The Shield of Heaven Shall Tremble [Phylis Alince]

[Théodred Heavenshield]

"I don't much about the other groups of Jedi, Master. Or what their code is, or philosophy .. the Jedi Order seem to be in a stage of rebuilding after leaving the Republic. the New Jedi Order, I have heard little of but they seem to want to be for nothing other then war. The Sanctum at least, builds it's hope on more then this, it tries it's best to defend the systems within our protection, and go and assist allies when required", he stopped to consider his next few words.

"I only see the spread of Jedi, regardless of their groups and how they operate, as a good thing. I mean, if you look at the map that shows us the coverage of the Sanctum, the Galactic Alliance and the Republic, we combined, cover more space then the Sith. Or equal to it maybe ..".

"As Jedi I think we are doing our job .. but what is a true Jedi? .. I have never understood this concept".

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[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]
Phylis sighed. “Planets, numbers of worlds, those do not help Jedi. The simple fact is something the Jedi Order has always face – we make poor soldiers, but good peacekeepers. For thousands of years at a time the Jedi helped safeguard peace and order in the galaxy…but few people remember those times. It has nothing of the dramatic ring of the ‘Clone Wars’, the ‘Great Galactic War’ and so on. The simple fact is that Jedi make poor warriors because in order to become them we must stop being Jedi.”

“A true Jedi is open for interpretation. There is no universal truth on that. Hmmph, or on anything. But I can tell you what a ‘true Jedi’ is from my perspective. It’s not codes or robes; it’s a simple devotion to the principle that we use our gift to aid others, to provide the harmony which would not otherwise appear. How one does that…well…that is where the interpretation comes in. It is best done in peace though.”

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He listened to Master Alince with a knitted brow. Théo could not say that he agreed with her and as she had said in the beginning of their meeting, don't follow blindly.


"Master, having lots of planets and systems do not help the Jedi, I agree with you. But that is not why we have them, it is not in order to help us, but it is for the Jedi to help them. To serve and protect those that cannot do it themselves. To keep guardian over them as best we can, so they can continue to enjoy peace".

He knew the history well enough, that Jedi are suppose to be peacekeepers and the Sanctum was doing it's best to be that for the systems they protect. "I don't have the answer to your view on why you think Jedi are not good warriors, I know I don't agree with you. How can we as Jedi, protect freedom and peace without being such? I mean, we have to be good warriors or we will never succeed and might as well give up now. There is more to being a warrior then simply brandishing one of those", he nodded toward the vault in which the Dawnbringer is kept, "It comes from within", he pointed to his chest, his heart. "It is not even about strength, whether physical or power of the force. It's about fighting for what is right and just".

"Master Alince, if you truly do not believe that Jedi are not warriors or can't be .. then why did you create the Dawnbringer?".

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[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]

“I think you misunderstand the meaning of warrior, Theo, or perhaps how I define it,” Phylis said softly. “Though one on one a Jedi can match a Sith in combat, Jedi are knights. We are not bred for war like Mandalorians, and we do not learn at the academy like soldiers. Jedi, in small groups, are extremely powerful and able to turn the tide of an encounter. However, we are not designed for the larger picture. Jedi Generals, such as those in the Clone Wars, sufficed for small scale, tactical encounters, but our code and our training gives no idea how to manage strategy, logistic, fleet movements.”

“I certainly have little clue about the arcane arts of fleeting and generalship. It is not why Jedi exist. Now Sith on the other hand, they are a different proposition. The talents which make Sith individually stronger allow them to focus on such arts. However, their training offers the same lack of time that it does for us. They have one key difference though; Sith are more than willing to learn by sacrificing those under their command in futile death-charges until they learn the ropes. Jedi are less suited for that.”

“The Jedi Order is designed for peace, which is ironic when you consider we wield lightsabres and can move things with our minds. Skill as a knight does not make one suitable for commanding armies or waging war. The great trap is that so often the Republic turned to us on the basis that personal valour makes one a skilled leader. And indeed in a small group that may be true, but without a very harsh apprenticeship most Jedi will never get that choice.”

