[Rhen Var] Frozen Memories

[Soran Jace]

Soran was glad for the heavy clothing he had on the moment the ship's hatch opened. To say Rhen Var was an inhospitable place was putting it mildly. The entire surface of the planet was frozen over, but some old records made mention this world used to be a lush world filled with forests and beaches bordering vast oceans. Now it was all ice.


The young Jedi wondered if his predecessors in the order had built a temple when the planet was lush or already frozen. Perhaps the answer could be found in this little expedition.


the wind and snow pelted the Jedi as they stepped off the ship, and Soran had to use his comm device to communicate despite being no more than a metre away from his fellow Jedi. The young man found the cold uncomfortable even underneath all the cold weather gear but he could only assume it must have been worse for a Nautolan. As far as Soran knew Glee Anselm was a tropical world, most probably about as foreign a climate from Rhen Var as could be found in the Galaxy.


“The data indicate the old temple should be about a klick north east of here! But if the wind keeps picking up we’ll be stuck here until it passes, do you still want to proceed!?” Soran shouted over the comms trying to hear his own voice over the wind. There should be no obvious danger on the planet but Soran was always careful, trying to think of most eventualities, and the idea of being stuck on this frozen planet was far from the most appealing.


From the little Soran had talked with his fellow Padawan on the way to Rhen Var, Umara seemed to have a deep seated interest in the old records and artefacts of the Jedi. Therefore Soran doubted they would be waiting or turning back but he at least felt better for asking. Simply hiking the one kilometre up towards the suspected temple location would be rough to say the least, yet the terrain did not allow for a ship to land any closer, these kinds of adventures were always difficult but it reminded Soran of something he read in an old Jedi text. “It will be difficult, but everything is at first. That is how you know it’s worth doing.” The young man thought out loud. What an odd time to be remembering old proverbs, then again perhaps not, they were on this frozen planet for the very purpose of uncovering ancient Jedi artefacts which most likely would be long lists of platitudes like most things the Jedi actually recorded. Still the fact that someone had put in the effort of record something meant it was worth knowing and protecting. At least it gave a deeper logical reason to be Rhen Var in the first place than just ancient and most likely cryptic wisdom of a long bygone era.


As far as Soran was concerned Umara was the more knowledgeable one in regards to ruins and ancient artefacts so Soran would most likely follow her lead as to how to proceed. If the data was correct it would be a hike to the temple but beyond that Soran had little knowledge on how to get past the doors. Assuming said doors were still standing and could be passed in the first place after centuries of abandon.

@Tetsu

 

[Umara]

The wind howled as they made their departure out into the arctic environment. Umara hated the cold, but had made the appropriate decision to wear an extremely heavy coat, mitten, and a thick woolen undergarment to help bear the wintery storm. She wore her chest plate over her undercoat and her overcoat covered it up. The scarf that she had wrapped around her green face left only her black little eyes peeping out from under the hood with some winter shield goggles to help her see.

She wanted nothing more than to go back aboard their vessel and partake in a hot beverage; however, she was too excited for their discovery. Her curiosity is what had brought her on this expedition to frozen world in the outer rim of planets. Her mittens could be transitioned into fingerless gloves if needed and her whole outfit made her look like some sort of wampa pelt wearing squid. Her tentacles shivered as she heard a familiar voice over the comm.

“We came here for a reason Soran, we have to push on...even if it’s dangerous.” She expresses as she pulled out her hiking pack filled with an assortment of camping and research equipment for them to use in the field (nothing combat related). She also packed her purgio blaster pistol into the pack with the safety on as she became visible in the heavy snow to the fellow padawan. Her lightsaber, securely on her belt dangled in the wind like a chime bell as she approached with all the heavy equipment.

“If we need to make a forward camp when we get to the site, I have everything we will need Soran, no need to worry!!!” She shouted over the comms, unnecessarily loud as the wind made it impossible for her to hear herself talking. She would hoped they would be able to retrieve their ship after the first planet rotation finished. She was beyond excited to see the ancient ruins of an old Jedi society that had long been forgotten to the ice and snow. She had been exploring in the archives one evening, and stumbled across some account of there being a force sensitive society from the planet’s past. She excitedly snatched Soran’s arm with her mittened hand, pulling him in the prescribed direction.


