Path to Patience

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Right now, stop calling me Master and help your big sister set up camp," Taeli laughed. "You'll be starting in the morning, but for now, we can stop being Master and apprentice, and just be Taeli and Melori."

Honestly, that girl was really impatient, but Corvus had said their father had been like that. Must be a Corellian thing, but then Taeli might be Corellian by blood, she was most definitely Lorrdian culturally. Opening up one contained, even as the droid whizzed by with another, she pulled a tent and started to pitch it using the Force.

"So, can you tell me any stories about our parents or the other Raaf siblings?" Taeli asked, looking over at her sister as she drove a stake into the ground by just a Force Grip and Push to the top. "I didn't really get to hear a lot of stories about them when I met Corvus on Corellia." Speaking of Corvus, she knew she needed to ask about why she had slipped off to Ossus. She wasn't angry, just curious.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori sighed but was in a way pleased. She rarely saw her sister outside of being her Master and despite her issues with her other living sibling, she longed to have sisterly chats. “OK…Taeli.” She used the name on purpose to show she was truly no longer the Acolyte – at least for tonight.

Melori set about creating a fire. She suspected the nights could be cold and so the heat would be useful – as well as keeping away any predators.

“I guess we were just a normal family. Mum and dad worked at the University a lot of the time. Our family has a background in farming but they weren’t cut out for that sort of life. They kept their share of the farm and enjoyed the income but they spent their time studying mostly.”

“Mum was a xenobiologist and dad was a linguist. They met at the University here and fell in love. But it was before dad got his inheritance so apparently they were poor…” She looked at her older sister, as if piecing things together for the first time. “But when they graduated they received dad’s share of the farming business and bought the house we grew up in. And filled it with kids and love.”

She focused on the fire for a few seconds until flames started to lick up the kindling she’d gathered. “I was closer to mum. Dad had…a favourite.” Her brow knitted. “But mum got me into ballet and just wanted me to be happy. I was the youngest so spent half the time being spoiled and the other half being ignored.” She smiled. “So I found ways of making them notice me.” The grin was truly wicked now. “Any attention is better than none right?”

“What were your ‘other’ mum and dad like?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Setting up another tent, Taeli listened to Melori explain their family, and she felt a pang of jealousy and longing shoot through her. The fact her birth parents also were about teaching, even if they weren't exactly the fields she specialized in was reassuring, almost like it gave her another connection to them. She quickly suppressed it though as Melori mentioned what she did for attention.

"That surprises me oh so much," she responded, her voice dripping with good-natured sarcasm. "You're just a smidge of a wild child, got to always be doing something or going somewhere to prove you can." There was a very implied mention of Taeli knowing about Ossus, but she would bring that up more in a little bit.

"My adopted dad worked as a doctor of history at the University of Lorrd," Taeli explained. "His main focus was on the era of the Old Republic, but he studied others as well. Gave me my love of history and politics, I was Daddy's little bookworm. Read my way through almost every book in three libraries. My mother though . . . she was raised a Mandalorian. Not a lot of easy love came from there, but she taught me how to fight, how to fence. I was a really good fencer in school, led my team to two sector championships. So I got my love of learning from my dad, and my rather more useful skill set from my mother."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori stuck her tongue out at Taeli when she gave her some good-natured ribbing. “The Jedi life was never one for me. The more they wanted me to conform, to be this perfect replica, the more I rebelled.” Her eyes were far away now. Did she hate Corvus for being Corvus or her parents for always comparing them? But she would never blame her mother, so it had to be Corvus’ fault.

“I hate being told no. Or that something’s not possible. So I feel the need to…you know, prove I can. That it is possible. That’s all.”

Melori smiled – it would be a familiar one to Taeli by now – even if it was on a different face. “Your mum sounds cool. I guess I learned a lot from mum and dad and the one thing they didn’t put me off was learning – although I prefer to find out stuff that’s practical. But to be taught fighting and fencing, that’s awesome.”

“Dad didn’t really spend a lot of time with me. He sat in his study most of the time. Mum said he used to go to the beach all the time but then it stopped.” There was that faraway look again. “But he cared for us and he loved us – as imperfect as we were. But mum was the one. Her ryshcate was to die for and she loved inventing stuff. She was always bringing experiments home and let us help her with them.”

She cleared her throat, “Are you…pleased to have me as a sister?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Taeli smiled as she came over and hugged her sister. The young woman might be a bit of a loose cannon, but that actually made Taeli love her more. She wasn't afraid to go after what she wanted or to let someone tell her no, well maybe Taeli might have to do that if she got a really crazy idea. She couldn't very well having her sister try to assassinate a Jedi Master, that just wouldn't end well, but Melori was smart enough to know her limits. Still, the fact her birth mother loved experiments and such made her smile internally. Her two families were more alike than she thought.

