The First Blade

[Eugen Aker]

Raven, the quiet thief she had picked up from Lianna, had parted ways with her master. Just about the same time, Arisa found herself with plenty of free time no longer serving as the Grandmaster of the Silver Order. It seemed that Raven had meant to be her apprentice after all.

Under her wing, their travels would eventually lead them to the planet of Illum. Once more accessible to the Jedi thanks to the Iron Empire, she figured it was about high time that Raven finally make her pilgrimage to the planet to complete the rite of the Gathering. She had yet to collect a new crystal herself, despite leading a previous ceremony herself last year.

After landing near an open cavern, Arisa wasted little time leading Raven outside into the bitter cold wastes of Illum. The howling winds had a chilling bite that left her lips chapped only a few minutes after stepping off the shuttle.

"I should have landed closer," she observed aloud, looking off to the research station off in the distance. "Come on, we'll check in with the local science team, then we'll get started."

 

[Raven Sorenova]

​Raven stepped off of the ship, and immediately wrapped her arms around herself once she felt the bite of the chilling winds of wherever it was that they were. She should have figured, however, that it would be as cold as it were given the cold temperature of all of the colors. But in her experience, most places had an environment that tended to deceive how they looked.

​This wasn't one of those places thus far.

​She nodded in agreement to Arisa's hindsighted statement. Indeed, it would have been a better idea, and it would only take some few moments to get in and fly closer to the entrance of this cave, but she didn't know how far off it was exactly. Maybe they could have been close, but merely be uncomfortable for some minutes. Whatever it was, Raven herself was rather curious to find out what it was the two were there for. As far as she knew, as she wasn't given any real prior knowledge over the purpose of this adventure, it was a surprise.

 

[Eugen Aker]

Thankfully, it was only a short walk from ship to the research station, though she had to squint her eyes the whole trek there to deal with the winds. She was glad she wouldn't have to deal with the winds down in the caves, which were also a little warmer, too.

She led Raven through the sliding doors of the research outpost without incident, exchanging greetings with her fellow Kiribians. The scientists usually worked on rotations of about 3=6 months before returning to Kiribi in the Core, but she recognized a few as being the founders of the site when she had first touched down to meet with the Iron Empire here as they were constructing their fort.

"Bit nippier than I remember," she told one of the researchers, a middle-aged woman of mocha complexion, laughing lines clear on her round face. "I can only imagine trudging through this every day."

"It's not too bad," the researcher replied. "Our drones do most of the work when it comes to conducting surveys, though it is a pain retrieving them up when they break down. Dr. Thumbs just put on a fresh pot of coffee, so you two are welcome to have some. Anything in the kitchen, really. I assume you're here to go spelunking in the crystal cave?"

"Thank you, and yes indeed," she replied with a nod. "A little Gathering ceremony for my newest apprentice."

"The Gathering, yes, we've had quite a few Jedi types trickle through here over the past year. Some of them have been nice enough to leave us with some refined samples. Amazing what you can do with the Force, we've still yet been able to replicate the process with our labs here."

"That's my favorite part, the imbuement process. Well, thank you for the coffee. I'm certainly not going to pass up that offer. Raven, you can hang here if you like, or grab some snacks from the kitchen with me. I feel like relaxing for a bit before we head out to the cave."

She gave a small bow then turned for the kitchen to claim her cup of steaming Joe.

[member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

​Raven remained in the laboratory's foyer as Arisa left, her hands folded in front of her while she gently twiddled with her thumbs; her eyes averted from all around her. Or at the very least, the woman who was still there with her. She made sure not to make any eye contact with her, and immediately walked past her as to look at something else, anything else. She went over to the nearest window that she could find, just to avoid speaking to the woman. She was antisocial indeed, and/ or had some sort of social anxiety. While not on purpose, it was always made very clear that she was.
​ She stared out of the window out at the icy landscape beyond. She couldn't fathom the reason as to why either of them were here. Raven knew that it had something to do with a crystal, but anything else further than that was of a mystery to her. What did they need the crystal for? What properties did it behold? These questions didn't quite take up her mind as some others oft did, as at the moment, she was more worried about staying away from people.

 

[Eugen Aker]

Raven didn't join her in the kitchen, but Arisa didn't mind. By now she was used to the reserved nature of the girl, though she had hoped that Raven would have opened up a bit more while under the tutelage of another Knight.

Alone in the kitchen, she was quick to get her coffee (turning it taupe with all the creamer and sugar) and returned to Raven by the window, taking a few sips as she stared out through the window at frozen wastes beyond.

"There's not much to look at on the surface, but I think you'll be thoroughly impressed once get down into the caves. Nothing but Kyber crystals as far as the eye can see. If you focus, you can feel the Kyber formations through the earth."

