The Training of Phaedra Na'al

[Spin]

She wouldn't lie--she was nervous. Not only was she nervous, but she was also reluctant. It wasn't that she had any negative feelings towards the Jedi, but the start of her training would mean seeing her father less and less. He wanted this for her, however, and she wanted to please him. Phaedra had been careful not to be late, dragging herself away from the droid she had been working on to change into the robes that she had been given. She walked along at a brisk pace, tying her hair back as she went along. Her own reflection caught her eye as she walked along, staring in horror at the large grease stain on her cheek. It was too late for her to go back home and still make it on time. Biting her lip, Phaedra did the first thing that came to mind. She took her sleeve, careful to use the inside and rubbed frantically at her cheek, until it was a somewhat less noticeable smudge. She frowned and looked at the dirtied sleeve of her robe, glad she had at least thought to use the inside.

Tucking a few loose strands of hair behind her ear, Phaedra was determined not to let the small incident throw her off. She picked up her pace to make sure that she still arrived on time--letting out a long sigh of relief when she finally got there. Phaedra skirted along the edges of the Academy, sticking to the walls whenever she could. All she needed to do now was find her master.

[Doomsday]

"Down the hall, to your left. There's a large circular room, lined with black pillars. Meet me there."

It was a voice only Phaedra heard, for it was meant only for her. Dusan Mot Marduk, master of the Jedi Enclave, smiled. This girl would become a great Jedi, or so he hoped. He had yet to meet her, it was his favoured training regiment. It would be hard, when he would have to forbid her from seeing her family again... But it was the Jedi way.

Dusan was sitting in a large, round chair, centered in the large circular room. Statues of the former Enclave masters inbetween each pillar, in front of long, cathedral like windows. The cieling was shrouded in shaddow, but if you looked closely, you could see the gothic arches, each connection supported by a pillar.

The floor was polished marble, well worn from the padded feet of the many students. In elegant gold scrawl, was the Jedi Code. Dusan figured it would be the first thing he would teach his new pupil. Hopefully she will be a fast learner. He thought to himself, even though it was unbefiting of a master. "Ahh, you've arrived in good time, Phaedra."

[Spin]

She jumped at Dusan's voice, glancing around quickly and looking for its source. It took her a moment to realize that she had heard it in her head, Phaedra laughing softly to herself as she followed his instructions. She was going to have to get used to that. She paused at the entrance to the room, taking a deep breath before stepping inside. A wide smile spread across her face, her nervousness being overridden by her own excitement. Green eyes swept across the room, trying to take in everything at once. They lingered on the Jedi code for a few moments before settling on Dusan. She shifted where she stood, feeling foolish for her wide grin and messy face.

"Thank you," She said after a moment, bowing respectfully. "I'm Phaedra...but I guess you already know that, hehe..." 'Please don't let me mess this up.' Was the only thing running through her head.

[Doomsday]

Dusan was, by far, one of the more imposing Jedi. Despite his slight stature, he gave quite the stare. Wild eyed, with long, brown hair and a most peculiar beard, he could scare of most adversaries. Now those wild eyes rested on this girl. It was funny, virtually the same height and weight, Phaedra was the juxtaposition of Dusan. She was well built, well into her development into womananhood, while he was willowy and wild. He laughed, a weird little laugh, somewhere between a wheeze and a chuckle. "Yes yes child, I know who you are. But I doubt you know me." He said in his calm voice, a hypnotic quality to it. Getting up from his seat, he quickly closed the gap between the two and bowed extravagantly. "Master Dusan Marduk, madam."

[Spin]

Color raised in her face as he bowed to her. She was hardly worthy of being bowed to by someone like him, or anyone for that matter. "It is an honor to meet you, Master Dusan." She said quickly, sounding a bit rushed in her speech. She bowed again for good measure, studying the floor for a moment while she waited for the heat to leave her cheeks. As she stood up she studied him shyly. After a moment she seemed to calm down, tugging at the hems of her sleeves. He reminded her slightly of her father, which made it easier for her to relax. She licked her lips, trying to choose her words carefully. "Thank you for agreeing to train me, Master Dusan." Phaedra said after a moment, voice softer than usual.

[Doomsday]

"Just think of me as a friend, Phaedra." Dusan spoke, noting how flushed her face had gotten. He also saw how interested in the floor she was. "I can assure you it is simply marble."

Moving towards the center, he bode her to come. Waving his hand, a chair much like his floated over from out of site, setting down beside his own chair. "Sit, by the looks of your robes, you have been working quite hard." He said, smiling at her greased robes. "A little Bantha urine will take that right out." He added, smiling at the reaction.

