Time Goes By

[Arianna Organa]

It wasn't just the return of her son's that night but also their father. She was at a loss of words. She had looked upon him looking for the man that had saved her life.

She decided to ask him to Aldera the world where they lived the world where she was still Queen.

But would he come? Surely he knew that she had questions. Concerns. Their lives so different now was there still something or had it died out long ago.

She. Didn't know. It was a question she wanted to ask.

[member="Garith Darkhold"]

 

[Garith Darkhold]

That pain in your lungs just shortly after you exhale. A sharp stabbing pain that just grows deeper as more of the memories of the past sink in. Never allowing yourself to grieve anything. That pain that never went away and always lay under your skin, it had festered inside destroying the very spirit. Adreia truly felt her soul truly forever lost. At Endor that had changed. She had begun to change. From her willing sacrifice she was given another chance she did not deserve. She was still in a clone’s body. Her path was still long if she truly wished redemption. It was not going to be a easy path though. There were a many easy decisions she still had to make. Chooses that could condemn her again or redeem her.

[member="Arianna Organa"] had sent an invitation. An answer came with a simple Holo transmission. There was no video just an audio message. “In route”, a familiar voice was heard in the message. The voice of the man Adrianna knew as the father of her children. Adreia could have given a full holo transmission but she just went what would be quicker. If it was an emergency she would be there soon.

A few hours later…

The Obsidian Dagger came in an approach to land on the royal landing pad. As it slowed to approach it seemed to simi hover in the air then lowered to the ground. Jets of compressed air shot out from the under the ship in random patterns, typical behavior of any transport after landing.

Finely the ramp descended. At the top of the ramp? The beskar’gam form of the Mando’ade warrior the galaxy knew as Garith Darkhold. As he slowly descended and stepped away from the shadows of the ship, his burns were gone. The was a wound on his right check that looked to be in the process of healing. Otherwise he looked intact and the typical Garith.

 

[Arianna Organa]

There were only a few staff on Aldera for Arianna's comfort and safety. She had heard the ship on approach to the Aequor Spaceport that was near the coast that Arianna had watched from far away. The home that she lived in on Aldera sat at the foot of the mountain where she and Garith had lived.

She was not sure what she felt when she looked out and saw Garith walking towards the house here by the ocean. It was an unfamiliar site but at the same time she could tell you every scar, every movement and gesture that were uniquely his. what did that even mean now?

Were they friends?

They were family. They were parents.

Arianna stepped to the door and slid it open she had a bottle waiting inside with a glass just in case, and yes there was more. She knew that much very well. Her first night was spent under a tree because of it. there were days she hated him and nights were she couldn't get enough of him. Was that youth? Or Love?

"Glad you could make." She had to start somewhere, she'd start with something simple. "Are you alright?" She saw the mark on his face.

[member="Garith Darkhold"]

 

[Garith Darkhold]

Honestly Garith did not know what to expect when he rolled up to the door. Besides the obvious that just happened now. [member="Arianna Organa"] opened the door. There is stood with a bottle in hand. There was a glass to. Typical she would wish him to use a glass. He would say no gruffly and she would huff and she would puff. Then he would just drink out of the bottle.

Frankly Garith was too tried and much had changed. “Thank you”, Garith said and took the bottle and the glass. There were those words again. He said thank you. He said those words, well never except that night of his return. Here he said it again.

“I am fine. Is our children and grandchildren alright”, he asked but sounded exhausted. When he was asked to come there was little to tell him if it was just a social visit or if his help was needed. He also did not pour a drink yet.

 

[Arianna Organa]

[member="Garith Darkhold"]

"Children are fine as far as I know, if they weren't we'd know" Arianna turned to head inside now that grump had arrived looking a little less for wear and tear. "you're welcome" He use to show consideration a time ago.

She was surprised though to her him say it now.

"I thought we should talk since I think I know you a little better and it let's us clear the air on anything that might need to be said." Arianna walked towards a round chair and slid into it. It was comfortable that's all that mattered.

"Are you alright?" She asked again since he had blown the question off so easily.

 

[Garith Darkhold]

So a talk? There was no emergency. Well Garith knew this talk was coming, or a talk.

Garith came in, closed the door behind them. He followed [member="Arianna Organa"] into the house. She sat down so he found a chair as well. To keep up appearances he had poured a drink into the glass. He did not drink, yet.

“I do not know how to answer that question fully and honestly”, the Dark Kashi answered. The person Adrianna was looking at was unsure what to call themselves or…it was draining.

