Dear Old Shizz

[Theodosia Acatia]

The corridors were cold and the air was staunchy. The Pantoran breathed, the exhale being probably the only air movement the hallway had in years. Aurora had told her that a change was coming, that the Order was growing. More and more Padawans were surfacing, hopeful Jedi being more willing.

And Theodosia didn’t know how she felt. She still felt no emotional attachment to Jedi Order. Jedi Master Blackwood had attempted to console her about this indifference but Theodosia never felt better. As her hands traced the intricacies in the wall as she padded down, she tried to force herself to feel some sort of excitement.

She hadn’t lived amongst others in six years, the last time ending with a trauma that still haunted her. And Theodosia felt the impact. The vial that doubt was being held in shattered, sending horribly intrusive thoughts to the Pantoran.

“The Force will let you know when you’re at the right room,” Aurura had said briefly when Theodosia persisted for more information. And, she was right. A feeling clicked, a door opening. Theo knew she was here. She pushed the door open, it didn’t take much of an effort to open her way to her new room. The former Padawan quarters collected enough dust for it form hare-shaped mounds. A window streamed in sunlight. Theo stopped after taking a few steps in, taking in the environment of the room.


Her feet teetered when she thought she should take a step that way, but quickly stopped when she decided on another direction. The Jedi Padawan decided on dragging her bag towards her and shoving it under the bed for now. Right now, she just wanted to sit on the provided bed and think. As she relaxed, she felt a hard outline right beside her. Her fingers careened further, and found the edge of the...book. What?


Theodosia flipped on her side and pried off the top layer of the mattress. An old, primitive leather-bound notebook laid there. It was longer than it was wide, almost as a graphing pad. She immediately grasped it and started flipping through.


“L0-K1 companion droid; Mercu--” The Pantoran stopped reading, her mouth slightly gaped open, and her eyes scanned the rest of the droid plans, flipping page after page.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Two pale hands stretched out across a raging river on Al’doleem. They moved in unison to reach for the river. A powerful force emanated from those hands, dipping into the river and lifting the water. Intricate patterns danced through the sky as the water weaved above the river. Aurora Blackwood stood on the edge of a cliff overlooking the riverbank. The Force flowed from her in powerful waves. Her strength in the Lightside was beyond what she ever imagined. Teaching had brought Aurora closer to the Force, and unveiled hidden talents. Her strength in the Force was growing and she needed to explore exactly what that meant.

Sweat beaded on her forehand as she continued to work the Force. She was testing her limits. Aurora could not spend every moment of her life grooming the next generation of Jedi. Some of that time needed to be spent to ensure her abilities did not atrophy. Finally, the Jedi Master left the Force ebb from her body. The water splashed back into the river. Her robes were in pile next to her, the clothes on her back sticky with sweat. The datapad in her robe pocket began to chime. Kriff, she was late to meet Theo. Aurora sighed heavily. She would never hear the end of this.

She quickly summoned her brown robes in the Force and threw them around her shoulders. The Force flowed into her legs, giving her the strength to sprint towards the forgotten Jedi Temple on Al’doleem. The wind whipped in her face as she ran. Eventually, the ruined Temple rose in the distance. This was the temporary home for many of them. Aurora was using the Temple as a site for training, it was far more hospitable than Hoth. She let go of the Force once she entered the Temple. Her feet carried her towards the room chosen for Theo. She hoped the young Padawan had found the room easily. Aurora knocked on the door before entering. Her eyes fell on her student. “Settling in? An eyebrow arched at the dusty old journal in Theo’s hands. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

Theodosia was busily staring at the journal, her eyes quickly absorbing all of the information that was wrote by Mercury’s scrawl. Some words, Theodosia had to cock her head and strain to figure out what was written in the messy writing. She looked at her wrist, the time displayed digitally. The Padawan looked around, she was late. Ha. Of course it wasn’t a big deal, but Aurora would surely appreciate it being made into a huge deal. A smug smile graded onto her face.

The Pantoran’s eyes traveled back to the journal, being thoroughly invigorated by this ancient journal. What even was Mercury, her great, great, great aunt? Theodosia tried to do the math, her fingers going up in the air. She couldn't quite remember the ancestry. Her thoughts were interrupted as soon as she heard the Jedi Master’s voice.

