To build a mighty structure, you first need the foundation (Xam)

[SashaKovalev]

This would be the second major lesson in the training of the apprentice Xam. The first had been easy. A simple lesson in observation of the enemy. And an opportunity for Sasha to observe his own apprentice. The second lesson would not be quite so easy as they began to move into force training.

Sasha looked forward to this. He remembered well his first lessons in this. Much of it had been self taught at first, and then later improved through advice from Lord Dyzm, his former master, Lady Vader, his current master, and others along the way. The basics were not always easy, but they were essential. They were the building blocks to all other skills.

He waited on the landing pad, as he had the last time. He was a morning person, and had been up for hours already. As his apprentice approached, he gave him a friendly nod of acknowledgement.

“Awake yet?” He asked, his expression carrying a bit of amusement to it.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam approached his master who was again on the landing pad, this looked like a sacred place for Sasha.. He was a bit tired but the cold morning air was waking him up.

"Hello master, I'm awake. What are we here for?"

He looked to his master with a questioning look, not that he didn't trust Sasha but he was only curious. He put his cloak closer around him because it was freezing and smiled.

[SashaKovalev]

(ooc: How old is Xam...?)

IC:

It was a cold morning out. Each breath was visible, and Sasha noticed as his apprentice pulled his cloak a bit closer to himself for warmth.

"We're going to visit a nearby planet for a little bit of training. I wanted to get a good jump on the day...it will take a bit of time to get there." He answered. On some mornings, he was more mysterious, but this morning, his answer was direct.

He nodded towards the ramp to the ship, and together the two entered the craft.

Once inside, Sasha secured the doors and nodded towards the pilot's seat.

"Why dont you get some more practice flying." He suggested.

"I'll walk you through it..."

[Xam Feldek]

Xam wasn't surprised by his master's rush to depart. Xam entered the ship and took place on the pilot's seat as Sasha motioned to. He looked around and grinned, he hoped they would arrive alive.

"I see, well, let's go then."

He nodded and searched how he could program the flying destination but didn't get wise in all the buttons, small and big ones, red and blue ones...

"I will indeed need some help here.."

(OOC: Xam is 16)

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha nodded, the rather relaxed expression on his face fading only slightly. Flying, until you knew well how to do it, took concentration.

He stood just off to the side of Xam, and pointed towards the console for the ship's computer.

"Let's begin here..." He said, as he began to explain how Xam was to find and enter the coordinates. When this was done, he walked him through the different guages, power, fuel, and too many others for Xam to remember all at once. And his master did not expect this. Only for him to remember what he could, for now.

A good while later, he finally took a seat.

"Now, go ahead and power it up...." He suggested. As his apprentice did this, Sasha began to walk him through the rest of the steps, and a bit unsteadily, but convincing enough to pass, they were bound for space.

When they were safely out there, Sasha finally allowed a small smile.

"You'll be flying on your own before you know it..." He commented. He had caught the slight expression of relief on the face of his apprentice.

"How are you liking the order?" He asked. It was rare that he lapsed into conversation with his apprentice. So far he had been quite serious, perhaps even stern most times. If his apprentice had things he wanted to ask, this would be the time to ask them.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam tried to remember all the flashing and shining buttons on the commanding board but could only remember the ones which were obvious for what they were standing. The day would come, with expierence, that he would know what they were and what they ment. He relaxed a bit when they were in space and he hadn't to control constantly if everything was going right and turned to his master.

"The order? It's a very nice place to be, couldn't be better.. By the way, is there an automatic pilot button here?"

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha raised an eyebrow.

"You've set the coordinates, Xam. That is about as close to autopilot as you're going to get. You'll get a warning if unknown objects come under the radar, but until then, there isnt much you'll need to do."

"But dont always look for the easy way out, Xam. Theres a lot to be learned about the force, and trusting your senses with simple exercises like flying manually."

"Thats for another time, though. First you need to learn a bit about your senses, learn to be aware before you can work on these skills. That is what we are going to begin today."

