Private Treasures of the Past

[Cedwyn Blaidd]

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Location: Unmapped world
Objective: Seek help from a friend
Equipment: Lightsaber, Echani sword, 2x blaster pistols, 1x blaster rifle
Outfit: Casual
Tag: Valery Noble

"I apologise, I was not clear when I came to you. I came not because you were a Jedi, I came to you because you were dedicated to the Light and someone I trusted implicitly." Cedwyn looked over to her, "anyone dedicated to the Light Side, a purely good person could have opened it. Jedi is most obvious pick yes, but that doesn't mean someone who is good, dedicated to the Light and refuses the doctrine of the Jedi couldn't open this." Cedwyn explained, hoping the clarification would help Valery.

He turned back to the view of the lake, "I am tainted, to my very soul. I will never be able to open it. But there are others, those who want to do good but refuse to be a Jedi. This could be a home for them, as well as the Jedi. A temple for all and any who wish to do good." He turned to Valery once more, "that... That was what I was seeking. But you are right, this is a former Jedi temple and the choice ultimately should be yours, the Jedi." Cedwyn understood he had no say in this matter but did wish to offer his own wishes for the place he once called home.

"I..." The fear swirled around him, "they died there. Their bodies. My Master's body." Cedwyn breathed in panicked, seeing that, if it was there. Could he truly cope with it? Perhaps he needed to do this. "I... Okay...." It was time, he needed to see what was there, what was left.

Walking to the stairs, "I always found the training halls were my favourite, but then I was constantly training in both the Echani ways and in the Jedi martial arts." Cedwyn explained, "I'm guessing combat training was your preference as a Padawan too?" It was an assumption but given her skills when they sparred, it made sense she was someone who preferred fighting.

The training halls were clearly more damaged and suffered more wear and tear over the years, it was clear this was where the most of the fight had taken place. There was no corpses, no skeletons but there were scorched marks of where the bodies once were. It was clear the Sith burnt the bodies till there was nothing left. It was a sight that hurt Cedwyn, it meant there would be no body of his Master to bury. "I know that I blackmailed you into fighting me when we first met, it wasn't exactly my proudest moment. I had been blinded by lust, but that spar did really change the path I was on. Seeing you fight, it reminded me of my Master and what she saw in me."

Cedwyn stepped closer to Valery, moving into her personal space. "I apologise for my previous behaviour, it has weighed on me since. But thankful for indulging me, since it helped set me on this path to be here and abandon the Dark Side." He confessed, he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave an affectionate squeeze. He then turned around and continued walking, "the room where my Master was... It was the last one before the vault, we always used that room since I always hoped to catch a glimpse inside the vault from there." Cedwyn chuckled at his younger self.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Cedwyn Blaidd

"After so long, I'm sure something has changed here," Valery said, eyeing him as he almost seemed to dread going in there to find out what happened. "Other Jedi must have known about this place too, right? Maybe they've visited in the years since." It was just a theory, but either way, she was going to follow him inside and help him figure things out. Valery could even look into the past if she tried, but doing so in a place where people died was never a very comfortable thing.

Death or the Dark Side could drive a user of Psychometry insane through the intense emotions that were tied to memories involving either of them.

"Oh yeah, as a Padawan, I was at the training grounds every minute I could," Valery answered while they walked towards the stairs. "Even after I was knighted, I still trained there a lot. But more of that time was also spent on the actual front, gaining experience rather than just learning in a safe environment." There was a lot more she could talk about or ask in return, but they reached the training halls, and her focus shifted to that while his own did too.

No bodies or remains, but the signs of battle were still very much there.

Turning back to Cedwyn, Valery frowned sympathetically when he mentioned their first encounter, and how it had changed him. At the time, Valery had wanted to forget about him entirely, and hoped to never meet him again. But she did feel like he was actually changing, so her own opinion of him had changed as well. "I'm glad I was able to help, but the credit should still go to you. No matter what I say or do, or how others try to help, you ultimately have to make changes yourself. It sounds to me like you did." She smiled briefly and then turned her gaze back to the halls.

"Was there more you wanted to find out about what happened here? Or is it all too much and vivid, still?"

