Kara Olympia- WIP

[wsxangel]

Name: Kara Olympia
Race: Human
Age: 36
Height: 6'
Weight: 134 lbs

Appearance:

Personality: Kara is often tortured by her past, though she has received extensive training in learning to let go of the consequences of her choices, and of the choices of her former master. She seeks her own individuality in the Force, which often brings her at odds with most Jedi. She has a fierce sense of right and wrong, and holds herself more accountable for her actions than anyone else. She is often quiet, as her time training in isolation with her master did not help with her "people skills."

Because of her master's betrayal, she doesn't trust easily, and always assumes the worst of a situation (though hopes for the best).

Birth place: Coruscant

Faction: Jedi
Rank: Sentinel- Jedi Shadow

Lightsaber:


- This is her primary saber



- This saber belonged to her apprentice. She uses this for saber throwing while in combat.

Color:

Primary Saber: Yellow

Secondary Saber: Blue

Practiced Lightsaber forms:

Shii-Cho- 5
Makashi- 0
Soresu- 1
Ataru- 3
Shien - 5
Djem So- 0
>>Sub-form Backhanded- 0
Niman- 4
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield- 0
Juyo- 0
Double Bladed Combat- 0

Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:

Telekinetic: 8
Telepathic: 2
Body: 2
Sense: 7
Protection: 6
Healing: 0
Destruction: 0

Specialized Skills:

Saber Throwing
Piloting

Attributes:

Physical Strength: 3
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 7
Leadership: 3

Unarmed: 5
Melee Weapons: 0
Ranged Weapons: 0

Bio:

Youngling

Kara Olympia was born on Coruscant to two under-aged parents. Rather than raise a daughter in a life of poverty, the couple gave Kara to an adoption agency, not even bothering to give her their last name.

A Jedi, who was making a routine search through the orphanages on the planet for all who may show strong Force-sensitivity, took notice of Kara. He noticed that Kara rarely cried, and, upon taking her blood sample, noticed a heightened level of midichlorians. Because of this, Kara was adopted by the Jedi Order early in her life, given the name Olympia by the Jedi who had located her, as he felt all beings should have a combination of names unique to them.

As a child, Kara was increasingly curious about the world around her, often attempting to leave the Temple to see the world outside. Her curiosity often got her into trouble; one incident being that she managed to sneak into a lightsaber training exercise for older students, and she was nearly struck by an advanced training saber before a Jedi instructor intervened. She was bewildered by how pretty the lightsaber combat appeared, such so that when she was being chided for having left her dormitory, all she could think about was the flourish of blades meeting in combat.

During her formative years, Kara showed an aptitude in knowledge acquisition, specifically in regards to learning to balance different subject areas so that each could could compliment the other. One example of this is when she blended her lightsaber training courses with her technology subject courses, by rigging the training remotes to shoot at each other rather than herself. At first her training instructors did not endorse this sort of behavior, they came to realize that Kara sought an alternative to having to engage an opponent. Rather than continue to force the girl to do something against her nature, the instructors began to devise ways to challenge her ingenuity, rather than hinder it.

In regards to her training in the Force, Kara proved to excel in the area of telekinesis and in sensing things through the Force. Early on in her lightsaber training, Kara would tend to move an opponent's blade with her mind, throwing off their strikes little by little, rather than using her own blade to do the work. In this way, she could defeat students who relied only on their bladework for victory, though she struggled against those who were overwhelmingly stronger than herself. She resolved to practice her ability with moving objects in her spare hours, as she took to heart what her instructors said about the Force being able to move any object, no matter the size.

In addition to telekinesis, Kara showed an affinity with being able to sense things that others could not. One lesson, while she was still very young, stood out to her. In this particular lesson, her instructor said, "The Force is like a might river, and we are merely a rock in the path of that river. If we move ourselves, we can no longer be a hindrance to the flow of the Force." This statement gave Kara a whole new insight to the Force and she, in time, learned to let go over her conscious self, and allow the Force to bring new knowledge and understanding. Where Kara knew only her world and her perceptions, she could tap into the Force's perceptions and flowing, giving her knowledge about how the Force flowed around her, and how it was being used, and where it willed itself to go. Because of this, Kara quickly learned to use her senses both in and out of combat. In her lightsaber exercises, Kara could sense an opponent's blade moving toward her before the nerves in her opponent's arms could even transmit their signals to her opponent's brain. Though this skill could only facilitate survival, not victory, Kara learned to trust in the Force to guide her, as it had never steered her wrong. Outside of combat, Kara could become attuned to the emotions and actions of those around her. She could sense when someone was upset, even if that person was in the next room. Because of this, Kara struggled to figure out which emotions were really hers, and which were given to her by her perceptions through the Force.

As a youngling, Kara was too unfocused in this ability, and it often caused her great distress, and her instructors often had to remind her to clear her mind of outside influence, even if the Force was bringing such influence to her.

Because of her struggles with keeping her emotions separate from the emotions of others, and because of her affinity with telekinesis, Kara would often become so upset (whether by her own accord, or if she were sharing someone else's emotions) that she would send students to the air if she lost control.

Even in spite of all this, Kara was still one of the brightest younglings of her age. She had a knack for acquiring key concepts, and eventually even learned some semblance of control over her gifts. At the early age of ten, she was chosen to be the Padawan of Jedi Master Jaran Tsion.

Under the tutelage of Master Tsion

Kara at first did not quite understand her master. Upon choosing her as his student, the man simply said, "Come with me."

Obediently, Kara followed the Jedi Master, knowing that he had just informed her instructors that he was to train her as his Padawan. She had mixed feelings about being chosen by him, as he had a reputation as an isolationist within the Order. Many people thought he would never take a Padawan, until he came to the Temple a week beforehand, asking upon his arrival that he see the upcoming candidates for Padawans. After viewing the older classes, Tsion had spent three days observing Kara's particular training group.

The two entered into a meditation room, Kara's master motioned for her to have a seat. As soon as he was seated, he simply closed his eyes and assumed a meditative position. Kara followed his example, closing her eyes and opening up herself to the familiar flows of the Force. Immediately, she was bombarded by the emotions from the other students of the Temple. This was expected though, and she quickly purged the stronger emotions from herself, focusing only on herself and her master. She was delighted, and curious, to find that her master gave off no emotions. She did not dare to break the silence between them, but it did give her something to ponder. Even with her eyes closed, she could sense his presence. He had the cleanest presence she had ever felt. To Kara, it was as though the man was a container of purity in an ocean of imperfection. The Force flowed freely from her master, and through her master, without inhibition. Kara merely enjoyed being in the presence of such serenity.

After a few hours of the two meditation together, her master spoke at last.

"The Force gave me my first vision ever just weeks ago. It showed me with someone on the planet I was residing on, instructing that person to learn what I have spent so long doing," said Master Tsion.

"What is that?" asked Kara.

"What is that, Master, my Padawan," said Master Tsion, before continuing. "I have spent time away from the galaxy, from the rest of the Order, in order to clear myself of all things that inhibit the Force from flowing through me, from using me. The vision I received means my quest, it seems, is complete. From what I've heard, it appears you are in need of what I have discovered. I am here to offer you a choice, of sorts. Though I have already made the necessary arrangements for you to be my Padawan, I only wish to do so if it is your choice to learn from me. My path is not an easy one, and it is full of challenges that most masters would not place you under. I seek the path of balance, of finding one's self in the galaxy, even while understanding that one's self is part of the Living Force. To train under me is to walk a narrow path. I wish for you to decide, Kara, if you would be my student."

