Episode II: The Sorceress of Ttaz
Ten years passed; ten years in which the Republic slept at peace. For under the leadership of its wise Chancelloress, Irina, little had happened to disturb its slumbers.
Annikin, for his part, mellowed greatly in this interval, having seen much good and much evil done in the name of the Republic during his years as a Jedi. Ben Kenobi, however, discovered within himself a thirst for power, and he began to take an interest in the dark arts.
(In the earliest stories of King Arthur, Sir Bedivere was a wizard himself, and was often accused of dark sorcery. And Ben of course fulfills not only the role of Merlin—who himself was said to be the son of the Devil—but also that of Bedivere, since he passes on Annikin’s sword to Luke.)
But the times of peace were waning. Rumors spread of a secret Clone Army being made by fugitive exiles on an unknown planet. As yet, though, there was no hard evidence… only rumors.
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The Second Clone War began suddenly, when the good Chancelloress Irina was assassinated by a bomb planted in the Senate Chamber.
(In fact, just such a bomb was thrown by an anarchist into the midst of legislators in France’s Chamber of Deputies in 1893. Adolf Hitler was also nearly killed this way twice—the second time by Count Claus von Stauffenberg in 1944, the first in a speech at the Munich Beer Hall in 1939.)
Irina’s hastily elected replacement was not a commoner, but a noble of the Republic: Lord Manx Pestage of Alderaan, the King of the Cloud City.
(The surname Pestage of course comes from early drafts of ESB. The first name Manx refers to a cat with no tail—an “emperor with no clothes” of sorts. I picked it out myself, though I’m sure it’s the sort of name GL would like—so feel free to accept it as canon on my account, or not.)
The newly invested Chancellor Pestage immediately assumed to himself the temporary war powers requisite to such an emergency: the authority vested in a long-dormant office of the Republic, the Consul or War Leader.
(The Emperor is also referred to as “Consul of the Supreme Tribunal” in the 1974 rough draft. The idea of the Consul here comes from the Roman notion of the temporary dictator in times of crisis, an appointed war leader who was expected to lay down his power once the immediate emergency had passed.)
Consul Pestage fulminated against vaguely defined villains, and vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice. But already the Jedi knew who was responsible for this terrible crime.
The hearts of the exiled Clone Clans still burned with fury and with dark dreams of vengeance against the victors of the great First Clone War. And none burned more fiercely than the hearts of Clan Valorum, whose leader Alexander had died in the Ruin of Sullust X.
In truth, Alexander already had a successor: Xerxes Valorum, who had begun to clone an army of his own in secret on the Ice Planet of Norton III. (This name for a proto-Hoth appears, with different variants of the numeral, in both the 1973 notes for the Journal of the Whills and the 1974 rough draft.)
As befitted a Jedi in these perilous times, Carl Organa doffed his royal mantle and his regnal name, and tracked the rumors of the Clone Army to their source. He went in secret to Norton III to scout out the factory which was cloning Xerxes’ army.
But he was captured, and held prisoner, and subjected to the secret ordeals of the Sith: for the Clones, after all, were not made by human hands.
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From The Revelations of Saint Jacob the Impious, 3:3:14:
I believe that, here in my own hermitage, I have managed to guess something of the initiation rituals of the Sith. After all, given their obvious connection with the Sidhe, they would have to be sort of… Elvish… in nature, would they not?
Here I think that, rather than spend over-much time worrying about sources, it would be best to let them speak for themselves.
I shall quote from The Secret Mysteries of the Whills, by “the Mad Priest,” Friar J.A. Humbert (subset XVII, book IV, to the Encyclopédie historique de l’ancienne empire):
Perhaps I might pause here to describe just what this long-lost ritual of initiation is, as much as what it is not. I have learned of it only imperfectly, but that there was one, there can be little doubt. It is, shall we say, self-evident, to one who knows something of the Elves.
