The Great Library - GM'ed

[OneoftheLost]

By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.

- Ossus
-The Great Library
- Mid-meal time.

The mountains of Ossus pierced the sky, as if the planet was trying to claw its way out into the beautiful nebula that covered the night sky. Clouds huddled close to the peaks, hiding the little settlements that dotted the landscape, and hiding the Great Library. The large structure housed the Jedi training grounds, as well as numerous rare antiquities. It was for one of these relics that Master Dumont had come. The master flew the shuttle with expert precision, he had a purpose, for the first time in many years he had a mission. He also had a passenger. A padawan, a female. She sat in the back, he had brought her from her studies at the request of one of his old friends, Master Alyied. Smiling at the memories, the old jedi eased on the burners as the grand structure came into view, its four spires giving the building away from its hiding place among the mountains.

"Child, we will arrive soon. Come look at the place you will be staying for the next few weeks."

Master Dumont sat back in his seat, giving her the view.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Kohia had been engrossed in a volume she had transferred to her datapad during the whole journey. Being couped up in a ship was her least favorite thing. She preferred the open outdoors in most cases. Shutting the datapad down, she finally raised her stiff neck up to look out the window.

The Great Library of Ossus...

When Master Dumont had told her they were going on a trip, she had no idea that they might be coming here. Her blue-grey eyes scanned the facility, taking it the beautiful architeture and captivating peaks of the nearby mountains. It was breathtaking.

"This is where the Great Library is housed, with hundreds upon thousands of volumes of knowledge spanning the whole galaxy," she muttered half to herself as she gazed out at the structure.

Master Alyied had already informed his comrade of Kohia's interests in the library. In fact, few of the Jedi Masters at the Academy weren't aware of her book smarts. Kohia was not known to remain silent when someone quoted something wrong in class.

Blushing as she realized she had spoken her thoughts aloud, she sat back and looked back at Master Dumont. "Will we have time to visit the Library during our stay, Master Dumont?" she asked, hardly able to contain the excitement at such a prospect.

 

[OneoftheLost]

Master Dumont chuckled.

"Child, I have reason to believe that is why you are being brought along."

Suddenly a loud beep sounded and the Jedi strapped himself in.

"We are landing, once we do arrive, I will have one of the Padawans escort you to the library, you will wait there until Master Alyied calls for you."

Master Dumont let the auto-pilot engage as he watched the landing pad rush up to meet the small shuttle. As the shuttle landed, the rear bay doors opened with a loud hiss. Master Dumont got up from his seat.

"Come my child."

The Jedi stepped out of the shuttle. Master Dumont studied the scene before him. The clouds framed a bright blue sky. Dew-capped grass filled the small courtyard in front of the pad. Several padawans looked up from their datapads at the new arrivals, but didn't pay them much heed. Off to the left of the courtyard where two massive doors framed by two fountains. Standing up in the middle of the fountains where statues of a Twi'lek in robes.

Walking briskly Master Dumont made his way to the double doors.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Once landed, Kohia was fast on the heels of Master Dumont. She knew access to the Great Library was prohibited without approval from the Council or the Keeper. Her hands were clasped in front of her, as she tried to hide her nervousness from being here. This was like a dream come true.

Her eyes didn't meet the faces of the padawans they passed. Her mind was already elsewhere on this adventure. As they made their way up the steps, she looked down at carved the stone. These steps and the walkways were carved right out of the mountain! It reminded her faintly of a place she had only dreamed about, perhaps even walked a long time ago.

The massive doors loomed ahead, thick and foreboding. She swallowed hard as they swung open to reveal the main hall. Not realizing she had stopped in her tracks, she looked up only to see that Master Dumont had already made it inside and she was lagging behind. Quickly, she picked up her long robes and hurried the rest of the way inside. The young padawan's eyes were immediately drawn upwards to the designs on the ceiling, hundreds of meters above them.

