Private Into the Living Stone

[Kallous]

The Stingray zipped through hyperspace, its two passengers comfortably seated within its interior as the ship moved. Kallous had been training Veyla Krinn in the basics of the force for some months now. She'd made remarkable progress in that time, getting better and better at touching the force, up to the point where she could do it on demand. He'd taught her basic telekinesis and the techniques to empower her body, to allow her to move faster and hit harder. He also did not fail to emphasize the importance of the philosophies that surrounded the force and its use, sharing the conclusions he had come to and inviting her to search the force for answers of her own. She'd gotten far enough in fact, that he decided that it was time for her to find a kyber crystal and bond with it, and from there craft herself a weapon.

And to that end he looked for an appropriate planet. One that was steeped deeply enough in the force for Kyber to form, and hadn't been overly mined for it or was overly populated. The place he'd found had plenty of Jedi on it from what he understood, but not enough to be worrying. He doubted they would give them any trouble. And so he had set course for Oralis Prime, that was where they would go to find Veyla's kyber crystal, and from there he would bring her back to Concordia so she could forge her lightsaber.

They'd been in Hyperspace for some hours now, and they were approaching the end of the jump where they would get close to the planet. With Kallous sitting in the pilot's seat, and Veyla free to move about the ship.

"Veyla," Kallous would call to her, "We'll be there in another five minutes or so."

With his passenger warned, Kallous prepared to bring them out of hyperspace and into atmosphere.

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

The familiar vibration of hyperspace hummed through the Stingray's hull, though it was a sensation Veyla had only experienced a handful of times since Kallous had arrived on Concordia. Most of the past several months had been spent planetside. Days began at the quarry or the forge, afternoons dissolved into meditation and sparring, and more evenings than either of them had expected ended over dinner, discussing everything from Mandalorian customs to the mysteries of the Force.

It had become a comfortable routine.

At Kallous' voice, she looked up from the datapad resting forgotten in her lap and made her way into the cockpit. One hand settled lightly against the bulkhead beside his chair as the blue tunnel of hyperspace stretched endlessly ahead.

"Five minutes?" she echoed with a small smile. "After spending months on Concordia, it almost feels strange to be traveling again."

A quiet laugh escaped her.

"If you'd told me the day we met that a few months later I'd be crossing the galaxy with a former Sith to find a crystal for a weapon I didn't even know existed..." She shook her head, amused by the thought. "I'd have assumed you'd taken one too many blows to the helmet."

She folded her arms loosely across her chest before glancing toward him.

"So..." she asked, curiosity replacing the humor, "what exactly should I expect when we arrive? You told me finding a kyber crystal isn't like searching for ore in a mine."

Her emerald eyes searched his.

"Am I looking for the crystal..." she asked softly, "...or is the crystal looking for me?"

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

"You wouldn't be wrong in saying that it's a bit of both." Kallous told her when she asked who would be looking for what once they got down to the planet. "You've learned all the basics, you've learned how to listen to the force and discern what it's telling you. It's the same process, you'll let the force guide you to where you need to go. It'll take you to where you need to go."

He gave her a cocked eyebrow afterwards. "Now what's this about not knowing it exists? You should have known that lightsabers were real, I'm certain by now everyone in the galaxy knows what they are and what they look like, whether they've actually seen one or not. Besides, I get the feeling that you'll make a weapon far better suited to fighting in duels than the spear you have now. Especially with how good you are at swinging that hammer of yours."

"I get what you mean though, I felt the same way once I started to travel around." He admitted. "It takes a while to get used to getting up and going great distances, no matter how convenient the fare might be. And even then, you never fully get used to it. Oh, how do you like the ship? When I joined up with the Diarchy I got enough of a stipend to splurge a little, so I had this built. What do you think of it? Haven't had too many passengers on it before, though I get the feeling you're going to be a passenger quite frequently, so I figured I'd get your feedback."

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla laughed softly and held up a hand in surrender. "Alright..." she admitted. "I picked the wrong phrase." A sheepish smile crossed her face.

"I knew lightsabers existed. Every Mandalorian grows up hearing stories about Jedi and Sith." She shook her head at herself. "I just never expected to meet someone who would teach me to use one... let alone tell me that I was meant to wield one myself." She looked out through the cockpit canopy for a moment, the streaking blue of hyperspace reflecting faintly in her eyes. "That part still feels a little unreal."

