Ask Yavin IV Sneaking Out

[Arata]

Padawans are not to leave the temple grounds without the escort of a Knight or Master.

These words flashed across the notification section of Arata's phone. He swiped it away and stuffed the device into his pocket. What fun was that? How was he supposed to learn anything about the Magina or being a Jedi cooped up in this stuffy old temple?

Arata was still new to Yavin IV, to the Order. He knew the Jedi had fallen upon hard times, but he hardly understood why that meant they had to sequester their apprentices in moldy stone rooms built centuries ago. If anything, keeping them all in once place was more dangerous. What if the Sith invaded today? There weren't enough Knights or Masters to protect the temple. The whole thing would come down around their heads, and the Padawans would die needlessly.

At least, these were the things Arata told himself as he snuck out of the room he'd been assigned and jogged down the tight stone corridor. He was headed for the woods. Yavin IV might be alien to him, but it had its familiarities. The terrain resembled his homeworld closely enough, and the Magina was strongest in the woods. If the Jedi weren't going to assign him a teacher yet, he would teach himself. He just needed to be careful about who saw him in the meantime. @LouJoVi
​

​

 

[Elidan]

Elidan sighed sadly, all his plans of reading at the forest went down the drain. For some reason, the Council had forbidden the Padawans from entering there alone. He wondered if it was related to the klikniks hunting closer and closer to the Temple. The half-Sephi remembers how these creatures carried the Youngling Kift Roker, needing him and Ruzaan to go save the boy. The Masters are right, the forest is really dangerous for them to be there alone.

Since he didn't want to get in trouble for breaking the rules, the boy had decided to read in the Temple gardens. Even if it meant having to stay close to the other Padawans. He wasn't a misanthrope, but being around others made him so nervous. He was already sure they thought he was a weirdo. What if when he was there, he ended up doing something wrong and everyone started to hate him? The best would be if he found somewhere away from the others.

Suddenly, Elidan stopped walking. He had seen another Padawan, a human male, sneaking through a corridor that led to one of the Temple exits, precisely the one that was least watched. If he wanted to escape, the other could hide in the bushes and jump the wall there. The half-Sephi bit his lips, reflecting on what he should do. Since this corridor only led to the exit, it was obvious that the other boy was planning to escape. However, what if he reported it to the Council and he ended up being wrong? Everyone would be furious with him.

Elidan decided that the best option would be to follow the other boy and try to convince him that the forest was dangerous. At least he was with his Datapad, so if the other couldn’t understand his signs, the half-Sephi could still write it. Determined to prevent the other from putting himself in danger, the boy began to follow him down the corridor.

@Mockingjay

 

[Arata]

Slipping out of the temple without a Knight or a Master catching him was a little too easy. Perhaps the grown-ups were distracted by something. He'd heard whispers of some tragedy on Dantooine, but was too new to the Order to give it any real thought. Besides, who was he to complain? Whatever kept them at bay let him slip out into the courtyard and right up to the ring wall around the outer perimeter. It wasn't tall. A simple jump would clear him to the other side, and then he could follow the nearby babbling stream into the woods.

But just before he could make his escape, a noise behind him made him whirl. He half expected to see one of the adults standing there, arms folded, ready to admonish him. Instead, another boy was there. Younger, and not entirely human. A Sephi, he realized. Or half, it was hard to tell. Arata was still learning his alien species. He had grown up on Keelia where humans were the dominant species and not many others came to settle.

Irritation bulged a vein in Arata's forehead. His plans were foiled unless he could somehow convince the other boy to forget what he'd seen. The sages back home said the Magina could alter memory, but they had not taught him how to use it that way. To do so was wicked, they said, but they said that about a lot of things.

Blowing out a huff of air, Arata folded his arms, "Why are you following me?" he asked.

Stupid question. But he needed to keep the boy distracted until he could think of a plan. He wasn't going to give up on his afternoon excursion that easily. @LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan followed the other Padawan through the corridor, always maintaining a safe distance to not be noticed. toward the point where the ring wall would be low enough to allow someone to jump over it. While he moved carefully to not attract the attention of the adults, the half-Sephi wondered what the other wanted to do outside the Temple.

