In The Footsteps of Shadows

[Dernon Corful]

[SIZE=14pt]“You see that, Consular? Well, of course you do. That… That is the sacred ch’hala grove, and that majestic tree over there is the core of all energies flowing through the “veins” of this world.” [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]said Dernon, proud to have made it so far with his new ally.[/SIZE]

 

[Lonthor Moriwant]

[SIZE=14pt]“The place where the Tarasin would go on pilgrimages to renew their bonds with the Force. I also heard that members of the Almas Academy would occasionally travel here to meditate.” [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]continued Lonthor, glad to look back to the days of the Republic.[/SIZE]

 

[Dernon Corful]

[SIZE=14pt]“Even though I never heard of this Almas Academy, your first words are true: this is a sacred, holy, whatever adjective you wish to use, place in the Tarasin culture. And today, it is the last major settlement of their people. For you should know, the grove is our destination.”[/SIZE]

 

[Energeticus]

[SIZE=14pt]“We must hurry, Corful… The Tarasin and their grove are in grave danger!”[/SIZE][SIZE=14pt] said Lonthor, determined to reach the great tree before it was too late to save anything. He took one step back then started running up the hill. When his right foot touched the top of the ridge, he jumped as high as he could, trying to reach the trees at the edge of the opening. This move was an extremely dangerous one, as the height he chose for the jump was for most people lethal. The Consular was travelling through the air like a blaster bolt. As he was getting closer to one of the trees, he used the Force to pull a vine hanging from its crown. He grabbed it and held it for a little while, until he dropped from it, landing on a branch.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=14pt]Many would have called Lonthor insane for choosing this approach, but he succeeded in spite of the odds, just like before his millennial sleep. He finally felt like he belonged to the world he woke up in. The Consular moved from branch to branch, carefully, until he could see in front of him the thick bark of the great ch’hala tree. He jumped on its trunk and got a tight grip on the wood. Lonthor then began to climb it, focusing on reaching the top as fast as he could. However, the climbable part of the bark soon ended, and the rest of the wood was straight, impossible to grip. Yet, he kept calm and concentrated on his objective. Moriwant knew there was only one possible way of reaching the crown and it was one he rarely used before the stasis on Telos IV and only on short distances: teleportation. He took a deep breath, knowing that only hope was at hand.[/SIZE]
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[SIZE=14pt]The Jedi Knight redirected his focus briefly. And, in the following moment, he was falling upon a dark-red creature, rampaging below him. Just then, Lonthor released a barrage of green-colored lightning bolts upon the beast that made it collapse in agony. When the Consular reached the “ground”, it was already dead. To his surprise, Corful was at his side, looking very proud of the Jedi Knight’s work.[/SIZE]

 

[Dernon Corful]

[SIZE=14pt]“I was about to tell you how you could have gotten here much easier, but I see you already knew that.” [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]said the rogue Jedi, looking at the corpse of the abomination. [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]“And that green-colored Force lightning… I will admit, I’ve never seen that before.”[/SIZE]

 

[Lonthor Moriwant]

[SIZE=14pt]“Impressive, isn’t it?” [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]continued Lonthor, with an accent of pride. [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]“Though, now that we are here, I believe we should find out how this kilassin was imbued with dark side energies.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]Around them, the Tarasin were gathering their dead. Lonthor looked into their minds, trying to find out more about what happened at the top of the great tree. He was able to find regret, from which he learned that the Tarasin were directly responsible for the incident. Soon after, one Tarasin male, probably a local leader of some sort, judging by his clothes, approached the pair and started talking to Corful, who was apparently fluent in their language. Lonthor could not understand much of their conversation. At some point, he saw the male looking at him and then, after Corful asked him a question, nodded affirmatively. Right after, he left the conversation.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14pt]“I didn’t know you were fluent in Tarasinese. What did he say?” [/SIZE][SIZE=14pt]asked Moriwant, still confused by the conversation he heard.[/SIZE]