Break Before Resetting the Bone (group training, open to Levantines and other Jedi)

[Ashin Varanin]

NEAR ADORACA CITY
KYRIKAL IX
LEVANTINE TERRITORY

The ninth moon of Kyrikal, a warm oceanic planet with scattered jungle islands and gorgeous beaches, should have felt like a paradise, if not for the heavy gravity. Shule had spent enough time on high-grav planets that 1.2 Standard didn't bother him, but there was every chance others might find it distracting. That was good; when approaching some aspects of the Force, it was often beneficial to be reminded of one's mortal limitations.

He'd chosen a segment of beach where large stones protruded from the sand and swept down gently into the water; he sat on a smooth rock slope, looking out to sea. Farther down the beach, Mon Calamari and Ithorians -- all nature priests, strongly connected to the Force in a subtle way -- were ankle-deep in a harvest festival. Normally he taught on Dantooine, but that was a long trip for some, and the ninth moon of Kyrikal was a welcoming and accessible place for Levantines, Silvers, and Republic Jedi who spent time around Mon Calamari, Ossus and even Ruusan. He'd been asked to set up another class, the Dantooine sessions having gone well. This time, he'd been requested to cover something a bit more practical than ethical quandary.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Shule Windspeaker"]

And one of the first visitors to the newest class was Khaleel Malvern, with his eternally present Tenloss Ambassador perching on his belt the padawan arrived with a content smile brightening his face. It seemed Khaleel had finally found a measure of balance in his life and wasn’t entirely uncomfortable with his role in the Galaxy anymore.

Even kids grow up someday.

‘Master Windspeaker.’ Khaleel greeted with a shallow bow from the waist. ‘I hear today’s lesson isn’t going to be about ethics.’

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

"All lessons are about ethics, Padawan Malvern. Glad to see you." He gestured to the sloped rock. "Go ahead and have a seat while we wait for the rest, assuming the harvest festival doesn't delay them too much."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Shule Windspeaker"]

With a nod of agreement Khaleel sat down on one of the rocks, leaning back against rocky texture. It wasn’t entirely comfortable, but he had experienced worse while training under the Ysanna on Ossus, far worse. A bit of sharp stone poking him in the back ain’t gonna be all that hard to ignore. The former thief closed his eyes and tried to stretch his senses a bit, it was hard, still hard, but he was getting there slowly.

Birds flying, fishes swimming, crabs crabbing - life was everywhere, it made Kal feel glad to be part of it all.

Soon they would be joined by the others and the lesson could start, always interesting to see what Shule would come up with. The last lesson had been fascinating in its own right, even if the thief hadn’t agreed with it all.

'Have you been doing well, Master Windspeaker?'

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Shule Windspeaker"] [member="Khaleel Malvern"]

Kalizka had seen a great many things. His old grey eyes had stared upon armies that could fill the sky and seen skys of such beauty that they could halt armies. It was odd to attend another class so soon but of all the things Kalizka loved learning was by far his favorite. He walked slowly away from his Ithorian friends after helping with a portion of the harvest festival and found a large smoot rock near the master jedi and young man. The gravity was heavier here perhaps one point one or one point two over standard but when you moved slowly by choice doing so as a result of natural occurance really didn't bother you. Kal sat his sack down beside himself and rested his staff against his right shoulder as he listened to the two mammals speak. He had always liked their kind but that was another story.

 

[Adele Adonai]

Teachers open the door. You enter by yourself.​

~ Proverb.​

​

A'dele would watch as the first student would enter. It was funny that in death she did the same that she did before. Meditate on the Force and observe her surroundings. Only now the connections, the flow of that energy would become far more clearer.

Perhaps, this is the will of the Force.

She would be unseen unless the Force willed it; a presence at the corner of the eye. For now, she would simply enjoy seeing who would enter this domain.

 

[Kana Truden]

It came to a surprise to even Kana that she got herself to the ninth moon of Kyrikal. After reading about the gravity she’d had her doubts about coming around at all but to let something as small as ‘a few extra pounds’ get in the way between her and knowledge would have been irresponsible. Shatterpoint was one of those things she had read about. To have the opportunity to learn it and not take it would be stupid even for her.

The decision had made itself and once she saw the Master in charge was none other than [member="Shule Windspeaker"] himself she couldn’t help but to let her mind wander back to that moment when she had seen him last. She had been seemingly less ‘smart’ in that moment but it was never too late for second impressions, was it? She approached the ‘class’ and simply sat down by the rest of them.

