Legends of the Hidden Temple

[Alysanne Drast]

Catacombs of Cadera, Jedha​

She had never been to Jedha, she had read and heard so much about the legendary planet, but had never been here. Months and years had passed since she had run away from home, but still the Galaxy had wonders to throw her way. They weren't even going to Jedha City, maybe someday she would visit the holy city, and still the planet had so much to offer that she could barely contain herself.

As the ship dropped into atmosphere, descending towards and soaring past the mesa upon which Jedha City itself sat, Alys guided it to a rocky structure not too far from the city. Once a monastery, now all that remained was ruins. But within those ruins lay something more. Weeks and months wasted chasing rumors had finally paid off when they had stumbled upon a lead that had brought them here.

Brining the ship down not far from the catacombs, she switched off all the systems, and leaving the ship in Dee-Dee's safe hands, began making her way towards the Silverwing's rear cargo ramp. Once outside, she waited for her companion on this expedition, Jedi Master Leah Reach, to join her as she gawked at the vast structure. It had probably not known any Jedi for centuries, and it showed in the state of the ruins, which didn't seem particularly inviting to her. Pulling out a glowrod from the pouch she wore at her side, she waited till Leah joined her and gestured towards the dark entrance to the monastery. "It's funny how treasure always seems to be hidden in dark and gloomy places, isn't it?"

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

Jedha. Trackless dunes, egged mesas, winding canyons. On paper, the world was no different from any other backwater rock. In person, it was more than what Leah expected. The sight of pilgrims marching through the desert. The distant smell of burning incense from the Holy City settled on the horizon. The feeling of coarse sand against her heel to the warmth of the sun on her face. The constant pull of the Force, stronger than she ever knew. More potent than Al’doleem. This world was no Tatooine, no Savareen. It was the former home of the Jedi Guardians, the Temple of Kyber, and where the greatest among them were raised, trained and knighted.

Those were the golden days. Now? Nothing remained. The last of the Jedi were huddled in ancient sanctuaries on hidden worlds, desperate to claw out o the hole they dug themselves into. Any home, settlement or conclave of the Order was long abandoned, lost to time, turned into tombs and crypts. The Jedi Temple was a heap of rubble, left to rot since the Sith Empire bombed it to hell. Rumor and whispers from the city likewise disclosed a religious cult ruled the city with an iron fist. Radical fanatics. They had described the temple grounds as wicked and sacrilegious, salting the earth and blocking all attempts to memorialize the Jedi lost. Favor and fortune were not on her side.

But the Force was, and Leah had hope. The Guardians of the Whills still wandered, hidden elsewhere but alive. The Church of the Force, on the fringes of dying out, still clung to its roots through a few households. Old sanctuaries, while tombs for the dead, still contained relics, artifacts and clues that led to more. Leah planned to restore them all. She wanted to rid the world of the Dark Side and bathe it in the Light it once soaked in centuries prior. Before she could make a move on the city, however, she was called to another. Alysanne Drast, the girl from Kashyyyk, Aurora’s promising student, requested the Jedi Master accompany her in search of a particular relic. A holocron.

As Alysanne disembarked from her ship, the figure of Master Reach surfaced behind a dune and through the dry haze. She had stayed in the outskirts of the Holy City for sometime now, inspecting other crypts for other artifacts or clues. The Catacombs of Cadera, however, would be a first. Robed and armed for a battle, the older woman walked beside the Jedi Padawan toward the monastery entrance. She laughed. “That’s because it’s hard to find something out of seemingly nothing. Or nobody bothers to look.” She afforded a quick glance and smile toward the girl. “Except us.” Continuing forward, she chose to remain side by side rather than lead the way. It was Alys’ mission, after all.

@Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Dice​

Smiling at Leah's words, Alys shook her head as she fiddled with the glowrod to turn it on. Even all this time, she couldn't help but feel awed by hearing a Jedi Master speak. "I have no idea how you do it, making even the simplest of words seem so deeply profound. You could tell someone to shave a Wookiee and fill them with hope." Chuckling at the thought, wondering what Grey would think about that, she brought the glowrod up to point it towards the entrance as they approached its threshold.

As they stepped into the structure itself, the humor Alys was feeling but a moment ago was pushed aside, leaving her to be washed over by a more sombre sentiment. This had been home to Jedi once, a long time ago. She couldn't help but wonder how much time must have passed since Jedi stepped through these doors. There wasn't really a door for them to step through anymore, nature had worn away much of the original structure, now all that awaited them was a dark entrance where doors might once have stood. Still, the sentiment held true.