Kara sat silent for many moments. Many questions came to mind as she though. Would Master Tsion be able to help her control, and even strengthen her senses in the Force? Would he be able to help her control her telekinesis when it got out of hand? What sort of training did he have in mind for her? One thing was for certain however, was that Kara would never find the answers to her questions without putting faith in the Jedi Master.

"Master, if you would teach me, I would learn," said Kara, noting in the back of her mind that her Coruscanti accent was very different from her Master's accent. She had rarely heard another person speak as he did, in an almost laid-back sort of way.

"Then Padawan, we begin. Tomorrow we leave for the planet called Rashiwa. There, the Force is strong in its forests and mountains, and we will live and train together until the Force declares the time is right," said Master Tsion.

"Until the time is right? How will we know that Master?" asked Kara.

"The Force brought me here when I was finished with my own training, and it will bring you back here when you are finished with yours, Padawan," said Tsion simply.

That was how Kara came to learn under Master Jaran Tsion. The very next day the two departed for Rashiwa, which turned out to be heavily forested, though not made up of jungle and overgrowth, but instead had a cool atmosphere and was covered in dense mountain ranges. Wildlife on the planet were mostly small herbivores and few carnivores. Master Tsion already had a system of small houses built high in trees, with several pulley systems designed so that he could move up and down the trees at ease.

For the first few years of her training, Kara learned to live life outside of the Temple, and to live on the land of the planet that she now called home. Her master put a major emphasis on meditation, saying that the best way to learn to open one's self up to the Force was by learning how to allow the Force to move through one's self quickest. Meditation, over time, revealed new paths and directions the Force can use to flow through someone.

From the ages of ten through thirteen, Kara's routine was thus:

- Wake up and tend to the garden
- Bathe and meditate in the water
- Practice her basic Shii-Cho forms and repititions (Her master refused to give her knowledge of the higher forms until she could master her gift with sensory and telekinesis through the Force)
- Meditate in a clearing by herself, focusing especially on the emotions of the wildlife around her. (She learned to channel another being's fear right through her, without it striking her with fear as well)
- Spend time with her master as he instructed her about the living Force.
- Work on her own creative project (She often took up using telekinesis to run water over boulders in the river, which would allow her to shape the rock over time)
- Meditate alongside Master Tsion before going to sleep so that the day's exhaustion could be properly worked out and so she could find peace and serenity in spite of how tired she was.

Master Tsion emphasized creativity and individuality. He said the reason that Kara could not differentiate between her own emotions, and that of others, was because she did not know enough about herself to tell the difference. He often said, "At the Temple, everyone is put through the same courses, the same exercises, the same teaching. The Jedi Order emphasizes a lack of self, and that is one fundamental aspect that I disagree with. Without firm knowledge of the self, a person can be defined by someone, or something, else."

Kara took her master's teachings to heart, learning that living in isolation from the rest of the galaxy allowed her to begin to ask herself questions about what she believed in, and how she felt about certain issues, without fear of scrutiny or condemnation. Her master would spend as much time questioning her with different hypothetical ethical scenarios, as he would instructing her in lightsaber combat, or about the Force.

On her thirteenth birthday, however, her training changed entirely.

"Padawan, do you know what day it is?" her master asked.

"No master, I don't. Is today something special?" asked Kara, who thought that perhaps today marked a new lesson or training exercise.

"Today is your birthday, and today is also the day that we begin the next phase of your training," said Tsion.

"What do you mean?" asked Kara.

"Before today, we have spent time together so that you would retain all the necessary skills you would need for this part of your training, but also so that you would lose the group mentality that was imposed upon you in the Temple. If you recall the day that you became my apprentice, I said that this training would be difficult and unorthodox, did I not?

"Yes master, you did," replied Kara, whose curiosity was piqued again, as it always did when her master revealed a new aspect of her training. Even living a simple life on Rashiwa had not killed her curiosity. In fact, her master encouraged it.

"Today marks the day that your training truly begins. You will now be challenged to do things you never thought possible, to learn so many things at once that you will fear you will never keep up. Today, you will begin learning what it means to walk the narrow path. You will spend your days honing your connection to the Force, removing yourself from the path of its flow. You will learn to let the Force empower you, and to guide you, in all aspects of being a Jedi. The Force will guide your hand, as you guide a lightsaber, and will guide your mind, as you work with your telekinesis. The Force will show you who you are, and who you are not, Padawan," said Master Tsion.

"What if I am not ready?" asked Kara, now entirely unsure of herself. She had thought living on Rashiwa had been enough of a trial already. She had recently achieved a mastery knowledge of Shii-Cho, and had already begun to be able to refine and control the amount of information the Force would give her in her perceptions, and had refined her ability to manipulate the world around her through telekinesis. If what Master Tsion said was true, and she knew it to be so, then she had only achieved enough to begin to achieve more.

"You are Kara, my Padawan, you are," said Tsion.

He then instructed Kara to pack enough supplies in her bag for a three day trip, the furthest he had ever taken her. He said that she would need to bring her training saber with her as well, and that when they arrived at their new home, she would begin instruction of all the forms and how they function. Kara was nervous, and yet determined not to let her master down... not to let herself down.

The two of them spent three days moving through the forest, Kara letting her master lead the way. Eventually, they came to a valley between two large mountains, with a river running through the whole valley.

"This will be your new training grounds Padawan. The entire valley will be your new home, and you will learn to know each and every part of it, as you have begun to learn each and every part of yourself. The Force flows through this valley, just as it flows through you. If the Force flows through all things, in all ways, then would it not be prudent to learn how it does so?"

"Yes Master, but is such a thing possible?" asked Kara.

"We shall find out, Padawan," replied Master Tsion.

The pair found a truly massive waterfall that fell high off a cliff edge far above them as it fed the river that ran through the valley.

"Padawan, here is where you will sleep," said Master Tsion, who pointed at the waterfall.

"But Master, there is nowhere there to sleep," said Kara, who could not take her eyes off of the water fall, even as mist from the falls rained on her.

"Yes Padawan, there is," said Master Tsion simply, and he sat down on a large rock, and watched her. She knew that it was up to her to figure what he meant.

The falls were so massive that any approach to them on foot was not possible, and any attempt to climb down the cliff face to check behind the falls was just as perilous. The pressure the tons of water falling down the falls meant that Kara could not even swim there.

Because there was no obvious solution that Kara could see, she trusted her instincts, and sat down next to her master, and meditated.

She opened herself up to the Force, allowing the Force to flow through her without interruption. She was suddenly away of the thousands of interacting things in the valley, revealed to her by the Force. She could feel every leaf move with the air, every insect eating the leaves, every water droplet from the falls, every current change in the river, every bird moving in the trees. The Force was alive, and flowing through all things, at all times. Had Kara not been preparing for such an experience all her life, she might have gone mad by the sheer complexity of it all. Yet her goal was not to understand and examine all of the currents of the Force, but to focus on the waterfall itself. She could sense the absolute power that the waterfall had, the complete force at which it dumped its water on the rocks below. Even more however, she could feel what was behind the water fall. A cave, or cavern really, lie behind the torrent of water.

"I must get to the cave," said Kara.

"Yes, you must," replied Tsion.

To Kara, he might as well have been asking her to create a starship from the air. While her aptitude for telekinesis had grown in the years since the Temple, she was nowhere near powerful enough to shift all that water aside so she could enter the cave. Moreover, she knew she could not do so again if she tried. If she entered the cave, she would be trapped there without a way out.

