Ode to Joy(euse)

[Vardon Galland]

Location: Atmosphere above Ryloth. Local time of destination: 19:00

A holocron from Grand Master Tolan Kar himself! Vardon was overjoyed when he first heard of its presence on Ryloth, a planet which he had spent many days, weeks and months on before. But this time, he had come with a clear purpose. On his travels, the young Thyferran had heard about a powerful artifact located far to the north on the Twi'lek homeworld. The news of the holocron almost seemed to good to be true, but sometimes, leaps of faith needed to be taken in order to achieve progress.

Last time Galland visited the planet, he picked up a few loyal friends on the way, and this time, he brought them back. But there was also another who had expressed an interest in participating, namely the Jedi Knight Kae'Leigh. The young man didn't know why she was interested in joining him to begin with. Whether it was just out of the kindness of her heart, the force pulling her to do the task or the necessity to build up morale and knowledge, Vardon did not know. Regardless, he was glad to know that she would be there to search for the holocron too.

The artifact had been said to lay hidden deep down by the floor in one of the mesas, apparently having been dropped by a courier. The item had withstood years of punishment from the occasional showers of rain and harsh winds. Despite the slightest of glimmers being visible from the narrow pathways above, the holocron was deep enough for it to be hidden from plain view. But it had been determined that it laid right next to a waterfall which would at least make it easier to find once they had reached the bottom.

Joe Bethersonton, Vardon's loyal comrade piloted the Nerf-class freighter towards the northernmost part of the Rylothian surface. The descent down to the planet's surface was a rather calm and peaceful one. Both the Thyferran and Kae'Leigh had the coordinates of what was supposed to be a good landing spot, relatively close to the location of the holocron. After a while, the mynock finally set down on a platform halfway down the mesa. A smile grew on Vardon's lips as he looked out over the platform "Our information was good - this does seem large enough for two ships, perhaps even three. I guess there's nothing left to do but to wait now. I guess you could beat me in dejarik again while waiting, let's play!" And with that, the two friends started a round while sitting inside their ship with the landing ramp open.​

​

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

To say that the blue skinned Twi'lek was surprised would be an understatement. Her home planet, a place where she'd only ever been to once, housed a holocron of great power. Even more surprising, was that a fellow Jedi had found it's whereabouts. Though the kid was still a Padawan, it was an incredible find and Kae'Leigh knew somehow the Force was telling her to search for it with them. Once she'd gotten word that Vardon Galland was coming to Ryloth, Kae'Leigh grabbed her Padawan and flew off to meet them.

It was a promise she had made to her Padawan that she'd bring him to Ryloth one and. And so now here they were. Perhaps it was because she knew the space routes better than he, or maybe she'd just come from a closer destination, but she wound up getting to Ryloth a few days prior to him. That was fine. It gave her a chance to train her Padawan some more before leaving him behind to go on some dangerous mission. She contemplated bringing him along, but also didn't want to get his hopes up should this end up a wild bantha chase. A fear was kinda in her mind that if a Padawan could have found this, perhaps some else did long before. She was fully expecting to find nothing down in that mesa.

Although she'd already been planet side, she was in no hurry to check out the destination without Vardon. So she waited until she felt his presence in the air and would leave her Padawan's side to fly over to meet him. She was piloting her own mynock-series freighter which she named The Silver Bullet. Along for the ride was her trusty KLT-astromech droid whom she would have fly The Silver Bullet back to her Padawan; she'd hitch a ride back with Vardon unless he objected to it for whatever reason.

The Silver Bullet's thrusters would be heard coming from a distance even though it was still a quiet ship due to her maintenance of it. She also radio'd ahead to let Vardon know it was her coming and not some potential villian. She'd set the ship down and then disembark while the engines were still hot. She'd already had everything she needed. As soon as her boots hit the ground the ramp would close back up and the ship was flying off into the distance a minute later, turning into a tiny blip before vanishing.

Upon coming up to their ramp the girl would whistle loudly and then call out, "Yuu-whoo!! Anyone home?"

