A Shift

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There was a calling beyond the edge of the galaxy. It was a weak tug, a barely audible whisper in the darkness, but it was there. Cyril had heard it for years now. At first, he'd attributed it to the call of the force. His destiny lay not with the Republic -- Ession needed him. So he'd gone to that world. He, and those others that heard the call, established order, promised peace. They marched of to war with millions at their back. In the end, that call had proven false. A new galactic power was not the answer. Cyril had perceived this calling as a threat; as the force telling him that a different path was needed. Recent happenings had brought the Jedi Master to believe this was not entirely wrong, but those that heard the calling's lullaby went about dealing with it in the wrong way.

The galaxy needed to stand united against this threat. Salem had understood, and so had his cohorts. Unfortunately, when they went off to face this calling, they never came back. Cyril was left alone with a galaxy eating itself alive, and not a soul to believe his words. He'd decided uniting the galaxy under one banner was the correct path. Logically, that should have led him to the One Sith. Fortunately, he'd recognized the Sith's failings long in the past. To stand united, all needed to feel as if they were a cog in the machine. To feel that they were actively a part of the effort. The Sith were not the answer.

He'd given up then; resigned himself to a quiet death via poison in his home on Ession. It seemed that was not his destiny either. When that failed, the Master errant subjected himself to the Galactic Alliance. It was a worthy cause, though he found himself disconnected from the other Jedi. That had always been the case. His brethren had never accepted him for what he was. It was doubtful they ever would.

From that point onward he'd opted for an honorable death on the field of battle. Not even that was granted to him. All hope had been lost for Cyril, until he'd heard the calling once again on Ossus. There he and a young Jensaarai unraveled the mystery of this great threat, and he'd found purpose. The purpose led him to Ession once more, this time with a young woman in tow. She was a Starchaser, or so he was told, and in need of guidance. Cyril considered himself one of the last true Jedi Masters still wandering the galaxy. His past few students had met horrible fates. The thought of taking another made him fearful, but knowledge needed to be passed on. So he'd asked for the girl to accompany him.

He'd considered teaching Kai, but the Jensaarai wouldn't likely be too pleased about formal Jedi training. Still, he intended to guide the young man as best he could as well -- odds were he'd accompany them on this venture at some point. As of now, Cyril stood in his personal hanger in Ession City, awaiting miss [member="Audrey Starchaser"]. It was unwise to bring more than one other into the tombs.

There was a reason he'd been called to this industrial world so many years ago. Now he had a vague taste as to why, and he intended to learn more.

 

[Audrey Starchaser]

Audrey Starchaser was a little bit late to her meeting with her new Master, [member="Cyril Grayson"], but let's face it, the young woman was late to about ninety-percent of life. She spent way too long in the shower, took too long picking out an outfit, and always spent too much time making sure her face-to-bangs ratio was a perfect 50/50. Then, there was usually some story on the Holonews that swiveled her head, like some Sith talking about how he was going to murder the world, and before she knew it, she was freaking out about the time, and scrambling for the door.

That being said, Audrey was dead serious about being a Jedi, or at least training up her Force skills. As she liked to remind her family to their annoyance, she was the Starchaser who was actually decent with the Force, so she was destined for greatness. She was going to learn the Force, fight the Sith, and get the boy. Yes, in that order, too. Audrey was also incredibly optimistic, almost painfully so.

She wasn't too sure exactly what the crux of the mission was, but she was sure she'd get all the deets once she hooked up with Master Grayson. Her big blue eyes shone brightly when she saw him. Was it appropriate to hug your Master? Oh who cares, come here, big guy. She walked right up to him and gave him a big, friendly squeeze.

"Master Grayson? I'm here for the training mission."

 

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Cyril parted his lips to speak. Unfortunately, the young woman's hug made that a bit difficult. He fell silent, reaching up to awkwardly pat her back until the embrace came to that. Was he prepared for that? Nope. Clearly, Audrey was not going to be like his other apprentices. Kaigann had been the very definition of brusque, and Indar was never the type for affection. It seemed this would be a new experience for the both of of them.

"It's good to see you too," he murmured, amusement lacing his words, "Hope your flight went well. Welcome to Ession -- it was my home, until I joined the alliance. Now I just come for the cake at the senatorial meetings." He offered a warm smile. Some of his cohorts had believed in a strong sense of detachment from their apprentices. They thought that a lack of any kind of relationship between student and teacher, beyond just that, would be a detriment to the student's studies. Cyril was the opposite. He'd always found comfort in the masters that treated him as a friend, and had passed that on to those he'd taught in the past. Audrey would be no exception.

"We might have met briefly in the garden; when the Sith decided to say hello." He turned about, and motioned for the girl to follow. "Not much time for introductions then. My name's Cyril Grayson, as you know. You can just call me Cyril though, I don't mind." Ahead lay his old home. It was sparsely furnished, with the only light coming from a large open window on the eastern side of the room. A single couch, holovision, and what passed for a kitchen could be seen. Below, Ession flourished. The city world had begun to prosper once again under the watchful eyes of its guardians, of which there were many. Cyril just happened to be the most prominent.

"There's a ruin under the old Grand Temple. It goes down many miles. We're going to be looking into it. Do you know how to swing your glowstick?"

[member="Audrey Starchaser"]