Fwurg

[Amilia]

"Oh, I'm not afraid Ajava. Just amazed that there are so many non-carnivorous plants here."

She gave a warm smile as she took a whiff of a rose, then smiled at Ajava to reassure her.

"Most plants back home on Stellaria are carnivorous. Their size ranges from small insect eaters to large tree sized plants that eat animals the size of Banthas."

After a short pause she looked back to the flowers.

"I am getting a little tired, perhaps it would be a good idea to sit down for a moment."

[Shebi Ajava]

"Most plants on Stellaria are carnivorous? That sounds dangerous."

Ajava lead the way to a nice secluded spot in the jungle part of the gardens. A large plant formed a kind of natural bench here, looking out at a patch of grass with a small stream crossing through it.

Sitting down next to the high priestess, Ajava looked at Amilia's face. She was silent while she studied the patterns of the paint on Amilia's face. The happy chirp of a bird could be heard from within the jungle, quickly answered by another chirp form the other direction. "Oh. Sorry.", Ajava said all of a sudden, while looking a bit startled. "I was staring."

"Amilia, what are you a high priestess of?"

[Amilia]

"It's not that bad. We know how to handle them. Most people have a house-plant against rodents and insects."

As she sat on the bench like plant, Amilia listened to the birds. She had barely noticed Ajava was staring at her, until she apologised and asked her question.

"I'm the High Priestess of the School of Purity. Together with the High Priestess of the School of Blood and the High Priestess of the School of Knowledge, I lead the Divine Nova Triage. It's an old and small religious group in the Stellarian Triad Federation."

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava smiled. "But that is not really the answer to my question, is it? Usually religions revolve around a god, godess or other guiding force, such as the counter-demons, or is this school of purity the guiding principle of your people?"

While Amilia answered the questions, Ajava was looking at her intently, as if trying to remember something.

[Amilia]

"Oh, I'm sorry I misinterpreted your question."

Technically she had answer Ajava's question, but Amilia kept that to herself out of politeness.

"The Divine Nova Triage worship the stars, the goddesses of light. They created us and watch over us together with their children, the planets in their orbit. All stars are goddesses. The Triage devotes special attention to the stars in the Novalia system, as they are closest. Our three goddesses have three colours, white, red and blue. The Triage's three schools each devote themselves to one of these colours and with that one of the three goddesses. In my case the White Goddess of Purity."

She paused for a moment.

"This is also why I came to Unity. As it has no star, people are worried the planet is unprotected or abandoned by the Goddesses."

[Shebi Ajava]

"That's interesting. I wonder what you would make of the stars of my home world Mirda. Officially, they are classified as a yellow-yellow binary star. But Smi is sometimes more akin a single star with two cores. The stars circle each other so closely that they freely exchange stellar matter, usually creating spectacular solar flares at the same time."

Ajava smiled at Amilia.

"Maybe they are two goddesses intimately dancing with each other?" she asked with a playful tone.

[Amilia]

"Perhaps." Amilia said, not catching on to Ajava's tone.

"What ever their story is, I'm sure the Smi sisters watch over your world, Mirda, and their other children with a kind hart."

[Shebi Ajava]

Noting that Amilia did not seem to catch her actual meaning, Ajava was at a loss. She didn't want to be unsubtle, but she knew very little about the culture of the high priestess.

"Amilia", she started while looking at the High Priestess, "what does the paint on your face mean?"

She had wanted to ask something else, but at the last moment, she felt this was somehow important.

[Amilia]

"It's a tattoo actually not paint."

Amilia smiled at Ajava.

"The actual form of it is an ancient mark, the Mark of Purity. The fact that it's on my face and has the same colour as my eyes means that my body and mind are pure and untouched by..." She searched for the right word, finally settling on: "... desires of the flesh."

[Shebi Ajava]

Surprise could be read on Ajava's face. As procreation was at the core of the veolian culture, forced celibacy was mostly employed as a punishment in the past, and a strong social stigma is associated with it.

"Why would someone do that to you?!", Ajava said a little to loud, it seemed she was either very confused, or was becoming angry for some reason.

