Circle of the Light Hand

[Tiland Kortun]

The hand of a Jedi must be held lightly, quick to open in an offer of aid, slow to close into a fist, and quicker still to offer reconciliation.

Luminous beings we are, not this crude matter.

In the struggle between water and stone, in time, the water wins.

Since the ancient days of the Old Republic, the Jedi have organized themselves in smaller groups referred to as 'circles.' These smaller groups specialized in a certain area of the Jedi way of life. Upon discovering these three fragmentary quotes in his journeys, Jedi Master Tiland Kortun founded a new circle, one based on the philosophy espoused in the three lines. Calling it the Circle of the Light Hand, Tiland spread workd among the Jedi community for any who sought a path that differed from that of the modern, mainstream Jedi, but instead drew from the Jedi of the ancient past.

What is the Circle of the Light Hand?
A group of nomadic Jedi who belong to no council, no order, and serve no government, the Circle travels far and wide through the galaxy, as directed by the Force. Even by Jedi standards, they are minimalists, working without support from the broader order, without issued equipment, and most often, without carrying lightsabers, as they make one too easily recognizable as a Jedi. They act in subtle, often invisible ways, before disappearing once again into the vastness of the galaxy, leaving nothing but a story of a helpful traveler in their wake. As such, they follow the Path of the Light Hand, a set of rules and principles set down by Tiland Kortun to encapsulate their philosophy.

The Path of the Light Hand​

1. All living beings are the Force, embodied. Respect them, for we are all the same.
2. To slay another causes disharmony in the Force and it is harmony within the Force that is the ultimate purpose in life.
3. Only the Force can be relied upon and we must be prepared to act with nothing but the Force and our selves.
4. The hand is the way that the Force allows us to aid others, so it must be held lightly, ready to either aid another, or defend others against oppression, and to return to being the aiding hand as soon as the threat lifts.
5. We can neither change nor control anything but ourselves and even this itself is a life-long process, but it must be striven for regardless.
6. Mastery over the self is the first step in the process of achieving harmony with the Force

What do they focus on?

Operating primarily in the backwater, forgotten worlds of the Outer Rim, they rarely journey into the Core and Midrim, areas that are already decently governed and guarded by governments. Instead, the Circle focuses on the citizens and settlers of the far-flung regions of the galaxy. In many ways, they are the monastic counterparts to the Judges of the Outer Planet Alliance. Dedicated to contemplation, meditation, and reflection, the members of the Circle are known for being primarily quiet, gentle individuals that nobody would ever imagine bringing down a slave ring with nothing but their bare hands.



Indeed, the Circle views life as a process of growing self-mastery and understanding of the Force, derived from Tiland's experience as an Anzati Jedi striving to overcome the darkness within his own DNA code. Abandoning the physical nature of life in favor of the spiritual is not an easy process, but one necessary to finding harmony with the Force. With that in mind, they focus their Force training on the Control and Sense aspect of the Force, especially the abilities that exercised control over the Jedi's own body, and those that redirected the Force to strengthen. Rarely will they instruct in lightsaber forms, preferring to rely on simpler, less noticeable tools. As far as traditional understanding of the Jedi go, followers of the Way most often tend to be closely associated with Jedi Consulars. Mystics, sages, seers, and others who embrace the spiritual and esoteric side of the Force, they develop both themselves and their capabilities in the Force in ways that are unique to themselves, implementing herbs, teas, calligraphic art forms, and other modes of self-expression into their meditation, along with the martial arts.



Common Force Skills

Foundations- Tutaminis, Curata Salvo, Altus Sopor

Moving Meditation & Alchakas

Art of Movement

Breath Control

Force Body

Force Healing

Force Weapon

Tapas



Faction Intent

What it means to be a Jedi is very broad and essentially comes down to using the Light Side of the Force to do good in the galaxy. Portrayal in published media has ranged from monastic hermits to crusading armies and it can be difficult on Chaos to help bridge the gap between the various philosophies. This is an opportunity to work with a different idea of Jedi that's developed over time, inspired by Vodo Siosk-Baas from Tales of the Jedi, Jedi Master Fay during the Clone Wars, and ronin samurai stories from Kurosawa movies. This style of Jedi focuses more on the mystic and monastic we get hints at in the movies but never takes much of a focus. The Jedi who have visions of the future while practicing unarmed martial arts as meditation, to briefly summarize Tiland, for example. My aim is to create a hub for wandering Jedi, Matukai, Guardians of the Whills, and other sects that don't rely on lightsabers or other innately lethal weapons. Staves, scarves, fists, batons. While lightsabers are capable of being used in a non-lethal manner, this philosophy emphasizes not even having lethality as an option.



Basically, magic monks. Humble pilgrims and travelers who wander the galaxy in search of enlightenment and sharing the wisdom they glean with others. Maybe it's a chat over a cup of tea or through creating beautiful calligraphic artwork, wood carving, as well as the various martial art styles serving as their own form of meditation.



​

[/CENTER]

Spoiler: Codex/Factory

Items:
Pendant

Places:
Qi-Ko

Codices
Circle of the Light Hand
Way of the Light Hand

Other Groups:
Tree-Dreamers of Qi-Ko

Spoiler: Internal/External & Hard/Soft

So, yeah, I know there's a lot of distinction between these in the martial arts world, with more than a fair bit of disagreement on if they're real, or what they mean. However, with this being a Jedi/Force sensitive-centric organization, I think it could likely work here. Not in the same way, per se, but in their emphasis.

As the Way of the Light Hand focuses on self-mastery and combining the strengths of many forms, I'm going to try and split it up into different portions and philosophies of each style, based on what tiny fragments of info might exist on them.

First, is the distinction between hard/soft and internal/external. I think we could probably plot them on a XY axis based chart, if we wanted to visualize it.

Internal-----External: For this one, I'm thinking it would be a lot on the philosophical focus of the style that it was designed around. Mandalorian fighting style, for example, would be external, as it is a very practical style evolved specifically for fighting. The Echani Art, on the other hand, could be seen as being more internal- as its emphasis is on developing mastery over the practitioner's body. Zama-shiwo also appears to be a form of inward style. So perhaps then, internal and external styles are based on the purpose/emphasis for the style is.

Hard----Soft: This one, I'm thinking about its philosophy of movement. Whether it emphasizes direct or indirect applications of force. Shockboxing, for example, would be incredibly high on the Hard side of the spectrum. Tae-Jitsu more soft, I think. Teras Kasi probably somewhere very close to the center, based on its description and its IRL inspiration from pencak silat. Bakuuni Hand, probably also hard style, but its use of the Force enhance one's own strength would make it more Internal.

So, that's my sort of very rough sketch of how we can use these. Thoughts, critiques, suggestions?

Spoiler: Other Sects/Traditions

So, when I talk about Jedi and Tiland, I take a fairly broad interpretation of what that means. Essentially, it's to use the Light side of the Force for the betterment of the galaxy. That leaves a lot of leeway for including other traditions into the Circle. I'm not even convinced everyone has to be Force-sensitive to follow the Way of the Light Hand, if that makes sense.

So, I've begun compiling a list of other Force sects that are relevant and could function well enough within the Way. If you have others, either legends/nucanon or Chaos-canon, let me know, and leave a link, so we can all learn from and embrace each other's traditions.

Spoiler: Other Sects/Traditions

Force-sects

Matukai

Wardens of the Sky

Guardians of the Whills

Salai Kasi

Baran-Do Sages

Cerean Ner Yan

Tyia Adepts

Dagoyan Order

Zeison Sha

Guardians of Breath​