Standing on a natural pillar overlooking Lothal's ancient Temple, Elise Vizsla took in the nature surrounding her. The endless fields of tall grasses reminded her of her home planet's savannah, though Lothal was far cooler. She looked down at her bare feet. Her psychometry was constantly activating. She saw Jedi of ages past, Temple rituals involving three mysterious figureheads, and mystical Force anomalies. It made Elise's wonder only thicken, and it made her feel a sense of both peace and adventure. The shaman jumped down the pillar, landing on the dirt ground with a thud. Her Force Sense took over as she continued to walk along the edges of the Temple's borders.
She was no Jedi herself. It felt... wrong... to enter such a place. No matter how much her curiosity pushed her, her reverence kept her at bay. But she closed her eyes, letting the Force's waves take her. Footstep after footstep through the tall grass, she was lulled into a dreamlike state.
"I like the look in your eyes more than some of the Jedi that come prancing around..."
Elise opened her eyes. It was suddenly nighttime. She looked up, seeing the stars and galactic bands glistening above in majestic display. She looked down to see the faint shade of a humanoid standing several feet away from her. Elise tried to get a solid Force reading in him, but the entire area seemed permeated in a Force fog of sorts. His Force Signature was... beyond her.
"And yet... you are not one of us."
Elise gulped, wondering if the Force Ghost would turn her away from this place. But instead, the shade tilted his head and merely asked,
"Why are you here?"
Elise just gaped for a couple moments, then remembered herself. She slammed her fist into her heart and choked.
"Ah! Uh, I am-"
She cleared her throat, calming herself down before continuing,
"I am Elise Vizsla, of Clan Vizsla. A Mandalorian, and a Novanian Shaman of Archais. I am no Jedi, as you guessed."
She reached to her neck and tugged at her necklace, pulling her Mythosaur pendant out from under her shirt. She wore this, and a pistol at her side, as her way of keeping the Resol'nare. She gulped again,
"I wouldn't blame you if you chased me out. Mandalorians and Jedi don't really get along that well."
The shade hardly jumped to conclusions. Instead, he slowly turned and motioned with an ethereal hand to follow.
"I sense shame in you. Confusion."
Elise clenched her fist, looking to the shade with determination.
"I know what path I am on. I know I made the right choice. I just-..."
The shade remained, back turned, before steadily drifting towards a row of Lothal pillars beyond,
"You still feel the sting of remorse. But not just for your actions alone."
"My people are razing worlds!" Elise blurted out,
"They always have! I thought I could be proud of being Mandalorian, despite our darker history. But now that another Crusade is marching, and now that I defected from their ranks..."
"Ah, I see."
Elise realized that the shade was not stopping. She darted forward, following him into the pillars. They steadily blocked out the starlight, slowly, as Elise spoke up again.
"I came here because I'm curious. I've always enjoyed studying back home, about the Force, Force Nexuses and archeology. Mostly Jedi and Sith, but other Force orders as well. Fascinating stuff."
"It is... fun for you, I can tell."
Elise bit her lip,
"I'm not just barging into that temple though! I know it's, like, a Jedi thing. So..."
The shade chuckled as darkness seemed to swallow them,
"You respect the Jedi, despite being Mandalorian. Admirable, I must say. But you're still here."
The Ajayid nodded,
"Does the Force not surround all living creatures? I mean, aside the Force Dead, but you know what I mean."
"The Force is strong in you." The shade, glowing in the dark, turned to face the shaman,
"And yet, you don't see it as a blessing."
Elise looked down to her hand. Despite the darkness, she could see her hand's outline.
"I'm... plagued..."
The shade stood in the dark, listening.
"I can touch anything, a person even, and just... randomly see the past. Psychometry, Force Visions, everything. It all gets scrambled in my head, since I was a kid. It's all in my karking brain!"
She clenched her fist, feeling her agony and anger within,
"I became a Shaman, studied the Force, delved into dream seeing. Just trying to make sense of it all, but why?"