“How philosophical of you, I suppose that should help distract me from the cold.” She commented though clattering teeth. She was really cold. Luckily they were only about a kilometer from the archeological site. As they approached, one of the large citadels of the planet would slowly become visible the the pair as the approached, though they were fairly close at this point. The walls were covered in permafrost and rose high above them approximately three stories away. The structure was situated on a mountain side, the icy cold taking ownership of the temple.


They would approach what would look to be a solid stone door that stood about 5 meters high and 10 meters wide. The gigantic battlements had eroded, due to the snow and wind, causing the right door to appear collapsed and damaged. The doors would have what looked like strange marking and writings a circle in the middle being weathered away by the ages. The erosion had made any of the external glyphs in readable by the pair.


“Look! There it is!” Umara shouted with Glee as the pair would approach the mountain fortress.

@z0pu

 

[Soran Jace]

The trek through the storm, if only a short distance, was nonetheless slow and difficult. Yet there was little doubt that the very sight of what greeted the two Jedi as the crested over the top of the slope was worth every minute of the journey.


The ruins of the ancient Jedi temple towered over the frozen landscape, spires of dark stone contrasted the frozen white snow that surrounded everything. There was something majestic about the sight, true; but also a certain melancholy about it all. This was what they had lost, the time where the Jedi could build such structures in the open was gone. Yet there was hope now, the Sith had managed to mostly destroy themselves, the Republic was reborn and in time peace and prosperity would return. The new place of the Jedi in this new Galaxy was still something unclear, but it made the search for the order’s past all the more important in a way. Only by understanding the past could the Jedi help build the future.


The doors that must have once formed the main entranced had half collapsed, leaving only half of the set standing. The sheer size of the stone doors would have made it impossible for anyone to open them by normal means. Even using the Force the ten metres tall blocks of stone would have required multiple powerful jedi to pull them open. Soran wondered if there was sort of hidden mechanism that was used to open the way but it seemed unlikely. The right side door had almost completely collapsed but it left no really way inside and moving the rubble out of the way would take a considerable amount of time.


Yet Soran had an odd feeling, something was pulling towards the doors. Looking at his companion, the young man wondered if the Nautolan also felt it. “I feel something. It is as if something is calling me further in. Do you also sense it?”


The pull was strong and while Soran would listen for his fellow Padawan’s answer the young man would begin walking towards the still standing half of the set of doors. It felt as if the Force was guiding his steps rather his own conscious mind. Soran held out his right arm, not quite touching the stone door. Using the Force to attempt to move it would be impossible but, some instinctual pull made him reach out. Reaching out to within to stone door itself. Something was happening. For a brief moment the young Jedi felt as if the door “wanted” to move. Quickly turning around to look at Umara Soran called out. “I think we can open this. Not one person on their own; but the two of us might be able to do it.”

@Tetsu

 

[Umara]

The door was lulling Umara closer. She looked on with a gaze of wonderment as the force slowly attracted her attention to the door. It was strange that she felt so connected to such a place suddenly. It was as if she knew what to do as Soran expressed his similar feelings. “I sense it too, something about this place wants to be discovered.” She told the fellow padawan as she watched him begin the process of drawing the doors open with the force. Her body suddenly began to move, as if she were no longer herself.

Her hand reached forward, feeling the force pulling and working its way into the inner mechanisms of the door. She could feel her manipulation do the force conglomerating with that of Soran as she could feel the door moving on its own. The force guided the door to the side, revealing the inside of the Temple like structure to the pair of Jedi. This place, though having been abandoned for more than a century, still held a strong connection with the force. The castles of Rhen Var could hold secrets that even the Jedi of the current age were unaware of.

“Soran, this place is strong with the force...” she commented as she would look inside the building as the snowdrift slowly began to make to way into the now open draft. She would, without hesitation, begin making her way inside the building. The entrance hall was enormous, Umara thought to herself as she noticed the high cathedral like ceilings and tall support pillars. There looked to be painted images of people doing some sort of movement in mosaic as the young Nautolan took in the sights. The walls were plain but held sconces for old torches it seemed. The people here could have been a jovial tribe of force users.