“Faith did tell you I found Theo’s trail? From what I can see he is doing well but I did not have a chance to see him in person nor talk to him. To get that information I had to”, Garith fell silent as he thought of what words to use to help Arianna understand. “I had to present myself to what you understand as the light or what the Jedi call the light. It was not an easy experience.”

 

[Arianna Organa]

She watched him pour the drink but he wasn't drinking it. Interesting, her gaze lifted from his glass to his face. Something was changing.

She nodded, "Yes she did. Do you think you can find him Garith? Can you bring our son home?" She had given up hope of reuniting her family fearing them all dead and beyond her reach. Now almost all were restored and then some, "have you met Kista yet?" They could talk about family for a bit their common ground. The one place they agreed on a few things the family.

Hard to think of herself as a great grandmother but it would seem she was. She had been a young mother so she wasn't all that old to have a great grandchild. She looked at Garith again into his eyes what thoughts were lurking there waiting to be brought to light.

She thought about what he said about presenting himself his darkness into the light, "I feel certain there are few men who could face the light and withstand it. You were always strong in your convictions Garith." She knew he did it to find Theo, she looked away for a moment. He was willing to give his life for their children. Words couldn't describe how she felt by that thought.

 

[Garith Darkhold]

Garith sat the bottle on the table next to him as [member="Arianna Organa"] started to speak. ‘Kista’, the Elder Kashi had to think about the name for a moment. He looked down at the caramel contents within his drink. Then he remembered a recorded message he had gotten. He was resting and recovering from the burn wounds when the call first came in. So unfortunately he missed the call but he had gotten the message.

Convictions, the words fell upon Garith’s mind. Was it conviction or just plan stubbornness?

“Theo. I will be gentle in explanation or will try to be. Fear not he is safe and will return. What I mean is gentle in trying to explain something that is related in the Force when you have not studied it. This is about your son and you deserve to know in a way that you could easily understand. Theo had taken upon himself to do something by himself what the Kashi Force Order used to do as a group. If there was other Kashi to help him, as a large group then he could rest his mind. Where ever he is at this moment he will most likely not remember many things. It would be memories of the past he will not need to do his job. If he finds the time to rest his memories will recover. I made a deal to give Theo a needed rest so he could start to recover. Wherever he is, he will most likely find us soon.”

He looked at his glass, which was still full. Then set it down on the table next to the bottle. “I have not met Kista yet. It is something I should do but something I just have not had the chance to yet. Though I will have to carefully think about the future, I have many things to try to put right. Some things I may never be able to make right. With this deal I have made I do not know how much I will change. I do not know how much it will affect or family. I do not even know if I will be able to use the clone bodies I have been using for centuries.”

It was a lot for him to think about. He believed it had to been even crazier for Arianna to try to comprehend all of this. His mind was far from peace, but maybe it was time to find some peace after all that has happened.

 

[Arianna Organa]

His words were the comfort she needed in regards to their son. She knew when he said he had found him that he would bring him home. He had never broken his word to her she did not know about the past or what had happened since they saw each other. But. She knew his honor would keep him from failing.

Arianna heard the uncertainty in his voice it was the same when he told her about the ship when he thought they could not fix it.

She wanted to give him a comfort that he had given her, "Your family, our family will be here Garith. It won't be easy you know this but the end result should be worth it, right?" The end result the last time was their children and they had lived with it. She spent a long time angry with him, hurt but it wasn't his fault.

What anything be different if the nurse had not come between them it was hard to know. She again noticed he wasn't drinking, she wanted to ask but not yet.

"What can I do to help Garith?" She wanted to help all the things he talked about she would help with except that one thing, clone bodies. It was a creepy feeling and she had...she looked at him again.

"You look like you need some rest." He'd probably tell her no and yes her mind was trying to comprehend things. Clones. Kashi. "What kind of deal have you made Garith exactly so that I understand." Maybe she didn't understand..had he exchanged something for something else?

[member="Garith Darkhold"]

 

[Garith Darkhold]

Garith was still and quiet as [member="Arianna Organa"] spoke. She had many question and she should. Garith did not know how much of the truth he could tell her. He had up this far only explained a fraction of what happened.

“The deal I have is to try to walk the path of the Kashi and not the one I had been following, every once and a while I’ll vanish. I will travel. I will travel in an instant. Distance is not a factor. I will travel where balance is needed. Sometimes it will make no sense at all. What would a simple planting of a bush have to do with balance? Another time it might be simpler to understand. The Living Force may need of my sword to prevent something that may cause an imbalance. What I fear is this will change me to who I was before, that my children, grandchildren, and now great grandchild will not recognize me. It may seem like a silly fear to you. People have their limits though. Some may have more understanding then others. It is my hope with the time I do have I can help them. Help them to have a better chance at survival for when the time I am gone.”

