An Amicable Visit

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


"Let's put it this way: When I fought Kaine at Wayland, we beat each other to the brink of death and caused a flaming tornado that consumes a good portion of the forest," Siobhan said honestly. She was a blunt woman by nature and a direct approach seemed warranted here.


She did not want to scare Alize, but convey the seriousness of the situation to her. "He's a vicious beast and his minions are cut off the same cloth. You will be ready one day, and you'll know when that moment is. Don't think of what's far ahead in the future, think of what you can do now."


Siobhan gently took Alize's hand into hers. "It's human to be afraid. Fear's what keeps you alive, it's what gives you the ability to run faster, to strike harder. What you mustn't do is let it control you and dictate who you are. If you can face your fears, you can face anything. I can help you. You're not alone anymore. Do you trust me?"

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

The Countess' words shook Alize greatly. She knew that Kaine was a monster, but she never quite knew to what extent. She thought the stories she had heard about him were just that - stories. The Countess was right, she thought. It was better to wait.

Alize listened quietly as the other woman spoke. "Think of what you can do now," she had said. Now. Consumed by the guilt of her past, she had never given any thought to now, the present, where things were not yet set in stone, and susceptible to change.

A sense of comfort washed over Alize when the Countess took her hand into her own. Although this was only her second meeting with the woman, she could feel herself warming up to her quite a bit, as she began to feel a sense of affection for the Countess. As her heart did not race, and she did not feel that strange sensation, she knew it was not romantic love but something different. Though she had never experienced it, the Countess' treatment of her seemed similar to how one may treat family - or at least that was how it was portrayed in the books she had read growing up.

"I trust you," Alize replied with as much confidence as she was able to muster. "Thank you."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


"Ok. I shall guide you then. We'll start small," Siobhan patted Alize's hand and then moved away. With a casual gesture, she lifted a small pebble. Her physical hand did not move an inch or touch the small rock, it was lifted by invisible fingers and levitated towards them, before it was placed on the floor before Alize.


"This is just a pebble, but everyone starts small. Take as much time as you need. Remember how you want to be strong. How you no longer want fear or the demons of the past to haunt you. How you want to be able to look your victims in the eye," she began.


"The Force is infinite, your ability to use it is not. But it is inside you. A bright spark you can tap into, if you want it enough. Relax, focus only on your breathing and my voice. Look upon the stone, and close your eyes. Imagine the stone slowly lifting into the air. Hold on to that image, and will it to become reality."

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

Still very much unaccustomed to the Force, a surprised expression appeared on Alize's face when she saw a small pebble rise levitate, and place itself before her.

Quietly, she listened to the Countess' words, and did her best to follow the instructions she had been given.

Alize furrowed her brows as she thought her about her want to change, and be strong, no longer helpless, a desire that burnt fervently within her. She wanted, no, needed to be brave enough to look her victims in the eyes and apologise.

In. Out. In. Out. She breathed neither too quickly, nor too slowly, gazed upon the stone, and closed her eyes. With her mind mostly clear, Alize imagined the stone lifting, and focused on the image.

Feebly, the stone shook, and rose almost a centimetre before it fell back onto the floor with a soft clack.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


Siobhan watched the young woman's first tentative attempt at basic telekinesis. The scene took her back to her first day of training with Adril Tythorin. Everyone faced similar difficulties when they took their 'first step into a larger world' and sought to harness the power of the ethereal realm.


Thusly, her tone was soft and encouraging instead of scornful when the pebble suddenly fell back onto the floor with a soft clack. "That was a good start. Don't be embarrassed. Everyone has these problems. It's like using a sense you never thought you had for the first time. This will become easier as time passes. You'll be able to do this without conscious effort. Try again. Keep the image of the stone rising close to your mind, but don't force it. Take things slowly. Try to pull it up and keep it in the air."

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

Alize closed her eyes, and tried again. Determined to lift the pebble more than a centimetre, she cleared her mind completely, and thought only of the pebble rising. A strange sensation filled her, almost as if there was some kind of connection between herself and the stone. Something inside her told her to harness that sensation, and concentrate on it as she imagined the pebble rise. For a reason she did not yet understand, this made the task a bit easier.