When the other boy finally stopped at the wall, Elidan decided to approach him and try to convince the other to not go into the forest. While he walked toward the other Padawan, the half-Sephi stepped into a branch. The sound alerted the other boy, making him turn and look at the half-Selphi.

Being face to face with the other Padawan, made Elidan become nervous. As always happened when he was in this type of situation, the point of his ears started twitching and his face became red. The other boy seemed to be so annoyed with his presence there, that the half-Sephi started to think that maybe it would be better if he just forgot about it and ran away. But if he did it and something bad happened with the other, he would never be able to forgive himself.

Since he had his datapad in his hands, Elidan decided that he would communicate with the other Padawan through it, that way he would avoid an awkward situation if the boy didn't understand sign language. He quickly typed an answer to his questions and showed it to him “I saw you walking through the corridor that led up here and I was worried. The Council forbade the Padawans from entering the forest alone, it is very dangerous.” then the half-Sephi remembered that he didn’t even present himself. He typed again at the Datapad, before showing it “My name is Elidan.”


@Mockingjay

 

[Arata]

Arata's shoulders relaxed slightly. He wasn't exactly more comfortable than he was a moment ago, but he was intrigued. He looked the other boy up and down as if he were trying to decide whether or not the Sephi was an illusion or some sort of very convincing droid. When he decided he was neither, Arata took another glance at the datapad. "Can you not speak?" he asked.

A stupid question. If the other boy could speak he wouldn't be using a datapad to communicate.

Arata suddenly felt bad. He had been too harsh on the boy. But Elidan's concern wasn't enough to deter him. He would go mad if he spent one more second in that temple. So, if he couldn't convince the boy to let him go, he would just have to invite him along. Arata wasn't exactly one for company, but he supposed he should probably get to know his peers. They would be his comrades someday.

"Being a Jedi is dangerous, you know?" Arata said, raising a brow. "Does that mean we're forbidden from doing that too? Besides, there's nothing to do in the temple. All the grown-ups are fussing about Dantooine or whatever it is that's bothering them these days. I won't be out there long." He chose this moment to chew on the inside of his mouth. "You could just come with me, you know? If you do, I might even tell you my name."

And with that, Arata focused the Magina into his feet and jumped. It was an awkward leap—he barely landed on the wall right and was lucky he didn't tumble off onto the other side. But he recovered quickly and glanced back over his shoulder, flashing Elidan a grin. "See you on the other side, Eli."

And then he was gone. @LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan became sad after hearing the other ask if he couldn’t speak, with his ears flattening a bit. They barely knew each other and the other boy was probably already thinking that he is a weirdo for using his Datapad to communicate with him. He typed and showed it to the other boy "I'm mute." Elidan wasn't going to explain to a stranger that in theory he was still capable of talking, but couldn't do it due to the trauma that he suffered on Ajan Kloss.

The dark haired boy continued talking. Elidan knew very well that being a Jedi was dangerous. Even if you were only a Padawan, you would already be susceptible to these dangers. The half-Selphi disliked how the other talked so dismissively about what was happening in Dantooine. It was a Sith attack, people were dying there. However, what made him more surprised was when the other invited him to go with him.

Before he could answer, Elidan felt the other gather the Force on his feet and jumped, stopping at the top of the wall. He heard the boy call him Eli, the last time that someone called him this way was when he was a small child on Ajan Kloss. The half-Sephi didn't want to break rules, but the other alone in the forest could be easily taken by the klikniks. He would probably need help if these insectoids attacked him.

Deciding to help the other, Elidan focused the Force on his feet and jumped, landing beside the other Padawan at the top of the wall. Smiling at him, he would jump from there, landing gracefully on the floor.

When the dark haired boy joined him there, Elidan would type on his Datapad and show it to him. "Now you need to tell me your name. Also, have more respect for what is happening on Dantooine. The Sith are killing people there."

