Campaign Mysteries of Qi-Ko

[Tiland Kortun]

Qi-Ko
Theme
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The world was a Force Nexus. It had been undetectable from space, from elsewhere, even as the Force had guided him here. It wasn't like most Force nexuses that he had experienced, where there was a highly concentrated amount of Force energy in a certain location, often result of Jedi or Sith activity. This was something different. He stepped down the boarding ramp onto the ground, and paused as his feet hit stone underneath the moss and vines. He knelt and pushed aside the green growth, revealing cobblestones underneath.

Tiland stood and turned slowly around the clearing. It wasn't a clearing. It was a square, or a plaza or something. Built, not natural. Which meant... The Jedi master strode hurriedly across the flat space to a mound of undergrowth. Vines and creepers rose to the very top, but he brushed them aside. Stone. Tiland turned slowly in a circle again. The Force had drawn him and his team of Jedi to precisely this spot. Why? What was here? He could sense something deep beneath the ground, so perhaps it wasn't what was here, but what was down there. Perhaps the very reason this complex of structures had been built to begin with.

But where was here. Tiland circled the cleared area, pacing and inspecting. Every mound of greenery he checked was grown over cut stone. A settlement of some kind. Arched, beautiful, elegant, and also simple. There was a slope that went up a hillside and down into a gully. He could hear water trickling there, so he picked his way to the edge.

A river ran down below, passing under an arch in the stone that the rest of the complex was built on. Whether or not the arch was artificially carved or naturally eroded, he could say. Looked like it could have been either one. Grown out of the rock? Perhaps that was a better descriptor.

A cool draft blew across his face and he stepped closer, pushing aside the vines. An entranceway loomed ahead of him, into a room, with a breeze coming up from another corridor in the back. But as sunlight flowed into the room, Tiland gasped. The walls and ceiling were covered with delicate, elegant etchings. They entranced him as he began to try and make sense of them. Pictographs and runes, by the look of it. None that he recognized.

It would take them days, if not months, to go through everything. And yet, he was looking forward to it. An uncharted world with its own Force nexus, that almost felt like the planet was alive. He could sense how the ecosystems and biospheres interacted and sustained each other. It brought him into a part of its whole, both helping sustain it, and being sustained.

Harmony. Symbiosis. That's what this planet was about. Tiland could only grin as he turned back to the rest of the companions. "Marvelous, isn't it? Ever felt such a planet before?"

 

[Jerec Asyr]

So when the Republic took Byss, there was an accident, but not really an accident, more of an interrupted ritual with a kyber crystal detonation plus lightsaber impalement, and then he heard a medic's thoughts and the medic thought Jerec was having auditory hallucinations, and-

It had been a real long few weeks. All that to say, Jerec Asyr could feel the Force now, and he still had no idea how to feel about that. So he'd tagged along with a Jedi expedition, mostly because a drunk Talz had told him this place was a great pit-stop for medicinal herbs. Jerec had picked up a dry, rustly, pungent bundle of something called blazeweed from a local just after landfall.

Cargo acquired, now he could concentrate on whatever he was feeling, and he was feeling a lot. This place spoke to him in a way that the great outdoors never did. It was almost as if the planet Qi-Ko liked him. It made him nervous and curious at the same time, a good feeling because his brain liked adrenaline.

He followed the Jedi folks through the vines and into the chamber of wall markings and such, where Master Tiland Kortun was waxing rhapsodic.

Since Jerec hadn't felt a planet before, period, other than a quick stint on Byss, he just started poking around.

"So most places don't feel like this? Jedi don't get...this..." He waved around vaguely. "...all the time?"

 

[Bernard of Arca]

There is no chaos, there is harmony. This lesson was one that Bernard had spent the last weeks meditating upon. It was an axiom he believed in, as he did the other lines of the Jedi’s mantra. Yet, when he viewed the galaxy he saw nothing but chaos and disharmony. From the rise and fall of so many governments to the wanton slaughter of countless individuals at the hands of callous beings who serve nothing more than their most base instincts. He was taught the Code, that a Jedi never sought to bring about chaos or destruction, but with the likes of the Sith Empire ruling almost a third of the galaxy, he was unsure how the Jedi could do anything but.

This contradiction had left him conflicted. The Army of Light claimed that a war on the Dark Side was necessary, that its destruction was a goal most paramount, but the more the young Jedi had talked with the many wise masters of the other enclaves and orders the more he came to realise that this war was far from a logical conclusion drawn from the Jedi’s teachings. These thoughts had brought him to the Jedi of the Circle of the Light amongst whom he had travelled over the last weeks, finding them to be a very open and inclusive group, if the spacer who had joined their expedition was anything to go by.

“Not usually." He replied to the spacer. Turning to address both at once he continued, "It truly is, Master Kortun. I’ve spent the majority of my life on Arkania, yet it has never spoken to me as this place has.”

