Star Wars: Edge of Hope

Chapter Forty: The Darkside In Us...

Maul had reached the doorway. As he stood over the entrance to the portal he took a deep breath relishing the waves of energy moving over and through him. Even after the length of time he'd been abscent from the world, he remembered the way the darkness felt, he remembered the sensation of it igniting old fires deep within his soul. Such was the strength of the Darkside, the true nature of it had never been able to be destroyed completely, because there was no balance without it. The entire fabric of the universe existed in the deep velvety black of space...it was in this darkness that all life existed and flourished....without the dark would the stars shine? Without the black silent catacombs that housed the bones of ancient races and long forgotten wisdom, would the world remember their names? Unity was the way towards balance between all things, and all people. The Jedi had become blind to the duality of their existence in direct correlation with all life, and even all death. And it was this that had broken their strength under the phantom arm of the Empire, and the Darkside had rose blotting out the light of nearly a thousand systems for generations. Some of worlds had only known the Dark times and could scarcely remember when the days that divided them had been new in their terror. We all struggle with the memories of things that had been...and lessons that had to be learned. Paths that we chose...and paths that had been Chosen for us...

"The Dark Side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities that some would consider...Unnatural."

"Is it possible to LEARN this power?"

"Not from a Jedi..."

Voice of the Darkside: Welcome...Maul...Come closer...

The voices soft breathlessness carried on the wind, the familiar sing song tone that brought a smile to Maul's face. He let himself fall down through the doorway and let the hand of the Darkness guide him to where he was to welcome his guests.

"There is a reason for everything...just because we do not know that reason...does not mean we are listless, doomed to wander unfulfilled. There is always purpose...we have only to wait and be mindful until the time comes for it to be revealed."

Maul's feet cut through the sharp frigid cold of the water below, cold didn't bother him, nor the bleakness of the dark net of the shadows reaching up from the bottom to grasp out at him. Fire lived in his veins, and the renewed rage he felt towards the enemies of his past life.  As he rose up the grey dead waters dripping off his horns, Maul could feel the breath from the otherside moving around him, slowly he  pulled himself through the turgid water. Breeching the surface he drew a chilling breath and before him beheld a thing he'd often considered nothing more than an old wives tale. He saw the ominous dusky eye of the Blind Gate. It was but ONE of the doorways through which all power entered their world, but for generations it had remained silent...sleeping. Waiting. He ran his hands across the frosted stone, but there was nothing, not even a tremor of familiarity. Nothing but the quiet of the Darkside, and the promise of what was to come.

Maul: Soon...Soon...
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Ahsoka: They have returned, but they're not alone. Someone else is here...It's strange though...I can't focus in on the energy of it, but it feels familiar to me. Almost like a memory...

Thunder and lightning crack the sky, the island itself begins to quake, and as Ahsoka watched the sea churning and rolling, the high cliffs lip being kissed by the deep blue water as it rose up.

Obi-Wan: I have a bad feeling about this. I can feel it too, Ahsoka, something just on the edge of memory but formless and dark.

Just then a cackling laugh split the skies over head kissing the stone sending crackling red lightning through the carved runes in the temple. As it crawled its was over the lip of the mosaic the sizzling sound of fire extinguishing itself. Padme felt the fire leap out around the stone circle, the ghostly white eye of Prime Jedi began to weep slowly deep crimson tears. The three of them stood looking down into the once clear water through the licking fingers of the red fire and watched as the mosaic became obscured beneath the bright red.