Objective: Climb
Standing before the mighty tree Ko sensed its vast depth of energy and life through The Force, Ran Dom Kuun. Above lay a large settlement of local natives. The arboreal subspecies of the cathar, the denik. Ko came here to his master’s homeworld to test himself. After having trained his body for greater vertical mobility. Bringing his hands up to his the robes covering his torso he began to remove them from his body. Stripping down to a formfitting body glove and his loose jedi pants and utility belt. He even removed his hardy boots. Allowing his clawed feet to touch mossy ground beneath him.
Neatly folding his robes he draped them over a nearby tree branch to come back to later. He didn’t wanna wear the loose clothes to avoid snagging and catching on anything during his test. Hopefully some passerby wont take his robes for themselves. But Ko could afford to part with them, his wardrobe was never very fancy or interesting anyways.
Now he stepped closer to the massive tree and gently placed his clawed hand against its thick and weathered bark. Readying himself for the exercise and test his endurance. Taking a steps back Ko limbered himself up with a few key stretches to get his body moving before bending his knees and suddenly leaping up towards the tree with the Force enhancing his ascension. Once he made contact with the tree once more he dug his nails into to grip into the bark of the giant tree trunk. Even pressing his feet into it as well.
To add to his effort his hands and feet had suddenly hardened with the use of Soft to Solid. Allowing him to really dig into the tree bark. But it also meant that he would be burning through more energy through use of the force. Even if he was only hardening small parts of his body. He had an entire colossal tree to climb. Once he had a good grip on it, he began to claw his way up the tree. Seeking to mostly use the sturdy trunk until the tree began to split off its dense canopy.
Ko tried to use his legs as much as he could to push himself up. But most of his climb would be from his upper body. He used no physical tools to aid him, only his own athleticism and The Force. He kept up a steady pace for his breathing through his anti`ox mask. Which needed to work over time here in the oxygen rich equatorial jungles of Cathar.
Eventually the Jedi Knight got high enough up the tree that the trunk had begun to start splitting off into smaller pieces and in multiple directions. Roughly marking the halfway point for his climb. Once the tree bent enough for him to stand up right on he took a brief break to catch his breath. His muscles and lungs began to burn with the stress of the workout. He wondered if this would be comparable to climbing up the Wroshyr trees on Kashyyyk. Though the more lush climate there might make breathing even more difficult for Ko. Maybe that could offer an engaging challenge in the future.
Once more Ko placed his hand firmly against the wood of the tree. Connecting with the organism and seeing its winding wooden paths through The Force to plan out his climb to the top. With his route mapped out in his mind he again began his climb.
The natives had been climbing these three for thousands of generations. Now some of them got to watch the foreign Kel Dor attempt the same with a less adequate physiology. Kel Dor Claws were not like that of a feline, meant for climbing trees and hooking into prey. Kel Dor were mountaineers, not woodsmen. Still Ko made a good effort as he dug his fingers and toes into the bark.
However, once he started to get into the denser and cooler foliage where more moisture had been trapped, Ko was suddenly reminded of how slippery some of the branches could get when wet and causing him to lose his grip and slide down some. As he quickly slid down his body collided with a branch that knocked him away. Ko briefly flailed his arms about to catch onto something.
Fortunately luck was on Ko’s side as his body suddenly crashed into a pool of water. Natural ponds formed across the tree sometimes on the leaves of the tree. Creating little bowls for water to pool up. Floating up to the surface Ko knew that he was gonna need to be a bit more careful for this final stretch of the climb. Or else he’d be constantly taking two steps back for every step forwards. Crawling his way out of the water, Ko used the Force to gently crush the fabric of his clothes to squeeze the water off it to make it easier to dry off and not carry around the added weight of clothes soaked in water.
Neatly folding his robes he draped them over a nearby tree branch to come back to later. He didn’t wanna wear the loose clothes to avoid snagging and catching on anything during his test. Hopefully some passerby wont take his robes for themselves. But Ko could afford to part with them, his wardrobe was never very fancy or interesting anyways.
