Private The Training Before Tython

[Talaya Rade]

It'd been the second day on the Grayson's journey to Tython.

The longing gazes into the vast stretches of empty space.
The curiosity-driven roams about Cedric's ship.
The consistent depletion of her brother's strawberry reserves.

Whether she wanted to admit it, or not, they were all evidence of the one thing: She was stalling.

The knowledge of the mystical side of the universe was just one training session away, and she'd hesitated to begin. As if being dared to step into a portal to another land, with full understanding there was nary a way to go back. Popping the last strawberry into her mouth, she'd lick her finger and wash her hands. Dwelling on the matter just a moment longer before shooing her doubts. From what she understood of the force so far, it was up to her to determine her relationship with it. In the force was a chance to redefine herself for the better, and against better judgement, it was her best bet at revenge. With a nod confirming her decision, Talaya made her way through the ship. She was on the search for Cedric. Fully intent on requesting his aid before they managed to land on Tython.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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Cedric very rarely allowed others to travel with him. [member="Dak"] was something of a regular companion, but Dak was a droid, and droids understood the value of personal space quite keenly. The Jedi Master was an introvert at hearts - his grand gestures and social finesse were all practiced and artificial. Truthfully, he craved only the company of himself most of the time; whether that was due to a lack of a desire to connect, or simply because it was more peaceful was entirely up in the air.

Having his sister aboard had made things a bit different. He'd been sure to give the girl her space so that she might explore the ship as she liked. She hadn't taken quite well to his first attempt to teach, and he'd reflected on it. Normally he would have reached out to the ancestral spirits of their line, but the chief among them, Vakarian, had been obliterated during his duel with [member="Darth Maliphant"] on Hoth. Cedric missed the ancient deeply, but his advice was stuck within his heart.

'If a student is having trouble, do not push them. Wait for them to come to you.'

And so he had.

The doors to his meditation chamber slipped open. It was a spartan room, lined with a single mat, and a statue of an ancient Jedi Knight brandishing a lightsaber. He lofted a brow, slowly rising to his feet. He was clad in traditional Jedi Robes, though they were darker than the usual decorum.

"Talaya," he offered her an easy smile, "Looking for the rest of my hidden strawberry storage?"

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

The doors slid open, and the woman's eyes looked about the room with both curiosity and intrigue. Day by day she was becoming more familiar with Cedric's tastes for decor, and how largely they differed from her own. She'd casually approach Cedric, and rest her hands on her waist. "Pff- ..you've got jokes, Cedric. I uh ..actually came to try that whole ..force thing again. We've got a bit of time before we hit Tython, sooo I figured why not." Her brows tightened abit. "Look I ..it's totally my bad for fallin' asleep last time. I'm ready to give this a real shot this time. If you'll help me, I'll move that boulder and the ..the island thing with the ..waves- Eh ..how did it go again?" She couldn't help but slip in a snicker, the idea still seeming a tad far from reality for her.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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The Jedi slowly rose from his meditative position, an amused grin alighting his features.

"I was wondering when you might be curious," he folded his arms about his chest. "My old master taught me something about waiting on students rather than pushing them, so it's alright. You've got all the time in the world to learn." Not wholly true. The Sith Empire was ever encroaching toward the core of the galaxy, and they would likely be upon the Imperium in the next few years. If Talaya was going to stand at her brother's side, she would need to learn how to defend herself.

He gestured toward the floor, "Take a seat. We'll try basic meditation. It's the first step toward opening yourself further to the Force." He settled down himself, one leg crossed over the other. "As before, you must empty your mind of all concerns. Focus entirely on your own breathing until it is all you register."

