Always Two There Are...

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

The sound of younglings laughing echoed up and down the hallways of the temple.

Emerging from out of the library, the small Anzat was nearly run over by the stampede of miniature Jedi. Stepping back onto the threshold, he took shelter in the doorway as a troop of energetic and excited children were herded through the halls of the ancient ziggurat by their teachers. One of whom had to look twice for the thought or belief that the Anzati might have been one of them. His attire was just a little more formal than theirs however. Younglings wore a more simplistic form of the traditional Jedi tunic, and none wore robes.

The verdant green robes that this youngling wore were the hallmark of those Jedi who had called Corellia their home. And the word 'youngling' was used advisedly, as this tow-headed Corellian looked as though he might have been all of ten standard years old. And he was, from the certain point a view. That being, he took a little longer to grow and mature. Which was fortunate for everyone, himself included. Pubescent or mature Anzat didn't eat at places like the Jedi Academy cafeteria. Instead, they ate other people. And Jedi, or Force-users, in particular. Which wasn't to say that the Anzati were cannibals.

They were vampires.

They had no heart beat. They did not breathe. They stalked their prey through mind fields, seeking out the strong personalities and descending on them in ambushes that locked their psyches in the mental jaws of a telepathic predator. They were hunters of man, their 'fangs' of legend -- their probosis -- concealed within the cheek pouches of a face that was eerily effective at blending into any population.

Smiling faintly, the blue eyed youth bowed his head in respect toward the teacher as she approached with uncertainly plain upon her face. As the Jedi instructor guided her charges past where the boy stood, that uncertainty deepened into doubt.

...and then it became something else.

Fear.

She didn't know who he was. She didn't know what he was. But she knew he was nothing human. Anxiety gripped her, prompting her to urge the younglings to move faster through the hallways. Tearing her eyes away from the young monster, the woman didn't look back as the children marched on toward the cafeteria. Leaving behind only the smile on the boy's face, which seemed saddened now.

Perhaps the more things changed, the more they tended to stay the same.

This wasn't Coruscant. It was Ossus. And neither were the worlds that he had known. When he had become a Jedi, Sor-Jan had lived his life in a Jedi Temple like this one, only in a different place. A different time. Coruscant had been the bright center of the universe. The seat from which the Senate and the Supreme Chancellor had wielded the Jedi as instruments of peace in the Old Republic.

Before the dark times. Before the Empire.

...and any number of similar tragedies, the likes of which the young Archaeologist was only now starting to familiarize himself with.

Holding a datapad in his hands, the boy seemed pensive as he tapped one edge of the device against an open palm. The reader contained a select digest of articles discussing something known as the Gulag Virus, which happened about four hundred years ago, and precipitated a near universal dark ages which had lingered up to the current era. As a result of which, histories both before and after had become lost, and the boy was still working to try and understand everything that had happened between his time and the next.

It seemed that only the last twenty years or so had galactic trade and interstellar politics resumed with any great fervor. The names of some of which were familiar to him. The Galactic Republic. The Techno Union. The Mandalorians. Others, too, and not at all welcome ones. The Sith. And the ancient religion long thought banished into Wild Space, the Primeval.

Coruscant, once the center of all galactic commerce, was now a world controlled by the Sith. And Ossus, known to him as a dead world laid barren in antiquity, had been resurrected by something known as the Yuuzhan Vong, yet another mystery of which he was wholly unfamiliar.

And, yet, as much as had changed... he walked through a Jedi Temple that was no different than the one on Coruscant. Occupied by Jedi who were still guardians of peace in the Republic. A Republic which still fought for democracy and justice. The names changed, but the spirit of everything he had ever fought for remained the same.

All stars burned as one.

The boy raised his eyes to watch as the teacher led her students around the corner at the far end of the hallways. Her suspicion lashed out at him even from this far away, a spiteful glare cut in his direction as she rounded the bend with her charges. And was gone.

Perhaps such animosity was not without reason.

Tapping the datapad against the flat of his palm a second time, the green Jedi turned and started in the opposite direction up the long hall. If he was to be welcome in this new age, then he would need to get back to doing what he did best, which was being just who and what he was.

A Jedi Knight.

