Force Temple, Ilum

[Jar'Kail]

Jar's Aurek lurched as it came out of Hyperspace, he took a swig from a canteen of fresh water and flew into the asteroid field that seemed to guard Ilum. The large, white planet loomed, it was intimidating as a sleeping Wampa. The conditions were harsh, and the flight through the asteroid field tough. Jar'Kail used the Force to help him navigate the asteroid field. As he got through he flew into the white clouds of the ice planet. As he got a few hundred feet from the ground, the Grand Jedi Master sped to the Force Temple, it was a place that exsisted since the discovery of the planet. It had such a light aura that the planet was soothing. Few Sith know of its exact location, and fewer can navigate the asteroid fiel successfully. As he glided through the air in the Aurek, he got within visual range of the Force Temple. The Master Jedi landed his fighter and popped that hatch, he stretched, and fixed his white robes.

The Jedi Master blended in with the snow and ice of the planet, he seemed to be not there at all from a distance. The chilly wind blew hard and furociously. Jar's robes blew about in the wind. The Jedi gathered his robes to his side as he walked under the ancient canopy of the Temple Entrance. There was no door, but what seemed to be a wall. Jar knew the way in, he concentrated, summoning the Force, he held his hands in front and slowly spread them apart. As he did so, the wall shook and what seemed to be one stone, was actually two. It split apart slowly and stopped, there was a narrow entry way wide enough for one man to walk forward. Jar then came across a skeletal, six foot tall droid. This droid's eyes ignited green as he approached, it was an ancient gaurdian of the Temple, it had been built and programmed by the best Jedi Gaurdians of the old days. It held a lightsaber in one hand, the lightsaber was fully made of Electrum. The droid walked forward briskly. "Who dares trespass in the Force Temple of the Ancients!?" the booming voice of the Sentry sounded.

"It is I, Jedi Master Jar'Kail Mels, leader of the Jedi in these days. I have come to consult the spirits here, now let me pass, fulfill your oath to the Jedi Mastrers of the Republic." said Jar, almost commandingly.

"Ahh, a Master Jedi, one of those has not crossed through here in one hundred years. Prove to me you are a Jedi Master, and show me your lightsaber." said the Sentry.

"I am no fool Sentry, you will take my weapon and kill me, that is the trickery the Masters of the old times programemd you for. No Jedi Master would ever surrender their sword," said Jar.

"Good, then you are a Jedi Master, now what lay beyond is dangerous and filled with traps, you will need to pass this as a test." sounded the Sentry. Jar nodded and proceeded, he ha read of these traps before in the archives, the first was a test of the saber, a Sentry similar to the one who stood before him will instantly combat Jar. After words, the next trap is a test of his Jedi Knowledge. And the third is a test of his endurance. The third was legendary for killing those unworthy of the Temple's knowledge. Jar ventrued on, and after a half an hour, Jar'Kail came across a large room. In an instant the Sentry came to life and ignited a double-bladed lightsaber, it wss bright purple. The Sentry rushed the Jedi Grand Master. Easily Jar ignited his saber and countered the blow. It came back at blinding speed, and Jar used his Ataru stance and jumped wildly, attacking and using the aggressor stance to slowly gain an advantage. Eventually, Jar sliced through the Sentry's weapon. The Sentry fell to his knees, and Jar spared it. "You are turly a Jedi Master, a Sith would never spare a combatant. You may pass." the droid went back to its position next to the door and Jar passed.

[Jar'Kail]

Jar walked down a corridor, he could here the whispers of the anceint spirits, he could feel their presence. The Grand Master walked slowly to the next room. Once inside, he found himself in a room decorated in Force Crystals and in the middle was something alrge and shiny. It looked to be a large crystal. He cleared his mind and sensed some sort of switch under the large crystal type thing. Surrounding the room were pillars inscribed with the Three Pillars of Jedi Strength. As he stepped in to the middle of the room, something arose from the ancient crystal, it was a Force Ghost. "Ahhhh, Master Jedi.....I am the Jedi Master Arca Jeth. It has been long since one as strong as you has entered our halls. In combat you have a way of picking out openings, but through the Force is how this happens. This test is one of your Jedi Knowledge. I will ask three questions based on the Three Pillars of Jedi Strength. The first is what does Self-discipline mean to a Jedi, and how does one achieve it?"

"Self-discipline means to let go of constricting emotions, such as love, hate, anger, jealousy, greed, and narcisism. A Jedi achieves Self-discipline through meditation, the ability to clear his mind, consulting the Force instead of acting on brash judgement, and lving with compassion for all living things."

"That was the best description I have heard in millenia," said the ancient Arkanian Jedi Master, "now, how is knowledge obtained, and is ignorance real?"

"Knowledge is obtained through the Archives, the Force, and meditation. There is no ignorance there is the Force, meaning that there is no ignorance, only a lack of knowledge." explained the Grand Master.

"Good, now what is the Force, and is it a slave, or a power?" asked Arca.

"The Force is a universal energy that binds all things and also has many relations to midi-chlorians. A Jedi thinks of the Force as niether, but more of an aid and a religion. The Force has its own way of thinking and is available when called upon." said Jar.

