Private I'd Sooner See It Burn

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Only the ignorant sought to live in the past: the ignorant, and fools that couldn't face reality. There were few things the Jedi Master truly despised more than those that knew the path they needed to walk, and chose a different one anyway. He'd always written such failings off as weaknesses of character rather than the effects of some greater reasoning. It seemed the galaxy had a sense of humor then, given his current circumstances.

The cold wind bit at him as he trudged through snow that rose up to his ankles. He'd not dressed for the occasion, but the thin barrier of kinetic energy he'd forged around his body would keep him from freezing, at least until he could find shelter. The northern reaches of Odessen were largely uninhabited, and had seemingly suited his desire to disappear from the galaxy. He hadn't taken into account the possibility of a winter with record low temperatures freezing over half the continent, unfortunately, and life was getting a little difficult.

The village wasn't far. It would provide shelter for the time being, and he'd assist the locals with whatever they needed for a time. Their relationship was a symbiotic one, though the locals seemed to see him as less of a person and more of a travelling wizard. That suited Cedric just fine. Better a vagrant magician than a failed Jedi.

He peered through the bright flurries of snowy wind in search of the canyon that would lead him toward his destination. For a moment, panic began to set in as he failed to recognize the land's features through the snow. That panicked faded as he caught sight of a small wooden board with aurebesh spattered across it just barely poking out of the drift. A quiet sigh of relief expelled from his lips as he began trudging toward the sign, readjusting the nexu corpse he carried over his shoulder every few steps so that he wouldn't drop it.

The beast had left its mark on his flesh - crimson vitae spilled slowly from still open wounds on his right arm. It was too cold to take the time to try and bandage them. He'd rather lose a bit of blood than freeze to death out in the drifts. The villagers would be pleased at least. The Nexu had slain several of their number in search of food, no doubt having been suffering from starvation due to the lack of viable game.

The light of the village shone in the distance as he began to trudge through the canyon. The sight brought new energy to Cedric's limbs as he continued his march, desperate to escape the biting cold and find some refuge from the seemingly endless storm.

 

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Unpleasant thoughts accompanied him on his journey. They often did so these days; even alone Cedric could always count on his doubts to be a constant companion. They kept his mind off the cold that was beginning to numb his extremities, at the very least.

He'd chosen the coward's path. The new generation of Jedi had needed him, as had the people the Bryn'adul elected to see 'cleansed' from the galaxy. He should joined the fight, but he'd run. After his awakening, Cedric found his control over the Force, and in turn himself, almost beyond him. Anger came easier than a smile, and bitterness seemed to always linger at the back of his mind. He couldn't let the others know that the Blade of Ruusan no longer responded to his call, that he was unworthy. His fall from his place at the head of the Imperium he'd built had been more than enough of a testament to that. Better to have Ryv carry the blade, and better that Loske Treicolt not see him like this.

It wasn't right to be angry, but he was. Where once there had been complete serenity, now there was only discontent. He had no particular target for it, save for perhaps the Sith, but his disdain eclipsed their cult. Cedric's problem was with the galaxy itself, and he couldn't conceive of any kind of resolution. Either way, he was in no position to lead, and even less of one to fight. The Dark Side preyed upon the uncertain, and he was not arrogant enough to think himself above its temptations. It would come at one's lowest point to offer salvation in exchange for one's very soul, a bargain that Cedric was uncertain he could resist if push came to shove.

Before he could help anyone, he needed to help himself. To find balance once more.

"Wizard?" Came the shrill voice. Cedric blinked his way out of his thoughts, and looked up from the snow for the first time in about half an hour to find himself standing at the edge of the village. He hadn't noticed how much time had passed - not a good sign.

"Give me a hand here." He asked as he locked eyes with the aging Togruta woman. She was orange skinned, though her face and montrals were adorned with red markings that Cedric might have thought were painted on given their intricacy, had he not known better. The woman leaned out from her guard post, and shook her head.

"No, no, that one's all you. I won't touch the beast. You shouldn't either, maneaters are cursed." She answered, superstitious concern clear in her hawkish expression.

Cedric's brow furrowed. "Cursed? I thought it'd cover dinner for a few days..."

The Togruta shook her head. "It must be burned, but I'm sure the chief will compensate you. Just leave it out here for now - you're bleeding." She noted, her suspicion giving way to concern. "Let's get that stitched up. Come now." She disappeared into the ramshackle hut. Eager for shelter, Cedric settled the corpse down alongside the building and followed her inside.

