A Hunt For History

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There was a purpose to these ruins.

Odessen was remarkable for its neutrality in the Force. It was both embraced by the Ashla, and defiled by the Bogan. The manner of such a world coming to being was entirely unknown to Cedric, and he only knew of a handful of other worlds with such a unique status. He supposed that might be driving the empyrean's pull here, as it seemed as if the fortress was a focal point for such energies to meet. The Jedi felt it as soon as they stepped through the crevice. The air was practically charged with the energies of the Force.

"We've gotten close a few times," he sighed, waiting until she'd caught up to start slowly making his way down the tunnel.

No one ever remembers the five thousand years of peace we brought to the Republic.

"Think we both might be," he remarked, producing his lightsaber as he spoke. The bright cyan light cast the majority of the hall in sapphire shadows. The Blade of Ruusan was a special weapon, gifted to Cedric by the Ashla herself. It was blessed with her constant presence - what scientists had dubbed a Force Nexus. Whatever anxieties might have been assailing her mind would likely be dashed away by the blade's natural presence. It had a calming aura about it.

"If we're lucky we'll catch them playing a game of spirit pazaak. Get the jump on 'em," he quipped. His padawan was starting to rub off on him.

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

She took a slow, steadying breath as she reached into her jacket. When her hand pulled back from the pocket, there was a silver hilt gripped loosely in her grasp. There was a soft click as she pressed an actuator to extend the hilt further, making it easier to counter balance the weapon. She didn't activate the saber just yet, keeping the hilt held at the ready beside her thigh. If Cedric caught sight of the cylinder in her hand, it would look more like a slender baton weapon than a lightsaber.

With Cedric's saber casting off a brilliant blue light, Wren didn't need the torch any longer and she clicked it off, tucking it away into her pocket.

"Really begs the question if they'd have spirit cards or a spirit table to play on. Inanimate objects don't tend to have souls, do they?" She quipped at the Jedi Master's back as he moved forward.

An amused smirked tugged at the corner of her lips, tightening the grip she held on the saber hilt, focusing her energy around it. "Though... they can forge connections sometimes..." She murmured, closing her eyes.

Though now modified, the saber had once belonged to Kelina, back when she had been an apprentice. Cedric had been correct when he said that everyone was special in their own way when it came to the Force. Wren was particularly attuned to emotions. Simply holding something of significant value to someone she was close with, she could sense the emotions that were tied to the object. The saber her been her guide for the past two years. There was something more to Wren's abilities, but she was careful to keep that aspect from presenting itself.

"I think... there's an room at the other end of the antechamber. Might find something there?" She offered, the hilt practically thrumming in her hand.


[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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If Cedric paid the cylinder in her hand any mind, he didn't show it. He was more concerned with the ruins, and the growing sense of displeasure he felt at its aura. It presented itself as a nexus of neutrality, but there was a hint of darkness to it. It writhed within the shadows, only being seen if one were to look very closely, and even then only for a few seconds.

"Probably a table, at least. I imagine the cards could be substituted by a very active imagination," he mused, brow furrowing as he peered further into the chamber. "Some objects can. It depends on what it was used for, and who used it." He added, nodding as she spoke of the room.

"Sounds like a plan." He stepped forward, making his way into the room. It was smaller than the previous chamber, but still rather large. The roof was circular, and the once polished stone floors were covered in dust and detritus.

A series of growls issued from the either side of them. Cedric wheeled about, holding his weapon close to his chest as he made out lupine figures loping through the darkness. Their features were difficult to discern as they stuck to the shadows, and they seemed capable of walking on the ceiling above.

Not a good situation.

"I'll distract them," Cedric whispered, not daring to move a muscle lest he provoke the pack of creatures to attack. "You head back out of the ruin. If these are what I think they are, they might very well kill us both."

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

Wren took a tentative step backwards when she heard the menacing growls rumbling in the darkness. Nothing had leaped out at them from the shadows yet, but the tension in the air made it clear that letting her guard down could prove to be a fatal mistake.

"But there's something here. We're so close..." She started to protest in a quiet whisper.

Dust fell from over head, small flakes of rusted metal and rock pattered against her shoulder and the top of her head.

