That's why it's your punishment, and a suitable one at that." He smiled as Serratus stopped in the hallway to consider this. Aequitas shook his head and kept walking, Serratus was a bright lad, he'd figure something out.
Grand Inquisitor Prognie
Magisto sighed, turning to the other man who had joined them he nodded. "You're a Prophet, yes?" Magisto didn't wait for confirmation. "Interesting." Turning away from the man he walked out of the garden pulling out a comlink he addressed the captain of his flagship, "Captain, send a message to High Mage Serratus that I'd like for him to join me on my ship. I have unfinished business with him."
High Mage Serratus
Serratus hardly noticed as Aequitas walked off. He did not know many restaurants but he remembered the Grand Mage mentioning a placed called the Galaxy Grill on Coruscant. Deciding he had nothing to lose, Serratus headed out of the Temple and off towards where he had parked the Space Dragon.
Delora Tempest
The wind grazed her face like a lover’s whisper. She relished the array of scents that enveloped her as she stepped, barefoot, into the unknown. The crisp grass felt familiar against her soles, yet at the same time, different and ethereal. Her breath was slow, but steady. The darkness, an enemy to some, had become her friend and ally. Her years of solitude have yielded much to her, but what remained out of her clutch was the common, yet somewhat mysterious notion that the black was a foe. She shut her crystal blue eyes that stood out as orbs in the dark; the final bulwarks against the ever growing tide of black.
She continued her slow, blind paces for a few moments. She let her hands to flow beside her, gracing the petals of numerous flowers as she walked past. They felt like velvet against her small, smooth hands. Her hands were those of an artist, not a warrior. Yet, they showed her life, one that she frequently described as a war. Her hands were her past, her hardships, and her conquests. She allowed a sigh to escape her as she lowered herself to her knees, resting her worn, yet tough body against the slightly moist, dew-topped grass.
She smiled slightly as she opened her eyes to watch an ornate fountain bubble. It reminded her of her mind. The water was her brain waves - ever occurring yet hard to grasp without the proper tools. She had avoided society for so long in her undying thirst for a place to call home and as such, it was ironic, perhaps, that she had found it in a garden on a planet under the control of a Sith Empire.
High Prophet Crozeus
From his silent meditation mere feet away Crozeus' thoughts were disturbed by these thoughts. When he opened himself to the Force he could feel everything that happened for miles and miles. It was both crowding and wonderful. Silently he stood and stood behind the older woman, a new arrival to the Empire, not even with a Master yet. He looked at her for a few moments, judging her. Then he spoke.
"Why is it ironic?"
A very simple question. Though not one he expected himself to ask.
Delora Tempest
Delora did not look for the source of the singsong voice that had roused her from her dream. She had heard stories of the ability to read thoughts and it did not surprise her that the Sith, a certified powerful entity in the galaxy, had members able to practice that ability. She closed her eyes, the eyes full of wisdom, knowledge, and life, once more.
“Master Sith, I do not know your name”, she began in a velvety voice, one that sounded as if it had spoken the languages of a hundred species, “however, I do not doubt your power. You have already shown to me your ability to read my thoughts. Tell me then, Master Sith, why you pry openly to what I find ironic when you, as powerful as you are, already know the answer?”
Her delicate senses told her of the direction from which her questioner’s voice came. Rising slowly, she paid careful attention to touch the grass with her long fingers – her travels took her far and she could never be certain when she would be able to walk freely among the green carpet of the earth. “Society has proven itself barbaric. Your Sith Empire is no different. So why, Master Sith, would I find the perfect balance to the barbaric nature of society in a small enclosure created by those same barbarians.”
High Prophet Crozeus
"My name is Crozeus, and I am a Prophet. The ability for a Sith to see so clearly into an others' mind is not common amongst all Sith, though in the art of Prophecy it is something of a criteria that must be filled."
Crozeus sat down next to where she sat, not looking at her face, instead looking into the bubbling waters, crystal blue, bearing a stark resemblance to his eyes. He sighed softly. "Besides, I don't particularly like intruding into people's thoughts, unless it is strictly necessary. It is spying of the greatest possible nature."