His question about the Stingray drew her attention around the cockpit. She'd spent enough time aboard over the past months to know where everything was without thinking about it.

"It's great." There wasn't any hesitation in the answer. "Comfortable without being extravagant. Everything has a purpose, and everything's where it ought to be." She rested a hand on the back of the co-pilot's chair. "She's a good ship."

Then, after the briefest pause, the corner of her mouth lifted.

"Though..." she added, her tone carrying an easy warmth, "the company hasn't exactly hurt the experience either."

She folded her arms again and smiled toward him.

"I don't think I'd have enjoyed this trip nearly as much if someone else had been sitting in that pilot's seat."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

He chuckled when she surrenedered to his feigned outrage. "I get what you mean. Having been a part of that world for so long, sometimes I forget just how small of a group we are when compared to the general population. Even more exceptional people are so detached from it that they never really stop to consider that it might be a possibility to be a part of that. Beyond childhood, where kids might play like they can use the force or swing lightsabers around, most people simply dismiss it as an impossibility. And despite how central the Jedi and the Sith have been to the galaxy's history, they are still remarkably detached from the rest of the galaxy. So I understand, it's an idea that never crossed your mind."

He glanced back at her, "I'm glad you're pleased. And your compliments are appreciated as well. You've certainly made it less lonely to be in, having someone to talk to on these long trips makes a big difference. Even if I'm stuck in the pilots seat for most of it."

Kallous glanced at the dashboard, and nodded to the copilots chair next to him. "You should buckle up, we're about to drop out of hyperspace."

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla nodded, pushing herself away from the bulkhead before settling into the co-pilot's seat. She pulled the harness across her chest and clicked it into place with the ease of someone who had spent enough time aboard ships for it to become second nature.

"Aye." She gave the restraints a quick tug to make sure they were secure before resting an arm on the console beside her.

She glanced out through the cockpit canopy, the brilliant tunnel of hyperspace stretching ahead of them.

"Have you been here before?" she asked, turning her attention back to Kallous. "Or are we both trusting the Force to get us where we need to be?"

There was curiosity in her voice rather than concern. Over the past months, she had learned that Kallous rarely chose a destination without good reason, and if this world had called to him, there was almost certainly a story behind it.

"I'm not opposed to a little exploration," she admitted with a faint smile. "Just wondering if we're arriving somewhere familiar... or writing the map as we go."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

"Nope, never been here before." He told her with strange enthusiasm. "And the planet is apparently only sparsely populated, so I'm not sure how complete any maps they might have are. Meaning we'll have to find our own way."

The ship lurched as it suddenly slowed, hyperspace melted away back into realspace to reveal a planet and its two moons in front of them. The planet in front of them resembled one of the many forest planets throughout the galaxy. Masses of green continents with gargantuan rivers and vast oceans on its surface. Kallous was able to feel the nexus from there, it wasn't the strongest nexus he'd ever encountered, but it was strong enough to be felt from this distance.

"Do you feel that?" He asked her, wondering if her senses had sharpened enough to pick it up.

The ship descended on the planet as they continued to talk. The reentered the atmosphere with relative ease, the Stingray's heat shields holding up like they were supposed to and making the descent a smooth one. Kallous paid the navi computer no mind, and simply brought them down. Trusting his gut to bring them to the right place. And before too long the landing gear extended so they could touch down in a clearing big enough to accommodate the vessel.

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

A grin spread across Veyla's face at his answer.

"Now that..." she said, unable to hide the excitement in her voice, "...sounds exciting."

The thought of exploring somewhere neither of them had ever seen appealed to the part of her that had spent years wandering the galaxy. There was something satisfying about leaving the navicomputer behind and trusting experience, instinct...and now, perhaps, something more.

When Kallous asked if she felt it, her expression softened. She turned her attention away from the viewport and closed her eyes, drawing in a slow breath just as he had taught her countless times before.

She quieted herself, letting the cockpit fade as the hum of the engines slipped into the background, and reached inward for that familiar forge within her mind, coaxing the bellows to breathe and the fire to settle as she listened for anything beyond herself, but found only the steady presence of her own thoughts: nothing more, or perhaps not nothing exactly, just herself and after several moments she opened her eyes again, a faint, apologetic smile crossing her face.

"Not yet." she admitted. "I tried, but...if it's there, I can't separate it from everything else." She glanced toward the forest spreading beneath them as the Stingray descended through the atmosphere. "Maybe once we're on the ground it'll be easier."

