I pushed my hand to the side, moving a wall of brush out of the way. This exposed the clearing that we had finally reached. "Whoa."
As I stepped into the clearing, Sirius followed behind me. "Bloody hell."
Well, this was probably the last thing we expected to find here. Before us was a shipwreck.
It appeared to be ancient. The metal was almost completely rusted. Nature had swallowed it to the point where the metal beneath was barely noticeable beneath a thick covering of vines, ivy, and moss.
Behind it was a massive stone structure. I couldn't see much it in clear detail as the rays of sun distorted my vision. Despite it not towering above the jungle, I would still describe it as megalithic.
I slowly approached the wreck. Although it was mysterious, confusing, and very out of place, I felt weirdly calm. My mind was clearer than ever.
I brushed my hand across a portion of the hull that was covered in moss. It was solid and stably secured upon the rusted metal. "What the hell even happened here? It doesn't appear that the ship was damaged at all. Did it even crash?"
Sirius walked up to the ship, examining a portion of it that was just out of view. "There is a hole here… circular and the cut is quite clean. It may have been done with some kind of laser or maybe even a lightsaber."
I furrowed my brow as I walked over. I caught a glimpse of his back as he climbed through the hole. Once I laid my eyes upon the hole, I agreed with his analysis.
I followed a straight light trajectory that originated from the hole and was perpendicular to the ship. About 30 feet away, I found a piece of metal that was about the size of the hole barely exposed under a bush. "I'd say lightsaber."
I pointed to the piece of metal. "That piece of the hull was probably thrown from the ship using the force following the lightsaber cut."
I walked over to the hole and looked inside. I found Sirius examining a few objects that were resting upon a table. "Is there anything interesting inside?"
Sirius shook his head. "There's torn clothing and what appears to be decayed paper. There's only enough space for one person to travel comfortably."
I clicked my tongue. No clues. "Unlucky. On the bright side, I believe that they were a Jedi."
Sirius tilted his head. "Why's that?"
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, confirming my observation. "I haven't felt a hint of the dark side ever since arriving here. If a Sith was here for an extended period of time, there'd at least be a hint of their presence no matter how many thousands of years have passed."
Sirius nodded. "That makes sense." He then stepped out of the ship and gestured towards the ruins. "Well, shall we go inside?"
I looked towards it and felt something deep in my soul. It was a gentle but persistent pull that I couldn't resist. I was being drawn to the ruins. "Yes… Let's go."
I felt the pull weaken as I approached the structure. As the allure faded, the clarity within my mind was enhanced. I felt as if I could see through even my own emotions. The clarity was almost too much. Something was off. Was something or someone inside?
As we got closer, I was able to make out countless designs that had been carved into the stone. They had withstood the test of time. For some reason, moss dared not cover the stone. Even vines hanging down the massive stone blocks were sparse.
There were depictions of a man with dozens of blocks many times his size floating around him. Other depictions were of what appeared to be the same man meditating with a large group of creatures unfamiliar to me. The strangest, and least common, carvings were of what appeared to be a stone falling out of the sky and landing on an island.
Upon some further thought, I realized that this probably depicted the ship landing or crashing here. Was this structure built by the occupant of the ship? It couldn't have been built by natives. There were none.
Sirius was running his fingers across the carvings. "Was all of this truly done by one man?"
I looked around, carefully observing the engravings. "Jedi have means beyond men. Few things are truly impossible through a strong connection with and a thorough understanding of the force."
Sirius nodded before ascending the stairs that laid before us. I followed him up.
There was little damage done to the stone over the seemingly many years it had stood. Aside from some light erosion that must have resulted from rainfall, it was in great condition.
We reached the top of the staircase and arrived at an open entrance. There were no doors, no mysterious mechanisms, and no apparent traps. It looked as if anyone could just waltz in. What in the world was inside?
Sirius entered first and I followed in behind him. The inside was surprisingly bright. Most of the interior was lit naturally.
