(3rd Person POV)
Stav Kesh, the Temple of Martial Arts, is one of the nine Je'daii Temples of the Je'daii Order on the planet Tython. A temple-city fashioned from sandstone, Stav Kesh was built on the slopes and peak of a mountain in the Ice Giant Range, a mountain range on Tython's continent of Kato Zakar, and it sat above where the Tho Yor pyramid ship that had brought the first pilgrims to the Ice Giants 10'000 years ago, was buried in the mountainside. Stav Kesh was one of the stops along the Great Journey that all Je'daii Journeyers took. Its inhabitants and Temple Master taught martial arts, weapon combat, and other forms of combat to all who came to the Temple.
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But today, it was a battleground in the war that has overcome Tython.
Hadiya's army has Stav Kesh surrounded, cutting off supplies and any form of reinforcement. The forces have laid Stav Kesh under siege in an attempt to control the war further and isolate the individual Je'daii groups defending the planet. And it has been working, at least somewhat. The inhabitants of Stav Kesh have managed any attempt by the Despot Army to move forward. The Temple Master of Stav Kesh was a Talid named Lha-Mi, and the Noghri Tave served as assistant Temple Master. Together, they maintained the position and attempted to boost the morale and resolve of their forces as the siege continued.
But nothing lasts forever. The true attack had arrived, and two of Hadiya's generals, Left Fist, Shri-Lan and Right Fist, Gav Vannar, had arrived and were pushing forward. They did what they were recruited to do, and that was to lay waste to all of Hadiya's enemies. They moved up the mountain slowly but surely. Taking into account that they will lose forces, but that the Je'daii would too and that in the long run, the Je'daii would lose. Blaster fire and explosions were heard, targeting the opposite mountain range to cause an avalanche. As the days passed this way, Temple Master Lha-Mi and Tave did the best they could to push the date of their doom further back. They fought with teeth and nails, swinging their Force sabres and using the Force to push back the invaders, but it was no use. Then came the final confrontation.
Choosing to go on the offensive for one final time, Lha-Mi and Tave led their remaining forces against the Despot Army. They shouted their battle cry and deflected blaster fire back at the enemies. The Temple Master was a true master of martial arts, and while his use of the Force was not as good as the Temple Master of Qigong Kesh, he was still powerful. He uses Force push to push the droids backwards, causing them to crash into one another and swings his Force sabre through the air. He cuts through one body after the other, moving like water and stinging as deadly as a bee. He was the first to do it like that, he was sure. Then he felt something, a danger and negativity coming from just up ahead. There he saw it, the Right Fist General of Hadiya's army, Gav Vannar.
"AHAHAHA, finally a worthy opponent. Come, little wizard, and entertain me!"
The two fighters clash. Their weapons cut through the air and hit each other, each of them pushing their hardest. Lha-Mi backs away and dodges a hammer coming from Gav Vannar's second hand. He jumps into the air and brings his sabre down. He enhances his strength using the Force and crashes into the General. Gav Vannar is a bloodthirsty individual and experiences a great rush when fighting this way. He lives for combat and death and enjoys nothing more than feeling the warmth of blood on his fists. That's also why he uses blunt weapons, such as his two hammers. His natural strength is impressive, enough to go against the experienced Temple Master of the Martial Arts Temple. There is a speed difference, though, and Lha-Mi manages to inflict chip damage on his opponent. Their fight goes on, and as he bleeds more, it seems as though Gav Vannar grows more ferocious.
"Hahaaaa, YES! Give me MORE!!"
He swings his hammer wildly and forces Lha-Mi to dodge, but by doing that, he is suddenly hit by the second hammer.
*BOOM*
The hammer hits his temple and throws him off his feet. For a split second, the world turns dark for Lha-Mi, and he desperately tries to stand back up. The picture of the Supreme Grandmaster flashes through his mind as he remembers the words he spoke to them. 'You will all lose this war, for you have let the peace you enjoyed get to your head and mistake it for power. But you will all wake up soon.'
He was right. They were arrogant and had let their skills cloud their judgment, thinking that there was no one else in the Galaxy who could possibly match them. They were the first to use the Force and be guided through it... and yet, it was Primus who initially taught them about the Force and how to treat her ... her? Lha-Mi wonders.
*BOOOM*
In the last moment, Lha-Mi is saved by Tave, who engages Gav Vannar. He is pulled out of his thoughts and starts to use Curato Salva. Curato Salva are a set of Force abilities related to self-healing. Designated as one in a family of Control abilities, curator techniques focus on self-healing, staying fit, maintaining endurance, and extending lifespans by staving off decay and flushing out any poisons or diseases within the bloodstream. His head clears, and he gets back on his feet. However, just as he does so, he sees the second General, Shri-Lan the Left Fist, arrive behind Tave. She stabs him from behind and kills him.
"NOOOOO!"
