Chapter 3: Chapter 3: Temple Discovery
About an hour later, the Force-sensitive twins were taking a break from their exploration efforts; sitting under the shade of a palm tree, and drinking coconut water. Leia swallowed in big gulps before drying her mouth with the back of her hand.
"Good thing you can use the Force to crack open these shells with your mind," She acknowledged. "It would have been difficult without tools and your lightsaber would have probably evaporated all the water inside anyway."
Luke nodded absentmindedly, scratching the back of his neck. Leia frowned. "Something wrong? Besides everything else, I mean."
"Well..." He hesitated, "This island is big and we clearly have a lot more to explore but when I focused on the Force to cut the coconuts, I realized that, while there is still a very strong Force presence on this here, it's not actually the biggest nexus in the area. So, it's making me wonder if I may have been a little off with my directions while crash-landing.
"Wonderful," She groaned. "How far off is the actual Great Temple then?"
"Close in planetary terms," The Jedi said slowly. "But I am not quite sure yet. We should probably head to the top of the nearby mountain before it gets dark so that we can check that out from the high ground, as well as to find out how big the island really is."
"Sounds reasonable," The princess replied. "With any luck, we will also be able to spot a freshwater source from there. But Luke...have you noticed that all the fruits we have found here are exactly the same as one of the common variants in the interconnected galactic economy?"
He nodded with a ponderous expression. "It seems too coincidental that these trees would have just happened to evolve that way without outside influence while the planet was devoid of sentient life. So, yes, I think it's safe to assume that at some point, the Jedi refugees or some other colonists ended up planting those fruit trees here."
Leia nodded slowly, having come to the same conclusion. "Any chance they may still be here?"
Her brother was quiet for a moment. "This island is full of life but I can't sense much sentience in the minds around us."
The New Republic Senator raised an eyebrow. "But you do feel some?"
"For one life-form among all the others," Luke confirmed. "It feels strange to my senses, though, as if it were half-dead to the Force on one hand and full of vitality on the other. A bit similar to how Ben Kenobi felt to my sense after becoming a Force Ghost but not quite the same."
"And can you pinpoint where would this more intelligent life-form be?" She pressed on.
The Jedi simply pointed to the top of the nearby mountain. Leia almost chuckled at that. "Two wamp rats with one stone then. Let's go, we should take advantage of the visibility while we still can."
Her brother nodded and stood up. "Let's walk slowly and carefully, though. So far, we have only found hawkish birds when it comes to predators but there may be more dangerous beasts around as we get further inland."
"Alright. Lead the way, Luke."
Half an hour, three slip-ups, and one close call with a snake later, the Skywalker twins reached the plateau at the top of the mountain. That was when Leia's eyes widened, while Luke grinned in excitement.
"Luke," The princess said in a surprised tone, "Is that a...?"
"A stepped pyramid, yes," Luke said as he focused his stare on the structure. "More importantly, the Force radiates from this place."
Leia looked at her brother's giddy expression, feeling slightly amused. "Well, good to know you will be able to get something out of this trip. Is it the Great Temple that the holocron talked about?
The Jedi scratched his chin. "I don't think so, actually. The pyramid is clearly built upon a Force nexus but there is an even stronger one close by, I can feel it. And if the holocron was going to be specific enough to refer to that temple as the great one, that could mean there are other smaller temples on the planet. Still, this is a great discovery."
"I am sure," His sister said patiently. "But where is the place we were actually heading to, then?"
At that, Luke turned around slowly, looking around from the plateau at the top of the mountain. Before long, he sighed and pointed at another island northwest of them, too huge to see its complete outline from their position.
The heart of the princess sank. "There must be about 150 kilometers of open sea between this island and that one!" She said in dismay. "How will we get there?"
The blonde Jedi sighed. "I am not sure yet. But hopefully, the knowledge from this smaller temple will still give us some ideas."
