Private Masterclass

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

Silas seemingly straightened up upon how serious Valery had gotten. Briefly nodding, the knight switched into a more professional attitude "You got it, Valery" he said back with a more stern tone this time, knowing full well it was time to get down to the nitty gritty of the lesson. With that in mind, he moved behind the rock formation and peeked his eyes just above the edge to view what Valery was doing in the open.

"I'm ready when you are!"

Confirming his attention, Silas narrowed his eyes and tried to take in as much as possible from the demonstration. Everything down to Valery's breathing, movements and even the way she absorbed all the energy around her. Before long, that same destructive power was released and let loose on the environment around her. Thankfully, the wave had weakened by the time it reached him, only brushing his hair back into a decent hairstyle he had yet to notice.

Jumping out of his hiding place, he quickly walked over and examined the damage "I can only imagine what you could cause if you went full power" he muttered "Scratch that, I don't want to know" Silas ended, his gaze finally meeting Valery's with a brief smile "I do however have a few questions that need to be answered"

"How would you know when to release such power? do you have a feeling or indication of how much is enough?" Silas asked at first, his arms slowly folding in thought "And secondly, I suppose you do it with an element of surprise correct? During that whole process, you'd be open to blaster fire as well as other weapons."
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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Practice," Valery said to answer his first question, "When you practice the ability, you'll develop a feeling for it. After some time, you'll recognize that moment when it feels like all that energy is about to slip away from you. That's when you let it go." It'd undoubtedly take a few attempts before he'd get it entirely right, and from there, he'd have to practice it to perform the ability faster and with the intended amount of damage.

It was going to take time.

"To answer your second question, it can help to have an element of surprise, but it's not required. I purposefully performed it slower, but you'll get faster with it if you practice. You can also try to create a barrier around yourself and then use the ability. But you're right about exposing yourself — it's something to be mindful of."

Valery paused for a moment and looked at the damage she had done to her surroundings. It was almost too much for one person to have so much raw power, but that's why learning control was so very important.

"Do you want to try it?"

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

As with most things, practice was the key to unlocking his true potential regarding control. He wasn't expecting to get it perfect immediately, the least he wanted was an understanding of how to perform the move safely without killing himself. That however was more than likely not going to be achieved until he had faced the setbacks head on. For example, defending himself or performing the move faster was something he'd have to develop while he was on the field.

Training could only be beneficial for so long, he also needed to master it in high stress situations.

Without hesitation, Silas nodded "I feel I'm confident enough to give it a shot. Let me know when you're safe enough for me to start" he said just before mentally and physically preparing himself for what he was about to do. He calmly took deep breaths and waited until his former master gave the signal, from there it was all him.

A brief moment passed until Silas began to draw the energy around him into his core. For the moment everything seemed to be going as planned, the energy flowing through him was still at a comfortable level and nothing seemed to be going wrong. However, there was something that Silas had mentioned that was going to trip him up. Even though he felt comfortable, Silas hadn't realised how much energy he had truly absorbed until the very last moment.

The knight's body closed in on itself and within a second all that energy exploded out of him. The destructive wave crushed any rocks or environment that had survived the previous blast and began to slow down by the time it reached Valery's location. He had used too much energy, so much so that his body had barely withstood it.

In reflection of such stress, Silas fell to one knee and collapsed chest first into the dirt below. His breathing was heavy, and due to the amount of energy he had used all of his muscles had been exhausted. All he could do was lay face down for his lungs to frantically pump air back into his body in an attempt to help him recover.
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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Very well," Valery said before she distanced herself some more. His first repulse wouldn't be as destructive as hers, but just to be safe, she maintained a good amount of distance. Even a small slip-up on his behalf could otherwise become a real problem for her. Once she stood ready, Valery offered him a nod to signal that she was ready.

Then, she waited.

Valery felt the energy rising within her former student. It was a familiar sensation, especially after just performing the ability herself, but there was something different about him. The growth of energy was going too rapidly, and she knew that it'd result in a far too explosive burst. But she couldn't stop him. Getting closer to him now would bring her straight in the path of the blast, so all she could do was let him experience it.

He wouldn't die or be seriously harmed, but he'd hopefully learn to control his energy input from here.

