Ask The Path to Balance: Perspective

Izel Thral

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She could feel the worming corruption of the dark side the moment they entered the system. As their ship approached Ambria Izel stood in the cockpit behind their captain, antennae twitching as she stared intently at the small desert world below. It wasn't much to look at, not all that different in appearance from Mon Gazza. But for a Force sensitive the change was absolutely staggering. Dark energy poured off of the planet like a waterfall, drowning everything that came close in a sickening aura. Even in orbit the Vratix reflexively raised her arms to rub her shoulders, a chill running through her whole body. She could feel death here on an unspeakable scale. Misery, sorrow, hatred. She really hoped her apprentice had been keeping up with his meditations as she had instructed him. If he didn't setting foot here just might be unbearable. She could only imagine what the uninitiated Dathomirian must be feeling. Without proper knowledge on how to shield oneself from the dark energy, the corruption would be incredibly unpleasant. Fortunately for their captain, he felt nothing unusual at all.

"You sure these coordinates are right?" He asked as he started his descent into the atmosphere.

"Yes." Izel answered simply, her gaze still laser focused on the rocky, barren landscape.

"But there's nothing out here!" The captain argued as he read his scanners. "No settlements, no mining encampments... You know this world has barely any life on it at all outside the..." He paused as something came up on the ship's sensors. "Huh... Well I'll be damned..." As the ship swooped in closer to the mountains Izel got a look at what he had found. Time had worn away almost all of it, but there were still some remnants of the planet's ancient inhabitants. And the great black obelisk in the center, the greatest source of the dark side corruption, that was almost entirely untouched by time and the elements. Curious. Perhaps the power here was even greater than Izel predicted.

"Put us down in the adjacent canyon." The Vratix directed him. The captain looked over his shoulder at her.

"You sure? It'll be a bit of a hike to the ruins that way. I can find a closer landing spot..."

"That's quite alright." Izel insisted. "We won't be setting off for the ruins immediately. We'll need time to... Gather ourselves..." The captain looked at her a moment before shrugging and turning back to the controls.

"If you say so..." Not long afterwards the ship would touch down on a dusty clearing. Thankfully there were mountains enough around to shield them from the worst of the winds, and a small pond not too far from the freighter. They'd have everything they'd need here. Once they were properly settled Izel would be the first to step down the ramp and onto the planet surface. Despite the midday desert environment, the dark side corruption made it feel like it was freezing. The air here reeked of death and despair so much that the Vratix visibly recoiled slightly as she set her foot on the earth. It made her wonder if coming here was a mistake. But she and Isen had been to several corrupted locales by now. If her Padawan could survive the Blood Forest of Onderon and the dark energies of the Eternal itself, she was certain he could handle himself here. Yulie she would need to keep a close eye on though, the poor girl might need to stay on the ship if she couldn't bear the surface.

Once Izel had gotten a good feeling of the area around them and was certain there were no dangers nearby, at least none physical, she would turn to her apprentice. "Well?" She'd ask curiously. "What are your first impressions?"

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Isen Ramm

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As the ship approached the sandy, desert rock, Isen stood by Izel and looked out of the viewport. The planet didn't look like much, but to those that were trained in the ways of the Force, the planet tugged on them. For those who had succumbed to the Dark Side, the planet would feed them, power them from with all the negative emotions necessary to fuel their dark abilities. And for those who followed the Light Side of the Force, the planet was ever tugging, ever seducing, and if one would not be seduced, the planet's energy would fill them with dread, fear, and grief.

Like his master, Isen could feel it. It was as if the planet saw Isen as a fresh target, one that perhaps it could sway and corrupt to its side. Isen had a significant point of entry for the Dark Side, his aggression, and as if the Dark Side had a mind, that was the part of Isen the planet was calling to. He could feel it, the aggression. It was benign, or so it felt. The Dark Side fed him memories where his aggressive nature had served him well. His aggression had helped him to kill the terentatek with his master in Nar Shaddaa. It was his aggression that helped him single-handedly defeated a strong, Dark Side warrior on Onderon. Memory after memory flooded his mind. Imagine if he natured that part of him? What could he become? How strong could he be? What good could Isen construct from the use this unabashed aggression? Deep down, Isen knew it was a lie. But, still, it was seductive.

The closer they got to the planet, the stronger the planet urged him to feed his natural instincts, his natural emotions. The black spire, apparently unmarred by erosion or the other markers of deep time. Like the Dark Side itself, it persisted no matter what strikes the Jedi and other forces of good and justice had struck. It was an ominous reminder that destroying the Dark Side of the Force was a fool's errand. They landed, and Isen stepped out with the others onto the barren planet.

"Well?" Izel asked him. "What are your first impressions?"

Isen wanted to answer this question carefully. He didn't want to give his master any reason to doubt his progress, and they had just had a long talk about using intimidation and aggression as a first resort, even if the reasons were just. He also knew he had to tell her the truth. She would know if he said something that was not. "It's unsettling, Master." Isen said. Izel would know his words were true, but his face and posture would give nothing away. "It's as if the Dark Side here knows me, knows my weaknesses. It feels like...it feels like it's trying to lure me in."

He looked back to see if Yulie would be joining them. And if she was, in fact, Force sensitive, what her reactions to the planet might be.


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Yulie

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Ambria was a stain upon the tapestry of the universe, a blemish in the fabric of space and time. Unlike the Jedi, Yulie did not sense the cosmic malignance saturating the planet. Her awareness was clouded; having internalized her relationship with the Force, she did not feel her surroundings so acutely. Unfettered by her ignorance, the Dark Side was as insidious as it was imperceptible, harming her as discreetly as a radioactive environment.

A high-pitched whine rippled through the ship when it kissed Ambria’s atmosphere, waking Yulie up from her catnap in the overhead maintenance tunnel. Her eyes fluttered open and she rolled onto her side with a groan. Clasping the edge of the entry hatch, she dangled out the ceiling and almost fell on her rear when she dropped down with a thud.

Shambling into the refresher, she climbed into the sonic shower, braced herself against its walls and began adjusting the wavelengths of the vibrations. There were always aches and pains from sleeping on a metal floor, but she could always count on the sonic shower to massage them away. Except this time. No matter how she calibrated the emitters, she still felt stiff and could count every knot in her back. The dye had mostly faded from her hair, and dark bags sagged beneath her eyes.

Absent-mindedly, she filled her hands with water and splashed it into her face to wake herself up. Returning to the common area, she squirted some protein paste on a cracker and washed it down with powdered milk. For the first time in her life, she felt overworked.

Yulie just thought it was three days of pushing herself too hard, that she was not getting enough rest while teaching herself how to read whenever she was not juggling the roles of the ship’s mechanic and scullery maid. Although that was true, she did indeed tackle her duties with a work ethic comparable to Isen’s, it was the Dark Side that wearied her. There were limits to her body, to her mind…tolerances they could not go beyond, and that is where the Dark Side concentrated its efforts. When she felt weak, it would be there to lend its strength. It would tempt her. Far more than it wanted to break down all her barriers, it wanted her to let it in.

