Back in the Game (COMPLETE)

9.13.1

Curled up in the back of a ship, Barriss flipped a page of the book she was reading. Although she had been training quite regularly for the past few weeks, a little over a month now, actually, she had been studying just as much as she had in the beginning. Her master had retrieved ancient Sith texts for her to read, dating back as far as the Jedi-Sith War, a thousand years ago. Centuries of history were unfolding before her, and the better she got at reading Sith Runes the faster she was learning. 

It had been a wonderful trip for the two of them. Maul had taken Barriss to no less than three Sith temples in her time as his apprentice, and each time they had found old libraries and saferooms, some of which had been locked up for hundreds of years. Seeing the architecture, the detail, and the beauty put into the temples, it put the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to shame. Sure there were runes and statues every so often, but it was so bland, so tasteless. The temples built by the Sith had far exceeded her expectations.

Barriss had learned that Maul himself was a practical learner, but when he had figured out that Barriss could learn just as well from texts as she could from training, he had immediately taken her to seek out Sith texts for her to begin reading. She had started slowly, learning how to decipher runes that were previously unfamiliar to her, but Barriss worked tirelessly to teach herself the language and the letterings. Once this had been accomplished, it didn't matter if she was reading a history book, an incantation guide, a textbook, or a curriculum text, she was soaking absolutely all of it up.

Not that she was lacking in her training either. Maul attended to his leadership duties while she studied, but he set aside time in the mornings and evenings to meditate, spar, and instruct his new apprentice. If there was something in her studies that she needed clarification on, Barriss would ask him before the lesson began, and he would make sure she had sufficient answers to all of her questions before moving on. She was so inquisitive, wanting to know the depths of every piece of the Sith culture she had fallen in love with. Maul was more than willing to provide answers to her, and sometimes the time they were supposed to be used to train instead got sucked away by rabbit trails that stemmed from Barriss's studies. The hours would slip away before the lesson began, and Maul would have to attend to Mandalore without training her.

When that didn't happen though, their lessons were just as insightful. Barriss willingly submitted to the Dark Side, but not wildly and recklessly as was dangerous to do. Her descent was gradual, paced, and certain, and extremely pleasing to her master. Although the power was making her stronger, she did not let herself be consumed by greed or lust for it. She exercised great restraint, at the bidding of Maul, and made sure the steps she was taking were measured ones. 

She didn't spend all of her time with her nose buried in a book, though. Maul invited her to accompany him as he continued to secure his rule over Mandalore and even appointed her to tasks as she felt more comfortable with it. She made a habit of remaining by his side when he met with his advisors and earned their respect as well. It didn't take long for his soldiers to start referring to Barriss as Lady Offee, and although they knew Maul was their ruler she soon gained as much authority as him. Maul had no objection to this, as the work his apprentice was doing at his side was pleasing to him. He came to trust her to carry out his will without feeling the need to oversee her.

In secret, Gar Saxon and the other Mandalorians respected Lady Offee not only for her power and wisdom, which she was showing to have much of both, but because they noticed a change in Maul as well. They were all grateful that his random mutterings and outbursts about someone named 'Darth Sideous' had ceased months ago, but he still would ramble about things none of them understood and were, quite frankly, too scared to ask about. His bloodshot eyes would go wild unexpectedly, and when he started hitting, breaking, or throwing things, they knew to get out of the room.