The Light She Brings

[Calantha]

At night, the visions were much clearer.

Calantha didn’t understand why that was so. Perhaps it was because her body was perfectly at rest, allowing the mind to roam around more. She often confused her dreams for visions, and her nightmares for dreams. Though as she grew older, she did not understand what to believe anymore. It seemed her very own memories, though suppressed, were beginning to resurface to haunt her.

Yet tonight, she did not dream of her mother.

Forest green eyes seemed to stare through her soul. The first thought that passed through Calantha’s mind was that this woman was enchanting. This was their first meeting, Calantha could tell. The location was all too familiar—the large open fields of the academy was difficult to miss.

Her eyes flashed open and she panted as the vision escaped her mind, leaving her in a foggy haze. She reached out for her small bedside table, a scrawny arm reaching to grab the glass of water. She drank it all up, allowing herself to rest. A name echoed through the dark walls of her mind.

…Maria

~

The morning had not come quick enough, and she moved to do her daily activities before the sun had fully risen. It was then that one of the masters in the academy had come out to meet her as she was walking through the large fields.

“Come child. you have a visitor.”

| [member="Maria Natalja"] |

OOC: Sorry this took a while, I was out of town this weekend : D

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Maria stood in an outdoor training area, looked at the rising sun and felt like a beautiful day was about to begin. After having two successful Padawans, who had both had to continue learning on their own or under some other master's guidance after she'd left, she thought she would take on a new one. And the council supported this decision, so there was nothing that could ruin it now.

The woman was not one who would just go with the flow and see who the person was who she was about to teach, so she did just a little bit of research to see whether the Padawan was going to be a disciplined person or needed to be tamed before they'd get to real training. Calantha seemed to have a good reputation in the Order, which was all she needed to know.

Her eyes turned from the sun to the open plains while she took off her sunglasses. Life as a Jedi may have been difficult, but she had come to understand everybody will get used to it after a while. Or if they didn't have the patience, they fell. This time, she had a certain thought in mind -- to prevent the Padawan from falling to the darkness.

After a few seconds, she could hear two people coming, one of them probably Calantha herself. She turned around to take a look at the two and a smile arose in her face.

"Hello!" she said with a kind voice. She was slowly getting used to talking again.

[ [member="Calantha"] ]

 

[Calantha]

The meeting played out as it did the vision she had last night. She really wasn’t too sure of what to expect as the events that would unfold would reveal itself to her either way. The woman—Maria—had a friendly disposition and a kind voice. Calantha in turn smiled, her head bowing lightly in respect for the woman.

“The most pleasant of mornings, Lady Maria.”

It was the only name she was given after all, though Calantha wasn’t sure if calling the woman by her first name was a symbol of disrespect. She didn’t want to annoy the older woman, as she could feel they acquaintanceship would serve an important purpose.

The knight wouldn’t be here for no reason after all.

“What brings the honour of your presence to our lovely academy?”

| [member="Maria Natalja"] |

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Calling her by her real name was something the Knight had actually hoped for. Maria gave another smile to the girl before she would continue, "I have come here with a decision from the council and I heard you are here, and that's the only true reason I am here today."

She turned away from Calantha and looked at the sun once again -- thankfully it was still rather pleasant to look at without the need for sunglasses. Her memories unfolded a scene of her past where she, as a Padawan, spent many early mornings outside, perfecting her force powers and meditation stances. It was a circle or a perfect line which would continue on forever. To her knowledge, most masters had done that in their past and then taught it to their Padawans.

"You have been assigned as my Padawan, dear Calantha."

[ [member="Calantha"] ]

 

[Calantha]

“You have been assigned as my Padawan, dear Calantha.”

It came as no surprise to her, yet for some reason, she felt a strange sensation in her chest. Was this… joy? Calantha wasn’t sure how to react; she had been longing for a master of her own for some time now, and knowing that the council had found one for her was absolutely delightful. She simply didn’t know how to express it.

A soft smile formed on her thin lips. Her eyes rose to meet those of the knight’s.

“I am privileged to hear that, Lady Maria.”

Perhaps she should start calling her master now.

| [member="Maria Natalja"] |

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"Just Maria will do. No need to call me by these fancy titles," the Jedi Knight continued as she, still turned away from the Padawan and facing the sun, smiled.

