Malice continued his run, not bothering to look back to see if the jedi was following him. Once he had gotten a good distance away from the battle, Malice stopped. Taking in his surroundings, Malice was within a thicker part of the woods, close to the end of it infact.

*Alright Lono, i think we can stop now*

Malice placed Lono back on his feet. Sitting down beside him Malice looke dhim in the eyes.

*I do not know when your mother is coming back, but until she does, you will stay with me. I do not trust those people that live where mommy lives. They might try and keep you from me*

Malice put on a smile, wether it was fake or genuine, he didn't know.

*You wouldn't want that now would you?*

As he waited for his son's answer, Malice began to gather some peices of wood with the force, putting them into a pile to start a fire.

For a few moments, Lono was silent as he watched the pieces of wood move, mesmerized. He had seen his mother move things, and could even move objects on his own, but hadn't lost his fascination with such a power. That was how Lono thought of it, as a power, like the heroes that he watched on the Holonet. Amalia had explained the Force to him before, but he wasn't quite old enough to grasp the concept entirely.

As if suddenly aware that his father had spoken, the boy turned his gaze to meet his father's, innocent eyes looking at the Sith unblinkingly. Lono's face broke into a grin, and he hugged his father once more.

"No, Daddy, I like being with you. I missed you, when you were gone for a long time....a really long time, Daddy."

There was a slight accusation in Lono's tone; he knew that his mother and father led different lifestyles, but he was still at the age where anything that didn't directly concern him was just background information, and not important. That would change soon, as his innocence was lost.

This was a Trial of sorts that Irman had not seen in some time.

Malice was fast.

Even with a child in tow he made with all due speed away from him. Until even the force was not enough to track him.

Hours past by as he continued to find no touch of the pair in the force. He was relying too much on the force and needed other means to hunt his prey. Turning from his force abilities he focuses on the natural abilities of his race. Noghri were not only warriors but also extraordinary trackers. A necessary ability to track down one's prey.

Moving like a cat he scrounged the city for any sign of those that he sought out.

-A scent of young hairs fallen-

On a ledge he finds a hair from the child. Wind torn and worn from the high speed exit. The sith left virtually no trail him self. masking his dark force presence.

He looked towards the horizon. They left a general trail heading east. One that he would follow. Children of the force were something that he only read about but their impressionable minds left them open to several unique force techniques. One that he was about to use right now.

Closing his eyes he flows into the force. Seeking out that witch is not of the dark but not of the light yet. A spark in the force that has yet to make it's path known. With a moment he finds that one mind that he searches for. Looking about the mind of this young one he chooses his form. If only to Remind this young one of a memory that he already knows.

Taking the form of an Ewok from one of Lono's favorite bedtime story's he enters the child's subconscious imagination. Here Stories are tangible things almost real, stories of droids doing slap stick comedy, of Princesses in far off planets being saved by some valiant price, of adventures were good triumphs over evil.

The last one was what he looked for. The little Ewok (Irman did not know why he chose that form it was just familiar to the child.) Entered into the dreams and slowly began bringing these stories to the service of his mind. Stories that brought up moral issues for a child so young.

That done he fades back from the mental land scape and back to his own body. The child needs guidance on where his path may lead and Irman failed one student. Now, just maybe he could save another.

The force connection that he just utilized is not all that strong the nature of force strong children make it impossible to do any thing but act as a figment of the imagination. A type of therapy for the children. One that he learned while studying in the secreted Aiki libraries on Obrai-Skai. He must continue to track them down on instinct alone.

He Turns to the Nubian horizon. He continues on a trail towards the child. This was not a conflict that he could win by fighting the father. But only by engaging the child. he moves again following the trail before it can go cold.

Malice let out a laugh as Lono hugged him and accused him of being away for a very longtime.

*I'm sorry son, daddy had important things to do. But now i'm done so you can see me more*

Putting Lono down, he motioned for his son to watch the pile of wood.

