[Stump]

-Tear Fall-
Chapter One
Dark Resonance


Jedi Master Draas stood in the shadows waiting for the Jedi Council to dismiss from session so he could speak with Master Verlain about the events that had transpired the previous evening.
He and his padawan, Devero Xos, had been dispatched to settle a dispute between two clans of moisture farmers. Afterwards they stumbled upon a young boy who said he had seen a “scary man” in a cavern not too far from his farm. Master Draas and Devero mounted two sand-speeder bikes and made their way to the cavern.
“Master, I sense something…”
“I sense it to my young apprentice; it is not the dark side, but rather its echo…a resonance of some sort. Be mindful of your thoughts Devero…and be on your guard.”
They walked into the cavern, the wind howled against the old rock surface as if speaking to the two Jedi. They came to a ledge that overlooked a gap in the cavern to find a Twi-lek male mumbling to himself and digging into the ground with his bare hands. Draas and Devero force jumped swiftly from the ledge to the cavern floor. As they approached the Twi-lek they could see his eyes, they were not looking where to dig, at them, or at anything…the Twi-lek was in a blank stare. His fingertips bloody from the hours of digging he had endured. Draas tried to help the Twi-lek to his feet when he suddenly stopped his motion and yelled something at the two Jedi in a foreign tongue then produced and a Bantha stun stick and jammed it into his midsection, electrocuting himself. Before Master Draas and Devero could act, he was dead and any knowledge of what he was doing or why they felt a significant Dark side resonance along with him.
Draas wrapped himself in his robes and waited. The Council dismissed and Master Verlain approached Draas, Verlain was a Kel-Dor who had been on the Council for a very long time, he is considered the wisest member of the Council the time.
“We do not know why the Twi-lek you found was on Huuan or what he was doing, we can only theorize as to it.”
“I understand Master.”
“Huuan is a planet that has even been neutral when is comes to Light or Dark side force auras. Even in the time of Revan and Malak, when the planet was touched by the Mandolorian wars it remained neutral. So, that means that the Dark side resonance you felt must have come from a person and was left there after a prolonged use of the Dark side of the force with significant power.”
“..the Twi-lek?”
“No, he was not a force user; however he was under great power when you found him.”
“…your saying that whoever left the resonance was still there and we did not sense it?”
“I am not attacking your wisdom or judgment Master Draas, but that seems to be the only explanation.”
“Why would whoever was controlling the Twi-lek just let us leave?”
“So he could continue doing whatever he was doing before he sensed your arrival, master Draas. The Twi-lek was a diversion. Like I said, this is only a theory…but it may prove wise to return to Huuan with your padawan as soon as you can.”
“I will, Master.”

Devero sat alone in the Jedi archive library searching for any information about the planet Huuan and the Dark side. He sensed Draas as soon as he entered the library and moved to meet him.
“Master, what news from the council?”
“We are too return to Huuan as soon as we can and see what else we can find.”
“..but Master…we searched the remains of the cavern and found nothing, does the council not believe us?”
“Patience Devero, the council believes us and they believe in our ability to uncover the nature of what happened. Gather your things young Xos, we will leave as soon as our star-fighters have been fueled.”
“Yes, master.”

Draas stood there for a moment and watched his padawan walk away. He knew Devero had amazing powers but he still had much to learn of the living force but he was very proud to be his Master. He couldn’t help but see how much Devero had grown since he was first brought to the Enclave to be trained. Devero was now almost in his 20th year and as soon as this mystery was solved, he would be approved to take his Jedi Knight trial. Draas knew as the council did, that when Devero was a fully trained Jedi, he would help the Republic in the ways they needed to be helped for survival to be an option of the future.
Devero was in his quarters packing the supplies he would need when he sensed the presence of another person in the room. He ignited his lightsaber and the brilliant viridian blade of the saber glowed brightly in the darkness of his room. Nobody was there and the sensation he felt was gone, however it reminded him of the resonance he felt on Huuan…