Sitting down in his chair, he smiled once more. "Tell me about yourself, Phaedra Na'al."

[Spin]

Damn it, she hadn't wanted him off all people to notice that she had already dirtied her robes. At least he hadn't said anything about the smudge on her face. 'Alright Phaedra, get it together.' She laughed softly, determined to not embarass herself any further in front of her Master. "I will clean them as soon as I can, Master." She said, nodding quickly and followed him across the room, settling down into the chair that he had summoned. Phaedra stared at her hands in her lap. What did she have to say that he would even find interesting?

"Well...I grew up here, and right now I live with just my father. I like to take things apart, especially droids." She nodded, smiling fondly to herself. "I like to be active to, I used to play sports with my brothers when I was younger."

[Doomsday]

"It shows an inquisitive mind. Something needed for a Jedi. That much is good." He paused for a long moment. "I am very sorry, Phaedra. But, you will not be able to see your father again. At least for the imediate future. It is against Jedi code. Family can interfere and cloud a Jedi's focus. I cannot risk that."

Dusan sighed, he never enjoyed telling the young ones this. "Until myself or another who knows you well states so, visitation will be short, and under strict supervision."

[Spin]

Phaedra froze up for a moment, swallowing hard and looking away for a moment. She had expected that she would be seeing her father less; but not at all? Her heart throbbed in her chest, the girl biting down hard enough on her lip to make it bleed. This what her father wanted for her. He didn't want her to spend her entire life just fixing up run down utility droids. At this thought she exhaled loudly, sinking back in her chair slighlty. "Yes, I understand." Already it felt like she had hit the most difficult part, and her training hadn't even started yet. "I can handle that." She sure hoped so.

[Doomsday]

Dusan stared at Phaedra's pained look. He grieved inwardly for her, but he could not let it show. He saw the blood pool and trickle down her chin, and he lifted his hand, quickly the wound closed up. "I am truly sorry Phaedra. I can permit one to two visits per standard year. At any time you wish, these dates will stay concrete, and can't be close to eachother. Possibly his Birthday, or some date that is special to you and him."

[Spin]

She was quiet for a moment, using her hand to wipe the small amount of blood from her face. "Thank you, Master," Phaedra managed to get out, mustering a small smile. Desperate for a change of subject, she brushed her fingers across her now healed lip, marveling at how healed it was. "Will I be able to do that too?" She asked, still tracing over her lip as though she expected it to open up again, to be nothing more than a temporary illusion.

[Doomsday]

"With practice." Dusan replied, his face more somber and scholarly than before. "It's a simple bending of the force, one of the first things a Jedi learns. But, we are going to focus, for now at least, on philosophy and what it means to be a Jedi. We practice prudence and justice. We are many different things to many different people. Sometimes we are called to act as arbiters. We are soldiers, police, scholars, philosophers. The list goes on. But, no matter who you are, every Jedi follows this code." Dusan gestured towards the brilliant gold letters of the Jedi code on the ceiling.

There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.

"You live your life to this code, and you will succeed." Dusan concluded, pausing to allow his apprentice to read and comprehend. "Each Jedi interprets the code differently. Some take it word-for-word, while others are more liberal, and see the code in more obscure ways. Neither of them are wrong, and neither are correct. What does it mean to you?"

[Spin]

Phaedra listened attentively as the Jedi spoke, trying to commit every word to memory. She couldn't let herself mess this up. The girl tilted her head back to study the words on the ceiling, repeating them over and over again in her mind. There is peace...knowledge...serenity...harmony...the force. She breathed deeply, closing her eyes before answering Dusan's question. She rubbed her hands together, staying silent for many minutes, wanting to choose the exact words that would explain what she wanted to say.

"Well, Master," Phaedra began finally, scratching the back of her head as she spoke. "To me it seems...almost paradoxical." She was unused to the concept of a lack of emotion. "But-- it's sort of like a tunnel. It's a guideline where...you have space to move around, but it still takes you to the same space. Does that make sense?" She laughed uneasily, it had sounded better in her head.

[Doomsday]

"It's one of the most truthfull answers I've ever recieved." Dusan replied, staring at her intently. "It makes no difference if it makes sense. To explain it is like trying to explain the sensation of birth, or the rush of death. It cannot be explained, it is an instinct, a feeling. I warn you, Phaedra. The tunnel has many holes, and doors along it. Sometimes, the light you follow is misleading, follow your gut. Keep in mind the code, but also follow your heart. To often we fall to the Sith when we deny ourselves the heart."

