This ain’t real…

[Corvus Raaf]

Under any circumstance, Corvus loved to spend time at the Meditation Pavilion. It was probably her favourite place in the whole of the galaxy. And it was also her favoured place for teaching so many of the Jedi abilities.

She typically used it for quiet and reflective learning but today she was about to train her Padawan in a less demure Ability – Force Barrier. She was armed with a small box containing all manner of props to help them in that training. And to share what was contained would have been too much of a clue, so patience would have to be the virtue on this occasion.

All that was missing was the student, but as Corvus was early, she knew CJ would be along any moment now. So she closed her eyes and meditated, as she often did.

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

After settling in, and hours studying the Jedi Code, the time had finally come for her to begin to learn not only the ways of the Jedi but Force abilities associated with protecting herself. And that ability was Force Barrier. The ability was barely known to her but that was the pointe of this learning session with her Master.

As she drew closer to the Meditation Pavilion, she cleared her mind of all distractions. And focused to get her eagerness under control. She knew the dangers of allowing eagerness to be the ruling motivator when it came to learning knowledge. All to familiar. She stopped at the opening, took a deep breath and entered.

She saw her Master in a meditation trance. No doubt her Master sensed her presence and out of respect, remained quiet until her Master had completed her session. As she waited, she looked around the place and was awe struck by the beauty of it. There was so much serenity and peace surrounding this place. This was something she had never experienced before in her life, and she found herself feeling at peace for the first time in her life.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus opened one eye as CJ approached. She approximated a bow from her seated position and then smiled. She was aware that her Padawan was aware of the majesty of the place too.

“This used to be GrandMaster Skywalker’s favourite spot you know. He even hid something over there.” She pointed to a place where one new brick sat surrounded by very old and weathered bricks. “But that is a story for another day.”

“And I love it for a whole range of reasons. Not least because it is a wonderful place to meditate. Which is something we should cover soon. There are many variations and they cover many different aspects. Some rejuvenate, others enhance learning and some are even linked to saber combat – but, like my story – for another day.”

“No, today we can learn about Force Barriers. I have to admit this was one Ability it took me a while to grasp – as with Force Deflection. We all have some that are harder to develop than others – but with practice we get there. I shall say this until I know you will groan, but practice is what differentiates the good from the great. It’s actually a scientific fact. 10,000 hours to be precise. The very best in any field put this amount of effort in. So I always caution Jedi on learning too many Abilities too quickly. There are only so many hours in the day.”

“But enough of my pep talk,” she smiled again. “Tell me, what do you know of Force Barriers?”

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

She turned her toward the spot her Master was pointing. Curiosity attempted to reach out and snatch her attention, turning her into it's marionette while using invisible strings to dance her over to the new brick and discover the nature of this hidden treasure. With a smile, she turned her head back to her Master, ignoring the tugging an pulling, and took a seat on the ground opposite the Grandmaster of the Jedi Order.

CJ listened as her Master spoke first of meditation techniques, which would be a lesson for another day, then to Force Barriers. This was to be her first Force Ability she would learn as a Jedi. She sat there trying to recall what little knowledge she had of the ability. She tried to spend what free time she had, which wasn't a lot, in the great Jedi Library trying to gain an understanding of everything Jedi.

"All I know of Force Barriers, Master," she finally began, "Is that it is an energy shield of sorts that can be utilized for both offense and defense. Beyond that, I know nothing more."


[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus nodded, “That’s a fair explanation. One of the benefits of using the Force – the Light-side of the Force I mean – is that it is individual to each of us. The drawback is that...well it is individual.”

“Many times you have to see what works for you – different Jedi seem to access the same Ability from a different direction. Force Barrier is one of those.”

“One variable is the Force User herself of course. The more advanced you are, the greater the power of the defence and the longer you can hold it for. Like most Force Abilities really. But then some have an aptitude for some over others. I was slow to learn this. But, with practice, I became competent. Practice is key for all Abilities. It is what differentiates the good from the great – not natural aptitude – hours spent perfecting is what matters.”

