The black cloaked form has barely moved for the past four days, maybe even longer. He has not taken any food or drink, and has not slept for the entire duration. Lesser beings would have long lost their concentration, but Khameir Sarin is hardly normal. Kidnapped from his native home world Iridonia by his master while he was an infant, Khameir was trained since childhood to withstand pain – massive amounts of it. The pain now washes over him in waves of searing heat, as he concentrates in front of a roaring furnace.

The heat seeps throughout the relatively airy room, which is relatively sparse by Sith standards. Arcane words are carved onto the ceiling, spelling out a message which few people can understand, save the most ancient of protocol droids. But Khameir knows what it means – the message has been drummed into his force-sensitive mind for as long as he could remember.
"Strike them down with your hatred."

"Them", of course, refers to the Jedi. Deeply respected by many throughout the galaxy, the intrepid group of force-sensitive individuals has steadily gained influence throughout the millennia. The Jedi order had its origins from a small scientific caste, which was tasked to investigate an energy field which seems to permeate the entire Universe and exists within all living organisms. This energy field was dubbed the "Force", and is a source of strength for all force-sensitive individuals.

The pressurized chamber housing the furnace barely manages to contain the heat generated by the flame. Despite its being lined with fire-proof compressed ferrocite, he scarcely noticed the roaring temperature. He cannot be diverted now from his goal – neither exhaustion, sleep deprivation, nor pain can distract him from his intense meditation. Khameir is focusing all of his intense hatred inside the kiln.

An additional jab of pain briefly courses through the prone form, as his red skin erupts in painful heat burns. But the sensation is immediately drowned out by the young Zabrak's mastery of the Force. The turmoil within him is every bit as hot as the temperature around him, and is steadily focused on the furnace. Layer upon layer, molecule by molecule, he rearranges the crystals contained within, and infuses them with his intense emotions. His meditation has greatly expanded his mastery of the Force and conferred on him a degree of control which he had not possessed well over a month ago.

"You are ready for the trials, my Apprentice," said the sinister figure, his face obscured by the folds of his shadowy robes. "Proceed to the Khartoum system and await my instructions."

With the single command on his 18th birthday from his master, Khameir Sarin, who was renamed "Darth Maul", boarded his Sith Infiltrator craft. Specially constructed for his use, the ship had an array of cloaking and detection systems, and has served him quite well on several dangerous missions.

The Khartoum system is a planetary system on the Outer Rim, which boasts a large gas planet orbited by three smaller moons, all of which revolved around a small yellow star. Only one of the moons was habitable – the other two, being too close to their planet, had their atmospheres brutally ripped eons ago. The third moon maintained a safe distance from the gaseous planet – far enough to maintain its own cloak of protective air, yet close enough to avoid the cold clasps of a collapsed neutron star, which lurks mere parsecs from the system.

Following his master's instructions, the faithful apprentice steered his ship towards a hidden temple buried underneath the moon's forested canopy. His first step outside his vessel took him by surprise, for while the moon pales to the size of the planet it orbits, the gravity exerted by it is quite formidable. Surely much stronger than the force Coruscant exerts, Maul muses, contemplating for the first time the terse cryptic instructions his master had given him.

Maul was quickly roused from his slight reverie with the telltale zap of a laser blaster. From the distance, he was able to make out several assassin droids rapidly tearing towards him. Moving quicker than the eye could follow, Maul leapt away from the line of fire, simultaneously drawing his sheathed lightsaber, and igniting it in time to deflect a laser blast aimed at his torso.

For a few short moments, Maul was a blur of red and black, smoothly brandishing his blood-hued lightsaber while deflecting the blasts back at the droids. Five seconds was all he needed to reduce six assassin droids into a pile of rubble. The Zabrak surveyed his handiwork, and grinned inwardly at the level of skill he has suddenly displayed. Little did he know that it was only the prelude to two weeks of excruciating physical torment.

"Pathetic!"

The telepathic thought sent to Darth Maul suddenly ripped through him, briefly disrupting his concentration. Instinctively, he sensed the contents of the formation crucibles shatter with fiery heat.

"Master!"

"You have allowed yourself to succumb to your own stray thoughts, my Apprentice. Perhaps I was wrong after all – you are not ready."

A burst of hatred towards his Master welled through Darth Maul, threatening to explode around him. This was an insane rage Maul has experienced only twice in his life, and for the first time, he managed to stifle it.

"Why have you interrupted me?"

A fading telepathic cackle was Darth Sidious' only answer to the anguished question.

After a brief recuperative respite, Darth Maul had once again plunged into his odious task. During his resting period, Maul has time and again questioned his motivations, and even wondered if he is embarking on a fool's errand. After all, Jedi lightsabers are constructed from a naturally-occurring crystal. He could embark on a journey to the remote world of Adega to harvest the necessary crystal, kill a random Jedi knight and take his weapon's crystal, or even surreptitiously raid the Jedi temple in Ilum where these green or blue crystals are organically grown.

