Chapter 1: Past Present and Future

The purple Twi'lek stood amidst her peers, finding herself at Zafe's side, as almost always. Her arms are weakly crossed, and she doesn't quite look at their Master, her uninterested eyes darting between the creepers in the cave. It's not as if she wasn't paying any attention: She always was. Rather, she had grown cold to Master Selak... Not looking at him was a small sign of rebellion. Yes, a sign that may not matter - Contrary to her best friend, the old Nautolan was cold as ice. Yet, had she done nothing at all, wouldn't that mean that she had accepted her Master's decision? Concerning Taryn?

She can't help but glance at her sweetheart. She was not allowed to share space alone with him anymore. Absurd! Unconsciously, Avi pouts, and that's when her Master's words hit her.

Her first experience Force? Of course, she remembers it! That's when she realized how useful the Force could actually be. At least, the potential it had. At the time, she even thought to be special.

Her mother was such an incredible woman. Young, too. Too young. She remembers how poor she was, back in Ryloth. Her father, he wasn't around. Mother said he wasn't one of them, whatever that may have meant. And that's too bad because a poor free woman in Ryloth might as well be a slave.

She worked for single numbers in credits per hour, and never quite made enough money, but at least they scrapped by. Then, one day, Avi got sick. Her mother was desperate, and she took a loan - A mistake that would save Avi's life. Had she only not cared, maybe her mother would still be around.

She remembers the day. It was night, and her mother hadn't paid the monthly loan for the third time. They were eating soup when it happened. A bunch of Twi'lek, all men, suddenly entered the house, grabbed her mother and took her away. Avi tried to stop them and was almost beaten to death. Then... She was eating soup again, with her mother.

Avi remembers being confused. Crying, telling her mom that they had to go away. Her mother didn't understand. Of course, she didn't - This isn't a fairy tale with a happy ending. The men eventually came. They took her mother. They almost beat little Avi to death.

Why didn't her mother listen to her? Why couldn't Avi do anything? Why those memories, from a past long gone, hurt her so much?

She just now realizes her first is curled, a few tears sliding down her frowned face. Tutting to herself in annoyance, she cleans her tears. "Yep. Could never forget it." Says Avi, her eyes finally focusing on Master Selak.

The devaronian blinks.

He could still see his home planet on the back of his eyelids. Or at least he thought he could... It was very much like this one, he knew. But sometimes he wondered if he actually remembered anything from Devaron, or if its reality had simply been supplanted by the sights, sounds, and smells of here.

Anyway, Force sensitives were not uncommon among devaronians. Indeed, it was on a regular screening of the children of his village that he was discovered. That was the first time someone asked him if he'd ever felt such a mystical call... he thought they even used those very same words.

Just as it was then, the words didn't resonate with Zepharo much at all now. He'd never felt a presence, never had the metaphorical call to nor from the Force.

Instead he thought of his next hunt. He could feel himself moving across the ground with alacrity, passing along the game trails, reading their sign, moving in unison with his prey. His heart quickened, and he found himself going into the meditative breathing exercise.

And as his eyelids rise up, he looks on Master Selak and nods vacantly.

Zafe musters up enough willpower not to grin at the prospect. Padawan, it sounded very special, like she was maturing from the title alone. She tries to sneak peaks at the others, to gauge their reaction, but doesn't risk looking too obvious, it would be foolish to embarrass herself during this commemoration. "Yes." She says briefly.

First time... That takes Zafe back, when things were normal and carefree. It wasn't something she liked to brag about, Zafe had a suspicion some of her fellow padawans would resent her if she drew attention to her relatively normal life. She was only a child, playing with her friends. It was tag, or maybe a race? It didn't matter really, until the game changed to pretend fighting, with rather large sticks. She wasn't one to back away from some rough and tumble fun, her fearlessness was not misplaced, she was a natural: others might have upwards of 10 welts while she would only sport two.

She and her friends got an excellent idea, brilliant even: challenge the other kids in a "duel", winner gets credits. Needless to say the operation went well, too well some of the kids thought. Naturally responsible adults were involved thanks to the upset snitches. Fearing a scorning Zafe chose not to return home until much later, and when she did there was strange man talking with her parents. Somehow he knew she was there, telling her to come forward.

He challenged her to a duel, Zafe was a terrified, but she figured it was this or a stern grounding. Giving her a proper dueling sword they fought for what felt like hours, but couldn't have been longer then a few minutes. Zafe knew he was going easy on her, she was inexperienced and predictable, blocking her every strike with ease. Throughout the duel she could hear him speak under his breath: "Interesting." "Good." and so forth.