He had pondered her last words carefully. "Society is what it is. It's your interpretation of it that deems it barbaric. And if you consider our Empire such, then perhaps you are not suited here at all. Society needs a balance to it. We need enemies. Predators need prey. And urban metropoli need little bursts of greenery. That, and it was built under the order of the Emperor, as is everything you see before you, and most of which you do not."
Delora Tempest
Delora bowed ever so slightly. “I can not say it has been a pleasure to meet you, Prophet Crozeus, for who am I to define what is and is not pleasure. What I can say is that you have provided a glimmer of intelligent conversation; one, which I shall be sure not to overlook in the future”. She stepped backwards a few paces before turning softly on her heel and disappearing into the dark; the dark ever her friend and ally. She continued to walk slowly, letting the natural light guide her way out of the peaceful serenity of the garden.
She thought about her encounter with the Sith Master, and how he composed himself. He was intelligent, perhaps beyond his years but who was she to decide this. He held himself with pride; a trait, Delora often noted, accompanied failure. His eyes were the same shade as hers, but, she noticed, void of any of the traces of life experiences hers often yielded to onlookers. The grass under her feet began to thin and it served as a warning to the Corellian, who often walked barefoot, that a more concrete and solid terrain was increasingly evident.
Upon exiting the peaceful serenity of the enclosure, the change in area could not have been more noticeable. The corridor into which she entered had a constant buzz of noise, a hint of stale sweat and something else, which Delora was not fond of – light. Light yielded your identity, your whereabouts. Light could wound, and burn. Light was a more dangerous and eminent foe than the commonly misconceived darkness.
She sighed slowly and allowed her breathing to return to normal as she stepped slowly across the concrete lake that was the corridor floor. Her time in the Sith Empire had arrived.
High Prophet Crozeus
Crozeus watched her go. He did not attempt to follow her, or stop her. She had a destiny, that one. Though at the moment she was a rodent climbing the trunk of a tree, with many different branches she could follow. It would be up to her which one she took - one of the ones which led her to a safe perch, or one which would be treacherous and cause her to slip and fall.
Crozeus thought about this for a few more seconds, still gazing into the water. Then he stood and returned to his previous spot and his meditation, always ready should someone else pass by and offer conversation - something which Crozeus prized greatly in the hustle and bustle of administration in the Empire. He feared he was becoming a bureaucrat. Moments like this he needed to savour - and get more of.
High Mage Serratus
Some days later...
Serratus entered the Garden Square, holocron in hand. He had read over his notes, consulted with tomes at the Mage Archives and taken the Space Dragon to Dathomir, Mon Calamari, Naboo, Onderon, Tatooine and Endor to investigate his theories. He had returned to the Garden Square because the pool in the centre contained a very rare, very strong, very versatile and very mysterious variety of coral that he believed would be instrumental in his plans for an organic lightsaber. He crossed the Square soundlessly, focused entirely at the task at hand, taking no notice of the rest of the garden, just the central pool.
Delora Tempest
The faint rustle of grass would have gone unnoticed to nearly all but Delora, whose ears pricked the moment she heard the change in sound. The wind was not that strong and someone walking on it could only have forced the movement of the grass. She decided to reach out with the Force to identify the walker. After a few seconds, she concluded it was a Sith, and a fairly powerful one at that. She could sense his Force presence and, although she did not know who it was, could tell that this person had visited the gardens on many occasions as his Force presence had been detected by her here before.
The moon was high in the purple hued sky and its light bathed the garden’s pool in an eerie, ethereal glow. Delora, who was not fond of moonlight, sat in a meditative pose behind the pool in darkness, so no one could see her. Her crystal blue eyes were closed so as to not give her position away. She could hear mumbling as the footsteps carefully treaded towards the pool. She heard the word coral and immediately assumed that the mysterious visitor had come to the pool to look at its coral. She noted that there was coral in the pool two days previous while sitting at it.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus folded into a meditative position and closed his eyes. After a few minutes his breathing was regular and even, like clockwork, a skill that could not be achieved with the Force, only with practice. He reached out to the coral and started probing it. The coral was not very intelligent at all but Serratus could work with it. He start transferring life from the fish and some nearby flowers in the coral. At the same time he controlled the coral's feeble mind carefully, not wishing for a repeat of the mutated flower he had produced the first time he had been in the Garden Square for this particular experiment.
