Before - Legends In the Shadows, Darkness lies. (Updated 5/4/03)

*shudders* Hope they didn't mean devour in the literal sense! Poor girl: it's a good thing Tara and Davin were there. It sounds like she could do with all the help she could get!

 

I'm glad Davin was able to help calm her. The whole village??? And what's become of them? Out of interest why were Tara and Davin there in the first place?

Lots of questions and mystery keeping me guessing!

More!!

 

I appologize for the belated reply - it's been rather hectic here.

This is cool. The characters seem very interesting, and I can't wait to see what you make of them!

Just Jill

 

Out of an entire village only one girl is left?! Something odd is going on here...

Can't wait to see what Tara and Davin find out!

Coooooooooolllll!!!!

 

Hey all

Thanks for the comments, I hope that this answers most of the questions....but hopefully not all. See what you make of it anyway. If any one has any suggestions on how to improve it or what is good/bad about it- I wouldn't mind hearing it.

Hugs
Kithera

****

Tara stared across the orange glow of the fire light as Davin conversed freely in Erani. Ramii sat spellbound beside him bouncing her plump brown-skinned baby in her lap. Despite the fact that Ramii already had a child, Tara surmised that the girl would be about sixteen, Tara?s own age. Ramii had, so far, told them about how the giant objects had descended from the sky and captured her fleeing tribe in giant nets before the terrible creatures had eaten them. Tara had quickly surmised that that they were flying transports, but Ramii had simply looked confused at this suggestion and had repeated that only gods and birds could fly through the air like that.

Behind Davin sat the row of small statues that represented the Erani gods. Davin had rescued them after Ramii had refused to re-enter the village. She had claimed that it had been cursed by the gods and anyone who entered would face a horrible death.

?Your coming here must have been a sign of the gods.? Ramii was saying, ?Perhaps they have not abandoned us, perhaps it was a test.?

?We weren?t sent by the gods,? Tara said emphatically, ignoring Davin?s frown. ?We?re Jedi. We came because we are going to be living with the Elani tribe and studying the culture.?

?I grew up here.? Davin explained softly, ?My master lived and recorded the culture of the Elani and I?m planning on doing the same. We were planning on visiting your tribe later in the year, but all of a sudden I got this urge to come here first before seeing the Elani. It could have been a call from the gods?

?Why were you visiting?? Ramii asked as little baby Ari grasped at one of her fingers.

?I wanted to see Chief Sarandi,? Davin smiled as if at a memory, ?We had a couple of wagers to resolve.?

?Oh.? Ramii looked suddenly heartbroken. ?Chief Sarandi was my...my... husband, and the first taken? Her bottom lip began to tremble and she bowed her head so that her brown curly hair hid her eyes. Davin reached a comforting arm around the young woman?s shoulders.

?Ari needs to go to bed.? Ramii said swinging the baby up onto her shoulder. She stood hurriedly and almost ran across to the makeshift tent she had created.

?Master, you can?t seriously be suggesting that the Erani gods had a reason for us coming here.? Tara suggested poking the fire with a stick.

?When something unexpected happens the Jedi say that it is the will of the Force.? Davin said moving around the campfire to sit next to. ?When a Jedi dies or a mission goes astray for no reason then the Force moves in mysterious ways. When against all odds things work in your favour then it is the will of the Force.? He paused as Tara finally stopped jabbing the coals with her stick and then added softly, ?Why is this any different?

?I don?t know,? she sighed softly, ?this culture feels so strange.?

?It did to me first too.? Davin said, ?It took my an entire year to get used to the quiet nights and being away from the temple. My sabaac skills have never been the same.? A cheeky grin lit his face as Tara glanced at him an eyebrow raised. ?I?m sorry for not helping you with Ramii today.? He added after a moment, ?to the Erani the statues of the gods quite literally contain the essence of the gods. To leave them behind signifies the death of a tribe. The shock of finding them after such a short time of returning home, unfortunately didn?t make me much help.?

?That?s okay, Master.? Tara said reaching out and putting one of her hands on his legs. ?I?m afraid I didn?t deal too well with it myself. What are we going to do with Ramii??

The young woman could just be seen crooning over the baby?s sling.

?Take her with us to the Elani.? Davin said, ?We can?t really leave her here.?

?And what about trying to get

 

An interesting look at how the Force and the gods are not so different. Excellent argument!

I like the conversations between Tara and her Master. It's nice to see him teaching her with patience and love.

Excellently done.

Just Jill

 

Wonderful, masterful job Kit'.

 

Hey all

Apologies for missing last nights post. Things have been a bit hectic around here lately - two of my flatmates decided to move out today and things are a bit confused and emotional at the moment. If there are no posts forthcoming over the next few days then just bear with me.

Hugs

Kithera

 

?It did to me first too.? Davin said, ?It took my an entire year to get used to the quiet nights and being away from the temple. My sabaac skills have never been the same.?

I just totally loved that line!!! Great story so far - and Davin's becoming a bit of a fave. Just don't go and do somthing like, say...kill him off! *whistles inocently thinking of all the other fantastic characters that Kit has 'removed'*

 

Wow, that was absolutely amazing!

