In This Crazy, Crazy World

[Nikolas Faselli]

Ossus
[member="Caleb Brolen"]

The door to one of the training rooms opened. The room had been left like it used to be months ago - when Maria herself was still a Padawan and wanted to train independently. Colours of the room were there to portray the theme of a sunrise: the base of the room was light blue, details were in light yellowish orange colour and the few items in the room were all white in colour. Together, it was a lovely room and let a person focus easily.

Mornings inspired Maria.

"Home, sweet home," she spoke to herself, then walked into the room. The door which was painted in the shade of dark brown was the only thing which didn't quite show the theme of a morning, but that was alright.

Maria stepped closer to the middle of the room where there was a barely visible circle. She used to meditate there, she used to learn some healing there. She missed these times, but not because they were less crazier. No, the war between Republic and One Sith was going on, but the inner life of Maria's was a lot easier to understand.

She sat down, smiled, and closed her eyes. A Padawan was supposed to come to the room that day, but nobody had told her the exact time, so she had decided to be there early.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I walked down the hall towards a training room that had never been to before though that wasn't a shocker since I spent most of my time looking at recordings of Senate meetings and lectures on politics. However that did not matter because today I was getting a new master to train me permanently. To say that I was excited was a understatement. I wondered who my new master was and if she would like me or not. I was given a name, rank, and coordinates and was told to be there today so why not.

As I opened the door I did it slowly to not disturb anything that was going on inside. I looked in the room and saw that it looked different from all the other training rooms in the academy. It was more bliss and had a weird aura around it like the force had fun in this room. I took two steps into the room and said "Hello..I'm Padawan Brolen and i'm here to find a [member="Maria Natalja"]. She is to be my new master." I waited for a reply.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

Maria had no idea of what to expect from training a Padawan, so she was not exactly frightened or excited. But she felt a bit interesting inside; interesting because she couldn't tell what kind of an emotion that was. Her corruption and light side sometimes combined together and made the girl feel something she had never ever felt before. It was one of these feelings again.

The woman, as she heard somebody coming to the room, didn't open her eyes and showed no change in her emotion. "You are looking for me. So you are going to be my Padawan?" She turned her head towards the one, but didn't open her eyes yet. She wanted to take a look at him with Force Sense. She saw lots of potential in him, but his talents and skills were raw.

"It's nice to meet you," she finally spoke when she opened her eyes and slowly rose to her feet. A smile appeared in her face. But deep inside, she started to feel worried.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I replied with "same to you" as a sign of respect to my new master. I didn't have to look through the force to see that something was bothering her. I decided to say "Is something troubling you master" to see what the problem was. It couldn't possibly me could me could it. I didn't do anything wrong as far as I could tell because she would have told me. Maybe it was my skill set that was the problem, I was prominent at the force and I had gotten training in basic lightsaber forms so I wasn't that bad. Her file said she that she was a Consular so I assumed that it wouldn't be a problem.

I calmed down in my head and snapped out of my thoughts to hear what she had to say next.

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

"No, not troubling. More like worrying. But that doesn't matter," Maria spoke. She walked a bit closer to the man, her own maroon red robe hanging nearly to the floor. It showed a white T-shirt beneath it that time, accompanied with black skinny jeans - not something any typical Jedi would wear. She took a look at the Padawan whose clothing seemed to her far more conservative.

"So, I am assuming this meeting is just as exciting to you as it is to me?" she spoke with a questioning tone. Her eyes stayed attached to the Padawan's eyes, but the rest of her body moved: her hands nearly shook, her legs had a hard time at balancing her.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I thought about the worrying part but brushed it aside because she told me to. So to answer her next question I thought for a couple seconds and said "I wouldn't say excited..more like interesting if you want me to tell the truth". I put my hands to my side next to my lightsaber and thought about something to ask. The it occurred to me that I didn't know that much about her so I asked "I don't know much about you". I walked over to a nearby seat and sat down. I then put my hand up in a "after you" position. I smiled and said "If you will enlighten me".

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

Maria smiled momentarily and followed the young Padawan's lead. She took a seat, looked at the boy as he did the same, and then cleared her throat before she opened her mouth. But nothing came out of it. She didn't know what to talk about. Of her struggles? Of her redemption? Many things had happened in the woman's life and there was too much to talk about.

"I am Maria Natalja, a Jedi Knight. I actually live on Umbara, though before that my living destination was Crystalsong and I was born on Nar Shaddaa. I am a Consular, which you should also know right now."

She turned silent for a moment, trying to think about anything else to speak of.

"I... umm... have been a Sith once. They called me the Witch of Arx Mortis. And the Witch in my title pretty much still describes me as I don't use the traditional Jedi skills, but instead rely on my senses and auras."

Maria looked at the boy, waiting for his reaction.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I did a slight smirk and said "If I said that I wasn't surprised by that then I would be lying". This wasn't the most shocking thing I have heard in my life or will be but hey what can I say. I adjusted my position in the chair and said "I have heard of the name yes but all of that is behind you right". I asked because the force would be playing a very nasty trick on me if my master turned out to be Sith. It would be a bad plot twist to some of the holo-vids I have been looking at. I waited for her reaction to my reaction.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

"Yes, it's all history now. Some time ago, I changed sides and not suddenly, but I started feeling the corruption of the Dark Side, I started to understand what all of that exactly was. So the evil in me slowly turned into good," Maria said. She could have expected the young Padawan to be worried. Having a master who might suddenly change sides was something nobody, even Maria herself, would want.

