Episode VIII: The Witch

 

Location: Dathomir

Present Day

    Six Jedi and four of their padawans walk through the red barrens of Dathomir as the hot sun beats down onto their faces. “We’ve been looking for this distress signal for two days… I think we should get back to the shuttle and do an aerial sweep. We might be able to see the village from the sky.” A Tortuga Jedi Master suggests, gesturing back to the way they came from.

    “That’s just going to waste time, Rethalia. We need to split up so we can cover more ground. There are ten of us… We can split into three groups.” A Twi’lek Jedi Master adds, looking to her padawan. 

    “I think we should stay together… The deeper we get into these barrens… The more danger I feel is around us… Can you feel it?” The padawan asks, looking at the Twi’lek.

    “That… is the pull of the Dark Side… Resist the temptations. Push it out of your mind.” Rethalia remarks to the Twi’lek’s disciple.

    “Wait…” The Twi’lek turns around and looks up at the ridge overlooking the barrens. “There!” She shouts, pointing at the ledge. A blur seems to dash across the cliff too quickly for them to spot.

    “Something is watching.” Rethalia draws her lightsaber as the others follow after her lead. 

    “Something is… stalking us.” The Twi’lek whispers. A middle-aged woman walks towards the Jedi. Her long brown hair is messily tied into a giant single braid that drops to her ankles. The hair is filled with the bones, teeth, and feathers of different creatures. The woman wears only a loincloth and a patch of brown hide over her privates revealing most of her body.

    The woman’s body is covered in scars and she has many bone piercings through different parts of her body. About 60% of her body has scarring from a fire and she has two red lines drawn in blood from her forehead downward through her eyes to her neck.

    The Jedi slowly form a blockade with their sabers pointed at the woman. The Jedi Masters take the front line while the padawans stand behind with their sabers ready. “What is that…?” One of the padawans asks.

    Rethalia becomes pale as the mysterious tribal woman begins to whisper incantations under her breath. “A witch…” Rethalia replies quietly. Decayed roots covered in thorns whip outward from the dirt and wrap around the legs of every Jedi Master and padawan. As they begin to use their lightsabers to slash at the vines, the witch lifts her crude bone spear and throws it with great might at one of the Jedi Masters. The spear sends the woman flying backward onto the ground as it impales her completely.

    “Dethrakis Ma’katuris…” The witch’s head tilts devilishly as she lifts her left hand towards one of the padawans. The Twi’lek’s young disciple is lifted into the air before she begins to scream in terror. 

“MASTER!” The padawan cries out before her arms are ripped from her torso. The woman continues to scream in pain as her head is brutally torn from her neck and tossed onto the ground in front of the Twi’lek. The remains of the body drop to the ground as Rethalia and the Twi’lek launch themselves forward at the woman. As the Jedi masters fly through the air, the witch lifts her right hand and whispers an indistinct incantation. Both of the Jedi masters are shredded into thousands of bits as if they had fallen through a turbine sending blood and bone shards in all directions. The remaining padawans attempt to flee the fight just before the witch reaches out towards them causing three stone spiked pillars to launch from the ground impaling and lifting the padawan bodies up like trophies on display.

The three remaining Jedi masters close around the witch in a triangular formation, slowly revolving around her waiting for the right opportunity to strike. The three all leap towards the woman in perfect unison with their  lightsabers slashing down at her. The witch’s long braid lifts up grabbing the Jedi leaping from behind by the throat. Her hair twists the man’s head snapping his neck before tossing his lifeless corpse to the side. 

As the other two soar towards the witch, she holds her hands out drawing them both to her. The witch’s hands grab the hilts of their lightsabers as she whips the weapons backwards slicing both of the Jedi Masters down the middle. The witch slowly strides past the carnage as she drops down to her knees. The witch begins to recite her incantations as the bodies that are intact lift from the ground and float around her until they come to rest in a perfect circle. 

“Thondranis Aldin Themouras…” The witch incants loudly as the skies above redden. The eyes of the fallen Jedi slowly become pitch black and dark veins protrude around their eyes as their bodies begin to convulse. As the witch slowly stands up, black clouds gather above and red lightning crackles through the skies. One by one the bodies of the Jedi rise to their feet and proceed to kneel before the witch.

“Bal’thalas ethra.” The witch speaks. The Jedi all stand to their feet and begin to walk back to their ship. Once boarded, they activate the communications console and one of the padawans sits in the seat at the radio.

“This is Padawan Alinor. Our mission was a failure and our ship has been damaged. We are in need of extraction. Please send reinforcements… The Rancor here are completely out of control.” The man says before letting the transmission button go. After a moment, a green light glows at the top of the console. 

“This is Admiral Katalie. I have a Jedi cruiser that’s patrolling the Quelli Sector. They are headed your way to assist with the Rancor and to repair your ship. May the Force be with you, padawan.” A voice replies over the radio.

“You have my thanks, Admiral…” The padawan says before getting back up. The group walks out of the ship in perfect unison and ventures deeper into the red wastes.

    The witch climbs the rocks back up the cliff and proceeds back to a small village just north of the cliffside. When she arrives, there are many other women who look incredibly similar to her. They all wear bones and other objects found from corpses. 

    She descends into a hovel to see a very old woman with white eyes and a large glass sphere placed in the center of the room. The women exchange words in their foreign tongue before they both take a seat on either side of the sphere, reaching out to touch the opposite sides of it. Looking into the sphere, the witch witnesses a vision…

*        *        *

    A massive storm brews in the skies above Tython as Kira stands across from the witch. Kira lifts her hands and pulls a massive slab of the mountainside from its place and launches it at the witch. The tribal woman lifts her hand up as the mountain collides with her palm. The massive rock formation shatters inches from her skin resulting in only a large pile of dust on the ground. The witch lifts her spear and throws it into Kira’s stomach, sending her flying back into the mountainside, pinning her against the rocks. The witch strides up to Kira and tilts her head at her, face void of any emotion.

    “Wh- Why…” Kira sobs quietly as she mutters the word Ketuari over and over again to no avail. “Why did you kill her… Why are you doing this?” Kira cries out as blood seeps from her abdomen.

    “Don’t be afraid… You won’t die yet… I won’t allow it.” The woman says, placing her hand upon Kira’s cheek. The witch forces Kira to see what she describes. “There is a place on Dathomir where I will take the ones you love… I will rip their hearts from their chests… After I feast upon them, I will bring them back as servants of The Blight…” The witch lowers her hand to Kira’s arm, scraping downward and tearing the flesh apart.

    “I will use them to kill and devour the living… But the most exciting bit…” The witch taps Kira’s forehead. “The ritual keeps the brain alive… aware… They will see and know everything that they do… Tortured for eternity… Because of you.” The witch slams her clawed hand into Kira’s chest as the girl screams out in agony. 

    “I remember as a child that pain and horror I felt as the fires raged around me… The screams and the blasters firing… I’ve recovered these memories and I have watched them over… and over.” She hisses, twisting her hand around Kira’s beating heart.

    “But the flames did not kill me… They made me stronger… They gave me power…” She grits her fanged teeth before ripping Kira’s heart out of her chest. As she turns away from Kira’s corpse, the witch devours the heart and proceeds to sit on the ledge of a cliff overlooking Tython’s lush plains.

“The fire lit something within me…” The witch says as she lifts her hands up into the air. Thunder echoes through the sky as black clouds cover all of Tython. As red lightning violently rips through the plant, chaos breaks loose. Jedi temples begin to fall as the storms easily trigger emotion and doubt. 

“All worlds… Will fall before The Blight…” The witch says as the vision slowly fades from view.