Learning an Old Art Anew...

[Julius Sedaire]

Location: Voss - Silver Jedi Temple - Library​

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Ijaat sat at a table, perusing books as he waited for the woman Jorus had told him to seek. A new face, a new presence in the Force, a new everything. But [member="Jorus Merrill"] he could trust, beyond almost any other. And so, he did. Without hesitation. A scroll in front of him was speaking, oddly enough, on simple metallurgy. Not many non-Force users seemed to care for Songsteel - curious in itself. But the smithing of it was near to as rare as beskar smithing. So he was taking the time before [member="Coci Heavenshield"] arrived to read over a few documents found on Voss in the Grand Library. Surprisingly complete. Metallurgical data, composition, forging techniques. A veritable, if neglected, treasure trove.

Non-distinct clothing was pulled across his frame. Bits and pieces taken from one culture or the other from this or that feature. All picked out rather pointedly. If one had reason to connect or know of Ijaat, they might recognize the influences here and there on the garment. A soft, padded leather outer with flared shoulders, and almost Jedi like tunic under it, and hakama style pants common to Atrisian styles. Wholly original outfit and new look for a new life and personage. The only weapons on him were a thin, common saber he left at the door to the library, and of course a few bits of Underground tech and secrets he had gotten from Jorus.

The molecular structure of the songsteel differs from that of common durasteel in the crystalline pattern being aligned...

Looking up and ceasing his copying on his data-slate, he strained his eyes, thinking maybe he saw who he was to meet. And hoping she knew what Jorus said she did. Which, frankly, this Art of the Small sounded utterly impossible, but then again.... The Force... Well, it didn't really obey logic. Reason was right out of it's constraints too. And physics it straight laughed in the face of. Never the less, [member="Ajira Cardei"] had done him a boon in this body. Any warrior would be ignorant to not develop such abilities.

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

It had been a week or so since she had been contacted by [member="Ijaat Mereel"] asking for a meeting on Voss and the reason for it. A friend of [member="Jorus Merrill"] it appeared, a man Coci had met once or twice in the past, someone that had come across from the merge of the Silver Jedi Order and Levantine Sanctum, but Jorus is not one to be found walking the halls of the Silver Temple, much preferring the tunnels of hyperspace and explore strange new worlds. But he is a man Coci trusts as well.

It was one of the back rooms of the Library the meeting was to take place, as Master of the Order she wears her Jedi robes at all times, it is never a failing with her, a hangover from the military day even before her time in the Army of Light and so she looked impeccable. Boots clipped down the steps, but not enough to drown out the voice speaking of the properties of Songsteel, which cause Coci to grin a little. It seemed this man is doing homework, and doing it well which delighted her even more as this was the first part of a lesson completed, no padawan is he, and that much was clear. He already had the understanding on what knowledge was necessary for the Art of Small.

Coci waited for a pause in the stream of information, “Greetings Mister Mereel, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Coci Heavenshield”. She approached the table and extended her hand in greeting.

 

[Julius Sedaire]

A smile crossed his face. For once genuine, and broad. He was alive anew, and none of the old alliances or allegiances made a difference. Death had severed them, in his mind. Clan? People? Where had they been in his darkest hour when the Kyr'stad cut him down and burned his house to the ground? Reports said they raided and pillaged still. Almost, he had gone back. Headlong into a losing war out of some half-formed thought of loyalty. But failure, shame from that failure, and anger kept him from doing so. If the Council could not keep them safe, then he would seek amongst the stars and learn how to. At least, at the onset that was the inspiration. Would it morph over time? Almost certainly. Would he, in the end, forget those of his house and forge on new paths ahead? Only time and doing would tell...

Shaking his head to clear his revere, the gesture almost without notice, he turned to face her, marking his place. Data-slate left open, it showed diagrams of a metal Coci may or may not know, beskar and comparisons to songsteel and durasteel... Metallurgy fascinated him, and the mind this body had was, if anything, more keen than his previous one. Granted, he did miss the cybernetics from iBorg, and resolved to see about recovering them at some point. There were theorems and ideas on there he hadn't even sent to his apprentices, [member="Draco Vereen"] and [member="Isley Verd"]...But, first thing was first. Grey-blue eyes blinked, and he finally spoke, a rich, light voice. The cadence was odd, and still took him aback sometimes to hear it and realize it was his voice. Taking her hand, he shook it.