"I became the Padawan of the Jedi Grandmaster and under her guidance, I tried to give my best at eliminating all darkness in me." She looked at the floor, her thoughts having been caught in the sea of her history. "But let's not talk about me. Maybe you'd tell me something about yourself?"

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I thought for a minute about things that have happened over the past few months. Then I said "Nothing to tell really. I have been training on Tython for two years and I have been on Ossus for a few months now". I couldn't think of anything else to tell that wasn't to personal or that she would care about. I scratched my chin and said "I'm training to be a Jedi Consular though I guess you already new that". I looked around as I thought more but nothing really came to mind. So I said "That's about it".

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

Maria nodded and then stood up with a quick movement. "Do you have a lightsaber?" she asked, taking a short glance at her own lightsaber's silver handle which hanged on her belt. While waiting for an answer, she moved her eyes back to the boy's. If he had one, she could have started training him right away, but if he didn't... they'd have to get a Master to take them to Ilum.

The woman remember how she had made her saber. It had been something fantastic and only then had she realised what kind of an emotion constructing your very first weapon made the creator feel. It was a tradition, not a simple action. It was an art, not construction.

She hoped the boy had had the same experience. She really hoped he already had a saber.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

"I do right here". I used the force to pull the hilt from my belt but did not ignite it. I remembered back when I first made it a year ago and when the hilts paint was a full blue and black. Now the black paint is starting to chip away from not using it that often. I wanted it to stick that way too because it has character to it. Every saber tells a story which spans generations. I used the force to move the saber over to her so she could get a better look at it . I was also mainly showing off my knowledge of the force powers.

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

Maria didn't look at the saber, but kept her eyes at the boy's. She felt the saber which he had made levitate to her, so there was no need to look at it. "What colour should I expect the blade to be?" she asked, a shy smile crossing her face. Her own saber was probably a lot different from what the Padawan had. But that was OK, as she had been told by the Grandmaster.

"Green? Blue?" She actually hoped it was something different, just to know she is not the only one who had a strange lightsaber. Though she tried not to let these hopes get over her head. As a Jedi, he probably had a traditional coloured weapon.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

"Blue but i'm more of a purple guy myself, I was thinking on changing it but I have had no luck looking for one". I wanted to change colors because it would seem unique. Beside some of the greatest Jedi in history had purple lightsabers. I put y saber back on the side of my belt and asked "What color is yours" I was just curios because lot of Jedi have odd color lightsaber hilt designs. Even some of the masters have hilts that I even the Holocrons don't mention.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

Maria smiled slyly and just turned around, not even giving the boy an answer. It was not the right time yet, or not the right way to do it. "Let's just sit down for a moment. I would like to give you your first little lesson," she said while nearing the circle on the floor. Taking a seat just outside the circle, she gestured the boy to sit across the circle.

After the boy would sit down, she'd smile again and close her eyes. "What I'm going to teach you is something a bit like Force Sense, yet it's not exactly what it is." The woman truly hoped the boy followed her lead at closing eyes so that she could teach him properly.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I was skeptical at first but I sat down anyways because she is my master. I sat on the other side of the circle with my legs cross and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath and got ready for what was about to happen. The description she gave me wasn't a lot to and I could totally walking into some Sith meditation trick but I had to have more faith in my master. I simply said "Ok i'm ready for whatever this is". I also squeezed my eyes in the incoming of pain if there would be any but I let go and just relaxed.

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

"What we're about to do is what I like to think of as an enhanced way of using the Force Sense. Though I believe most other Jedi disagree with me on that matter," Maria spoke, her eyes closed. "Sensing everything around you is what makes Force users more than just handwavers of stuff, but it makes us a real religion."

The woman took her lightsaber from her belt without opening her eyes. "Strong Force users sense everything around themselves because of the way this energy surrounds us. Every item or any energy is caused by that one powerful force." She ignited her blade.

"Now tell me, what colour do you think my saber is? Do you feel anything which would describe the blade in this colourblind Force sense?"

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I sensed mixed the force around me but this time it was different than normal. Everything had a aura to all made up of different colors and feelings. It was cool in some ways to a point in which it made me happy. I looked toward where I remember Master Natalja was sitting and I found her aura. It was grey as if she didn't have an alignment or if she was torn between them. Then I saw a extension of it and I started to repeat what I saw "It is cold and dark with hatred and maleficent but I also sense redemption and forgiveness....and since I have never heard of a grey lightsaber before it has to be Crimson right". I didn't like saying that because that color is often time used by Sith.

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

It would have been a lie if Maria would have told anybody she wasn't amazed. Yes, this boy seemed to have lots of potential as a Jedi; as a Jedi Consular. Her own powers in Force Sense might have paled when compared to Caleb's. She had spent a long time to start feeling the details, yet this Padawan did it on his first try.

"That's true. But the colour of a blade is nothing but a colour. The true meaning of it is set by the lightsaber's owner. And I see it as a mark of my past. A mark which tells me I have faced difficulties, but I am now on the right side," she spoke. "I hope you understand."

She opened her eyes. "Now, without opening your eyes, would you let me teach you an interesting technique? It's a defensive Force power, which I hope you are able to use on your first try. I like to call it the Echolocation - I don't know how others call it - and it is a way to get a clearer understanding of one's energy."

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I prepared for anything she was about to throw at me. Though I didn't know what this next test was was about I had a feeling that this wouldn't be as easy as the last. I then said "Alright what do I need to do". I couldn't say that learning new force abilities wasn't cool because trust me they were but it seemed that some of them could be unorthodox for a Jedi. I kept my mouth shut because she assured my that she was a Jedi and a Jedi she shall be.

[member="Maria Natalja"]