Faction The Lighted Half (Alkahest Training)

[Phylis Alince]

Kahlil Noble Silas Westgard
(Open to any other GA Jedi too.)

Phylis Alince was not really good with formal groups, not any more anyway. After more than a decade of being unaffiliated with any larger council or order she had decided to rejoin the NJO after the Tython campaign. Now she found herself in in a room within the Jedi Temple. There was still a fair bit of dust and construction going on since the latest attack.

Phylis had requested and gotten a forge, tools and a collection of different metals for the purpose of training her skills to a new generation. She'd had a couple of interested parties but she would see who else might come along as well.

"Hmm, we got everything, Six-Nine?" she asked.
The droid gave a beep, drawn out, like a sigh.
"Don't be like that, and be nice to the people who come here," she added sternly.
Six-Nine gave an innocent beep.
"I'm sure...just be ready to man the regulator. Or droid in your case, hmmph."

Alkahest was a skill and field she had developed not entirely from nothing, but close to. It ran on a simple principle; the Sith used the Dark Side to enchant items and create harmful sorcery...why couldn't the Light do the same but with opposite effects? Of course, the Sith had 20,000 years of research and expertise both as a species and a Force group, but there were notable examples of her own skills such as Dawnbringer which was laid out on the table along with some other items of her making.

As she waited, she fired up the force to a low heat and adjusted her robes.

 

[Audren Sykes]

Though he didn't necessarily look it, Audren had been a Jedi for some time now. It was actually some twenty years by his accounting. Some humans attributed youthful appearance to 'good genes' but in his case it was actually true: Sephi lived considerably longer than the average human. In fact, he was old enough now to even reminisce on earlier days, on places and people from before.

Phylis Alince was one of the names that he'd learned early in his Jedi career. She'd been a Jedi Master of some renown when he'd just been a Padawan learner: she was a researcher and a healer, but most notably was skilled in the art of alchemy. It wasn't Sith alchemy either according to what he'd heard, it was solidly rooted in the Light Side of the Force. As a student he'd not been skilled enough to attend what few classes he'd even heard about, and as time went on he became more involved in other matters. The concept had always lurked - mostly unseen - in the back of his mind even if he didn't make the time to pursue it. The closest he'd come was frequent use of a pair of imbued daggers that he'd not created, and even that wasn't the same.

As people were wont to do, the female Master had dropped out of sight for some time, or maybe just out of his sight. She'd recently resurfaced however, this time with the Galactic Alliance Jedi. The Sephi personally thought that many of the differences between Jedi Orders were those of semantics and so kept as wide a contact net as he could - this was mostly through the Jedi Academy network. It'd been a blip on the radar when she'd come back into the fold...a blip that had become a storm once word had gotten to him that she was going to be teaching Alkahest.

He couldn't honestly say that he'd dropped everything to be in attendance. It wasn't much of a stretch though. He now headed up a company of his own, and while this left little time for Jedi duties he still performed some here and there. Those had been shuffled off onto the shoulders of others that could be trusted. Business meetings had been rescheduled or canceled and active projects suddenly had their deadlines extended. No doubt there would be financial impacts - he'd hear about them when he returned, if not sooner - but with some clever sidestepping he might get away reasonably unscathed. Or he could just ignore the impacts...he was the sole owner of the private company after all. It would just take a mental note to not make a habit of it.

Audren once again found himself in the GA's Jedi Temple. He'd been here once before to help defend it but couldn't tell if all the construction was still from that debacle or if that originated from yet another attack. Assaulting Jedi Temples seemed to be all the rage recently. This time around however, he wore robes rather than full armor. No rifles or pistols this time either, not even the knives he'd been gifted, just a lightsaber. With the help of a particularly wordy yet remarkably precise protocol droid, the elfin Jedi found himself nearing the workshop where Phylis would be hosting a class on the skill. He was looking forward to it.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

Lightsided Alchemy.

At a younger age Kahlil would've hated this and hated anyone who claimed to know it. A younger, Sithier version of himself at least. Now though, he couldn't be more excited to learn more about it. Being able to enact change without the corruption, his mind was already racing on the different things he could do. What he could make. The young, nerdier side of him he'd long abandoned as corrupt was shining through.

