Finding a Master (Avix)

[Redfield]

Redfield had already spent some time with the Order without actually being part of it. It was a strange situation, as was the rest of his life. He had met some Jedi Masters and Knights, but none of them were willing to train him. "He's too materialist." "The only thing he can really focus on is women." "What is wrong with him?" "He can't fight." That is just a sample of what they had said as reason why they wouldn't train him. Malax did realise that he had his disadvantages, but he also realised that that wasn't the reason he was being denied training. The problem was that he got on their nerves too badly. Nobody wanted to train somebody who purposely ignored orders.

Now, he had finally been brought in contact with a master that might suit him. The only issue at hand was that he had completely forgotten the name of this person. He did know what the guy looked like though, and that should have been enough to recognise him.

Malax had been studying the ways of the Jedi for almost four years now, even without a master, getting his hands on information was not very difficult. However, he knew he needed a master, and this one seemed just right.

As always, he was very early. He liked to discover the places he visited before he proceeded to business. It was about 45 minutes before he had to meet this new master. He had more than enough time to wander about and study the architecture and bathe in the environement.

That is exactly what he did. He would be at the meeting point at least ten minutes early anyway.

 

[Malon]

Avix Draav; Jedi Knight of Ossus. A being of very small stature, which when among most of his Jedi companions, made him look little to nothing. But Avix was much more than his size might indicate. A pure beacon of light in the Force, the tiny Jedi Knight had amazed his own master all those years ago and had completed his Jedi training with flying colors. Now, decades later, it was his turn to take on a student.

Using his cane for assistance, the tiny Knight made his way to the meeting place; an empty landing pad overlooking the lush forests of Ossus.

Once settled, Avix shut his eyes and began to meditate, awaiting his Padawan's arrival.

 

[Redfield]

Malax would have never gotten enough of his little discovery tour, but it was time to meet his Master. Once he got to the landing pad about ten minutes early, he could easily make out that the little green being was obviously Avix Draav. Only that he had forgotten the name.

He stopped about a yard in front of his future Master and made a bow, lower than normal. Probably because Malax was so big standing upright and Avix was even smaller meditating.
"Good day, Master. I am Malax Redfield, and am the one who hopes to be trained by you."

 

[Malon]

Avix didn't need to turn to know who it was that had addressed him, even before the young pupil had introduced himself. He had sensed his arrival through the Force, and had been informed his name from the Jedi Council.

"Greetings, young one. Avix Draav, am I. Your master, I will become." the little Jedi replied.

The tiny Jedi folded his arms over the top of his cane and made his way to the middle of the platform.

"More about yourself, you must tell me. Your hopes, ambitions, why a Jedi you chose to be." he continued, pointing his cane at Malax.

 

[Redfield]

Avix Draav! Right, that was his name. The 20-year-old Malax stared the little green man, gazing into his own emptiness. Why become a Jedi? "Why not?" he thought. He looked at the sky as if his answer was written somewhere there.

"I don't feel as if I have a choice in the matter, Master Draav. My father ... he has destroyed my family. He always taught me to be somebody I wasn't. Since becoming a teenager, I have always felt that his teachings were wrong, but I do not know what is right in contrary to that. My mother agreed to hand me over to the Jedi, and I feel that I will be able to learn more here than anywhere else.
... I want to learn, to understand, to uncover the truth. I want things to go the right way from now on, to never be fooled again. I want to heal my family's wounds. ...I want to be a correct kind of being."

Malax was embarassed the moment he stopped talking. He regretted saying what he had said, but it had come from the heart. He felt odd, as always when things became to serious. Which is why he couldn't hold back the next comment, his smile broadening to a fake extent.

"Besides, I heard that the chicks really dig the whole Jedi-thing."

 

[Malon]

For what seemed to be several icy moments, the tiny Jedi Knight said nothing. He only stared out over the vast forests of Ossus, as if contemplating some lost answer. However, when he returned to the here-and-now, Avix's response had a hint of harshness in it.

"Women, fame, a Jedi seeks not these things." he replied. "According to your account, the will of the Force is why you're here, thinks I."

Mustering up the strength to walk and with the help of his wooden cane, Avix walked over to the edge of the landing pad.

"Guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy are the Jedi. The training you now face to become one, difficult it is. Very difficult. Of strong mind and sound heart you must be."

Finally, he turned to face his pupil once more. His large golden-brown eyes had a look of understanding in them instead of judgement. He hoped he wasn't being to harsh on his new pupil; several Padawan's make that mistake when answering their first masters.

"Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force. This is the Code by which live his life, a Jedi must. For me to give my interpretation, meaningless to your training would it be. Important your interpretation is. Tell me, what meaning does this Jedi Code have for you?"

 

[Redfield]

"There are many possible interpretations..." was Malax's immediate answer, but he caught his breath, signaling this wasn't his final answer.

He realised now that this wasn't just some talk for Avix to get to know him. He could feel the cuffs of being a Jedi tighten every moment. This was talk of the serious kind.

The Jedi Code was nothing he hadn't heard before. It wasn't as if the saying was a tightly kept secret. Malax had read different kinds of interpretations, as he had already read a lot about the Jedi and the Force. However, he could sense that this wasn't some knowledge quiz. He closed his eyes and thought about the code as said by his Master Draav just a moment ago.

"Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force."

He continued to contemplate. No human was immune to emotion, ignorance, passion, chaos, and death. Even a Jedi had to confront these to finally achieve peace, knowledge, serenity, harmony, and the Force. He had read that, but he felt more to it than that.

"Emotion and peace, ignorance and knowledge, passion and serenity, chaos and harmony, death as well as the Force. Everything belongs together. There cannot be one without the other. These words exist because the things they describe are all part of us and our nature and we are part of them. And in the end, the Force is part of us, and we are part of the Force.

