Post by Talau the Ever-Lurking on Sept 3, 2008 19:25:12 GMT -5
High Hopes
“Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards -- but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide”
~Gregorian
Song link
“Looking beyond the embers of bridges glowing behind us
To a glimpse of how green it was on the other side
Steps taken forwards -- but sleepwalking back again
Dragged by the force of some inner tide”
~Gregorian
Song link
Name: Sihara Horula (goes by Sihara)
Race: Togruta
Age: 29
Height: 5' 5" (6 foot counting montrals)
Weight: 130 lbs
Birthplace: Ship Name: Shili 121
Appearance: Sihara is slim and athletic, with a light rust red tint to her skin, light red-gray lips and sharp incisor teeth. Her eyes are an odd honey gold color with streaks of green. Like all Togruta, she has three white and black striped leeku and two montral that curve gracefully along her shoulders and back. White marks adorn the areas above her eyebrows and curve gracefully down the sides of her face to the middle of her cheeks. Similar markings can be seen on either side of her spine, down her shoulders and along her collarbone. Sihara is often seen wearing a headdress made of shells, metal, pearls and one akul tooth that she gathered on a journey to Shili, traditional dark brown robes and pants with a Togruta Sash, and cream-colored top similar to the pre-imperial Jedi. She has a scar running along her back close to her spine from the vibro-blade one of her enemies had injured her with nearly ten years ago, and she has an odd tattoo on the underside of her right wrist which she acquired after the death of Kain in remembrance of him. (which she will not tell anyone about how or why she has it).
www.q-gifts.com/images/ourworks/tribal1.jpg ((the tattoo))
Personality: Sihara is typically calm and serene, though if the occasion fits she can be either a happy person or a whirlwind of righteous anger. Around friends she can be rather witty or sarcastic, enjoying a few good jokes. As expected from someone who's recently left the jedi order (in good standing), Sihara has a highly developed sense of honor, loyalty, and 'right'. She can be stubborn at points but is often willing to listen to reason or suggestions if spoken to respectfully and honestly. Comfortable working alone or with others, Sihara is a rather dynamic person who tends to be clever, but quiet enough that others might not notice.
Profession: Body Guard (occasional mercenary/bounty hunter work)
Skills: tracking, Aikido (martial arts), piloting (moderate)
Previous Faction: Jedi
Rank: Knight- Guardian
Lightsaber: N/A (she returned her saber when she left the order, however, she still retains her crystal)
Color: Purple
Practiced Light saber forms:
Shii-Cho (5)
Makashi (4)
Soresu (4)
Ataru (5)
Shien / Djem So (2)
>>Sub-form Backhanded (1)
Niman (N/A)
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or duel wield (3)
Juyo (1)
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 8
Telepathic: 5
Body: 6
Sense: 7 (not counting species spacial awareness)
Protection: 4
Healing: 7
Destruction: 1
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 8
Leadership: 5
Unarmed: 6
Melee Weapons: 6
Ranged Weapons: 4
Force Attunement: +3
Bio:
Sihara: the turu-grass beauty
Born in space to a mother and father who had been sent on a diplomatic journey to Coruscant, Sihara would never know her parents, save in vague memories and emotions. Sihara's tribe had sent her parents…two togruta who had become more and more individual (a trait which was looked down upon amongst their people)…to speak on the behalf of the planet due to the increasing threat of mandalorians, pirates, and slavers sent by various Hutts to exploit their people and planet. Her arrival into the galaxy was uneventful…well, as uneventful as labor can be…and surprisingly easy for her mother, despite it being an early birth brought on by the stress of running from the bounty hunters the Hutts had sent after them. The baby was different, even her parents knew, simply from the markings that covered her tiny body. Aside from the few ‘regular’ white stripes that marked her body, she was covered in long, waving, artistic, markings that reminded them of the turu-grass that grew on Shili when it waved in the wind. Surely, they thought, such an artistically marked child deserved an equally artistic name.
They named her Sihara.
When they had first set out from Shili, everything seemed like it would go according to plan; however, it didn’t take long for the couple to realize that they were being followed. It seemed the mandalorian bounty hunters sent after them had no intention of allowing the two to reach Coruscant alive, despite their orders to capture the ship and its occupants if at all possible (the Hutts didn’t particularly want them dead…until they killed the two themselves). Knowing that their time for running was short, the two decided to hurry to the only people they felt they could trust to keep their child safe...the Jedi. The baby had shown some odd talents, even so early on in life. If she wanted something the item she reached for would shake or tip, and at one point she’d managed to lift one of her father’s lekku without ever touching it. Clearly she had force potential. Though Sihara knew nothing of what was happening around her, or why, she could sense the agitated feelings of her parents, and see the odd shades of color that surrounded her parents in their nervous state.
Upon landing on Coruscant, Sihara's parents were terrified to find that the bounty hunters had reached the planet ahead of them. Having no other way, the two split up, Sihara's mother running for the safety of the temple, her father staying behind to try and hold the men at bay as any true warrior would, only to be killed. Fortunately Sihara and her mother had made it to the steps of the temple and up to the doors in time to be greeted by a knight who had been on his way to the speeder bays. No sooner had Sihara's mother handed her over to the knight than she too was killed by a blaster shot in the back. Drawing his light saber, the knight, Orion Nyxus, stood ready to defend the child, but the bounty hunters were not stupid. They hadn't been paid to kill a baby, and so they weren't about to fight a Jedi over her. Not to mention it was suicide to even attempt anything further at the temple grounds…the ship the bounty hunters occupied was swiftly set upon by Temple security, but by that time the group that had killed Sihara’s mother and father were already long gone.