*Look at this lono. If you want daddy can teach you this when your older*

Lifting a finger, Malice concnetrated on the force, opening himself up to the darkside. Facing his finger at the pile of woods, a small stream of fire shot forth, instantly igniting the wood, creating a sort of camp fire feeling. Looking at his son, malice grinned.

*Neat trick an't it*

He figured, if he could malice Lono intrested in what the darkside could do, and offer. Then maybe, just maybe he would want to be just like him......be a sith. Though,in the back of his mind, Malice could feel that other jedi approaching. They were such an annoying breed of force users...much like bugs they constantly bugged you. But if he thought for a second he could take Lono away, then he would have another thing coming. For no fury could ever match that of an angry parent.

Lono felt a sudden shift in his mind, though it was too subtle for the child to know exactly what had happened. He found his mind drifting back to tales that his mother had told him, or movies watched on the Holonet. One story had depicted a young Ewok's journey through a forest, and his 'adventures' meeting new creatures, and learning about the world around him.

Lono had enjoyed the show when he was younger (though he was growing out of that stage now) and didn't hesitate to remember many of the stories, which contained such concepts as how stealing was wrong, how one should always be kind to their friends, that sort of thing.

The presence in his mind was comforting; it felt faintly like his mother, and Lono didn't try to push it away. Still, it left fairly abruptly, and his attention focused on his father once more.

A grin lit up the boy's face when he saw his father light the wood, seemingly by magic.
"I like it lots, Daddy!"

Then his grin faded, a troubled look coming onto his young features. The memories that the presence had brought up caused him to remember his mother telling him countless times about how to use the Force.

"But....Mommy said we're not 'upposed to use the umm...the Force like that. She said that it's not a toy."

The Dark Side running through Malice made Lono feel uncomfortable; he had spent most of his life around the Light, and it was only natural that the change would affect him. Unfortunately for the child, he had never learned how to fight the Darkness; he wasn't even entirely aware how it functioned. The way his mother spoke of it, he had always pictured it as some sort of black monster that captured people and made them mean.

Malice shook his head when Lono had told him what Amalia had taught him about the force.

*No son, it is a toy.......if you want it to be. To mommy it is not a toy. But to daddy it is. Besides, doing this will keep us warm when it get's dark. You wouldn't want to be cold now would you*

He chuckled.

*So therefore i am doing something good with the force*

Malice noticed, as well as sense the rather uneasiness within his son.

*What's the matter Lono.....is something bothering you?*

Unaware that it was in fact his father who was causing the feelings of unease inside of him, Lono stepped closer to his father, shivering slightly as the Dark Side swirled around them. His father, to Lono, was a source of comfort and security; he never imagined that Malice could be a part of anything negative.

"I feel something bad around here, Daddy. It feels like the monsters under my bed, only badder. I don't like it, Daddy."

The child's eyes were wide with fear and innocence, his small frame shaking slightly, despite the warmth from the fire. The Light Side that he had unknowingly sheltered growing up around Jedi was reacting for the first time against a Dark presence.

Irman traveled on through the curtain of darkness that had fallen on the land. Noghri eyes adjusting the the lowlight environment with exceptional acuity. The pair had made a good distance before stopping. Looking about he found signs of a childs passing.

A scent of fallen skin, of the sweat of fascination at the speed of his flight. Such was the wonder of a child. He chose his way with care. He needed to steal the child with all due care in the world. His first exposure to the darkside being one of them.

Yet again he chooses a place to stop falling to a meditative cross legged position yet again. He fell away from the flesh of his mortal body and surrendered to the force. Floating like a wraith he saw his body as a blue emanation in the force. He sees the force as an ocean depth that he swims through with swirls of light and dark intermixing and meeting turning into all shades of white, grey and black.

He looks for the innocent signature the unique being near him that knows nothing of light or dark. Only the happy bliss inbetween that is a result of being so young. He finds it in the force. Using the connection that he forged earlier he enters the mind of the child.

This time he sees a bit more in the childs mind. Old games where the child had put him self into the very storys of the heroes of the storys putting himself in the place of the heroes that he fought beside.

