Natural Light

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Nylea Apollodor"]

There was a light rainfall that day. Nora kept a firm grasp around her cup as she sat herself underneath the covers of the roofed pavilion overlooking the rest of the campus and the people going about their business. Curious eyes, Nora’s eyes, lingered on the students and their masters as they practiced what seemed to be their own equivalents of ‘same old.’ There were sabers involved in some cases, lifting rocks with their freaking minds in other cases and no matter how hard Nora tried to make any sort of sense of it all she would keep finding herself at a loss for words and a little bit freaked out. The ones around campus that she had talked to said that it was pretty common for newcomers to experience this, that even if the person in question wasn’t able to use the force to such a degree themselves they would still find themselves both confused and amazed by what it was that they had seen. Many also tried to explain it with simple phrases such as “You get used to it” or “Try not to think about it”, and sometimes it was even a combination of the two.

Didn’t make it any less confusing or terrifying though.

So instead of trying to make sense of it all Nora had chosen to try to immerse herself within the concept of it all by simply looking at it happening until her mind was forced to accept the concept of ‘floating rocks’ as something that was perfectly normal, and sane, and cool, and not in anyway violating the very laws she had thought all life circled around and obeyed. She kept a pensive look focused on the man with the three younglings. They were no older than seven and they could hold up a superheated glowstick to avert blaster shots from themselves, to a degree. And how was it that they were so young? Didn’t they have any parents? Were all Jedi orphans? There were so many questions and Nora held herself back trying not to dwell on it too much.

Because as it would turn out, the things that the others had told her was actually sound advice.

Don’t. Even. Think. About it.

A sigh parted her lips as she went on to look at something else in an effort to rest her head from all the madness. She had messaged Nylea earlier asking if perhaps the Echani was able to make any sort of sense of it all, being one of those who seemed to have the abilities that Nora herself lacked.

Or rather, to be more specific, being one of the few that Nora actually knew that had such abilities.

She took another sip and waited for training to end. The brewing machine nearby stood at the ready. No matter how long it took, Nora would have enough to last her awhile.

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

I guess I should get going. I shouldn't keep Nora waiting. Nylea got up from her sitting position after a meditation session and walked over the door of her new place on Monastery. She had made the decision to move away from Coruscant to make this her new home, as much as it was a touch decision to make. The help she provided there did not go unappreciated but she realized that if she wanted to make more of a difference she needed to be a part of something bigger. The Echani slipped into a pair of boots that were waiting at the doorstep and stepped outside, quickly making her way to her destination. Her years on Coruscant had helped her develop a strong sense of direction, which had been very helpful in getting accustomed to the new enviroment.

When Nylea got the message asking to explain the things a Jedi did she was glad to lend a helping hand. Only afterwards did she realize explaining how the Force worked to someone who was not sensitive to it was going to be a much taller task. It was something they couldn't feel and so perhaps they would never be able to fully understand. The very least she could have done was try, however. Nora had helped her back during the peace summit where she was hit by a poison dart and she figured it was the least she could have done to repay her. The place she had picked out was one she often visited when the regular training of the younglings had finished to train on her own. She had no master to teach her anymore and as such did the best she could to learn things on her own.

As the woman arrived she saw the back of the Arkanian and walked towards her. She was silent in her approach and simply sat down next to her, like a ghost suddenly making its presence known. "Do I still need to try to explain how they do it, or did you figure it out by watching?"

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Nylea Apollodor"]

It seemed easy though, you just kind of extended your hand. Nora extended her hand as if to mimic the students. She focused on what they were doing and paid little mind to her surroundings as she tried to lift a small pebble on the ground with her mind. Of course, by the time the younglings were done with their work it would seem Nora had managed to accomplish very little besides stare herself blind at a petty rock for a few minutes. With a sigh and shrug of defeat she let her shoulders slump back into a more comfortable position. Eyes kept on lingering on the children that stayed behind to practice with one another. They seemed so acquainted with it, so okay with the way they could tell the laws of physics to shove it.

Another small sigh went in and out through the girl’s nose as she leaned back and let the small bench catch her. Nylea would be here any-

“Fiddlesticks!” Nora jumped at Nylea’s sudden presence beside her. A quick chuckle parted her lips alongside a small grin. Her cheeks grew red and her heartbeat stable for each breath that she took.

