A Jedi and His Apprentice Episode II: Attack on Sewer Clown

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Aldera Antilles"]

Above them, the Bith could make out the flapping wings of roosting hawk-bats shifting around. Somewhere in the near distance, he could sense Joza. Beyond that, he sensed the nervous excitement of Aldy as she took the lead. The crystal had called to her and so she knew best which way too go. Her glowrod gave extra light beyond the soft illumination provided by Illum's primary poking through natural vents.

"Good, that's the best thing, following the Force. Especially when you feel doubts in yourself and even when you don't understand."

 

[Aldera Antilles]

Aldy nodded to [member="Dune Rhur"], but kept her concentration on the path ahead.

Suddenly, she stopped, stumbled slightly, and appeared a bit disoriented.

"I have a bad feeling," she told Master Rhur. "I'm not sure what it is, but I got a ... sense ... of something ahead of us."

Gritting her teeth and breathing deeply and smoothly to calm herself, the intrepid adventuress forged ahead.

 

[Aldera Antilles]

[member="Sorel Crieff"] [member="Joza Perl"] [member="Z'Zharen"]


Following the rough-hewn corridor until it forked to the right, Aldy saw another cavern about ten to twelve meters from the bend.

Entering the passage, like the maw of a prehistoric beast, Aldy felt the ambient temperature drop dramatically.

Suddenly, there was a massive tremor and the cavern roof collapsed behind Aldy.

"MASTER RHUR! ARE YOU ALRIGHT?! MASTER RHUR!"

No answer.

"MASTER RHUR ... CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

Sepulchral silence.

Okay, don't panic. There's got to be a way to get to him. You won't do anyone any good if you panic.

Aldy reached for her blaster, ready to up the output so that she could clear the blockage and get to the Bith Jedi.

No blaster.

Sithspit! He took my blaster earlier.

Think! C'mon, think! It's what I'm good at ... right? Okay. He's a Jedi Master with A LOT more experience at dodging things than I have, and I managed to avoid getting crushed ... right? Okay. Master Rhur would not want me to panic. He'd want me to keep a clear head and remember the Jedi Code.

Okay, okay. 'There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is The Force.' I sure hope he's right about that last part.

Taking several cleansing breaths, Aldy moved forward and tried to fight back the pervasive thought that Dune Rhur could be buried beneath tons of debris.

Though she no longer had backlighting from the area behind the debris, Aldy's glowrod provided very good forward illumination and reflected the crystal-lined walls of the corridor. Each meter brought with it a drop in temperature, and a frigid fog cascaded around her knees. The passage seemed to go on for an interminable distance, and the glowrod's luminosity began to diminish.

Ahead, she could see the multi-hued light of what was hopefully the opening to another crystal cavern ... and a way out. As her eyes adjusted to the glare, she realized that there was a silhouetted humanoid figure approaching but also blocking her egress.

When the figure stepped within the radius of the glowrod, Aldy's heart siezed in her chest and she fought with every fibre of her being not to give in to pure blind panic. Though she tried to speak, she found that she could not. It was he! There was no mistaking the tall Human in distinctive garb, a brand on his forehead, and three diagonal scars along his right cheek. Historical documents had given precise and accurate descriptions of him for almost five millenia.

"Speechless?" he chided. "Well you should be, for you stand in the presence of the greatest Dark Lord of the Sith. I am Exar Kun!"

Aldy glared at the monster before her, the betrayer of almost everything good and noble and of import to her. The ravager of worlds who murdered millions of sentients. Rumor had it that he had been destroyed, but Aldy knew that evil could never truly die. Like the tide, it might recede for a time, but would always return to wash over the unwary.

"Please do say something, Dr. Antilles. I have waited a very, very long time for our meeting."

"I have nothing to say to the likes of you, Kun!"

"What a disappointment. I had so wanted for things to be civil between us. No matter. We have business you and I. Unfinished business."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh? Don't you?"

"What do you want, Kun? Why won't you stay dead?"

"Temper temper, Dr. Antilles. I have a proposition for you. One I have not made since my dealings with Ulic Qel-Droma. Well, there was that matter with Kyp Durron and Skywalker's pets, I suppose ...." Exar Kun shrugged and waved dismissively.