Life as a Youngling
As it turned out, like many togruta, Sihara did, in fact, have an affinity for the force, and so the temple took her in and began to train her. By the time she was five Orion Nyxus had become a master, his first padawan passing the trials easily…but he always managed to make time for the little girl when he was at the temple. He was always interested in how her lessons went, and how she was progressing in them. The youngling, it seemed, had an uncanny talent for telekinetics, and a knack for picking up saber combat. With a bit of digging, Orion was able to learn that the little togruta girl was top of her learning group in both saber practice and telekinetics…a prodigy, her teacher had called her, affectionately.
It was true, for the most part…her sense skill was slightly above average, though her telepathy left something to be desired…but her alter abilities surpassed those of her peers quite easily. “Couple this,” her teacher had said, “with the girl’s ability to think creatively, and Sihara easily outshines the others.” Similar could be said of her dedication to learning Shii-Cho. “It seems, at times,” her saber instructor mused, “that she seeks to master the form before she reaches the level of padawan. As impossible as that is, the girl is making incredible leaps in her skill.” Orion seemed pleased by the praise the little girl received, but never brought it to her attention. Instead, the middle aged man seemed content to help further her instruction once his padawan had been knighted, helping tutor her in the various aspects of being a jedi.
With Orion’s help, the clever little togruta found the more basic of her courses, such as astrography, history, and diplomacy, far more palatable and easier to learn. Being a rather calm child by nature, Sihara didn’t particularly have problems sitting through the more monotonous classes, but she didn’t have much of a desire to learn them either. Orion, however, seemed to always make the most dull topics interesting, telling her stories about how he’d had to use said topics in his missions as a jedi.
Sihara was hooked.
Every chance she got, the youngling would pester Orion to help her learn something new, or turn to him if she found something difficult to understand. For five years she grew ever stronger in the force and the ways of the galaxy and the jedi with the help of her youngling group mentors and Orion. It showed as she grasped concepts more easily in her basic courses and made strides in her sense abilities. Leaps and bounds were made in her alter abilities, her ability to use force speed, jump, push and pull, growing almost daily. There was little doubt in Orion’s mind that he would take the little girl as his padawan the more time they spent together. He was, in effect, already acting as her master anyway…it was only a matter of time before he felt she would be ready to take on missions with him.
Path of the Learner
At age 10 he took Sihara as his padawan until she would later pass the trials at age 22. These years flew by swiftly for her with little problem, except the urge to find out her past...but Orion refused to talk about it. Missions came and went, and Sihara learned quickly that to her, the most important aspect of being a Jedi was her ability to protect others.
She and Orion were neigh inseparable as most any master-padawan team was, but these two were odd in the fact that they were so incredibly similar. Orion, a guardian, was an odd combination of silence and upbeat personality that was reflected by his rust colored padawan. As a twi’lek, Orion could understand Sihara’s deep love for nature and encouraged her to use that love and connection she had to the living force to her advantage. This thinking and encouragement led to Sihara finding creative uses for her strengths in telekinesis. During missions this was especially useful when she was in need of defense and found herself facing a foe stronger than herself in saber mastery, or upon finding herself outnumbered by enemies. Sihara sought to use the elements and her environment to her advantage, often times looking to use items around her as shields or weapons against her enemies.
Orion taught her all he could about the telekinetic abilities, but there was little he could teach her that time, experience, and creativity could not. However, a jedi could not survive on telekinesis alone. Saber work was also another staple of the jedi and, considering his padawan’s thirst for knowledge on the topic, many hours were spent practicing shii-cho and learning Ataru. Orion was a strict teacher, however, now that she was his padawan and accompanied him on missions. He had little tolerance for mistakes…mistakes took lives and limbs, and he wasn’t about to go easy on her if it meant her life. Shii-Cho was practiced on the highest (non-lethal) setting the sabers could be turned to and they would spar often. Sihara had to learn from her mistakes swiftly or she’d find herself with rather nasty burns. He was more gentle on her with Ataru, turning the sabers down to a more regular training setting, but he was no less demanding on her perfection. Sihara, however, seemed to thrive under the strict training and mastered shii-cho by the time she was 14…something that surprised even Orion. It seemed that Sihara had indeed been on a self proclaimed mission to master the form, taking every opportunity she had to practice it…whether Orion was there or not, and seeking other masters or knights out while at the temple to help her learn.
Her dedication didn’t end there, however. While her telepathic abilities were no more than average, and she only seemed to learn protection and sense abilities at a standard rate, once Orion began to teach her the art of healing (something he felt every jedi should learn), it was discovered that the young padawan seemed to have yet another strength. His training her in the art of healing had begun, minimally, at the age of 12. Sihara however, always thirsty for knowledge and eager to learn how to better help others, took to Orion’s lessons like a bird to the wing.
During their missions across the galaxy, Sihara had more than a few opportunities to practice the ability to heal, both on herself, Orion, and on others. The young togruta loved the fact that she was learning how to not only protect others, but also how to heal them, and this passion showed in her healing abilities. When at the temple, Sihara made it part of her daily rituals to help in the healing rooms, learning from the masters who attended the sick or injured jedi that passed through their doors. It was one of these days, while visiting the temple healers, that she and Orion managed to be swept up in the chaos of a master accompanying her severely injured padawan.
