Getting Started

[Xanthis Revenas]

The hooded outer robe billowed open in Tython's invigorating breeze, revealing grey robes including an inner and outer tunic and brown boots. Together with the twin lightsabers that hung on his hip, the ensemble gave Xanthis the appearance of a traditional Jedi Knight. The choice of attire was appropriate given his location: the newly reconstructed Tython Jedi Temple, one of the most spiritually significant places in the entirety of the Jedi Order. It was their home, their treasure, and their legacy all in one, and it had been remade greater than ever. At least, that was what Xanthis thought to himself as he walked purposefully along the Temple's walkways.

Today as with all other days, the war raged across the Galaxy. Unlike other days however, Xanthis was not concerning himself with the war or with the thousand smaller issues that the war generated. Today he was concerning himself with helping an old friend of his who had just passed, potentially leaving behind a student. The news of his friend's death had come as a surprise, but not a shock. With what seemed to be each passing day, more Force-wielders were sacrificed to the war effort, after all. He would have to pay proper respects to his friend's memory sometime, but it would have to wait until another day. Xanthis had recalled that his friend had a Padawan, and felt that he should check to see whether the apprentice was alright.

After making his way to the Jedi Academy, Xanthis would ask the instructors of the Academy to point him in the direction of Arian Korzak, the Padawan in question. Minutes later, he would find himself in one of the great open courtyards of the Academy, where students could partake in a variety of different activities. As with much of the Temple, where architecture ended and nature began was uncertain, as the natural world had been allowed to effectively grow into every part of the temple to some degree. Looking around with blindfolded "eyes," Xanthis spotted Arian and walked over to where he was. "Ah, Arian. I'm glad to see you're not harmed." The words were said with some relief, as evidenced by the sigh that accompanied them. "I heard about what happened. You alright?" If the previous words had been spoken with relief, these were spoken with a trace of concern. The loss of a master could be traumatic to Padawans, and even as a Knight Xanthis occasionally sought out the wisdom of his own teacher so he wanted to gauge how the student was coping.

@Arian Korzak

 

[Arian Korzak]

The hooded outer robe billowed open in Tython's invigorating breeze, revealing grey robes including an inner and outer tunic and brown boots. Together with the twin lightsabers that hung on his hip, the ensemble gave Xanthis the appearance of a traditional Jedi Knight. The choice of attire was appropriate given his location: the newly reconstructed Tython Jedi Temple, one of the most spiritually significant places in the entirety of the Jedi Order. It was their home, their treasure, and their legacy all in one, and it had been remade greater than ever. At least, that was what Xanthis thought to himself as he walked purposefully along the Temple's walkways.

Today as with all other days, the war raged across the Galaxy. Unlike other days however, Xanthis was not concerning himself with the war or with the thousand smaller issues that the war generated. Today he was concerning himself with helping an old friend of his who had just passed, potentially leaving behind a student. The news of his friend's death had come as a surprise, but not a shock. With what seemed to be each passing day, more Force-wielders were sacrificed to the war effort, after all. He would have to pay proper respects to his friend's memory sometime, but it would have to wait until another day. Xanthis had recalled that his friend had a Padawan, and felt that he should check to see whether the apprentice was alright.

After making his way to the Jedi Academy, Xanthis would ask the instructors of the Academy to point him in the direction of Arian Korzak, the Padawan in question. Minutes later, he would find himself in one of the great open courtyards of the Academy, where students could partake in a variety of different activities. As with much of the Temple, where architecture ended and nature began was uncertain, as the natural world had been allowed to effectively grow into every part of the temple to some degree. Looking around with blindfolded "eyes," Xanthis spotted Arian and walked over to where he was. "Ah, Arian. I'm glad to see you're not harmed." The words were said with some relief, as evidenced by the sigh that accompanied them. "I heard about what happened. You alright?" If the previous words had been spoken with relief, these were spoken with a trace of concern. The loss of a master could be traumatic to Padawans, and even as a Knight Xanthis occasionally sought out the wisdom of his own teacher so he wanted to gauge how the student was coping.

