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Pulling an arm up in front of his face, Shalken fought against the ferociously bitter wind and snow. He heaved heavily from exertion as he trudged slowly through the knee-deep snow, breath crystallizing as soon as it left his mouth. Blinking the snowflakes off his eyelashes, he wiped away at the frost that had gathered on his datapad. It should be around here somewhere...
Before setting out from the Dantooine stronghold, Shalken had packed many of his belongings into a sack and done some research on the Justicars. While he knew that his brother was off training with his friend Orrin to become a Justicar, this was not always typical, and Shalken did not know any Jedi like Orrin to offer him the same degree of attention. As such, he looked up the known gathering-places of the current Justicars. One clan that caught his eye, the 'Ironwood Guard', had set up a small base of operations on the cold planet of Obroa-skai. Though he had copied this information into his datapad, Shalken was beginning to worry that it was either outdated or entirely false.
Scaling a steep, snow-covered hill, the Jedi was once again thankful for his new set of armour he'd acquired from his friend Mathias. It was vastly warmer than his old gear which he'd worn defending the Chancellor. He had clipped his old cape to it as well, but was now starting to regret this decision; the flowing, silky garment was no match for the harsh winds, and threatened to pull Shalken right off his feet. Peering through the blizzard once again, he could see the dark recesses of a cave in the rocks up above him.
Finally reaching the top and hauling himself onto solid ground, he lay there for several moments, breathing heavily. However, he was not allowed to rest long; he was interrupted by a sudden ferocious growl coming from the cave's entrance. Scrambling to his feet, Shalken extended his hands cautiously as his eyes were greeted by a massive, off-white wolf. While he had seen many ferocious creatures in his lifetime, he'd never encountered a beast that was quite as intimidating. Pacing back and forth, the dire wolf snarled viciously, and Shalken fully expected it to lunge at him. When it did not, the Jedi reached out his mind to try and soothe the beast. Expecting a soft and malleable consciousness, Shalken was shocked to instead encounter a massive mental wall of primal instinct and feral willpower. He began to doubt his journey; were the archives wrong after all, and this was merely a wolves' den? Was it all in vain, in the end?
"Drem, Fenar!"
The wolf's low rumbling vanished and its snarl disappeared, though it held its ground at the entrance. Behind it, an orange glow appeared from inside the cavern as a man with a torch tread out to the cave's mouth. He was garbed in thick leathers and plates of armour, and over his shoulders was draped a large, fur cape. The man was old, his features burdened with the passing of time; and yet, behind his grey eyes gleamed a certain wisdom and understanding. "You have come far, brother. What business do you have with the Ironwood Guard?" Clearing his throat, Shalken spoke after what felt like an eternity. "I have come to learn the ways of the Justicar."
Looking Shalken up and down, his gaze rested on the Master's eyes, pausing for several moments. "I see. Come, I will lead you inside." Edging his way towards the stranger, Shalken tried to keep a safe distance away from the wolf. Noticing his hesitance, the man chuckled lightly. "Fenar will not harm you; he is well-trained, and I have commanded him so." Reassured, Shalken stepped into the cave, and followed the strange cloaked man into the cavern's inky darkness below.
Though this thread is open, it is death-disabled as its primary purpose is for progressing the story of my character Shalken. It is open to anyone that would have any reasonable excuse to be on a dreadfully cold planet in Republic space and at a hidden location inhabited by Jedi Justicars.
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