Tython

[Aira Cadan]

The day passed fairly quickly. It was nice to spend more time with Onderin, and my heart was much more at peace after our success on Ilum. Therefore, I enjoyed the walk through the forest.

 

We made camp, and Onderin told me stories of his days as Kieran's padawan that left me laughing. I slept well, and the next morning, we arrived back at the temple fairly early. I wasn't sure what I was going to do now, but I figured I would teach a few hopeful classes. I liked the idea of passing on my knowledge and helping others.

 

And sometime soon, I knew I should visit my family. It had been too long.

[SithAcolyte]

That night Darla fell asleep feeling like the luckiest woman in the Galaxy. She had never thought that she would be able to open her heart to someone like she was now, never thought that she would be able to let someone love her in they that Darex did. For so many years she had been afraid of letting other people in. Now that she had she felt blessed.

 

Darla was going to be a wife and a mother. In the past she would have been both scared and bored by the idea of being either. Now it felt right. She felt like she was doing exactly what she was supposed to be doing. She felt like she was exactly where she was supposed to be.

 

It was a big change from feeling lost and adrift in the Galaxy like she had for so long.

 

When Darla awoke everything changed. Darex was already awake...

 

He reached over and stroked Darla's hair. Then he saw that she was awake. "I have to go. Jedi business, and it's serious."

 

He held up a hand to forestall her protestations. "Don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I can. Two weeks tops, I promise." He gave her a warm smile and a kiss. "I won't miss the birth of our children."

 

She had no time to argue. Darla was barely even awake and he was gone.

 

One of her biggest fears about getting involved with Darex had been his ties to the Jedi council. She had always feared that their difference in beliefs would cause them problems, also she had feared that 'Jedi business' would take him away from her.

 

Not now... Why did it have to be now?

 

They were so close to the birth of their children and he was running off on a Jedi mission. All she could think about was him falling to a Sith's lightsaber and her children being born without a father. Even if he came back fine, in the next two weeks she could easily give birth. Children often came earlier than expected and there was nothing that she could do to stop that.

 

Both angry and upset Darla couldn't understand why her beloved could her at a time like this. Couldn't he just send someone else?! There were plenty of other Jedi around. It really proved to her that her worries had very real grounding. His loyalty to the Jedi came first.

 

Darla burst into tears. For a long time she sat on her bed and cried. She really didn't know what to do now. She was utterly terrified at the idea of having to face the birth alone. How would she cope without Darex by her side? It comforted her to know that Skye would be there, it really did. But without Darex there it would all be wrong.

 

How could you leave me at a time like this?

 

The plan for the morning had been to visit Skye and tell her the good news. Now however Darla didn't know what she was going to do. For a while she sat there and cried. Cradling her large abdomen she wondered if the father of her children would ever come back. It would be just her luck to have her happiness be snatched away so soon after she had realised it.

 

When she had calmed down a bit Darla sent a comm to Skye.

 

"Skye, can you come over to mine and Darex's room. I could really do with a chat."

 

After that she wiped her eyes and tidied herself up as best she could while she waited for her friend to arrive.

[Onderin Starlisk]

When they arrived at the Temple, it didn't take Onderin long to pick up on some of the buzz. It seemed the Master Trevelian was gathering a team of Jedi that would likely encounter Sith--it seemed like someone was finally taking charge and getting something done. Onderin was all for it, and he quickly turned to Aira. "If this meeting's still going on, I'm going to volunteer," he said. Without another word, he headed off for the location specified.

 

Soon he was arriving at Trevelian's location. Onderin had met Darex a few times in the past, the last time having been on Gala when the other Master had reported on the alleged death of Faust. That hadn't turned out to be true, but now rumors were circulating once again that the tremendously dangerous man was gone. Personally, Onderin didn't put too much stock in such rumors.

 

"Master Trevelian," he said as he approached. "I heard about your announcement and would be glad to lend whatever assistance I can. Who are we rescuing?"

[Darex Trevelian]

The twenty minutes were almost up when Master Starlisk arrived. Darex greeted his fellow Jedi formally. "Good to see you again as well, Master Starlisk. I'm glad you came." There was no one else nearby, so he motioned for Starlisk to follow as they set out for Ashla. "As you may or may not know, there has been a band of Sith marauding across the galaxy, wreaking havoc and mayhem. Their actions have been destructive and unfortunately unpredictable. They use hit and run tactics that allow them to move on before anyone can get a trace on them. However, they were just recently spotted on Nar Shaddaa, where they accosted Grandmaster Fitt. Masters Kirlocca and Ession are a bit ahead of us, investigating the scene and hopefully getting there in time to rescue the grandmaster. Regardless, they hope to find a trail so that we can follow these Sith and stop them."

 

They were deep in the forest now. "We are going to go before the Senate and petition for military force to assist our investigation. These Sith are terrorists, and the Galactic Alliance has a duty to help us protect their citizens. Once they provide us with support, we will join Masters Kirlocca and Ession and track these Sith down. They will not slaughter anyone else, not if we can help it."

 

He glanced as the other man. "Is everything clear?"

[Onderin Starlisk]

There it was. That simple little nudging from the Force. Onderin had just gotten back to Tython with Aira, just in time to hear about this mission and respond. Now, only minutes later, he learned that the first thing they were going to do was go before the Senate to petition military aid. There truly were no coincidences within the Force, and Onderin had returned when he had for a very clear reason. "On the Senate issue we might find that my experience is extraordinarily useful," the Jedi Master said. He hadn't served the Alliance and New Republic militaries for his entire adult life without knowing what it was for which they stood, nor without gaining a tremendous number of contacts and supporters. The Chief of State had once been his padawan, and Cadio Sikaot was the Supreme Commander, one of his close friends.

