The next journey out into the galaxy took them deep into the Slice, to the world of Wereldam. Dhoril had done his research as promised and briefed Laeus on the trip. He described it as a fairly simple world with cities that were regarded as particularly beautiful in the galaxy, and thus whose people had chosen to preserve them as much as possible against encroaching modernisation. As such, a lot of the planet's technology and industry was hidden away or cleverly disguised such that the cities kept their historical appearance. It sounded a nice place, until Dhoril started describing the culture of the planet. By what he described, this was exactly the sort of world that Laeus dreaded having to go to. Not because of any unfriendliness on the part of the locals, but quite the opposite in fact.
Landing at the spaceport situated outside of the city, Dhoril gave one last word of advice to Laeus.
"When it comes to interaction, there is little you can do to dissuade them. Just be careful not to encourage them."
"Oh, I'll try my best Master Dhoril, don't worry."
When the two departed it wasn't long before they were greeted with what looked like an almost royal procession. Guards dressed in special uniforms and carrying banners flanked a procession of official people dressed in what Laeus guessed to be garb for special occasions. It was a bit like the welcome on Lakara except a lot more needlessly grandiose. When the procession reached the Jedi, everyone in the group bowed to them, including the guards.
"Most illustrious Jedi, we are honoured by your presence." Said the man at the front of the group. Laeus sighed internally, the first of many. This was fairly accurate to what Dhoril had described. There were places in the galaxy that were like this and there wasn't much Laeus could do to stop them. But she could try.
"Please, there is no need to bow." She said. The group rose quickly.
"I am sorry master Jedi, sometimes we forget how humble you are. Please accept our sincerest apologies."
"No need, um…"
"Ah, I have not introduced myself, I am sorry again. I am Mayor Surenius, these are my loyal mayoral cabinet. We are most honoured by your presence, though I can only wish someone more prestigious was here to greet you."
"Do not put yourself down Surenius, your presence is as good as anyone's. Really, there is no need for all of this, we are just here to collect a youngling."
"Ah, yes, yes, the youngling. And, of course, the procession is not required. We know how humble you Jedi are, yes, there will no procession through the city." The mayor sounded somewhat disappointed at that, but he nonetheless turned to the group and dismissed them all. They hurried away as if they now felt their presence was ruining things. "Now, if you'll follow me most gracious Jedi, I shall take you to the child."
They followed the mayor to the edge of the spaceport, where no less than the mayor's own personal transport waited, flanked by local police cars. Laeus protested again.
"Mayor, please, this is not necessary. We do not wish to draw too much attention to ourselves."
"Oh, I know, I know master Jedi. But this is not a procession, this is merely my normal convoy, no special attention shall be drawn to us. Please, I insist you ride with me, it would be my honour." Laeus and Dhoril exchanged glances, deciding whether to yield to this. "If it helps at all, I doubt you would be able to find any public transport that could fit your assistant here." Dhoril blinked at that label, but they realised he was right; the mayor's car was bigger than average and could actually fit Dhoril in. Plus, considering the planet's attitudes to the Jedi, taking public transportation might just create more attention.
"Very well, we shall ride with you mayor." Laeus said after a pause. The mayor grinned widely and opened the door for them. They climbed in. The inside was decorated with wood and velvet and the mayor sat opposite them. Laeus didn't need any kind of Force sense to tell he was extremely nervous, and as they flew toward the city he made many attempts to start a conversation before the words died in his mouth and he shrank back into his seat. Eventually Laeus decided to put him out of his awkward misery.
"So, Surenius, how long have you been mayor?" The mayor perked up at being spoken to first.
"Oh, well you see Master… oh my goodness, I haven't asked your names," he said in sudden shock, before quickly adding, "unless it's not my place to ask." Laeus sighed internally again at that.
"Of course it is ok to ask, you can ask us anything. My name is Master Laeus, and this here is Master Dhoril." The mayor looked intrigued, but then went into shock.
"Oh, uh, oh, are you a Jedi too Master Dhoril?" Dhoril blinked again before replying.
"Yes." The mayor's expression turned from shock to horror.
"Oh my goodness, I, I didn't realise, I, I thought you were just… oh please forgive me master Jedi." The mayor bowed his head forward into his knees and clasped his hands together in a gesture of rueful piety, repeatedly murmuring 'please forgive me'. Laeus was going to say something, but Dhoril took the turn to deal with the man.
"Calm yourself Surenius, I am not insulted." The mayor looked up in sadness.
"Really?"