 

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The warmth of the hut was a godsend. It was only when he stepped out of the cold that Cedric noted just how much his teeth had been chattering, and the general numbness across most of his body. Another hour or so and he might have collapsed. Not the most glorious end for the last of his bloodline.

"Did it do that to you?" The Togruta elder asked as she gestured toward the twin gashes that ran the length of Cedric's forearm. The Jedi shrugged off his coat to better examine the wounds. They weren't particularly deep, but they were long enough to be of some concern. The red glaze that colored most of his arm added to his worries. "It did," he confirmed, "The beast tried to get the jump on me while I was meditating."

"Glad it didn't, though you probably shouldn't be communing with the other side out in the wilderness." She added, giving Cedric a look that told him just how stupid he was without her having to actually say a word. "That one's killed half a dozen people in the past three months. A real menace. Folks can start coming out at night again," she gestured toward a wooden chair, "Now sit."

Not one to argue with his elders, Cedric did as instructed. He took a moment to take in the hut. It was a small structure, just large enough for one or two people. A single door broke the uniformity of the log cabin, along with a small section in the corner devoted to a makeshift kitchen. A small electric heater buzzed in another corner, and kept the house surprisingly warm. "What was your name?" He asked. He'd seen the old woman many times in his comings and goings, but they'd only exchanged a handful of words.

"Tirkyey, you?" she settled down on one knee next to the Jedi, and wasted little time in poking her needle through his skin. Cedric grit his teeth as the elder began the slow process of is stitching his arm back up. "Most people call me Cedric."

The woman snickered. "I think I'm the first to hear that. We've all just been calling you the wizard. How do you do that stuff anyway? Lifting things with your mind and killing maneaters?"

Cedric's brow furrowed. "I won the biological lottery." The Togruta stared at him, clearly not understanding. "It's...just something I was born with. We call it the Force. Everyone is touched by it, but only a few can control it."

Tirkyey mumbled something about understanding. "And what brings you to Odessen, Forceling? We don't get many visitors. Not really any at all, except for the traders every few years."

A very good question.

"I've taken a Barash Vow. It's a promise to the Force - to my gods," he added, hoping she might better understand, " - to better myself. Reconnect with them. Figure out a path forward."

The old woman chuckled, "And you came to find that on Odessen? Your gods strange ones wizard." She clicked her tongue as she concluded her work. "Well, you're welcome to stay for the night. There are other manhunters roaming the drifts: can't have you wasting away out in the cold before you've dealt with all of them."

Cedric cracked a small smile. "Thank you Tirkyey. I'll be out of your hair in the morning. I've got a camp outside of town; the storm just hit a little harder than I was expecting."

"Yes. they have a habit of doing that," Tirkyey mused as she rose to her feet. "I need to return to my post. Someone has to watch over the village. You rest, the chief will want to speak with you in the morning."

"Of course. Thanks again."

 

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The crack of distant thunder greeted Cedric as he found himself in the waking world once again. He reached up to rub the tiredness out of his eyes with his organic hand and grumbled a few curses as he leaned up to a sitting position. The wooden couch wasn't particularly comfortable, and it had done wonders for worsening the condition of his already aching back.

Pains of getting old, I suppose.

"You snore like a Ronx in heat. I could hear you from my room all night." Tirkyey grumbled from the kitchen-corner.

"Sorry. Cybernetic bits in my lungs probably aren't the quietest," With a grunt, Cedric rose to his feet. He could hear rain spattering along the surface of the hut. The snowfall had given way to frozen rain; just another of the gifts Odessen's harsh winter gave its denizens. "How long's it been raining?"

Tirkyey cast a look over her shoulder. "Since you arrived. The rains are an ill omen. You shouldn't have brought the beast back here." Tirkyey shook her head, her montrals swaying with the motion. "I'm worried the village has been cursed." The aging Togruta gave Cedric a disappointed frown that reminded the Jedi of his late mother. Perhaps the expression was a skill old women simply picked up with time to chide disobedient youths.

"I'll see to burning it." He drew his coat over his shoulders, and gave Tirkyey a thin smile. "And then I need to have a word with your chief."

"That you do. Some of the boys came by and removed the beast already, so you don't need to worry about that. Chief Nigran is waiting for you in the longhouse. Best not to keep him waiting."

