Where Loyalties Lie (TFS)

[Vosrik]

theme​

Horror. Dismay. Guilt. Failure.

These emotions swirled like a gushing river through Vosrik's head as he sat on a meditation cushion in his private quarters. While designed to be comfortable enough to become lost in your thoughts, they provided no ease for the troubled Jedi Knight here in the Ossus Temple. As all Jedi, Vosrik lived and breathed by the Code and Tenants of the Order. They were so ingrained into their minds, it would be rare for one to find a Knight who couldn't recite them all word for word. And yet, Vosrik had nearly pushed everything aside in one fell swoop, and reminiscing on his actions wasn't helping.

A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. Flashes of his recent encounter broke through and reminded the Jedi of his failures. It wasn't as though he'd ended up where he was now due to a single occasion. No...a growing conviction formed in Vosrik's mind. Someone, or something, had slowly pushed him this far. He knew he needed help from someone — someone wise and insightful in the Light side. None other came to mind than Jedi Knight Wyck. Vosrik had served with the century-old, pointy-eared consular during the great Tragedy of Ilum. Having returned to their studies after mourning their losses, Vosrik had stayed in the Temple to grow more in his knowledge of the Force. He witnessed how his friends were slaughtered that day, and if only he knew more then he could have saved them. Opening his eyes before the images of wanton death on Ilum flooded his memory, Vosrik stepped off the horribly comfortable cushion and exited his chambers.

He walked through the halls of Ossus, trying not to remember how full they used to be. He didn't know a time before the great war, but he'd heard such happy stories and memories from Wyck. That was another deeper reason that he enjoyed the little green alien's company — he gave Vosrik hope. Hope for better times and a renewed Jedi Order, not the fractured and unstable organization it was today. Another Jedi by the name of Shiro gave Vosrik this same hope, but also an achievable goal to help work towards. Being a consular himself, Shiro offered to mentor Vosrik in exchange for occasional ventures outside the Temple, as he seldom left the Archives himself. Seeing as Vosrik was much more proficient in combat than the man who seemed to spend night and day in the great library, he happily obliged. This led to a string of outings that became progressively stranger and more troublesome, but Vosrik accepted anyway "in the name of knowledge", as Shiro put it. That's when things went awry.

One day, the dark-haired man asked him to visit a planet that had been especially ravaged by the Exiles. In a cave along the mountainside, Vosrik would hopefully find a tome which would apparently unlock great mysteries of the Force. Following his instructions obediently, as always, the Jedi Knight found a tomb filled with scorched bodies and piles of rotten flesh. Furthermore, the place was heavily tainted with the Dark side — but Vosrik followed blindly anyway and retrieved the book for Shiro. The light he saw in the fellow consular's eyes was not reassuring.

"Oh — pardon me," Vosrik apologized as he nearly collided with a youngling carrying a rather large pile of books. The thought of a little one who hadn't seen the horrors of war brought a smile back to his face, and he patted the boy's head as he continued on. Vosrik had been deep in though indeed, as he was already at the door to Wyck's chambers. Raising a hand pensively, the Jedi Knight knocked firmly on the door. Hopefully Wyck would be willing to listen and guide Vosrik in the way of the Light.

@Malon @Shalken​

 

[Malon]

Rare it was, that Wyck found himself on Ossus. The planet—and its temple—were the home of the Jedi Consulars: a sect of the Jedi Order who were devoted to the preservation of the knowledge of the Jedi, as well as churning out the next generation of Jedi emissaries and diplomats. More, it was the home of the Jedi Great Library. While Wyck was passionate about these things, he preferred not to settle down on any one planet. His missions had taken him all across the galaxy, salvaging the lost secrets of the ancient Jedi in order to rebuild the Order into what it once was; but also to worlds broken and hurting from the conflict. The tiny Jedi had just returned from such a mission and found himself tired, mentally and physically. Old age would not set in for him for several more centuries yet, but today he felt every one of his one hundred and fifty-four years.

Old these bones have become, he thought as he sat on the cushion in the center of his chambers, meditating. Yet much work there still is to do.

The Force was still strong on Ossus and un-blackened by the darkness of war. Wyck only came when he needed to find his center again and to seek answers from the Force. As he meditated, the currents of the Force revealed the conflict all around him. The Jedi Order was not just diminished in number, it was broken in spirit. After Ilum, many Jedi still questioned their purpose. Even Wyck, with over a century of Jedi experience under his belt, found himself momentarily questioning his place in the galaxy after such an event of cataclysmic death. But no more. The Force had shown Wyck his purpose and, today, it had brought another soul to him—longing for healing.

He heard the knock. "Come in, come in," the tiny alien beckoned. He let go of his meditation to open the door with a thought. "Ah, young Vosrik. Good it is, to see your face. Sit, hm, sit, sit. Troubled, you seem. Clear your mind and tell me what dampens your spirit so."

