"Behold, a moron in his natural habitat!" or "From Dathomir with Blind Abandon"

[Vorhi Alestrani]

Dathomir. If there were a place in the galaxy best described as the middle of fething nowhere, this was it. Few spaceports, fewer civilizations. No unified government, to speak of, each tribe was its own nation, with leaders ranging from mentally unhinged darkside cultists to passive-aggressive matronly shamans to stealthy warrior-assassin-queens. And those were the ones whose names you could bother to remember--not to speak of the other hundreds of groups on this planet.


Still, by dearth of some lapse in logic, either out of ignoring his own safety, or simply wanting to get out and see the universe again for a bit. Seven years, he'd been meditating and focusing on his little temple in Cerea. Half the galaxy had just gone missing for a while, and he retreated. But, well, it was time to get back on the galactic stage, back into the swing of things. He'd been meaning to find the ruins of the Zarrakeshmi clan for a long time, and if his hunch was right, he'd learn some useful information.


He smiled as he continued his walk. He was about two days journey from his ship, nibbling on some trail rations. He was near the site if his documentation had been of any note. Still he was surprised at how uneventful the trip had been so far. Normally, everywhere he went, some gigantic disaster was about to occur. Still, he supposed he should enjoy the quiet while it lasted.


He smiled. "I did always like the blue fruits from Nal Hutta....what were they called? Blorcha-berries? I wonder if you can wine out of them."

 

[Roshim Talsung]

Above the tree-line, a small ship was dropping altitude fast; leaving a long thick cloud of black smoke. Sirens and alarms were blaring inside the cockpit, where the large cathar was struggling to pilot the ship. It was hopeless. This tin-can was going to crash, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Dropping lower, the tops of the trees made loud snapping and cracking noises as they broke underneath the ship's hull. He tried pulling up on the stick, but nothing happened. It was out of his hands completely now. Then, all of a sudden, the ship started flipping end over end for miles, before finally skidding to a stop.

The hatch blew off the shuttle, crashing against a tree ten meters away, and clanked to the ground. The cathar stumbled out of the wreckage, small cuts and bloodied patches darkened the color of his light fur, glad that he was able to use the Force to shield him from more serious injury. Pulling his robe around himself, he kept walking, and noticed he was on a dirt path. Where am I? He thought, looking around. He was going back to his homeworld Cathar, but this was clearly not home. Maybe I punched in the wrong coordinates...

That was probably it. Roshim was horrible with all the advanced technology he found himself surrounded with at the Jedi Academy. Growing up on Cathar, he was still new to flying ships and using computers. He stopped walking on the trail, realizing he had forgotten to check and see if any of his food rations had survived. Turning, he cringed as the ship exploded, consuming everything in that area with fire.

"Great." He muttered. There was nothing else for him to do but to follow the trail and see if he could find someone. Or a town. Hopefully with a ship.



[member="Vorhi Alestrani"]

 

[Vorhi Alestrani]

Vorhi would have blinked as the ship roared over his head and smashed into some trees a few hundred meters from his current position. He focused his force Sight on the area. "Hmm, I should go over and check to see if they are alright," he mused heading towards the ship at a healthy gait. He wouldn't use his force speed, not yet. He was about twenty meters away from the ship when the door burst open, revealing a larger, burly sort of fellow. He waved cheerily. "Are you okay? That was a rough crash, so I wanted to make sure no one was hurt too badly. I'm Vorhi. I'm unarmed, and have no interest in harming anyone," he yelled while gesturing with empty hands, using his sense to assess the young being in front of him.




The Cathar had an odd aura. A sense of awareness, kind of blue-grey, like a pool of cold water you could see your reflection in. But it wasn't still enough to be reflected, it was jostling and perturbed. Of course, ramming your ship into a forest was rarely a good way to improve your mood. Unless, of course, you held a grudge against the forest. But why would a 300 lb cat-person have a grudge against a forest? That was silly. Not as silly as Vorhi's fashion sense or the universe's sense of humor, but silly enough nonetheless.