Now he stepped closer to the massive tree and gently placed his clawed hand against its thick and weathered bark. Readying himself for the exercise and test his endurance. Taking a steps back Ko limbered himself up with a few key stretches to get his body moving before bending his knees and suddenly leaping up towards the tree with the Force enhancing his ascension. Once he made contact with the tree once more he dug his nails into to grip into the bark of the giant tree trunk. Even pressing his feet into it as well.
To add to his effort his hands and feet had suddenly hardened with the use of Soft to Solid. Allowing him to really dig into the tree bark. But it also meant that he would be burning through more energy through use of the force. Even if he was only hardening small parts of his body. He had an entire colossal tree to climb. Once he had a good grip on it, he began to claw his way up the tree. Seeking to mostly use the sturdy trunk until the tree began to split off its dense canopy.
Ko tried to use his legs as much as he could to push himself up. But most of his climb would be from his upper body. He used no physical tools to aid him, only his own athleticism and The Force. He kept up a steady pace for his breathing through his anti`ox mask. Which needed to work over time here in the oxygen rich equatorial jungles of Cathar.
Eventually the Jedi Knight got high enough up the tree that the trunk had begun to start splitting off into smaller pieces and in multiple directions. Roughly marking the halfway point for his climb. Once the tree bent enough for him to stand up right on he took a brief break to catch his breath. His muscles and lungs began to burn with the stress of the workout. He wondered if this would be comparable to climbing up the Wroshyr trees on Kashyyyk. Though the more lush climate there might make breathing even more difficult for Ko. Maybe that could offer an engaging challenge in the future.
Once more Ko placed his hand firmly against the wood of the tree. Connecting with the organism and seeing its winding wooden paths through The Force to plan out his climb to the top. With his route mapped out in his mind he again began his climb.
The natives had been climbing these three for thousands of generations. Now some of them got to watch the foreign Kel Dor attempt the same with a less adequate physiology. Kel Dor Claws were not like that of a feline, meant for climbing trees and hooking into prey. Kel Dor were mountaineers, not woodsmen. Still Ko made a good effort as he dug his fingers and toes into the bark.
However, once he started to get into the denser and cooler foliage where more moisture had been trapped, Ko was suddenly reminded of how slippery some of the branches could get when wet and causing him to lose his grip and slide down some. As he quickly slid down his body collided with a branch that knocked him away. Ko briefly flailed his arms about to catch onto something.
Fortunately luck was on Ko’s side as his body suddenly crashed into a pool of water. Natural ponds formed across the tree sometimes on the leaves of the tree. Creating little bowls for water to pool up. Floating up to the surface Ko knew that he was gonna need to be a bit more careful for this final stretch of the climb. Or else he’d be constantly taking two steps back for every step forwards. Crawling his way out of the water, Ko used the Force to gently crush the fabric of his clothes to squeeze the water off it to make it easier to dry off and not carry around the added weight of clothes soaked in water.
. . .
With some more grit and determination Ko was finally reaching the top of the canopy. Finding some purchase on some dry, dead branch at the top of the tree. Ko promptly sat himself down on the branch to let his body rest a bit and catch his breath. His throat and lungs stung with exertion and his arms and shoulders felt like they could melt off his body. He knew he was gonna be sore from this but felt accomplished being up at the top of Ran Dom Kuun. It was a pretty view as well, seeing the surrounding land for miles in every direction. Well, it would be a pretty sight if Ko still had his eye sight.
Ko thought about what other kinds of things he could climb as well. Perhaps he might see himself climbing through the concrete jungle of Coruscant or some other urban planet. Letting out a deep breath through his antiox mask Ko gently pushed himself back onto his feet. Now thinking about how he was gonna get himself back down.
Just then he heard and felt a sudden crack on the dry dead wood he was standing on. Through precognition The Force warned him of an unavoidable fate that he was gonna confront in just a second. But instead of dreading it, Ko resigned himself to this new struggle. In an instant the dry, dead wood he stood atop snapped away. Falling down the tree Ko shouted out in shock.
“AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHhhhhhhhhh!!!”
Fortunately it wasn’t that difficult for Jedi to avoid fall damage…
