What Exactly Is A Quorl?

[Tobias Wraith]

Yavin IV​

Jedi Academy​

Outdoor Training Course​

My eyes are going to cross if I look at the three pillars of the Force again, he thought after escaping his study time. Clad simply, he felt naked without his blasters, but he understood why he couldn’t wear them in the academy. Students all the way from babies to adults much older than himself walked the halls, this was strictly a place of learning. A cooperative effort from the three splintered orders of the Jedi were how such a praxeum was able to come into existence. Their differences were few, but they held fast to them. Tobias had remembered when he had been allowed clearance to land and was checked in as a student. Their first question had shocked him.

“Which Order are you going to study?” Her voice had been kind, the attendant was used to guiding new arrivals. “I want to study how to be a traditional Jedi, just like….like my parents.” Those words had been foreign to him even then, and she had to have been knowledgable in the Force. She picked up on his doubt, his fear, and the anxiety. When he expected pity, he saw a smile. “I can feel your determination to learn, you’re going to do just fine.” Her words had been a kindness he had received a week ago, and he had never thanked her.


Thoughts of the last week flew from his mind, he was finally to meet his Master. Or at least, meet someone who would help him improve. Corvus Raaf had taken a great interest in him as well. So his path was unclear. My destination is not, he thought to himself as he headed to the area he had been told to meet the Jedi who would teach him. Walking into the Garden, he looked down at the name listed on the message.

Jedi Master Quorl


“What the hell is a Quorl?” That one spoken thought was all he managed as he saw a screeching, flying creature doing random things above him.

[member="Quorl"]

 

[Quorl]

Quorl soared in the air. He liked to be high, even when not flying he would find a place a place up in a tree or else high on rocks overlooking the area. High ground was important. He’d teach this new student that. “Hoot,” he let out the classic sound of his species.

From the air he could examine the man. No wings, that could be problematic. And he was ugly as sin. What did human women see in males that didn’t even put their hair into decorative patterns or posses a beak! No beak at all!

That is when he decided it was time to introduce himself. He swooped down and landed hard as he dare with his old bones in front of the Jedi Padawan. “A little old to be Padawan…” he squaked in typical fashion. He hopped forward and puffed out his chest, his feathers expanding to make him seem much larger than he was. “Yes,” his head turned sidewise so that he could get a better look. “Judging by you are older than most of the padawans.”

He didn’t nod his head at his own comments so much as bob it. “They say fledglings make the best students, but I sense something in you.” Hopping to the taller man he extended a wing in the typical human greeting, “I am Master Quorl. It is a pleasure to meet you today.”


[member="Tobias Wraith"]

 

[Tobias Wraith]

A massive, for a lack of a better word...bird landed before him. On reflex, he stepped back as he dropped his books, his hand reaching for a pistol that wasn’t there. You’ve got to be kidding me, he thought as he started to figure out what to do. Nowhere in the briefs for the world had there been any warnings about massive birds that could fly at almost super speed and scare the sense out of you. Scanning the surrounding area, he tried to figure out what to do. Whatever the Jedi had told him about calming his mind went out the window as he remembered one thing.

All avian type creatures have hollow bones.

Then something unexpected happen.

The bird spoke, and spoke about him in a voice that amounted to a squaking sound. “I know I’m a little older, but that’s not my fault.” That’s all he managed to get out before the thing lunged and covered some distance between the two of them while puffing out it’s feathers. Tobias took another step, anything to give some distance. Did this thing just call me a fledgling? What in the Force makes him think he can call me that. He hadn’t expected to ever join the Order, but to be called something that seemed offensive. Well it didn’t sit well with him.

Especially coming from a bird.

“Whatever you sense in me, it’s probably the blood of two Jedi Masters. My parents were both in the Order, my father was GrandMaster at one point.” That whole sentence sounded awkward for the man who had thought himself an orphan his entire life up until a month ago. Silence reigned between the two, and Tobias stuck out his hand. “I guess that you are my Master,pleasure to meet you Quorl.”

[member="Quorl"]

 

[Quorl]

“Of course not,” Quorl repeated. Then in a voice tone and pitch perfect to [member="Tobias Wraith"] he said “not my fault,” it was a game he’d played on Rishii mimicking people. Some liked it, others didn’t. “Of course it isn’t your fault. The old Republic no longer exists. There is no blood screenings. Not a failure of yours, but a failure of the systems once put in place.”

