Private Roots and Horizons

[Seris Travin-Avaron]

The winds over Ryloth carried heat and red dust across the plateau, whispering over stone and sparse silverleaf in long, sweeping currents that seemed to move with their own ancient rhythm. It was quieter here than most places tied to House Avaron: no councils debating policy, no machinery humming in the background, no audience waiting to interpret every gesture or word. Just open sky, warm wind, and the steady pulse of the land beneath their feet.

Seris preferred it that way.

She stood near the edge of the terrace when he arrived, her hands loosely folded and her gaze drifting over the distant ridgelines as though she were reading something written in the landscape itself. When she sensed his presence, she turned toward him, offering a small, genuine smile that softened her features without diminishing her composure.

Her clothing was elegant in a way that spoke of noble upbringing, but it was practical rather than ceremonial, designed for movement and comfort rather than display. Nothing about her suggested she was trying to impress anyone; she looked entirely at ease in her own skin.

"Good," she said lightly, her tone carrying a hint of amusement. "You found it without getting lost. That already puts you ahead of most first‑time visitors."

She gestured toward the open stretch of stone beside her, the motion fluid and inviting.

"Come on," she added, her voice warm with easy confidence. "Let us walk. It is easier to talk when you are not standing like you are about to be examined."

She set off at an unhurried pace, giving him room to fall into step beside her rather than forcing him to match her stride.

For a little while, they walked in companionable silence. The wind stirred strands of her hair, carrying the faint scent of sun‑baked stone and distant spice markets. Far below, transport lanes hummed in a muted, rhythmic pattern that barely reached the plateau.

Then she spoke again, her tone casual but perceptive.

"You look like someone who thinks too much," Seris observed, not unkindly, as though she were simply stating a fact she had already confirmed.
"Which usually means you care more than you let on."

She glanced at him, her green eyes warm with quiet curiosity rather than scrutiny.

"People come to me for lessons for all sorts of reasons," she continued, her voice steady and thoughtful. "Some want more power. Some want more control. Some just want reassurance that they are not doing everything wrong."

She stopped then and turned to face him fully, her posture relaxed rather than imposing, as if she wanted him to feel the space was shared rather than dominated.

"Before I decide what I can offer you," she said honestly, "I would rather know what you are hoping for."

A small pause followed, deliberate and gentle.

"Not what you think you are supposed to say," she added with a faint, knowing smile. "What you actually want."

She tilted her head slightly, studying him with the kind of attention that made people feel seen rather than exposed.

"When you think about being a Knight," Seris asked softly, "and maybe one day a Master… what does that look like to you?"

Then, almost as an afterthought, though the sincerity in her voice made it clear she meant it:

"No wrong answers," she said. "I promise."

She waited, patient and open, not judging, not posturing, simply holding the space for him to step into it when he was ready.

Balun Arenais-Dashiell

 

[Balun Arenais-Dashiell]

ROOTS AND HORIZONS
INVENTORY: Jedi Robes | Lightsaber | K-16 Bryar Pistol.
TRANSPORT: S-91x Pegasus.
TAGS: Seris Travin-Avaron .

Though Balun Dashiell was a young man who often adopted a carefree outlook on life, the prospect of furthering his training and taking on new learnings was something that he often entertained, and he never turned down a chance to improve his repertoire of knowledge. It was for this reason that he had travelled to Ryloth to meet with Jedi Knight, Seris Travin-Avaron , someone of whom Bale had heard through word of mouth in the Jedi Order of the High Republic.

Compared to most Jedi, Balun was something of an unwilling participant when it came to traditions of the Order. For years, he had clung to the notion of being a "Rogue Jedi". He had been raised by the New Jedi Order of the Galactic Alliance, albeit begrudgingly, since he had been abandoned to them by his biological mother. He had learned from them, matured the first sixteen years of his life alongside them, and made it hell for his tutors the entire way through until he had finally slipped away one night to tackle life of his own making. This was all before he came to discover his father and the Dashiells, finding some semblance of acceptance and content in life. Before that, he had been forced to grow up quickly, refusing help from others and trying to find his own way. He could be stubborn and impulsive, but he was also bright and gifted, not only as a Jedi but as an entrepreneur nowadays with considerable financial equity behind him. Then, at roughly the age of twenty years old, he met his Master Ala Quin and joined the High Republic, formerly known as the Royal Naboo Republic.

