Tapas self training

[The Red of Sinner]

Romanov wrapped his robes tighter to his body as he walked against the wind. His right shoulder was in pain as he felt the metal arm react to the cold. “Blasted cold why I ever thought this was a good idea.” The idea here was to train in Tapas. A force ability to retain body heat. He was at the base of the mountain for now. He was going to move higher as he made a connection to the ability in a hope to get the hang of it.

For now though he stopped and sat cross legged. His arm made of phrik was causing an issue today. Extreme temperature differences seemed to be the main problem with cybernetics. Mainly where the flesh met metal. He was going to have to careful as he moved higher up the mountain. He was learning but he still liked his solitude in some things. “Damn it is freezing out here.” Closing his eyes he touched the living force and quieted his mind. There was something there in the force. HE had read the holocron three times before leaving the temple grounds. Forcing his mind to look past the pain his body was feeling from the cold, instead he focused on his core temperature. He felt a gateway saw it in his mind and it opened slowly filling his body and allowing him to stay warm. The pain he felt was dissipating. Now all he had to do was maintain the connection.

 

[The Red of Sinner]

An hour past and he had not yet lost the connection. He had not been sitting in vain though he was meditating and trying to strengthen the connection. So far it seemed to be working. Though this was trivial it was on thing to sit and maintain the temperature. He rose from the spot and looked up with icy blue eyes at the mountain summit. He moved and flexed his mechanical arm. It was stiff and the sensors were not happy at the moment. Making his way up the path he felt the force waver inside him and the cold wind began to sting his face. He felt the cold run down his back and the pain returned to his shoulder. “Yep this was a brilliant idea!” He screamed and then quieted his mind. “Doubt leads to fear, fear to darkness.” He needed the training so he set his mind to restoring the connection. He felt the force return to him and the gate was opened once more this time wider with his frustrations it seemed.

He walked on quieting his mind more allowing the gate to open more with each step. He felt the force wrap around him as if it were a thin blanket. He was at the second stopping point now but he didn’t stop he couldn’t now as he felt the snow fall on him.

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Corvus Romanov"]

"There's a lot to be said for asceticism."

The mild voice percolated through the snow, followed by a puff of frosty breath, a little cloud rising to join its brethren. Shule was ascending the mountain by another path, a religious metaphor if ever there was one, and his path had converged with Corvus'. He, too, wore clothing inappropriate to the cold. Tapas was a traditional Jedi skill, and he didn't mind the chance to practice. He'd never met Romanov, but only Jedi walked these paths, this close to the Temple.

"Self-denial, self-discipline, learning your limits, learning to trust the Force when you run into your limits. Then again," he added, tucking his hands into his armpits, "there's something to be said for common sense, too. What use are we to the galaxy if we get frostbite?" After a moment, he rummaged in his pocket and procured a couple of chemical hot packs, the kind hikers used to keep their hands warm. He tossed one to Corvus. "Just in case. Besides, having the option is a better test of willpower."

 

[The Red of Sinner]

He caught the hot pack and tucked it into his pocket. His shoulder was still killing him. “I come from a very hot moon I am not used to snow and I suppose I could have done this training elsewhere. “ In fact he was advised to but he tended to like trying the harder paths. The force was keeping him warm but just barely. “I wanted to train my self in Tapas Perhaps should have read the holocron a few more times.” He pulled his cloak tighter he didn’t recognize Shule but he he did recognize a master. He bowed and said, “Master.” He was ill prepared and added, “Do you mind if I join you on your walk?”

[member="Shule Windspeaker"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Corvus Romanov"]

"If it'll keep us both from blundering off the side of a glacier, sure. I'm Shule Windspeaker - call me whatever makes you comfortable." He returned Corvus' bow cursorily -- bowing didn't appeal to him much, regardless of its recipient and especially not in the snow. He peered down at the mountainside. "Good for you, making it to the summit. Far be it from me to miss the chance for a lesson -- what's more satisfying: striving for something or having it? Once you've achieved everything you want, like, say, a summit, what comes next?"

 

[The Red of Sinner]

“The journey up the mountain is pretty satisfying. You never know what you find. I am Corvus Romanov. Though a friend gave me the nickname the steel armed raven.” He thought a moment on his other lessons and the things he was planning to learn on his own. “I suppose I choose another lesson and learn that. Keep going till I can earn my knight title. In my free time I have been hunting an ancient artifact. Though that seems a fool’s errand anymore.” He walked with the Jedi mast the company made it easier to ignore the cold. “I have little doubt that the artifact was lost to time.”

[member="Shule Windspeaker"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Corvus Romanov"]

"Well, a good long quest without an end in sight can shape you, shape your life if you let it -- like the quest to be a good person and a good Jedi. It's just a matter of priorities. What are you willing to give up for this artifact, and why do you want it? I'm not asking for your answers, just want to be sure you've asked yourself those questions and are satisfied with the response." He chuckled in a puff of breath-cloud. "And I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't ask you what the artifact is, just to make sure it's not something dangerous."

 

[The Red of Sinner]

Since he learned he was a force sensitive he had wanted the item in question. He remembered the long days in the scrap yard him and some of the local kids reenacting the battles of the clone wars. Though he was more interested in a figure that died before it. The Man a Jedi master Qui Gon Jinn had found the Chosen one Trained the great General Jedi Master Kenobi and was by the accounts he read the Jedi Corvus wanted to be. Fearless and willing to go against orders when he felt something was the right path. “If the Lightsaber of Qui Gon jinn exists still I want I want to have it as a symbol of my path. He was always my hero back home. As for what I would give for it?” He held up his right arm and jokingly said, “I already have lost an arm so how about a leg?” It was a joke of course. “I am truly not sure what I would give for it. Just to find it and hold it would be enough for me.”

[member="Shule Windspeaker"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Corvus Romanov"]

"If it inspires you, and maybe others, who am I to say whether it's useful or not? I'm just glad it's not something more dangerous. More than one Jedi has been led astray by something interesting. Just remember that possessiveness can be a path to the Dark Side. Throughout history, most Jedi have literally owned nothing. Even their lightsabres were property of the Order, to be given back or even reclaimed if they left. That's not me saying 'if you find it, the Order keeps it' -- just talking about how seriously the Order used to take possessiveness and possessions."

 

[The Red of Sinner]

“I like to fix things and while I look forward to having it. I look toward the journey itself. If all I find is an old crystal in rotted mess of steel I hope the journey teaches me more than I know.” Wrapping his robes closer as they walked up the mountain he asked the dreaded question. “What am I doing wrong? I feel the force and my connection to it but I still feel like I am losing body heat.”

[member="Shule Windspeaker"]

 

[Ashin Varanin]

[member="Corvus Romanov"]

"Remember," said Shule after a long (too long) moment, "the Force is infinite. Your capacity to use it isn't; neither is mine. Building skills like this is the work of a lifetime. Be patient with yourself; you'll get there. As a wise man once said, it's possible to do everything right and still fail. That isn't weakness; that's life."

In due course they descended below the snowline, though it was still plenty cold.

"I'm sorry if I've seemed distracted. I'm halfway tempted to say I've just been trying to teach you patience, but my mind's in eighteen places at once. I've been asked to hold a training session, a group session, in the Kyrikal system, and I'm trying to figure out what to teach. It's a tropical, oceanic planet, or I'd teach tapas -- any suggestions? You'd be more than welcome there."