Praxeum Days

[Coren Starchaser]

The Jedi Master was a different type. His past was a blend. At one point a student of his father, a respected Jedi from a defunct order of Corellians, on the run as a smuggling pair. All before joining a Chiss-lead Empire to see what he could do to affect change in the galaxy. That got him zeroed in on, and the Sith twisted his goals and he became an enforcer within that Empire, piloting and pulling off missions. As time wore on he found himself doing more and more before he was thrown to the will of the Force.

Waking up nearly two decades later in the Fringe Confederation, Coren linked up with one Jorus Merrill and began to explore the Force again, the disconnect helped free him from whatever mental entrapment the Sith had over him, but it was a long road going. It brought him back to the Jedi, but also meeting with smaller traditions, including the Grey Paladins, Aing-Tii, Jensaarai. It took a while before he accepted his roles as a Jedi primarily.

“They don’t see the Force as black and white, like most Jedi tend to. It’s a lesson I never fully grasped, or I just see the Sith and Ren as shades of the same blackness. Jensaarai, Gray Paladins, even varieties within the Jedi Order have different colors, that doesn’t make them evil. But then you get into comparing other colors and it… ends up being comparing apples to oranges, I suppose.”

But he knew where the darkness was. He watched her for a second, seeing if what he said would sink in or if he'd need to tack and approach from a different direcion.

[member="Amilthi Camlenn"]

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi pondered Coren's sparse explanation briefly. "Are you talking about this - or do they take this - as a matter of metaphysical truth, in which case they disagree with many a Jedi and at least one has to be wrong, or is this meant to be an alternative way of metaphorically structuring the same underlying phenomenon in a manner that is not metaphysically essentialist?"

He had not given her much to go on, but she naturally latched on to the structure of it and attempted to make sense of it as best she could. "In the latter case, I can imagine how it would play out, and the specifics might be quite interesting. Assume that the Light and Dark Side are not really metaphysically real, but are about the way in which a sentient mind interacts with the Force. Then there is no Dark Side that anybody is making use of, in a real sense - it's just a metaphor for saying that this mind which is accessing the Force has malicious intent and is filled with particular kinds of emotions. We group minds into whether they are destructive and antisocial, or creative and prosocial. This is our way of delineating the Dark and Light Side, and it is tied to what we think is right and natural. But it is perfectly possible to carve up the space of possible dispositions and emotions in a different manner, along different axes, and into more categories."

Not everyone had the same intellectual, systematising approach to such matters as herself - but when presented with an interesting puzzle, she was apt to become oblivious of this fact and take no account of others' dispositions.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Taking a second, and a sip of his drink, he looked at Ami, considering her words. The Aing-Tii were a bit of an oddity. “They don’t really agree with anyone but themselves. But I mean, I’ve looked at myself long enough.” He was trying to make sure he sounded at least relatively intelligent to the woman. “Everyone has their own take on everything. The Aing-Tii value freedom. That’s why they go after slavers. So… I don’t have the best answer, just what my answer is of their philosophy.”

“I think its one of those ‘the Force is a river’ type of things.” He said, quoting a piece from Skywalker’s holocron. “I know that the light and darkness are both real. I’ve used them. From light to destruction.” He nodded. “Its where the Force comes from, and how its twisted, manipulated. What point do you reach from? That can create a number of different forms. Or maybe we’re just not really able to comprehend the shades?” He shrugged.

Human to human, who knew. But dealing with other species? Wouldn’t they be different?

“You do a lot of discussion on the Force, huh? Would you be willing to offer that expertise to some of the younger Jedi?” Or students, however old.

[member="Amilthi Camlenn"]

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

“Who knows. I’d rather like to hear more... Examples of the colour and what distinguishes them. I wonder if the structure they have in mind is really homomorphic to colour space.”

“Well...” Amilthi smiled a bit coyly. “I think a lot. I suppose I could share some of it.” She considered for a moment. “I think might like that.”

Amilthi had never had the opportunity to teach what she knew. She didn’t know whether she would be good at it, though her ability to structure things might serve her well; or if she would really enjoy it. But an intriguing prospect it certainly was.

