A Scholarly Approach

[Brash]

The light of sunrise settled over Braashan's narrow shoulders, reflecting off of the top of his nearly bare head, and lit the stacks of ancient texts scattered haphazardly across the table in front of him; some records of the Jedi Order may have been available in data-form, but Braashan was never one to favor such advancement over the raw and natural feel of a traditional scroll or leather-binding. It was just an hour after dawn, and as usual the young man was up and tucked neatly into a chair in the archives of the Tython Monastery's lower levels. He was alone, as was typical. Very few ever ventured into the archives at all, especially at this time of day. Quite often did he find himself there in the wee hours of the morning reading and meditating quietly beneath the stunning arches and grand apertures that were quintessential of Tythonian architecture.

Lately however, Braashan's solitary study sessions had been filled with anxiety and a lack of concentration. It was understandably so, for just a few days ago he had received notice that Jedi Knight Ronin Thorn had accepted him as his padawan, a much unexpected notice indeed, and today was his first scheduled meeting with his new master to begin the next step in his training. The fifteen year old had waited far longer to receive this honor than any of his other friends, seeing the last of his circle of companions be taken up for training nearly two years ago. Nevertheless, he was as ready as ever.

He slapped shut the book entitled "The Alsakan Crisis" and set it down in front of him gently. This selection of his was no coincidence; in fact, he had spent hours the night before seeking it out in the archives along with several other records involving the Alsakan race and its history. Over the short period of time that followed their pairing, Braashan had learned enough to know that his master had been born of an Alsakan woman during the Crisis and had been trained by Master Keldroma himself - the latter of which was enough to send a chill up Braashan's brittle spine. Having an instructor trained by the top of the Order was intimidating, and he felt he would have to do a great deal to impress him. A great deal, indeed.

----​

When Braashan arrived in the training room he found himself to be alone once more. His training saber in hand, he made his way over to the room's one window and set the clumsy weapon up against the wall. He took a deep breath and tried to focus his mind on something that would ease his nerves though he had no success. His limbs shivered as he exhaled and proceeded to stretch on the square mat in the center of the room, knowing that at any minute his new master could walk through the doorway. The sound of the sliding mechanical door looped in his mind causing him to flinch whenever he heard someone enter or exit one of the other rooms down the hall. Following each stretch, Braashan would adjust his robes and look across the floor at his training weapon in anticipation. He repeated the words he would use to introduce himself over and over again, making the most unnoticeable changes in grammar to assure himself that he came off as intelligent as possible...

 

[Wit]

As Ronin Thorn walked through the corridors of the Monastery on Tython, his mind was lost in the past, reliving events that had taken place more than a dozen years ago. He was about to start training his first padawan learner, something that his wanderings in search of his heritage had prevented so far. But now that he was about to begin treading this path, he was glad that it was on Tython, the birthplace of the Order. He had long wanted to visit Tython, and this seemed like as good a time as any. His thoughts though were on Alderaan, on those early years spent under tutelage of Master Keldroma. It was her training that had made him into the man that he was today, and a much changed he was from the stumbling, insecure crybaby that he had been back then. He only hoped that he could be as good a mentor to his padawan as she had been to him.

As he stepped into the training chamber, he felt the anxiety and nervousness that his pupil was emanating into the Force. He stepped up to the young man with a smile on his face, "Hello there my young friend. You must be Braashan Belwynne. My name is Ronin Thorn."

 

[Brash]

Braashan jumped as the door to the training chamber slid open. He rose from his stretching position as the man approached, looking up at him with wide eyes. He slid his feet together and clenched his sweaty palms around the slack of his cloak, bowing his head slightly. "Greetings Master Thornin - eh... Master Thorn, excuse me," he muttered, stumbling with his words and correcting himself right away. "It is an honor to be under your tutelage."

He felt his cheeks flush and the perspiration accumulating beneath his bare feet. Despite his humiliation he managed to force half of a smile and meet eyes with his new master, though whether he did so intentionally or out of embarrassment he wasn't sure. Nonetheless, it gave him some relief for the time being as it seemed to relax his muscles just a bit. In the moment after, he heard only the song of the birds perched atop the window sill, and felt the breeze climbing over the brim of his collar and attracting the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. The feeling that followed was something of a surprise to him, a sensation that seemed to overpower every other emotion he had been feeling up to this point: excitement.

 

[Wit]

Ronin smiled warmly at Braashan, "Think nothing of it my friend. Come, take a seat and tell me a little about yourself." Speaking so Ronin made his way to the walls on the side of the room and sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall. He observed the boy as he moved, how his nervousness had been replaced by excitement.

 

[Brash]

"Of course," said the boy. He hesitated a moment and then followed Ronin over to the wall to have a seat.

"I was born on Alderaan," he began. "My father was a farmer, and my mother took care of me and my two older brothers. Once I was old enough she let me help Pa out in the fields." He paused for a moment, allowing the memories to take form in his mind.

"I was allowed to go with my brothers into the city for errands and even learned to hunt with my father the year before I was taken to the academy. I was a natural shot, he always said. Now that I think about it, I suppose it was my connection to the Force. Just before I left for Tython I was about as good an aim as my oldest brother." A smile crept onto his face as he looked down at the floor briefly.

It quickly faded, however. His thoughts drifted further into his childhood until he was able to pull himself away and focus on the present. He thought of his family and how much he had missed them the first few years of his training, wondering why he didn't miss them as much anymore. He seemed almost afraid to mention his affection toward them, unsure of whether his master would approve.

"Do you remember your family," he asked changing the subject, hoping to hide his concern.

