Sianid Ascendant: Chapter 19

"Since you were so gracious in victory, Lord Kallig, I will return that honour in kind. The time for deception has passed."

"There is no deception here. You yourself made a great effort to point that out."

"Ah, but just because I cannot lie to you, it does not mean that you cannot lie to yourself. There are some things you should know now, so that you might actually understand what is about to happen to you."

"You see, I know much more about what you've done here than you realize. It was well-documented that in life you were quite the philanderer, and fathered many, many bastard children. It is one of the ways in which you later became such an effective General, because you devised the Blood Possession ritual to allow yourself to inhabit, temporarily, your own many descendants on the battlefield to gather intelligence. It is also the primary reason that Tulak Hord was ultimately unable to completely eradicate your progeny as he had intended. You taught this technique to Sianid."

"But without a willing recipient, you needed to weaken the girl first, by killing her--but only for a moment. Using Tulak Hord's own Death Strike attack combined with his defensive measure for it was actually quite clever. It opened the door for Sianid to control the girl instead, giving you the opportunity to suppress her in this way."

"What remained then was the need to remove Sianid from the picture, so that you could take over completely. I would guess that these flames were a part of your first attempt, which was unsuccessful. You finally did it on Ilum, pushing Sianid out and allowing the girl to die yet again, when the Jedi healer was there to intervene. A risky move, actually, but I expect you were ready to sustain her lifeless body as long as necessary--the healer simply accomplished your objective for you more quickly."

"How is it that you can know all of this?"

"I suspect that the complication you encountered arose from your original problem--you are not a living spirit, and so could not control a living body. So you pulled Sianid back in to act as your living puppet. All that remained was to fully draw her in, under your complete control. You tried to keep what you were doing a secret, but that was ruined for you when you were forced to defend yourself and put your power on display."

"HOW IS IT!?!"

"Well, the Sith do abhor the destruction of useful knowledge, so a great deal of information about the final confrontation between you and Tulak Hord is preserved in the Sphere of Mysteries, but kept a closely-guarded secret. It wouldn't do for every Apprentice on Korriban to know of the Death Strike, for instance. It is also documented how your attempt to steal Tulak Hord's power failed because it instead linked the two of you, and combined your power. Though he was greatly appreciative of the results, THAT--according to his own writings--what what convinced him to betray and send his thrall to murder you, which he did."

Kallig laughed. "Again, you presume to lecture ME on my own history, when ALL of what you say is already known to me. Your belief that you can defeat me is not the same thing as actually being able to do so--it only shows that you lack a rational mind. It is you who lies to himself." The surging flame subsided a bit as Kallig's anger shifted back to confidence.

Zarvell actually laughed a bit. "Hmmm . . . 'lack a rational mind' . . . you are quite probably the very first ever to say those words to me. No matter. I shall now tell you four very important things that you evidently do NOT know."

"ONE: I have allies here in this place. You do not. Those you THINK you have I will turn against you, one by one. With the exception of the droid, each and every one them will work for ME toward MY goals . . . including the Dashade, the Trandoshan, the Togruta, and I expect even Sianid now. You have no one. And, I assure you, the name of Kallig is not forgotten to all."

"My power is such that others would simply hold me back."

"TWO: I know the process, in detail, by which you came to this point. NOT ONE of these rituals is unknown to me, which means I also know how it can be duplicated . . . or reversed."

"You try to intimidate, but fail.  Your words are irrelevant."

"THREE: I have not only the knowledge, but also the means to carry out the process. The Blood Possession is not just an academic curiosity for me. Sianid was able to use it because she is the girl's mother. It just so happens that I . . . am her FATHER."

It took a moment for the implications of that fact to settle in.

"It will not help you. I will kill all of you, starting with the insolent little GREEN one who presumes to use the Death Strike on ME. Her fate is already sealed and you cannot stop it."

"FOUR: In a thousand years of waiting in your tomb, you've lost your connection with time that every living being innately has. Oh, we manipulate it in the Force, certainly. Yet still it marches on, inevitably, and we little mortals feel it at the core of our beings. Look closely at this Jedi." He pointed to Galadina.

As Kallig stepped back to see the image of Galadina attacking the VERY faint image of Dianiss, his mask made seeing any sort of facial expression impossible. But from his body language, he seemed to finally recognize something that he hadn't noticed until now. "Impossible!"

Galadina's foot was making contact with Dianiss' face.

"Time waits for no man, and certainly not one that it has already claimed. Your attempt to strike down 'the insolent little green one', as you say, has been thwarted. Your defeat, I am pleased to say, is now a near-certainty. While you certainly may hold all of the power, I am the one who now holds victory."

Zarvell bent down on one knee to address Kallig's captives.

"Oh Lady Sianid, you are about to experience something quite painful. I don't envy you. Perhaps next time you'll heed my advice."

Zarvell reached over to touch little Dianiss tenderly on the chin and turn her head towards him. "Annie, it's Daddy."

As she opened her eyes, she barely recognized him. "Daddy?"

Zarvell had planned these words carefully.

"Annie, think hard. You must remember who you are, who you were, who you will become. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. Remember Tython. You need to once again . . . give it your all."

"I'm scared."

"Don't be frightened. Remember that you are strong. Remember that you are powerful. We will be victorious. These chains will be broken. The Force will free you."

Kallig's seething was growing so intense that the yellow hue all around them was turning orange.

Zarvell stood and walked back to the place where the image of his own body lay on the ground, and turned to face his adversary one last time.

"Lord Kallig, we shall speak again, and soon."

Zarvell reached out to touch his connection to Dianiss, and release it. As he did, the yellow-orange glow of the Dream Walk faded away, to be replaced only by darkness.