Chapter 22 - The Force.
"Ding!"
My breath catches for a second, and I turn around in shock. "What?" I ask, confusion and shock lacing my voice, subtly checking the notification.
Journal Entry Added!
Journal Entry: The Force.
After Hazel finished studying, she wanted to learn more, so she went to you for more. Teach her as much as you can about the Force! (Rewards stack if you teach other trainees in the same way.)
"I thought maybe you could teach me more. You have loads of experience with the game, and I feel like there's so much more to learn." She explains. Well, I figure I've interacted enough with the character who you can talk to like this in the game, so why not make this an emulation of a conversation with her?
"Very well. What is it that drives you?" I ask, trying to calm myself from the shock. "You can see through the Force, right? Can you teach me how to do that?" I internally laughed. This quickly turned from a lesson from one character to another teaching Force Sight.
"If you wish to know, it's possible to show you how to do it. Close your eyes." Hazel followed my instructions, and I continued. "In your mind, reach out. Listen for my breathing. Don't focus on the sound itself, but the life behind it. Reach out with the Force, and feel its energy, its texture, in tandem with my breathing. Then, in your mind, step back from the image, and see what remains." As I finish, she gasps, her eyes fluttering, a wild look in them.
"It worked. Sorry. It just surprised me." She told me, closing her eyes again. "You can use it with your eyes open, too. It's just easier if your eyes are closed." I informed her. "Is there anything else you can teach me?" I hesitated. I already knew how to brush the surface of another's mind, though I never taught myself to do such a thing. If I taught her, I may as well teach myself such a thing.
"I can teach you to listen to the surface of another's thoughts, though I must also teach you to shield your mind in tandem. I can already do this, though I haven't quite taught myself to read another's thoughts yet. Do you wish to learn such a thing?" I ask. She nods, and I sigh.
"Close your eyes." She did it again, and I shut my eyes as well, so I could do this as well. "Feel the house around us. Listen to my words. Hear the sound of Kara using the game controller to study powers, the welding of Mana, trying to modify her blasters." I started. "Hey, there's a problem with the TV. It's making a loud buzzing sound." Hazel commented.
"Hush. Now, stretch out. Hear the rustle of the wind on the trees, the buzz of the bugs flying around us." I continued.
"Now, the breathing of Kara, as she meditates to regain Force points from her practice. Now, listen deeper, past her breathing." I start to hear Kara's voice. ::As I tread from the ruins of my past, I shouldn't forget, for in remembering lies pain, and...:: I hear her voice say. I flinch at that, guilt flooding my mind.
"I... I hear her speaking." Hazel says shakily. "What you heard were surface thoughts only, but know that it's incredible we can do this. A lot of Jedi Masters tried, and spent years learning to do this, in the Star Wars canon." I told her, trying to move past that violation of privacy we just committed.
"This was a poor time to peer into her thoughts. This is her constant whisper of wants, desires, and lies told to oneself to stave off the darkness around her." I explained numbly.
"Can I do this whenever I want?" She asks me. "That is not the real question you should ask. Is such listening enough to perceive the world around you? It's not. Because to listen to the thoughts of another is much like attempting to see the universe only with your eyes." I told her. She nodded, opening her eyes.
"Is it possible to hear more than just the surface thoughts?" She asks. I hesitate, knowing the answer. "Yes, but I think that we should wait for another time. I don't wish to intrude on Kara's thoughts more." I told her. She nods. "Is there anything else you can teach me?" She asks.
"I need to teach you to cloak your thoughts from one such as Mana, and beyond that? I have nothing more to teach for now." I informed her. I bought another Pazaak deck, and handed it to her. I told her the rules, and the mechanics of the game. "What does this have to do with anything, though?" She asked.
I decided to give yet another answer straight from a character in the game. "I can't teach you to guard your mind. I can only teach you how to play Pazaak, and how you apply it is up to you." I told her.
After the first round, I asked her a question. "What are you thinking about now?" She gives me a look. "About the game." She says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Right. That's why you should play it in your head. Because if you don't, you've left the doors wide open, and anyone could walk right in." I explained.
After the second round, I continued. "If you're ever fighting against someone with power over your mind, Jedi, witch, whatever, play Pazaak. Start listing routes to your favorite places. Recite prime numbers. Then, when they try to use their powers on you, to infiltrate your mind, suddenly it's not as easy as they thought. It's not a perfect shield, but it's damn good." I finished, placing down my winning card, setting me at 20, as she stood at 18, scoring me my third and final point.
