476. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

Trychon and Raezyr sat in the healer's hut on one of the benches. Nearby lay the three monks on their cots, recuperating from their horrific ordeal. They were sleeping peacefully now, but a little while ago they had been thanking their rescuers profusely and hailing them as saviors.

Saffron had brought them to the hut for a check up. After their show of "exhaustion," both she and Brother Odilo felt it best they be looked at, and after the miners were stabilized, she turned her attention to the brothers.

"That was really... amazing... what you two did out there," she said, searching for the right word to describe it. She knew what the people were saying, and the opinions were divided over it. Some thought it was a miracle and that one of them must be the chosen one, while others were labeling it blasphemy and that they were but scandelous outsiders. She, herself, was still undecided, but she knew that they had saved lives with their actions, and that was enough. "So where did you learn to do something like that? The Jedi?"

Trychon and Raezyr looked at each other. Realizing that Raezyr wasn't going to say anything, he answered. "Actually, not everyone who can use the Force, has the ability to move objects like that... or so our grandfather used to say."

"Who was your grandfather? Was he a Jedi?" Saffron asked holding Odilo's medallion over Trychon's forehead as she spoke.

Trychon could feel the warmth flowing into his body and replenishing his energy. "Raezyr says he was. I never knew him, myself. I only know the things that Raezyr has told me. That was one of them."

Raezyr gave Trychon a discreet glare, knowing her questions would now be directed at him.

Saffron turned her attention to Raezyr. "So was he a Jedi, or not?"

"Yeah, he was, but I only knew him briefly myself, although he tried to impart as much knowledge to me as he could, before he went off to fight in some war," Raezyr said, making things up as he went. "It was one of major reasons I began questioning the ways of the Jedi."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Saffron asked. She finished imbuing Raezyr with the 'touch of Grace' and walked over to hang the medallion back in it's rightful place.

"Knowing how you all view the Jedi, I didn't really want to say anything more about it. I thought it was bad enough that I trained with them, with out being related to them as well," Raezyr explained.

"You really should have said something about it before this," Saffron said, her mind coming to a conclusion of it's own.

"Why? What would that matter?" Raezyr said.

She looked at them in disbelief. "The first line of the prophecy!" she exclaimed. "'Knight of the Force, removed by two,' don't you see? It has to mean two generations removed from a Jedi!"

Trychon and Raezyr both chuckled quietly.

"What's so funny?"she asked, irritated they were laughing at her.

Trychon spoke up. "Mannix has been trying to convince us of that, as you can well imagine, but like we've told him a dozen times: There's nothing special about us. We're just a couple of guys, trying to make our way in the galaxy."

The two brothers left, leaving Saffron alone to tend the injured miners. They may scoff at it, but there was no doubt in her mind. Too many things about these young men fell in line with the prophecies, and she was beginning to think that maybe they were both the chosen one, like two halves of the same coin.

475. Manipulation of Emotion - Trychon

Father Monahan looked around the room. It was a sanctuary for him. The only people ever allowed in the room were those he invited. It was a simple room with seats for as many as two dozen, and the walls lined with copies of the writs that helped govern his people. In the years since he'd been appointed leader of their order, he'd overseen countless meetings in the small room, but never been faced with such a controversial subject, especially after an event that should have simply been great news.

Just the day before, the two newest arrivals to their humble home had done the miraculous and saved the lives of three of their miners. The manner in which they'd done it though was unorthodox to the monastery's beliefs, and as of yet they were unsure how to view it. That was why Monahan had called this meeting.

Putting an end to his musings, Monahan realized that the last of the group had arrived, and he raised his hands to call for quiet as he called the meeting to order. When everyone found a seat and became silent, he led them in a quick chant to center their minds on the natural state of life and serving it.

Now that they were ready to discuss the topic on hand, all the eyes in the room were steadily on him. He cleared his throat. "Well, to start off... I'm glad to say that Brother Odilo assures me that our friends should all be ok in time, though Thalos may lose a limb. Still, this is great news." He nodded at the other senior Brother in the front row. There was a few moments of cheerful comments before the room quieted down again.

"Alright. Now that's done, we need to get to the reason you're all here. We need to discuss the events yesterday that lead to the recovery of the injured from the mines, and how it affects us. I don't need to remind anyone in this room how we normally view such... usel of the force." He had to pause to think of a way to end his statement, with 'use' instead of 'abuse'. He didn't want to imply that he had already made up his mind on the issue.

The first voice came out of the back of the room. "The Force is not here for us or anyone to control whenever they deem necessary!" Whomever spoke had managed to keep harsh tones out of their voice, thankfully. Monahan certainly expected this response from the start.

There was an immediate counter from another voice in the back. "Would you have done anything different if you could? Would any of us? If it wasn't so against our nature, would the council have thought to use the medallions at least in an effort to save those lives?" Monahan noted it was Bartholomew's brother who had been the first to defend what had happened. He raised a good point though. If the council had thought to use the medallions, what conclusion would they have come to?

It didn't take long for the conversation to get out of hand, with opinions sometimes being yelled from the corners of the room.

"When is the cost too high to go against your own beliefs?"

"How is saving lives against our beliefs?"

"I don't appreciate having my mind taken over!"

Father Monahan remained silent as he listened to the growing volume of the argument. It went back and forth continually for nearly half an hour. Was controlling the force abusing it if it's used to save lives? Should the outsiders be banished? What's to stop them from more gross abuse? How much is a life worth? Wasn't the natural state of the Force reinforced by their actions? What about holding one of their members back against their will?

Then the point that everyone was avoiding finally came up.

"What if one of them IS the one from the prophesy?"

Silence took over the room once again, even though everyone there must have had the same thought. Even if they all thought otherwise, the rumors that had been passed around earlier had reached every ear in the monastery, surely. It was Mathias who had finally spoken it aloud though.

"Now, I've never really been one for much daydreaming or thinking of such prophesies the way my son does. I've even heard the boys tell him that they weren't part of a prophesy. Truth be told, despite all of Mannix's ramblings, I never thought it was a possibility really. With the events of yesterday though, I think we'd be remiss if we didn't at least discuss it."

The room was not silent after that, but it remained quiet as there was whispers being shared among small groups. Brother Varth walked up to the front of the room with his normal jovial expression. He blinked a few times while he waited for the attention to shift to him. After his patience was rewarded, he went over some of the relevant points he'd found regarding the prophesies, both for and against the possibility of one of the newcomers being 'The One'. The small crowd was mostly attentive, with only the occasional whisper, which brought a smile and a few more blinks from Varth.

Then Varth recounted a tale of the deeds of 'The One' that sounded remarkably like the events from the day prior. 'The bell shall toll and the people will say, 'They are dead. The tomb is sealed,' but He of Right shall reply, 'All hope is not lost.' And the earth shall be torn asunder, and the dead shall live once more.'

The room erupted again into argument.

"Did you see the older one's eyes after they moved that giant boulder?'

'How about that rock of his?'

'He doesn't fit the description!'

"Prophesies are always vague and easy to apply..."

"They're outsiders!"

"The younger one has the scar!"

"A partial match is no match at all! This is a prophesy, not some game!"

Monahan sighed. This was exactly as he'd expected.

474. Manipulation of Emotion - Trychon

The giant chunk of rock slowly began to budge its way out of the tunnel as they concentrated all their efforts on it. The crowd around them watched on with silent awe and anticipation, afraid of getting their hopes up too high.

They were making steady progress and had the section nearly cleared when the edges of the boulder caught in the tunnel on some jagged rocks. The momentum of such a large mass carried it through the gap, albeit slowed greatly. The noise out of the tunnel, resembling thunder from an giant Calamarian Monsoon. The ground underneath the crowd shook a bit with the explosion of dirt, and there was a large number of gasps and even screams. Trychon worried for a moment that Raezyr would be right about bringing the mountain down. A giant cloud of dust blocked the view for the tunnel for everyone but the two brothers whose vision was not based on sight.

When the dust settled, the entire opening to the mine was blocked from view by the massive obstruction that now lay on the ground. The cheers erupted again from all around the Sith Brothers, and several of the diminutive monks began rushing towards the entrance.

Trychon called out to them, not with a yell but as he would in conversation. Not because he didn't want to, but because that's all that he could manage at the time. "Wait. We're not done yet. Stay clear." His voice reverberated through the air, but also through the minds of the group. In their heads, it sounded like Raezyr and Trychon speaking as one voice, which was likely a side effect of the link through the gem.

One of the monks ignored the quiet warning, and found himself floating quickly to the back of the crowd, which gasped yet again at the new development. Trychon could feel the mixed emotions about that move, but it was for their safety and they could debate it with him later. Trying to 'resurrect' people doesn't look that special if people die for getting in the way. The dissenting thoughts quickly dissolved, at least for that moment.

Once the way was cleared of potential casualties again, Trychon and Raezyr redoubled their efforts to move the remaining debris. They were beginning to feel the strain almost to the same magnitude they'd been showing, and that was quite a bit. As the excited chatter around them rose, and just as a few of the small aliens began to start forward curiously again... Trychon and Raezyr felt the diminished life forces of the monks in the mine. They lifted them as carefully as they could manage, and Trychon resolved to work on his fine force telekinesis powers. They were both so much more used to making general pushes and pulls, and this was a much more delicate situation.

With only one near mishap though, they eventually managed to extract the survivors of the cave in. They were placed gently on the ground in front of the crowd. At first appearances at least, they all seemed like they would make it, though they were certainly in near critical condition.

473. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

By this time the two had figured out what they needed to do. Trychon looked around as people began to drop tools and sit down, their shoulders sagging forlornly in their exhaustion and despair. A few of the women began to cry.

