Private Remember the Name

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

"The turtles name is maul as I understand." He said it with a small smirk on his face though a joke... though Dathomir had massive turtles that the witches could ride and he knew some of them had been taken to other worlds so the Jadeite or silver jedi might have brought one or two here that is able to properly have a temple on its back. "As one says, Never trust the storyteller. Only trust the story." He said it though while he was moving and the maiden of the island was... questionable but he wouldn't deny she was powerful.. she knew things and could talk about many things that many others would never know. "BUt to answer, yes, there is a real chance but there is also the chance she has been here far to long."

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia laughed softly, the sound carried off by the wind as the Ashla's Root skimmed across the water. Whether Syn was joking about a giant turtle named Maul remained impossible to determine, which she suspected was part of the fun. "The fact that I'm not entirely certain you're joking probably says something about this planet." Ahch‑To had its own rules, its own rhythm, and every island seemed to hold something older and stranger than the last.

The quote drew her attention next. "Never trust the storyteller. Only trust the story." She considered it while the waves rolled beneath them. "Most historians would argue with that," she said, amusement softening the words. "Then again, most historians spend their lives trying to separate the two." Her gaze drifted toward the approaching island, thoughts circling the Maiden — a contradiction wrapped in centuries of memory, isolation, and possibility.

If the woman truly carried knowledge stretching back through ages most beings couldn't fathom, she was one of the greatest living repositories of history in the galaxy. If she was mistaken, shaped by stories and solitude, she was still fascinating. Either way, Talia found herself wanting to meet her. "Perhaps that's the real challenge," she said, eyes returning to Syn. "Not determining whether she's telling the truth, but understanding why she believes what she does."

The idea seemed to settle comfortably between them. "After long enough, I imagine separating personal experience from interpretation becomes difficult for anyone." A faint smile touched her lips. "Though if she's actually been here for hundreds of thousands of years, she's forgotten more history than I've ever learned." The thought didn't discourage her. If anything, it sharpened her curiosity. "And now I really want to meet her."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

"You just might have the chance." He wasn't going to say no to it.. there were many islands here and many more mysterious goings on he knew. The real danger and risk of it all came from what else was here. PLenty of sith worked to disrupt and damage the world much like they did at Tython and other jedi worlds. That was how some of the larger dangers appeared. "Her island is deeper in the middle of the ocean and whatever powers she does have with the force conceals it from sight when trying to fly. Most who seek to go there need to approach by the sea." He was moving inland though as the feeling of the force expanded even with the suppressors of his robes... the power flare was immense once you entered the bubble.

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia listened as they continued inland, her attention caught less by the path beneath their feet and more by the picture gradually forming in her mind. Ahch‑To already felt older and stranger than most worlds she had visited, a place where history seemed to accumulate rather than fade. Every answer Syn offered seemed to reveal three new mysteries waiting behind it, each one deepening her sense that this planet was far more than it appeared.

The mention of the Maiden's Island drew a thoughtful smile. "That sounds either incredibly reassuring or deeply concerning," she said, amusement softening the words even as she meant them. "Anyone powerful enough to hide an entire island in the middle of the ocean for that long is probably someone worth meeting." Her gaze drifted toward the horizon, where sea and sky blurred into a line so vast it seemed capable of concealing almost anything.

The deeper they moved into the Force‑rich region surrounding the island, the more aware she became of it. The sensation was difficult to describe. Not stronger, exactly, but broader, as though the world itself carried a deeper resonance than most places she had known. Even after years as a Jedi, moments like this still managed to catch her attention. There were worlds where the Force felt present, and there were worlds where it felt woven into every stone, every wave, every breath of wind. Ahch‑To belonged firmly to the second category.

"I've noticed something," she said after a while, glancing toward Syn. "The more I learn about this planet, the less it feels like a place people settled and more like a place that simply allowed people to stay." The thought had been forming for some time. "The Lanai. The Fairalee. The repositories. The temples beneath the sea. The miri. The Maiden." Her smile returned, faint but genuine. "Most worlds feel as though history happened to them. Ahch‑To feels like it is quietly collecting it."

