[member="Dissero"]
***
Rave's workshop comprised a simple house and the surrounding forest, at the edge of town. Juvenile Trees of Ankarres, far from a finished product, grew in the garden and throughout the woods. Inside, much of the floor space was devoted to an arcane laboratory. Runes, crystals, carvings, things from a dozen traditions.
"I'll give you a copy of my
research notes," she said as she ushered him inside. "But I can give you an overview now."
She brushed wood chips from a workbench with a flick of her hand, and took a seat, presuming that Dissero would want to examine things all over the workshop. "It turns out," she said, "that there are Light-oriented crafting traditions, convergent evolutions going back thousands of years. Pre-Republic, in some cases." She tried to keep her tone lecture-free; Dissero was an equal. "The oldest confirmed tradition is Force-imbued blade crafting, of course, going back around three hundred centuries, but there are indications of much older things. Firkrann crystals, for example, have a strange relationship with the Force and electromagnetism, and they're found only on the homeworld of the Sharu.
"I should mention that most of my efforts have involved tracing origins, trying to establish first principles, and defining qualities that can be emphasized. An example might be enhancing or isolating a Force-imbued blade's ability to dissipate spirits. But I'm sure you're familiar with that art; it was rediscovered close to a decade ago, and now any Jedi Padawan can use it." She snorted eloquently.
"Slightly more versatile, and potentially almost as old, is the Jal Shey tradition. Jal Shey crafting arts have three more-or-less standard effects, though they share broad principles suitable for extrapolation. Their armors are generally crafted to soothe contention in nearby people, at least if you get them in conversation. These generally come in three grades -- neophyte, advisor, mentor, equivalent to apprentice, knight, master. Their belts are traditionally imbued so as to help the wearer resist Dark Side-related mental and emotional influence. These generally come in two grades - standard, and mentor. Their gloves are traditionally imbued so as to help the wearer perceive her surroundings through improved intuition. These generally come in two grades - perception gloves are the lesser, meditation gloves are the greater.
"Traditionally, it's always clothing. Nobody knows why. These principles work fine for making amulets or even odder creations; I've heard that Shule's Workshop partners with a Mandalorian clan to produce sniper scopes, of all things. Jal Shey crafting focuses on creating or countering mental or emotional influence on the wearer, and sometimes nearby people. This may depend upon the direction of the wearer's focus to some extent; I can't tell yet. Stunningly, and almost uniquely among crafting arts, Jal Shey creations can be used to their full effect by non-Force-sensitives.
"Or we could take a short jaunt to Cerea. Kasha stones, large and small, clear the mind and obliterate distractions better than most pharmaceuticals, and without side effects. I find them compatible additions to many complex creations. Kasha stones, of course, can be quite large -- amber discs bigger than a humanoid's head -- or cut down for use as lightsabre crystals. The nature of their inscribed patterns is a source of ongoing fascination to me. Like Jal Shey garments, Kasha stones can be used by non-Force-sensitives. The patterns are thousands of years old, attributed to a sage called Bi-Dar Tyunda, who founded the Cerean planetary government.
"I'm experimenting with extrapolations and interpolations of the patterns, variations on stone composition, Velokite double-slit work and interferometry, etc., trying to deconstruct and reverse engineer the kasha stones down to first principles. It fascinates me that an entire crafting tradition, clearly Force-attuned, should be focused on the production of a single kind of item for thousands of years. The Kasha stones are one of the Cerean culture's greatest accomplishments, though the Cereans don't boast of them.
"Then there's the Ithorians, right here on Varunda Nine. The nature priests form one of the most capable, unassuming, internally consistent Force traditions in the universe. Their presence is a major reason I'm on this planet, and one of the reasons I once operated out of the Kyrikal system. They have powers of healing, both physical and spiritual, as well as plant cultivation. They can even partially or fully heal Force severing, in their gentle way, and that's an ability that's virtually unique to them. The Jedi may have appropriated every Force technique at one point or another, but most have been forgotten again, and this is generally one of them.
"As far as crafting goes, I think it's a matter of learning to see with new eyes -- seeing what's there, rather than what one expects to see. I firmly believe their processes for tending and breeding plants are a powerful but extremely subtle analogue to alchemy. I'm experimenting with these processes. I intend to understand how the Ithorians can enhance their Force connection with trees and plants, and likely even enhance the trees' sensitivity as well. As of yet I haven't studied bafforr groves in any comprehensive way, but I'm looking into it. The grove hive minds are notoriously shy. They...don't like me.
"As a general rule, none of the artifacts and items associated with Ithorian culture have Force properties so far as I can tell. Insofar as the Ithorian nature priests can be considered a crafting tradition, their products are entirely living. The natural next step, of course, is to determine what proportion of that influence remains in their creations after death. Many Sithspawn provide useful crafting materials. I suspect certain kinds of Ithorian-raised wood could be used for similar, if subtler, purposes, retaining the unique characteristics of the living tree. This is a major focus of my research. I'm also experimenting with exposing young trees to shredded Jal Shey garments and powdered Kasha stone via their mulch. Some of these trees are themselves Force-sensitive. We'll see if they bear fruit, so to speak.