The Council -- the current Jedi Council that is -- seemed to agree. He'd been given a list of available padawans and the chance at getting back on the proverbial horse. It wasn't a chance that he intended to waste. But first, he wanted to speak with these candidates himself. See the people behind the dossier or file in the Jedi archives.

Perhaps to no surprise, he'd picked a Corellian as his top candidate. A human named [member="Joshua Vantai"]. As the boy moved through the interior of the Jedi Temple, he went to seek out this padawan and ask him the most simple and complex question there was...

Who are you?

 

[Joshua Vantai]

Joshua had lived his entire life on the world of Corellia, preparing for life in the galaxy when he became old enough. Unexpectedly though, this happened much fast than planned. In the times of the Clone Wars, every child that was born in Republic space was tested by law for Force Sensitivity. A thousand years later, and this wasn't the case on Corellia. His parents never tested him for it, and he spent almost all of his life growing up on his homeworld not knowing of this hidden power that had been bestowed upon him at birth. It was only recently, just over half a year ago, that he discovered it. Now, here he was, at the Jedi Temple on Ossus of the Galactic Republic. He was training to be apart of the famed Jedi Order that his parents spoke highly of. The past half year, he had spent his time catching up on classes he missed because of his late coming to the Jedi Order, and now he was ready to take the role of a Padawan learner under a more experienced Jedi.

Josh was told only three things about the person who was interested in undertaking him: His name, his race, and his homeworld. The Jedi Knight who was curious in meeting Josh was named [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]. Obviously, being new to the whole order, Josh didn't recognize the name at all. Sor-Jan's race, the Anzat, was a race Josh had never heard of in his life, which isn't fully uncommon considering how many species there were in the galaxy. The last thing he was told, was that Sor-Jan was born on Corellia as well as himself. Corellia was always a proud world, and it's been said that the Jedi born from Corellia have a relationship among each other unlike any of the other Jedi. Joshua, while not the most prideful of Corellia, did harbor a decent amount for the planet, as all Corellians did, and was relieved to hear that his new potential master would be from the same planet as he.

As Josh walked towards the Temple Library, where he was told Sor-Jan would most likely be, he noticed a group of younglings following their teacher. It was strange to Josh, how all of those kids, have been with the Jedi for probably their entire lives, and yet here he was, coming in at the age of 17. The things that he was just learning in this past half year have been taught to these children since the time that they were able to think. He knew that he had a lot of training and skills to be catching up on that any Jedi peer his age would have over him if they were like these younglings. Luckily, he was not without determination. Josh loved the Republic and wanted to do whatever he could to help it. This opportunity presented to him was a once in a lifetime thing, and something that not many people will ever be able to experience. He would try his hardest and would succeed, even if it meant failing multiple times.

As the younglings passed by, he noticed one still standing in the hallway. This one, though, seemed... different. He was not wearing what the other younglings were wearing. He wasn't wearing the simpler form of the Jedi Tunic, but the tunic that the Knights wore, but what also caught Josh's curiosity were his robes. He was wearing the Verdunt Green robes that only Corellian Jedi wore. Hmm... that's peculiar... He also observed how the other younglings didn't even look at him, as if they were perplexed by his presence.

Wait a second... that can't be him can it? He looks like he's 10...
Josh slowly approached the youngling wearing the green robes to figure out who he was.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Curiosity.

The emotion trickled over the small Anzat, washing away the feelings of suspicion which were now fading away with the teacher's exit from the hall. The honesty and frankness of the emotion caused the tow-headed boy to look up, craning his head back to a teenaged human with brown hair and eyes that was passingly familiar to him. It was another moment before the small Corellian had made the connection between the teenager before him and the one whose dossier was listed on the datapad in his hand.

"Padawan Vantai," the Anzati intoned politely, folding his hands down in front of him as the youngling bowed formally to the taller human. Had someone from the Council informed him that his candidacy was being evaluated? If so, that he might be seeking out a potential master would speak well of him.

As the boy straightened back up, the again craned his head back as he addressed the larger person. "You seem to be looking for someone," the boy noted in an even tone, holding back the wry smile.

