Chapter Eight
Arriving on Lettow, Arden Lyn could see why Xendor had chosen it: its climate was similar to that of Ossus so she didn't feel too homesick about it. Of course, that was in addition to there being no Jedi aside from themselves colonizing this world but that was hardly relevant to her. What was relevant included the fact that there was a building much like a Jedi Temple already erected nearby. Smiling, she grabbed her bags and immediately went to go pick out a room while Xendor grabbed his own stuff.
As she came closer and closer to the Temple, she became amazed by the freshness of it both inside and out considering what Xendor had said about its age along the way here. Lettow will be a great place to settle down for the formation of our Academy, after all she thought silently. When she picked out a room she set up her stuff to one side, knowing Xendor would join her soon enough. After that, she decided it was best to meditate and see if she could make some more sense of the premonitions she had received before she left Ossus.
Indeed, she still needed to understand what it was that she was seeing when it came to the vision of a thriving, worldwide metropolis with vehicles speeding through the air in nearly all directions. She need to know what it was about the man in black robes with wrinkled hands and face that was so foreboding. Was this man, who conjured electricity from his fingertips, a product of what Arden and Xendor would eventually create with their actions here? Or was he just simply a dream and nothing more?
Questions like these puzzled Arden Lyn and it was questions like these where she wished she had Master Pina's guidance. More than Tiberius he had been trustworthy about the secrets that her visions foretold as well as his warnings of being careful when sensing the future. He had even warned her that there were many possible ways the future could come to pass. "Just focus on the most vivid one and that shall be the most likely path to the future and don't stray away," he said, which was comforting.
When Xendor had finally gathered all his few possessions and went to join Arden in their shared room, he had a strange feeling coming over him. Every time this happened, he had trusted just the mere sight of the Talisman to make it better but even that was barely working anymore. What are you doing to me? he asked it along the way. A short moment of laughter emanated from the telepathic voice of the Talisman followed by the reply it had for him which was grim.
You have fallen to the sickness that claimed your father long before Tiberius took his life, a sickness only felt by those of the Kashi Mer Dynasty that possess me for a long time. The sickness is addiction to my power and at this point, it is incurable. Soon, you will need feel the need to use my power to destroy your enemies and when that happens, I will shatter your mind. You might not feel it but you will know what it will be like for you soon after I do it and don't worry, you won't be the only one: your precious Arden will feel some of it too! it told him.
No, I will not have you bring her into this! This is between me and you! Xendor exclaimed to it. You foolish boy, you brought her into this the moment you decided to marry her and unite your body with hers the Talisman replied. Xendor lost all hope at that moment, knowing full well that the Talisman was right on that matter and that he had doomed Arden Lyn to a terrible fate.
Ascending the stairs of his new home for the first time, he had to admit that he was surprised it had taken five years for the Talisman to develop to this point. Most of his family, according to its insights, had fallen victim to the addiction within months of starting to use it to ensure their reign. Even then, most Kings only had forty to fifty years before they died though there were some exceptions. One exception had been Xendor's great-grandfather who had ruled for seventy-six years after obtaining it.
Only one problem: the Talisman ate at his mind during that time until he could not only think new thoughts but could not think up old ones at all. He eventually became senile and was overthrown by his son who would become Xendor's grandfather and the second-to-last generation to rule the Dynasty. Then the worst occurred in his father's thirty-sixth year when a supernova destroyed the homeworld of Kashi and killed Xendor's older sister. It was then, when things could've been better, the Jedi picked up the trail of what remained and slaughter his brother and parents before his eyes while Pina saved him.
Even now, Xendor still wondered why the Talisman liked to break people's minds and ensnare them totally. Perhaps he would find out before he snapped as well but then perhaps not, there was no way he could know right now. Thinking about this as he walked, he almost missed the room that Arden had designated as theirs but was glad to see her upon his arrival. "Something bothering you, Xendor?" she asked.
"No my love, nothing bothering me at all," he lied. "Are you sure?" she insisted. He nodded, stated that he was pretty sure then asked if she could help him unpack a few things. Putting his sword on some rails that he had established for it, he was glad to see that Arden had already picked her closet.
