Before there were Lightsabers: The Beginning. Updated 10-27!

I updated!





The crowd cleared away from the barren square, but Mencar was still no where in sight. Jara's hopes fell, and she squatted down on the baking pavement, breathing raggedly. She felt something down upon her shoulder, and turned. Sure enough, Tarus stood behind her, looking a little confused.

"What?" she snapped, looking at Tarus full of hurt.

"You won," he said softly, "I wouldn't be the one speaking with a bruised temper if I were you," he cautioned, "I can tell you're not of these parts. Where do you come from?" he asked, still looking down at her. Jara stood, fidgeting uncomfortably and lost the angered look.

"I am a lost soul, Taris Carvin," she said mildly, turning on heel to leave. "You needn't worry about paying me for the fight." Her blonde hair swept around her back as she stepped with hot concentration away.

"Before you go," Tarus called, causing her to turn for a moment, "don't call me Carvin again. I despise my middle name." Jara smiled, amused, and cocked her head in confusion. "It's Tarus Kenobi. Know who it is you defeated."

With this, Jara laughed, her thoughts on Mencar fading for a single moment. The Sisterhood could not stop her now, she was free. "Okay Tarus Kenobi, perhaps I will let you remunerate me for the fight. You put up a good one."

He grinned, but winced in pain at his jaw. "Yeah," Tarus began, "but you definitely put up a better one." Tarus took a fair-skinned hand and rubbed his sore face. "You'll have to show me how you ever managed to fight like that in that dress."

Jara laughed and turned back to him, "Oh? Well, I suppose that will require you to wear it then?" Tarus's mouth dropped, and realizing his blunder laughed it off with mock horror. "Perhaps," she said, talking to herself, "I might fight better without a dress like this, do you know of a place I can get anything less restraining than this?"

Now it was Tarus's turn to strike back, but this time with words. "Well Miss Ducali," he said, voice lowering just to her earshot, "I once read about these people on primitive worlds like Tatooine where they fight naked?"

She punched him in the shoulder, but this time not to inflict pain. Tarus laughed and strode the other way. "Come on, there might be something to suit you over this way. I've grown up living in the Market it seems, so I know just about every shop." For a man who had just lost a fight to a younger girl, his confidence seemed well rooted and abundant.

The Market was a new experience to Jara. Although she was seventeen and independent, she had never seen such things like this before. Almost as if she were a child, her eyes glowered at the people and goods around the Market. Cloths of thousands of colors danced about her, and exotic foods tempted on trays.

"How is this?" Tarus asked, breaking Jara's trance on the massive scenery around her. She looked at Tarus with bright blue eyes, amazed at the variety of things around. His choice was modest and simple, a sandy colored tunic and leather belt. "What do you think? Perhaps you'll need some boots too, but that'll cost you another fight." He smiled.

She nodded eagerly. "This will do nicely, Tarus Kenobi. What is it?" The folds of the pale fabric felt course through her fingers, but the leather was oiled smoothly.

"It's customary among the outer worlds," he said, shrugging at the question. "It allows for easy travel, quick movement, and heat, a versatile choice."

Jara squinted towards the sun. "So I'm following tradition of the warrior?" she asked, looking keenly at Tarus.

"No, Jara Ducali," he said, locking his eyes on hers. "You are making it."







Well?

 

Whoo hoo!!!

uh oh, where'd her brother go?

Ohh!! The first Kenobi! I wonder if he's a cute as his descendent...

 

OO, Kenobi, nice twist... Good post too, loved that last line...

Can't wait for the next post!!!!!!!

 

I like this!

= Clare =

 

Hmmm... a Kenobi.... very interesting...

 

up!!!

 

Arna-- Just stopping by to offer a word on encouragement. After the raving comments, it's taking all my willpower not to read this! I just don't want it to influence Legacy. It's funny, when I first came on I hadn't seen any fics about pre-Jedi, but since then there've been three!

 

Hi everyone!

Yes, amazing, the author HASN'T forgotten about this, isn't it?

I want to tell you all that I am still alive, just extremely busy. I've been getting hit super hard with projects and homework, so I won't be able to update as frequently as I'd like.

As some of you might know, I'm also the author of Always in my Heart, so I have that to juggle too. Plus beta reading for Am and Guttermonkey, teaching Peter the ways of the grayside, AND trying to get Blue Orchids archived.