For now all she really needed was to do was to listen. He was busy in another conversation anyway.

 

[Spark Finn]

[member="Kana Truden"] [member="Adele Adonai"] [member="Kalizka"] [member="Khaleel Malvern"] [member="Shule Windspeaker"]

Was anyone.....(heavy breathing).....else as tired...(heavy breathing)...as she...(heavy breathing)...was? She grimaced as more sand slipped into her rubber-soled shoes. Fingers tugged uncomfortably at the collar of her gray-hoodie.

The bag of all her electronics and data-gear thump-thumped against her side as she walked.

A sound reached her ears and she was startled to realize it was the sound of her own gulps of air. Oh gaaaah - even above the sounds of the waves lapping against the shore. She bee-lined it for a shady-spot by some rocks which she would later come to realize wasn't provided by an inanimate tree but from that living tree person from a previous class. And by bee-line, she meant trudging at a drunken [member="Qun Vell"]'s pace.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Spark Finn"]

Kalizka looked ro the side as the out of breath humanoid girl leaned against him. He could have said a myriad things but sitting there lool8ng at the poor youth he simply closed his eyes and channeled the force from himself into then young girl in an effort to lend her his strength so she could pay better attention.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

[member="Shule Windspeaker"] | [member="Kalizka"] | [member="Spark Finn"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Adele Adonai"] | [member="Khaleel Malvern"]​

​

​

KYRIKAL IX
LEVANTINE TERRITORY

A few well placed words and a smile, had informed and convinced Coci to attend a training session on Kyrikal IX, held by Levantine Sanctum. She had decided to take her personal ship on the trip south of Tabaqui where she and her beloved have made a home. And soon enough she found her way to the designated meeting place upon the sands of a beach. She had to admit, the setting was beautiful and the sound of the waves soothing to the soul. She struggled to remember the last time she had allowed her toes to feel sand and smell the scent of the ocean, all she knew at this point is that is was fair too long.

Up ahead she saw a group of people near a unique rock formation. Their signature within the force concentrated and pulsing, signatures unknown til now. Her attire allowed the cool of the sea breeze play with the loosened white shirt which hung over the top of her cream trousers, she carried her boots, saber clipped her brown leather belt.

As she approached them "Greetings I am Coci Sinopi from the Order of the Silver Jedi, I believe Master [member="Shule Windspeaker"] will be conducting training. I look forward to joining in". She offered a bow of her head to all present.

Spoiler

[member="Thurion Heavenshield"] | [member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Maxi"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Connor Harrison was standing a few yards away from fellow Master [member="Coci Sinopi"] on the golden beach, looking around at the tall cliffs surrounding them, the tranquil waters in the distance and peaceful sky. Receiving word from her about training that would benefit him from Coci after their recent mission to Velusia, Connor had made his way to her location in his E-wing craft, away from the rigorous training he had recently been inflicting on the Silver Jedi Padawans.

His mind and body were here, but his thoughts drifted away now and then, thinking on recent events and the clashes with the Sith on Prakith which had left another mark he didn’t really want. As for [member="Corvus Raaf"]…well…

Breaking away with a smile, following suit, Connor inclined his head forward as he came to stand by her. He wasn't looking at the faces on the golden sand, they all seemed to mingle into one, but he knew that he didn't recognise any of their auras.

”Connor Harrison, Silver Jedi. My pleasure.”

He was dressed in his black combat trousers and vest – his thermal jumper and greatcoat had stayed with the ship as, for once, he felt the temperature didn’t warrant such clothing. His silver hilt hung by his side, and his heavily scarred right arm was on show for them all to see and gawp at, never mind the ones on his neck.


[member="Shule Windspeaker"] | [member=Kalizka] | [member="Spark Finn"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Adele Adonai"] | [member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[Maxi]

Standing somewhat of a distance from his Master. The Padawan tried his best to catch up. The gravity made him feel sluggish as he walked. It wasn't very hard for him but, it slowly held him back. The boy wore shorts, his jacket with a shirtsleeve shirt and, his odd lightsaber hung from his back. He tried to call out to [member="Coci Sinopi"] . The only reason why he was here was because she was here anyways.

"I really hope I could catch up to Master Coci. As nice as this place is, I feel so slow..." He continued to try to catch up. He saw other Padawans and Master sitting by each other and went to join. Wasn't this all for a class hosted by someone named [member="Shule Windspeaker"] ? He knew nobody but his Master.

