Video;

[hadthehighground]

[Someone has been gone for quite awhile. He disappeared sometime during the whole Valentine fiasco and is only just now showing back up again. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to think he had left this world altogether, but nope he’s still here! Obi-Wan had simply gone outside the city into the Wilderness to be alone and meditate. Needing the time to think and sort things out in his mind with a little help from the Force.

So maybe you will be surprised when you see his face again? He looks no worse for wear, though he is ready to take a shower for sure.]

I apologize for my lengthy absence. It was needed so that I could have some time to think.

Many of you have come to know me as Ben Kenobi, and I regret to say that’s not entirely correct. My actual name is Obi-Wan Kenobi. I had changed my name in order to protect myself before even arriving here. I’m certain many of you will understand my caution as you know the history of the Jedi. However, I have decided such measures are not needed here.

When I first came here, the only members of my kind were myself and Cal. Since then, there are now four of us. Which is largely what brought about my extended leave. I don’t know why so many of us have been brought to this place, but I hadn’t expected to be around so many ever again.

All of us have known what it’s like to be alone. To be hunted and in hiding, living each day with a threat looming over us. There is no reason that should be so as long as we are here. No matter our past struggles, we are still Jedi, and here we don’t have to hide that fact.

Seeing as I was once a member of the High Council, it would be expected of me to see to the safety and well-being of all the Jedi here. I intend to live up to that expectation. I wish to find a place that we can call our own. A temple if you will. Where we can gather, learn, and perhaps even live together. As the only master among us, I have decided to also make myself available for teaching. It won’t exactly be conventional, but these are unconventional times.

Thus I would like to speak with all of you regarding this. And you as well, Mandalorian. We have a great deal to discuss.

Oh... and before I forget. Can anyone explain this?

[Obi-Wan then turns his device to show a giant feathered lizard wearing a saddle and bridle, chewing on leaves not too far away.]

I found her just before I left.

Comments

[kyley_b]

Jesus, dude, I'm sorry.

So now that you're here, though, Mr. Kenobi here is like... sort of honour bound to help you out? Because you're connected by virtue of your Force stuff.

And hey, not to butt in, but I have a question: is there anybody here who'd give you guys shit for making your temple? Because if so we oughtta handle that ASAP. I'm going on the assumption that this is gonna be a tolerant society but... you know. We can make rules. Set precedents.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[He has no idea who or what Jesus is, but he knows a swear when he hears it.]

Not honor bound, I don't think, although maybe that's part of if, and I just don't know. I'm just a student, not a master. Moved by compassion?

Like you are, it sounds like. If there's anyone here right now who's going to give us trouble, they haven't spoken up yet. But thanks. It's nice to have the support.

[kyley_b]

[If he ever asks, Kyle will probably have some really unusual stories about the guy.]

So he's just a super nice dude on top of being a master. Okay, that's pretty cool.

Yeah, I'm a student back home. Uhm. Pre-law. [Do they have lawyers in space? He's really not sure.] I just figured, you know, people can get really weird about religion, so I don't wanna see you guys go through all this work and somebody burns your building down or something.

[ezra_of_lothal]

I'm sure there are Jedi who are better or worse at being nice, but we're supposed to...

[How to explain?]

It's a religion, sure. There's other religious traditions centered around the Force. My...adopted brother, he's Lasat. That's a non-human species. They call the Force Ashla.

Being a Jedi is also a calling. Force sensitives have the potential to be really powerful - in ways that can frighten people. Being a Jedi is about using that power to help people. To protect them. To seek justice and peace.

Pre-law. You...study how the government works?

[kyley_b]

And that's different from you guys because they don't get the, uh. Magic force powers?

Oh, okay, it's kinda like you're superheroes. That's intense, dude.

Uh, partly, I was a political science major. But that's just so I could go to law school, which teaches you to be a lawyer. Which is, like... a person who argues on the behalf of other people about how laws are applied and how punishments are dealt out and stuff.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Well, it's not exactly having force powers or not. The Lasat have prophecies about their own people, which must have come from the Force, and I met Chava who's a Lasat priestess. She was definitely somewhat force sensitive.

