The Planet of Life 2
"So that's what's going on?" The king said while pulling a little on his black beard.
"Yes, once they come, we will leave your planet in peace. If there's anything you require, just let us know." Obi-Wan said as he stood up from the stone table he was sitting at.
Jamal stood up as well while still keeping his gaze fixed on the Jedi in front of him. "Thank you for your offers, but we do not ask anything of you. I promise that my people and I can defend ourselves."
"Then I can't wait to see the day when my comrades and I can finally see your men in action."
Jamal chuckled. "We have rooms here for your stay. These ladies right here can direct you to them." He gestured towards two women wearing dark green robes, their dark hair was pulled back into moss-colored veils connected to their cloaks. The three Jedi followed them as they walked out of the room and down the hallway. A few minutes passed as they kept walking deeper and deeper into the castle.
"Hey, where exactly are we going?" Anakin blurted out as he looked at his surroundings. The windows were gone, the only light now coming from the torches on the stone walls.
"Anakin, don't be so rude," Obi-Wan patronized him. "We are guests here, I don't think it's wise to act out."
"Well, have you looked around? We are going underground!"
"I know, I'm a bit unsure of it myself. But it's best just to go with it."
"Could it possibly be because this is how their homes are structured?" Ahsoka asked. "I noticed that the rooms on the second floor and ground floor had no bedrooms. It could be that they place their sleeping chambers below the planet's surface."
"That's very observant, good job, Ahsoka." Obi-Wan complimented her. "There's your answer, Anakin. Hopefully a little dirt doesn't scare you."
"Ha, ha, very funny, master." Anakin replied, rolling his eyes as he did so.
"Your rooms are right here." One of the women spoke as she opened a heavy door, the other opening another.
"Only two?" Anakin asked.
"There is another one right behind me," the younger girl spoke. "I just can't hold both of them open."
"Why thank you so much, you to have been very kind." Obi-Wan tilted his head as he thanked them.
"You're welcome." They both said in unison as the Jedi approached their rooms. They then left as they went back to the ground level for other chores.
"Talk about strange," Anakin muttered.
"Excuse me?" Obi-Wan asked, stopping in the doorway and turning around towards Anakin.
"This planet, it's so different from the rest. There seems to be some strange aura here. The people as well, they all seem... In sync."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't know, they just seem to be in order and know how the person next to them will act in the next minute. Plus, I've been wondering about what that one girl said earlier."
"What-?"
"That Adrin girl, or at least a really short woman, she said something about nature abilities and being able to use magic. Could these people be using the force, but they are using it in a different way, a way that we do not know about?"
"It could be, but it could also just be an attribute that they have, remember that." Obi-Wan replied before entering his room, the door slowly closing behind him. Anakin followed his actions, but stopped once he heard grunts and the strains of metal on wood. Looking over at Ahsoka, he saw her fighting to get the door open.
"Are you having troubles opening a door, Snips?" He laughed at her.
"Hey, you try opening the door. It's too heavy!" Ahsoka cried.
Anakin sighed as he walked over to her door and pulled on the handle, the door's weight yanking back on his arm. "How is this so heavy?!" He yelled as he placed a foot on the wall and yanked on the door with both hands.
"I tried that, it won't work." Ashoka stated.
"Shut up, I'll find a way to open it." Anakin muttered.
He continued to struggle as Ahsoka stood there, boredom starting to overcome her. She looked at her feet as Anakin struggled to move the door more than five centimeters. She pointed her finger at a tiny pebble and flicked it away with the force. The single action reminding her of it. Looking back up, she pulled on the door with the invisible force and opened it wide.
Anakin fell backwards and sighed in relief. "I did it!"
"No, you didn't. I did," Ahsoka said as she entered her room. "Goodnight, Master. Have fun getting into your room!" And with that, the door closed.
"How did she-?" Then it hit him. "Oh my gosh... How am I so stupid?!" Going back to his door, he opened it with the force and entered inside.
Now another question hit him. 'How were these women able to open them? They were small and looked like they couldn't even pick up a three-year-old because of how frail they were. What's with these Metorlians and their abilities?!' He wouldn't be able to understand it until he knew.
..In the Metorlian Village..
"Bye, I'll see you tomorrow morning, mother!" Sarah waved as she left her home. Three men stood not that far away, all of them in light armor. Two of the men wore crystal-like swords, a silver-blue light shining in the center of the clear material. The other had a bow in his fist, the wood painted a bright green while the engravings shown in the night with a yellow-green glow.
All of them looked young, the shortest bearing a baby face with dark brown eyes, short and messy burgundy hair covering his white scalp. The one in the center, also the tallest, had a narrow face, his forest green eyes angled and cat-like, his long black hair tied back into a low ponytail. The third man was of average height, his gray eyes and ginger red hair complimentined his square face.
"Sarah, are you ready to train those new students?" The red head asked, his voice being soft but edgy.
"Yes, I am. The seekers are mine for the night, it's best if they learn speed in order to find their prey fast."
"Very well, I'll take the shooters so they can learn to shoot and not miss their target." The tall one said. "Frederik, Vickson, you two can handle the students going into the military, right?"
