Private Debts Remembered in Crystal [Complete]

[Romi Jade]

Return to Kashyyyk
The forest had not forgotten.
#1

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• During the Neo-Crusader invasion, a wookie named Rroshak was part of a resistance cell Romi helped evacuate.
• He lost members of his clan during the attack.
• Foundation ships helped evacuate what civilians they could from the lower canopy settlements.
• Since then he's become a respected scout and liaison between different resistance groups.
• Most importantly: Rroshak belongs to -- or has kin ties to -- the crystal-cutting clan. A Wookiee clan on Kashyyyk that could cut an Upari stone so well, it could alter the effects of the crystal, making it more powerful. This gives him the authority to sponsor Romi's request.

Even however long later the scars were visible. Charred wroshyr still stood among younger growth, but the canopy had begun to knit itself back together. Some stretches of the upper platforms seemed to have been rebuilt, others looked abandoned entirely where fire and had once torn through.

Kashyyyk endured. The memory of strength had clung to this place; it was something it always had.

Romi paused along a narrow bridge grown from the living bark of a wroshyr tree; the structure swayed. The air here was thick like usual, but in certain places there was a faint bottom note of burned resin and old smoke.

Then there was a static in the air, something she felt him before she could see it, the frame of a towering silhouette moving between the vertical pathways above and behind her, and the sound of heavy claws on bark followed. A Wookie stepped down from some higher bridge.

Massive, his fur carried streaks of dark copper beneath the brown, one shoulder marked by a pale scar where the hair no longer grew, at least not evenly. Across his chest hung a bandolier of tools and field gear rather than a loadout of weapons.

For a moment neither of them spoke.

Then the Wookie released a low rumbling growl, a sound that carried recognition more than challenge.

"Rroshak," Romi said quietly.

The name seemed to settle something in the air between them.

Rroshak stepped closer, towering over her where the bridge widened around the trunk of a tree. His deep amber eyes studied her face as though measuring the years between then and now.

Another low growl rolled from his chest, "I'm not here for supplies, or to exchange any new information..." she said quietly.

Another questioning rumble.

"This time I-," she added, "I have a favor...I need something only your people can make."

Rroshak studied her a moment longer.

Then he turned and began descending into the deeper forest, his massive frame moving with practiced ease along the living spiral.

After a brief pause, Romi followed.

The crystal-cutters of Kashyyyk did not meet outsiders, but if anyone could bring her to them...It would be one of the Wookiees who had survived the fires of the crusade.

--- ​

 

[Romi Jade]

Return to Kashyyyk
The forest had not forgotten.
#2

---​

The deeper canopy was thicker, quieter, and built in the same way found across Kashyyyk -- broad bark platforms and narrow woven bridges.

Rroshak led the way without hesitation, and eventually the platforms began to change.

Though it seem that where possibly normal Wookie settlements favored function, these structures carried a different touch. Metal hooks and wooden stands held small pieces of ornate jewelry: crystal pendants, carved bands, beads threaded into decorative strands. Some pieces hung along the railings, catching the filtered canopy light.

Nothing overly extravagant, but superbly crafted, and with unusual precision.

A low rumble rolled from Rroshak as he stepped onto the central platform. Several Wookiees looked up from their work. Some were seen polishing a crystal shards, others shaping mall pendants with a thin cutting tool. Their attention shifted between the two newcomers.

Rroshak spoke first, his voice low and steady in Shyriiwook.

He didn't say much it seemed like:

Fire in the canopy.
Evacuations during the crusade.
Ships that came when they were needed.

A larger Wookie, clearly older by the silver threading through his fur, stepped forward from one of the work tables. His eyes settled on Romi for a moment before shifting back to Rroshak. A questioning growl followed.

Rroshak answered without hesitation. Then the elder looked back to Romi. She didn't waste anymore time.

"I need Upari crystal cut," she said plainly. "But not for jewelry."

A few quiet rumbles passed between the others nearby, but her gaze never left the elder.

"For resonance," she continued. "Something precise."

The elder studied her for a moment longer. Then his gaze shifted back to Rroshak.

The scout gave a single confirming growl. That seemed to be enough. Then the elder gestured toward one of the worktables where several uncut crystal chunks rested beside the tools of their craft.

Another rumble followed, this one was...slower.

Short.

Practical.

