Over the following weeks, Venar trained heavily under the guidance of Bastila, Master Zhar, and Master Dorak. Altogether the training was difficult and strenuous, yet he learned at an increasingly rapid pace. Bastila's combat training was especially unforgiving, yet she always offered kind advice and encouragement. He saw a different side to her during his training with her and Zhar. She seemed at home with the Jedi, at ease.

The worst part for him wasn't the rigorous combat training or the meditation. It was the endless studying. The Jedi have a long history, one he isn't especially interested in. He does better in his studies of the different aspects of the Force, for that he's genuinely interested in. Who wouldn't be? To find out he's able to tap into a power beyond his imagination is eye opening to be sure. He found himself pouring himself over the texts of ancient Jedi that outlined various Force techniques and abilities. He did find it odd that in all of his studies there was no mention of a 'Force Bond'. Then he realized how vast the archives here at the enclave were. They were only a fraction of the archives on Coruscant, yet there was still a wealth of information in them.

He had also heard of sealed texts. Writings and holocrons that had been locked away in the temple on Coruscant that were deemed too dangerous to be kept available. The more he read about the Jedi's history, the more he didn't trust them. According to his research, the Sith were a faction of Jedi that broke away from the Order and settled on Korriban. There, those Jedi met powerful Dark Side aliens that were native to the planet called Sith. The rebel Jedi set themselves up as gods and rulers to these aliens, intermixing with their culture and eventually adopting the name of the species.

Venar wondered if the Sith were really 'seduced' by the Dark Side as the Jedi proclaim. He found it difficult to reconcile that the Jedi and the Sith channel their power from the same source. Perhaps there was no such thing as the Dark Side of the Force but rather could it be that the Dark Side was simply a fiction created by the Jedi to cover their mistakes. Perhaps if the Jedi didn't take such extreme views on emotions and attachments maybe fewer Jedi would leave the Order. He found it ironic that the Jedi exist to protect others and keep the peace, yet teach that emotions are a path to darkness. The way he saw it, without emotions, why would anyone seek to protect anyone?

Venar was beginning to think the Jedi were more of outlandish cult than the peacekeeping guardians they were made out to be. Still, he did feel as if this was something he was meant to do. If not become a Jedi himself, then at least learn the Force from them. Perhaps in time, the Jedi could be reshaped into a more reasonable and balanced Order. For now, he just had to get through the training.

He walked into the training circle, Bastila waiting on the opposite end brandishing her staff. Master Zhar observed from off to the side. He had done this many times before over the previous weeks. Several times a day, in fact. He ran a hand through his combed-back hair, his fingers brushing the single braid that ran down the left side of his head. Sweat dripped down the sides of his head that had been shaved down.

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the pair of training sabers he held. He refocused himself, drawing his thoughts inward, closing his eyes and then sensing Bastila across the room. He could feel her heart beating even from here, felt her breathing. He reached out with his mind and probed her defenses in the Force, searching for weaknesses he could exploit.

His eyes shot open and he ran across the room in a blur, using the Force to augment his speed. His opponent brought her staff up to block but he leapt through the air, soaring over her head. He landed against the wall behind her, kicking off with his feet propelling himself further upward in a high arc. He came down on her with both weapons. She spun a kick straight into his chest, which sent him flying backwards into the wall. He slammed against it, but maintained his focus singularly on her.

He propelled himself off the wall and rolled forward and stabbed out with one of his sabers. She whipped her staff down to block it and then spun the other end to jab at his jaw. He reached out one of his hands and sent a blast of energy at her that sent her flying backwards. She backflipped as the surge of energy swept her off her feet. She landed on both her feet, skidding back a few inches along the stone floor.

It was her turn to take the offensive, she ran forward jumping into air, her body turning and twirling through the air along with her staff, arching down to meet him. Her staff struck his blades hard, the energy from the training sabers sparking and crackling. She drove a hard onslaught of quick strikes, trying to bombard him with a flurry to defend against. To her surprise, he blocked every hit she threw at him. She pressed his defenses harder and harder but her met her strikes every time. She drew her power inward and pushed him back several steps and then with a twirl of her staff sent one end purposefully hard against the stone floor. She sent out a powerful surge of energy that coursed through the staff and let out a powerful shockwave.

Venar responded by driving both his blades hard against the stone floor which helped to anchor himself in place. He surrounded himself with the Force, using it to weather the power she was sending at him.

She looked up to see he hadn't been swept backwards by her wave of Force energy. She concentrated and continued to increase her power, channeling it all towards her opponent.

He felt her power increase and drew himself further into the Force, concentrating on her. Time seemed to slow down, he could hear her heart beating again in her chest, he could feel the power she was emitting flow around him. He began to channel the power she was dealing out into himself, bottling it up. He felt it course through his veins and send a new surge of adrenaline and focus through him.

