"No. He never tells me anything about himself. Being overly open with other people, especially me, is not his deficiency of choice. He said that there had been an interference with off-worlders on Nanta, and that he was raised by an order of monks in the mountains here. That's all I know."

"Interference with off-worlders. That's one way to put it." Aiko shook her head and closed her eyes.

"This planet had been a peaceful place for the longest time. The last real war was something we had only heard about from legends. And then the offworlders came. About five years ago - you see, it wasn't such a long time ago. A large corporation, they call themselves Trade Federation, took interest in our planet. If you would cut down the jungle, vast parts of the lands could provide suitable soil to grow a precursor for a potent drug, similar to glimmerstyll. You won't find anything about these events in public records, they are good at covering their tracks. I assume prospectors had somehow figured it out and smelled profit. Or maybe they were after something else, but Kenshin never found out what their exact reason was. Would the lands have been used for drug production, there wouldn't have been enough left to feed the people. We hunt in the jungles, we use the plains and parts of the mountains for rice fields and other crops, there wouldn't have been enough left of all of that. That's why our ruling queen wouldn't agree with the federation's proposals. We didn't want any of what they promised. As a response, they occupied our world and took what they wanted by force. In a matter of two months, they had overthrown our queen and enslaved most of the population. Women, men, children, old and young were taken prisoners, villages and settlements devastated. They appointed a puppet regime that followed their orders to the letter, any resistance was violently crushed. What they promised was prosperity, security, wealth and order to those who were willing to subordinate and follow them. But what they brought was nothing but suffering and repression. They had military forces, artillery and every weapon imaginable. They killed my cousin. A squad of droids and mercenaries ravaged villages down in the planes to aquire slaves, and he set out with a small group of partisans to help the villagers. Nobody came back.

We...we were suffering. Suffocating in the grip the invaders had on us. Those were very dark times."

"The Trade federation...they once occupied a world I helped defend, though I was still a kid at the time. What about the republic? Would nobody come to help?" Anakin wondered

"The Republic? Nanta wasn't even republic space back then. Nobody cared! After the war, Kenshin had advocated for our Queen to join our world to the Republic, but before? This was lawless space. Even now, we are too small and insignificant of a system to even be represented in the republic senate. The Queen reached out to the Jedi, but the senate wouldn't allow them to help us. We were a backwater world, a mudhole outside their reference. Only one Jedi came. Without knowledge of the republic senate, and against the will of the Jedi Council!"

"Kenshin"

"Yes. Our situation seemed hopeless. The Trade Federation had an entire army. They even had started constructing mines in parts of the mountains, extracting mineral ores, their control posts heavily guarded with assault droids, artillery and land mines, enslaving even more of our people to work in those mines. Nanta has always been an isolated place at the edge of the Galaxy that nobody cared about. This has always been a peaceful world. There was no army or military, not any technology level to speak of. Whatever conflicts arise on-world would be mediated or solved by the Hogosha, the mountain monks. The monastery where they took in and raised Kenshin, when he was given to them as a foundling, is only an hour's walk from here.

In some ways, they resemble the Jedi, or what I know of the Jedi at least. They worship the Force, on an eternal quest to follow its will, keeping order and peace on Nanta and helping where they're needed. They're warrior monks, sword fighters. The way of the sword is what they believe in and train in their entire lives, as a means of living in balance and honour. As one-on-one combatants, they would probably give every warrior in the galaxy a hard time. As devastating as they can be as individual fighters, their ways are an ancient art not made to withstand the firepower of gunships and cannons.

Kenshin formed an underground militia and helped rebel cells emerged everywhere. We couldn't attack and face the Trade Federation's fire power in the open, but with Kenshin's guerilla tactics, our partisans could push back the occupation further and further. We stole their weapons to have something to fight with, we ambushed transports, attacked bases and outposts in the rear, and soon enough the Trade Federation's forces were terrified of the jungle they had tried to conquer. One by one, we were wearing them down. We found their weak points, ways and places where our small squads had the advantage. Kenshin and me fought side by side in some of these operations, although most of the time he would operate alone. He would provide the strategies for our strike teams and then set off, sneak into the Trade federation's bases to take down the leaders and destroy the outposts from within so we would have easier work. He was fast, striking without warning and he always succeeded. That's why we called him Yashkaru. As elusive and as deadly as a demon. In Nantoa, the word for shadow and demon is the same. It was by his sword that the Trade Federation's imposed governor finally died. Kenshin is a hero to our people. He helped end a tyranny that ravaged Nanta for more than a year and would ultimately have led to the annihilation of our culture. When it was all over ...Kenshin left. Eventually, I would receive a holo message once in a while. But he never came back. Maybe it has something to do with what his Master ….."

"It's in the past. And it's not your story to tell!" a stern voice interrupted her.

"It absolutely is my story to tell, as much as it yours!" she gave back. "We did what we had to do, to save our world from destruction. We fought together, you, me, and all our sisters and brothers, we lost many but in the end, we won. A small guerilla army, a few partisans against the overwhelming firepower the Trade Federation threw at us, and we won and it was your hands, your sword, that led us to victory. But after that? Instead of celebrating and honouring what we achieved, instead of helping rebuild what was destroyed, you left and in over four years, you haven't come back not even once. We would have needed you. We would have wanted you to be by our side" With that, Aiko went inside, leaving Anakin and Kenshin alone on the porch.