 

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His cowl didn't do much to keep the rain from chilling his bones. The momentary respite of the hut was something he had begun to take for granted. One could be at ease in the warmth of a home, even on as ramshackle as Tirkyey's. The snow drifts of Odessen's northern continent were far less hospitable. He slogged through empty streets, grimacing each time his boots sunk just a little too deep beneath the snow and water filled in. The village itself was not particularly developed.

Its denizens were not natives of Odessen, but they'd been here long enough that they might as well be. According to the shamans Cedric had spoken to, the villagers had come to Odessen several thousand years ago in search of enlightenment. Evidently they'd found it, as they never elected to leave. Their technology was a holdover from the bygone era of their colonization. Electricity was spare and highly valued, and only a handful of scrap speeders were around for proper transport.

They'd become a wholly agrarian society, and their way of life was being disrupted by the seemingly endless storm. In another time. Cedric might have tried to seek out a solution, but how could one man stand against the will of a planet?

Once I stood against the will of entire empires.

The thought came and went, but it left Cedric with a hollow feeling that he'd started to grow used to. What purpose did a blade have when its edge was dulled, and its metal turned brittle?

A question for another time.

"Ah, the wizard."

Two young male Togruta stood at the entrance of the largest structure in the village. The longhouse was situated at the settlement's center, and was the court of the chieftain, as well as a gathering place for the villagers for recreation and ceremony. The two men guarding it were bound in several layers of furs and more conventional clothing - the only thing that marked them out as non-humans were the montrals that towered above their heads.

Cedric cracked a polite smile as he nodded to the man that had spoken to him. "That would be me. I'm told your chieftain wanted to speak with me?"

The other one spoke this time. "That he did. He wanted to thank you for killing the maneater. I wanted to thank you too," a gloved hand was outstretched. "I'm Bojtek, that monster killed my wife's mother. Can't thank you enough."

With a hint of hesitation, Cedric took the man's hand and shook it. "I was only doing my duty. I hope she's found some peace in the afterlife."

"Me too," Bojtek sounded like he was smiling. It was hard to tell, given the half dozen or so scarves bound around his face. "Come on in. Longer you talk with the chief, the longer we get to stay out of this fething rain."

 

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The people of the village, of which Cedric still did not know its name, were a particularly optimistic bunch. He'd been taken aback with the casualness with which Bojtek spoke of his late mother-in-law, and that confusion only deepened as the Togruta started naming other relatives that had been killed by the maneaters wandering the drifts.

There was no sadness in the Togruta's word, only nostalgic reverence. With each name came a story, usually one that reflected on happier times, or moments of mirth. Many of those within the village had expressed similar sentiments when discussing their late kin, and though it struck Cedric as odd, he found it endearing.

"Forgive my words, but you speak of the fallen so...casually. Do they not weigh on you?" He finally asked as they passed through the large dining hall that served as the longhouse's entrance. Bojtek came to a halt in the center of the hall, arms folding about his chest as he appraised the 'wizard'.

"Of course they do wizard. All of them, but this is a harsh land. Since the storm came, many of our children have not survived past their infancy, and more of our old and sick perish every month, not to mention the warriors and gatherers killed by ravenous beasts." Bojtek shook his head. "But dwelling on it isn't going to help anything. We were all lucky to have been born. Better to celebrate the lives they lived, then linger on their absence. They wouldn't want us to stop living our lives just because they're gone. It would be a disservice."

To survive alone in such an unforgiving place required an optimistic outlook. These people couldn't afford to let themselves fall into depressions because of the tragedies around them. They simply took it on the chin, and moved on. It was remarkably similar to Essonian stoicism, though the Essonians were certainly not pleasant when recounting their dead.

The people of the village reveled in the lives they lived, and the Essonians could only trudge on, forever carrying the burden of those that had fallen. Perhaps not the Essonians as a whole either, but himself. Ever had the weight of duty and loss pressed down upon Cedric's shoulders, keeping him from enjoying life for what it was. There was a lesson to be learned here.

The only person that had swayed him from such thinking, even if only temporarily, was Loske Treicolt . He'd done well to keep the Kiffar girl from his mind. The more he thought of her, the more his absence bothered him, the more he missed her, and the more the shame he felt at fleeing the conflict with the Bryn'adul ate at him. He wasn't the man he needed to be, and he certainly wasn't worthy of her.

