“There’s always a bigger fish.” [Ani Training Thread]

[Annan Rainwalker]

“When we rescue others, we rescue ourselves.”
―Apocrypha of the Je'daii Bendu, 2:18:29

[Begin Accelerate Healing App - Goal: 400 Words]

The Jedi Knight stared at the large gash in his forearm; his natural Firrerreo healing had already kicked in and he could practically see the wound closing, but the injury definitely presented a learning opportunity. Cinching his eyes shut, the Jedi began to breathe deeply and immerse himself into the Light Side of the Force, as it emanated from and flowed within the bleeding wound running up from his palm towards his elbow. He could feel the Light already pulsating within each cell, fueling the mitotic process and speeding up cell division. The Jedi took in a sharp breath before releasing it, then continued in small rhythmic breaths as he began to wrap his mind around those energies which were emanating from the cells in his forearm. The Jedi then honed in on those nearest to the wound margins, and realized what he needed to do in order to speed up the process.

Focusing, the Jedi reached out into the boundless ocean that was the Ashla. Within that endless sea flowed life, growth and healing. The Jedi breathed in and out as he tethered, through a spiritual drain, the limitless ocean of life without with the vital energies within himself. He felt it coming in a rush of rejuvenating novelty, as if it were a waterfall of comfort and freshness, falling into the bleeding wound on his arm and patching it right up. With subsequent breaths, the Jedi guided the Light Side as it drained into his wound, controlling it to first clot and stop the bleeding. Once that was done, the Jedi focused again, this time on the wound margins. With a gentle, rhythmic rising and falling of his chest, he let the Light Side drain into the cells at the edge of the margins. Already dividing rapidly due to his natural physiology, the addition of the Healing Force quadrupled the cell division process without compromising on the cell integrity. In fact, the Jedi could feel that the skin, subcutaneous tissue and underlying muscles that began to regenerate under the effects of the Force were even more vigorous than ever before, under the healing infusion of the Light Side.

The Jedi first watched as the dark muscle layers regenerated, before focusing on the overlying subcutaneous tissues. With precise control, he willed the Light Side to suture the tissues to join together and they did with remarkable speed. Joined together and healed, the Jedi gave one final directive, and the Light Side followed, now imbuing the most superficial cells around the wound margins, which grew and divided energetically in response, the wound margin itself shrinking under the effects of his spiritual efforts before finally closing completely within moments, until all that were left was a small silver cut line on his light gold skin, which, after another additional bout of Force effort, also disappeared.

[End Accelerate Healing App - Goal: 472/400 Words]

[Annan Rainwalker]

“If there is no path before you, create your own.”
―Apocrypha of the Je'daii Bendu, 32:8:84
[Begin Infusion App - Goal: 800 Words]

Eyes cinched shut and chest rising and falling, the Jedi Knight sat in floating meditation a few inches off the ground, both palms on his knees as he focused on the object in front of him. It was a gingerbread man that had been baked by one of the younger Jedi Initiates. Through his honed senses in the Force, the Jedi could visualize the currents of the Force as they flowed both within and around the otherwise delicious cookie, the Light Side emanating from and disappearing into it. For although the Force was created by and surrounded living things, its threads and currents penetrated everything in the galaxy.

With mild, gentle breaths, the Jedi raised his right palm towards the gingerbread biscuit, opening his eyes and boring a steely gaze directly into it. His fingers clenched into a claw-like contortion as he began to focus the Light Side through the gingerbread man itself. The Light Side was life, the opposite of death in its purest form, both originating within life and culminating in it. Utilizing his skill in control of the Force, the young Jedi directed those imbuing energies of the Living Force into the cookie through those threads he had sensed earlier. The Ethereal Light answered, and Annan could see the gingerbread man beginning to twitch somewhat unusually under the effects of the Force he exerted through his palm.

Annan knew that animating an inanimate object was no easy task. Eyes turning glassy as he directed all his mental and spiritual energies toward the gingerbread man, he focused at first on its outermost layers. He directed the Force, through his ability to control it, channeling it to surround the outermost layers of the gingerbread man like a glove. Once he was sure that the Force had surrounded the gingerbread man thoroughly, the Jedi tightened his fingers slightly as he began to direct the Force to stabilize the gingerbread man in this position. All of this was meant to ensure that the gingerbread man would not break or collapse under its own weight the moment it took a step.

Having stabilized the tasty foodstuff from without inwards, the Jedi proceeded to what he knew to be the next logical step: stabilising the gingerbread man from within outwards. To that end, the Jedi Knight closed his eyes again and this time began to probe into the cookie's crispy architecture. Breathing in and out, through his Force senses he could visualize the threads of the Unifying Force, the pieces and particles of the mouth watering cookie bound together by it in the same way that it bound the stars and planets in space and time, the turning of an ancient galaxy suddenly reflected in this small, edible, Force-imbued cookie.

Having stabilized the gingerbread cookie both from within and without, the Jedi Knight then decided to proceed to the final step: animation.

With each breathing cycle the Jedi channeled the Force further through the particles comprising the gingerbread man, each small speck of biscuit now surrounded by and imbued with the Vivifying Light. The Jedi directed the Vivifying Force to travel from each bound particle of the cookie to another bound particle like electrical current through a conduction system. The 'animation' spread through the entirety of the gingerbread man's 'body', from its head to its lower limbs, causing them to twitch and quiver as if alive.

Keeping his eyes closed, the fanged Jedi meditated upon what felt like to truly be alive. He focused on his heartbeat at first, then on his eyes as they widened and focused, then on his breathing for a good few moments, then finally on the neurons in his body as he felt them carrying nervous impulses towards his limbs that sustained their functions. Familiarizing himself with this general sensation of 'life', the Jedi then began to channel it through his palm into the gingerbread cookie underneath.

The cookie quivered violently this time and almost burst within its tray - had it not been for Annan having stabilized it earlier, it certainly would have. Still, the Jedi did not desist. Pulling back, the Jedi then returned for a second time, although this time he tempered the actual power he put behind when projecting the sensation of 'life' into the tasty object. Through the Force he understood almost instantly that, unlike every other time he connected to the Light Side and allowed it to flow through him en masse like a seemingly endless waterfall descending upon him, he had to channel this one like an intravenous drip: small, evenly spaced droplets of the Light Side falling into the gingerbread cookie at a reasonable rate; in the truest sense an Infusion.

The cookie quivered again but only for a short while this time, and then, suddenly, the white beady almonds that formed its eyes glistened as if it were seeing. Smiling and realizing he was on the right track, the Jedi Knight then gently dialed up the 'drop rate' of this 'infusion' of life. Within moments of that, the gingerbread man suddenly moved, the red circle forming its mouth shrinking in an 'oh!' as it attempted to sit up in the tray and take on the world.

[End Infusion App - Goal: 858/800 Words]