Ahsoka, Daughter of the Light (Book 4): Hidden

Chapter 6: Icy Trials

LUX BONTERI

Lux sat in the ship as it came out of hyperspace. He looked out the front window to see an icy world, which was basically an astronomically-sized snowball.

"It looks rather... unimpressive," Lux said.

"This is only the surface, Lux," Ahsoka replied, "What's underneath may surprise you."

The two descended through the planet's atmosphere. Eventually, the blizzard clouds got too thick for them to see anything. Lux was glad he brought his jacket.

A thump rocked the ship, indicated it had landed.

"We're here," Ahsoka said.

"Yeah," he replied, "I could tell."

The ship's door opened and the two walked out. Lux was immediately greeted by a cold slap to the face, though his jacket was enough to keep him warm.

Ahsoka extended her arms to the side, using the force to clear up some of the fog in front of them, and a large icy cliff was revealed in front of them.

"Whoa," Lux said, "That was impressive."

"I always had a higher-than-normal midi-chlorian count," Ahsoka said.

Lux looked confused.

"In layman's terms," she continued, "I'm more powerful than average, so I should only need your help pulling down that wall."

"Huh?" Lux said.

Ahsoka pointed at the massive wall of ice in front of them.

"We have to use the force to pull down that wall. Normally we'd have a group of Younglings do it, but we're the only ones here. Just close your eyes, and focus on the wall."

And Lux did as she asked. He closed his eyes and extended his hand. The wall didn't budge.

But soon, Lux felt the soft and warm presence of his wife reach out with him.

Finally, the wall began to shake and collapse. A large amount of ice fell away, revealing a passageway inside. The two entered it, and came upon a large icy room.

"Whoa," Lux said, looking around.

He looked up and saw a massive structure overhead with a crystal at it's center.

"Kyber crystals are the heart of a Jedi's weapon," Ahsoka said, "and they share a strong bond in the force with their user. Your crystal, and only your crystal, can be used to build and power your saber."

"Wait," Lux said, "How will I know when I find my crystal?"

"You will know it when you find it," she replied.

Well that helps a lot, Lux thought.

"Also," Lux continued, "I, uh, don't see any caves or anything..."

Ahsoka smiled at Lux, then closed her eyes and lifted her hand. The strange structure at the top of the room started to move, and the crystal at the center began to reflect light across the room.

"Whoa..." Lux said in awe.

Eventually, the light all focused on a certain wall of ice, which quickly melted away and formed an opening.

"You'll only have so much time before that wall freezes back over," Ahsoka said. "Once the sun goes down, that wall will be frozen solid again, and I can't go in to get you. And just so you know, night on Ilum lasts nineteen standard days, so if you think you can last a night in there, you're wrong."

Lux looked up and saw that the top of the door was already starting to freeze over.

"Don't worry, love," Ahsoka reassured, putting her hand on his shoulder. "You'll be fine."

Lux closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He then opened his eyes, looked back at Ahsoka, and gave her a nod. She nodded back.

He turned around and ran into the cave.