Not yet at least.

"You alright wizard? You're staring off into space again. Seem to do that a lot." Cedric blinked. "I figure we've been yapping long enough. Chief Nigran awaits," Bojtek gestured toward a massive curtain that had been draped over the continuation of the hallway. Cedric gave his guide a nod, parted the curtains, and stepped forward.

 

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The chieftain's chambers were about as grandiose as the village got.

Tapestries depicting various beasts, Togruta, and what looked to be warfare adorned the walls. A fire burned quietly in a pit at the center of the room, though the smell of smoke was subdued by the several sticks of incense that blazed quietly along the walls. Cedric couldn't place the smell, though it was something particularly earthy. Not unpleasant at least.

A throne sat on the other side of the fire, and half a dozen chairs were placed on either side of it in a pattern that Cedric mused to represent equality. Some sort of meeting chamber then.

Upon the throne sat a Togruta unlike any Cedric had ever seen before. The monster of a man was practically spilling out of his throne with his corpulence. The skin was pale white, and adorned with no markings, save for a painted red star tattooed across his brow. One montral drooped, and the other seemed to have been severed at the base. The face was wrinkled and worn, the eyes glazed with cataracts. When the chieftain spoke, the entire structure seemed to reverberate with his words.

"Thank you, Bojtek," the beast of a Togruta bowed his doughy head in thanks. "Wait outside, please."

Bojtek complied without a word. In his absence, the room grew pregnant with silence. Unsure of what to say, Cedric was fumbling for the right words when the chieftain spoke.

"You dealt with the Nexu. I thank you for that. The beast was cursed, and we lacked the warriors to risk hunting it. This winter has claimed many lives," the chieftain drew in a raspy breath. "I am chieftain Nigran. I've ruled Kakatori Town for thirty-two years now. and you are the first wizard I have met not of my race. It is rare for a foreigner to offer my people aid, and so I must ask what your intentions are. Do you wish for money? We have little, nor do we have much food. If it is women you want, I can provide that. I have many fine young females in my harem. They would give you strong children."

Cedric was unsure of how to respond. At least he finally had a name for the place. Even still, the chieftain was a far cry from what he'd been led to believe he would be. The villagers spoke of Nigran with reverence befitting that of a great hero, not whatever this thing was.

"No, no, that's quite alright. I'm already taken care of in that department," Cedric shook his head. "I was just passing through, and your people needed help. I couldn't just ignore them. My code forbids it."

"And what code is that?"

"That of the Jedi. Your people call me a wizard, but that isn't wholly true. I am a Jedi Knight, our place is to serve the people of the galaxy, wherever they may need it." It felt odd explaining the concept of the Jedi to someone that seemingly knew nothing of them. The wars that had raged across the galaxy had seen to the proliferation of the Jedi's reputation across the galaxy, and it wasn't always good.

"Jedi," Nigran cracked a wry smile as he scratched as his remaining montral. "Do all Jedi have machine hands?"

Cedric snickered, and glanced down at the cybernetic hand poking out from his coat. "Only the good ones."

"Do you think you could get me a machine horn?" He gestured toward the missing montral. "Lost it ages ago in the war of southern aggression."

The Essonian shook his head, "Probably not, at least not with this storm brewing. Is this natural for Odessen? I hadn't seen anything pertaining to it on record."

Nigran breathed a heavy sigh, his whole body seeming to deflate with the gesture. "No, it is not. Two years ago winter came, and it never left, it only grew harsher. Kakatori once was home to thousands, now only a few hundred remain. Many left to search for greater pastures, but none returned to tell of them. The others died in the wars and famines that followed. As far as I know, all the other villages nearby have been entirely wiped out." The ancient Togruta made something Cedric could only describe as a bubbling noise before continuing. "It is a curse. One we do not yet know how to lift. What little remains of our people only does so due to the grace of the machine farms, and of those only two are still operational. We lack the knowledge to repair them. If the storm ever abated, we could send out an expedition for help, but as things are it's simply too dangerous."

Cedric's brow furrowed. "Machine farms? You mean hydroponics?"

"Yes - maybe, truthfully I do not know. I have never been to the stars. My ancestors came to this place in the days of the old wars. They followed the wizards' guidance."

"What wizards?"

