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They appeared as white orbs against a white background. The Kingdom of the Oew had been created by the ice and snow from which it was surrounded throughout the year, choosing not to upset the natural resources Nature provided for them. The Ancestors had also taught them how to best create structures that were both spacious and comfortable enough. It wasn’t so grandiose to compare with Jedi Temples, but to learn that the structures were made purely from ice and snow would have been impressive to some. Of course, furniture was made out of the few trees that grew through the ice, but these were valuable and passed down through many generations. Indeed, Ked still had pieces that were possibly a hundred years old throughout his castle.
It was currently the Season of the Sun and a golden glow shined from the roofs and the land delicately. It was customary to wear hoods that let in as little light as possible when outside, though they were quite difficult to see through. Since blindness was a real danger most of the citizens remained indoors if they could help it. Even with the Sun shining throughout the day, the temperatures only reached a touch above the freezing point, making the fear of their structures and homes melting an irrational one.
His ship sounded like a screeching hum in the air above the Kingdom and its people knew exactly who it was that was arriving. Of course, if they were proven wrong, aggression would come soon after as they were not fond of aliens and foreigners as was part of their culture. It had been seven years since he’d returned and much had changed. Perhaps they’d be hostile towards him for a time as part of an initiation or trial to make sure he was the same person. He was prepared for such a reaction to his return and even feared for the creatures he brought with him.
As the ship neared the “landing pad,” loose snow billowed around the castle which showed to be one of the only structures to have right angles and a horizontal roof among all in the Kingdom. Ked spent some extra time lining up the unique technology to this world to allow for those who needed to approach him to do so. Also, he wished to make the entrance to the ship easily accessible to the only door upon the roof. When signals began to blip on his radar to show that people indeed had been arriving, the feet of the YZ-900 vessel touched the snowy castle. Those who somehow knew that all these structures were made from snow and not a white marble of sorts would have been amazed to see such strength coming from something assumingly easy to crush and mold.
He completely turned off the freighter including all communication devices and lights and plumbing. This was more of a gesture to his kin that were ignorant of the concept of technology such as this. Of course, after introducing them to the ship, it would be used for the Padawan to stay as it had a heating system not found anywhere else in the Kingdom. The ramp to exit the Shib touched the roof before Ked rose from his seat to approach the Jedi who’d never been to this planet or endured his cultured, which he’d learned was quite radical. They all remained in the dark until he granted them permission to leave the ship safely.
“Master Ashara, please interpret,” he requested as she had proven to be able to understand his language though she’d never learned or probably heard it before. The others surely would not understand what was being said unless they held a similar skill with Force Comprehension, which was unlikely to say the least. “Interrupt,” he stated while shaking his head to indicate firmly that they were not to speak to his people unless they were to be spoken to directly. It was against custom to introduce oneself to another’s family and village, or in this case Kingdom. It showed that you did not respect the authority of the other’s people.
“I introduce,” he said, pointing to all of them, “bow and shake hand.” He demonstrated himself, bowing to a full right angle before returning to an erect position and grabbing the hand of Padawan Ar’kan with a firm grip that could easily threaten to crush it. This alone might have been somewhat blasphemous if one of his people were to see this interaction out of context. It mattered little in the ship. “Focus and keep silent.” His demands were almost harsh, but they’d soon learn that the rigid social structure of the Epicanthix held dangers for those unaware of their ways. Even the tallest among them would be easily physically intimidated by adolescent Epicanthix due to their rapid maturity and impressive build and height.
“Cold,” he stated last with his harsh and powerful voice. This wouldn’t have been akin to anything like Hoth’s perpetual frozen atmosphere, but arctic climates are still unusual for sentient life to prosper as they had. Hopefully this warning would have prepared them for what they would experience when they left the ship. Chances were that they would still be shocked and even now they could feel a chill piercing through the vessel and through them. Ked would have been the only one to breath in the frosty air comfortably before exhaling a large vaporized cloud.
His boots thudded against the metal floor and lead the six alien beings onto the roof which would crunch like snow beneath them, striking some of the others with interest and even shock. Three women, taller than any of them, stood at a doorway with their hands clasped before them. Their clothing was thinner than one might have assumed for people who lived in the arctic. Before all of them could step off the ramp, Ked bowed deeply to the women without twitching his face. He motioned with his hand for the others to remain where they were so he could approach them alone.
