It has been several days since she had begun her training; and yet, Altina felt that her progress was slow. Her studies in mathematics and sciences were gradual, no thanks to how difficult the constant whispers made it to be able to concentrate on reading. Her history project on Luke Skywalker also proceeded at a gradual pace, for the same reason as her studies. Her daily routine in physical training is not fairing much better: her unfamiliarity with the forest made her first "runs" in the forest more like a brisk jog stopped by the occasional surveillance to ensure that the environment around her is as she perceives it.
How long will it take until she no longer fears the woods? Or rather, until Altina could overcome the trickery of the visions that plague her? Not only were the visions hiding the true nature of the environs, but they show her people too: sometimes it seemed like they were training, or searching for something, or fighting something. As Altina came close to finishing the hour-long run that her master prescribed, she instinctively dodged to the side as debris rushed at her from the corner of her eye. But, of course, the debris was imaginary.
Altina looked to the source to see a duel, between a Jedi and some dark figure, crossing blue and red blades. It did not take long to see that the Jedi was losing: with every strike from the dark lord, the Jedi was forced to give ground. The imagery felt powerful in her mind; she could hear the lightsabers' humming and the hiss as they clashed. The Jedi was clearly out of his league, being unable to find any initiative as the dark lord delivered blow after blow in a powerful one-handed grip. The Jedi soon ran out of space to retreat and stood his ground against the powerful threat. He tried to go on the attack, to recover some ground. Altina silently hoped that he could recover from the clearly disadvantageous fight. But the dark lord was too skilled. With a flick of his wrist, not only was the attack repelled, but the Jedi lost his hand. His lightsaber hand.
The scream echoed in her head, forcing her to cover her ears. Her instincts told her to scream too, but Altina resisted it. It isn't real. Eyes shut and teeth gritted, Altina endured the moment of pain, hopelessness, and fear. She was reminded once more of the dread she felt as the dark lord's mechanical breath filled her ears.
Khooohhh... puhhhhhh...
She took a deep breath, trying to draw on her practice meditating. Her own fears churned underneath the surface as Altina tried to transform that emotion into the peace that Master Eridan instructed her to find. Only the tranquility she found in that first moment of peace could remedy it.
Khooohhh... puhhhhhh...
The fatigue in her bones threatened to break her, but Altina continued to focus and endure. As the Jedi's scream faded, it struck her who that Jedi was. Luke Skywalker: the figure that Master Eridan told her to research. She had not gotten far into his influence on history, but the feeling that she had is unmistakable. This was a vision from before Luke became powerful. As Altina calmed herself, another voice whispered into her ear.
"The Force is with you, young Skywalker. But you are not a Jedi yet."
Altina pressed her fingers against her forehead as she sought to regain control of the present. Is this vision supposed to help her? It never seemed like it was ever the case before. She could not think of another time she could recognize the people she saw and heard in the Force. At the very least, it was something she could ask Master Eridan about. It certainly seemed like a question that he is well suited to answer.
The trek to where Master Eridan awaited her took some time, as it usually did. She swore Master Eridan mapped out the course on purpose to make her suffer, particularly when Altina barely had any sort of exercise routine to begin with. Altina half-walked, half-stumbled out of the undergrowth to where her master awaited her. His back was turned to her, evidently preoccupied at the moment.
Still panting from the exertion, Altina made her way to Master Eridan's side and stopped to catch her breath.
"Master," she began, but stopped to take another breath.
"I..." Altina exhaled again, sucking in more air before finally finding the energy to speak. "I saw Luke Skywalker."
Exhale, then inhale. "While I was on the course, I saw him before he became a Jedi."
"Who was the dark lord he fought? The one who needed a machine to breathe," she huffed as she took more deep breaths.
"Why am I hearing him?" she finally posed the question. "I can't stop hearing his breath."
@Srota
How long will it take until she no longer fears the woods? Or rather, until Altina could overcome the trickery of the visions that plague her? Not only were the visions hiding the true nature of the environs, but they show her people too: sometimes it seemed like they were training, or searching for something, or fighting something. As Altina came close to finishing the hour-long run that her master prescribed, she instinctively dodged to the side as debris rushed at her from the corner of her eye. But, of course, the debris was imaginary.
Altina looked to the source to see a duel, between a Jedi and some dark figure, crossing blue and red blades. It did not take long to see that the Jedi was losing: with every strike from the dark lord, the Jedi was forced to give ground. The imagery felt powerful in her mind; she could hear the lightsabers' humming and the hiss as they clashed. The Jedi was clearly out of his league, being unable to find any initiative as the dark lord delivered blow after blow in a powerful one-handed grip. The Jedi soon ran out of space to retreat and stood his ground against the powerful threat. He tried to go on the attack, to recover some ground. Altina silently hoped that he could recover from the clearly disadvantageous fight. But the dark lord was too skilled. With a flick of his wrist, not only was the attack repelled, but the Jedi lost his hand. His lightsaber hand.
The scream echoed in her head, forcing her to cover her ears. Her instincts told her to scream too, but Altina resisted it. It isn't real. Eyes shut and teeth gritted, Altina endured the moment of pain, hopelessness, and fear. She was reminded once more of the dread she felt as the dark lord's mechanical breath filled her ears.
Khooohhh... puhhhhhh...
She took a deep breath, trying to draw on her practice meditating. Her own fears churned underneath the surface as Altina tried to transform that emotion into the peace that Master Eridan instructed her to find. Only the tranquility she found in that first moment of peace could remedy it.
Khooohhh... puhhhhhh...
The fatigue in her bones threatened to break her, but Altina continued to focus and endure. As the Jedi's scream faded, it struck her who that Jedi was. Luke Skywalker: the figure that Master Eridan told her to research. She had not gotten far into his influence on history, but the feeling that she had is unmistakable. This was a vision from before Luke became powerful. As Altina calmed herself, another voice whispered into her ear.
"The Force is with you, young Skywalker. But you are not a Jedi yet."
Altina pressed her fingers against her forehead as she sought to regain control of the present. Is this vision supposed to help her? It never seemed like it was ever the case before. She could not think of another time she could recognize the people she saw and heard in the Force. At the very least, it was something she could ask Master Eridan about. It certainly seemed like a question that he is well suited to answer.
The trek to where Master Eridan awaited her took some time, as it usually did. She swore Master Eridan mapped out the course on purpose to make her suffer, particularly when Altina barely had any sort of exercise routine to begin with. Altina half-walked, half-stumbled out of the undergrowth to where her master awaited her. His back was turned to her, evidently preoccupied at the moment.
Still panting from the exertion, Altina made her way to Master Eridan's side and stopped to catch her breath.
"Master," she began, but stopped to take another breath.
"I..." Altina exhaled again, sucking in more air before finally finding the energy to speak. "I saw Luke Skywalker."
Exhale, then inhale. "While I was on the course, I saw him before he became a Jedi."
"Who was the dark lord he fought? The one who needed a machine to breathe," she huffed as she took more deep breaths.
"Why am I hearing him?" she finally posed the question. "I can't stop hearing his breath."
@Srota