 

As the two Jedi Masters trekked through the Tython jungle, Onderin continued to reflect. This was, in his mind, what the Jedi should be doing. Hunting Sith, keeping the peace. He had been a Jedi for a long time, but the first thing he had done after he had finished his training was join the Rebellion against the Empire. He had been fighting ever since, and that made his views on what it meant to be a Jedi very clear.

 

Here, they would not fall back. These marauders needed to be stopped. Onderin would be part of the team to do it.

[Darex Trevelian]

Darex nodded. "Indeed. I'm quite glad you're here, Master Starlisk." The former admiral's political and military experience would be, without a doubt, extremely helpful. Darex himself was find with speaking before the Senate committee, but Starlisk would be the perfect man for the job.

 

They spent the day making their way back to the spaceport in Ashla. It was getting tiresome, being separated from the galaxy like this, Darex thought. But this was the safest place for Darla and the twins, and he'd put up with much more to keep his family safe.

 

They finally arrived at the city around sundown, and Darex motioned to a small unmarked shuttle deigned for Jedi use. "To Coruscant then." He boarded and went to the pilot's seat. He would handle the flying and let Starlisk relax. Hopefully they would be at the Senate before they knew it.

 

((You can post us arriving there))

[Kyrie Eleison]

Lord have mercy.

 

Kyrie tweaked a heating coil, realigning to be more efficient, before placing it carefully back inside its compartment. Her mind was preoccupied, to say the least. She was on a new planet, this one strikingly different than the rusting world of Nar Shaddaa, where she had spent her entire life, running through the undercity, dueling, and trying to hunt criminals. She had been very accomplished at the latter two events, and if there had been a galactic-games competition on such things, she would have placed very high. She placed a pale hand against the compartment's door and closed it slowly, trying to blot out the painful memories of the past.

 

She had come to this planet to train as a Jedi, and offer her skills in helping hunt down the galaxy's criminals. Once she set her heart on hunting a criminal, she wouldn't rest until they fell under her blade. She gritted her teeth and glanced down at a printout of Jedi Philosophy she had gained at the one working library on Nar Shadda. Hopefully the information was outdated. Apparently the Jedi of the old days had been great soldiers, actively pursuing the enemies of the galaxy, like the ancient Sith Trinity, but now, or so the pamphlet said, the Jedi were no more than peace-loving isolationists.

 

Kyrie shook her head slowly, feeling the braids of dark hair hit against her black-robed back. She carefully locked the exterior compartment, and leisurely walked along the shuttle's exterior, her nail-bitten fingers playing across the silvery-green armor plating of the Sanctis Cogitatione. Her emerald eyes moved from studying the pitted armor plating, to admiring the lush forests and its towering canopy. She was on the outskirts of the isolated city of Ashla, to where she had been directed to arrive.

 

According to her scans, there was a blackout zone past where she had landed, so she guessed the location of the Jedi's temple was to be in that direction. Kyrie let out an exasperated sigh and hefted her pack onto her shoulders. She placed a strong hand upon the battle-worn hilt of her vibrosword and studied the forest floor, looking for any sign of a path, her emerald eyes taking in all. She cursed under her breath. There wasn't a single sign of a path towards the Jedi's hidden temple illuminated in the setting starlight.

 

Kyrie began to remember the way she had felt in hunting down criminals, where she had first found she had a connection to what these Jedi called the force. She had narrowed it down to one clear emotion: Justice. Righteous vengeance had guided her hand, and she had dispensed justice at the end of a blade. There was a tremor within her mind, like a small beacon had been activated in the forest, far, far away. She shook her head slowly and adjusted her pack, moving it to a more comfortable location on the her black-robed back.

 

She walked with a confident step towards where her mind was leading her, to where Justice would have her go. Kyrie strode through the forest, on no discernable path, admiring the towering trees of red bark, and the formations of polished granite. She picked up her pace as she felt the feeling grow within her mind like a seed often watered. Her booted step faltered upon the decomposing undergrowth as she saw a grand, fallen tree upon the ground before her. The want for Justice was leading her past it, not but ten meters beyond. A smile lit up Kyrie's normally dower features, and she leapt over the ancient tree and ran towards the beacon. Light broke through the canopy as she entered a small clearing. He emerald eyes widened.

 

Within the clearing was not the Jedi temple she had been seeking, but something far darker. Hulking within the filtering light stood a great beast, rusting metal and rotting flesh intertwined in a macabre display. Before its feet lay a dead Rodian, in the worn duster of a hermit, now torn and tattered like the flesh beneath it. Justice had led her not to the Jedi Temple which she had thought, but to someone in need of justice, in need of righteous vengeance. She shrugged the pack from her back and withdrew her vibrosword from its leather-bound sheath. The beast turned, its glowing, crimson eyes boring into her very soul. A voice, mechanical, dark and terrible sprung into the back of her mind.

 

Maggot of fresh, unrotten flesh, bear thee witness to the destruction wrought by superior life. You shall be next to soil this earth with your living blood”¦

 

There was a mechanical grinding, and the hulking beast came to life, shambling across the forest floor towards Kyrie, the crimson glow from its photoreceptors casting the darkening grove in a fiery light. Kyrie scrambled backwards diving to the side as the lumbering beast passed her by, its dripping blades cleaving through branches and underbrush. Kyrie landed upon the soft, dark soil, and rolled towards the trunk of a great tree. Red light cast her shadow upon the bark, a warning that she had been spotted. Her fingertips dug into the bark, and her body pumped adrenaline into her muscles, giving her the strength to climb, and climb fast.

