Menacing Light

[Nikolas Faselli]

Ellya felt like a complete wreck inside. What id the Sith were already coming towards the planet? It would be logical to think they wouldn't stop, but would want to take over the whole galaxy, bringing death and destruction. It... hurt the girl to know that at a point in the future, the blind, nearly completely defenseless Viatori may be exposed to the risk of... being burned down into ash.

"Via has to stay out of the war, no matter what. I know Jedi would find this place a temple of love and peace. But... it would bring the Sith closer. And we can't just let that happen."

She sighed, at the same time listening to what Seeyeh had to say. It looked like they were not too far from the city anymore. Talking made time go faster than it had ever passed. And she didn't even feel her feet aching, even though they had moved for so long now.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

The fear was radiating from Ellya. Connor moved beside her, always wary not to startle her if she thought he was elsewhere.

"Ellya, I promise you this; the Silver Jedi will not come here seeking a new place to call home. And if the Republic ever did, if your people refused, that would be it. And I only said "if". I doubt they ever will, it was purely for the love of your planet I said that as an example. Forgive me, it was insensitive."

If she could see the frustration on his face at what he was saying, she may have understood more. Connor simply was digging a hole for himself.

"I give you my word once I have had a little look and taken in this magnificent city, I will head back and leave you in peace. You'll never hear from me again."

[member="Ellya"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"I can believe you and it wouldn't be difficult for me to do that. But my worries for this planet are not what you made me feel. You pointed me to the matter, but getting to Via was my own wandering mind."

The girl didn't understand how the man could have thought he was to be blamed. He had done nothing; he had merely given her the example which was nothing more than that -- an example.

"Why do you blame yourself for what I did? Is this the Jedi way of thinking? No doubt I don't want to join you."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Holding out his hand to try and stop Ellya in her tracks, which was pointless as she couldn’t see, Connor laughed softly.

”No sorry, I don’t blame myself – I simply am sorry for giving you the impression that this planet is under threat from a greater force out there. It probably isn’t, and never will be. It’s too desolate and quiet to be of interest to the Sith, and in turn the Jedi I expect. Which isn’t a bad thing.”

The woodland started to break now, and it appeared that they were starting to move onto a natural path through the plains, short crops waved in the breeze beside them as they followed the lightly gravelled track.

”Have you always been blind, Ellya?”

[member="Ellya"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"Yes. Practically all Viatori are born blind. Some are able to develop the ability to see later in their lives. But only if they have the 'normal' eyes like all humans have. If a Viatori is born without pupils and irises, there is no way they can ever start seeing anything in their life."

She sighed.

"Even though we have that weakness, most of us accept it and it isn't too much of a problem that we can't see anything at all."

The girl listened a bit, hearing birds chirping, squirrels squeaking and-... Her eyes widened, his face showed signs of being surprised.

"Tell me, have you ever heard anything about Praefecti?"

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

As the girl sighed at her predicament, Connor just wanted to say something to help her, but it was something so glaringly obvious to her it wouldn’t really matter.

”You cope very well. I notice your eyes are developed fully, so never doubt your eyesight will return in time. And, eyesight is something taken for granted, I admit, but I feel your ability to see father than others who physically can see – your spirt, your connection with the Force and with the planet gives you sight not everyone has.”

Her next question stumped him however.

”Praefecti? I’m not going to lie – I’ve never heard of it. Or them, him, her. What is it…or who?”

Connor gave a small chuckle at his clear lack of understanding.

[member=Ellya]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Ellya listened to the man's speech about her, feeling hopeful. Not many Viatori knew if their eyes were fully developed, that was because they couldn't see or feel them. But now that Connor had pointed it out, she felt like her life could take a new turn some time. It was no longer the matter of 'if', rather a matter of 'when'.

But it was both a good and a bad thing the man knew nothing of Praefecti.

"They're the most wonderful creatures of our planet. Some believe they are our God Auctor's favourite creations. That he created them to give our planet something to stand out with. I don't know if it's true or not, neither do I care much about it."

She turned towards the noise she had heard. There was no way it could have been something different. She had heard one member of the species before, but she hadn't had the luck of catching him. Now it looked like a group of them had come so close to the city.