The 17 year old Sihara was horrified at the grievous injury the young man, Enery Winsliyn. Never before had she seen a lightsaber injury so bad, and she was almost thankful that the poor man was in morichro. Immediately all available healers in the room had been called in to begin trying to save the young man’s life and keep him stable long enough that the cyber biologists could get there. Even as the cyber biologist team worked on the Padawan Winsliyn the healers worked to undo any damage they could to the rest of him, taking the work in shifts as they wore themselves out. It took hours of work, well into the late night, for the various procedures to be completed and for the poor man to be lowered into the kolto tank to allow the rest of the healing to take place.
Sihara had found the ordeal more than painful to her because of her empathetic nature, and she was frustrated with the fact that she couldn’t do more to help him. The young woman attempted to accept it however, the fact that she couldn’t do more, and in the end she settled herself on being proud of what she HAD done, helped keep someone alive. Exhausted, but proud of herself, Sihara had returned with Orion to their rooms. She made it a priority of hers, however, to check on the soon to be knighted Enery for the next few days while he was in the kolto tank, but, as the life of a jedi was a demanding one…she and Orion were sent on another mission before the young man was taken out and she never got the chance to speak to him…not until much, much, later and under less than friendly circumstances.
Trials of a Jedi
Now that she was nearing the age where she would need to face her trials, the missions she and Orion received became decidedly more dangerous. They were sent after everything from pirates to madclaw wookiees, shutting down crime syndicates to investigating high profile kidnappings and everything in between. Finally Sihara seemed to be getting a real taste of what it was like to be a guardian, and she sank her teeth into it. Over these years, the young woman always sought to find a way to subdue her enemies with as little injury to them as possible, often knocking them out or binding them with the force before tying them up so they couldn’t do more damage to themselves or others. This wasn’t always possible, however…especially with dark jedi…and at those times she forced her adversary to cater to her strengths.
With a combination of cleverness, ingenuity and skill, Sihara was a fearsome adversary when she needed to be. Like many of her people, Sihara was tenacious and had a warrior’s spirit that balanced out her calm and peaceful nature. It was no surprise that she easily passed her trials of courage and skill easily many times over. Unfortunately, the trials of flesh and spirit were not so easy to overcome.
Upon being sent to Kashyyyk to discover the cause of the disappearance of several shipments of medicine…a major import to the planet…Sihara was amazed by the plant life there. As their wookiee guide led them to the different areas that the medicines had gone missing from, she listened intently about how they were able to communicate with some of the plants on their planet. It had made her start thinking about something she’d not thought of before…could one use plants to their advantage in battle? Or perhaps…could one cause plants to grow more swiftly? Putting the thought aside for the time, Master and padawan had gone about searching for clues. What clues they did find led them lower and lower into the forest, eventually stopping at the third level down from the wookiee village they had been sent to.
Between the knight and his padawan, it didn’t take much to find the culprits…a small group of madclaws that had taken up residence there. Upon being found, the madclaws immediately became hostile, claiming the medicines to be theirs. The jedi weren’t even given the time to try and come to an understanding with the dishonored wookiees before they were set upon. In the course of the fight that ensued, Sihara was grabbed from behind, two massive arms wrapping around her and attempting to crush the life out of her. As she felt her bones breaking, all she could do was try to blast herself and the wookiee backward with the force. Her captor only stumbled back a few steps, but it was enough…the syren plant that grew there had already made its presence known to the togruta and, in a last ditch effort to save her own life, she pulled the plant forward through the force. Luckily, the stalk was just long enough that the flesh eating plant attached itself to her wookiee captor who immediately dropped Sihara, now having the plant to fight against instead.
With a myriad of fractures, breaks, and internal damage, Sihara was out of commission for the rest of the fight. Luckily it wasn’t long until Orion had gathered her up in his arms and sped off with her, back up to the canopy village. They hadn’t been able to retrieve the medicine, but they knew right were it was, and as he took her to the healers, Orion informed the village guards of the situation. The wookiees handled the rest themselves and the medicine was retrieved within the hour. Sihara, one the other hand, was relegated to healing her internal bleeding and a swift journey Ralltiir on the back to the temple to have the rest of her injuries seen to. Considering the planet was not only closer than Coruscant, but also known for it’s medical facilities, it was the most logical place to go. Orion had already informed the Council of what had happened and his decision to postpone his return to the temple until Sihara was healed, and they agreed…also agreeing that she had, in fact, passed her trial of the flesh.
Only one trial remained.
Upon recovery, Sihara and Orion were sent to the lower levels of Coruscant. There had been several terrorist attacks focusing upon non-human groups and places of worship. The two jedi were tasked with discovering the cause and bringing the terrorists to justice. They already had the supposed next target of the terrorist organization…a small religious group of twi’leks. Arriving at the specified building, they did find the twi’lek religious leaders…unfortunately, they also found Morgukai warriors. The Morgukai were Nikto warriors with a hatred of jedi, trained to resist mind tricks and armored in armor and bearing weapons infused with cortosis alloy to make them lightsaber resistant. Their whole reason for attacking anyone…to lure as many jedi out of hiding as possible…and kill them.
Incensed at the fact that these men would kill others just to get at jedi, Sihara was prepared to give the morgukai the fight of a lifetime. It didn’t take long for the nikto warriors to attack the outnumbered jedi, but they had underestimated their targets. While Orion was content to batter their armor down with his saber until it overheated and melted injuring his targets, Sihara took a more blunt approach…literally. There was no small amount of weapons for the young telekinetic-adept to use against her enemies, easily pinning them against walls with heavy benches, or toppling bookshelves to knock them to the ground, the books flying about to hit the morgukai in the heads and stun them or knock them out. She wouldn’t allow these men to harm any more people in their attempts to draw out and kill members of the Order.
