Chapter Two

For Awdrysta Pina, trips beyond the space occupied by the Republic had become too common to truly mean anything to him anymore. Having forsaken the robes of the Guardian, fifteen years before, the old Jedi Master seldom ever returned to the Temple on Ossus or Tython. When he did return to the former, it was for Council meetings and they seldom turned well. However, when he returned to the latter, it was so that his sister-in-law could deliver news of his daughter's well-being.

Though she was officially a Follower of Palawa, thanks to her life with his brother, her Force-sensitivity meant that she should be initiated into the Trials by now. Bumping into his sister-in-law, he asked her if she had still been following his daughter closely. "When I can and where I can, I have been watching her all her life. Patricia would be proud to see her now," she replied with a smile.

"I am glad to hear that, I have become an old and bitter fool thanks to my time without her," he admitted glumly. "Though old you are, you're not like me yet. I am the Hag of Ossus, much as I hate confessing it to anyone," she joked quietly. "Even so, you have remained beautiful as ever," he told her.
"You wouldn't be saying that if you got the chance to meet her," she warned him. "Then let me see her so I can say differently," he retorted with a smile. It made the older woman giggle and laugh though what she told him was fascinating. "She's taking an Initiation Trial rumored to be taking place at Tython although I don't think you should hold me to my word,," she said.

"I'm on my way to Tython to meditate in the Ash Plains, myself," he admitted. "Then perhaps you'll meet a strapping young girl on your way there," she said. "I'll know her when I see her, won't I?" he asked. Lucia, his sister-in-law, nodded and told him to be safe in his meditation as the Ash Plains were not known for being a friendly place for people.

"No worries, I have done it many times and I have the feeling I'll be doing it many times more before I die," he told her. She embraced him as siblings would and kissed his bearded cheek before he went to the transport that would take him to Tython. With his spear in tow, Lucia watched as he carried it by leaning it on one shoulder with the same ease he had seen when he'd won Patricia's heart. Can it be twenty-two years already since those two met, seventeen since they had their daughter?

Where does the time go? the old woman asked herself. Shaking her head at the insanity of such a thought, she decided to remain in Ossus until the next transport arrived. She was not eager to return to her younger brother and his evergrowing family just yet, after all. And besides, the night skies of Ossus were a beauty to behold at this time in the night at any rate.

Arriving at the unnamed forest moon where Loki the Destroyer reigned supreme, Xendor had to admit that his breath was stuck in his lungs at first sight. The redwood trees that made up the forest must have easily been 36.57 meters tall or more. As if that wasn't bad enough, they were spaced a meter apart from each other so it was difficult to see anything. No wonder he prefers this sort of place over civilization: it's the perfect habitat for an ambush on your enemies he observed silently.

Immediately, Xendor unsheathed his Kashi Mer katana and told the pilot that he could park the transport on higher and safer ground if he wished. "My orders are actually to leave you alone with no help until you report completion of your task or you're gone more than a month," the pilot replied. "Alright, you do that then if you want to do it now. I'll not have you defy the orders of the OverSeer," Xendor stated.

After the transport left, Xendor walked slowly around with his sword held in readiness for anything to happen. As if that wouldn't have been good enough, he slowed his pace so that his walking didn't muffle important sounds like the charge of a giant man like Loki the Destroyer. Surprisingly though, he heard nor sensed anything from the fallen god who was sure to have heard the transport. "Talisman of the Kashi Mer, reveal to me what I need to know about Loki the Destroyer," Xendor asked the artifact tied around his neck after sometime.

Loki the Destroyer was born the son of the God of Order named Arkanus and his polar opposite, Stygia, when she decided to mate with him during his long slumber. When he was born, he had the phenomenal strength and heart of his father but chaotic desire like his mother. So disappointed was Stygia in seeing that he had his father's heart and so saddened was his father to see his mother's lust for destruction within him that both banished him to our plane. Despite having only the immortality to prevent old age or disease, he does have one connection that allows him to see his parents every year.

That connection lies within his sword which gives him the power to withstand the full glory of his divine parents without their consent every time they've come to this world. Destroy the sword and you also destroy his invincibility against mortal weapons it told him. How do I force him to use it so I can destroy it? he asked it telepathically. Easy enough, simply trick him to losing his ax or his hammer and he'll put the remaining one aside to use the sword it answered.

