A Glimpse of the Future

[Zef Halo]

Aris was glad to be gone from Saleucami. His first assignment as a Warden of the Silver Guardian had sent him there to resolve a certain conflict between to merchants. He was not really good with words but when the whole conflict turned into a ruthless race for power of a spice trading cartel, his lightsaber played a vital part in cracking down the criminals and bringing them to justice. In the end, peace and prosperity was what the Silver Sanctum Coalition stood for.

Drinking patiently from his pint of ale in the local cantina on Iktotch, he tried conversing the stubborn bartender to tell him the location of the so-called prophet of Iktotchi. More like False Prophet, that's how most labelled her around. The bartender insisted for a third day in a row that Aris must not seek her which being the third day on Iktotchi aggrevated the Hellyn.

He had only heard about this prophet on Saleucami while investigating the spice trading cartel. Aris was intrigued, although being a skeptic, he had heard amongst his people - the Hellyni - stories of real farseers. If they were real, it would be good to find out what they had to say about him and his quest. Aris had already reported to his superiors of the completion of his assignment and although he was supposed to be going back on Voss, he decided to take a bit of a long delay by visiting Iktotch.

The Hellyn shook his head as the bartender did not give in once again and turned around to watch the shockball being projected on the viewscreen of the cantina.


[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

Briga didn't frequent bars and cantinas, but when she sensed an opportunity, she would make an appreance on Iktotch. If she knew there was something in it for her. Otherwise she holed up in her cliffside home with her maenads, readying herself for Ax'no to embody her.

But tonight she would emerge, whether the Iktotch Press likes it or not, she thought. They will never consider me as Ax'no, even though I am.

So into the cantina, the reclusive mystic strode to the gasps of the paltry, withering Iktotch crowd. She could feel the man who sought her. With the Force, she also grasped onto him, measuring him for his worth.

Shock Ball. It wasn't something that the Caprine mystic enjoyed but she knew that that galaxy liked competiton. She sat near to the human, knowing that she'd been summoned.

[member="Aris II"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Aris never quite understood the sport but it looked fun to him, especially with all the patrons going crazy over it. Apparently it was some sort of intense rivalry between the two teams playing and the patrons were reacting emotionally to every misplay one of the teams did. Yet, it was not their sudden silence and gaze at the entrance that made him look at the figure they were gazing at. Neither it was the pause of the sound that the bartender's ferocious wiping of a glass. No. It was the Force. He knew it well. Numerous times in his life had it happened. Hellyni were predominantly Force sensitive despite their lack of active abilities in it. That was one of the reasons he had sought an order to develop his power in the Force.

The call to meet the two-horned humanoid's eyes was before she sat next to him. It was like the call one got from a number on his phone, he knew to who the number belonged but never put the number under a contact's name.

It was the Prophet.

His eyes moved from her to the bartender in order to confirm his knowledge was true. The bartender's facial expressions and body language were easy to read. It was indeed the Prophetess of Iktotch. For some odd reason, perhaps maybe the lack of women rights in his City State back home, Aris did not expect her to be a she. Then something else enlightened him about her. She matched the description of the mythical being that once lived on his homeplanet in ancient times, accoring to the history he had been taught. Now this was becoming too much of a coincidence. Perhaps there was such a thing as fate?

"I've come here seeking you." Aris bluntly stated, he wasn't the best with words. Stating the obvious seemed good enough of a start. "For your prophecies."

"You've got a bigger chance of winning the lottery, kid, than having one of her 'prophecies' become true!" One of the patron's voice boomed through the silent crowd but the Hellyn ignored it, his focus on the two-horned sitting next to him.

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

It didn’t appear that the man cared for the odd sport either and was merely glancing at the monitor to pass the time. That’s what it seemed like most mortals did, Briga thought. Checked their chronos, worked in office buildings and tall towers, at night re-watching mundane holoshows until it was time to go to sleep and do it all over again the next day. No thank you!

But the newcomer to Iktotch was not necessarily a mortal either. The Caprine mystic could tell by his Force signature, a distinct presence in the otherwise dingy cantina.

Briga’s auburn hair was tightly pulled back, and a leafy gold decorative chain was wrapped around her head and her pointed horns. Her garb was austere and sacerdotal; not much of her downy skin could be seen among the billowing sleeves and firm clasps.

Spoiler

“Tu ukuba Msweli osisiyatha!” she hissed at the patron in Caprinese. The Jedi Apprentice would not need to understand it to know it was an insult. She may have resembled a nun, but in her native language, she cursed like a smuggler.

