The village was hidden so well that Harry knew he would never have found it on his own.
Even standing only a few hundred meters away, the settlement remained almost invisible beneath the dense forests of Dathomir. Twisted black-red trees surrounded the clearing from every side, their massive roots and tangled branches forming a natural barrier that concealed the village completely from the outside world.
The moment they crossed through the final line of trees, the atmosphere changed.
The air grew heavier.
Older.
Magic saturated the clearing so deeply that Harry could almost feel it pressing against his skin.
The settlement itself looked unlike anything he had seen before. The huts were circular, constructed from dark wood reinforced with thick woven roots and enormous leaves that formed both roofs and walls. Bone charms, feathers, carved stones, and strange symbols hung above entrances, swaying gently despite the complete lack of wind.
At the center of the village stood a far larger structure.
Round.
Massive.
Dominating everything around it.
The smaller homes circled around the building almost like moons orbiting a planet.
The village went silent the moment they entered.
Children stopped moving immediately. Women carrying baskets paused mid-step. Others sharpening tools or preparing food slowly turned toward the newcomers.
Watching.
Judging.
Harry noticed something else almost immediately.
There were no men.
Not one.
The children stared openly at Harry and Quinlan with intense curiosity. A little girl near the edge of the clearing tugged another child closer and whispered loudly enough for everyone nearby to hear, "Are all men that tall?"
Quinlan coughed awkwardly under the attention while Harry nearly smiled.
The adults were far less welcoming.
Their expressions carried caution sharpened by experience. Suspicion lingered openly in their eyes, along with something deeper—fear learned through betrayal and loss.
Fortunately, Ahsoka Tano walked calmly ahead of them, and her presence eased at least part of the tension.
"They're with me," she said firmly as several armed women approached near the entrance of the village.
One of them immediately noticed Harry's lightsaber clipped at his belt. Her eyes narrowed. "One of them carries a red blade."
Quinlan sighed tiredly. "Again with the red blade."
Ahsoka shot him a dry look. "To be fair, it does look bad."
Harry shrugged calmly. "I like the color."
That answer clearly did not help.
They were escorted toward the massive central structure, and the moment Harry stepped inside, he felt it immediately.
Magic.
Dense and layered into every surface around him.
The walls themselves radiated power. Ancient carvings glowed faintly beneath torchlight, and the entire building felt alive in a way few places ever had.
Then Harry's gaze shifted toward the center of the chamber.
A massive ritual circle had been painted onto the floor using crimson pigments mixed with ash and glowing green symbols. Even from a distance, the power within it was undeniable.
Quinlan felt it too.
"…Force," he whispered quietly.
Harry shook his head slightly as he studied the markings more carefully. "More than that."
Several side chambers branched away from the central hall, and from one of them emerged an elderly woman.
The moment she appeared, Harry understood she was important.
She was not human.
Her skin carried a pale gray tone marked with faint dark patterns stretching across her face and neck. Her eyes glowed dimly yellow-green within the shadows, and despite her age, power radiated from her so strongly that even the air around her seemed heavier.
She moved slowly, leaning upon a carved staff wrapped in bones and hanging talismans.
But there was nothing weak about her.
Ahsoka lowered her head slightly. "Mother Veyra."
The old woman acknowledged her with a single nod before her attention shifted entirely toward Harry.
And stayed there.
Harry felt it immediately.
She was not merely looking at him.
She was examining him with something deeper than sight itself, probing at the strange mixture of power within him.
"…Interesting," she murmured softly.
Her voice was rough with age but completely steady.
"Very interesting."
Quinlan shifted uncomfortably beside Harry. "Good interesting or dangerous interesting?"
Mother Veyra ignored him completely.
Instead, she gestured toward one of the nearby chambers. "Come."
The room they entered was smaller and dimly lit by eerie green flames burning inside carved stone bowls. Shelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, filled with jars of herbs, powders, bones, strange liquids, and preserved creatures Harry could not immediately identify. Smoke and unfamiliar spices thickened the air.
Mother Veyra lowered herself slowly onto a seat before pointing her staff toward Harry.
"Why have you come here?"
The question was direct.
Harry answered just as directly. "I heard there were people here who practiced magic."
Her glowing eyes narrowed slightly. "So you came seeking our secrets."
"I came seeking knowledge," Harry corrected calmly. "I want to learn."
The old woman let out a humorless laugh.
"Many came here seeking many things," she said quietly. "They slaughtered us all the same."
Silence filled the chamber.
