Jedi training - a record of recent progress

Fiach Dubh

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Jedi Order
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“Anakin, training to be a Jedi isn't an easy challenge. And even if you succeed, it's a hard life.”
― Qui-Gon Jinn, to Anakin Skywalker


It was said that a Jedi never stops learning and even if it were not a mantra, it was an approach that Fiach would adopt regardless. And so it was that, as much as she devoted time to training Younglings and Padawans alike, she still sought the advice and guidance of fellow Knights and Jedi Masters – as well as seeking whatever knowledge she could from datacrons, holocrons and the like.

But Fiach was also a pragmatist and would tell anyone who wanted to hear (as well as those that did not, but were within earshot) that every Jedi had precisely the same number of hours each day to work with – and so you had a choice: high proficiency with a few abilities or lower expertise with more. Fiach had made the decision to focus on the latter. And one of the aspects of her development she spent most time on was with the saber.
 

Fiach Dubh

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Jedi Order
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Jedi Knight

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Corbeau
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Moving silently, Fiach left her room in the Temple. It took her a full minute to traverse the length of the building and reach the door that led out into the open-air.

Dressed in her Jedi tunic, she felt the unseasonal coolness of the night. Goose bumps crawled across her flesh, but she ignored the night's chill as he ignited her lightsaber and began to practice the Forms of Soresu.

Her muscles groaned in protest – she’d just returned from a taxing mission – as she moved carefully through a variety of sequences. Slash. Feint. Thrust. Parry. The soles of her boots landed softly on the surface of the courtyard stones, a sporadic rhythm marking the progress of every advance and retreat against her imaginary opponent.

The last vestiges of sleep and fatigue clung stubbornly to her body, spurring the tiny voice inside that urged her to abandon her training for tonight. Fiach drowned it out by silently reciting the Jedi Code: 'There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. There is no passion, there is serenity. There is no chaos, there is harmony. There is no death, there is the Force.'

As she continued , her movements began to pick up speed. The air hissed and crackled as it was split time and time again by the lilac blade that had become an extension of her will.

Now she cycled through each of the Forms and their key moves. She leapt high in the air, her lightsaber arcing above her head before chopping straight down in a blow powerful enough to cleave an enemy in two. Her feet hit the hard surface of the courtyard stones with a sharp, sudden smack as she landed. Yet Fiach moved with grace and serenity. Her lightsaber flickered with blinding speed as she performed her martial drills.
 

Fiach Dubh

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Jedi Order
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Jedi Knight

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Corbeau
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Then she sensed it, one of the reasons she was up at this hour. A dark cloud heavy with the threat of a fierce storm closed in on the Temple. Her muscles were warm now, and the blood was pumping through her veins. The minor aches and pains were forgotten, banished by the adrenaline rush of intense physical training.

Fiach crouched low and opened herself up fully to the Force, letting it flow through her. Drawing on it to extend her awareness out to encompass each individual bead of rain as it fell from the sky, she resolved not to let a single drop touch her robes.

She could sense the power of the Light side flowing through her.

As the first fat drops splattered onto the patio stones around her, Fiach exploded into action. She returned to the quicker sequences of Soresu, her lightsaber tracing tight circles above her head in a series of movements designed to intercept enemy blaster bolts.

The scattered drops quickly became a downpour. Her body and mind united as one, she allowed the infinite power of the Force to channel through her – to defeat the driving rain. Tiny clouds of hissing steam formed as her blade picked off the descending drops while the young Jedi twisted, twirled, and contorted her body to evade those that managed to slip through her defences.
 

Fiach Dubh

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For the next ten minutes she battled the pelting storm, revelling in the tranquillity that came with the power of the Light side. And then, as suddenly as it had begun, the downpour was gone, the dark cloud scurrying away on the breeze. Breathing hard, Fiach extinguished her lightsaber. Her skin was sheened in sweat, and only a few drops of rain had penetrated her defences.

One day, she vowed, it would be none.
 

Fiach Dubh

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Jedi Order
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Jedi Knight

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Corbeau
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“No! Fight! I am deflecting their salvos…with the Force!”
― Master Thon to Nomi Sunrider


Of course, the saber was more than just a sparring weapon – as Fiach was learning. It was – above all else – a symbol. Of hope to those that were downtrodden and of fear to those that sought to break the law. It was, of course, a weapon when activated – and even when not, the hilt being solid enough to do some serious damage if thrown.

But Fiach was learning a new technique – and one linked to her Soresu training. Force Deflection. Except on this occasion, she would not be using the saber itself – but the Force.

An extremely versatile defensive tactic, Force Deflection it could be used knock blaster bolts, rockets, or even slugs off-course – thus defending the Force user from harm. And with sufficient practice, it could be used to defend against Force-based attacks too.
 

