Public Pilgrims on a Porous World

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Jedha
Tag: Valor the Forsaken

Sith and Mandalorians now controlled large swaths of the Galaxy. To navigate while minimizing issue Ko and Valor would need to thread the needle between the borders of the galactic nations. Weaving between them to reach certain stars. The fact they didn’t own their own personal ship only complicated things further.

But there was another issue. Valor would need a lightsaber of their own which required a Kyber crystal. After some personal compilation the Kel Dor settled on where to find one for the Echani. The cratered desert moon of Jedha.

Even scarred and missing about a fifth of its mass, that did not fully dissuade the spiritually inclined of the galaxy from venturing to the Moon. Their wills are stronger than many of the lost holy sites and stronger than the ancient people that destroyed them. The unlikely duo would easily fit in among the pilgrims that still trekked to the moon.

Sitting in the transport Ko let Valor have the window seat. Giving the young echani an unrestricted view of the celestial body when the vessel came out of hyperspace. Onboard the transport were others. Pilgrims, scholars, sages, priests and monks from across the galaxy.

From the view port they could behold Jedha. The crater that scarred the moon was viewable from space and unignorable. Sorrowful echoes in The Force still echoed and reverberated from Jedha. This would be Ko’s first time on the moon. It softly let out a deep breath through his mask as they descended.

Around the planet was a faint ever present glitter. Shiny shards and particles of kyber that had been launched into orbit after calamity struck the moon. Creating something of a dazzling debris field that surrounded it.

Soon enough the transport touched down on the surface of the moon. Not too far from the massive creator that now functioned as a holy site in of itself. “I hope you’re ready for a bit of spelunking, Valor.” Ko said to the soon to be padawan as they exited the transport with their sparse belongings.​

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[Valor the Forsaken]

Tags: Ko Vuto

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Valor had appreciated the window seat and spent most of the journey intensely watching the scenery pass beyond the glass. His attention rarely strayed from it, following unfamiliar stretches of land as they rolled by.

"What happened here?" Valor asked as he followed along, slinging a leather strap over one narrow shoulder.

"Hmnn? Spell-what-now?" he asked, plainly unfamiliar with the word. It wasn't part of his vocabulary, nor anything he had encountered during his short life, spent almost entirely within the confines of the cloning facility hidden beneath the forest moon of Endor.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Jedha
Tag: Valor the Forsaken

Hearing the echani’s question Ko recalled the history that he was familiar with. “Many centuries ago there was a vast nation. They made a weapon and used it on this moon and its people.” Ko explained briefly. The Jedi were not the only organization The Empire of Old persecuted. “Even with so much history destroyed with the land, many still come here. And Spelunking is just a word for cave exploring. We’ll be going to the crater’s cooler regions to find what we need for you.”

Warm dry air enveloped the pair as they stepped onto the glassy sands. “Oh before we forget.” Ko dug into his back and pulled out a pair of goggles and a respirator mask before handing it to Valor. “Wear these, to protect yourself. Don’t wanna inhale tiny crystals of kyber and glass. The weather is wild here as well. The unique topography makes it so.”

At the outpost they found themselves at Ko would make try to find transportation for the two of them. There wasn’t a whole lot for speeders but he did find something. The pair approached a small collection of tall gangly beasts of burden with saddles. They seemed to be some sort of steed.
“I guess these are how we’ll get ourselves around out here” Ko remarked as he looked up at the spamels.​

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[Valor the Forsaken]

Ko Vuto
“That seems pretty awful…” Valor offered simply. “Was there a reason why?” he asked before frowning at the mask.

He considered complaining, but somehow felt Ko would have a few choice words for him if he even dared. Begrudgingly, Valor accepted the offered items and fixed them properly into place.

“They look scary…” he murmured, eyeing the towering legs. He did not fancy the prospect of falling from such a height. “Why did you bring us out to this desolate dust ball?”

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Jedha
Tag: Valor the Forsaken

“Indiscriminate cruelty and curiosity from my understanding.” That’s all that Ko really knew about why Jedha looked the way it did. He liked history, and was always eager to learn. But he wasn’t an encyclopedia. “Sith encroach very closely to this world. We’ve come at a good time."

As Ko approached a pair of spamels he carefully raised an upturned palm to them. “They do look unnaturally lanky don’t they?” Ko added to what Valor had to say about their unnerving appearance. One of the two stepped closer and leaned in towards Ko’s hand to sniff the alien man. When it was close enough the Kel Dor gently scratched it’s head with his claws. Earning himself a pleasant vocalization from the creature. The other Spamel stepped closer to Valor. Derpy beady eyes glared down at the Echani teen curiously.

“Well Valor… This dust ball has one of the highest concentrations of kyber crystals in the known galaxy. It’s also the most conveniently located system on our little journey. Here we’ll find a crystal that speaks to you. So you may create your own lightsaber.” Ko explained to Valor. ​

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[Valor the Forsaken]

Tags: Ko Vuto ​

Valor frowned at that... "So children without parents did all this, then?" Valor asked as he padded after Ko.

He frowned as the creature leaned down toward him, easing back from it at first before reaching a hand out to awkwardly pet it. He was only paying half attention to what the Jedi Knight was explaining... at least until he heard the words your own lightsaber.

His attention perked up immediately.

The Jedi had taken his blades away previously, and he hadn't had the privilege of holding a real one since. A lightsaber had practically been his whole world when he'd grown up alongside Alex in the underground facility. It was what he was most often praised for doing right, and what he'd explicitly been trained to use while being groomed to serve as Kyoteru's bodyguard.

"I like the idea of that..." he chirped.

Although Valor knew how to use a lightsaber, he knew very little about what actually made one work, or why. That information had always been kept from him, and his keepers had even possessed ways of remotely shutting his blades off to ensure their own safety.

"So... we came here really to try and find crystals?" he asked hopefully, taking another small step away from the tall, imposing, gangly-legged creature.

 

[Ko Vuto]

Location: Jedha
Tag: Valor the Forsaken

Listening to Ko chuckled slightly under his mask. “You could say that. Legends say that there was much vanity in the weapon project. But I wasn’t there…”

The Kel Dor noticed Valor’s change in tone and mood. It wasn’t hard for him to spot it. The echani tended to have a pretty sour mood most of the time so he could tell that what he said seemed to engage Valor to some degree.

“Correct, and I’m sure we will. The explosion that cracked the crust of this moon unearthed countless gems. Many of which even made it into space. We’ll be going to the edge of the crater to search. I’m sure you’ll find one, Valor.”

This was a different operation than how many Jedi aspirants found their crystals. Instead of a frigid world like Illum instead they found themselves on the scorching deserts of Jedha. Still the cosmic energy of the Force was rather concentrated here.

Ko stepped closer to the spamel that was closer to Valor. Communing softly to it as he petted its leg. A moment later it began to kneel down to the ground. It’s long legs bending like straws and giving Valor a much easier time to get himself onto its saddle. ​

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