"Old lords with great magical power. They had a temple not far from here. Before the storm, we would hold a festival there each year to honor their memory. Now any that approach it simply disappear, never to be heard from again," Nigran paused as he tried to shift his massive weight about in his chair. "Perhaps you could help, wizard-Jedi. My greatest shaman believes the temple to be the source of the curse - that we have angered the gods. Someone of your power might be able to find if that is true or not."

Cedric paused to consider. He'd come to this place to disappear, but it seemed the empyrean had other plans. Perhaps this was his true purpose for coming to Odessen. "You'll have my help, but I'll need a guide. I can't find my way out in the drifts. I almost died just walking here. All I ask in return is food and shelter during my tenure here."

Nigran snorted, "You shall have it! Young Bojtek craves excitement and glory, he shall aid you. And if you could perhaps take a look at the machine farms..."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, wizard-Jedi. Tell me, what is it that my people may call you?"

Cedric paused to consider, "I am the Dark Man. I have given up my name for the time being, as a penance."

"A penance for what, may I ask?"

"I ignored the will of my god, and she's...displeased with me."

Nigran nodded in understanding. "I have walked a similar path in my youth. May this service bring you closer to her, then," a pause, "Is there anything you wanted to know before you leave?"

Cedric shook his head. "I think I have everything I need. Could you ask your shaman to meet me at the hydroponics farm. I'd like to speak with him."

"Her, actually, and it shall be so. Travel well, Dark Man."

 

[Elise]

Elise didn't think hard on her detour. In a way, she didn't want to. Thinking about it would be admitting that she was struggling. Faltering, now more than ever, was not acceptable to her. And so she let herself fly blindly into the atmosphere of the planet that drew her in. She didn't check its name. She didn't check its location.

The fact that she arrived so unprepared spoke volumes for her mindset.


She told herself she was just following the will of the Force. Undoubtedly, something did draw her here. Whether it was the Force itself or the need to escape... well... She kept her mind clear, which was a pretty way of saying she was operating off of emotions. She didn't recognize this in herself as she stepped off her ship.

The brisk wind ran through her robes. The woman pulled at her hood, her gaze cutting through the gray haze of dusk, towards the village in the distance. It was small, quaint even. She knew her arrival would have been noticed, sensing that a place like this didn't see many visitors. A curious ripple in the force tugged at her attention, and if the woman was needing a nudge to start her journey forward ... it started to rain harder.

Elise wrapped her arms around herself and walked towards the gray shaped huts gathered in the distance. Whatever awaited her there, she'd face it head on. She had to.

 

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The other guards had taken their leave, but Bojtek was waiting with an eagerness that told Cedric the Togruta already knew his role to play. If things got hairy, he was unsure as to whether or not he could protect the villager, but he nodded a guide one way or the other. He could just send the kid back if the trouble proved too much to handle.

"What'd the chief say?" The Togruta asked. Cedric couldn't see the man's face behind his several layers of scarves, but from Bojtek's tone it sounded like he was smiling. The enthusiasm was infectious, and the Essonian would have been struck by it, were it not for his dour mood. "I need a guide, and you're it, though something tells me you already knew that."

Bojtek shrugged guiltily, "May have put in a word with the chief before you showed up. He figured you could take a look into the storm, and I want to help. I'm tired of spending every waking hour guarding the longhouse. My horns are gonna go gray before I ever leave Kakatori."

Another youth craving adventures. Seemed Cedric attracted that type. "Well, so long as you don't get yourself killed, I appreciate you guiding me along. I'm not good with the snow. I get turned around."

"Don't we all," Bojtek meandered off toward the doors, and gestured for Cedric to follow.

The frozen embrace of the outside was as unpleasant as it had ever been. The freezing rain had stopped, at the very least. Were it not for the frigid temperatures and the nearly two feet of snow blanketing the ground, it might have even been pleasant outside.

"Before we go, your chieftain wanted me to take a look at the hydroponi -... machine farms, and I also needed to meet with the shaman."

"We have to go talk to Tirkyey?" Bojtek groaned, "That old witch has it out for me."

Cedric lofted a brow. He'd not felt anything different about Tirkyey during his stay in her hut, but then powerful force sensitives were more than capable of hiding their presence if it suited them. "Tirkyey? She welcomed me when I came to the village."

"I know. She made me burn the maneater you brought in. My clothes are gonna smell for days, thanks for that."

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As she did every day, Tirkyey sat outside her hut, sipping what little remained of her tea and watching the drifts for anything that approached, be it man or beast.

