The Je'daii Order, Chapter One: Sanctuary

[Sobaan Palle]

Sobaan murmured a bit as he nommed a cracker while Jyn fussed with his head. Her hands were warm, and she didn't hurt his montrals. Most people thought they were funny little playthings and ended up hurting him because of that line of thinking. He was, actually, paying attention to what the lady said about the temple and about the Je'daii way of thinking. In all honesty, it sort of sounded like what his papa had told him he should focus on. Then again, that was why he'd come to the Je'daii in the first place. His papa was a smart man, though he had his faults, which Sobaan had noticed when he'd first met him. The stain of blood on his papa's soul was bothersome to him even now, but he chose not to focus on it.

Though he didn't know much about the world they mentioned: Tython. He'd never heard of it before. Master Aotirr mentioned that it was a place racked by Force storms. He wondered what those were, so he lifted his hand into the air and waved it around until he was called upon.

"What's a Force storm?" he asked, when he could. "And what's a Tho Yor? And Ashla and Bogan and Bendu?"

He was certain he'd heard those before back at the other temple, but he was forgetful sometimes. He was so easily focused on the here and now that the things from the past they learned about went in one ear and out the other. But it was because of that focus that he'd seen Jyn for who she was. The same as he'd seen Kyra and felt a connection to her. And Connor whom he was quite afraid of. He still gulped whenever he looked at the man, and squirmed closer to Jyn as a result. She was a comfort when he had none. Often he wished his mother was there to be with him, but [member="Paa'lee"] had her own things to do, and he didn't want to bother her too much, especially just because a man was scary.

[member="Kyra Sol"] | [member="Jyn Sol"] | [member="Asha Hex"] | [member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Stephanie Swail"]

 

[Sargon Vynea]

A single small step at a time he brought himself closer to the main group as curious as to how Jyn would teach as anything else. His attention though was slowly stole by the stranger in the group or at least the stranger to him. His force signature was darker then the others, but he'd been talking to Asha so it seems the two knew each other at least. It made him itch with curiosity, one heard rumors about the First Order, but it was difficult to know the truth of such things. The Fringe was considered by many to be a nation of evil, and dark side users but that was hardly the truth. No, the truth was something one had to test for themselves.

As he approached though he continued his silence, the slow connection from the troubled girl from earlier and the stranger becoming clear, or at least apparent. Perhaps it wasn't the time just yet to bother him, it seems there were more pressing matters for him. Instead he spoke the question into Asha's mind. Tell me, Asha, who is this man? Is he safe for the students?

[member="Sobaan Palle"] [member="Asha Hex"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Stephanie Swail"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

One thing Connor understood, but never practiced, was balance. Light. Dark. Balance. Both sides equally powerful but both sides cancelling out the other. If one could stand between the two and absorb strength and weakness from all, it would be far greater than expected.

Connor nodded to [member="Asha Hex"] as he tried to not be distracted by the feeling he was being watched. He shot a glance to [member="Jyn Sol"] and then [member="Sargon Vynea"] who seemed to be one looking at him.

Shifting his weight, he knew he shouldn’t be here, but he had made a promise.

The Togruta [member="Sobaan Palle"] was also looking at him, or trying to make out he wasn’t. Connor sighed and knew there and then he didn’t want to stand around much longer. He then looked across the faces and he saw her.

It looked like her, but she seemed a stronger vision than the figure he had left recovering from the attack by Ignus. His face was neutral as he looked at the girl. Noticing the scar running from her eye to her scalp and hair-line, he nodded.

[member="Kyra Sol"] stood across the way, and behind her a brunette was giving him evil eyes.

Connor looked away to Asha.

"Sorry, what…"

He was distracted, and it bugged him as to why she was here.

"Asha, who’s that girl behind me, with the scar. What’s her name?"

 

[Lief]

So many questions, so many eager little souls longing to learn more. Jyn remained quiet, no longer watching what Aotirr was doing but instead turning in place to watch her sister. Something felt wrong, and she could sense Sargon's interest too. And Stephs. She was grateful that Asha had chosen a spot away from the main group to speak to this stranger, because he seemed to be causing quite the stir whether he knew it or not.

"My, you have a lot of questions young one" Aotirr directed at Sobaan, with a calm smile that spoke of never ending patience, "I shall tackle your last three first; Ashla is another name for the Lightside of the Force, Bogan is the Darkside, and Bendu..." She smiled at the final one, before resuming. "Bendu is the Balance of both light and dark."

She tapped her chin, before nodding again. "As for Tho Yor, they were a group of nine ships which were sent across the Galaxy, long before the Jedi and the Sith came into fruition, and which collected Force Sensitives to bring them to Tython. No doubt we will all be visiting Tython some day, and you can see the Tho Yor in person. They became Temples where they landed across the planet, each focusing on a different facet of our Order."

Aotirr glanced over the group, as though questioning whether they needed to be told more on the Tho Yor or not. "Perhaps if we have time after these questions, I can expand more on the Temples, hm?"