 

There was a great crash below her as the hulking technobeast smashed into the unyielding trunk below her. She reached one of the lower branches and pulled herself to her feet upon it, before she dared to look down. The beast was beginning the climb, its great blades hewing into the tree's great bark. She smiled, for she knew she now had the advantage. It's weapons were now preoccupied. Kyrie dove from the treebranch, and lifted the blade above her head, her dark braids streaming behind her. She landed heavily upon its slippery back, and drove the vibrosword down into the back of the spine of the beast. The blade severed the cord, and the red glow extinguished, leaving the clearing in darkness.

 

Justice.

 

Kyrie's smile faltered as she felt her footing slip from beneath her, as the oil and blood of the beast leaked upon its rotting back. She stumbled and fell, crashing painfully into the darkened earth, crying out into the force, pain and righteousness flying forth like a wave, before her world fell into the black void of unconsciousness.

[Aira Cadan]

In the days following our return from Ilum, I grew a bit restless. Onderin had run off on another mission, and the Temple was quiet, with many Jedi having left to go out into the galaxy.

 

The days slipped by slowly. I filled them as much as I could with training, meditation, and getting to know some of the other Jedi and acolytes. But I really wanted to be out doing something. Unfortunately, there was no one left to give me orders. It was funny; I wasn't confident enough to act on my own initiative. Must be left over from my military training.

 

I was walking through an inner corridor with some thought of going to a holocron room when I felt a burst of sadness through the Force. I hesitated. It felt like a Jedi, in the room just around the corner. After a moment, I went up and knocked on the door.

 

"Hello? Are you alright?"

 

((Darla))

[Kyrie Eleison]

A world of rust is where you grew, and where you thrived. Now you seek others of your mindset on a miserable world of trees. You fight for justice, and here, on this dark earth, you will die”¦

 

The gentle morning breeze swept itself across Kyrie's face, bathing her in its chill, driving away the darkness from her unconscious mind, and awakening her spirit once more. Her emerald eyes fluttered open, and she groggily pushed herself into a sitting position. She was lying in darkened soil, which now covered her robes, and above her still hung her enemy from the night before. She stood unsteadily to her feat and looked over the organic and mechanical being, observing the rotting flesh and intertwined metallic superstructure. It had looked terrible during the half-light of dusk, but now it simply looked like a seriously screwed up design job. All the same, Kyrie smiled to herself, for justice had been achieved.

 

She began the laborious task of dusting the clinging granules of dirt from her formally nice garments, but within a few moments, gave up. She glanced around the clearing, her emerald gaze trying to penetrate the dense fog which surrounded her and her kill like an impenetrable blanket. She shook her head and turned back to the Technobeast, and examined it closer for any bits of salvageable material. She scrambled up the tattered trunk of the great tree, letting her body work through the pain and stiffness, and sat down upon one of the beast's massive shoulders.

 

Within a few moments, she discovered nothing but partially corroded sensors, rusted metal, and incompletely decomposed flesh. She sighed and moved carefully down the tree once more. She was lost, with no way of finding direction or allies. She placed her hand against the withered trunk, her nail-bitten fingers playing over the knobby bark, feeling for a sign. She circled the great trunk before her fingers found what they were feeling for, a slimy substance. Microbial moss only grew on the north face of trees such as this.

 

Kyrie brought her hand away from the tree and observed the slime carefully, noting its blue-tinged expulsions, and the slight tingling in her palm. Poison. Quickly, she strode across the clearing to where her discarded pack now lay. She smiled to herself and washed the substance away with a jet of water from her pack's water distribution system, making very sure to wash it away in its entirety from her pale hand. She flicked the water from her fingertips and withdrew a medium-sized vial from the pack, which had at one time contained several thousand credits worth of giggledust, and placed it in the palm of her hand. She ran quickly back to the shredded trunk and began to gather the seeping, blue goo. In an hour, she had collected a full vial of the highly toxic substance, having to visit several dozen of the surrounding trees to gain enough of the bubbling, cerulean poison.

 

Kyrie rose to her feet and capped the vial, before placing it into her blackened backpack. The air around her was glowing with sunlight, the beams glittering on moisture-laden spider-webs. A few swarms of small insects whirled overhead, in a mesmerizing dance of natural instinct. She walked slowly across the darkened earth, following her way northward, taking in the beauty of the hidden world. Her jade eyes examined a gleaming object in the distance, partially obscured by the ancient trees. From its shine, it was metallic in nature, which peaked her interest.

 

Not wishing to repeat her earlier mistake of rushing head-on into a situation and almost paying with her life, Kyrie decided to approach it with extreme caution. She knelt upon the dark soil and withdrew her binoculars, focusing their electronic eyes upon the shining object. As it came into focus, her heart skipped a beat, for it was another metallic beast, but only for a moment. As she examined the hulking beast closer, she could see the working of time upon it. Roots of nearby trees enveloped its shining legs and its armor looked pitted and scarred from battles long since passed. She placed her binoculars back in their pouch and stood once more to her feat, dusting the clinging earth from her knees.

 

Still utilizing caution, she approached the ancient monolith, and thus entered a very strange place. Her heart began to race as she felt an emanating power, faint, but still very noticeable. It was stranger still for the source of the power seemed neither light nor dark in nature, but a mixture of both. Neutral. Her emerald eyes moved around the massive trees and darkened soil. In doing so, she began to notice the ancient signs of a battle. More of the hulking beasts lay about in pieces, seemingly cut to ribbons by whatever had attacked them. Stones she had thought natural now seemed to fall into place as primeval buildings, ruined but still stained dark by flames.

