Ask Kashyyyk The First Step

[Izel Thral]

​

The journey had been a long and grueling one, but it was finally nearing it's conclusion. Isen had already returned to the temple on Yavin, and would soon be made a Knight. And with hope, Izel would soon have a new apprentice as well. The Vratix awaited by the balcony over looking the harbor. With an exhausted sigh she let the pleasant breeze wash over her. Kashyyyk was a greatly improved locale over their previous pitstops. Mon Gazza had been rocky and harsh, Ambria soaked in the wretched corruption of the dark side, and Umbara a world of endless night. Kashyyyk was a planet that reminded her of home. Although she knew it might not have the same comforting effect on Yulie.

Izel would turn to look towards the young Dathomirian, her prospective student. She had a dark past, much of it rooted on this planet, from what she had been told. She struggled greatly with the dark side. But even now the Vratix could feel her improving. Every day she was moving further along the path to the light. Hopefully with the right guidance she could find peace one day, and be able to bring it to others. But today was an important step. A member of the Jedi Council would be interviewing her, to determine whether or not she could be trusted to set foot on Yavin and walk among the Jedi. But whatever happened Izel had resolved herself to stand by the girl. More than anything she needed an advocate that would not falter.

"You must be honest with them." She would say to the Dathomirian while turning her gaze out over the harbor. "That is the most important thing. Honesty. If you try to lie they will know it and they will hold that against you. Answer all their questions truthfully, and show them that you are willing to do what is necessary to become a Jedi. They will see your desire to better yourself, I promise you." Finally she turned back towards Yulie, looking the girl over briefly. She would not show it, but she did have some worries. The war was escalating. Jedi were dying. The galaxy was suffering at the hands of dark siders. Yulie would no doubt face greater resistance then she would in more peaceful times. But the Jedi were still the Jedi. And Izel had faith they would give her the chance to prove herself.

@Zohrael @Nefieslab

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Of all the things that Tedimor expected when they were told that they had a holocall, this was not it. Izel Thral was one of their more reserved and mature Masters though so they were quick to accept the call, moving into the Council chambers so that the call would be of excellent quality. Having settled into a comfortable seated position, Tedimor accepted the call.

On Kashyyyk the holopad would bloom into life, showing the Jedi Council member in life-size.

Tedimor's eyes scanned over the both of them before they smiled a little bit at Izel, bowing their head in greeting to the pair. Addressing the two of them, they spoke to Izel first due to knowing her name rather than any other reason.

"Master Thral."

The Council member would have arched an eyebrow - had they actually had eyebrows.

"Do what do we owe the pleasure?" they asked before adding, "Greetings to your friend, though we are afraid we do not recognize them."

@Zohrael @Reyn

 

[Yulie]

Kashyyyk. For the most part, it was exactly as Yulie remembered. The air was thick, made her skin feel sticky, and had a surprisingly sweet aftertaste. Whenever she thought about those luxury showers that had enough hot water to fog the mirrors, she always imagined it would smell like Kashyyyk. It was rejuvenating just to breathe it in, the abundance of oxygen giving some strength where her under-nourishing diet would not.

It also threw her hair into open rebellion. The Dathomiri were suited for arid climates; looking at her reflection dancing upon the rippling waters of the murky harbour, Yulie had to do something about that frizzy mop that was poofing out on her head. Cupping her fingers, she splashed enough upon her scalp to comb it back with her fingernails.

Honesty isn’t going to be enough. Yulie thought to herself, deciding to use one of her bootlaces to tie her hair back into a small tail. With all her clothes worn long past their expected lifespan, there was only so much that she could do to make herself look presentable.

Honesty was just a baseline expectation. No one liked to be deceived, but no one got special credit for being truthful. If anything, she felt a little suspicious that they might be setting her up to fail. If the Jedi only wanted to talk, they could have done so anywhere in the Galaxy, but this was happening on Kashyyyk. Izel knew what this place meant to her, and if the Jedi knew as well, then this place must have been chosen to test her. She had gone through something like this once before, had even gotten her hopes up, too, and the Singing Mountain Clan turned her away. It would not be surprising if the Jedi did the same thing.

Yulie stiffened when the holopad hummed to life, projecting the life-sized image of a Jedi Council member. Attentive to gestures of respect, she emulated the bowing of the head but bowed hers further, and longer, for she was the lowest in station.

"Greetings. I am Yulie." She looked to Izel, uncertain just how much talking she should actually be doing.

@Reyn Nefieslab

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel's question of who the councilor speaking to them might be was answered when the holographic image of an aging Duros appeared before them. She didn't know Master Har all that well personally, but she knew them by reputation. They were famous for never using a weapon to resolve conflicts. That boded well. Surely they would be more accepting of the idea of redeeming a dark sider rather than shunning them. The Vratix bowed her head respectfully in return and replied, "Master."