 

[Cedwyn Blaidd]

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Location: Unmapped world
Objective: Seek help from a friend
Equipment: Lightsaber, Echani sword, 2x blaster pistols, 1x blaster rifle
Outfit: Casual
Tag: Valery Noble

Cedwyn shook his head, "those who knew were either here and died, captured by the Sith who raided this temple, turned or killed in attempts to turn." Cedwyn stated, "if I hadn't found this temple in my life time, it would have been lost forever. As the Sith wanted to happen." Cedwyn looked over to her, grateful for Valery's attempts of being hopeful.

He nodded his head, her words of kindness were appreciated and meant a lot, "unfortunate that was the version of me that you first met. I appreciate your kindness on this being my change." He nodded his head to her, then looked around the training halls and the different rooms, "I don't need you to experience those horrors, I remember the day clearly enough. It was never going to be a day that I will forget." He walked on, towards where he knew his Master had perished.

Using the Force, he opened the door, a room where there had been fighting with a mix of Force and Lightsabers. "I froze. My Master told me to run and to get out of here. I froze and watched her die. Unable to help her fight, unable to flee like she ordered." Cedwyn stated, he was reliving that memory thoroughly through his mind, what could have happened if he went down a different path. A different person. "I failed her that day, I failed because I didn't listen. Then..." He breathed in deeply, "then she died protecting me, concerned for my life, not her own. After that I gave in. I surrendered to the darkness and used the Dark Side. I willingly corrupted myself out of fear, hurt and anger."

It was good to confess such issues, "I..." He fell to his knees, his eyes were lost in the pain of his own memories, "I became the thing she had always worked so hard to help me avoid to become. A pawn of the Sith, lost in my anger, hatred, my weaknesses exposed and blinded by the lies given by the Sith."

There was a long moment of silence from Cedwyn, he couldn't find his voice anymore. He confronted all of his sins now, all he could do was move forward from it. Rising to his feet, he pointed to the seemingly plain wall. "The vault lies here. There are weights, objects that will be needed to move in sync. By both of us." He told her, place a hand on the wall, "you will only be able to feel them and not see where they need to go. Meant to imitate the blind faith in the Force one must have."

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Cedwyn Blaidd

"Very well," Valery said when he told her he remembered everything about the training room quite vividly. It meant that she wouldn't have to try and tap into those memories herself, which... was quite a relief. The emotions tied to them would be rather overwhelming, so she much preferred to focus on discovering more of the Temple. With a flick of his hand, a door opened and the two stepped into the next room of the Temple.

The traces of the past she felt there were similarly haunting, but perhaps amplified by the more current flash of emotion she felt in Cedwyn. Valery turned to him and listened to his story with a frown. "You were young," Valery said calmly, as he told her about what he believed to be his failure. "As kids, we're all products of our surroundings and this..." she looked around. "This is far too much for any young person to handle."

Cedwyn then fell to his knees, and she walked over to gently place a hand on his shoulder. "I think your old Master would be proud to know that you had the strength to change into a better man. Holding past mistakes over your own head while you've already worked so hard to be better won't help you." She offered a soft smile and pulled her hand away before he got back up to his feet. A moment of silence passed, but then it seemed that he wanted to move forward again.

A good sign, in her opinion.

"That shouldn't be too hard. I've seen similar mechanisms before," Valery said as she placed her own hand against the vault door. It reminded her of the old vault at the New Cov Enclave that she had once opened with the help of a former Padawan. She was ready to do what she had to.

 

[Cedwyn Blaidd]

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Location: Unmapped world
Objective: Seek help from a friend
Equipment: Lightsaber, Echani sword, 2x blaster pistols, 1x blaster rifle
Outfit: Casual
Tag: Valery Noble

The kind words and the touch to his shoulder, it was more than Cedwyn could have wished for from a friend. He was grateful for the comfort and he was thankful for the words of encouragement that he was bettering himself. He was appreciative that she saw his efforts and accepted him as a man changing and not one that was tainted for life. From her, it meant more than he could express. When he placed his hand on the vault he felt the mechanisms through the Force.

"Open on my count then." It was fortunate that Valery had experience with these types of things, it meant that Cedwyn could trust her to be in sync with him about it all.

