Yaronn

[Annan Rainwalker]

Yaronn



Wild Space
Yaronn system, Gradilis sector

Yaronn is a planet located within the Yaronn system of the Wild Space. It is an out-of-the-way world, with only one small continent amidst its vast deep blue ocean. The continent is covered in dense forest, rich in flora and fauna, but is void of intelligent life. It is a largely forgotten planet, possessing largely nothing of interest to the rest of the galaxy.

Astrographical information

Suns: 3 - Yorann 1 (Type A blue star), Yorann 2 (Type F blue-white star), Yorann 3 (Type F blue-white star)
Moons: 1 - Yor (Moon with ring system)
Galactic coordinates: 2839.23.893.84
Orbital period: 311 standard days
Rotation period: 33 hours

Physical information

Class: Terrestrial
Diameter: 11,743 km
Atmosphere: Type I (Breathable to Humans)
Climate: Mild, moist and changeable with abundant rainfall and a lack of temperature extremes except at mountaintops
Primary terrain: Oceans, forests, hills, and ice-capped mountains
Surface water 81%

[Annan Rainwalker]

Yaronn planetary orbit
Aboard the CEC-manufactured YT-2000 light freighter The Moby Duck
Yaronn system, Gradilis sector

Padawan Rainwalker gazed out onto the beautiful blue-green planet that seemed to perpetually enlarge as they drew near, as he sat in the pilot seat of his YT-2000 light freighter. His constant companion, the gun metallic SEP-security droid with the head of a KX-unit designated Bigweld 2.0, sat in the co-pilot behind and raised above his own.

<“Astonishing,”> Bigweld muttered. <“I didn't even know there was a planet at this edge of the Gradilis sector. Anakin, how did you find this?”>

Annan gave a small, serene smile, his expression the emblem of Jedi tranquility and peace. He was constantly in touch with the Force, his senses perceiving the energy field inside and outside him, especially strong around the planet they were approaching. The Padawan was not currently dressed in the traditional apprentice robes, but in a black high-neck jumpsuit over which he wore a light grey kimono that ended just above his thighs, tied around his waist with a dark grey sash. Over it all he wore a light grey hooded robe matching his kimono, the hood of which was currently drawn back, his mop of black head bare to the artificial atmosphere of the Moby Duck.

“I just knew it was here,” the Apprentice answered, both serenely and vaguely.

Bigweld's photoreceptor units turned off and then back on, obeying programming meant to mimic human blinking. <“... does not compute. What?”>

“It's Force stuff, Bigweld,” the Padawan replied gently.

Bigweld shook his head. Organics, and their strange life energies. The only energy the droid cared about was the one supplied by his power cells.

The Moby Duck eventually broke through the atmosphere and the inner picture of the planet began to reveal itself as they approached nearer to the surface. The Padawan observed vast, deep blue oceans passing by underneath the YT - while he had only seen one hemisphere so far, Annan suspected that there was not any land mass on the dark side like the one he could now see at the horizon, which he had also observed from space. There would be ample time to explore the planet later, but the shamrock-eyed apprentice did expect that most of the planet was aquatic, the present dark side nothing but a boundless ocean.

Zulara was back on Naboo with his two other droids, Drop and O.M.5 - all under the trustworthy care of Master Xin. This journey was Annan's and Annan's alone to undertake, for after countless days and nights of training, practice lightsaber-induced numbness and sparring injuries - not to mention the mental strain that came with persistent use of the Force and the exhaustion of physical training - his Master had finally deemed Padawan Rainwalker ready to undertake the coming of age ceremony of every aspiring Jedi Knight.

The construction of his own lightsaber.

“It is a powerful and emotional moment, for every Jedi pupil,” Ani recalled Master Xin's words, “normally, the Master accompanies the Apprentice, but as you know, my teaching matters are a bit strict compared to most Jedi, Ani. I expect you to stand on your own feet, make your own decisions between right and wrong, light and dark. For one day I will no longer be here, or if I'm lucky enough to live a long life in this Galaxy, at the very least you will no longer be my apprentice, but my equal - a Knight of the Jedi Coalition. And I foresee that day comes sooner than later, so I believe that you should undertake this journey alone. You should take one of your droids with you, but for the most part, there should be nothing to hamper your connection to the Force.”

“But where exactly, am I going?” the Padawan had asked his Master then.

“To find your kyber crystal, the heart of the lightsaber,” the Master had explained. “It is a living crystal, that will become an extension of your very being. When you meditate on the Force, you will feel its call, and you will know where to find it.”

And here it had called him, the Padawan thought, to a remote planet quite literally at the edge of the Galaxy. The YT-2000 finally reached the shore of the planet's only land mass - a supercontinent; and Annan pulled up a lever in the cockpit, blue sublight engines roaring as the YT's altitude increased to enable the Padawan to fly safely over the trees. From the cockpit he could see an overcast sky covering extremely tall trees - the tree canopy was literally above the clouds in this region, and there wasn't a clearing in sight where he could safely land. Letting the Force direct him, the Padawan eventually saw a hill poking out of the treescape, at a fairly decent height from which a large rocky cliff-side protruded out, spacious enough for him to land his freighter.

Land he did, and soon enough, he was walking down the ramp with Bigweld 2.0 by his side, gazing with a smile at the overcast heavens - the pregnant, grey-black clouds concealing the planet's three suns and bringing the Rainwalker inner contentment. Greenery adorned the mountainside and as far as the eye could see, a virescent treescape. He could see a thin strand of water running down into the woods not far from where he was - a hillside rivulet. The air was unbelievably fresh - even more soothing than the Naboo Lake Country, a light breeze rustling his mop of black hair.

“Bigweld,” Ani began softly, eyes twinkling, “we're home.”

[Annan Rainwalker]

Primary land mass, planet Yaronn
Yaronn system, Gradilis sector

The Firrerreo looked up as the entire area was briefly consumed by a bright flash, hearkening to the thundering clouds promising downpour. No doubt rain was plentiful on this planet, Annan surmised, for that had to be what kept this planet so fresh. Where there was water, there was life. The Padawan then proceeded to descend the hill along the river-side. He had cleared his mind of all aim and purpose entirely, except the matter of his kyber crystal. He was conscious of the living crystal - he could feel its pull through the Force. The magnetic tug on his heart strengthened as he walked, and somehow, he knew exactly where to go.

Bigweld 2.0 on the other hand, was having problems processing all of this. <“Annan,”> the reprogrammed Imperial droid finally voiced after a long interval of silent following, <“what you're doing is wearing out my logic circuits.”>

The Padawan did not respond, continuing to walk along the right side of the river bank, his light grey cloak's hood now raised over his head in order to deal with the impending rainshower.

<“... Ani?”>

“Bigweld, relax,” he finally said when he realized the droid had stopped in his tracks, no longer following him. “Master Xin told me to trust my instincts, and that is what I'm doing.”

The droid simply shook his head, clearly disturbed that his partner was going to get himself killed, but he followed nonetheless. <“It's not like I can do anything else,”> he mumbled to himself, at a low volume.