"Yes. I understand my kind are not seen on your world. It is a simple mistake."
"Oh, thank you master Jedi, thank you. I, I-"
"Do not mention it. Please."
So, the ride continued, until Laeus was glad when they finally landed. They'd arrived at the city hall, touching down on the roof. Stepping out, Laeus finally got to see the city herself from the rooftop, and it was a breath-taking sight. As far as she could see, criss-crossing the streets in ordered patterns, were canals. In octagonal patterns, they divided up the city into hundreds of artificial islands and stretched sparkling into the horizon. On them she could see lots of small wooden boats, an archaic mode of transport preserved here with ancient tradition, and small bridges allowing pedestrians and small vehicles to cross between the islands. The buildings were just as charmingly antiquated, most of them wooden structures and only a few stories high. Their beams were exposed to the air and their paint basic colours that flaked with age in many places. None of them were consistent, each one was different to their neighbour in height, shape, size, colour, and so on. Many of them were twisted in places as time had shaped them beyond what their builders had originally constructed. And what's more was how tightly packed together they all were. Between the houses squashed up against each other, the tight roads and wide canals there was little wasted space. Despite its size the capital still looked and acted like it was a simple city-state, an old impression that the locals kept to in their veneration for the past, among other things.
And yet despite the microcosm of the past that the city represented, the current era was inescapable. There may not have been a spaceport in the city, but plenty of other reminders lay about. For one thing, lanes of flying cars passed overhead. And Laeus was sure that within the buildings the people lived very modern lives. The near-pristine nature of the place was purely visual and architectural. Not that that was a problem, it was still a breath-taking sight to her as she stood on the roof of the city hall. Any modernisations at ground level were cleverly hidden, and renovations or refurbishments were carefully planned to be indistinguishable from the true original design. She was sure that the many museums in the city could tell her a lot more personal of a history than the archives could, but alas she didn't have time for that.
As she stood gazing at the skyline, Dhoril came up behind her.
"It is indeed a beautiful sight Laeus, however we must continue."
"Of course, of course," she replied, shaking herself from the near trance she had slipped into. They turned back around and went over to where the mayor was waiting for them. He took them down into the building and through and out the back into a closed courtyard. Ahead of them in the courtyard was the entrance to a different grand building.
"Now, we've kept the youngling in a special place while we waited for you to arrive."
"A special place?" Though Laeus was sure they meant nothing bad by it, she nevertheless felt slightly worried at the idea. She fully expected their treatment of the child to be a repeat of the Barrolays.
"Oh yes, yes. I'm sure you understand that to be selected by the Jedi is the highest honour in our society." Laeus couldn't say she was surprised by that. "As soon as we heard, we moved the parents to the Jedi Cadeau."
"The what?" Laeus asked. Dhoril moved in to answer her confusion.
"It is a special building in the heart of the city where they let the family of a chosen child stay until they are collected. I have read it is a place of high luxury, where the child and the family are waited on and provided with the finest living."
"You are most correct wise master Jedi, and it is that building in front of us. For a child of our world to be given to the order is the highest distinction, and we treat it as such." Laeus was wrong, it was apparently even more extreme than the Barrolay children, but she kept her opinions to herself. "Now, if you'll follow me, I shall take you to the parents. They are very excited to meet you."
Laeus mentally prepared herself before they entered the building, but she was still taken aback. The inside really was the epitome of regal treatment. While only moderately sized, it was laid out and decorated like a miniature chateau, with red carpets and lavish furniture, a lobby with a grand staircase and a landing going around the top to which the second-floor doors entered onto. Expensive paintings depicting scenes from legend, likely Jedi legend, lined the walls and there was even a tapestry opposite the staircase. It was certainly extravagant, though the red of the carpet and curtains, matched with the dark brown of the wooden beams that stood exposed along the corridors and in the roof, created a dusky feeling of seclusion, as the bright sunshine outside was nowhere to be found. A few servants stood around waiting, who bowed when the Jedi entered before Surenius told them to stop. He led them up the staircase and around to other side of the landing. Here, there was a gap in the tapestry in which a door was placed, leading to apparently the most important room in the building. He opened it and ushered the Jedi inside.
Inside was a degree of conspicuous reverence that bothered Laeus even more. Along with the aforementioned styling of the whole building, this room which contained the youngling had the added feature of an overly magnificent cot with the decoration all around it designed to make it the centre of attention. On the floor, the wall behind it, and even the ceiling, was a fantastic canvas of patterns, with lines, circles, spirals and other twisting shapes painted in red and gold, all crowding around to focus in on the centre of worship, the child in the cot. Looking at it made Laeus feel ill.
