Rule of Two
Childhood
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: 2024 Force Rupture Contest
Tefka
. - Image Credit:
- https://www.deviantart.com/ricardof...thereal-glow-of-a-virtual-solar-lu-1023912187
- https://www.deviantart.com/wiredhuman/art/Alien-temple-696405642
- Canon: N/A.
- Permissions: N/A.
- Links:
Alicia Drey
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- Nexus Name: Childhood.
- Nexus Alignment: Light.
- Location: Nespis VIII.
- Affiliation: Empire of the Lost.
- Size: Medium.
- Strength: Strong.
- Accessibility: It is easy to find. A ship capable of hyperspace travel could reach Nespis VIII and land at a designated landing zone upon arrival in the Auril system.
- Description: A transparent dome made of Transparisteel surrounds a medium sized Necropolis made up of several Tombs, and Graves which line the walkways and levels that can lead up to a Temple at the upmost top of the Necropolis itself, or downwards to most Tombs and Graves where the deceased were lain to rest while under the strange and esoteric effect of temporarily that may turn you back into a child by a light sided Force Nexus.
When an individual passes through the dome, and enters the Necropolis, they might become a child again. This is not a Force Illusion, or a trick generated by the Force Nexus which encompasses this location. Physically an individual might revert immediately to what they looked like when they were experiencing childhood whence the origins of the name given to those who have travelled to this place. Individuals who traverse the Necropolis and explore points of interests will retain their memories, skills, and abilities with the disadvantage that they may now exhibit the physicality of a small child somewhere between the ages of 5 to 8.
The effect that this Force Nexus has on the individual is temporary. If they elect to leave Childhood they will immediately revert back to their adulthood and retain the appearance that they possessed prior to their arrival at this location. Despite the effect of reverting back to a child in the presence of the nexus an individual cannot permanently retain their child like appearance. Conversely, if an individual were fighting illness, or possessed a severe injury prior to their arrival at this location then they would still be sick or injured regardless of their child like appearance once they entered the Necropolis. Therefore this location is not a place of pilgrimage to recover from sickness or injury but rather one to experience what it is like to be a child once again, if only in body and image.
In summary, once you pass through the orb and enter the Necropolis, you might become a child again. When you leave you will become an adult once more. In the rare circumstance that an individual elects to stay in their Childhood they would not experience the aging process or the transitionary period of child to adult once again. That is to say a long term inhabitant would not grow back into an adult if they stayed here for years. However, a long term stay in Childhood would still mean such a person would experience aging, sickness, disease and even injury regardless of their child look appearance.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Necropolis - Within the innards of the Orb is the Necropolis. Upon landing at one of the designated landing zones you would find yourself within the remnants of a lost race. This large, designed cemetery possesses several elaborate tomb monuments etched with an ancient language long lost to time. Graves line the walkways as you traverse the Necropolis in exploration. The structure is large in size, and the Lightside of the Force permutates the air giving a sense of calm and tranquillity which juxtaposes against the sense of loss and abandonment at the sight of the many who were lain to rest here.
The Temple - At the upmost top of the Necropolis- at it's highest point- is the Temple. This structure is of an alien design and origin yet it is clearly ancient and unique to other Force-sensitive cultures, and ideology. It is distinct and unlike anything you have seen before. Clearly whoever built the Temple, and the subsequent Necropolis that it reigns upon, spent an intricate amount of time and were careful in it's construction as it remains standing in grand condition despite the fact that it and the surrounding Necropolis were left abandoned after whoever constructed it and the Childhood location have seemingly been lost to time over the centuries since it's construction.
Entering the Temple you are met with several tombs and graves embedded into the walls covered in the same esoteric alien language that lines the other tombs and graves which stand across the rest of the Necropolis. A ceremonial area where ceremonies were held lines the middle surrounded by several plinths made of a material known as Chalcedony. It is clear that the Temple was a place where funerals were held and where the dead were lain to rest.
The Orb - Surrounding the Necropolis is a transparent structure known as the Orb. It is made of the material Transparisteel which prevents the Necropolis and it's inhabitants from the harshness of space. There is an opening on the western side of the Orb that would allow a ship no bigger than that of a shuttle craft to enter and land on one of the Necropolis' many floors. This opening grants temporary access to the Necropolis once a ship edges closer too it where it mysteriously opens for those to come or go. To add to this mystery- despite the opening exposing the Necropolis to the vacuum of space (when opened)- there is no danger or risk of death despite everything pointing to the contrary.
Childhood - This Force Nexus- of which this location is colloquially named after- permutates the Necropolis, the Temple and the innards of the Orb once an individual enters this location. It has no specific physical location that a Force-sensitive could reach and discover yet it is clearly present the moment one enters it as they may revert to a child like form when in it's presence. It is strongly connected to the Lightside of the Force.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
When the reborn Emperor Palpatine had fired the Galaxy Gun upon the space station known as Nespis 8 (in 10 ABY) this location did not yet currently exist. However, by the end of the Four-Hundred Year Darkness the rebuilt Space station found itself in orbit of another structure caught within it's gravitational well. As the Nespis 8 revolves around the Auril system so too does the location colloquially known to researchers, visitors and Scientists as Childhood due to it's unique and strange ability that may revert any adult person (regardless of their species or gender) to what they looked like when they were a child.
The origins and subsequent story surrounding Childhood are based solely around myth, speculation and educated guesses ranging from the few discoveries researchers have managed to find during their exploration of the Necropolis and the locations Temple. The presence of the material Chalcedony suggests that the location might be of Alderaan descent and this is speculated in large point due to this material being used in the construction of rare idols and effigies located across the Galaxy. Namely the ancient Alderaan House of Organa were known to have used Chalcedony as a signet of office many centuries ago. However, this is merely an educated guess as Chalcedony could also be present for reasons yet to be explained, or discovered.
