Learning Curve

Calmax Corint · Dec 29, 2017

Jedi Temple | Jedha City| 0800 Local Time

Fear never died.

At least, that was how it seemed to Cal. When he'd been a child, he'd imagined that adults felt no fear at all. When he'd become an adult himself, he'd still thought that the Jedi, at least, would be free from it. But they weren't.

He wasn't.

Even in that moment, standing on the temple terrace bathed in morning light, he could still feel its presence. It was quiet, subdued, but definitely there, lurking in the pit of his stomach. More fears than he'd like to count, wrapped up and bound together. But this morning, one in particular troubled him most.

The fear that it wouldn't be enough. That everything they were doing, that he was doing, would be worth nothing in the end.

Cal had spent the last two hours breaking bread with a number of his fellow Jedi; a small but diverse group, all passing through Jedha for different reasons. Many of them brought bad news from the further reaches of the galaxy, where the lunacy of the Exiles and the greed and sedition of the Cartel were tearing things apart. It was difficult to hear and even harder to know what to do about it.

Cal desperately wanted to help, wanted to be the one to drive their countermoves, but few of his Jedi brethren gave him the chance. He was young and they were old, he a scholar and an envoy, they warriors and veterans. Two had fought at Tython, one had been at Ilum. Cal would have given his right arm for the chance to learn from them and earn their respect, but most were martial-minded Jedi, already off to their next skirmish or conflict.

All had warned him that his books and plans would only go so far - ultimately it came down to winning the fight.

He wasn't sure what he made of that. Certainly defeating the enemy in combat was sometimes the only option, but he didn't relish the prospect. It seemed obvious to him that there was so much more to fixing the galaxy than crossing blades with their enemies.

A bird flew low overhead, bringing him back from his thoughts. Picking up his datapad, he carried on reading where he'd left off.

@Ferg @Manjusri

Jedi Manjusri · Dec 30, 2017

The old hermit jedi had made his away across the terrace of the great temple on Jedha.
Talk of the horrors from the far reaches of the galaxy had made it way here, striking horror in the hearts of the young jedi that had found a safe haven in this place of knowledge and worship.

Carrying 3 data pads from the library on this planet, he had walked through the terrace to find a place to read. When he made it to his favorite spot, he had seen a young man reading a data pad of his own.

He could sense the fear inside of him as well, everyone that was a jedi had it. At any moment the exiles could launch an attack on their home. Nobody felt safe, but nobody could stay idle.

"What are you reading?" He asked the younger jedi before situating himself next to him, and starting up a data pad of his own.

"My name is Manjusri, I sit around here all day and increase my knowledge of the living galaxy and the forces that drive it." Before chuckling. It sounded quite lame when he said it out loud, especially to someone so much younger than him.

Calmax Corint · Dec 31, 2017

Cal felt, more than saw, Manjusri enter the terrace. A Knight of his many years experience had a significant presence in the Force and Cal was grateful for the company.

"Light and Dark" he replied, quoting the title 'a comparative analysis of true and fallen philosophies...". It was a long volume, in which the author Gasman extolled the virtues of the Jedi Code and contrasted each of its precepts with the approaches taken by dissenters. Cal was convinced that part of the solution lay in bringing some of the so-called Exiles back into the fold, but Gasman's biased works were proving no help at all.

"Calmax Corint" he said, holding out a hand to return the older Jedi's greeting "but mostly I get 'Cal', which is fine". He'd have stood out of respect, if Manjusri hadn't already sat right next to him. The man had a look of complete calm about him. "All day?" he repeated, unsure whether the Knight was messing with him "That doesn't sound half bad - what sort of things do you read?" He glanced at the three datapads, feeling outclassed already.

"I keep being told that no amount of knowledge will give us our answers. Do you think they're right?"

@Ferg @Jedi Manjusri