Ask Tython Shrouded in mystery

Fiach Dubh

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“Why?” Her voice echoed back at here, despite the fact her footsteps were not repeated as she walked along. Her eyes narrowed, even in the darkness.

She stopped and put her hands on her hips. “Am I my greatest fear? That makes no sense.”

“No sense…”


She inhaled sharply and exhaled slowly. Then she sat on the ground in a cross-legged position and emptied her mind of all conscious thought.

First there was nothing – just blackness as dark as her surroundings. Then she saw light – blinding light – and when it receded, she was in a room. It was white and clinical. There were two beds – no cots – in the room and both contained a baby. Both were blonde and looked similar, but they had precisely the same hue of lilac eyes.

“The tests are complete,” a disembodied voice said, as there was no-one in the room but the infants. “Good,” it was a different voice. Older, but with an unmistakeable hint of authority. “Now split them up – as far apart as possible. Let the experiment truly begin.”

Her eyes snapped open. She felt cold and was aware she was sweating profusely, her brow dripping. Was that a dream? A premonition? Surely not a memory?

“Time will reveal the answer,” came her voice. Except it was not an echo this time.

Fiach stood and turned and was surprised to find the exit just a few feet away from her. Walking through it, she saw her fellow Padawan sitting there.

“That was…interesting,” she said, which was always her term for something she found beyond rational explanation.

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Izel Thral

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"Indeed..." Izel replied to Fiach as her fellow Padawan returned. The Vratix had been somewhat disheartened by her own vision, but she tried to trust in the will of the Force. "This temple is quite the peculiar place. Shall we continue? I wish to see what else it has to offer..." She wanted to continue their exploration elsewhere, to help distract from these discouraging thoughts.

Once Fiach was ready to leave Izel would begin down another passageway, this one leading them on an incline leading deeper underground again. As they continued along the tunnel the sound of running water would begin to grow louder and louder. Izel clicked in bemusement as she walked.

"Do you hear that?" She asked, her imagination starting to run again. "Do you think that could be a natural spring? Or perhaps an irrigation system?" She ran a hand along the cold stone wall as she kept walking. "When I was on Ifrane Masters Zapan and Tionson spoke to me about how the Force may be used to alter a planet slowly over time. Do you think the Je'daii, or whoever built this place, might have used the Force to bring water to this underground temple?" In Izel's mind the Force had a limitless number of potential applications, only a fraction of which had been attempted and recorded. It was something she hoped to one day explore in her own research. Perhaps when she was a full Jedi Knight.

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Fiach Dubh

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Fiach nodded absent-mindedly. “I don’t know precisely what I was expecting but this most likely wasn’t it.” In truth, she was more affected by the recent vision than she would share. “But that does not mean we shouldn’t continue to see what it has to show us.”

She followed closely behind Izel, aware that, even though this was an underground complex, they were actually going deeper and deeper.

“Yes, I hear it,” she replied. “The water may be diverted here by the Force – or engineering. Even Jedi need to keep hydrated and a temple in the middle of a desert without access to water would be somewhat pointless. Or it could be natural. Maybe the reason the temple is here as opposed to somewhere else in the desert. And maybe when we find the source of the water, we will find out for sure.”

As they continued to walk, Fiach’s brows knitted and she stopped abruptly. “I know sound gets louder the closer you are to it, but the noise of the water seems to be growing disproportionately to our progress. It may be a trick of the underground caverns if course. What do you think?”

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"It's probably just the echo throwing you off." Izel suggested as they continued deeper into the temple. She had found more glyphs along the wall and was more interested in studying them then considering what Fiach was implying. Following the runes the Vratix entered yet another long rectangular chamber. This one immediately struck her as some kind of dining area, with long stone tables and benches on either side. The sound of running water was much louder now, sounding like it was right above them. As the Padawans wandered further into the room they'd be able to pick up the sound of dripping water as well.

Oddly enough the tables were not completely barren, instead they were cluttered with ancient wooden and clay bowls and plates. It appeared as though the tables had been set for a meal and then abandoned. "That's interesting..." Izel mused aloud, ignoring the fact the dusty earth around her feet was growing wetter as she continued walking. Nearing one of the tables she brushed her fingers along the wooden table setting. "I wonder what happened here? It seems as though everyone just... left..."

