Spires of Stone

[Armaud Eden]

That’s a frontier planet, he recalled the Jedi Master repeating beneath the canopy of the Tap Tree. Water rushed around him and through him, moving the thick beige fabric of his robes in gently lapping motions. Maud had listened intently as Relit Vandal told the story of Lothal, from natural state to abuse and back, retaken by the environment to become something of its former self. Be mindful of the Spine Trees and their whisper, it can be so soothing that you might lose yourself.

Maud smiled with a faint glow as the planetary shield blinked into and out of existence in his presence and wake. The son of a renowned Jedi Healer and leader of the Circle of Healers, it would be no difficult task to visit the various Jedi Temples of the Galactic Alliance. Coruscant wasn’t something that called to him and he had been to Sullust so many times, he had the remnants of volcanic burns to prove it. Lothal, though, spoke to him in ways that he couldn’t explain.

The battered x-wing baltered across the sky, loose components of durasteel shaking against the brisk wind. The horizon was a fair sanguine shade, cut coarsely by ribbons of orange that hung modestly across the horizon. The sun stood lazily in the distance, creeping over and threatening to rise in slow fashion.

He wasn’t sure if he was intent on heading directly to the Temple, though that was the intended climax of his trip. The capital city housed a zoological epicenter, home to a wide swath of varying cave-dwelling species that were said to rarely embrace the light of the sun. He wondered if such a place had room for botany specimens as well. Against all his mental urgings, he decided that it would be best to get responsibility out of the way. He could meander once he bypassed this boulder, as it were.

Pointing the nose of the ship towards the Jedi Temple, he keyed in directional and speed information. Cutting through low hanging clouds of white and pallid yellow, his brow furrowed at the sudden uprising of mature virtue. And in the distance, the regolith spires of the Jedi Temple stood as welcoming view. The construction was far more natural than what he had originally expected.

[member="Romi Jade"]​

 

[Romi Jade]

Strands of hair beat against her skin; a breeze swept through and collided with her back. With a subtle chill running along her exposed upper back, her eyes slowly opened as she heard the currents bustling in her ears. The grassy plains were a stark contrast against the dry and rocky formations of Deneba; she found the scenery entirely more pleasurable.

Sigh.

She'd fall into her thoughts, being hypnotized by the stillness and the echo of the grass being pressured by the wind; it was allowing her to think too much. Things she sought not to think about would manifest in her thoughts...reminders.

Was she truly in over her head...

She'd come this far only to represent the enclave, and given how relations have been going she was finding herself intrigued by relics of the past. She'd never been to Lothal before, and had never laid eyes on the Temple there...

A controlled pivot allowed her to turn around, afterward her body fell loose and her hair fell still. Her hands came to gently caress her waist; they found themselves perched there for the time being. She shifted her weight in her stance, causing her to sway to one side more.

She took in the sites of the large stone spires protruding from the ground, cutting off the edge what sunlight there was. It was much cooler in the shadow it would cast. But all she wanted was to take in this site...

There was still so much she didn't know.

[member="Armaud Eden"]

 

[Armaud Eden]

The landing pad, nested hexagons of duracrete lined with auburn and tangerine strips, reflected blinding flares of light from an otherwise warm and greeting sun. The X-Wing hovered, balance thrusters kicking on with a bright blast of blue and white, as it set down on the depressed panels of stone. By his wagering, it was a good deal closer to the Temple than the Capital City, which was unfortunate for someone who preferred the pace of a brisk walk over the cruising speeds of a starfighter. At some point, he was going to need to check out that zoo.

Pushing off the cockpit cover and hopping out, he descended down the ejected metal stairs with a bit of haste. It only took a moment before he was greeted by an elderly figure. Skin close to bronze and metallic, eyebrows bushy and bleached white, with a face that looked like someone was squishing his head by pressing on his scalp and chin. Despite the scrunch, his smile seemed kind.

“Here to see the Temple?”
“That obvious, huh?”

