Gimme Shelter

[Sebastian Nadav]

To Sebastian, Midvinter felt alive.

The trees and the rocks. The snow and the sun. It was a rare world to be sure. Untouched by the ravages of galactic civilization, it remained somewhat set apart. It was an entity unto herself. From the moment he stepped off his ship, Sebastian knew why [member="Coci Heavenshield"] had decided to retreat here. It was rugged and pure. Sure the natives were a little bit intimidated, towering over the diminutive Jedi Master as they did, but they were pleasant enough though the language barrier proved to be a bit of an issue. However, they knew the names he had and after a large amount of miming by all parties, Sebastian found himself set along a path leading to a broad temple shrouded in the mountains.

As he trudged along the road, his mind wandered. He hadn't seen Coci or Thurion in years. He could feel them both on the planet and he was making no attempt to hide himself. Sebastian grinned at the thought that he didn't have to hide his presence. How times had changed. Once for a long, long time, that was all he had been. A ghost in the night. A sinister stirring in the darkness. Neither here nor there. He had been a Shadow.

That was how he had found himself lost. A mission he had taken as a Master of the Shadows had taken him far from the reach of the Silver Jedi and his friends. Over time that mission had become something of its own. It had becoming a driving force in his life as he wandered from world to world studying the various cultures that had reached his ears--be it through rumor, legend or hushed whispers--that had found their own way to the Force. Before he knew it, he had found a purpose away from the Order and with surprising ease vanished from their radar. Perhaps they had assumed him dead, though those who knew him would know just how unlikely that would have been, but without question he had been declared missing. A name to be remembered and thought about only occasionally.

He probably should have written. Or sent a message. Or checked in from time to time. But he had enjoyed the freedom his journey had given him and he enjoyed the work that he had taken upon himself. Until of course he had found the Eyre. What those people had discovered, what they could do was so far out of the realm that Sebastian had considered possible that it had shocked him out of his study. He began to think like a Jedi again. They were potentially dangerous, if they thought to use their methods that way. Sebastian had needed advice so he had returned to the Silver Jedi...but so much had changed. Coci had retired with Thurion. Connor was missing. He did not want the advice of people he did not know. He wanted advice from minds he trusted so he had begun to search.

Not that it was difficult. It had only taken a few questions to the right people to learn that Coci and her husband and returned to Midvinter in semi-retirement. And now he found himself there. Standing outside a grand entrance to a temple he didn't know the name of with a guard staring at him with a look of some amusement. To the guard, it must have looked like Sebastian didn't know how to use a door. Sebastian hid his blush as he returned his thoughts to the present, straightened his back and pushed his way in. Not knowing what to do and not speaking the language of the locals, he took the only option that was left to him. He had to yell.

"COCI!" He bellowed. "I WANT A WORD".

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

For the most part of her day, Coci had been reviewing all the reports centered around the White Scale Virus that had devastated Midvinter a month ago. Although those that were afflicted were well on the way to recovery, the death of many people had taken a great toll on people and they needed to be attended to. Fish was off the menu until such time as the all clear was given which would take time, as fish stocks had been destroyed and the virus eradicated. This had placed pressure on food supplies and stores and now that winter had finally arrived, rations were in place. Food and grain had to be distributed across all the Marks, there had been some relief in that food was imported from known sources, trusted sources through a network of friends of the Heavenshields and Hearthfires, and Thyrian was kept busy with that. And Eirin's Reach had built and dedicated an entire wing of the medical center in Fridheim to the provocation of the white flower that had provided the cure.

The recovery plan was going to plan but nothing could ever replace the loss of lives.

Coci placed her hands on her face rubbing away the fatigue as best she could and it was time for break. As her focus shifted, and her mind opened up a calling through the force reached her. A strong sense of the familiar, the bearing of one she had not sensed in a long time and he was on Midvinter. [member="Sebastian Nadav"], someone she had thought lost to them. She used her hands to push away from her deck and grabbed her fur cloak as she hurried out of the room and down the long corridor to the main entrance.

His voice found her before her eyes set sight on him, calling out to her with a sense of urgency. And as she passed the threshold of the Temple Coci could not help but smile at the sight of her friend standing there alive and well, and cold. The guards at the entrance turned to her with a slight smile of amusement, they had understood him as most Valkyri are familiar with basic, "He is a friend", she assured them, before approaching Sebastian. Coci quickly took off her fur cloak and wrapped it around his shoulders, "Come inside before you catch a cold", she said firstly and once passed the doors she turned and embraced her long lost friend.