"What do you know of the Froce, Xam?" He asked, standing from his seat and moving to where he had hung his cloak. He listened to the response of his apprentice as he reached into the deep pockets and pulled a small object from them.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam looked surpirse, he didn't want to play it easily but had just asked the question so he would know where it was if he needed it.

"The force is there, everywhere, Sith can call upon it , Jedi can call upon it but Sith use their hate to call upon the darkside and to use it."

Xam looked to Sasha's hand disappearing in Sasha's cloak, he was rather curious but did not show it.

[SashaKovalev]

The knight was silent for a moment before he spoke.

"I dont want simple answers regurgitated from a book, Xam. Think before you speak. The force is more than here, there and everyone. Its more than something you call upon."

"The force is something you feel. Its something that, when we are through, will run through your veins as it does now, but you will feel it. And you will never forget what it feels like to have this ability."

He tossed the coin he had pulled from his pockets to Xam.

"What is this?" He asked.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam listened, Sasha was right, Xam was far too much basing on books.. Then he looked at the coin.

"It's a ... coin but you could hurt someone with it. For me it's a potential weapon."

[SashaKovalev]

At this, Sasha finally had to laugh. His apprentice was finally thinking for himself.

"Study it for a moment." He suggested, his serious expression returning.

A moment later, as the coin sat in the hand of the apprentice who was studying it, it began to look a bit more like a flower. Petals developed and color emerged.

Sasha could see the confused expression on the face of his apprentice and took a seat, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest.

"Is it a coin?" He asked.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam looked astonished, the thing which looked like a coin two seconds ago looked like a flower now. He looked at Sasha and saw his amusing expression.

"It's a flower now.. This is odd."

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha's expression remained neutral.

"Is it truly a flower now?" He asked. He leaned forward, his index finger tapping Xam's chest.

"Dont tell me what you see, Xam, tell me what you feel."

As he leaned back in his seat once again, the flower changed to a small, smooth stone.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam looked a bit questioning to Sasha but then started thinking.. What did he feel, it was obvious this wasn't a rock nor a flower.

"This is nothing, this can take every apparance it wants I think, or perhaps you are changing it from appearance like you want it..."

[SashaKovalev]

This was taking a bit of effort on Sasha's part, the illusion of the coin being anything but a coin. It was a skill of a practiced Sith, though not one that came without effort.

But until the hesitation disappeared from the voice of his apprentice, he would continue with this lesson.

"Close your eyes, Xam, inhale deeply, and tell me what this is. Tell me what it is by what you feel inside of you."

[Xam Feldek]

Xam closed his eyes and didn't feel the form of a flower nor from a stone, he just felt a coin on his hand..

"It's still the coin.."

[SashaKovalev]

Though his apprentice could not see, Sasha nodded in approval.

"Good. Now keep your eyes closed and concentrate on the coin you now hold in your hand."

"I dont want you to try to imagine the coin, but rather I want you to simply feel the presence of it near you. Reach out to the force, let it begin to flow through through you. Use this to feel the coin."

Sasha gave his apprentice some time to do this.

"Can you feel it?" He asked. He was not in a rush for this. With time, his apprentice would learn to feel the force, learn to feel the presence of others.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam concentrated, he had to feel the coin and to feel the force flow through his vains. He concentrated and almost forgot to breath but in the end he did not feel his arms anymore, he only felt the coin, it was like his body had dissapeared but he could sense everything near him and what he was touching.

He then opened his eyes again and was a bit dizzy from the sudden light of the screen.

"I could feel everything but I did not feel my own body, just everything that was touching it and that was around me.."

[SashaKovalev]

He listened to the explanation of his apprentice. Losing touch with his body was a result of being new at the task, new to being in touch with the force. In time, Sasha would teach Xam, as Gouyen had taught him, to find his center. This would help to ground him.

But for now, to be able to feel the stone would be enough. Enough to begin to learn.

"Thats a start." The knight replied with a slight nod.

"Now, open your hand and allow the stone to sit there. I want you to close your eyes again and to keep them closed until I tell you otherwise. Concentrate on the stone."

After his apprentice had done this, he used the force to move the stone so that it hovered in the air in front of Xam.

