[b][i]Yavin IV[/i][/b]

							[img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/25/ce/50/25ce500d93bde40898de43ed1299f8b5.jpg[/img]

[i]The force is strong in this place. I felt it in the air, back when Han and I were new to the rebellion. 

I felt in the soil, rich, vibrant[/i]

[img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c8/89/00/c889009d24880198f0f572d8008669b1.jpg[/img]

[i]And in the temple water gardens.

Rich, ancient and Dark and yet.

Jedi[/i]

That had been the mystery that occupied the focus of Luke Skywalker on most days that was he was off world. Why something so alien, something with history rooted in Sith doctrine (Or so the history holos he was viewing and the relics told him), could "feel" as though it had been built by distant kin. There was a presence in Yavin, it permeated everything, it enriched the land, gave the trees and lakes and seas a vibrancy but it was long dormant and not entirely beneficent. An ancient Jedi renegade turned Sith Lord had once ruled the planet, at times Luke could have sworn he saw glimpses of his shadow, his spirit but it wasn't as bright and obvious as Master Yoda's or Master Jin or Master Kenobi who sought him out from time to time and counseled him. -I could use some of their wisdom now- Luke thought, a gloved hand reaching out to some some sandy blond hair from his eyes. In the Months since Endor, he found himself a beacon in the force and many Jedi who'd hidden from the purge, or their students had come to him. It had been a comfort, Luke was born on one of the most wild, uncivilized and impoverished planets in the outer rim. He hadn't the first clue about the rich history of the Jedi Order, only in fables and stories and Imperial propaganda (which wasn't trustworthy, though sometimes held a grain of truth. It was a blessing, of his bakers dozen "The thirteen" as the Rebels were calling his Jedi Luke was probably the most ignorant of what came before and yet unencumbered by tradition he had the most clarity of vision. It also helped Yoda had anointed him as his chosen successor and none of the precious few surviving Jedi that made up his thirteen dared to question Yoda's judgment. It seemed when the two foot titan made a decree it was almost a religious proclamation and it both humbled and disturbed Luke at the same time.

Whatever came to pass, he needed to make sure the Jedi of his order respected him, but didn't revere him.

An hour ago he'd returned from a trip to Dantooine, where he'd meditated amongst the ruins of an ancient Jedi temple discovered there. He'd  basked in the echoes of the past, communed with the shades of things that had been, the echo of masters whose powers made Yoda's look like his own when he'd first come to that little swamp. A sith had touched there too, a power totally alien and distinct to Palpatine's and something else, he could see a visage, a crone who was born old, whose spirit enmeshed itself in the force and yet cursed its existence therein, longing for oblivion, cursing the energies that had ensnared her to the last. She was Jedi and Sith and neither, her cynicism had radiated off the walls, her contempt reminding him of the dismal look in the eyes of Hutt slaves back home. He shuddered at the memory of that Luke and wondered how anyone could view the force as malevolent chains?

He'd gone to Dantooine after a friend in the archaeology service tipped him off about the temple being excavated. He'd traveled there seeking knowledge,a pathway to channeling the force in new ways by touching upon the ancient. Answers to questions he'd held in his mind since the demise of Palpatine and his father's redemption. Only to find he had more questions and try as he might, the netherworld of the force was closed to him, shutting itself, barring the way days ago.


He'd felt it, two immense powers in the force, one who had been smaller mere months ago but rose like a dark cloud spreading about the world's now ruled by the Pentastar alignment. The other? Rose from Coruscant, Luke couldn't quite understand it, or perceive it, but he could "feel" everything transpiring around it. Darksiders were dying by the dozens or submitting to a fashion of light he'd never encountered before.

Something else sleeping..stirred, but to him it seemed rather like a receptacle than a living being.

There was another, presence out there, not as violent or bright as the other, but no less concealed from his senses. The force was changing, growing, or perhaps waking up after several generations of being held in bondage by the dark. Which brought him to the majority of his new students, those who were just learning that they possessed force sensitivity. Those often came scared, confused and at times angry. But they learned, they healed, they responded better, their vigor and desire to learn was always a spot of hope in what became frustrating days at times. The frustration at times led to incredibly dumb decisions, decisions that cost him a potential apprentice and likely alienated the only other Jedi Master in the Galaxy and certainly the only one in hi nascent "order". Kale, Luke thought, he could sense his approach, sense his consternation. -I should have told them, I listened to the Alliance council and it hurt my students- Force, he thought, how did Yoda ever manage to hold a Jedi Order together for nearly a thousand years while navigating the treacherous seas of politics.

"You're doing it again" The voice, which barely concealed a snicker came from a Redhead with the most vibrant pair of green eyes he'd ever seen. At her waist rested a curved hilted Lightsaber, ordinarily she still wore the black trappings of her old life but she'd taken to wearing a blue cloak over them and was slowly assimilating into the Jedi Order. "It? What?" Luke asked, it was odd how the one person in the temple who had relentlessly pursued him and nearly killed him in a saber duel mere days after Endor had become his most trusted confidant and yet, it felt oddly natural..She was his opposite in many ways, cool, professional, ruthless and yet held together by a strong sense of honor. He was..He was

Wait, why was he looking down at her if he was seated in meditation? Oh...Luke thought, he was doing [i]that[/i] again. Levitating, he wasn't even sure how he did it and he certainly couldn't do it out of the temple and he wasn't exactly sure he wanted too. Luke's mind slipped, and soon he found himself tumbling from the air and landing on his backside as the braziers that stood vigil in each corner of the meditation chamber flickered, casting a ghoulish pal over the murals painted onto the walls. Murals filled with ancient depictions of battles and a Dark Lord rising from the shadows, perhaps the ancient Sith?


Mara laughed "Grand Master of the Order, our light in the dark, our last best hope! On his ass, again"

"Yeah, well, its like I can, be anywhere at once when I'm in here, there's something about the rocks in these chambers. Something about the temples overall presence is enhanced here" He muttered, gratefully accepting her hand and rising to his feet. "And I get lost in the focusing..I guess"

"Amplification Alchemy, Sidious had a chamber not unlike this one. It's why I don't use 'em and mediate by the ziggurat in the water gardens" Well that, she thought and it was prettier out there, closer to the planet's wildlife. "is it dangerous?" he asked her, brushing himself off and bumping hands with the former Darksider's own which was dusting off his side, both paused a second, twinged a darker shade and then Mara saved them both from more awkwardness as she picked up the conversation. "They can be, they can focus your awareness but when you start to look outward, you are almost like an open comm line." "Someone or something might be listening?" "You might be letting [i]something in[/i]" she warned with eyes that flickered with a sort of odd mix of pain and certainty. "Speaking from experience"

She nodded slowly "I tried to know your father's mind once when I was younger, dumber."

Luke didn't press the issue only nodded in thanks and began to head towards the door only to stop when he realized she'd grabbed his wrist. "Master Kale is looking for you, shall I send him in?" She asked with a predatory grin that led him to believe if she played attendant for him without a sparring session or a lunch to compensate her, the man would pay for it down the line, somehow. "Yes, thank you Knight Jade." the two exchanged an impish smile "Lunch?"

"Nah, we need to get your blade form up to snuff "Master" Skywalker!" bowing in over dramatic curtsey she pirouetted and then ducked through the open doors in search of the man Luke Skywalker owed an apology too.

"first mistake, won't be the last, but I can learn from them at least"