As the landing gear settled into the clearing with a gentle thump, Veyla looked through the canopy toward the towering trees surrounding them.

"Either way..." she said, unclipping her harness with an eager smile, "...I'm looking forward to seeing where this path leads."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

"It's fine." He told her, "You're still relatively new to this, so it would be hard for you to detect it. But this planet is home to a force nexus. The force's currents converge here. There are many such places throughout the galaxy, and this is one of them. You might not be able to detect it, but you should be able to have an easier time hearing what the force is trying to tell you while you're here."

He unbuckled from the seat and stood up after shutting the ship down. Without any further fanfare he made his way to the back of the ship so they could exit into the crisp air of the coniferous forests of Oris Prime. He found himself immediately struck by the planet's magnificence, the surrounding greenery only made more grand by the calming presence of the planet itself. He took a deep, satisfied breath. Even without the mission that brought them here, he already liked it. He would need to visit again sometime, perhaps for a camping trip, he hadn't done something truly recreational like that in a while, so it wasn't a bad idea.

But, for now they had something to do, so he couldn't adore the scenery too much.

"Alright. Now..." He started, turning his attention to Veyla, "Lets see how far you've come. Show us where to go."

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla stepped down the Stingray's ramp and paused almost immediately.

The air was different.

Cooler than Concordia. Rich with the scent of pine, damp earth, and growing things. A gentle breeze stirred the towering branches overhead, carrying with it the constant murmur of a forest untouched by industry. She slowly turned in place, taking it all in without saying a word at first.

When she finally looked back at Kallous, one eyebrow had climbed in amusement.

"You're asking me to show us where to go..." she said, spreading her hands slightly, "...and I don't even know what I'm looking for."

She glanced out toward the endless wilderness surrounding them.

"A cave?" Her eyes drifted toward the nearby hills. "A mountain?" Then to the sound of rushing water somewhere deeper in the forest. "A river? A lake?" She smiled. "Maybe a valley?"

The questions weren't asked in frustration. They were genuinely curious.

She turned another slow circle, simply appreciating where they had landed. The forests stretched farther than she could see, birds called somewhere high above, and the entire world felt...alive in a way Mandalore never had. Not better. Just different. Mandalore was stone, iron, and determination. This place breathed. For a few quiet moments, she allowed herself to simply stand there in awe of it.

Eventually, the wonder settled into purpose.

Drawing a slow breath, Veyla closed her eyes and let the forge return to her thoughts. The bellows breathed. The coals glowed. The hammer rested quietly in her hands. This time, she wasn't trying to force an answer. She simply listened, just as Kallous had spent months teaching her.

"Alright..." she murmured more to herself than anyone else. "Let's see if this planet has something it wants to say."

After several quiet moments, something shifted. It wasn't a voice, nor a vision, nor even certainty. It was simply...comfort. Her attention kept drifting toward the same place, a narrow game trail winding between two enormous pines before disappearing into thicker forest. Every time she let her thoughts settle, her eyes found that path again.

She opened her eyes fully and studied it for another moment before pointing into the trees.

"I don't know why..." she admitted honestly. "But I keep wanting to go that way." She looked back at Kallous with an uncertain but hopeful smile. "It doesn't feel like a command. More like...if I don't follow that trail, I'll spend the rest of the day wondering what was at the end of it." She adjusted the strap on her spear and took a single step toward the path. "It's the only thing that feels...different. So unless you think otherwise..." Her smile grew just a little. "...I think that's where we start."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

When she started asking questions about what they were looking for, Kallous shrugged. The gesture both sincere and amused at the same time. This was, at the end of the day, her mission and her test. She would need to be the one to find where to go, and what she was looking for. He was there to make sure she had guidance if she needed it, but ultimately he was a safety net, not the main mechanism. So now that they were on the ground, he would step back and give the helm to her.

He watched her take in the area around them, appreciating the area in which they found themselves. Then after a short while her focus turned back to the task at hand, and she pointed in a direction and explained what was going on in her thoughts.

"Then go that way." He told her. "Trust your instinct. More often than not, you'll find that your instinct is the force trying to speak to you. So if that's the direction your gut is pulling you in, then go that way. I'm only here in case you really need me, otherwise I'm just an observer. So lead the way."

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla held his gaze for a moment before giving a single, confident nod.

"Alright."