The Twi'lek Jedi would come up the ramp and smile at the boys when they came to meet her. They'd see she was dressed in a brown outfit perfect for the weather, and perfect for a stunning Twi'lek such as herself. Her chest was covered up in an assymetrical wrap that wound up her left shoulder and down her sleeve. Her lekku on her head were kept in place by a similar leather headdress that coiled down her head tails like ribbons. Around her waist was a simple belt with a buckle in the front that draped a silk cloth down between her legs that were dressed in the same material. Hung from the belt was a blue and brown Brylark lightsaber hilt cut from The Life Tree on Kashyyyk. She looked every bit like the Jedi Knight she claimed to be and the Light side of the Force seemed to exude from her very being.

"So which one of you handsome boys is Vardon? I'm KaeLeigh Tameris. But you can call me Kaylee if that's easier. Most have trouble with my people's pronunciations."

 

[Vardon Galland]

Joe Bethersonton was a tough opponent to say the least. The man had beaten Vardon convincingly many times over in the past and that wasn't about to change. The young man only had a few pieces left while his opponent almost had his entire starting set intact. It was Galland's turn to move as he sat there looking at the board, thinking long and hard while his mate just sat there with a friendly smile. It seemed as if the padawan was in luck, however, as his ally's ship could be heard in the distance. "Time's ticking buddy, you're dead in four moves" Joe Bethersonton said confidently, prompting his friend to just go with what felt best at the time. The man was quick to respond with a move of his own, but it was too late - Vardon had already rose to his feet with a mischievous smile "Common, Joe, we've got company"

After a few moments of reluctant staring, Vardon's friend finally closed the game down as the twi'lek's voice could be heard from the ramp. The padawan wore a white puffy shirt which was rather well suited for the warm climate, although he could probably have done without the long sleeves. It didn't come as a too much of a surprise that Kae'Leigh had to ask which one of them was Vardon since his lightsaber had been somewhat concealed by the puffy shirt. He raised his hand as he looked on the stunning woman who had obviously dressed appropriately for the occasion. "That's me" he said with a slight smile before looking over to his friend "And I am Joe Bethersonton. King of dejarik and designated driver of this vessel" Joe said while casually pointing back at the game table with his thumb. With that, the self-proclaimed king walked back to the cockpit "Good luck, you two!" he hollered before picking up his datapad to find something to occupy himself with.

Vardon had remained by the knight, watching observing his friend's mannerisms with an amused smirk before turning to Kae'Leigh "I am honoured to have you with me on the search for Grand Master Tolan Kar's holocron. Both me and Joe have spent some time on Ryloth ourselves, I think I can pronounce Kae'Leigh" he said while awkwardly stumbling over her name a little. "But perhaps Kaylee would be for the best, I still have much to learn it seems." His voice was sincere as he gratefully accepted the nickname she had provided.

It didn't take long until they'd left his white freighter and started the treck following a relatively narrow path down to the bottom of the mesa. Despite having seen similar sights before, Galland couldn't help but to feel amazed by the landscape's grand nature as they descended "Did you grow up here?" he asked curiously as they walked.

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

The two men would introduce themselves, though this King of dejarik was a curious title for sure. Kae'Leigh smirked, remembering her days as a thief and a slicer where she robbed men like him out of their wallets. Good times. "I'll have to play you a game then when I get back," she replied to Joe with a wink.

The pilot would then leave the two Jedi alone to which Vardon kindly praised her that he was honored to be in her party. She smiled and waved him off; no such praise was necessary. He would then try to pronounce her name and as far as first attempts went it really wasn't that bad. But he joked that Kaylee would indeed be easier to say. She could agree, and had no preference to which he addressed her. So long as it wasn't master or mistress or anything like that because it was still weird having people under her rank in that respect.

With that, they left his ship and would head to the canyon below them. Kae'Leigh kept her senses attuned to the ground so as not to slip and fall, while also trusting in the Force to guide them to the safest path down. It was narrow, and only allowed one to pass at a time, but she didn't foresee any danger from their path. As they walked, Vardon would ask her if she grew up here and she shook her head.

"I did not. I was born here, but my mother dropped me off on Nar Shaddaa when I was a tot. Since then this is only my second time returning."

Her words weren't filled with sadness. She often thought about changing her past, but that would mean she wouldn't have become the person she was now. Any slight change to that history could make her a completely different person. So she didn't dwell on it.

