Private In Search of Knowledge

[Elora Praithwyn]

Location - Pylos Satnik

The Jedi shuttle was mostly empty, no Jedi nor learners aside from Ella herself. The trip had been long and grueling, crossing many Hyperspace routs to get there. The last stop where she'd stretched her legs was Bakura. Ella was a slim girl, barely under the average height for a fourteen-year-old, and dressed as a Jedi Apprentice. Thick tunic, clean brown robe. As the shuttle landed, she stared long out the window. She had never been to a place like this, a green hue covered the landscape and the city was made up of bulbous protrusions that reminded her of flower buds. Ry'lyeh bustled with activity, creatures she had never seen before, non-humanoids with mouths on every surface, and tendrils that propelled them. Elora was absolutely astonished, but after the initial natural repulsion, she was excited. There also seemed to be close to an equal number of humanoids - little did Ella know, this was the males of the species.

"Now disembarking!" someone strapped a rebreather mask over Elora's face, and as she looked up with surprise she saw a droid standing over her seat. "The air here is breathable, but thicker than Naboo. This mask will allow you to acclimate. You will not need it long, nor will you need it on the return home." Ella nodded and stood up, grabbing her satchel and slinging it over her shoulder. The bag hung loosely from her shoulder, scuffs and scratches from her recent adventures. "Th-thank you," she said to the droid and then clamored down the ramp, clutching her bag.

Another droid waited for her at the bottom, "We will await your escort here. The Archivist and Jedi Master, Kass." The droid turned about as if she would appear any moment. Elora's face remained neutral, but inside her heart was fluttering. She'd never met a Jedi Master before. Her Master was a Jedi Knight, and a difficult one for certain. Ella was interested in meeting the real thing and she clutched her bag to her chest nervously.

The most immediate thing she felt was the oppressive humidity, but the weather was moderate. The second thing she noticed was the star they circled. It was an Orange Dwarf. A typically volatile star that could last for trillions of years. Planets around them were most often tidally locked, which meant they had one warm side and one cold side. Elora wondered which it was, and knew it would only take a few hours to find out. If the star was in the same place, she would know for sure. If it wasn't, then this was one of the rare dwarf star systems where the planets rotated.

It was exactly the kind of place that fascinated a young learner like Elora. While she waited, she unsnapped her bag and drew her holocron. It glowed blue. With just a little concentration it would point a helpful beam of light towards the nearest Jedi Temple. Ella closed her eyes, emptied herself of distractions and directed her consciousness into the device.

Kassogtha Cthylla

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Kass wasn’t hiding in the enclave’s library. She was just… seeking refuge there. Hiding made it sound like she was afraid, when in reality she was simply exhausted.

It had been about six months since the completion of the Farlander Jedi Temple—better known as the Pylantian Jedi Enclave. It had long been her dream to build a Jedi temple on her homeworld and encourage more of her fellow Pylantians to join the Order. Now that her dream was being realized, however, the magnitude of responsibility she had taken on was taking its toll. As the new enclave’s founder and the most senior Pylantian Jedi in the entire Order, the role of its Grandmaster had naturally fallen to her. She quickly realized how little she liked being a leader; every waking moment she was expected to always know what she was doing, be called upon for answers and relied upon to fix every problem. Quite a lot for a meek little librarian.

The library remained a sanctuary from chaos, at least. She sighed and began pacing up and down the aisles, straightening the books with her pseudopods as she went. She still considered this her rightful place in the universe, even if the Will of the Force apparently disagreed.

Her datapad beeped. She glanced at the screen, eyes widening. The Naboo students! She had forgotten they were coming today. Slithering across the floor at top speed, she headed for the hangar bay, slowing to a stop only when she caught sight of the visitors. Grinning with all of her mouths, she joined two tentacle-like pseudopods together on the side of her body facing them.

"Greetings, Padawans! Welcome to the Pylantian Jedi Enclave. I am Master Kassogtha Cthylla—but you can call me Master Kass."

