A Barrier to Build (or Break)

[Uri Aureleos]

Anyone walking by would think Uri was sleeping in the courtyard. He lay on the ground with his hands behind his head and one knee crossed over the other. Youngling near by laughed and heckled him a little before being reprimanded but their instructor. Uri never even noticed them. Truth was in his lounging position, he was lost in meditation. He personally was trying different ways to meditate. Today picking one that he found to be very relaxing and allowing him a deeper trance. It was a welcoming state for him considering he wanted to be a master of battle meditation despite not even knowing it yet. After a month of squeamishly poking and prodding at the precarious force and then another few weeks of being to terrified to get in to deep meditation, Uri finally found himself able to meditate again recovering lost time even and spending so much time in meditation that he would skip meal every now and again. Being raised as a monk he remembered seeing other monks spending days in meditation without eating or sleeping. Being a child at the time, he never partook in such long periods of meditation.

This particular day wasn't about seeing how long he could meditate or even practicing the different meditation techniques he learned about when he was younger. No, this particular day, Uri was going to be graced with the presence of Master [member="Kana Truden"] without the presence of Master Corvus. He had only met Master Truden two times before both times while with his master on a planet that needed support back when the force didn't like Jedi to command it. The thought of planets and the force in the state it was made him falter in his meditation. He still found it hard to think about. One day he hoped he would be able to say 'yes I was there' with out wincing or feeling a pain in the pit of his stomach.

Today was not about that time in his life either. This day was about a barrier. Force barrier. Uri had been wanting to learn how to create force barriers for some time. His style was more so defensive rather than offensive. Force barrier would be a valuable asset to add to that defense. To add on to that further, he also wanted to try and incorporate it with meditation. With moving meditation one could essentially use telekinesis while in a state of wakeful meditation. He wondered if holding a force barrier might have the same effect.

 

[Kana Truden]

Kana remembered [member="Uri Aureleos"] from Alderaan. Part of the homecoming, wasn’t it? It was, but definitely not in the same gray mood that the revelation that her old neighbourhood had left her in. From what [member="Corvus Raaf"] had told her the kid was alright, had a shine to him but never really told her why that joke was particularly funny.

Moving through the temple grounds she kept an eye out for a gold-looking boy as the sound of younglings snickering at something caught her attention. Someone was lying down on the grass, huh? Figuring she had enough time to school this one student before meeting up with the student of her own she too went over to where the laughs were to be had.

Eyes on the youngling she gave him a most sincere stare telling the kid to ‘cut that out’ and ‘go with your master.’

“Hey, wake up, kid.” Kana nudged at the sleepyhead with her feet. “Don’t you have a Master waiting for you, or someth-...”

Head turned to look at the perp. A very gold-looking padawan which probably meant... “Uri?” Her eyebrow perked up. “Why are you sleeping on the temple grounds?”

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri couldn't tell Master Truden's signature from the rest of the beings in the courtyard. He did however feel the person standing over him and then the sudden foot in his ribs. The surprise in her voice was apparent. Any anger in her voice not so much. Uri wondered if she was like his master and how that Master Corvus could reprimand Uri with nothing more than her disapproving stare. He hoped that Master [member="Kana Truden"] was similar to her at least in how patient his master could be.

He rolled away from her feet then stood up then smiled lightly as he bowed, "Sorry, Master, I was meditating while I waited." He didn't expect her to believe him. It sounded like a lie even to him and he knew it was true. Still he remained very calm and unwavering. He was excited to finally learn force barrier but he contained his excitement. It took him long enough to get to this point. This was one of the more important powers he wanted to learn and had expressed interest in it even when he was still a youngling. He was patient however. Maybe his master rubbed off on him? Either way he was eager to learn from Master Truden on this day.

 

[Kana Truden]

The totally-not-napping [member="Uri Aureleos"] got up from the ground and Kana took a quick look around the area. People were quickly dispersing, leaving for other places. All that was left was a few student-teacher combinations spread around the courtyard.

