A Long Time Coming.... (All Silvers welcome, others PM for invite)

[Ryn'Dhal]

He nodded solemnly, swallowing hard at the sight of the Grandmaster himself. His presence was not one Ryn'Dhal anticipated. The much taller Valkyri had always intimidated the Felacatian. The intimidation was less so physical these days, the felinoid significantly outweighing the Grandmaster, but more on an emotional, mental, and spiritual level.

The Grandmaster was a Paragon of control, of maturity, of leadership, and of connection to the Force. Ryn'Dhal nodded, mostly to himself, as he straightened his spine, his tail snapping almost like a whip behind him, before striding boldly forth.

Standing finally before the Grandmaster and his mate, his wife, his balance, Ryn'Dhal centered himself, refusing to let the electric excitement of the moment overtake him. The feline willed his ears to a vertical orientation, focusing on the two before him, not fidgeting or folding in submission, while his tail swayed for a moment before coiling up about his waist.

"I present myself." that melodic voice bridged the gap between them, not that dissimilar in nature to when he first met the couple, all those years before. Deeper, richer in quality, more refined and mature, but still holding that soothing, calming, almost musical quality.

He maintained eye-contact with one of the Master's, at any given moment, as they prepared to begin.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="James Justice"] | [member="Stardust Raxis"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Ultimatum"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]​

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

The Circle of Master had gathered, Master Sykes and her husband had joined the ring and prepared for Ryn's arrival. Coci smiled at her husband as he took her hand, of recent times they had had not much to celebrate until today, it was a nice change for the Order and they would enjoy the moment along side Ryn and his friends. Once everyone was in place, his friends standing close by to witness the dubbing of the master, Coci stepped forward and stood in front of Ryn.

"Stand in the center of the gathering, place your lightsaber on the ground before your feet. This will be the last act you will perform as Knight, and once the Grand Master has bestowed upon you the rank of Master, your first act as master will be to pick it up". She said softly giving him the instructions for the ritual while placing her hand on his shoulder.

​

Coci moved back into her position next to her husband and took her saber in hand. She ignited the purple blade and held it in front of her face in the form of a salute, as did the gather, and would await the Grand Master's words, and once that had been done they would all salute the new master collectively.

​

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Ryn'Dhal"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="James Justice"] | [member="Stardust Raxis"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Ultimatum"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]​

 

[Ryn'Dhal]

Taking one saber in hand, the felinoid knelt down gently placing one of the twin curved saber hilts upon the ground. While doing so, his tail unwound itself, and coiled around the second hilt. Transferring the device into a gloved hand, the pair were reunited upon the ground.

Standing tall once again, he resumed his stoic stance, as prepared as one so young could be. His diligence, and experience, matured him beyond his years. This was but one many acknowledgments of this fact.

A gentle thrill of excitement ran like electricity down his spine. His tail wound about his waist quickly, lest it gave away his carefully manicured appearance of calm.

Damned thing had a mind of its own sometimes....

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="James Justice"] | [member="Stardust Raxis"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Ultimatum"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"]​

 

[WolfMortum]

With [member="Lady Kay"] at his side, he watched on as those of the circle surrounded [member="Ryn'Dhal"]; such members with familiar features yet unknown to him on a personal level, Veiere was left to assume that he was looking upon [member="Coci Heavenshield"] and [member="Thurion Heavenshield"], parents of his friend and one Jedi Knight whom he had met first on Alzoc Three and later upon Rhen Var. @Théodred Heavanshield had described his Mother and Father in simple detail though not failed to mention their positions within the Order of the Silver Jedi, Veiere studied the pair for a brief time in admiration of all they'd accomplished together and alongside the other Jedi who followed them.

With the first ignition of the blade of light, Veiere's gaze was drawn back to the center to which he raised his head in both respect and acknowledgement for the moment. He held a great respect for the history of the Jedi Order, the traditions that had seemingly passed down even to the Silver Jedi of which it was very encouraging to once again look upon a member of the Order ascending the ranks in such an esteemed light. "It is a great honor that Ryn'Dhal is receiving at the moment..." He whispered quietly enough for Kay to hear him though not disturbing the others in the moment, "The Jedi can live throughout their entire lives and not find themselves honored with the title of Jedi Master. It is prestigious and recognizes both the training and experience, yet too the struggles that the Jedi Knight has overcome in order to rise above their personal quarrels; to recognize their service unwavering to the benefit of society and the will of the Force". Perhaps Kay already knew these things though he was taken by the ceremony, moved if you will. Veiere had been swayed from the path of a Jedi committed to an Order; many would consider him a rogue in the society surrounding Jedi today and though he continued to live by and respect the morals, the ideals of the Order, times such as these were sorely missed.

[member="James Justice"] | [member="Stardust Raxis"] | [member="Ultimatum"] | [member="Audren Sykes"]

 

[Sor-Jan Xantha]

If the sounds of children playing traveled over toward the ceremony, that's because the Bear Clan had taken on the Mynock Clan in Force Ball.

