Eternity - The End
Maaike
Ratings: NC-17
Warnings: Maul/original female character. Romance in the old tradition.
Disclaimer: Lord Maul, Lord Sidious, Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi and the Star Wars Universe belong to George Lucas. No profit made, no copyright infringements intended. However, Aicha is mine.
Summary: Lord Maul has been wedded to Princess Aicha by order of his
Master. Here, Maul takes vengeance.
Feedback: Sithlordess@planet.nl
Acknowledgement: May I thank MaulMaus for her beta-reading of my sometimes funny English. You are my friend and encouragement. And to Dark Lady, who is my inspiration and has such a lovely way with words.
For All Eternity - The End
With
deep hatred burning in his heart and soul Darth Maul hurried stealthily through
the corridors of the Palace. He followed the Force of the dark side as it lead
him to the room where the Lady Sabina was being held. One servant unfortunate
enough to encounter him was immediately seized by Maul and held in a deadly
Force-grip.
“Which
is the room of Lady Sabina,” Maul hissed.
The
servant could only point a trembling finger at the door of a room at the end of
the corridor before the raging Sith Lord snapped his neck. The guards at the
door never even saw him coming before they died, their heads severed by a single
whirl of the double-bladed lightsaber. The Force opened the door to Lord Maul
and as he entered, the Lady Sabina cringed in fear as she saw the Sith Lord
towering over her. Her mouth went slack and her eyes widened as he approached
her, her fingers wrinkling her expensive shimmer silk gown.
“Before
I kill you, you will tell me where your husband has fled to.”
“You
murdered my father, you bastard. I know I can never fight you, so I killed your
consort. Since you will kill me anyway, I refuse to tell you where my husband
is.” Lady Sabina’s voice trembled in spite of her determination.
“Then
I hope pain is something you enjoy!” the Sith Lord replied.
His
hand moved and the Lady Sabina screamed in agony, falling to the floor. Again
Lord Maul made a slight gesture and the woman began thrashing and writhing at
his feet.
“Now,
once again, where is your husband!” Lord Maul growled, increasing the pain.
“Ravigor…
please… stop… he has gone to Ravigor…!” The excruciating pain had made
Lady Sabina’s voice barely audible.
“If
I had more time I would kill you slowly. The King wants to give you a fair
trial, but I will not allow that. No one touches what belongs to the Sith.”
Darth
Maul came closer and closer to Lady Sabina and his raised hand directed the
Force of the dark side at her throat, squeezing her breath slowly being from her
lungs. She gurgled, blood frothing the corners of her mouth before another move
of Lord Maul’s hand broke her neck and he let her fall to the floor in a
crumpled heap. Without granting the dead woman another glance, Lord Maul left the exquisitely
furnished room and hurried back to the private apartments of Princess Aicha,
every now and then taking small explosive devices from his utility-belt and
placing them in places in the Palace where he knew they would trigger a chain
reaction.
Back
in Aicha’s bedroom Maul took her in his arms and sat down cross-legged on the
floor, cradling her. He repeatedly kissed her eyes and her mouth, all the time
rocking her.
“So
cold, beloved, can you still feel me? Do you know you have taken my heart and my
soul with you? Now there is nothing more to take.”
For
the remaining hours of the night, Lord Maul chanted the ancient Zabrak chants
for the dead, all the time holding Aicha against his heart. His body, like hers,
grew colder and colder, the light Aicha had been inside him burnt fainter until
it died. He was still chanting as morning broke grey and overcast with a promise
of more snow. The Sith Lord looked down at the white face of Princess Aicha.
“So
beautiful,” Lord Maul whispered. “Come My Lady, we must leave now. I am
taking you home.”
He
rose to his feet and carried Aicha through the corridors and halls of the Palace
to the landing bay where the Infiltrator waited to take her away from Thebae for
the last time. He noticed King Daemon, a ghastly pale, hurrying towards him in
the now softly falling snow. A servant had obviously warned the King a few
minutes ago that Darth Maul was leaving the Palace, for he was not even wearing
a cloak to protect him from the bitter cold. The old man was wringing his hands
and his lips trembled as he approached Maul.
“My
Lord Maul, please let me bury my daughter here on Thebae. Let us give her the
final rites according to our own traditions,” the King said, tears choking his
voice.
“Leave
her here with you?” Maul’s face was a mask of rage and contempt. “I left
my Lady in your care. You have failed me once again. I should have killed you
the first time. She saved you then because she loved you. I have no such
emotions, so this time I will destroy you and your cursed palace,” he snarled.
Maul
made another swift move, aiming the dark side, and King Daemon fell to his knees,
clutching his heart and a moment later he died on the cold concrete floor of the
landing bay. The Sith Lord gave him a contemptuous look and walked up the ramp
of his ship, where he lay Aicha’s body on his narrow sleep-couch. After a fast
engine check up, he took off and punched the coordinates for Coruscant into the
computer. He looked through the windscreen and the hard lines around his mouth
became deeper as he pressed a touch tip on his control-panel, watching with
cruel satisfaction how the Palace blew up in a gigantic fireball, killing
everyone inside.
As soon as the Infiltrator could be put on autopilot, he knelt by Aicha’s side, took her in his arms and resumed his chanting. As he had learned during his long years of studying the ancient Sith traditions, Maul knew that death was not the end of things, merely the merging into another phase of existence. His mind reached out to the dark side to try and find the immortal soul of his consort, yet all he sensed in the dark, boiling vortex of the Force was emptiness and rage.
