That second of Ukatis' two suns - Cephla, named for the wood nymph who lived in fables old as the planet herself - brushed the horizon. Seres had set more than thirty minutes ago, casting the forest of Wyndvane in dusky shadows.
Corazona sat on the bank of the river, still as stone. Back straight, legs crossed, eyes closed. Nestled among the damp stones in front of her was a lightsaber hilt, ornate patterns blemished from age and battle alike.
Hours of meditation at this vergence in the Force had not brought her the answers she'd sought. What was more, the Sith spirit trapped within the saber hilt refused to speak to her.
The one time she'd wouldn't have minded his council, Darth Ukatis remained silent.
Her eyelids fluttered open, and Corazona sighed. It was harder for frustration to take root at a nexus of the Light, but she'd felt as if her time here was wasted. She rose, layers fluttering to the ground as she first shed her cloak, then the outer layer of her tunic. After stuffing her socks into her boots, she reached for the saber.
The thin layers of her undergarments did not protect Corazona from the water's chill as she dove into the nexus.
"Petulant child."
The pained rasp of Darth Ukatis entered her mind as she floated to the surface. With a smile, she tilted her head back and spread her arms, lifting her hips to make her buoyant on the water's surface.
"Do not be so cranky. Sometimes we must do things that make us uncomfortable."
The Sith scoffed.
"Pitiful how you try to be clever."
Cora frowned, electing not to take the bait. For a few long moments, she focused on the weightless feeling that came with being suspended in the gentle current.
"What do you know of the House of Marr?"
There was a thoughtful pause before the voice of Crenical von Ascania rumbled in her head, steadier than before.
"An ancient house like our own. Marr sought to claim renown among the galaxy; a fearsome warrior and defender of his Sith Empire. He was rewarded with death."
"Like our own? Our line isolated itself to Ukatis. You isolated us to Ukatis."
"I was the caretaker of our people. I forsook my given name in service to them. We wanted for nothing, so we did not seek anything beyond our border. It seems as though you've forgotten your duty."
Darth Ukatis had borne quiet witness to Cora's revelation. Malum's revelation, too - she recalled his shock as his amulet reacted to her touch, imparting a vision of Darth Marr's final moments into her. A sign that his essence lived within her, despite her coloration.
The fingers of her free hand brushed against a blonde tendril made smooth and sleek by the water.
"How do I-"
An unseen force pressed against her head, plunging Cora underwater. It held her there in a vice grip, unmoving as she thrashed in panic.
Light filled her field of vision, and she stilled.
The image of a rolling Ukatian field at dusk appeared before her. A woman, vaguely familiar, clutched a bundle close to her chest.
Her mother's lineage had been far less illustrious than that of her father. Luciana von Ascania - née Montallot, had been an only child, born into the family at the end of her own mother's birthing years.
Through the lens of the past, Cora watched as a younger version of her maternal grandparents interacted with a darkly clad figure whose face she could not see. A tiny, chubby arm reached from the bundle towards Lady Montallot.
The sound of a child crying pulled her suddenly from the vision. When Cora's eyes snapped open, the pressure against her face had disappeared, and her head lifted from the water.
She gasped for breath, trying to hold onto what snippets she could from her vision of the past. Her mother…her mother was…
Cora slicked wet strands back from her brow, tilting her face up to the darkened sky. Over head, two of Ukatis' four moons had risen. Kilsie and Nima, the dancing sisters, named for the way their orbital path twined around one another.
"Do you understand now?"
"Understand what?"
There was no response from Darth Ukatis, just the gentle drift of the river's current, and the quiet sounds of night.
Part One . Part Two