Xendor kept up his slow stalk-like pace through the forest, making sure to look in every direction. This was Loki's homeworld, his domain, and being immortal meant that he had had more than enough time to explore every last inch of this moon and memorize the paths that could be traversed. "Talisman of the Kashi Mer, upon my engagement with Loki the Destroyer... begin granting me the strength of Bogan," Xendor said after a while. It was a blessing he had remembered instinctively at this stage of his life and he felt that the Talisman's power did indeed explain his strength in actual battles.

Training was where one saw more of a weakling, a helpless man who suffered from a condition of dwarfism that was abnormal of Kashi Mer humans. After all, it was common for a Kashi Mer male to be between 6'4 and 7'2 with pure, proportionate muscle-weight due to the harsh climate on their world. Female Kashi Mer humans were also exceptionally tall though the males still were taller as was common of all Humans: they had the average of 5'7 to 6'3. Unfortunately, whether due to a malfunction in the gene that provoked height or something else, Xendor was a meager 5'5.

Luckily, his sword was designed to suit virtually all heights and adjusted to his below-average height with ease after he had accepted from his foster father. As if that wasn't good enough, his ability to transform his sword's scabbard into another duplicate of the sword was additionally helpful to him. Having done that shortly after arriving to Loki's domain, Xendor continued to keep his vigil by having his swords protect his flanks and his eyes look around to his rear and front. Days and nights slowly passed by whilst Xendor kept his constant watch, the Talisman keeping him awake with Bogan power.

Four days passed before Xendor even got the slightest clue of Loki the Destroyer's presence on this forest moon. The path of destruction he left in his wake was immense, the redwood trees bent and shattered as though they were twigs (which they probably were to the fallen god). But what really began to demoralize Xendor was the size of the footprints Loki left behind. "That's easily a size 42 foot right there!" he thought aloud, exclaiming surprise.

It's actually a size 39 but it is massive all the same the Talisman chimed in. "The man must easily be 7'6 at least, maybe more. Actually, why don't you tell me the exact measure?" Xendor said. You're exactly two feet short of the mark but other than that, you'll also need to know that he is nearly a thousand pounds of pure muscle; due to his hate, this is relatively good looking it said.

"Great: Loki the Destroyer is nine feet and two inches tall, is nearly a thousand pounds of pure muscle and can wield a full-size battle ax and a warhammer in simultaneity. As if that wasn't good enough, he has a sword to match the size of his body that I'm supposed to destroy to kill him! Look at what he did to this bit of forest, I'm not anywhere near the same league as this!" Xendor exclaimed. But remember that Loki is only a fallen god and I was equal to the Ghosts of Mortis the Talisman said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Xendor demanded. That in life, I was of superior power to Loki's parents and thus, to Loki himself. Draw on my strength and you will be able to overcome him even if you are at a disadvantage of physical inferiority the Talisman explained. Xendor smiled, reassured that he could counter a fallen god with a divine equivalent that was magically superior.

What it meant was that if desired, the Talisman could give him strength to wrestle Loki or outrun him should it prove necessary to do so. "I'll follow the trail of destruction and see if that leads me anywhere. Besides, if the legends are to be believed then he'll have only done this because he was hunting one of the bigger animals in the forest," Xendor observed aloud. The Talisman said nothing, likely using silence to confirm agreement about Loki's path of destruction.

Running with the excitement of his task on the verge of completion, Xendor was stopped almost to the point of fainting at the sight before him near the end. A massive rancor carcass stood before him with much of its meat stripped as well as all of the vital organs removed except for the brain. Aside from the head being untouched, all that remained were bloodstained bones which flies swarmed around. "Damn, he may be a fallen god but he's got an appetite like none I've seen on this plane of existence!" Xendor exclaimed.

That isn't all for him the Talisman said. Xendor paled, suddenly remembering that Loki had two pet wolf packs that were bigger than normal hunting wolves. "They undoubtedly ate most of this carcass but I wonder why the head was left intact. Maybe Loki hasn't eaten yet and that will be his share," Xendor guessed.