She looked ahead again, curiosity brightening her expression despite the long journey. "And now I find myself wondering whether the island is hidden because the Maiden wants privacy…" She paused, considering the idea. "Or because Ahch‑To does."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

"Many of the older worlds do, worlds strong in the force attract events to them and it can make for many things to have happened across the surface." He was moving in and towards the interior only stopped as he felt the force. Bringing a hand up when he touched the soil to show her. "The force here is more unpredictable and wild. The bubble that they create does it and it allows padawans to experience the force in a way like a master. To teach them just how dangerous they could be without knowing how to control themselves." He said it when he was looking at more with the force and his senses were expanded outward... allowing Talia to follow with him as several of the miri were going around and purple blue flames were in the trees

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia slowed as Syn stopped, her attention shifting from the strange blue-violet flames dancing among the trees to the handful of soil resting in his palm. Even before he explained it, she could feel the difference. The Force here did not possess the steady, familiar rhythm she was accustomed to. It surged and receded in unpredictable currents, expanding outward one moment and folding back upon itself the next. Standing within it felt less like listening to a river and more like standing in the middle of a storm while trying to predict where the next gust would come from.

Her gaze drifted toward the miri moving through the undergrowth. They seemed entirely at ease within the phenomenon they created, slipping between roots and brush with the casual confidence of creatures that belonged here. Watching them made it difficult to remember that what they produced had begun as an experiment. Three thousand years of life had a way of turning even the strangest creations into part of the landscape.

"So the lesson isn't really about power," she said after a moment, her eyes lingering on the dancing lights. "Or at least not only power."

The thought continued to unfold as she followed him deeper into the island. She could already imagine what it must feel like for a young Padawan arriving here for the first time. To suddenly experience the Force on a scale they had never known. To feel capable of far more than they had been the day before. The temptation alone would be difficult enough. The certainty that came with it might be worse.

A faint smile touched her lips.

"It seems like a very Jedi way to teach humility," she said. "Show someone what they might become before they're ready for it, then let them discover why readiness matters."

Her attention returned to the trees around them. The flames cast shifting colors across bark and leaves, turning the forest into something halfway between a dream and a memory. For a few moments, she simply watched, allowing herself to take it in before another thought surfaced.

"Have many failed?" she asked quietly. "Not the training. The lesson itself." Her gaze shifted back toward Syn. "It seems like there would always be someone who experiences this and decides they already know enough."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

"SOme but there is as much to learn from failure as there is from success. Though here padawans when they come react differently." He said it but stayed there for a moment. "For those able to see the force it is something else entirely... the energy here is chaotic and suffocating... padawans I have seen brought here have often been overwhelmed by the sheer presence itself." He looked at her though and was offering the area so she would be able to walk around and his free hand as one of the smaller lizards came to it quickly. THe flames having heat but not overwhelming for the moment. It was like a warm slow burn if you got to close to their backs.

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia listened as Syn spoke, her attention drifting from the strange flames dancing among the trees to the small creatures moving through them. The explanation made sense in a way she had not expected. Most of the places she had studied carried echoes of the Force, impressions left behind by history and memory. This felt different. Alive. Restless. The energy pressing against her senses was not merely strong; it felt untamed, as though the Force itself refused to settle into any pattern she could comfortably follow.

"I think I understand why some Padawans struggle here," she admitted quietly. Her gaze lingered on the violet-blue fire weaving through the undergrowth. "Most places I've visited feel like they have a current. You can sense where it wants to go." A faint crease appeared between her brows. "This feels more like standing in the middle of a storm and trying to determine which raindrop matters." Even as she said it, she wasn't entirely certain the comparison was adequate. There was something overwhelming about the place, yet she found herself fascinated rather than frightened.

When one of the smaller lizards hurried toward Syn's outstretched hand, her attention immediately shifted. The creature's movements were quick and confident, entirely unconcerned with the strange flames carried along its back. Talia crouched carefully, extending a hand of her own. For a moment, she simply watched it, allowing the animal to decide whether it wanted anything to do with her. Then, when it seemed content with her presence, she gently slipped her hands beneath it and lifted it from the ground.

The warmth surprised her. Not hot. Not dangerous.

Just pleasantly warm, like a stone left beneath sunlight for most of the afternoon. A smile appeared almost immediately as she settled the little creature against her forearm. The flickering fire along its back cast shifting colors across her hands and sleeves. "You're much less intimidating than everyone made you sound," she informed the lizard solemnly. The creature blinked at her in apparent indifference.

