Crystals of Gold

[Katelyn Feanor]

​

Enigma Prime, of all places someone could find lightsaber crystals...this was one of the lesser known worlds. Teeming with bounds of wildlife that possibly hasn't been discovered yet or even immigrated wildlife from other sectors...who knew. As few had yet to try and traverse this world. Those that did venture to this world, told stories of monsters and things in the dark...claw marks on the trees decades old. Like permanent scars within the wildlife to initiate the marks of a monster...it's home...it's sanctuary.

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Of all places they could've gone, they went Enigma Prime! Astrid didn't even know where Engima Prime was, least of all heard of it. Besides, there were probably plenty of these worlds out in deep space waiting to be discovered. That, or they have been discovered just not claimed yet. So of course, Astrid's master, [member="Darth Vaildra"], had decided to chose this of all places for his two apprentices to get lightsaber crystals.

Astrid opened up her eyes as these thoughts circled her mind only to come face to face with [member="Azula Yeshevsky"], or has some soldiers called her "Lord Vaildra's Daughter." Astrid did secretly despise Azula, in both jealously, envy...and sadness. Azula just reminded Astrid of how she never really had a father. It reminded her...of the hole in her soul. As if too little butter was scraped over a loaf of bread, one particular section missing the butter. That's what it felt like...but only worse...so much Worse!!

Astrid sighed in agitation before standing up and stretching slightly before leaning up against a nearby wall. Though, Astrid was careful to do so as to avoid squishing her feline tail against the wall. Oh, it was on of the many unique traits she had received from her mother who was a Felacatian. While her father was a human, who only gave her her force sensitivity and...of course...cutting off her damn arm. Astrid's violet eyes looked down as if pained at remembering that moment in her life where she nearly died before looking away again, closing her eyes.

She had to try and forget, someway...some...how...

​

 

[Darth Vaildra]

A red mass that was Darth Vaildra moved through the brush that was Enigma Prime. He honestly did not care for these jungle planets. He thought them mostly a waste, but this one was a bit different as it was rich in materials. He walked in silence, enjoying it, the few times he got to, until a disturbance broke his concentration. Behind him, his Apprentice [member="Astrid"] was once again worrying herself over her emotions and letting them go to war. This seemed a recurring theme lately, one Vaildra was tiring of, "Astrid, focus." Was all he said, all that needed to be said.

As they continued through the forest they came to a river where Vaildra continued. Gathering the force at his feet he walked across the water til he reached the other side where he turned tot he two girls on the other side. There was no other way across the river and jumping would be a feat in and of itself. "Now, follow your Master."
[member="Azula Yeshevsky"]

 

[Nymeria Vizsla]

The journey begins.

Azula thought as they both stepped on the boarding platform, she assumed there was an awkward stare as everything went silent and the heartbeat of her 'adversary' had slightly increased. She ignored it though, before the end of this trip the two of them would share many words. Before boarding though, she remembered to bow to her father, [member="Darth Vaildra"] as a sign of respect and admiration.

She then turned and walked inside. Taking a right as she entered and finding the most secluded room for the long trip.

~ A few hours later. ~

Azula scoffed as she took in a deep breath, the odor of this ship interrupting her meditation. Still, she tried to focused on the spirit as she readjusted her lotus position. The room she ended up finding was near the middle of the smaller ship they were in. Where she believed the kitchen was supposed to be. She would name the ship as well, if she knew it. However, the Echani never cared too much about technology.

Yet one thing she was certainly interested in was her chance to get a crystal, something she could focus her energy into. A weapon to truly extend her power. Before the expedition she had thought of a design, and at the moment she planned on creating her own unique weapon off of the dark sabre. As to not hinder her already proficient form with her katanas. A complication however was the model that she would need was extremely rare and had been crafted less than one could count on two hands. Or at least that was what the scrolls she was presented with told her.

Nevertheless Azula was ready. And while her 'partner' was standing across the other side of the ship she was mentally and spiritually preparing herself.

'Through intense training and hard work the true warrior becomes quick and strong. They are not as most people. They develop a power that must be used for good. They have compassion.'

This was a specific excerpt from the Kro Var code called Jin. One she remembered specifically now, something her spirit was reaching for or trying to tell her.