“For an Ability like this, the start is the same – you have to imagine what you wish to do…in this case construct a barrier created entirely of the Force. If you believe it to be possible and tell the Force what you wish, it will do the rest. If you doubt yourself, you will fail. If you try to wrestle with the Force to do your bidding – you will fail.”

“Now, for many, they imagine a solid barrier, others imagine it is flexible, or a liquid. What works for me may not work for you. So…initially imagine your skin is covered by a barrier constructed of the Force. Then make that barrier move outwards until you’ve created a sphere.”

“With most Abilities, it takes time initially but with practice, it can be instantaneous. I would recommend you close your eyes and meditate, simply connect to the Force, to begin with – this will make your first attempt easier.”

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

CJ nodded, her eyes closing and her mind focusing on the Force. She took small intakes of air and released it even slower as she reached out into the Force, calling on it to lend it's energy to hers. She was new to meditation but at the request of her Master, she had spent time honing this skill. CJ found it could calm her in times of turmoil and relax her mind by casting away distractions; connecting her to the Force. Such was the case now as she felt the warm fingers of the Force curl around her every being.

Now she began to imagine a glowing light beginning first on her skin then moving around to encase her body. However, the light shimmered and faded away. She furrowed her brow, took a deeper breath this time and tried again. The same result had occurred as the first except this time around the glowing light had actually completed it's cycle of encasing her body only did she try to add more energy to it did it fade away.

Balance and patient was what she needed, not frustration. She didn't expect to learn and master this ability in one sitting. So she relaxed her mind, pushing away the two memories of the previous failures and continued again.

First glowing light on skin. Second encasing her body. Then slowly, working with the Force rather than against it, she began to pour more energy into holding the barrier until it began to turn brighter around her being. It flickered a couple of times but she countered it by focusing harder on holding it.

Her eyes opened as she saw that she had done it. It took a lot of her but as Master Raaf said, practice is essential.

"A foundation to build upon," CJ said as the barrier dissipated around her.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus was smiling and feigned a tsk-tsk at the effort.

"It was good but you can do better." Her voice betrayed she was positive about the first attempt. "And I'll tell you what I sensed, shall I?"

She cocked her head to one side. "I told you from the off this is your path and all I can do is walk with you, not guide you. But I am allowed to offer hints and tips along the way." The smile on her lips suggested she was enjoying this conversation and was building to some sot of a punchline.

"Anyway, back to what I sensed. I sensed...you did not expect it to work first time. You set an expectation to fail. Every Youngling here knows the mantra - Do or do not..."

"If you plan to fail you will surely fail. Trust in the Force and it will not let you down. A very wise Master gave me the following advice once. I was what...fourteen? And I remember it as if it were yesterday."

"Trust in the Force. People will let you down. Governments will let you down. You will let you down. But the Force will never let you down."

"So, rinse and repeat. This time believe. It is never, ever more complicated than that." And she gave her Padawan a wink. "Ready?"

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Her Master had been right. She believed she would fail at the onset because that was all she knew in her life. But again, old life and old thinking. She did trust in the Force but maybe not as much as she should have. And why did she at times not trust in the Force? It was there when she required it's assistance, people in her old life were not. It never abandoned her or judged her, again it couldn't be said of the others in her old life.

As she thought about what her Master said, it wasn't the Force she didn't trust; it was herself. Quickly she laid the rest that notion or suffer never to become the Jedi she was always meant to be. She decided at the moment that her own self-pity and self-wallowing will end at once. She was, as her Master pointed out, letting herself down.

"Ready, Master."

With her eyes open this time, she gathered the Force energy around her and began to intertwine it to her own. She imagined a warm, soft, and glowing blue energy starting at the centre of her body; focusing on it to spread out until it enveloped her. Trust the Force. Trust yourself. Believe!

The barrier grew brighter than it had done that previous time, no signs of flickering or threats of extinguishing. CJ held fast to it and pleased that she had done it.

