Wayfarer's Song

[Tiland Kortun]

STAR WARS: WAYFARER'S SONG ​

Episode I ​

The Paths of Light ​

​

Tiland was not entirely sure which planet this was, or if it even had a name. It certainly had no government to speak of. No regulations on who came or went. Smugglers, outlaws, renegades. All drifted in and out through this ramshackle town. He strode through the muddy streets, pushing his sodden hair out of his face as a drizzle coated everything in a damp cloud and turned the other passerby into strange silhouettes as they squelched about on their business.

A shiver ran through his body as the cold seeped in and he pulled his robes tighter, and leaned on his staff. A shelter sounded nice. Somewhere warm and dry, with hot drinks. Not alcoholic, certainly. But perhaps some of their local tea. That was a gamble, but it was something he would try, nonetheless. Where was a cantina or an equivalent though?

He raised a hand to shield out his eyes to study the dull gray prefab buildings that slouched along the street edges. There was one! It seemed respectable and fairly decent even. He smiled and began to trudge towards it, but stopped.

Something tugged at him, nudging him down a dark side-street. Tiland frowned and stared down it. The urging was clear. He shrugged resolutely and made his way down that street, noting that the number of silhouettes had dropped now.

The urge grew stronger, leading him on towards a different building. A cantina, one more suited to such a backwater world. The windows were grimy, the sign hung on a rusted pole. It stank, and he wrinkled his nose as he ducked under the low doorway. And it was silent in there. Silent as a grave. Wonderful.

He took a deep breath, clutching his staff more tightly and stepped into the main room. It was empty, save an old Gand hunched over a nearby table and a droid standing motionless at the bar.

Tiland waited for any further directions, but had none, so he took a seat at a table, watching the room carefully.

He saw them then. Fellow travelers and wanderers, making their way through the stars and worlds of this sector. Jedi of sorts, called by the Force to gather here for a reason he did not understand.

Then the vision was gone and he sat upright, sensing a very familiar presence. The room almost seemed to light up as the woman entered. Tiland rose and bowed.
"Master Yael, I had not expected to see you again so soon."

The woman gave a warm smile as she took a seat.

"Greetings, Tiland," She said, her voice almost musical, "So you felt the call too. As have others. They are coming."

Tiland nodded and pulled out all his mugs, as the droid showed no signs of moving, and his thermos, frowning at whether it would be enough. When they arrived, he would be ready.

[member="Lyoto Chiba"] [member="The Dark Man"] [member="Seraphina Shel'tah"] [member="Jeela Tillian"]

 

[Lyoto Chiba]

"Great" Lyoto hissed under his breath. "Just great." His transport ship had left him. The crew member who he had bunked with in the hotel, if that's what you would call that decrepit abode, had slithered off with many of Lyoto's valuables. The young Chalactan tilted his head towards the grey sky and let out an exasperated sigh. How could this day get any worse, he wondered.

A fat drop of rain landed right between Lyoto's eyes with a wet plop. Soon, the streets began to echo with the sound of rain. Seeking shelter under a storefront canopy, the young man began to meditate in thought.

He had left home a week earlier. On a mission to find his purpose in life, he had jumped on the first transport he could haggle himself onto and set off towards the outer rim. Now he found himself stuck without transport on some godforsaken planet.

Ducking into an alleyway, Lyoto hugged the wall as to avoid getting too wet. He reckoned there must be some transport pilots or smugglers in one of the city's cantinas willing to take on a spare hand. As he walked past a hole in the wall dive joint, he felt an unusual attraction. It was as if a warmth descended upon him even though the weather was cold and bleak. He surveyed the entrance. One might be forgiven for passing by such an establishment without giving it a second thought. Lyoto shrugged his shoulders and delicately stepped inside.

The small roomed was dimly lit, and a light haze of old smoke hanged in the air. Tucked into the corner table sat an old man, his face worn with the memories of a lifetime. He was accompanied by a much younger woman whose sheer presence seemed to radiate a graceful power. His eyes briefly locked with Lyoto's, and for a split second the Chalactan seemed to hallucinate. He stood in the middle of the cantina, dumbfounded. Who was this old wizard? For he felt as though he knew the man as a friend, although the two had never met before.

[member="Tiland Kortun"]

 

[Tiland Kortun]

[member="Lyoto Chiba"]

Someone was coming, someone important to whatever had drawn them all together. Tiland looked over to the entrance, waiting for whoever was to enter would enter. He clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them. Nothing moved in the cantina still and Master Fay nodded to him as a young human entered, only slightly wet, compared to Tiland's own sodden robes and hair.

