Chapter Text
36 BBY
Dathomir.
The place was sort of taboo among the Jedi. Mostly because it was unknown. Only a few Jedi found themselves on the planet.
Even less lived to tell the tale.
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"Certain, are you?"
"Yes, Master Yoda" answered Shaak Ti. "I saw it very clearly."
"Hmm. A dark place, Dathomir is. Dangerous. Deadly."
"Did you see anything else in your vision? " asked Mace Windu.
"I saw a jungle. And a boy."
"A boy?"
"Yes."
Members of the Jedi Council looked at each other. Most of them had emotionless expressions.
"This boy, a potential new Jedi, could be. Go on Dathomir and find the boy, you will."
"Of course, Master Yoda."
Shaak Ti bowed and left the Council's Chamber.
"Dathomir is a dangerous place. Was it wise to let her go on her own?" asked Depa Bilaba.
"Capable Shaak Ti is. But into the unknown, sent her we did" added Yaddle.
"It was the will of the Force" stated Oppo Rancisis.
"I know. That doesn't make me worry any less."
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Danas Drak was a strange boy. He always knew that. Even if he was only two years old.
He was born on planet Dathomir - home of Nightsisters and Nightbrothers. The place surrounded by the Dark Side.
His mother abandoned him right after he was born - of course, she did. He was a male. Males were frowned upon by the Nightsisters. Their sole purpose was mating.
The boy had red skin with black markings - tattoos native to his culture, done shortly after he was born. His horns were smaller than most of the Zabraks but were also sharper.
Danas was always weaker than other boys his age. He was thin and sickly. Other Nightbrothers rejected him. They deemed him as weak.
How wrong they were.
What Danas lacked in physical strength, he made up with his speed, agility, and intelligence. He wasn't weak. He was a fighter. Truth to be told, all the illnesses he had so far should've killed him. But here he was. Still breathing.
Not for long, though.
Nightbrothers went on a hunt. They took young ones with them. So they can learn. So they can toughen up. Most of them won't make it back to the village.
It was a cruel world.
Danas's group was moving silently through the Dathomirian jungle. Then, they saw a giant shadow, casting over them.
Chirodactyl. The most feared being on Dathomir next to Nightsisters.
Zabraks started running away. But the creature was faster.
Its claws started tearing through Danas's companions. The boy watched them die. One by one.
Danas was small, so he managed to hide. But Chirodactyl knocked a tree over, trapping him under it.
The beast left, about to feast on his fallen brothers.
Danas was still trapped under the fallen tree. He couldn't get out. It was just a matter of time before some creature found him. Or Chirodactyl came back.
It seemed like his fate was to die here. Forgotten. In the place where his death won't mean a thing.
But the Force had different plans for the boy.
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Jedi Master Shaak Ti landed on Dathomir, near the place when she felt a pull in the Force.
The place could be described as beautiful - in its own, twisted way.
The jungle was dark and foggy. Dark Side seemed to flow through the trees, the soil, the water.
And yet, this mysteriousness, the darkness seemed in perfect balance with life.
Shaak Ti has never seen anything like that.
Then, she heard screams of pain and agony.
She felt death, as multiple lives faded one by one.
When she got there, she was horrified by the sight that greeted her.
Dathomirian Zabraks, Nightbrothers, old and young alike, similar in appearance to the boy she saw in her vision. All dead.
Some were still in one piece with 'only' giant claw marks running across their backs or chests.
Others' body parts were scattered across the ground and the trees.
The Jedi Master fought the urge not to vomit.
Then, the pull in the Force grew stronger.
Ignoring the nauseous feeling, Shaak Ti moved towards the pull's direction.
Then, she saw him. The boy from her vision. Trapped under a fallen tree.
He couldn't be older than two years old, although it was hard to tell. He was small and thin.
He had red skin and black tattoos across his body.