 

[Arianna Organa]

Walk the path of the Kashi they were now into a subject that he had not really discussed with her then, so she would have to ask more questions. She could see in his eyes though that all that had happened affected him deeply. The little hint in his voice told her he was serious that it was all to be taken serious as well. She knew that Theo at one time had studied a mysticism much like the teachings of the Jedi but it hindered on the natural world. He gave it up when he became Senator.

It would seem his path had once again taken him there, and now it also took his father.

It was the way he spoke the words he used, with time I do have' this sounded like something that could take his life. Though now it seemed that he was a lot older than 900 years. Arianna had to consider everything. Once he said 'when I am gone' it stabbed at her heart when he said it. though they had not been close in years his life mattered to her, to their children, she nodded that was all she could do.

What could she say now to him, this was a personal walk that he had committed himself to for their children, grandchildren, and great grand children.

"If I can help you must tell me how." If she could be any kind of sounding board, or comfort she would do her best to be it. But she too was growing older and who knew when her time would come. She after all did not have the force.

[member="Garith Darkhold"]

 

[Garith Darkhold]

[member="Arianna Organa"]

There was a great deal on Garith’s mind. He was just not simply used to talking about his true feelings. The past, he trusted no one. Trust was not something he could afford.


“If you can help”, he was questioning. Not her but himself. “A good start has been made”, he found some answers to his questions. “The true in some perspective I have been dishonest and selfish. I have been dishonest because I treated everything like I was at war. Warfare is based on perception. If you could manipulate how others view things you have the advantage. Lately I have started to be more honest not just myself but to others also. It has not been easy for me to do so. Not just because I’m so used to hiding the truth about myself, but because if I tell everything, not everyone would understand. I’m not trying to be cryptic. I know I have generalized about this. It is hard to confess everything if you fear hurting those you care about. I have generalizing about fearing change. One day those around me not recognize me. Both physically and mentally, the light pushes me even now to change. To change back to whom I was before the fall of the Kashi. There is also the possibility it could backfire. What if hate consumes me again? I say I do not have much time left because there is conflict within me. Should I confess everything? Would even your opinion change of me?”

 

[Arianna Organa]

This was not the same man who had been with her here stranded on Aldera. She couldn't help but hear the genuine tones of his emotions in his voice. She did not question she only listened which she believed is what he needed right now.

Someone to listen.

Would her opinion change of him?

"When we met you told me you were a bad man, and I said sometimes we need a bad man. It isn't my job to judge you for anything you've done Garith. It sounds like you already judge yourself hard enough. I am here to listen and offer support for what you believe you must do. Why do I do this you might ask? Because you are the father of my children, because I have loved you, because I've seen you when there was no war, when it was just us. And we thought it would be just us forever."

She might be a bit idealistic or even romantic but she was loyal. Whatever he had done she would likely be shocked, and even have to take time to absorb it. But she knew he was trying, and she would try to understand his journey.

[member="Garith Darkhold"]

 

[Garith Darkhold]

[member="Arianna Organa"]

Take it easy there should be time why rush.

Garith made a choice at that point. There was no need to tell people knowledge that would hurt them. What ever happened in the past was the past. He had to look to the future for his family. Still there was some knowledge that could bring them comfort or even empower them.

“You know when I was younger before the destruction of the Kashi I was studying to become a Master crafter. I mostly worked with metals and gems”, Hidden behind the cloak attached to his armor, Garith pulled out the tiara. The style was ancient, Kashi in design. A color of silver that shone brightly even after all these years. Precious clear blue stone centered into the piece. It was not imbued but it was one of the first pieces Garith first made. It also looked like it would fit a young petite woman. “I made this when I was young. I still do craft to this day but normally it is just items for war. Like my suit of beskar’gam. I really make swords. When I do it is for those who have proved their honor and I name every blade.” This was something Garith did not share with anyone, to talk about his past. Some did know of his crafting skill.

 

[Arianna Organa]

"I am not surprised by that you did mine the ore, and fix the ship. You also made me necklace that I still have." No she wasn't surprised that he had been on that path.

She had a thought, "Perhaps you should make something for each our children to have preparations and such could occupy your mind on days when you need something else to think on" Something that their children could cherish that their father made with his own hands with them in mind. A memento for a time for later.