“The Force is strong with this planet,” the Padawan murmured to himself, as their trek brought them all the way to the bottom of the clearing. The rain was now falling torrentially, as the Apprentice and the Droid navigated through the thick, dense undergrowth, crossing a brook that seemed to branch off from the main rivulet, and coming to the base of the much larger mountain that stood a wide valley apart from the smaller hill they had parked their freighter on. Annan would have to recalibrate his chrono according to the planet's rotation period readings from The Moby Duck later, but he estimated that he had arrived not long after day had dawned in this area of the globe, and they had been walking for at least two to three Galactic standard hours now, which made their current time a fresh morn, a few hours before noon.

Pushing aside branches, green with leaves and moss; navigating through shrubs and jumping over fallen trees and logs, the two trekkers gradually climbed higher and higher up the mountainside. Hours passed, and early morn turned to late noon. They took breaks, Ani needing his rest and Bigweld requiring to be switched off to enable his power cells to auto-recharge. By nightfall, they found themselves standing on a wide ledge that came out of the mountain side, two-thirds of the distance til the peak. The temperature had become rather cold, but well above zero - Ani noticed, Bigweld didn't - and it was still raining, the Padawan's cloak thoroughly drenching.

“Here,” Ani said suddenly, and Bigweld looked at him before following his line of gaze. He had to switch his HUD to night-vision, but sure enough, Bigweld could visualize through his photoreceptors a large opening in the mountainside on the cliffwards side of the ledge.

“A cave? We came here to find a cave?”

The silver-cloaked Padawan wordlessly began to walk towards said cave, as his reprogrammed Imperial droid began to question his cerebral functions.

The downpour stopped pelting Annan's head as he entered through the cave opening - which he had to crouch through, as it was not quite as large as to admit him walking. “Stay here, Bigweld,” he shouted back, once inside, knowing that the seven foot tall Droid couldn't enter through the opening even if he crouched.

When the Padawan gazed inside the cave, he expected to see darkness. He was shocked to find something else.

The cave was lit - not by any artificial lighting, mind him. Rather, this was nature at it's finest. The beautiful scene brought such tranquillity to Annan's heart as could not be penned in words, but the entire cave ceiling (it was not that high - perhaps around six and a half feet) was adorned with a beautiful starry pattern. Silvery blue, sparkling dots coruscated over the entire cave ceiling, lighting up not only the cave but the small channel of freshwater that flowed not a full two steps ahead of where Annan was standing. The channel led into inner chambers on the cave, whereas the starry dots on the cave ceiling - that reminded the Padawan of night sky of Naboo and Lah`mu - had small, thin, silken strands dangling off of them.



It was then that the Padawan realized what they were.

Glowworms.

This was a glowworm cave, the dangling threads the silk they made. He had seen one, when he was a child on Lah`mu, but the memory was quite hazy now. The Apprentice of Han Xin sighed, as he simply stood there, basking in the beautiful glow of life.

Hearing the call in the Force grow much louder now, Annan finally turned into the direction of the inner chamber where the waters seemed to flow. Knowing that the channel was not deep, and that he was already drenched from the rain outside, the shamrock-eyed Apprentice hopped into the water, the splash echoing throughout the inner cave and the water coming up to his knees. The Apprentice pushed himself through the water, towards the much smaller aperture on the other side which he had to bow under the overhead edge to pass through, only to come into a much larger chamber on the other side.

The chamber was huge, Annan realized as he stepped out of the water and on solid rock. The earthen, course-textured walls of the cave rose up high, almost entirely covered in a glowing, golden-yellow moss, while the the ceiling rose about thirty feet high.

In the furthest wall, to the left of where Annan had just entered the chamber, the Padawan saw a greenish star shining against the crystalline golden-yellow backdrop formed by the moss that covered the chamber walls. Annan thought it was a star, for the whole scene seemed to resemble a stellar nursery that Annan and Zulara had once gone sightseeing for - the newborn star a sparkling speck in the background of a glowing golden-yellow cloud of hot gas.

Annan knew better though. It was not a miniature star. It was what had called him here.

The kyber.

Annan had taken but one step towards it, when he heard the snap-hiss characteristic of an igniting lightsaber behind him, the cave suddenly bathed in a bloody, nightmarish red glow.

[Annan Rainwalker]

The Padawan stared with eyes as wide as dinner plates, looking at who he was facing. It was no dark lord of the Sith, neither was it some fearsome Admiral of the Empire. It was not some sort of vile smuggler, not some evil non-human creature, and not a cyborg. It was not some strange Force ghost either.

He was looking at himself.

Annan stared at the being in front of him, who appeared to be some kind of an inverted Annan Rainwalker. His black kimono and grey high-neck jumpsuit contrasted against Annan's grey kimono and white high-neck jumpsuit - he was dressed the same as him, but in opposing colors. His expression, unlike Ani's usually amiable one, was maniacally gleeful. The evil Annan had no Padawan braid, his mop of black hair messy and unkempt. But most noticeable to the Padawan was the man's eyes - they were not the lively green that were Annan's eyes, rather they were an enraged golden.

The eyes of a Sith.

The Apprentice's heart almost shot up to his throat, as he saw the blood red lightsaber ignited in the man's hand. “W-Who-? What--!”

“Hello, Baby-An!” the Sith-Ani cackled menacingly, before he sprinted forwards faster than the Padawan had ever seen anyone move except Master Xin, and Annan barely managed to ignite his practice saber in time to deflect. The two opposites now stood, staring at each other, red lightsaber locked against blue, evil gold eyes boring into confused green orbs.

“What the sith are you?!” Annan exclaimed.

“Exactly that, my young Padawan!” the evil-Annan responded, cackling, before spinning around and bringing his lightsaber in from Annan's right side. “Sith!”

The Apprentice of Han Xin twisted his body and managed to parry his evil twin's blade, before flipping back, nearer to the wall that contained the sparkling crystal. “I'm pretty sure Mom didn't give birth to an evil twin. Zula notwithstanding, but she was Granny's fault,” the Padawan quipped, masking his state of confusion and panic behind classless comedy.

“Ha, ha, ha!” the evil Annan cackled, as their lightsabers danced with one another. “I am your anger, your fear, your rage! I am everything you need to be, I am the Bogan!”

“Didn't know the dark side was this handsome,” Ani quipped again, as their lightsabers hissed and crackled upon making and breaking contact repeatedly. Sweat rolled down his brow - despite appearances, the apprentice was panicking internally, “the yellow contacts are a poor fashion statement, though.”

The inner chamber in the cave trembled, as the Force seemed to swirl around the Sith-Annan, responding to his rage. “Don't you dare mock me, you insolent whelp!” the ground crackled underneath his feet as he shot through the air in a Force-enhanced jump, crimson lightsaber hissing before Annan felt a sharp pain in his mid-section. The Padawan had leapt back to avoid the brunt of the slash, but the Sith's lightsaber having left a horizontal superficial burn across his mid-rim.

Annan gasped in pain and placed a hand across his burning abdomen, his eyes flashing in anger as he stared at the demon in front of him. His blood boiled as he stared at the being who had come out of nowhere to land him in such pain, and with that anger came a feeling the Padawan recognized all too well now. The pull to the darkness; the power, the taste...

Annan grunted, as he stopped himself from going there. The dark side was not the answer. It was never the answer. It was the easy way out.