@Mockingjay

 

[Arata]

Arata frowned. Of course the Sith were killing people on Dantooine. That's what the Sith did. But that's precisely why the Knights and Masters should be training the Padawans right now! If the Sith showed up to Yavin, most of the kids in the temple, Arata and Eli included, would be slaughtered or driven into the woods where the wild animals would do that for them. But he didn't want to talk about any of this with the boy. He was surprised Eli had even followed him to begin with, so he changed the subject momentarily by keeping his promise.

"My name's Arata," he said. "I'm new around here."

The two boys came to a babbling brook that cut a jagged scar across the surface of Yavin as it traveled deeper into the jungle. Arata had heard that the woods concealed old Sith ruins dating back thousands of years. He had seen some of them on his flight into Yavin. Towering pyramids covered in vines that he imagined were once ancient Massassi cities. Apparently, one of them had been used by the Rebel Alliance during the war against the Empire a hundred years ago. He would be dumb to sit inside the temple, slowly growing mold, when there was all that history to explore.

"I heard this moon used to be ruled by a Sith Lord," he said, taking up stride alongside Eli. "All these pyramids were built by him and the other Sith. Think we could learn something about them if we go poking around in one?"

Arata didn't think there was actually anything they could find. Pirates, treasure hunters, archeologists, not to mention Jedi themselves, would have picked the pyramids clean for their wealth and artifacts. But, then again, the jungles of Yavin IV were dense and there were a lot of ruins. Maybe he and Eli would get lucky and they would find something about the Sith... if Eli didn't run off and get them both thrown in detention, or however Jedi punished Padawans who broke the rules. @LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

"Pleasure to meet you." Elidan showed his Datapad to the other. Now he could understand why the boy, who said that his name was Arata, wanted to visit the forest. He was new, so he probably was curious to see if the stories about Yavin IV were true. But it doesn't justify what he did. The forest was very dangerous and now that the half-Sephi was close to him, he noticed that the other boy didn't even have a lightsaber. If a kliknik appeared, Arata would really need Elidan's help.

The two walked until they reached a brook that flowed through the forest. According to what Elidan had read about the area around the Jedi Temple, this brook would meet another one some kilometers from where they were and together they would form a large river. When Arata started to talk about wanting to explore the planet's ancient ruins, the half-Sephi stared at him wide eyed. It was clearly a bad idea. Who knows what they could find there? He was tempted to ran back to the Jedi Temple and tell a Knight about what the dark haired boy was planning to do.

However, he thought that by the time he returned with an adult, Arata would probably continue walking to these ruins and could die while doing it. Elidan would never forgive himself if he allowed it to happen. "Yes, Yavin IV was part of the territories controlled by the Sith during the Great Hyperspace War. They enslaved the inhabitants of this planet, the Massassi, and forced them to build these structures." he had read about it in a holobook from the Temple's library. However, many of these facts were speculations made by scholars. "The Great Temple, which was the place where the Rebel Alliance had a base and is now the Jedi Temple, was also one of these structures."

"I know that you are curious about the ruins and we would probably find something at them, but I need to tell you that it's really dangerous to go there. This forest is full klikniks, giant carnivorous insectoid creatures, they had recently carried a youngling away. Thankfully, he was saved." he typed and showed it to Arata, hoping to persuade the other to not continue with his plans "However, if you decide to continue, I'll stay with you. Since you don’t have a lightsaber, I can deal with the klikniks if they cross our path. If we continue, we will need to be very careful. "

@Mockingjay

 

[Arata]

Arata glanced down and saw that the boy indeed a lightsaber, unlike him. He pouted. Eli was clearly younger than him by some months, and yet the Knights had already trusted him with a weapon, whereas Eli hadn't even been given a blaster. He didn't like the idea of someone else having to protect him. Nor did he like looking smaller next to someone younger than him. But he didn't see much choice. If what Eli said about the jungle was true, it would be helpful to have a lightsaber at their side.

He huffed. "Fine, you can come along. I don't like bugs so maybe your laser sword will keep them away."