This time Serratus would not have to work for hours, only minutes. The coral was just intelligent enough to decide how its exoskeleton should grow and with Serratus in control and the extra lifeforce he had pumped it with, it would not take long for the first signs of his interference to show.
Sure enough, a tube-like structure was beginning to form at the top of the coral. Serratus focused intensely, guiding the coral to make the growth form exactly as he wanted. One of this variety of coral's unique abilities was its little known special ability and this was the cornerstone of Serratus's experimentation. This species coral could produce four types of exoskeleton depending on its environment, one that conducted heat and electricity, one that conducted heat but not electricity, one that conducted electricity but not heat and one that conducted neither. The first three were opaque and the fourth translucent. These four combined would make Serratus his organic lightsaber. It was several more minutes of meditation and manipulation before the lightsaber jutted just out of the water. Serratus inserted his corusca gem before sealing up the top of the lightsaber completely, then he commanded the coral to shed the lightsaber and it did so. Serratus summoned the lightsaber with the Force and held it in before him for inspection.
He smiled with satisfaction and applied pressure to a particularly pronounced mound, which gave way beneath his push. Continuing to smile, he stole some life from a rather large plant and filled the energy chamber of his organic lightsaber with it. He pushed the knobbly mound again and this time a burning blade shot forth from this tip of the lightsaber, bright green and glowing. It lasted for a few seconds before the lightsaber exhausted its energy supplies but Serratus had anticipated this.
He extracted a damind from his pocket and made a tiny scratch in the lightsaber. He pushed the damind into the hole he had created and one it was inside he healed the wound. Damind crystals were excellent repertoires of dark side energy and would hold more and better energy for longer. It would also mark the lightsaber as a weapon of the dark side. This time Serratus sample energy from a wide variety of sources around the garden and filled the lightsaber with a great deal of energy, roughly equal to the average power cell of a mechanical lightsaber. He was lucky the Garden Square had so much life and so many varieties of it that he could fill the crystal so.
He pushed the mound.
The blade sprang forth once more and this time the emerald green blade burned stronger. He knew he had succeeded. He had created an organic lightsaber.
Delora Tempest
“Ironic”, Delora mused loudly emerging out of the shadows. She had watched the man, who she now identified as the High Mage of the Order of Sith Mages due to his robes, create what appeared to be a lightsaber out of organic material. She found it more than interesting and had decided to engage in some conversation to learn more. “Isn’t it. Ironic that you have created a weapon, designed to kill and destroy life, out of life itself”, she stated as clear as the moonlit water in the pool.
She walked slowly towards the Sith who had jut began to sit up from his meditative position and put the lightsaber on his belt. He looked like a man uncomfortable in his own skin. His long, black hair was dreadlocked and on his back, there seemed to be strapped a staff or some sort. This Sith obviously enjoyed a variety of exotic weapons. She extended her hand in a royal, dignified manor. “My name is Madam Tempest, apprentice to Dark Lord Tarna”, she whispered so only the High Mage could hear.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus was caught off guard not only by Delora's sudden appearance and the way she addressed him but also the conflicting urges he had to look down on her as an apprentice and to be polite and respectful to an elder. He compromised by not saying anything, instead giving an awkward half-smile and accepting her hand.
"Madam Tempest, yes, the apprentice of the Shadow Protector. You're reputation precedes you."
Delora Tempest
Bemused, Delora raised her eyebrows slightly. She was not aware that she had a reputation for she had been in the Empire about a month now, surely that was not enough time to establish a reputation. If it was, it certainly could not have been a good one. “Oh really? I do hope it was nothing terrible that you heard”, she said with a half chuckle, “do tell me what you have heard though. I know from experience that a reputation is always biased. Either started by the person themselves, praising themselves to high heavens, or by a jealous compatriot, eager to see their foe’s downfall”.
She sat down on a marble bench beside the pool and gazed into it. She looked at the High Mage’s reflection in the pool and smiled. She gestured to the seat beside her. “Sit and talk, please. I enjoy conversation, Master High Mage”.
Kindrid Nokah
Kindrid silently walked throughout the garden, his fingertips barely grazing the multicolored plants as he passed by. He was intrigued by the many different types of flora that inhabited this large garden mostly because he wasn't used to seeing plant life on his icy homeworld of Berea. He noticed many other Sith socializing, but he just wanted to be left alone for now, hoping that they wouldn't engage him in conversation.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus obliged and sat himself down beside the elder woman.
