𝕮𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗘𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧
━━ 𝙒𝙃𝘼𝙏 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙎𝙋𝙄𝙍𝙄𝙏𝙎 𝙏𝙀𝘼𝘾𝙃 𝙐𝙎

━━ 𝘊𝘙𝘠𝘓𝘓𝘌𝘚
𝟸𝟹 𝙱𝙱𝚈

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗘𝗠𝗣𝗟𝗘 𝗜𝗦 quiet as they enter. Anakin gazes up to the high, circular ceiling covered in colourful mosaics, their swirling and hypnotic patterns only interrupted by slim skylights that let rays of sunlight filter through the room, illuminating the floating dust.

Anakin had been curious towards Crylles' religion, he had heard Selyn talk about it briefly a few times before and the mystic stories of dragons and spirits had fascinated him deeply. Upon expressing his interest, Selyn seemed to be pleased and had agreed to take him to Sol City's biggest temple. He had informed himself about the cryllean religion and myths beforehand – he didn't want to seem ignorant about Selyn's culture – and his research had only deepened his fascination.

The atmosphere is tranquil, he can hear distant singing and even if he is not religious this place does feel truly sacred to him.

A thousand floating, warmly flickering orbs of light illuminate the temple faintly, their gentle rising and falling in the air gives the impression of this sanctuary being a living creature, lost in deep, peaceful slumber, its rhythmic breathing sending the lights up and down.

They had to wash their hands in the basins of living water at the entrance before they did so, to purify their skin and ultimately their souls, too, from the dirt of the human, unspirited world.

As they walk through one of the aisles between cushioned seats Selyn repeats the same gesture he has seen the guards do: pressing one palm to the back of the other hand, joining them at the thumbs with the fingers turned outward like spread out wings. She leads him towards a mural at the back of the temple, artfully crafted, the figures so realistic they appear to be breathing, chests rising and falling in the flickering light of thin candles below.

She points towards the carved figure of a woman on the left side of the picture. "This is Avaar, the spirit of the desert." Anakin admires the fine work, the spirit's braided hair, the delicate coronet crowning her proudly upturned head and how her stance radiates strength and power. She is richly adorned, with breastplates and armour like a warrior. The fiery, confident look in her eyes remind him a bit of Selyn.

"She lives inside this planet, is reborn every day in all breathing things and resides within every soul under the sun. She is Crylles' beating heart, some of the elders say that you can hear her ancient heartbeat in the deserts if you listen close enough."

They move further to the right, and Selyn points towards another image of a woman – if Avaar represented compassion and power, this one stands for gentleness, she seems soft but mighty nonetheless. "Her name is Elowyn. She is the spirit of Crylles' moon, residing in the bright waters flowing on its surface – they are supposed to bring healing and clarity upon the ones who bathe in them."

Upon Anakin's raised brow she shakes her head. "I've never been there, but I hope I will someday."

They pause next to another scene: two women, their outstretched hands almost touching. "A long, long time ago, eons before Avaar breathed the fire of life into us humans, the two spirits fell in love. But their love was doomed, for they could never really be with each other. They were separated, the moon too far away for Avaar to reach for her lover." Anakin found that he liked the sound of her voice, she could have been telling him anything right now and he still would have been intrigued.

"For a long, long time they admired each other from the distance, cherishing the hours of the night when Elowyn's moon rose in the sky. But Elowyn couldn't bear it, she couldn't handle being that far away from her love. And so she fell into a deep sadness, buried herself deep down in the caves of her moon. It is said that she cried a thousand tears, mourning their impossible love, and that those tears flooded the surface of the moon. That's why the waters are sacred, they carry immortal power in their waves."

Anakin looked onto the next image. Fire seemed to be burning everywhere, and amidst the flames stood Avaar, her face contorted by grief. Dragons surrounded her, their scaly, wingless bodies pressed to the sand as if to show their respect towards their goddess. "What happened then?"

Selyn sighed. True sadness clouded her expression. "It is a tragedy," she said. "Upon finding her one true love gone, Avaar fell into deep despair. Some even say that she went mad. She placed a spark of her soul in every living thing on Crylles, to make them servants of her will: they are all supposed to find the love she couldn't reach. Some say, that from this spark stems our desire to find true love, to find our counterpart as Avaar did. However, the dragons who were closest in their nature to their goddess suffered the worst fate. Since that day each dragon that is born is destined to turn mad one day, just like their master, and in their madness they even turn against their children."