Aldy suddenly found herself imprisoned within constricting, glowing chains.

Sith Alchemy?! The legends are true!

"Perhaps now you will be more cooperative, yes?"

Aldy gritted her teeth at Exar Kun and struggled against the bindings.

"Good! Good, Dr. Antilles! Embrace your anger, your hatred."

"Just get to the point already!"

"The point? Why, the point is that I have chosen you to be my apprentice, of course."

"Your ... apprentice? Are you mad?"

Exar Kun's steely grey eyes regarded Aldy coldly.

"Far from it, I promise you."

"That doesn't exactly reassure me."

"Perhaps not, but, as my apprentice, you would have access to some of the greatest Sith and Jedi relics. Imagine it! Knowledge of the ancients, lost treasures of dead civilizations, many ... rescued ... before the Cron Supernova laid waste to Ossus almost five thousand years ago. What would you give for access to such priceless treasures? Eh, Dr. Antilles?"

Aldy felt her will begin to waver. Recovering Jedi and Sith relics would be a tremendous boon to the Silver Sanctum Coalition. A team of scholars could spend several lifetimes studying such artifacts.

"Still not enough, eh? Well, how about ... this ...?"

A section of the cavern wall slid aside, revealing shelf after shelf of triangular holocrons. Illuminated by their glow, a tall figure in a hooded black robe was visible. Eyes adjusting to the sudden change in light level, Aldy realized that the other person was an older version of herself!

"As you can see, it is only a matter of time before you become my apprentice. It is ... inevitable!"

"I'll never join you! I don't care what tricks you try to play on me!"

"Think, Dr. Antilles! Think! Do you really believe that the Jedi would allow you free reign to develop your powers to the fullest? I assure you that they would not. They would hold you back, make excuses for lapses in your training. They would say that you are too old, too undisciplined. We both know that they would hinder your development ... because they fear you! They fear the raw potential within you. That is why they did not try to train you when you were a child, why they denied you your birthright and let you be consumed by fear and self-doubt, crippling guilt, anxiety, and anguish!"

Aldy spat at Exar Kun's feet.

"I fear that I waste my breath with you. So be it! There are other ways of ... persuasion ... at my disposal."

Exar Kun nodded to his apprentice.

Darth Retributa smote her doppelganger with Force Lightning.

Aldy screamed.

Exar Kun smiled, then nodded to his ebon-clad disciple.

Darth Retributa placed an ungloved hand on each side of Aldy's temples, despite the other woman's attempts to avoid them.

"Remember ...!" she said in a hollow voice, as devoid of warmth as the vacuum of space.

The cavern disappeared, to be replaced by a familiar scene. An all-too familiar scene.

A teenage girl and her parents were studying artifacts at a dig site when they were beset by a gang of raiders. The scene played out very much as it had originally and for many, many years afterward, with a clarity which was the curse of an eidetic memory.

The father interposed himself between the raiders and his wife and daughter, only to be cut down by blaster fire, followed by his wife.

Evil grins and eviler intentions were apparent as the raiders approached the girl.

This time, though, there was two differences.

Young Aldy, in her fear and anger, didn't pick up her father's blaster. Rather, she unleashed a barrage of Force Lightning so powerful that only ashes and scorch marks on the ground bore mute testimony to the sentients who had stood there moments before. She laughed with a fiery intensity which was terrifying to behold. This time there was no remorse.

Again and again, the scene was recounted.

Aldy's will and her very sanity were slipping.

The pain was unbearable, her brain and nerve endings on fire, her consciousness drifting ... away!

There is no emotion, there is peace.

The laughter was reduced to chuckling.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

The chuckling was reduced to smirking.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

The smirking became frowning.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

The frowning became a blank expression.

There is no death, there is The Force.

Exar Kun and Darth Retributa were in Aldy's memory.

"Through victory, my chains are broken," Young Aldy said.

Stark realization was upon the face of the Sith.

"The Force shall free me," the grown-up Aldy said.

"But that's a Sith teach ...!"

The screams of the Sith were drowned out as both realms were bathed in an explosive white light.

