The Rebel Faction

Reaching out to stop the stumbling Max, Dolash gently pulled him back. "I should think so, yes - I am Dolash, your Master, do you recall?"

A look of understanding passed on Max's face, and Dolash nodded with a smile. "Yes, I can see you do. First lessons can often be tense and problematic. Let go of your emotions, and follow me."

With that said, the two left the cloistered stone halls of the temple and made for the open grounds within the Order's walls. There, an open area for sparring and tests remained. "The first steps of your training is to feel the Force. After all, how can one be a Jedi if you cannot?"

Dolash sat himself cross-legged in the middle of the training area. "Make yourself comfortable, and reach out with your feelings. Empty your mind of conscious thoughts, Max, and do nothing else."

"Good..." said Dolash, and he smiled. There is a lot of passion in this one, but it requires tempering, maturing, and experience. Maybe a taste is what he needs...

"Stretch out with your feelings..." Dolash began. "Do not think, have no thoughts at all. Focus instead on your senses, your feelings, everything around you. As you follow them, look for the source."

Dolash knew it well, by now. His two minds became one, both devoid of thought, letting the near-silent whispers of the Force bubble upwards so that he could follow them out into the universe. It was flowery, but it was one of the few ways he could describe the sensation.

As he shifted his mind carefully out of his body, expanding his senses to include the courtyard, he turned to Max. Follow me, follow my 'voice', and I can show you the way to the Force.

Max had some degree of potential, but as it was untrained he was poor at guarding his feelings - indeed, his strong connection to the force made them all the easier to read. Without meaning to, Dolash 'overheard' the unbidden memories that Max had to quash. He felt his heart sag, but quietly filed the incident away as something to take care of later.

As Max tried to heed the call of the Force, Dolash could sense that this method wasn't working - clearly a new approach would be required, one that would help him suppress his anger and grief. Dolash restored his normal consciousness, resegregated his personalities, and rose to his feet.

"Rise, Max. Your presence in the Force is there, but perhaps we need to try something else to draw you out."

He crossed the training area to a worn box set against one of the walls. From it, he removed a half dozen wooden balls, each about the size of a baseball, and turned.

"These are made of softwood, and shouldn't hurt too much if they strike you. Let go of your consciousness and follow your instincts. They will keep you far safer, I promise you."

With that, the six wooden balls began to fly erratically and dangerously through the training area, zipping and shooting straight towards Max.

A few seconds more, and Dolash ended the session. "Good job," he said. "Did you feel it, then? Did you feel the Force?" Only a glance told him all he needed to know. "Then that's a start.

"The Force," he continued "Is not a thing that can easily be taught. Not only that, but the Jedi no longer have the luxury of time or comfort. Our resources are few, our presence diminished, we last Knights passing on our knowledge to preserve the ways of the Jedi and the lightside.

"As such, unorthodox methodes must be used. You felt the Force just now, in a small yet meaningful way. Perhaps it was made easier by the energy that suffuses this place, or the presence of other trained Jedi, or maybe just growing confidence in your abilities. Now that you have tasted this power, however, the next few steps you must take alone.

"Go forth into the libraries, the training rooms, the sparring matches. Discover the Force for yourself, using the resources we have available and at your disposal. Ask for questions, guidance, or examples of power from myself and other Jedi, and we will gladly show you - but for this phase of training, you must be alone.

"Once you can call on the Force consciously, you will be ready for your next lesson. The Jedi philosopy, the codes and duties to which we are bound, mean nothing without a personal connection to the Force that you have yet to develop. Remember that feeling that you experienced as you dodged these simple training orbs, and explore it however you can.

"Oh, and Max?" one of the orbs suddenly rose again, bouncing off Max's foot and causing him to topple over. Dolash reached out a huge hand and caught him, pushing Max back on his feet. "Do be careful? The Temple does have a few secrets and mysteries to watch out for."

Several days passed in this manner - Dolash had his own business to attend to, as he worked with his colleagues to plumb the mysteries of the Force (That plumbing is handled in a different thread). Every so often, he would recieve new reports of his students' progress, new feats of combat and physical development, drawing on the Force to surpass the limits of the body.

Then, when Dolash felt the time was right, he left his chambers in the night. He walked the cold stone of the spartan corridors until he reached the dormitory where Max slept.

Knocking gently on the door, he waited until his student got dressed and opened it in response. "Come with me," he said.

In silence, he lead his student out of the hallowed gates of the temple, away from its' walls and through the deserted streets of the sleeping city of Theed. Starlight illuminated their journey, yet still he didn't speak until they were well out of town and the moon had reached its' Zenith. They began to climb a tall and rocky hillside that overlooked the city, and he spoke again.

"The Force is unique. It surpasses all our understanding of science, and it stands head-and-shoulders over any god or religion as its' power is manifest, visible, and quantifiable." Well, most religions anyways, added Dolash to himself. "In primitive cultures, wielders of the Force are hailed as shamans, messiahs, or sorcerers. Or, they can be damned as warlocks, demonic, or tainted. The power is granted with little concern for social status, wealth, ideology, birth, or desire - it is a great equalizer, that can turn paupers into kings or kings into paupers, depending on how it is wielded.

"It can remake societies or bring an end to civil strife. It can bring war or peace, hope or despair, it can kill and it can heal. An equalizer though it may be, it is also dangerous, because it brings with it no responsibility. Who is to say how this power should be used? To what ends, and why? Who can punish those who 'misuse' the power they were granted by mere chance? Many Force Sensitives - especially recently - have decided that this power is merely an asset, nothing more. It can be used to further their aims, accomplish objectives, but it carries no greater meaning or responsibility. For millenia, the Jedi have disagreed."

They crested another stone ridge, moonlight illuminating the soft grass that clung to life in patches under their feet. The rocky outcropping still stretched ahead of them, but Dolash walked with a steady, almost eager pace.

"The Force is not a free gift, an edge solely to exploit in order to get a leg up in life. The Force is a web that connects all life, and what affects it can reverberate across the web. Actions of great evil and great good can touch lives in many ways, and the Force can be used to manipulate these. To hold such power, such potential, and turn it to evil? It is a terrible shame for the people of the galaxy that this is frequently the case.

"To be a Jedi, you must recognize your responsibility. You have a gift, the capacity to go beyond mortal men, to find the truth and overcome incredible opposition. You can mediate a peace, lead men into battle against their oppressors, free slaves trapped in hopeless squalor, and as a Jedi you declare that because you are capable, you are now responsible. You are obligated to serve the people of the galaxy, to do what they cannot, and to not seek any form of reward or recognition beyond what is needed to continue the fight to its' triumphant conclusion."

With his last few strides, Dolash reached the top of the hill. He turned back to his student, who caught up. "Do you see, Max, the weight that is to be placed on your shoulders? It will turn your blessing into a curse, it will rob you of the joys and attatchments that simpler lives afford. If you accept it, however, then you can change the fate of the galaxy and of countless lives, lives like these." With a broad gesture, he encapsulated the capital city before them, which shone like a beacon of light. Its' stunning architecture reached for the sky, where stars twinkled like a blanket of jewels over so fair a city.

"Well, Max? Now that you have tasted this power and know the road to which it leads, are you prepared to walk it? Once the first few steps are taken it is hard to turn away - think deeply wether you wish this responsibility or not."