The Jedi Master could, and she was looking forward to finally snagging a crystal or two of her own to finally finish the construction of her new lightsabers. For the past decade, she had been rocking a refurbished saber with a synthetic silver crystal of her own design. It just didn't quite compare to a natural stone.

She didn't take long to drain her cup, and by then she was feeling quite toasty. She was ready to leave.

"Alright, let's go." She set down her mug and left to go pick up her coat. "The cave is just behind the station, so we'll have an easy time getting there without freezing our buns off."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------​

About 10 minutes later, and they were at the mouth of the cave. Soft blue lamps staked into the stone provided dim illumination on the way down. It was still cold, but without having to deal with the howling winds of the surface, it was now more than bearable. Nowhere near as bad as Midvinter.

A steady minute of walking down the gentle sloping incline, and they had finally arrived.

As promised the area glittered from the lights of countless Kyber crystals, all emanating with the Force. Each one ripe for the picking, but the Jedi believed that it was the crystal that picked them during the Gathering. Somewhere among these formations was one for Raven.

[member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

​Raven silently followed Arisa through and through until they reached the cave. She didn't seem to shiver as much as she simply marveled at the scenery of this icy world that she was led to. It was rather amazing, and something she had never seen once before in her life. It was nothing that she had ever even dreamed of seeing. The glittering crystals caught her by surprise, and she could only wonder why these crystals weren't picked and harvested until there was nothing left of this cave other than maybe dull rock.
​Or perhaps, it was that way once upon a time, and nature took to itself to return itself to its natural state, which she could assume could only be this.

​The young girl could feel the force emanating from the crystals once the two of them had entered further into the cavern. She didn't expect to feel any sort of external stimuli such as this, as she hadn't ever before. It was new to her, and truthfully, not as frightening as it was somewhat soothing. She made the conclusion in her mind that perhaps what she feels from different feelings emanated from the force within her was linked with the rest of the world, and the people around her. But if this were the case, then why didn't she feel it sooner? Maybe it was the fact that she, until now, never paid much attention to it; simply passing it off as the rumbling of a large freighter as it either docked itself at a hangar, or was flying away at speed from it, or past it. But now, she was more observant of these feelings than ever, and it was something that she was unable to get her mind off of. But, with what attention she could muster, she refrained from getting stuck too deep in her mind for too long, and retained her attentiveness.

​"Master, this force that you told me of. It is in all things, isn't it? Because I feel... Pulses, coming from the crystals."

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

"You are correct," Arisa replied with a nod. "Everything originates from the Force and feeds into it, so we can feel it flowing through all beings and objects, through the very fabric of space and time itself."

She approached one of the rocky walls, brushing her fingertips over a few of the glittering crystals. "However, there are some people and objects that are more attuned to the raw Force than others, making them much easier to detect. That's what you're feeling now. If you focus, then you'll be able to parse through individual pulses or auras you feel from all the crystals around you. Why don't we walk around for a bit and give it a go?"

The first part of the ceremony had begun then, as Arisa led Raven around the cave to allow her apprentice to get a feel for her surroundings and get some more practice in expanding her perception. She didn't exactly spell it out then, but she was curious to see if Raven would be able to pick out her own crystal(s) without any prompting. The first time she had come down to Ilum as a green initiate, the master then had allowed her to wander around in such a fashion, giving her the chance to experiment with her abilities.

[member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

It was then that her timidity had turned into curiosity, and she walked further into the cavern, looking around at all of the crystals around her. To most, these crystals may only appear blue in its color. But when Raven took focus on the force emanating from all of these crystals, she began to see them in a plethora of colors. Each separate crystal ebbed a color of green, blue, purple, and so on. Raven was rather surprised by all of this, given that she had never seen so many colors in such vividness before, being so used to the dull colors of her home planet.

Slowly, she stepped through the cavern, looking at every crystal she passed by. Sure enough, she could feel the force emanating from them, but some of the pulses from certain crystals were stronger than others. It was a whole plethora of things at this point that she did not understand, and perhaps wouldn't for a little bit of time to come. But she didn't make more questions for herself to distract her from these crystals.
There did come a moment in which she felt an especially strong emanation from a particular set of two crystals, and she had felt them long before she were even able to see them. As curious as she was now, she wanted to investigate. There had to be a reason that she felt such a pulling sensation from the two. She picked up the pace,walking much faster to where she were able to feel the pulses, as as she neared them, it became stronger. She was unable to ignore it; it was more like the crystals were pulling her toward them more than it did her willingly making her way to them. Finally, she had found them, the feelings of the force so powerful to her that it sent a strong tingling sensation throughout her body, as well as each pulse of blood that rushed through her veins. Perhaps she was concentrating too much, but she didn't come to think of that at all, as she stared at the two crystals that seemed to be calling out to her without spoken words. Their auras were much more prominent than that of every other crystal throughout the cavern; emanating large translucent auras of purple, and the other of white. She felt nervous for a moment. What would happen were she to touch these crystals? She didn't even know their purpose. But as it would seem, this is not the first time that somebody had come through this adventure. Or as adventurous as it was for the young girl herself.