She could give them ancestral property on Alderaan to always make sure they had a home, but he could do something she couldn't. Something special. Even if it take him a while to do so. It might help him during times when he needed his mind on something else.

"You name every blade, can you tell me some of the names?" This would be interesting, names for swords.

[member="Garith Darkhold"]

 

[Garith Darkhold]

[member="Arianna Organa"]

He kind of like the idea but what would he make them? If it was to be a personal item that each of them would like he would have to think about this. No need to rush in thought over that.

“Names of weapons I have made”, some of the name he has not spoken in a long time. “The first blade I made was of Kashi design back before my fall. It was a blade of light called Twilight. It as well as some others is hidden in a vault on the same planet I recovered this tiara from. Not all of them were swords. One such weapon was a two handed maul made for one of my loyal knights long ago. The Maul’s name is Tsurjti tiwi. It was a weapon made by Sith Alchemy. I could open the vault again but the question is who would I let use one of these weapons?”

 

[Arianna Organa]

[member="Garith Darkhold"]

Was that a little smile on his lips did he like the idea. She said nothing about the smile not that she thought it was bad but only that she did not want to scare him off. She however nodded and listened.

"Yes who would you let use such weapons. On this new path your own I don't know that a weapon made with sith alchemy would be a good gift. Perhaps it is beat to leave them in the vault for the time being." He might wonder why she said this she in her way was trying to protect him and encourage him on this path he was on to not have stumbling blocks present.

Weapons from the past she did not know if it would deter him or drag him back to the very place he was trying to stay away from.

"I like the name Twilight though. It makes me think of the setting sun sliding down behind the azure oceans that I have loved for so long." She smiled, "What inspired you to call it Twilight?" Was there a reason or was it a name that he found inspiration in.

 

[Garith Darkhold]

Garith could understand why @Ariiana Organa gave the advice she did. Sith items were rather dark and not everyone would agree with them. Although not all of them were of Sith design.

Twilight was forged when Garith was a young youth and a member of the Kashi Mystics. During that time he was a force of light. Well proper term would be Adriea was a light sided force user. Adriea was Garith’s true name and he was actually was born as a woman and not a man. A fact he believed that would hurt his family. One huge reason he had not mentioned it and asked Arabella not to say anything.

“Twilight I forged when I was still with the Kashi Mystics. In current terms people would say I was a Lightsider then. It was named Twilight because of its abilities. The blade is a force of light. Its energy it radiates is of the lightside. When it cuts it does with the same properties as light generated by lightsided Jedi to purge darkness. It is a beautiful weapon, elegant in shape and ensign. The Blade is heavy like all alchemical blades. However Twilight is very balanced for how much it weighs. Currently I would not be able to even hold it. Maybe one day but not now with how much the darkness still touches me.”

 

[Arianna Organa]

[member="Garith Darkhold"]

A lightsider she thought imagine that course she knew he had goodness within, perhaps one of the few who had seen it. Perhaps that was what made this a little easier she had seen him mean, she had seen him under fire, but she had seen him after a hard day of work.

She thought she heard in his voice the sound of longing, of being wistful. If this weapon was as beautiful as he described and crafted by his own hand she could understand the desire to want to hold it again. Or even see it.

"Perhaps in time that would be possible, depending on all things of course." She sighed slightly this conversation had become about remembering the good things and the things that were possible.

"Force light, I'm not entirely sure I know what that means. Having so many in the family using these weapons I did not find out much about them." She tiled her head slightly, "I" what she would say was hard for her to admit but he was telling her she would tell him, "I sometimes blame the force for separating me from..." she wanted to say you, "our family."

She did not say much after that she sometimes wished there was on such thing as the force. Pain in the butt that it could be.

 

[Garith Darkhold]

“In all honestly Arianna”, since they were trying to be supportive of each other. “Don’t let your heart go down that road. Letting the hurt take you down a road of blaming will only put you where I’ve been for a long time. It destroys you; it twists you mentally and physically. Your mind becomes so convoluted that you start to destroy everything, including the things you love. Here is the honest true. The Force is just like everything else in life. It is what you make of it. People will still be doing bad things even if there was not the force, although if we are to be technical without the force there would be no life. In truth there is no light or dark. There is only the force. The force is the very energy that is what we call the cycle of life. It is us who are imperfect. It is from this imperfection that causes what we call light and dark. We’re beings that are capable of good or evil. Though here is another way of looking at it. If there was no darkness how would we know just how beautiful the light is? Without knowing what suffering is we would never know just how beautiful we are.”

[member="Arianna Organa"]