After Yulie introduced herself Izel would continue, looking between the two. "This is Tedimor Har of the Jedi High Council." She explained to her student before turning her attention back to the councilor. "Yulie and I crossed paths on Mon Gazza, and I discovered she was Force sensitive. With Isen now a Knight, I wish to take her as my new apprentice. Although she has felt the pull of the dark side, she has displayed a desire to find balance and become a Jedi."

She figured the rest would be obvious to the councilor. In order for anyone to return to Yavin for training they would need the approval of the Council, as per the most recent mandates. Izel saw no potential threat within Yulie personally, but given everything that had happened recently Master Har might have thought differently. Now was the time to let them familiarize with each other and show that Yulie could be trusted.

@Zohrael @Nefieslab

 

[The Gatekeeper]

The Duros Jedi Council Member nodded in greeting once again to the now-named Yulie. There was proper respect being shown by the young woman and they liked that since it implied she was capable of allowing herself to be grounded in reality. They gestured with a hand for both Yulie and Izel to relax with a soft smile.

"Relax, both of you." they urged gently, "There is no need to be nervous."

Indeed unless they were here for something rather exceedingly out of the ordinary then this was likely to go rather well for all involved. Being told that Izel wanted to take a new pupil was surprising only because of the way it was being done; that she would take another pupil had never really been in doubt as far as they were concerned. Tilting their head to one side slightly, the Duro listened attentively before steepling their fingers.

Eyeing Izel first, they spoke at length.

"Isen's ascension to Knight speaks well of your teaching abilities." they praised Izel before turning slightly to Yulie, "You would do well to learn under Izel's instruction however..."

Tedimor's eyes flashed ever so slightly with a steel that many did not expect to find within them.

"We have been hurt before so we must ask questions to ensure we are safe with our people." they admitted before pushing on, "We have heard what Izel has said of your reasoning but we would hear it from you directly, without the young Master speaking for you. Why do you wish to become a Jedi, young Yulie?"

@Reyn @Zohrael

 

[Yulie]

Yulie couldn’t quite relax, even when gently urged. She could trust that Izel’s advice would be enough, that the Vratix wouldn’t have brought her all the way here if she required further preparation, but the length and direction of her path was to be decided by another. Already it was going much like her conversation with the Clan Mother, except when she implored Yulie to relax, it was because Yulie was restless with excitement. This time, Yulie was far more aware of what she had to lose were she to be turned away.

Should she have introduced herself by her serial number? ‘Yulie’ was more of an abbreviation than an actual name, a blanket term for an entire collective of a valueless workforce. Was it dishonest to have called herself Yulie? It’s what she called herself in her own head, so it was at least true to her. Was that enough? Relaxing was…difficult, considering her near-powerlessness in this situation.

Doubts felt like insects crawling beneath her skin. Izel once dismissed the Nightsisters as a Dark Side cult, but the Clan Mother made it sound like her Shadow was too Dark even for them. She could not uphold the Law to not abide by evil. She suffered emotion, and could not be trusted to use her magic wisely. If they wouldn’t have her, why would the Jedi?

Despite this, they still agreed to hear her out. They heard what Izel had to say, yet they didn’t dismiss the possibility outright. Even though Yulie couldn’t find an answer for herself why the Jedi would accept her, they were at least opening up to find such an answer for themselves. Perhaps they already found one and this was just a formality. Perhaps they were merely assessing a potential threat and their minds were already made. When they asked Yulie for her account, she took a deep breath, a few moments to sift her thoughts from her feelings.

If I am to be damned, then let me be damned for who I am.

“Please forgive my anxiety. I have been a conversation just like this, once. It was a while ago, back on Dathomir. The Clan Mother of the Singing Mountain sat me down to be judged, see if I was worthy of uniting with their family.” Yulie remembered that the Mother smiled at first, feeling Yulie’s cheekbones with long thumbs as if she could visualize the tattoos she’d one day get to wear.

“That was an unusual process for them, but I was born far from home, and I was denied from having any culture of my own. When I finally met my own people...I wanted to be one of them more than I wanted anything else in my life. They didn’t want me, though.” If there were any doubts about her nervousness, this laid bare the cause. She was anticipating that sincerity wouldn’t be enough, and that she would be turned away for any number of reasons.

“I could not live up to the expectations of their Laws, the foundation of their culture and society. I may never return until I can uphold them, but I knew nothing of the Force until I met Izel. I had been drawing power from the Dark Side long before I even heard of Dathomir. On that path, the Laws cannot be obeyed. Sith doctrine opposes them, so I reject their ways.” Remembering that gave her renewed confidence. If she could stand by the Laws even when facing Ambria’s obelisk, she could stand by them when facing the Jedi.