"Move the water Padawan, it is within your grasp," said Master Tsion.

Kara got up from her sitting position, and moved as close to the falls as she could. She was standing on the shores, the roar of the falls the only thing she could hear. She was drenched, covered in the thick splash of water that the falls sent up, second by second, without end.

A sense of hopelessness fell on Kara, a sense of failure. If she could not even get to the actual falls, how could she ever hope to get inside?

On instinct, she opened herself up to the Force for answers, for a path. The Force surrounded her, and pierced her, and flowed through her, wrapping her in brilliant warmth, even as she stood drenched in water.

Kara stepped in the water, pushing out as she did with her mind. She was not just inside her own body, but she was in the Force. Everywhere the Force flowed, she was there as well. She now understood what her master meant when he said that she would find her own individuality, and still be able to surrender to the will of the Force.

As she moved into the water, it parted at her feet, Kara, as the Force, simply moving the water aside as if it was parting a line in sand.

Kara stepped slowly, very slowly, to the falls, the Force guiding her every movement, her very concentration, to the falls. As she edged closer, it became harder and harder to shuffle the water aside, though it appeared to Kara as though the water moved aside more and more slowly, until the water simply did not budge.

Kara took a moment to observe for herself where she was. She saw open sky around her, and waves of water moving past her, but not a single dropped touched her skin. While she was allowing the Force to flow through her, she maintained absolute control of the water, and to do so caused little strain. The more she tried to think, the more difficult it was to remain wrapped in the Force. Knowing that today would not be the day she went into the falls, she walked out of the river the same way she went in, and sat beside her master.

"You never expected me to reach past the falls," said Kara, who was breathing heavily, giddy with adrenaline and excitement.

"No, but I expected you to try. You did not let me down," said her master.

"Where am I to sleep then?" asked Kara.

"Your place is behind the falls Kara. If the Force is calling you there, then you must prepare for what lies behind," said Master Tsion. "You will try once a day, each day, to go in there. When you do, then the last phase of your training will commence. In the meantime, you will learn to refine your senses, becoming attuned to the living Force around you with even more focus. In addition to these, we begin your lightsaber instruction today," continued her master.

Kara's eyes widened. Today he would begin teaching her about the forms of lightsaber combat? She felt happy, and a sense of accomplishment, at having reached this stage.

"I am a strict instructor Padawan, more so with lightsaber combat than any other aspect of your training. Do not take my instruction lightly, and in return I will teach you more than just the forms, but how to find your own form," said Master Tsion

"My own form?" asked Kara, whose curiosity had flared up again.

"You shall see," was all Tsion said before he got up and took her to a clearing in the valley, not far from the falls.

"In the Temple, and with another master, you would have been instructed in the different philosophies and styles that are attributed to the different forms of lightsaber combat. Each form contains a simple strategy, or goal, and method to accomplishing the goal. Lightsaber combat is more than just the simplicity that Form I has taught you, it is a complex series of strategies and tactics. To master a form is to master its strategy and philosophy, as the rest of the Order would say. I would say differently," instructed Master Tsion.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Kara

"I shall explain by using Form III as an example. Say you are a master of Form III, which means you are heavily focused on defense and survival, but not victory. If you win a duel, according to Form III's philosophies, you have not really won, but have allowed an opponent to escape. What is the danger in only relying on defense to win battles?" proposed her master.

Kara thought for a moment, imagining the scenario in her head in a couple of different ways. No matter which way she imagined it, the fact that her opponent in the duel got away was an evident and major flaw.

"If I dueled to stop a person from hurting others, then by merely facilitating defense without any offense, I have given that person the opportunity to hurt people later on," replied Kara.

"Precisely, though I admit that my scenario was highly unlikely, but still possible. In our exercises Padawan, we will leave nothing to chance. As you have pointed out, each form appears to have an apparent flaw, something by which it can be defeated. Form I's simplicity is both its strength, and its flaw, so that it can be read and manipulated by a skilled duelist. Form II, Makashi, is well-suited for dueling an opponent who wields a melee weapon, but what good is it in an age of blasters, in an age where hardly anyone wants to attack a person alone? Form III, as you have seen, is merely a lightsaber form to facilitate defense, not victory. Form IV, Ataru, is an aggression form dedicated to closing the distance between opponents and utilizing highly athletic and strategic strikes on an opponent. This form, while useful, can be a problem for a user who cannot persevere through their own fatigue. Prolonged duels will lead to a Form IV master's demise. Form V, which is split into two philosophies, is another form dedicated to facilitating victory through action and aggression. Shien, the first fighting style and philosophy of Form V, makes use of aggressive strikes to battle many opponents, both at range and up close. The power of Shien comes from focus, not strength, and can easily be manipulated by a single opponent in a lightsaber duel. The opposite of Shien, Padawan, is Djem So. In Djem So, the focus is on domination of one's opponent, utilizing brute strength to break the focus and strategy of another individual, achieving victory through absolute control and brutality. Such a form has its own weaknesses, as a user's focus and strength relies on utilizing the Force to augment his or her strength, and the strong strikes that Djem So uses means that the user's footwork is narrow and mobility is low. Form VI, called Niman, utilizes all aspects of the previous forms in moderation. Because of this, Niman has no serious advantage, but no serious weakness either. Niman users can be powerful, but they can also be very fragile in their combat, as the advanced styles and bladework of the other forms can break through Niman's moderation. We arrive, at last, to Form VII, known as Juyo. Juyo is the absolute representation of the desire to destroy one's opponent. Juyo utilizes chaotic strikes fueled by the Force and is known as being highly erratic. For our purposes, you will never need to know Juyo, as its focus will only hinder your ability to allow the Force to flow through you, as the focus of Juyo lies too much on the self, not the Force," spoke Master Tsion, who had moved back and forth while Kara took all this in, eager to hear more.

"Which will you teach me?" asked Kara.

"All, and none, depending on which you choose. This is your learning Padawan, take ownership of it. For the next few months, I will show you each of the forms, save the last, and then you shall decide how you would like to utilize each in your lightsaber combat. I will warn you not to specialize in just one form Padawan, as it will spell that which will bring about your defeat, not victory," said her master.

And for the next year, Kara's training became increasingly difficult. Each day, she waded out to the waterfall, trying to part the water, and each day she could not reach the cave on the other side, she could not even get any closer. Her exercises with her senses through the Force increased in difficulty, as her master would further test her focus and resolve. Each day, he would present new and different challenges, often adding to them several surprise twists that she was required to predict with the Force. Her exercises in telepathy and Force perception were carried over in her lightsaber training. During the first months, she was given a working knowledge of all the Forms, for the purpose of utilizing them in her training with Niman. After she had developed promise in Niman, the time came for her to augment the form with aspects of the other forms. Master Tsion encouraged her to find a form that fit her best, and then find a strategy within the form that would suit her abilities in the Force, and then take from the other forms aspects that would compliment her strategy, thus creating a custom variant of her chosen lightsaber form.

In the end, after much deliberation and experimentation, Kara chose to specialize in the Form V variant, Shien, because she wanted to focus on deflecting an opponent's attack back at them, becoming like the surface of the water she so desperately wanted to shift aside. In addition to Form V, she wanted to learn the basics of Form III, so that she would not over-extend herself, and to learn Form IV for its ability to change strategy easily, and Form VI's ability to incorporate the Force into combat, which would benefit her telekinesis and perception abilities greatly.