The flight to Coruscant was not very long and for Lord Maul the hours when he could still hold and kiss Aicha were far too short. When the computer sounded to alert him to the fact that they were on final approach, he groaned in despair when he had to put her down on the sleep-couch. The glittering sphere loomed closer as Maul straightened his back and prepared to bring his dead wife before his Master.
*****
There
had been no need to inform Darth Sidious what had happened. The Sith Lord always
had his secret means of knowing everything that went on the Galaxy, so when the
Infiltrator landed, the black, ominous figure of the Sith Master was waiting in
the concealed hangar. He watched as Lord Maul came down the ramp carrying the
body of his consort in his arms. In total silence both Sith Lords went to the
Sith Shrine room, where the funeral pyre had already been erected beside the
black marble altar. It consisted of a durasteel slab where a body could be put
and it had powerful burners that incinerated the remains quickly. Carefully, as
if he were afraid to hurt her, Lord Maul lay Aicha down on it, touched her cheek
one last time, then picked up the black shroud lying beside the altar and
covered her body with it. He sprinkled scented oil from a small bottle over her
and turned around to take a burning torch from Lord Sidious to light the
burners.
As
the flames burned fiercer, dark shadows appeared from the corners of the Shrine.
Lord Maul squinted to see behind the shroud of smoke and noticed how the shadows
materialised into some of the greatest Sith Lords. There was Lord Exar Kun, his
piercing, crystal-blue eyes stern and his long, black hair falling on his back.
Lord Bane was there too, his armour reflecting the flames of the pyre. Naga
Sadow appeared, a willowy, heavily muscled figure with black eyes and Ulic
Qel-Droma, his square, handsome face solemn. They moved to each corner of the
funeral pyre where they took their places as if guarding Aicha’s body.
Maul
growled deep in his throat but there was nothing more the Sith Lord could do but
watch the body of his beloved becoming one with the Force. He chanted another
Zabrak mantra and felt his body and soul becoming a deep, dark void, no
feelings, no emotions, merely a raging urge to go out and kill. Destroy those
responsible for the death of his beloved and destroy the Jedi and their
sanctimonious Order. By the time the flames had burned out, the man Aicha had
known was gone forever. When he raised his head, his mouth was grim and pressed
into a thin, angry line and his golden eyes were filled with hate. No longer
were there any gentle feelings of love and light in his heart.
Darth
Sidious sensed Lord Maul’s grief and despair and he set his mouth into a thin,
grim line. “Now you have experienced every emotion in the Force, Lord Maul.
Lust, anger, hatred, love and now finally, grief. I no longer sense any emotions
in you. When the Lady Aicha died, she took your heart and your soul with her, so
there should be no feelings left in you.” The Sith Master’s voice dropped
even lower. “Now you belong to me completely. There will be no more
distractions.”
“I
exist only to serve you, my Master.” Lord Maul’s voice was very low, but
Darth Sidious heard and nodded slightly.
Both
Sith Lords went from the Shrine Room to the quarters of Lord Sidious. Lord Maul
knelt before his Master and waited.
“You
have destroyed the King?” Lord Sidious growled.
“Yes
my Master. The King and his Palace have been destroyed. The Council will now
take over government of Thebae and you will not find them hard to control, I
have made sure of that,” Lord Maul’s answered and a cruel look appeared on
his face.
“I
will not allow anyone to touch the property of the Sith. Track down the one
responsible for the death of the Lady Aicha. You will find him and kill him!”
Darth Sidious’s voice was harsh and filled with rage.
“Before
she died his wife told me where he is hiding. It will not be hard to find him
and when I do, he will die at my hands.”
When
his Master gave him a short dismissive nod, Lord Maul rose to his feet, bowed
and left the quarters of Lord Sidious. He returned to the Shrine that was now
almost in darkness with only one candle remaining alight. Maul bowed before the
altar where he lit more candles. The servants left an urn standing on the black
stone and he picked it up, a shiny, black urn that had been beautifully carved
with ancient Sith symbols. With the utmost care Maul himself collected Aicha’s
ashes where they lay on the durasteel slab and put them into the urn reverently.
Taking the urn with him, Lord Maul hurried back to the hangar, taking the
Infiltrator out to Ravigor.
*****
The
flight to Ravigor would take him two days at hyperspeed, so Lord Maul pushed the
Infiltrator to the limit, impatient to find the murderer of his consort. He had
stored Aicha’s urn safely inside a small compartment in the durasteel wall of
the Infiltrator and all during the long flight he meditated and chanted. Not for
one moment did he permit himself to rest until he had avenged her death. He felt
a deep loneliness inside himself, where before he met Aicha he had felt pleasure
at being alone, now part of him was missing, no matter what he did, or where he
went, the feeling of loss clawed at him.
“As
soon as I have destroyed the one who killed you, I shall take you home to
Iridonia, my love,”
Lord Maul thought. “If only you and I could have explored my home planet
together.”
Endless
days and nights stretched out before him, days and nights without Aicha. Already
he felt the emptiness and longed for her smile and her caresses. His hormones
had interacted with hers during their short life together, releasing chemicals
into his blood that bound him to her forever. When she died he felt the pain of
separation beginning to tear through his veins almost immediately. Groaning
softly, Lord Maul rose to his feet to check the flight controls, tapping his
foot impatiently when he saw he still had a long journey ahead of him.