The ancient writing and lithographs were comprised of many different languages from across the galaxy. How fascinating that the builders would have chosen to depict the culture of all species that once comprised the Jedi! The languages were unfamiliar to her, though she tried hard to figure out a connection with the many different languages of today. A few roots she could pick out, but most was well beyond her understanding. She felt as if she could spend a lifetime within these walls and never uncover all the knowledge of the Great Library.

((I'm assuming she waits here for her escort as you leave?))

 

[OneoftheLost]

Padawan Vanar Daltune strolled down the long hallway, the walls housed beautiful designs, a story woven into the wall itself. The beauty was lost on the young Liberi, who was making his way torwards the visitor's area, and the adjacent library. The Liberi strode along with a purpose, his blue skin and webbed fingers belied aquatic origins, the black pupils studied the floor as he walked. Vanar was miffed, he had performed terribly during the practice duel with Padawan Chance. Frustrated, the Liberi threw open the door to the visitor's area...

...and found himself staring at a young woman.

Vanar had never felt her presence before.

She must be new.

She wore her padawan robes, and had an almost, impatient air about her. She seemed to be waiting for someone.

Vanar studied her for a long moment, taking in every detail about her. From her fine hair to her posture, she seemed like most of the other padawans Vanar studied with.

"Excuse me, may I assist you?"

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Kohia started as she heard a voice and quickly took in the face of a young padawan, judging by his clothing. Blue-grey eyes glittered with uncertainty as faced with the question. She tried to recall the words of Master Dumont as she wondered why the Liberi was looking at her so.

"I...I was waiting for someone to escort me to the Library to await Master Alyied?" she asked rather than said.

Why is he looking at me so, she wondered.

"My name is Kohia Tawhiri. You are..." she asked leading the padawan into a conversations. She felt so clumsy in her introduction. Perhaps the other masters were right...

 

[OneoftheLost]

The Liberi suddenly started to stretch, putting his arms up and leaning back a bit until several pops could be heard.

Shaking himself, the padawan cocked his head at the newcomer.

"Hmm...well, I am referred to as Vanar. I should probably escort you to the library, as most of the other padawans are preparing to attend the Cloud Festival."

Walking carefully, as if measuring each step, the Liberi motioned for the other jedi to follow. Making his way down another long corridor, Vanar motioned again for Kohia to follow as he lead her down a long ramp. At the bottom was another set of doors. Two massive runes adorned the hardwood. Vanar held up his hand.

"Kohia, before you enter, I would ask that you treat everything inside with a reverance, some of these are actual books, and as such are very, very old. Most of them have copies actual recordings and such. Please use those."

Taking a step forward Vanar pushed the doors open.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

She looked puzzled at the festival he mentioned. She'd never heard of such a thing before, then again, she knew relatively little of the festivals and such celebrated by the Jedi. She'd much rather be lost in her room reading than be surrounded by a bunch of people.

She puckered her lips, about to ask what the festival was, when he turned and began to lead the way down the ramp. Raising her eyebrows at this, she wondered if he was as much a social person as she was. Hurrying after him, she made a mental note of where they were going so she could find her way easily the second time.

Once they reached the doorway, she began to study the runes upon the door just before he turned around and began to remind her of how to deal with the relics of the Library. Of course she already knew these things, yet she did not say anything to him about it. Instead, she simply nodded her head, anxious to get through the doors.

As the doors opened, Kohia's mouth dropped open and eyes widened in surprise as she saw the many volumes and records fill the room from the floor well up toward the ceiling.

"Whoa! Have you ever seen such a sight?" Of course, it was a silly question since the padawan lived and studied here.

 

[OneoftheLost]

Vanar cocked his head to one side again, his black eyes seemed to show a hint of bemusement.

"Why, yes, every day."

Vanar found her demeanor interesting, she was very eager. As she stepped forward, Vanar quickly scanned the room. Following her to one of the shelves, he tapped her on the shoulder.

"When you have found a selection to your liking there is a room off to your right, it is a reading room, many of our padawans find it quite calming. I will be in there if you need me."

