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Outfit | Weapon | Appearance



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Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne

The battle for Ilum is over.

It marked the true beginning of a new conflict that will split the focus of the Galactic Alliance between two fronts. But it was also the beginning of a new journey for Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne , who had now made his decision to return to the Jedi and leave behind the Imperial life he once felt a calling for. In his eyes, it had been a call to fight the Sith, but during his time there, he began to understand what kind of monster the Empire truly was. Korvan and Valery had recognized the internal conflict it caused in their separate encounters with him, and now they had brought him back to the Temple to help him adjust

There was still a lot to go over and accomplish, but he wasn't alone, and never again did she want him to feel abandoned.


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So within one of the many meditation rooms at the Temple, Valery sat on top of a comfortable chair and waited for his arrival. Ever since she woke up early in the morning, she had felt this strange tension that she couldn't quite explain, and even now she felt it in her chest. She knew how important this was for his future, and that could be the reason for it, but she wasn't entirely sure about that. Whatever sparked it, Valery was able to keep herself calm and centered and focused her mind on what mattered most.

And it wasn't the holocron he had stolen.

Soon enough, she could feel his presence approaching and straightened her posture as the door slid open. A familiar face greeted her, but his presence was very different from their last encounters. More balanced, even though this was only just the beginning.

"Good morning, Rakaan. Please, take a seat and make yourself comfortable," Valery said with a warm, charismatic smile.




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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

It was far from simple. Far from what Rakaan had once envisioned.

Burdened with restlessness, the Jedi tossed and turned in the sheets of his chambers where the line between horrid nightmare and prophetic vision blurred. On many occasions, Rakaan left his chambers for air. Left for the various balconies, faced with the cold breeze and muted sounds of the vast cityscape that Coruscant could offer. He wandered into the meditation gardens strewn across the lowest levels that found little use in the twilight hours. Even those Rakaan stumbled across seemed to eye him suspiciously, curiously as the Temple Guards trailed so closely behind him.

An added stress, an added reminder of his reality. Of what he had done, of what he feared he would do again.

Even as his bitter side humoured how easily he could best them if it came to it. If nothing else, Rakaan was a prodigy of the Jedi Order. An excellent student with much promise before his eventual fall, only to climb out of the pit he sunk into with what felt like one limb still stuck in the shadows of it. He could never recover in full, not with his mind opened to that aspect, stained and tainted by those emotions that bubbled at his surface; locked behind a door that cried out to be re-opened. Rakaan could hold it at bay, for now.

In time, Rakaan entered the chamber that the Jedi Master awaited him in. He seemed almost locked away inside his cloak as it draped over his form, extended beyond his arms and trailed behind him. Even more so once the Jedi crossed his legs atop the seat, all with a meek smile on offer. His confidence shaken, and shame settled in.

"I apologise if I kept you waiting, Master." He said with a reverent bow.

 


Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne

"It's quite alright," Valery said with a warm, reassuring smile as he entered the room and sat down in the seat positioned directly in front of her. Even though he had made the decision to return to the Jedi after what happened on Ilum, Valery knew that the path forward was going to be difficult. Everything about his demeanor showed it — the weak smile, the restless eyes — and made it clear he was still carrying a heavy weight on his shoulders.

Today would be one of many sessions for him to talk about whatever he was willing to share, for them to explore it together and for her to offer whatever she could to help him settle back in. It was no easy task, but ever since she ran into him here at the Temple when he tried to take his Master's holocron, Valery knew this was something she had to do.

"How are you feeling? You look a little... tired?" she asked to open up the conversation with something easier. She already knew the answer to some extent, but hoped he would share a little more than what she could see at surface level.




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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

His eyes fell to the floor, yet not with sadness. It came with an exhale, one tinged with a faint sense of amusement. For one reason or another, Rakaan failed to find the answer for it and neither dared to look into it. Just one of the myriad of issues that his return had allowed, maybe still better than one of the millions of drones in the Imperial war machine; enslaved to their indoctrination, as much as he became enslaved to his hate.

"I am tired," the Jedi confessed, only then to see his eyes raise to meet her own. Sahar left a slice across the area around his eye, the red lessened and instead it started to scar over. She received worse from him, at least. "Since I've been back, it's hard to sleep. It'll settle with time, I'm sure."