She shrugged. “Regardless, the simple truth is that this time the Sith are defeating us, and nothing we do seems to stop them. I do not know the solution, I’m not great general or leader. Hmmph, I don’t think anyone in their right mind would put me in charge of a blue milk stall, let alone an army,” Phylis said with a sigh.

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

And so Master Alince gave him a lecture! and rightly so, but .. he still did not agree with her. Stubborn little sh.t! He had his mother in his blood after all.

A cheeky grin crossed his face, "I think, that Jedi can be warriors, like you say the Sith draw on powers that they have 'mastered' over thousands of year, while Jedi have fought to expel the very thing that could see them develop into a much greater force. Some have embraced it, I have. The fear Jedi hold is their own making simply because they believe that to give into such things would leading them down a path toward the darkside. They feared that, contrary to what they taught .. to removed fear in order to reach a peace internal .. they held a fear so great it stifled them, still does. For some", he would leave it at that, as Master Alince might want to get on with the lesson, they had gathered for.

"But I thank you Master Alince, I like talking to you. How else can I learn if not to seek the views of others in order to expand on my own thoughts and views. Even though I might not agree. Also, I thank you for another thing", he grinned wider.

"I thank you for not telling me, You are young, have still have much to learn", he did an impression of a low voice of a male master he had heard say this time and again. "Even though it may be true".

"One day I will take you to Midvinter, and show you the forges there .. I think you would like it".

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[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]
Phylis laughed. “Hmmph, my dear boy, I know just enough to know that we all have much to learn. Age has nothing to do with that, and often it is the old who must unlearn their notions. As for Midvinter, I would love to come visit sometime!”

She nodded and turned back to their work, looked blank. “Hmm, where were we?” she asked, absently playing with a bit of copper.

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He was delighted that Master Alince would like to see his homeworld, already in his mind he started to think of things to show her and people to meet. "I will arrange a trip for you, as soon as you are free", he said with no end of excitement.

He looked to her face, she seemed to suddenly go vague while playing with a small piece of metal. He could not help but smile, "We .. we were going to design something out of leather or cloth.. like a Jedi tunic or something". He reminded her.

"Please don't ask me to sew, I don't have a clue". He added quickly.

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[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]

“Ah yes, the cloth!” she said, snapping her fingers and putting the copper aside.

“Well, nothing so arduous as that, no. In theory this will not be so difficult so long as I use natural fibres. They were once alive, so I just need a way for them to ‘remember’ that and infuse the Force into the fibres.”

Going to her workstand she pulled the fragment free from the vice and showed it to Theo.
“I’m thinking if we soak this in some form of microbe rich liquid we can add their essence to the cloth. Then, when it comes out of there it should have the properties we wish.”

One of the many cabinets in the wall revealed an incubator with some petri dishes growing spores. Taking this one she went to a container of water and emptied it in.

“Now, give me a hand here, we’ll feed the Light into this to make it rapidly multiply. It’ll be perfect then. Just make sure you don’t get any of this liquid on you. I’m not sure whether it might be harmful.”

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Now things were getting into the realm of spooky and awesome. Although Théo was struggling to understand the concept, and this only caused him to want to ask more questions, but he would not be shy. He also thought that is was this 'side' of Alkahest that other Jedi had had issue with, meddling with natural flow of nature. How did one make a once living substance remember it was once alive?

"Master? I am not sure I understand, but are you saying that we infuse living microbes into the structural fabric and have them 'take on' the properties of the original host? Or have them be parasitic microbe? if that is the case they would need to consume something, what would they eat? would they not turn on the host? or will they 'eat' the lightside of the force? or are you hoping for a more symbiotic relationship?".

Théo was careful to do as his Master instructed as he moved over to the bench and began to use his connection to the light side on the microbes. He focused once again, this time pushing his concentration to the center of the living liquid.

