The stern and the smart

[Mantic Dorn]

The temple on Yutan was coming together very nice. the training areas were starting to get filled and its chambers were beginning to see life return.
It felt good to have been part of building something, even if every Republic Knight also carried a wound inside them, feeling the jedi schism loom over their shoulders was not a pleasant thing. Mantic was no exception but he remained true to what he believed was the calling of the force, to stay true to the origins of the jedi and its roots with the Republic body that they had sworn to protect.

This day was a special one to him. He had not taken any padawan since he had left the order but knew that if there was going to be life in this newly formed Republic Order he had to be an example and so, as he had one day passed a young master-less padawan he had felt something familiar. The force was a mystery and he could not connect the dots on this one, but he recognized the gentle nudge the force had given him whenever he had accepted a padawan.

He had not approached her on this before but he had informed the temple receptionist to inform [member="Fleur de La Fontaine"] that he wished to see her in his office the next day.
No further instructions were given to her.

Now Mantic sat in the middle of the room upon a meditation pillow, his hands resting in his lap as he awaited the aspiring knight to arrive.

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Fleur was a traveller who never really stayed in one place for long so she was surprised when a receptionist from the Jedi temple at Yutan contacted her and told her that a Jedi Master [member="Mantic Dorn"] from the temple had requested her presence. Curious as to why a Jedi Master would want to see her, Fleur got on the first shuttle to Yutan to pay a visit to the temple there.

As someone without any formal training in the use of the force, Fleur did not wear the robes commonly worn by padawan. Instead, she wore a white v neck t-shirt under a leather jacket with skinny jeans and combat boots. Although she had visited Jedi temples before, she had never actually entered one and felt a bit nervous once she was inside. Fleur did not know the location of the office that belonged to the man who had invited her there so she approached a receptionist and asked for directions.

Initially, Fleur was curious but now her nervousness had taken over her curiosity after all, she was in a Jedi temple - a place of light, somewhere she felt she would never belong. Dubbed a ‘child of misfortune’ by her parents – the people who were meant to love her more than anything in the world, she worried if any of the Jedis inside the temple were able to sense the darkness that her parents said that she had within her.

By the time she had approached the door, Fleur felt almost a bit sick. Although her connection to the force and by extension, her force abilities were quite weak to non-existent, she could sense the presence of a powerful Jedi behind the door. Slowly, with her hands slightly shaking, she reached out to touch the doorknob and twisted it open to reveal the Jedi Master sitting in the middle of the room upon a meditation pillow, with his hands resting in his lap as he waited for her.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

There was a presence approaching and Mantic closed his eyes trying to discern its aura. He recognized its fenit yet vibrant threads as those of [member="Fleur de La Fontaine"] before she had opened the door.

As she entered he inclined his head and motioned for a pillow in front of him.

"Welcome padawan, please have a seat and let us talk."

Mantic returned his hand into his lap. He did not know much about [member="Fleur de La Fontaine"] but her abilities were there, just not refined. Her force web was rough and to many threads hung slack or were too thin to do her any good. But there was a core of potential in her. He was curious about how she would react to his offer.

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Fleur watched as [member="Mantic Dorn"], gestured for her to sit on the pillow before him and obliged. She knew she was force sensitive but never knew much about Jedis and was a bit confused about the set up of the office as she had expected him to be seated behind a big heavy wooden desk of some sort.

Rather than sitting in a cross-legged position, Fleur sat with her legs neatly tucked under her so that her boots would not dirty the pillow. As she looked at the Jedi Master who sat before her with a face marred by burns accumulated from battles, a sense of relief washed over her when she saw there was no sign of disgust towards her on his face. A look of utter disgust and loathing - it was an expression that she had so accustomed to getting from her parents as well as a few of her maids in the big empty house she had once called home so she had naturally expected to receive it from others whom she would encounter as well.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

She wore no robes, nor had she gotten accustomed to the formal greetings between jedi. She had some road ahead of her Mantic thought to himself as he watched her take her seat.

He watched her for a short moment, as if appraising her then nodded to himself.

"I am Master Dorn, padawan. It has come to my understanding that you have recently been brought to the jedi attention as a force sensitive."

Smoothing his robe Mantic made an appearance as if they were chit chatting. He had no such intentions though. He considered meeting and possibly accepting a future padawan a meeting of gravest importance. And he wished for it to be right, both for him and for her.

"Tell me how did you came aware of that you had the gift?"

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"Gift? I consider it more a curse." Fleur replied. "As for when I first became aware of my powers, I think unintentionally used them against my mother when she had tried to kill me a few months ago. She died. I don't remember what happened but I think that was my fault."