It was always strange discovering what people's perceptions or expectations were when it came to the Jedi. Those who had never met Yoda, for example, were surprised that a creature of such renown would be so small. Mace Windu was said to be a fierce warrior, yet he hadn't been the muscular behemoth of a barbarian some saw him as. So the child idly wondered just what this human might think he was looking for in a Jedi named Sor-Jan Xantha.

"May I be of assistance?" the boy inquired innocently, blue eyes shining brightly in the light of the temple as the impish Jedi waited with no small amount of interest to see what thoughts yet lay in the brave new world that was this young man's journey into the Jedi Order.

[member="Joshua Vantai"]​

 

[Joshua Vantai]

As Josh began approaching the very young looking individual standing in the hallway, he noticed the individual look up from his datapad towards himself. Right before Josh was within a suitable talking distance from the individual, he noticed the youngling Jedi Knight dart his eyes back down to the datapad and back up towards him very quickly and noticed what might have been... recognition? As the eager Padawan approached the Jedi, the Green Robed boy bowed towards him. Josh replied the favor, for it was customary of Jedi to do, especially towards members of authority or Jedi of higher rank than themselves.

The Jedi stated his name. That's odd, how does he already know who I am? Josh replied "Hello uh.. er.. Master." Josh wasn't sure of how to reply to him, in fact, he wasn't fully taught all of the Jedi Customs yet either. He had never interacted with a Jedi Knight like this, and wasn't fully sure how to respond.

As the boy asked him his question, Josh tried to keep an open mind. He knew there were thousands of sentient species in the galaxy. He knew that not all of them have the same structure as the human species, and since he was with the Jedi, a group of many different species of the galaxy, he knew he had to keep an open mind about the appearance of some.

"In fact... Yes. I am looking for a Jedi Knight by the name of [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]. Do you know who he or she is, and how I may find them?" Josh quietly, and slightly nervously, awaited the boy's answer.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Master.

It just never quite seemed to suit him. There really wasn't any title that did. Not lieutenant, not commander, not general... even Padawan had seemed a stretch. He was proud of being a Jedi Knight, but he tried to stay humble in spite of it. He was a Jedi, yes, but he was a researcher. A historian. A storyteller really, as that's what history inevitably became. The stories of the past, handed down as lessons to a new generation.

To have 'mastery' over something was to have a total understanding of it and all of its nuances. Had the boy mastered the Force? Certainly not, the Force was constantly surprising him. Had he mastered the ways of the Jedi? That would seem impossible. Ask six different Jedi just what was meant by the ways of the Jedi and you were likely to come away with seven different answers. Variations on a theme. Interpretations of a Jedi Code that was sometimes toted as the sum total of wisdom. Which, it wasn't. The Code was the beginning of wisdom, not the end. A simplistic approach to how a Jedi might approach the questions which they should ask, but not necessarily how to go about finding the answers.

So what had he mastered?

He had mastered the understanding of one simple truth: The student would become the teacher, and the teacher would become the student. Whatever Sor-Jan Xantha might know, or might think he knew, there was more to learn. Whatever he might apply his hand to, he could do it better. More training, more learning. Always learning.

Dismissing the thought for the moment, the boy just gave a smile as he peered up at the young man. He wore his emotions so openly. The honesty was refreshing after having so much time around Clone Troopers, who always kept a rigid air of austerity and stoicism as part of that military bearing as they called it. "You seem to have found him," the young Corellian noted aloud, bowing his head slightly toward the teen as he introduced himself. Straightening back up a second time, the boy thought about the gender reference for a moment as he remarked, "...though, with my voice being what it is, half the people on a commlink think I'm a girl."

Turning his head, the boy peered out over the gardens which encircled and decorated the surrounding landscape of the Jedi Temple and Academy on Ossus. That much was quite different from Sor-Jan's childhood. Coruscant was a sprawling metropolis in which buildings were stacked over one another and there was nothing like the view offered them now. A pathway snaked through the greenery. It was known as the Crooked Path, and it was widely whispered that a Jedi might walk upon it for years and not arrive at where they were going.

The boy gestured out to the garden path now, as he stepped away from the library and out toward the daylight illuminating the wilderness just beyond their doorstep. In many ways, it was like Corellia. In particular his home of Bela Vistal. The modern convenience of a major spaceport, with wild places yet to be found.