If she wanted something cut…

They would need to know what it was meant to carry.

--- ​

 

[Romi Jade]

Return to Kashyyyk
The forest had not forgotten.
#3

---​

The elder stepped toward the worktable where several rough pieces of Upari rested among the tools of their craft.

For a moment he simply studied the stones. Most were just small fragments -- good for pendants or bands. Decorative work. The kind the clan produced regularly.

He reached for something else, something at the far end of the table, it was a much larger piece, still jagged from wherever it had originally been broken from the parent vein. Its surface caught the canopy light beneath the rough edges.

There was a low rumble in different pitches that passed through the gathered Wookiees.

That piece wasn't meant for jewelry.

The elder lifted it carefully and set it in a reinforced frame built into the table. Thick clamps slid into place around the crystal while one of the artisans adjusted the rig to keep it steady. Then tools were gathered.

Not the delicate carving instruments used for smaller pieces, but heavier cutters designed for shaping raw crystal. She could feel the resonance emanating from it.

The elder took the first one, and he didn't rush the process by any means.

The blade touched the surface slowly, testing the grain of the stone before pressure was applied. A faint scrape echoed across the platform as the tool began carving along a natural line in the crystal.

Small fragments broke away first. Thin, uneven shards that dropped to the table while the larger piece slowly began to take shape. Another artisan started to rotate the frame slightly. The elder adjusted the angle of the cutter and continued; the process wasn't quick. It wasn't meant to be.

Piece by piece the jagged mass became something cleaner, flatter along its surface while still thick enough to remain intact as a single stone. And she made a point to watch how he cut it.

When the final cut was finished, the elder stepped back.

The crystal was still large -- far too big for any pendant or decorative band -- but now it rested evenly within the frame, its surface was smooth enough to reveal the faint inner patterns of the stone. And now it's pull in the empyrean was even stronger, or perhaps more precise.

The elder lifted it free with both hands and turned toward Romi. A low, questioning growl followed.

The meaning was simple enough.

They had shaped the stone.

Now she would have to be the one to decide what it was meant to become.

--- ​

 

[Romi Jade]

Return to Kashyyyk
The forest had not forgotten.
#4

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For a moment Romi simply studied it.

The elder held the crystal easily despite its size, but it was clear now why he had chosen the larger piece. Despite its brittle feel, tt was thick, broad across the palm, its surface still carrying the faint irregularities of the vein it had come from. Not something meant to hang from a chain or sit on a decorative band -- it was something meant to be worked further.

The elder stepped closer and placed it carefully onto the table between them.

Up close, the inner structure of the Upari was easier to see, very subtle streaks beneath the surface where light bent differently through the stone. Would likely look like imperfections to anyone who was unfamiliar with crystal work.

But they were possibilities to someone who knew what they were looking at.

A few of the artisans gathered the smaller fragments that had fallen during the cutting, brushing them into a shallow tray. Nothing was wasted, here.

Rroshak moved beside the table again, watching as the elder ran one thick finger across the flattened surface of the crystal.

A short rumble followed, and the meaning was clear enough even without translation.

It was good stone; strong.

The elder gestured toward the crystal again, slower this time. There were sections, grooves perhaps. He was telling her what she already understood visually.

The piece had been cut large on purpose. It could be divided later, shaped again, used more than once if needed. Whatever she planned to do with it, the stone would allow for it. Romi rested a hand lightly against the surface.

"That's the idea," she said quietly.

Her gaze lifted back toward the elder.

"It won't stay like this," she paused briefly, "Thank you."

A low growl answered that, something between acknowledgment and warning.

Crystal like this carried a kind of patience to it. It could become many things depending on the hands that shaped it next. A Jedi Master with skill could get it crystal like this produce many effects, but this clan had mastered the art of cutting it, that it altered the effects of the crystal, making it more powerful than it would be normally.

The elder nudged the stone slightly closer to her.

Another short rumble followed. Not a question, it was permission.

Romi lifted the Upari carefully, feeling its weight settle in her hands. For a moment she simply turned it, watching the faint patterns shift beneath the surface as the canopy light caught it. Then she nodded once.

Across the table, Rroshak gave a quiet approving rumble.

The clan had done their part. What the stone became next...That would be hers to decide.

She nodded to Rroshak, "And thank you as well my friend."

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