Again
he sat down on the cold floor of the Infiltrator, trying to calm his mind but no
matter how hard he tried, thoughts whirled through his head and he could not
find rest. Memories of Aicha invaded his mind and would not leave him. Memories
of the evening when they had only just found the way towards each other. How she
had massaged his shoulders as he leaned against her. He had felt so relaxed and
sensed her loving thoughts so very clearly.
“You
enjoy being touched like this, don’t you?” Aicha
had said dreamily, sliding her fingers around his horns.
But
he had still felt tense about showing her his emotions and he had merely sighed,
leaning a little closer to her.
She
had giggled. “Right, you cannot tell me. Well, do not worry, my Prince,
your secret is safe with me!”
And
Lord Maul had been speechless for the first time in his life.
*****
At
last the planet of Ravigor loomed up in the vastness of space. It was an ugly
planet, a dirty yellowish colour and Lord Maul knew it was hot and arid.
Sparsely populated by a suspicious humanoid species that did not take
kindly to being asked questions, nor liked strangers, it made a perfect hiding
place. As he had been able to learn from his datapad there was only one
spaceport, making it easy for anyone on the planet to watch transports coming in
to land. As far as Maul knew, the only habitation on the planet was situated
around the spaceport and on the southern hemisphere where there was some form of
agriculture.
Waiting
until darkness fell, the Sith Lord chose a place between roughly shaped rock
formations to land his ship, cloaked it and started off to the small town
consisting of dirty, dilapidated houses to begin his search for Witak Ochalski.
His boots kicked up fine dust as he strode forward and long before he reached
the first houses, he could smell garbage lying about everywhere and the scent of
cheap meat cooking wafted his way. As Maul stealthily passed a house and glanced
through the only lit window, he saw a woman stirring an unappetising stew in a
large pot over the fire.
The
planet was large and without having a single trace to find one man in hiding, it
would be very hard indeed to track him down and destroy him. However Lord Maul
had no doubts whatsoever that the dark side would guide him on his quest for
vengeance. It was still early in the evening and a light shone from the small
cantina where some of the locals came for a drink and a game of cards. As soon
as Darth Maul entered the cantina he cloaked himself with the dark side and
became one with the shadows, watching and listening.
Standing
motionless against a wall, Lord Maul heard nothing of importance to serve his
purpose, so he slowly approached the bar at the other end of the cantina. A fat,
uninterested barman stood behind the extremely filthy bar, hardly noticing the
Sith Lord standing before him. Lord Maul made a barely visible motion with his
gloved hand and invaded the weak mind of the bartender, searching for anything
that might help him in finding Witak.
“I
will tell you where a man could easily hide on this planet.” The bartender
droned. “Safest place would be right here in the village. There is a house
near the spaceport where some time ago a stranger lived before he was found and
brought to justice by a Jedi Knight who had tracked him down. Something about
starting a war somewhere, I think. The house has a landing-pad for a small
shuttlecraft on the roof and an underground escape route to the mountains as
well.”
“You
have not seen me,”
Darth Maul sent again and with a small gesture of his finger wiped the
bartender’s mind. The man stared at his dirty bar with dull eyes, lolling his
greasy head as Lord Maul left the cantina, unseen by anyone.
“No,
this is too easy. I can feel the disturbance in the dark side. I was meant to
find this house,”
Lord Maul growled softly, feeling the dark side churning around him.
It
took him only a few minutes to reach the house that the bartender had described
to him. He circled it cautiously, every now and then peering through windows,
but failing to see anything in the dark rooms. Using the Force, he sent out
tendrils of the dark side to search the house, sensing at once that there was
more than one person hiding inside. He could smell their fear in the air,
prickling his nerves.
“Yes!
Just as I thought, Ochalski expected me to come after him and he is trying to
trap me!” the
Sith Lord thought angrily.
However,
he was determined that nothing would stop him from killing the man responsible
for the death of Aicha. He could feel danger alert every fibre of his body as he
opened a window at the back of the house and entered without making a noise.
Once inside, he let the dark side reach out and search every corner of the room,
every nerve tense and alert. When he found nothing he moved to the next room,
his eyes adjusting to the darkness easily.
Darth
Maul immediately knew other beings were hiding in the room across the corridor.
He sensed their presence and his sensitive ears even picked up their breathing.
He wondered if he had accidentally overlooked and set off an alarm as he
approached the house, for the inhabitants seemed well aware that he was
somewhere around. He approached the door, opened it using the Force and leaped
inside. He heard a muffled cry of surprise and then suddenly the room was bathed
in light when one of the men switched on the light. Squinting against the glare,
the Sith crouched low and activated his double-bladed lightsaber. His eyes
adjusted to the light much quicker than the others present and in a split second
Maul saw stunned faces turned towards him. Before anyone could make a move, the
person in the room closest to the Sith Lord was already dead, struck down by a
lightning-fast blow of the lightsaber.
Lord
Maul now faced six men, and judging from the quality of the clothes on one of
them, he knew Witak Ochalski was among them. The men came at him from all sides,
trying to force him into a corner, but Lord Maul somersaulted over the head of
one of them, turning in midair, striking backwards and a tall, burly man fell
wounded to the floor. By now the large living room began to fill with the scent
of ozone from Maul’s lightsaber combined with that of charred flesh from his
victims.