Most likely: the brain is the only part of a rancor that one can say surpasses the heart in nutritional value even amongst gods like me and Loki the Talisman agreed. "Then I think we should duck somewhere and remain hidden until he returns. Hopefully without his wolves otherwise I don't think we'll stand a chance," Xendor replied. Running around the carcass, he found a boulder stabbing into the foot of a mountain and noticed that it hid him relatively well if he ducked his head behind it.

I doubt Loki will bring his pets around here again now that they've had their fill. When starved, they'll attack almost anything with Loki himself being an exception. However, when their bellies are filled they are pretty damned docile the Talisman told him. "Perfect, then if Loki wants to come back to this carcass he will have to come alone," Xendor said before starting his wait.

For three days, Arden Lyn had been trekking across the massive Ash Plains. Her aim was to head north in case the Temple was in that direction. Anyone desiring to find it would at least need a chance to find it by calculating the magnetic pulse of the planet poles with their compasses. Looking around her as she made her way, however, and the color of the plains gave away the name's reasoning.

Though there was grass that seemingly camouflaged with the rest of the ruined Tython landscape, the Ash Plains were called that because of the ash color that spread across the area. Few came here except for meditation and mourning the fallen servants of Ashla that perished here. Of course, there were also those initiates chosen to search for the Black Firestone like Arden who came. Their task here would be to seek answers on what to avoid in order to achieve victory in finding the artifact that would give the Order the ability to find the Oracle.

Personally, Arden didn't see the point or purpose of accessing such an ancient device even if its clockwork did supposedly have the power of prophecy. Even if such device existed, Arden's question would be how to get such a device to obey the commands of the person requesting information. Astrological alignment of that sort only went as far as the information that it was given to calculate and if it didn't really have all that much information, the calculation could be inaccurate. But that didn't bother Arden as much as it bothered some of the elder Jedi Knights for reasons she didn't understand.

It was as of thinking of all this conjured the image of an elder Jedi with a spear, one that beared the rare dragonfly-slicer tip, in meditation position. His hair was pale-white as the newly-printed scroll paper and his beard was equally white which signified that he was very old for a Human. Shrugging, Arden figured that the best way to know if she was lost or not was to ask him where the Temple was. "The way you crunch on the ash layer, your blood would've stained my spear in a matter of seconds if I had been seeking to kill you," he said by the time she arrived to his seat.

"With an ego like that, I'd say you'd be Awdrysta Pina if I didn't know any better," she retorted. "You are wise for your age, young woman," the old man replied. "Do you even know how old I am?" she asked. "No but I can guess that you're in your late teenage years," he answered.

"I'm nineteen if that helps any," she stated. The old man chuckled and asked for her name. "Arden, daughter of the House of Lyn," she replied. "You already guessed my name from my 'ego' as you called it," he said with a smile. "Even the finest warrior is susceptible to the flaw of the human ego that kills worlds, isn't that true?" she asked.

Pina laughed as jolly as his small belly allowed him to do and it wasn't long before he was coughing. Arden laughed too though not as hard as the old man and asked if she was on the right path to the Jedi Temple. "Last time I checked, it was on the path right behind me. You have not failed to find it so far... do you go to find the Black Firestone?" he asked.

"How did you know?" she asked. "I tried a similar thing once myself, when I was much younger and less skilled than I am now. Unfortunately, I barely returned alive from the expedition into the Temple," he answered. "The spirits of Bogan were too powerful for the great Awdrysta Pina?" she inquired suspiciously.

"Either that or I had too much of that ego you observed me having. I never really did change much from what I was in my youth except in how I treated people. And my value in the more peaceful doctrines of the Jedi Order," he confessed. "The peaceful doctrines of the Order? I thought the Council was all about expansion and warring with as many races as possible," she joked.

"The Council is, yes, but that hardly makes up the majority of the Order. It just makes up almost all of those who command the rest of us around," he replied. "Well maybe somebody should stand up to them, try to persuade them to see the error in their ways," she suggested. "If I could, I'd destroy them all and replace them with people more keen to my thinking," he admitted.