She turned toward the narrow trail without another word, letting her boots carry her forward at an unhurried pace. There was no urge to rush. Whatever had nudged her attention in this direction hadn't demanded haste; it had simply invited her to follow. So she did, allowing the forest to close gently around them as the Stingray disappeared behind curtains of pine and cedar.

The farther they walked, the quieter the world became. No blaster fire. No forge hammers. No voices over a comm. Only the whisper of wind through evergreen branches, the occasional song of unseen birds, and the soft crunch of needles beneath their boots. A curious woodland creature paused atop a moss-covered log to watch them pass before vanishing deeper into the undergrowth. Everything about the place radiated peace, as though the forest itself had accepted them as passing visitors rather than intruders.

Veyla found herself breathing a little slower with every step. She wasn't actively searching anymore. Instead, she let the trail unfold naturally before her, taking each fork without much conscious thought. Whenever she reached a place where the path divided, one direction simply felt...lighter. Easier. She couldn't explain why, only that choosing it required no deliberation. It felt less like making decisions and more like quietly agreeing with someone she couldn't yet hear clearly.

"It's strange," she said softly without looking back. "I don't feel like I'm hunting for anything." A faint smile touched her lips as another gentle bend in the trail drew her onward. "It feels more like...something already knows I'm here."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

Kallous followed behind Veyla as she moved through the trees. Following a trail that was set out in front of her, and Kallous was pleased to see that she seemed to be able to follow it well enough that she had no doubts about where to go.

And while they walked Kallous allowed his eyes to wander across the area around them. Keeping pace with Veyla as he took in the sights. Appreciating the whole of natures beauty that surrounded them. The animals, the trees, the underbrush, the sky... all of it painting a picture of perfect serenity and life that he found truly mesmerizing. And it was a place he could definitely see himself coming back to if he wanted to meditate for a while.

He chuckled softly to himself, wondering just how much like a Jedi he had become. The thought amused him, given that he'd only met one or two Jedi in his life, and not for very long at any given time. It would be interesting he thought, to converse with one. What sort of impression would he give to someone like that?

His attention returned to his apprentice, who remained steady in her step as she walked forward, so sure of where she was going. And she gave him an explanation for what she was experiencing. "Then you're on the right track." He told her, "Keep going, you'll know once you've gotten there."

In truth, there wasn't a whole lot for Kallous to do here. All he could really do was stay there in case she needed guidance, but based on what he was seeing thus far, she wouldn't need that much from him here. He'd taught her well enough that she was able to find her way already, he'd been prepared to bring her closer if she needed to be, if she wasn't attuned enough yet to hear it once she was on the planet's surface. But it would seem that her senses had in fact sharped enough for her to hear what was calling to her.

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla accepted Kallous' words with another quiet nod and continued along the narrow trail. There was no urgency in her pace now. Whatever waited ahead had waited long before she had been born. It could wait another few minutes.

The forest gradually changed around them without her realizing it at first. The towering pines grew farther apart, allowing shafts of sunlight to spill through the canopy in brilliant columns that danced across the moss-covered ground. Thin ribbons of crystal threaded through the roots of ancient trees, catching the light with soft flashes of blues and greens. Somewhere nearby, water could be heard tumbling gently over stone, accompanied by a faint chiming she couldn't quite place. It almost sounded as though the river itself were singing.

She slowed.

The breeze that had wandered lazily through the trees since they landed seemed to gather around one particular direction. Tiny motes of pollen drifted through the sunlight, turning lazily toward a narrow opening between weathered stone outcrops. Veyla found herself staring at it, not because anything obvious stood beyond it, but because everything else seemed to quietly fade into the background whenever her attention settled there.

Her hand unconsciously brushed against the haft of her spear.

"Something is changing," she said softly, more to herself than to Kallous. "Not the forest..." She shook her head. "Me."

The ringing she'd associated with the forge during meditation wasn't louder, but it was steadier now. Each imagined strike of her hammer found an answering note somewhere beyond the trees. Not close enough to understand, but close enough that she no longer wondered whether she had imagined it.

Without hesitation, she stepped between the stone outcrops.

Beyond them, the forest opened into a secluded valley unlike any they'd passed through so far. A crystal-clear river wound silently across its floor, its bed glittering with pale crystalline veins beneath the moving water. Wildflowers shimmered faintly with natural bioluminescence despite the daylight, and ancient standing stones stood scattered throughout the clearing, their surfaces softened by centuries of moss and weather.