"Pleased to have you as my sister?" she asked, still hugging Melori. "Shouldn't I be the one asking you that? You, and as much as you hate her, and Corvus are my only family now. My adopted parents . . . well, they rejected me in the end, they lied to me about my birth and everything, and they had no plans to tell me. I love you Melori, even if I'm your Sith Master, and I love you for who you are and who I see you growing to be. Are you pleased to have me as a sister?"

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori had known both sides of what it was to have a family. There was the undoubted and unrequited love from all and for all bar one. But she’d also experienced the pain that can only come from those you truly love. She felt overlooked by her father who seemed to enter in a shell when her older sister left for the Jedi – who found her wanting and expected her to be something she wasn’t. She loved him but gave up trying to please him years before he died. Instead she looked to goad him into a reaction.

Her siblings she had an on-off relationship with. They generally got on well but often resented her attention-grabbing antics that often got them into trouble.

Her mother was the one that she related to best of all – she always had time for Melori and was the one that never judged her. And as she looked at Taeli, she could see the similarity. Not that she wanted her big sister to replace her mother…or did she? No, but she was already seeing her in that role – supportive, loving and non-judgemental.

She cuddled her sister. “You’re the best – and I mean that. You’re a great Master but I really love times like these too. I try to keep your two halves separate when we train but I hope and suspect that as I grow, you’ll become more sister and less Master. I respect you for who you are as much as what you are and I love you for being Taeli.”

She stared into the campfire and for as much as she was eager to learn, she could have sat here forever.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Taeli smiled as she held her sister for a little bit longer. She was glad, extremely so, that Melori loved her and was able to keep the two halves separate for now. Taeli knew she couldn't, but she didn't let that distract her from training her sister. After all, she had subjected her to both Force Drain and Lightning so she could learn them.

"I like the quiet times too," she said, smiling at the fire as darkness began to descend on the planet, the sun setting beyond the lake. "So, since you go the fire ready, I'll prepare dinner and you tell me some stories of some of your . . . adventures, including why you went to Ossus without telling me."

She smiled to show she wasn't angry, just curious, but the smile also said . . . don't try and lie to me, I'll be able to tell. Pulling some frozen nerf steaks out of a container, she also pulled out a small grate to use as a grill.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori wasn’t totally surprised. But she did wonder how her sister knew. Was it the flight logs? Had someone told on her? It mattered little really, so she pulled at the chain around her neck, to reveal a plain silver locket, worn behind her robes. Opening it up, she revealed an ornate design with blue symbols.

Spoiler

“I found it.” She laughed. “OK, I confess, it was a little more complex than that. You asked me to read about Darth Maul. When I did, I was drawn to the story of this. It’s a Talisman of Finding. It was worn by one of the Nightsisters named Mother Talzin. It was imbued with the blood of Darth Maul. After his initial defeat to Kenobi, it was used to restore his memories. There must be something in the blood or something that stores them.”

“Anyway, Skywalker stole it and knew what it was – but its whereabouts were never written down. And because I knew Skywalker spent so much time on Ossus and because I knew he must have hidden it, well… I went to the Academy before the Jedi took the planet back. And I…well, found it. That was it really.” Her smile suggested there was more to the tale, but she certainly gave the impression she was telling the truth.

She took the chain from her head and handed the talisman to her sister. “Do you think it’s of any use?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"You'd be surprised the strength that can exist in blood," she said, tapping her chin as she placed the steaks on the grate and started grilling them. The fact her sister had retrieved such an artifact made Taeli smile even more, that would explain the brick that Corvus mentioned when she returned to Ossus.

Taking the amulet gently in her hand, Taeli waved her hand over it and sent a surge of dark side energies into it, all the while chanting in the ancient Sith language. For a brief moment, it was a simple spell just to see if anything was left in this and it wasn't just a piece of jewelry, a small cloud formed over the Talisman of Finding that showed a disjointed image of the Nightbrother in question dueling against two Jedi in a hanger. It was just as swiftly gone though as she ended the spell.

"It would appear that the memories that have survived are the more important ones to Maul's mission," she said, handing the amulet back to her sister. "Mainly his combat training I'd hazard a guess at, hmm, I could unlock this so they could impart part of his Teras Kasi training into your mind, but actually learning the techniques and gaining the muscle memory would be up to you."

That was when her stomach growled and she burst out laughing.

"Sorry, that will have to wait until after dinner though, how do you like your steak?" she asked, flipping them over with the Force.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori was intrigued by her sister’s words. If she’d known the amulet might have been of actual use, she would have shared its existence sooner.

