Knights of old Arendelle - 1

Joseff raised his lightsaber above his head, angling the blade downwards so it would lie in front of his face. The training remote fired its charge which grazed his saber in a loud clash, deflecting away and dispersing in an instant. He repositioned his lightsaber and blocked another bolt, and another, then another. His eyes bound, relying on the force to predict where the remote would fire next. Multitasking, he had to keep track of his own weapon, and the position of his remote, while staying away from the others in the room. While they were only training blasters and sabers, they still strung, and the idea of the real thing was enough to remain carful during training. The others surrounding him did the same, with clashes being heard repeatedly as they deflected their own remote. Joseff would have to let go of his other senses and rely only on the force. Let it go, Joseff. He thought to himself, hearing the teachings of his clan’s minder, Elsa. The remote increased in difficulty and fired faster and more sporadically, mimicking a real opponent, until it slowed to a stop.

The sounds quieted as their teacher spoke, “Remember little ones, the force will be your ally during your training to be a Jedi Knight. Let it flow through you as you continue to strengthen your will and develop your skills. Don’t be afraid if you don’t understand in its entirety, my younglings, in my near twenty years of training I still have yet to grasp its full potential.” The Jedi teacher raised the lights as the children in her care took off their blast shields, revealing their faces.

The blue light coming from Joseff’s training lightsaber remained active, its shimmer lighting his face, reflecting azure tint of his eyes. He balanced it in his sights, admiring it, pondering it. His blonde hair shone with the cerulean glow, shaggy, with tufts sticking out the front. He was a minority in the room. Many of the other students were not human, in fact all but another was, with skin tones ranging from greed, to red, to purple. His was light; the other human in his clan was a dark skinned female. But despite all the visual differences, he knew that’s how the Jedi worked. They were his family.

Greens and Blues around the room subsided, and blades put away. The normal greys of the matte room manifesting with the natural light, the room was bare. The door was humble, fitting for the Jedi, serving its purpose and nothing more. On the door was the symbol of the Jedi Initiate. The same symbol was found on Joseffs robes, a simple beige, with another on its opposite; the symbol of Clan Ikopi, named for an animal found on a closely tied Republic planet.

“All of you are special; you have been placed in this order because you have the potential for greatness within you. I personally recommended some of you for this clan, and for some of you this is your first lesson. For others, my little ones, this is routine.” Elsa paced around her students, patting some upon the head, readjusting their robes, or playfully lowering their training helmets. ”For all of you, this will be your family for life, not just the clan, but the other students, and master Jedi.” She motioned to the room, her light blue and white robes draping across her pale arms. “You will be at home here like a painter on a canvas, or a pilot in a cockpit. The Jedi will be your schooling, your career, and your life. You will find knowledge here, and I hope I can bring that to you as you proceed with your training.” She stepped towards Joseff, flipping his bangs up in the air. “The force will guide you as much as I will, for it is what gives a Jedi her power. It gives her the power to survive, to heal, and to mend. Or it gives her the power to destroy. ”You must be careful of this power, lest you fall to the dark side.” She lowered the lights for dramatic effect, gasps heard around the room. ”The dark side, younglings, will tempt you, and grab at you. You must not let it take you, for once you fall, you will never return. But don’t fear it; fear will lead you to it. It feeds off it, consumes it. Don’t let it gain your strength. Concentrate on the good, the love, the healing.” She neared a green skinned alien, placing her hand upon his shoulders, comforting him. “Remember the Jedi Code, young ones.”

There is no emotion, there is peace.

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

There is no passion, there is serenity.

There is no chaos, there is harmony.

There is no death, there is the force.

Joseff knew this, he had studied it profusely. Yet he lingered on Elsa’s words, taking them to heart. He knew of the Jedi, how they saved him, took him in, raised him. He knew the fears of the dark side. He knew how to combat them.

“Fear will be your enemy”

Fixing his hair, Joseff gripped his lightsaber tight, buttons on the hilt slit between his fingers and stayed upon the handgrip. His lower finger picked at the belt loop as he listened to the lecture, his eyes intently following the platinum haired Jedi.