"Explain to me where the stone is. Use your ability in the force to feel this..."

[Xam Feldek]

Xam closed his eyes again and still felt the stone in his hand, he concentrated to the ultimate and suddenly he felt the stone move, very slowly it moved ad it stopped somewhere in front of him.

"It's in front of me."

He spoke but did not pay attention to his words so he wouldn't lose concentration. He kept his eyes still closed.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha said nothing. To have praised his apprentice would have given him confidence, and to remain silent would allow doubt. He wanted there to be doubt, for in the end, if his student learned to work through the doubt, to trust what his senses in the force told him, he would be better off. He would be stronger.

Instead he moved the stone, allowing it to hover above Xam's head.

"Tell me, Xam, where is it now?" He asked.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam didn't know if he had given the right answer but trusted on his senses and continued how he had began. Now he felt a movement of the stone again, it was moving upwards, it would be above his aproximately somewhere above his head..

"Now it's going to fall on my head if you drop it."

[SashaKovalev]

This exercise continued for a bit, until Sasha was convinced that his apprentice had a good sense of the coin.

"You may open you eyes Xam." He said, finally allowing his apprentice to look upon the object as it settled back into his hand.

He moved to the control panels, checking for a moment to be sure they were still on course before he looked back to Xam.

"For the rest of the trip, which wont be long, I want you to work with that coin and practice moving it through the force. And through the force only. Use what I just taught you about sensing the object, feeling it there. And with enough will, you will be able to make it move."

He smiled slightly.

"It might seem a simple task, and perhaps it will be. But without the basics, you're working with a weak foundation that will crumble later when its put to the test."

The lessons were simple now, but later they would be more difficult, and Xam would find that his master was not quite so kind as he now seemed to be. There was no kindness in battle, and it was best that his apprentice learned this from him than from an enemy in a life or death situation. Similar to the lesson Mu Satach had once tried to teach him.

[Xam Feldek]

They continued for a while and he felt the coin moving to every place it went. When he opened his eyes, he looked at Sasha, the coin just landed in his hand and then he listened to his next task. He received the coin and put it in his palm.

He focused his mind on sensing everything again around him. After a while, when this was done, he concentrated on the coin, he saw it fly in his mind and after 30 seconds he made it fly towards his other hand which was already streched out.

He caught the coin and started again but this time with longer distances. After a few times he stopped and looked to his master.

[SashaKovalev]

He noticed as his apprentice looked to him that he had stopped his practice with the coin. His expression was somewhat questioning.

Sasha stood from the co-pilot's seat.

"Come sit here. I'll land the ship. I want you to work with that coin until you have mastered its movement. Until you can make it move anywhere you choose."

He moved to the pilot's seat and sat down.

"It may save your life someday." He stated, the message somewhat forboding. It was said without looking at Xam as Sasha began the preparations for landing.

He was not referring to the coin necesarily, but the basic skill that was being learned. The manipulation of objects, a water pipe in particular, had once saved his life in an earlier conflict with a well armed, rather aggressive bounty hunter.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam sat down in the co-pilot's seat and opened his handpalm again to exercise a bit while Sasha would land the ship. He focused again and made the coin move over his head, on the back of his seat it went down, under his seat and came back up in his hand.

Xam had got an idea, he moved the coin towards his cloak which was hanging against a wall, he put it under the cloak and lifted the coin, which made the cloak move too but this was much heavier and the coin and cloak fell on the ground. He lifted the coin again and brought it to his hand. His cloak was still on the ground.

"I think I've tried to do too much at once."

[SashaKovalev]

As the ship set down, his gaze drifted every now and then to his apprentice, watching him practice. But always, he concentrated on the task at hand. It was a smooth landing, for he'd had much practice in such things under the watchful eye of Javus Parr, commander of the Saiatah High Roller.

As the ship powered down, he stood and grabbed his cloak. They would need it only for the first few hours. Mornings on this planet were known to be rather cool, but the afternoons rather warm and muggy.

"Its good to test your limits sometimes." He finally replied to his apprentice.