Once reaching the other he bowed slightly so he wouldn't tip over and said "I'm Maximilian Rei and, I'm a Silver Jedi Padawan. I hope to learn alot today." He didn't know what to do so he simply sat down near his master and, close enough to hear. This seemed interesting.

[member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Kalizka"] [member="Spark Finn"] [member="Kana Truden"] [member="Adele Adonai"] [member="Khaleel Malvern"]

 

[The End Narrator]

Aaralyn had arrived to the class at the same time as [member="Kana Truden"] - of course it would only make sense considering she had bummed a ride from the Knight while her ship was undergoing an engine overhaul. She did enjoy these lessons brought on by Master [member="Shule Windspeaker"], as they reminded her of how her father once taught her from time to time...but that was a long time ago. Unlike the others though, Aaralyn didn't take a seat - not out of disrespect but more out of comfort. She wasn't the sitting type in all honesty, preferring to stand and be ready for anything. It was the war that created the sense of hyper-vigilance, even in the most protected of places.

One could say that there was only one true place she felt at ease - Dathomir.

In her own home.

Maybe she had control issues? One couldn't really tell considering the fact that Aaralyn never was able to exert control over situations to her advantage.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Khaleel Malvern"]

"More or less -- oh, looks like we've got some company."

[member="Kalizka"] [member="Adele Adonai"] [member="Kana Truden"] [member="Spark Finn"] [member="Coci Sinopi"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Maxi"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

The class assembled -- frankly, he didn't know most of them. The Neti, the spacer, the little drunkard geek and the half-sensed but invisible ghost had been in his class before, on Dantooine. A couple of the others felt like Masters. He'd meant for them to come sit on the rocks that sloped down to the ocean, but most seemed to have picked spots on the beach. Rather than sit on top of the rocks, above them, he slipped off. He landed heavily, boots squishing in sand -- no Force to enhance his physical acuity. That wasn't how he used the Force, unless necessary. He rested his back against the base of the stone.

"Thanks for coming by," he said. "If any of you were hoping for a repeat of Dantooine, I'm sorry to disappoint. Today will have at least fifty percent less ethical quandary. Today's all about practicality.

"There's one aspect of the Force that annoys me sometimes. It's Jedi aspiring to use the Force for destruction. Probably the apex expression of that is called Shatterpoint -- finding the weak points and stress lines in an object, then breaking it with minimum impact at the right place, in the right time. As if Jedi can walk around destroying things without consequences.

"See, Shatterpoint is far, far more than that. Sure, the Grandmaster can use it to break some Sith Lord's doomsday weapon, but for you and me, that kind of thing is out of our reach, and should be. If I hear of any of you using this in combat, without serious need, you'll never learn from me again. Frankly, it probably wouldn't work anyway. Shatterpoint, real Jedi Shatterpoint, is contemplative, meditative. It takes time, focus, and calm. And like I said, it's more than just breaking things.

"Shatterpoint applies to people and situations. No, I don't mean using the Force to shatter someone's femur. Think of some grand plan or other -- something evil. By and large, that plan will have a keystone, a linchpin. Something small, and maybe not obvious, but if removed from the equation, the whole plan falls apart. Shatterpoint will give you additional insight into what that might be. It'll let you intuit where to go, and when. Being in the right place at the right time -- that's Shatterpoint.

"We'll practice that, but first we'll work on a small practical application. Don't worry if you can't get it; this technique isn't for everyone, and years of study are required to be even marginally competent with it. There are ripe Kyrikalli coconuts on those trees behind you. Bring down some coconuts, each of you take one, and hold it in both hands. Feel the coconut's natural stress points. Get some idea of the best place to strike it with a rock or your lightsabre pommel. This is about subtlety and wisdom. You don't want complete destruction of the coconut any more than you want to fail to break the nut in the first place. You want to break it just enough that most of the shell is left holding the coconut water. There are plenty of extra coconuts; I'd imagine it'll take a few tries to get right, and don't feel bad if it does.

"Remember, no matter how good at this you get, it'll still take a while. Be gentle with your coconut."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Listening to the man – the Jedi – known as Shule, Connor could feel that he was a man of experience; of virtue and passion. It made Connor feel quite at ease, and he listened with intrigue at his way of explaining the Shatterpoint, a Force ability he had come across once before and also been the victim a few years ago. Ow.