 

Armor, rusted and filled with bleached bones lay scattered about, like a giant had been playing with his toys. Kyrie's breath caught in her throat as her eyes fell upon a pedestal of stone, around which the most clustered signs of battle. With halting footsteps, she approached the red-stained pedestal, making sure to not disturb the ancient skeletons with a clumsy step. As her foot touched the steps to the pedestal, the power seemed to increase, noticeable, but unable to be harnessed. She mounted the steps gradually and cautiously. Her emerald eyes widened as what lay upon the pedestal came fully into view. It was a bizarre, crystalline structure, pale yellow in color. She felt an irresistible urge to touch it, and before she could stop herself, one of her fingertips touched its cool exterior. There was a flash of light, and then a voice overwhelmed her unready mind.

 

The Exorcist seeks Harmony with the Dark Side of the Force.

[Trushaun]

It felt good to be back in the presence of the Light Side once again. Having once been attuned to the planet, Trushaun adapted back to this bio-sphere quickly. She let Roene take them in for a landing.

 

Her friends had decided to follow her. It was as if they had limitless energy. They amused the teenage Fosh. Distraction from reality. But she would find a use for them yet.

[Roene Givrah]

Roene stepped off the ship in the capital city of Tython and immediately set off toward the woods, carrying Elnia and his bag with him.

 

He betrayed no deep emotion in his eyes while his quickened gait progressed through the city, but he made sure his pup, Tru and her companions were close behind him as he walked.

 

People milled about him indifferent to his imposition and avoided his gaze, but a few seemed to take notice of his presence and through a channel of messengers, began informing the Jedi Temple of Roene's arrival, but the Cerean wasn't heading there, at least, not yet.

 

Once Roene cleared the forest, he stopped at the treeline and set Elnia down on the grass along with his bag.

 

"Your testing, starts... NOW!" Roene exclaimed as he turned right around and threw a small pebble at Tru with no particular aim, in the hopes that she would react in time to catch it in mid-air.

 

He had no malice in his eyes and was prepared to catch the stone should she not react in time.

Edited May 9, 2011 by Guest

[Trushaun]

The Fosh's friends scurried about, curious about the new place. Trushaun smiled and let them be. Roene had been silent most of the way here.

 

What what he thinking? She questioned herself.

 

She gathered a few things just to help out and assembled them into a sack, then moved it to her back.

 

They paused at the tree-line. Trushaun was a few feet behind Roene when he shouted out. This sparked an adrenaline rush. Enabling her fast reaction, she dropped a bag and reached out with the Force, stopping the pebble mid-air. She re-directed it back to Roene, peacefully.

 

Maybe it was a tad confidence showing in the young Fosh, but she giggled at the test. Maybe she would be starting her trails soon, with Roene stating that this began her tests.

[Roene Givrah]

Alright Roene thought quietly to himself, she's quick on that aspect. Now, how is she with healing?

Roene took a small but sharp rock from the ground and gashed his right arm. It wasn't so big as to cause a lot of damage to himself and he knew how to repair it should Tru fail, but it was enough to give Tru a challenge. After he was done, he discarded the rock on the ground and regarded Tru and her friends as she giggled.

 

"Alright, let's see how you can heal, and this doesn't mean you can use your tears."

 

Roene's eyes were calm, his physical form was still and his thoughts were calm. He had to know how she dealt with issues common for Jedi in the galaxy at present.

 

"Do what you can with my right arm and don't feel guilty if you can't do it. This is just to get a feel of your progress."

Edited May 9, 2011 by Guest

[Trushaun]

A look of shock swept over Trushaun's avain face. What had Roene just done?!

 

"Trushaun know not of healing without Tears."

 

She looked as if she was on the verge of breakdown. But she had a feeling they were about to envelop into a lesson. Good. The Fosh hated to Fail. More than anything.

 

Her headdress of feather grew red. In embarrassment and shame.

[Roene Givrah]

Roene nodded his head silently, stuck his finger to the bleeding wound on his arm and started restructuring the skin cells akin to a familiar process he used to restore plants. It stung a bit as the skin scabbed over quickly, but Roene's expression didn't change.

 

"That is okay Trushaun, you will learn. Now... How fast can you go?"

 

Roene looked over toward a nearby hillock and leaned his head in that direction. "If you can beat me to that hillock, then kudos to you, but if you can't we may need to revisit speed as well. However... No cheating and jumping over there." Roene said, a small smile emerging on his face, escaping his notice for a moment or two.

 

When Roene finished the proposition of his challenge though, he bowed to Tru and took off like a rocket in the indicated direction.

[Trushaun]

Trushaun shed her baggage and took off after Roene. This was actually fun. It had been some time since she had gotten actual exercise. She quickly caught up with the Jedi Knight, and kept pace with him.

 

Her lightweight frame fueled by the force. Both of the Jedi were blurrs in the wind.

 

She was pleased that Roene was perking up.

[Roene Givrah]

Roene was surprised with how fast Tru could go and figured if she knew this much about speed he wouldn't have to revisit it after all. Both of them flew threw the air like it was nothing and managed good time to the hillock.

 

Roene's interests were primarily focused on Tru's progress, but he too managed to glean some enjoyment from the experience.