At first, the stone trembled, but then, it began to rise almost ten centimetres slowly, and hovered in the air clumsily in front of her, a much more successful attempt than her last. Although her eyes were closed the young woman could sense that this attempt had been more successful than her prior one.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


"That's it. You're moving in the right direction. You've lit the spark inside you." A single spark could light a fire stack. The Countess could perceive the shift inside Alize. It was not a seismic one, but noticeable. A connection had been forged, as Alize harnessed her inner flame. The Eldorai would've called it Sciia. To a large degree, Siobhan had adopted their views of the Force, though her understanding of it was devoid of mystical elements.


"Now we shall take this a step further. Give the stone a spin and try to move it through the air, as if your own hand was pushing it. Take it slow at first, but do not relent." This was basic telekinesis, but it was a basis for many Force skills, especially since it helped teach focus.

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

With her eyes closed, Alize let the strange sensation engulf her, and pictured an invisible hand pick up the stone, and lift it into the air. She could sense it hover in the air in front of her. Next, she visualised the hand spinning the stone, slowly at first, but quicker with each rotation until she could see the rock spin around rapidly.

Slowly, the pebble rose, less clumsily than before, and hovered then started to spin. The rotations were slow, and awkward, almost as if the invisible hand of the Force that lifted it up was trembling. Though the Epicanthix-hybrid was able to picture the scene clearly in her mind, it did not translate well to reality. Link an untrained muscle, her connection to the Force was weak, and every attempt tired her a little in a way she was unaccustomed to, but she did her best to keep the pebble in the air, and in motion.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


Siobhan watched her student's efforts for a good while. She refrained from opening her mouth and making comments. This was a time for Alize to explore the Force and test herself a bit. Using the Force for the first time was like trying to make use of an untrained muscle or a sense that had atrophied.


She could feel that Alize was getting more tired with each passing moment. The Force was infinite, but one's ability to use it was not. Her reserves would grow as time passed and she became more accustomed to drawing upon her Sciia. After some more time had passed, Siobhan decided to step in.


"Ok. I believe it's time for a break. Gently guide the rock back to the ground," she ordered. "Once you've had time to catch your breath, I'll show you how to use your present skills to protect yourself." In an extremely basic way, but nonetheless. She manifested an invisible hand and lifted a bottle of water, which she would levitate to Alize once the pebble was on the floor. It was likely that the young Lady Rosenheim could use a drink or two. "How are you feeling?"

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

Alize obeyed the Countess' instruction silently, and gently guided the stone back to the ground, concentrating hard on the act. Though harnessing the power of the Force seemed like an easy task, for Alize, it was something that required much of her concentration to achieve. At least I can be lazy once in a while now, and try, and fetch items with the Force instead, she thought as she tried to concentrate on the positives, and brushed her worries of being unable to control the power away for now. The more she dwelled on the subject, the more likely it was to happen, she told herself.

"Thank you," Alize said gratefully, accepting the bottle of water, and took a long drink from it. It felt so odd for something that required no physical activity to tire her out like this. "I'm fine. I think I'm ready to continue."

Her own helplessness was something Alize had been painfully aware of. Ever since she could remember, she had been dependent on others for her own safety, to tell her how to act, and even to perform some simple tasks such as dressing herself, and styling her hair. This was something she was desperate to change.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


Using the Force to fetch everyday items was something that made orthodox Jedi look aghast. However, Siobhan did so frequently. It was her credo to hone her skills wherever possible. Or perhaps she was just lazy!


"The most important thing is to believe in yourself. Never tell yourself 'I can't do this, it's impossible'. That's not a license to get cocky, but moment you overthink things and let doubt seep into your mind, you make mistakes," she waited for Alize to drink some water.


"The Force can be used to shield yourself. At higher levels, you can summon an invisible force field that protects you from harm and absorbs kinetic and energy attacks. That won't be possible for you yet. However, we can start small with a logical continuation of what you just did. I will throw this rock at you, and I want you to push it back. Follow the rock, and imagine an invisible hand that catches it, as if it were being stopped in mid-air, and pushes it back." In other words, a bit like Baseball. The small rock would obviously not fly that fast since Siobhan did not want to risk serious injury.

