Serran

Chapter 20: A Jedi and a Sith: Part 1

"Your force tricks won't work on me. I've been around plenty of Jedi and their mind tricks haven't worked on me once." Atrus boasted.

"Jedi don't use mind tricks on their underlings." Serran corrected. He knew that all too well. He sighed again and pulled out a pouch of credits. He threw it in Atrus's lap. "It's yours. Now take me to level ten." He demanded.

Atrus opened the pouch. His eyes widened at the sight of all the credits. He closed the pouch and tucked it away. "Fine." The ship accelerated and flew to the entrance of the lower levels. Once at the gaping hole, the ship descended.

~

"You have succeeded in capturing the terrorists on Chandrila." A council member congratulated Meera. She bowed slightly in response.

"Thank you, master." She thanked. She was standing in the middle of the Jedi Council meeting room. Only four of the Masters had attended in person while the others attended as holoprojections. Kresonri was one of the four that attended in person.

"Since you have proved your worth to us," One of the council members began, "We have decided to give you another mission. This mission is to transport an ancient Sith artifact to the sanctum of the exalted. Master Kramsilva will be joining you." He finished.

Meera nodded. "May I ask what this artifact will be?" She asked.

"The artifact is a knife written in the ancient tongue of the original Sith." Kresonri chimed in. "It must be neutralized."

~

Meera exited the council room and now walked through the white stone hallways of the temple. "Master Kramsilva is waiting for me." She said to herself. Sith Artifacts, sometimes known as Sith treasures, were priceless dark side items, ancient in their creation but invaluable to darksiders for their potency and unique interaction with the dark side of the Force. Sith artifacts included Sith spellbooks, Sith amulets and talismans, Sith holocrons, Sith swords, and Sith scrolls or tomes. Sith Artifacts were deemed highly dangerous. While some of them were known for their healing powers, Sith amulets and talismans were weapons of the dark side, channeling immense dark side power. They also granted the ability to learn Sith scrolls and spellbooks, containing dark knowledge of Sith alchemy and ideology, which were often plagued by their author's madness, driving their reader insane.

Around four millennia ago, after the Great Hyperspace War, most of the Sith Artifacts were destroyed or taken by the Jedi Order to prevent the propagation of Sith ideology and their fall into the wrong hands. These were stored in the sanctum of the exalted which was also known as the shrine in the depths to the Sith.

Meera made her way down a winding staircase that led to the sanctum. The master she would meet at the entrance was already waiting for her and she didn't want to keep him waiting. She could tell that the staircase was old. It was made purely of smooth stone that had small cracks in it. The stone was stained with water damage and age.

Once down the winding staircase, she could see a person standing in front of a large rectangular entrance made of stone. She recognized the person as a Miraluka. The Miraluka were a Near-Human species that differed from Humans in that they lacked eyes, only retaining vestigial eye sockets, and saw the environment around them through Force sight instead of regular vision. This vision was so strong that if a Miraluka looked upon a Jedi or Sith, they could "see" Force radiating off them. The strength of a Miraluka's connection to the Force varied by individual.

Because of their connection to the Force, many Miraluka were drawn to the Jedi Order. Miraluka Jedi fought in the Great Sith War and helped shape the Jedi Order for centuries to come. Miraluka Sith was extremely rare, as the species' outlooks on life and the Force were largely incompatible with Sith teachings. However, as with all who felt the Force, a fall to darkness was possible with the Miraluka just as with any other species.