But she didn't have time to agonise over the grandiosity, as the parents were quick to move in and display their own piety, whether she liked it or not.
"Masterful Jedi, we are humbled by your presence," began the mother.
"We hope our daughter Saf is worthy of your attention," continued the father. Laeus did her best to keep smiling and politely discourage them from such conduct.
"Now, mister and missus Dijcher, do not treat us so reverently. We are not higher beings, we are mortals like you."
"Ah, yes, of course master Jedi," was the mother's response, "you are very humble. Didn't I tell you they were very humble Utren?"
"You did, Rotue, you did," said the father in turn, looking at the Jedi in amazement at their otherworldly humbleness. Laeus had to stop herself sighing out loud. All she wanted to do at this point was to take the child and leave as soon as possible. Surely they wouldn't mind hurrying a bit?
"If you don't mind, we prefer to do these collections quickly. May we have the child?"
"Of course, master Jedi," said Rotue, moving over and lifting the exalted and utterly unaware baby out of the cot. "We pray that our darling Saf is worthy of your order. Know that we…" She went off on a speech about honour and privilege, likely the same honour and privilege that they had been gifted before already on this mission, with Utren occasionally adding something. Laeus just stood and patiently let her speak. Best that she get it all out. "…will always be remembered," she finished.
Laeus held out her hands and the mother finally passed the baby over. A sense of relief came over her.
"We thank you for your sacrifice," Laeus told the parents.
"Oh no, it is us who must thank you for the honour of-"
"I understand Mr. Dijcher. Let us just leave it at our mutual thanks."
"Ah, yes, right…" he clearly wanted to say yet more, but didn't. Laeus then turned to the mayor.
"We should be going now Surenius."
"As you wish. Thank you again mister and missus Dijcher, I shall come visit you again after the Jedi have departed." The parents bowed in return, but Laeus and Dhoril had already left.
The Jedi made their way back out of the Cadeau and to the car on top of the roof, with Dhoril, as much as he could, fast walking. On the top they brushed aside the mayor's offers for dinner, drinks, celebrations, et cetera, and got back in the car. They flew to the spaceport, making little conversation aside from inquiries from Surenius about how the Jedi raised children in the temple. When they arrived, they quickly got out and said their farewells.
"Thank you for your hospitality, Mayor Surenius."
"Ah, no, thank you most illustrious Jedi."
"Just Laeus will do, thank you."
"Very well, most illustrious Laeus. Thank you for gracing our planet with your presence. I hope that the child will be a great asset to the Jedi Order."
Laeus did not reply this time and simply smiled as a final goodbye. Dhoril said nothing, but quickly turned and left once Laeus had. They boarded the ship, at which point Laeus let out all her internal sighs at once.
"I really have to stop thanking people so much".
Returning to the temple for the fifth time, Laeus went to the nursery without interruption and placed Saf in the last standard crib. She was pleased to see that in the time she was gone the fosterers had made the necessary adjustments to the other two cribs. One had been fitted with a heat lamp above it to keep a cold-blooded alien warm. The other had been removed entirely and replaced with a kind of nest; a round, soft stand topped with padding, above which hung various perches and horizontal wooden poles. Laeus was observing these when Juvhal happened to walk into the room.
"I see you've noticed the changes, Janeir?" This caught her by surprise, though she replied quickly.
"Indeed Master Juvhal. They look well prepared. How did you know how to set up the nest properly?"
"Ah, well, we didn't really. We had to check the care guide for their species. We might have to rely on it a lot when raising the youngling actually, it's been a long while since one of their kind was brought to the temple." Both of them paused for a bit, contemplating how exactly to best raise an alien so unlike baseline human. Eventually Juvhal continued. "So how many are left now?"
"Only the two for these beds," Laeus told him.
"And which one are you going to collect next?"
"I suppose I'll collect the Shiriat youngling, since we're talking about them."
"Sounds like a fine idea. You know, after I read the care guide I couldn't help but read more on their species. They're quite an interesting people. Very remote, in many ways."
"So I hear," Laeus said, "but I'm sure Master Dhoril will give me more detailed information on the way there, more than just hearsay."
"Hey now, I read it in-"
"I know, I know Master Juvhal, I was just joking."
"Right… and come on Janeir, again, you don't need to call me that." Laeus chuckled, and said no more before leaving and returning to the ship.