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

Believing in herself, and not overthinking were two of Alize's greatest weaknesses, weaknesses that she must now overcome in order to change, and become the person she wished to be. Self-doubt, and worry began to fill her mind, but her determination halted it, and emptied her mind. If she couldn't think of something productive, she'd rather not think at all.

The idea of being able to conjure up an invisible force field of some sort was something she was eager to learn. As someone who was not familiar with combat, it seemed like the perfect way to deal with it for her. Eager to be able to learn this ability, Alize knew there was little time for rest. For now, it was her greatest desire to learn what she needed as soon as possible so that she could return to Panatha as soon as possible. She owed her victims a great debt, and had much to make amends for.

"I'm ready," she said, her eyes filled with resolve.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


"Alright," Siobhan spoke after Alize informed her she was ready. She could feel the young woman's doubt, but also her resolve. To learn the ways of the Force, you had to unlearn what you'd learned previously. You could no longer doubt yourself or believe that something was impossible because the challenge seemed like surmounting a mountain.


Thusly, the Force Mistress stretched out with her mind and lifted the small rock into the air. There were no fancy gestures involved, for she had no need of those unless she was trying to do something that required a lot of concentration. Then she sent the pebble flying towards Alize. Ideally, the girl would catch the small projectile with her mind and it would be sent hurtling back towards its thrower.

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

Alize stared at the stone that was making its way towards her. Concentrate, she told herself as she furrowed her brows to focus on the incoming object. Once again, the young woman drew upon that strange sensation that she had suspected was somehow associated with her ability to wield the Force to stop the stone.

Although she had been successful in her attempt to stop the pebble in mid-air, the stone was a little closer to her than she would have liked. Still deep in concentration, Alize sent the stone back at a pace so slow, even a turtle would have laughed, however, her goal was not speed, but control. She wanted to maintain a constant pace as she returned the stone to the Countess. It was difficult, and something that took a lot of effort on her part, but her efforts were successful for the most part, filling her with pride.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


Slowly, but surely, the rock was pushed towards the Countess. It moved at the speed of a turtle, but that was not the point of the exercise. No, as Alize had correctly deduced, what mattered here was control. That required focus, concentration and patience. These exercises were far from exciting. Indeed, they were tedious, but they were the basis for everything else. One could not build a house without having a solid foundation first.


As the rock moved towards Siobhan, she stepped it in midair and then willed it to flow into the open palm of her hand. "Good work, dear. I'm proud of you," she spoke encouragingly, flashing Alize a fond smile.


"It's not as flashy as holovids like Jedi Justice 4 make it out to be, but big things grow from little things. Before we move on to more complex defensive skills, I want you to practice levitation a bit more. Furthermore, you'll practice control by using the rock against a target," at that she pointed at a training dummy in the room.


This one wanted to have Sio attach a picture of someone she didn't like to the target, but, alas, she was too respectable and mature to do that sort of thing now. Sometimes character development can be annoying. "Take your time. There's no rush, but I want you to intensify the speed and force with every attempt." This might be a good moment for a training montage?

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

Proud of her efforts, Alize smiled when the Countess praised her. Unaccustomed to this type of praise - praise she had earned herself rather than the shallow praise often exchanged at social events - her cheeks flushed red, and an indescribable warm feeling filled her. It was a foreign, but nice sensation.

"T-thank you," the Epicanthix-hybrid stammered, flustered.

Once again, she listened quietly as the Countess spoke, explaining her next task. This time, she had to telekinetically peg the stone at the training dummy, with each attempt more intense than the last.

Slowly, Alize had begun to accustom herself to levitating the stone with each attempt easier than the last, however, hurling the stone forcefully, and quickly was a different matter. Deep in concentration, she watched as the stone rose from the Countess' open palm, and quickly, but clumsily approach the dummy, hitting it in the upper right side of the torso.

For the price of speed, she sacrificed accuracy as her aim had been for the centre of the torso. Again, she attempted to peg the stone at the dummy, and as her speed, and the force of each attempt increased, her accuracy fell, hitting the dummy in less than half of her attempts.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


Siobhan observed the girl's efforts for a while. "You must find balance between speed, force and accuracy. If you shoot the rock so fast that you miss the target, you need to slow. Focus on one throw at a time," she spoke firmly.


