Chapter 2: The Bounty Grows

This was not the first time that he had to fend for himself with no help for long periods of time, but at least this time there wasn't anything torturing him or droids trying to kill him that he ends up befriending.

Knowing that he would probably have to live in the woods for months or even years Galen thought of the priorities of survival in uncivilized areas. The first thing that came to his mind was shelter. The trees of the forest to the right of the road offered little protection from the elements. Hours of searching later, Galen finds a small wooden house next to a lake with trees surrounding the area around the lake and home, acting like a natural barrier. When he approached the house to see if it was vacant or not, he was greeted by a gruesome sight. Blood was splashed on the door and a large trail led out a couple of feet away from the door. A smaller trail of blood led all the way to the bank of the lake that was 50 feet away from the house. He opened the blood stained door and found that the house was very small, one room with different areas of the house assigned a purpose, with wooden furniture on their sides. Broken cups and plates littered the floor in the back of the house. A window was wide open as the breeze in the air flowed in and out of it.

The house reminded him a lot of the remains of his father's house on Kashyyyk. If Galen had to guess then this was probably the house where that beast came and killed a family, a small one, but a family non the less. Galen rounded the left side of the house and used the force to shift some dirt out of the way. He took the beast skin that was in one of his pockets and placed it inside the hole. He then filled the hole with dirt. Looking in front of him, he finds a stick that he can use as a make shift tome stone. Galen put the stick into the small mound of dirt and placed his hands in front of his face and folded them together in a sort of praying posture. While he did not say anything Galen prayed that the force would bring them peace.

Galen then entered the house again and began to clean up the disaster that was in the house. Galen picked up the furniture that could still be used and placed them in appropriate spot. Galen took the broken cups and plates and placed them in a decorative format on the makeshift grave. The only thing left to do was shut the window. When Galen approached the window, he noticed that there was a pool of blood about 20 yards away from the window he was looking out of.

Galen:" There must have been others inside already. They probably tried to escape their fate, but were spotted, chased down, and eaten." He thought solemnly to himself.

He shut the window and laid most of his possessions next to the single bed that was in the house. While the bed looked uncomfortable, Galen had been used to much worse accommodations. He still kept his belt and his blue lightsaber on it. In addition to the bed, there was a couch and wooden table in front of it.

This house was a bit too small for him to properly meditate in since there could be the chance that he could destroy the small home with the power of the force flowing in and out of him while he meditates. Galen walks outside to the bank of lake and sits down cross legged. Closing his eyes and emptying his mind, Galen went into a deep meditative state and actually began to float off the ground. He rose a good 2 feet off the ground. The sand underneath him began to float up ward and surrounded Galen like a vail made of sand. He meditated so that his connection with the force would grow stronger over time.

Every day: Galen would wake up from the uncomfortable, but still functional bed and hunted animals in the forest around him since he did not have any fishing equipment or a means to make some. Each time he ate, he would do as much rigorous lightsaber training he could do by himself. After every training regimen, he would meditate and train his mind and body in the ways he knows how to command the force, like lifting multiple large rocks from the lake bed.

He also tried to understand some new force abilities that he was capable of performing, but never actually used before. He remembered the Jedi temple on Coruscant and the trial of spirit. He remembers facing off against his own darkside that took on his appearance wearing Sith stalker armor. He recalled one ability that his darkside counterpart used that he had never seen before. His darkside had the ability to teleport anywhere within a 200 foot or more distance each time. He focused and pondered on the concepts and proper manipulations of the force that would allow him to replicate this feet.