Kenshin's gaze followed the young woman, then looked back into the distance "I didn't want to come back here. I shouldn't have."

"But why, Master? I don't understand what's wrong. This is a beautiful world, people here love you. This is your home. A true home. I wish I had a place I could call home. You're a hero to these people. I've seen your name on a public monument in the planet's capital, do you think I believed any your half-assed excuses you gave me as answers to my questions?"

"I'm not a hero. You like the sound of that word too much. I was – am – an assassin, Anakin! Not a hero. A political terrorist. How do you think a small batch of partisans was so successful against an organisation with a full fledged military and an endless stream of funds to afford the latest military and security equipment. Not by diplomacy. It was acts of brutal terrorism and assassination missions. The people the Trade Federation had sent, were enemies, yes. But they were still people. They didn't only deploy droids at the time, but actual people as well. People who's life I took. I did things no Jedi should ever do. I am no peacekeeper. By the age of 19, I already had more blood on my hands than the galaxy's most infamous mercenaries. The things I did...I did it to save my homeworld and my people. But I have violated every single ideal the Jedi ever held dear. My Master was the epitome of peace and non-violence. I have betrayed her teachings. Not only could I not save her, I have betrayed what she stood for. I have failed!"

"There's nothing wrong in what you did." Anakin said

"Everything here...everything reminds me of everyone I lost."

"What happened to your Master?" the Padawan asked.

"I don't want to talk about it. Do not ever ask me again" Kenshin gave back, pulled up his hood and walked off. Left alone on the porch, Anakin went inside and found Aiko pensively fixing her gaze on four elongated objects resting on wooden fixtures attached to the wall. When she noticed Anakin coming into the room, she took one of them off their holder, it was of a matte black and a purple flower as well as a dragon-like beast, a yashkaru, was delicately painted on it. Aiko pulled and a curved, shimmering blade emerged from its scabbard. Between the hilt and the blade, there was a round, elaborately decorated disk serving as a guard and the hilt had a black cloth wrapped around it. It was a sword, the most beautiful weapon Anakin had ever seen. Three characters were engraved into the blade.

Aiko held it up and encouraged Anakin to take it. As his hands touched the hilt, a strange and intense sensation rolled through his entire body. The blade seemed to gloom.

"Is it..?"

"Reactive to the Force ? Yes! Much like a Jedi's lightsaber, it bonds with its wielder. This is the traditional type of sword the Hogosha use, probably since hundreds of years. They're deadly and mighty weapons in the right hands, and this one is made of a special alloy - blaster bolts or lightsabers cannot destroy it."

"I feel a connection to it. As if I had wielded it before. Why is that? I've never even seen something like it before. This planet is full of weird things."

"This entire world is strong with the Force. Many beings, sentients as well as beasts, are force sensitive. It even touches some non-living things, as you can feel."

"Why does it connect to me?"

"A Jedi Master and their apprentice share a bond, a connection to each other, don't they?"

"Usually, yes, but..."

"This sword belongs to Kenshin. That's why you feel a connection to it. This is the sword that helped win Nanta's freedom."

The teenager looked at the weapon with a mix of awe and ruefulness.

"It doesn't feel like I share anything much with that guy, let alone a bond."

"Apparently you do."

Anakin gave Aiko a doubtfoul look and fixed his gaze back onto the sword. It wasn't as heavy as he thought it would be. The blade's metallic shimmer was mesmerizing. He went through some basic katas like he'd have done with a lightsaber. The feeling of a weighted blade was unfamiliar, but it was surprisingly easy to wield. He went faster and faster, the sword smoothly following the guidance of his hands. The air seemed to be singing a song as the sharp blade was slashing through it.

A slight tremor in the Force rattled Kenshin out of the dense fog formed by his thoughts. It wasn't a menacing sensation, not at all. It was simply something that had stirred, nudged at his mind, something had woken up, and somehow Anakin was involved. The Padawan was brash, but cared for those around him, and he was always curious. His curiosity was endearing, in a way. Kenshin had begun to take a liking to the 17 year old, but that made him feel even more inadequate. He had sworn to himself to protect him and help him as much as he could, but he could not ever be what Anakin wanted or needed him to be. Nevertheless, it was probably best to go check just what the teenager was up to, before he got himself into whatever sort of trouble – again. Stepping into the house, Kenshin's surprise was not a small one – he had never seen such serene concentration on his apprentice's face as he performed precise katas with a blade he hadn't seen in a few years, but he instantly recognized it.

"You're training? Voluntarily? Whatever Aiko has done with you, she has to teach me that trick."

Startled, the boy nearly tripped over his own feet as he noticed his teacher's presence and sheepishly handed him the weapon.

