As one of Tatooine's most iconic giant reptilian creatures, the krayt dragon possessed a terrifying appearance. A huge maw filled with vicious teeth, bursts of venom sprayed from its mouth, an enormous horn atop its head, and five pairs of powerful claws beneath its belly. One of its two subspecies, the adult canyon krayt dragon, could grow to thirty or forty meters, while the greater krayt dragon could even reach around a hundred meters in length.
They were enough to terrify anyone on sight.
Their unique body structure allowed them to move easily through the sand, rapidly reaching anywhere underground that they wished to go. That included the town where Wove lived. The Banthas the townspeople painstakingly raised often became their dinner.
"Krayt dragons are even more dangerous than the Tusken Raiders! They often come to the town and attack the livestock, but nobody here dares do anything about them." Wove clearly did not believe that such a creature should become the target.
"The Tusken Raiders must hate krayt dragons just as much," Amir said. "Sure, slaying one is part of their coming-of-age ritual, but not many actually complete it. Besides, the Tusken ride Banthas, and that makes them incredibly tempting prey for a krayt dragon. A starving krayt dragon will even eat nomadic Tusken Raiders. Those nomads aren't like you people. The ground under Mos Pelgo is filled with rock, but the Tusken who live out on open sand have nowhere to hide."
"They must want to deal with the krayt dragon too. We can try reaching an agreement first: the people of the town help them kill the krayt dragon, they get to take the body, and in exchange they never attack the town again."
After hearing that plan, Wove's face lit up in realization. He knew asking Amir had been the right move. This guy looked smart the moment you saw him, unlike himself, who only had brute strength.
Wove nodded happily, but it felt like he had forgotten something.
Finally, after half a minute, he suddenly slapped his thigh so hard he startled Amir, who had just been about to take a drink.
"Th-then then then… how are we supposed to kill the krayt dragon?!"
Amir put on a lofty, unfathomable expression, which immediately reassured Wove.
"I'm still thinking about that…"
Wove: ?!?!
At that moment, a vigorous old man carrying a drink walked over.
"Forgive this old man for overhearing," he said, introducing himself as he sat down at their table without waiting for permission. "My name is Chaihoun Dagati. If you intend to kill a krayt dragon, heh heh heh… then I happen to know how!"
"Chaihoun?" Wove gave him a strange look.
"Hey, old man, are you about to tell that dragon-slaying story from your youth again?" a young man nearby teased with a laugh.
"Shut it, brat. You weren't even born back then," Chaihoun shot back with a glance.
"Go on," Amir said, ignoring the exchange and looking at the old man with interest. Amir sensed no unusual disturbance in the old man's Force presence. On the contrary, he seemed very self-assured.
The old man said nothing at first. He simply drained his cup.
Amir raised a hand and ordered him another of the same. "On me."
"Heh heh heh, good lad. Knows how to show respect to his elders. Unlike these loafers—hic—"
With a fresh drink in hand, the old man was finally willing to talk.
"When I was young, I spent some time among a Tusken Raider tribe. They really are savage monsters. But when it comes to understanding krayt dragons, nobody knows them better."
"They spent hundreds of years studying the habits of krayt dragons, recording their lairs, searching for ways to kill them. A krayt dragon's hide is extraordinarily tough. Neither blasters nor heavy laser cannons can easily break through it. They are also extremely sensitive to vibrations around them. The moment they detect something unfamiliar—like a starship—they'll immediately burrow underground and vanish without a trace."
"The Tusken Raiders would lie in ambush in the canyons with giant harpoon launchers attached to chains, using Banthas to lure the beast out. Then they'd fire the harpoons through its hide, pinning it firmly to the surface so it couldn't dive back into the sand. After that, they'd keep stabbing at the gaps between its scales with venom-coated gaderffii sticks, wearing it down over time until it finally died."
Poison…
What the old man said was probably true. But from Obi-Wan's description, Amir knew he had seen an enormous krayt dragon only a few years ago—one whose head alone was nearly ten meters long. Its full body must have been colossal.
That had been a greater krayt dragon. A fully grown greater krayt dragon.
If the krayt dragon here was just as massive, Amir did not believe mere chains could hold it in place.
"Chaihoun?" Amir asked.
"Yes?"
"How large was the krayt dragon you're talking about?"
The old man turned his head, and his gaze drifted away. "I'd say… probably thirty or forty meters…"
He was lying.
Amir let out a long sigh.
The old man had probably seen a krayt dragon hunt, but it must have been against a juvenile. As for an adult one—not to mention holding it down, even if you did manage that, poisoning it to death would probably require pouring tons of venom into it.
Still, at least Amir had confirmed one thing: the Tusken Raiders understood krayt dragons very well.
That meant they needed to find a Tusken tribe first.
But before that, there was one problem.
He did not speak the Tusken language.
"I need to visit a Tusken camp. Does anyone here speak their language?" Amir asked Wove.
At that moment, Chaihoun spoke up from the side.
"I do. Heh heh heh. I learned it when I was young, and I still remember it."
Amir nodded. "Do you want to come with me?"
Chaihoun's face lit up. "Of course! Dragon-slaying is something I'm good at—cough cough—I mean, something I've always wanted to do… again!"
"I'm going too," Wove said. "These people helped me a lot. I want to do something for them."
After a moment's thought, Amir added, "Then the townspeople shouldn't get involved. If they do, the Empire may notice something unusual."
Amir already had an initial idea for dealing with the krayt dragon. Since its outer hide was so tough, they could break it from the inside instead. Cover a Bantha with explosives, use it as bait, wait for the krayt dragon to swallow it, then detonate it… The only issue was that Amir was probably running low on explosives. He would need to make some new ones—stronger ones.
Once the three of them agreed, they wasted no time and immediately boarded the Traveler, flying toward the deep desert.
Searching for a hidden tribe in an endless wasteland was no easy task. But Mos Pelgo had just been attacked, and Wove remembered clearly the direction the Tusken Raiders had gone.
Before long, they spotted several black dots moving across the golden sand. Amir did not fly the Traveler directly over them—that would only make them feel threatened.
He landed some distance away from the camp, and the three of them got out.
None of them carried weapons. Empty-handed, they began walking toward the Tuskens. The Tuskens were highly alert, and they noticed the three of them from very far away.
At their command, a pack of massiffs came charging over, baring their teeth and circling the three of them with savage barking.
The old man was so frightened he covered his eyes. Wove frowned and rested a hand on his blaster.
They had come in peace, but the Tusken Raiders clearly had no intention of returning the courtesy.
Amir looked at the creatures—part dog, part lizard—and raised his right hand.
The next second, the fierce but oddly goofy beasts all rolled over onto their backs, exposing their bellies and wagging their tails frantically.
Wove and Chaihoun both stared, eyes wide.
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STAR WARS: RELICS OF THE PAST
🌌⚔️ STAR WARS: RELICS OF THE PAST ⚔️🌌
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📢 THE FORCE CALLS AGAIN! 📢
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Ancient secrets, forgotten relics, Jedi echoes, and buried truths wait in the shadows of the galaxy.
✨ Some things were lost for a reason.⚔️ Some powers should never be awakened.🌌 And some stories begin long after history tried to erase them.
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