'Two dark rooms cannot cast light upon a brick, yet a sole candle casts its light upon an entire chamber,' the Padawan suddenly heard, the voice seeming to come from nowhere and everywhere at once, from inside him as well as outside. It seemed familiar, it was the same voice he had heard on Coruscant, but it felt much stronger here - and both much nearer and much further at the same time. But there was no time to think about its source; Annan needed to grasp the meaning of what it had said: darkness added to darkness only brought about more darkness, but darkness retreats even before the weakest of lights!

“I'll murder you, Annan Rainwalker! You, who taints my very existence!”

The Sith version of himself twirled his lightsaber around in his hand, before holding it in a reverse grip and beginning to sprint toward the true Rainwalker in order to deal the annihilating blow.

Annan glared at the darkness personified in the form of his own flesh with unadulterated anger, as he charged towards him. But the Padawan knew what he had to do now, he had to let go of himself, and become a conduit for the Ashla. The Apprentice of Han Xin closed his shimmering green eyes, as time seemed to slow down before him. He began to focus on the Force, as it resonated, monstrously strong with this planet. His panting breaths became calm with each passing moment, as he let the Light take him, as he felt it flow within him and surround him simultaneously, penetrating every rock in this chamber, reverberating with the crystal in the wall. Yet it seemed to bounce around the dark warrior who was charging in towards him to land his killing blow, as if repulsed by the dark being's very existence.

Annan focused on that, the Force that seemed to surround the dark version of him. It was completely different from the Force that he knew, that he could perceive within himself and the life all around him. This Force was not life at all, it was death. It was destruction, annihilation, murder - it wanted to take life, not give it. It was base and vile - like vomit, disgustingly foul; like acid, willing to eat through everything; like quicksand, never satiated, not even when it had consumed you and everything around you; and like a drug, something that crippled your will and soul until you had no choice but to let it consume you, let it give you the illusion of pleasure while it sucked the life dry from your bones.

Annan was repulsed by that, he never wanted to become that. Master Xin, his mother, even Zulara - they had all taught him to make the right decision, no matter the consequences...

Annan returned his focus to the Ashla, observing its passivity in contrast to the actively enraged Bogan, its calm contentment and submission to all that was meant to happen, that feeling of serene reassurance that it brought - that everything would be alright in the end, no matter how bleak things seemed to be. He breathed, opening himself to the Light, feeling it pour into him not with the might of a torrential river, but with the fresh placidity of a dew drop slowly and calmly flowing down the curve of a leaf. He let it energise him, recharge him, to take him and let him become a conduit through which it manifested itself.

There is no emotion...

He could hear it - or feel it, but it felt like he was hearing it, but not through his ears. The Light. He let it take his frustration at being unable to win against this strange creature, his fear of dying, and anger at his injury and weakness, and it diffused into the Light like an oil droplet in an ocean.

... there is peace. There is no ignorance...

He opened his eyes, staring at the evil version of himself who was now almost upon him, ready to slice Annan in half with his crimson plasma blade. His eyes no longer betrayed any emotion, only contentment. He felt the Light direct his actions. He knew what he had to do; he had to let it all go, for he could not best darkness with darkness.

... there is knowledge. There is no passion...

The Padawan looked at the practice saber in his hand; it could not do much but stun his opponent, so there was no way he could kill this Sith and get out of here alive. His best bet had been deflecting the strikes aimed at him, but now injured, he couldn't do that anymore. But now he knew, through the Force, what he was. He was a Jedi, and Jedi did not fight to win battles, nor did they fight for the thrill of the fight or the pride of winning. Jedi fought to bring peace and justice, and if that goal was not in sight, there was no point to fighting.

... there is serenity. There is no chaos...

He knew he could not survive here, and his survival meant nothing for the future of the Galaxy - so there was no point anymore. The hilt of his lightsaber dropped to the ground with a clank. He had come here, to this planet, under the direction of the Force, and now his life was coming to an end, but he had wronged no one, he had tried to help everyone his could, and had sincerely tried to honour and serve his family, his Master and the Galaxy at large. Others, much more capable than him, would rise to take his place, and he would die knowing he had done no wrong, he realized, as he came to terms with the fact that he no longer mattered in the bigger picture, but he had given it all that he could.

... there is harmony. There is no death...

Finally, he could hear his tormentor cackling in madness, gleefully delighting in his victory. He felt the heat from the crimson lightsaber of his twisted twin in his chest, as he felt it pierce his heart, and he should have felt sheer indescribable pain. But as much as he had prepared himself for it, it never came. Instead, an unfathomable euphoria overwhelmed him, his entire person wrapped in a sense of complete safety, contentment and imperturbability. In all of Annan's life he had never felt so bright, so true, so serene, so perfect...

The dark being had completely disappeared, and the Padawan calmly realised he was not injured at all. Had it all been an apparition, a vision? He did not know, but he did know that in front of him, floating in the air and sparkling brightly like a star was a mint-green crystal. Had any other Force-sensitive been there then, they would have seen Padawan Rainwalker glowing like a beacon in the Force with the intensity of a Sun, his crystal glowing in the Force within similar luminosity, as if two stellar lights locked in a binary system.

...There is the Force.

[Annan Rainwalker]

Five days later,
Annan Rainwalker's Cave, Yaronn
Yaronn system, Gradilis sector

A heavy thunder-shower pestered the forests of Yorann as far as the budding Jedi Knight could see. Annan Rainwalker sat at the mouth of the cave, shielded from the rain. With Bigweld's help, the two had managed to break apart the mouth of the cave just enough to let someone of Bigweld's size enter by crouching through, and the reprogrammed Imperial droid sat interiorly, just beside the water channel under the glowworm ceiling, powered down and resting.

Being a Rainwalker, he felt serene in the rain. As a child, he used to dream of sitting in the mouth of an earthen cave, barely shielded from a heavy rain-shower upon a dark green forest just outside - and being barely beneath the eave of the cave mouth, a few fresh drops of cool water still managing to drizzle his face.

Apparently, those had been more than dreams, considering now, as an adult, he found himself in that exact situation.

Yet, for once, Annan's focus was not upon the shower, for this was a rainy planet, and more soothing downpours would come. Rather, he had his eyes closed in deep meditation, the locus of the Force being summoned from within and without him being the kyber crystal that he had recovered from deeper within the confines of this very cave, which he held in the palm of his right hand as he sat cross-legged. It had been five days since that incident, and til date, Annan was meditating upon the tiny geologic formation that was intended to become the heart of his first lightsaber.

Annan perceived the Force permeating the cave, and echoing in the nearby trees being pelted and nourished by life-bringing droplets of rain outside. He could feel the Force inside him, flowing from his chest to circulate across his body, and he had spent the past five days doing nothing but imbuing the crystal in his right palm with his internal Force; except for sleeping breaks. The process had taken longer than the Padawan had expected, but results were clearly showing - the crystal had been imparted a dense forest green colour under the influence of his internal Force.