"Would you walk with me?"

[member="Joshua Vantai"]​

 

[Joshua Vantai]

'You seem to have found him'. The boy's response echoed in his thoughts. There really is so much of the galaxy I do not understand...

Josh acknowledges the boy's gesture and looks towards the gardens outside of the temple. He knew the old legends of the original Jedi Temples. One on Tython and on Coruscant. The temple here on Ossus was situated much more like the one on Tython though. Greenery and wildlife all around. Very peaceful. His home on Corellia was in Coronet, the biggest city and capital on Corellia. While it was different from his home, there were many parks that he enjoyed as a child, which was not unlike the scene here.

When the boy asked his question, Josh responded with a simple nod and walked out onto the path outside the temple with this boy whom he knew nothing about. The apprentice could sense that there was much more to Sor-Jan than what his eye could see. Already opening his mind to the next line of conversation, he quietly walks with the boy and awaits what lies next.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

As the pair set out upon the Crooked Path, the boy paused a moment to simply appreciate the view. Rolling hills of green. Trees burdened with verdant leaves and birds supplying a song which drifted out upon the breeze. Further out to the horizon, mountains created a jagged edge. A certain rough quality. Melting ice caps were visible in the flow of water which created a misty haze further down from the peaks, dipping into the tranquil valleys that boasted a number of lakes.

And no doubt swimming holes for the younglings. And the youngling-at-heart as well probably.

"Looking out from the Temple, this almost reminds me of home," the small Corellian noted aloud, resuming the walk. As the path curved and the temple came into view, the boy noted, "...looking at Temple, not so much."

The architecture that could be found among the Five Brothers were impressive, but there was nothing like the inverted pyramid that was the Jedi Temple of Ossus.

Perhaps with that in mind, the boy turned to look up at the man as they continued along the path. "So, Mister Vantai, where on Corellia are you from?" the boy began, interested in where the young man had come from. But that was, of course, merely part of real question, which need also examine where the young man thought he was going. "And what is it that you hope to achieve here on Ossus?"

[member="Joshua Vantai"]​

 

[Joshua Vantai]

Walking with the boy out onto the path, he admired the landscape as well. He didn't come outside much. He was always busy attending classes and group sessions. Now that he was actually able to just relax and admire the view, he realized how beautiful it all really was. They walked along the path, and he saw the different parts around the area: the peacefulness, the wildlife, the green. When the boy made his comment about the place reminding him of home, Josh just nodded in agreement. As they walked along the path and the temple came back into view, the boy made his second comment.

"I've only ever lived on Corellia my entire life. Seeing things like the Jedi Temple is fascinating to me, because it's an architecture I've never seen before in my life. But yes... It definitely does not look like home." He responded.

As they continued walking, the boy had asked Joshua where he was from, "I'm from the Big City. Coronet. My father worked for CEC, before... the planet was destroyed." He hesitated, the idea still unfathomable. "When I first came here though... I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I took the chance because I wanted to help the Republic. But now that I've been here for half a year, finally scraping the political and ethical workings of the galaxy... I think.. I think I want to protect people." Josh stopped walking and looked at the boy. "When i was living at home, I had no idea the misfortune that some people from around the galaxy have been in. All I had was my little bubble. I hear the news on Slavey, Panic, Destruction, and Fear that many people face today being here now... The galaxy appears to be a fragile place, and I believe I want to be someone who others can rally around, to amend the galaxy's problems. But if not that... I just wanna do something important, but important in the way, of benefiting people. So... 'what do I hope to achieve on Ossus' you ask? Well, I want to absorb as many skills, experiences, and teachings as I can, to give me the understanding on how I can accomplish my goals."

He then felt slightly embarrassed. "Oh God, sorry I kind of just rambled on..."

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]​

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Corellia.

A name. That's all that was. A place. Like any number of locations in the galaxy. What made it different was that they both thought it was different. It was Corellia, and Corellia meant something. Being Corellian meant something. What would the ancient poets have said? Just an old, sweet song keeps Corellia on my mind.