The room itself was about 35 meters long and 15 meters wide. The hall lead down to a large set of metallic double doors that were left open, as if abandoned during an evacuation. To the right there seemed to be a simple arch way leading to a small auxiliary space while across from that room was another space that had once had a door but was now inaccessible due to the rubble. Umara’s curiosity was peeked as she wondered where they should explore first.

“Shall we go see what’s inside the castle?” She asked her companion as the cold was slowly becoming less brittle inside the building.

@z0pu

 

[Soran Jace]

Soran nodded at his companion, before beginning to step into the chamber. Almost no light penetrated the the large chamber making it difficult for Soran's human eyes to see. The Padawan took out his lightsaber and ignited the weapon. The viridian glow of the green blade filled the room, revealing some more of the details of the walls and the various designs. The symbols formed various patterns but nothing Soran could really make sense of.

The unknown symbols were accompanied of mosaics of people in what appeared to be series of movement and motions, perhaps some sort of ritual dance or prostration. Maybe even some mediation position or a combat sequence, without the context of the writing it was simply too vague to understand. At least at a simple glance.

Soran continued his way down the large chamber until he reached the open double doors at the other end, beyond them seemed the way went both left and right with no more markings on the wall to give any indication of what might lie either way. Yet on the floor of the junction was an elaborate mosaic symbol.

The detailed work had survived the passing of time quite extraordinarily well. The design was unfamiliar to Soran but a certain sense of... longing came over him from looking at it. It was as if he could intrinsically understand the meaning from simply looking at it. Looking over at Umara, Soran spoke "This... this is the Force is it not. A visual representation of how these ancients viewed the Force. In perfect balance. The light, the Dark both apart and within one another." The idea of Balance was not new to the Jedi, it was what the order fought for, that so long as people would seek the light it would keep the darkness at bay, while if the light stopped shining for but a single moment darkness would claim everything. What seemed odd to the young Jedi was the symbolism of the both the Light and the Dark being inherently present within the other. Did it represent the danger of falling from the light and the hope of redemption from the Dark being omnipresent? Or was it something else entirely? The Padawan suspected some of the more academically inclined Jedi would spend lifetime debating this.

After a while Soran felt the need to pry his eyes away from the floor and to open his sense to the area around him again. This place acted almost as a Force locus, drawing both the Light and the Dark to it. Keeping his sense open and attuned to the Force the Padawan began to feel as if something was almost calling to him on the right path. Wanting him to come forward. Soran conscious mind could think of many logical reasons not to do so, yet the pull in that direction made him want to disregard them all. Was it the Force itself? Or was it something different, something Darker?

Still the young Jedi searched his feelings, and all it told him was that to uncover the truth of this place, they would need go deeper and face whatever was calling out to the Jedi. Whether it was benevolent or not.

@Tetsu

 

[Umara]

Umara studied the interesting patterns as the walked slowly through the empty halls of an old civilization. The presence of the force within the fortress was undeniable. Was something here? Was the presence of the people here strong enough to create a Permanent Locus rift in the natural Force. She let her curious eyes wander as they entered the main room.

The dais in the middle held a magnetic presence as the physical representation of the ethereal Force was presented in some sort of diagram. “Indeed, this is quite fascinating” she commented as she drew her saber, igniting her own light blue beam to cast light on the artwork. She looked at it closely, wishing she had brought with her something to record this image as suddenly she felt a strange urge to look up at the two paths. She felt as if there was a string attached her her navel, attempting to pull her along toward the left path. The two hallways seemed to divide off in different directions.

“Soran I...” She began to say as she noticed the fellow’s movement towards the hallway on the right. Strange, she thought to herself privately as suddenly she too felt the pull of the force. It was something that could only be described as being like a fish on a hook. One could fight the call, but would eventually find themselves reeled into the boat. She accepted the Force’s calling, looking off towards her respective hallway. She wandered towards the opening, letting the darkness of the hall engulf her until she was alone in darkness, only guided by the blue light of her saber.

She was alone, and could definitely feel the conflict within this place as she slowly navigated the hall. She shined her light to the walls, seeing strange hieroglyphs and images of battles and peace alike. The darkness seemed to get thicker the deeper she ventured into the hallway. It was almost as if she was losing herself in the now what felt cavernous room. She moved her saber from left to right, searching for a wall, yet she found nothing. She felt completely isolated, as if in the vacuum of space. “Hello?” She called, her voice resonating like a steel drum down into the vast emptiness.