"Yes, we can," the brunette said. "Frederik, come on." He waved Frederik, the red head, to follow him. Sarah and the other man being the only ones left.
"Ready for the trouble these kids will cause, Dannice?" She asked him.
"Yep, there's always going to be that kid who shoots himself in the hand," he laughed.
Sarah laughed as well as they both headed towards the training grounds. "Or the girls end up crying over their wrecked hair."
"Oh, yes. That is sure a stir. I still remember our class, remember Clanicé?"
"The girl who didn't want to run or climb? Yes, I do."
"She was a hoot, everyone was laughing at her."
"They were, if you're going into a hunting or military career, you aren't supposed to worry about looks." Sarah stated.
"Then why did you?" Dannice asked while stopping.
Sarah stopped as well, a confused look on her face. "What are you talking about? I never did that."
"Then why do you explain why you're the only girl who has stayed beautiful while hunting?"
Sarah, being oblivious of Dannice's attempts of flirting, just replied with a blunt answer. "I pay attention to my orders, I don't wear my hair down, and I know where to hide when an enemy is coming near."
"Oh, you truly are the best at seeking, aren't you?"
"I'm not sure, I'm pretty sure I'm better in the hunting category."
"Oh, really?" Dannice asked, a mocking tone starting to melt into his words. "I bet you can't hit ten Hvanglings while they're still in the air."
"I bet I can hit twenty of them, and only with twenty shots. One for each bird, no misses at all." Sarah snapped back at him.
"Then let's test it. Tomorrow morning at dawn, both of us will meet at Elvick's End and try to hit as many Hvanglings as possible." Dannice said, a smirk now stuck on his face.
"Whoever wins gets to keep the feathers." Sarah added.
"But your mother doesn't even know how to make a Hvangling Shawl, you lose either way."
"Who said we'd use the feathers for winter wear?"
Dannice just stuck his tongue out before walking on again, Sarah following him. They reached an open area, the soil exposed with no plants to keep it immobile. A group of teenagers sat and stood in the area, all of them in their little groups. They all continued to chat, unknown to the presence of their teachers.
"Ahem," Dannice cleared his throat loudly, many students catching it and turning their heads in his direction. "Welcome back to the hunting class, this week we will teach you about speed and accuracy. Now, boys, you will come with me as you usually do. Girls, you're with Miss Sarah. Come on." He ushered the boys to join him as he took them off to the shooting range not that far away.
"Girls, come over here, I need your full attention." Sarah commanded. All of them listening and walking over. "Since this is only week two, there are still ground rules we need to cover. When hunting, we want to do our best. When we want to do our best, we need to make sacrifices. What are these sacrifices? I will explain them, but I do wonder..." She trailed off and turned her body so she was facing them completely. "How many of you know the policies of the Hunter? I know a few of you have parents who work in hunting for animals and for other wildlife. Tell ME what you know."
There was silence as the girls stood there, a few looking as if they didn't want to be there. No one answered her, not even those who did know the answers she was looking for. Silence stood tall, not being broken by anything, not even the cold and noisy wind.
"No one knows?" Sarah asked as her gaze wandered over the crowd. Tapping her foot and walking to the left, she made her way to the end of the group. "Would Miss Xana like to answer? We all know your brother is one of the best in town, one of my close friends as well."
The girl looked down at the ground, her long black hair covering her face. She spoke quietly, so quiet that she herself couldn't have heard it.
"What was that? Please speak louder." Sarah demanded from the young girl.
"Hunters are to forget about their appearance. They are to sacrifice their favorite jewels and metals, even their most prized clothing." She spoke louder.
"Well said, Xana." Sarah said in a joyful tone. She gave the girl a pat on the head and walked back to center front. "You heard her, any jewelry you wear or special fabrics are not allowed. Same goes for long hair. You are all supposed to put it up in a bun. You will know it is policy, you will live by this as if it meant your life. Take of all valuables right now, put them right here on this rock and then take a piece of yarn to tie your hair. I'm sorry, I have no ribbons for you at the moment, but yarn will do for putting it up right now. Hurry! We don't have all night!"
..In the Shooting Range..
"Good shot, Evan. You're doing great!" Dannice said as he observed the boy's shot. He continued over to the next kid as he readied himself to shoot. A blue mist formed around his arm as he steadied his holding of the arrow. Noticing the mist, Dannice quickly grabbed the boy's shoulder and pushed his left arm down.
"Don't try that yet, Gavin. That's going to be taught in two more weeks. You still don't know how to control the Akbår."
The boy hung his head in shame. "I'm sorry, sir. I didn't mean to."
"It's fine, I know you didn't mean to." Dannice said to him.
"Sir," another kid spoke up, "Could you please explain the Akbår to us?" A few mutters of agreement started to fly as the kid asked the question.
"Do you guys want to know?" Dannice asked, a smile appeared on his face as he panicked inside. He wasn't supposed to tell them until then either. 'It wouldn't hurt them, right?' He thought as he looked at all of their faces, they all wanted to know. "I guess I'll tell you guys." He said, a true smile bow taking the fake one's place.
All of the boys started to high five each other, knowing they would know about it before the girls did.
