Triple release, Happy Thanksgiving! Go back to ch 50!
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After leaving the scene of the fight, Corvus didn't have to look far before he found the Jedi Temple ruins within Derem City.
Following his map, there were some buildings that stood out, and this was one of them. Besides that, the Force had been guiding him here all along.
Hopping from building to building, Corvus and Yon came across the waterlogged, dilapidated half-way submerged building, and stood on its roof.
"What are we here for, Master, more holocrons? When will you let me see one? The masters hoarded their knowledge, shouldn't you let your Padawans study to get a leg up in such trying times?" Yon hurriedly said with a greedy look.
"When did you learn to talk like that?" Corvus wryly shook his head.
"Hm? I'm just following Master's lead?" Yon scratched his chin, and replied in a flattering tone.
"..." Corvus stared at the teen with a blank look, as if to say 'are you kidding me?'
However, this only encouraged the boy.
"Yeah, like when you spoke with the clones, it was all about training Omega to get stronger, and same with Triss! You want us to get stronger, that much is clear. War is here, why hold your own disciple back?" Yon pressed.
Corvus scratched his head. It was certainly true that he needed Yon to become a more effective combatant, as each Clone Legion was made up of a million men…but did Yon really have to be so blatant about his desires?...and he said he learnt this behavior from him?!
'Lord have mercy, if I've been so obtuse this entire time, I really have to thank Persuade for doing so much heavy lifting.' Corvus wordlessly fretted to himself.
"...I'll be looking into each holocron, searching for any hidden Sith influence, but in principle, I agree with you Yon. As an instructor, it is important to know where your limits lie. I cannot teach you everything, nor should you as a learner hold my words to be the end all be all." Corvus slowly said, making sure his quick to act student heard every word.
"Nonsense, Master is Master. Holocrons are only useful to see what not to do. By learning from the Jedi's past mistakes, I can better learn from you, Master Corvus." Yon said with a bullheaded look in his eyes.
Corvus pinched the bridge of his nose. This kid didn't hear a word he had said. Hopefully his lesson regarding peace hadn't gone completely over Yon's head…although he had to admit, his ego was stroked a little. It was nice to know he had someone in his corner regarding the Jedi reformation.
"Your praise is appreciated, my apprentice, however, I think you may be ignorant regarding holocrons, allow me to instruct you." Corvus said with a faint smile, and began to look around the roof for an entrance.
"Aren't they just boring old fools preaching wisdom? It's said a Jedi Master can grow stronger listening to them, right?" Yon crossed his arms and said in an uncertain tone.
"Haha, yes, many, many holocrons focus on philosophy. Some of it can be enlightening, like our discussion on peace. Otherwise, they can teach practical things like lightsaber forms, or different Force abilities. Other times, they can impart more mundane-yet no less important-occupations like farming, engineering, diplomacy, or medicine. Raised on war, you probably don't aspire for any of these other paths, do you?" Corvus began with a light tone, but slowly became sad as this 16 year old boy had been fighting in the Clone Wars since he was 13.
"Huh? You can learn all that?!" Yon muttered to himself. "Maybe they even have a holocron on…nah, that's stupid." He said in an even more quiet voice.
"Oh? Did my adorable student have a dream job before all this?" Corvus teased as his eyes settled on a murky glass window.
"W-well, you'll laugh at me." Yon looked down, embarrassed.
"There isn't anything wrong with pursuing a dream, Yon. You are still young, you have time. Trust me, even if you fail, you can keep trying at it, or move onto something else. As someone who had failed many times before finding my way, I speak from experience." Corvus spoke over his shoulder in a reassuring tone.
"What? Fail? You! No way, Master." Yon exclaimed.
"Yep. I tried learning too many things beyond my capabilities in the past, crashed and burned. I was even cast out when my honor was called into question. It's a shame too, because I was a healer who actually cared. But that's life, Yon, my 'failures' helped form me into the man you see today. So go on, dare to dream, and know that Master supports you all the way." Corvus turned to meet Yon in the eye, and gave a thumbs up.
"So you were exiled from the Jedi Order for being too good. Of course, it all makes sense!" Yon slapped a hand into his open palm, and took the conversation somewhere unexpected.
Corvus had the ghost of a smile, and sighed. What was he going to do with this precocious student of his?
"C'mon, let's go." Corvus said, and cut away the glass window with his lightsaber.
Thanks to his prestige class, he could see perfectly well within this dark watery temple, but thankfully-for Yon's sake-it wasn't 100% pitch black. Jedi statues lining the hall had glowing white crystals in their arms, leaving a dim light within the area.
Seeing that there were a decent amount of dry, yet damp places it seemed that although this structure was mostly underwater, it had been sealed tight.
A musky odor came up towards them, but there was also a large amount of flora and fauna down here, leading him to believe that there was a good amount of Oxygen below. Reaching out his senses, Corvus briefly meditated on this intuition, and the Force tickled his nose, confirming his suspicions.
Seconds later, Corvus pulled out some rope from his inventory, tied it to something sturdy looking, and rappelled down. Yeah, he could've jumped and easily cushioned the blow, but jumping back up to this hole would be difficult considering it was over 10 stories tall.
…that being said, Corvus would have to practice jumping and landing sometime. In theory, there should be no height that he couldn't reach. Why was it normal for a Jedi to jump three or four stories, but ten, twenty, fifty, etc was out of reach? This was another mind over matter feat as far as Corvus was concerned.
