Ask Crystal Knights

[Clove Vanhoop]

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Bri's friendly grin was especially welcome after everyone linked hands and the tiered connection brushed through Clove's body. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, maybe a fun little chat with Bri or Zathria because she hadn't met many other female Jedi, but it wasn't the grueling strain of regulating the connection's heat.

And none of it compared to the pressure Brienna, Crix, and Zathria must have felt in their key positions. Clove would've felt terrible for them at any other time, but she was focused on Force and doing everything she could to follow Zathria's orders without messing up. Any other emotion would have shattered her concentration.

The Jedi train eventually came to a slow, and within minutes, they were greeted by a spectacular tall wall made almost entirely of kyber crystals. The lava's light reflected off the surface of each crystal shard, causing it to flicker and shine with a delicate array of colors. It was lovely—no, lovely doesn't begin to describe how brilliant it was. Clove, like Brienna, let out an unexpected gasp. Even in her wildest dreams, she could never have imagined seeing something like that.

She returned her attention to the Force after the initial surprise had passed. There was a lot to feel and experience, especially while trying to regulate the heat and becoming increasingly exhausted, but one thing stuck out like a sore thumb. It was almost as if there was a small twinkling bell in the back of her mind, tugging at her.

A part of her wanted to abandon the Jedi Train and follow the tug wherever it took her, but a much larger part of her reminded her to not be selfish and be sensible and stay in line. And so she did.

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Tag @Nefieslab @Tulos @Brienna Lanaamer @Phoenix ​

 

[Reese Damado]

As the train of Jedi made their way across the ledge, the Knight’s displaying what a lifetime of dedication could achieve with the dispersing of the waves of heat, Reese found his eyes clenched shut out of fear of the fall before him. His own training still minute, he at least could sense his immediate surroundings with relative ease, keeping each sliding step across the chiseled stone in line with the others. It was something he had unknowingly been doing all his life but even so, Crix’ own guidance was undoubtedly aiding in keeping the Padawan on the correct course.

As the group finally slowed, Reese still kept his eyes tightly closed. He was no stranger to bumps and bruises but the possible descent he had last witnessed was like nothing he had ever experienced before. He wasn’t prepared to open his eyes only to see the bubbling rivers of lava below, vertigo potentially placing his life in danger. He was unaware that they were now inside the temple, instead muttering under his breath to himself.

”One foot after another. Come on, I can do this. Please let me be able to do this,” he whimpered, but as the hands of the Knights pulled away from his own, the Mirialan stumbled in fright whilst throwing his hands back to plaster himself against the rock face that had since opened up into the vast chamber they now occupied. Instead of salvation, he found himself on his ass with a panicked expression. His breathing heavy and uneven, Reese was soon comforted by the fact that he had in fact not fallen into the molten rock below but was rather presented with a scene unlike any other.

While the others all admired the crystal wall that adorned the far side of the chamber, Reese found that his admiration of the sight had almost caused him to forget to breathe despite the scare he had experienced. Judging by the faces of Crix and Bri, this was something that even they had never laid eyes on before and that this was something he would likely remember for the rest of his life.

”It’s…. beautiful,” Reese whispered, pushing himself to his feet and wiping the dust from the seat of his trousers. Suddenly, he couldn’t help but feel a tugging sensation coming from somewhere within the ruins. Beckoning him, begging him to come closer. Quickly looking amongst the others, he noticed that Lily’s expressions suggested that he wasn’t the only one. ”You feel it too, don’t you?” He whispered to her as he moved closer to his fellow Padawan, eyes scouring the chamber for whatever it was that was whispering in his mind. ”What is that?”

@Nefieslab (I'm sorry. We suck at the consistency) @LilyNion @ModernMarvel @Phoenix​

 

[Crix Aran]

An entire wall made out of Kyber Crystals and other, less important, crystals was not something that Crix had been expecting and he had even had some text to base this whole journey off. He had, wrongly, assumed that the "walls of crystal within the mountain" would be about stone walls peppered with crystals but, no, it seemed that they were here with an entire wall made out of them. One thing that they did better than the stone, however, was reflecting the heat away from the Jedi as they advanced toward the passage.

