Bittersweet Symphony

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

:::4000 years ago: Eocho Mountains::

Dawn rose over the forested landscape of Ossus and as usual, Ryssa Kilvaari was practicing her Force Abilities in a forest not far from the temple, running at speed, jumping high in the air or jumping from branch to branch should it be able to support her weight. It was a daily ritual for her and it was all not only for training that she did this. She did it to reach her favourite spot to watch the sunrise. Day turning to night and night turning into day always fascinated her and always took the opportunity to watch both when she could and meditate on their meanings.

On this day, however. As she watched the dawn, something terrible was on the Horizon. The Force told her of a great darkness approaching Ossus and before long, a call on her comms alerted her to its severity.

"Ryssa! We need you back here. The Sith have arrived!"

A gasp escaped her as she realised what this meant. They were intent on destroying the Jedi. This was confirmed by a faint communication through her bond to her master, Jael Karas, who was fighting them in the Cron Cluster. "Ryssa...The Sith...have destroyed stars in the Cluster... You must leave..."

And with that last attempt... Her master was dead. She felt the bond rip from her heart. Grasping at her chest, she momentarily mourned Jael's loss but knew she had to help the others. Activating her purple lightsaber, Ryssa ran as fast as she could back to the Jedi Library to assist the rest of the Jedi defeat the Sith on the ground. When she dispatched her group of Sith, Ryssa heard the cries of younglings, whose master and protectors had been killed by a Sith and had now turned his intentions on them. Leaping to their defense, Ryssa blocked his attack and countered it by slicing him in two through his abdomen. Another of the Jedi Padawans soon joined her and they watched as the shockwave could be seen in the sky.

"Ryssa... We won't make it to the ships before that thing arrives.... We need somewhere to go!" the Padawan spoke.

Ryssa trembled at the thought of facing death like this but with little choice, Ryssa knew there was only one other possible way to save themselves and the younglings in their care. "Get to the library! The deep archives should provide us with cover once that thing hits!" she barked to the Padawan. "You take point. I'll make sure no one lags behind and seal the doors." she then looked to the younglings. "Run with him to the Library as fast as you can. Don't look back!"

The Padawan and younglings did as they were told, running in the Force to the Library, while Ryssa brought up the rear. As they entered the library, Ryssa sealed the doors behind her. They needed to get deeper underground... And that meant they needed to go into an area where restricted artifacts were kept. If it weren't for the urgent need for shelter, Ryssa would not dream of defying the Council and going deep in there but they had no choice. Remembering the code Jael once used, Ryssa opened the door that lead them in the deep archives. Urging them all to enter quickly, Ryssa heard a loud explosion outside and as she briefly looked toward a window on the side of the Library, she saw Ossus' atmosphere burn. As she ran into the deep archives, the glass shattered and in the intense heat, Ryssa managed to close the doors and seal them in...but in saving the others lives, Ryssa had sacrificed her own. She cried out in pain, screamed even as her skin burned from the intense heat. Once the shockwave passed and the quakes died away, Ryssa could barely breathe. Her lungs burned as badly as her skin as the toxic air added insult to injury, poisoning her body within. Knowing that she'd given the others their best chance for survival, Ryssa allowed herself to slip away and become one with the Force, should it be willing.

Yet as she lay dying from her wounds, the ones she saved would change destiny forever. Death would not claim her today. Not for many, many years as her saviors froze her in time. She would wake up four millennia later with her injuries mostly healed by those who took her from Ossus and took the time to heal her while she was sleeping.




:::4000 years later, several months after her escape from Hoth:::

Today was the day she dreaded most, but knew she needed to do. Ryssa Kilvaari had finally come home. It had taken her four millennia, a battle with imperials to escape Hoth and many months spent raising funds and finding out what had been going on in the years since her long enforced sleep. She had found out quite quickly what happened to her beloved Ossus, but had a hard time believing the Ossus she knew had dramatically changed. Her last memories of Ossus were blocked by the trauma she'd endured asked the fragments she did recover of the moments after the planet's destruction were to traumatic to believe and she dismissed them as nightmares.

Yet as she stopped to look around, her heart sank within. The memories she'd dismissed as nightmares were true. Ossus had turned from a beautiful forested world into a barren world. Worse still was she was the only one to remember. They were secrets she kept within. She had to keep her past secret, even here, amongst this new group of Jedi. Should they find out...they'd either think she was crazy or worse.

As the shuttle she came in on, took off Ryssa took a few steps to distance herself from the back draft of the shuttle before simply staring at the environment around her. Her eyes tinged with sadness at what Ossus had become.

[Kaie]

Nearby, Kaie crouched in the riverbed as she gathered up the few samples of moss that had grown on the large, smooth rocks within. Carefully extracting the vivid green patches, the white witch had taken some liberties with the local flora and created some new elixirs that had not only helped heal the locals from various injuries, but also the Jedi now trying to help remake this world the way it used to be. As she stood, green eyes turned toward the shuttle now rising in the air, leaving the small landing pad neighboring the temple and the lone passenger. Closing the flap on the leather satchel at her side, Kaie let it drop and moved toward the pad and small shop housing the few ground crew that had taken up residence with them recently. Two in coveralls, mused on the blonde female as she took in the scene of surrounding stark mountains hemming in the newly built temple and adjoining dorms.

Nearing the girl as she moved to leave, "Quite a sight isn't it," Kaie grinned as she approached, her wet, dark brown boots complimenting the tan, baggy pants and oversized shirt she wore. "Nothing like it used to be, but we're working on that." Extending her hand, "I'm Kaie".

