Chapter Eighteen
Of all the things that could have shattered Arden Lyn more than anything, the revelation that Awdrysta Pina was her father destroyed her the most. She demanded to know why he had been sent against her if this was the case. Did he hate her when she was a little girl, did he blame her for the death of her mother? Slamming her fists on the side of the shuttle which had been set to autopilot, Arden tried her best to sort out the answers on her own but failed miserably.
"Oh Athena, why didn't you tell me who my father was before the battle began? Did you fear this would happen if you did? How could you have feared that if you told me everything else about him except his name? Did you hope I'd connect the dots from how you described him?" she thought aloud. At the moment that she asked about connecting the dots, she had to admit that she felt stupid for having not done so sooner.
There was nothing you could have done to figure it out for yourself without a name. War being brought to Lettow was a possibility and the Schism had caused much trouble before. It is not your fault, Arden Lyn, that you were not able to figure it out right there the Talisman said. "Leave me alone!" she screamed at it aloud.
Oh but you are alone, your father hunts you with intent to destroy you, your husband and all your friends are either dead or dying. You have no family to turn to, the Jedi Order has deserted you, and you have no children within your belly to pass on your name. More than you can possibly imagine, Arden Lyn, you are alone now and you're going to have to deal with it. For whether by the sword or by the slow decay of time, your pretty mortal flesh will wither and die.
Now it's all a matter of deciding whether you die alone or you die having lifted the curse of the Ashes of Despair. Besides, I sense that no matter what you do, your death is further off from occurring than anyone you know the Talisman replied. She knew it was mocking her by telling the truth, however its comment about her death being prolonged more than anyone confused her. "Pina will be breathing down my neck if he isn't already and you tell me I will survive him?" she asked.
You will survive him, yes but he will not survive you. However, victory over him will come at a greater price than you know the Talisman answered. "You make no sense," she said aloud. In due time, I will it said with a slight laughter.
"That doesn't make my situation any better. Maybe you can tell me of a good destination to start making my final stand?" she asked. I assure you that you will know when you arrive to it but for now, do what you can to get as far away from the Jedi as possible it answered. Then it occurred to Arden that Xendor had a private cave he retreated to on Irkalla when he need solitude.
"The place is like a fortress and could have been easily defended by the Legions if we had made that our capital rather than Lettow," she added. Then to Irkalla we go and your destiny beyond that the Talisman stated. "Follow if you dare, father. I'll be waiting when you arrive to Irkalla, where I will have the advantage rather than you," Arden vowed with a smile.
"Arden Lyn has passed beyond my sight, her takeoff from Lettow leaves me clueless as to where she could be going next. If I pursue her, I may be lost long before I have any chance to find her. I am old after all and do not have the life resources to pursue her as I once would have," Pina said. "Sir, with due respect, we can trace the path left by the burnt fuel of her ship," an officer offered.
"And why should that be of consequence to me?" Pina asked. "Because we can use any curves in the fuel path to set up the most likely course she is to take. You're hunting her, you're going to need all the technological help you can get. Don't rely on the Force alone or else you'll be lost long before you even have a chance to find her," the officer answered.
"And have you already found the path that she was most likely to have gone on?" Pina inquired. "Whether it ends there or not, we have already calculated that one of her destinations is a former Kashi Mer property known as Irkalla. Does that mean anything to you?" the officer explained. "Yes, it was estate specifically given to the Prince of the Dynasty so they can have time for solitude.
"It was a common belief of the Dynasty that sometimes, the Prince needed to meditate on his training and process what he learned in order to become King. If Xendor showed Arden the way there, she definitely has a fortified arrangement going for her thanks to the mountains surrounding the estate. Volcanoes surround the mountain it's carved into and an eruption would ensure the near-permanent sealing of the entrance," Pina replied. "Then I think you have a place to start, if not the destination of your final confrontation with Arden Lyn," the officer said.
"Thank you Commander, ready my ship and begin transporting the prisoners to Coruscant for their sentencing. He'll want punishments to be swift and sure for the remaining Legionnaires," Pina said. The officer nodded and in one hour, his ship was ready for blastoff to Irkalla and possibly (hopefully) his death. With the Sword of Ashla in tow, he gave a final look to the fallen Jedi and fallen Legionnaires and began to replay the events of the final destruction of the Kashi Mer Dynasty in his mind.
He remembered leading dozens of raids on the Dynasty holdings by order of Tiberius with approval from the Chancellor backing him up. The flashbacks of the men, women, and children that were slaughtered by battle-fueled soldiers of the Republic raced across his mind in seconds. But with each flash, he was returned to the present carnage of the present war for equally short time flashes. As the fortress of the Legions of Lettow was set aflame, the destruction of many Dynasty villages appeared.