Because her personal variant of Form V was so demanding, the two of them spent more time working on her lightsaber skills than in any other aspect of her training. Her day would begin with instruction on Shien, in which her master would make precise strikes against her with his lightsaber, and she would learn to reflect the strikes back at her master by twisting her lightsaber in circles until the force of her master's strike carried his blade back to his body. He encouraged her to augment this sort of reflection with her telekinesis, so that her opponent's would find themselves less in control of their blade than they would have liked.

After training in Shien, they would move on to Niman, where her master encouraged her to adapt to new scenarios on the fly. One day he would use a lightsaber to attack her, and another he would send small rocks at her with the Force, and still the next he would try using the Force to keep her off-balance. Niman placed and emphasis on adaptability, and Kara's knack for perceiving threats through the Force allowed her reflexes time to adapt to a change in enemy tactic. Niman allowed her to assess an enemies tactic, and transition between her own saber tactics to address her new threat. The form was easy to master, yet difficult to utilizing independently.

Ataru proved to be the most difficult of all, as Kara was very thin and did not have the muscular development to maintain the constant flow of attacks that Ataru required. As such, she chose instead to utilize her own telekinesis to batter an opponent's blade away so that she could quickly dispatch them without an extended engagement. She realized that she would only use Ataru to catch an opponent off-guard, and to augment her use of Shien with the mobility of Ataru, and not make her use of Ataru her primary concern. Her master approved of her view in the uses of Ataru.

In order to augment her ability to extend a duel and to recover from her energy expenditure when using Ataru, her master taught her the basics of Soresu so that she could facilitate a transition between Ataru back to Shien, and so that she could further increase her efficiency in blaster deflection.

For the next three years of her training, they focused on their daily routine, which left Kara physically and spiritually exhausted at the end of each day. Her master emphasized meditation before going to bed, or she would be unable to focus on all that they had to train for. Her meditation provided renewal in the Force.

By the time that Kara was sixteen, her lightsaber training was no longer divided into sections based on Form, but consisted of her master leaving early in the morning for a different part of the forests around them, and she would have to search for him using her senses, and would have to best him in a duel, using none of the same concepts as the previous day's encounter. Each day, Kara learned more and more about her own aptitude with a lightsaber, and how her form was a mere extension of her own personality. She became particularly proficient in using her lightsaber at range, sending it forth with the Force at random intervals, sometimes to block a strike to her back, others to strike at her master's feet, and others still to spin the saber hilt around her master's blade, utilizing a leap to meet the blade on the other side of her master in mid-air. With Niman augmenting Shien, she could make full use of her telekinesis, as the focus required by Niman had trained her to reach out with the force as easily as she would make a strike with her blade. After the first two years of her new training, her master taught her to utilize Tra'kata in her blade work. Tra'kata emphasized the lightsaber's ability to turn on and off quickly, which allowed her more options when it came to one-on-one confrontations, which was an inherent weakness with Shien. Whenever her master would try to utilize Djem So against her, she would utilize the efficient body placement of Soresu, and use Tra'kata to fake a block and turn it into a slash inside her master's guard. She became so proficient with her use of Tra'kata that during a leap she would disengage her lightsaber, only to ignite it after her lightsaber would pass under the reach of her master's.

Because of her growing proficiency and creativity in her personal form of lightsaber combat, her master began to focus more on training her mind and honing her skills with telekinesis. He would often say that, "If the Force is inside a mountain, then it can move that mountain. The limitations that you experience with the waterfall only take place in your mind Padawan. To move the water is to move yourself, and to move yourself is to become detached from yourself. These are all interconnected, and should never be thought of as separate. The Force connects all, just as it permeates through all. You and the water are one, just as you and I are one, even as the rest of the galaxy is one. In finding yourself in lightsaber combat, you have found yourself in the Force. All that you need now is to learn to let the Force have yourself, all of you, so that it, through you, can move."

"But master," she would reply, "I haven't gotten any closer to that cave since the day I first tried."

"Then you haven't gotten any closer to letting go your conscious self."

"What does that mean?" Kara asked, becoming more and more frustrated with her Master. Every time she had asked him about how to get past the waterfall, he had told her the same thing.

"You already know what you need to know to get past, all that stands in the way is you. Let the Force do the work, and follow its flow. Your connection to the Force is stronger than any individual I have ever met. All you need to do is let it do the work, and stop standing in its way," replied her master in a chiding tone. Kara's anger flared for a moment, but it quickly subsided when she realized how right her master was. Her inability to move the water aside was not because of her inability to commune with the living Force, but her inability to let her self merge with it entirely.


"Why can't I do it then?" she asked.

"Because you don't know yourself Kara. You have never tried to be anything, anyone, other than my student, and that is all you know. A Jedi is more than his or her master, they are a free being, independent and focused,"said her master calmly.

"Then how can I find that here on Roshiwa!?" exclaimed Kara, who was beginning to feel as though her time on the planet would never end.

"Patience Padawan. If you truly wish to face who you are, and find what you see there, I can help," said her master.

"How?" asked Kara, her frustration giving way to curiosity, as it always did.

"There are many reasons I chose this planet for our training. The Force is strong here, and because of that, there are places on this planet that can offer a pure reflection of anyone who wishes to find it. You must be warned however, that what you see may not be what you wish to see," replied Master Tsion.

"Take me master," said Kara. Her master replied with a nod, and rose, heading east from the valley.

The two of them hiked for several days, living off the land as they went. The entire time, Kara could sense a great amount of energy from the Force, so much so that she thought that when they reached its source, she would be absolutely overwhelmed.

On the fifth day, her master stopped just before a dense section in the forest.

"I cannot follow you there Padawan. This is your journey alone. May the Force be with you," said her master before he sat on a nearby rock and closed his eyes.

"And with you, Master," was all Kara said as she mentally prepared herself. She cleared her mind, letting the Force lead her into the wood.

As soon as she stepped into the thick edge of the forest, she turned around to see if her master was watching. He had gone, leaving her in silence. Kara began to feel afraid, as this was the first time her master had truly left her to face the unknown. Before this, she could always feel his presence, his direction, his leadership. Now, Kara was on her own, and she did not like it.

Kara allowed the Force to lead her further into the wood. The further she went in, the more and more dark the forest became. She could not longer see the sun because of how thick and tall the trees became. Still, she knew that she could trust the Force, and she sensed no anger or malice in this place.

The forest became filled with mist, and the mist surrounded Kara as though trying to encase her. Kara could no longer see, smell, or hear anything that was around her and still, she was not afraid. Her whole life, she had been able to perceive her world through the Force, and this situation was no different.

And then the whispers came...

"Untested..."

"Foolish..."

"Failure from the start..."

"Expelled from the Order..."

"What was her master thinking?"

Several voices whispered through the air, and sent chills through Kara.

"Show yourselves!" cried Kara, igniting her training lightsaber.

"And who shall make us? You? You are but a child, who has never been out in the galaxy. You think yourself ready for the likes of us? You aren't even ready to face the Trials..." said a voice, raspy and cold.

"I am a member of the Jedi Order, and I will not be stalled by anyone," said Kara feebly, not really believing the words herself.

Immediately, the mist dispersed, revealing a hooded figure before her, just in front of her face. Kara stumbled back, almost falling on the ground.

"Lower your hood and reveal yourself," said Kara as she brought her training saber in front of her in a Shii-Cho opening stance. The less this person knew about her fighting habits, the better for her.