When one of the men threatened a captive twi’lek woman, Sihara grew angry…wrenching the weapon of the man from his grasp before seizing his throat with the force and squeezing. It wasn’t until Orion got her attention that she even realized what she had been doing. Horrified, she’d stopped immediately and allowed Orion to take over, subduing the last two men as she unbound the twi’lek captives. As Coruscant security forces arrived, Sihara had slunk off, distressed by her actions. After Orion dealt with the officers, he went to find his padawan, taking her back to the temple and then allowing her to go to her room. She needed time to think, and he knew that.
Think she did.
All night Sihara sat up and ruminated on her actions, disliking what she’d done and how she’d allowed her emotions to get control of her without even realizing it. She wandered the temple halls, finding herself in the garden where she spent the rest of her time, meditating until morning. Her actions had been spurred by her desire to protect the twi’lek and others from death at that man’s hands, but…the way she’d handled the situation had been completely wrong. Disarming him had been fine, but to choke him? That had been her anger guiding her…not her better judgment. As a jedi she was supposed to be above that, to have control over herself and her actions that others did not, to be able to resolve the conflict with as little harm and damage done as possible…she had failed at that, and instead she had allowed her darker side to take control. When the sun finally shown through the glass above the gardens, Sihara went back to her room and prepared to meet the Council with Orion. She was prepared to accept whatever consequences her actions might have earned.
After Orion gave his report she requested to address the Council. It was then that she informed them of her transgression, how she had allowed herself to waver and her emotions to get hold of her and her actions, and that she was willing to accept whatever the Council had to say about the matter. When questioned about the subject, why she had reacted as she had, the young woman admitted that she had acted out of the desire to keep the twi’lek safe and that she had been quite angry at the fact that the morgukai had slaughtered others just to get at the jedi…but she didn’t believe her actions had been justified and that there HAD to have been another way to resolve the situation…she’d just been too blinded to see it. To her surprise, the Jedi Grand Master had not only agreed, but seemed very pleased with her answer.
Sihara, it seemed, had passed her final trial. There would be no punishment; she would, instead, be knighted the next day.
Knight Horula
Once she passed her trials, Sihara set about learning as much as she could about the various force abilities and different saber styles that she hadn't been taught under Orion, and to relative success. She was often sent on long missions for diplomacy, so she often found herself having spare time to read or practice. This suited the young knight well enough since she was able to satiate her various curiosities during such periods of time. Having mastered Ataru by the time she was knighted, and having gotten relatively good at Soresu, this left Sihara ample time to “taste test” the other forms and see what other styles suited her particular tastes. Needless to say, she found she preferred Ataru and soresu the most…followed closely by the elegance of Makashi and the usefulness of double bladed saber combat.
One of these diplomatic missions Sihara was sent to her home planet of Shili. During her time there, she learned of her parent’s mission to Coruscant, one of their former tribe members recognizing her features and telling her what little he knew. Upon completing her mission and reporting back to the Council, Sihara requested more time on the planet to absorb her native culture. She was granted a month, and instructed to keep an eye on the slave trade that was threatening to develop on the planet while she was there. Taking the new ‘mission’ gladly, the young knight had trouble adapting to the native way of life at first. Jedi were taught to be independent, independence here, however, could mean death and so it was frowned upon.
Surprisingly however, after a week, Sihara found that she preferred working with others and the way that everyone was required to contribute was a welcome custom that she swiftly slipped into. The naturally calm mannerisms of the other togruta seemed to compliment her own and she swiftly felt at home. It was a wonderful way to learn how to better utilize her montral, practice her force abilities (which she learned she had an uncanny knack of making plants grow more swiftly…something she’d forgotten about since Kashyyyk), and learn togruti. As a force user, it wasn’t overly difficult for the woman to kill an akul by herself, should one or two come near the village she was staying in, and so it wasn’t overly difficult for her to gather enough teeth to create her headdress. With a brilliant arrangement of shells, smooth stones, and akul teeth, Sihara soon found herself in possession of a symbol of her people. It was soon followed by a togruta sash fashioned from tanned leather she helped created from akul hide.
Returning to the temple at the end of the month, Sihara felt both joy and sadness. Shili had begun to feel like home to her in the short time she had lived there, but it was good to be back at the temple as well. The daily routines and familiar temple grounds were a welcome sight after the uncertainty of daily life on Shili. The young knight fell easily back into the routine of missions and practice, her foes dark jedi or criminals that plagued various planets across the Republic. It was a pleasure for her, in all honesty, to visit the various planets, dealing with the different cultures. It allowed her the opportunity to learn about the people and planets she visited as well as help make the people of the galaxy just a little more safe.
Kain
When she was 23 Sihara was called back to the temple to choose a padawan. The council felt that she had enough wisdom, at this point, to begin training a learner and they found that the temple was having a temporary shortage of more…mature (read as “older”)…knights who wished to take on a their role as a teacher of the next generation. Uncertain as to how to even begin the process of finding a suitable youngling to take as her padawan, she returned to the temple and went immediately to the gardens. Walking about the calm setting, she found, always helped clear her mind of worries and questions she found to be burdens rather than helpful in even the mildest fashion. As she passed through the trees, she came upon a boy who looked troubled as he mulled over a variety of data pads and flimsy spread about before him.