The ship touched down, but Yulie took her time to disembark. First, she had to talk to the Captain, and that meant waiting for things to wrap up between him and Izel. Once the passengers gave him some space, Yulie quietly approached to explain that the Hyperdrive was optimized for a larger class of ship and how her workaround corrected this problem. Though she would eventually need to crack open the drive itself and install a regulator between it and the engine, dialing up the artificial gravity to 1.2G during a stellar jump would mitigate the turbulence by roughly a third.

Good enough. Just don’t forget to tighten the primary buffer panel this time, kid.”

I didn’t forget.” Yulie spat, narrowing her eyes. “That panel is on the outer hull; you told me to get inside the ship and I went inside the ship.

Are you going to be like this every time you have a day off?” He asked, crossing his arms.

Maybe this is the new me.” She replied, imitating him by crossing her own arms.

I hope not. It’s not easy finding a good intern.

Lucky you, then.” She unfolded her arms, shocked at her disrespectful tone. "I apologize, Captain. There was a problem with the sonic shower...I don't know what came over me."

"Being assertive is good." He finally said, a little shocked himself that the girl was looking him right in the eye. "But only on your days off."

Yulie nodded meekly and scuttled to the ramp just as Isen glanced back in her direction. If the Galaxy was such a large and wondrous place, Yulie wondered why Izel chose to come here. Ambria sure did not live up to how Yulie imagined. It reminded her of Dathomir's beautiful desolation, but was wholly unpleasant. "This is Ambria?" Yulie asked as she descended the ramp. "Where are all the people?" It dawned on her that they would be stranded if the Captain took off, with no job prospects in sight. Perhaps I should have sabotaged the engine.

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Izel Thral

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Izel watched Isen closely as he spoke. The boy was stoic, but she had spent enough time with him to recognize his tells. There was hesitation in his words. He had doubts about his abilities to stave off the darkness. He feared his aggression might become a problem here. He didn't like to look weak, or even give the impression of it. She knew his outward appearance meant very much to him, and appreciated he was willing to admit as much as he did aloud.

She didn't reply to his observation immediately, instead turning towards Yulie as she descended the ramp and took a look around. She was surprised the environment wasn't having more of an effect on the Dathomirian. Perhaps her Force sensitivity was more dormant than she originally thought. "This is Ambria?" The girl said with what seemed like disappointment. "Where are all the people?"

The Vratix looked up the canyon side in the direction of the ruins, the apex of the black obelisk just peeking over the rocks above. A very apt question, and an excellent place to start. "There are a few mining colonies elsewhere on the surface, very far from here." She answered the girl, still looking up towards the ruins. "But few sentients have ever bothered to remain here, even for business. As you can see, it's a most inhospitable world." As she spoke the other two might become aware of something rather strange. Even for a desert world there were no creatures around them at all. No birds, no insects, no crawling reptiles. The only sound was that of the wind. Slowly the Vratix turned her gaze back on her two companions. When she spoke there was a heavy and mournful weight to her voice. "Thousands of years ago a Sith sorceress came to this world and enslaved its population. She tried to use them to empower herself through a dark ritual, and what you see now is the result. She wiped out all natural life on this planet, including herself."

She would give them a few moments to process that information, turning and walking along the rocky earth. The dark side permeated everything in this place, and was constantly gnawing at her barriers, trying to make her overcome with despair over the knowledge she had of this world's past. The Vratix would slowly begin to let the corruption wash over her, as though trying to acclimate herself to its presence.

"And that is just the start of a long and miserable history." She continued as she looked at the still water of the pond. She looked towards her apprentice. "I brought you here because I need you to understand just exactly what the dark side is Isen." She explained. "You've gotten a taste of it here and there. On Nar Shaddaa, on Onderon, Sullust. But this is the end result. This is what the dark side will do to all the galaxy, if it is not checked. Reach out and feel the extent of the damage that has been done. You will find nothing replying to your call for life."

She would then turn her gaze toward Yulie, a bit hesitant. She realized now this was something of an odd moment to reveal themselves... Perhaps she should have done it sooner? During their journey? But she didn't want the captain interposing himself in matters for Force users. And if her abilities were in fact dormant, the power here could draw it out with ease. "Do you feel anything Yulie?" She asked her bluntly. "I trust you're aware of what you are? If not I apologize for causing confusion, but I get the distinct sense you've used the Force already. There's no need to disguise yourself among us." Well... That was dropping a lot on her all at once. Izel wondered how those Jedi that went out searching for Force sensitives had this conversation... It obviously wasn't something she had any natural talent for. At the very least she hoped her words wouldn't cause the young Dathomirian to panic.

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Isen Ramm

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The stories were horrifying and sobering. Isen had seen the Dark Side in action, and he had never witnessed such a display of power as he saw on Sullust. The Sith Eternal broke the very ground, created rivers of lava, and rained lightning from the heavens. But that was the power of the Dark Side. Izel knew that Isen had seen that. But here, what she wanted to show him, was the result of that power. What the Dark Side left in its wake. Emptiness. Death. Total destruction.

Isen did as she asked. He reached out to find life, sentient or not. It simply was not there. Such a stark contrast to Yavin. It seemed like not long ago, a Jedi Knight Novaron Rah had taught Isen how to do so much more than reach out and find life, but to bond with the non-sentient species. But here...there was nothing to respond to his far reaches. Isen's strength in the Force was growing. His potential was starting to become realized. In a planet so vast, he felt as if he should feel...something. Find...something. But only those that came on the ship were on his Force radar.

The padawan would stop and give Yulie a sideways glance at Izel's question, but only for a moment. He wouldn't want to put pressure on the girl to answer any sort of way, but he stepped forward a few steps as if to assure her that he wasn't going to be listening in with judgement. And to be sure, he had his own concerns about what this planet may show in his own character and future.
 

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"...As you can see, it's a most inhospitable world."

It shouldn’t be…” Her surroundings were barren as sun-bleached bones. The world was inhospitable, but she could not find a reason for it to be so sterile. “There is moisture in the air, and the heat is endurable… ” She looked for signs of water erosion. Even if the ground were too rocky for roots to take hold, bugs can infest anything. But there was not even fungus, or mold. It was unnerving. Izel had to explain how this came to be.

"Thousands of years ago a Sith sorceress came to this world and enslaved its population. She tried to use them to empower herself through a dark ritual, and what you see now is the result. She wiped out all natural life on this planet, including herself."