"Reveal myself? Why would I do that? You are a long way from your master child. Kneel before me, and be spared," said the figure, in that same raspy, cold voice.

"I kneel before no one," said Kara, who found herself unafraid of this figure. If he had led her out here, then she would fight her way out.

"You should stop now you know. Your path is filled with pain and suffering..." said the figure as it ignited a bright yellow lightsaber, bringing it high above its head.

"Come and stop me then," was all Kara would say in response. The figure leaped through the air, throwing the lightsaber down upon Kara as it did. Kara batted the blade away, and it zipped right back to its master's hand. Before Kara could even strike at the figure, it was launching attack after attack. As Kara tried to block each attack, her blade would be pushed aside, so that the angle of her block was off enough so that she could not use the force of her opponent's attack to reflect it back. Kara fought and fought, but could not break free of her opponent's barrage of attacks. Every attack she made was sent back to her, and she was burned in several places where her own blade had struck her. Every time Kara changed tactics, her opponent would disrupt her movements by sending up powerful waves of telekinesis, blasting the ground up around Kara.

At last, her opponent spun Kara's own blade around and around, and with a flick of her opponent's wrist, the blade was sent into the air.

"You must never move beyond that waterfall," said her opponent, who stood over Kara. Kara did not have the energy to speak, or even stand. She collapsed on her back, unable to face up to the stranger.

The stranger reached their hands up to the hood that hid her attacker's face. To Kara's disbelief, it was a face all too familiar. Blue eyes stared back at Kara, though with much sadness in them.

"Your quest to find yourself will lead to suffering Kara. You will loathe yourself in the end. The only way you will find solace is to relinquish yourself to the Force, but even then it only provides a momentary escape from the nightmare in which your life takes place. I will tell you who you are, though I beg you not to ask," said the older Kara.

"I will not run from my fate. If the Force wishes this for me, how can I hope to stop it?" replied Kara after she had caught her breath.

"I am but one possible future," said the apparition,

"Then I hope to avoid it. Tell me who we are," said Kara, finally finding the strength to stand up and face her own future.

"We are an instrument of the Force, strong-willed and humble. We feel that all beings in the galaxy have equal value and rights as we do, and we fight for them. We seek out those who would use the Force against them, and for their own gain. We walk, each step, with the Force guiding us, always seeking its guidance over that of others, even the Council. We are fiercely independent, as our master taught us to be. We understand the Force as one understands a life-long friend."

"That doesn't sound so bad," said Kara.

"We are also ignorant of much of the galaxy. We are afraid of our own actions, and the consequences they create. On Roshiwa, our actions had consequences only for ourselves. In the galaxy, our actions can lead to the deaths of people. We have a strong spirit, but it is also that same spirit that prevents us from backing down from a challenge we need to back down from. You experienced that just now," continued the older Kara.

"What of the Jedi Order?" asked Kara.

"The Order is skeptical of us, and our master's teachings. However, they find no fault in us, and sometimes even praise our efforts, though we often feel unworthy of a bit of recognition. Our accomplishments have always been through the Force, and it is to the Force that we give the true credit," said the older Kara.

With that, the older woman began to fade away, the mist returning.

"Wait! How can I avoid your fate?" asked Kara.

But the figure was gone, and the Force pressed down upon her, filling her. She closed her eyes and focused on the flow of the Force, and followed it. Not long afterward, she was exiting the dark wood beside her master.

"Master, I saw-" began Kara.

"No Padawan. That was for you only," her master interjected.

"Master, I'm going to go to the cave behind the waterfall now," said Kara, her head low. She could not help but remember the words that she had told herself in the vision, to stay away from the waterfall. Yet she was a Jedi, and she would not back down from where the Force led her. She understood that now, and through that understanding, she could finally let go of herself, and let the Force take hold of her, as it always should have been.

For several days the two of them traveled in silence, both of them in deep thought. Kara, on the task that she must complete, and Tsion, on what lied ahead.

As soon as the two of them reached the valley, Kara set out for the waterfall at once. She knew now that, despite the warnings the Force had given her, she would meet her fate head on. She would do this because she knew herself now, knew what sort of things made up her very being, and one of them was determination in the face of impossibility. Would she alter her own fate? Perhaps not. Would she run away from it? Never. The future is always shifting, but Kara would remain rooted in the Force, always.

Even before Kara approached the water, she began to think of all that she had been through. She thought of the Temple, of the lessens taught to her there, of her friends she had made and left behind. She thought of all that her master taught her, of all that he hoped for her. She thought lastly of herself, of where she had gone, and where she would go. With all this in mind, she let it all go....

It was as if the Force flooded into her consciousness. As each thought faded into emptiness, the warmth of the Force flooded in its place. Her arms were no longer her arms, but part of the Force. Her hands, her fingers, her feet, all belonged to the Force. It was as if the galaxy had just opened up to her, and she to it. The Force lifted her hand (or was it her? She no longer could tell the difference), and the water parted aside without effort.

She walked in the Force, and the Force prepared her way. As she stepped, all the moisture in front of her, at both her feet and in the air, moved aside. The air around her was dry, as was the ground at her feet. The closer she got to the falls, the wider the bubble she had surrounded herself in got. She barely noticed as she passed the point at which she had never been able to move past, and continued walking. Each step was slow and deliberate, guided as much by the Force as her brain.

As she stepped under the powerful pressure of the falls, she tensed her muscles, the Force upholding its canopy of protection. For the first time, she truly felt strained, if only for a moment. With a surge of energy, all the water in the falls parted before her, and there the cave was. Brilliant shining crystals lined the cave. After a few moments' effort, she stepped into the cave at last.

Immediately, she felt the surge of the Force that she had been experiencing leave her, and she breathed in deeply, letting out a peaceful sigh. Kara stood in a vast cavern, full of yellow crystal formations.

Kara looked around the cave, trying to search for what the Force had led her in there for. In the cave, the Force was strong, held in place by the crystal formations.

After several minutes of searching, Kara couldn't see why this cave was so special, apart from the amount of crystals located within. Kara once again closed her eyes, letting the Force guide her feet. After several more minutes, Kara stopped and opened her eyes.

Before her lay a skeletal corpse, rotten and old. Kara covered her nose from the smell of it, but still investigated.

Around the corpse were Jedi robes, and a lightsaber lay at its feet. As she touched the lightsaber, light filled the cave behind her. In response, she spun around, eyes wide.

Before her stood an illuminated figure of a man, who had long hair and wore the same robes as the corpse did.

"You have come a long way," said the figure. The voice was warm and welcome, yet still Kara kept her distance.

"So have you, it seems," replied Kara.

"Some would say that, yes. Others would say I never traveled farther than that body there," spoke the figure.

"Why are you appearing to me?" said Kara, not wishing to get caught up in semantics.

"I have come to prepare you for your Trials. Your trials will be more difficult than most have had to experience in the Order. I've come to prepare you against my apprentice, Jaran Tsion," responded the figure, who crossed his hands in front of him.

"Prepare against him?" asked Kara.

"You will know in full time. Know that he loves you young one, as he would his own daughter. Also know, that before he ever met you, he spent a very long time on this planet," said the figure, who began walking toward Kara.

"What aren't you telling me?" demanded Kara, who moved back to the wall behind her.

"I tell only that which you need to know," said the figure.

"Then who are you!?" exclaimed Kara, igniting her training saber.

