If You Go Down In The Woods Today ... [Open to all SJO]

[Ióunn Ar-Olwa]

Kessel Sector​

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Kubindi​

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A beautiful small young girl, only seven standard years old, walks through the forest on this evening. Her bare feet lightly touch the ground, so gracefully they hardly leave an imprint, her hair is long and flecked with the touch of fire and lays gently down her back over her night gown. She walks among the soft mist seeping up from the ground and resting on her face leaving it moist. Her name is Rhiannon.

The forest is curiously silent, the creatures that reside there cower among trees and undergrowth as they pass, never impeding the children's progress, they sit and watch in the dead of the night.

But she does not walk alone.

Her head turns as if in a dream to see two younglings beside her, they too are the same as her, young and full of life, they are strong with it and the force .. for they are younglings of the Silver Jedi Order. The three come to the edge of the forest, to the edge of The Giblings, as locals call it, and without hesitation they enter the cool waters. Their night dress billowing out over the surface as they become deeper, and yet they walk until they all vanish beneath the surface.


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And why are these younglings here, you might find yourself asking. They have come to Kubindi on a field trip with a master and a knight from the Silver Academy, to learn of culture and the diversity of planets in the galaxy, to give them a greater understanding of life they will face once they grow and become Jedi.

This is not the first time younglings have disappeared from the group, the master and knight have done all they could to find them but to no avail and so they send an urgent message to Voss, to Grand Master [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] requesting help to find them. And in the time it takes for the Silver Jedi to come, more younglings have vanished in the night.

 

[Yag'dril]

The news of searching for padawans came to her and she was used to this. On her homeworld children would go missing and be taken by the creatures under the surface. It was their job to hunt and find them. Her tracking skills might come in handy as the large serpent body of Yag curled around before in the transport and was wearing the top half of the silver robes for herself. The hair was there curtaining her shoulders as the paleness of her body stuck out with the others. She was curious who was here and how they were all going to go about this search. Her sigil and equipment in a pack she could keep on her shoulder and back so it would obstruct her ability to move around.

 

[Catherine Soja]

[member="Yag'dril"]

Catherine sat legs folded the corellian silently meditating as the transport flew. She'd come alogn to assist in case whatever happened turned into a need for combat. The padawan calm and quiet amid the situation for now.

 

[000]

[member="Rhiannon"] | [member="Yag'dril"] | [member="Catherine Soja"]

It was then thought at best his standing amongst the silvers seem been a precarious one. Where thought he train with them and had for time being had been under the tutelage of one their Master. His heart still at times long for the cold vastness of space where he could freely roam. To which and given any chance he could get he'd seem to find himself volunteer on a mission off-world. Where although he didn't know much of came anyway sitting on the foreground opposite the others.

He'd know of this sector from the time he'd work few freighter in the past before his return to the Temple. He figured maybe he could assist thought he didn't know how he least could try. As for being that it was thought he in a sense had been back for quite some time. He couldn't help but not feel truly home just of yet. As many things and question lingered in the back his way. That made him feel a disconnect from the other that in time he'd hope. Being around them and well join the fray of mission or what not could as one the healer said. Help with the feeling of disconnect he felt and aid in him establishing a new connection or bond. To truly make it that he was truly home and not just back.

 

[Eirin]

The transport which Eirin and the other Padawans hurtled through Silver Order space, closing in on their location of Kubindi. A great pit of dread was bubbling away like a pot on a stove inside Eirin, with a great deal of fear for the Younglings stranded beneath some murky swamp, and the safety of his fellow Padawans here. The green alien was desperate to suppress these feelings and become calm and at one with the Force. A panicking Padawan is no use.

He had found himself a seat beside [member="Catherine Soja"] for the voyage, seeing as she was the only person on this shuttle he had previous dealings with - a small round of meditation.

[member="Ronin Wendigo"] [member="Yag'dril"]

 

[Catherine Soja]

[member="Eirin"]
[member="Ronin Wendigo"]
[member="Yag'dril"]

As she sat she looked to Eirin she did not realize this would be one of her last missiosn as a Padawan. "Alot of Padawans for am ission where younglings are vanishing. Question is whats taking them away. I do not so far sense anything in the force." She noted as they got closer to landing. "No major enitity thats letting itself be known."