[Amilia]

Amilia was startled by Ajava's outburst.

"No one did this to me. I made my vow of chastity voluntarily, knowing exactly what it would mean." She said, highly confused.

"It's a way of showing my devotion to the Goddesses. Why would anyone force that on me?"

She really didn't get why Ajava got angry at that.

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava did not intend to stress Amilia, and quickly controlled her emotions.

"I do not understand. Your goddesses must be cruel, if they do not want their priestesses to have children. How does not having children show your devotion?"

[Amilia]

Every lingering hint of a smile disappeared from Amilia's face. She gave Ajava a very stern look.

"I advise you never to insult the Goddesses like that again." Her tone was as cold as liquid nitrogen.

Then her expression softened.

"I thought you, as a Jedi, would understand that devotion always requires you to sacrifice something. Didn't you sacrifice anything when you devoted yourself to the Force?"

She sighed.

"And it's not like all members of the Triage must take a vow of chastity. My guard for example, is a Lady-Priestess from the School of Blood. She is allowed to have children, live and even work outside the Triage. In fact I believe she is a Lady-Admiral in the STF Navy. Each school makes a different sacrifice to show their devotion. For my school it was the freedom to have children, for her it was the freedom to leave the Triage."

"Besides the Goddesses don't ask anything of anyone. The members and followers of the Divine Nova Triage chose to thank them for the light, warmth and life they give us. We sacrifice something to show our devotion to others and to teach ourselves that the Great Journey isn't always easy."

[Shebi Ajava]

"I am sorry. I did not intend to insult your goddesses, I viewed them from within the context of the veolian culture. Which, in hindsight, might not be the best culture to place other religious beliefs in."

Ajava ignored the fact that the high priestess' advice would be construed as a threat in veolian culture. As the daughter of the patriarch of House Shebi, she would have had to react violently, possibly even physically. As a Jedi, instead she focussed on how how serious Amilia was about the goddesses.

"I might have had to sacrifice less then others. When the Jedi found me, I was already 60 years old. I had my whole childhood to myself, and had already completed my education, and had already risen to the rank of Fleet Admiral. I have been on indefinite suspension of duty now that I train in the ways of the Force, but I am free to visit my family. I am unsure of my path, but I know who I am and remember where I come from. I have much to learn, but in the 23 years as a Jedi I have already seen much.

If you voluntarily took a vow of chastity, your devotion to your goddesses is so strong that I can not even begin to understand. The only thing I can think of pales in comparison to you, the handmaidens that protect the empresses are voluntarily sterilized. They give up their family to serve their empress, but they do not give up intimacy. From a veolian point of view, you sacrifice your whole being."

Ajava looks at the high priestess in silence for a while.

"Might I ask you for some advice? It is about your vow of chastity...", she asked in a serious tone.

[Amilia]

Amilia looked at Ajava in shock.

"That... means your 83 right? But you barely look a day older than 20." She said, still very shocked. "I've been told I look very young for my 34 years, is it normal for your kind to look so young?"

It took a moment for her to get over her shock. When she saw Ajava's serious expression she paid attention.

Her smile returned.

"I would be delighted to help you. And I apologise for if I insulted you by being disrespectful, I didn't know you where my elder." She quickly added the last sentence when she realised she had addressed Ajava as though she had been her junior.

[Shebi Ajava]

"Thank you.", she replied to the compliment in Amilia's shocked reply. Seeing Amilia's shocked epxression, Ajava couldn't help but smile.

"'My kind' is an interesting way of putting it. I am a hemet veolian, a superior race of veolians. My kind is stronger, faster, smarter, and better in all ways with respect to normal veolians. We live longer, and I could become over a thousand years old before my physical appearance started to catch up. Until then, I will probably look like I do now. Other changes are the lack of sleep. I don't need, and can't, sleep or dream. Roughly one in ten children become hemet during their puberty, and our scientists have not yet been able to figure out why or how."

Shebi Ajava looked at Amilia's tattoos, and thought about what she wanted to ask.

