'My father died when I was only an infant,' Hetton said, his voice low enough that Zannah had to strain to hear it over the clacking of their footsteps on the polished marble floor. 'Burdened with the responsibilities of being the head of our house, my mother left it to the servants to raise me. They knew of my special gifts for many years before word of it ever reached my mother's ear.'
'Perhaps they feared what she might do to them if they told her,' Zannah suggested.
She and Hetton were alone now. After her performance in the throne room, he had insisted on bringing her to see his vast collection of Sith manuscripts and artifacts, located in his inner sanctum on the far side of the great mansion. He had also insisted that his guards stay behind. To pass the time on the journey through the seemingly endless halls and rooms of his manor, he had started to tell her his personal history.
'My mother was a strong and intimidating woman,' Hetton admitted. 'Perhaps the servants were afraid of her. Whatever the reasons, I was already in my early twenties before she finally discovered my affinity for the Force.'
'How did she react?'
'She saw my talents as a tool we could use to further the fortunes of our house. She had no use for the Jedi-or even the Sith, for that matter-but she wanted to find someone to help teach me to better master my skills.
'This was many years before the Brotherhood of Darkness came to power,' he reminded her before resuming his tale.
'After a number of discreet inquiries and many substantial bribes and payments, she finally settled on a Duros named Gula Dwan.'
'He became your Master?'
'Master was a title he never deserved,' Hetton replied with just a hint of bitterness. 'He was nothing but a bounty hunter and assassin who had the good fortune to be born with the ability to touch the Force. Over the years he had gleaned a simple understanding of the most basic techniques to access his power, allowing him to levitate small objects and perform other similar tricks,
'But he had no allegiance to the Sith or the Jedi; Gula's only fealty was to whoever paid him the most credits. And my family could afford to pay him more credits than he had ever dreamed of.'
They had reached another set of large double doors, though these were sealed and locked from the other side. Her host reached out and placed his palm on the surface, then closed his eyes. Zannah felt the soft whisper of the Force; then the lock clicked and the door swung open to reveal Hetton's inner sanctum.
The room was part library, part museum. Shelves of ancient manuscripts and scrolls, and endless lines of old datatapes lined the walls, and there was a data terminal and large viewscreen in one corner. Several long glass display cases ran lengthwise down the center of the room, displaying the collection of Sith treasures Hetton had spent the past three decades acquiring: strange glowing amulets, small jewel-encrusted daggers, a variety of unusual stones and crystals, and the handles of at least a dozen different lightsabers.
'Gula's instruction gave me a foundation on which to build, but most of my learning came from the books and manuscripts you see before you,' Hetton said with pride.
They walked slowly along the length of the display cases, Zannah splitting her attention between Hetton's words and the intriguing array of Sith artifacts. She could still feel faint remnants of dark side energy clinging to them: fading memories of the incredible ^power they once contained.
'Early on in my apprenticeship I recognized Gula for the fool he was. At my urging, my mother used the wealth and resources of our house to scour the galaxy in pursuit of every record, object, or trinket even remotely associated with the dark side so that I could further my learning without having to rely exclusively on my so-called Master.
'As you might expect, much of what came to us was worthless rubbish. But over the years a number of rare and valuable items found their way into my possession.'
Hetton turned to the shelves, running his hands lovingly over the cataloged volumes.
'The knowledge here allowed me to quickly surpass Gula. Once my mother realized he was no longer of any use to us, she had him killed.'
Zannah started and blinked in surprise. Hetton laughed softly at her reaction.
'My mother was a woman driven by ambition and ruthless practicality. She had worked hard to keep my existence hidden from the Jedi and Sith; if Gula were allowed to simply leave our service, it was inevitable he would reveal our house's great secret.'
'A necessary death' Zannah said with a nod, realizing that Bane probably would have done the same thing. Then, hit with a sudden flash of insight, she said, 'You were the one who killed him, weren't you?'
Hetton smiled at her. 'You are as perceptive as you are powerful. When the order came down from my mother, I was more than happy to comply. Gula had become a burden and an impediment to my own research into the ways of the dark side.'
'You speak of your mother as if she is gone ' Zannah noted. 'What happened to her?'
Hetton's eyes narrowed, and his expression grew dark.
'About fifteen years ago, when Kaan first began to assemble his Brotherhood of Darkness, my mother urged me to reveal myself and join their cause. She believed they would succeed in their quest to destroy the Republic, and she sought to ally our house with the rising new power in the galaxy.
'But I refused to become part of Kaan's cult. He preached that all who followed the dark side would serve as equals-a democracy of Sith. I found the concept repugnant, a perversion of everything I had studied and believed in.
'However, my mother still thought in terms of governments and political alliances. Through my study of the dark side I had transcended such mundane interests, but she could not grasp my objections. In the end, I was forced to eliminate her.'
This time Zannah wasn't surprised. 'She would have ignored your wishes and tried to forge an alliance with the Brotherhood,' she said, showing that she understood-and even approved of-Hetton's matricide. 'She would have exposed you. You had no other choice.'
'I poisoned her in her sleep,' Hetton explained, his voice betraying just a hint of regret. 'It was a peaceful death; I never wanted her to suffer. After all, I'm not a monster.'
There was a moment of silence as he let his thoughts linger over what he had done. Then he shook his head and resumed speaking as he led Zannah over to the monitor and data terminal.
'With the fall of the Brotherhood and the reformations of the Jedi Order, I became more bold. In addition to my quest to seek out the knowledge and artifacts of the ancient Sith I also began to assemble an army of followers. Under the separatist banner, I drew those individuals with unique skills and talents into my service. We were united in our hatred of the Republic and the Jedi, yet I was still wary of revealing my true purpose: the resurrection of the Sith!
'And now you are here,' he said, concluding his tale. He reached down and removed a datacard from the terminal they were standing beside. 'The timing could not be more perfect.'
Zannah wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, but before she could ask a question he had placed the datacard in her hand. 'What's this?'
'Do you know the name of Belia Darzu?' he asked her. Zannah shook her head. 'She was a Dark Lord of the Sith who reigned over two centuries ago. She was a student of Sith alchemy; it was said she learned the secrets of mechu-deru, the ability to transform the flesh of living beings into metal and machinery. She used this power to create an army of technobeasts: organic-droid hybrids bound to her will.'
Zannah vaguely recalled a passing mention of technobeasts from her studies, though the name Belia Darzu still didn't sound familiar.
'Many also believe that before her death she discovered the secret of creating Sith Holocrons,' Hetton added, and Zannah's thoughts flashed back to Bane and his failed attempts to do the same.
'Ultimately, Belia was betrayed and murdered by her own followers ' Hetton continued. 'A familiar occurrence in the histories I have read. When she fell all her secrets were lost, though there is speculation that much of what she discovered is still stored in the archives of her stronghold on Tython.'
'Tython?' Zannah exclaimed, recognizing the name. 'Isn't that one of the Deep Core worlds?'
The Deep Core was a small cluster of densely packed stars centered on a black hole in the very heart of the galaxy. The worlds of the Deep Core-planets like Tython-typically appeared only in myths and legends, or in the wild
