Ask Benders and Bookshelves

[Nakoa Singh]

Yavin, newly occupied by the Sith, was actually not all that different from how it was when the Jedi were sitting on it. Their living in it was actually pretty funny from Nakoa's point of view, considering all the old temples were actually built by ancient Sith. The species, not the order. He wondered if the "purebloods" were getting any royalties off that or if they were mostly just left to starve in the desert about it—questions for later.

Questions for now were more focused on the books he and Arla'd robbed- or 'procured' if one was pretentious about it- from an abandoned cave on Ambria. Of the various culturally dead languages scholars in the Empire read or spoke, Zeffo wasn't really one of them. It mostly existed in writing or references to other annoyingly rare Zeffo literature. Nakoa had been scouring the Empire's various temple archives for crumbs of linguistic context. It took longer than he liked because the academies didn't like sharing their rare books with the others, even after the Kaas archive exploded that one time.

Jedi, on the other hand, loved sharing their stuff with other Jedi. Or at least Nakoa assumed as much. As it happened, he found one book that then referenced another tome that quoted some other books and... This kept going kind of like that so he contacted Arla about it. She'd probably be interested in the library anyway. Whenever she showed up, he'd be at some random desk surrounded by piles of books and an especially chaotic notebook, dressed in a basic tunic with his tortoiseshell glasses perched on his nose.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla felt like she pretty much never actually had any contact with Jedi, which seemed to be an anomaly among the Sith who found time to fight with, sleep with, dance with, and every other "with" the Jedi all the time. That being said, Arla was a curious person, and she wanted to know more about the Jedi, so when Nakoa had mentioned meeting up on Yavin, she'd practically leapt at the idea.

The forests of Yavin were beautiful, and far less deadly than Dathomir. Walking through them and to the temples from her ship had been relaxing, and put her in an even better mood.

She made her way inside, wandering around lost for a little bit before finally finding the library. She probably could have spent hours wandering among the architecture, but... well, that would have to come a different day.

Hey, she said, wandering in and not really keeping her voice down. From the looks of things, most Sith weren't interested in perusing the Jedi library. Or maybe they just weren't allowed to. Not that anyone had been here to stop them.

Looking for Zeffo stuff? she said, wandering over to the terminal he was at. Harder than finding ur-Kittât stuff in the Sith archives. Mo-- she caught herself and cleared her throat, not even missing a beat. I always heard Jedi had magic, but just tried to pretend they didn't. Didn't trust it or something... typically Jedi and dumb.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

"Hey," Nakoa repeated back, marking his page with a bookmark and looking up at Arla. He squinted slightly through his glasses, then took them off, forgetting they were even there. "Lookin' for Zeffo stuff." Arla cleared her throat and the Wrean wordlessly slid over a lemon-flavored cough drop. "Yes, dumb. From what I could find in general, Jedi historically have stupid opinions about how the Force works." He plucked a small scroll from a pile and offered it over.

"This one talks about how healing through the Force is evil and goes against the natural order." These days, healing through the Force was pretty well-accepted as a thing Jedi could do. That sort of debate probably didn't last as long among the Sith because the Sith killed people. Something like that. "Most stuff that sounds to me like magic they call 'being misguided'." He shrugged in a sarcastic sort of way.

"This one, though, is really old." Nakoa passed over dataslate with the digitized journal of one Master Illaga, vol 2. "I'm looking for more of his stuff in the hope it helps somehow." The dataslate's current page had an underlined passage that included the words 'Sabracci Sages' on it.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla plopped down in a chair, reaching across to take a look at the book for herself. Jedi are weird, she muttered to herself. Are they actually dumb? They spout being the "extension of the Force" and being "one with the Force" but then they shun entire aspects of it, she said, frowning and shaking her head.

Whatever, I guess. Their loss. Guess they just are dumb, she said with a sigh. She didn't envy ignorance.

She pawed through several more books only partially related to Zeffo and glanced at the line underlined.

Sages? she muttered. Who are they? Something like the Shapers of Kro Var? she asked, wondering what he'd divined from the book.

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa nodded sagely. At some point, he was determined to corner a Jedi and force them into a philosophical debate, but since all the ones still on Yavin were buried and/or burned, that didn't seem likely today. He didn't bring his ouija board. For he was content with the sentiment that Jedi were dumb. "I bet it was about this empty when the Jedi still lived here," he snickered,.

