In This Crazy, Crazy World

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

"Echolocation is a lot like just sensing what's around you, but it has a slight difference. It is the key to understanding auras and how they work. As a Witch, I am more focused on these than on any other powers Jedi... or Sith use," Maria spoke. She closed her own eyes, too, and continued, "Now, this power needs you to try to force a signal of energy out of you. Only a signal, a small wave of energy you can produce. With the mixture of Force Sense and Echolocation, you will get an overview of what's around you. If the signal reflects from items, you can see its details precisely."

The woman herself focused on gathering a wave around her chest area and said, "You should get some energy - Force, if you want to take it that way - around your chest. Then if you think you have enough of it around you, just release it. But don't take it as a Force Wave, but use it as a ripple in the Force."

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I concentrated as hard as I could to feel the force around me but I trouble getting enough around me. I couldn't tell if I had two much or not enough around me to release. So I was about to go with my gut on it but then I remembered the words of great Jedi i've met.Trust in the force. This time I felt the force around me but instead o concentrating I let my mind relax and let the force come to me.

I felt it build up inside me and it went to my chest like my master said but it felt weird. Like fish were swimming in my chest trying to get out. So that's what I did, I let them out and the force around me rippled like I was in water. I kept my eyes closed and asked Maria "Did I do it right".

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

"I believe so, but you have to feel the Force to understand whether you've done everything correctly. if you become one with the surrounding energy, everything is okay, but if there is a slight disturbance, you've made a mistake," Maria spoke. She opened her eyes again and shut down her lightsaber. After taking a short sigh, she stood up, walked to a window, and looked out of it.

"The Force around us is something mystical. Tell me, how much have you learned about it." She then looked at Caleb again and smiled, even though she didn't focus on what she actually saw. She couldn't even tell whether the boy had opened his eyes or not.

That didn't matter, though. Not anymore. Maria understood the boy was strong and that was all she had had to check.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I thought for a second of the question. Maybe I was thinking to hard on this because of the lightsaber color answer but I just answered normally. "The force is everything and everywhere. It helps us and binds us together in harmony..or it's supposed to". I didn't elaborate because that would take a long time maybe hours to explain what I mean."The force controls our destiny and is not to be controlled. We let it guide us through thick and thin".

I stood up and opened my eyes then I took a seat in wait of my masters.

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

Maria nodded. She took a few steps towards the boy again, but stopped then. She was able to feel what the boy seemed to have against her. It seemed to be a small disturbance and she could tell the feeling had started after Maria told the boy about her past. Maybe Caleb didn't believe in redemption? Maybe he had a hard time at understanding how one can turn into a Jedi after having been a member of the Sith for years?

"Now tell me what Force powers you have learned and what you'd like to learn from me. I personally am not too informed about what the Younglings over here learn."

She took a few more steps forward and sat down at the same place where she had sat before.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

"I use most of the padawan abilities such as art of movement and telepathy but I want to learn more". I thought back to some of the codex I have been reading. I tried to remember my favorite two that I liked so I didn't overwhelm her. I opened my mouth but little came out. So I thought for second longer and then snapped my fingers as I had a idea. "What about learning Morichro and Flashburn". I hoped that she new those abilities because they would be great for a Consular.

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

Maria nodded to the boy before hearing what powers he'd like to learn. Then she only widened her eyes while looking deep into Caleb's eyes. She was, like anybody could tell, amazed that such a thing was asked from her. "Well, I would teach you them, but... I fear one of them is a Master level power which even I don't know how to use. And the other one, Flahsburn, is a Knight level one. I don't know if I should teach you them."

She felt a bit bad that she had to limit the boy's training. He probably had his hopes high about learning them. And now all of that was ruined. "But maybe there's something else you'd like to learn? Maybe some training at Force Jump? Or... advanced Telekinesis?" She sighed.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I frown a little bit but I was getting ahead of myself with some of the things I wanted to learn. So I thought for a second about abilities that would be of padawan level but also helpful to me as a person. I then said "Okay how about detoxifying poisons and hibernation trance". I didn't think those two would be extremely crazy to learn though they seem like abilities that I would use in a life or death situation. These abilities would be good for a diplomat or a politician to learn so they were perfect for me.

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

"They're both fine powers and I am feeling like I can teach you these two," Maria replied to Caleb. Indeed, she knew how to use these two abilities and they were Padawan level, too. "So I think we should start with Hibernation Trance?" The woman fell to the floor on her bottom with a quick movement and then sighed.

"Hibernation Trance is a useful ability, but there is one thing about that and Morichro which makes it an extremely dangerous one. Before you start to learn using this power, you should know that to those who can't use the Force or any devices which detect life see a person using the power as a dead being. They don't know you're alive. They don't hear your heartbeats, they don't hear you breathing, they can't know you live." She closed her eyes. "That can put you into really dangerous situations, so are you willing to take on the responsibility to use it carefully?"

 

[Caleb Brolen]

"Yes Master" I bowed to show respect to her. Inside I was very ecstatic to learn these new abilities since they were sure to help with my diplomacy training. I sat on the ground and felt the force around me one more but in the way master Natalja taught me. I saw the aura and alignment of all things around me and I listened to all the sounds they made. Then I waited for my next instruction.

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

"Now, my dear Padawan," the Jedi Knight spoke, "the way I have learned to use the ability to use the powerful Force to slow down metabolism and breathing to a standstill this way..." She tried to remember how was it exactly done. "The Force flows through you. It's in your lungs, it's in your blood. it is everything. Now, if you really try to, you can feel the Force in your lungs."

"Try it, and tell me what do you feel," she encouraged the boy to talk. "For instance, I can feel how it tickles me from the inside, yet fills me with pleasurable warmth. It is a wonderful energy inside - it is amazing."