 

[000]

[member="Rhiannon"] | [member="Eirin"] | [member="Catherine Soja"] | [member="Yag'dril"]​

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At that moment as he sat across from the other Padawan that he couldn't help but pause. While in the back his mind the couldn't help wonder or muse how thinks could have been different if or when he get to realize if or what had indeed happened here. Where as far he could fathom listening to whispers from the elder. Before they disembarked on this trip rumors or reports of the missing. How at best the local attributed or pointed to local legends for an explanation.

Which for him seem nothing less than old wives tale spun by campfires. That they couldn't be real or were they? For how could they be gone without a trace if not for other external forces.? A sith or maybe some band of slavers? Could be so what had taken them?
But then before he could finish this train of thought of try make sense of it all in what he reckon was a more logical reasoning. That the ship landed and all but save the pilot stayed behind. Keeping watch over the ship he said but more likely scared off by the tales. At any rate, he then departs and walked alongside the other. His gave out onto the horizon when one among the group seem spoke.

"A lot of Padawans for am mission where younglings are vanishing. A question is what's taking them away. I do not so far sense anything in the force."

 

[Yag'dril]

[member="Ronin Wendigo"] [member="Catherine Soja"] [member="Eirin"]

Yag was listening to them as she stayed there, allowing the force energies to flow around herself and searching to try and find people on a world could be a tricky thing. She had som equipment that might be useful in cases like this until she moved around a little in the ship keeping her large body coiled and not spreading out to take up all of the space. Still she could look over at them before flicking her hair to one side of her shoulder. "They might be missing but we have ways to find them. Hunting down and finding people that are captured is something that happens on my world all to often... and there is no strange half scorpion beings here to infest them with eggs."

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

The disappearance of these younglings was something the Grandmaster had taken a personal interest in, for rather obvious reasons; having maintained a strong connection to children all his life, it pained him to read the rather fuzzy reports on the matter. Even worse, the recent hostilities demonstrated by the Mandalorians had soaked up too much of his attention to address this major concern of his. With the battle of Ossus put behind them, the Order was free to once more devote their resources into investigating these disappearances.

Many of those joining the expedition to planet Kubindi were either padawans or young knights, eager to discover what mysteries lay ahead. The majority of the journey Thurion had spent either on the bridge to oversee the crew, or on his lonesome. He figured he'd let the young interact on their own accord without the added pressure of having the head of the Order looking over their shoulders all the time.

As their journey across the stars came to a close, however, the Grandmaster silently joined the others as they sat around discussing the strange situation. "I'm just going to sit here with you guys, if you don't mind," he calmly said, legs folded as if assuming meditative stance. He greeted each of them with a kind smile, the likes of which a proud father would give his children, for he was indeed proud of each and everyone of them. They were his children, in a way.

It was also no secret that he was getting on in years, and any aging individual can agree to the statement that being around young people makes you feel younger in return. Call it a slight case of mid-life crisis, if you must.

"Before we get down there, I'd like to make a deal with you all: For the duration of this mission, I am not 'Grandmaster Heavenshield', just 'Thurion'. I'd like for all of us to address one another on a first-name basis. Put aside titles just this once." If he had it his way, there would be no grand titles in the world. Just people. "Sound good?"

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[member="Yag'dril"] | [member="Catherine Soja"] | [member="Ronin Wendigo"] | [member="Eirin"]​

[member="Rhiannon"]​

 

[000]

Rhiannon | Eirin | Catherine Soja | Yag'dril | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"]

It was then that as he listened to them talk bout the upcoming mission of sort they were about getting into. Sitting off to the side as always on his own when off the side another chimed in to speak.

"They might be missing but we have ways to find them. Hunting down and finding people that are captured is something that happens on my world all to often... and there is no strange half scorpion beings here to infest them with eggs."

To which moving to lean forward a bit he then figured chime in to reply.

" I reckon so....at any rate hunt or spotting those missing could be a challenge but then again....other than the force figured there be another way we can track them down or get good lead trail once ..."

It was that time that seen another approach that his words were cut short. For at best although he'd not know him personally he was no less familiar as to who it was that soon spoke.

"I'm just going to sit here with you guys if you don't mind,"

To which best respond being that it was once he'd taken his seat that he became quite sure who it was. That he could only nod and meet his kind gaze along with a gentle smile to each those present with the same respect he'd afforded Master Coci. Who at best had been one he'd look up to as family since his was at best he knew passed on.He then seems in curiosity listen to what was said further on as the talks progress and Master....or umm Thurion as he plainly addresses ask of the other to call him sat.

