Tea With Tiland II: Noe’Ha’On

[Tiland Kortun]

Jungles were nice. They were rich with the Force, not necessarily with the Light or the Dark, but with the Force itself. With life. It surged and simmered through the air as clearly as the humidity cling to Tiland’s shoulders.

It was invigorating to be surrounded by so much life. So much of the Force. It’s energy surged into his ancient body and gave him fresh energy, fresh clarity, and a strong hankering for a pot of tea.
Then again, he nearly always had a hankering for tea. It was the only thing his body could consume at this point, so he survived through the Force and through tea.

And so he sat now on the edge of a clearing by the sea, with a tree stump as a makeshift table, and a small brazier heating the water. It simmered gently as he ground the herbs with mortar and pestle, humming a small tune to himself.

This was a makeshift spaceport. Shadowport, perhaps. Tiland wasn’t entirely sure, but it was certainly not formalized enough to be fully or permanently established. The Force had a way of bringing others to him as he sat for a cup of tea, so he had extra cups set atop the stump as he watched the hustle and bustle of spacers going about their business. Some were legitimate, others not, but some might have been more well intentioned than they appeared. Tiland couldn’t keep track of galactic politics anymore, but at least one end of this hyperspace route was in First Order territory. This planet wasn’t, as far he knew, but was likely somewhere near the border. Rebels, smugglers, refugees, spies. He suspected they all moved through this port. Just who would he be meeting this time?

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Gear: Nan Quan | Cloak | Lightsaber
Entourage: Atrisian Assault Corps Infantry (x3)

The Noehon had an exceptional reputation for organization and efficiency.

Both were skills that the teenage prince could use more of, particularly as his influence had expanded into the First Order. As such, he had voyaged down from the Commonwealth in order to secure the cooperation of the Noehon. They were a primitive society, brutal by almost all measure of civilization, but they understood the value of money. That was a universal enough language for the two to at least conduct business.

The exact details of the hiring process were immaterial for him, so he left the nuances of the selection criteria to his chief administrator to discern.

The initial exchange had been a simple enough affair. Shoma had aurodium, the Noehon had plenty of labor to offer. That seemed to strike an accord between them with very little effort. Were that all negotiations so simple minded.

While the specific details were worked out by his staff officers, that left the young prince free to explore the area around where they had landed.

It was almost certainly a shadowport. He wondered what information that the First Order Security Bureau might have regarding it. It was entirely possible that the FOSB was recording this now, tracking the exchange between Atrisia and the Noehon, but that was of little consequence. The Noehon were efficient and that efficiency had its uses. Surely, a concept that the First Order with its bureaucracy could appreciate.

Just a short distance away, the young prince spied what seemed to be an old man brewing tea. It was an out-of-place sort of visual that sparked his curiosity even before he'd registered the fact that the man wasn't Noehon. A traveler?

The youth crossed over from the make-shift spaceport toward where the figure was seated. Behind him, the trio of security officers kept a respectful distance that nonetheless made clear their purpose. As he came near, the boy offered a salutation in the Xiaolang dialect of Atrisian. "Hajimemashte," the prince offered with a bow.

As he straightened back up, the youth noted the tea pot and asked, "Are you expecting company? It seems a rather lonely thing to enjoy tea alone."

[member="Tiland Kortun"]​

 

[Sohl Kosuth]

Weary from his travels, Sohl thought it best to stop for a bit on Tiland. Something about this place seemed reassuring to him. Upon exiting his ship and looking around the jungle, Sohl could not help but think of this place as one of the last bastions of life in such an industrialized galaxy. As he moved through the jungle, admiring the vibrancy of his surroundings, Sohl stumbled across an old man sitting peacefully and brewing tea. Something about this man drew Sohl to him. He could feel that the force was strong and pure with him. He was so enthralled with this man that he did not notice the other man sitting with him. It was a young man, and his dress gave away that he was not a stranger to the First Order. However, Sohl sensed that this man possessed something special, perhaps force powers. Sohl took a seat next to this man, facing the wise elder.

"Mind if I join you for tea? It has been a long time since I have had the opportunity to sit and talk. My name is Sohl Kosuth. I am a chef from Coruscant, now traveling the galaxy in search of exotic beasts to hunt, new flavors to explore, and exotic cultures to experience."

