Ask Starlight Jedi Ascension Trials — T'vani

[T'vani]

Location: Starlight Beacon

For the observational thread, click here.​

___The day T'vani was waiting for came.

___It had been two long years of initiate training. T'vani had endured physical activity, Force training, learning the Jedi Order's codes, morals, ethics, and everything else. It all led to this moment: the day T'vani finally became a Padawan. She was excited and nervous at the same time. The initiate knew this was a significant milestone in her life, and she would make the most of it.

___The teenage Fiani stepped out into a large, open room shaped like a square. The floor consisted of numerous, equally segmented sections that could raise, lower, and change their orientation. The Jedi Order designed the room to accommodate a variety of tests for aspirants like her to prove their capabilities, and the Jedi overseeing the trial could easily configure them by a control panel at the far end of the room opposite T'vani. Here, she would prove her physical prowess, capability with the Force, and understanding of the Jedi Order. The space was empty aside from her, but soon enough, it was probable her friends and mentors would be in the stands to observe and scrutinise her, as well as an assembly of Knights and Masters to pass judgment on her performance.

___T'vani inhaled deeply to steady her breathing. She knew little about what the trials would consist of, and the only person she knew would be present was Ezra Thorne, who organised the meeting she attended regarding the abominations and dark nexuses. T'vani knew little about him, and being judged by someone she barely knew made her anxious. She closed her eyes to focus her mind.

___Emotion, yet peace.

___The Fiani exhaled and opened her eyes. She was ready. Come what may, T'vani would apply herself to these challenges to the best of her ability. Nobody could say she didn't try, and if she didn't ascend, she would try again until she did. T'vani would continue with her path, no matter the obstacles. She was the first to experience these new trials and needed to be an example for all who came after her.

@Mr. Teatime @Sreeya

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra didn’t know Vani personally, but he recalled her from the gathering by the council chambers. The part Sephi had been taking on extra duties with the Jedi whenever he had some time off from school. Ezra arrived to take his seat to judge the trials. Right away he turned some heads, which was normal because of his celebrity status, but today it was because of his choice of attire. He had refused to don Jedi robes even back since his padawan days and everyone simply gave up on trying to convince him.

The Thorne knew this was a formal event, so he instead opted to dress in an expensive suit that was tailored perfectly. His hair was styled, there was a fancy chrono on his wrist and his stubbled chin rested on his knuckles propped on the table in front of him. His icy, silver gaze fixed on the initiate, his face devoid of any expression. It was clear Ezra was a corporate CEO and no one would ever guess that he, too, was a Jedi just as everyone else attending the trials.

“Step forth, initiate,” His baritone voice called out to quiet any idle chit chat that was taking place. He commanded the room into pindrop silence. The trials would now begin.

@Remileah @Mr. Teatime

 

[The Gatekeeper]

It was quiet in the chamber after Master Thorne spoke, observers distant in the stands. The chamber was of modular design, able to rearrange itself based on the running program and equiped with numerous holoprojectors. Perfect for the Trials of Ascension to be administered here today.

A lone initiate, T'vani, braced herself for what challenges may come. As she would step forward per words of Master Thorne, a holoprojector activated above them. There were more than a few past Masters of the Jedi whose personalities were captured in computer code to teach certain lessons or run trials like these, programmed by themselves or others.

One such master appeared upon the chamber floor, colorful robes and tattoos rendered shallow in holographic bluescale. Still, though, thereremained something like a distant light behind the eyes above a playful smirk. The figure smiled and delivered a somewhat flamboyant bow.

"Welcome, initiate, judging masters. I am Master Hannibal Grayza, and I have the distinct pleasure of deciding the manner of today's trials. 'Hans' will do, if ya like." This particular program was known for its more unorthodox trials that could, at times, be quite difficult. But they were also something it always took very seriously.

"A Trial of the Mind!" The hologram waved his hand and, quite abruptly, the lights went pitch black, shrouding the chamber in shadow. Even the hologram itself vanished. Master Thorne or capable observers could see through it with the Force or with special monitors, but Initiate T'vani would have to navigate this challenge on her own.

