The next morning, Marin found herself up early.. before even Jarius. That was unusual. But something had woken her, and she couldn't figure out what. With a sigh, she rubbed the grittiness from her eyes and push her self to her feet. Barefoot, she shuffled into the galley, finding a stool he'd left. She pushed it over to the counter as quietly as she could and climbed up, carefully dipping a handful of the loose herbs that made up the behot into the percolator before she filled the other chamber with water, closed it and turned it on. After a few moments, the scent filled the galley.
Carefully, she set two mugs on the counter, and took the pot from the percolator with both hands, carefully filling both cups before she put it back. Climbing down from the stool, she reached up and took both mugs, walking carefully towards Jarius' cabin.
Jarius was stretching shoulder muscles in the middle of the floor when he heard the soft rap on the door. "Enter," he called to Marin as he got up and moved to pull on the tunic he'd chosen for the day and started to attach his weapons belt on as the door opened.
Carefully, Marin triggered the door control with her elbow before she went inside. "Jate vaar'tur (, buir." she said, looking up at him.
"Good morning," he said to her as he took the cup of behot she offered. "Ready for the morning?"
Marin smiled a little at his question, glad she had dressed when she got up. "I am. Master Karrde said something yesterday about starting lessons?" She paused moment, trying to think how to phrase it. After a moment, she shrugged mentally. "I really would like to learn the Jetti'kad.." she said after a moment, taking a sip of her mug.
Jarius paused for a moment and sipped his behot for a few moments, nodding softly at what she had just told him. He knew it was on her mind the moment she had seen the students practicing in the training circle. "How strong a desire?" he asked her softly.
Marin chewed her lip for a few moments before she answered. "Very strong..." She paused, wondering if it was perhaps a good time to ask him the question she couldn't get out of her head.
Jarius nodded again as he knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I believe you," he told her. "I could feel it yesterday. But understand, you will need to ask Master Karrde... and you will have to prove to him you are willing to commit to it."
Marin's eyes widened at that. "How can I do that...?" she asked softly, chewing on her lip again. "I...can't explain it. You know I don't want to become Jetiise, but something about the Jetii'kad pulls at me, as if I'm meant to learn." She shrugged, helpless to find the words.
"It doesn't require a commitment to the Order," he told her. "He won't demand that of you. The path you walk is of your own choosing. If he takes you as a student of the sword...he is going to expect a lot of you." He thought about it for a moment. "And if you take up the Way...I will expect it too."
Marin fidgeted. "How do you mean...?" she asked quietly, draining her mug and setting it carefully on the desk behind her.
He looked at her. "The Way of the Sword is very special to us...Cataani, I mean," he told her. "Starting that path means a great deal...and learning the lightsaber is the epitome of it. You're wanting to prove yourself worthy of it." He lowered his head somewhat. "Something that I don't feel I have proven..."
Marin lifted her hand and gently touched his cheek, looking up at him. "Why not..? Because of what you told me of your past?"
"Yes," he told her. "There is much that was done that I feel regret for, dalyc'ad... I haven't earn that right."
Marin bit her lip, again feeling his grief ...and something else ...something she wasn't used to feeling from him. Shame? For a moment, she was quiet before she buried her face in his shoulder.
He put his arms around her and held her there. "Ask the master..." was all he whispered. "I am proud of you for having the desire to learn."
She nodded. "I wish you could too," she said softly against his shoulder. But she knew that there were too many dark things in his past. Now she understood why he didn't have a jetii'kad. Sighing, she wrapped her arms around his neck for a moment, trying to send him all her love, for she knew that it had to be difficult for him to be here. "Do you know where I can find him this early?" she asked finally.
"He is already making his way to the praxeum," he told her. "Always an early riser..."
She almost asked Jarius if he'd come with her, but somehow, she got the feeling that she should ask Master Karrde herself. "I'll just gather my knife, and then I'm ready to go." she said after a moment, nervously rubbing the back of her neck. She wasn't so sure about riding the horses alone.
Steffan's movements were fluid as he moved the bokken around in a kata of the Second Form, His robe, vest and outer kimono were neatly folded outside the training circle. The other students were not yet awake...having seen to it that he would have time to run through a different kata every morning in the circle before he went to awaken the others. His eyes were closed as he moved through each part.