 

[Caleb Brolen]

As I listened to her instruction I did exactly as I was told. I took in a deep breath and started to concentrate on all the force around me. However I couldn't concentrate on just one part of my body. The force was so sporadic in its movements throughout my person that I couldn't get a clear pinpoint to center it in.

To remedy this I just simply calmed down. I waited my heart beat slow down and focused on one part and that part only. I then felt this feeling in my chest that moved to my lungs. I couldn't describe the feeling, it was just there. I then felt the force in my lungs and focused on it. I then asked her "Ok what now".

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

"I'm feeling like you can't describe the feeling?" Maria asked, smirking while her eyes were still closed. "I remember when I was first trained in using the Force, it was all so new to me that I couldn't handle all of that. I couldn't describe what the Force was like; it was just a part of me. But as time went on, I started to understand the little fractions of it and... I realised what it was."

The Jedi Knight's smirk faded and she got serious again. "But I am sure you got the Force under your control? While Jedi philosophy tells us not to control the Force, but let it control us, there are powers which need us to redirect it. Hibernation Trance is one of them."

She stopped breathing, at least seemingly. "You have to redirect the Force in your lungs to empower them. It is difficult to describe how it goes, but you'll understand you've done it when you start feeling like you breath in too much air even though it's the same amount you typically breath in."

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I slowed down my breathing and dispelled all the air in my lungs. As time went on I started to choke but I remained in a meditative position. I let the force take over and let it control my heart rate and breathing. All of it slowed down but I wasn't dead or unconscious or anything. I didn't feel anything nor did I want to. I let the force take over and I said nothing. Everything was open but everything was closed at the same time. It was hard to explain but for the time being I waited for my masters next instruction.

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

Maria lost herself in the trance for a moment, and only after hearing her Padawan's breathing she remembered there was training going on. Yes, it was easy to succumb into the waves of the Force and just forget absolutely everything around, but she couldn't just let it happen to her again. Not while there was somebody counting on her. And teaching a lesson was responsibility, right?

"Caleb, now the next thing to do is to slow down your metabolism. This technique is far greater and I would say it's more difficult to achieve, but I've heard from some that they can do it relatively easily. Let's see how it goes," Maria talked, exiting the Hibernation Trance. She couldn't talk a lot with such a little amount of breathing. Using only a tenth of the air typically needed didn't actually let one do much else than stand still without moving.

"Direct the remaining Force in your body right to your stomach and make the Force take it over. While you bend the energy do your will, you actually bend to its wants, so there's nothing Dark about it. Just use your senses, control your body, let go of everything. There's only the Force."

Why did she talk about these things again, Caleb might have wanted to ask. But that was only to make it easier for the boy to lose himself and let the Force do what it had to. Hibernation Trance was not too easy to master and in the beginning, even Maria had had to listen to her master's talk about what the Force was.

 

[Caleb Brolen]

As I sat and listened everything that Master Natalja said was faint though I understood everything clearly. I was still in the state in which I felt the force around me but this time I didn't focus on what was on the outside but all the force in the inside me. I sorta locked out the force outside of me while the connection to the force was still there.

Then like I did the first time I used all the remain force in my body and focused it i my stomach. Then I just let it take over. I felt nothing and saw nothing but this time it felt good. Was this what people who died but didn't go into the force felt like? I continued to hear my master instruction not even making a sound.

[member="Maria Natalja"]

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

"If you are successful, you should have reached the state of Hibernation Trance now. You should be able to live for weeks without moving yourself at all, not even talking about eating or breathing. You only breath about the tenth of what you used to and your metabolism is a lot slower. Now, it may happen that you'll die from the lack of something while in trance, but the chances of that happening are extremely low," Maria spoke to the man, standing to her feet.

She smiled to him, feeling both successful that Caleb had most likely learned how to get to the trance and that she had managed to teach a Padawan something. "But now, I would like you to leave the trance and talk a bit more about yourself. Where are you from, for example?"

 

[Caleb Brolen]

As she said the words leave I rapidly dispelled the force across my body. I did it very fast and in turn caused a lot of pain in my chest. I started coughing and wheezing but it all ended in a few moments. I stood up and walked over to a nearby seat. I heard my master ask me where I was from. I thought for a second then said "I don't really know..we moved around so much that I never asked my parents" . My voice came out kinda rough from the lack of breathing but I cleared it and said "We lived on Coruscant most of my life though".

 

[Nikolas Faselli]

[member="Caleb Brolen"]

Maria nodded while listening to Caleb's talk about his past. "Coruscant..." she muttered, getting really serious. "Tell me, what do you think about war. I don't need to hear that you think it's terrible and stupid, but I would like to hear something more. What do you know about the Republic and One Sith war?" The Jedi Knight had been a Senator for some time, so she knew what the war was and what a faction's security really meant.

"I'm sorry if it's a bit too much for you," Maria said after a moment, realising how rude she had turned. "Just tell me if you don't want to answer to the question I asked."

 

[Caleb Brolen]

I thought for a second about the question then answered "I feel that the war is pointless but needed". I took another breath before I began again. "History shows us that conflict is a reality that we have to deal with. The Jedi and Sith have clashed with each for millennium bring both orders to near extinction, same with the Republic and Empire. The war is only a canvas for what is really happening..".

As I was about to explain myself I looked over to my bag to see my communicator was flashing blue. I looked at my master and said "If you will excuse me master". I walked of to my datapad and saw that it was a notification that a senate meeting was starting soon. I loved watching them because it helps me improve my diplomacy skills and learn about new races.

I turned to Master Natalja and said "May we talk about this later Master I don't want to miss any of the meeting".

[member="Maria Natalja"]