"You seek a lightsaber. Without illumination, find it." Perception and Instinct were what were being tested, the first half of this trial. There was one hidden somewhere on the floor, behind a corner's cover, out of sight even with the lights on. But if she could listen closely and let the Force guide her, she may hear the crystal inside.

@Remileah @Sreeya

 

[T'vani]

___Ezra was, in a word, intimidating. When T'vani first saw him during the meeting, she thought he accepted little nonsense. His appearance suggested anything except being a Jedi, but she could sense he was. The teenager stepped forward as Ezra instructed, walking deeper into the room.

___The projection flickered to life before her, her ears flicking as it began speaking. She remained silent as he introduced himself and then explained the beginnings of the first trial. Every light in the room went off, submerging her in a blanket of inky blackness. T'vani needed to find a lightsaber hidden in the room in this darkness. In the back of her mind, she recalled that she could detect the presence of kyber crystals through their mutual connection with the Force.

___T'vani closed her eyes and concentrated. She reached out with the Force to begin probing the room, attempting to discover the location of the lightsaber Hannibal instructed her to find. Her ability to pick up the faint traces of the Force was exceptional, but she hadn't prepared for other substantial sources of the Force to be in the room or surrounding it. T'vani suddenly had a drastic complication she didn't anticipate.

___Her features scrunched as she attempted to focus herself. Traces of variegated colour darted through the room, pointing her in different directions towards every source of the Force in the training area. Her ears flit in various regions as she eliminated one origin after another based on their size, strength, and proximity to her. It took T'vani several moments, but eventually she found it. She sensed the kyber singing out to her, calling her towards the direction of the room it was in.

___T'vani crossed the room and approached the corner cover, finding her way without complication once she successfully narrowed its location. Once she arrived where it was, T'vani kneeled to retrieve it, standing with it in her hand once she found it. She held the lightsaber up to show she had successfully obtained it and proceeded back to the centre of the room, where she started.

7 / 20 for detecting the lightsaber

@Mr. Teatime @Sreeya

 

[Myrell’anay]

“That took some time,” Myrell’anay, second judge of the initiate’s trials, remarked for Ezra next to her. She wore classic white robes with red accents that symbolized her status as a healer, and her brow was furrowed as she followed the initiate’s progression in the dark chamber.

The woman had heard no end of praise for the young Fiani’s connection to the Force, and from several different Jedi she held in high regard, notably Mako Krim—but through what was meant as a simple exercise, Myrell had to admit she didn’t really see it. That said, this was but the first initiate on her first trial. It wasn’t unexpected that she could take time to find her footing at the start. Myrell guarded herself from being unduly harsh, instead turning her attention to the next trials to come.

@Mr. Teatime @Remileah @Sreeya

 

[The Gatekeeper]

The initiate took some time. Although what she sought was relatively close by, the 'noise' all around blended together. Such was the nature of this test; find something small through the background sensations of life in the universe. A Jedi must both focus their senses and act on instinct.

Once she found the lightsaber and returned to the center, the hologram appeared once more in front of her. Cyan light abruptly illuminated the space in the center, Master Grayza's expression difficult to read but vaguely mischievous. "Defend yourself."

It winked out and darkness once more blanketed the area. There was a clunk followed by the telltale hiss of a training remote's multi-direction repulsors. T'vani would have to rely on sound and, importantly, her expanded senses to deflect shots with random timing and from random directions.

Near the end of the exercise, the lights would once more illuminate the chamber and reveal a second training remote to join the first for one series of shots before the Trial of the Mind concluded.[/abox3]

Spoiler: Mind Trial Stats

1d20=7 for first half, roll 1d20 for second half

@Remileah @Sreeya @Volene

 

[T'vani]

___As the lights suddenly snapped back on, T'vani flinched, having grown accustomed to the darkness she was in. The lights cut off again after being instructed to defend herself. After the dark fell on her again, the room illuminated slightly from T'vani flicking the sabre on. Her ears flicked as the dull drone of the remotes filled her ears.

