Highest Peak

[Cortana Jade]

​

A N D O B I M O U N T A I N S
A N D O P R I M E


There were many legends surrounding her...and she would neither dispute them or claim them to be factual. She'd been through much, and all were just pieces of a much larger story. They'd wonder...and she would allow that, at least. But where was she now?

Some thought her dead at this point...but truly she created such an illusion years ago. She had seen something a long time ago...and quite honestly she grew disillusioned every time she attempted to put the pieces together. It was why she fell back and into the shadows.

She confined herself to the silent Dai Bendu Village, going back to the beginning in order to find the end. But there were echoes...those which called out to her. She may have refused to enter the battlefield aimlessly, or sit on august body, but she could never refuse her calling to teach. It was true, she had trained numerous apprentices and they'd all grown to be prominent members of the Order at large.

It was her duty to pass on what she knew...so that the next generation could do such; thus would be her legacy.

She'd established a Praxeum of sorts here in the mountains, finding no other places suitable.

And so, she reached out to her students when they had all arrived. They were to meet her in the inner courtyard promptly. Instruction would begin then and there...

Her first students in years....

-------------------------

[member="Alema Valla"] | [member="Nar-Pal"] | [member="Soryn Solimar"]

 

[Kenrath]

Ando Prime

Soryn found himself on another leg of his journey to discovery. Part self discovery and part Galactic discovery. This time it took him to Ando Prime.......more specifically a mountain village. The walk was a long one but not unpleasant for Soryn. The weather was colder than he was used to but not enough to really bother him. He enjoyed the trip to the top.


______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Once he reached the village he calmly made his way through the place towards the inner courtyard. The place seemed almost abandoned which reminded Soryn of his home temple. Out of the way and cut off from most of civilization. A place to shut out everything and focus on the moment. He liked this place already.

Reaching the entrance way to the inner Courtyard he paused briefly looking down at a forty-five degree angle as he ran his hand through his hair to shake off the cold before moving through the entrance. He looked around the Courtyard for a moment before moving towards the center and the lone person there.

"I am Soryn Solimar a Padawan of the Order of Relentless Light. I hope I am not intruding."

He paused and waited his posture relaxed and his demeanor inquisitive. After all this place did remind him of home.

[member="Sochi Ru"]

 

[UserSpace101]

He followed the steps down the incline. He'd been settled for a while now, and had taken to exploring a little bit. If he'd known about such a place before all of this he surely would have sought it out. Solace.

This seemed crazy at first, and he'd never considered that one day he'd be attempting to learn the Force, but he knew all too well how things could take a unexpected turn. His hair nearly matched the snow caps in the distance, blowing in the currents that picked up as he descended into the courtyard.

There she was, waiting for them. He couldn't help but be intrigued by this woman who had found him in his sorrow and offered him peace.

Who was she? Why was she here? How'd she find him?

Questions; an inquisitive mind.

The surface of his face was bitten by the cold, enough to bare. He descended the last step, and just then heard another.

So there are others?

Pal nodded, "I'd like to think we're in just the right place." a solemn smile followed his soft, raspy voice. "I am Nar-Pal..."

[member="Sochi Ru"] | [member="Soryn Solimar"] | [member="Alema Valla"]

 

[Enara]