"Or we could range farther afield, out toward former Moross space, to the Gesarils. Strange race. Two metres tall, six limbs, each hand/foot with only two digits, heavily clawed, huge tubular ears like sea anemones that give their heads a T-shape. They use the Force in ways commensurate with their limited intelligence: basic, small-scale telekinesis and telepathy are common to all Gesarils, and they have a paranoiac's skill in divining the Dark Side. They use their telepathy for limited communication with offworlders. They can also divine the Force...history, I suppose you could say...of a starship, whether it's experienced the Light or the Dark, regardless of who's currently or most recently aboard. It's a rudimentary form of psychometry, I believe, and it may influence their choices in crafting materials. As such, it should be considered as a part of their crafting tradition.
"All that aside, the Gesaril crafting tradition is almost worthless. The Force is used in the crafting process, but only minimally present in the final product most of the time. They carve wood, primarily, into masks and statuettes. The best and most Force-attuned carvers' products can be imbued with the same emotion felt by the creator at the time of creation. That's it: that's all that Gesaril crafting does. It makes pieces of wood into primitive artworks that feel like emotions.
"In combination with other arts, however, it may prove interesting. Nobody has yet turned a Gesaril carver loose on a Force-sensitive tree, mixed in Ithorian horticultural arts, or attempted other combinations in any serious way. It may yet turn out that Gesaril carvings are the seeds of creations to rival the Helm of Ieldis or even the Phobis Devices. The power to affect moods and emotions should not be underestimated, not in terms of creation nor in terms of marketability.
"A word of warning if you seek out the Gesarils. Purify your heart and take a new ship. When they sense the Dark Side, they collectively telekinesce ships into uncontrolled crash-landing.
"The Felucian shamans have a crafting tradition; it was implicitly approved by Master Shaak Ti, who lived among them during the Jedi Purge. Like some other primitive Force-related crafting arts, the Felucian variant can only be used by the Light Side...at least, traditionally.
"Felucian Skullblades are the most well-known creations of this tradition. Their crafting process is highly suggestive of usable implications. Various creatures native to Felucia have, within their bones and teeth, naturally occurring Force crystals (with which Velok was known to experiment). The bones and teeth are the crafting material. The end result is a large, awkward weapon, a close technical parallel to a Force-imbued blade, capable of blocking lightsabres and blasterfire. Interestingly, rancor bones can be used as well, but only the bones of Felucian rancors. This suggests that the crystals may appear through a variety of environmental or parasitic factors. Skullblades are used by Felucian shamans for ceremonial and combat purposes. Chieftain staffs, as it happens, have similar functionality, and shamans' horns may also.
"In the end, you can mark down Felucian Skullblades as a less powerful, biologically sourced variant of Force-imbued blades, with a note to further examine the mechanisms by which Force crystals grow inside living beings. This is a research direction that may have implications for combining Force crystals and related crafting arts with living trees, for example.
"Do not go to Felucia without being a Lightsider. You will be killed and fed to a sarlacc. The shamans believe that all Darksiders corrupt the jungle's Force balance by their presence, and they're probably right.
"Holocron crafting, of course, can be used by Dark or Light with equal facility. The two most important principles have to do with growing crystalline lattices through the Force, and imbueing those lattices with information. And information can take widely varying forms. The most interesting implication, when compared with the Felucian tradition and Force bladesmithing, is that I see no reason why holocrons cannot be Force-imbued for defensive purposes. My own holocron is off to do its dirty work, or I would test the hypothesis. If I'm correct, a holocron's creator could potentially alter the design in such a way that the item could channel the Force like a blade. Despite a Holocron's inherent fragility, such a device could banish spirits and resist blasters or lightsabre. Nor, in the end, is there any reason why organic crystals, within static living beings, cannot be made into low-capacity holocrons. And if combined with some derivation of the Sapphire or the crystals of fire, the implications get downright interesting.
"Or there's crystallurgy. There was a time when every Jedi was issued a healing crystal; did you know that? And then there are the various properties ascribed to lightsabre crystals. Some of the unique crystals are so old that nobody knows whether their stranger properties are naturally occurring or the product of some forgotten art. Jedi crystallographic Force-crafting -- wouldn't that be priceless? And yet at some level I suspect that may have been an actual technique. Not for Ilum or Adegan crystals, but for things like the Ankarres Sapphire, the Healing Crystals of Fire...the alternative is to believe that there are worlds with huge deposits of such crystals, which is fundamentally silly. No, at some point, someone accidentally or deliberately made these. Using skills that no Jal Shey or Sith alchemist now knows.
"Then we could look at confirmed crystal crafting traditions. The Lorrdian gemstones were deliberately created by Force-sensitive Lorrdians during their uprising in the Kanz Disorders, around five millennia ago. Implicitly Light-side oriented. I need to know more. Fortunately, my brother married a Lorrdian." The ghost of a smile. "Or Upari crystal. Why is it found in orbit? Why only in orbit of forest worlds? Something to do with biomass or tree spirit influence? What Jedi traditions allowed Jedi Masters to get multiple effects out of it, around 5,000 years ago? More to the point, what Wookiee traditions enabled Wookiees to use specific cuts to increase the crystal's power? I feel it's comparable with the Kasha stones, in that specific cutting/etching techniques amplify certain effects.
"There's others, but that's the...general idea. And all of those can be...combined."
When it came to avoiding lecture mode, she'd failed spectacularly.