[member="Tiland Kortun"] [member="Shoma Ike"]

 

[Tiland Kortun]

[member="Shoma Ike"] [member="Sohl Kosuth"]

Tiland looked up as he felt someone approach, a very young one, even by Tiland's standards, and he couldn't help but notice the guards standing at a distance. He had spent enough time around professional soldiers to recognize their manner. He nodded his head in greeting, "Hajimemashte." He sounded the word out carefully, trying to capture the exact tone that the young prince used. "That is not a language I have learned in my travels, I must admit."

He gestured to one of the other makeshift seats. "When there is tea, I always anticipate company. Fate brings travelers together around such a ritual, I have found. Please, join me if you wish."

As Sohl sat down and introduced himself, Tiland broke into a smile and set out cups before his two guests.

"Well met, friend, I am Tiland." He nodded towards the three bodyguards in the distance. "Your companions are welcome to join as well. I have enough for all and even if not, there is a clean stream not far from here. Quite a beautiful sight."

Carefully, he set the old teapot atop a small brazier, and added the crushed tea-leaves. Their crisp, airy scent wafted into the jungle air, and he inhaled deeply.

"It will be brewed shortly. Come, embrace the experience of the steeping. Lose yourself in the moment and learn from it what you will."

 

[Elise Ike]

The planet of Noehon was quite the interesting place to research, the expansion of jungle and many natives that were yet to fully embrace technology. Perfect for one such as herself that loved to delve into the past and see first hand what people lived like all those many years ago. For the last month Elise had been living out with said natives, studying their ways learning their customs and much more, another page in her holo book about the many peoples in the galaxy. Even so one had to reconnect with the rest of the galaxy every now and then and on this day the anthropologist had made her way back to the space port, mainly for better cooked food and a decent place to sleep for the night, maybe some tea too... wait, tea?

Looking around Elise could smell the rich fragrance of tea, but not just any tea, they type she knew [member="Tiland Kortun"] carried around with him, why the Jedi master was still poking around FO space one could not tell, but if he was here making tea things would be interesting. Forgoing her current task Elise quickly made her way over to the smell, only to be greeted with another ironic sight, well ironic to her anyways. Standing with the tea making Jedi master was the one any only [member="Shoma Ike"], the new ruler of Atrisia, quite the surprise.

Walking closer Elise gave the customary bow of their people, "Ohayōgozaimasu Heika, such is certainly a surprise to see you all the way out here". There was not way Shoma knew who she was, considering the women had not lived on their home planet for around 800 years, didn't mean she was unaware of the recent happenings though. "Also good day to you Tiland, brewing your tea in the middle of nowhere as always, seems some things never change". As for the other man, well she did not have any idea about him, "ah and it seems another has joined you, always nice to meet new people".

[member="Sohl Kosuth"]

 

[Sohl Kosuth]

Sohl nodded to the woman who had joined them. "As always, it is a pleasure to meet new people. So what brings each of you here to this place?"

[member="Elise Ike"][member="Tiland Kortun"][member="Shoma Ike"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Gear: Nan Quan | Cloak | Lightsaber
Entourage: Atrisian Assault Corps Infantry (x3)

The young prince gave a short bow of acknowledgement as the man named Sohl joined them.

It seemed as though the one named Tiland had company after all.

An interesting approach. Rather than waiting for company to brew the tea, he just brewed a pot and let the company come to him. "Atrisian," the prince noted about the language that had been unfamiliar to the stranger. As he lowered himself down into the offered seat, the youth continued. "Core worlds, not terribly far if you'd care to learn more about it. We have a white tea native to my homeland that you may find to your liking."

"My name is Shoma," the youth noted, just as a woman joined them. A woman familiar with the Xiaolang dialect, no less. A fellow Atrisian? Whatever the case, it seemed as though brewing tea in odd locations might be something of a 'thing' for this Tiland.

"Dozo yoroshiku ne," the youth remarked with a slight bow in the lady's direction.

As he turned his gaze back over toward the man named Sohl. "Business," the youth remarked simply. "I'm hoping to hire some Noehon. Excellent organizers."

"Yourself?"

