Hey, everybody. Back with another chapter. Sorry it took so long, but I'm in mid-term season right now, so it took up a lot of my time.
Let's get to it.
Chapter 57- Lessons of the Old Masters
As the sun begins to set over Mortis, on the ground outside the entrance of the ancient monastery, Ben and Rey are continuing their training under the Force ghosts of ancient Jedi masters. Having moved on from Master Baas and Master Sunrider, they are now learning under the Shans: Master Bastila Shan and Master Satele Shan.
In a circular courtyard, Ben is standing in front of Rey, holding a blaster that he had retrieved from their ship, with the weapon set on stun. He is watching as Rey is meditating, eyes closed as she delves into the Force.
"Concentrate, young Rey," the spirit of Bastila Shan says as she slowly walks behind Rey, watching her as she continues speaking, "Feel the Force flowing through you. The Force is energy, and using it is manipulating energy."
"But learning how to absorb it is a different thing entirely," Rey says, her eyes still closed.
Standing off to the side, the spirit of Satele Shan speaks up, "No, Rey. Fundamentally, no. Tutaminis is not a different thing. Only more difficult. And perfecting it is a mix of having the natural gift for it, and understanding how it works. If you can understand the Force and its nature, this will come to you."
For a time now, Bastila and Satele have been teaching Ben and Rey a unique power that had come naturally to the Shan bloodline, and that they thought would be very useful for Ben and Rey to know: tutaminis. While almost all Jedi could wield tutaminis to a degree, Jedi, or other Force users, who mastered it could accomplish great feats with it. They knew that Anakin, as Darth Vader, had absorbed the energy of Han Solo's blaster shots into his hand with tutaminis on Bespin back in 2016. And during a duel with Darth Malgus on Alderaan, Satele Shan had blocked Malgus' blade and begun to force it back into its hilt with her bare hands through the use of tutaminis. And so, the two old Masters had resolved to try and teach Ben and Rey the secrets of how to master tutaminis, and see if they had the potential to master it to the degree Bastila and Satele had.
Their exercises has been mostly centered around Rey trying to absorb stun rays from Ben's blaster. So far, she has not been successful, and has so far been stunned seven times. She is now meditating again to try and connect with the Force, while Bastila and Satele try to guide her in the task.
"The Force flows through everything. Energy flows through everything. One truly understands that can manipulate energy in many ways," Satele says calmly as Rey opens her eyes and looks up at Satele. Then, raising her hand, they watch as flames from the fire they had set nearby flow into the air and then into her hand, where it disappears.
Rey closes her eyes again, and resumes meditating. Then, after a few minutes, she raises her hand towards Ben and says, "Alright, Ben." Ben raises the blaster and aims it at her, then squeezes the trigger. A stun ray shoots out, and to Ben's extreme excitement, disappears into Rey's hand, with no reaction from Rey at all.
"Yes!" Ben exclaims. Then, to continue the exercise, he shifts the blaster around a bit and fires three more stun rays. Rey absorbs the first one, but the second and third ones hit her, and she falls to the ground unconscious.
Behind Rey, Bastila smiles a bit. "I suppose we still have a little work to do," she says.
(6 Mortis days later)
In a cave a short distance from the monastery, the sound of clashing lightsabers can be heard as in the midst of the cave, Rey and Ben are in the midst of a fierce training duel. Around them, the spirits of Anjar Alcara, Obi-Wan and Lord Hoth are watching them.
After a long time training in tutaminis under the spirits of Bastila and Satele, as well as several other Force techniques, including battle meditation, the two had moved onto training in combat. This is where the spirits of Lord Hoth and Anjar had returned and taken over their training, with Obi-Wan assisting as well, as he was more skilled in Soresu than either of the older Jedi.
Under the tutelage of the three spirits, Ben and Rey had begun very intense combat training. Anjar, assisted by Lord Hoth, had been teaching them how to enhance their lightsaber combat. This included using the Force to augment their speed, use of Force valor to increase their fighting skill, and using the Force to guide a thrown lightsaber. He also taught them to enhance their skill at using Force powers such as Force pushes against individuals, Force pulls against other objects, and Force judgment in the midst of fierce lightsaber duels.
Now, the two were undertaking a new lesson. The three old Jedi Masters had been teaching the two young Jedi how to switch quickly between various forms of lightsaber combat. Now, they were testing Ben and Rey on how well they could do it in the midst of battle.
The two were now engaged in a training duel, while the three old masters watched them. In addition to calling out mistakes they saw, the three masters would call out a new style for one of the two duellists every 30 to 45 seconds or so, and they had to switch to that style immediately.
Needless to say, the two had not been so successful when this training first begun with switching so quickly in the midst of a duel. But, as time went on, they had begun to get better and better.
"Ben, Niiman!" Lord Hoth shouts.
"Rey, Soresu!" Obi-Wan says.
The two young Jedi immediately switch to the new forms. Ben, wielding both of his grandfathers' sabers, attacks Rey with increased ferocity. However, Rey is not giving him an inch. Every blow Ben aims at her is easily blocked. Rey is moving her saber around her so quickly that at times, it looks like there are more than two blades active by how fast the blades are moving.
The three masters continue watching them. Then, right as Ben is starting to draw one of his sabers back to send out a Force push while striking with his other saber, Anjar declares, "Stop!"
Both of them freeze in place, their sabers inches away from each other, the blades humming as they remain motionless. The two then slowly lower their sabers and turn to face their teachers.