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

As she stared out at the barren lands she once called home, Ryssa couldn't help but feel mournful for the planet and the fauna and Jedi that once lived here. What had become of the survivors of the Cron Cataclysm so long ago? Those younglings she saved... were they able to make it off the planet? These were questions Ryssa knew she had to ask one day... when she could trust someone with her secrets.

As she turned to leave the landing pad with the intent of heading to the Eocho Mountains in the faint hope of retrieving her old lightsaber from the Great Library, the black maned former Padawan - clad in white and beige camoflage cargos, white vest and grey walking boots and a holster with a blaster for protection - was surprised by the sound of a woman behind her. Black irises locked onto her as she turned and pulled a soft, yet saddened smile. "I'm amazed the planet is still habitable at all considering what the Sith did to it..." Ryssa responded, allowing her words to drift slightly as the woman introduced herself as 'Kaie'. "I'm Ryssa... its good to meet you..." she responded. Figuring now was as good a time as any, the former Padawan decided to get to know Kaie and find out more about the planet Ryssa herself once called home.

"Are you a Jedi perchance?" she asked. "I..." Ryssa caught herself and stopped herself from saying that she was once part of the Old Order. "I once heard there used to be a Jedi Order here before the Cron Cataclysm wiped out many of Ossus' inhabitants. What would bring the Jedi back here and how long have they been here?"

[Kaie]

"We just arrived here on Ossus recently," Kaie relayed, taking in the surprise and interesting facts that Ryssa brought up. "I'm a Jedi healer, actually," she nodded as her mouth fell open to reply to the other questions raised. "I've heard of the Cataclysm, but haven't read up on much of Ossus' history as I should. Most of my time lately has been used liaising with the local Ysanna on various healing herbs and getting to know them as well." Glancing up to the shuttle now a tiny speck in the powder blue sky, then back. "Where are you from?"

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Ahh... that question... 'Where are you from?' Ryssa knew it would come up eventually. The question was... how should she respond? How much of the truth should she share? Despite being a Jedi, Ryssa didn't quite trust the Healer enough to completely share the truth. "I'm from Naboo originally, though the village of my birth has long since disappeared to the sands of time. Swallowed into the city of Theed." Ryssa said before looking into the distance, a sad sigh escaping her lips. "Its history is long forgotten, much like the history of this planet it seems."

Ryssa looked out on the Ossus landscape. It was not a landscape she remembered and she wondered if the Great Jedi Library still remained. She needed more local knowledge and was also curious about these 'Ysanna'. Ryssa had, prior to the Cataclysm, lived most of her life on Ossus and knew nothing about any natives. In her time, the only sentients were those of the Old Order. "These Ysanna you spoke of... what do you know of them?" she asked Kaie. Atheory formed in her mind, though she wanted to hear what Kaie knew of them before drawing her conclusions.

[Kaie]

"Come on inside," Kaie offered as she felt no darkness within the girl and she looked like she may be hungry as well. As they walked, the healer glanced to Ryssa. "They're the native population here on Ossus, been here for thousands of years from what I've been told. They have a minor touch to the Force, and some of them are training with us to learn how to use it, but I think the nature of the atmosphere somehow muted their affinity for using the Force to their full potential. I haven't been able to do any testing to prove that theory yet, so," she relayed as they passed the workshop and headed toward the temple's main entrance. "I also haven't learned where they may have migrated from, though some think that they may be descended from the Jedi that lived here long ago."

Nearing the front of the looming, ornately decorated temple, it's domed centerpiece which denoted the atrium in the center rising high into the sky, she imagined how lush this world must have been at one time. "One in the order stated that a Sith attack caused the weather to sometimes create the overly charged electrical storms which can be quite the nightmare at times. Definitely explains what happened to the trees."

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Following Kaie to the temple, Ryssa listened as the healer put forward her own theory of the Ysanna...one that remarkably matched her own thoughts. "I wonder if they were the descendants of those younglings..." she mused before the Jedi Temple came into view. Its sight had prompted a reaction of surprise to Ryssa in such a way that it displayed recognition and deep connection. An intake of breath settled her a little but the former Padawan couldn't help but let a "Wow..." escape her lips.

"Your people repaired the temple?" Ryssa asked before catching herself and calming her excitement. "How much of it was still standing when the Jedi arrived?"

[Kaie]

Ryssa's initial comment wasn't lost on the white witch, but she had a feeling now that the newly arrived potential knew more about this world than Kaie thought. "Not sure if they built on the foundation of the old temple or not, to be honest. I'll have to ask." Motioning toward the nearby mountain, the sloping ground before it eroded by the sparse rains that Ossus received, "The ancient archives is there, but nearly all the datacubes that had been stored there long ago are gone. Pilfered by Sith and other thieves over the millennia," she revealed with sadness and disdain.

Turning her attention back to the temple as they ascended the short, wide stair, Kaie moved to the main set of double doors and opened the right most, stepping aside for Ryssa to enter first. "Welcome to the Jedi temple."

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Ryssa bowed her head slightly as Kaie spoke about the Great Jedi Library and how many of its artifacts were lost, stolen by Sith and other thieves. The potential of finding her old lightsaber had dropped by the mere notion. She would have to return there herself soon to see what was left. "A pity..." Ryssa responded. "Though I'd imagine there are still objects there, should one know where to look and how to access them."