___However, T'vani had time to adjust to the Force presence in the room. She knew which sources were always there and which ones weren't. Her attunement, accompanied by the lights momentarily turning on, allowed her to understand the room around her. The Fiani gripped her weapon in both hands, adopting the defensive Shien stance of Form V, adjusting into a high guard position above her head with the blade angled upward and behind her. T'vani's dominant leg shifted back.

___When the remotes began firing, T'vani fell into instinct guided by the Force to start deflecting. Through the hail of fire, not a single bolt penetrated the girl's admirable defence. Her training sabre hummed and gracefully moved as T'vani parried and deflected one shot after the other despite their random timings and angles. Even as the second remote joined the fray, her defence never faltered. At this moment, she was entirely in tune with the Force and the area around her, evidenced by the flawless execution of detecting the incoming shots.

___Then, she sensed it. There was an opening in the offensive from the remotes. T'vani flicked her blade back, sending one of the blaster bolts reeling back into the remote that shot it. As the device staggered and trembled in the air, the Fiani pushed out her hand to send the remote flying to crash into the wall, simultaneously using her sabre to deflect another incoming shot from the still-active remote. With the first drone dispatched, as the second one fired again, T'vani spun to send its attack straight back into it, much like the first.

___The remote sputtered and fizzled as it thudded lifelessly to the ground. T'vani momentarily held her posture, her breathing steady and controlled, before adjusting into a neutral stance while deactivating her training sabre. She exhaled quietly and turned to face the direction of Ezra, Myrell'anay, and Hannibal's holocron, awaiting the subsequent step of the trial.

20 / 20 for deflecting

@Mr. Teatime @Sreeya @Volene

 

[Ezra Thorne]

Ezra watched with stony silence as the trials progressed. While the girl took some time for the first one, he was curious to see the next segment. The remotes began firing at her and she expertly adapted and deflected with accuracy he would expect from a Knight. Ezra leaned slightly forward in his seat, the only subtle sign that he was impressed.

What exactly was this initiate? A rodent or dog of some sort? That tail would likely become a liability at some point, he mused. When she successfully deflected one of the bolts back, the faintest smile tugged at the corner of his lips. His gaze briefly flicked over to his fellow judge (@Volene ), saying nothing, but making a silent note of the performance.

The part Sephi focused back on Vani, hoping that the next sections would test her intelligence and merit. Anyone could swing a blade around, but becoming a Jedi in a galaxy that despised them meant having to rely on smarts and critical thinking.

@Mr. Teatime @Remileah

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Training remotes clattered to the ground, disabled. The initiate's performance here had been impressive, relying on intuition and sense under pressure. Sharper than when she'd known what to look for, quicker, more natural.

But 'Defend yourself' he'd said, and that task wasn't over yet.

Once again the lights flipped on and Hannibal's hologram flickered to life, now seated atop one of the raised platforms, one leg crossed over another. There was one last piece to the second half of this Trial of Mind that, though not every program would administer, Hannibal almost always had. Back when he was living and not just presented as a sophisticated program he'd been well known, infamous even, for his sharp tongue and biting commentary. He'd spared no one his thoughts and riddles.

"Question for you. A man of means and lawful authority dictates that some of his people must be enslaved for the greater good. Some people agree, others do not. This action is lawful, but those now declared in chains will suffer for it." All around, holograms representing two sides were formed. On T'vani's left, the lawful ruler and his declaration. On the right, the citizens to be enslaved.

"You are, by fate, positioned to get involved. What would you do, and how is your decision supported by Jedi teachings and the Code?"

Whatever the answer, it'd give the judges insight into T'vani's thought processes and interpretation of what she's learned.

@Remileah @Sreeya @Volene

OOC: Critical thinking argument time. No dice roll. The initiate must reason an answer themselves.

 

[T'vani]

___A question? That wasn't something T'vani was expecting. As Hannibal spoke, the girl furled her eyebrows and fanned her ears to the sides. There was a momentary silence as T'vani mulled the question over before speaking.