That and he had a couple actually important reasons for coming here. The main one? His gaze shifted to his Padawan. He smiled, nodding his head. That's the more important part of this all. They'd wrestled down a Sithspawn, but after incapacitating her Kahlil had taught the boy mercy. That Sithspawn was still in holding, isolated and alone to keep them from breaking free or harming anyone else.

Mercy meant nothing if they couldn't help. And now they had the chance to.

"Pay attention to everything said and done, Silas. If there's any chance this can help our stone making friend, we should use it."

Silas Westgard | Audren Sykes | Phylis Alince

 

[Silas Westgard]

Silas knew it was a matter of time before Master Kahlil brought him to an alchemy lesson.

On the way there it seemed like Kahlil was more excited than he was. Returning his smile with one of his own, he nodded back to him and looked back to the Jedi who was teaching them a thing or two today Master Alince. Silas was quite intrigued to see what they'd be doing to help out their stone making friend. Although, if Kahlil was pumped about the occasion it sure had to be something fascinating to catch his attention.

"Agreed Master. If there's a day to slack it won't be today" the boy replied confidently, slowly folding his arms as he waited for any more Jedi to arrive. While waiting in silence he went over what Kahlil told him about Mercy. Everyone had a chance to come back, it was only a matter of you choosing to let that happen. In more ways than none he was right, many Jedi who had fallen to the Darkside and were spared are now great Jedi in the order. His master being one of them.

Kahlil Noble Audren Sykes Phylis Alince​

 

[Phylis Alince]

Kahlil Noble Audren Sykes Silas Westgard

As Phylis was fussing about in entered a face she remembered. "Audren! So nice to see you again! It's been, hmm, years!" she said moving forward to shake the Sephi's hand.
They'd not met much or been close in the old days but he had been on some missions and generally been in the same room at times which qualified! Besides, these days it was rare to find Jedi from the days of the original Galactic Republic where she had been a Padawan and Knight.

Two new people entered, she had not met these before, but she felt she knew who they were.
"Welcome, Khalil!" she said warmly.
Six-Nine beeped at her.
"What do you mean? That's his name, isn't it? I have it down as Khalil."
An exasperated series of beeps.
"Oh. Well, my apologies Kahlil," she said with a slight frown. "Anyway, welcome! And welcome Silas! I heard stories of both your actions on Tython, I'm sorry I couldn't be there to assist."

She stepped back after shaking hands to those who wished it.
"Right, hmm, well, I am here to instruct you in a particular art I've been working on for, oh, near 15 years, starting even before I became a Master. I've always been a bit of a, hmm, researcher. And so with that in mind I came upon a theory. The Light and the Dark Sides of the Force mirror each other in many ways, though act upon items in remarkably similar ways. Sith sorcery and alchemy has been a longstanding part of their traditions, but there has been no such Jedi tradition. Force imbuement is an art perfected by many neutral groups such as the Eldorai, the Jal Shay and others, but not the Jedi. A curious fact."

"Therefore I took my first steps into learning how to imbue items with the Light. Slow steps, and it took me years before I cracked the first hurdles. Once I did though...."
She called Dawnbringer to her hand and offered it to each in turn. All would feel the incredible power of the Light which flowed within it. A weapon of tranquility and peace, unlike a Sith blade which would be heavy with the Dark Side.

 

[Audren Sykes]

"It has indeed. Time flies when one disappears from the face of the galaxy for a couple years."

He meant himself of course, he had no idea if she'd actually disappeared or if he'd just stopped hearing about her. Even if he hadn't personally taken a step back into relative isolation - or a retreat if one wanted to put it the nice way - he had no place to throw shade: it was a tradition among Jedi to take time for reflection. There was no telling when one encountered the need for it or how long it would take.

Two others entered the room. Audren thought he knew one of them, the one Phylis called Khalil/Kahlil. However, he didn't know if he'd met the man, worked with him, just heard of him, or was flat out imagining things. Such was one of the downsides of long life: so many people and details about them. He really should take the time to work on that 'mental library he'd heard some people talk about but it was low on the list of priorities. He'd managed to flub his way through the social interactions so far and the business interactions were largely codified and accessible. The other human he could safely say he'd never met before; Silas was young and had the sense of a Padawan learner.