He inhaled deeply and connected with the first mechanism on his side. "Starting from the top down, nothing tricky just need to be in sync so means we have to be open between us." Cedwyn confessed, he allowed his presence to be completely transparent with Valery, hoping she would be the same for him. "On three."

"One. Two. Three!" Cedwyn began unlocking the locks on his side. Moving slowly, methodically and ensuring that each one clicked into place as he guided the Force down the serpentine pathway that he could sense. Once he reached the bottom, he looked to Valery with a chuckle in his voice, "never expected this day to arrive once I left here." There was a glimpse of the former mischievous but ever curious Jedi child in his appearance once more. A chance to see who he had been and who he could have been without the Sith.

Opening the hefty door, Cedwyn opened the vault to a short set of stairs and fires that lit up in their presence. Illuminating the secrets that the vault had held for a decade now. Cedwyn was sure there would be weapons, technology built specific to help the Jedi fight, to defend themselves. That was always what he had been told, that the vault contained everything the Jedi needed to continue their fight.

But it was empty.

Not empty. But there were no weapons, no machine, no armour. There was nothing that would constitute as items to assist the Jedi in battle, nothing that Valery could use to fight and slain Sith. Nothing he could use to do that. It was a library. Shelves of knowledge and even texts potentially thousands of years old. It was a library. Cedwyn was baffled, he walked in further and then turned to Valery, his jaw slackened. "I... I..." He started.

"There were meant to be weapons, items to help us fight! They lied! They said everything in here would help the Jedi continue to live on, to fight. This doesn't help us!" Cedwyn shouted, he was angry, betrayed, he swore that this was meant to be some ultimate armoury but instead it was a library of knowledge and ancient texts that helped no one in his mind.

 

[Valery Noble]

Coruscant

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Cedwyn Blaidd

"I'm ready," Valery said after Cedwyn announced the countdown. She then waited, and turned to the Force to sync up with him, so that the second he began unlocking the mechanism, she did the same. From the top down, every part of this mechanical device was starting to open up, and even after so long, it went surprisingly smooth. This door had not been opened in a very long time, but it was offering very little resistance.

It was meant to be opened by Jedi, even after possibly hundreds of years.

When the doors finally opened and revealed not a weapons storage, but a library, all of it made sense to Valery. She had already found it quite odd that the Jedi would have stored weapons at a Temple. It not only went against their philosophical beliefs, but it was also a significant risk to store live ammunition and weapons at a place where you teach younglings. No, they had stored a different kind of weapon, and one far more powerful.

Knowledge.

Valery turned to Cedwyn after a moment of thought, and frowned at the anger outburst she saw, "The Jedi don't need weapons for their fight, Cedwyn. The most important to us that we do what we do as Jedi, and texts like these help us retain who we are, and what we stand for."

"I don't think there's a better 'weapon' the Jedi could have."

 

[Cedwyn Blaidd]

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Location: Unmapped world
Objective: Seek help from a friend
Equipment: Lightsaber, Echani sword, 2x blaster pistols, 1x blaster rifle
Outfit: Casual
Tag: Valery Noble

Valery wasn't disappointed, she wasn't let down by the lack of weapons. That the promises that Cedwyn had made to bring her to the temple were non-existent. Instead she seemed excited and deeply pleased with the actual contents of the vault. That it was more important to have this knowledge and that this would always ensure a Jedi always existed.

"As long as there is there is flint, the sparks of light and hope can be struck," Cedwyn repeated the words of his Master and this was something that started to dawn on him that she meant this vault. "The library here serves as that flint, that tool to spark hope and light forever as long as it remains secure." Cedwyn knew how important this would be for the Jedi and how much Valery will want to document and ensure the information was never lost. He couldn't prevent that, he was realising how important this all was.

He looked around and sighed, "I will spend my time here restoring this. It's clear this enclave is important for the Jedi and safer to restore the temple, and keeping the vault locked and secured than attempting to transporting all this information back to the temple on Coruscant." Gesturing to some of the ancient physical texts, "these especially."

Cedwyn looked around and turned to her, "is there anything here that interests you or stands out?" He was curious where her mind would be drawn to.

 

[Valery Noble]

Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Cedwyn Blaidd

"That's a good way of putting it," Valery agreed with a soft smile. She was visibly very relieved about what they had found, and it only strengthened her belief that this Temple could be a good stop for other Jedi, or perhaps even their home. But that also brought up another question for her, and Cedwyn asking her about what interested her sparked her to bring it up.