Then they locked eyes for a moment and the air froze as the Force signaled to him. This was one of them. Tiland held his hand open to the much younger man and beckoned for him to join him. He seemed like a friend, in a way. Such things happened rarely from his understanding, and never to him. So this was indeed something quite new.

Then another thought reached him and he poured out a mug of hot water and rifled through his satchel, creating a quick blend of tea, crushing leaves for warmth and recovery, along with rest and alertness. It steamed gently in the mug among the shadows that lurked around the room.

"Come, friend, sit and join us."

 

[Dreyak Nausgaul]

Dreyak sat comfortably in the back of the shady cantina, sipping his Crimson colored herbal tea. He had been dragged here by some peculiar feeling that he just couldn't shake off. The young Chistori stared at the door, as if his eyes knew someone would come in soon. And his eyes were right. Just at that moment, a robed, old man, showing years of experience on his face, walked in. A middle-aged woman rose up near Dreyak and walked towards the man, and they began to chat.

A couple minutes later, a young looking Chalactan walked in, looked around, and began speaking with the old man and woman. Dreyak rose from his seat, tea in hand, and walked over towards the group. He felt drawn to these people, by the force. He wasn't sure why, but the Padawan felt he would soon find out.
[member="Tiland Kortun"]
[member="Lyoto Chiba"]

 

[Lyoto Chiba]

The walls began to close in on Lyoto, every sound in the small cantina echoing a thousand fold. He couldn't break the old man's gaze, and what little lighting there was inside began to extinguish.

He blinked, and the old man's gaze was averted. All the color rushed back into the Chalactan's world. He looked around the world, dismayed. Had anybody else noticed what he had experienced? Perhaps he shouldn't have eaten those mushrooms after all.

Suddenly, the old man's voice gently split the silence. "Come, friend. Sit and join us" he said as he reached his arm out in invitation. Lyoto stood half-struck, looking over his shoulder to see who the wayfarer was addressing. Lyoto noticed that nobody was behind him. Why is he talking to me, he wondered to himself. He was, however, taught to never decline an honest invitation and, figuring that duo sat at the table may be able to offer a way off of this planet, Lyoto shuffled to the table and sat himself down at the end of it.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Sir." Lyoto slightly bowed his head. He continued, "You see, I've found myself on this planet without any way off it. Do you know, by chance, anybody who could offer safe transport?"

[member="Tiland Kortun"] ; [member="Dreyak Nausgaul"]

 

[The Dark Man]

"In that last moment he seemed as wholly luminescent as the Sun, and I wished to be so brave."​

His mind searched for answers, his hands weaved deep into the threads of the Force. He had lived a long and fulfilling life, one that had been filled with both joy and sorrow, but Ekul had ever felt the burden of life weigh his shoulders down more and more. The death of his brother, the Sacking of Coruscant and his imprisonment within the Primeval. These experiences had thwarted his views on the Force, and the galaxy as a whole. Evil was not inherit in the Force, but inherit in all living things.

It required strength to overcome ones own evil. For decades he had believed that all living things were capable of good, and naturally steered in this direction, but he had seen too much to say otherwise. Ko and Ir'cara'suhl had met dreadful fates at the hands of evil men, not the Force. For this, he would fight for a better galaxy, for those who taught him that life was worth fighting for. It was then he felt a twang in the Force, strings reverberated and his attention turned.

He peered into the vision, seeing one such as himself. Aged and experience, but he was different. He could feel an anger in him, a natural evil of his species, the Anzati. There was guilt and sadness that flowed with this anger, equal in raw emotion. Then there was a hunger, a desire to devour the Force in others. Ekul could sense these were natural to him, but admired what he saw, resilience in the face of an all-consuming addiction.

There was movement, and he felt a pull in the Force. It was calling him to this man. While his mind knew not where he was to go, the Force guided him from planet to planet, system to sector. The trip from Nar Shaddaa had been long and dangerous, but when he arrived he felt an overwhelming calmness in the Force, as though fate had aligned.

His long black cloak was draped from his shoulders, shadowing his darker robes. The cloak was tattered from travels and fights throughout his years. A pair of large, black oval spectacles rested on the bridge of his nose, and his white fluffy hair was beginning to bald. A well trimmed beard adorned his cheeks, and his lips slapped together into a smile. He entered the cantina.


[member="Tiland Kortun"]