Amber-gold eyes settled on Arla's features with a look of mild bemusement. "The Shapers of what? Are they sculptors?" The young man was well-read but he didn't know everything, as much as that was a personal goal of his. He put his glasses back on and found one of the pages in his notebook. "According to the snippets I've found, they were a Zeffo monastic group studying the interaction between the Force and the laws of physics. They figured out some odd interactions. There's some concept notes in there, but nothing directly translated."

He trailed off, wiggling his fingers to telekinetically rearrange the stacks of books and datapads, then picked up a paper folder filled with stacks of flimsiplast notes and pictures. One particular picture was slid out, showing a robed, middle-aged Jedi standing on wall of the Coruscant temple. Standing upright, with every indication that gravity for the man was sideways toward the wall, despite another Jedi standing on the actual floor next ot them.

"Weird, right?"

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla scoffed at his comment about the Jedi archives being empty when the Jedi were there. They're not the only ones, she said. Sith archives are empty half the time, too. Too many people wanting to be Sith Warriors. Even the Sith assassins are sometimes studious, but nobody takes the time to really study and learn, she vented, shaking her head in disapproval before moving on.

No, the Shapers are... mystics. They have a connection to the magicks beyond the Veil, particularly the elemental spirits. They live on Kro Var and lead their clans, she said.

She frowned and leaned forward to look as he explained who they were.

Hmm, any indications of where they practiced? Were they on Zeffo? she asked. The Zeffo spread out all over the galaxy, right? So they could be anywhere, she said.

She looked at the picture, squinting slightly. Looks kind of like the Touch of the Kiin'Dray. Let's you cling to surfaces with your arms and legs, she said. She'd heard some people call it "spider climb" for slang, but that was not the technical term.

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Well, this was fun. He leaned in conspiratorially. "I met this big Feeorin Sith Warrior who I'm convinced hasn't read anything in his life." The guy was basically a brick with a lightsaber. Really he didn't get it; half the time Darth Raze was spotted in the wild, it was in a library reading something, and that man was a massive wall of muscle known for conquest and battle prowess. What're these Sith afraid of, that they might learn something?

But they moved on. "All of them?" he asked curiously about the Shapers. "My people are most familiar with water. A surprise, I'm sure." Nakoa flipped through the pile of notes. "Phatrong, a high-gravity jungle and mountain world." Said so in the journal. His attention returned to Arla- glasses taken off again- as she mentioned climbing up walls. "That seems extremely useful," he commented with obvious interest.

"But look, see?" he poked the printed picture where the Jedi's robes were hanging down toward their feet, not the ground. "It's like they're ignoring gravity, not just stuck to the wall." Nakoa 'hrrm'd to himself, face scrunching up toward the picture. "I'm gonna check another section. Think they have anything about the Shapers in here?" He stood up, but waited for her answer first.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

She frowned and then shrugged at his question.

I don't think all of them can, but all the Clan Leaders? I'm not really sure, never actually met them, but they've had a few run-ins with the Nightsisters in the distant past, she said. Sounds like they became leaders because of their power, she said.

Never heard of it, she said as he mentioned Phatrong. That where we're off to then? she asked. Despite enjoying history and time in the library, it was coming through that she was eager to get on the move.

Oh, it is useful, she said with a nod. I read something from Darth Plagueis that implied he knew a similar tradition, she said, though he had called it something different and it was barely a footnote in the writings she'd recovered.

Weird, she said, craning her neck to look at the angle of the robes.

The suggestion to look for something on the Shapers intrigued her. Oooo, I wonder, she said, popping up and heading over to the shelves to start looking.

You know, you haven't really told me anything about your culture. You have some unusual traditions, too. It didn't seem like Sith sorcery, she said, more curious to get an explanation than anything. She knew it was likely that - like the Nightsisters - they were protective of their teachings and traditions.

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa's fingers tippity-tapped across the desk, eyebrows rising with undisguised curiosity. "Contact with Nightsisters? That feels rare." He wasn't exactly an expert but they seemed secretive and isolationist, mostly. Even as part of the Empire, Dathomir was generally off-limits to outsiders. These Shapers must be interesting if the native Dathomir people had contact with them.

"Best lead so far," he said of Phatrong, although in truth he hadn't heard of it until recently either. Allegedly they made knives and metal hats over there. "Plagueis knew it? What writing is it?" Nakoa loved finding new things to read and had the feeling Arla was a font of such things. Then, it was off to the bookshelves.