[SIZE=9pt]{1}[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]Location: Ando Prime[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]Objective: Reach the Mountaintop[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]Allies: N/A[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]At the base of the mountain stood a young girl, she was dressed rags that had been wrapped around her tightly. Mismatched clothe and fabric tied in lairs over itself in place of a more traditional winter outfit. She didn’t wear boots, but had a great deal of tan clothe covering them, though that did little to protect her from the deep snow along the mountain path. Unfortunately, she didn’t have the money to buy a new wardrobe before departing for Ando Prime, it had nearly exhausted her funds to buy transport to the planet itself. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]She had set out from Tatooine with only the ticket, the clothes on her back, and a small pouch containing a few credits, the broken, nonfunctional remains of her slave collar, and a vile containing the last grams of spice she owned. She had tried to find somewhere to pick up a little bit more in town, but wasn’t familiar enough with the area to find a dealer. Her minds drifted back to her pen back on Tatooine, it had always been so hot. She had complained a lot when she first arrived, only to learn that wasn’t a wise, nor an effective strategy. Since then she had taken to the planet and made it into a second home. The snows of Ando Prime were a radical divergence from the warmth of twin sunned Tatooine, a reality she was becoming increasingly aware of every time she exhaled a puff of gray against the snowy backdrop. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]“I just got here and the stupid rock is already trying to kill me,”[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] she said with a small laugh, she had learned long ago that life had a way of sending you discomfort that couldn’t be changed, when you come across something you can’t change you at least might as well smile. She tucked her hands into her armpits and started climbing up the countless steps ascending up the mountain. As she did so the wind, with a sound reminiscent of laughter, picked up considerably, blowing her lekku behind her. She grimaced and shivered, [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]“if you didn’t want me here you should have said something before I spent all my credits trying to get here. Now you’re stuck with me.”[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] It started snowing. [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]“I’m really not that bad once you get to know me,”[/SIZE][SIZE=9pt] she added- again with a small laugh. It seemed the planet wasn’t convinced. She continued up the mountain, feeling the icy ground beneath bite her feet with every step. She needed to stop and rewrap them; the fabric was being moved about and exposing some of her already blue skin. Of course, that meant stopping, and if she stopped she worried she’d turn back and head to the nice warm cantinas somewhere in the valley below. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]She continued for quite some time, shivering more intensely as she did so and wishing a little more with every step she’d invested in a speeder or something. Her shivering was making it difficult to keep going and the wind showed no signs of stopping. Little did the cruel planet know that she had her own solution. She reached into her pouch and found a small vile filed with crystals, undoing the cap she produced one crystal and pulled it into the light, examining the little blue shard under the light. Inside, it seemed to come to life, slowly pulsing with dim, green light. Her muscles tensed at the sight and her heart beat a little faster, placing in her mouth and maneuvering it to be under her tongue, she waited as it rapidly infiltrated her bloodstream. The effects were almost instant. Her pupils expanded, her heart rate slowed, and her muscles all relaxed. A feeling of warmth and a sense of calm overtook her and washed away her anxiety, allowing her to continue trudging up the mountain in a stunned state of bliss. The cold no longer bothering her. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=9pt]She had regained some of her faculties by the time she reached the zenith, and entered the courtyard quietly. She beheld two others, young man a little older than herself and then an older gentleman. She had been called specifically through what she understood to be the Force by this woman who offered to teach her. But in her state, she wondered if perhaps she had mistaken the vision that had visited her for this man, after all, what else would someone so old be doing here. She approached both and offered them an inviting smile- one well practiced at the cantina on Tatooine. [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]“It is good to meet you both.” [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]Her voice was soft and sweet, and though the majority of her mind was a thousand miles away, there was still the fading ring of sincerity in her words. [/SIZE][SIZE=9pt]“My name is Alema.”[/SIZE]

 

[Cortana Jade]

She looked on, they exchanged pleasantries, and her hands rose from her sides and remained there.

"Welcome..." an accent arose from her throat and allowed her to speak to them all at once. Her exotic accent had stuck with her since she was but a youngling; it got more clearer over time. She motioned for them to come and stand before her.

Before she followed up with anything else she allowed her gaze to sweep the group, she'd remember them well and reinforce her idea of training them to be who they needed to be. "I am pleased to see each of you accepted my invitation. Again, I am Sochi Ru...and I was drawn to you for a reason. Each of you...possess something worth nurturing."

Her expression was tranquil at best, some would argue she only expressed certain feelings.

"You are on Ando Prime..." she began to pace, walking over to her right before stopping and facing the snow caps in the distance. "It may not seem like anything...but know that much has happened here." Her gaze shifted towards the ground and then rose again before she turned back and paced towards the group. "Soon you will have discovered it."

A beat.

"I will be training you all...You will learn that the individual and the group are one in the same. There will be times where you feel you may not be ready for something, have faith in me...then I shall not lead you astray. I am here to hep you find your place...your purpose."

They may have had questions...and they would have time to inquire as they went on. She would proceed first...

"Lesson one...shut your eyes and list as much as you remember about your current surroundings." She'd be straight to the point...

