Simply Mortal

[Darth Metus]

Eastern Training Wing, Roon Sanctum​

The Mandalorian was eternally grateful for the helmet he wore atop of his head. This feeling was not due to a recognition of its protective value, or even its cultural value at the moment. No, Isley Verd was grateful because it was an excellent means of hiding. The mantle "Marshal of the Order" came with a mountain of responsibilities and expectations, compliments of the Templar Order. His comrades and subordinates looked up to him as some invincible tower of might and beskar that would lead alongside the Archon. However, these days, Isley felt far from mighty...and could feel every pound of beskar weighing heavily upon his aching body. The Eastern Campaign had taken a lot out of him, as did the turn of events at the Cauldron. He was battered, bruised, and sore in places he didn't know he had. However, he could grit through the hurt in order to walk without a limp...but he couldn't do it without the occassional wince claiming his expression.

By the Force, was he grateful for his helmet.

It hid his pain from the view of those around him, allowing him to keep up the "invincible facade" that he had going. The younglings and Aspirants looked up to him as something to strive toward being. The Knights respected him more than words; and his fellow Masters were happy to serve alongside him. How could he reveal that he was nothing more...than a man? How could he keep their moral as high as mountains when he was pained by the limits of his body? No, Isley had to soldier on, for the Order relied upon him in more ways than one. As such, he pushed himself to make good on a promise he had made to his little sister, Ginnie. He vowed to whisk her away from Castle Ne'tra and take her to the Sanctum on Roon in order to show her the ways of the Force.

And Isley was a man of his word.

His slow, yet confident strides came to a halt within one of the numerous training rooms within the Roon Sanctum. It was a wide, open space; wrought primarily from marble and other stone. In another lifetime, this particular room had been a dungeon; but time had seen it repurposed from a place of decay to a place of growth. Turning about, Isley looked to see if his younger sibling had arrived and began to tap his foot upon the ground, a touch of impatience characterizing him.

@[member="Ginnie Verd"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

Was Ginnie late this time? Was she ever early? This time the girl had tried her darndest to get to the right training room in time to learn from her big brother the Art of the Force. Beskar'Gam on her person, her lightsaber Yoash attached to her side, she raced into the room.

"Brother! Brother! Brother! I'm here! I'm all here and on time and I think I'm on time, is that a pussywillow?" Jetting to a halt, the girl bent down to check the small flower and squealed. "It is! They're so cute. I'm coming, @[member="Isley Verd"]!" Rocketting the last few feet, she slid into the room and came to a dignified stop.

Hey! This time she didn't fall over! "Ta Daaaaah!" The girl took a bow. A lofty bow. A lofty bow that was a bit too deep and indeed the girl fell over. "Oof!"

 

[Darth Metus]

The clatter of beskar plates jingling against one another heralded the arrival of the half-pint Mandalorian. Her entrance, filled to the brim with joy, caused a smile to erupt on Isley's face. When she teetered, tottered, and fell to the training room floor, he quickly stepped over and reached down, plucking her back up to her feet. As he looked upon his baby sister, a sensation washed over him...a small realization that made all the aches and pains feel like badges of honor. This is what I'm fighting for. he realized; a fact he briefly pondered upon as he took a knee. As opposed to removing his helmet, Isley decided to promptly begin his introduction of the young woman to the Force in earnest. As such, he reached out and gently brushed his consciousness against hers, telepathically speaking in a tender whisper. Can you hear me Ginnie? Anyone hoooooome? he said, his mental tone deep, yet light. From there, he promptly reached for his utility belt; for there was a teaching device that he had procured for the day's lesson.

His fingers wrapped about the azure pyramid known as a Holocron and promptly lifted it up so that Ginnie might be able to see. 'Twas the holocron created by an ancient, Jedi Master known as Sar Agorn...who happened to be quite the interesting lifeform. Today, Isley had a lesson that was twofold in mind; for they would both learn something new from someone very...very old. This is a Holocron Gin'ika, within it contains the knowledge of an ancient Jedi Master. We're going to open it up and see what we can find...but first, try speaking through the Force. Just think the words and remember the concentration from when I showed you how to lift your helmet. Breathe. Focus. And try.