"Master! I'm sorry, Master"

"You haven't done anything wrong" Kenshin tried to reassure him and took his old weapon. The tremor, it had been Anakin reviving the blade by wielding it. Why had he sensed it in that fashion? The blade seemed to vibrate for a moment as Kenshin closed his hands around the hilt. Old wounds were opening up again. He had abandoned the sword when he left his homeworld after the war, passing the resolution to never wield it again, to never return, to forget. To not be reminded of his Master, of the war, of what he had done, of how he had failed his Master's teachings of peace when he committed what were, allegedly, war crimes. Could he have acted differently? Could he have spared the lives he had taken, could he have somehow prompted the Republic senate, the Jedi Council, to step in and protect this world from the Trade Federation's greed and let diplomacy resume? These questions replayed so often in Kenshin's head, and he never found an answer. Most probably, no. By the time the slow wheels of the senate would have turned, his planet would have been dead. That was the conclusion he had come to back then and still today, yet it didn't ease his remorse and to this day, the Council had no idea what had truly gone down. The sword in his hands had been his weapon when he lead the Nanta resistance. A fitting and more cruel weapon than a lightsaber would have been. This sword had brought the freedom of a world. The elusive threat Kenshin sensed in the Force and hunted since the day he had become a Jedi knight would seize millions of worlds into its clutches. The ancient, traditional blade, once gifted to him by the headmaster of the Hogosha temple, bore painful memories, but it had saved a world. Maybe it could protect the galaxy. He sheathed it and fastened the scabbard to his belt.

…

Steep, towering mountainsides opened up into a deep, vast valley with peaks harmoniously framing waterfalls and rivers forming silver lines in a vivid background displaying all imaginable shades of green. As the two Jedi followed the path leading upwards to the monastery, Anakin gasped as he took in the view. Every place on this planet was so serene, so alive. Higher peaks in the distance disappeared in clouds, colourful birds flew rising above treetops. What he saw was wild, untamed and breathtakingly beautiful. The beauty of what he saw reminded him once more of Naboo, and a queen, now senator he hadn't seen in many years. The simple, yet delicately constructed buildings of the monastery blended in with the nature around them, harmonizing with the jungle instead of disrupting it. A powerful sensation emanated from it, the place was humming with the Force. But not in the way Anakin was familiar with. He knew how the Jedi temple on Coruscant felt, impregnated with the energy of the light. On other missions, he had come across beings and places that reeked of the dark side. The teenager shuddered at the memory of one particular encounter. Kenshin and him had been scouring through the ruins of an ancient dark side Force cult, trying to dig out artefacts that ransackers and pillagers hadn't taken yet. The whole place felt wrong. He was voicing his discontent loudly to his Master. What were they, moles? What they were doing was work for archaeologists, not Jedi! His rant was abruptly silenced when his entire world suddenly dropped – he had broken through a rotten wooden trap door and was sliding fast through a narrow, sloped tunnel. At the end, he was awaited by a hungry tuk'ata. A Sith hound. As ferocious as the physical attack was, the dark energies wafting off of the monster terrified him. Even Kenshin, who thank the Force hadn't lost any time following his Padawan's unfortunate change of direction, had not tried to bond with it and instead opted for his lightsaber to settle the problem. Anakin's own weapon had been lost at some point during his plunge. He later accepted it back from his Master's hand who had found it, enduring the usual, reproachful look in his eyes that was worse that any spoken rebuke.

The sensation he felt now resembled neither the bright presence of the light nor the underlying sense of threat of the dark. The Force felt strong, and alive, familiar and strange at the same time. Anakin had always felt it as a bright, blazing fire, or in rarer moments as a calm pond of water. On Nanta, it was bright but also dark, only that the dark didn't feel threatening. It felt like a reassuring balance.

A long set of stairs lead to the temple entrance, an older man was awaiting them at its top. He was clad in a dark grey tunic, and equally dark, wide, skirt-like trousers and had a sash slung around his waist, carrying two swords, one of them being significantly shorter than the other.

Kenshin bowed deeply to greet him and they were gestured to follow the elderly man leading the way. No words were spoken. The three crossed a large courtyard, where several groups of men and boys and also some girls were training with various weapons. One pair in particular attracted Anakins attention. A young boy, maybe 7 or years old was fighting an older combatant twice his size. The boy got brutally beaten, kicked, thrown into the dirt and hit over and over, until he barely moved anymore. Only then his opponent let go of him.

"Master!" Anakin exclaimed. "What are they doing? We need to stop him, he's beating up that boy!"

"They're just training"

"THAT is training?"

"And you thought what I put you through at the temple is hard." he commented drily.

Anakin did indeed think that Kenshin was taking it way too far with the intense and demanding regime he imposed upon his Padawan. And himself, to give him credit, but where his Master happily indulged in this special form of masochism, Anakin definitely didn't share his idea of fun. No other Padawan had to go through as many or as intense sessions as him.

"But that is crazy! You are insane!"

Kenshin just gave his Padawan a pitiful look.

"Maniac" Anakin murmured.

The old man that had welcomed them stepped out infront of Kenshin and drew his sword, pointing it at the Jedi Master. It was the same kind of curved blade as the one Kenshin was now carrying at his side. Kenshin inclined his head in a polite bow and accepted. What followed then was a ferocious and lightning fast duel. Within a split-second, Kenshin had drawn his own blade to block the older man's attack, a flurry of strikes was exchanged at a rate the eye couldn't follow. Anakin watched, his mouth agape. He now understood why Kenshin's skill as a swordsman so easily surpassed anyone at the Jedi temple. This was something else! The two combatants circled around each other before attacking again with a rapid series of strikes. Finally, Kenshin deflected his opponent's sword, twirled around and had his blade at the old monk's throat.

The monk smiled, nodded approvingly, Kenshin bowed deeply in respect and stepped back.

Then the still drawn blade was pointed at Anakin. The monk was of less than average size, but had a commanding, intense presence. Anakin's and the man's glances met and instantly, he felt very naked. The man was scrutinizing him, and he couldn't shield himself! He sensed the monk in the Force. He sensed everyone on the yard. Force-wielders, just like Aiko had described them. Anakins heart dropped.