He shouted a cry as he dashed forward through the continuous torrent of energy. He slid down onto his knees across the floor and brought his training sabers hard into her ankles, sending her falling onto her back. He leapt forward with both blades as she brought her staff up to block the blow. He maneuvered his left blade under her staff as the right one struck atop it. He brought the left one up and applied pressure from both blades to send her staff spinning from her grasp across the room. Before she could move, he straddled her midsection and brought both blades to her throat.

She slumped backwards in defeat and let out a deep breath. They locked eyes for a moment, and to his surprise, she smiled. He got up and helped her to her feet as Master Zhar walked forward clapping his hands enthusiastically.

"Well done, Venar," the Twi'lek Jedi said, "You are progressing at an unprecendemted rate. I, and the rest of the Council are extremely impressed with your display thusfar. In a matter of weeks, you displayed a power and fortitude that rival most Jedi Knights."

"Thank you, Master Zhar," Venar said as he deactivated the training sabers, "I appreciate your guidance as well."

"It is time, then."

"Time for what?"

"To construct your lightsaber."

"You sure you trust me with one of those?" Venar let out a chuckle and was surprised when Zhar smiled in response.

"I do. Which is why you are about to complete your first task alone."

"What do I need to do?"

"There is a cave not far from the enclave, about a three hour hike north of here," Zhar explained, "inside there are various kyber crystal formations. One of those crystals will call out to you through the Force. That will be the crystal that powers your lightsaber."

"Yes, Master."

"Be careful in there," Bastila said, "Kinrath spiders sometimes make their nests in those caves. They're drawn to the energy the crystals give off."

"Lovely... nothing I love more than spiders..."

"I'm sure you will do just fine, Venar," Zhar said clasping a hand on his shoulder, "and remember, violence is not always the only option. Remember this in all things."

"Of course," Venar said with a bow, "I will leave at once."

Before venturing out into the grasslands of Dantooine, he decided to stop by the ship to get some things, one of which, was his blaster. Regardless of what Zhar said about violence being a last resort, it didn't hurt to be prepared. He strapped it underneath his knee-length Jedi tunic and gathered some supplies into a small knapsack he swung around his shoulder. He noticed the crew was looking more and more antsy by the day. Hopefully, it wouldn't be much longer before they took off on a new destination.

He set off on his journey, leaving the grounds of the enclave and making his way to the edge of the settlement. On his way, he reached out with the Force to sense his surroundings. He could sense each individual along the street as he passed by. A shopkeeper arguing with one of his employees, a mother holding the hand of her child, a rodian merchant selling maps of the area. He decided to go and purchase one of the maps. It wouldn't hurt to to have something to reference in case he had trouble finding the cave Zhar described.

As he turned to leave the rodian's stand, he sensed someone at the edge of the settlement. He saw an old Jedi man wearing pale almost white robes. He stood staring out at the grasslands and hills beyond with his hands clasped behind his back. Venar walked over curiously, wondering why the man's presence had jumped out at him the way it did.

"Excuse me," Venar said walking up behind the man.

"Oh?" the Jedi man turned to regard him, "ah yes, hello Padawan, how can I help you? My name is Nemo."

"Oh I'm not a Padawan yet, I'm still only an Initiate."

"I see. My mistake. What can I do for you, young one?"

"Well, I need to get to a cave Master Zhar told me about. He said its North of the enclave but other than that I'm not sure where to go."

"Oh I see," Nemo smiled kindly, the wrinkles around his eyes crinkling, "I can only tell you that you need to go in the opposite direction... this way is South."

"Oh... I uh... I knew that..."

"Let the Force guide you there. You must listen to the sound of your crystal, listen for it calling to you."

"I will do my best," Venar said, "what are you doing out here anyway?"

"I am meditating, preparing for a journey the Council has sent me on."

"Well, good luck with that. I better get going."

"There is no such thing as luck, my friend. Only the Force. Farewell, young one."

Venar walked through to the other side of the settlement, heading in the direction Nemo had pointed him in. It was early afternoon and gray clouds had obscured most of the sky. A light breeze swept through the air, flowing through his hair and the golden-brown grass of the plains.

He left the settlement behind, venturing out into the long grass that stopped just below his knees. He walked until he could no longer see the settlement or the enclave. He stopped and closed his eyes, reaching out into the Force. One by one he tuned out the sounds around him, the rustle of the breeze through the grass, the sound of his own breathing. He listened to the silence, waiting for any kind of signal or hint as to where his crystal could be. Nothing. He reached his conciousness deeper into the Force, searching for anything and everything.