Even Ahsoka lowered her gaze slightly at the bitterness within those words.
"People fear what they do not control," Mother Veyra continued. "The Jedi feared us. The Sith feared us. Because we did not kneel before the Force as if it were some divine master."
Her staff struck the floor once.
The sound echoed sharply through the room.
"We shaped it," she said firmly. "We twisted it. We made it obey."
Harry's eyes sharpened immediately with interest.
That sounded familiar.
Very familiar.
Then Mother Veyra studied him again with a long, measuring look. "But this…"
Her voice softened slightly.
"This is the first time someone has come here seeking to learn magic itself."
She shook her head slowly.
"It cannot be taught."
Her voice hardened again.
"You are born with it."
Harry slowly raised his hand.
Before anyone could react, fire appeared above his palm.
Not ordinary fire.
Living fire.
Perfectly controlled.
The flames rose upward into a rotating cyclone that spun gently above his hand without burning anything around it. Light filled the chamber instantly as shadows danced wildly across the walls.
Ahsoka's eyes widened in shock. "What…"
Quinlan leaned casually against the wall. "Yeah, he does that."
Mother Veyra had risen halfway from her seat.
Out of genuine shock.
The flames twisted again, shifting shape effortlessly before collapsing inward and vanishing completely into Harry's palm.
Absolute silence.
Then the old woman whispered softly, "…You know magic."
Harry lowered his hand calmly. "Some of it."
Her glowing eyes searched his face intensely now. "Where did you learn this?"
Harry answered honestly. "Far away."
A brief pause followed before he added quietly, "Very far away."
Mother Veyra slowly lowered herself back into her seat, though her gaze never left him.
Because what Harry had just done was not simple Force manipulation.
It was something else.
Something older.
Finally, she spoke again.
"Perhaps," she said slowly, her tone no longer hostile but thoughtful instead, "…the spirits guided you here for a reason."
She turned toward Ahsoka. "Gather the elders."
Then her eyes returned to Harry once more.
"A meeting will be held tonight."
Her glowing gaze narrowed slightly with curiosity and caution.
"And you…"
A faint smile touched her aged face.
"…will show us more."
Ahsoka Tano led them away from the central meeting hall and deeper into the village. Though the tension among the Nightsisters had eased somewhat after Mother Veyra announced that the elders would gather, Harry still felt eyes following him wherever he walked.
Children peeked nervously from behind huts whenever he passed, whispering to one another after witnessing the fire magic inside the meeting hall. Older women paused in their work to study him carefully before quietly returning to whatever they had been doing.
The village no longer viewed him as merely a stranger.
Now they viewed him as something unknown.
Ahsoka eventually stopped beside a smaller circular hut near the outer edge of the settlement. "This is mine," she said simply before pushing aside the hanging curtain of woven leaves that served as a door.
Harry stepped inside after her.
The cottage was modest compared to the larger structures near the center of the village, but it felt warm in a way the outside world did not. A single bed rested against the curved wall beneath thick woven blankets and animal fur. A small cooking area occupied one side of the room where a pot still hung above softly glowing coals. Shelves lined the walls, packed carefully with herbs, tools, jars, and neatly organized supplies.
At the center of the hut stood a short wooden table surrounded by cushions rather than chairs.
The entire room smelled faintly of smoke, herbs, and rain-soaked wood.
Quinlan looked around with obvious approval. "…This is nicer than half the places I slept during the war."
Ahsoka snorted softly as she removed her cloak. "That says more about you than the hut."
Then her expression shifted slightly.
Without speaking, she unclipped her lightsabers first and placed them carefully onto the table.
The gesture was deliberate.
An offering of peace.
Harry understood immediately.
He unclipped his own red lightsaber and placed it beside hers without hesitation. Quinlan followed moments later, setting down his green blade beside the others.
Three lightsabers rested together on the table.
Ahsoka's gaze lingered on Harry's weapon slightly longer than necessary. "…I still hate that color."
Harry smirked faintly. "You'll survive."
That earned the faintest hint of amusement from her before she finally sat down across from them.
Then her expression became serious again.
"So," she said quietly, "what's happening out there?"
The question carried real weight.
Harry understood immediately that she had been isolated here for a long time. Hidden from the wider galaxy. Disconnected from whatever remained of the war beyond Dathomir.
Quinlan exhaled softly before answering. "A lot."
And slowly, the story began.
He told her about the rebellion growing quietly across the galaxy. About hidden safe houses, underground supply routes, and worlds beginning to resist Imperial rule in secret. He spoke of the Axis Network, the communication mirrors, the rescue operations, and the children being hidden from the Empire before they could be taken by the Inquisitors.
