Into the Void: Star Wars (Dawn of the Jedi) Read Online Free Page A

waking those troubled memories once again.

CHAPTER TWO
THE GREAT JOURNEY

    In your early years, the flow of the Force might seem frightening, shocking. Find
     balance between its light and dark facets, and the flow will become a powerful stillness.
     Struggle against the Force, and your body rebels; fight with the Force and you have
     the universe on your side
.
    —Temple Master Vor’Dana, Stav Kesh, 10,441 TYA
    Two years
, Lanoree thinks.
It’ll be at least that long before I see Mother and Father again
. But such is the training of a young Journeyer. Their time at Padawan Kesh over,
     teenagers now, she and her brother Dal are embarking on their Great Journey. And they
     have returned home to say good-bye.
    Close to the sea on the southern coast of Masara lies Bodhi Temple and its surrounding
     settlement, her home since birth. Her parents are Je’daii and they teach at the temple,
     instructing young Force sensitives in the arts. Her mother specializes in music, prose,
     and poetry. Her father is a talented sculptor and artist. They made their own Journeys
     years before Dal and Lanoree were born—indeed, they enjoy telling the story of how
     they met as Journeyers—and they were both drawnto Bodhi, the Force exposing and celebrating their particular talents and strengths.
    Now it is time for Dal and Lanoree to journey across Tython to the other Je’daii temples,
     there to learn the ways of the Force. Science and combat, meditation and healing,
     the raw talents Lanoree has now will be honed and practiced throughout the coming
     two years. She is excited and nervous. And when her mother calls her close and asks
     that they walk across the grassland until they are alone, she almost knows what to
     expect.
    It is a fine, sunny day, and the sky is clear. Tythos blazes above, giving them heat
     and light. The Force binds her and her surroundings together, and she wears her Je’daii
     training sword on her hip. Though nervous, she is at peace. Until her mother begins
     to speak.
    “Look after your brother, Lanoree.”
    “I’m only two years older than him, Mother.”
    “True. But the Force is
strong
in you. You welcome it, and it nurtures you. Your father and I both sense your strength,
     and we also sense Dal’s weakness. He and the Force … there’s little love lost.”
    “He’ll learn, Mother. He has you and Father to look up to. You’re powerful Je’daii,
     and he’ll be the same.”
    “You are destined to follow us, I believe,” her mother says. She smiles at Lanoree,
     but there is little joy here. “But my worries for Dal are genuine and heartfelt. His
     interest in the distant past, our ancestors and history outside the system, places
     on Tython like the Old City … I’m afraid his fate leads away from the Force. Away
     from Tython.” Her voice hitches, and Lanoree is startled to see tears in her mother’s
     eyes, glistening on her soft brown cheeks.
    “I’ll make sure that
doesn’t
happen! I’ll guide and help him, I promise. That’s what we’re traveling for, after
     all.”
    “You’re traveling to learn to control and expand your powers. If the Force isn’t there
     to begin with—”
    “It
is
there,” Lanoree says, interrupting her mother. “I see it in his eyes. I think Dal
     just has trouble letting go.”
    “He wants to be his own master.”
    “And he will,” Lanoree said. “You know the teachings, Mother. ‘The Force is neither
     light nor dark, master nor slave, but a balance between extremes.’ Dal will find balance.”
    “I hope so,” her mother says.
    Lanoree frowns, pouting slightly. It’s a little unfair, she knows, using the look
     that her mother can so rarely resist. But it might be the last time. She is leaving
     as a child, and when she returns she will be a woman.
    “Fine, Lanoree,” her mother says, smiling. “I’m
sure
he’ll find the balance he needs.”
    Lanoree smiles and nods, and a little while later she and Dal take the first