“It is in all living things, it brings us together.” She raised her hands to the side, warming accepting all her students. “Fear. It is only natural. The force as well. There are many similarities; it exists in all things, but it is more potent in others.” The force flowed from her body and into Joseffs lightsaber, activating it, and causing it to float to its own volition. Gasps heard amongst the crowd, it made its way to Elsa. “Many of you will know fear first hand, while others may sidestep it entirely. The choices you make as a Jedi will determine how the force moves you, how it guides your steps.” Her own saber came off her belt, igniting on its way out, the silver blade meeting Joseffs in the air with a parry. “You may rely on it, you may use it to sway your hand with a lightsaber, or you may use it to bolster your other skills. The force does not control you. But it does lend you a helping hand.” The sabers dueled in the air for a moment, flashes lighting up the room. With each passing second, they intensified nary a sweat on the Jedi’s brow. It came effortless to her; years of training guided her hand, just as it would guide Joseffs.

He thought to himself, impressed by the blue and silver display. Admiring the possibilities of his own potential, he reached out, attempting to find his blade back to him. The space around him teemed with energy, uncontrolled. Meditating on himself he could not center, but he felt the power, the warmth, that came with the force. It would not count as one of his five mandatory meditation sessions, but he focused what he could, concentrating to feel the blades strike one another as the dance continued. The room was murky; the uncontrolled life forces of his fellow younglings clouding his vision, but the weapons twirling left a unique wake, one he could barely sense. But he found it, his blue blade in the control of Master Elsa.

He focused upon it for a second, giving it a light tug with the power of the force. What little he could control was enough to levitate rocks and other small items, but size matters not to the force. “Ahh, one of you is trying to wrest control of the blade with the force. Very well, take it from me” Elsa fought back, the strength on the blue blade intensifying the more Joseff wrestled for it. “Let it go, little Joseff, focus your mind.” Her words echoed in his head, he wouldn’t be able to compete with a full-fledged Jedi Knight, but he was determined. He did as she said, focusing, letting go. He remained pinpointed on the lightsaber, closing his eyes, and could feel the rest of the room dimming. He could see the waves part around him, revealing only the blade. He grappled on to it, feeling its position in the dimensions. But with that he lost it, and lost all sense of it. His eyes jutted open and the clouds restored.

“What went wrong, Joseff?” The blade landed in Elsa’s hand, still ignited.

“What?”

“What did you do wrong?” she replied with a twirl of the blade, her own saber finding its way back to her belt.

“You were too strong”

“Was I, Joseff?” The saber floated up once more, withdrawing the blade, and made its way over to Joseff, righting itself to fit into his outstretched hands. “You cannot control me Joseff; you have no way of making me do anything. That is a lesson for another time. You have infinite control over yourself, little one. Let it go, and embrace that infinity. Though I may have overpowered you, you made no attempts to overpower yourself; to overcome your restrictions, remove the doubt from your mind, or concentrate on what you wanted to do.” She motioned to the clan once more. “Worry not about what you can do, younglings, and focus on your goal, break down your walls, and see what you are truly capable of” She looked at her students longingly, with the importance of the world in her eyes. “You will all be something great. You will all protect the innocent with your power, and make the universe a better place. I believe in you full heartedly. You may be younglings now, but you are my younglings, and the force has many plans for you. But it is up to you to grasp on the opportunities granted and make it for yourself. I can only teach you so much. One day you will surpass me, Joseff you will defeat me in a duel, and eventually a new generation will be taught by the next, and the Jedi will continue to grow and prosper due to students like the lot of you.”

She walked the steps to the raised platform in the middle of the room, eyes followed. Taking her position at the front of the class once again, she addressed her students. “Unfortunately my time with you for now is up. I hope it was pleasurable for you all, reflect upon what I have said, practice sensing with the force, and continue your lightsaber training. You may want to set time aside to learn the layout of the Jedi Temple; you need to know it off by heart”. She motioned towards the door and it opened under its own power.

Setting his helmet down, and placing the remote in its container, Joseff clipped his training lightsaber to his belt. Soon he would find a master, and construct his own lightsaber. For not this would have to do. The hallways were large, and he took his first steps towards them, exiting the room. His fellow students scattered, some to their quarters, some of the first day students staying back with Elsa, hoping to be guided around, and others in seemingly random directions. The day was still young and so was the Jedi, but he knew his way around. It was his duty to study and memorize what would be his home, but at the same time, he was overwhelmed by the vastness some days. He stepped down the stairs leading into other halls, and leaped onto one of the steps surrounding a pillar. He closed his eyes and stepped off, landing on the one below it, and jumping across the land on the adjacent pillar. As his foot hit the step he spun, twirling in the air, stepping again on the next one with his opposite foot. He sensed the halls run high into the air, arching at the top, the potential was vast, and he was just getting started.