Pathway to the Light

(Cloud approaches the center in a calm demeanor, arriving at the doors. The blond haired man was fairly confident the skills he possessed. Lifting the brown hood off his head, it falls below, gently draping across his shoulders. Cloud had a smile form over his face while narrowing his eyes slightly. Lifting his head upwards, he glanced over the building. Putting his palm at the door, he pushes it open. Placing a foot inside, Cloud makes his way to the center of the building. His mind was clean of all thoughts, simply walking in the long hallway. A lone lion's chain dangled from his neck, moving back and forth along his chest as he continued forward. Several attendants guided Cloud to the Jedi Council in the building. Proceeding through another doorway, he saw the legendary Jedi Council in front of him. Coming to a stop, he was in front of the Council members. Bowing his head slightly in respect, he looked up again before speaking.)

"I have come here today to join the ranks of the Jedi. I ask humbly for you to accept me, so I can help the light shine even farther."

(Lowering his head again, Cloud awaits for the Jedi to speak in behalf of his request to join. He could hear some conversing between the Jedi members. Even though Cloud thought he was confident enough, many thoughts still went across his mind. He closed his eyes, deciding to await patiently. Cloud brought his hands around, lacing them together while waiting.)

**A beautiful woman strides into the Recruitment Center, lost in thought. Looking up, she notices a new person standing in the center of the room. She pulls the hood from her face as she walks up to the stranger.

"Hello.. my name is Beldarine, it's wonderful to see a new face around here. We shall try to find you a master as soon as possible. I will request to take you as my padawan, and we shall see. In the mean time, go to the bar and have a few drinks.. or take up a spar in the Academy. I will get back to you soon."


**She smiles and walks out of the recruiting center, heading for the council rooms.

(Cloud, having a perplexed face, decides to follow up on her suggestion. Turning around, Cloud pulls the hood back over his head. A small amount of his hair hangs out from under the hood. The lion's chain sparkles under the room's light as he pushes the door back open.. He makes his way out of the council room, heading to the widely known Yoghurt's bar.)

"Lets check this bar out."

**Beldarine arrives back in the recruitment center to find it empty. She makes her way into the center and sits calmly -- waiting for her new padawan to arrive.

(The doors to the center open again, as a figure appears in the light. Cloud walks back into the center, his facial expressions still rather calm. His wait at the bar was rather short, but interesting nonetheless. Cloud walks to the middle, spotting the Jedi he had met earlier. Two attendants close the large doors behind him as Cloud comes to stop. His white robe fits loosely around his body while dangling below, gently moving back and forth from a draft of wind. Two sabres were clipped to his belt, being concealed by his brown overcoat. Letting the hood off his head, his hair ruffled up a tad, spiking into the air. Cloud bows his head to her slightly, his hands laced. He was hoping she didn't have to wait too long for his arrival. A thought crossed his mind, if she was going to be his new master. Cloud was wishing that his request to join went smoothly and he was accepted. Looking back up, a smile appears over his face before speaking.)

"Sorry for the wait, please accept my apologies."

**She stood, brushing off her tan Jedi robes. Bel nodded her head once, glancing at him.

"I do not believe I ever caught your name.. A Jedi should always know their padawan's name."

**Bel winked at him and laughed slightly. She gestured towards the doors and began walking.

"Come, we shall start your training here. First, your name. Second.. tell me about yourself. Why do you want to become a Jedi, and what does being a Jedi mean to you? What does the Force mean to you. How do you plan to use your powers in the Force? Peace, aiding others, study, healing? What do you feel the dark side is? Tell me those things, be open and honest. If you do not know what the Force means to you, tell me. This is your first lesson. The dawn of awakening. You may not have ever thought about any of these questions, but the answers are extremely important."

**She got to the doors of the center, and opened them, letting her padawan through first.

"Take as long as you need to reply, just be sure your answers are what you want to say."

