Ask The Spirit of Unity

[Elidan]

The Galactic fair was an event that celebrated the diversity and culture of the Galaxy. The origins of this festival came from the Republic fair, an event that was realized by the Old Republic. At the time, it celebrated the unity that existed in this ancient government. After the rise of the Galactic Empire, the fair disappeared. When the New Republic was established, this event appeared with this new name and objective.

The Fair happens annually, being held on different planets. This year it was happening at Aygion, the capital city of Kinyen, the homeworld of the Gran species. The place was transformed for the festivities, with a new spaceport constructed and the city extensively renovated and refurbished.

Now several beings from across the Galaxy are coming there to participate in the fair. Among them was Elidan. He was part of a group of Padawans that had been given permission to visit the fair and participate in the festivities. Of course, there were some Jedi Knights there with them.

Elidan thought that everything in this place was amazing. Each building had stalls with products and foods from different planets of the Galaxy. There were also typical musics for those that wanted to dance. However, most of the visitors were waiting in front of the ferris wheel and roller coaster, which were famous for being the largest of the Galaxy. There were so many things to see that the half-Sephi had no idea where he should start.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair loved being here because even the local natives were alien in appearance. Less people would bat an eye at his appearance with his large horns and non human face. His hair was still growing back, now just barely beyond a buzz cut. The Devaronian was scoping out the festival area to see where he could set up a place to perform and earn some crowns. He had a guitar slung over his back, his hands in his pockets as he walked.

The Devaronian’s violet eyes looked all around him, staring at the decorations above and the balloons set up all over the place. He could smell the delicious aroma of food from all around the galaxy and he reminded himself to sample it all. Altair had a faint grin on his face as he walked, clearly in a great mood. As a result, he wasn’t exactly watching where he was going.

At the very last moment, he noticed a long haired individual from the side before abruptly colliding with them. Thankfully, he tilted his head so his horn didn’t gore through, but he almost sent them both crashing to the ground. Altair caught the other person’s bicep before they could fall, planting his foot to the side to steady himself.

“Shit, so sorry, miss,” He blurted out as he helped the woman, staring wide eyed.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

While he walked through the place, Elidan looked with admiration at the stalls and expositions. There were so many different things to see! With the public opinion about the Jedi being so low and the Sith conquering planet after planet, it probably was the only opportunity that he had to see the culture of several of these places of the Galaxy.

The Padawan was so distracted looking around that he didn’t notice that there was someone in front of him before it was too late. They collided and Elidan was already prepared for his butt to meet the floor when he felt a hand holding his bicep. Looking up, he saw a pair of violet eyes staring at him. He never saw someone with color of eyes before.

The person that helped him not fall on the floor was a boy, probably from his same age. By the horns on his head, Elidan deduced that he was a Devaronian. Then the Padawan noticed that he was still being held by the other guy. He blushed with shame, while the point of his ears twitched. Then he corrected his position so he would be standing. What type of Jedi would he be if only colliding with someone makes him nearly fall on the floor? He really needs to train more to not get distracted with his surroundings.

Then he heard the other boy call him miss.

This made Elidan look down at his feat, while his face became even more red. His ears were twitching so much that would give the impression that they were going to flap. Does he look like a girl? He never thought about it before. In reality, he never thought about his appearance.

Pulling his Datapad from his bag, the half-Sephi typed a message. “No, it’s my fault. I should have paid attention to my surroundings.” he showed the message to the Devaronian. “I’m a boy by the way. My name is Elidan and I have mutism.”

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair felt a pang of guilt as he saw her face turn bright red, but upon closer look he began to realize he had mistaken genders. He blinked a few times, watching the… guy begin to type up a message. Altair awkwardly stood there, running a hand through his hair very embarrassed while he waited to see what was on the datapad.

“Oh, yeah, my bad.. I thought you were a cute chick, but hey, that means you’re a cute dude so no harm eh?” He laughed at his own pathetic logic, feeling entirely foolish for almost trucking someone walking around a festival.