Putting his own clothes in there as well, he decided it might be best just to talk to get the emotions out of the way. "Do you think we're doing a wise thing by making a schism in the Jedi Order?" he asked. "I never thought you would ask that but now that you have, I wonder why," she answered. "Because for most of my life, I was raised by people who were either Jedi themselves or selected by the Order; I never saw my real family after they were butchered when I was five," he said.
"I remember you telling me about that shortly after we became friends when we were kids. You also reiterated it around the time you and I reunited at the Temple especially after Mortis. By the way, what did you see there?" she asked. Chuckling, he realized that he had forgotten all about his visit to the planet Mortis where he met The Ones before continuing with his pirate hunt.
"I saw a triad of beings there who were worshipped as entities of the Force's power. Their names were Father, Daughter, and Son though there was once a Mother who became Abeloth. According to the trio, Abeloth became the embodiment of Chaos after she dipped herself into the Pool of Knowledge and drank from the Font of Power. The Daughter was the embodiment of Ashla and the Son was the embodiment of Bogan, according to legend," Xendor answered.
"And the Father?" she inquired. "I have reason to believe he was the Force itself, the entity that represented the Balance and Harmony between the Ashla and the Bogan," he explained. "Can their power be a threat to us or have any special insights that we can use to our advantage?" she continued. "The Ones have no more and no less legitimacy in the manner of how the Force must be used or approached than any other system that we presently.
"Any philosophy, creed or religion that opens the heart to the Force proves itself to be true. My legions will follow the dictates of such a creed. But that is only a demonstration of the application of power, Arden. It says nothing about the rightness of our beliefs, or the universality of our faith," he replied.
"Legions, Xendor?" she asked. "Ah yes, I forgot to tell you: when we married, we created a sphere of influence over several hundred Jedi Warriors and Sentinels. Our departure means that they will be joining us in a matter of days, having persuaded some of their friends in the process. Jook-jook, Blendri, and Cuthallox wield a similar bubble of power within the ranks of the Order for the same effect.
"It'll be just a matter of time before our numbers burst from less than half a dozen to as many as two to three thousand members. However, to secure any additional growth, I'll be commissioning the Guardians of Breath to begin what I like to call 'The Devouring'. If successful, it shall stall the Republic army and even thin it out so that it cannot spare reinforcements to their Jedi allies. The presence of the Guardians will also bring the attention of every other Councilman except Tiberius and Pina," he replied.
"So that explains why you wanted us to move here before then igniting any conflict with the Jedi or the Republic," she guessed. "Partly, I'm hoping that I can use my status as a former member of the Jedi Order to persuade the Republic to ally with me and my Legions. I shall try and convince the Chancellor of the belief that the Jedi brought this threat down upon them. The only reason the Jedi Council will act against my allies under those conditions would be to cover their tracks," he admitted.
"A cunning but flawed strategy, Xendor," she warned. "How so?" he asked. "Firstly, the Chancellor is Tiberius' distant cousin: do you really think he'll listen to an enemy of his relative? Secondly, the people have not forgotten what it was like fearing Kashi Mer and they will fear you.
"As if that's not bad enough, the Chancellor will immediately suspect a connection between you and the Guardians of Breath in addition to a trap in your offer. Finally, there is the fact that Councilman Priam is still there at the side of the Chancellor according to our reports. How do you intend to get around all that to persuade the Republic that we are not their enemies?" she demanded. Xendor smiled, knowing that Arden Lyn brought up several strategic flaws in his plan to unite the Republic and his forces against the Jedi Order.
"It'll be worth a try but if they don't buy into it, I'll have Blendri on standby with sixteen-thousand troops to attack Coruscant directly. I'll also send Cuthallox to Ossus to attack Tiberius and try to bring him down in the meantime, just to be safe. My aim, however, is to draw all Jedi out and kill them with as little Republic interference as possible though that shall be difficult," he replied. "Do you really think we'll be able to spare that many to a single attack by the end of the next few months?" she asked.
"We'll have at least triple that to spare for any battle across the galaxy," he answered with a nod. "But committing that much to two attacks is risky, not to mention catastrophic if it doesn't pay off with victory! You must have a reason why you're doing this," she exclaimed. "Yes, I hope to avoid as much bloodshed as I possibly can by nailing Tiberius at Ossus and his cousin at Coruscant," he said.
