Private It's Been 4000 Years

[Jasper Kai'el]

Sacorria, Kai'el Estate
Tags: Valery Noble

​

Jasper had been having a strange week. Inheriting a small property, sure. It could happen to anyone. Finding out about deeper family history, absolutely. It made sense that his DNA came from somewhere. The rest, however, was far more complicated than he had expected.

He didn't know how to explain any of this to Valery, the person who had been his first go-to when it came to matters of great importance. So, he just gave the details on how he had come into possession of the property, a bit of it's history, then left it at that. He told her that it would be easier to see than explain. Fortunately, she agreed, and the two were quickly en-route to the house. Red cylindrical walls on an elevated platform, built firmly into a cliffside on the unpopulated portion of Sacorria. You would have never guessed that it was in the Corellian sector just by looking at it. Jasper set the Lonestar 1 down on the landing platform, stepping out of the cockpit to address his pseudo-mentor, who was now technically his house guest. A sigh escaped from the knights diaphragm. He had so much to explain.

"Uh, this is it," he stated. "I... thank you for coming with me. Especially after not knowing the full picture. I just... I don't know how to explain the week I've had. You really just need to see it for yourself I think."

And with that, he lowered the ramp of his vessel, stepping out onto the landing pad. It was starting to become more familiar, but it was still rather alien to Jasper. Fortunately, the strange thing that had brought about their trip didn't stay hidden for long. They rather courteously made their presence known, their muted blue form passing through the door of the estate.

​

Tall, youthful, and sporting a garb from an age long-since passed. His eyes were a distinct grey hue, a trait one might find to be rather distinguishing. A soft smile sat on the ghostly man's face, a light beard clinging on around it. Jasper's new house had a Force Ghost living in it, one that was the remnants of a distant ancestor of his. The house was apparently his handiwork, all the way down to the crest on the door.

"Uh, hey gramps," Jasper waved. "You're... still cool if I call you that?"

"Of course," the spirit chuckled. "It's far more flattering than all the greats you would have to add."

"Right," he frowned in response. "I brought someone like you said I should. This is-"

"I know who she is," Dillon politely cut in. "She's from my time. Well, the time I passed on in, anyways." His attention was now on Valery. "Four thousand years has certainly been kind to you, stranger. Come inside. This is no place for a conversation. There's much that we need to discuss."

And with that, Dillon had phased back through the door. Jasper could only stand there, somewhat dumbfounded.

"You... know him at all?" the knight asked.

 

[Valery Noble]

Sacorria

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

"It's not a problem, you know I'll always help you, right?" She asked, even though she had no real idea what this was all about just yet. But when a friend needed help, that would never matter — she'd listen, follow him wherever they needed to go, and do whatever she could to help out. That said, she was quite curious, so once they landed and the ramp lowered, Valery was rather quick to step outside.

Especially as a faint, yet familiar presence seemed to call out to them.

"Wait-"

Valery blinked when she watched the Force Ghost phase through the door. She recognized him instantly, even after all these years, and greeted the man with a silent smirk. She then allowed Jasper to speak with him first, before she stepped forward, "Never thought I'd see a familiar face again from the past, and thank you," Valery jokingly flicked some hair over her shoulder at the compliment, and watched him phase through the door.

"I do, yeah," Valery then told Jasper with a chuckle. "We've worked together before, as Jedi Shadows." With that, Valery gestured for the door and waited for Jasper to lead her into his home. There, they'd be able to explain a little more.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Sacorria, Kai'el Estate
Tags: Valery Noble

​

"...Got it," Jasper nodded.

He forgot that Valery came from a different time period sometimes. It was just a detail about her that she rarely brought up, so it tended to slip his mind. It certainly was a strange prospect, learning that his ancestor had met Valery back in her time. The odds of that had to be...

That wasn't important at the moment. Jasper opened the front door, holding it open for the Sword of the Jedi before entering himself. Somehow, Dillon had managed to start a fire in the fire place. He stood there for a moment, contemplating hos the ghost did such a thing, before making his way over.

"So... what's this all about?" the knight asked.