Altair straightened up the hallikest bag that was strapped on his shoulder. He awkwardly waved to the boy, “Well, see you around! Hope you enjoy the festival!” He blurted out before he politely excused himself to continue on his way.

He paused for a moment, remembering everything the guy typed out. He looked over his shoulder back at him, “I’m Altair!” The Devaronian called out cheerfully with a smile before he kept walking to find a place to set up and perform.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Even before Elidan showed him the message where he said that he was male, the half-Sephi noticed that the Devaronian was embarrassed. Probably because the other boy had noticed his mistake. The Padawan wondered if he really looks like a girl.

When the violet-eyed boy tried to correct his mistake by using some type of logic where he said that the Padawan was a cute dude, Elidan blushed even more. No one ever said that he was cute. In fact, the half-Sephi never received any compliment about his appearance. Not even himself paid much attention to it. After all, he was a Jedi and having good looks wasn't something that the Order cared for. These thoughts made him wonder if other people also thought that he was cute.

Before Elidan could say anything else, the Devaronian had excused himself and walked away. However, before he disappeared in the middle of the crowd, the horned boy smiled and said that his name was Altair. The Padawan thought that alongside his violent eyes, the other boy also had a nice smile.

After this strange meeting, Elidan continued to explore the Galactic Fair. While walking around, the Padawan had found an interactive map that the visitors could use to know where their preferred expositions and events were located. Looking at it, the half-Sephi found out that there was an exposition about Nabooian culture at pavilion 17. Since it was the closest one to him, the auburn-haired boy went there.

When he was close to the pavilion, Elidan heard someone singing and playing some type of instrument. With his half-Sephi hearing, the Padawan was able to hear well enough to understand some parts of the lyric. It was beautiful! Wanting to know from where such music was coming from and who was singing it, he followed the sound.

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

SONG​

Altair was having a great time. He started playing his hallikset, but other musicians came up with their instruments. People were playing hand drums and other instruments to accompany his singing. He sang and played, moving energetically with a quick tempo song. He had a smile on his face as he sang, no one giving him judging looks. When he played that Hallikset, everything was forgotten. People hung to his every word and they watched the way he played, his fingers effortlessly plucking along the strings.

As the beat picked up, others began to dance and cheer. Altair felt that energy and he began to dance as well, bobbing his shoulders and putting more power into the way he strummed his strings. He skipped along the duracrete, dancing a bit as he sang to everyone in the crowd. Clearly, the Devaronian was not shy or awkward at all when he was performing.

As usual, there was a hat to collect credits or crowns set next to where he performed. Altair was making his way back to the other side and kept playing. He spotted that boy with mutism from earlier. The Devaronian gave him a big smile before he continued to sing, looking at others in the crowd as he kept swaying and moving to the music.

After a while, the song came to a close and the crowd exploded into cheers. Altair smiled at them and took a bow, taking a moment to step aside to tune some of his strings. People were dropping credits into the hat. Even then, there were lots of whispers of how it was amazing such a monster could sing like that. There were lots of comments about his horns or how he looked like a demon. The Devaronian was entirely unconcerned by this, and he kept tuning his strings. Though it was clear he wasn’t exactly smiling anymore.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

When he arrived at the place from where the music was coming from, Elidan saw that a small crowd had gathered there. The Padawan walked around them, trying to reach the front to see who was singing. After some effort, he was able to do it. To his surprise, it was Altair, the same Devaronian from early.

The half-Sephi couldn’t understand the language of the song, but the Devaronian voice was beautiful. A smile appeared at his lips while he watched Altair sing and dance. The violet-eyed boy seemed to be so happy doing it, showing no discomfort being surrounded by a crowd like this. If it was him, Elidan would probably become paralyzed with his nervousness. But it would never happen with him. After all, he had mutism.

