#nib assek

[lowcountry-gothic]

Detail of poster for Star Wars: The High Republic: The Fallen Star. Art by Phil Noto.

[darth-memes]

[reneeofthestars]

Characters: Burryaga Agaburry & Nib Assek

Era: The High Republic

Words:1743

Summary: In the time of the High Republic, Jedi Initiate Burryaga Agaburry meditates beneath the Kyber Arch. Speaking with younglings about the nature of the Force, Burry has no idea that his journey as Jedi is about to continue to progress.

Written for @legacies-entwined a Master and Padawan Zine Thank you so much for the opportunity to write for this zine!

Leftover sales for the zine will officially go live on Feb. 22nd! Keep an eye out!  

**Read on AO3**

(or below!) 

*

Meditating on a cushion beneath the Kyber Arch, listening to the crystals sing around him, Burryaga Agaburry felt curious eyes peering at him.

He was used to it, of course; as the only Wookiee currently in the Jedi Order, he received a fair amount of interest. He sensed that the ones looking at him were younglings, venturing out from the crèche to explore the Temple. And when he opened his eyes and turned his head toward the doorway, he saw he was correct.

Five small children huddled together, eyes wide as their gaze darted from him to the Kyber Arch and back again. One of them, a Kessurian boy, inched forward, and the others fell in behind him. The boy waved. ���Hi,” he said, his voice uncertain and echoing in the vast chamber.

No one else was around who would be disturbed by noise, so Burry raised his paw in greeting. “Hello.”

The younglings jumped, surprised by the growling whine of his voice, but the Kessurian tried to hide his reaction. “I’m Telle. What’s your name?”

“I’m Burryaga. You can call me Burry,” he replied in Shyriiwook. But as he spoke, he also reached out through the Force, directing his thoughts towards the children. It was a skill he’d mastered long ago. While all Jedi could sense one another’s thoughts when focusing, Burry was able to share his so clearly that they could almost be interpreted as words. The Masters thought it stemmed from his empathic abilities.

The younglings took a minute to process his name. A Rodian boy’s initial fear of Burryaga’s presence was ebbing away. “Can you not speak Basic?” Burry shook his head. “My vocal cords aren’t built like yours,” he explained, both in Shyriiwook and through the Force. “But I can understand it.” He waved a paw towards the Kyber Arch. “You’ve come to mediate?”

“Not really,” Telle said as he led the group into the meditation chamber. They came to stop beside Burryaga, craning their necks to look up at the structure. “Master Yoda brought us here last week, and we wanted to see it again. So we followed the singing.”

Burryaga smiled as he uncrossed his legs and stood. He hadn’t hit his true growth spurt, not yet, but he still towered over Telle and his friends. “You hear singing?”

“Yes.” The boy wrinkled his nose. “Don’t you hear it?”

“Not as singing.” Burry’s gaze drifted up to the Kyber Arch. It was a magnificent structure, a tribute to all the Jedi who had become one with the Force, reverently crafted from the kyber crystals of the fallen. Sunlight streamed in from the skylights, catching in the contours of the crystals and throwing colored shadows across the smooth stone floor. “I don’t hear singing – I hear the rustle of leaves, the creaking of boughs, the burrowing of roots.”

“The Force is a tree?” a Mikkian girl piped up.

“It’s how I perceive the Force. I have a friend who sees individuals as stones in a stream, and another as mixes of light and shadow. Every Jedi hears it – feels it – differently.” He growled thoughtfully. Did other Force-sensitive Wookiees feel the Force as he did? Was he unique in that sense, or did all Wookiees envision a great tree?

The younglings stared up at him with wide eyes. “Are you a Knight?” Telle asked in awe.

Burry laughed, his howl reverberating around the chamber, and the younglings jumped at the sound. He gestured to a particular braid in his fur. “I’m not even a Padawan yet. I’m an Initiate. My teachers are just very devoted.”

“I’ll be sure to let Master Sinube know your praises,” came a warm voice from the doorway.

The younglings and Burryaga quickly bowed as Jedi Knight Nib Assek entered the room. A Human woman, small in stature and aged in years, Master Assek walked with the air of a Jedi who had traveled the galaxy and learned all its knowledge. Burryaga had interacted with her a few times recently, as she had come to observe some of the training duels, meditation sessions, and other lessons of his relative-age group. The rumor among the Initiates was that she was looking to take on a new apprentice.

