Chapter 10: Design

Rey was rather startled in the morning to find that she had spent the night without incident. In fact, she had even gotten a decent sleep. How this came about, she wasn't sure, all she remembered was feeling oddly heavy, as if being forced back into the bed. She had blacked out the moment her head had hit the pillow. Mercilessly, there were no dreams. As she made her way down the hall to find Luke, she may have started to suspect the Force 'vacuum' he had created had something to do with it. Or perhaps Rey was truly just that exhausted.

No matter. Before sleep had claimed her last night, Rey had come to the realisation that she honestly did want to learn to master this new part of her. She guessed it might have been the overwhelming serenity of the planet, but something had helped her reach a state of mind that she never thought she'd feel. Rey felt hope, and promise in her future, and she wanted to make sure she got the most out of her training with Luke as she could. She had her doubts, what with the stories citing Luke's lack of a steady teacher, but she was confident it would work out. It simply had to.

"You need a teacher."

Rey promptly kicked the memory from her mind. Sure, she needed a teacher. But that teacher would be Luke Skywalker.

All this didn't mean she was entirely happy with the situation she was in with the Force, but it had come to a point where that scruple only made Rey more determined to learn its ways.

It was a part of her now, essentially a new muscle. She would control it just as well as she could make her feet walk.

"Did you have a pleasant night?" Luke's voice brought her and her thoughts to a screeching halt. He stood in an arch to her right, and beyond him she could see what would have been a training ground. A truly beautiful, and tranquil training ground, open to the blue sky with the temple built around it.

She nodded, unable to hide her excited smile, "I did! No Force dreams." No other dreams either but she elected to omit this.

Luke stood to the side and gestured for her to come into the enclosure.

"That's good. But I won't lie to you, Force dreams don't come every night nor do they stay away once they start to dwindle. You have to deal with the root of the problem to sate them completely."

"Yes, Lu- Master." Rey was sure she looked thoroughly perturbed at that revelation, not that she thought for even one second that the terrors would go away completely, but his confirmation stung.

Luke barked a hoarse laugh, "Really, Rey, you don't absolutely need to call me Master."

Rey shrugged and walked into the cleared area. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth of the sun on her skin as it filtered through the single, gigantic tree that was planted in the centre of the circular courtyard. The interior of the temple itself was so incredibly different to the islands. There were hanging vines, moss. There was green.

"But you are now, right?" She asked, turning to him and propping her staff on the grass.

"I suppose so-"

"So I'll call you Master. If I'm going to do this at all, I want to do this right. I'm not going to 'maybe' or 'try', I'm going to fracking do it. Leia was right. I can't resign myself to a life of not managing this side of me."

Luke followed her into the clearing, and set his cloak on a stone bench. She noticed he wore his lightsaber on his belt. Then, he laughed. He laughed till his eyes threatened to stream. He laughed like he had seen this all before.

Rey watched him with vague concern.

"Um. Master Luke?"

He waved his gloved hand at her, using his bare one to wipe his eyes as he continued to chortle.

Rey shifted her hold on her staff nervously, leaning on it as she waited for Luke to reach the end of his mirth.

Gradually, his laughs slacked off till he was only gasping for lost breath.

"Ah, Rey," he huffed, a twinkle of nostalgic optimism in his eye, "You'll do just fine."

She raised a brow, "Master?"

Luke shook his head, "You just-you reminded me of something someone once said to me. 'Do or do not'-" It sounded so familiar to Rey. He chuckled again, but his eyes were haunted now. "-At the time, I was more of a 'try' person. I have a feeling that you, Rey, you're going to manage yourself well."

A gentle breeze caressed her cheek, and Rey noticed Chewbacca leaning in the archway, just watching.

"So," she said slowly, "Where do we even start? How did you manage to teach younglings when you yourself, according to the stories, only learnt from two Jedi?"

Luke raised his eyebrows thoughtfully, "Hmm. Well, what you say is partially true, I only learnt from two Jedi Masters. As the years went, a Dathomirian woman found me, and offered to help with Force use in the hopes of creating an enclave where she could bring young ones from her own people, as refuge from the Dark. Her kind are innately drawn to the Force, you see, but the planet's own energies pull them to the Dark and warp them over time. Gradually, I pulled together a rather patchwork group of similar people who were able to teach different skills in mastery.