The mention of slavery made Yulie’s palm itch. It was a word that meant more to her than most, and the Dark Side responded to the way it made her feel, preying upon the fear and the suffering that her markings represented. Yulie scraped her fingernails against the glove, but it just made the burning sensation worse. The breeze carried the stench or burnt skin. The Dark Side wanted her to remember the hot iron pressing into her flesh, it wanted to rekindle the hatred she held for the abusers in the Galaxy.

Yulie took comfort in knowing the sorceress doomed herself. Good. Yulie thought. I hope she suffered. But even if her death was long and agonizing, the dead were still dead. The sorceress punched a furious hole through universe, and it swallowed all the slaves. It swallowed everything, and it made Yulie feel empty inside. The story would have been so much nicer if it could have ended with the slaves getting their revenge, but slaves did not get to have happy endings. It always ended in some tragedy or another. Yulie scratched her hand. The burning sensation on her palm reminding her that she was no exception to the rule.

There was a great deal she did not understand about the story. She knew nothing of Sith, sorcery or the Dark Side. She remembered that one of her people’s Laws was to use magic wisely, a tenet that confounded her above all others. Dathomiri were sometimes called witches, but she possessed no knowledge or skill in spellcraft. She had no idea how to prove her compliance with this Law, and she was forbidden to return until she learned to embody them all.

"Do you feel anything Yulie?"

No.” She answered. Thus far, she was only able to reach out with the Force when she was afraid, and even then, she was just lashing out like a cornered animal. The future did not reveal itself to her. She did not get a feel of others’ emotions, nor did she anticipate what was unseen. However, she did feel something, and it was affecting her deeply. She did not mean to deceive; she just did not know what it was she was feeling.

Yulie thought she merely woke up on the wrong side of the floor. Instead, it was Ambria’s corruption that was keeping her on edge and denying her even a moment of respite. It was draining, both physically and mentally. The sonic shower could not give her relief, and food would not satisfy her hunger. Her mood was testy, her body ached, and it was because of this place. Given the dark bags under her eyes and her uncharacteristic willingness to make eye contact, it was clear she was feeling something.

"I trust you're aware of what you are? If not I apologize for causing confusion, but I get the distinct sense you've used the Force already. There's no need to disguise yourself among us."

I’m not anything.” Yulie said dryly. The meaning of her name was her oldest pain. Every time it was spoken it was like a needle driven into her heart, but it had been stabbed so many times it was like flaying a dead nerve. She did not even feel it anymore. But Ambria found weakness in her emotions, rendering her vulnerable to the Dark Side. It reopened that wound, made it raw again. “Nothing at all. So, pardon me if I pretend to be somebody! You want me to take off my disguise? Fine!

Yulie tried tearing off her glove, but her anger channeled the Force. Contact-activated Telekinesis held the glove securely to her hand. She grunted in frustration, trying to dig her nails under it or otherwise claw it apart, but she could not even snap the frayed braids holding it together. “Get! Off! You! Stupid! Thing!” But it would not yield.

And then she felt it. Perhaps the Dark Side was merely rewarding her for lashing out at someone who had only shown her kindness and patience, but for a moment, she reached out with the Force and got a sense of her surroundings.

The air became frigid, and the planet’s gravity shifted. It felt like there was a hole in the world going all the way through, and Yulie was straddling it. Yulie held her head. There was warmth in the frozen air, as though Izel and Isen were bonfires. If there were other life forms nearby, she would have felt them, too, but the ship was too far out of her range. “What’s happening to me?” She asked timidly, sounding more like her old self. She held her sides like she was standing out in the cold without a jacket, but the cold she felt was on the inside.


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Izel Thral

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“I’m not anything.” Yulie answered, causing Izel to tilt her head slightly. That wasn't exactly the response she was expecting, but the Dathomirian's following outburst cleared things up a bit. She could sense the girl's hatred and self-loathing, and knew it wasn't exactly directed at her. The Vratix didn't show any sign of indignation at being snapped at. Rather she seemed to have nothing but pity for the Dathomirian as she devolved to trying to tear off her glove before suddenly freezing up. Izel's suspicions were correct. The powerful currents here were opening her up to the Force, but she seemed shocked by it. Her understanding was still extremely limited. When she asked what was happening the Vratix responded in the same calm and level voice.

"Your eyes are opening." She explained. "There's an energy field that permeates the entire galaxy, something we call the Force. It is the driving thing behind all life. There are some individuals like Isen and myself whom are born with the power to feel and manipulate that energy. You have that power too." She paused. It was easy to tell there was remorse in her voice. She felt regret for bringing Yulie here, as unprepared as she was. "What you're feeling now is the dark side of the Force. It's like a disease, a perversion of the natural flow of the universe." She would approach Yulie slowly and cautiously, so as not to invoke some kind of reflexive response while she was still experiencing the touch of the Force for the first time.

"But the light side of the Force, it's true face, is something else entirely." She would extend an open hand towards Yulie, offering for her to take it. "It's a magnificent thing, like feeling the warmth of a star without it's harshness. I can show you, if you wish." If the Dathomirian did decide to take Izel's hand the Vratix would impress upon her some of the light that existed within herself. Nothing overwhelming, only enough to try and push back the darkness that was encroaching from the planet itself. Afterwards, whether or not Yulie took that offer, Izel would look back towards her apprentice.

"I understand you may disagree with me on that conclusion." She said, referring to her previous statements about the dark side. "But this is what my own studies and experiences have led me to believe. I hoped to share some of those studies with you here, where we'll face no risk of castigation." She sighed, looking at the ground a bit as she mulled things over before raising her head again. "I don't speak of this to many. I'm willing to reveal this to because I trust you completely Padawan... Before I joined our Order I studied the Force extensively and independently. I studied all perspectives on it." The way she emphasized her words would make it clear what she meant, at least to Isen. She had studied the teachings of the dark side personally. Even though the new Jedi Order was not as restrictive as its predecessor, this was still something that was largely considered dangerous and taboo. Izel knew theory and study of the Force was far from Isen's greatest interest, but if he was to become a Jedi Knight he had to have a better understanding. Izel felt that if anything, perhaps this would pique his interest. He was learning to fear what dark side corruption might do to him. In Izel's own experience, the first step to overcoming a fear was understanding it.

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Isen Ramm

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The girl did not appear to be taking Izel's questioning well. She first started with pitching a fit, then struggled to take off a glove. Isen decided the best tactic would be to ignore it. That is, until he could feel the Force manifesting around them, generated by the girl's fear and anger. Isen stayed calm, but he turned to face the source of that energy and stood up tall, his chin slightly raised, his eyes laser focused. Who really knew what this girl was capable of...or what she'd been taught?

Listening to Izel talk, his master certainly believed the girl had been taught nothing or next to nothing about the Force.. For his part, Isen was impressed with Izel's demeanor, calmness, and compassion. Isen could stay calm, but empathy was not his strongest characteristic.