“The Jedi can teach me to overcome my emotions so that I may find peace. The Jedi can teach me to use my magic, the Force, wisely. The Jedi can teach me to oppose evil without drawing upon the Dark Side.” To her, this was as compelling an argument that she could make. Even though she felt the pull of Dathomir, she would not betray what she’d been taught. Only the way of the Sith rejected these beliefs outright.

“Your Code is compatible with the Laws. With proper guidance, I can uphold the principles of both and honour your ways even when I return home.”

@Reyn
@Nefieslab

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel bowed her head again as Master Har praised her, replying with a sincere "Thank you Master." As the Councilor requested to hear from Yulie's mouth directly however the Vratix stepped back, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Of course..." She said quietly, and then fell silent as she turned to watch Yulie. The girl was understandably nervous, but she managed to compose herself and speak well. At least Izel believed she did.

She was honest about her origins and did not attempt to hide her use of the dark side. She failed to mention that she had been a slave, but that was a matter of great pain to her and in Izel's mind was not relevant to the discussion here. She was open about what drove her fears and what hopes she held for her future, and she explained them in a respectful manner. Most importantly of all, she voiced her rejection of the Sith. As the young Dathomirian finished speaking Izel briefly placed a hand on her shoulder and nodded reassuringly before looking back at Master Har.

"From what I have gathered Yulie's understanding of the Force is still very rudimentary." She explained. "But she has already shown an ability to resist the pull of the dark side, once she was properly informed of it's dangers. I have already taught her the basics of meditation, and have helped her start down the path to banishing the darkness within her."

@Zohrael @Nefieslab

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Tedimor was glad that Izel could take the compliments that they had paid her - there had been a time, not too long ago, when the young Master would have attempted to shy away from even such light praise. It was good to be humble but they would see that humility joined with a proper understanding of self-worth as well. As the Master took a metaphorical step back, however, Tedimor focused on Yulie.

Young as well... at least in appearance.

Older in experiences, worn by hardships...

Dathomir?

That would go some way to explaining some of the enduring hardships that they sensed within the young woman even from the distance. The Force was useful over direct sight-to-sight interfaces like this one after all. Listening to the young Dathomiri explain her problems with the Force, the Dark Side and the Laws of her people? It spoke to them as they listened. More, it felt right in the Force to listen more to the young woman who seemed so desperate for a place to belong.

The Jedi Order had been that for many people across the millennia and, they hoped, would continue to be for quite some time. Rubbing at their cheek ever so slightly, Tedimor eyed both of the women before them before replying at length.

"Tell us, Yulie, have you had any encounters with the Queen of Dathomir?"

The Queen of Dathomir had proven... quite hostile to the Jedi Order. A disastrous mission to the Zeffo temple there had cost them a brave Jedi Knight to said hostility and Tedimor would know if the young potential-Jedi had had any contact with said figure. Both to check for any more usable information and to see if the young Dathomiri felt some kind of connection of loyalty toward her monarch.

"It seems that you have already started to train her, even if you do not call her Padawan, Master Thral." Tedimor teased (yes, they were capable of such lightheartedness from time to time) the Master with a small smile, "Do not worry - I believe you may yet call her Padawan."

They addressed Yulie again.

"Have you ever used the Force in combat before, Yulie?"

@Reyn @Zohrael

 

[Yulie]

A simple hand on her shoulder was reassuring. She was presenting herself better than she'd feared, and it meant that Izel was standing by her words. To Yulie, it must have sounded so bizarre to the Jedi that someone wanted to join them so she might become a Nightsister. But she knew from her encounter with the Obelisk that the fundamental principles of these cultures were allies between one another, different, but able to coexist, and both were opposed to the doctrine of the Sith.

Izel even spoke well of her progress, limited as it may be. It was hard to believe how timid she acted when they first met, clutching a box of cleaning supplies, singularly focused on performing the most menial of tasks without causing the slightest offense. Her progress was not solely in using the Force, and recognition was a blessed change. If that stupid pretty-boy on the holonet hadn't gotten everyone worked up, she'd still be waiting tables in a spice den and living in a glorified closet adjacent to it.

“Queen?” Yulie blinked. The very notion of such a thing was utterly absurd, but she had been conditioned better than to insinuate ignorance or foolishness on part of her betters. There would be no raising of an eyebrow, incredulity in her tone, or anything else that might insult even the most volatile of masters.

For those who could sense emotions, her confusion was the specific sort that one might feel if asked whether it is better to serve droids sweet or spicy meals. Not only was she unaware of the political situation on Dathomir, the reign of a queen was so unthinkable that it didn’t even merit consideration. Yulie saw only two reasons why she'd be asked such a thing: either the Jedi were grossly misinformed about Dathomiri culture or they were probing her loyalties to see how secretive she might be.