Marin had finally managed to make her way to the praxeum, though it wasn't easy on her own. With no one to show her how to saddle the horses, she went on foot, glad she remembered the way. She finally reached the entrance, and stopped, leaning against the boundary wall to catch her breath. After a few slow breaths, Marin tugged on her tunic, pulling it straight before she made her way into the courtyard, spotting Master Karrde as she did so. She was really nervous now, and she had to take more deep breaths, remembering what Jarius and Ethan had taught her about focus.
Steffan noted her presence as she entered the edge of the courtyard, staying to the edge. He didn't break his movements as he continued through the kata...it would have meant breaking discipline, and he would not have that. His eyes remained closed, but he released himself to the Force as he started to transition from the classic kata of the Second Form to his own from the Seventh.
Blending all of his mastered forms together with the release that was shown to him by his friend, he continued to move fluidly, but the speed of his movements picked up as he let go of himself. His bokken was almost a blur now.
Marin watched for several minutes, finally settling into a cross-legged posture on the paving stones a few feet from the edge of the circle. She knew better than to intrude, as Jarius had taught her a little about the Training Circle. She was amazed by the speed with which he moved. She watched for a bit longer before she began to focus on her own breathing again, much like she had in the forest as she listened to everything around her, hearing the rustle of fabric as Steffan moved. It wasn't a Jedi meditation, but it helped her focus.
"Impressive," she heard, bringing her attention back to the circle. Steffan was standing there observing her, the bokken in his left hand as if he was holding a sheathed sword. His smile was warm and honest as he walked up to her. "Did Jarius teach you that?"
Marin flushed, opening her eyes as she looked up. "Elek, he did..." she answered quietly, climbing to her her feet again. "Jate Vaar'tur, Master Karrde. I didn't wish to intrude..."
"You haven't, and good morning," He said to her as he bowed slightly. "A pleasant night of sleep, I trust?"
He moved to where his robes lay and began to slip his outer kimono back on as he noticed her walking to him around the outside edge of the circle. 'She's staying staying on the outside...showing the respect. Did he teach her that as well...I am impressed.'
"Well enough, vor'e," she answered with a hesitant smile as she walked towards him, mindful of the boundary of the training circle. When she reached him, she answered his previous question. "Buir taught me that technique. It helps me to listen when I'm in the forest hunting or training and... it helps calm me too." she admitted softly after a moment.
Steffan could not help but smile and nod at her answer. "It is a very basic technique that we use to clear one's mind and focus," he began to tell her. "I taught Jarius that same technique when I first found him. I am happy to see he decided to pass that knowledge to you."
She flushed. "It's helped a lot ...especially during some of my more recent training." She wondered for a moment if she should tell him about it.
He nodded as he finished putting the rest of his robes on. "I really am glad that he's showing you these techniques...even the ones that might involve weapons. It is a dangerous galaxy still...will probably always be so for some areas. It is a good thing to learn. Now, it is time to wake the others."
He started to walk away with the bokken still in hand towards a covered area and motioned her to follow him to continue their conversation. "What would be a good place to start in your training?" He asked her as they walked.
Marin followed him, glad he'd shortened his stride a little. Then she blinked. 'How?' She stared at him a moment in shock and then shook herself, taking a deep breath. Then she fought the urge to fidget. "I.. uhm.. would really like to learn about the Jetii'kad," she said softly.
That stopped Steffan in his tracks... He stayed there for a moment, thinking, before he turned around to face Marin. "I felt a desire in you when you saw the sparring yesterday," he started to tell her. "But, I wonder, how strong is that desire?"
Marin flushed, and had to clasp her hands to stop fidgeting. "I can't stop thinking about it.." she finally said, looking up at him. "It ...pulls at me..."
He nodded softly. "Has Jarius told you how the Way is treated here?"
"..he has..." she replied quietly, not looking away.
Steffan nodded softly. "The way of the warrior requires a deep commitment, Marin. We Cataani consider it an almost spiritual thing. And you feel that, without any doubt, you are ready to start down this path?"
Marin took a deep breath and nodded. She couldn't explain it, but somehow she knew. "Elek, I do, Master Karrde."
He held his hand up. "No, there is more... The lightsaber is the weapon of a Jedi. To learn how to wield it is to also learn those teachings, regardless if you walk that path or not. Most other masters would not give you this opportunity without a student devoting themselves to the Order. I am not one of those, Marin...but you must understand what you will be taught. Are you still willing?"
That stopped her for a long moment. Jarius' words from earlier came back to her then. She was silent for several moments as she considered what Master Karrde was asking. "I am, Master Karrde," she said finally, her voice quiet, but firm as she looked him squarely in the face.
