Yavin Academy: Die a Hero

[Ashin Varanin]

-or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

And if you're spectacularly unlucky, you have to live with that for a long while afterward.

***​

​

Jedi Praxeum
Yavin IV
Mandalorian Territories

Life had a comfortable rhythm here. Any Jedi temple was a collection of moments, but this one more lively than most. Here you could feel the Living Force and know that all moments, people and living things formed a web of life -- not as some ideal or tool or cosmic fabric but as a friendly connection between lives and little happinesses. Here, if you listened and waited and served just right, you might come to find some idea of what you truly wanted, and what life might have in store for you.

That, at least, was what Shule Windspeaker -- once known as Je'gan Olra'en, Grandmaster of the Order -- told his students. It might even be true for them. It certainly had been true for generations of Jedi. Paradoxically, though, the sharper his Force senses became, the more frustrated he grew. The Force had little insight for him.

It was probably because of the killing.

Je'gan Olra'en -- a bloody name. Centuries back, he'd fought for Krayt's One Sith. He'd trained under Lady Vader and Sasha Kovalev and Southstar himself. Even later, after he'd discovered the Light -- even then he could never get his hands clean. After his first wife defected to the Sith, the Regnum...

Well, he'd gone a little off the rails. Baradium. Lightsabres. Blaster rifles. Mind control. Karma Shanshu's oneiromancy, and Je'gan's merciless healing of a madwoman's conscience. The burning of Kamino, the Sith retaliation for what he'd done on Zeltros. Sometimes he dug up the memories and held them against himself like a branding iron, scared to let himself forget what he'd done. But not just scared to become something vicious and deadly again -- terrified that he would forget what he was, be confronted by someone who knew, and be shocked and offended and furious and then ashamed. That moment of forced realization had to be avoided at all costs, he felt, in the part of himself that was still a boy after eight centuries of life.

Forty-three times he'd died and been shunted into a new body -- a fish, a woman, a Zabrak, once an adolescent Ithorian. Forty-three times he'd have just preferred to become one with the Force. But he kept marking time, outliving friends and wives and children and students. Sometimes he tried to use his facility with mentalism to alter his own mind, excise the viciousness, and shore up conscience and good judgment. 'Shule Windspeaker' had been one such experiment, before the facade shredded under the onslaught of Aleidis' treatment at Jared Ovmar's hands -- and then the facade had vanished entirely when Shule killed thousands upon thousands of Yuuzhan Vong at Kashyyyk.

Such were his thoughts every morning between waking up and training in the rain.

​There is no cure for being me.This is what I am. This is my punishment, and it is just.

This is why they tell Jedi not to look inward too much.

[member="Tobias Wraith"] [member="Elanor Wraith"]

 

[Elanor Wraith]

[member="Shule Windspeaker"] [member="Tobias Wraith"]

It was hard not to be excited.

Tracking down 'Shule' hadn't exactly been the very height of detective work, sure. A couple Holonet searches on the name that'd come up in her research on her late father had revealed that the mysterious non-entity associated with Darron Wraith had a namesake Master teaching at the Levantine Academy, so Ellie had called the banners and marched off to investigate. More realistically, she'd told her brother to meet her there and made up some not-entirely untrue excuse to go to the Academy herself under the guise of scholastic research. Despite it's long and storied past, there weren't a lot of career historians in the Galaxy - Elanor Wraith was somewhat used to being spoiled with access to libraries and research materials because of this. She wasn't even a career historian yet, but at this point, it was a bygone conclusion for the young woman.

"Records say that Shule Windspeaker is a teacher here." Elanor explained to her brother as she led him through the hallowed ja;;s pf the Levantine Academy. It was raining, which only made the dramatic task they were here to accomplish all the more quietly impressive in her mind. 'Dramatic Task' being a series of curious questions. "So they might be in class or whatever. We may end up waiting for a couple hours as a result. I brought some books and stuff." She promised with a broad grin, shifting the few books she'd bought in the Yavin starport under her other arm - between them carefully secured was her ever-important folder of information she'd dredged up about her father over the past couple of years. "I'm sure we can find some way to convince them to give us an hour or two of their time."

Although research had shown Ellie that Shule was male, she'd made the impression that the mysterious name attached to her father was attached to a woman, for some reason. It was hard to shake her initial impressions.

