Open Tython Try to Tython

[Ruzaan Kai]

Even when she was literally picking herself up of the floor, Atris Tharen made being a Jedi look easy. She transitioned smoothly from comforting Ruzaan, to teaching him, and then returning to the task at hand- the holocron- all done with the grace and humor that had endeared her to him. So when Atris asked if he was ready to work with her to access the holocron, his answer was a resounding and simple "Yes".

Side by side with Atris, Ruzaan approached the giant bronze sphere. Atris was right; he could feel the presence of something deep inside the model planet. Ruzaan pressed his hand against the cool bronze, closed his eyes, and focused. He could sense Atris' presence shining like a beacon next to him in the Force. His own presence was smaller, but he bent his will towards their shared goal and added what strength he could to hers. It felt like pushing a boulder- a heavy one- up a steep hill, but little by little he could sense them making progress.

@llamallove

 

[Atris Tharen]

Atris took a step back from the large sphere placed at the center of the room, stopping to stand side by side with Ruzaan. Her soft brown eyes found purchase on the young boy that stood beside her, ready and willing to face the challenge whether he believed himself to be ready or not.

Pride and love was visible in her eyes, but Ruzaan was concentrating so hard on the task that laid before them that he would likely not pick up on this. The Togrutan had come so far in the short amount of time that the two Jedi had known one another, and Atris felt the strong desire to be present for all of the milestones and gradual, day-to-day changes that would occur in his life.

She smiled to herself and focused once more on the sphere. Closing her eyes, Atris took a deep breath and extended her hands toward the model world of Tython. Using her surroundings, she centered herself and then began to draw upon the light side of the Force.

The Jedi Knight opened herself up to the will of the Force, pushing aside her own opinions and desires until they were nothing but a distant memory. She focused on the core beliefs of the Jedi—honesty, mercy, and compassion... Denying self, she allowed the light side of the Force to wrap around her like a warm blanket of sunshine, redirecting the energy and expelling it through the palms of her hands.

Gradually, the sphere began to shake, stone scraping against metal as it split in the middle, each side sliding away from one another to expose its center. Dust and dirt previously left untouched for centuries began to fall from the sudden movement.

Atris reopened her eyes and stared ahead, her brown gaze fixated on the glowing blue holocron that sat atop a golden pedestal. All that was left now was to retrieve it.

"You should get it," the Jedi Knight told Ruzaan almost instantly, turning to look at him. After everything he'd gone through and overcome that day, he had definitely earned the privilege.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan had opened himself up to the Force before, but he'd always remember this moment on Tython. Being deep inside an ancient Jedi library on the Force-sensitive planet helped, but not as much as Atris' example did. Her light shone brightly in the Force and set a shining example for Ruzaan. He'd always understood the Force to be kind of like a river- vast, unpredictable, and undeniable in its power- but for the first time he could see how powerful Jedi, such as Atris, made the Force flow through themselves.

Ruzaan's own forays into the Force had been akin to dipping his toes in, but guided and supported by the Jedi Knight next to him the padawan plunged deep into its currents... and was pleasantly surprised to find that the Force wasn't as chaotic as he'd feared. There was emotion, yet peace. There was passion, yet serenity. There was ignorance, yet knowledge. The tenants of the Jedi Order clicked into place as the bronze sphere clicked open, revealing a glowing blue cube atop a golden pedestal. Cliché? Perhaps. But as the dust settled and Atris encouraged him to pick up the holocron, Ruzaan only had one thing on his mind.

"aaahh-CHOO!" A thunderous sneeze echoed throughout the ancient library as Ruzaan's nose reacted to hundreds of years of dust. The padawan sniffled slightly in the aftermath and smiled in embarrassment. However, Atris still encouraged him to take the holocron and Ruzaan did so, stepping carefully between the two halves of the now-bisected bronze planet. The holocron glowed faintly with a calming blue light, and Ruzaan could sense its power as he reached out and grabbed it. The cube was a little heavier than he'd expected, and its metal felt cool to the touch.

Turning back to Atris, Ruzaan secured the holocron to his belt and couldn't stop a wide smile from breaking out over his face. Their mission was almost done! In that same moment, weariness washed over him like a wave as the days efforts- both physical and mental- caught up with him. Truly, the temple had pushed the Jedi to their limits today; perhaps even beyond their limits. But they had worked together to overcome the varied challenges, and Ruzaan couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment as he followed Atris out of the library and back towards the shuttle.

As he walked, Ruzaan reflected on just how lucky he was to be able to go on missions with Atris and learn from her; first on Tatooine, and now on Tython. She'd saved his life more than once, and had given him grace during moments that he wasn't proud of. He'd broken down crying in front of her twice, and both times she had handled his outpouring of emotions with poise and tenderness. She had stood by his side and had selflessly let him secure the holocron. These thoughts led to Ruzaan mentally grappled with the decision whether or not to formally ask Atris to take him as her padawan, to the extent that he barely noticed their return trip until he and Atris reached the bottom of the sinkhole where they had first discovered the presence of the library.