“I am afraid you might be misinformed. Dathomir has no queen. It is understood that monarchs are burdened with an entitlement which their subjects are meant to carry, so the Clan system was carefully structured to prevent them from emerging. Each of the Clans are governed independently by a Clan Mother, and successors are chosen based on merit.”

All of this was non-classified information, but the real secrets were never imparted to Yulie to begin with. Not until she earned her tattoos would she get to learn how everyone fit within society and how the spheres of influence aligned. It was her hope that the Jedi had more detailed records archived somewhere, even if they were only apocryphal tales. Culturally relevant information has been most elusive.

“Although larger Clans may absorb smaller ones, be it through one’s conquest or another’s failure to thrive, the villages are so far separated geographically that none may grow large enough to seize anything near global power. Dathomir cannot have a queen, and no Clan would ever serve one.”

She truly had no idea what happened since she was sent away, that the Clan Mother of the Singing Mountain had been murdered and that her slayer had declared the planet for her own. Yulie was still looking forward to receiving the Clan Mother's tattoos and seeing them in her reflection, to see herself the way that wise woman saw her.

Yulie glanced at Izel when the hologram teased the possibility of calling her Padawan. It was unclear who ought to speak up; would she be speaking out of turn since Izel was the one being spoken to? Yulie was both looking for permission to make mention that ‘Padawan’ was already a nickname but also giving permission for Izel to say so were it not Yulie’s place.

As for using the Force in combat…

“Yes…and no.” She started, a little uncomfortable with both explanations and for entirely different reasons. “I’ve used it instinctively when I got angry or frightened enough, but Izel’s been teaching me how to use the Force differently. I can resist those instincts now, and I am able center myself and let the Force guide my movements. On two occasions I was able to do that to protect and defend other people. But I haven’t been able to use telekinetic techniques safely yet.”

@Nefieslab
@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel was surprised by the genuine ignorance in Yulie's voice as she spoke. She really had no idea what had happened on Dathomir since her last visit to the planet. The Vratix had figured the girl would have tried to keep up with any news reports she could concerning the homeworld and people she so desperately wanted to return to. But at the very least, her sincere response would do well to prove she had no loyalties to Darth Andruil.

"Yulie..." She started softly as she looked at the girl, so as to try and avoid causing her distress. "That might be how things were the last time you were there, but circumstances have changed on Dathomir. A powerful sorceress named Renfry has allied with or subjugated all of the clans. They now call her their Queen. She counts herself among the Sith Order..." Izel paused, her thoughts trailing back to the attack on Ajan Kloss. The attack that had taken her former master from her. When she spoke again there was a slight strain to her tone, but she managed to keep herself composed. "She has caused the Jedi a great deal of pain and loss."

As Master Har made their little joke Izel clicked and bowed her head slightly, embarrassed. "I like to think we can be both teacher and student to everyone we meet, Master." She replied lightheartedly. No doubt that was an outlook any wise master could appreciate. She fell silent again as Yulie explained her experience in combat, and again was completely honest. She operated on a defensive, instinctual level, and thus had used the dark side when doing so. It was unfortunate, but nothing that couldn't be overcome with training.

"Yulie assisted Isen and I in the defeat and apprehension of a Dark Jedi and her followers." Izel further expanded on the Dathomirian's words. "She conducted herself quite well in my opinion, given her limited abilities."

@Zohrael @Nefieslab

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Curiouser and curiouser.

It seemed that even amongst the people of Dathomir the sudden ascension of someone to the rank of Queen was unexpected. Seemed counter to some of their traditions, in fact, though not enough that anyone would have fought to the death against the very idea. All for the better - even if they were ruled by someone with hostility toward the Order, Tedimor would not wish a war upon the peoples of Dathomir. It was their understanding that Dathomir was a hard enough place to live on its own as it was - it hardly needed a war atop all of the other dangers and stressors in their opinion.

They would leave it to Izel to break the whole of the situation (as they knew it) to the young Dathomiri. If it was to be something that changed her very of the Galaxy, better that it be handled by someone in person, someone they knew of in a closer manner to Tedimor themselves.

"We shall allow Izel to explain - we did not mean to cause any offence or dismay."

Hearing more about the young woman was helping raise them in Tedimor's own estimation. In the end, however, there were dangers that the Order faced and they were one of the dwindling number of Masters left to protect the Order as a whole. That said, closing ranks to protect the Order as a whole at the expense of their ideals was not an option either. After a few moments of thought, Tedimor had something of a solution.

Izel's judge of character was solid and, should she spend more time actively teaching Yulie, they were sure she would only learn more. Tedimor nodded slowly before smiling.

"Yulie, Daughter of Dathomir, the Jedi would like to offer you a home." they declared at length, nodding to Izel, "Should you accept, Izel Thral shall become your Jedi Master and you, her Padawan learner."