"I have a subordinate by the name of Darth Amideus who is a friend of a certain Guardsman Dunne, who serves as a Moff Guard. He overheard a conversation between Lord Tarna, who you may know is the Grand Moff and Moff of Bastion, and Moff Caligulae of Duro, another Royal Guardsman. From what information was carried back to me of that conversation, your connection with the Force is extremely advanced for an apprentice of one month, your Force potential is almost disturbing and you pick up Force techniques faster than a Geonosian picks up dropped change."
Delora Tempest
With a nod, Delora gave a small sigh, “Yes, I quite agree. There is no room for modesty in this life, as it counts as unnecessary lies. I admit, I have been told by a few that I am picking up the trade, so to speak, quite quickly. I have my Master to thank for that”. She looked into the pool and made the water ripple using the Force. “The Force is a magnificent thing, capable of creating, sustaining and destroying life, all in one sweep of the hand”, she said simply, never taking her fixed gaze off the marble-tiled bottom of the pool.
“I must say, High Mage, I did enjoy that little simile of yours. It is nice to find people who are able to use their language to its fullest. I passed a Naboo coming into the garden and his grammar was abhorrent”, she said, attempting some small talk. She turned to look at the Sith Master. She smiled, but it was not a smile one gave at a joke, but it was more of a sympathetic smile, a grandmother’s smile. “You do not feel comfortable, do you? You have conflicting emotions on how to look upon me. Understandable, Master Sith. Perhaps telling me your name may lessen the current level of awkwardness you may feel”, she said wearily.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus considered the elder apprentice.
"I have many names. Which do you wish to hear? The name I was born by, the name I was raised by, the name I lived by or the name I am known by?
Delora Tempest
Delora thought about this for a few moments. An intriguing question. She shifted her position on the bench and looked into the distance. She could hear birds in the distance as well as the murmurings of various Sith within the Temple itself. She let her mind wander. How many of the Sith within the temple were Inquisitors, and how many would openly admit to who they were. She smiled. The answer had come to her and in the way they always did; by Delora thinking about something else. All paths were intertwined, including the paths of her brainwaves, her thoughts and her memories.
“Master Sith, I’d like you to give me the name you identify most with, the name you feel most comfortable with. What is a name but a tag on a unique soul, made unique by personality and actions”, she said simply looking into the Sith’s eyes.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus nodded. It was a good answer.
"In that case Madam Tempest, I am Wamomeru of Mowmow Wampa Tribe. Though for the most part, I would still prefer to be called Darth Serratus."
Delora Tempest
Letting the name register, Delora turned away from the Sith. She stood slowly and took a few steps away from the pool. She turned and slowly, but ever graceful, placed her linen hood upon her grey silky like hair. She nodded her head at Serratus in a sort of bow that has become a trademark of hers. “Master Serratus, it has been a pleasure meeting you. I do hope we meet again in the future. It was enjoyable for me to speak to you; you are extremely intelligent. Have you met the one known as Crozeus, you may enjoy a conversation with him. He appears to be capable of at least a few minutes of intellectual conversation”, she said with a sly smile.
She turned on her heel and treaded slowly across the grass to the exit of the garden. She reached the archway into the Temple and stopped, leaning her left hand against the frame. She turned her head back towards the High Mage. “Oh, congratulations on your organic lightsaber, Master Sith”, she said slowly, “I do hope it serves you well in the future. Good evening”. As quick as she had shown herself to Serratus, she disappeared from his view. Her movements were so quick, elegant and graceful that it seemed that she was made of the very wind itself.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus watched as Delora walked away. This was one apprentice he would have to keep a good eye on.
Taking his new lightsaber with him, he made to leave the Temple and return to Tatooine for more experimentation.
Supreme Commander Alor
Perhaps the most dignified and deadliest of the Empires Battle Masters, most certainly the oldest and most experienced, the Supreme Commander, entered the Garden at this moment. It was not a place of his choosing, but something the Force had guided him too for some reason or another.