“Nylea.” The girl nodded once the worst of it was over. “I mean, I wish just looking at them would make sense of it all, but…”

“They’re little kids half my age lifting rocks with their minds. I saw a Jedi Master turn you into a lava lamp, and teenagers scale buildings with a single jump.” Nora chuckled again, distressed. “No, I used to think the whole ‘run fast’ thing was about as far as it went but this… This is something else.”

“I try not to think about it, but that whole ‘midichlorian’ story just makes no sense. If everyone has them, why can I not lift a rock with my mind?” Nora shook her head. “It shouldn’t work, but it’s like someone, somewhere just pointed at science — at physics — and went ‘You know what? … No’ and decided that was that. End of discussion. For all eternity.”

“It’s a-” Had Nora even said hello yet? “An uhm,” She was ranting and she hadn’t even said hello yet. “Actually, you know what? Let’s just… Let’s start over.”

“Hi, Nylea. It is good to see you again.”

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

Nylea somehow always managed to jumpscare people when she really didn't intend to. She chuckled along with Nora as she watched her cheeks flare up. "I really need to learn how to not do that." She didn't have the largest outward presence, but people eventually got used to that.

She got comfortable in her seat as she listened to her talk, her confusion most definitely palpable. It was likely that she had never seen anything like it before. Nylea remembered when she was shown what the Force was and although it wasn't the prettiest way to find out it was most definitely jarring. Everything she knew was slipped upside down, which the Echani figured Nora was feeling right now. "Good to see you again too. It's infinitely better when you don't have poison in your body, I can tell you that." She took hold of the Arkanian's shoulder for a moment, smiling. "Thank you for being there for me that day. You have no idea how much you helped."

Nylea looked over the groups of people in the campus and nodded. "I felt like that too when I found out about the Force. It's crazy, it flips everything on its head. I was lucky enough to be able to feel and shape it myself. That makes it a lot easier to make sense of it all." She let some silence fall as she searched for the right way to start explaining. To her it was easy enough, she could feel it, see it in a way. She was a part of a, relatively speaking, extremely small group of people in the galaxy. "People who are sensitive to the Force can sense its presence. They can feel it, see it, and it's everywhere. It flows through every living thing and connects them. It's something beautiful." She smiled as she continued looking out. "At first I thought everyone could feel it and I had no idea that there was more to it. The Force that flows through me strengthens me. By connecting and moving with it, it becomes an extension of my being."

The woman looked over to Nora for a moment and pointed towards a youngling who was lifting a rock with telekinesis. "You see that? He moves with the Force, and the Force lifts the rock. He doesn't command it, but works with it. He and the Force are one." She slowly started realizing that most of it could very well have made absolutely no sense to her. "I'm not sure if that makes sense. It's really hard to explain. It's just... There."

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Nylea Apollodor"]

It was hard to see it from the perspective of someone who was able to use the force when you yourself had been told you would never be able to mere days ago. At least Nylea would admit that it was easier to be the afflicted, but when left unafflicted and on the outside it all just seemed to defy every set of rules that regular people had come to expect of life and physics. Of course Nora had been told about the force from her parents as a child, but actually seeing it in action was still something that she couldn’t have prepared for. On her street where she had once lived on Arkania there were eight children, all of which were Arkanian and all of which were just like her. She had grown up with these people, she had made friends in every single one of them and she had graduated at the same time as two of them.

It was a regular school for regular people.

Sanctuary was a regular school for non-regular people. At least in Nora’s book.

It was a school that had great fields where students took turns to see how fast they could go. Only these people weren’t doing it for endurance, they were doing it for what another Master had referred to as ‘control.’ In this case over their body and mind. When she had been home on Arkania she had seen people compete over who could run a hundred meters the fastest, most of them averaging at ten or eleven seconds per attempt.

At this school, on Sanctuary, it was done in no more than two.

The grasp on her shoulder had forced a smile on Nora’s lips as she peered into the contents of her cup. She wanted to understand what Nylea was saying and what her words meant, but it just felt so very surreal. She described it like a river that would flow beneath the skin or something as if the force was some sort of fancy water cannon that would fire out of their fingertips.

But water cannons didn’t make people glow.

It didn’t make stones hover. Fly, maybe. Hover, no.

“That’s what the others have been saying as well.” Nora said and stirred her cup before another sip. “Master Liere said that it was like a ‘torrent of your own willpower’ and that it would ‘only work if you let it.’”