“Ceng, wex’tla! O ibji ut x vex. Exht’ibji plag. Halsh’a’Ceng’awe.” The woman in the center spoke a language of little emotion and mostly hand gestures. Her skin was darkened, much like Ked’s, and her hair and eyes dark. She held a softness in her that was almost completely overwhelmed by a strength each of them possessed. Throughout the short phrases, she’d pointed and faced her palm toward Ked and the area around them. These motions, though direct, were interestingly graceful. She bowed slightly, seemingly placing herself above the King, which only Master Ashara knew him to be. However, it was mostly due to the remaining matriarchal habits among the people.
Once again, Ked bowed deeply before responding. “Knid. Jduw plag’ut’plag shek ut shed, zimw.” His deep voice now cut through the air instead of dully thudding against metal, cloth, and rubber. He pointed a few times as well. It was clear that these gestures were very much part of the language to any linguist. The others might have finally understood why he had such broken and hard speech in Basic, though.
Those knowing Basic wouldn’t quite understand that he was actually excited to see them. His face remained stony and his lips never curled into a smile. The same went for the women who seemed just as cold as their climate. Perhaps the cold had made frozen their facial muscles, making it almost impossible for them show expression. “Mot kwit rym. Ols aba. Rym.” The one in the center still spoke for the other two. Perhaps through the Force one could sense her elation, but there were no outward signs of such.
“Eko a’n, prosh?” The one on the left interjected before Ked could respond. “Ot,” the other said. Neither of them looked at the woman in the center but, instead, kept their eyes on the aliens by the ship.
Ked curled his finger toward him after pointing at their general direction. His eyes didn’t detach from the women, however. Master Ashara would lead them in a moderate march behind Ked to further the conversation. “Shed, Vei Ael. Shed, Vaab Ael. Shek, Sha Qok,” he said speaking to the group behind him but still not diverting his eyes. He only glanced back to see where the others stood so he could point to them accurately. He ended with “Xej, Master Vashee.”
“Halsh,” Sha said, still keeping her composure amongst aliens as she stood between Ked’s sisters. “Meksh,” Vaab said, standing on Sha’s left. “Tla xa,” Vei said, crossing her arms showing utmost defiance against allowing them further passage into her – their Kingdom.
Ked raised his arm to face his palm gently toward Vei as if to calm her down. This was an equally aggressive motion though one would not know this without living in their culture for years. Vaab gasped shortly because of it and Sha’s eyes widened slightly. Vei’s face remained as stern as her older brother’s. “Shed, Jedi’ii. Zlai. Ceelp.” His words seemed slower this time as if to convince her against her xenophobia which hadn’t seemed to subside into adulthood.
“Ot,” Vei said shortly, lowering hear arms as it had seemed she still respected her brother’s authority. “Halsh,” Vaab said, bowing slightly and waiting for them to do so in turn.
Ked didn’t look back at the group again for it was more important for him to keep eye-contact with the three women. When they turned to lead them further into the castle, his right finger pointed toward the ground to indicate that they should keep a distance behind him. They were his guests and he was responsible for their behavior. Keeping them silent and out of the way was the best way to assure politeness.
They descended clear staircases of ice. The group would notice that the temperature did not change as they entered the castle. Fires were kept only to cook meat which they hunted sparingly due to the increasing developments of the greenhouses and laboratories to their immediate south. Even under Ked’s heavy stature, his feet still thudded against the ice. Any without good traction on their feet would threatened themselves to fall. The railing would do well to keep their balance, but this was also made of ice. They would either immediately despise the place or be awestruck at the illusions and intricacies of their ice-sculpting.
It might have come to the others attention, granted they were slipping and focusing on balance, that the three women were actually quite attractive, however large. They also removed their hoods to indicate that they only wore them due to the sun’s blinding reflections off their home. They may have looked suspicious before but now they just looked determined and direct, as they were supposed to be.
The flight of stairs lasted longer than most of them would be comfortable with. They would have heard the echoes of children being tended to by adults, but the rounded edges and smooth surfaces of the interior intensified the ricocheting echoes. The oldest ones in the room, besides themselves, would have been eighteen, though they looked closer to mid-twenties compared to regular humans. Babies sat on laps or crawled along the packed-snow floor. There were twenty-five children under the age of three alone. All together, there were 41 people in this room. Sha handed Ked a piece of parchment which revealed glyphs of their language when unrolled.
