Digging in Paradise

[Jairdain]

The searching quest for artifacts and knowledge was something that had been going on almost since the dawn of history and would probably never end. Histories were written by the victorious and those that lost...their stories were forgotten to time. Brief footnotes or chapters in books were sometimes the only clues to be found.

Not having grown up in the known galaxy, Jairdain did not know the history of it and spent much of her time learning about it. Even in the now almost years since she found her way here, there was still so much to learn.

Sitting in the library, she was researching what would be considered ancient history and came across what was called The New Sith Wars. On learning about this and battles that happened, something stood out. A figure named Rohlan at birth and called Lord Hoth by others. He was a great guardian warrior for the Jedi then and having heard of the planet by the same name, he held some interest for her.

There wasn't much she could find on him, but knew one person she could easily speak to that might. Taking what she had found and putting the information on her datapad, Jairdain went in search of Karl. Since their return to the Temple, they had kept separate rooms, but spent what time they could together outside of training and missions.

Hoping he was around, she walked the halls of the temple to where he quarters were. She knocked on the door and waited to see if he was there.

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

The books of his art were left open and thrown all throughout his room, a cluttered mess to some, but for him it was filling all the space available, and he knew where everything was in case he needed it. Books on each one of the lightsaber forms were out along with their unique sub-forms. WHen he was not away on missions or training he was studying, enveloped in a book.

He hadn't had much to do that day so he was locked in his room thumbing over another page of the Form I book he owned, his preferred style and the style most people learned first while entering the order.

Licking his thumb he read over the page and nodded looking at the examples shown and examined them closely as he sat there on his chair reading the book leaned up holding the book over his head as he seemed to look up at the ceiling into his book. Flipping the page he continued to read alone in his room in his trance of a state looking at his book.

As he was reading he heard a knock on the door and as he was leaning back jumped a little startled and fell over with a Oof. Getting up he put his bookmark in his book and cleaned himself off and fixed his appearance quickly before opening the door and seeing Jairdain standing in front of him he gave her a soft smile as he saw her.

"Hey Jairdain, how is your day? You look like you need me for something."

He added this last comment as he saw the expression on her face.

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Second after she knocked, Jairdain knew Karl was in his room. She heard fall with a grunt and his familiar steps to his door. While she couldn't see his smile, she felt the pleasure he had when seeing her. Returning his smile, she walked into his cluttered room.

"My day is well. How are you?"

Giving him the moment it took to answer before speaking again, she handed him the datapad she brought with her.

"Actually, you are way more familiar with the history of this galaxy and thought you may shed light on something. Take a look at that information and tell me if you know anything else."

It was filled with her notes she had picked up on Master Hoth. His life and death.

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

He smiled at her and sent his emotions to her rubbing the back of his head with his hand looking at her and listening to her and nodding for a second giving another smile.

"Really boring, just reading."

The way he said this showed that it was teasing because of his love of reading books and he'd rather do that then a lot of other things he had to do around the temple.

"Oh? What is exactly for? Is it a research assignment from Arisa? Or did you just get bored and went to read in the library again and found this information?"

He inquired this as he skimmed through the notes she had handed him.

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain chuckled a little at his answer and smiled. She knew of his love of reading, it was something they shared. They could sit side by side each reading their own thing for hours and be happy. They would then talk about what they had been reading over dinner or at night.

As he was looking over her compiled information, he asked what it was for or if it was an assignment. She shook her head in answer to that one and nodded at the second.

"It's for myself. Well, when I first joined the Silvers, Master Jessica gave me a huge list of books and information to look up because I lacked so much education. In maths, sciences, history...like everything. So pretty much whatever I'm reading out is likely on that list."

To this day, they really had spoken much about their owns histories. Just little bits here and there.

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

His eyes scanned over the words and lined as he thumbed through the notes silently reading the words with his lips as he continued on with the notes she had been taking about her current adventure.

Finally he would finish the notes and look at her for a moment and put a hand to his chin as he strokes his beard for a moment thinking about what she had written down trying to think of the best answer.

"So she had your read the history of The New Sith Wars and you had some questions about Lord Hoth? Well I can rack my memory up on him and tell you as much as I know."