Even with his attention turned to Altair’s presentation, Elidan still could hear what the people in the crowd were talking about. It was one of the advantages of being a half-Sephi, or a disadvantage. It would depend on the situation. Being able to hear whispered offensive commentaries as if they were being said directly to you wasn’t an advantage, at least no in the Padawan’s opinion.

He was used to hearing such comments at the Jedi Temple. Some Younglings and other Padawans would say how he was strange or that he was dumb, only because he had mutism and needed to use sign language. He couldn’t believe how many people thought that mute individuals were dumb or were incapable of learning only because of their condition. It was so stupid!

Now, he had heard how the people were calling Altair a monster. The Devaronian had an amazing voice and was doing something incredible there. But they seem to not notice it, only caring for his appearance. In Elidan’s opinion, the ones that were dumb and monsters were these people that lived full of prejudice.

Seeing how Altair’s demeanor changed, confirmed to Elidan that the Devaronian heard what the others were talking about him. Deciding to do something about it, the half-Sephi would wait until the presentation ended to approach the other boy. He would throw some credits at the hat before pulling his Datapad to type a message.

“It was amazing! You are an incredible singer!” he would show the message, smiling at the Devaronian. Then, Elidan started to type again, looking at his Datapad’s screen with great concentration. He didn’t want to offend Altair with what he was going to say next. “I heard what they said about you. It happens with me sometimes too, people call me dumb only because I don’t speak. The best thing that you can do is ignore these prejudiced idiots. They are the true dumbs and monsters.”

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair finished tuning his guitar, glancing up to see the boy from earlier. He read the words, a smile appearing on his face. He waited patiently as he furiously typed away on his datapad, the sight actually quite amusing. Altair wondered what life was like for someone that constantly had to rely on typing. Did conversations go by without him being able to get any opinions in? Altair talked nonstop, so he couldn’t even imagine.

He looked at the other words and he gave a breezy wave of his hand, “Thanks, but I ain’t worried about it,” He said cheerfully, “I know what I am and I’m proud of it. Polish my horns and keep them sharp every day!” Altair walked over to pack up his guitar, slinging it over his shoulder. His gaze flicked over to Elidan’s ears, vaguely reminded of Vahliri. Perhaps he was also a half Sephi?

“You enjoying the festivities?” He asked as he walked over, carrying his hallikset bag over his shoulder. Altair looked around, “I’ve never been on this planet before. Know what’s good around here?” He always liked sampling local foods and entertainment when he visited a new planet. As a Devaronian, he inherited that sense of wanderlust almost all male members of the species had.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

Elidan smiled at Altair’s answer, thinking that perhaps he should act this way more times too. The half-Sephi should be proud of what he was, a Padawan that was giving everything that he had to one day become a Jedi Knight. He wasn’t dumb due to his selective mutism like how some people think, his condition was only other obstacle that he would overcome to become a good Jedi.

“Yes, I’m loving it! This is the first time that I participate in one of these festivals.” he explained. The Galactic Fair was a famous event, always attracting several tourists and even many other Jedi. The Order had a limited number of Padawans that it allowed to visit it. Before this year, Elidan never was able to be part of these numbers. Even then, the half-Sephiwas only able to go to the fair because he left his name on a waiting queue since last year.

“I never visited Kinyen before.” he admitted. Where few the planets that the half-Sephi ever visited. Sometimes Elidan felt that the restrictions imposed by the Council over the Padwans was annoying. They couldn't leave Yavin IV without a Knight or an authorization. He knew that it was for their protection, but only an idiot would go barging in Korriban or Dromund Kaas. He believed that the Padawans had the common sense to avoid such things.