The news of his homeworld's devastation had come as no small blow to that prideful ego which could be discerned in the green robes that the child wore. Green Jedi they were called. They had always held themselves out as being different, as being obstinate, but not for any lack of respect for the Republic of Coruscant or the Jedi Council. It was love of homeworld as much as it was love for the Jedi, or the Republic. Still, for what had changed in the eight hundred year absence that the boy had incurred, it was expected that Corellia now would not be the world he had known.

Opening his mouth to speak, the boy paused a moment. When he finally did, he said only, "Everything that has a beginning, has an end." Words. Hollow, empty, devoid of comfort. A stoic sliver of wisdom that the youngling's own master had tried to impart to him, in one of many moment when the boy hadn't been inclined to listen. He had, eventually, but it wasn't until many years later before Sor-Jan had come to appreciate those words. And still drew no comfort from them.

He heard that the B'omarr monks had a prayer of sorts on the subject. Give me the peace to accept what I cannot change, the courage to change what I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. There was something to be said for a sentiment like that. It went to much of what the padawan seemed to want to express. Perhaps Sor-Jan would take him to one of the ancient B'omarr Monasteries.

They wouldn't find one here, on Ossus. They would have to venture out there. Out into the dark of space and the wild places where light sometimes refused to shine. That was where one learned the ways of the galaxy in which they lived. One could do research in a library, but to experience history one had to get outside of the temple. "And that which is old, becomes new again," the child noted aloud as the pair continued on their journey along the Crooked Path. "I was born in Bela Vistal, but quite some time ago. Corellia was living, thriving world and Ossus was a tomb. It's atmosphere poison, its surface laid bare, it's ruins decorated only with the bodies of the dead."

As the child watched a songbird take flight, he was left to wonder just what kind of miracle workers these Yuuzhan Vong were. And what Ithorian was working to steal their secrets. This kind of terraforming was what the Ithorians had sought to achieve for centuries. Turning back to the conversation, the boy said, "Now I find everything has changed. Because everything changes, and so must we."

As soon as he'd uttered that last part, the boy might have kicked himself. Some change was inevitable, but not all change was good. Neither was all change for ill or bad, but when he thought of his own situation, the changes to come seemed rather unkind.

Turning away from his own brooding, the boy again directed the conversation to the taller padawan beside him. "One, last, question," the child remarked, before adding "Some find it simple, some find it quite difficult." It wasn't meant as a test, though people tended to make it into one. It was as hard or easy as what the listener brought to the question.

"Who are you?"

[member="Joshua Vantai"]​

 

[Joshua Vantai]

Josh noticed as Sar-Jon seemed to linger on the thought of Coruscant. For sure, no one could have expected it. Corellia was probably the single most prideful planet in the galaxy, but with it's destruction, an entire race's pride shattered. Trillions of people's lives, the few survivors' memories, millenniums of history, construction, and life gone in an instant. Josh took in the words that Sar-Jon spoke, but couldn't find comfort in them. Everything has a beginning and an end, but it isn't everyday a planet and it's trillions of inhabitants end.

When the boy talked about his birth, Josh really only had one immediate question... "When exactly were you born? Especially if the Temple here hadn't even existed..."

Josh then took in the boy's statement about change. That makes sense... Change is unstoppable. Adapting is the way to survival... and perhaps it's what made the human species last so long. Josh continued to dwell on the statement for it wasn't a simple one. Some could find truth in it, some could find it false. It's interesting how the galaxy works, everyone has their own interpretation of everything. It's why 100 percent peace will never be possible. Trillions of people, trillions of ideals, trillions of people who want something different.

As he continued to dwell though, the boy asked one last question... 'Who are you?' Who am i? What kind of question is that... I feel like I already explained that in a way, but here goes I guess...

"Uh... I'm Joshua Vantai... You know where I was born, but, I really was born into a privileged family. I grew up in a happy manner, life's problems never hit me. In my short span of life though, I would say I've become someone who tries and be kind to everyone. I've become someone who enjoys learning and understands that there's more to the galaxy than I'll ever know. I guess that's it really. There's still a whole story to unfold to discover who I really am. So I guess in summary, I'm the kid who's ready and eager to take on the universe. I'm just Josh."

Josh looked down at the boy, hoping the answer would suffice... Blast, that sounded much better in my head..

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

When was he born?