Phylis started in on the lesson after greeting the three of them. The theory she espoused was interesting and made sense from a particular point of view. Equal and opposite no doubt made sense to many and he suspected it was a similar view that the so-called 'Gray Jedi' espoused or built from. More specific to this case however, it was logical. And while he'd heard of clothing or jewelry enhancing various qualities whenever such was attributed to a light-sider it was almost always due to some special material as opposed to full imbuement or alchemical changes.

The Sephi could easily sense the power of the Force in the sword when it got to him. It was the clean purity of the Light rather than the sick weight of the Dark. This was a direct contrast to his own daggers which carried neither inherently but rather carried a slight feeling of inspiration. There was more to it than just the sense of the Light, he could tell that much, but the specifics of what else it carried remained a mystery to him. One question immediately occurred to him though.

"I've heard rumor that Sith Swords - or even anything alchemically altered - were heavier than their non-alchemical counterparts. Is that the case with Alkahest alterations as well?"

Phylis Alince | Kahlil Noble | Silas Westgard​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

​

Kahlil stifled a chuckle at the mispronunciation of his name, glancing to the droid for a brief moment. Though blinked when he heard the droids name. And stared blankly at Phylis for just a moment. No, that was a genuine name. Alright. "There are many places in the Galaxy that need our help. We can't be everywhere at the same time." Well, probably not at least. Kahlil was sure there was a Sith spell or two that could actually let someone be in multiple places.

That and his bond with Valery Noble let him do just that anyway.

He listened mostly in silence, glancing between the other two Masters as he pondered just what Phylis was saying. Using the light in place of the dark with alchemy? Sorcery? "Part of the process does indeed make any kind of Sith Steel heavy." Kahlil nodded once to Audren, mostly to confirm the rumor than answer his question. Alchemy was something he used to be quite proficient in, as a Sith.

His gaze, though, was now firmly on the blade she produced. Looking it over. Then pulled out his own lightsaber. Forged with purified Sith Steel as a cross guard, mostly to help against solid blades. His family enjoyed utilizing Sith Swords. "I made this more as an accident than on purpose. Overloaded a Sith Steel dagger with the Light. The weapon itself shattered, but what remained acted like Sith Swords. Though, now it just absorbs Light, not lightning."

Phylis Alince | Audren Sykes | Silas Westgard

 

[Phylis Alince]

Audren Sykes Kahlil Noble Silas Westgard
(Been nearly a week so moving on. Silas, feel free to post whenever.)

Phylis addressed Audren's question first. "Hmm, yes, it is true. On a scientific level, if we can call it such, the bonding of the Force increases the mass by strengthening the molecular bond. That is what gives alchemised items their almost unbreakable strength...but at the cost. Even these robes I wear are a little heavier than the normal cloth ones, though it is proportionally minor."

Phylis retrieved Dawnbringer and gently took the lightsabre from Kahlil. She examined it closely. "Hmm, yes, exactly. The polarised Force energies have been removed, but the underlying framework remains. It is very difficult, though not impossible, to destroy these items, to break the bonds down."

"So the process of forming and making items started with crystals for me. Because of their, hmm, unique structure, they are remarkably good at absorbing and storing Force energy, hence the different types of lightsabre crystals in the galaxy. So I started with crystals, and that is where we will begin today. I expect your Padawan is not, but are you proficient with Force Light, Kahlil? How about you, Audren? If not, it's not a problem, I can demonstrate."

She held out a hand and three nearly transparent crystals from a batch of a dozen or more levitated out and settled on the bench before her. She took up one and offered the other two to Audren and Kahlil.

 

[Audren Sykes]

Increasing the mass by strengthening the molecular bond. He really should have paid more attention in classes during school. He could see how increasing the density would increase durability, but if he remembered correctly that would come at the expense of total volume. Unless the alkahest was somehow adding more matter from somewhere...he probably didn't need the technical specifics yet, and no doubt there would be more explanations as the lesson continued.

It was interesting to see the other lightsaber and the material it was made of. He'd long heard that the use of Force Light could destroy something of Dark origins, but never that it could remain in a purified state. Purification had always been something slower, more deliberate. Here again they were back to the balance and counter of Light and Dark. Could the reverse also occur, intense emanations of darkness overwhelm and destroy items of Light origin? Corrupt, certainly, there had been centuries worth of tales in that regard. If traditions were to be believed, it was likely that the Light was more likely to purify while the Dark more likely to destroy.