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

Talaya took a seat, a leg over the other much like her brother. While the idea of meditation was far from new to her, the practice of it was. It visibly made her feel awkward. "How uh ..how am I doin' this? Hands on the lap? The whole number six thing with my hands and saying "Ooooomm~?" With a subtle shrug, she pushed her curly hair to her back and simply placed both hands onto her lap. Her eyes shut, and shortly after her thoughts held visuals that she almost seemed to look at underneath her eye-lids. Her brows tightened as she tried to shoo her thoughts away. The girl's breath went calm, and her toes even wiggled a bit on occasion.

"Allrright. Let's do this."

After initial difficulty, she began to find ease in dismissing her thoughts. Sole-focus becoming breath. The rhythm, the intensity. The drag and exhale of oxygen.

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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"You can do that, if it helps," Cedric replied with an amused tone. He paid little mind to her awkwardness. For him, meditation came naturally, and he expected it might seem a bit odd to the uninitiated. It was definitely a cultural thing.

His own eyes drifted shut as he emptied his mind of all thought. It was an easy action - it came as naturally to him as breathing. He drifted upon the ethereal currents, and felt the ties between his spirit and his body lessening. It took come conscious effort to retain them - it wouldn't do to be off in the clouds while Talaya was still learning the basics.

"Now," his voice was quiet so as not to disturb her. "You may envision the Force in whatever way comes most naturally to you. I envision myself as a dry riverbed. The energies of the Force are its waters, and I will them to flow through me. By focusing on the visualization you create, you give the Force a mental context with which it can reach out to you in a way your mind can understand."

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

What turned into the simple focus on breath turned into the necessity to given visual to both herself, and the force. Even with closed eyes, her expression spelled confusion and a hint of frustration. "A riverbed, huh? Yeeaahh. Got'cha." She'd begin to picture a dry riverbed. Only she was standing in it. Her frown seemed to grow as the sound of something in the distance neared within her mental plane. What should've been the calm flow of water was instead a torrent that emerged without warning. A wave that would swallow her whole until--

"G-..Gaah!" She screamed in panic, forcing her eyes open and shoo'ing away any supernatural sensation that might've tried to flow through her. She'd scooted away a bit, eyes looking within the room's interior. As if having difficulty distinguishing reality from imagination. "Nooope, nope. Whatever that was, that's definitely not supposed'ta happen. The water ..it was like it wanted to hurt me. Like ..it didn't want me there."

[member="Cedric Grayson"]

 

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He felt a shift within the empyrean.

Up until now, Talaya had been naught but a nascent observer to the Force's will. It might have influenced her life indirectly, but there was no relationship there. As Cedric perceived it, the connection being made was like a door that had been locked for a lifetime finally opening. He felt the flow of the empyrean as it started to pass through her, though he found himself a bit surprised at how quickly it did so. The Graysons were a powerful family, and the Force came to their kind easily, but Talaya moreso than most.

His voice was gentle as he spoke. "It's alright," he said reassuringly. "That was...a lot stronger than I expected. The Graysons are closely connected to the Force Talaya, and to not have accessed it in your entire life is nearly unheard of for our family. It seems its power comes to you more than naturally," he mused. "But you must try. If it is too much, than envision a stream trickling into you rather than a river. Force the energy that flows in your body to be limited, so that you might be able to withstand it."

[member="Talaya Rade"]

 

[Talaya Rade]

She initially struggled to regain her composure, but managed to do so after a time. Talaya sat back onto the mat, and crossed her legs once more. This time she didn't seem to have any jokes to stall time. She'd dipped her toe into the supernatural side of things, and curiosity begged her to do so again. Nodding to Cedric's reassuring words, she'd slowly close her eyes and try to clear her mind of all but the matter at hand: The Force. Seconds rolled into minutes of silence. Just when her patience had all but thinned her brow lifted from a feeling she was hardly accustomed to. As if something much greater than herself began to flow through her. The subtle feeling made her hesitant. Her voice notably shaky.

"Uhh ..C-..Cedric. There's a thing ..it's happening. Kinda feels like it'll slip. How do I -....How do I hold onto it?"