"Unfortunately, being hemet comes with a strong urge for, as you call it, desires of the flesh. One would think that living this long would reduce the need for children, but the opposite seems to be the case. Here at the Jedi order, such emotions are not prohibited, but strong emotions are frowned upon as we should strive to maintain balance in all things. I find it difficult to balance such feelings, it is as if I have no counter-weight to balance them with.

How do you cope with such urges?"

[Amilia]

"To be honest, with great difficulty."

A hint of sadness could be heard in her voice.

"When I was a teenager, I sometimes spent entire days praying to the Goddesses for the strength to maintain my chastity. I now know of four ways to maintain it. The first is isolation, don't ever let anyone become close enough to you for you to start developing feelings for them. The second is to fall in love with something unattainable, a deity or a fictional character. The third is the simplest, simply don't. Ignore the frowns you get from others or keep it a secret. The fourth is the method I use myself. Don't see it as a burden or a weakness, but as a strength or a test. Don't let it slow you down, but use it to motivate you to surpass yourself."

She looked at Ajava reassuring.

"If you really live that long, you shouldn't stress to much over it. And don't let others dictate whether you can express your emotions or not, no matter how strong they are. The Holy Scriptures say 'In the end the heart will not be denied, not even by the stars.' Just do what you believe is right."

[Shebi Ajava]

"I shall meditate on your advice. Though I must say that I do not look forward to living in isolation."

Ajava looked at the high priestess for a while, before softly saying.

"Amilia, I have to confess it is good that you told me of your vow before I did anything stupid. Do you forgive me for having such thoughts about you?" Ajava looked nervous while saying this.

[Amilia]

"If I couldn't forgive you, I wouldn't be able to forgive those who have walked that path before you."

Amilia sighed.

"Some of them acted even though they knew of my vow. Luckily the School of Blood is ever vigilant when it comes to my protection. I suppose it is inevitable. These things have happened to every High Priestess of every school. It is known as the 'Cursed Blessing'."

Then a thought occurred to her.

"Could you tell me something about your experiences here on Unity? I have seen, heard and read quite a few things in my short time here already, but I would like to hear a few things from someone who she has cared for longer than any Astrian."

[Shebi Ajava]

"What do you wish to know? Unity City isn't the largest city I know, but it is certainly a crowded one. And I do not keep track of everything that happens in the city."

[Amilia]

"No, I meant something you experienced here. A memory of something you saw or that happened to you. Something that left you in awe or when you first came to Unity."

[Shebi Ajava]

Ajava thought for a moment, then her eyes twinkled.

"The view. From anywhere in Unity City, the view of the galaxy is magnificent. One just has to look up to be remembered of the purpose of this city. No matter how you feel, when you look up you will always see the sea of stars above us."

[Amilia]

Amilia noticed the twinkle in Ajava's eyes. A knowing smile appeared on her face.

"Thank you, Ajava, for telling me that." She said. She stood up. "It's been wonderful sitting here and talking, but shall we continue? I heard there was a traditional Stellarian rock garden around here."

[Shebi Ajava]

"To be honest, I am not sure. I feel most at home surrounded by plants, but I think I saw it once."

Shebi Ajava stood up, and held out her hand to assist the high priestess get up as a gesture of courtesy, something left over from her education on Mirda.

She started to walk toward where she remembered seeing a rock garden, not entirely sure whether it would be the Stellarian rock garden.

[Amilia]

When they reached the rock garden, Amilia smiled. At first glance it was definitely a Stellarian rock garden, but to find out for sure a little further investigation was needed.

Most of the ground was covered in white gravel, in which artful patterns where made. At certain points large rocks where placed. It all looked very artistic.
Amilia looked at Ajava.

"It is custom to take one's shoes off when stepping into a Stellarian rock garden, but you don't have to if you don't want to."

After saying that she crouched down and took off her shoes, placing them in a small wooden box on the edge of the garden. With bare feet she stepped onto the gravel, not a single sign of pain or discomfort was visible. With light steps Amilia made her way to a bundle of four elongated rocks. She crouched down next to them and gently stroked the rocks. The moment she did that the rock changed from rocky grey to bright ocean blue and shifted slightly.