It is up to us on which end of the scale we stand, on which side of the Force we stand. However, we can never fully rid ourselves of the other end of the scale. We must acknowledge the full scale and achieve balance. This balance in us is ultimately the balance in the Force."

He hoped his Master would be satisfied with his answer. For now at least. He would have wanted to learn Avix's interpretation and discuss, but as his Master had mentioned, it was of no importance for Malax's training and learning. Somehow, he continued to feel the embarassment of before.

"Forgive me Master, but I still feel a certain awkwardness when talking about the Force."

 

[Malon]

Avix smiled warmly, his century-old face wrinkling as he did.

"Your opinion I asked for, and an opinion you gave. And well put was it. Embarrassment will soon fade. You will soon find that your family the Jedi Order will become. Give your opinion without fear, when asked it you are. Fear is a path to the dark side of the Force. Manage it you must." Avix replied, satisfied with what his apprentice had said.

Avix closed his large eyes and questioned the Force about what he should do next for his apprentice's instruction. Slowly, the Force replied to him and his eyes opened, filled with wisdom.

"Force training we will begin today. On the forest floor meet me, in one hour. Then, your training we will begin."

 

[Redfield]

His new Master's smile filled Malax with confidence and warmth. He must have been going in the right direction. And Force training already in one hour. He was very much looking forward to that.

For now, he bowed and took his leave, "Understood, Master Draaav". This hour would give him time to further discover the building and the places around it. It was actually the first time he had been on Ossus, having lived solely on Coruscant before and not being a great fan of space travel.

He blended in fine on the outside, or so at least he thought, wearing the typical Padawan wardrobe of beige garbs. With great enthusiasm, he walked through all halls and rooms that were accessible to him. One of the largest libraries of all times didn't interest him that much, yet. The thing that fascinated him the most was the lay of the structures into the natural environement. He enjoyed this mix of urbanity and nature, especially when the sight seemed so organic like here.

He greeted many people, though none were all too talkitive due to their own training and studies. However, he did feel well introduced to the place. He had even had a short conversation with a small critter from the woods at the base of the building.

After one hour, Malax would arrive at the designated location, eager to learn more about the ways of the Force. His wide smile gave that away.

 

[Malon]

Avix sat in a small hover chair at the edge of the forest when his Padawan arrived. Sensing the boy's anticipation, Avix launched into the lesson without any of the usual pleasantries.

"Take your surroundings in. These woods...full of the Force they are, though sense it, yet, you cannot. To begin your training, open your mind to the Force you must. Once open to it you are, access to it you will have." the small Knight said.

Avix demonstrated by lifting his clawed hand off of the arm rest of his hover-chair and gestured to a medium-sized rock sitting against the trunk of a nearby tree. With a wobble, the rock lifted into the air and hung for a moment before gently floating down.

"In everything the Force is." Avix continued. "Even that rock. Close your eyes. That tingling feeling that is your Force-sensitivity, call on it you must. Then, when calm you are, open up to you the Force will."

 

[Redfield]

Malax stood still as he observed and listened to his Master. Even if he had seen the Force being used before, it never lost any of its fascination to him. At first he was eager to rip every stone around out of the earth, but he was wise enough to calm himself down.

"I will introduce myself to the Force as you say, Master Draav." He answered, but did not move a muscle. Instead he continued to stand on the forest ground and closed his eyes.

At first he felt nothing, just his own body, but he did not give up, knowing that his Master most probably had a great amount of patience. He soon felt the Force in his body, or what he thought to be the Force. Briefly, he wondered if the Midi-Chlorians were talking to him, but he soon focused back on the issue at hand.

He was almost meditating, soon feeling the things around him. He felt the stone as well as everything else. He tried to concentrate on the stone, but it was so difficult considering all the other parts of his surroundings. He felt the living things more than the stone, simply because they were more interesting for him. He felt his friend, the little critter from before.

In short, the stone ended up being moved, not by Malax's will, but because about a dozen little animals he had been talking to pushed it over. That only after they were done climbing and jumping around on the young Padawan.

Malax was confused.

 

[Malon]

"Calm yourself you must, young one. At peace you must be, if clear the Force is to become to you." Avix stated wisely from his hover-chair. "Do not try to focus on any one thing just yet. Small steps you must take. In this way patience is learned. The Force, to me, is a friend, an ally; and a powerful ally it is. Like a friend, commune with you it will and you with it. Let it guide you."

 

[Redfield]

"It's not about the stone, is it?" Malax said as he stood up from the ground where the creatures had left him.

"Of course it's not" he thought, "It's about the Force. I've been trying to concentrate on the objects around me, and not on the Force inside these objects...duh."

He then focused on finding the Force, sensing it in the creatures, plants and lifeless objects around him. In the earth, the air, everywhere was the Force, and after a couples minutes of meditation he felt it. He felt enlightenment as the wind stroke his face, as if the Force itself was petting his cheeks to greet him. Malax felt at peace, he felt one with the universe and the Force.

His spiritual communication with the air, earth and everything else around him was no doubt visible for Avix. The movement of air spiraled around him and carried leaves, feathers and dirt in circles, even the trees seemed to bend his way.

Never before had Malax taken the time to actually contact the Force.

He opened his eyes and his smille widened as he looked to his master, but the abrupt end to the contact with the Force lead to a big piece of bark flying into his face.

 

[Malon]

Avix chuckled, "Control. Exercise control you must. Good you have done, nevertheless. Of your accomplishment, happy should you be. Go and rest in the temple. Tomorrow meet me here you will and deeper aspects of the Force we will cover." he said.