Mounted upon the walls and ceiling, there were strange crystals that appeared to absorb sunlight while emitting their own gentle glow. I doubted this place would be dark at night either.
The room was open. Large stone pillars supported the ceiling that had several large holes for light to come through. It was meticulously designed.
Every surface, no matter how small, was covered in carvings of the same style we saw outside. In here, however, they were in much better condition and even more vivid. Observing them made it appear as if the images were coming to life. It was astounding.
There was no overgrowth inside. Not a single bit of greenery could be found. How could this be? Isn't it a fact of life that eventually, nature will retake what once belonged to her?
As I walked around, I suddenly felt drawn in a certain direction. I slowly turned and found what I could only describe as shocking.
There was a stone circle with a pedestal in the middle. Resting upon the pedestal was a huge crystal that was about the size of a yoga ball. It was perfectly spherical.
I found my mind perfectly clear as soon as I laid eyes upon it. All that remained in my empty brain was a yearning to approach it. So, I did.
Suddenly, there was a loud boom. My vision blurred for a moment before everything briefly went black. I felt my back crash into the hard stone as air rapidly escaped my mouth. "UGHH!"
There was a sharp pain radiating from my stomach. Something had hit me with great force.
I coughed, wincing and tensing up from the pain that caused. I looked up from the ground and felt a fear that quickly swallowed me.
Standing between me and the pedestal was a huge green frog with brown spots. It's beady eyes stared at me and appeared to penetrate my soul. It was extremely intimidating.
Suddenly, I heard the hum of a lightsaber. Turning towards the sound, I saw my padawan rushing towards the frog.
Sirius quickly reached the frog and swung his lightsaber. The frog's tongue shot out of its mouth towards the lightsaber. It effortlessly deflected my padawan's strike, violently deflecting it. His lightsaber left his hand and deactivated, bounding helplessly across the floor.
I shouted despite the pain consuming my torso. "STOP!"
Sirius leapt back but remained in an athletic stance, ready for anything. "Why?"
I sighed, shaking my head. "You've become cocky after beating my ass for months. Neither of us stand any chance of defeating it. Besides, it seems to just be protecting the crystal."
Sirius paused for a moment and then nodded. "I see. What should we do?"
I shrugged. "Nothing."
After several seconds, I suddenly came to a realization. "Let's meditate."
I shifted, struggling to move my body with the severe pain I was feeling. I was going to have a serious bruise in the morning. Once I was in a seated position against the wall, I closed my eyes.
I felt confusion from my padawan before he followed suit. I felt his confusion vanish in an instant once he closed his eyes.
Now, it was just 2 men, a frog, and the force.
I felt the pain in my body disappear as a clarity so intense that I never thought possible overcame me. Everything I was confused about became clear to me barring one thing; the situation with my mother.
Nothing else was beyond me at this point. Ideas were flowing, problems were unraveling, and solutions were presenting themselves.
After what I imagined was a few minutes, I felt as if the frog was almost happy. Why was it happy?
I chuckled. "I think it likes us."
The frog responded with a croak that I could only describe as aggressive and displeased. Did it just understand what I said?
I cracked open my right eye and was shocked. The frog had what appeared to be an offended expression on its face as it glared at me. "Girl?"
The frog croaked less aggressively before closing her eyes. How fascinating!
I nodded. "I see. She can understand us. Honestly, I wouldn't appreciate being referred to as an it either."
Hours flew by. I felt my connection with the force and the world around me deepen by many folds. I felt a power flowing through me that was unimaginable to my former self. I could only hope that it wasn't temporary.
The sun shifted across the sky, the temple growing dimmer as it did. Eventually, even the interior was dyed in a hue of orange as the sun was nearing the horizon. Just a few more hours and it would be dark.
I then noticed that my comm link was chiming more than usual. It chimed every so often but this was out of the ordinary. I pulled it out and smiled. This was a welcome surprise.
I turned to Sirius as I stood up, wincing from the pain that had faded to a surprising degree in just a few hours. "I gotta take this. Don't wait on me to eat."