The screams of women as they held onto their crying children drilled into his ears and gnawed at his mind, bringing a look of grim pity and remorse upon his face. "Sir, are you alright?" a young soldier asked him. Pina turned to him and in the instant of seeing him, the old Jedi remembered seeing a Kashi Mer soldier his age being brought down by a relentless barrage of arrows and spears. In total, the poor lad must have taken at least forty-seven arrows and seven spears before he simply collapsed.
Another flash brought him to the sight of Tiberius slashing at the knees of a Kashi Mer Royal to bring him down before decapitating him. In that one moment alone, Tiberius had looked as young as this soldier and as old as Pina himself was now simultaneously. "Sir?" the young soldier insisted. "Tell me, what is your name?" Master Pina replied.
"Rhama, son of the House of Akela, Master," the soldier stated. "Rhama Akela, why did you join this conflict? Did you seek glory and fame, perhaps a little fortune and a rush of women crowding at your door?" Pina asked. "No Master, I joined because my Master told me that I had to though I wouldn't have minded any of those things you mentioned if I obtained them," Rhama admitted.
Smiling, Pina clasped a hand on the young Jedi's shoulder and commended both his honesty and his humility. "By only participating out of loyalty for your Master without thought of reward or benefit to yourself, you have realized why war is so ugly. War is by its nature the backwards spiral to primeval days of everything the galaxy could become. It is the rape of civilized thought and the replacement of rational, calculated civilization.
"The hopeful commit to it to find some sort of lost identity that peace could not offer them when they never realized they had everything they needed without lifting their swords to fight a war. The naive join for all the benefits and comforts of the false sense of heroism embodied by all I mentioned. However, the true Jedi is the one who- if forced to join a war- does so in humility and awareness of who he is: the moment any man such as yourself commits for those aims is still a Jedi even in this filth. Those who fail to achieve this aim are nothing more than dogs proclaiming themselves to be Jedi yet use their status to justify their reasons for killing those who stand in their way.
"For fifty-eight years, I've traversed the galaxy in service to what I thought was the only cause worth believing. I thought the Jedi were incorruptible and joined the Order with a similar mentality to what you have confessed me, thinking we Jedi were all brothers in arms to the end. So long as there is no end to war, there is no end to the time when even Jedi can be reduced to naught but squabbling curs. Do not forget it, Rhama Akela, for should you ever be present in another war before the end of your life then you will need to know that your sense of identity and your heart are your best hopes of surviving.
"I am a sixty-year-old fool now with a twenty-six-year-old daughter that people believe will pose a threat to the galaxy so long as she is alive. Yes boy: Arden Lyn is my child and as any father would be, I am unable to bear the thought of bringing my blade down on my own child. Yet I continue in pursuit of her because the Order says it is the right thing to do, because the dogs in charge demand it. Remember my story, Rhama, and be warned that should ever you encounter dogs in the high places of the Order then you are to stand up for what is right and true about our Code as my daughter did.
"Promise me that you will do that and promise that you will never tell anyone what I have confessed to you about my kinship to Arden Lyn," he explained. "I can guarantee the latter but for the former, I can only guarantee that if it happens again in my lifetime then I will try," Rhama confessed. "Good, that is all I need to be happy that at least one youngling has a decent future ahead of him," Pina replied with a smile. "Master, your shuttle is ready to swing around and pick you up whenever you are ready to continue your pursuit," Pina's Captain interjected.
"Very well, tell the pilot that he may swing by whenever he wishes. I was just finishing a discussion with this wise young lad," Pina said, smiling and winking at Rhama. Then he decided to pierce into the boy's mind to give him a telepathic message as he turned around and left. Do not forget my story, young man nor stray from the path of the Jedi.
For in war, the path of the Jedi shall be the path of your heart and the path of your heart will never betray you. You'll feel some pain receiving this if you haven't used telepathy before but I know that you can hear me he said. This is not the first time, I can definitely promise that I will never forget you: you were once the mentor of my Master, after all the boy replied. Chuckling, Pina admitted that it was a small universe and he wasn't surprised by that comment about Rhama's past.
Arriving to Xendor's personal fortress on Irkalla, Arden had to admit that she could see how he would be able to use it as a solitude facility. "Xendor, my love, you need a few more decorations in here. This is too damn gloomy even for the deepest brooder," Arden thought with a giggle. In the gloomiest corners of the galaxy, solitude is a form of refuge for those in peril the Talisman said.