He cleared his throat.

"Just a readjustment, is all."

 


Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne


"I am tired,"

Valery watched quietly as his gaze finally began to rise to meet her own, and found herself getting lost not in his healing scar, but in what she saw behind his eyes — the struggle, but there was something else as well. It was only after a few noticeable seconds that she caught herself, blinked, and snapped out of it with a gentle shake of her head. A slightly apologetic smile touched her lips and she continued.

"It might settle with time, but only if you get to the source of what's keeping you up now," Valery said with a tone that suggested she understood his situation a little. For a while, Valery had struggled with terrible nightmares and Force visions, but it was only when she got to the root of it, that they eventually stopped.


"When you close your eyes at night, what do you see?"



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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

"I see..."

The Jedi felt so small in his clothes. Like the child that entered the Jedi Order on Coruscant those years before, both alone and afraid. He was isolated, cut off, abandoned. It felt as if that was the case, even with a Jedi Master sat opposite him with an undoubtedly endless list of inquiries. It was impossible, the idea of. To know otherwise and yet remain unable to comprehend it. Trust, maybe, the idea circulated in his mind for a fraction of a second.

"Colours," Rakaan continued in a soft voice that dripped with hesitance and focused eyes that drifted off into nothingness, "Just red, black swirls. Faces of people I've never seen, and voices. I hear voices. Each of them... Scared, upset. Angry."

Glimpses of dreams, if not visions, came to him earlier in his life. As a Padawan, but those were of better times and of better outcomes. Dreams, not nightmares. He never felt concern over what was shown, not until now. If each of them, no matter how mundane, seemed to come true than what was to confirm this would not? If it was a vision at all and not a mere dream. If it concerned someone else, other than himself too.

 


Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne

Valery listened intently to what he said about his dreams, and the more she listened, the more she felt he wasn't being exposed to ordinary nightmares playing into his personal fears — these felt like visions, likely of the future. They were characterized by vagueness, yet powerful in emotion.

"I've always been taught that glimpses of the future come to us at night so vaguely because it's always in motion. But clear or not, they have a profound effect on how we feel," she said, knowing that it made it clear to him that she believed this to be more than just dreams. It would be easy to tell him that time would solve this problem and that everything was going to be alright if he just kept chugging along.

But visions of the future could be dangerous too, as their difficulty to be properly interpreted could mislead a Jedi into making wrong decisions.

"There are ways to dive deeper into them and try to understand them better. But it's risky, as these journeys can take you far into the past or to futures that might never become reality. It can be overwhelming and distracting...." she paused and frowned slightly, "But interpreting what you see correctly might help you shape your future or understand it better."




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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

In response, Rakaan softly nodded in subtle movements. His eyes seemed thrown into focus, as if elsewhere. Somewhere, a time or a place. The Jedi felt himself drift off and into the Force, as if to wield it and follow it to where it wished him to be. But that seemed to be an impossible task, and yet less so to defy it. To see it laid bare in his dreams, in these visions, and to decry them as falsehoods. The Force has determined what will be, a common platitude his days as a Padawan learner had been subject to, whether from Master Tolderyn in response to the supposed need to rise above the rest that Rakaan wrestled with or another wise Jedi Master.

He motioned to stand, with a thought-filled look spread across his troubled face Rakaan slinked over towards one of the windows. Between the blinds, he stared out across the cityscape with so much left below them; the spires of the Jedi Temple stood so tall.

"I used to have dreams when I was younger, when I was a Padawan. It was before I..." He turned to face Master Noble but his words turned to ash in his mouth the instant he laid eyes on her, able to do little more than turn back and nod with a saddened face, as if to afford a confirmation to himself. "Master Korvan said the same about these dreams. If I trust the Force, all will be fine. It was all mundane then."

His hands slinked into the sleeves of his dark cloak, "You were taught of these dreams." Rakaan repeated so matter-of-fact with his gaze left on Coruscant, "Did you ever have any of your own?"

 


Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne

With each passing second, it felt as if thicker clouds began to surround the young man, blocking out a hopeful light on the future even though Ilum was supposed to be a catalyst to change just that. Even after rising to his feet and standing in front of the window to look across Coruscant's vast cityscape, Valery felt that his future remained shrouded in darkness. As if nothing could pierce through the veil, no matter how hard he tried or how much he wanted it.