He strode off toward an especially dusty corner mostly filled with collected works written by individual members of the Jedi Order that its newest iteration had managed to recover somehow or other. Many of the writers weren't 'famous'- with exception of a bit by one Dooku regarding telekinesis that was practically required reading to this day- and so went unnoticed. Nakoa's head popped up over a short shelf when Arla made her comment, eyeing her through the forest of dust and books.

"You haven't asked lately. Unusual how?" was his plain answer and subsequent request for clarification. The shaman crouched back down behind his shelf to continue his search. "Well. It's not Sith sorcery." It took him at least an extra second to realize that answer by itself sounded dismissive and also probably wasn't what Arla meant. "It's called Vodun. Or Sihr, depending on the language." A couple of books and a dataslate were placed atop the shelf.

"Want to play twenty questions?" It was clear in his voice that he was smirking as he said it, although he was serious. It could be fun.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

One of his journal logs talking about his assassination of King Veruna, she said in response to the question. He hadn't gone into great detail in that writing, but that didn't mean there weren't others. Indeed, she did know a great deal about the books and histories of the Sith.

Unusual as in it takes incantation, which is not usual, she said. Yes, the definition of unusual was not usual.

Wow, thanks. I'm glad you're here to clarify these things for me, she said, words dripping with sarcasm at his initial response. "It's not Sith sorcery" was the part she had pretty much figured out already. Fortunately, he went on to answer some of her question... kind of, though he was still being evasive, though whether intentionally or not she couldn't decide.

Hmm, she hummed, thinking about the name and filing it in her memory before noting the name down so she wouldn't forget.

Are you being intentionally evasive and wanting me to stop asking questions or is this an accidental thing? she asked, just blurting it out in her excessively direct fashion. Even his offer of 20 questions she couldn't quite tell if he was just joking or not.

She almost immediately became distracted from her own question as she found a book.

Ooooo, a... she frowned ...well, it's not really a book, but it's something about the Shapers, she said, holding up what could probably best be described as a small pamphlet more than an actual book.

 

[Nakoa Singh]

King Veruna wasn't a figure Nakoa knew anything about, but they sounded like nobility. He'd have to ask about that later, if he even remembered they existed after five or so minutes. The journal, though, he did commit to memory. Nakoa looked pensive as Arla elaborated on what she meant by 'unusual', then smirked.

"You're welcome." Arla added a direct question and Nakoa popped up over the shelf again, bemused. Evasive? He wasn't being evasive. "I'm not being evasive." There was a short pause. "I won't always notice a leading statement is meant to be a question." Equally direct in return, which was his preference anyway.

"If I don't want to answer something, I'll say so. Just ask." And he was about to get back to the 'unusual incantations' thing when Arla held up a pamphlet. Nakoa strode over with the things he'd found and once again put his glasses on. "What is this, a want ad?" Which was his way of showing annoyance at how limited a source it was. "Oh, coordinates." The change in tone from emotionless/annoyed to emotionless/interested was, hopefully, something Arla could pick up or at least get used to.

"Speaking is part of how we focus. It narrows thought and purpose toward our ends. Like... Throwing a hand forward to push someone away. True word becomes true action, is the idea. My tribe uses, uh- your word was 'incantation'?- in an older language called Thaloglossía, said to be derived from an even older language gifted by ocean spirits. Thaloglossía itself is a word from modern Tethysian which means-" And he just kept going on a tangent about language, now. What had Arla unleashed?

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Hm. Fair enough, she said, appreciating his equally direct responses. She just didn't have the patience for verbal sparring, and it seemed he didn't value it either, which was a big plus in her book.

He looked at the pamphlet and so did she. Off to Kro Var, then? At worst we can learn something unrelated there, she said. Elemental combat and control had all sorts of uses particularly in self defense and assaults.

As he launched onto his tangent about speech and incantations, she listened very closely, making absolutely no attempt to interrupt for a long moment before finally deciding she had her own thing to add.

So you derive your power from elemental spirits? Water spirits? Do you summon elementals in your traditions? she asked, trying to tie together points of intersection with her Nightsister magick. It was very rare that she got to really nerd out with someone who wasn't a Nightsister and had equally deep traditions.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa nodded decisively, the miscommunication solved in seconds. Perfect. "Off to Kro Var." Elemental manipulation wasn't uncommon among Tethysian shamans, but it also wasn't designed around war. He had, after all, become a wanderer to learn and gather things out in the galaxy. Of course he'd go!