 

[Vardon Galland]

Before leaving the ship, Vardon thought that his new ally was quite the brave one. Challenging Joe Bethersonton was not something someone who minded loosing should ever do, at least in the padawan's opinion. Except for an understanding smile and nod at her waving away his praise, there wasn't much more to say before they departed.

He listened to the woman speak of where she grew up. The young man remembered the short time he had spent on the moon on which she grew up. It was a rather hectic experience which kept him from truly taking in the sights, but from what he had seen, it didn't look like the best place to grow up. That, however, may not be the most flattering way to talk about someone's home. "Nar Shaddaa? I was there recently, made friends with a mechanic and stuff. Where I was seemed like a rather harsh place though" he said with his initially rather casual tone turning more serious the further the phrase went. They kept walking for a while until eventually reaching the very bottom of the canyon.

They seemed to have arrived at something of a crossroads as there were now to narrower paths, one to the left and the other to the right with a wider opening right in front of them. The young man weren't completely sure which path was the correct one, but after standing still for a while, he pointed to the narrow path to their right "There's some sound of water down there, I'm not just hearing things, right? Perhaps it's from the waterfall" he said, before looking to Kaylee. She was the more experienced of them and perhaps she could sense things which he could not. In the end, he would follow her regardless of which path she thought was best.

While exploring the path which seemingly just kept getting more and more vegetation, Vardon spoke again "I've also been to Ryloth once before, I was here on this planet for quite some time actually" The Thyferran had a slight sense of enthusiasm in his voice, although the odd rock here and there made him interrupt the speech from time to time in order to climb over an object or push it to the side. "But I never got quite as deep as this - the only time I ever traveled as far down as where we landed was to help an old guy who had trouble getting back up again" he continued, hoping that his chatter would get her on a better mood. But for all he knew, it might even make things worse.

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

Kae'Leigh would reply in a matter of fact sort of tone, "It's a place that either makes you...or breaks you."

Standing now at a split path Vardon seemed to be in debate about what path he wanted to take. Kae'Leigh stood back, letting him lead. This was his mission, she just wanted to be a part of it. Unless he asked for her opinion, she wouldn't try to intervene. After a good moment of silent thinking, he would call attention to the sound of water coming from the right path. Kae'Leigh turned her head so her ear was pointed in that direction; she did indeed hear the soft rumbling coming from that archway.

"You are correct. There is water down that direction." Since he asked she would go ahead and comment, "And I do believe the Force wishes us to follow that route for I sense a small connection to it from there as well. We are on the right path after all."

While the Force could manifest itself in many ways, there was no guarantee that this holocron would actually be there still. It very well could be an after thought, left as like a scent from when it had been there. Kae'Leigh hoped that was not the case. She would really like to see a holocron with her very eyes; she'd never seen one before. Only in pictures.

The two would move ahead and Vardon would return to their previous conversation about Nar Shadd and Ryloth. He added in that he'd been to this system and stayed on it for quite some time, as he called it. He'd never been this far into the rock though which didn't surprise her at all. Who would willingly travel this far down for a leisurely hike? His fear of retelling this story was that it would hurt her mood, but honestly she didn't really seem that affected by it. Ryloth was home, but at the same time it wasn't. She hadn't made that connection to this place yet, so it was no different than visiting any of the other rocky systems she'd been to recently.

"I hope that I can stay for awhile myself. The Alliance always seems to pull me away for missions. Not only am I one of the few Knights still left in their care, but I've proven myself a rather capable Slicer. I've done so many espionage deals it's not even shiny. But when in Catonica right?"

 

[Vardon Galland]

Vardon was glad to have received Kaylee's advice as they made their way through the narrow passage heading towards the sound of the streaming water. The person he was travelling seemed tough, obviously one of those who the moon of which they spoke hadn't managed to break, or at least so it seemed. The vegetation kept getting thicker as they pushed on, eventually, they'd have to deal not only with the shrubbery along the walls, but also with some wines hanging from above along ledges by the sides of the walls. At least it seemed as if they were getting closer to the end of the passage.

The young man was not at all surprised by the life of a knight being busy but still, wanting to stay on this rather beautiful homeplanet of hers was quite understandable. What he did find surprising, however, was her skills in slicing. But, after drawing the connection between her skills to the metropolitan moon on which she grew up, he couldn't help but to feel stupid about his earlier surprise. Nodding, he joked "So, you're the one I go to if I either want a door unlocked or planet conquered?" and sent her a broad smile before seeming more sincere "I hope you'll get to spend some more time on Ryloth, Kaylee."