"I understand. Are there any further ways to shield your mind?" She asks. "There's one, but it's not advisable, in case it's what any mind readers are looking for. You can throw up shields of emotions, your surface thoughts focusing on those emotions, weak or strong, and any base passions that may follow, as unappealing as it might sound." She made a face at the words base passions, and honestly? Same, Hazel. Same.
"There's nothing more I can teach you currently. If we ever go to a public place, only the two of us, I'd be more than willing to teach you how to listen to past the level of surface thoughts. I would teach you now, but I have no desire to intrude on Kara's deeper thoughts." I admit. She rose from the ground where she sat.
"Thank you, Cyrus." She said, bowing her head slightly as a show of respect before she started to walk back inside. "Actually, there is one more thing, but this is something you must do yourself." She turned back to me, a brow raised. "System, show Hazel the Prestige classes." I called out.
She looked through the text, and looked back at me. "Sith Marauder is the Sith equivalent to a Jedi Weaponmaster, which is an improved class of the Guardian. Sith Assassin is the equivalent to Jedi Watchman, which is an improved Sentinel. Sith Lord is the equivalent of Jedi Master, which is an improved Consular. You can choose to maintain that balance by picking Assassin, or you can choose to lean more towards the Guardian or Consular's set of skills. It's up to you." I explained to her.
Her face lit up, and she, without regret, clicked Sith Lord. Turns out my skill-set really convinced them that the class of Consular is overpowered as hell. After that, she retreated back inside, and I followed, so I could eat. I started to gather ingredients for french toast when Hazel shooed me out of the kitchen.
"No, no, absolutely not. You're not burning another meal. I'll make it." She insisted. "I'm not that bad at it, am I?" I complained. She didn't answer, just giving me a look, and I sighed, leaving to sit next to Kara. "Hey." I said, as she came up on the last ten or so Force powers in the game.
She jumped a little, apparently having not noticed me, turning to face me. "Hi." She greeted me back. I just hugged her. She seemed surprised, but she hugged me back. "Any reason for the random hug?" She asked. "I kinda heard something I shouldn't have when teaching Hazel more about the Force, more than these powers can offer. You don't have to share it with me, but we're all here for you, okay? We're not gonna hurt you." I confessed to her.
I could feel her frown, and I sighed. "I didn't mean to read specifically into your thoughts, albeit only your surface thoughts. I'd meant to teach Hazel to do it on Mana, then it kinda just happened to focus on you instead. I'm sorry. After you're done studying, and I'm done eating, I'll teach you to shield your mind." I apologized.
"I forgive you. Just... don't do it again, alright? I have enough of that from Mana. She already knows more about me than she should." She replies softly. "I won't. I already told Hazel that I'd teach her more about it, but away from you, so we won't risk intruding on your privacy like that again." I promised her.
"Just know you're free to talk to us, alright? We aren't gonna hurt you. Nobody's going to hurt you as long as I'm here." I promised. She tightened her arms around me, whispering a faint, "Thank you."
"Ding!"
Influence Gained: Kara! 160/200
I mentally swiped it away before she could see, and hugged her back just as tight as she was hugging me. We sat there like that for a while, and eventually, I heard a buzz. I focused, and heard Hazel. ::Cyrus, I don't want to interrupt your moment with Kara, but your food's ready.:: She thought. "Hey Kara, as much as I love hugging you, my food's probably about ready, and you need to finish studying. When we're both done, I can teach you to shield your mind. Just meet me on the deck." I told her.
She made a noise. "Alright." She said, letting me go from the hug. I smile at her, and I dash into the kitchen. What? French toast is good, and I haven't had it in years! As I settled in, Hazel settled across from me. ::You really should tell her how you feel, Cyrus.:: She thinks. I sigh, taking a bite as I lower my mental guards. "I don't feel anything for her. She's a friend, an ally, nothing more. Jedi, Dark or no, aren't supposed to form attachments. For the Jedi, it's a path to the Dark Side, and for the Dark Jedi, it's a weakness to care so strongly about another's life." I denied.
::I don't have to read your mind to be able to see you care for her in that way, regardless of the teachings of either side. I'm not blind.:: She counters. We continued eating in silence, and when I finished, I thought one last thing for Hazel to hear before I put my guards back up. "Even if I do care for her, I can't do anything until this is all over. People could use her against me, and I cannot allow that to be a weakness." The voice I'd projected the thought with was almost bitter.