The piercing eyes of the old man made the teenager feel uneasy. He felt that whatever weaknesses he had, he wouldn't be able to hide them. And what should he fight with? His lightsaber? A gentle nudge pulled him out of his thoughts and he saw Kenshin offering him his own sword.

Accordingly, the match was over quickly, ended by the Padawan's defeat. To his surprise, he found the old man looking at him with approval.

"Your Master trains you well, young Jedi" he said in broken Basic and laughed heartily.

"But ...you defeated me" Anakin said, dumbfounded.

"You were not expected to win. As long as you don't know what you lack at heart, you cannot defeat your enemy. But you not stupid. You can learn."

"The man you have just dueled is Hiro Seijuro, the head and swordmaster of this monastery. It was him who taught me the way of the sword" Kenshin finally introduced the monk.

"Welcome back, Kenshin. I sense you did not come to only instruct your apprentice. What brings us the honour of your visit?" Hiro asked

"I need your help, Sensei"

Kenshin briefly explained how they had found the holocron and the artifact and what they knew about it so far.

"We need to find this Jedi temple. If it existed. But I am sure that it did" Kenshin concluded.

"I may have something that could answer some of your questions." Hiro said and took the two Jedi to a stone building that harboured a library inside. Only that the walls were not covered by data terminals and screens, instead there were wooden shelves. Paper rolls and actual books covered any available surface, safe for some wooden desks that were meant for those who wanted to study the old tomes. Anakin had seen paper before, but never touched any. Nearly everything in the Jedi Archives, where he went seldom enough, was digitalized.

Hiro walked to the far end of the room and took a wooden case out of a shelve, handing it to Kenshin. He cleared his throat, his voice grew grievous as he spoke.

"This is everything Master Fay collected during the time she spent with us. She asked me to give this to you one day, when you were old enough. I never felt when the right moment would be. Then there was the war and you never came back ever since. I hope it is not too late."

Kenshin didn't say anything. He took the box, his hands were trembling. One by one he placed the contents onto one of the empty desks. There was a hand-drawn map, notes, descriptions. And a holocron. The Jedi briefly scanned the papers, then took the holocron and disappeared. When he came back, he put the holocron back onto the table, pausing for a moment. Anakin didn't need the Force to sense that Kenshin was upset. Shaken. The young Master left the room before the teenager had a chance to inquire about what had happened. Not that he had expected an answer anyway. At a loss, Anakin turned to Hiro, who wordlessly activated the holocron, and a holographic figure of a woman in Jedi robes appeared. She was of a humanoid species, the only particularity being pointy ears, and had intense, bright, striking eyes and fair coloured, long wavy hair. The figure began to speak.

/My beloved Padawan,

When this message reaches you, I will be long gone and I will not have gotten the chance to tell you all this in person. As I am recording this, you are brave and talented, but still too young to face what I fear to be a dark, dangerous threat. I came to this planet to find and study the ancient Jedi temple that only legends and rumours still had record of. What I first found was you, which I thanked the Force for a thousand times. I continued my search and eventually I found signs of terrible events that took place what must be at least 2000 years ago, if not before. From what the legends say, a Jedi ship once landed on this planet, and the Dunari, the civilzation that lived on this world in the ancient times, welcomed them. Together, they built a temple as a place as a place of worship and knowledge, to enrich and learn from each other. A shaman I met spoke of an artefact, created by both cultures working together and used to channel the Force and make all life on this world prosper. One day, new off-worlders arrived and everything was destroyed. The Dunari were driven to extinction by a cause that it yet unknown, and the Jedi were never heard of again. Some tales were told speaking of a great darkness, dark sorcerers that came and caused the end of that culture, and an order of sorcercers of the light, that lived with the Dunari, and died with them. Strangely enough, there is no records of it in the archives on Coruscant. I only found vague mentions and more tales. But I sensed an urge in the Force, I was meant to come here. Eventually, on one of my recent explorations, I did find something. The site of an enormous battle.

The maps and descriptions I gave Sensei Hiro to safeguard them indicate where it is. Something terrible has happened on this world, the remnants and fragments I found being the last signs of what has ended a civilization and wiped out the Jedi on this planet with it. A dark force has unleashed its power. After I had found the battlesite, I tried to proceed and find the temple, or whatever is left of it. But I couldn't. I encountered a vergence of the dark side. I tried to fight and overcome it, but it engulfed me, entangled me in a terrifying embrace and it took all the strength I had to break free from it. Had I continued to fight it, it would have pulled me too close, it would have corrupted me. I fear this strange barrier is the remains of a dark side ritual, and I was not strong enough to fight it. I was facing my nemesis, I was no longer in control of myself.

The Force is warning me, not to step over this boundary, and it is warning me of a threat that is hidden in those jungles. It has been laying covered for two thousand years.

You are special, my Padawan. I believe, you have a gift that sets you apart from other Jedi, a gift that will enable you to face this threat and protect the galaxy from it. There is a power in the Force that is unique to this world, and you have inherited it. I see the beginnings of its manifestations in you. You will once be able to truly face the darkness and prevail. You are like a being of twilight, a spectre in the Force. You can walk the paths of both dark and light without ever belonging to either side. It is a rare power, and it is not as such good or evil. Dark or light, bad or good come not so much from the Force itself, but from the one who wields it. Dark and light are natural parts of the universe, and you still will have to learn to tell evil from good. It is the culture of your people to understand this as a natural balance, but people outside will fear you, or try to use and corrupt you. The Jedi will fear you. The Hogosha would not allow me to take you off-planet to be raised at the Jedi temple, and I could soon see why. Once I understood what you are, I agreed with them. Your gift will not make life easy for you. But you will succeed where I have failed.