As the Jedi Master spoke, her eyes had darted to the journal. Theodosia blew air into her own cheeks, her hands placed delicately over the journal. “I believe so but I found this jo---,” Theodosia paused. She was about to finish her answer until she saw that Aurora was wet. Her eyes went from her hands to Aurora’s face, arching an eyebrow, mimicking the woman’s facial expression.


“Get a little excited?”

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora’s face quickly turned into a scowl. She shook her head at Theo. “Hilarious…Such razor sharp wit, I am sure you will discover all the mysteries of the Force in no time.” Her eyes returned to that ancient journal. What a curious object. “Despite popular opinion, I do occasionally spend time not speaking to teenagers.” Aurora couldn’t help the small smile on her lips. She actually really did enjoy the company of her students, troubled ones and all. “I can’t teach you much in this musty old room.” She waved for Theo to follow her out into the hall.

“Bring the journal. Something that old must be interesting, just look at me.” Kriff, she was funny today. Sadly, her students did not always appreciate her witty humor. Shame on them. Aurora assumed Theo was follow her and so she continued to talk as her feet took them towards the courtyard. “There used to be hundreds of Jedi on Al’doleem. The outpost used to house a few cells for dangerous Darksiders. The Lightside was so strong here that it could strengthen the Jedi, and weaken the Sith.”

Her voice became distant for a moment. “The Nexus still pulses strongly if you reach for it, but so much else has changed.” Aurora turned back to look at Theodosia. “Theo, you have accepted a tremendous burden…The Order is returning to the galaxy. Slowly but undeniably.” She turned to keep walking. “We will not stay hidden forever. The Sith will find us, and you must be ready.” They reached the courtyard and Aurora reached into her robes. The silver hilt of her saber gleamed in the sun. One flick and the brilliant orange blade burst to life. “You need to learn to use one of these.” Another silver tube floated from her pocket. The ancient training saber Master Orady had used to teach her to wield a Lightsaber. She tossed it towards Theo. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

Theodosia laughed. Her laugh was light and airy, opposite of what she always felt like. She felt the eyes on the notebook and she quickly threw it across the bed. As she was summoned to walk out of the room, Theodosia obliged and followed the Jedi Master.

She blinked, after having just tossing the book to the bed, now she had to go get it. Blinking once more, she turned and flitted back to the bed, picked up the journal, and returned to Aurora. Miraculously, she was not out of breath as that would have been embarrassing. She smiled awkwardly. “You know, you cannot make old jokes when you do not look old.” But, the joke itself would have been funny and Theodosia smiled.

She listened to the Jedi Master, nodding solemnly at pauses. Theodosia’s eyes were on the ground. The Force pulsed through the walls and corridors and beams of the monastery, exciting Theo with every step. She was excited for the new journey, but apprehensive. It was very well she could die, but she learned at seventeen that there is no need to fear death.

As they reached the courtyard, Theodosia’s mouth moved to asked why they came out here. Then, a...silver tube was in Jedi Master Blackwood’s hands. Then, it lit. Theodosia realized it was her lightsaber, embarrassingly slow. As it was tossed to her hands, Theo’s first instinct was to drop it. And she did. “Why would you throw that to me? ”She exclaimed, her eyes wide and her feet had jumped wide apart to dodge having her toes separated from her foot.

Theodosia’s eyes narrowed, accepting that this is what they were doing for training. “A little warning next time,” she said idignantly, bending down to grab the lightsaber. It was as light as she expected it to be, but she didn’t like just having one in her hand. She was right handed, and her left hand felt empty. "Can you fight with two lightsabers?" She asked, more of a thought, but it came aloud.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

Aurora struggled to stay serious around Theo. The young girl had a way that made her laugh. It was endearing in a way the Morellian Jedi couldn’t really put a finger on. Aurora would never have children, but she wondered if this was what having a daughter felt like. Master Orady had been her father, Theo was much older than when the old human had found Aurora. Still, Theo was mostly just a kid. A kid who had seen far too much for one her age. Aurora swept those thoughts aside. Ideal musing for another time. She smiled. “How are you ever going to learn to use one if you can’t catch it…besides you should trusting the Force to guide your actions.”

