The cold bit at her skin, but Kaelari barely noticed. Her robes clung damply to her frame, the last of the lake's chill slowly evaporating as she trudged through the snow. Her lightsaber hung at her side, unlit but ever-present, a silent promise of protection. She tapped the communicator clipped to her belt, fingers numb from the wind.
"SOS beacon—activate," she murmured.
Nothing. No signal. No ping. No stars to bounce off. Just silence.
She sighed, the breath curling in the air like smoke. Whatever this place was, it wasn't on any chart she knew. No satellites. No relays. No Republic presence. She was alone.
The forest loomed ahead, ancient and untouched. The trees were massive, their trunks gnarled and dark, their branches heavy with snow. As she passed one, she reached out, brushing her fingers along the bark.
The Force surged.
It wasn't like anything she'd felt before. Not the luminous hum of Tython, nor the raw pulse of Dathomir. This was deeper. Wilder. Like the planet itself was alive watching, breathing, remembering. For a moment, she felt herself slipping, her mind pulled inward, downward, into something vast and old.
She yanked her hand back, heart racing. "What was that?"
A grin tugged at her lips. This was new. This was real. The Force here wasn't just present it was primordial. It felt like diving into an ocean with no bottom, no light, only depth.
She pressed forward, eyes half-closed, letting the current guide her. Snow crunched beneath her boots. The wind whispered through the trees. Then hoofbeats.
Her eyes snapped open.
Two riders approached along a narrow path, their cloaks flapping behind them. She slipped behind a tree, breath steady, hand resting on her saber hilt. The Force whispered: not Sith, not Jedi. Just men. Armed. Curious.
She waited until they passed, then leapt silent and swift into the branches above. From her perch, she watched them speak in a language she didn't understand. Their armor was crude but functional, their swords worn but well-kept. Local guards, perhaps.
She dropped behind them without a sound.
A subtle wave of her hand. "Sleep."
The first slumped in his saddle. The second turned, startled but she was already there. A flick of her wrist, and he crumpled into the snow.
Kaelari knelt beside him, placing two fingers to his temple. Her eyes fluttered shut.
The Force flowed.
She slipped into his mind, sifting through memories like pages in a book. Names. Places. A map of the land. The North. Winterfell. Winter Town. And a name spoken with reverence King Jaehaerys Targaryen, ruler of the Seven Kingdoms.
She pulled back, breath shallow. This world… it wasn't just unknown. It was ancient. A realm of kings and castles she didn't know.
She stood, brushing snow from her gloves. Her path was clear now.
Before leaving, she took a few coins from their pouches just enough to pass as a traveler. Then she vanished into the trees, heading south toward Winter Town.
The Force was still with her. But it was different here.
And she was ready to learn why.