“It’s quite alright, Uri.” She snickered as her attention set on the golden boy again. “I ‘meditated’ in the peaceful spots around the temple when I was a Padawan as well. You just gotta make sure the spots offer a bit more, uh, privacy.”

A whiff of fresh air was enough for Kana to set the location for today’s class: right here. The courtyard was a personal favorite. In rain, overcast or clear skies the place always felt tranquil as if the skies had taken an unhealthy dose of sedatives. Obviously it hadn’t, but it was as close of an explanation as Kana could get.

“We’ll be practicing how to apply a Force Shield in front of you. A force barrier, really it's a skill with many names. Have you heard of it before?”

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri put his tongue in his cheek as she spoke he resisted the urge to laugh. He very much enjoyed how understanding she was despite the fact he wasn't really sleeping. He knew better to argue over pointless matters however. Today was beautiful. The perfect day for training rather than trying to defend how he wasn't sleeping.

"Force aura, armor, protection," Uri rattled off different terms for it feeling a little proud of himself for knowing it but not cocky or over-confidant. "I've read up on it a little bit. It's something I've been waiting to learn for a while. It's a pretty important ability to have in my opinion. Self-teaching from a holocron would have been a quick fix however learning it and learning it right are two different things."

[member="Kana Truden"]

 

[Kana Truden]

He did know, good. It always helped having that small bit of knowledge before getting down to business. For example, Kana had spent months obsessing over how to accelerate healing. Perhaps too much according to some, like [member="Uri Aureleos"]’ master, Kana’s best friend. The nagging about ‘Some day soon I will do it.’ must have reached a level where the tearing of vocal cords was only a sentence away.

“Yes,” She nodded. “And a lot of different sources claims there are different ways to pull it off. Erecting a wall, a protective layer around their very form, a bubble of sorts similar to a protection bubble. It’s all up to the individual themselves in how the thing itself seems to form. In many cases it’s not even visible, yet in some cases it glimmers in the air.”

Her hand waved itself in front of her face as if brushing something aside. “But enough about that, you came to learn and do, not listen and fall asleep. Again.” She was quite certain that he had indeed been sleeping. After all it was what she had done as a padawan. “Get yourself in an upright position and find your center.”

Kana took a seat in front of her student. “When you’re ready to proceed you’re free to give me the mark and I’ll continue with the next part of the lesson.”

[member="Uri Aureleos"]

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Again? Oh yeah. Uri smiled lightly. He wouldn't fight it. He did appear rather lazy to most. He preferred the term relaxed however or even zen. Zen is a good word for him. After a long period of emotional and spiritual instability with the force, he was finally feeling at peace again. For how long, he wasn't sure. That wasn't something for him to dwell on however. A jedi's place isn't the future or the past but the present. His mind secretly took a moment to wonder how Master [member="Kana Truden"] was fairing. He reminded himself to ask her later.

Uri straightened his back and closed his eyes taking a deep breath in as he lifted his hands palm up in front of his chest. As he flipped and pushed his hands downward, he exhaled releasing all of the air from his lungs, "I'm ready, master."

 

[Kana Truden]

A moment of peace passed between them. Silence would have reigned supreme if not for the occasional grunts coming from the other students around the courtyard practicing and honing their skills. Kana shut her eyes and proceeded to meditate on today’s class while she waited for [member="Uri Aureleos"] to give her the sign.

A quick look over what she had brought with her brought a frown to her face. The pebble bag was missing, testing of barriers would have to be improvised. No time to dwell, Uri was ready.

“Good, you’re looking to create a thin wall for yourself. Most of the time you can’t see it, but it’s there. You just have to believe in it.” Kana opened her eyes. “I like to envision myself inside of a small glass bubble. It keeps sounds away, gasses at bay and provides a small amount of protection.”

“I’m sorry if there’s any inconsistencies here, the archives have so many different descriptions of this ability that even I keep losing track of things at times.”

