Apologies, my friends, for taking so long to upload this chapter. Life has been busier than usual, plus I ran into a serious case of writers block on the lead up into the next chapter. I hope to have Chapter 5 done and posted by the end of the weekend, here's hoping. I am still looking for able artists to do some concept art for this story. As always, Please, read and review. I love hearing from the readers. and without further ado... here's Chapter 4! Enjoy!
The sun had risen to its apex and was on its slow journey back to the distant horizon by the time Jayden decided to rest and find food. After finding a shady patch of trees along the roadside, he sat down and began rummaging through his bag. He withdrew a small cantine and a pouch containing rations. There were only enough rations for half a dozen meals, or so he figured. If he were to stretch each one, he supposed he could make them last for a while, but he would need to find a town somewhere to re-supply. Which brought up his next problem, currency. I'm going to need money of some sort, he thought, and somehow I feel Republic credits won't work here.
Sitting there pondering this new dilemma, he opened himself to the Force again. This planet was awash in Force energy. It flowed over every rock, every tree, every living thing, and Jayden could sense all of it clearer than he ever had. I wonder if this is how the Force feels to the masters, he thought, I wonder how they would feel here on this planet.
Amongst the random sensations, Jayden could feel each and every rock around him and five of them seemed to be moving. Far off to his left, he sensed what felt like five living boulders moving towards him carrying a bonfire in there midst. Jayden shook the image from his head and opened his eyes. He could hear sounds of movement from beyond the next bend in the road. He quickly put away the pack of rations and realized that he had already finished one. Five left, not good, he up, he brushed the dirt from his cloak and turned toward the sounds. He could see five beasts rounding the bend, each carrying at least one rider.
The beasts were rather bird-like in appearance, with armor covering their heads and necks. Metal shinguards were wrapped around powerful looking legs. Jayden had never seen such a creature before. As they drew closer, he got a better look at the riders, who were dressed in green and yellow uniforms that covered eveything but there faces, which were almost hidden under inverted bowl-like hats.
He could also make out a sixth person sitting behind one of the riders. This man was not like the rest at all. First off, he was almost naked, wearing only a loincloth and.. chains!
Jayden could see the mans face and it spoke to him of age and wisdom. Grey hair was pulled back into a knot from an otherwise bald head. An equally grey beard sprouted from his jawline with a goatee growing from his chin. The man had chains wrapped around his body with his wrists shackled across his chest. His legs were bound by rope and a pair of well-worn sandals all but hung from his feet. His expression, however, completely contrasted the rest of his appearance. Despite being tied, shackled and unclothed, he maintained a determined expression of confidence, and Jayden could sense a roaring fire beneath the man's calm demeanor.
Jayden could sense a fire of his own starting within him. Anger, an emotion a Jedi should never feel, began to rise in him at seeing the treatment of this man. Jayden took a deep breath and pushed his feelings away from him. He couldn't let emotion cloud his judgment. He stepped onto the road, directly into the mens' path.
"Halt!" one of the men yelled, "Who are you to block our path? Get out of our way!"
"My name is Jayden Sorne, and I will not move until you have answered my questions." Jayden respoded in a flat tone, trying to maintain control of his anger.
"Such insolence! That's no Earth Kingdom name. What are you, a Fire Nation spy?"
"That's the second time I've been asked that," Jayden said looking up at the man, "I'm still not sure whether I should be offended or not. My first question is this, who are you men?"
"Such a stupid question, We're soldiers of the Earth Kingdom and.."
"Then which of you is in charge?" Jayden interrupted.
"I am," one of the riders came forward, "I'm Captain Chen. What is it that you want beggar?"
"I'm no beggar, but what I want is information. Who is this man and why is he being treated like this?" Jayden asked, pointing at the prisoner.
"He is the once great General Iroh of the Fire Nation. He's a war criminal. He laid siege to Ba Sing Se, our capitol city, for over six hundred days. We're taking him there to stand trial for what he's done. Why do you want to know?"
"Even a criminal deserves a little dignity." Jayden reached out with the Force and continued in a soothing tone, "Will you at least let me clothe the prisoner?"
The captain hesitated for a moment, then replied, "He's a dangerous man. We can't let him loose. Besides, he doesn't deserve your help."
"Then what makes you any better than him, If you treat him like this? Let me clothe him."
The captain stared blankly at Jayden. Finally, he relented,"Fine, but nothing else, and you will be on your way after."
"Fine", Jayden said flatly and walked over to the mount where the old man sat. Reaching out to the man he said,"Let me help you, Elder. You won't try to escape on me now will you?"
Accepting the help down, Iroh replied, "Your kindness is most appreciated, young man."
Jayden waved his hand over Iroh's shackles and they opened of their own accord. A quizzical look sprang to the old General's face as the shackles fell free of his wrists.
