Private The Pilgrims & their Moon

[Ran Serys]

It wasn't a great time for the Jedi to be leaving Tython but Ran was hardly a Jedi, and after the events on Wizar II she decided she could go no longer without a proper teacher. So with the guidance of a few Knights and Masters she trusted, she found herself making the pilgrimage to the still ruined Holy City on the Pilgrim Moon, Jedha. It was there that she hoped to meet the man that might become her mentor, the Jedi Master and Councilor Zark San Tekka.

As she walked through the rubble that still laid on the alleyways of the holy quarter, she paid close attention to both the level of destruction wrought by the Maw and also the resilience and hard work put forth by the citizens of New Jedha City to refuse the refugee crisis. Their efforts to rebuild the city showed but there was still a long way to go. She had heard the Temple of Kyber had become completely lost in the Battle for Jedha. She wanted to see it for herself. So Ran went. She had witnessed many a bombardment of cities as a Sith experiment, but it seemed the Brotherhood was a different animal. The Sith were only methodical in their destruction, while the Maw had a distinctly savage influence in all.

Zark San Tekka was said to be the Watchman of Jedha. Ran wondered how he felt about all of it. She wondered if she would get the chance to ask him. At the edge of the pit that was once the Temple of Kyber, the mirialan stood both thinking and reflecting on the significance the place must have had to the Jedi and the force. Could it still have that same significance? She asked herself, before bending down and sifting through the cold desert sand.

_______________________
Zark San Tekka​

 

[Zark San Tekka]

"May the Force of others be with you."

Despite her acute senses, the weathered Atrisian man moved close before Ran noticed him. He wore simple black robes with a red sash. Other than a walking stick, this stranger appeared unarmed. His expression was serene but something in the eyes burned fierce. Slowly he gestured at her belt with a hand covered in burn scars.

"Would you trade a trinket for a glimpse into your future?"

This was not the first man wearing such robes to cross her path within the Holy City. Many refugees had fled to nearby Ponemah Terminal after the battle. Only the fanatics remained, and more pilgrims arrived to replenish dwindling numbers. Pilgrims like Ran Serys . For some Jedha was the site of a miraculous victory stemming tides of Maw raiders from spilling over into nearby sectors. For others the Temple's destruction signified a grave omen of impending defeat. Only time would tell.

 

[Ran Serys]

With a start, Ran turned to the man that snuck up on her. Her face was briefly painted in confusion. He should not have been able to sneak up on her. Between her connection to the force and her already preternatural senses it was a shock that anyone could, but there he was. His hand was pointed at her belt and he spoke a question of trade. Curious.

She put her left hand on her saber out of reflex, a week before it would’ve hovered over her blaster. “A trinket for my future?” She questioned. “How could I say no to that?” She answered with a question of her own, however rhetorical. “Let me see what I have,” She fingered the part of her belt that had housed spare mechanical parts. She came up with a worn but ornately decorated piece of ancient metal from the Force Temple of Ular Unill on Mirial. She hadn’t used it in the construction of her lightsaber but the piece had spoken to her all the same.

She held it out in the palm of her hand for the man to take. “My future, please,” She instructed. “But I would also ask you a question. Do you know where I can find one, Zark San Tekka?”

_______________________
Zark San Tekka​

 

[Zark San Tekka]

"For that answer you must pay," the monk grinned.

He took her hand with something like reverence and traced craggy fingers along palm lines. This city was a place of mysticism and ancient tradition. Fortune tellers claimed to have a gift for precognition. Even Jedi were known to believe in prophecy. Ran Serys watched her spiritual guide close both eyes and mutter an old prayer.

"In darkness, cold. In light, cold. The old sun brings no heat. But there is heat in breath and life. In life, there is the Force. In the Force, there is life. And the Force is eternal."

A brief spark passed between them.

"Something inside you has always been there," he told her, "But now its awake. You're searching for someone to show you your place in all this. Help you find what you lost."

The monk's eyes opened, and he released Ran's hand.

"I will take you to the General."

 

[Ran Serys]

Ran let the man take her hand while she thought of his answer. Was the trinket not payment enough? She wondered before the prayer began. It was an interesting one. A prayer of the force. She had not heard one before, but it was bound to happen. After all, she was in the Holy City.

Ran could feel the spark and when she did a small series of images flashed across her mind. Were they memories of the past or glimpses into the future? Figures were obscured but she could tell they were important. Through her confusion she listened to the monk’s words. “You may be right about that. I have lost a lot.” She blinked as the man released her hand and opened his eyes.

“The General? Where are they?” Ran questioned, and followed regardless of explanation. The monk inspired a lot of questions. Holy men often did. Ran found Jedi usually fit that bill as well. However, the fact these monks were so numerous in the area was another reason Ran found her curiosity piqued.

_______________________
Zark San Tekka​

 

[Zark San Tekka]

"The last temple," he replied and would say no more.