"Back up!" Trychon suddenly shouted. Dirt and grime covered faces looked up at him stupidly, as if he were speaking a language they didn't understand. "Back up!" he shouted again.

Raezyr dropped his shovel and closed his eyes. His robes had long since soaked through with sweat, and he had cast them aside. He stood there shirtless, beginning his meditation. He had never moved anything as large as these man sized boulders before, and he was afraid he wouldn't be able to do so now. He also feared that they had waited too long to do this. He feared that if they were already dead, that they would be unable to fulfill this prophecy.

He used those fears, dwelt on them, and felt them turn to anger. Anger for doubting his own power and the power of the Dark Side, anger that his mission may now rest on something as small and tedious as an old man's false fortunetelling.

Raezyr felt the Dark Side swell up within him, all the while his older brother was speaking to the crowd.

"You think it's hopeless? Not yet it's not! Now that we've tried this your way, get back, and my brother and I will try it ours!" Trychon turned and removed his robe as well, the sleeveless tunic he wore underneath was soaked through as well, but he thought Raezyr looked a bit overly dramatic, standing there half-naked, dripping with dirt and sweat.

He began his meditation as well, preparing for the job ahead of them. Easily he tapped into Raezyr's trance, as they had taught themselves to do, and their power rose exponentially.

As one, they extended their right hands toward the first boulder blocking the entrance to the cave, eyes still closed tightly. At first, nothing happened. The people began to look at one another, wondering what was supposed to be going on. There was even a quiet snicker, quickly silenced, from the back of the crowd.

But Father Monahan and some of the members of the High Council had an idea of what might happen, although they felt a bit leary about it. Never before had they felt disquiet or unease when they where near someone drawing on the Force, but neither had they ever felt it being drawn upon so powerfully before, and wrote their apprehensions off as something they weren't used to.

Suddenly there was a scraping sound, a slight grinding. People started pressing forward, trying to see what was happening, when suddenly the boulder slid from it's resting spot and floated out of the mouth of the mine.

The villagers stepped back in shock and awe as the boulder floated over and landed on a nearby slag pile. As soon as that boulder was on the ground, the one behind it began grinding it's way out of the entrance, and the people began cheering.

The two Sith worked in unison after that, clearing not only the boulders, but the dirt and gravel as well, and the more they worked, the faster things moved, until the rocks, dirt and boulders which choked the mine shaft began nearly flying out. The strain on their faces from the sustained effort and force of will was clearly taking it's toll, and the sweat poured from them faster than when they had been digging.

Until they came across the big one. A giant slab of stone, ten times bigger than anything they had removed so far. All afternoon, and into the evening, they had combined their power, although divided their concentration onto different pieces of rock, but now they refocused themselves and put all their effort into moving that slab.

Strain began to build and veins began to pop out on their faces and necks with the effort, when suddenly Raezyr dropped to his knees. "I can't do it," he said breathlessly. "It's too big. We'd have to bring half the mountain down."

Trychon dropped next to him in surprise. "We almost had it. What are you doing?" he whispered, raising a had to keep back the monks who started pressing forward.

"Alright, I'll try again... for the miners... and their families...", he said loud enough to be heard by the villagers and a cheer went up. He then spoke under his breath, for Trychon's ears only. "This is a perfect time for your gem, dumbass."

Trychon rolled his eyes. Yes, Raezyr was right, and they needed to pull it out sometime as they assumed that his gem was probably the item spoken of in the original prophecy, but Raezyr could be less of a jerk about it.

"Wait, Raez," Trychon said, speaking for the benefit of the crowd. "I have something that might help." He dug around in his pouch and pulled the small black gem from it, cupping the stone in the palm of his hand. For a brief moment, he thought back to when he had picked this up on Nar Shaddaa, and wondered if Vikon had seen this moment in one of his visions, but then his attention was back to the task at hand.

He knelt down in the dirt beside Raezyr, and raised the gem in the air; a completely unnecessary gesture, and one designed solely for it's theatrics, but if Raezyr could throw his shirt aside and show off his physique, then he could add some antics of his own.

In unison, they drew on the Force, focusing all their power through the black crystal in Trychon's hand.

Trychon felt the heat rise in the gem. Goodhe thought, it's working. This is going to make things much easier.

472. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

The rest of the day went uneventfully. It was easy to explain their meeting with Father Monahan. When asked they just said he was checking to see how they were adjusting, and people moved on in the conversations.

The next day started out just like every other day started. Trychon and Raezyr would get dressed and wash up, then help set up for breakfast. When that was over, everyone pitched in for clean up and then it was off to start their work day.

By mid-morning, Raezyr had worked up a sweat as usual, swinging the heavy sledge down onto the hot iron. He was getting much better at landing his blows exactly where Mathias would indicate with his small hammer. The blacksmith even commented that Raezyr was a fast learner, and noted that his reflexes and coordination made him a natural at the trade.

"I think tomorrow I may start let you bang out a few horse shoes, if you'd like," the big Monk said.

"I'd like that," Raezyr returned. "I've learned a lot just watching... what is that?" Raezyr dropped his sledge to the ground as the sound of a large bell began to ring out from tower of the Temple.

"That's the warning bell. It hasn't rung in a long time. They only sound it during an emergency... come, let's go!" Mathias said, dropping his tongs and moving quickly toward the door.

They stepped outside to see everyone in the village moving toward the Temple. Some were running, others walking quickly, but everyone was making haste. There was a murmur through the villagers, everyone wondering what was going on.

Halfway there, Raezyr and Mathias saw Trychon and Violet heading toward the crowd gathering at the Temple, and made their way over to them.

"What's going on?" Mathias asked his wife when they drew near. They were still a ways off from the gathering crowd.

"I don't know, but it cannot be good, let's hurry!" She said and the two picked up their pace.

Trychon and Raezyr held back just enough so they could talk quietly as they continued. "I guess this is it," Trychon commented to his brother.

"Now we just have to bring the dead back to life," Raezyr said sarcastically.

Trychon just chuckled, but stopped quickly when a monk he didn't know gave him a strange look. They finally reached the crowd just as an older monk, who they guessed must be one of the Elders, stepped up on a chair to address the people.

"People! There has been a cave-in at the mine!" the monk shouted and a horrified whisper ran through the crowd. The Elder waved his hands for people to be quiet, and the whisper died. "Every able-bodied man needs to go to the mine immediately. Women, please go home and gather all your digging utensils: shovels, picks, and wheel barrows, and bring them to the mine as quickly as you can. Brothers Thalos, Bartholomew and Francis could still be alive, and they'll need everyone's help! Now go! Father Monahan is already there and will direct you when you arrive!"

Quickly everyone began to run in the appropriate directions. Trychon and Raezyr trotted along with the men of the village as they headed toward the mine.

It was located several kilometers away on the nearby mountain-side, and several people were already digging furiously. Dust covered every surface for a hundred meters around the opening, and Father Monahan was standing on a large rock, giving orders as people arrived.

Many of the men stopped and stared at the place where the mouth of the mine used to be. It was choked with rocks and debris, which they expected, but there were also large boulders. Chunks of stone which had fallen from the roof of mine mixed in as well.

Instantly people began springing to work as Monahan gave them their tasks. Several men started digging furiously with shovels, loading dirt and gravel into wheel barrows which were whisked away, only to be replaced by another wheel barrow so the shoveler didnt' need to stop. Other men began to form chains, picking large rocks out by hand and then handing it to the person behind him. The rock then moved from person to person to one of the nearby slag piles.

Trychon and Raezyr joined in the digging. Their human forms made them bigger and stronger than most of the slightly built monks, and they shoveled furioiusly, loading large amounts of dirt and gravel in the the barrows with each shovel full.

The digging and rock picking went on for several hours and into late afternoon, and most of the smaller debris was nearly gone, but now they were down to the larger rocks and boulders. Some were already trying to move them, using large pry bars.

Finally one of the other workers said what was on everyone else's mind. He stopped and threw down his shovel. "This is completely hopeless. There's no way anyone is still alive, and even if they are, we'll never get to them in time. Not at this rate."

Everyone had been feeling it for the last hour or so, but now that the feeling was finally spoken, everyone began to mutter their depressed agreement.

It was the cue that Trychon and Raezyr had been waiting for.

471. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

They thanked Saffron for delivering the message and she smiled at them. Raezyr thought her gaze lingered on Trychon, but he couldn't be sure. After telling Violet and Mathias that they would meet them as soon as possible, they made their way over to the Temple Garden, where Saffron had said he would be waiting for them.

As they went, they quietly discussed what to tell Father Monahan, should he have figured out who had caused the ripple in the Force last night. They decided that a mix of honesty and deflection was probably the best course of action for them.

They continued on their way. The sun was warm and there was already a cool breeze starting. Many of the villagers were on their way to their various chores and trades and several stopped them to chat. Trychon and Raezyr politely exchanged pleasantries, but quickly excused themselves, explaining they had an appointment to keep with Father Monahan.

Once they finally arrived at the gardens, they opened the gate and wandered around for a few minutes before finally spotting the elder Monk sitting beneath some sort of flowering tree. It's blossoms were a pale shade of blue, and the petals were already beginning to drop, leaving a light blanket on the soft grass where Monahan sat, and each time a light gust of wind trickled through, a few more petals would sprinkle down gracefully from their perch.

They stopped before the meditating man, and waited. They could feel the Force flowing through him, but could tell that it was the Light Side. It felt weak and pale compared to what they were used to feeling.