@Vosrik @Shalken

 

[Vosrik]

Warmth filled Vosrik's heart as he heard the familiar and welcoming voice of Wyck. For a moment, he'd doubted whether the fellow Consular would actually have been here instead of abroad looking for valuable tomes to help rebuild. The door to his chambers slid open, and Vosrik entered with a wide smile. No matter whether Wyck's comrades were younglings or hardened veterans, they were always "young master Jedi" to the Consular. Not in a condescending, arrogant tone though — always endearing and gentle like the heart of a true Jedi.

"Wyck, I'm so glad you're here," Vosrik greeted in return, sitting down on another confounded meditation chair across from Wyck. Taking a deep breath as instructed, he cleared his mind as best he could. "I've had some...very troubling experiences recently." Folding his hands in his lap, Vosrik's mind wandered back to his recent ventures. They were unpleasant, but he had to do this. This was the only way he could gain closure and find how to move forward.

"After returning from Ilum I...I didn't really know how I could help. How I could help rebuild and heal the Galaxy after all the pain and suffering that we've been through. But I found someone, another Consular like us, who spends nearly night and day in the library. He offered to mentor me if I'd run some errands and tests for him." A cold shiver rushed down Vosrik's back as he remembered the dark cave, but he forged onward. "At first, everything seemed normal. A crystal here, a relic there. Then I was tasked with finding a tome...but one written by an Exile and left in one of their ritual sites. I was too blind to even question it, but then came the experiment."

His folded hands unclasped and ran up his arms, dark visions clouding Vosrik's memory. "The Jedi, Shiro, came with me to a village that had been plagued by a small gang of criminals. We tracked them down, but not before we saw the horrible state the citizens were in. The scum had even captured a few of the women, torturing them and..." he trailed off, shaking his head of the awful sight. "I just, I just got so angry. I think Shiro goaded me on too — I was taken over by such hatred. Part of me knew it was wrong, but Shiro had convinced me that I was doing it in defense of those poor people. I remember it clearly now, I stretched out my hands and something bright sparked between my fingers — but I knew it wasn't the Light side."

Vosrik paused, letting his words sink in and drooping his head. "I didn't strike the criminals, but I think it was too late. I was driven that far, and Shiro thought nothing of it. We simply captured the men and brought them back to the village for justice. I...feel such guilt, Wyck. I want to redeem myself, put myself on a better path. What can I do?"

@Malon @Shalken ​

 

[Malon]

"Hmmm," muttered Wyck, who stroked his chin creased with a century's worth of wrinkles. He listened intently, digested all of what Vosrik had confessed to him, before speaking again. "The story of many Jedi of late, yours is. Troubling, yes, very troubling, but not beyond repair." The wizened Jedi chuckled; his black eyes glimmered.

"Dark times these are for the Jedi," he continued, gesturing with a clawed finger. "There, I was, when our exiled brethren discovered the dark side and fell away from the ways of the Jedi. Yes, old am I, and seen many things, I have. Those Jedi, tempted by knowledge they were. Hmm. Power, domination, yes, but knowledge most of all. For a Jedi, a powerful tool knowledge is, but careful we must be when consuming it, for tempting can its secrets be. Especially forbidden knowledge. Yes, quickly do such pursuits result in greed."

For a moment, his old face creased and he fell silent as he thought about how best to help the troubled youth in front of him. Again, he stroked at his aged chin before coming to a definitive answer. "This Shiro you mention: know him, I do not. But careful you must be. For it was the dark path he was searching for, and a darker one still was he leading you on. Yes" This time he pointed to the youth. "to the light side must you look. Books, tomes, holocrons, and crystals—help you, they can, and guide you in troubled times. But only the light side of the Force can provide a Jedi with the knowledge they truly seek. Meditate. Search the Force for answers. There, an answer to your question, you will find."

And with that, the old Jedi Knight smiled again.

@Vosrik @Shalken

 

[Vosrik]

Even as the wise one began speaking, Vosrik could feel the unease and trepidation leaving his troubled mind. He listened carefully as Wyck recounted the times before the war, before the Exile's reign of terror began. As their sad tale was briefly retold, Vosrik became convinced that Shiro might have fallen down that same path the Exiles a hundred years ago did. The consular continued on to warn Vosrik of his former mentor, and point him in the path of the Light. He nodded in solemn agreement, resolving to do exactly as instructed. The only way to combat the Dark Side was with the Light, and Vosrik decided to study it completely.

Returning Wyck's smile, Vosrik nodded again and replied. "Thank you...I think that's exactly what I needed to hear. But there's something else on my mind." The Jedi scratched his chin, the growing stubble crackling familiarly against his fingertips. "Shiro needs to be shown his error and stopped. If I've learned anything about the man over the months, it's that he is completely and utterly dedicated to his studies. That's the reason he wanted me to help — so that he'd never have to leave the Archives. Shiro spends night and day reading in there..."

Vosrik got up from the chair, looking imploringly at Wyck. "I owe nothing to him, but he needs to be confronted. Who knows what else he could uncover? I might have been the first Jedi to nearly fall, but we could have a traitor among us right this moment. You know how much I hate to interrupt your time here, but Shiro would merely blow me off. Would you come with me to question him?" If left unchecked, Vosrik knew they could one day have another darksider in the very temple. They needed to know where Shiro's loyalties lie.