As the two stepped into the Temple, Ryssa gasped slightly, smiling almost fondly as she looked at its decor. Some of it she remembered well. "Its beautiful... If this temple truly is part of the original building, you've done an incredible job at preserving it."

Ryssa herself felt that this truly was part of the old Temple she'd grown up in so long ago. Still, despite her fond memories, the former Padawan of the Old Order was still not inclined to share her incredible tale. Even Ryssa knew it sounded incredibly farfetched. To be over four thousand years old and waking up to a galaxy far different than what she knew. It was difficult to keep it to herself, yet her words clearly showed she was far more familiar to the planet then she was letting on. She did not know this new Jedi Order, however and whether Kaie, or anyone could be trusted with her life story was unknown to her.

[Kaie]

"They'd have to be well hidden," she stated. "Sith have a way of detecting anything not seen, as can we. Especially things that have a strong aura about it. I've learned how to see things that may have been part of an item, such as it's history and such, through the Force. I'm sure that's an ability that any trained Sith could obtain as well." Grinning, she continued on through the main foyer adorned in many holobusts of more famous Ysanna and Jedi masters and notables that once walked this world, so long ago.

Green eyes glanced to the newcomer as they continued on down the wide corridor, it's vaulted ceiling guiding the pair toward the main offices and stair which rose to the dorms upstairs. "Have to give most of the credit to the architects and maintenance and engineering droids," she grinned. "All I did was help with injuries, really."

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Ryssa turned to Kaie with great interest when she said that she could read an object's history through the Force. To the former Padawan, that meant if Kaie touched her, she could easily find out about Ryssa's own history. Up till now, Ryssa kept her mind and abilities guarded in the Force, though perhaps she could share some information about herself in this way. "Interesting...I wonder." she said before reaching to her left wrist and, using the Force, gently detached a bracelet (https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1xA64HFXXXXcSaXXXq6xXFXXXE/Trendy-universe-jewelry-Glass-sun-moon-earth-charm-bracelet-Glow-in-the-dark-Alloy-Family-jewelry.jpg_640x640.jpg) of relatively simple design with a picture of a sun rising behind a moon. Placing it in Kaie's hands, Ryssa smiled tentatively at her. "There are some parts of me I'd like to share with you, Master Jedi, though telling such tales would seem farfetched without proof. This bracelet was given to me when I was a child by someone I was deeply connected to in my past and has not left my wrist since. It can share with you how I am...connected and what has happened since its forging."

And it did indeed have quite the story to share.

When she was a young Padawan, Jael Karas (http://www.yancybutlerofficialsite.com/wp-content/gallery/yancy-butler/yancy_butler_image20.jpg) thought little about taking on a student of her own. In fact, she rebelled against it so much that even the Jedi Council thought of her as a lost cause once she got her Knight rank. She told the Council she didn't want a tag along to slow her down, yet deep down, it was because she had lost a dear friend in battle and was afraid of becoming attached. Jael was nearly 30 when she finally took on a Padawan of her own, in the form of a plucky little eleven year old (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3029/3050374878_a9fa0a1edd.jpg?v=0) named Ryssa Kilvaari. Wise beyond her young years, the girl actually sought her out by her own volition. The Force told them both that they were meant to be. It was thanks to the girl that Jael was able to heal and form the Master/student bond with her young charge. On the day of Ryssa's 12th birthday, Jael planned something special. Throughout the day before, Jael had been at the Forge, working on a bracelet that contained a beautiful picture of a Sun peeking from behind a Moon at its centre. Once complete, Jael let the pieces of the bracelet cool before connecting them together in the Force. Smiling at her handiwork, Jael placed it in a small box and held it in her hands. "There. You look perfect, my friend." she said as she closed the box. "Now if my little Padawan has behaved herself, she should be studying at the Great Jedi Library..."

T
***

"Padawan... A little bird told me its your twelfth birthday today. I have a gift for you."

The box is opened once more, lifted out by a much younger Ryssa, who gazes at it in wonder and surprise as she delicately holds it in her hands. "Master...its beautiful!"

Jael smiled and lifted the bracelet from its box using the Force. "I thought you'd like it, Ryssa. Lift up your left arm and pull your sleeve." The girl did as she was asked and Jael used the Force to gently attach it to her, sealing its ends so no one but a Force user could detach it from her wrist. Ryssa gazed at the picture in the middle of the bracelet in awe as Jael imparted a small, yet life-changing lesson to her young charge. "As beautiful as it is, it should also serve to remind you that, even in the darkest of places, there will always be light. Just as where there is light, there is also darkness. The two cannot exist without each other, so you must strive for balance between the two. Draw too much on one, and eventually, the other will entice and ensnare."

Ryssa smiled as she looked up at her Master, throwing her arms around her in gratitude. "Thank you, Master. I will keep your words to heart and ensure no one gets to take your gift away from me."


***

More images pass by as the young girl grows up (http://www.theplace2.ru/archive/meisa_kuroki/img/15-20.jpg), the bracelet firmly remaining on her wrist as she fighters against the evils of the galaxy. The bracelet then shows Kaie Ryssa's last days on Ossus as she says goodbye to Jael.

"Master, I should be going with you to fight the Sith. If they have truly come for our home, then we need all the able Jedi we can get to defend Ossus."

"I know you'd rather be by my side, my Padawan but this time, you must stay." Jael responded. "The younglings here look up to you. They'll need you should Exar Kun and the other Sith make it here." Jael saw the sadness in her Padawan's eyes and gently put a hand on Ryssa's cheek to comfort her. "Be strong, Ryssa. Your destiny is only beginning. " she said before pulling the Padawan into a hug. She the turned to the bracelet on Ryssa's wrist, wrapping her hands around it and muttering an incantation. The hands and bracelet glowing slightly. "There...no matter what happens, I'll be by your side."