Perhaps a loaded question. It was difficult for even the mathematicians of the Temple to construct just how old that Sor-Jan was now. They based their current calendar on... well, after four hundred years of darkness, it seemed there was still some work being done to get the galactic timescale back up to speed. But the previous galactic calendar had concerned some event at Yavin which Sor-Jan wasn't at all familiar. The galactic calendar of his time period had been different. In fact, he'd lived under two different calendars. The time table of the Ruusan Reformation and then ReSynchronization sixteen years ago.

Sixteen years, from his perspective.

"Taungsday, Eighth of Selona, forty-seven years Before ReSynchronization," the boy answered, supplying his birthday the way he had since the calendar had changed. Which, updating the galactic calendar sounded simple enough in theory. Relearning your birthday after thirty someodd years? Not so easy.

"I had some trouble with a damaged hyperdrive. As best the Jedi Researchers can help me determine, we're about eight hundred years removed from the galaxy I grew up in," the boy explained. A story for another time perhaps.

His own story was not nearly as fascinating as what the teenager told him. There was hesitation, doubt. Confusion.

He didn't like the idea of repeating himself, that much came through quite clearly. The boy's enigmatic smile brightened slightly as the young man answered the question. It was much like what he'd already said. But with an important distinction for the question that had been asked. "You speak of yourself in terms of your past," the young Jedi remarked evenly. "Our experiences shape us, but you must be willing to let go of what has been. To unlearn what you have learned."

Thinking back on it now, the boy could recall the first time that he'd heard that snippet of Jedi wisdom uttered. It had confused him then, and was a bit of zen that didn't get any easier to comprehend as one got older. To let go was both the simplest and most difficult task any Jedi could undertake.

Pausing, the boy folded his hands down in front of him as he looked at this padawan again. Older. In the days of the Clone Wars, no one his age would have been allowed to join the ranks of the Jedi. But that wasn't the real history of the Jedi. In fact, the practice of youngling appenticeship was a relatively new concept in the practices of the Order. So this would doubtless be something new for both of them.

As he spoke, the boy adopted a more familiar form of address now. "Josh, you are starting on a great journey," the small Corellian noted. There was a somber, almost melancholy tone to him now. The weight of decades. Good friends long gone. Experiences for good and ill. Moments of joy, and sadness. And, if he had it to do over again, he would. But he'd have said 'thank you' a little more often. Maybe even listened more and talked less. But, that was then, this was now. "One that I look back on now and think that I did not appreciate it as much as I should have," the youngling confessed, the smile returning as he gave a slight shrug.

"If you would permit me to be part of that journey, I will teach you the ways of the Force, as my master first taught me."

[member="Joshua Vantai"]​

 

[Joshua Vantai]

Josh waited as the boy thought back to his birth.
'Taungsday, Eighth of Selona, forty-seven years Before ReSynchronization,' the boy told him. He continued to say he was over 800 years from where he grew up.

Wait.... what? Is that even possible? Sor-Jan gave him an answer that wasn't very sufficient, but Josh assumed that now was not the time for that story.

As the knight began talking about the past, Josh understood what was going on almost immediately. The days of the classic Jedi required no emotional attachment, which is something Josh himself already had. His age brought him that physical attachment, and obviously, if the boy was as old as he said he was, it was a principal he had grown up with. Therefore, the Padawan knew that if he were here 800 years ago, the Council would have rejected him. This experiences would be new for the both of them, if the boy decided to take him in. Josh replied to this all saying. "The past is all I have right now, but I can understand what you are saying. I've been trying to learn the basic principals of the Jedi Order. I know it will be difficult, but I am ready and want to do as you say."

He watches the boy think upon himself. He assumes it's back to his time in the Clone Wars era... assuming he's actually that old. The boy would have no reason to lie to Josh though, so he believes it.

Sor-Jon looks to Josh and begins talking about the future. As he talks about the upcoming journey, it begins to make him anxious and excited about the future. It is obvious that the boy has much wisdom, and knows parts of the galaxy's history that many do not know. Josh knows he can learn a lot from him. As Sar-Jon asks to be part of his journey, Josh can barely hold in his excitement.

He brings his feet together and bows down to Sar-Jon.
"I would be honored to be your Padawan learner, Master Xantha"

[member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]​