There is a myth that those who come to Childhood will be gifted with a second chance at life, and when they leave this location, they will be forever changed by their experience here. While the latter might be true to some it is not always so for others, and so this has become some what of an urban myth among visitors who have come and gone from here after experiencing what it was like to see themselves (and others) as children once again. This myth, however, is not entirely true as the Force Nexus itself does not cure sickness, disease or injury nor does it permanently revert the effects of aging.
For example, a 73 year old Human male could be temporarily reverted back to a child if they visited Childhood but even as they explored the Necropolis and Temple itself they would still be an old man despite their child like appearance. Consequentially any sickness, disease or injury they had prior to entering Childhood would still be there, and after they leave this location, they would still be the same age (or older, if by a prolonged stay) with their adult body returned to them once they cleared the radius of the Childhood Force Nexus.
What researchers have managed to piece together is a loose timeline which may give some indications as to who built this location, and the subsequent existence of the Force Nexus. It is known that by 10 ABY Childhood was not present in the Auril system. Yet, by the end of the Four-Hundred Year Darkness the Necropolis, Temple, Orb and Force Nexus were now present in the system; caught within the gravitational well of the rebuilt Nespis 8 space station located nearby. Therefore it is speculated that this location was constructed at some point in time during the Four-Hundred Year Darkness: an era in which the entire Galaxy and it's population were sick with a disease known as the Gulag Plague which almost destroyed all life.
The presence of Tombs and Graves (which line and adorn the entire structure of the Necropolis) lines up with this theory as it is clear to those that come or go from Childhood that it was constructed by it's builders to lay and rest a varying number of different species located from all across the Galaxy. Some of these Graves were excavated for research purposes by the Empire of the Lost which indicated that the deceased perished as a result of the Gulag Plague. Therefore researchers were able to piece together that the alien race which constructed the Orb, Necropolis and Temple had done so to lay and rest victims who died as a result of contracting the Gulag Plague at some point during the Four-Hundred Year Darkness before the disease itself faded out of Galactic history by 835 ABY.
This theory, however, is based on Scientific research, educated guesses, discoveries made within the location and through logic. With no references or comparisons to compare Childhood too this theory could be incorrect. The truth has yet to be discovered, and by all this time later, it might never be.
Nespis 8- a space station constructed sometime around the dawn of the Galactic Republic- is heavily speculated to be responsible for the origins of Childhood. For eons this station was home to many Scientists, researchers and even the Jedi (from all across the Galaxy) before it's destruction in 10 ABY. It was said that Nespis 8 contained 'all the knowledge in the Galaxy' and even included the 'wisdom of the Jedi' before it's subsequent destruction at the hands of the reborn Emperor Palpatine. When the Yuuzhan Vong terraformed and rebuilt the Galaxy eons ago the space station was also revived and so it's function returned. Therefore it is plausible that the station itself played a part in the creation of Childhood.
It's legendary status is widely believed to have played at least some part in the creation of Childhood due to it's proximity to Nespis 8 but no such records are held today to lend real credence to this belief and so this is just another myth. Conversely the scripture, Temple and technology (such as the Orb which surrounds the Necropolis) are unrelated to the Jedi. Therefore this is just another theory based on Scientific research, and educated guesses made by scientists, archaeologists and philosophers who came to this location to conduct their exploration and research.
It is also speculated that the alien race that constructed Childhood were also responsible for the creation of the Force Nexus which may give the strange and esoteric effect of turning an adult male or female (of any known race from across the Galaxy) temporarily into a child once they cross the threshold of the Orb and enter the Necropolis. The common consensus among researchers and others who have visited Childhood is that the aliens wanted to give the sick and dying respite from the effects of the Gulag Plague by bringing them back to what everyone commonly agrees upon as the best time of their lives but- again- this is a mere theory to explain the oddity of the Force Nexus which permutates this location.
While visitors retain their adult memories, skills and experiences the psychological effect of seeing themselves (and others) as children once again invites the possibility of an individual experiencing what it is like to be a child once again. The joy and escapism of once again being able to enjoy a 'second' childhood at a time where the spread and subsequent effects of the Gulag Plague ushered in an era known as the Four-Hundred Year Darkness invites speculation in the cultural and ideological beliefs of the aliens that once came here.
Through the creation of Childhood (heavily speculated for those sick with the Gulag Plague) suggests that the aliens not only wanted to create a place to put to rest the deceased who perished during this time, but also give them one last day of joy before they succumbed to their sickness, and to create a beacon of hope in what was ultimately a dark, and abhorrent time in Galactic history.
Despite the speculation, educated guesses and research conducted by the Imperials (and other civilizations that have ruled in this quadrant of the Outer Rim Territories throughout the Chaos era) nobody knows for sure who built this place, why it was really built, and how Childhood may temporarily revert adults back into the form of a child. The alien language that lines the walls of the Temple, and the many Tombs or Graves (that line the Necropolis) have yet to be translated, and no known language in the Galaxy can be used to attempt a translation leading to further speculation that the aliens who constructed this place did not originate from our Galaxy.
What we do know for sure is that, as you traverse this location as a child once more, the people that once lived here are all gone. It is a monument to a monstrous era trapped in a bottle of time lost in the black ink canvas of space in the backwaters of the Outer Rim where victims of the Gulag Plague were lain to rest, and now, in the modern era, a place of pilgrimage for those seeking a return to a time where they were at their most innocent only to find that they are no longer not.
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