Slowly, she raised her gaze to peer up into the darkness towards the ceiling above them. Two orbs glittered in the pale blue light of Cedric's saber. One of the creatures crept along the ceiling and had focused its attention on the pair.

"Not sure... a distraction is gonna work." She hissed back to Cedric.

With the creature over her and staring down, she didn't move a muscle. She was concerned that if she made a move to leave that she'd trigger some sort of primal prey instinct in whatever the thing was.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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The beasts were an ancient abomination.

There were few creatures in the galaxy that could take down a trained Jedi Knight. The Sith, in their endless arrogance, had sought to rectify that. Dozens of corrupted species were spread across the galaxy, all with the general purpose of thinning the Jedi Order's numbers.

It was only when one of these creatures walked closer into the light that Cedric was certain as to what he was seeing. This was no Sith beast, but something far worse. There were tales of them in the old records: creatures that could hunt Jedi as if they normal beings.

He'd though them extinct, but then the pieces began to click. The Yuuzhan Vong had risen alongside the One Sith - it was possible they had bred more of the beasts.

"These are Voxyn," Cedric gestured all around to the three beasts that stalked them. They were smaller than their old counterparts, but their gapings maws of misplaced teeth were still rather intimidating. "Jump back in three..."

He drew upon the empyrean, envisioning the ceiling above. He focused upon its finer details, upon the miniscule cracks that had parted through the stone over the centuries. The patch of ceiling the Voxyn peered at them suddenly collapsed, just as Cedric jumped back toward the entrance, yanking at [member="Wrenarias"]' arm to pull her with him.

The beast screamed as it was crushed beneath several hundred pounds of rock, its limbs flailing uselessly in an attempt to lift the boulder.

The two other beasts howled, sending sonic blast of energy that ripped the walls apart flying toward the duo. Cedric called the empyrean back, asking of it to forge a barrier between the duo and the beasts. It coalesced in a shield of shimmering white light, catching the sonic attack before it could shred them to bloodied pieces.

"Can you fight?" He asked, maintaining the barrier as the beast's continued their assault.

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

As he asked the question if she could fight, Wren's response was a simple one. Her thumb activated her lightsaber and the blade of jade light arced to life. "Yes."

While the Jedi kept up the barrier between them and the sonic attack, Wren reached out with her free hand towards the crushed rubble in front of them. There was more than enough rock, rebar, and durasteel there to be put to further use.

She focused inwards, drawing on the Force as her fingers curled slightly. It didn't come as naturally to her as a Knight, but Cedric would be able to tell that her training with whoever had taught her previously had paid off. A twisted piece of cement lifted off the top of the pile of rubble, bits of rusted supports still sticking out of the block.

Her eyes flicked towards the closer creature, to their right, and she flung her arm towards the beast. The solid block of contorted metal and rock hurtled through the air, slamming into the beast and crushing it against the nearby wall. Wren's teeth ground together as she pushed her hand forward and twisted, holding the now crippled and pinned creature in place.


[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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There was a measure of surprise to Cedric's' expression as a second lightsaber came to life. He spared only a moment to glance at the blade - the third Voxyn was making its move. It roared is displeasure as its pack brothers were rendered inert. Wising up to the futility of its chosen method of attack, the beast simply charged, wicked claws the size of small swords flicking outward at it leapt at Cedric.

The Jedi quickly disengaged his barrier, bringing his weapon up in a two handed stroke. The lightsaber caught on the creature's claws, which resisted it, and sent the beast reeling. It wasted little time in charging again, and once again, found the strike of its claws repelled. Outraged, the creature howled wildly, its voice carrying such a strength that the floor and walls began to vibrate slightly.

Before it could charge again, Cedric marched forward. He deflected a paw strike, then another, marching into the creature's guard. It opened its mouth to take a chunk out of Cedric's leg, and the Jedi seized the opportunity. The screaming finally stopped when the cyan blade pierced the monster through its mouth. Cedric's lightsaber was withdrawn, and the creature slumped lifelessly to the floor.

"These ones were malnourished. Fortunate for us. Fully grown Voxyn are a terror," he sighed, his gaze returning to the Twi'lek. "A lightsaber then. Seems you learned more from your mentor than mere survival skills."

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

"A lightsaber is survival in battle." She countered, dropping her hand to release her hold on the mass of stone. It fell to the ground with a solid thud and a smear of red gore splattered across both its surface and the wall behind it.