Of course she remembers what came next quite fondly: the excitement from her parents as the man believed she was gifted with the force, leaving her home world, and being stuck in the caves for the last 12 years.

Chest filled with pride, crossed arms, standing as tall as he could... Piodas has been waiting for this since a long time. He really wanted to look at the mirror and say that he is looking to a full fledged Jedi, and he wanted others to perceive that and be encouraged, strengthened and protected when feeling that a Jedi was with them... it was what the way the Order was perceived prior to what happened 12 years ago.

Piodas quickly did a recap in his mind... it was curious for him to be honest because he didn't remember a moment when he actually felt the Force when he was younger with his family... he always heard his dad brag about how the young Piodas "pushed" a group of bullies when they got him angry, but he didn't recall that. When the Jedi caregiver came due to his potential to become a Jedi, his parents where actually overjoyed that his son could become a Jedi, and his father actually felt that he knew such feat was worthy of legend... or so he said across the small settlement they lived.

Time passed, his caregivers gave him to Master Selak, and he took all the younglings to their current place of residence. He did his best to learn as much as he could and at first; he tried to become the Jedi his father bragged about... but as time passed by, he learned that he had to be the Jedi for selfless reasons and on behalf of others than just his family... and thus, he tried to backtrack in his learning.

It wasn't until the time when he took his first training saber, when he ignited that artificial blade that he felt for the first time the warm and relaxing touch... when he could understand the calmness... the connection towards his surroundings... with his target... the first time they were expected to spar and feel how a training saber would feel, what would do to someone who came in contact with the blade and understand not just how to wield it, but to go deeper in it's connection... it was then when Master Selak instructed Piodas in how his connection to the Force was at the moment linked to his feelings in battle, in a conflict against someone else... and how he had to learn to expand that to something more since battle was not the Jedi way... at least not always.

The young man has come a long way since understanding that point, and he felt now the Force in different levels, but he would be lying if he said that his connection didn't feel stronger when wielding his training saber, and he just hoped that when the time comes, a real lightsaber in his hand would make him feel even closests to the Force.

After the lessons and different tasks, including that time he went with Evelynn to the Pool, he had reshaped himself and Master Selak knew this... otherwise he wouldn't be here... for that reason, when his time came, he just nodded with strong confidence and just waited there patiently for the next instructions their Master had.

Taryn has been on edge since he woke up. Something was about to change. The last time he had felt like this was the day the Jedi came to take him away from home.
He lets his eyes wander around the meditation chamber, holding Avi's glance for a moment. His sense of foreboding lifts just from being in the same room.
And finds his thoughts drifting into the past as he listens to the Master's words...

Not all colonies are successful. Sykar was supposed to be a new beginning for a group of Alderaanians who had grown disgruntled with the increasingly corrupt Republic. Instead it had become a safe haven for pirates and other scum. The Jedi didn't protect them, they'd all gone off to fight their war, or so his mother told him. And then the war came to Sykar, and things got so much worse.
His family was gone now, lost to a Separatist bombardment, but he had already found a new one, mostly made up off other war orphans like himself. And he did his part to keep them safe and fed. He had an uncanny knack for picking easy marks, and today was no exception. The doohickey he pick pocketed should keep them fed for at least a week. He wasn't worried about the enraged Trandoshan pursuing him. He wondered how something with legs that long could be that slow.
And that's when he got overconfident and ran straight into the blind alley.

With seconds to act, he hid under the burnt out carcass of a battle droid.
'Please don't find me...please don't find me...please don't find me...' his soundless mantra went. And then his cover was torn away with a loud snarl. And then... nothing. As the Trandoshan looked right at him he felt a strange connection between them, that had always been there, he just hadn't noticed it before. He felt his fear vanish, replaced with a calm confidence. Looking up, he stared into his would-be eviscerator's eyes as they glazed over with confusion. The thug growled in frustration as he looked through the refuge piled up against the walls, unable to find his prey. After a few minutes he gave up and left, leaving a bewildered Taryn behind.

Turned out his haul was worth more than he had expected, the money they got lasted for almost a month.
Looking back on that period, for what little he remembers of it, it now doesn't feel like it had been such a bad time.

It was about a year after that that the Jedi finally did come to Sykar, to take him away. Another family lost, another one gained.

He turns toward Master Selak and nods slightly.

So... Padawan. At last. He wonders what will change now for them.

Zepharo chuckles mirthlessly, inwardly to himself at the oddly apropos symbolism, as kneels before the master and receives only some ritualistic motions, as he has no hair to braid. Just another way in which he doesn't see himself as being able to meet the expectations of a Padawan.

