Private Again on Ilum

[Varloc]

De'nath Amur

Varloc stood facing the temple, his ship 200 meters behind him. The frozen wind ripped through his armor and cloak, though he was used to the conditions of the planet. It was in a way his home, Mandalore his birthplace never felt like home. The frozen wasteland seemed to be a hell-hole, but the force connection was so strong it sent shivers up your spine.

He was expecting De'nath for a while, another apprentice who would most likely fade to the wind, like all of the others. The struggle of the Light and Dark shattered all who tried to walk the neutral path, like a pull between to stars, and the unlucky planet to be caught by both. But we must endure, though the pain, and the suffering. He wished for a better galaxy without the destruction caused by the never ending conflict.

He sighed and crouched, he but his hand into the snow, the cold bit him. He closed his eyes beneath his helm and felt to the core of the world. He felt the power of the world that had existed for hundreds of years. The force washed over him, it gave him strength, it cleared his mind. But he also felt the suffering, a galaxy in pain. It was like the galaxy was lit on fire, burning. He lifted his hand, and the felling stooped, he stood and looked back over the white vastness and the ice cliffs.

De'nath would arrive soon, he slowly began to head to his ship and where he would meet with De'nath. He listened to the soft crunch of the snow beneath his feet.

 

[De'nath Amur]

Varloc

De’nath couldn’t meditate. His train of thought was lost to the bleeps and bloops of the starship’s cockpit a room away from his own. Normally he could drown it out; after a year away from his home planet, he should have had enough experience with such tiresome rackets to let it be lost to him. But this time, it wouldn’t disappear. It drilled into his ear harshly - the glitches and warbles, the electric waves, the occasional loud beeps signaling for the captain to check up on a system - and whatever normal grasp he had of mindfulness and tranquility was lost to him.

The padawan sighed, and got up from his position on the ground, his thoughts turning to his destination. Indeed, that above all else was the source of his troubles. For the past year his destiny had been lost to him. He was thrown into a sea of vast space, on a quest for meaning and truth in a galaxy with as many callings and stations as there were stars in the sky. He had set on a journey without a compass, the only destination in his mind being the continuation of his training - whatever that might mean. When his mentor died, he was thrown into the world with nothing but the platitudes and doctrines given to him, with a loss as to how to apply them, and a subtle void in the back of his mind that there were vital pieces of the puzzle that he was missing.

“Trust in the force,” he recalled his master saying. He uttered it whenever he sensed his padawan’s fear, uncertainty, anger, or impatience. “You are not the arbiter of fate. All is as the force wills it. If you lose sight of this, you lose sight of all that I have attempted to show you. You let fear and anger guide you, instead of the force. And once you strike down such a path, you will be lost in it.”

And yet, if everything is as the force wills it, why would it leave him adrift like this? Why not show him his fate, instead of throwing him into an endless sea of nothingness?

“Hey kid, we’re almost here!” The captain called out in a rough, guttural voice. De’nath exuded another sigh and stepped out of the room, forcing the thoughts out of his mind. Perhaps, he would find his destiny here. Perhaps, it would finally be revealed.

The man who contacted him had sought him out with the message that he would be taught aspects of the force that were previously hidden to him, that there was more to the force than meets the eye, and most of all - that tranquility could be sought in a balance between the light and the dark. His master had warned De’nath of the dangers involved with the dark side, that although it promised power, it would ultimately end in destruction. But the padawan could feel in his mind that there were aspects of the force that he was missing. That concealing his emotions led to more danger than anything else. That control could be found in balance. And he had felt a call to seek such a balance out.

The ship landed on the icy planet of Ilum with a rough, ragged drop, the worn craft lurching onto the snow despite the captain’s intentions of grace. The man uttered a quick “be careful” to the boy, with the padawan giving a wave and a word of thanks for the trip before leaping out into the frozen land below. Immediately, he was met with a harsh chill and a mild bewilderment at the vast landscape before him, before quickly trudging forward to meet his potential mentor.

A harsh walk would soon reward the padawan with a sight of a spaceship towering before the corner of his eye, and he pushed forward until he could make out the outline of a man. He was quick to call out somewhat impulsively,

“Excuse me! Are you Master Varloc?”

 

[Varloc]

De'nath Amur

I am. Said Varloc, a wife of snow swirled around him. Varloc looked at the kid, he stood several inches below Varloc, but he could tell the kid had spirit. He looked back at the ship that dropped the kid off, it looked run down, it showed weathering, and had a certain humbling feeling. Varloc turned to the kid again. Let's take a walk. He headed twords the ice cliffs.

Varloc trudged through the snow, purposely not going along his earlier path. He took this as a opportunity to look into the kid, to peer into his feelings. Though words were worth so much more. As they came over a small hill a few hundred meters from the landing area Valoc spoke. Tell me about your self. You seem to know a bit about the force. Have you had previous masters? He asked these questions calmly, he could tell the kid was hesitant, he followed multiple paces behind.

 

[De'nath Amur]

Varloc

The padawan was tentative to answer, merely muttering a simple “yes” and looking down at the snow-covered ground for a moment to ponder. Though there had been many a night to move on from the loss, the emotional wound was still deep and ever-present in his life. The death of his master meant the death of any guidance he had. His old life had been lost to the wind, forsaken, but with nothing to replace it.