Jael stepped back and turned to walk away. "Remember, Padawan. Darkness will always give way to light eventually."

More images passed by of the effort to guard the younglings at the Temple and the Library. With Ryssa being assigned to guard the Library in the Eocho Mountains. Images of Ryssa stealing a quiet moment before battle, crying as she felt her Master die in her soul. Worry as the younglings were in danger and fear as the Cron Supernova's shockwave blocked all chance of escape. Left behind to die, Ryssa led them into the forbidden parts of the Library, and saw the Planet she knew and loved turn from the lush, tropical world, into the planet Kaie knew now. Images also appeared of the efforts those she'd strived to save, save her in turn when she failed to seal the doors in time, taking in the toxic air.


***

More images passed of the girl, frozen in time though the length of time was not known. An imperial expedition locating her stasis tank and taking her out of the place that had become her tomb. A medical scientist taking her to his lab offworld for study...yet even though his original intention was to study her, Jael had other ideas. Despite being one with the Force, Jael reached out to the Scientist and commanded him to heal Ryssa's wounds. While he was able to get most of the injuries treated, his actions alerted the Sith, who sought the frozen Jedi for themselves. Quickly returning the sedated Padawan into stasis, Ryssa was transported off before being discovered.


***

More recent images came to Kaie's mind of Ryssa suddenly being awoken from stasis. Weak, barely clothed, alone and cold, Ryssa struggled to get her bearings in a place where fighting could be heard in the distance. The fear evident as confusion took hold. Uniting with a fellow known only as Prisoner Zero to escape once she was fully clothed. Images of a snow covered landscape and those of her rescuers nearby also showed. Later, an image of Ryssa being on Coruscant appearing to be talking to herself showed as Jael conversed with her former Padawan from the other side.

"You're sure its been that long, Jael?" Ryssa asked as she read up on some of the history in the old Jedi Archives. She seemed to listen for a moment as Jael spoke in the Force before frowning. "Four thousand years...why am I still alive? Jael I remember dying. How was I saved from the brink?"

Ryssa remained silent once more before placing her right hand to her head, rubbing her eye slightly. "Wow...I hope the younglings made it out in time..." she then took a holocron from the archives and sat at a table nearby. As she activated it, Ryssa's expression turned to slight annoyance. "You said it yourself, Master...I'm four thousand years out of date with history. I need to catch up on at least some of what's happened." Ryssa rolled her eyes somewhat as Jael argued with her. "Me? Go back to the Jedi? Are you high, Jael?" she queried. "Master, all I know is four thousand years obsolete. Why should I go back? They're not going to believe I used to be a a Jedi. Humans don't live as long as I have..." Ryssa put her head on the table and shook her head and seemed to sigh in resignation. "Fine...I'll go to them...but I don't know where they are now or if they even exist..."

As she stopped to listen once more, Ryssa's eyes widened in surprise. "You're kidding right? When did they go back to that wasteland?" Her eyes turned to sorrow slightly as it was explained to her. "Forgive me, Master...I know it was uncalled for, but Ossus won't be like I remember it...I don't know if I'm ready to see our old home again..."

Lifting the holocron she intended on reading, Ryssa put it back where it came from and sighed. "Ossus it is then...who knows...maybe my old lightsaber is still in the library..if it remains standing still."


Ryssa looked at Kaie with a somewhat saddened expression. "Now you see why I seem more familiar with the planet's history than most. It was my home once...though I'm still not certain it can be again... Much time has passed, and I have a very large gap in my memories."

[Kaie]

Suddenly as if she was there herself, Kaie began watching and soon feeling all the emotions of the moments coursing before her mind's eye, the moments of fear and abandonment as well as the concern for the younglings. Something they all apparently felt as being responsible for the next generation was extremely important. Then she listened to the argument between Ryssa and her master, now existing only in the Force and wondered if she had ever done that with her mother. Though they had their differences, the white witch knew that being a teenager usually bred that sort of independence. She certainly saw it in her younger sisters when they were growing up.

Nearing the end of the vision, it finally sunk in that the girl standing near her had been preserved for several millennia and how confusing everything had become. Concern for a piece of her past, Kaie knew now what she had to do as her green eyes opened once again. Focusing, she turned to Ryssa and nodded. "As for being a Jedi, nothing has changed since the inception of the order itself, so long ago. We still have to uphold the light and do our best to keep the darkness from overcoming the galaxy," she stated with conviction, then sighed. "If your lightsaber is still in the ancient archives, I'll help you find it," Kaie determined as she handed the ornate relic back to Ryssa.

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

A smile pulled slightly on Ryssa's face as she used the Force to secure the bracelet as she listened to Kaie talk about the Jedi and her determination to help the former Padawan find her lightsaber at the old library. "If it is what you want to do, I'll not stop you helping me." she said, though sensed Jael chastising her in the Force.

"Ryssa, you remind me of the time we first met... Keeping her at a distance won't help you. She's offered to help. You should thank her for her kindness."

Ryssa looked down slightly and listened before sighing, shaking her head a little before looking up. "I'm sorry...thank you..." the former Padawan said apologetically. "I could use the help. It has been many years and I can't say what we'll find there now. I only remember what it used to look like before the Supernova. I never got the chance to find out what the damage was after the shockwave burned the atmosphere. My last moments that I remember before I ended up on Ice are of barely managing to shut a door before the shockwave hit the library. From what Jael told me, however, I was barely recognisable with the injuries I received. A part of me wonders why they decided to put me into stasis in the first place..."