She looked up to the shade,
"Why is the Force constantly haunting me?! I know my mom is also strong in the Force, but come on! I'm a skilled Dreamseer, but what are my skills worth if I don't even know my place in this chaotic galaxy!"
Elise suddenly realized that she could see again. Fading out of the black, she saw the warm, eerie colors of stardust. Orange, purple, gold, blue, green. Surrounded by galactic swirls and milky sprays, she spun as she took in this bizarre place. It reminded her of Archais' night sky, despite clearly not being so.
"Don't Mandalorians see the Force as merely a tool? Another weapon?"
Elise turned around again. Her sense of direction was lost, but she spotted the Force Ghost playing around with two twinkling lights, as if shiny toys.
Elise awkwardly rubbed her arm,
"Well, yes. Traditionally. But I'm not really a traditional Mandalorian. Like,"
She lifted her hands, waving them around as she spoke,
"The Force is inside every living thing. It surrounds us, penetrates us, and brings life to the galaxy. It's clearly more."
The shade chuckled,
"Your shamanic teachings serve you well. I really don't know much about Archais' order, but so far I think they're onto something."
Elise rubbed the back of her neck,
"Well, it's more about our Ancient Ones and our connection to our planet than the Force as a whole. I mean, we had a shaman, Michael Barran, who was a fine Imperial Knight. And I'm Mandalorian."
The shade flicked his hand, letting the sparks he was playing with drift away,
"You still have little clue what you are in the Force itself."
"Maybe..."
The shade hummed, stepping forward. But as he walked towards her, he morphed. His figure rapidly shifted, developing a purple aura and growing rapidly in size. And soon, a towering wolf loomed over her. And yet, there was no threatening demeanor about him.
"You are a... peculiar shaman... I can read you like an open book, Jac'Eli'Serum, and yet you don't know a thing about me."
Elise gaped,
"Huh!"
A chuckle rippled through the Loth Wolf's mane,
"Haunted by visions and memories, yet unable to unscramble them. You seek the guidance of higher Force Entities, yet you are blind as a bat. Those poor Ancients, dealing with your-"
"-Are you just here to mock me?!" Elise barked, fists clenched.
The wolf lifted his head higher,
"Those are only the things you mock yourself for. You hope for answers, but are too afraid of how damning they could be. You fear your failure so much, that all the answers you desperately desire, you push away. But, Elise..."
The wolf chuckled softly,
"Your vision is just before you, if you could be willing to see it."
Elise Vizsla was suddenly someplace else. Panting, she looked up to the bright sunlight beaming down on her. The sun's warmth bathed her. Her Novanian clothes were even more comfortable under such warmth. Tangled hair surrounded her like a mane, and she reached up to pull her blonde locks out of her face. She winced her eyes shut at the sunlight, confused. Just a moment ago, she was someplace else. Where was she now? Hanging on her neck, her Mythosaur charm shone brightly, reflecting the sunlight brilliantly. She turned her sleepy head, opening her eyes as they focused on a massive tree.
Wait, did that tree sport a treehouse?
Elise blinked in bewilderment, pushing herself into a sitting position and pulling a twig from her hair. Looking around, she realized with embarrassment that she had wandered right in the middle of the clearing of a full blown settlement! She blinked once more.
Why... Did that wolf guide me here?
As her Force Sense rapidly fluctuated between the bliss of Lothal and her natural disposition, Elise realized that she sensed a sentient presence here. She looked to a house, and was spooked by the image of a person staring right at her.
"Eep!"
Elise jumped up, cheeks burning red, only to fall right over again. Hands raised in apology, she shouted, flustered,
"I didn't mean to intrude! I swear! The Force is crazy, man! I just woke up here out of nowhere! Oh Ancient Ones, I must sound high! I'm not high! I've never done death sticks in my life! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to trespass! I'm not high-"
With every word tumbling from her mouth, she just kept cringing even more. But she could not stop!
Braze