“I even used a map to move around the fair. I was going to the Pavilion 17 to see the Nabooian exposition. They have some items from Naboo, including jewels that were used by several queens of the planet. They are worth a fortune.” he was curious to see it, the map said that there were even some that were used by Queen Amidala. “But the best part is that there is a free tasting of Naboo typical dishes and drinks. It's to eat everything your belly can handle!” the half-Sephi was an appreciator of tasting news types of food. He would not ignore this opportunity. “Would you like to go with me?”

@Sreeya

 

[Altair Din]

Altair patiently waited as Elidan typed up a bunch of things. He read quickly nodding each time to let the half Sephi know he was done so he could type some more. By the end of it, Altair’s eyes widened in excitement. While he wasn’t exactly a history buff, Naboo was a planet he had always wanted to visit because of its galactic known music and performance scene. The best theater arts and musicians studied there for a period of time.

“Sure, man, let’s go!” He said as he gestured for Elidan to lead the way. Altair sure as hell didn’t have a map - he intended to just wander around aimlessly to whatever pavilion looked interesting. He glanced all around him, carrying his hallikset over his shoulder.

“This place is huge,” He looked around, still impressed by all the colors, lights and different species all over. He passed by a pair of large wookiee, almost bumped into a mean looking Trandoshan and walked past a Zeltron woman that ended with him having a dazed look on his face. They finally arrived at the Naboo plaza. Sure enough, the display tables were full of ornate artifacts from Naboo. There was even a tiara worn by some princess in the past.

“Ah!” Altair perked up excitedly, walking over to an old hallikset, “Look at this!” He pointed to it while addressing Elidan, “This is handcrafted. Look at the strings, made from original animal hair from the planet. It sounds entirely different,” He almost began to reach for it, but the person behind the tables smacked the top of his hand. Altair quickly drew his hand back, looking entirely sheepish.

@LouJoVi

 

[Elidan]

After Altair agreed to go with him to the exposition, Elidan smiled. It was still strange how now he was calmer when talking with strangers. If he faced these same circumstances some time ago, the Padawan would have entered in panic and ran away. He knew that his shyness was still there, but after meeting so many amazing people recently, the half-Sephi started to think that opening a bit to others wasn’t so bad. Asadra would be proud of him!

He would guide the Devaronian to the pavilion where the exposition about Naboo was happening. While they walked toward it, Elidan was able to see how many species were visiting this place. It was as if the entire Galaxy had decided to meet at this same place. So far the fair really seemed to show that there was a Galactic unity, even with the several conflicts happening.

When they arrived at the pavilion, Elidan felt as if he was inside one of Naboo’s famous buildings. The entire place was modeled to look as if it was built with the planet’s traditional architecture, there was even a fontaine in the middle of the place. It was as if they transported this entire plaza from the planet.

There were several different items being shown to the public. Jewels, musical instruments, ships and even small models of places from Naboo, such as Theed. There were even some wigs that Padmé Amidala used when she was Senator. They seemed to be so heavy that Elidan wondered how her neck was able to sustain its weight.

His thoughts about the possibility of Amidala having some type of metal prosthesis on her neck were interrupted by Altair calling him. The Padawan turned to see the Devaronian having his hand smacked after he tried to touch an old hallikset. Elidan approached to better look at the instrument. It was really impressive, the wood was so perfectly carved. It was difficult to think that it was made without the help of any droid.

“According to this plate, this hallikset has strings made of the hair of a Gualaar and belonged to the musician Durelle Hemas, who lived 700 years ago.” Elidan explained what he had read. “I’m not a specialist in musical instruments, but I don’t think that they still make this model. Right?” he asked the Devaronian. Being always a curious person, the half-Sephi would not mind if Altair decided to tell him what he knew about halliksets.

Then, Elidan saw a group of workers of the exposition preparing several tables. Some already had dishes and refreshments over them. “Look! They are preparing the food for the free tasting! Would you like to try it?” he asked the Devaronian. The half-Sephi wanted to taste one of the famous Nabooian sweets. He was so excited with it that he didn’t notice some suspicious individuals entering the pavillion.

@Sreeya