For a time, that was all he said. He led the way through woods, the canopy above them drowning out more and more of the sun's light, until only slivers of it peaked through gaps in the trees. When no pyramids immediately appeared, it donned on Arata that they would need to walk for a way before he got his chance to explore. So, he decided to fill the silence with small talk, once again eyeing the boy's lightsaber.

"Did you make that yourself?" he asked. "On Keelia, the sages told me that every Jedi makes their own sword. That's why they all look so different. Is that true? Or does a Knight just give you one when you start your training?"

He was hoping for the latter. Arata hadn't the first clue how one set about making a lightsaber. He was terrible with tools, and there were very few machines on Keelia. If he had to build his own weapon, as the sages said he would, then he might not ever get a lightsaber at all. What would be the fun in that? @LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Arata's answer wasn't exactly the one that the half-Sephi had expected. He hoped that after talking about the klikniks, the dark haired boy would give up on his idea to go exploring the ruins and return to the Temple. However, even after that he still wanted to continue. At least he agreed to have Elidan there to protect him against the creatures.

Then Arata started to walk, while Elidan followed behind him. They walked through the forest, which seemed to become more dense with each step. When the trees became so high that their canopy blocked the sun, the half-Sephi noticed that they reached a part of the forest that he never went before. After some time walking, there was still no sign of the ruins. The half-Sephi wondered if Arata knew where these things were. Thankfully, Elidan was with his Datapad. If they get lost, he could use it to call the temple.

The silence of their walk was interrupted by Arata's questions about the lightsabers. To answer it, Elidan stopped walking and started typing on his Datapad. After he finished, the boy showed it to the other "Yes, each Jedi makes their own lightsaber. When the Council sees that a Padawan is prepared for combat training and intensive study, they allow them to go to one of the planets that still have kyber crystals to collect the ones that they will use on their sabers."

He started to type again. Sometimes the half-Selphi thought that his mutism was a liability that turned him useless. They were losing time, while he tried to type only some phrases "Once with the crystal, the Padawan will use the Force to make his lightsaber. The color of the blade depends on the Jedi, mine is green. I already have a lightsaber because I have trained with the Order since I was three years old."

The mention of Arata's homeworld sparked the half-Sephi curiosity. He had read some holobooks about Keelia and how the people there called the Force with a different name. "How was your life on Keelia? I read that the culture of the planet have their own visions about the Force. You can talk while we walk, I don’t want to be responsible for delaying your plans to explore the ruins."

@Mockingjay

 

[Arata]

Arata smirked despite himself. Wasn't this kid originally trying to stop him from exploring the temples? Then again, he was glad Eli was just going along with him. Bickering the whole time seemed like a decidedly poor way to spend the walk. And when Eli brought up home, Arata couldn't help but take the bate. He missed home, even though the Jedi had been kind to him so far.

"Keelia is nice," he said with a shrug. "Like here, I guess, only without the killer bugs and murder temples in the woods. I was training to be a sage there before I was brought here. I was—"

A boy's face bloomed in his mind. His age, maybe a month or two older. Strong, broad shoulders and a chiseled jaw. The perfect boy, an old flame. Gone with the faintest gust of wind. He wondered who Tenka would marry now that he was gone. Not that it mattered. He and Tenka would probably never see each other again.

He shoved that emotion down and shook his head. "Never mind. What about you?" Changing the subject. The best way to deflect. "If you've been here since you were three, do you know who your family is? Are Jedi allowed to know those things these days?"

He had read somewhere that the Jedi used to take kids from their families young. He had also read that Jedi didn't usually marry, fuck, or have kids. Sounded perfectly dreadful, to be honest, but life as a sage wasn't going to be much different. He wasn't really losing out on much. @LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan smiled while Arata talked about Keelia. He liked to learn more about the different cultures of the Galaxy. The holobooks were a good source of information, but talking with a native was far better. Then he noticed how the other boy stopped talking, a bit of sadness coming from him through the Force. The half-Sephi wondered if it was due to him missing his homeworld.

