Hey, so this is my stab at Familiar of Zero, I'm doing a crossover with a classic favourite game of mine, Star Wars: The Old Republic.
I hope you enjoy.

I doubt I'll be updating this often cause I've got a lot going on, but I will update it so you don't need to worry about that.

Tristain Academy Of Magic.

Shadows flickered along the stone hallway, accompanied by soft footsteps and rustling of cloth. Trying her best not to make a sound, Kirche clung to her wand as the light at its tip pulsated with magic. Her breathing was short and silent, her eyes constantly darting from one end of the hall to the other. For the upteenth time within the space of five minutes, she cursed herself for going through with this idea, but she had gone too far to turn back now.

Besides, she had been thinking about it all day. What gave the zero the confidence that she had? What made her feel as though she could look down her nose at the other students like she did and declare that she would summon the greatest familiar they had ever seen? That girls pride irritated her to no end. Louise the zero. The only things remotely impressive about her being her family name and her spectacular failure rate when it came to wielding magic.

The girl knew she had no talent for the art, and yet she continued to look down at everyone else. This was why she was here the night before the summoning ceremony. This was why Kirche was standing outside her door, breaking the academy curfew in the small hours of the night.

That, and she couldn't sleep. Nerves were a killer.

The light on the tip of her wand faded into nothingness as the Germanian reached out and grasped the door handle of Louise's dorm. Slowly pushing forward, Kirche grimaced at the loud creaking and stopped immediately. Did she wake Louise? Did someone in the halls hear that? Twisting her head to look from left to right down the corridor to check if the coast was clear, Kirche then poked her head into the small gap in the doorway to peek into Louise's room.

Odd. Her bed was empty, and there was a faint candle light coming from behind the door. Slowly peering around the door, Kirche's breath hitched and her body froze when she saw Louise over at her desk. The redhead could feel her heart thumping loudly inside her chest. If that didn't get Louise's attention, nothing would. Seconds passed and Kirche remained frozen to the spot, quietly watching Louise, waiting for movement. But aside from the steady rise and fall of the pinkette's chest, nothing happened.

Sighing in relief, Kirche abrupted and hurriedly pushed the door open, ducked inside and closed the door as quickly and quietly as possible. Pausing to glance at Louise once more, Kirche slowly nodded to herself before making her way to the smaller teen. Odd, why was Louise asleep at her writing desk? As the taller teen silently stood behind the slumbering Tristainian, Kirche frowned.

Littered around Louise were several books issued from the library about the founder, Brimir, and his studies of the lands. Kirche's frown deepened. Such an odd collection of books were unusual, as most of them had either been studied in their various classes, the rest were of titles she noted had been mentioned in the aforementioned books.

"What in the name of the founder are you doing?" Kirche wondered as she spared a glance at the sleeping face of the De La Vallière. Well, she had come to see what made the prideful girl so confident, so this was her chance. Slowly, Kirche slid the papers from under Louise's face, grimacing at the small amount of drool on them, before skimming over the girls notes. It was about half way through the first page, however, that Kirche's eyes widened in shock, and she returned to the top of the page, purposefully devouring each word of Louise's studies.

"No..." Kirche muttered aloud as she began reading the second page. "You can't be serious. You plan on harnessing that?" She could scarcely believe her eyes, but at the same time, she found a newfound respect for the pinkette. She had picked up on something that, as far as she knew, no one else had even battered an eye at.

The veins of the world.

They had first been taught about the veins of the earth by Professor Colbert when he went into a lecture about how Brimir studied the workings of the world and then went on the wield the power of the world itself by harnessing the apparent rivers of magic flowing in great currents thought the ground. Thus, allowing him to perform feats that would put anything any other mage in history had done to shame.

"Going by these notes, she's going to harness the power of the world itself, allowing it to flow through her body and then into the spell to summon her familiar." Kirche thought in awe as she flipped the page once more. "But would her body even be able to handle that much raw magic flowing through her like that? It shouldn't seem..." Kirche trailed off as she reread the last paragraph of the last page.

"This isn't ambitious... It's suicidal." The Germanian decided as she slowly placed the papers back on the table to stare open mouthed at the Louise. The girl had to have a deathwish to accomplish that. Hell, it would most likely be safer to harness the veins of the world rather than that. But still, if she could pull it off, the familiar she would be able to summon would make all of Brimir's accomplishments pale in comparison.

Shaking her head, she picked up the papers to read over the notes once more, just to be sure. "Blood of the founder, we're in the perfect position for it too..." Her thoughts trailed off as her skin lost some of its color. Using the worlds veins would be child's play compared to this. Louise wasn't just harnessing the magic currents of the world, she was tapping into the very ley lines of the stars.

Much on the same principle, Brimir's eldest son had taken to studying the cosmos, and much like his father before him, had discovered the ley lines of the stars themselves. Massive currents of magic that spider webbed throughout the galaxy with enough magic to annihilate constellations. Veins so big it took the planet nigh five weeks to pass through, a time in which if you tapped into the vein of magic, you would be the definition of unstoppable.

That is, if you could survive the strain on you body. Brimir's son hadn't harnessed the power himself, as by the time he discovered it the planet had just passed through it. A pity, if he had recorded using such power, his name would have undoubtedly out shone his fathers.

Scowling at the papers, the Germanian memorized the written summoning chant, as cheesy as it was, which just seemed to be the usual personalized version where she call upon the universe to grant her a familiar instead of the founder. Kirche let out a tired sigh as she placed the papers beside Louise's resting face. She was unsure how she felt about this.

On one hand, these studies could lead to the summoning of the most powerful familiar in Halkeginia's history, both past and present. On the other, surely having so much power flowing through your body would kill you, wouldn't it?

"Harnessing the power of the stars..." Kirche thought as she silently made her way back to the door. "Even someone as talentless as Louise would be able to summon the greatest of familiars with that kind of magic. But if I were to use it..." A devilish grin spread across Kirche's lips as she slipped out of Louise's room and she pondered the possibilities. "Harnessing the power of the stars..."

In a galaxy far, far away...