The creature, shockingly, still howled in agony. Its body was broken, but it was not yet dead.

Pursing her lips, Wrenarias closed the distance to the creature and raised her saber once, bringing it down in a swift strike.

Stillness and silence returned to the cavern.

The twi'lek stood once more, expelling a soft breath as she deactivated the blade. The extended hilt closed up on itself and returned to a normal size, which allowed her to tuck the weapon away inside her jacket once more.

"And... we saw quite a lot of battle during my training..." She said softly, shaking her head. "Are you hurt, Cedric?"

 

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"That it is, among a great many other things," Cedric agreed as he drew his blade away from himself. The danger he'd felt prickling at the back of his spine was gone now. It was likely these were the only living creatures within the ruin, and guessing by their malnourished state, had not left often. He nudged one of the beast's with the tip of his boot to ensure it was indeed dead.

"Nothing hurt but my pride. I should have noticed them before we walked into their trap," he admitted, breathing a quiet sigh as he left the corpse alone. The room the Voxyn had occupied was an old training chamber for force sensitives. There wasn't much left of the place, but Cedric felt a pull nonetheless.

"What about yourself?" He asked, quickly scanning the woman up and down. Nothing red, no gashes - seemed fine. He allowed his worries to be carried away, and stepped on into the chamber. "I hadn't realized your training was so far along. Handled yourself well there. I'm impressed."

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

"Heh... I still have much to learn. I can't raise a shield like you just did..." She replied with a humble smile, inclining her head.

Once she was satisfied that the beasts were, in fact, dead and no longer a threat, she moved further into the chamber to have a look around. Some of the furniture and items were still in place, just where they'd been left centuries prior. She idly trailed her gloved fingers over the surfaces, her head curiously tilted to the side. There was so much history in this place, but all of it was unknowable. She wondered what this chamber had been like when it'd been properly in use. Had Jedi and Sith trained together?

That must have been quite the sight to behold.

How much knowledge had been lost?

Her hand brushed against a holocron that was affixed to a pedestal. She felt a tingle rush up her arm and she paused. "Huh..."

The other artifacts had been devoid of any sort of connection to her, but this... "Kelina was here... when she was younger. It's very faint. I wonder what this is.."

 

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"We all have our talents. Believe me the barrier is a lot harder to maintain than it looks," he sounded a bit exasperated. Often times using the empyrean left Cedric feeling refreshed, but sudden calls upon it left him tired, if not exhausted. He suspected it had something to do with the nature of the way he accessed the Ashlla. He required preparation to find his center, and without it calling upon the Force was a far more muddled affair.

is fingers trailed along the walls as he searched for the source of that pull. It was difficult to ascertain just what it was, but he understood that something in this room was calling to him. He blinked when he looked to the holocron Wrenarias was examining.

Duh.

"I must be blind," he sighed as he made his way over toward her. "Some form of holocron. About what I was looking for as well," he mused, eyes narrowing as he examined the artifact further. "It might have something to do with her, this Kelina." His gaze shifted to meet hers. "Only way to find out is to open it."

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

It was here that Wren's lack of training came more into the light. The woman had truly only been taught to fight, the more scholarly aspects of the force eluded her entirely, much to her frustration and chagrin.

"How... do we open it?" She asked reluctantly, not because she was afraid to do so... but because she was embarrassed to not know how. Poking the device idly with her index finger, she frowned at the holocron as if she could will it to open if she scowled enough in its general direction.

Her lavender colored gaze turned to Cedric's, arching a brow slightly.

 

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Cedric lofted a brow at first, but understood rather quickly.

The color of the tides around Wrenarias shifted in tone. They brightened slightly into a warm shade of orange - that which Cedric had come to associate with embarrassment. He gave her a patient smile, and came up with an idea.

There was, after all, always time for a lesson.

"Sit down on the floor in your most comfortable position, and place the holocron in front of you." Cedric folded his arms about his chest, his gaze lingering on the path they had come from. He felt no other life within the ruins, but sometimes even the Force could be deceiving.

