Beyond The Veil

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The empyrean was an ever-shifting, unknowable thing. To know the universe was to know nothing, as the simple act of observing it changed it intrinsically. One could not know change, and yet Cedric did.

He understood everything now.

He had no body to call his own; his spirit lingered on, unshackled by its mortal coil. At most times it chose to rest, simply looking upon all of creation from beyond the netherrealm. The galaxy was a beautiful, ugly, lovely, and terrible place. It was a realm of inconsistency and seeming randomness, and Cedric had spent much of his time here attempting to memorize its patterns: an effort of total futility.

Now, however, something stirred him. His unconscious mind reached out into the depths of the Great Ocean, and found a receptive mind. One touched with the Force, marked with purpose, but lost nonetheless. For now he simply watched from the beyond; she would know something was different, but as to what would likely be a mystery.

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Eleutheria stood in the run down apartment overlooking one of the many levels of the world of Fondor. A sigh escaped her lips as she placed a dish to dry on the rack to her right. A low sound of music drifted from a speaker to her right. Was this everything there was on life? Running from planet to planet, hoping that things got better on some chance that the galaxy wasn't the most karked up place?

Ellie began to wash another dish as she stared back at her semi-apparent reflection in the mirror. A life of... This, wasn't what she had in mind. 26 years and she had nothing to her name, a mother and grandparents who lived in their own little world despite relying on her, and... What else? There really wasn't anything, was there? She frowned as she placed another dish on the drying rack.

What happened next was... Weird. A tingling sensation went through her senses as she turned, leaning on the counter as she stared ahead. Why did it feel like someone was watching her? But... It didn't feel like a creepy watching her. She closed her eyes, letting her senses flow for a moment. So strange, yet... Eleutheria couldn't help but just stare for a moment as she tried to figure out whatever this was.

 

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Understanding and sentience were concepts beneath Cedric now, but he remembered what they felt like. His sense of self had long since been cast aside in favor of a larger view all together: that being the case he also understood that interacting with the corporeal realm required a certain sense of identity. Living beings had trouble understanding the infinite nature of the empyrean, as Cedric had often struggled with, but that did not diminish his purpose.

There would come a day when he would return, and infinity would be lost to him. Better there be people waiting for him when he did so.

The Jedi Master's presence was like a fly on the wall. It was minuet and subtle, yet there was a power to it that no one feeling it could deny. That presence slowly expanded, tendrils of eerie blue light coalescing like smoke to create the living form of a rather large man clad in heavy plate armor.

"Hello Eleutheria," his voice was both mortal and not, "I've waited some time to meet you."

[member="Eleutheria Overjerr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Eleutheria couldn’t quite place what she felt. All she knew was that she was more glad that she was in a rare moment home alone. She had time to think, process, and… Feel. A moment to breath away from hovering eyes and constant noise and annoying chatter.

Eleutheria wasn’t sure what was happening, but the woman jumped back against the counter as she reached for a kitchen knife in an automatic reaction. Fear raced through her veins for a moment. As if a knife would somehow help her in protecting herself from some eerie blue light and smoke that had suddenly brought forth a man in the middle of her karking kitchen.

She squinted at the figure which… Had a voice, apparently. What in the galaxy was going on here? Why had an armored man suddenly appeared in her kitchen and how was he talking and better yet why had he been waiting to meet her? Her face, though, showed mostly curiosity than fear as she realized that he probably wasn’t there to hurt her.

“Uh, hello,” she said suspiciously. “And… You are? ... Can I help you?” She still held the knife, which was pointed loosely at [member="Cedric Grayson"], mostly because she wasn’t quite comfortable putting it down – even if she rationally knew it was a dumb thing.

 

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"That is a very good question," Cedric stated matter-of-factly, as if he too were in search of the answers to those questions. In a way, he was. His ethereal tone did well to hide the amusement from his voice, though it was clear he presented little threat from the way he stood, or rather floated there. Being a disembodied spirit was all a little new to the Jedi Master; he was unsure of what he could and could not do in this form.

"Truth be told I'm having trouble recalling my name right now. It started with a...C?" the specter lifted its shoulders in a slight shrug. "It's irrelevant. I'll remember it once I awaken, though for now I'm just..." he gestured toward himself, "Well, I suppose I'm a ghost."

A pause.

"Anyway, it isn't so much how you can help me, as much as it is how I can help you. I've watched you and other chosen souls for several months now. The empyrean swirls about you like a hurricane: more spiritual individuals would call that destiny."

