Walking Shadow (Rhou's training)

[The Gloaming]

It had been a long time since Rhou had seen a mountain scape like the one before him. It was breath taking, he had always loved mountains. The temple was a sight as well, humbling but elegant. The deep colored pillars towered above the miraluka as he awaited his new master. Shouldn't be too long now. I was a bit early. The temple itself seemed to resonate deeply with the Force, glowing bright white in Rhou's vision.

This place was so different than what he had experienced in the recent years. Sprawling cities and groups of people with little connection to the Force. The only connection is the fact that they exist...

 

[D.C.]

Quentell Xall stood in the corner of the courtyard, in the shadows. He wore a grey robe with a hood attached to it, but the hood was down. Underneath his robe he wore a black tunic and clipped to his leather belt were his two lightsabers. His arms were crossed and he was looking around the courtyard, watching sparring Shades and others who were taking a break and relaxing in the sunlight. It was a beautiful day on Thyferra.

The Grandmaster looked up when suddenly he sensed a new Force Presence. He looked at the newcomer and saw it was a Miraluka. He clenched his bearded jaw and thought for a while, but then he was sure of it. This newcomer was Rhou Chan. The one he was going to teach the ways of the Shade.

Quentell emerged from the shadowy corner of the courtyard and stepped into the bright sun, dropping his Force Concealment. He thought it was funny how all the Shades looked up in surprise, clearly they had not noticed him and that was exactly what he was practicing, and he grinned. The technique of Force Concealment. Even now he was the Grandmaster, he still practiced his powers a lot. Of course he was already highly skilled, and he wanted to keep it that way. He did not want to slip back because he didn't train often.

"Rhou Chan, isn't it?" Quentell said to Rhou when he had approached the Miraluka. "I am Quentell Xall, the Grandmaster of the Shade Order. Welcome to Thyferra. How are you doing?" He sounded friendly. He wasn't the typical grumpy and stern master at all.

 

[The Gloaming]

"Yes, thank you, I am well. Thank you for taking me on as an apprentice." Rhou shifted his robes and belt, from which hung two short vibroswords. The young padawan had a blank expression on his face, as he often did. "This planet is strange, it will take a while for me to get used to it." Looking about, the other shade members who were strewn about the courtyard had returned to their business.

The sky was bright, but the air was slightly breezy, perfect weather for most people. Rhou liked the cold, however, and felt slightly out of place. "Forgive me for being rude, but what exactly will my training consist of?" Rhou removed his hood, revealing his long silver hair and youthful features.

 

[D.C.]

"If you need time to get used to the planet, I will give you the time needed," Quentell said. Then, as an answer to Rhou's question he told the Miraluka: "You will learn how to wield the different aspects of the Force without letting them influence your personality. I will teach you powers are not inherently good or evil, but it's just how you use them. You will be taught how to wield a lightsaber, but also the history of our Order. When I think you are ready, we will go on a mission together. But first of all, let's go get some cool water and sit down in the sun."

Quentell walked over to a Shade Knight and asked him if he would get both Quentell and Rhou a glass of water. The Shade Knight said it was no problem and he went off immediately. Quentell turned back to Rhou and said: "Before we get started it is good to get to know each other."

He led his new padawan over to a bench on the courtyard in the warm sunlight and he told Rhou he could sit down. Then he sat himself and leaned with his back against the stone wall behind him.

"Please," the Grandmaster said, "tell me about yourself. Your past, where you grew up and what you recently did. I hope you don't mind to tell me about all that and I realize some parts might be personal, but still I ask you to tell me everything. It is very important for me to know."

 

[The Gloaming]

"Well, it's simple enough. I grew up on Katarr, and left home about four years ago. I was banished from the temple of Ashla. Apparently, whoever does not believe in a god of compassion can find none for himself. I killed someone...that was the reason for my shunning. He was...bothering a young woman and I killed him. I don't feel good about it, I never did, but justice has a sickening scent. Well, the elders found my entire lifestyle and 'philosophy' to be heresy, and so they cast out a sixteen year old kid with no place to go. I started to search the galaxy for this place, believe it or not. I had heard some people mention you, your beliefs and actions, but very briefly. This temple was hard to track down...heh. Well, the four years I spent strewn about this conflicted astral plane are relatively uneventful, and unimportant."

Rhou spoke sincerely, hoping he hadn't said anything to cause unrest. He had told that story, and variations of it, to many people. It was the only personal information he would give out to a stranger. Before long, though, he won't be a stranger...

 

[D.C.]