Suddenly there was a light, small at first, but gradually growing brighter as she moved closer to the object. This place had called them here to witness something, and she intended to uncover the mystery.

@z0pu

 

[Soran Jace]

Soran and Umara parted ways as each felt guided to opposite directions. The Jedi could feel the Force around him, as first it was gentle guiding hand, yet it was becoming more of a forceful drag. All light seem to vanish except for the one of Soran's lightsaber. the darkness became all encompassing. there was nothing, even Soran's steps on the dark stone floor sounded muffled, the humming of the lightsaber almost distant.

the Entire world seemed to succumb to Darkness, the Force became this oppressive smothering blanket of Dark Side energies around the Jedi. Soran became almost disorientated in the pitch black area trying to let his instincts guide his way forward rather to rationalizing something he could not like he would have been more prone to not so long ago. The Padawan almost entered a state of meditation as he walked through the darkness but his attention was caught by a faint sound carrying through dark. A sob? No a cry. It was then that a dreadful realisation came over Soran. He knew that cry, it was Meera's, not only that but another joined hers. It was Hask's, coming from the opposite direction.

What was going on!? They could not be there. They were both safe at home on Alsakan, they had to be! The second Soran was ready to sprint in the direction of one of the cries the one from the opposite direction became louder, prompting the young father to run back the other way, and so on so forth until he just stopped as the cries seemed to surround him entirely.

"This is not possible. This is not real. This not real. This is not real!" Soran knelled to the ground and covered his ears trying to chase away whatever illusion this was. It had to be an illusion, he refused to acknowledge anything else. "Of course it's real. It's all real. this is happening and it all your fault." Soran looked up at the familiar voice, a voice that normally brought him comfort. In front of him was standing Arial, the mother of his children. or at least something taking on the form of Arial. "They are dying Soran. They are suffering, because you brought them into this world, it all their fate will ever be. Pain and suffering." The Jedi turned away from the illusory Arial refusing to acknowledged it. "You can't turn away from me. I am dying and suffering because of you too!" The illusory Arial was now again in front of him despite not moving and Soran not turning around. Only now her upper body was riddled in scorch marks from blaster bolts. "You failed your duty as a Jedi! you decided to place your own little happiness over it and because that everything you love will die in agony! The entire galaxy hates the Jedi. Why would they not hate their family as well? You couldn't leave well alone, you had to hold on to this fake life that did not belong to you. We would have been happier and safer without your stain upon our lives."

Soran was once again a ball on the floor trying to shut away whet he was experiencing but the cries and voices were getting louder, not in his ears but in his head. It was all becoming too much, just too much. The young Jedi could not take it any more. As this Arial kept on repeating how much everything he ever done had been selfish and wrong. Soran jumped to his feet screaming. "NOOOOO!" He swung his lightsaber ready to strike at whatever was pretending to be the love of his life. yet in the split second before the made blade made contact, the Padawan stopped himself. "Too much of a coward to act?" Spoke the dark side Arial. In the brief moment before he would struck down this illusion, the glow of Soran's lightsaber reflected into the illusion's green eyes, prompting all the memories of the time he had shared with Arial over the past few years. there had been some bad one true, but there had been so much good, so much hope, so much laughter, in that brief moment these moments of hope and happiness what really came forward in Soran's mind. Not the fear of losing them, but the joy of having known them at all. Soran took a step back away from the illusion and extinguished his lightsaber. oddly enough a faint glow began to emanate from all around the room as if the darkness itself was slowly dissipating. "Everything you say is a lie. It is all completely wrong. I have failed so many times over the years. But Arial, Hask and Meera, they are not one of them. Everything I've done since they entered my life has been for them, so they could live in a better place. I am a Jedi, I seek and fight for the light, not because I can win, but because it is the light. The light of hope for the future. A future where my children will grow up and carry on that light after I am gone and where one they will inspire more to carry on that light. you can use every lie and trick you know. You can torture and hurt me, but you will never take that light away from me."

The young Jedi stood firm in front of the illusion for a few seconds that seemed to last hours. Suddenly it was gone but Arial's voice came from right being the young Jedi, only it was the gentle comforting tone he had come to love so much. "Then carry on your way, Jedi." This illusory Arial wore a simple white dress the type the real one never would be caught in, holding illusions of their two children by the hand on either side of her. behind them a faint glow of light guided Soran towards it. After a few minutes of walking Soran would himself back into a stone hallway of the ancient ruin.