The smile remained as she glanced back toward Syn. "Did you ever bring initiates here and have one react well to it?" she asked. "Not because they were powerful, but because they were curious?" Her fingers lightly brushed beneath the lizard's chin. "Everyone talks about strength and control when discussing the Force, but sometimes I wonder if understanding begins with being willing to sit with something strange long enough to stop being afraid of it."

For a few moments, she simply stood there holding the small creature while the strange fires danced through the trees around them. The pressure of the Force remained immense, wild, and difficult to grasp, but somehow it felt less oppressive than it had a few moments earlier. Perhaps because she had stopped trying to understand all of it at once. For now, one lizard seemed a much more manageable mystery.

Syn

 

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

"I have and some are able to, but I do not recommend bringing padawans to Ahch-To, there is a lot here and it can be overwhelming to some. Most of the force worlds can be and just being present can influence the mind and actions if they are not able to." He said it as the creature was on his hand and he moved with it being in his palm and then on the back.. moving quickly as he was able to rotate and use both hands for the moment with a nod of his head. "The creatures welcome all and don't know as many predators here on the world. So their instincts are not to fear or hide in locations not many are able to find them. THey can move around and not be latched to their trees."

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia watched the little creature dart between Syn's hands with open fascination.

The speed of it was remarkable. One moment it perched on his palm; the next, it scurried across the back of his hand and onto the other without the slightest hesitation. There was no fear in its movements. No nervousness. Only curiosity. The tiny flames along its back flickered softly as it moved, casting shifting shades of violet and blue across its scales.

Slowly, she extended a hand.

Not reaching for it immediately. Simply offering it the same opportunity Syn had. If the creature truly had no reason to fear people, then she suspected forcing the interaction would accomplish less than allowing it to choose. "That's strange," she admitted quietly. "Most worlds teach caution. Everything learns what can eat it eventually." A faint smile touched her lips. "Ahch-To seems determined to teach the opposite lesson."

When the little lizard climbed onto her hand, Talia couldn't help the soft laugh that escaped her. The sensation was warmer than she expected. Not hot. Just pleasantly warm, like holding a stone that had spent the day in sunlight. She carefully lifted it closer, studying the flickering flames with the same concentration she usually reserved for ancient artifacts.

"I think I understand why you bring students here."

Her gaze drifted from the creature to the forest around them. The glowing flames among the trees. The wild currents of the Force moving through everything. The strange sense that the island itself was alive in ways most worlds never were. "Not because it's comfortable." Her eyes returned to the lizard perched on her fingers. "Because it isn't." The realization felt important somehow.

For a moment, she stood quietly, feeling the Force swirl around her and through the tiny creature in her hand. The energy here was immense, unpredictable, and almost overwhelming if she focused too hard on it. Yet beneath that chaos, she sensed something else. A lesson. One, she wasn't entirely certain she understood yet.

"Do the padawans ever learn to stop fighting it?" she asked after a moment. "The presence here, I mean." Her fingers gently stroked beneath the creature's chin. "Or is the lesson learning that some things aren't meant to be controlled?"

Syn

 

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

"SOme learn, some don't. When it comes to force energies that are more wild and primordial like they produce it can have different aspects if used incorrectly. Healers can over heal the body causing growth and deformation as they try to knit the body back together. it is about being in the eye of a storm and understanding calmness. There is also the guardians of the grove here and on several areas of the planet. THe ones who watch through rock and wood and time. They present a different challenge in many cases for the padawans as they have to try and find a being that exists in the world itself. So their senses require training and refinement."

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia looked down at the small lizard perched comfortably on her hand as she listened. The little creature seemed entirely unconcerned by the conversation taking place around it, content to absorb warmth and watch the world with bright, curious eyes.

A faint smile touched her lips.

"I suppose that makes sense." Her gaze drifted toward the glowing forest beyond them, where violet and blue flames flickered among the trees like wandering stars. "Most Jedi learn to be careful with the Force. Controlled. Deliberate." She paused. "Bringing them somewhere that rewards too much power with consequences would certainly make an impression."

The warning about healers caught her attention most. Her expression grew thoughtful as she considered it. The idea of someone trying to help and causing harm through excess rather than neglect felt strangely fitting for a place like Ahch-To. A lesson hidden inside the danger itself. Not that healing was wrong, but that even good intentions required restraint.