This case was already starting to feel different than anything she had dealt with before. She sensed great potential in Calantha -- if she was successful, she could have become incredibly powerful in the ways of the Force.

"How old are you?" she was a little bit curious. She turned around with a swift motion and was slightly surprised. She hadn't even noticed how short the girl was. There was about half a metre of difference between the two's heights. She had grown used to being taller than most people, but it was the first time she truly noticed that.

[ [member="Calantha"] ]

 

[Calantha]

“Yes, La—just Maria.”

She quickly corrected herself. Calantha wasn’t used to the lack of titles, nor was she used to someone being this informal with her. Maria indeed was an enigma of her own and she probably had an interesting story. The woman was powerful with the force, Calantha could feel it. Though something felt incomplete about her. Calantha pushed the thought aside as her master asked her another question.

“Eighteen, Maria.”

Calantha answered. It would be rude for her to reask the question, as she knew certain women didn’t like it. She told herself that it did not matter, she twiddled with her fingers. Perhaps, she should probably tell the older woman about her gifts, so that it would not shock her in the future. However, if the council had assigned her to Calantha, then maybe she already knew.

She hated that she couldn’t force the visions, then perhaps she’d have all the answers she wanted.

“Maria, has the council told you about my…visions?”

| [member="Maria Natalja"] |

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Visions? Maria was clearly surprised. She hadn't heard anything about these, maybe the council had forgotten to tell her about it? Or maybe they didn't know about it either? There were countless possibilities for why she didn't know about that.

"No, I haven't heard about them."

Was she a potential sage who would see the future? Did she see other places in the present? What could have the visions be about? Maria herself rarely saw them -- even though she was a consular, she did not focus on them too much, but tried to find ways to make her healing skills better and more advanced. Visions were a rather unknown thing to her.

"Would you tell me more about them, please?"

She was getting more and more curious about the girl.

[ [member="Calantha"] ]

 

[Calantha]

Calantha was just as surprised about her master’s lack of knowledge to her visions. Her eyes widened with disbelief. She wasn’t sure how she was going to explain it. Prophets weren’t common, but at the same time, they weren’t unheard of. She wasn’t special, she was merely part of a rare batch of people with a certain ability. A prophecy was something she had, and though it was her destiny to fulfil it, she definitely had the time to sharpen up her skills.

A war was going to happen, but Lady Maria didn’t need to know about that yet.

Perhaps in the future, when Calantha was of a higher rank and ready, she would tell her.

“Well, Maria.” She started, her eyes looking away for a second. The sunlight was simply so lovely, it sometimes distracted her.

“There are times…random times, when I get these flashes.”

They came at no given intervals, and usually she’d have at least one every day. There were days where she’d receive more, though each vision typically lasted a few seconds. It didn’t help that she started dreaming about people either. In fact, that was the part she didn’t lile.

“They don’t last very long and they aren’t always about the present. Sometimes, I can see glimpses into a person’s past, or something in the present happening somewhere else.”

| [member="Maria Natalja"] |

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"I know of a few people who also have such flashes of visions. Prophetic, these people are, I must say. They're a wise group of Jedi," Maria noted after having listened to what Calantha had to say about her visions.

"I could direct you to a few of them if you seek for training on how to control them or accept them."

She could tell the Padawan had more potential than many Jedi Knights in the Order -- she had this strange feeling to her she couldn't understand yet, but some meditation on the matter would probably tell her what it was.

The girl was strong in the Force, that's what she could tell.

"Do you remember what was life like before joining the Order?"

Information about that could tell her just a little bit of why she had such a strong Force signature.

[ [member="Calantha"] ]

 

[Calantha]

To seek training for her gifts? That was something she never really considered, though perhaps it was because she never saw it for her. Perhaps now that Maria offered, maybe it would open the path for her to develop her gifts. She feared the visions that would come to her; nightmares of war and cloaked men invaded her thoughts almost every day. She tried her best to push them away.

Underneath the blazing sun, [member="Maria Natalja"] was a calming force. Perhaps it wasn’t just her presence, but also the way she spoke and the way her eyes seemed to reassure Calantha of what worried her. Calantha tried not to be worried about the future considering everything would unfold for her one way or the other.