Turning to Izel, they spoke their words with a double meaning that would mean something only to someone who knew about the Order's locations.

"Master Thral, you shall take Yulie on her journey to assemble a lightsaber. Our temple in the Jungle is open to her."

The Temple in the Jungle being Yavin... and very specifically mentioning only that one temple made it clear that Yulie was not to be informed of the other Jedi locations until she was fully situated. Security while still being open to trusting outsiders was difficult but if they had to indulge in light secrecy then they would.

@Reyn @Zohrael

 

[Yulie]

Offense? Dismay? No, the question stirred not those feelings. There was a twinge of worry, but only because she thought she was giving them an impression unintended. Even if they did mean to upset her, it was well within their right. She was the one being evaluated, after all, and they might wish to provoke an emotional reaction to test her self-control. Her mind raced to clarify that she only meant to be informative, to correct any misconceptions or fill in a gap or two in their body of knowledge of Dathomirian society.

Yulie was about to stammer a hasty apology for being so inarticulate, but the way the hologram looked at Izel drew her attention back towards her teacher. “…Explain…what?” Quizzically, she raised an eyebrow, but subconsciously concealed it by brushing her bangs back towards her ear as to censor any gesture that may be deemed disrespectful.

There was an uncomfortable, yet brief silence punctuating the soft utterance of her name, Izel addressing her gently the way people do when delivering tragic news. The news could only have hit her harder if Dathomir had gone the way of Alderaan.

Unless the Sith kept prisoners, the implications were catastrophic, and she ran the scenario in her mind. Law-abiding Dathomiri would have rejected the code of the Sith outright, finding no way to reconcile their founding doctrines. ‘Those who suffer emotion will never enjoy peace’ was manifestly opposed to ‘Peace is a lie, there is only passion’, and that was even further rebuked with 'Those who yield to passion will fail to dominate'. And since the Law forbade the fear of death, the only choice would be accept the inevitable and die as proud Nightsisters, or give their last breaths to defend their ways.

The elders, keepers of history and song must have been the first to be purged after the Clan Mothers were slain, community leaders and idealists left to wage small battles in isolation with as many loyalists as were on hand, but without central leadership they would not last long against superior forces. How much of their history had been lost? Whoever bent the knee would have done so in the name of mortal terror and allowed themselves to be complicit in the slaughter and desecration of their world, and in so doing would have betrayed everything they were.

It wasn’t the clothes or tattoos that defined her people, it was the set of principles that they lived by. They could not follow those principles if they allowed the ways of the Sith to rule their lives. Any Clan Mother, were she appointed as a replacement or too cowardly to resist in the first place, would be nothing more than an usurper. A traitor, puppet, and a liar unworthy of their own name and an obstacle for any real leader who actually deserved the title. Someone who knew that if they were to be damned, they should be damned for who they were.

Even if the death toll were marginal, to Yulie it was an extinction event that destroyed the very idea that the Nightsisters represented. Was there a resistance, a scattered plot to save their very culture? Or have they allowed themselves to be converted? How much damage was done? Could it even be quantified?

Denial was tempting, and she felt a powerful urge to scream at Izel, calling the Vratix a liar or hurtle baseless accusations in a tortured fit of rage, but she knew better. Her teacher wouldn’t have said something like this to provoke an emotional reaction, even if the Jedi demanded such a deception to evaluate her self-control. Yulie just wanted something to be angry at, something she could blame, because it kept coming back at herself and this Renfry witch wasn’t around to be on the receiving end of it.

When the Jedi offered her a home, she replied with a hoarse “Yes,” before clearing her throat and blinking away tears. “Of course, I accept. Thank you. I…” her lip quivered but she managed a smile, maintaining her practiced, respectful composure. Even if Izel couldn’t physically feel how much the news made Yulie suffer, there was the fact that Yulie made no objection, vocal, emotional or otherwise, to accepting someone as her Master. She was definitely not okay. “I always wanted a home.”

@Reyn
@Nefieslab

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel's focus remained fixed firmly on Yulie even as Master Har spoke to her. Though she worked hard to maintain her humble and dignified posture, the Vratix could tell she was in pain. And for good reason. She already had so little to call her own. This would surely make matters worse. Izel was overjoyed that Har had accepted the young Dathomirian, but there could be no celebration under these circumstances. It was too bittersweet.

Slowly, the Jedi turned her attention back to Master Har and bowed respectfully, hearing out their instructions. "Thank you Master." She replied in a subdued voice. "I will do as you ask..." She glanced at her newly anointed Padawan before looking back at the aging Duros. "If you do not mind... may we end this exchange? I would like to speak with my apprentice privately." With the question of admittance into the Order out of the way, Izel's first duty was to see to Yulie's wellbeing. She was clearly in a state of great distress, and the Vratix did not want her to be subjected to unfamiliar eyes should her composure break under the weight of this revelation.

