Seeking Council from a Grumpy Old Person (Dagobah)

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

“The Sith killed my teacher And the specific ones who did certainly weren't you.” Allara notified her teacher, moving her amphistaff to block the sideswipe, “But the second notion…is hard to refute at the moment.”

Allara saw the streaks beginning to form in the viewport. She used the Force to fling herself back further from the maddened old woman. She planted Raksha deeply into the plated floor, bracing herself. Soon enough, this ship was going to fire itself into hyperspace with a lurch. She did not want to be on her back when she had a crazy sage swinging her durasteel staff around. As she await, her tapped into the Vongsense, making Raksha rear its head back, ready to spit the known venom of the amphistaff at he aggressor, if only for a distraction.

 

[Kiara]

[member="Allara Ven"]

The woman made haste to plant her staff into the ground as the last second ticked away, and the ship lurched. She pressed back against the motion, then twirled her staff around rapidly as she began to close the distance between herself and Allara. "You passed."

The dark Force surrounding Kiara did not fade, but rather grew stronger as the distance was closed - she looked normal, as she always did, though the staff was readied to attack, and that much was certain.

 

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

The young witch kept her amphistaff up in defense. She did not have trust of her companion’s words. Nor was the stance of the old woman helping matters. “And what, by the sacred Force, have I passed?” She said, moving back with every step the master took. But she was also careful not to put herself in the corner. She was uneasy around Kiara now, feeling the cold of the Dark Side eminate from the little form. Such darkness, such power. All contained within the body of a little hermit woman barely the size of an ewok.

“Stay back.” She said simply to the old woman, standing her ground to the older Force User, “Where is this ship going?”

 

[Kiara]

[member="Allara Ven"]

The woman stayed quiet for a long - long time, keeping her position and her stance readied to attack Allara. She finally swung again, pushing forward in rapid almost non-human movements. Her staff repeatedly swung and flipped, swinging back and forth, back and forth with strange movements of various fighting styles cramped dangerously into one - most of which weren't Jedi nor Sith.

"Little witch little witch, stand your ground. You shall feel the wrath of a dangerous gal!" This obviously wasn't a respectful fight, as she even wore her robes just to prove she could move freely in the attire. The ship's engines were starting to strain and halt - it was a quick flight apparently, and when it would seconds later, they would be heading straight for the previous location - Allara's A-Wing.

 

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

Unable to keep up with Kiara’s movements, Allara fell to the floor of the ship. Numerous, fresh welt marks littered her body. There, they started to bruise over, making it hurt to move. But she even still stood up, using her Raksha as more of a walking stick than a weapon. She looked at the woman with her eyes. A rage started to brew in her. She heard a voice in the back of her head.

Embrace your anger, child. Let the darkness in.

Allara’s eyes glazed over with the Sith-like reddish orange. She lifted a hand, using the Force to push the old woman away from her. “I conceit. You are indeed a master of your art. But I refuse to give in to your brash attacks. I came for insight from someone who also tips between the dichotomies of the Force.” Her eyes returned back into blue. She forced the dark voice in her mind back, and sat down cross-legged. She flicked Raksha back, the dark serpent hesitantly slithering around her arm like an armlet. She simply sat there, a form of rebellion, ready to take on whatever punishment the old woman was intending on bringing.

 

[Kiara]

[member="Allara Ven"]

Kiara, again pushed back, made her way quickly back to Allara with a frown upon her face, she raised her staff for a finishing blow - then put it to her side and resorted herself back to her neutral state. The wealth of the dark side simmered down into it's usual place of grasping onto grey and light, just barely keeping everything contained - in an allyship with each other.

The hermit looked down at the girl, then pursed her lips and went back to the controls, turning on the auto-land feature so the ship would safely fall next to the A-Wing. "Why are you afraid to attack, girl? Why do you let me beat you about?" She turned with a small flash of annoyance in her eyes, sitting herself down on the pilot's chair. It was clear now that she was exhausted from moving about for the series of not even a few minutes.

 

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

“Because I’m afraid.” She said quietly back at Kiara, “I’m afraid of what will happen if I give myself over to the darkness for too long. It constantly claws at me, whispering to me like a tempting devil of old legends.”

