Private The Paths We Walk Wind Ever Inward

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

Avra did not belong on Coruscant. She felt it deep in her core as she sat in the dark tinted back of a taxi on the way to the Force Traditions exhibit at the Coruscant Musuem of Traditional Cultures. She knew what that word meant when people discussed Dathomir. They meant quaint, backwater, or backwards. It would have been exhaustingly insulting had she given it a thought. It did not take sight to see how this world truly lacked in its connection to the spirits. While it teemed with life, it was void of the majestic beauty that world like Dathomir held. They had shifted from nature and relied purely on artifice to support them. It was all in the name of progress, but she pondered quietly to herself how these people would fare removed from their sheltered lives.

It was intuition that had brought her to this dismal and unnatural world. Avra had been searching for years for pieces relevant to her home that had been taken from Dathomir. She had been taken to Nar Shaddaa previously, and had followed her intuition once before. She had found a fragment of an ancient blade from Dathomir. Her work had only begun then, and now, she had become consumed by her thirst for knowledge. If she was able to find more pieces related to this sword, then perhaps she could make more sense of the etchings on the blade. Still, she had her misgivings about this world and whether or not the object of her search truly rested here.

There were Jedi on this world, and Avra knew they would likely have known she was there. She did not make an effort to avoid the darkness in her heart, but in no way allowed it to consume her as well. She would likely stand out to them in the flow of spirits. Under no circumstance was she ever going to conceal herself from the spirits. The Force was a gift, a blessing. To avoid destiny was not the way of things, and she marched ever forward toward whatever that destiny may well be. She feared not death, nor did she fear failure. It was all in the plan of the Gods that she either fail or succeed. Avra relied on their favor and remained ever faithful in them in spite of the difficulty and loss that had forced her here in the first place.

Avra left the taxi, though the driver protested her movement with some trivial demand of payment. The Dathomirian lifted the veil and leaned inward toward him to make direct eye contact. For a silent moment the exchange held her attention but he had become enraptured. In silence he closed his vessel and left. She lowered her veil once more and slipped into the museum without a word or look to anyone else. This was no social call, but entirely business. In spite of that, she was entertained by the notion that this place had collected trinkets connected to the Force and took only a small amount of time to trace their faint connections with her blessed sight.​

 

[Jonyna Si]

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Tag: Avra Elru

The Coruscant Museum of Traditional Cultures. In a way, Jonyna felt it was almost disrespectful, but she also couldn't argue with the title. She was more happy to hear that Cathar even had a bit of representation on Coruscant. Even if that representation was hidden away in a back corner of the upper levels. Maybe she was expecting too much. The Cathar knew her own people's history, but in the grand scheme of the galaxy, they were always a small player.

She hoped to fix that through her own deeds.

She stood, looking on an exhibit next to the Dathomir one. The story of Cathar, displayed in a small display that showed a glimpse into what the people of Coruscant assumed her people's history was right. Had she not sensed the coming witch, she probably would've raised an objection with the museum curator. But now her attention turned. The dark side stunk, and she held the hilt of her blade tightly, relying on her duelist sheaths to hide the blade within the force.

But it wasn't the dark side itself that sparked her interest. IT was the feeling of the witch. She'd met a Nightsister before, trained under one even. Xena would've scolded her for starting a fight against one on a whim, but she knew better than to not approach with caution as the witch entered the building.

"Not every day you see a daughter of Dathomir." The cathar noted. "I take it you're not here to learn, are you?"

 

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

"A learned mind finds knowledge in even the strangest place. I miss my home, but until the Gods grant me the final destination of my search, I cannot return. Why does a Jedi come to this place, though?" she said without looking to the figure that had addressed her on the approach. To all present she looked to be a blind woman, who could not possibly gain anything from viewing a museum exhibition. Those with knowledge, knew all too well she was able to see far more than mere eyes could display to them. Her reality was different to others, and no matter what her lack of physical sight caused her to miss, the blessings she had received in the form of sight and prophecy were far greater. It was a necessary sacrifice, to ritually blind herself, but her role in what used to be her clan was to be just that, of the seer. Now though, she had been driven away from her home, and her clan, by a rival family that managed to gather support enough from outsiders.