Stopping to see what was troubling the boy so, he told her that he was having difficulties with his assignment for his history lessons. Chuckling at the irony, Sihara sat down with him and asked him to tell her what about it he was having such difficulties with. Another chuckle escaped her when she found that he was so bored with it all and that he found so little relevance in it that the subject just refused to stick in his head. Sihara, having been there once herself, knew just the cure for his woes…valid stories from her own experiences and those Orion had told her about to help show him the relevance of those oh so boring history lessons. Over the next few days, she and Kain grew closer and she knew that he was the one meant to be her padawan. Speaking with the boy about it, she was pleased when he had felt the same…the next day Sihara had taken Kain as her first padawan.
Kain was, in many respects, Sihara’s pride...and the young knight looked at the boy as the closest thing she could ever come to having as a son. The young woman taught Kain all he wished to know, as well as some he didn’t. The boy showed promise in telekinetics and was eager to learn more about healing and body abilities; his saber techniques left something to be desired, but she was a persistent teacher and he soon caught up to where he should have been. Clever and funny, Kain always had Sihara chuckling at his antics as they took missions together. At first they were simple missions, quelling quarrels between peoples…diplomacy…solving minor mysteries…diplomacy…or scattering smaller gangs.
Sihara was surprised, time and again, by her padawan as she posed him various ‘what if’ questions or allowed him to choose their next course of action. The black haired boy proved himself to be quite adept at solving problems, and often enjoyed puzzles or answering the questions that his master posed him. He was not just clever, however, but artistic as well it seemed…Kain had a passion for drawing. Sihara had no idea about this talent until she happened upon him drawing on a piece of flimsy. Of course, Kain SHOULD have been studying up on the wookiee culture since they were on their way to Kashyyyk, and the fact that he wasn’t miffed his mentor no small amount. On closer inspection of what he was doing, and after she had finished her lecture about the importance of becoming familiar with the cultures they came into contact with, Sihara was astounded by the skill Kain showed.
While she couldn’t condone his continuing his drawing at that exact moment in time, Sihara did what she could after that point to nurture his talent. To encourage him to study other cultures that they came across during their missions, she insisted that he view some of their art and attempt at building it into his drawings or designs. In this way it was far easier to get her, at times stubborn, padawan to learn more about the peoples they interacted with. At the same time, Kain got an outlet for the stresses of the vigorous saber and force training that Sihara demanded of him, as well as a strong supporter of his creativity.
These three years were a shining time in the togruta’s memories. Both master and padawan learned about the force and grew as they learned from each other. It certainly wasn’t a simple task, teaching a padawan, but Sihara did all she could to impart her knowledge to her student as well as the skills to make good decisions that would help him fulfill his duties as a jedi. The calm, and generally happy, jedi found the experience of teaching the growing young man to be enriching and fulfilling…a time she wouldn’t have traded for all the wealth or knowledge of the universe, and she was honestly baffled by those knights who didn’t wish to take on a padawan. They just didn’t know what they were missing.
It was during this time that Sihara and Kain were sent on a scouting mission to Tatooine to assure the council that the Sith hadn't yet gotten hold of the planet, or made a deal with the Hutts. There were rumors of Sith military special ops hanging around Mos Espa and the Republic had requested that someone be sent to double check. The 26 year old knight and her 16 year old padawan had no trouble reaching the planet, and considering the mission, Sihara didn’t expect an undue amount of trouble…at least, nothing that she and her student couldn’t handle. Forsaking their jedi robes for more appropriate (and less noticeable) desert clothing, the two began their search. The best way to find any information, of course, was to frequent the cantinas that the Hutt’s lackeys tended to haunt…unfortunately, with Kain the age he was, such things weren’t quite acceptable…at least, not at the times that many of the heavier dregs of society chose to linger.
Several days of the course of two weeks, the two jedi spent their noon meal in one particular cantina, searching for any word of Sith activity. On the last day they were slated to stay on the desert planet, trouble found the pair of jedi. It was an unfortunate turn of events in all actuality. As was bound to happen in cantinas, an argument broke out between several of the patrons. When the fight got a little too close for comfort, Sihara decided to intercede and try to calm the swiftly escalating situation. In the confusion that followed, as the young knight was pulled into the fray to try to defend herself and her padawan, Kain found himself separated from his mentor and pushed outside by the scramble to get away from the fight as a thermal detonator was flashed about.
With so much more threatening the lives of others than just a fight, Sihara swiftly quelled the situation with a pull on that detonator, flinging it outside with the force and wave of telekinetic force that stunned and battered back those around her. Only then did she realize Kain’s disappearance. Taking no more time with the foolish men in the cantina, she swept outside to find her padawan. Following that link between them swiftly, the togruta woman didn’t like what she found. Kain had been caught by a group of bounty hunters who had caught a glimpse of the boy’s saber as he attempted to return to his master. It was fairly obvious the ageing mandalorian bounty hunters didn’t like jedi one bit as they pulled all manner of weapons on the teen. Concerned for the well being of her padawan, Sihara was there in a blur of motion and color. In the struggle that followed, one of the men recognized Sihara, and thought that she was her mother.
Sihara had been moving to assist Kain as he sought to disarm one of his opponents when she noticed the warnings in the force that had her swiftly rounding on a tall man aiming his blaster at her student. The man who had mistaken Sihara for her mother must have been drunk enough to think the woman they’d killed had come back to life, because the man's confusion and dismay was palpable when he lunged at Sihara as she tried to knock the blaster out of her new target’s hand. Feeling the vibro-blade bite into her back, she hissed and fell short of her action with the new pain.
