Faction (THR) The First Rule of the Shadow

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

The forest clearing lay open beneath the Naboo canopy, sunlight filtering through broad leaves and winding branches. The air was cool and damp, rich with the scent of water and growing things. Birds called somewhere deeper in the trees, their voices threading through the quiet rather than breaking it. It was not a place of secrecy, nor one of ceremony. Simply a place that allowed stillness.

Jairdain stood near the center of the clearing, dressed not in robes but in clothes suited to the environment and the work ahead. Light layered fabrics in soft neutral tones rested comfortably against her frame, breathable and practical for Naboo's warmth, tailored enough to mark her as a diplomat rather than a traveler. The cut allowed ease of movement without drawing attention, the colors blending naturally with stone, leaf, and shadow.

Her hands rested loosely at her waist as the students gathered, fingers relaxed, posture composed without stiffness. The fabric of her clothing stirred faintly with the movement of air through the clearing. She did not raise her voice to claim attention, nor did she hurry those still settling into place. Instead, she allowed the forest to do what it did best. It slowed people down. It invited awareness.

She waited. Not for silence exactly, but for readiness. For the restless shifting to ease. For breaths to deepen. For curiosity to quiet into listening. Only then did she speak.

"My name is Jairdain Ismet," she said calmly, her voice carrying without effort. "Some of you may know me. Others will not, and that is fine."

Her gaze moved across the group, not searching for weakness or confidence, not measuring skill or potential. It was simply present, steady, and unguarded, as though she were acknowledging each of them in turn without placing demands upon them.

"You are here to learn what it means to walk the path of a Jedi Shadow," she continued. "Before we begin, you should understand this clearly. This path is not defined by secrecy for its own sake, nor by striking unseen."

She paused, letting the space hold the words rather than rushing past them. Somewhere beyond the clearing, water moved through stone, its sound faint but constant. Leaves stirred overhead. Life continued without reacting to them.

"A Shadow exists to perceive what others miss," Jairdain said. "To notice corruption before it becomes a catastrophe. To recognize imbalance while there is still time to respond. And to move through uncertainty without becoming part of it."

She shifted her stance slightly, a small, unhurried adjustment, as though aligning herself more fully with the ground beneath her feet.

"Today's lesson will not involve combat. It will not involve pursuit. There is no test of speed, strength, or cleverness," she said. "This is an exercise in awareness."

Her head inclined subtly toward the surrounding trees, the layered greens and shadows forming a natural boundary around them. "In time, you will be asked to locate me within this environment. Not to confront me. Not to corner me, but to recognize my presence."

She remained exactly where she was, making no effort to obscure herself, no attempt to sharpen or mute her connection to the Force. It was calm and unmistakable, neither a beacon nor a void. It simply existed, a steady current shaped by patience, discipline, and long practice rather than intention.

"For now," she said, "I want you to take a moment and sense what that presence feels like."

She did not close her eyes. She did not alter her posture. She offered no further instruction, allowing each student to approach the moment in their own way.

"This is what you will be searching for later," Jairdain continued. "Not a body. Not movement. Not a trail. But a signature. The way intention rests in the Force. The difference between absence and quiet."

Her hands folded again at her waist, fingers resting lightly together.

"You will not be required to act quickly. You will not be penalized for uncertainty. You will not fail by choosing stillness." Her voice softened just slightly, the words measured and deliberate. "But you will fail if you force the Force to answer you."

She allowed the silence to settle naturally, unbroken and unhurried, before speaking again.

"If you have questions about the lesson, the expectations, or the purpose of this exercise, ask them now. Understanding why you are doing this matters more than completing the task."

Jairdain remained where she was, grounded and present, offering herself not as a challenge yet, but as a point of reference.

The forest listened.

And the lesson had already begun.

 

[Tatiana Sah]

Tatiana found herself gravitating toward Jedi Shadow training once more out of curiosity. They possessed techniques that would be useful to understand and utilize. Their mission resonated well with her own path through the cosmos. It was also her hope that the instruction would convey more of the philosophical angle of the Jedi -- its nuances -- where her understanding lacked.

"Master Ismet-Thio," Tatiana's loud, but warm voice called out, "the intent is to sense your presence in the Force. To use no tool, skill, or ability to do so, but solely by feeling it?" A lesson to encourage people to develop the ability to sense or feel things in the Force alone. Later instruction might add nuance. Perhaps she would try to hide. Tatiana assumed she wouldn't this time if she was encouraging them all to get a solid read of her presence as she stood in front of them.