Irman Read the lips of one of the images as it talked to him. A twik that was defending him from giants that resembled a cross between a Rancor and a Gammoronian.

-Lono- Were the words mouthed.

Lono is his name. From there he took the form of the ewok familiar in the childs old storys as a constant companion. Lono along with his trusted friend, the Ewok warrior Chibila.

The memory begins like a story book.

----------

Once upon a time on the moon of endor there lived a clan of happy Ewoks. They passed their time in the treetops playing their Ewok games. Ewok Mothers and fathers Keeping their families happy and feed. And Ewok elders ruled and healed all with the power of the Great trees of the enchanted Endorian forest in witch they lived.

In the forest of enchanted Endor the plants were alive with energy they were the friends of all living creatures. Large and small. All lived in harmony. Including the Ewoks. The Ewoks in turn cared for and protected the trees.

The trees, so grateful for the service used their enchanted powers to make it so no ewok was ever sick and so that there was always food so that no Ewok ever went hungry.

So Beautiful were these trees that they were on of the best keep secrets of the entire world of Endor.

But one day strangers appeared in flying craft. (Ships of course but the Ewoks had never seen such ships.) The Ewoks found later that they were settlers come to find peace in this green world. So the Human settlers came and had peace with the enchanted forest and its native ewoks. The tribe welcomed the new people as friends and taught them how to live in the trees to tend them and help them along. And how in return the trees gave them good lives.

But some of the settlers saw only the power of the trees. A power that they had never seen before they learned ways to get power from the trees cut off a living peace grind it up and eat it and it gave them great strength and other abilities the ability to fly, to read minds to control the forest itself.

Chief among the Humans that tried this was Kibler Knee.

The Ewoks know of this power it was out lawed by them because of the greed that it inspired in all. The ewoks saw it as the highest crime any that did it would be banished or worse. Kebler saw it as an opportunity that he could not waste. He went to the other colonist seeing if he had their support. But he found that the colonist liked the life that they had. Most had come to respect the life around them and did not wish to upset the balance that the Ewoks taught.

Kebler knew that he needed to act so he sent all of the colonist against him into a deepsleep a sleep that no one could wake from. In the meeting place they lay. The Ewoks knew nothing of this. Kebler and his followers ate the potion of the trees that gave them power. And with the tribes tree top homes before them they Put the ewoks into the forever sleep as well. Now no one stood in their way.

They left for the rest of the planet to conquer it. The whole of Endor would be their's. But with out their knowing it they left some beings be. A pair of children. A son of the colonist and a grown Ewok teaching him the ways of the forest.

Lono and Chibila. (Lono using his own name in his mind's eye.)

The son of the leader of the colonist and a son of the Ewok enchanters that tended the trees. Both were devastated. Their homes where gone and their families were frozen in sleep.

Chibila had heard storys of such a sleep. That a bad Ewok had done the same thing at one time. Lono asked him through tears how it was countered. Chibila was slow to answer. There was a group of ewoks that went on a journey to the mountains to meet the wisest of all dragons. A keeper of knowledge that knew the cure. But the trail was treacherous and many failed to ever return from the journey. Lono was the first one to say that they had to at least try. for all of their families sakes.

---------

From there Irman retreated back to him self he was planting seeds of knowledge for now that was all that he could do. But the storys were a place for Lono to take a moral direction. So every bit helped. The child only saw this as a memory in his subconscious one that was already at the top ready to burst forth into consciousness. And in the subcouncious the memory only took moments to be remembered so the child bearly realizes how he came to rememer such things. Such was the conder of free thought.

He cursed himself that the technique was not more effective in locating a child. malice hide their force signatures well.

No matter. Irman stood again. He must continue. To the east was were the trail lead so to the east he continues.

Sensing around him, Malice could not feel anything that would give Lono reason to be scared. He never figured yet that what Lono was fearing, was coming from himself.


*I feel nothing near us son. Maybe your just scared cause your mommy is away. But do not be afraid, daddies hee to protect you. Your father is one of the strongest sith in th galaxy*


Malice openly called himself a sith infront of Lono. He would teach his son what part of him was.