Fiach Dubh

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Despite its many uses, Force Deflection was not perfect. Firstly, you needed a degree of control with the Force. This is why Fiach was only beginning to learn the ability as a Knight. Next, unlike a lightsaber, it was extremely difficult to predict the path that a deflected projectile will take (notwithstanding it was difficult enough with a saber).

While you were able to pick a general direction, there was a limit to the control you could get. Expecting to be able to send it straight back at an attacker was not a sensible belief - and Fiach was always the pragmatist, never the optimist.
 

Fiach Dubh

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A greater weakness, unlike a saber, was the fact you could only deflect one shot at a time. Incoming fire from multiple people or multiple blasters simultaneously could not be deflected with a single use of the ability. Therefore, it was a useful ability that had significant limitations.

Fiach’s training was – as ever – thorough, intense and prolonged. She started with a training probe set to the slowest setting and once she’d mastered the ability itself, she was able to up the pace of the attacks. This was not a quick process – in fact it took many weeks (and plenty of numb and sore limbs) before she was able to not only deflect a blast sent directly towards her hand, but more oblique attacks too.

Her third stage was to deal with two training droids – each in a different position and again on a slow setting.
 

Fiach Dubh

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Next, Fiach learned to deflect wearing a blindfold – using the Force to both identify the attack and to deflect it.

Finally, she worked with fellow Jedi, who sent Force-based attacks at her and she slowly learned to deflect these too. It had taken many months to reach this stage, and she was hardly a master of the application – but she was competent and added the use of the ability to her daily training regime.
 

Fiach Dubh

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“Control is internal. It is the Jedi’s ability to recognize the Force in himself and to use it to his benefit.”
― Jedi Master Bodo Baas


Fiach was wary not to add too many new abilities to her repertoire as she preferred to master the ones she knew, as opposed to being able to do many, many things well. But the ability to enhance the physical properties of her body was one she felt worth the investment in time.

It was something she’d learned early in her days at the Order – primarily to benefit her speed – but what she was learning now was less about how quickly she could move, but how she could increase her physical attributes for a limited time, allowing her to jump higher, hit with more force or even see or hear better.
 

Fiach Dubh

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Fiach was always researching abilities and often noted how they overlapped so often – and could be used in so many ways. A lot, it seemed, was down to the individual, but she believed – as she always did – that proper training would prevail over any initial natural flair for using the Force in a given way.

So, even her use of this ability was limited to the aspects she saw as most useful. Firstly, she learned how to channel the Force through her body to effectively boost her muscles in order to make them stronger – and with continued practice she was able to gain more and more strength this way. Of course, even being a Jedi Knight, she found the amount of gain was equal to the drain on her ability to use the Force.
 

Fiach Dubh

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The next use was to maximise her durability – particularly from physical impacts. This was particularly useful when falling onto a hard surface. Yes, she could use Telekinesis to an extent and even put up a Force Shield, but she found that converting the physical impact directly into the Force, was a far better solution.

And she learned that this was not an ability to overuse, due to its strain on her Force access. It could easily leave you weak and unable to connect of overused and was therefore only to be utilised in a short, sharp burst. Sparingly, it seemed, was the key here.
 

Fiach Dubh

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Corbeau
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“Through the Force I can make my simple staff more powerful than any lightsaber.”
― Vodo-Siosk Baas


Although trained to understand that the Jedi was the weapon – and not the saber – Fiach had learned to use many standard arms, even a blaster! She was also adept at using improvised weapons due to her martial arts training. So, the opportunity to learn to imbue a simple weapon with the Force for a period of time was not one she was going to pass up. Simply put, by channelling energy into the weapon – be it a simple sword or even a club – it allowed her to strike and do more damage than the weapon’s simple appearance would suggest. With practice, she knew she could learn to use the Force-imbued weapon to even block a lightsaber.
 

Fiach Dubh

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Corbeau
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Fiach found it a relatively simple yet versatile technique. She was used to channelling the energies of the Force, just now it was into the weapon. It took a short while to effectively equip the weapon with the properties – but maintaining the channelling was relatively straightforward.

Another, more interesting way, to use the ability was to channel other Force powers into her lightsaber itself. The records showed many ways this was done, but Fiach focused initially on abilities she used often and knew well. Firstly, she learned to channel telekinesis through the blade of the lightsaber. This was effective when she was able to land a blow and so the target would receive two attacks at the same time.

Due to the fact you had to use two different Force powers at once, it required much more concentration and was also a greater drain on energy.
 

Fiach Dubh

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Jedi Order
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Corbeau
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Fiach also found a third use for the ability – to use it to deflect Force powers from other Force sensitives. This was most useful in defending yourself against Sith Lightning. With practice she read it could be used to deflect the lightning into another individual – including the person issuing the lightning.

Given the nature of the defence, it was difficult to practice with other Jedi, so improvised with electrical energy weapons and knew that the real test of her proficiency would come in the field.
 
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