With that Vanar made his way to the reading room. Vanar pulled open the door, and found the room exactly the way he had left it. The floor itself was covered in a carpet of grass. Stone benches and tables littered the large area. The room was empty, except for several books that had been left out. A fountain sat in the middle of the room. Sitting down next to the fountain, Vanar removed the top part of his robe, leaving only the long dress part of the garmet. He studied the walls of the room. The walls gave off a fine mist, to cool the readers, it was not harmful to the ancient texts, and this feature was Vanar's favorite part of the magnificant room.

Settling down next to the fountain, Vanar pulled out a small pouch. Removing what looked like a small packaged...fish and a book. The Liberi began to study.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Kohia waited until Vanar had left before making her way to one of the computers. Sitting down before it, she began to start searching general things: Terraforming: the good and the bad, The Big Bang Theory, and various other topics. She was trying to stump the computers in finding information. Yet, even when she became more specific with her searching, she found several volumes dealing with some of the most obscure topics.

Eventually, she gave up and decided to research a topic that had interested her the most recently. Narrowing down the search perimeters and filtering through the synopsis of the books, she finally found one that caught her eye. Memorizing the area in which the volume was located, she stood and began to make her way through the library.

Half an hour later, she still was trying to find the correct area. The Great Library here at Ossus was just that, the Great Library. Finally, she approached one of the Librarians asking how to get to the tower dealing with the Pre-Republic era. Thanking the older woman, she quickly, yet quietly, made her way to that area and finally found the volume she had looked up. The only problem was how far up it was from the floor.

She turned her head, glancing around the room to try to find a levitating device to pull it from the shelf, but it was already occupied. She pursed her lips in frustration as she waited for the student to move on, leaving the ladder device behind. Once the padawan stepped down and smiled at Kohia, she quickly made her way to the device and retrieved the volume.

With a huge smile upon her face, she made her way across the vast library into the reading room Vanar had pointed to. Stepping through the door, she looked for an area least crowded with others and sat down with her volume. All seemed right in her world for that moment, as she greedily began to skim the pages.

 

[OneoftheLost]

As Kohia studied, Vanar absent mindedly chewed on the fish head. His sharp teeth made short work of the bones. The crunching was the the only noise in the room as the padawans studied.

Suddenly a figure appeared in the doorway. Dressed in padawan robes, the newcomer studied the padawans in the room. Brushing his hand through his red hair, the man sighed, revealing slight dimples and alot of freckles.

His eyes resting on Vanar, the padawan walked forward and crouched in front of the Liberi.

"Um.. Vanar you do realize you are a half-naked fish man chewing on a raw fish head?"

Vanar just looked up and blinked several times.

The man just blinked back before straightening up. Shaking his head he made his way over to Kohia.

Sitting down across from her, the padawan looked at the book she had selected.

"Huh."

Suddenly he leaned forward a somber expression on his face.

"You do know that at this very moment you are breaking the Jedi code?"

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

((LOL!! I love it!))

Kohia was engrossed in the book, as always, yet she hadn't missed the shadow before her, nor the fact that the person was sitting down before her. Shifting her position a little, clearly uncomfortable with how close the man was, she raised her head a little, but not to the man's face.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she heard him go "huh" and looked up to glance at him for only a moment. Returning her eyes to the page before her, she tried to find her place again. Just when she had found it, she heard the man interrupt her again.

Laying the book down on her lap, she finally met his eyes and face. A puzzled expression was on her face as she wondered how reading a book was breaking the Code.

"How's that?" she finally asked, after giving him a good once over. "Aren't you supposed to read in the library?"

She hadn't meant her response to be so cold, yet the frustration at having been interrupted and then accused of breaking the Code had upset her.

 

[OneoftheLost]

The padawan, upon closer inspection, couldn't have been older then her. Brushing a strand of red hair out of his eyes. The young man seemed to think.

" There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no death; there is the Force. This is the Jedi code, yet you blatetenly disregard it with the reading of your ....dead trees covered with ink. Ok your first mistake was to open it, is a book not still? you would destroy that serenity simply so you could indulge in your passions? FOR SHAME!"

Shaking his head the young man continued.

"Next to add to your blasphemies, you show ignorance! You stay INSIDE during the festival of the Cloud!"

At this he seemingly lost all composure.