Again she was fascinated by the ancient language and wondered how difficult it would be to master but was truly amazed by the image of Maul that appeared. And then the cogs started to turn. Combat training? Teräs Käsi? She’d read about his ability with the martial art but due to her age had dismissed learning it to any level of competence. But if his memories could be somehow added to hers, all she’d need to do was to practice the moves and develop the muscle memory. It was a big ‘all’ but it was worth pursuing.

The sound of her sister’s hunger reminded her she hadn’t eaten herself for a while. “Medium rare please,” she offered and rummaged though a box to find something to drink, settling for some glacier mineral water.

“Could you tell me about the language. Is it Sith?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"Medium rare it is," Taeli said, keeping track of how cooked the stakes would be through the Force as she got up and pulled a drink container herself, this one containing chilled Bastion Black tea. Her sister had seemed enthralled by the image she had shown of Maul from the amulet, and it seemed that the amulet still had a bit of life left to it.

"The language is that of the ancient Sith," she replied with a grin, sitting back and taking her sister's nerf steak off the grill and onto a plate. Hers wasn't quite there yet, she didn't like them having too much pink in the middle. Handing her sister a knife and a fork, she handed the plate to her and continued making her own.

"It's . . . a bit hard to comprehend, especially trying to read it, but I was lucky that I had access to a linguistic decoder," she continued saying. "Once I decoded how to write and read it, learning how to say it wasn't too hard. You could say I have a proclivity for languages, including Basic, Huttese but I hardly ever use that, Lorrdian silent language which is where you use subtle body movements to talk, Mando'a, ancient Sith, and a few others that I'm not as practiced with."

Finally taking her own steak off the grate, she smiled and added, "Curious how the magic works hmm?"

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori listened and realised that, sooner or later, she’d have to learn the language. She had no natural affinity for them – but then she’d never really tried at any subject at school or even at the Academy. She had always done the bare minimum to get by. Not to keep out of trouble – she didn’t mind that – but to remain just enough ahead of the game not to be expelled.

She started on the steak, deciding that waiting would risk her own food going cold. As she cut a small piece and popped it into her mouth, she nodded. “Yes. I understand connecting to the Force, using your will to command it. But Magic? I have no…” she waved her hand near her head, almost poking herself in the eye with her fork, “Concept of how that would work.”

“Is it something all Sith can learn, or does it require a specific aptitude – like languages?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"A certain aptitude," Taeli said, cutting into her own steak. "Some Sith can be unstoppable engines of destruction and mayhem, using the dark side to fuel powerful acts of violence. Darth Vornskr comes to mind when one thinks of that, he was rather famous for his brutality and cruelty. Some Sith are more silent, preferring the use of the dark side to quiet their movements and kill their enemies silently, such as the Sith Assassins. While others, such as myself, devote our time and energies to unlocking deeper secrets of the Force."

Taking a bite and chewing, she swallowed the meat and continued.

"I, for instance, would probably be absolutely terrible at trying to use teras kasi in a fight," she said, smiling. "I was a fencer and academic in school, not exactly someone cut out for extended periods of fighting someone with my fists. I'm a danger with a blade, but my preferred method of fighting is using my powers to take out opponents such as Jedi, or delving into the dark side to create something as an instrument of power. There is an aptitude test, but it was lost some time ago when Darth Bane's holocron disappeared and the writings he originally got them from were destroyed by Darth Gravid."

Taking another bite, she pondered something about perhaps embarking on a quest to find the holocron, but that could be saved for after the other expedition she was planning.

"So don't feel disappointed, Melori, if Sith Magics are not right for you or don't come easy," she said, smiling again. "I suspect you'll be quite powerful in your own way."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori listened. It seemed the Sith, with their magic, were more complicated than the Jedi in this respect. And the need to learn a language was definitely a challenge.

“It seems I need to decide on my focus. Duelling feels natural to me, so any Abilities that will support that are what I shall look to develop. So creating instruments of power I suspect is not where I’ll end up. So I won’t be disappointed – in fact the idea of learning Teräs Käsi from Darth Maul himself feels magical in its own right.”

She ate some more steak, this time in silence, clearly thinking. “I think Maul should definitely be my template. I need to develop the use of a single sabre staff and have the ability to fight with two blades too – I saw a design that I liked and it seemed so natural when I saw it. But that will have to wait until I’m at least a Knight. For now it’s Makashi and whatever Abilities you think I need. Plus of course…” she smiled, “Anything else you think I might need to learn. I get the feeling this trip isn’t all about the Force. I suspect my greatest learning will be with those creatures. And I get the feeling you’re going to enjoy this…and me less so. But I trust you.”

She put her arm around her sister and her steak nearly fell off her plate before she rescued it and took another mouthful. “Who are the greatest duellists currently in the Sith ranks?”

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"If that is the path you wish to take, then yes, Maul is an excellent template," Taeli replied. "In fighting style at least, personality was ultimately Maul's downfall as you read. Regardless, the strongest duelists within the One Sith are certainly Reverance, the Lord Wrath for a reason, Darth Ferus, who spent a great deal of time learning the forms and fighting techniques. I would say those two are the best duelist among us."

