Wrestle Your Demons

[Anastasia Rade]

Ana had always focused much more on her Mandalorian training than anything to do with the Force. She had a feeling much of that was due to her view on the force. As a slave she had always saw it as a curse more than a gift even her vision. The thought of it being a curse faded a bit and she eventually joined the Silver Jedi but she never really learned to utilize her gifts.

The abilities that she dabbled a little in were more along the lines of healing and animal friendship. Her most offensive ability beyond the basics was Force blinding. It was useful but absolutely nowhere near the powers of the Sith or even other Jedi. Now that she was more or less settled Ana was ready to learn more.

The Silver Jedi Temple on Voss was not somewhere she normally hung out or trained. She was happy to be here and ready to train with both fellow Mandalorian and Silver Jedi. Ana wasn't sure what to expect from [member="Xander Carrick"] or his training but she was eager to learn. She had a feeling it would be different than other training.

As she waited Ana stretched a bit in the training room which was bare compared to the training rooms she had been to on Mandalore. There were a lot less weapons.

 

[Garza]

I was requested to training with a fellow Mandalorian, and Silver Jedi Knight. Or more correctly in terms of Mando'a, a Vod of mine. She was talented as a Mandalorian. She had the ability to be a great force user. She just didn't seem to train on it however. All that was noted of her was healing and a few odds and ends. Nothing oh so great or powerful. Which was good. I hated students who thought they knew about everything. However she was not in the dark. She knew that training must be done, and so she sought after it.

Walking down the hallway, I wore my standard armorweave uniform with durasteel bracers and calves. On my hip was a simple single bladed lightsaber. They only thing I needed to carry was the battle helm I wore. Made out of songsteel and was currently almost like a giant metal choker around my neckline. Speaking of it, I rubbed my finger on the inside of the choker as it felt a little tighter than normal. I guess I was getting a little thicker in the neck. Might have to fix that later on.

Walking to the training room, I opened the door to see the young lady standing inside. Looking around. I already knew what she might be thinking about.

"Yes Miss Rade, the walls are rather bare. Not my choice."

I smiled and walked over to her. Giving her my hand in the form of an introduction.

"I'm Xander Carrick. Call me Xander, Carrick, or whatever. No master please."

Not one for being called master. I didn't like the formal titles and names when I didn't have to be. I rather liked being informal sometimes. However I wanted to be a gentlemen to her. First impression are a big thing. Nonetheless, I waved my hand about the room. Indicating it with distaste.

"If it was my choice, I would have all kinds of weapons up here for people to see, fondle and try out. However for you, we will be working with force powers. Most notably, Telekinesis."

[member="Anastasia Rade"]

 

[Anastasia Rade]

"It's a pleasure to meet you in person Mr. Carrick. Thank you for coming and please call me Ana." It had taken her a bit of practice how not to be so socially awkward in situations. Her childhood had been anything but normal and she never really learned how to communicate with others too well.

After a second or two she finally took her hand out to shake his. "Yes, very bare. When Azrael and I used to train the room was full of weapons. He showed me how to use them all." Ana lightly smiled as she kept gazing about the room.

Az was far too busy now to take time for much one on one training with her. Ana of course understood and kept up with training on her own and with others. What she found that she liked the most was helping the younger Mandalorians.

Ana could understand why there wasn't any here though. The Silver Jedi was a more peaceful order. The only real weapon a Jedi needed was the Force and their Lightsaber. Ana still would always love her Mando toys though.

"Telekinesis." She spoke back in almost a whisper. "I know the basics but not much beyond that I'm afraid. I'm eager to learn though." She could promise Xander that she would be a good student and follow instructions.

[member="Xander Carrick"]

 

[Garza]

She shook my hand. Hers were rather small compared to mine. Though, I was a rather larger built person. Standing a little over the average height, and having a little bit more muscle to my frame than most other Jedi, it was mostly due to having to train with the hammer I owned. To swing that around fast enough to combat a lightsaber took a lot of skill. As well as the body to swing such a weapon around. Nonetheless, I was half expecting to see this young woman a little less larger. But she was a Mando'ade. She was built tough. How could I have doubt that?

Letting go of the handshake as Ana, there was a mention of the current Mandalore being her personal teacher. I left it at that as we both knew that he probably had more pressing matters than training someone when someone else could take his place. However, there was that one special place in your heart for your first teacher. Even I had one. Knowing who it was as well.

Instead I decided to talk about current matters. Such as her training. She spoke of knowing the basics, and almost every Force user did. Even Sith used it sometimes. However Jedi tend to use it more often as it is a passive aggressive form of the force. Speaking to her, I smiled a little and tilted my head while folding my arms.

"Then tell me Ana. What do you know of Telekinesis?"

There were many things you could do with the form. Hell even one of them was gliding, or even sustained flight if you were good enough. I was close to it, but I would have to work on that later. Instead I wanted to see how far she was. So that she could become a little bit better within the force. As well, she can transition telekinesis into her own body. Increasing her running speed, Increasing the power of a single punch, or even sending a blast powerful enough to break through the blast doors of a ship. It all depended on how well she trained, focused, and practiced correctly.

I had high hopes for her. I would always set the bar high to push any of my students. Her however, I expected more from. because I knew she could do it. She just had to believe in herself.