The blind man approached the Cathar slowly. After all, it wouldn't do to spook a new acquaintance on this rock.

 

[Roshim Talsung]

The explosion had caught him off guard, and he didn't have enough time to shield his ears. Still ringing, turned quickly when he sensed someone approaching. At first, the human's words sounded like mumbling, but as he finished what he was saying the ringing had stopped. He only made out a little of the last few words, but that was enough to know that the man wasn't a danger.

"Hello, friend!" The cathar called out, walking briskly towards the stranger. Vorhi? He thought that's what the man said. "I'm Roshim. I seem to have punched in the wrong coordinates in my hyper-drive. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find a ship to get me out of here, do you?"


"...A cheap ship." He amended, realizing he had no credits at all.


[member="Vorhi Alestrani"]

 

[Vorhi Alestrani]

The poor kid was having a lousy day. Stranded on a world where he'd be more likely to be kidnapped than befriended. Ouch. Well, at least Vorhi got to him first. That was a plus. Maybe he could help this kid out. He seemed in need of a hand up in this situation.



Vorhi smiled and nodded as he approached closer and sighed. "Yeah, that can happen sometimes. Hyper-space takes some practice. Anyhow, good to see you're alright," He said, bowing politely. "I'm Vorhi. And I've got a ship, but I've got a bit of work to finish before I leave planet. I tell you what, though. You give me a hand when we get to the site, and after I'm done, I'll give you a lift to a world in the general neighborhood. No charge. I'll also feed you," he said reassuringly. Hell, he could use another pair of hands, and even if he just got an etching, it'd be better than nothing after coming this way to the boonies.


He calmly waited for the young man's response and then smirked a little. "As an aside, I'm curious. Where were you trying to go out in this neck of the woods? We're kinda on the fringes of the galaxy here. Not that that's a bad thing, but it doesn't seem like you were aiming for Dathomir..." he mused out loud, adjusting his hat.

 

[Roshim Talsung]

"Dathomir, you say? Hah! I'm pretty close to where I was going." He clapped his hands together. "I was heading to Cathar. My business there isn't time-sensitive, so I'd be glad to help you out Hat-Man. Just lead the way."

Maybe things weren't that bad, after all. He could have ended up inside a star or who-knows where else. He must have gotten most of the codes right. The Force was looking out for him today.

"So," Roshim spoke as he let his new friend lead the way. "What do you need my help with, sir?"


[member="Vorhi Alestrani"]

 

[Vorhi Alestrani]

Vorhi nodded and handed the man a bag of trail rations and then kept walking. "See that hill? Supposedly, in the hill there's a cave which leads to a small grotto that was used by an ancient clan of Witches approximately 600 years ago. Sadly, the Clan was wiped out in a war. But, I'm curious to see what they left behind."



He shrugged as he approached the hill. "Frankly, I may not need help, and this might be a wild goose chase. However...." he said with a grin, "if it's not, then I may need a bit of help getting a few samples back. And if it's infested with wild animals, well, you seem like you can help me fend them off--or at least help me give them pause before we run for our lives," he said with a chuckle. "Cathar? I haven't been there in a while. Nice folks, last time I went."

 

[Roshim Talsung]

"Thank you," Roshim said to the man as he accepted the food offering. Tucking it in one of the pockets inside his robe, he followed Vorhi as he lead him to a hill.

Did he say witches? That is an odd thing to be searching for. A witches' den! Roshim silently wondered what he could possibly be looking for in a place like that. Looking out to their destination, he searched the Force, trying to sense any hidden danger that might lie in wait. Hopefully, he would be able to feel a disturbance before anything bad could happen. He was on a strange world -- one he'd never been before, and was about to walk into a supposedly abandoned witches den. The way he figured, it couldn't hurt to be a little cautious.