Just then there was an audible crack, not too loud, but definitely noticeable. As a droplet of water fell directly on Izel's head the Padawan was finally forced to look up. Raising her lightsaber she was able to get a better view. The entire ceiling was sagging, ready to give way. Already the dripping water was beginning to turn to steady streams, the cracks creeping like spider webs across the entire ceiling. Slowly Izel began to back away towards the exit. "Ah... That would be the noise you heard... I suppose..." She said in a wavering voice, the fear clearly rising in her. They had to get out of here, quickly.

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Fiach Dubh

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Had Fiach defaulted to the position of follower as opposed to leader? Quite possibly. She felt comfortable contributing and offering suggestions and insights, as opposed to being the one that made decisions. But her brain did operate as if she were in charge – assimilating the information and hypothesising about the likely cause and effect if the situation.

Therefore, she did not agree with Izel’s prognosis – but on the other hand did not challenge it either. So, as the sound became progressively too loud for Fiach’s logic to comprehend as simply an echo, she spent less time looking at the glyphs and more time focused on the noise – doing her best to come up with a probability that was too great to be ignored.

They reached a new chamber and now, given they were standing still, the steady increase in sound – albeit subtle – was not possible to ignore.

Instead of considering the tables, or musing what may or may not be interesting, she took notice of their surroundings – namely for the first time their footsteps being muffled by damp earth. And the smell was not of stagnant water – which meant it was running. And in their direction, clearly.

The sound of dripping now dominated Fiach’s ears and she ignored Izel’s further audible thoughts as she took a step back and glanced around – seeing the water flow increase proportionately to the cracks appearing.

“Izel,” she said softly, as if they would be overheard. “Izel,” she repeated, at normal volume now. “IZEL,” she called out and turned to face the way they came. “WE NEED TO LEAVE…IMMEDIATELY.”

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"Agreed." Izel replied to Fiach, and turned to run just as the ceiling gave way, a torrent of water crashing down into the dining area and rushing towards them. As she made her way back into the tunnel, the water surging forward behind them, the insectoid clambered up the wall to the ceiling of the passageway so the two Padawans would not block each other's path.

Despite her best efforts, augmenting her speed with the Force, Izel was not able to outrun the current. The water crashed against her, and the Vratix used the Force to form a sort of protective barrier around herself as she was knocked about. She tumbled in the water head over heels, eventually able to flounder to the surface and take a gasp of air. She had lost grip of her lightsaber in the chaos, and now looked around desperately for any sign of her fellow Padawan while also struggling to keep her head above the rushing water.

"Fiach?" She shouted desperately, unsure if her calls would even be audible over the rushing water. "Fiach!" She cried again, almost descending into a panic. It was difficult, but she managed to maintain her senses, and attempted to center herself despite the madness around her. Emotion, Yet Peace. That mantra of the Jedi stuck in her head, and calmed her mind. Reaching out with the Force, she tried to locate her companion. She could only hope Fiach was faring better than her.

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Fiach Dubh

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As Fiach edged closer and closer to the way they’d entered the chamber, the dam burst – quite literally. Water cascaded through the ceiling at a rate of knots and although to Fiach it happened in slow-motion, this did not make the sensation any less terrifying. If anything it amplified the impending danger – elongating the moments of fear as the water poured in and threatened to sweep them away to a watery death.

She was aware that Izel managed to clamber to the top of the passageway they were in. Given the likelihood of disorientation under the circumstances, this was appreciated by the blonde Padawan – although she had no time to thank her companion as the flow of water seemed to be intensifying.

She momentarily considered summoning the Force and throwing up a Barrier, but knew she lacked the control and power to hold the water at bay for more than a few minutes. If she was to use the ability, it would be as a last resort, not a first one.

Nor was using the Force to aid her speed an option she considered seriously. Being buffeted at speed was more dangerous than being knocked about at normal pace in the Padawan’s opinion. So she did what felt natural – and it called upon her Jedi training without requiring the Force.

In sparring, they were taught that to try to counter the effect of the Force if your opponent was using it against you, such as a Push or a Pull, was counter-productive. Better, the training said, to go with the flow. It was a metaphorical lesson that right now sounded like an entirely practical one.

So she allowed the water to carry her along and focused on holding her breath. Ideally she was hoping to ensure Izel was alright but under the circumstances, she was not afforded the opportunity. So, instead she focused on what she could control and trusted Izel, and the Force, to take care of the rest.

How much longer she could hold her breath, she had no idea. How much longer the water would come…again she had no idea. So, she closed her eyes, relaxed and waited as the current carried her towards what she hoped would be the exit.