The crystal and the Padawan had become so in-tune with one another now, that Ani had begun to see it as an extension of himself, like a finger or a hair instead of as a shiny rock in his hand. The living crystal had only responded kindly, for it appeared the vision he had seen of a darker him, and how he had reacted to it, had assisted in the Padawan growing stronger in the Lightside, enough to resonate with the same frequency in the Force as the very crystal he now held.

Suddenly - finally, rather - the crystal suddenly began to glow with a brilliant dark green light, as the Padawan opened his eyes, hearing it speak to him through the Force. It welcomed him and desired to be welcomed by him, to be by his side in his journey as a Jedi. It shared his longing for life, and his hatred for death; it called to him.

'... steps...' he heard a barely intelligible murmur in the Force, its origin being the crystal shining in his hand, '... luminous beings...' he could hear similar murmurs from around him, as if the Force itself seemed to be instructing him somehow as he meditated, '... beware of the dark side...'

Annan closed his hand, the glow of the crystal disappearing within his palm as he did, before he stood up, gazing out into the rain for a few moments before calling, “Bigweld, activate.”

The verbal command sufficed, as the reprogrammed Imperial droid's photoreceptor units lit up from black to white, and the droid promptly stood up to his full height, before turning around to look at his partner. <“What is it, now?”>

Annan scratched the back of his head with his free hand, “I recall sending you on an errand before I began meditating...”

Bigweld rolled his photoreceptor units. <“Yes, before you 'deactivated' yourself for five megacycles,”> the droid muttered, before pointing in the direction behind him. Annan poked his head out from behind the droid and saw, next to the water channel on a large elevated Stalagmite base, was all that the Padawan needed to construct his very own lightsaber: namely, two toasters; a glowpanel; a comlink; a pair of macrobinoculars; a Versafunction88 datapad; one of his old DH-17 heavy blasters; a limb of some old, irreparable battle droid from a junkyard; two canisters of black and gold spray paint; and Zulara's spare pommel cap. Next to all of them was Annan's toolbox - Bigweld had gotten all this stuff from The Moby Duck for him.

[Begin Lightsaber Assembly App - 750 Words]

The next hour was the awakening of the Force in Annan the Technician. He systematically disassembled each of the contraptions to isolate the parts he needed for his lightsaber: the hilt cylinder had been provided by Master Xin from the Jedi Temple on Naboo; Zulara had gifted the black powel cap. The primary and spare Datium power cells, and the discharge power cell came from a careful disasembly of the toasters. A button for an activation switch, too, came from one of the toasters.

Next, Annan isolated a focusing lens by carefully dissecting a powerful one out of the set of macrobinoculars. Macrobinoculars had to use powerful focusing lens in order to produce three-dimensional images of distant objects, and the Padawan could make it work for a lightsaber, with slight modification. The energizers came from a few spare ship parts the Padawan had aboard The Moby Duck for repairing her. Ani then disassembled the datapad to obtain a power adjustment knob and an energy channel, pushing the rest of the parts aside. He then picked up the blaster, and quickly unscrewing and disassembling it, he isolated a damping emitter for stunning from the weapon. The final component, a power insulator, came from the irreparable battle droid's limb, which Annan took apart and isolated the required piece from.

“Phew,” Annan wiped the sweat off his brow, as he pulled his glowing, Force-tuned kyber crystal out and looked at it, before looking at all the parts now assembled before him - three Datium power cells, raw material for two standard power sources, one primary and one auxiliary; one discharge energy cell; focusing lenses; energizers; a power insulator; an empty circuit holoboard; a power adjustment knob; a damping emitter; a button circuit that could be rewired to make an activation panel; a metal cylinder, and a pommel cap.

Sitting down on the cave ground in a cross-legged position, the Apprentice placed the crystal in the middle of the equipment and began to breathe in and out, calming himself, finding his centre and feeling the Light. His eyes now had a faraway and mystical look when he opened the green orbs again, letting the Force take his hand and guide him through this construction process.

Both the Force and Ani's personal expertise with technology assisted him, as the Padawan began by making the basic circuitry of his future weapon. He removed a glossy paper a basic lightsaber circuit schematic he had obtained from the Library back at the Naboo Temple. Using a pair of scissors from his toolbox, he cut out the circuit schematic from the paper, and picked up the empty cylindrical circuit holoboard and positioned the schematic on it. Applying heat, the circuit design was complete. Annan then spent the next few minutes etching the cylindrical board, until the basic modulation circuitry was complete too.

Letting the Force direct him, the Padawan then proceeded to stud the modulation circuitry with the field energizers he had obtained from The Moby Duck's spare parts. He drilled holes in the circuitry, then placed several arrays of the field energizers in their appropriate holes, before removing small wires from both his toolbox and spare ones from the toaster parts, winding them around the field energizers and into the boards. He attached the damping emitter, from his blaster, using the wires with the whole thing. The final touch was picking the soldering equipment from his toolkit and soldering in the connections. He then proceeded to scrutinise the product: a freshly assembled emitter matrix system, one of the most crucial of lightsaber components.

Placing the matrix aside to allow it to cool, the Padawan let the Force direct him towards the next task. He picked up the metal cylinder that would make his lightsaber hilt, and placed the Datium power cell inside the pre-manufactured battery holder within the power field conductor at the bottom of the cylinder. The internal circuits of the cylinder lighting up a blue shade indicated that the power cell was functional; the next step was the pommel cap, which Annan screwed onto the posterior end of the cylinder and locked it in position - but not before installing his second Datium power cell as a backup cell in the pommel.

Annan then unscrewed the anterior portion of the cylinder from the posterior one, bisecting it and revealing the crystal bracket at the front end of the posterior half. The Padawan looked at the glowing green crystal that he had synchronised with in the Force, as he picked it up, examined it one more time before placing it inside it's designated spot in the cylinder.

Placing that half aside, Annan picked up the anterior half of the cylinder, before lifting up the emitter matrix he had assembled earlier with some prongs and placing it inside that half of the cylinder. In the completed hilt, it would come lie directly ahead of the crystal, seperated only by the focusing lens. Annan made absolutely sure the emitter matrix was not inverted - that would have been a novice error that could have very well cost him his life.

Content, he secured the emitter matrix inside the half-cylinder using a screwdriver and some heat, he turned it around to view the interior through the open front end. He picked up the metallic tube he had removed from the datapad, a specific alloy of titanium and chromium that could function as an energy channel, similar to the one used in hyperdrive systems, but much smaller. Annan inserted the tube into the half-cylinder, making sure to keep it straight, through the open front end, until it lodged perfectly into the orifice he had specifically designed for it in the emitter matrix-field energizer circuit system. It fit, and the Padawan smiled as it did so.

'Almost done!' he thought to himself excitedly, as he screwed the two halves of the cylinder back together.

Placing it aside, Ani proceeded to finalize the remaining parts. He rewired the button circuit he had obtained from one of the toasters, modifying it to make an activation panel that contained both the button and a battery holder for discharge energy cell. Once complete, he placed the activation panel at the side of the main cylinder, connecting the wires in the panel with the damping emitter from his blaster that was now located in the inner chamber, before drilling the panel permanently into the cylinder. He then attached a power adjustment knob at the front end of the hilt and connected it with the discharge energy cell circuits in the activation panel, perfecting the device component that would allow him to modify the energy output of the lightsaber and thus enable to his lightsaber to alternate between stun and cut settings.