It was peculiar, the harmony he experienced was overwhelming. All thoughts of war and conflict seemed to vanish into thin air as he breathed in the pleasant scents of the flourishing forest around them. It felt as though a chaotic spring had finally usurped winter’s stagnant ways within his very being. Though it wasn’t a feeling of true chaos as much as it was a many-faceted song.

Jerec Asyr Tiland Kortun

 

[Tyde]

The gaze of a wild forest creature followed the ship as it landed - the first vessel to find its way to these dense jungles in quite some time. Leaping from tree to tree, wings tucked tightly to his form to keep from getting hung up in branches, the entity closed the gap between he and the strange vessel that had landed near the ruins

As the group from the ship walked off toward the archway and spoke to each other, the creature landed near the vessel, giving the ship a small investigative look-over before creeping after the group silently.

It would likely only be a matter of time before the group noticed they were being followed, and the force-sensitive wild boy remained ever vigilant, wary of being attacked. The smallest moment could mean the difference between life and death in the overgrown wilds

If discovered, he would be an unusual sight to behold indeed, with skin as blue as the purest ocean, ivory markings covering him like waves being brought in by the tide. Shimmering golden hair fell messily across his forehead, piercing emerald eyes staring out under his wild locks. His expansive wings were partially untucked now, ready to take flight should he need to. The look in his gaze alone told of his feral nature, though his complete lack of clothing and inability to speak would certainly confirm the same.

He too had been drawn here by the force, though his inexperienced feral mind could only process these feelings with raw instinct. This place called to him, his deep connection to the force pulling him here.

The force spoke amplitudes of information to the young prodigy. These three visitors did not have the feelings of aggression, mostly peace and wonderment at this ruin they were investigating

They did not feel like a threat - Tyde was occasionally lucky enough to be given food by those that held a strong connection to the light side, so he felt compelled to investigate these visitors

A creature of infinite curiosity, Tyde wondered just what they were up to. Would they discover food in this place? Would they share it perhaps? Ruins like these could yield ancient treasure to be had, though Tyde had little use for trinkets and the like.

Unless they attacked, he seemed intent to watch, follow, and find these things out. Their force energy didnt feel hostile, but he would be surprisingly quick in his departure should things suddenly take a dangerous turn. After all, living within nature was always a mixture of splendor and survival. But, other than following at a safe distance, the wild S'kytri boy remained quiet and unimposing for the most part, content to watch and wait.


Jerec Asyr

Tiland Kortun

Bernard of Arca

 

[Tiland Kortun]

Jerec Asyr Tyde Bernard of Arca

Tiland looked up, confused for a moment, as his gaze stayed locked on the artwork on the walls. They were beautiful, intricate, and elegant like he'd never seen before. His brain ran back the things they said before he nodded. "Indeed. This planet is remarkably powerful in its nexus and harmony. Not even on Tython or ancient Jedi worlds have I felt something quite like this. No, Jerec, you are experiencing something very unusual and quite special as a result."

The young Jedi was experiencing it as well and that was good. He was conflicted. And rightly so. It wasn't easy being a Jedi in these trying times, especially the young ones. They had never known peace. Most had grown up with war as an ever-constant war raging throughout their entire life. Jedi had been many things-- soldiers, crusaders, traitors, spies, but never peacekeepers. Not like they had in the past. It made growing up as a Jedi difficult.

"And I suspect you're right, Bernard. This is a different kind of Force nexus." He gave a small chuckle in the back of his throat. "I would hesitate to even call it a nexus. If anything... the planet feels almost alive."

So much so, in fact, that they were being watched. He could feel both the prickle along his neck and the presence in the Force. Sentient, self-aware, but wild and untamed. Unfocused. Bafflingly so, in fact. He lowered his voice to just those in the room. "Don't look, nor change behavior, but we are being watched. Perhaps we are not the only living things drawn to this place."

 

[Jerec Asyr]

Tiland Kortun Bernard of Arca Tyde
Jerec squatted near a painting that felt just as alive as the rest of the planet. He rubbed it with his thumb, but the worn paint refused to come off. Durable crap.

"Course there's something watching us. Nice little planet like this, there's always something watching. Maybe it's a ten-thousand-year-old droid sentry system or a timid backwater local or a monster about to floss its teeth with our spinal cords." He straightened up from the thematically opaque but probably valuable stone paintings. "Always something."

A patch of painted wall depicted stylized birds flying into a sunrise or sunset. Jerec found himself drawn to the image, and that felt strange. He rested a hand on it.

Was it his imagination, or had one of the painted birds just twitched?

"Hey, Master Kortun, is it my imagination or is this painting moving?"