The explosive wave that followed was destructive, and began to fade only when it reached the Jedi Master. Valery raised a hand to be safe, and created a barrier that shielded her against the remaining energy of his attack. Once it had finally faded away, she walked over, concerned but not frightened.

"Take it easy, Silas," she said calmly. "Breathe and just focus on getting it steady again. First time using it is always rough."

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

It didn't take long for a concerned Valery to be at his side. She was urging him to calm down and regain his composure, something which was hard at first due to the lack of air in his lungs, but eventually his body was starting to catch up and help him breathe properly again. Now at a more calmer pace, he slowly rolled over and tiredly looked up to Valery and frowned in disappointment from the early setback "I-I wasn't expecting... to get it first try. It... it was worse than I thought though"

All of his muscles felt stiff and tight from the power that had been released from his frame, causing movement to be painful and labored "Sorry, I-I just need a second" he admitted honestly to his former master, a small smile indicating that his old self was slowly growing in strength "H-how did you do when you performed this at first?" he asked curiously "Were you flat on your back like I was, or were you lucky enough to get it first time?"

Silas already had an idea of what he did wrong. He had absorbed energy for too long, leading to an overload and releasing of a wave that was beyond the power he could withstand at the time.

He'd just need to make sure it didn't happen again...
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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"It's not getting it on the first try that's very difficult to do. It's being able to control the ability." In essence, a Repulse was just releasing an enormous amount of energy without really caring where it was directed. That made it a little easier to execute, but controlling the amount of power and being able to still walk away afterward was something else entirely. That'd take practice — likely months if not years to get it just right.

"For now, take a moment to catch your breath." She looked at him and chuckled. It wasn't uncommon for Jedi to pass out completely when trying this the first time.

So it only made sense he needed a second.

"My first time was similar to yours. I did create a repulse, but it wasn't controlled and I lost all my energy in the process. It's a good first step that you can build from."

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

Mastering the ability was going to take a little more time than the basics.

Silas knew it wasn't going to be as simple as that, like most things it would be impossible to get it straight away. However, if he could just get a good grasp and do one that didn't destroy him it would be a good thing to work off. Upon asking about her troubles Valery seemed to have the same issue when she first tried using repulse. After all, it was quite a difficult ability to learn, most Jedi had to go through torture before finally getting it to a point where it didn't hurt them.

"I'm glad to hear that even you have struggled with it," he said with a smirk, his upper body finally leaning up into a sitting position "I presume the way your master taught you was quite different to now right?"

It was hard to think about his Master struggling to learn things, he just kept forgetting that once upon a time she was once in his shoes as a knight of the order. Come to think of it, he had never asked her about the master she once had. Valery never seemed to mention them...

"Care to help me up? I'm going to see how I am on my feet before I give it another shot"
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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"My Master didn't teach me this. He wasn't very skilled with Telekinesis," Valery smiled softly. Master Dawn had been one of the best in the Order when it came to Telepathy instead. A skill that she had never really progressed beyond learning how to communicate with others.

But telepathy could do so much more.

"Back in my day, Telekinesis and its various abilities were divided into 4 categories. You needed to learn the abilities of a category and pass an exam to go to the next category with more difficult techniques. So I had done 3 exams and spent many hours practicing before I even learned how to do a Repulse." It was a far stricter system, not just because of the tiers, but also because certain tiers were restricted to Jedi Masters and Council Members.

Something that wasn't at all the case anymore.

Valery then stepped forward and offered him a hand up, "I don't think something that extensive is needed. But please, don't teach this to just any Jedi. Be responsible with this kind of power."

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

"Oh, I see..."

Valery must have learned it herself or had someone else teach her the skill during her time as a knight. Doing it solo would have been quite hard and required unimaginable amounts of dedication, while a teacher could give you an experienced mind who could get you to where you wanted to be faster. Silas preferred this, it only made for a safer environment that didn't make him hurt himself.

Things had also changed since her time all those years ago. The Jedi back then only seemed to allow the use of it once they were confident of the users familiarity, nowadays it was the individual who decided if they were ready or not "It seems like the Jedi have trusted people's own judgment rather than tell them if they're ready. I imagine that the idea of doing tests for each ability must have been daunting..." Silas said before taking one last deep breath and looking at his former Master.