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Closing herself off from the chaotic world around her Izel was able to feel Fiach through the Force. Her fellow Padawan had not made it as far as she had in their initial flight from the flood, and was under the water now. Reaching out further she was able to locate her lightsaber, the weapon tumbling along the bottom of the tunnel-turned-canal. She couldn't allow herself to lose her lightsaber, whatever would her Master say?

Taking a deep breath Izel dove beneath the water and swam to the bottom of the makeshift river, grasping her lightsaber before surfacing again. The water was still chaotic at the surface, but igniting her saber again the Vratix was able to spot an alcove leading to a spiral staircase. She grabbed the archway as she was whipped past, and managed with some effort to pull herself inside. Pulling herself up several stairs left the soaking Padawan just above the water. She coughed and looked around, having no recollection of where they were. A problem for later.

Already she could see the water level was rising, creeping up the steps. This whole place would be flooded soon. Sensing Fiach approaching Izel leaned out from her safe alcove, reaching out an arm for the human to grab as well as trying to contact her through the Force. Fiach... She called to the Padawan. If they were separated now they'd be doomed. Fiach! She leaned forward as far as she could without falling in the water, reaching towards the figure she could feel approaching. They'd have one chance to do this.

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Fiach Dubh

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In the back of her mind, Fiach sensed darkness – which came more and more into her consciousness. It was like a wave of its own and she knew it was connected with a fall into unconsciousness as her oxygen levels were depleting.

Still, she relied on the Force and managed to fight the urge to open her mouth and take in a lungful of water. It seemed paradoxical, yet she knew it was common with people who drowned. The instinct to breathe overrode the brain’s clear and unequivocal message that it was deadly to to so.

As she floated along, she heard a voice. Was it the effect of oxygen starvation? Was she hallucinating. It was a friendly voice, a known voice – yet there was urgency in it.

Izel!

For no obvious reason, Fiach extended a hand, upwards, and the tips of her fingers broke the surface of the water as she was carried along.

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Izel reached out and grabbed Fiach's hand as it appeared to her, pulling her fellow Padawan to safety. The Vratix assumed her companion was just as exhausted and discombobulated as she was after that ordeal, but they had little time to recover. The water was still rising, and already their feet were being submerged again.

Izel took only a few moments to catch her breath before standing up and putting a hand on Fiach's shoulder. "Come on!" She urged her fellow Padawan. "We need to keep moving!" The Vratix would turn and start making her way up the spiral staircase, only to find herself in an intersection of several different passageways. She tried to calm herself and use her Force sense to find the correct passage, but the disturbance seemed to have altered more than just the physical state of the temple. The Force was now flowing like a river as well, wild and chaotic. It was impossible for Izel to discern anything.

"I hope you weren't lying about your memory..." The Padawan said to her companion. "Because I haven't got a clue which way we're supposed to go..." The water was causing more structural damage to the temple. Already more cracks could be seen along the walls of the nearby passages, with thin lines of sand pouring through. Time was very short indeed.

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Fiach Dubh

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Was it the Force? In Fiach’s current state, it was difficult to tell conscious thought from the semi-conscious variety. So the sensation of her hand being grabbed could have been real, or maybe it was the Force – reaching out to her and whisk her to…wherever Force users went when they died. Fiach was not afraid of death. She was a pragmatist through and through and understood that she would die one day – that was inevitable – and that only the actual date was up for debate.

So, she allowed her body to be pulled and suddenly felt not so much air on her face, as an absence of water. She opened an eye, wondering what was happening and saw her fellow Padawan. She sucked in a deep breath whilst simultaneously giving Izel a broad grin. The sudden intake was closely followed by a coughing and spluttering fit, before she was able to get her bearings – realising she did not have the luxury of waiting for her body and mind to return to normal.

Her legs were a little wobbly, due to a lack of oxygen, but her intensive running regime kicked in and she took long breaths through her nose and equally long exhales through her mouth as she did her best to keep up with Izel.

“Right…behind…you…” she said, breathlessly as she willed one leg in front of the other – energy slowly returning to her muscles as the oxygenated blood finally began circulating around her body.

“Umm…” Fiach said as her fellow Padawan stopped and clearly looked to the blonde for directions. She closed her eyes and considered where they’d come from and although she did not know where she’d been pulled out, she knew approximately and through a process of trial and error in the mental map she’d created, she finally knew where they were.

