A Jedi's Tale - The Story of Jay Lyon

Ghosts In An Old Mining Town

February 2018. The Clone Wars was four months way from it's Second Year of bloodshed. On Lola Sayu, Echo and Jiyu were severely wounded while rescuing General Even Piell. Only Jiyu was found and taken in to be treated; Echo was capture by the Separatists, Echo was transformed into a cyborg. The First Battalion has driven Separatists Forces from The Planet Hoth, The 187th, with help from The Second, Third & Fourth Battalions drove Separatists Forces away from Endor & The 5th Regiment, with help from both Epsilon Squad & Nightshadow Squad routed Separatists Forces from Myrkr. 3 months had passed since The Hauntings at Gracey Mansion had ceased. But, the chilling experience they had will forever be plagued on their minds. Now, the militia has received a new mission. They are ordered to investigate claims of paranormal activity at an old abandoned mining town in Arizona; at an old mining town named Thunder Mesa. The year was 1849, the Mexican American War was ending a American victory and the American Settlers began moving out west during the famed Gold Rush. Among those who moved out west is a man named Henry Ravenswood. He arrived in the area what will become Thunder Mesa in later the territory of Arizona, which later became a state and joined the union in 1912 which New Mexico. He soon struck gold inside Big Thunder Mountain and later founded both the town of Thunder Mesa and the Thunder Mesa Mining Company. It was there he raised a family with his wife Martha and their daughter, Melanie Ravenswood was born in the year 1842. While the town and the mining company began to grow, rumors by natives began to emerge from Big Thunder Mountain. It is said that mountain is home to the Thunder Bird, a powerful Native American spirit which possesses a treasure. According to the legend, its wrath could be materialized into a terrible earthquake. However, Ravenswood would not believe such stories. Time went by, and the gold in Big Thunder Mountain became scarce, making miners dig deeper into the mountain. As time marches on, Melanie grew from a young girl into a beautiful young woman. During that time, four suitors went after Melanie, but each one of them met a terrible fate. She finally set on one man and became engaged to a train engineer named Jake Evans who planned to take her far away from Thunder Mesa, much to the dismay of Henry. Henry did everything he could to stop the wedding from happening, but his useless attempts were put to a stop when a terrible earthquake killed him and his wife Martha in the year 1860. It seemed the Thunder Bird had been awakened, and the family was never heard of again. After several years, the story of what really happened came out from underneath the rubble. On February 14th, 1863, During The Civil War, a mysterious Phantom, unknown to anyone, appeared inside the manor on Melanie's Wedding Day. While Melanie was preparing in her room, the Phantom lured Jake up to the attic where he was hanged by the neck from the rafters. In the ballroom, the young bride sat all alone. Hours passed and there was no sign of Jake. Guests slowly filed away, leaving Melanie all alone in the manor with the staff of maids and butlers. "Some day", she told herself, "he will come". And so, having never taken off her wedding dress or dropped her flower bouquet, in preparation for her loved one's return, she wandered the house aimlessly, singing melancholy songs of lost love. But the Phantom was still in the house, laughing at her human devotion to her intended husband. One after one, he invited his dead, demonic friends from the afterlife to fill the house in an eternal party. A terrible, dark curse was placed upon the manor and the shape was slowly transformed by the evil forces. To this very day, no one had ever dared to set foot in the manor. Inside and outside, the manor fell to decay and ruins. Dusty cobwebs covered every inch, the disheartened staff not caring, for it was rumored that Melanie had lost her mind. She wandered the house for years and years, singing softly to her missing groom, while all around her demons and ghosts reveled and danced. Everywhere she went she was reminded of the wedding. The Phantom's eternal laughter still carried through the walls of the house. Outside, the once beautiful grounds were falling apart and crumbling. The gilded staircase and structure were dotted with mold and trees and every plant on the grounds died. As if sensing the evil inherent in the house, nothing living ever trod there. Melanie even so kept her hopes, waiting for her love's return, and never figured why he had left. The earthquake that killed her parents cut a huge gouge in the west half of the property and in the crumbling ghost town of the old Thunder Mesa. The deserted buildings were rumored to be called Phantom Canyon, the dark supernatural version of the town, and anyone who entered the ghastly old town at night never came back. The house began known as Phantom Manor. Today, no one knows if Melanie Ravenswood is still alive in that old manor house on the hill. If she is still alive in Ravenswood Manor, then she is well over 100 years old. Her beautiful voice is still carried out all over the town at night though, through the walls of the house and night air. And sometimes at night, people still see lights and shadows in the old house. On every February 14th, they claimed to see Melanie outside the manor in her bride's gown and see her staring out the river or walking around the old house. Some nights, when the moon is full and the sky is clear of clouds, you can still hear the lonely mourning of the bride, the maniacal laughter of the Phantom, and the faint tinkle of glass and laughter of party guests. Whether she is alive or not, what is well known is that poor Melanie never really left the crumbling mansion. She waits for her groom until Judgment Day. This story shook Jay to the core. He had never heard of a story like that.