While she talked, her numerous eyes surveyed the Naboo Jedi. It was a relatively small group they had sent her, consisting of just five Padawans. Which was good, since five was more manageable than ten. Or twenty. All of them were apparently interested in becoming archivists, and thus were well-suited to taking part in a two week exchange program with an enclave founded by a former Chief Librarian.

"If you'll please follow me, I'd like to give you a brief tour of the temple first..."

Elora Praithwyn​

 

[Elora Praithwyn]

​

Late again! How do I keep doing this?? Elora had never been late anywhere before, but now found herself being late to every engagement. Her holocron had been useless in finding the library, mostly because this one had started construction long after her father had left the Jedi Order to adventure across the Galaxy. She neither knew nor really cared where he was. He had done as much for her as a Jedi could do for their child, and El was only greatful.

Instead she had to follow the droid to the Temple, which was a beautifully constructed building. There, a group of young Jedi learners had gathered, and Ella went to join them, turning around only to bow and thank her droid guide. "Thank you very much," she said and ran to join her fellows at the gathering. They talked among themselves at first, some excitedly and others with anxiousness.

Ella felt both, but didn't join the conversation. She wasn't good with people. She was better with books.

The droid exclaimed; "What a polite young lady!" and left to return to the shuttle.

The sixth of the group, she tried to blend in, hoping the Master would not notice her tardiness. She clutched her bag to her chest, trying to catch a look at the Jedi Master who was -- as all other words escaped her -- an alien she had never seen before. In awe, she realized that the Archivist she was meeting was the very same Kassogtha Cthylla who had once been the new Archivist at the Corellian Jedi Temple, one of the most ancient repositories of knowledge in the Galaxy.

Her head swam.

What were the odds she would end up in the presence of one of the greatest Jedi Scholars who had ever lived?

Ella felt her excitement in her very bones now.

She moved to follow her brethren deeper into the Temple, cautious not to draw too much attention to herself

Kassogtha Cthylla

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Kass quite literally had eyes in the back of her head. Well, she didn't actually have a head, technically, but she had ninety-six eyes across her entire body. Very little ever escaped her notice, including the arrival of a sixth Padawan. The Human girl was a few minutes late, true, but she seemed suitably chastened by her tardiness, ducking her head and quietly falling in line. Kass didn't feel any need to scold her and add to her embarrassment.

"Like many buildings here on Pylos Satnik, the Farlander Jedi Temple is carved from an enyaii - which is a type of giant mushroom. Each section is burrowed into the hard and sturdy flesh. You will find the layout is very similar to your temple, just with a larger library..."

The tour was short and to the point. "Now, does anyone have any questions?"

One of the Padawans, a Rodian, raised her hand. "Why is it called the Farlander Jedi Temple?"

Kass' smiles were tinged with melancholy. "It is named after my master, Gavyn Farlander. He died defending our planet from the Sith. There is a memorial dedicated to him not far from here, on the spot where he became one with the Force."

She waited to see if anyone else had any more questions.

Elora Praithwyn​

 

[Elora Praithwyn]

​

Ella's hand darted up and then came down when another student asked their question, but went up again timidly after the question was asked. A pure academic, she spoke up, her voice soft. Softer than she intended it to be; "H-how is an enyaii cultivated, Master Jedi?"

Her hand dropped down and joined the other, untying the lace of her satchel, from which she withdrew a stack of papers. Some had Aurebesh written on both sides, with drawings of buildings, rough sketches of the local flora and fauna, and one half-drawn representation of the Temple itself. She had hastily taken notes and sketches on the way. She also produced a piece of charcoal, which blackened her fingertips as she rolled it around in them.

She was already scrawling notes before Kass had even started speaking. One of which was the name of the mushroom, which she drew a line from, to the drawing of the Temple. Her hands glided expertly, finishing the living lines she had made - a perfect representation sans scale - of the Jedi Temple built here.

She raised her hand again, a moment after fiddling with her rebreather. She pulled it down off of her face, finding the thicker air not so unpleasant to breathe at the moment. Her lungs adapted well enough. "Historically, the Sith rarely attack unless there's something to be gained, or they think they can win, but it seems unlikely they could have taken such a planet, so far into deep space. Did-did they take anything of value? Other than lives, of course." Ella was trying to be diplomatic, but she had questions. Lots of them, and she was barely touching on what she really wanted to know.