It was not, as is even now commonly believed among laymen, a method of torture by a cruel and capricious order of Dark wizards—those impostors who falsely arrogated to themselves the name of Sith. Rather, it was meant as a revelation of sorts.
The true Sith, the Elves, wished only to cause pain in small doses, so as to bring about far greater pleasure. For their motto was that of the Heroic Serpent, the Brother of Angels: “An it harm none, do what thou wilt.” To that end, they wished their ordeal of initiation to encompass their philosophy in itself.
Four times would an initiate be asked to submit to the rule of the Sith. For each of the first three refusals, a series of seven physical punishments would be administered, with intervals of several days (the exact number, I know not) elapsing between the stages of punishment.
Upon the fourth refusal, the punishment (or reward?) for one so obstinate was the ultimate sanction: death.
(Of this last part of the ritual one cryptic descriptive phrase has survived: “He will knock four times…”)
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There were seven steps in the initial ordeal, of which each had three stages.
They were as follows:
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I. Injury to the hair:
a. A lock of hair clipped
b. The head (and beard, for men) shaved
c. The head shaved, and part of the hair permanently removed (the beard sans mustache, for men; most of the head hair, save a topknot, for women)
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II. Injury to the right eye:
a. The right eye blackened and swollen shut
b. The right eye blinded
c. The right eye cut out
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III. Injury to the nose: broken once for each refusal to submit
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IV. Extraction of the teeth:
a. One tooth removed
b. Nine teeth removed
c. All teeth removed
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V. Physical violation, in increasing severity
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VI. Injury to the trunk:
a. Flogging on the back
b. Flogging on the chest front
c. Asymmetrical removal of one organ of reproduction
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VII. Injury to the right hand:
a. The right ring finger removed
b. The last three fingers of the right hand removed
c. The right hand removed in toto
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Once an inductee submitted, they received the Final Stage of initiation, the Seven Seals of the Sith:
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I. Drinking of a secret Sith liquor that brings on madness and ecstasy, an exalted state referred to as the Red Sleep of the Sith (cf. the Black Sleep of Kali in the legends of the Silver River Galaxy)
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II. Application of the Mark of the Sith to the forehead, in such a way as to show the rank of the novitiate:
a. For the once-resistant, a black triskelion tattoo
b. For the twice-resistant, a red triskelion tattoo
c. For the thrice-resistant, a triskelion of molten gold poured into a cicatrix carved on the forehead
d. For those who never resisted, a triskelion brand on the forehead, assuming the natural color of the skin (a “proper” blazon, in the language of heraldry)
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III. The application of wounds willingly undergone by the initiate: one for each prior refusal of submission, plus another in addition. These take the form of rituals left undone.
However, those who have previously refused to submit three times are spared this final seal, as they have already done all that is necessary and proper.
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IV. A banquet, at which—
Here, sadly, the manuscript breaks off in a lacuna.
A surviving fragmentary page tells more:
To hide the marks upon their foreheads, most Sith Lords wore masks, as do the men of Granbretan to this day. For they did not wish it to be widely known, even within the Empire, that they served a master greater and more powerful than the Emperor—whose emblem remained the arrowhead of the still-venerated Old Republic.
Yet in truth, some Sith initiation candidates were drawn from the Imperial officer corps, and these, who had already given their sworn word to submit, did not have to receive the marks of ordeal until they were fully inducted.
They were held in pectore, or “in the breast,” until they had completed their training, in public and in private—the full details of which even I have not yet uncovered.
And now, by way of comment on the reliability of the Mad Priest, let me lay this drawing of Lord Darth Vader, copied from a work by the hand of Sieur Jehan aux Moustaches of Albion.
Gentle readers, see how Lord Darth's uniform is bedecked with Imperial arrowheads—no doubt a remnant of the Old Republic, and meant to resemble the arrowheads borne on the ships of the Great White Wagon Train on their trek through the stars.