"ARE YOU MAD!? Woes me! I must remedy this situation!"

Leaping atop the table. (careful not to step on the book.) The padawan pointed to the doors.

"Beyond those doors your destiny awaits! Can you not hear its call!?"

The boy stood there frozen for a moment.

Vanar slowly got up walking over.

Still chewing on the fish head, he looked up at the man.

"Hmm... Kohia meet Padawan Chance. I am told that he has the brains of a Bantha."

This seemed to completely deflate the man, Chance.

"Eh, who said that? Surely you jest! One such as I-"

Vanar interrupted.

"Crystal."

"Oh."

Vanar finnally finished the fish head.

"You should probably leave. Before she takes an eye out or something."

Chance almost pouted.

"But!, But, But I was told by Master Alyied to get the newcomer and show her to the fair while she does Master Jedi type stuff. Festival only comes once every five years!"

Vanar merely nodded to his friend. Looking over at Kohia the Liberi waited for a response.

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

...Leaping atop the table. (careful not to step on the book.) The padawan pointed to the doors.

"Beyond those doors your destiny awaits! Can you not hear its call!?"

The boy stood there frozen for a moment.[/b]

Confusion still seemed to fill her eyes as she furrowed her brows further, trying to grasp what the young man was saying to her. Surely, this was a jest. There was nothing in the code prohibiting someone from reading. She opened her mouth, ready to point out his error when he zoomed on ahead, leaving her with her mouth open in protest. Now, the book was upon the floor, her hands were on her hips and she was rising to her feet.

"It seems to me that blatantly ignoring the code would be to ignore the chance to further your mind and instead indulge your human impulses to enjoy such a thing as a festival. What good is it to celebrate something with...with music, laughter, tons of food? It seems to me that after a bit of merry-making, people seem to have regrets afterwards. Why bother indulging yourself when you can further your understanding of the world and the cultures of the Republic without compromising yourself?" her voice had begun to raise and chest puff with each word, before Vanar came to interrupt them.

Her eyes were upon the padawan named Chance as she heard the voice of Vanar shatter the silence that had settled over all of them. Knowing she had let the padawan ruffle her feathers, she began to back down a little. Of course Vanar's little comment about their fellow padawan had helped greatly too. In fact, young Kohia had to raise a hand to cover the smile and struggle to hold the giggle in. These two were quite different from the serene padawans of Coruscant.

Yet, when chance mentioned the name of Master Alyied, she immediately straightened up. What? The Master wanted her to attend such a festival? Didn't she know how much Kohia despised such large social gatherings? Kohia let out a type of groan as she looked longingly back at her book. It seemed she had no real choice in the matter. She should follow the very strange padawan to the festival.

"If it only comes once every five years, don't you think you should take part too, Vanar?" she asked, hoping he would see her want for him to come along. Afterall, she wasn't sure what this Chance would do once at the festival.

 

[OneoftheLost]

Chance eyed Vanar.

"Yeah, come to think of it, you missed the last one!"

Vanar just stared at Chance, he seemed to be studying him, thinking of what to say.

"Don't give me that....creepy..look. *Ahem* Think of the fish!"

Vanar blinked.

"Fish?"

"Big Fish."

Not waiting for a response, Padawan Chance ushered the other two along.

"C'mon it will be fun, think of us meeting with the culture!"

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

Kohia sighed, knowing there was no other way out of this. At least it seemed as if Vanar would come along, or was it just her wishful thinking.

"That's exactly what I'm afraid of," she muttered under her breath.

Leaving the book in the reading room, she followed Chance out of the room. However, she made sure she stayed far enough behind the young padawan to prevent any real conversation between the two. Instead, she took in the sights of all Ossus had to offer as they made their way, letting her mind wander. Besides, maybe she should look more into why the Great Library was hidden here and who was responsible to build it later on. Surely, there were some secrets to uncover here.

 

[OneoftheLost]

Vanar followed the two. It was going to be a long day. Chance led the small group, leading them down the grand staircase to the double doors downstairs. Chance laughed as he pulled the door open, with a sweeping bow, and an elaborate hand gesture, Chance bade the two out of the large room and out into the courtyard.