“Master Assek,” Burryaga greeted, simultaneously directing his thoughts to the younglings so they knew who they were addressing.

“Good afternoon, young ones.” The skin around her eyes crinkled as she smiled. “Are we meditating?”

Telle shook his head. “We were just following the singing, only Burry said he doesn’t hear singing, he hears trees. What do you hear, Master? What’s the Force to you?”

Master Assek didn’t answer immediately. She paced forward, laying her hand against the crystals along the base of the Arch. She gave no outward sign of her thoughts, but Burry felt deep emotions float off her. There was sadness as she contemplated the sheer number of crystals, and peace as the kyber hummed around them, and – something not immediately identifiable. Burry frowned, trying to focus the feeling. It had nothing to do with the Arch. The feeling reminded him of anticipation, but subdued. Not nervous enough to be trepidation, but definitely reserved.

At length, she answered, “I navigate the Force like I navigate a Vector. I feel myself and others gliding amid the Force, as though on air currents, or in the still of space. The slightest shift affects how one flies. And the Force is always in motion.” Master Nib Assek turned back to face them. A few strands of wispy white hair came free of her bun. “If you wouldn’t mind, young ones, I wish to speak to Initiate Burryaga alone.”

Telle and his friends shot Burryaga furtive looks. He felt surprise and curiosity flashing through them. They didn’t protest; they bowed hastily and skittered from the room.

Most Initiates, Burry knew, would be frightened of being singled out by a full-fledged Jedi. But such things didn’t worry him. He’d never been intimidated by the Knights and Masters. On the contrary – he found their presence comforting. Maybe it was because they were able to control their emotions, which Burryaga found soothing, compared to the yet-uncontrolled emotions of his peers.

“How can I help, Master?” he growled as he thought through the Force, spreading his arms in an amiable gesture.

Master Assek chuckled, stepping away from the Arch. “It’s not so much that I need help with something, Burry,” she responded. “But I have been considering this for some time, and I believe we are both now ready.” She clasped her hands and tilted her head to look up at him.

“Burryaga Agaburry, I would be honored to train you as my Padawan Learner.”

His mouth fell open, his eyes widening as he processed what she said. But it wasn’t just that she’d asked to train him. It was how she asked. Because Burry realized, belatedly, that she had spoken to him in near-perfect Shyriiwook.

* * *

The language of the Wookiees did not come easily to Human throats. But Nib was up for the challenge.

Ever since she had decided to take Burryaga Agaburry as a Padawan learner, she had been learning Shyriiwook, which meant she’d been studying for a few years. She’d observed Burry from a distance through his various lessons, and found herself endeared to him. Nib recognized that he was gentle, thoughtful, sensitive. His empathic abilities were impressive, but he had much room to improve in his other skills, and she felt confident she could guide him on his path.

An old friend of hers had put her in contact with the Republic delegation from Kashyyyk. Once she explained that she wanted to learn their language, the Wookiee delegates were more than happy to assist her. They even lent her one of their protocol droids so she could practice. Once Nib had mastered the basics, one of the Senatorial aides found time in her hectic schedule to go over more complex sentence structure.

Pride was not a trait Nib Assek often associated with. But she had to admit, she was pleased with her progress.

It was the Wookiee Senator himself who enthusiastically posited the idea to Nib, and she immediately agreed. She hadn’t told her new Padawan where they were going; she wanted their first journey together, after a week of mediation and conversation, to be a surprise.

And what a surprise it was.

Nib smiled broadly as Burryaga stood, dumbfounded, on the ramp of the transport vessel they’d hired. He seemed overwhelmed, unsure of where to look, of what to focus on. The landing pad bustled with activity, pilots and dock hands loading and offloading cargo, calling to one another in grunts and growls and howls; Wookiees, every one.

The landing platform nested high in the gargantuan trees, just as all Wookiee structures did. Sturdy bridges spanned the abyss between the great trees, leading to the winding cities and villages, some hewn into the vast trunks themselves. Leaves rustled around them, and avian creatures passed in a flurry of wings in the canopy.

Oh, the Force was strong here.

Nib felt the ebb and flow of the movements of the trees as though they were air currents, the calls of creatures were flashes of lights on her systems display, the forest floor so, so far below crawling with beasts that padded about like asteroids, everything so alive. She allowed herself to close her eyes and revel in the living Force surrounding her. She drew a deep breath, imagining herself drifting through the Force as she drifted through space; tranquil, steady, open.