"A quick and deliberate victory meant to end the Jedi and their Republic in a single stroke? No offense, love, but I don't see that happening," she commented. "It probably won't but it is worth a try in order to avoid unnecessary casualties," he admitted. "What about this 'Devouring' you'll have going soon, are those people unnecessary casualties?" she demanded.
"No, they're not though I do hope even in that there will be very little bloodshed. I'll just have to give the signal to ignite it in the morning and find out what it'll be like for us," he replied. "Xendor, Arden, sorry to interrupt but you might want to hear about this!" Jook-jook cut in. "What is it, Master H'broozin?" Xendor asked.
"My Padawan Danzigorro was Knighted for not joining us and has committed his first act to challenging me to a duel on Corulag! Blendri and Cuthallox were there when I received the message about his challenge, what do I do!?" Jook-jook replied. "Only one thing you can do, in that case: accept Danzigorro's challenge," Xendor said remorselessly. Jook-jook let his head slump, perhaps recalling that Danzigorro was the only one of his two Padawans that actually had any kind of power.
"I thought you'd say that Xendor though I must admit I'm not looking forward to facing down my old apprentice. Before his Trials were over, he proved to have the potential to be a superior swordsman than I ever was even in my youth," Jook-jook admitted aloud. "Only way to be sure if he is a superior swordsman to you is if you accept his challenge and find out," Xendor told him. "Yes Xendor, I understand though I would much rather have served some time with you," Jook-jook said.
"Believe me, you have already served more than enough to make Blendri and Cuthallox both jealous. I couldn't thank you more for your services to the cause of researching Bogan than I already have otherwise, I would," Xendor replied. Jook-jook bowed, thanked Xendor for bestowing his gratitude, and picked up his sword to meet the challenge offered by his former Padawan. "I will miss that man and his brilliant research that he has selflessly devoted to our cause," Xendor stated.
"As will we all but I believe Blendri looks like she wanted to share something with us as well," Arden added. "Thank you Mistress, I do. As Xendor anticipated, the Warriors and Sentinels that you two, Cuthallox, and I command are arriving and will land soon. The Jedi Guardians that Jook-jook led will also be joining us very shortly and Sethul and Tun are bringing their compatriots too," Blendri said.
"See Arden, what did I tell you about the Jedi in our spheres of influence coming to join us?" Xendor asked rhetorically. Arden shot her tongue out at him in a playful manner but Xendor forgave it for just that, playfulness. "How many are they altogether?" he asked Blendri. "Give or take, I'd say up to eight thousand easily with each of them having spoken to five to seven of their friends," she answered.
"Then theoretically, that will boost our numbers so that we have at least two hundred thousand members by the end of four months. That's just perfect, just what we need in order to wage any kind of war with the Jedi while the Republic is busy with 'The Devouring'!" Xendor exclaimed. "Be warned, the Jedi will still have us outnumbered three to two even if we succeed in acquiring that many. Plus, they'll have superior strategic understanding of the Republic planets.
"Each of the individuals within our rank will have to carry great potential for Force-usage or sword skill in order to compensate for both of those weaknesses," Blendri said. "Who said we'd be fighting the Jedi on Republic worlds so much as worlds where the first advantage is neutralized? They'll have to rely on their numbers and the skill of their warriors in order to beat us," Xendor said, smiling. "I like you thinking sir and if you like, I can have Cuthallox give you half-year projections," Blendri offered.
"That won't be necessary, friend. I can already run the data in my head for how many members our new Order can hope to acquire in six months. However, I would like you to have Cuthallox come up with an advertisement that can attract the attention of any groups of people the Jedi often exclude. We will need to stand out from the Jedi and offer them a chance to have their say in learning the Force for themselves," he replied.
Blendri nodded, knowing exactly what he was requesting and ran to make sure that Cuthallox obtained the instructions necessary to carry out such a task. "Do you really think it's wise to make our Academy public when Tiberius has already forbidden its existence?" Arden asked. She made sure to have waited until they were alone once more before asking this question of her beloved husband. "So long as we don't attack the Jedi, they can't do shit about fighting us without the Chancellor," he replied.
