Chapter 6: Seeker
The door to the Grand Master's office had barely closed behind them before Tahl let out the question: "Seeker? What do you mean?"
Chirrut Îmwe's clear blue eyes met her own with a steady glance.
"You are a seeker, are you not?"
"Well, yes…I guess I am, but you made it sound like a title, or as if I were expected to come here. Or…someone were? "
"Oh, yes. That… Well Master Uvain, I once read a story down in the archives saying that in the times when the balance between light and dark is about to change a Seeker will appear. Somehow your question about those prophecies seems to fit with the old story. I'm sorry if I have upset you."
Tahl felt slightly dizzy. Silently she had to admit that the boy had a valid point. She had somehow taken upon herself to seek the truth about the old prophecies' origin and as such she might appear a seeker to those who didn't know. Well, actually she was among those herself. She really didn't know much, but after her visit to Auratera and the meeting with the old man…ghost…whatever he was there, she had felt this urge to find the truth and maybe somehow be able to deflect the somber future that he had talked about.
She really had to get a grip. If she wasn't careful she would end up in a shadowy land of could be, could be and can't be and lose her connection to reality. For Force's sake, she had a Padawan to care for. So she just gave the boy her most calm and friendly smile instead.
"No worries young one. I wasn't upset, merely curious. I've been named many things in my life, but never a seeker. Please take us to the quarters the Master so kindly offered us. It has been a long day and we'll be up early tomorrow."
Their quarters were modest with only a bed, a desk with a chair and a nightstand, the latter attacking Tahl's little toe with a fierce wooden leg.
"Kriff it, not again!" she swore and heard her Padawan's hearty laugh.
"I'm sorry, Master, I hope you're not really hurt. It just reminded me of one of our first meetings."
Bant made a good attempt on sobering up and Tahl' couldn't avoid letting out a small chuckle herself.
"Oh, you're right. I kept stubbing both toes and shins when you were first assigned to be my companion and help me cope with the blindness."
"You were quite insistent that your table was trying to attack you whenever you came close to it, Master. I'll be in the room next to this. Just comm me if you need anything. Do you remember how to find your way to the 'fresher?"
"Out the door and then two doors and one column later turn to the left," Tahl memorised, "I'll manage, thanks. Let's get to bed and have a good night's rest before we begin our research tomorrow. Chirrut was going to pick us up here and bring us to the refectory at seventh hour so let's be ready before he comes."
She could hear Bant's soft "Yes, Master" and a muted click from the door and she knew she was alone.
True to his word Chirrut Îmwe picked the two women up at seventh hour sharp the following day and brought them straight to the refectory. From what Tahl could figure out it was arranged similarly to the one back home, with small and large tables spread out in a huge room and with a desk where various nutrients were served. She settled for two slices of freshly baked bread, a cup of tea and some fruit. From the sound of it her Padawan was filling her tray with a hearty meal of various sea food. Well, the girl was still growing and they hadn't been eating since they arrived on planet more than 12 hours ago.
While they were still eating she asked their guide: "How are the archives arranged? I assume we should start searching for information about a millennia back in time. Since there is a Sith temple there it certainly was inhabited before the Sith were extinct. But is it possible to search in terms of time periods?"
"Yes, Master Uvain, we can do a search where we make cross references between time and names if you would like that?"
"That sounds like a good start, and please…since we're going to work together, let's just drop the formalities. My name is Tahl, and that's it."
"Yes, Master Tahl."
To Tahl's great relief the Jedha Archives were huge and less cramped than the Jedi Temple's so she could move quite freely without bumping into tables (and in particular their legs) everywhere. It didn't mean she had to, though, instead she settled down in front of a terminal with one youth on each side. She pulled up her rather old fashioned reading list which transferred plain aurebesh to geometrical forms that were more easily readable by her finger tips.
"Let's share the work between us," she suggested, "if Bant and I start searching for everything related to Auratera and Jedi, you may start searching for old lists of visitors to the Temple at Jedha. Somewhere you should be able to find our mystery Knight and link him with someone having a name that resembles Kh'enbi. At least that's what the family name is like now, but it may have been spelled differently in older days."
"Yes, Master Tahl."
And with that the trio began to work.
….
Four days later Tahl knew more about Auratera's geological and social history than she'd ever wanted to know. She knew about people moving in and out of the Jedha Temple. And she realised that a large Archive was both a curse and a blessing. There was a lot of information gathered there, and thus a lot to search as well.
She was fully aware that searching for information was a meticulous work but yet…there were simply no trace of the information she was looking for.
The mystic letter writing knight was still as nameless as he'd been back in the Jedi Temple and no traces were to be found of the first Kh'enbi visitor either.
"Kriff it," she mumbled through gritted teeth, "you have to be mentioned somewhere. You cannot hide forever even though it's centuries since you were a living being."
"Is she always like this?" Chirrut asked after the third eruption of frustration.
"Not always," Bant answered blithely, "only when she's set her mind to something and it doesn't give the desired results."
"Quiet, the two of you," Tahl grumbled, "let's take a break. Go out into the gardens and get some fresh air or do something else for a couple of hours. I'm going back to my quarters for a cup of tea. Let's take the rest of the day off and maybe we have some new, fresh ideas when we meet again tomorrow morning.
And with that she rose and strode out of the room.
Bant couldn't restrain herself from chuckling at the obvious lack of patience in her Master.
"She may be right. Maybe we'll see it clearer tomorrow after an evening off and a good night's sleep. Let's clear the desk and call it a day."
Chirrut just nodded.
They quickly cleared their working area and Bant yawned.
"Force, I'm tired. I think I'll follow Master's suggestion and spend some time in the garden before I go to bed. I've had pads and papers up to my gills, literally spoken," she sighed.
"May I join you, Padawan Eerin," Chirrut asked politely.
"But of course," Bant smiled, "unless you have other things you rather want to do."
He just shook his head.
….
The Temple Garden was beautiful in the slowly cooling air as the heat of the day faded. As they strolled through the gardens Bant saw multiple flowers and trees she didn't know from the Temple back home. A soft smell of flowers whirled around them as the daylight slowly disappeared and the darkness surrounded them as a soft velvety blanket.
As they leaned towards the branches of a huge Mano'ora tree Chirrut gazed up at the sky and the twinkling stars that slowly came into view.
"There they are", he sighed softly, "the twins of Darkness and Light. Anera and Awan."
Bant startled.
"What? What did you just say, Chirrut?"
"I said…oh…do you really think that….? No?"
"Yes! Well maybe. What did you call the second star?"
"Awan?"
"Yes…"
"You don't think that your search is linked to the old bedtime story? Do you?"
"Bedtime story? What has that to do with anything?" Bant sighed, "But the Kh'enbi's we're looking for has names that pretty often ends with 'wan and we are after all looking for something that balances darkness and light. At least that's what we think. Let's sit down and please tell me your bedtime story, Chirrut. I want to hear the full story."