(Cloud walks slowly, along side of her. He lowers his head in thought for a brief moment. Lifting his head back up, Cloud looks at her.)

"My name is Cloud Selestor master."

(He looks ahead of him again, eyeing down the hallway. Thinking about the questions she had asked him. Each step they take, echoes down the whole hallway.)

"Well, I was born on Chandrila and grown up as an orphan. I do not know much about my parents, or if I have a family alive still. I was told when I was younger, that my father worked as cargo transport pilot. My mother stayed with the home and me. I, however, don't believe this and find it as rubbish. I intend to find out the truth very soon. I did find that there were past Jedi Knight's in our family line. I think this has something to do with my family. About me in general there isn't much. I spend time perfecting my flight skills. I have a hobby in piloting, and I try to finesse myself more in flying. I also like to read about the Force and right now, I wish to meet the members here. I am sure I can help my fellow Jedi with my flight skills. I have had a feeling of wanting to be a Jedi for a long time. This probably also has to do with my family's past with the Jedi. I was drawn to it when I was growing up. Being a Jedi means a great deal to me, because I have a inner wish to help those in need as much as I can. This is why I came here. What better place to becoming a Jedi, then GJO itself."

(Narrowing his eyes, Cloud thought about the Force and how we wished to answer he questions. They weren't difficult questions, but putting his thoughts to words....that was a different matter. He glanced at her before speaking again.)

"Ever since I was younger, I have found a fascination with the Force. I wasn't able to do much with it, such as researching its past, or using a sabre because of being young. I guess you can relate the Force to real moist clay. When it is in its first stages, you can manipulate and mold it into anything you wish. The end result is a finely crafted art of such. I know the Force is much more in-depth and there is plenty more that has to do with it. It is very intricate, and has many details that must be attended too. If you are not careful to it, then you have a power in your hands which can lead to destruction. I realize this is a matter in which I must pay careful attention too, not to take the Force for granted. It wasn't until recently that I was able to go into it intensely. For some reason I have a mental image of my father teaching me proper sabre usage. Its fairly bleak, and I cant remember much of anything in my past. Still, I do find my sabre handling fairly competent. Its rather saddening sometimes, not remembering my past much. I still move on, knowing that someday ill find the truth."

(As the two walk, Cloud notices his master paying close attention. Was his answers making sense at all, or was it gibberish? Cloud closed his eyes again before speaking to her. Opening his eyes, he began to answer her other questions, trying to be precise and organized in his wording.)

"What I intend to do as a Jedi? The reason is fairly simple. I wish to help the ones in need, be their guardian when all seems dark and shadowed. I shall unquestionably devote myself to the light and suppress the darkness. Of course, being a Jedi, I would use my abilities to heal and care for people in need as well. I even intend to study even more into the Force. Even though I can handle a lightsabre, I will learn a lot more from you and about the Force. To me the Force means the light that has the power to bring peace and serenity to the universe, at the same time if it is used for dark aims, it can destroy innocents as well. The Dark Side, is what I wish to help suppress. It lurks in the darkness, waiting to hurt innocent people. It is a force to be reckoned with, but it shall not cloud be from my objective and goals. I also know thing such as rage and anger are factors leading to the darkness."

(As the last word leaves from his lips, Cloud looks over at his master. He gives a slight nod and looks back in front of him. They continue to walk, making it outside the center.)

"I hope that I made sense, lots of thoughts running through my mind. I am eager to learn new things from you, and use the light to help in a good way, every way I can. Anything else you wish to ask of me master?"

**They walked through the door, into the bright sunlight beyond. The day was crisp and cool, but the sun's rays beat warmly upon their skin. They walked in silence for a few moments as Beldarine collected her thoughts.

"Yes, in many ways the Force is like moist clay. The Force is everywhere.. in everything. It guides our actions, our thoughts. The greatest Jedi's are the individuals with whom you cannot tell where the body ends and the Force begins. To be a Jedi is to be one with the energy of life. The energy that pervades everything we see around us. A rock, a bird, a blade of grass, they all are infused with the Force. The Force is pure, unwavering, and to the trained hand, strong."