"Ah, you'll use that to your advantage to say that we're not that helpless and can very much operate on our own in addition to including the people that the Jedi reject. That's a very fine marketing strategy for obtaining more followers in our new order," she stated. "Indeed, now I think you and I can both say we'll need a little sleep before we continue with our operations against the Jedi," he said. She nodded her agreement and cuddled next to him not too long after he lied on his side in their shared bed.
Returning from the Unknown Regions for what he felt might be his final time, Pina sensed the winds of change blowing in the Force. It seemed as though much had happened that he didn't know about while he was away and he was determined to find out just what was so different not. The first signs that made him sure of change was that half the crowd at Ossus had disappeared from their homes. This is strange, I have never seen this planet so empty since I was a boy he thought to himself quietly.
"Oh Pina, thank Ashla that you've returned!" Tiberius shouted from atop the Temple. "Why? What's wrong?" Pina asked. "I will tell you in a Council meeting but for now, just know that something very bad has happened!" Tiberius answered.
Following Tiberius up to the Council room, Pina sensed that whatever was worrying Tiberius might have been something that he had forbidden sometime ago. This was especially prominent when he saw half of the Order members gone, including Arden Lyn and Xendor. What the hell have you two done now? he asked himself quietly. Arriving at the Council chambers faster than usual, Pina was surprised to find that even Priam had spared time to come to this emergency meeting.
Standing by the side of the Chancellor was usually a constant duty in the waking hours of any Councilman selected to do so and this was not time spent fulfilling that duty. "Since the rest of us already know about this, I shall be brief with explaining it to you. The Kashi Mer Guardians of Breath have returned and united the Penal Worlds, the Hutts, and many pirate clans against us. They're calling it 'The Devouring' as per the wishes of a leader that they will not name!
"As if that wasn't bad enough, Xendor and Arden Lyn have gone against the will of the Council and formed an Academy that already attracted nearly twenty-thousand members on the planet Lettow. This includes many of our Healers, Archers, Warriors, Sentinels, and Guardians! This new group is calling itself the Legions of Lettow and is expanding at an alarming rate," Tiberius exclaimed rapidly. Inwardly, Pina smiled at the bravery of Arden and Xendor for having gone against Tiberius' will but his exterior betrayed no such pride.
"What else do we know about what's going on, as of right now?" Master Pina asked aloud. "That the Republic forces will be too thinly spread for any reinforcements to aid us if we're attacked by Xendor's forces. We also have reason to believe that Xendor might be the anonymous leader that has encouraged Theseus and his Guardians to come out of hiding so as to stall the Republic to this point. There's no other possible connection to make as Xendor was a Kashi Mer Prince and who but a Kashi Mer Prince would have any interest in spurring the Guardians to action?" Tiberius replied.
"Unless he bumped into them during his pirate hunts, there is no way that Xendor could ever have known about the Guardians. We made sure to that ourselves when we destroyed the remnants of the Dynasty, remember?" Pina inquired. "Don't play games with me Pina, you know that Xendor has hated the Jedi ever since he first arrived on the scene. Even if he did marry Arden Lyn in an attempt to fit in, he still bears a grudge against us Councilmen for striking down his family," Tiberius warned.
"How could he bear a grudge for something he barely remembers having seen? He was only five years old when we killed his family before taking him in on my orders," Pina asked. "Quit defending them, much as I know that you support them, it will do you know good now!" Tiberius answered. "Well, you should have waited for me to return before placing a verdict on their desire to form an Academy," Pina reminded.
"We know what you would have said: you would have defended them in the vague hope that they could restore the more peaceful ways that you follow," Tiberius snapped. "Of course, what other reason would I have to support them?" Pina countered. "Even if they didn't form this Academy, you would have defended them! We couldn't trust you not to throw in your lot with us after so many times that you didn't," Tiberius shouted.
"I defend them even now because it is the right thing to do, to keep the more peaceful and humble origins of our Order alive," Pina replied calmly. "You defend them even now because Arden Lyn is your fucking daughter!" Tiberius roared at the top of his lungs. The comment struck Pina hard in the heart and several Councilmen, including Priam, asked if this was true. Then, when he had finally recovered from the shock of the comment, he spoke. "It's true," he finally said to Priam and the others.