Needless to say, I'm really busy right now, but I haven't forgotten about BTWL. It'll just take time... So anyone want to up it for me?

 

Oh, hey, good start to the story! I've seen one other fanfic about the origins of the Jedi, but it wasn't a patch on this one.

I like the way the Force itself seems sort of raw and new- I can't help thinking that the wild, rebellious Jara at this point would be horrified by the Jedi Order of the Phantom Menace era!

I'll be interested to see how this turns out- it's a good era to play with, I think, so much potential in it.

 

Hi Arna! I just peek in to look at your story and I like it! I don't know, but fics from the pre-Republic and pre-Jedi Order era seem to attract me.

I like your characters, especially Jara. She seems to have a lot of spirit, and I like her being wild and spontaneous. The fight scenes are very well written and yet easy to read, so I don't get confused and can picture it in my head. Introduction of the Kenobi is definitely interesting move. I also liked how you portrayed the Force, and how Jara and Mencar discover "new levels" of it - it's their path to knowledge.

You're doing great here, Arna, and I hope you'll post more soon!

 

Don't sweat it, Arna. We're just really impatient.

UP!

 

I actually updated! *Gasp* Savor it, I'll try to keep up with this...but no promises.



Mencar edged his way through the crowded streets, examining the surroundings in awe. So many people around him, it seemed as though the whole planet was spinning around him, and he was in the very center. As the people pressed against him in a spinning haze, he suddenly felt like screaming.

Jara was gone. He had really done, he had left her behind. Mencar knew, the ache in his heart, that it had been the right thing. She could not follow him, yet she could not go back to the Sisterhood. He could not have stood to let Jara go, even goodbye would be painful. Goodbye to his sister, the only friend he'd known, the only family he'd known.

Jara was the world almost. Mencar, so insecure and cautious, gained confidence from her. She had radiated like the sun with energy, and that had kept him living. Day to day was hard among the Sisters, but Jara's taunts and teases had given him something to pull through.

Another day. It was just another day, it began like any other. Jara had been out practicing her new found Force; something Mencar tried to resist dabbling in. He winced, thinking about how much his life had suddenly changed. It was a day that was not extraordinary, nor was it exciting. He had felt nothing. Like every day before it, he had gotten up, dressed, and went to find his sister.

He hadn't known he would never do that again. Mencar would never see Jara, he would never get up in the same fashion. In fact, he was an orphan to the world, a lost, a miserable, a hopeless soul in a crowd of faces. Jara, his sister, so innocent and naïve, was gone, and Mencar had not said goodbye.

The goodbye was more painful then the separation, he told himself, trying desperately to relieve the angst and pain he felt. I am alone, he thought, looking round him. Jara was lost, left only with the old man and Tarus Carvin. He prayed, though not to the idols of Aven-dare as he had been trained to do for years, but to anyone or anything that could hear, that Jara would be safe.

Nothing mattered past that. She had potential to be great, this Force of hers was strong, a surge within her. Mencar could feel it alive in her, just as clearly as he felt it in himself. There was something unreasonable about it, so ludicrous he could barely believe it at times.

A Force, a living presence around him, her, and who knew what else. There was something definitive about it, and Mencar was so determined that he should ignore it. He didn't want to put up with it, the burden of losing Jara was enough. The Force was just a constant reminder of how much it hurt him: a reminder of her.

He had seen the way she fought Carvin, she had danced and spun as though it was only a game or grand ball. And the expression of pleasure she wore had made it obvious that belligerence was in her blood, it was a passion, an obsession, a hobby. He had never understood it, the way she had urged herself to work harder constantly, the way she pushed herself to the physical limit.

Like Carvin had said, Jara could do well enough with a nice dress and a smile, but she had insisted that ladyship was not her destiny. Destiny. What a funny thought, something that Mencar did not wish to believe in. Destiny was a mere distraction in his mind, and if destiny had wanted Jara and Mencar to be cast away from each other, then he damned it with all his heart.

Yet wait, it was he who had left her, it was not destiny that separated them. It was Mencar alone who had made the decision to leave Jara behind, but why? Why had he given away his reasoning, his logic, his life? It must have been certainly something. Destiny. The word shoved itself back into his ears like a whisper. Destiny. No, not destiny, not the Force, nothing. It was all too painful, but all too real.

Though his goodbyes could not be heard by her, there was a hollowness inside of him. Unfinished business couldn't be left in the air, especially of this matter. Jara

 

up

 

Nice and sad...