Dusan clapped his hands on his knees. "Of course, we fall to them to often if we follow the heart! A paradox! We walk the thin line of the light, while the dark is on both sides. You must test each step you take, or you may fall." Dusan's eyes suddenly filled with sadness. He would not tell Phaedra of his Sith heritage until she was ready. There could be no distrust between Master and Apprentice. "Tell me what you know of the Force."

[Spin]

Phaedra beamed with satisfaction, having been afraid that her answer would have been labeled foolish. She felt slightly more confident, though quickly dragged herself away from her own self satisfaction to attentively listen to Dusan's words. Her brows furrowed together, nodding slowly as she tried to grasp what he was adding to her original statement. She watched her Master carefully, arching a brow at the brief flicker of...sadness(? Yes, that's definitely what it had been.) in his eyes. However, she said nothing of it, only focused on the next question.

"A little," She folded her arms across her chest, thinking for a moment. "I know there's a light side and a dark side. I know the force is all around us and...sort of, ah, alive, right?" Phaedra glanced to the side before continuing. "I think I've felt it before. Sort of like a humming that I could just barely hear, a vibration that made my skin prickle..."

[Doomsday]

"You're on the right track. The force is... Well, no one knows, realy. Some believe it is a sentient being, while others believe it is simply a tool to be used. It's present in everything in this galaxy, from the lowliest rock to the greatest mountain. The force touches and shapes it. I can't begin to explain what it is. What I can do, is guide you in it's use. I am no philosopher. I believe it is more of a tool. But I do not deny its spiritual and philosophocal origins." Dusan said, before putting a hand in his robe and producing a small, white feather.

Placing it on the floor in front of him, Dusan waved his hand, the feather shooting up in the air and flying around the room. As it slowed and began it's decent, its colour changed, from white to black. When it finaly touched down on the black marble floor, it all but disapeared. A flick of his wrist, and a thousand black feathers now littered the air around them. "The force is powerful beyond measure. You must be cautious in its use, and you must always respect what you do not know. Do not be venturous, seek guidance from those more experienced. The force can be an unloving mother, and its punishments are harsh." He explained, before plucking a black feather, about a foot long, from the air. The rest of the feathers were gone. Dropping it on the ground, Dusan spoke: "Move it. Focus on it with all your will, picture its movement. Think of the force as a stream, or a jet of air, sweeping in and lifting the feather in its path."

[Spin]

Phaedra watched in amazement as the small force display. She shifted in her seat, trying to see every feather that was floating through the air. She reached out to touch one as it drifted by, fingertips just brushing along the bristles of the feather before it disappeared with the rest. Her eyes traced the floor, looking for some sign that there had just been hundreds of feathers in the air. There wasn’t a trace of them left. Phaedra’s focus shifted back to her Master, a tingle of excitement echoing through her body. She was used to success on the first try; though this time she had her doubts.

“I’ll try…” She lifted her hand and stared out at the feather on Dusan’s hand. Phaedra took a slow breath, concentrating. She wasn’t even sure how she was supposed to go about doing this. Licking her lips, she wiggled her fingers, the feather staying where it was. Come on…come on… For the briefest moment, she felt something spark, and when she flicked her wrist, the feather shooting off to the right, staying suspended in the air for a brief moment before falling back to the ground. It hadn’t gone in the direction she had intended, but the point was that it had moved. She didn’t try to hide her grin, looking from the feather to Dusan.

[Doomsday]

"There is no try. Either do it, or don't." Dusan replied, the feather resting in his hand. He was quite pleased to see it, if after a little fluttering, shoot out and suspend in the air. She did have potential. "Good, good." Dusan said, getting up and retrieving the feather. It disapeared into an inner pocket of his robes.

"The quisesential tool of the Jedi, the force is everything." He said, moving back to his chair and sitting down. A flick of his wrist, and a small, black box appeared. "This is a holocron. Within it holds the knowledge of the force. Learn all that is within, and come back to me."

(((http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Light_side is the holocron. Just make a post of you studying it, then you comming back)))

[Spin]

The glow from having moved the feather hadn’t quite worn off yet, as Phaedra slipped from the chair she did her best to calm her facial expression down somewhat, though her smile was hard to hide. Studying? Now that was something she was really good at. She bowed her head and accepted the holocron from him, eager to learn of its contents. “Thank you, Master.” Phaedra said before turning and quickly exiting the room, finding a place to study.