[member="Eleutheria Overjerr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Eleutheria wasn't really sure how to react to that question. She stared for a few seconds after he responded before she placed the knife back down on the table. "S-sorry. Not every day someone... Appears out of thin air in front of me," she said as she suspiciously watched him. One thing that she could feel safely saying - he wasn't here to harm her.

"I would offer you some water but..." She said with a slight grin. Ah, comedy. Sweet relief. Hopefully he wouldn't be a ghost that didn't like a funny joke. Or maybe she just earned being haunted for the rest of her days. Oh boy... "C? I'll call you C, until we find out, then." She confirmed with a small nod as she watched the specter. Really, she kind of wanted to see if her hand would just go straight through him or not.

Probably inappropriate to do that, though. "Help me?" She said quietly as she perked her body up some. He'd been watching her? Along with other chosen souls. "I am... Chosen?" She asked somewhat incredulous. He did know she was just a waitress and graphic designer - not really much of a chosen one. It was, however, clear that Ellie was eating it up.

"How are you going to help me?"

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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"I about shat myself the first time I saw a force ghost," Cedric admitted, a quiet echoing laughter following his words. "It was one of my ancestors. There are few things more surreal than having your great-great-great grandfather appear behind you to tell you that you are not worthy." He smiled at the memory; a remnant of a life that was long since over. His head jerked back to look upon the girl as he drew himself from his private thoughts.

"C works for me. I always liked nicknames," he added, moving to sit down on one of the chairs in the room. Somehow his body did not phase through the object - Cedric wasn't sure how the mechanics of being a force ghost truly worked, but he wasn't about to question them.

He paused as she wondered as to her status as 'chosen'. That much was true, though Cedric had always found the idea of prophecy laughable. In his time dreaming within the depths of the empyrean, he had seen the girl.

"You're marked with the force, Eleutheria. I'm sure you might have noticed it: greater reflexes than most, a faster mind, things moving from seemingly nothing?" He waved a hand about. "All signs of the Force. I am...well, somewhere that would be difficult to describe. From it, I can see many things, events of great import and the people that will bring them about. You are one of them."

[member="Eleutheria Overjerr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Eleutheria perked a well groomed brow at the mention of him of his first experience with a Force ghost. It seemed that perhaps memories came and go in this. A name escaped him but a memory of his great- something grandfather appearing came back. Although, it didn't' seem like a good memory. Ellie naturally frowned at the comment. Didn't seem like a very nice great x3 grandpa. "I'm sorry he said such a thing," she responded quietly.

She gave a nod as the ghostly man walked over to a chair and sat down. She assumed he might just phase through it but somehow he sat down on it. Eleutheria followed behind, sitting down in a chair opposite of him. "I'm not sure if I should offer you some water or tea - do ghosts drink?" Since they could sit, could they do that stuff?

Nonetheless, Ellie scrunched her face with curiosity as he spoke of her being gifted with the Force. "I... I have," she said quietly. During her last job, she even spilled a glass of water on a particularly rude customer from across the room. She stoked it up to coincidence, but she never could really explain it. "Kinda knocked a cup over on someone," she admitted sheepishly. Totally deserved it.

"Is there a way to bring you back, C? Or are you trapped, or...?"

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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Cedric waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh it's nothing that bothers me anymore. That particular ancestor wasn't the kind that I would want to earn respect from. A nastier sort," he explained as he glanced around the apartment. Instinct told him to search for weapons or anything that might do him harm; rationality told him that such worries were irrelevant to him now. He elected to follow the latter, leaning back in the chair and relaxing as well as a specter can.

"You know I honestly don't know," he admitted, his shoulders lifting in a slight shrug. "I haven't had any reason to try, though I suspect the food would just go right through me. I really don't understand all the mechanics of this, honestly," he waved a hand toward himself and his ghostliness.

He paused, listening eagerly as she spoke of her past experiences with the Force. It seemed the Well of Prophecy had been correct in its teachings, though Cedric had truly never doubted the artifact. Eleutheria and her constituents would be of great importance in the coming months.

"I'm not dead, if that's what you're asking," he replied evenly, "I am...asleep, for lack of a better term. My body and my armies are hanging at the edge of the void. This is the only way I can interact with other sentients," another pause. "I am trapped, for now. I was hoping that you and the others I've contacted might help me with that, once I've started you down the path anyway."

One final weighted pause, "If I were to offer to teach you the ways of the Jedi, would you be interested?"

[member="Eleutheria Overjerr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Eleutheria crossed her legs in the chair. She leaned forward, clearly interested in what the specter had to say and do. Any thoughts of harm it may have done was clearly gone from Ellie’s mind. Perhaps it wasn’t quite safe that her worry had vanished. Or perhaps it just meant that her instincts were wrong, at first. Although, to be fair, a ghost just appearing… Well. That should scare anyone, right?