Finally, Annan once again unscrewed the hilt into two halves, revealing the inner circuitry. After making some modifications and adjusting in the remaining parts, in particular the power insulator to protect himself from any untoward energy discharges, the focusing lens which he had obtained from the macrobinoculars, at its designated spot between the crystal bracket and the emitter matrix-field energizer-damping emitter array. Annan then removed the crystal and polished it with a soft cloth and some vinegar, which he kept in his toolbox. Using the cloth to hold the crystal, he placed it into the bracket. After double-checking his solder points, he sealed the unit again.

Annan gazed at the completed hilt, he turned it around in his hands. It was longer and thinner than a standard hilt, but Annan preferred it that way, as it reminded him of himself - tall and lean - and enabled an easy double-handed wield, signature of his preferred lightsaber Form, Shii-Cho. It was black, for he had spray-painted it before assembling it, except for thinner, golden part near the front of the hilt mounted upon a thinner cylinder that was actually the painted energy channel he had installed. Overall, it resembled his Master's hilt, but had more black in it.

Ultimately, the moment of truth. Annan took a deep breath and ignited the saber! A green beam of energy sprung out as the blade snapped and hissed to life.

[End Lightsaber Assembly App - 1363/750 Words]

As the energy blade hummed - a light shade of mint-green than the traditional green employed by most Jedi, Annan realized - Annan swung it carefully around the cave, accustoming himself to the different, two-handed grip that had not been a facility in his practice saber. Annan relished both his blade - his lightsaber! - and this entire moment, for it was a tremendous one - his journey as a Padawan was that much nearer to completion.

[Annan Rainwalker]

“The best confidence builder is experience.”
―Byspels of the Keepers of Ossus, s. 15

[Begin Level-Up: 6 - Goal: 600 Words]

Next day
Annan Rainwalker's Cave, Yaronn
Yaronn system, Gradilis sector

Annan Anakin Rainwalker sat cross-legged at the cliff side outside his recently discovered, and claimed, cave, as Bigweld 2.0 remained inside in power-down mode. His hands gently clasped his knees, back straight and eyes closed, his mind and heart open to the Force that this planet he was on reverberated so strongly in. This planet was teeming with life, and Annan could feel the Force in every leaf, every flower, every animal and every bird within the general, forested area of the planet he was currently in.

Annan opened his eyes, green orbs glistening with a faraway look to them, as he was now actively observing his surroundings not through them, but through the Force. He looked up at the overcast sky; every few minutes there was a bright flash of lightning, followed mere moments later by rumbling thunder. Lightning, thunder, overcast skies - they brought peace to the Rainwalker's eyes, ears and heart; and for some reason seemed to strengthen his connection to the Force.

Glancing down at his right side, he unclipped the newly forged black hilt from his waist, twirling it around in his fingers for a few moments as he got used to the new blade's grip and weight. Then, with a press of a button, the mint-green blade ignited with a snap-hiss, bathing his face in a bluish-green glow. Annan assumed the basic stance of the Perseverance Form, holding the black hilt in a two-handed grip and imagined himself deflecting blasterbolts back at his opponents through powerful step-through strikes. Strike, high guard position, strike, high guard... Annan repeated the motions, only just beginning to get them down. Still, with his new lightsaber - which felt a lot more an extension of himself than his training saber had ever been - Annan could feel that his strikes had become a lot more... efficient, the Force now strong with him once he had fully embraced the Light Side.

Annan stopped finally after perhaps a hundred such sessions, panting, muscles aching, but feeling his might in the Force increase nonetheless.

After a small rest and collapsing his mint-green blade, Annan returned the hilt to the clip towards the right of his belt. The Apprentice of Han Xin then glanced up at another flash of lightning, a few droplets of pristine water finding their way onto his face. A cool, refreshing breeze accompanied the rain, and Annan let it all soothe him as he plunged himself straight into the ocean of the Force. Having at once found his center in the Force, the Padawan turned himself towards his left, and aimed both open palms at five small, football-sized rocks lining the cliff side.

Closing his eyes, the Padawan felt them in the Force, felt it going through them and around them, and then commanded the Force to lift them for him. His forehead wrinkled as he put in the mental effort - he had never levitated five objects at once before, as he had only just learnt Telekinesis among the last few lessons before Master Xin had sent him here. Still, he considered this a self-administered test, for if he was going to become stronger in the Force, he had to learn to levitate bigger things than a few rocks.

"Size matters not," Annan thought he heard a murmur in the Force, one as if in a chiding tone. Odd, but Annan was currently more focused on the rocks. Sure enough, with tremendous mental effort, he could see them wobble, and with clenched teeth and a headache, he quickly saw two of them immediately shoot vertically straight up. The other three quivered, but Annan breathed in and out one more time before closing his eyes and imagining them rising in the Force as well. Soon enough, they obeyed, and Annan could practically breathe the Force soaring powerfully within him as it held aloft the five rocks in the air, over the cliff side in the gusty, rain-bearing winds.

[End Level-Up: 6 - Goal: 658/600 Words]

[Annan Rainwalker]

“Humility is the only defense against humiliation.”
―Byspels of the Keepers of Ossus, s. 510

#
One year later
Mountains of Yaronn, Yaronn
Yaronn system, Gradilis sector

The cool breeze ruffled Jedi Rainwalker's hair as he looked up at the overcast sky of Yaronn again. He had just arrived back on this planet, the first time he had ever returned since being knighted. Instead of landing his YT-2000 at his old cave, the Knight had decided to explore the planet and let the Force direct him towards the high mountains. Once having found a clear mountainside where he could land his Scintillance, the Jedi - dressed in mountain climbing gear - and his two Droids, Bigweld and O.M.5, his RX-24 pilot droid who had accompanied him this time, decided to trek up the Yaronn heights.

He had climbed half-way up the mountain side, scrutinising the flora and fauna that grew along the steep slopes while he was at it, when he noticed Bigweld 2.0 and O.M.5 had begun to slow down. He commanded them to assume low-power mode, and as they recharged themselves, Jedi Rainwalker decided to get some training done.

[Begin Force Bubble/Barrier Training - Goal: 600 Words]

Annan sat with a straightened back, hands on his knees as he inhaled and exhaled in the meditative position. With few breaths he found his center in the Force and then expanded his senses outwards, feeling the Force flowing through and across the very winds that caressed his face and ruffled his hair, the rocky earth on which he sat cross-legged and the multitude of flowers and small critters that were home around him. Shamrock eyes opened, and glistened with a faraway look. He had earlier studied this power at the Holocron library back on Naboo, and the Jedi Knight deemed it a necessary defense.

Annan often likened the Force to an ocean in his senses, an ocean that submerged the whole Universe, and right now he felt the waves of that ocean of light all around him. He concentrated, utilising his skill in Altering the Force around him, by imagining those waves beginning to condense into a whirlpool or torrent with him at its eye, and he could feel the light responding, beginning to rotate about his person with great energy.

Annan blinked absently, then pulled in a deep breath before releasing it as he raised one hand up, palm aimed at the sky, and placed one hand down, palm on the ground. Imagining so, he made the whirlpool of light - only visible to him in his Force Senses - that had begun to spin around him extend upwards and downwards, forming a sort of egg-shape with him in its centre.