Somehow, the tow-headed Anzat had gotten involved, even though he was neither a Bear nor a Mynock. If anyone wanted to be technical about it, he was a Womprat -- the name of his youngling clan during the days of the Old Republic. In any event, the Bear Clan had more younglings available for play than did the Mynocks, so the Corellian vampire was helping fill out the roster.

In theory, this game taught younglings to use their Push-Feather in concert with one another's energy in order to move the ball down the field to the goal, with the opposing team using that energy against the advancing players in order to take control of the ball.

In reality, there was generally more physical pushing going on, a lot of squealing, and the obligatory jumping on top of one another. So the fact that the Anzat was, at this stage in life, a master youngling, really did nothing to sway the game in the Mynock's favor. In fact, no one was even keeping score -- at least, in so far as SJ could tell -- so all of the younglings just seemed to be running around having fun rather than playing by any set of rules.

There was something he was supposed to do today. A ceremony or... something. But that was later. There was no way he was late because, they'd only just started playing.... one, two, maybe five minutes ago.

So he was surprised when a padawan interrupted the game to deliver a note to the Anzat master, who was by that time tackled with the ball under a mass of Bear Clan younglings, on top of which was Mynock younglings tackling the Bear Clan younglings, which invited more Bear Clan younglings to pile on.

"Master [member="Coci Heavenshield"] says you have play with the masters now."

"Awwwww...." the Anzat declared, the response muffled as he was presently located under a dog-pile. Masters were sometimes fun. Usually not. Knights? Knights were never fun, they thought being a Jedi was serious business. Now, padawans? Padawans he could usually have some fun with.

Suddenly, as if each youngling were a puppet on a string, the pile of kids sprang back as each child was simultaneously lifted up and away from the tow-headed Anzat. "Fiiiiiiiinnnnnnneeeeeeee...." the boy moaned, with over dramatic emphasis, because the life of a 10 69 year old youngling knight was not for the faint of heart. Picking himself off from the ground, the Anzat gently deposited the younglings back on the ground even as he dusted himself off and started walking off the field.

He tossed the ball over to the padawan, who looked at in in confusion for a moment...

...right before the wave of younglings descended upon him in a dog-pile tackle.

He definitely didn't look much like a Jedi master. For starters, he was wearing the youngling tunic of a Corellian Jedi candidate. A deep emerald with matching trousers, and a plain white undershirt that was visible beneath the folds of the tunic. A brown belt with a green strip in the middle cinched the outfit together. He wasn't wearing his lightsaber -- either of them -- because he knew that he was going to be playing. He'd meant to go back to his quarters to get Paperweight before he went to the ceremony, but looking down at his HoloLink, he realized that he had maybe been playing for longer than he realized.

So, he was already late for the ceremony.

Disheveled, marred with some grass stains and dirt on his tunic, red faced and with his wild hair plastered against the forehead, the breathless child ventured over to the location of the ceremony. There was also a smear of mud on the left cheek that he was hopelessly oblivious to.

Arriving late, he stood toward the back of the group that had circled around to bear witness. Being that he was shorter than everyone attending, the boy was hopping up and down in effort to see over the shoulder of a man and woman in front of him ([member="Veiere Arenais"] and [member="Lady Kay"]).

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

Peeking between [member="Veiere Arenais"] and [member="Lady Kay"], Thurion made out the shape and form of one [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"] desperately trying to make himself known. "Ah, young Master Xantha," he acknowledged the Anzat's presence with a chuckle. "How good of you to join us." Even though the youthful Jedi Master was far older than himself, he was still a child at heart and in appearance; you're only as old as you feel, after all, and Sor-Jan's heritage basically guaranteed he would remain young for many years to come.

"Ryn'Dhal, Knight of the Silver Jedi," he began the ceremony. "You came to us many years ago, lost and unsure of what to make of yourself. You found your purpose in your study of the Force, and with training and growing wisdom you rose to the rank of Jedi Knight. You've faced Sith Lords and unspeakable horrors with bravery and honour, never shirking your duties to the Jedi and the light side of the Force, and I am proud to call you 'friend'."

Both hands now gripped his saber hilt and held it up just as its blade was ignited, casting its azure hue over his face and chest. "You are a Knight no longer, [member="Ryn'Dhal"]. You have well and truly earned the rank of Jedi Master. Take up your weapon and join us in recognising this momentous and joyful occasion."

[member="James Justice"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Ultimatum"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Stardust Raxis"] | [member="Cathbodua"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"]​

 

[Audren Sykes]

Thurion appeared in the circle roughly the same time that Audren did. There were a few more moments of socialization, then the Grandmaster spoke up. In response, Ryn'Dhal moved into the center of the circle and presented himself. The voice was the same, but without the interference of the mask it was different. As everyone took their places, the instructions started. For his part, he was interested to see what this ceremony entailed - he'd never felt the need to partake himself.