She just remained seated and watched him closely.


"I used to have dreams when I was younger, when I was a Padawan. It was before I..."

When he turned around, he was met with a soft, caring smile to at least offer comfort regarding this subject. She understood that he'd likely struggle to accept his decision in life for some time, but she would always be there to affirm what decision mattered the most in the end. "I believe it's more than just trusting the Force. Sometimes, it can be very difficult to understand what it's trying to tell you," Valery said before she got up to her feet, right as he began his question for her.

It immediately sparked a noticeable change in her demeanor - a saddened tone that briefly shattered her smile. "I still get dreams occasionally, especially before big battles or significant changes in the war or my personal life," she said with a slight frown. "As a Padawan, after I got this scar on my face, I had them almost every night for years," she continued while she stepped a little closer in his direction.

"Then again when my first Padawan was killed, and again when I lost my former Master in front of my own eyes." Her life had been full of conflict and these examples hardly scratched the surface, but she wasn't sharing this just to tell a sad story. There was a purpose behind it. "But I think I got through it all okay, and so can you. It might require more than just trusting in the Force, though. What changed things for me was believing in myself, and perhaps more importantly, really trusting those around me to help and guide me."



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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

"I cannot believe in myself if that means to believe in what I do not know will not come to be." His voice raised a touch with the faintest swivel of his head, still unable to so much as find a brief look into her amber eyes; the kindness of her features, even since replaced with small frown, pained the reborn Jedi to see. To see all in which he failed and betrayed, only to claw back in and still find an uneasiness to it all. "It's impossible to tell, not until I can see more or if it comes to pass."

His eyes closed with an inhale, so cautious as to maintain composure in these recent times. He was a man without fear, bar for the fear reserved for himself and what Rakaan may do, can do. He fell once, the chance to fall a second time remained - be worse off than before.

"Sorry," after a brief bout of hesitance Rakaan had mustered what resolve was left to come face to face. "I... I should be better, I am better. These visions should not be allowed to escape me, and they do. It's... frustrating."

Rakaan spoke with measured words, those calculated and pondered on before each left his mouth. There was an uncomfortable air to each of them, a discomfort in the fact Rakaan shared them. Either of his own volition, or to feel as if he must. Stubborn, set in his ways. This was far from his way, although sacrifices must be made in times of need. In times of struggle.

"I worry about them," barely above a whisper, "I worry about what they mean for others."

He heard Korvan's voice in them, Dagon's too. One of few details he held close to his chest.

 


Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne

"What you see in these visions, what may or may not be, does not define who you are. What you value now and what decisions you make are what matters," Valery said without her eyes shifting away from him even once. It didn't matter that he struggled to meet her gaze — she needed to convey her sincerity, and also her willingness and desire to help. A moment of silence then passed, only interrupted by him drawing in a deep breath as his eyes closed.

She knew he was focusing on keeping himself composed, and that he tried not to let his frustrations get the better of him, so she watched him quietly and felt her own features soften from compassion.

"You don't have to apologize. I know it's hard... both the visions and being open about it," she said with a slightly more sheepish smile that likely revealed her own struggles with it. "I felt similarly when I was struggling with my own demons years ago. But it's also why I believe you'll get through this if you push through the discomfort. Through what really holds you back from overcoming what you see."

Valery then listened again, and remained quiet enough to hear the words he almost whispered. She could feel the emotions behind them even without the Force and finally stepped closer to place a gentle, comforting hand on his shoulder, "I understand, I would be worried too, but try not to let this fear of what you see control you, or it may drag you down to the pit that will make it happen."


"We made our plans to try and bring you back because we felt the good in you, the real you. As long as you stay true to that, you need not worry about those you care about."



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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

His troubled features remained, even as the softness of a touch came to his shoulder. It afforded some comfort, tore Rakaan from his own addled mind; an excuse the Jedi often cast in a bid to dismiss these continued aches and frets, all in order to tell himself it shall all fade with time and that Master Noble was correct, that Korvan had not been mistaken in his efforts to see his former student returned to Coruscant. To the Jedi Temple, the Jedi Order.