[member="Alema Valla"] | [member="Nar-Pal"] | [member="Soryn Solimar"]

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

The Force had called out to Nylea, and so she answered. It had done so many times in the past. It pulled her out of the seemingly endless pit of the Dark side that had threatened to consume her, it had called her to stay with the one who had liberated her from the tyranny of the man who had forced her down that path and learn to become a Jedi. It had led her to Monastery and the Order of the Sacred Lotus. Wherever it took her was wherever she was supposed to be.

Today, The Force had taken her to Ando Prime.

As the echani walked through the silent village of Dai Bendu she contemplated what it had meant to be Jedi for her specifically. So much of what she had been taught by the Jedi Master who had saved her life had stuck with her, but that didn't mean she didn't often think about what is what that made her a Jedi. For the longest time she did not even dare call herself one, her feelings of guilt making it too difficult for her to call herself a servant of the Light. That guilt was still there, a driving force behind her wish to do what she believed were the things they were meant to do.

To protect.

To mend that which is broken.

To bring light to the darkest of places.

Is that why I am here? To strengthen my connection with the Light even further? An answer she was not given, nor did she expect one to be. It was not the way of the Force. And so, Nylea continued her trek to wherever she was compelled to go. It was past the village, into the mountains. A presence in the Force came nearer and nearer as she approached a praxeum. Words filled her mind, but they were not her own. The courtyard was her destination, and so she would go. It was the will of the Force, and she would not question its will today.

As the silver-haired woman approached she noticed four other souls. It seemed she was not the only one compelled to gather here today, a thought that was met by a mental nod. "My name is Nylea Apollodor, Jedi with the Order of the Sacred Lotus." Her voice was calm and peaceful and smiled warmly, her Force aura mirroring her tone. It was a far cry from her troubled and chaotic state of being from what seemed to be lifetimes ago now, back when she was forced down the path of the Dark side without choice. After she had stepped up and introduced herself, the togruta in the group started to speak and the echani listened thoughtfully. Training was what they had come here for, Sochi revealed. Perhaps the echani had been right about why she had travelled here.

When instructed Nylea closed her eyes and retreated to the recesses of her memory, bringing forth the mental image of everything she remembered of where she was standing. "There are... snow caps in the distance, all around us. The courtyard has a layer of snow, but not many footprints have been left in them. Not many people visit this place." They were the first words she spoke in response. She did not continue however, wanting to let the other three speak as well.

[member="Sochi Ru"] | [member="Alema Valla"] | [member="Nar-Pal"] | [member="Soryn Solimar"]

 

[UserSpace101]

He took his place amongst the others, standing beside them as the Togrutan women spoke.

"Know that much happened here..."

In the brief time he'd been here something had been tugging at his spirit. In the back of his he needed to roam, he wasn't even sure what he was looking for. But it seemed as though something called out to him...knowing nothing of the Force he would have never come to conclusion but due to Sochi' insight he felt he would soon enough.

He wondered just how much he wanted this. He never considered this would be his path, but part of him needed this just as much as he wanted it. When she found him he couldn't bare to be in public settings...half of his older life kept him isolated. The voices ceased when she laid hands on him. She opened his eyes to something far beyond himself.

"have faith in me...then I shall not lead you astray."

The middle aged man nodded.

He shut his eyes, "I remember stone...the walls of the monastery. The cool air...snippy. I also remember the silence...I heard and continue to hear nothing. It's empty..."

[member="Nylea Apollodor"] | [member="Sochi Ru"] | [member="Alema Valla"] | [member="Soryn Solimar"]

 

[Kenrath]

Soryn chuckled but closed his eyes non the less.

"It's warm but not as inviting as one would think. There are few people around going about their day. The paths are narrow and slightly worn. The distance between building is far but not obnoxiously far. Everyone knows your name but never feels the need to use it."

He paused for a moment.

"The breeze when it kicks up is refreshing and gentle. It makes you want to stop and let it wash over you."

He paused again before opening his eyes. To anyone there it was clear none of it actually described Ando Prime. One could possibly surmise he was talking about somewhere else that held meaning to him.

