Daughter of Mortis

A Master's Teachings

   
    The sand storm howled around the hut. Ania finished lining the cracks beneath the door and windows with old rags. Tolsa carried a few bowls over to Obi Wan and he spooned some soup into it for the three of them. Some sand trickled in through a crack in the ceiling. Ania grabbed the bottle of sealant Master Kenobi had found and quickly sprayed it over the crack. The foam expanded and she expertly flattened it with a sharpened blade.

    Tolsa handed her a bowl of soup and sat down across from the Jedi Master. Ania took the bowl and sat next to her. Obi Wan stroked his beard for a moment, thinking. "Now, let me think for a moment. It has been several years since Anakin and I discovered Mortis. I'm afraid my memory isn't quite as sharp as it was then."

"Anything that you think may help me is plenty, Master," Ania said. She took a mouthful of soup.

"I've begun calling myself Ben now, if you don't mind. I'm no longer a master and it's better if the galaxy thinks Obi Wan Kenobi died during the Purge." Ania nodded understandingly. "Perhaps you can give me somewhere to start. Explain in detail what your situation is."

"Well, I'm afraid my powers are growing and I won't be able to control them. The Daughter is tethered to me. Sometimes I can summon her spirit into my body and she controls me. Other times I can hear her voice guiding me, like you would hear someone who has departed into the Force. Usually I'm able to keep my powers in check." She bit her lip.

"But then there are times when I can't. There are times when I lose control and when my fear and anger turn the Daughter against herself. She can take control of me and kill mercilessly. Her voice will speak through me and sometimes another voice will too. Whenever I'm angry or hurting, the second voice appears."

"When I was a prisoner of the Empire, I managed to escape my cell. Both the Daughter and the second voice spoke through me. The Daughter tried to warn me against following my passion but the second voice told me to embrace it. The second voice overpowered the Daughter as I continued to kill and sort of fell into a blind rage."

"Then, there is the matter of my link with Ezra. The Force has connected us somehow and gives us visions. Whenever these visions have happened, we begin to move in sync with one another. One time we were fighting each other. The next, we were just running through stances. Either way, my visions are what scare me the most," Ania finished.

"What are your visions of?" Ben prompted.

"Pain, anger, suffering," Ania listed off. "Mine and that of my friends. I keep seeing Ezra and I on a strange planet. Ezra is a Sith and I'm a Jedi, I think. There is one vision where the Emperor has me and is trying to resurrect a tattooed man with my spirit."

Ben stroked his beard, leaning back in his seat. He set his empty bowl aside. Ania continued eating, now finished talking. "The tattooed man you see may be the Son. He was the Daughter's brother and represented the Dark Side of the Force. I'm sure Ahsoka told you of what happened while we were on Mortis. The planet you see may also be Mortis. I don't know much about the history of the Three, but I do know that their power was greater than any I've ever seen, except for one."

"It may be that because the Daughter resides in you, the Son, wherever he is, can reach you through her. Perhaps the Force linked you and Ezra to show you the dangers of the future. I'm afraid I don't have many answers for you. All I can do is teach you what I know about control. It was often difficult for Anakin to control his power as well. The techniques that worked for him might work for you as well." Ben turned to Tolsa.

"And you, young lady. You will never truly stop learning about the ways of the Force, but I believe there is nothing more I can teach you to do with your abilities than what you already know. There is one thing I can help you with, however," he added, noting Tolsa's disappointed look. "It is part of a Jedi's destiny, no matter how powerful they are, to build their own lightsaber."