"Close your eyes, and empty yourself of all thought. Envision the holocron within your mind's eyes. Once you have clarity of mind, those simple thoughts turn into request, and the Ashla will move to fulfill them. Think of the holocron opening, coming apart in the most natural way you can imagine, and then will it to do so in reality. If you can achieve true clarity and present honest intentions, the holocron will open for you."

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

To say that Wren was doubtful the task would be as simple as 'willing it to be so' was putting her dubious expression lightly. Her face contorted slightly, the uncertainty clear in her pale eyes.

She picked the holocron up off the pedestal, being as delicate with the device as she could be while she lowered herself down onto the uncomfortable floor. The metal surface was cold and unyielding, hardly ideal for meditation -- but that was hardly a skill Wrenarias was familiar with anyways. She set the holocron down on the floor in front of her legs after she'd tucked them underneath her form. Most of her weight was resting on her shins and knees, her hands resting lightly on top of her lap.

"How am I supposed to empty myself of all thought, while thinking of the holocron?" She asked with an amused chuckle, shifting her weight slightly to get a little more comfortable.

Nevertheless, she was willing to at least try.

Sighing heavily, she bowed her head and her organic lekku slipped over her shoulder to run down the front of her chest. "Right... right. Think about nothing, but picture the holocron. Simple." She mumbled under her breath.

For several minutes, the twi'lek stayed on the floor, trying her best to conjure a mental image of the holocron and how to open it. After an uncomfortable amount of time, she became rather self-conscious and grew frustrated. Her hands tossed up towards her shoulders in mild irritation. "Okay, this is just ridiculous. Why isn't there just a kriffing button to push?"

 

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Cedric parted his lips to answer, but it seemed she'd gotten the concept on her own. He waited on her patiently, his gaze darting from the holocron to the door. After a few short minutes, he determined that if anything else was hunting them, it would have pounced by now, and turned his full attentions to the Twi'lek.

"I used to hate holocrons," he snickered, leaning down to drop a knee opposite her. "I always wondered why the keys to Jedi knowledge, the means for me to learn, were denied to me because of my lack of that very same knowledge." There was a hint of good humor to his voice - a counter to Wren's frustration. "Took me a long time to figure out why."

He fell back, sitting down in a cross legged position, "Holocrons are only meant to be opened by those with the discipline to understand them. If anyone could just open them, they could be used for great evil," he paused, eyes narrowing for a moment. "It's something you could be capable of doing. It requires a great deal of practice in meditation."

He focused upon the holocron, eyes drifting shut as he drifted upon the empyrean. It was in that drift that he envisioned the cubical structure in his mind's eye. With an expression of psionic will, the holocron began to open piece by piece.

Just as it did so in his mind, so too did the real holocron. It hovered a foot or so above the ground, its pieces spinning and twirling as they came apart. At the holocron's center, a vast galaxy of stars and worlds were suspended holographics.

"Not sure what this one is about, though." Cedric admitted.

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

Wrenarias' eyes narrowed slightly as she watched the Jedi Master settle on the ground opposite her. There was a calm energy about the man, and she had the impression he wasn't trying to belittle her -- which made her feel a little better about the abject failure of opening the holocron on her own.

Her frustrations vanished entirely when she saw the holocron start to unfurl and open. It looked almost like mechanical flower blossoming, beautiful in its own right. Immediately, her engineering curiosity kicked and she started to puzzle out just how the thing had been constructed, and if she could replicate it. Judging by how the device seemed to exude energy from the Force, she reckoned that wasn't likely.

She glanced to Cedric, biting the inside of her cheek as she considered him closely. He seemed to think she was capable, but she wasn't sure why. All the evidence at Wren's disposal was that she was only good for a few things: fighting being the front runner. Her tinkering skills with electronics and mechanical contraptions came in a close second; but when it came to this side of the Force she felt as if she was hopelessly in over her head. Kelina never tried to teach her this, what else didn't she know?

A form took shape in the midst of the holographics, the scattering of stars condensing to reveal a hologram of a togruta woman. She wore dark robes,her posture was one of composed elegance and regal confidence. Silence stretched for a few beats, as if the small hologram woman was waiting for something. A wolfish grin spread over the togruta's lips and then she started to speak. "The Jedi would have us believe that passion is at the core of all corruption in the galaxy. While we Sith twist our passions into monstrous shades to fuel our ambitions."