I will deal with that individual later, she thought. As Lord Prazutis had said to her at the First Order ball on Dosuun: "If your rivals are allowed to openly disgrace you with impunity - even one such individual - then you are no longer a person to be feared.” The unfortunate individual – human, Iktotchi or even Houk – would be regretting his words tonight.

“As so many have before you,” she said to the Hellyn. “And at times, I’m summoned off-world, but my powers of prophecy are the strongest here.” She raised a clawed finger, and a glass of wine was placed before her by the bartender - another sign that she’d been here before, even though it wasn’t a hallowed church-hall or sprawl of ancient ruins. Appraising him as though he were a piece of fine art – he was a Jedi but with his dark locks which rambled down the sides of his face – he was a warrior of some kind, but not a solider. Certainly not Imperial.

“What do you wish to know?”

[member="Aris II"]

 

[Zef Halo]

The Prophetess did look the part of her title, for sure. Yet, charlatans' main trait was looking the part. He had mixed feelings about the two-horned woman but his mind leaned towards the side that supported her as a real Prophetess. Was it optimism or the Force, Aris was not really sure, it is as it is. She had a presence, in the Force he suggested, that felt like a taint or at least outlandish. Quite peculiar, yet Aris was not that adept in the Force to explain the feeling.

Her fierce spit of words in a foreign language slightly startled the black haired man, it sounded as a swear and a curse at the same time. It was unexpected and a bit off the picture she initially projected. Some rumbling came from the tables but they quickly went back to doing their own deeds leaving the Prophetess alone.

“As so many have before you. And at times, I’m summoned off-world, but my powers of prophecy are the strongest here.”

She received a glass of wine from the quite terrified looking bartender just by raising her clawed finger, while at the same time her piercing gaze seemed to read his soul. It wasn't the most pleasant feeling of feelings when you felt as an open book. Yet, he kept his calm and composed demeanor.

“What do you wish to know?”

"My fate."​

​

​

[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

“It seems my reputation precedes me,” Briga said. She dragged one clawed hand over the surface of the bar, leaving faint scratch marks. With the other hand she picked up the wine goblet and took a lusty swallow.

“Like any capable soothsayer will tell you,” the Caprine said. “I need to know a little bit about you before I can see your future. Where do you come from, Warrior?” Her own perception of him was that he was a lightsided being. He had very little trace of darkness within him, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t fall.

But oh to tumble down into the pitch-black like the rest of us, thought Briga. How utterly sublime the darkside was! And one day, she’d emerge as the reincarnation of Ax’no, and while some would not be surprised, she wasn’t sure how much of the Caprine population would be expecting such a transformation. Their beloved Ax’no, goddess of luck, harvest and fertility was much more powerful than the galaxy even knew.

But all in time. Briga needed to get stronger, to ally and train with the Sith for this to happen. And to do that, she needed some kind of credits or favor from the Hellyn, but first – knowledge of the man who sat next to her.

[member="Aris II"]

 

[Zef Halo]

“It seems my reputation precedes me,”

The Prophetess' spoke while she dragged her claw over the surface of the bar where both their drinks were, that would usually mean a person in thought but to Aris her facial features seemed as if she knew already her words. As if reading a script. Her next words were a combination of judgement on charlatans and an approach to trust. At least, that was how the Hellyn comprehended it.

“I need to know a little bit about you before I can see your future. Where do you come from, Warrior?”

Aris raised a slight eyebrow at that question, he definitely did not expect such a question from her but it also reinfroced his belief that she wasn't simply a charlatan that made her living by mischief and lies. Tapping for a moment on the surface of the bar thoughtfully to that question, Aris shifted his position on the chair to be more faced towards the enigmatic humanoid and spoke:

"Very well." He paused to contemplate on his next words. "The City State of Attika on Hora, homeworld of the Hellyni." Aris replied bluntly the answer to her question and then deciding on not being laconic as always he proceeded. "I've come to find knowledge on my goal, words of a seer to guide me on the path that I am to take."


[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

“The Hellyni,” said Briga, searching the room as though the planet could be found tucked away in the dirty Iktotch cantina. She finished her wine in two successive swallows and clunked her glass down on the bar, a sign that she wanted another. And the more the Caprine drank deeply of the sanguine wine, the more her manners deteriorated. The Priestess Tiin appeared to be enjoying alcohol, perhaps more than a religious figure should.

