Well, It has taken me a good long while to get this last part done, but here it is now. If you remember the "meditation" section at the end of chapter 14, you will notice it again here, though different. There is more to it than this, but they are not both supposed to exist, and this version I like better, so I'll probably remove the other version, or at least replace it with this version. Let me know what you guys think. Which one do you like better?
Epilogue
Part 1 of 2
Journal RecordSince I left the Empire, just over five standard years ago now, a lot has happened. A new Grand Inquisitor was appointed, but rumor has it that he was killed but a Jedi. Not to mention many other Inquisitor’s have fallen. If my sources are true, that program has now shut down. That is definitely a positive thing for the galaxy. There have also been rumors of a Rebel Alliance growing. Well, up until recently they were only rumors. This past year their existence has been confirmed, though the Empire still refuses to acknowledge their existence with the public. The TIE Defender program on Lothal has been shut down, and from what I’ve heard, Lothal has been liberated from Imperial control. Everything I am now hearing is that the majority of Imperial finances have been funnelled towards a ‘Project Stardust’. I do not know what it is, but I will admit my focus has been more on my own task, and the occupation of Mandalore than much else.
So far, I have not attempted to contact or join the Rebellion. My work is far too important at the moment. With the amount I have collected, the Jedi Order could be reborn. Not by me, I can no longer be a Jedi, but by someone new. I am not sure who yet, neither Tano nor myself will ever tread that path again. Maybe this new Jedi who defeated the Grand Inquisitor could help. The galaxy is in a dark place right now, and it could use some Jedi. Looking back on the times of the Republic and the Jedi Order, I realize they were not perfect, but there was true happiness. With the Empire, it seems as if everyone is living in a state of constant fear. The Rebellion seems to be helping a bit. It is giving off a spark of hope, even if a dull one. Maybe it will grow into something truly powerful.
I have made good progress with the ‘collection’ so far. It was easy once, I managed to return to Octonotil, to find a cave suitable to my needs. The Force drew me to the place, but I do not believe many others could find it. I would not feel comfortable leaving the cave for a long trip such as this, without a guarantee of a speedy return, were it not for the synyps. I have grown fond of the creatures, and their connection to the Force and the ‘Song’ makes me comfortable enough to leave the ‘collection’ in their care. Each one has its own motif, but they wind together in perfect harmony. They seem to have taken a liking to the area, and seem almost protective of it. I have never seen this type of devotion in non-sentient beings before. I can only assume that it is their connection to the Force that causes them to watch over this place. It is interesting. I have learned more about the ‘Song’ by observing them both by sight, and by listening in the Force than anywhere else. When I return I will study them more, and if my lead pans out, I will know more about the ‘Song’, and why very few seem to hear it, and even fewer seem to be able to “Sing” as I have begun to call it. I cannot think of a more suitable term.
After I left the tower on Prakith, I ended up wandering. I did not stay in any one place for more than a few days, but I didn’t have a goal, and I didn’t know where I was going. I ended up on Coruscant, and sneaked into the Imperial Palace. I do not know why, but I was drawn to it. There was something there that I had to find, though I did not know what. Of course, it was once the Jedi Temple, so finding my way was easy enough. But it was different. While it looked as pristine as always, it was filled with the echoes of death and destruction. The Palace was steeped in the Dark Side of the Force. I knew, because I myself had been so only weeks prior. It was not a safe place for me to be, and I wanted to get out of there as soon as I could. First though, I had to find whatever the Force was trying to show me. It led me under the palace, and into the caves beneath. Caves that had not been found by the Empire and probably not even known to most the Jedi. There was not much for me to find except a few doors that I was unable to open and an extensive tunnel network. I could tell it was once an important place, but only skeletons remained of any people who had once been there.
I knew so little about the ‘Song’, but I knew I could hear it, so I listened. It was there of course, as it had been every day since I left the Empire, but this time it was different. It had an air of mystery, but also knowledge. It was moving as always, but it was also flowing. Directing me towards a place I knew not. Soon enough I found it. I do not know how it came to be there, but somehow he had hidden it for later retrieval. It was the holocron of Master Eem. That was an amazing discovery for me, but that was not all I found. There were also names. Odjina, Mak’Tor, Vahl’Dan, Zonoma Sekot, and Galtea. There were more that were obscured and unreadable, but even then, I did not know what any of these meant. Except Zonoma Sekot. Though I had never heard the name before I instantly knew what it was. It was the planet I’d seen In a vision while searching for T’Risha. Not only did I know what it meant, but I knew where I would find the planet. It was like the Force was showing me a star map to its location.
Unfortunately, I did not have access to a ship to take me there. As I worked and found ways to make enough credits to purchase my own ship, I realized the Force was showing me other paths. Different, but not in opposition. Whenever I got the chance, I would follow one of these other paths. I soon learned that they lead me towards other artifacts of the Force. Usually holocrons, but occasionally texts. Everything is now sitting in my collection, and only two days ago I managed to purchase my own ship. I am coming up on the destination that the Force has shown me. I should be scared that I will not find what I’m looking for, but somehow, I know I will. Or at least, I will be closer.
End of Record
The young man sat down and set the saber in front of him. The hilt was called the
Shadow’s Bane, and had belonged to the Inquisitor known as Darth Rowahn. The man closed his eyes and reached out with the Force. Building a lightsaber was a difficult task, and one that required an immense amount of concentration, for if even one piece was slightly off, the entire hilt could explode on activation. The saber levitated off the floor, and slowly began to dismantle. The emitter and pommel both spun off, then the hand grip separated from the chassis, crystal chamber and power cell. It was a fairly simple hilt of dark metal, approximately 31.5 centimeters in length, and had few ornaments other than the activation switch.
