[Open] Meditating on the force.

[SwordZX]

Bragl is in his room one week after the loss of his master T'ealc in an accident while on a misson on Felucia. The engine malfunctioned.

"I was there, and I couldn't help him!" He screamed out loud. Believing no one would hear him. It was dinner time and everyone should be at the dining hall.

He then remembered something T'ealc told him. "If ever you are upset about the losses that have happened in your life. Clear you're mind and meditate on the force." Bragl whispered these words while crossing his legs, closing his eyes and placing his hands on his knees. "Focus on nothing" he heard in his head and spoke as well. He was floating there when someone spoke to him.

 

[Insoulent]

It had been a while since Arkantos had been back on Tython, just returning from a tiring mission on Dathomir with his student, Deenar. Involving some Nightsisters, some Imperial Soldiers, even a Sith. He had decided he would take some time to return to Tython, allow the two Jedi to cool down some before their next mission. While Deenar probably went back to his room to record their mission findings, Arkantos decided to take a little stroll to clear his head. The War was inching closer to the capital world of Coruscant, the home of the Alliance and the Jedi Order, and he knew he'd have to fight his fellow Mandalorians, something we was eager, yet anxious about at the same time. He was considered a dar'manda, a soulless outcast of the Mandalorians, with no honor or respect to his name, and for what? For not wanting to fight a war, and wanting to help the Galaxy. And yet, he thought with an ironic grin, here he was, preparing for War.

Arkantos had knowledge, knowledge of the Mandalorians, their way of life. Their tactics, their weaknesses and their strengths. He knew them in and out, the Jedi were new to him, but he was comfortable, and very much a Jedi nonetheless, he knew them both to be surprisingly closer to than what most think. He detested War, and he wasn't an attacker, no, he was a cabur, a defender, he even stitched the word on his robes in Mando'a. His purpose as a human being, was to defend. He was not fueled by bravado, no, he was fueled by compassion. Though he was a man of peace, Arkantos understood War was essential to survival, to existence itself. He would not argue otherwise, but still he wanted to minimize the bloodshed, to minimize the destruction. No being in the Galaxy could escape it, but, that didn't mean they shouldn't strive for Peace, even if for a moment. That is why Arkantos was here, safely strolling through the hallways of the Jedi Order, and not behind a trench on some planet near the Core. And yet, Arkantos felt a little uneasy. He felt purposeless almost. But amidst his thinking, his crisis of sorts, he heard another voice, an unfamiliar one, but one filled with remorse and regret.

Arkantos turned around to the origin of the near-shout. He stepped closer to the quarters, as the door open. The Knight looked as the boy was floating in mid air, meditating. Arkantos cleared his throat, "Ahem. Greetings, I don't mean to interrupt..." the Knight said, as he bowed low, "I heard a loud voice, I figured something was going wrong, and I came to see. I'm Arkantos Rajax." the man said, ignoring his official title within the Jedi Order. "Anything I could help you out with?" the man said, hoping that the boy would accept his offer, if there was a chance to help another Jedi out, Arkantos certainly would.

 

[SwordZX]

Bragl was startled when someone poked their head and bowed low. Asking if he could help with anything. Bragl was so startled that he stopped meditating and fell onto his bed. "Whoa, why are you sneaking up on people?" Bragl spoke. "I was meditating because my master just died last week and I couldn't help him. His flyer crashed on Felucia. I was there with him." Bragl cried. "I feel so alone because I am. My parents are gone too, so I am trying to clear my head. I don't know what you could do to help, Arkantos?" Bragl said to the man.

 

[Insoulent]

Arkantos chuckled at the boy's surprised look as he fell from his bed and his annoyance's of Arkantos rudeness. Arkantos rubbed the back of his head with a bit of embarrassment as he almost felt like he was being scorned already. But as the boy opened up to him, even seeing him cry, Arkantos could feel now how important it was for him to have come. It must have been killing the boy so much, especially if that's all he could think about in his meditation. He stood a bit more seriously, taking in his story, and nodding as he stepped in, the room's door closing behind him. He felt alone, responsible for not being able to help him. "Well, no one can change the past, young one. Your Master died to protect you, to make sure you could go on and continue your life as a Jedi. There is no Death, there is the Force. Once one truly understands this, and overcome the fear of death is when one truly can call himself a Jedi. You are still to learn that lesson. We go and exist through the Force. And that energy surrounds us, and is always here. It connects us to the life, and essence of our being. It is truly a marvelous thing." he said, as he took a seat on one of the chairs in the room.