@Zohrael @Nefieslab

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Being the bearer of bad news was a position that Jedi Council Members too often found themselves in and Tedimor seemed to be continuing the tradition. It saddened them to be the one to bring such terrible news to someone so young, someone who had done nothing to deserve the devastation that they now felt.

They did not know how the current situation on Dathomir had come to pass, all they knew was what had been passed onto them through the survivor of the disastrous Dathomir expedition to the Zeffo Temple. It was not enough information to give Yulie the full picture but holding back what little they actually knew from the young woman was not something that they could bring themselves to do.

She deserved to know what they knew, even if there was more to the story than what they knew. Hopefully they would all find out the “more” later but that was for the Force to decide.

“Of course, we understand.” Tedimor allowed, bowing to Master and Padawan both, “We look forward to seeing you again in more welcoming circumstances.”

/Exit Thread

@Zohrael @Reyn

 

[Yulie]

The collision of emotions made Yulie wobble as the hologram vanished before her, and they, blurred into a destructive haze of grief, rage, and shame. Some would have felt humiliated after explaining the political situation on Dathomir with as much certainty as explaining that ice was cold, only to stand corrected with a reality plainly opposite. It was not easy to knock Yulie down a couple pegs; she already felt to have nowhere to fall, so her ego wasn’t rooted deeply enough to feel humiliated for such a petty reason. The shame she felt was from an older foolishness.

She believed in the Laws, believed them important and held them close to her heart. For the Clans to trade them for the Sith Code so easily, how much value could they have truly held? And if they were indeed profoundly unimportant, what did it say about those who cherished them? Bitterness clouded her thoughts, making her wonder with a mirthless laugh if the Clan Mother had a good chuckle at Yulie’s expense when she left the planet. To embark on a hopeless, impossible quest that never meant anything…that was humiliating.

Yulie couldn’t know whether the Clan Mother filled her head with enough lies to be rid of that wide-eyed wretched youngling, or if things had deteriorated so completely that the very foundation of Nightsister culture had turned to dust before she had a chance to stand upon it.

“I was never really good at following the Laws.” Yulie finally said, forcing the words out with a grunt that scraped the back of her throat just enough to keep her voice steady. Her breath felt hot, like she was breathing smoke, and speaking made a burning sensation well up inside. She’d been trained well enough to not cry, and she would not. The pain should be obvious, but not irritating for a master to hear.

“But when I faced the Obelisk, I was able to remember who I am. It tried to warp me into a Sith, but I was able to hold on to my beliefs! The Laws were important to me! Even though I couldn’t live up to them, they were something to aspire to and they were mine, something that even Ambria couldn’t take away! But the Clans traded them for Sith doctrine? All of them!? I wasn’t good enough to be raised among Nightsisters because I abided by evil? I was too dark for them? And then they join the Sith!?” Her voice began to break, fracturing beneath the pressure of questions unanswered. Why wasn’t she good enough? What was so wrong with her that they wouldn't love her? Why wasn't she worth it for her people to stay in her life? What was so hard about being with her?

“I know that I didn’t get to learn the Dathomirian language, or speak with the proper accent, or wear the markings of my ancestors on my face! I know that my mother never Named me and my owner desecrated my skin!” Rage and pain pulled her in opposite directions, forcing her to pace, searching for something to break or overturn. The jungle only offered stones for her to skip along the water.

“But I struggled to uphold the Laws, I cherished what little I knew of Nightsister custom, I defied the Dark Side itself and I would have stood up to that false queen even though I’m just a nobody!” Even with her training, there was only so much she could endure before tears fell involuntarily. The loss of her planet, its people, their way of life, was wrapped in an overwhelming feeling of rejection and betrayal. No Master could strike her so deeply or so strongly.

“I'm just a nobody...and I might be all that’s left of the Nightsisters.” She prayed to the Winged God that it wasn't so. There had to be someone else. A rebel on Dathomir who refused to abide by the false queen. A defector allied with the Order. A rogue who was offworld when Renfry attacked and would not return to a fallen Clan. There had to be somebody else, someone better, someone who knew the old stories and could establish the Nightsisters anew with all their traditions intact.

If not...the Laws were clear. Yulie could not abide by the false queen's evil, and the pain of death nor the loss of the Laws themselves were an excuse to fear Renfry. Sooner or later the day would come when the last of the Nightsisters would have to break Renfry's throne and drive the Sith off Dathomir. That day was a long ways off.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel stood and watched Yulie break in silent despair. There was no veil, no wall to keep the young Dathomirian's feelings from her. She felt it all, and lamented the loss just the same. Izel was not Dathomirian. She was not a Nightsister. But her heart still ached at the loss of life and culture. To have one's ways subverted by the domineering of the Sith. This was just another thing the dark side threatened to take from them.