"It's a... complicated matter," Dillon began, his translucent form sitting down next to the fire place. "While I died in Master Noble's time, I was not born in it. I was displaced by three hundred years, frozen in carbonite against my will and left to drift in space. It was in the Mandalorian Wars that I would ultimately meet an individual who would plague your lineage. You told me that you had went out in search of others in our family, correct? It wasn't from a lack of effort that your search was fruitless. An ancient blood feud has left us in a state of disarray..." The spirit turned to Valery. "I remember there being such an intense air about you, Noble. Perhaps this era is where you were meant to be... Regardless, my days as a shadow were not simply brought about by obligation to the Order. I was searching for an individual, a man who used to be named Set Kalrath."

Jasper sat down himself, listening to the ghost. Valery? More intense? It was hard to believe such a thing. Sure, she could get heated on the battlefield, but she always carried herself with patience and wisdom. Maybe her past was far more complicated than he had realized.

"This is a long story," the ancient Jedi lamented. "But the context is important for what I must relay. You may want to get comfortable."

 

[Valery Noble]

Sacorria

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

At first, Valery was quietly and intently listening to what he had to say — there seemed to be a family problem, and she knew just how intense those could be. If someone had brought his family into disarray, it would no longer be Jedi duty. This was far more personal and required a very careful approach. But before they could get into that, Dillon mentioned her old intensity, and she could feel Jasper's eyes turning to her.

Valery blinked, turned to look at him, and offered a sheepish smile. Yeah... as a Jedi Knight, she was very intense, and as a Shadowm she was relentless in hunting down and killing Sith.

But those were very different times.

"Seems like it's important, so please, tell us everything we need to know." She looked at Jasper and offered a reassuring smile. Whatever this was going to be about exactly, they'd tackle it together.

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Sacorria, Kai'el Estate
Tags: Valery Noble

​

"Seems like it's important, so please, tell us everything we need to know."

"Thank you," Dillon nodded. "This man... Set Kalrath... Actually he simply goes by 'Kalrath' now... He was a bitter rival of mine back in my own age, stretching back to our youth. Padawan rivalries are not uncommon, but I would be lying if I said that the one we shared was positive. Set was obsessed with strength in combat. When one bested him in a duel, he saw to it that a rematch saw him victorious ten-fold. Unfortunately, when our blades clashed we were equals. Such a notion filled him with rage... the beginnings of a downward spiral. It took very little for Revan's Sith Empire to mold him into a monster. When the Sith were finally bested by the Exile, he remained, clinging onto life fueled by only his rage. When I emerged from my stasis, Kalrath was waiting for me, driven by three hundred years of bitterness. He forged a blade in that time, a dangerous force weapon that drains the souls of the living. Ultimately, the two of us would come to blows on Taris."

At this moment, a powerful force vision would overcome Valery and Jasper, showing the ruins of the ancient city that stood tall on Taris, reduced to rubble in the Mandalorian Wars. It was covered in vegetation, infested by mutated sentients reduced to unrecognizable states. Rain and thunder ravaged the surface, with lightning strikes illuminating two individuals standing on the ruins of a dome structure. One, a human, held a purple lightsaber. The other, a pale Twi'lek with fiery eyes, held a pitch black sword, grotesque eyes protruding from the guard. Behind either of them were hoards of Nexu, swayed one way or the other by the influence of either combatant.

"We traded blows for three days," the spirit continued, "Tearing each other to shreds. Ultimately, both of us were forced to retreat after delivering nearly fatal injuries to the other, but I had made contact with that blade for just long enough to feel a chunk of my life ripped out of me. Kalrath himself with go into hiding, his body far more mangled than mine. I rather foolishly assumed him dead."

And as soon as it came, the vision was gone, and the two were once again sitting by the fireplace with the ancient ghost.

"Of course, his plague didn't cease," Dillon stated. "For thousands of years afterwards, his spawn have sought to end my bloodline. Jastile," turning briefly to Jasper, "Your donor, spent much of his early knighthood hunting down the last of their line."

Another vision came, this time on the Outer Rim planet of Tatooine. The winds of the Dune Sea whipped violently around two individuals. One wore a brown cloak, a double bladed lightsaber clutched in his hands as he assumed an Ataru opening. The other was a large Twi'lek man, completely covered in black armor. A rather long red lightsaber was raised over his head.

"His methods were fueled by borderline rage," the spirit noted with disappointment in his tone, "But the deed was done."