 

[Wit]

Ronin heard intently as Braashan talked about his life. He could sense the emotions swelling up within him as he spoke of his family. He cared for them, that was clearly visible not only in the Force but in his expressions as well, in the way he smiled as he spoke about them. Ronin found that he understood how the boy felt, understood the love he felt for them.

"My family?" That certainly did manage to change Ronin's line of thought, but only slightly. "Well my father was a Jedi, a healer actually. He died before I was born, all I know about him is what I managed to learn later on. My mother." At this point Ronin paused for a bit, his mother's sacrifice and subsequent death was something he had only recently come to terms with and it still left him more than a little humbled to just think about it. "My mother was a warrior, an Alsakan Knight. She died a few years after my birth. My entire life has been in the Order, I practically grew up on Alderaan. How about you, how did you end up joining the Order?" He had not said everything about his past, not mentioned much about his mother, but that was a tale for another time.

 

[Brash]

Braashan couldn't help but feel humbled himself upon Ronin's mention of his mother. He spoke of her with a sense of honor that the boy knew little of.

The smile on his face re-emerged when he heard of his master's training on Alderaan, somewhat comforted by the fact that they in at least some way shared the same homeworld. "I was taken into the Order when I turned ten, not but a few months after my birthday," he replied. "I remember quite well the Jedi Knight who approached my father, myself and my brothers in the city that day. I had never seen Pa take to someone so well. It was almost as if he knew the woman just by looking at her. She didn't wear the traditional robes, but I suppose something about her told Pa she was a Jedi. He seemed to know exactly why she had shown an interest in us at the market that day."

"He welcomed her to our homestead where she joined us for supper, and afterwards she revealed her intentions. My parents didn't seem the least bit surprised. I would wager now that they expected all along something was different about me, but I never noticed. I was so excited I could hardly react."

Braashan watched the dust fall between the rays of light shining in through the window. He wouldn't have changed a single detail about his past if he could, but that made it no easier to cope with the he had been chosen to leave his family behind. "It wasn't until later that I learned my parents wouldn't be accompanying me to the training grounds," he continued after a short pause. "But it has been a humbling experience, and I am honored to have been chosen."

The words he spoke seemed to bring his mind back to the present and fill his heart with the anticipation he had felt earlier. Perhaps it was because of the vague memory of his parents, or perhaps he had meant what he said more than he originally thought. Whatever the case, his spirit was now joyful and filled with desire - a desire to prove himself to his new master and bring meaning to his place among the Jedi.

 

[Wit]

Ronin leaned back, resting his head against the wall. "That must have been hard for you, leaving your home, leaving your family. I still remember Alderaan clearly, the rushing meadows, tall green grass swaying in the winds, the distant snow peaked mountains. Even though I have visited numerous worlds across the galaxy, Alderaan is still the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Do you miss Alderaan? Your home, your parents, your brothers?" Braashan had been away from his family a long time now, five years, but Ronin had learned the hard way that no matter how much time passes, family's pull was a strong thing. It was that pull that had made him wander the galaxy these past few years, leaving the Order in search of answers. The emotions he had sensed in Braashan had made him realize that his bonds with his family were strong, he just wanted to see how strong. They could be his strength, but also a weakness that could be used against him and as his teacher Ronin knew it was his job to make sure it was not the latter.

 

[Brash]

Braashan looked up at the window, visualizing the picture of Alderaan that Ronin painted with his words. The Jedi Knight's familiarity with his homeworld gave him peace and comfort where he sat, but his question caused Braashan to look back down at the floor. "Not so much anymore."

He adjusted himself and fixed his eyes on his training saber, unsure of how to explain what he was feeling and if the man would even understand. ""I don't remember their faces as much as I used to," he continued. "I guess that worries me more than anything else, not so much the fact that I haven't seen them in so long."

He knew now exactly how to say what was on his mind now, but hesitated further. He didn't want to question the way of the Jedi, or seem weak to his master. However, he also didn't want to pass up the opportunity to speak of something that had troubled him since his arrival on Tython.

"I don't want to forget about them, but I feel as if I'm supposed to," he admitted. "Is it not the Jedi way to leave behind your family?"

 

[Wit]

"It is not the Jedi way to let your emotions guide your actions. Your emotions can cloud your judgment, make you take a wrong turn that might lead along a path you never wanted to tread. But at the same time we as Jedi are meant to be protectors, to be the guardians of peace and justice. Some Jedi believe that if we have bonds with our families, if we still love them then that love can be used to make us stray from the Light side, that love might lead to lust and lust to the Dark side. But if we don't have that love, then how do we truly know what we are protecting?" He paused for a moment, letting his words sink in. "Some might say that it is not the Jedi way to leave your family behind, but to remember them and to know that we do what we do to protect them. Love them, but don't let that love blind you, don't let it corrupt you. Consider for instance this scenario. One day someone you love could be embroiled in darkness, might be striking against the peace you are meant to protect as a Jedi. What would you do then? Within this question lies the heart of your dilemma."

 

[Brash]

Ronin's answer nearly brought a smile to the boy's face. To understand that his family was part of the reason he was here on Tython, learning the ways of the Force to become a guardian of peace, and that their memory would be his connection to the galaxy that he served gave him satisfaction. He felt honor and purpose, and thought of how Ronin had spoken of his mother. Perhaps he knew the respect he spoke of her with more than he had originally thought.

His smirk faded as the question Ronin proposed percolated on the edge of his mind. "I would protect the peace of the galaxy, even if the one I loved refused to change their ways," he said dutifully.

Though he meant his words wholeheartedly, he misunderstood the magnitude of such a conflict and the effect it could have on him in reality. A childish misconception, but one that would only be overcome through time and experience. Nonetheless, he looked up at his master with the conviction of a pure heart. He may not have understood the commitment that would be required of him in such a case, but he was deeply devoted to the cause.