___"The question is vague," she said. "What are the circumstances of my involvement? Is this planet inside Jedi territory and under Jedi jurisdiction? Is the man carrying out this plan or only contemplating it?" T'vani asked, her ears perking up as she spoke. The Fiani knew she couldn't expect answers to her questions, and she'd have to provide a solution with what information she had. T'vani adjusted her posture, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, then back again.

___"There are too many unknown variables with how you have presented this scenario," she continued. "If the planet is within Jedi jurisdiction, the act is unlawful. I would be compelled to defend the people by advice if possible, warning if necessary, and action if reason fails, but only by defending the people," T'vani reasoned.

___"However," the young Fiani added, "if the planet is outside Jedi jurisdiction, and the man's position is lawful, then I could do nothing. We are taught that there may be more to a situation than what we see, and we should respect other cultures even if they clash with our moral or ethical code. We are also taught not to act against the lawful commands of security, military, and government of the locals."

___When she finished speaking, T'vani fell silent to await her assessment, if the officiants gave any.

@Mr. Teatime @Sreeya @Volene

 

[Myrell’anay]

The initiate’s defense was flawless. Myrell herself doubted she could have done better, stronger in the Force but not as nimble as she’d once been. There was no doubt now that the young T’vani had found her footing with that outstanding display. She had Myrell’s full attention.

How disappointing, then, that her next answer revealed a fundamental misunderstanding of the Jedi’s role as well as a reflection that could only be called embryonic. The Twi’lek shared a glance with Knight Thorne for confirmation, but her own mind was made.

‘Jedi jurisdiction’ simply did not exist. That misunderstanding was not fatal; a teenage initiate could not be expected to know the every subtlety of governance, and such a factual mistake could easily be rectified by her eventual master, but it raised an eyebrow nonetheless. Jedi led by example. People and planets supported the Jedi Order because they trusted them to be good and just, to do the right thing, to keep the peace. Not to be ruled by them. The Jedi’s edicts applied only to themselves, never to others.

But beyond that simple mistake, Myrell was unsatisfied by the lack of depth in the initiate’s response. The bringing in of ultimately irrelevant considerations—like the hypothetical Jedi jurisdiction that would make the act unlawful when the question explicitly posed it as lawful—only served to fluff an answer that boiled down to the act being acceptable because it followed the law. Yet the question offered multiple prompts, none of which T’vani truly explored.

She did not cite the Jedi Code as asked. The act was posed as lawful and for the greater good, and she simply accepted this without even questioning how slavery served the greater good exactly, which coming from an aspiring Jedi was revolting to Myrell. She did not explore whether alternative options could solve the problem without the need to resort to slavery. The people in the question were split, some agreeing, some not, but the young Fiani didn’t wonder why; she cited cultural reasons not to intervene even though the hypothetical culture was, itself, not unanimous on the matter. That was without even digging into the legality of it: there were those, Myrell included, who believed an unjust law to have no legal value, but even without going there, the initiate raised no concern that a ‘man of means and lawful authority’ could abuse his power to amend laws and make an act technically legal that went against the people’s every wish and natural rights.

It was possible that none of these considerations would have changed the ultimate answer. But it was the lack of reflection behind it that worried the old healer. Lightsaber techniques were learned, facts were easy to correct; mindsets or thought processes would sometimes never be changed. Especially when they tended not to scratch hard questions beyond surface level.

@Mr. Teatime @Remileah @Sreeya

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Hannibal's hologram raised his arms in vague, shrugging acceptance of the initiative's answer, an ever-present smile still in place. They didn't comment or offer further insight. Trials were often as much a lesson as a test, but that was the place of the judges. This Hannibal was only a programmed personality of the original.

Probably for the best. He would not have approved of her answer.