Finally he opened his eyes and looked up at the two young men. "Please, sit down," he invited, a warm smile on his face. "I wanted to ask your opinion on something."

They took up cross-legged positions across from Monahan on the soft grass. "What can we do for you, sir?" Trychon asked.

"I know that you two have had Jedi training, and while I don't know much about it, I know that you must be sensitive to the Force," he said and then hesitated for a moment. "Last evening, just around nightfall, there was a... ripple in the Force. I felt it, and so did the Elders. We met immediately and discussed the incident."

Oh, boy, here it comes, Raezyr thought to himself.

"It's not something that happens normally, and we were hoping that with you Jedi skills, you may have felt it as well. If so, maybe you might be able to shed some light as to what happened," the priest explained.

Both Trychon and Raezyr had expected to feel some sort of deception, as if he was beating around the bush and trying to trick them into incriminating themselves, but both Sith felt he was completely earnest in his request.

"Well sir," Trychon began. "We did indeed feel what you are describing. We were actually discussing it on the way over here, but I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that both of us had a few too many glasses of ale last night." He added a sheepish grin, hoping it would complete the facade.

The older monk sighed. "Well, I guess we'll never know what it was exactly," he said getting to his feet and the two Sith did likewise. "Please do me a favor, though, keep your senses out in case something like that happens again."

The two Sith sighed inwardly, thankful that they hadn't messed up too badly. They assured Father Monahan that they would keep an 'eye' out for any further incidents, and headed out for their respective jobs.

Just as they were leaving the garden, Mannix came jogging up the path toward them. He stopped and handed them a small folded piece of paper, sealed with wax. Without a word, he turned and left.

They opened the paper and inside was a note from Brother Varth which read:

"Here is the next prophecy:

'The bell shall toll and the people will say, 'They are dead. The tomb is sealed,' but He of Right shall reply, 'All hope is not lost.' And the earth shall be torn asunder, and the dead shall live once more.'

Be ready."

"How is that supposed to help us?" Raezyr asked aloud.

"I don't know, but I'm sure we'll figure it out when the time is right," Trychon replied, crumpling the note and stuffing it into an inside pocket, deciding that the moment he had the opportunity, he'd burn it.

470. Manipulation of Emotion - Trychon

The two Sith stared blankly into the distance towards the village as they froze momentarily, like two little children caught climbing towards the cookie jar. They'd discussed the need to keep their Force use to a minimum around the monestary, and Trychon's outburst confirmed their feelings. Several of the Monks had taken notice of Trychon's maneuver, although neither Trychon or Raezyr could tell if they'd known what it was.

Regardless, their original reaction to being noticed subsided and they realized that the minds that had showed curiosity towards them were still off in the far distance, and they were in no immediate danger of discovery if their cover wasn't already blown. They quietly and quickly covered up the signs of their sparring session on the ground, and took one of the long ways around to a different path into the monastery.

As they wandered up the path at a very deliberate slow meandering pace, Trychon began to stumble and sway a little, grumbling under his breath about nothing in particular. Raezyr grabbed his arm to support him and help guide him innocently back to their hut, adding in a bit of a small sway to his own steps.

They attracted the normal glances that they always seemed to receive, although they'd grown less the past few weeks, but they did not feel the wandering interest that had found them in the forest earlier that night. Instead, just a few childrens' giggles followed by the hush tones of the parents.

They made their way back to their cots, unsure of whether or not they had betrayed themselves at all. They could only hope that if they'd aroused suspicion, their follow up act was enough to divert any real discussion about what activities the two may be undertaking in their free time. Trychon figured at worst it would buy them at least some time to act more normal and remove the attention they'd garnered... and at best, it was an unnecessary exercise in their acting abilities. The final act involved them falling to sleep in silence, so they did exactly that.


------------


The morning went by as they normally did, although Trychon continued to yawn and place his head in his hands at breakfast. Violet smiled as she slid him some of her purple tea without saying a word. Trychon smiled at her as he took a few sips, and then Raezyr took the cup from him to have a sip as well. The rest of the breakfast continued on without more than a small handful of exchanged words.

Everyone gathered their things after they pitched in cleaning up the table from the meal and a few other small morning chores. They were all about to part ways when Saffron coughed gently, but loud enough to be heard.

Mannix smiled. and greeted her cheerily.

Saffron smiled back, although more patronizing than anything. Then she turned to Raezyr and Trychon. "Father Monahan would like to see you, if you have a moment."

469. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

Nearly two weeks had gone by since they had spoken to Varth. He had told them he would contact them when they needed to know something, but Trychon and Raezyr were beginning to feel as if the Sith Lord had forgotten.

Their days were uneventful, filled with daily chores and learning their new trades. Both men were progressing well in their apprenticeships, and Trychon was even learning a bit of the brewing art from Mathias. But still, most evenings they were able to slip away after supper for some lightsaber training or meditation.

This evening they had some extra time as supper had been early. Raezyr had steadily improved during their sparring matches, despite the disadvantage of only having a short blade, and Trychon was becoming increasingly frustrated by it.

Raezyr had beaten Trychon in three consecutive matches so far tonight, and Trychon had had enough. They began circling each other warily, tensed to begin their fourth session, when Raezyr lunged forward suddenly, catching Trychon off guard.

Since he had been limited to his short blade, he had been letting Trychon take the first offensive, opting for a more defensive posture during their fights, and waiting for Trychon to make a mistake.

This time he had switched tactics. Apparently Raezyr was feeling comfortable enough to bring the fight to his older brother, despite being at a disadvantage.

After catching Trychon off guard, he continued pressing his advantage. Trychon backpedaled as fast as he could, trying to put just a bit of distance between them, but Raezyr's strokes were constantly inside his guard.

Finally he could think of nothing else, and gathering the Force, he pushed it outward with all his might.

Raezyr threw up his mental shield at the last moment, but the sheer force of the blow shoved him backwards, although he was still standing after the wave had passed. He glanced down and noticed two shallow furrows, 2 meters long each, in the dirt where his feet had slid.

Suddenly warning bells went off inside Raezyr's head, and he shut his blade off. He could feel the attention of several beings being directed toward them.

Trychon had apparently noticed it as well. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" he said, chiding himself as he slipped the metallic cylinder of his own lightsaber back inside his robes.

468. Sith Hunt: Part Two - Raezyr

Nal and Caecilius followed Lieutenant Gibbs as he lead them down the corridor. They received some stares from the crew, which didn't surprise them in the least. There would probably be a lot of buzz in the mess hall during the next meal time. It wasn't often that Jedi roamed the ship, and probably even longer since a Nautolan and Miraluka had set foot on board.

They ignored the attention their presence garnered, and sat down in the smaller mess hall to which Gibbs had led them. They looked at the sparse menu and decided to just have some caf, as nothing really looked appealing, and sat down.

"I wonder what mission dey are on," Nal commented, sipping the hot liquid.

"Whatever it is, Captain Moklam wasn't happy that we interrupted it," Caecilius replied.

"I can't tink of anyting dat would require a Republic capital ship in dis system. Der hasn't been trouble here in a long time. Not dat I can recall, anyhow." Nal put down her cup and slid it out of the way. Clearly it had been cooking too long, which kind of surprised her. Even though it was between meals, she knew how well the officers liked their caf.

"Neither can I, but anyway..." Caecilius was about to say something else, but was interrupted by his wrist comm beeping, indicating there was an incoming holo message waiting at his ship.

Nal looked down at his comm. "Guess we bettah go see what dat is about," she said and they both stood up and headed back toward the hangar.

Along the way they commed Gibbs, and made arrangements to transfer the message to a private holo screen. Whatever it was about, they were sure wasn't for ship mechanics wandering around the hangar.

Once they reached the private comm, they transferred the message and punched in the authorization code, verifying it was a Jedi receiving the message, and the holo image of Master Taison sprang to life in front of them.

"What can we do for you, Master?" Caecilius asked.

"Ah, good, you're both there. I was hoping that would be the case," the Master Jedi began, then stuck his clawed hands inside his robes. "I have good news for you. The Republic Cruiser Unity has picked up the trail of the ship you two have been searching for in the Nevoota system. I have arranged with Republic Naval Command for you to join them at Balmorra. You will be the Jedi liaison to them as they track down the Sith."

Nal and Caecilius both began to chuckle.

"What is so funny, young Jedi?"

Nal spoke up. "As da Force would have it, Mastah, we are already on board da Unity."

467. Sith Hunt: Part Two - Mirk

In Hyperspace en route to Carida.

Caecilius and Nal had been in hyperspace for some time, and still had a good distance to go when Caecilius started feeling an unusual vibration in his ship.

Reaching out through the force he contacted Nal I am getting some vibration here... I think I might have taken some shrapnel, it might be nothing but I want to take her down and get it looked at.
He paused for a moment and searched his navcomputer for a nearby planet or moon. It looks like the planet Balmorra will the best choice, far enough out of Hutt Space that they won't jump on us again but still on the way to Carida.

Alright, I'll change course and meet you der. Came Nal's reply.

For the remainder of the trip Caecilius meditated, ignoring the vibrations and pushing the fear that he might not make it to the back of his mind. Until at last he came out of hyperspace near Balmora. Nal was already there he saw.
"Good to see you made it" She said over the com

"Thanks" Caecilius replied "I'm pretty happy about that too."

YeFinally out of hyperspace Caecilius searched for the damage and was shocked to see that one of his engines was pretty torn up by shrapnel.
"Wow... I'm not sure how I made it... it must have just missed every single critical part. The force was with me for sure."

