mizpah
(n.) the deep emotional bond between people, especially those separated by distance or death
~***~
Trigger/Content Warning: mentions missing people, brutal death, and murder. You have been warned.
~***~
Aetherius in the early morning was eerily quiet for Anakin. With the hustle and constant action of the war, being someplace where it was quiet and peaceful was jarring. Nevertheless, he had a mission to snoop on the High Priest and figure out what he was up to.
There were a few citizens in the pews of the cathedral, heads bowed as they prayed to their patron deities. Evander was in his office with the door open; a ledger was open on his desk as he wrote fervently on the page. Anakin assumed it was financial things as he knocked on the door. "Good morning, Mr. Oberon."
The priest looked up from his work, shutting the ledger to give his full attention to the Jedi Knight. "Good morning, Anakin. I take it you're here for your religious lesson?"
He was rather straight to the point, Anakin thought. "Yes, I don't know how much longer I'll be here, so I immediately took the opportunity to learn more."
Evander smiled and stood up from his desk to exit his office. Anakin followed him into the chapel, the sun streaming in through the stain-glass window and casting colored light throughout the building. "The first key to understanding our religion is the creation story," Evander stopped in front of a tapestry of a woman and a man, holding hands with the depiction of Aetherius below them. "This is Lumen and Mora, life and time. Together, the world was gray and dull until they came together and life flourished with time. They are the parents of all Aetherian deities."
Anakin nodded, recalling that Obi-Wan had run him through the same story when they first arrived. "After that, they kind of get lost in history. Deities such as Vespat and Vis take over for a majority of our myths." Evander concluded, but his smile made the Jedi Knight uneasy.
"That's it?" the Jedi prompted, gazing at the tapestry. "They simply disappear? Considering life and time are both constant in the galaxy, there must be more to the story than that."
"There is another prophecy of Lumen and Mora," There it was. That's what Anakin had been searching for, and he found it noteworthy that the High Priest was more than willing to share this with him. "It's said that in time, Lumen and Mora will be reunited. They've been cut off from each other on our plane and on theirs. For a long time, we didn't know why, but we've concluded that it has to do with being patron deities."
When Anakin didn't speak, Evander continued. "Time is constant, no matter what, which means that Mora is always constant. But creation, Lumen," he stressed, "things can stop growing, and people, in particular, can stop progressing and growing. Therefore, should Lumen's patron pass away, their connection with our world is lost, locked away when our planet has no more growing to do." It was confusing, but the Knight could grasp the concept of it.
"Is Lumen's connection to the mortal plane still active?" Anakin asked, crossing his arms over his chest in thought. From the way Evander had explained it, he doubted that was the case.
The sigh that fell from the High Priest's lips gave him his answer. "Unfortunately Lumen has been gone from us for a long time now. Her patrons are few and scarce. I've only ever met one in my life, his Royal Highness's sister-in-law Helen Knightly. She passed away when the twins were young."
The Jedi Knight stowed that in the back of his mind as Evander continued to talk about Aetherian mythology and the many different myths surrounding the deities. Anakin tried to stay interested, but he was too busy trying to sort out the information in his mind.
~***~
By the time Anakin returned to the palace grounds, Obi-Wan was with the guard as he offered his knowledge to train the recruits. Koa was shouting orders and other commands to the groups. Milo and Dacre helped him by making sure they didn't goof off.
"Master," he alerted Obi-Wan of his presence, and the Jedi Master stepped off to the side to converse with him.
"How was your lesson with the High Priest?" he asked, chuckling at the way Anakin reacted like his soul had been sucked out of his body. "Come on, it couldn't have been that bad."
"It was boring," Anakin ran his hand through his hair and sighed. "But I did learn about this prophecy about the two creation deities, Lumen and Mora. He was rather eager to share it with me."
Obi-Wan furrowed his brow in thought at the news. A new prophecy? Evangeline had never told him about any prophecies, so it must have been something that Evander knew personally. He could check his theory with the princess later as Anakin took his master's silence to continue. "From what I gathered, it's that Lumen has limited connection with the mortal world. She connects through her patrons, and if they disappear, she's locked away and unable to connect with Aetherius."
"And I guess that she is locked away now, unable to connect to the mortal plane?"
Anakin nodded to confirm his former master's theory. "Her last known patron was Helen Knightly, who passed away years ago."
Obi-Wan nodded slowly as he processed all the new information, unsure what to do with it. "I wonder why Lumen hasn't found a new patron yet. Perhaps it'd be wise to ask Evangeline, she's quite keen on the details of her religious system."