There were winds of change in the air. The great beyond was not responding to her as it once did, and her ability to cast spells was diluted if not nonexistent. A lifetime of training made useless by an unnatural storm that she could do nothing about. How anti-climatic.

The aging Togruta's eyes began waver as she drifted off into her own thoughts. Had the storm still be raging, she would not have noticed the figure making its way through the drifts. Fortunately the gods were merciful today, and Tirkyey quickly bolted upright, an arm falling to the Kukri that hung from the small of her back.

Crimson eyes narrowed into slits as she stepped out into the snow, appraising the woman that had appeared from seemingly nowhere. Another foreigner, this one with the same gait and skin as the wizard from the night before.

An uncomfortably strange coincidence.

"Halt!" Her aging voice was shrill, but commanded respect nonetheless. She took up a confrontational stance - quite a sight for an old woman that barely stood over five feet in height. "What business do you have in Kakatori, pinkskin?"

Elise

 

[Elise]

Elise walked tirelessly. Her robes were far too thin to protect her from the chilling distance she had traveled, and yet the weather had not seemed to touch her. A shrill voice reached her, and without thought she raised her empty hands into the air.

"Peace," she urged, her voice as soft as her demeanor. To her own people, she was often considered a wall flower. To this Togurta-- Elise glanced once at her hands, checking the color. A small smile touched her lips, the title a fair one, she supposed, if you didn't compare her to a Zeltron.

"Dinner. A cup a tea, even. I mean no harm, I-..." A silent breath escaped her lips, the woman's question forcing her to think through motivations she had been trying to ignore.

"Am just stopping through, I suppose. ...I have credits?" She offered, slowly pulling out her coin.

 

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"So what does a shaman do exactly?" Cedric asked, though he was fairly certain that he already knew the answer. Bojtek gave him a wary look, then shrugged, seemingly figuring the topic wasn't something to be anxious about. Outsiders were rarely afforded much of a glimpse into the life of the Kakatori, but this one was different.

"A lot of things," Bojtek paused as he pulled his legs out of a particularly deep part of the drift, "Medicine work, spiritual advisory, she can commune with the dead, and in the past had some control over the weather, and the things around her. Since the storm has come, I haven't seen her do much magic, or any of the other shaman for that matter. You're the first person we've seen capable of using it for...well, awhile."

So there was some knowledge of the Force here. Perhaps Tirkyey's take on it would prove enlightening - time would tell.

The two men rounded a corner and came to a sudden halt. There was Tirkyey, standing off at the edge of the village with a hand resting on her knife, and what looked to be another human.

Cedric's brow furrowed.

"Dinner?" Tirkyey raised an eyebrow. After a few more tense seconds, the elder breathed a quiet sigh, and visibly relaxed. "Were it not for the other pinkskin I would turn you away." The old woman turned to halfway face the female (Elise) and Cedric, gesturing toward the latter. "Is this one yours Dark Man?"

The Essonian pondered that for a moment. The empyrean twisted about this one like it did those it named companions, and she was clad in familiar Jedi robes, though certainly not of his own sect. After a moment's thought, he spoke.

"Same kind of wizard, haven't met before though." Cedric and Bojtek closed the distance, and the Jedi gestured the newcomer over. "And you are?"

 

[Elise]

"Wizard," Elise echoed back, a subtle touch of amusement in her voice at the title. She didn't correct it, both out of respect for the jedi that stood before and the fact that she simply did not know what she had walked into.

"I am Elise," she answered, shunning her Title as she often did. Her coin disappeared back into the arms of her robes, a small bow of greeting offered to the group. "I came here by chance, I am sorry if I am intruding, Master.... Wizard." Her lips quirked upwards, defying her attempt to simply respect the tense situation she let herself into. It was clear outsiders were typically not welcome.

What made this one different, she was not sure. But she was polite to a fault. And so she offered them a way to be free of her, despite the gut feeling that she should remain.

"After a meal I can leave."

 

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Cedric had been more than ready to get on with the journey. If there was a lesson at the end of this, then he was eager to begin learning. Even still, he was not so impatient as to deny a fellow Jedi simply for the sake of expedience. Of course, his decision did not matter much for anything here. That responsibility lay in Tirkyey, whom seemed far more suspicious than he.

"There aren't going to be more, are there?" she finally asked, looking back to Cedric. "We don't have much food to spare."

