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 Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 1:21 pm
Session No 1
.... ... .. .
Jhordaan let himself fall back onto his bunk, limbs askew. He hadn't done much of anything in the weeks presiding Tott's death—besides exchange more and more involved communications with Rajiha—and he was woefully behind in his training. He hadn't gotten very far to begin with—he had still been working on the very first assignment, rather haphazardly, admittedly, trying to better acquaint himself with the Force. And despite his initial success, the weeks separating him from that first brief jaunt into the Force coupled with everything else that had happened presented a potentially daunting obstacle.
He ratted around on the bunk to find a more comfortable position, not for the first time inordinately pleased that he hadn't ever been assigned a roommate. Having a room all to himself was a luxury he hadn't been allowed growing up on a smuggling ship, and it was rather liberating. It also meant he didn't have to worry about interruptions.
Doing what came naturally, he opened himself up the feelings of those around him. Within the confines of his room the emotions were muted and distorted—happiness, frustration, jealousy—stronger emotions would flare, brilliant on the edge of his senses, while others faded towards obscurity. It's what he imagined the Force was like. A vortex of colour, sound, and emotion; energy in its purest form. It connected—everything.
The room pulsed.
Jhordaan grinned, delighted, as his senses flared to life. The force danced on the back of his lids, brilliant and true. It flowed around him—everything—moving to the construct of some infallible truth that he couldn't hope to understand. Tentatively, he opened his eyes. He could still sense it, but only faintly—the sensation was muted, like the emotions of his fellows projected through the walls.
He would have to do something about that.
... .. .
Jhordaan was making people uncomfortable, and he didn't particularly care. He'd situated himself in one of the more frequently used walkways, slumped against one of the pillars. It was a good place with which to observe passerby, and Jhordaan was doing so shamelessly.
Sensing the Force in the privacy of his room where he could be alone was something else entirely to what he should really be accomplishing—the Force was something he should be aware of at all times. If he expected to eventually be able to manipulate the Force, he would have to be able to tap into it no matter the setting. So he practiced on the younglings that walked past, gagging moods and auras and taking a secret delight in watching them scurry on past when they noticed his scrutiny.
In unfettered daylight he couldn't see the force like he preferred, but it was still there. It was always there. He just needed practice.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 4:38 pm
Communication 0002
.... ... .. .
Rajiya,
You'll be pleased to hear I've resumed my studies with a fair amount of success. The next exercise, however, is to be done in pairs and I don't feel particularly keen on interaction with my peers. I find being around other people to be rather...overwhelming....at times. The Sith Temple places a great deal of importance on emotions, but unfortunately it would seem that those emotions tend to lean more towards the negative side of the spectrum. It's especially noticeable around my fellow younglings; many don't yet have the necessary amount of control to shield their emotions fully. It can be...distracting.
You mentioned in your last transmission that you have a ship—what class?
--Jhordaan Tri'kule
Re:Communication 0002
.... ... .. .
Jhordaan,
Ayelet is a modified YZ-775 freighter ; I've attached a diagram in case you're interested.
I'm glad to hear you've picked up your studies again, but you shouldn't worry so much about working with the other younglings. Think about it this way: forging acquaintances—maybe even friendships?—will be beneficial for your later career. As for the issue of rampant emotions... you can shield yourself, correct? Or does that interfere with your ability to sense the Force?
Good luck with your next assignment! Be sure to tell me how it goes.
~Rajiya
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Posted: Thu May 29, 2008 12:54 am
Session No 2
Partner: Camlan
.... ... .. .
Session completed. Archived here... (Here)
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2008 2:07 pm
Session No 2 (x2)
Partner: Charsiir
.... ... .. .
Session on hiatus.. (Here)
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Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 7:55 pm
Communication 003
.... ... .. .
Rajiya,
To shield oneself while simultaneously sensing the Force is possible, but I’m loathe to admit I’m having some difficulty multitasking, as it were. The lessons themselves are progressing well, however.
I took your advice and sought out my fellow classmates. The few I’ve made the acquaintance of are…unique. I have yet to run into anyone that I particularly connect with. Perhaps later.
I hope you are doing well.
--Jhordaan Tri'kule
P.S. My thanks for the hologram; the modifications you’ve made are very clever.
Re:Communication 003
.... ... .. .
Always so formal! D8 I’ll forgive you for the praise, though. The modifications are rather clever, aren’t they? I’m not much for mechanics, myself, but my associate is a genius (though don’t tell her that; she’s got enough of an ego as it is.) The two of you would probably get along smashingly.
Unique can be good! Keep looking and I’m sure you’ll find someone you can work well with. Call it intuition!