"This is amazing," she said with a glint of happiness in her red eyes. "Do or do not!"

She began to chuckle.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus could sense the development of CJ already. Sometimes it took a while for people to accept advice and realise for themselves what they needed to do. Some never let go of the past and didn’t realise that, like some metaphorical anchor, it was holding them back.

But CJ was learning – and all by herself – which was invariably the best way. Corvus’ old Master on Corellia rarely gave an answer. Instead he’d simply ask a new question. It was at times infuriating but she understood the logic. Being given an answer was never the same as devising an answer.

So when CJ said she was ready, Corvus believed her. And the blue barrier was simply a way of showing that CJ was ready.

Still smiling, Corvus opened her box of trick and pulled out a stun blaster. The smile turned to a beam and she put it away. “Just kidding,” she offered and instead retrieved some sponge balls.

“Our approach is to build up to your level of challenge. So we start soft. And don’t worry, I’ll use the blaster before the lesson ends.”

“So, let’s see how this works. What can happen is that you’ll feel the ball hit your barrier. Soft stuff will have minimal effect but even a small hit will drain some of the shield and it will have to be replenished. This is why Barrier is often a challenge for Padawans. The first time I tried Force Deflection as a Knight well…let’s just say vomit is never pleasing in a training environment.”

And with that, Corvus started to ping the soft balls at CJ’s barrier.

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

Her eyes flickered with a mixture of shock and concern at the sight of the stun blaster, but never faltered in holding her barrier. Then she relaxed when Master Raaf mentioned she was kidding. She trusted her Master, something she didn't freely give away, and truly believed her Master wouldn't put her in harm's way until they both felt she was ready.

CJ laughed when she envisioned Master Raaf getting sick during her attempt at using a more advanced technique than what she was learning today.

"I apolo...," CJ began when the first of the soft balls careened toward her.

Just as Master Raaf said, she felt her barrier being hit and watched as it began to drain. She tightened her focus, patching up her barrier as quickly as she could when the balls struck them. It was taxing on her mentally but nothing was ever gained by giving up.

After the last ball hit and fell harmlessly to the floor, CJ took a breath quickly pouring more energy into her barrier. Her Master said she would use that stun blaster before the lesson was over, so CJ wasn't going to be caught offguard. She had been stunned before and it was not a sensation she wished to experience again.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus watched as CJ seemed to have the hang of the Ability. Both Sera and Kana had picked it up quickly – but that was the way with these things. Each Jedi seemed to have a natural affinity for certain skills. This boded well for Force Deflection for CJ later.

So now Corvus put the sponge balls away and brought out some rubber ones. The sort that bounce if you drop them on a hard surface and hurt if they’re thrown at you.

She gently lobbed them one after another at CJ’s barrier – this was not a lesson with a lot of words, merely repetition.

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

The rubber balls had packed more punch than their spongy siblings. When they made contact with her barrier she could nearly feel it in her body. They had a different weight to them forcing her to adjust the strength of her protective barrier. Also, she had to focus twice as hard to repair her barrier, which she had struggled at first but quickly got a handle on it.

Her eyes watched as one ball after another hit the energy then land on the training floor. This was more exhausting than dealing with the sponge balls which only proved to her that in order to use this ability efficiently, hours would be required to hone it.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Regardless of how CJ felt it was going, Corvus was impressed by her Padawan's progress. To hold the barrier firm was a real achievement.

But as she'd promised to make the Vahla the best Jedi she could be, Corvus knew she had to up the difficulty level.

So she stood and took a few paces back. This time she threw the rubber balls at the Padawan's barrier - the stakes were certainly being raised.

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

She planted her feet firmly on the ground in anticipation of the rubber balls that would now fly toward her at a more rapid speed. She strengthened her barrier one more time so when the first of the round objects struck it, she wouldn't need to work so hard to repair the damage done to it.

Her Master, now a few more feet away, wound up and unleashed the first ball. Smack! The pressure of the ball made a sizeable "hole" in the barrier; but other than that the ball never broke through. This was going to be an even greater challenge for her. If she couldn't stop a ball from getting through then what hope did she have of stopping a blaster shot.

