Meditating in the Dark

[Jairdain]

Jairdain laid in the recovery ward at the Jedi Temple on Eol Sha. While not hurt badly, she learned she had been a captive for close to or more than two weeks. Having barely been given enough to stay alive, her body had started to starve itself and that would take longer to heal than the cuts and bruises she got from the abuse.

She had never gotten a complete answer out of her captives, Jairdain had learned eventually she had been taken to be used as a sacrifice in a ritual. Lucky to be alive and among the living again, Jairdain felt at home once again.

Allowing her body to relax, Jairdain allowed her mind to float free and she started meditating in the medical ward. The sounds around her faded out, the small pains of her body going away and peace stole over her.

The Force had guided her through her time of capture, torture and suffering. It had brought her together with these Jedi. Jairdain trusted fully in the Force and knew it would never guide her astray.

Lost deep in her peaceful meditation, she sensed [member="Dune Rhur"] approaching. More than likely to check on her recovery and see how she and the others were doing. Before the Bith could enter her room, she brought herself out of her meditation and sat waiting for him to walk in.

 

[Dune Rhur]

The Bith knocked on [member="Jairdain"]'s door. Naturally she'd been brought to Eol Sha at his insistence. There was no better place for her to recover. Lots of food and drink and rest.

She still had some way to go for her recovery to be complete. Perhaps training would help her. Dune needed to see how things were progressing. Hopefully she would open up enough and he'd not have to pry.

 

[Jairdain]

Not having fully recovered all of her physical strength, Jairdain motions the door open with a nod of her head using the Force to guide it slowly. It may not be at its highest potential yet, but she was far from too weak to use that.

"Come in, please, Master Dune."

Though when she was rescued​ they had never shared names. Too much going on at the time to worry about that.

Her once long hair now cut short due to it being almost destroyed while she was captive. Being blind, Jairdain could not see [member="Dune Rhur"], but could tell where he was with the Force.

"How are you today? Have a seat."

 

[Dune Rhur]

"I'm well, [member="Jairdain"]," the Bith said as he sat across from her. He studied the young woman for a time. Her eyes were without sight but she saw with truer vision than himself. The Force didn't colour one's perception.

Her hair was shorter but she looked better for the short time she'd been here. Still not totally recovered in his estimation. He thought some of that was the residual trauma of the event. That was going to take a while to heal.

"How are you, since coming here, of course."

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain felt [member="Dune Rhur"] looking at her, though it wasn't with the Force, just his natural eyes taking note of her recovery.

She gave him a small smile at his answer and thought for a moment before answering his question. Having not grown up speaking Basic and only learned it a few years ago, Jairdain has a slight accent to her words, though her grammar is almost perfect.

"I would be much worse than I am, so thanks to you, Cedric and Grace I am doing well."

Her violet eyes glowed with the honesty of her feelings.

"In time, I'll be fully recovered and be like I was before being taken.
It is so peaceful here. Calm even. There is also so much life.
This place is old and I can feel it. Its age lends to the healing and recovery.
Somehow, I also think the Force brought us together for a reason."

What that reason might be she has no idea.

 

[Dune Rhur]

"Of course it has," said the Bith as he bobbed his out-sized head in agreement.

"Yes, you seem to be recovering nicely, @Jairdain. This world is full of primal energies. With the volcanic activity more landmass is slowly shaped and created. In spite of it's age it has not slowed down in that way."

He spread his hands and smiled. That was the word of a geologist and he wasn't necessarily an expert on the field. But of course he'd read about it. Not needing to sleep gave a Bith plenty of time to read.

"Perhaps it's lending it's energies to you too. But yes, you've come for a reason."

He studied her silently through esoteric means. Jairdain's aura held true to the Light in spite of her trials. Dune would need to test her further but perhaps it was time....

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain listened to Dune as he explained a bit of Eol Sha. How even now it's still growing. She returned his smile, her eyes alive with life and happiness.

"I'm sure it is, Master Dune. Life is an on going thing. Something ends and that ending brings about something new."

Like when she was banished from Eraton, the planet was destroyed very soon after that. If she wouldn't have been forced to leave, she would have died with the rest of her people.

"What reason do you think?"

Trying to think of one as well, she could only thing she was lead to the Dominion because where she had been wasn't right for her. She tilted her head and cupped her chin with one of her hands.

[member="Dune Rhur"]

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune smiled mysteriously.

"The Force will make it clear, I think. Perhaps you should meditate on it if you haven't been."

A Jedi should always find time to meditate. It centered the mind and strengthened their connection to the Force. Even in times of turmoil there should be time made for it. Especially in those times.

"You're recovering physically, but it can help your train your mind too. That's just as important. Perhaps visualizing martial movements too."

He was not being a taskmaster for nothing. The longer [member="Jairdain"] laid there the longer she could feel sorry for herself. Purpose could be found in one's training. It would take her mind off of recent events.

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain's face lit up at the mentioning of meditation. While she had not meditated on why she was here, she took the time the meditate when she could. Recovering, that gave her as much time she needed.

"Master Dune, it helped me through my time of captivity and now recovery. I've also never considered running martial moves through my mind."

Saber combat had never been one of her strong points, it was in using the Force itself where her strength was.

She wasn't one to dwell on negativity for long, her purpose here still eluded her.

"I'm not feeling sorry for myself, just lost."

Though [member="Dune Rhur"] may not have intended his thoughts to project, she was able to pick up on some of them.

 

[Dune Rhur]

Dune's eyes widened a little in surprise. That she could pick up on his stray thoughts so easily was a bit of a shock. Or perhaps he'd underestimated her enough to lower his mental walls. But then again he really hadn't.