Sand. It was course, rough, dry and it gets everywhere. Oh how he loathed sand with a passion. Why did he have to be stuck on a desert planet? Why couldn't he have been cornered on Alderaan? Or Kashyyyk? Anywhere that wasn't a fucking desert. All around him, no matter how far he looked, there was nothing but sand dunes and jutting rocks. At least those provided shade.

With the sun high in the sky and his view from the top of a larger than usual sand dune, Darth Imperius could see large, red cliffs in the distance, hopefully with some caves. Caves meant shade, and possibly even water or something edible. The Sith lord studied the cliffs now that he could make out distinct shapes. It wasn't much of a goal, but at this point he was glad to just have one. Living off of the force was possible, by the emperor he had been thriving off of it while on the run, but it was becoming annoying.

The wind wiped through the desert, pushing against him as sand bounced off his worn armor. He bore the ancient armor of Tulak Hord, one of the most powerful Sith lords in history, but he kept the countenance of his ancestor. He had kept the original Kallig's lightsaber too, and the saber of Tulak Hord, wrenched from the dead hands of Darth Marr after he fell during the Empires last stand.

Sighing, he shifted the worn satchel that hung from his shoulder and lifted the leather flap. Slowly and gently, several items floated out of the small bag. They were all he could take with him, the few possessions he had the time to gather. A dozen lightsabers, many trophies from battles long passed, one of his now dead apprentice Xalek and another the lightsaber he himself had used as an apprentice, along with four holocrons, one being the grand total of all his knowledge, the other three being the collective sum of Tulak Hord's lightsaber techniques, Freedon Nadd's sorcery and Naga Sadow's alchemy.

This was all that remained of the Sith and their teachings.

"Master, how much longer will we run? How much longer will we disgrace ourselves by turning our back to the enemy?" Imperius' ever faithful companion, the pale skinned shadow killer Khem Val, almost pleaded with his shorter master.

"We have nothing left to fight for, Khem." The Sith muttered quietly. "All we can do now is survive. Survive and slay all those who stand against us."

Khem grit his teeth in frustration, but he obeyed his master, his friend. He had seen the little Sith rise from the lowest of acolytes to one of the most powerful Sith since the lords of old. But his blade grew thirsty, and it had been several days since and Republic forces had caught up to them.

"As you say, my master." He said with a short bow, yet Darth Imperius continued to stare through the holocrons and lightsabers before him and into the distance cliffs, lost in his own mind once again.

Weeks. He had been on the run for weeks. Weeks of struggling. Weeks of staving off Republic troops lead by Jedi knights hunting him down. Weeks without being able to rest for more than a few hours. Weeks of being the most wanted man in the galaxy, all because of those idiots that served on the dark council with him. Darth Marr had told him that he had done more for the Sith Empire in his time before sitting on the council than any of the other council members would do in their collective lifetimes, but he had still made the mistake of overestimating the other council members.

The Empire had begun loosing, and his peers had argued among themselves. He and Marr had taken action. The Empire lost planets, the council argued, Imperius and Marr had acted. The Emperor had been killed, the council argued, Imperius and Marr had acted. The Empire lost legions of soldiers, the council argued, Imperius and Marr had acted. The Empire lost Dromund Kaas, the seat of the Empires power itself in a battle that razed the cities of the Sith and claimed the lives of several members of the Dark Council. Yet still, the remaining members argued, and still, Imperius and Marr alone had acted.

Then came the siege of Korriban. The Empires last stand. Both he and Marr had forced the dark council to take to the battlefield and fight for their very survival, and still to fools proved their incompetence. It was then that Imperius had an epiphany of sorts. The Sith order was doomed from the start, poisoning itself with infighting and self service while not caring for the betterment of the empire. They could never have won. They were always going to die.

He was ashamed to admit it had taken him so long to realize that. It was then that he fought harder then ever. The last of the Empire, be they lords, soldiers and even Marr himself, had rallied behind him then. For every Imperial they lost, hundreds of Republic soldiers and Jedi fell. He opened himself entirely to the force, both light and dark, to eradicate any and all Republic forces that stood before him. Yet he was but one man. He could not win alone.

Sighing, Imperius pulled himself from his memories to find himself kneeling before the setting sun. What a waste it had all been. He had given his all, his entire being to fighting for the Empire and the freedom granted by his position, only to fall here in a nameless desert of a ruined desert planet that no one cared for. He felt quite insulted by such an end.

Imperius frowned behind his skull like mask as he gazed at the sun sitting on the horizon. Something was wrong, he could feel it in the force, a familiar presence beside a dozen others.

"No..." He whispered to himself as he watched the silhouettes appear in the distance, as though they had flown directly out of the sun itself. A low, tired groan escaped his parched lips and Khem snarled, his muscles tense with anticipation. He couldn't even rest for five damn minutes...

Three NR-2 light transports sped through the sky heading directly towards them. He could feel their passengers through the force, nearly a hundred and fifty soldiers and half a dozen Jedi, one of which he wished he would never face in combat, but felt pleased to see once more. A bittersweet reunion. Sand billowed up and swirled around him as the three transports formed a semi circle in the air around him, unable to land on the top of the dune.

Darth Imperius watched as the rear doors opened up and Republic soldiers came pouring out. He smirked to himself. These soldiers would be nothing but a nusciense if only he had the energy to deal with them. As he was now, he couldn't summon that same power he had when he fought at the doors of the academy. He could fight, he would fight, but not like he wished he could. They completely surrounded him, many kneeling to point their blasters up the slope of the dune at his and Khem's chest from both in front and from behind. But then they came. Leaping out of the transport directly in front of him, they came. Jedi.

He counted six in total, flanked by two members of Havoc squad on each side, but he could feel their strength in the force. Any one of them would be enough to end a lesser Sith. Did they truly feel that such a display of power was necessary to subdue him? Honestly? It was actually rather flattering. As soon as they were empty of their passengers, the transports slowly gained altitude until they hovered nearly two hundred meters in the air, their blasters focused directly on him. Slowly, the six Jedi positioned themselves in front of him in a V formation, lightsabers humming and muscles tense.

"Grand master Satele Shan." Darth Imperius called out, his normally accented voice coarse and rough from dehydration after spending so long without water in the dry desert. "I doubt I'm strong enough to give you much of a challenge as I am now, but I'm flattered nonetheless." He croaked.