"You know, you are never alone. We Jedi, we're family. Don't ever feel alone here. We must also help and remember of those in the Temple, they all have their own lives and experiences and all go through similar things. My parents died when I was young too, I was 4, I don't even really remember their faces. But, I haven't been a Jedi all my life though, I was raised by Mandalorians. It wasn't until I was 17 did I come to the Temple, and found my place in the Galaxy. As a Jedi." the Knight said, with a smile. "Compassion starts with oneself, and learning to let go of your emotions, that guilt, that fear of being alone, those lead to a side of you that you will only lose yourself to it, and become a slave to. You simply have to let go of the negative aspects of your life. We Jedi are all different, but ultimately we all seek peace. Of oneself and that around us, even if for a moment. But we can't ever do it alone. That's why we need a whole order, we find our strength with everything and everyone around us, instead of just ourselves. Make sense?" the Jedi said, feeling as if he was being a bit too preachy. "That's why we're the good guys." the Jedi finished with a smile.

 

[SwordZX]

Bragl listened to the words spoke to him about death and the force as he picked himself up. The words flowed through him and soothed him.
"Thank you sir for the comforting words. My name is Bragl Pocoq padawan learner. That really helped." Bragl said.

 

[Insoulent]

"Good, I'm glad I could help. Mind if I meditate with you?" the Jedi Knight asked, looking at the boy, still wondering if he felt uneasy. "Or anything else I could help you with?" the Jedi questioned again, seeing as he had nowhere else to really go, or really anything to do, plus he figured, maybe the boy wanted to talk about something else. At least he hoped.

 

[SwordZX]

Bragl sat on the bed. "I am fine now, thank you. So who are you? I haven't seen you around before? Have you been here and we just haven't met before? That is unlikely since I would remember that armor. Sorry I'm rambling." Bragl asked inquisitively. In his least abrasive voice.

 

[Sirocco]

Raleigh walked down the hall after having a good read at the temple archives before he sensed Arkantos in the room of a padawan, no one was usually in some one’s room unless something was wrong. Compelled to walked over and see what was going on, Raleigh nocked on the door as he hid his hand on his robes while he waited to be welcomed “hello, may I come in? is there something wrong in there?” Raleigh called out as he gave the duo a small smile after being welcomed into the room. Bowing down to the two in respect, something rather rare this days among those above padawan level “Arkantos, how you are my friend and who is this leaf upon the river of life?” he asked the fellow mandalorian Jedi as stood, already feeling like an invader by just standing inside the room.

Raleigh was a rather tall and muscular man with slightly shaggy ginger dark brown hair that went well with his electric blue eyes and his almost perfectly placed freckles that doted his whole face, especially around the bridge of the nose and his cheeks. Under his fur lined robe was his jedi armor which unwittingly mirrored his birthright, his true nature.

 

[SwordZX]

There was another knock on the door. Bragl said "Come in." A man in fur and armor was standing in his room. The man had Brown hair and Blue eyes much like himself. Bragl recognized the man from his many trips to the archives. "There is nothing wrong here, Arkantos was just comforting me on the loss of my master who died in a crash last week. I am doing better now. Thank you." He said directing the last comment to Arkantos. Bragl looked at the armor the men were wearing then over to his fathers shiny blue armor. "That armor was my fathers. I still can't bring myself to wear it. But I love it, it was a piece of him. Maybe some day I will put it on like he did. He was a strong Jedi from what I remember of him. His name was Gergl. You probably haven't heard of him." Bragl voiced to the men while looking at the armor.

 

[Insoulent]

Arkantos smiled as the boy was eager to find out about Arkantos. Though as he was about to answer, it seemed they were joined by yet another Jedi, this one a bit more familiar to him, Releigh. "Greetings Releigh, life is continuing." the Knight said, nodding his head in recognition, too comfortable now for him to get up and bow. He knew the Knight, so he decided to ignore the simple protocol between Jedi. He smiled, and turned back to the young Padawan. "Your curiosity is refreshing young one. My name is Arkantos Rajax, no one important, I assure you. I used to train here many years ago as a Padawan. I drop by every so often, but I'm usually off-world for the most part." the Jedi continued as he got up from his chair. "Hey, I know of a spot above the Temple, pretty secluded, overlooks the Temple and the grounds around it. I used to go there a lot as a Padawan" the Jedi explained, "It's a nice place to clear your head if you ever need it..." the Jedi said, almost insinuating to go to it.