Aldy was freed -- mind, body, and spirit.

"You have chosen ... wisely," a kindly voice said to Aldy.

A glowing, wizened hand rested upon Aldy's shoulder.

"Rest."



When Aldy awoke, she was on the floor in the corridor outside the chamber, [member="Dune Rhur"] kneeling next to her.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Aldera Antilles"]

From the Bith's perspective, it was a matter of a moment. She went into the mouth of the passage ahead of him and he'd heard his name called out in a shout of panic and fear. He'd raced in to find her laying on the ground, stunned. Kneeling beside her, he was relieved to find her chest rising and falling normally.

"Visions from the Force can be...taxing," he said quietly as he remembered his trials of Knighthood. "Are you well?".

Dune didn't ask what she'd seen, a being's visions were very personal things. One's own inner darkness was one's own obstacle to overcome.

 

[Aldera Antilles]

"I ...! Yes. I am ... a bit ... fatigued, that's all. But also ... lighter of spirit, as if a crushing weight had been alleviated."

As Aldy struggled to get to her feet, she felt something pushing against her glove. Standing and then opening her hand, she gazed in amazement at a magnificent green crystal. Throughout her travels, she had visited a great many worlds which housed troves of treasure to sate even the most ravenous appetites of avarice, yet those jewels and objets d'art paled in comparison to the Clarity, Flawlessness, Lustre, and Depth of Color of the crystal which she now held. Holding the crystal to the dappled light, she could see no impurities whatsoever.

How did that get there?!"

"Is this a Pontite?" Aldy asked [member="Dune Rhur"], showing her prize to him. "If so, I think it only proper that I give it to you, for yourself or for one of your students. I am not advanced enough in the Jedi traditions to warrant this. I am more of a scholar than a warrior, and, if I had my way, I would never build or raise-up a lightsaber. I would be content to spend my entire life in the company of scrolls and documents. Still, as Jedi Master Ooroo once said to Odan-Urr, 'A Jedi Knight has other responsibilities, other duties'."

Aldy sighed heavily, then extended her outstretched hand to Dune Rhur, the crystal in her palm.

 

[Dune Rhur]

[member="Aldera Antilles"]

Dune nodded, letting Aldy make her way to her feet on her own. A Trial was something one faced themselves, even his own Master hadn't aided him when he crawled out of his test. He'd seen the concern on the Twi'leks normally cheerful face but he'd known she couldn't interfere. He still watched her intently, ready to render aid.

When Aldera opened her hand, Dune examined it and slowly nodded. "Only pontite crystals are known to be flawless here. Even my own mephite crystal has an impurity or two." The Bith smiled as he gently closed her hand around the gem. "No, this is yours alone. You've earned it today. Besides, you may yet build your own lightsaber soon."

 

[Aldera Antilles]

Aldy accepted the crystal with humility and a bowed head.

"Th-thank-you," Aldy said, shuddering slightly as she tried to hold back the tears of joy.

There's no crying in Force-wielding! There's no crying in Force-wielding! There's no crying in Force-wielding!

 

[Z'Zharen]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydIaUx84HWs

Sorel Crieff
Joza Perl

The young Whipid followed Joza into the new passage way. She had asked if he felt anything and though he held back his ashamed answer he tried to reach out with his mind. It felt like he was yelling in his own head, trying hard to grasp at the Force as if it were evading him. He sighed, still not answering Joza...his body language spoke volumes.

It was Sorel though who spoke up from behind him, he turned to face the dual blade wielding Jedi. She spoke of relaxing, keeping a calm mind and allowing the Force to come to him rather than chase it mentally as he did earlier. The Whipid nodded as Sorel closed her eyes, no doubt falling into the waves of Force energy she stated were here, irradiating from the crystals.

Zhar still felt nothing, but he mimicked Sorel. Closing his eyes and taking in slow deep breaths, holding them in and then exhaling through his nostrils. The anticipation for something to happen raced in his mind, he breathed again. He allowed his shoulders to relax and his postured slouched a little, he exhaled again and continued this breathing cycle.