 

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A pleasant grin found its way onto the Lord-Imperator's features, despite his own desires. Normally he would have maintained an air of total calm with a student, but Talaya was a special case. She was his blood, his only living heir, and the Force was her birthright. He would not see it denied to her any longer - ignorance had no place in this family.

"Envision it as something in your mind. Something you can comprehend, and then reach out to it. Imagine yourself coming into contact with it, letting it flow freely through you." He paused, a memory of a past lesson bubbling to the forefront of his mind. "The Force is a living breathing entity, much like ourselves. Treat it like a companion, a partner - to truly become one with it, you must make a pact with it: one of partnership, kinship."

Talaya Rade

 

[Talaya Rade]

Her mind struggled with creating a visual aid for the force. She was still trying to make reason of the supernatural phenomenon. Her shortcomings came from trying to fit the force into the same realm of understanding as technology. That every bob and piece had a purpose with a grounded explanation. Eventually her brows relaxed, along with the rest of her body. She'd dared herself to simply let go, and allow the force to reveal its self to her. In a minute's time, the hairs on her skin stood. The image that revealed itself was no river at all, but a warm gust that diverged in countless ways. Dancing through one entity to the next. She felt both a push, and pull beyond her control. Talaya envisioned the welcoming gust blowing through and around her body. A few loose strands twitching subtly along with a facial expression that almost looked as if wind was blowing against her face. She remained silent during this, pre-occupied with exploring just how far she could interact with the supernatural entity given shape and picture.

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Cedric had served the Jedi Order, or at least the idea of it, for several decades. In that time, he'd involved himself in the training of many students to various degrees, and all of them had a different means of reaching out to the Force. The empyrean was not a rational thing - it was the esoteric given form, as personal as an opinion, and as powerful as fact.

He watched behind closed lids as Talaya touched the face of the ethereal. He could not perceive what she saw perfectly, but the Force's psyionic nature allowed him a glimpse as what was going on within her mind.

He cracked a pleased little smile, projecting himself out into the empyrean so that his sister might sense him. His presence was a steady thing, like water trapped in a glass, filled to the brim, but never overflowing. Power tamed and tempered.

"I hope your birthright hasn't been disappointing."

Talaya Rade

 

[Talaya Rade]

Her attention remained seized by the new experience. From the cracks of her best attempt at a serious meditation face were glimpses of awe, and wonder. She'd indulged the surreal, put doubt aside, and opened herself to something she hadn't yet the words to escape. The warmth of the perceived gust was both welcoming, and familiar. It was the "Intuition" that swayed her actions in the most minute, and drastic of ways. Perhaps a friend she'd taken too long to learn the face of. Then came a presence, one too prominent to deny and one too familiar to make her uneasy. Cedric's words met her ear, and she struggled to reply. After a silence, her brows tensed and a single tear rolled along her cheek. "It's ...I'd of never imagined. It's so beautiful, and warm. I'm ..freaked out, and calm at the same time."

"That ..over there." She pointed. "And that-..." She pointed again. "Even you. I ..feel connected to it all." P Placeholder 0128

 

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A wide grin split the Jedi Master's face.

"It was overwhelming for me." He allowed his eyes to open, his gaze traveling up toward the ceiling as he delved into the warmth of nostalgia. "I was five, I believe. Father was preparing me for my first meeting with the public of Ession. I was riding in the back of his speeder and it just hit me like a tidal wave. I cried for hours," he snickered at the memory.

"Dad told me that it was my birthright. I'm here to tell you now that it's yours, too." Part of him had worried that Talaya might not have the aptitude to channel the living force, but that seemed not to be the case. "You've taken your first steps on a much larger path," he paused, a bit of good humor lacing his words. "My padawan."

Another pause. "And it's only fitting that you stop wearing our grandfather's name. He wasn't a good man," Cedric reached out, taking hold of his sister's hand. "You're a Grayson. Talaya Grayson. I name you my living heir until the day I have my first child."