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Create a thin wall. Uri focused on the force taking controlled breaths. He listened to Master [member="Kana Truden"] as she spoke but kept his focus on the task at hand. Imagining a bubble around him worked as well. He imagined and felt the energy forming around him, hardening into the protective barrier. He moved his hands facing his palms away from his body. A smirk reached his face despite still having his eyes closed. Cocky? He felt as though he was finally confidant with the force again. Whether it appeared as over confidence or not wasn't really his plan. He simply felt connected to the force again. It took him long enough in his mind.

"You're doing great," he answered to her apology for inconsistency. Wasn't the master suppose to tell the padawan that? Uri understood her instuctions thus far without any confusion. "I believe I have it..."

 

[Kana Truden]

“Thanks.” Kana bowed her head in appreciation. “Simply having it is good, but being able to hold it for longer amounts of time is better.”

“Think of it like you’re talking to someone. You can stand there and be part of a boring conversation, but if you want to move it toward something more interesting you’ll have to really make your point about the topic you want to discuss. Focus on the topic, or in this case task, at hand.”

Okay, maybe not quite. Experimenting on how to approach the whole ‘learning’ thing was still a work in progress even after so many students and so many different approaches. Part of her wondered how Corvus taught [member="Uri Aureleos"].

“Believe in the force and it will show you the way.” No that sounded really wrong. “I think that’s what Corvus used to say. Just try to hold the barrier for as long as you can, Uri. We’ll start testing the solidity of it soon enough.”

By which she meant the part where pebbles were tossed at it to prove how draining it would be to take a hit, even with an ability like this.

“How you holding up?”

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Okay now he was somewhat confused. He wasn't the best when it came to understanding metaphors and analogies unless it was a reference to nature. The force being like a river was his favorite. Was he was suppose to engage with the barrier he created? He knew she didn't mean speak with it but maybe interact with it? Stimulate..? He focused more on the barrier instead of the confusing advice. Master [member="Kana Truden"] knew what she was doing. He kept telling himself this in him mind for reassurance. He had at least an idea in his mind how it worked. All those afternoons reading and going through the holocrons weren't wasted evidently. He preferred doing to reading about it however.

Believe in the force. He wasn't having any trouble holding the barrier but he questioned if he had the barrier strong enough. He focus more on the strength on the barrier concentrating more on making the energy thicker. He kept his attention on the barrier to the best of his ability. He nodded to answer her last question.

 

[Kana Truden]

“The barrier is a nifty tool to your arsenal.” Kana placed herself in front of [member="Uri Aureleos"]’ barrier. “It can block out noises, keep dust and gases at bay. With time, and practice, it can potentially keep blaster fire at bay. Though I wouldn’t count on it to be as effective for such things as a Protection Bubble.”

Reaching down into the ground Kana picked up a handful of dirt. Hand raised in front of her she looked over at Uri again. “I am going to throw this at your barrier to demonstrate what happens to you as a user when things collide with your barrier. We’ll start off easy, a handful of dust should be fine.”

She drew her hand back into a ready position. Head nodded at Uri for him to ready his barrier and with a steady throw the dirt collided upon the surface of his wall before gently gliding down to the ground. It was when this happened Kana usually experienced a ripple in the force as she had to repair the damages done to her own barrier.

A bit like if a facade was cracking and you had to paint it up again, but really the imagery was still very individualistic.

“You will find that the more you practice, the tougher your barrier will become. The tougher it is, the less of a drain you experience when something hits it.”

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Part of him expected the dirt to reach him instinctive wanting to close his eyes. He didn't however. Instead he watched as the dirt rained down in front of him, and he felt the ripple and contact it made in the force. It was a unique sensation. Almost like it was still hitting him even though it clearly wasn't. It was odd for him to explain and comprehend. The thin sheet of energy wasn't uniform anymore however. It dipped and thinned in certain areas now. His mind couldn't grasp around how to fix just the weak spots so he attempted just to pull more energy to the whole thing.

In his moment of concentration, he forgot something very important only to remember it suddenly as he took in a large audible gasp of air. His palm shortly followed smaking himself in the forehead as the interruption forced him to drop the barrier. Uri, you have to breathe... He felt a little tinge of shame since his monk training had a focus on breathing control just as Jedi training did. He shared a glance with Master [member="Kana Truden"] for a short moment.