Her eyes followed Yulie as she paced restlessly, staying quiet and allowing the girl to vent. Too often her conditioning forbade her from expressing her true feelings. Izel knew that only by confronting them would she ever have hope of making any progress. As the girl's composure finally broke and she began to cry, the Vratix slowly moved forward. Gingerly, if the girl did not shy away, she would wrap her arms around her apprentice and hug her.

"Then you are not nobody, are you?" She asked slowly, and gently. She pulled back and looked Yulie in the eyes. "We do not know all that has happened. There may be others that have escaped Renfry's conquest. But if you are the last of the Nightsisters, then you shall be the greatest. The laws are not dead so long as there is one person to uphold them. You will become stronger. You will not suffer emotion. You will not choose ignorance. You will not yield to passion. You will overcome any fear of death. And you will not allow this evil to be victorious." She would let go of Yulie and take a step back, still locking eyes with her. The Jedi spoke with an unwavering conviction. "You are my apprentice, and I will aid you in whatever way I can. I will guide you down the path, and when you have reached the end, with the Force as your ally, you will bring the truth of your laws back to Dathomir." There were no 'ifs' in Izel's speech, no possibility of failure. For she trusted in the Force, completely and utterly, and the Force desired the end of the dark side. Together, they would be the instruments of it's will.

@Zohrael

 

[Yulie]

This time, Yulie didn’t flinch when Izel reached out to her. In this moment, there was nothing that anyone could do to hurt her even more. She now understood what made that boy find a deep hole and scream. The fate of the Nightsisters was so annihilating that injury would only split her attention, an attack would merely give her something else to focus on. There was nothing left to fear. Yulie returned the hug in kind, quaking as she found something to hold on to, some way to center herself.

The Dark Side was strongest when negative emotions flowed freely. It was easy to hate the false queen and desire revenge for destroying the Nightsister way of life right down to its foundation. She could hate the Clan Mother of the Singing Mountain, too, for sending Yulie away and for being too weak to die properly, as a Nightsister, and prove their beliefs worthy enough to die upon. The stormclouds were darkening, and Yulie’s inner light began to falter.

What drove that boy to scream in the dark was not that he suffered, but that he suffered alone. When Yulie’s strength began to fail her, Izel was there to share the burden. Looking into Yulie’s puffy, bloodshot eyes, the Vratix reminded her who she was. It didn’t make the feelings go away, but it did help Yulie center herself in the eye of her own storm. Hatred fed on pain, but was driven away by conviction and compassion, unraveling it back into grief.

“I will do more than that!” Yulie assured, looking Izel straight in the eyes. Emotion yet Peace. An eye of the storm probably wasn’t what the Jedi had in mind, but finding purpose was enough to steady her mind. And that is not all that was steadied; the ripples on the surface of the water were shrinking, the barrier dividing it from the sky was starting to become smoother. In her lowest moment, she was most open to change; Yulie finally connected with the Force without using her emotions as a conduit. Unconsciously, she flattened the waves by Telekinesis, bringing the stillness of the storm’s eye to her surroundings.

“I won’t stop at reminding my People who they are. I will find the false queen, break her throne, and tell her the same thing that I was told: that she must leave, and never return until she can follow the Laws.” The Nightsisters seemingly held Yulie in lower regard than the Sith; in some twisted way, it would be unjust to pass down a harsher sentence than that.

Yulie wiped her eyes and stepped out of the hug, needing a little room to wander and breathe as she looked to the future. She still believed that she was the worst possible Dathomirian to restore her planet and its people to Balance, but if the Nightsisters were to be survived through her, then she wasn’t nothing anymore. Regarding herself as such would insult the value of the way of life that now depended on her. She had to be the best of them, not by default as a sole survivor, but as an example for others to aspire to.

“I-I will need a protocol droid. One that is programmed to teach languages as well as translate them; I cannot guide my People if I cannot write or speak as they do. And I will need access to everything about the Nightsisters that the Jedi have on record. If the Jedi have any scientific experts, they may study some keepsakes I brought back from the planet. I will need to understand them completely.”

The keepsakes in question was the tainted crystal worn around her neck and the chunk of the Sleeper she kept in her backpack. It hadn't even crossed her mind that either might qualify for confiscation, though it did cross her mind that the Jedi may not wish to reveal everything it had on the Nightsisters. Knowledge was dangerous for those who weren't ready to use it wisely.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

Izel was in tune with Yulie's emotions as she went through every step of processing what she had learned. She felt the pain, the grief, and the calm that overcame it. Dread turned to conviction, a burning desire to set things right. The Vratix was uplifted by her apprentice's words. The cruelty of the galaxy had tested her resolve, and though she had wavered, she had hardened against it and come out stronger than before. As Yulie spoke of her plans to cast Queen Renfry out, Izel's voice took on a lighter tone. "A worthy goal, if not one that will take some time to accomplish." She tempered her. Although she believed anything was possible, she still understood such a task would be an enormous undertaking, one that would likely require years of training. But it spoke well of the young Dathmorian that she desired to oust the Sith, not reek bloody vengeance. "I shall endeavor to equip you with every advantage I can."

