A Place of Pilgrimage

[Avo]

Andobi Mountains, Ando Prime, Techno Union Space​

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A rising storm was coming, and a darkness that came with it. The range that was the Andobi Mountains were fierce and unforgiving to its visitors - who were few and far between - its emotion enhanced by the resonance of Force energy that stemmed from its spot of ancient history and importance. Amidst the violent and relentless winds of ice, snow and stone, a darkened figure pushed forward through the gales that threatened to crush them. Yet they persisted, frequently resorting to a connection with the Force to create a simple barrier around them, protecting them from the onslaught of nature. Still certainly a student, however, they struggled to maintain it for any longer than a few minutes at a time, yet their persistence was testimony to their whole expedition.

Donned in a simple dark robe and nothing else, they had arrived on this planet with the aim of reaching the summit where could be found an important place in Force history. Upon the peaks of the Andobi range once stood a legendary Tho Yor temple, for a time. This Tho Yor temple eventually became one of the eight that were the hubs of learning for the Je'daii Order. Yet before the transition to Tython, it was the ancient Order of Dai Bendu who occupied Ando Prime and used the Tho Yor of the Andobi Mountains to transport themselves. The Dai Bendu themselves, largely of the Talid race, were one of the most important early proponents of the timeline of the Force.

Thus, Avo the Diathim mystic, who had read of this history long ago in the archives of the Galactic Republic, had taken this pilgrimage alone to seek the place whereupon the Tho Yor once stood. There, she would meditate on its imprint and refine herself, hoping for guidance from the Force. But the trail was long and perilous, for the Andobi Mountains stretched for miles upon miles, and a rising storm was coming.

 

[Avo]

Despite the ability to sustain the very vacuum of space without protection, a Diathim's body was physically weak by many standards, and vulnerable to a great deal. Armour was heavy, cumbersome and frequently painful, making it difficult to wear more than a light robe. Thus Avo had been forced to take shelter within the deep caverns found along narrow pathways of the mountain range. She could not feel the cold, but the shear force of the storm alone threatened to crush her if she were not careful, and it became clear to her that ought not to expel her energy so liberally in her practice of Force shield, for she would surely suffer in the longterm if she pushed herself to excess. To know limitation is to know strength. To know strength is to know limitation.

The cavern shone with gloom and extended far into blackness, what little light remaining outside reflecting on the damp rocks of the entranceway alone. Curiosity grasped her and, raising her hands, her skin glowing a dim, dark gold, she moved forward in silence, each step as delicate as a pin. After but a few feet, the entrance crevice began to open up into a much wider area that almost seemed as though it had been deliberately opened so that it may be inhabited. Avo mused on the prospect of it being an ancient Talid dwelling. The scuttling of rodents and insects could be heard, disturbed by the first arrival in a span of time known only to the Force. The cave smelled of dirt and and moss and bone, yet something else seemed to hum within the stone dark, something that compelled the student onward. Her tender fingers slid along the sides of the damp rock, following scattered, primitive carvings of words in a language unrecognised and alien. Her black eyes followed the trail and she moved deeper into the cavern.

 

[Avo]

Whispers of unknowable history brushed her ears and stretched out its mystic tendrils through the chilling breeze that slid through the wide cracks of the inner caverns. Voices of a forgotten time creeped along the stone and amidst the dark that would consume her entirely if not for the naturally shimmering light that pulsed from her skin. It was all so silent, and yet beneath a curtain that veiled much there was a deep, unmistakable throbbing of the heart of the Force, desperately wishing to push outward towards its outer universe. Yet it remained trapped, unspoken, unheard. Then behind the whispering of the Force, Avo could hear the unmistakable hum of sentient voice, echoing along stone and ice. She was not alone.

The singular-noted humming seemed wordless at first, but as she approached nearer the place of its origin she could discern the syllables of a mantra whispered and droned, backed by the hypnotic resonance of deep alien voice. Curiosity guided yet, and she narrowed her gaze to peer towards a growing light as the cave grew into an opening. The gentle tones of fire could be seen to warm the otherwise hard, cold surfaces, and the light danced along the wet rock, merging with the swirl of voices. She stood on a raised rock, looking down upon a lower level where could be seen a band of strong-featured alien sentients clad in some form of ceremonial dress. Narrow eyes, flat noses, tough, hairy hides and strong physiques. She looked down upon the members of the Talid race, and as the humming grew louder and louder, they returned her gaze.

The chief figure amidst the crowd who had been twisted and turning in ecstatic hypnosis - a shaman-like figure adorned with charms and bearing an intricate staff - stopped to stare at her. His white eyes looked deep into her heart, and he raised his hand in reception towards her. Something changed, and a scream was heard behind her in a familiar voice that she could not place.
"AVO," came the voice, and she spun immediately to see its origin. As she twisted and twirled, the role of the priest had been replaced by herself, and she moved effortlessly through the dense soundscape of the pulsing hum, hum, hum of the Dai Bendu monks as her sense of the Force tightened and tensed with every turn, like string twirled around a finger. It felt like boiling water threatening to burst through its glass container, blistering and burning greater with every second. But something caught her eye above the precipice, upon the raised rock surface above where she stood. She peered towards a figure that shimmered and glowed, who returned her gaze with intrigue, and her eyes widened suddenly to see herself staring into herself staring back towards herself. Her breath caught in her throat, the shrill wailing of the monks moved the mountains around her very being and the glass shattered to the rhythm of the scream.
"AVO."

She woke suddenly, placing her hands on the damp rock floor beneath her and breathing heavily into herself. The pressure was gone, the humming of monks was gone, and she was alone. She looked out through the entranceway of the cavern and into the oncoming cessation of the night as the cracks of dawn brought more visibility to the dying snowstorm beyond.