I'm probably going to explain this wrong, and I know there's all kinds of history I just don't know. The Republic was huge - spread across most of our galaxy. That's just so many species, and religions, and cultures. A Lasat priestess, yeah, she's got the responsibility to try to be a good person, but her duties are...local.

Jedi, ideally, served the entire Republic. At least that's what that's I was taught. Now there's the Empire, and the guy in charge has Force powers but he's a Sith. Sith focus on making themselves more powerful. If there's ever any room to follow that philosophy and still do good, I promise the Emperor is not doing it.

[kyley_b]

So this is straight up politics? Like all the 'local' religions are looking after their communities but you guys go out into the galaxy to fight this opposing order?

[ezra_of_lothal]

That's not wrong, exactly, but -

[He sighs]

I'd never even heard of the Sith when I started training as a Jedi. What mattered to me was the Empire arrested my parents for speaking out when people were being hurt and killed. And there are a lot of people being hurt, and killed, and enslaved under the Empire. Turns out a lot of the reason the Empire is like that is there's a guy who's mostly secretly a Sith, who's the absolute ruler, making it that kind of government.

That's what the Sith philosophy does. It takes all your good intentions and ends up making it about power and controlling other people.

So yes, to protect everyone, the Jedi have to oppose the Sith. That's necessary, but it's not...it's not what a Jedi is being about.

[kyley_b]

Okay, I'm following. Like it sounds like the right thing to do, to oppose the group that's just going around killing innocent people.

But that's not your purpose, is what you're saying?

[ezra_of_lothal]

Right.

The Force...is everything. Everything and everyone is connected. It's not by itself good or bad. As Jedi, we try to learn about it, and develop our abilities to sense it, and try to always remember this aspect of reality.

The result of that is, hopefully, greater insight and compassion that we can then act on in ways that helps people. Makes things better.

[kyley_b]

Okay. I'm down for all of that.

And people like Mr. Kenobi teach people like you how to do it.

I know I'm asking a lot of questions, sorry. I just figure, like... there's enough of you that whatever you guys wind up doing, it's going to affect the rest of us.

[ezra_of_lothal]

That's right.

And It's ok. I don't know what it was like before the Empire, but - Almost everyone has heard of the Jedi, enough to have whatever their ideas are about them, but the Empire is actively trying to stamp them, and other Force traditions out.

So it's, um, not exactly talked about in detail in public? You asking questions is making me think.

Hopefully there will be a decent space to meditate, if people want to? [That's the only 'change' he can think of that might affect the non-Jedi.]

[kyley_b]

Because you're a threat. Like if I were the head of an evil empire, I'd try to stamp out anybody who could oppose me.

But, yeah. Sometimes it isn't safe to broadcast what you are. Believe me, that I understand.

That'd be cool. But I meant like... structurally as a society, religions play a part. So if we have like, a third of the population are Jedis, that's got to be taken into account. Like if you guys all can't eat uhh... space lobster, then it'd be shitty of the rest of us to make space lobster farming our main source of sustenance.

[ezra_of_lothal]

Maybe there were restrictions like that at real temples? I don't know. There's a lot of traditions Kanan didn't try to teach me. Like, you've seen the robes Master Kenobi wears. From what I've seen there wasn't a uniform, but there was a distinctive style.

When you're trying to co-exist, but also hide, that sort of thing falls by the wayside. If it was...cultural, but didn't actually help me understand the Force, or help people, I'm not the guy to ask. I mean, I'm sure what falls where is up to debate.

[kyley_b]

He looks super comfy. Like a cross between being in your bathrobe and being in like, karate gear.

I dunno, I think it's just as fair to ask you. You have an opinion, and it's valid.

[ezra_of_lothal]

[Ezra grins.]

I bet they're all flowy and badass in a fight, too.

Uh, on food my only really hard and fast opinion is don't eat anything unless you're pretty sure it isn't people.

I haven't gone full 'no real meat'. But I connect with animals pretty easily. That's...a particular skill? Feeling what they feel and communicating. I've wondered, how hard it would be to make myself eat from an animal I've, well, felt die.

[kyley_b]

Oh dude, totally!

Oh, jeez. That would probably be awful. Maybe we should just like, look into what you can live off of that's plant based.

[ezra_of_lothal]

There's always that protein gel stuff from the ships.

[kyley_b]

True.

Well. We'll take care of you.