The two Jedi left the guards for their training and trekked up to the palace. After returning, Adam resumed his duties as King. One of those duties meant he had to meet with Aetherian citizens today and listen to their complaints about things in the kingdom. However, since the kingdom was run rather smoothly, many didn't have much to complain about unless it had to do with personal property.
Obi-Wan and Anakin entered the throne room quietly, listening to the farmer's voice as he voiced his grievances. "This is the third sheep I've seen go missing, your majesties," his tone of voice betrayed how frustrated he was with the situation. "I thought maybe it was a fox or some other predator sneaking into the barn, but I'm sure I would have found the carcass nearby."
"And this hasn't happened before, Mr. Gardier?" Adam asked while Eve shifted in her seat, deep in thought. This was the third farmer who had come in with the same situation.
"No, Your Majesty. Our cattle are mostly left alone. It's bizarre."
"I agree with Mr. Gardier, this is rather bizarre. I can't recall a moment in our history where we've experienced the same problem." Eve stated with a sigh. It was a problem that had no current solutions. "Let us know if any more cattle go missing, Mr. Gardier. I'm sure we will be more than happy to compensate for your losses."
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Mr. Gardier bowed and left the throne room, fixing his hat on his head. No other citizens were waiting to speak with the king, so they both stood, dismissed for the afternoon. Adam took his leave in the courtyard while Eve joined Obi-Wan's side to ask about his morning.
"The royal guard is training recruits," he replied, stroking his beard in thought. "It's quite impressive how hard the recruits work to be able to protect the royal family."
"It is, and we're all incredibly thankful for them." Eve messed with the hem of her dress, unsure of what else to say. They had left off at an awkward point during Coniunx Mea with the announcement of Eve's succession to Sanctus Unctio. "If I'm being honest with you, Obi-Wan, I believe that we won't be able to come up with a solution to this cattle problem. Many of our agriculturalists have come in with similar problems; it's never happened in the history of Aetherius." she sighed, looking past him and out the window that overlooked the landscape. "They will not be happy with us, but our best hope is that it'll stop or the cattle will return."
Obi-Wan placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "No matter what, you and Adam will do what is best for Aetherius. Your people will understand."
His words seemed to lift her spirits. "Thank you, Obi-Wan." her voice was soft, but he knew she meant every word. The last few days had been stressful for all of them. Again they both fell into silence, unsure of what to say.
"Your Highness!" Saorise's voice echoed in the empty throne room. There was a basket on her arm. "I had Louisa make a picnic lunch for you to take to our Jedi visitors, but it seems that they've already come up to the palace. If you'd like, you can take this and have lunch outside."
Eve took the basket and thanked Saorise, turning her attention back to Obi-Wan. "What do you say? Picnic lunch down by the lake?"
"I'd love nothing more." He offered the princess his arm before they left through the front palace doors.
~***~
Just as Eve had predicted, the cattle situation eventually fizzled out. After Mr. Gardier visited the palace, it seemed that cattle all across the Aetherian countryside were no longer going missing. The whole endeavor was brushed to the side, and praises were given to the Aetherian deities above.
Peace returned to the kingdom for a few days. Like before, Adam and Evangeline were visiting the school children to tell them stories, and this time Melody Jaymes had tagged along with her younger sisters intending to speak with a member of the royal guard.
Koa had tagged along with Milo and Dacre, who escorted Melody out to the cathedral to wait for her sisters to finish with lessons for the day. Obi-Wan and Anakin stood idly by, the children more occupied with the newly crowned king telling a story about a prince who fell in love with the fiercest dragon in all the land.
The head of the guard gestured for the two Jedi to join their conversation while Dacre stood beside Melody, speaking with her quietly. "We've received a missing person report."
Obi-Wan and Anakin both raised their eyebrows, surprised to hear the news. Like the cattle, missing people were rarely heard of in the kingdom. "According to Miss Jaymes, Esca Maredy was last seen the night of Coniunx Mea with her fiance, Liam Hyde. They were all traveling back to the country in a group because it's safer that way." Koa finished, letting out a deep sigh. "Miss Jaymes parted with Miss Maredy and Mr. Hyde to return to her home with Paige and Lyric. Early the next morning, Mr. Hyde was frantically knocking on her door, saying that Miss Maredy was missing, that she'd been kidnapped after parting ways at her residence."
"He didn't stay the night?" Anakin raised a brow in disbelief. Most men he had encountered throughout the war would have taken the opportunity.