Witak
Ochalski lunged at him, a blaster gun in his hand, trying to get a good aim, but
Maul was fast, very fast. He whirled and deflected the blaster-fire with his
lightsaber. A high side-kick knocked Ochalski to the floor and the Sith fell to
one knee, the other leg stretched out before him, the foot facing inward for
support while he ran a third man through, killing him instantly. The man fell
backwards, turning the low table into firewood as he crashed into it.
At
the same time Lord Maul felt a bolt of blaster-fire hit him, sending a searing
pain through his right-shoulder. He bared his teeth in an angry snarl, rolled
over his left-shoulder, jumped to his feet in a fluid move and lunged his weapon
forward. The man who thought he had disabled the Sith Lord got a last, ugly
surprise before he met his death, an astonished look still on his face.
Lord
Maul whirled the lightsaber over his head, looking for Ochalski, but before he
could strike at him again, he felt a stinging in his back. At the same instant a
cold sensation spread from his back to his shoulders and down to his legs. He
gasped and for a second swayed on his feet. He knew at once a poisoned pallet,
fired at him by the wounded man, had struck him. He raised his left hand and the
Force of the dark side threw Ochalski against a wall. Maul roared in rage,
shaking his head to try to clear it, and summoning the dark side to strengthen
him. His incredible Sith powers allowed him to fight the effect from the poison
and continue fighting. Again he somersaulted forward, striking at the man who
had poisoned him. His left leg kicked out with all his power behind it and hit
his opponent in the head. A sickening, cracking sound told him another enemy had
met his death. The enraged Sith became a blur of fighting frenzy. His Sith
combat skills made each single move efficient, perfect. Maul whirled, leaped,
rolled over the floor, striking and cutting at his enemies, never once giving
them a chance to take a good aim at him, destroying them without hesitation.
Until
finally he faced Witak Ochalski, who had already been hit in the side by the
angry red beam of the lightsaber and now slowly retreated back into a corner of
the room, where he slouched against the wall. The thick lips of the Thebaean
trembled and saliva drooled from his mouth as his fear of the Sith Lord made him
cower. Shaking fingers went to the collar of his tunic as if it suddenly became
too tight and his shifty eyes were bloodshot.
The
Sith Lord stood towering over his last victim, his highly alert senses taking in
the room with its ravaged furniture and his slain adversaries, even the flutter
from the wings of a startled moth circling the lamp.
“Before
I kill you, I want you to know your wife died at my hands, and she did not die
pleasantly. You may thank your Gods that I do not have time, or I would see to
it that your agony would last for days before I allowed you to die,” the Sith
Lord growled.
“You
killed my wife! You rabid animal! But you will not escape, I have made sure of
that. You see this? This device will trigger off an explosion, destroying you as
well as me.” Witak Ochalski hissed, putting his thick thumb on the button of a
small device in his trembling hand. “You
may kill me, but I will take you with me, and that will be worth dying for!”
He seemed to have found some courage deep inside of him and the rage of hearing
about the death of his wife gave him strength to face the Sith Lord.
Lord
Maul’s lightsaber became an almost invisible blur as it cleaved the air and
Ochalski fell to the floor, his head severed. Unfortunately a last spasm before
he died made his thumb push down on the trigger and start the countdown. With a
few panther-like strides, Lord Maul ran to the window, jumped feet first through
the glass, rolled over his shoulder as he touched the ground and ran at high
speed towards the place where he had left his Infiltrator. He had just cleared
the street when an explosion behind him told him that the house had been
destroyed.
During
the battle his Sith powers and the adrenalin kept the effects of the poison at
bay, but now he felt his legs would hardly support him and he realised he would
never reach the Infiltrator in this state. Realising that soon the inhabitants
of the town and the local guards would come to investigate the explosion, he
dragged himself on, until he reached the first rock formations outside the town.
There his knees buckled and he fell against the rocks, groaning softly. His
dimming view spotted a crevice between the rocks and, like a wounded animal he
crawled into the narrow space. He had to wait until the effects of the poison
wore off and the rocks would protect him from any predators roaming the night.
He lay down panting, his body rocked by spasms until a moment later he moaned
and lost consciousness.
*****
When
Lord Maul regained consciousness the first faint light of dawn had broken and he
immediately tried to leave his hiding-place, but found his body was paralysed
and the right side of his tunic was blood-soaked. He lay helpless and shivering
on the hard ground, smelling the moist dirt under his cheek. A small insect
scurried close to his face, its tiny legs made an almost inaudible sound as it
searched for food. Only when Maul exhaled, the rush of his breath startled the
insect and it fled. It was as if the poison had destroyed the shields he had
built around his tightly controlled emotions. Memories flooded his mind, of his
early childhood when he lay shivering on his sleeping-mat, his body burning from
the punishment Lord Sidious had inflicted upon him. Memories of the first time
he saw Aicha, he had thought her beautiful and sensed she was meant for him by
the Force. What he had not known at the time was how his feelings for her would
develop. Every suppressed feeling came to the surface and it almost gave him
physical pain. All he could do was lie still and remember. Every emotion he had
felt when he was with Aicha went through his mind, every smile, every gesture,
and every word. Again he remembered the trial of fire he told Aicha about, even
now he could feel the pull of the flames as he had stared into them. More
endless trials, the agony, but also his pride when Lord Sidious had finally
deemed him fit to become a Sith Lord.
“Failure!
I have failed my Master, I have failed my consort, please Force, take me now!”