They were all his kin. Each of them was his grandchild or great-grandchild. If Master Ashara somehow figured this out and decided to share such information with the rest of them, they might have been astonished. He motioned slightly for them to remain near the base of the stairs as he introduced himself to his family. Most of them were born during his time in the galaxy while others wouldn’t have remembered him as they were so young. Only a few had actually met him and expected his arrival. The babies didn’t stop fussing but the rest of the children and teenagers stopped to look at the Ancestral Husband and Father of his land.
Many of them were more conscientious of the aliens which waited across the room. Others nudged them for their lack of eye-contact. A short introduction was made on his behalf by Vei. They were quickly dismissed as if their only purpose of being in this holding area was to meet their Grandfather or Great-Grandfather briefly. As Sha helped the mothers pick up and herd out the children, Vei and Vaab turned to their brother once more.
“Mot kwit svaa. Gnur’bixt phe jduw.” Vei sounded impossibly sterner than before. Indeed it was impossible, but something about the ice amplified emotions.
“Ot. Hi ag,” Ked nodded in agreement, matching the woman’s tone.
It was clear they were brother and sister. The younger one held a joy or playfulness uncharacteristic among her people. Sha was forever the mother and maid for her people. Vei was just as headstrong as her brother, though. They were both perfect for the role of King and Princess of their land.
Vei and Vaab began to head toward the large arch that lead down another set of stairs that would lead soonest to the entrance of the castle. Ked turned back to his “guests” to address them more formally.
“Must go see Council and speak about situation. May take long time. Please, patience.”
He bowed to them all, but not like he had in the ship. Apparently he now had to keep up his image or some such thing. They would all bow like he had to bow to his sisters or they would be seen as exceptionally rude and disgraceful toward their host. He knew their ignorance could not be helped. He didn’t bother prepping them on his culture as he had a difficult enough time manually travelling to the abandoned planet.
“Thank you, Master Vashee. Thank you,” he said, nodding to the rest of them. “Hope wait for toilets,” he said, pointing to himself and then to the rest of them indicating that they would need to hold their bowels and bladders for the better part of the day before they were allowed to freely move throughout the Kingdom. Even Master Vashee would be impressed by the rigidity of the “necessary” actions taken to assure safety among his people.
“Questions?”
He could only answer a few before a single click was faintly sounded and Ked turned immediately and marched toward the trio. Again, the six would need to remain a distance behind until they were immediately outside the castle.
It was currently the Season of the Sun and a golden glow shined from the roofs and the land delicately. It was customary to wear hoods that let in as little light as possible when outside, though they were quite difficult to see through. Since blindness was a real danger most of the citizens remained indoors if they could help it. Even with the Sun shining throughout the day, the temperatures only reached a touch above the freezing point, making the fear of their structures and homes melting an irrational one.
His ship sounded like a screeching hum in the air above the Kingdom and its people knew exactly who it was that was arriving. Of course, if they were proven wrong, aggression would come soon after as they were not fond of aliens and foreigners as was part of their culture. It had been seven years since he’d returned and much had changed. Perhaps they’d be hostile towards him for a time as part of an initiation or trial to make sure he was the same person. He was prepared for such a reaction to his return and even feared for the creatures he brought with him.
As the ship neared the “landing pad,” loose snow billowed around the castle which showed to be one of the only structures to have right angles and a horizontal roof among all in the Kingdom. Ked spent some extra time lining up the unique technology to this world to allow for those who needed to approach him to do so. Also, he wished to make the entrance to the ship easily accessible to the only door upon the roof. When signals began to blip on his radar to show that people indeed had been arriving, the feet of the YZ-900 vessel touched the snowy castle. Those who somehow knew that all these structures were made from snow and not a white marble of sorts would have been amazed to see such strength coming from something assumingly easy to crush and mold.
He completely turned off the freighter including all communication devices and lights and plumbing. This was more of a gesture to his kin that were ignorant of the concept of technology such as this. Of course, after introducing them to the ship, it would be used for the Padawan to stay as it had a heating system not found anywhere else in the Kingdom. The ramp to exit the Shib touched the roof before Ked rose from his seat to approach the Jedi who’d never been to this planet or endured his cultured, which he’d learned was quite radical. They all remained in the dark until he granted them permission to leave the ship safely.