As before, her mind coupled with the Force repaired the "hole" just in time as the next ball hit. The "hole" created by this one was noticeably smaller, which meant she was getting the idea behind holding up her barrier. "Hole" repaired, she steadied herself for the next series of onslaughts.

She had grown exhausted, but she had succeeded.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus paused. "You're doing fantastically well, but I have no desire to push you until you are exhausted. If you're OK to carry on, I can continue with the rubber balls and use the Force to throw them a little harder. If not, we can adjourn until tomorrow and pick the lesson up."

"The more you use the Force, the greater your ability to draw on it on any given day or for a given task." She contemplated using the analogy of the cardboard box - one she hadn't used since the Invasion of Kashyyyk and to a certain Sith Lord. But she decided to save it for another day. "So... your call."

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

She was exhausted. She had never called on the use of the Force in her life as much as she was doing now. She had read the dangers of Force exhaustion and the tragedies associated with it. But she wanted to learn, needed to learn. She, in her own mind, was leagues behind the other Padawans. Granted, she should not be comparing herself to the others but if she was to help protect them just as they swore to protect her, she needed to continue with the lesson.

"No, Master. I am ready to continue. If I feel that I cannot go on without a break, I'll say as much."

She took a deep intake of breath, centred herself, and slowly began to pull the Force to her adding it to whatever she had left inside. If she failed this round, it was a lesson in failure she was willingly to accept. Sometimes failure was something a person needed to find success.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

“The cruel aspect of the Force,” she smiled, “If I can be so bold, is that when you’re at a level where you’re less likely to run empty, as you risk now, there are Meditation techniques to draw fresh energy in a very short time. One day you’ll learn them. But for now?”

Corvus held up a rubber ball and rather than throw it, she used Telekinesis to fling it at her Padawan’s shield. Then she held up two and repeated the process. And she kept on going until the Barrier broke down or she ran out of rubber balls.

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]

Spoiler

[ooc]As a Force Ability, it's a bit dry, so don't feel obliged to write half a page given you'll no doubt repeat stuff from before [/ooc]

 

[Via Dolorosa]

The mention of a meditation technique piqued her curiosity. Over the past few weeks she found herself believing and trusting in meditating; where in the past she viewed it as an obscured obstacle whose sole purpose was to distract her. Also, the more she meditated the more she discovered herself; who she was, what she wanted to be, and most importantly what not to become. In hindsight, she was abusing her gift of the Force. She perceived it as a manifestation that she could exploit and to use for her own purposes. In foresight, she had been careless and completely wrong. It was no wonder that she had allowed the Darkside to absolutely consume her.

"I wish to learn this meditation technique, Master. I'm still struggling with relying on the Force to much and less on my natural talents. Until I find a balance this will greatly aide me."

The first few balls were easily repelled but finally in the end, her barrier gave way and she felt more than once her body being hit by the rubber balls. They didn't do serious harm but she would feel them for the next couple of days in her mind, a reminder to herself not to overstretch her abilities.


[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus pushed her Padawan hard – she’d promised to make her the best she could be after all. So finally the Barrier gave way and a couple of the balls made their way onto CJ’s body. Nothing permanent, but they’d leave a nasty bruise for a few days.

“Rest, and next we’ll see how you cope with a blaster pistol. This time I’ll aim obliquely…there’s no point in damaging you unnecessarily.”

“And I propose we spend a day reviewing Meditation. There are a variety of techniques that allow for different outcomes. A renewed connection to the Force, an enhanced connection to the Force, learning, even an ability to hide from those who would seek you or look to hurt you with the Force. As you can probably tell, I find them greatly underestimated Abilities and I’m pleased you wish to learn them.”

Corvus put the rubber balls away and then took the blaster pistol out. She held it as if its very presence offended her. “When you’re ready, so am I.” She smiled – this was going to be her Padawan’s greatest challenge.

[member="Ciara Jevnaker"]