This, and not to mention the Tingel Arm Coalition and the war against the Imperials, he had taken part in as a teenager. Balun had seen a lot and held the traumas of his younger years close to his chest, doing his utmost to hide his insecurities from those around him. Especially family.

Naturally, when he arrived on scene and approached to meet the Jedi Knight Seris Travin-Avaron, his vulnerabilities were deeply buried, and he appeared the visage of stability with a slightly youthful and friendly air about him. "Nice to meet you in person, Master Avaron. Balun Dashiell," he introduced himself, and they soon began to move by her lead.

"You look like someone who thinks too much,"

"Which usually means you care more than you let on."

Balun visibly flinched. Few people had been able to read him as Ala Quin had upon their first meeting, yet it appeared that Seris was one of them. He soon chuckled under his breath and glanced away, as if to distract himself from the sudden spoken truth that she had uttered to him. Rather than answer her, he didn't initially say anything. Better to let things go unsaid than to admit the uncomfortable truth, especially upon first impressions. Instead, he continued to listen following a pause, the Jedi Knight continuing to speak as they walked together.

"People come to me for lessons for all sorts of reasons. Some want more power. Some want more control. Some just want reassurance that they are not doing everything wrong."

"Before I decide what I can offer you, I would rather know what you are hoping for."

"Not what you think you are supposed to say. What you actually want."

"When you think about being a Knight, and maybe one day a Master… what does that look like to you?"

"No wrong answers, I promise."

"Well..." Balun spoke, trying to will the words to come to mind: "Truth be told, I haven't given much thought to training a student of my own. Aside from serving the Order and my Master, I have a business to run, a World to finance and a Son who's in desperate need of guidance. You see, I'm the executive of Dashiell Retrofit™, and Jhaessa Prime, which is in the sphere of High Republic territory, is the world that I've chosen to spearhead into a trade hub. My father is the head of Dashiell Incorporated, which my business falls under as a subsidiary, so I'm quite a busy man," he concluded with a soft laugh at his own expense. There was no end to things he could fill his time with, yet he did also have people to step in for him when certain priorities called for it.

"I suppose you could say that my journey as a Force User is something of a personal priority. I'm nearing the end of my Apprenticeship under Master Quin, yet it's taken quite some time as I started out in the Galactic Alliance and then took a sabbatical, in a manner of speaking".

Jedi Master: Ala Quin
Major Faction: The High Republic
Sub-Faction: Jhaessa Prime
Conglomerate: Dashiell Incorporated™
Subsidiary Company: Dashiell Retrofit™​

"Speech"
'Thought'​

 

[Seris Travin-Avaron]

Seris listened without interrupting, her pace unhurried as they walked, hands loosely folded at her waist, a posture that conveyed both ease and attentiveness. She did not react to his résumé of responsibilities with surprise or admiration or any of the performative responses he had grown used to receiving. Instead, she offered only quiet, steady attention, the kind that made a person feel heard rather than evaluated. When he finished, she allowed a few seconds of silence to settle between them longer than most people would tolerate, not to make him uneasy, but to ensure she was answering what he truly meant, not merely the surface of what he had said.

She glanced toward him then, her expression calm, her eyes thoughtful rather than measuring.

"You are carrying several lives at once," she said gently, her voice warm with recognition rather than judgment. "Knight. Son. Father. Executive. Builder. Student."

There was no accusation in the list, no implication that he had taken on too much or too little. Only acknowledgment of the truth.

"And you are trying to be present in all of them," she added, her tone softening. "That alone tells me a great deal about who you are."

Her gaze drifted back to the path ahead as they continued walking, the wind brushing past them with warm, dusty fingers.

After another quiet stretch, she continued, her voice thoughtful.

"Most people who come to me begin by speaking about power, or mastery, or techniques they want refined," she said. "They talk about what they want to control, or what they want to overcome." She glanced at him again, a faint, knowing smile touching her lips. "You spoke about responsibility. About the people who depend on you. About time."

The smile deepened just slightly.

"That is not avoidance," she said. "That is honesty."

She folded her hands behind her back now, her posture relaxed and open.

"You say you have not thought much about being a Master," Seris went on, "but everything you just described is preparation for it. Leadership. Stewardship. Patience. Learning when to step forward and when to trust others to do the same."