“Life before the order?”

Calantha looked away for a moment, a wave of despair flashed over her pale blue eyes. She shook her head and spoke, her voice filled with melancholy.

“I remember very little…though my visions tell me my mother had my mind wiped.”

Perhaps she should’ve seen that coming.

| [member="Maria Natalja"] |

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Hmm.

That was interesting. Maria had heard of people not remembering much of the lives before they had joined the Order, but one's mother wiping their memories off? That was something she had not heard of yet.

"Intriguing," was all Maria could answer to that.

She turned her head just a little bit away to think, the have nothing certain to look at so that she could focus. This girl was not only strong in the Force, but also a mystery. She sensed training Calantha could get really engaging and striking. She had to be careful, though, to not lose such a power to the Sith.

"So the thing we -- and especially you yourself -- must do now is keep our eyes on the present and take a look into the future. We may find clues about your past from these two, because all's related."

She looked at the girl again and smiled.

"If the Living Force tells us all objects have Force in them, then some think of it even further -- absolutely everything is related. And I fully support this theory."

[ [member="Calantha"] ]

 

[Calantha]

Intriguing.

Calantha wasn’t sure if the woman was pleased with her student. There wasn’t plenty Calantha could honestly give her, but brief information she had collected over the years. She was only a padawan after all, and was in need of training not only her gifts, but also the hard skills every knight needed to know. She had to go stronger, and Maria Natalja was the key to the door of endless possibilities.

And though they had only met; Calantha fell indebted to her.

“I’m sorry if this will disappoint you, Maria.”

Calantha twiddled with her pale fingers, bowing her head in modesty. She needed to respect the woman, Maria at least deserved that. Though she had instructed Calantha to not use any titles, she was still definitely the master in her broad mind. She looked up to this woman, and trusted her despite not being able to witness her abilities in person.

If the council had assigned her to Maria, then it was because fate set it in stone.

“I don’t know how to train my abilities. They’ve been occurring at random intervals, so I’m not sure how to access them at any time I want to.”

| [member="Maria Natalja"] |

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

"Why would that disappoint me?" Maria asked with the same friendly tone. "All of us have something unique to us; perhaps it's the Force which does not let you see whatever you want to. We can't stand against it, we have to accept the limitations the Force provides us. Otherwise, we would fall to the Dark Side of the Force."

She smiled once again.

Her memories of the darkness were not all that good. While the other side had some interesting things to offer, she did not find it to be the better side. She had slowly started hating it more and more, even though hatred was not the Jedi way.

"I will listen to whatever you will say to me regarding these visions and I will try to find the solution for any problem you're faced with about them. Trust between master and student is essential. We can learn from the past that a lack of trust will lead to corruption and eventually, to complete darkness. So do not be afraid to tell me about the troubles you have."

[ [member="Calantha"] ]

 

[Calantha]

The Dark Side of the Force.

There was something eerie about those words, something familiar all at the same time. It was a trigger and Calantha knew she was linked to someone in particular…Someone dark. She tried to shrug it off, she didn’t want Lady Maria to think there were other things wrong with her. In time, Calantha would reveal herself to the beautiful woman, but it wasn’t the proper moment for that yet.

She stood in place, her blue eyes focusing on the woman’s as she spoke.

She was being kind and considerate; though most people only wanted to know what she saw and used her as some kind of telescope, Maria treated her like she was more than that. Though the other masters in the academy were fairly helpful, she had a strong feeling that Maria was going to lead her to a better path.

A tinge of red crept up her pale cheeks.

“I am forever indebted to you, Maria.” She said, looking down. “I hope I will not disappoint you, and I will never break your trust.”

| [member="Maria Natalja"] |

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

Maria smiled to the girl and sighed. She was so eager to start her training, but she thought it would be better to get all the important information about the student in the beginning rather than have to find them out while teaching her. She could prevent some mistakes she had made in the past that way.

"Would you tell me something about yourself? Anything you think I should know?" she asked. "I will then tell you about who I am."

She had a feeling like Calantha wouldn't appreciate her after she told her about her past. But she had to do that in order to have a relationship based on trust. Like she had just said before, lack of trust brought the Dark Side closer -- something she would never want to experience again.

[ [member="Calantha"] ]