Cedric shook his head, "Just this one, I think." He offered the Jedi woman a thin smile, "I'm curious as to how another Jedi appears just after I do. Evidently these people haven't come across any other outsiders in three years. They're a bit jumpy."

"All seems real coincidental to me," Bojtek grumbled.

Tirkyey's gaze shifted between the two wizards, her lips pressed into a tight frown. "You came to speak with me, Dark Man. I cannot do this out here. Far too cold for my old bones," she turned to the woman. "Come on then girl. We don't have much, but you're all skin and bones." With a tired wave of her hand, Tirkyey whirled about, and marched back off toward her hut, the door creaking open for the others to follow.

Cedric cast the stranger a sidelong glance, "She's a little hard around the edges."

Elise

 

[Elise]

Elise breathed out the bit of tension she had unwittingly carried, watching as the group as a whole accepted her presence-- albeit begrudgingly. As they had spoken about her, she had said nothing. They could have accused her of being a sith incarnated and the woman wouldn't have even taken a step back.

As it turned out there was no need to explain herself. She stepped to the side, allowing the short huff a of woman to stalk back towards her hut. They would speak there. She glanced up at the Wizard at his words, a bit of mirth bleeding into their shared look.

"It seems like a hard land." She casted a glance over her shoulder, towards the stormy expanse she had emerged from. Perhaps credits were not proper compensation. It was a concept to mull over as she gave him a small nod and followed the woman inside.


The hollowing cry of wind cut off of the space as the door was latched back closed. It struck Elise how profound the silence was, nothing but the creaking of floor boards and shuffling of chairs filling the moment as every body found its space inside the woman's home. "No one else is coming," she reassured Tirkyey. She kept it to herself that it was the Force that called her here. Such things weren't always received well or appreciated.

She looked to Cedric, replying rather cryptically. "It just felt necessary. And you?"

 

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Truthfully, Cedric was unsure how to feel about the presence of another Jedi. He'd come here explicitly to get away from his own kind. There was a distance between himself and his cohorts that he had trouble reconciling. Loske Treicolt had been wise in saying that the one causing that distance was simply himself, and he knew she was right, but there were still doubts. The other Jedi had helped to institute conflict between his people and the Republic for territorial gains, and had quickly stepped in to radically shift the government he and his people had built whilst he was injured.

Part of the reason he felt such imbalance was his disdain for the other Jedi. It was their way or the highway, and should you not agree with that sentiment, then you were part of the problem.

But from Cedric's point of view, his methods had been the solution, and one that had tangible effects at that. The core was more stable than it had been in a decade, and it was all thanks to the efforts of the Essonian people. How could they have been cast aside so easily by the people they had uplifted?

The answer was a simple one. Just as they always did, the other Jedi had used him, and then betrayed him.

"Hard is putting it lightly," Cedric spoke as he willfully pulled himself out of his own thoughts, "Even peaceful animals are murderous here. I don't think the state of this world is very natural." There'd be more to say on that. He turned and followed after the two women.

Tirkyey busied herself over at the kitchen-corner. Cedric was happy enough to step out of the cold into some genuine warmth. He shrugged off his coat, leaving it on the wooden sofa as he turned toward the other Jedi.

"The empyrean called you here," Cedric observed, brow furrowing with worry. "I am on a Barash Vow. I've hopped from planet to planet, just happened to end up on Odessen. Seems I'm needed though," he paused, "Perhaps you are too."

Tirkyey glanced over her shoulder as a fire began to rise in the wooden stove. "Do you have a name, or are you only going by monikers too?" She asked of the new arrival.

Bojtek snickered, "Oh yeah, this one's calling himself the Dark Man." The Togruta nodded at Cedric. "Do you get a weird name?"

Elise

 

[Elise]

The empyrean. The name rang a faint bell, the woman remembering the term from her exposure to Essonian. She didn't show this, her expression impassive as she gave a gentle nod to his assessment. Yes. Seemed she was needed here after all. Elise's posture straightened slightly at this finding, the sense of purpose empowering.

There were many needs back at Silver Rest she should attend to. Endless, thankless tasks. Desk work, meetings, politics. None of which brought her satisfaction.

"I'll help where I can," she vowed, fingers reaching out to the warming stove. Her eyes flickered back and forth between the two shorter ones, a smiling cracking at their words. "No. I'm Elise. Just Elise." Her gaze traveled to Cedric, heavier now as she took in his self-imposed name. "That's a heavy title for one that speaks of Essonian," she noted, tentatively trying to get a read on the man for the first time.