The Arkanian girl’s arms were raised into a mute shrug. Her mouth hung open for a second as she tried to find the words to explain. A sharp exhale broadcast her confusion, “What?” Was the only word she could think of. “So apparently, I am a rock in a river or something?” She shook her head. “It moves around me, but it doesn’t move me?” Her head was still shaking as her hand pressed firmly against her own chest. “Why the hell not?”

“Am I not worthy? Am I not ‘pure’ enough, what’s the deal?”

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

"Well," Nylea answered to the still-confused Nora, "Master Liere isn't wrong. It's just... I don't think anyone has the answer to why some do have it and others don't. If I had to explain it I would attribute it to pure chance, but the Force works in mysterious ways." She didn't have all the answers, but with the things she had seen she was certain it had nothing to do with purity. "If you had to be worthy a lot of people would not have been sensitives and others instead would have been. I have met people who were nothing but self-serving and destructive, yet they had the ability to wield the Force. Trust me, I have been looking for the answer to that question myself for a long time now."

A small sigh escaped the Echani's lips, wishing she had the answers to the questions that were asked. "There are a lot of things about the Force that nobody in this galaxy knows. Questions that only lead to more questions, no answers. It tells us only a sliver." She looked towards a group of younglings that were gathered around an older man, likely explaining things to them. "I wish I could help you more with understanding, but even for me a lot of things are a mystery. Like..." Her expression shifted, showing a small degree of sadness as she tried to find the words to explain what was going on in her mind. "How the Force is abused by people and vice versa. The things you see here is only one side. A side I'm glad I found. Finding serenity and peace within oneself to manifest the Force in the name of good. To protect the innocent from evil, to provide relief to those who need it. The Light Side of the Force." Nylea took a deep breath before she continued, a certain heaviness forming in her voice. "But every light casts a shadow. Some seek to draw strength and power from the Force to fulfil their own goals. They seek to dominate the Force and command it by using their emotions such as anger and hatred, pain and passion as fuel to the fire. They are cold-blooded and care for nobody but themselves. If purity was a requirement for being sensitive to the Force they wouldn't exist, but they do. The Dark Side of the Force."

The woman shook her head as she realized she had completely trailed off. "Sorry, I just got lost in thought for a moment. I probably confused you even more now."

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Nylea Apollodor"]

There it was again. The force works in mysterious ways. The single most frustrating phrase that Nora had encountered over the course of the last few days. It said very little when most said it told a lot. At the very least Nylea was acknowledging that as well, at least that was what Nora was willing to pick up from it all. Questions that lead to more questions felt like a very apt way to put it. And it was good to know that purity didn’t play into it. While pure of heart was not necessarily what Nora had meant as much as some morbid form of eugenics, there was comfort in knowing that it was random at best who was touched by the force to such an extent that they could use it for their own means and who wasn’t.

And then there was some sort of darkside/lightside. This aspect was something Nora was familiar with from her parents’ stories, but the concept was still rather alien.

“So you are saying there is some sort of light spectrum?” Nora perked her brow and adjusted herself to face Nylea a bit more. “Like, morals? What makes the two different? The ones I have met are all some of the most focused people I have ever met in my life,” Which wasn’t saying a much in Nora’s case. “What’s this darkside?”

“Are all people on that ‘side’ selfish?”

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

Once again Nylea took a moment before answering. It was all very complex and adding or removing a single word from a sentence could completely change the meaning. "It's not like how your eyes perceive light and absence of light. You can better compare it to two different ideologies. Two different ways people look at the Force. The reason why they are referred to as Light and Dark is because of how one's presence in the Force... Feels. The aura of somehow who follows the path of the Dark Side is often twisted, corrupted, repulsive. It makes me uneasy even thinking about it." She had gotten used to the feeling over time, but it never pleasant. "Not every single follower of the Dark Side is completely selfish. Nothing is ever black and white and neither is this. In the end, they are all still people with their own thoughts and desires. The Force doesn't form that, they themselves do. Just like everyone else." Easily the majority of things she knew about the Dark Side came from one person, but she knew enough to know what she said was true. "That doesn't mean the Darkness isn't dangerous. Many who aspire greatness and turn to the Dark Side for power will not survive. They let it slowly destroy them and everything and everyone around them."

Silence had fallen for a good moment before the Echani stood up. "Would you mind if we walked for a bit? The weather's nice and I want to stretch my legs." She waited for Nora before moving, then continued talking. "But the people here, on Sanctuary, they are indeed focussed. They care for the good of all and wish for peace and serenity. The Light Side is strong here and I can feel it every second I spend here. It puts me at ease and reminds me that times have changed for the better. Hopefully I can contribute to making things better throughout the galaxy."