[member="Anastasia Rade"]

 

[Anastasia Rade]

Before she could barely even talk Ana had watched her parents slang in front of her. She hand her brothers were than taken as slaves. It wasn't until many years later that Azrael brought to the Mandalorians. He was much more than just her first teacher, he became the brother she loved most of all.

Reentering society was hard and still was but she always did her best because she wanted to make her brother proud. Show him that saving her hadn't been for nothing. She worked long and hard to do so. It was all a work in progress and she considered this to be another step.

"I know push, pull, and how to increase my speed. I always found the last one useful on my solo adventures." She grinned to herself almost as she recalled the time that she ran from the wild bear.

During war the Mandalorians had always done their best to keep the enemies Force abilities at bay. It was part of the reason she hadn't been too concerned about learning until now. Ana had always had a lot on her plate trying to play catch up.

Ana believed that she could do this and be the type of Jedi her parents would have been proud of. Well, at least her mother as her father had been an Imperial Moff.


[member="Xander Carrick"]

 

[Garza]

A small pause in which she thought about many things that happened. However her answer came quickly. Easily as she told me the simple things as pushing and pulling. However the one that I did expect was the Speed. Increasing one's speed was a great way to make the battle much more easier. However there were some different aspects of speed. Could it be that she could just run faster, or could she also react faster? I wanted to know the difference between this within her. However, there was only one way to test that. Not now though.

Nodding my head simply, I walked forward and slowly without even my hands moving, the lightsaber on my belt began to float. Floating up into the air until it was smack between us. However, it was just at her eye level. Enough for her to see the slightly longer hilt. it was good for two handed use. Well over two handed use and could have been considered a Long handled lightsaber. Considering I used a double bladed lightsaber rather often, and I would only activate one blade some times, it was good to have a dedicated single bladed lightsaber. That way it wouldn't be harder to keep track of the two spinning blades.

"So basic manipulation with the hand, and increasing your physical speed. Good. Better than starting off from nowhere."

Pointing to the saber that was floating. I continued to speak even as my arm went back down at my side.

"I want you to try and keep this afloat. First start by holding your hand out like you would grab at it. Then slowly let your hand drop, but focus on keeping the lightsaber at your eye level. Give it a shot."

While it was easier to do things such as force push, and pulling. it was even harder to use just your mind to move objects. However, if you started off with the semi-harder things to do, the things that required more concentration, then doing lesser powerful skills such as pushes and pulls. Even increasing speed would become easier for her to accomplish. Start small. Then move your way up from there. Just like learning how to walk. Before you run, you walk. Before you walk, you crawl. before you crawl you learn to slide. And so forth.

Begin from the smallest, and work your way up. Only then will you become strengthened over time.

[member="Anastasia Rade"],

 

[Anastasia Rade]

The basics were very important to master beyond anything else. If she could get what he was teaching her Ana could move anything. It seemed simple and she knew full well that most would have just shrugged such things off but Ana however didn't. She was grateful for his help and didn't think that this was a waste.

Her father had rose the ladder by doing similar things. You had to start at the beginning in order to be successful. Her father had been very successful and as such it took him away from his family much of the time. Ana could remember though always being excited to see him again and wanting to be just like daddy.

Ana's mind wandered a little as a few of the happier memories of her childhood creeped in. Even though she came from an imperial family Ana had been happy if only for three years.

Shaking her head she did her best to focus once again on her studies. The saber floating in the air reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing.

Reaching for her saber she held it out in front of her focusing on the saber itself. Letting go she put her hand back down to her side as the saber just floated there in midair. It moved up and down a little however it never did fall.

"Like this?"

[member="Xander Carrick"]

 

[Garza]

I watched as her mind seemed to leave the situation for a moment. Here in the training, staying focused was important, and even more so in a battle, but I think, more along, believe that this was to prepare her for whatever that lay ahead. I let my own saber come to my hand as she tried to keep it at eyelevel. Her hand outstretched for a few moments before it lowered to her side, I smiled as she asked if this was it. Nodding my head I walked towards the side of her to see how close it was to being at the eye level.

"Good. Doing well so far."

I gave her a smile as reinforcement for getting praise in doing a good job. I smiled a little bit brighter as I looked to the lightsaber. Speaking once more in a cool and easy tone.

"Now keep it there. Try and counteract my own force."

Slowly I grasped the lightsaber with my own will of the force. Pushing it from side to side slowly at first, just enough to try and get her to push it back. As she would, I would release my grip only for a second, only to grab onto it again and pull. Think of the game Tug-of-war. The purpose of the game is to set off balance the other person. By releasing the rope for only a second, they would literally fall back on themselves, only for you to grab on, and yank in the other direction to mess with them even more.

It was a tactic that kids even learned when fighting over a toy with their siblings. So, I hoped that Ana would react fast, and correctly to this new problem set before her.

[member="Anastasia Rade"]

 

[Anastasia Rade]

Ana could feel the lightsaber pulling away from her which caught her off guard for a second. The object dropped a few inches in the air as Ana did but once the young woman was able to refocus the saber lifted off the ground once again hovering in the air above her. Understanding what was going on Ana began to pull back on the saber trying to bring it closer to herself.

Xander was a master but that didn't mean that she couldn't somehow outwit him and win in this saber tug of war. As she continued to focus on drawing it to herself she also tried to lift it higher in the air at the same time. Perhaps trying a few tricks or something would help her out in her situation. It was worth a try.

[member="Xander Carrick"]