Private The Weather Machine

[Starlin Rand]

“Press these buttons and pull,” Starlin explained how to split the saber, then how to lower the intensity. “It’s this little dial right here. Make sure to adjust both of them.”

He let Eli get a feel for the form, testing it out. “Feels a little weird, don’t it? But you’ll get used to it with practice.”

As Eli moved into a Twin Strike, Starlin caught his blades with his own. Plasma cylinders scraped together, growling, before they parted—only to meet again with a crash.

“You’re a little clumsy, but not bad so far,” Starlin commented. “Once you think you’ve got it down, try going a bit faster. If you can get to where I’m struggling to keep up, I’ll teach you a trick that works best with the double-bladed lightsaber...”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

"Yeah, feels weird," he replied with a nod, even as he was testing out the moves for himself. The twin strike was obviously the simpler of the two, but even that required a lot of coordination to get right. Every now and then Eli would miss the mark and his two sabers would clash into one another rather than running parallel.​

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Oops.​

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Rising Whirlwind wasn't something he even remotely got the hang of. Sometimes he'd start low and sweep his way up in a spiral, other times he'd just remain on a level plain, but either way he just sort of made himself dizzy and looked a fool in the process.​

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No surprise he stuck more toward Twin Strike.​

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All at once Starlin was clashing blades with him, and his two locked against his Masters'.​

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Pulled back, returned forward, and another clash - another momentary bind.​

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Then something more exciting... A promise to learn how to do something with the twin blades locked as one. Eliphas' eyes widened, and he seemed to perk up a little despite the fatigue he was beginning to feel. "Oh, heck yeah" he replied, he'd never even really seen one before today but the idea of using one was exciting.​

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Provided he didn't, you know, impale himself or whatever.​

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So he repeated the Twin Strike a few times over, with varying intensity, in hopes that he could earn Starlin's bonus lesson...​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin blocked him each time, though with gradually more effort to compete with Eli’s ramping up speed. “Very nice, very nice…”

The next time Eli tried to swing, Starlin deactivated his lightsaber. Eli’s blade passed through suddenly empty air, only for his master to reactivate his lightsaber in front of the boy’s throat.

“Ain’t that a hot one?” Starlin laughed. “It’s called Trakata. Takes advantage of the fact lightsabers can be turned on and off. It’s great with double-bladed or dual-wielding, because you can be fighting somebody with one blade, and all of a sudden you have two—maybe the second one turns on close enough to impale your opponent’s ally who was coming up behind you, or to suddenly lop off an arm. Plenty of possibilities. Here, you try it…”

He launched into a series of fairly simple, predictable strikes, any one of which Eli might be able to take advantage of.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Slow and steady, Eliphas increased his pace as he got a real feel for it and became a little more comfortable with both dual-wielding and the strike itself. No more clashing of his own blades, soon he was simply clashing with Starlin's.​

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And then, all at once, as they clashed, one of the blades was suddenly out of the bind. Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, Starlin's blade was at his throat and ignited once more. ​

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The boy blinked in surprise. Then he peered down at the hilts of the sabers he was using and began to piece together the puzzle. Huh... Of course. Lightsabers could ignite and disignite on the click of a button. Why wouldn't you try to make use of that during a bind, or simply to pass through?​

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"Huh..."​

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A slow blink and pause. Then a grin.​

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"That's so cool!"​

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As his Master further explained it, Eliphas tried with his left saber. Off... On. Off. On. Off-On. OffOn. Maybe thumbing the ignition so rapidly wasn't the best idea, but he was trying to get a feel for how quickly he could manage it.​

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And truth be told he was glad he did, because then Starlin was asking him to try it too. "Okay" he said, excitement and worry all wrapped up in one. So many new things to process, but this was fun at least.​

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At first he simply parried the attacks brought his way, briefly binding before disengaging here and there. But then when next Starlin's blades came toward him Eliphas angled his left saber in a way that he hoped to catch both blades and thumbed the ignition of his right in an attempt at passing through and reigniting on the other side.​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin laughed at the look of shock on Eli’s face, then at his excitement. By the time he started flicking his lightsaber off and on, his master was in hysterics and almost didn’t block the boy’s next blow in time.