[Kaie]

"They apparently felt you were worth saving," Kaie smiled warmly as her own life and chosen profession could definitely understand that sentiment. "Being a primary healer I do everything I can to save lives when I can." The Force had definitely gifted her with a lot of knowledge in that field and though she had used her saber more than once, the weapon wasn't her first choice. "Are you hungry? We can grab you something quick and then head out to the archives, if you wanted."

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Ryssa sighed slightly at Kaie's response about being worth saving. "I'm not worth any more than others that experienced that moment. I did what was asked of me." Ryssa said humbly. "A Jedi's duty is to ensure its legacy continues from generation to the next. By taking them to the sublevels, I weighed the risks and chose survival over potential corruption. Those sublevels contained artifacts that were deemed corruptible to both Jedi and the public alike. The lower the sublevel, the more dangerous the artifacts were. While we were successful in getting most of them away off planet, we didn't remove all of them in time. I have no idea what's been left behind."

Ryssa had a prang of concern for the Jedi before her. As far as Ryssa was concerned, it was a quest she'd rather complete by herself, to spare others from the artifacts' dangers. It was only because of Jael that she agreed to allow Kaie to accompany her. Ryssa herself wasn't ready to decide if this new Jedi Order was where she wanted to be. As Kaie asked if Ryssa was hungry, however, the former Padawan felt nostalgic for Jedi cuisine and decided to accept the offer of food. "Food would be good, sure." she said with a smile. "I haven't eaten in a while.."

[Kaie]

"I wouldn't get your hopes up of finding anything in the archives that you may remember," Kaie stated regretfully. "The Sith and other treasure hunters stripped that place bare long before we ever came here. In fact, I've done everything I can to imagine what it once looked like during your time." Though the words sounded rather odd to say, it was indeed fact as they diverted toward the dining hall. "Hopefully your saber's still there though." In fact, she would bet on it since Ryssa had hidden it. No one would be looking for a lightsaber in a trove of knowledge and power, especially those that were behind that destruction.

Soon, they entered the rather quiet hall, it's long tables and distant counter housing various dishes having been prepped for lunch now already placed and covered. Nearing the left edge of the line, Kaie motioned to the stack of plates for Ryssa and then followed her, gaining two pieces of fruit for now and then something to drink. Once done, she followed the Padawan to a table and claimed a seat across from her.

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Ryssa understood that, after four thousand years, all that she knew and much of what was stored there would be gone. It had taken a lot to accept four thousand years had gone by when she'd first woken from her long slumber. Acceptance had taken hold somewhat now, but it still struck her hard when places she knew and loved in the past are seen for the first time since she awoke. Most are nothing more than ruin, but others, like her old village, have grown in ways she couldn't imagine. Every day has been overwhelming in many ways and unlearning what she knew to adapt to this unfamiliar galaxy was not easy. Learning the truth had crippled Ryssa's confidence to such a degree that her once assured place in the cosmos wasn't so assured now. Perhaps by finding her old lightsaber, Ryssa could find herself again. Remember what was once important to her. She lived her entire life in the Jedi Order and was all she'd ever known until she woke up... Could she go back to the Jedi once she found what she was looking for?

It took her a moment before she answered Kaie's statement about not finding anything in the ruins. "True...or we may find things you didn't expect to be there..." she said cautiously. "Dismissing a danger because everything on the surface is gone is not a good idea. That kind of blindness gets you into a lot of trouble you're unprepared for."

Ryssa had only heard stories of the kind of artifacts kept in the lower levels. Until she followed Jael to train to be a Scholar, Ryssa had dismissed them as myths designed to scare you away from venturing in. What Jael told of her experiences in the lower levels were the first time the Padawan actually believed the stories were true. She was not about to dismiss the dangers now because four millennia had gone by.

[Kaie]

As she ate and listened to the eventual reply and Kaie understood Ryssa's hope. She imagined needing that familiarity being very strong, especially after being asleep for so long. "No disrespect, but I've learned a lot over the years about dangers. I've met Sith and dark jedi face to face on more than one occasion. I never underestimated their propensity for violence, regardless of how civil our discussion." She grinned sympathetically. "I hope something from your past is still alive here on this world."

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

"Well... We'll just have to see...won't we?"

In truth, Ryssa didn't have much hope of finding anything significant. Not even her lightsaber...but a part of her needed to see what was left. She felt stuck in the past. In her mind's eye, the buildings she once knew stood tall, even if her heart knew it had been destroyed. The former Padawan took a cookie to munch on and for a while, she remained quiet. A part of her seemed to seethe inside while she was quiet before a sigh escaped, turning the quiet seethe into a depressed mood. "I'm sorry..." she finally said, running her fingers through her long, black mane. "Since I woke up, I've not been the most accommodating person..to anyone really. My last memories here were of being at war...coughing my lungs up from breathing in the toxic air...and that didn't change much after I woke up, except the warzone was a lot colder than here. I don't know how long its been since this planet got razed, but a part of me foolishly hoped that the galaxy had moved past the war between dark and light by now."