She looked at him again, her gaze steady and clear.

"Teaching is not something you decide to do one day," she said. "It is something you grow into while living."

Her voice softened, gaining a note of quiet conviction.

"As for your sabbatical, your winding path, your years outside formal structure…" she continued. "I do not see any of that as a flaw. I see it from a different perspective. You have lived in more than one world, and that matters more than you realize."

They slowed as they approached a low stone overlook, the warm Ryloth wind sweeping across the plains below in long, shimmering waves. Seris stopped there, turning to face him fully, the sunlight catching in her hair and the dust settling around her like a soft halo.

"You are nearing Knighthood," she said calmly. "Not because of how fast you progressed, or how neatly your path fits the expectations of others. You are nearing it because you stayed when it would have been easier to walk away again."

She met his eyes steadily, her expression open and sincere. "So here is what I can offer you. Not shortcuts. Not secret techniques."

"I can help you learn how to carry all of this," she gestured lightly between them, meaning his life, his burdens, his expectations "without letting it fracture you. How to be strong without burning yourself out. How to serve without disappearing into duty." She let the words settle before continuing. "And how to remain yourself while wearing the title." Her tone remained warm, but there was a firmness beneath it, a quiet expectation that he would meet her honesty with his own.

"But first," she added softly, "I need to know one thing. When you imagine yourself five years from now, not as a businessman, not as a son, not as a Knight…Just as Balun."

She tilted her head slightly, studying him with gentle curiosity.

"Do you see someone at peace," she asked, her voice low and steady, "or someone still running?"

She waited, patient and open, giving him the space to answer without fear of being judged.

Balun Arenais-Dashiell

 

[Balun Arenais-Dashiell]

ROOTS AND HORIZONS
INVENTORY: Jedi Robes | Lightsaber | K-16 Bryar Pistol.
TRANSPORT: S-91x Pegasus.
TAGS: Seris Travin-Avaron .

Master Seris Travin-Avaron did a thorough job of impressing Balun in his first impressions of the Jedi Knight. She did not strike him as someone who spoke out-of-turn, reading between the lines of what he had expressed, and seeing more of him in those few words than most people did in days. This was, what Balun perceived, to be the wisdom of a trained and accomplished Jedi Knight. Someone who weighed their words well and carried themselves in equal standing.

"So here is what I can offer you. Not shortcuts. Not secret techniques.

I can help you learn how to carry all of this, without letting it fracture you. How to be strong without burning yourself out. How to serve without disappearing into duty. And how to remain yourself while wearing the title.

But first, I need to know one thing. When you imagine yourself five years from now, not as a businessman, not as a son, not as a Knight…Just as Balun.

Do you see someone at peace, or someone still running?"

He couldn't help but offer something of a wary, apprehensive smile as the words crossed his mind first before speaking them; "I'm not certain I have ever known peace, not of mind, anyway. Not in myself", he answered her honestly.

As a juvenile, Balun had desperately sought belonging. The knowledge that he had been given up, caused him a great deal of resentment, craving family and yet combatting his tutors in the New Jedi Order when they tried to get him to open up, to mentor him and guide him. They had, of course, had the best of intentions, but he had been slow to trust, expecting the worst.

As a teenager, he threw himself into conflict after conflict, believing himself to be fighting for the protection and rights of others. He had viewed himself as being a good person, standing up for what was right, even when he struggled to know what was right for himself.
With Judah Dashiell , stability, guidance and the love of a parent was introduced to Balun and over time, he grew to become a better man because of it. The business with Nouqai Veil, the Sith who birthed Balun's son, remained a trauma that he could not forget, but his father and his brother Makai had both been there for him during those horrible times, something he would always be thankful for.

"I've had my share of difficult times, and I've matured a lot over the years...-But I still have a journey ahead of me. It's too easy to doubt myself, and much of my life, I have kept others at a distance. In some ways, I suppose I figured it was easier, but as a consequence, I cannot say that I have any close friends. Only my family," he shrugged as if not knowing whether his answer was satisfactory or not.

In five years, where would he be? Likely still overseeing construction on Jhaessa Prime, and serving the Order in the time between. His Son Kellan would be nine by then, and his training would likely still be under Balun. He hadn't reached a point where the prospect of his Son serving under an Order was a thought he felt he could trust. Kellan was half Sith-Spawn, and Balun was incredibly protective of the boy's sensitivity to the Force. Particularly his vulnerability to the Darkside.