He bobbed around walking a little circle around Tobias his head staying visually on him. “The Jedi once forbade relationships,” Quorl said, “The force was not passed down through bloodlines. The force chooses its representatives, no need for noble heritage.”

he finished his circle and started to walk away from the man, his head still looking back at Tobias. It was eerie for a human, but if they were to have any sort of relationship he’d need to get used to simple avian biology. “No. Darron Wraith is on the periphery. Your past is not you,” Quorl then said sternly hopping up onto a rock where he could look down on the man. He liked high places. “The past is defective. You cannot change it or modify it. Do you understand?” And then he let out a hoot as he saw a small field mouse run across the edge of his field of vision. He remained calm and didn’t pursue against all instinct. He was, afterall, a Jedi Master. Quorls head bobbed up and down to maximize his depth perception. He flattened his feathers. “Your future should be your concern now.”

 

[Tobias Wraith]

Is the bird trying to screw with me? Tobias couldn't help the glare he was throwing towards [member="Quorl"], especially when it changed it’s tone to perfectly match his own. “Wait, they used to do standardized blood testing?” His fingers rubbed the coarse stubble, easing the itching that happened with such growth. “I remember reading that, I think.” It was the truth, at least he thought he remembered that. Knowing standard history and current events was one thing, catching up on tens of thousands of years of an Order was mind-boggling at best. Keeping a level head was hard enough, but he had to press forward. Reaching down, he grabbed his holopads and chased after the bird that was staring at him...while his body was pointed another direction.

“..the Force chooses its representatives, no need for noble heritage.”

The Jedi Padawan, do I call myself that now, thought as he stopped dead in his tracks for a moment. “So, me being Force-sensitive has nothing to do with my parents?” He actively pulled a search up on the holopad in his hands while Quorl kept talking. Multi-tasking as best he could, he pulled it up and saw the same words flashing right back at his cerulean eyes. “So, their blood has nothing with my talents.” That was both heartbreaking and exciting at the same time. It meant that he wasn’t just lucking into this situation, yet it killed some of the mystique to learning that his family was one of Jedi.

At the same time, it meant he had been chosen for a reason, not given something.

Quorl’s hoot and last words snapped his attention back, and he switched off the device. “I understand, and I can commit to that. I would be lying to you if I said that I am not here to also learn what made my family who they were.” What could some honesty hurt right now? “I submit to learn whatever you will teach me, so long as it’s not smuggling some spice for Hutts.”

 

[Quorl]

Quorl sat on his perch and looked down bobbing his head around. “Genetics, of course have some to do with it. Family trends still tend to be passed on. Great Jedi families there have been.” His feathered fluffed as he got comfortable on the stoop. “But for you expectations must be curved, I do not say that to dissuade you, or because I do not believe you in. I say that because…” He paused and cocked his head to the side extending his neck and flattening his feathers. Suddenly on his stoop perched above Tobias the bird would seem exceedingly tall, “When a glass is already full it can no longer accept water. You need to be empty, you need to be free.”

“Hooo,” his voice echoed a little bit. It was amazing really how such a low and innocuous sound could travel so far. Suddenly, and without warning his head shot forward, indeed his entire body shot forward, the only thing keeping him on his perch was the strength of leg and claw. His beak was close to Tobias’s head. “Now let us go into the jungle,” Quorl hooted before jumping off his perch and taking to wing. “Keep up!” he called

And then he took flight moving ahead of the man and stopping on branches for him to catch up. The jungle was thick, unnaturally so. Quorl preferred a mountain like his home. Then again not all Rishii did. His objective was two fold. He wanted to see the limits of Tobias’s physical abilities and so kept just ahead of him as they ran, or flew, through the dense jungle. It was even a challenge for him truth be told, trees tight together required him to bob and weave through branches. He could have gotten altitude and flew well over the canopy but then there was a chance the man wouldn’t see him.