"Its the best way to learn exactly what they are. Now grab your cloak and come, we've much to do." He added as he pressed the button for the ramp.

The air around them was cool. They had settled down in the middle of a clearing. Around them, mountains rose up high, and a dense forest met the sloping bases.

Sasha began walking towards the forest, his pace relaxed, but hardly slow.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam nodded to Sasha's response and stood up, he took his cloak which was lying on the ground and put it on. The coin was still in his hand and as he went down the ramp he gave it back to Sasha. It was cold and his master was heading towards a dark green forest, he just followed and enjoyed the fresh and cool air.

[SashaKovalev]

Xam would find later when he reached into to cloak, that the coin had been moved to his pocket. A reminder that he should continuously practice these skills.

As they entered the forest, the trees around them seemed almost seemed to whisper among each other. But the sun shone brightly down through their thick leaves, and there was nothing too overly forbidding about it.

Sasha turned to Xam and pulled a blindfold from his pockets.

"Put this on over your eyes. Not that I dont trust you to keep them closed, but its easy to open them when you get nervous."

He noticed the slightly doubtful look of his apprentice, and said nothing. As Xam began to put the blindfold on, Sasha continued.

"I want you to follow me through the trees. Use what I've taught you about sensing things. My signature, you can find easily in the force if you try. Follow it...."

When the blindfold was in place, Sasha began walking. It was an easy path that they followed..for now.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam was running blinded and in the dark, he had to concentrate, slowly he began to feel everything around him, the trees, the bushes, everything and then he felt a strong presence. It was surely Sasha's signature, so he followed it, they walked slowly though the trees, Xam behind Sasha.

[SashaKovalev]

He walked not too far ahead, turned every now and then to watch his apprentice. A few moments later, he stepped over a fallen tree branch, and stood just beyond it waiting for Xam to pass over it.

His apprentice was doing well. For a sixteen year old kid, he was rather good at concentrating at the task at hand.

He was concentrating so hard on following his master's signature, that he lost touch with the nature that surrounded him. Sasha caught him as he tripped over the tree branch, keeping him on his feet.

"Be aware of all that is around you, Xam. Not just me. This time it was merely tripping over a tree branch, the next time it could be a cliff."

"Never forget this." He stated, his words stern as he spoke.

He steadied Xam on his feet and began walking again.

"Now come along...." He urged, leading Xam further into the woods. After a good amount of time, when he felt Xam growing tired of the constant concentration, he called back.

"You can remove the blindfold." And then they continued on and on, following a stream with multiple waterfalls as they climbed.

When they reached a clearing, Sasha stopped. It was an open space, overlooking the valley below.

"What have you learned this morning, Xam?" Sasha asked as he took his cloak off, and hung it on a nearby tree branch.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam was indeed tired of the concentration but had not lost his enthousiasm of learning. He listened to his master and would never forget those simple but useful words.

"I've learned to trust on my senses and to use them in every circumstances."

He looked to his master and watched him hanging his cloak on a branch.

[SashaKovalev]

Sasha nodded.

"Lets hope you have." He replied. His left hand reached casually for his lightsaber. He pulled it from his belt, turning it over in his hand a few times before he ignited it.

"I trust you've brought your saber?" He stated, more than questioned.

[Xam Feldek]

Xam looked in Sasha's eyes and followed his movements as he took his lightsabre. Xam did as his master did and removed his cloak and drew his lightsabre. He ignited it and a ion beam which was crimson burst out of the handle.

"Of course I have my lightsabre with me."

[SashaKovalev]

He nodded.

"Good. Then we'll move on to the second part of the lesson." He replied. His words seemed innocent enough, but there was something in the expression on his face, the glitter in his eyes that should have made Xam a bit apprehensive.

This was not to be just lightsaber training. There would be more to this lesson than that.

"Then show me what you've taught yourself for lightsaber skils, my apprentice." He suggested.

He looked rather calm and collected as he stood there, as if he wasnt concerned at all about an attack from his apprentice. Perhaps it was an act to instigate anger, perhaps it was simply the confidence of a skilled knight.