They would soon be able to hear the stream very clearly and after moving through some dense vegetation, the rather powerful stream would appear right in front of them. It went from the right to the left and with a glance, it was rather clear that there was a relatively sudden drop to the left - it was a waterfall and a ledge which couldn't be healthy to jump off of. Vardon looked to his ally "I suppose there's nowhere to go but up now" he said before making a turn to the right in order to follow the stream upwards.

The longer they walked, the calmer the stream seemed to become, eventually it's violent nature seemed to have disappeared completely and was now replaced by a more serene and peaceful flow. "I never expected to find such beauty this far down. It can't be too common, can it?" he said but stopped rather abruptly as he saw a gutkurr in front of them, standing right in their path. It hadn't noticed them yet, but if they kept advancing in their current path, it surely would. Galland lowered his voice while crouching down "So, I would probably just go ahead and see if it attacked upon approach and deal with it if it did, but do you have any better ideas?" he asked, thinking that she may have some wisdom to share.

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

The trees or rather roots and bushes would begin to make their travel harder to get by. Kae'Leigh was proud to see the man hand't drawn his saber to deal with the issue. Perhaps he'd noticed her method of getting by which was simply to use the Force to gently move the shrubbery out of her path. It was an easy maneuver to do in more than one way. Most would think just to use the Force to physically move it like any other object. But what Kae'Leigh was doing was emphatically connecting with the forestry and ask it to move.

"Ha ha. Perhaps. My skills are rather shiny."

If she played her cards right, it was theoretically possible to cripple and economy and make everything fall into her hands. Maybe she should start looking for planets to bankroll like that. It would actually be really beneficial to the Alliance. Though he was talking about it from a greed perspective, even if he were joking about the fact. It wasn't a bad idea. He'd then wish her some quality time on her home planet. The cheerful gesture warmed her heart.

"That is very sweet of you to say. Thank you for the kind words."

They would then be at a stream which seemed rather impossible to cross. She bet that she could jump it if she wished to cross, but at this time there wasn't a reason to do that. It would get them no further towards their goals and she wasn't sure if Vardon had the capability for such a leap. Instead, he suggested they move up and she would nod her head in response; her lekku bouncing slightly behind her back as she did.

More and more they walked until the water calmed and a sense of serenity came over the air. Kae'Leigh smiled as Vardon commented on its beauty. "Aye...it's quite something isn't it?" He'd then suddenly stop and she nearly walked right into him. She looked up in surprise wondering why he'd stopped when her attention was then turned to the gutkurr. The insect like being was ugly to look at, unless you were looking at it from behind where it looked more like some sort of mount. Vardon would crouch and warn her that it would attack them if they got too close, then asked if she had any better ideas.

"My dear Padawan," she'd say as a term of endearment. "If there is one thing I have learned in my life its that the 'verse has had too much violence in it already."

Without explaining what her plan was, the blue skinned Twi'lek would start to approach the giant bug. It noticed her right away and turned to face her, screeching at her with loud clicks and screeches. Kae'Leigh raised both hands and Vardon would feel a powerful calming aura coming off of her. The gutkurr would shake slightly, resisting this strange feeling coming over it. For another moment it continued to trill in defense until the power of the Force took hold. Its aggression vanished then giving them both reason to pass without fear. Kae'Leigh turned back and smiled at Vardon then waved him over to join her.

"So long as you hold no hostile intentions to the bug, it will not see you as a threat. Come, a lesson can be learned from all this. Don't you think?"

Her smile was cheerful and kind. She really meant everything she said. If the world wasn't so quick to fight, things would be better all over. If only more people saw things the way she did. But that's why she'd become a teacher. To help others who were raised in this time of war to see things in a better light.

 

[Vardon Galland]

"A verse?" Vardon repeated her words in a low voice once she had finished the sentence. He was clearly confused by what she meant, but he said the words more as a question to himself than to the knight. It seemed clear that she had something in mind, but the young man had no idea what it was until she stepped out of their cover, revealing herself to the beast. In truth, he didn't know what she had in mind now either and promptly followed her out of the cover, standing a fair bit behind her to the right as he noted her seemingly peaceful approach.