When Syn mentioned the guardians, however, her eyes brightened immediately.

"I already know psychometry."

There was no boastfulness in the statement. Just quiet confidence. "Sort of needed for my field of study." Her thumb lightly stroked beneath the lizard's chin as she spoke. "Ancient ruins rarely come with helpful records explaining what happened. Sometimes objects remember things that people forget." A faint smile appeared. "Archaeology becomes much easier when the artifacts occasionally answer questions."

Her attention returned to Syn.

"Though sensing memories in an object and finding something that exists through rock, wood, and the world itself sounds like an entirely different challenge." Curiosity crept into her voice. "Have many padawans actually succeeded in finding these guardians? Or do most spend days convinced they're searching in the wrong place?"

Syn

 

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

He gave her a small nod with a look as his hand came up and pointed. "I don't recommend touching them." He said it while pointing towards the Momokyun as it was along the side of the thicker tree. The massive roots coming to form legs and its hea having large branches protruding from it to spread outwards. The jedi master was looking at it and at them as he bowed but it didn't speak as much. "THey are part of the trees themselves, many on Ahch-to are them in different stages of life. With a melding of their minds in the force allowing one to see and all to know. It is a way for temples to communicate and work together on the world itself."

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia's eyes followed the massive being as it stood among the trees.

For a moment, she understood exactly how someone could mistake it for part of the forest. The bark, the branches, the roots woven into the landscape itself. If Syn hadn't pointed it out, she might have walked past it without realizing there was a mind behind those ancient eyes. The realization alone was fascinating.

Slowly, she lowered the hand that had instinctively started to reach toward it.

"I'll take your word for it."

A faint smile appeared.

"Besides, archaeologists tend to learn that touching ancient things without permission is how disasters begin."

Her gaze returned to the Momokyun.

The more she looked, the more questions appeared. Not just about the creature itself, but about what it represented. Entire civilizations had risen and fallen across the galaxy, attempting to preserve knowledge. Archives. Libraries. Datacrons. Holocrons. Records etched into stone and metal. Yet these beings carried memory in an entirely different way.

"They remember through each other," she said almost reverently, her attention drifting toward the surrounding forest. "A living archive."

The phrase lingered as she considered the implications. No written language. No books. No data storage. Just roots stretching across islands, carrying memories from one generation to the next. History was preserved not in objects, but in living minds.

For perhaps the first time since arriving on Ahch-To, Talia found herself staring at something that rivaled the ancient temples in importance.

"If that's true..." Her eyes shifted toward Syn. "Then these forests might contain records older than anything preserved by the Jedi." Excitement crept into her voice despite herself. "Not copies. Not interpretations. Actual memories."

Her gaze returned to the Momokyun, and after a moment's hesitation, she offered a respectful bow toward the ancient being. "I think I understand why finding them is considered a lesson," she said quietly, her eyes lingering on the ancient guardian. "Most people spend their lives looking at trees and never think to ask whether the forest is listening."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

"Yes,. they can remember a great deal and some of the older ones have roots going deep into the planet. Connecting to each other. It is how they communicate as a network but it also means there is a danger to it. They can't be moved and unlike other species that are similar such as the drengir that seek to feast... theirr collective intelligence is just as powerful and in the wrong hands just as dangerous." He was looking at more of it though as the trees themselves were something for the jedi to converse with in the force as he stood therre. "The temple of Omean is far off but they keep us in contact with the prime temple and the others around the planet"

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia's gaze drifted through the forest again, lingering on the ancient Momokyun with a new appreciation.

The more Syn explained, the less they resembled a species and the more they resembled an ecosystem. A living network stretched across an entire world. The thought was both fascinating and a little unsettling. Historians worried about lost records. Archaeologists worried about damaged artifacts. Here, an entire civilization's memory seemed rooted beneath their feet.

"So if one learns something, eventually all of them can know it."

The observation came thoughtfully.

Her eyes moved to the roots disappearing into the earth.

"That makes them more than a living archive. They're a living communication network." A faint smile appeared. "I can see why the Jedi would value that."

The smile faded as she considered the other side of it.

"But I can also see why you're warning me about the danger." Her attention returned to Syn. "A collective memory that spans a planet would be invaluable to anyone seeking knowledge. Or control." Her brow furrowed slightly. "A single individual could lose information. A library could burn. But something like this..." She glanced toward the surrounding forest. "This would be much harder to destroy."

