Chapter 11
After looking over the directions and understanding just what would be required, I instantly knew I wanted my lightsaber handle to resemble my Muramasa's. Searching through the crates, I found a likely looking handle casing. It resembled a handlebar of something, but I didn't care where it came from, just that it had the size and shape I needed. Assembling the electronic parts of what would become my lightsaber would be easy enough with Warbler's help and the help of the instructions. The hard part would be in getting the gemstone for my lightsaber.
According to the instructions, the stone would help focus the energy beam and also give the blade its color. The instructions also mentioned that natural gemstones would be best but artificial ones could be made that were just as effective. Along with the parts and instructions, was a portable mini-furnace for use in making an artificial stone. Just pour in the ingredients, bake, cool, cut and install.
The Force was telling me not to use the furnace. It was playing the part of compass again and so I decided to go on a little training journey to find whatever the Force was directing me to. Making a pack of supplies to last several days if need be, I set out in the direction the Force was pointing in.
I don't know how long I traveled until I came to the foot of a mountain. I remembered flying over it upon my initial arrival to Dagobah but had not thought of it again until now. I began to climb. Using the Force to augment my stamina and to tell me where the best foot and hand holds were helped me make great time up the mountain. The most glorious sight I have beheld, awaited me after I cleared the cloud layer.
The light intensity had been increasing gradually and so when I broke through the clouds the beautifully bright and warm sun greeted me without blinding. The sun was warm and pleasant after so long under the clouds training with Master Yoda. I continued to climb until I got to the top and realized the mountain I had been climbing was an extinct volcano.
I carefully entered the cone heeding the guide of the Force until I found what I had been looking for. I cleared the dirt away and found a chunk of red diamond about the size of an earth baseball. I didn't pretend to know what to look for in a diamond but upon holding it to the light of the sun, I could see the light shine through the same way you can tell when you have a true agate stone. It was a wonderful sight!
I carefully wrapped the stone and placed it in my pack and climbed back to the edge of the cone where I had seen a ledge in the rock. Sitting down, I began to meditate on the Force when I was struck with an epiphany. To truly feel the Force and know it to be your ally, you must surrender a little piece of yourself to it. You must trust it beyond any doubt. You must allow it to flow. It wasn't a thing to violently grab a hold of and bend to your will; the Force is best described as a partnership with the very energy of the universe.
As these thoughts occurred to me, I felt truly alive for the first time in my entire life. I was aware of the universe and it was aware of me.
Chapter 12
I sat there for a time, enjoying the sunlight until I had my fill. Standing up, I decided to test my epiphany. Surrendering myself totally to the Force I jumped off of the ledge I had sat on. I fell for what seemed like forever. I entered the cloud layer and was out the bottom in seconds. I saw the trees as I fell towards them and grabbed a vine as I fell through the top of the tree canopy and started swinging like some kind of Tarzan.
I felt the exhilaration of the speed and the motion of the vine swing as I released the vine I was on and moved to another and another and still another vine. I had steadily been decreasing my height to the ground until my last vine swing left me only ten feet from the ground. As I let the vine go, I tucked into a forward somersault and landed on my feet.
From there, I began to run and run and run. I felt so full of energy I felt I could run forever. It seemed too that with every other burst of energy, a Burst of Speed came as well. Trees and animals would blur as I moved past them. I continued my simple flips, rolls and somersaults.
Before it seemed possible, I was back at Yoda's house. By this time, I was tired but I could feel the Force cleansing my body and relaxing my muscles. I lay out flat on the ground for a time as Yoda came out of his house and said: "From here, did I feel your acceptance." I was silent for a moment. I startle to chuckle then laugh. My laugh got louder and louder until I think Master Yoda may have thought I had taken leave of my senses which made me laugh even louder.
Tears had come to my eyes by this time and my belly ached from my mirth. When I finally stopped laughing, I sat up and said: "It's so amazing Master! I have never felt such peace or contentment as I do now." I can truly feel the Force." Yoda said: Feel it you can but fully control it yet, you do not. Soon though, you will. Soon."
I took the diamond out of my pack and showed him. He nodded in approval and returned to his house. That night, I cut a piece of diamond off of the main stone in exact proportion to what the directions specified. After sealing the case of my lightsaber, I then stretched out in my tent. While holding the handle in my hands, I laid back, placed my hands on my abdomen with the handle in them and sunk into the deepest Force meditation I ever experienced.
I was visualizing the electronic pathways in my saber's circuitry, tracing the flow of energy from the powercell to the various parts, causing them to merge in a way more complete than merely physical. Three days later, I emerged from my trance, hungry and thirsty but still satisfied with what I had done. After eating a large meal and some water, I took up my lightsaber, and pointing it away from myself, I pressed the power button for the first time.
With a snap, hiss, my lightsaber came to life. The red diamond caused the blade to color a deep red like that of an early sunrise. The blade was approximately one meter, or 3.3 feet in length. Giving my saber some test swings, it felt like an extension of my arm, just as my Muramasa blade did. I had placed safety switches in the handle disguised as decorative squares so if I should drop it, the blade would automatically deactivate.
By this time I had also found some natural fibers that when dried and peeled could be made into a rough spun cloth that I used to wrap the handle with in the same pattern as my Muramasa blade. The next day, Master Yoda began my formal lightsaber training. While slightly easier than my katana training, I also had to be many times more cautious. With the only weight being the handle itself, if I was not careful I could have cut or even killed myself with very little effort. Yoda used something called a seeker globe that floated around just above my head and darted around firing stun bolts at me at random intervals. The bolts stung when I was hit but soon I was blocking these bolts with the skill and finesse born of letting the Force guide my actions.
There was no certain point when I became proficient in saber handling. It just happened without my realizing it. Many was the day, that Yoda would test my growing saber skill by throwing random objects at me, rocks of all sizes, logs, and tree limbs. My Force abilities seemed to encompass a wide range of areas. Control of mind and body. Sense of objects and the flow of the Force. Altering my perceptions of the world around me. Yoda spoke to me of perceptions one day: "Through the Force, things you will see. Other places, other thoughts, the future, the past, old friends long gone. Difficult to see the future though, always in motion it is."
Finally, the moment of my final test came, my own Trials; though I didn't know this at the time. Yoda was in a special harness that allowed him to ride on my back while I trained. At his command, I stopped and let him down. Straightening up like a reed in the wind, I felt a dark, cold clamminess nearby. I felt the specter of death as if its hand was on my shoulder. I looked around to find the source and saw a large, particularly gnarled tree.
Yoda looked to me and said: "In you must go. Taking only what you have with you." I turned back to face the tree and stepped forward.