@Shalken @Malon​

 

[Malon]

It was times like these when Wyck wished he were a better Jedi. Closing his eyes and opening himself up to the currents of the Force, he probed for an answer—for a direction he should go—but only saw what he already knew: many paths lay before him. In one, he saw the shadowy figure of Shiro as a traitor and Dark Jedi. In another, he saw the young Jedi redeemed and on the path back to the light. Yet, others, he saw the many Jedi sent after Shiro turned to darkness, Vosrik and himself among them. The thought troubled him as he opened his mind and regarded his friend cautiously.

"See the answer, I cannot," he admitted. "The shroud of the dark side covers everything. Hmmm. Yes, but, right you are. Allowed to taint this temple and its students, this Shiro cannot." He considered a moment longer. "Go with you, I will, and confront this Shiro myself. Careful we must be, Vosrik. Clear our minds and trust the Force we must, or succumb to the dark call, we could."

Wyck took a moment to do just that. With a clear and centered mind, he could better analyze the challenge that lay before them. Though he was an older Jedi than most on Ossus, he also knew that the wasn't infallible. In fact, he knew from experience that it was only when a Jedi thought themselves above the Fall that they were most likely to succumb; and he had long promised himself that he would never make that mistake.

Directing a thrice-clawed hand towards his endtable, he called to his lightsaber through the Force, and it answered, swooshing into his tiny hands. There, he clipped it to his sash and stood to his full height. "Come. Take me to him. Many questions have I for him."

@Vosrik @Shalken

 

[Vosrik]

Thinking back on his experiences with Shiro, Vosrik couldn't recall the knowledge-bent Jedi ever actually using a lightsaber. He placed a hand on his own gleaming silver hilt, mentally preparing himself for combat but hoping Shiro would see reason. "Thank you, Wyck," Vosrik replied. "This means a lot to me." His previously unsure and worried countenance had returned to its usual optimistic and cheerful state, emboldened by Wyck's presence.

"He'll definitely be in the Archives," Vosrik thought out loud. "I thought he was rather odd that way, rarely eating or sleeping. Most of those Jedi texts are hardly...page turners." While valuing relics and precious information as much as any other Consular, Vosrik preferred directly applicable knowledge above theories and philosophies. Thankfully the great library here on Ossus was relatively untouched by the great war, though much was lost when the Temple on Tython collapsed so long ago. As they passed through the halls, Vosrik attempted clearing and centering his mind on the Force as Wyck had done. He must not let his feelings of betrayal from being led astray influence how they confronted Shiro.

The shelves of the library were nothing short of immense. Spanning from the floors to the high ceilings, the knowledge contained in these texts would take lifetimes to study. The thousand years of peace before the war had produced many great works. Scanning the hall, Vosrik searched for the familiar studious face of his former mentor. In a dark corner at the far end of the Archives, bent over a desk, Shiro was intently examining no less than seven or eight books. Striding closer, Vosrik cleared his throat and declared, "Shiro, you have some answering to do."

@Shalken up next! @Malon​

 

[Shalken]

Shiro flipped feverishly through the hoary tome on his desk amidst a pile of several other books and pages. There must be something in here that would help the Jedi in their plight against the Exiles, he was sure of it! ...Dominating Kyber crystals, intriguing but irrelevant...various Dark rituals, he might peruse those later...wait. Vosrik was approaching, but so was someone else. Smoothly closing the dark book, he pulled some adjacent scrolls over its cover. He was slightly irked his work was being interrupted, but delays were inevitable.

Looking up, he spotted the familiar figure of young Vosrik, but the person who accompanied him was far more interesting. Knight Wyck, the small green creature that was responsible for the recovery of most of Tython's texts before its ruination. Long had Shiro envied Wyck's vast intellect, for in spite of all his efforts to match the venerable Jedi's knowledge of the Force, he could not possibly gain what the green Consular had in years of experience — and that irritated him. They had barely spoken and yet Shiro considered Wyck to be his intellectual rival. But for now, he clouded such feelings of petty hostility.

"Vosrik, Wyck! It's good to see you both," he greeted disarmingly, standing up from his desk to properly face the two. "Answering?" he chuckled lightly, "Heh, well of course! That's my job as a librarian, yes? Here to answer your every question, to the best of my abilities obviously." He bobbed slightly in a short bow. His brow wrinkled in concern as he addressed the younger of the two Jedi, "Is something wrong? Vosrik, if this is about the errand I sent you on earlier, please — think nothing of it! We're at war, and these sorts of things are bound to happen. Tragic, I know, but we're here to stop it all, right? Still, I'm sorry I had to send you out there. I've been very busy, you know..." he droned on, gesturing to the mess of books and papers that littered his desk. "...yes yes, very busy. But never mind that. How may I help you, kind sirs? Having trouble finding something?"

@Malon @Vosrik​