Maul: Legacy of Shadows

Chapter 6: A Different Kind of Training

***Year 4 BBY***

Between the pillars and the derelict ship, the sound of plasma cutting through the air hummed a monotone melody as Maul practiced his lightsaber cadences, testing the limits of his newly crafted prosthesis. Form VII was known as a brutal form of combat, and if the leg could handle the rigors of this training, he felt confident it would handle anything he'd encounter during his exile on Malachor.

With every step, Maul channeled the Force through both his true and false body parts, and felt the new limb was stable even through the rigors of training.  Maul smiled and deactivated his lightsaber, satisfied at the results of his test.  Exhausted, he sat down while breathing heavily from his exercises.  Eldra was sitting on the cargo lift of the ship with an uncomfortable look drawn across her face.  The movements she witnessed reminded her of the duel she and Maul had years ago, resulting in her untimely death.  At the moment of her demise she saw a glimpse deep within the Sith Lord that gave her hope and allowed her to become one with the Force.

Maul took a few more deep breaths before looking over at the young woman, catching just a tiny glimpse of her inner turmoil before she buried it beneath a forced smile.  In his soul, Maul felt an emotion he had never truly experienced, guilt.  He knew that his lightsaber skills would bring back, albeit quite literally, painful memories of her death at his hands.  She was his first taste at revenge for what had happened to the Sith ages ago, for all the pain his master made him experience by inhaling the ashes of his ancient fallen order, allowing Maul to feel their shared pain. Now that he sat here among their ancient corpses once again, he felt nothing for them, only for his own self-hatred at his failures as a Sith apprentice.

Eldra stood up and walked towards the Zabrak, his breathing had returned to normal, as he followed her every step as she neared him.  Soon enough she was within arm's reach of Maul, as she pulled her Padawan robes aside to reveal her lightsaber, the very one he believed he destroyed after their fateful duel.

"Want to get in some real training?" the young Twi'lek asked with a small smirk.

Maul was unsure what she meant; would her lightsaber even truly exist on this plane?  The Force could perform wonders, but how could her lightsaber block his if it was just a manifestation?  Maul pondered the idea for a moment, realizing that her lips felt real as she connected to him physically before he rebuilt his leg.  Before he could finally offer an answer to her question, the sound of her blue lightsaber brought him back to reality, its low hum vibrating the atmosphere around him.

Maul couldn't help but smile.  The first opponent worthy of his respect was challenging him once again, and the thought excited him greatly.  Using his newly crafted prosthetic limb, Maul stood and ignited both ends of his lightsaber, and immediately took his ready stance.  With a small flourish, Eldra returned in kind, ending on the ready stance of Form V.  Maul was impressed.  His mind had wandered so much during their last duel, he never appreciated the fact that this Padawan trained in such an offense-oriented form.  Their eyes locked, mere feet apart, as both combatants waited for the perfect moment to strike.

As they stood face to face, Maul wondered what would happen when their blades finally met, or more importantly, what would happen to himself if her blade met him.  Eldra noticed his lapse in concentration and quickly struck with an overhead strike.  Maul was no amateur and quickly regained composure in order to deflect the attack with one side of his lightsaber.  As the two blades met Maul felt that her blade did indeed exist, at least partially.  The air cracked where the beams touched, a faint glow of purple coming into existence for a brief moment.  Eldra wasted no time in pressing her attack, putting her weight and the Force behind each strike.  It was a flurry of blows even Maul had trouble defending against. With a small opening he was able to use his newly fashioned leg to kick Eldra in the stomach, the weight of the mechanical limb slamming her backwards nearly two meters.

Now it was Maul's turn to attack and he wasted no time in doing so. Quickly performing one of his signature flourishes, he covered the distance between them in nearly an instant. Eldra steadied her back foot, ready to brace herself as Maul lunged with a stabbing thrust towards her right shoulder. Luckily, her reflexes saved her, as she was able to spin and use her momentum to swing her blade back at her opponent's blind spot. However, his lightsaber's unique design allowed him to compensate for weaknesses such as this, and with almost no effort, he was able to parry the blow harmlessly towards the ground. Eldra's attack wasn't finished however, predicting her opponent would do just that, and releasing one hand's grip on her blade, backhanded the Zabrak across his mouth.

Eldra winced as she didn't expect the attack to hurt her as much as it did, but her opponent seemed unfazed.  Luckily, he didn't press a counterattack, and so she was able to quickly back away, giving herself space.  Maul simply opened his eyes in satisfaction.  It had been a long while since feeling pain during a battle, and the sting from her backhand strike rekindled a fire deep within the former Sith Lord.  He simply turned and realigned himself, ready to continue the battle.  Eldra knew she was overmatched, but was as defiant in the face of impossible odds as she was during their last duel.  Maul remembered her courage from before.  His hatred was faltering inside as he watched her.

Suddenly, the Jedi saw Maul's eyes fill with confusion.  She hesitated to move in to strike and could sense an inner turmoil boiling within the fallen Sith.  Maul seemed to ignore his inner conflict and quickly began pressing his attack again, but Eldra found his attacks lacked substance. Nothing seemed to be driving them except years of skill and natural talent.  The usual feelings of anger and hate were nowhere to be found in his attacks.  Eldra's eyes widened as she realized that the Zabrak was unable to call upon his powerful rage, and that the Dark Side was not flowing through him.   Instead a tangible harmony fell over their battle.  Each blow was a symphony of peace, and Maul's eyes began to lose their sulfuric shimmer, shocking the Jedi Padawan as she continued to parry his attacks one by one.

Maul's mind tried to summon his anger, but while staring into the Twi'lek's eyes, his mind was set at peace.  His body moved on its own, the years of constant training keeping his movements from collapsing into a chaotic mess. Finally, the Twi'lek's defense had a small but noticeable lapse, and Maul's blade cut through the air in a killing stroke, but the memory of her face as she had died flashed through his mind and his blade stopped inches away from her neck. Eldra smiled as she deactivated her lightsaber and placed one of her hands on his left arm.  Maul felt completely at peace, his rage dissipating as a distant memory  He deactivated his lightsaber, and held his head low.

Was his failure complete?  Had he now lost the Force, as he had lost his purpose as a Sith?  Eldra's gaze never left his eyes, which unbeknownst to the former Sith, had lost their yellow and reddish hue, instead turning the golden brown they were before he was kidnapped by his master.  Closing his eyes, Eldra's face as her life faded once again flashed in his head.  He remembered a single tear that fell from her face onto his as he glared at her, savoring the small vengeance he felt he brought to his Sith forebears.

His eyes still closed, Eldra walked up to the conflicted man and placed her arms around him, embracing him and sensing the pain of guilt washing over his soul.  Her head-tails hanging by his sides, Maul's body once again moved on its own, as his own arms wrapped around her, the first tear falling from his face onto her left shoulder.

He could finally be free from his hate.