Now came the harder part. Explaining what a Force Storm was to a group of children without terrifying them.

"Hm... A Force Storm is an extremely difficult to carry out, and mostly unheard of, technique which wreaks havoc wherever it is cast. It is capable of creating wormholes, of tearing apart the surface of a planet, it can create a rift through time and space..." She shook her head, this time with a heavy expression, "It is not something that could ever truly be condoned, nor controlled. Tython reacted to any serious shift in the Force toward light or dark by effectively tearing itself apart. Yet most in the Galaxy are ignorant of this and try to produce Orders upon its surface regardless."

Jyn looked back to Aotirr at the mention of this, settling one hand over Sobaan's once he was done eating his crackers. Quite the heavy subject, but if a question is asked in sincerity then it requires an answer.

[member='Connor Harrison'] [member='Sargon Vynea'] [member='Sobaan Palle']

 

[Lief]

Perhaps bringing Connor into one of their gatherings had been a mistake; he was distracted, and several of her fellow Je'daii were too. The only problem was that these days Asha was rarely without the Order, and she truthfully did not wish to explain it all alone. Now she had a choice to make, did she send him away and promise for further talks, or did she stand by her decision?

Sargon spoke into her mind, and for a moment she wasn't certain how to response.

He is a wayward soul whom I promised to help; he will be of no harm to these students, he gave me his word and I believe him. If anything happens, Sargon, I'll deal with it. I swear.

There was no doubt in her words when she spoke to the Force Master. But there was in Connor's eyes when he looked to her and asked her who the approaching woman was.

"That is Jyn's sister, Kyra. Do... You know one another?"

It definitely looked that way. Asha took one small step forward, and looked the man dead in his eyes.

"Do not act out of turn in front of the children, Mister Harrison. You are a guest here, and will be afforded all the benefits of being such... Do not overstep your bounds."

[member='Connor Harrison'] [member='Sargon Vynea'] [member='Sobaan Palle']

 

[Lief]

It took just a few extra steps of strength for Kyra to find her voice. She did not know what she was going to say, truth be told, nor how to say it; it had been months since he had abandoned his cause, the Order he had walked among for almost the entirety of their friendship, she had had time enough to think through what needed to be said. Yet she was drawing a blank regardless.

She overheard Asha warning against anything stupid, and truth be told Kyra was grateful for it. Looking past Connor to the redheaded girl she gave a gentle nod.

"If... I may, Asha; Could you make sure that Stephanie is okay? I would like a moment alone with our guest."

Somehow strength remained in her tone, she did not waver. And the young girl gave a nod and hurried off, giving the pair space. Kyra did not walk to face him, she remained where she was and mulled over the words for a moment longer. And then she sighed.

"I had hoped I was wrong, and that it was not you who stood before me now. As it is, I cannot avoid the situation any longer. Please, walk with me... We do not need an audience."

She stepped around him now, walking toward the edge of the cliff and out of both sight and hearing from the others... Hoping that he would follow. She no longer felt afraid, or worried, truth be told she was simply grateful that he was alive and well... And that he had come to Asha, intrigued about the Balance that Kyra too had found.

Where would this leave them?

It was hard to know.

[member='Connor Harrison'] [member='Sargon Vynea'] [member='Sobaan Palle']

 

[Sobaan Palle]

Sobaan listened patiently to what was said. So Ashla was the lightside, Bogan was the darkside, and Bendu was neutrality. That made sense. Well, he supposed it did anyway. He didn't have much of a frame of reference on these sorts of things so he really couldn't argue either way on whether it made sense or not. He decided to merely accept that these were the case because Master Aotirr was very wise and knew many things. The explanation about the Tho Yor being ships that became temples seemed to make sense as well. Someone had to go out and bring people back to Tython to learn back then, after all. The reason they became temples instead of continuing their task was another question he would have to ask.

When it came to explanations of Force storms, Jyn's hand found its way to his, but he was too enthralled to really notice her comforting gesture, though his fingers instinctively curled around hers. It did sound very frightening. Storms that could rip apart time, destroy planets. It was a wonder Tython even still existed! He gulped at the thought of a storm that could kill a planet. That was powerful indeed. The fact that anyone would be willing to let that happen was disturbing.

"That's scary," he noted, glancing to Jyn. "Do we have to go to Tython?"

His question was for perspective on the future. They didn't have some quest lined up to go, but he wasn't sure he wanted to go even if they did. Going to a place where any slip into Ashla or Bogan could cause storms to flare up that could rip the world apart didn't sound appealing. What if it happened when they were there? Death by Force storm. He didn't particularly like the sound of that. Of course he didn't like the sound of Death in general, so it didn't really matter what the cause was. Either way, he wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of going to such a place. When he looked back, Master Aotirr had moved on, but his eyes noticed Connor and Kyra moving off to speak.

"Why is Lady Serious going with the scary man?"

[member="Jyn Sol"] | [member="Asha Hex"] | [member="Kyra Sol"] | [member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Sargon Vynea"]