@Arian Korzak

He had some semblance of a smile as Xanthis approached, standing up to greet him. His eyes were noticably with the thought of his old master burned in his mind. When asked if he was alright his face, or rather his eyes as his actual face moved little, rapidly switched through various emotions good and unpleasent, with a confused one accompanying the last few. He used his fingers to rotate his ring with his family's crest, allowing the sensation to help calm him somewhat as he took a breath.
"I'm not sure." He said honestly and frowning, "It hurts more than I thought it might when it happened." He stared at the ring for a moment, "I felt nothing at the time. Just shock for a moment. But once there was no more threat. It actually hurt, why? It doesn't make any sense."

He was not angry, not exactly. But he felt a pain at the loss of his jedi master, not an easy thing to bear. What really made it worse was he didn't understand why it hurt so much, which further confused him.
"What should I do?" He asked furrowing his brow and looking at Xanthis.

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

Xanthis gave a solemn nod as Arian spoke, thinking to himself that has reaction would have been similar in the same circumstances. If he had witnessed his master's death, he would probably have felt nothing at first. Whether due to shock, adrenaline, diligence, or some combination of the three, the moment would likely have been acknowledged but not mourned until much later. "It's supposed to hurt to lose a Master, Arian. The Jedi Order is known for always projecting outer calm, but we still feel emotions. Especially towards close comrades within our Order."

There were some Jedi who may have taken mild offense to Xanthis's words, namely those of the "there is no emotion, only peace" school of thought. Being of the "Emotion, yet Peace" school however, Xanthis felt that emotions were not something to be shied away from. They were merely not to be allowed to consume the Jedi. "I think that you should take some time to mourn," Xanthis said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "Bottling up stuff like that never ends well, in my opinion. Take a few days to rest and ease your mind, and then return to your training whenever you feel ready."

 

[Arian Korzak]

Xanthis gave a solemn nod as Arian spoke, thinking to himself that has reaction would have been similar in the same circumstances. If he had witnessed his master's death, he would probably have felt nothing at first. Whether due to shock, adrenaline, diligence, or some combination of the three, the moment would likely have been acknowledged but not mourned until much later. "It's supposed to hurt to lose a Master, Arian. The Jedi Order is known for always projecting outer calm, but we still feel emotions. Especially towards close comrades within our Order."

There were some Jedi who may have taken mild offense to Xanthis's words, namely those of the "there is no emotion, only peace" school of thought. Being of the "Emotion, yet Peace" school however, Xanthis felt that emotions were not something to be shied away from. They were merely not to be allowed to consume the Jedi. "I think that you should take some time to mourn," Xanthis said with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "Bottling up stuff like that never ends well, in my opinion. Take a few days to rest and ease your mind, and then return to your training whenever you feel ready."

Arian considered it, rolling his ring around his finger, "Maybe. I'm not sure I can." He flexed his other hand, "Emotions never made sense to me, they just seem to phase in and out." He said half to himself, "I suppose it's worth a shot, maybe."

Arians difficulty understanding emotion made this a horrendously confusing experience. It would be like suddenly feeling a pain in the chest after tapping someone on the shoulder. He may have been a good fighter, but this was far harder than that for him. Because unlike combat, this was something that he couldn't comprehend.

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

Had Xanthis possessed eyes, they would have been clear indicators of his mild confusion. In truth, he had not heard of something quite like what Arian was describing. Emotions that faded in and out, waxing and waning like the tides of the oceans or the phases of the moons? Xanthis sat down underneath the shadow of a great tree with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well, if that won't help, then maybe talk will. Come, sit with me. If you have a minute, could you tell me more about your emotions?" If Xanthis was going to be of any help, he would have to actually understand how to help. Did he mean that his emotions switched between being existent and non-existent, or did they shift between two various extremes along the spectrum from wrathful to sullen?