It was with this, that the girl folded her hands together and bowed her head. A nod of respect to her greater masters before her. She then stood from her lotus position and walked precisely through the hall. When she reached the door separating the women it slid away and accordingly she stepped in and faced Astrid for the second time today. Azula did not do this simply 'to talk' though.

While she had nothing against [member="Astrid"], she could care less. The tail did interest her more mortal sides...however this was easily ignored. It was util the other woman could show Azula she was worth being interested in that she would approach her. This was yet another exciting thing about the trip, she could learn about the other. Though, for now she turned away from her and entered the cockpit. Where her father rested. When the shaper entered she imagined him looking at her.

She knew this, even being blind. The force was a beautiful thing, and it allowed her to tell many things from a person. Their feelings, whether they were telling the truth, how nervous or excited they were, among other things. Visually though, it was not so stimulating. Yet she could still roughly get an idea, she could paint a picture with her other senses, per-say.

She did notice immediately that there was something different between them now. After the training they shared back on the empires home world, he seemed so much more human to her.

Azula didn't speak though, no words were needed. As they were both warriors, they had already shared everything by just acknowledging one another. Despite even all that, they were Echani and the species was never too interested in conversation in the first place. So, she simply sat in the co pilots seat and watched the outside space with him.

~37 minutes later.~

They were here, the ship had just landed a few minutes ago, despite rocky. The three force users currently hiked away from the ship, taking on this planet in search of a crystal cave. And even through Azula had no sight, she didn't need it to know this place must be breathtaking. The sound and feel alone captivated her senses. She imagined mediating here, or training her. She may return one day.

However she had heard about the creatures here, and she was informed this was a place to tread carefully. She was sure they could take care of themselves, her main priority at the moment was keeping the wildlife alive from her fathers wrath. She imagined it now, him desimating a mile beyond over a spider monkey simply jumping on him.

The dark Jedi then turned her mind away from this. She was a very peaceful person and meant no harm to anything here.

Guiding herself was never a problem either, through the force she could see better than they could. Branches rooted in the ground, even the smallest bugs crawling on a leaf ten meters away.

For awhile they walked in silence until Hakora spoke up. It was just when she heard the sound of a river, so she assumed he was wanting them to tread careful. She was correct as he said for them to follow him.

The master that calls themselves master were only ever the student. This thought, and excerpt from one of the many scrolls she had studied made a slight smile creep onto her lips as she easily leaped over it. Even accenting her jump with a basic beginners technique of air shaping while she was at it.

 

[Katelyn Feanor]

~37 Minutes Later~​

Astrid followed close by to [member="Darth Vaildra"] though she tried her best to keep her distance from [member="Azula Yeshevsky"] as best as she could. Which, turns out...wasn't that great of a distance save for a foot or two in between the two which seemed to get shorter as every second passed by. Astrid every now and then stole glances at Azula, not in disgust...but curiosity. She could easily tell that Azula was a Miraluka but...she couldn't tell exactly what the other species was. That, and the black bandanna across her eyes...Astrid found black an interesting choice of all choices you could choose for a bandanna, she chose black. Though, Astrid didn't hate the choice...she secretly admired it because Black...and Orange was her favorite color. Too bad nothing orange was around.

Astrid's ears perked up slightly as she heard the sound of running water in the distance. The reason she could hear it from a good distance away was due to her being half Felacatian which allowed her to hear sounds more accurately from far away. Though, that did also make her slightly more sensitive to sounds than a normal human or other race would typically hear. Astrid kept her arms firmly planted atop her chest which were crossed over each other in a more relaxes position than she was earlier in the ship. While, as for her feline tail...well it just moved around slightly, almost totally out of Astrid's control. Which was strange, considering that Astrid thought you could control a tail of you had one.

Too bad that idea proved false all too quickly in her life.


Once they were at the fast flowing river, Astrid cringed slightly. She had always been afraid of water ever since...ever since those pirates. 'Astrid, Focus!' Her master's voice ringed in her mind for a few moments before she finally let the memory slip..trying to forget about it. Though, it was still clawing at her mind...trying to break through her mental barrier which she had tried to improve since she first became Vaildra's apprentice.