"Darth Imperius." The head of the Jedi nodded in greeting. "You're one of the most powerful Sith of your time, and the youngest member in the history of the dark council. After your display of power at the final battle at the Sith academy, we weren't going to take any chances." She smiled politely.

"Can't fault you for that logic." Imperius noted absentmindedly with a nod before turning to face the Jedi standing to her right. "The Barsen'thor, am I correct?" He inquired to the hooded Miraluka with a green lightsaber. The white robed Jedi looked rather caught off guard at being addressed and flushed pink, but nodded. "That was adorable." Imperius smirked under his mask. "I've heard a great many things pertaining your abilities. It's a pity we couldn't meet under more pleasant circumstances."

"Indeed." The young Jedi smiled at the dark lord. Imperius decided that he liked her. She seemed like nice company, much more pleasant than most Jedi that screamed at him to surrender. Turning his attention to the rest of the gathered Jedi, Imperious made note of the large gathering of Jedi council members.

"I also see masters Jaric Kaedan, Tol Braga and Bela Kiwiiks. To meet so many of the Jedi council... I'm not sure if I'm lucky or cursed." Imperius joked halfheartedly as he saw Khem grip the hilt of his blade out of the corner of his eye. "I guess I'll know by how this all pans out." He said as he looked to the final member of the small strike force of Jedi, and his heart ached in protest. "The grand masters new padawan? I trust they're treating you well?" He inquired with a somewhat pained voice.

Ashara pursed her lips as she found a newfound interest in her boots, but nodded. She stood to Satele's left, almost like she was hiding behind her. Nodding in return, Imperius also found it difficult to look her in the eyes, instead studying the shifting sand around his knees.

"That's good, you'll be a Jedi master in no time..." He trailed off quietly. An odd silence settled over the gathering as Imperius cleared his throat. "Well, I suppose that's the pleasantries out of the way." He began with a weak smile. "Get on with it then."

Taking her cue, Satele began to walk forward, deactivating her lightsaber as she came to a stop not two paces from the kneeling Sith and his twitching Dashade. "Darth Imperius of the dark council, I ask that you surrender peacefu-"

"No." Imperius interrupted tiredly. "No no no no no, that's not what you're supposed to do." He grumbled. Slowly, and with an overly exaggerated groan, the master of the dead arched his back as he stood. "I will not surrender to anyone. I fought and bleed for my freedom in the Empire, I'm not just going to hand it over at the drop of a hat, thank you very much." He sighed, Khem chuckling darkly at his side.

Satele frowned as she took a cautionary step back, her hands gasping her lightsaber tightly. "Then you will fight? Even after you admitted that you aren't strong enough to face us all?" She asked, astonished by his sudden turn of attitude. Her padawan had told her that her former master was difficult to predict, his silver tongue being the end of just as many of his enemies as his potent strength in the force.

"Oh no, I don't want to fight." Imperius said cheerfully as he clapped his hands, the sudden motion and noise getting a jump from the more on edge soldiers, much to his and Khem's amusement. "But I won't surrender either."

Satele frowned in both confusion and annoyance. "You won't surrender, but you won't fight?" She asked incredulously, only to hear a sigh from Ashara behind her. This wasn't what the grand master had expected from a dark lord of the council. "Then what will you do?"

Imperius hummed in thought as he turned about on the spot, taking in a full 360 degree view of his surroundings. "I." He began, letting his voice hang in the air purely for the purpose of being dramatic. "Am going to walk."

"Walk?" The Barsen'thor muttered as she looked to her fellow council members for an explanation, only to find them just as confused by his behavior as her.

"Yes!" The Darth announced loudly, getting another jump from several soldiers. "Walk. I'm going to walk." The grin under his mask nearly stretched from ear to ear as he turned about on the spot to point in the exact same direction he had come from. "I'm going to walk that way!"

Satele felt like she was dealing with a child rather than one of the most powerful Sith, and evidently she wasn't the only one as it seemed the commander of Havoc squad, a large framed man covered from head to toe in heavy armor, let out an angered growl.

"You're surrounded!" He shouted as he adjusted his grip of his rifle. "Get back down on your knees and place your hands behind your back or we will use force!" The commander announced. All around them, the Republic troopers tensed and refocused their aim as a deep, rumbling growl echoed from Khem's chest.

Satele watched as Darth Imperius slowly turned to look over his shoulder, seemingly glaring at the commander from behind his mask, and the grand master had to admit, the look sent a shiver down her spine.

"I don't like you..." Imperius trailed off.

Ashara's eyes widened and she flung her hands towards the commander in a desperate attempt. "Move!" She screamed, the force bursting forth from her hands in a great wave that sent the commander flying, much to everyone's shock. Yet before he had even moved a half meter, a bolt of brilliant purple lightning shot down from the cloudless sky to explode onto the spot he had just been, the shock wave sending the commander further through the air.

A stunned silence filled the air as the commander landed nearly a hundred meters away with a pained grunt, the smoldering, charred pit of heated glass where he had been standing not half a second ago sizzling with heat.

That's when shit hit the fan.

Blaster fire smothered the air, the smell of ozone almost suffocating and the noise blocking out Satele's orders to stand down, despite activating her own lightsaber as she leaped backwards. Blue and yellow blaster bolts and the haze of constant gunfire began to obscure their line of sight, but the gathered Jedi could feel it. The thrumming, twisted pull in the force that left a foul taste in their mouths.

Satele continued to command the soldiers to stand down, waving her arms in order to get their attention, but they were clearly rattled. The amount of Sith that could call down such a quick and powerful lightning bolt from nothing like that were few and far between. Blaster fire continued to stream out of the majority of the soldiers weapons, but something soon caught Satele's attention.

Many of the bolts flew out the other side of the now impenetrable dust cloud, but a large number simply vanished, and none of the soldiers were pointing their rifles low enough for them to be shooting the ground. But she could feel Imperius's life still raging with power, a new fervor that would have overwhelmed anyone under the rank of master, so where were all the other blaster shots going?