​

[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]
“Hmm, the goal is to provide a substance full of life which we can then use to power our experiment. The microbes will have their essence used to infuse the cloth. Doing so will make the cloth so strong with the Force that it can hold the Alkahest. See, a lot of Sith Alchemy is about trading life for power…and this is similar, though I prefer to use microbes than animals or people.”

She joined with Theo, siphoning the power of the little swimmy things into the cloth. When they were done, through the Force, the patch of cloth positively glowed with the Light.
“Now, we take it out and shape it to our will.

With some tweezers she retrieved the cloth and lay it on the bench to dry out.
“Fetch me that gaslighter, Theo, thanks. Now, I will hold the cloth up and focus my energy on it, you apply the flame just far enough away not to burn it. Like with metal, you use these moments to create synchronicity.”

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He took in all her words, understanding most of it, but the idea of transferring a living things essence was beyond his scope of skills, at least for now. This was it, this is where the Jedi look unfavourably on those that use this craft, to take life from another to give to something else, usually an object that is inanimate .. he could see the ethical debate around this.

Theo did not say a word the whole time, both Master and Apprentice worked on the cloth infusing the light side of the force within the very fibers of the cloth. He could sense it 'growing' , so much stronger then originally and this both frightened him and excited him.. and he realised he could actually do this! One day he will be able to accomplish such a craft.

Master Alince asked for him to fetch a gaslighter and instructed him to hold the flame toward the cloth. Worried that he might hold it too close he started off a light away from it before moving the fire closer. He kept his hand steady and simply watched the master at work.

​

[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]
“There we go, just like that, Theo,” Phylis said reassuringly. Calling on the Force she sought to bind the cloth with the Force, to make it stronger, to make it bind with the warmth of the fire.

When she was done at last she held up the small swatch of cloth in her hand. Gazing at it with a critical eye she could sense its presence through the Force. It was there, shimmering slightly with the Light.

“Well, let’s see whether it worked, hmm?” she asked. Producing a small knife she attempted to cut the thin cotton, but it resisted as if it was made of steel wire.

“Now, it will not be like metal, where the molecular bonds can be made unbreakable. This will be an order of magnitude tougher, but it can be cut or burnt. But then, we wouldn’t want the cloth to be rigid anyway. Have a test of it.”

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Théo turned off the gasburner and placed it back on the work bench. This attention was on the cloth, his eyes wider as the sense of it he could feel through the force, it was truly amazing to see this in action and to have succeeded. He smiled at Master Alince, and moved closer to see what she was about to do next, taking in everything. "Its glowing", he whispered, "Just like the Dawnbringer", well to a point, that sword was radiant.

He watched as she attempted to cut the cloth with a knife, at first it was difficult and the cloth stayed true but with more effort it would cut, but there was no getting away from the fact that the cloth had become stronger, for its natural form and that was a start. "So the more light one would apply to this, the stronger it would become?", he asked wondering if they had had more lightside applied to it, would it be more resistant to the knife.

"If this cloth was woven with threads that are made of metal, would that increase it's ability to be stronger?", This would be expensive but could it be possible?

​

[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]
“Hmm, yes, in theory one could make it stronger. However, doing so would reach the point where the cloth becomes rigid and immoveable. That would not be very comfortable, hmm. Metal threads now…hmm, that is a curious idea. The problem is, when I set something, it becomes largely immobile, unbreakable. I have not reached a level of skill yet where I can make something bendable yet still resilient like with wire. However, it is something I would be very interested in trying out. Good thinking, Theo!”

She took the piece of cloth back. “So, ready to do a set of robes?”

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He had to admit to himself, he was rather stoked that Master Alince liked his idea. So much so he smiled at her, but he pushed his mind even further with the idea. When she mentioned to push on with the robes, he moved to follow her but then he stopped.

"Master? You mind if I rifle through your draws?", he did not wait for her reply, instead he turned toward one of her many cupboards, opening the doors to look through all the draws. Pulling each one out, he did not discover what he was looking for, he closed the doors quickly looking around to see where she might stock the wire. It did not dawn on him to have asked her, kids never think of such practical things. Well not until later ..