They went around in a circle, then two. Miles racked up in the chase until Quorl felt satisfied and brought the youth to a clearing and perched upon a branch just overhead. He pulled at the feathers on his face and closed his eyes into little slits making his impersonation of a human smile. “You did well,” he said. “Now rest yourself, feel the force…”

It wasn’t the most basic thing, but for this one he thought it would be the most useful. “Use the force... let it flow through you. Visualize it as a stream running from your claw and wings and into your body filling you with vitality you have lost.”

[member="Tobias Wraith"]

Spoiler

 

[Tobias Wraith]

“That, I do remember the empty cup thing!” A roguish, but bright smile crossed his face. Had there been no stubble on that strong jaw, he would have looked like a little boy for a moment. Say whatever you wanted to the man about his past and it’s hardships, he would agree. Right now, the past few weeks had been some of the most enjoyable times of his life. Sure, the amount of real action he saw was absolutely nothing compared to his two previous lives. It was nice to not have weapons pulled on him every few hours, or be in warzones doing things he would never talk about unless he had to. Sure, he missed the Jackdaw, but learning about who his family really was had been just what he needed.

Even if it was still vague, he knew who he was finally.

“Keep up!” That was all he heard as the damn bird decided to fly off into the jungle, and it was fast.

Holopads nearly shattered as he dropped them, not even thinking as he bolted off after the bird. Years of running like this in full gear made the exercise pretty easy, but parkour was never really that easy. It usually took stretching, knowing the area, and being vaguely aware of what to expect to look impressive. This was just blind, free-running while hoping for the best. Bushes, trees, rocks, and uneven terrain became an obstacle course as he kept his eyes locked on the bird. An uneven upward flight, and his speed changing kept one fact present in Tobias’ mind as he ran up trees and launched himself to higher ground just to keep up on the few tracks of smooth ground that he managed to find.

Quorl was toying with him, testing him.

At least he’s not electrocuting you, Tobias. That thought made him smile, even as sweat poured down him. Swinging from a vine he had seen on the last run through, he launched himself onto a thick branch before flipping forward off of it and pressing forward. Lactic acid was building up, and the heavy clothing he wore was quickly soaked as they finally stopped the exercise. Sliding to a stop, his hands fell to his knees as he doubled over for breath. Sweat fell off his forehead and mixed with the terra firma below. Quorl’s voice filled his ears, and he laughed at the mention of the feathers and claws.

Wraith gave it a shot though, and he let himself be empty. There was nothing as he let go of his past, and he just sat there breathing...and his energy came back. “Okay, so you are really fast.” Finally standing up erect, he merely looked at the grinning bird. “What’s next, Master?”

 

[Quorl]

“Good,” Quorl said, “Feel the force.” The owl took a deep breath before jumping from his stoop and touching the ground. “The force flows through everything, binds it together. It is in all living things.” bobbing he moved across the little clearing and pecked about on the ground. Twigs were too small and larger branches too big. If Quorl had a mouth he would have frowned, pickings were getting slim. “There is a game I have seen younglings play,” he said kicking at the dirt with his claw. Finally he found an appropriately sized stick upon the ground and kicked it into his hands and threw it for [member="Tobias Wraith"] to catch.

“Your species doesn’t have echolocation, or any sort of advanced hearing,” Quorl stated, “You rely primarily on sight, but your eyes they can deceive you, and be deceived.”

Quorl lifted up a stone and threw it into the air catching it in his outstretched claw. “Through the force, you can see without seeing.” Quorl through the stone lightly at Tobias who struck it with the stick sending back at the Jedi master… “Now,” Quorl said picking up some pebbles and globs of mud, “Close your eyes, and feel the force.”

He waited for Tobias to close his eyes before throwing a pebble at Tobias.

 

[Tobias Wraith]

“Feel the Force.”

Tobias was breathing hard, but his energy was coming back quicker than it ever had. So he kept focusing on letting go of himself. Memories of the orphanage, of all the horrible things he had done for the One Sith, Dareus’ death; they all ran across his mind. Each breath felt like a knife to his chest, but he kept pushing them out of his mind. A conversation with the CEO of iBorg came to the forefront, and the moment he discovered who he really was ran across. All these moments ran through his mind and out of it. Whatever it was that made him, well himself, he kept breathing it out like Quorl had taught him to do. It wasn’t easy, but he kept on letting who Tobias Wraith was slip out.

Until he was just empty, except now he didn’t feel that way.