The noise of the constant barrage was suddenly silenced by the sound of clicking. It seems that many of the soldiers had just emptied their magazine.

"Hold fire!" Satele shouted over the newfound silence.

"Hold your fire!" The order went around quickly enough, but whatever damage had been done couldn't be reversed.

Satele cursed as she saw Aric Jorgan offer his commander a shoulder to lean on, the way the bigger man favored his right leg showing that he had landed badly. She had wanted this to be resolved peacefully, not like this, and while she could feel that the dark lord was still alive in the dust cloud, she knew that it would now resort to a violent and bloody affair.

"Everyone get ready!" She announced as master Jaric reached out with his spare hand to grasp the force and jerked his hand backwards, and in an instant all the dust and haze was gone, giving all present an unobscured view of Darth Imperius and Khem Val, still standing in the exact same spot, the Dashade twirling his electro sword about in his hand. Satele's sucked in her breath at the display before her. The pair stood in a bubble of blaster bolts hovering in mid air around them, the Sith's purple lightsaber in his gloved right hand sounded more like a vacuum than a hum of power, as though it were trying to suck the air out of the sky.

"I knew there were more going into the dust than coming out, but this..." She thought in exasperation and surprise. The grand master frowned, however, as she notice the Sith lord's left hand. It was palm up, facing the sky as he moved his fingers as though he were twisting a ball in his hand. A sudden gust from behind her sent the hairs on the back of her neck on end. "Get down!" She cried, leaping backwards as did the rest of the Jedi, just in time to avoid the Shuttle that crashed into the spot they had just been.

The shock wave sent sand, fire and metal debris in every direction, the wreckage itself being dragged along the ground by the force in a wide circle around the Sith lord, crushing the soldiers that had surrounded him.

Looking up from her position at the bottom of the dune, Satele found herself hard pressed to suppress her horror and shock at what she saw. Imperius sent each blaster bolt backwards to join the slowly growing tornado of sand, wind, crash debris and bodies, all the while the two shuttles still in the air continued to circle him counter ways to the tornado, completely at his mercy.

"By the force..." Master Bela muttered as she watched the powerful display unfold from beside Satele.

"Indeed. We are facing a monster." Master Tol added gravely as he stood in a ready stance.

Satele looked over her shoulder at her padawan, who was brushing the sand from her robes. "Indeed." She said regretfully as she turned away from the young Togruta. With a mere nod, the five council members jolted into action, leaving Ashara to watch, a single tear rolling down her cheek as her gaze locked with Imperius's. The Sith lord returned her stare and nodded solemnly before turning his attention to the oncoming fight.

"Khem!" He shouted, pointing his blade at the soldiers that had escaped the crash and subsequent tornado. Grinning darkly, the Dashade launched himself through the air, vibro blade held high as he brought his wrath and hunger down upon those unfortunate enough to still be alive.

Staring down the Jedi rushing towards him as the wind raged at his worn armor, Imperius gave his lightsaber a few basic swings. All around him, soldiers, both dead and alive, spun about him at a dizzying speed, mixed with the sand and pieces of the flaming wreckage from the shuttle he had pulled down from the sky.

"Imperius!" Satele shouted over the sound of the tornado. "This is your last chance to surrender! Please! Stop this!"

But it seemed that not all of the Jedi were willing to give him the second chance as the Sith lord watched master Jaric leap forwards, lightsaber held high above him for a downward strike.

"You're not very bright, are you?" Imperius questioned as he inclined his head to the left just as Jaric was about to pass through the tornado, only to be snatched off course by the force and sent flying around in circles as well. "Idiot." The Sith muttered with a shake of the head.

"Jaric!" Bela shouted, voice laced with concern over her friend and fellow master as she reached out with the force.

"I think not." Imperius sighed as he thrust out his left arm, purple and blue lightning erupting from his fingertips to strike a piece of debris from the shuttle.

Bela grimaced, halting her attempts to free her friend from the vortex as lighting exploded inside of it, hundreds of arcs of electricity bouncing from one object to another, be it a piece of wreckage or a body. "No..." She whispered in horror as the sand began to melt under the heat, turning to shards of glass and seemingly completing the deathtrap in front of them.

"Bela, we need to stop that Dashade." Satele said, her firm voice snapping the Togruta out of her horror stricken state. Nodding numbly, Bela steeled herself and leaped through the air, the force carrying her towards the whirlwind of hate and famine that was the shadow killer.

"Monster!" Tol shouted as he watched Jaric slam into a large piece of the shuttles wing, his body now limp as it fell further into the vortex.

"You know, for a Jedi, he didn't really think before jumping in, did he?" Imperius's voice was cold and passive as he watched the glass rip through Jaric's body, staining the tornado with blood. "He literally jumped into a tornado..." The Sith muttered in disbelief. "Idiot." He wasn't left with much more time to muse the doings of the now dead Jaric, as his tornado seemed to explode outwards, sending glass, debris and bodies hundreds of meter in every direction.

Frowning, Imperius watched the Barsen'thor climb the dune to stand but five meters apart, her white robes whipping about in the remnants of the tornado's wind. At her side, her lightsaber hummed with power. "I do not wish to fight you, but you have not left me with much choice." She said sadly, the sand around her shifting upwards and curling about into a thick tendril.

"You could have just let me go for a walk..." Imperius sighed as he shook his head, his own lightsaber twirling about in his hand as lightning freely ran up and down his entire being. Slowly, he raised his arms up by his side, a dark purple haze gathering at his arms, his eyes glowing bright purple beneath his mask as he began ascending into the air. "But no, because apparently me going for a walk isn't aloud. How evil of me."

A sudden, explosive pulse tore through the air around him, blowing both the sand and the Jedi behind him backwards as Imperius looked over his shoulder. "Don't think that I'd forgotten about you." The Sith sneered as Tol stumbled back from the force, his footing slipping atop the loose sand.

"I won't allow you to harm another!" Satele shouted as she made a grabbing motion with her outstretched hand before jerking it towards her.

Imperius let out a loud curse as he was suddenly pulled to the side from his place in the air, sent crashing down to the ground and began tumbling down the slope of the dune. With grunt, he finally came to a stop on his back. Groaning in annoyance, Imperius's eyes came into focus just in time to see the grand master dropping down upon his from the sky, lightsaber poised to impale him.