Again the vision receded. Young as he seemed in spirit form, Dillon's age was beginning to show.

"Unfortunately, while the children are no more, the progenitor lies in wait," he explained. "Only in this form have I finally been able to feel his presence once more. His blade is missing. Should he seek it out, I fear that a path of destruction will be left in his wake. This sword... it must be found."

"Run it again."

Jalen stood in the training halls in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, surrounded on all sided by sparing droids. He was pushing his connection to the Force to it's outer limits, despite his fears of losing control. He had to. The safety of those around it depended on it.

The droids sprang to life, moving with great speed to strike him down. Jalen gave his instincts over to the force, anticipating each blow that came his way. As he worked on mastering the art of Soresu, he noticed something odd. The padawan could feel further. It was almost as though each anticipated movement was observed further in advance, etching farther into the near future. Normally, Jalen would shy away from this. Instead, he pushed, attempting to feel even further...

Until he finally found himself consumed by flashing visions. The padawan clutched his forehead, screaming in agony as he fell to his knees. Screaming voices... souls ripped from their bodies by a dark artifact, all centered around a giant shadow surrounded by flames. It hurt. Greatly.

As he came back to reality, the world becoming dark once again, the patter of feet rushed in.

"Padawan," a nearby knight began, "Are you alright?"

"...Yeah," he sighed, getting up to his feet. "I just... I need to get some fresh air."

Jalen knew better, however. He wasn't okay. As he made his way out of the training halls abruptly, a dark realization had come to him.

Something dark was out there... and it knew what he saw.

 

[Valery Noble]

Sacorria

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

Family problems.

While these were quite different from what she had experienced by becoming a part of Kahlil's life, she still understood how difficult it could be. It always blurred the lines between Jedi duty and personal life, which made it far easier to lose control. In Jasper's case, someone outside the family was hunting down his own, and the story that explained it all made it clear to Valery that it was not something that could be handled diplomatically.

For a lust for revenge to last thousands of years...

After experiencing the visions and listening to what he had to say, Valery sat in silence for a long moment. She allowed it all to sink in and then glanced between Jasper and his ancestor. This was already quite a story for her to process, so she couldn't imagine what it must be like for Jasper. So in an attempt to already offer her support, she reached out to him with a comforting smile.

"Then that's what we'll do," Valery said calmly, her fiery gaze now turning to Dillon. "We'll find that sword before he does, and figure out what to do with it."

She then paused.

"Or well, Jasper will, but I'm going to help him if he wants or needs it. I'm sure others will be more than willing to do the same." She let out a soft sigh and looked back at Jasper. "We should talk to Jalen as well, and warn any other family you have. Just to be safe."

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Sacorria, Kai'el Estate
Tags: Valery Noble

​

"Or well, Jasper will, but I'm going to help him if he wants or needs it. I'm sure others will be more than willing to do the same."

"Thank you," Jasper sighed.

It was a lot of information to suddenly be on his mind. He had fought Sith before, even killed Sith, but something about knowing his family had been hunted... It certain made everything different. Perhaps the weapon that Jastile had hoped to forge in creating him and Jalen was for a more specific individual.

"I... yeah, Jalen should know," he nodded. "Jeez, I don't even know where to start. You know where this... sword is?"

"Unfortunately, time has muddled it's whereabouts," Dillon frowned. "It slipped away after our altercation on Taris. There was a Star Map that Kalrath forged to keep tabs on the blade, an ancient Rakatan technique. He seemed to study them intimately during his time with Revan's Sith Empire, no doubt in hopes of finding more superweapons for their cause... Unfortunately, the location of such a map has also evaded me. Even in death."

The spirit stood, turning his back to the fire. He was facing the two Jedi directly now.

"Set is my greatest failure," the ghost lamented. "A monster forged by the arrogance of my youth. For generations have I watched as his twisted intentions thinned my progeny... Do what you must. May the Force be with you both."

And with that, the spirit of Dillon Kai'el faded away, leaving behind a blue mist that lingered in the air for a moment. As the fire quickly died, Jasper hung his head, rubbing his temple with his organic hand.

"Chit..."

 

[Valery Noble]

Sacorria

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

"Of course," Valery told Jasper with a soft smile before she looked back at Dillon. He had explained the problem, but the one question they needed to be answered to find a solution, he had no answer to. He didn't know where the sword was, or where the map would be located that could bring them there. It seemed like a dead-end, so when he faded back into the Force, Valery knew why Jasper hung his head.