A moment after Rhou had finished his story, the Shade Knight who Quentell had asked to get something to drink returned with two glasses of water. Quentell accepted them from the Shade and thanked him. Then the Grandmaster handed out one of the glasses of water.

"Here," he said, "have something to drink. It's refreshing."

He leaned back against the wall again and took a quick sip of his own glass before he said: "That's some history, but in fact, most of the men and women you see here have some kind of troubling history. Our Order partially exists to offer guidance to those who are lost, but also to teach perfect balance in the Force. It's a good thing you have come here, Rhou."

He raised his glass and took another sip.

"I will tell you about my own past now, because I think there shouldn't be mysteries between a padawan and a master. We should be open to each other from the beginning.

"I once was a Jedi Padawan," he said, "and I was being taught by a Jedi Knight called Jacob Spiren. One of our many missions, our last mission together, led us to a remote planetoid from where Jacob sensed a disturbance in the Force. The Jedi Council disallowed us to investigate it, but Jacob always was the cocky one. He took me to that planetoid.

"As it turned out there was a Dark Sider there. Not exactly a Dark Jedi, but he did posses a lightsaber and Force Powers. He forced Jacob to flee the planetoid after he managed to turn me to the Dark Side of the Force. My time as a Dark Sider was brief, but horrible.

"It was shortly after that, that I regret what I had done and after I killed the Dark Sider I turned away from the Dark Side. I was lost and confused, but finally I found the Shade Order. Back then Cain Ray was still the Grandmaster and I was being taught by Shade Master Aleyn Julius. Both have left the Order for personal reasons. Here I was reborn and I found perfect balance in the Force."

He paused for a few moments and watched two knights sparring. One of them wielded a cyan colored lightsaber while the other one used a purple blade. Quentell instantly recognized their saber forms: the one with the cyan bladed used Soresu and the one with the purple blade used Makashi.

"Do you think you are ready for the lessons?" He finally asked.

 

[The Gloaming]

((Sorry it's short))

"Yes master, I'm always ready to learn." A lone shred of emotion whittled out of his mouth as he spoke. Looking at the other shade padawans and knights practice their lightsaber skills, Rhou placed his hands on the hilts of his short vibro-blades. "What shall we start with?"

 

[D.C.]

"I had another question for you first," Quentell told his apprentice.

He scratched at his beard and then raised his glass to a passing Shade Knight. He turned back to Rhou and asked of him: "Do you have any knowledge about the Force? I would like to know everything you have already been taught so far so I know from where to start."

He took another sip as he awaited Rhou's answer.

 

[The Gloaming]

"Well, I have amazing Force sight, I'm sure you could have guessed that. I can also sense other Force sensitives from a few meters away. That, and I meditate frequently, having experienced several trances." Rhou was direct and to the point, adding no taste or flare to his words. He reached into his pocket, and withdrew a cigarette and a lighter. Puffing smoke from his lips, he looked upward into the sky.

The time he had spent searching the galaxy had an extreme affect on Rhou. He had seen much of the destruction still visible from the Alsakan Crisis. Now the people had a common enemy to go after, rallying an up-heaved republic. As he sipped the last of the cigarette, Rhou continued to watch the training shade members. He was excited to learn for sure, and seeing others progress gave him inspiration.

"Before we begin though, I don't know if you have a specific training guideline or let the padawans choose the abilities and aspects they learn. I have done some reading recently, and I stumbled across a few abilities that peaked my interest. Cloak and speed to name a few. Also, an ability simply known as 'Phase'. Do you think I could learn this?"

 

[D.C.]

"Certainly," Quentell answered to his new padawan's question. "But those are more advanced techniques and so they will have to wait until we have made some progression."

He stood up from the bench and looked to the entrance that led to the Shade Enclave. Inside the training room - the one which Quentell had been using to train Padawans for more than thirty years - they would not be disturbed by fellow Shades. But, since the weather was so nice that day, he decided to begin the training outside. They could always go back to the training room if necessary.

"Walk with me, my young apprentice," Quentell said with a friendly voice. He beckoned for his new apprentice to follow and before moving on he said: "You can take the glass with you if you want to. We will begin studying the mysteries of the Force in a few moments."

He smiled widely, this was one of the things he enjoyed: teaching Padawans. Passing on his knowledge was something he considered very important, because his knowledge should not be forgotten. Of course he often recorded logs in his holocrons (including lessons about saber forms or Force Powers as well as diary entries) but a holocron was not the perfect solution. Padawans were very important to a Force Sensitive Order because without Padawans, there would be no knowledge to pass and the Order would eventually die out.

He led Rhou across the courtyard and past the front gates of the Enclave.