Kassogtha Cthylla

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

"Enyaii are usually not cultivated. They are chosen," Kass explained. "We - that is, Master Oukranos and I - went looking for one which would suit our purposes, and this particular enyaii fit the bill. It takes many years for them to grow this tall, but luckily there are lots of enyaii across the planet which have been growing for a long time already."

The same student then asked about the Sith attack. Kass hesitated, the movement of her pseudopods slowing to a near halt. She wasn't angry or upset, just thinking about what to say.

"I'm afraid I wasn't very clear before, Padawan," she answered at last, her tone apologetic. "The Sith didn't attack Pylos Satnik in the way you're thinking of. We've never been invaded by any armies, thankfully. What happened was... on a much smaller scale. There were three Sith, all of them Pylantians corrupted by the Dark Side, who wanted to take over our world. Master Farlander stopped them from enacting their plans, at the cost of his own life."

Elora Praithwyn​

 

[Elora Praithwyn]

​

"Oh... I'm... very sorry to hear, Master Jedi." What had started out as an attempt at a sterile line of questions had morphed into a tragic recounting of events. El felt uncomfortable exploring emotions, which was becoming a problem with her academics. The social aspect of Jedi training was very taxing to the young Learner. Every attempt to reach her goal seemed destined to be rebuked by her awkward lack of tact.

Still, she noted that Kass hadn't answered her question. In fact, her response seemed like a clever attempt at avoidance. Pressing her on the subject would clearly not lead to any further nuggets of information, so Elora gave a quiet "Thank you, Master Jedi," and allowed her to continue the tour without any more questions.

Nervously, Ella fiddled with the strap over her shoulder, hoping that the tour would be much more informative than her line of questions had been. Some of the other students also looked uncomfortable with Ella, so she dropped her gaze and tightened her shoulders, and quietly began sketching and taking notes again.

Ella had not forgotten her inquiry though. She did not intend to cease investigating, but she had learned one thing - Kass would not be the chief source for important information on Pylos Satnik.

Kassogtha Cthylla

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

"It is all right, Padawan," she said, bobbing in the Pylantian version of a nod. "I apologize for the confusion."

Another student's hand shot up. "Can we use the archives whenever we want?" she asked.

"Yes, you may," Kass answered, smiling with all of her mouths. "I only ask that you follow the rules. Be respectful with the materials, and don't take them out of the library."

The tour having concluded, she dismissed the students. Most would presumably go to their quarters, eager to unpack their belongings and get ready for dinner. In the meantime Kass headed for the library, still craving the sanctuary it offered...

Elora Praithwyn​

 

[Elora Praithwyn]

​

Ella hurried along with Kassogtha, following behind and trying not to step on any of her many tenticles. "Master Jedi... Master Jedi?" She clutched her bag to her chest. "May I accompany you? My name is Elora Praithwyn, my father was--probably still is a Jedi. My Master is the Archeologist Markus Kortu of the Jedi Order on Naboo. I was told to find you if I had any questions, and I do. My Master and I are researching the Infinite Empire, and we have need of a Rakata Forcesaber for study. My Master is making a general study of the Rakata, but I am doing my own research to finally lay to rest who invented the Lightsaber. The Jedi, the Sith, or the theorized Defenders. The Force-saber is likely to provide clues on whether there is a mutual evolutionary origin for the proto-saber and the Lightsaber."

"I agree that it was the Sith, as they're violent and much better at advancing weapons technology, and so I am leaning towards them. My classmates say they think the Jedi invented them - but I think they're biased. Old frescos and paintings from the era seem to agree with me, but some texts say that Tem Madog made the 'First Blade' but I think it was stolen and repurposed from the Ancient Sith. In order to prove my theory..." She chewed her lip and furrowed her brow "...or at the very least settle the argument, I must be able to make the comparison."

"Can you help me with this, Master Jedi?"

Kassogtha Cthylla