Ask Sounds of the Forest

[Adanell of Pom Blodau]

Being covered with rainforests, Vestar reminded Adanell of his homeworld. Like in Annwfyn, the people of the planet tried to make their cities in harmony with the nature around them. While there were some buildings on the ground, the Knight could see that some were made on the top of the trees. Seeing all that made him feel a bit nostalgic.

However, he wasn’t on the planet to do tourism. There was some problem happening in a village near the capital city of Port-Esta and the inhabitants had asked for help from the Jedi Order. Adanell and another Knight called Tazlen had been asked to go and see how they could help.

Since Adanell was close to the planet, he had arrived first. The two Jedi had agreed to meet in a square near the outskirts of Port-Esta, from there they would go together to the village that was in trouble.

While he waited for the arrival of the other Jedi, Adanell had sat below a tree in a grass covered area of the square. From here, the Knight could see the high trees of the forest outside of the city. Feeling his nostalgia becoming too strong, he picked a small harp from his bag. Then, he closed his eyes and started to play one of the several pieces of music that he learned in his homeworld.

After doing it for some time, a small crowd had gathered around him. “He is really good. Do you know him?” a female human whispered to another, receiving a negative answer. “With these clothes and hair, he probably is one of these people that have an alternative lifestyle. Poor guy, maybe he is playing for money.” then, she approached the Annfyn and placed some credits near him, being followed by others.

While they did it, Adanell continued playing. He was too distracted remembering about his homeworld to notice that the people had confused him with a street performer.

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen slapped his neck in an attempt to hit a mosquito. Despite being from a planet that had jungles, he never quite got used to bad humidity and the type of temperatures that usually befell rainforests. His father often talked about his planet of origin and this planet fit that description rather well. Ever since Firrerre was destroyed, whatever remained of his family moved back to Annwfyn. He had seen the other Knight briefly here and there around the academies but hadn’t interacted extensively.

He arrived at the rendezvous point to see his mission partner happily playing away on a harp. From the looks of it, he had quite the gathering. For now, Tazlen stood among the crowds, hands in his pockets as he watched. There was a faint grin on his face as he watched and listened. After a while when Adanell finished playing, Tazlen clapped and cheered along with the others. When the group began to disperse, Tazlen stepped forth to give a fanged smile to the Knight.

“You've got a real gift there,” He said, “Almost put me to sleep and I mean that as a compliment,” He extended his hand, “Don’t believe we’ve formally met. I’m Tazlen, but folks usually just call me Taz.”

@LouJoVi

 

[Adanell of Pom Blodau]

When he was finishing his music, Adanell opened his eyes. To his surprise, he saw that a crowd had formed around him. Rather than stopping immediately, the Annfyn smiled at the people and continued playing his harp. His fingers only stopped moving through the strings of the instrument when the music finally ended.

He got up from where he was seated and bowed in gratitude to the applause that the crowd was giving to him. When the people started to disperse, Adanell put his harp back inside his bag. While he did it, the Annfyn noticed the small pile of credits that was in the ground near him. The Knight picked it in confusion, wondering where it came from.

Before the Annfyn could think about what he should do with it, Adanell heard someone talking with him. Turning to look at the person, he noticed that it was Tazlean. He couldn’t avoid laughing with the Knight’s comment about nearly falling asleep. “Thank you! Since this music is used for meditation and relaxing in Annwfyn, it’s good to know that my talents were capable of transmitting its true purpose.”

Now that he was close to Tazlan, he could attest that the information given to him that his partner in this mission was going to be a half-Annfyn was true. While he had the pointed ears of his species, the other Knight also had traits that showed his Firrerreo heritage.

Adanell wondered if Tazlan was aware of how most pureblood Annfyns could be unpleasant to those that they didn’t consider as “pures”. While he didn’t share such prejudices, he already had awkward interactions with other hybrids that avoided him due to fear of him offending them. Hopefully it wasn’t going to happen.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Adanell, but you can call me only as Adan. My whole name makes me feel old.” he smiled, while shaking the hand that had been offered to him. Sometimes he wondered why his parents named him with the same name of his great-grandfather, who was still alive with his 378 years.

“Since you have arrived, I think that we can go to the village. When I arrived, some people at the spaceport were saying that things there are worse than we expected.” his smile was replaced with a look of concern. “Apparently there was a death last night.”

@Sreeya

 

[Tazlen Axil]

Tazlen knew about the prejudices full Annwfyn or Sephi held against mixed races. However, he always allowed others the benefit of doubt before expecting any kind of reaction. So far Adan proved to be kind and above any kind of discrimination. Tazlen gave him a sheepish smile, “Sorry for being late,” He explained, “I was being given a lecture about the resistance by one of the Councilors,” By now, rumors circulated that Tazlen was one of the more fiery and outspoken Jedi at the last gathering. He knew he was starting to get a reputation.

His brows furrowed a bit as Adan spoke about the village, “A death?” Tazlen repeated with concern, “Any clues on the cause?” He asked as he walked with Adan towards the village. It was a small village nestled in between the forests and surrounded by trees on all sides. The locals prided themselves on being away from large, metropolitan cities. This meant that any issues in the village was an even bigger mystery.

“Do they even have any local authorities here?” Tazlen mused aloud as they walked. Everything seemed a bit backwards here. He could already tell technology took a backseat and people used more rudimentary tools and styles of living.

@LouJoVi

 

[Adanell of Pom Blodau]

”No problem! The important thing is that you arrived and now we can start working.” Adanell smiled, while thinking that he barely noticed the time passing. When he started to play his harp, the Annfyn used to think about what was happening around him. In these moments, the only thoughts on his mind were those about his homeworld.

Besides that, Tazlean already had a lecture from one of the Counselors. And if the rumors about his fiery opinions were true, this conversation probably lasted very long. The last thing that the half-Annfyn would want right now was to have another Jedi lecturing him about the importance of arriving at the right time.

While they walked toward the village, Adanell gave more details about what was happening. “The place was founded by the Vestaari. They were originally nomadic, but some years ago, some clans had started to settle in these small communities.” it was a historical moment for the Galaxy, an entire culture was starting to change by their own choice.

“Even if they started to make villages, they are still away from cities and with very little technology. They don’t trust all that.” would be interesting to see how a community lived with so little of it. Probably all sentient beings in the Galaxy during the development of their societies had passed through such a stage.

“Apparently, this change in lifestyle wasn’t accepted by all the Vestaari. Some of them still live as nomadic clans and there is some tension between them. I think that it ended with death.” it was a shame that some people couldn’t accept the different choices and opinions of others. It reminded the Knight of how some members of his species would expel from their planet other Annfynes that fell in love with other species.

When the two arrived in the village, a crowd of Vestaari was waiting for them. The oldest of the group approached them, with a smile on his lips. “Welcome to our village, Jedi! I hope that you had a safe trip.” the man hugged Adanell and then Tazlean. “Come, we are going to have a banquet in your honor and then talk about our situation.”

@Sreeya