Maud took the greeting in passing, pushing hands through the stow bins as he pulled out components of apparel that more closely resembled a drifter than a wandering Jedi Knight. A hodgepodge of linens, some tattered and some not, though they all leaned towards earthen tones. He carried no weapons, beyond a few hidden knives and a hatchet hanging from a brass belt loop.

“Mhm, mhm, quite so. Though you hardly seem interested in staying? Hmm?”
“No, I’d like to think I’m water bound.”
“Water bound, hmm? Well, I happen to know a particular quay, just a few kilometers from here. Where the forest shows…” He pointed wrinkling hands, protruding from robes of grey. “Take a skiff, push off right into the Hiradne Sound. Before you know it, you’re cruising down the Westmoor Flats, beset on all sides by forests of Greel and Spine trees. Oh, I can hear the sound now. For 250 pieces or a bauble, I could show ya? What do ya say?”

Maud shook his head, chuckling, as he slammed the stow bin shut. “I’ll find my own way, thanks.”

The old man shrugged, giggling. “Suit yourself. Pathway to the temple is just ahead.”
“Not too far, then.”
“Oh no, not for a young man like yourself. Good day, Mr. Waterbound.” The man laughed as he ringed his leathery hands, wandering off.

Maud pulled the hood up over his eyes, searching the sky for a moment’s peace. But the clouds were few and far between. Pulling a pack over his shoulder, he moved forward to find that peace in the shadow of the spires. With a stolen glance towards a woman who seemed to be waiting on something, he edged past her with a cough and slowly made his way.

[member="Romi Jade"]​

 

[Romi Jade]

She could feel something approaching from behind; nothing related to the Force. She turned just then to witness a man brushing past her. Her eyes locked on to him, whether he caught her gaze was different as he seemed to be after something specific. She assumed he was looking to go inside.

A beat.

"Looking for the entrance?" she called out from a few feet behind him. Soon she'd step into focus and follow behind. "It'd take us both...as legends say." She bounded from her position and into her first step to match his pace, with her hair swaying along her back.

"I hadn't planned on going inside, but now I'm curious since you've showed up. We could traverse together, possibly?"

She offered, motioning with her hand as she spoke.

[member="Armaud Eden"]

 

[Armaud Eden]

Spires erupted from the sun kissed sand, like univalve shells standing upright from a bed of cobble. Each one was their own geological formation but together, they formed an array of satellite features - seemingly connected and discontinuous, simultaneously. Maud almost didn't hear the comment from the woman, taken by the vision and the sound. What seemed like a subtle wind, cutting across the flat landscape, soon became a deep sonorous melody as it bounced against the striated stone.

Peering out from the confines of his canvas hood, he made eye contact for a passing moment before looking back towards the Temple. "Huh..." He uttered, unmoved by the sudden complexity of entering the temple. "I had not heard that before. That might have been something the old man, back there, could have warned me about..." Offering a smile, though potentially concealed beneath the shroud, he raked finger nails down the ridge of the scar - from left eyebrow to left jaw.

He made no clear confirmation of willingness to walk with her. Though he also made no objection. Instead, he took in a deep breath before continuing the walk amidst an air of nonchalance. Hardly one for pleonasm, he continued forward as she fell into pace.

The Temple came into view quite serenely, peeking out from a stone terrace as they slowly rounded the corner on the carved path. From afar, it had the appearance of a beast with its teeth clamped shut. Stalactites descended from an earthen roof, stalagmites ascended from a floor and where they met, the door to the temple seemed to lay just out of reach. There was a darkness in the spaces between the teeth and Maud simply huffed. "You came to this place with no intention of entering?"

They still had some distance to cover before they discovered the true mystery of entry - what process would be revealed, that required two for entrance. He had to admit, he was curious. The cynic in him assumed it would be a simple depression of two buttons concurrently, far enough apart to prevent activation by one individual.

[member="Romi Jade"]​