As Izel turned her words to the padawan, Isen would not disagree with Izel here and now. What he may not have agreed with was that the Force had a true face, a de facto state of being. That the Force was inherently good and that left alone it would all be Light Side. That would mean that the Force was not looking for "balance," but rather it was wanting to be tipped toward the light, and in fact was trying to drive out the darkness. It would mean that the Dark Side only existed because of those could and would corrupt the natural state of the Force. But then, she said something that would get a reaction.

"But this is what my own studies and experiences have led me to believe. I hoped to share some of those studies with you here, where we'll face no risk of castigation."

Isen turned his head to her and raised a brow. Was she insinuating that she studied the Dark Side? Perhaps practiced it? And she was going to let him in on some of what she had learned? No wonder they came way out here to Ambria. This would be highly frowned upon by the Jedi Masters, and the Council may well have pitched a fit of their own, not unlike Yulie's.

"I don't speak of this to many. I'm willing to reveal this to because I trust you completely Padawan... Before I joined our Order I studied the Force extensively and independently. I studied all perspectives on it."

So, it was true. She had studied the Dark Side. All this time together, and Isen still knew strikingly little about Izel's history. She had so much poise and carried herself like a Jedi Master, that Isen had just assumed that she was like...well, him. That she was on one of the few that were reared by the Jedi from childhood, but that apparently was not the case. She had traveled down a path of Force study before she was a member of the Order. Interesting.

Isen nodded slowly. "I have to say you have my full attention." He turned his attention back to Yulie. She, too, had a decision to make.


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Yulie had a difficult time believing what Izel was telling her. The truth of the universe was one thing, but the truth of herself was another matter entirely. She wanted to tell the Vratix that it was wrong, that the Force was a Jedi weapon, and she could not have the power to use it because being powerless is just who she is. She was not a Jedi. She was not anything. She looked to Isen, he was a man of few words, but surely he would object. Instead, he towered in silence, studying her with a piercing gaze like she might be dangerous.

Yulie hesitated in taking Izel’s hand. She had given the Vratix a mouthful of unfiltered rage completely undeservingly, and Yulie felt ashamed that it was so patient with her. Even Isen was patient. He stood up to the Captain when he raised his voice at her, but he gave her space even though she erupted at his mentor. It was kindness that she had not earned, and if she did not accept it, they might not offer it again. They would be passengers and she would just be the Help. “O-okay.”

She reached cautiously, shivering. It felt like the temperature was continuing to fall; whatever was about to happen, the Dark Side was not reacting kindly to it. Izel’s touch shared the warmth of the Light. Yulie brought her share of Darkness with her to the planet and Izel could not banish that with a touch, but it did recede the black tide that was crashing upon the shores of her consciousness. Her hunger receded with it, as did the aches and pains which persisted through the sonic shower. She did not feel like an overstretched cable ready to snap. When she took her hand back, she simply stared at it in astonishment.

This is what it means to use the Force?

The guy on the HoloNet made it sound like a weapon, and from the stories she heard as a child she thought it was a stimpack that a warrior would use. But this was magic, and if Izel was correct, it was everywhere.

She paid attention to what the giant insect had to say to Isen, but it was over Yulie’s head. Izel spoke of the nuances of the nature of the Force, and Yulie barely had the time to process the basics. Without even a baseline understanding of who the Jedi were, Yulie was unaware that Izel even said anything controversial. So what if Izel read some books before joining Isen’s club or whatever it was? Isen certainly did not seem to care. Of course, he also seemed pretty composed when Yulie was baring her teeth, so it was actually hard to tell how he felt about it.

Regardless, he was giving his mentor his full attention. When he looked back to Yulie, she abruptly looked away from him. Her gaze had lingered long enough to be incriminating and had not realized it until they made eye contact.

I would like to learn as well…i-if I can.” Her voice wavered when she made the request. “The Fifth Law of my family is to never forget that our magic must be used wisely. Until now, I did not understand what that meant. If I can properly command the Force…and use it wisely…I’ll be one step closer to home.

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Izel Thral

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Well Isen did in fact seem intrigued by her admission, Izel thought he might. The young Kiffar was pragmatic, and would probably see her studies as tactful, so long as she didn't get in over her head. She was pleased to see he had an open mind about this matter, and nodded to him in return. Yulie herself still seemed quite confused about all this, referring to magic and citing dogma she didn't fully comprehend.

"I assume you're referring to the teachings of the Nightsisters?" She asked the girl. She was Dathomirian after all, that would make some sense. But why then would she not possess a greater knowledge of the Force? "They are another cult that adheres to the dark side, or at least, the majority of them do. My knowledge of them is limited, historical records are difficult to come by, but I can tell you what I do know." She hesitated as she looked between her apprentice and the young Dathomirian, raising a hand to scratch the back of her head uncomfortably.

"Well... This is a bit awkward..." She started. "Maybe we can just..." She looked at Isen first. "I'm just going to start from the beginning alright? And once Yulie's caught up with us a bit I can get into greater detail." She turned her attention back to the girl. "I suppose I should reintroduce us first. There are many religious orders that study and teach the use of the Force. The one Isen and I belong to are called the Jedi, probably the most famous among them. I hold the rank of Knight, and Isen is what we call a Padawan learner, an apprentice. We dedicate ourselves to preserving peace and order in the galaxy, as well as trying to combat the spread of the dark side." She swept her hand out across the barren landscape. Her voice took on a slightly more somber tone. "As you can see, we are not always successful."

This was certainly becoming complicated fast. Izel wanted to get to the meat of why they were there, to help Isen further his own studies, but how in the galaxy was she supposed to summarize millennia of history, doctrine and philosophy in a clear and concise manner? She dearly hoped Yulie was quick on the uptake, otherwise they'd be there all day. On the bright side, that would also give her more time to implement her personal practice that she wanted to attempt, strengthening her resistance to dark side corruption by placing herself as close to temptation as possible. Ideally Isen would be able to do the same. "Do you... have any questions?" She asked the young Dathomirian. She glanced in her apprentice's direction, hoping for some kind of assistance but not entirely sure how to ask for it. It was suddenly like they had brought a youngling with them.

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Never before had the padawan seen what was unfolding. For the first time in his life, he was seeing someone come to grips with the knowledge that they were Force sensitive. And to top it off, they had no idea what the Force was or what it was capable of...and consequently, what they were capable of. There was so much to explain, and Izel and Isen both understood that giving her all the foundational knowledge of the Force, the Light and the Dark Sides, what it was, how it was used...that would be information overload.

Izel looked at him as if she, herself, was perplexed about how to explain this succinctly and wondered if Isen might be able to help. Afterall, the girl just had a life-altering knowledgebomb dropped on her, and there was no telling what was going through her mind. Despite being the Padawan and despite Izel being the far more knowledgeable and wiser of the two, it was possible that Isen's succinctness is what this situation called for.

Isen lifted his brow and shrugged to indicate that he would give it a try.