Grabbing both crystals, she gave a gentle pull, in which the two crystals came out from their sockets with relative ease. She had to close her eyes, look away and try to focus on something else now, as now holding these two crystals made her most uncomfortable as she could barely even feel herself, but rather just the crystals and the power they emanated. She opened an eye to look to Arisa, who was now emanating an aura of her ow from her sight.

"W-Why does this feel so strange?"

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Quietly, Arisa followed along as Raven made her way through the cave, her apprentice feeling out the different signatures as she had suggested. It took some time, but eventually Raven came to a pause as she found crystals that most resonated with her. Arisa smiled at the moment, the first phase of the ceremony complete, at least for Raven.

"I suppose it can feel strange here," she agreed with a nod. "You're in an area with deep connection to the Force, so your own perceptions are being heightened as consequence. You'll see and feel things that you may not in a more relaxed state."

She came closer to Raven, inspecting the pair of crystals she held. "White and violet, what an interesting find. Both of those colors, in particular, have been associated with balance in the Force. Violet falling between Sith Red and Jedi Blue, white a fusion of the entire spectrum into one."

Given what she knew about Raven, these particular crystals seemed quite fitting for the former thief. "So you have your crystals, would you give me a chance to pick out one for myself?"

[member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

Raven nodded, and stood aside for Arisa to choose her own crystal. There was no way she could deny, even if she had the thought to do so in the first place. At least, now that she had finshed her part, she could try to concentrate on anything else other than the Force. As she looked around, it were almost as if she were inebriated with one of the drugs she had used before now; a flowing multitude of colors in her vision, and a feeling that left her with all but the altered mental state with the drug. But now, as she was so aware of it all, it was hard not to be at this point. It wasn't as if there was an on and off switch. It was just there now, and she couldn't stop thinking about it; examining, concentrating on the fact that she could well see and feel all of this. It was now, that she just wanted to leave, and just go to sleep on the flight back to the academy. Sleep had been a cure of many things for her.

So, the young girl watched Arisa as she went to go and choose her crystal. It was a wonder to her how she didn't have one already, having been here already as Raven had figured. Perhaps it was to go along with her, and show her the purpose of these crystals. She looked down at the two of them that she had chosen, or rather, chose her; In between Sith and Jedi, and then a simple mix of everything. But what exactly that meant, Raven didn't know at this time. Perhaps with more time, she would learn. She could only hope so, as to not be left in the dark. She trusted Arisa, at the least, to deliver what knowledge she could on the matter, and whatever else were to come with it.

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Arisa stepped back, clasping her hands behind her back as she closed her eyes. She began to read the currents of the Force all around her, from each crystal resonating with their own special song.

One chord would stand out from the rest. Upon discovery, she began to move, homing in on that particular signature of crystal located on the far side of the chamber.

She stopped before a large topaz crystal set within a cluster. With a small tug of Force, she was able to wrest the crystal from the rock wall and summon it to her open palm. As soon as it was safely within her grasp, she closed her hand and then placed her fist against her chest.

Hello, new friend.

[member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

Raven looked down at the crystals that she held in her hand. She had two, but Arisa only had one. Perhaps, it was more specific than she had initially thought. There was one for every person, had they the desire to seek them out. But seeing this from Arisa, with her being a Jedi Master, she couldn't help but wonder why exactly she needed one for herself. Shouldn't she already have one?

The thought had been mulling in her mind for a while until her lips had finally parted so she could ask the question herself.

"Master, uhm... Should you not have already had your own lightsaber by now..?"

 

[Eugen Aker]

She straightened up and stuffed the crystal down her front pocket.

"In fact, I do have a lightsaber, though its fitted with a synthetic crystal I made. My first lightsaber featured a natural kyber crystal like these, but it was lost in battle."

Lost in an artillery strike to be exact, with a leg and arm to go with it. Her body had been repaired, but that first lightsaber lost for good.

"I always figured I pick out a new one for myself one of these days. Better late than never I suppose."

While they were shielded away from the chilling winds of the surface, it was still almost unbearably cold underground. She wasn't too keen on remaining for the next portion of the ceremony.

"Some of my more orthodox peers like to finish out the Gathering here, but I don't see any point in freezing our behinds off when we don't have to do so. Unless your heart is set remaining, then we can return to the station or ship to begin the construction of your sabers."

[member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

The young girl breathed out a silent "oh" along with the gentle nod of her head. It was as she had figured; Arisa had lost the lightsaber. It made sense, given her position. The question then flourished in her mind as to how exactly she had lost the saber, but she decided to leave it be. It wasn't her business, as she felt.

