Sand People Enclave

Zed did not let The Artisans anger bother him. It had been a mistake, an honest one and he doubted that it would have caused an explosion. At most the blade would have just short circuited. Maybe flared up a bit. He was also transfixed by the blade before him, it was like he had reclaimed a part of himself that he had tried to kill out in the desert. It felt good in his hand, and placing his second hand below the top one he found that his hand fit easily into the slight bend of the fang. As the gaffii stood out point at him Zed brought the blade forward holding it at the ready. Then with nothing more than the flick of his wrist it instantly cut through the metal of the blade where the two points were bisected they glowed white hot one end still in the hand of the Tusken the other on the ground. This can cut through most anything. A few metals, or alloys and maybe a handful of organic compounds can resist it but they are rarer than rare.

You should be proud of your work, it can take years for someone to learn how to make one of these. Thumbing the activator so the blade shut off he offered the weapon to The Artisan to hold if he so chose. A word of warning it takes a lot of training and skill to use one of these as a weapon. A skilled warrior should be able to use one but when it comes to combat you always have your slug throwers that could take someone out from a distance.

In truth Zed had not thought to hide the construction of a lightsaber from The Artisan. He had given him everything that was needed, knowledge was not to be guarded and kept secret but to be shared. It was up to individual what they did with it. The only reason that he did not include the crystal in the designs because each one was different whereas one could reproduce the other components without much issue. Certainly one could just grow the crystals artificially as the Imperial Knights and Sith did if one had the right technology but finding naturally occurring ones was rare. Zed only knew of Illum, Dantooine and the lost planet of Mestare that had naturally occurring crystals. He was about to speak suggesting The Artisan try using on of those crystals brought by the Jawa when Nartaga interceded. If this builder was worth his salt then he could figure out the use of the crystal and how to substitute it for local ones.

Stepping out of the work area Zed waited until they could not be heard by those who had worked on the weapon before responding. I think one of those Jawa crystals might have a flaw inside it. I would have to take apart the handle again and inspect everything but it is no fault of anyone. Most of the time components are made by machine, not by hand and so are perfect. If anything it should show how well The Artisan has perfected his craft that he was able to make it work as well as he has. Yes the weapon, a lightsaber works good.

Tucking it away under a fold inside his clothes Zed did his best to hide it from view How long until the gift for the chieftain is ready do you think?

Despite having drawn the schematics for the lightsaber on paper it was still novel for him to see it and hold it. Offworld most everything was digital. Looking over the map he was able to grasp the true size of the Or'Rrk'Rkr tribe compared to the others. He was even able to see landmarks that he recognized from his travels. It never really occurred to him just how far he was from civilization. What is this Deadlands?

He did not sense the discontent growing within Nartaga until it was too late. His mind swirled around the phrase "When Tatooine burned to sand". What had he meant by that? There were so many worlds out there, including other desert worlds that he had just chalked this up as another one of them. Had Tatooine been alive prior to some point in the past? If it had what had caused it to look this way? The way that the Tusken had casually dropped this tidbit of information made him seem like it was common knowledge but he had never heard this before.

He paid no attention to the feverish signing nor the animated way that he talked. It was not until that anger boiled over and Nartaga spoke to him directly that he realized the agitated state his friend was in. Then as excess Force energy bled off him Zed involuntarily ate it, although there was no real taste to it the darkness tasted different. It was more bitter and acrid, than what he had tasted off of Nartaga in the past. He sensed that for whatever reason this journey into the Deadlands had broken some cultural taboo, even one that a forwards thinker like Nartaga believed in wholeheartedly. Take deep breaths, we can talk to him and figure things out later.

Putting his own arm under the Tusken he led Nartaga back to Patashu and reached into one of the saddlebags that he knew had some water and he handed it to Nartaga. Being in such close proximity to him he could sense how weak he was, the way his mind seemingly would not connect to the Force. How his strength seemed to have been sapped right out of him. Why are you so angry about this?

My opinion? I wish I were still in the desert. That would be easier than this.

His stomach turned at how the two of them were being used as pawns in this power grab. That was the only way he could see it, and he hated Or'Rish for it. There had been no conniving, no back stabbing out in the desert. Repeating the same gesture to Nartaga he leaned in close. There is a third option. Raising his hand in a fluid gesture across his throat he clucked his tongue twice It isn't a good option but the status quo is not always a bad thing.

He did not like the train of thought his mind was taking him. Political intrigue was best done by those who enjoyed such things. By those with the aspirations. Putting his hand onto the Tuskens shoulder he used his other hand to sign I could do this for you, I can sense how it is eating away at you. No one would ever know. I can walk through this camp in the middle of the day and not be seen or notice by a living soul, night it would be even easier.

Relief coursed through his body, he had not wanted to kill the man. More so however he was just happy to hear that Nartaga had not wanted him to do it. This was not his world, and he did not have the right to go about interfering within its machinations. You are a good man Nartaga.

He had said it several times over since meeting the Tusken but it was becoming all the more clear to him just how true it was. Most people in the galaxy, himself included only looked out for themselves and maybe friends or family. It was a special kind of person that could care about the entirety of their people. I have been worried about you, something has been festering within you since your injuries. I can sense it within you. We have to do this and deal with the repercussions of it later. Part of him wanted to go into a lecture about the dangers of fear, anger and hate but he knew this was not the time nor the place. This society was so far removed from the galaxy that for all he knew those powers were the ones that their Shamans pulled on for their power just as he used both the dark and the light.

As Nartaga spoke Zed glanced to the twin suns the first of which was set to touch the horizon within the hour. Already the hottest part of the day had passed them and Zed enjoyed standing in the shade of Patashu. Soon enough though he would look forward to the light of the sun. Do the Shamans of Tatooine meditate? Unsure if he had heard the word before he repeated it signing it a second time. With night approaching it may be a good time to try it and see if it helps. If nothing else we can think of all the things we can say to Or'Rish.

Knowing that his companioned loved to hear about outsider shamans he continued. Most people who use the Force, Jedi, Sith and everything in between do some form of it. Some will meditate to heal, others to simply forge a deeper connection and understanding to the Force and themselves. There are a lot of ways to do it. The one who taught me preferred something called Alchaka. They say it was invented on the highest mountains of The Whill world of Tython where the snow never melted and that it was originally done to keep a person warm on those tall peaks. The moves were rigorous and repetitive and would make you both mentally and physically exhausted. Just talking about it his body remembered those lessons, hating every second of it and hating his instructor every minute of it. But it made you stronger both physically and in mind.

I despised him for those lessons, and have never done it since. He chuckled and signed I would not recommend it during the days here. Not with how rare water is here. Still there are simpler ways to do it and if it can help with the turmoil He signed. that plagues you we should try.

Having watched on as Nartaga struggled he was about to cheat the system and focus on the orb again and create another flame to ensure that the Tusken would be able to pass. Thankfully though it was not needed. Signing a few words he looked over the shaman grounds. I take it all who enter can connect to Tatooines power? What if you are a shaman from a tribe but can not control or use Tatooines power?