He smoothly changed topics when Arla made a follow-up question. "Many kinds of spirits and a few gods, the principle of which is Thálassamitér, Mother of Seas. She guides Fatemarked to become ancestor spirits when they die. Ocean spirits- different- aren't necessarily water spirits, but we commune with them." He paused. "Define 'elemental'?" Basic was not his first language and he wasn't sure what definition Arla was working with.

Meanwhile they'd make their way out of the library with whatever digital book or document copies they needed, strolling out into the humid jungle air toward the landing pads.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla listened curiously as they headed out to her ship, climbing aboard as they continued to discuss.

Elementals: creatures of pure, intelligent night, sunlight, smoke, ice, flame, clay, and woodrot, she said, like it was obvious that those were the elemental spirits.

There are also water spirits as well, but they don't make as good of elemental totems, so I'm not sure any of those are ever made, she said, now getting more into the theoretical.

But I think the Shapers have more interaction with water, fire, wind, and earth spirits, she added. Perfect that that was where they were going.

So Ocean spirits are different from water spirits? she asked before tilting her head back and forth. Actually, that makes sense. We have interaction with the storm spirits, but those aren't the same as water, she said.

The ship began to lift off as the pilot droids took over, setting a course for Kro Var and... whatever they were going to find out there.

So your language is an invocation for Ocean spirits, then? she asked. That made some level of sense, but was still a bit peculiar to her. The more she learned, the more languages she learned were derived from the Spirits. She supposed it made sense, while Dathomir may have been the most potent focal point for it all, it surely couldn't be the only one.

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Nakoa gave her a flat look. "Just making sure." Then he nodded. "We do. Although... not all of those things you said." He was quiet for a moment. "Moon, sun, stars, coral, heat, cold, stone," were offered as his own examples, although certainly, neither list was thorough.

A slight smirk formed on the Wreans face. "Spirits of water are fickle, aren't they? They take patience." The prospect of studying other aspects and philosophies of the Force seemed to put a subtle pep in his step as they went up the ramp into Arla's fancy ship. It was far different from his flying boat of little gravitas. Nakoa dropped his backpack wherever there was an empty space for it.

"Yes. Oceans are also current and stillness, sun and moon, wind and storm, coral and deep black stone, life and death. Soft is the sea, but not weak." A hint of fond nostalgia crept into his voice. He found a seat and sat down for the jump to lightspeed. This modern ship didn't need passengers buckled down because of its modern, high-grade inertial dampeners.

Nakoa stared at Arla for a few seconds, brows slightly lowered as he puzzled out what her question meant, finding the wording somewhat unclear to him. "Sort of? I speak as the spirits do, so the spirits listen. " Long fingers came up to his dark hair, combing through it a moment before retying the messy bun into a somewhat neater one.

"Patterns and beliefs vary between sects and tribes. Most shamans are called 'Shamans of the Great Current' or 'Shamans of Fate', broadly. They come from Wreans who are fatemarked, and when they die the Mother of Seas claims their souls. Others are-" The Wrean shaman seemed to be threatening another tangent, but paused and tilted his head slightly at Arla, brows raised with curiosity.

"An example may be easier. But I'd like to hear what your people believe, too."

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla was fully prepared to settle in for a tangent about the beliefs of the Wrean when he seemed to stop. The way he spoke told her that he missed his home because it was the same look she had when she often spoke of Dathomir.

Sounds like you miss it, she stated matter-of-factly.

Ultimately, though, he asked what her people believed and thought. We pay homage to the Fanged and Winged Spirits, she said. They are the King and Queen of nature: one for nurture and growth of plants and grazers and the other for the predator, she said.

There are many spirits, of course, but we have most interaction with either the spirits of nature of the spirits of the dead and our ancestors, she said.

The ancestors are never really gone, just retreated beyond the Veil to become one with the power of the Shadow, she said. Arla had seen enough of that to know that it was true even if most Force-users never really understood that.

 

[Nakoa Singh]

"It's like nowhere else," he confirmed with a hint of wistfulness and a knowing expression. Listening intently to Arla's brief tale about her own people's traditions, Nakoa's eyebrows dropped pensively somewhere in the middle of it. The Wrean's expression grew more openly thoughtful as Arla continued on, head slowly tilting to the left.