It wasn't until she heard the blaster shot and saw Kain fall to the ground that she cried out in pain and anger.
She could feel the life draining from her padawan, her adoptive son, even as she saw him fall. Whirling around she ignored all pain as she reached through the force and crushed her attacker’s rib cage like an aluminum can, followed swiftly by her breaking all the limbs of the man who had shot Kain…he would be last to die. Before she knew it, she had killed, or seriously injured, everyone in the group of armed mandos. As she returned to Kain’s side, she knew he was too far gone for even her to heal. All she could do was reassure him and try not to cry as she felt him slip away from her. The pain, the blood, her own injury…it didn’t matter to her as he died, and once he was gone…she left with him back to the temple. In her wake…the bodies of those who had killed him…crushed, sliced apart, and for the shooter? He was left alive…mangled and muttering about red horned demons, but alive.
Returning to the temple, Sihara was treated and attended Kain’s funeral but refused to take another padawan, or have her scar mended fully. The solemn knight gathered her padawan’s drawings subtly and stored them away. The last he had drawn, the one he’d created on the way to Tatooine, was marked by him. He had tried to keep it a secret from her and, at the time, she hadn’t known why. As she read the note he’d written on it, she nearly cried…he had designed it for her…he had seen it time and again when he meditated with her and he’d spent a year trying to perfect it. That night…almost two weeks after Kain’s death…Sihara slipped from the temple and out into Coruscant. When she returned, it was with a fresh and still hurting tattoo on the underside of her right wrist bearing the design Kain had created.
Two years passed, uneventful and dark when compared to her time with her former padawan. She was allotted some time to return to Shili and, upon returning, she was sent off on missions once more. Sihara refused to take another padawan, however, no matter what the council requested. At 28, Sihara was called back to the temple once again to take a new padawan…and this time, it didn’t seem the Council was giving her a choice…
The Return
((Start IC updates))After months of attempting to hunt down a smuggling ring, Sihara found herself on her way back to Coruscant as the Council had requested. Forced to stop to change passenger crafts, Sihara found herself upon a station in very serious trouble. After the death of Grandmaster Ashla, Battle Master Kieran Eitan had, apparently, become…conflicted…and somehow worked his way down to the restricted sections of the station, wreaking havoc along the way. Tired from her frustratingly fruitless travels, Sihara sensed the emotions and power of the struggling jedi and was concerned for the wellbeing of not only the man she had sensed, but the station as a whole. Following a group of security forces down to where the trouble was, the jedi offered her services to the…rather testy…security captain and then went to find the poor soul who had garnered her attention, hoping that she wasn’t too late to keep him from falling completely to the darkness.
Upon finding her target, the young knight was astounded by what she saw…doppelgangers. An illusion built from the battle master’s own mind, he was…quite literally…fighting himself. The area was already in shambles when she arrived, metal plating and wires severed and tossed about, sparks flickering and lighting the area as his silver saber cast an eerie glow over the wreckage. Putting all the compulsion she could muster into her words, she half ordered, half begged, the man to stop himself…but her words fell on deaf ears. Slowly, however, she gained the man’s attention…unfortunately. It took all the knight had to persist through the battle master’s illusion of a Hoth ice storm, only her montral and her senses in the force allowing her to continue her harrying of him, and protection of herself, rather than allowing her makeshift debris shield to fall from around her. The battering of force that followed, however, sent the togruta flying back against the wall, the metal pieces that had once been her shield now slamming against her painfully.
With her scar sending waves of pain along her back and the dangerous vibrating of her montral, she was easily kicked down by him, one of her ribs cracking slightly as he held her own saber against her chest, ready to kill her. It was lucky for her, at that moment in time, that she was togruta. Kieran thought that he saw the fallen Ashla and stayed his hand. As he struggled internally, Sihara dragged herself up and over to the emotionally wounded rogue jedi, repeating the code to him through the force and sending waves of comforting emotions to try and sooth some of his emotional pain and bring him back to the light. Thankfully something worked. When he returned to himself, Sihara was spent and the pain had her reeling…but he was at least not seeking to kill her. If anything, Kieran was utterly confused at what had just happened and where he was. Seeing Sihara, he helped her back up to the upper levels and the two made their way back to the temple.
Over the next week, Sihara was tasked to search the lower quarters of Coruscant for traces of the smuggling ring she had been searching for. In a not so special cantina she met a zeltron, one Xander by name, and through his persistence in dealing with her, Sihara found herself leaving with him. It was, of course, under conditions that he didn’t try any funny business as she was strictly on business. She wasn’t entirely sure what it was the force had in mind, but she felt he could help her in her mission…and help her he did. In the course of events that followed their leaving the cantina, she found a small faction of the smugglers she was looking for. Considering what they were smuggling, it wasn’t easy for the Togruta jedi to deal with them all completely, but Xander (surprisingly enough to her), had her back.
That wasn’t the only thing that surprised her about Xander, however. Perhaps a bit foolishly she went to his home. That in itself surprised her…how anyone could live in such gaudy luxury was absolutely beyond the jedi…not to mention the various…“toys”…he had strewn about. It was a mixture of revulsion and sheer curiosity that filled her as she was shown around the apartment. Still wary of if she should really be staying the night in this place, she thought it might be rude to refuse and so she stayed. The well meaning zeltron did all he could to make her feel comfortable…not that it helped much considering he had seemed far too infatuated with her to keep his hands completely to himself. She learned that night that he was a force sensitive…more so than most of his people…a series of ill advised questions posed to her causing the revelation to come about as he subconsciously attempted to persuade her to feel better and smile again. She decided, that night and after much explaining, to train him at least a little bit. Sihara would never get the chance, however.