He heard shuffling sounds as if something dragging through snow...but that was strange for they were indoors now, deep in the caverns. Curious he opened his eyes and saw he was outside, back in the blizzard! He gasped, looked around frantically for the other apprentices. The wind was harsh, much harsher than earlier, it was freezing enough to make even a Whipid shiver!

He had left his sleeveless trench coat in the main chamber of the cave where Dune was...he regretted not taking it with him, it would offered a little bit of warmth. He hugged his huge arms and hunched over, still looking around for the other Jedi. He pawed at his neck and brought his goggles back up and over his eyes. They shielded his eyes, but his sight was still blurred by the harsh blizzard. He heard the shuffling of snow again, this time it was closer. He turned around and saw he faced a tribe of woolly creatures, Whipids!

Not just any Whipids, his tribe! The older and whiter Whipid at the head of the group looked blankly before her as if Zhar was not in her line of view, when he clearly was. He held out a hand, wondering if this was a hallucination. "Spearmaster?" He spoke to her gently, the old female Whipid leaned on her thick bone spear. The rest of the tribe looked confused as to why she stopped in the first place, but it appeared the old Spearmaster had thought she saw or at least heard something. She huffed and gestured with her white hairy arm overhead for the tribe to follow her. Zhar recalled the gesture and the shuffling through snow, his tribe was migrating as they did every season.

The Spearmaster and her tribe walked Zhar as if they were specters. Zhar felt nothing as each Whipid passed through him, he turned and called out to the old one. "Spearmaster!....Spearmaster!" He shouted, but in his disbelief and anger he bellowed out a roar that then shouted the word "Grandmother!" But the old one continued to lead her tribe through the blizzard until they vanished. The young Whipid fell to the soft snow as it piled atop him, his eyes closed and shivering he felt sad and alone, but something warmed him. A thought. A memory. Anger now consumed his mind and he could feel the snow around him melting.

The harsh wind whirled around him, but the air became damp and a putrid smell filled his nostrils. He choked when he opened his eyes to see he was kneeling on cave floor, but not on Illum. It was dark, but Zhar removed his goggles, allowing them to hang from his neck as he stood up. A screeching and buzz like sound smacked against the cave floor. He turned to see a droid wielding an electrostaff, just like the one he carried strapped to his back. The droid had activated both ends of it's staff, giving a quick, automated twirl making a quick purple blur. It took a heavy step closer to Zhar, instinctively, Zhar reached to his back and pulled his staff from his strap.

The Whipid activated his staff, only one end was functioning, but it was the live electrical point of his staff that he swung over from his side to the front of the droid he roared as he sought to land a critical hit to his old slave owner's enforcer. In that intense moment of anger and primal instinct to kill, Zhar's quickly came back to realty, but only in the split second of realizing his electrostaff was about to hit the two apprentices in front of him!

 

[Joza Perl]

As they moved through the cave at their own pace, Joza gradually shifted her focus from the Whipid behind her to the Force, carefully immersing herself within it. A wave of serene calm enveloped her, but slowly became disrupted, disturbed by something she couldn’t grasp. Is my connection with the Force dampened? Is it because I’ve been having impure thoughts? She swallowed thickly, wondering if she had an upset stomach or was sleepy. But the Force didn’t lie.

Opening her eyes in an attempt to refocus on the calming glow of the crystals, she was surprised with what she saw instead. No longer was she in the cave, but instead she was back on Zeltros. Looking closer, she saw…her friends. The sultry, hedonistic Zeltrons were piled together on a couch, basking in her mood lighting of the club. Long legs and toned bodies layered over eachother as a pair of violet haired beauties shared a deathstick, the couple next to them shamelessly getting more intimate. Joza could taste the spice and feel her body heat up as she reached out, drawn in by the vision.

And then in faded. Everything she’d missed and longed for was out of her reach again, and her face settled into a dark look as the crystals reappeared, no longer finding any comfort in them. A yell broke her from her trance and she jumped, whirling around in time to see Zhar’s staff come down upon them. She grabbed Sorel’s wrist a bit too hard with one hand, throwing up a Force Barrier with the other as she leaped back, pulling the other Padawan with her. The shoddy barrier cracked and shattered under the sheer pressure of Zhar’s pain fueled attack, but had bought them enough time to safely move away from the electro staff.