"Praefecti possess a wonderful ability of attachment to their owners. Their loyalty is incredible, and for a Viatori, no better companion exists."

She looked at Seeyeh with a sarcastic smirk, then directed her head towards the noise again. The sound they made was quiet, but if one listened carefully, even a typical non-blind person would hear them.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

It was refreshing to be the one listening to history and culture, rather than giving it out on Voss to Padawan learners. Connor relished seeing and feeling other cultures, other societies and people and how the Force shaped their lives.

Following Ellya’s lead, he turned his head in the direction she was facing – he could see nothing, but clearly she, with her senses, could. Point proven.

”I don’t,” he whispered slowly, not know what he was looking for, or at.

Glancing between the droid and the girl, Connor peered outwards to the walls of a city in the distance, now dominating the horizon.

”What can you see, and I mean see – because you can see something you’re your senses I can’t. I think I’m trying too hard.”

Why did he get the feeling he would actually learn to improve his awareness from a blind girl?

[member="Ellya"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"There's a group of Praefecti somewhere over there. Half a kilometre away, I think," Ellya said. She didn't know how much a kilometre actually was in steps, but she understood what the measurement unit was like in sound.

"If we went there, I think we could see some of them. Shall we?" she asked from Connor, hoping for a positive answer. She had always wanted to have a Praefecti of her own. A few of her former friends had had them, and they were the best companions they had ever had.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Squinting out in the direction Ellya pointed, Connor thought he could see movement, but the mind was known to be deceptive to fool what could or could not be real.

His hand swept in front of her. And then pulled straight back; another futile thing to do for a girl in Ellya’s position.

”Please, lead on, I’ll be fascinated to learn more, and who knows, maybe we can get you a Praefecti companion? One less grumpy than the one you have now perhaps.”

Connor made sure to stay behind Ellya to avoid an angry response from the astro droid.

[member="Ellya"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Ellya giggled a bit before starting to march on, towards the source of the Praefecti sound. The girl could feel how they wandered off from the road to a grassy road. Looked like they would have a bit of a difficulty approaching these animals due to the high grass. Perhaps that was the reason behind coming to close to the city?

"Ugh, I think it's going to take us a while," Ellya noted after having taken some steps in the grass. Even though it was not too high, the girl was short and it was worse to her.

"Seeyeh, could you do anything to cut the grass shorter or something?" she asked, without even bothering to ask that from Connor. She seemed to have forgotten every Jedi always has a lightsaber with them.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Moving forward, Connor smiled at hearing her giggle, and gradually started to overtake Ellya in the grass, soft to the touch and looking full, but the droid caught his attention with a series of whistles to stop and make him turn.

He looked around and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, and the grass was just natural, but for Ellya this was a problem. Not for him.

”Am I breaking any law by cutting down this grass with my lightsaber blade? It’ll leave the grass scorched however until it grows out, but I can do this if you want? Won’t take a moment.”

His hand was already over his hilt, waiting for the approval.

[member="Ellya"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"No. I think this land belongs to nobody at the moment, so whatever we do with that is allowed," Ellya said, his cheeks turning a bit pinkish. Only because of Connor starting to talk about cutting the grass down with his lightsaber did she understand how dumb she was. Looked like she and the man took turns in being a bit silly.

"We'll just have to do that quite quietly. Otherwise they could run away."

Seeyeh, wheeling forward next to Ellya, made some humming noise which could have been roughly translated to the droid not wanting to continue going that way. Then it was followed up with different pitches of beeps.

"Fine, go back to the road if you don't want to come with us."

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

With a nod, Connor took the hilt and activated the blue blade with a soft snap-hiss, slightly sorry Ellya wouldn’t see the brilliance of the energy emitted. He turned to see the droid putting up a bit of resistance and hesitated.

Looking over the grass, and not feeling good about taking to cutting down something so natural, Connor killed the lightsaber and returned it.

Moving to the side, behind Ellya, Connor exhaled softly and parted his hands, like an arrow.

The grass before her gracefully reclined, forging a path for her to walk over through the green blades.

”You can walk now – I’ve got you.”

[member="Ellya"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"Thank you!"