"The old entrances to the catacombs themselves are probably long lost, but I was able to catch a.." She paused as she tried to find the right word to describe her contact, worried that Leah might not approve. She knew that Aurora wouldn't be particularly excited to hear that she had been spending even more time with criminals and vagabonds. "Well, he called himself an archeologist. I think he was little more than a grave robber. But he had managed to get into the catacombs a few years ago. He said there was an entrance not far from here that should lead us to the lower levels."

What waited them there, she didn't know. They might get lucky and stumble upon the entrance to the lower levels, where she suspected the holocron was located, or they might have more obstacles to overcome before they got their reward. Either way, the first step was finding that entrance. "It should be up this way."

She lead them towards the left, her glowrod providing enough illumination for them to avoid falling on their faces, but not enough to search the dark interior of the structure particularly fast. But it seemed like luck was shining on them. She hadn't been waving the light around for particularly long when something caught her eye, and when she brought the light back at what had caught her attention she saw something that definitely stood out. The walls, so uniformly old all over, stood out here. There were rocks and pebbles everywhere, but the glowrod's light fell on a patch of wall where the rocks seemed to have collapsed recently, they looked more, fresh, for the lack of a better word. As she walked up to it, she could hear a sound sound coming from behind the pile of rocks, the slow but regular pitter patter of water. And from the way the sound echoed, she was sure there was an open space behind the rocks. This was their opening, even if it was blocked. But they were Jedi, lifting rocks was a professional hazard.

"Master Reach!" She called out to the Jedi Master, excitement evident in her voice, "I think I found it, behind these rocks!" Once the Jedi Master came over, she would explain to her what she had found, the rocks, the sounds. She was getting excited, they might just be one step closer to their destination.

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

“What makes you think I haven’t already?” The older woman flashed a wry smile with Alysanne’s earlier quip. She was not sure whether to feel flattered or mildly concerned. Leah knew she could be very heartrending or a sage with her words, but she knew it made her seem a lot older and wiser than she really was. But holding that smile, she chuckled and added jokingly, “Seriously though, don’t tempt me. Although, funny as it would be, the last thing I would want is having Greybok wander around Star Base naked and furious. Or in the Council meetings? Spare me the thought.” She laughed again. Despite knowing the girl for so little, she found her company to be quite charming. It was no wonder Valentine and Aurora took such a liking towards her.

Whatever whimsical moment they shared was quickly tucked away as the pair stumbled into the main structure. Narrow pillars flanked them on both sides. A wide opening loomed ahead, once the main doors to the ancient sanctuary. Daylight melted away, each step taking them farther into darkness. Still, Leah kept her eyes on the young woman and hearkened to her voice. She bit back another interested chuckle but her lips curled into another reassuring smile. “Archeologist, grave robber— that’s a pretty big difference.” She said, not disturbed by the revelation but somewhat concerned.”Are you sure you can trust his word?” The woman asked before shaking her head and answering herself. “Well, if you believe him, so will I.”

Sometimes, seeing and hearing was believing. For Leah, she understood the Force well enough that faith and trust was all that was needed. The Jedi Master neither sensed any terrible dangers lurking ahead, so she doubted it would end up a wild goose chase or a trap. Trailing behind and beside Alysanne, Leah nodded as she led on. “All right.” She answered and hiked deeper into the refuge. Darkness consumed them. While the girl turned to her glowrod, Leah decided to take a step further and ignite her lightsaber. Blue light illuminated the corridor, likewise revealing the path ahead. Carefully, the woman stepped over broken stairs, through jagged stone and over pint-sized sinkholes.

Her wandering ended in front of a dead end. As she listened to Alys and looked closer, she recognized it was in fact a closed door. They just needed to open it. Or by the looks the girl was giving her, Leah needed to open it. Not that she minded the trouble. With the crack of her knuckles and craning of her neck, the Jedi Master stepped forward. Her eyes fluttered to a close. Then, she reached out with the Force. One pebble trembled and hovered into the air. Almost laughable, until the rest of the rocks did the same. Sailing into the air, the obstacle before them began to disappear. The path ahead was clear. However, there was something else: uncertainty. That was when she heard it. The ceiling crack. The wall of stone she was moving was all that had been holding it up.

“Inside, now. Hurry!” She cried out. With her lightsaber still in her iron grip, she raised both hands and attempted to maintain the ceiling. Suddenly, the image of her husband in his last moments flashed into her head. He had died doing the same thing on Dantooine. Died to clear the way. Leah grunted. No, she would not meet the same fate. Instead, she fought. Gritting her teeth, she took step by step into the opening she created. Until at last, she let go and leapt forward. Narrowly avoiding the breaking ceiling, the rocks crashed down and blocked the entrance into the lower levels— as well as the only exit, at least so the Jedi currently believed. If there was no other way out, they were now trapped.