The way Jedi used this Force was of great debate among her own kind. They made use of it in many ways that did not seem to come naturally to her people; that in spite of them apparently utilizing it to converse with 'telepathy.' This was an opportunity to explore using it as the Master instructed. It could prove quite illuminating.

Her blue eyes surveyed the others present curious of their reaction to the trial ahead. It was not a group task, but they hadn't been barred from being in proximity to one another. Conversation might distract someone from feeling the Master in the Force, but Tatiana hoped they wouldn't spread too far apart. Interaction with others was equally as important.

Jairdain Ismet-Thio

 

[Kudau]

Kudau had snuck into the back of the classroom to observe, and perhaps participate. He still desired to grow stronger in the force, and observing and participating in this lesson would help him do just that. He briefly glanced around to his peers before focusing on the master’s brief lecture.

His years of experience with hunting on Uneva made him perceptive to creatures hidden from view, so this challenge shouldn’t be terribly difficult for him… but he then realized something he had overlooked. Master Ismet, the Jedi giving the instruction, was not his normal prey on Uneva. She was a well-trained Jedi, likely quite strong in the force. As Master Ismet changed her presence, he reached out towards her through the force, as instructed. The feeling was like a mirage: he could see the master, strong with the force, right in front of him, but he could feel nothing as he reached out to try and feel her presence.

From his soft gasp, suddenly bright eyes, and wagging tail, one could easily see his excitement. He was already thinking of how to incorporate this lesson into his hunting in the future. A hunter who blended seamlessly into the force? How formidable…

Kudau’s attention turned as Tatiana Sah spoke, restating and summarizing a claim already made by the master. However, it gave the Shistavanen pause… if he was to be successful in this lesson, he first needed to figure out how to sense the seemingly imperceptible… a difficult task would be an understatement. He thought to continue and ask for clarification, but he bit his tongue for the time being, allowing Master Ismet to answer the question at hand…

Jairdain Ismet-Thio

 

[Feng Huang]

TAG: Kudau Jairdain Ismet-Thio Tatiana Sah

Feng had always felt drawn to the path of the Jedi Shadows, she couldn't quite say why. Part of it was a notion, that the path of the Jedi Shadows held the most freedom. Perhaps because they existed as almost outside the traditional Jedi Order. Feng hadn't fully committed herself to the path yet, she was still learning, still growing, still deciding. She felt good about her decision to explore her options, however.

Feng listened to her instructions as she closed her eyes, calmed her mind, steadied her breathe and tempered her heart. Now was not the time for her passions to get away from her… as they had on Kattada. Passion could be useful in the right circumstances, but not unchecked. Unchecked it was wild, untamed and dangerous. A fire that could not be put out instead of a torch in the darkness it should be.

Today if she was understanding the lesson correctly was about opening yourself up to the master's presence in the force. Feng felt the urge to force it even as the Master warned against it. She felt the urge and let it go. Watching it float on by as if a leaf on the river stream. She did not struggle with it, fight it, wonder if it made her a bad student or a bad person. She just acknowledged that it was a thought nothing more. Thoughts weren't dangerous unless you gave them power for good or ill. This thought did not need to be wrestled with. It was a distraction.

Feng took a deep slow gentle breath, and breathed out again. There she was. Master Jairdain was a calming presence yet Feng also sensed a powerful one. Measured power. As she sensed it Feng realised it was a reflection of who she was.

The same measured speech, thoughtful words, the insightful cadence. Master Jairdain's presence in the Force felt like her presence in life.

"Master?" Feng called out eyes still closed. "I believe I have found you"

Feng couldn't help a small gentle cheeky smirk, one without malice, at the idea of having found the Master without either of them having moved.

How does one find someone standing right in front of you?

You open your eyes.

Feng wasn't sure if it was Master Wu's voice inside her head or her own that came up with that.

Feng opened her eyes and smiled, placing her arms in her robes as she bowed.

Feng frowned slightly.

"Master? How will we be aware of corruption without opening our senses? Would we not have to be constantly aware of our own and others presence in the Force? Forgive me master but that seems an imbalanced way of living one's life?" Feng asked.