She was too sore to move now, giving up on moving any. She looked down to Raksha, petting the serpent’s head. “I have dealt with this since I was a girl. The Jedi could not help me. Nor would I ever seek the guidance of a Sith. Not after those karking monsters killed my Jedi Master, and took my original arm.” She looked to the woman eyes start to well with tears of pain. Physical and emotional. “No parents to guide me. Only a kind old orphanage keeper. And then Old Shaka, Force bless her.”

She kept still for what felt for a long time. “If you do not believe in my nightmares, feel free to look into them. I offer no resistance. I am too tired and too defeated to care anymore.”

 

[Kiara]

[member="Allara Ven"]

After a small while of sitting down and waiting, Kiara bounced herself back up and used her staff to support her in her walk, coming back over to the child. She sat down and crossed her legs, then tapped Allara's head with the butt of it. "Giving in to the Force is not a matter of which side pushes harder. As you know already, fire and water are very different. Too much fire burns out the water and leaves you with steam, too little fire and you are drowning again, with only bare puffs of smoke."

She looked down at the pet of Allara's, then crossed her arms gently. "And just sometimes if you are careful, you can have all three. It is not a matter of which one pushes harder, but which one you seek the most. If you let yourself fall victim to either of the three sides, you will fall into a cycle of their repetitive politics and wars. Is that what you want? What do you want?"

 

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

“I want to achieve balance in my life. I want the constant tugging between the two to cease.” She said to her mentor, “I want the nightmares to be gone….I want to know who I am. Sure, I call myself Allara Ven, but that is the name the orphanage gave me. I want to know the family that left me. They’re the source of my dilemma in the Force. My parents were obviously Force Users, but that’s all I can gather. The dark and light seems to have tempted them or my ancestors long before I was conceived.”

She looked solemnly at the older woman as she spoke. “I have always seen two figures in my dreams. One who is dark, burned, and wields a red blade like a Sith. The other is…angelic, and wields similar blade of green, like a Jedi.”

 

[Kiara]

[member="Allara Ven"]

"They are not your parents. Surely they may have given birth to you, and surely they may have been your first physical contact, but dwelling on that will only cause you more pain." Folding her hands together over the staff she let out a tiny upset breath. "To achieve balance you must first forget everything you know. That is what I was trying to teach you. It is clear to me that you don't want to learn on either side after the fight, so that is well your only option. Let me cleanse you. Let the natural water pour into the Force."

She opened her arms up just barely. "Do it."

 

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

Allara nodded to Kiara and nodded. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, letting her mind open up to Kiara. As soon as she did, the old woman was brought into the vision that constantly played in her mind.

One side of the environment was a peaceful meadow and very serene. The other was a desolate, volcanic wasteland. A figure approached Kiara from the wasteland. A man, extremely burned, and wearing black Sith armor from a pre-Gulag era that appeared charred and melted onto him He looked at her, a mechanical breathing coming from him. “So. You’re the wise one who intends to banish us from my scion’s mind.

Another figure approached as well. A blonde haired youth, dressed in angelic Jedi robes and having his right hand made of a golden electrum like substance. “Allara needs to choose her path. Long has the two sides of the Force called to our family. Some have become Jedi, others Sith, and yet other both. She needs to choose.”

 

[Kiara]

[member="Allara Ven"]

Such cliche settings for both the Jedi and the Sith, Kiara mused with a straight face. She studied the two figures, both in turn seemed to be the very definition of what they represented. Slowly twirling her staff in a long circle, she eyed the two beings. "Fight him." Her voice said outloud. Not an order, not a suggestion, simply, "Fight him now."

Her staff was at the ready, a physical battle in the mind of another, matched with the Force and the choice of choosing a side - or bringing balance to the Force all around again.

 

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

The Dark One stared at the old woman a moment. There came the familiar pop-hiss of a lightsaber, crimson plasma dancing from a hilt in his cybernetic hand. “You don’t know the power you challenge, hermit.” He lunged at her, but was stopped the Light One’s own green blade.

The two began to clash their blades, the internal struggle beginning to stir within Allara’s mind. “No, Father. You don’t know the ramifications.” Red struck against emerald. The battle continued on for what seemed several moments. “The child isn’t even aware of her legacy. That she’s a…”

The two became stopped, black serpents not unlike Raksha binding them like chains. “I will choose my destiny, but you two have made me interested in my legacy.” The inner self of Allara came forth, looking to Kiara. “Fire and water.” She smiled, “We’re not done here, my teacher. I want a name from them. Someone to search for in the holorecords to learn of what’s so damned important that it’s worth this struggle.”