I can't wait to see what happens when they get to the other tribe. Hopefully they haven't suffered the same fate as the others.

Great post!

 

Thanks everyone for the comments. I'm sorry its taken so long to post another bit. I promise it won't be so long next time.

Just_Jill: An interesting look at how the Force and the gods are not so different. Excellent argument!

Thanks. It's something I've noticed a lot in both my studies in World Religion and also in fanfic. Most religions are striving, essentially, for the same goal and if people only possessed tolerance then sometimes I think we might just have less disharmony.

Agent_Jaid: Thanks! Much appreciated

Jemmiah, I don't kill characters off that often! I mean I've killed...
Sara and Marcus in TLST, Merriam in the Black Sheep Trilogy, Dmara in MindGames, Kithera's Master in UsJs and...and...Okay - so maybe I have killed off a major character in every story! That doesn't mean I'm going to kill one of in this one....really! Why doesn't everyone believe me!



Monica_Skywalker: You're just about to find out.....

Leona: Thanks I'm glad that people really noticed the references about the gods. It is certainly going to play an important factor during the story...


And now for the next installment....

 

Tara marched across the bone-dry ground her feet creating tiny clouds of dust and sand that settled on the edge of her boots and then slid quietly down inside until they clogged her sweat soaked socks. Sweat ran down her forehead and into her eyes and mouth. Her teeth crunched on sand and her lips were cracked and chaffed. She was too used to the controlled temperature of the Temple to really deal with the rugged and omnipresent heat of Erani. Ahead of her, strode Davin and Ramii seeming to not notice the heat, the insects and the dust. Davin was gesturing wildly as he told a story about his childhood and Ramii was laughing. Her brown and black curls bouncing wildly as she walked. The little baby Ari was quietly sleeping in a sling on Ramii?s back, seeming to mind the sun and the dust less then her mother did.

Ahead through the glaze of shimmering heat the outline of the ship was getting larger and more distinct. Ramii seemed to be heading towards it without a worry in the world. Her entire attention seemed to be enraptured by Davin?s waving arms and wild stories and yet the young woman still managed to move gracefully between the spiky tufts of grass and avoiding stones and tiny hillocks.

Tara waved the flies away from her face, worrying what they would do when they actually reached the ship. She wondered if Davin had anything prepared, or as always, her master was simply going to ?go with the flow of the force? as he liked saying. Sometimes Tara despaired that her Master was never going to become a proper Jedi and live within the rules and confines of the temple. In fact sometimes she wondered why he was a Jedi at all with his blatant disregard for anything resembling rules and regulations. The only reason that she had managed to get him to wear his Jedi clothing on this trip, rather then the gaudy red and orange things he found in the back of his closet, was by reminding him that they needed to seem official. Davin had laughed and, after two days of her constant nagging, finally relented. Tara marvelled at the way that her Master always seemed to be at ease, while she always felt on edge like everyone was waiting to pounce on her every move. She sighed softly, masking the sound with the crunch of her boot against the brown crumbling dirt.

?We?re almost there, Tara.? Davin called back cheerily. Tara noticed that he didn?t have a single bead of sweat upon him and both marvelled and grumbled under her breath at the fact that he seemed to be used to this appalling, inescapable heat. They were drawing nearer to the ship now, its sleek white body shimmering in the sun. Tara watched Ramii approach it cautiously a look of bewilderment and wonder showing openly on her face.

?This surely is the wonder of the Gods.? Ramii whispered loud enough for Tara and Davin to hear.

?No.? Davin shook his head, and palmed the door switch, ?It?s a wonder yes, but it?s a beast of metal and machinery and the great god Carissii, the inventor, would never put his name to such an ugly thing.?

The brown skinned girl jumped back slightly as the door of the ship hissed and slid into the hull of the ship. The coolness of the interior flowed out and was immediately drowned by the overwhelming heat of the desert air.

?We?d better get inside.? Davin muttered glancing at Tara, ?before my Padawan melts in the midday sun.?

Tara glared at Davin, the beginnings of a heat headache forming at her temples as she did so.

?I?m not going to melt.? She snapped as she heading faster then she would have liked into the cool darkness of the interior, ?this planet is just too hot to be liveable and bearable, that is all.?

Ramii followed her, with baby Ari on her back, and Davin brought up the rear. The young Eranii woman touched everything as she entered her face a mask of wonderment.

?If you mouth gets any wider, you?ll swallow the ship.? Davin said teasingly leading the young native woman towards the back of the transport. Tara settled in at the control panel and began preparations.

The ship shudder

 

More shouts rang out and then without warning the older boys were gathering long pointed spears and were rushing up the hill towards them.

eek, that can't be good!

Beautifully written post, Kit'!! I can't wait for the next post!

 

Uh-Oh! Methinks something is not going the way they want. Boys running at you with pointy spears is not my idea of a warm welcome!

I felt like I was spitting out dirt and gravel with Tara as she walked. And I know that dirt clouds mixing with sweat in her boots have now made a paste and that makes walking even more uncomfortable!

A fabulous post Kit'!