As the felinoid placed his lightsaber on the ground, Coci stepped back into line with the circle. Simultaneously - fortunately, he'd anticipated this part - those Jedi making up the circle ignited their lightsaber blades. While in the past these blades would have been blue and green only, now there was an eclectic blend of colors. Coci's was purple, Audren's was orange, Thurion's was blue, and - though not present in the circle - Sor-Jan's was green. The lit blades present were all held before faces in salute, for this was indeed an occasion for it. Thurion's was the sole exception, being the person actually running the ceremony.

As words were completed, the blue blade ignited, again in a pure vertical salute. As he did, many of the Masters in the circle - the Sephi included - pulled on the Light Side of the Force. The room, in which the Force had previously been thick with all the Sensitives present, now almost seemed to hum with the presence of the Force. They didn't do anything with it, simply allowed it to become evident.

[member=Ryn'Dhal] | [member="James Justice"] | [member=Ultimatum] | [member=Cathbodua] | [member="Stardust Raxis"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]

 

[Ultimatum]

The droid was suitably impressed with the display. If this was indeed an accurate representation of the Jedi Order's age old tradition then the droid was not disappointed in the theatrics. This was a very important moment for the Ryn and the droid was glad that he had finally achieved the rank of Master within the Order. There was nothing that he could say or do to prove that this was a moment that meant much to the droid as well.

It was in that moment, surrounded by Jedi and people who stood for the light no matter the cost, that Ultimatum felt a pang of guilt. He felt it in his programming, rippling through all of his systems. That feeling of being a traitor, betraying everyone here. His other works and compatriots were not of these people, they were darker more evil. They stood against all that these men and women would fight for. In this moment he wanted to confess the truths of his existence, of his acts, and of those that stood with him on the other path. There was a darkness in him that did not stem from corruption of the Force, but from the evil of his creation.

In a moment of sentimentalism that struck deeper than any blaster, he felt that evil within him. He knew that he was little more than a death machine, no different from organic created viruses. Only he could put on the face of a polite and friendly ally. But every time he went into battle, the ruthlessness with which the devices he created could deal with enemies was proof of his perilous nature. He could not deny his origins, he could change the dark heart that had created him, and he could not run from the fact that his purpose was one of evil intent. No matter how he made up for it by helping the light, his choice of friends were proof of what he still was.

That time passed and once more the droid fell into the cold analytical swing of the emotional pendulum that his mind automatically went to counter the heavy emotions he had been perceiving before. In a way Ultimatum was still child like, for all of his programmed maturity he was still only a few years old at most. He was still growing to control his emotions and thoughts. Something that he had not been created for was long term life, thus his creators had left him lacking in the department necessary for such development. It meant that Ultimatum had to forge his own way and the droid had come to terms with that some time ago. Now was just another time of difficulty.

Having come over the momentary lapse, Ultimatum smiled towards [member="Ryn'Dhal"]. There were more important things than his problems today. After all the universe did not rotate around a droid. This was not his day, but Ryn's and he could not allow his thoughts to ruin that.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay leaned into [member="Veiere Arenais"] while he whispered to her. Though it probably wasn't done on purpose, she felt a pang of guilt. This was something that he probably longed for for himself. And yet he was working for her on Commenor. Even though he had stated numerous times that being with her on Commenor was where he belonged, she still felt as though she was holding him back from his true path. Politics wasn't his game, it was hers, and he fulfilled those duties for her. She couldn't help but feel as though she was being selfish in wanting to keep him near her.

She kept her head slightly lowered as she turned to focus on the ceremony before her, watching the honour and title being bestowed upon [member="Ryn'Dhal"] . And even though she was keeping her own Force signature hidden, she could still feel it flowing through the room, almost wanting to release the hold that she had on her own. But she didn't know everyone here, didn't trust them. So she just held onto her secret as she remained a silent witness.

 

[Ryn'Dhal]

Feeling the thrum of the Force within the room, Ryn'Dhal's chest swelled. Not with pride of self, but pride in this world, this life he was given the pleasure, no, the honor of getting to live. The multicolored lights bathing the ring in a rainbow of colors caused the felinoid to involuntarily glance around, before looking back to Thurion as he commanded him to retrieve his sabers.

Kneeling, he took the twin hilts in hand, and twirled them reflexively as he rose. Standing once more to his full height (nearly as tall as the Grandmaster if one accounted for the ears), the newest Master of the Silver Order ignited his blades as one, both lifted overhead in a two-handed reply to the salute given by the others, his own purifying silver light contrasting with the vibrant colors supplied by the others the ring.

When Thurion would lead the lowering of blades, Ryn'Dhal would follow suit, bowing to the Grandmaster respectfully. "Thank you. This is an honor I will always endeavor to be worthy of."

He beamed with joy, as he returned his gaze up to the Grandmaster, before looking to the rest within the gathering hall, ears once again resuming their near constant swivelling, tail uncurling and sabers returning to his hips.

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Coci Heavenshield"] | [member="Lady Kay"] | [member="James Justice"] | [member="Stardust Raxis"] | [member="Audren Sykes"] | [member="Ultimatum"] | [member="Veiere Arenais"] | [member="Sor-Jan Xantha"]​