Master Draas and Devero arrived on Huuan the next day and made their way back to the cavern where they found the catatonic Twi-lek three days earlier. They jumped back down to the platform where the Twi-lek had been digging and found nothing out of the ordinary.
“I sense nothing at all Master, not even a small part of the resonance as before.”
“Neither do I Devero that does not mean there is nothing here though. Make your way through those tunnels and meet me back in an hour. Use the COM link if you find anything. May the force be with you my young apprentice.”
“May the force be with you master.”
Draas made his way through the long dark of the tunnels where nothing lived, a foul stench of aged sand was the only he found. He completed his route and began making his way back to Devero’s position.
Devero walked through the tunnels irate that the council had sent the back to this forsaken desert to find nothing. How he wished Draas was on the council but he knew his master’s intentions and they did not lye with the council. Draas is too much of a reb—, something moved to Deveros right. It was something of decent size but he could not tell how far away it was due to the extremely long echo of the tunnels. Devero peered into the dark trying to find some outline of shape when he realized the thing he had been looking for was directly behind him now and he could feel the warm, blood wretched breathe of the creature on his neck. Devero rolled forward and ignited his lightsaber on his way up to shed light on a creature like nothing he had ever seen.
A black creature had formed from almost out of thin air less than a dozen feet in front of him now. Claws and teeth shined in the green light of his saber as the creature sat back on its haunches in preparation for an attack. The creature was human in look, though hairless and smooth as if sculpted from dark clay. There was an odd, shapeless quality about its limbs and body, as if the muscles beneath lacked definition. Sightless, deadened eyes lifted to find his, and a mouth, as ragged and black as the creature’s skin yawned in a deep, toneless hiss. The creature stepped forward, slowly and soundly. Devero froze and found himself in shock. He reached for the COM link in his pouch to call for his Master. Too late. Teeth and claws gleamed, a flash of ivory, and a fierce shriek broke from the creature’s throat. It was on Devero so quickly that there was no time to defend, his saber was knocked from his hands and he was holding the beast off now by sheer physical strength. The beasts claws dug into his sides and Devero let out a scream the echoed through the tunnels and just then and cobalt blue flash of light shown and the beast let out a shrill that made Devero’s scream sound like a pin dropping. It was Draas, the Jedi master buried his saber up the hilt in the creatures back and with one stroke removed it and made two slashing strikes to cripple the beast and a final blow down into the heart of the beast. Devero quickly brought himself back to his feet and glanced over his saber to make sure no damaged had come to it. He looked at Draas and nodded accordingly and they both looked down for a closer look and what had to be some, sick, twisted abomination of the Dark side.

[Hime]

nice one stump

[Milamber]

yeah that was pretty nice ^^.... its so cuuuuuuuuuute

[Stump]

Chapter Two
Foundation of Darkness


The creature lay on the cold rock floor of the cavern and the two Jedi bent closer to inspect what it was they were dealing with. Draas grabbed the left arm of the lifeless body to find that his fingers were buried into the skin of the creature. There were no bones in the creatures arm. He inspected the creature further to find the same everywhere on the body. It obviously had no exoskeleton so how did this creature live? Master Draas stood in bewilderment as Devero ignited his saber and gently opened the beats chest cavity to find a black and red glowing liquid pouring out. Devero had never seen anything like it, he looked at his Master to find sheer terror in his eyes, something he had never seen.
“What is it master? If it’s not blood or another organic substance, then wha---“
“Board your fighter padawan, I must speak to the council, immediately.”
“Yes master…”
Devero started making his way out of the cavern and noticed Draas take out the blood scanner used to identify metichlorian counts in potentials for the enclave and take a small sample of the black and red liquid. Devero could sense how troubled his master had become, he knew something that he did not…something dangerous, something that threatened them, the Jedi and the force.

Back on Dantooine at the Enclave, Jedi Master Draas and his padawan Devero Xos stood before the Jedi Council to report their findings. Master Verlain was the only member to speak…
“Master Draas, young Xos, we stepped onto a very dangerous path when you found this creature. The liquid you took from the corpse was not blood of any sort, it was discharge left over from the Dark life force.”
“Dark life force?”, Draas asked.
‘Yes Draas, dark life force endowed upon this creature from extreme concentration of Dark side energy. It has been heard of before but only one Sith Lord had ever achieved this level of power. Tulak Hord, a Sith of incredible power that lived in-between the reigns of Marka Ragnos and Ajunta Pall. He was a warrior of incredible power and it was rumored he had to the power to manifest the Dark side in other creatures, resulting in the ‘Dark life force’ you encountered.”
“…that’s impossible isn’t it? You can’t just create life out of thin air; I don’t care how powerful you are.”
“He’s wasn’t ‘creating’ it so to speak, he is replacing it. He drains the life force out of a body and fills the void with dark energy, thus creating the monstrosity you fought. The question though, is who, in this time could have such power and be undetected by our senses. Your best option in starting your investigation is to go to the tomb of Tulak Hord and see what you can turn up.”
“Master, we do not know where he is entom—“
“Korriban, his sarcophagus lies between the burial sights of Ragnos and Pall.” Devero interjected.
“Your padawan is correct, very good Devero. Your time in the archives has paid off.”
‘Thank you Master Verlain.”
“Depart at once.”
“Yes Master.”