"In life, I was Jedi Master Roan Halcyon. My apprentice was Jaran Tsion. I was a Jedi Shadow in service of the Jedi Order, and I was nearly seventy years old when I died in this cave. Since then, I have lived on in the hope of helping whoever he chose as an apprentice, as my last favor to him. That apprentice is you, Kara," said the figure, who stopped moving toward Kara.

"And how will you help me?" asked Kara, who had not disengaged her own training saber.

"A great battle lies ahead of you, and you will have to face that battle as a Jedi Knight, not as a Padawan. I am here to help you construct your own lightsaber, and to teach you how to become one with the Force," said the figure simply.

"My own lightsaber? I'm not ready for that yet," replied Kara, disbelief in her voice.

"Ready, or not, you will need it for what lies ahead," said the figure.

The Force ghost of Master Halcyon continued:

"A lightsaber is a tool for a Jedi, an instrument by which many things are accomplished, and found. You, Kara Olympia, have just found who you truly are. You are ready to create a lightsaber that perfectly reflects what you have found. This lightsaber will describe how you act, how you respond, how you fight, and how you see yourself in relation to the world and the living Force around you,"

Kara nodded, and listened to Halcyon as he gave the technical instructions in the construction of a lightsaber. He directed her to his own corpse, and to a storage container next to it. In the container, Halcyon said, were all the supplies she would need. He had intended to use the container with his own apprentice.

For days, Kara designed and constructed her own lightsaber. The pommel of the lightsaber was rounded, so that she could maintain a grip on the blade against a potentially stronger opponent, as a thin pommel would result in the blade being spun out of her hand. She placed several grooves further up on the hilt, so that she could use her lightsaber one-handed, and could use the other hand for utilizing the Force. The angled the emitter, though did not create a separate emitter shroud, instead using the emitter housing itself to create the angle.

When the hilt was finished, she still needed several crystals to complete the saber. This process was the most difficult.

Kara spent several more days looking for the correct crystals to use. When she couldn't tell which crystals would work, Halcyon suggested that she listen to the Force. Kara agreed, the Force had never led her wrong before.

Kara eventually found a bright yellow crystal formation, and she cut away a piece of the formation that was close to the size that Halcyon had specified. The next day, she found two crystals that were adequate for focusing the blade.

Next came the most difficult part. Kara meditated on her crystals, and hilt, aligning the crystals according to how the Force led her. At first, she found it difficult to do so, to keep her concentration for so long. She began to realize, however, that this feat required the same sort of surrender to the Force that moving through the waterfall had.

After several more days, Kara finally surrendered her whole being to the Force again, and the Force moved the crystals for her. At last, after nearly three weeks in the cave, living off of the fresh water and animals that resided there, Kara had completed her own lightsaber. That day would have been a happy one, one of pride and accomplishment, had Kara not kept in mind why she needed her lightsaber in the first place.

Kara held the hilt horizontally, and ignited the blade for the very first time. It shone yellow, illuminating the cave with its light.

"You are ready. Return to your master, and learn the truth," said Halcyon, and he faded away into nothingness, plunging Kara into darkness for the first time in weeks.

Kara said nothing, instead focusing on her breathing, and walked to the mouth of the cavern, the roar of the falls now deafening. With effort, Kara parted the water with the Force, surrendering herself to the Force, and to her fate.

Her master wait for her on the other side, as she assumed he had every day that she had been gone.

"What did the Force give you, Padawan?" asked her master pleasantly. Kara was still wary, but answered quickly.

"I have constructed my own lightsaber, master," replied Kara, lifting the hilt up to show him.

"And what of your training lightsaber?" asked her master.

"I used some of the parts from it to construct this," said Kara, who had used some of the casing from her old training lightsaber which, to her, meant that she would never forget her time as a Padawan.

"Your time as my student is coming to a close, Padawan," said Master Tsion, who got up from where he was sitting, and used the Force to bring his lightsaber to his hand.

"Padawan, I have one final request for you, a request that will seem odd at first, but you must see the truth in it," said Master Tsion.

"Yes Master?" replied Kara.

"Padawan, with your training complete, my knowledge can go on. When you are a Knight, you must teach your student here, on Roshiwa. You must teach them to be different, to be independent, to be their own. You must teach them to meditate on the Force, to allow the Force to use them. Can you do this my Padawan?" asked Master Tsion.

"Yes Master, of course. Why are you telling me this?" asked Kara.

"Because it is time for me to become one with the Force," said her master simply.

"Master, are you dying?" asked Kara, alarmed.

"No, but I must go to the Force all the same. You must do it Padawan. Send me to the Force, and take my place," said Master Tsion.

"Master... you do not know what you are asking me to do. I cannot kill you," said Kara, whose thoughts were on Master Halcyon, and the warning he had given her.

"Padawan, this is the way of things. I sent my master to the Force when he had taught me all he knew. He did not need to stay here, after his knowledge had passed on. You must see that once we have given the gift of surrender to the Force, we must truly submit to its will. This is the ultimate act of submission Padawan. You must take part of this cycle," said her master. His face was calm, collected, which Kara could not believe. Her master was asking for her to kill him, to end his life, and to send him to the Force!? Kara was filled with despair, knowing what would come next.

"Padawan, will you willingly grant my request?" asked Tsion.

Kara stood her ground, her face set, and though her heart was breaking, she stayed resolute.

"No, I will not kill you," answered Kara.

"Then I shall force you," said her master, showing for the first time a hint of annoyance at her. He ignited his green lightsaber, and she ignited her own.

He levitated the rock he had been sitting on, and tossed it at her with the Force. Kara leaped aside, pushing the rock off course with her own telekinesis as she did.

"Stop this! You have so much to live for!" cried Kara, who parried an attack from her master, sending his blade back toward his calf. Unfortunately, he was able to regain control of his own blade before it struck, but it was clear to him that she was looking to injure him, rather than to kill him.

He slammed a fist into the ground, telekinetically sending a shock wave through the ground, forcing Kara to jump backward to avoid the debris.

Tsion leaped above the showering dirt and shrapnel, lightsaber pointed down at Kara in a leaping thrust. Kara rolled aside, bringing her own blade in a circle above her head, knocking her master's blade off-course.

"You can't defend yourself forever Kara, you haven't had it in you," said Tsion.

Kara knew he was right, and resolved herself to end the battle once and for all. Kara utilized the principles of Niman, switching between blasts of telekinesis and quick bladework to keep Tsion at bay. As they edged toward the river, Kara had to, once again, fully surrender herself to the Force in order to keep her concentration. The Force parted the water around them, and they fought in the river bed.

Just as it appeared her master might finally break through her defenses, Kara tightened her control of the water, keeping it parted only around her. The force of the river swept Tsion up. With a great effort, Kara leaped from the water, landing on the bank on the other side. She sent the water forth with as much force as she could muster, sending Tsion down stream. Before Tsion could drown, she pushed the water up, sending his body floating to the shore. Kara ran to the edge of the forest, looking on at her master. As soon as she heard his first cough, she ran and ran, not looking back.

[wsxangel]

Confronting the Master

Kara ran and ran until she could run no longer. She built a shelter around her, and searched for bedding so she could stay warm for the night. Once she had made a bed for herself, she began to assess her situation.

Her master had gone insane at some point in the last twenty years, that much was evident. How much of her training could she trust? How much did he try and brain wash her? Could she believe anything he had ever told her in the past eight years? With each question that pushed itself in her mind, she fell deeper and deeper into despair.

She had trusted her master with her life, her future, and he had turned her own training against her. How could she have not seen this before? She had not sensed the dark side in him, not once. There was no malice, or anger, or hatred in her master. Why was he doing this to her?