"Yulie, the Force is a great mystery. All the religious orders whose basis is the Force still don't have a full understanding of its power, it's will, and its limits...or even if there are limits. Truth be told, in the grand scheme of things and everything there is to learn about the Force, you probably aren't that far behind Master Thral and myself. The Force is that complex...but that is good. If it weren't, it wouldn't be worth a lifetime of study." Isen took a step to Yulie and leaned forward slightly to drive the next point home. "As someone who can access the wonders of the Force, you have a decision to make. You can either use the Force to promote goodness, kindness, compassion and justice to the galaxy, or you can use it to create..." He waved an arm slowly around, pointing out the desolate landscape. "Destruction, death, pain, and suffering. If you want to be a Force for good, follow and learn from Master Thral. Do not expect to learn everything in a day, a week, a month, or even a lifetime. Learn first by watching us, listening to us, and asking questions as they come. However, if you choose to use your abilities for destruction, we cannot help you develop your gift."


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"I assume you're referring to the teachings of the Nightsisters?"

Yes.” She said. Well, it was more complicated than that, she was hoping to join the Singing Mountain Clan specifically, but even Yulie knew it was pointless to debate the finer details of a culture that neither of them fully understood. “I was born far from home, and by the time I found my way to Dathomir, I didn’t fit in. But if I can learn the Laws, they can take me back. The Nightsisters would be my sisters. I’d have a family and a people.

Would Izel understand the pull that she felt? Perhaps a Jedi understood better than anyone just how selfish an attachment can be, but from Yulie’s point of view it was a connection. She had so few of either that she was not ready to let it go, even if they were just cultists.

Yulie had a lot of questions about what she being told, but it was not in her nature to trouble anyone with constant pestering. Slaves were not typically taught but rather instructed. They did not need to comprehend, only to obey. Gaps were eventually filled by experience, assuming a slave’s errors were not simply beaten out of them for efficiency’s sake. No, she dismissed most of her questions as stupid, and Yulie figured they would be answered sooner or later if she paid enough attention. On the opposite end of that scale, she had not learned enough to really be aware of what she did not know.

The one question that stood above all others was also the least relevant. Were the really Jedi? Really? How did they not get run out of town!? The mere accusation sent her into hiding for weeks, hunting snakes from Mon Gazza’s rooftops, and they just swaggered into the ship without any trouble! Did they have any idea how many snakes there were on rooftops? Not many! Part of her, the loud part that frightened her, wanted to demand some money from them to make up for lost tips. Some compensation for whatever the Jedi did to make the HoloNet rile everyone up.

Yulie managed to bottle up those feelings, though, pushing them down somewhere they could not hurt anyone. It would take a while before Ambria’s passive corruption could have such a pronounced effect on her mood again, and Izel would likely sense her anger percolating to the surface well before it could erupt over something trivial. It was easy to sense Yulie’s fear, but it was her anger that she feared the most. It uncaged a savagery that she wished she did not possess. If she made the incident at the spice den the subject of conversation…well, there was no telling what they might have heard or how curious they might be to investigate. And there was no telling how they might treat her if they knew what she was like when cornered.

She kneaded her thigh with her knuckles, roughly massaging a newly-stiffening muscle trying to narrow down at least one question. Something to show that she was processing all of this and not some empty-headed waif of a castoff. While Izel outlined the structure and purpose of the Jedi, Isen elaborated on the nature of the Force as something both a profoundly personal forked path and an infinitely complex riddle to unravel no matter which direction she chose.

...If you want to be a Force for good, follow and learn from Master Thral.

Isen laid out the choice she had to face, making it clear which path she could walk with them, and which she would have to walk alone. With the Jedi’s combined explanations, she was able to narrow things down to two questions. One of them could take a lifetime to answer, but with the stark choice of the two paths before her, she decided to ask later. If the Nightsisters are submerged in the Dark Side, does the ecstatic beauty of Dathomir mean that the Dark Side can do something more than simply bring destruction, death, pain and suffering wherever it went? Finding balance in a dark place was probably the better of the two questions, but the other one troubled Yulie even more.

Just one question…for now.” She sighed. It did not sound so hopelessly non-committal in her head, but now that she was hearing the words aloud it just sounded daft. “Would I have to call Thral ‘master’?” Maybe they needed some context. “I could use some other title or honorific…I don’t want to be disrespectful, but I can’t call anyone ‘master’ ever again. I can’t. I just can’t.

Those who suffer emotion will never enjoy peace. Of the six Laws, it was the first one that gave her the most trouble. Whether it was in a glove or handwraps, she carried the trauma of slavery wherever she went.

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Izel Thral

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"Well said." Izel replied to Isen's explanation with gratitude. It was still somewhat reductionist, but he did a good enough job of getting the fundamentals across. Yulie seemed to understand the basics of what they were trying to tell her. She listened to the girl's words and felt her emotions as she spoke. There was still much fear in her, and a the roots of a budding hatred besides. Izel could sense a beast there, buried deep within and clawing its way towards the surface. Yulie seemed to understand this presence as well, at least on a subconscious level. She appeared to fear herself as much as anything else.

And as the young girl spoke Izel more clearly understood her situation. Born away from home, isolated from her people, her demeanor and fearfulness, her obvious aversion to calling anyone 'master'. So she was a former slave after all. Again the Vratix was filled with pity for the poor thing, and spoke softly in response. "Well... You're not really a Jedi, at least not yet. So no, Izel is fine. And I would be glad to help you along your journey however I can Yulie." After that she would look up the side of the canyon again in the direction of the ruins before turning back to the others.

"Well, I suppose we should start getting a move on. As the captain said, it will take us some time to reach the ruins on foot. As we get closer to the obelisk the dark side will grow stronger. Isen, I want you to be mindful of the corruption and maintain your barriers." She turned her attention to the Dathomirian. "Yulie, if your senses start to become overwhelmed just tell me. I can help you to block it out." With that she would start making her way up a narrow rocky path that led towards the upper reaches of the canyon. As she had warned, the dark side here was very strong, with the negative energy of not only the aforementioned sorceress but many other long dead Sith lords poisoning the air. The miasma of darkness would only start to grow thicker over time, the closer they got to the obelisk. For her own part Izel continued to immerse herself in the corruption, allowing it to lap at her essence without giving in to it. Experiencing memories of the countless horrors that had happened here, her old hatred for the Sith was stoked anew. She felt anger over knowing what had been done to the innocents of the past, and desired to exact vengeance on those who kept to the same vile teachings. Maintaining a steady and calm breathing, she was able to banish such dark thoughts from her mind however.