Then as the Padawan began to calm down she focused more on immediate matters, such as learning more about her people. In response Izel crossed her hands behind her back and nodded. "A protocol droid shall be easy enough to acquire." She promised. "The Nightsisters are a reclusive people but I will look into the Jedi Archives and bring you whatever I can. As for your keepsakes... I'm sure we can find a sage that will be interested in discovering the secrets of Nightsister magic. Perhaps one of our other enclaves would be a better destination for that..." Izel held herself back from telling Yulie about their base on Jedha, as she had been requested to do. She had never been there herself, but if what Isen had told her of the place was true, it would be overflowing with old masters eager to study such things.

"First and foremost though will be your Jedi training." She said. "If you are to stand any chance of defeating your enemies you need to master the Force. You need to master the lightsaber. And perhaps most importantly, you need to master yourself. The Sith are cunning opponents, and even the best of the Jedi have been tricked or turned by their exploits. We cannot allow that to happen to you. We have much work to do to prepare." A long and difficult path laid ahead of them, but from what she had seen of the girl thus far, Izel was confident Yulie could succeed.

@Zohrael

 

[Yulie]

"A worthy goal, if not one that will take some time to accomplish.”

Aggression flowed freely at the storm’s eyewall, twisting eagerness to impatience. She could remember the village so vividly it was like her own senses were drinking the surroundings themselves. The surface-level artistic expression dissolved into carbon scoring; the ink of facial tattoos moved on their own until they spiraled into blasphemous symbols.

The longer the tenebrous presence of the Sith was permitted, the deeper their shadow would stain Dathomir, swallowing the past into a black void. The damage, though extensive, was only superficial for now. The march of time threatened so much more, and Yulie’s need to protect it rivaled the maternal instinct to defend one’s very children.

She was not ready, though. She would get no further than a scouting party, destroyed long before the false queen’s throne room was even on the horizon. Were she to fail, the Laws could die with her, but were she to take too long, she could live long enough to witness Dathomir suffer the same death as Ambria. The Dark Side permitted Yulie to experience desperate urgency, for the desperate were easier to manipulate later. It wanted her path to throne room to be wet with blood and seasoned with ashes.

Izel helped temper that stormcloud, encouraging the journey but narrowing Yulie’s focus to the ground before her instead of the last mile, smothering fears that her efforts would be too little to make a difference and too late to even matter. What mattered now was the next step, and to lay the groundwork for further progress. Light chased the darkness along the eyewall, preserving the peace in Yulie’s center.

The droid seemed like a straightforward acquisition, and being a mechanic, it felt natural to learn from one. Allowing her keepsakes to be studied also seemed like a chance to earn some good will from her Jedi elders. This was a new beginning.

“I’m ready for the next step. Is that why you brought me to Kashyyyk?” She wondered if they were there to purify the lightsaber. Is there was ever a place to learn, it would be at the very place where it became tainted in the first place. On the other hand, this was one of the last things that Isen was taught, and even this could be a long ways off.

It would explain why they came here of all places. Maybe it was just coincidence that meeting the council occurred on the same world where Yulie began walking a darker path, or maybe it was Destiny’s way of bringing things full circle.

@Reyn

 

[Izel Thral]

At Yulie's question the Vratix's antennae would twitch, feeling a tinge of embarrassment. No doubt the girl thought there was some great significance to their return to this world that had in many ways been the starting point for her journey as a Force sensitive. Izel had even thought that the Council might have wished to test her resolve against the dark side here. But the Force worked in mysterious ways... sometimes anti-climactic ones... "Actually, this was just the best place for getting a clean signal to the temple..." She answered sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. She looked past the harbor and into the city proper. The wookiees were certainly not the most technologically advanced of peoples, but they had open and frequent trade with many other worlds. No doubt they could find some of the things Yulie needed.

Looking back at the Dathomirian the Vratix would continue. "So long as we're here though, we may as well see about this droid of yours. If there's anything else you'd like to get from the market, we can grab it before we continue our journey." She leaned a bit closer and took on a lighter tone. "You can pay me back by being a diligent student." Izel would begin making her way into the treetop village, towards the marketplace where they would be able to find a wide variety of imported goods for sale. Of course, if Yulie wanted to learn, there were other things they could do while they were here as well. "As we explore this place, keep your lessons in mind. Try to reach out and see this place not only through your eyes, but through the Force. Feel how it flows and interacts with everyone and everything. We'll have another go with your telekinesis before we leave."

@Zohrael