Steffan stood there, returning her look and feeling for himself the determination in her heart. 'Her heart is strong, this one,' he thought to himself as he thought on it for a few moments himself. He shifted the bokken to his right hand, gripping it in the middle and extended his arm out with the bokken horizontal to her.
For a couple heartbeats, Marin looked at him, but then she figured it out. It was much like Jarius presenting her with the blaster when she began that training. But this... she knew it was more serious. After a moment, she slowly reached out, gently gripping the bokken on either side of his hand, her palms facing upward as she bowed towards him. She wasn't really sure where the prompting for it came from, as Jarius hadn't taught her some of the more formal things yet.
Steffan held his grip on the bokken as he continued to look at her. "Words are just that," he told her. "Show me this same determination today with the others that are just learning the Way...and you will be my student."
Marin swallowed, knowing he meant it. She nodded after a moment. "You shall have it, Master Karrde," she replied, bowing again.
Steffan nodded and released his grip on the bokken and continued to walk towards his destination. It was a large bell in a covered area. Four large columns of stone supported the timbers that suspended not only the bell, but supported the roof that covered the entire area around it. Hanging on the supports next to the bell was a smaller timber with a decorative rope.
He grabbed hold of the cord and pulled the timber back then threw it forward to strike the bell, which gave off a deep, loud sound that seemed to echo throughout the monastery. Steffan struck it two more times before letting the timber rest and walked back to where Marin had been standing.
From the stone building attached to the opposite side of the courtyard from the main hall, some of the students that were up earlier started to exit into the courtyard. Most of the others were now starting to awaken or finish preparing themselves for the day's training.
She looked around the courtyard, noticing the sun beginning to peak over the slate roofs of the nearby building. While Master Karrde was occupied, Marin slowly began working through the warmups that Jarius had taught her. She was just finishing as Steffan returned.
"There is no specific schedule here," he told her as the rest of the students began to exit their rooms and gather in the courtyard. "But generally we'll do some light exercising before breakfast here." He gestured to the training circle, noting that some of the students were starting to line along the outer edge...there was one that stood in the center and started to lead the others in some stretching moves slowly.
Marin nodded, and looked up at him a moment before she slowly made her way to the edge of the training circle, placing herself between two other students. The exercises were similar to those Jarius had taught her, though some were different. She turned her attention then to the student in the center, trying to follow as best as she could.
Steffan watched her along with the others as they moved through every motion that he had started to teach them to loosen up muscles and prepare them for the day. Once they were finished, he walked through the line and moved towards the center.
"Thank you, Jarod," he said to the youth as Jarod moved to take the only other remaining empty spot in the outer circle. "Today, we have another potential candidate for training here."
He motioned to where Marin was standing. "Marin, daughter of Jarius comes to us with a strong desire to learn the Way. This day, treat her as one of your own. If there is anything you see would benefit her during this first trial, do not hesitate. Here, in this place...she is as much your sister as you are siblings to each other here. "
He looked to the others in the circle and asked them in Cataani [Understand?]
[Yes, sensei] The students said in unison.
"Very good," he said to them. "Start on the trail for the run. Breakfast will be prepared and ready when you return." Slowly, they started to file out of the courtyard, through the main hall and through the doors to start on one of the trails that went around the mountain.
For a moment, Marin looked back, one of the last to file from the courtyard. She was used to training in the woods. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad She sighed then, reminding herself to focus as she almost tripped. She was lagging a little, being smaller, but Jarius' and Ethan's training had helped some.
By the halfway mark, Marin was struggling. Yes, she'd trained in the forest, but that was mostly flat. Her legs were already starting to ache as the group crested yet another small hill. Oh, how she wanted to stop and rest for a moment. But if she did, she'd be left behind. Gritting her teeth, she tried to push the pain away. She had given her word, and she meant to see it through.. but could she?
She felt an arm help hold her and she looked to see the one that led them through the stretching helping her. "After a day or two, you get used to the thinner air on the mountain and all the ups and downs," he said to her as he kept her going at a good pace. "You should have seen me when I first went on it."
Marin tried to smile at him, but her lungs burned. "Vor'e." she said softly, her cheeks heating. "I'm used to the forest floor... it's flat.." she smiled hesitantly.
"I wasn't even used to that," Jarod said with a returning smile. "My homeworld is flat grassy plains with only a few forests and mountains. I was limping the rest of the first day."