Lord Maul thought, hoping death would come quickly and deliver him. There
was a sudden rush in the air and he felt as if a hand touched his forehead.
“Khameir!
You must leave here at once. Fight the poison!” Aicha’s urgent voice came in his mind and he groaned, trying
desperately to raise his head. Although he could not see her, Aicha had come to
his rescue, he sensed her inside his body and his mind.
“Khameir!
You are a Sith, you are a warrior! Have I died in vain? Have you already become
weak? Get to your feet and avenge me! Your time has not come yet.”
Summoning
the Force of the dark side, Maul fought the effects of the poison. He used all
his rage and hatred to strengthen him, feeling the dark side penetrate every
fibre of his body. As soon as he started resisting it, the pain and the spasms
started again but he ignored it and growled at the back of his throat.
Struggling for control over his limbs again, he felt the sensation coming back
very slowly and finally he was able to pull himself out of the crevice,
relishing the first rays of the hot sun on his cold body.
“Aicha?”
Maul whispered but received no reply. There was a soft shimmer around him like a
million glittering particles, but he attributed that to his eyes clearing. He
felt her loving presence in his heart but his rational mind refused to believe
she was there with him. The effects of the poison lost their grip on his body
and Maul was finally able to stand up and make his way back to where he had left
the Infiltrator.
To
his infinite relief he saw the contours of his ship appear when he punched in
the decloaking code on his comlink and he hurried aboard. He took off his torn
and blood-soaked tunic and he treated the wound on his shoulder, applying some
bacta. The pain immediately subsided and he sat down in his pilot’s seat,
using only a few minutes to take off and go to hyperspace, setting course for
Iridonia.
As
he had done one the way to Ravigor he sat down on the floor of the Infiltrator
in front of the compartment where Aicha’s urn was stored.
“I
have destroyed the one who took you away from me, now I shall bring you home,”
Maul
said.
He
summoned the dark side, feeling it surge around him, healing and strengthening
his body. The tendrils wrapped themselves around him, their darkness a great
comfort and he surrendered willingly to their whispers of vengeance.
Inside
Maul’s heart the image of his consort burned brightly and he realized he would
have to shield it carefully to prevent his Master from sensing it and removing
it forcefully from his mind. As he sank deeper into meditation, Maul felt the
exhaustion beginning to take hold of him. He had pushed his body to the limit
and beyond and he desperately needed rest, yet he still refused to let sleep
take over. So as the Infiltrator sped towards his home planet, Lord Maul
meditated and chanted softly in Zabrak, preparing himself to fulfil his last
obligation to his consort: taking her home to Iridonia.
*****
The
journey to Iridonia was long and as the days went by Lord Maul had toughened his
body through meditation and abstaining from sleep. He did not wish to rest, he
wanted revenge, he wanted the dark side to take him completely, to kill every
last emotion inside him. Yet Aicha’s love remained, burning in his blood and
on the fifth and last day of his flight he knew that it would stay there forever
to urge his hatred on, helping him to destroy his enemies. Maul would never know
compassion again and should he ever experience a moment of weakness, the memory
of Aicha and her death would rage through him. He would destroy to avenge her,
again and again, until the last Jedi was dead, lying at his feet, nothing more
than ravaged flesh.
Throughout
the flight Lord Maul had never stopped his meditations and chanting and by the
time the computer warned him that his ship was on final approach, exhaustion was
weighing heavily upon him. He landed the Infiltrator on the northern hemisphere
of the planet, where it was not red and arid, but where occasional tropical
rains made it green and allowed palms to grow. After landing Maul donned his
cloak, raised the hood and took the urn containing the ashes of his consort. He
fetched his speeder bike from the hold and placed the precious object carefully
in the storage compartment at the back of the speeder. After he cloaked the
Infiltrator, he sped towards the Temple of the Goddess Nimith.
Nearing
the high, sharp-edged mountains Lord Maul reduced speed as he approached the
narrow entrance to the valley. He stopped as he rounded a corner in the road and
saw the Temple in the distance, bright sunshine reflecting on its roof. He hid
the speeder bike behind a low rock formation and walked the last few yards to
the Temple, carrying the urn. His boots made no sound as he followed the narrow
path that lead to the major place of worship on Iridonia. On both sides of the
path grew high shrubs with enormous red flowers that spread a sweet, delicate
fragrance when his black sleeve touched them.
Having
lived away from his home world all his life, Lord Maul had never been part of
Iridonia and its traditions, but he had always taken pride in his Zabrak
heritage and had made sure he knew all there was to know about his planet and
its history. As he neared the Temple he appreciated the building with its
beautifully carved wooden structure. It was painted red and had a slate grey
roof of which the edges slanted upward. There was a smaller wing on either side
of the large main structure, in which he knew a statue of the Goddess Nimith
stood.
The
Temple had no doors that made it an airy and pleasantly cool place for worship
on the hot planet.
Lord
Maul took off his boots to enter the Temple barefooted and went into the Shrine.
It was filled with the scent of incense and the light of many candles inside
their red glass holders gave it a soft reddish glow. There was no trace here of
precious silks or gold and silver. The altar was made of obsidian of the deepest
black and the only adornments were the handcrafted candleholders and incense
bowls. Raised on a pedestal behind the altar stood a life-size statue of the
Goddess Nimith, depicting Her in one of Her fighting stances, knees bent, Her
right arm stretched out before Her with Her lightsaber in Her hand. The artist
who had made the statue had tried to portray Her fierceness as well as Her love
for Iridonia, for in her left hand she held the national bird of Iridonia, a
small black and orange bird, with blue eyes and long black feathers in its tail.