Ryssa looked down. "I lived my entire life on this planet. Its Jedi were the only family I knew, because most kids that were Force Sensitive, like me, were given to the Order as newborns. You're conditioned to believe that the cause you serve is righteous, that the dark side must forever be abolished...I served that belief without question. Confident that the light side of the Force would get me through everything...that the light within would banish all darkness. Yet when you stand on a planet, its atmosphere burning right before your eyes...nothing...not even the light can save you from that darkness that forms within. The hopelessness and despair, knowing you can't do a damn thing but wait for death to come...accept for some reason...its yet to claim me, even after all this time..."

Ryssa closed her eyes as a single tear fell from her left eye. "I don't know how or why I'm alive...but one thing is certain...I need to find purpose again...but I can't do it by following the path I once took. I've had thousands of years to learn that I can't follow the Force with my eyes blinded by total light and not accept that there's darkness within. Life is not black and white."

[Kaie]

"No need to apologize," Kaie smiled as she ate. Knowing that most Jedi had no other family outside of the order itself, and how the older generations were chosen and taken from their families, the white witch hated that children grew up without their mothers. The Hapan couldn't imagine such a thing. But, that method kept them focused and dedicated to their missions to a fault. Something that was admirable, if not well understood.

"The Jedi that live here now need your experience and wisdom. You've seen things that we've only read about, experienced history that most have forgotten. Passing that on to the newer padawans would be invaluable and it's hard to imagine that the council would not love having you here." Finding a purpose when everyone she knew was gone, wouldn't be easy, but Kaie hoped that Ryssa would discover a bond to the order that she helped build so long ago.

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

If Jael wasn't listening in the background, Ryssa would've scoffed at the notion of coming back into the Jedi fold, though a brief breath escaped through her nose. Should she join this new Jedi Order or let herself fade away to history? Leave Ossus forever once she'd found what she was looking for, or stay and share the knowledge of thousands of years ago? Ryssa knew that, either way, she would struggle to make sense of the changes life had undertaken for a long time to come. Was it better to learn how to exist in this time with the company on an order she once belonged to? Being a Jedi was all she'd known... Could she be anything other than such? Could she really walk away from a life that she'd been a part of since birth? Could she heal by sharing her experiences with the other Jedi here? Could she really deny the New Order their right to know where their Order came from? Being the only one who knew the Order for what it was back then should that memory die with her without being said?

"I'll...think on this." Ryssa said to Kaie, another tear falling down her left cheek as she lowered her head. She could hear Jael in the back of her mind telling her to accept the offer and have a home again, yet Ryssa needed to know if this was truly her calling, to remember the Jedi as they once were, then share it with the New Order... Taking one last bite of her meal, Ryssa pushed the plate away and looked up. Wiping the tears that had formed, Ryssa stood up, forcing a small smile to pull on her face despite her eyes showing conflict within. "Well... if we're going to the Library, we best do so while there's still light left huh?"

Ryssa then held out a hand to Kaie. "I don't know what we'll find. Disappointment or revelation, it'll be one of the first bits of history I share." she said. "I only hope you're ready for its telling..."

[Kaie]

Smiling sympathetically to Ryssa, Kaie finished her own quick meal and nodded. Accepting the hand, she rose and moved toward the main entrance once more. "As I mentioned before," she began as they exited the main dining hall and into the central hallway, "I've experienced many things over the years. My mother kept my sisters and I grounded, regardless of the inhumane actions of those that we grew up around and healed. I think it's all in the things that you hold to, your principles and motivations. I love helping people," she grinned as they walked toward the main atrium. "My example in that's been my mother. She's amazingly compassionate and sees people for who they are, not what they've done. Sometimes that can get you into trouble too, but she told us never to be afraid to do what was right, regardless."

Opening the door, she let Ryssa lead back outside. "Death isn't the end of life, but a new beginning in the Force."

Veering right, she led the ancient Jedi toward a large stable knowing many of the local riding mounts were well cared for and could negotiate the rugged hills and mountains better than a speeder might.

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Ryssa followed Kaie to the stables, taking a moment to admire the mounts the New Order had in offer. Ever since she was a girl, Ryssa loved animals. She'd always wanted a jax as a pet but Jael would have none of it. She used to ask her who would look after the creature if they went on missions or ended up in battle and never made it back. They were good points and points that she remembered after awakening. If she were to get a pet, it would have to be one that fights by her side, not cower when the heat is on. Taking one of the Tusk Cat's out of the stable, Ryssa spent a moment getting to know the cat, rubbing its cheek and looking into its eyes. This was the kind of pet the ancient Jedi would've had, if she were given the chance.

"Hey there Kitty." she said as she gently stroked its cheek, between the tusks. "Wanna help me find an old friend?" She watched as the Tusk Cat seemed to trust her, even present its back for her to put a saddle on. Once she secured the saddle and reins, Ryssa climbed onto its back. The cat adjusted its balance to accommodate her light frame and together, the pair took a few steps forward before waiting for Kaie to join them. For a moment, Ryssa stared out into the horizon, her dark brown eyes struggling to recognise the place that was once her home. She could see the ruins of the Great Jedi Library in the distance and felt the prangs of sorrow within as she began to accept that Ossus was not what it was. When Kaie joined her, Ryssa offered a small smile... and a memory. "Doesn't look as such now, but four millennia ago, this world was lush and rugged with two thirds of it covered in water. I often would walk to the cliff's edge and just sit in meditation, just over that ridge there." she pointed to the west to show Kaie the general area before looking back toward the Horizon. "It was also quite a place to watch everything going on, above and below."

While Ryssa did note that life was beginning to return to Ossus, it was more barren and desert now. She knew that this trip would be a hard one to make, having a clear memory of Ossus before and what was left now. She looked to Kaie and decided to allow the New Order Jedi to guide her, wondering what she thought and what questions she had.