Ellie paused, checked her notes, then peered down a hallway. She pointed towards a door and jogged towards it, noting that it belonged to a teacher. "I'm pretty sure this is Shule's room. They should be here any minute. We've arrived early." She confided, grinning. "So it's like a stakeout."

 

[Tobias Wraith]

Yavin IV​

Jedi Praxeum​

When Ellie had messaged him to come to Yavin, well he hadn’t hesitated in the slightest. Her message had been short, sweet, and to the point. Well, unless you looked at the bubbly comments and smiley faces she was prone to put in her messages. If I didn’t know she was the smartest teenager in the history of ever, I would just assume she was like every other girl. That made him smile as he followed her through the winding halls of the Jedi Praxeum. He had only been here a few short months ago, when he had first met Quorl. Whatever the slippery Rishi was up to, his Master was never far from his thoughts. I wish you were here right now buddy, I could really use you right now.

It was the truth, and he had sent him a message.

“So, he was a teacher here and I didn’t even know it? I’m going to need to go visit a certain lady CEO of an implant company one day.” Annoyance flashed on his face, and his hand fell to the lightsaber hilt on his belt. Just what exactly are you going to do Tobias? Go in there and try and intimidate a woman who knew too much, is that the Jedi thing to do? Whatever had shown on his face disappeared with those thoughts. “I guess it was meant for us to find each other and make it through our first adventure together.”

More younglings walked by, and a few stared at the oddly dressed pair.

Elanor was wearing whatever the cool kids wore these days, while Tobias looked like a smuggler who had stolen a lightsaber. They couldn’t have made for an odder pair, thankfully he had clearance to be here this far in the Praxeum. When she sprinted, he just slowly followed behind her to the door clearly marked.

Master Windspeaker

“Ellie, not to be a jerk here.” He tapped her shoulder to hopefully get all of her attention. “There is no use in hiding, you are a fountain of innocence in the Force. I can feel you from a mile away and I’m a padawan still, and apparently I’m a well of untapped potential according to all the Jedi I have met. He will know we are here, it’s best to just show ourselves and see what happens.”

[member="Shule Windspeaker"] | [member="Elanor Wraith"]

 

[Elanor Wraith]

Elanor, dressed in her most casual khakis and white t-shirt, could only reply to the Younglings by sticking her tongue out at them. "Bleee!" One of them had the good humor to return the gesture, which made Elanor furiously giggle. Kids were great, at least in her opinion.

As Tobias admonished her for being 'sneaky', Elanor good-naturedly rolled her eyes and leaned down to tie her shoes. "Don't ruin my fun, Toby!" She complained cheerfully. "We're on the verge of a major breakthrough in our investigation - after being deadlocked for the, like, three months before I met you? I'm practically ecstatic. You're lucky I'm not bouncing off the ceiling!" She laughed brightly. "Master..." Elanor turned to look at the door again, squinting. "...Windspeaker." Is likely some flavor of Jedi, which means that there isn't much I can do to change his first impression of me regardless of what I'm actually doing. So why not have a little fun?"

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Elanor Wraith"] [member="Tobias Wraith"]

Their mental efflux caught his attention forcefully, and the razor slipped against his chin. There were downsides to specializing in mentalism and Sense. He healed the cut with a grimace -- it might be trivial, but then again, blood might distract his students in some minimal way, and Padawans were easily distracted. He continued shaving, a small ritual. If these two active, inquisitive young minds were serious in searching him out, they could wait while he shaved.

He toweled off his face -- putting on some years again, Jeg -- and adjusted his robe, a simple brown affair. His battered old lightsabre, a curved Makashi model, found its place at his hip. On the way to the door, he remembered he hadn't eaten breakfast. Ah well.

The door hissed aside. "Morning," he said, eyes flicking from Elanor to Tobias. "I'm Master Windspeaker. Welcome to Yavin Four -- can I help you?"

 

[Tobias Wraith]

Well, this isn’t exactly what I was hoping for. Tobias kept the thought to himself as he eyed up the Jedi that walked out. For that was exactly what the man was, in the Force he was like a peaceful meadow. Blue eyes met a matching set, and he immediately noted the fatigue in them. Everything about the man said he was tired, as if he had lived forever. How on earth did this man know my father if he doesn’t look that old? Thousands of questions started to appear in his mind, but he said nothing for a moment as he sized the man up. Every inch of him was inspected, especially to see if he posed a threat to Elanor. What are you going to do realistically Toby, you’re still just a padawan and apparently this is the man who screwed your dad over.