The witch could see the Dathomir display, in her own way. Within were trinkets, none of which were truly of any value, but the one piece that had been placed within was that which she had sought. The Gods did not misguide her, and her faith had been rewarded for her forbearance and trust in their mysteries seemed to grant her the location of her quarry. "Ever forward do we walk, yes? And destiny guides that which seeks it." she said holding up the portion of the blade she herself carried up to the one in the display case to match its jagged broken edges to that of the one ostensibly owned by the museum.

"Would you look at that, it fits." she said with a hint of reverence in her voice. "By the Winged Goddess another shard..." Avra continued, seemingly talking to herself. "Jedi, would you not say these pieces are a match? That they belong to the same blade?" she asked, finally looking to the stranger. "This piece, I must have it."

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"I'm much more than just a jedi." She addressed first, answering the question asked for her. "I am cathar. A proud member of my people, the Denik. The people who never left."

The Cathar paused to inspect the shard in the hand of the witch, then the one on the display. "...Yeah, that's definitely the same blade. I take it it has some sort of significance?" The Cathar's tail flicked as her eyes scanned the Cathar exhibit, looking to it with a more careful eye. She was sure there was something from her culture they had taken that was now of significance. Maybe out of ignorance, but still thievery...

Tag: Avra Elru

 

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

"The blade is ancient, close to if not over one-thousand years old. It was owned by a very distant relative from my maternal family, and something for which I have searched these past three years away from my home. Were it not for the Gods I would not have located the first piece, but my trust in them has granted me the trail that I must follow in order to return home to where I belong. With this sword fully rebuilt, not even those who drove me away could dispute my claim to Nightmother of the Clans." Avra said, feeling that she could at least trust the Jedi wtih that. She had never met a Cathar before, but they had a curious essence about them which her sight could not quite place. Something innate in them that she respected.

It was still interesting to her that the Jedi spoke pridefully, when they were most likely taught the dangers of such a vice. Pride was something she understood though, as she shared that sense of pride in her home and people with the Jedi. Dathomir was beautiful, and it was home. There was nothing she desired more than to see it cleansed of those who would defile it in the name of short-term profit and naked ambition. It as greed that hung above the heads of those who usurped her; and there was no heavier sword to fall upon them if she was able to restore order to her clan and her home.

The Nightsister stood there quietly for a moment and thought of how to handle the situation. She could just phase her hand through the display and take the piece but the museum may well take offense to such a bold reclamation. Avra doubted these people knew the personal significance of such an item they held. It would be a diplomatic measure, rather than one of bold action. She had no need to rankle the strange people of this world by simply taking what she believed to be hers. "Jedi, would you not say that I have a rightful claim to ownership of this fragment? That I should have the chance to speak to the curator and regain what should belong to me by right? I could just take it, but I would prefer to do things peacefully rather than simply take it. Perhaps you could help me, and in return I can return the favor to you in some way that you see fit."

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"I mean, if it's a family heirloom...yeah. I think that's justification to ask for it's return." Jonyna reasoned. "I'm Jonyna by the way. Jedi is a little bit too informal."

In her mind, Dathomir and Cathar were practically sister planets. Both in the same general area along the Hydian Way, both considered backwater planets to the average core worlder, and both having a long history dating back to the mando wars. "You wanna go see if he's around?" It was always a he. She'd bet credits that it was a he.

At this point, her stance loosened, her posture slumping to a more casual tone as her tail flicked out the back of her coat. She could trust a witch, even if they stunk of the dark side. But that wasn't immediately a sign of concern. The witches of Dathomir were known to use the dark side, just as the shapers of Kro'var. But neither were inherently evil.

Tag: Avra Elru

 

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

Avra smiled, though faintly. "I appreciate your support. It will hopefully make the difference between being granted the chance to speak with the curator and not." she said without looking away from the blade piece. The sister turned her head slightly toward the woman that had been speaking to her, "You may call me Avra. I am pleased to meet you. Perhaps it was for a reason that we have encountered one another that the Gods have yet to reveal."