 

He could feel the wind press upon his face and enjoyed the natural embrace that Tython's air played upon his skin. He could feel the former affinity he had with the planet returning and bonded with the soil beneath his feet as he pulled through each and every step with ease.

 

When both of them reached the hillock, despite his body bursting with adrenaline, the Knight stopped for a moment and took his time to pant and rest. He only took a small moment though, because one moment led to the next and soon Roene was jumping high into the air.

 

He hinted that Trushaun do the same and while in mid air gestured to a bird flying by. The Cerean lightly touched the dorsal feathers of the bird and once more indicated that Tru do the same.

[Trushaun]

It was great to feel the wind against her face once again. Inhaling deeply, she suspected it was not over. And she was right.

 

Summoning the Force once again Roene shot up to literally touch a bird. She smiled, and summoned the Force herself.

 

Her link was small compared to the seasoned veteran. With a grunt and a swing in her arms, she was airbourne. She even saw what the bird was that Roene had just touched. A Swan of some sort. She laughed as she fell back to the ground. She used the Force to brace her fall.

[Roene Givrah]

Roene softened his fall as well, taking note of Trushaun's instinct to soften her fall and the length at which she was to the swan in the air. The Fosh didn't quite touch the animal, which meant she had some work yet on that particular element, but even while taking not of her progress, his mind kept racing and providing more and more tasks for her to complete in rapid succession.

 

This way, it would help to teach the Fosh to fight through fatigue and quickly slide from one task to another.

 

The next task would be a little more tiring, but he knew she'd be up to it. this one would be a little more focused on the capability of multi-tasking.

 

Roene tossed a few stones straight up into the air and began to twirl them around in a clockwise circle. Then, he enhanced his hearing, sight and smell to absorb the sensory evocation of the world around him and picked on of the most pungent sensory targets for his lesson and found a small furry black and white creature.

 

It was twenty feet away, but even from here Roene could hear its skittering, smell its horrid spray, and see it rolling around in the brush.

 

"Alright," Roene said, focusing on all of the tasks around him while talking to the Fosh. "I want you to continue the pattern that you see here and I want you to increase your physical senses through the force to find an animal at the same time. This animal is about twenty feet away and is very potent in practically all of your senses so it shouldn't be hard to find." Roene finished as he stuck his hand out for the Fosh to take over twirling the stones.

[Trushaun]

With a heave of air, her lungs re-filled with air. Re-Charged with the new elements in her body, she absorbed the energy and observed Roene and his next task. She straightened up and followed en suit. She then took the rock's over from her pseudo-master.

 

Rocks, check.

Clockwise, Check

 

Outstretching her hand and closing her eyes, she still saw the whole world as it existed through the Force. The wind swirled around the rocks, and penetrated the grass. She smiled, it was a beautiful landscape of green and black. Every line was etched in green, various shades.

 

She reached out, it was easy. Nature was her forte'. But then again so was Roene. It was just a tad difficult, reaching out, she found the little critter in the ferns, digging up a plant in search of grubs. It was an interesting creature, and she could sense it was filled with a noxious gas. She did not want to get near it. Trushaun didn't even want to tempt fate. Opening her eyes she looked at Roene, and then over at the creature stirring up the fern.

 

"Skunk" She said, indicating she indeed found it.

[Kyrie Eleison]

We were made from necessity. As the Sith grew in power, we had to find a way to combat them. Our enemies came to know what we created as The Order of the Exorcist, an order to not only fight the darkening worlds, but to cleanse or eliminate them... In order to join us, you must be strong enough to hold our power...

 

Kyrie's mind was overcome by the voice, sad and tired, as it told of the creation of the order. As instantly as it had come upon her, the voice vanished, leaving its words sealed into her mind, like a hand had written them upon a wall. She breathed in a cold breath through pale lips, the evening air tasting of fog and decay. It was the taste and smell of the forest. She smiled and glanced around the clearing, across the ancient skeletons and technobeasts, scattered about like a child's playthings.

 

She reached into her pack and withdrew a pair of blackened half-gloves, which she had once used for dueling, and slipped them over her pale hands, drawing them tight, until they exposed her nail-bitten fingers. The voice needed to be shown her strength, and so she was going to give it quite the demonstration. Her emerald eyes fluttered shut and her hands fell to her cloaked sides, flowing through the blackened cloak until they reached the familiar hilt of her battle-word vibrosword. The evening air had done its work upon the hilt, giving her fingertips a chilling kiss as they wrapped around it.

 

The air seemed to crackle and snap as she pulled the blade from its sheath and began a slow demonstration of technique. With increasing speed, her movements began to flow and meld into one another. It was the dance of battle, and one Kyrie knew all too well. Her jet-black hair whipped about her face and head as her body whirled, feat dancing from loose stone to loose stone, skipping over sun-bleached skeletons and strewn, jagged metal. Sweat began to run in cooling streams down her body as the hours wore on, muscles beginning to wear, breathes coming more rapid. Exhaustion was taking its toll.

 

Finally, the dance came to its end and the blade slipped into its welcoming sheath of blackened leather. She bowed towards the pedestal, her shoulders shaking from exhaustion, the dark tunic sticking to her body from the drenching sweat that consumed her. A show of strength and quality. With faltering steps, Kyrie approached the stone pedestal and its faintly glowing artifact. As her boot touched the first step, a murmuring feeling of complete darkness stole into the far reaches of her open mind, causing her to halt. Her emerald eyes surveyed the ancient clearing with great apprehension. At the edge of the clearing, the shadows began to unravel, forming into a small army of ghostly warriors.