Kae'Leigh was in charge of the handling of this creature and since she hadn't drawn a weapon or done any more harsh actions, the padawan followed suit with open palms and a relaxed stance. He did see the risk of the creature going on the offensive but decided that the two of them should be able to handle it in such a scenario. With that, Galland simply looked on as his traveling companion raised her hands. It seemed as if she was emitting a calming aura as the beast seemed to become calmer and without any defences up, the Thyferran started to feel calmer too with the potential attack of the gutkurr moving to the back of his mind.

Observing her actions from behind, Vardon felt like he could learn quite a bit, the technique she used fascinated him as she seemed to be able to pacify the otherwise hostile creature, something which he would very much like to learn himself. He walked up to her as she turned to wave him over and kept looking at the beast as he approached - finding the feat she had pulled off to be quite impressive indeed. The padawan absorbed her words, taking them to heart as she shared the underlying philosophy of how to do what she just did.

As they got a little further from the now pacified insectoid, the young man nodded "That was amazing!" he exclaimed carefully, not wanting to cause any stress to the beast. "I would like to learn the very same technique myself" he continued enthusiastically as they walked. "How well does it work on hostile, but more sentient creatures?" he asked curiously, finding her recent demonstration most impressive.

The padawan had already been in a few battles, it was what he had trained at for years and seemed to be relatively good at. Still, he very much preferred avoiding bloodshed when he could and still felt quite burdened by the lives he had ended in the past. Despite the sorrow and guilt, Vardon hadn't ventured down a dark path and still remained a faithful servant of the light, remaining ever so hopeful that he would be able to find ways to solve conflicts peacefully or at least with minimal force - and it seemed as if the force had taken him to Kae'Leigh who he hoped would be able to guide him towards his goal. The Thyferran looked at the woman with hopeful eyes as he awaited her answer.

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

To Vardon's question about the word 'verse' she would reply, "Universe? Sorry. It's my accent."

The two would pass by the normally aggressive beast with no issue and then their troubles were behind them. Literally. She would start proceeding upstream again when he commented on the impressive display she'd just shown. Vardon exclaimed that he'd love to learn how she did it, then would ask how well it worked on creatures were were deemed more intelligent.

Rather than replying from her own experience, she decided to offer him a quote, "A Jedi's weapon should always be his last and final choice. Never should he raise it in hopes of finding a fight. A Jedi's weapon is a shield, to protect those who are in danger." Kae'Leigh looked behind her with a smirk and then continued. "This is what my master taught me when I was learning the way of the saber. We as Jedi should never raise our blades unless absolutely necessary. You and I could have killed that beast with ease. And yet...what would that accomplish? If we are always first to look for violence then it will always find us. You will be surprise, young one, just how effective a non-aggressive stance can be in battle."

She would look back again and ask, "Does that answer your question at all?"

Obviously it wasn't the answer he was looking for but it would give him some food for thought. That was the difference between them and the Sith. Violence was never the answer. A Jedi had one of the most powerful weapons in the galaxy (not counting the Force) and they could do so much with it. But it wasn't ever supposed to be their sword. The saber was their shield. Meant to protect them, while also protecting everyone else who needed someone to look out for them. That's what being a Jedi meant to Kae'Leigh.

 

[Vardon Galland]

The walk was a rather peaceful and quiet one. Bushes and small trees grew along the river while smaller plants found their home along the cliff walls or by the many larger rocks which were spread out across the ground. The calm stream kept moving at its slow pace, steadily making its way downwards whilst creating a rather soothing sound.

The padawan listened intently as she spoke. First a quote, then an explanation of it and finally a comment about a battle stance. It certainly didn't seem like an answer to his question, but Vardon remained silent while letting his eyes fall to the ground as they walked, pondering over if she could've tried to explain a larger concept to him. He looked up at her when she asked whether she had answered his question, scratching his head while trying to hide conceal his puzzled expression. "Maybe?" he said before returning his gaze to the ground whilst trying to figure out how it was all related.

After a while, Galland looked back at the twi'lek "Are you saying that beings may reciprocate my peaceful intentions with peaceful intentions of their own? Regardless of whether they're sentient or not?" he asked while struggling to formulate the sentence in a sensible manner. While he had simply asked for the effectiveness of the technique which she used, he slowly came to the realization that she did indeed seem to be explaining something more profound.