He vanished and reappeared atop one of the raised platforms, lounging sideways atop a similarly holographic chair. "A Trial of Body!" Holo-Hans declared as the room began to rearrange itself around T'vani. Raised obstacles, low-hanging obstructions, drops in the ground, and simple holographic hazards of different sorts formed in a circuit that ran the length of the test chamber.

"Run the course while avoidin' the obstacles an' hazards." Simple, standard stuff so far. "While singin'. Pick anything." And there was the Hannibal special bonus task. Beyond the usual speed, strength, and stamina, being made to sing in cadence while running tested focus, breath control, and confidence. Whether the initiate sounded good singing wasn't the point, just if they could do both things at the same time.

"One lap, fast as you can. Begin!" Holo-Hans clapped his hands and a holographic run timer appeared on the wall with a separate one for the judges.

@Remileah @Sreeya @Volene

 

[T'vani]

___The disappointed and concerned looks from the judges didn't escape T'vani's notice. She felt her answer could have been much better than she provided, although she had little time to dwell on it. The room began to move and shift, becoming an obstacle course for her to traverse. Not only did she need to navigate this, but she needed to do it while singing a song. T'vani grinned. While she was once a sheepish, reluctant girl, her time as an initiate had steeled her resolve and bolstered her confidence. The young Fiani adopted a hunched posture, preparing herself for the course. Then, she launched into it at a full sprint and started singing.

__"On any night prepare for fright and buy another round,
__He's full of cheer and holds his beer but never held his ground,
__He drinks his ales and tells the tales of all the he achieves,
__The spilling of the chilling of the Hero's Rusty Greaves!"

__The young girl jumped into a series of segmented parallel walls designed to be traversed by wall-running and jumping from one side to the next, completing the task with surprising aplomb while never missing a beat in her tune.

__"So harken to a man that you can envy for his feats,
__Despite the fact that each attack results in his retreats,
__You'll hear the sound, when chips are down, his bladder, thus, relieves,
__The sloshing and withdrawing of the Hero's Rusty Greaves!"

___T'vani landed and jumped effortlessly between a series of platforms spaced generously apart, utilising her capabilities with the Force to avoid entire portions and progress faster than average. She continued to sing unimpeded while ducking, weaving, and dashing through the obstacle course without staggering or running out of breath. She certainly didn't appear the slightest bit embarrassed, either.

__"Don't be annoyed, it fills the void, when times are of the need,
__The boastful way he'll drain the day with each and every deed,
__He's telling you of all that's true or all that he believes,
__The fabricated, quite inflated, Hero's Rusty Greaves!"

___The song and masterful navigation of the course continued. All the while, T'vani sang a song whose origins were undoubtedly from her home with the ease in which she recited it and the eccentric, humorous lyrics detailing a man boasting of his false but harmless heroic deeds when, in truth, he was quite a coward! Her progress in the challenge was surprisingly fast, completed under the estimate for initiates without any signs of cheating. T'vani was confident and capable, and before she knew it, she finished the course.

__"Someday he'll die and all will cry and plant him down below,
__But be advised, don't be surprised at all that there will grow,
__The flowering and towering of trees with many leaves,
__Well fertilised, wherever lies, the Hero's Rusty Greaves!"

___She had completed the course expertly, using the terrain to her advantage to leap, bound, duck, and dive through entire segments and even skip small chunks of lengthy sections. T'vani had avoided every obstacle and hazard and had completed her full song without running short of breath, missing lyrics, or even stumbling over her words. She stood on the final panel, inhaled deeply, and stood up straight, breathing controlled but deep.

20 / 20 for obstacle course

@Mr. Teatime @Sreeya @Volene

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Holo-Hans moved his hands like he was conducting an orchestra along to the initiate's singing. Although, thankfully for all in attendance, he did not join in. In life he'd been known for many things, and an excellent singing voice wasn't one of them.

T'vani only got a moment or two to rest after her obstacle run before the hologram clapped his hands, the area changing again to mimic a rocky outcropping in shades of artificial gray. "Part two, a Trial of Body." Holo-Hans vanished and reappeared directly in front of her. It loaded a specific trial sub-routine set to Initiate difficult.

