tushanshu_logs | [EVENT | TAVIMBI] HAPOYELA'S BLESSINGS

[EVENT | TAVIMBI] HAPOYELA'S BLESSINGS

Characters: Come one, come all!
Date: March 5th
Location: The Sabonile Temple, in Hatal
Situation: The Foreigners, as well as many prominent kedan, have been invited to the great Temple of Hapoyela in Hatal, where the Sabonile priest class wishes them to participate in a celebration!
Warnings/Rating: Character nudity in the after-feast comment. Indicate content warnings in subject headers as applicable.

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According to the Sabonile priests, Hapoyela wishes to properly welcome the Foreigners and the kedan to the full scope of Tavimbi's hospitality, and has instructed the clergy to organize a suitably impressive celebration for the citizens of the oldest living Great Turtle. All Foreigners, as well as many notable kedan including the Family heads, are invited to attend a grand feast and celebration at the Sabonile Temple, one of the largest buildings in all of Hatal.

The clergy has promised an evening of good food, lively entertainment, and the magnificent blessings of Hapoyela. At the same time, the Sabonile will be hosting a soup kitchen in the Temple's courtyard, feeding the hungry and the poor, as dictated by their religious tenets and beliefs.

While those who receive an invitation to the event, which the Sabonile consider a sacred charge from Hapoyela, are not required to attend... it could be seen as a disrespect to their deity.

MOD NOTE: For the naked after party section, soul gems are still allowed to be worn. If your character isn't up for stripping down, they can excuse themselves from that segment of the evening, which will have no negative repercussions with the Sabonile. In this case, they will simply do a wave-over blessing from Hapoyela around the person, and bid them a pleasant evening before they go.

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Not that specifically, but that to Padme they were very much in the midst of the Clone Wars. At a point where she would have no idea of the impending future that was to come.

Obi-Wan inwardly grimaced at her reaction. He did always hate being the bearer of bad news, but that task did often fall on him. Now that she knew that much, he could be a bit more careful with the rest of what he had to tell her. The fall of the Republic, while shocking in itself, was probably the least of the devastating news he bore.

"And yet that is almost precisely what happened," Obi-Wan said solemnly. "I don't know all the details, I was on Utapau engaging General Grievous at the time it started. The council and I had suspected something. However, the corruption in the Senate was much deeper than any of us realized."

Edited 2016-03-15 13:52 (UTC)

How did he expect her talk news like that? It's outrageous. Seemingly preposterous. Her life was in shambles with that much.

"The Senate...But we found Clovis and his connection to the other Separatists." She took a deep breath to clear the thought of her near death on Cato Neimoidia and the way that her marriage had been strained those few days. "You're telling me that there are others. How deep does this go, Obi-Wan?"

It's here that Obi-Wan paused in his walk, turning slightly toward Padme with his eyes downcast. As hard as this was for her to take, it was also hard for him to tell her. What he had to say wouldn't be getting any better. After a moment he finally looked up again.

"To the top I'm afraid."

He knew that she had a good relationship with Chancelor Palpatine. They were from the same planet after all, and it was the Chancelor who had helped to save Naboo from the Trade Federation. The entire Republic had loved Palpatine after all. He certainly had carefully spun his web. To the point that when the Jedi suspected something was wrong, it was far too late.

Edited 2016-03-16 14:02 (UTC)

If it had been anyone but Obi-Wan, she might've doubted him. However, the man beside her had been a friend for over a decade, helped her and her planet in its time of greatest crisis, had stood up for her husband and trained him when everyone else had been ready to abandon him. How could she doubt him now?

Her hands balled into ineffectual fists as her breathing sped up. Sheev Palpatine, Naboo's favorite son, was corrupt and had led to the Republic's fall after 4000 years. It was...devastating. But she wasn't stupid to think it stopped there.

"Tell me the rest," she whispered, arms wrapping around her. She was suddenly cold despite the sweltering heat. "There must be more."

He nodded solemnly, "Yes." Tentatively, Obi-Wan placed a hand on Padme's shoulder. It was odd touching her in their current state of undress, but he wanted to comfort her somehow. "Perhaps we should sit." His words a grim foreshadow to the terrible news that he still had yet to tell.

He glanced around for a moment and soon found a place to seat himself near the spa. Waiting for Padme to do the same before he continued.