From a distance, a more violent sound of water could be heard from up-streams. Vardon turned from Kae'Leigh to look up whilst a smile grew upon his lips. "Perhaps we're getting close" he said, enthusiasm clear in his voice as they walked forth. If he interrupted her talking, the Thyferran would apologize for the interruption and look back at his ally, hoping that she would continue.

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

Kae'Leigh smiled slightly as he tried to comprehend her answer. She would try to help him along a little by adding, "The Force is a mystery to all of us. Sometimes we don't always understand the answers right away."

They'd walk for a little more while Vardon tried to piece together his question, asking her that if he tried to be peaceful and noncombatant, others would likely do the same. She'd shrug her shoulders and reply, "Sometimes it isn't always that simple. Sometimes, people want to fight no matter what. But isn't it better to try first rather than rush to violence?"

The sound of rushing water turned their attention to their goal and Vardon would comment that they must have been getting close. Kae'Leigh nodded and would begin to take the lead as she had a moment ago. Her mind was forming through old memories of her teachings when she didn't quite understand everything. It wasn't until she found her crystal did she really start to click with all the teachings in her mind. Master Vu'thari often spoke riddles around her that would make Kae'Leigh's head spin. And it did nothing to ease her anxiety about becoming a Jedi. 'Why couldn't they all just speak plainly?' she would ask herself. But now, it made sense. Sometimes, these things couldn't be explained and had to be figured out by one's self

 

[Vardon Galland]

Looking at the Knight, Vardon smiled. He was grateful to be able to go in this journey with her and felt like he might find great use for her words in the future. He didn't really comprehend everything she tried to tell him at this point, but she was quite understanding of his hardships and he made sure to try to remember her teachings.

He agreed that it was better to search for a peaceful path rather than a violent one and nodded along with her. "Yes, trying to finding the peaceful path does seem to be better. Putting an end to another life is rather far from pleasant." he noted, remembering what he had often felt forced to do on his various adventures. He had caused many a death so far and felt the tragedies and sorrow he had caused weigh down on his shoulders. Despite feeling like he was speaking past her point, Vardon spoke his mind anyways "I just wish I could do what you did to the gutkurr. And on anyone, just to create peace, you know?" he said whilst walking.

Eventually, they reached a short 'tunnel', perhaps just a meter deep and two meters wide with water taking up three quarters of the width. Vardon followed Kae'Leigh into it. On the other side was a larger pond-like body of water, collecting water from the constant stream of a twenty meter steep waterfall. In the middle of the pond laid a metallic blade on top of a stone standing steadily in the current. The padawan looked up and seemed to recognize the form of the canyon - this is where the holocron was supposed to be located, but it was nowhere to be seen. He started scanning the sides of the area, noting a human corpse at the edge. It was geared for war, perhaps the previous owner of the blade, or maybe one of its victims. Regardless, holocron was nowhere to be seen. The young man even took off his boots and rolled up his pants to venture into the pond, eagerly looking for any trace of the artifact. "Where could it be? It's supposed to be right here somewhere" he asked whilst continuing the search.

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

To his first comment, the blue skinned Jedi would not offer a comment. That was for him to work through and decide. But when he mentioned about learning how she showed off the aura of peace skill, she would think it over for a second and then reply, "If it is something you truly wish to know, I will work with you on it. But I have already given you the clues. It simply takes practice and understanding to make it worth something. And only you can find that path."

As they ventured further, Kae'Leigh spoke no more about the subject of her Force powers. Not that she minded taking on another Padawan, but her duties lied to her first one before anyone else. Coming to Ryloth had been for him as well. Her focus would always be that little Kushiban before anyone else, until he was ready to branch off on his own. She wished he'd been here with her for this part for she felt a little too tall to be climbing around this tunnel. Her Padawan would fit far easier.

Once through to the other side Kae'Leigh peered around the pond but her eyes were drawn to the shining sword that was plunged into the rock like something out of a story book. She looked away after a moment and looked to Vardon who was currently kicking off his boots and plunging into the water. She could feel his anxiety, worrying about this lost holocron. She then noticed the corpse and would go over to it to kneel down and examine him. She was no doctor, but he'd been long gone. Years? Decades? How long did it take a man to turn into a skeleton?