"But that would be hypocritical to what is demanded of those peaceful doctrines, wouldn't it?" Arden guessed. "How did you guess?" he replied. "I had been taught them by my uncle whenever I wasn't training to become a master of Terras Kasi," she told him. "So you do have the ability to use the old martial arts," he said, it wasn't a question but it could be answered like one.

And Arden nodded, adding that she was proud of her success in the training as well and asked if she would be opposed in her entry to the Temple. "Not by me, no. But the spirits of the Ashla may test you if they feel like you are corruptible by the spirits of Bogan," he answered. "Then I hope I am at least a little overqualified to avoid them," she said with a smile.

Chuckling, he stated that even he was questioned by the spirits of Ashla when he had thought that he was infallible. "Tread carefully when you approach the Temple, they may feel the need to defend the Temple with their immortal lives," he added. "I'll be careful, may the Force be with your meditation," she told him.

"And may the Force bless your journey to find the Black Firestone. The Council may even reward you with the chance to find the Oracle should you succeed," he said. Smirking, Arden walked past the old man and continued on her way to the Je'daii Temple where her target awaited. Gulping, she marched into the ravine that would lead her to her destination and in the meantime, Pina meditated.

But as Arden progressed further and further away from the old warrior, the more she was curious to know his background. Why did she feel like she should have known him before that first meeting? Had it even been the very first meeting that they had ever had in their lives? What was it about this man that felt so familiar-was it also paternity about him?-about him?

She had a feeling their paths would cross once again, at least once. Pina wasn't the kind of man you met once and then you were satisfied: he was a legendary hero, after all. On top of that, he was friendlier towards the young than his fellow Council members were too. Content to accept that for now, Arden saw the Temple on the horizon and began making the final approach.

"Where is Awdrysta Pina? He should have been here by now!" Tiberius, head of the Jedi Council, demanded. "Master, you know how he is: he's meditating on the Ash Plains of Tython right now," his right-hand man, Linus, answered. "Sometimes, the man just pisses me off; send a scout to inform him that I need him for the Council meeting on Ossus immediately," Tiberius demanded.

"With due respect sir, even if we did that, he might be stubborn and refuse to leave his meditation. You know that he could very easily wipe out the might of the Council and the Chancellor even if we combined our Force abilities to counter his. With power like that, he has all the right to be accordingly confident and unintimidated by our threats," Priam, another friend of Pina, chimed in.

"But he is old and whilst the rest of us are in our prime. Physical disarmament could easily work as a solution for us," Tiberius warned. Then he demanded that his orders to grab the old Jedi be obeyed without regard to what Pina's Force abilities were. I don't think his understanding of Force Valor would allow that to happen to him Priam thought quietly.

"Tell him the Council meets in three days and his presence is required. I'm sure that we'll persuade him to come," Tiberius said suddenly. But the Council knew how to respond to this even though Priam was the only one to speak up. "After fifteen years of you have messengers tell him that, I think he'd know without one rather instinctively," he said.

"Watch it Priam, remember that we are of superior power to you even if we aren't superior to Pina," Tiberius warned. "But I have the protection of Pina so that should anything happen to me, you pay dearly," Priam countered. "How long that last, remains to be seen," Tiberius replied. "Enough threats gentlemen, it behooves us not to fight amongst ourselves," a new voice spoke up.

"What are we, Followers of Bogan? No, we are Jedi and Jedi do not fight amongst themselves even for honor," another said in agreement. "Unless one of our own turns on us in favor of the ways of Bogan," Tiberius snapped. No one argued that, figuring that Tiberius would not hear them even if they tried to argue with him.

The messenger was sent despite the fact that everyone knew that Pina would get the cue long before his arrival. And with the Initiation Trials having begun once more, there were many eyes towards the initiates that had volunteered to undergo them. But for some reason, their eyes were especially on two people: Arden Lyn and Xendor of Kashi Mer. What was it about those two that intrigued so many Masters and Knights of all classes so much?

Were they slated for an important destiny that could fundamentally change the Order forever? Could it be that they were destined to one day oppose the will of the Council? How could anyone know the will of the Force? For that matter, how could Tiberius know what intrigued everybody about them?