Private It's Been Awhile

[Okkeus Dainlei]

Tython, Ashla's Heart | It's Been Awhile | Ryv

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Sunlight slowly began to shine up from behind the mountain peaks as the planet of Tython became decorated in a calm, warming light.

All around, the life had started to find its way back to the planet. The battle that took place some time ago ravaged most of the planet, leaving it in an unrecognizable state. While the Jedi were victorious in their defense, countless lives were stolen by the hands of the Maw. The Heart of Ashla faced near death that day. Yet somehow, this very ravine in which he stood, faced no harm whatsoever. No matter what the attackers did, no damage could be done. It was as if the forces of light were watching over them the entire time, letting us know that good will prevail. And it did.

They won the battle. The Brotherhood of the Maw were reduced to a mere shell of their former self. Alliance forces conquered the evil that lurked in the Unknown Regions. Exegol was purged, and peace was brought back to the Galaxy. Fighting in the Second Great Hyperspace War had brought Okkeus as sense of purpose. A sense of belonging. Being a part of something that was bigger than himself, no matter how much pain and suffering he endured. Countless nights spent awake with a fear of being ambushed. Knowing that if the Sith got any upper hand, he might spiral into a dark path once more. Deep down he had convinced himself that if he was constantly fighting them, they would have no chance of taking him over once more.

Yet no Sith were left to fight. They all died here, on this very planet. So what was his purpose in life? Growing up, he had been taught that combatting evil was how one prevailed in life. The only evil left lurking was that inside of him.

The lake was calmly flowing along with the breeze. Okkeus sat right by the shore on top of a fallen log. Meditation was never really one of his strong suits, but for some reason today felt different. Slowly inhaling and exhaling, the man tried to find some peace in all of this.

 

[Ryv]

Somewhere in a distant realm, one simultaneously untouched yet somehow threatened by the very nature of the galaxy, an essence shifted within the infinite cosmos. This formless thought began to coalesce. Memories moved through the force like shooting stars across the endless expanse of space, constructing a mortal mind, one that could fathom beings enraptured still by the mortal coil. This power shaped itself as it had before, only this time, it carried a strength unlike anything before. What might this being held in life was dwarfed by the near-infinite knowledge gained in death.

From where Okkeus stood, the troubled young man could easily see an eerie silhouette begin to take shape over the water. This manifestation shaped itself no differently than the youth in rudimentary form. Two arms. Two legs. The amorphous mass appeared to draw closer to Okkeus. It moved with the might of a storm, carried forth on winds made mighty by the nexus.

This shape moved mechanically like an old, forgotten droid rediscovered after a decade of deactivation. After what felt like an eternity, the silhouette's churning form coalesced into something whole and recognizable to the young man.

Ryv Karis smiled at Okkeus with the warmth many associated with the Jedi Master in life.

"I used to stand in that very spot and look over the lake whenever I finished my work down in the grove," Ryv looked past Okkeus to the open pathway that led deeper down the towering tree overhead. "You're also pretty close to where I killed Solipsis, dude," he nodded with his head to a spot that looked no different than any other.

"What are you doing here, Okkeus? Surely you know by now that standing at the edge of a lake while staring off into space ain't doing you any favors."

At his death, Ryv Karis looked the part of a solemn Jedi Master. Hallowed features, black hair flecked with strands of gray. What filled in his beard was more salt than pepper, but the aura projected by the Ryv Karis of then was no different than the youth who founded his New Jedi Order many years ago. At some point in his journey, Ryv came into adulthood. In his early twenties, he looked the part of a strapping Jedi Knight. Chiseled, strong, and always confident, Ryv Karis was a man who presented as everything a Jedi Knight should be.

That was the man who stood before Okkeus. The man at the forefront of a thousand armies across a thousand planets.

Okkeus Dainlei

 

[Okkeus Dainlei]

Tython, Ashla's Heart | It's Been Awhile | Ryv

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At first, he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Simply appearing out of nowhere was the outline of a person. Directly ahead of the Knight, the figure made its way across the water, almost as if they were gliding across the top of it. With each second that passed, the image of the man became clearer. Slowly, the outline was now full and completed. Rising up from the log on which he sat, Okkeus stared in disbelief at who approached. It was someone who he had looked up to when he first joined the New Jedi Order. A Jedi that embodied everything that the Code meant, and then some. A man who was a sign of leadership in this galaxy.

"Ryv, is that you?"

Okkeus listened in awe as the man brought up a quick note about the fight with Darth Solipsis. The young knight knew that he was one the planet fighting somewhere, but he did not know it was near Ashla's Heart. There was symbolism to that: A defender of all that is light till the very end. Looking back from the forest in which Ryv nodded to, the man got a better image of the late Jedi. He did not appear as the master he last saw. No, this projection was a much younger version. One that reminded Okkeus of his early days fighting for the Alliance. This chosen look was...comforting. Like meeting a long-lost friend once more.