Nal did a quick flyby to check out the damage for herself.
"Da force was with you indeed" she said "We had best get you on da ground"

"Lets just hope that this thing can enter the atmosphere" Caecilius said, not quite succeeding in hiding his nervousness.

As Caecilius prepared to contact ground control he noticed something nearby, a moment later there was a Hammerhead Cruiser coming out of hyperspace just over 100 meters in front of them.

"Cae..." Nal said "Da force is wit you for sure today"

"No kidding" Caecilius replied. "No kidding..."

Activating his com Caecilius hailed the Cruiser "Republic Cruiser, this is Jedi Starfighter Skiv"

"Skiv, this is Republic Cruiser Unity, go ahead"

"Unity, my ship and my partner, Firaxa 1, were in a dogfight at Nar Shadda. Requesting permission to dock for repairs."

"Skiv, we are currently on mission, could you dock on Balmorra?"

"Unity, I don't think so. Entering atmo might tear the engine apart."

"Skiv, please hold" The line was silent for a minute "Skiv and Firaxa 1 you are cleared to dock. Come around to Vector 213"

"Unity, thanks very much."

Once he had docked Caecilius got out of his ship to hear what the mechanic had to say. "It will be a pretty easy patch job, nothing vital was hit." the mechanic said, though he was very clearly thinking "How the hell was this thing still flying? Minor damage, but all in a spot that you never want to get hit. How it missed every major part is beyond me"

Nal walked over after having landed "How is it?" She asked

"The force was with me" Caecilius said with a slight laugh.

"You can say dat again" Nal said as she looked at the damage for herself.

Before they could continue any further an officer walked up to them.
"I am Lieutenant Gibbs" He said "If you could please come with me masters..."

"Jedi Knights Caecilius Kostek and Nal Talla" Caecilius offered

"Right, the Captain wants to see you. This way please"

A short walk through various corridors brought them to the Captain's office.

"Jedi Knights Caecilius Kostek and Nal Talla" Lieutenant Gibbs said.

"Captain Moklam" The captain said, standing up to greet the Jedi. "You have caught us right in the middle of an important mission, so forgive us for rushing you. I am told that your fighter will be suitable for entering the atmosphere of Balmorra in about 1 hour. At that time we will ask you to leave and have any further repairs done on world. Until then, we are required to offer you food and make you comfortable during your short stay aboard my ship. Now, if you will excuse me I have other business to attend to, Lieutenant Gibbs here will take care of you while you are here. Good day to you" He said as he left the room.


Well, I guess that is something Caecilius thought

What can you do? Nal replied

Lieutenant Gibbs took a step forward "This way to the officer's mess" He then walked off with Caecilius and Nal in tow.

466. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

The next evening found Raezyr and Trychon sitting down by the river, and it was the first chance they'd had to discuss everything Vikon had told them the night before. All day they had both been distracted. Neither of them had ever considered they might have any other family beyond themselves, and now they both wondered whether there might be others out there.

"A grandfather," Raezyr said, thinking out loud. "And at least according to that bantha's behind of a Sith Lord, he's still alive."

"It'd be interesting to sit down and talk with him," Trychon commented.

"Yeah, like a Master Jedi is just going to sit down and have nice family chat with two Sith over a hot cup of caf." Raezyr rolled his eyes.

"I just meant that I'm a little curious about our family now. You don't have to be an ass, Raez," Trychon retorted.

Raezyr let the comment go. "What I can't figure is how do we tell people about that. We can't very well run around saying, 'Hey, guess what? My grandfather is a Jedi.'"

"Don't worry about it. We'll have an opportunity to drop that little nugget of information. Just be on the look out for the right time. It will present itself," Trychon reassured him. "Let's just get to sparring."

They got up and drew their blades. As they circled, Raezyr suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" Trychon asked, wary of a trick.

"Your eyes."

"What? They're all yellow?"

"No... the yellow is almost gone," Raezyr said.

Trychon looked around for something reflective for a moment, forgetting where he was. "That's weird," he commented before taking up his fighting stance once more.

They sparred for awhile, and although it was clear that Raezyr was getting used to compensating for the lack of blade length, Trychon still came out ahead in their matches, although it took him longer to achieve the victories.

On the way back to the village, they talked more about what Vikon had said. "I don't really understand why we can't just cut all these monks down. They're unarmed. It'd take us about 30 minutes, then we could gather up these amulets and get out of here," Raezyr commented.

"This is the way Eiron wants it done. I'm sure he has his reasons, so let's just stick with it. If doing what Vikon instructs helps us accomplish that goal, then so be it," Trychon said.

465. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

Vikon, or Varth, as he was going by, smiled as they approached, shocking both Trychon and Raezyr. He was a human of medium build. His hair was white and he was clean shaven, and his smile was reflected in his deep blue eyes. It was clearly not the person they had expected to see. He extended his hand, stained with ink from the constant writing that consumed his time. "Ah, dear me! Is it that time already? I've heard so much about you two from Mannix. You're all he talks about, you know," Varth said in jovial tone.

He shook hands with Trychon and Raezyr, then turned to Mannix. "Thank you so much for bringing them here, my young apprentice. Now run along home and get some sleep. I'm sure my guests can find their way home."

Mannix looked disappointed. He had been eager to hear what kinds of things would be discussed, and said as much to Varth.

Varth causually waved his hand toward Mannix, and Trychon and Raezyr sensed the Force being exerted ever so subtly. "I think you'd be happier at home, you're very tired, Mannix."

Mannix yawned suddenly. "I'm so tired, I think I'll just go to bed, instead." He got up and started toward the door.

Varth called after him, waving his hand again. "Oh, and Mannix? Tonight is barely worth remembering."

Mannix stopped, turned, and looked at Varth blankly for a moment, then shuffled sleepily away, mumbling to himself, wondering why he was up so late.

When they all felt that Mannix' presence had left the library, Varth's demeanor turned instantly ugly, and the friendly expression with it. "Just what do you fools think you're doing? Did I send for you?"

Raezyr and Trychon were instantly on the defensive, and both were about to respond, but Raezyr got his words out first. "Hey! We're flying blind here. You've got us wandering around, cuddling up to these dumb nerfs, and we don't even know what we're supposed to be doing," he said heatedly.

Vikon jump up and glared at both of them. "Do not forget your place, Apprentices! I am the Sith Lord here, and when I wish to speak to you, or let you in on my plans, it will be I that contacts you, not the other way around.

As it is, I was planning on contacting you in a few more days anyway, so you haven't fouled up anything by coming here, but you didn't know that. Now, show a Sith Master his due respect, Apprentices." Vikon glared at them, and they could almost feel the heat of his anger from the fire in his eyes.

Sith Lord or not, Raezyr wasn't used to being spoken to in such a manner. He almost spoke again when he noticed Trychon drop to one knee. He could tell that Trychon was just as irritated, but decided to take his brother's course of action and dropped down beside him.

"What is your bidding, Master?" Trychon asked, hating the words as they escaped his lips, knowing that Eiron was their true Master.

Vikon's tone became more civil. "Your thoughts betray you, young Sith. Eiron is an insane fool, and as such, you are fools to follow him." The comment infuriated Raezyr, and it was all he could do to not speak out in their Master's defense.

"But no matter," Vikon continued. "I will inform ahead of time when I see these prophecies coming true. That way you can do your best to fulfill them. Any questions?"

"Yes, my Lord," Raezyr said, still loathing the subservient role he was taking, but realizing it was necessary to fulfill Lord Eiron's mission. "If these are ancient prophecies, how will we know what to do to fulfill them, even if we know of them ahead of time? I mean, isn't that the point of a prophecy? So it won't be understood until it is fulfilled?"

"You really are fools, aren't you? These aren't prophecies written by ancient monks. I wrote them and inserted them into these ancient texts, and have slowly revealed them over the time I've been here. I have based them on events that I have foreseen happening. You will see them, because you will know they are about to happen, and you will know what role to play." Vikon rolled his eyes, clearly irritated by the two incompetent Sith before him.

"Master, if you wrote them, maybe you can explain something for us: the first line of the prophecy about our arrival, 'Knight of the Force, removed by two,' what does that mean and how do we fulfill that part?" Trychon asked. Both had been curious about that since they had first heard it.

"You really are ignorant, aren't you?" Vikon asked, clearly pitying them. "It refers to your grandfather. He is a Jedi Knight."

Both Trychon and Raezyr looked up. "Is?" they said simultaneously.

464. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

A few nights later, right before supper, Mannix approached them as they were washing up for supper. "Tonight," was all he said.

Both Raezyr and Trychon stared at him for a moment, not understanding what he was talking about. Mannix' shoulders sagged when he realized his attempt to be clandestine wasn't going as planned. "That person you wanted to see," he said quietly. "But we have to wait until everyone is asleep. I'll come and get you."

The two Sith went to bed that night, but rather than sleep, they slipped into a meditation trance and attuned themselves to any disturbances nearby, a trick they had taught themselves on the planet THX1138 out of the need for survival. When Mannix crept from his own bed, both Trychon and Raezyr came out of trance simultaneously, and dressed.

Mannix found them ready to go when he got to their side of the dwelling, and despite being a bit confused, didn't say a word, but turned and crept toward the door, followed closely by the two Sith.

Silently, they slipped out the door, and it was apparent that Mannix was practiced at doing it. He knew exactly where each creaky board was, and avoided it expertly. It was something of which they took mental note.

Once outside they quickened their pace, although they didn't talk. Too many nearby houses had windows open to let the cool night air in to replace the warm air that had built up during the day.

They made it across the compound and into the temple quickly and quietly. It made it easier that everything here was so well kept. All the gates and door hinges were well oiled, and noiseless.