[member="Sohl Kosuth"] | [member="Elise Ike"] | [member="Tiland Kortun"]​

 

[Tiland Kortun]

[member="Elise Ike"] [member="Shoma Ike"] [member="Sohl Kosuth"]

"Well met again, Elise," Tiland answered as the woman appeared. He paused for a moment to try and remember how many places they had crossed paths. Surely this was the second by now, if not the third. "Have you come for your usual research work? Do come and sit, it is a pleasure to meet an old friend in an unexpected location." He set aside another cup of tea for her. "And indeed. Having a cup of a tea with fascinating strangers is one of life's great pleasures, so I always try to create the opportunity."

He turned then to Sohl. "That is ambitious for you, to seek the galaxy for such things. I hope your journeys prove fruitful." He paused to let the tea steep a little more to reach his preferred strength. "I am a botanist conducting research on the medicinal values of rare herbs in these regions of the galaxy." A small, ironic smile flickered across his face. "Which is why I tend to find myself in places such as these." He gestured to the shadowport around them. "Normal spaceports are too far away from the limited environments and some of the herbs are too delicate to reach with vehicles."

"Atrisian?" Tiland mused, "Indeed, I have not learned such a language. It is rare for me to make my way into the Core. Too crowded for my preferences, but if you have an excellent tea, perhaps I shall make a visit someday. Excellent to meet you, Shoma. Do you know what goes into the white tea? Is it just the tea-leaves or is there usually more mixed in the blend?"

 

[Elise Ike]

Elise had taken steps to answer Shoma first out of the current group, "it is good to meet your too prince, though I have not been back home in a while it is nice to see you alive and well". "I've been told the the First Order occupation had been much more peaceful then their usual conduct" which was quite usual considering how they treated Lothal and other places, or were they just trying to look nice for the crowds?

"As for you Tiland, yes I am conducting my usual research into local tribes an those who are yet to embrace technology, it seems many worlds in First Order space have a knack for underdeveloped worlds". "I'm conducting the odd archeological surveys and digs along with a few 'living in ones shoes' sorts of trips and taking on the live of these natives". Unfortunately it had not been as fruitful as she would have liked, but it was a good time kill and proved to be of some use to her, now though it was time for some tea, and Tiland was quite the tea maker.

As he continued to converse with the other Elise made her way over to the table, sitting down in a traditional sezia style, giving a small chuckle to his query on Atrisian tea making culture. "Are we, Tiland Atrisia has a whole ceremonial art about tea that takes years to master... in short yes they are quite renown tea makers and producers, I actually have a family member who runs her own tea house, perhaps you should visit if you ever go to the core". "That being said you tea making skills are divine, Heika I recommend that you join us for such refreshments".

[member="Tiland Kortun"] [member="Shoma Ike"] [member="Sohl Kosuth"]

 

[Tiland Kortun]

[member="Elise Ike"] [member="Shoma Ike"]

"Indeed," Tiland replied, "Those are good studies. Have you had good findings in your work?" He cupped his hands around the tea and took a deep breath." His gaze drifted across the clearing, assessing the comings and goings of the shadowport. Ships came and go, landing and taking off as he watched.

"Indeed, perhaps I should indeed visit." He pulled out a small notebook and scribbled down a note. "Where can I find this tea?" He swirled the mug in his hands and observed the swirl in his own tea. "I found a few of the herbs I needed. There's some interesting herbs here as well."

He pulled a few leaves from the satchel and laid them along the table. A strong, clear scent wafted up from the leaves as he inspected them. A faint aura of the Light emanated from the leaves. Not a glow, but a feeling of calm and quiet rose up from the leaves.

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

Gear: Nan Quan | Cloak | Lightsaber
Entourage: Atrisian Assault Corps Infantry (x3)

The lady was Atrisian.

An ex-pat? Due to the One Sith invasion, Alliance invasion, Alliance collapse, or First Order invasion he wondered. Certainly, a great many possible answers. Keeping people and encouraging immigration were two areas of national policy that continued to present challenges to the Atrisian economy. Atrisia had been the target for a variety of wars even since the end of the Four Hundred Years Darkness. That did little to encourage people with families to move there.

"I can never refuse a cup of tea," the teen remarked, as the lady extended the offer.

Turning to regard the old master, the youth said, "I'll admit I'm not entirely certain the composition of it," he admitted. Atrisian white tea was just... Atrisian white tea.

What did go into it?

He should probably know these things.

"When I get back to my ship, I'll look to see if I have any. If so, I'll have someone bring you sample, if you like," the prince offered.

[member="Tiland Kortun"] | [member="Elise Ike"]​