Annan then called upon all the power he had accumulated in the Force, willing the orb of light surrounding him to solidify into an actual, tangible substance. The Force surged through his body and straight out, and Annan felt the ground on which he sat and on which his palm rested, crack under the pressure created by the Force. The entire area shook violently, the shock wave travelling both upwards and downwards and Jedi Rainwalker's concentration broke.

[Interrupt Force Bubble/Barrier Training - 333/600 Words]

Annan got on his feet, avoiding the crack he had created in the ground, and looked up as the Earth began to shake where he stood. He scowled. He did not realise how strong he had grown, and inadvertently released so much raw energy in the Force that he had created shockwaves and induced what appears to be a landslide.

As he gazed up the cliffside, he could see the brown haze of rock and earth descending down upon him. Calming himself in the Force, the Jedi glanced at his right, seeing the two droids in low power mode who were about to be buried along with him in the descending landslide.

Annan glanced back up again. His mind raced. The only way he could avoid getting both himself and his droids buried, injured or damaged, was using a Protection Bubble. Which was what he had been training. He had almost just done it, hadn't he?

[Resume Force Bubble/Barrier Training - 333/600 Words]

Time seemed to slow down, as Jedi Rainwalker treated this as a combat situation - it was indeed, a 'life or serious injury' scenario, if not a 'life or death' one. Viridescent orbs glistened with harmony and serenity as he touched the Ocean of the Force all around him with his mind again. Annan felt the waves of the Force and with one palm on the ground and one aimed overhead at the falling debris, he moulded those Waves until they became a gushing whirlpool of illumination, rotating about him furiously with his own Force Presence at the eye of the storm in his senses. With a mental command, the Jedi extended the whirling Force to include his two downed droids as well.

Throughout it all, Jedi Rainwalker maintained his calm centre, the passionless expression fixed upon his face as he released all his adrenaline-induced reactions to his impending doom into the Force. Having an epiphany, the Jedi closed his eyes, and imagined how it would be like for particles of sand, under the searing heat of a blazing flame, to condense until it became smooth, crease-less glass. He likened the scenario mentally to condensing the whirling storm of light around him into a solid sphere, a Protection Bubble. He saw in the eyes of his mind, the rotating Force around him as the sand, and then released a burst of pure willpower - the Force within him - to act as the blazing flame. This time, however, the Jedi utilised all the skill he had in Controlling the Force within him, in order to ensure that he did not accidentally release another shock wave in this rocky landscape and doom himself further.

Teeth clenched and a headache threatened to split his skull apart, but the precariousness of the situation itself helped him solidify the Force Bubble around him into a tangible sphere just time, as the debris fell upon him and his droids, striking the transparisteel-esque bubble with a glassy thud, flowing around him and his droids but not upon him due to them being blocked by the transparent Protection Bubble.

[Resume Force Bubble/Barrier Training - 333 + 359 = 692/600 Words]

[Annan Rainwalker]

“Close your eyes... Feel it... the Light... it's always been there...”
―Often attributed to some Unknown Force-sensitive said to be over a thousand years old

[Begin Sense 2 Training - Goal: 700 Words]

The Mountain Over the Cave,
Planet Yaronn
Yaronn system, Gradilis sector

Jedi Knight Annan Rainwalker floated in the air, cross-legged in the meditative position, eyes closed with a few small rocks floating, slowly circumambulating him. He was levitating in the air at the very peak of the Mountain which housed the Cave where he had discovered his lightsaber crystal and built his very own blade, precisely a year prior. In his Senses, he felt the Force, feeling it murmuring to him. His chest rose, going as far as it could, and fell, as he expanded his Senses outwards as far as they would reach.

He felt it.

The Life. The Light. The Force.

He could feel the trees, the leaves and the flowers growing over the Mountain upon the peak of which he was floating. He felt the water, which registered strongly in his Force Sense, for it was teeming with life forms of all kinds, that gushed forth across the face of the mountain, on the outside eventually descending as a waterfall into the valley adjacent, while simultaneously percolating inside and forming ponds and lakes within the caves. He could even feel a haziness in the winds - no doubt, the pollen, life lying dormant, as the winds carried them across the sky to disperse upon the lower lying lands.

He felt it all emanating Brilliant Light.

Annan knew he had to go further.

An inhale, and an exhale. A second inhale, a second exhale... the Jedi Knight continued to breathe, submerging himself deeper and deeper into the Ocean of the Force. Annan was no longer a Padawan; he had been a Knight for over a year now, and he now understood enough about the Force to know...

... that it was so much bigger.

Which meant that this Ocean was, for all practical purposes, bottomless in its depth. He could submerge himself deeper, and deeper, and grow stronger in the Force. He concentrated upon the flowers amidst the grass of the mountainside. Thus far, he had only felt their presence, but now he cast his concentration upon the flowers themselves. He felt them, through the Force... that they were fresh, for the soil from which they drew nutrition for fertile... they were fecund for they had plenty of water, for the ever-overcast sky of Yaronn practically spoiled them with rain, and... they were warm, for despite the Trinary Suns being mostly concealed behind the dark clouds, they warmed the planet sufficiently enough to cause life thereon to flourish.

Annan's breathing was calm but continuous, as he kept the flowers in his focus, but extended his Senses towards the trees. They too, like the flowers and the leaves which they bore, felt... content. The trees were quenched, nourished and blooming, for they were richly supplied with light, heat and water.

Annan now, with some mental struggle, signified by an incoming headache, kept both the trees, and the flowers in his mind's eyes, while simultaneously forcing himself to submerge further into the Light. The trees, the flowers, the leaves, the water, everything was illuminated in his Senses... he concentrated upon the water, which he could track due to the innumerable life forms within it. It flowed, eroding through the mountainside as a rivulet, gushing down as a waterfall. Annan sensed both its power and its might where it gushed violently, and its gentleness and tranquility where it flowed calmly, down the mountainside and through the rocks, deep inside.

The Jedi Knight paused himself in the depths of the Ashla in which he was submerged, his ensuing headache preventing him from extending his reach any further. He held his Sense at that level, before taking another deep breath of air in, and out, expelling with the expired air the pain and tension into the Force.

Annan had so far focused on each aspect of the life around him individually. As he returned himself to the flowers, the trees and the water, he focused on all of them together, simultaneously, in his Force Sense. The Jedi Knight's fingers subconsciously clenched into fists due to the increasing difficulty and mental strain, as he extended the 'bubble' of his Force Senses outwards. Til now he could only use his Sense for a short range, enough to detect the life around the mountain's peak, over which he was floating, and a short distance along the mountainsides below.

But with each breath, he forced the range of that 'radar' to increase, while simultaneously increasing the depth of his immersion into the Force as well. Jedi Rainwalker's forehead began to throb severely, but he ignored it, releasing the tension into the Force each and every single time that it became unbearable. He now felt every living thing across at least the top half of the mountain. He began to perceive even the insects, crawling in and out of their hills... the fungi, consuming the dead matter... a few wild herbivores, grazing at a pass along the cliffside downwards in his four o' clock direction... The Jedi Knight continued to breath, and continued to extend his range, until eventually, the Trinary Suns began to set while he found himself able to Sense multiple forms of Life, across the entire height of the mountain and even a short range into the surrounding, dense forest.