She opened her eyes as Burryaga descended the ramp, his eyes wide and misty, treading softly, as though worried he would disrupt the life surging around him. He stopped only when he reached the edge of the landing pad, staring out over the sea of leaves rippling in the light breeze. Large white flowers blossomed around the pad, stretching up through the canopy; their scent reminded Nib of frost on a fruit tree.

After allowing him a few moments alone, Nib joined the young Wookiee. She’d decided to let her hair down, and she was glad of it; the wind danced through her hair, and for a moment, she felt young again.

“Master.”

There was so much raw emotion in the quiet rumble. Nib laid her hand against Burryaga’s arm and gazed up at him. She barely came up to his shoulders, and she smiled.

“Welcome to Kashyyyk, Padawan.”

[winterinhimring]

#this is so interesting#because it highlights how unprepared to confront Sith the Jedi were#the idea of a lethal lightsaber duel is beyond comprehension#lightsaber duels are ceremonial- are educational - are friendly spars#not a matter of life or death#until the Sith return and make it so (via @feelinkeeli)

Ooh, good point!

Star Wars: Dooku: Jedi Lost | by Cavan Scott Star Wars: The High Republic: The Rising Storm | by Cavan Scott Some examples of Jedi practice duels and the recanonization of terms :

Solah (a term of surrender) 

Sai tok (also known as the Bisecting Blow) 

Sun djem (a call when making some sort of lightsaber cut

Shiim (when blocking)

Cho sun (unknown)

Mou kei (unknown)

While these terms had specific meanings in Legends and canon is clearly taking inspiration from there, only what has been put into the new canon is canon.  So, it’s possible that Rael saying “Mou kei” was aiming to cut off all Dooku’s limbs or “Cho sun” was to cut off his sword arm, those parts aren’t recanonized yet, and these are the only books they appear in, they have been brought back as terms. It’s interesting to note the differences between Stellan & Nib versus Rael & Dooku.  Stellan and Nib’s duel is very formal feeling, it’s specifically for a holo recordering from a reporter, while Rael and Dooku’s is teaching a class of Padawans and is much more informal, where they’re old friends who are teasing each other, “ribbing each other as they fight” as the description says. So, in one you get a formal salute at the end, including a deliberate flourish (Let me tell you how much I love Stellan Gios oh my god), but in the other, you have a sense of informality–and, yet, they feel pretty similar and show off that the Jedi do have specific lightsaber traditions and even their own language elements within those traditions and history! This also echoes Obi-Wan’s words in Master and Apprentice:      “The blade isn’t stronger. Only the Force user’s ability to wield it,” Obi-Wan said. “In ceremonial combat, of course, we’re displaying forms more than actually testing strength–”      “But what about non-ceremonial combat?” Fanry persisted. “When two Jedi are on opposite sides of a conflict. What happens?”      “It…it doesn’t happen.” The idea made so little sense that Obi-Wan could hardly parse it. “We are members of one Order. We serve the Jedi Council and, through the Council, the Republic. The Jedi are united in this way.” And what Stellan says in The Rising Storm:      “That was an ancient form of lightsaber combat, developed during a point in our history where lightsaber battles were commonplace. Of course, today such duels are purely ceremonial or used in the training of Padawans.” The prequel Jedi and High Republic Jedi may have two hundred years or so between them, but they are still the same Jedi AND I LOVE THEM.

[queensaule]

In the High Republic books, it's considered remarkable that Bell and Nib Assek learned Shyriiwook to communicate with Burryaga.

100 years later, Yord considers Shyriiwook a typical language for padawans to learn.

I want to believe this is because Burry was such a heroic figure to later generations, that everyone just wanted to learn his language!!

[tremendouskoalachild]

hey remember that not at all depressing poster from the end of phase 1?

anyway i went back with the info we got since (up to the first wave of phase 3, but timeline-wise shortly after the fall).

(red for confirmed dead, yellow for missing presumed dead, green for no-specific-reason-to-think-they're-dead-but-very-much-missing)

1. The Starlight Beacon. Extremely dead.

2. Vernestra Rwoh and Imri Cantaros. Vernestra could be green (heh) i suppose. We got an update on her and Imri's situation in Tales of Light and Life and a recap during her chapters in the beginning of Defy the Storm.