Ran Serys followed the monk down the Path of Judgments. Missionaries preached in basic or a half dozen other trade languages. Relics from the outer rim exchanged hands. It was a cold moon so most wore heavy robes or thick furs. Her guide took a detour into the Blade, a maze of narrow streets filled with beggars and lost prophets.

"They are coming! Don't you see?" one of them grabbed at her sleeve wild eyes flashing, "I see it in my dreams...the dreaming dark!"

Using his staff, the monk gently shoved him off and urged her to keep moving until they reached Pilgrim's Walk. This party of the city seemed less damaged. Lines of people waited for Alliance hydratable food portions. A pyramid loomed over the Square of Stars. It was cracked in several places but still relatively intact. He led Ran inside a threshold underneath where more black robed mystics like him gathered.

Candlelight emanated from thousands of sources within reflecting off an imposing crystal spire. It was carved at the base, small pillars with enough room in between for passage into its hollow center. Someone knelt there in silent meditation. He was human with greying hair and wore a simple white cloak but his back remained turned.

"What is your name?" the voice echoed off stone walls.

 

[Ran Serys]

"The dreaming dark?" Ran echoed as the wild-eyed man was pushed away. He's sick. She thought. A disease of the mind or something worse. She told herself. There may have been more suffering from much the same. He was desperate and seemingly deranged. Not a pleasant combination. She wondered if there was something she could do to help. She decided she would find out later and continued on behind the monk.

She followed to a part of the city that was more intact. Repaired or undamaged, it seemed a bit of both. They reached a pyramid at the head of the square and entered. Her eyes went directly toward the large and lit crystal spire. Is this Kyber? She thought to herself as she was herded toward its hollow center.

There was a graying man meditating. There was something about the contrast between him and her that stuck with Ran. Maybe it was the juxtaposition of his simple white robes and her black synth-leathers, or his graying hair to her vibrant jet-black, or maybe it was his aura against hers. It was too early to tell, but despite their differences she sensed a kindred spirit.

"Ran Serys," She answered the man's question evenly. "What is your name?" She returned, although she had an idea of who she was speaking to. If she was right, he was the Jedi Master she'd been looking for, but she wanted to hear that from him.

"These monks? This place? The Crystal? Where are we?" She asked a smattering of questions that would only need one answer.

_______________________
Zark San Tekka​

 

[Zark San Tekka]

"Wondrous, isn't it?" he asked, "Few of its like remain. Ancient Jedi built these confessionals out of pure kyberite."

His smile was almost paternal. Umber eyes twinkled with curiosity. Her local guide bowed and the human in white returned this gesture in kind.

"Thank you, Qiao Fang."

With another nod to Ran Serys the monk silently departed.

"They are...they were the Guardians of the Whills," the man in white explained, "Defenders of the Kyber Temple. Now all their shrines are destroyed. This one suffered least."

He gestured around the stone sanctum. Ominous twin statues of robed acolytes towered over them. Beyond the crystal spire an altar languished in candle gloom.

"My name is Zark San Tekka. I am this moon's Watchman. On the New Jedi Order's behalf, I bid you welcome to Waiting of Night."

 

[Ran Serys]

"Thank you," Ran said softly to the monk as she returned his nod with one of her own, and then her attention was back on the man in white. His presence was calming and soothing. In her eyes, he not only seemed the wise Jedi Master but he looked the part as well. Strong and worn, but loose like a man free of worry. She wondered if her perception of him was right.

As the man in white explained, Ran received answers to her questions. The monks were the Guardians of the Whills. The importance of the word "were" was emphasized as she stood in the last surviving shrine the Guardians had dedicated themselves to. Ran's eyes followed the gesture of the white-robed man and caught the cracks and faults in the spire. Whether the shrine would last or be something they could rebuild from seemed questionable. Ran thought it a shame that their life's work would come to an end as easily as that. But it wasn't that easy. The guardians still wore their vestments and were recognizable in the streets. It wasn't over for them yet.

"Thank you for the welcome, Master Zark San Tekka. It is an honor to make your acquaintance. As I said my name is Ran Serys. What I did not say is that I am here on behalf of the New Jedi Order. I seek training in the ways of the Jedi, and I was pointed in this direction, to Jedha, to you." Ran explained getting to the heart of the reason she stood before him.

"I have been told I have potential by the Jedi knights and masters I have met. I have taken to the lightsaber more quickly than most. I have turned the tides of a fight with a thought, and I have come in contact with force spirits of long gone Jedi. I want to understand the force. I want to understand why I can do the things I do, and why I can feel the force so intensely. It is oftentimes instinctual and without understanding. For personal reasons I find that difficult. I need a mentor." She volunteered.

"I was told you might be able to guide me through these complexities of the force. Will you mentor me?" She asked with a tone of unflinching determination.

_______________________
Zark San Tekka​