[Kaie]

Getting help from one of the stablehands, she saddled one of the Tusk Cat's and soon climbed into the saddle, "Thanks," she bid to the Ysanna helper who grinned, nodding as she waved them off. Having not packed any food for the trip, she knew they weren't going to be gone long as the ancient archives wasn't but less than an hour away. Riding out into the daylight, she listened to Ryssa's reminiscing on the old days and tried to imagine what this world was like back then. Before the Sith invasion and aftermath of that battle. Having grown up on Hapes, it wasn't a stretch to imagine beautiful landscapes stretching for as far as the eye could see.

"This is what hate does," she agreed as they spurred their mounts on, the graceful, large cats bounded over rocks and across the river, before heading up through the rugged terrain toward the mountains. Trying to shift her mind back to what this world could be again, she glanced to the historian as they rode. "I can imagine what this world must've been like, but maybe one day could be again. Sometimes time itself heals most things. Life does find a way," she mused aloud.

"I had read about a couple masters at that time being more animal-like. One even became a very old tree," she grinned, unsure if maybe the master had also been that form from the beginning. "Master Ood Bnar?" She thought that's what his name was.

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Ryssa looked toward Kaie and shook her head as the Jedi stated that the destruction of Ossus was due to hate. "Not entirely true..." she responded before remembering the last few days before the fall. "We Jedi were just as responsible for this as the Sith." As the two rode along, Ryssa shared a piece of advice that Jael once said to her back in her early days as a Padawan. "Strive for balance to open one's eyes, for straying one side or the other can render you blind to its consequences." Ryssa looked down slightly as she elaborated on that by lifting up her wrist and showing the bracelet once more as she looked toward it. "Light and Darkness cannot exist without each other. No matter how hard you try to erase one, the other will always find a way to restore the balance. Just as a spark of light in the vast darkness can illuminate, it can also blind you much like the darkness can."

She looked toward Kaie and spoke more about what she believed ultimately brought Ossus to its knees. "You know yourself that hate isn't the only thing that destroys. Temptation. Failing to understand the dangers by ignoring it. Overconfidence. Arrogance. Fear. Apathy. Vengeance. They all play their roles in Ossus' destruction."

When Kaie spoke of a Jedi Master named Ood Bnar, Ryssa's eyes suddenly went wide with surprise and looked at her in disbelief. There was no way he could still be alive after all this time. "Master Bnar?! That's im..! I remember him. He...does he still live?" her voice stammered somewhat before she took a breath to calm herself. "His people were called 'Neti' and were a species of sentient plants, a race that, even in my time, were exceedingly rare. They left their homeworld of Myrkr for reasons we didn't know, even then. Master Bnar was already a thousand years old when I first met him here on Ossus. He was the understudy to Head Librarian Odan-Urr. Master Bnar took over his job when..."

Ryssa then posed a question to Kaie. As the ancient Jedi was still unfamiliar with this time, she wanted to know what this Jedi had been taught about their past. "What do you know of a fallen Jedi Knight named Exar Kun?"

[Kaie]

Kaie listened to the views on the dark side and how both needed to coexist for the universe to be in a balance, but the white witch wasn't totally sold on that idea right away. She did agree that it took more than just hate to destroy, but the healer's views on human nature were simpler and knew that in the end the Sith wanted nothing more than to just wipe out the Jedi that lived here. Erase all that they stood for and find their own version of balance. Palpatine felt the same way, apparently as the Jedi purge had been meant for that end.

"I've never met the master, but it's quite possible. I only read about past stories about him," she informed and now was eager to find out herself, whether or not this ancient master still remained on the planet, even after all that it had seen. "Be amazing that he would survive after all this."

Green eyes turned to the exotic looking Jedi as they continued to ride up the rugged terrain toward the archive's main entrance. "I read that he had joined with the Sith people and traveled to Yavin Four and built most, if not all of the temples there. Delved into Sith Alchemy and created some nasty, dark side worms. If I'm not mistaken, his body was interred in one of those temples there. Why do you ask?"

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Ryssa looked down slightly, smiling as she remembered some of the Neti Master's teachings before looking upward toward the moon of Nerit that orbited around Ossus. "There used to be a Neti clan that lived on that moon." she said as she pointed it out to Kaie. "I do not know if that's the case now, as the colony at the time was quite small. Perhaps I will get a chance to visit."

She then listened intently as Kaie spoke about what she knew about Exar Kun. Her lips pursed slightly, a moment of fleeting sadness passing her eyes. "He was part of the Sith that caused all of this..." she responded when Kaie wondered why she had asked. "I met him a few times prior to the destruction of Ossus. Confident in his abilities to the point of arrogance, quick to anger. He was training in the art of combat when I was a little girl. When I first met him, I was standing beside the Grand Master in the Dojo. Must have been about six or seven years old then. I remember him constantly pushing himself during his training under Master Vodo-Siosk Baas, determined to be 'the Greatest Jedi in all the galaxy.... yet even at such a young age, I sensed something terrible in him. I believe my description to the Grand Master was that he 'had a monster growing inside him. Watching...waiting to be unleashed.' Guess I was right after all..."

Ryssa's keen senses then spotted someone nearby wearing something that stopped her in her tracks, eyes wide with concern and surprise. "Are these the Ysanna you spoke of?" Ryssa asked Kaie, "His Mask... I recall similar masks were in the Great Jedi Library when the Cataclysm began. Its design is inspired by Elite Sith combat specialists....similar to what your recent holocrons call 'Dread Masters'."