"As far as physical fighting goes, I didn't much care if the people were Force Users or not. In the galaxy, there are many villages- much like the one that Tekka lived in- who followed the teachings of Jedi yet were not Force Sensitive at all. Such people still practised the traditional lightsaber forms and techniques, and there were many among them who were eager to impart their knowledge to the new Jedi-"

Rey was listening intently, amazed that Luke had even managed, with so little left over of the Jedi, as he had.

"-And of course, there were the holocrons we found on trips to other enclave and temple ruins. Such was how I learnt. Rey, I will be able to teach you lightsaber forms, and most Force abilities. I will be able to teach you how to meditate, and I will be able to guide you. But as I have said before-"

"-The mind tricks are my own exploration." She felt out the bond rather helplessly, unable to prevent the second-hand act. It was cold. Dead.

But it was still most definitely there, only it felt different. Instead of the wall being her own, it was something else entirely. It should have been comforting to Rey, but the stillness unnerved her instead.

"-Correct."

Rey took a deep breath, "And I suppose there are no holocrons for that?"

Luke smiled sadly, "Not here, no. We will have to hunt those down. But this does not mean you won't be able to train yourself. Meditation had many, many uses."

The idea that Rey would suddenly know what to do just by 'meditating' was strange.

But then again, that's how she had beaten Kylo Ren, right?

The thought didn't sound so outlandish now.

"Usually, apprentices would start with meditation methods, then swordsmanship, Force control, and such skills. This was basic training. Thereafter, they would pick a 'Class'-so to speak- a path within the Jedi arts themselves depending where they wished to focus. This was also when an apprentice would receive a Master, or mentor in my academy's case for lack of Masters, as well as the chance to craft their own saber."

Rey's eyes were wide with the daunting sound of what she feared would be several years' worth of itinerary.

But Luke chuckled, "Usually, Rey. Don't look so shell shocked. We hardly have time for all that. You already know how to fight, I can feel that within you. It's raw, but it's there. The same as your Force control. You know how it feels, you just need to channel it. The apprentices I use as examples were little ones, most four years of age, who still had to learn what the word "combat" actually meant."

He regarded her for a moment, then unhooked his lightsaber and ignited it. The energy blade was a brilliant green.

She looked at him in utter confusion.

"Well, come on then, let's see just where we should pick up in your 'control.'"

"H-How-?"

"Something I learnt from an Echani-inspired Force holocron. You can tell an awful lot about someone's handle on themselves in combat."

Rey hesitantly reached for Luke's old saber at her hip, ready to put her staff away. Her hand stopped mid-reach when Luke spoke again. Chewie had seated himself at a nearby table with R2 next to him. Both were watching with great interest.

"Oh no, Rey, not that weapon." He gave his saber an experimental twirl.

She slowly moved her outstretched hand till it was hovering over the middle of her staff, looking at Luke like he was speaking Huttese.

He nodded approvingly.

"But-Your saber will cut this clean in half." Rey picked up the weapon and held it at the ready.

In a flash, Luke jumped at her and she raised the notched weapon reflexively.

Rey closed her eyes as the green came down overhead.

Only to open them in pure astonishment as the staff held its own.

Luke was smirking, "I know cortosis-weave durasteel when I see it." He stepped back.

Rey was staring at the staff in her hands in suspicious awe, "Cortosis-what? I've heard of a cortosis core before but…"

"Cortosis-woven metals were used to make melee that could withstand lightsaber blows. I'm rather impressed you've come across a staff like that, it's a rare find. If you don't mind me asking-" he fell into an attack stance, sizing her up for another lunge.

"I-I can't actually remember where I got it. I mean, I lived on Jak-" Rey had to fall to the ground as Luke swiped across, and quickly regained her footing to be able to parry his backhanded jab. "-Jakku. Perhaps it was in one of those Empire destroyers."

"Perhaps."

Luke did not sound convinced. He sounded like he was humouring her.

