Star Wars: Soldiers of the War Eternal

Places of Learning

Trin descended to the ground floor of the temple and emerged back onto the streets of Orrea in a daze, attempting to hold the image in her mind, to recall more details until she was unsure of what she had actually seen and what she had invented or extrapolated since. The object she had seen was similar to the one that had been on the altar in the Shrine. The hand; whose was it? Whoever the owner was, she had seen through their eyes. They had been connected somehow. Through the Force? Why? What did this mean? Were they nearby in Orrea? Giddying possibilities swam through her mind.

Thoughts of mystical conundrums were overpowered by the sights and smells of the market. The Noryath meatbreads were back and judging by the odor wafting over from Reya's stall, tasting better than ever. Jerik's choice today though, so she'd be lunching on Old Faye's curry.

Trin was still negotiating a path through stalls - have to watch for that chicken seller - when the chimes of the Greater Arc bell reverberated down the valley, a low boom marking the eighth hour. She was going to be late.

Orrea town sprawled up one side of Mount Ertis and was divided into two separate environments: on Arc and on Mountain. The Arc was a semi-circular band, about two hundred meters in diameter that projected from the side of the mountain, suspended above the valley floor. Surveys had confirmed that it was a complete circle, one half embedded in the rock, one half in the open air, constructed millennia ago from something resembling ferrocrete, probably by the Je'daii. The band was wide enough to accommodate moderately sized buildings and the paths to join them, and the structure had been judged to be strong enough to build upon, so as the town had expanded and become more prosperous, this most unusual and desirable real estate had been put to use. The original On Arc constructions had served as adjuncts to the Temple, for meditation, ceremonies and a belltower, but these days most had been converted to private houses for the region's most wealthy individuals, providing an uninterrupted view of the valley, removed from the bustle of the town.

Everyone else lived and worked on the side of Mount Ertis. Trin raced down a steep, stepped path towards the Academy; a set of squat, domed buildings at the fringes of the town, near one of the points where the Arc met the mountainside and disappeared into the rock.

Ascending the last of the steps to the entrance, her stomach sank; the central hall was empty and silent, her footsteps echoing around the white walls and vaulted ceiling that mimicked the classical style of the Temple. That meant that the rest of the students were in class already. Hurry! Teela was going to give her hell over this; she'd taken it upon herself to tame Trin's wayward temperament, which was no easy task. Bag thrown into her nook fast, then through the arch at the back of the hall that led to the classrooms. This morning was devoted to combat training, so she marched quickly down the corridor towards the largest and most distant hall.

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The acolytes skulked by the entrance of the loading bay, a critical mass of scowls and sneers that might at any moment trigger a runaway chain reaction of hostility. Clothed in an enormous variety of shades and textures of black, a gallery of bitter, haunted looks lurking under hoods or trapped in scalding stares, holding their stories of suffering close to hearts as black and hard and hot as coal in flames. Their hate sulked in silence behind a spiky antagonism that threatened to impale any servitor foolish enough to pass by. None did.

How best to make an entrance? Aestra opted for a casual sashay towards the bunch of losers, strutting a languid swish of the hips before unclasping her cape to toss it with a theatrical flourish onto an unidentifiable rusting hulk of machinery. She stood hand on hip, chin raised, back arched a little; a pose she'd seen in some old static about one of the naughtier Nightsisters and liked how it looked.