Letting go of Sorel’s wrist, Joza instinctively activated her lightsaber and took on a defensive stance. She gave the Whipid a hard look, her mind whirling with possibilities. She felt no ill intent from him before, so why now? The possibility that he’d had a vision as well—albeit a more painful one—crossed her mind but she didn’t not ease in her stance. “Zhar! You are among allies!” She called out in an attempt to calm. “We will let no harm come to you, friend.”

[member="Z'Zharen"] [member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel connected deeply with the Force. She had a disturbing time when she'd found the crystals that she'd used for her sabers and as she Meditated, she wondered if that was why she was so calm now?

As she relaxed and connected to the Force, she was aware of two conflicting thoughts. One was of danger - a standard Jedi sense that had grown with her. So a part of her wanted to react, to come out if the Meditative state and identify what was the possible cause of harm. Yet a separate thought was equally strong. It told her not to worry. Both were the voice of the Force yet they were saying different things, and she wasn't sure what to do. So she connected ever more deeply with the Force and the meaning became clearer. There was a potential danger but she did not need to act. So she trusted in the Force and was suddenly aware her arm was being grabbed and she pond her eyes to see the electro staff come close to her but never truly threaten to hit her.

The Force's warning suddenly made sense. She was right to trust it as it knew that, despite the risk, she was not truly in danger. So she remained calm and looked at the other two with her. "No harm done," she said. She did not press for an explanation. Her own experience, first time in a crystal cave, was complicated and she'd never told anyone about it, so she knew it was not right to pry.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Z'Zharen"]

 

[Z'Zharen]

[member="Sorel Crieff"]
[member="Joza Perl"]

Zhar did not come back to realty until it was too late, his attack was in motion and he had no time to retract the harsh swing of his staff. His face clearly displayed shock and fear, knowing that he had lost control and would now harm or worse...kill his new friends.

The staff buzzed as purple surges of energy sparked and thud against something invisible. Joza! The Whipid thought, she had deflected the attack by use of the Force, able to conjure an invisible field. Just as her master had caught Zhar in an invisible grasp when they first met. Zhar could feel her shield was not permanent and was fading, that was enough time for him to release his weapon. The staff fell to the cold stone floor, clanging and rolling away as the purple energy at the tip of the weapon fizzled out. Right then and there, the large Whipid fell to his knees, his head tilting to one side and his mane of hair was a mess as if he truly came out from a blizzard. "Forgive me." He said in low voice, he sounded breathless almost drained.

"Forgive me..." He repeated once more. Trying to put together what he experienced. He had felt whispers and dreams of future events throughout his life. This however was something entirely different. He was not sure what he saw...On Toola, his tribe could have been in the past, present or future. The single fact remained that in that glimpse of time, Zhar was not with his tribe. Unborn? Separated as he was now? ...Dead? The Whipid shook his head, his hair loose and wild like the youth of his kind during the spring seasons.

Zhar looked up at both padawans, it was only now that he heard and saw the lightsaber Joza held defensively. Sorel seemed surprisingly calm, she did not even hold her hilts in hand. The pretty pink padawan gave Zhar a concerned look and no doubt was just as confused as he was. "Do...Jedi experience that all the time? It seemed so..." The Whipid looked up at Joza, returning a concerned stare that she had not deactivated her saber, but he understood. He thought back to the droid, the one he thought he was attacking instead of his friends...that also felt "Real..."

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza was a bit taken aback by how calm Sorel was, but brought to mind that the other Padawan had been training in the ways of the Force for much longer than her and likely understood her own connection better. Bushing that out of her mind, the Zeltron would stare down Zhar as he fell to his knees and asked for forgiveness, letting his weapon clatter to the ground. It took a few moments, but Joza’s adrenaline fueled rush began to fade only to be swiftly replaced by a pang of guilt. Deactivating her saber, she took in a deep breath and steadied herself. Remaining silent, she allowed herself to connect with the Force and re-center her being before opening her eyes to refocus on Zhar. Perhaps she had acted a little too…aggressively.