However, arms folded and standing tall beside Coci and some other boy he had never seen before – was he some assistant? – Connor chewed his lip at the disgust Shule had with using Shatterpoint in battle. If this could find a weakness in an opponent’s weapon, body or mind, shouldn’t it be exploited to save and help others?

He licked his lips slowly as the instruction came to seek the coconuts. Giving Coci a small wink – or was it a cocky wink? – Connor broke away with others to find a tree nearby. It really was an idyllic place, and he breathed in the fresh air. Looking over on the sands, he bent forward and scooped up a large brown coconut, tossing it between his hands and getting a feel for it.

How heavy it was, how hard it was. Crouching down, unhooking his lightsaber hilt and spinning it around in hand, he set the coconut down in the sand on its side and tapped it gently with his fingers. Being gentle wouldn’t work in a battle when faced with a blade in your face.

No problem.

Tapping the coconut gently with the pommel, Connor held his breath and brought it down hard and fast with a satisfying, and disappointing, CRACKKK.

The coconut exploded, shell splitting open and all the natural water inside flooding out and absorbing into the warm sand instantly. His fingers were left holding a section of brown shell, and a lot of annoyance.

Idiot.

Head turning quickly to make sure his eagerness hadn’t been seen, Connor shook his wet hand and pushed up on his knees and headed to try again.


[member="Shule Windspeaker"] [member="Khaleel Malvern"] [member="Kalizka"] [member="Adele Adonai"] [member="Kana Truden"] [member="Spark Finn"] [member="Coci Sinopi"] [member="Maxi"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

 

[Arage Bao]

Being in the right moment at the right time…

Khaleel didn’t go pick out a coconut immediately, instead he simply shifted in his seating a bit, ignoring the rocks and pondered on this particular lesson. This was more than simply being able to squash a coconut with the powers of a mystical force, parts of it seemed more practical than that.

A plan, keystone, linchpin. How would you put that in Khal-terms? Think of a heist, what do you need for it? A getaway-plan, driver, car, enough fuel to last. Sometimes there is a vault, you might need a demolitions expert. Crowd-control, a backdoor, maybe an inside man.

Point was, remove only a single thing out of that equation… and the whole thing falls apart. You can’t get out without a driver, can’t get in the safe without explosives or a good lockpick et cetera.

That was deconstruction, but it had a reasonable reverse. Sometimes a situation demanded oversight, be the right man, at the right moment, in the right time. This could be that lucky base, that hunch that makes you go: ‘I gotta feeling I gotta be here.’

Nodding to himself, Khal finally stood up and started looking for coconuts.

First understanding, then the rest.

[member="Shule Windspeaker"]

 

[Maxi]

After watching [member="Connor Harrison"] Maxi had an idea on what not to do and took [member="Shule Windspeaker"] 's word for it. It was to be gentle. Simply being destructive was no good. He looked over to his Master [member="Coci Sinopi"] and, picked up a coconut for himself. He began to examine the coconut. It was oddly shaped and was almost shaped like an egg. He began to hold it by the larger side and would turn it to see any cracks it might already have. From what he could tell it had one large crack on its side. It wasn't deep but, it was diagonal and might break everything if he does it wrong.

He took a breath and removed the lightsaber on his back and lightly tapped at the crack. He could hear the sound of the coconut water swishing back and forth. The coconut began to crack a little more. He then moved the coconut in a way so the crack is horizontal. He continued to tap on it. Little by little the coconut began to crack open. He was patient and didn't want to rush. It should open eventually.

After spending abit of time on his coconut he checked for others to see how far they had gotten on their coconuts.

 

[Not Ordo]

[member="Shule Windspeaker"] [member="Khaleel Malvern"] @Kalizka [member="Adele Adonai"] [member="Kana Truden"] [member="Spark Finn"] [member="Coci Sinopi"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Maxi"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"]

Kal's jaw worked as he watched the waves, his old grey eyes watching the subtle pattern in the waves as they slowly lapped at the shore. His thoughts, as they often did when he had time, drifted back over the years to his youth among the bafforr grove and talking to the trees. It had been a quiet happy time full of discussions, writing, meditation and building. How he longed for his life to be that way once again and for the galaxy to be quiet for a few hundred years. He new that the day would come and he'd feel the tug to go and see the lines in his mind that would tell him where to be, but he hoped it would be un a distant future. He looked down at the girl as he listened to the master.

"Should have made the lazy masters climb" he thrumbed
in his own language as he swayed his head and patted the girl.