De’nath looked up, continuing. “He took me in when I was young, taught me all I know...he died a year ago. He was very wise.”

Amur slowly plodded his way through the snow, grimacing at the chill of the wind. For a moment, he tried to mask and conceal his emotions - the fear, the uncertainty, the confusion, and the slight wonderment - but he quickly lost concentration.

Amur took a moment to collect his thoughts before he continued. “I was born on the planet of Denon. I was raised in the streets. Master Emeral took me in. Showed me the ways of the force, or at least what he could. One day, I found him murdered.”

A flush of anger flew through him, although he quickly remembered his training and calmed himself. He had been concealing his anger for the entire time he had left. Emotional detachment was the hardest part of the life he was taught. Learning to move on from anger, and revenge - it seemed something that altogether escaped him.

 

[Varloc]

De'nath Amur

Varloc continued through the snow, he pondered on the child's answer. A wise man you say? And no others with him? Perhaps a rogue Jedi. You may not call me a jedi, I they are little better than the sith. Said Varloc, speaking like Jedi was a monster. In his eyes they were. Varloc stopped right there and turned. Your first lesson, the Jedi may seem like a peace loving group, but there doings have caused death in every corner of this galaxy, I bet on your home world too. Your master was wise to leave. The Jedi have served as soilders for thousands of years, fighting in worlds, killing. The resources used to keep them going bankrupts entire communities. And what did they do? Kill, destroy, and pillage. He said but not with anger, but with a drive in his voice, a bitter tone.

He turned back away from De'nath and looked out over the barren plain and up over the frozen jutting cliffs. And the sith...... they are barbaric murderers. But at least they have the courage to show it. He then asked the child without turning, his eyes fixed upon a cluster of rocks. What did your master tell you about this subject?

 

[De'nath Amur]

Varloc

De’nath halted in his tracks and looked at the ground once more, contemplating the words of the master. His mind ran back to the advice of his former mentor. “Complacency begets pride,” he spoke, his teachings echoing out in the mind’s eye of the boy as distinct as if they were uttered in the moment. “Pride in your misguided tradition, in your bureaucracy. Pride in your form and manner. This pride begets fear of change, and it warps your mind to cling onto this tradition with your life - or, if necessary, with the lives of others.”

The padawan looked back up at the man. “He left the order because of it. He called them hypocrites, bent on their own tradition...until it corrupted and destroyed them. They mock the very code for which they stand on.”

De’nath picked up his feet and began to walk forward once more, regaining a sense of confidence in his words. “But the sith - they’re far more dangerous. They’re consumed not by their own complacency, but their own hatred and fear. They become shells, shadows of themselves, in their search for power. The dark side taints anything it touches.”

De’nath nearly repeated his mentor’s words verbatim, but something within him made him doubt them. This understanding of the force felt...incomplete. And detachment made him feel more like a shadow than any touch of anger, or fear, that he had felt.

 

[Varloc]

De'nath Amur

Varloc nodded to De'nath's answer. Your master was wise to leave. And the sith are far worse than your description. Varloc had first hand seen what the darkside did to beings. What it turned them into. The horrors still were seen in his mind, though Varloc learned how to rid of them, or at least for a temporary time.

Snow blew off a small hill next to them sending particles into the pair. They came over a small slope to a pile of round rocks larger than their heads. Varloc turned to the child. Now I wish to see your skills in the force. Varloc turned to the pile, he focused on the rocks. One by one he willed them to rise into the air. They all did so, and they stayed for a few moments before falling to the ground. Now you try, focus on the stones, and tap into the power that surrounds you.

Varloc took a few steps back with a crunch of the snow. This would test what he already knew and his natural power. If the child was strong, then Varloc would teach him how to control it, to not let it run free into the shadow. If he showed struggle he would show him how to rid of it and grow his power. Varloc fixed his eyes on De'nath.

 

[De'nath Amur]

Varloc

De’nath glared at the rocks for a moment before nodding and taking in a deep breath. Amur wasn’t expecting a test to occur so soon, and it was something of an uphill battle to calm the chaos of his thoughts and focus on the force. Closing his eyes, he cleared his mind, and pictured the image of the stones in his head. Extending his arm, he flattened his palm and furrowed his brow before motioning for the rocks to be moved.

Slowly, the rocks had lifted off the ground, gliding and twirling in the air at a leisurely pace. De’nath opened his eyes to see the product of his focus, and a momentary feeling of content raised in the back of his mind before he expelled such an emotion so as to not lose his concentration. He raised them higher into the air, watching carefully so as to not lose his grip, and pushed them back close to their original position.

In a fit of slight overconfidence, De’nath decided to overexert himself. Raising his other hand, he slowly divided the stones into roughly equal portions, releasing each divided pile down to the ground next to each other. Gotta make it look impressive, he mused, before turning back to the master and making a slight nod.

 

[Varloc]

De'nath Amur

Varloc watched as the rocks floated, De'nath was powerful. But raw power thats untamed leeds to the shadow. Varloc knew what it could do to force users, to the best. Varloc circled De'nath as the rocks went back to their places. He then turned to the young man. Reach out in the force what do you feel around you? Do you feel the planets power?

Ilum was a hive of force energy, being on the planet gives any force user a boost. Varlocs question was aimed at what the child's perception was like. What he felt the force was. He would test the boy at what he knew, and Varloc hopped that he could train him. Pass on the knowledge.