Calm Your Nerves [Day 5, Late Afternoon]

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Iv I vere merely a pawn of Baraz I vould count meinzelf lucky. Zhat iz zhe bezt I could hope vor. But I muzt drawn near to zhe Emperor. I muzt giwe up meinzelf to be zubzumed by him. I vear vhat zhat truly meanz, vor I know of hiz terrible pover. Und I ztill hawe zo much do."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He nodded understandingly as if the collection of data points and scattered references started to coalesce in his mind, "What is it that you need to do?"

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

She was quiet for a very long time, motionless. Finally she spoke.

"I muzt vorge a blade povervul enough to kill an emperor."

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain paused for a good long moment after Jun-tsu's admission. He sat motionless as his mind worked through the implications of their conversation.

Finally he replied, "That is quite the quest... How do you intend to proceed in accomplishing this aim?"

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"By giwing up eweryzhing it vould zeem." He tone was despondent, distant.

"But I muzt embody zhe vill of zhe Dark Zide. I muzt in order to zave it." She took another drink.

[Sylvain Torsin]

"How do you know that it will be successful? How do you know he doesn't already have the knowledge you pursue?" He asked with a serious tone.

"He has had much longer to study the dark... He is its personification... To become one with it; is to become him... How then, can you kill him... if you are subject to his will?"

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

She looked at him with a gaze that seemed to imply that he had grasped the immensity of her predicament. A nod was his only reply and then a shake of her head as she drank again.

The witch corrected only one point, "He iz not zhe perzonivication of zhe Dark. He iz a hungry abyzz, an abzence, anihillation, obliwion. He iz no more embodiez zhe Dark Zide zhan a wacuum embodiez air."

[Sylvain Torsin]

"Even so... his knowledge of the Dark is expansive beyond any recognition. If you are to be successful you must consider all of the possible ways you could fail. Prepare for every contingency..."

"How is it done?" He asked after a contemplative silence. "Can the method of this weapon-creation be duplicated by someone else?"

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"It iz not about zhe veapon, zhough it iz exceedingly difficult to vorge, und vill need materialz zhat can only be vound by zertain people. Und I am not zertain zhere iz anozher as able or villing az I und mein zizterz to do it."

She waved off the first part of his comment, as though extreme paranoia at every possible terrible outcome hadn't been the first thing on her mind. But he was only just coming to this, and she allowed the young lord the opportunity to catch up.

"Zhe veapon iz a pure creation of zhe Dark Zide, it reqvirez zacrivice, not in its creation, but in itz uze."

[Sylvain Torsin]

"I see... And you simply believe it will be enough? What assurances or visions have you had on the matter?" He asked.

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"I have no azzurancez, no wisions, no propheziez. It iz juzt me. Und vor now, it may be enough to juzt vorry about vorging zhe blade."

[Sylvain Torsin]

“What kind of resources and sacrifice do you require?” He asked.

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"Virstly I vill need a blade vorged from zhe ore of hiz reazting plaze. Lord Tenebrouz knowz zhe planet of vhich I zpeak. V'one dewoid of zhe Forze, Vhere zhe Dark und Light hawe been picked clean, leawing only zhe bonez of a vorld. To pierce zhe woid, ve need a part of it."

"Zecond, I vill need zhe blood of v'one az poverful in zhe Dark Zide, az he iz tied vith zhe abyzz. I know already from vhere I can get zhat."

"Zhird I vill need perhapz zhe hardezt ingredient, zhe eye und heart of a Zith creation, a beazt created und mutated by Zith alchemy. Ve need zheir pure ezzence to infuze zhe ingreatientz."

"Und laztly, ve need a branch vrom a place of pure Light. You are not wrong, zhe Darknezz can, on occazion, not pervorm all zhingz, und here, bozh zidez of zhe Forze muzt be uzed, but ve uze zhe light only to deepen zhe zhadowz."

"I vill zhen take zhiz to Korriban und in a plaze of darkezt pover, diztill zhe incredientz und zeep zhe bladz und ztalkz vith zuch darknezz az to banizh zhe woid."

[Sylvain Torsin]

“And do you have plans in place to acquire what you need, beyond what you mentioned of my sister?” He asked.

“Do you know the beast and do you know what ‘branch’ you require? And plans to extract them?”

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"In time," Jun-Tsu let her head loll back and she stared at the ceiling. "All zhingz rewealed in time. Und zhen I zhall die, und become v'one vizh zhe Umbră-Ușoară."

She continued to stare at the cavernous ceiling, lapsing into a moment of silence.

"Unlezz, I am conzumed by zhe abyzz, und zhall newer know zuch unity. Deztroyed utterly. Complete oblivion."

[Sylvain Torsin]

"This is quite the objective..." Sylvain replied after a moment of contemplation.

"I knew my sister distrusted the Emperor's intentions... but to go as far as to kill him to save the galaxy..." He paused.

"I didn't know it had come to that."

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

"She doez not know yet. Nor iz she a part of zhiz plot....yet. Perhapz none elze need be. I am zertain vere I not var vrom mein zenzez right now," she took a drink as though to emphasize her point, "zhen I vould not hawe put you at rizk by ewen knowing ov mein volly."

She swayed ever so slightly before straightening her posture. She lapsed into a moment of silence and reached up to take off her headdress. As her pale hand pulled it from her head, she closed her eyes, but even so, Sylvain could suddenly tell why she wore her particular attire, the garb occluding her eyes. Deep veins of black shot out from around her orbits like ebony lightning, and when she did open her eyes they were pools of pitch night. They might have seemed missing, had a glassy sheen still played over them.

"I hawe only ewer vanted v'one zhing in mein live. To be v'one vith zhe Dark Zide. To be an extezion of itz vill, to be a bodily expression of its magnivicenze. Und for juzt a flazh in mein live, I velt zhat. Und now I vill newer know it again."

[Sylvain Torsin]

He looked at her with concern; a concern that originated from the somber pitch in her voice rather than the appearance of her eyes.

"How did it happen?" He asked.

[Jun-Tsu Farro]

Her face took on a rare grin, and she laughed as her head lolled about. "It vaz mein dahrling. I nourizhed her from her wery conzeption vizh zhe Dark Zide. I vaz zuffuzed in itz ezzence by zhe time I left Yawin IV. She vaz, iz, a creation of zhe Dark Zide, az much az zhe iz mein or Rem'z. She iz it, und it iz her, und all zhat pover I channeled zhat night from zhe Woid Engine into her, zhat infinite darknezz, it grew vithin me. She vas me, und I her."

She hugged herself before taking another deep drink of her cup and poured herself another. "Mein vamily bazhed me in zhe dark light, und vor nine monzh, I knew zhe Forze az vew hawe ewer known it. Invinite pover, to veel yourzelf be mozher to zhe Dark Zide, for it to grow vithin you....It iz indezcribable."

A kind of sorrow took over her expression, "Und zhen it vas gone. Drained out of me vith mein beautiful girl. It iz her und zhe growz vithout me. Und mein v'oneness iz gone."

Her fist clenched the fabric of her robes, "How I vant it back. Each day I veel vurzher from it. Zhe memoriez vade. Und now I vill newer know it again."

[Sylvain Torsin]

Sylvain had heard of some difficult pregnancies but this by far seemed to be the most difficult in memory. He reached out and put his hand on Jun-tsu's shoulder, "Your sacrifice has brought forth a very special young woman. The dark often channels life from one object to another. Destroys one to feed another. In that... you will always be a part of the 'oneness' you seek. You are the soil which gave root to your daughter. And you will be in her forever."