[member="Sochi Ru"] @Nar-Pal @Alema Valla [member="Nylea Apollodor"]

 

[Enara]

{2}​

Location: Ando Prime​

Objective: Prove Self​

“A Jedi?” The Twi’lek’s words were as cautious as they were confused, she had failed to notice the woman until she spoke and when finally she did introduce herself she physically jumped. Normally she was a fairly alert person, but the spice had made her reflexes sluggish. It seemed that she misunderstood the nature of this meeting- one self-confessed Jedi, and another old man who almost certainly must have been trained. She was still freezing and didn’t have the energy to protest. And what would she say? She could leave the mountain but she didn’t have enough money to get off-world. It was better to just stay. Besides, there was still much she could learn even if she was a little behind the other pupils.

She turned around and searched for a moment before her amber eyes settled on the woman who had summoned them all here. She furrowed her brow at the statement- the individual and the group could not be one in the same as they were, by definition, different. She did manage to contain her sigh; it was just Jedi nonsense. She had heard that they spoke in cryptic poetry more often than not and the woman was already proving the old maxim true. But she would work with the woman, no one manipulated Jedi. No one dominated Sith. That’s why she was here. She knew that this was the route to independence, permanent self-sufficiency. The Force would set her free. Freedom was her purpose. Her lekku moved subtly in annoyance after she had closed her eyes, she didn’t remember anything around her. Fortunately, there were others present also. She listened carefully to what each of them contributed.

“Um… well there’s snow. Plenty of snow. And the mountain is uh… very lonely, not very many folks make it this far away from uh… the recesses of civilization.” She took that from Nylea’s statement, before adding, “yes… we are far from the chaotic noise of the rest of the planet. It’s quiet here,” she took from Nar-Pal. “And…” she frowned reflecting on what the last man had said, it was completely incoherent. It wasn’t warm… was it? She remembered the snow, how cold she had been climbing the mountain. She wasn’t sure what to make of what he said. “There is a breeze…” she said simply, if there was any wisdom in what he had said, she wanted to enjoy the rewards. “It’s cold.” Was her only genuine contribution. She stood there waiting for the master’s response. Hopefully her fraudulent answers would go without being uncovered.

 

[Cortana Jade]

Her only purpose was to pass on what she knew...and she'd share that knowledge willingly, it wasn't about alignment. Her days being fully incorporated in the workings of the Jedi were gone...at least for now. As susceptible she was to gaining insight into the possibilities of the future...she would never be able to accurately predict what would happen.

She had a very diverse group, probably the most of which she'd ever trained. That would only work in their benefit. Indeed the individual and the group could be one in the same. Her species lived by it...to be able to mesh and move and act as one is a valuable trait to possess.

Her eyes skimmed the group, flowing left to right in succession.

Nylea gave an answer, and she noticed the Echani didn't hesitate to participate. A simple nod, hr index finger came to curl around the length of her chin.

Hmm...

Nar-Pal, he connected his observation to his struggle to keep other voices at bay. She found that interesting, indeed the place was silent, but in some way it still called out to them.

The skinned above her eyes furrowed at the response from Soryn, he seemed to be describing another place...another place he knew well.

Alema was the only one not to speak at that point, but when she did...it was almost as if she reinforced what the others, but settled with her straightforward answer.

"Interesting..." She nodded, not once shifting her tranquil expression. "You all came for your own reasons...and when you leave here you will take very different paths, doing whatever you feel you should." her head titled as she took a beat, "But no matter what...adversities will be forever present. Especially in things involving combat of sorts..." she motioned out with her hands as she spoke, "It's important to determine which surroundings work best for you, and then build in that environment to suit your needs. Attention to the moment brings knowledge, it could mean life or death."

She looked amongst them again, it was a simple exercise that didn't require much. But she thought it important because of the principle and where she was heading next...

"On that note...you all have more or less pointed out different aspects of our current environment. Good that everyone knows it's cold...that will likely remain so. Lesson two. Everyone please remove any access articles of clothing that are helping you stay warm."

She give them the time they needed. She pointed towards the ground, signaling for them to place their clothing down.

"You've examined your environment...you know that it's cold and you wouldn't be able to survive long without a way to stay warm. Majority of your clothes have been discarded, how do you respond?" She posed a question, she wasn't looking for an answer; it was just a scenario. "There's a very basic application of the Force that allows the user to remain warm in such a environment. The best way I've seen students learn is by being thrown into it. In a little while your bodies will respond to the cold air...the best way to accomplish this feat is to slow your breathing to calm yourself. If you don't your body will begin to overcompensate instead of allowing you control. You want to build the energy here..."