 

[Arian Korzak]

Had Xanthis possessed eyes, they would have been clear indicators of his mild confusion. In truth, he had not heard of something quite like what Arian was describing. Emotions that faded in and out, waxing and waning like the tides of the oceans or the phases of the moons? Xanthis sat down underneath the shadow of a great tree with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Well, if that won't help, then maybe talk will. Come, sit with me. If you have a minute, could you tell me more about your emotions?" If Xanthis was going to be of any help, he would have to actually understand how to help. Did he mean that his emotions switched between being existent and non-existent, or did they shift between two various extremes along the spectrum from wrathful to sullen?

Arian sat down, "Not sure how to explain really." He said, "They have always been a somewhat alien thing to me, sometimes they are there, sometimes not, sometimes they are fairly normal, other times they're a bit on the crazy side. Being apathetic isn't really uncommon, this pain of loss, it is. I've lost people before, not especially close ones, but they were still family I knew well. I thought there'd be pain, but there wasn't. So when this happened, I wasn't sure what to expect. I'm still not sure what to expect, for all I know I'll be apathetic again tommorrow and than hurt again years later. Emotions just, don't make sense." It was a much longer talk than he was used to giving at one time. He usually neither needed nor wanted to talk like that. In this case, it was almost relaxing.

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

"Huh." While the question had been whether Arian's emotional spectrum ranged from nothing to overwhelming or rage to melancholy, it seemed that the answer was a mixture of both. A shifting scale of emotions not along a two dimensional line, but a three dimensional polygon instead. What a complicated existence that must be, if Xanthis was understanding what Arian was attempting to communicate. "I can't imagine what that must be like, in all honesty. Is there a point of moderation," Xanthis began his question, moving his hands in a searching gesture for a moment, "a default state, I suppose?" A question meant to discern whether there was a central point that shifted, or rather a question meant to discern if there was consistency in Arian's emotions at all. Though as they spoke, a question began to form in Xanthis's mind: if the Dark Side was most commonly perceived through intense emotion, and Arian's emotions shifted, then what did that mean for how he would perceive and interact with the Dark Side should it attempt to sway him?

 

[Arian Korzak]

"Huh." While the question had been whether Arian's emotional spectrum ranged from nothing to overwhelming or rage to melancholy, it seemed that the answer was a mixture of both. A shifting scale of emotions not along a two dimensional line, but a three dimensional polygon instead. What a complicated existence that must be, if Xanthis was understanding what Arian was attempting to communicate. "I can't imagine what that must be like, in all honesty. Is there a point of moderation," Xanthis began his question, moving his hands in a searching gesture for a moment, "a default state, I suppose?" A question meant to discern whether there was a central point that shifted, or rather a question meant to discern if there was consistency in Arian's emotions at all. Though as they spoke, a question began to form in Xanthis's mind: if the Dark Side was most commonly perceived through intense emotion, and Arian's emotions shifted, then what did that mean for how he would perceive and interact with the Dark Side should it attempt to sway him?

He bobbed his head left and right thinking it over, "Sort of maybe 60-70% of the time I'm just sort of something in between stress, calm, interest, a want for learning, and my other emotions are just sort of weak. That's just about as good a definition as I can give. Although I suppose a rationally minded normal person, but a bit on the apathetic side, would also be pretty close to what might be considered usual-ish."
He had thought about a default before, but still couldn't figure out the best way to put it into words. He thought mostly in images and concepts, not words, so explaining things were not something he was good at either.

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

Stress and calm had started the list of default emotions, a strange pair to be held simultaneously. The two were effectively at the polar opposites of the scales, but then again Xanthis himself was no stranger to maintaining emotion and calm simultaneously. 'I wonder if he'd be able to learn Juyo with a mindset like that? And if so, with how much ease?' The other two emotions had been interest and a want for learning, traits of curiosity which were befitting any student. 'Speaking of students,' Xanthis thought to himself as he recalled that there had been another reason that he had come to see the Padawan today. "Hmm...have you been assigned a new Master yet? What do they say?" The impact of emotion weighed rather heavily on Jedi philosophy, thus the understanding of emotion was rather central to their beliefs. Xanthis was curious as to what Arian's new Master, if he had one, had said concerning these circumstances.

