High Council Member Aeia

[Apillis]

"The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature." ~ Joseph Campbell

Name: Aeia
Race: Aphithiri (Free-Birth) (Custom-Race) (Mother)/Human (Kuati) (Father)
Age: 54
Birthplace: Kuat

Allegiance: Republic/Jedi Order
Status: High Council Member of the Jedi Order, Jedi Artisan, Jedi Instructor
Rank: Master - Jedi Instructor

Height: 5'10"
Weight: 137lbs.
Appearance: There is a certain... something... like an ethereal quality that one cannot give a proper labeling to. Though, some call it angelic pulchritude, nonetheless--there is something to that visage of hers. Her almost snow white complexioned smooth skin inherited from her mother is contrasted against her long silky raven black hair that hangs down to the middle of her back, and narrow midnight blue eyes--the hue of her eyes she also shares with her mother; though her dark hair--that she got from her father. She has a round face though with an angular jawline and sharp chin, not all that unlike many humans of Kuati descent. Albeit, because of her Aphithiri heritage from her mother--by the sight of Aeia, without knowing she was half-Aphithiri, one would never suspect she is over a half-century old.

Certainly a statuesque figure as she stands an easy five foot ten inches tall, it is far more than likely she inherited her height from her father's side of the family as her mother and her family were all well over six foot tall. By the sight of her, she seems to be on the slim side of the spectrum as she wears her flowing Jedi robes. Though, under those silken red robes she maybe lean but her muscle definition is impressive--a build of a woman who focused much on maintaining a fit and tone physique for endurance and agile reflexes. The evidence of her training is not only shown by her physique, but also the copious amount of callouses of her long, narrow-fingered hands.

The robes she wears have a somewhat Kuati style to them, and worn in two layers of dark crimson silken material, the length of which reaches down to her knees. Her Jedi utility belt fastened snugly around her slender waist outside of her robes, over the white sash she uses to keep the robes closed; and her lightsaber hilt clipped to her belt. Also wearing a loose fit pants of the same dark crimson hue, and the cuffs of the pant legs tucked into her simple pair of black boots that one might see any other Jedi wear. A simple pair of black gloves she, of course, wears on her hands. Albeit, the robes themselves that are in a way, the center piece of her outfit, have very elaborate gold embroidery of a phoenix-esque bird along the sleeves, black and front of the robes. In the rare occasion a large battle is to take place, she has custom made archaic style Jedi armor she wears that matches her robes. The pieces of armor she made herself, which consists of pauldrons, a chest piece, and bracers. The are each a light armor-weave fiber mesh. The ornate make of the armor in a way is a testament to her skill as a Jedi Artisan, other than the unique creation of her lightsaber (among other things).

((Take no credit for pic. Click for full image.))

Personality: If any word were to serve as the permamount label for Aeia's personality it would be, "empathy". Her great empathy enables her to feel, even sympathize with others on profound levels. But it must be understood, empathy should never be confused with sympathy. She will always empathize, she will lend compassion--and thus by proxy have sympathy for others, no matter their atrocities and crimes... even with the most heinous of Sith Lords. When that compassion is refused, she will continue offer it, but when not taken that only leaves her with empathy to act upon. To which that leads to her deconstruction of what is before her. Tear them down to their foundation to reflect upon what composes them, what they had, what they could have been... what they have been left with.

But it cannot--not ever be understated just how much kindness she is willing to offer--willing to give, and will freely display. However, something more to be understood about her--she is a warrior, and there is only so much one can push or dismiss about a warrior no matter how gentle they may be at first. For life to persist, sometimes death will befall another--something that Aeia has learned in time to its deepest significance as she discovered her place within the great macrocosm, that life and death are simply two ends of the same thread. A simple realization, yet profound in its way, especially when applied to other contexts. Such as, to protect life, to preserve it--what is causing destruction must cease, one way or another. Once again, a simplistic understanding and rationale, yet when applied to other contexts--say to even the measure of empathy and sympathy that is afforded to another. The implications and relations to others can take on an entirely different connotation.