She took a sip from her juice and looked at Coren pensively.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Master had nodded and looked at Ami again. A grin on his face. “It is interesting, the colors. I kind of look at it as a shade. But that tends to do a monochrome life.” He laughed and shook his head. “Though if you bring in green or blue, or orange…” A shrug as he grabbed his drink. “That complicates things. It makes the world a lot different, but could we say that blue is not evil, but not light? I’m not going to go after someone who isn’t enforcing their willon others who can’t match them? That’s where I draw a line.” The Jedi kept things orderly, but it allowed for the chaos of free choice. The Sith, while they approached life chaotically to enforce order.

Yin and yang, some western religion on some planet a galaxy far far away, in a distant future would call it.

As for instructing, Coren did it from time to time, helping out with teaching students to resist the darkness, and fear, as well as how to best dispatch a Sith. Tracking them was another thing he was fairly decent at, but not as well as a Shadow. Coren was a Sentinel, and as a result he knew that his goal was to take the fight to the dark side in whatever means. And be able to fight back.

“Its not bad teaching the groups. Young Jedi want to learn, and they hear the stories of the older Jedi, the ones who have gone out into the world. It helps them, and you sound like the type who has a bit to share.” A warm smile, odd for the situation, but warm all the same.

“Just as an aside, its always a good feeling to help out.”

[member="Amilthi Camlenn"]

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi smiled quietly, half to herself. Again being the practical man that he was, Coren did have a point in what he was saying - that when it came to the question of improving the condition of the universe, the Jedi's distinction in Dark and Light did seem to be the one that counted, and everything else was only of academic interest. At the same time, she thought it would be a sad state of affairs if nobody indulged in intellectual exploration for the sake of curiosity and unconcerned with immediate practical purpose.

"Too few stories that don't involve anyone dying..." said Amilthi suddenly darkly. "Not that it's even regrettable in most cases. But it's still regrettable that it isn't regrettable. I feel like many a student might benefit from escaping from the world for a bit."

She thought for a moment and then brightened up again. "Do you have any students? Or have you had them?" She took note of the fact that keeping this conversation alive didn't feel entirely effortless to her and briefly wondered why. Perhaps it was because Coren had a way of throwing back the ball with his questioning as soon as he was handed it. Now she was, in a sense, getting even.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

Some questions were needing to be answered but it wasn’t always Coren’s place. He was a Light Side Enforcer, being a Sentinel. He sought the dark side, and would confirm where it was. In an Order where he wasn’t a Master, and had more support, he’d be able to stall the dark side, until the Guardians came to assist in its elimination. But as it was, he was a Watchman and that extended him well beyond investigator and into the first line of attack. What the Jedi sometimes needed though, was the person who understood how it all worked, the academic in the Force and philosophy. His father didn’t bother too much with that when he was learning, but Starchaser understood the importance of that discussion.

“I think the Jedi need more stories about people not dying. We’re enforcers of the peace. It doesn’t mean we need to savor taking a life. And knowing that we can walk away without eliminating something? That helps.” With Moral, and all of it, he figured. For him, he made the call for war, because it would keep the dark side busy. Slow them down. “If you can help one find themselves? Then you’re doing good.”

Another sip and he looked at Ami again. “I have one, she’s been out in the Confederacy space on an extended leave from Jedi business… And prior to that, it tends to be helping instruct whoever is on missions with me.” He shrugged. Didn’t need to tell her sometimes it was his actual partner as well. “She’s a good kid, makes a good Sentinel.” Then there was Romi, and Chevu. Both had taken to learning from him. But he was going to have to take the time to reach out to [member="Mishel Noren"] soon.


[member="Amilthi Camlenn"]

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Walking away - that was something Amilthi had become quite good at and had seen as the right thing to do for many years. But now she had begun to question precisely this. And the less she walked away and closed her eyes, the more people foreited their own right to walk away by trying to kill her, which was where her readiness to indulge anyone ended quite definitively and conclusively.