"Coci... Thank you... I hope it isn't a inconvenience... Jorus recommended you.. I've only recently decided to start training, and given my aptitude for smithing, I figured best to start with what I know already, yes?"

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

There is a strangeness about the man, almost a duplicity in nature which sat at odds within the force, but she sensed no ill intent only a sense of gratitude and genuine desire to learn. After all, he was a friend of Jorus and at this point that was enough. She held his hand just for a moment more, she could feel a strength in the hands as if from hard work, yet no labour as such, hardened the skin. "Not at all Mister Mereel, there is no inconvenience", she said indicating for him to sit again if he so wished before she pulled out one of the high backed chairs and made herself comfortable.

Her eyes fell over the table top, looking at the assortment of bits and pieces scattered there mostly likely left from previous students to lazy to replace things on the shelves. However, she leaned forward and pulled the diagram of comparison between the metals, "I am no smith", she said with a small smile. "But I can see the interest indeed, my son would most keen on this", she said of her son for a moment forgetting his absence which only lasted a second. "I am to believe you are master of the force? I sense your strength which is going to make for a rather tough lesson, I don't go easy on those more skilled".

Coci reached across the table and pulled a glass toward her, another that was present, made of crystal and sat them together. "Shall we begin?". She would wait for Ijaat to settle and prepare himself before she would start the lesson.

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[member="Ijaat Mereel"]​

 

[Julius Sedaire]

"Rank novice, actually... Ability only recently discovered. I've studied under a few smiths in my time. Atrisian, Echani, Jensaarai, Matukai, Mandalorian and a few more. Used to work a bit for the Galactic Alliance. Now, just trying to get my head on straight after some family troubles... But by all means, don't go easy on me.. You don't learn much going easy."

The handshake was dropped, and he sat with a nod at the papers, breathing in deeply. Then he drew out from his bag treatsies on a few dozen metals, techniques, and traditions, which he had cross-referenced, expanded, and annotated from the records here. The dataslates contained knowledge some Master smiths likely didn't even know. Coci, self-admitted not being a smith, might not understand it much, but he piled easily over thirty slates before he stopped. For one in his early twenties by appearance, it was an incongruous and disproportionate collection. And he was fairly certain Coci could sense the wrongness about him from being shoved into this body and not being wholly comfy in his own skin, so to speak... Trust was needed between master and student, and so he spoke again.

"Feel free to copy.... They're the lifes work of a muiltitude of smiths.... If your son is even passingly interested... They'll be invaluable. Took me about 40 years to compile and hoard... Then I... Died.... So when I came back, I made the resolution to spread my knowledge to those who helped me with my new gifts... The only thing I withold is the working of beskar.... I only teach that in person. But... Please... Begin..."

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

“I shall copy this all to the Silver Library database, not just for my son’s benefit, thank you this is greatly appreciated”. Coci knew that there would be other Jedi within the Sanctum that might have an interest in such information. The man had told her much of himself, strange as it might have been to the ears of another, but considering the recent events in her family’s history, Coci had learned that nothing is impossible and that people return from once dead in all manner of ways, some through means of the force or the skill of others, to more obscure means that still leave her imagination questioning them. But that matters little now.

“Whether metal of any other matter, all things in this galaxy have molecular and/or chemical structure. From what I overheard before greeting you, you already hold this understanding so that part of the lesson is completed. Before you I have placed two vessels, one of crystal and the other made from glass, can you tell me to composition of both of them? And the structures on a microscopic level”.

Naturally each of these presented elements have complex structures on a microscopic level, but this is the area in which the Art of Small works upon, there must be an understand of the matter in which he wishes to work. Ijaat would have more working knowledge of metals then she, but that was not the lesson.

​

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[member="Ijaat Mereel"]​

 

[Julius Sedaire]

Clearing his throat, he took a moment to examine the two vessels, nodding. It was both to gather information and eye the pieces, and to drift through his memory. A harder process without his cybernetics, regrettably.