"I don't know if I see much having changed within five years, to be honest with you, Master", he concluded, shrugging his shoulders once more, not knowing what more to say. She was more accomplished and experienced than he was, and he was uncertain he could meet her expectations with regard to the question.

Jedi Master: Ala Quin
Major Faction: The High Republic
Sub-Faction: Jhaessa Prime
Conglomerate: Dashiell Incorporated™
Subsidiary Company: Dashiell Retrofit™​

"Speech"
'Thought'​

 

[Seris Travin-Avaron]

Seris did not answer him right away.

She rarely did, when someone finally spoke from the place they usually guarded most carefully.

Instead, she remained where she was, hands loosely folded, her attention fixed on him in a way that did not pry or press, but simply stayed. There was no impatience in her posture, no sense that she was preparing a response while he spoke. She listened fully, letting his words settle, letting their weight be what it was.

When he finished, her expression did not shift into concern or pity. It steadied, as though something in his honesty had confirmed what she had already sensed beneath his composure.

She drew a slow breath before speaking, grounding the moment rather than rushing to fill it.

"Thank you for answering that honestly," Seris said quietly, her voice gentle but certain. "Most people try to soften that question, or reshape it into something easier to live with. You did not. You told me the truth, even though it was uncomfortable."

She turned slightly so that they were no longer merely walking side by side, but standing with the overlook between them, the open plains stretching out below. The warm wind brushed past them, carrying dust and distant heat.

"Not knowing peace does not mean you have failed," she continued after a moment. "It usually means no one ever taught you what it feels like when it is genuine. Not the absence of danger. Not the absence of responsibility. But the absence of constant vigilance."

Her gaze lifted briefly toward the horizon, then returned to him.

"You learned how to survive very early," Seris said, her tone thoughtful rather than analytical. "And when survival becomes a habit, it reshapes everything. Rest starts to feel unsafe. Stillness feels like exposure. Letting go feels like weakness, even when it is not."

She did not frame it as a flaw. She spoke of it as a reality.

"So when you tell me you have never truly known peace," she went on, "I do not hear failure. I hear a man who learned to stay standing in storms that never really ended."

When she spoke of his distance from others, her voice softened further.

"You say you have no close friends," Seris said gently. "But you speak of your family with clarity, loyalty, and care. You speak of them as people you protect, people you remain present for, people you trust."

She met his eyes again.

"That tells me you are capable of closeness," she continued. "You have simply learned to be very careful about who is allowed near you. Distance kept you safe once. It does not mean it must define you forever."

There was no pressure in the words. No demand that he change.

Only possibility.

When he spoke of five years and saw little difference, Seris nodded slowly, as though that answer made sense to her.

"Most people imagine growth as something dramatic," she said. "A sudden transformation. A clear line between who they were and who they become. That is rarely how it truly works."

She gestured lightly toward the horizon.

"Real change often looks quiet," she continued. "It looks like the same life, carried with less strain. The same responsibilities, held without so much tension. The same path, walked without feeling as though it might break you."

Her expression remained steady and open.

"You do not need to become someone else to grow," Seris said softly. "And you do not need to promise yourself peace before you are allowed to deserve it."

She paused, then added something firmer beneath the warmth.

"What I hear is not someone running," she said. "I hear someone who keeps moving because stopping once meant everything might fall apart."

She let that truth exist between them without sharpening it into accusation.

"If you choose to learn with me," Seris continued calmly, "we will not begin by forcing you into stillness. That never works. We will begin by learning when you no longer need to brace for impact."

"We will learn how to recognize safety without mistrusting it," she added. "How to rest without feeling as though you are abandoning something. How to breathe without preparing for the next blow."

Her voice remained steady, free of grandeur.

"Peace does not arrive all at once," Seris said quietly. "Sometimes it begins as permission. Permission to be human without apology."

She looked at him fully now, not as a Master assessing a student, but as one person speaking honestly to another.

"You do not need to meet my expectations," she finished. "Only your own. And if you are willing to explore that, patiently and imperfectly, then I believe there is something here worth teaching."