Selyn looks at the carved creatures trapped in the stone, in their endless agony. "The dragons, they don't have wings, you know," she says softly. "That means they can never reach Elowyn, they can never reach the moon – it's said that this is the reason they turn mad. However, there are stories about a dragon who managed to grow wings, but I've never fully heard it."

Anakin swallows, his gaze still caught by Avaar's sadness-ridden frame. This seemed like a tragic story to base a religion on, but who was he to judge?

"What do you think of it?" Selyn asks expectantly. He feels as if his answer really matters to her.

"It sounds beautiful," he said carefully. "But also very sad and..." he pauses to think. "It makes one wonder about the importance of love and our place in it."

"I think this story is what you make of it," Selyn says. "Between the priests and the wise men there is an everlasting a debate about what the story of the spirits should teach us. Some say it's like a quest, a way to find true peace of mind. Some say it's about finding the other half of your soul."

"What do you say?"

She looks at him, and he can't contain a shiver at her piercing gaze. "I think they're the same thing."

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗛𝗢𝗨𝗦𝗘 𝗦𝗧𝗔𝗬𝗦 abandoned for days and days.

Hours are spent on that flat roof facing the warehouse, either in watchful silence or easy chatter. Today it is Selyn's and Cleodys' turn.

Selyn looks at her sister sitting in front of her on the low stone wall surrounding their roof, and she realizes how glad she is to get to know her sister again. It has taken them only a few days to fall back into their old patterns of bickering and stupid jokes, but Selyn recognizes some new features on Cleodys as well. Of course, she is bossy, she is proud like no other, but she is also tough, confident in following her simple logic and never afraid to say what she thinks. She can be irritating and too straight-forward, but she has also matured, has become disciplined and unafraid.

And above all, she is family.

Selyn bends back her head, long braids falling over her shoulders, and closes her eyes. The sun above them is scorching hot, and not even the slightest breeze has mercy with them and cools the heat.

Selyn fiddles with the ring that goes around Cleodys' spear at the top, right under the razor-sharp, slim blade. It is a round band of golden metal, decorated with delicate carvings. She knows that this is a ring of virtue, a special honour given to the guards by their queen after displaying extraordinary strength and loyalty. Her mother has three, which is impressive but not surprising regarding her position as head guard at the court.

It surprises Selyn that Cleodys has been awarded one already at the age of twenty-six, but it makes her even more proud.

"How did you get this?"

"I kicked the queen's assassin in the balls, obviously."

Selyn grins. "Impressive. Did the attacker get away?"

"He did." Cleodys sighs. "I was the only one who noticed him and was forced to fight him off alone until the other guards arrived. I could barely keep him from killing the queen, and as soon as he saw that he was outnumbered, he fled. He was too fast for us."

Selyn can see that Cleodys regards this as her personal failure and realizes that the two of them are hold themselves to equally high standards. "I see this as an absolute win," she tries to cheer up her sister. "At least you insured that the attacker won't be able to procreate and pass his stupidity on to further generations."

Cleodys grins, grateful for Selyn's words. For a while they sit in silence, Selyn tracing the ring's pattern of vines with her finger.

"So what is going on between you and that Jedi?" Cleodys leans back lazily, eying her younger sister through narrowed eyes.

"I don't think I know what you mean," Selyn answers cautiously, kicking a small stone off the roof.

Cleodys rolls her eyes. "Haven't you noticed the way he looks at you?"

Selyn can feel her cheeks warming. "There's nothing to notice. I don't know what you're talking about."

Her older sister laughs. "Oh, shut up with the lies, Selyn, you're just as bad a liar as when you were four. Don't deny it."

"I'm not denying anything!" She says defensively. "We're both jedi, there's a code we followed our entire lives in case you forgot and-"

Cleodys scoffs. "For god's sake Selyn, stop whining - code this, code that - I want to hear the hard facts: who is that boy, why does he look at you that way and why didn't you kiss already?"