Whatever this had been, it was truly the most horrifying thing he ever experienced. Yet for the pit in his stomach he still felt at the horror. Never before had this young Jedi felt so sure of the path he had taken as he made his way deeper into this ancient site.

@Tetsu

 

[Umara]

She approached the light, letting her feeling guide her through the now seemingly endless darkness. She was alone, and yet could feel the presence of something in the light as it quickly began to engulf the darkened space. It was filled, as if by a Big Bang, suddenly taking her to a place she felt familiar with, yet it seemed foreign. The landscape seemed like Jedi architecture but the building was ablaze with fire and the emotion of hatred. This sith? She thought to herself as she slowly ascended what formed into some sort of staircase. Her footsteps seemed to echo as if she were walking on a stone surface. She cleaned the landing of the stairs looking on into the ruins. Faceless bodies littered the floor and the building, a place of learning no doubt, had been destroyed by some malicious intent. Her body quivered as the scene shifted as if in fluid motion. She now stood, her lightsaber drawn, in the data chamber of the temple on Jedha. Her lite blade quivered with negative emotions as she looked at the split body that now lay on the ground before her. Had she killed this man? His Baskar’Gam marked him as a Mandalorian, but she was not a warrior by nature. She dropped her saber, the blade changing from blue to red in the distance as it kicked off.

In the distance she could see a young boy, his accusatory eyes filled with tears as he unleashed a scream of rage. “You killed my Baba! You murdered him!” The short entity shouted as Umara tried to defend herself. “I...I didn’t do this...this wasn’t me.” She shouted back as the shape morphed into a much older young man, one she couldn’t recognize. He activated a lightsaber, the red tint bringing a tremor of fear over Umara.

“Oh but it was, you told me yourself...my master.” The figure confirmed as he jumped into a wild attack. Umara called to the force to bring her lightsaber back to her hand. It spring to life at her command, the blue saber colliding with that of the young mans. She felt weak, almost older, as her strength seemed to fail her. She did her best to respond to the blows with blocks, but the increasing pressure of this stranger in the darkness was making it difficult to say the least. She felt a twinge if fear for death, and was confused by the whole disposition of this premonition. She could hear other voices in the void, Soran’s and that of maybe a woman. She only heard the echoes of words as she fought her own hooded figure.

She was granted, at each clash of the saber, what seemed like memories with this boy. His childhood, growing up as a Jedi, learning with other children. She felt almost emotionally charged as this visions seemed to be so real, as if originating out of her very imagination. “What does this mean!?” She shouted with with raw emotion as she struck back at the young man with a surge of aggression. Her eyes, the dark orbs of her people, swelled with tears that betrayed her emotions. “Murder, failure, betrayer, killer,” the words echoed in that haunting voice as she fought to remain alive. Something within her had been pulled out by the force, to test her strength. She was but one creature, and yet she knew that she had to let these emotions go.

She released her saber, letting it hang limp in her hand. She was so afraid of death, defeat, failure, and destruction that she had ignored the Jedi’s teachings. She realized that Force guided her actions and her emotions only clouded the force. Umara prepared herself for death as the figure cackled with glee before attempting to strike her down. As the heat of the saber approached her face suddenly the image changed once again.

The form that was before her was like the hooded figure before hand, young and handsome, wearing white robes. Majestic light filled the chamber as Umara began to realize her disposition. She felt a bit mystified as she looked up on the fellow. “Why have you come here?” It asked with a look of calm collection. She wondered that herself, as she didn’t even know what was here at the temple. “I’m here to uncover what the force is trying to share with me.” She expresses to the figure. She hoped that one day she might prove to be a stronger Jedi than she was now.

Regardless, the figure stepped aside and bowed. “You May pass, Jedi” it expresses with a tone of contentment. “I’ll be seeing you...Jedi.” It finished with an eerie tone of foreshadowing as she passed the figure and came into the main hallway once again. She noticed Soran too had passed his trial and was visibly shaken but physically okay.

“Are you okay?” She asked her companion in a shaky voice that could only confirm that they had both just experience some traumatic tests.

@z0pu