Lha-Mi rushes forward and starts attacking Shri-Lan with furious strikes. The powerful martial artist quickly gains the advantage and is just about to kill her when a hammer appears in the corner of his eyes. Instinctively, he dodges the attack and swings his Force sabre in a round arc, attacking Gav Vannar. But the strong man is ready for it and smashes his hammer forward, pushing Lha-Mi back slightly. But the Je'daii is enraged and uses Force speed and Force sight in this fight. Force sense is among the most basic of Force abilities. It can be used to feel another being's feelings, the future, ripples in the Force caused by momentous or traumatic events or as Lha-Mi is using it, for impending danger.
He dodges another attack coming from Shri-Lan and strikes forward. However, the two Generals are a skilled duo and are accustomed to fighting together. The tide of the battle is hanging in the balance, and it seems as if Lha-Mi might just get the win here. But then he reaches his limit. Using two Force abilities like this drains a person of his mental strength, and while he might not notice it, the body is also pushed to its limits. There are very few Je'daii alive who could manage to use two abilities at once and only one who can use more than two.
*BOOM*
*SHING*
A hammer smashes into his head, and a vibrosword cuts through his body at the same time. His body falls to the ground ...
"Huh, that was quite a strong one. I think he may have even given us some trouble had this gone on longer."
"He almost killed us right now. Look at you; you're bleeding like a waterfall. You should check that out."
"Bah! I would have survived."
"Keep telling yourself that."
.
"Stav Kesh has also fallen. It is not looking good."
The Je'daii High Council was at their wit's end. The war hadn't been going on for very long compared to other wars in the galaxy, but it was long enough for them to despair. The Force wasn't helping them; the future was unclear and uncertain for some reason. They should have been strong enough to deal with this threat, but it wasn't working. They were losing too much ground. However, nothing was over yet. The war concerned all of Tython, and the planet was large. The Je'daii knew their home better than the invaders, but they were scared ... scared that they had made a terrible mistake and might not make it.
In truth, the Je'daii were doing splendidly. It appeared as though they were losing one temple after another, which was true, but looking at it from a broader perspective, they were doing very well. The Despot Army had one thing to their advantage, and that was tremendous numbers. They threw themselves at the Je'daii like the Imperium of man did. The Je'daii were culling the Despot Army by the thousands, and it wouldn't be possible for them to continue doing this for very long. The only question now was whether the Despot Army would gain enough ground to settle and fortify their positions and wait for their numbers to increase again, or would the Je'daii manage to push them back enough to win a decisive battle?
There were far more things at play here than met the eye. For one, the temples which the Despot Army managed to capture weren't, in the grand scheme of things, that essential for the Je'daii. Winning them meant little, except for a position from which they could launch an attack. The stronger Je'daii were those who were closer to where the Council and the Je'daii Masters were. The Despot Army had to spend a lot of effort into killing a handful of them, and it cost them a lot of soldiers.
And finally, there was something else. Another person who still hadn't moved a muscle in this war. The Supreme Grandmaster himself. He was located at Akar Kesh, the Temple of Balance, where he had founded the Je'daii Order 10 millennia ago. He had planned to found the Je'daii Order far longer than that, but creating the Tho Yor took some time, and he wanted to ensure everything was as he envisioned. Primus sat in his meditative position, floating above the ground, and listened to what the Force was telling him. It had all started this way, with him listening to the Force and her telling him whatever just came to mind. It was chaotic at times and urgent at others. He smiles thinking back to it and is also a bit saddened by the events which have kicked off now that the war had reached Tython. Because he knew the truth of it. Not only had the war arrived on Tython, but great change had arrived as well. Nothing would ever be as it was before.
Primus saw it clearly and was well aware that he could stop it from occurring. He could be the one to stop it, but he chose not to. Not because the Force told him not to; she hadn't done that in a very long time. She seemed to just go along with what he wanted. Maybe because he was doing things similarly to how she envisioned it, but that wasn't the case. Primus was essential in a way that no one could genuinely understand because who could claim to comprehend a primordial force truly?
Primus had his own plans, and as he observed the different futures, like the King of Quincy called it, millions of grains of sand, which change from one moment to another. He didn't look too far into the future. That would be boring, and he likes to experience life as it happens. The need for control has diminished over the years, and he also didn't control his children. He knew where they were and what they were doing and was content with their decisions. It was their life, and they could decide what to do with it, even if it was he who might have to clean up afterwards.
Primus could feel one of his most devoted followers arrive before it happened.
"My Lord, I-"
"It's alright, Shu-Rak. I understand."
Primus stands on the ground and touches Shu-Rak's shoulder. And with a thought, they both disappear, teleporting into the meeting of the Council. The others and Shu-Rak are surprised at this.
"Well, my dear fearful Padawans... it seems you had quite an interesting time. But enough of this. It is time to end this war."
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We will see Primus in 'action' in the next chapter. It's been a while.
See you next week