In the few moments of their shared silence, Raven's mind began to wander. Not to anything specific, but it was as so. She was torn from her thought as what she found to be the sudden booming voice of Arisa, nearly scaring her enough to where she let out a small gasp. Once she realized what it was, she calmed down and relaxed herself. She wasn't cold. At least, not yet. Maybe she had grown used to it, or was already on the way to freezing.
She looked around at all of the crystals around her, now only the blue icy color as they were when she first walked in. She looked down at the two in her hands, wondering if they had lost their color as well, but still, the faintly glowed their given colors.

"I am not cold, but if it is better to leave, then let's leave."

 

[Eugen Aker]

Raven must have had anti-freeze in her blood, because Arisa certainly was cold on her end. The padawan left it up to her decide whether they would leave or remain. For her, this was an easy choice, responding quickly.

"Alright, my tauntaun, we're heading back to the ship."

She motioned for Raven to follow as she head back toward the pathway that would lead them back up to the incline of the surface. All the while, the countless crystal formations continued to sing their song through the Force.

-------------​

Sometime later, they were back on ship, sitting at the table within the lounge. Arisa now held her crystal again, rolling it between her fingers.

"There is one more step before we go ahead with lightsaber construction. That being, atunement. You need need to connect with both your crystals so that you may refine their molecular structures. Only with refined crystals may you lightsaber operate as intended."

This part was a time consuming process that could take hours, or maybe even days. There was a good reason Arisa had wanted to transfer back to the warmth of the ship.

[member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

Raven wasn't entirely sure what she was talking about. But, with everything that she had learned in the past month or so, what didn't make sense to her was apparently how everything worked out in the universe. She gently shook her head, not able to really wrap her head around it the concept laid out before her.

"Attune to the crystal..? Wh- how would I even do that?"

She was at this point a little flustered, with her little mind being unable to comprehend this concept, much less the concept of the force itself. She may have learned of her sensitivity to it, and how to use it to her advantage, but even still, all of this in words was a little too much.

 

[Eugen Aker]

By Raven's answer, Arisa gathered that the initiate wasn't as far along as she had thought. It happened, Padawan being shuffled around between different masters that taught at different paces.

"Just like you've been doing this whole time," she replied, holding her crystal up to the light. It still radiated ever so softly under its own power. "When you first entered the cave, I had you reach out into the Force to find your crystals. Now tap into that same connection once more to feel your crystals and deepen your bonds. Feel structures that make up their form. When you are able to do that, you may rearrange their makeup to create perfect lattices to increase the crystals' durability and focusing potential."

"As you have two crystals, it may be best to work on one at a time so as to not overwhelm yourself."

[member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

The Padawan pressed her lips together, looking down at the crystals she held in hand. She brought up the one emitting it's purple glow, holding it up into the light before bringing it down chest level.She calmed her unsettled nerves, and then closed her eyes, focusing on the crystal itself, trying her best to connect herself with it via the Force, as recommended. If she had done it once, she could do it again. But this was a matter of what she was doing. She didn't quite understand exactly what Arisa meant when she spoke of structures and bonds, but she didn't have to think about it herself, as moments passed, she could feel the crystalline structures within, all of which made up the crystal that she now held within her hand. She let out a breath, now beginning to come to understanding of the weak bonds within. Weak for what they were meant for, nonetheless. She focused, deeply on attempting to repair the bonds within the crystal, though as she found it to be, not only was it more difficult said than done, it was going to take a much longer time than she had anticipated. She let the world around her fade away, focusing all that she could onto the crystal, and the Force. Arisa could see her relax in her seat, her featured softened as well as her body as she gently sat back into it as though she were going into some sort of trance.

[member="Arisa Yune"]

 

[Eugen Aker]

Arisa remained quiet so as to not disturb Raven as she reconnected with her crystals. However, through the Force, she was actively tracking Raven's progress, watching how she began to manipulate the molecular bonds of the crystal. Such progress occurred over the span of an hour but Arisa remained engrossed all the while, watching fine craftsmanship on display. A feat that had yet to be replicated by machines.

Once she felt Raven was on the right track, she withdrew mentally and physically, wandering off for another part of the ship.

There waiting was a container of snicker-doodles with her name on it.

[member="Raven Sorenova"]

 

[Raven Sorenova]

The entire time that Raven sat, attuning herself to the crystal she held before her, she was as still as a statue, the only movement being that of the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed slowly. Another three hours in, and then finally, something happened, as the crystal's glow intensified, and then died down to a very, very dim glow. Raven opened her eyes, gasping as though she was just scared from her sleep, and then she looked around, seeming like she didn't know where she was. Once her awareness had come back to her, she looked down at her crystal, examining it's dull glow. She didn't call for Arisa even though she had finally finished, she just sat and examined the crystal for a moment more.

[member="Arisa Yune"]