[End Sense 2 Training - 873/700 Words]

[Annan Rainwalker]

“Remember, concentrate on the moment. Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts.”
―Master Qui-Gon Jinn, Wisdom of the Old Masters, p. 210, l. 4

Background Theme: First Flight

[Begin Sense 3 Training - Goal: 1000 Words]

The young Jedi Knight named Annan Anakin Rainwalker sat cross-legged atop the very peak of the mountain on Yaronn in whose cave he had been meditating and training upon the Force for months now, in one of his many spiritual retreats. The cool, rainy breeze caressed his face and blew back his hair, which had grown over the past few months due to the shortage of a hairdresser or a salon on this long forsaken planet in Wild Space, now ending just above the Jedi Knight's shoulder's. The light drizzle fell upon him, casting even colder wet spots on the otherwise wind-cooled skin, as his robes billowed in the stormy gust.

Soon the Jedi Knight's eyes became dull and lifeless as the blue green orbs stared up at the overcast sky above, immersing himself with open eyes deeper into the ocean of the Light Side of the Force. The clouds thundered above moments after the flash of lightning had momentarily cast its light upon the rainy planet, and yet as Anakin's ears and eyes perceived the thunder and lightning, it was not they that were the focus of his mind. Rather, it was his heart, which -attuned to the Cosmic Force that permeated all things and held them together - had felt the thunder and lightning within it.

The black-robed Jedi Knight continued to extend his Senses outward, and simultaneously inward - for as the celebrated Jedi Master, Han Xin had taught Annan during Annan's apprenticeship under him: it was not the extent of one's sight that mattered, it was the depth thereof. The feelings of the wind and the rain that the Jedi Knight felt through his skin, the cold and the wetness through his drenched, billowing robes, he soon ignored and cast away from his mind's eyes. Instead, the raven haired Knight pushed himself to perceive the same sensations through his heart, through the Ashla. It took effort and concentration, but as his chest rose upwards and outwards in a deep breath and fell in a sigh, he felt his mental sharpness rise and soon enough, he was there.

A few minutes passed while his chest continued to rise and fall in this open-eyed meditation cycle, before the effects slowly and surely began to manifest themselves.

His heart, now filled with light, foresaw the bolt of lightning a complete a second before it actually appeared over the cloud surface even as he perceived its sister rumble of thunder coming, moments prior to hearing the clouds speaking through his ears. He felt the winds as constantly in his chest as they surged outside and yet, he perceived a strange doubling effect as the same rain drop descending upon him in the steadily intensifying rain shower, first registered through the connection of the Force to his heart, and then a moment later through the connection of his skin to his brain.

Sound and sight... touch and temperature...

'You must feel the Force around you,' he heard the whisper in the Force, the croaking, elderly voice heard once again through his heart and not his ears. Again, the ethereal voice changed, remaining mature and masculine but no longer elderly and croaking. ''Breathe. Reach out with your feelings. What do you see?'

Annan finally closed his eyes, and the loss of one of his major neurological senses caused his concentration upon the Force itself to skyrocket. He increased the depth and duration of his breaths, just as the Force seemed to whisper to him in instruction. Following the direction he had received, the Jedi Knight reached out further, probing into the depths of the Light Side with as much focus as his mind could give him, while simultaneously increasing his senses outwards as well. The diameter of his Senses began to increase with each breath, until he could perceive the entire island around him. Then, the ocean that surrounded the rugged, green island for Yorann was primarily a watery world. For the perhaps the first time, Annan's senses extended until he could perceive the individual lifeforms that inhabited the ocean itself all the way from his location on the mountain's peak.

Inhale, exhale...

Deeper and deeper the boy began to probe the Universe around him through the Force. Once again, he could feel the 'emotions' - for they were not really emotions, as matter was not sentient. Yet, somehow, it was, and yet, somehow, they had to be called emotions for lack of better world. He felt the happiness of the ocean, the contentment of the trees and the gratefulness of the shrubs for the descending rain, the delight of the earth for being drenched in the life-giving waters. He could feel the gladness of the clouds and, even, as he continued to reach out - beyond the confines of the planet - the casual ease of the Trinary Suns as they allowed the planet's storms to give it life and refused to burn it away with their heat.

Then, the boy felt it, the lock. The seal.

The very last barrier.

'You must unlearn... what you have learned...' he heard the Force murmuring, once again in that elderly voice but seemingly louder this time, nearer. The Jedi Knight intrinsically knew the point he had reached in his spiritual journey. This was the last limit, the furthest any Jedi Knight or Master could ever hope to come when it came to honing their Senses. Unlocking this barrier would mean he would attain unforeseen heights of perception. Visions, directions, foresight and gentle guidance... the future, the past, the flow and the ebb...

The Jedi Knight formed his right hand into a fist, placing it upon the ground. With slow, deep breaths, unbeknownst to him, small pebbles and particles of dust around his grounded knuckle began to levitate off the ground and encircle his hand, as his connection to the Force reached a new level. At that point, the Jedi Knight brought into mind everything he had ever felt; he recalled the sensations of nature, the sight of his friends, the sounds of his loved ones and the various exotic smells of food and perfume he had sensed over the years. Bringing it all into his calm center, he meditated upon it all for but a fleeting moment, before...

... he let it all go.

The Force would help him see, hear, smell, taste, touch and perceive through the Life and the Light in the Universe. He did not need his preconceptions to impair him; and at that moment, his mind tugged against the final lock on his senses, and his heart heard it snap open - the spiritual sound simultaneously resembling both a slap and a sonic boom. Instantaneously, he was bombarded by sights and sounds hitherto unimaginable. From both the planet he was on and from nearby star systems, he soon realised, he felt life, in the form of growth, and the death and decay that fed new life. He felt the delight and laughter of sentients and non-sentients alike, as well as their sorrow and misery.

The Jedi Knight brought his focus back from the outreaches of space to the world that he was on. The Ocean of Yaronn, he felt, no longer simply happy, but dancing for joy because of the clouds that fed it with rain - an exotic dance that pitiful Force-insensitive mistook as waves. Yet, he felt the Ocean's regret as well, for its predetermined role to wash out the death and decay of all that had perished on Yaronn. Similarly, among the trees were those that shook their branches at delight in the rain whereas others wept for their fallen comrades and the shrubs they had befriended. He felt the clouds, no longer as merely glad but as genuinely munificent of heart as they drenched the planet with life, and yet simultaneously he felt the clouds mourning all those that had passed, the rain a manifestation of both their charity and their tears.

The Trinary Suns of Yaronn, similarly, no longer simply registered as feigning ignorance of the coolness on the planet and refusing to burn it away. Rather, he felt a much higher purpose in them: the love of kinship, for the three Suns were siblings born of the same stardust, and the planet Yaronn they considered to be their niece, the remnant of a fourth Sun, a fourth brother that had died eons ago when the Universe was still young yet its dust had accreted into a molten mass that eventually became the life-filled planet he now sat on. They cherished Yaronn as their child, thus kept it out of their love - what Force insensitives mistook for gravity - at a distance sufficient for all of them to give it heat and light yet preventing any of them from burning her, enabling her own storms of rain and ice to cool her.