But she wasn't going to bring up the point, seeming as if she disagreed when she knew that it would be an illusion. Master Starchaser was not one known for walking away from things; not, anyway, in the sense that was at issue here. She chose to lead the conversation in what might be a lighter direction.

"In Confederacy space on leave from Jedi business? That sounds ominous. But what is Jedi business anyway, and can one even take leave from it?" She smiled pensively as if she took pleasure in toying with the idea.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

There were so many different ways to attack the same problem. Coren was starting to realize that from his studies of a few Master holocrons. The Jedi had paths, the “Big Three”, but within that, so many different ways that a problem could be solved. Lightsabers as intimidation, or even just as symbols of what could come, were even more useful than the actual application of lightsaber combat to a multitude of situations. Coren, typically, kept his lightsaber hidden, or in a modified holster so it could be mistaken for a blaster, or blaster parts. Sentinels like to blend into the crowd.

Granted anyone searching for Coren in the Force? They’d find him glowing.

The Jedi didn’t back down, and would stand to allow the ones who needed to, the necessary time to escape the fight. The ones who were going after someone else? They were forfeit when they made that call. There were ways to survive without enforcing your will on the innocent. It wasn’t like he was some masked avenger, though. He was a Jedi, and they had the ability to defend, so they had the responsibility to it.

“She’s doing some family things. Needing to do some soul searching. The collapse of the Alliance was… difficult for many of us.” He looked her over. “Why, are you held by some tenants of the Jedi you are looking to break from?” The Corellian was definitely smirking at this.

[member="Amilthi Camlenn"]

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi looked perplexed. She was unsure whether Coren had genuinely misunderstood her meaning or was making a joke, and didn't quite know how to handle this. "I don't think there is such a thing as 'Jedi business'. I'd argue being a Jedi is a state of being more than an activity that could be interrupted."

While a Jedi order might organise a group of Jedi and their activities, and might even do such things as sending them on missions, it seemed misguided to see in this the main element of what made a person a Jedi. Indeed, if that was it, then Amilthi could no have truthfully say that she was much of a Jedi, and certainly had not been one for many years in the past.

"A state of being isn't the sort of thing one can change in and out of at short notice. One can do all sorts of things while in it, and in many cases, they are things that other people do as well. I'm certainly not looking to leave that state."

"The newer formulations of a code in terms of actions may have a propensity to contribute to misunderstandings, they make people think that the ways we constrain our behaviour are a mission that we sacrifice for. I can't say I like those formulations much, but no matter how you interpret them, that is certainly not what they mean."

Realising what she had said, and more importantly how, she lowered her eyes and smiled sheepishly - a sign of embarrassment that was unusual in her demeanour.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

The Jedi Master knew what he was doing. Sometimes there was the concern on being right. Other Jedi felt that they were capable of being able to take a break from their posting. It all depended on where the Jedi was educated from, were they from an Order that allowed them to take a posting, and being a Jedi was a job, or was it an Order that made the Jedi feel they were part of a way of life. The New Jedi Order of the past was one of the former, where Jedi and other Force sensitives came from wherever they were to assist the Alliance in the best ways they could.

The Praxeum was one of the latter.

“It all depends where one comes from. The Praxeum makes being a Jedi part of who you are. Some Orders, however, focused on the Jedi being what you do, if that makes sense? It is all a matter of nature versus nurture.” He smirked as he listened to Ami discuss her thoughts as well. “Jedi come and go, and we’re changing. The Order from the Galactic Republic to the Alliance, to the New Republic, are different.”

Looking at her. “As we move forward though, it will all be changing. It’s a matter of learning to work and live with others who claim themselves to be part of the Jedi religion. And there are some constraints, but there are a few Jedi situations where it adds more freedom.”

[member="Amilthi Camlenn"]

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

"I understand what you mean, and I won't play semantic games by telling you not to call that a Jedi way. But I think to adopt a perspective where actions have primacy is to do oneself a disservice. You will have to force the actions at first and then hope they become natural - but it seems that for many they don't, not fully, and that leaves resistance and temptation. To take a break, for example," - she smiled briefly, but momentarily her expression darkened - "or worse."

