Wrath of Trandosha

Chapter 19 - The first test

The team had been searching, far and wide, for a suitable base. The last one was merely an overhang with a shelter and fireplace. After an hour of silent searching, they came across, what appeared to be ancient ruins. On closer inspection, Valon realised that these were no ordinary ruins but the ruins of an old Jedi temple.

The Quadjumper, settled down on a large space, between the perilous cliff and the temple. It was much like the monastery on Teth, with one large tower built into the mountain, on both sides sat two smaller towers. They were made from sandstone that was slowly decaying from it's many years.

They exited the ship, moving cautiously towards the arched entrance, there was a door sealed tight. Valon rubbed his hand over the ancient doorway, it was covered with dust but underneath were inscriptions and drawings that he could not understand. Although Valon could not understand the intricate writing, he could feel the strong presence of the force within, the new master saw this as an opportunity.

"Can you open it?" asked Joi, worried that the giant beasts would return.

"You need two people to open it therefore I am making this your first test, it will challenge your teamwork but more importantly how you connect with the force." Valon explained, trying to sound wiser than he was.

"But I've never used the force or worked with a girl." hissed Skaar, childishly.

"Joi this is Skaar, i'll be training you both but we'll discuss the details later, for now get this door open." Valon introduced them, they both nodded at each other, then stood still staring at the door confused.

Valon moved back to his ship, he made several leaps, finally stopping on the top right engine. He sat cross legged, closing his eyes he meditated, taking deep but calm breaths. His mind was a little more rested than it had been, Valon was excited for the future, although he was not sure what the outcome of his apprentices training would be.

He remembered hearing stories of a great war, between Sith and Jedi, how they fought for control over the galaxy. Perhaps that was the answer, to train his padawan to become warriors, to help him defeat the Sith. The Empire. While Valon thought hard about how and why he would train them, the two apprentices festered at the entrance, not knowing how to open the heavy door.

Skaar kicked violently at the center of the ancient door meanwhile Joi mimicked Valon, closing her eyes and trying desperately to figure out their predicament. She knew that they had to do it together and that they needed to use the force. Joi was perplexed, she didn't even understand what the force was and yet her Master expected her to open a door with her mind?

Three long hours went by, with no sign of movement from the stone door, Joi had mostly tried to meditate but her mind was full. She had been kidnapped, held hostage, her father had died and now she was being trained to become something she knew nothing about. Joi's brain was full, thoughts passed through it like a rushing river, struggling to find the answer.

Throughout this meditation, Skaar had pumaled the ancient door, throwing violent punches and kicks. He was the same height as Joi yet his muscles were large, especially for a ten year old, in his culture he was nearly an adult. Valon had resumed the same position for those three hours, sitting atop of his quadjumper, he thought about how he would train them. How his old Master would have trained them.

"Skaar, you must have patience, violence is not always the answer." said Valon wisely, as he opened his green eyes for the first time in three hours, squinting as they adjusted to hot Fallowan sun.

"How is sitting down and doing nothing going to help, it'll be nightfall soon and those things will come back, I don't even understand why you can't just do it?" Skaar said angrily, tired of hitting the wall.

"Joi, do you feel the same way?" asked Valon.

"Yes - Master."

"Gather round, I will explain it to you." demanded Valon cheerfully, the padawans sat around the ship, Valon climbed down to the engine underneath. Sitting as he had before. 

"The jedi were once guardians of all life across the galaxy, they trained in combat and in patience, making them some of the best warriors. I was trained as a Jedi before my master was killed, now I wish to teach both of you." Valon began to explain.

"Why do we need to become Jedi?" questioned Joi, her strange six eyes blinked curiously up at Valon.

"Well because there are two sides of the force, the light and the dark, the Jedi use the light and the Sith use the dark. I am training you to become Jedi so that we can fight and defeat the dark." answered Valon.

"The elders and wise women of Wasskah, used to speak of the force, how many people were able to control it, including jedi. I don't understand what it is." said Skaar, still confused.

"My Master always used to tell me and her students before her, that the force is what gives a jedi his power. An energy field around all living things, it surrounds all of us, penetrates us and most importantly it binds the galaxy together." explained Valon eloquently.

"Wow, I never knew about the force in this way, how will you teach us?" Joi continued to question, Skaar also looking up curiously.

"I've thought about this alot, I was taught to be compassionate and patient and those things are incredibly important to becoming a Jedi however I want the next generation of Jedi to be able to protect themselves. Therefore I will teach you to know and control the force, to use it in battle and for you to train new Jedi to use it. After you both grasp the essential foundations of the Jedi, I will make sure that you become knights. To do this you will have to pass five tests but I'll come to that when we get there." Valon told them.

"What is a knight Master Valon?" asked Joi, it felt strange for Valon to be called Master, he was only four years older than Joi and six years older than Skaar. He hadn't even been granted the title of knight for his Master's death, preventing any further training.

"A knight is a rank of the old Jedi order, it goes youngling, then padawan, then knight, finally master. Each one comes with its tests and trials which you must pass if you want to become a Jedi." said Valon, hopping down from his perch, moving towards the door.

 His apprentices stood side by side, staring at the temple's stone door, covered with Jedi drawings and writing.

"I want you to reach out, not with your hands but with your mind. Take deep breaths in - and out. Feel the energy, the force, the balance. Now focus on the door, its arch, the hot stone, the years of thick dust, the writing." Valon walked them through the steps.

"I feel it!" shouted Joi, exasperated by the struggle.

"I do as well!" replied Skaar his powers with the force finally showing themselves.

"Now will the door open." instructed Valon. The large entryway shuddered, then began to rise, dust sliding onto the sandy cliff edge. It was almost a foot in the air when it began to fall back, closing slowly.

"Do not rush, you must have faith." said Valon. The door rose again,ascending into the largest of the towers, finally it stopped. The temple tower was dark inside, a gust of cold air flowed over the three, feeling as if it had passed through them. The padawans went to enter but Valon stopped them.

"Before we enter, I'd like you to reflect on today's lesson, this evening both of you have learnt that teamwork is vital and that the force is not to be controlled or dominated but respected and wielded. The gigantic sun started to fade on the horizon, the group entered, shocked at the scale of the temple tower.