 

They held the banner of the ancient republic, and in each of their hands, they held painted shields, identical to the ones lying about, broken and shattered, the ancient battleground. Before them stood a mountain of a man, even in ghostly form, strikingly handsome and holding a green lightsaber overhead like a torch. Another murmur struck her mind, she turned about, witnessing an army of the ancient metallic beasts that stood scattered, broken, and moss covered about the battlefield of old. From behind her the voice cried out in righteous anger,

 

”œCaedite eos!”

[SithAcolyte]

Darla was suddenly startled by a knock on the door. She had been waiting for Skye to answer the Comm message that she had sent her. Had Skye come that quickly? 

 

No. There was a voice on the other side of the door, a woman's voice, but not Skye's voice. Someone that Darla didn't know. 

 

"Hello, are you alright?"

 

Really not expecting a stranger at her door Darla was startled. Had she cried so loudly that this woman had heard her? Or perhaps the woman had felt her uneasiness in the Force.

 

Tentatively Darla made her way to the door. She pressed the button that opened it and stood back. A  dark skinned woman with a kind expression on her face stood there.

 

The kindness of a stranger was too much for Darla right now. She began to cry again.

 

"No, I'm not alright..." she wiped at her eyes, realising what a mess she must have looked.

[Aira Cadan]

The door opened revealing a beautiful woman with dark hair, but her eyes were puffy and red. I immediately stepped inside and put a hand on her shoulder. She was quite pregnant; she was so huge that I guessed she was going to have twins, and probably any day now. A quick mental probe assured me that the babies were alright; that wasn't the reason that this woman was crying. I also sensed a good deal of Force potential in her, but it was strangely colored. I had never encountered a Force presence like hers before. It made me curious as to who she was and what her story was.

 

But as she let out another sob, I pushed the thoughts out of my mind. Now was definitely not the time. I escorted her over to the bed and made her sit down. "What's wrong? How can I help?" I asked gently. "Can I get you a cup of caf?"

 

Not waiting for a response, I crossed over to the kitchenette and started some--decaffinated, so that the stimulants wouldn't affect her babies. A moment later and it was ready, and I handed the steaming mug to her. I then grabbed a mug myself and pulled up a chair. "I'm Aira, by the way. Tell me what's troubling you," I invited.

[Kyrie Eleison]

Kyrie's emerald eyes shifted from the holocron upon the ancient pedestal, to her own trembling, nail-bitten fingers. The power she had felt, when in battle alongside the ancient Jedi, had been stunning. Thrilling. A small sigh escaped her pale lips, letting the pressure from her lungs, feeling the small trickles of sweat running down her back like gentle, cooling streams. With wavering fingers, she brushed several loose strands of hair from her eyes, and shook her head, the black braids whipping about her face. Once more.

 

Once again, she began the dance of battle, whipping her vibroblade about her robes in complex series of blocks and parries, long learned and memorized. The vibroblade's blackened grip felt comfortable within her grasp, like an extension of her soul and body. Hours dragged on, only interrupted by casual breaks in the dance for liquid refreshment and transitions between series.

 

It was now far into the night, and a mist lay upon the earth, whisping about Kyrie's blackened boots, leaving cooling droplets upon her skin. Her body was racked by exhaustion, having spent the full day trying to impress the Holocron, and her body felt drained of all energy. She stepped back to sheath her blade, but her boot caught on something concealed by the blanket of white vapor, sending her crashing to the dark, damp earth for what seemed like the thousandth time. Her lips formed a curse, but the breath caught in her throat. She struggled quickly to her feat. The surroundings had changed and once more daylight streamed through the interwoven branches, mingling with smoke of battle.

 

Bodies lay scattered about, lightly armored Jedi, their robes mingling with the metallic structures of their foes. Hulking beasts seemed to be the only things still standing, several of them now heading her direction, their footsteps causing the ground to tremble beneath her boots. A coughing voice made her spin about, her vibroblade prepared to strike. It was the voice from the holocron, and before her lay the handsome man from before, mortally wounded.

 

”œWatch out, for I am behind you, girl. Before us lies... The glorious battle and the bodies of our allies and enemies. Only we remain. Let us destroy these beasts of evil, before they can claim what is not theirs to take. Protect the artifact with your life. The Jedi depend on you, beautiful stranger...”

[Roene Givrah]

The Cerean let out a long sigh, his large head sopping wet with sweat and the two bodies draped over his shoulders growing heavier with each step. He couldn't understand the fatigue upon which it would take either, let alone both of his apprentices, to fall unconscious, but it became clear to the Cerean that they weren't going to wake for some time and if he was to proceed in any fashion he would have to let them go; for a time.

 

It was hard, seeing as how these made three apprentices that he had lost now, but Roene knew they would return to him eventually. So despite his heavy heart, he built himself with the knowledge that it was his duty to be available for knowledge seeking, whether his apprentices should return or any other Jedi should seek his council.

 

Roene slowly slipped into the infirmary and left Trushaun and Elnia on cots right beside Durzo. Their eyes were fading and left him alone beside their motionless bodies. The spectacle alone managed to stir him profoundly, but he left his feelings to wash through his mind and could feel them as they ran their course and out into the open air. It isn't wise to dwell on feelings of loss, especially when such things are bound to the force's will.

 

Roene knew this and he bowed reverently to his students before taking his leave and making his way through the temple. He passed by padawans and knights alike, that were curious at his troubled contention, but he put them at ease with a soft wave of his hand and left to the roof where the great waterfall poured into it. It was a marvel of engineering and nature to have such a physical manifestation of Tython's wildlife used to synthesize an innovative nuance in its construction and it just so happened to be Roene's fault that it flowed so smoothly. Something that took him almost a week to do, built up to be a substantial hydraulic power source for the temple and provided ample decoration as well.