Suddenly, he became aware of a faint scraping off in the distance. He opened his eyes and began to follow it to its source. He took off runnig through the field, the folds of his cloth tunic flowing in the wind. He ran for what seemed like miles, drawing on the Force to bolster his endurance.

He sensed the source of the sound growing closer just over the other side of a small hill ahead of him. He ran up and jumped off the ledge and landed in a patch of dirt about ten feet down. The source of the scraping sound was behind, though the sound itself suddenly ceased. A deep guttural growl reached his ears, and as he turned slowly, he was faced with a pack of six wild furry canine-like creatures. Kath hounds. He had heard about them from some of the Jedi back at the enclave. Vicious beasts that will attack just about anything on sight.

He stood his ground as they formed a circle around him, growling and baring their teeth. The alpha leader was twice the size of the others with a pair of large horns that curved around in a circular shape around its ears. Venar felt the fear rising up within him and worked hard to push it back down. He centered himself and reached out through the Force, seeking to ease the minds of the beasts around him. He held out his hands as if keeping the beasts at bay with an invisible shield.

The kath hounds began to back off slightly inching themselves away. They lowered their heads as if yielding to a superior hound. Except the alpha male. He let out a ferocious bark and lunged forward, striking out with his rounded horns. Venar tried to dodge out of the way a tad bit too late, getting knocked hard in the ribs and sent down hard on his back.

Already the hound was above him, its maw open wide, ready to take a fatal bite out of his throat. Reflexively, Venar's hands shot upward, grabbing the beast by its jowls. Its breath smelled of rancid flesh as saliva dripped from its tongue. Venar kicked upwards into the kath hound's underbelly, using the Force to augment the... well the force of his blow. The beast was sent backwards several feet landing hard in the dirt. As it struggled to get up, the other kath hounds moved in for an attack.

Venar was already back to his feet and had whipped the blaster out from underneath his tunic. Just as one of the feral hounds lurched forward, snapping its jaws, he backflipped into the air and fired several shots into the skull of the attacking hound. It slumped to ground, dead. The rest of the pack backed off for a moment, not sure whether it was wise to press the attack.

He didn't wait around for them to decide, though, and took off running as fast as he could. He used the Force to give himself a burst of speed but his energy was waning. He looked back to see that only the alpha was pursuing, the others had stayed with their fallen pack member. He fired several shots behind him as he ran, none of them hitting their mark. He ran harder and harder, trying his best to escape the predator.

Up ahead was another hill, this one taller than the the last but with a longer more gradual ascent. His muscles burned as he pushed himself up the hill, sweat dripping from his pores. He turned as he reached the top, facing the beast as it barreled up the hill. He took aim with his blaster and fired two shots straight into its left paw. The kath hound fell forward in a heap as its leg gave out from under it. It howled in pain and fear as it realized it was outmatched. It struggled back to its feet, and limped back the way it came as quickly as it could manage.

Venar sat down on the ground, exhausted. He used his sleeve to wipe the sweat from his brow and dug into the knapsack he had brought with him. He pulled out a jogan fruit and took a bite of the round purple and white orb. It tasted sweet and refreshing in his mouth as the juice dribbled down his chin. Surely, Bastila would have something to say about that had she been here to see it.

He had to admit, his senses still needed some... refinement. How he confused a kath hound pawing at the ground for a lightsaber crystal... well, he would just leave that part out when he got back to Zhar and Bastila. He was beginning to think he had been sent on a fool's errand. Maybe this was some sort of hazing the Jedi do to initiates. Not likely, though it amused him to think of Zhar, Vandar, and the others back at the enclave giggling to themselves at the thought of him out here searching for a magic crystal that was supposed to call to him.

How was he supposed to find a small rock that could fit in the palm of his hand in the span of an entire planet? Zhar was incredibly vague with the directions and only had a general direction in which to go. These Jedi wackos are getting stranger by the day, he mused. It was likely that this was some sort of test, some sort of rite of passage or whatever. Why couldn't they just hand him the crystal like a normal person and say, 'here Venar, take this rock to symbolize all your hard work and dedication'.

Just as he was about to lose himself to a rant to no one else but himself, he felt it. A peaceful chime swept through his mind that seemed to be carried on the air. He felt it through the Force, like a magnetic pull beckoning him to come closer. He tossed the jogan fruit aside, stood to his feet, and began walking in the direction the signal was coming from.

He couldn't help but feel somewhat excited that he was finally on the right trail. He brought himself to a brisk pace, eagerly following the course laid out for him. An amusing thought struck him that maybe he's just gone crazy to think that a rock is calling out to him.

He came to a tall cliff-face that had a small cave carved into the side. The melodic chime of the crystal echoed from deep within the cave. He switched on the glow-light attachment on his blaster and ventured inside.