 

[SwordZX]

Bragl listened to the young man about a secluded place overlooking the temple. "Is it in the temple or up in the mountains? I think I may know where you are talking about. Yes, let's go to the place you were speaking about." Bragl said to Arkantos. "Sir Raleigh, will you be coming as well?" He asked.

 

[Sirocco]

Everyone had their places of peace and prosperity where they went to connect with the force and with themselves and the top of the temple seemed a very wonderful place to do so. Raleigh preferred his small patch of land where he liked to grow and care for life but helping this young one in the endeavor was not only his duty, it would be a pleasure. With a simple nod of his head, he agreed to the young one’s ply “If master Arkantos would have it then I suppose I can spend some time with you two and maybe we can get to know each other as fellow jedi.” if the young one would have it, he would share his pain and teach him him that the force was the life force to which all were allowed to flow in, ever watch full of their loved ones. It might even be possible that Arkanthos might finally identify who Raleigh was by his eyes and facial features, their meeting could unwittingly open the doors to Raleigh’s sad and mysterious past.

All mandalorians are supposed to know of their mandalores and their victories…..unless Vencu purged her memory from the clans…

 

[Insoulent]

Arkantos smiled as the two agreed to go to his meditation spot. Arkantos himself hadn't been there in years himself, but the path was relatively clear. Arkantos then got up from his seat, and walked out the chambers, as he led the two outside the Temple quarters. "It's pretty dangerous..." the Jedi said, as he walked up a casual pathway to the side of a large mountain. "Sorry, not dangerous. Just... physically endangering. You'll see when we get there." the Knight said, as the group continued down the path. Eventually, the Knight stopped infront of a rather strange tree that split down the middle, and spread outwards into two-treeheads, behind this tree was a dense thicket. Arkantos nodded to the other two Jedi, acknowledging that this was the spot, as he split some bushes away to allow himself a way to get in.

Walking through it for a few steps in, it finally subsided, but it led to another path, which now looked to have been hidden. "I practiced my Plant Surge technique, here." the Jedi said with a chuckle. "Pretty useful technique, no?" the Jedi said, as he continued down the hidden pathway. They eventually stopped at the side of a small mountain. "This is the fastest way up. The path that way..." he said as he pointed to the left, "Is a longer and safer route. It curves around and to the top." he spoke as he then pointed up. "The climb up, will only take a few minutes less than walking, but it helps with physical training and with climbing abilities and balance. It's truly a great spot to do your morning training. It's what I used, and it works, trust me. Eventually, you'll be able to climb this relatively fast." the Knight said with a smirk, as he began to grab onto a rock. "Either way, meet me at the top." Arkantos finished as he began his climb up to the top of the mountain.

 

[SwordZX]

So the three Jedi were off. Bragl followed close behind to a split tree and eventually to a mountain face. Arkantos had already started climbing. Bragl looked up and then down. His head was reeling from the sight. "I should have told you this earlier. But, I am afraid of heights." He called out petrified with his back to the mountain-side. "I think I'll take the other path." He said as he turned towards it.

 

[Sirocco]

(OOC: sorry for not posting, my computor's fan is broken and its hard to keep the darn thing from overheating)

Arkantos was surprisingly resourceful in his training as they passed down the path of his daily training as he reminded him of his meditation field where he grew vegetation and meditated in life among the serine silence. Following Arkantos, they finally reached a path that had a climbable cliff side in which Arkantos skillfully climbed like a lizard monkey on a tree. Amazed at his ability in the force and physically, Raleigh looked at the cliff side as if studying it “your training is truly interesting to behold Arkanthos, you really have it nicely thought out” Raleigh said as he suddenly grinned when their padawan companion showed his fear of heights.

Starting to climb his way up almost with the same skill as Arkanthos he looked back down at the padawan while he hung “as a jedi, you must overcome your fears and best them as best as you can. One of the best ways I can think of is to fight it head on. Besides, you will have to climb high eventually, better start soon” Raleigh said as he finally climbed up to stand beside Arkanthos. It was in any case in Raleigh’s mind that they could telekinetically lift him together if he simply could not climb up. There was no shame in not being able to best one’s fear the first day they tried.