The Dathomirian stood quietly. Through the Force she clawed out for extrasensory guidance in order to bring the world around her into greater focus through her vision. It pained her, as doing so always caused the stigmata placed upon her by the Gods to flare up. Blood ran down her cheeks and from the bandages wrapped around her left hand. The blood was mixed with black ichor, a substance without any origin in her body but produced when she sought to commune with the Gods themselves for their guidance and insights. In spite of her pain, she remained stoic, silent, and willful.

This was a prophetic vision she had not sought, but was now being spoken to her through the will of the Force. When she spoke, her own voice had been layered over with the voices of those of her clan that had come before. "The deepest swamp beneath the shadow of a great tree. A cave where one must face their own darkness." the voices spoke.

And just like that, Avra had been released from the grasp of the spirits that guided her on this hunt. She staggered backward, into a stranger that had meant to approach but was now quite unsettled. The middle-aged woman hesitated for a moment, "Hello, is, well, do you need help?" she asked, having her intial question replaced with concern for the bleeding woman in front of her. She looked to the Cathar and back, "I came to introduce myself, I'm Keila and I'm the curator but I'm worried that she might be hurt. Is there something wrong?"

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"We were wondering about a piece on the Dathomirian exhibit. My friend here noticed you have a family heirloom of hers." Jonyna said simply, sounding friendly enough. She was a jedi, and Jonyna figured that meant something on Coruscant. "I take it personal heirlooms are to be returned to their owners, yes?"

Tag: Avra Elru

 

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

"O-oh, something in the Dathomirian display has a proper owner? I was told upon acquisition that the owners had passed away." the woman said, pulling up the data pad to check all of the forms she kept in records. "I suppose it's a good thing I keep all these things filed away just in case. I would hate to separate a family heirloom from the proper owners. We run a museum not a stolen goods market."

"I appreciate that." Avra said quietly. She had collected herself, but now stood ruminating on what her vision could have meant specifically. It was always cryptic, but that was how the Gods worked it seemed. A nudge in the right direction, and never a fully revealed answer. It was a test of her determination and wisdom it seemed.

The Dathomirian looked at the Cathar as the curator walked off. "Give me a moment, and I will have the piece delivered to you shortly. The case needs to be unlocked from my office. That piece was sold to the museum by a scavenger that had come from Dathomir. They were cagey about where they found the piece, so I'm inclined to believe the claim is true."

"Jonyna, what do you know about the nature of prophecy and visions?" Avra asked, curious to see what the Jedi tended towards in their conceptual understanding and perception of how the Gods, or for them, the Force, granted vision.

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"...not too much." Jonyna looked to the witch, confusion across her face. Had the witch had a vision? "Only time I've messed with that kinda Force power was when I trained under a witch like yourself. A woman named Xena who taught me to control my own abilities with the Force."

Xena felt like a million years ago to the Cathar. A rebel leader who had taken up arms out of obligation after Dathomir had been blockaded by the Empire. A woman who saw Jonyna as a passing ally, not as a student. She had only known her briefly, and yet she remembered her well.

Avra Elru

 

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

"The strands of prophecy are not to be trifled with lightly. They suggest paths, possible outcomes, but never should it be dealt with as certainty. I received a vision, one that offered a simple, but cryptic, statement. In a great swamp, beneath a tree where travellers must face their own darkness. In my time around the galaxy away from Dathomir I've seen several different planets but I am not sure what it might mean. Is there a location like that with which the Jedi are familiar?" Avra asked, being granted the piece she had requested by the caretaker. It was placed neatly in a small carrying case for safe travel. She could at least respect their reverence for artifacts they did not understand.

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"...not off the top of my head. But...I know someone who might!" Jonyna smiled. "We'd just have to get back to my ship."

If anyone would know, it'd be Dice. He has all kind of data in that brain of his, right?

Tag: Avra Elru

 

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

"You will help me? Truly the Gods did bless this day." Avra said, willing to follow along with the Cathar after she expressed an almost excited tone about the concept of discovery and the mystery of this piece that she had recovered.

