LOST KINGDOM ─ star wars

XVIII. The Temple

Chapter Eighteen
Luke

The further away we get from the city, the more Lothal reminds me of Tatooine. Part of me kind of hopes that the others won't find a spot to put our new base. I already hate it here.

Leia, Jay, and I have been speeding across this desolate planet for some time now. I asked Jayce where this temple is and he said he doesn't know. Apparently Ben told him to reach out with the force and find the temple that way. I wonder why Jedi have to be cryptic and vague all the time, why can't he just tell us what we need to know instead of sending us on a wild bantha chase.

After what feels like years of soaring across the sandy floor, Jayce pushes on his brakes and stops the speeder. Leia and I abruptly push on our brakes also, stopping a few feet away from him.

"What is it?" Leia asks him.

Jayce looks in deep thought, looking around the area in an inquisitive manner. After a moment he explains; "I felt something...it's close by, I know it is...wait, do you see that mountain over there?"

I glance around us, finding that we are in the middle of a range of mountains. I look back at Jayce. "You'll have to be more specific than that."

Jayce points with his finger to a mountain side a few yards away. It doesn't look any different than the other mountains, but Jayce's force abilities are stronger than mine so I take his word for it.

We restart our speeders and rush towards the said mountain, with Jayce leading the way. When we stop our speeders again and stand in front of the mountain, I begin to see what Jayce was talking about.

I can feel the energy flowing around this mountain, it's stronger than anything I've ever encountered. Ben used to talk about temples, how they held the power of the Jedi within it's walls. I get what he means. Standing in front of the temple now feels like encountering another Jedi, a strong one.

"Boys...you should see this." Leia says mystically.

Jayce and I walk over towards where she stands a few feet away. On the mountain side is a mural, beautifully painted and probably very old. In the middle stands a bearded old man, wearing a pointed hat and long dark cloak. Standing on his right is a man covered in darkness, his skin grey, red tattoos on his face. Something about this man feels cold, like sticking your hand in a bucket of ice. Standing on the old man's left is a woman shining with light. She has flowing green hair, glowing pale skin, a white owl on her shoulder, and emitting a warmth I've never experienced before.

"Do you feel that?" I ask Jayce, staring in awe at the mural before us.

He nods, at a loss for words himself. "Yeah...I feel cold and warm at the same time. It's weird."

Leia looks between us and the mirror puzzled, hesitating before saying; "Is it...is it strange that I feel that too?"

Jayce and I both draw our attention to her, but Jayce is the one to ask; "What do you mean?"

"That cold and warm feeling, I feel it, too."

Jayce takes a step towards her, letting out a disbelieving laugh. "Leia...I think you're force sensitive."

Leia shakes her head, shrugging off the comment like it's a practical joke. "Come on, you can't be serious."

"I am. Only someone with force abilities could sense a Jedi temple. And remember you told me Vader tried to use the force on you but got frustrated and left? He was trying to use the force to look into your mind and you resisted him. It all makes sense now."

Leia's face grows more serious as she starts to put the pieces together herself. Her voice is distant, like she's in another room as she asks; "What does this mean? Do I have to become a Jedi now, too?"

Jayce smirks at her. "Luke and I are the only Jedi left in the galaxy, we need more in order to keep the religion from fading entirely. But we would never force you to do anything you don't want to do. The force calls to you and you get to choose what you do with it."

Leia nods, her mind still occupied as we turn our attention back to the temple. Jayce steps towards it and runs his fingers along the mountain side, closing his eyes and reaching out for the force.

Leia walks silently over towards me, lowering her voice to a whisper to inquire; "What's he doing?"

"Listening."

"Listening? To what?"

"The temple," Jayce replies, taking a couple steps back. "My father always said to listen to the force and let it guide you. I'm listening to what it has to say, and I think it just told me how to open up the temple. You see the three figures? Each of their hands are outstretched. Both of you place your hands on theirs."

Leia and I do as Jayce instructs. Jayce places his hand over the old man's hand, I place mine over the young man's, and Leia's over the young woman.

"Now reach out with the force. It's like reaching into a body of water, you have to allow yourself to submerge into it and the force will lead you to where you need to go."

This explanation was obviously for Leia, and she seems to get the idea. The three of us close our eyes and reach out with the force, doing as Jayce instructed. I reach out towards the temple, trying to find the source of it's energy and latch onto it. I find nothing at first, but when I reach out a bit further, I think I find it. I feel the force flowing through me from the temple, the cold becoming greater the longer I touch the young man's hand. I hear Leia comment that the warmth is growing for her, and Jayce says he still feels both.

I peak my eye open and find that the three figures are glowing, their hands emitting some form of light that shines down on the bottom of the mural. At the bottom are paintings of wolves, Lothal wolves to be exact. These wolves begin moving on the temple wall, running behind one another away from the mural.

"The painting is moving." I tell the others, not waiting for them to follow after the wolves.

The wolves continue running another few feet or so until they begin running up the temple, making a circle formation. As the wolves run in this circle, a dark void opens up in the temple wall, the force humming as it beckons us to enter it.

I glance at Jayce. "You first."

Jayce rolls his eyes, muttering that I'm a baby. He stares at the entrance to the temple and sighs, shaking his head as he steps into the void, leaving Leia and I left outside.

I hold my hand out to her. "Together?"

She nods, grasping my hand tightly. With a deep breath and our hands clasped together, Leia and I enter into the temple, the Lothal wolves being the last thing I see before we plunge into a never ending darkness.