Maul remembered seeing a few of the birds as he approached the Temple, but in
his grief had paid no attention to them. Now he looked up into the large, black
eyes of the statue of the Goddess with her pointed ears as he stepped closer to
Her altar.
There
was no one around and the atmosphere in the Shrine was one of peace, which even
soothed Lord Maul’s haunted mind as he reverently placed Aicha’s urn altar
before the Goddess. He took a few sticks of incense and placed them in one of
the bowls on the black stone altar. As the smoke began to curl up and wafted his
way, he sat down cross-legged on the shiny black floor of the Temple and looked
up at the statue of Nimith again.
She
was the warrior Goddess of Iridonia and a Sith. She was the one who had started
the tradition for all Zabrak warriors to have Sith tattoos like Her. The artist
had carved Her tattoos meticulously into the dark marble as he created his
masterpiece. Lord Maul gazed at the pendant around Her neck, the sacred sign on
it not to be spoken of without purification and penance beforehand. According to
legend, this was the original pendant worn by Nimith, given to the Zabrak
shortly before Her death and displayed since on Her statue. It was the object of
the deepest reverence on the whole planet.
In
the old days Zabrak warriors preparing for battle had given the Goddess
offerings of blood. They had slashed the palms of their hands, letting their
blood flow into a bowl at the foot of the statue. Then a priest had come and put
a sanctified powder into the bowl with blood, set it alight and had chanted and
prayed for the Goddess to shield Her children in battle and grant them victory
over their enemies. Today Nimith was still worshipped before a battle, but the
blood sacrifices belonged to the past, even though the blood vessel still stood
at Her feet.
Lord
Maul closed his eyes and began an ancient chant for the dead, asking Nimith to
take his consort to the afterlife, guarding her until the time when he would
join her again. He knew the correct vocation to the Goddess, so he started the
Zabrak prayer of thanksgiving, praising first the younger spirits, the plants
and medicinal herbs that healed and gave life, then the bushes and the trees.
Then he praised the water and the air that gave life, the animals that gave food
and then he thanked the older spirits, the Warrior Gods that are the guides of
all creatures throughout life and afterlife. He chanted to the Great Spirit, the
giver of all life, and finally he thanked the Force for its nurturing of all
creation.
“Nimith, I bring Aicha before You. I pray she may come home to You. Nurture her, protect her, give her living soul peace and watch over her, until I can be joined with her again. Guide her through the realm of death to the Eternal Light. I, Darth Maul, a warrior, ask You to grant my consort protection, while I cannot.”
Maul
had now prepared the remains of his wife for burial and dedicated her eternal
soul to Nimith. There was nothing left for him to do now that bring her to the
lake and lay her to rest. With his heart lying in his chest like a frozen lump
of useless flesh he rose to his feet in a fluid move and, taking the urn from
the altar, walked out of the Shrine room, donned his boots and left the Temple.
His
quick strides lead him along a path behind the Temple that took him to an exit
from the valley, and as he emerged from it, he saw Emerald Lake stretching out
before him. He took a short moment to appreciate its green stillness before he
walked down to the banks of the lake.
The
high, mountains behind him reflected in the clear, green water and palm trees
rustled behind him, creating soft shadows on the sandy banks. In the distance
Lord Maul could hear the sound of gamelan music in the small village he knew was
there and the hypnotic music made him feel oddly melancholy.
Maul
took off his cloak, tunics, pants and boots and with Aicha’s urn in his arms
he waded into the lake, going deeper and deeper until he could no longer feel
the bottom. He started swimming using only his legs and one arm until he had
reached the centre of the lake. Taking a deep breath he dived to the bottom of
the lake where he lay the urn in the white sand. At this very spot he knew ages
ago, the bones of Nimith had come to rest, then turned his agile body to go back
to the surface again.
“Rest now, beloved, join the Goddess of my people in the waters of this sacred lake. It will not be long before I will be with you again.”
Above
him he saw the beautiful, green water like a soft veil between him and the
surface, but as he swam towards it, it seemed as if a shadow was cleaving the
water beside him, dancing with graceful moves and he strained his eyes to see
clearly. He felt Aicha’s presence as strongly as he had when he was lying
wounded on Ravigor, but before he could make sure of what he saw, the shadow was
gone. Maul let himself drift on the surface of the lake for a few minutes before
he swam back to the shore with swift, long strokes. The warm, Iridonian breeze
dried his naked body as he deeply breathed in the scent of the water combined
with that of the sand and the trees before he dressed again. He took a long,
last look at the final resting-place of Aicha.
“Now
my heart and my soul remain on Iridonia. It is good,” Maul thought and he found some comfort in the fact that he left his wife
on his home-planet, in the arms of Nimith.
He
straightened himself and prepared to return to Lord Sidious. No longer a married
man whose thoughts could be distracted by his consort, he was now the totally
devoted Sith Lord. The destroyer of worlds and, of this Maul was absolutely
certain, the one who would destroy the Jedi Order. The lines on his face
deepened as he set his mouth in a grim line and turned to go to the place where
he had left the speeder-bike, raced back to the Infiltrator and took off for
Coruscant.