“Shit.” She said, trying to regain her senses. She rose and dusted off her shoulders before looking back. "Let's hope that wasn't our only ticket out of here."

@Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

She chuckled at Leah's response to her quip about shaved Wookiees, almost dropping her glowrod as she started laughing at the mental image Leah had painted for her, a naked Greybok running through the frozen landscape of Star Base. Leah was showing a completely different side of a Jedi Master to her, approachable, relatable, easy to trust, and easy to like. And she did like the Jedi Master, as short a time as she might have known her.

"I don't trust him," She said in response to Leah's question about her source while continuing to scan the walls, "but I do trust his greed. He doesn't get paid if he screws me over." He had asked for his payment before sharing the information with her, but she had only given him half, promising him the other half on her return.

Stepping aside, she let Leah have a good look at the caved in entrance she had found, waiting for her to do whatever she was planning to do. She was watching the Jedi Master when she noticed something from the corner of her eyes, a single pebble rising into the air. But by the time she turned her head to face the opening the tiny pebble had been joined by more and more rocks, till the blocked path was not blocked anymore. A wide smile on her lips, amazement twinkling in her eyes, Alys was about to say something when she heard the crack in the ceiling. She was staring at the crack slowly spreading through the roof when she heard Leah shout out, and her training took over.

Not wasting a moment, she sprang into motion, running through the opening and coming to a skidding stop once clear of the floating rocks and collapsing roof. Turning around, she was about to reach out to help Leah, but saw that the Jedi Master didn't need it, she was walking calmly through the opening, till she was also through and rocks collapsed behind her.

Glancing around to take in the narrow tunnel inside which they now stood, she searched for the glowrod that she had dropped while running in, and found it lying almost next to her feet. Luckily it hadn't been damaged when it fell out of her hands, as its bright beam of light sprang to life when she clicked it on. Pointing it down the tunnel, down a path that lead deeper into the catacombs, she began walking. "There must be another exit, my archeologist friend got out, didn't he." But she didn't sound particularly confident when she said that. "Downwards and onwards I guess."

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

“Yeah, maybe he got out by the way he came.” She thumbed over to the pile of rocks behind them. With the entrance into the inner caverns and the exit to the main catacombs sealed close, the Jedi Master was worried about their next course of action. She never little to nothing about the catacombs. Labyrinthine halls, precarious walkways, ominous tombs. Rocky ceilings held up by nothing more than thin columns or shards of stone. The constant hiking was neither much fun. She half-expected the unexpected arrival of a mysterious underground creatures. Something to encounter, confront or fight. Instead, the only thing Leah was left fighting was a growing sense of boredom as well as her weary legs. She may have hiked on several occasions, but that was just that— occasions.

Wandering down broken steps or sliding against steep inclines did not require the skill of Jedi Master either. Leah wondered why she agreed to accompany Alysanne into the ancient tombs. Sure, she was in the area, pledged her service to the Order and was always willing to help those in need. However, she felt there were far better things to do than to explore another crypt. The Holy City remained under occupation of an overzealous religious cult. The Guardian of the Whills were still scattered, looking for the Force or the Jedi to call them together. The Temple of Kyber was ash and demanded rebuilding. There was much to do on Jedha other than seeking out a singular relic. Not that Leah could complain or argue. Whatever Alys was after, it was important. Aurora had to know.

Above them, as their steps echoed through the cavern, several bats fluttered through the darkness. Her shoulders tensed but realized it was nothing. Until a jagged stalactite suddenly broke from the ceiling and descended fast upon the Jedi Master. Not that she even bothered to look or care. With the wave of her hand, she essentially bitch slapped the fragment of rock aside. Compared to her strength in the Force, it was absolutely nothing to her. Only a minor inconvenience. Something to spice up the rather uneventful walk, even if it lasted for a split second. Once the rock shattered into the floor, the Jedi almost rolled her eyes, raising her blade high to see what else laid in the catacombs. Which, ultimately, was nothing.

At least, she could turn to conversation to lighten the mood. Lips pursed, she glanced back to Alysanne. “So. You and Master Blackwood, huh?” She began, trying her best to dispel the awkward silence. “I’m a little curious, but tell me, what do you think of her?” Knowing how potentially intrusive she was being, she added, “Don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but be honest. Don’t worry, I don’t bite.” She refrained from adding “-ish” to the end of her sentence. After all, Leah was not known to be an ultra pacifist full of love, compassion and flowers. That was more along the lines of Master Luy.

@Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

"Aurora? I mean Master Blackwood?" Alys focused on the light of the glowrod as she pondered on the question Leah had put forward, not sure exactly how to word her response. "She...she's like a Krayt Dragon. Yeah!" Satisfied with the analogy, she hopped over a small hole in the ground, she nodded as she continued walking. "She's strict, scary, yet beautiful in her own way. But at her core lies a pearl of pure light." She turned back to glance at Leah as before continuing. "Like don't get me wrong, there were times when I messed up and I was sure she would toss me through a wall. But I'm glad she found me that day on Kashyyyk, she changed my life. And for the better."

As they continued walking, Alys came to a sudden stop as the light from glowrod fell on a deep chasm that had opened up in front of them. It wasn't so wide that they couldn't see the other side, but when she was able to spot a stair-like bridge that connected them to the lower ground on the other side of the chasm, it turned out that there was a big gaping hole in the middle of the stairs that blocked their way. As close as the other side seemed, she wasn't sure they could get across without some trouble.

But then she noticed something out of the corner of her eye, and when she swung the glowrod a little to the side, she spotted another similar bridge, and this one was entirely intact. Chuckling at their good fortune, ignoring the fact that they might be trapped in here with their only exit gone, she trotted over to the bridge and thumped a foot on it a few times to make sure it wasn't going to collapse like the other one before beginning to carefully climb onto it.

Calling back to Leah as she began crossing the bridge, she moved slowly and carefully to make sure she didn't topple off the crossing into what seemed like a opening to the very core of the planet. "She doesn't like Grey though, or maybe doesn't like me spending too much time with him. Probably thinks I'm too young and impressionable, and that he might be a bad influence. I bet she'd help you convince people to shave him if you ever wanted to do that."

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

Like a Krayt Dragon. One would think the analogy was a long shot when it came to Master Blackwood, but Leah knew the other woman well enough. There was no denying her grit, perseverance and resolve. Neither was there denying her grace and style as a Jedi Master. It was no wonder she stood among the best of the Order, or how she was able to take on so many students in so little time. Her faith was unwavering. Leah was glad to have her on the Council and as a friend. Having escaped capture from the Empire’s grasp more than once, she knew Aurora would persist in the fight. Little did she know the full extent of Aurora’s folly, of her instinct to survive, and where it would lead them. But that was a worry for another time. Her real focus now laid in crossing the bridge.

Narrow, broken and leading over a bottomless chasm, the Jedi Master was immediately unnerved. Not afraid but ready to act when the wrathful spirit of the catacombs decided to throw her for a loop. One foot in front of the other, she walked carefully across. Like sliding down a trip wire, she maintained complete balance. Her eyes wandered between the destination ahead and the abyss below. To her surprise, nothing happened. The bridge and staircase kept its promise of passage and Leah was left satisfied as she stepped onto the other side. Naturally, the Force continued to flow through her, prepared to leap out of the way in a last moment or to slap aside another falling rock. She didn’t trust this ancient sanctuary, not after the collapse of the entrance.

“Well, she’s not wrong.” Leah admitted, knowing Aurora had a point in arguing against Greybok. “Then again, you are as much a rebel as you are a Jedi. What you do with and for the Alliance is not entirely up for her to decide. It’s up to you.” She flashed a reassuring smile. Leah did not mean to foster further rebellion in the girl, not against her Master, but she knew Alysanne had not joined the Galactic Alliance purely to train in the ways of the Force. As for her final remark, the woman chuckled again. “And I thought I told you, Alys— don’t tempt me.” She jokingly raised a warning finger. “I would much prefer to keep my arms in their sockets, thank you very much.” Her laughter faded as they continued to march through the darkness.

Before another awkward silence could settle in, Leah pushed through. “But do you think she’s right? Is Greybok really such a bad influence?” She was curious over their relationship. The Jedi knew the General was never known for a smooth temperament or a gentle heart. Especially with his droid.

@Wit

 

[Alysanne Drast]

Chuckling about Leah's joke about her arms, Alys wondered about what she had said. She was as much a rebel as she was a Jedi, it wasn't one or the other. She could be both, and the simple fact of the matter was that she did not see anything wrong with her association with Greybok. Despite what Aurora might think, he had been nothing but a positive influence on her. No, it wasn't a bad thing at all. She could be a rebel and a Jedi, and she would be good at both. She had failed at many a thing in her life, this was not going to be one of them. She would find the balance, one way or another she would learn to be both.

