Private Fact Or Fiction

[Gren Blidh]

It was an instinct, the same primal force that set the planets and stars in motion around the center of the galaxy. Instinct had brought Gren Blidh to Commenor, though it hadn't been without a fair bit of data collection.

When the wind kicked up outside the towering monolith that was the Jedi Temple before him, Gren clenched his functioning eye, grimacing as stray sand kicked up and stung his stubbled cheek. The space journey had been long, especially on public transport without a freighter of his own, and the walk had been even longer. But all sources of information led him to find his target here. Looking up with his solitary eye, the Jedi Temple rose like a pearly spire above the dunes. Gren had little information to go on besides the embellished whisperings of his smuggler and infochant contacts offworld. The Holonet existed, but the Jedi were not keen on advertising their powers to the galaxy at large as though they were some kind of heroes for hire. Gren would almost admire them a little more, if that had been the case. Fortunately, from what he had heard, the Jedi that would be of most interest to him didn't seem to hold the same moral compunctions as the rest of her colleagues.

The doors to the temple opened and Gren filled the expanse with his presence, the wind behind him. His tattered cloak and disheveled appearance made him feel instantly out of place in this studious, solemn atmosphere. This spacer had clearly seen too many planets before arriving here with sweat caked on his brow, appearing as the furthest thing from a Jedi. As it were, a Jedi Temple would be one of the last places in the galaxy Gren Blidh could imagine himself, but he strode forth all the same. Rather than shirking back due to his lack of knowledge of the protocol around here, he strode forth. Was an appointment necessary? Gren didn't know and didn't care. Instinct drove him here, and it was this same burning desire for knowledge and power that spurned him to find the nearest Jedi that looked important enough to know, consequences or social ramifications be damned.

"I'm looking for Jairdain."

 

[Jairdain]

Life carried on for the blind Jedi Master. Teaching students, running classes, and taking care of her family. At the moment, she was alone in a meditation room. A location she could be found pretty easily. Just ask anybody in the Temple and they could tell a visitor where to find her.

The Temple got visitors from all walks of life. Most of them, at least, attempted to clean themselves before making a petition to speak to a Master. However, that did not prevent one from gaining that.

A youngling stepped forward and bowed to Gren after he had been motioned to step forward. Standing up, the boy most likely only came to about the waist of the man.

"Please follow me, Mister."

Without even asking for his name or the purpose of the visit, the child started walking away. Glancing behind him now and then to make sure Gren was keeping up, he brought him to an open door. Not bothering to knock, he walked in and waited for Gren to enter with him.

"Master Jairdain, you have somebody asking to see you."

And with that, he was gone in a dash, leaving the adults alone. Rising from her seated position, she held a hand open for him to shake. Eyes without focus seemed to look at him and she smiled warmly.

"Whoever you are, you are welcome. Have a seat. What can I help you with?"

Gren Blidh

 

[Gren Blidh]

Gren craned his neck down at the youngling. The boy had seen few years; not even old enough to grow his first whisker. Was this normal? The smuggler looked over the youngling's shoulder for a moment, then behind his own, as if to search for another presence. But this boy was the only one that filled the hallway. These Jedi were apparently so busy with their tasks that no one paid any mind at all to who - or what - could walk in at any moment.

Very well - Gren would comply. He followed the youngling through the expanse of the temple.

The marble walls and floors had been sanded and shined to perfection, as if shaped and refined by a million years of the twisting sands outside. And yet, for all its grandeur, the temple's soul was a lie. No artworks hung from the walls, no voices filled the halls. Gren's ears were met with ghostly silence as he traversed the corridor. It was as if this pristine place had existed for thousands of years; but no one actually lived there.

The door opened to reveal Jairdain . Her attire was peculiar and unbecoming for a Jedi, rather it was something Gren expected to see in one of the cantinas across the galaxy he hopped between. First sign of life yet.

"Who am I that I can walk in to a temple uninvited and without question of my motives, and be immediately granted an audience with a senior master?" The eyepatched smuggler said. "Are your kind always so lackadaisical toward visitors, or am I just special?"

 

[Jairdain]

Her extended hand was ignored and in a way Jairdain was verbally assaulted by her visitor. Listening to what he had to say, she remained calm through it all. Maintaining the warm smile, she waited until he finished.

Attempting to wrap the stranger up with a Force Hold, unless he distracted her from this somehow, it would most likely work. She was good enough at holding a person that he probably wouldn't even notice unless he tried to move.

"Before I answer your questions, stranger tell me do you think a person would be allowed in if there weren't precautions arranged? Do you think a person would be allowed in if the Master couldn't take care of themselves?"

Now she was going to press the limits of him. Taking the moment to get up close to him, she almost appeared to smell him. That isn't what she did, but instead, this was more of an attempt to intimidate him. Jairdain also hoped he would try to break free and touch her. Standing in front of him for a moment, she would then return to the spot she had been sitting on the floor before he entered.

With the flick of a wrist, he would have several lightsabers hovering in front of his face. Not lowering them, the hilts were not lit but the threat was there for them to be. Remaining entirely calm through this process, her eyes glowed dimly as she smiled again at him.

"What brought you to search me out? If you were going to make an attempt on my life, then you have failed. What can I do for you?"

He would be free to speak but no other movement was an option for him right now.

Gren Blidh

 

[Gren Blidh]

Gren may have verbally jabbed her, that much was true. But his assault remained purely verbal, as the smuggler stood before her plain and unmoving, with arms crossed. As he found himself suddenly unable to cross his arms, Gren knew Jairdain had taken things to the next level. A flinch of his biceps in an attempt to uncross his arms was met with the feeling of an invisible, immovable wall keeping them locked in place. The air felt somehow stronger, more dense around him. Though the windows were closed, Gren could almost hear the faint sound of wind, like a torrential hailstorm happening miles off in the distance.

Gren was truly disarmed and helpless in this moment. The smuggler threw his head back and laughed above his immovable body, his voice filling the chamber.

"It seems I've found exactly what I'm looking for. You strike first," He replied to her, referencing the fact that an orthodox Jedi would have highly disapproved of her offensive use of the Force on a man who had yet to pose any physical threat. Whether that made Jairdain a Jedi, or something else entirely, Gren didn't really care. What was important was her knowledge.

"If I had come to kill you, I'd have thought of something better than just walking in here. Reckon you Jedi-types can sense that sort of thing." The binds of the Force remained around his body.

"I heard that in this Temple could be found a woman named Jairdain, a master at Force illusions. And that she was open to passing on this knowledge."

 

[Jairdain]

To say she would strike first was a bit of an overstatement. On the field of battle, she would not unless her hands were forced. Her normal place was as support and Jairdain rarely actually saw the front lines. It had happened before though and she was sure it would happen again.

"In a location, I am comfortable in, yes. You are the stranger here."

When he assured her he wasn't there to kill her, the hilts returned to her and the hold on him was released. Motioning for him to join her once again, she nodded.

"A couple of things first. What is your name? You already know mine. Second, what do you already know of the Force?"

She really didn't care about his alignment and did not ask for the information from him. During their interaction, he had yet to really see any sign of real emotion. Keeping herself under control was easy and Jairdain almost always seemed quite calm.

Gren Blidh