Feng bit her lip.

Ah krak it

"What is a Jedi Shadow's philosophy of the Force and living one's life? Is it to be balanced? Or is it service through the Force? Do we route out corruption because it is wrong or to help life grow?"

She was mindful of the fact that her own Master Wu's firm belief in balance of the Living Force may not be Master Jairdain's own philosophy. That was the thing about Jedi, to outsiders they looked like one harmonious philosophy of everyone believing the same thing. It was only once you were on the inside that a person knew that each Jedi had a vastly different interpretation of the force let alone their own interpretations of the Jedi Code.

Master Wu was confusing he claimed balance but seemed to prioritise the Living Force over the Unifying Force. Finding balance not in an equal devotion to both, but in applying the Living Force to serving both. It made Feng's head spin, but Master Wu also encouraged Feng to find her own path through the Force.

Having a somewhat fix it problem mind Feng took that to mean she should study as many philosophies from as many masters as possible till she found one that fit. She was curious to hear more of what Master Jairdain a Jedi Shadow believed.

 

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

Jairdain did not move from where she stood. That, in itself, was part of the lesson.

The open air carried sound differently here. The wind threading through stone and leaf, distant life rising and falling in uneven pulses through the Living Force. There were no walls to focus attention, no ceiling to contain presence or expectation. Only space, weather, memory, and the quiet discipline required to remain centered within them.

Her presence in the Force neither flared nor vanished. It did not announce itself or retreat. It simply was: steady, grounded, patient enough to allow each student to approach it in their own way, at their own pace. When she spoke, her voice carried easily through the open ground, calm and precise, inviting attention without ever demanding it.

"Tatiana," she said first, acknowledging the question without turning her head, "yes. The intent is exactly as you understood it. No technique. No reach. No manipulation. Only awareness."

She allowed a measured pause, long enough for the words to settle, long enough for the world itself to remain part of the instruction.

"The Force is not something you seize in moments like this," Jairdain continued. "It is something you allow yourself to notice. When you strip away habit, expectation, and the urge to do, what remains is instinct—and instinct, when it is quiet enough to be heard, does not lie."

Her attention shifted next, subtle but unmistakable, her awareness settling with precision rather than motion.

"Kudau," she said evenly, "your frustration is not a failure. It is a signal. Hunters are accustomed to contrast—heat against cold, motion against stillness, pursuit against flight. But what you are being asked to sense here is neither hidden nor opposed."

Her tone softened, not in indulgence, but in clarity. "I am not prey. I am not resisting you. I am not masking myself. I am…quiet." A faint note of approval entered her voice.

"A Shadow learns to feel what does not announce itself. Corruption rarely arrives as an obvious threat. It settles gradually. It adapts. It blends. Learning to recognize what does not call attention to itself will serve you far better than learning to overpower what does."

Then, unhurried and deliberate, she turned her attention fully to Feng. "You asked the right questions," Jairdain said gently. "And you asked them honestly, which matters far more than having the correct answer." She folded her hands loosely in front of her, posture relaxed, unguarded.

"To live with your senses open at all times would indeed be imbalanced," she agreed. "Constant vigilance is not wisdom. It is fear wearing the shape of discipline."

The wind moved through the space between them, and she allowed it to pass without interruption.

"A Jedi Shadow does not exist in a state of perpetual alertness. We learn instead to choose awareness. That is to open ourselves deliberately when the moment requires it, and to rest when it does not. Awareness is not a permanent condition. It is a practiced decision."

Her unseeing gaze lifted slightly, not toward the sky, but toward the shared space they occupied together.

"As for philosophy," she continued, "we do not root out corruption because it is 'evil' in the abstract. We do so because corruption suffocates life. It narrows the possibility. It turns choice into inevitability, and growth into decay."

She inclined her head, acknowledging the complexity Feng had named rather than dismissing it.

"Balance is not an equal devotion to light and dark. Balance is discernment. It is knowing when intervention preserves life, and when restraint does. A Shadow walks that line deliberately, accepting the burden of difficult judgment so that others do not have to."

Her voice lowered slightly, becoming more intimate, more personal.

"You sensed my presence not because you tried harder," Jairdain said quietly, "but because you released the need to force understanding. That is the beginning of this path. We do not hunt darkness to prove our virtue. We hunt it because we have learned how easily it hides. And how costly it becomes when ignored."