And as she sat in the dark of the forest, thinking about all this, Kara resolved not to sit there and be a victim. She was a Jedi, as Halcyon had said, and a Jedi would never give in to the pain of loss, but a Jedi would instead let the loss go and give it all to the Force.

As she sat there, she began to work through all the confusion and despair she felt, and let it go. After some time, she was able to calm her mind, finding focus there within her.

"I must face him, and save him from himself," said Kara, who felt nothing but compassion for Tsion now. It was her duty, to him, to stop him from forcing her to kill him. If she waited in the forest for him to find her, then he would have the advantage.

Kara gathered what supplies she could, and began hiking back to the place she first began her training on Roshiwa, where she was certain her master would go before pursuing her. She knew that he was several days ahead of her, but that only meant he would be tired when she finally reached him.

While she trekked on to where she would confront Tsion, she prepared herself, allowing all sense of attachment to her master go, no matter how small or painful. In order to have a clear mind and to allow the Force to move through her, she would have to be focused.

When she arrived at their former camp, she ignited her lightsaber, stepping forth into the light of the fire that Tsion had ignited.

"Have you come to fulfill your destiny?" asked Tsion, though Kara could not see where he was.

"I've come to save you, Master. Please let me," said Kara.

"You can't win this battle Padawan. If you strike me, I will let your blade pass through me," said Tsion, who stepped into the light on the opposite end of the fire.

"There are alternatives," said Kara, resolute in her decision to confront Tsion.

"We shall see," said Tsion, who launched himself over the fire, igniting his lightsaber in mid-air. Kara side-stepped, parrying his strike. This time, she would not allow him to remain on the offensive. She kicked at him, her foot landing against his knee, causing him to move back. She stabbed at his chest, to which he predictably tried to move into the blade's path. At the last possible opportunity, she swiped her blade upward, and it passed right through his lightsaber hand, and in a flourish, she took his other hand as well. Tsion fell on his knees in front of her.

"End my life Padawan, and complete your training," said Tsion, who did not look her in the eyes.

"It is not up to you to determine when my training is complete Jaran Tsion. I'm taking you before the Council. My time as your Padawan is over," said Kara, looking away because she couldn't be so harsh on her master while looking him in the eyes. She had not been able to really unpack what had happened to her master, and so she had set aside her turmoil for later.

She kicked him hard in the side of the head, knocking him unconscious. At a loss as to what to do next, she sat before her master's still form. After a few minutes, the campsite was illuminated with a bright blue light, and Master Halcyon appeared before her.

"You have done well Kara. My business here is done. Go back to Coruscant, and tell the Jedi Order what took place on this planet, do not leave any detail out. Perhaps they can discover what happened to my apprentice," said Halcyon, smiling down at Kara.

"Will I ever see you again?" asked Kara, suddenly feeling very alone for the first time in her life.

"Perhaps. I abide in the Force, and that does not always mean I can appear when I wish to. Follow the Force Kara, and it will never lead you astray," said Halcyon, who closed his eyes and disappeared before her.

Kara lifted her master's body, and took all of their supplies that were at the camp, and placed them within the transport that they had used to come to Roshiwa in the first place. Before closing the outer hatch, Kara took one last look on Roshiwa. Though night had fallen, she could still perceive the beauty of the planet in the Force. How much of this planet, and her experiences with it, a lie? Halcyon's body was in that cave during the entirety of her training. Her master knew he had killed his own master during that whole time, and yet had been able to be completely at peace. Kara felt betrayed, though she could not find someone to blame for the betrayal. She knew Tsion was out of his mind, and so could not blame him for his mistakes. Could she blame the Jedi for allowing him to train her? Could she blame Halcyon for not foreseeing such loss of sanity in his own apprentice? Could she blame herself for not having seen it sooner?

One thing was certain: Kara would never trust so easily again.


Before the Council

Several days later, Kara was before the Jedi Council, having just explained why her master was injured, and what had transpired on Roshiwa.

"You mean to tell me that he wanted you to kill him?" asked one council member.

"Yes. He tried to engage me, in order to force me to strike back, but the Force was on my side. I fell back to a river, and used the water to wash him up on shore. Later, I confronted him with the intention of disarming and disabling him so that he could no longer try and force me to kill him," replied Kara, who held her head low in respect toward the Council.

"That you succeeded says much about your training in regards to your lightsaber instruction. What sort of things did he teach you while on Roshiwa?" asked another council member, though it was clear that she was attempting to see if Tsion had tried to brainwash Kara.

"As a youngling, I struggled with my ability to perceive things through the Force. Because of this, and my knack with telekinesis, I was often a disruption in the Temple. Master Tsion taught me to find myself within the Force, to allow the Force to take over my actions, and to lead me to its will. Tsion taught me to let go of my conscious self, and to allow it to dictate my actions. He taught me to utilize the Force in my combat technique. He placed much emphasis on individuality in relation to my duties as a Jedi," answered Kara.

"Jedi do not teach against individuality, no matter what your master told you. We teach against the attachment of the self, rather than not knowing one's self. You must understand this, Padawan Olympia," said the master who had asked her the question.

"Yes, master, I understand," said Kara.

"Well, I suppose we have reached a conclusion then. You have not been led astray by your master, no matter his convictions. I sense great confusion in you, which is understandable in the current circumstances. Your training appears to have been adequate, and you certainly appear to be able to show discipline, compassion, skill, and determination. All these are qualities that are to be valued in a Jedi. We will honor your time spent with your master, Padawan Olympia. As for Tsion, he shall spend the remainder of his days here in the Temple, attended to by senior members of our Order. I must ask that you never again speak to him, lest he try and force you to kill him again. His insanity is not of the dark side, but of his own doing. He is ill, and must be treated and remembered as such," said a counsel member.

"You are to continue your training here in the Temple. Perhaps you can teach the younglings the finer points of the lightsaber forms you have learned. You are to meet with the members of the Council of First Knowledge daily, and to find further instruction from them, and from the Temple Battlemaster. Do you understand why we are asking this of you, Padawan Olympia?" said another counsel member.

"Yes, I do," replied Kara, who bowed her head low to the Council.

"Good. Let it be so," the council replied.

Attaining Knighthood

Kara's training had a profound psychological effect throughout her life. While she found purpose in teaching at the Temple, and while she found peace about what had happened to her master, she was never truly able to trust anyone for a long time.

Her instruction at the Temple was harsh, as she only knew how to teach the way that her master had taught her. Even though she had a difficult curriculum, the older masters noticed that she never berated her students as they oversaw her classes.

Her meetings with the Council of First Knowledge helped her find a knack for starfighter technology and piloting techniques. Though her training with Master Tsion had greatly improved her connection to the Force, and her lightsaber abilities, her ability to pilot ships and specialize in other academic subjects was greatly hindered. After a year of meeting with the Council of First Knowledge, Kara decided to specialize in piloting and starfighter technology, spending more time in the flight simulator and on escort exercises than she did with the Battlemaster.