*****
The
journey back to Coruscant took Lord Maul three days and during those days his
body healed completely. He had finally allowed himself a few hours much needed
sleep and now he felt strong and ready to serve his Master with even greater
devotion than ever before. No longer was there a tingling feeling inside his
stomach anticipating the moment when he would see Aicha again. His heart felt
cold and empty, only when he meditated and accessed the vault inside it she was
there, her light gentle and he groaned as his grief cut at him with sharp
knives.
As
he approached Coruscant, his comlink went and Lord Sidious’s voice ordered him
to come to the Shrine Room immediately after he landed.
Lord
Maul acknowledged and a few minutes later set the Infiltrator down in the
concealed hangar of the Sith Temple and hurried to the Shrine. Lord Sidious
stood motionless before the altar, his hood pulled forward over his face and as
he knelt before his Master, Lord Maul sensed him probe his mind.
“Have
you accomplished your mission, my young apprentice?” Lord Sidious asked.
“Yes,
my Master. Witak Ochalski is dead. Lady Aicha has been avenged.”
“Very
good.” Lord Sidious gestured Lord Maul to rise and together the Sith Lords
stood before the altar, where incense was burning and candles were lit. They
closed their eyes and as they summoned the dark side, they felt how the dark
spirits of the ancient Sith Lords entered their minds and bodies, feeding them
with all the power of the Force. Suddenly Lord Sidious turned slightly toward
Lord Maul.
“You
grieve for her.” It was a statement more than a question.
“Yes
my Master.”
“Will
you separate from her? If you do not, you will feel the agony from the snapping
of the eternal Sith bond until you die. It may prevent you from functioning
fully as my apprentice.”
But
Lord Maul pressed his lips together in a tight line. “No. I need my pain, it
feeds my hatred. It will remind me of the task ahead. The total annihilation of
the Jedi Order. I will serve you without distraction my Master, for there are no
feelings left inside of me save rage and hate.”
Lord
Sidious nodded slightly. “As you wish Lord Maul. The Jedi will be destroyed.
The time is near, I can sense it! And then the Sith will rule the Galaxy as it
was meant to be! Return to your quarters, Lord Maul and prepare yourself for
battle. Prepare to rule with me!”
“Yes,
my Master.” Lord Maul replied as he bowed and left the Sith Shrine to go back
to his quarters.
*****
It
was three years after the death of his consort when Darth Maul was lying on a
bed in one
But
at night he would dream of Aicha, laughing with her, talking with her and he
smiled in the wonderful realm between waking and sleeping, expecting to find
Aicha sleeping beside him.
But then he became fully awake and he knew… she was gone, he was alone and the realisation made him pull up his knees to his chest and moan in despair.
The
only comparative peace Darth Maul found was when he meditated alone in his
quarters at night. He would then draw the dark side in, feeling it surge around
him and inside him until the room was filled with dark rage and hatred. He would
close his fist around the stone from Iridonia he had once given Aicha and
sometimes it felt warm and alive in his hand, glowing softly. His hatred had
kept him going. All his grief and despair had turned into hate against the Jedi
and no mission had been more pleasurable to him then those where he would find a
Jedi opponent. As he slay them – and with such ease, he thought with contempt
– he let out a savage war-cry, knowing he made another Jedi pay for the death
of his consort. Even so, Maul knew his revenge would never be complete. No
matter how many Jedi lay dead or dying at his feet, they would still not suffice
to compensate for his loss.
A
few days ago, Lord Sidious had sent Maul on a new mission to Tatooine to find
Queen Amidala, forcing her to sign the treaty that would give the Federation
control of the planet. When Maul failed to capture the Queen on Tatooine, his
Master sent him to join the Neimoidian Viceroy Gunray at Theed Palace on the
planet of Naboo. The luxurious palace with its beautiful works of art reminded
him poignantly the time when he had been sent to Thebae to bond with Aicha as
part of one of his Master’s schemes. The luscious fabrics covering the
expensive furniture, the large rooms and the high-ceilinged corridors were so
like the Palace at Thebae, where he had first seen his wife. The Sith Lord
sighed and moved restlessly in the dark, when suddenly he sensed a presence in
his room with him. His Sith sense immediately alert, he looked up and saw Aicha
standing at the foot of his bed. She was all light, colour and love and even
more beautiful than he remembered. Her soft brown eyes were radiant and her
lovely mouth was smiling. Lord Maul nearly screamed and held out his hand to
her.
“Soon
now my love, very soon. You must be strong, it will not be easy, but I am with
you, as always.”
She
touched her fingers to her lips and her ethereal hand touched her beloved. Maul
saw the black and red skin of his hand suddenly surrounded by a halo of
sparkling light. Then she was gone, but Lord Maul could smell the sweet
fragrance of flowers in the room.
“No,
do not leave me, take me with you,” he groaned and then fell back on the bed,
putting his hands over his face.
Maul
was certain now that his death was near, but the thought held no fear. He knew
Aicha was waiting and he yearned for her with an eagerness and a pain he had
never experienced before. He made no effort to try and sleep again, but spent
the rest of the night meditating, preparing for his death.
Then
came Darth Maul’s last battle. Never before had his moves been more fluent,
never before had he been more determined and strong. To his deep satisfaction he
faced not one, but two Jedi Knights in the Theed Palace hangar bay.
“Prepare
to die in agony, as she did!” Maul
thought as he growled in anticipating rage.