"Crystal is a structure where atoms and molecules are ordered in a self-similar repeating structure. Glass is a solid substance when atoms and molecules don't form any ordered repeating structure, and the substance can be heated so it becomes more runny and less viscous, and then cooled back into a solid form. There is also some minor discrepancy between the two and their melting or transition points, but the exact details escape me at current... Given I believe the vessel on the left is just 'crystal glass', which is glass with lead added and no different than glass in it's structuring atomically, just physically greatly resembling crystal... Then I would say the other appears to be quartz. Beautifully worked, I might add. Quartz is very similar, almost identical to pure glass, excepting the structure order... Pure glass is sometimes used in certain bladesmithing cultures as a way of including silicate into the blade, to increase toughness. Actual contribution is minimal, but we smiths are superstitious as a general rule.. Am I roughly right?"

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

After the glass and crystal vessels had been replaced on the table, Coci said nothing at this point but took them up and placed them before her. Her hands raised and turned them palms facing downward only an inch or so above them. With application of the force, she shattered the vessels into tiny shards of sharp pieces that fell into two piles. The light in the library sparkled within the shards and radiated in random rays. "Now lets see if you are correct Ijaat".

He had explained the composition well but the understanding of how they are to be worked would prove something more. She continued to work through the force and gathered the two piles until they formed one and mixed them together. "There is a form of lattice within the formation of crystal, each one unique to the next and as glass is made up of many compositions this might prove more difficult then the crystal but give it a go".

Coci stood up relinquishing her seat for Ijaat to use to work, "I would like you to separate the piles once more into their respective compositions and reform the vessels into the original shape. Take your time".

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[member="Ijaat Mereel"]​

 

[Julius Sedaire]

He extended his sense, shifting through the shards and began to sort them first. Each of them indeed did... Well, it was a weird way of thinking or explaining, it felt different. The crystal felt smooth, and more similar and uniform to his senses. Even where the pieces were broke, they felt almost rounded or subtle, not sharp or jagged. Glass, on the other hand, was sharp. Jagged, and erratic. Whatever the differences were in the molecular, he could feel it. At least on occasion, he could. Putting it together though, he pondered on how. Telekinetic movement began to get the pieces arranged and put together, and then he thought, considering the pieces.

Slowly, he reached out with his senses and instead of just feeling... He pushed... Nudged the molecules with his mind... And... Well... They bloody well moved! He was feeling, and even moving, sub-atomic and atomic level parts of a crystalline dish with his senses and minds eye. Pieces quivered, shook, vibrated together and suddenly.... Suddenly... They just were one... Smooth, flawless and normal. A dish of whitish crystalline quartz, sitting there and glistening. The dish was repaired, and oddly enough felt almost stronger.

"Like.... Like that? Did I just do that with my mind....?"

[member="Coci Heavenshield"]

 

[Coci Heavenshield]

Coci smiled, as the dish formed before her eyes. She sensed the pull of the force through Ijaat and the working of the elements under his control. This was a very good start, and in time he will master this skill to work the metal of the forge. He probably had a far better understand of metal then she, but still this was only part of the lesson. "Yes through your mind and the force, it is intricate work and understand the components, composition and structure of such elements is the key". She reached for the small crystal dish, to examine it. "It is the basic level of understanding needed for this and once learned can be used on anything. Think of the application for healing of bone or flesh. Or fighting an enemy", she grinned. If one had the mind and smarts, any force skill be it power or not can be used in other ways.

"Now the next step is to change something into something else", she placed the dish on the table again. "Most things in the galaxy are carbon based", she said raising her hand above the dish. "Some things have not so complex as structure", the dish began to shimmer under her application of the force upon it, pushing great pressure onto the dish. "But the manipulation and 'change' in the structure coupled with the force and you can creature things, progress them from one state to the next". Naturally this has to be done in reason and reality.

Once she had finished, Coci pushed the dish toward Ijaat. The first impression would not reveal what she had done, the dish in shape and size had not altered. But instead of crystal, the disk was diamond. And it would feel stronger through the force as well.

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[member="Ijaat Mereel"]​