"Whereas if you start from the being, rather than the doing, then actions have the potential to effortlessly flow from it, and no others even make sense. There are feedback mechanisms, of course, and in practice both are developed simultaneously. But ultimately I think it still makes a difference which aspect you view as fundamental, and one is a more promising path to perfecting oneself."

She paused for a moment. "You might complain that one gets... less stuff done this way. That point I will concede", she ended with a soft smile.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

A bit of a grin and a laugh, the Jedi Master nodded. “Well, there are ways around just about anything. And with time going on, and more and more people adding their flavor and angle to the way things occur, its safe to say there is no right or wrong way.” Well, aside from going dark. That would make you not a Jedi at all, in fact, the complete opposite of what a Jedi should be. Jedi should be helping the galaxy, defending those who need it, educating, and caring for those who require it. Even coming from Coren, who was a defender and hunter of the dark side, he knew the roles of tradition.

“People will get there, becoming a Jedi is personal for each. It’s a matter of making sure they are receptive to the tradition and if not, keeping them from the darkness.” The dark that plagued everyone to some level or another.

Having a discussion of semantics and tradition was not where he suspected today was going to go. He had no idea quite the direction it was going but this was not exclusively a bad thing. “Focusing on what you want, and where you feel you belong, then? Not trying to swim up stream?” He was hoping he was getting what she was intending to portray.

“I don’t think it makes someone get anything done to a lesser extendt, maybe slows the process, is all.” He looked for the droid. “Another round?” He offered to the other Jedi.

[member="Amilthi Camlenn"]

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi only gave the barest hint of a nod in agreement, but pushed her glass over to the droid.

"Focusing on what you want and what you feel is right - depends on what you mean by that. Yes, in quite a radical way: gaining control over and changing what you want - or think you want - and feel, so you want and feel the right things. Then you, and your actions, and the Force are all in tune and things become effortless, like swimming downstream. That's my ideal, anyway. Not that we all live up to it", she ended with a wry smile.

"To change what you want and feel, in the way I have in mind, is quite different from just acting against it and hoping that you will adapt. You have to be clever about it and outsmart yourself. It's tricky because you have to trust yourself, but also... not."

She lowered her gaze for a few seconds as if to think of something to say, then raised it again and looked at Coren, her head slightly tilted, with a provocative smile. "Are you still alright with my corrupting the local youth?" she said flippantly.

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​

 

[Coren Starchaser]

He could take the smallest bit of agreement and run with that. This was Starchaser, after all. It was a drink, not like he was asking her to take down the entirety of the Sith religion with him. And wasn’t she drinking juice? Not that he was going to judge her too harshly. Nope.

Besides, this was one of the better discussions outside of a training cycle. And that meant a lot. Getting the Force to work for him was not that big of a deal, but putting his thoughts on being a Jedi on display? Not exactly something that he did. “It’s a matter of acknowledging it all. Knowing who you are, where your skills and … lets say desires, fall. Some people can balance being a Jedi as who they are but also ‘being a Jedi’ as the mission and tasks they are given. Sometimes you need to take the step away. Go on leave, or holiday.”

A grin on his face, he shook his head. “Doesn’t absolve you from sins, but… it helps clear your mind.”

Her smile made him shake his head. He wasn’t the type to fall prey that easily, but there was something different about this Jedi. World wise, perhaps? “They could use your kind of corruption, Amilthi.”

[member="Amilthi"]

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi noticed that she was experiencing a pang of disappointment when Coren didn't laugh at her queer joke, even though his reaction was on the whole a positive one, which, in turn, pleased her. It was a reminder that even she was a social being still - not entirely a welcome one, and that, too, she noticed. Then she noticed her noticing of it all, and eventually directed her mind back to her vis-à-vis.

She looked at Coren for a moment with the hint of quizzicalness in her eyes that was there often, waiting if he would say any more. She took a sip from her new glass of juice to give herself time to think of something to say, which she found effortful.

"We'll see", she said eventually, pensively. "They won't enjoy it, but maybe they'll thank me in some years' time."

[member="Coren Starchaser"]​