He recovered quickly, though he was still grinning like an idiot. This was fun. He held his breath as Eli made an attempt at Trakata, and whooped with pride when it was a resounding success. It was weird to be cheering with a lightsaber at your throat, but that’s just the sort of life Starlin lived.

“If you can manage to beat me back, I’ll teach you a new spell which I think you will find particularly useful, and then we can move on,” he said. With that, he threw everything he had at Eli—er, well, within reason, and only using the forms he had taught the Padawan already. It might take a while for Eli to overcome him, but they had plenty of time to practice...

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Though normally pretty placid and humble in his successes, when he passed the blade and held one by Starlin's throat the boy's expression grew into a broad grin of pride. "Heck yeah!" he whooped back, disigniting the blade before he accidentally burned the man. Even with lowered intensity, being struck by a saber was no laughing matter. "Did you see that?!"​

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His Master's excitement was infectious, and for once it had really rubbed off on him. For all the awkwardness at the beginning of their Apprenticeship, it seemed as though they were finally coming into their stride. Adjusting to the changes.​

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And it felt amazing.​

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"Oh, you're on," he replied when Starlin gave his new instructions. There was still plenty he didn't know, he was still clumsy and unlearned, but in that moment he felt rather empowered. The pair slipped into something of a dance with their clashing sabers, and though Eliphas was more focused on defending any parries or blows sent his way he did finally begin to make a point of pushing the offensive too, looking for openings and the like.​

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Getting a good feel for how best to tackle his Master's challenge.​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Every fighter has at least one key weakness. Starlin had several, any one of which could be taken advantage of. As he had admitted to Eli, his form was lackluster, missing the finesse of better duelists. At the same time, he had a bad habit of getting cocky, his natural inclination toward humor meaning that he didn’t take any fight he engaged in seriously until it was too late. He was impatient, brash, and had no sense of subtlety.

Hoping to speed things up, his movements became more rapid—and more tiring. If Eli could outpace him, conserving his strength and waiting for the right opportunity to strike, he could probably score a finishing move.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Starlin came at him with wild and unpredictable attacks, and in response Eliphas was forced to remain on the defensive. There were no openings he could make use of, not initially at least, so instead he focused on holding his ground and resisting the urge to backtrack in order to avoid the hits. He blocked and parried and caught his Master's blade in a bind.​

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But the man was relentless. The only consolation he had was that Starlin was putting far more energy into his attacks than Eliphas was his defense.​

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So much so that soon a few openings presented themselves. The boy didn't take the first, nor the second, but when Starlin's third strike went wide he parried it further aside and then drew his blade back in a horizontal slash against his chest.​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Yeow!”

Starlin’s yelp of pain as Eli’s blade slashed his chest echoed through the caverns. He jumped back, flexing his shoulders a bit as if the gesture would help him recover his dignity.

“It stings,” he muttered.

Starlin Rand, whose body was littered with battle scars, missing a hand and missing an eye, was never going to get used to pain. Deactivating his lightsabers, he gave his apprentice a little half-bow of respect at having broken through his guard.

“All right, now for the spell.” He hooked his lightsabers on his belt to free up his hands, removing a lighter from his pocket. “You’ll need a flame for this one,” he said, flicking open the lighter and igniting it. “‘Healing waters, the body spurns; Ashla, let this flame mend instead of burn…’”

The flame turned a pinkish hue, altered by the spell. Starlin extended his claws and cut his own hand, just enough to draw blood. He then passed the wound over the flame—and it began to heal.

“I figured you could use a spell like this, since you’re allergic to bacta and kolto is harder to find. Get yourself a lighter… actually, go ahead and take mine.” Closing it, he tossed it to Eli. The lighter’s casing was engraved with the image of a dragon, silver on one side, golden on the other.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Eliphas seemed as stunned as Starlin seemed pained.​

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He'd done it. He'd actually done it! That was mighty unexpected. Biding his time had apparently worked wonders, and would prove a lesson he'd seek to build upon going forward. There was a method to being cautious after all.​

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"Sorry" the boy said sheepishly, as he deactivated both the sabers and interlocked them once more. Once done, he handed it over to Starlin.​

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When his Master bowed toward him, Eliphas hastily returned the gesture. Then he smiled at the promise of another spell learned. Excitement bubbled up within him... And it was seemingly well placed.​