Deciding to check back in a moment, Kae'Leigh would leave the armored corpse and venture into the water with Vardon. She did not take off her boots however. The cold water was refreshing to her feet which were hurting from their travels. But as they looked around, Kae'Leigh could feel that whatever this Light-energy was coming from, it wasn't coming off any holocron. She was getting a very powerful connection to that sword, and nothing else. Treading over, she pulled herself up to the rock and unearthed the blade from the rock with some effort. Time had done a number on sealing the two together.

Inspecting the blade, she realized that even though it was embedded in the rock, the edge still seemed sharp. She poked her finger to the blade's thin end and knew if she wanted she could cut herself even with it now. That's just how sharp it was. Incredible it help up after however many years of being forgotten. She then began trying to clean it off with the sash around her waste and gasped again for she realized yet another discovery. Like the sharpness, the metal was dirty and grimy from time, yet it rubbed off seamlessly and still had a perfect glow in the reflection of the light.

Finally, Kae'Leigh would start looking at the handle when she gasped loudly. "I!.....I don't believe it." Vardon would no doubt ask her what she'd found and she'd carefully pass the hilt of the sword to him. "It's my family's crest."

Sure enough, at the bottom of the pummel was The Lighthawk Crest that was etched in gold to the metal. The symbol resembled two small congruent circles with a pair of wings on either side of them that formed a loose "Y" in design. It was the same insignia that Kae'Leigh wore in her Jedi armor; too bad she wasn't wearing it now for proof.

"What could this mean?" she'd ask him.

 

[Vardon Galland]

For a few moments, everything but the search for the holocron became secondary in importance for the padawan who was dutifully scanning every centimeter of the pond for the item they were looking for, slowly treading through the water with his eyes pointed downwards. He was aware of the other's move first to the corpse and then into the water to the rock with the sword but didn't seem to care much for it as he continued the search. Vardon's face was marked with a concerned frown which grew more significant with every square meter scanned, for the pond was quite small and the chances of finding the holocron decreased constantly.

Eventually, he returned to Kae'Leigh who seemed to have pulled to sword from the rock and had laid a finger on its edge. A certain sense of concern mixed with fear stuck him as the weapon glimmered dimly in the sunlight - could it be that the light reflected up to the canyon paths far above came from the blade rather than a holocron? It did seem rather likely as he couldn't find the artifact which they came here for. Vardon's concerns were confirmed as she cleaned the sword with her sash, a task which seemed surprisingly easy as the blade was soon sparkling in the sunshine.

Watching the knight study the weapon, the Thyferran stood in silence with his hands resting on his waist and a slightly slouched posture. His disappointment was clear as day. The padawan's eyes went up from the sword to meet hers as she spoke. "Found anything?" he asked, trying to sound less affected by the lack of the holocron than he really was. His eyebrows shot up in surprise as she revealed that her family crest was imprinted on the hilt. "Really?" he asked whilst receiving the weapon to look for what she was talking about.

With the sword pointing downwards, Galland studied the symbol at the bottom of the pommel, allowing his thumb to travel across it. It looked rather beautiful and allowed him to forget about not finding the holocron for a moment. He looked back up at her upon being asked what it could mean, slightly confused by the question. Vardon shrugged his shoulders lightly as he handed the sword back to Kae'Leigh. "The holocron, I don't think it's here at all. I'm sorry for dragging you into this." he said with a demoralised voice. Allowing his eyes to return to the blade, the Thyferran pointed at it casually "I suppose you got that sword at least. Do you have any ideas why your family crest would be on it?"

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

Vardon would take the sword from her as he looked the sword over, asking if her discovery was accurate. Kae'Leigh nodded and replied, "I am! You can see the wings here are a symbol in Ryl for hawk. And the double circle represents the two suns. Light and Hawk. Tameris. This is my family. I just...don't know what it means."

He would then hand it back to her which Kae'Leigh didn't object to. It seemed to vibrate in her hands, but maybe that was just her imagination. There was so much Force energy connected to this blade. The mystery behind it would be something she'd love to delve into discovering. For whatever reason, the blue skinned Twi'lek felt like this sword belonged to her. It had her crest on it after all. Her family's namesake. How could it now?