The girl then swallowed as a thought came to her. A thought that had been nagging since Kaie had spoken of the Ysanna. In Ryssa's time, the Ysanna did not exist and four thousand years was barely any time for a new humanoid species to appear. It was, however plenty of time for existing species to change, evolve and adapt. Could it be that these Ysanna were descended from the younglings and other Jedi that survived the Cataclysm...the children she helped save?

[Kaie]

She listened with rapt attention as Ryssa recounted more of her past and that of Ossus, glancing up at the distant moon, barely visible in the haze of the atmosphere, and wondered now if the Neti had indeed survived the invasion so long ago. She assumed so, but it was worth investigating. Green eyes returned to the ancient Jedi as she then talked about Exar Kun and having known him. Something Kaie was having a hard time believing, though as the images flowed through her own mind as the brunette talked, she could see the honesty in the telling.

About to comment, she followed Ryssa's attention and nodded. "They're the ones that have helped us adapt to this world," Kaie informed. "They're the only indigenous population that I know of, so far." She had heard vague stories about the Dread Masters, but that study was another one that she would have to look in to.

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

Ryssa looked over at Kaie as she spoke about the Ysanna, biting her lip as she listened to the Master explain how they helped the Jedi adapt to Ossus. Looking back toward the Ysanna in the mask, Ryssa's mind went into overdrive. "Could it really be...?" the Ancient Padawan mused as she thought out loud. "Four thousand years... Its not enough time for life as complex as humanoids to evolve on the planet on their own...their ancestors must've come from elsewhere....but the Cataclysm.... it would've isolated the planet and rendered hyperspace travel near impossible for decades, maybe even centuries! The Jedi trapped on the planet... They would be the most logical seeds for which evolution could take place....so where could they have sheltered from the Cataclysm..?"

Ryssa's eyes scouted around at the surroundings in a slightly hurried manner, as if she were looking for something in the distance, smiling slightly as she spotted one of very few familiar landmarks in the mountains. "I know who they were..." she said as she looked back at Kaie. Feeling an explanation was needed, Ryssa took the moment to share more memories. "When I studied here before the Cataclysm, there were no indigenous people called Ysanna then. All that was here were Jedi and wildlife, no other indigenous people were here. You saw my memories, I didn't make it off world and neither did many of my compatriots. We were left to die here because the Cataclysm arrived faster than we could mobilise a total evacuation! We took shelter in the deepest places we could find in the hope that we would be able to survive and be rescued from our plights. It seems however, that rescue never came for us. While I was in stasis because they had no means to treat my injuries, I believe the others managed to survive and thrive in this new environment. They evolved into the people you call 'Ysanna' now."

Ryssa was then reminded of one of Jael's teachings that she mused out loud. "Even in the harshest of environments, life will always find a way to establish itself...It never gives up..."


[Sorry for the extraordinary late response. Life forever getting in the way. -_-]

[Kaie]

[:) It's okay, totally understandable. /hugs]

Kaie nodded at the thought on life, she had seen that herself in many ways and on many worlds, over the years. "Caves dot these mountains and around the planet, from what I understand. Our survey for the temple centered around this area," she motioned to the nearing ancient archives whose large doorway yawned wide on the side of the nearby mountain range. "Understandably. We wanted some touch to the past when we chose this site, help preserve some part of the old Jedi." Green eyes rose to the weathered, stone frame to the door that had once been secured, it's metal face and embossed mosaic gleaming in the sun. "Haven't had much chance since then to explore the rest of the world, so who knows what secrets lay just beyond these mountains."

Nearing the entrance to the ancient archives, long since looted by Sith and other treasure seekers, she dismounted and let the large feline roam as she began the slow, low climb to the wide, ocher colored steps. Turning back toward the river valley below, her eyes followed the meandering, thin blue line from one end to the other. "Must've been something growing up here."

[Ryssa Kilvaari]

The approach to the old Jedi Library brought back a lot of memories to Ryssa. Of the times when she would sit at a desk, staring with wonder and amazement at the holocrons she'd been given to study. Oh the questions she once asked the people within! Before the fall, Ryssa had a fascination for history and learning the old techniques of the Jedi long passed. Standing in the ruins now however, the ancient padawan stood in silence, not responding to Kaie's observation. Her mind was in the throw of a powerful memory. Her final memory before it all came to a halt. A cold sweat came over her, her hands clammy and her eyes staring blankly to what seemed to be nowhere in particular. In her mind, however, she was watching the building crumble. She was listening to the younglings cry out in fear and she was fighting to get them all to safety...yet she was barely moving at all.

In the outside world, Ryssa's vacant eyes turned to an area where there was a deep hole covered by rubble, but in her memory, this was where she had taken the children that had once been a hidden wall that lead into old archives. As life returned to her eyes, Ryssa moved toward the rubble covered hole. The Force pulled her to it, calling to her like nothing in thousands of years had called before. This was where she had to go... yet one small problem remained... The many millennia of being frozen had taken away much of her strength, both physically and in the Force and she didn't want to admit to it, not to Kaie nor to herself.

As she reached out in the Force, a piece of rubble shook, but did not move away as she'd hoped and drained more of her than expected. Letting go of the rubble, Ryssa coughed a moment before taking several deep breaths of air to restore herself. She then looked to Kaie and sheepishly spoke, "It appears my time in stasis has weakened me more than I thought. Would you be able to help me move this rubble... Please?"