A Barrier To Overcome

[Zavzen Sae'ryx]

Zavzen stood waiting for two new students to arrive, [member="Vassara Raxis"] and [member="Venris Helion"]. Both had approuched him recently when they were learning Force Lightning, interested in learning Force Barrier from him after they had seen him use it to stop a reflected blast of electricity. He was standing in one of the many cargo holds of his ship. Unlike when he usually used the rooms to train, everything was where it usually was not against the walls.

He was wearing his full outfit. A brown cloak over the top of an open, black, Shell Spider Silk tunic and black, Shell Spider Silk trousers. His feet were left bare. As usual there was a sash tied around his waist. Tied to the sash were two sheaths, each containing one of his prized swords. A holster was tied to his right thigh, holding the pistol he had recently been given by Vassara.

As he waited Zaven was having a conversation with HAELI about monitoring his brain waves more closely, to track the process of the Force Illness he had been inflicted with.

 

[RC 212]

[member="Zavzen Sae'ryx"]

Vassara entered now. This time she had left all her weapons behind and was wearing her normal black and red jacket. She nodded to Zavzen, cracking a smile. He had taught some of the members a lot of the past weeks. Though he had missed Kathlan Station and the signing of the articles he was beginning to become a core leader of the fleet.

Now Vassara had spent many hours studying the Datacron that Karen had given her. She had read more in depth about Tutaminis, a form of force barrier that one could erect. After some semi successful attempt at it, Zavzen had offered to teach Venris and herself a little deeper. Combined with the lessons that Karen had in the datacron, she was certain she could master it.

"Morning you, how goes it?"

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Zavzen Sae'ryx"]

Venris had arrived in his usual attire, minus the several dozen hidden blades and explosive charges he kept on his person. He also had his hood down, which was unusual for him if he wasn't drinking or fighting. Ever since he had managed to grasp the basics of Force Lightning he had found the ability much easier to call upon and dismiss, managing to use the power that had made Sith Lords feared without losing control of the current or burning himself ever since that very first explosive burst of power.

He nodded to Vassara. "Captain." He then glanced at Zevzan and nodded. "Zev."

Another change that had come over the former Jedi was how much....quieter he had become in the last while. Instead of joking and flirting he could be found training, reading, drinking...and while he wasn't unpleasant Venris definitely wasn't acting like his usual self.

 

[Zavzen Sae'ryx]

[member="Vassara Raxis"] [member="Venris Helion"]

Zavzen nodded to Venris in greeting before replying to Vassara's inquiry, "Morning yourself, Captain. And I'm fine thank you, m'lady." He then clapped his hands together, a mischievous smirk on his face. "Now, you, Venris, want to learn Force Barrier while you, captain, want to jump straight into Tutamis. Now, this is how we are going to do this. I will be teaching you both Force Barrier first, after all, if you use it right you can stop physical attacks, before moving onto Tutamis."

Turning, he went to sit down on a chair behind him before swinging it around to face his students while sliding it under a desk, leaving him looking up slightly at his students from behind the wooden desk he had picked up from Ession. "Right, first thing first. Vassara, would you mind getting that tray behind you and bringing it over here, I will be needing it during the training." As he spoke he gestured to a tray sat on the side behind the two. The tray was plain but had whatever was on it hidden from view by a cover. The sheet was misshapen and lumpy by whatever it was covering, giving away no clues.

 

[RC 212]

[member="Zavzen Sae'ryx"] [member="Venris Helion"]

"Sure thing!"

Vassara moved acorss the room, retrieving the tray. She placed it on Zavzens desk and nodded. Now that he had what he needed she was eager to begin. She loved knowledge as all Jedi should.

"Now what?"

 

[Zavzen Sae'ryx]

[member="Vassara Raxis"] [member="Venris Helion"]

Zavzen removed the cover to reveal a tea set. "Now I make tea while you two listen to what I say." He said with a mischievous smirk. And true to what he said he began to make tea. "The idea behind a Force Barrier is to project the Force in front of you and compress it, solidify it, while keeping control over it's form and properties. You want to imagine making it a transparasteel wall that is sticky and can catch things whether they are tangible or non-tangible. My advice to you is to focus first on forming the barrier, then on holding the barrier for five minuets before moving onto speeding up the formation of the barrier. If you need any help during the process speak up. Now, any questions before you begin?" By now, Zavzen had finished making the tea and heating it and had moved on to sipping it between speaking.