"Excellent, now the next test is the final and the hardest. You must meditate for two days, in that time you must gather the concentration to lift the Crystal of the Force, the spirits will make the stone resist heavily, you must have enough concentration to overpower them." explain the Arkanian Jedi. Jar nodded and sat down in a meditation stance. He began concentrating heavily, clearing his mind of all distractions, the Kasha crystal in his saber aided him in this process.

[Jar'Kail]

After the accumulated concentration was achieved, Jar awoke from his meditation. He used all of his energies and thrusted forth such a large enegry in the Force that it made a ripple. Jar slowly started to lift the ancient crystal. His eyes rolled back in concentration. The crystal lifted high, and the switch popped up, the ancient door slid open, and Jar set the crystal down. The air it let in felt of death. The Grandmaster walked through and saw a large obsticale course that stretched out for a mile. At the end was what looked to be a giant press. Jar began by jumping over a ten meter crevace with a Force Jump.

The next challenge was a twenty meter long monkey bar course with a pit of spikes at the bottom. Jar used Force Speed and jetted across the bars. He made it through, it was rougher than the last test. The Master Jedi landed on a landing, and infront of him was a pit filled with posts that turn counter clockwise. The Jedi jumped to the first and it spun faster and faster every few seconds, finally at the last second, he jumped to the the second. This one started to swivel as it spun, Jar'Kail nearly lost his balance, but jumped before he did. This one suddenly stopped spinning, and it started rushing upward aiming to crush him. The aging Jedi rolled and caught on the ledge of the last pole. He finally pulled himself up. This started to slice itself ubruptly. As he was on the last two pieces, Jar leaped to the edge of the pit and pulled himself up. He brushed the sweat from his face and walked on. He walked over to the last challenge. It was a dark walkway, as he stepped forward, it lit up and a small panel said to take off his footwear. The Jedi did so, he walked on the burning bed of coals. As the pain hit him, he suddenly used the Force to ignore it. As he controlled his pain, the Jedi Master walked on. The walkways took up the rest of the mile. Jar walked for what seemed like nearly three hours. As he got to the end, he found his boots sitting there. He stepped onto the ground and began healing himself. As his burns went away, Jar put his boots on and walked to the final challenge. To prep himself he sat down and meditated.

[Jar'Kail]

Jar walked over to the large, suspended stone. He stepped on the pad and the rock lowered heavily, Jar placed his palms up and began to hold it. His breathing increased and he began to sweat, he was not ready to use the Force yet, but he felt the time would come soon. Jar was sweating profucely now, he used the Force to increase his endurance and strength. The Grandmaster stood for what seemed to be days, every ten minutes he applied more of the Force. He suddenly got near his breaking point, he knew he must sprint to the finish. He used what concentration he had left and forced the rock upward, he used a large Force Push and the rock jutted back into place, he had passed the final test, the door opened to the Hall of Learning. The aging Jedi collapsed, he was sevearly weakened from his final obstacle, he just layed there for a few hours. After recooperating, the Jedi walked into the hall, he Force Pulled his cloak over to him and put it on. Once inside, the door slammed shut, it was sealed. He walked to a small pad decorated with electrum trimmings and crystals for meditation. He stepped onto the pad and sat down to a meditative state. Once there he was suddenly standing in what seemed to be the middle of space, he had left his body.

He was glowing blue and seemed to be floating, Jar was very suprised. Then something was walking to him. It was what looked to be an ancient Draethos....It was Odan-Ur. The Draethos seemed to float along as it neared him, it stopped just a few inches infront of Jar. "I am Odan-Ur, The founder of this Force Temple, and the one who must teach you the ancient secrets of the Jedi Masters long passed. Touch my hand and I will show you how these techniques work, you will lose all living conciousness for ten days, during this time, all of the teachings will be streamed through the Force." communicated the ancient Draethos, the voice wass an echo. Jar reached out and touched his hand, then suddenly, everything went black.

[Jar'Kail]

Jar'Kail suddenly came out of his trance. He jolted up, he remembered lessons that he had not been physically taught...He stood in the cold, empty hall of the Force Temple. The Jedi stretched and yawned a little. Jar Force Pulled his saber and clipped it to the belt he was wearing. The last thing hr physically remembered was the spirit of Odan-Ur's specter talking to him,. then everything went b;ank and he did not feel like he was an individual anymore, he had been absorbed into the Force, actually leaving his body, it had felt so free to let go of life for those weeks. In his state he learned how to become one with the Force in the event of his death. The Grandmaster walked through the gate that allowed him to exit. He walked for what seemed like hours.

At the end of the tunnel, the Jedi Master ended up in the front of the Force Temple, where he spotted his ice covered Aurek. With one powerful Force Push, the Grandmaster heaved the near thousand pounds of ice off of the fighter. He walked over to the spacecraft and popped the cockpit, he settled inside and quickly closed the hatch. After a few moments Jar'Kail placed on his head piece and switched on the repulsors. It had taken the ship a while to heat up, but eventually the repulsor lifts burst to life lifting the ship off the ground, the Jedi then flipped a few switches, turning on the engines. He then plotted a course back to Coruscant. The Hyperdrive buzzed giving him the signal to take off. He punched the button and the craft jolted off at a neck breaking speed.