She placed her hand on her abdomen,

"Allow the force to flow through you...throughout every section of your body in short burst in order to get the blood pumping. In doing so you will draw the blood closer to the surface of your skin, conserving your heat. Take it step by step...I will await you inside the temple."

She had faith in them to be able to grasp the concept. It wouldn't seem like much but she was planning on allowing them to learn from trial and error. Something like Tapas could be done subconsciously...in extreme conditions many force sensitives have just done it out of the want to be warm. She'd see how they did first...

(Gonna let you guys do a few post yourselves at this point and then we'll pick it back up)

[member="Alema Valla"] | [member="Soryn Solimar"] | [member="Nar-Pal"] | [member="Nylea Apollodor"]

 

[Kenrath]

Soryn listened. In truth what he was wearing had little to no protection against the cold already. It made the Master's instructions a moot point. Light robes and an outer cloak that was more a symbol of lineage than anything else did nothing to protect one in harsh climate.

Regardless he quietly removed the white outer cloak slowly and gently folding it as if it was the most valuable thing he owned. In short it was for on it contained the Solimar family crest. Then he slowly removed his robes and shoes leaving only a pair of shorts. His closed his eyes shaking off the sudden burst of cold hitting him like a Kath Hound at full gallop.


After a minute he moved over towards the center of the room as Sochi moved into the Temple. He dropped down to his knees sitting back on his heels. His hands calmly resting on his thighs. He closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. He breathed in for a four count holding it for a second and then slowly breathed out for a four count.

The concept seemed sound but it was an ability he had tried before but something he would take to task even if it took him a week. After all time was something he had more of than anything else.

[member="Sochi Ru"] [member="Alema Valla"] @Nar-Pal @Nylea Apollodor

 

[UserSpace101]

"Attention to the moment brings knowledge, it could mean life or death."

He took in the lesson, for what she said made sense. His eyes drifted around at the others and then he took to looking at his surroundings again.

"Everyone please remove any access articles of clothing that are helping you stay warm."

His eyebrows shifted, a bit surprised by the request. He decided to dress warm because he knew they'd be high in the mountains, it was common sense to wear something that provided insulation. Almost then he though about the air snipping at the surface of his skin and even thought of his presence amongst the others; he hadn't thought of them as anything more than strangers.

But...he assumed this was apart of something larger, and as she explained it made sense. While he was reluctant still...he went forward and started to remove his articles of clothing to strip down to simple underwear; it was all one piece and pressed against his skin.

"Alright..." a raspy murmur roared in his throat as he seated himself against the thin layer of snow on the ground. A slight breeze made the hair on the back of his neck stand up as chill ran through his body. He closed his eyes to forget they were even outside.

He took a deep breath and then exhaled, slowly taking control.

"Build the energy..." he thought to himself.

[member="Sochi Ru"] | [member="Alema Valla"] | [member="Nylea Apollodor"] | [member="Soryn Solimar"]

 

[Enara]

[SIZE=9pt]{3}[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]Location: Ando Prime[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=9pt]Objective: Prove Self[/SIZE]​