But, he knew that his lightsaber should surpass a Jedi's weapon. Utilizing their force skills with the finesse of a surgeon, Sith Lords have traditionally opted to artificially manipulate their crystals in a heated furnace. This would ensure that the crystals would be able to withstand the heat emitted by a lightsaber power core, and at the same time, explosively focus and rechannel the searing laser beam. Sith lightsabers have been known to overload normal Jedi lightsabers, and this was an advantage Maul could not discount.

Maul had chosen an exotic Sith weapon, favored by the ancient Sith warlord Exar Kun, as his own. The double-bladed lightsaber was a difficult weapon to wield, but when used effectively, the Sith Lord can hold his own against two fully-trained Jedi Knights. With his Master’s approval, Darth Maul set out to shape the four crystals required by his desired weapon, armed with the knowledge of the Sith Archives.

Darth Maul had gained access to the Sith Archives only after he passed the trials his Master pitted him against. He was first tested physically for two weeks, using his force mastery to make impossible force-assisted jumps and to augment his already impressive speed. Subsequently, he faced three deadly assassin droids separately on desert, swamp, and mountain terrain. Trained to kill, Maul dispatched the first two with great difficulty, and was wounded in the battle against the third before emerging victorious.

Unexpectedly, Maul had one more duel, against his own Master. Sidious toyed with his apprentice, and fortunately stoked him to an insane rage. He was able to focus his mind, and defend against Sidious’ attacks. The battle ended when he managed to sink his teeth into Sidious’ hand. Pleased, Sidious granted his apprentice the title of Sith Lord, and opened the Sith Archives to Maul.

For four more days, Maul sat in front of the forge, patiently rearranging the very molecules of the four synthetic crystals contained within. The unimaginable heat which radiates from the heat chamber had taken a horrendous toll on his body. It was now dark red, burnt by the immense heat radiation emanating from the furnace.

His Master had sent a second taunt, and a third. But the Zabrak patiently blocked out all external thought, preferring to focus his hatred to fine-tune his force manipulation abilities. During these four days, he has not entertained a single thought. The hunger pangs that plagued him during the first 36 hours have all but disappeared; his thirst and need for sleep put on hold by his concentration. It had taken four days, but Maul finally senses the readiness of his crystals.

Turning off the furnace, Maul cracked the chamber open with his bare hands, and magisterially surveys his work. Sitting in the formation crucibles, and sending a red sparkle through the room, are his four fully-formed perfect crystals.

Few words can explain the pride bursting within Darth Maul as he puts the finishing touch on his double-bladed lightsaber. Designed with two separate power chambers, Maul’s staff could be split apart in a moment’s notice, and could just as easily be reassembled. Quickly flipping the activator switches on both sides of the handle, the ends of the saber ignited loudly as sinister red light erupted from the weapon. The blades shimmer in a soft audible hum, yet no heat can be felt through the air.

Maul’s patience has been richly rewarded. The crystal molecules are so perfectly aligned that the blade tapers no more than three feet from both ends. Darth Maul stares at his new weapon – a resurrected instrument of terror that would cut down many Jedi masters in its path – and deactivates one side. In order to test his new blade, it would have to cut through something. And long ago, Darth Maul had already decided on what that would be.

For too often during his training, Maul has been distracted by his newly awakening sexual urges. These urges, a natural outgrowth of his blossoming adolescence, have proven to be a great distraction in his training. Too often, he has fantasized on the lithe nubile forms of the female Jedi padawan he sees at the Temple – so frequently has Sidious brought them both to the steps of the Jedi Temple, reveling at their bravura, and mutter to him the names of his future victims.

Such attraction was not taken kindly by Sidious, and has earned Maul many nights of harsh punishment. Sometimes, his body was racked in the force lightning emanated by his master – although it was carefully metered to not cause any lasting damage, it was painful just the same.

Today, as Darth Maul becomes a fully fledged Dark Lord, with his own personal lightsaber, he finally acts on the thought that has whirled around his mind during all of his punishment sessions. He softly folded back his external charcoal-gray cloak, and took out his penis into full view. Softly caressing it, Maul slowly stimulated himself into orgasm.

The moment he has been anticipating – and dreading – has come. With blissful orgasm close at hand, he feverishly pumped at his penis, now engorged with blood, and took into his free hand his still-ignited lightsaber. His senses exploded into the bliss of orgasm, as jet after jet of hot sperm ejaculated from his urethra, landing five feet away from him.

Then, without hesitation, he brought down the saber on his still-erect penis.

The superheated light burns through the appendage with great speed, but not fast enough to block the pain signals that now course through Maul’s nervous system. The pain washes over him in pulsating waves, and his body screams at him, begging him to withdraw the searing heat of the lightsaber.

Light years away, on the Republic Capital of Coruscant, one man receives in full force the psychic backlash of Darth Maul’s tortured mind. As what is currently happening to his apprentice dawns on him, Senator Palpatine breaks out into a bemused grin.

Displaying the same steely determination that has sustained him for four days without food, water, and sleep, Darth Maul impassively keeps his blade on its designated course. The soft flesh of his penis quickly melted under the unforgiving light, as his blood evaporated on the spot. Maul slowly leads the light through his ruined penis, simultaneously obliterating all traces of his flesh, and cauterizing his wound. Finally, when he reached the base of his now-dissipated genitalia, he switches off the lightsaber.

And then, Darth Maul smiled.