[member="Vorhi Alestrani"]

 

[Vorhi Alestrani]

[member="Roshim Talsung"]


Vorhi nodded. "No problem. After all, part of the process of making new friends and colleagues, is growth, and the young can't grow on empty stomachs," the older man, goofy hat and all, said with a relaxed nod as he continued towards his target. "The ruins in question, once belonged to the Zarrakeshmi clan. I've heard some rumors of their supposed rituals, and, to put it mildly, if I can find any details to confirm or deny the truths of their methods, it should be interesting. Force traditions, and the history surrounding them, are my specialty in a sense," he said with a smile.


He nodded calmly as he found the entrance to a cavern. He open a scroll and nodded, being able to see the ink on the page with his mind's eye, if barely. The blind man gestured cheerily. "The cave where the spring meets the bushes, upon the third hill of Tefgarrum," he said with a nod, as is confirming something mentally. "This cavern should be the entrance. Be wary and move slowly. Such places often have traps," he warned the younger man. After all, he had no desire of spending the rest of this week treating his newfound colleague's injuries.

 

[Petra Cavataio]

[member="Roshim Talsung"], and [member="Vorhi Alestrani"]


Petra had been following the outsider and the Cathar. This was funny to the witch in the mist. A scroll that spoke about a clan that never existed and a named landmark that did not exist too made it all more amusing. The spring, hills and cavern were all real. Also, this was place did housed witches. It was now their burial site, tombs of those that rejected an idea that had bettered the Witches.

The outsider being here made Petra desire actual look over the scroll. An introduction had to be made. The mist moved along the ground and up behind the two. There it took shape, and then smoky form began to solidify into Petra. Once she was her normal self and the non-witch misty spell form, she spoke up with the use of Basic which her book was the worst language civilized galaxy ever created. Never the less, she had to use it. “Well gentlemen, you know entering a grave site wouldn’t look good to the natives of this world.” Of course, she chuckled after that remark and continued on with speaking. “So what exactly are you looking for among the dead?”

 

[Roshim Talsung]

Feeling through the Force, Roshim had felt a strange tremor, almost too small to be noticed. But, this disturbance wasn't coming from the cave, but from somewhere...

Turning his eyes, he witnessed a fog creeping upon them, and then solidifying into a woman. Honestly, Roshim didn't understand how these beings didn't freeze to death without any hair. Very odd for something to only grow fur from the top of their head.

Roshim listened as she spoke, thinking how could someone transform into a mist. This place was strange indeed.

"Don't look at me," the cathar stated, gesturing to the Hat-Man with his thick thumb. "It was all his idea."


[member="Petra Cavataio"]

[member="Vorhi Alestrani"]

 

[Vorhi Alestrani]

[member="Petra Cavataio"]


[member="Roshim Talsung"]



Well, this was certainly an impressive entrance. He hadn't seen a someone perform genuine "Mist-walking," as it was called in ancient Sith dialectics, since that sorceror on...what was the planet's name again? Some place around Atrisia. Oh well, that was hardly important. He grinned cheerfully, gazing upon the woman with his heart's eye through the force. Her aura was as clouded as the mist, obfuscating itself within its own power. Like a beast in the fog, it seemed to roil and lumber without form. It was ominous, but lacking in shape. He was somewhat impressed--it took a great deal to hide from a master of Force Sight.



Vorhi just smiled warmly. "While my assistant is a touch terse, he is correct. I came here alone on my expedition and happened upon him by chance," he said calmly. "As for what I seek, the answer is simply truth. While I understand the sacredness assigned to such a place, I was under the impression that this site was long-abandoned, and thus outside the concerns of the tribes governing it. I am no despoiler--I seek knowledge, not plunder," he said gently.


He coughed and removed his hat, deciding to favor cordiality over pretense. Vorhi the diplomat was an old routine. It was time for Vorhi the scholar to come to bear. "I am Vorhi Alestrani, Mestare and Oppila of the Salai Kasi. May I request a likewise introduction from yourself? And worry not, I am not the type to focus on appearances," he said with a slight chuckle, tapping his blindfold twice as he smiled towards the supposedly younger woman. He gestured to some rocks and took a seat on one of the shorter boulders. "Have a seat, Roshim," he said with a smirk, "It seems we are now obliged to entertain our new guest," he said, grinning widely. And here he was, worrying nothing good would come of this lead. Even if the map led nowhere, this conversation might.