 

With soft steps, Roene removed his shoes at the precipice of stone and walked slowly over the cold stone to where the rapid water consumed all space of sound. The Cerean felt the fury of the water as it shot through the slots designated for it and even though the waterfall was consistent in its desire to rip through the slots with its mighty power, it fit in them peacefully enough.

 

Roene's arms moved out slowly and dropped his outer robe to the stony ground. Immediately he could feel the humid air wrap around him and it seemed to welcome his presence in its cold embrace. The Cerean nodded silently and with delicate motions he moved. He began slowly wrapping his limbs around a natural extension, accepting the pliable mold of furious nature before him. His limbs worked as extensions of his spiritual energy and fell into the wholeness of his ethereal body. He became one with the energy of the water as it flowed peacefully beside him like the welcoming hand of a friend that cried out to Roene with warmth. Then he began to carve.

 

He used his hands to pull the water away in streams, but left the consistent pull of the waterfall to remain. He urged the streams to pull away and felt their flight at his grasp. It was a struggle, but one the Cerean knew from previous experience with the same source of elemental passion. The familiarity of the gesture and Roene's breathing synched his control and soon four streams of water began sliding from their furious home and wrapped around the Jedi Knight as he continued manipulating each piece of their transient azure puzzle.

 

He used each stream to make shapes in the air and articulated each one carefully as he slowly closed his eyes and felt the breadth of his effort. The continual motions were still locked though and continued even as Roene breathed in the chaotic humidity around him and pushed out the peaceful air within his own body.

 

It was an interesting sort of meditation that Roene hadn't tried before, but one that Roene felt would be just as fruitful as meditation in silence.

Edited May 29, 2011 by Guest

[Roene Givrah]

((Sorry, accidental double post))

[Darex Trevelian]

In the heart of the temple on Tython were the ubiquitous cloning chambers, storing the DNA samples of every Jedi who had passed through it's doors. And it was there that a new body had been grown over the past few standard days. Now, the shell was complete and waited only for the final step.

 

The Force swirled in the room, and after a few moments, Darex opened his eyes. He blinked several times, then slowly sat up. Only once before in his life had he woken to find himself in a cloning chamber, and it was a bit disorienting. He realized that Geki's bomb must have been enough to kill him. He only hoped that Onderin had gotten out safely, as well as the majority of the civilians. Geki was now CoreSec's problem, and Darex hoped they would take him seriously.

 

He rose and walked over to a mirror. He looked pretty much the same, although the collection of scars he had accumulated over the years were now gone. He craned his neck to see the spot where Geki had bitten him in their previous encounter; there was no sign of that scar either. In fact, he felt pretty good--the aches that came with getting older were lessened in this new body, despite that it was about the same chronological age.

 

He dressed in a fresh tunic and robes, then headed into the temple proper. He was starving; this new body obviously needed some sustenance. But first, he needed to make sure Darla was alright. He didn't know if she had felt his death through the Force or not, but if she had, he wanted to see her and apologize. He knew that the possibility of him being killed was part of the reason she hadn't wanted him to go in the first place.

 

As he approached their quarters, he sensed another person inside, one he was not familiar with. So instead of going in, he waited outside the door, radiating his presence so that the women would know he was there, but that he didn't want to interrupt.

[Xae-Lin Ardel]

Xae came down from the temple roof where she'd been tinkering with modifying the transmitter array to be able to get short-range transmissions to the outlying city of Ashura to keep the council in touch with any of the Jedi that had been sent off-world. Once finished she'd initiated the array, but found herself not yet ready to leave the relative calm of the temple roof, and the gentle thrumming of the transmitter proved a great backdrop to a meditative state.

 

Much had happened recently that gave the young Dathomiri-born woman cause for reflection. There was the galactic scale with the battle that had finally ended the decades of fighting between the Republic and the Empire, the newly formed Galactic Alliance was now beginning, and her role in the universe as a warrior-trained Jedi was being reformed. From her Padawanship, she'd been in one conflict or another and her reliance on her skills as a Guardian had defended the Jedi well. Still she wondered, how would she fit into this new role. She knew that she would still be needed; people, Jedi or not, always needed protecting in one form or another. What she didn't know was how to stay idle with the rest of the Jedi.

 

On the more personal scale her thoughts turned to her reunion with her niece, Ineira, and the ensuing fight with her brother as he'd tried once more to corrupt the child. A large part of Xae was worried for the child, fearful that he'd been able to leave a lasting mark on her this time, and this was one of the reasons that she'd fled with the five-year-old to the refuge of the Jedi Order.

 

The look in Auros's eyes when she'd incapacitated him was burned into her memory. His face, a writhing contortion of venomous pallor, promised swift retribution when and if they next met. She could still smell the acrid stench of charred flesh as she paused on that memory. His anger burned her; she prayed that he would find peace one day. Such would always be the dance between the two.

 

Reminiscing on that particular man in her life led her to another equally, if not more so, painful memory, John Hartel, or Joreel Ordo as he'd been known when he'd left her and the Jedi Order to become Manda'lor. How she missed him now. There was a part of her that almost wished that she'd followed him. With the new peace, she was unsure of how her new role would play out with the Jedi and her instincts for action were gnawing at her. Was the duality of being a warrior Jedi what tore at John to the point where he'd abandoned her and the Order? What was that almost unnatural gnawing that she felt?