"It would be generous to state I'm proficient in Force Light. I've used it before and know how to again though."

As he took one of the offered crystals the innocuous touch on lightsaber crystals made a connection in his sometimes-dense brain. Lightsaber creation - proper creation, mind - saw changes made at all levels of the hilt. In most cases this change didn't make the hilt more resilient but somehow the process just made the whole thing work together exponentially better. It was technically possible to forge a lightsaber without using the Force, but it involved molecularly-precise and extremely high-grade materials for what typically turned out to be a mediocre result. It would be interesting to see whether the lightsaber process was a ritualized version of alchemy. As usual, the more he learned the more questions he had.

Phylis Alince | Kahlil Noble | Silas Westgard​

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Some, yeah. Same with Silas, actually." He glanced to his Padawan, flashing a grin before tossing the boy the crystal in question. It'd be good practice for him, especially with the other gem Kahlil had left in his care. Then he'd turn back to get his own crystal, idly looking it over. "So the idea is to take a blank crystal like this, and imbue it with some beneficial property? More specialized than Kyber.. What are these?"

And like that, the ever curious mind started to peak through.

Audren Sykes | Phylis Alince | Silas Westgard

 

[Phylis Alince]

Audren Sykes Kahlil Noble Silas Westgard

"Excellent, excellent. Hmm, partially, Kahlil. As a first exercise we take the crystal and attempt to infuse it with the Force. It will, at the start, do very little by itself. Hmmph, but from little things, big things grow!"

She rolled up one sleeve and held the crystal up before her own eyes. "Focus on your crystal like I am with mine. It is already partially Force receptive. Focus on it, feel its presence, the manifold bonds and structures within. When you are ready...direct the Light into it. Let it fill it like water, let it bind with the lattices."

From her hand came a golden glow as she directed Light energy into her crystal. It was easy for her, she had years of experience, so it may take time for the others...or they might be naturals! She had found plenty of both.

Either way her nearly transparent crystal started to glow, the light tracing veins of gold through it so that it spread throughout the crystal.

"The power within the crystal stays...though it will dissipate over time. However, this basic exercise works like a battery and is a good exercise to, hmm, improve your transmission to another item, something you will need for later exercises."

 

[Audren Sykes]

Force-receptive. It was a self-explanatory term for the most part, but not one he'd heard before, and as such was tucked away into a corner of h is mind.

Audren watched closely as Phylis demonstrated the steps to take. Force energy manifested itself as light and transferred from her hand into the crystal. Certain lines glowed just a bit more intensely than the rest of it and he knew that those were where the atomic structure wasn't quite perfect. Natural crystals were the closest to the Force after all, and nothing in nature was ever truly perfect.

Force-centric philosophers had long claimed that there were different methods of sensing and using the Force. By far the most common sense of the Force was that of moving water: anything from a trickling brook to a raging waterfall. A few more esoteric views had also been recorded, including a bottomless ocean, a flame, nebulous clouds, and even the musical harmonies or dissonances of the galaxy. That sense directly affected how the Force was shaped and used, leading to patterns and sometimes predictabilities. The Sephi's view of the Force was different. To him the Force was a tapestry made up of countless threads; some were thick cables while others were near-invisible filaments. Connections and interactions made up some of that, others faded into the past or the future. His manipulation of the Force fell along these lines as well: a Force Shield was a tight weave of threads and a Mind Trick was tendrils of will threading into the brain.

This effort was not so different. The crystal was cupped by the tips of his fingers and a surge of Force power manifested as Light. Instead of brute-forcing as large a cable as he could manifest into the cracks and trying to fill everything he generated multiple threads of the finer variety. Those were layered atop one another in an offset pattern to minimize the imaginary 'empty space' between them. The finer the threads the less wasted space but this was not a session in a meditation chamber and would do for now. Separate sections created by the imperfections in the crystal were filled in; the rock he held carried an unusual shine at unlikely angles rather than the steady glow demonstrated by the instructor. Whether it was his limited experience with Force Light or a byproduct of his transmission method he didn't know. He also didn't care at this point...additional practice would improve the results.

Phylis Alince | Kahlil Noble | Silas Westgard​