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Nylea Apollodor"]

Ideologies then. People of the dark radiated an aura that twisted the air around them and while not all of them were centered on themselves it was highly unlikely that life lasted all that long for them. It destroyed themselves and those around them, which to Nora sounded a whole lot like toxins and disease. If they were a danger to themselves as much as themselves then there was a need to isolate them, rehabilitate and reintegrate them, wasn’t there? She didn’t believe much in the death penalty and neither did her parents.

Nylea stood up and Nora did the same.

“A walk sounds good.” Eyes set the for the clouds in the sky. The rain had stopped. Good.

As they continued to walk Nora couldn’t help but pick up on what Nylea was saying. ‘Times have changed for the better’ was not something that was very common for someone of their age to say unless they had seen or lead a vastly different life before. That was of course barring the fact that it was something teenagers said to add flare to their speech. In those cases it was something they said to make themselves seem older — Nora had certainly done it once or twice with her friends on Arkania. While Nora wanted to say she knew what this ‘peace and serenity’ that Nylea talked about was, she had only ever really known this kind of peace for all her life. Sanctuary was by many means a whole lot of ‘same old’ to her.

She hesitated for a second, her mouth opened to ask her question but she shut it before it could part from her. She tried again with the same result.

“What do you mean, things are better? Did something happen before?” Nora eventually asked. “Not that you have to- uh! …” She panicked. “You don’t have to answer. If you don’t want.”

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

Nora tried to form a question but hesitated, something Nylea picked up. She give her the time she needed and simply waited until the Arkanian had found the right words. When she did the Echani blew out air through her nose and nodded. The girl panicked for a moment and made it clear she wasn't trying to push things, but Nylea was not going to hide her past. She trusted her enough despite the fact they met only recently, sensing nothing but innocence and honesty coming from her. "You deserve to know. It's not a story I enjoy telling but there isn't much I can change about the past." She swallowed and mentally readied herself, remembering the last time she told anyone about her past. "I know more about the Dark Side than most here, if not all. Not because I heroically faced them time after time or anything like that, but because I was one of its followers." The woman's tone turned grave and regretful. It was clear it still haunted her. "I-I never wanted it, never asked for it. I got pushed into the Darkness and... I became blinded. It was all I knew, I thought it was all there was."

Nylea's face angled down towards the ground, seeing the small puddles of water as her feet created ripples in the ones she stepped in, distorting their reflections. "I grew up on Eshan. I had no idea I was Force sensitive, until someone forcefully took me away onto a shuttle. I was fourteen at the time." She tilted her head back and looked sideways, gauging Nora's facial expression. "He put a lightsaber at my throat, I still remember the blade's light hurting my eyes from the brightness. 'You have untapped potential. You can wield the Force like I do. Follow me, and I will teach you. But if you do not, you will not leave this shuttle alive.' Those words were branded into my mind that day." Deep down the Echani wished it was still raining. It would've hidden the inevitable tears that would come, but she wasn't in luck. "I didn't want to die, so I followed. I followed him down the path of the Dark Side. And I've done some horrible things. I wasn't myself. I was a slave to the Dark. The fact I managed to break free is a miracle. Now that I can see again it is clear to me how twisted I had become." She looked out to towards the field once more, sensing the pure souls of Light, untouched by the Darkness. She wanted to be like them. "I'm doing whatever I can to repay for the things I've done, but it will never be enough."

After scraping the small bits of courage she had, Nylea looked over to Nora once more. She was afraid of her reaction, but she couldn't lie. If the Arkanian walked away, she had every right to. "If you... If you want to leave, I understand. You have every right to."

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Nylea Apollodor"]

Oh.

Nora’s lips thinned for a second to take in the news. It would seem Nylea had not been exactly who she seemed to be on the surface. This whole ‘light and dark’ thing was still something that Nora hadn’t really understood, but it would seem that Nylea had been forced into one of said spectrums by force. The thinned lips thickened into a frown. Not of disappointment but with concern for Nylea’s own well-being. Had Nora been taken from her own family at fourteen she would have been devastated, it was one of the most crucial parts of a child’s life. Hell, she still identified herself as one every now and then when it came to it and she had turned into what most of the galaxy would identify as an ‘adult’ at this point.