"You guys better sit down, though, it's kinda long." Dannice said as he sat up on a pile of chopped wood. He waited for them to sit before speaking. "The Akbår is an old power of our race, the Metorlians, we use it for everyday lives and to even use it as a weapon. Legends say it was a power from the God, Hvogt, the God of the Stars. He gave it to us as a gift for loving our planet so much, seeing us in the fields and slaving away under his star amazed him of our endurance. As a gift, he gave us the power of controlling energy. This power changed our bodies forever as well, we became very strong physically and mentally. We rarely get ill, we can last for hours on end, we can control the force of an object, we can manipulate a plant's growth, and many more things.
"This gift improved our everyday lives, many people using it for protecting plants from bugs and animals and for enforcing their weapon's durability. If you've seen some of our men and women in battle, you see that their weapons have a glow to them, right?" He paused as the kids answered.
"Well, that's the Akbår. It comes in many colors, each color representing that person's mindset. The three most common are blue, green, and violet. Blue says that you have a mind devoted to action. Green says that you are devoted to wisdom. Violet says that you were once aggressive, but are now peaceful. These colors only show what that person is, they don't hold any unique powers, just those granted by the Akbår.
"But be warned, there were four Gods and Goddesses who did not like Hvogt one bit. They saw him as a piece of trash. You guys know of our four moons, well, they created them, but they locate anyone using the Akbår and call upon their little monsters in the woods. That's why we avoid the forests, guys, those things want to destroy us because of Hvogt's gift to us. That's why we have a military, and that's why we learn how to fight. We're Hvogt's chosen people, and he wants us to use the Akbår against the beasts in order to destroy them and their creators."
The boys just stood there in awe, the story making them ponder their place. One boy raised his hand, the motion caught Dannice's eye.
"Yes, Carpenter?"
"They don't eat us, right? The monsters don't eat us, eight, sir?" Laughter erupted throughout the entire group, the boy dropping his hand quickly due to embarrassment.
"No, they don't eat us. But don't get caught by them, they will not let us have a quick death. It will be weeks before you even get close to dying, and by the second day, you'll be crying for them to let you go."
"How come? Was a friend of yours once held prisoner?" The boy asked.
Dannice stayed quiet, his expression turning grim. "More like my own father. Just a day after rescuing him, he committed suicide. The place made him go mad."
Everyone was silent, no one making a sound.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't mean to bring back bad memories."
"It's fine, it was such a long time ago. I don't remember much of it anyways. I was only an infant when it happened. He disappeared two months before I was even born. I had a different father by the time I found out." Dannice chuckled, hoping he could lighten the mood a little bit. He looked up at the sky to see the moon Sömast* almost in the center of the sky. "My word, it's almost midnight! We better get going, don't want any of your parents upset."
They all left to go return to the meeting point. Once they arrived, they saw that a lot of the girls were just lying around and panting hard. Sarah was just leaning against the boulder, playing with a set of Gambly* rocks. Looking up when she heard footsteps, she put the rocks back into their pouch and clapped her hands together.
"Get up! It's time to go back to the village. Grab your belongings and then we will leave. Come on, hurry up!"
"No need to order them around," Dannice said as he walked over to her.
"You try teaching these bunch of lazy bums, I don't know why these girls wanted to be hunters if all they do is stand around and not even try to dodge or hide."
"Well, the females wanting to join hunting or the military are thinning out. Any ideas why?"
"Because of Tyler, every girl wants to become his, so they're trying to get a job in the castle. If only they knew the truth."
"Yep, that would break all of their hearts, though."
"Who cares? The chances of marrying a prince are so small."
"Your aunt did it when she was your age."
"That was only because she was friends with Uncle Jamal's mother and sister. And I know he was interested in her, she's a very loving person. By the way, I'm going to kick your butt tomorrow in the competition."
"No, you're not. I'm going to win." Dannice said as he pushed her slightly.
Getting a bit competitive, Sarah shoved him off in the opposite direction, causing him to lose balance and fall. "No, I will. I'm better at archery!"
"We'll see tomorrow."
"Until then!"
*Gambly* - A game with three stones. Two of them have pictures on them, one does not. The first picture is of a star, the sign meaning you given a gift by the other player if the rock is chosen. The second picture is of a moon, if chosen, the person will have to do whatever the negative result is. If you pick the blank stone, then you are safe from the negative, but don't receive the gift. HOW TO PLAY: It is a two player game usually, it starts off with the two people making the decisions. One person will be the chooser while the other is the deceiver. The deceiver must think of a negative result for the chooser (EX: Wash the deceiver's clothes, run around town with your clothes on backwards and say, "I'm an idiot!") The chooser will think of a gift that the deceiver must give them if they do choose the sun (EX: A sandwich, a pet, etc.) These choices can be simple or very big. Then the game begins with all of the stones' pictures facing down, the deceiver's job to mix them up and to confuse the chooser, they can also prevent the chooser from picking a stone. When the chooser gets a stone, then the event placed on that stone must be done. Then it is the end of the game.
The game can also be used to predict if you will have a good, okay, or bad day. Good being the sun stone, okay being the blank stone, and bad being the moon stone.