"You remember Darth Maul," Obi-Wan started. "The Sith Lord who had killed Qui-Gon." Though it was an old wound, it still hurt him a little to speak of his late master's demise. "Palpatine is the other that we had been looking for. He was responsible for everything, including the war and the clones. In the end he even turned one of our own against us."

She followed almost numbly to the bench and sat down, her posture stiff and rigid. She was as lost as she'd felt when the Trade Federation had tried to take over Naboo. Only there was no Senate to turn to for help, no way to rescue herself from the horrible truth.

She listened with a heavy heart and tear-bright eyes to the rest of his words. A nod was given to acknowledge her faint memory of the mysterious man responsible for the kind Jedi Master's death on her planet. She'd had issues with his recklessness but his heart had been in the right place.

And even knowing it was worse, she hadn't been ready for that. Palpatine, not only a corrupt politician but a Sith Lord and manipulator of everyone and everything! And he'd turned a Jedi against the Order?! She couldn't.... No. Not...

"Who? Tell me!"

This question draws a pained expression. Despite Obi-Wan's training as a Jedi, he was unable to completely hide his feelings when it came to the subject at hand. The wound was still fresh and raw. Even back home he had yet had the time to properly reflect and grieve the many losses that he had suffered. Particularly the one that had meant most to him.

"It was Anakin," he said in a soft, slightly broken, voice.

"No!" Her voice was loud, nearly hysterical in her denial. "No, not Anakin. How can you say that? He wouldn't..."

Her hand came up to cover her face as a broken sob choked off the rest of her words. He couldn't.

"Anakin wouldn't. I can't believe that."

But a part of her was already accepting this horrible news as truth. She'd known when Obi-Wan had spoken about betrayal.

Hearing her made his heart break. The Jedi paying no attention to the glances that were shot their way. The sounds of grief among what was supposed to be a celebration was out of place.

"I'm so sorry Padme," he said with genuine sad repentance. "I failed him, and you."

There was more he could still say, but he was unsure if he should at this point.

His words were heard but she didn't respond for a long time, instead crying sadly as she tried to wrap her mind around what would make Anakin turn against all he knew. He loved her and Obi-Wan with his entire heart. He would die before betraying them.

What lie had Palpatine told to turn him?

"How? How did he do it? You must know."

Obi-Wan sighed quietly and shifted in his seat at her question.

"I can only assume Palpatine had been subtley influencing Anakin from the start." It was the only thing that made any real sense to him. The change had been so sudden and dramatic he couldn't really say for sure what had caused it.

"I wasn't there when it happened. I only knew something was wrong when my clone troopers tried to kill me. When I arrived on Coruscant I soon learned that Anakin had slaughtered all the Jedi in the temple, including the Younglings."

Edited 2016-03-16 17:02 (UTC)

"He's been using us all," she shot back, only then realizing how true those words were. From the very start, the Supreme Chancellor had groomed Anakin for dissent against the Jedi and her to be his naive pawn. "How foolish I've been to not see it. I played right into his hands this whole time."

Her trusted mentor had tried to kill her. It was ironic in a horrible sort of way.

Her head snapped up. "No, that makes no sense. Anakin and Ahsoka fought hard to save the Younglings. I refuse to believe that he would just turn around and slaughter them."

"As did the Jedi Order," Obi-Wan acknowledged. They had all played into his hands, not expecting anything. Even the Jedi had been blind.

At her reaction regarding Anakin though, he could certainly understand. "I was just as shocked as your are, but I saw the security recording with my own eyes." There has been no doubt after that, only disbelief.

Edited 2016-03-16 17:44 (UTC)

"Blinded by arrogance, it would be a perfect situation for someone ready to take over everything. We made it easy."

Even standing up and trying to protect the idea of what the Republic should have represented for the galaxy, she'd offered a perfect target for those unwilling to play nice with others. Between her and the Senate on one side and the Jedi Order on the other, they offered great targets to the Separatists.

She reeled away from him at the mention of security recordings. While they could be manufactured, it was almost impossible of non-Jedi to gain access. She had to believe it was true and her voice cracked as she spoke again. "It's all gone then? All of it?"