Then Arata asked him if he knew who his family was. Elidan would stop walking to type an answer on his Datapad. After finishing, he would show it to the other Padawan "I never meet my parents. I lived the first years of my life in an orphanage on the planet of Chardaan. I was left there when I was a newborn. When I was identified as a Force user, they gave me to the Jedi Order. The only thing that I have from my parents was this necklace, which was with me when I was found by the orphanage staff." he would show the necklace to the dark haired. The boy always carried it, hidden below his robes. He probably should let go of it, after all the Jedi Order was his family now. However, the half-Sephi still wanted to know who his parents were and the necklace was his only clue.

"The Jedi nowadays can know their family, after all not everyone joins the Order since they were a child. However, with the rise of the Sith Empire many are avoiding meeting with them. If you make an enemy among the Sith, they can target your family. They are cruel and petty." he explained to Arata. He knows very well how the Dark siders were monsters. Elidan still had nightmares where he was back in Ajan Kloss watching all his friends being slaughtered by the Acolytes, while they laughed with pleasure.

"You mentioned that you were training to be a sage. What is it?" Elidan asked the other boy, smiling. He was curious to know more about the other's culture. Arata was the second Padawan who showed enough patience to talk with him since he developed mutism.

@Mockingjay

 

[Arata]

It felt good to talk about home. Arata didn't mention this to Eli in case it made him look homesick. Jedi were supposed to forego attachments, or so he'd read. He was beginning to question how much of that reading meant anything, though. The Jedi Order had become something new, and he wasn't sure there was a lot of literature on their change. Perhaps missing home was okay now.

"The sages connect us to the Magina," he explained. "Not all on Keelia can feel its flow as I do. But the sages have learned to connect other people to it, even if just for a moment. It lets them see the memories of the planet. Reminds them that, through the Magina, were are not just individual moments in time. We are parts of a greater whole, something that's been going on long before we were born and will be going on long after we have joined the Magina's flow."

No sooner had he finished explaining than they broke through the dense foliage and stood in front of a pyramid cocooned in the jungle. This structure was smaller than some of the others. Certainly, it was smaller than the Great Temple they all trained in. Its peak barely pierced the forest canopy. Arata was suddenly excited. Maybe that meant they had found something new. Or, at the very least, something that hand't been picked over too thoroughly.

He stopped.

His excitement was cut across by a noise. Not talking, and not the chatter of animals. This was almost like a voice, like singing. Faint, but in his head, not in his ears. He glanced at Eli to see if he was making the noise or had also heard it. "Are you hearing this?" @LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan paid close attention to what Arata was saying. The teachings of the Sages from his homeworld seems very similar to what the Jedi Order used to teach about the Force. "Magina is the name that the people in Keelia give to the Force, right?" It was fascinating how different cultures had different names for the same thing. "The Jedi have similar teachings. We believe that all things in the Galaxy are connected by the Force and when someone passes away, their spirit becomes one with the cosmic Force."

However, before the other boy could answer him, they crossed the dense foliage and arrived in front of a building that reminded Elidan of a pyramid. The half-Selphi could recognize its architecture as being of the Massassi. It was very similar to that of the Jedi Temple, although the ruins in front of them were smaller. From the appearance of the place, it seemed that no one had visited this place since the Massassi disappeared. The jungle had covered most of it.

While they approached the pyramid, Elidan started to hear a noise. It was like someone was singing a pleasant music. The half-Sephi noticed that he wasn't really hearing it. It was like the sound was going directly to his mind. He wondered what it could be.

He nodded to Arata, confirming that he was also hearing it. Elidan would walk some more, approaching the pyramid's entrance. The stones that formed it were covered by moss and vines. The half-Sephi noticed that it was adorned by several glyphs, whose meaning was completely unknown to him. Suddenly, the music became more clear. It seemed to be calling him inside the ruins.

"I think that it was coming from inside it. Do you think that we should enter there?" he typed on his Datapad and showed it to the other boy. While the sound was leaving him very curious, making him tempted to run inside the pyramid, Elidan was still unsure if they should do that. Who knows what this music could be.


@Mockingjay