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He watched as a lighter was produced from within Starlin's pocket, and lit up. The words were hastily committed to memory, without his holopad he'd have to rely on his own noggin' and not a device to make note of it for him.​

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Healing!​

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He was learning how to heal through the Force. That was so cool.​

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The flame turned somewhat pinkish and Starlin purposely injured himself. The boy opened his mouth in protest, but before he could get a coherent word out the wound was already healing. "Woah..." His Master's explanation as to why he was teaching it made sense too. Eliphas beamed a grin as he caught the lighter and flicked it open and closed a couple of times.​

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He'd never held one before. It would take a little getting used to.​

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"Neat, thank you."​

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Though he only had a couple of burns from their brief saber lessons, an earlier graze sustained while they were fighting off the spiders caught his attention. Crouching down he rolled up his pants leg and revealed the scrape. No time like the present to give it a try, right?​

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He flicked open the lighter once more, watching as a flame ignited, and then inhaled a small breath as he drew upon the Force.​

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"Healing waters, the body spurns..." Force, what was the rest of it? "Ashla, let this flame mend instead of burn!" Nothing. He said it again with more conviction and a better visual of what he hoped would happen knocking about his brain.​

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There, the flame shimmered with a pinkish hue. Bringing it down, he hovered it over the scrape and watched as it slowly began to knit back together. His eyes were wide and filled with unmistakable awe.​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

"I'm not an exceptional healer," Starlin remarked, realizing he was humbling himself quite a lot. Half the things he taught Eli were preluded with him saying he wasn't "exceptional". But did it really matter as much as he made it sound? "... But I know the basics. The best healers have to have a pretty deep knowledge of anatomy and such in order to visualize what needs to be done. They're basically doctors and surgeons with the Force. But if you're dealing with more minor injuries, eh. Whatever."

What else was he going to teach now? Starlin scratched his head, looking around the cave.

“There anything else you’ve heard about that you really want to learn?”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

"Seem to be doing a fine job, if you ask me," he said, of the healing. Flicking the lighter shut, he pocketed it and then rose back up to his full height after he'd tugged his trouser leg back down. Rolling out his shoulder, he found himself both invigorated and fatigued all at once. It was a strange mix.​

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The warning that repairing more than just a basic wound was well heeded, and he nodded his head some in response. He'd make sure to keep kolto shots on hand still, though at least now he didn't have to use them for the smaller things so that was nice.​

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"Not really, Master, I still don't really know what there is to learn; I was enjoying atmokinesis though. Didn't you say there were more weather machines further in?"​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“Huh?... Oh!” Starlin looked a little embarrassed. “The weather machines, right. Yeah. That’s this way…”

He led the boy through the cave to another portal, which they entered in much the same manner as before. The chamber beyond was similarly structured, although mercifully free of spiders this time.

“Okay, for this one you wanna make… hail,” Starlin said, tapping some symbols carved in the stone. Turning to Eli, he gestured vaguely. “Go ahead and make some hail, I guess.”

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Eliphas chuckled in a friendly fashion when his Master showed confusion as to why they were there in the first place. No doubt he'd been caught up in the moment, which was completely understandable. They were running through basics 101 lessons as they went, easy to be sidetracked.​

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All the same, they soon continued on through the cavernous structure until they happened upon another portal. Just as wary as the first time, he led the way through it and came out into seemingly the same space as they previously had.​

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"A circle?" he inquired, at least until Starlin grazed a hand against a rune which showed something different than before. Okay, not a circle. Just... Very similar.​

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"Hail?"​

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Eliphas looked a little dubious about that one.​

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"How even is hail formed? I think I've only ever seen it once..."​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

Starlin was already looking it up on the Holonet right as Eli posed the question.

“... Hailstones are formed when raindrops are carried upward by thunderstorm updrafts into extremely cold areas of the atmosphere and freeze. Hailstones then grow by colliding with liquid water drops that freeze onto the hailstone’s surface. If the water freezes instantaneously when colliding with the hailstone, cloudy ice will form as air bubbles will be trapped in the newly formed ice. However, if the water freezes slowly, the air bubbles can escape and the new ice will be clear. The hail falls when the thunderstorm's updraft can no longer support the weight of the hailstone, which can occur if the stone becomes large enough or the updraft weakens.”