~*~

It was a few hours before she returned, she might have finished a bit earlier, but Phaedra wanted to commit as much of it to memory as she possible could. The small part about lightsabers had particularly interested her, she wanted to learn more about them when she could. The padawan briefly wondered if he was even still there as she pushed open the door to the room. “Master Dusan?”

[Doomsday]

I am here, Phaedra. But I am hidden, no eye can see me, you must look with your mind. Break my mirror, find it, and break it. And you shall see me.

It reverberated through the room and in Phaedra's head. This was the first real test she would face. If she learned to use the force as an aid, she would become a great Jedi. If she used it as a crutch, she will fail. Dusan would not let her fail.

[Spin]

Phaedra was less surprised hearing his voice in her head this time then the first time. She rubbed her hands together, searching the room once just in case there was some chance he could be spotted right away. She had doubted it would actually work, and her suspicions were proven true within a few seconds. Find his mirror and break it. Alright. She moved to stand in the center of the room, glancing up at the code above her before closing her eyes and focusing. Phaedra breathed slowly, trying to see with the force, and not just her eyes. It was blurry at first, but slowly the room rematerialized in her mind's eye. She turned her head slowly, afraid that any sudden movement would break her force sight. Something seemed to shimmer, and Phaedra concentrated on it for a moment, finding the apparition to be quite...mirror-like. Now how do I break that... She focused on it, trying to picture the "mirror" broken, cracked, shattered. Her concentration almost broke when it looked as though it really was breaking. When the entire thing seemed to have fallen away, shattered, Phaedra opened her eyes slowly.

"Master?"

[Doomsday]

"Good, many don't realize the simplicity of such sight." Dusan said, appearing just behind Phaedra, to her left. "Such sight is vital to a Jedi, it allows us to see what our eyes refuse to see. With practice, you can see into the past with such sight, some say even into the future. Though this is only in Jedi Legend. I have forayed many times into the past of our world. I have walked by Odan-Ur, greatest of the Philosophers, founder of our great library." Dusan's voice died out, his mind lost in recolection. "I have long since forgoten such power."

[Spin]

Phaedra turned to face him, relieved that she had succeeded. Her eyes widened as she listened to him, young mind taking delight in the possibilities that seeing into the past and future could provide. "Wow..." She said softly under her breath, looking at her Master with wonderment. She felt lucky to have a Jedi like Dusan as her Master. "You've...forgotten it?" Phaedra looked bewildered as she spoke, the question coming out gently. It wasn't meant to be an outright question (she felt she was in no position to be asking such questions about him), more a question asked to herself.

[Doomsday]

"Yes. I came across that power on Korriban, ancestral homeworld of the Sith, I was seduced by the power of such a concept, that I saught it's use, when I found it, its dangerous conotations were hiden to me. Until I saw for myself the slow taint the dark side was bringing on me, and I saught the council out, and I had them purge such power from me. It took a toll, but I survived through it."

Dusan was staring at Phaedra, reading the emotions on her face. This would be the first of a number of tests, even though she is not aware of it. "The dark side is a seductive concept. Free of the shackles of the light side, or so the Sith would make you believe. The toll on one's body and soul is... unimaginable, you cannot return to the person you were before if you let it take you." Dusan paused, Crossing his arms. "I tell you this as a warning, not even the greatest of the Jedi are immune to this power."

[Spin]

So it was a power of the dark side of the force. She made a mental note of this, pushing her fantastical ideas about its uses to the back of her mind. If it was a Sith power, than she wanted nothing to do with it. Phaedra was silent for a long moment, mulling over what he had just told her. Her eyes narrowed and she gazed at the floor, not sure what to say. So he had fallen to the dark side…but certainly wasn’t there anymore. He was here, he was a Jedi, and he was teaching her. She was not sure how to take what he had just told her, in the end, Phaedra decided that such an experience only made him a wiser teacher. She smiled slightly, to herself, before shifting her gaze back upwards.

“I understand, Master.” She hoped that a day would never come when she felt the temptation of the dark side, and if it ever did, that she would be strong enough to resist it. She looked at him with admiration, creating a meant picture of his fall and rise, though her assumptions where wholly inaccurate. “I will be faithful to the light side of the force…”

[Doomsday]

"Good." Dusan replied, crossing his arms in thought. "I want you to sleep on what you've learned, come back to me sunrise tomorow, out in the gardens. There we shall truly begin the training."

(((Just post you leaving, doing some trivial things, have her sleep, then make her way to the gardens.)))