“That way,” she said, pointing to a turning on their right. "Then first right, along a corridor and then we reach the steps up.”

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Izel Thral

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Izel nodded as Fiach indicated which way to go, trusting her fellow Padawan to lead the way to safety. She didn't really have a choice in the matter, the Vratix was too turned around to find her own way in the very short time they had before total collapse. She ran down the hall, taking the first right, then following the corridor to it's end where she found a staircase. Sand was pouring down the stone steps, and she could hear more water behind her.

Without hesitation the Padawan started up the stairs, only to stop about halfway up. There was a large crash from above, and suddenly a tide of rubble and sand came pouring down the stairway towards them. "Look out!" Izel shouted, and used the Force once more to push the falling debris out of her own path, letting it fall to the sides around her. Hopefully Fiach would have been right behind her, or she would have had to protect herself from the rubble as well. Izel was panting now, not only from the physical exhaustion of this ordeal but the mental as well. She was using her Force abilities too much, and was starting to become fatigued.

It didn't help that the rubble had blocked off the stairway, and they didn't have the time to dig themselves out manually. Growling in frustration Izel dutifully raised her hands again and summoned the Force. "C-come on..." She huffed. "We need to... Need to move the rocks..." She shook her head, feeling a bit lightheaded. This was not good.

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Fiach Dubh

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Fiach knew of many Force abilities that would prove very useful right now. The problem was that ‘knew of’ was not the same as ‘knew’. There were apparently ways to rejuvenate energy and even your access and ability to use the Force. Theoretical knowledge, for once was not only pointless but actually somewhat frustrating.

As ever, Fiach focused on what she knew and what she could do well. Right now, she was feeling a little weak and factored this into her plans as she momentarily caught her breath and listened to Izel. Fortunately she was walking directly behind her fellow Padawan when the debris began to fall and apart from one glancing blow to her left hip, she was unscathed – at least as far as the rubble was concerned. But she appreciated that unless she helped Izel in getting them out of here quickly, they would no doubt meet their end somewhat sooner than she had previously considered.

Of all the abilities she could rely upon, only two felt relevant. A Force bubble might help them if more debris fell, but it was a taxing ability for the Padawan. The other was more straightforward and therefore the better option.

Closing her eyes momentarily, she connected as deeply with the Force as she could and then opened them. “Let’s work together…” Fiach offered and feeling the Force flow through her and into her arms, she directed it through her fingertips and towards the blockage, when she joined Izel in pushing the rocks up and out. Initially she felt nothing but resistance but finally she sensed them moving. Slowly at first, but move they did and as her confidence grew, so did her belief and therefore also their success – as they lifted the rubble to clear an exit.

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Izel nodded to Fiach and took a deep breath. The strain was painful, but she was still able to call upon the Force. It was a slow and excruciating process, but eventually the two Padawans together were able to create a hole large enough for them to escape through. Once the last of the rubble was moved aside Izel gasped and released her control, letting the last few rocks tumble down the stairs, right into the pooling water below.

"Time to go..." She said quickly, and squeezed through the rocks. Once the both of them were through Izel looked around, finding the area a bit more familiar. The temple was still shaking, sections of the building collapsing and more sand pouring down around them. "I think I know where we are..." The Vratix muttered as she surveyed her surroundings. Before long she spotted a faint light around a corner. "There! An exit!" She shouted to her companion, and picked up the pace. They were almost out now, and the temple was coming down on top of them. A small part of Izel felt the tragic loss this was, but in the moment she was far more concerned with her own survival.

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Fiach Dubh

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On her side, Fiach was resolute and determined. She believed in her capabilities and in what she was doing. In all of her – admittedly limited – experience with the Force, it counted for a great deal. But she was always pragmatic. The Force, and its use, was once explained to her with the use of a couple of boxes. The Force surrounds us and is in use. It is, essentially, infinite. But a user’s ability to draw on it was not. Being a Padawan was like working with a small box of Force. There was only so much you could use before you ran out. A Knight operated with a bigger box and a Master had a bigger container still. It was a crude analogy but it fitted with everything Fiach knew – and so she kept it front of mind for such occasions as this. She only had so much to give and knew that there was every chance she might falter before clearing the rock-fall. But she did not doubt it was possible at any point.