Draas and Devero made their way to their long range star fighter platforms. As Draas was climbing into his cockpit he noticed Devero at his side.
“Yes Devero? What is it?”
“What’s troubling you Master? I know there is more then what you and the council are telling me.”
“Devero, if a Sith Lord is out there and has the power to strip the life force from creatures and replace it with dark energy, what makes you think that he hasn’t transformed everything he has encountered since Huuan, there may be an entire army of Dark side creatures, twisted men, Sith lords…waiting for us, waiting to destroy all that we have worked so hard to rebuild. The Jedi are in grave danger Devero, and we must discover the nature of what has happened. The part that really frightens me most was that I could sense confusion in that creature we found in the cavern. Confusion and fear…”
“Fear? Why would it be afraid?”
“That monster, for all its size and power…it was only a child…a newborn of the Dark side…and if that was only the first stage of infancy, imagine what a full grown monster would look like, the power…the size. You are the most promising padawan in the entire academy and it nearly tore you apart. I am afraid Devero, for the first time since I have wielded a lightsaber, I am afraid. For myself, for you and for the Jedi.”
“We must stop it from happening then.”
“That’s the first real smart thing you’ve said all day my young padawan. Let’s go.”

The two Jedi boarded their star fighters and jumped into hyperspace toward the Sith home world of Korriban…

[Kane]

Curious to see where this one is going keep the chapters coming Stump

[Stump]