4 weeks after bounty was issued:

Galen had been doing nothing more than eating, sleeping, lightsaber and Force ability practice for 4 straight weeks now and was a little bit stronger both physically and in the force than he was a month ago. He began to understand the concepts on how to use the new ability "Force teleportation" but has not managed to master this ability yet even though he is understanding it faster than most who can use it. His other force abilities and augmentations have also increase to a degree (at least one power up beyond the max set for each ability in the force unleashed game)

Galen was meditating over the surface of the lake and making small columns of water rise and circle around him. He was concentrating on improving not only the power of his abilities, but also the finesse of them as well. Before Galen decided that he had enough meditating for one day he heard a large amount of rustling and talking in the forest in front of him. Opening his eyes and looking up he could sense a large number of people approaching him.

The first person to step through the barrier of trees was Bora, and it looked like he wanted payback. Following up close behind him was about 25 other mages of various sizes and skin tones.

Bora:" So this is where you have been hiding all this time? It's time to pay you for humiliating me and Titan Nose!"

Galen simply floated back over to the bank of the lake and sat up from his seated position. The Titan Nose guild members, the entire guild itself except for its master, surrounded the bank so that Galen could not easily get away.

Not wanting to have to deal with the guild of cowards and weaklings if they were anything like Bora. Galen charged a ball of force energy into his hands.

Galen:" Leave or I will make you leave." He said coldly towards the guild.

Titan Nose:" HA MAKE US MORON!"

They charged at Galen with spells in their hands. Galen simply grinned in an unnerving manner and used Force Teleport to get behind the guild members. In an instant, Galen disappears in a black haze. Question marks floated over the heads of the guild members as they had no idea where Galen went.

Galen:" Looking….for…me?!"

Before anyone could actually turn around to face the voice a concussive blast of kinetic energy crashed into and flung the entire 26 members of the mages guild into the air and across the lake. Some members were knocked out as soon as the blast of energy made contact with them. The other side of the lake was soon littered with the incapacitated bodies of the foolish guild that tried to fight perhaps one of the most powerful force users in his galaxy's history.

Satisfied with the current situation and sure that the guild won't try to attack him again, Galen continued with his meditation on the lake shore.

Galen:" Hopefully that display will keep those idiots away. They were filling the force around me with such childish thoughts that I could not center myself."

Narrator:" While this indeed convinced Titan Nose to stay away from Galen for good, or at least until they got the courage or foolishness to try again, it had a side effect that was unfortunate to Galen. It is not often that people hear about an entire guild being defeated, especially by one man. While Titan Nose is not that strong of a guild, it is still a legitimate guild; therefore, it should not come as much of a surprise that the bounty on Galen increased significantly. The amount on his head was raised to a little over 700,000 jewels due to him defeating almost an entire guild with one attack!"

While many would have been exhausted or weakened by battles almost every week for at least 2 times a week would wear them out to the point defeat at the hands of someone weaker than them, It is said that Jedi thrive in times of war and strife and grow weaker in times of peace. While this statement does not always hold true, it held true for Galen's case as the near constant battles only served to strengthen and train his body and mind in the force. The variety of wizards that challenged him also gave Galen experience with all the different ways that the Force was used on this world. Each battle Galen would practice using and improving techniques he already has mastered or wants to master, and after each victory his skills with the lightsaber would improve in the style of lightsaber combat he uses and his connection with the force would grow as well.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years. Over the course of time, the bounty on Galen's head has been increasing in random intervals depending on the wizard(s) that he defeats. The description in the bounty has also increased due to greater details gathered in the confrontations with the individual of interest, though no one has still gotten a clear view of his face. Even though Galen's weapon cut through any weapon or armor that challenged him, he has been said by several other swordsman and even some masters of the art that he is perhaps one of the greatest swordsman in Fiore and perhaps even Earthland though most have considered this exaggerations to cover their shame of defeat.

Galen has known isolation and pain for most of his life and was trained to ignore such things, but he was still a human that has wants and needs. While many wizards have sought him out for the bounty on his head, Galen still felt lonely since no one came to him to socialize or be any kind of friend of his. While he was in a miserable circumstance, he still held onto hope that he would have a friend again and feel satisfied with life.

While Galen had obtained some skill with foresight in the force, the force did not show him that his fortune would one day change.