 

[Kiara]

[member="Allara Ven"]

Kiara quietly raised herself to stand and held her staff firmly onto the ground. "Perhaps that was your trouble all along little witch," She mused in a small tilt of her head. "Datapads and holorecords are only something recorded from someone else to give you their opinion on whatever you're looking into, when in fact, it was never those you should have been looking for." She quietly raised her staff, and bonked it onto her head. "But what's in here. You have settled your conflict, now you can go about and learn what you wish, study what you must, and keep on your path and no one else's."

After a moment, Kiara turned back around and looked into the distance. "Do you think that is true?"

 

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

The Two looked at the women before them, their voices mingling into one. “Caedus.” Allara became perplexed at the word but nodded. She let herself ease into a calmness, the dreamworld fading away into Dagobah. “My inner conflict may be over, but my path is not yet crossed. I know what I need to do next in my journey.” She stood, body still a tad bruised from the woman’s outburst. She looked at the little old woman with a smile. She took a couple steps, and knelt down to her level. “I cannot repay you enough, you crotchety old sage.” She chuckled.

With very little warning, Allara wrapped an arm around Kiara and gave her a brief embrace. “I am indebted to you. Do not hesitate to call upon me in crisis.” She stood, wincing a little. “You wouldn’t happen to know how to heal in the Force, would you? Some of these make it hurt to walk. You can deal some damage.”

 

[Kiara]

[member="Allara Ven"]

"Just because I have inflicted damage upon you does not mean you couldn't have blocked it. These wounds will be your lesson - learn to fight. Do not give in to one side or another, unless you want to." She crossed her arms gently after the hug, slowly tapping her staff against the metal of the ship.

"Where will you go now? Off to seek your adventures? Stay to learn what little I can offer, stretched out upon many days of tedious trials?" Her eyes glanced over to the A-Wing in curiosity. She couldn't sense what the girl would do next.

 

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

“I believe that it is best that I stay to hone my connection to the balance. We may have subdued the storm, but now the challenge is to keep that calm instated.” She said, “I know that I will need your guidance on this. Besides. We still have to cover the lesson of the wind. You’ve already taught me the basics of fire, water, and earth. What I intend after Dagobah can wait. That is, if you’ll have me?”

She stood, turned, and looked at the small woman with inquisitive eyes. The eyes of a student with a clear mind and a renewed eagerness to learn. “I accept the challenge of your trials.” She said to the old mentor.

 

[Kiara]

The witch smiled a soft bit, then slowly walked out of her ship, tapping her staff about as she walked. "Come along child, we have much to learn now. So much more than I ever thought you'd get to." Her footsteps sunk into the mud, lifting up and heading to the hut she was originally going for.

[member="Allara Ven"]

 

[4ND-R0]

[member="Kiara"]

The witch smiled and walked beside her teacher, Raksha as her walking staff. She slowly moved her arms and legs, drawing a little on the Force block out some of the pain. “I’m glad I was able to make my mark enough to be taught.” She said as she followed up to the normal hut. “But I must ask, why here? Why Dagobah? The Jedi taught me that this was the place where an ancient Grandmaster of the Order, Master Yoda, spent his last days. As a hermit.”

Allara’s tone was not prying, however. It was the sound of a student’s curiosity. Should the old master not want to speak on the matter, it would be dropped.

 

[Kiara]

"Grandmaster Yoda... I have heard that name before, that title is now thrown around uselessly to people who don't deserve it. Yoda came here long ago to hide in the thick crowd of the Force, and perhaps it was even his home planet. Unfortunately there are no documents on the subject, and believe me I've looked for them." She slipped past the bushes and into the door, suddenly stopping and backing up a few steps. The giant hole leading to the hanger still laid.

With a bit of a reach, she pressed a button with her staff, then looked down as the ground raced back up and carefully slipped into place. It looked at natural as ever, if not a little more clean. Walking in, she went to take a few of her droids down from the wall - these ones, old assassination droids for later. "You know how the Force is and you wish to continue training. What special thing do you devote your time to this moment, young witch?"

[member="Allara Ven"]