She giggled a little, and reached down to rub her calves, pulling her canteen with the other hand. When she'd finished, she stood, a tinge of discomfort passing over her face before she gripped his arm in the Mando way. "I'm Marin Durza."
"Jarod," he said as he responded and they continued on the jog.
"'Vor'e'" he repeated to himself. "I hadn't heard that word before, and I grew up knowing Huttese and a few other languages. What language is that one?"
For the first time, Marin really smiled, and it reached her eyes. "It's Mando'a.. the Mandalorian tongue. Though not my native, either. I'm learning two languages at once." She paused a moment. "It means 'thanks'."
"Mando?" Jarod asked, eyes widened. "Wow...only read about them in Master Karrde's books...never thought I'd ever meet one."
Marin flushed, but smiled. "I'm still learning... I wasn't born to it." She paused a moment running a hand over her hair that had fallen into her face from her ponytail. "I... was adopted by Jarius Durza about... 8 months ago, I think." she said after a moment, surprised that she would tell him that much.
"Wow...lot to go through," Jarod said with a soft laugh - all he could manage on the run - as they continued along the trail. Slowly, they were starting to catch up to the rest of the group. "8 months and you're already here...I've been here for the better part of a year or so."
Marin nodded, and shrugged her shoulders. "I can't explain it I learn fast. I soak up things like a sponge." She thought a moment. "My buir suggested I come here for some training, and I thought it would be a good change. I've been rather stuck to home for the last few months with the training I've been doing with him.."
"I can just imagine the training he's put you through," he said with another short laugh as they caught up to the others. "Don't worry, there are a few others that have only been here for maybe a week or two. There were just Jedi padawans here in the beginning getting advanced training from Master Karrde...then he started searching for certain candidates to train from the beginning as Jedi."
Marin frowned. "Is it normal to be that...selective?" she asked, hoping she didn't offend him.
"Well, as he says, there are different roles that the Jedi have to fill," Jarod told her. "One may be excellent in one role, but doesn't have the talent or ability for another. Master Karrde is one of the best swordsmen in the Order and that's where his ability has always been...so here, he teaches that art along with others that would be necessary on the battlefield or other situations."
She nodded slowly. There was that talk of Jetiise again. "I came here to learn what I could and I ended up asking if I could learn the Way..." she flushed.
"The way you said that, sounded like you felt you 'had' to learn it," he said as they kept on. "Being Mando, are you thinking you'd have to choose between the two?"
Marin nodded. "At first I did, elek; but I know now I shouldn't have worried." She smiled faintly. "Buir ...is proud that I wanted to... now I just have to keep up..." she saw that they were within the rest of the group now, nearing the monastery again.
"See, almost there," Jarod said as they got closer to the gate.
As Master Karrde had said, breakfast was laid out in the main hall for them when they entered through the door.
Marin smiled up at him as they slowed to a walk in the courtyard. "Vor'e for the company, Jarod. Talking helped me keep going..."
"Company usually does," Jarod said with a smile as he gripped her arm again in the warrior's handshake. "And welcome to the group."
She smiled, he'd remembered. "Vor'entye. (Thank you [formal])" she said, nodding towards the main hall. "Whatever it is, it smells good..."
"About the normal standard," Jarod said with a laugh... "Master Karrde knows what it takes to keep us going through the day...he brought regular people here from around the local villages to keep the grounds, prepare the meals...and they can 'cook'."
She grinned. "I guess I'm about to find out then, because I'm hungry." She looked around the large room, seeing the tables filling up as she scanned for an empty seat or two.
Marin had finally found a seat on the end of one of the long tables after she'd been through the food line. She had to admit, she was quite hungry, but tried to keep Jarius' words in mind as she ate, chewing slowly. That run had been challenging, but she still felt strangely energized. The bokken Master Karrde had given her earlier lay across the end of the table, and for a moment, she pondered it.
She'd never used one before, and wasn't even sure how to hold it. Sighing, she ran her fingers over the smooth wood fore a moment before she turned back to eating. 'I hope I can live up to my words...' she thought, her eyes returning to the smooth wood. Such a simple object, and yet so much rested on it. She ate quietly, not really noticing any of the other students. She'd spotted Jarod over on the other side of the hall with some of his friends. When she finished, she took her plate to the dishroom, and slipped out into the courtyard again, finding a clear area off to the side. There, she took the bokken in both hands, trying to get a feel for it.