For a few moments, she simply listened to the wind moving through the trees.

Then another thought occurred to her.

"If they're connected to every temple on the world..." Her eyes brightened with curiosity. "Do they remember the earliest Jedi who came here?" The question escaped before she could stop it. "Not stories about them. Actual memories." She looked back toward the Momokyun. "Because if they do, then some of the oldest history on Ahch-To isn't stored in the temples at all. It's standing in the forest."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

"I imagine that they do." He said it and only moved forward as the being seemed to shift and move smaller branches and parts of it. He touched one of the branches though while he was speaking. "THeir words are harder to understand. A lacking of organs doesn't mean they are mute but they have to wait or be in a place where the wind can blow. Though it also means that they cannot talk to sith when they come to the world. Only those who know how to connect with trees and plants can feel the impressions or some who use a lot of spice. That seems to allow fgor brief moments of connection from what they had said."

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia's eyes remained on the Momokyun as it shifted ever so slightly among the surrounding trees. The movement was subtle enough that she could easily imagine how someone unfamiliar with the species might mistake it for an ordinary part of the forest. A breeze through the branches. Nothing more.

"That must make conversations an exercise in patience."

A faint smile touched her lips.

"Most beings speak faster than they think. A species that has to wait for the wind to carry its words probably chooses them more carefully."

Her gaze followed the branch Syn touched before drifting upward through the canopy overhead. The idea fascinated her. Not simply a species connected through roots and memory, but one that experienced communication differently from almost every other sentient culture in the galaxy. To an archaeologist, that was the sort of detail that changed how an entire civilization was understood.

"So the Jedi who lived here would have needed to learn how to listen differently."

The observation was thoughtful rather than questioning.

"They couldn't just arrive and expect the Momokyun to communicate on Jedi terms. They would have had to adapt themselves instead."

Her attention shifted back to Syn.

"And the impressions they share through the Force..." She tilted her head slightly. "Are they memories? Emotions? Images?" Curiosity brightened her expression. "If they've stood here for thousands of years, I imagine they perceive time very differently than we do. What seems ancient to us might feel recent to them."

For a moment her eyes drifted back toward the living tree.

"If they remember as much as you say, I wonder what they think of all the Jedi who have come and gone. Entire generations passing while they remain rooted here watching it all."

Syn

 

[Syn]

Talia Larkin Swift

SHe was full of questions and he wasn't entirely sure how to describe it but. "It is impressions, like a whisper in the wind of blades on a board. Higher pitched then some species can normally hear but others will hear with an amplified precision." He said it but was moving as he went towards the center of it. The areas between the trees made for sitting down and meditating when he offered a small place that she would be able to sit down. "The medications in the area is what is important, between the force being wild and strong her to being able to communicate under the right moments. It allows a lot more to be taught to a jedi student about connection and patience."

 

[Talia Larkin Swift]

Talia listened carefully as Syn explained it, her eyes drifting between the surrounding trees and the spaces between them. The idea fascinated her. Not just a species that remembered, but one that communicated through impressions and patience rather than direct conversation. It felt less like speaking and more like learning to listen.

"So instead of words, you're learning how to interpret what they're trying to share." A faint smile touched her lips. "That sounds surprisingly similar to archaeology." The observation came naturally. Most of her work involved piecing together fragments left behind by people long gone. A broken carving. A weathered inscription. The foundation of a structure. None of them simply told her the answer. They offered clues and impressions that required patience to understand.

As Syn guided her toward one of the meditation spaces, she took a moment to study it before sitting down. Her fingers brushed lightly across the ground beside her. "I think a lot of Jedi would find that frustrating," she admitted. "Most people want answers immediately. They ask a question and expect a response." Her gaze lifted toward the surrounding trees. "But if these beings experience time differently than we do, it makes sense that learning from them would require slowing down first."

Her expression softened into thoughtful curiosity as she looked deeper into the grove. "Have any of them ever shared memories from centuries ago?" she asked. "Not stories passed down through generations. Actual memories they experienced themselves?" The possibility alone was remarkable. "If they remember that far back, they might know things that were never recorded anywhere." Then, for perhaps the first time since arriving, Talia fell quiet. Not because she had run out of questions, but because she was trying to listen.

Syn