 

[Jonyna Si]

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Jonyna smiled, leading them back out of the museum. She made a note to come back soon, as she did want to talk with the curator about a more accurate display for the Cathar. They were more than just savage tribals, and it would benefit her people to be more accurately represented.

For now though, she'd help Avra. The Cathar couldn't help it, the witch had shown no harm, and while a more purist jedi would write off a dark side user such as this as an enemy, Jonyna never cared for that view of the Force. People were not evil due to where they fell on the cosmic scale of The Force, but rather through their actions, and Avra had been nothing but cordial so far. She hailed a speeder, allowing Avra to get in first before she did.

"So...what kinda music do you like? I'm a bit old school myself." She asked that as casually as one could, given the strange characters they both were. A witch and a jedi, sitting in a speeder.

Avra Elru

 

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

Avra moved quietly, almost disturbingly so. If one had not been aware of her presence she could easily startled them with how eerie it was to see her move soundlessly. Under the circumstances, Avra let her guard down in the back of the speeder and lifted her veil. Her eyes were white voids, bereft of sight and the sockets around them were bruised almost. The ichor and blood from her vision had dried slightly, but she wiped it away with the cloth she carried for such an occasion.

The Dathomirian was surprised by the question. "I have not given it very much thought. I am unsure of what it is called but I heard quite a lot of it when I was staying on Nar Shaddaa. It is loud, and the bass reminds one of a deep heartbeat that drives the melody forward."

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"You'll have to show me sometime. Never been to Nar Shadda. Haven't heard great things about it." She couldn't help but laugh. One would normally be fearful of the witch's appearance, but Jonyna didn't seem to flinch. She'd seen real scares. Purge Troopers. Inquisitors. The things that gave her nightmares weren't pupilless witches, they were faceless hordes of soldiers. "So tell me about your home planet. I've only heard the stories of Dathomir second hand."

Avra Elru

 

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

Whistful melancholy took her expression. Avra looked out the window, though her eyes saw nothing. "She is far from here, and far away in my memory. It has been many years since I have seen her beauty for myself, longer still that I have seen it with my own eyes. I was ritually blinded when I was young to fulfill my role in the clan as a seer. My memories are distant, but Dathomir is a beautiful world. The power of nature to truly remind us all how small we really are is always present in the mind of every Dathomirian. The best laid plans, they say. We live in harmony with the world, but there are those now that sully the planet for greed's sake. Those invited by the clan that exiled me. They steal Rancor eggs, they break our world for your credits and leave it damaged in their wake. That is why I am trying to find the pieces of this blade. I want to go home to Dathomir, and save it from those who would despoil it."

 

[Jonyna Si]

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Jonyna's jovial tone faded in favor of a more solemn agreement with the Witch's sentiment. "I know the feeling. First the Mandos, then the Empire, and plenty of others since then have tried to do the same to my planet and people. Cathar make for good warriors, so anyone who can get their hands on one want them for slaver labor. I've made it my mission to one day free all of my kind and earn them a place in the GA as part of the jedi council. That way, no one will dare try and conquer Cathar ever again."

Avra Elru

 

[Avra Elru]

Jonyna Si

"There will always be those with evil in their hearts. Those that refuse to see the people behind the things they do. The striking lack of empathy is a sorrowful thing. While we all do what we must when we must, I find the very concept of slavery to be as abhorrent as it is archaic. My greatest desire is to see Dathomir no longer as disparate tribes but one people. I feel it is the only way to really protect my world from the grasping hands of the galaxy."

 

[Jonyna Si]

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"I'll help anyway I can." Jonyna smiled back as the taxi landed back at the NJO temple. "Way I figure, Cathar and Dathomir are only a few lightyears away from each other. We're sisters in a way, ya know? And if I help your world find some peace, that's like helping a family member."

As they landed, Jonyna didn't seem to skip a beat in bringing the Witch towards the temple. "Come on! I'm parked in the hanger bay."

Tag: Avra Elru