"You are doing well," Lord Hoth compliments them.
Then, Anjar picks up the conversation and says, "But remember, a true Jedi is a warrior second, and a servant of the Force first and foremost. By understanding those priorities is how you become a truly great warrior and achieve victory over the darkness. The two of you are getting the hang of mastering all styles of combat, but you allow your skills at combat alone to take over too much. A true Jedi lets the Force flow through them at all times, guiding their actions in combat, and letting it guide their saber through the moves. You must remember this."
"Yes, Master," Ben and Rey respond, bowing their heads in respect.
Obi-Wan then takes a step forward. "My young Jedi. You have come so far. But it is keeping in touch with the Force at all times that you still need to perfect. The Force is your ally. But are subservient to it. Learn to let the Force guide you in everything, and you will become great beyond belief."
"Yes, Master," the two say again.
Obi-Wan smiles a bit at the two before he says, "Now, my young Jedi, it is time for you to move on. It is time for you to learn just what you can do with your strength in the Force."
(3 Mortis days later)
Back in the courtyard of the monastery, Ben and Rey are standing together in the middle of the same courtyard where the Father once tested Anakin Skywalker to see if he was the Chosen One. In front of them, the ghosts of Anakin and Yoda stand before them.
The old masters knew that the Chosen One himself, and another of the most powerful Jedi in history, were the best to teach Ben and Rey as they tried to learn how to tap into their deepest strength in the Force. For the last two days of Mortis, the two great Jedi, assisted periodically by the spirits of the other masters. Both of them had been put through a series of trials by Anakin and Yoda, testing their ability to use the Force to their greatest extent. And so far, the two had passed them all.
Now, as the two young Jedi ready themselves their next test, Yoda takes a few steps forward. "Passed our tests well, you have, young Padawans," he says. Yoda is the only one of the masters that actually refers to them as Padawans, but it doesn't both them. They understand they are still learning.
"Now, time to show us your true power, it is," Yoda says, tapping his stick against the ground.
Anakin then takes a step forward. "It was in this place where the Father tested me, and where I taped into the true potential within the Force that I had. It was here that I learned what I was capable of. And now, we will see if you can discover the same thing," he says.
Anakin pauses for a moment, then says, "This very planet is the Force. And on that day, I gained control over this world. I turned day to night, and took control of the weather itself. Now, I want you to try the same. But not without a struggle." Then, Anakin raises his hand, and Ben suddenly feels himself being pressed down into the ground by the Force.
"Ben!" Rey exclaims in surprise.
"Show us your true strength, my grandson," Anakin says, maintaining his hold on Ben.
Ben looks at his grandfather, who is unmoving, looking at him expectantly. A surge of emotions floods through him, and using his physically strength, boosting himself with the Force, and forces himself upwards. Then, with a loud cry, Ben raises his hands, touches deep within himself to the depths of his power, and the Force explodes out of him.
A wave of power rushes through the courtyard. Overhead, the sky seems to shake before it begins to rotate over them. Rey watches in amazement as the sun passes and disappears, and the sky turns to night. Clouds of a storm form over the courtyard, but dissipate just as fast.
Seeing this, Yoda smiles before he taps his stick a little bit. Clouds begin to form over the courtyard, crackling with lightning. Rey looks up, and realizes in a second what is going on. As bolts of lightning streak down from the sky towards Ben, Rey raises her hands. The lightning bends in midair and comes towards her, where she then disperses it to either side of herself.
Finally, Ben, worn down by the exertion, releases his grip on his surroundings, and falls to his knees. Rey hurries over to him, worried about his wellbeing. However, both of their attention is drawn when Anakin says, "Well done."
The two look up at Anakin and Yoda. Yoda laughs a little bit before he says, "Passed the test, you have. Showed your strength, you have. Proven yourself as true Jedi."
"Thank you, Master Yoda," Rey responds.
"Grandfather…" Ben starts to say.
Anakin smiles at Ben. "You have done well, Anakin. You have accepted the lessons all of us have taught you here. And you have grown. I am truly proud of not only your great strength and skill, but how fast you have grown here."
Ben feels a sense of pride, hearing that praise from his grandfather. Then, his interest is piqued as Anakin says, "But now, it is time for you to move on to a very different instruction, under new teachers."
"What do you mean?" Ben asks.
"It is now my time to instruct you."
Ben and Rey turn around, and are stunned to see the spirit of Revan standing behind them. The spirit of the seasoned Jedi smiles at them as he says, "You have learned much under these great masters. But now, it is time for me and a few others to teach you something a little different." He pauses, then says, "It is time for you to come with me, Ben and Rey. We must travel to another place here on Mortis. There, you will learn your final lessons here on Mortis."
And, I'll end there.
I know you guys would probably want me to go into more detail about all of the lessons under the ghosts of the old Jedi, but that could take up so many chapters, and I'm worried I wouldn't have the patience to write out so many chapters like that right now. So, I decided to just write some snippets, and show some of the progress they've made.
So, Revan has finally shown himself. He will be their main teacher next chapter, and I think you may be surprised at who I plan to have show up to teach with him, as well as the direction I'm going in with the next chapter in general. That chapter will also be the second to last chapter to take place on Mortis.
Alright. I'll end the chapter there. I'll try and have the next chapter up in a week or so. Until it's up, please leave a review, and stay tuned!