**She gestures at the land around them

"There are those who do not believe that Jedi are as powerful as Sith. I beg to differ. We do not give into emotions like rage, anger, hate and fear. We use the power of justice to bring conclusions to conflict. We are, on the whole, peaceful, but we can fight if need be. Be wary of the dark side, Cloud. Strong is its pull. Be watchful of giving into anger in the heat of the moment. Once you start down the path to the darkside, forever shall it dominate you."

**Bel glanced up at the sky, still thinking about all her padawan said.

"When you are calm, at peace, you shall know the truth of the Force. I am sorry about your family, Cloud.. about your past. I know all too well of the search for the truth. I hope that one day you find it. You made a lot of sense today, my padawan. Do not worry, you will grow in the Force every day."

**They had come to the edge of the forest. Bel stopped and sat down on the ground, leaning her back against a tree. Gesturing, Bel indicated that she wanted her padawan to sit.

"One of the greatest bonds, is between Master and padawan. I'd like for us to start off being friends. So tell me, Cloud. Is there anything you'd like to ask me? No question is off limits, please.. speak your mind."

(Cloud sits down by the tree and nods to her slightly. The tree tops sway around in the wind, gently moving back and forth as if moving along with a musical tune. A smile forms across his face as a gentle breeze flutters his hair around. Cloud looks at the pebbles on the ground and the grass, thinking to himself somewhat. The Force was all around him, he could feel it sometimes. It was strong indeed, and Cloud had to learn how to harness it and use it for good. Knowledge, thats what it was all about. He looks at the horizon briefly before speaking to his master.)

"Master, what do you look for in your Padawan's? In your mind, what does it take for a student to consider him or her pushing the limit and learning at their full potential?"

(He lifts his head upwards, looking at the sky. Clouds pass by as his eyes sparkle slightly. Cloud longed to make a difference, and he would do anything it took to accomplish it. The only thing was, he would do it doing good deeds, and not bad ones. People needed help, and to help it took one person to start it all. It was already started by someone, and he would help the cause. As his Master began to answer his question, Cloud paid attention to what she had to say. He would be her best padawan ever, and give her his full cooperation, trust, devotion, and everything else it took to be a good student.)

**She glances at her padawan and laughed. Shaking her head slightly, Bel continued.

"Honestly, Cloud... You are my first padawan. I am a newly promoted Knight, and I'm honestly simply feeling my way along here. I can only use my experiences with my Jedi Master, Sage Hazzard.."

**At the mention of his name, he eyes glazed over for a second. She thought back to her padawan days, and began to mull over how to be as good a teacher as Sage was.

"I really don't know what you can do to prove you are pushing your limits, except to push them. It shows, my padawan. It shows in everything you do. Every action, every step you take, every twitch of you finger, your accomplishments will show through. It will not be easy. I'm not a hard person to deal with, but I will not go easy. Every day I want you to test your limits. Spar with other padawans, or even knights and masters."

**In her mind, she continued to go over Sage's lessons. An absolute perfectionish at heart, she did not want to make a mistake in his training. She knew that being a good Jedi Master was a fine line to walk. If one was too harsh, too easy, too slow, or too fast, the padawan could leave.. perhaps joining the ranks of the enemy.

**She rose to her feet.

"You will find I'm not a typical Jedi, Cloud. There are those who believe that a Jedi is always peaceful, not attacking until provoked. I am not one of those, my padawan."

**She nodded her head towards the sky

"My promise to you is that I will be the best Master I possibly can.. and your promise to me is to be the best student. I wish you luck, my padawan. Now, I must return to my quarters. Find yourself a dorm in the recruitment center, and make yourself at home. I will send for you tomorrow for your official training to begin."

**WIth that, the woman bowed slightly, and walked off towards the jedi order.