Private Like A Moth to a Beacon

[Rovan Thane]

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Rovan Thane walked up the massive steps of the temple on Naboo. The brightness of this place shone in his force sight like a small sun. After days of travel, he had finally made it to this place and hoped to find guidance. His cheap walking staff tapped each step in front of him as he slowly ascended the stairs. He listened to the conversations around him, confirming that he was at the temple of the Jedi of the High Republic. Once he was at the top, he tried to find a wall or something so that he could both be out of the way and also take a moment to ground himself.

Sela Basran

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY

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"It is not a natural conclusion to draw, you would concur, would you not?" Sela's voice was calm, not sharp, but certainly probing. The Jedi Knight who stood next to her regarded her steadily, as if somewhat afraid of what further questions might arise if she answered the question. "It is not a trick question, Myerie. Tell me what you think. I am trying to understand the logical conclusions. In my mind, it is not the natural next step -- it requires a little something extra, a reach, no?"

"I suppose," said Myerie, a young Zabrak woman in her late-20s. "But if you consider the context, I don't see it as a reach. The Choran Bloc historically reacted in the same way, fairly reliably, up until about seventy years ago. And since then it's still not necessarily unheard of."

Sela raised an eyebrow. "A fine point, but -- " Her dark eyes had flickered over the Zabrak's shoulder to a young Miralukan fellow who had made it to the top of the stairs and shuffled off to one side. She didn't recognize him, and as a member of the Council, she made it her business to know all of the members of the enclave here, at least by face. "I am sorry, Myerie, we will have to leave it there for a moment. I will consider and meditate on your point. May I suggest that you meditate on the purpose of Jedi-led mediation? We will reconvene before the next negotiation session."

Thus aligned, the two women parted and Sela approached Rovan Thane , expanding her presence in the Force so that her approach would not startle him -- or so she hoped. "Good afternoon," she said pleasantly to the young man. "My name is Sela Basran, I am a Jedi Master here at Shiraya's Sanctuary. Are you a new Padawan, or am I simply woefully behind on my meeting all of our students?"

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[Rovan Thane]

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Rovan would turn and keep his head lowered respectfully. "I-I'm Not A Padawan yet, Mistress Basran, I-i just arrived on a shuttle from the outpost station I grew up on. I come to learn, and maybe to find a place of belonging?" he says in an unsteady voice. "The temple was the brightest place in the force, so I followed it here, but now that I'm here, I'm afraid I'm quite out of sorts as to where to even start."

If the Jedi were to look over this individual, they would find him in a nice tunic and pants with thin sandals instead of boots. But under the veneer of civility lay a boy who was abandoned, left to scrape by until turning 18, and allowed to leave the station, and so he came to the one place he could think of to be safe.

Sela Basran

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY

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"The Sanctuary here is a home to all who come in peace and good faith," Sela said generously, spreading her hands as if to invite the young man into the brotherhood of the Jedi. "Please, call me Sela. If you came to learn, we can help you. You are at Shiraya's Sanctuary, one of the homes of the Jedi Order here in the High Republic." The Jedi Master didn't touch the young man, feeling it would be rather pushy at such a juncture.

"I can sense your presence in the Force. You are clearly attuned to it. Have you been tested before?" Sela folded her arms into her sleeves. "If you would be so kind as to come with me, I can show you the way. Will you tell me your name, and a little about yourself, along the way?" She gestured with a nod toward the large entryway, and accompanied it with a gentle pulse in the Force in the same direction.

Rovan Thane

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[Rovan Thane]

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Rovan would turn in the direction indicated. "I am Rovan Thane. I haven't been tested, though the suspicion has followed me all my life as a result of my being a miraluka. I feel I am. I have shown some abilities, but most people just looked at me with suspicion. I get impressions when I touch some objects, particularly those deeply personal to an individual. I can also soothe animals, so much so that when manageries would come through the station, the station leaders would pay me a small amount to stay with them so as to keep them calm in such an enclosed environment." He would instinctively and very lightly keep a hand on her elbow, just so he didnt loose track of her until he learned the layout around himself. "I didn't like it when the ysalamiri came through... things got dark and isolated."

Sela Basran

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY

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"Ah, of course," Sela said. She did not like to assume that everyone wandering through with a blindfold was a Miraluka, but it often did go hand in hand. "Testing is not strictly speaking necessary to confirm one's affinity for the Force -- you clearly have it, or you would not have been able to make your way here guided by the Force. It seldom will make itself known to those not gifted with Force sensitivity in such a literal way."

Carefully, the older Jedi Master led Rovan Thane through the entrance. "It can give us some idea of the appropriate level of tutelage -- where best to place someone in terms of a Knight or Master to take you under their wing. Have you had any training before now? Or is what you were doing -- with the animals, with the objects -- something you were able to do instinctively?" She reached over with her other hand to touch his fingertips that were tucked into her elbow in what she hoped was a reassuring gesture.