"Don't think this is just a training dummy. Imagine your life depends on making one good throw and taking the target out," she said firmly. "You have one throw, you must hit it and hit it hard. Control your breathing, feel the Force and let it guide your hand. It wants to steer you, you only need to command it."


To demonstrate, she took control over the rock and propelled it through the air towards the dummy. The Countess toned down the speed from her usual level to make it easier for Alize to follow with her naked eye, but the pebble impacted upon the target's forehead with enough force to make it shake.


"Try again. Keep practicing," at that Siobhan passed the rock back to her.

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

Find a balance between force, speed, and accuracy. The Countess had made it seem so easy with her demonstration, but personal experience showed her it was more difficult than it seemed. The head was a much smaller target than the torso, and as a result, it would be a much more difficult target for Alize to aim the stone at.

With Countess Kerrigan's instructions in mind, she closed her eyes to focus wholly on her breathing. In. Out. In. Out. Once her breathing was stable, and she felt she had control over it, Alize stared intently on the rock, made it rise, and hurl itself towards the dummy's head. Although the impact barely made the dummy tremble, it had hit its target on the head. Proud of her attempt, Alize tried again with more force. Unfortunately, much to her embarrassment, she had missed her target completely.

Force, speed, accuracy. A combination of either of the two was doable, but when a third is added, it seemed impossible. Once again, she had commanded the stone towards her, and flung it at the dummy's head, focusing on accuracy, and speed until she got the hang of it, and gradually added more force little by little into her attempts. After many attempts, she was finally able to make the dummy shake with her throw - not to the extent that the Countess did in her demonstration, but still a considerable amount.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Alize Rosenheim"]


Siobhan watched Alize's efforts for a while, before nodding. Alize was a novice, but she had heart and determination. Those two things were key. "Good work, dear. Compared to summoning storms of lightning, turning yourself invisible or swaying someone's mind, tossing a pebble may seem small. But anyone who neglects the basics soon gets a rude awakening. That's how non-Forcers have taken down Dark Lords and Jedi Masters."


As if to demonstrate, she took control over the rock and hurled it at the dummy. This time it flew with blinding speed, for it was accelerated to the point of matching a hypervelocity projectile fired by a mass driver weapon. Poor training dummy.


"Chest," strike, "solar plexus," strike, "kneecap," strike, "kidneys in the abdominal cavity," strike, "groin," strike. The mention of every target zone was punctuated by the body part or organ in question being struck by a superaccelerated pebble. It moved so fast that the uninitiated might've only realised it after the fact.


"These are all good places to target. See, massive blunt trauma is enough to jostle a rib, which can puncture a lung and if that happens, you're screwed. Speaking from personal experience. If an opponent wears armour, you may not be able to penetrate it, but you can hurt the squishy insides. At your level, these exercises still demand a lot of energy from you, but your reserves will grow. Constant practice and meditation are key."

 

[Alize Rosenheim]

"Thank you," Alize's face flushed red again from the praise.

It was strange to hear the Countess mention that Dark Lords had been taken down by non-Force users. Still naive, she was not aware that it had been possible for those who did not utilise the Force to take down those who did. Her limited knowledge of those who were trained in the Force had led her to believe that Sith Lords, and Masters of the power were omnipotent, however, it seemed that she was very wrong.

Tired from her practice with pegging the stone at the dummy, Alize watched as the Countess took it from her control, and hurled it at the dummy with blinding speed. Unable to follow with her eyes, the impact when the stone hit the dummy was how she had been able to tell the Countess had hurled the something at it.

Alize winced as the pebble hit each of the target areas mentioned by Countess Kerrigan, had the dummy been a body of flesh, and blood instead, this would have no doubt made for a bloody sight due to the high velocity of the pebble. Chest, solar plexus, kneecap, kidneys in the abdominal cavity, groin, she repeated mentally after the impact of each strike, trying to memorise the areas to hit, and nodded.

Unknowledgeable when it came to combat, the Epicanthix-hybrid gasped when she had been informed that blunt force trauma could lead to a punctured lung. She knew high-speed projectiles could be highly damaging to the body, but had always thought the worst blunt force trauma would leave its victim with was a very nasty bruise.

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]​