 

[RC 212]

[member="Zavzen Sae'ryx"]

The premise of it sounded easy enough. Vassara walked a little ways from the desk and closed her eyes, opening her soul to the currents of the force. It flowed smoothly now, moving like a rolling river rather than a raging brook. Her mastery over her connection was beggining to grow as the days had gone on.

A Month ago she had no premonition how to even use it, and now the force allowed her to do that which was normally beyond her scope. With great concentration she let it relax her body and mind alike. All thoughts were extinguished and both hands rose. As she meditated the vision of her barrier came to her and the force reacted to her request, moving into place and hardening into a shield wall.

Now she had only to sustain it.

Here she used another technique. She surrendered fully to the lightside, allowing her body to become little more than a conduit for which the energies to do their work. The others would begin to feel the seeping power coming from her frame as the wall intensified, holding at a steady rate.....

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Zavzen Sae'ryx"] [member="Vassara Raxis"]

Where once such instructions may have only left Venris frustrated or scrambling to follow, his training with Force Lightning had helped him to master the basic concept of what Zavzen was proposing. He sat down cross legged and exhaled, shut his eyes and began to form the image in his head. Venris felt every muscle in his body begin to relax and slowly brought up both hands, holding them ahead with the palms pointed forwards and began to form the image of a wall laid out before him.

Not too hard, more elastic, flexible, catching anything that came at it and giving a bit before pushing it away.

The air around the young man began to shimmer a bit. Unlike before when he had to call upon the dark side to conjure Force Lightning this felt more natural, more acceptable...more at ease in his mind. Venris began to form single flat rectangle in the space ahead of him, almost five by five feet and a few inches off of the ground. He didn't feel confident about the strength of his barrier, somehow deducing that even a simple push from a hand would pass through it at this point unless he learned to shore it up without making it stiff and brittle.

Venris began to imagine the barrier more as a network of dots connected by lines, with the spaces between them filled by the barrier they held up. He focused on strengthening the ties between these spots, picturing strings becoming many interwoven lines that would stretch but not break so easily. Now all he had to do was hope that simply picturing it as this would make his barrier strong enough to actually deflect anything.

 

[Zavzen Sae'ryx]

[member="Venris Helion"] [member="Vassara Raxis"]

After waiting a few minuets for them to make an attempt Zavzen sighed and picked up two of the many small objects around the room using the Force and threw them at the barriers, shattering them immediately. "I recommend taking this slower." He said in reply to the glares he was given. "The first time I tried I took twenty minuets to form the barrier because I wanted to make sure I understand of to make it as strong as possible. Take your time. Do not focus on speed or holding the barrier for as long as possible or on how big it is, just focus on making it as strong as possible. Take on board what I have said and try again." He then returned to his tea.

 

[RC 212]

[member="Venris Helion"] [member="Zavzen Sae'ryx"]

Vassara nodded. This time she took it much slower, raising both hands and calming herself. within her mind she began to imagine the barrier again. She felt the cool rush of the force move through her and around her. The energy filed responded, ever so slowly moving into compressed layers.

This time she did not shape it, nor did she rush it. She stood still, her mind calm like the eye of the storm. The barrier began to compress as she willed it to be ever hardening...

 

[Venris Helion]

[member="Zavzen Sae'ryx"]

Venris sighed in irritation. "That was the plan from the beginning." He resumed his previous meditative position and shut his eyes, took a calming breath, and started over again.

He began to shape the barrier in his mind, now focusing on weaving the various imaginary threads binding it even as he built it up. He pictured countless threads being woven together, forming together like a quilt before him. The process was slow in his head, and difficult to maintain a clear image of the entire time. Venris soon began to lose track of time, not able to keep track without losing his concentration.

What Venris didn't realize was that this time he was forming a barrier around himself rather than simply in front of him.

 

[Zavzen Sae'ryx]

Zavzen nodded in satisfaction at his students's attempts over the rim of his cup. They were doing well and he expected them to soon be able to use the Force Barrier, it seemed they were fast learners like himself. He did raise an eyebrow at Venris though when his Barrier began to form around him instead of in front of him. However, this seemed to support the theory he had that if one didn't focus on where they wanted the barrier to be it would form in a way that showed how they were most likely to use it: if it formed in front of them they were more likely to use it for long range attacks, where they would have a chance to know which direction the attack was coming from; if it formed around them they were more likely to use it against short range attack, where they more often than nor would not have time to figure out which direction an attack was coming from. Shaking himself from his musing he returned to his tea.

[member="Vassara Raxis"] [member="Venris Helion"]