And as for her meetings with the Battlemaster, they were very difficult at first. Her master's unorthodox views on lightsaber combat contrasted greatly with that of the Battlemaster's. The Battlemaster advocated for form specialization and philosophical adherence, where Tsion had taught Kara to create her own lightsaber style from the ideas and concepts of the different forms. Nonetheless, the Battlemaster could not argue that Kara's technique was not effective during combat. Kara's ability to change between a mixture of Ataru, Shien, and Trakata to her defensive mixture of Niman and Soresu allowed her complete control of her positioning in a battle. Her focus on forcing her opponent's attack and redirecting it, whether it be against blasters or blades, allowed her to force her opponent's to defeat themselves. Her biggest weakness during a duel was that she was not physically strong, and so could not handle direct strikes well, though her ability to maneuver helped her keep her distance and to utilize her telekinesis and saber throwing skills to keep her opponent's where she wanted them. The Battlemaster always took note of her instinctual use of telekinesis in combat.

Despite her further progress in dueling, the Battlemaster grew concerned that her stubborn adherence to her master's teachings about her lightsaber technique would lead to her following the same path as he did. He did not voice this opinion to Kara, though, but chose to merely pass it along to the Council of First Knowledge.

Kara worked hard in the last years of her training at the Temple, becoming accustomed to living there again. She found that, when she wasn't forced to do so out of necessity, she avoided social interaction entirely, and focused on meditating in her quarters. It was not her intent to offend others by her avoidance of social situations, she just felt that she wasn't ready for the sort of trust that relations with other beings required. She chose instead to focus on her studies, and on her bond with the Force. She felt that the only way to keep any happy memories of her master alive was to honor the good that had come from his teaching, not the insanity that had defeated his mind.

Kara somehow found peace through meditating on the Force, the trust in the Jedi that she had as a youngling had returned. Still, by the time of her Trials, Kara still had not developed any strong friendships among the Jedi, save, perhaps, the Battlemaster, who had taken to encouraging her in her own personal variant of lightsaber blade work, no longer did he try and force her to adhere to a single form.

It was the Temple Battlemaster who met with Kara before her Trials, and spoke with her about the coming task.

"You are strong in the Force, Kara. You have such a strong spirit, to have endured what you have and still continue to follow the path of a Jedi. Should you succeed today, you will have truly earned the title of Jedi Knight, and the entire Order shall be vested in you. I have utmost confidence in you," said the Battlemaster as he set his hand on her shoulder. With one last look at each other, they walked together to the Council chambers.

"You have come far, Kara Olympia. Are you prepared to begin your Trials?" asked the Council.

"I am ready," replied Kara.

The Temple Battlemaster turned to Kara, and spoke to her about her Trials.

"In facing your master, an opponent far more skilled and experienced than yourself, you displayed courage and skill far beyond your years. Your lightsaber skills were proficient enough to allow you to manipulate the battle in your favor. The loss of your master's sanity affected both master and apprentice, and as such, has satisfied your Trial of the Flesh. Your ability to recover from such a loss and deception has shown how truly strong your spirit is. You must now complete the Trial of the Spirit, so that you may truly see the depths of yourself, and it is our hope that you come out from such a revelation unscathed. Please sit before us," said the Battlemaster to Kara.

Kara sat before the Council, and all its members encircled her. They pressed their hands on her, and as one they all began to meditate.

Almost immediately, Kara was plunged into a Force-Vision, similar to the one she had experienced before she had conquered the waterfall.

Before her was the figure from her vision before, though shadows and smoke clung to her.

"You have decided your fate Kara. You went to the waterfall, and participated in our master's madness. You have set yourself down a path of pain, all because of your pride, of your vanity! You are a vile creature, cruelly abandoned by everyone, and betrayed by the man whom you called master," said the figure in front of her, shrieking and cackling as she did.

"I will not run from fate, nor shall I work to change the will of the Force. You are not my future, you cannot be," replied Kara, who knew better than to try and argue with Force Visions, but to state what was in her heart.

"You know not your own destiny. You will crush the Jedi who betray you. You will leave the Order a victor, a conquerer. You will taste war, and be filled," shrieked the specter who had her face.

"I am a Jedi Knight, and I shall not be dissuaded," replied Kara, who fought desperately within herself to remain rooted in the warmth of the Force.

"You will become a murderer... Jedi," said the figure as she ignited a red lightsaber, while a blue lightsaber ignited in the air behind her.

Kara ignited her own lightsaber, raising it high above her head in the Shien opening stance.

"The dark side is the only pure expression of individuality," said the figure as she launched her blue lightsaber at Kara, the red one striking low. Kara blocked the red lightsaber, ducking her head low to allow the blue to pass above.

Kara pressed her attack, utilizing Ataru to leap around her opponent, who tried to slow Kara down by consistently throwing the blue lightsaber at her. Kara altered the course of the blade only slightly every time, to ensure that she could land without being cut in half.

With one power telekinetic push, the dark figure slammed her saber into Kara's hand, the scorching plasma burning a neat hole in her palm. Kara cried out in pain.

"You will know much more than this. Look at my face," said the figure, who removed her hood from her face.

The person staring back at Kara was horribly disfigured. A large respirator covered half her face, with several burn scars moving up her cheek, probably put there by a lightsaber.

"What happened!?" cried out Kara, who now had given up trying to stay serene. The being before her was not just some apparition, but her future shown through the Force.

"The price of freedom is high," said the dark version of her.

As the figure finished her last sentence, the vision began to fade, and the Jedi Council members appeared around her once more, each breathing deeply in their meditation.

"You have been shown a vision in the Force. Know that what you see there is what might be, but not what is. Rise, Kara Olympia," said the Temple Battlemaster.

Kara rose, not entirely ready to speak again after what she had seen.

The Battlemaster placed his lightsaber just above her shoulder, and Kara's eyes never wavered from his.

"I name you Knight of the Jedi Order. Go forth, and serve the Force," said the Battlemaster, and he crossed his blade over her head and let it rest just above her other shoulder.

Kara never quite forgot that vision but, after many months of meditation, and many years of service to the Jedi Order, she merely excused herself from its prediction. The vision was only of one possible future, after all.

As a Jedi Knight, Kara continued to send her time in the temple for the next few years, honing her skills with telekinesis, her senses, and her lightsaber form. Her view was that, should she enter the galaxy at large, she should be prepared to dispel the dark side wherever it manifested itself. She cared not for the random problems of systems and their politics, but for seeking out those who followed the dark side and eradicating their influence on the galaxy at large. For several years, she was sent to deal with any rumors of Dark Jedi.

For the most part, the rumors were false. Kara routinely had to stop crime syndicates from spreading such rumors, as they often did so to spread fear and influence. Occasionally, however, a true Dark Jedi would appear. Kara, who spent all her time in training, having foregone social interaction altogether, was sent to handle the situation. Kara's unorthodox style of lightsaber combat was well-suited to handle other Force-users, since they would expect most Jedi to adhere to the standard forms of combat. Kara never encountered many Dark Jedi who operated in secrecy, most wanting an open challenge to satisfy their dark need for dominance. Kara, regretfully, had to stop their destruction from spreading.

Because of her ferver for curing the galaxy of the dark side, Kara was asked to join the Jedi Shadows by the Council of First Knowledge. Though this was a serious undertaking, Kara accepting such a responsibility with quiet enthusiasm. Having access to every resource the Jedi Order had was something that appealed to Kara, who sought more and more knowledge about how to find the balance between her lightsaber technique, and her affinity in Force Sense and Telekinesis.

That was, until she met the small girl who would become her apprentice.

The Fall of Raia Dawn

While she was not performing her duties as a Jedi Shadow, Kara spent her time teaching in the Temple, which provided the opportunity for her to continue honing her skills. Her work ethic that had developed as a Padawan had continued well into her Knighthood.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

It's been a long time since you're last log-in, are you still around?

[Dutch]

Moved to Incomplete until otherwise noted