Zeke, Zenas, and the Path to Mastery.

[Zeke]

I've been here off and on for over a decade, and still have no Force users ranked as Masters. This must change.

For Zenas, the path I want him to follow is clear. He must:

1: Embrace at least part of Sith Philosophy through Darth Decepis and Darth Acera. Likely more from Acera than Decepis, but I want to do more with Charley as well as Christin. Broadening his mind and powers with Sith teachings will empower him greatly, whether he accepts the whole of it or only part. If he embraces the Sith fully, I would like Charley and Christin to give him his Darth title as well. If the two of you don't want to be part of this, please say so. I can be flexible on where and with whom he broadens his knowledge and power.

2: Zenas referenced scarring a planet in False Flag (http://www.sw-fans.net/forum/showthread.php?t=22715&highlight=false+flag). That wasn't idle talk; he really intends to do it. Using his natural talent for pyrokinesis, his strength in the Force, and a violent enough conflict, I would like for him to permanently burn away a long section of forest/jungle on a planet somewhere in the galaxy. I haven't picked the planet yet, but the conflicts I have imagined involve combat against a Jedi or other powerful Force-user, or combat against an Abominor (http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Abominor) or similar catastrophic non-Force-wielding enemy.

3: Naturally, Zenas must learn the technique of Force Lightning.

Zeke's path is less clear to me. Many Jedi have interesting personal goals drawing from a rivalry or sense of justice, but Zeke is still fairly lost. He wishes to support the new Order and all its members, but playing support to gain such a high title as "Master" only works in MMOs.

His greatest skill is Telekinesis, and his only Lightsaber proficiency is Form IV. Simply increasing his skills in these areas is not enough. He must learn something new, or undergo some form of great change/trial in order to achieve his Mastery. I would appreciate any help the community can give. I don't want to drop Zeke, but I also don't know where to begin with him, either.

[Wei Wu Wei]

It probably sounds vague and perhaps unhelpful, but why not start with the Jedi Code? If Zeke needs change and/or trial, mastery and understanding of the Jedi Code would be a good place to start.

[Captain Untouchable]

As far as Zeke goes, I think it depends how Master titles are / going to be handed out in the New Order.

As far as the Old Order goes, you became a Jedi Master when your Padawan became a Jedi Knight. As far as the Wheel goes though, we only had a handful of Masters, and they seemed to be in charge type people.

If being a Jedi Master is going to be a prestige thing rather than a merit badge, a good option might be to carve out a leadership(ish) role for Zeke. While Ossus is protected by the Alliance, we probably can't rely on them for supplies as much as we did on the Wheel, because now they've got a giant space nation to look after. The Jedi may well have to fend for themselves, and Zeke could possibly carve out a role for himself as a sort of "trade ambassador" for the Jedi. It could start out as him simply being one of the few people with the savvy and connections to get the job done, and then as he helps bring in what's needed to rebuild the temple / establish a proper Jedi colony and so on, he moves up the totem pole. It's more of a political angle, but it might fit with Zeke and the slightly more motley / unorthodox assortment of people the New Order has.

Just a thought, anyhow.

[Loklorien s'Ilancy]

I know I'm totally down for Zenas and Acera storytelling :) I'm actually really excited to see how the two interact as time goes on.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

I've been around for longer (off and on) and Hal is my first-ever knight. =P At this rate I'll be a master in another ten years! LOL!

I do like the sounds of your plans, though, and I'll be interested to see how they turn out.

[Zenas Codrey]

Thanks for the support so far!

Jace, I'm not doing this to earn a "badge" or "prestige", but I realized that if I were working on their character development as hard as I should've been all this time, that the titles would've come naturally to them as I was discussing the forum and my activity upon it with my roommate. It's not about earning a badge/prestige, it's about character development and working toward a positive goal.

Having said that, your idea is a sound one. It's something Zeke could work toward using his experiences from running his old trade business and his skills as a Jedi simultaneously. Now, to figure out how to implement it.

[Captain Untouchable]

At what point did I accuse you of wanting to be a Master because of prestige?

I was referring to the fact that in the Old Order you became a Master when your first Padawan passed the trials. In that context, being a Master is meaningless - its just a milestone, rather than a substansive rank. You didn't even earn it yourself: your Padawan is the one making the actual achievement.

[Zeke]

I must've misunderstood your meaning. I apologize; it's been a tough week for me and I'm a little on edge.