"As I mentioned before, my perspective on the Force and the meaning of 'balance' might contradict your own preconceptions, as well as some other masters." She spoke up, both to try and distract herself from the gnawing corruption and to properly begin Isen's lesson. "I do not see the dark side as a natural part of the cycle, but a creation of power-hungry sentients. One that it is our mission to destroy." She'd glance over her shoulder at Isen, making sure to give pauses between her words enough for either him or Yulie to cut in with a question if they had any. "Think back to your earliest lessons on the nature of the Force. Life creates it, and makes it grow. In turn the Force connects itself to all life, and directs the progression of the galaxy through us. The Living Force is in symbiosis with all living creatures. It has a vested interest in seeing life continue to grow and thrive. In all that I have read, it is apparent to me that the disciples of the dark side believe in betterment of the self above all. While this is not inherently an erroneous pursuit, it becomes a detriment to the galaxy when sought after at the expense of all else. Those that use the dark side see everything, everything as a tool to advance themselves. If it does not serve them, it has no value. You see how this is fundamentally in opposition to the will of the Force?"

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It became very clear that Yulie came with a lot of baggage. A slave, some Dark Side teachings, sparse as they may be, and pent up anger and fear. It had excellent ingredients to for a Sith recipe. Isen was curious if taking her down this road was a smart idea. He understood why the Order would not teach children the ways of the Force past a certain age. There inherent dangers, and the flags that Yulie brought with her could rival the parade of planets on Coruscant. Still, Isen would not reflect any judgement in his reactions to her words. Stoic, static. He listened quietly and still. Izel was wiser than he was, and if she felt comfortable starting her down this path, he was in no position to object.

As they started toward the obelisk, Izel began to speak upon her own philosophy of the Force. It was new to Isen. He found himself wondering if this was a philosophy she had been developing over time, or if the horrific events of Ajan Kloss and the battle on Sullust had quickly shaped her thoughts on the matter. Perhaps a combination of the two. It was an interesting theory, but it left Isen with many questions.

"If the Dark Side doesn't exist without sentience, would the same be true for the Light?" Isen thought back to his time of meditations in the Yavin wilderness. Oh, how he kicked himself for not sinking into his meditations in the wild earlier. Never had he communed with the Force as he did in the wild. He reflected on his lesson with Novarah Rah as he learned to tame a wild beast using only the Force. "If you're correct, then can the Force's natural state be...Light? Wouldn't it's natural state simply be...balanced, balanced to sustain life?" Isen's own way of thinking about life unaltered by sentient beings changed after the events of Sullust and Ajan Kloss as well. But it wasn't the events there as much as his time meditating in the wilderness. As he sunk himself into the Yavin forests and swamps, he realized that every living thing had a role to play to keep the balance, down to the algae and the moss. Predators had a role to play. Prey animals had their role. The predators weren't inherently evil, but they were the Force's way of keeping the balance so that both the predator and the prey could survive. No animal in the wild was "good" or "bad." They simply were part of the Force's plan for balance. It would make sense..the non-sentient beings did access the Dark Side or the Light Side of the Force. They simply were a part of it.

This created an entirely new and complex issues for Isen. Perhaps he misunderstood. "Can their be a Light side of the Force without the Dark?"


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"Well... You're not really a Jedi, at least not yet. So no, Izel is fine. And I would be glad to help you along your journey however I can Yulie."

Yulie nodded. Well, now they definitely know. She thought to herself as her face turned mauve. But they trusted me with their Jedi-ness so I can trust them with this. Her fingers picked at her glove, but she could not bring herself to remove it. I can put it back on when we head back. The Captain would have no idea. So…just take it off. She stuffed her hand into her pocket instead.

"Yulie, if your senses start to become overwhelmed just tell me. I can help you to block it out."

“Okay.” She thought she had some idea of what to expect now. If her hand started to itch or if she stood on her toes to look someone in the eye, she would ask for another dose of Light. And if she sensed something weird, she would not hesitate to describe it. It was difficult to hold on to her heightened awareness, though. It triggered on instinct, but consciously thinking about it made so much slip away. All that remained was a chill, deep inside her bones.

She hung back a few paces behind them, picking up the pace whenever she drifted behind. It must have been nice to have such long legs. This comfortable distance gave her enough room to listen to them talk about the Force and them enough room to not be distracted by her.

Trekking to the obelisk had Yulie wading deeper into the contamination that that was leaking from it. The tax it charged her body was paid for with her strength. Every step felt like ten, and it took more effort than the terrain’s incline would suggest. The air itself was dying, each lungful less gratifying than the one before. Resting would solve nothing and she knew it, so she trudged onwards. When we leave this system…I’m going to put on some music, finish my bread, and take a nap in the sonic shower.

To distract herself from what felt like a long, forced march, she tried to comprehend what the Jedi had been saying about the Force. She was no philosopher, certainly no spiritualist, but she was a capable mechanic. Would it help to think of the Force from an engineering standpoint? She murmured her thoughts to keep herself focused.

Here we have an energy field of opposing charges interacting with a closed system. A surge severely damaged that system and wiped out its internal power cells, so it should be returning to a state of equilibrium. But it’s not. So it’s either producing energy on its own or it’s drawing power from the energy field itself. Or it is somehow converting the opposing charge…

Yulie swallowed. The problem with talking is that it made it harder to regulate her breathing. A Sith would simply use its aggression, draw strength from the Dark Side and enjoy an exhilarating hike, but Yulie had not even connected the dots between her impulses and her abilities. It would not be such a relaxing trip for her.

"Can there be a Light side of the Force without the Dark?"

Yulie wanted to hear the answer to that one; it could provide more insight into the Force’s energy states and how they might affect a given system. She would eventually delve deeper into the philosophies they were discussing, but a mechanic was a person who wanted to repair things. This planet was damaged, perhaps the Force itself, and she wondered if it could be fixed. She waited until Izel answered the question fully before asking one herself.

I have a question.” She said to the two of them as she picked up her pace. “A sorceress re-aligned the planet, but have the Jedi ever been able to re-align something smaller?” She had a natural curiosity for this field of study. Under Jedi supervision, learning to purify corrupted objects would be something of great interest to her. The dark reflection of that natural curiosity would be a similar interest in the alchemical pursuits of the Sith. Maybe it was just the Dathomirian in her that drew her towards manipulating fundamental properties themselves.

The duality of that curiosity was an opportunity to corrupt her, and the Dark Side was equally tempting as it was tormenting. Her footsteps felt somehow lighter as they continued onward, and the air more full, and again her senses expanded. She could feel a current pushing her from behind, the obelisk drawing her in like water circling a drain. It “…wants to show me something.” Goosebumps washed over her arms. It has intent…how does it have intent?

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"It is my belief that the natural balance of the universe is the light side of the Force." Izel replied to Isen's questioning. "In the natural world there is no good or evil as we understand it. Non-sentient beings naturally do what they need to do to survive, and in doing so create an equilibrium that allows for life to continue to flourish. If the kath hound did not prey on the iriaz, the iriaz would overpopulate and reduce the available food sources to themselves and other herbivores, thus harming them all." Again she gestured to the landscape around them.