Holo-Hans placed an insubstantial hand on T'vani's shoulder, and with a somber expression, he informed her: "Tag. You're it." He leapt away to the top of a "rock" and a new timer began, displayed once again a second time for the judges. This time she'd have to tag the holographic Jedi Master, an active chase rather than simple obstacles. "Catch me if you can!"

Even though he was going easy, T'vani would be challenged to catch the wily program. Rather than pure speed or strength, he would dip around corners, beneath cover, and randomly change directions. Whether the initiate succeeded in actually catching the hologram or not, this was a test of her ability to think on her feet and her process.

That's what she was being judged for far more than actual success.

@Remileah @Sreeya @Volene

 

[T'vani]

___T'vani watched as the room before her shifted into shades of grey, adopting the appearance of rocky outcroppings and mountainous terrain. She was in her element now, having grown up in the mountains of Fiana. It helped she had experienced jagged, rocky terrain on Takodana with Agailia. She knew she was equal to this challenge, and when Holo-Hans tagged her and took off, T'vani launched into hot pursuit without a moment's hesitation.

___The aspirant navigated the terrain with aplomb, adjusting to the sudden rises and dips in elevation, using the irregular surfaces to increase and decrease her momentum accordingly. As proficient as she was, there was the occasional stagger or stumble. After all, she was used to slippery ice and ankle-high snow, messing with her perception and her body's natural inclination to compensate for those things. It was one thing to traverse snow-covered ridges and icy lips, but it was something else entirely to navigate ordinary stone.

___Despite these complications, T'vani performed as adequately as one could expect from an initiate, perhaps a little above average. Several times, the Fiani came close to tagging Hans back, only to barely miss the program as he veered in a different direction or disappeared behind a rock, only to be gone when she arrived. Eventually, after a couple of minutes, T'vani succeeded. Her foot caught a ridge at an advantageous angle. She launched herself from it, her non-dominant foot landing flat as her right arm outstretched. Her hand passed through the hologram's body, forgetting it wasn't tangible.

___T'vani lost her centre of balance as her hand passed through Hans, causing her to stumble forward. The girl ducked into a roll, popping back up to her feet.

___"Tag!"

@Mr. Teatime @Sreeya @Volene

 

[The Gatekeeper]

The initiate eventually caught up with the holographic Jedi, fingers eventually just passing through the edge of him. It turned red and vanished from sight only to reappear as normal, once again lounging in a holographic chair precariously perched atop one of the "rocks" around them. Holograms didn't need to obey physics, you see.

Yet again the room shifted around T'vani, leaving room for the judges to ponder or comment before the next trial. All but the platform Holo-Hans perched on sunk back into the floor. A portion of the ground opened and a lift brought up the first part of the next challenge. It looked suspiciously like a large pile of loose sand next to a bucket-sized children's plastic beach pail with the bottom cut off.

"A Trial of Spirit!" the hologram announced before gesturing at the sand and bucket. "Lift the bucket and fill it with sand." How the initiate figured this one out was, as in the prior trials, entirely up to T'vani. Holo-Hans was even programmed not to be entirely straightforward to force trial-takers to interpret things on their own. This was just the first and easiest.

@Remileah @Sreeya @Volene

Spoiler: Instructions

No dice roll. Manual solution.

 

[T'vani]

___The Fiani dusted her clothes off as the room around her shifted again. When she returned to the world around her, she saw the bucket and the pile of sand. T'vani listened to the trial's instructions, her ears flitting and tail swaying as she contemplated her options. It was a seemingly impossible task, filling a bucket with no bottom. The aspirant canted her head as she examined it closer.

___T'vani approached the bucket, peering closer at it. She held out her hand, using the Force to lift the pail into the air. "Lift the bucket," the girl repeated, momentarily keeping it suspended before carefully manoeuvring it to face sideways. Once positioned as if it were on its side, T'vani lowered the bucket towards the sand and scooped some up, allowing the sand to rest on the wall of the bucket instead of the bottom. It remained suspended in the air, partially filled with what sand it could contain in its condition.