She gave a nod about his past ancestor. “That’s good,” she commented quietly. She nearly chuckled at his comment, although she held such a chuckle in. “Maybe if you’re ever in a more physical form, then,” she offered. A rain-check, perhaps. But… Was she really gifted with the Force? Maybe it had just been a strange coincidence? He seemed confident but…

“Oh,” she mumbled after a second. She didn’t know the full extent of Force abilities, or gifts, after all. She had heard stories, of course. But she had barely even met any Force sensitives before. “Asleep?” She blinked – armies. That meant there was more of him. “I… I mean, I would love to help,” she said quietly as she thought intently about how she would even be able to help.

But the next question caught her off guard. She stared at the corporeal form with a look of astonishment for several seconds. “I… Do you think I could?” She muttered. She was just a waitress. A girl stuck on a pattern of poverty, and now trapped in a run-down apartment on Fondor. “I would be honored to learn, if you really believe I have the ability.”

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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He had been right to seek her out first. This one had a kind heart, a rarity in the galaxy as of late. He intended to take several apprentices to establish the order that he had often seen in his dreams, and that order needed a heart. There were others chosen for different aspects of their personalities. The Mirilian boy was a loner, one that saw his allies as beings other than himself, and was capable of pointing out the flaws in their way of doing things. His skepticism would keep the others on the path. The other human boy would be their confidence; he was warrior not unlike Cedric had been at that age, and would likely serve as their leader.

This one, though, was of the great importance. He had seen great destiny in her future, and more importantly had seen many of the trials and tribulations she had undergone. If there was ever a woman more suited to keeping the emerging Order on the right path, Cedric did not know of them.

"I will hold you to that," he replied as he drew himself from his private thoughts. "And I certainly do believe you can help. Likely more than most. I've seen some of your past in the Well of Prophecy, not enough to know you, but enough to get a vague idea," he waved a hand about as he spoke. "Then I shall take you on as my first padawan learner. There will be others. I intend to train an entirely new generation of Jedi Knights. Jedi untouched by the outdated ideals and dogma of the other orders."

He paused, "Are you ready for your first lesson?"

[member="Eleutheria Overjerr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Eleutheria was lost in her thoughts for a moment as she thought about how a man and his armies were trapped in the void. Lost in space. How long had they been stuck there? What about their families? Her mind twirled with ideas but… Did [member="Cedric Grayson"] really believe she could become a Jedi? Someone with the Force, the ability to do wonders and help so many who needed it?

She briefly looked out the window. The multitude of refugees, the tent cities that had appeared almost overnight from those fleeing the core. How much more could they take? The past decade had been harsh. Coruscant was razed. Carida, a mess. The core a mess.

She gave C a small smile as he spoke again. She gave a serious nod. If she was to help, well, she would take that as seriously as she possibly could. If this meant a new era, a new galaxy… Well, she had to help. Too many people were suffering. Dying. From the current administrations of the world. “I hope I can help,” she confirmed. “The Well of Prophecy?” She asked, unsure of what he meant.

She blinked as he mentioned being his padawan. "I'm honored. And mostly, I can't wait to see, meet, and learn with the others," she said with a hope in her voice that she almost felt was lost. Was… This really happening? Not a dream? Her eyes were wide. “I… Yes, I am,” she said quietly, but somewhat confidently.

No, this had to be her purpose. Her higher calling had finally come.

 

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He had lived so long between worlds that he scarcely understood the concept of living without the Force. It had been an everpresent factor in his life; he had been bathed in its power since his first breath. Explaining its details and concepts to those that had been mostly unexposed to it was never his strong suit. For Cedric, the empyrean was such an essential part of his life that he simply did not know what it was like to live without it. He never had. Even still, he would have to give Eleutheria the proper ideas on what it was were she to learn. This would likely be a challenge for the Jedi Master, but then he had always welcomed such trials.

"The Well of Prophecy is...it is difficult to explain. It is a place beyond the reality you know. A place where the destiny of the galaxy is charted out and recorded. Events that will happen millennia after we die can be seen within the Well. It is a very dangerous place," He explained carefully. Very few Jedi knew of the Well's existence, and even fewer had the mental fortitude to use it responsibly. More than once, Cedric had been tempted to look beyond what was permitted of him. Fortunately he had never been one to give in to temptation.

"Then we shall begin. First I shall explain the Force as I know it. The Force, the Empyrean, the Great Ocean, it has many names. It is an energy field that binds all living things together - all beings are born of it, though only a rare few can channel its power. It is the natural order of things; the balance which the Jedi have sought to preserve since our founding. The Force is love, creation, understanding, experience, happiness, all these things. It is the Light of life."