"How are the sleeping arrangements and other basic needs set up?" Valery asked. "I don't want to send Jedi or any Force sensitive looking for training or a place to stay here if there aren't any rooms to sleep in. We'll also have to arrange something for food, water and some medical supplies in case of emergencies."

Running a Temple wasn't as easy as just existing in an old building.

"But... there's no real rush with it all. I'm sure you'd want to spend some time here restoring some things."

 

[Cedwyn Blaidd]

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Location: Unmapped world
Objective: Seek help from a friend
Equipment: Lightsaber, Echani sword, 2x blaster pistols, 1x blaster rifle
Outfit: Casual
Tag: Valery Noble

"If you want to see my old bedroom, you just had to ask Master Jedi." Cedwyn gave a flirtatious, and coy wink before his face cracked into a chuckle. "Apologies, the joke was right there."

He hoped that would alleviate any concerns that he was attempting anything but a friendship between them. Maybe one where he nudged the line with corny flirty lines and such, but he couldn't help it himself. "The living quarters were decent, but it has been more than a decade since they were used. This temple will need extensive restoration before we can consider it a viable home."

"There is mess hall, kitchen and the kitchen is large enough to be restored in a manner to teach Jedi to cook a meal for themselves. Medical ward was high end but would need restoring and upgraded." Cedwyn listed off, the things he would need to work on to get this place back to where it was.

Looking around, he shrugged, "this vault is probably the only thing left in good condition since the sand didn't get in here to degrade anything. But I can should you the living quarters and explain how they were."

He offered a smile and wandered towards where the living quarters were. "There's also a council room, training course and a map of the area. I remember my Master told me that Padawans could head to the forest isles to find a Lightsaber crystal. But might need some guides due to wild predators there."

 

[Valery Noble]

Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Cedwyn Blaidd

Valery rolled her eyes at his comment but smirked just a little bit. Leave it to him to make a joke like that, but it no longer bothered her anymore after they had gotten to be friends. "You're fine, but it makes sense that they'll need to be looked at." Nobody wanted to sleep on beds that hadn't been taken care of in decades, after all.

The same went for much of the Temple — it could easily be used again, but it needed some serious attention. Both to make sure it was all clean and to make sure it was safe. Neither Cedwyn nor Valery were structural experts, and the last thing she wanted was for the ceiling to crumble with young Jedi inside.

They'd have to be thorough, and not make any assumptions.

"I don't think a Council room is needed anymore, so maybe that can be turned into something else. As for the crystals... we'd have to scout out the path first. Ilum is a tricky gathering, but the students aren't in danger of being eaten alive." She wasn't going to be the Jedi Master to send a Padawan into a dangerous forest, so she wanted to make sure.

"But first, let's see the living quarters. Old Temples were often very... minimal with them. If that's the case here, maybe it would be nice to make them a little more comfortable too."

 

[Cedwyn Blaidd]

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Location: Unmapped world
Objective: Seek help from a friend
Equipment: Lightsaber, Echani sword, 2x blaster pistols, 1x blaster rifle
Outfit: Casual
Tag: Valery Noble

"The council room was designed as a meeting room, somewhere for the Jedi Masters running the temple to meet and discuss things without the interruptions of the Padawans and Knights. Perhaps that should be what it can be once more. A meeting room reserved for the Masters that run the temple." Cedwyn suggested, "especially since the Galactic Alliance and New Jedi Order's influence does not reach this far out. It would not be terrible to have some more independence from your Jedi council?" It was not to suggest anything nefarious was to happen, just that being so far away, awaiting council approval could be something that was too long.

Cedwyn chuckled, "well, the Padawan chambers were a little simple but Knights and Masters tended to live more comfortable suites." He pointed out, wandering their way around the temple as they reached the living quarters, the sense in the Force, the echo was very different from the training rooms. The training rooms housed a lot of death, pain and fear. The quarters homed more joy, happiness and love. A love that was familial and Cedwyn breathed in deeply, a weight of the pain from the past seemed to be lifted away.