Instead she worked with Izel, patiently pushing the rocks up. Debris fell around them and once or twice she felt a rock hit her torso or leg, but she persevered. Soon there was a gap large enough for them to scramble through and so Fiach stopped – not wishing to waste any energy she did not have to.

“I’m with you,” Fiach responded to her fellow Padawan, the strain of her exertions visible on her face and voice. They were hardly out of the proverbial woods and there was no time to waste. On one hand, she was tempted to muse the potential loss of a significant find, but on the other, if they were dead, there would be zero value in anything they’d found. At least alive she could recount what they’d seen.

As they moved as swiftly as they could, Fiach knew the exit was close and sure enough, daylight filtered through – and therefore an exit. She replied to Izel’s latest words but found no sound escaped her lips. Coming in, the lack of speech had been unsettling. Right now it posed a huge positive – as it meant they were almost out of the underground complex.

Of course, they still needed to find their ship – but one challenge at a time was enough for the tired Padawan right now.

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The closer they got to the light, the more the sounds around them began to dissipate until all was completely silent once more. It was a surreal sensation to Izel, to see the temple clearly fracturing and coming apart around them, but hearing nothing. The two Padawans exited the tunnel, finding themselves back in the main entryway with the sun burning in the sky high above them.

Izel collapsed on the sandy earth, breathing heavily as she looked back and watched the tunnel they had just come from noiselessly crash down, sending a cloud of dust and sand out into the open air. She sighed, now feeling the full magnitude of such a loss. She only hoped one day an excavation could make it's way back inside, and find what they had found.

It wasn't all bad. The three other tunnels around the circular entryway remained relatively unharmed, meaning other parts of the temple were still open to exploration. Although Izel was quite certain she wanted nothing to do with this place for at least a week. She tried to keep her near-death experiences as limited as possible.

The Vratix laughed lightly as the adrenaline of the past few minutes continued to pump through her. Pulling out her datapad she wrote something down in a shaky hand and offered it to Fiach. The words simply read: Shall we call it here?

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Fiach Dubh

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Soon – but not soon enough – they were back above ground. There was truly something reassuring in the landscape, despite its surreal circumstances. But the relative normality brought to bear the fact that their trip here was now quite possibly in vain. Hope of proving the origins of the underground temple were potentially lost forever. Finding them added some credence to the legend but in terms of proving they belonged to the Jed’aii, that may well be no longer possible. Which, to an historian like Fiach, was a great loss. Yes, if the underground cave-in happened and they’d never visited, there would be no record of any temple existing, but that was small comfort right now. And who knew which tunnels would still be accessible?

On the plus side, they’d both survived, which was a positive she clung to right now.

Fiach bent over, her hands on her knees as she looked to regulate her breathing and look to push oxygen back into her fatigued limbs.

Fiach was aware that Izel was handing her a datapad and her usual smile returned to her lips as she read the message and typed a reply.

Yes. I think that’s enough excitement for one day.

As they began the trek back to their ship, Fiach thought of the temple and then the encounter with what must have been a deep-seated fear – and the vision. What did it mean and how could she find out more?

She resolved to meditate on the journey home as she saw their craft come into view as the sandstorm took a temporary respite.

“May the Force be with us,” she said, albeit no noise exited her lips as she punched a code on a control and the ship’s door opened and the ramp descended for them to get back on board.

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As the two Padawans made their way back to the ship Izel reflected on what they had experienced. Such an interesting place the temple had been, offering a number of strange and perplexing puzzles. Whatever the origins of the temple, it offered great potential for understanding of historical Force users. It worried her that certain aspects of that temple might now be lost forever, but at the very least she and Fiach still lived to offer their own limited experience for evidence.

She thought back to her experiences in the dark side chamber as well. It had not been quite as climactic as she desired, but then there was something in such a resolution that seemed right to her. Humility was the path of a Jedi, not arrogance. Not conceit. While she had no intentions of accepting her current limitations as insurmountable, she had to remind herself not to indulge in delusions of grandeur. That was certainly no way to achieve her goals. As a matter of fact, it was probably important to reassess what exactly it was she wanted to achieve as a Jedi. Until now she had been pursuing nebulous goals of knowledge and power, and it had led her on something of a wild Bantha chase. She had to find something to focus on.

Of course, these were questions for later, Izel thought as they finally reached the ship. When they returned to Ajan Kloss she would mediate on her experiences, and try to discover a new direction. After she and Fiach told everyone what they had found of course.

/Exit Thread
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