"C'mon it will be great!"

Chance then led them down several sets of steps, and they where standing at the base of the Library of Ossus. Chance turned to the others.

"Prepare yourselves! Soon you will be overwhelemed with culture, pretty ladies, and good food!"

Still laughing the red-haird padawan led them down a winding path. It was built into the mountain itself, a long corridor. The corridor lead into a long tunnel that wound its way deeper into the mountain itself.

Vanar knew this corridor led into Cloud Valley. Cloud valley was a large opening in the side of the mountain, you could easily fit a town into the area. Rumor was a massive meteorite had struck the mountain many generations ago.

Vanar suddenly heard it....a voice. The shadows seemed to collect off to his right, a little alcove in the tunnel. The voice was joined by another... it seemed to be coming from the alcove. Vanar watched the others, none of them seemed to notice it. The voice grew a bit louder, a female voice.

"Please, please not here, not now."

It was almost a whisper. Vanar tried to ignore it. He could hear soft laughing, and someone...crying?

Vanar knew the others could not hear this. So he concentrated on Kohia, watching how she walked. Noting the way she swayed her hips. Humans and their strange habits...

Suddenly the voices where forgotten as the tunnel opened and the group found themselves in Cloud Valley. The large valley was inside a large cloud. Laughing and general merriment could be heard. Hundreds of people from many different mountainside villages came together once every five years to spread food, competition, prizes, and most importantly, culture.

Chance smiled.

"Welcome to Cloud Valley. Please keep your hands and limbs inside the cloud at all times."

Laughing at his own joke, Chance grabbed Vanar.

"Come, we have many valiant warriors to strike down in the brawling competition!"

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

She looked to Chance and sighed as she saw him draw Vanar away. Her gaze was sympathetic with the amphibious padawan, though she definately didn't want to take his place. The further Chance was away from her, the better.

Kohia looked around at all of the peoples gathered for the festival. It seemed the event did indeed draw a large number of people. As the two padawans seemed to go off to test their brawn and skills against others, Kohia made her way over to some of the craft stands. She never was one interested in battle.

((I didn't know how much further you want me to go so sorry for the short post. I could have gone on, but didn't know if Vanar would protest or not..lol))

 

[OneoftheLost]

Vanar looked back helplessly at Kohia.

The two where soon lost in the crowd...

As Kohia was studying the craft tables, she noticed a little boy watching her. Or rather was pointed in her direction. A sash was wrapped around his head, covering his eyes. By the small cane it was obvious he was blind. Emerging from the sash where several scars going up and down each eye, as if the boy had been clawed when he was younger. He looked to be about six.

Stepping close, so he was standing right next to the Jedi, the boy spoke in a raspy voice.

"They hunt in pairs, two by two. Always blue. "

The boy laughed, and suddenly dissapeared in the crowd.

________________________________

Vanar ducked quickly. The young Jedi was back to back with Chance, the two where fighting off three other brawlers.

"You know I can really see why the locals like this sport!"

Chance piqued as he threw a punch at a man easily twice his size.

Vanar said nothing, he watched his opponents hands. The man suddenly tried to push Vanar. The Liberi did not think. Throwing both his arms under his opponents' he stepped forward, and pushed as hard as he could. The man flew back, hitting his head on the grassy knoll the group was fighting in.

"Indeed."

 

[Lillianne Crasse]

She turned her head down to the boy and knelt down beside him, listening to his words. Brows furrowed, she opened her mouth about to ask the boy what he said again when he took off.

They hunt in pairs, two by two. Always blue...?

"Hey!" she called as the boy disappeared from her sight. Yet, he was gone.

The festival goers turned their head to look at the Jedi, wondering what she was yelling about, almost as if they hadn't seen the boy. Were they so caught up in their own activities that they didn't see? or was the boy invisible to them?

So many more questions filled her mind as she rose to her feet and began to make her way through the crowd. Her eyes swept right and left, all around her in fact, trying to find the boy. Was he trying to warn her about something?