"I don't know man, figured I would at least try. Nothing else has worked this far."

The young man did in fact know why he was sitting here. All of his life, he had been trained to fight and defeat Sith. In order to uphold the light. The only way this could happen was if they were all defeated. Once the battle was won at Tython, he thought that was it. They had finally done it. All the evil, gone. So, there was nothing else left for him to do. Eventually he found a new goal, which was to create and new path to a previously untraveled companion galaxy: Companion Forn. It was more so an escape from this galaxy. His purpose here had been fulfilled.

It wasn't until he touched back down on this planet that he realized he was still lost. On his journey he charted a new hyperlane, wrote a book, built a few droids, helped out wandering strangers, and even worked on a new lightsaber. Yet it did not feel like enough. Deep down, he longed for another battle. Another duel. Something that brought him close to the brink of death but could still fight back from, being the champion of the day. As far as he understood though, no large groups of Sith were left here. They are all wiped out.

"When you were fighting for the New Jedi Order, did you ever feel like it was your only purpose? To defeat Sith?"

 

[Ryv]

Ryv nodded at Okkeus' initial question. His spectral arms crossed over his broad chest, and he looked upon the man across from him with an empathetic smile. How often had the late Jedi stood as Okkeus stood, staring out at the galaxy for the easy answer? He listened with a faint tilt of his head until the burning question finally came out.

"Of course," the old kiffar stated without hesitation. He moved closer to Okkeus, placing his spectral hand atop the man's shoulder. The feeling was not quite touch, but there was something akin to weight as it fell into place. "More times than I care to admit, I felt myself give in to my emotions. My compassion turned into cold hatred for the monsters who would slaughter innocent children before my very eyes. My pride in my place at the head of my order led to a gripping arrogance that turned me away from those who could be allies. All I had to do was swallow that damn pride and listen to what they said."

The force ghost's smile never faded, even as he admitted some of his many failings. "The galaxy is not a fair place, Okkeus. The good people, those who weep at the sight of others in pain, fall beneath the weight of the malign," he turned to look out at the lake, not unlike the younger man moments before. "But all of that isn't the point of any of this. All of this," his one remaining arm motioning to the still lake and enshrouding mists. "This is the point of it all."

He watched the faint ripple of tiny waves lap up the shore caused by the passage of some small fish beneath the water's surface. Those ripples ceased, maybe inches from where his feet would have been.

"There's always going to be another Sith to fight, kid. Don't die for that," Ryv looked back to Okkeus, his unwavering smile carved into worn features. "Die for something real, something that will survive you."

Okkeus Dainlei

 

[Okkeus Dainlei]

Tython, Ashla's Heart | It's Been Awhile | Ryv

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Okkeus's eyes traced the man's arm as the phantom hand rested down.

There was a feeling of comfort knowing that he was not the only one with these feelings. All of these battles fought, and after every single one they were still perceived as the heroes. The innocents were protected as the evil was vanquished. But when you boiled it all down, the Jedi acted similarly to their Sith foes. In the eyes of the enemy, the Alliance were the killers. We were the ones murdering the defenseless for our conquest. The title of 'savior' was not one that we should bear.

Following the outstretched hand offered by Ryv, the young man looked out upon the lake that laid out before the duo. The sun was now halfway risen from behind the peaks. Shadows from the nearby trees were cast out onto the water. Calming winds blew throughout the area. Sounds of wildlife slowly waking up could be heard all around them. The whole thing was so serene.

"Die for something real, something that will survive you."

His heartbeat slowed for a second as those words sat. Something real. This whole time he thought that their constant fight was real. It had purpose. The reasons for it mattered. Visions had plagued his nightmares about dying in a fiery blaze on the battlefield. A red blade piercing his chest, flying laying the Jedi to rest. But now, whether or not he died, that duel was not going to matter. More force-wielders would follow his same path, regardless of their alignment. His story would be told and forgotten.

None of it would matter in the end unless he did something about it.

"All of these battles, all of these wars, they start to seem pointless after a while. I guess you can't cut off a guy's arm and get him to agree with your point of view."

The knight let out a light chuckle, not out of humor, but more so out of regret and shame.

"Throughout my whole life, I had visions of myself dying in one of these battles. I would be cut down by a crimson blade. My apprentice would be there, right by my side, engaging the Sith and eventually defeating them. It is what I had done for my Master. The only purpose for my life was to become motivation for someone else. Nothing more, nothing less. But now I realize I was wrong."