[SIZE=11pt]Alema allowed herself to exhale slowly, the Jedi had failed to notice that she knew next to nothing about the planet around her. Clearly the Jedi were not as perceptive as legend had made them out to be. She listened to the woman’s words, opening her eyes again to take a quick look over her fellow students. They were each unique, but her attention was mostly centered on the strange old alien who had joined them. Initially, she had mistaken him for the master, but it seemed that he was no more an expert than the rest of them, and that was a startling discovery- could a man of his age truly ever hope to master the Force? She was under the impression that even she was old to act as an apprentice. The woman continued speaking, saying something about the importance of knowing your surroundings… duh. It didn’t take a Jedi Master to tell her that. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]“What…”[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] her voice trailed off as she was told of her instructions. The scraps and rags were all the clothes she had, gathered specifically to reserve for her some semblance of warmth in this terribly frigid place. Still, it seemed that the others were following her order. Maybe this was all to demonstrate some grand Jedi trick. [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]“Fine,”[/SIZE][SIZE=11pt] she said curtly after ensuring that this wasn’t some ploy, she huffed a little as she began to unwrap the chaotic trappings. She wasn’t shy, on Tatooine there was no such thing as a shy dancer. But she didn’t care for the cold, and no sooner had she exposed her midriff than the wind seemed to pick up, chilling her. She was left in only her under garments, which were themselves little more than the rags that had covered the rest of her, tightly wrapped and tied to preserve some sense of modesty. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]How did she respond to being in the cold without her clothes, seemed like a simple enough answer- put her clothes back on. Or go inside. Hopefully both. It didn’t seem, however, like the Jedi wanted an answer and so she stood silent, crossing her arms and tucking her hands into her armpits. Her teeth were already shivering, she had never been on such a cold planet in all her life. She listened to the woman’s commentary on the Force as a source of warmth. It seemed like a nonsensical assertion. But if Jedi could shoot fire from their fingertips as she’d been told they could, then perhaps this too was possible. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11pt]She listened carefully to the woman’s instructions. What did it mean to permit the Force to flow through you? How would she know when it was doing so? And then the woman turned and went into the temple, leaving the students alone in the cold courtyard. She saw the older man sit down, but she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to sit in the snow. Instead, she squatted down, pulling herself into as tight a ball as she could without sitting in an effort to keep her heat within her. She could see her breath, she cursed quietly against the cold as she began to attempt to summon the Force to her. Whatever that meant.[/SIZE]

 

[Nylea Apollodor]

When the twi'lek of the group jumped at Nylea's introduction a hint of confusion could be seen on the echani's face, but she did not question her being here. There was no time for suspicion here, instead she would simply remember to ask if everything was alright later. The last thing she wanted was to be the cause of someone being on their toes. The others seemed unbothered by her presence however, which did not entirely surprise her. Where there was an edge of uncertainty to the twi'lek's Force aura, the other two stood in the Light, much like herself.

After the group of students examined their environment Sochi moved on to lay out the next lesson. There was a moment of wonder as the group was asked to remove articles of clothing meant to keep them warm, but after that split second Nylea decided to do so. What would be left were simple robed that were quite thin, the wind piercing through it with ease. The clothes were neatly folded and placed under an overhang, keeping it away from the snow. As the silver-haired woman calmly walked back to where she originally stood she processed the exercise one more time before sitting down in the snow in a meditative position. Distractions got to her easily, so shutting those out was of importance when using the Force in new ways, even if it was as simple as keeping oneself warm.

Without saying a word she watched the togruta walk away and with that Nylea closed her eyes, paying attention to only her breathing as the cold bit at her. Slowly the sensation of cold was shut out as her hyperfocus remained on her breathing and not long after the cold was starting to be warded off completely. Smiling slightly as she found her inner warmth she opened her eyes once more, unbothered by the snow that clung to the lower part of her robes. Completely satisfied she wasn't just yet however. Applying it passively was what she aimed for, and as such she would have to practice that first before meeting Sochi inside the temple.

[member="Alema Valla"] | [member="Nar-Pal"] | [member="Soryn Solimar"] | [member="Sochi Ru"]

 

[Kenrath]

Soryn fought back the bitter cold nipping at his skin. While his body still made the occasional involuntary shiver his mind was focused. His posture relaxed like it had been so many times before....................so many mediation attempts before. Despite what many on Yutan, Commenor, and other worlds assumed before Soryn was just as much of a scholar as he was a soldier. Well Guardian was a more appropriate term to use.

He had a passive awareness of the others around him. Specifically [member="Alema Valla"] who chose to sit in a tight ball. It looked uncomfortable and undoubtedly would have an impact on the success of her attempt. Soryn paused his own mediation turned in the snow to face the blue skinned Twi'lek. He spoke in a clam soothing voice.

"You need to relax more..........your posture is too rigid. Your muscles will begin to ache and shake from the strain. It will break your focus."

He paused for a minute.

"Relax your posture and control your breathing. Breath in while silently counting to four in your head, hold it for another count of four, and let it out for a count of four. It will calm you down and more importantly slowly shut out anything but the subtle call of the Force itself."