“Master Ashara, please interpret,” he requested as she had proven to be able to understand his language though she’d never learned or probably heard it before. The others surely would not understand what was being said unless they held a similar skill with Force Comprehension, which was unlikely to say the least. “Interrupt,” he stated while shaking his head to indicate firmly that they were not to speak to his people unless they were to be spoken to directly. It was against custom to introduce oneself to another’s family and village, or in this case Kingdom. It showed that you did not respect the authority of the other’s people.
“I introduce,” he said, pointing to all of them, “bow and shake hand.” He demonstrated himself, bowing to a full right angle before returning to an erect position and grabbing the hand of Padawan Ar’kan with a firm grip that could easily threaten to crush it. This alone might have been somewhat blasphemous if one of his people were to see this interaction out of context. It mattered little in the ship. “Focus and keep silent.” His demands were almost harsh, but they’d soon learn that the rigid social structure of the Epicanthix held dangers for those unaware of their ways. Even the tallest among them would be easily physically intimidated by adolescent Epicanthix due to their rapid maturity and impressive build and height.
“Cold,” he stated last with his harsh and powerful voice. This wouldn’t have been akin to anything like Hoth’s perpetual frozen atmosphere, but arctic climates are still unusual for sentient life to prosper as they had. Hopefully this warning would have prepared them for what they would experience when they left the ship. Chances were that they would still be shocked and even now they could feel a chill piercing through the vessel and through them. Ked would have been the only one to breath in the frosty air comfortably before exhaling a large vaporized cloud.
His boots thudded against the metal floor and lead the six alien beings onto the roof which would crunch like snow beneath them, striking some of the others with interest and even shock. Three women, taller than any of them, stood at a doorway with their hands clasped before them. Their clothing was thinner than one might have assumed for people who lived in the arctic. Before all of them could step off the ramp, Ked bowed deeply to the women without twitching his face. He motioned with his hand for the others to remain where they were so he could approach them alone.
All letters are short and hard when spoken.
A=ah
E=eh
I=ee
O=oh
U=uh
C=usually "k" unless surrounded by vowels, then "s"
D=dental
G="got"
H=silent pause/stress on consonant or vowel after it.
J=french "j"
Q=hard/short "k" (guteral)
R=light/hard roll
V=hard/short "f"
W="v"
Y="yuh" at beginning of word, anywhere else is "ee"
Z="ts"
A=ah
E=eh
I=ee
O=oh
U=uh
C=usually "k" unless surrounded by vowels, then "s"
D=dental
G="got"
H=silent pause/stress on consonant or vowel after it.
J=french "j"
Q=hard/short "k" (guteral)
R=light/hard roll
V=hard/short "f"
W="v"
Y="yuh" at beginning of word, anywhere else is "ee"
Z="ts"
Once again, Ked bowed deeply before responding. “Knid. Jduw plag’ut’plag shek ut shed, zimw.” His deep voice now cut through the air instead of dully thudding against metal, cloth, and rubber. He pointed a few times as well. It was clear that these gestures were very much part of the language to any linguist. The others might have finally understood why he had such broken and hard speech in Basic, though.
Those knowing Basic wouldn’t quite understand that he was actually excited to see them. His face remained stony and his lips never curled into a smile. The same went for the women who seemed just as cold as their climate. Perhaps the cold had made frozen their facial muscles, making it almost impossible for them show expression. “Mot kwit rym. Ols aba. Rym.” The one in the center still spoke for the other two. Perhaps through the Force one could sense her elation, but there were no outward signs of such.
“Eko a’n, prosh?” The one on the left interjected before Ked could respond. “Ot,” the other said. Neither of them looked at the woman in the center but, instead, kept their eyes on the aliens by the ship.
Ked curled his finger toward him after pointing at their general direction. His eyes didn’t detach from the women, however. Master Ashara would lead them in a moderate march behind Ked to further the conversation. “Shed, Vei Ael. Shed, Vaab Ael. Shek, Sha Qok,” he said speaking to the group behind him but still not diverting his eyes. He only glanced back to see where the others stood so he could point to them accurately. He ended with “Xej, Master Vashee.”
“Halsh,” Sha said, still keeping her composure amongst aliens as she stood between Ked’s sisters. “Meksh,” Vaab said, standing on Sha’s left. “Tla xa,” Vei said, crossing her arms showing utmost defiance against allowing them further passage into her – their Kingdom.