Quorl was near him, but he wasn’t looking at the Jedi Master. Instead, he could feel him near him. It wasn’t just that he could feel, plants near him suddenly felt like little sparks of energy. Flurries of activity for at least thirty meters around him could be felt. What felt like energy was now making sense as he sat there in the quiet and calm of his mind, he could feel life around him. Innocence and purity struck him as what he was experiencing, and he was in awe of the life he was feeling come from Quorl and the Praxeum and jungle near by.

“So this is the Force,” he said aloud just savoring the moment. One thought above all others came to his mind while sitting and basking in the very essence of life.

He would do anything to protect it, how could he not after feeling it like this?

Tobias was still listening to Quorl, and a simple “yes, Master,” was all he managed. He was too caught up in what he was feeling, but then another tendril of energy reached the empty vessel named Tobias Wraith. Intent made the hairs on his neck stand, and he could feel the energy of something being thrown, but his eyes were closed! Something in him made him not move, and then his right hand snapped to his face and caught the stone mere centimeters before it crashed into his face. Reflexively, his eyes opened a wide grin crossed his face as his senses shut back down to what he could normally feel. “Wow, I literally had no control over what I just did Quorl. Does the Force just tell you what to do if you rid yourself of your thoughts?”

[member="Quorl"]

 

[Quorl]

“A jedi,” Quorl started looking at the rocks, mud, and debris that was scattered about, “is an instrument of the force. We allow it to guide us. We are here to serve it. Not the otherway around.” His head bobbed as he imitated a human nod. “Humility,” his voice almost hummed the word. “Remember, we are who we are because we choose to be. We are servants of the force, and as such we have bound ourselves to its laws. The laws of life.”

Quorl hopped over to to a nearby basin and gathered up a collection of leaves. He picked up a vibrant green leaf, and then a dirty brown one. His claw touched the water and swirled it around sending it the air with a telekinetic control and splashing [member="Tobias Wraith"] with it. Staring at the little pool he had an urge to bob his own head in and did getting himself wet before shaking off and sending droplets of water in every direction.

“Remember that in all things you must be flexible. Especially in your thoughts.” Quorl said picking up the green leaf and holding in one hand, the brown in the other. He shook the green leaf and it bended and gave. “Rigidity is the discipline of death,” Quorl said with a bobbing nod. Two little hoots echoed from his beak as he ruffled his feathers making him look suddenly like a grumpy old man. He shook the dead leaf, rigid in his hand and it fell into a multitude of dead specks. “Come, come…” he said turning and bobbing down a nearby path.

As he walked he grabbed a stick from the ground in a seamless motion clutching it in his hand. He used the stick to air him in walking and continued until they reached a stream. A large willow tree overlooked the street its branches swaying in the breeze. Quorl walked down to the river and dipped his beak in taking a drink. “To nearly all species water gives life. It is important on nearly all inhabited planets. From the Oceans of Kamino to the deserts of Tatooine.” That really didn’t have anything to do with anything, but still.

“Come, drink…” Quorl motioned with his wing. “Dip your beak into the cool waters, let it refresh you…” The bird waded into the water and stood about knee deep before finding a nice dry rock. “When you are done drinking come and stand on the stream,” Quorl pointed a few feathers. “And bring your stick…” Quorl replied brandishing his own stick like a sword…

 

[Tobias Wraith]

Give it to the bird, he was quite wise. That boyish grin crossed his face, and then hardened into a firm line as he nodded in agreement. Coming to a military parade rest, he intently stared at the Rishii as it spoke of philosophy. Is this the same thing my parents went through? Was it duty and honor that called to them? Images, ones he had gleaned from a few brief searches in what sections of the archives he was allowed in flashed across his mind’s eye. What few pictures he had seen of his parents had finally shown him how the genetic hodgepodge that was Tobias had come into existence.

Quorl recited more wisdom, and the Padawan listened intently. Every word made complete sense, and he made sure to try hard to remember them. When he was splashed with the water, it broke his reverie and he instead had to laugh. “I thought Jedi were all work and no fun, Master.” Wiping the water off his face, he followed and watched the massive bird grab a stick seamlessly and wade into a nearby stream before perching onto a rock in the middle.

