How to train your Jedi (Tiland)

[Leos Palle]

It hurt.

The pain was coursing through her head like she'd been run over by a herd of bantha's. It happened like this from time to time, but the rate of occurrence was on a steady rise. She'd found out some time ago, after her appointment to the Galactic Republic senate, that she was what they called Force Sensitive. She'd thought about just going to the Jedi temple and seeking training, but that seemed rather droll and beneath her. The only problem was, her uncontrolled Force, she liked to refer to it as Wild Force, was actually doing her harm.

She lay on her bed, fully clothed, within the confines of one of the apartment buildings not far from the senate chambers. Guards were posted outside as per usual, but she writhed in quiet agony on the bed. No amount of medicine or anything else had ever been helpful to her in this situation, so she'd just sent everyone away and told them to leave her be. It was the best that she could do, waiting it out.

But she couldn't wait it out. This one was lasting longer than the others before. It hurt so much she started to cry. Her whimpers raced through the Force, seeking the mind of someone to aid her. Little did she know that someone would actually hear her. Please, make it stop. Help me. It hurts so much. Simple statements would reach the mind of the Jedi Knight [member="Tiland Kortun"]. Could he save her from the pain, and teach her to master the ways of the Force, or was she doomed to this agony for the rest of her life?

 

[Tiland Kortun]

[member="Raeya Papanoida"]

Tiland moved as the ocean did, guided by the tug and pull of a greater thing. In this case, it was the Force that had brought him here towards the territory of the so called New Republic. It hardly impressed Tiland. Republics rose and fell as did all things, and despite their promises and calls, they were the same. But he was needed here. That much was certain.

Then he heard it. A call for help, and a call for a healer. Tiland paused where he stood at a vendor's stall, inspecting the food with a deliberate eye. He gave an apologetic bow and strode off towards the summons, winding his way through the streets, staff tapping on the ground beside him. His pace slowed as he approached an apartment block. One of them roiled with pain and he felt the presence of a Force sensitive. Guards stood outside.

That was odd. There shouldn't have been a need for guards here. Yet, he had been called for help, so Tiland strode forward, nodding to them.

"Greetings," His voice was soft and careful. "I am Tiland Kortun, Jedi knight and healer. I was called to this location in my service as a healer."

The guards conferred with themselves for a time, but after searching him and finding no weapons, they let him in. One went ahead to inform the president. Tiland waited outside until they were finished explaining before entering. He let the staff rest against the wall as he approached the young woman.

He could feel her pain radiating off of her body, and a surge of compassion tumbled over him. Tiland knelt beside the beds, and spoke softly beneath his breath. Not much, just enough to have a soothing quality. Then he reached into the satchel and withdrew a handful of butterbur and passionflower, bruising them to let their scents waft through the room. It should start helping with the headache. That might help enough for them to have a conversation about the cause of so much pain.

Once that was established, he could address the root causes of the pain.

 

[Leos Palle]

The guards hesitated because they didn't know she'd called out to the man. To be fair, Raeya didn't know she'd called out to him either. Her mind was in such unfocused agony that she didn't know anything at all of what was happening around her. So when the Jedi entered, and spoke, she had no idea he was there or even saying anything. No, it was the aromas that he released that began to alert her to an outside presence. At first she was afraid that someone had gotten through her defenses in a moment of weakness and that she'd suddenly be slaughtered on her own bed, but when no pain came to her outside her head, she dismissed this.

Eventually, her headache subsided enough that she could lie still, curled up in a fetal position facing towards the Jedi. After several minutes of lying like this, she slowly opened her eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light of the room around her in gradual intervals rather than all at once. When she could focus, she saw him resting near her, but her body was too tired to move away from him. Point of fact, he could very well have murdered her even then and she'd not have been able to lift a finger to stop him.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice raspy. "How did you get in here?"

[member="Tiland Kortun"]

 

[Tiland Kortun]

[member="Raeya Papanoida"]

Tiland waited, meditating as the young Pantoran slowly came back to consciousness. He could feel the pain slowly recede and return to normal. Then she returned to consciousness, hardly able to to move. Then she asked him who he was and how he got there. He smiled and gave a greeting.

"I am Tiland Kortun, Jedi Knight," He picked up the satchel of herbs, "And you sent a message for a healer through the Force." He shrugged, "And so I came, since I was in the area."

He waited for that to sink in. It took different amounts of time for different people. Not many could send messages through the Force. Only those who were Force sensitive could do such a thing. But whether she knew that or not was something Tiland didn't know. Or even what the state of this world was. He had heard rumors of the New Republic through various news outlets, but that was all he knew. Tiland certainly didn't recognize her as the president.

"When I explained I was a healer, the guards let me in," He pulled out the herbs, sifting through the various pouches and rearranging them. He seemed to be an old man, weathered, wizened, and battered by the surges of time. "But more importantly, what seems to ail you?"

 

[Leos Palle]

A Jedi Knight? Well, that might explain how he got in. But her sending messages through the Force? That was a new one. All she'd known was that she'd cried out in her mind for help. How that had found its way to him was a mystery that she had no way of explaining. The Force, though she knew she was strong in it, was not something that she understood. If she'd sent a message to this man, it had been purely by accident, not by design. Still, he had shown up and he'd helped her when she needed it so she couldn't argue with the fact that she'd undoubtedly done something to draw him to her.

"My thanks, then, for whatever you did."

She slowly unfurled herself and pushed backwards on the bed until she could sit up against the headboard. A hand rose to touch her temple, but the pain that lingered was minimal and ordinary by comparison to what she'd been feeling just a short time ago. Whatever he'd done might as well have been a miracle to her. Nothing had ever worked to stop the headaches before.

"I don't know what causes the headaches. I've believed for a while it was that the Force didn't like me, but I don't really think the Force works that way. It always gets like this when I do something by accident. Like earlier when one of the guards went tumbling down an empty lift shaft due to a door malfunction and I somehow managed to stop him in midair while the others pulled him to safety. It wasn't intentional, it just- happened."

[member="Tiland Kortun"]