Wraith’s eyes stopped at that curved hilt, was that the weapon he used to hurt my dad?


“Yes Master Windspeaker,” he fell into the formalities that Quorl had taught him. “I am the Padawan to Master Quorl. My name is Tobias, and this is my sister Elanor.” Tobias gestured to the shorter of the two of them, and made sure to slightly put himself between the teen and the Jedi Master before them. Selka’s words were fresh on his mind, and his fist where threatening to tighten into fists as the muscles in his jaws tightened. He knew his tension was visible as his eyes narrowed, he could feel it in his own aura. Aggression started to show on his face, and for the first time in a long time he wanted to hurt someone.

It wasn’t a good feeling, but he didn’t care.

“We are here,” he managed through gritted teeth,” to inquire about your relationship with our father.” That same angered expression held as his face hardened. “We wanted to know who you were to Darron Wraith, your name pops up everywhere when his shows up.”

[member="Elanor Wraith"] | [member="Shule Windspeaker"]

 

[Elanor Wraith]

Elanor smiled pleasantly as Tobias made the introductions - of course he left any sort of qualifications or anything on her part out. It wasn't like she was a shoo-in for valedictorian at her college and had tracked the guy down in her spare time over the past couple months. A little irksome, but overall a minor quibble. She'd certianly live. "He means our father." She corrected Tobias's fumble swiftly and as politely as possible, wishing her older brother would relax a bit. She could hear his teeth grinding, and that wasn't a good sign. If they were going to get information out of Master Windspeaker - who gave the impression that he was at least 500% done with nonsense for the day - than it'd be easier if he liked them and wanted to help. An angry-sounding Padawan on his doorstep was more likely to ellicit a mild lecture on his tone than the information they'd come for, and that would just be wasting their time.

Ellie was here to learn about her father, not to listen to her brother get admonished for his seething frustration.

"We're sorry for coming unnanounced, Master Windspeaker." Elanor added politely, putting a hand on Tobias' arm so he'd hopefully get the cue to relax and stop acting like a Jedi Master posed a physical threat to her in a busy school. "If you had a couple minutes to speak with us, Tobias and I would appreciate it ever so much."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Tobias Wraith"] [member="Elanor Wraith"]

"Darron Wraith. Now there's a name I've not heard in a long time. Long time." How to encapsulate a friendship that long? How to boil it down for kids this young, how to make them understand what it was to have a battle brotherhood -- with another who understood that war had no honor, but men could still strive for it? He thought of trying to break the ice with a deadpan line about being lovers, but the big young man would probably slug him. He wanted to, for no reason Shule could fathom.

"Alright," he said, glancing up and down the hall, "come in and have a seat."

Shule's quarters were simple in the eremitic sense: undressed stone, a cot, a holopad for communication. He gestured to the windowsill -- more of a balcony, really; the window had no glass -- and sat down on the cot. A cool morning breeze carried a leaf in and out again.

"Darron Wraith and I were both Grandmasters of the Jedi Order," he said. "We were both blademasters. We were very good friends." He spread his hands. "What else do you want to know?"

 

[Tobias Wraith]

"What else do you want to know?"

He had followed, mainly because he was curious and his sister was too sweet to say no to. Her own kind words had contrasted with how abrupt he had been with the Jedi Master before them. I could just as easily hand her my lightsaber hilt, and everyone would think she was the Padawan at this point. That thought pretty much was all he needed to properly kick himself into gear, to get his head out of his rear. This man just admitted what you already know, that him and your father were close. How would your dad like how you're treating someone who is apparently a very close friend of his? Or how would your Master appreciate you being disrespectful to a man who was Grandmaster of the Jedi Order at one point?

Sufficiently having beat himself up for his behaviour. He walked into the simple office and took a seat.