“You got it, Master.” Tobias quickly snapped up a stick, breaking off loose twigs while he made his way to where his Master was. Resting the stick against his shoulder, he removed his boots and rolled his trousers up to his knees. Birds chirped, and fish could be seen leaping from the water. Slapping at a mosquito, he took the stick in his hand and waded into the waters to join @Quorl. Mimicking how he held the stick, Tobias held it like a sword as well while looking around.

“What now, are we going to fight in the stream? Or do you want me to get fish with just this?” He said the last part in jest, praying that he was actually going to learn how to wield a sword.

 

[Quorl]

“Don’t be overeager to learn to fight,” Quorl said taking out a small knife and whittling away at his sticks top until it made a point. Quorl took some deep breaths and looked over at [member="Tobias Wraith"] cocking his head to the side to examining him a bit more. “Put a bend in your knees,” he instructed trading sticks with Tobias.

He took the wooden rod and manouvered Tobi’s feet into the proper position. The water ran free around him, unhindered. “Lower, as if you were sitting.” Quorl started to whittle away at the stick with his knife before it too was sharpened to a point. “For now we will focus on strengthening the lower body, and the motions of the upper body.

With a little puff of his wing Quorl found himself lightly breaking the water, making hardly a splash, standing next to Tobias. “Water tension is great,” Quorl nodded to the ground as he moved his feet. The water rippled around his foot and moved. “Even running water will tell me if you’ve moved. You are to stay completely still. You must learn to be still before you can learn to move.”

Taking a deep breath and letting out a little hoot Quorl walked back slowly and deliberately to his rock barely causing a stirring within the water. “Now,” Quorl said imitating a human smile once more. “Let’s have some educational fun. It will be… a hoot.”

Staring at Tobias he knew his joke had failed. “Well younglings like that one…” He said with a sigh shooting his arm out with the pointed stick. The end dipped into the water without making a splash and Quorl bobbed his head taking out a fish. “Tonight we camp outside. And you may only eat what you catch,” He waited deliberately for Tobias to try and spear a fish. the young man hesitated, not acting on instinct and Quorl shot out his own stick to deflect the blow. ”Use the force.”

Quorls head tilted so much it was a mere degree away from being upside down. “No Splash, and the proper form.” Looking he pushed the young man's knee, “And keep those knees bent. Only move your feet when I allow. Wait for the opportunity to strike, and do so without hesitation. Do not think about the blow, empty yourself, and let the force guide you.”

The old bird excitedly bobbed his head up and down before adding, “The force doesn’t want you to starve.”

 

[Tobias Wraith]

Oh believe me, I’m not. Echoes of memories from his past attempted to surface, but they faded in a moment. Cool water meeting his ankles and calf muscles distracted him as he waded further into the stream, using the stick he had picked up for support. Note to self: never make a joke to Quorl. He had wrongly assumed they were going to be training how to fight with swords, and the fishing reference had been in jest. Watching the Rishii, it was apparent he was forming something to spear the fish with. “I’ve never fished with a spear before,” he offhandedly said. Anything to break the silence and maybe get to know a little more about Quorl.

Quorl traded his spear he had crafted for Tobias crude instrument, and the Padawan dutifully followed instruction. The pads of his feet sunk in the stream bed, mud running between his toes as he spread his legs and bent his knees after being forced into position. On cue, his spine immediately straightened and his quadriceps began to burn just slightly from holding such an awkward pose. Water ran against his ankle and shins, and the subtle current forced him to adjust his positioning of his torso so as to not fall off balance.

“Now,” Quorl said imitating a human smile once more. “Let’s have some educational fun. It will be… a hoot.”

Jaw muscles, now slack allowed his mouth to drop slightly. Normally attentive eyes relaxed a little, and a thousand jokes were ready to be said. Not here, not now thought the former smuggler as he looked at his Master in disbelief. “Oh no, I would have laughed more if I were about ten years younger Master.” It was the truth, but he did let out a slight snort to let the Rishii know he was laughing with him and not at him. I sure hope they understand our sense of humor..

The first lesson didn’t go too well in spearing a fish, and he was admittedly jealous a few minutes later after Quorl just caught one with his beak as if it were nothing.