"He claimed that she didn't want him coming in and seeing any of the wedding preparations she had been working on," Koa explained, and the Jedi nodded in understanding and allowed him to continue without any further questions. "Mr. Hyde rounded up a search party of locals to look for Miss Maredy. According to a witness, the party was attacked by some invisible force. Mr. Hyde disappeared in the confusion. He hasn't been seen since."
"How peculiar," Obi-Wan hummed, stroking his beard in thought. People didn't randomly go missing, especially if they were attacked as the search party had been. "I wish Miss Jaymes had come to us sooner about it."
"I hoped that both Esca and Liam would just show up out of nowhere," Melody butt in, joining the small group. "I was wrong, and now we may never find them."
"Perhaps Anakin and I can take a group of guards out into the country to see if we can sense any trace of them." Obi-Wan offered with a kind smile, and he was relieved to see Melody nod in agreement.
"Thank you, Master Kenobi."
The group of children had been dismissed for the day, running off either into the capital city or off to the creek to embark on their journey home. Paige and Lyric ran up to their sister, who greeted them with hugs and smiles. They didn't need to know about what was going on in the world at the moment. "I shall see you tonight, Master Jedi." Melody bid them a good evening and ushered her sisters off in the direction of the boats.
"What was that all about?" Evangeline questioned, raising an eyebrow at the two Jedi.
"Nothing your majesties need to worry about." Koa covered for them, which the two siblings didn't question. Koa had that kind of effect on people; he made them feel that everything was under control. "Some farmers have requested the Jedi look into their missing cattle cases, to see if they can sense anything. They'll be embarking soon."
"Oh, well, have fun," Adam smirked, turning on his heel to start heading toward the palace, Koa in tow with Evangeline by his side, chatting animatedly about something.
Obi-Wan looked at Dacre and Milo. "Gather up some of your finest men and meet us by the palace docks. If there is something in the countryside attacking people, I'd much rather deal with it in daylight rather than in the dark."
"Yes sir!" the two saluted before rushing off in the direction of the palace, the Jedi following leisurely behind them. In half an hour, the two guards had gathered up five more trustworthy men to embark on their mission. Vaughn, the captain of the boat, steered them upstream toward the country house, letting the men disembark while he stayed behind to tie the boat to the post.
The plan was that if nothing happened during their search, then the group would travel back to the palace and report to Koa that perhaps whatever was out there was gone. If something did happen, or if they were out late, then they would spend the night in the country house and head back early in the morning.
The sun was already setting by the time the search party reached the Jaymes' house. Melody was kind enough to point them in the direction of where Esca and Liam had gone the night of Coniunx Mea, and bid them the best of luck with a soft-spoken "Fortuna de semper,", the Aetherian phrase 'may fortune follow you always'.
Obi-Wan and Anakin led the group down the path, the foliage from the trees blocking out what sunlight was left and leaving them in the darkness. The lamps that the men carried lit the path just enough to see what was in front of them. A few in the back were teasing Dacre about Melody, but the two Jedi didn't know why.
The wooded area of the countryside was eerily quiet. The group felt they had been walking for miles, and the guards were starting to complain that the search party had been a total bust. "Evan and Walsh, tighten up!" Dacre had scolded, only for the other two to respond with "I bet you tell Miss Jaymes that when you visit her!"
So Dacre and Melody were more than friends; the Jedi assumed as much as more teases came from the guard about Dacre's love life. The air around the group seemed to lighten up then, but the rustling in the trees around them didn't go unnoticed by the two Jedi up front.
"Everyone quiet!" Anakin commanded, hand hovering over his lightsaber to ignite it if needed. They scanned the area up above them, and with the talking reduced to nothing, the woods were even more eerily quiet.
Rustling was heard on their left, and two blue lights lit up the faces of the Jedi; their mysterious assailant was still around. For a moment there was nothing heard except the breathing of the men around them.
Dark matter flew violently at Obi-Wan, who dodged quickly, eyes wide. "Watch out!" he shouted at the men, who dodged the thing before it could attack them. Yet it wasn't attacking them directly, it was going for their lamps. One by one they snuffed out, plunging them into total darkness.
Panic erupted among the men as Obi-Wan and Anakin tried their best to fight the assailant, using the Force as an aid to locate where it was. For a flicker of a moment, Obi-Wan thought he sensed a presence, but his focus broke when he realized what it was going for. "Dacre, watch out!" he shouted before a scream interrupted his warning. The presence was gone in the blink of an eye.