"This is the real me, as much that was the real me." His words carried an immeasurable amount of shame, "I crossed over and these dreams... I cannot let them become real, whatever it is. I meditate when I can on them, still no results; no more clear than their first arrival."

Rakaan bowed his head in a brief moment of silence, shattered with a huff that flew from his nostrils. It sounded almost amused, a touch of bitterness laced with frustration. Frustration seemed his most common emotion as of late, or what amounted to one. "Master Korvan told me I was meant for more than the typical Jedi." His eyes rose to meet her own, "I told myself I would become the next Sword of the Jedi. It would be me, me that all the Jedi knew and respected. The Senate respected."

He was unable to let his focus befall Master Noble anymore, for which reason eluded Rakaan. Be it shame or bitterness. "I should be better." He muttered, as if a sombre realisation while his head turned to see Coruscant once more - the sunset left on the horizon bathed what sections of himself slotted between the blinds in that red hue, "Instead I'm in a battle with myself, and I think I've lost."

 


Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne


"This is the real me, as much that was the real me."

Valery's hand lingered on his shoulder but the more he talked, the more she felt as if he really wasn't seeing any light at the end of the tunnel. She felt his shame, his frustrations, and this feedback loop of negative emotions that kept him from finding a way forward. It forced her lips and eyebrows to shift into a slight frown, and for a moment, she wasn't quite sure what to say and just listened to him.

But one particular sentence really hit hard, and almost without realizing it, her hand dropped from his shoulder while she looked at him, and realized just how defeated he felt.


"Instead I'm in a battle with myself, and I think I've lost."

"You can't give up, Rakaan," Valery said with a more somber tone, a sign that his lack of hope affected her as well - a sign she had wanted to keep him from seeing or feeling, but one she could no longer suppress. "Master Korvan was right about you, and many of us shared that sentiment. You do have it in you to do great things as a Jedi, and that part of you isn't lost." She looked up at his face, now cast in red light from the sun as if even the planet highlighted the conflict burning within him.

"I felt it, not just on Ilum, but on Coruscant as well," she admitted. "When we dueled, I felt the eager Padawan who looked for me long after classes were over for the day just to get extra training again. That desire to change and be better." A brief smile appeared again, as memories of the past resurfaced in her mind.


"You can still win this battle. I... am just not sure how yet and what it'll take." Another thing that wasn't easy to admit, but even the wisest Jedi didn't have answers to everything. "But you're not alone in this."


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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

He twitched, an unintended reflex that came with the flood of memories to earlier times. Better times. The Jedi Padawan, the one that needed to learn more; overcome with an obsessive compulsion to understand and further an endless list of honed skills, far more so than the wisdoms and mysteries that concerned the Force itself. Just a boy, yet no different to what Rakaan was now. Even in the latter stages, he was there - a nuisance, a bothersome voice that refused to leave even when lessons had finished. Master Noble had become the Sword of the Jedi, and while his own Master remained a formidable duelist, his defensive style never meshed will with Rakaan.

"I need time," Rakaan answered, as if for himself and this time far more definitive than all the uncertain words that came before. "I need a distraction, a mission."

In full now, the remade Jedi turned and faced the master once more. His features still bathed in the red hue of the sunset over Coruscant, even if more resolute and true to his usual self. "I've been difficult. I'm thankful for your patience," Rakaan offered in the same sombre tone, "If possible, I would like the chance to leave the Jedi Temple. To assist the Jedi where I can, wherever that is."

 


Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne

"A mission?" Valery asked while she considered it. There was reason to believe that keeping him here to address his struggles under supervision would be for the best, but she also understood that being kept within the walls of the Temple kept him locked up within his own mind. If she were in his position, she would have wanted a distraction as well.

She watched him turn, the beautiful warm light of the red sun still shining bright against his skin, and offered a smile in response to his apology, "You haven't been difficult," she tried to assure him, and she was being sincere. Helping struggling Jedi was never something that bothered or exhausted here, even in difficult cases like this.

"But I think you're right, some time away from the Temple might be good for you." Her lips pursed forward in thought for a moment before she looked into his eyes again, "I trust you to go on a mission alone if that's what you prefer, but you may also join others if you'd like, myself included."

