Lyari Bonmi
Character
"Concentrate Lyari. I can feel your tepidation." Master Venci sat in the center of a green space, surrounded by padawans, all balancing neatly on one hand, a handful of smooth black river stone hovering just in front of them. All except for Lyari.
Lyari disliked balancing exercises, the result being that her elbows wobbled and made her unsteady. She would try to over correct and the stone would drop to the ground with a thud. Some days she was better than others, but today she was preoccupied with her considerable self doubts. At Master Venci's reprimand, the stone dropped and she heavily exhaled, setting herself back on two hands to start at the beginning of the exercise for the third time this lesson.
Her eyes squeezed shut, her brow furrowed in frustration, she felt the sensation of a cool breeze on her forehead and a calm voice in her mind.
<<Let it go. Count to ten breaths. Relax your posture and remember the steps of the exercise again.>>
Her features relaxed and after she had taken ten deep full breaths, she tried it again.
Breathe in. Feel the force. Breathe out. Connect with it. Breathe in. Trust the flow. Breathe out. Follow the flow.
As she concentrated on her breathing, the tremors in her body eased and she moved her weight to her right, concentrating on the feel of the solid ground beneath her palm.
Breathe in. Feel the stones. Breathe out. Make them an extension of your mind. Breathe in. Raise the stones.
She held the position, for half a minute before she opened her eyes, to see 5 stones and Master Venci also doing the exercise in sync with her, just in front of her.
"Excellent Lyari. Alright. That's enough blood rushing to the head for one day. I want everyone to practice this technique for tomorrow's exercises."
Lyari left the stones drop the grass with a soft thud, and pushed herself off the ground to land in a crouch. Master Venci shook her head at the padawan.
"If only you could keep that enthusiam and energy for my lessons."
"I'm sorry Master Venci, it's just so boring to sit still. I can balance on my hands, I can lift all the stones, I just don't get why we have to do it. There's so much else I wanna do." Lyari shrugged.
"Lyari, my lessons aren't about telekinesis. It's about calming your mind so that you can connect with the Force. Come with me."
They gathered their things and Master Venci lead her through the Temple, down corridors she had never seen until they came to the doors of a giant chamber. Master Venci opened the doors, revealing a wide open chamber, housing seven large heavy stones. The deep blue Twi'lek master turned to the padawan.
"These are the Muntuur stones. They weigh over a ton each. You can stand on your hands all day, you can raise some river stones. Those things are the beginnings of the journey to this room. You have put your feet on a well worn path into the distance, these stones are the mountain you cannot see. Go in, sit down, concentrate and lift the first stone."
Lyari entered the chamber slowly, looking at the size of the nearest one. It was massive, easily larger than a speeder. She sat down cross legged and closed her eyes. She breathed, she felt the force, but no matter what she did, she could not even make it budge. Her shoulders slumped in frustration, but the cool hand of Master Venci comforted her as she knelt in front of the Togruta girl.
"Masters of telekinesis are challenged by these stones. It is a test of both your mind and your connection to the Force. I'm teaching you the basics so that one day, these stones will dance for you. You have to be patient. You have to learn to trust yourself. And Lyari, you have to learn to quiet your doubts. As things are now, they will not always be. Today, it is river rocks. Someday, it will be a heavy door or debris that pins your fellow knights down. You only get one try to save lives in battle, Lyari. You have to master your mind here, or it will forever master you."
She helped Lyari to her feet, dusting herself off.
"I will grant you access to this chamber whenever you like. For tonight though, practice the exercise from class today."
Master Venci lead her back out to the grassy courtyard and for a while, Lyari thought about the Muntuur stones and the bigger picture. It wasn't always clear what her teachers were trying to convey. She knew there were reasons why they did what sometimes seemed like silly lessons and exercises, but they could just be honest about why they were learning it, she was sure it would be a lot easier.
Lyari laid out the stones and hoisted herself back up on her hands, breathing deeply.
Lyari disliked balancing exercises, the result being that her elbows wobbled and made her unsteady. She would try to over correct and the stone would drop to the ground with a thud. Some days she was better than others, but today she was preoccupied with her considerable self doubts. At Master Venci's reprimand, the stone dropped and she heavily exhaled, setting herself back on two hands to start at the beginning of the exercise for the third time this lesson.
Her eyes squeezed shut, her brow furrowed in frustration, she felt the sensation of a cool breeze on her forehead and a calm voice in her mind.
<<Let it go. Count to ten breaths. Relax your posture and remember the steps of the exercise again.>>
Her features relaxed and after she had taken ten deep full breaths, she tried it again.
Breathe in. Feel the force. Breathe out. Connect with it. Breathe in. Trust the flow. Breathe out. Follow the flow.
As she concentrated on her breathing, the tremors in her body eased and she moved her weight to her right, concentrating on the feel of the solid ground beneath her palm.
Breathe in. Feel the stones. Breathe out. Make them an extension of your mind. Breathe in. Raise the stones.
She held the position, for half a minute before she opened her eyes, to see 5 stones and Master Venci also doing the exercise in sync with her, just in front of her.
"Excellent Lyari. Alright. That's enough blood rushing to the head for one day. I want everyone to practice this technique for tomorrow's exercises."
Lyari left the stones drop the grass with a soft thud, and pushed herself off the ground to land in a crouch. Master Venci shook her head at the padawan.
"If only you could keep that enthusiam and energy for my lessons."
"I'm sorry Master Venci, it's just so boring to sit still. I can balance on my hands, I can lift all the stones, I just don't get why we have to do it. There's so much else I wanna do." Lyari shrugged.
"Lyari, my lessons aren't about telekinesis. It's about calming your mind so that you can connect with the Force. Come with me."
They gathered their things and Master Venci lead her through the Temple, down corridors she had never seen until they came to the doors of a giant chamber. Master Venci opened the doors, revealing a wide open chamber, housing seven large heavy stones. The deep blue Twi'lek master turned to the padawan.
"These are the Muntuur stones. They weigh over a ton each. You can stand on your hands all day, you can raise some river stones. Those things are the beginnings of the journey to this room. You have put your feet on a well worn path into the distance, these stones are the mountain you cannot see. Go in, sit down, concentrate and lift the first stone."
Lyari entered the chamber slowly, looking at the size of the nearest one. It was massive, easily larger than a speeder. She sat down cross legged and closed her eyes. She breathed, she felt the force, but no matter what she did, she could not even make it budge. Her shoulders slumped in frustration, but the cool hand of Master Venci comforted her as she knelt in front of the Togruta girl.
"Masters of telekinesis are challenged by these stones. It is a test of both your mind and your connection to the Force. I'm teaching you the basics so that one day, these stones will dance for you. You have to be patient. You have to learn to trust yourself. And Lyari, you have to learn to quiet your doubts. As things are now, they will not always be. Today, it is river rocks. Someday, it will be a heavy door or debris that pins your fellow knights down. You only get one try to save lives in battle, Lyari. You have to master your mind here, or it will forever master you."
She helped Lyari to her feet, dusting herself off.
"I will grant you access to this chamber whenever you like. For tonight though, practice the exercise from class today."
Master Venci lead her back out to the grassy courtyard and for a while, Lyari thought about the Muntuur stones and the bigger picture. It wasn't always clear what her teachers were trying to convey. She knew there were reasons why they did what sometimes seemed like silly lessons and exercises, but they could just be honest about why they were learning it, she was sure it would be a lot easier.
Lyari laid out the stones and hoisted herself back up on her hands, breathing deeply.