The Wellspring of Knowledge (Taryc)

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]


The peaceful hills and forests of the planet Tython were dotted with ancient ruins. Many of these had been endlessly sampled by Jedi and others for thousands of years.
However, one particular ruin a short distance from the famous Wellspring had not received much attention…until now.

Jedi Master Phylis Alince was carefully examining an old foundation, watched over by her Astromech droid.
“Hmm, definitely looks like a 7th era construction. Pre-Civil War perhaps?”
Six-Nine beeped something.
“Hmmph, of course I checked that. It’s not like they’d have helpfully put a note here ‘Build 19,000 years before a battle on a planet we don’t know about!’”
The droid retorted with an indignant beep.
“Six-Nine, that was rude. Do you have anything constructive for me?”
A petulant beep followed.
“Thank you, Six-Nine. Get some recordings of the surrounds for me. Upload them to the databanks for holographic modelling.”

The droid trundled off, leaving the Jedi Master in the small hole, carefully using a trowel to pry away the dirt of ages.
“Hmmph, if only every Jedi since the formation of the Old Republic hadn’t blundered through here it’d make it much easier.”
She blamed the Hero of Tython, whatever race or gender they were – stories were confused on that matter!

 

[H3xle]

'Tython, a world so storied in Jedi lore it is in itself a beacon to the orders.' Taryc thought to herself as she strode from where she had landed her ship, though if honesty were being fully used, a droid had flown and landed the ship. She hadn't touched the controls once, which was why there wasn't a flaming hulk behind her. 'It is a wonder I don't burst into flames by merely stepping on the ground...' She mused, nearing the ruins after several minutes of walking. She wasn't much of a historian, but she had immense respect for the discipline of archaeology, and didn't want to land in the ruins.

[member="siobhan kerrigan"] had recommended that she seek out Jedi Master [member="Phylis Alince"] at her current dig on Tython. Taryc had a good hand for forging, particularly beskar after making two of her own suits, repairing them over the years, and helping [member="elpsis elaris"] make hers. She had even begun delving into imbuing objects with the Force, as she had done with the crystals in her armor. Siobhan thought the discipline of Alkahest that Phylis had created would be the perfect next step for Taryc, and she couldn't think of a reason to disagree.

As she neared the ruin, she removed the helmet from her head. After running afoul on her trip to Anderahl, she was wont to go anywhere new without her armor. Even though she was nominally safe within Alliance territory, you could never be too sure. She stuck the helmet to the small of her back, a magnetic plate there taking the helmet easily. She took a moment to take in the surroundings, an almost idyllic place despite the planets war torn past.

A smile graced her lips as she continued, rounding a corner to come upon Master Alince. Taryc doubted she hadn't been heard, but she cleared her throat politely anyway.

"Master Alince, I presume."

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]
Phylis was not paying attention much to the world around. Though she might well have sensed the approach of Taryc had she been focussed, she was instead blissfully unaware.
Instead she was laying in her hole, carefully brushing and chipping the fragments of time away.
“Foundations show signs of considerable fire damage of a high temperature,” she said into a little recorder by her side. Her excavation continued until she found something very unexpected.
“Hmm, scoring on wall consistent with lightsabre burn mark. How did this occur?” she asked rhetorically as she ran a hand over the ancient mark.

And then someone behind her coughed and said her name. Phylis jerked upwards, reaching for her lightsabre in alarm. Unfortunately it became tangled in her robe and flew out of her hand, impacting a rock and flopping to the ground.
“Oh, poot,” she muttered. She glanced up. The woman above her had the sun behind her and her features were shadowed. Now the Jedi was concentrating she did not recognise the aura of the woman. It was not an antagonistic one however.
“I am Phylis Alince, yes. Who are you?” She called the lightsabre back to her hand, now confident she wouldn’t need it.

 

[H3xle]

[member="Phylis Alince"]

Taryc had not interacted with Jedi directly since her time with the Primeval, and at that point she had not interacted kindly with them. A lot had changed in the time between then and now, however, and none of the malevolence of her youth remained.

She knelt down before the Jedi Master, and nodded her head at the introduction.

"Master Alince, I am Taryc Ap'Irae. Our mutual friend, [member="siobhan kerrigan"], said that I would find you here." She took a deep breath, relaxing the slight nerves she felt when introducing herself to someone new. "She said you pioneered a light sided form of alchemy, I am a journeyman smith, I've been working the force into my forging for a while. Mistress Kerrigan got my interest piqued when she described Alkahest to me, she said I should seek you out to learn."