After they've all returned to their positions and the Master finishes his words, his eyes flick from side to side, trying to catch a glimpse of the reactions of his brothers and sisters. Unsure of what is to come next - the Master is speaking as if he's just going to bestow power upon them, is that possible? And as the oldest amongst his siblings ooc: I think that's true at 24(?), he resolves to try to be a leader for once.

This must be some sort of test..., he thinks.

He steps slightly forward, " Master, I am at peace with the Force, I am one with the Force. I ask of nothing of it, but I accept what it provides...", he steps back.

His nerves jangling, he closes his eyes just a moment again and goes into the slow meditative breathing, and again his mind goes to the hunt. To the chase. To the maneuvering. To the only place where he really finds peace here.

When it's her turn, I unceremonially walk to my master and offers him an overly forced smile.

I suppose, in a way, my master was right. I had felt it before, how my emotions affected my connection to the force. Made it more volatile. But I guess I always was emotional - Maybe the most emotional between all my peers. Master Selak says he can also love. Feel fear. Feel anger. He claims that this mastery is serenity. Wasn't this kind of serenity, of coldness, that caused us the need to hide away in a cave for so many years? One thing is to be able to control your own emotions. But to be able to shut them down so easily, or worse, mask them away as if they were a bruise that you can hide with your sleeves... That's scary.

Independently of Master Selak either just looking at me as I sit there because I have no hair to braid, or if he puts some weird beads over my head, I'll slowly get up and get back to the group.

I shoot Zafe a look, interested in gauging her reaction to all of this. With all of this talk about learning to do more stuff with the Force, I'm sure she's somewhat cheerful. As for myself, I don't know. Is anything really going to change after today? What does it matter if some of us can lift some rocks if we're probably going to die of old age in this cave?

The Force has always come to me. It has granted me visions, here and there. By knowing what's going to happen... I could gain control over my own life. It seems the natural option to learn to wield.

Ugh. Look at those two, humoring our Master. I sigh, trying not to be conflictive - What? We're talking about controlling emotions. "If we're picking what kind of uses we'd like to give the Force, then I would like to know what the future has in store." She says with a serious, nonchalantly expression.

Piodas understood a bit about why his Master always seemed stoic, since that is a trait he tried to adopt for a few years... and thus he has been able to control his desire to jump in based on emotion all the time... but keeping control of all the other emotions seemed something that require further training.

Still, the young man took a sit and waited his turn patiently... he heard the words Master Selak had to say about moving over to the next step towards being a real Jedi as they were meant to be.

His time came and passed... all in silence as he contemplated about how he would help others...how the Force could aid his abilities and how he could defend others properly.

Enhance his own body, leap distances... they seemed something that would aid him greatly... but for some reason they didn't resonate into a deeper level with him... but it was then when it struck him... how he felt and how he would be in a better position to help others with the assistance of the Force.

Piodas smiled briefly and looked at his Master dead in the eye "It is no surprise that I have tried to control my... let's say impulses... I am ready to allow the Force to guide me into deeper roads and through further paths... I would like to sense how it interacts with others and how it affects those around all of us"

With that said, Piodas just waited to hear what the rest had to say.

Kit stepped forward eagerly. Waiting for this day was the one thing that kept him going through years of isolation.

"Resolution without violence, with both sides full and willing participants, that is the path to peace. That is the path that I strive to follow. I ask the Force to help show me the emotions and feelings of others, that I might better help bring about this peace."

Zafe's feelings of happiness swell when it is her turn, repeatedly she tries to keep her master's words in mind. Be happy, but don't show it. Conceal, but be thankful.

Naturally she has trouble maintaining this state of mind, especially as he braids her "hair", but Zafe figures its the thought that counts, until she can practice it at least.

Looking at Avi's braid she senses confliction in her eyes, even now her defiance can't help but reveal itself. Zafe makes a note to spend some time with her afterwards.

"I hope the force can grant me the power to protect those who are in need, to go beyond what my physical body is capable of."

Taryn feels a reluctant respect for his master.
It's not just the overt display of his mastery of the Force, but the theatrics and the forethought put into it. This garden has been here for... ages, it was one of the first rooms that was made habitable, and that boulder has always been there, right in the middle, drawing attention to itself.
This entire speech, or rather performance... he must have had most of it ready for over a decade.
Now that, that is a lot more impressive than a good poker face.

Maybe he's letting his thoughts over the recent events between them influence his feelings, but the Master doesn't seem all that serene to him, just cold and hard.

He walks up, eyes downcast, and takes his place to have his hair braided, wondering if some ancient Jedi maybe came up with this tradition as a practical joke.

"I seek knowledge and wisdom, to minimise the suffering we will have to inflict on our enemies."

He's not really sure why he said that. It's not what he was going to say, the words just came to him at the last moment.