"You have my word, Valery" he said in response to her warning. Only when he was absolutely confident he'd think about teaching this, and would probably be few and far between.

"Okay, I'm ready to give this another go." The knight said with a slight nod "Before you head back to your spot, if I pass out take me back to the homestead. There'll be other times when I can try this at full strength" Silas smiled, his breathing slowly coming down to a calm steady pace. He was confident he could at least get it done with far fewer side effects, it was just a matter if his tired body could hold up.

"Any last piece of advice other than good luck on trying not to explode?"
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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

"Jedi trust each other's judgment with certain things. I still wouldn't have taught you if I believed you weren't ready," Valery admitted in honesty. Silas could have sworn he was ready, but if she had believed that he wasn't, she wouldn't have taught him a thing. Other Jedi perhaps had their own approach, but that was a part of her more traditional upbringing that she wouldn't get rid of. There was a purpose behind it.

One that could prevent accidents and save lives.

With Silas' word to only teach it to those who were ready, Valery felt comfortable stepping back again. He still wanted to try a second time and she wasn't going to stop him. Even though it'd likely cause him to pass out — blowing through your energy twice wasn't exactly good for the body.

"If you pass out, I'll bring you there and draw something on your face. That's your reason not to fail." Valery flashed a grin and distanced herself again.

"Try to keep your body as relaxed as you can. Other than that, it's all trial and error."

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

Valery was correct, if she knew he wasn't ready he wouldn't be standing here learning this ability. Silas just had to believe in himself as well as the force to guide him through. With that, there was no way he could fail "Ha, you'll be waiting a long time to draw on my face Valery" the knight said with a cheeky wink back at her while backing away. His head gave another brief nod to his teacher, letting her know he understood the trial and error that came with the ability.

It wasn't going to be perfect, but if he managed to get something without passing out it was going to be a victory in his books.

Standing there silently for a moment, he took a deep breath and began to absorb the energy around him. Silas could feel the force flow through his body once more and before long he was inching towards breaking point again. Suddenly the knight would close in on himself and release a big wave of energy around him, one that was slightly less powerful and quicker than the last.

When his feet touched the floor Silas staggered forwards slightly and kept his footing, realising that he didn't feel like total crap compared to his last attempt "I...I think I've done it" he said at first, just before his legs began to betray him. At this point, his energy had been spent and his body was beginning to find out that it needed rest more than anything.

Choosing to fall to one knee, he tiredly grinned at Valery as she made her way back over "Well, I didn't pass out... do I get a reward for my efforts?" Silas said sarcastically while taking deep steady breaths. If anything sleep would be the best reward he could get right now...
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[Valery Noble]

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Outfit: Factory Link | Wedding Ring
Weapons: Lightsabers

Much better.

Valery watched from a distance, as Silas attempted the ability again. She had given her warning — a threat that would result in a drawing on his face — and it paid off. He released the blast and retained control. It meant the Repulse wasn't as powerful and it didn't expand as quickly either.

But he was still standing, which mattered most.

"A reward?" Valery snickered and shook her head, "Learning the ability is your reward. But I suppose I can allow you some time to rest as well." She turned on her heels, flicked her hair back over her shoulder, and started heading back to the ship. It was time to wrap up their lesson.

"You're also welcome to join me and the kids for dinner. I'll warn you though — they're quite loud."

Silas Westgard ​

 

[Silas Westgard]

Location: Azbrian
Objective: Try and get one up over Valery
Tag: Valery Noble

Silas was grateful that his former master wouldn't immediately draw anything on his face. He desperately needed shut eye, but upon hearing the invitation for food a smirk form in the corner of his lips "You know what, sleep can wait" the knight said with a short chuckle, his love of a hot meal being put on the forefront once more. Her kids wouldn't be a problem, Silas had been around them long enough to understand what they were like and the schemes they could get up to.

"Valery, you don't think I've babysat them enough to know how often my ear drums have burst? Don't worry, the little brats don't scare me"

Quickly sticking his tongue out he then began following her back to the ship where they could get the food going. Today had been an eventual evening and a learning curve for the still young Jedi. It was clear he still had a lot to learn from Valery, let alone have a chance of matching her power one day.

Although, he was certain of one thing. As long as he kept this hard work going, he was going to surpass everything beyond his biggest expectations.
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