Stepping further into the open hall, away from the lava, also helped with the heat. That their destination was through the crystal passage seemed to be all but certain - after all, how could something so perfectly formed not be part of the will of the Force? What he could also feel, through the Force, was how something seemed to be calling to the Padawans.

Padawans who didn't have their own kyber crystals yet... ah.

"Clove, Reese."

Catching their attention, Crix gestured for them to follow him as he led the way into the passage carved through the crystals, deeper within the reflective prison.

"You can feel them calling to you because they're going to be your partners in a lot of ways. I want you to feel free to go search for them." he told her before cautioning them, "Go slowly. Go safely. And if you need help call out for one of the Knights."

Because finding your crystal tended to be an intensely personal thing and he didn't want to intrude on that even as he moved deeper into the maze of crystals. He had a tug of his own to follow and it had nothing to do with the kyber crystals.

@Phoenix @LilyNion @Tulos @ModernMarvel

 

[Brienna Lanaamer]

As the group of Jedi traversed further into the mountain, she was quick to notice that the crystals - both kyber and other - were much better at absorbing heat than the average stone was. It was definitely still warm, but Bri found she was perspiring a little bit less. Being the caboose of the Jedi train probably hadn't helped with that either. She tugged at a few of the tighter areas of her enviro-suit, in attempts to create small pockets of cooler air. The efforts were only mildly successful. I could go with some air conditioning right about now.

Bri traced her hand along the kyber crystal wall, stopping and poking at a few of the other types of crystals. She looked closely, imagining the history in her mind of what could have formed such a dramatic set of jewels. The pressure of the mountain, perhaps lava from long ago that had until only recently - in relative terms - had returned. The Knight hadn't done too much research into the formation of kyber crystals, or why they were present on some planets and not others.

The tunnelway opened to wider room, thankfully with much less lava. Bri turned her head, and spotted a familiar look on two of the Padawans, Reese and Clove. It was something that she had experienced herself, though much longer ago. The Knights could do no more for the younger learners. They'd be on their own to find their crystals and follow in the Force. Crix had sensed the same and offered a note of warning to the younger Jedi.

"Go slowly. Go safely. And if you need help call out for one of the Knights."

"Be careful!" Bri echoed with a smile, nodding at the two in front of her. After the Padawans were out of earshot, Bri turned to the two other Knights. "What sort of chances do you give them of success?"

@Phoenix @LilyNion @Tulos @Nefieslab

 

[Clove Vanhoop]

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When the half-Sephi caught the Mirialan's gaze, he revealed that he, too, felt the same thing she did. Her smile widened behind the mask, and she nodded quickly. "Yeh, I did!" She spoke back to him in a low voice.

Her Master had noticed the same thing and began to explain the significance of what they were about to do before she could ask what it was. They'd find a partner of some sort. Obviously, the previous discussion about crystals, as well as the mention of a partner, made her acutely aware that this wasn't just any partner: these would be their first crystals. Talk about a lot of pressure!

Still, she couldn't let that bring her down.

"We promise we'll be very careful!" She said with a big smile before looking around. For the time being, there weren't many options to go, so Clove and Reece could travel through the corridor together. Beyond that, only the Force knew whether or not their crystals were in the same location. She excitedly grabbed Reece's wrist and, if he let her, she began to make her way down the corridor while dragging him along, following the pull she felt through the Force.

"I have no idea if our crystals are in the same direction..." The half-Sehpi whispered to the Mirialan. "But let's try to stick together as long as we can, okay?!"

The heat was thankfully more tolerable when she was surrounded by the crystals, which she assumed absorbed some of the heat or something logical along those lines. Regardless, it was very welcoming because it meant she had to concentrate less on maintaining her own body heat and more on that little bell in the back of her mind beckoning her to find it.

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Tag @Nefieslab @Tulos @ModernMarvel @Phoenix ​