 

[Insoulent]

Arkantos had made short work of the climb, as he heard of the fear of heights the boy had, as Releigh had begun to speak to the boy about overcoming fear. As he had turned around to look down, Raleigh was already more than halfway up, impressive. "Indeed, Raleigh's right. If you hold on to fear for too long, it will cloud your judgement, and even control you. We all have it, we will always have something to fear, but you have to find the courage within you to forget the fear, and trust in the Force. Fight it head on! Plus, heroes like us can't be scared!" the Knight said, as he released a loud laugh overlooking the young Padawan at the bottom. The spot Arkantos was speaking about was to his back, and Arkantos was tempted to turn around, but he figured it'd be best to wait for the Padawan.

 

[SwordZX]

Both of the men were at the top and motivating the young Jedi to climb up. He had only taken a few steps towards the other path. He turned around and looked up at the men then walked back to the cliff. He closed his eyes and cleared his head. He placed his hands on the wall and proceeded to climb fairly well. He still had his eyes closed and used the force to guide his hands. He took a considerable amount of time compared to the men, but he finally reached the top.
"Well I made it, finally." Bragl said as he opened his eyes for the first time in minutes.

 

[Sirocco]

Raleigh grinned as he taped Bragl hard on the back while laughing “see? It was not that bad and you got up just fine!” Raleigh said before following Arkantos as he mentioned how heroes can’t be scared “that’s not true, plenty of heroes show fear and that is what makes them heroes” Raleigh mentioned as it seemed they had no reached where they needed to be at. Pulling out his light saber to swing it around, he did so with surprising control “fear is what makes us smart and not underestimate out enemies, fear makes us human and fear is what keeps us in control!” Raleigh said as he twirled the light saber in his fingers before deactivating the weapon “it is out control of our dear that makes us jedi, what keeps us from the darkside. You can’t stop dealing fear, it’s your control of it what counts” Raleigh said before clipping his light saber on his belt.

Raleigh had a good understanding of emotions and knew it was useless to completely block them out and push them away. Instead he studied to control them so that he can keep a cool head and sound mind.

 

[SwordZX]

Bragl felt a tap on his shoulder and then heard Raleigh speak about controlling fears and emotions. He watched as the Jedi lit up a golden yellow lightsaber. That is a beautiful blade sir, and I want to learn how to control my fears and emotions. I always feel that my mind is clearest when I am practicing with my shoto's." Bragl said as he uncliped both of his orange bladed LightShoto. He turned them on and felt his mind clear. And it could be seen on his face.

 

[Insoulent]

(OOC: Apologies, I forgot my family was coming to visit this weekend, hadn't had any time near the computer. Should be fine now though. If I take longer than 24-hrs again, skip me.)

Arkantos had cheered the young Padawan as he made his way up the side of the mountain, and smiled as the boy fought his fear by following the Jedi Knights through the tougher path and made his way to the top with them. Arkantos nodded with a grin as Raleigh corrected him. Arkantos then saw as Releigh pulled his lightsaber, swinging it around, while keeping his eye keenly on the Knight, though staying rather still through it, and turned as the Padawan began to speak about his wishes. He nodded, "It is good that you want to learn these things. To become a Jedi is to study oneself and learn our limitations and allow the Force to expand those limitations, oh and a whole bunch of good deeds in the middle of that, too. Though, the real lesson should be that there is a difference between knowing, and understanding." the Knight said cryptically, with an odd grin on his face as he turned to see the view from above the mountain, the sun was going down. "There are plenty of ways to enlightenment, the role of the Jedi Guardian seems a good fit for you, Bragl. Focusing a bit more on the physical side of things, rather than the meditative, you can find a meditative state while you swing that mesmerizing little light-blade. But, you should not forget to meditate on the Force, even if you choose to become a Guardian and expand your physical skills. It's really relaxing. Look into the Art of Movement. A good way to do both train physically and meditate, without sacrificing any time." the Jedi Knight counseled as he began to sit down and crossed his legs. He inhaled deeply, and closed his eyes, and then released his breathe, and pat the ground next to him, signaling them to sit and enjoy the fading view. "I'd teach it to you, but it takes a bit of time and I have a shuttle to reach in a few hours." he informed the other Jedi of his departure, soon.