"Well, I mean... guys like us, we're not exactly the type of people they write about in history books, you know? But the people we saved, they're our legacy."
The light of Chalacta's morning filtered softly through the high windows of the great hall, catching on polished stone and the quiet movement of gathered robes. Katarine Ryiah stood just beyond the threshold, hands loosely clasped at her sides, though her fingers betrayed her with the slightest tension. She had faced down criminals, unraveled conspiracies, and walked willingly into the shadows of the Force, but this? This was different.
For so long, she had lived on the edges of the Order.
Since awakening from stasis into a fractured galaxy, one where the old republic had fallen and the Jedi had scattered into splintered paths, Katarine had felt unmoored. The familiar anchors of purpose, council, and community were gone. In their place was silence, distance… and questions. She had thrown herself into her work as an investigator, joined first the New Jedi Order and then the Jedi on Naboo, and committed herself to chasing threads of darkness across distant systems. It was easier that way. Safer. In the field, she knew who she was.
But here, standing at the entrance to the great hall, she felt the weight of something far more uncertain: hope.
They had come. Jedi from distant enclaves, from hidden worlds, from paths she did not yet understand. Some curious. Some skeptical. Some carrying wounds she could almost feel through the Force, and all of them were waiting.
Waiting for her. Waiting for her to explain why she had gathered them all there and why invitations had been sent to any Jedi who wanted them. She was no grand council member like
Romi Jade
nor a battleworn grandmaster like
Valery Noble
, or even the founder of an entire republic like
Briana Sal-Soren
. Katarine Ryiah was a simple investigator who had stood in the shadows and watched as other Jedi rose to leadership, but now she was dipping her toe into the water, and she just hoped she didn't drown. When
Connel Vanagor
had suggested to her that opening an enclave might be her path, she had brushed it off, but it seems listening to him, at least every once in a while, might be the wise call. That is, if this didn't go terribly. She supposed she could always blame him if it did. The thought made her grin, especially when she thought about letting Buster help her with the blame game.
Katarine exhaled slowly, grounding herself in the present moment, the way Master Tanelorn had taught her. The Force flowed through her, not as certainty, but as quiet encouragement. A reminder: you are not alone.
She stepped forward.
The murmur of voices softened as she entered, and though her heart quickened, her presence remained steady. She moved to the front of the hall, her gaze sweeping across the gathered Jedi,not as a leader above them, but as one among them.
"For a long time," she began, her voice calm but honest,
"I did not think I would stand in a place like this again. When I awoke from centuries of stasis, the galaxy I remembered was gone. The Jedi… had changed. I quickly found support in The Galactic Alliance, but then that anchor fell away, leaving me swaying once more. After the war in the Core ,many of us were left to walk our own paths, uncertain of where we belonged."
She paused briefly, her expression softening.
"I know that feeling. I have lived in it. I've traveled to small enclaves, far away bases, and even to the mighty halls of the Shirayan Temple, but still I felt lost and unknown amongst my Jedi brothers and sisters." Her eyes moved across the crowd, meeting theirs where she could.
"My work kept me apart. In the shadows. Investigating what others could not, or would not. It gave me purpose… but it also kept me from all of you."
A breath. A shift.
"This Praxeum is my answer to that."
She gestured gently to the hall around them.
"Not as opposition to The Jedi Order or as a replacement for what is, or what we lost when the New Jedi Order disbanded, but as something new and unique. A place where Jedi can come together again. Not bound by rigid expectation, but guided by shared purpose. A place to learn. To teach. To question. To grow."
There was quiet now, but not empty, and listening.
"You are not here because you were called to follow me," she said, a faint, sincere smile touching her expression.
"You are here because I wish to serve you. I want to serve my fellow Jedi and help them grow. I want to step out from behind my investigative anonymity and find balance and meaning in the teaching and service of others."
Katarine straightened slightly, though her voice remained warm.
"So I welcome you, not as students, or divided Jedi from different sects and locations, and not as subordinates, but as fellow Jedi who I want to get to know better and serve."
She let the words settle before continuing.
"Stay, if you wish. Learn what you need. Teach what you can. Challenge one another. Support one another. This New Praxeum is fully operational and ready to serve as an anchor for any Jedi searching for a place to belong. It's doors are open to every enclave, every group, every sect, and every independent who calls themselves Jedi. My goal is to help train a new generation to rise up and allow the Jedi to stand strong once again. And together… we will build something worthy of those who came before us, and those who will come after."
The Force stirred gently through the hall, not with grandeur, but with something quieter, steadier, and for the first time since her awakening, Katarine Ryiah no longer felt unmoored.
"Our kitchen staff has prepared a wonderful brunch for all of you. There are assistants waiting to assign rooms to any who wish to stay here, for however long that is. Please join me in breaking bread and learning who you all are because soon it will be time for us to begin lessons at the New Jedi Praxeum."
She bowed respectfully to the room, her heart pounding and her nerves spiking slightly as she wondered what reception she would receive.
Tags:
Matsu Ike
Aris Noble
Solene Beroya
Kael Venn
+ my alts and anybody else who joins