With a quick flick of the wrist, the force launched her backwards into the air and far from the Sith as he pulled himself up from the ground in time to see Tol sprinting down the dune faster than Imperius could keep track. Throwing both his hands forward, the heir to Kallig sent forth a massive torrent of lighting to the entire area in front of him.

Tol came to a sliding halt and raised his lightsaber to block the oncoming storm, watching in shock as the entire side of the dune was bathed in a wave of electricity, reducing all the sand on the slope to glass almost instantaneously. "I knew he was powerful, bu-" Tol was torn from his thoughts as he was jerked forward, sent flying through the air and over the top of the last Sith to collide with the top of the next dune with enough force to go right through and tumble down the other side.

Imperius let out a ragged breath as he watched the Jedi disappear over the other side of the large hill of sand. "That'll take him out for a minute or so." Turning his attention to the now glass dune in from of him, Imperius was forced to leap backwards to avoid a tendril of sand the crashed into the very spot he had stood. "Right, there are still two more." He reminded himself.

Looking up the glass slope, he watched as the Miraluka Jedi formed two more large, snake like pillars of sand while Satele practically flew down the smooth surface, her dual sided lightsaber held behind her for a sweeping blow. "Not happening." Imperius muttered as he reached out with his left hand and clenched into a fist, but it seemed the Sith had reached his limit as his legs buckled beneath him.

Crying out in shock and exertion, Imperious fell onto his back, the air being knocked from his lungs in time to see Satele's blade swipe through the air where his neck would have been. Gasping for breath, Imperious dug deep into himself and threw all his might into the force, be it light or dark, and launched the Grand master high into the air.

The Sith lord rolled over onto his side, gasping for air that seemed to refuse him. "Dammit. Not now. Not now! I will not die here!" He swore to himself. Weakly, his eyes fluttered behind his mask as he saw a pair of pale boots not three feet from him. "No..." He managed "Not... Not here. Not like t-this. Please..."

The Barsen'thor stood over the master the sphere of ancient knowledge, her lightsaber humming and poised to strike down the last of the Sith empire. Behind her, Satele Shan groaned as she made to get to her feet, having landed nigh on two hundred meters away. Bela Kiwiiks stood upon the sand dune, her blade locked with the electro sword of the pale beast while Tol Braga clambered up the dune across from her.

The task force had been a strong one, yet this one Sith had scattered it so easily. Mara shuddered at the thought of facing such an opponent at full strength. Yet, she hesitated to strike him down. Why? Because he begged. The most powerful Sith in the known age, and he begged. That alone was enough to give her pause, let alone what she saw through the force.

Just looking at him took her breath away.

Mara gently knelt down beside the dark lord and reached out with the force, only to recoil in shock. He was not the dark monstrosity he was when the fight began. Arcs of light shone through his being like lighting in a storm cloud, painting a beautiful cacophony of light and dark, shaping a person who had more regrets than he could name, but felt that he could do better. That he could make things right.

"I see you clearly now." Mara smiled under her mask and shuffled closer to the exhausted lord of darkness and gently placed a hand on his back as he gasped for air. "You are not Sith anymore, are you? No, you have light in you. A lust for a simpler, more peaceful life than what the Sith could ever give you." A growl vibrated through his chest as he pushed himself from the ground, coughing as he tried to force air back into his lungs.

"Get away from me." He spat. "I will not surrender to the likes of a Jedi!" It was almost like watching a drunk pick himself up off the floor as he pushed himself into a kneeling position.

"You will not be surrendering anything if you simply cast aside the shadows that cling to you." Mara sighed as she rose to her feet, behind her the sounds of Satele Shan's footsteps became known. "You are a master of knowledge. I beg of you, renounce the dark side and embrace the light!" The Barsen'thor pleaded. "You are young, if you step into the light now, you can lead a full life of peace and happiness."

"You waste your time, Mara." Satele said wearily, her breathing uneven as she stared down the tired Sith. "His display here has made it clear: He refuses to turn to the light side. He's a murderer and killer down to his core and must be brought to justice." Switching her lightsaber on, the dual blades hummed with potential power as she held to tip of her blade under Imperius' chin.

Imperius cocked an eyebrow under his mask as he peered between the powerful Jedi before him to the top of the dune beside him, to the one Jedi he could never even raise his voice against. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Ashara was crying. A twinge of ache rippled through his chest as his very being pinned in sorrow, but his lips twitched into a sad, knowing smile. "Love withers when neglected. Left alone too long, love will seek another. She will seek another. But perhaps..." Perhaps he could leave her with some parting knowledge he had glistened from experience. "Perhaps I can help her. Just one last time..."

"You're fools." He sighed as he pushed himself to his feet, a numb, dizzy feeling swirling about his head as he swayed slightly. Satele raised an eyebrow, but kept her blade hovering under the chin of the Sith lords mask. "You still divided the force into light and dark. You are merely looking at a single side of the coin while refusing to acknowledge the other."

A strange pulse rippled throughout the force, and Imperius stumbled backwards. It was odd, as though a void had suddenly closed, a pit filled in.

"No... Khem." Imperious' eyes glistened as a mighty roar echoed through the desert, followed by a deafening silence. "My oldest friend... I'll join you soon in the force." Taking a deep breath, the master of the dead righted himself.

"Your last ally has fallen." Satele said with an accusing voice. "Speak now before you are forever silenced."

Nodding solemnly, Imperious adjusted his satchel on his shoulder, drawing upon the lingering feelings of the items inside. Lightsabers from both Jedi and Sith holding shadows of both peace and anguish as the dark holocrons fueled his wrath. Silently, Imperius opened himself to the force.

"Then open your ears and souls to my words, Jedi, and maybe the galaxy will be better off for it." The Sith muttered, a grin upon his lips as he recited the words he had pledged to his heart at the fall of Korriban. "Flowing through all, there is balance. There is no peace without the passion to create, just as there is no passion without peace to guide. Knowledge stagnates without the strength to act, and power blinds without the serenity to see. There is freedom in life, there is purpose in death. The force is all things..."