Chapter Three
Shroud of Arrogance


The two Jedi star fighters landed on the sand covered wasteland that was Korriban, home world of the true Sith. It was home to many Sith Lords and their minions. It once held the main Sith training academy in the galaxy. Now it was nothing more then a tomb world. Unless, when the two Jedi arrived…a tomb was empty…
Devero stepped from his fighter and instructed his Astro Droid to keep an eye out and to inform them of any activity. He wrapped himself in his robe, folded his arms and walked to where Draas’s fighter was landed.
“Something is wrong Devero, we shouldn’t be here…the Dark side clouds everything…”
“…but Master, the council has ordered us to investing---“
“Yes young padawan, I am aware of the council’s orders. Do not separate from me and do not lose your light saber, again.”
Draas punched a few buttons in his cockpit and R-9 projected a hologram of where Hord’s sarcophagus was supposedly located. The two Jedi took their readings and started for the tomb. They hadn’t gone farther then a few hundred meters when Draas stopped and raised his hand slightly. Devero’s hand slid towards the hilt of his saber.
“What is it?” Devero asked.
“A presence, it is the resonance I felt on Huuan. I can not pinpoint it though; it is as if the very planet itself is the resonance.”
“Or the person is disguising himself through the use of Dark aura.”
“I do not believe so, I believe whoever is doing is trying to discover if we are a threat to them or not, like I said before, somewhat of a childlike action.”
Devero nodded and they moved on. They walked for maybe 10 minutes more when they came to the Valley of the Dark Lords. Bones and skeletons littered the surface and in the corners of the valley, four doors, four tombs of Sith lords. Now, finding the Tomb of Tulak Hord was the problem. They moved toward where the hologram said the entrance would be to find themselves standing around a few broken rock structures in the left center of the valley. The two Jedi looked at each in bewilderment.
“What do we do master?”
‘Use your feelings Devero, you can feel the Dark side all around us can you not?”
“Yes Master, of course.”
“Find the central sources, you feel them in each corner I am sure, search deeper. You will sense that one is directly under us…and if you---“
The sand started to churn and the glasslike yellow surface of Korriban started to shift until a pillar rose out of the ground with what looked to be a portrait of the Sith Lord Tulak Hord himself chiseled into the very stone. After the dust cleared a staircase that began the decent into the Tomb was revealed. The two Jedi, master and apprentice slowly made their way into the Tomb. As Draas crossed the threshold into the tomb a wave came over him. Draas was rocked by something that seized him as a giant hand would a tiny bug. It came out of the earth in a rush, sweeping over him so fast that he did not have time to react and was left momentarily stunned. Perhaps it had been there all along but masked its presence. Pervasive and powerful, it had no identifiable form, no substantive being. It was everywhere all at once, all around him. Smothering him, choking him. He went limp in its grasp, offered no resistance, letting it think him helpless. Devero stared at him in confusion, not realizing what was happened, the young padawan looked to his Master but got no acknowledgment whatsoever. Draas disappeared inside himself, deep, where nothing could touch him. There, closed away, he waited. Devero ignited his saber in a protective fashion in case anything attempted a rush while his Master was incapacitated. The viridian green blade shown brightly on the sweat of Devero’s brow. A few moments later, the presence withdrew, sliding back into the earth, satisfied perhaps that it was not threatened. The attack had shaken him badly, whatever it was that now lived in the Valley of the Dark Lords had power that dwarfed his own. It was a power that succeeded any in the Jedi Order. The being was young, he could tell. That attack wasn’t one out of anger or aggression, it was out of curiosity. He instructed Devero that he was ok and Devero nodded cautiously. They moved on into the sarcophagus room of the Tomb. It wasn’t until Draas waved his hand to open the sarcophagus door that he knew they were in danger. He looked over his shoulder to find four of the creatures they had encountered on Huuan. Snarling, drooling, twisted black forms writhing around the Tomb as a pack of wolves would surround a weak animal. Both sabers ignited and they took their saber form stances. The creatures split up into two’s and moved into attack range. The first set leapt at Draas but the Jedi Master was already moving, ducking out of the way and making a swift counterattack that landed the first creature without a right arm. Devero was caught in the middle while his two creatures circled him, making movements forward to try and get the young Jedi off balance, Devero held tight and lowered into a crouch and sent a force wave hammering into one of the beasts, the body slammed against the Tomb wall and fell to the floor in a daze. The second beast lurched forward, snapping his jaws down but the padawan was too quick and the creature caught nothing but air. Draas was in a stand off with the unwounded creature while the one-armed creature played back waiting for the other to strike. The Jedi master had enough and gripped the sarcophagus door with the force and sent it hurling toward the beast, it was too slow and the door caught the beast square knocking it to the floor, dead. Devero was backed into a corner now, both beats at his front. The young Jedi made a desperate move and leapt to the side, twisting and attacking both legs of one creature. He succeeded and the beast dropped, convulsing in agony. The second creature came on and Devero was overwhelmed. By the time Draas had ended the life of his second beast with a decapitation he looked over to find Devero pressed up against the wall by his throat. The beast hissing into the face of his padawan. The Jedi Master let his saber fly and it caught the beast just above the ribs. Devero was free of his grip and landed a flurry of strikes to the beast leaving it almost in pieces. The two Jedi gathered themselves in their robes.
“What were they protecting Master?”
“I’m not sure my young apprentice; I no longer feel the resonance.”

A voice echoed through the tomb.
“You’re too late Jedi! I have already sealed the fate of the Jedi and secured the future of the Sith, here, now! You’re too late fools!”
It was the voice of Tulak Hord, arguably the most powerful Sith Lord to walk the surface of Korriban.
“You know of what I speak Jedi, those creatures are nothing…peons to distract you. You have missed the true power because you are too weak to sense it! He held you in the palms of his hand Draas! He toyed with you and let you go!”

“What are you talking about Hord?”
The voiced stirred and then echoed again…
“I’m sure you know that I, in my former life, had the power to manifest the Dark side in other beings. Now, in death, the power had grown and I have given it thousands of years to grow beyond any measure of power. Instead of stripping life force and replacing it, I can create it. I have created a true Sith Lord. One from the ancient times, a time before “Sith” was a following. When the “Sith” were a race, and he will end the Jedi.”