Red, White, and Blue
The next morning Sihara felt and ‘heard’ Vex Praetor’s scream through the force…a most startling revelation for the young togruta. Immediately returning to the temple, she reported the news directly to the council and was, most unfortunately, informed that she would be receiving a partner. Displeased, she had simply bowed and headed back to her room to get her things in order. Two days later she was slated to meet her new ‘partner’ in the gardens, but upon not seeing anyone even resembling a chiss, Sihara settled herself down in the grass and meditated. When her ‘partner’ had arrived, it had been like the coming of a singular rain cloud that, no matter how small it may have been, seemed prepared to unleash a torrential storm upon whomever it wished at a moment’s notice. This new mission was looking rather grim already.
Theron Lykaios…the man was hot headed, stubborn, and utterly frustrating and infuriating. He had immediately attempted to trample her down like a weed and put himself in charge. While she had no qualms in allowing him his head, Sihara wouldn’t be put into submission either. As they came to an agreement to meet with the guard who had been allowed to live, Sihara and her chiss partner finally reached some form of agreement as to their future treatment of one another…at least in part. As they had headed for the transports, the decoratively marked togruta caught Theron’s thoughts as he chided himself about noticing his ‘new partner’s curves looked in her robes.’ Embarrassed, and a bit flattered, she had chosen not to mention those stray thoughts and had kept on.
Moving through the entrance hall of the temple, she had caught his wrist to keep the two from becoming separated in the throng of jedi pressing to get by. He’d held himself calm until they were past the main hallway, but…in the process of requesting she not do something like that again, he had pushed her against a wall and his hand had bushed against one of her montral. The man hadn’t intended to cause any pain, and typically, against someone else, it wouldn’t have…but considering the old scar along her back and her sensitive montral, his actions had indeed caused much pain. She hadn’t shown her pain, but it was obvious he could sense it in her anyway. As they headed to the jail he had offered to help her, soothing that offending montral easily.
Their questioning of the guard was uneventful, shedding little light upon their search but at least they were able to review the security recordings and the remembered conversation the guard had mentioned brought some light to Sihara’s theories. Returning to the temple, they decided that their next stop should be Manaan. In the two days that followed, Sihara found herself spending time with a youngling she had come across in the saber training rooms. The boy had been frustrated by his attempted practice with a droid remote. After helping instruct him for a short amount of time, the boy (who’s name was Makiro Variyas) began asking her questions. Instinctively, she began imparting her knowledge upon the boy, answering his questions honestly. She could feel the force working, however, and the thought of taking the boy on as a padawan unnerved her greatly….he was so much like Kain had been, it hurt.
The next day, Ossus day, the young knight took Makiro as her padawan. It hadn’t been an easy decision, much of the day spent meditating on her mission as well as the intelligence of taking the boy on as a learner during such a mission. Despite her misgivings, she took him on and the next day Theron, Makiro and herself left for Manaan.
The Schism
Following the trail from Manaan to Nar Shaddaa, the jedi trio had uncovered little that hadn’t been readily available. By the time they’d reached the watery planet of the Selkath, nearly all of those who had been under major Borgonia’s command had been reassigned to other stations leaving very little to help with their search. It had, however, provided Makiro with an opportunity to become familiar with some of the events surrounding the major and the dark jedi they were hunting, as well as give him a chance to begin to settle into the demanding life of a jedi and all that it entailed. She did what she could to make the transition easier for him, but there really wasn’t much she could do besides provide support and reassurance as she went about her job, constantly asking him questions about why he thought she or Theron made the decisions they did, or posing him questions or setting him tasks to complete to further his “on the job training.” Theron, for the most part, seemed to at least tolerate the padawan…though the chiss man was fairly closed off, often leaving the togruta woman wondering about just what he was (or wasn’t) thinking or feeling about the situation.
Upon reaching Nar Shaddaa, it was a lot of snooping about…often in places they shouldn’t have. Any time they found the need to enter a cantina to try to gather more information, Sihara was immediately a dour and bristling countenance so dissimilar to her normal self as she warded off anyone from whatever table they were at. Force forbid a fight broke out, she would have one hand on her saber and the other prepared to toss anyone or anything aside with a wave of force that would help her better protect her padawan. As soon as they left the air around her seemed to clear and she was calm once more…but always refused to speak on why she acted thusly. Eventually they managed to turn up a most interesting find…an illegal street doctor who had tended to Mr Praetor himself after the Nar Shaddaa incident. While the man couldn’t provide any leads on where the two might have headed recently, he HAD been able to give a few details that had peaked Sihara’s interest. The man had seemed to have had a rather vicious looking old saber wound across his torso. This in itself might have seemed to be of little interest, but it was of GREAT interest to the togruta and she pressed the man for more information.
Praetor, it seemed, had not only needed a respirator but also had a rather extensive amount of cyberbiotics for intestines as well as a few other organs. Sihara nearly staggered at the information. The doctor had more to say, however, talking about how the man had woken from suspended animation seemingly extremely concerned about the date and how long he’d been out…“almost as if he had a previous engagement to keep,” the man had said. Upon learning the amount of time, it seemed that Praetor had been in a hurry to be on his way…especially after asking some rather pointed questions about local and galactic news…most particularly Republic. No doubt the dark jedi had been less than kind in his…questioning…since the poor doctor seemed absolutely mortified about having to recall the situation, but the jedi were persistent in their questions and eventually managed to get the answers from him.