When you decide to set out on this search, to complete this task, I urge you to be careful, Kenshin! I have seen you cast aside any regard for yourself to save and help others. You must remember that your own life is worth preserving, too!

I hope that destiny has been kind to you. I imagine you have grown into a brave Jedi knight, known for his kindness as much as for his skill and the speed of his sword. Just remember, do not only follow the way of the sword, but follow your heart, too.

Our code tells us to forsake emotions, but it is your kind, strong heart that makes you who you are.

I wish I could see the man that you are now. Even of the apprentice that you've been, that I had the honour of training, I could not be more proud. You have been like a son to me, I love you.

The Force will be with you, always!/

The holo image faded away and the Padawan's glance met Hiro's.

"Do you know what happened to her? Kenshin would never tell me" Anakin asked.

"Yes" Hiro said. "But I cannot tell you. Your Master must tell you himself, if he chooses to. When he is ready."

Hiro sent him to a meditation circle in the woods, not far from the monastery. Following the narrow, sinous path he quickly found the spot, a small plateau with old trees near the top of the mountain, providing an even wider and more spectacular view than from the monastery. A circle of fist-sized stones was laid out in the grass. At the edge of the circle, a figure wrapped in his cloak, curled up and shaking. Weeping. Tears flowed in streams down Kenshin's face. It shocked Anakin to see his Master like that. He had seen him angry, he had seen him resolved, standing up against the Council, he had seen him cold and calculated in battle, not ever backing down. But he had never seen him like that.

Master Fay had died, ten years ago. Kenshin said he had betrayed her teachings. He had helped save and free this world and then left it, a place where people loved him, that was his home. Maybe he didn't need to know much about his Master to learn from him. But he wanted to know him. He wanted to understand him. He knew Kenshin cared about him. In his own, sometimes weird way, but he cared. Anakin felt they had been thrusted together, both first unwillingly, and yet Kenshin had done what very few Jedi had done. Kenshin gave a damn about him. Anakin wanted a chance to give back, to care about Kenshin, too.

The Nantoan finally noticed the teenager's presence.

"Go away"

"Don't you wanna talk about it?" Anakin asked.

"I said, go away."

"Of course you don't wanna talk. You never do. Can't help you if you never tell me anything!"

"Who says I want help. No one can help me!"

"I'm your Padawan. We're supposed to be there for each other. I can be there for you, too, you know?"

"It's in the past. It's just the pain that's still alive."

"Whatever that means" Anakin muttered to himself. His Master had already retreated back into himself again, shielding himself to the point that only his physical form gave a hint he was there, staring blankly into the distance for Force knew how long. An hour, or two? Impossible to tell. At last, Kenshin stood up and setteled down in the middle of the circle, eyes closed. Anakin decided to do the same. He kneeled down next to his Master and centered himself in the Force. At the Coruscant temple, or anywhere else for that matter, meditation was hard for him. The fire inside him was constantly burning, in a blindingly bright, gleaming flame. Powerful but restless. On Nanta, he could literally hear the Force sing and swirl around him, enveloping him. The Force felt unusual, but strong and nurturing in this place. Dynamic, but balanced in its own way. More alive than he had ever felt it anywhere else. The stone circle was a sacred venue the monks used for meditation and it did indeed feel like a focal point with the Force cumulating into a dense cloud. Anakin gave himself to it, he reveled in its soothing embrace. For a time that seemed endless and effortless, he listened to the song of the Force. He sunk deeper into the depths of his own mind, Eventually, something called him, like a voice. It was unsettling, and at the same time irresistibly tempting. It didn't pronounce any words, at the same time it promised him anything he ever wanted. The call became slowly stronger and more intense. More commanding and intriguing and Anakin followed it. Then the sweet siren call apruptly turned into a devilish, commanding grasp. Anakin tried to break free but he couldn't.

"No...No! Master! There is something. It's calling me"

"Face it! You have to confront it!" Kenshin demanded firmly.

Anakin started to feel cold, freezing to his core.

"It's so strong. I can't. It's tearing me apart...Master!" Anakin cried out and his view blackened.

Falling. He was falling. It was frightening, cold, dark, he couldn't see and the pull became stronger and stronger and stronger. Claws were reaching for him, threatening him, grasping him, he fought with everything he had. He screamed, arms and legs flailing wildly, until something stopped his fall. He felt something envelop him, like a protective wall all of a sudden surrounding him. The power that was pulling at him, trying to grasp him, was now opposed and fought by something relentless and adamant. He sensed something. A presence. A presence he had felt once before, in a dream. The dream when a demon with purple glowing eyes had saved him from an attack that would have been his undoing.

And then the darkness around him became lighter, and he was released from its horrifying grasp.

He gasped for air, and panted heavily. He felt for the ground, his hands were touching pebbles, grass and sand. He was still in the meditation circle, a gentle breeze caressing his forehead. He had not left the place. Not physically at least. Kenshin was still where he had been before, the firm, serious gaze of his dark eyes now fixed on him.