"We have an aspect called O-Kynigós, the Great Hunter, counterpart to the Mother of Seas. They of predators, shadow, and fury. Similar, no?" Nakoa's expression abruptly became a charming smile, sharp fangs evident in a way his little smirks didn't reveal. "We have so much in common." Then he chuckled and his face returned to normal. "An example as promised."

Both hands clapped together, a sudden sound among the ship's rumbling and geeky conversation. Nakoa spoke, the double tones of his voice smooth, sonorous, deep. "Irirangi yatahadath." The veil wavered for a second's time, wandering ghosts highlighted in shades of water. There were many dead these days in Yavin's upper atmosphere, some turning toward the voice that spoke.

It all faded away a moment later. Nakoa took a deep, slow breath. Amber-gold eyes moved from where they'd looked at nothing to find Arla's silver, flecked with gold like clear autumn lakes carrying fallen leaves reflecting moonlight. "I'm called a Shaman of the Wheel. Uncommon; most 'willmarked' don't have affinity with the spirits. Uh, Wreans are either Fatemarked or Willmarked, which describes what happens after death- " and he was off again, somehow moving into how these two roles worked on Tethysian society.

Meanwhile the ship would launch to lightspeed.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Sounds quite similar, she agreed. Perhaps it even was the same spirit just under a different name. It was difficult to say.

Arla watched closely as he made his motion and spoke the words. It was always so fascinating to her all the different cultures that had developed an attachment to the Force and its many aspects. She craved to learn them all.

She could see the spirits swirling around them, and she watched with the faintest smile gracing her lips. They were beautiful in their own way, and she appreciated the position that had allowed him to even cast such a spell. When he told her he was a shaman, she wasn't the least bit surprised. Two peas in a pod, they seemed to be.

She listened as he talked about willmarked and fatemarked as the ship jumped to hyperspace, but suddenly her interest in the Shapers was... well, it was still there, but she now had an entire new culture sitting in front of her to learn.

So then, how do you feel about the way the Sith practice? Only the Sith sorcery really seems to be in line with our people's techniques... at least in part. Most of them don't even have a concept of the spirits existing, she said.

@Mr. Teatime

 

[Nakoa Singh]

Arla smiling felt rare. Nakoa didn't actually think he'd seen her do that before. It caught his attention amidst the wandering dead, gone as the spirits too faded back beyond the veil. Hmm.

Singh smoothly paused his tangent, head tilting as Arla asked a question. His answer came quick with a snicker. "Largely? They were given a hammer and forgot it can do more than crack skulls." Sense of subtlety slipped from Sith fists, ever grasping ever higher. Nakoa shook his head.

"I feel the Sith have interesting methods and philosophy to study and learn, and that many of them don't. Like with books. Most 'sorcerers' I've seen are from other sects, like us. It's... confusing." The Wrean made a nose partway between a grumble and a tut of the tongue.

"Tales still tell of Empress Andruil and her magick, Lord Raze's psychic dominance, Caelestis with his mastery of flame, the power in Stolas' voice. Sith who can disappear so thoroughly into the Force that they can barely be said to be there at all, or alter the very laws of material and life itself for their own ends." His eyes had lit up, passion and wonderment for the subject shining through. "Even saber masters with intuition so fine-tuned they could dodge the rain in a hurricane." Followed by a heartfelt sigh.

"And then the rest just throw rocks. No interest in greater mysteries." Nakoa got more comfortable in his chair, eyebrows raised curiously as he met Arla's gaze.

"What do you think?"

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

His initial response wasn't really what she had meant, though it wasn't entirely wrong. She thought about what he said and it reminded her of a conversation she had had with a Sith in the library one time. He, too, had seen the value in studying rather than simply fighting.

Because the Sith recruit anyone and everyone who can wield the power, she said after a moment. Only a few people can actually become Sith Lords, and for every one of them there's dozens who can't, she said.

They're... she frowned, trying to remember the word she had read from one of the Sith during the Rule of Two era. ...Dark Side adepts, I think they're called, she said. People who could wield the Force and the Dark Side, fight with a lightsaber, and mimic power without truly being able to conjure it.

We need Sith Lords, and those are lacking, she said. Plus it's easier to wave a lightsaber around than to study and divine secrets that have been forgotten, she added.