Pilgrimmage [Marionn]

[Djonas Vile]

The time had come for Djonas Vile to return to Roon, where he was brought into the Templar Order, and pay homage at the Sanctum. The Emerald Dawn, Djonas' personal vessel, descended upon the landing pad and hummed until it went silent. The ramp hissed open, landing on the ground below.

"I will return before sundown." Djonas called out to his ship's crew. He continued down the ramp and entered the Sanctum. The marvelous beauty of the Sanctum was a thing to behold. Djonas stopped to take a deep whiff of the fresh Templar Sanctum air.

A deep exhale.

He continued on towards the center of the Sanctum where it was common to see the new Aspirants that have joined the Templar Order. An aspirant came up to Djonas and reached his hand out. Djonas happily shook it firmly. "Welcome, youngling. May the Templar Order be all you hope it to be and may the Force be with you." he said to the young Aspirant before he ran off.

[member="Marionn L'sa"]

 

[Marionn L'sa]

Deep in concentration, her pale skin held taunt over lean muscle, Marionn didn't notice the craft touch down at first. The tropical climate of Roon in the summer had rivulets of sweat rolling down her neck as she gracefully swept through her forms, blissfully unaware in a state of public solitude. Sure, the training yard wasn't empty, but it might as well have been for all the distraction it offered. In her hands, she held a beautifully carved staff that was, unfortunately, purely for show, despite the lovely supple wood that felt like an extension of her being. Her grip changed as her stance did, moving at a mere one tenth of the speed that would be applied in battle, if not less, to feel the strain in her core and the stress upon her balance.

With a smooth exhale, she sank into a low block before twisting into a side-stepping mid. A familiar voice raised in a shout broke her focus, and she snapped back to real speed with a start, twirling the staff once to re-assume a ready position. Her blue gaze settled on a Templar Knight she'd known for awhile, one that had promised to find her a mentor. With an apologetic smile, she shifted her stance to something more comfortable while he explained that he believed that a match could be found with a returning Knight by the name of [member="Djonas Vile"]. After he expressed the informality of the meeting (since Marionn fussed that her sweat-dampened attire wasn't really suitable), Marionn agreed with little hesitance. This was something she'd resolved to do, after all!

She followed the Knight to the landing pad with a politely meek demeanor, her staff held easily at her side and out of the way. He greeted his fellow Templar with the air of an acquaintance, which was nothing overly surprising; you couldn't know absolutely everyone in an organization so large.

"Ah, Djonas. Do you have a moment?" He asked, folding his arms into traditionally voluminous sleeves. He had the greying beard of an aging man, but the salt-and-pepper of his air hinted toward the only recent loss of youth. His name, thankfully, should have been easy for anyone to remember, as Kane Jones wasn't as obscure as most, and related loosely to the other Knight.

"I have someone I'd like for you to meet."

Marionn's smile came easily, with an air of genuine interest. She directed her eyes downward for a brief nod of respect before returning those enchanting orbs to the newly returned Knight.

"Marionn L'sa, sir," she began, casually rubbing her thumb over the engravings to still the hint of nerves that had arisen in the presence of another accomplished Knight. "It's nice to meet you."

 

[Djonas Vile]

Djonas turned towards his fellow Templar and greeted him with a warm smile and respectful bow. "Sure do. What is it, my friend?" Djonas replied to the Templar before him. Kane was a good acquaintance of Djonas', fighting alongside him on the battlefield many times. They've even saved each others lives once or twice before.

Djonas' curiosity was piqued at the mention of someone Kane wanted him to meet. The Dark side was slowly, but surely leaving Djonas. He became more friendly as time went on and the dark side left him. Djonas' light brown eyes shifted to give his attention to Marionn. She was stunningly beautiful. She had a unique beauty, one that Djonas' hadn't seen many times before. "Nice to meet you as well, Marionn. I take it you are a Templar, no?"

[member="Marionn L'sa"]

 

[Marionn L'sa]

"I haven't sworn any oaths... But I wish to be." As soon as she uttered the words, Marionn could tell that they just felt right. While she wasn't entirely sure what role she had to play within their ranks, she did have all the time in the world to find that out. Carefully, as not to alarm anyone, she placed the butt of the staff upon the ground and tucked it against her side, lowering her delicate grip to a more comfortable position.

Pleased with their initial meeting, Kane suggested they retreat deeper into the sanctum, and as a group the trio made their way to a cozy seating area not too far from the library (filled, of course, with a majority of digital copies of ancient texts, but it carried the same air as a traditional). While Marionn and Djonas got settled, Kane decided to fetch them some refreshments, and by extension allow the two to converse on their own for a short while.

As Marionn straightened from storing her staff by her feet and out of the way, her curious gaze instantly settled on Djonas again. In all honesty, she didn't know the slightest about this Knight, only that Kane found them suitable. Well, she wouldn't get too far by remaining silent, that was for sure.