"Kriffin hells! What in the blazing hells was that, Master? What happened to me?"

"It was you" he replied calmly.

"Me?"

"What you felt was your own power. The darkness within you, and a glimpse of what it could do if you don't control it. You felt it. And you fear it.

Chosen one or not, you do wield great power. You must learn to control it. Otherwise it will destroy you. And everything around you!"

"Fine, Master. And how? How do I learn to magically control something I don't even understand!"

"In order to control yourself you must first accept yourself by going with and not against your nature."

"That...that doesn't make any sense" Anakin cried out.

Kenshin sighed.

"You have much to learn. You must become aware of who you are. Accept who you are. Use your strengths, know your weaknesses. Accept both. Just like you must accept that there is light and dark to the Force, both the light and darkness are natural parts of ourselves and the universe. You must not fear the dark. It's what you choose to do that defines you."

"I don't understand! The power that pulled me out of it, what was that?"

"Me"

"You mean, I fell into a dark pit in my mind and you magically grabbed me and pulled me out?"

"In a way. The evil in you, your dark side, was calling to you. It is calling every Force wielder. You answered its call, you gave in to its lure. You don't yet understand its nature."

"You creep me out, Master! What are you? How are you not scared? How can you be so calm, how can you not fear the dark side?"

"I seek to understand it. Knowing the dark side doesn't mean succumbing to it. The dark side is not of the Force, but of the Force wielder. A way to rationalize away a person's ability to truly be evil in their heart. It's the way of the Sith, the lust for power, the evil and suffering they bring upon everything they touch that I have sworn to fight. The terrors, the death, the tyranny their way entails. It's this pain, this suffering that I have felt, that no being should ever have to feel, that I have to protect the galaxy from. It takes strength to resist the way of the Sith, the evil within ourselves. The weak, or the unexperienced, embrace it. Ultimately, it's a choice, the choice to face the dark side, that makes us who we are."

**** unknown location, three and a half years earlier ********

Kenshin had lost count how many times he had passed out from the sheer amount of energy hitting him when the Force lightning burned all over his body. There was no way of recalling if he had spent days, weeks or months in this retention cell that was always dark. Shackled and constrained, he had lost any sense of time. He didn't even know which planet he was on. Meals came at irregular intervals, barely enough to keep him alive. Torture droids had injected him with flesh-eating maggots that he had killed off with the Force, as well as different poisons the Force allowed him to purge from his systems, unbeknownst to his torturer. More droids jolted him awake every time he drifted off into a restless sleep. It was only when the Sith blasted him with lightning to the point of his body giving out into unconsciousness that he was granted something resembling physical rest. The worst moments however were when the dark sider forced his presence into Kenshin's mind. It was something more painful than anything he had experienced before. The darksider tried to break his will. After the battle of Gentora, the shock of loosing his best friend had left him devastated and he had become uncautious. In a series of unfortunate events he had eventually gotten captured. His captor revealed himself as a dark lord who named himself Darth Nexon and who tried to forge a tool and servant, even though he used the word 'apprentice', to help him overthrow his dark Master. A feat he could not yet succeed alone. Over time, Kenshin retreated into himself. Nexon was powerful, but even he could be deceived. Even Nexon could not grasp a shadow. Kenshin realized this was a chance, to find out who was behind it all. Who, and what, he had been hunting since the day he had ascended to knighthood.

"You are strong, my Padawan. Believe in yourself, Kenshin!"

It was Aerin's voice. She was dead, yet he could hear her voice strong and clear in his head. He couldn't fail now. With new resolve, he cloaked the essence of his being and concealed his true strength. He was the shadows. He was the storm. His power was a rare one. He could not only cloak his Force signature so toroughly that nothing and noone, no matter how strong with either side of the Force, could sense it. He was also able to conceal his biosigns in a way that life-form scanners would not detect him. The few fellow Jedi that had witnessed him use these abilities became even more wary of him than before. What Kenshin was capable of, that could not be of the light side. A being that could seemingly disappear at will. His particular aptitudes had served him well the past years since he had been promoted to knighthood and taken up serving as a spy and tracker.

A power that now enabled him to keep hidden from the dark lord what he really was. Undeniably so, he was in a very bad physical state. Even a Jedi could withstand such brutal torment only for so long. But he was not as weak as he made his captor think he was. In the Force, Kenshin cloaked the flame of the ardent pain that was burning since the day Master Fay had died, the flame that hurt him but also gave him strength to pursue the Sith and all the evil they brought and still planned to overwhelm the galaxy with. He cloaked the flame of light, as small as it was, that had been born later, when he finally understood that he had a purpose, when he finally understood that he had no right to dishonour his Master's memory and the memory of everyone else he had lost by giving up. No matter how painful it was, he had to live to protect and defend the galaxy from this threat. The Sith who tried to corrupt him and turn him to the dark side would fall, Kenshin would turn his own weapons against him. Unbeknownst to Nexon, the Jedi gently probed his mind.

The Dark lord sensed how the mental resistance of his prisoner weakened and he believed to have finally broken his Jedi captive. Back in his mind, Nexon felt a tiny bit of regret. He had wasted his time. He had believed the Jedi to be more powerful. Suitable material for a potent and worthy apprentice. And a powerful apprentice he needed, to overthrow the being he was apprenticed to himself, or – as he would have put it – submitted and enslaved to.