Mannix led them down a series of halls and corridors and then down a set of stairs, leading underneath the large Temple, and then up to a set of large wooden doors. He pushed them open and they swung inward soundlessly.

It was a large, low ceilinged room lined with both stone and wooden shelves. Every shelf was laden with many round scrolls and tomes. They didn't appear to be marked or labeled in any particular way. Some of the manuscripts appeared to be falling apart from age, and sitting right next to a newer looking sheaf of papers, bound together with string. It seemed to be in complete contrast to how everything else in the village was taken care of and well ordered.

Mannix noticed them looking at the odd arrangements on the shelves, and spoke for the first time since leaving the house. "Everything put on paper gets stored here. Some of it is religious in nature, other things are just poems or stories that someone wrote. We hadn't had a real librarian in many years, so things just got shelved where ever one could find room. It's why Brother Varth's arrival was such a blessing. He's uncovered many important scriptures that had been lost in the shuffle of time."

As he spoke, he lead them through twists and turns where shelves had just been placed where ever they could find room, and eventually led them to the far corner where a small living space had been set up. A large desk sat there, with stacks of papers, scrolls, and tomes, and next to it was a bed and a dresser, and a small table where Varth presumably ate his meals.

Varth was sitting at his desk, with his back to them as they approached down a narrow walk way between shelves. He turned around and looked at them. They had never seen the man's face before. It had always been shadowed when they had spoken in the visions, but the power of the Dark Side emanating from the man left little doubt that this was, indeed Darth Vikon.

463. Manipulation of Emotion - Trychon

The two made it slowly back towards the monastery, with their conversation becoming increasingly hushed as they continually got closer to what could always be prying ears. They certainly already had enough interest about them from some of the locals, and didn't need much more before they were ready.

They agreed that their best course of action was going to be to simply ask Mannix when the best time was to meet Varth. They weren't sure yet how they would approach the situation, as whatever they told the boy could certainly give him the wrong idea or the right one, and they were unsure as to which was what at this point.

"We'll figure something out before we talk to Mannix..." Trychon assured his younger brother.

"You mean you're going to wing it." Raezyr laughed out loud, but quietly.

Trychon pointed to the small groups of figures they were approaching at the edge of the trees. "Well, now that we have that figured out we should be getting back."

The figures were wandering around slowly but purposefully. Most of them seemed to be heading to their various homes. As Trychon and Raezyr joined them on the paths, they began to notice they were getting more looks than before. Trychon did his best not to look as though he noticed as he made his way back to Mathias' hut, knowing that Raezyr would follow his lead, as he'd become increasingly good at doing.

The sideways glances continued as they passed several more groups of monks along the way. When they arrived back at the hut, Mannix was sitting casually on the ground to the side of the doorway. He was fidgeting with a few small pebbles on the path, but he stood up abruptly when they approached.

"Where were you guys tonight? You missed the Ceremony of the Wispy Moon." The young man was clearly upset as he brushed his legs off.

Trychon put his hand on Mannix's shoulder. "We're just starting to get acclimated Mannix. We didn't really feel it was our place to take part." He didn't want to tell him that they had completely forgotten about it, and hadn't really wanted to attend in the first place.

"Well, everyone noticed. I think even more will doubt me now." Mannix sighed.

Raezyr did his best to only let a little of his annoyance make its way into his voice. "How many times do we have to tell you not to worry about them? You know what's in your heart, and little else matters."

Trychon saw his opportunity, and spoke just as Mannix was taking another deep breath. "Listen Mannix, we talked about it... and just for you, we want to speak with Varth. Maybe he can shed some light on all of this for us." Trychon watched as the boy's face was overcome with a large smile. "We don't want more attention though, so we need your help finding a time we can speak to him without everyone knowing about it."

462. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

It took several more days of working with Mathias at the forge before Raezyr stopped waking up with sore muscles. It was still tough work, but it was good. It was also interesting to see at the end of the day, the things that he had helped create. It gave him a sense of connection with the monks, and he thought they might feel the same way, which would eventually help in the subversion they were trying to create.

Once he started getting used to the hard work, he also didn't feel so exhausted at the end of the day, and Trychon and he decided to take some 'walks' in the evening. After supper, on their first outing, they slipped their light sabers into the pockets on the inside of their robes and headed for the spot down by the river that Saffron had showed them.

The cool evening air felt good, after the hot stuffiness of the blacksmith shop all day. And they sat and talked for a bit before sparring. It was the first time they'd really had an opportunity to talk by themselves in days.

They briefly discussed how their jobs were going. Trychon was gaining some useful knowledge that reminded him of the things he had read about with Sith alchemy, and Raezyr could already tell this physical strength was growing, which was always a good thing.

"You know what's really been eating at me?" Trychon commented. "How we're gonna get off this damn tech-less rock. The shuttle comm is gone. My data pad is gone, or we could have gotten a message out that way, and then their 'emergency' comm was probably built before the hyperdrive was invented. And did I mention my data pad was slagged?"

"Hey, shake it off. We'll figure something out. Vikon has to have a ship here somewhere. He wasn't just dropped off. We'll hitch a ride out with him after we're done here. Besides," Raezyr continued, "Your data pad can be replaced. Don't sweat the small stuff."

Trychon just glared at Raezyr as the younger man stood up and began stretching a bit and pulling out his lightsaber hilts. He suspected Raezyr was just ribbing him about the data pad, but Trychon didn't find it funny. He stood up and snapped on his own lightsaber, twirling it around and relished the hum as it whirled through the evening air.

Raezyr finished stretching and took up a fighting stance. He pushed the activation switches with his thumbs, and the blue short blade hummed to life. The red lightsaber only sparked and crackled.

This time it was Raezyr's turn to cuss. Trychon only chuckled. "Now who needs to shake it off?"

"Shut up, Trych," Raezyr growled. He sat down and took the cylinder apart, and cussed further. "I can't fix this mess here... if this is even fixable," he commented, swearing even more as he poked around.

Finally, he put it back together and tucked it away. He looked about as angry as Trychon felt over his data pad. "I guess it's advantage: Trychon," he grumbled, snapping on the smaller blade.

They sparred for about 45 minutes until it began getting too dark to see, and for once, Trychon found that he won more matches than he lost, but attributed the success to the longer reach of his own lightsaber.

They finally packed it in and headed back to the village, discussing how best to go see this Varth, without being seen.

461. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

Raezyr took the opportunity to wander around the village a bit, making note of where different buildings were located, storing the information for later use. Not only would he need it for his daily life in the days to come, but also in the event of an emergency, it might come in handy.

Being a small village, it didn't take long to see everything, and he eventually found his way to the blacksmith's shop. Mathias greeted him with a warm smile and hand shake. His grip was firm enough to show his strength, which was belied by his slim stature, by human standards. He was still bigger than most of his race, and Raezyr attributed that to his work: swinging hammers and lifting heavy iron each day.

Mathias paused in his work to show him around the shop and explain the processes to him. In the back, they had a small foundry where two men smelted ore down and poured it out into workable ingots of various metals. For the most part, the big monk explained, they just refined the metals, such as iron, silver, and even gold, which was what he worked with for the most part, but when occasion called for it, they also made steel, which was highly labor intensive, so avoided when possible.

Once the tour was over, Mathias told Raezyr that his job for now, would primarily consist of being his striker, explaining that it meant Raezyr would swing the heavy sledge, while he held the hot metal with the tongs and directed Raezyr's blows with small taps of a hammer, indicating where he wanted Raezyr to strike.

It took Raezyr awhile to get the hang of it, but by the end of the day, Mathias said he was doing really well for someone with so little experience.

Raezyr felt worn out and tired, and his muscles ached as they made their way back home. He could already tell that he was going to be very sore the next day. It was more physical work than he was used to, and he'd been at it for less than a day. Sure, he exercised each day that he could, but those workouts were for an hour or so at the most, while this had been constant.

The two washed the soot, grime and sweat from their bodies before entering the hut. Trychon was outside chopping firewood, and Violet was already busy cooking supper, and it wasn't long before both Gall and Mannix arrived home.

When supper was over, and their nightly ales had been consumed, they crawled into their beds. Trychon tried to make some quiet conversation, but Raezyr was fast asleep the instant his head hit the pillow.

460. Manipulation of Emotions - Trychon

The two brothers split up and followed the directions they were given. They weren't sure what 'other matters' that Father Monahan had been distracted with, but they had already discussed the idea of just working with Mathias and Violet since they knew very few others at least to start. Mathias was fairly sure that it would be more than welcome, at least as a start. As small as the monastery was, the directions were not that hard for them to follow to arrive at their new jobs.

Trychon followed a small worn path along the edge of the village until he came to a quaint fence. He had chosen to learn a bit from Violet as his choices were limited by Raezyr's keen interest in blacksmithing work, but also because he already had some knowledge of the varied and useful applications of plant life from his youth in a forrest not too dissimilar from the one they were surrounded by.

On the other side of the little white fence was supposed to be Violet's area set aside for managing various examples of such useful plants. Not wanting to simply walk into the area with no knowledge of what he may trample on, and not wanting to disturb Violet, Trychon just observed the area from the path for a few minutes. There was a very wide variety of life on the other side, in many shapes, sizes and colors. He thought he found the plant that was the main ingredient in the bitter 'healing' tea due to the dark purple hue of its leaves, but then saw two others that were clearly a different species that could just as well be the culprit.