Astrid stood in silence for awhile watching the water before an idea springed into her mind. She outstretched her right hand, closing her violet eyes as she did so. Within her mind, rocks or varying sizes appeared...they were relatively small yet still able to be walked upon. Within her mind, Astrid witnessed first hand the rocks rising up through the current of the water, breaking the currents edge and rising mere inches from the running water. A small smile crept unto Astrid's face before she opened her eyes and reached out through the force, grabbing the specific rocks as she did so along with becoming one with the rocks. Feeling their weight as her own, their shape...which were all peculiar...some round showing that they had been here for a good long time; while others were still rough and course signifying the had just dropped in recently.

Slowly, the rocks began to rise from the water only a few inches above the currents edge...which was all Astrid needed. Despite her being afraid of water, she wasn't deathly afraid of it...Astrid kept her right hand outstretched, concentrating upon the volumes of the rocks as she walked across the rocks before making it to the other side. Once she did so, Astrid decided not to drop the rocks into the water because she could accidentally kill some fish. And well...she was a sucker for not killing any animals...or at the least trying to do so. So, Astrid slowly lowered the rocks through the force until she felt them hit solid ground through the force before releasing them.

 

[Darth Vaildra]

He watched [member="Azula Yeshevsky"] jump over the river using wind shaping and then [member="Astrid"] using rocks to make a small land bridge which the more impressive of the two, but as they caught up with him he just stood there, a bit dumbfounded. He had asked them to follow him and neither seemed to crasp what he had asked, "Next time I walk on water or do something specific and ask you to follow, assume I want you both to try whatever I do exactly. No points awarded to house Feanor today." He smirked under his mask and continued his walk through the woods.

He took it slow and noticed his girls were still quite which was not natural for ether, more natural for Astrid, but Azula enjoyed talking far too much. He assumed it was because of all the changes she was going through. As he continued, he did not turn to them, but did decide to make a joke, "If you two are going to kill each other you might as well do it now before we get to the cave, would be much more convienant." He laughed very slightly, it was kind of amusing.

Moments later they arrived. Standing like an open mouth of a giant was a cave, but not a normal cave. This one was decorated with achieve carvings that suggested it was a place of worship or even sacrifice, but he wagered worship. He stopped outside of it and let them sort their stuff out before he continued. "Normally I send my students into caves with beasts much stronger than them, but based on what you both want, you guys get lucky. Do no assume it is safe in there, work as a team and go as deep as you can. The deeper the more pure and rare they get, hell you could even find crystals bound to you." He turned and looked at Astrid, "A word a moment?"

He left Azula in front of the cave and took Astrid away. Once they were out of war shot he reverberated the air molecules around them to prevent Azula from listening in. "Astrid, why do you still doubt yourself? You brought down a dragon, a resistance, your former master, and even your weaker side. You have proven time and time again you are stronger than your past. Emotions are good, but when you let them control you as you do, that is when they become dangerous. Focus, hate and anger are not the only emotions. Try to work with her, you are both my daughters and of one of you does it would take far too long for me to create new ones." He smiled saying the last part. And took her back to Azula and sent them in.

He could feel it, he was getting to soft, he was losing his edge. Having his daughter back and taking a more active role in Astrid's life. It was weakening his connection to the dark side. He wasn't sure what he thought of this at the moment, but if he was to continue he would have to learn to be a father and a Sith Lord and learn the two roles quickly.

(Astrid, your mentions aren't working)

 

[Nymeria Vizsla]

With his comment Azula scoffed, like she was going to conform to his wishes. She was free of oppression, especially from him. She then shook her head in reminder not to get so defensive. He was only saying to follow them. Even so, the walk continued, they stood on soft earth and the path was full of obstacles like fallen limbs and vines. Azula was bending the water in the vines to keep from cutting them but also letting them rise out of her way, almost like they were making a path for her. Azula was attempting to connect with the essence of this planet. In honesty, she wouldn't mind a moment to meditate here. The planet was almost calling out to her, which was normally very hard for her to hear, as she was only a novice. This led her to believe the spiritual presence here was extremely potent, especially so as they grew closer to the cave. Which appeared to be some kind of temple.