But Darth’s cloak clasp shows not an arrowhead, but a triskelion. This, I suspect, was very likely a secret Sith insignia, a symbol of his true allegiance.
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And now back to the normal course of the story.
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Carl's faithful knights, Annikin and Ben, went to Norton III after him. They brought C-3PO with them, in case they needed a translator, but they left behind Alana on Organa Major.
In the ten years since the First Clone War, Alana had given Carl twin sons, Crispin and Corwin, as well as a daughter, Lexa. Crispin and Corwin took after their sallow-skinned father, Carl, but Lexa was blonde like her mother—and her father.
(Remember Lancelot and Guinevere in the stories of King Arthur? By the way, none of these names are chosen at chance. They’re taken from the sort of stories—Narnia, Shakespeare, DC Comics—that GL clearly likes.)
I might note in passing that the Clones probably preferred golden-haired slaves, like Annikin’s own mother; they must have reminded them of the Elves. Likewise, in Dark Age Britain, among the usually dark-haired Celts, golden-haired children were believed to be potential changelings.
At any rate, Annikin left the twin mate of his serpent ring with Alana. The Lone Ring of intertwined serpents Annikin gave to young Lexa, to protect her in case something dire should happen.
But after Annikin’s departure, Alana secretly switched rings with Lexa, hoping thereby to increase her daughter’s protection. After all, she could defend herself as a shield-maiden, but Lexa was too young to wield a Ring in battle. And wouldn’t Annikin be true to his lover?
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Meanwhile, like the Thuggee cult in the movie Gunga Din, the Clones held three Jedi warriors as prisoners, with whom they planned to entice the Republic’s army, and its Jedi generals, into a trap on Norton III.
Each of the trio was subjected to the ordeals of the Sith. All of them refused to submit. C-3PO, meanwhile, had a leg removed, in order to hobble him.
They were freed by a Clone woman, who offered to release them on the condition that each man have relations with her. They agreed, and did what she asked. In addition to releasing them, she told them how to evade the trap that lay in wait for the Grand Army of the Republic, which even now was landing upon Norton III.
(The reason for her request? Rather like the society in THX 1138, the machine-born Clones were likely forbidden by a religious taboo from reproducing sexually. The particular detail of the captive heroes’ seduction derives from The Ill-Made Knight, the third book in TH White’s series about King Arthur.)
So, after a dangerous descent down a mountainside (an inverted nod to General James Wolfe’s assault upon Quebec in the Seven Years’ War), the three heroes were reunited with the Republic’s army, and foiled the Clones’ plan.
As in Sergei Eisenstein’s film Alexander Nevsky, a great battle was joined on the ice plains of Norton. In the battle, however, although Annikin and Ben slew many foes, the Jedi probably failed to defeat Xerxes himself. Much like Count Dooku in the ending of AOTC, Xerxes must have fled to a remote hangar, and the heroes would have pursued him there.
But Xerxes held them off with a show of force. He’d have cut off Annikin’s right hand with a lightsaber, and disabled Carl Organa with a blast of Force lightning that turned his hair white. (This latter detail derives from Joh Fredersen’s whitened hair in the ending of Metropolis, a twofold symbol at once of his impotence to help his son Freder, and his newfound goodness of heart.)
The heroes survived because of the intervention of Ben Kenobi, who, in a burst of rage, drew on Dark Side powers to force Xerxes to flee the scene in a swift spaceship.
The trio rejoiced in their victory, the opening battle of the glorious Second Clone War—but they still had a surprise in store, waiting for them at home.
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In the throne room of Organa Major, Akbar Valorum, lieutenant of Xerxes, was holding Alana and Lexa hostage. For he had gone on a secret mission at the behest of his master, to deliver a measure of vengeance should fortune turn against the Clones once more. (Think of Saruman reappearing in the Shire at the end of the book version of The Lord of the Rings.)