Ellya started moving again, and this time she felt like there was nothing on her way anymore, at least there wouldn't be for some time. Seeyeh rolled away from the plains and decided to go and adventure around the road for some time. Probably he'd be able to reach Antiquus City before the two would get back from watching the stags.

"Praefecti are quite easy to domesticate, but they are very valuable. They sense the good and evil in everybody," Ellya spoke a little bit more about the species she loved so much. "And even though only Viatori have been seen having a companion of a member of the species, I have heard that a few humans are keeping some as pets."

"Maybe you could get one, too?"

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Parting grass was nothing to Connor; he held his hands and felt it cleave the path before Ellya’s gentle footsteps, guiding the path that she walked; even though she was blind, she was leading a sighted man perfectly.

He looked around the plains and saw movement, some indication of life, and was sure he made out the shape of the stags, some with horns that looked rather deadly, others with hardly any.

”They sense good and evil? Interesting.”

Hopefully this beast wouldn’t detect the pain Connor had burrowed away in his mind.

”I would love to see if I can tame one, and if I do, I’d certainly see if I could transport it to Voss – however I’d hate to uproot it from its native world. Hey, you can look after him for me? Gives me a reason to come back and visit!”

[member="Ellya"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"I'd love to do that," Ellya said, a friendly smile going along with that. She had always wanted to have a Praefecti, but now if the two were lucky, there was a chance she could take care of a couple of these. It made the girl turn a bit nervous.

"Anyways, I hear we're rather close to them now? I am not sure how to tame them, but..." She used hands to gather information about where they were. Turned out they were not perfectly hidden and any unexpected move could have scared the Praefecti.

"Can you see them? Can they see us?

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Letting the grass rise, Connor gently placed a hand on Ellya’s shoulder and guided her down.

Reaching out with the Force, up in the adjacent grassland he felt a good five life signals – the Praefecti. Rising gently on his knees, Connor scanned and saw the beasts; chewing the grass, slowly moving around to graze.

”I see five of them – in the grass ahead,” he whispered.

It was beautiful to be close to nature, with no alarm, no urgency, no threat; just feeling life at its best, in a natural surroundings. Connor watched for a moment.

”I wish you could see this, they’re beautiful – really strong, proud animals. They look graceful, nimble. Brown and white, and some with horns.”

He shifted his position gently.

”Go to them, Ellya. Trust in yourself to radiate nothing but calmness and peace. Be open; they will see nothing in you but a kind-heart.”

Looking at her, he wished she could see.

”You have the ability to calm and connect nature due to the Force; it binds you to them, living creatures such as us. I will stay here – I believe in you.”

[member="Ellya"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Ellya nodded and decided to go, thinking no matter what would happen next, she'd at least give it a try. She walked closer to the sound these creatures made by eating the grass, she felt their presence near her. And she would only go closer to them, not showing off the fright she just started feeling. These creatures were fall larger than her, she remembered.

The girl smiled towards the source of the sound, and a Praefecti covered in a white coating lowered his head while all others raised theirs. The four were in a defensive stance, also a bit curious to see what the incoming Viatori would do.

But a sixth stag, who had happened to be a bit away from the main group, came towards Ellya and Connor from behind. In fact, his steps had been so quiet Ellya hadn't noticed them until the animal was right behind the man.

[member="Connor Harrison"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor leant on his knees and watched with great interest, as if the Viatori was working some native magic, similar to the Force, that could coax and calm any beast. So engrossed in the one animal that seemed to lower its head, Connor nodded and encouraged her under his breath.

However, the stag that soon broke his concentration with a strong sniff made him jump and recoil slightly, but immediately as the Praefecti moved, Connor gently shushed him, surrounding himself in nothing but the Force – peaceful and calm.

Holding out his hand, palm up, he didn’t move until the stag came sniffing at the Jedi. Slowly lowering his hand in full view of the stag down to the grass, Connor tore up a handful of roots and brought them back up for the beast to eat.

A warm nose sniffed the hand, and a wet mouth made short work of the grass, before moving down to the ground to continue grazing.

Connor broke into a smile and looked over to Ellya, now stroking the white Praefecti. A wonderful sight. Taking a risk and not wanting to scare her, Connor closed his eyes and reached out to Ellya to find her Force aura.

I think you’ve found your companion, don’t you? Turn around.

[member="Ellya"]