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]
Phylis nodded slowly. “Ah, Siobhan,” she said, as if that explained everything. The woman before her was certainly not a Jedi, but nor was she a clear Dark Side Force user like some at Firemane were.

Before she could reply though there was a mechanical screech and Six-Nine rolled menacingly forward, welding arm extended. Well, as menacing as an astromech could be.
“Glad you finally showed up, Six-Nine,” Phylis said wryly. “Stand down, she’s not an enemy. If she was, I don’t think even your gallant charge would win the day.”
A little deflated, Six-Nine gave a sulky beep and retracted his welding arm.
“Hmmph, I’m sorry, Six-Nine. Just try and warn me about people before they politely introduce themselves!”

Phylis climbed out of the hole and brushed her robes down.
“Hmm, Taryc did you say? I believe Siobhan has mentioned you before. Pleased to meet you!” She extended a hand.

“Hmm, yes, now, Alkahest is my own personal project. I’m glad to hear you’re a fellow smith though. That at least means I don’t have to teach you to hammer and quench! Did you have anything in particular you were looking to have made, or were you after lessons on the how-to?”

 

[H3xle]

Taryc looked over at the threatening droid and smiled faintly. She didn't really feel threatened, but also remained silent as Phyllis took care of the issue.

“Hmm, Taryc did you say? I believe Siobhan has mentioned you before. Pleased to meet you!”

"The pleasure is mine." She took the hand and shook it once firmly, then let her hands rest on her raised knee as she knelt there. While Taryc was obviously not a Jedi, Phyllis would be able to detect very little darkness in Taryc.

“Hmm, yes, now, Alkahest is my own personal project. I’m glad to hear you’re a fellow smith though. That at least means I don’t have to teach you to hammer and quench! Did you have anything in particular you were looking to have made, or were you after lessons on the how-to?”

Taryc nodded and smiled. "I learned to smith in my youth, I was with the Primeval when they ruled Echoy'la. Some of the local smiths helped to educate me." She admitted. "I have kept the knowledge and skills, even as I bettered myself and moved far away from Primeval philosophies." Absently, she took a pinch of earth from in front of her knee and rubbed it between her fingers. "If it would be acceptable, I would like to know how to perform Alkahest. I've vowed to never use the dark side again, there are parts of me that still crave it. However, until I heard about Alkahest, I had not known of a skill to match dark side alchemy."

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]
“Ah, hmmph, the Primeval,” Phylis said disapprovingly. However, she listened, and it was clear that Taryc had moved beyond them. She was willing to give her a chance – after all the Alkahest would very clearly reveal if she was lying!

“It has been the myopia of the Jedi for many millennia to not follow their philosophy to the logical conclusion. To wit, if the Force is indeed dualist and divided between Light and Dark, then logically everything which the Dark or Light can do can be mirrored by the other side. Alkahest is sadly many generations behind Sith Alchemy, but I am improving all the time.”

“Hmm, well, did you have a specific item you were interested in making? I could show you the beginning of the art by many means as you wish. A weapon, an artefact, whatever you might find most useful.”

 

[H3xle]

Taryc couldn't do anything but agree with the Jedi Master's opinion on the Primeval. A soft smile spread across her face with a shallow nod at Phyllis's unveiled opinion of Taryc's former masters.

"I don't want the first thing I make with it be a weapon. Such would be the way of my far former self. While a weapon has uses, it isn't what the Light side is for, in my opinion." She spoke, kneeling there in full armor, enchanted sword on her back. It was a definite juxtaposition, her attitude with learning this new art and her preferred way of travelling. Taryc knew this might seem a silly distinction, but she felt it was an important one. "I was thinking of enchanting a failsafe, specifically against illusions and mental manipulations. Would such be possible with Alkahest?"

Memories flashed through her mind momentarily. Battling in the basement of Vader's Castle, feeling the tendrils of someone elses mind trying to wrest control from her. Feeling the temptation to use the dark side pooled in the area against the impertinent Acolyte. A flush of pride sang through her at the memory of resisting the dark side in that time of need, and still accomplishing her goals.

"I have a crystal in my helmet set to help my defenses in an active way, when I am concentrating on it. But I was thinking a pendant or something that would be keyed to myself, and certain powers...again, I don't know if it is possible, just that such would be immensely useful."