"Sorry," A remnant of his past came though for a moment. His Agamarian accent that he had lost out of his voice made a slight return in the word. He took the free moment to shake his hands back loose and the rest of his body. He hadn't realized it but he allowed himself to tense up while holding the barrier. That would definitely be something to work on in the future.

 

[Kana Truden]

Breathe, Uri, breathe.

Kana kept her mouth shut. With the dent in his barrier and the kid trying to fix the cave ins there was little Kana could do but let him learn of his mistakes the hard way. Would anything happen she would have the ability as a healer to get him going again, but such methods wouldn’t prove necessary.

The barrier broke and Uri apologized. Once again she calmly shook her head and motioned with her hand. “No need to apologize, just try not to tense up. You already know this, but it never hurts to repeat the things you already know every now and then.”

“It was one of the first few things Corvus taught me, actually.” With another motion of her hand she beckoned at [member="Uri Aureleos"] to follow her as they took a small walk. “She told me that it’s easy to forget even the most basic things like leaping, especially if you do not practice it.”

She led him in a walk around the courtyard. There was no particular destination in mind, just the chance for the padawan to regain his breath and let it all seep in.

“We’re taking a short break, we can’t just do training. Relaxing and thinking on things is an important part of learning too.”

“So, tell me about yourself, Uri.” Kana looked to the Padawan. “All I know about you is what Corvus has told me.”

 

[Uri Aureleos]

His brow furrowed at the thought of reteaching himself the basics. This was practiced daily during other training exercises. He just happened to forget this time. He still remembered both breathing exercises at least. Even the playful version the monks taught him about lifting the flower as you smelt it and then breathing out as if to sigh as you put it down.

He walked with Master [member="Kana Truden"] and listened to her as she spoke. A break was always nice. Learning something new wasn't a race after all. Patience and studying it though was how Uri personally wanted to learn. Asking to continue wasn't something he was particularly taught after all. The monks had taught him that when he was an impatient little whelp. One does not foolishly tell their teacher they are ready to learn. They must instead show the teacher and prove that they are ready for the next part.

He enjoyed the walk. If you asked him, he would say he did probably too much relaxing. Of course he found meditation to be the best form of relaxation so that would be why. He smiled anyway at least that is until her last sentence. Master Corvus talks about me? He found it a little hard to believe. Uri was just Uri. Yeah he was her padawan but nothing else special. He imagined very little was said.

"I was raised by monks on the planet of Agamar," He nodded to confirm this was all. What more was their to say? Then the thought crossed his mind that maybe he just repeated what his master had said. "If this is what you already know then I'm afraid there's not much more." He smiled lifting his chin slightly as he took in the sun's warmth.

 

[Kana Truden]

“Oh.” She was shot down. A lacking connection, perhaps. Understandable. “Well, okay.”

The silence was let loose and a lingering sense of awkward fell over the teacher. Not all of them were as much about the talking as much as non-stop learning. Fair enough she figured before leading them to a tiny sandpit. She had mentioned the skill as being particularly effective against dust and gasses, at least she knew she had mentioned the latter. She always did mention it.

“Take position again, I will cause the dust to swerve towards you. You'll create a barrier against the dust and after that we’ll call it a day.”

No sense in dragging it out more than they already had.

“Ready?” She gently pushed at the ground to kick the fine sand up and away towards her opponent. The dust would hopefully meet it’s end at the impact of his barrier. Well, either that or it could quite possibly end up being swept up in the padawan’s face.

Either way was a learning experience, right?

[member="Uri Aureleos"]

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Uri didn't believe the silence to be awkward. He wasn't much for talking himself. The overwhelming shyness might have left him as he grew from a boy, but he was still quiet. This wasn't to say he didn't enjoy having talks some days he was more chatty than others. Some people pulled more of his voice out of him than others. That didn't mean any less about the people that couldn't carry a conversation with him. Uri sold himself short quite a bit to tell the truth. Often swaying away for conversations about himself. He was nothing special in his mind.