@llamallove

 

[Atris Tharen]

Before Ruzaan could take another step forward, he let out one of the loudest, most obnoxious sneezes Atris had ever heard in her entire life (and she grew up on Tatooine!). The Jedi Knight burst into a giggle, her laughter resembling that of an amused child for a passing moment. She knew she ought not to laugh for Ruzaan's sake, but she couldn't stop herself.

Some people might have said that his sneeze ruined this grand moment, but Atris disagreed strongly. On the contrary, it made this moment all the more... natural and genuine.

The Padawan walked forward and took the holocron from its perch, attaching it to his waist and turning around. A broad smile spread across his face, and Atris matched his expression with a smile of her own. He was proud, and so was she.

"A little more successful than our last mission together, huh?" she chuckled, giving him an encouraging pat on the back.

On Tatooine they had set out to recover an old Jedi lightsaber. Instead, they had gotten caught in the midst of a feud between two disputing Hutts. They hadn't even retrieved the lightsaber they'd set out after. Atris looked back on her first memories with Ruzaan with a great deal of fondness, but there was no denying the fact that that particular mission had been less than a success.
Here on Tython they had set out to explore the ruins with no expectations and ended up with a Jedi Holocorn that the Council would be very interested in studying.

The two Jedi walked back the way they had come, ready to return to the awaiting transport. Neither of them had the stamina or the will for further exploration left in them, and even the uncomfortable seats on the transport sounded good right about now.

Walking through the long and dark hallway that had led them to the library, the Jedi kept a watchful and weary eye out for any other creatures lurking about. Nothing appeared—thankfully—and the pair returned to the hole that Sabatha had fallen through. If not for her, it was unlikely that this holocron would have been found.

Ruzaan was quieter than usual, but Atris chalked it up to a need for sleep and the repeated rush of adrenaline he'd experienced that day.

"Here we are," she said quietly, pulling a rope from her bag. She tied one end of the rope into a bowline and, using the Force to lift it and guide it through the hole, wrapped it around a large chunk of stone above.

Tugging a few times to ensure it was secure enough to climb, she offered the rope to Ruzaan with a smile.

"After you."

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

One more challenge awaited the Jedi as they reached the bottom of the sinkhole; climbing out. Atris masterfully tied a rope at the top and handed it to Ruzaan. His arms and legs shook with fatigue as he climbed, and with what was probably an assist from Atris, made it to the top. He tossed the rope back down to Atris, and took a moment to rest as the Jedi Knight made her way out of the hole.

Never had Ruzaan been so happy to return to a spaceship. He was exhausted, physically and mentally, and let Atris do most of the talking as they brought Sabatha up to speed during the ship's liftoff from Tython. The Jedi Knight had more stamina than he did, and once again Ruzaan found himself in awe of Atris. She'd managed to shepherd not one but two Padawans through the unpredictable abandoned temple on Tython, whilst being challenged in ways that Ruzaan could only imagine. The fact that they'd all emerged relatively unscathed was a testament to her leadership and cool under pressure. Perhaps one day he would be brave enough to ask her what it was the dark side had showed her, but he quickly found himself falling asleep in one of the chairs in the cockpit on their way back to Yavin IV.

/ThrExit

@llamallove

 

[Atris Tharen]

Together, the two Jedi emerged from the pit and the darkness that lurked beneath the soil of Tython. It was a relief to breathe fresh air again, not the dusty and spore ridden air of a Jedi temple long buried and forgotten.

The sky was full of bright stars, innumerable but that paled in comparison to the planet's moon, Ashla, which lit their way.

Atris watched Ruzaan trudge back to the transport with a type of fondness that was unique to the Togrutan Padawan. The love the Jedi Knelt held in her heart for the teenager was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, and nothing could convince her that it did not burn brighter than both of Tatooine's suns put together.

If the Jedi Knight could dare trust herself to handle such a responsibility, she would have asked Ruzaan if he had any interest in her training him. Permanently. Until he rose to be a Jedi Knight himself. She would have put in a request to Jedi Council the very next day if she thought he would say yes and believed herself capable.

With a small pang of disappointment in her heart, she reminded herself that this was nothing more than wishful thinking. Ruzaan was dead on his feet, and the Jedi Knight would settle with, "Sometime you'll have to teach me Togruti."

Ascending the boarding ramp that would return the three Jedi to Yavin IV, Atris glanced at Tython one last time. Her thoughts were all for her Master Trimatt and her sister Paloma. She missed her sister's laugh, a vague and fading memory. Every day that passed it was more difficult to remember the sound of her voice or the glow of her smile. She missed the wise council of Master Trimatt, the advice and the tender affection that she had failed to fully appreciate until it was taken from her.

Today had been many things, but at least she had been given the opportunity to reconnect with them both on some level. She had heard the voice of her sister once again, and she had seen the face of her loving master. For all of the demons that would follow her from this planet, those were the two blessings that she would attempt to focus on.

"Until we meet again," she whispered to her lost loved ones, her words taken by the Force and blowing away with the wind.

Soon Tython would be nothing more than a memory.

/End of Thread​

@SlagathorTheUnknown