She straightened just a fraction, not to assert authority, but to bring the moment to completion.

"Each of you will interpret the Force differently," she said. "That is not a flaw. It is inevitable. What matters is this: if you choose the path of the Shadow, you must be willing to act without recognition, to doubt yourself without breaking, and to serve life even when the work leaves marks you cannot wash away."

She inclined her head once, a gesture of respect rather than command.

"Now," Jairdain concluded, her voice steady and unhurried, "close your eyes again. This time, do not look for me at all. Listen instead to what remains when you stop trying to define what you feel."

She fell silent, not withdrawing, not concealing herself, but remaining fully present. The wind continued to move. The world continued to speak. And the lesson carried on, not through words, but through the discipline of listening.

Feng Huang Kudau Tatiana Sah

 

[Feng Huang]

Tag: Tatiana Sah Kudau Jairdain Ismet-Thio

Feng listened as Master Jairdain addressed each one of her students in turn. Calmly with poise, but not the faux poise Feng saw in Naboo Nobles pretending to be graceful. True poise where one had attained their place in the galaxy, in serving it, in living it.

Feng wanted that, she wanted it almost to the point of envy, though she believed she stopped just shy of it with a distinct admiration instead. Feng felt like she was in a crux, she'd been a padawan and before that a youngling her whole life, she had always known, expected really that she would be Jedi some day. Now her trials were looming ever closer, she felt like she was being pressured into a choice she wasn't ready for.

She had thought of the different paths of Jedi as if they might be career options, like filling out a job application or perhaps a university degree major. It was only now just occurring to her that they were much more than just a job or even a path in life, they would be her life.

Feng still didn't know what that meant about how she felt about her potential paths. She supposed she should be scared, even more scared that is. Instead she found herself giddy. Almost to the point of excitement. If choosing a path meant that she would have the kind of peace that Master Jairdain and Master Wu had then it would be worth it.

It didn't make the choice any easier, but it made the burden of it just that much lighter. Choosing a Jedi Path wasn't an ending of her time of padawan it was a beginning of her time as a Jedi Knight. It meant more freedom, not less. She would be able to choose each of her decisions, whether it be missions, or classes with care and consideration.

Perhaps even find her own padawan someday. Which was a surprising thought. Feng had never much considered whether or not she would want her own student, but having thought of it she realised she did. In order to teach them well though whomever they may be she would have to learn carefully.

So, she listened carefully.

Be aware without technique, reach or manipulation. Feng thought she understood, it was not dissimilar to meditating, being aware of your senses and surroundings while you did so. The same lesson could be applied.

The caution of the hunt was an interesting contrast. Feng thought the point of Shadows was to hunt for the corruption. How does one hunt for something that blends, adapts, that strives not to be noticed?

Listening to the lesson on corruption Feng… wasn't sure she agreed. Entirely. She agreed that seeking out corruption simply because it was evil was claiming a righteousness of purpose that could lead one down a path as blinded by ones own supposed light until you woke up one day blinded by darkness.

Jedi of the past had been so sure of a failing system they had defended it even unto leading clone soldiers, while being blinded by the rise of the Galactic Empire. So sure, of their own righteousness in their desire to fight what they deemed wrong.

One of the reasons the path of the Jedi Shadow appealed to Feng was it would be her own judgement that she would depend on, not because she was sure of it, quite the opposite. Rather she wasn't sure she entrusted her soul into the hands of others.

Mainly though.

It narrows the possibility. It turns choice into inevitability, and growth into decay

Corruption caused pain, it caused destruction, death, suffering. It was their duty as Jedi to do what they could to stop it, to help where they could. Some called it a failing battle, but then that wasn't the point. The point was to a single person you saved, that was an entire life saved. A whole life. If you had the power to save them, serve them you should. Over and over again.

Feng did not feel now was the time to disagree on the point of philosophy with the Master teaching her however, so brought her mind back to the present lesson.

Feng closed her eyes as instructed. She slowed her breath, let go of the awareness of her heartbeat, calmed her mind and… let go.