Arrogance. Yes, perhaps she was right. It was a hard pill for Obi-Wan to swallow, but he couldn't deny that the Order did have its flaws. Flaws that ultimately led to its fall.

As she turned away from him, Obi-Wan respectfully gave Padme her space and silence to take it in. He could only look down at his hands until she spoke again.

"Palpatine reorganized the Republic into a Galactic Empire. The Jedi Order has been destroyed. There were very few survivors."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"But there is still hope."

This wasn't the first time she'd had that thought. She'd met enough of the Council and the Senate to know that arrogance was a huge problem in so many of their members.

It took her a few moments to gather herself so she could truly process what he's told her. Palpatine was now emperor of the galaxy and the Jedi were no more, so many dead.

"And what hope could exist after everything you've told me?"

Even Obi-Wan had moments when he disagreed with the council, and members of the Senate. The case regarding Ahsoka certainly had been one of them. As well as the decision to ask Anakin to spy on Palpatine. The mistrust had obviously been warranted but he felt that decision might have led to Anakin's fall.

There was then a pause as he tried to gather his thoughts and think of the right words to say to Padme.

"What I'm about to tell you, I haven't yet told Anakin. In fact, it might be best he hear it from you."

There was another pause before he continued.

"You were pregnant, and gave birth to twins. Anakin's children."

If Padmé had been aware and able to do anything in regards to either situation, she'd probably agree with her old friend. As it were, she was left to come to her own conclusions, and they were just as ugly as the reality in front of her.

Children?! They'd be parents. While Obi-Wan's obvious knowledge of the depth of her relationship with Anakin was a little disconcerting, she'd never thought they'd be able to keep everything from someone they were both so close to. But the prospect of parenthood....?

However, her old friend didn't sound as pleased as she could hope for.

"When do I give birth to these children? Does the Council try to take them from us? Is that why?"

She can't even fully ask the question, but she has to know. Children was a subject that she and Anakin never discussed, what with war and the need to keep their marriage a secret and a million other things all working against them. But a chance for them to be a real family was something she'd secretly prayed for, wanted, craved for a while, especially after her last trip home with her sister and nieces.

"I have to know."

Obi-Wan breathed a deep sigh as he prepared himself to go on. He was sorely tempted to avoid the nasty bits of information as much as he possibly could. But answering her questions without giving the whole story would lead to more and eventually the truth would come out. So it was probably best if he just explained everything, as much as he didn't want to. The memories were still very painful.

"Padme... after Anakin killed the Jedi in the temple, you confronted him on Mustafar. I followed you because I too wanted to see for myself. He was no longer the Anakin that we both knew. He had completely fallen to the dark side, and he hurt you." In more ways than one. "And I... I did what I had to."

He let that hang there for a moment, not wanting to go into the gruesome details unless she insisted. Obi-Wan's head bowed sorrowfully as he recounted the events.

"Afterward, I took you to Bail Organa. The twins, a boy and a girl, were born. But you died shortly after."

She just looks at him, horrified by what he's told her. Her entire world is gone. Everything.

"What?"

She's an intelligent woman, capable of understanding so much in a short amount of time. But this...this is too much.

"What?!"

Padme's reaction was to be expected, but that didn't lessen the guilt Obi-Wan felt at her disbelief.

"Forgive me," he said softly.

Perhaps he'd said too much. Her devastation was almost more than he could bear. She deserved better than this.

"How....how could this happen?"

Shock would be kinder. She jumped up from the bench and headed back towards the area where their clothes were left.

"I can't stay here. I have to go."

He had no answer for that. Obi-Wan could only wish that he could have made things easier for her some how. But there really was no way to sugar coat any of this. As she gets up to go, Obi-Wan reaches out for her.

"Padme, wait."

His voice is gentle, knowing that perhaps he's overstepped already.

"Bail Organa adopted your daughter. Kylo Ren, he is your grandson."

When he called out to her, she stopped dead in her tracks. Even as upset as she was, she knew how much she owed her friend and couldn't ignore him when he used that soft voice.

The news was like icing on the cake. Her grandson and Bail's grandson were one in the same. Her family line continued beyond and at least one of her children was raised by someone she trusted.

"And my son, what happens to him?"

"I brought him to Anakin's family on Tatooine, and will watch over him."

And he then finally smiled a little.

"I'm told he becomes a Jedi Master."

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