As he walked through the Garden, wondering why the Force wished him to be here, the words "organic lightsaber" floated through the air. That perked his interest. A lightsaber capable of getting past the weapons scanners that many security forces employed.
He hurried towards the voices, hoping to catch the party involved with such an invention. Running, he saw the High Mage's back, while the High Mage headed for the exit. Serratus was perhaps the Empire's upcoming premier Battle Master, already enjoying a large armory of weapons that very few people even knew the names of, nevermind how to use them.
"High Mage, have you heard what I have heard?" He asked. "I have been led here by the Force, only to hear the words 'organic lightsaber'. What do you know of such a topic?"
High Mage Serratus
Serratus was stunned only for a moment before he realised who had caught up with him. Years ago he had learned to stop himself from using the Force when suprised. It was a good thing he had.
"Supreme Commander Marix. I wasn't expecting you. I have indeed heard what you have heard, the words were spoken to me. The Shadow Protector's apprentice Delora Tempest just congratulated me on my successful creation of an organic lightsaber."
Serratus held the lightsaber in front of Marix, the black coral shining slightly in the light while the damind crystal glowed brilliantly not only with the light but also the energy contained within it.
Supreme Commander Alor
"I was not expecting to be here myself, but the Force works in mysterious ways when it has the inclination to work at all. I had heard that the Shadow Protector was taking a new Apprentice. I, myself, have just advised the High Council that I would be willing to take on a new apprentice if they needed a Master. I am actually supposed to be leaving this planet in a few hours, back to preparing the Military for, well..." Marix faltered, not knowing if the High Mage had the clearance to be notified of the reason for the Military's preparations.
Switching gears, he reached out and held the organic lightsaber, the black coral cool to the touch. "This is indeed a great advance. Just getting the coral to the right angle for the projector lens is amazing. Are you capable of creating another one. for the Military to dissect and perhaps improve upon? A joint venture of your research facility and the Armed Forces R&D?" The Supreme Commander suggested.
High Mage Serratus
Serratus smiled, not a normal smile, if anything it was a sad smile but Sidious knows what he had to be sad about.
"Your men could work for weeks and not fully understand this lightsaber, Lord Marix. Most lightsabers, no, every lightsaber other than this one is easy to comprehend even to a non-Force sensitive. Using it is another thing all together but anyone can understand a lightsaber. This lightsaber is different. This lightsaber is not a weapon, it is a limb that I have claimed for my own. I force the coral to grow this limb and then I took it from it and filled it with life that I stole from other living creatures. I have imprinted my Force signature in every cell of this lightsaber and only while I hold it in my hand or in the grasp of my Force presence can it be used.
However, I am not unreasonable. My research into this is on-going but once I have perfected it, I will inform you of intricacies of the process."
Supreme Commander Alor
"I would not underestimate the R&D just yet. They have brought some of the most intrinsic and beneficial inventions to this galaxy. But then again, there are few things that any sentient species can grasp fully in understanding."
Handing the saber back to the High Mage the Supreme Commander felt the Force nudging him further.
"I am glad that you would keep me informed. Would it also be possible for you to show me the manner of making such a weapon?"
Kindrid Nokah
The air was cool against his face as he lay down on the lush green grass and he began thinking. His entire life he had longed for something different, something better. Sure, Berea was a great place to live, to him atleast, but he had missed out on so much. Atleast now, he got to see the beauty of the galaxy.
Kuat was a wonderful place. When he first arrived, Kindrid was afraid of who he would become, what he would turn into. He could feel that these weren't the Force users that his father talked about, but the way that they explained their point of view, made the Sith seem perfect. Their whole lifestyle is what he craved. Power, control, and an entire Empire that was on the verge of galactic domination. This.... is what he wanted.
High Mage Serratus
((That's what Serratus meant when he said he would show Marix "the intricacies of the process."))
Supreme Commander Alor
[[Marix is merely reasserting what you said. He's been slightly affected by the politics in the world he lives in, so he likes to be sure of what someone is saying. ]]
High Mage Serratus
Serratus clipped the lightsaber into its holster before answering the Supreme Commander.
"All in due time Lord Marix. Is there anything else you needed? I have to get back to the Krayt Graveyard and then to a meeting in Anchorhead and then I have a meeting on Kuat and then I have to give a lecture on Aeron."
]]