The others for the moment he ignored seeing they were all making their own bit of progress.

[member="Nylea Apollodor"] [member="Nar-Pal"] [member="Sochi Ru"]

 

[Enara]

{4}
Location: Ando Prime

Objective: Prove Self

[SIZE=11.5pt]Alema shivered violently as the wind blew, chilling her bones. Surely this isn’t how Jedi spend their free time, the thought crossed her mind as she tried to focus on something, anything, other than the frigid environment. Her legs were beginning to cramp as she squatted, doing her best to stay out of the snow but also keep as much warmth from escaping as possible. Maybe this was all a mistake. What was I thinking? Me? A lightsaber wielding, Force using, Jedi? Stupid.[/SIZE] She sighed, her breath visible against the icy air. Okay, Alema. Mistake or not, you’re here now. Get over yourself. Do… something.

[SIZE=11.5pt]“What?” [/SIZE][SIZE=11.5pt]She asked, her mind’s rampage suddenly interrupted by the voice of the man nearby. She wasn’t even sure that he had noticed her, or anything else for that matter. His odd previous performance still fresh in her mind. “Well…” she was interrupted by a shiver, the cold and her stiff posture both frustrating her muscles as they protested through aches, “aren’t you the sudden expert,” [/SIZE]she said with a genuine, if stressed, laugh. “Guess you fin… fi… fin…” she cursed in her mind as she steadied her now chattering teeth. “Guess you finally figured out that it’s not quite as warm as you thought initially, huh?” She was straining over the cold, struggling to keep her natural good humor.

[SIZE=11.5pt]She huffed another small puff of mist. She wasn’t certain if the man was talking down to her or not. He seemed impossibly calm given the terrible conditions. Apparently, he was very adept at the meditation rituals of those more enlightened civilizations. Or else, and more likely, he was just a very strange person. There was an instinctive urge to say something snarky back to the man, lecturing her. But, she certainly didn’t have any better ideas. And besides, the wretched weather was withering her wit. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]“Okay…” [/SIZE][SIZE=11.5pt]she said quietly, she brushed the snow away from where she was hovering and sat, tensing up at the cold of the stone beneath her. “Kark, that’s cold!” She realized as soon as she had spoken that the expletive was probably not especially welcomed in the temple courtyard, “sorry,” [/SIZE]she muttered quietly to no one in particular. She took a deep breath in as he had suggested. One… two… three… four. And out… two… three… four. It did make her feel a little better, but the temperatures were still nearly unbearable.

[SIZE=11.5pt]“It will calm you down and more importantly slowly shut out anything but the subtle call of the Force itself."[/SIZE]

[SIZE=11.5pt]When the man concluded with his ‘Force’ talk, Alema bit her lip, a small smile playing at the edge of her lips. She bit harder and tried to return to her breathing. In… and… as she exhaled she found her defenses failing as she broke down, giggling quietly. “I’m sorry,” she said apologetically, “So sorry,” [/SIZE]though she kept laughing quietly, the phrasing ‘subtle call of the Force itself’ was just too much for her. Just like the Master and her strange, cryptic Jedi mysticism. “I’ll just uh… keep breathing.”

Soryn Solimar

 

[UserSpace101]

His nostrils flared as he inhaled a big portion of air. Releasing it slowly before realizing that the cold air had begun to nip deeper into the tissue. He attempted to subtly fight back against his body shivering by itself, trying to keep his composure. He could conclude that majority of them were probably thinking why the hell they were doing this...

But he didn't need to be any sort of Jedi to know that this was a test of will....

He heard the others talking, his right eye crept open and he looked from his peripheral.

Soryn gave the suggestion on what Alema should do, heck he figured it could've been sound advice but...honestly he wasn't sure it would be any different from what he had been doing already. The Cerean recalled their first lesson and the answers given by the each of them...

Nevertheless, why not?

He took another breath, while counting silently in his head. 1...2....3...4 he steadied himself and held it for another 1...2...3...4 and he released 1...2...3...4

All the external distractions faded...and his insides began to tingle, a shimmering effect he'd never known.

"Hmmm..."

[member="Soryn Solimar"] | [member="Alema Valla"] | [member="Nylea Apollodor"] | [member="Sochi Ru"]