The most noticeable trait were his eyes. Shaak Ti remembered reading about the ancient Sith. Their eyes were described as sickly yellow.
At first sight, the boy's eyes were the same. Under further inspection, Jedi Master noticed that wasn't true. His eyes were golden rather than yellow. They were filled with intelligence, gentless.
And fear.
Shaak Ti called on the Force and lifted the tree so the boy could escape.
When he did, he wanted to get away from this strange person. But he couldn't.
It seemed that his ribs were broken.
Even a slight movement caused him pain.
Shaak Ti kneeled in front of the boy. She then spoke in a calm voice.
"What is your name young one?"
Danas was taken aback. The person looked strange, not like anyone he's seen before. On Dathomir any new things were feared.
And yet her voice was so gentle, comforting. The boy found himself relaxing a little.
"D-danas. 'm Danas."
"Hello, Danas. My name is Shaak Ti."
"Tak Ti?"
"Shaak Ti."
"Tak Ti!"
The Jedi Master chuckled.
"Let's leave it at that. Do you have any family, Danas?"
The boy saddened.
"N-no. Brothers. Gone. Big bat. Bad big bat!"
Shaak Ti figured that the 'big bat' had to be the Chirodactyl. A ferocious creature, native to Dathomir. She read about it before coming here.
Danas tried to move but his broken ribs prevented him from doing so.
Shaak Ti frowned. She never was very proficient in healing but she could at least ease his pain. She called on the Force and put a hand on the boy's ribs.
Danas was shocked. It didn't hurt anymore!
"Whoa! Pain? No pain! How?"
"The Force helped me to ease your pain."
"Fauce?"
"Force" corrected Shaak Ti. "It's everywhere. All around us. In every living creature. In me. And in you."
Danas was in awe.
Then, they heard a roar.
Chirodactyl was back.
Shaak Ti quickly picked the boy up and started running in the direction of her ship.
The beast saw the Togrutan Master and swooped in, aiming for a kill.
She dodged the attack and jumped behind a tree, hoping to hide from the creature.
Danas was about to cry.
"You have to be quiet Danas or it'll find us. Do you understand?"
The boy sniffed but nodded.
Chirodactyl swooped in once more. Shaak Ti pulled out her lightsaber and slashed the beast in its face.
The creature screamed in agony.
Jedi Master turned off her lightsaber and started running away, with the boy holding onto her.
Chirodactyl shook off the pain and followed that filthy pest who gave it so much pain.
Danas saw the beast coming and got scared.
Shaak Ti ran as fast as she could but it didn't seem enough.
Just as Chirodactyl was closing in and almost got the two, Danas directed his hands at the monster (he didn't know why) and pushed.
The creature was hit with a wave. Not powerful enough to push it back but powerful enough to slow it down.
The Togruta and the Zabrak hid under a rock.
Chirodactyl lost its prey and gave up the hunt.
Shaak Ti sighed with relief and turned to Danas.
"You used the Force back then."
"No. Pushed it."
"That was the Force."
"Fauce? I? And Fauce?"
"I will take you to the place where you'll learn about the Force and learn to control your abilities."
Danas smiled.
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During their journey back to Coruscant, Shaak Ti learned more about the boy.
For example, his family name was Drak, which was surprising, considering few of the Nightbrothers were known to have them.
Danas was a curious boy and asked questions about everything new that he saw (once he stopped being shy or fearing it).
Also, Jedi Master found out that her little companion had a huge sweet tooth and looked at the simple cookies like it was the blessing of the Force itself.
The pair finally arrived at the Jedi Temple. Danas, despite his initial fear, looked everywhere with curiosity.
"Tak Ti?"
"Yes, Danas?"
"Big!"
Jedi Master chuckled.
"Bigger than anything on Dathomir?"
"Mhm."
Shaak Ti took the boy's hand and lead him through the Temple.
"Shaak Ti! It's good to see you well and alive!"