"There are no wrong answers, Rovan. We get all kinds of people here. "

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[Rovan Thane]

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Rovan thought a moment. “No one has taught me anything, mistress Sela. I was just the blind boy who saw too much.” Rovan thought back to the hushed whispers, how the old spacers said I was ‘touched’. As if something was wrong with me. “I came to learn, and to find a master that has the patience for someone as old as me. And someone who is physically blind.”

Sela Basran

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY

​

Sela's face darkened somewhat at the boy's story. "There is far too much of that in the galaxy these days," she murmured to him. "I wish I could understand it. Yours is one of the better stories, actually. I recently met a young woman whose homeworld executed anyone found to be exhibiting Force sensitivity. They called it 'the curse.'" She shook her head irritably. "But comparison is the thief of joy. That is one thing we will not be doing here. Every person who walks through these doors is on a journey, and what matters is growth, not position. But, as usual, I am getting ahead of myself. We are just going to turn right here, shortly." Her pace slowed. "Just here."

They had passed by the archives -- Sela's domain as Chief Archivist and Curator -- and turned into her office. Part research center, part unofficial headmistress' office, part therapist's office, and part tea room, the office was airy despite the large wooden desk. There were two more chairs in front of her desk, comfortable and battered but clean. "Go ahead and sit yourself right here," Sela said quietly, taking Rovan Thane 's other hand and gently placing it on the arm of the chair. "I would like a cup of tea. Do you like tea, Rovan? I can make one for you as well."

She busied herself making the tea, arranging some biscuits on a small plate. "Would you mind, before we get too into things, giving me some idea of how well you -- for lack of a better word -- see? I understand your people have a sort of Force sight, but I could not pretend to really understand it."

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[Rovan Thane]

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Rovan sat in the chair. "I've never had tea before," he said, then took a deep breath. "My sight is strange, stranger still in a place steeped in the force such as this. Normally, I can track living things' auras, their movement, and their connection to the force. Inanimate objects appear as null spaces but still resonate force signatures, just less. However, those signatures take time to learn and develop in my mind, like when you board a new ship for the first time and have to learn the layout. Here, though, I feel like I'm in a room of white, an overexposed landscape, like I'm too close to a star and looking into it."

Sela Basran

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
MASTER BASRAN'S OFFICE
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"I see," Sela said thoughtfully, pausing a moment, eyes lingering on the kettle for a moment before crossing to her desk. "I will see if there are any Miraluka presently at the Sanctuay. Perhaps one of your kin could advise if that is normal -- the way you perceive this place now -- and whether there is something to be done that could... make things clearer, somehow?" She picked up a pen, scrawled herself a note, stuck it to the side of her computer monitor for later action before the kettle whistled.

"Tea is just herbs, dried and then steeped in hot water to make a drink. You may like it -- or not. Again, no wrong answers." Sela crossed to the sideboard again to take the kettle off the heating plate and poured boiling water into a ceramic pot. "There are different kinds. Some people like it sweet -- I do -- so you can experiment," said Sela cheerfully. Sela put the teapot onto a tray with two mugs -- cups and saucers was perhaps too much for a novice tea drinker who could not necessarily see well -- and carried the works over to her desk.

"I am going to sit beside you, if you do not mind, Rovan," said Sela. "And as a further preliminary matter, the picture I am getting is that you were... not necessarily well-cared-for in your previous life. Do you have any pressing medical issues? Are you hurt? I would like you to be seen by the Sanctuary medical droid, at a minimum, as you get settled in."

Rovan Thane


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[Rovan Thane]

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Rovan smiled a bit, "Mistress Sela, I grew up around spacers and smugglers. I know I may seem like some delicate flower here, but I assure you, I have seen my share of roughness. As to my health, I passed the station's customs checks, so I'm not sick. Based on your description, tea sounds similar to caf, though all the caf I have had was stout enough to use as ship grade cleaning agent." He would smile, "As to my sight, I imagine it is just a manner of adjusting, like what people tell me it's like going from full sun to the dark inside a structure."

Sela Basran

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
MASTER BASRAN'S STUDY
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Sela's smile might have been chagrinned, but her voice was firm. "Perhaps," she said. "But not sick is not the same as healthy. And there is no good reason for you to carry on with something merely because what passed for doctors on a station that allowed you to be treated the way you were decided you passed their minimal standards. It will not hurt, I assure you."

She glanced at the clock on her desk; enough time had passed for the tea to steep. "Tea is much like caf in the sense of its preparation, yes, and its function. I find tea a little less... confrontational." Sela stood and picked up the teapot, then swirled the contents of the pot around and poured through a strainer into each mug. She set the pot down and turned back to Rovan Thane , not for the first time lost for words.

"I -- Rovan, you do not know me but I hope you know I do not wish to condescend to you, or infantilize you in any way. But I also do not wish to thrust a mug of hot liquid at you, now that I have a better idea of what you are presently able to perceive." Sela frowned. "Ought I to let it cool first, or -- I could put it into your hands?"