Life, death, warmth, cold, joy, sorrow, pride and regret...

'And between it all?' he heard the murmur in the Force, the deep male voice, much louder and clearer than ever before.

Annan Anakin Rainwalker opened his eyes, his blue-green orbs reflecting simultaneous dullness and clarity, "a balance... the Force."

[End Sense 3 Training - Goal: 1506/1000 Words]

[Annan Rainwalker]

The caramel-and-raven-haired Jedi Knight stared up at the windy, perpetually cloud-covered skies of Yaronn, brilliant greenish-blue irises reflecting a faraway expression and yet, somehow, simultaneously conveying a sense of constant presence of mind. The winds blew back his silvery Jedi robes, his hair dancing in the winds as his hood bared his head. He was at one side of the mountain where he usually meditated, in a clearing surrounded all around by trees, a small pool of water in the middle.

[Begin Alter 3 Training: Goal 1000 Words]

His chest rose and fell as Jedi Rainwalker, while keeping his eyes open, began to immerse himself deeper and deeper into the vastness of the undulating tides, the ever flowing currents, of the luminosity that was the Force. He felt the life around him, and that within him; but this time he was not here to feel, but rather to effect.

To alter.

Perhaps there was no commoner expression of Altering the galaxy around one with the power of the Force, than the ability to move material immaterially. Yet, while Jedi Rainwalker could perform basic telekinesis with ease now, those who were true masters in the Force could do much more with their powers than simply... lifting rocks.

A palm raised, Jedi Rainwalker stretched out with his feelings and will through the Force and took physical hold of a fallen branch at the edge of the clearing. In mere moments that branch shot through the air, towards Jedi Rainwalker's extended palm.

It stopped in mid-air, floating halfway between the Jedi Knight's outstretched palm and the edge of the clearing from where it had taken flight.

Slowly but surely, more twigs, small branches, fallen tree leaves, small pebbles, and progressively larger stones, debris and rocks as large as a fist, began to rise up from around him. As Jedi Rainwalker extended his feelings and will outwards, more and more objects, in a complete circle around him began to rise up off the ground and float in the air. Soon enough, larger rocks slowly but steadily lifted off the ground. A small trail of sweat trickled down the brow of Han Xin's Apprentice as the even rocks halfway as tall as himself began to levitate into the air.

Then, with him clenching his raised palm into a fist, the entire circular field of objects began to rotate, orbiting around him like the ring system of a planet. And in thus orbital rings did the Jedi Knight arrange them, with intense focus and laudable spiritual and mental effort, Jedi Rainwalker willed the smallest of objects such as the pebbles and twigs to arrange themselves in the circumambulating ring nearest to him, the larger branches encircling him in the orbit behind that one, and progressively larger and heavier objects in further and further orbits, until the ultimate ring was formed by the largest of rocks.

Yet, they all orbiting him seamlessly, at the same speed regardless of their size, because he willed through the Force for it to be so. He could feel the mental toll of the exercise within himself, and yet, the Jedi Knight persevered. As each breath took him deeper and deeper into the Force, the speed of the orbiting debris field progressively increased, until nothing but multiple blurred circular rings would be visible to a casual observer.

Jedi Rainwalker began to pant from the effort, yet, he knew that if he were to master Altering the Force, he would have to go beyond simple applications such as this.

Closing his eyes, the Jedi Knight lost himself into the Ocean of the Force, and like every ocean the Force experienced tides and currents, and the Jedi Knight began meditating upon those tides. Then, he began to mentally project the tides of the Force onto the rotating rings of objects around him.

... Push...!

The Force reacted to his will, and the rings suddenly split apart from each other, each ring still rotating at incredible speeds but now with a considerable gap between each ring.

... Pull...!

Jedi Rainwalker clenched his teeth as he felt the headache coming, yet the spinning rings once again became closer together, almost eliminating the gap between them. Thus did Jedi Rainwalker continue: pulling and pushing synchronously with the tides of the Force, the rings reacting to his will by closing the gaps between each other with each pull and pushing far apart from one another with each push.

While he felt the constant effort take its toll on his focus, the Jedi Knight had to push himself further. Once again, this was too simple an application. A Jedi was capable of so much more, the Light was able to affect so much more.

Once again inhaling and then letting out the stream of breathed air, the raven-haired Jedi pulled his arms into his body and then closed his eyes. Relocating his center, the Jedi Knight began to mentally thickened the Force around his right hand, the energy generated by life concentrating at the tip of his clenched fist. He momentarily pictured the Force as gushing water that flowed from a high pressure to a low pressure area; the 'thickened' or 'high pressure' invisible Force bubble forming at the end of his fist should, theoretically, somehow do the same.

The Jedi Knight began to pant as he struggled to keep all that concentrated energy at bay, before pulling his arm back and finally throwing something resembling a right hook. The Jedi Knight performed an extremely rapid Force Push at the concentrated energy at his fist at the same as releasing the mental barriers that kept it bay.

The result was magnificent: the portion of the debris encircling right in front of him, in a straight line from his extended fist, was violently blasted out of the way.

Focusing again, his chest rising and falling more from the effort of exertion now than of meditation, he telekinetically willed the remaining debris to close the gap, and it sluggishly obeyed.

Despite being severely weakened, Jedi Rainwalker somehow felt stronger, as if using Telekinesis in such powerful ways had increased his skill in the power; and no doubt it had, as Annan now felt that he could command the Force to effect the Galaxy at large much more smoothly than he ever could have before.

Practice does in deed make perfect, and now, mustering up the very last of his energy, the Jedi Knight decided to practice one last, extremely powerful environment-altering skill.

With another deep breath, in and out, the young Jedi Knight clasped his hands together and and focused. The spiraling debris responded to his nonverbal command, moving in closer, and the Jedi Knight began to levitate off the ground slightly in an incomplete form of floating meditation. The Jedi Knight's teeth clenched together tight as he put in too much effort on reflex, but he quickly recalled his training.

The Light Side did not empower through might, it empowered through serenity.

Reminded, the Jedi Knight quickly released all his strain and exhaustion into the Force with subsequent breaths, making himself passive, calm, content. The illuminated tendrils of light took away his mental fatigue. As he internally leaned into the Force, the tendrils of invisible light began to envelop him and form a spherical bubble of pure Force energy which surrounded the floating Jedi Knight, separating him from the encircling rings of debris before being shot outwards in a mighty torrent when Annan swiftly and simultaneously thrust both his right and left palms outwards.

The resultant kinetic ripples formed in space expanded rapidly, pushing away from him in a spherical explosion that pulverized every single piece of rotating debris in the rings that were surrounding him, destroying everything from twigs to rocks and leaving behind nothing but particulates...

The trees at the edge of the circular clearing blew back due to the force of the explosion as well, leaves blowing as if affected by a duststorm, but the brunt of the Force Repulse was borne by the once-rings, now-dust, that had been circumambulating closer to the Jedi Knight.

[End Alter 3 Training: /1000 Words]