The extra parts that had been lying on the floor then lifted into the air. The emitter was exchanged for a similar emitter with silver rings, and the hand grip as well, though the new grip was a bit shorter. The chassis also had to be changed for a shorter one, and some of the insides had to be rearranged in order to fit into this newer, shorter chassis, but it was doable.
Next came the crystal itself. Carefully the man removed it from the crystal chamber. It was a deep blood-red in color. That was no longer an acceptable color for this blade. Focusing all his energy into the crystal, he tried to as it was called “cleanse” the crystal. He could tell it was working, but he knew not how long it would take.
The feeling of floating through the past came to him, and though it was impossible to “know” what was going to be shown to you, he had a sense as to what it might be.
The Jedi temple rose before him out of the darkness, and he was whisked inside. It was late in the day, and the sun was starting to set. Its golden rays shone bright and warm through the many windows of the Temple. He was standing in a chamber with a group of nine other younglings. Master Yoda stood in front of them as he often did, this time with a small table and a potted plant. The plant was dry and brown, but he could tell it had once been a beautiful and luscious fern. Master Yoda’s strange voice slowly spoke as he taught the lesson.
“With the Force, reach out. Feel the plant. Feel the Force. To what they are saying, listen.”After a few moments one of the younglings, a vuvrian, spoke.
“It is crying.” he said.
“Good. Good. Seeing clearly, you are.”Another spoke up.
“I feel sadness, and . . . happiness. But the happiness is from you Master Yoda.”“Right, you are. While sad and difficult the ending of a life can be, happiness, there can also be.” The wizened old Jedi said.
“How is this possible?” This time it was he who had spoken.
“A good question, I think. Yes, a good question. Death and pain, a natural part of life they are. Wish to remove them we do, yet without them, grow, we would not. Sad that this beautiful life has ended, I am, but rejoice, I do, for it has transformed into the Force.”The vision of Yoda faded, and was replaced with a hospital somewhere on Coruscant. Him and his master were walking through the hospital on their way to meet with a civilian doctor. As they walked, they passed a young female gotal. She was crying next to a tooka. The nurse was trying to calm the young girl down, but she would not listen.
“Fix him!” the gotal demanded. But it was clear there was nothing that could be done about the dying cat.
He could feel the pain and anger radiating off the young girl. The feelings saddened him, but the memory of Master Yoda’s lesson came to his mind. It was okay to feel pain, but do not dwell on it. As they walked, he reached out with the Force and gently soothed the young girls anger.
Once again, the vision faded. This time to a forest in the early morning. He was staring at the ground crying. A dark shadow was looming over him, and a rasping sound was coming from behind him. His heart was aching, and he knew his master was gone. The monster behind him had made sure of that. He wanted to leap up and strike at the darkness, but he could not bring himself to rise. He just wanted to be done. Just wanted the hurt to leave him. Then
the darkness spoke.
“Join me young padawan, and I will teach you to never know pain again.”At the time, he had been hurting beyond anything that anyone else could have felt. He had lost his friends, his life, his home, and now his Master. There was nothing he wanted more than to rid himself of the pain.
Slowly he spoke. “I . . . will join you.”
There had been more times since then, and each time he believed that his new master still had more to teach him. For a while, it seemed that the Dark One had eventually succeeded. But even that was not true. The female target had fallen to the Inquisitor’s blade, but not before she had awoken something within him. An understanding. He understood what Master Yoda had been trying to teach all those years ago. But beyond that, he understood something that perhaps he was the only person to ever know.
Vader still felt pain.
What for, would perhaps remain a mystery forevermore, but it was there.
He had slipped into meditation without realizing it. As he had meditated, he had come to a realization. He knew he could no longer be who he was, nor could he go back to his original self. However, he also could not leave who he was behind. It was a part of him now. Now and forever.
For years, this crystal had yielded a red blade. While that could be changed, he realized that he did not want it to be. It could not stay the deep crimson that it had once been, but neither could it be the silvery white that a “cleansed” crystal was said to be. Something in between would be better. Both a better reflection of who he was now, and a reminder of who he had been. That was important.
Something in between. He thought.
He focused once more on the crystal. Its scarlet hue now slowly starting to fade.
There. A balance.
He let the Force guide him as he opened the chassis and slipped the crystal into its chamber, aligning it exactly, as he had been taught so long ago.
The hilt slid closed and he reached out with his hand to grab it from the air. While he knew the blade would no longer be a deep red, he did not know what its new color would be. A new hilt and a new blade. One that fit who he was now, but served as a reminder of who he had been.With his breath unknowingly held, he switched it on.
The pink glow lit the entire room. It made sense that it would be pink, but it was an unseen color until now.
There was still one more option to test. He unclipped the other saber from his belt. This one had belonged to his master once upon a time. He would keep it to honor the memory of his master, and he would wield it to honor the legacy of the Jedi. It had an orange blade, and was part of a larger saberstaff. The other side had clearly been destroyed already, but this one remained intact, and the coupler undamaged. He brought the two hilts together and created his own staff. The two sides of the hilt were different, and the blades did not match, but it felt right.
The orange saber had once been called
Vlice. There was a legend of a Sith Lord called Vlice who had been known as
The Veiled One. Or so his master had told him.
His new saber needed a name.
Shadow’s Bane was no longer a fitting name.
Mayhaps Rowahn
would be better. He thought.
So now he carried
Rowahn and
Vlice. But those were two seperate hilts.
The staff also needs a name. Memory
, or . . . Veiled Past
maybe? Yes, Veiled Past
seems fitting. He separated the hilts and clipped them to his sides, then walked out the chamber towards the cockpit. He should be arriving at the destination soon.