Wren leaned forward curiously, resting her palms against the tops of her thighs as she listened to the holocron.

"We become slaves to our own hatred and fears, paranoia takes roots, and then we cripple ourselves with in fighting. It is no great mystery as to why we have fallen so far, how we were so easily overwhelmed. If we wish to overcome our adversary, we must adapt. Embrace your emotions. Use your passions, not just your hatred and anger, to your advantage. Do not be a limit yourselves to such easily manipulated motivations. The Jedi would deny themselves this boon, but we can take this opportunity to seize true power. The Force shall set us free." The togruta's hands reached out, as if beckoning the listeners closer. "But only if we've the courage to come together."

The ancient holocron flickered once and then collapsed back into itself.

Wren's brow creased and then she looked back to Cedric. "She didn't... sound like any of the other Sith I've encountered. What was that?"

 

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The Bogan rumbled from this wretched artifact.

Cedric felt it flow outward into the room the moment the holocron was opened. His brow furrowed, and his lips pressed into a thin line. He was tempted to simply destroy it there and then, so that it might not be used to influence Wrenarias or any other students that might happen upon it. Curiosity stayed his hand however, and he listened in silence as the Togruta spoke her piece. They weren't words Cedric enjoyed hearing, but he did pick up on a tinge of heresy in them. She spoke of the usual Sith platitudes, but of something else as well.

In the eyes of the Sith, the Jedi had corrupted this woman.

"A result of the convergence here," Cedric mused as he let the holocron fall roughly onto the floor. "Jedi and Sith workling side by side likely created a bleeding effect in their ideologies. The Jedi would be more open to aggressive beliefs, the Sith the opposite. This woman was likely an odd convergence of the two," he mused, his gaze shifting to the Twi'lek.

"She is what the Sith would call a heretic. For as much as she seems to disdain the Jedi, her beliefs are clearly heavily influenced by our own. Poor girl almost understood," he shook his head as he slowly rose to his feet, the holocron flying up to land in his outstretched hand.

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

Wrenarias glanced to the holocron as it clattered to the floor and then she looked to Cedric with her head tilted ever so slightly to the left with a curious expression in her eyes. He didn't seem pleased with what they'd seen in the recording.

She was quiet for some time, pondering over the implications and the words.

"Kelina, my mentor, she must have seen that recording too." Her expression turned to a subtle frown, unsure of what to make of that fact.

Shaking her head, she pushed herself to her feet and stretched her arms over her head to ease the ache in her back. "Was this what you were looking for? Or should we keep searching?"

 

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"Not quite, no," Cedric affirmed.

He hadn't expected to come across any Sith memorabilia, but then he probably should have. Odessen was as much a home for their kind as it had been for the Jedi. The thought made his stomach turn - the two ideologies were never meant to intermingle, and every instance of such in history had spelled disaster. That disaster always came from the Sith.

"Perhaps we should continue on. There's more to this ruin than a training hall," he mused as he stuffed the holocron away in his belt. Its knowledge was heretical, but perhaps further research could offer some insight into the minds of those Sith closer to the teachings of the Jedi than most. Perhaps its could present an avenue to redeem those Sith properly. The Ashla only knew.

"I am looking for a holocron though," he continued as he moved to return to the main hallway. "If this has remained, it's likely what I'm looking for has too. Maybe we'll find more clues as to your Kelina's whereabouts as well." At least she seemed keen to stick with him.

If nothing else, perhaps he could return to the Imperium with a new apprentice in tow. Time would tell.

[member="Wrenarias"]

 

[Wrenarias]

"If she's even alive..." Wrenarias murmured quietly as she turned to follow the Jedi out of the training hall. She cast a reluctant gaze over her shoulder towards the dead creatures, frowning slightly. With a single shake of her head, she trotted out of the training hall and followed Cedric through the main corridor.

"You'd think there would be some sort of control room... or an archives, if this was a base for both Sith and Jedi, right?" She asked the question idly, sweeping her gaze over the walls as she came up beside Cedric.

"Then again... they may have been raided by now." A sigh slipped from her lips and she glanced down at her boots as they thudded across the dust covered floor.

"So... if you're a Jedi Master, where is your padawan? Aren't you supposed to pretty much have one of those attached to your hip?"