“We will stop him, Tulak. Just as we have stopped every Sith since your fall. The oppression of the Sith will not return. Show me this man, this true Sith Lord.” Draas stated arrogantly.

“As you wish Jedi….hehehe”
The voice faded away and out of the sarcophagus of Tulak Hord rose a child. A child, with skin as white as snow and black veins running up his neck and fanning out through his face. His hair was pure black and spiked, he had an aura about him like a shield to protect him. It was a shield of pure hatred and power.
The two Jedi stared his disbelief. They were looking at a child, no bigger then a youngling at the academy. His eyes were pure white and he donned a black Sith Master robe with an ancient symbol on the front.
Suddenly, it hit Draas. The childlike behavior, the wave that swept over him earlier in the tomb…it was this child! The power he possessed! The power! The Jedi Master did the only thing he could think of and ignited his saber, before the blade had ignited fully, the boy raised his hand and threw both Jedi back into the tomb walls with such force that it nearly broke Draas’ back and just before he lost consciousness he saw Devero hit the ground. The boy, dark lord and incarnate of the pure Dark side stood over the Jedi master. He stared into his eyes but Draas could do nothing to stop the mind probing from happening. He saw what the boy saw and his last vision before blackness took him was the enclave.

[Stump]

Chapter Four
The Legacy


Devero awoke slowly, he shook his head trying to center himself and make sure he was not injured badly. He rose to his feet and quickly scanned the tomb floor for his saber. He fastened it to his belt and caught sight of his Master, on the ground, not moving. His heart jumped as he made his way over to Draas and was relieved to find he was alive. Draas opened his eyes and jumped to his feet.
“The enclave! He will destroy us! Hurry!”

The two Jedi boarded the one remaining Jedi Star fighter as the boy who left them for dead and was making his way for the Enclave, stole the other. They made the jump into hyperspace and had nothing left to do but wait.
“Master, when we arrive. What are we going to do? We can not defeat the boy by saber and nobody, not even Master Verlain will be able to match his knowledge of the force. The Jedi will be destroyed.”
“I do not know Devero, but we have to try. Prepare yourself; meditate on a solution until we arrive.”
“Yes Master.”

They arrived at the Jedi Enclave to find everything in order from a bird’s eye view. They disembarked the fighter and made haste toward the council chambers. The Jedi Enclave was bustling with padawans, Jedi trialing and other activities. The boy was nowhere to be seen, or felt for that matter. Maybe they had arrived in time or perhaps the boy had masked his presence in the way he did on Korriban. Devero was following Draas through the archives when he saw a group of padawans with no master escorting them. He shrugged it off realizing he was not keeping pace with Draas. They all but broke through the council room doors to find every Master, including Master Verlain looking at them in astonishment.
“What is the meaning of this Master Draas? The Dark side surrounds you and your padawan.”
“Forgive the intrusion master; we encountered a concentration of pure Dark side in the form of a boy. He incapacitated Devero and I and then began to probe my mind, the last thing I remember was a vision of the Enclave, so we came here in fear that the boy was on his way.”
“I see, what would we have to fear from a boy? Are you sure your thoughts are clear? This is an entire Jedi Enclave, surely one boy would not be a problem.”
“You don’t understand master, he is….”

The doors of the council chambers opened slowly and a group of padawans entered the chamber.

“Ah, younglings, we are almost ready for you. Master Draas was just finishing his report on the outer rim planets. We will continue this conversation later Draas, take your padawan to prepare for his trial.”
“No Master! This boy will kill us all! He is more powerful than any Sith or Jedi! We must gather our full strength and leave the Enclave, at once!”
“Silence Master Draas!” The Kel-Dor’s voice boomed throughout the chamber. “You will do as you’re instructed Master Jedi.”
Draas nodded and turned to leave the room when he felt Devero’s arm tighten around his own, he looked to the center of the chamber. The boy had materialized out of thin air and was standing in the middle of the room. He was riving and almost levitating above the floor. He raised his hand and threw every Jedi in the room up against the walls of the chamber, save one; Verlain. The boy touched down to the floor and spoke.
“You arrrrrre the leader of the Jediiii, yes?”
“The Jedi are one, what do you seek?”
“The saber, you know where it is…tell me Verlain, where have you hidden it?”
“You will never find it.”
“You arrrrrrre wrong Verlain, I will find it and then, I will be invincible.”
“Who are you?”
“I aaaaam, the son of Tulak Hord. He was the most skilled warrior ever to sit on the throne of the Sith. With that saber I will be the most powerful Sith to have ever lived. I am Dravec Hord, Darth Eradicus and I will kill you if you do not disclose the location of the saber to me.”