With this new information, the question now was…where to go next?
Sihara had recommended Corellia, the major’s home planet. As unlikely as it might seem that she would go about visiting relatives, it wasn’t all the far fetched of an idea. She had previous emotional ties to the now crowned King Rook, and all of her family was there…if she was going to seek help, she would likely start on Corellia. Heeding her advice, the trio made immediately for the planet. It was a foolhardy place for the traitor and her dark jedi protector to go, considering the jedi enclave built on the planet, but…sometimes the most absurdly stupid places to hide were the best, considering no one would think you were that stupid to actually hide there…and so they tended to just overlook the area. Besides…for some reason, the force was urging her (strongly) to go to the planet as swiftly as possible.
Once there, Sihara and Makiro separated from Theron in Coronet. She and her padawan took a speeder to the Borgonia estate, hoping to be able to speak to Aunna’s parents…what they found was more than they bargained for. The force had led the togruta and her unwitting padawan directly to the two criminals. In the inevitable confrontation that followed, Sihara’s main priority was to protect her padawan and wait for Theron to arrive. As things progressed, however, and she saw that Makiro was (relatively) safe, Sihara knew that she wasn’t likely to survive the confrontation. This revelation was made all the more painful by the secondary revelation that the man was, in fact, Enery Winsliyn…the very man she had worked to keep alive all those years ago. With a combination of clever telekinetic trickery and the brutal and consistent pull on one of his sabers, Sihara nearly managed to defeat her enemy…or so she thought.
He had made his point clear…about why he had called the woman his. His actions, his words, the emotions that rippled through him and then from him as he unleashed that furious scream against her as he had upon those at the prison…it all lead to one thing. The thing she had expected to find all along, but had so desperately tried to disprove…dark jedi couldn’t love, after all…or so it was said. Obviously those who said it were either wrong, or Enery…Vex…wasn’t entirely dark. It was because of this that, when her saber skewered through his shoulder and his own saber was brought against him, Sihara was prepared to leave him there…alive…and say that he had simply managed to get away. This, however, was NOT Vex’s plan.
He pulled her closer, what had first been perceived as shock and pain morphing into something else entirely. All she could do was accept the inevitable, telling Theron through the force to take Makiro and go before she turned her attention to Vex and accepted her fate with only a quiet “So this is it then.” He had unleashed lightning into her then, slowly and painfully killing her even as she struggled to stay standing. Vex hadn’t killed her, however, nor did he leave her there to die…he did something else entirely. Vex Praetor…the former jedi known as Enery Winsliyn…saved her life.
As Theron gathered her up after Praetor and Borgonia left, she (unwittingly) shared the vision that Vex had shown her of herself and the chiss…“together”…as he attempted to further heal her as the medical team was being called. Both jedi were surprised by the vision (despite Sihara having seen it before), and it caused the togruta no end of embarrassment. Soon enough she was carted off to the nearest medical facility. She was forced to remain in the facility for nearly two weeks as she healed in the kolto tank. Once she was finally cleared to return to the temple, the togruta thanked the medical team and went on her way.
Her return was a bittersweet thing. During her time searching for the two fugitives, as well as during her battle with Praetor, the togruta had begun to feel…disillusioned…with the Order. Something about it just…didn’t feel right with her lately, but she couldn’t put her finger on it. After much meditation on the return trip to Coruscant, the togruta gave her final report to the High Council. After speaking at length with Orion about her situation, she went to Makiro and explained to him about what she was going to do. Orion had offered to accept Makiro as his secondary padawan since his padawan, Kael, was near the same age, being only a year older. Saddened by the parting, and feeling uncertain as to her decision, Sihara removed her crystal from her saber and turned the saber over to the Council.
And so, it was with a conflicted heart and mixed emotions that Sihara Horula left the Jedi Order in good standing, with only her few belongings, few credits to her name and set out into galaxy to forge herself a new path in life.
The question was…where to start?
RP Sample:
Sihara wandered the halls of the oh-so familiar temple. It had been a while since she had set foot in the temple, choosing to remain always away from the once happy place she called home. There were just too many memories here of Kain...yet still they called her back to choose a new padawan, and when the temple called she had an obligation to respond. Sighing, she strowed down the marble stairways to the archives, her senses constantly ringing with the vibrations from her montral as she passed fellow jedi going about their own ways, or her attention being attracted by the nervous feelings of younglings as they hoped they answered their master's questions correctly.
To be honest with herself, the need to have a partner of some kind was never dormant within her, even now, when she wanted company the least. The ways of her people were still strongly ingrained in her, and more than that, she wanted to pass down what she had learned in her life as a jedi with a new generation of younglings. She remembered a time when she had once been a gregarious person, happiest around others, and always wanting to be part of the group. She had changed when Kain had died...it had felt as if part of herself had died with him...something good. No longer was she one for charging into a group and making herself at home in their conversation, no longer was she apt to volunteer to work with others or help train younglings.
Pulling herself out of her reverie, Sihara focused on the light jingle of her headdress against her leeku and back, seeking to center herself in the present rather than her depressing thoughts. Turning a corner, she realized that she had almost made it to the entrance to the archives without even thinking about where she was going.
I come here far too often it seems. Perhaps it's good they're forcing me to take a padawan again...if only for a change of pace.
She mused an aire of humor to her voice as she tilted her head to the side slightly before striding down the hall once more, in pursuit of new knowledge.