 

[Petra Cavataio]

[member="Roshim Talsung"] and [member="Vorhi Alestrani"]

How cute the Cathar was with his reply. That almost made Petra giggle on the spot, but she had a little more control. Still it felt like a moment she would have with one of her kids when calling them out on something. The whole ‘don’t look at me’ or ‘it was’ insert another Cavataio child name ‘fault’. Memories were lovely to have and children too. Petra was not a great mother to her kids, but they all turned out great in their ways. Thought arose for her of maybe awakening her others like she did with Lauda and Fabula. Also maybe correct mistakes with Fabula since waking her up was a very bumpy time. That is putting it nicely to how it really was for Petra, and she pretty much dumped it on her daughter to ease some of it. There was a big feeling that patching up mistakes with that daughter would take years upon years.

Alright, side tracked with what another thread is going to be about. So refocusing on the guests to her world, Petra smiled as the other to on the speaking role. Listening made her a little at ease, many had been coming to just kill beasts and citizens of Dathomir. That was becoming more a full time job than an once in a blue moon occurrence. Most of the time, she can just appear and do a show of power. Then they would leave to world; however, some have become bold and she had ended their lives for their mistake.

While gestures were made to rest on stones for seats, Petra remained on her feet. All she did had a reason, a plan. It could be for the best or not. Still doing what Petra believed was best for her, she did give her stance a more relax vibe compare to being tense. There after Vorh finished up, the witch replayed Salai Kasi in her head. It was like she was going through a rolodex of words to see if she knew of it. Kasi came up but Salai did not. A little mental shrug as memories were not always kept and with age a little less space to save things.

Petra now had to be respectful and not keep the outsiders waiting longer for her name. With a happy, joyful tone of being pleased with have guests over, her words left her lips sweetly with the hint of politeness. “I am Petra Cavataio…” Now a super quick debate went on in her head to fully reveal herself or keep it simple since most outsiders know almost nothing about the workings on Dathomir. Well ego won with a little constraint, "Mother Superior of the Nightsisters Over-clan and sub-clans. Oh there could be more added to that but that was what the constraint was about.

“And just because impressions and looks may say one thing, but we know there is more when one searches deep through the layers. Petra held her right hand up with the palm facing towards the sky. Focusing a little, a green smoke began to appear. Then like a match being strike, it ignited in to a flame while glowing green. Petra whispered to it, “Spiriti svegli” Following that moment, whispers began to come from burial site and her flame. However, they were not over powering to hinder the three from talking. It was like background noise or a radio left on in another room.

Attention returning to Vorhi and Roshim, Petra continued. “Nothing is abandoned… one might have no need to draw the air into their lungs, but one does not abandoned their home in any form here. This was home of witches, their clan’s safe refuge during a time of war. Now is a graveyard to the living and home to the spirits that were all killed in there… birth and death are just means to transition from one life to the next and life never stops.”

 

[Roshim Talsung]

Superior Mother of the Nightsisters? That sounded foreboding. It had soon became apparent that Roshim was in over his head here. She was a witch! Witches embraced the Dark Side; a path forbidden to the Jedi. What was he to do? She didn't seem... evil, despite her display of power. Not apparently, in any case. He didn't want to start any trouble, so he bit his tongue.

He couldn't blame her, as he himself was raised by Elders whom embraced both sides of the Force, letting emotions bleed in to their power. This woman was unaware of the hidden dangers, not being taught to resist the baser instincts that lead to self-destruction. She must be! Hopefully. Besides, he didn't know much about witches anyway.

"Transition from one life to the next? You mean, like, reincarnation?" He decided to try and learn a little about her beliefs. "I am Roshim, by the way", he added, bowing slightly to her as he made his introduction.