The
Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn was no match for him. Lord Maul’s rage and skill had
overwhelmed him almost without effort and the Jedi had fallen at Lord Maul’s
feet, causing him to part with an evil grin. He paced behind the energy shields,
fingering the activating buttons of his lightsaber impatiently, waiting for the
shield to open so he could destroy the next Jedi.
However,
the death of his Master had so enraged the second Jedi Knight, Obi-Wan Kenobi
that he was able to surprise Maul and one blow from his lightsaber had mortally
wounded the Sith Lord. Darth Maul groaned as a searing pain tore his body apart.
He gagged and a stream of blood came from his mouth, flowing like a terrible,
red river and when he clutched his stomach, he felt only deep wounds and torn
flesh. He fell backwards into the melting pit where they had been fighting, the
ugly smell of cauterised flesh and burnt clothing following him down. When he
finally reached the bottom, the golden eyes closed and with his last breath he
tried to call Aicha to him.
*****
Lord
Maul had no idea how long he had been gone. The horrible, tearing agony was gone
and his body felt light and new. Slowly he forced his eyes open, feeling
disoriented and too shocked to move. He shifted his body into a more comfortable
position and lifted his head to look at his surroundings. Whatever, or wherever
he was, the air was soft and balmy and the twilight gave everything a gentle
golden hue. The landscape was like nothing he had ever encountered on any planet
he had visited, it had a dreamlike quality but he knew it was very real. The
structures he saw in the distance were beautifully shaped and made of materials
that reflected the light in a myriad of colours, much like unending rainbows.
He
saw flowers with brilliant colours, their scent filling the air, and there were
trees with lovely, green foliage, swaying softly in the gentle breeze. Lord Maul
found himself lying by the side of a quiet pool. Large fish, orange, black and
cream-coloured jumped in it and he saw a small, furry animal with enormous dark
eyes coming to drink. The water in the pool reminded Maul how dry his mouth was
and how he longed to cool his burning body. The pool was almost beckoning him
and he sensed the healing power of its water. Right now he wanted nothing more
than to immerse himself in the pool.
Maul
slowly rose to his feet, unsteady from the changes to his body, took off his
clothes and waded into the pool. The pleasantly warm water felt like soft
fingers caressing his body and, knowing it would heal his tormented body as well
as his soul, he closed his eyes and let himself slide deeper in. All the pain
and suffering was now over and Lord Maul moaned softly. The water embraced him
and rocked him in a steady, soothing rhythm as he drifted aimlessly in its
gentle sway. He held his hands to his ragged wounds, there was no pain, just a
burning sensation.
There
was a rush in the air like the flutter of a bird’s wing and suddenly he sensed
a familiar, gentle presence. He looked up…and he saw her, his Aicha, so
beautiful that his breath caught in his throat. She stood there, wearing a soft,
flowing white dress shimmering with light, as if she was surrounded by a halo.
She gracefully stepped into the pool, her long dark hair falling around her
shoulders, her arms reaching out to him. When Aicha stood before him, Lord Maul
gave a tortured groan and threw himself against her.
“My
love. I have been waiting here for you,” Aicha’s soft hands touched his
midsection where the wounds were still present, ugly and torn. “Such terrible
wounds! Have you suffered very much my Prince?”
Aicha’s compassionate voice asked.
“Oh,
beloved, every moment without you has been agony. I have been so alone.” Lord
Maul closed his eyes and his arms went around Aicha’s waist. As he felt her
arms hold him close to her and caress his horns, he buried his head against her
breasts and clung to her in despair.
“I
could not feel you and when I woke up at night, needing you, my arms were empty
and you were not with me.” Maul groaned softly.
He
suffered disbelief and agony, wondering if this was real, he was united with his
consort again. He could only cling to her and hope that if it was another of his
dreams, this time he would not wake up from it. He felt how Aicha tenderly
poured the sweet-smelling water over his body.
“I
have never left you, my beloved. Never. I saw your agony but I could not touch
you. It was not allowed. I had to wait for you here,” she answered gently, all
the time caressing his trembling body and running water over him.
Tenderly
Aicha took his face between her hands and kissed his beautiful mouth. “The
water in this pool will heal the agony in your soul as well as your body. Rest
here a while my beloved until your strength returns. Then we will share eternity
together.”
“How
I have longed for you, my sweet.” Lord Maul’s breathy voice still had traces
of despair in it, but then he smiled and pulled her close to his heart.
Aicha
gently pushed him back a little and put both hands flat on his midsection and as
she caressed him, the terrible wounds closed, faded and then disappeared,
leaving his skin as smooth as it had always been. His golden eyes burned as his
strong arms went tightly around his beloved Aicha and his mouth opened to touch
her tongue, tasting her familiar sweetness again.
Aicha
responded to him as she had always done and he could only moan with delight,
feeling his body react to her as it always had.
“Now
we can be together, my love, as we were always meant to be. I will never let you
go again and no power in the Universe can separate us,” Lord Maul said with a
gentle note in his voice as realisation came to him that Aicha and he would be
together until the end of time.
Standing
in the water with their arms around each other Lord Maul and Lady Aicha kissed
reverently and the Force created soft veils of light to surround them. They were
bound together until they became one being created of light and darkness and
they were lifted into the Light of the Force, to be forever dancing amongst the
stars.
And
that is where you can see their immortals souls, look at the stars in the
heavens at night. See the eternal love of Darth Maul, Dark Lord of the Sith and
his Lady Aicha and let it comfort and strengthen you.
END