 

She suddenly broke from her meditation, breathing heavily as she'd just broken through the surface of a deep well, her forehead drenched with sweat. The sounds echoing from the jungle night calling to her.

 

Night? How long was I in meditation? she wondered as her mind jolted back to the here and now. R2-D6 let out a baleful warble of neglect and boredom. Xae fixed him with a warning look as she began to reorient herself.

 

She was here, on Tython on the top of the Jedi Temple. It was quiet, peaceful and removed from the rest of the galaxy. It was quiet, but still there was something she couldn't quite put her finger on tugging at the back of her mind and nagging at her very being.

 

The auburn-haired Knight reached out with the Force to meet it head on but was greeted with nothing but quiet absence. She reached a little further and felt the barest stirrings of...something and again it faded like smoke as she tried to grasp it.

 

Odd, but I'm not going to let it draw my focus, if the Force wants me to know, then it will show me.

 

She rose and gathered her gear along with the left over components of her tinkering with the emitter array and sighed tiredly. ”œCome on R2, lets go see what else we can break around here.”

[Roene Givrah]

Roene felt a small shift in his stance as another Jedi walked the path of the roof around him. The stone reacted warmly to each of her steps and Roene could feel the flux of her presence upon the clammy gray surface and even though he was still moving around himself, his mind stretched some part of itself to meet her. He hadn't had the presence of mind to introduce himself, but even from where he stood and what mental capacity he could lend, he felt he already knew something of her, even if it was only a fraction. The Cerean could feel traceries of Trushaun's presence about the woman as if she had been involved with the Fosh in one way or another, but it wasn't enough to suggest the level of her involvement or to suggest that she would be concerned with Trushaun's current comatose state. So Roene continued to meditate, even as the other Jedi walked away, lost in thought.

 

As before, he felt the webs of the cold water around him soothing his thoughts and immersing him within its cooled embrace. Each pour of open anticipation was mediated with the subtle and sensitive judgment of the Cerean's feet as they moved gently across the stone in tandem with his arms.

 

One fluid gesture led to the next and before long the Cerean had a score of water pooling around his frame and circling his form.

 

Focus...

 

Peace...

 

Knowledge...

 

Balance...

 

The Cerean chanted in silent reverence to his meditation and as his movements pushed onward, the majesty of his moves were lost within the fine elemental spectacle of it all.

[Kyrie Eleison]

The setting sun highlighted the cryptic beauty of the temple before her, accenting the jagged angles of the rock mixing and flowing with the smoothness of the duracrete, the fading beams playing over the disguised surface, barely reflecting off the traspasteel windows. It was beautiful. A smile formed across Kyrie's pale lips, and joy blossomed in her heart, the emotion growing steadily, growing strong, like a rose of Alderaan. So different was this planet from the rotting and rusting planet from which she had been born. The smile faded from her face as her steps quickened, but the emotion within her did not.

 

With each steady step, booted feet leaving nigh a trace, she drew closer to where she would gain the ability to destroy the Sith. Those who brought evil to the galaxy through misdeeds and chaos. Such things were unforgivable, and against her own code.

 

Veritas, bonitas, pulchritudo, sanctitas...

 

Such had been taught her by her own actions, through battle, and experience. To each their creed. Nail-bitten fingers played slowly over the vibrosword's comfortable handle, studying the wear from battle and the slight stiffness of the leather, born from the blood of the unrighteous. The jet-black Rosary about her neck felt heavy, its weight still unfamiliar, the burden given to every Exorcist. The black bindings that covered her arms and legs also concealed the scars of hard-won battles, and bitter defeats.

 

She slowed her pace as the approached the walls of the Jedi's establishment, and Kyrie's emerald eyes swept across the smoothed stone, trying to identify handholds or cracks, but to no avail. A sigh escaped her lips, and she placed a pale hand against the stone, feeling the cold dampness of the mountain's dew engrained into the rock. As she began to walk the length of the wall, her tracing hand began to feel how truly ancient the formations of cold stone were. There were similar presences within the stone to the ones she had encountered in the forest clearing, ancient specters of the past, long forgotten, weary from the ages that had passed since their deaths. They had been drawn from their mortal bodies by death, but had not been able to join in the harmony of the force, instead clinging to a hope of life once more.

 

Kyrie's pale hand paused as it located a door in the imposing wall, and a smile passed across her face. She concentrated on her righteousness and placed her palm upon the worn stone. With a gentle push it gave way, revealing a path, lit only by fungal formations, its floor covered in fractured stone. An ancient pathway not often walked. Her blackened boots made almost no sound as she moved carfully along the path, pouring good intentions into her mind, hoping that no Jedi around her would mistake her for a Sith. Spirits gazed at her from the darkness, but did not interfere with her journey.

 

The winding path emptied into a wall of entangling vines, through which she passed carefully. Her eyes adjusted slowly to the dim lighting, which revealed to her a garden of insurmountable beauty. The light sparkled in her emerald eyes as she surveyed the garden's grand assortment of native and non-native plants. She stepped onto the damp, earthy path, and began to walk upon it slowly, looking for any sign of life. As she turned a corner in the path, around a grand barab-fruit tree, she came face-to-face with a cloaked figure, whom she towered above. She immediately dropped to one knee before the woman, and glanced up at the figure. All she could see was long auburn hair and the sparkle of kind eyes in the dim light. A smile formed on Kyrie's face, and she lowered her head in reverence, and spoke softly.

 

”œMaster Jedi... I have come to join your ranks and clense this galaxy of the Sith's evil presence.”