The well of power and strength opened up within him, swallowing the Sith lord and sending out a pulse of raw power that sent the two Jedi flying backwards. Bursting from his chest, lighting surged forward in an all encompassing field of might, bouncing from each grain of sand, shard of debris and to the bodies of the dead and living alike. "...And I am the force."

Ashara stood alone, her hands over her mouth as tears flowed freely while lightning became all that she could see, the ocean of purple and blue surrounding her absolutely, like a curtain of the living force having closed around her, yet never touching her. "My lord..." She whimpered. She had done this. She had tracked him down for the Jedi and led the strike force to his location. She had betrayed the one she loved in the hopes of turning him to the light with her.

The young Togruta dropped to her knees, wallowing in a feeling akin to despair. "My lord... I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry." She sobbed. "My lord... My love." It was then the lightning flickered. As though someone had cast a stone into the ocean of electricity, it was pulled further away from her before snapping back into place. A frown adorned Ashara's brow as she watched it happen again and again.

Someone was pulling at the lightning. Even stranger yet, it was working. Slowly, the lighting was receding from its vast embrace, leaving behind scorched earth and glistening glass in its wake. "Wha..." Ashara muttered as she watched the great well of lightning shrink further and further away, closing in on its own source like a drying puddle.

Then she saw the cause. It coalesced within her hands, compressed and held tightly into a ball of stolen ascendancy. The Barsen'thor had snatched the lightning out of the air and now held the robbed authority in her hand. Beside her, Satele Shan lay scorched and twitched. Tol Braga stood atop the sand dune behind the dark lord, charred and lifeless on his feet while Ashara had remained untouched with Bela Kiwiiks standing mere feet out range.

"Darth Imperius." Mara Jilaiya began as the ball of force power in her hand glowed in anticipation of release. "Heir to Lord Kallig and Tulak Hord. Master of the dead and the Cult of the Screaming Blade, head of the sphere of Ancient Knowledge, a master of the Dark Council, conqueror of Balmorra, Quesh and Corellia. Ruiner of Taris. Your silver tongue has lead to the demise of Alderaan and Voss. Fleets have fallen to your weapon, the Silencer. You are the most powerful Sith of your generation." The Barsen'thor announced.

"I ask that you do not surrender, but to walk a different path. One bathed in light and peace, not blood and insanity!" The pleading edge of Mara's voice strained her throat, but she had seen it in him, could see it in him. Even now, she knew that this lightning was not the work of the dark side, but a fusion of both. Imperious had achieved a perfect union of both light and dark, and she could see it in him right now.

A shadow laced with veins of purity, lights like the stars of the night sky, beckoning against the void.

Imperius chuckled, hollowed and absent of any humor. "We both know that cannot happen, Barsen'thor." The Sith rasped with his hoarse voice, his body shaking and on the verge of collapse. "You know of my deeds. The republic will have my head, not my redemption. If I was to go with you, they would execute me, and rightfully so." A long, weary sigh escaped the defeated lord.

"But I know a great many dark secrets." He smiled as he peered past the Jedi master before him to the padawan atop the dune. "I will live on in the force and guide those I leave behind." Closing his eyes and commanding the force to move his body when his body would not listen, Imperius rose to his feet. "Let's get it over with, Barsen'thor."

Mara nodded knowingly, her head bowed in respect. "I only wish this could have gone better, Darth Imperius. You have my respect. Please, call me Mara. Mara Jilaiya."

"Of course, Mara." Imperius muttered. "Before I became Sith, I too had a name. Kyrimir Nelziran. Please know that it is an honor to become one with the force by your hand."

Mara smiled weakly. In another life, a better life, she could see herself fighting side by side with this man, making the galaxy a better place. "The honor is mine." She said sadly, and to the sound of Ashara's scream of anguish, she allowed the lightning to flow once more, pouring it into Kyrimir's body like a river of power as he opened himself up the force in its entirety, accepting both the light and darkness of his being as a brilliant, daunting pillar of absolute white engulfed the two of them.

Tristain Academy Of Magic.

Louise couldn't help the shudder of anticipation that ran through her as she strode out into an open space among her peers, her mind racing as her heart pounded. Her knuckles had long since turned white under her grip, her wand in danger of snapping under the strain. It seemed such a simple thing, yet it gave her such a rush. Behind her, her many classmates watched on in open mouthed terror as she struck a confident pose.

"Louis the Zero. What will she summon?"

"There's no way she can summon anything. We'll just have another explosion, nothing else!"

"Louise, you're not supposed to take 'starting the day off with a bang' literally!" A boy shrieked as he scampered away.

Louise huffed in annoyance as she blocked out the nickers and chatter of the crowd behind her. She was used to it, but today she'd silence them for good. Today she was going to prove herself as a mage when she tapped into the magic veins of the stars themselves and summoned the greatest familiar in Halkeginia, which is exactly why she had volunteered to go first. She'd show up everyone else by summoning an amazing familiar right off the bat.

"My servant, that exists somewhere in this universe!" Louise began, much to the confusion of her class.

"What's that spell?" Montmorency mumbled to herself as she watched on with a frown.

"I don't know but it certainly is original." Guiche snickered, barely suppressing his smirk. He couldn't wait to see how badly Louise blew this.

"My divine, beautiful and powerful familiar!" The pinkette continued, ignoring the confused murmurs of the class, but Kirche narrowed her eyes. Something was wrong, she could see in the way Louise's back stiffened, he muscles tensing and her eyes watered slightly, but before she could speak out on the matter, it was gone, the pinkette continuing her strange spell. "I wish and assert from the bottom of my heart, answer my guidance!"

Twisting her wrist about, Louise flung her wand in a downwards arc to point in front of herself, and for the smallest of seconds, nothing happened. Kirche's eye twitched, and without warning, the field and class was engulfed in a massive explosion, the force of which throwing the nearest students several meters away to the sound of panicked cries and pained groans as a screen of smoke shrouded the entire field.

"Just as expected..." One of the students muttered in between coughs.