Ked raised his arm to face his palm gently toward Vei as if to calm her down. This was an equally aggressive motion though one would not know this without living in their culture for years. Vaab gasped shortly because of it and Sha’s eyes widened slightly. Vei’s face remained as stern as her older brother’s. “Shed, Jedi’ii. Zlai. Ceelp.” His words seemed slower this time as if to convince her against her xenophobia which hadn’t seemed to subside into adulthood.
“Ot,” Vei said shortly, lowering hear arms as it had seemed she still respected her brother’s authority. “Halsh,” Vaab said, bowing slightly and waiting for them to do so in turn.
Ked didn’t look back at the group again for it was more important for him to keep eye-contact with the three women. When they turned to lead them further into the castle, his right finger pointed toward the ground to indicate that they should keep a distance behind him. They were his guests and he was responsible for their behavior. Keeping them silent and out of the way was the best way to assure politeness.
They descended clear staircases of ice. The group would notice that the temperature did not change as they entered the castle. Fires were kept only to cook meat which they hunted sparingly due to the increasing developments of the greenhouses and laboratories to their immediate south. Even under Ked’s heavy stature, his feet still thudded against the ice. Any without good traction on their feet would threatened themselves to fall. The railing would do well to keep their balance, but this was also made of ice. They would either immediately despise the place or be awestruck at the illusions and intricacies of their ice-sculpting.
It might have come to the others attention, granted they were slipping and focusing on balance, that the three women were actually quite attractive, however large. They also removed their hoods to indicate that they only wore them due to the sun’s blinding reflections off their home. They may have looked suspicious before but now they just looked determined and direct, as they were supposed to be.
The flight of stairs lasted longer than most of them would be comfortable with. They would have heard the echoes of children being tended to by adults, but the rounded edges and smooth surfaces of the interior intensified the ricocheting echoes. The oldest ones in the room, besides themselves, would have been eighteen, though they looked closer to mid-twenties compared to regular humans. Babies sat on laps or crawled along the packed-snow floor. There were twenty-five children under the age of three alone. All together, there were 41 people in this room. Sha handed Ked a piece of parchment which revealed glyphs of their language when unrolled.
They were all his kin. Each of them was his grandchild or great-grandchild. If Master Ashara somehow figured this out and decided to share such information with the rest of them, they might have been astonished. He motioned slightly for them to remain near the base of the stairs as he introduced himself to his family. Most of them were born during his time in the galaxy while others wouldn’t have remembered him as they were so young. Only a few had actually met him and expected his arrival. The babies didn’t stop fussing but the rest of the children and teenagers stopped to look at the Ancestral Husband and Father of his land.
Many of them were more conscientious of the aliens which waited across the room. Others nudged them for their lack of eye-contact. A short introduction was made on his behalf by Vei. They were quickly dismissed as if their only purpose of being in this holding area was to meet their Grandfather or Great-Grandfather briefly. As Sha helped the mothers pick up and herd out the children, Vei and Vaab turned to their brother once more.
“Mot kwit svaa. Gnur’bixt phe jduw.” Vei sounded impossibly sterner than before. Indeed it was impossible, but something about the ice amplified emotions.
“Ot. Hi ag,” Ked nodded in agreement, matching the woman’s tone.
It was clear they were brother and sister. The younger one held a joy or playfulness uncharacteristic among her people. Sha was forever the mother and maid for her people. Vei was just as headstrong as her brother, though. They were both perfect for the role of King and Princess of their land.
Vei and Vaab began to head toward the large arch that lead down another set of stairs that would lead soonest to the entrance of the castle. Ked turned back to his “guests” to address them more formally.
“Must go see Council and speak about situation. May take long time. Please, patience.”
He bowed to them all, but not like he had in the ship. Apparently he now had to keep up his image or some such thing. They would all bow like he had to bow to his sisters or they would be seen as exceptionally rude and disgraceful toward their host. He knew their ignorance could not be helped. He didn’t bother prepping them on his culture as he had a difficult enough time manually travelling to the abandoned planet.
“Thank you, Master Vashee. Thank you,” he said, nodding to the rest of them. “Hope wait for toilets,” he said, pointing to himself and then to the rest of them indicating that they would need to hold their bowels and bladders for the better part of the day before they were allowed to freely move throughout the Kingdom. Even Master Vashee would be impressed by the rigidity of the “necessary” actions taken to assure safety among his people.
“Questions?”
He could only answer a few before a single click was faintly sounded and Ked turned immediately and marched toward the trio. Again, the six would need to remain a distance behind until they were immediately outside the castle.
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