Balun Arenais-Dashiell

 

[Balun Arenais-Dashiell]

ROOTS AND HORIZONS
INVENTORY: Jedi Robes | Lightsaber | K-16 Bryar Pistol.
TRANSPORT: S-91x Pegasus.
TAGS: Seris Travin-Avaron .

Balun turned to glance across the rolling plains of Ryloth, a brief look, giving acknowledgement to the beauty of nature around them, and yet his mind was mulling over that which Master Seris Travin-Avaron had spoken. She had a way with words and a confidence about that which she saw, which felt quite comforting.

Her experience showed what Balun presumed to be a life of training, and now offering to help guide him today. How could he not agree? Wisdom was what defined the Jedi Order, alongside discipline, which separated them from the Sith. Any opportunity to learn, grow and mature as not just a Force-User but a person was a priceless commodity well worth investment in.

"Patiently and imperfectly?" Balun repeated with a smile, speaking in a rhetorical tone. Why, that almost summed up the impression he had of how his own father saw him. He refrained from making the joke, reconsidering himself in the moment, standing before the Jedi Knight. She didn't know him very well, nor Judah Dashiell , and it would have been inappropriate. Not that this would usually stop him.

"You will find that I am very good at performing imperfectly", He spoke decisively, choosing the joke that spoke in expense of himself rather than his beloved father, who was not present to defend himself. He would have chuckled were he there to hear Balun, but knowing it was a loving jest, wouldn't have taken it to heart.

"If I can ask, however..." Balun soon continued, his curiosity present in his words: "What sort of training does this entail? Is what you have in mind relating to a particular ability or perhaps more mental and emotional conditioning practised through repetition?" It would be obvious that he was intrigued and content to continue. Balun understood practices such as meditation and even the more advanced art of moving meditation, which was achieved through repetitive motions, such as a well-known sabre kata.

"Regardless, I would be most grateful to you, Master" he concluded, lowering his head in an informal bow of gratitude. It was important that he not forget his manners or conduct as a Jedi student, given that his behavior also represented and reflected upon Grandmaster Ala Quin , his mentor.

Jedi Master: Ala Quin
Major Faction: The High Republic
Sub-Faction: Jhaessa Prime
Conglomerate: Dashiell Incorporated™
Subsidiary Company: Dashiell Retrofit™​

"Speech"
'Thought'​

 

[Seris Travin-Avaron]

Seris watched him as he spoke, not with the intensity of assessment, but with the quiet attentiveness of someone who valued how a person arrived at an answer more than the answer itself. When he looked out across the plains, she allowed the pause to exist, the shared silence stretching comfortably between them. Ryloth had a way of encouraging that. It reminded people that stillness did not need to be earned.

At his repetition of her words, a faint smile touched her expression, unguarded and genuine.

"Patiently and imperfectly," she echoed softly, the cadence deliberate. "If you can hold onto that, you will already be ahead of most who come seeking instruction."

His self-deprecating humor did not escape her, nor did the care with which he redirected it away from anyone else. Seris's smile deepened just slightly, not amused in the way of laughter, but warmed by recognition.

"You would be surprised how many people believe imperfection disqualifies them," she said gently. "In truth, it is often the only place learning can begin."

She resumed walking at an easy pace, boots crunching softly against the stone and dust, her hands folding loosely behind her back as the wind tugged at the edge of her coat.

When he asked about the nature of the training, Seris did not answer immediately. She considered the question as he had asked it, thoughtfully, without trying to anticipate what she wanted to hear.

"What I have in mind is not a single technique," she began at last. "Nor is it simply meditation, repetition, or refinement of skill, though all of those will have their place."

She glanced toward him again, her gaze calm and steady.

"You already know how to focus," Seris continued. "You already know how to endure effort, pressure, and responsibility. What I am interested in teaching you is how to notice what you do when there is nothing demanding your attention."

The words were not a challenge, merely an invitation to reflection.

"We will work with movement," she said. "With stillness. With the Force as it exists around you, not just as something you direct outward. There will be repetition, yes, but not for the sake of perfection. For familiarity. So that you recognize yourself even when the situation changes."

She slowed, stopping near a rise where the land fell away into open distance, the horizon wide and unhurried.

"This will be mental and emotional," Seris added, her voice thoughtful. "Not because I believe you lack discipline, but because discipline without understanding eventually becomes brittle."