Waving his hand in front of his face in a failed attempt to clear the air, Guiche coughed several times as the smoke slowly dissipated enough to see Montmorency on sitting on the ground beside him, her legs at an awkward angle. "Are you alright, Montmorency?" He asked as he knelt beside his stunned girlfriend. The blonde girl merely blinked, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly agape as she stared. "Is something wrong?" The young noble asked.

Montmorency simply raised her hand and pointed towards Louise, the pinkette standing in the same spot as when she began the summoning ritual with her back turned to the class, only now she was not alone.

"A human?!" Montmorency muttered in disbelief.

"That outfit..." One of the other boys in the class snickered. "I looks like a peasant." A round of stifled chuckles and barely contained laughs swept through the assembled students as the last of the smoke cleared.

"Yeah. A peasant, no doubt about it." Malicorne said with a wide grin.

"This is divine, beautiful and powerful?" Louise muttered to herself, her eye twitching as she struggled to contain to torrent of emotions threatening to explode out of her. Despair, confusion and frustration being the foremost of them as she stared down at the unconscious boy at her feet. Her face twisted about, changing from denial, anger, defeat and finally, to acceptance.

She had summoned a commoner. Her life, as she knew it, was over.

"Who are you?" She asked, standing over his with hollow eyes. The boy, who couldn't be any older than the students themselves, groaned as his bleary eyes opened, bleary and unfocused until they locked onto Louise and widened in what she would have to guess as surprise. Bolting upright, the boy's head turned about as though on a swivel, darting in every direction around him in.

"You don't understand our language?" Louise asked upon receiving no answer, to which the boy only stared up at her and blinked. "Where are you from, peasant?" The pinkette pressed, but much to Louise's frustration, the boy merely gave her a blank look and slowly turned to look at her class, his large, dopey eyes not lingering on the same thing for more than a few seconds. Louise was about to snap at the boy when her nerves were further ground upon by a single voice.

"Nothing less from someone who put up a huge front. To think you would summon a peasant." Kirche grinned, sending another wave of thinly veiled laughter rippling through the class. Louise retorted back, but the red haired mage was no longer listening, lost in her own thoughts on what just transpired, because no matter what anyone said, Louise the Zero, the girl who had never cast a successful spell in her life, had actually managed to summon a familiar. She did it. Louise the Zero, against all odds, summoned a familiar.

A mere commoner, for sure, but she had summoned something nonetheless, and if she could do it, then by the founder, Kirche would blow everyone away with ease. Reaching into her pocket, Kirche produced a piece of paper that looked to have been torn from a notebook as Louise completed the summoning ritual, the summoned boy slipping into unconsciousness after the familial rune appeared on his body.

Scanning over the piece of paper, Kirche sighed in frustration. She had spent most of last night hunched over a piece of parchment and a book that listed the summoning spells recorded after summoning a powerful familiar. She had come up with a host of possible spells, but scrapped most of them with two reasons: It sounded too embarrassing to say it in front of the class or she felt it wouldn't summon a familiar befitting of her. Hence, she now had to choose between the last three.

"Miss Zerbest." Professor Cobalt called out, stealing Kirche from her of thoughts. "It's your turn to summon your familiar." He urged.

Frowning, Kirche quickly scanned her classmates, only to discover that each had a familiar a their side and they were either interacting with their new friends or watching her expectantly. "Damn." She silently growled. She's let herself lose track of time and spent too much time pondering which chant to use that she didn't actually choose one.

Hiding her frustrations behind a confident veil, Kirche smiled brightly as she strode up to stand near her professor and readied her wand. Taking a deep breath, Kirche raised her wand above her head and slowly exhaled, her mind racing, heart pounding as her scrambled thoughts razed any sense of function in her brain to put together a simple spell.

"I call to thee amongst the stars, heed my call and rush to my side!" Kirche began, her own original spell creating its own confusion amongst her peers as she allowed her senses to stretch out, her wrist twisting about in a dainty circle as she brought it down in front of her, only to feel herself be swallowed by the ocean of magic she found herself floating in. It was cold, a swirling current of absolute authority that seized her being without even noticing her. How had no one noticed this before?! It encompassed everything! Their entire world had been drowned in a current of magic unlike anything Kirche could possibly imagine. And she could only fathom a minute spec of its varsities.

Her breathing hitched as the magic recoiled from her upon the Germanian opening herself to its flow, and the whole world gave a brief pause that felt like an eternity. Then her eyes widened in white hot pain. She was burning alive, rivers of molten rock for blood and skin of wildfire, her eyes were coals alight with a blaze that screamed for destruction. Her very being felt as though it was being consumed, and it was then that Kirche realized just what using the ley lines of the stars meant.

It meant pain. It meant the willingness to sacrifice something to obtain another or trading your own life instead. A weak, pathetic whimper escaped her lips. What would she give to obtain? What did she have to give the stars in exchange for what she requested. Gritting her teeth, she answered to the best of her abilities. She answered the truth as she knew it.

She didn't know. She didn't know what she could give the stars. Everything in creation was already theirs, so what could she give them that wasn't theirs to begin with? A ripple of power flowed through the Germanian and a feeling of... amusement? The stars, the magic that flowed through them and the rest of the cosmos, was amused by her answer.

Before she could question it, words spewed forth from her mouth as though someone else was using it.

"Familiar of mine, answer my summons and appear before me now!"

And then it was gone. The feeling of her very existence being burned away by the power of the stars coursing through her simply vanished. Kirche blinked once. Twice. Nothing. Absolute silence. Not even a breeze.

Shit.

Did she just bomb? In front of the entire class? Did she call upon the power of the stars, have the spell completed for her by that very same power, only to fail? Did she just do worse than Louise the Zero?!

It was then with a sudden crack like thunder, a single bolt of lightning crashed down from the cloudless sky to explode onto the ground with a deafening roar. Earth erupted into the air as the sound of the atmosphere itself being torn asunder left everyone's ears ringing.

Dust, dirt and smoke clouded the air and poisoning the area with the smell of burn soil and grass. Coughing, Kirche waved her hand to and fro in front of her face in an attempt to clear some of the air for her to breathe, but to no avail. If she had only caused an explosion like Louise always did, then so help her Brimir...