“Before my wonderful sister peppers you with questions, I have one for you. What does this mean to you?” Selka had said something about a Je’gan Olr’aen, but here was a Shule Windspeaker. It didn’t make sense especially with records that said something about a Darth Shule. Pulling the chain off his neck, he took the ring with the initials off of it and laid it on the desk. “I’m curious why you are never mentioned, but I don’t see why you wouldn’t be given how close you said you were with our father. Are you the Rolf Sergeo on there, or the Je’gan?”

Curious indeed.

[member="Elanor Wraith"] | [member="Shule Windspeaker"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Tobias Wraith"] [member="Elanor Wraith"]

Shule picked up the ring, heavy and warm from the younger man's touch, and held it up to read the inscription he knew would be there. "Get old enough," he said absently, "and you might make more and more connections, or fewer and fewer, until you're surrounded by friends or alone in a crowd. Your father took the path I took: trust only a few. Yes, I've been called Je'gan Olra'en, and Darth Shule. Sergeo was much closer with Wraith than with me, though we served on the Jedi Council together briefly. The ring-"

He placed it back on the desk.

"The ring, I don't remember. I don't hold onto keepsakes. So. You have more questions?"

 

[Elanor Wraith]

[member="Tobias Wraith"] [member="Shule Windspeaker"]

"Honestly, sir, the most that either Tobias or I know of our father is what you've told us - we haven't been able to dig up more than official records." Ellie explained, spreading her hands slightly with a smile in a sign of supplication; a call for succor from someone with more knowledge on the subject at hand, a staple in any inquisitive young scholar's repitore. "And yes, while we can know that he was a Grandmaster from such-and-such date to this-and-that date, or what battles her took place in, that's just raw data." She sat up straight and glanced over at Tobias, offering a small smile before turning her full attention back to Shule.

"That is to say, it doesn't tell us about the man our father was. What he was like under pressure, what he believed in. What he thought worth fighting for." She elaborated in a compassionate manner, scooting herself forward to the edge of her seat. "What made him laugh, how he fell in love - neither Tobias and I met our mothers. We might actually share one, for all we know. Tobias is blessed with the Force and is doing his best to follow in our father's footsteps, but it's hard when you only know the size of those footsteps; not the shape they take." She paused, and offered an apologetic smile. "...a bit overly dramatic, sure. I hope you'll excuse a poetic flair, sir. It doesn't act up often. But, essentially, anything you can tell us about your friend, our dad, would leave us richer than we came and ever so thankful for your assistance."

 

[Tobias Wraith]

"You don't hold onto keepsakes huh?" Blue eyes narrowed as he grabbed the ring and put it back on the chain that held his and Darius' dogtags. A quick glance was all he allowed, instead he busied himself with re-clasping it to his neck. Je'gan Olra'en, that's the exact name that Selka Ventus told me about. Whatever relaxed state he had allowed himself to fall into had changed, his jaw was tense again. The aggression wasn't there, but there was a burning desire to get to the root of what a businesswoman with no reason to know any of this had told him. Shule was being vague, where she had been as blunt as she possibly could. It was enough to make the hairs on the back of his neck stand up, something wasn't right with this entire picture. It all felt wrong, but he kept his composure even as he bit the inside of his cheek.

What other choice did he have?

Focusing on Ellie, he let her voice calm him. Her questions were genuine, and he wanted to know the answer. As she came to a stop, Tobias spoke up. "After you answer that, can you explain to me why someone accused you of being the one to freeze our father and myself?" It was a simple question laced with many other ones. Did you break my family up, was it you that betrayed him? Those joined the chorus of other thoughts in his mind, his calm face hiding the storm brewing inside of him.

Not unlike the man who had sired him.

[member="Elanor Wraith"] | [member="Shule Windspeaker"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Tobias Wraith"] [member="Elanor Wraith"]

"If you want to know if you share a mother, I recommend a paternity test. Best I can offer. I have no idea who either of your mothers are. Darron wasn't exactly promiscuous -- he was a good Jedi -- but there were large portions of our lives when we weren't in contact for one reason or another. It was the Dark Age. Communications were terrible."

They were a study in contrasts; it was almost charming. But as the girl stopped talking and the young man bit out his question, something inside of Shule went cold. He felt it, knew he should walk away or be able to find tranquility, but he didn't have those options right now.

"I would be very careful about making sure that gullible isn't written on the ceiling," he said evenly. "I'm not in the business of carbon-freezing children or friends against their will. Ripping them out of their time, risking their medical stability -- I've done quite a few things I regret, but that's not one of them. So tell me, if you will -- who said that? And what, do you think, was the agenda involved?"