Talaya Rade

 

[Talaya Rade]

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Talaya found herself drifting from the ethereal river that was the force. Opening her eyes to see the world in a way she was much more familiar with. Her cheeks were a subtle red, a hint of embarrassment from allowing herself to be moved to tears. The back of her hand went to wipe the tear from her face, snickering alongside Cedric as he relayed his memories. "Just like that, huh? It came to you out of the blue? Heey~ I may be late on this whole force thing, but it only got one tear outta me. That's a win in my book." She jokingly raised a thumbs up, the bright-smile she found herself gifted with unfortunately masking the growing doubt and concern in the back of the mind. She'd only bothered to relay a fraction of what she saw moments ago. Raising the question, even to herself, if the tear was that of joy, or horror. Her thoughts seemed to cloud until Talaya looked down to see Cedric holding her hand. The every-day girl found herself on the receiving end of heirship, and a last name she still didn't understand the depth of. The woman's brows lifted from awe. "M-..Pfff ..Awwh come on, Cedric. I'm just a chick with a mild strawberry addiction." She mused, her eyes lowering shortly after and her smile dimming.

"I just ..well I don't feel like I've earned it. The name. The ..heir ..thing. Hell ..I still don't even know what Ession looked like."

 

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Cedric drew back as she spoke of her misgivings. He tried to look at the situation from her perspective, and it all clicked rather easily. The Graysons were a storied family that could trace their lineage for centuries. Their most recent incarnations had made moves on the galactic scale, and Talaya had grown up as a normal woman, never prepared for such things. He could understand why she didn't feel she'd earned it, but it wasn't something he agreed with either.

"It isn't something you earn," he assured, "It's something you're born to. Our family might have done great things, but to us, they're just family. I trust you as my heir because you are family, and our blood means I can trust you more than anyone else. There's no one better suited, in my eyes." He paused, "But you are a Grayson. There's no great deed you need to accomplish to become one, you simply are. Our parents had you away because they wanted you to live a safe and happy life, not because they were ashamed of you."

A final pause.

"There's nothing here to be earned."

Talaya Rade

 

[Talaya Rade]

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Her brother's words seemed to strike a chord. Whether she chose to admit it, or not, there were thoughts that surfaced after meeting Cedric. The most troublesome being if she was kept away from an upbringing similar to Cedric due to being inept, or unfit for the lifestyle. Two Graysons sat in a room. One an Imperator and head of an entire planet. The other was a girl. No more, or less in her eyes. There wasn't a hint of jealousy in her, but instead the struggle seemed more internal. A question that gnawed on her mind until Cedric openly dispelled her doubts. Her eyes looked up to the ceiling, visibly becoming more glossy before her lips wrinkled. She sighed, tears seeming to fall down her face. Huff.

"Fuck. So maybe we're even now on the whole crying thing." Talaya held his hand a bit tighter. One hand going to wipe her cheek with a smile surfacing.

"Fiiine, alright?" Chuckle. "I'm a whole ass Grayson now. Watch out world~" She offered a look brimming with appreciation and respect.

"Thanks, Cedric. For uh ..everything, y'know? I'm gonna give it everything I got, and a lil' bit more."

 

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And he believed her.

"You'll go far Talaya. You just have to keep to it." That much was too true. The Jedi path was a pained one. It was one of near endless trials, especially in an age such as this. If she had hoped for a quit life, then fate had never favored her.

Still, Cedric was pleased to have living family again. It was a kinship he'd long missed, and Talaya's presence allowed for greater things. If she possessed an aptitude for the force as he and Caida had, then turning the rest of the Jedi to their cause would be a far easier task. He cast that thought aside however, preferring to linger on the sentiment of simply having family once more. Thinking in terms of ambition had a way of souring things.

"Now that you're finally part of the family, allow me to explain the Jedi Code. It's one our ancestors have lived by for generations."

He drew in a deep breath, exhaled slowly, and spoke.

"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."

Talaya Rade