She could feel that he seemed defeated.

"Worry not," Valery said, now reaching out to place her hand on his shoulder, "It might not be easy to find this sword, but now that you know this history, you can protect yourself and your family much better." She was hoping that focusing on the positives would help him think his way through the problems.

"All of this is coming together now for a reason. You will find the sword."

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Sacorria, Kai'el Estate
Tags: Valery Noble

​

"...Yeah," he nodded finally, sitting back up and hanging his head back a little. "I... I know. It's just a lot to take in all at once..."

He was learning a lot more about the reasons for his creation than expected, at least inferences that he could make. It made sense why Jastile had such an intense hatred for the Sith, enough to make him want to create a perfect Jedi. If he had also come to realize that the progenitor of the line that had nearly wiped out his family was still out there...

Jasper still couldn't forgive such an action, even with such a threat out there. He wouldn't stoop to those lows. This Kalrath individual was going to be dealt with the old fashioned way, plain and simple. It was just a matter of locating that sword...

"What was it like?" Jasper continued. "Suddenly being in a different time... separated from everything you knew?"

His curiosity had crept back in, and he had never really asked before. At least not that Jasper could recall. It seemed overwhelming. Maybe hearing how Valery handled herself in such a scenario would give him an idea bout how he could carry himself.

 

[Valery Noble]

Sacorria

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

Valery remained quiet while Jasper took another moment to think about it all, and just remained by his side. He had quite the journey ahead of him and whether alone or with friends, it would be a challenge to get through it all. As long as he knew that he wasn't alone if he wanted or needed help, Valery would be satisfied. But then his line of thinking likely circled back to his ancestor, and the fact that he was from a different time, just like her.

She smiled a little awkwardly at the question at first and then sighed.

"It was... very difficult. Not at first when I just woke up, because I was just trying to get by and figure out what even happened. But once I got most basic needs arranged and had a ship, I decided to travel to where my old Enclave used to be. If it wasn't for Kahlil Noble helping me through it, I don't know where I would have been now," she admitted without shame. His support there is one of many reasons that she'd love him forever.

"But even after all of that, I still struggled a lot, and I even ended up taking a long meditative retreat. Alone in the mountains on Spintir, and even away from Kahlil. Eventually, I managed to center myself and my life has been far better since."

 

[Jasper Kai'el]

Sacorria, Kai'el Estate
Tags: Valery Noble

​

"That's..." Jasper paused, letting out a slight chuckle, "Well, it's a very 'you' answer. Guess you've had some time to reflect on all of that too... Thank you. Not just for telling me a bit about your past."

There was pretty much no way other then that for Jasper to reciprocate his respect for Master Noble. She was everything he aspired to be as a Jedi. That became clear to him from the moment he met her back when he was just a lost padawan looking for answers on who he was. He could never live up to what she had accomplished, but he was at least determined to tackle his challenges with stride. Leadership, teaching, and even this ancient Sith.

Head on, and with the support of his people.

The knight stood, a fire reignited in him. There was work he needed to do, and there was a starmap out there that wasn't locating itself. All would be revealed in time, of course, but there were preparations that he would need to make.

"Right," he nodded, "We should be getting back. I'll need to discuss this development with my brother."

 

[Valery Noble]

Sacorria

​

Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Jasper Kai'el

"A me answer, huh? What is that supposed to mean?" She teasingly asked with a big grin. It wasn't too difficult for her to understand what he meant, but she always enjoyed messing with her friends a little. And Jasper was certainly someone she considered one of her closer friends. From the first day they met, she already felt some kind of connection, but it was especially when he had saved her daughter from Carnifex's people, that it became something more to her.

She'd forever be grateful that he returned her little girl to her.

Valery then watched Jasper rise and smiled proudly when she noticed that fire inside of him. There was quite a challenge ahead, but as long as he confronted it the way he stood now, she knew that he'd be alright.

"That's a good idea," Valery said, now rising up to her feet as well. "Keep me updated on how it all goes? If you need any help, at any point, just message me, alright?" She smiled and looked over at the door.

"It would be my pleasure to help you, especially after everything you've done for me."