She could have lied to him to conceal what she had done but she chose not to. Telling one lie would only breed more and she did not want the stress of keeping up a facade to anyone. In return for confessing her crime to the Jedi Master, she felt a sense of relief as it was the first time she had told someone about it. It was not that she wanted to conceal the truth from other but rather, she had never been asked or it had never become a relevant part of the conversation so she had avoided talking about it until now.

Cautiously, Fleur looked at the [member="Mantic Dorn"]'s face trying to read him. Was he going to have her removed from the temple for her actions? She wondered anxiously. She could feel her palms start to sweat.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

MAntic frowned slightly as she told her tale and he cursed himself for not detecting the warning signs. Death was already a part of this one and even though it was not unusual he had not foreseen it regarding [member="Fleur de La Fontaine"]

"I am very sorry to hear that you suspect such a thing. It is true that the force is a dangerous tool. It can be unpredictable and even cause death and pain to those around yourself."

He held up a hand to stlop her from falling into despair.

"But the force is not in control of yourself unless you give into those emotions of fear and suspiciouns that will try to best you."
Mantic now realized why he had been drawn to her. She was clearly in need of help, of guidance. Maybe he was meant to help her?

"Padawan, listen carefully. You must learn to control your powers. It is perhaps not a gift, but it is not a curse either. It is what you are, what we are. The force will always be a part of the galaxy but we can choose to take responsibility for the part we play in it."

"I believe that I can help you, as a master offering guidance to you as my padawan. But it would require you to leave your old life behind you. Even the loss of your mother."

Mantic sat still, speaking with a tutoring voice.

"Can you do that?"

 

[cheshire_kitty]

Fleur looked up at [member="Mantic Dorn"] with a surprised reaction on her face. His response was not what she had anticipated. "You wish to train me?" she asked not believing what he had just offered her. Finally, a chance at redemption was knocking at her door step which was something she had so desperately wanted. Every time Fleur thought about the past, she would try and think about what she could have done differently and how her life would be now as a result.

She had always thought, after the death of her mother, she was already on the path of darkness where she would bring nothing but despair to people around her but perhaps, she could be saved and directed back onto the correct path. Perhaps, that was what she had been searching for on her travels - a path to the light, a chance to change.

"As much as I want to, I'm not sure if I can leave my past behind me. To be honest, I have not completely recovered emotionally from what had happened but, I'm willing to try because I'm scared. I'm scared that one day, I might accidently venture onto the path of a darkness and that I will become a dark Jedi or even, a Sith and by that time, it would be too late for me to change as I would have too much blood on my hands." she admitted to the Jedi as she fiddled with her shoulder length blonde hair still feeling rather anxious.

 

[Mantic Dorn]

The air of grave decissions hung in the room like a wet blanket. It would be important for Mantic to make her understand from the beginning. He saw no other way for [member="Fleur de La Fontaine"]

"You must. For the sake of yourself and those in your past." He began.

"If you do accept this padawan, you must obey my instructions and not stray from the path I will help create for you. It is not an easy task to put oneself behind. But for you to become a useful instrument of the light, it is necessary to learn how to control these elements in your past."

"Can you promise me that you will listen and follow my instructions padawan?"

 

[cheshire_kitty]

"I will." Fleur promised [member="Mantic Dorn"] with a nod as she the words left her lips to affirm her decision. She knew it was something she had to do to prevent her fears from becoming reality. The past, that was something that had already been carved in stone. Her future, however was not. She had an opportunity to change and would be a fool to turn it down. Now that she had chosen the path she was going to take and dedicate herself to, there was no point in looking back as it would only endanger her future as a Jedi.

"When does my apprenticeship begin and what will it involve?" She queried. Although she had read about the heroic deeds of the Jedis in books, she did not know anything about their training and how it would impact her. "I assume I will not be able to travel as freely as have become used to and that my life as a padawan will have more structure to it?"

 

[Mantic Dorn]

Mantic offered a smile. HE knew she must feel preassured but the signs were clear about what was the right thing here. Somewhere deep inside her he hoped she recognized that as well.
But her powers were still not hers to command and she doubted she would have the insight to interpret the web already.

"Good padawan. Then I promise to do everything in my power to teach you to the best of my ability."

"You are now a padawan of the Republican knights, a servant of the people of the republic. Sometimes that does take us far away but we do not traverse merely because we wish or for leissure. You have an internal journey to focus on from now on. From this day you what you do will reflect on all of us, including me. Keep that in mind at all times." he nodded to them both.

"You should go and retrieve a Robe for youself, then take the day to rest and contemplate on what your decission must mean for you and for those it affects."

"Tomorrow your training will begin."

MAntic inclined his head slightly once more to indicate that the meeting had come to an end.