And with that, he turned around and checked the inscription plate at the left of the stairway. Leia followed him with her shoulders slumped but then raised an eyebrow when she realized Luke was actually reading the words within. She followed his gaze and noticed what he must have seen, that the inscription was engraved in the Aurebesh writing system that was used for the most represented language in the galaxy, Galactic Basic.
"Alright, I guess this is concrete evidence that there were previous colonists on this planet," Leia mused.
"True," Luke said before reciting the words aloud. "Welcome to the Valyrian Jedi Enclave, traveler. May its teachings nurture and shelter you in the days to come."
The twins glanced at each other before Leia addressed the obvious. "I have never heard of the word Valyrian in any of the languages I know of. Have you?"
The Jedi shook his head. "Nor have I ever heard of that word in association with the Jedi Order. Still, I imagine the answers are inside."
"Well then, let's see what we can find inside," The New Republic Senator said. "With any luck, we will be able to find something useful."
And with that, the Skywalker twins climbed the steps of the pyramid.
When they reached the top, they found a stone table at the center of the platform and a door covered in individual, polished rocks on the floor that clearly led to a complex of rooms deeper within the enclave. Luke tried to use the Force to gently open the lower door but try as he might, he couldn't pull it off. He frowned.
"There seems to be some...interference with my abilities when I try to get that door open. It's as if the Force around it has been reshaped in such a way so as to not allow me entry without following a precise pattern with those rocks. Found anything useful over there?"
"That depends," Leia called out. "Would you consider another holocron useful?"
At that, Luke hurried to his sister's side and looked at the pyramid-like object on the stone table. Like the one he had found that led them to this planet, it was red instead of blue. Unlike the other one, however, it was clearly welded to the table, so whoever had left it here did not intend for anyone to take it with them. Moreover, it had the shape of a cube below the upper pyramid section, which made it different from any holocron he had seen before and made him realize the merging of Jedi and Sith art styles made him unable to determine if it was a Light or Dark side leaning holocron. He told Leia as much.
"Maybe the lessons from the Jedi Master inside are meant to be taught on the island and that's why it was tied to the stone table?" He added.
"Well, at any rate, the knowledge it holds inside could tell us more about where we are and perhaps give us some ideas for how to get out of here."
Luke nodded in agreement and read the inscription beside the object. "If you have reached this point by following the clues in the holocron we left behind in the Core Worlds and following the trail in the Force, it must mean you are Force-sensitive twins," He recited slowly and with increasingly widened eyes. "If that's the case, prove your familial ties by mixing a few drops of your blood. The lessons within shall unlock the key to your survival while stranded on this island."
There was a long silence between the two of them as they analyzed the words before it was broken by Leia. "How could they have known we would have landed here of all places? And what's with their constant emphasis on twins?"
Luke tilted his head, considering. "The only thing that I can think of right now is that the Jedi colonists had a Force vision that involved us, or at least a pair of Force-sensitive twins, and decided to build this enclave to provide some guidance in case they were not around to help when the time came. At any rate, we need some answers and we are not going to get them if we don't open it."
Leia sighed at that but didn't disagree. Then, she went to place her fingertip on the sharp, pointy end of the pyramid and allows her blood to flow through the holocron. Luke did the same once she was done and after a few seconds, they heard a clicking sound within the inner mechanisms. Suddenly, the upper section of the holocron was opened when the top was displaced to the backside of the object. And from deep inside Force-strong object, a three-dimensional image was projected above it.
Luke blinked rapidly, surprised at the beautiful silver-haired woman that emerged from the holocron. For starters, she didn't look blue like in most holographic devices. Instead, she appeared life-like in all the colors he had to assume belonged to her body at the time she constructed the holocron. The rebel hero tilted his head as his gaze settled on the unusual hologram, taking in the detail.