 

[Arian Korzak]

Arian shrugged shaking his head, "I haven't been told about it." He responded, then squinted, "At least I don't recollect them telling me anything of the sort, I don't think I would have forgotten that this quickly." Arian had returned to his normal (ish) self about now without really noticing it. Since something like that was so normal he just brushed it off as such, didn't really change anything.

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

Xanthis guessed that Arian had not been assigned a new Master yet, if he had not heard of a new one by now. Knights and their Padawans were typically paired up with utmost haste after the decision had been made, especially during times of crisis such as these. Arian's master had fallen long enough ago that if a new Master had been assigned, Arian would have at least been informed of it. "No, if you haven't been told, then you probably haven't been assigned yet." The words were said in a muttering tone, as the Knight was largely speaking to himself. Xanthis was actually not surprised by the delay, considering the fact that the temple had only just been rebuilt. With the Jedi Academy's functions only just returning to normal, there were bound to be a few delays somewhere. Regardless of the state of the Temple however, Arian was still left as a student who required a Master. Then again, how long had Xanthis been a Knight without a student? "Well then, I guess that settles it." The Knight stood up and stretched for a moment before continuing. "How would you like to come with me and be my student?"

 

[Arian Korzak]

Arian raised his eyebrows in part of surprise and stood up. He had to pause for a second but the reply came nonetheless, "Yes, uh, thank you." He said gratefully. His eye twitched once thinking there was still some way to handle that better, people never were something he was good at, and even when he did it right he might still doubt himself.

Arian was quite pleased he'd have something to do again, or at the very least releaved about it. Not knowing and being idle was a difficult thing for someone like him, he preffered order and productivity even if rest was what was needed. It would be good to have work again.

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

Xanthis nodded at his new Padawan and gave a little grin at his response to being offered an apprenticeship. He offered Arian a hand to shake before speaking again. "Perfect. In that case, let's go find one of the Temple instructors and inform them that you have a new Master." Xanthis turned around and began to walk deeper into the Temple, gesturing for Arian to follow him. "Fair warning that I don't intend to go easy during training. And I'll expect you to get your hands dirty on some occasions. We are in the middle of a war, after all. But if you don't mind a bit of dirt around the collar and a little bit of life-threatening risk every now and then again, then everything will be fine." The pair would walk through the Temple for only a short time before an instructor could be located. Xanthis briefly explained the situation to the woman, who nodded a few times with his words and marked something down on a datapad in her possession. "Well, there we go. The "official" declaration has been made and you are now for all intents and purposes my student. I don't know if you're the ceremonial type, but there are rituals that we can perform if you so desire or we can skip straight to your training."

 

[Arian Korzak]

Arian shrugged and nodded at the mention of difficulty. As long as it was reasonable he saw no harm in that. He actually began pre planning things already, as usual for him, he liked preparation for every event.
He smiled as it was made "official", again thinking about how he had needed something to do. "No need for it, let's just skip to the training. Sometimes ceremony is good, but sometimes I feel a bit more utilitarian. Well, usually I do actually." He responded politely. His thumb rubbed against the side of the ring again calling to mind previous combat training, preparation, and events to be better prepared. While they were ingrained in his mind it worked better with touching the ring or hilt of the dagger.

 

[Xanthis Revenas]

The Padawan chose the more utilitarian route, much to Xanthis's approval. He wanted to get started as soon as possible, being excited at the thought of training another Jedi. Fortunately the first step of Xanthis's training was fairly simple and could be started immediately. Before Xanthis could learn what Arian needed to be taught, he had to know what the student had already learned. "Very well then. Let's go find ourselves a secluded room in the Temple. I want to test your skills and see what your previous Master taught you. Then we can get started in earnest. Sound good?"

OOC: Alright, this post is kind of short because I'm not sure where to go from here. Do you want to continue and make this thread a training thread, or perhaps move into another thread?

 

[Arian Korzak]

Arian nodded, "Certainly!" He said. He was very ready to get started. Finally! He could do something again!

OOC:
Moving into another thread might work well I think, in my opinion. But either should work.