He said this looking at her and giving the notes back to her.

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

"Well not just that Karl, but everything. You know I'm not from the galaxy, so all of this knowledge is new to me."

After they finished reading whatever it was while they were together, they would often talk about it. This was what Jairdain wanted. She scuffed the toe of one of her boots on his floor and was silent for a moment or two.

"What were you reading?"

Knowing him it was likely about saber fighting and he would show her what new information he had learned, helping her improve her own techniques.

He handed her the datapad back and looked at her.

"Do you think there's anything left his?"

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

"Of course I know, I'm a Jedi and we know all."

He said this teasingly to her and gave her a smile. She went ahead and asked what he had been reading, as if it wasn't obvious, but he knew she liked to hear of what he was reading.

"Some more on Form I."

Saying this he turned his back to her and fetched the book for her to glance at fast handing it to her.

It was a old leather-back but it was in good condition.

"All I know is that he died on the planet of Ruusan."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain chuckled at his joking comment and shared in the humor with him, he answered her question she just shook her head.

"Always Form I. I need somebody to show me more of Form III."

Being the more of a diplomat, she would rather deflect and avoid actual fighting, but the base knowledge was good. He handed her the book he had been looking at when she knocked. While her little device would read the words, the diagrams were different. Raising an eyebrow at him, she did what she could to picture in her mind what the diagram in the book was.

Handing him the book back with a smile, "you'll have to just show me."

When he answered her question though, her look faded.

"I had hoped maybe you know more. Being a warrior and all, you may have studied him more."

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

He widened his grin and looked at her with a goofy face as he stood their looking at her.

"Fine someone else then cutie, I'm here for the Form I and the good times."

Knowing her preferred use of mind he knew that she would never be a very aggressive fighter and that she would be better defensively. He was the one who suggest her some of the more defensive forms when they had first met on his ship. Watching her attempt to decode the book he smiled softly just watching her for a moment.

As she handd him the book he took it, "Maybe a little later."

His brow slightly raised at her expression changed and nodded.

"He was killed with a thought bomb at close proximity, he had his soul taken from him, if that helps you any."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain was unable to see the funny faces Karl made, but picked up on his humor. She shrugged her shoulders at little as his comment about finding somebody as so far she hadn't, but she hadn't been trying very hard. Physical fighting wasn't something she was interested in as much as other knowledge.

"Not that there's room in here to show me much anyway?"

Giving him a grin and tease about the clutter around them, Jairdain lightly elbowed Karl in the ribs.

"What is a thought bomb? Sounds like something that could be useful for me! I mean think about it. I fight with my mind and this sounds like something I could use. How was his soul taken? What does that mean?"

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

He raised a brow at her slightly as she shrugged. Shrugging back he listened to her talk about how his room was cluttered, she knew that it was organized madness, or that was what he liked to call it. He liked the room as it was and was not going to change it.

"Hey, it's perfect as it is, if I need to practice there's plenty of woods."

Looking at her he gave a slight Oof as she elbowed him in the ribs and he pretended to be hurt.

"Uhm I don't think soo.... A thought bomb is the result of an ancient ritual that, through the focused willpower of many unified Sith Lords, unleashed the full volatility of the dark side of the Force. When detonated, a thought bomb annihilated the entirety—corporeal and non-corporeal—of every Force-sensitive being caught within its blast radius and absorbed their fragmented souls into a swirling vortex of perpetual torment that resolved into an orb of silver iridescence."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

"Organized chaos wreaks havoc with me since nothing is ever in the same place as it was the last time."

Her own quarters were very neat and things rarely got moved around. The stability of knowing where things were assisted in keeping her happy. If it wouldn't confused Karl, she would have cleaned his room up long ago.

"Why go to the woods when there practice rooms in the temple?"

With his joking oof, Jairdain giggled a little and stopped to listen as Karl answered what he knew a thought bomb.

"I figured it would be dark. Is there something like it the Jedi use?"

Not that she would use it unless she had to, but to know there was such a skill would be nice.

"Why did they do that and what happened to that silver orb?"

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

"How do you know that?"