They fell into easy silence, and the jousting nature of their combat continued for a few hours. Rey was chagrined to see that, at some point, Chewbacca had even fetched himself snacks to continue watching in comfort.

When Rey would falter, Luke would deactivate his saber before it hit her. In admiration, she asked him how he managed to get his timing so right as to not burn her at all. He just smiled and say 'The Force.'

They continued to spar.

When Luke left himself open to attack, he did not use the Force to prevent himself being hit by her staff, and when she asked him why, he responded in that same impossibly calm voice 'I need to taste your ability, you don't need to experience mine.'

The matches were measured and slow paced, but when the attacks happened they were precise and fast. Rey would be lying if she said she wouldn't have preferred more chaotic scrapping, but she would also be lying if she said she wasn't slightly intimidated by Luke's steady control of the lightsaber. Ben- His nephew- Kylo Ren had not learnt his technique from this man, and if he had, it was buried deep below the layers of something far more brash and devastating. Rey was simply infuriated that she had fallen into the trap of calling him Ben in the first place. Luke would notice her change in posture as the thoughts cropped up, and called her back to focus. She was thankful for that.

As much as Luke prevented himself from nicking her with his lightsaber, Rey thought she would prefer a few burns to actually teach herself to dodge better. Luke felt that in their fight, and told her what they were doing was not 'training', but testing. The training would start the next morning.

Even for 'testing', Rey was out of breath when dusk drew near, and Luke deactivated his saber.

"Well, Rey, I think that cleared up quite a lot."

One look at his face told the very exhausted Rey that Luke was only halfway serious in this statement.

"Oh, indeed?" she asked with the barest veneer of sarcasm, "I learnt that, should this have been a real fight, I would have been decapitated several times and had my legs amputated only thirteen times more. Gonna tell me what you divined?" She took a sip of water from the flask Chewie provided and raised an eyebrow cheekily at Luke, "Or are we going to go the cryptic Old-Republic-Jedi path?"

Luke huffed a soft laugh, "I learnt that my old lightsaber will not benefit you in any way. You are an adept at two-handed weaponry, and it would be nothing short of self-sabotage to have you wield anything other than a double-bladed saber."

Rey offered him a surprised look, unable to answer with her mouth filled with water, and trying to prevent herself from spluttering.

This did not bother Luke, "Additionally, I think you would be best suited to be a Jedi Sentinel. A jack-of-all-trades, as it were, including non-Jedi skills. As a pose to the Guardian who focusses more on combat, and the Consular who relies heavily on the Force, you strike me as a very, uh, balanced, or mixed, soul. Sentinels often blended 'real-world' abilities with their command of the Force and their fighting. True rogues, you could say." He finished with a smile.

This was a lot for Rey to process, and Luke could tell.

He left her in the courtyard without a word, scurrying off in a swirl of robes.

Rey did not have long to stand in bewilderment before he returned, a holocron in his hands, and handed it to her.

"Here, read this. It's an archive that outlines fully the traditional roles of the three branches. I know you want something tangible within your training. Some kind of direction. It is not necessary in this era for there to be castes of Jedi as such, but I feel as if it will help you find the purpose you seek."

Rey ran her hands over the smooth holocron, jumping slightly when she accidentally activated it.

"Thank you."

Luke nodded, "Join me for supper first though, I'm sure you're starving."

She followed him with a smile, and nervous excitement in her heart. Rey was elated further to see Chewie and R2 already inside by the table where they would undoubtedly eat.

Rey felt her chest swell with an impossible hope that she may actually be able to do this.

Kylo Ren was sitting in his chambers alone, prodding the bond that he had so carefully spent blocking since last night.

Last night.

He had been so weak.

At least the girl had not noticed.

At least now he was able to form a block by himself.

He took a deep breath, wincing as pain lanced through his left shoulder again. The wound caused by Snoke was festering, but still, Kylo Ren would not treat it. He had received an order, and he knew it was for his own eventual strength.

He had received many injuries during his training, and tomorrow's planned bout would be no different. This time alone was spent mentally preparing for the carnage that he would have to wreak, and the savage beating he would have to endure.

It would make him stronger.

It had to.