A Quiet Lake

[Rik Idannian]

Roughly two months ago…well no less than two…or greater than four… *ahem* ....

An indeterminate time in the near past.



It was twilight. The sun’s first rays were just warming the mountainous horizon as a lone figure fell from the sky.

Why can’t life just be simple?
Such were Rik’s thoughts as he plummeted from who knows where to where the heck am I and why can’t I remember anything! 
To be more accurate Rik’s exact thoughts were simply a long, confusing, improbable string of disjointed expletives ending in a massive splash as he landed in the clear, cold water of a certain quiet Nelvaanian lake. A philosopher Rik Idanian was not… 

Not that he remembered at least…



Rik, now sopping wet and fuming at the incongruity of it all and just plain fed up with… well… the universe in general stumbled out of the lake onto dry land. 

“What the HELL!!!" He shouted at the sky.

With the lake to his back and the rising sun over the mountains at his front Rik promptly sat down in the tall grass and crossed his arms.

“Nope. Not doing this. No way. DEFINITELY not!” He looked down at himself. His rough spun pants and a tunic that could only be described as “flowy” were dark with moisture and heavy as… well.. water-soaked clothing…

“What the heck am I wearing?” Rik asked himself.

“Cloths obviously,” he answered.
“Oh, a great time to decide to be a smart ass.”
“Shut up, you started it!”
“Great now I’m talking to myself.”
“Yep, it’s that bad.”

Rik stood and started pacing.

“Alright Idanian, hold it together. Don’t know where I am, how I got here, or how I got stuck with these horrible cloths. First where am I? No idea. Check not getting anywhere. Hmn… High ground…Right. Find some high ground and get my bearings.”

Rik glanced around until he found a tall boulder out in the tall grass. He ran to it and, with some difficulty due to his sodden state of being, made it to the top for a panoramic view.

“Man, great view. Picturesque mountains in front of a brilliant sunrise. Almost too good to be true. Quiet lake behind me, grassy fields to either side. Ok, I got this!”

He turned back around to face the mountains and sat on the rock a smirk spreading across his face.

"I have no idea where I am!"

He may have started to become a little frantic.

“Lost on a strange planet… no idea how I got here or why… not touching those with a ten-foot pole! The galaxy’s a strange enough place as it is without Crazy Rik coming up with weird and increasingly unlikely ideas of how he got here. What’s next? Oh ya! I’m wearing stupidly ascetic clothing and it’s wet and cold!”

He hurriedly stripped himself of his wet garments except for his base layer and laid them out to dry in the sun’s increasingly warm rays. Rik looked toward the sky as he let the sun warm him as well. 

“What now?”

The rest of the day did wonders for Rik's nerves. There was something calming about that Quiet Lake and the mountain view. Though his stomach alerted him to his growing hunger and his throat began to dry with thirst Rik didn't move. A Quiet washed over him. A stillness. And then in a flash, his eyes were opened! He could see the pulse of life coursing through the earth, carried on the winds, and dancing through the grass. The Force flowed through everything and Rik was one with the Force, and the Force was with him. The picturesque mountains in the distance disappeared before it's power and the truth was laid bare. Not mountains. But a thriving city. No towering peaks. But buildings that touched the clouds. 

With stillness in his heart and a clarity of purpose he never before had remembered Rik Idanian stood and dressed in what were now dry yet very distinctive robes. His eyes were fixed on the city before him as he fastened on his belt. There was a cool, metallic object hanging from his side who's weight was new yet not foreign. It was as if a lifetime of experience had taught his body to expect its presence but his mind was not yet caught up. Rik took the cylinder in his hand and thumbed the button. Azure flames lept to respond and with a snap/hiss formed a blade. A lightsaber. His lightsaber. It was a concept altogether foreign yet as reassuringly comfortable as your own personal pillow. 

"Well, this explains nothing." He said with a crooked smirk. 

Rik Idanian, Jedi, holstered his weapon and shook his head.

"Looks like I have a direction to go in at least. And an old friend to find. If anyone with know what's going on here it'll be Valor."

And with nary a backward glance, Rik set out toward the once again invisible city.