[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

Phylis raised an eyebrow at the armour, sword and helmet.
“I understand your meaning,” she said with a nod. All out weaponry and offence was not the truest embodiment of the Light. However, the Light was not pacifist or meek. Fighting did not necessarily lead to the Dark Side – that was something many Jedi tripped up on. It was how, why and especially what you used to fight which had an impact.

“Hmm, what you suggest is possible. I can create an item which will increase your mental fortitude. However, it will require atunement to you, and also it will not provide universal or unfailing protection without your input. Indeed, I have a basic version I can show you the details. Now, where did I put my datapad?”
Six-Nine beeped pointedly.
“Impossible, I had it just now…ah!” She produced one from her robe and handed it over with specs on an item she produced.
“I can make one of these for you and teach you some skills. Alternatively, if you are feeling bold we can attempt something more…ambitious.”

 

[H3xle]

“I can make one of these for you and teach you some skills. Alternatively, if you are feeling bold we can attempt something more…ambitious.”

A grin spread across Taryc's face once more.

"Well, I was never the timid type. Did you have a bolder option in mind?" She asked, then looked to the pad. The metallurgical analysis of the ring she understood, and the process of folding force energy into it was the basis of creating any such item, Light, Dark, or in between. However, the use of crystals that were ground and energized, and the use of blood in the mix were new to her. She had never picked up Sith Alchemy, having never been a Sith and never having sought out their teachings, so she couldn't say with certainty if this resembled that process. For the moment, the way such things would react with the forging process and force enchanting were beyond her, she could see how it could strengthen an item, attune it to a person, but she could also see how it would exacerbate any flaws if the artisan wasn't focused.

"This is a beautiful piece of work. I understand a few of the basics, but much of the advanced work is stuff I hadn't even thought to try..." Her voice trailed off, her eyes roving over the schematics for a moment. She looked back up to Phyllis, the respect in her eyes doubled after seeing the schematics. "It looks like it would work much like my helmet crystal, but not require so much material, and be useful outside of armor. I can't tell you how silly the helmet looks if I'm not wearing the armor."

[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]
“Hmm, yes, it would be noticeable at a social gathering!” Phylis agreed with a smile. “A smaller amulet will pass without notice unless one knows what to look for.”

The praise made her flush a little. “Well, thank you, Taryc. It is a craft still in the process of perfection. There is something liberating about creating a new art, you set the rules and the tone, unbound by pervious received wisdom.”

She knelt down beside Taryc. “I had in mind a design in silver which would appear like a regular necklace.” She handed over an image she had been working on.

“I’m guessing since you came to see me you have time to work with me on this?” she asked eagerly.

 

[H3xle]

[member="Phylis Alince"]

Taryc looked over the image for a moment and smiled.

“I’m guessing since you came to see me you have time to work with me on this?”

"I do have time, though I wouldn't want to impose on your work here." She said, motioning to the ruins around them. "I am flexible with my time, so we can work around your schedule here, or I can wait until you are more free..." Taryc would be willing to put work in as payment, but looking at the ruins, she knew that she didn't have much in the way of expertise to offer on this. She knew less about Jedi than many more arcane topics, but being raised by the Primeval out on the outskirts of the galaxy tended to have that effect.

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

Phylis glanced at the ruins. "They've stood here for thousands of years, an extra day won't matter," she commented.

“Come aboard, dear. Hmm, don’t mind the mess,” she said as they entered the Wellspring.

The ship was a bit…disordered. Phylis seemed to fit well into the absent minded professor role, and so many items and half-finished jobs were scattered about.

“So, come in, let me show you my workroom.”
Inside one particular room was a series of very neatly laid out shelves and tools. Indeed, this was the most ordered area on the ship. A large furnace occupied one corner with an anvil and other tools prepared.

“The art of alchemy and Alkahest is to infuse the Force in a certain way into an object or material. Most substances can be used to some degree, but metal is the best I find, as when it is in liquid form it is easy to infuse, and once it hardens it seals. The most important use of the Force is to create a unified crystalline molecular structure for it, allowing copper to be as resistant as the hardest metal. Indeed, to be nearly immune to lightsabres or any external harm beyond that of a cataclysmic event.”

She went to a cupboard and produced a set of robes she did not wear all the time. These too fairly glowed with the Force, clearly visible to Taryc.
“This is an example of what can be done with cloth. In some ways more limited, yet also, hmm, flexible.”