Smiling wider as she took another bite, she said, "And I have no idea what you mean by whether I'll enjoy this more than you. I might be able to catch up on my reading and a few experiments, but I think you'll at least won't be bored . . . most of the time."

Setting her knife and fork down, she added, "also while you are dealing with the neeks, I'll see what I can do to access that talisman and get you the ability to view the memories better and gain information from them."

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori nodded and tucked the information away. She had an idea, an inkling. What if there were an Academy purpose built to study duelling and its many facets? Reverance and Ferus would certainly be Sith to approach to use or perhaps endorse the Facility.

Melori gave her sister a sideways glance. What had been described was set to test her patience. If that didn’t constitute boring, she didn’t know what would. But she finished off her steak and drank her water. She rooted among the bags for some fruit and pulled two pieces out. Putting one of them next to her sister, she put her own to her lips and bit on the juicy flesh, a dribble running down her chin.

“Neeks…yes. Tomorrow.” She yawned and her hand covered her mouth. “Sorry, it’s been a long day and I need all my energy for tomorrow if I’m not to be bored, right?” There was a twinkle in her eye. She may not be looking forward to the exercise, but she relished the chance to prove to her sister she was up for the task. Anyway, how hard could it be?

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

"That's the spirit," Taeli laughed, knowing full well what her sister was going to be going through starting tomorrow. She had a feeling it might take some time to coax a neek back to their camp. "Get some rest, I'm going to stay up and do some reading for a bit, need to brush up on the spells for activating that amulet."

Taking one of the fruit and biting into, she swallowed and got up to get the sleeping quarters all established. They could sleep on the ground or in the ship since it was designed with plenty of room. Either worked for her, archaeological digs generally required one to have a sleeping roll on the dirt floor of a tent.

"Oh and Melori, don't forget that's not all you'll be learning while we are here," she said with a smile.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori smiled to her sister and kissed her goodnight. She had been used to staying up late and getting up close to midday. That routine had changed since she’d been with the One Sith and early mornings meant she had no choice but to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Tiredness in her present line of work could result in death.

Now Melori was never pampered – but sleeping rough didn’t sit right with her either. She wandered over to the tent and noted the proximity between the sleeping roll and the floor. She shrugged and lay down.

Within a couple of minutes she realised the difference between sitting on the ground and trying to sleep on it. Every bump and undulation pressed into her flesh. She sighed frequently and tossed and turned before standing up and padded to the ship. She went to lie on the bunk – previously berated for being hard and ungiving – and it felt like bliss.

Within moments she was fast asleep and dreamed of being chased by lizards – and when they caught her, they snapped her neck and threw her in a huge cooking-pot.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Melori Raaf"]

Taeli couldn't stop the small smile as Melori tried to tough it out on the ground . . . and failed miserably as she realized how uncomfortable the uneven ground was going to be and she moved silently to the ship to sleep on her bunk there. Turning the page of her book, she looked down at the ritual she had sketching to activate the talisman's memories for her sister's viewing pleasure.

If she knew Dathomiri witch magic, this would be a snap. She had heard tales of what certain Dathomiri witches could do with their magics, including what they could do with memories and blood. Another stop on the journey she was planning, she thought, jotting that down in a datapad that had an ever-growing list of places.

Finishing off the last rune for the night, she got up and stretched. Pouring some water over the fire, she walked over to the underside of the Sicarius and typed in a code to a hidden compartment. Two Arachnid droids dropped down and took up a patrol pattern against any predators or scavengers that tried anything while she and her sister would be asleep. Walking up the ramp, she sealed the ship for the night and got herself ready for bed, but not before kissing her sister on the forehead while she slept.

 

[Darth Timoris]

Melori awoke early as was now her ritual and although the camp was small, she decided that travelling too far afield was dangerous, so she decided to run laps around the area the Arachnid droids appeared to be patrolling. She left them running, as they would no doubt identify any threat as she ran and practiced the Force.

Her route was monotonous, but she occupied her mind by using the ball she’d brought with her. Pushing, pulling, moving it Telekinetically. When she figured she’d been running for forty minutes she stopped and started a fore – drinking heavily from a bottle of water. The early morning was cool and having run, she knew she’d need the warmth of the flames.

As she stared up at the amber sun and the four moons now disappearing from view, she started to wonder how she’d set about the task ahead. In truth she had no idea. What would encourage her to follow someone? New shoes? She smiled at the thought. But the concept of bribery remained foremost in her mind. So she rummaged through the containers until she found some berries. Even these backward creatures had to have a sweet tooth, right? So she put the bag into her pocket and waited for her sister to join her.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]