Veyla came to a stop at the valley's edge. She didn't know why. Only that every instinct she'd learned to trust over the past months told her, with quiet certainty..."We're here. Now what?"

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

Kallous watched with great interest as Veyla grew before his eyes. Not in the physical sense of course, but he could feel her mind expanding, her thoughts calming and her connection to the force overall growing stronger as they approached their destination. In the end they approached a riverbank, the nigh-invisible water flowing easily along its course. The crystal veins running along its bed only adding to the ruly stunning sight in front of him. He really did need to come back here some time, just to enjoy it.

That would come later however. Veyla stopped at the riverbank, and then she asked him a question.

What now?

His answer didn't come immediately, he wondered if perhaps she would reach the same answer he would have given her. "What do you feel you should do?"

Truth be told, Kallous had never undergone a trip like this. Rather he had taken his kyber crystal from a Jedi Padawan, whom he had slain, and bled the crystal he took before putting it into his saber. This was the way Sith had done it for many millennia, aside from creating artificial crystals to power their blades through other means. So this was something he himself had never undertaken.

Still, like always he trusted his gut, and his gut told him that Veyla had to be the one to find her way.

Veyla Krinn

 

[Veyla Krinn]

Veyla stood quietly beside the river, watching the crystal veins shimmer beneath the water's surface. The current moved with effortless patience, never hurrying, never forcing its course. She found herself wondering if perhaps that was the lesson.

When Kallous turned the question back on her, she didn't answer immediately.

Instead, she knelt near the riverbank and let her fingers trail through the icy water. The crystalline stones beneath the surface caught the fading sunlight, throwing fractured ribbons of color across her hand. Beautiful... but none of them felt different from the others.

"I think..." she said slowly, standing once more, "...I keep walking."

Her eyes wandered farther upstream, then toward the towering pines beyond the valley.

"This doesn't feel finished." She smiled faintly. "It feels more like being invited inside than arriving at the destination."

So she continued, not hurriedly, not desperately searching beneath every stone or peering into every hollow tree.

She simply wandered where her instincts carried her. Sometimes along the river's edge. Sometimes into the surrounding woods before finding herself returning to the water again. Every so often, she'd stop, close her eyes, listen...

...and continue on.

Hours slipped quietly by beneath the forest canopy.

The golden light of afternoon slowly surrendered to the softer amber hues of evening. Shadows stretched across the valley, the birds began settling into the branches above, and the first hints of the planet's gentle bioluminescence awakened among the flowers and mosses.

Veyla finally stopped, drawing a slow breath.

"Not today..." she murmured, more thoughtful than disappointed.

There was no frustration, no sense of failure, only the quiet realization that some things refused to be rushed, and she turned, letting her eyes drift naturally across the valley before settling toward where Kallous remained.

"I don't think it's hiding from me." A small smile appeared. "I think it's simply asking me to be patient."

Kallous

 

[Kallous]

"Not, what you think." He warned, "What do you feel you should do? Thought is important, but it does not lend itself to listening to outside voices. When the force speaks to you, it doesn't speak to your thoughts, it speeks to you feelings. And when you are trying to listen to what it has to say, you cannot insert your thoughts into it, or it will distort or cover up what the force is trying to tell you. Don't think, feel."

As Veyla began to move about the riverbank, trying to feel her way around to where the force wanted to guide her. And he could tell that she was coming up empty. He took a seat on a rock on the riverbank to let her try to find her way, and let his mind quiet again. Vanishing into the depths of the force's vast ocean, sinking deep into its waters. From there he spoke with it, asked it questions. And it answered him.

Before long Veyla would learn what it was like, to have conversations with the force. It wasn't some almighty deity that demanded worship, it wasn't some oppressive might that demanded submission. Rather it was a being entirley its own, unknowably powerful but connected to every living thing in the galaxy and beyond. And Kallous had learned that, when all was said and done, the Force looked for conversation. To speak with people who could hear it, and Kallous was all too happy to hear what it had to say. It's immense, unknowable wisdom was mesmerizing.

And a very good way to let Veyla try to find her way without getting too involved, and still being close enough to be helpful if she needed him.

Veyla returned to him some time later, and reported her deduction. He nodded, "I see. In that case I suppose we will be staying here for the evening."

He stood up from his rock and stretched. "Why don't you get us a fire going Veyla. I'll see if I can't catch us some food."

Veyla Krinn