"Cleodys!" Selyn exclaims embarrassedly, hitting her sister's arm. "Stop it, now, you're insufferable."

"I'm just asking questions," she says innocently. "Questions that seem to agitate you quite a bit, if I dare say." Selyn can hear the laughter in her voice and stares decidedly towards the warehouse door, avoiding Cleodys' gaze.

"You're mad." She scoffs. "Mad is what you are, and I have to suffer your presence daily." Upon Cleodys' still raised eyebrows, she adds fiercely: "I will not indulge in this stupid conversation any further. End of discussion!"

Cleodys mutters something that sounds like sexual frustration.

"What?" Selyn's head whips around.

She snickers. "Nothing, nothing."

They sit idly for some time and watch the shadows lengthen as the sun dips lower, Selyn in disgruntled silence, braiding her messy hair again with trained hands, Cleodys humming quietly to herself, scratching patterns into the floor with her spear.

As Selyn's head is almost completely covered in neat braids, it is the older one that speaks first again. "Ma invited you for dinner tonight, didn't she?"

"She promised my favourite meal."

Cleodys smiles. "She's really excited to have you back, you know. Losing a child has been tough on her, more than she is willing to admit."

Selyn gazes towards the horizon, where dunes mount like waves, shimmering in the heat. She has never considered that before.

"Varielle can't wait to meet you either. She's been telling all her friends in school that her big sister is a Jedi." Cleodys pulls a grimace. "She won't shut up about you. I've considered taping her mouth shut more than once."

Selyn feels excitement rising inside her like bubbles. She's never met her youngest sister, only felt her kicks in her mother's belly, since she had been taken shortly before Varielle was born.

"And Pa came back from Corellia a few days ago, too. Aren is with him."

Selyn jerks around. "They did? Why didn't they come to meet me?"

"They're afraid of scaring you away or stressing you out. They want to take it slow, to do everything right."

"Oh." Selyn starts braiding the last strand of hair.

"It will be fine, don't worry," Cleodys reassures her.

Suddenly Selyn remembers something. "What about your garden? You could show it to me tonight."

"Oh, the garden. It's not mine anymore."

The thought makes Selyn sad. "How come?"

Cleodys shrugs. "I've outgrown it. Varielle tends to it now."

Selyn thinks of the small garden in their backyard, plants nestled there in the shade, the earth always moist, it's scent rich and intoxicating. Like rain and freshly cut grass. This garden is the only place she knows on Crylles that is so serene, so full of greenery and tender blossoms.

Cleodys jumps to her feet. "Look, there's Anakin!"

Selyn tries extra hard to maintain a casual attitude under Cleodys' watchful gaze, and waves towards him. He must have come to pick them up since their self-imposed guard duty for the day is over.

Cleodys jumps off the building, landing smoothly in a low stance and Selyn follows to greet Anakin. But before she gets the chance, her older sister has already started talking.

"Anakin, care to join us tonight? We're having dinner at the Val'aeon house."

Selyn glares at her as he isn't looking. "Don't feel obliged to say yes. It's really nothing special, just a lot of noise and annoying, meddlesome siblings."

Cleodys decides to ignore her remark and grins triumphantly instead as Anakin answers: "I don't mind a bit of noise, and I would be happy to meet your family."

"It's settled then." Cleodys beams.

Selyn scoffs with annoyance upon her sister's gleeful tone as they turn to walk back towards the palace, the two padawans with Cleodys in the middle, her armour and spear catching the sun's low light.

✧･ﾟ:* 𝕬𝘜𝘛𝘏𝘖𝘙'𝘚 𝘕𝘖𝘛𝘌 *:･ﾟ✧

HI hi hi! what are we thinking? again a bit of a filler chapter, BUT with lots of interesting lore about Crylles and it's sexcy ass religion grr 🤙 all that shit is gonna be really important throughout the fic and our fave girls arc 😌😌 and as well we have Cleodys being Selykin No. 1 Stan I love her for that 🧎‍♀️

hope you enjoyed! next chapter we have a cute family dinner coming up, stay tuned 💯

kisses <3

anakin while selyn is telling him some crazy ass unhinged stories about dragons and madness and loss

Also so, pretty cool ai art of the spirits:

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