This was no mere courtesy; Sela was starting to get a sense of the lad, but there was more to learn before she would be comfortable leaving him alone, let alone to wander the halls. These were little ways of seeing where he was, what he needed and wanted, so that she could assess how to place him.

Rovan Thane


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[Rovan Thane]

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Rovan smiled a bit, "As you wish, Mistress Sela. I will let your droids look me over." He would reach out, tracing up her arm to take the saucer and cup, following the heat. All this time, he had slowly been adjusting to the ambient glow of the temple. "You have a nice yellowish aura, Mistress Sela." He says softly into his cup as he sips the tea.

Sela Basran

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
MASTER BASRAN'S STUDY
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Sela carefully released the cup to the young man, watching for a moment to be sure it was all safe. "There is sugar if you would like it sweeter. The tray is on the desk in front of you, approximately six inches above your knees and roughly at arm's length. The sugar dish is on the far right of the tray and there is a small spoon within it." She picked up her own mug and settled into her chair.

"Yellow, hm?" she asked. "In your experience, what do you think that means?"

Rovan Thane

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[Rovan Thane]

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Rovan looked up to Sela, “Yellow auras, well the people I usually see with them are mothers with their children, elderly spouses who care for their partners, I guess it’s care, concern… honestly its hard to put into words. On a side note… and I hate to impose on you more than I have mistress Sela, but do you have some bread? Maybe some butter?”

Sela Basran

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
MASTER BASRAN'S STUDY
​

Sela felt the words land with a kind of chagrin behind her sternum. She supposed that a woman of her age was naturally cast as a nurturer/caretaker. That was what she strived to be, though some part of her felt that she still had a little something else to offer, some spirit of adventure. Still, there were worse things to be.

Then he asked about food. "Ah -- of course, you must be hungry, how silly of me. Well, the best I can do for the moment is biscuits, but I can send down to the kitchens for some bread and butter. Is there something else you would like, Rovan? There will be meat, cheese, fruit and vegetables, too, if you would like something." She uncapped the tin of shortbread cookies on her desk and took out a pair of the cookies and placed them into his other hand carefully. "This should tide you over until we can get some real food for you."

She waited for his answer as she crossed around to her desk and touched a signal. One of the Padawans on admin duty would come, and by then she had written a note to hand to them. "Padawan Dofea, good morning. Please take this to the kitchens and bring back what they give you. Quick as you can, please."

It was only a few minutes later when a tray arrived from the kitchens, Padawan Dofea carefully handing it over to Sela while glancing beyond her to where Rovan sat. Sela allowed herself a tight smile to the Padawan and nodded her off toward the door. "Thank you, Padawan. You may go." Sela closed the door and carried the tray over to Rovan. "I have a tray here; may I place it on your lap?"

When all had been settled Sela resumed her seat. "Take your time. But while you do, I would like to propose some things to facilitate your settling here. Tell me if you have objections. First, I would like to settle you in one of our Padawan dormitories, which ordinarily would be shared but for the moment we have some that are empty. I would rather you get settled before introducing a roommate. We will assign you a droid companion, which can guide you where you need to go -- when I am not available -- until you have learned your way around. It can take you to the cafeteria, the medical wing, the gardens -- if you want some fresh air -- and then later, to your classes. And then, you and I will work together on the fundamentals. Thoughts?"

Rovan Thane


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[Rovan Thane]

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Rovan would think for a few moments as he ate some of the food provided. "A droid is fine, though I would eventually prefer something biological. Though part of me is worried some of the padawans will see me as a hindrance, and not to mention any masters looking for padawans. What master would want a, for all intents and purposes, blind padawan? I won't fool myself, the High Republic is constantly at war with many other factions. Every Jedi master, if they even take a padawan, needs to have one who can at least protect themselves. While I'm sure I will be able to eventually, what do I do in the meantime?"

Sela Basran

 

[Sela Basran]

SHIRAYA'S SANCTUARY
MASTER BASRAN'S STUDY
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Sela let her gaze linger on Rovan for a moment, silent and still but for a tap of her finger against her chin. "It is not for Padawans to have an opinion on other Padawans," she told him after a moment of contemplation. "For them about you, or you about them, for that matter. Each and every Padawan learner in this order is on their own path. We all come to the Force in our own way, in our own time. Your journey is not better or worse, more valid or less valid, because of who you are. It is simply different."

The Master rose and paced away from the desk, pausing to examine one of the colorful tapestries that hung on the wall. "As for your master, for now it will be me, and you need not worry about whether you are able to keep up. I am the Order's Head Archivist and Curator, so it tends to be a life mostly here, mostly away from danger. Not exclusively. But it will allow me to be more closely involved. I also work with the curriculum here at the Sanctuary, so if adjustments are necessary for your classes, we will make them."

She turned and went back to the seat, perching on the edge. "You will learn to defend yourself. If we work at it as we should, you will be every bit the Jedi Knight every other pupil is." Sela cleared her throat. "Now -- when you say biological -- do you mean a service animal of some kind? What do you have in mind, Rovan?"

Rovan Thane

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