"Light your lamps again men, Dacre's been hurt!" Anakin commanded, using the light his lightsaber cast to make his way over to him. The lamps were lit one by one, and the scene before them was heartbreaking. Dacre lay on the worn path, a gaping hole in his chest where his heart should have been. His eyes were wide in shock; blood pooled underneath his body, and anguished cries came from the men. Dacre was dead.
~***~
The rest of the night went by in a blur for Obi-Wan. After Milo had insisted that they bring Dacre's body back to the palace, he also took a small group of men with him to Melody's house. The Jedi Master had been one of them, and the look on Melody's face let him know everything he needed to. Milo extended a personal invitation to his funeral to her and to Madame Kohinoor, who Obi-Wan learned was Dacre's mother.
The next morning, they joined the other half of the search party already preparing Dacre for cremation. Like Jedi, it was common for guards to be cremated, to signify an honorable death. His body looked pale as they built the pyre. Members of the royal family watched on the side, Evangeline being one of them. Obi-Wan barely got the chance to speak with her due to comforting Melody.
"It's not fair," he heard the young woman cry. "He promised me that one day we would get married and start our own life together after the girls moved out. How am I supposed to go on?"
"Conamen will grant you another chance," the princess soothed, wrapping her friend in a hug. "I promise you."
Their conversation had died down after that. The members of the guard all gathered around the pyre, and Koa stood at the head, face stoic as he addressed the members. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the life of Dacre Kohinoor, an exceptional guard and one of my best friends in all of Aetherius."
The guardsmen clapped and Koa continued. "Dacre died protecting his kingdom, which is an honorable death in our eyes. May Curatio guide his soul into Transiet's embrace, so his soul may rest in peace."
"May he rest in peace!" the crowd echoed back as Milo stepped forward to light the pyre on fire. While she didn't show it, Obi-Wan could feel Melody's anguish through the Force. He had been the same way when Qui-Gon had died, but he had reluctantly released his feelings into the Force and jumped right into training Anakin to take his mind off things. It had worked for the most part.
The procession went on for another hour until there wasn't anything left to burn. Melody left with friends who lived in the town and offered a place for her to stay with Madame Kohinoor while they dealt with their grief. The guards returned to their quarters, solemn looks upon their faces. Anakin had disappeared to their quarters to rest for the evening. It had already been a long day.
Obi-Wan escorted Eve back to her room, the both of them sharing a melancholic feeling. "I feel sorry for Melody," the princess eventually spoke, wrapping her arms around her waist. "We met Dacre when he first joined the royal guard, at eighteen. Mel had just turned eighteen, and my eighteenth was coming up. They danced at Coniunx Mea and that night she knew he was her soulmate." She took a deep breath and calmed herself so no tears would fall. "Now that's been ripped away from her."
The Jedi Master nodded in agreement. "It's an awful feeling. I've dealt with similar situations."
"Like Master Qui-Gon?"
"Exactly." Satine too, he realized, but now being back on Aetherius, he realized that whenever he spent time with Evangeline, he seemed to forget about Satine altogether. Perhaps he had never loved her as deeply as he thought he had. Time would never tell.
The two reached the third floor and Eve's door not long after. "I'm sorry for your kingdom's loss," Obi-Wan spoke, taking Eve's hands and holding them as a form of comfort. Death, whether dealing with your emotions or not, was still sad. Obi-Wan was optimistic since he had been taught that Jedi joined the Force once they passed. The Aetherians were grieving their fallen brother, but they prayed for his soul to safely make it to the underworld.
"Thank you, Obi-Wan." Eve smiled sadly, reaching up to kiss his cheek. The small action expressed her thanks even though her words had been enough. "I shall see you tomorrow, I don't plan on going anywhere this evening."
"Goodnight, Evangeline." He bid her goodnight and reached the top of the stairs when a blood-curdling scream was heard from the princess's bedroom. The Jedi Master swiftly turned on his heel and ran down the corridor to her room, the door open with Eve hysterically sobbing in the doorway. Gently he wrapped his arms around her and into an embrace before observing the scene, and it made him feel sick to his stomach.
There on the floor, lying in a pool of blood, was Saorise, her body almost unrecognizable. Koa had escorted Adam back to his room after the funeral, so Obi-Wan wasn't surprised when he appeared by his side rather suddenly. Curses left the head of the guard's mouth. "What is it?" Adam's voice broke the silence as Eve's cries had been muffled by Obi-Wan's cloak.
"Saorise has been murdered."