The Darkening: Chapter Eleven

Darkness devours every shining day.
Darkness demands and always has its way.
Darkness listens, watches, waits.
Darkness claims the day and celebrates.
Sometimes in silence darkness comes.
Sometimes with a gleeful banging of drums

Corran's first blow staggers Ben backwards. As he pulls his saber away, Ben lunges forward, swinging his blade low at the older man's feet.

Corran catches the blade, and then kicks Ben. Ben stumbles backwards, and then grabs the chair he was sitting in earlier and throws it at Corran. Corran slices the chair in half, and begins walking towards Ben.

Ben takes a step back, and readies himself for another attack. He glances over at the bed and sees Mirax holding Jysella, both of them with terrified expressions on their face.

Corran rushes Ben again, his saber coming in from a wild overhand attack. Ben sidesteps, and grabs Corran in the Force, flinging him through a window and out into the yard.

Ben steps out through the broken window, walking towards Corran, anger clouding his features.

"What's your problem Master Horn?"

Corran looks up, a trickle of blood coming from his nose. "You."

Ben watches as the older man struggles to stand, and once he gets to his feet, he ignites his saber. Ben steps forward quickly, swinging his blade from left to right.

Corran parries the blow, and ducks down picking some dirt up and tossing it into Ben's eyes. Ben lets out a low growl of frustration, and ducks as the Force directs.

Blinking the last of the dust from his eyes, Ben stomps forward, his blade moving lightning fast; a flurry of strikes going from left to right and then back.

Corran deftly catches each attack, and steps away from Ben slightly. The two fighters assume mid guards, slowly circling one another, their blades silver and blue beacons in the night.

Suddenly a third figure lands in between them, his green blade shining brightly. Luke looks between the two fighters, anger coating his voice. "What are the two of you doing? I thought I broke this up earlier today?" He then rounds on Corran. "And you where supposed to show up at my office for a discussion on your actions."

Ben glances over his shoulder, noticing Mirax and Jysella standing on the porch still holding one another. He glances back towards his father, shutting down his blade.

Luke speaks up once more. "Ben, your side of the story."

"I brought Jysella home, and she asked me to sit with her until she fell asleep. I was getting ready to leave when Corran walked in and attacked me."

Luke turns towards Corran. "Corran?"

"I got home, and went to check on my little girl and found him kissing her. I don't want him around my little girl."

Luke raises an eyebrow. "Corran, are you drunk?"

Corran looks away. "No."

"And just how much have you had to drink today?"

"What are you my nursemaid?"

Ben takes a step back, his eyes widening slightly as Corran steps towards Luke, his saber rising in an attack. Luke calmly looks at him, and then yanks the saber from Corran's hands with the Force. Luke opens up the saber, and removes the focusing crystals. Closing it, he tosses it back to Corran, who fumbles the catch and drops the lightsaber to the ground.

"I'm keeping this until you've sobered up and came to talk to me."

Corran turns from them both, and stalks into the night. Luke looks on sadly as the man walks away and then turns to his son. "Come on son, we're going home."

Ben nods his head, and then walks back to Jysella, taking her hand in his. "You going to be okay?"

She mutely nods her head and looks up at him, her eyes once more showing her pain. "I, I think so. Will you come by tomorrow?"

Ben smiles at her. "Yes, I'd be happy to."

Then he turns back towards his father, and follows him home.

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She is tracking her prey this time. The scent of numerous fermented beverages is strong and getting stronger as she closes in on her prey. She smiles as she finally creeps through a set of trees, and spies her prey.

The smile quickly dies as she realizes just what sorry shape Corran Horn is in. He is leaning up against a building, a bottle of cheap whiskey clutched loosely in his hand as he snores lightly. Anger and disgust explodes in her at the sight of him. He is supposed to be a hero, a protector and flawless. Yet what she sees now is a sorry drunk, unfit to be around.

She steps up to him, not bothering to remain silent, yet he is so drunk he doesn't even notice. When she gets close enough, she leans down and rakes her nails down the side of his face. The shock of pain is enough to cut through his drunken stupor and his eyes shoot open.

As he focuses on her, she feels disgust at the perceived lust that flashes in his eyes. She slaps him harder across the same cheek she had just scratched and he calls out in pain. Finally recognition dawns in his eyes and she smiles at him.

Making a short tsking noise, she reaches out and places her hands on either side of his head. He looks at her, an expression which almost makes her laugh. He is talking and she hears his words, but does not understand them, but she can tell that they are questioning.

Her smile broadens as she realizes that he's trying to ask her what she is doing.

Then with a flash of lightning, she lets her hate and disgust rush out of her hands as Force lightning. She feels an odd sense of pride as he doesn't scream out or curse, just shakes slightly and then collapses into a heap, black wisps of smoke coming from his temples.

She leans closer to him, a twisted smile tugging at the corner of her lips. An odd chirping noise attracts her attention.

And then she sits up in her bed, yet another scream on the tip of her tongue. She looks around the room, her eyes wide and the fear pounding in her heart, as the door annunciator lets out a loud chirp once more.

She slips out of the room, and stands in the dark hallway and watches as her mother invites Master Mara Jade into the house. Part of her wants to return to her room and bed, but the look on the woman's face causes her to stay where she is at and eavesdrop on the conversation between the two women.

"What can I do for you tonight Mara?"

"It's about Corran."

"Did he attack someone else?"

Mara pauses for a second, causing Jysella's heart to drop even further as she remembers the dream she was having when she was awakened.

"No, someone or something killed him. A large electrical current through the head."

Mirax's cry of grief cuts Jysella to the heart, and she quickly retires to her room, the pain and anguish engulfing her.

As she enters the room, she once more picks up the holocron, and taps the top, allowing the hologram to flicker into existence. "What is it my child? What has caused you such grief and pain?"

"My dad. He was killed."

The Custodian nods his head. "I see, yet this is a good time to put some of what I taught you to use. Gather your pain and grief, your hate at who killed your father, and keep them close to your heart as a source for your power. Such emotions will make you invincible."

Sniffling back her tears, Jysella nods her understanding and begins meditating on her hate.