Clipping her saber hilt back to her hip, the young Jedi dropped to the ground and seated herself to sit cross-legged. “It’s hard to say.” She said softly, sounding a bit unsure herself as she let her gaze fall onto the confused Whipid, her features softening in an attempt to be comforting. “It is not uncommon to see visions here. Take them as you will, but…” She paused, trying to figure out the right thing to say. “You are here, right now, Zhar.” She didn’t want to say that whatever he saw couldn’t hurt him—because it very well could, just not on a physical level.

As an afterthought, the Zeltron released a cloud of pheromones for the second time today. She reached out towards Zhar with a deliberately slow, steady hand and ran her fingers once though his mane. “You have lovely hair.” She commented idly. With some deep conditioning it would feel like silk.

[member="Z'Zharen"] [member="Sorel Crieff"]

 

[Z'Zharen]

[member="Joza Perl"]
[member="Sorel Crieff"]

The Whipid heaved a deep breath as if he had just run a marathon, though in actuality he barely moved a few feet in what must have been minutes, but felt like...something out of time and space entirely if that was a logical explanation. Zhar still knelt on the stone floor, his eyes now filled with sorrow that he had lost control of himself. When he was a slave on Nar Shadda, "I...was forced to fight others in a gladitorial-slave arena. Most of the matches were to end in death, but I refused as much as I could to not take someone's life when to me they were innocent...I was tortured and forced to watch others be tortured when I would refuse to kill."

The Whipid broke his stare with Joza, he looked away and in shame. "My..master!" He forced out the words with bitterness. "He had droid body guards, they would prod me like an animal! With...with...this!" He held out his hand, and his electrostaff across from him on the floor began to shake and roll a little bit back to him, but it suddenly stopped and the Whipid retracted his hand. His first physical contact with the Force. And he had done so through reliving a hateful memory and a fearful future. How un-Jedi like indeed. Zhar thought to himself, after all this time and the worlds he had visited seeking to tap into the Force, he finally did so now and felt ashamed. It felt like a dark baptism, that his introduction to the Jedi would be through intense negative feelings.

He sighed again, but Joza had de-activated her saber and now she seemed to compose herself once more. She sat down across form Zhar, she had spoken to him truthfully. That what ever he saw, was a projection of himself only intensified through the strong presence of the Force in this place, that was at least how the Whipid made sense of it. He took comfort in her words, she was very kind. He took in a deep breath, held it and let it out slowly to compose himself as well. The pink Jedi had lightly brushed her hand over his mane of hair and complemented him on it.

In that slightest sense of touch from the Zeltron, Zhar had realized now that she was the presence he felt before he entered the crystal cave. He had felt nostalgia, something reminded him of his happiest moments when he lived in harmony with the Wookiees on Kashyyk. Zhar smiled, he rarely smiled, it must have been her pheromones again or simply being in her presence. "Thank you," He said in a low voice. "Before I was enslaved, I had briefly lived on Kashyyk. The Wookiees were kind to me and accepted me." The Whipid's smile began to widen and he made a grunting sound, he was laughing. "Wookiees consider grooming someone to be the highest of praise."

 

[Joza Perl]

Joza remained silent, letting the young Whipid speak as he pleased. She knew too well that it often helped to speak of troubling thoughts on your mind, but it was something she had trouble doing herself. She would not interject until he had finished, unwilling to interrupt his train of thought.

As she learned of bits about his tortured past, the young Jedi struggled to keep a straight face and keep from cringing. Though she’d been a part of a few nasty dealings on Zeltros, her life had not been difficult. Hearing that he was a slave and forced to take lives lest he face punishment caused her to visibly wince, though she quickly smoothed out her facial expression. Joza tried to appear calm and sagely toward Zhar, something she felt that was at the core of every great Jedi. Her own Master approached situations like this in a mature and experienced manner, but it still felt somewhat foreign to the Zeltron. What she was used to was dealing with difficult emotions and helping to provide comfort.

Joza returned the Whipid’s smile and pulled her hand away to let it rest in her lap with the other. “Oh?” Her expression appeared a bit startled as she learned how her actions were being considered, but again her face fell into a smile. “I’m sorry to hear that you’ve been though such a terrible ordeal, Zhar.” She stood and offered a hand to the creature, eyes reflecting her sincere sympathy. “You belong to the light now. The journey will not be easy, but you’ve already taken your first step. Facing yourself is a Jedi’s greatest challenge, or so I’ve found. Now…how about getting you that crystal?”

