The training of Darius Amiri

[Darius]

It was the closing of the day, the great hall which everyone ate together was full of the chatter of the younger students of the order, the calm stern conversations of the knights and masters, Darius paid none of his mind to hit, tonight would be his last night as a Jedi Hopeful, he slowly and silently finished his food, only stopping to receive the congratulations and best wishes, of some of the younger students, Darius showed his gratitude to all that approached him, but he still felt that he had done nothing worthy of praise just yet, he had only done what was asked of him, nothing more. having had enough excitement for one day, Darius made his way to his dorm room for the night.



Darius woke early in the morning about a half hour before sunrise, except this time he was not going off on his own to meditate, this would be his first, meeting with his master, the man who would teach him to be closer to the force, and to allow it to flow more freely within him. Darius clothed himself, and made his way outside to the cliffs the greet the sun once more before he started his training, waving his hand the door to the outer cliffs opened, Darius was briefly blinded by the sun, but instead of putting on his protective goggles had let the sun embrace him freely. The Sunrise was a rare and beautiful thing on Danteel, something that only happened once a year, on a planet that so accustomed to darkness, Darius smiled as he remembered his bout with Sun Sickness when he had first arrived here as a boy, it was not easy for him to get accustomed to so much light, but like his people he persevered. With a deep breath he turned and walked back into the Monastery, taking the first steps to his training


Darius Followed the familiar path to the training grounds, opening the door his eyes fall on the back of his master, Darius had made a point to be early, but it seemed his teacher was much more proactive, Darius knelt down on one knee and bowed his head, "Greetings and good morning master."

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Talon stood upon the open grass of the training field. His long brown robes flowing in the breeze around him, his lightsaber fastened upon his back in its usual place. The sun reflected off of his recently sharpened and polished horns. His eyes were closed, seeking within his surroundings and the many students and teachers around him. So much was going on within this tiny space within the galaxy. For a moment, he was almost immersed within it; his padawan luckily had drawn him out of it.

"Good morning master", said the pupil.

Master. Talon had not ever heard these words spoken to him. It made him feel strange, as if a part of him had died. It wasn't so much a sorrowful passing, rather a fond memory. Recalling such, he turned to face Darius. Within him, Talon felt the urge to become great, and the willpower to persevere.

"Hello Darius, welcome to the training grounds. These grounds have seen the training of countless Jedi, some destined to join the force soon after, others destined to live on and bring our traditions to you. Each student that has ever set foot upon these grounds has proved themselves ready to learn the ways of the Order, and you are no different. Therefore, do not take pain at the thought that we will not be training here. Instead, we will venture together deep into the forest. There the force will truly be alive around you, and there you will truly understand it, as I did with my master. Come Darius, knowledge awaits.", said Talon.

He turned once more, and began walking casually across the field.

 

[Darius]

Darius listened as Master Talon talked of the great history and tradition that seethed in the very ground they stood on, it was true Darius could feel the history of the place all around him, That fact made part of him question the fact that he would not train here, but the rest of him was excited to venture into the forest. Silent and obedient Darius followed his master across the field and under the canopy.


The forest was very dense, at times it seemed as the sun had all but disappeared, columns of brilliant light where scattered around them as they continued. Soon Darius' eye sight began to come in handy, navigating closely behind his new teacher he continued on. Darius wondered how master talon could see, as he knew as his sight got better, his masters would dwindle, reassuring himself that he was in good hands he continued to follow his master.


The surroundings were very beautiful, they reminded him of his home world, the echos of the calls of distant creatures clung to the trees as they entered another large clearing, but this one was different, immediately his natural instinct kicked in, his heart rate speed of slightly, and Darius began to scan the area more thoroughly "Master we schould not stay on this path much longer, this is a game trail..." Darius was not aware many creatures that lived on this planet, but a game trail was never a good sign. Darius searched the deep shadows of the area, looking for any slick predator, finding nothing Darius concluded that for now at least they were safe.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

The forest began to darken as they continued deeper into it's heart. As they walked, Darius pointed out that the team was walking along a game trail. Talon was impressed by Darius knowledge of the wilderness, and noted the trail as they continued. As they walked, the forest seemed to grow densest and darkest, until finally, it opened into a decent sized clearing. In the clearing was an outcrop of boulders, a small pond, and the rest of the area was covered with knee high grass.

Light poured into the clearing, making it easy to see for Talon. "This is where we will be training Darius. Take a moment to sit down and meditate. Gather yourself, for you must come to understand the things I am about to teach you.", explained Talon.

 

[Darius]

Darius continued to follow his master until they reached the the the proper clearing. As instructed Darius pulled off his robes tossing it to his side and then knelt down in the grass,"yes master." Darius closed his eyes and immediately was bombarded with the presence of the minds in the area, there voices clouded his head, with a deep breath Darius pushed them out until silence took hold of the clearing, it was much easier than usually as the only person close was master talon.


After awhile all Darius could think of was his training, he could only do his best, but still he was nervous, still he concentrated of gathering all his energy for the test to come. Darius opened his eyes only to be slightly blinded by the shine of his masters horns, the wiped his eyes and spoke, "Master I am ready."

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Talon meditated himself while his padawan did so. He took in the environment, and Darius' feelings, so that he might better grasp the needs of his student.