The machinations of her mind were cut short, however, by a scream of pain that chilled the blood in her veins. Oh no, had she hurt someone?! Opening her eyes, she darted forward, towards the voice when she suddenly felt the wind knocked from her chest.

"What the...?" A sharp, solid pain burst forth from her back as she rolled backwards across the ground, every bone aching as though they had been bent at unnatural angles. "What in the name of the founder just hit me?!" She thought in panic. But she hadn't even realized her feet were off the ground until she landed again! There was nothing in front of her but the dirt in the air! What the hell just happened?! Slowly, with a bruised back and sore body, the redhead propped herself up and rubbed her eyes free of dust and dirt.

"By the blood of the founder..." Kirche heard Professor Cobalt mutter in shock. Opening her eyes, Kirche felt her freshly retrieved breathing hitch. She lay nearly a hundred meters from where she had performed the summoning, and in the place of the lightning striking the earth, twisting and churning in upon itself, was a tornado.

Flashes of brilliant blue and dark purple lighting flashed about, leaving the thick, metallic scent of burnt ozone in the air as the debris of the original lightning bolt was sucked into the vortex.

"Oh no..." Kirche whimpered as she slowly began to scurry backwards. "What have I done?" She asked herself the storm danced under its own anthem of thunder. Winds grew, terrible and powerful as a vortex wrapped itself around the lightning storm like an enraged serpent that gave off the sound of a howling wolf. It was then that Kirche saw it. Saw Her.

Lightning flashed and illuminate her silhouette against the chaos around her. Back arched and chest thrust out, the woman hung in the air with an odd serenity that belied the veritable hurricane around her. Arcs of lightning danced across her robes and skin before leaping off into the malevolence made manifest. Kirche knew she should be afraid. She should have been terrified. There was a woman floating in a maelstrom of wind and lightning as it carved destruction into the very earth and scorched the air itself.

Yet she felt at peace.

This woman floating in the air, she radiated assurance. A promise of peace gone unspoken yet known by all who set eyes upon her figure as she remained still and untouched amongst the anarchy. An angel in a storm.

Kirche blinked, and the thunderous roar filled her air once more. Her throat ached, dry from the dirt and dust in the air and her lungs burned for air and the tornado tried to suck ever breath from her lips. As though waking up from a dream, Kirche had realized just how much closer to the certain death she had walked in her haze. Just what was going on? Before she could contemplate further, however, Kirche felt her mouth open in amazement.

The tornado, as it was becoming faster, stronger and the lighting strikes became more frequent, exploded outwards. The winds that had begun to tear the soil from the ground vanished, the dust and debris was launched away, rocks and large clumps either smashing into the ground to bury themselves or fell apart on impact. The lightning had simply disappeared as well. No longer was the school yard bathed in blue and purple flashes, instead falling under the suns golden embrace again as the haze of dirt and dust settled.

"By Brimir's beard..."

The sound of Montmorency's voice brought the Germanaian's attention to her class to find them all as far from the scene as they could be while still in the field, Professor Colbert standing protectively in front of them with his wand drawn defensively.

"Did Brimir even have a beard?" One student asked with a frown.

"Really not the time for that." Guiche muttered disapprovingly.

The rustling of cloth and metal brought Kirche's attention back to the scene of her summoning. The earth was blackened and scorched, veins of glowing embers angrily marred the once beautiful green lawns, and in the center of it all were two figures. The woman who had been floating in the storm not moments ago was knelt over the collapsed form of a man.

"Don't touch me!" The man roared in fury, his voice rich in an exotic accent she didn't recognize, as he pushed himself up until he sat back on his heels, allowing Kirche to get her first good look of what he wore. It was odd. Armor, for sure, but she had never seen the likes before. Dark metal shaped into intricate plates that to looked to have been forged by the best of blacksmiths, a cape like piece of cloth hung from his belt, trailing down to his ankles, but his helm was clearly meant for intimidation. Covering his entire head to prevent any sign of the man underneath, the dark grey metal was shaped into that of a skull with dark, haunting voids where one's eyes would be.

"You're wounded." The woman pleaded as she knelt down in front of the armored man. She was dressed in stunningly white robes with gold edging decorated with beautiful designs of flowers, fruits and vines that Kirche soon found herself envying the stranger. The woman's wares did well to hide any of her features, with a hood that covered all of her upper face from view, leaving the young mage to wonder how she could see. Nonetheless, with such splendorous clothes, she was no doubt a noble, and one of high standings at that. Perhaps even royalty.

"Then finish me!" The man shouted harshly as he tried to stand, only to stagger and fall back down.

"You are defeated." The woman said sadly. "You are wounded, you cannot fight back."

Kirche frowned as she heard this, slowly rising to her feet. "He's wounded?" She wondered as she crept closer to the two. He certainly didn't look wounded, or at least, not that she could see under all that armor. Her heart pounded in her ears as she neared the edge of the scorched patch of soil and her head throbbed. The use of such powerful magic had left her feeling drained, but the questions that circled about in her head were giving her a headache.

"I am not defeated until I die." The man spat. "Kill me now or I will kill you the first chance I get."

The woman smiled. It was a sad, knowing smile as she reached out as cupped the cheek of the man's helmet with her hand. "Look around you, Imperius." She said softly, her voice kind like a mothers. "I am the blind one, yet I saw the change the moment it happened. See the world around you and know it is a strange one." Kirche frowned as she stopped not five feet from the pair.

"This world is stronger in the Force than any I have come across." The blind woman continued as she turned to face Kirche over her shoulder. "It seems something... Impossible has happened to us, Darth Imperius." She whispered with no small traces of confusion, joy and wonder, her eyes hidden by the hood of her robes.

"At least I'm not going to die on some useless, backwater desert planet." The man, Imperius, muttered sourly before sighing and falling forward, his limp form hitting the dirt with a dull thud and clang of armor.

"Please." The blind woman muttered as she stared upwards from her kneeling position to Kirche. "Please, help him. There is good in him, I've seen it." She said with a soft voice. "Please, help him."

End of chapter one.
Let me know what you think, if you like and whatnot, feedback does improve the story.
Anyway, till next time.
Toodles!