"No," she replied as they continued trudging down the cave, "he isn't. Anyone who thinks otherwise simply doesn't know him well enough." She paused as she realized what her statement said about Aurora, turning her head around to glance at Leah as she rushed to explain herself. "Not that I think Aurora is jumping to conclusions. She just has a lot on her mind, and..I just think she is mistaken this time. That's all."

She turned her head back towards the path they were headed down and a figure suddenly appeared from the shadows, flapping past the light from her glowrod and giving her such a scare that she almost jumped out of her skin. Chuckling as her breath slowed down, she glanced back at Leah before continuing walking. "Crazy mynocks."

@Deviant

 

[Leah Reach]

“You’re telling me.” Leah replied with a light chuckle. Whether her answer meant the mistaken beliefs of Aurora or the crazy mynocks, Alysanne might never know. Especially as a few more winged creatures sprung out of the darkness, teeth bared, tails swinging. Unlike the others, they were more aggressive. More hungry. And not simply for the metal in their armor or lightsabers. One swept down to the Jedi, who quickly slapped it aside with a curled fist. The mynock staggered mid-air but regained its balance, ready to attack again. More did the same. This time, rather than meet them with another punch, she used her blade. One creature was split in half. Another lost its right wing. Still, they were undeterred. A swarm was coming.

“We need to go!” Leah cried out and carved through the darkness and the horde. It was a struggle to maneuver around the catacombs in spite of everything around her. But through the Force, and what little sense remained in her, the Jedi Master pushed on. Over narrow bridges, up broken steps, down steep inclines. She ran, slid, dodged. All the while, she kept an eye out for Alysanne. The last thing Leah wanted was to lose the young student, and so early in her training. Aurora would shred her apart if she found out she left the girl behind. That irony aside, Leah was determined to escape the swarm. Lightsaber flying, legs like lead but still moving, she spotted a small gap in the crypt. A thin opening, almost too small for an ordinary human, but enough.

She deactivated her lightsaber and launched toward the hole. Straight as her blade, she dived into the aperture and found herself sliding down a new incline. She did for a few moments before falling out the other side of the tunnel and into what felt like a cushion. Dust scattered into the air. Whatever she landed on, wherever she stumbled into, it had been centuries since anyone last entered. Leah rolled from the pad and into the ground. Pushing messy strands of hair out of her face, she looked up the tunnel and prayed the girl followed. Fortunately, she did. Alysanne was smarter than she looked, Leah had to hand it to her. Although she was just happy to know she was all right. Mostly.

Once the Jedi lifted the other up to her feet, she eyed her surroundings. They were in a chamber now, smaller. Different. And strangely, cryptically, familiar. Even though Leah had never been to the crypt, or even Jedha since the last few days, she felt attracted to the room. Or in particular, what seemed to be a chest tucked against the wall in the corner. Covered in engravings, layered in dust. Untouched but humming with the energies of the Force. Could it be what they were looking for? What Alysanne had been after? Leah couldn’t believe it. Yet, at the same time, she did.

The Force worked in mysterious ways.

 

[Alysanne Drast]

There was something about tempting fate, and Alysanne's casual curse at the expense of the mynocks seemed to have done just that, for suddenly they were under attack from an entire swarm of them. Lacking a blade of her own, the young Jedi instinctively reached for the blaster at her side, but thought better of it when she recalled the collapsed entrance to the caves they were in now. She had no way to know if a stray shot hitting the walls might bring the roof down on them.

So she used her hands and the glowrod to fend off the mynocks as best as she could while she started running. When the opening presented itself, she too jumped through it, landing on the soft, dusty ground on the other side. As Leah helped her to her feet, Alys too began noticing the weird chamber they found themselves in, one that felt oddly comforting. Noticing the chest, she began walking towards it, dropping to her knees in front of it, and carefully running a hand over it to wipe away the dust that covered it. Her eyes widened as she noticed a small engraving on the top of the chest, the logo of the Jedi Order. With almost tremlbing hands, she pulled open the chest, noticing within it an assortment of items, surprisingly well preserved considering how long they must have been lying there. Data cards, texts, power cells, a couple of lightsabers, much smaller than any she had seen any of the Jedi Masters use. But a quick shifting and scanning of the contents of the chest revealed that there was no holocron there, which left her slightly disappointed.

As she pulled out one of the lightsabers from the chest, she turned to look at Leah, noticing something above and beyond her instead. Stairs, that climbed way up and seemed to lead to an exit, their way home. "No holocron," she said as she pointed towards the stairs, "but at least we aren't stuck in here." That was indeed a positive, and who knows, maybe the data cards and texts within the chest might have something about the holocron. Regardless, this expedition hadn't been a complete failure. They were alive, so she could continue her search. Live to search another day.

/End Thread

@Deviant