As they stopped, He surveyed the sand pit it would make a convenient distraction in a fight. Especially for Uri considering he didn't fight to kill or even mortally wound his opponent. Master [member="Kana Truden"] confirmed the use of the pit with her words. He took post about to make a barrier in preparation but she started before he was actually ready. Learning on the fly? He wasn't use to it to say the least, but he improvised. He didn't need a large shield. Protecting his whole body from just dust would have been a waste of energy so he created a small one just for the diameter of his face. He took his forearm twisting it upward from under his chin to over his forehead as if to defect with a block. The motion of his arm allowing him to visualize and focus the energy in that spot to create at least a thin sheet enough to save his face from the dust at least.

He corrected his footing placing his open hands in front of his shoulders. A fighting stance he learned as a monk. In truth it looked more like he was surrendering. He became more jumpy after the recent galactic event so her blind startled him more than it should have even though she gave him clear warning. When he was sure she wasn't budging he dropped the stance. Relaxing slightly as he switched his attention to brushing his clothes off and then shaking the dust out of his hair. He glanced back up at Master Truden a little sad the lesson was over.

"How have you been? Last time we meet, you didn't look so well on... that planet." He winced a little asking this also at the fact he forgot the name of the planet they met on. Maybe his mind blocked it because of what he did there. He pushed that from his mind. It wasn't his intention to take too much more time from her.

 

[Kana Truden]

It was impressive to see the kid adapt so quickly and while the lesson had been short it was one of the skills that only got better the more you kept at it. Kana could only provide ever so many directions on what to do, the rest would be for [member="Uri Aureleos"] to practice himself. It was how Kana had been taught the skill and as such felt it as somewhat something of a tradition to keep up. Let the wanderer find their own way, so to speak.

“I’ve been good.” Kana nodded. “Alderaan still echoes like a nightmare, but I am good.” It wasn’t an outright truth, wasn’t a lie either. “It’s not every day you get to see your home in ruins like that. It was a hard time for us all.”

“What about you, Uri?” It felt right to ask. “It’s a shame our first meeting took place in a time when I was out of it.” Her hand reached up to plant itself on her chin. “There was something about exiting that portal that just... Made me tick.”

“Do you know what I mean?”

 

[Uri Aureleos]

Alderaan still echoes like a nightmare... This statement couldn't be anymore true. It was refreshing to hear he wasn't the only one that was effected so harshly by it. Still part of him wouldn't wish the feeling on another soul let allow a fellow Jedi. If he could take the pain from Master [member="Kana Truden"] he would. Even though she said he was 'good' part of him thought the same himself even thought some days were rougher than others. 'Better' was a more accurate word however. He was better than before at least. Each day seemed to make it fade further away and out of his mind.

Made tick? Uri didn't know what it meant. It must have been slang. "That portal," he swallowed the knot in his throat. "We both have a similar yet unique struggle with it."

He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it again biting his inner cheek. After a moment he finally spoke, "I chose this... I went in. I have no one to blame but myself. Yet I don't regret it. If I hadn't went in would my friend Elizie have made it out on her own? I'd like to think yeah but..." He shrugged and shook his head.

 

[Kana Truden]

He went in by choice. Hardly something Kana herself would have done, but it was admirable of him. She knew of Elizie, they had also come to her to learn about barriers. It was good to see the two looking out for each other, in a sense it reminded her of Kana and Corvus. Always there for each other, it was nice to see.

“That’s very brave of you.” Kana looked at [member="Uri Aureleos"]. “I would have done the same had it been Corvus.”

“It’s not so much worry that they wouldn’t get out by themselves as it’s a comfort to ensure it yourself. There was so much going on with the force back then. I mean, I once tried to heal a man only to find the wound I was trying to fix get worse and open up. It was unreal.”

Time was running and Kana raised her arms in a shrug. “Anyway, I have shown you what I can, Uri. You should be able to practice and hone your skills from here. These things take time, but you undoubtedly already know that.”

“Unless we have anything to discuss I’d say we should wrap this up.”