“Then do what you will beast, the saber will never fall into the hands of the Sith again.”

Darth Eradicus picked up one of the younglings and moved him in front of the Jedi Master, he raised his hands and the youngling went completely stiff. The boy looked at the Jedi master and said.

“If you do not tell me, I will rip every person in this Enclave in half and you will watch.”

Darth Eradicus slowly began to move his arms apart and the youngling’s body slowly began to separate at its midsection. The youngling screamed in pain and Eradicus began to smile in the face of Master Verlain.

“All right!!! It’s on the planet of Ord Vaxal, in the Vaxal system. You must enter the system on the dark side of the planet during the second revolution of the sun during the week. Then make your way to the surface and a guardian will await you. He will ask for the name of the Jedi Master that last held the saber. The answer is Master Draven Xos.”

Devero went numb, he had never heard the name before but he knew that Draven Xos was his father…

[EvilIvy]

awsome =O

[Stump]

Chapter Five
Sins of the Father


Darth Eradicus tossed the youngling to the floor and bolted out the door of the enclave, a few of the Jedi gave chase but it was a futile attempt. Back in the council chambers Master Verlain checked on a few of the other Masters who were shaken up and made for his quarters.
Master Draas intercepted him and told him the time had come and gone for answers. Master Verlain nodded and explained to him and Devero what “saber” the boy was speaking of. Verlain told them that Deveros father, Draven, was the most powerful Jedi to ever join the ranks of the Jedi. More powerful than Revan and Malak combined and through his extensive knowledge of the force, had figured out a way to fuse the power crystal of a lightsaber to the mind, body and soul of the user. In turn, the saber actually responded to the thoughts of the wielder, eliminating the body from having to react. It was deemed the next step in evolution for force users. Master Xos gave a demonstration to the Jedi Council where he was confronted by 7 Jedi Masters of great power and he bested them all without moving. Since a Jedi can see events before then happen to start with, thus why they seem to have incredible reflexes, this saber amplified that to an almost unlimited extent. This saber combined with a Jedi who could use Battle Meditation would be almost invincible during a war. Devero asked Master Verlain what happened to his father and why the saber has been hidden for 2 decades. The Jedi Master explained to him that once word of this saber reached the Sith Lords on Korriban, the hunt was on find it and make it their own. This was the true reason for the Jedi Civil War that occurred; nobody ever actually explained what the “teachings” of Revan and Malak were. It turned out that they had been thought to have discovered how to construct one of these sabers and promised them to all who followed. The Council met and told Master Xos that the saber was to be destroyed if he wanted to remain in the Jedi Order, he accepted the ruling and had the saber destroyed. However, by the time this had happened, Master Xos had already created another for his son….Devero who was born after he was sent to Malacor 5 to battle Revan. Devero was the son of Draven and another Jedi Knight, Bastila. The council knew of this but made an exception to the code for one reason only. The offspring of a Jedi Master such as Draven who possessed a knowledge of the force far greater than anyone and one of the only Jedi Knights in history to have the power of battle meditation would surely bring an end to the Sith on Korriban and fighting would be over.
Since Master Verlain was one of the council members who supported Master Xos, he helped him hide the saber until Devero was ready to control it and Verlain himself would take him to meet his father. However, his father was killed by Exar Kun during the Mandalorian Wars while helping three other fallen Jedi. After the death of Draven Xos, Verlain programmed the saber with a name coded igniter lock that prevents anyone from using the saber save Devero which is why he gave Eradicus the location of the saber. When Eradicus arrived on Ord Vaxal, he would have to find a way to unlock the saber before the entire Jedi Order arrived. However, after the display of strength the boy put on in the heart of the order, Master Verlain, Draas and Devero wondered if an entire enclave would be enough.


Darth Eradicus landed on Ord Vaxal as instructed by Verlain and awaited the guardian. When the sun set on the second revolution of the week, a robed figured appeared…