The more he looked on, the more Trychon was impressed. At first, the fence had given him the impression that her working area would be equally small, but he could not tell quite how deep the gardening enclosure went. He'd also expected to find an organized line and rows of a few different plants, not the motley arrangement he saw which seemed to simply be a plot of land that was kept for the purposes of Violet, but without interrupting the natural ways in which the life intermingled and grew. It gave Trychon a distinct impression through the Force, as though the natural power of life there was strengthened by Violet's careful and unobtrusive touch.

He was so lost in his thoughts about the waves of life washing over him that he nearly was startled when Violet approached him from behind.

"Hello, stranger." She greeted him with her usual large smile. "I was just returning from getting a bit of extra supplies, hoping you'd turn up good on your offer to give me a hand."

Trychon smiled back at her and reached out to remove some of the burden from her arms. She stopped him from taking all of her supplies though, informing him that 'give her a hand' was a phrase and nothing more, and he was there to learn the trade, not be her carryall.

"Now, let's show you what I've got!" She added, clearly excited. "Over here we have..."

459. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

Standing up for himself did feel good, and he said as much. He felt even better when Raezyr and Trychon grinned in response. He didn't say much as he led them back to the village, listening to the two young men talk, and pondering the things they had told him that morning. The more he thought about what they had said, the more it made sense, and it only confirmed in his mind that one of these two must be the Chosen One.

They made it back to the village just in time for the mid-day meal. Violet had already dished them up a meal, anticipating their arrival. It was hot, and filling, and afterward they washed it down with a tankard of ale.

Afterward Mannix took them to the Temple, and sought out Brother Bruno, an elder on the High Council, and the one responsible for the radio.

Bruno was frail and skinny, even more so than the rest of his race, and his gray hair flowed down over his back and shoulders, reaching almost half-way to his waist. He was sitting in meditation on a stone bench in one of the inner alcoves of the Temple, he looked up at their approach. His face looked surprisingly young, but his eyes gave away his advanced years as they were pale blue and watery.

Still he was quite nimble for his age, and hopped up quickly when they arrived. Trychon and Raezyr discretely eyed the medallion that hung around his neck. It seemed almost identical to the one Father Monahan wore and the one hanging in Brother Odilo's hut. "Ah, you're here," he said, his voice surprisingly strong. "Father Monahan had other matters to attend to, and told me you wished to see our radio. I am, after all, the most knowledgeable about it. Please, right this way."

He led them to a set of stairs that spiraled into the upper reaches of the Temple, and finally came to a heavy wooden door with iron hinges. He opened the door and led them inside and pointed to the equipment sitting on a wooden table. "It's a bit out of date. It was given to us by some traders many, many years ago, just in case there was an emergency."

Trychon and Raezyr looked at the instruments and then at each other. "Outdated" was a gross understatement. The thing was ancient. It was covered in toggle switches, knobs and the readouts and gauges were all needles. It was no wonder the trades had just given it to them, they were probably unable to sell the unit, and would have had to scrap the thing anyway.

They were both dismayed. Originally they had planned to use the shuttle's comm system to contact Aitchkay for pickup, once their business here was finished, but this radio was so old, it would take hours for a signal to reach the droid, if it ever even got there. It made it even more important to find a way to speak with this Varth person in private. If it was indeed who they suspected it was, then maybe he might have a way to radio out.

Brother Bruno showed them how to operate the machine, even though they were sure they could have figured it out eventually, anyway, and sent out several "distress" calls, despite the fact that they would never reach anyone. Still, they needed to at least make things look good.

They thanked Bruno for his time, and he lead them back down to the main floor of the temple. They said their goodbyes and Mannix the two Sith apprentices made their way back outside.

Mannix gave them instructions on how to get to Violet and Mathis' work places, then excused himself to go to Brother Varth and attend his duties. Trychon and Raezyr both went their separate ways to begin learning their new trades and earning their keep.

458. Manipulation of Emotion - Trychon

Having already done a rather thorough search of the wreckage for his datapad, Trychon didn't bother to look for anything else of value before following Raezyr out into the open again. He also saw the look on Mannix's face almost immediately. As he formulated a response to settle the boy down, he noticed the entire surrounded area seemed a bit quieter than when he'd entered the shuttle.

Trychon adopted a small, embarrassed grin and gave Mannix a quick chuckle. "Heard that, did you?"

Mannix lifted his jaw back up so he could respond, but he couldn't think of what to say.

"See?" Trychon filled the gap for him. "This is a perfect example of what we were talking about. If I were a young Jedi, I would have gotten a lecture for allowing myself emotions like that. Instead, I would have kept them inside and let them eat at the back of my mind indefinitely. Instead, I've always found that by feeling my emotions instead of denying them, I can deal with them and move on. It's much more constructive, and I'm fine now."

Mannix seemed to consider the words as he nodded silently. Trychon knew he wouldn't speak up for a few moments, so he continued. "I'll be the first to admit I may have gone a bit overboard in my reaction. However, it was better than allowing all of my emotions for the rest of the day be tainted by that one moment. I'm sure if the Jedi could really see back into the past, they would find that the intent of their staunch rules likely were only to help them handle their emotions properly, not deny them entirely. It simply doesn't make sense. Not that I'm saying I have all of the answers either, everyone needs to find their own way I think."

Trychon turned to look at Raezyr, whom he was sure was also enjoying the irony as Mannix was surely struggling not to overreact as he was being told that it was the perfectly normal solution. If the Jedi were staunch supporters of keeping negative emotions internalized, an order that thought that the Jedi were too violent would likely be horrified by Trychon's display of anger.

Raezyr stepped forward and put a hand on Mannix's shoulder. "Relax, kid. We're not here to preach our ways or push anything onto any of you. In fact, we probably wouldn't have even discussed it with most of your family or friends, but you seem to have an open, learning mind. We're still figuring things out for ourselves." He could see Mannix become more comfortable, so he continued. "Besides, Trychon is the last person who'd ever allow his emotions to overtake him or allow him to lose control."

Raezyr hid another smile as he couldn't help but think of Trychon holding that guard in the air, with sparks and smoke filling the air as he quite literally killed him with his rage.

Mannix looked up at Raezyr. "Don't call me kid."

"See? Didn't that feel good?"

457. Flight of the Decoy - Raezyr

The young ensign sat at his comm station on board the Republic Hammerhead Unity monitoring the incoming, non-priority messages. He'd scan them, and then distribute them as needed, if they even needed distributing. Most messages weren't even for his ship, and he just logged them into the ship's computers, keeping them on file in case they should ever become important.

In reality, the ship's computer did most of the work, filtering the endless stream using keyword and image recognition programs, and would alert him when it came across something requiring human attention or anything sent specifically to the ship. During a war mission, he was usually quite busy, but at the moment, on routine sector patrol, he spent a lot of time just browsing the holonet.

He was killing time toward the end of his shift, checking scores and news updates from the recent games played in the GSL, the Galactic Smashball League, when his console 'dinged' at him, indicating a message needed attention.

He hit the acknowledge button so it would stop making noise, but let it sit for a moment while he finished reading the box scores and stats from the Den Var Rancors game before opening the message, assuming it was probably just some technical update for the Engineering section. When he finally got around to reading the message, he nearly broke his comm button as he pounded the button for his superior on the bridge.

"This is Lieutenant Hoff, what is it?" said the voice on the other end of the line.

"This is Ensign Klacks, sir, in Routine Communications. I've got something that Captain Moklam is going to want to see," the young man replied, still staring at his screen.

"Very well. Send it through," Hoff said on the other end in a patronizing tone that clearly indicated he didn't think anything coming through RootCom was important enough to warrant the Captain's attention.

"Yes, sir. Sending it now."

He leaned back in his seat on the bridge and watched his screen, silently waiting for the copy of the transmission to appear in front of him. It only took a moment or two, and when it appeared, he scanned it quickly. His mood changed abruptly and he sat upright. "Excellent work, Ensign," he said earnestly, then disconnected without waiting for the young man on the other end to reply.

He jumped out of his seat and looked toward the ship's Captain, seated in the command chair on the bridge. "Captain!" he said in a raised voice. "I've got something I think you may want to see. It was just sent up from RootComm."

Captain Wash Moklam looked over at his Communications Officer, pulling his attention away from the reports he had been viewing on his console. "From RootComm?" he asked, a bit confused. In his seven years as Captain, he couldn't ever remember receiving something requiring his immediate attention which came from Routine Communications. "Go ahead and give it to me, Lieutenant."

Lieutenant Hoff punched the buttons that would send the communique to the command console at the Captain's chair.

Moklam read the message, then re-read it. It was a routine wanted message, regarding an incident at a casino on Balmorra. Not something that warranted the attention of a Republic Capital ship, but what caught his attention was the description, and name of the escape ship, a light freighter called the Wasted Rancor. The very craft that had escaped his clutches and put the Unity out of commission for so long. He had vowed then, that he'd get revenge on them.

He stood up from his chair and clasped his hands behind his back. "Helm, course change. Make for Balmorra in the Nevoota System, with all speed possible. Hoff, contact my staff and have them meet me in the War Room, on the double."

456. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

Mathias finished the introductions to his wife, Violet, and their older son, Baldemar, before they all sat down for supper. Mathias led them all in a short prayer before the meal. When he had finished, he looked at the guests. "Well, friends, not to pry into your lives, but maybe you can tell us a little bit about yourselves. I don't want to be rude, but young Mannix was a bit eager in offering our home, although Violet and I were thinking of volunteering anyway," the big man quickly added.