She felt he needed to feel a level of trust and responsibility, but she'd always make herself available to either join him or have him join her on assignments.


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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

In acceptance, Rakaan nodded.

"I should think Master Korvan has some duties for me," a once inseparable duo that found itself fractured with the loss of Rakaan to an Imperial cause until as of late, whether it was able to withstand those cracks had yet to be seen. "In any case, it would be an honour to work beside you."

Between the few and brief wanders about the Jedi Temple, Rakaan had overhead several mentions of a mission to Kiffu. It seemed less of a rumour and more of a fact, maybe that was his chance to see himself off-world and into the arms of a much needed distraction. Set out across the sands, out of the confines of the temple for a time.

"Until then, if you need assistance somewhere at all, I'll be available." He said with a faint smile. "I've seen the Order has expanded a lot as of late, and I'm sure with that comes certain demands."

 


Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne

"You should work with him," Valery said with an encouraging dip of her head. After being separated for so long, it would hopefully help to work alongside someone he knew really well. It gave them the time to get adjusted and was hopefully good enough of a distraction for now as well. "But I'll happily bring you along with me. It will likely be something closer to the front, though," she said, knowing that probably didn't bother him, but it was still important to mention.

She then paused a moment and noticed a faint smile slipping through the cracks - perhaps the first she had seen from him today. It was met with one of her own, and a slightly playful smirk, "Unless you feel like helping me handle some troublemaker Padawans, I think you'll find a better distraction in other upcoming missions."

It was a joke but the Order really had been growing a lot, and there were certainly a few situations lately that had demanded her to address them.

"I will not be joining the Jedi on Kiffu, but perhaps later we can work together. Outside the larger missions, I also take on plenty of smaller assignments. We've got options," she said with her more warm, charismatic smile again.


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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

The mention of troublesome students earned some form of an amused huff with an equal measured smirk at the corner of his mouth. "I'm not so sure I'm the best for them," he remarked between stifled chuckles, his own days as one were not far behind him and even then Rakaan was a tad troublesome himself. He liked to consider himself more curious, however. "Closer to the front is preferred, Master."

It was un-Jedi-like to claim a certain enjoyment for the thrill of combat. But, that was the truth to it. It was a thrill, an enjoyable one too. Either in the stars or the field behind the controls of a starship or with a lightsaber in hand and the Force within reach. He entered the ranks of the Empire with the intent to face the Sith, after all.

"I'm sure of it," Rakaan confirmed, "I'll be within reach, regardless."

 


Outfit | XoXo
Location | Coruscant Temple
Tag | Rakaan Horne Rakaan Horne

"Very few Jedi are these days," Valery admitted with a sheepish smile. There were times she actually felt like she was the mother of half the order with how much trouble they caused, and how much of it ended up on her plate to deal with. Most of the NJO's leaders or more experienced Jedi were still quite young, so it was only logical, but demanding nonetheless.


"Closer to the front is preferred, Master."


Valery smirked, having expected the answer. "Now that my time in Enclave space is behind me, I'll be going back to the Maw front. I'll likely be joining a few smaller skirmishes soon, so you're free to join me if you don't mind being stuck with me for a week or two out there."

She paused a moment, her fiery eyes shifting to the skyline, "Then once it's over, I might take you somewhere away from the war. A place of my past that might be interesting for you to see," she said with a tone that suggested it wasn't an easy place for her to be. But whether it was stubbornness or determination, it would be hard to dissuade her from it.



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JEDI TEMPLE, CORUSCANT:-
Valery Noble Valery Noble

Trials and tribulations abound, the life of a Jedi never seemed to ease; not with time, neither with experience. It was a sombre note, the one Rakaan allowed to form inside his mind for all of a nanosecond - become all too aware of the difficulties and yet still force himself to shove them aside. It would not be him, the Jedi mused, not him that would find himself buried beneath the troubles that came with this life he lead.

Even Master Noble had problems of her own, it seemed.

His blue eyes, so disimilar to her own, made an effort to settle onto her's. It was as if the two traded positions, what with the need to stare out into what Coruscant had on offer in the period between the sun and moon. "A place of your past?" Rakaan probed with a curious mind.

 
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