"Over here," she heard from over to her left. Looking in that direction, she spotted another motioning her to follow him. She recognized him as the younger Jedi that Master Karrde had oversee the sparring yesterday while the master had talked to her and Jarius. Knowing that he could possibly be one of the instructors, she turned to walk over to him.
"You're new to learning the sword, correct?" the Jedi asked her as she approached.
"I am, Sensei. I am Marin." she replied hesitantly, with a small bow as she held the bokken at her side in her left hand.
"My name is Dilan Karrde," he told her as he returned the bow. "If you'll follow me, I will begin your training with the others that are just starting to learn." He turned to walked out of the courtyard and through the main hall, heading towards another part of the grounds.
[Yes, Sensei.] She answered slowly and carefully, following him as he led her through the monastery. She'd not seen this part yet, and she looked around, taking it in. She knew that she was safe here, but it was still habit to scan new areas that she'd not been to before.
He led her to a courtyard on the opposite side of the main hall. This one did not have the same pattern of stones that she was starting to learn to be the training circle, but it had a line of them that other students lined along it with bokkens in their hands.
Dilan gestured to her to join them as he walked to a spot in front of them. There was another bokken there for him as he shed his robe and took up the weapon in his right hand. "All of you are new here," he began to tell them as they stood there.
"My name is Dilan Karrde...I am, for the first part of your training, your instructor in the art of the saber. So you do know, I am not a Jedi Master but a Jedi Knight, so there is no need to call me master or sensei...teacher will be sufficient. If you are wondering why a Knight and not a Master, you needn't worry. I am a skilled fighter and know well the basics that you will be learning. Now...are we ready?"
While he'd been speaking, Marin had switched her bokken to her right hand, as his was. She looked across the courtyard at him, filing away that bit of information before she she answered with the rest of the students: "Yes, teacher."
"Very well," Dilan said to them as he held the bokken in front of him in his right hand. "The first thing is the proper grip of the weapon. You see where my right hand is sitting at the top of the grip. Grip it from the top, not the side...your index finger loosen slightly but your other fingers having a solid grip. Go ahead."
Marin frowned, and switched her grip slightly, until she felt the bokken sitting comfortably. the grip wasn't fully round, but a bit of an oval, which fit neatly into the part of her hand between her index finger and thumb. With it situated, she wrapped her fingers around the grip, trying to keep it firm, but loose near the index finger.
"Good," he said as he watched all of them. "Now, you want the widest possible spacing between your hands on the grip of the weapon. To do this, grip the bottom of the handle like so, with you small finger actually sitting against the end of the grip. This hand, you do grip from the side, not from the bottom."
For a moment, Marin studied how he'd placed his hands before she slid her left hand to the base of the handle, The smooth wood pressed against her fingers as she wrapped them around, as he had. It did feel a bit more stable than a one-handed grip, she thought to herself, flexing her fingers a little to adjust her grip slightly.
Dilan watched them, walking over to correct one of two of them. Nodding, he walked back to where he was and assumed the basic stance. His right foot led the other in front of him and he shifted his weight on his back leg with his elbows brought close to him. The 'blade' pointed forward and slightly upward.
"Your right arm is where the strength of your attacks comes from...and the control of your strikes comes from your left. This is the basic fighting stance for all of the seven forms, any attack or block can be done from this position."
Marin smiled a little as she adjusted her stance to match his. It was similar to the stances Jarius had taught her when she was beginning to learn the dagger and blaster. It gave more balance and stability than keeping one's feet close together. She was glad at least that part made sense.
Dilan stood from his stance and walked along the students, making small corrections here and there. He moved to where Marin stood and nodded softly to how she adopted the stance well and her grip on the weapon.
"Very good," he said as he continued to walk along them. "Master Karrde will tell you later that to truly appreciate the sword...or the lightsaber even...one must first learn to hold it in stillness. Hold the stance...let go of any thoughts you have right now and just 'feel' the weapon. It is not just a piece of wood...not only a weapon. This will become an extension of yourself...and extension of your will..."
Marin nodded, again drawing on that same technique Jarius had taught her. She could feel the cool smoothness of the wood against her palms - which were slightly sweaty. It had a satisfying weight to it. One that wasn't too heavy or too light. It was just right, and reminded her of it's presence. She could almost feel as if the bokken belonged there. Though she hadn't intended to go into the full technique; she did hear the breathing of the other students. She could feel her own pulse, her slow breathing as she just stood there, feeling the breeze tease her hair. The bokken... she wasn't sure how it was possible but it was as if it belonged there. It felt right, and as if it were the missing piece.