I’m about to dock, so I’ll talk to you later, alright? Message back soon!
~Rajiya
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Posted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 7:54 pm
Session No 3
.... ... .. .
Jhordaan doubted he should be contact juggling with school property, but the impulse was one that he couldn’t resist; it had been too long since he’d had to opportunity to practice, and the tiny silver orb danced easily across his fingers. Cradle, transfer, butterfly. It was a pleasant distraction from what he should be doing, though avoidance would only get him so far. He sighed and absently transferred the metallic sphere to his other hand.
His training had come a long way from where it had been several weeks ago, but he wasn’t so certain about his ability to manipulate the Force when he had just figured out how to actively sense it. It was a huge step, and he wasn’t at all certain that he would be up to the challenge, but even Camlan, for all his insecurities, could already use the Force to manipulate objects. Surely he would be able to do that same.
The movement of his fingers stilled, cupping the orb lightly while he slid down cross-legged onto the floor; he set the orb down in front of him and considered the best approach . He had to channel the Force, but how? Better to start off with what he knew.
Jhordaan’s eyes slid shut, reaching for the connection; it was easy to find now. The mechanics of exactly how he was supposed to be manipulating the Force, however, remained elusive. He could vaguely sense the tiny orb, but it felt different than what he was used to, which he supposed made sense considering it wasn’t organic, but still--
It should be simple; he was just over thinking. It would move. He pushed away his wandering thoughts and concentrated. The orb remained stubbornly immobile. Jhordaan flexed his hands and fought rising irritation; he took a calming breath and tried again.
The orb shuddered--he made the mistake of opening his eyes--and gave a pathetic little flop. It didn’t move again.
He bit back a curse. Perhaps a break was in order.
---
Jhordaan starred at the silver orb moodily from across the room where it perched merrily on the desk, mocking him. Failure sat bitterly on his tongue. What was he missing? Why wouldn’t it just move?
He sighed, slipping off the bed and crossing the room to pick up the orb. It looked so innocuous. He rolled it around in the palm of his hand, tossing it absently from hand to hand. Contact juggling looked a lot like levitation, or magic, to the untrained eye--he rolled the orb up his arm, and back--but it was just a matter of knowing the trick and practicing. What was the trick to levitation?
The kinetic energy of the orb was a tangible thing as it spun--he could feel it, and worked with it to control the movement of the sphere--so what would it be like if he could extend that feeling and control beyond himself? Just a flick of his wrist, and--
It hovered just above his fingertips. He felt dizzy with success, and possibly with the strain of holding the orb’s position steady. It wobbled as he struggled, and after a moment he let it drop.
He caught it neatly as it fell, grinning. Now that was more like it.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:40 am
Communication 004
.... ... .. .
Rajiya,
I managed to successfully levitate an object today. It almost makes all the mind-numbing meditation worthwhile; almost makes it mean something. It's a good feeling, I think.
I wasn't sure I was going to be able to accomplish the task, honestly, but the connection I was looking for suddenly came to me while I was contact juggling. Funny, how these things work out.
I hope you're well.
--Jhordaan
Re:Communication 004
.... ... .. .
That's great, Jhordaan! Congratulations. You're one more step towards your goal. I'm really proud of you.
Also! I never knew you could contact juggle! That's a neat trick; I saw it once in a bazaar. I always thought it would be fun to learn, but I'm just too clumsy. I'd spend more time retrieving the ball from wherever I had accidentally tossed it than actually juggling with it. But that's just me.
I'm so happy for you. :3
(Watch the post; I'm sending you a little something to mark the occasion.)
~Rajiya
Re:Re:Communication 004
.... ... .. .
Rajiya,
Thank you for the gift, though you didn't have to go to all the trouble. How did you know I was fond of sweets?
Thank you regardless.
--Jhordaan
Re:Re:Re:Communication 004
.... ... .. .
No trouble! I'm just glad you liked it. Honestly, it was a lucky guess. Maybe I'm psychic!
Good luck with your studies. (Would it be horrible of me to bribe continued excellence with more goodie baskets?)
~Rajiya
Re:Re:Re:Re:Communication 004
.... ... .. .
No; I don't think that would be horrible at all.
--J
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:34 am
Session No 3; repeat
.... ... .. .
Jhordaan hadn’t bothered to return the tiny silver orb after his initial success; he had intended to--there was no reason he needed it specifically to continue practicing, and he thought they would probably appreciate it back for the next class--but he had grown rather fond of it--he was a tactile sort of fellow, and it had a pleasing feel to it--and it was the perfect size for juggling besides. So he kept it.
