We Lost The Sea

[Cedric Grayson]

Fingernails dug into the sides of his temples.

Darius bolted up from the seat of his bed, his head in his hands and his eyes red with moisture. The room was dark, the only light provided coming from a thin window that allowed the fires of outside to share their illumination. Night had long since fallen over Eol Sha, but the magma never rested. Its heat yet remained, and the surface of the volcanic world was eternally cast in its orange glow.

That glow cast Darius' exhausted features in a faint light. His chest was still rising and falling violently, and his mind had not ceased its rambling. He had seen her again, only it was not her. [member="Mediha"] was gone, lost to the stars for all he knew. Perhaps she had remained on Dathomir. Perhaps she had perished on some forlorn vessel in the depths of the void. Darius had no way of knowing, but his heart ached for her all the same.

Was this love, or was it addiction? Was it healthy? Was this the normal grieving process?

The knight errant wished he could ask these things of his master and adoptive father, but Julius was on the other side of the galaxy. Their paths had long since diverged, and Darius was not sure Julius would even want to hear from him. Likely not, considering his decision to leave for the north.

A quiet sigh fell from his lips as he rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. Knowing he would not find sleep anytime soon, Darius rose to his feet, pulled a sleeveless shirt over his shoulders, and made way for the enclave's kitchen.

There was nothing quite like caf for night like this.

[member="Arken Lussk"]

 

[Arken Lussk]

His eyes ached. Arken sent a wayward glance to the bottom right of the screen, only to sigh and wonder why he hadn't been unconscious for the past couple of hours.

Then something flashed on his screen again - this was why he was still awake. More scripts, codes, and numerous attached images or videos of great hilarity. Memes were a great thing that happened to hit the HoloNet like a pandemic. They were pretty funny most of the time but lots of them were also of very poor quality, to which Arken abhorred. He frequented lots of tech forums that raved about the latest and greatest in starships and droids but had taken it upon himself to branch out to political ones. Arken didn't post much even they were anonymous boards. Exploring and reading was more than enough. He'd never know for sure but it sounded like the Sith were coming back.

The young boy gave a tired groan, giving his arms a stretch as he leaned further back in his chair. His hand brushed against something.

Metal clacked against the floor faster than he'd ever heard in his life. Wide-eyed and startled, Arken peered up at the menacing assassin droid that so tightly clutched a cup of spicy noodles.

Piercing orange photoreceptors stared back. "Report: Master, you nearly dropped your food."

Arken snorted, chuckling. "Thanks, can you toss that for me?"

The droid nodded, promptly dumping the now-cold cup 'o noodles into the trash canister.

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Dazed and a little confused, Darius stumbled into the kitchen. His gaze had not yet adjusted to the low lighting of the place, and he found himself grumbling a string of curses under his breath as he felt his way along the walls. He could have used the force for assistance, but then calling upon the force for such trivial things was a waste. No, better to do it the old fashioned way, even if the danger of stubbing his toe become that much more prominent.

"You're still up?" Darius groaned as he caught sight of the young Arken in his chair. The knight's gaze traveled to the timer on the stove: it read 2:34 AM. Darius rolled his eyes as he began to brew himself a cup of caf, and looked over to the boy and his metal companion. "You know we have exercises in the morning," Darius mumbled, his voice still groggy and low from a lack of use. "I'm not going to let up on your physical training just because you were up all night watching droid porn with your buddy here."

The steaming caf was poured into a little white mug with the logo of the Kuat Shipyards emblazoned upon its flank. Darius took a long drink, the heated liquid warming his core and stirring up to wakefulness. "Does he watch too? Just two buddies hanging out together in the middle of the night?" Darius continued, something between joking amusement and annoyance at the fact that he had been woken up lacing his words. He pulled up a chair alongside Arken.

"Eugh, this caf is shiite. What's new on the holonet Arken?"

[member="Arken Lussk"]

 

[Arken Lussk]

Arken heard his master from a mile away.

The shuffled steps, curses about it being dark and in unfamiliar territory, along with other slews of various obscenities. When in public, Master Sedaire was rather sedate and kind but tended to do whatever when not under the eyes of people he wanted to impress. Arken liked that. Although he himself didn't particularly follow the same mannerisms, it was refreshing to see him drop the facade of being the great source of all knowledge sometimes. It was humbling, even.

When the Jedi Knight made his appearance, Arken was already loading up one of his favorite games for a final match before bedding down for the night. The plotline consisted of the protagonist and his companions journeying across the universe to find a new home for their species. Reviews said it was pretty okay so Arken had taken it upon himself to pirate the game and see for himself.

"No obscene content here," he grinned before turning on his master. "Do you just like to drink caf at two o'clock or what?"

Most people would've tried to go back to sleep if they'd awakened during their slumber. Instead, Master Sedaire chose to fill his body with caffeine even though he was also participating in the physical training tomorrow morning.

"Nothing really. Same old stuff. Videos, memes, forums, social networking." He gestured towards his game character engaging in combat. "And of course, video games. Though I did read some interesting stuff about some Resurgent Empire earlier. There's a few snippets of news broadcasts and whatnot on there."

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

Darius couldn't help but huff a quiet laugh at his apprentice. The boy was too true to himself. He was an average kid all things considered, the only thing marking him out from his peers being his sensitivity to the force. It made him an outlier - someone to stand aside of the crowd. Darius wasn't sure if Arken liked it or not, though the son of Arcis seemed indifferent to it all. The fact that he had taken to Darius' teachings at all had seemed rather out of character for the boy.

Perhaps he was trying to make a change?