___The solution was as practical as she could make it, other than performing the two actions separately. T'vani looked up towards the gathering of senior Jedi scrutinising her trial, then adjusted the bucket to be upright, allowing the sand to fall out of the bottom. She set it down on the ground, utilising the Force one last time to funnel the sand into the container with the floor functioning as its bottom. Once it was "filled" again, T'vani released her invisible hold and folded her arms behind her back.

@Mr. Teatime @Sreeya @Volene

 

[The Gatekeeper]

Hannibal's holographic replica made no comment on the initiate's solution to his test. That was for the judges to figure out. The program instead moved directly into the next challenge of this Trial of Spirit.

The hologram's finger pointed toward one side of the 'arena', where another platform raised. Upon it was what could only be described as a primitive catapult, cables wound to launch with a large stone primed. "Catch!" Holo-Hans suddenly called out in a song-song voice just as the catapult arm launched.

A speeder-sized stone careened directly toward the judges, large enough to crush them. Of course, the Initiate had no idea that the judges' area was invisibly shielded or that the stone itself was made of compacted foam. The judges were in no actual danger. The challenge was just designed to test an initiate's determination and calm under unexpected pressure.

@Remileah @Sreeya @Volene

Spoiler: Instructrions

No dice roll. Manual solution.

 

[T'vani]

___T'vani turned as Hannibal pointed, just in time to watch the catapult launch the stone towards the judges. A feeling of panic swelled in her chest. She recalled her time on Sernpidal at the hospital with Liana and then with Mako when she first arrived on Takodana. Finally, T'vani remembered the Jedi Code.

___There was no emotion; there was peace.

___Inhaling deeply, T'vani extended her arms towards the stone flying through the air. It was an ambitious action, an Initiate as small as her attempting to stop such an enormous thing in the air with as young as she was and as much training as she needed. The girl reached out with the Force to seize the boulder, although the momentum and sheer size meant she would never entirely stop it. Undeterred, T'vani maintained her concentration, strengthening her grip.

___Although the boulder didn't stop, it slowed. Its trajectory gradually shifted, losing a fair amount of speed in a short amount of time. It lost altitude surprisingly fast, T'vani's capability with the Force working against the careening rock. It hit the ground short of the judges, though it continued to tumble towards them. T'vani readjusted accordingly, her visage scrunching as she pulled back on the rock. She recalled her time with R'ashtaro, recalling how she utilised the Force to push and pull him, applying that same knowledge here.

___The rock skidded to a halt, a few feet away from the judges and where they sat. T'vani exhaled as she doubled over, placing her hands on her knees to steady her breathing and recover from using the Force in the capacity and quantity she did while still so young. Still, despite her exhaustion, she straightened her posture as her tail and ears drooped. Her arms folded behind her back again.

@Mr. Teatime @Sreeya @Volene

 

[Myrell’anay]

Myrell’anay followed closely the initiate’s subsequent trials. T’vani again impressed on the obstacle course, a flawless run that had the old healer nodding in approval. She caught Holo-Hans, and if her response to the bucket prompt was a bit literal for Myrell’s taste—and even then, did placing a bit of sand in the bucket turned sideways count as filling it?—it demonstrated a certain amount of control over the Force, which for an initiate looking to become a padawan was enough.

Lastly, the boulder trial. Myrell had to commend the young one’s quick reaction under pressure, itself a part of the trial, but little more. The initiate hadn’t known the boulder was foam. Had it been rock, like she thought it was, her bold attempt to stop its course would have been fruitless, and deep inside T’vani had to know it too. The fact that this had been her go-to solution suggested the initiate overestimated her skill. She wouldn’t be the first to do so; no sooner could younglings reliably manipulate small objects than they thought to move mountains. A harmless mistake to make here, but the same in the field could easily get her killed. Successful or no, a creative solution here would have been more encouraging to Myrell than this attempt at blunt force.

@Mr. Teatime @Remileah @Sreeya