 

[Elanor Wraith]

Okay, the conversation was clearly out of her hands. Shule had focused on an innocuous comment rather than any of the actual questions about her father, and before she'd had a chance to correct him or clarify her intent, Tobias had gone and let his temper show - which really put them in a bit of a pickle, since Elanor was sure that Master Shule looked to be about a half-second shy of kicking them out of his office in a rage. She even ventured so far as to guess that if he didn't like the answer to Tobias' question, that would be the course of action he'd take. Which meant that this trip - and the research up to this point - had been a complete waste of time.

She wanted to just sit and have faith that it'd all work out, but her better judgement told her otherwise. Stepping in was nearly physically painful. Didn't matter, had to be done.

Ellie put a hand on Tobias' shoulder as a way of trying to calm him or, in a less flattering world, get him to shut up before he drove the source of their info off. "I believe my brother wasn't trying to accuse you of anything so heinous, himself." She promised Master Windspeaker earnestly, leaning forward to almost interpose herself between the two men. "I believe a woman named Selka - it was Selka, right, Toby? - has been feeding him bad information." She explained with her best attempt at a charming smile. "We don't know the agenda, sir, I can promise you that. Tobias and I are only here to learn about our father, not chase vengeance across the Galaxy or anything. We're asking a friend of our late parent to tell us about him. This isn't an interrogation, by any means."

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Tobias Wraith"] [member="Elanor Wraith"]

Shule's eyes stayed on Tobias, over Elanor's head.

"Would your sister defend you if she could feel how angry you are, Tobias Wraith? Maybe. That's family for you." He closed his eyes and did his level best to find tranquility. "If Selka Ventus is involved, that explains a great deal. She has good reason to want me inconvenienced or embarrassed, and she has the knowledge to make it believable -- clearly. That doesn't make her evil; it makes her hurt." He opened his eyes again and relaxed. That level of stillness would have to do. It wasn't much.

"I think I have a box for your. Something Darron left; he said I'd know who to give it to. It might explain him better than I ever could. I'm not even sure I know the answers to half your questions." He tapped his temple. "Even though it wasn't long ago we served on the Council together, barely eight years, I've died twice since then and five times since he and I had our glory days. Some things don't transfer cleanly. The details wash away. I don't remember what made him laugh other than fools and poor sabre form. I don't remember how he fell in love; all I know is it never lasted. Under pressure, in service to a good cause, he was angry and direct, sometimes brash and hardheaded. He and I had many of the same struggles. He was never a Sith Lord like me, but he would have been a terror. But there was something about him that wanted to be more, softer, kinder and more protective, and that's the side he tried to listen to. The wolf he chose to feed the most, if you remember the old fable."

 

[Tobias Wraith]

[member="Shule Windspeaker"] [member="Elanor Wraith"]

Tobias just crossed his arms, the fire being tempered slightly by Ellie getting between the two of them. No matter the wrath he felt, she didn't deserve any of that. His baby sister was all that was right in the universe, and he was lucky to have her. Just her voice could calm him, and it did. Mainly what got him was the fact that Shule was the much more experienced Jedi, and no fights needed to happen with Elanor around. Sure, let me take the beating. I can live with that, but let her get one scratch because of me? I couldn't live with myself. The thought haunted him, in fact it was like cold water being splashed on him Just the thought of that, well it made him get his head out of his rear and honestly listen to the Jedi Master before him. Who do I believe here? It was quite the question, so he instead tried another angle.

"I'm not accusing you," he eyed the man over his sister. "I didn't even know who my father was until seven months ago. Until then I was simply Tobias Cross, child who had been left at an orphanage. I had no memory of my parents, and once the One Sith took over my world I was put into training for the military immediately. I'm sorry if some of that tension is showing, but years of being made to do horrible things only to learn you had a father who would have loved you is a bitter pill." Tobias uncrossed his arms, and relaxed. "Learning that there was more to you than being a killer or some runner for the hutts isn't easy when you learn that tragedy split you from the life you could have had." He wasn't seeking sympathy, and he kept his tone matter-of-fact.

Wraith listened about his father and the box.

"Wait, he left something else?"