[member="Z'Zharen"]

 

[Sorel Crieff]

Sorel nodded sagely. “Joza is right, time to choose your crystal. Which one or ones stand out to you? Which ones call to you through the Force?”

This was Zhar’s moment now and Sorel deliberately took a back seat at this stage.

[member="Joza Perl"] [member="Z'Zharen"]

 

[Z'Zharen]

((OOC: Sorry for my abscence, but I think I'll wrap up Zhar's story here.))

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HcZ9kQ1h-ZY

The Whipid pushed himself up from his knees and stood tall and proud once more. His fellow apprentices were right, the greatest challenge a Jedi could face was not the dark side in general, but themselves. The conflict within...

Zhar raised a brow in curiosity. The conflict within was in his thought's yet it felt like something else had said it. "How will I.."
You will know, when you are calm. At peace...

The young Whipid was awry about this voice his heard, his vision and other senses remained in the here and now so what was this? Another mirage? But audible only? No it was something else, he could feel it and then literally feel it, a slight pull imploring him to move forward into the crystal catacombs.

Zhar began to stride into the tunnels, various crystals passed his eye as they jutted from the walls, ceilings and floor, but none of them felt right. The trail the Whipid was being lead to through the Force he suspected had brought him to a cliff. The drop was probably around fifty stories down, but the Force was compelling him to look upward instead. A spiral formation of rock and ice erected from the dark depths of pit to a small pointed tip that from Zhar's eye level was only a few stories high.

He felt the pull to jump from the cliff and he did so not sure if that of his own will. His claws sank into the ice and cracks in the stone. The structure at the very top did not seem stable enough to hold his weight, so he would have to move fast. Zhar had learned to climb well on his time on Kashyyyk, the large apprentice climbed upward, he felt his electrostaff sway against his back with each movement he made. In only a few minutes, the Whipid had almost reached the top. He could feel the strain his weight and claw marks were putting onto the structure. Cracks were growing with each time he moved upward.

He desired to climb to the very top, but that was not sensible as he would surly fall so instead he gripped tightly with one hand onto the structure and with his free hand he reached to unsheathed his staff and swung it against the upper portion of the spiral stone. It cracked severely more with his staff pummeling and with one more swing the spiral point broke off. Zhar had released his staff to fall onto the cliff his friends were waiting on. With his free hand he used the Force to pull the tumbling spiral tip to him. It looked like a rocky cone like club in his hands, he bagn his descent which was faster than his climb.

Once he reached cliff he picked up his staff and sheathed it on his back strap. He looked at his friends, hoping this was real and not another trick of the Force. He smashed the spiral cone into the wall which let out an explosion of colorful, but mostly blue dust. The shimmering rubble against the wall, the floor and Zhar's hand had seemed to provided nothing...

The Whipid was in disbelief, he was certain he was called to the top of the spiral... He did not give into anger this time, a bit disappointed, but he was able to stay in control. He was about to get a shrug to his friends until the voice had returned to him calling from behind him instead.

Followed your instincts you did, the strength of a Jedi flows from the Force. Trust in the Force, trust in yourself and a Jedi you will be...

Zhar turned to see within the small metal indents of his staff that something was lodged in between them. A crystal! It was small, but it was the one that called to him, it had a brilliant sparkling quality and was as pink as Joza herself. He smiled and plucked the crystal from his staff. He looked to his friends "It must have been dislodged from the stone when my staff struck it the final time." Zhar's smile grew wider when the brilliant idea hit him.

"I know how I will construct my lightsaber, with this staff. The symbolism of who I was resides in this staff and who I am now comes from this crystal and you my friends. The future Jedi I will become will be united by these past and present symbols."

Zhar bowed to both his friends, "Thank you both for your guidance and help. I think I will take your advice Joza and head to Voss to seek out the Silver Jedi for training."

[member="Sorel Crieff"] [member="Joza Perl"]