Then he mentioned the new Jedi Order.
Ahsoka straightened immediately at that. "…The Order?"
"Not the old one," Quinlan clarified quickly.
His expression grew more serious as he leaned slightly forward. "Something new."
"And who leads it?" she asked carefully.
"Mostly Obi-Wan and Master Yoda," Quinlan replied. Then, after a brief pause, he gestured openly toward Harry. "Though honestly? This one changes more Jedi philosophy in a week than the Council managed in twenty years."
Ahsoka blinked before slowly turning toward Harry. "…You?"
Harry simply shrugged. "The old system failed."
The answer was direct.
And to his mild surprise, Ahsoka nodded immediately.
"Yes."
There was no hesitation in her agreement.
"The Jedi lost themselves long before the Empire rose," she said quietly. "They became politicians. Generals. Judges." Her gaze lowered slightly. "But somewhere along the way, they stopped listening to people."
A bitter smile appeared briefly on her face.
"And when someone questioned them…"
Her voice softened.
"…they pushed them away."
Silence settled across the room after that.
Because all three of them understood exactly what she meant.
Eventually Ahsoka looked back toward Quinlan. "…Master Yoda survived?"
There was genuine relief in her voice.
"And Obi-Wan?"
Quinlan smiled faintly. "They're alive."
Ahsoka closed her eyes briefly as though releasing a burden she had carried for years. "…Good," she whispered. "They were always good people."
Harry watched her quietly.
She carried disappointment toward the Jedi Order.
But not hatred.
"They're training children differently now," Quinlan continued. "No emotional suppression. No pretending feelings don't exist. No blind obedience."
Ahsoka actually laughed softly at that. "…The Council would hate that."
Harry leaned back slightly. "Exactly."
That earned the first truly genuine smile Harry had seen from her since arriving on Dathomir.
Then her expression grew serious again. "And the Sith?" she asked quietly. "The Empire?"
"Still fighting them?"
Quinlan's expression darkened slightly. "Every day."
Then he glanced sideways toward Harry again with obvious amusement. "Though lately the Empire seems more terrified of a mysterious Sith Lord than the rebellion itself."
Ahsoka frowned immediately. "What Sith Lord?"
Quinlan pointed directly at Harry.
"He means him."
Ahsoka stared.
Then slowly looked toward the red lightsaber resting on the table.
Then back toward Harry.
"…You're joking."
Harry looked mildly offended. "I killed Tarkin. That deserves some respect."
Her eyes widened instantly. "You killed Wilhuff Tarkin?"
"Technically," Harry replied calmly, "Dobby killed him."
Ahsoka blinked slowly. "…Who's Dobby?"
"That," Quinlan muttered tiredly, "is a very long story."
Ahsoka leaned back slightly, clearly trying to process everything she had just heard.
A new Jedi Order.
Yoda alive.
Obi-Wan alive.
A rebel network spreading across the galaxy.
And somehow—
This strange human carrying a red lightsaber while pretending to be a Sith Lord.
Finally she spoke again.
Quietly.
"I want to help."
The words came naturally, without hesitation.
"The Empire is hurting too many people," she continued. "I've seen it myself."
Her eyes hardened slightly.
"I can't stay hidden forever."
Then her expression softened as she glanced toward the village outside the hut.
"…But I made a promise."
"When everyone hunted me," she said softly, "when I had nowhere left to go… the Nightsisters protected me."
"They fed me."
"Sheltered me."
"Trusted me."
Her voice lowered further.
"So I stayed," Ahsoka continued. "To protect what remains."
Harry studied her quietly for several seconds before nodding once.
"That's a good reason."
Ahsoka blinked slightly at the answer.
Perhaps she had expected persuasion.
An attempt to convince her to leave immediately.
Instead Harry simply said, "People who protect others are needed everywhere."
A brief pause followed.
"You're already doing important work."
For the first time since they arrived, Ahsoka seemed completely at ease around them.
Outside, distant drums suddenly began echoing softly through the village.
Low.
Rhythmic.
Quinlan glanced toward the doorway. "…Guess the elders are gathering."
Ahsoka stood slowly, her expression shifting once more into something serious and focused.
"Yes."
Her eyes moved toward Harry.
"The Nightsisters want to see the man who controls fire without chanting."
A faint smirk tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"And honestly?"
She folded her arms lightly.
"So do I."
Author's Note:
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