 

[Kudau]

Kudau did as instructed, and as he closed his eyes, he began understanding the reasoning behind Master Ismet’s instruction. He had gotten it wrong: it was not that he would have to find her before he learned the skill, but that imitating her technique would be the way to find her. He stopped himself from trying further to be hyperaware of his surroundings, instead doing the opposite. With a sigh, he let everything… slip away…

He didn’t sever his connection with the force, but he didn’t acknowledge it, either. He neither tensed nor completely relaxed. He let his mind drift, thinking of nothing in particular rather than nothing at all. As he inhaled, he repeated in his mind…

Everything…

And nothing…

Kudau’s mind felt like a falling leaf atop a river, letting himself be drifted along by the current. The leaf flowed right with the water, falling with each fall, curving with each curve. Slowly, the leaf began to… melt. It slowly started to become the water it flowed upon, until it was indiscernible from the stream itself…

Kudau’s presence in the force disappeared slowly and without notice. If anyone was looking for him, they couldn’t find him now. As Kudau realized he had made himself disappear in that way, he got excited, revealing himself again. He quickly realized his folly, letting the thought pass like any other and let himself return to that state. Now, it was time to look for Master Ismet…

Jairdain Ismet-Thio (Nearby: Tatiana Sah , Feng Huang )

 

[Rayia Si]

Feng Huang Jairdain Ismet-Thio Kudau Tatiana Sah

---

Rayia came to an uncomfortable realization during a recent mission. Her induction into the Jedi Order was anything but traditional. Most of her training was to ensure that she didn’t die during the three wars that soon followed her adoption into the Order and into Jonyna’s family. ‘Or so you didn’t accidentally murder someone…,’ a caustic voice reminded her. She had no regrets. What she found was priceless. Yet, this lack of standard foundation as a Jedi youngling meant that she was predisposed to certain tendencies.

One of which being her reliance on her Felacatian senses. As she walked along the path leading to the clearing where the lesson she was to attend was being held, Rayia was guided not only by the lingering scent trails permeating the forest, nor the sounds of voices piercing the forest’s stillness, but by the very vibrations of motion she could sense that caused her tail to bristle. Even seated, every breath- every twitch of motion- caused the highly sensitive sensory organ to pinpoint the four individuals within a clearing up ahead.

"To live with your senses open at all times would indeed be imbalanced,"

Rayia drew short upon reaching the outermost edge of the group. Her ear twitched as she processed the statement, flicking upwards with a mixture of curiosity and concern. Ignoring the way the grass prickled her skin and fur, she lowered herself to a seated position. Her golden eyes glimmered as she cast a gaze around the group. Rayia dipped her head respectfully a degree, realizing she was intruding on a lesson that had already begun. Rayia drew her knees in towards her chest before bundling herself in her crimson cloak. Her tail, swaying slowly over gnarled, grasping roots, retracted into its sheath.

She began not by immediately diving into the task but by reaching into a pouch fastened near her side. From within, Rayia procured a cloth bandage that she began using to wrap her tail. After all, if she was to learn, she would do so properly only once deprived of her crutch.

 

[Tatiana Sah]

To find something not by searching for it, but by knowing it was simply there. A strange technique. If you knew it was there then you hadn't found it at all. Then the Force was the thing guiding you to what you were searching for; you felt a change in... gradient in the Force that drew one in much as spacetime warped to form gravity. Then what they sought was a particular 'mass' surrounded by other masses. A dissimilar endeavor, but not incomprehensible.

Tatiana nodded with the Master saying it came from instinct. An unconscious reflex or reaction. Difficult to translate, but not impossible.

Then the matter of 'corruption' appeared. That was another concept Tatiana had learned of joining the Jedi. The very definition of the word conveyed the intent, and writings spoke of what Jedi often meant when they referred to it. It was still a relatively new facet of this 'Force,' however. Her people had never dealt with corruption, but then they'd never explored an immeasurable energy field -- but there were countless tasked to determine the underpinning physical properties enabling to function now.

Then Tatiana's brow arched as her eyes slid from Feng to the Master. Constant vigilance... was to be avoided? That was a thought she did not feel she could reason or deduce her way through. The Master, however, was speaking and it would be rude to interrupt. It would have to be a topic asked of either party in a short while -- or longer. How did it cause imbalance?

"Intriguing," the Knight murmured to herself as the philosophical was unraveled. They sought 'darkness' because it could hide and to avoid such a hidden threat from growing with explosive results. Practical.

