Ask Lothal Embers of A Distant Legacy

[Xan Solus]

Oh, to be home. What a brilliant and terrible thing. Lothal was the homeworld of Xan Solus in many senses - it was his literal birthplace, for one, but it had a greater spiritual meaning beyond that. After his world had been desecrated by the Mandalorians, he had been adopted and trained in the Death Watch's legions. The contradictions between the sweet farm boy he was and the Mandalorian warrior he is had not yet been resolved. In his dreams, Xan returned to Lothal, to the chaotic din of blasters, the heat of flame, the pain of loss. He imagined his mother and father, their features becoming less and less defined as he aged, until all that remained was the idea of mother and father. An idea of a life on Lothal, before the coming of the Mand'Alor.

But his homecoming was not meant to satisfy his nostalgic desires. The Death Watch, too, had stagnated; fallen into irrelevance and disrepair after its leader Fenyang disappeared. Xan resolved to take on the mission of this organization, the one that had reared him when he was just another foundling. And so, he returned to Lothal to take on one of the challenges his Mandalorian family had failed to accomplish: Deciphering the secrets of Lothal.

Excavation into Lothal's history, done by the Mandalorians in the immediate aftermath of the Crusade, revealed traces of a deep history on the planet. The power of the Jedi Temple was well known, but Death Watch had found inklings of information, long-buried by the Jedi, that implicated the Mandalorians, the Sith, and other powerful, galactic conquerors in galactic history. The world had served as a focal point for countless invasions. And Death Watch never learned why.

Mandalorians were still hated by the population for their occupation of the world all those years ago. Xan still hid his face, preferring the anonymity that only the Mandalorian iron skin could provide, but did so with a touch of local fashion. Instead, we wore the heavy, cloth fatigues of a harvester on Lothal's many farms, complete with the boxy, face-obscuring safety helmet.

The mission was not simple, and it confounded Xan. So often, his plan was to point his beskad forward and yell OYA! And so often, it seemed to just work out. Translating the ancient Mandalorian hieroglyph that led him to Lothal in the first place took the organization of Death Watch to do. And all it pointed him to was the local library.

So, wearing the clumsy outfit of a hard laborer, Xan roamed through the massive halls of the Lothalian library, amassing a giant pile of data pads and texts on ancient Lothalian history. It wasn't stealthy, exactly, but hey? It was as stealthy as he had ever been.

@Apollyon

 

[Karys]

Loth-kitten.

It was a term of endearment that had come to cause Karys ripples of thrilled pleasure whenever Azar uttered it. It was his pet name, he knew that and he embraced it. There was an issue however, Karys had never actually seen a Loth-cat. That is why he had come to Loth. Not hunting for some grand adventure or hidden artifact, but to find one of the young of this damnable feline species.

On his hip sat a flask, within it was a potion that had been given to him by Azar. It was special and hard to make. The potion would alter his appearance for a limited time, approximately an hour. Azar had given him enough to last three hours in case of an emergency.

And given that he would likely be hunted by his own House soon enough, it was better safe than sorry. As such, Karys had started wearing a masked helmet when he wasn’t on Sith controlled worlds and ensuring his any of skin wasn’t exposed. This made him look like he was another denizen of the galaxy, all his weapons were of course, hidden on his person. It was uncomfortable and he was often drenched in sweat, but it was better than being spotted by potential enemies.

Karys, in his full getup had made his way to a local library to read up on the local fauna, particularly these Loth-cats. He wished to find where they nest, that way he could extract one of their young for examination and potentially to keep for himself. As he read on them, he was not amused.

“They bite, live alone, and dislike others…” he muttered as he read. “does he really think so little of me?” He whispered, a smirk teased at the edge of his lips beneath his helmet.

He missed Azar already.

As he shut the small book, clearly meant for adolescents, he turned and saw a man sitting at a table covered in books. Karys cocked his head curiously, some of the titles dealt with historical events, others legends. He was interested.

Wordlessly, he would sit down across from the man, spin around one of the books put to the side and begin reading. The book dealt with Mandalorian resistance efforts on the planet. His helmeted head wouldn’t look up from the book. Instead, he’d simply cross one leg over another and spoke.

“Interesting topic.”

@Fine Dining Set

 

[Xan Solus]

Oh boy, a new friend! "Mighty interesting, pal! The story of how the Great Mandalorians once ruled this place!" He exclaimed, earning him dirty glances from the library patrons, if only because he was being quite loud and gesturing with his hands. He peered at the other helmeted patron of the library. Was he a Mandalorian in disguise, too? Or a normal farmer? Only one way to find out.

He lowered his voice and head close to the table, practically slinking across it to whisper in Karys's ear: "Su'cuygar....?" His tone wafted as he whispered, drawing out the ssssssss like a snake. It would be the only way to know if he was in safe company.

Regardless, he continued to talk about the book. "But there's some boring history in here too you know. Like about cats and dogs from Lothal and stuff. Did you know the loth-wolf is believed to have first been introduced to the planet by Mandalorians?" That was a blatant lie. But he once saw a Mandalorian on the holonet say it. He was searching the bookshelf for verification of the fact. "All sorts of good history here, friend. Whatcha looking for?"

@Apollyon