"Our training will begin outside in the wilderness. Don't worry, nothing will happen to either of us, but this way we can enjoy the warmth of the sun and we won't be disturbed by other Shades. If something happens and they really need me, they will be able to contact me through the Force." He explained.

After a few moments they got to a large grassy field just outside the jungle of Thyferra, where the Enclave was hidden. A gentle summer's breeze blew against their skins and the small lake up ahead shimmered in the sunlight. A few birds flew over the two Force Users to the North. A peaceful atmosphere was in this area and once again it seemed so strange that the galaxy outside was at war while there existed so much peace and serenity at this small field.

Quentell stopped in the middle of the field and said: "You told me that you can meditate. That is exactly what we will begin with, so we can open ourselves to the Force and practice different techniques easier. Let's sit down."

The Grandmaster sat down in the grass in a cross legged position and he would wait until Rhou had done so too. Then he would close his eyes and meditate for a while, assuming Rhou would do the same. It was always good to start with meditation before starting the training.

 

[The Gloaming]

Rhou detached his vibroswords, and set them down behind him. As he sat and halted his vision, Rhou immediately tuned in to everything around him through the Force. The grass swayed in the waves of the Force, which washed upon his face. He was quiet and serene in a natural setting, no matter his actions, but meditation was incomparable.

The field was a strange place for Rhou, he had often spent time in the mountains on Katarr, enshrouded by bare old trees. The open air wasn't his favorite setting, but he preferred it to the cities he had seen so much of lately.

In his mind, the Miraluka saw patterns of smoke and mist swirling about him. He was in a different realm, everything was encased in energy. Rhou wandered about in the strange place, observing the trees and animals sprawled about, resonating loudly in his senses.

 

[D.C.]

After some time, Quentell awoke from his meditation. He stood up and he looked at Rhou. He patiently waited for his apprentice to stop meditating, because Quentell respected the meditation of his fellow Shades. That included his apprentices.

He had a good idea of starting the training and that would be practicing the Core Abilities. Those were very important and Quentell had used them many times to save his life.

((OOC: Short... Oh well =P))

 

[The Gloaming]

Rhou was once again in the clearing, his master standing before him. "Hello master. Are we to begin with basics then?" Rhou was showing off his analytical thinking, 'predicting' his masters thoughts through patterns and odds. This was one of his non-force abilities that helped him survive the streets and slums of coruscant, Denon, Corellia. He had seen the galaxies worst side and now he was trying to get used to a safe setting.

"Sorry master..." He stood and bowed in respect. The Miraluka realized that his master was one who was not to be shown off to, or to test the padawans wit on.

 

[D.C.]

Quentell said: "No need to apologize, Rhou, I know you did not say that to offend me. The ability to predict one's thoughts might come in handy, so instead of me going all grumpy, why don't you try to harness the skill and practice it from now on. Try to guess what things we are going to practice each time we move on to a new lesson. You can learn a lot from this."

And that was Quentell Xall. Instead of shouting to his padawans and forcing them to show respect, he tried to make a lesson of everything. He wanted his Shades to become great warriors, but also great thinkers. That was a very important thing if you wanted to survive in this galaxy: thinking before acting. That did not mean you had to be passive, you just had to be smart.

"Telekinesis is a very basic ability, and if practiced a lot, it can become very useful. It can even be used as an offensive technique, but we will get to that later on. First, you will need to learn the basics. Allow me to demonstrate."

He reached out his hand and used the Force to pull up a small rock to his hand. He showed it to his apprentice as it lied on his open hand palm, and then used the Force to let it float up from his hand and then slowly down to the ground. When it finally lied still in the grass, Quentell took a step backwards and gestured at the rock.

"This is all you have to do for now. It might seem easy, but it might be a bit tough when you first try it. If you have questions, go ahead and ask them. If you think you can do it, go ahead and try."

((OOC: Sorry it took me so long to post!))

 

[The Gloaming]

((It's allright, I've been slow to reply as well))

"Yes master." Rhou looked down at the rock, and stretched his hand outward. After a few moments of concentration, the stone began to shake, and lift into the air. It slowly approached Rhou's hand, and rested itself in his palm after a few moments. The miraluka put the rock down again, and lifted another, larger stone. The result was similar, but slow. The padawan moved the rock through the air in random patterns for a few minutes, and finally set it back down.

"That was easier than I'd hoped...but harder than I expected." The dry wit was more of a humorous quip than Rhou would have allowed anyone else to hear. For a moment, he contemplated showing a smile, but the muscles in his face wouldn't move.