“You sure know how to motivate a guy, only let me eat what I catch huh?” By now, his legs were absolutely on fire and it was quite the distraction. Dozens of fish swam underfoot, their fins visible above the rolling water. Eyeing them up, he remembered how he had failed the past three times because he had tried to just spear what he saw. Taking the spear in both hands, he exhaled again, trying to empty the cup of who he was. Soon, the burning in his legs faded as the concept of Tobias Wraith did too.

The Force filled him, and took over. Muscles relaxed, then tensed as he launched a downward stab straight into the water a moment later. Tobias exhaled and pulled the spear out of the water, a fish now on the end of it. “You ready to go set up camp then Master?” Finally standing up, he stretched his legs a bit as he walked out of the stream and back to where his boots where at.

[member="Quorl"]

 

[Quorl]

And so the two carried on, Quorl teaching the young man in the woods. They hiked up a nearby mountain where Quorl flew and caught food and set up an enclosed nest. In nature, Quorl had explained, they could find almost all the answers. Life’s mysteries were opened up to those who used the force.

Every day for the next week Quorl would run with [member="Tobias Wraith"] down to the stream and fish with sharpened sticks. When it rained, they got wet, and when the sun beat down they got hot. On the sixth day Quorl had a new adventure planned. While he sat and fished Tobias was to jump from stepping stone to stepping stone down the stream. Every time Tobias fell into the water a stone was added to a backpack and more gear was given to him to haul up the mountain to their camp.

Another week passed like this with brief interludes of Quorl showing the basic motions of a lightsaber with Tobias, striking him in the joints to get the right position whenever he was wrong. Finally he started the last phase. Every day for the third week Tobias was forced to go up and down the stream alternating between jumping on a stepping stone with his foot, or with his hands while brandishing his little stick and attempting to catch fish. The motions that Quorl had taught him, jumping from stone to stone, came natural and soon their run up and down the mountainside because more challenging taking longer routes through ever more dense jungle.

Finally the time was almost up.

Tobias stood on one hand, his feet up in the air. He was holding onto a rock and balancing over the water. There was a fall not too far from his position, the water from the mountain scattering down into the streams below. One foot stuck up in the air extended straight up. On top of that foot stood an Owl bobbing his head to help Tobias keep balance. A single claw held onto the youth as Quorl goaded him into action. “Feel the force, let it grip your hand to the rock. Let it form a bond, refresh your muscles. Dip into the hidden pool, the reservoir of energy within yourself.”

It was almost time. Almost time for them to return to society.

 

[Tobias Wraith]

Three weeks...

Three long weeks…

Every day had been it’s own challenge, it’s own crucible. Whatever willingness he had felt the moment he had left Selka’s office to discover his lineage had been tested. Quorl was the most demanding instructor he had ever met in his life. Behind cryptic words, the Rishii had shown a knack for pushing Tobias past what he thought as his breaking limit on a daily basis. Any moment he felt he would falter, his Master would literally come swooping in to pick him up and then push him further. Every task had a meaning, and he was starting to see there was a method to what he originally thought was madness.

What had seemed like a simple fishing exercise that day, well it had morphed into something much more. Daily runs only intensified, and lightsaber training was thrown in. Simple strikes actually had complicated names, and the patterns actually meant something. All the running up and down the mountain had only strengthened a body hardened by years of service and running from the Hutts. Quorl proved that he was far more than a sage advisor, he had been right next to Tobias every day. As much as he felt he was connecting with the two Jedi who had brought him into the galaxy, he discovered he was feeling close to another one he had never imagined.

Quorl wasn’t just his Master, he was his friend.

That meant a lot, considering the last being Tobias considered a friend was dead. No one had been allowed to get that close, but the Rishii had done it. Weeks of running with stones in a backpack, and learning about Shii-Cho and Ataru had done the Padawan a lot of good. Ripe with the knowledge on how to extend his Sphere of Responsibility, and use the basic powers that most Jedi needed to know. Well, he wasn’t the same man he had been when he had arrived.

It all meant nothing at that moment, for Tobias Wraith was a different man. He was also an inverted man, with only one hand supporting the combined weight of himself and his master. No stress could be felt in his actual shoulder, but the load was directly in the palm of his hand and his abdominals. Lactic acid was building, and blood was rushing downwards, but he persevered for @Quorl. His cup empty, the Force flowed freely as he meditated in the jungle and picked out every life form like he had been instructed to.

