Continuing with the fan fic theme, i'm going to post one every week, but this week starts a multi-chapter fic. With me so far? This is one I wrote early on last year, featuring Tsavong Lah, taking a look at the dynamic between he and his only mentioned son Khalee Lah. Odd, wasn't it, that they mentioned Tsavong Lah seeming somewhat staggered by the death of his own father, but not his son - i'll let the fic pick up where i've left off.

Reviews/views appreciated!



Now:

Deep within the confines of his private chambers aboard Domain Dal, slumped down upon a chair comprised of various living polyps and painful looking coral spine-like protrusions, sat Tsavong Lah.
Cycles could have flown by, battles could have been raging around his very person and he would not have so much as batted a scarred eyelid. The only battle the warmaster was focussed on for now, was the one that raged within the depths of his seasoned mind.
Weary as he was, he had not moved since the attendant, who had brought him Harrar's villip, had left him alone to hear the priest out. The villip had long since inverted, displaying it?s self once again as the spherical, brown blob of its natural state.

Tsavong Lah shifted as though in discomfort. The spiteful coral spines of his seating place, raking his armour and cutting his flesh raw where he had left it bare.
Not so much as a wince of pain did he show. Even as blood began to drip and then flow from his slight wounds, the chair drinking its fill, he did not show any sign of irritancy. The warmaster's eyes had not left the surface of the inactive villip, as though he were analysing it in disbelief.
Had he heard right? Harrar was one of the few people he could have actually called a friend, surely he knew the severity of conveying words to him that may be untrue?
And yet he had heard the dire tone in the priest's voice. His words had been no word of a lie. His son, his own flesh and blood .Khalee Lah, was dead.

The concept sounded implausible to his dark, anger stricken mind. Implausible still when he had asked the priest how his son had perished. It was this fact that caused him to tense until he felt the tendons in his body ache pleasantly in comparison to the rage that burned furiously within his conscience.

Jaina Solo, one half of the twin Solo's, had been responsible. The cause of it all.
That rage was a deeply rooted one, as his son would have been aware. Tsavong Lah's right foot, the clawed foot of a Vua'sa beast, ached in sympathy. Jacen Solo had been responsible for the loss of his own foot after all.

Harrar had been a little over-zealous in emphasizing the fact that Khalee had died with honour. While Tsavong Lah was glad in this knowledge, a failure was still unquestionably a failure. And he had placed much faith in his son when bestowing upon him the task of accompanying Harrar as guard on his mission to find and then capture Jaina Solo. Supreme Overlord Shimrra was growing impatient with Tsavong Lah's inability to make good of his word to make this twin sacrifice so.

Khalee Lah had been the most promising of all Tsavong Lah?s offspring, barring none. The youthful warrior was well known in both his domain and caste, many fully expecting him to rise rapidly through the ranks and eventually become the next warmaster.
Tsavong Lah had always thought that he might rest a little easier in glorious death if he knew Khalee would succeed him.
The lad was headstrong however, short tempered and quick to act in the face of the unknown. Not entirely bad qualities, the warmaster knew, if they could be controlled and saved for the right moment.
Yes, while Tsavong Lah had fathered many children, Khalee was the only one he had ever deigned to get to know. Or at least tried.
He had reminded him much of himself at that young age. And the warmaster himself was only one of two that his own father, Czulkang Lah, had ever deigned to acknowledge too. As heartless as this seemed, many of the elite lived this way.
What was the point in getting attached to ones offspring if they never made it out of the creche?

The warmaster remembered Khalee's mother fondly too. In particular the rich darkness of her eyes, a trait Khalee had picked up along with her patience, or there lack of. Sadly, she had perished before reaching the infidel galaxy. A pity, Tsavong Lah thought, perhaps if she had been here, she could have clarified what it was that afflicted him now. And yet he knew, and was disgusted by it thoroughly.

He finally tore his gaze away from the inert villip. He would spend this time in the embrace of pain, perhaps that would purge the sickening grief from his being?

*****
Then:

Niif'rhi Hul watched the scene unfolding before her through a large wall of transparent yorik coral. This particular variety, had the ability to be used as an opaque screen or a transparent window depending on the desired use. Here in the outer-ganglia, the far spun ?arms? of the worldship, was housed the cr?che of Domain Lah. She had often come here out of curiosity for her first-born?s progress. But today was different, today she had been asked to attend.
As to why, she was unsure, but it had been at the request of the cr?che attendant that she and Supreme Commander Tsavong Lah attend this little meeting. If just for her peace of mind.

The warmaster's son stood beside her proudly, his expression betraying neither curiosity nor impatience. Niif'rhi Hul would have done well to follow his example, and with that thought she ceased tapping her foot upon the living floor.

"As you can see, he is excelling in his training" The attendant was explaining as the group of 3 looked on at the young would-be warriors. The crechelings were practicing their basic melee combat beyond the safety of the transparency. At the age of 5, they had earned the right to carry a basic coufee, the simplest of all Yuuzhan Vong living weaponry. But clearly many of the crechelings lacked the skills that those adept enough in, had worked out could be used against them. The results were akin to effectively eradicating the weak before they reached a position of rank. Perhaps this was why many referred to it as weeding out.

" I can see that for myself" Tsavong Lah cut in, irritated at having been told the obvious. He was every bit as intimidating as his father.

As if on cue, two of the youths closes to the transparency were taken on by another that both Niif?rhi Hul and Tsavong Lah recognised as their son. The boy was quick to bring the first youth down with a simple, yet very effective leg sweep, following that up by thrusting his blade in a downwards arc toward the downed youth?s throat to finish the job he?d started.
Neither Tsavong Lah nor Niif?rhi Hul so much as blinked. Life was pain, death- an honour if attained in the right way.

As the remaining youth attacked, Tsavong Lah's attention was drawn back to the creche attendant.

" If I may, Supreme Commander, I would like to recommend your son for more suitable training." He paused, With your approval of course!"

"Indeed?"

" As soon as possible," The attendant would not have liked to add his afterthoughts to that unfinished sentence. Keeping Khalee Lah here was reducing the numbers in his age group to a degree that had many of domain Lah up in arms, thus threats of death falling firmly on his own shoulders. None such gripes would ever reach the ears of the warmaster's son however, to do so would be as putting your own head over the spatter-pit.

Tsavong Lah appeared to be waiting something rather than mulling this suggestion over. The lack of conversation caused an uneasy air to sweep across the trio of Yuuzhan Vong and the attendant cast a confused gaze at Niif'rhi Hul.
She remained silent also, as though she had seen this all before.
When at last the strangled cry and sounds of cracking, breaking bones could be heard through the transparency at their backs, Tsavong Lah cast his gaze over one shoulder, nodding once in approval at his son's early triumph.

"You have my approval Attendant."

TBC Next week!


Edit: Art Update - I am working on a couple of pieces at the moment, but one isn't so site friendly lol, this one however, I can post here. Most definitely a work in progress, but that's it so far. Please full view for details :)