"Very well then Darius, let us begin educating you in the nine tenets of the Jedi Order.", said Talon. "First, I will recite to you each tenet, and in turn, you will tell me in the most descriptive way possible what each part of the tenet means to you. Many would have you simply recite it back, I demand more. We will not move on from each tenet until I believe you have a full understanding of their meanings and applications."

After Talon finished speaking, he reached to his left side. From his belt he unclipped a polished lightsaber. Holding it up so Darius could see it, he spoke.

"And, once you have learned these tenets, and understand what it means to defend the rights of others, I'll teach you how to use this.", said Talon.

He then clipped the training lightsaber back to his belt, and finally recited the first tenet.

"Jedi are the guardians of peace, justice, and order in the galaxy. We fight for all life, no matter how intelligent or how unintelligent, no matter how big or how small, no matter how significant or insignificant on a galactic scale. We defend civilization, as well as the freedoms and liberties of all people. The Republic shares these goals and they have become a close ally of the Order, as we are of theirs. We support them to maintain peace and stability enjoyed by this main galactic body and the people throughout the galaxy. When the galaxy is split, a Jedi will side with the Republic, even if there are disagreements with the Republic’s leadership, as we defend the people of the Republic. To rebel against this tenet is to create disorder and chaos.", spoke Talon proudly.

Talon paused, and waited for Darius to absorb the tenet, and explain it.

 

[Darius]

Darius listened to his master recite the tenet, he had heard them before, they had been drilled into him since he was a child but, he didn't fully grasp their meaning until he grew older. when it was time for him to speak Darius took a deep breath and calmly began, "The first tenet, is the mission statement of the order. we protect life itself at any cost, violence will always be the last resort, we protect the people, from our enemy's and themselves, the republic has long been the front runner for order in the galaxy, the order has evolved to protect the people that the republic represents, but that does not mean we shun undiscovered or neutral worlds.much like a senator,the Jedi is chosen from the people, to act on their behalf."


After he finished, he took another breath, taking the time to scan the surroundings for any unwanted guests, "master is a limit to our loyalty to the republic, i know we have had each others trust for ages, but do we follow them blindly or schould we lean more on the force?"

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Talon waited patiently while Darius justified his understanding of the first tenet. Gladly, Darius grasped the whole of what the tenet meant, and Talon felt a small sense of pride overtake him, that his pupil was coming along so nicely. Even better than this, when Darius had finished explaining the tenet that was recited to him, he further continued with the topic by asking for clarification.

"Darius, not only are you showing understanding of the tenet, you are also recognizing that there are things you still don't quite grasp fully. This is a great thing, and do not ever let it go.", said Talon. He paused for a moment before he continued, "Under no circumstances do the Jedi blindly follow the Republic's decisions. As with all state bodies, the Republic is dominated by politics. Some of these politicians do what is right, others do what is profitable. Our responsibility as Jedi and as part of the Order is to take into account what course of action will be best for the people as a whole. When it comes to where our true loyalties lie, they lie with the Order. However, the Order's loyalty is to the people of the Republic."

"The reason the Jedi follow through with the recommendations of the Senate is because they are officials elected by the people in order to represent them, and therefore are an extension of the people's will.", finished Talon.

Talon motioned for Darius to follow as he turned and slowly walked over to the pond on the far end of the clearing. He walked slowly in silence, until they finally reached the small reservoir. He then recited the 2nd tenet:

"Emotions are unavoidable, but lessons may be learned from the feeling of these emotions. However, emotions of such strength as to cause a Jedi to act or behave in a manner different from rational thought are dangerous, and must be avoided at all costs for a Jedi to truly master the Force.", said Talon. He awaited Darius' reply.

 

[Darius]

Darius not understood the relationship between the republic and the order, they were distinct, apart, but they stood for the same thing, peace for all life in the galaxy.

Darius walked over to the pond stooping at the right of Master Talon, he listened as he recited the second tenet, this one by some could have been more confusing than the other first, but Darius understood the message being given here, "When I was four my father went off to war, on Danteel generals lead from the front, it a great honor but as you can imagine they don't last long, that he left for the transport he knelt down and looked into my eyes, and ill never forget what he said,"

Darius looked to his master with a smile, "don't let it control you, I didn't understand what that meant until after his funeral, the fighting had gotten out of control, the Jedi arrived and negotiated for peace between both worlds, naturally i was discovered and sent to trained in the ways of the force, I did not understand what my fathers words meant until about four years ago, the realization and anger of my fathers death caught up with me, it clouded my vision, it began to eat away at me from the inside out, and one night i had a dream of my father, it was the realist dream I have ever had, he had even aged as if he had never died, and once again he told me, don't let it control you Darius, that's when I realized that he knew that he was not coming back, and that it would tear at my heart." Darius knelt down and disturbed the surface of the water, his eyes caught a glimpse of a group of frightened fish that had been hiding in the muck near the edge of the pond, "I love my father, but even that can control me if left unchecked, which is the essence of the tenet, no emotion is inherently evil, it is the abuse of these emotions, that have driven some people to do horrible things, some use this natural weakness in all living things to influence the world around them, they are truly lost."


Darius stood up look back to his master, "I'm sorry perhaps i have said to much."