By this time the two had figured out what they needed to do. Trychon looked around as people began to drop tools and sit down, their shoulders sagging forlornly in their exhaustion and despair. A few of the women began to cry.
"Back up!" Trychon suddenly shouted. Dirt and grime covered faces looked up at him stupidly, as if he were speaking a language they didn't understand. "Back up!" he shouted again.
Raezyr dropped his shovel and closed his eyes. His robes had long since soaked through with sweat, and he had cast them aside. He stood there shirtless, beginning his meditation. He had never moved anything as large as these man sized boulders before, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to do so now. He also feared that they had waited too long to do this. He feared that if they were already dead, that they would be unable to fulfill this prophecy.
He used those fears, dwelt on them, and felt them turn to anger. Anger for doubting his own power and the power of the Dark Side, anger that his mission may now rest on something as small and tedious as an old man's false fortunetelling.
Raezyr felt the Dark Side swell up within him, all the while his older brother was speaking to the crowd.
"You think it's hopeless? Not yet it's not! Now that we've tried this your way, get back, and my brother and I will try it ours!" Trychon turned and removed his robe as well, the sleeveless tunic he wore underneath was soaked through as well, but he thought Raezyr looked a bit overly dramatic, standing there half-naked, dripping with dirt and sweat.
He began his meditation as well, preparing for the job ahead of them. Easily he tapped into Raezyr's trance, as they had taught themselves to do, and their power rose exponentially.
As one, they extended their right hands toward the first boulder blocking the entrance to the cave, eyes still closed tightly. At first, nothing happened. The people began to look at one another, wondering what was supposed to be going on. There was even a quiet snicker, quickly silenced, from the back of the crowd.
But Father Monahan and some of the members of the High Council had an idea of what might happen, although they felt a bit leary about it. Never before had they felt disquiet or unease when they where near someone drawing on the Force, but neither had they ever felt it being drawn upon so powerfully before, and wrote their apprehensions off as something they weren't used to.
Suddenly there was a scraping sound, a slight grinding. People started pressing forward, trying to see what was happening, when suddenly the boulder slid from it's resting spot and floated out of the mouth of the mine.
The villagers stepped back in shock and awe as the boulder floated over and landed on a nearby slag pile. As soon as that boulder was on the ground, the one behind it began grinding it's way out of the entrance, and the people began cheering.
The two Sith worked in unison after that, clearing not only the boulders, but the dirt and gravel as well, and the more they worked, the faster things moved, until the rocks, dirt and boulders which choked the mine shaft began nearly flying out. The strain on their faces from the sustained effort and force of will was clearly taking it's toll, and the sweat poured from them faster than when they had been digging.
Until they came across the big one. A giant slab of stone, ten times bigger than anything they had removed so far. All afternoon, and into the evening, they had combined their power, although divided their concentration onto different pieces of rock, but now they refocused themselves and put all their effort into moving that slab.
Strain began to build and veins began to pop out on their faces and necks with the effort, when suddenly Raezyr dropped to his knees. "I can't do it," he said breathlessly. "It's too big. We'd have to bring half the mountain down."
Trychon dropped next to him in surprise. "We almost had it. What are you doing?" he whispered, raising a had to keep back the monks who started pressing forward.
"Alright, I'll try again... for the miners... and their families...", he said loud enough to be heard by the villagers and a cheer went up. He then spoke under his breath, for Trychon's ears only. "This is a perfect time for your gem, dumbass."
Trychon rolled his eyes. Yes, Raezyr was right, and they needed to pull it out sometime as they assumed that his gem was probably the item spoken of in the original prophecy, but Raezyr could be less of a jerk about it.
"Wait, Raez," Trychon said, speaking for the benefit of the crowd. "I have something that might help." He dug around in his pouch and pulled the small black gem from it, cupping the stone in the palm of his hand. For a brief moment, he thought back to when he had picked this up on Nar Shaddaa, and wondered if Vikon had seen this moment in one of his visions, but then his attention was back to the task at hand.
He knelt down in the dirt beside Raezyr, and raised the gem in the air; a completely unnecessary gesture, and one designed solely for it's theatrics, but if Raezyr could throw his shirt aside and show off his physique, then he could add some antics of his own.
In unison, they drew on the Force, focusing all their power through the black crystal in Trychon's hand.
Trychon felt the heat rise in the gem. Goodhe thought, it's working. This is going to make things much easier.
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