"Of course M....i mean Thurion sir...."

He sort of bluff and blurted out as seem even thought he had sort reacquainted with life within the Order since his return. There seem still to be a bit of that scoundrel kid from his time on his own that pop in from time to time.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

She had still been on Voss when [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] got the message of the missing youngling, and immediately without hesitation, Grace decided to join her cousin in the mission to Kubindi. He would have his hands full, not just with the mission but looking after all of them and besides it was an opportunity for her to spend more time with him, get to know him more.

Grace had left him to his meditation for most of the journey, and not until he joined the group as they approached the system, did she venture to find him and the others. A small group of Jedi discussing the possibilities of how and why this had occurred, which was proving to be a distraction from the journey but also might help in leading them toward a resolution. There was very little to go on, it seemed and they would need all the instruction they could get.

She walked into the room and sat by Thurion, "Did you find anything cousin?", she asked hoping his meditation may have given him some incite into the situation.

Turning the rest of them, Grace sent her greetings, "Hello Jedi, I am Grace", that would do for now since Thurion wanted first name basis, what a lovely idea.

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[member="Ronin Wendigo"] | [member="Yag'dril"] | [member="Catherine Soja"] | [member="Eirin"] |​

 

[Catherine Soja]

[member="Grace Vhalorious"] [member="Ronin Wendigo"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Yag'dril"] [member="Eirin"]

As she listened she nodded. "Well then Thurion, um....what do you think may have occured? I'd have assumed if it were jsut people kidnapping younglings we'd seen or heard on the matter. And no indication the local forests ghostly spider creatures have eaten them either."

 

[Yag'dril]

[member="Ronin Wendigo"] [member="Catherine Soja"] [member="Eirin"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Grace Vhalorious"] [member="Rhiannon"]

Yag was listening to the others while she wanted to see what they might present around here. Wanting to get a better idea for herself what was going on as she uncoiled and moved to be in a position so she could hear them speaking about it. The grandmaster was here and that provided them a lot of aid if anything bad happened. She was glad about that if a little uncertain if it meant this could be more dangerous then a few padawans could really handle. She moved leaving the majority of white serpentine body on one end as she stretched out and held herself up taking a small position to better listen. "What are the known predators in the area?"

 

[000]

Rhiannon | Eirin | Catherine Soja | Yag'dril | Thurion Heavenshield | Grace Vhalorious



It was then from the sideline he began to listen in to what was being said and work in his head. What bit of what he could gather about the situation at had of the place they were heading to. At which time he couldn't help but note to say.

"....well if I reckon if it not the local wildlife or wildlife in general. What if any do we know of any unwanted activities about...seeing just curious..."

He turns to the others and two that join them last.

"Thrurion....Grace.....from what I hear seem the disappearance being so clean....if there other things at work here like say....gang or underworld activity about?"

 

[Ióunn Ar-Olwa]

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A radiant light filtered down through the clear waters, the eyes of the children looked up as they rested on the bottom of the Giblings, yet they did not admire the surroundings, nor the fish nor the water vegetation, but they stared blankly, fixed into a space not seeing anything.

Slowly but surely they would be absorbed into the world around them, they are not dead but nor are they living, something holds them there, perpetuating their existence, protecting them against perceived dangers. Rhiannon is among them, her long auburn hair gently sways in the currents of the waters softly, as there is but little movement. Strange how she feels renewal, a building of strength within her frame fed to her. It is so enticing, fulfilling and grand.

But it would not be the same for the others, they are not happy here, she could tell but in time they would realise they are safe, Rhiannon knows they are safe. And in time all the children will become as one, united in purpose and would live forever.


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And the Jedi come. Soon their ships will land on a plain by the village and speak with the masters in charge of the children. As the hours pass, the master have the remaining younglings secured and no more shall be lured, but they must be vigilant for the one that comes for them, sings a song of enchantment will .. with renewed power .. be stronger.

The children are given a sense of security knowing that Grand Master [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] is coming to help them, the Grand Master himself! they are so excited to have the chance to see him. And what of the other Jedi? Knights and Padawans those they look up to as role models coming to help. The light of day holds security in the mind, but come the night and the darkness creeps through the forest like rolling mist.

There is more in the forest then the trees, look for it or you will perish for the Spiders are waiting in The Silver Forest of Dreams. They do the bidding of the One, they will protect and kill anything and anyone that will place the One in danger.