The darksider's lips curled up in a contemptuous smile that froze as he sensed something that felt like a tiny explosion in his head. Moments later, as he died, he comprehended the full force of the power he faced. It was not the Jedi that had been weak. It was him who had been deceived.

In the Force, Kenshin had secured his grasp on Nexon's mind. The Jedi tightened his mental grip to control the Sith Lord's spirit and force the information out of him, to make him reveal everything he knew of the interweavings of darkness and guile. Some being that was far more powerful and far more subtle and elusive, far more dangerous, was pulling strings from the darkness. Darth Nexon knew who it was or how to find the Sith Master. However, despite all of Kenshin's moves to manipulate and twist the dark siders spirit, Nexon's mind had not yet revealed who this master was. When the Jedi had finally tightened his mental grip, increasing the pressure to make him reveal what he needed to know. And then it was too much. Darth Nexon's connection to the Force was suddenly severed, his mind crushed. Lifeless, the body fell to the ground. The Sith had collapsed, not strong enough to withstand the mind probe. Kenshin cried out in frustration. He had not meant to kill him and now his only source of information was gone, his efforts in vain. In the dark lords mind, he had seen prognoses of utter terror, war, untold suffering. Darth Nexon had harbored atrocious, cruel ideas, a reawakening of dark realms that had ended thousands of years ago. A new Sith empire, a recalling of dreads of old, reimagining the empire of Vitiate. Those were his aspirations once he'd have overthrown his master. Now, he was a mere accumulation of meat and bones, his life, his spirit and sould ended by something that was worse than simple physical death.

Freed, Kenshin returned to the Jedi temple. He was not welcomed with open arms, and instead was met with distrust. After all, he had disappeared without a trace to follow. Arriving on Coruscant, he learned he had been gone for over half a standard year. Once his physical wounds had been healed, Yoda conducted a mind search and deemed him still true to the light. Kenshin reported everything he knew and had found to the Council. Having killed a dark lord and having resisted the lure of the dark side, Kenshin was granted the rank of master. An honour he did not appreciate in its meaning – he had stopped caring about the Jedi and their judgment long ago - but accepted. It would finally give him access to the restricted knowledge the Jedi Archives contained. Kowledge he needed. The hunt was far from over.

Nanta, Hogosha monastery, in the now*************

"A choice..."Anakin said. "Just a choice. You make it sound so easy!"

"Nowhere did I say it was easy. The way of the Jedi is not an easy one. I understand that"

"You do?"

"Yes, I do! There is no easy answers. Even I can't give them to you. All I can do is try and guide you, and walk that path with you."

"You're truly different from most Jedi."

"Different. That's one word for it. They hate me, they fear me, they despise me. I am a useful tool, but the reality of it is, I am an outcast. I break rules. I think many Jedi have lost their way. You know what Yoda told me, when my Master died? 'Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not'... I was 13 years old! "

"And yet, you have never thought of leaving the Order?"

"I have thought about leaving so many times. As part of the Order, I am stronger than I would be alone. I have access to more resources. But I do not agree with much of what they say and Yoda knows that. When they called me back to Coruscant, I thought the Council was finally going to expel me. Instead, they made me take you on as Padawan."

"They didn't tell you you were going to train me?"

"No, I learned about it the same moment you did, in the Council chamber"

"Kriffin hells that's mad."

Kenshin stood up and walked to the edge of the cliff, remaining there motionlessly. The wind was playing with the Jedi's cloak while he stood still.

Anakin wrapped his arms around his knees and let his gaze wander around. Birds were soaring across the sky. When closely listening, the grass, the trees, the whole jungle around and underneath seemed to be singing.

The sense of fear, and mystery still lingered, easing slowly. He contemplated Kenshin's words about light and darkness, his eyes following a pair of birds on the far horizon. The two birds grew larger as they approached. Their wings looked strange. Anakins eyes widened. Those were not birds. Those were – yes, what exactly? Flying lizards? The beasts had sleek, scaled bodies and were of majestic appearance, the larger of the two must have had a wingspan of nearly 20 standard meters. Circling above the spot where the two Jedi were, they drew closer and closer, finally touched down uncomfortably close. With a yelp, Anakin leapt back, under the protective crown of a nearby tree, his hand dropping to his lightsaber. Kenshin was still standing there, motioning him to remain calm. The Jedi Master stretched out with his hand and both beasts came to sniff it, as if to greet him.

"Meet your new friend" Kenshin said and gestured towards the smaller reptile. "We call them arashi. They can carry a human on their backs, and we will need them to get us across the jungle, when we will search for the temple"

"Honestly, Master, I might prefer to walk. Or take speeder bikes"

"Good luck with that. The jungles are dense and impassable for the most part. It would take us months to cover what the arashi can cover in only a few days. You've never been to Oonderan, have you? The Nantoans are not the only people riding airborne mounts."

"I'm really supposed to ride one of these? Kriff!" Anakins heart sunk. Machines, he understood, but beasts? He was reminded of his last experience with beast control. On the bright side, an arashi was not a gundark trying to eat him. At least he hoped it wouldn't try to eat him.

"I thought you're good at flying. Best pilot in the galaxy?" Kenshin said, mounted onto the larger one of the two arashi and with a few flaps of its massive wings, he was gone.