Ben was paralyzed by fear, and Carl was still too weak to save his wife and daughter. But Annikin acted, as quickly as he could.
But not quickly enough. Weakened by the loss of his right arm, Annikin failed to stop Akbar from slaying Lexa before he could kill him. The ring failed to protect Lexa; for Annikin hadn’t been true to Alana, the ring’s intended recipient.
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Meanwhile, on the rocky, cavernous planet of Ttaz (which no doubt looked very much like Geonosis), there dwelt the embittered exile Aubra—on whom Annikin had pronounced banishment as well, in revenge for her curse. Here she raised her twin children, Zeno and Zara Kadar, with the memory of their father’s crimes ever present in their minds.
They grew up hating Annikin Starkiller, and his name, and his deeds, and the Jedi Order which he served. And now they were grown to full strength, and Aubra deemed the time proper to strike.
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With the great sorrow of Lexa’s death upon their shoulders, Annikin and Alana grieved separately, for each could hardly bear to look at the other’s face. But they realized this must be done, if they were to endure each other’s presence at court. So each of them went, by separate corridors, to the other’s room in an effort to make up. (Rather like a certain scene in Temple of Doom.)
Yet each one thought they found the other where they looked first. For Zara Kadar, in Alana’s shape, inhabited her room; and Zeno Kadar, in Annikin’s guise, rested in his.
And so, unknowingly, each of them was seduced by an Elf. Zeno fathered a child on Alana, and Annikin impregnated Zara.
Afterward, Zara asked Annikin to promise to yield his Rings to her son, should he ever ask for them. Annikin assented readily, not knowing the true meaning of the promise. And, for his part, Zeno asked Alana to give him Annikin’s ring, “for a friend’s protection.” To this Alana agreed, thinking of Ben Kenobi.
Before the Elf siblings departed, Zeno visited Ben Kenobi, who also grieved. For he too loved Alana, if only from afar. Zeno passed Alana’s ring on to Ben, with the caveat that it, too, must be given up, should Annikin’s child ever request it. To this deceptive request Ben, too, pledged his agreement.
In the morning, none of the humans knew what had happened, and they went on with their lives.
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Nine months later, Alana gave birth to a child: a sickly fair-haired albino, perhaps named Laif Organa. The child grew young, but never too strong. But always he had Annikin’s example before him, and he dreamed of becoming a Jedi himself one day, in order to honor the man he called “Father” in secret.
(Like King Arthur with Lancelot and Guinevere, Carl Rieekan would have known as much as Annikin knew, and he wouldn’t have minded. After all, much of his own vitality would likely have been drained from him by the dark power of the Force lightning.)
Annikin did not replace his lost arm, for this was considered uncouth among Jedi. Instead he learned to duel with his left hand. (In the ROTS novelization, Count Dooku says that if Annikin were a true gentleman, he’d have done exactly that. Sketches for the film also show Mace Windu with one arm, and Ki-Adi-Mundi with an eyepatch—so that probably really was GL’s idea.)
But C-3PO replaced his lost golden leg with one of silver, to show off a war wound of which he was very proud.
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Zara Kadar, back on Ttaz, also gave birth to a child: Lando Kadar, the future Darth Vader. She died in the birthing, and her strength passed into him, and though he too was a fair-haired albino, he grew stronger and healthier with each passing year.
And Lando, a young and innocent child, eagerly lapped up the poison dished out from the mouths of his uncle and his grandmother.
At his grandmother’s knee, he listened to Aubra’s tales, grossly exaggerated (but not entirely), of the terrible deeds of his father.
At his uncle’s forge, he heard Zeno weep for the beauty of Bestine which he could never know, and curse the name of Annikin Starkiller with every blow of his hammer.
And, as he slept, Lando dreamed of joining the Jedi Order, and destroying it from within, and so bringing his father to ruin. And a smile crept across his face in the night and the darkness of the caves of Ttaz.