"Taken to it's natural end, the power of the dark side completely disrupts the cycle, and makes it impossible to continue. Ambria is an extinct world. It's natural life cycle will never return. All we can do now is repopulate it with alien species. The presence of sentient life creates a danger to the cycle. When we remain in harmony with the will of the Force, we are able to help maintain the balance of the natural world through our own works." Izel's opinions on this matter were partially informed by her experiences growing up on Thyferra. The Vratix were a humble people, and enjoyed living simple lives. Even today outside of the bacta industry they were a largely agricultural society, living in modest villages that many aliens viewed as somewhat backwards. It was the intervention of human colonists that disrupted that cycle, and in the past led her people to violence. It inspired the creation of the Ashern terrorists, and their involvement in both the Clone Wars and the Galactic Civil War. All of this was an affront to the governing philosophies of her people.

"When an individual breaks with the will of the Force, when they think of only how to empower themselves and nothing else, they disrupt the natural balance. That is from where the dark side is born. So yes, I believe there can be a light side without a dark. I believe so long as both exist they will be doomed to war with each other until one is destroyed. If the dark side were to win this war, it would mean the death of the galaxy itself." She looked back at Isen again. "I know there are many in the Order whom would disagree with me. Master Tionson in particular has expressed to me that he feels we are doomed to continue this dance between light and dark for all eternity. And perhaps we are. But I believe if we can just overcome this conflict with the Sith, and find a way to convert those within their ranks back to the light, we can end this cycle of destruction once and for all. I can't force this outlook upon you Isen, but I hope I can at least make a convincing argument for it."

Izel then turned her attention to Yulie as she piped in with her own question. "We have." She answered with a nod. "As a matter of fact a Jedi Master came to this very world about a thousand years after the death of the Sorceress. He spent much of his life here, slowly expelling the dark side corruption and trying to turn the planet back to the light. He taught many apprentices here, one of whom even went on to become a former Grand Master of our order. He made his home in a canyon elsewhere on the world, and if we were to travel there, you would feel a stark difference in the energy in the air. Unfortunately this is a process that takes generations of constant work, and as far as I am aware no Jedi continued his work after his death. Those that use the dark side are able to cause this damage on a planet-wide scale over a much shorter period of time, but only through the most horrific of methods. The damage to Ambria can be undone. But it is an effort that will take many, many years."

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The new philosophy that Izel was giving Isen had some merit. He was unsure how he felt about the state of the Force de facto being Light should it be left alone from sentience, to let nature run its course without willful manipulation of resources and changing ecosystems and disrupting food webs and food sources for the wilderness. In a sense, the wild had elements of both the light and the dark. Herd animals sought to share, were peaceful, and believed in protecting one another. Predators certainly had to kill to survive. Many relied on deception, and all relied on violence to survive.

The wild was beautiful in many ways. In its complexity, in the vibrancy of the smells and colors and sounds. It was beautiful how all organisms relied on each other to keep a balance. But the wild was also a terrifying place for many animals that struggled for survival. The balance in nature, as Isen saw it, had reflections of both the Light and the Dark Sides. That would be an interesting twist, because nature would indicate the Light Side wasn't necessarily "right" and the Dark Side wasn't necessary "Bad." They would just simply....exist...in a balancing act. That would mean the Sith were...necessary?

Izel certainly didn't think so. In fact, she thought the Dark Side should not exist at all, and it was the Jedi's job to snuff out the flame of the Dark Side. Wisdom was her strong suit, not his. For that reason, Isen would certainly hear Izel out. He nodded as she talked, and was clearly trying to sort all of this out in his mind. This was a new direction, a new philosophy. Isen had been brought up in a very orthodox upbringing on Jedha, like the Jedi of old. He was brought up in the ways of the Unifying Force. Since joining Izel, she had primarily been teaching, and it seemed to be the prevailing viewpoint among the Jedi at Ajan Kloss and Yavin IV, the tenets of the Living Force. Isen, not much to consider these complexities, had not given it much thought. Though now, it appeared this was a large part of their being here on Ambria. He would have to think more...philosophically here.

"There is a lot there to unpack, Master," Isen told Izel. "It's a significant shift, but I think I understand at least part of it. It leaves me with a lot more questions."

He wouldn't ask them just yet as Yulie had some questions of her own that needed answering. Isen felt that she was teetering on the break of choosing to walk as a Jedi and embracing the Dark Side, a feeling that was fueled by the very planet itself. He also listened intently to what Izel was telling Yulie about the planet's history. Just because he didn't ask the question did not mean he couldn't learn from the answer.

They finally came near to the base of the black obelisk. The air was thick with the Dark Side, a jungle of negative emotions and temptations. The Dark Side reminded Isen of all the perceived wrongs against him, especially the old Jedi Masters on Jedha who gave little to no interest to him. A feeling of animosity was welling up inside of him, and he had to steady himself, working to let loose the Light Side inside of him to fight them off. But mostly, the Dark Side was tempting Isen to embrace his aggression. It was a sweet seduction..."Give in to the Living Force, Isen Ramm...trust your instincts, Isen Ramm...Your instincts are aggressive, Isen Ramm...Your aggressiveness is a gift, Isen Ramm..."

He looked up at the black object, a symbol of the Dark Side of the Force and muttered loud enough for others to hear, "How does it know us?"


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…Those that use the dark side are able to cause this damage on a planet-wide scale over a much shorter period of time, but only through the most horrific of methods. The damage to Ambria can be undone. But it is an effort that will take many, many years."

So it is possible! Izel even believed that Sith could be realigned, and from what Yulie could surmise by their inclusion in the conversation, they were a faction diametrically opposed to the Jedi’s alignment with the Light. That would explain all the buzz on the HoloNet, and why Mon Gazza was so quick to turn on her. Most people knew nothing about the Force or those who were attuned to it, how could they tell one side from the other when Force users were in open conflict? It was so easy for the destruction to become synonymous with the only faction they knew of: Jedi.

Her thoughts returned to translate Jedi mysticism into something she was more familiar with. With the sacrifice of thousands, a sorceress poisoned the planet. A Jedi expert made a lengthy effort to restore Ambria, but those efforts could not be noticed this close to the obelisk. Perhaps there was a workaround where a single person could trigger a stronger effect.

She pictured a trumpet. An acoustic resonance chamber allows the average person to generate controlled, high decibel sounds with a single breath, but not if you blow through a straw. How would this machine work? Maybe kyber would be involved? This was the endpoint of her knowledge; she was no engineer and could not draft such a machine from scratch. If she could tinker with one, she could understand how it worked and keep it running, but her sciences fell short of her creative spark.