=Clare =

 

up!

 

*cough*shameless up*cough*

 

how sad!! But great!

UPPERS!

 

Sorry I missed the post!

WOW! DEEP!

And impressive!

I love the idea of destiny dancing in his mind!

GREAT JOB!

 

I updated! Gasp! At the insistence of my Shadowan...(hey who's giving the order's to who here?? )




Enjoy, I had a LOT of fun writing this...except for all the research I had to do on the net to write this...




Mencar looked at the silent road ahead as dusk fell upon him. It was the first time he had ever looked upon the starry sky in the crisp air of the night. He had no recollection, no memories, no thoughts of anything else but the walls. The walls that had confined him for seventeen years, and now, they were nonexistent. He could feel the chill of the air, hear the sounds of the night, and see the darkness around him.

Something tugged silently at his heart, and he suddenly felt rejuvenated. The Sisters no longer had a handle on his life. He was free, whether Jara was with him or not. Now his mind no longer was under the control of their teachings, and his soul was free to do as he wished. Mencar smiled wryly to himself and laughed, despite his empty surroundings.

His laugh was hearty and loud, the noise was an eager distraction from the silence he'd lived in for so many years. No more silence would be needed now, and Mencar was anxious to escape the reciprocity of morals for his life that he'd been burdened with. He heard footsteps behind him - or perhaps he'd sensed them. Nonetheless, Mencar turned around in caution.

The man behind him was red-faced and round in appearance. The expression on his face was of pure stupidity, and Mencar tried desperately to keep from laughing. It wouldn't have mattered though, the large man stumbled along the path, chuckling over nonsense in the wind.

There was something amazingly appealing about the man's stupor, and Mencar grinned. In the distance, close to where the fellow had sauntered from he could see a faint glow, apparently that of a tavern's welcoming glow. He let loose a short guffaw at the drunken man and eyed the light again. It was tempting, and Mencar obliged. The Sisters wouldn't permit such goings on among the solemn walls of the temple, but among the common folk of Coruscant, the drinking was famed.

He hadn't tasted the strong liquor of beer, nor had he smelled the pungent odor of whiskey. But renewed with a sense of freedom, and depressed by the loss of Jara, it might have held the key to a few hours of delusional happiness. And so, Mencar Ducali took a step closer towards alcohol.

The tavern turned out to be less than he expected, but Mencar surveyed that it would fill his purposes well enough. The owner was similar in appearance to the man he had seen before, brawny and thick boned, with a constant look of terrifying rage on his fat lips. All those around him didn't give more than a second glance to the well-combed Mencar, still adorning the starched tunic of the Sisterhood.

He glanced around in apprehension and at last took a seat on an empty stool near the counter. The bartender chose to ignore him, giving him no more than a cautious glare. The man next to him, loud and obnoxious laughed heartily before slapping Mencar on the back.

"See now, boy!" he exclaimed, laughing again before taking a long swig of ale, "If you really want Master Darvenday to give you more than an evil glance, you best show him who's man!" His teeth, revealed in a stinking smile, were browned from alcohol consumption and his breath smelled strongly of it. "You'd best prove your more than a boy trying to get a bloody drink!"

Mencar nodded with a polite smile as he cringed away. Coughing loudly, he pulled roughly on the bartender's sleeve. "Darvenday, that's your name? Would you mind getting me a?bloody beer?" he said, trying to imitate the man's dialect beside him. Master Darvenday snarled a caustic laugh at Mencar and slammed a heavy mug of frothy beer on the counter. "There's your beer, boy. Drink up before Mommy comes and find you."

Mencar brushed the taunt aside and took a heavy sip of beer, feeling the liquid rush down his throat. The taste seemed stale on his parched lips and at once things seemed a bit w

 

it was still great, Arna!!

(I don't either... sorta.. )

 

Uppity do da.

 

Great post, Arna! I think you did just well with the fight... And I liked how you described Mencar's emotions and sadness from the departure, as well as his opinions on the destiny. Great work!

 

Thanks everyone! I'll try and have more up this weekend!

 

Arna, I finally got to catch up in here. DRL has kept me hopping!

I missed so much! Mencar left; and now he's getting into drunken bar brawls!!??? Yikes! [face_shocked]

He needs to get back on track... this looks like the way to the darkside!!! *shouts* No Mencar! Come back!

 

uppers!

Going whale watching tomorrow morning.. tell ya if I see anything!