“Okay, I’m ready,” she said suddenly. Briga raised her hands, and he would see that she had crude drawings of eyes stenciled on the palms – whether they were painted in henna or permanent tattoos wasn’t know. Closing her amber eyes, she drew in a sharp breath through her nostrils and exhaled through parted lips. A few minutes would pass with Briga just sitting quietly, meditating to let the vision seep into her mind. A few of the patrons, mostly Iktotchi, but a couple of Caprine as well, drew in a little closer. Apparently, not all in the cantina thought her a charlatan. When the reincarnated goddess of Ax'no practiced divination in public, it normally drew a small crowd.

Her eyes opened again, she sipped her wine and finally said, “I don’t even know your name, but I do know your fate now. This City State of yours on Hora… you long to reclaim what’s yours. Your throne.”

Briga had seen a great uprising, and shockingly, she’d seen her fate intertwined with the Hellyni.

“And I intend to help you."

[member="Aris II"]

 

[Zef Halo]

The prophetess repeated "The Hellyni" and her action seemed to imply as if she knew about his people which would not surprise the black-haired man. There was a large diaspora of Hellyni around the Galaxy, it would be something shocking if she had even met a Hellyn before. Abruptly, she interrupted his wondering by halting her drinking of wine which seemed that she enjoyed... a lot. Confirming that she was ready, the woman raised her hands showing weird tattoos or drawings on her palms, if she was a charlatan then she was really committed to the role she was taking but soon that small amount of skepticism would be totally obliterated.

She closer her eyes and went silent, Aris half-expected that she'd grab his hand or something but that was not the case. As time passed, the Hellyn noticed that the whole tavern was becoming silent and drawing in towards the Prophetess even those that seemed quite disbelieving in her abilities. And then she spoke words that changed his perception of the humanoid woman that stood in front of him.

“I don’t even know your name, but I do know your fate now. This City State of yours on Hora… you long to reclaim what’s yours. Your throne.”

His eyes grew wide at what she spoke, there was no chance she would know this information unless she really was a prophetess. Noticing Aris' reaction, the patrons gasped and silent talks began to overwhelm the silence that had lingered for long in the tavern. Those that were most skeptical seemed confused and possibly slightly afraid, others seemed ambitious on throwing the Hellyn out of his place and get their own prophecy from the prophetess. A look towards them from Aris, they halted their ambitions.

“And I intend to help you."

So many questions were raised within him at her sudden decision. Why in the first place ? Yet, he asked a more practical question:

"How?" If she explained after that question he would ask her about her name. In the end, Aris did not like the idea of calling her Prophetess much.


[member="Briga Tiin"]

 

[Ax'no]

“I don’t know yet, warrior,” she answered. “But there will be a bloody battle and many will die.”

She finally pushed her wine glass away, satisfied with the amount of relaxation she was feeling. Briga stood up and stretched languidly. Cantina guests were still milling around, hoping for more visions. Briga was not about to oblige unless she could collect donations from it. She wouldn't ask the Hellyni for credits. If he truly was a monarch and not a charlatan, there would be other ways he could repay her.

“These robes,” she said, motioning to her stiff garment. “They are stuffy, and it’s hot in here. Would you like to go for a walk?” she asked.

The Caprine was nervous with so many patrons around and especially with where she intended to lead the conversation. Uprisings, rebellion… war, those were negative words, but the mystic had an even more shocking idea on how to incite hostility.

“While it’s windy on Iktotch, it’s, ,at least, a pleasant night,” she finished.

[member="Aris II"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Aris eagerly wished she had known how she would be helping him in reclaiming his rightful place on the throne of Attika. Well, no matter. He had been surprised pleasantly that she actually really was a prophetess, there was no way she would know all that information. The Hellyn contemplated on how possibly she could be of help in his quest as she began standing up and urging him to leave the quite hot indoors of the cantina. With a quick gulp, he finished his ale and followed the mysterious horned prophetess to the outside where wind accompanied the fresh night air of Iktotch.

"I never got to know your name." Aris bluntly said and then proceeded. "The Force. I am not as informed about it as the rest of the galaxy but.." He paused and looked at the prophetess. "Perhaps while telling me your name, maybe you could enrich my knowledge about a certain side of the Force. The so-called dark side..."

He let the last two words linger in the air between them awaiting her for a response. Perhaps she might know more about it and the little Aris knew about it was that it gave power beyond one's imagination.


[member="Briga Tiin"]