Right away, he could tell that she was a figure that commanded a certain presence, even in stillness. She stood with the quiet confidence of one who knew the weight of a lightsaber's hilt, the black attire clinging to her form more reminiscent of a duelist's practical garb than the ceremonial robes of a Jedi, consisting of a black sports bra and shorts. Her fair skin was a stark canvas, and he could tell it was marked by the history of her encounters since a long, thin scar tracked dangerously close to her left, violet eye, a silent testament to her survival against what was probably a lightsaber strike.
Her hair, an unusual shade of silver, was cut short, a style that Luke realized would hardly snag in the heat of battle. The lightsaber at her waist was not ignited, but it's very presence spoke of readiness and power. He noted the careful way she held herself—a balance of grace and potential energy, like a moon in the tense moment before its eclipse. Luke's own experiences whispered to him that here stood a warrior who had seen darkness, yet one who also walked in the light—a virtual embodiment of the force's ever-present duality.
Soon, however, the projection looked at them, a wide smile crossing her features as she did so, as a spark of realization beamed across her gaze.
"Welcome to Syrax, Force-sensitive twins," The woman said at last, her tone pleased. "I am Master Jaenara Belaerys, High Councilor of the Valyrian Jedi Order. What can I do for you?"
Luke and Leia glanced at each other for a long moment before looking back at the remarkably realistic and colorful holographic projection.
"Good to meet you, Master Belaerys," Luke said slowly. "I must say, I have inspected several holocrons this past year but none of them had a gatekeeper that, well, was projected like that," He added, hoping she wouldn't take offense.
"Ah, so the mainstream Jedi Order has yet to improve their holographic technology for interactive teachings?" The silver-haired master asked with an interested tone of voice. "Good to know, I shall update that information to my database."
Leia took that moment to step a little closer to her brother whispered to him while keeping her eyes locked to the gatekeeper. "Is it normal for female Jedi Masters to have such...revealing attire?" The princess asked in a murmur.
Before Luke could shake his head with subtlety, the gatekeeper chuckled. "I can hear you and the answer is not usually, no," She told Leia, who had the decency to look a bit embarrassed. "However, while this enclave was getting built and making the holocron after that, I spent a lot of time in this island by myself, honing my survival skills through the Force so that I could impart that knowledge to the next pair of wanderers that crashed landed here. And during that time, I came to realize very quickly that if you are a female and are going to remain clothed while alone on this tropical island, then it's far more practical to remain in a well-made bikini most of the time."
Leia closed her mouth at that, not finding a good counterargument in her mind, so she let it go. Luke, however, took a step forward.
"So, you have left your personality matrix to teach lost Force users that become trapped here and improve their chances of survival then?" He pressed on.
The woman nodded. "Well, I am the one that focused on this island at least. Some of my fellow Jedi from the Valyrian High Council placed their own holocrons on the other enclaves scattered around the archipelago, though, in case other types of Force-sensitive wanderers discovered our safe haven the hard way: by crashing," She explained. "The Force trail does lead to the Great Temple at the largest island nearby but it's not always possible to land safely there, at least not after the atmosphere kills power on the starships that approach the surface. So, we left holocrons scattered around the isles to help guide aspiring Jedi through the difficulties they will face on the island until they have advanced enough in their training to use the Force to reach their final destination, which could, in turn, enable them to return home."
"So you do have a way off-world?" The adopted princess asked in a hopeful tone.
The silver-haired woman nodded. "It stems from our innovations combined with purified Rakatan technology, one of few civilizations that discovered how to blend the Force with mechanical innovations on an enormous scale, along with the Celestials and the Iokathians. However, and this is important, may I ask how much training in the ways of the Force have you both received?" She asked. "I am trying to calculate an estimate for how long it would normally take to teach you a required variety of Force powers to get to that point if you already know where to start, since you will both need to master that ability if you want to get to another planet."
Luke watched Leia wince at that, which made him sigh as the implications started to sink in right before he addressed the gatekeeper again.