::She would want to know anyways.:: She fired back at me. I put my guards back up, and cleaned my dishes before going back out to see Kara meditating. "Are you ready?" I asked, sitting down facing her. "Whenever you are." She said blankly, her eyes still closed.
"Keep your eyes closed. First, I'll teach you how to see through the Force." I continued on, giving her the same spiel I gave to Hazel. Kara flinched when she finally saw. "Your outline... You have so many colors dancing about. Red, purple, blue, gray, green, bronze, even a bit of silver, I think." She stutters. I blink. That's not what I expected.
"I can maybe understand the red, blue, gray, and green, as the first three are alignments, and my actions sometimes reflect all three. Green as the class I originally selected, being Consular. All those other colors, though? I have no idea." I told her. "It's beautiful, but strangely terrifying." She added.
"Well, moving on. Next, I'll teach you to hear, as I did Hazel." I carried on, giving her a similar spiel as I did to Hazel, replacing Kara's place in the spiel with what Hazel was currently doing instead, but now allowing Kara to drop in on my thoughts, as Mana likely had a shield of her own, and Hazel also has a shield up pretty consistently now.
I hope my surface thoughts that I use as an unconscious shield aren't too embarrassing. "You really wear your heart on your sleeve, huh?" My heart dropped. "Don't worry, nothing too embarrassing. It's nice to know how protective you are of us." She says. Internally, I sigh in relief. She didn't see anything bad, then.
"Moving on. Next is shielding your thoughts." I bought the final Pazaak deck, and passed it to her. I gave her the same spiel again, only this time, Kara won the game. "If anyone ever tries to use their powers to infiltrate your mind, it suddenly won't be as easy as they thought. Because you'll be here, playing Pazaak with me, where no one can hurt you." I found myself saying as the game ended.
She smiles softly. "Thank you." She says, collecting her cards. I flush a little, and gather my cards with the Force. "I can teach you to go beyond surface thoughts, and I can teach you of another shield, as much as I would advise you not to use the shield I have in mind. Do you wish to learn either of those?" I offer. Her eyes glint mischievously, and I start to feel nervous at the grin on her face.
"I'd love to learn those." She said sweetly. Oh, I'm so sure she's gonna go for revenge for picking into her mind earlier. "Calm yourself. This time, silence your own thoughts, keep them still. Imagine the waters of a thousand rivers, each stream suddenly falling silent and still. Imagine the ice of winter, cold and smooth, as it gathers. Now stretch out, feel the house around you. Strip away the foundations, and see the souls and minds of those that fill its rooms and corridors, with more thoughts and dreams and worries than can fill the space of this place." I instruct, closing my own eyes to follow along.
I hear Mana's thoughts, somehow. ::This place is so quiet. Nothing like Suffield... I don't even know why I'm here...mm - wonder how much the bounty on their heads are now. Not that I'd collect.::
Next was Hazel's. ::Don't understand how that Jedi keeps in shape like he does. He's barely changed from school. He just seems to be naturally young.:: Her mind whispered. "Now do you hear me? Truly hear me." I thought.
::I hear you. This... This is incredible, Cy.:: She said, opening her mind so I could hear her. "It's a wonder, isn't it?" I think. I start to hear a noise in the background. It was faint, like an echo. "Do you hear that?" I ask her, frowning. ::Hear what?:: She asked. "That sound... It's almost like an echo." I muse.
She opens her eyes, throwing a concerned glance at me. "It's nothing, probably." I say, bringing my shields back up. She doesn't seem convinced, but we move along anyway. "This final shield is more of a personal thing. You can throw up shields of your emotions, of any degree, as well as any base passions, as disgusting as it may seem. It does work, and you had seen me unconsciously using such a shield earlier." I explained to her. She nodded, and closed her eyes, focusing.
"I'll try that shield for now, we'll see how it goes." She decides, walking back inside, glancing at me one last time before she closes the door behind her. I summoned the screen to see the quest rewards from training Hazel and Kara. I honestly was pretty happy with it.
Rewards: +1 FP Regeneration, +20 Influence over respective Trainee, +2 Wis, +2 Int.
So overall, I got two points added to FP Regeneration, 20 influence for Kara and Hazel, and +4 to Wis and Int. I summoned my influence screen, so I can look at the list, and this is what I saw:
Kara: 180/200
Hazel: 120/200
Mana: 50/100
I was pretty happy with that. I crossed my legs and closed my eyes, beginning to practice Battle Meditation in hopes to evolve it.