"I'll get you a coconut little one." He said standing carefully.

Soon he walked off the rocks and retrieved a coconut for himself and handed one to the little blond human. Slowly he closed his eyes and focused on the coconut. He looked at the large seed and slowly felt the stress on the shell. He noticed the paterns in it's design and finally the lines that were imperceptible converged at a point. He slowly traced the lines with a thick woody finger and then set the cocnut down on the beach. He'd plant it later.

 

[The End Narrator]

[SIZE=10pt]Aaralyn frowned softly as she listened to the words of [member="Shule Windspeaker"] and how he disapproved the use of Shatterpoint in an offensive manner. This caused her to fidget slightly and grow a bit tense, even to such an extent it would ripple from her emotional core within the Force. She adjusted herself slightly as she listened to his words, and how it should be applied in the life of a Jedi. The fact still remained, Aaralyn had applied it offensively, numerous times. She cracked open Mandalorian armor and force punched a bounty hunter into a durasteel wall one time on Coruscant. Then there was a time she shattered the wristplate of [member="Jacen Cavill"] in order to save her neck from being snapped at the behest of someone [To this day, that remains a mystery][/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]As she went to grab her coconut, she could only help but to think what Master Windspeaker might say should he discover those things. Should she play ignorant? No, he’d know better. She was very knowledgeable in the application of this and she was sure this man had the ability to access it somehow. People like him had to be connected. She apparently spent too much time standing there in thought that an excited Padawan spoke up – albeit to loud and caused her to jerk up and quickly move out of the way, face flushed and all. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Memories can be helpful and can be harmful at the same time.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She held the coconut in her right hand, while she drew her left hand slowly over the oddly textured fruit. It wasn’t typical for a coconut, its husk was a bit rougher than normal and probably three times a thick than say one found on Yavin IV or even Corellia. She knocked it harshly with her left hand, a deep resounding slosh and thunk would come back to her ears in return for each knock. She chuckled softly and shook it infront of her face, listening to the splish-splash of the water that resided within. Violet eyes showed a childlike amusement as she brought it down infront of her and found a rock which appeared flat enough to set her fruit on.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]She kicked up some sand and beach debris as she sat down infront of the coconut. She crossed her legs and took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10pt]Time to get to work.[/SIZE]

[member="Kalizka"] | [member="Maxi"] | [member="Khaleel Malvern"] | [member="Connor Harrison"] | [member="Coci Sinopi"] | [member="Kana Truden"] | [member="Spark Finn"] | [member="Adele Adonai"]

 

[Qun Vell]

Where [member="Spark Finn"] went, Qun often followed. He was a bit of a bro like that. Not to mention, with Qun's tendencies it wasn't exactly like he was swimming in friends in the Jedi Order, so he made sure to do his best to keep the ones he had. Sadly though, he lost her while she was running towards a tree. This not being on a Jedi world or temple he was less worried about drinking, and had already gotten a few swigs in before he got there. This notably lowered his pace. He tried to keep up with the panting jedi-nerd, but could not. He came up just in time to hear Shule begin to speak, on practicality. Finding weak points. Meditating to find intuition. Reading the ripples, not making waves.

Though not completely understanding all the concepts Shule had spoken of Qun was eager to learn, and headed over to a coconut tree, pulling off four coconuts. He would have sent one to Spark, but a tree had already gave her one. Perhaps Qun had drank too much already. Shaking it off and telling himself trees couldn't talk he looked around and found some people that didn't have coconuts yet.

"Catch" he said, and threw one to [member="Kana Truden"], [member="Coci Sinopi"], and [member="Adele Adonai"], before realizing that their wasn't actually a person where he was throwing that last coconut. Shaking his head and being a bit disappointed in himself he walked over next to Spark and sat down, before holding his coconut in four hands and examining it thoroughly. Hoping to see some marks or lines or something that would indicate he was on the right track.

He saw nothing. Again, a bit disappointed in his lack of Jedi-ness he took one hand off the coconut pulled out a flask and took a quick swig before capping it and retuning it to it's position on his belt. He then took a deep breath and tried to clear his already mostly-empty mind. Hoping that he could find what he sought, perhaps in vain. After all shatterpoint wasn't a talent that all could learn.

[member="Kalizka"] [member="Maxi"] [member="Aaralyn Rekali"] [member="Khaleel Malvern"] [member="Connor Harrison"] [member="Shule Windspeaker"]