 

[Bernard of Arca]

Stepping next to the spacer, Bernard attempted to see what the human was seeing. He kept his back turned towards their path of entry, obscuring most of his form with the white fabric of his cloak. Beneath it, the Jedi’s four fingers ran over the metal of his lightsabre’s hilt instinctively as they hooked into his utility belt. News of an observer brought a new caution to his thoughts, his mind reflexively shielding itself from sensations that didn’t pertain to possible threats. It was a subconscious reaction. By all means, he wished to follow Master Kortun’s instruction.

Peering at the artwork he saw nothing more than naturalist brushstrokes and globs of paint. It was quite the artistic achievement, but even as he narrowed his eyes he couldn’t quite see what the spacer did. His gaze shifted towards him, quietly taking a deeper breath. The fresh air of Qi-Ko’s forest filled his lungs. He shrugged inward, returning to the study of paintings.

The more he concentrated on the paintings the more they appeared ordinary. Even within the extended spectrum of visible light, there was nothing immediately curious beyond their inherent pleasant brushwork. He raised an eyebrow, shrugging genuinely this time as he dismissed the paintings, turning towards the rest of the hall and the various simple, yet intricate etchings on its walls and floors. The more he stared the more he realized how little he actually knew of the galaxy’s many cultures.

The more of the etchings he took in the more he got the feeling they all seemed to form together into one larger whole. As though the many branches and limbs which broke off from the main pattern only to intertwine and interweave with other ones at seemingly arbitrary points were meant to create something greater that he couldn’t quite place.

One particular jagged etching struck him as odd, it seemed almost aggressive and unpleasant as he stared at it. Greater blank spots among the etching suggested it was incomplete somehow and it was far from being as refined and sharp as the rest of the patterns. Its place was near the centre of a greater crisscrossing mass of interlocking arms and branches.

Though he couldn’t grasp the meaning of the etching, its peculiar nature told a story of some sort. The lack of information left him conflicted as he tried to piece together some kind of interpretation. Retrieving a datapad, he began to document the etchings more closely.

Tyde Jerec Asyr Tiland Kortun

 

[Tyde]

The mysterious feral child watched the three of them study the old artwork on the walls, taking in the intricacies and beauty of the decor. His unique mind perceived this place in entirely different ways - emotions and experiences from the past flowing through him as he moved through the area. It was like catching small bits of a music playing in the distance, though the more he would focus the louder the song could get. Here, for him, the distance was time, not light years.

Studying the three visitors, Tyde could tell that they were force users and were using the force to read this place. Perhaps they would feel the same from him; he had no way of knowing. The way they focussed on this place and its markings - it intrigued the boy and made him want to focus on the energy here as well.

Reaching into the depths of the force, the boy could begin to see visions - silhouettes moving through the space before him. Their movements were poetic, like martial Arts of the ancient ways.

His instincts begged for clarity, seeking this wish within the force. The force answered the wild boy with greater vision, the silhouettes filling out as the time between they and Tyde seemed to narrow. Ancient force-students moved, in step, around a circular etching in the stone below. The visions continued before Tyde's eyes, becoming so lifelike that the small feral boy would have almost believed they were actually there. Yet the force brought him some understanding - they were from ages before his time, their imprint here like a shadow of the past.

Watching their movements, the force called to him - beckoned Tyde to join the ancient students.

Their poses - training stances from martial arts long lost in the scrolls of history - were like an intricate mystical dance. The motion all revolved around this circle in the stone, long ago hidden by vines and overgrowth. Obeying the whims of the force within, Tyde began to move, his form aflow with the motions that came to him, bare feet gliding with natural agility.

As his emotions reached out into the force he could begin to feel the purpose of these movements. Upon the planting of his feet, and the taking of the correct stance, the boy could sense a pillar below in the stone, loose enough to be moved with a force push. He did so, the pillar creeking in the stone below, the first sound it had made in perhaps a milenia.

The feral boy's movements had a surprising grace, moving from stance to stance around the circle, following the students of days long past. Mechanisms and pillars could be heard, being activated below, the fifth lock causing a crack sound in the center of the unseen circle.

Years of vines and overgrowth are torn and shredded as a door in the center of the circle pulls itself open, having long been forgotten by time itself. Like a startled animal, Tyde leaps away from the entrance - a chamber leading downward. Now taking refuge in the tree above, Tyde peers down at the doorway that had opened up in the rock face, the markings more easily seen with vines torn away.

How synchronous that this boy be the last one to activate the door - a true analogy to the mysterious life of this place. The structure used to stretch far, sheltering and force-training crowds in a day of civilization. But now, the civilization here had been lost and forgotten, a force-power-nexus standing as a beacon in the center of the wilds, much like Tyde himself. How fitting that this wild boy, this last padawan, would open a gateway to the ruins - a nod to nature herself who has cradled this place into her own.


Jerec Asyr

Tiland Kortun

Bernard of Arca