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[member="Ronin Wendigo"] | [member="Yag'dril"] | [member="Catherine Soja"] | [member="Grace Vhalorious"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Eirin"] | @All Faction Members​

 

[Catherine Soja]

[member="Grace Vhalorious"] [member="Ronin Wendigo"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Yag'dril"] [member="Eirin"]

She greeted the younglings when they arrived trying to help them feel safe. The masters always got them excited she remembered then again when she was a youngling. As she sighed some she began to look around. The forest was still the primary spot as it seemed where they went. Seemed everyone knew where they went but nobody went and got them? Something was wrong. That meant when they got close something or someone would try to stop them.

 

[Yag'dril]

[member="Ronin Wendigo"] [member="Catherine Soja"] [member="Eirin"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Grace Vhalorious"] [member="Rhiannon"]

She could feel the others and there was all of the force energies around her as she uncoiled more and came out of the ship when it landed and opened up. The long padawan moving through the grass and around everything as she could feel the world itself. She was feeling for the vibrations themselves but she dind't want to harm the others until she was moving over. In the grass and dirt she could move more now, faster and like a white streak with many of the cases. She looked up at the large trees and webs but there were all of the leaves before she weaved under a web of the ghost spiders staying low on the ground. "This forest is massive and strange but I am not feeling things on the ground ma.... Thurion." The name sounded foreign in her mouth when she was saying it and looking at all of the others with them. "The mist will not help most for the visuals that human's need." She said it while sticking out her tongue for a moment and a small fork to it as she was tasting and scenting within the air itself. Eyes flicking back and forth.

 

[Catherine Soja]

[member="Grace Vhalorious"] [member="Ronin Wendigo"] [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] [member="Yag'dril"] Eirin

As they all went about the buisness of handling things she followed Yag'dril quietly for now thinking. They knew where the kids went but could not retrieve them? That made no sense and it bothered her immensely.

 

[000]

Grace Vhalorious Ronin Wendigo Thurion Heavenshield Yag'dril Eirin Catherine Soja

It was then that once the group had landed and disembarked of the ship that. As he step off onto the planet surface that he couldn't help feel a slight feeling of uneasyness. Not so much do to the damk and seem forboding landscape that greeted them. One of darken misty forest abonde with large undergrowth, trees and a faint mist that soom grew thicker the farther one ventured ahead.

Yet still one by one seem as he observed a couple of those in the group began work. Attempting as best he could tell to find leads or trails one could assumingly follow. And yet his mind couldn't help wander as he look about how seem eriely strange calm yet forboding the forest beyond was. Of the dampness in the air along with the quiet stillness in the air. That he just couldn't help strike him with a deep uneasyness he dare not know why?

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Padawans can be so rash sometimes, and she sincerely hoped they would not wander off without find out more information on the situation before entering the forest without the guidance of wisdom and a master in tow. Grace looked toward Knight Soja, "Make sure they don't wander off to far will you please", Grace was to go and meet with the Knights of Order that had been here looking after the younglings and protecting those that had not been taken.

Grace did not have to move far, as one of the Knights came running toward the group with a sense of relief that help had arrived. "Master Vhalorious", he beg giving her a quick bow and to the others that come with her. "Thank the force the Jedi are here. We have ascertained that four of the younglings are missing and from our initial investigations they have been taken into the forest. We have searched the place but there is no sign of them. The forest has other dangers within it, so strange as this was never the case before. Something dark is there, I could sense it and the creatures of the forest are influenced by it .. as if protecting something or someone".

"Thank you, we will take it from here, go back and make sure the younglings are under constant watch until me get to the bottom of this". With that she turned to re-join the group.

"We need to be vigilant in our surroundings it seems there is more here then meets the eye. Trust in the force to guide you, use it to inform you decisions and see what is out there through the force, trust not your physical senses as they may be compromised".

Grace used the force to reach into the forest, her tendrils revealing all the environment, finding a residue of the past. She stood with eyes fixed in focus, pulling to her the shadows of past events but it was difficult to grasp as something prevent her from 'seeing'. A shroud cloaking the force but there was a vision of shimmering water on the far edge of the forest. Grace came out of her revere, "Lets move out and stay close".

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[member="Ronin Wendigo"] | [member="Catherine Soja"] | [member="Yag'dril"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Eirin"]​