"Resurgent Empire eh?" Darius mused, "Odd name for a government. What happens when it isn't resurgent anymore? They'll have to rebrand everything." Darius snorted, his lips pressing into an amused little grin. Alas, it faded shortly thereafter. A pained sigh fell from his lips. "I had some bad dreams. I get them sometimes. I don't want you to have to deal with what I have." The cup of caf was set onto the table with a definitive thud. "War is...it makes you tired. I'm twenty-two and I feel like an old man sometimes. Being a Jedi, you'll be expected to fight, but you don't have to Arken."

A calloused hand reached out to take Arken by his wrist. "You don't have to fight. You don't have to kill anyone. You can be a kid, and when you get older, maybe you can teach others with our gift. You could be a healer if you wanted; build rather than destroy." Green eyes affixed with Arken's own, and Darius' grip tightened. "I'll teach you whatever I can Arken, but you need to know that your life is yours. Don't do anything just because it's expected of you. You lose yourself that way. People die that way. My companions lost their way like that. They became murderers. A Jedi should never kill unless he absolutely has to, but they..."

Darius' gaze faltered. "Just don't lose yourself Arken. Promise me that."

[member="Arken Lussk"]

 

[Arken Lussk]

He was just a guy. An average young man with average hopes and aspirations. Do anything that had him working with the technological advancements of the modern galaxy and he'd be happy for the rest of his life. Something that had him working around pretty girls also had its many perks as well, but that was an optional outlier that he doubted would happen any time soon, especially with this whole Jedi gig. It added some structure to his life, but it didn't change much. Arken was still the same old kid. Computers, practicing the new Force techniques he'd learned, and swatting away at a training probe with a training saber.

It sure kept him busy but it felt stagnant so far. There was no forward momentum in his life. Everything he did involved things, objects rather than people. Perhaps that was the one thing he needed to incorporate more in his life. The training was pretty fun and he considered himself to be doing pretty okay at it, but there was no real purpose of him being here other than trying to find that exact purpose. That, and he had nowhere else to go.

"Yeah, I promise." He doubted he would ever change his ways. "I know I need to learn how to fight, to hold my own. I'm okay with that. I will to protect myself and my friends," Arken sighed, "But I'd much rather not kill in cold blood. Needless killing is cruel, wasteful, and a few more adjectives that aren't exactly appropriate to say outloud. Teach me everything you know and I'll find my way from there."

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

A sigh of relief fell from Darius' lips, though he wasn't entirely sure why it was. He'd never had any kind of doubts about his student, but hearing the boy's affirmation spoken aloud made things a bit easier to take. He supposed it was just another sign that he'd been growing rather lax in his own beliefs. he lacked the zeal of his peers, and with that often lacked faith in his own actions. Such a mindset was not befitting of him, given his newly appointed position as a teacher.

"I'm very happy to hear that," Darius finally said, his tone now a positive one. His grip on the young man faltered, and he leaned back in his chair, the cup of caf lingering against his lips. "Your senses are particularly attuned Arken, but I'm hoping to better them." The cup of caf was sat back down on the table, and Darius' visage shifted to something more serious. He was no longer the worried parental figure, but the stalwart teacher. "I don't think you've ever truly opened yourself to the force Arken, but I think you are ready."

Green eyes drifted shut. "Close your eyes Arken. Shut away all distractions from your mind. Extend your senses beyond the physical and enter the ethereal. The force is a river that flows through you, but it it little more than a trickle now. There is the dam that is your mind blocking its flow. You must chip away at the dam and accept the rush of the tide, let it flow throughout your entire being and drift along with its currents. That is your first step into mastering the Great Ocean, The Ethereal - The Force."

[member="Arken Lussk"]

 

[Arken Lussk]

Darius thought he was ready now? With a paused video game in front of him, empty cans of soda and noodles around, and an assassin droid looming in the corner? Arken had assumed that such things like meditating were best done in temples, or great gardens that contained a plethora of rainbow hued flowers, not in some HoloNet junkie's room.

Whatever it was, Arken was apt to try it out, even if it was almost three o'clock in the morning.

Slowly, he eased his chair around to face his master. Posture straightened, eyes closed, and his breathing slowed as he began the surprisingly difficult process of emptying his mind. It was much easier said than done. There were so many things to think about: life, the latest posts in his forum, video game updates, how much did the newest TransLanq module cost?

After more than a few moments, he could feel his heartbeat slowing. That dam Darius wanted him to see was slowly beginning to materialize as he focused on it. What was it? Why was it there to block the flow? Could he take it down?

And surely, pieces began to break away. Tiny, marginal hunks of marble chipped off to free the flow of... whatever it was that it was holding back.

[member="Darius Sedaire"]

 

[Cedric Grayson]

The Jedi Knight felt the presence of Arken as the mental blocks began to shatter. It was a difficult thing, to break away such instinctual feelings. They were there to preserve the sanity of those that could not comprehend the will of the beyond, but Arken had been prepared appropriately. The likelihood of it all overwhelming the youth was rather prevalent, but he would deal with it. Of that, Darius was most certain. He showed too much talent for it to be otherwise.

Gently, Darius' presence moved to Arken's own. It was a soft thing, his mind within the ethereal, but it was one that could be felt with ease. Feelings of encouragement would transfer across the link that Darius forged between the two of them. Such feelings would serve as an energy of a sort - a second hammer to help shatter the dam that kept the river from flowing.

"It might feel a little odd at first," Darius muttered. "The force is a powerful thing. It frightens me from time to time. Gaining an understanding of everything it touches is near impossible, but it's an endeavor worth striving toward. The more the river flows, the more you see. Eventually, you'll come to see the ocean as a whole."

Darius smiled.

"What do you see?"

[member="Arken Lussk"]