Every Jedi had their gifts. Perhaps hers lied within the mental realms. That was something to be encouraged in it's explorations. He grinned and nodded appreciatively.

"Impressive, [member="Jairdain"]," he said "Most couldn't do that to a Jedi Master so easily."

"And I am not feeling sorry for you either. I want you to find your purpose and I am trying to help guide you. Why you came here must have a purpose. You must simply find it but for now focus on something productive."

 

[Jairdain]

If Jairdain could have seen it, the surprised look on [member="Dune Rhur"]'s face would have been priceless, however she could see it in the Force. She gave him a smile that lit up her face and blushed a little. Her fingers opened slightly in her lap without her having real control over them, it was in reaction to his surprise. Lifting one up she apologetically motions at him.

"I am so sorry, Master Dune, I didn't mean to do that."

Her face now colored almost crimson in a blush, she tries to bring her embarrassment under control. While even though she was a Jedi, she was still a human with emotions. These she acknowledged, but didn't allow them to control her.

"Yes, I agree. Would you like to meditate with me?"

Chewing on her lower lip slightly after asking this, Jairdain genuinely hopes he has the time to meditate with.

 

[Dune Rhur]

He shrugged and spread his hands. It really was nothing and he told her as much in an easy tone. As to the offer of meditation....

"I thought you'd never ask."

Dune exhaled softly and began to equalize his breathing. Meditative breathing with the Force deep from within his diaphragm. The same breathing that could applied during martial contests. And new students wonder why we emphasize it so much, he mused.

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain relaxed and her skin faded from crimson to its normal color within a few minutes.

Taking a few calming breaths, she quickly found the peace she searched for. Being blind, she did not actually need to close her eyes, but out of habit she did. The Force flowed through and around everything. Feeling this and going with the flow, she went into the meditation as a companion to [member="Dune Rhur"]. They were together both in the room and with the Force.

The presence of the bith and the young Jedi flowed together, seeking peace both of them Force offered this and healing to Jairdain.

 

[Dune Rhur]

Some time later they ended the meditation. Dune came back to himself fully and waited for [member="Jairdain"] to do so as well. He would see how she truly was. Recovering did not mean she could not be tested.

There were ways to see if she was ready. Ways beside the physical aspects. Those might come later at any rate. No one said it all had to happen at once. He had a positive feeling about her future.

 

[Jairdain]

Not one to come out of meditation too fast, it took Jairdain a few minutes longer than [member="Dune Rhur"], but when she felt him pulling back to the real world, she went with him. Not having moved since they started, she stretches out, raising her hands and arms over her head and straitening her legs, pointing her toes at the bottom of the bed.

She turned her head to Dune and smiled at him. Fully at peace within and without.

"Thank you, Master Dune. That was very refreshing and nice to have company for a change."

 

[Dune Rhur]

That was well that she felt that way. Indeed her aura was settled and still and this was much better than he'd found her. It was time for the first of the tests. Except that he would not make it seem that way.

Many things in life were not what they appeared to be. The Force itself could be deceptive. So he would couch this test as mundane conversation. Dune was careful to keep his thoughts guarded now.

"Often it makes it easier," he replied "But tell me, [member="Jairdain"], what are your thoughts on what it is to be a Jedi. Who are we and what should we stand for?"

 

[Jairdain]

Pulling her legs under her again, Jairdain assumed a position similar to that of meditating, but the soles of her feet were touching instead of being crossed under her. Her hands she wrapped around her feet and she rocked back and forth slightly listening to [member="Dune Rhur"] and considering her answer. Her time with the SIlver Jedi had been rather limited, so she wasn't fully sure what their beliefs were or what they stood for. However, she had learned the Force prior to joining them and had been taught since she was ten.

"What is it be a Jedi? An honor, we have been gifted with the ability to use the Force. It is greater than what a normal person can do, but yet we are not greater than they are. Everybody is equal with their own strengths and weaknesses, even the Jedi."

Almost wanting to stand up like giving a speech, Jairdain just sat up straighter, letting go of her feet as she spoke.

"The Jedi are a beacon for the lost. A light for those in the dark. We stand for peace and justice."

It was a very simple answer for such a philosophically heavy topic.

 

[Dune Rhur]

"But what is justice and when does it go too far?," he queried "And are we not somehow greater than ordinary beings?"

He was intentionally asking questions in such a way. A way that was contradictory to everything she would've been taught. Perhaps it would be jarring to hear from one like him. Nothing was as it seemed.

"Is it not our right and duty to lead them out of their darkness?"

[member="Jairdain"]

 

[Jairdain]

Jairdain got the feeling [member="Dune Rhur"] is asking these questions to somehow test her. Her resolve is to be a Jedi, to stand firm in the light.

Still sitting up straight she carefully considered her words. Basic wasn't her native tongue and at times she still thought in her own language.

"Justice is all about keeping the peace, which can often be very violent. It is about having genuine respect for other beings and expecting them to have a similar respect for each other. It goes too far when what a person perceives as justice becomes dictatorial or when revenge or suppression extends to encompass the whole.

No, we are not greater than anybody else, Master Dune. We just have different abilities. Our strengths may lie outside of the common pale but we still make a similar contribution to the whole of society. Who we are is less defined by what we do than by what we decide.

In answer to the last, it all comes down to free will. Do we respect free will or do dictate they have no choice?"

While this felt like a test to her, Jairdain followed up with a question of her own.

 

[Dune Rhur]

"That's what I'm asking you, @Jairdan," he replied without committing himself to one view or the other.

"Some say that we don't go far enough in our enforcement of justice. They believe if we were firmer, their loved ones would still be alive. Or perhaps their homes would not have been ruined."

"They ask us 'what makes you so qualified'. Well, what does makes us qualified?"