"How did you do that?" he asked.
Jayden quickly removed his own cloak and offered it to the old man. "It's probably better you don't know. Please, take my cloak and clothe yourself. I'm sorry I cannot do more, but it is not my place to judge what I do not know."
Iroh took the cloak and wrapped it around himself putting his arms through the sleeves. Due to it being oversized on Jayden, it fit nicely on Iroh "This is a nice robe you have, very comfortable. Thank you, for your gracious gesture." Iroh said as he put his hands together and bowed in Fire Nation tradition.
Jayden bowed in similar fashion as a sign of respect. He then lifted the shackles and reluctantly placed them back on the mans wrists. "I am sorry, but at least you will be clothed for the rest of your journey."
"Do not worry for me, young Jayden. I have survived far worse than anything they can do."
"Enough Talking!" yelled the captain, who had stepped down from his mount. He stomped the ground hard and the patch of earth beneath Iroh's feet jutted upward suddenly, catapulting the old man into the air. He landed roughly on the saddle where he had been, eliciting a groan from Iroh.
"You've done your good deed for the day. Now be on your way!" the captain yelled as he jumped back up into the saddle of his mount. "Move out!" he commanded, and the soldiers complied, nudging their mounts into motion.
Jayden strolled back to where his bag lay on the ground and collected it. A quick glance showed that it hadn't been touched. As he turned to walk away, a smile spread across his face. With the exception of Iroh himself, he had successfully hidden the fact from the soldiers minds, that he had opened the shackles without their key. How long will it take for them to realize it?, he wondered.
The following day found Jayden continuing his search for a town of some sort. As he ambled down the road, an odd chill ran up his spine. He turned suddenly, looking for the source of the Force warning. A glimmer in the sky caught his attention. As it drew closer, he could discern it as a translucent blue creature, much like a hologram, with a human rider, but this, he could sense through the force. It was a great beast, a creature of legends, a dragon. Jayden had read accounts of such mythical animals, but never thought they truely existed. As it passed overhead, he recognized the figure riding the beast, it was Aang. What in the blazes, he wondered to himself, is he doing riding that thing? And why could I see through him? Jayden had learned of the existence of Force apparitions through holocrons, but this didn't seem right. To become a Force apparition, one must first die, or so he thought.
At any rate, the apparition had gone now and was no more than a glimmer in the distance. Jayden added this experience to the list of complexities that seemed to engulf this world. He turned once again and continued on his way, searching still for the next town on the road.
Some distance away in an earthen basin, two men stood alone as a cloud of dust settled around them. Among the rubble of shattered rocks and clumps of dirt lay five soldiers of the Earth Kingdom, bruised and defeated, but alive.
"Where did you dig up that ugly old robe , Uncle?", the younger one asked.
"It belonged to a gifted young man we passed by on the road. He gave me his own robe so that I would have something to wear", Iroh said as he ran his hands over the fabric, "It's actually rather comfortable."
"Generous, now lets get moving. We need to find the Avatar, I saw his bison fly over as I was tracking you down, he can't be far."
Iroh brushed the dirt from his robe as he followed his nephew out of the hole they had been standing in. I wonder where that young man is now and what he's doing?, he thought.
At that moment, Jayden was rounding a bend in the road that passed between two cliffs. Suddenly the view in front of him opened up into a gorgeous scene overlooking a valley ahead of him and the ocean off to his left. The path he had been following had been through the mountains, it seemed, and it turned now to the left and ambled down the side of the mountain toward the sea. Ahead of him lay a cliff, dropping down to green foothills that spread as far as he could see. He followed the path with his eyes, as it snaked its way down the side of the mountain and through the hills. There, off in the distance, he spotted a town nestled against the sea.
He reached into his bag and pulled out a small pouch. From the pouch he procured a small monocular magnifier. Looking through it, he zoomed in on the town to get a better look. He could see ships and various sailing vessels anchored at port. Several buildings dotted the towns skyline. Obviously, this would be a port city where ships could anchor, unload their cargo, or sell their wares. Certainly he could find plenty of supplies and necessities here.
"The Force supplies," he said aloud, not that anyone was there to hear him. I certainly hope they have a place to bathe, he pondered to himself, taking note of his appearance. I could certainly use some extra clothing as well.
The previous night had been rather chilly without his robe, but it had gone for a good reaon. He had drawn on the Force to warm him, as it was easy to call upon here on this planet. But I shall still need to replace it, he thought. This led his thoughts to his next problem, currency. All of these thoughts plagued his mind as he started off again on the pathway, now with a destination and a purpose, if only a superficial one.
Please, do a review, let me know what you think. If you're interested in doing concept art please let me know by way of your review, I will give you my deviantart info for you to contact me there with any submissions. Thanks and keep reading.