“You see anything up there worth swooping down for Master, or do we need to go fishing again?”

 

[Quorl]

And so Quorl looked, scanning the area for prey. They had eaten good the past few days, a creature about the size of a bantha leg roasted in fresh herbs and spices collected from the jungle. It had fed them three meals a day for two days. “No,” Quorl said looking out and about. “I must say though, I’m worried I may have fattened you up a little too much.” With a stick Quorl poked the man under him gently. “How you grew so big before I fed you, I’ll never know.”

While remaining on top of Tobias Wraith’s foot he fluffed up his feathers and continued to scan the horizons. “Being small has advantages you know.” Then he hopped off his padawan and bobbed across the water his feet only touching the surface for a second before he’d kick off and land upon the shore. Quorl sighed again, “It is a shame you don’t have wings…. I’d love to take you flying sometime…”

The old owl looked back towards the Jedi Temple. It had been three weeks. “It is time to go back. Your training in the mountains is complete. The rest, I can do at the temple and in the field. I feel you’re competent enough to go on missions.” Quorl stared at the young man. He bobbed his head to get a better look and pulled back his feathers in his mock imitation of a smile. “A wheel may have thirty spokes, but it is the emptiness that makes it useful; only now do you understand that the force is of us, and we are of it. Before we go I have to ask you one thing. Who are you [member="Tobias Wraith"]?”

 

[Tobias Wraith]

“Oh you know, the Sith Empire had some pretty good ready to eat meals Master.” Another comment threatened to form on his lips, but they had already spoken at length about the orphanage. At night, if they weren’t talking about the Force and the history of the Jedi, their conversations tended to drift towards their pasts. Quorl had gently pressed about the events that had led to the man that he was training, and after a while Wraith had shared. This had brought the two closer, and he knew about Quorl’s love of “shiny things” and how he had been brought to the greater galaxy by Jorus Merrill.

Guess I owe Jorus another round of thanks when I see him next.

Quorl’s stick hit his clenched midsection, bouncing off the hardened flesh. “I believe you’re looking for the word muscular, Master.” Free from balancing, he finally landed on his feet and stood up. Blood finally started to flow the way it was supposed to, and he grew dizzy for only a moment. Another lesson came to mind, and he focused on following his winged Master with his eyes. The dots that were clouding his vision disappeared much quicker than usual, and he smiled at the thought.

“Listen, I would love to fly with you, but not in the way you suggested last week.”

Blue eyes widened at the memory of that poor creature he had taken down that was twice his size. That poor deer, he thought. Watching Quorl hunt the animal down, and lift it back to the mountain had been impressive and terrifying. Stepping into the stream, he allowed the cool water to wash over his legs while listening to the confidence his Master had in him now. “Yes, I do see how I fit into what the Force wants of me.” Another lesson about how he had been chosen, not born into this position made his smile grow wider as he returned the gesture his Master had kindly extended.

His head whipped at what he heard next in shock. “We are going back?” Part of him dreaded that, he had grown to like this training even if he knew it couldn’t last forever. Another question, one much deeper hit him, and left him reeling for a moment. Looking as dumbfounded as ever, he slapped his hands on his thighs before answering as honestly as he knew how. “I could tell you who Tobias Cross was, but that man doesn’t exist. I feel like I have a chance to make right all the wrongs I was forced to do, but I don’t even know if I deserve to be here.” A loud sigh escaped his lips.

“Master, I honestly don’t know who I am. I just know I’m trying as hard as I can to do the right thing.”

[member="Quorl"]

 

[Quorl]

Quorl nodded his head bobbing down the path towards the temple. “There is wisdom in knowing what you don’t know.” It was a narrow path that was ill tended, and not well worn. Already in just three weeks the jungle was starting to reclaim it. “We leave behind Tobias Cross,” Quorl said, “From the day you met me, Tobias Wraith was born.”

Quorl flapped out a few wings to warn away some invisible predator before hooting softly. “We are who we are, because we choose to be. You are a Jedi by choice my friend.” Trotting down the path he continued his little speech, “The empty cup, a receptacle for the living force.”

And more, so much more. But that was yet to come. “When we get back to the temple, we will wash our feathers and get cleaned up. Have a rest for a day or two and then go out into the galaxy….”