Trychon and Raezyr looked at each other for a moment, before Raezyr quickly stuffed a bite of food into his mouth. Trychon rolled his eyes. "Well, there's not a whole lot to tell, that Raezyr hasn't told Father Monahan and Saffron already. Raezyr was trained by a Jedi in their ways, but became disillusioned with their duality. He found their instructions on the Force useful, but their practices did not coincide with their proclamations of peace and harmony and left their order. He sought me out, and taught me what he had learned of the Force. Since then, we've been searching the Galaxy for a place where we fit in.

"Now let me ask you about yourselves. We know that everybody here has their own jobs, and Father Monahan said tomorrow he will see about assigning us places to earn our keep. What is it that you folks do?" Trychon asked.

Mathias set down his spoon and rested his huge forearms on the table. "I am the blacksmith for the village. I take the metals that are mined nearby and forge it into useful tools. I also repair metals that have been broken. My wife is the herbalist here in town. She grows the herbs that are used to make our medicines and other remedies. In fact, you were probably given some. The purple tea is of her own creation, and it's pain relieving and healing properties have helped many in the village.

"Baldemar here, is one of the gardeners. He helps groom the Temple garden, and even helps Violet in his spare time. Mannix has yet to be given his trade. He's still a few years off from his ceremony, so he does what many of the young people in the village do, who don't have trades, and helps work the fields or other tasks that various tradesfolk need help with. That way he learns a little of many different trades, and the elders can see what he may be best at. Most recently, Brother Varth has been requesting his help in the library," Mathias explained.

Trychon had successfully deflected the topic away from their past, and the conversation turned toward daily life around the monastery. When supper was over, and the dishes were cleared, Mathias broke out several pewter tankards, and filled them at a barrel in the kitchen area, then set down again, putting a mug in front of each person.

Raezyr and Trychon sniffed at the frothy beverage, then eagerly chugged a large portion. It was easily the best ale they had ever tasted. "This is excellent. It's a pity..." Raezyr said, trailing off before he could finish the sentence. He had been thinking it would be a shame that the galaxy would never know of this once they finished their mission here. Trychon glared at his younger brother, knowing what he was thinking.

"A pity?" Mathias questioned.

"Um... yeah... it's a pity... that we've never tasted this before. Trych and I consider ourselves to be 'ale connoisseurs' of a sort," Raezyr said, recovering.

The next morning, they woke early to the sounds of Sister Violet getting breakfast ready. The strange birds were already singing outside despite the fact the sun hadn't risen yet. Raezyr and Trychon went outside to wash up. The water in the basin was cold, but refreshing, and they felt much better afterward.

After a hearty breakfast, Mannix quietly handed them each a short metal blade, explaining that the jungle undergrowth could be quite thick, and they'd need those to hack the plants out of the way, before they left. It was the first he had really spoken to them since their arrival.

The sun was just peaking over the mountains looming over the wide valley as they reached the outskirts of the village, and Trychon broke the silence. "So, Mannix. Everyone has told us how eager you've been to see us, yet you've been pretty quiet since we left Odilo's. Why's that?" he asked bluntly.

The young man scratched the tip of his pointy ears, thinking for a moment before he answered. "I... I don't know. I guess I just didn't know what to say."

"Sure you do," Raezyr prompted. "You just lack the confidence to do so. Tell me why that is."

"Well, it's my brother and his friends... everyone really. They've done nothing but make fun of me," he said sullenly. "I guess I just figure you guys will too."

"Why would we make fun of you?" Trychon asked. "As far as we're concerned, your opinions are just as valid as those of anyone else. It's not right to put someone down for their beliefs. It's my experience that those who chose to do so are small minded."

Raezyr thought for a minute about their suspicions that Varth was actually Darth Vikon, and how he had been requesting Mannix to work for him. He decided to take a bit of a chance. "Besides, someone destined to work in the library would have to be a scholar. How does a gardener's opinions matter more than a scholars?" Raezyr asked rhetorically.

Mannix thought about what they said, and it seemed to make sense. Brother Varth had said that he wanted to take Mannix as his apprentice. That had to count for something. Suddenly he stopped hacking at underbrush and turned around. "I think one of you must be the One foretold in the prophecy. Too many things fit to be coincidence. Before anyone saw your eyes, Mr. Trychon, everyone laughed at me. Now some are starting to believe. Brother Varth believes me. He told me so. I guess I just have so many things I want to ask you both."

"Well, I think I can speak for both of us, when I say that we don't really think that either of us is the one spoken of in your prophecy," Trychon said quickly. "You can understand that, I'm sure. But no one should keep you from speaking your mind and sharing your thoughts. We're just regular guys, nothing special about us. With that, though, we'd be happy to answer any questions you have," Trychon added.

The next couple of hours, the two Sith answered questions for the youth as best they could, without giving away their true nature, although they did slip in the random Sith teaching when they could do so unobtrusively, and Mannix seemed very receptive to everything they said.

Finally they entered the scorched and blackened area where the shuttle had crashed. Not much remained that told what the blackened heap of twisted wreckage had once been. Trychon moved forward anyway, toward the open hatch and crawled inside. Trychon looked at the carnage inside the craft for a moment, not believing that anyone could have survived, before searching frantically for his data pad.

Raezyr had been closer, but moved out of the way, as he knew his brother was worried about his data pad. He had told Mannix to wait outside before he entered. When he got to the cockpit, he saw Trychon on his knees, digging through masses of wires and conduits. Finally he found what he was searching for and held up the small device.

"Oh, damn!," he yelled, looking at the blob of melted plastic and metal. "Damn, Damn, Damn!" Trychon threw the ruined data pad into the wall and started pounding his fist against the floor, screaming explicatives in languages that Raezyr had no idea Trychon even knew.

"I take it this is bad," Raezyr said flatly.

"You got that right, Captain Obvious," Trychon snarled. He sat back on his knees on the floor for a moment, breathing heavily. Suddenly a thought occurred to him and he lunged across the cockpit and opened a small compartment next to the co-pilot's chair. Looking inside, he breathed a sigh of relief. All of his data chips were still in tact.

He pulled them out and stuffed them in a pocket. "Thank the Ancient Sith Lords for backups!" he said, wiping the beads of sweat from his brow. He still wasn't happy. A lot of data and programs had been lost, but at least he still had the most important ones.

Raezyr stepped back outside and looked at Mannix. The youth's jaw was open so wide it nearly touched the ground.

455. Manipulation of Emotion - Trychon

The walk to Brother Mathias' hut was a relatively short one, as was any walk inside the limits of the small settlement. The young man that the two Sith had seen keeping an eye on them so often since they'd regained consciousness had met them outside the healers, and had simply smiled and tried to help with Raezyr's bag, then with Trychon's though neither allowed him. He stared at Trychon's eyes, only to end up looking at the ground when Trychon looked his way.

The boy led them along a few short paths, until they found themselves in front of one of the many small residential huts. Each one was very similar in their basic design, but the handmade nature was obvious in the variety of the structures, each as unique as the family that resided within. The one that they stopped at had quite a bit more metal work along the outside of the walls, as well as a few small metal trinkets adorning the small garden in front. Despite the small pieces of ironwork, the garden appeared to be of a utilitarian nature, as none of the plants were covered in the colorful petals that were prevalent around the other homes.

A man walked out from inside the small hut as they stopped at the door. He was larger than most of the monks they'd seen so far, and he had a very muscular build for his frame. He wore a heavy apron that seemed to be white underneath the soot that gave it the black shade it was now. His hands, arms and forehead were similarly covered in the black substance, but his smile gave him a bright disposition as he attempted to wipe his hands clean on the apron with mixed success. He held his hand out and shook the hands of both of the Sith before introducing himself.

"Hello." He said as he put his hands on his hips. "I'm Brother Mathias. Welcome to my home... our home. It's not much, but we've borrowed a few extra mattresses to lay on the floor for you. Please consider yourselves completely welcome as long as you'd like." He looked to the boy. "I'm sure you've been properly introduced to my Mannix here... been talking their ears off yet, son?"

Mannix kept his gaze near his feet and shook his head. He responded quietly and with a bit of dejection. "No..."

Mathias laughed as he took off his apron and gestured for them to follow him inside. "Come meet my better half!" He walked them through the small entryway and into the hut. Like the healer's hut, it was composed of one large room with a few small walls that only seemed to offer partial privacy to those who may need it. The inside was small, but larger than it seemed from the exterior, and it seemed to have quite a bit of varied functionality. There were several mattresses piled up against one of the larger walls, and off to one side was a small woman with build nearly opposite of Mathias' own. She was working over several pots of various sizes, stirring what smelled like some sort of stew in the largest pot. Trychon's stomach grumbled. Mathias walked over to the woman and gave her a quick hug before introducing her to their guests.

454. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

Trychon's progress was remarkable, and after two days, he was already going along on the trips to the garden with Saffron and Raezyr.

Shortly after Trychon had awakened, Raezyr persuaded Saffron to take him somewhere more secluded, away from the village and gardens where the other monks were constantly trying to get a glimpse of the newcomers. She had taken Raezyr down to the river, a couple of kilometers upstream, to a clearing near a small section of rapids, and as soon as Brother Odilo was satisfied with Trychon's progress, Raezyr took him there.

They felt they made a sorry sight, shuffling along the wooded path. Raezyr was a bit better, and needed only a walking staff for a bit of support, while Trychon was still using the crutch that had once supported Raezyr's weight. Both of them wore robes provided by the monks, and their clothes, Raezyr's armor, and lightsabers were still tucked safely away in the cabinet in the Healer's hut. Both men felt a bit insecure without those, but they needed to wait until they had a real reason to get them out.

