Knights of Suffering

[Noire]

THE HIDDEN FOREST // GALTEA, OUTER RIM TERRITORIES // SUNSET // JEDI LIVING QUARTERS​

Jedi are the guardians of peace in the galaxy.
Jedi use their powers to defend and to protect.
Jedi respect all life in any form.
Jedi serve others rather than ruling over them, for the good of the galaxy.
Jedi seek to improve themselves through knowledge and training.
I am a Jedi.
But when did I start to care more about saving myself than others?​

Galtea is a place of harmony - a treasured safe haven untouched by the darkness slowly creeping across the galaxy. It is a backwater planet, situated on the edge of known space, and practically virgin to the concept of 'advanced civilization'. Perhaps, if one was as reflective enough as to contemplate the entire history of warfare in the galaxy, they could argue that very notion of 'virginity' as being the reason for why it is such a place of peace. However, it is not the reason that is of true significance, but the tranquility felt by all who find themselves safeguarded by the planet's tucked away coordinates. It is the inherent purity - the deeply rooted innocence - of the Laku'na, the native peoples who call it home. It is the magnificent and unspoiled beauty flaunted by its vast green forests, its boundless blue oceans, and its clear skies. But that tranquility, that cherished purity, that untarnished beauty, has now come under threat by the very darkness that once festered in the corners of the galaxy thought far too removed to ever truly matter.

This is the twilight of peace on Galtea.

The end begins now.

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Caden Ansgar did not seek vindication. There was none to be sought. As poor as what little rest he had managed to get in the past few weeks was, he was almost positive that sleep was now entirely out of the question. He was sure he had spent every minute of the past several hours, the hours following the brazen assault on Naboo by the Empire, much the same as any other being in the galaxy had; endlessly fixated on a blend of live coverage and looped footage of the attack from the HoloNet while pondering one question: how could this have happened? Nerve-racking reports had began to surface now too - most of them either meaningless whispers or unconfirmed rumors - comprised of one single possibility that struck terror in the very hearts of every man and woman fighting for freedom against the Empire: Naboo may fall. If there was any truth to such a claim, then it would be a nightmare that no Rebel - Jedi or Soldier - would wake up from for a very long time.

But for Caden the nightmare was far, far worse.

The darkness was very generous. The darkness unselfishly hid the tears shed by the lone Jedi Knight enveloped within it and dared not to allow a single speck of light from outside of the sleeping quarters in. That was its precious gift. Caden sat quietly in his quarters, nearly motionless if not for the rapid rise and fall of his chest, his vision blurred by brimming tears, staring at the wall. He wasn't sure just how long he had been sitting there, staring, either. The sound of the HoloNet had long ago faded from the foreground of his thoughts, becoming nothing more than unintelligible chatter in the process, while the moments leading up to the start of the attack flashed in his mind like constant sparks of fire.

Over and over again.

He relived the very second he had stood under the shadow of the massive Star Destroyer that had appeared first, unable to even tremble with fear, and deafened by the blaring alarms that had begun to sound off almost immediately. He saw the many pock-marked walls of Theed again, riddled with blaster-fire as they were, and his bottom lip quivered as the thick smell of plasma in the air invaded his nostrils once more. He felt the tremors of the countless explosions again and the fiery blackish plumes of death that rose from the marketplace not a moment later.

How?

How could he? How could he have fled - with the likes of a Sith, no less - as he did? It had not been an escape. An 'escape' would have implied that he was in some form of danger, that his life was under serious threat, but he hadn't been and it wasn't. If anything, he had been as close to safe as one could have possibly been at that time. No, what Caden had done was flee from those who desperately needed his help. Those whose lives he should have saved, those who he should have protected until his lungs could no longer draw air. But he hadn't; he had returned home, to Galtea, and not left his quarters since. His were the actions of a coward, undeserving of the title 'Jedi Knight', and undeserving of the Jedi weapon attached to his belt.

Who am I?

The thought hung in the air, though he had not spoke it aloud, unanswered and alone. He would never be able to change any of the choices that he'd made. But it wasn't what he'd told Eris that he regretted; it was leaving Naboo. Caden had been so sure, so convinced, that it was a worthless battle that had no place for him. But he wasn't sure any longer and he would never be able to take it back and prove himself as the Jedi he'd always claimed to be. The past was the past and the present was filled with an ocean of uncertainty and doubts that Caden found himself slowly drowning in. He stood up abruptly, dragging the sleeve of his tunic across his eyes as he did so, and dusted off his trousers. He took a few steps outside, where he was able to finally breathe again, and found himself leaning on a railing made of wood under an overcast sky.

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​

Outside of the Jedi Knight's quarters the wind's constant howling begins to sound more and more like a shriek heralding a storm that has yet to break. A jagged fork of white-hot lightning splits the sky - a silent stroke of blindingly bright electricity that was as silent as it was captivating - before the inevitable roar and crash of its energy shook and startled the air. Thunder rolled and boomed overhead, demanding to be heard, and threatening to break the Heavens in two. It was then, that very instant, that the Knight would begin to sense a presence approaching within the Force that, after so long, felt closer to foreign than familiar. But that didn't stop the weakest of smiles from forming on his face.

Nakoma Gwenelda had returned to Galtea.