He scratched his head. “I don’t remember doing this. Weird…”

Squinting at the symbols, he began to wonder if he had misread them. Syd would know for certain, but Syd wasn’t here.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Precipitation hitting cold air. Sort of the opposite to the thunderstorm then.​

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With a soft intake of breath, Eliphas began to draw upon the Force once again and gently raised one hand from his side. He pulled at the moisture in the air, first heating it so that it would rise upward as it had done earlier, to form clouds in the sky above, and then chilling those which came after and met with the clouds.​

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There really was something about this ability that spoke to him. Though it took him more time to figure out than perhaps it should have, somehow someway his first attempt was actually successful. After a short while the gentle thuds of hail hitting the ground could be heard throughout the cavern as they struck the weather machine, the clouds becoming too heavy to hold it all.​

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Though he knew he'd have to get better at drawing upon and utilizing the Force at a quicker rate, the pace at which he was able to learn this particular skill was exciting for him. Had he finally found something he naturally connected with?​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“You really do have a knack for Atmokinesis, don’t you?” Starlin mused aloud. It was unlike his usual goofy exuberant praise. His tone was serious, with an undercurrent of awe that made him speak softly, his voice almost drowned out by the pounding hail against the platform.

The weather machine activated, the runes glowing, and a new door opened. This time it led to a spacious chamber filled with dense undergrowth, hanging vines, and black trees. Like the caverns, he recognized the dark and foreboding spot from his youth—he had fought a terentatek here.

(Or at least, he was supposed to have fought a terentatek—his writer confused them with the hssiss and proceeded to write the rest of the encounter as if he were battling a giant invisible lizard.)

The question was, did the terentatek from before live long enough to have baby terentateks, and did those baby terentateks survive to adulthood? Moreover, was Eliphas Dune ready to fight a terentatek? Or possibly multiple terentateks?...

“Damn, I’m hungry,” Starlin said. “Wanna take a break and eat now or later?” He’d brought some food along for the trip.

Lief​

 

[Lief]

Eliphas seemed just as in awe and surprised as his Master when the hail fell and the machine activated.​

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"Is that normal?" he whispered, unable to move as he simply watched the machine light up and the cavern open itself to them, "To have something that just... speaks to you?" If so, he couldn't help but wonder what that was for Starlin. Fire? He'd seemed quite fond of using it, after all.​

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Either way soon it was time to move on, and he led the way once more into the strange space beyond. Blackened trees greeted them, and he frowned slightly at the sight of them. Were they burned or just naturally this way?​

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"This place feels weird" the boy stated, pausing on the threshold and seemingly unwilling to go much further. Then Starlin suggested they take a break to eat, and he nodded his head slowly. "Uh, yeah. Food, food sounds good..." He didn't take his eyes off the cavern though.​

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He didn't much like the way it made him feel.​

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Starlin Rand ​

 

[Starlin Rand]

“I mean, it’s not unheard of,” Starlin said, nodding his head as he found a spot to sit overlooking the chamber. “The average Jedi is, well, average. Across the board. But plenty of Jedi specialize in one particular area of the Force. They may be gifted in it, or they may just really like it and choose to devote their lives to its study and practice.”

He opened his backpack to reveal… not MREs, but an actual packed lunch of sandwiches, chips, a few assorted fruits and vegetables with dip. Assuming Eli hadn’t brought anything along for himself, Starlin had plenty to share.

“My first day of training, I manifested Force Light without being taught how to do it. I don’t really know how or why it happened, but I’ve noticed it’s a lot more natural and easy for me to channel if I’m laughing, so maybe my sense of humor is what gives me that power.”

In fact, it was because he was at heart an optimist. The optimist is always surprised by evil. He finds injustice not merely distressing, but absurd, an anomaly in existence, a matter less for tears than for a shattering laughter.

But there was Light in humor, too. As Starlin munched on some chips, he pointed to Eli. “Go ahead and tell me a joke. Make sure it’s a funny one.”

The boy mentioned that the chamber felt weird. Starlin debated whether he should casually wave it off to put Eli at ease, but instead he said, “Yeah, I fought a terentatek here years ago. It might’ve had babies, we’ll see. If it did, I’mma make you fight ‘em.” He gave Eli a cheeky grin. “But first, I’ll teach you how to fly.”

Lief​