However, the haunting of the past still lingered deep in his mind, in his eyes and in his heart. The darkness he had tapped into that day and for years after. It didn't fade after a single walk around the temple, it never could. But he was stepping forward. That was the more important thing.

"Here we are, the Padawan living quarters." Opening the door, it was a simple bedroom, of a reasonable size with faded posters on the walls, a bed coated in sand but nothing that looked uncomfortable or small. There was also an ensuite bathroom of a modest size. It seemed standard dorm accommodation for a Jedi Padawan. "I remember this feeling bigger..." Cedwyn chuckled.

"The Knights are further down and the Masters' are at the end. They have personal kitchens, meditation chambers and a few extras that aren't available to Padawans." Cedwyn pointed out, "I remember my Master's chambers was massive when I visited to seek out advice and seemed unfair, but it was done because a Jedi Padawan is not yet ready for those privileges and they can prove to be dangerous if not nurtured first."

"At least that was the explanation given to me." Cedwyn chuckled.

 

[Valery Noble]

Temple

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Lightsaber
Tag: Cedwyn Blaidd

"A meeting room sounds fine, but I wouldn't try to have people run this Temple. Unless you want to put your trust into completely random Force-sensitives, we don't have the Jedi to do it. The Ilum and New Cov Temples aren't constantly staffed either." As Watchmen of Ilum, she was the closest to direct oversight of the Ilum Temple, but she wasn't there all that often. She just kept up with reports, and traveled there for gatherings or upcoming issues.

New Cov was even less populated most of the time.

The two then continued through the Temple and reached the Padawan quarters soon after. They were as small and simplistic as those at Coruscant and other Jedi Temples, so Valery wasn't all that surprised to see what they were like. "I'm sure they looked bigger at the time, but they're not too bad. My room as a Padawan was just as small, but I didn't spend much time there. When there are so many interesting places to find at a Jedi Temple, why stay here?" She chuckled and listened to what he then explained about the Knight and Master rooms.

"That makes sense. My room at the Coruscant Temple is similarly just a bit bigger and more comfortable. It's mostly useful because I can invite other Jedi over to talk more privately if something is on their mind, without feeling like it's too crowded." She smiled then and stepped back out of the rooms.

"I think I've seen what I really liked to see here. Maybe we should focus on rebuilding some things and revisit again sometime soon?"

 

[Cedwyn Blaidd]

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Location: Unmapped world
Objective: Seek help from a friend
Equipment: Lightsaber, Echani sword, 2x blaster pistols, 1x blaster rifle
Outfit: Casual
Tag: Valery Noble

"I can run it then. Use it as a base of operations for my jobs, a place to train my student and gives me time to work here and get everything sorted. It would be nice to upgrade and improve things. Nothing major in terms of changes but keep the tech up to date." Cedwyn suggested, he doubted that Valery would be too keen on the idea of a non-Jedi running the temple but he was also the one with the most knowledge of the area, the temple and the lack of ties to the GA meant that he could focus here more. Helping those of the surrounding area. "Nothing has to be decided now. Just something to think about, I suppose." He held up a hand to reassure Valery that an answer on his suggestion wasn't needed right away if she wasn't prepared to give one.

He smirked and shrugged, "I was interested in the training room and the vault in terms of places in the temple, the training room was where I truly connected with my Master and the vault held secrets I needed to know as a child. But for the most part, I was more interested in exploring the galaxy. Seeing what else was out there and who else I could meet." He smiled a little sadly, "I suppose, I was just taking this place for granted at the time. This was home and you never think as a kid that you will lose your home." He shrugged his shoulders after that, taking one last look around the Padawan room and then turned to Valery.

"Sure, we can set a date." He grinned to her, "from what I can tell, it is mostly removing the desert from the rooms and upgrading things to be more modern. The scorch marks and blaster burns in the training rooms and surrounding areas will take more work. But I can do it, getting here and going back to the rooms was the biggest issue I would face." He looked back to Valery, "I'll message you when things are sorted and we can figure out how best to organise it and open it up to others then." Cedwyn nodded his head.

Looking around, "well, if that is all you wish to see, then best I get you back to Coruscant. Can't have the Jedi worried that I kidnapped the Sword." He chuckled, knowing it would take more time for anyone to be worried but he couldn't help tease the Jedi at large just a little bit.