He took it out at idle moments, contact juggling to relax before he slowly extended that energy--and his control--outwards, beyond his physical body. It was slow going at first--he couldn’t control it for very long, or from any sort of distance, and he had a horrible time moving it when it was stationary to begin with--but he slowly made progress. He was able to hold his control longer, and extended his reach farther. With practice came precision; his control over the orb’s movement became more minute, though they were still far from perfect.
When he could fetch the tiny object from anywhere in his room--the trick of moving stationary objects had been in visualizing the potential for movement that all objects had--he moved his practice outside.
It was like starting all over again. Any little noise caused a break in his control and sent the orb spinning off to be retrieved; voices, especially, were a problem; and forget walking and concentrating at the same time. Jhordaan didn’t accomplish much the first week, or the second. Then, slowly, he began to make headway; being stubborn, apparently, had its merits.
It was becoming close-enough to second nature that he could walk the halls and retain his control, and noises--for the most part--didn’t cause him to immediately drop the orb. He still fumbled occasionally, but he was getting progressively better and he was feeling rather proud of his accomplishments regardless. He worried, though, that he might gesture overly much when controlling the orb--he felt more connected to the energy he was manipulating that way, but it also tended to give away his intentions; he corrected himself any time he noticed, but it was a hard habit to break.
The decision to try controlling multiple objects was made one lazy afternoon; Camlan had mentioned blocks--as in plural--hadn’t he? Jhordaan collected a handful of pebbles and found a relatively quiet corner to practice.
As it turned out, he wasn’t very good at multitasking. He could manipulate one, easily, but the moment he went to pick up another he lost his control over the first; it was maddening. He did have some success if he treated the pebbles as one big mass, but the moment he tried to address an individual pebble the whole lot toppled.
Jhordaan stopped before he could get well and truly frustrated. If he felt so compelled, he could try again another day. For the moment, he needed to do something else. Like take a nap.
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Posted: Wed Jul 14, 2010 11:38 am
Session No 4
.... ... .. .
Jhordaan wasn’t particularly keen on the whole ‘being shot at’ aspect of the latest lesson, and he eyed the laser drone with no small level of dread. Eventually, yes, someone was going to shoot at him in the course of his career, but that was later and not something that he should setting himself up for, if he could manage it, regardless. Still, skipping wasn’t an option. Not only did he not want to face the ramifications when Master Char Langui inevitably found out--was it a skill unique to Force users, or something all instructors honed over years of teaching delinquent students?--but he was finding more and more that he didn’t want to disappoint Rajiya. She was--nice.
So he put on the blindfold.
--
As it turned out, he didn’t particularly care for being blindfolded, either. Not being able to see was more disconcerting than he’d first anticipated--not knowing where the drone was, and the sick dread of anticipation that settled in his stomach because he knew that it would eventually attack him, but not when.
He had never truly understood just how dependent on his sight he was until this very moment, the training saber feeling awkward and unwieldy in his hand as he waited for the droid to begin its assault.
Jhordaan had always been able to feel the emotions of sentient creatures to some degree--though his effectiveness varied on species; the subtle nuances of emotion were not universal as one might expect, and at times took some translation--but he had always depended on his sight in concerns to non-sentience and the inorganic. The droid was metal and circuitry; how was he supposed to anticipate its actions?
The Force was the obvious answer, but Jhordaan didn’t know what it was he was supposed to be looking for or feeling or sensing or whatever it was he was supposed to be accomplishing.
The first sting of the laser was an unexpected reminder of his wandering focus, and he flinched. The second sting of the laser on his skin made him curse in frustration, and reign in his thoughts. The Force had to give off some sort of indication; he would just have to pay very close attention to what that was, exactly.
Jhordaan took a deep breath, and forcibly centered himself; he didn’t allow himself to think about the blindfold, or the droid, or how uncomfortable he felt with the saber in his hands. He spread out his awareness beyond his physical body--he had a fleeting thought of the first lesson--and waited.
Something tugged at his senses, and he moved the saber to the left instinctually. Not quite fast enough, apparently, as the laser ricocheted off the saber and hit him solidly in the shin. Jhordaan hissed through his teeth, and forced himself to calm; he had been close. He could do this.
Jhordaan lost himself in the exercise, extending his ability to sense the Force to its limit. As he grew more comfortable in following that instinct--the Force was something beyond rationale thought, as he was growing to understand--the number of lasers that got through his defenses dwindled.
When he could deflect all the shots fired at him--each dispatched with a satisfying distortion of sound when laser met saber--he turned off the droid, feeling pleased with himself. He should have stopped earlier, when fatigue first set in, but he had been determined; now he was glad he hadn’t stopped.
Tomorrow, he would attempt the second setting. For the moment, however, he could use a shower.
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