"Tya woon" He looked and the mirror and said. The able- bodied Togruta gazed at himself, and frowned slightly. Did he look like a "Tya Woon"? Did this name really fit him? It had always seemed a bit strange to him that no one would consult children upon their names when they became old enough to decide. Didn't they have a right to have some say in their identification? However, those with high metachlorian counts rarely got much choice in regard to their individuality, so he supposed it mattered little. At twelve years old, he did not have enough skill to really become a padawan. He looked older than his age. His head-tails drooped lower than a regular boy, and he was quite tall at 6 feet. Master Ka always said his name was chosen for his Montrals, which had always been quite large, period. But for some reason he had always neglected to tell Tya who exactly decided it. He didn't remember his days on his home planet, Shili, but he felt a connection to the culture. Sometimes, when he was listening to the sweet music of his home planet, he could close his eyes and almost feel himself flying over the vast plains and the green canopy forests.
Tya stood at the front of the training hall, his eyes trained on his mentor.
"This is an exercise of control, Tya". Master Ka said in a light tone. The Zabrak Jedi always wore a smile, which conflicted with his fearsome- looking horns.
"Tya has a vast command of strength." Master Ka began.
"That is, in his ability to manipulate objects with the force. To be perfectly honest, inside this regard, he probably has the most skill of anyone in this clan of initiates." Tya was rather surprised to hear master say this. He wasn't aware of his level in comparison to the other students.
"Please do not take this as a criticism, my younglings. This is merely the truth. This strength comes naturally for him. The rest of you of course have your own "niche" in the Jedi arts, so to speak, yes?"
"Yes, Master." a chorus of small and strong voices sang out. The Zabrak turned to Tya.
"Tya. Please attempt to lift this sphere using both your hands." Tya looked down and stared at the very dense looking sphere at his mentor's feet. He squatted and set to work, but even while straining with all his might, could only lift the holocron- sized ball a few millimeters off the ground before collapsing over it.
"Good effort." Master Ka nodded to Tya. He then began to pace slowly up and the floor. In a leisurely voice, he began to speak.
"The density of this metal is so great that if one were to craft a good sized chair out of it, the seat would weigh more than a small starfighter. I am surprised Tya here could even get it off the ground. But the force, my younglings... we can rely on it more than our brawn, as Tya will show you now. Now, Tya. Lift this sphere, using your command of the force." Tya closed his eyes, and concentrated. He felt the room around him; the personality of the object he was to lift. He strained slightly, and felt the sphere lift itself from the ground slowly. He opened his eyes to see the ball suspended in the air parallel to his face, a foot away from his nose.
"Thank you, Tya. Please lower it now." Tya lowered the ball so it rested at his feet.
"Only a select few of those in this room can rely on their strength in the force more than the strength in their muscles in regard to shifting, lifting, and generally moving objects." Master Ka said.
"Tya here is one of them. He has an immense ability when it comes using the force as a physical power."
"Yes, Master Ka." the chorus of voices rang out.
"But." he put much emphasis on the word, and stared at the younglings with an intense gaze.
"Control is a thousand times more important." Master Ka strode over to the left side of the training hall and retrieved two iron bars, each about the width of a stair and in the shape of a triangular prism. He then reached into his robes and removed a small remote. Pressing a button, a platform began to rise from the floor, higher and higher until it reached more than 20 feet above the ground.
"Tya."
"Yes, Master Ka?"
"Using both of these bars, find a way to the top of this obstacle." Tya hesitated. He dragged the bars to the base of the platform, and stared at them. He took a deep breath; he was confident he could lift his own body weight. He would step onto the bars, and lift them, ascending like he was in a tractor beam. Tya hopped onto the bars, one foot on each, and focused. He suddenly found himself on the ground, with his shoulder blade digging painfully into the hard floor. Almost the moment he had lifted the triangular bars, they had collapsed inward because he couldn't keep them steady with his fluctuating weight. Master Ka strode over to him and bent down, grinning.
"Thank you, Tya. You may have a seat with the others."
Tya struggled upward and went to take a seat next to Kíyi, a female togruta three years his junior. He had noticed at a young age that as far as he knew, he was the only male of his species inside the temple.
Master Ka stood and began to lecture again, and as he did, the bars began to float toward him. "Tya has not succeeded, because like most of you, he has not yet mastered control." The bars stopped at master Ka's feet. They were parallel, with one bar slightly higher than the other. The Master stepped onto the lower bar, and then the higher, but then stepped forward again as if there was another surface to step onto. With a graceful motion, the first bar rose and placed itself in front of Master Ka's outstretched foot, higher than the one he had just stepped on. Tya grinned. He's making a complete staircase. And with only two steps. Tya was correct. Master Ka continued to climb calmly with his hands behind his back, leading his stairs to the top of the platform. Stepping, he called out to the trainees below.
"Control, my younglings." His voice was strong and content.
"Control. Come, say it in unison. Reinforce the meaning of this wonderful skill." The chant began, and the tones of the strong, young voices echoing the ever important phrase sent a chill through Tya's head-tails. Control, master. control.
Control, master. Control. Control, master, Control. The Zabrak jedi stepped to their chants, and finally reached the top of the platform. Tya saw him standing tall at the summit of the obstacle, beaming down at his chanting students. He waved his hand across his chest, and the students stopped their chorus abruptly.
"Control, my younglings." Tya saw Master Ka look directly down at him, with faith in his eyes.
"Control."