"What do you do within the Templar?" She asked, casually tucking her legs beneath herself and adjusting the form-fitting number she'd worn to work out that day to a more appropriate position. "Obviously you're a Knight, but do you have a specialty?"

[member="Djonas Vile"]

 

[Djonas Vile]

"I am sure you will make an excellent addition to the order." Djonas noted. He was doing is best to be as friendly as possible. He truly wanted to change his ways, by any means necessary. He liked this girl. She was enthusiastic about joining the order, he could tell that easily.

Djonas kept up with the two as they walked to the library. The long corridors of the Sanctum were beautifully built. The order is lucky to call such a place their home. Djonas took his seat with Marionn as Kane walked off for refreshments. The atmosphere of the library made it a nice, relaxing location for a talk.

"I fight on the frontlines of battle." Djonas answered to her question. "I've honed my lightsaber skills to make myself a strong warrior on the battlefield. Many have faced me, none live to tell the tale." Djonas wasn't trying to be boastful. Not in the slightest no matter if it came off that way. "What about you?" he asked. "Where do you think your place will be in the order? On the frontlines, lighsaber in hand beating back our enemies? Weilding the power of the force to perform amazing feats and powers? Or something else, perhaps? If you've decided at all."

[member="Marionn L'sa"]

 

[Marionn L'sa]

She had to think about that one for a moment, but it wasn't that hard of a decision to come to. Any skill she had subconsciously shown with the force had been usually to strengthen her body, and it just seemed natural that in combination with the Echani martial arts she practiced, the front lines seemed like the proper place to be. While she wasn't thrilled about the prospect of putting her life in danger, her heritage provided her an edge... And without the knowledge of how her power over the force with manifest, it seemed unlikely that she would excel elsewhere.

"Though I don't think a traditional lightsaber would be my weapon of choice, I think I would be on the front lines as well. I'm already an able practitioner of Echani martial arts, so I do have that going for me already, I suppose." Though her gaze had wandered in her moment of reflection, she quickly returned her attention, determined to unravel just what was the thread that Kane saw to draw them together. "So rather than furthering my combat ability, I'd need to explore my control over the force, or, rather, lack currently thereof. I can enhance myself, or sometimes effect my environment, but never consciously. When I think about what I'm doing, I just... fail horribly. And when you aren't thinking, the outcome is very rarely positive."

Though her expression darkened marginally, Marionn had long since come to terms with her loss, and the guilt she felt. Rather than sounding overwhelmed, she seemed resolved to improve; rather suitable student material, to be sure.

 

[Djonas Vile]

"Ah, so you are an Echani?" Djonas asked with slight amazement. "We've been gifted with a large number of Echani in our order." This was as true as the sky was blue. Many Echani from across the galaxy had come to Roon to join the Templars. All of them as formidable and strong as their people are said to be. "Being on the front lines can be dangerous. Dangerous, yet exciting. So just make what you can of it and fight with all your might." Djonas noted. His attempt at giving advice.

"Hmm," Djonas pondered for a moment before stating his thoughts on her predicament regarding her force abilities. "If that be the case, it sounds like you are quite the powerful Force user, but you've yet to learn how to utilize your power when you want to." Djonas inferred. "You just need to practice using the small force powers first, so you can learn to control you abilities. Pushin and pulling are basic force powers I'd suggest starting with. Nothing to strenuous for a young, beautiful mind such as yours. Take as much time doing that as necessary. Until you believe you are ready to learn more, and can control when it happens."

[member="Marionn L'sa"]

 

[Marionn L'sa]

Were there a great number of Enchani with the Order? Marionn herself hadn't seen any, besides the fast friend she'd found in Uther Weiss, but he wasn't even an official member, and with his relations to his original contact being strained, she didn't think he would stay long. Thinking about it wasn't a very pleasurable experience, she found, considering he was just the sort of friend that was laughably easy to talk to, especially in the physical sense.

Djonas' advice may have made perfect sense to him, and in a sense, the part about being on the front lines only served to further set her motivation in stone, but it was mildly confusing for someone without a starting point. Marionn hadn't the slightest idea about how to consciously tap into the force, afterall, and had generally only experience with enhancing her own body; transferring energy to another object seemed nigh impossible.

"Though it's embarrassing to admit, I don't know how to reach into the Force at all, so I wouldn't know where to start... But thank you for the compliments, even if I can't be deserving of them." Marionn lowered her gaze to her hands after she finished, eager to hide away the embarrassment written upon her face. Perhaps her cheeks weren't the most colored, but the expression was relatively plain. He seemed so eager to compliment her for things that she hadn't actually achieved, but rather than lifting her spirits, Marionn felt her pride wither in the face of her inadequacies. Since she had always done well in school and anything else she had put her mind to, it was a rather crushing blow to remain so ignorant. She cursed her younger self for not jumping at the chance to master even the simple things in regards to the Force.

[member="Djonas Vile"]