Seeming sad by this discovery, Vardon would apologize for dragging her all the way out here. She put her hand on his shoulder sympathetically and would reply, "This was not a waste. The Force brought you here to me for a reason. Did you learn nothing from our journey? It may not be the prize you hoped for, but sometimes the Force gives us things we need, rather than what we want."

But Vardon seemed to have a different idea in mind as he then explained that she had gotten the blade as a prize. She shook her head and held the handle to him, almost pushing it into his chest. "I cannot take this. You brought us here. It goes home with you." He was welcome to argue that fact, but Kae'Leigh would feel awful taking the blade when he had come all this way. Sure it was a mystery to her, but that didn't mean someone else couldn't have possession of it. She just wanted to learn where it had come from.

 

[Vardon Galland]

Vardon listened with interested eyes as the twi'lek elaborated on her family crest, explaining the different parts and their meanings. There did certainly seem to be a special kind of connection between her and the sword, something which seemed to become clearer once he gave it back to her. The padawan couldn't quite put a finger on what it was as it seemed to be more than just a bond formed by the family crest sitting on the pummel, nevertheless, the blade which they had found instead of the holocron certainly seemed to belong with his traveling companion.

After their exchange of words, she pushed the blade onto him, explaining that he should have it. For a few moments, the Thyferran weren't quite sure what to do as he gazed upon the weapon in his arms. Kae'leigh's words from a little earlier echoed through his mind. Although everything she had tried to teach him might not have set in yet, he did feel like he had gained much from their journey together. The connection which the other seemed to have to the blade weren't there for Vardon, and with that, he looked back up at her. "No. You should have it"

With the blade resting lightly on his left hand, he pinched the outer part of the hilt with the right hand and directed it towards Kae'leigh for her to take. "You're right, of course. I've learned from this trip" he said before looking out over the pond and took a deep breath before continuing "and that will have to be enough, I suppose. That's what holocrons are for anyways - learning."

Looking back to her, Vardon smiled, confident that her keeping the sword was the best option. "Besides, it already has your family crest imprinted on it, right? It must go to you" His voice was enthusiastic as he nodded his head and raised the weapon a little, prompting her to take it back.

@EmilyHuene

 

[Kae'Leigh Tameris]

"Are you sure...?" the Twi'lek would ask since Vardon was suggesting she have the blade. He'd then hold it back to her and explain that he'd learned plenty on this journey alone. He'd come here to learn something, and he had. Holocron or otherwise. Kae'Leigh would smile at his wisdom, taking the blade back and holding part of it in her left hand with the scarf.

Vardon then offered Kae'Leigh more insight on the situation, saying that since it had her name on it (in so many words) it was clearly meant to be hers. "I don't think that's how it works," she'd laugh back. "But thank you. This means a lot. I know I'll get to the bottom of this discovery one day. Perhaps you and I can find out together."

Standing up, she would carefully make her way down the rock and over to the corpse on the side of the river. As fate would have it, the man was carrying a vibrosword at one point (which must have gotten washed away in the water), but the scabbard for it was still held to his back. Kae'Leigh would unfasten the leather sleeve and wiggle the new blade into it. It wasn't fancy, and it didn't fit all the way into the length, but it would be enough to not injure the two of them on the return journey. She'd then allow Vardon to pick up any spoils he wished from the man, whomever he once had been.

After they were both set, Kae'Leigh would turn her eyes to the river and nod, "Shall we head back then?"

The road back was still just as dangerous, and also twice as strenuous since they were climbing uphill now. But with the path ahead of them already made out, they had a much faster journey getting back up to the top. They didn't have to worry about picking and choosing which path might be the way through as they'd come through it already. After finally leaving the valley of rocks they were back out on open land with Vardon's shuttle waiting for them. The blue Twi'lek still hoped that Vardon and his friend would drop her off, but she'd bring that up shortly.

"Vardon Galland," Kae'Leigh would start by offering her hand to him. "It's been a pleasure working with you up until this point. I really hope your training goes well. And maybe when you become a Knight we'll see each other again." She'd then give him a hug, simply because she couldn't resist being friendly.

She'd then twiddle her fingers for a second and ask shyly, "So......how about a lift?"

~END THREAD~
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