"It is good to see you my friend". After all these years, after all this time without a word, Coci wanted to know everything.

 

[Sebastian Nadav]

He would never admit it, but the cloak was a godsend. Using the Force to keep himself was all well and good but it was nothing compared to real fur. He chose to ignore how it pooled on the ground next to his feet. Though there was only six inches or so in height difference between him and Coci, everything on this world seemed to want to remind him of just how short he was. That and the now obvious fact that he had been played masterfully by the locals. Pretending they couldn't understand basic just to watch a Jedi Master make a fool of himself. It was a masterful play.

However, the moment they were inside and Coci folded him into an embrace that he warmly returned, Sebastian let all of that fade from his mind. It was a wonder just to see his friend alive and well. He kicked himself mentally for not having contacted her, he'd owed her better than that. Maybe he was just getting eccentric in his old age...but he knew it was more than that. As he let Coci go and returned her broad smile, he knew it was because he had thought himself done with the Jedi...for the thousandth time. And for the thousandth time, he should have known better.

"If time hasn't killed me by now, a cold's not going to do it," he said, defiant between chattering teeth. She didn't seem to believe him as she guided him through corridors and passageways. He brushed off her amused look with a flap of his hand. "Well it can try...but it won't work." He stopped and looked at her, running a hand through his hair and an expression of slight disbelief crossing his face. "Gods, Coci, it's good to see you," his expression changed to one of sheepish apology as they started moving again. Coci leading the pair to a room with a crackling fire and some chairs. "I know, I know, I should have sent word. Should have let you know I was still alive...but if I'm being honest, I got caught up." He took a seat, keeping the fur cloak wrapped snugly around him.

"Do you remember that mission I had to locate the Adepts of the White Current?" He sighed, it was going to be a long story. "Well I found them. And that is where it all started. I found their culture and their understanding of the Force fascinating, distracting and refreshing after so many years in service to the Jedi with our rigid ideals and uncompromising interpretation of the Force and how it is to be used." He grinned, the expression bringing light to his ancient eyes. "But I forget my manners! I have to ask, how are you? Are you enjoying your time here? How are the children? How's Thurion? It's so good to see you doing well."

He meant it too. Whatever importance his visit had he would not put aside friendships again. He was lucky that she was there to meet him even after he vanished without a trace. They still had time.

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

On their way to the anti-chamber where Coci would speak with Sebastion alone, she asked one of the staff to inform the kitchen their guessed required a bowl of stew and some fresh bread. He must be hungry and cold from his travels to the Dawn Fortress. Once inside the room, Sebastion settled in a chair by the fire, she went to a table and poured him a balloon of brandy and handed it to him. "For medicinal purposes", she said with a smile happy to see him again. She sat in a leather chair opposite him and listened to what he had to say and like most first meetings in long time, there was many question from them both and the conversation jumped between all topics.

Coci decided to answer his last questions first. "I am fine, happy living her on Midvinter, the children are all grown up or close to it", she smiled at the thought of them, "I have another son, Thirdas my lastborn he is a young man now. Théo is married and has a daughter, and Nina is travelling around Midvinter writing a history of this planet. Thurion is busy with his duties as Lord of the Westmark which is where we live, he is good".

Just as she finished telling him about the family, the door opened and in walked the tray of strew and bread along with a young padawan who excused himself after placing the tray on the table in front of Sebastion. "You found them", she stated almost envious of his mission success, years ago she would have been among the ones to go off and investigate this. She mulled over his words, there was something more to this then he had said just yet, he did not return from his travels just to tell her this.

"That all sounds very interesting, intriguing in fact, but you did not come all the way here seeking me out to tell me this .. what has happened?", she could sense the tension through the force, something was troubling his mind.

[member="Sebastian Nadav"] ​

 

[Sebastian Nadav]

Sebastian accepted the brandy with a grateful smile, sipping from it as he listened to Coci's telling of her family with a sort of wistful longing. He'd had a husband once, but they had no children and Andreas had long since passed from this world. To hear Coci speak of her family brought Sebastian a sort of happiness that she could never understand. He told her how wonderful it was that everyone was doing well. He'd like to see them again one day. When he'd left, her children had been just that, children. To hear that they were grown and well struck home just how long he had been absent. He really should have written.