He paused, "Then, there is the Dark Side. It feeds upon the malignant emotions and desires hidden within our hearts. Jedi in the past have seen the Dark Side as an intrinsic part of the Force, but I know the truth. The Dark Side is entirely unnatural. It only ever occurs in the galaxy when sentient beings twist the Force to serve their own ends. It a man-made creation, one that has torn our galaxy asunder, a malignant cancerous tumor that must be excised before it spreads its disease even further. As a Jedi, the Dark Side and its servants are our ultimate enemy. It is our duty to either redeem them and save them from their own sins, or to destroy them and save others from the chaos they will inevitably bring about."

Another pause, "Do you understand Eleutheria?"

[member="Eleutheria Overjerr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Eleutheria watched the ghost named C intently as he spoke. Her first lesson in the Force? Really, it was something she had never expected. Between her strange careers, and in general rough near poverty (and now definitely poverty) life, she had only hoped something as amazing as this would happen. What it would mean for her family? What it would mean for herself? And what she could do to make the galaxy a better place?

She gave a nod at his explanation of the Well of Prophecy. It seemed terrifying, in truth. And Eleutheria probably would have preferred to not known anything about the future. Mostly, she was just too terrified to know if it was going to be as bad as the course was going.
But next, was much more interesting. [member="Cedric Grayson"] went into a definition of the Force. An explanation of the Light and the Dark.

The Light was what made the galaxy flow – while dark was created by evil sentients, unnatural. And then the ultimatum came from Cedric. Either save them or kill them. And in truth… While Ellie pondered it for a moment, she agreed with the sentiment completely. With the current state of the galaxy, action had to be taken to save it from full darkness.

She gave a nod. “I understand, C. I’ll do my part. I hope we can save as many of them as we can, but if they refuse, then… We will have to end them.”

 

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"You're a wise woman Eleutheria," Cedric remarked with a smile. Part of him had been worried that he might find himself disappointed with the girl. There had been a handful of others before her that had been observed within the Well's depths, and not all of them had been as promising as the predictions had led Cedric to believe. In truth, he was finding himself overwhelmed with relief as Ellie took in his lesson with an eagerness the others had lacked.

He would make a true believer out of her yet.

"Understanding this dichotomy is all that can save us from the Dark Side's corruption. The moment you get it into your head that the Dark Side is just as natural as the Light is the moment that its deception over you has been completed. It is as your mind is a fortress, with its gates unbarred and unguarded." There was a hint of amusement to Cedric's tone. He'd always enjoyed that analogy.

"Now that you have an understanding...it is time you learned to reach out. Meditation is the first step unto mastery. A Jedi's power comes from his or her self-mastery. One must learn total control over their emotions; to separate those emotions from the rational, and make the sacrifices needed to protect those around us. The Sith and their degenerate ilk mutate the Force by poisoning it with their violent emotions, abusing the empyrean so cruelly that it bends to their will. As Jedi, we seek to work alongside the Force; it is our eternal companion. To the Sith, it is a slave."

The Jedi Master drew himself up from his seat, and came to kneel down on the floor. He gestured for Ellie to do the same. "Sit with me. Close your eyes, and empty your mind of all internal thoughts. Focus on the living Force: focus upon the energy flowing all about us at all times. Let it become you, like a river of holy water flowing through your very soul."

[member="Eleutheria Overjerr"]

 

[Gaia Sunaris Cadera]

Eleutheria felt her cheeks burn at his compliment. She had always thought of herself as fairly average in terms of intelligence or being wise. It was nice to hear someone confirm such a thing. Perhaps he didn’t fully mean it, but Ellie didn’t even care. She believed in what [member="Cedric Grayson"] had stated. And she saw what the Sith were doing to the galaxy – ever since the end of the Alliance. They were winning. And that couldn’t be allowed to continue.

Ellie gave a nod in agreement as he continued to educate her. Meditation was the next part – to learn control over her emotions, understanding, and finding a way to save to save ensure they do not fall into the views that many held. And most importantly, that the Force was being poisoned by evil. A statement she fully believed in. "We have to push them back, somehow. To stop them," she whispered.

Eleutheria nodded as she moved forward and kneeled onto the floor. She gave a nod as she closed her brown eyes. She had never meditated before but she inhaled and almost as if a gate was opened – she felt her connection strike with the Force. The flow, the intensity, the peace and sense of love that filled from her abdomen to the rest of her body. The connection between her and the Living Force, having never touched before but had finally connected at long last. Ellie nearly gasped, her eyes watering with the pure intensity she felt so quickly.