He said this teasingly not wanting to hurt he feelings and chuckled a bit as he looked at her with a slight smile. Her room and his were room were polar opposites, but opposites attract, no?

"More realistic for one, and it's quiet out there."

He smiled and looked at her as he listened to what she suggested.

"I don't think so, it's too dangerous and I don't see what it has to do with light for it to be able to do anything useful."

Saying this he thought about it and couldn't wrap his head around a lightside thought bomb.

"Uhm it was in Sith control for centuries until finally Kyle Katarn I think freed the souls trapped inside."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Shaking her head again, but not making a comment about his room again, she tilted her head as Karl answered about her training question.

"It's no more quiet out there than in here! The life outside is just as noisy if you listen to it. Maybe it's the noise of people that bother you."

Holding her datapad again, Jairdain had notated a few comments made by Karl and sat down on the chiar he had been reading on before she arrived. It would be up to him if he found a place to sit.

"Is there a way to combat it then? If it's not light and only dark siders can use it, then maybe the Jedi figured out a way to fight it. Was there anything left of this battle? Since that orb is now gone."

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

He watched her talk and nodded for a moment thinking about her words.

"Nature might be loud but it isn't noisy as it is here, It's more natural, helps me focus, I guess."

Raising a brow slightly he watched as she took his seat and he moved a few spots off and sat down to look at her as she continued to ask questions about the thought bomb.

"I'm not really sure, the easiest way would be to stop the ritual but I don't think that is a very reliable option, they'd think of that and block anyone from interfering. I don't think anything else has been taken but the orb."

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain chuckled at his comment about nature and shook her head slightly.

"But the sounds of nature are not any more natural than the sounds inside. Only difference I think is sentience. Even that's not quite right though. The noises we make are the same as they make and for almost the same reason. To communicate and express. They struggle to learn like any apprentice here too. Masters here are like the animal adults out there."

It might be a different way to look at things, but Jairdain wasn't your average person. She sometimes thought quite often outside of the conventional box that others lived in. Being able to do that allowed her to have conversations that wouldn't normally happen. If everybody thought or felt the same, then there wouldn't be any conflict and that wasn't something she ever saw happening.

"Where is Ruusan?"

Dropping the subject of ​the Thought Bomb since it obviously made Karl a little uncomfortable to talk about, she turned it in the direction of the location the battle took place.

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

He raised a brow slightly at her comment.

"Maybe it's the non-humanoid aspect about them. That they don't have the ability to speak basic, or any other humanoid-type language that gets to me. Their primitive, they can't turn a blaster rifle on me intentionally. The fact that these things don't care what I do or say as long as it doesn't harm them, a word uttered out after a bad routine that may not be acceptable for some ears."

He said this because that was how he felt, he'd rather be along with his thoughts and not have prying ears that would judge the words or comments he had. He'd rather just be alone while he practiced. It even helped his lightsaber combat because of the unique terrain that being in the woods provided a person to have to deal with him.

"I'm not too sure but we can check a holo-map for it."

He said this tapping his chin and going up to his desk and typing some things up and looking for the information for a little bit until he found it and opened up the map of where Russan was located.

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Karl had a point on the things he said and she didn't persue that aspect the conversation. Their skill sets were different and there were times for her when being outside was just as disruptive as it was inside. Those were the times when she just went to be alone and usually hid out on her ship. A place where nobody could distract her.

"You can speak however you want to around me."

This was said as a final comment on the matter and firmly. Jairdain figured he had held his tongue before with her and wanted him to know he could say whatever was on his mind.

"Don't you mean you can check the holomap?"

Chuckling a little, she followed him over to the desk and waited for him to pull the information up.

[member="Karl J. Winters"]

 

[Darth Arkanus]

He looked at her thinking of the forest around the temple. He liked to stay there, he didn't think it was abnormal, and it helped him practice, and learn different terrains then the flat ones provided by the temple for sparring. He could see how it might be weird for some people but he wasn't most people, and neither was she.

"I know."

These words would come and go as soon as they were said but the meaning stuck. He knew that he could be himself around her, and he wasn't afraid of her leaving because of his actions.

"Of course that's what I meant silly."

He opened up that map and looked at it tapping his chin.

[member="Jairdain"]