Shaking his head at such thoughts, Corvus gently touched down, and after making sure there was no immediate threat, cast out his senses.
Unfortunately, the feeling that had directed him to the temple didn't include exact coordinates to the stash of artifacts. However, he knew due to his meta knowledge that it was kept in the library, and simply followed his map.
"The temple here is a lot like the one on Coruscant." Yon said in a hushed-almost scared-whisper.
Corvus found it funny that the loudest Padawan was also the most cowardly, but Yon had followed Corvus into every fight thus far, and was seemingly the strongest Padawan when it came to saber combat considering he 1v2 high diff'd a pair of clone assassins during Order 66. Perhaps he was being too hard on the boy.
"Yes, many Jedi Temples share a similar large entrance hall. Now, focus your senses on our surroundings. Search for threats or warnings. Does the Force call for you to do anything?" Corvus asked.
Yon-with a put upon sigh-entered a meditative pose, and closed his eyes. Five minutes later, he stood up, and started to walk towards a vine covered wall. His movements were robotic, and it was like he was in a trance.
Igniting his lightsaber, Yon swiped at the vines, and cut a pathway open, revealing a hallway. He then took a knee, and held his head in confusion.
"Yon?"
"I'm fine, Master. Sorry, I don't know what came over me, but I felt like I had to go this way, that something was waiting for me." Yon said in embarrassment. "Sorry, Master Corvus, I won't lose control like that again. I won't be weak or drag you down!"
"Relax, my Padawan, you simply listened to the Force, and were rewarded for following your instincts. The Je'daii of old were known to work miracles, and save numerous lives by preaching this methodology. The Jedi, for a time, preached this as well. It is because of our abandonment of this maxim that the Sith could cloud our vision." Corvus both praised, and warned his student.
"So following the Force will make me strong enough to defeat the Sith?" Yon said with a fire in his eyes, the eagerness to wreak vengeance upon their ancient enemies burned bright in his spirit.
"Perhaps. The Will of the Force is mysterious. I encourage you to explore it, but caution not to become beholden to it. Treat these feelings as suggestions or like advice from me or another master. Certainly I am correct much of the time, but I am fallible, and ultimately, you are your own person, capable of making your own decisions. I hope this makes some sense."
"Uhh, uh huh…Master, the Force is guiding me in here, let's go!" Yon shouted behind himself, and ran ahead.
"Haah." Corvus exhaled as he rubbed the bridge of his nose.
'Jax would silently be brooding over these words, and Zork would be taking notes asking questions. This kid though has way too much energy when it comes to the pursuit of power. It's understandable, especially given his fear of the clones. I hope I can instill some confidence in him, otherwise he is at risk of falling onto a dark path.'
Following at a sedate pace, Corvus admired the ancient architecture, and serene atmosphere of the temple.
Passing through this hallway overgrown with vines and other fauna, Corvus saw Yon frowning at a giant metal door. His lightsaber was already ignited-as it acted as a light source-and he was very slowly cutting a hole into it. Molten slag dripped all along the floor, and Yon was sweating, reminding Corvus of Qui-Gon during the Phantom Menace when he tried to board the bridge on Nute Gunray's ship.
Corvus stroked his chin, and saw that it was a sliding door that was sealed shut due to gravity.
"Yon, step back." Corvus motioned, and then ignited his twin lightsabers.
Applying [Speed, Valor & Barrier] to himself, he ran at the wall-made of simple, crumbling old materials-and diced through it with several swift chops. A new entrance adjacent to the door had been made.
"You can do that?!" Yon exclaimed with wide eyes.
"This is nothing. Most doors have buttons on the other side, or a mechanism on the inside that can be triggered with the Force. Once you have a better hold on your invisibility, we'll practice on the Falcon." Corvus said with a smug smile.
"Master is Master." Yon nodded, and then walked into the room.
Glancing about, Corvus saw that they had entered the library. It looked very similarly to the archives on Coruscant.
In the centre of it all, there was a large pile of boxes, as well as the skeletal remains of a an oddly shaped alien, whose bones were reminiscent of an aquatic creatures.
From what Corvus could remember, this should be member of the Swimmer species, they were a race similar in appearance to a dinosaur, and were officially known as sauropteroids.
"I believe, Yon, that this is Qalsneek the Bull. A Jedi Master from the time of the Great Sith War. The contents within these crates should hold items, books and other such curios that he could save from the doomed planet of Ossus. That place held the location once hailed as the Great Jedi Library. I wonder what secrets await?" Corvus stepped into the room, excited at the prospect of hoarding more knowledge.
However, Yon was completely stunned in place, and the holocron that was gently wresting on the skeleton's lap began to glow a bright blue.
A second later, it levitated-seemingly of its own volition-and landed in Yon's hands.
Corvus was stunned by the sudden encounter, and had considered stopping it mid-flight, fearing it might be a trap, but held himself back. This was Yon's opportunity, the Force had guided him here, and Corvus would be a massive hypocrite if he took the holocron for himself.
Hopefully this wasn't a Sith holocron in disguise.
Looking down at his entranced Padawan, Corvus made sure he was okay, and then he decided to canvas the room.
It was quite dusty, and many of the boxes seemed aged, but there was sure to be some premier loot inside!
Excitement growing, Corvus pried open his first chest.
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AN: What kind of loot did Corvus find?