[member="Vorhi Alestrani"] [member="Petra Cavataio"]

 

[Vorhi Alestrani]

[member="Roshim Talsung"] [member="Petra Cavataio"]



Vorhi nodded gently, as if listening to a lecture on the nature of the universe itself. It wasn't common for an academic like him to stumble across a Nightsister. Then again, he was far form the typical academic. He was a fool gifted by the force to perceive the hidden and unseen. Hence, he'd found himself prone to uncovering secrets--even the stubborn ones.



He continued listening as she demonstrated the rather infamous green mist often said to accompany the conjurative form of Dathomiri Witchcraft. He was actually impressed--it wasn't often he got see a new form of the force. "An invocation of the spirits...interesting." He smiled as something familiar crossed his senses. No way. It was the same aura, kind of. But not. Huh. Just like that young girl with the black hair and stoic demeanor on Caromed. But this one didn't restrain it or channel it through her flesh. No, this one....embraced the misty energy. Impressive. He pulled out a small carafe from his back-pack and three cups, pouring hot tea from thermally insulated carafe into each cup. "Tea?"



He listened to her lecture. Ahh, the real delicate work of archaeology--trespassing upon the sacred adn valuable without offending the rightful owners. "I do not deny the claim. Should the spirits in residence find my presence offensive, I am willing to speak with them in concert," he said calmly. "I have had both the dead and the living as allies and enemies in the past, I see no reason to exclude them now. Should you wish to relay their wishes to me, I shall hear you."



He sipped his tea. "Roshim, take a drink. The tea will help settle your nerves. Part of journeying in this galaxy involves meeting strangers, after all," he said with a smile. He nodded to the woman before him. "As to my appearance, I'm not concerned with it. If you disbelieve me, then prove my intent is otherwise. I've no fear of exposure before you, although I may have a question to proffer afterwards," he said with a chuckle. "I'm afraid curiosity is inseparable from my nature," he said, tapping his blindfold. "Born blind, but always looking for a new perspective."


He couldn't help but admit it, but this dialogue was as amusing as anything else was to him. "That having been said, seeing as I've declared my intent, I am curious: What is your reason for crossing our path? Surely, someone of your station does not personally attend to every visitor on your planet. Why are we of such interest to you?" He arched an eyebrow playfully. Maybe he was teasing the venerable witch--maybe he was messing with his own head. Hard to say. Then again, maybe this was all part of his plan for Roshim--did he have a plan for Roshim? He needed to let himself in on his own plans more often. Then again, he liked not knowing. It let him improvise more.

 

[Petra Cavataio]

[member=Roshim Talsung] / [member=Vorhi Alestrani]

First thing first, there was a Cathar that seemed to have a question first. However there was a need to start with a friendly clamming piece of info to Roshim. “As Cathar, you are fine here. We, like the Mandalorians all have a code for our clans so do have that tea and relax. Now for the reincarnation… hmm… I guess in the concept, yes if that helps you understand, Roshim. You’ll die one day and your body will cease while you exist with the force.” Petra said then looked over at Vorhi, “I believe the Jedi still teach that…” It had been a long time dealing with other orders in the galaxy. Her blood, sweat, and tears were deeply rooted on Dathomir.

Then tea was offer, and it was taken. Petra brought the cup of tea up her lips. A moment was had to take in the aroma of the beverage. Sipping from the cup, she took in the taste that came with the scent. All the while listening to the scholar, the ichor was floated next to her with the whispering continuing. In the whole scheme of things it was all fun and games. Giggles and chuckles would follow but that lovely idea to have some form of constraint was there.

Next, Petra came back with answers to the questionnaire the scholar had laid out. “Reasons are for Dathomir… it has been through so much over the years and these recent months pushed my world so far. Clan Mothers and Fathers are doing what we can to save it… so I’m here on the front line investigating all off-worlder activities.” In the end, it was true. The world needed saving and it appeared that only the Nightsister would step to it while the goodie Allyan witches ignored everything.