"Speak for yourself, artifact of the Dynasty. You're the spirit of an ancient god trapped within a little prism of glass that can only offer power to those who use you," Arden replied. Perhaps that is true but I have learned a few things about mortals in my time being banished here it snapped. "Like what, for instance?" she asked it.
Like why you and Xendor felt the need for love, felt the need for a sense of familiarity and thus a sense of comfort within each other. I understand why he chose to propose to you in the fashion that he did rather than in the more conforming fashion of other men it answered. "Unfortunately for you, the way you say it indicates that Xendor and I were the rule rather than the exception which is not true," Arden replied. I knew you two were the exception when it should have not been so, all I meant was that it would be nice if everyone were a little like you two it said.
"Now why would I believe the words of a god on that sort of thing? Or is that a silly thing to ask the spirit of the Kashi Mer Talisman?" she asked. Not entirely no but I have only this to say: because I have seen people like you two come in and out of existence all the time. And each time it happened, they were both stamped out like lethargic flies under a swatter it explained.
"Speaking of swatters, I sense Pina approaching the atmosphere above," Arden replied. Then you know what you must do. Prepare yourself for what is sure to be the inevitable conflict destined for you before your birth the Talisman told her. "I know, I know," she whispered.
After telling the artifact that, she placed it beneath her shirt in order to better hide it for fear that Pina might see it and desire its power. She knew that it was unlikely that Pina would stray that far from the Jedi Path but it was a worthy precaution to take until she knew for certain. "Alright father, come and fight me; only your doom awaits and even the Sword of Ashla will not protect you," she vowed. She also said it in telepathy in order to make sure he knew she was waiting for him in Xendor's domain.
Arriving to Irkalla, Pina could sense the presence of his daughter and the Talisman that once belonged to her husband and knew at once that she was waiting for him. Alright father, come and fight me; only your doom awaits and even the Sword of Ashla will not protect you she said. Surprised by her intrusion into his mind, he had to admit that even his faith in his daughter's abilities extended this far. Though it was likely a telepathic wave amplified by the Talisman's power, he had to admit that it impressed him all the same.
It wasn't long before he touched down next to her ship nor any longer still before he reached the doorstep of the deep cave that cut into the mountainside. As he got closer to her, he felt her grief for Xendor as well as her anger at knowing that the man sent to kill her had also helped conceive her. He honestly couldn't blame her: in her place, he would have done just the same as far as he was concerned. But finally, he arrived to the chamber where she was waiting for him after crossing a long bridge over a pitch-black abyss and greeted.
"You made a mistake in coming here, my foolish old father," Arden said spitefully. "Yes Arden I was a fool but not for having come here: I am fool for having never given myself the chance to raise you. If there was anyone I loved more than your mother, it was you," Pina replied. "Then tell me why you abandoned me!?" she demanded.
She attacked him with a flurry of Terras Kasi that he had never seen before but guessed to be the Variant of Anger considering what he had learned of its patterns. He defended it as best he could with his own knowledge of Terras Kasi and when he had a chance, he spoke again. "No Arden, abandoning you would have meant risking your starvation and possible death as a child. I gave you a new life with new parents to raise you because I loved you too much to afford you that fate," he said.
"You're lying!" she screamed. It was then that he pinned her hands as best he could then asked her to look into his eyes. "Look into the eyes of the father who spent every day dying even in the heat of battle because he could not bear to be separated from you," he told her. He gave her a minute to look into his eyes, the golden orbs she called her own eyes stained with lines of red with the tears of sadness.
"You and your mother were both so much more beautiful when you were as happy as could be. It pains me to look into your eyes and see the sadness of your mother within you," he added. "I am nothing like my mother, I can't produce children worth a damn for one thing!" she shouted. "You're right, you aren't like your mother and I see a little bit of me within you as well. But most importantly, I see you as the unique person that you are: my sweet young daughter," he replied.
"Do you have any last requests before I destroy you?" she asked after a moment. "Yes, allow me the privilege of holding the Talisman for there is a gift I wish to transfer to it. It is something I no longer want to hold on to and wish to eventually pass on to you," he answered. At first, she did barely more than recoil from him but she granted him his request and tossed the artifact at him.
If you can hear me, spirit of the Talisman, I pray that ye take all I wish to tell Arden into your being and transfer it upon her after I am dead he said to it telepathically. A swoosh of wind swept its way through Pina's robes, hair, and beard which made him shiver briefly. It is done: all that you are, know, and wish to tell your daughter is within me now the voice of the Talisman said. "Thank you Arden for allowing me this one request for after we are through here, you will understand everything you need to know including why I asked," he vowed before readying his blade.