She turned fully toward him then, meeting his gaze without severity.

"I do not intend to remake you," she said calmly. "Nor to replace the teachings of your Master. This is not a correction. It is alignment."

At his bow, informal though it was, she inclined her head in return, acknowledging both the gesture and the intent behind it.

"Your gratitude is noted," Seris said quietly. "But understand this as well. You are not asking for a favor. You are choosing to learn. That is something you earn simply by showing up honestly."

Her expression softened, the warmth returning.

"If you are willing to proceed without needing immediate answers," she concluded, "then we can begin. Slowly. With the land, with your breath, and with the part of you that does not need to perform."

She gestured ahead, inviting him onward, not as a command, but as an open path.

"Let us start there."

Balun Arenais-Dashiell

 

[Balun Arenais-Dashiell]

ROOTS AND HORIZONS
INVENTORY: Jedi Robes | Lightsaber | K-16 Bryar Pistol.
TRANSPORT: S-91x Pegasus.
TAGS: Seris Travin-Avaron .

"I can certainly relate to the sentiment, don't get me wrong. I hold myself to an impossibly high standard, which is why I know my flaws. Often expecting more of myself, to be better than I am," Balun explained further. There was no greater judge of his character and capabilities than he himself. No greater critic.

"I try to be humble about it", he added thoughtfully, "But at the same time I hope to avoid others seeing what I see in myself. I've learned to mask my emotions well over the years, showing only what I'm willing to express, to most outside of my family". The Dashiells, and of course, his Master. They knew him better than most, and Balun had learned to let himself relax his guard around them all. Despite his admission now, though, he would seem quite well composed given the obvious contradiction in his words.

Master Seris Travin-Avaron hadn't exactly given him a straight answer to his question, though she did reveal that the lesson wouldn't be focused solely upon a single technique. Balun lifted his head slightly as though to question, yet paused as he reconsidered and remained silent. The remark made to him about proceeding without immediate answers in mind, he decided to be patient and see firsthand for himself what she had in store for him.

He had followed the Jedi Knight until they stood looking out over the plains of Ryloth, and as he glanced down for a brief moment, he felt glad to be out in the open, the sounds and feelings that accompanied the outdoors all around them. Nature, his preference and something he admired greatly. Far more than the stifling indoors of Shiraya's Sanctuary on Naboo.

Glancing back to Master Travin-Avaron, he nodded simply, suggesting that he was ready for her instruction. He would wait, poised and ready to gain further understanding of what was expected of him, and then do his best to fulfil her lesson requirements. To learn through doing.

Jedi Master: Ala Quin
Major Faction: The High Republic
Sub-Faction: Jhaessa Prime
Conglomerate: Dashiell Incorporated™
Subsidiary Company: Dashiell Retrofit™​

"Speech"
'Thought'​

 

[Seris Travin-Avaron]

Seris did not answer immediately.

She let the wind move between them, let the silence stretch long enough to become intentional rather than awkward, her gaze resting on the plains before she turned back to him. When she spoke, her voice carried a quiet steadiness that felt less like reassurance and more like direction.

"You hold yourself to a high standard," she said evenly. "High enough that it has likely become the measure by which you decide whether you are allowed to feel satisfied with yourself."

Her eyes did not harden, but they sharpened slightly, as if inviting him to sit with the truth of it.

"You have learned how to perform well, how to endure pressure, and how to appear composed even when you are uncertain," she continued. "That takes discipline. It also takes effort."

A small pause.

"What you have probably not been taught," she said more thoughtfully, "is how to rest within yourself without interpreting that rest as complacency or weakness."

She shifted her attention toward the horizon.

"You asked what this training entails," she went on. "It is not about refining a single technique or adding another ability to your repertoire. It is about learning how to notice what is happening inside you before you correct it, suppress it, or try to outperform it."

Her tone remained calm, but there was quiet authority in it now.

"You already know how to push forward," Seris said. "I am more interested in whether you know how to pause without feeling like you are falling behind."

She gestured lightly toward the open plains.

"Stand here," she instructed. "Do nothing impressive. Do not try to achieve insight. Simply allow the Force, the wind, and your own thoughts to exist without managing them."

Her gaze returned to him, steady and expectant.

"If that feels uncomfortable," she added, "then we have found exactly where to begin."

Balun Arenais-Dashiell