It was an important lesson. The Force was with them always, always speaking to them. A Jedi had to learn to head those warnings. She spun the saber in her hand. “You can, but I’m not very good at it.” Each Force user was uniquely gifted. They all had their own talents. Aurora’s was not duel wielding. “There were Jedi trained in the saber combat who could accomplish incredible feats with their blades.” She shrugged. “I am not one of them..but you might be.” Aurora’s talents were with the Force. She was capable swords-woman and could teach Theo what she needed to know. The Jedi Master was fully aware of her limitations.

“Well, turn it on.” Aurora hadn’t turned the training saber on in a long time. She was pretty sure the blade was blue. “Show me what you got.” Her feet easily shifted into a balanced stance, shoulder width apart, right in front of left. She held the saber loosely by her right side. There was only one way to know what Theo needed to learn, to see what she knew. Saber combat was different than a typical vibroblade, but not completely foreign. @Iridescence

 

[Theodosia Acatia]

Theo blew air out of her nose, as a way of expressing both exasperation and mock frustration. “Well, maybe if you were not late, we could have done some meditation,” she quipped, flashing mock daggers at the Jedi Master. There was a mild frustration about her, but she knew Aurora meant no true harm. The Padawan did have to get a lot closer with the Force, and that journey she had to be ready for. But for now, the lesson for today was physical action.

The Pantoran wrinkled her nose. “I mean. It just sounds cool,” she replied with a shrug, if someone had dual lightsabers. The saber felt foreign in her hands. She never once had to actually swing at something. Any combat she relayed in was using her blasters, and it was normally a predator that had been attacking her herd. She tossed it from hand to hand, getting a feel for which hand would feel more comfortable wielding the saber. Theodosia did this once more. “Huh,” she muttered, admiring how it felt in her hand and pleased that either hand she could feel would be equally adept at dueling.

As Aurora began her battling stance, Theodosia let out a loud snort of laughter. From the seriousness of the Jedi Master, she quickly sobered up. But, a smile was unable to be suppressed. She finally settled on her right hand to use the training saber. The ‘power’ button was easily found enough, and when the candling blue lit, Theo had to admit that a sort of air came about her. Her breathing shallowed. It felt as if the Force cascaded from the saber, and it began with a flick of that switch. Excitement sparked in the aura around Theo.

“There’s no training regimen for this?” She asked, settling her feet for what felt right. Shoulder width apart, her left foot slightly ahead. With a step forward on her right foot, Theo swung at Aurora’s left side, a hard swing.

@Valen Pelora

 

[Aurora Blackwood]

The sound of Aurora clicking her tongue filled the silent courtyard. Her eyes narrowed as she watched Theo get the feel of the Lightsaber. “Oh, there are countless patterns. An infinite number of steps to aid in learning the forms.” She carefully watched her young student advance. The Force began building in Aurora’s left hand, flowing into her open palm. “You will learn them, and practice them until your body aches.” Theo was close now. Aurora could see the young Pantoran’s muscles tighten. “There will be plenty of time for that.”

The Morellian Jedi Master deftly moved her blade to block her students. The swing was hard, but sabers were not vibroblades. Aurora own blade tipped so the point was angled at the ground as her arm came across her body. The blades met in a flash of sparks, a familiar sound rang in the courtyard. Aurora quickly met Theo’s eyes and smiled. The Force in her left hand burst out, aiming to push her student in the chest. Not hard enough to hurt, but strong enough to send her scooting back several feet.

Aurora danced backward keeping her eyes on her student. “That blade can cut through nearly anything…you don’t need to swing hard to cut through your target.” She twirled the blade in her hand again. “And you must be aware of the skills of your opponent. A Sith will have, and use, the Force. A trooper will come prepared with all manner of weapons.” Her face became smooth as her tone was more serious. “This is about more than forms Theo. It is about the blade and the Force.” The began to build in her left hand again. “Anyone can use a Lightsaber. Only a Jedi can truly achieve harmony between a Lightsaber and the Force.” That was their greatest advantage against all the galaxy had to throw at them. @Iridescence