They sat down next to each other on a large rock embedded in the river bank and let their feet dangle over the edge, just a half meter from the fast flowing water. This place would be perfect to talk, as the noise of the rapids would drown out their voices. Raezyr explained everything he had told to the Taxl about their past. He had done his best to keep things vague, and ambiguous, while not straying too far from the truth. Trychon agreed that it was a good strategy.

They made daily trips to the river on the premise of getting exercise, and staying out of the way of prying eyes. At times Saffron accompanied them, other times they went alone, and eventually they were both able to make the trip without the assistance of crutches or walking staffs.

Finally Brother Odilo proclaimed them well enough to leave the Healer's hut. Father Monahan was there as well for their final examination and Touch of Grace. He spoke as Brother Odilo was hanging the amulet back in it's place. "Well, friends. We have a place for you to stay, until you are able to build one of your own. Brother Mathias and his wife, Sister Violet, have made good on young Mannix' offer. They have made room for you. Tomorrow, after you're settled in, we'll see about finding a trade for you.

"We wouldn't dream of forcing you to join our order, but this is the only settlement on the planet, that we know of so you're more than welcome to stay here. If you want to get off planet, we can set a beacon up, but it's not interstellar, and neither is our radio, so it may be another five or ten years before a ship comes into the system and picks the signal up," he concluded.

Trychon and Raezyr had gotten their things out of the cabinet and were loading them into bags. Trychon noticed his data pad was not among their personal affects. "Well, first thing tomorrow morning, I'd like to see if someone can take us to the wreck site. There may be things that survived that weren't retrieved," Trychon said, hoping that the data pad was still on board. He then decided to play the stranded victim. "After that, we'd like to look at your radio system, not that we don't believe you, but both of us are pretty handy with technology, and we'd just feel better with a first hand look at what you have."

Father Monahan stood up. "Absolutely. Young Mannix lead the rescue, and I'm sure he'd be more than happy to take you back to the site. It is a bit of a rough hike though. After that, I'll show you the communication system myself. We don't use much tech here, but we do keep a bit stored away for emergencies."

Trychon and Raezyr shouldered their bags and headed toward the door. They shook hands with Brother Odilo, and thanked him for all his help. They tried to shake hands with Saffron as well, but she ignored their hands and hugged them instead.

453. Manipulation of Emotion - Trychon

Raezyr didn't go on his walks with Saffron the next day, citing the need to keep an eye on his progress as his reason. While that was true, he also felt the need to try and get a chance to talk with Trychon before doing anything else... and their hut had already begun to fall under closer scrutiny. As much as Raezyr felt calmed by the garden, he simply felt it could wait.

While the monastery as a whole continued to follow the now official rule of leaving the two secret Sith alone for the time being, the traffic on the path that went by their hut had certainly increased since the young boy Saffron had told them was named Mannix had run off to tell everyone about Trychon's yellow eyes. Brother Monahan and the other elders came in to visit much more often with Brother Odilo, though Trychon kept sensing their arrival and feigning sleep. Raezyr wasn't sure after the fourth or fifth time if he was still avoiding them, or if he was merely doing it for amusement.

When Brother Odilo left them alone in the hut while Saffron was already out gathering some herbs, Trychon sat up and turned to let his legs hang off of his bed, clearly starting to catch up to Raezyr's recovery, despite being unconscious for several more days. He decided to risk the chance of eavesdroppers, though not much as he whispered as quietly as he could. "It's still there... the feeling. We need to get out of here to talk."

Raezyr nodded and matched his brother's whisper. "Yeah... there's a garden we've been going to for exercise. I never noticed the feeling there."

"I doubt it. I don't know what it is. Sometimes I feel like I'm being listened to, but then later I'll feel like I was paranoid for it. I don't know if they can actually sense our thoughts or not. I almost feel like I just don't know what to expect from any of them. We need to get away from the whole area... when I can, that is."

"I'll ask Saffron where we could go next time we're alone in here." Raezyr agreed.

"Alone, eh?" Trychon winked before lying back down as he felt a presence approaching their walls once again.

452. Manipulation of Emotion - Raezyr

Raezyr caught Trychon's drift, as he had the same feeling. It was the feeling you get when you are whispering to someone, and look up, just in time to catch someone else leaning in, trying to hear what you're talking about. You know they couldn't have heard you, but you wonder anyway. Raezyr laid back onto his cot and rested his head on his hands. "Good thing you're awake."

"Why's that?" Trychon said, speaking toward the ceiling.

"I'm no good at this stuff."

"What stuff?"

"Talking to people. Never have been." They laid their quietly for a while, neither knowing just how much to say, and both wondering just whose attention they had attracted. Raezyr really wished they could get away and talk quietly. It'd never do for their stories to not match up.

Trychon's thoughts turned to what Raezyr may have told them. Apparently they now had some sort of Jedi background, and it worried him that he didn't know what had been said. He began to wish that he had been the first to wake up, then began thinking about the last thing he remembered before the crash.

Things had been tense, but Raezyr had seemed in control. Suddenly, there had been a small explosion from somewhere outside the craft, and after that, all hell had broken loose. It was the first time since they had met that he had seen his younger brother in 'panic' mode. Then something burst inside the overhead bulkhead and a panel dropped, hitting him in the head. Lights had exploded inside his brain, and the next thing he remembered was waking up just a few minutes ago.

"How long were we in the tank?" Trychon asked. "And how long have I been out?" he added before the other Sith could answer.

"Heh, no tanks here, Trych," Raezyr chuckled a bit. "Just good, old-fashioned Force imbued amulets, and I was out for about two days. You've been out for about 4 more days than that."

"SEVEN DAYS?" Trychon asked incredulously, propping himself up. "How badly did you wreck our ship?"

"Ship? Are you referring to the pile of scrap metal in the woods?"

"Oh, man," Trychon moaned as he laid back covered his eyes with the crook of his elbow. He suddenly sat up again, wincing in pain as he did, the amulet's magic beginning to wear off. "Where's our stuff? My gem? My lightsaber?"

Suddenly they heard footsteps approaching. "All of our stuff is safe in that cabinet over there. ALL of it," he stressed, hoping Trychon would catch his drift and drop the questions about the lightsabers. The Taxl apparently didn't know what they were, and the longer before they found out, the better.

Saffron opened the door, and Odilo entered quickly behind her, "... and I'm not sure we can stop them now," he was saying.

Raezyr sat up and started to get out of the bed. "Who needs stopping?" he asked. If someone was about to happen, he didn't want to be caught lying down. He noticed Trychon must have had the same thought, because he was struggling to get up as well.

"No, no, Mr. Raezyr, you lay back down. I was referring to young Mannix. I believe he's going to spread word about you two, and we're going to have quite a number of people wanting to visit you," Brother Odilo said as he put Raezyr back in the bed, then walked over and did the same with Trychon.

"Hello, Mr. Trychon. I am Brother Odilo, the Healer here in our village. This is Saffron," he said, indicating the red haired girl who had begun crumbling some leaves into a small pot of steaming water. "She's my apprentice. Together, we've overseen your and your brother's recovery. Soon you'll be well enough to get up and move around, but for now I must insist on complete bed rest."

Saffron brought the small earthenware pot over and two wooden mugs. Setting them down, she filled the mugs half-way with a steaming, purple liquid.

"I have to go speak with Father Monahan about the new situation, I'll be back later," Odilo said and slipped out the door.

Seeing what she was pouring, Raezyr groaned a bit. Saffron chuckled at the sound. "Please drink this, Trychon. It's your brother's favorite," she said wryly.

"Just chug it, Trych," Raezyr said as he swallowed the hot tea in one gulp, then reached for the cool water on the stand by his bed.

Trychon looked at the mug warily, then followed Raezyr's lead. It was bitter, and the heat burned his mouth a bit as it went down, but he forced it down anyway, then reached for his own cup of water to wash it down.

"What situation was he talking about? What's going on, Saffron?" Raezyr asked, having rinsed his mouth of the harsh medicine.

Saffron sighed then sat down. "I suppose you'll be finding out soon, so it won't do any harm in telling you. The elder's had hoped to quash the rumors that had started, but now that will never happen.

"We have an old prophecy. It was uncovered by one of our newer members, a man named Varth, when he was transcribing some of our old texts. It foretells of a chosen one, or a great leader. There are some that think one of you might be The One," she explained.

I'm not sure if I remember it correctly, but the passage reads something like:

Knight of the Force, removed by two;
Cloaked in progress, the color blue;
Blade of Night;
Gem of Might;
From the Stars at morning light;
On his head, the mark shall rise;
The Force painted in his eyes;
The One to take his Place of Right.

We never really understood any of that, but you two crashed just before sunrised, and Raezyr was wearing that blue, uh, armor, or whatever, and has that scar, so Mannix, the boy you saw in the doorway, has been telling anyone that will listen that the Chosen One had arrived. Most have dismissed those things as mere coincidence, but since he's seen your eyes, now, Trychon, I think people will start paying attention. Four of the signs is just too much to pass off as incidental."

Feigning ignorance, Trychon asked, "What do my eyes have to do with it?"

"We have old texts that describe yellow eyes as the mark of the Force," she explained.

Raezyr spoke up, worried what else those texts may say about yellow eyes. "What else does it say about that mark?"

"Nothing else that we know of. Many of our older tomes have fallen to ruin from disuse as only a few have been deemed as Holy. It has been a real blessing to us that Varth arrived a few years ago. He has undertaken the task of transcribing many of those texts, and has uncovered many writings that had been long forgotten by our Order. He's a bit of a recluse. Rarely ever leaves the library, except to sleep and for Assembly. He even eats there," she informed them.

Trychon and Raezyr looked at each other, and they knew they were thinking the same thing. Varth... it had to be him.