As Nylea looked for a facial expression she’d find the look of concern on Nora’s face. The story continued and it was obvious that the story was not one that the Echani woman liked to retell. The lightsaber, the forced conscription, the palpable regret, and at the end of it the feeling that she wouldn’t be able to repay the galaxy for the pain she had caused.

Nora’s head shook ever so gently at the remark that she was free to go if she wanted. The Arkanian wasn’t going to go anywhere. Instead she raised her arms towards Nylea and wrapped them around the Echani in a hug. Not much was said for the duration of it, there wasn’t much to say.

“Thank you for telling me that.” Nora smiled as she let the other woman go. “But I am not going anywhere, okay?”

“My parents always said that history defined who we were, not who we are or who we will be.” Blank, pupiless eyes offered an encouraging smile and perk of brows. “Nobody is beyond help, and if what you say is true you’re stronger than most.”

“I think you’re doing just fine.” She continued to smile.

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

When Nora shook her head Nylea wasn't entirely sure what it meant. She sensed concern, she saw the frown. It would've gone in either of two ways, either the Arkanian would look for an excuse to get out, or she would stay because she wanted to. The answer that was given was one that lifted a lot of weight from the Echani's shoulders, one that brought relief through her sadness.

A hug. For a moment, although it felt like a lifetime, Nylea froze. She stopped dead in her tracks as the hint of a smile appeared on her face. Often she would tell her story to people to see them slowly fade from view. She never saw those people again. But some, some stayed. The woman was able to count those people on one hand, but the two people on Monastery she told about her past both accepted it and didn't leave. First Hazel, now Nora. Perhaps it was another thing that had changed for the better, perhaps her past wouldn't haunt her forever like she had thought.

As Nora let go the smile, which was just a trace before, grew. It was still a modest one, but there was no hiding it. "That means a lot to me. The mere fact you're still here... You have no idea." She didn't know how to tell her, so she didn't hoping it wasn't necessary, but Nylea considered her to be a friend. There wasn't a bad bone in her body and she cared. She was a pure soul in a galaxy that had a severe lack of them.

"Your parents, they're right. I just need to convince myself that it also applies to me, but I'm working on it," she continued. "I do what I can, to be a light in the darkness. That's why I'm here." She quickly wiped away a tear as it started rolling down her cheek, catching it before it got very far. "Oh, a-and I reconnected with my parents after I closed that chapter. They still live on Eshan and I visit them from time to time. I didn't want you to think I never saw them again, that's not true."

[member="Nora Lithos"]

 

[Nora Lithos]

[member="Nylea Apollodor"]

It was always worth it to see others smile, it’s why Nora did what she did. The circumstances of her departure from home, and the life she had been whisked from, made her wish to do little else with her life. If the choice was between making a lot of people die very fast and to see a single person smile even if for just a few seconds, it was a choice that made itself. Nora was innocent, but the reason she was on Sanctuary in the first place was not.

She was not going to leave Nylea, she was as much a part of the Order now as Nora was and if anything had greater reason to. Nora was really just the background people, the ones making it all work behind the scenes and making sure the machine was well-oiled and continued to operate.

Well, that and toxins research. That too.

“That’s good to hear.” Nora smiled. “I can always count on my parents to give me advice when I need it. I don’t know what your relation to them is, but with time perhaps the same will be true for you?”

“Just in general to know that someone is there for you can be invaluable.” The smile faded into a small laughter. “But you might already know that?”

“No, I am not going anywhere, and if you ever need anything I will be here for you, Nylea.”

“You know that, right?” She felt a soft sigh burst from her nose. “As long as it’s not, you know… That whole force-using business. Sadly.”

It was an attempt to bring the mood up. It was fair to assume, Nora assumed, that they both needed it.

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

Having someone there to count on was always valuable. Knowing you were not alone made life a lot easier, and even when it seemed Nylea was all on her own she always had the Force at her side. "All I would have to do is ask. I should plan a trip back to Eshan again soon, you're making me want to see my parents again." She chuckled for a moment and her eyes lit up, her mood lifting.

In the same vein the echani felt nothing but gratitude for [member="Nora Lithos"]' decision to stick by her. She was still fairly new to the Lotus and having someone there while you settle in was something she very much appreciated. "Thank you. And I can most definitely help you with Force-using business, would you need it, or anything else for that matter. Just ask." She smiled. "It's the least I can do after you helped me."

[member="Nora Lithos"]