He was about to tell Coci as much when the food came in. His stomach rumbled loudly and he exchanged a mortified look with his friend before excusing himself and applying himself fully to the food. How long had it been since he'd had anything more than tasteless military rations or the questionable cooking of far flung people? He honestly didn't remember. The food was wonderful and he ate quickly. When he was done, Sebastian set the bowl and cutlery aside and leaned back in his chair. He could feel Coci's presence moving subtly within the Force and sighed. It was time to discuss the true nature of his visit.

"Yes I found them," he said, eyes distant and full of wonder as he recalled the occasion. "They taught me many wonderful things..." He focused, moving his left hand slightly and then, without warning the room vanished and they were sitting in their leather chairs on the silver beaches of Corellia. The sun was warm on their backs and the scent of the ocean filled their noses. As quickly as it had come, the illusion brought forward by the White Current faded and Sebastian's eyes twinkled mischievously.

"As fascinating as that may be, you're right...that's not why I am here. You see, Coci, after I met with the Adepts of the White Current I found myself caught up in learning what else could be out there. There are so many places, so many people in the galaxy that we cannot comprehend it...though we like to think we have a grasp on everything, we don't. All over different groups have found their way to the Force, formed their own understanding and practices." He paused and took another sip of brandy while collecting his thoughts. "I wanted to learn more about them, to find these groups and study their beliefs. My studies took all over but there was one group, the last group I visited...they were something else."

Abject and true fear filled Sebastian's presence and eyes. It was a sensation he wasn't accustomed to feeling but it was all he could when he thought of that group. "They call themselves the Eyre. They live in a system surrounded by cosmic anomalies and I think they have largely avoided contact with broader galaxy. But that's not the point. It's what they can do with the Force that brought me back." He met her gaze and held it. "Coci, they can cause change in the way the Force behaves in pockets around the galaxy. They've mastered the art of reaching along the broader fabric of the Force and altering its behavior. I've never seen or heard of anything like it. I...I need advice. What should I do? Do I leave them alone and roll the dice? Do I wipe them from the galaxy to potentially save billions at the cost of my own morals? I have no idea what should be done...and I couldn't reach a decision on my own."

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

If she was honest with herself, she envied him the experience of going out there and discovering new things, new people with different ways of thinking and ways in which they use their powers. This was only added to by the sudden illusion placed before her, her homeworld in all it's glory .. former glory and her heart ached for it, saddened by the loss of everything that she had once loved after the destruction of Corellia. But rather than dwell on it, she enjoyed the moment for what it was and she was home sick. Coci could not deny him a smile as she gazed around the room.

Coci listened with fascination as he continued to speak of his travels, it had been far too long since Thurion and herself had left Midvinter for other adventures, she would have to set some time to talk about it with him again, see if he missed it all as much as she did. But there was a shift in Sebastian, his mind turned toward something that troubled him, the very thing that had brought him all this way.

She could not say she had heard of this group called the Eyre and as he continue, her brow turned to concern. "But that's impos .. " she caught herself before she finished. One thing she had learned in her years on Midvinter alone was that nothing was impossible. After all the Gods of Midvinter were as real as she and Sebastian sitting in this room, their existence went against everything she had been taught, everything she had come to believe. "Do you believe them to be dangerous in the sense that they are malevolent?".

Coci sat back down again, trying to comprehend what he had just told her. "To alter the force this fundamentally, to shift its behaviour is dangerous even if they don't have a ill intentions .. if this ability or the knowledge of this was to fall into the hands of, the Sith, the ramifications are incalculable", she had drifted off into thinking out loud, no doubt all of what she was thinking had crossed his mind. And she was not sure that placing such power or ability with the Jedi would be safe either, the balance would shift dramatically and as the old saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely.

"This is difficult and I see why you have come .. this finding needs to be handled with utmost importance. I think that you need to seek more information about them, find out as much as you can before making any decision.. either way. But do not do this alone, take with you trusted people and plan a first contact with the Eyre. This is the only way to proceed forward on this", Seek first to understand, something a Jedi should always do.

​

[member="Sebastian Nadav"]​