3. Bell Zettifar. He made it through TFS, yay!

4. Burryaga and Nib Assek. Their fates were described in TFS.

5. Avar Kriss. Made it but left very shortly after as seen in Shadows of Starlight.

6. Sskeer. We didn't know what supposedly happened there until the first issue of THR 2023, where Keeve reminisces about the events.

7. Keeve Trennis. She lived :)

8. Terec and Ceret. Also lived.

9. Estala Maru. Dead during the last issue of THR 2021.

10. Torban “Buckets of Blood” Buck. MIA as per THRA 2023.

11. Lula Talisola, Farzala Tarabal, and Qort. Lula especially was in a scary position in Starlight Coda. We learned of the trio's situation first in THRA 2023 issue 1.

12. Kantam Sy. Saved by being elsewhere during the Beacon's fall, in Midnight Horizon.

13. Porter Engle. Revealed to have been stranded behind the Stormwall shortly after, discussed in The Eye of Darkness.

14. Orla Jareni. Dead in TFS.

15. Stellan Gios. Same :(

16. Cohmac Vitus. Ditched the order in Midnight Horizon. Not for a short and quick identity crisis either, as confirmed in Shadows of Starlight.

17. Ram Jomaram. Assumed to be fine, relatively speaking, because of Midnight Horizon showing him on Corellia. Then Escape from Valo punched us in the face with the knowledge he went to Valo right after and was trapped there.

18. Reath Silas. He lived and didn't even go AWOL like his master and best friend.

19. Elzar Mann. Lived but at what cost.

20. Lily Tora-Asi, Padawan Keerin Fionn, and Master Arkoff. AWOL, dead, fine. The first two are discussed in The Edge of Balance Vol 2, Arkoff shows up in Shadows of Starlight to knight Burry.

21. Emerick Caphtor. We saw him in the middle of the action during the Beacon's fall but he showed up at the beginning of Shadows of Starlight and was ok.

[comicwaren]

From Star Wars: The Halcyon Legacy #001, “The Storm on the Horizon”

Art by Will Sliney and Rachelle Rosenberg

Written by Ethan Sacks

[lowcountry-gothic]

Interior illustrations for Star Wars: The High Republic: Showdown at the Fair by George Mann. Art by Petur Antonsson.

[laserblastsoundeffect]

Fallen Star spoilers

So how about Fallen Star, huh?

[darth-memes]

Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures comes out in 7 days!

[brachiosaurus-on]

Porter Engle: [is way too blunt]

Every Jedi in the vicinity:

DUDE.

Porter: What? Like we weren't all thinking it

[gffa]

Star Wars: The Halcyon Legacy (2022) Star Wars: Kanan (2015) I love it when the High Republic Jedi are teaching the exact same things as the prequels Jedi, like, you can find a dozen examples of Obi-Wan teaching Anakin to control his emotions, to get a lid on things after Anakin has nearly brought down the training room ceiling on their heads or whatever, but it struck me just how identical these two moments were, that it’s the same exact lesson. And for people who can light others on fire with the power of their mind, for people who are connecting to a psychic energy field that is literally dependent on their thoughts and feelings, control over your emotions is absolutely vital, and ALL ERAS OF THE JEDI HAVE SAID:  GET YOUR SHIT TOGETHER BEFORE YOUR SHIT GETS WRECKED.

[ethanray]

I'm having Nib and Burryaga feels right now and I started thinking about how they could have met. So we know that Nib had wanted to train Burry for a while before taking him on as her Padawan (long enough to become fluent in a language). Also I don't know if there's a canon source on how fast Wookiees age but Burry is much older than Bell, and with the average Wookiee lifespan being 400 years, he could easily be in his 60s or 70s, which is comparable to Nib's age.

So...what if they started out as crechemates?

Imagine them playing together as toddlers and then continuing to see each other when Nib grows up and has creche duty as a Padawan and young Knight. Then, decades later, when Burryaga is finally old enough to be a Padawan, of course Nib wants to be the one to train the person she's known her entire life.

[tremendouskoalachild]

Eye of Darkness chapter 41 reaction (spoilers)

the such as is doing a lot of work here. Elzar buddy i have some sad news about Nib Assek for you.

pretty sure Noolie and Reede have never appeared before? I sure don't know them and neither does wookieepedia. named jedi introd as elzar's old friends at this point? sorry guys i think you're future nameless food

"adoptive master" i'm gonna cry

ok so Reede is gone. that was fast lol

[cylstar]

The Fallen Star spoilers

Orla and Nib's deaths were so disappointing, especially when Orla had such potential.