No, I’m going about it the wrong way. There is already a machine: The Force itself. So how would I…Flush the system!” Her eyes widened excitedly. “What if we don’t need to realign the planet?” She did not give anyone a chance to answer. “If the obelisk could be realigned, it could do most of the work for us! It would be like switching a valve.” She pictured the gunk that festers in neglected pipes being stripped from the walls by high-pressure cleaner. “And we might not even have to realign the whole obelisk.” She was more talkative than she had been in years, even though she was panting and struggling to keep up. Tinkering made her feel at peace, and working on this took her mind off what the obelisk was doing to her.

Her mind was now racing. There was something about the obelisk’s importance that felt off. Why not bomb it, or tow if off-world, or jettison it into a black hole? Surely someone would have already done so if that would solve the problem. Was it even the obelisk that was doing this, or perhaps the space it occupied? The Force was an energy field, after all, and energy can pass through objects.

If there was a focal point, a breach where the Dark Side is leaking through, the effort could be focused there. Forget scrubbing an entire planet, what if we just need to change a small valve and the Light side does the rest?” Only now did she give ample time for them to speak. She needed it to catch her breath anyway.

Yulie knew that she was babbling excitedly about a subject she knew next to nothing, relying on metaphor simply to process what she had been told, but of all the monks and philosophers and sorcerers who had come here, how many were mechanics? On the other hand, it might have been the equivalent of the proverbial swoop bike on a hovertrain solution to breaking the lightspeed barrier, and she may only be the latest in a long line of ignorant fools to think she was first to come up with this idea. But if she was merely an ignorant fool, at least she was one who was willing to learn and was able to use her knowledge creatively.

Can you show me how to realign an object when we are back on the ship?” There had to be something around here they could use for a demonstration. The Dark Side had flooded this place for so long that she thought anything would be viable. Some pebbles from the ruins, maybe a small fragment of the obelisk if it could be safely broken off. They were getting close to it now. It tugged at her, wedging itself into her thoughts, trying to make itself stand before any other impulse while it drew her closer. She wanted to bring a piece of it back and rationalized that it would be the best demonstration material for learning how to purify corrupted objects.

It looked magnificent now they were so close. The air tasted like pain and the sight of it hurt her eyes just slightly, the way they ache if you have been sitting in a dark room and you notice a bright light.

"How does it know us?"

"Because you introduced yourselves when you landed." A voice replied into Yulie’s mind.

Her eyes widened in mortal terror and her heart doubled its rhythm. She knew that voice.

"Hello, YL-2482. It’s been such a long time."

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Izel Thral

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Izel could tell her apprentice was a bit overwhelmed by all she was saying, and probably a bit skeptical as well. Isen was a practically minded person after all. His focus lied more on the physical then the philosophical. But she was glad he was open to the discussion at least. Such theories could be tedious to ruminate on, but they held a greater importance in understanding and strengthening one's connection to the Force. When he mentioned he had questions, Izel simply nodded. "You need only ask." She replied, before Yulie had something of an outburst.

She suddenly seemed very interested in expelling the corruption from the planet and returning it to its former state, and was rambling off her ideas of how it might be done. "It's... a bit more complicated then that." Was all Izel could muster in response. Purifying corrupted objects was not her area of expertise. She had given it some study, and it would probably serve her intentions well to study it further, but for the time being all she knew was that it was an extremely in depth and lengthy process that required a great deal of patience and focus. "Even if we purified the obelisk, and I assure you that would be no small task, it would not behave in the way you suggest. It would not purify the rest of the planet on it's own. The dark side lingers like radiation. As I said, it would take many years to repair the damage that has been done, and one would need to travel every inch of the world's surface to root out and remove every last ounce of corruption." At Yulie's request to take a corrupted object back to the ship to practice purification, the Vratix tilted her head a bit in thought. "You're getting ahead of yourself Yulie." She declined gently. "You've just barely recognized your own connection to the Force. It's far too early for you to be thinking about trying to purify corrupted objects. There are many other things you must learn first."

As they finally reached the obelisk Izel felt the dark side falling over them heavier and heavier. It was very strong here. No, there was no way she was purifying this thing, not without a decade's worth of meditation at least. And it hadn't been why she had come here in the first place. She needed this corruption, to feel it, to learn how to resist it, to learn how to pull it out of others. Unlike the others though she heard no voices in her head. The dark side still tugged at her, reminding her of all her fears, of all her failures. What was more, an image appeared to her. It was like a reflection on the smooth face of the obelisk itself. Not her reflection, but that of a human male in his forties dressed in the robes of a Jedi, with long black hair and an unshaven face. He offered her a sad smile. The image struck her straight in the heart, and the Vratix looked down at the ground, the darkness closing in on her ever closer.

"How does it know us?" She heard her apprentice ask. There were a few moments of hesitation before Izel took a deep breath, strengthening her barriers and pushing back the darkness as she turned to face the others. She could tell her Padawan was unsettled. Yulie looked outright terrified.

"Think back to what I've taught you." Izel replied. "The Force is everywhere. It is in all of us. It knows us because we are the Force, and so the dark side knows us as well." She turned her head towards Yulie as well, speaking for both young Force users' benefit. "Everything you are seeing and experiencing is an illusion. The dark side is feeding your negative emotions in an effort to bring you under it's will. Let go of these negative feelings, focus on the here and now. Remember these words: Emotion, Yet Peace. This is the first tenet of the Jedi Code. We are material beings. We feel these fleeting and simple things, but we do not let them control us. You must find peace within yourself."

@Isen @Zohrael
 

Isen Ramm

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Jedi Order
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Jedi Knight

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Isen
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The padawan started to feel a little uneasy about the talk referring to purifying objects. As per usual, he wouldn't show that uneasiness outwardly, but Izel would probably be able to feel it inside of him, though she may mistake it as the planet's Dark Side playing at Isen's emotions. There was something he hadn't told Izel yet, but he wondered if this might be the time. He had never lied to his master, and this was no exception...technically. But this certainly was a fairly significant bit of omission. Still, his master was adamant about not purifying the Obelisk or other objects while they were there. Well, to be more precise, she said that Yulie wasn't prepared to start purifying objects.

Once she brought her attention back to Isen, he listened to her intently. Isen thought about what she said. The Force connected all things, all over the galaxy. It was the preeminent power of the galaxy. It traversed from the living to living, from the living to the nonliving and across planets and systems. The Force was so strong, that two Force users that had a close bond could communicate from one end of the galaxy to the other simply by using the Force. It only made sense that what the Dark Side learned about you on one planet, it would know about you on another.

"If I'm going to get rid of these negative emotions, Master, I feel there is something that I need to tell you. I won't be able to shake them if I don't." He looked at Yulie and then back to Master Thral. "The discussion you and Yulie were having about purifying objects." He looked back over his shoulder and then back to Izel.
"The two lightsabers on that cultist warrior on Onderon that I split in two, well..I picked them up. I slipped them in my pack before we left. They're on the ship."

@Reyn @Zohrael
 
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