Spoiler

[member="Ginnie Verd"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

Plunked down and picked up, Ginnie Verd was being set to rights in many of the ways her brother tended to dote on her with. She'd have smiled at him if she wasn't in her Beskar'Gam, instead the young girl saluted and threw her arms around one of his arms for a hug.

Then his voice hit her mind. "WOADUDE!" Ginnie drifted backward, hands at her sides. "Did you just speak into my brain? You did! Dude."

The glowing object in [member="Isley Verd"]'s fingers was a deeper fascination still for the near-teenager, as it hummed with a delightfully ancient spark. Curling her fingers around it, Ginnie smiled under her helmet and buzzed from the lull of the ancient device. Yet, the time for feeling out the powers inside a small geometric device had not yet come, Ginnie had to concentrate and hard in order to give Isley what he wanted: A sister with Force Powers good enough to defend herself. The texture of Isley's mental voice was her first clue: it felt gravelled, far off and spoken through a filter carefully selected. Ginnie peered up at her brother's helmet and frowned. How was she going to do that?
The girl began by thinking of Isley. All the times her brother got it when the others didn't. How hard she fought and how long she searched to find him oh, was it years now? Months and months and months ago, before her room at Castle Ne'tra was a comfortable den of Beskar'Gam and colour. Only when she was able to feel her own mind brought to the same plateau as Isley's mental voice did Ginnie attempt to speak telepathically. 'What's in the holocron? What sort of finding are we doing today? Is this working? One, two, three, four, five, seven, eleven, I'll be fourteen in a few weeks won't I Isley?'

 

[Darth Metus]

The reaction of the half-pint Mandalorian was one that caused a light chuckle to escape Isley's lips. She was always so excitable; and it was one of those things that he absolutely adored about her. Of course, there would be time to fawn over just how adorable his sibling's antics were later...for right now, he had some explaining to do. "That's right, I just spoke into your mind...and when you get the hang of it, you'll be able to do this whenever you want. And not just speaking to me! It's like passing notes whilst in the classroom, only much sneakier...And I surmise we'll have to plan the blast of the century for your birthday, won't we?" he began, his mental tone light and humorous. However, when she inquired about the Holocron and that which they were to learn, Isley began to speak in a more serious tone. After all, one of them had to be serious...and more often than not, that person was not the half-pint Mandalorian. Drawing a calming breath, Isley first retrieved the holocron from his sibling's hands and held it aloft. Through the Force, he then hoisted it into the air telekinetically and caused it to hover, bopping up and down ever so slightly.

"Today, we'll be inquiring of Master Sar Agorn guidance in a selection of Force powers. For you, my little firecracker, I thought it proper that I teach you how to combust. However, before we begin, I must have your word that you will not use this power in the Castle. Otherwise, Phoebe will have my head and I'd really like to sleep in my bed...and not the karking couch...Deal?"

Spoiler

[member="Ginnie Verd"]

 

[Ginnie Dib]

'This . . . is so. . . . cool!' Ginnie thought, closing her eyes tight and trying to think inside of [member="Isley Verd"]'s head. Passing notes in class, talking to her brother without anyone else knowing, how could it not be the best thing ever?

Oh, right. Pyrokinesis. That would make it the best thing ever. Pyrokinesis and thought-speak. This was a great day for being Ginnie. She hopped up and down, 'I can plan my birthday in my brother's mind! I can plan and talk without anybody knowing! I can learn to light things on fiiiire!' She hopped down and nodded her beskar'gam clad head.

"Yessir, I promise no combustion in the house." She offered her hand, bending her neck a bit to the side. 'I didn't think you minded sleeping in other places, Isley. Phoebe's been sleeping alone an awful lot.' The innocence of the girl didn't understand the nature of her quip, she didn't know what was happening when Isley went off and there were silver hairs on his armour - stuck in the joinings. Did she remember an odd woman, an Echani? Oh yes, but only because she wanted to see how the woman moved.