Togruta turned around to see Tera Sinube - elder Jedi Master and one of her closest friends at the Temple.
Danas hid behind her robes.
"Hello, Master Sinube."
"I heard that the Council sent you on Dathomir."
"The Force sent me there. "
"Were you successful in your search?"
Shaak Ti just pulled her robes, revealing Danas. The boy got scared and hid once again.
"Danas, this is Jedi Master Tera Sinube. Introduce yourself, please. Just like we practiced."
The boy looked shyly at the elder Jedi and mumbled:
" 'm Danas Drak. 's nice to meet you."
Tera Sinube laughed.
"He's adorable!"
Danas smiled.
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"So, this is the boy from your vision?"
"Yes, Master Windu."
Shaak Ti and Danas stood before the Jedi Council. The boy looked curiously around the room. There were people of so many species he didn't even know that existed! There was even a man similar to him! He had so many questions!
Before they went into the Chamber, the Togrutan Master told the little Zabrak to be polite and answer questions truthfully.
"What is your name, young one?" asked Plo Koon.
" 'm Danas Drak. 's nice to meet you."
Plo Koon's, Yaddle's, and Depa Bilaba's hearts melted. Other members of the Council eyed the boy curiously.
"Darkness, in the boy I sense" said Yoda.
"Well, he comes from a planet full of Dark Side, after all" commented Adi Gallia.
"What happened on Dathomir, Master Ti?" asked Ki-Adi Mundi.
Togrutan Jedi Master told the Council everything. From her arrival on Dathomir to meeting Danas, running from the Chirodactyl ending at the journey back to the Temple.
The council members shared a curious look. The boy must be strong with the Force to be able to slow down such a big creature.
"We'll run a midichlorian test on the boy. Leave us Master Ti."
"Of course Master Windu."
As the Togruta was about to leave, Danas held onto her robes.
"Tak Ti! Where?"
Shaak Ti kneeled in front of the boy.
"I have to go. But I'll wait for you outside, okay?"
Danas nodded hesitantly.
With that, Shaak Ti left.
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"I beg your pardon?"
"9,700 midichlorians. Quite high."
Shaak Ti was impressed. She herself had 10,300.
Danas gave her a curious look.
"Bad?"
"No. Everything is fine. You did well."
Danas smiled.
"Well!"
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32 BBY
Four years passed.
The now six-year-old Danas didn't know why everyone looked at him like that. Sure he always received strange and funny looks from the other Younglings and even some Padawans and Knights.
But this? This was on a whole new scale.
"Master Jinn, yes I heard it too..."
"A Sith Lord..."
"Just like Drak!"
"Maybe he's one too!"
"I always knew he was weird!"
Danas walked through the Temple. He decided to ask Madame Jocasta Nu, what was going on. She was always nice to him and helped him find things in the Archives. She'd know what to do!
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"Master Jinn is dead?"
"I'm afraid so."
Danas only saw Master Jinn once or twice. He always seemed a bit... eccentric.
"And a Sith Lord killed him?"
"Yes."
The Zabrak looked down.
"Master Nu?"
"Yes?"
"Why everyone is looking at me and whispering? I mean, even more than usual?"
Jocasta Nu looked at the boy. Even though he came from Dathomir, he was a gentle and kind soul. She remembered very clearly how he first walked into her Archives along with Master Shaak Ti. He just learned how to read. He walked up to her desk and politely asked for a book about Togrutas, because he wanted to know more about Master Ti's homeworld (he wasn't as articulate but Master Nu got the point).
Since then Danas spent almost all of his time reading in the Archives or bombarding Master Sinube with questions about his investigations.
Jocasta Nu knew it was forbidden for the Jedi to form attachments.
And yet she couldn't stop herself from forming one for the boy.
"Master Nu?"
The elder Jedi sighed.
"The Sith Lord that killed Master Qui-Gon was a Dathomirian Zabrak. He looked just like you."
Danas's eyes widened with horror.