Anakin looked at 'his' beast, and it looked back at him. Timidly, Anakin caressed its nose. "Uhm, hi, I guess?" Anakin reached out into the Force, to see if he would sense something. Anything that could help him. That was what was he was supposed to do, wasn't it?

Carefully, he climbed onto its back, his hands searched for something to hold on to.

"WHOOOOAAAAAAA" he screamed. The winged lizard rocketed off the cliff and Anakin was sent tumbling off, back onto the plateau. Cursing in all known to him languages and rubbing his back, he managed to stand up. He'd probably be all blue by tomorrow and sore to no end. If he was to survive the experience at all. Kenshin returned and called the second arashi back for the Padawan to repeat . Several more attempts followed but all in vain.

They spent several more days at the Hogosha temple. In the mornings, Kenshin tried to teach Anakin how to interact with his arashi, with little to no progress and both Master and apprentice growing more and more frustrated. Anakin would not admit it, but he was more than wary of the 'winged worms' as he called them. They were wild, had their own unpredictable mind, and he never managed to stay on their backs when they started to move. He didn't understand why they would not just use a starfighter and Kenshin explained that there was nowhere to land a ship, not even one as small as the Kiko.

The afternoons were spent in the training yard where Anakin got another taste of what speed and precision in sword fighting really meant. From the little Kenshin told him, he learned his Master had begun this training at the age of two, a lot younger than when Jedi younglings would begin combat training. Which meant Kenshin had wielded some form of sword for 21 years by now, the first ten years of his combat training under the regime of these crazy mountain monks.

The martial prowess of the Hogosha with their swords, spears or even hand to hand combat, would have put even a Mandalorian to shame. And most Jedi, although Anakin faired a lot better here than he did with the flying mounts.

Kenshin didn't understand what Anakin's problem was. The arashi were living beings, one could form a connection with them, interact with them, it was a lot easier than learning the controls of a ship. But obviously, his stubborn, bantha-headed apprentice thought otherwise.

" A grumpy gundark trying to teach me to ride a flying lizzard. Great! Tell me, Master, how that is supposed to work!" Anakin ranted.

"It would help if you bond with them! They're not tools or a machine, they're living beings!"

"Bonding? They're animals!" Anakin exclaimed. "How am I supposed to bond with them? Let alone ride them!"

The smaller of the two arashi nudged Anakin as if to scold him and the padawan stumbled and fell onto his butt.

Kenshin tried to hide a smirk. "How are you supposed to bring balance to the Force when you can't even bring balance to your own feet!"

"Very funny, Master!"

Kenshin grabbed Anakin's hand and yanked him back onto his feet, then placed Anakin's hand onto Stoopa's nose. Anakin had decided to name the beast Stoopa, a hutteese insult, as he became more and more frustrated with that particular arashi and his fruitless attempts to handle it, The animal didn't seem to be bothered by the unflattering name it was given. Anakin first reluctantly, then more willingly opened himself and could now finally sense the arashi's presence. It was friendly. A bit bugged maybe, for Anakin had climbed onto and fallen off its back a few dozen times, but at heart a friendly and curious being. Finally, Anakin's curiosity grew and he caressed the beasts mind in the Force. Slowly, he climbed onto the animal's back once more, careful not to lose the fresh bond that had just formed. Next thing he knew he was soaring through the air. The initial scare was quickly wearing off and exhilaration was rushing over him in waves. Trees and rock spires rushed past far below, the arashi rose higher and higher. The river opening divided the jungle. Moist rice fields at its banks came into his view and his mount dove, until it was speeding just above the water, before regaining height. He could now see the village of Wataro and the monastery as a miniature world underneath him. He was flying, truly flying! This was unlike a star fighter, unlike a pod racer, unlike any craft he had piloted. He felt the wind ruffle his short hair as the arashi drew circles and dove and rose at a blissful, breathtaking speed. He felt so alive! This, this was freedom!

The second arashi, with Kenshin on its back, reappeared.

"Race you back to the monastery!" he said and his mount took up speed.

"Not a chance you win this, Master!"

Gently, the Padawan touched Stoopa's mind and encouraged it to go faster and faster.

Anakin kept his word. He was the first to arrive.

…

A blissfully colourful sunrise painted the valley and the monastery in strong, orange-pink tones. The two Jedi and Hiro, who had come to see them off, stood by the meditation circle. It was time to embark onto the journey they had come here for in the first place. The two arashi flapped their wings, they seemed excited about going on an adventure.

They flew for an entire day, resting the night a ledge just big enough for the arashi to land on. The nights on Nanta were cold, and it became a recurring ritual that Kenshin would wordlessly toss Anakin his cloak each night which he wordlessly but gratefully accepted. The grey, strange swirling feel of the Force became stronger the further they traveled.

"There" Kenshin said. "It must be there. The place my Master indicated". A grassy field was underneath them, with a few trees here and there, that seemed to have died a long time ago. The arashi circled in over them and landed.

A strange, this time menacing sensation came over Anakin.

"Do you sense it, too?"

"Yes." Kenshin said.

Not really sure what exactly they were looking for, the two Jedi scanned and searched the areal. The ground was scattered with debris and broken parts...broken weapons. Anakin found a lighsaber hilt and tried to activate it, but the blade immediately died as it emerged. Even though it was mid day, the daylight all of a sudden faded. A mild sense of doom rapidly intensified. The Force! It sent him a warning! He turned his head.

"KENSHIN! WATCH OUT!"