Listen to what remains when they stop trying to define what they feel? Tatiana closed her eyes, but found the guiding statement curiously distracting. Perhaps, she reasoned, it meant not to spend cycles overthinking the situation. To feel the dips in the fabric of the Force as one would disturbances in spacetime. Yes. Good. Tatiana focused on stilling her thoughts and simply... observing what was around her in a non-visual, non-auditory sense. To stretch out her consciousness to the surrounding area.

There was more than one presence nearby, of course, but Tatiana tried to 'feel' the one that matched that of Master Ismet-Thio. One didn't feel a mass, but they were speaking of senses not of the Human variety to begin with. One could feel a presence in the Force; especially one familiar or known.

Jairdain Ismet-Thio | Feng Huang | Kudau | Rayia Si

 

[Jairdain Ismet-Thio]

Jairdain remained where she was, rooted not by stillness alone but by intention. The wind moved around her, through her robes, over the uneven ground beneath their feet, and she allowed it to be part of the lesson rather than something to be ignored. When she spoke again, her voice was unhurried and steady, carrying naturally through the open space.

She did not begin by correcting anyone. She acknowledged them as they were.

"Feng," Jairdain said first, her tone warm with recognition rather than instruction, "what you are feeling is not uncertainty. It is awareness arriving before certainty has decided what shape it wants to take."

She tilted her head slightly, as if listening beyond the circle.

"When I was a Padawan," she continued, "I was certain I would become a Consular. I believed my place was in mediation, healing, and guiding others toward understanding. That was not a mistake. It was a truth about me at the time. What I did not yet understand was that paths are not walls. They are threads."

Her voice remained calm, grounded.

"I followed the Consular path because it taught me how to listen, how to sit with conflict without needing to dominate it, how to value life even when it was difficult. Later, I walked the path of the Shadow because it asked something different of me. Discernment. Restraint. The willingness to act quietly when words were no longer enough."

She let that settle before continuing.

"You are not choosing what you will be forever. You are choosing what you will learn first. You can be more than one thing. In fact, most Jedi who endure are."

Her attention shifted gently.

"Corruption," Jairdain said, "is not hunted because it is labeled evil. It is addressed because it closes possibilities. It turns growth into decay and choice into inevitability. If you hold onto that understanding, you will not lose yourself to certainty."

She turned her awareness next toward Kudau.

"Kudau, what you experienced was not a disappearance. It was alignment."

There was approval in her voice, quiet but unmistakable.

"When you stopped trying to locate me and allowed yourself to exist without contrast, you stopped standing against the Force. Hunters often believe success comes from sharper focus. Shadows learn that sometimes it comes from softer edges."

She added gently, "Remember that excitement will always pull you back into visibility. There is nothing wrong with that. The lesson is not to erase yourself, but to know when your presence matters and when it does not."

Her attention then moved naturally to Rayia.

"Rayia," Jairdain said calmly, acknowledging her without surprise, "you showed discipline by setting aside what you rely on most."

She paused briefly.

"Your senses are a gift. But every gift becomes a limitation if it is the only tool we trust. By choosing to limit yourself, you are not denying who you are. You are learning who you are without advantage. That knowledge will keep you honest, and it will keep others safe."

Finally, her focus returned to Tatiana.

"Tatiana, your understanding is close enough to the truth that forcing it further would only distort it," Jairdain said thoughtfully.

"You do not find presence the way you find an object. You recognize it the way you recognize gravity. By noticing what bends, what pulls, what subtly alters the space around it. The danger is not vigilance itself, but constant vigilance without rest."

Her voice softened.

"To live always open is to live always reacting. A Shadow learns to open deliberately and to close without guilt. We serve life best when we are rested enough to choose wisely."

She allowed her awareness to broaden, addressing them all together.

"You are surrounded by presence," Jairdain said quietly. "Not just mine. The world beneath you, the air moving past you, the lives intersecting in ways you will never fully map. Stop trying to name it. Stop trying to define it."

Her tone became gentle, steady.

"Let the Force do what it does best. Connect. Your task is not to command it, but to notice when it speaks."

Jairdain fell silent again, not withdrawing and not hiding, simply being. A steady point in a living world, allowing each of them to continue the lesson in the only way it could truly be learned by listening without reaching, and by trusting what remained when effort finally loosened its grip.

Tatiana Sah Rayia Si Kudau Feng Huang