Then he spotted a control panel on the wall, and without thinking he moved to it and ripped of the cover. "I think I will find what I am looking for in here", he said poking his head in the large hole now. Finally, he spotted a wire, he did not know what it was for or even what it was made of, but that was not his intention. Giving the wire a good yank, it pulled away from it's connections, with a few sparks hissing protesting at his rude handling of them and he turned to hold it up to declare victory! with a smile of course.

The sense of victory was only fleeting, seconds later the recognition of what he had done might not be appreciated by Master Alince, he quickly set about his work. He cut the wire into smaller pieces before he began to manipulate them and looping them until they formed a chain. Crude as it was, it should do the trick to illustrate what he had in mind. "Master, you say that metal hardens with infused with the lightside and becomes to stiff to wear, what if the threads where, chained? like chain mail but on a much smaller scale that it could be woven into the fabric and thus making it more flexible?".

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[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]
“My draws? Certainly not, it’s bad enough that Siobhan…” she began. Then she realised that he meant the cupboards.
“What are you looking for. Theo…no, don’t do that!” she suddenly cried. She ran to the control box, which was starting to flash.
“Hmmph, that was the triatic regulator…I’m going to have to rewire this.”

She looked grumpily at Theo. “That would work, but it would be excruciatingly slow. You would have to form each ring separately, hand rivet it before it fully set. It could certainly be done, but it would likely take weeks to do.”

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

He held the crude metal chain up before his face and looked at it more carefully, examining the possibilities and heeding her words. "So it could be done", Théo said more to himself, and a smile crossed his face. He mind went over the procedures, what Master Alince had shown him today, and he thought about what he must do to one day, try and achieve this. Théo knew he did not have the strength in the force to do it just yet, but one day he will.

"I am sorry Master Alince, for wrecking your .. triatic regulator, I will fix it for you", he offered by way of making amends. Théo placed the chain on the bench and walked closer to Phylis.

"I am ready when you are to start on the robes", he was brimming full of interesting and a keen sense of want to learn more, not to mention full of energy to burn.

​

[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théodred Heavenshield"]
“It could be done, but I think the effort involved would make it prohibitive.” She reflected somewhat. “Hmm, you could create splint armour though. That would use metal plates and provide more flexibility, but not be as intensive to create. Something to consider.”

Phylis went to the wardrobe and produced one of her better brown robes. “May as well test it out on this. Ready?”

 

[Théodred Heavenshield]

Putting away all the information Master Alince had told him, Theo began to consider all the possibilities to use Alkahest in this regard. The idea of plates seemed very possible and in time he would attempt such a thing himself, but there was much work to be done for this young man before even considering it. The stood in contemplation for a moment, mentally noting what skills in the force he would need to practice before he would be considered ready to try. Mother might help him, he was sure of that, if he asked her nicely.

"Yes Master Alince, I am ready when you are", he watched her pull out her Jedi robes, a old fashioned brown number. "I think you would look amazing in white", he said before his mind thought better of it. Realising that she might be 'attached' to this colour or set of robes he back tracked with a smile.

​

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[member="Phylis Alince"]​

 

[Phylis Alince]

[member="Théo Vhalorious"]
“Hmmph, white is rather presumptive for a Jedi to wear. Besides, hmm, it’s so difficult to clean! In my job darker colours are better as they show stains less.”

Lowering the fabric into the water she started to channel the Force into it, with Theo’s help. The power made the water fairly glow as if there were muted light shining from the bottom. Pulling the drenched cloth out she hung it up over a sink and continued the channelling of the power.

Light Side energy curled around the fibres, binding with it, making it stronger. When, after a fairly exhausting sequence, the power was evenly distributed, Phylis brought the cloth closer to a heater and dried it off.

“Right…let’s give it a try. Pass me that knife there, Theo.”