"I didn't start learning the ways of the Force until I was 19 years old," He admitted. "And the Empire was very effective at purging members of the Jedi Order in its territory, so even after I found my first Master, Obi-wan Kenobi, he didn't have much time to train me until he was murdered. I spent three years after that trying to broaden my horizons and applying what he had taught me during the important missions I was undertaking for the Alliance to Restore the Republic and in some cases, I did get better but it wasn't until I found a wise Jedi Master named Yoda that my training advanced properly enough to make real progress. But, well..." Luke hesitated. "My training with him was also interrupted when I had to go rescue my friends and my sister Leia from a Sith Lord," He added in a deliberately vague manner. "By the time I returned, Yoda was about to die from old age and while he said I would become a Jedi Knight if I fulfilled the last task he had for me, which I did, I always felt that my training was incomplete. That's why I have been looking for holocrons like yours and other pieces of Jedi lore to expand my knowledge before I am ready to rebuild the Jedi Order. As for Leia, well, we didn't know we were twins until last year and while she is strong in the Force, she never really had a proper teacher before," He confessed.
The female gatekeeper was quiet for a long moment as she contemplated his words, probably updating the information on her databanks with entries involving what he had told her. Before long, she interlocked her fingers.
"In that case, teaching you both the necessary abilities to progress in your training enough to be able to use the Force for safe travel off-world will take a while," She informed them. "Especially given that your sister has no real practice using the Force at will. But don't worry too much, we can start with Force abilities that will make your survival on this island while stranded and unable to use electricity a lot easier. In fact, for a time, your powers will allow you to prosper while you remain here, compared to non-Force-sensitive individuals that would be in the same situation, at least. But regardless, this holocron was designed to help you every step of the way, so, I will do my best to be of assistance."
"That is good to hear," Leia said diplomatically. "How much do you estimate would be"a while"?"
"Depending on how much of a quick study you both are?" She asked with a barely perceptible shrug. "Somewhere between 3 and 7 standard years."
"What?!" The New Republic senator exploded. "We can't be away from the capital for so long! There are people waiting for us and others that need us."
"I am sure that's true," Master Belaerys said with sympathetic eyes. "But if you don't learn to harness the Force of this planet as we have in an exponential manner then you could easily use it to get off-world by folding space only to stumble into a black hole. Learning what you need to be able to travel the maze of the Unknown Regions safely takes time and effort."
Leia's shoulders slumped, her face consternated. Luke placed an arm around her to try and comfort her before they both sighed. "Alright," The adopted princess said in a resigned tone. "What do we do first?"
"Well, first of all, have you made a shelter yet?" The gatekeeper asked.
"No, but while our ship lost power it is mostly intact," The Jedi from Tatooine replied. "We have beds there and a roof over our heads. And about a month of canned food."
"That should work for now then," The silver-haired Jedi responded. "In the future, however, it would pay to make a handful of makeshift shelters around the island, including one close to the enclave itself. You never know when it's going to rain here and my training will take you all over the island to hone your skills. For now, however, I would wager that you could use a relaxing bath after all the stress you have had to deal with today."
"You are not wrong," Leia said slowly. "Do you know where we can find some water?"
"There are several lakes and springs scattered around this island," The projection of the Jedi explained. "The closest water source from here would be approximately three hundred meters west of here, after getting down from the mountain, that is. It's a collection of small lakes separated by rocks and height differences in the terrain, so you can designate one for drinking and another for bathing. I suggest you head down there and wash the tension out of your bodies, as well as getting yourself hydrated while you can. Then, head back to your ship and try to get some rest. I will start training you in a Force ability that could be key to your survival tomorrow, once you return to me."
"We will," Luke said with a respectful nod. "Thank you very much for your help. I hope we become worthy of your teachings."
Leia gave her a curt nod as well and with that, they turned around, heading down the stepped pyramid. If they had turned back and concentrated really hard, they may have been able to see the gatekeeper close her eyes in a way that would have reminded Luke of focus before wielding the Force and listened to her whispering the words, "Oh, I have a feeling you two will become most worthy indeed."