As they stepped up to it, Hakora took Astrid aside and shaped the air around them. This led her no way of hearing them, although she remembered a Kro Var technique she read about where she could listen through the vibrations of the earth they stood on. However this was a master level skill, and she was only a novice, save for slightly more precision in air shaping. While they spoke, the spiritualist placed her hand on the temples side, feeling the markings for herself and allowing herself to 'see' them in detail. As she did this, Azula felt a presence of many things in the temple. She was almost faintly guiding herself through it. As she 'walked' down the hallways she saw the horrifying site of piles of what seemed like bodies. She couldn't be sure though, as it was all very blurry and appeared to her as like dark fire. She then noticed something more specific, the figure of a person...surrounded by ritualistic symbols which spoke to her especially. This one was not dead, it appeared to be, no, this was straining on Azula's energy. When she had gathered the strength again her concentration had already broken by their footsteps as they returned.

She tilted her body towards them and made the quick choice not to tell them. After all she could be entirely wrong...however in her mind, she knows she should never doubt her force sight. For now though she would focus on the objective. "Reverberating the air particles so I cannot hear. Very clever of you father." She said with a slight smile creeping on to her lips. The Miraluka then tilted her head to the cave, specifically focusing on Astrid.

"I once read a great poem by legendary Kro Var monk Giatsu." Azula paused for just a moment. "In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins- not through strength but by perseverance." Once more she paused, this time turning her head to look in Astrids direction. "We are the stream, this temple is the rock."

Azula knew she often spoke in a poetic manner, however she read a lot of scrolls as a child and this particular quote had helped her through the past. It has helped her preserve through the darkness, and even embrace it.

[member="Darth Vaildra"] [member="Astrid"]

 

[Katelyn Feanor]

Astrid was slightly taken back when [member="Darth Vaildra"] asked to speak with her privately. He almost never had asked this of her, well they were normally alone but still. Even when they were with other people recently, he had never done this...which stood out to Astrid. It didn't stand out to her in a bad way...but more of a relieved and slightly energetic way knowing or at the least assuming that her master cared enough about her to speak with her in private. It helped reassure Astrid that she wasn't forgotten not ignored when Azula was around.

Astrid stood in front of Vaildra as he spoke to her which made him look down towards her due to Astrid being shorter than him. As he talked, Astrid continued to focus more and more upon Vaildra, sensing something out-of-place about him today. He was acting and talking different, he was being softer which stood out the most to Astrid. This confirmed to her suspicion that something was changing about Vaildra...even if it was slow, she could clearly tell that he was changing. Despite this being a small and little moment, it did bring wonder to Astrid as to why he was changing. Though, at least she was reassured. Reassured that she still mattered to Vaildra, that she held a place in his heart.


Once they were back at the cave of the temple, Astrid sensed something through the force. She saw what appeared to be a ruined hallway...as she descended down it in her vision, she came across bloodied bodies...some with bullet wounds and others with lightsaber slash marks across them. Along with the bodies, came destroyed and more broken down pillars until she came to the end where the pillars were destroyed and a man stood against a wall. He had a white bandanna tied across his eyes and a lightsaber in hand. Then, the image faded back to reality to where Astrid was hearing [member="Azula Yeshevsky"]'s poetic statement. Once this registered in Astrid's mind, she smiled warmly before adding something. She meant in genuinely when she said. "How poetic of you..."

 

[Darth Vaildra]

Darth Vaildra listened to his eldest daughter as she spoke of Giatsu. Vaildra had never really spent much time in the study of Kro Var masters though he was one. It just never really interested him, but as for her, he could not be more pleased she sought deeper enlightenment than he. He spoke with a monotone essence to his voice, "Well stream, try not to wet yourself in the cave." He unhooked his mask and took it off once more, little did he know he would never put it on again.

"As I said before, you two are to work together. Astrid you may use the lightsaber I gave you, Azula you will still only use my songsteel sword I gave you. You still need the weight training. Be careful and protect each other or else you will deal with me. Do not settle for common crystals, do not be afraid, if you are make whatever it is afraid of you instead." With that he left the area to go away from the cave and out of sight. Once he was he would knell down and meditate. He had things he was trying to work out and this was helping, at the sametime he saw farther and more clear through the Force when he meditated and could watch their every move.


[member="Astrid Feanor"] [member="Azula Yeshevsky"]