 

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"Cool name," Bojtek mused. Most of the Kakatori names had a bit of a jump to them, or at least that's how he would describe them. Elise was so short, it felt odd to speak it aloud. "I'm Bojtek, that's Tirkyey," he pointed a finger over toward the old woman.

Tirkyey clicked her tongue. "If you help me cook, we can get underway far more quickly." She suggested, though her tone had no sense of suggestion to it. The younger Togruta nodded with something that was close to fear, jumped to his feet, and joined the elder in the kitchen-corner.

A brow rose curiously as the woman spoke of Ession. His people were few in number, at least in relation to the galaxy, and most that spoke of them did so as a warning against resisting the Sith Empire.

"Good to meet you Elise," he replied quietly. "It's a moniker. Part of my Barash Vow. When the Vow concludes, I may use my given name once again." A pause. "Where do you come from? Alliance? Silvers?" He added, cracking a small smile as he switched to his mother tongue. "Sidd Dir aus der Heemecht?"

Elise

 

[Elise]

Elise gave him a tight smile, shaking her head as he tried a new tongue on her. "Sorry, no. But please-- today I am just Elise. Consider it my moniker," she concluded, a teasing light to her words. The words slipped out of her without consideration, but once they were said she realized how much she wished them to be true.

Ever since stepping up in position to aid the Silver Jedi, she had had far too many uncomfortable exchanges with those outside her order. The strange tension this brought about in her daily interactions hurt. The reality that others thought less of her for where she came left her holding her tongue and her name sake. For just a moment, she wanted simple. Was that wrong? She wasn't sure.

She watched the smaller togurta jump to life, helping with the food. In the silence, she turned fully to Cedric, summing him up properly for the first time. She sense strife in the man. Perhaps that was what had driven him out of his name and to a desolate place like this. Was he searching for something?

She saw this as one way to find it. Back at their roots, she felt-- away from their orders exposed to the grits of the universe. Maybe they'd both find something out here.

Maybe she was also looking.

"I sense something amiss here," she noted, breaking open the conversation. "Correct me if I am wrong, but you have too?"

 

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Cedric was wise enough not to pry. One didn't raise a subject they weren't prepared to share in. "Yours is a bit less dramatic. I'm almost embarrassed," he added with a hint of good natured sarcasm. He momentarily turned his attention to the two villagers. They were busying away with...something. Cedric couldn't place the smell, though it was not unpleasant. Whatever it was required a fire.

"I don't know the source. Don't know much of anything pertaining to it, other than that the storm has been raging on and off for about three years now, and before it this area was almost tropical." He explained, "I'm surprised the people here have managed to adapt to such a rapid change. I spoke with their chief, evidently there used to be a rather large society of villages interconnected with one another here. Now this place is all that's left."

A feeling Cedric understood intimately. Even if he wasn't living by the Jedi Code, he still would have volunteered to help. Devastation on a near extinction level scale was something the Essonian specialized in dealing with.

"The chief said there used to be 'wizards' here, and that they would worship the remains of their settlement. I think it might be an old Jedi temple, or one for the Sith. It's hard to tell with Odessen, this planet was noted for being remarkably balanced between the Ashla and the Bogan. Not the case anymore."

The Essonian's smile quickly faded as he delved into his own thoughts, "I don't understand why anyone would cause such a storm though, or how they could. Odessen's pretty remote. Wouldn't think there's much worth taking from this place, or any tech you could use to modify the weather patterns so drastically and consistently."

Elise

 

[Elise]

Elise listened, her brows furrowed as he dived deeper into explaining the world. It was an enigma indeed. "Maybe the balanced shifted on its own?" She offered, despite expecting otherwise. She mulled, catching her lip in her teeth as she pulled through her thoughts.

"I suppose you intend to head towards that temple? There might be clues for what offset this world there." She hoped what was happening here wasn't intentional. "In the meantime," she leaned forward, her voice growing hush. "If these storms are dangerous there's room for them on my ship. I wouldn't have more die before we can fix what has occurred. Do they seem unwilling to leave their home for aid?" Not an uncommon theme among isolated villages, but if what the man said was true.

Well, their survival was somewhat of an anomaly she didn't want to risk.

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