Life and death, time, and ones own place in relation to them--they do not necessarily mean the same things as they do to perhaps most others, maybe even among the Jedi themselves. Partly because of her Aphithiri heritage and her longevity because of it, but it is also largely because she has awakened in a sense to what she feels and knows her role to be within the Force, an understanding of the self. For example, she has little memory of her father, yet she is perfectly aware she has likely long out lived him by now. Many may believe within their varying religious views, even the Jedi, that he has finally entered an eternal existence since his death by at last joining the Force. But, what she understands and knows is, he was always a part of the Force--all life is part of the Force, eternity does not start when one dies, because it has always been there, eternity has no beginning nor end--that is what makes it eternal. Thus, as what Aeia knows with the Force, her father and all who have died, in life they were already a part of eternity for it is already here as part of life, death is simply another beginning within eternity, another avenue in which to experience it.

Her piety in the Force and all that she does is not measured by faith. But rather as she would put it, she does not need faith, she has experience...

Yet, despite whatever insights and understandings one may have achieved, gained, or awoken to. No being is perfect, no being exists without their own hubris. While Aeia's empathy makes her voice strong for compassion, as mentioned--when refused, the sympathy within that compassion becomes removed, and all she has is her empathy. Empathy is not sympathy, it is the ability to place oneself into the shoes of another, see through their eyes. But what one does with this perspective is entirely up to them. Coupled with her sense of empathy, her sense of justice and righteousness are nearly just as powerful. That which betrays her moral senses is only ever met with a firm hand, how tempered it maybe varies on circumstance. However, there is an edge to the sharpness of her tongue when she speaks, and the action in which she may take that leave some taken aback. It is true, she is normally gentle, and will earnestly give as much kindness as she can lend to a person. However, whether it be an individual or nature itself, the extended hand of opportunity and generosity is stretched out only for so long, and when dismissed there is only nature's severity left; and Aeia reflects that strongly.

Destructive imbalance must only ever be met with deconstruction itself in order to reforge a broken and ruined foundation.

But it is that strong sense of justice and righteousness that creates the hubris she has fallen victim to in the past. A hubris she acknowledges, a hubris she takes measures to correct. But a hubris, like the dark side, is always there within us. It can be guarded against, it can be quelled, but never completely removed. It will always be there waiting for an unguarded moment. Despite whatever Aeia may have achieved, that reality with ones hubris stands for her as it does anyone else.

Ships/Vehicles:

Equipment:
Lightsaber- Somewhat macabre in its appearance, yet some consider it one of her "master" works as a Jedi Artisan despite being made before her becoming one. It was made from the lower spinal column of a vornskr she killed when she was a padawan. She hollowed out the various sections of its spine to house the various mechanics that composes a lightsaber, and smoothed and rounded it out for a more comfortable grip, even the ridges of its spine were smoothed down to be comfortable grip for her fingers, including one of those ridges serving as the the lightsaber's switch. Glass crystal was then molded over it perfectly to its unique form. But one section of the spine is missing from the hilt, and that being the section second from the top of the hilt where her lightsaber focusing crystal is located. Set with the mechanisms of the lightsaber's construction to forge the beam, though in her lightsaber's case the apparati holding the crystal are heavily reinforced to hold it in place. Reason being in that section the glass is hollowed out for a few small channeling mechanisms within the hilt enabling the plasma energy to swirl and radiate just a little around the crystal itself. It does nothing special for the lightsaber outside of giving a visual effect do to being able to see this energy through the glass, which to many among those that have seen it say it looks like a tiny burning sun within Aeia's lightsaber hilt when the blade is switched on. Otherwise it looks like an ordinary yellowish orange crystal set within a lightsaber giving its beam its signature sun-like hue. The effect does generate light, but not enough to be blinding as it is less bright than the beam itself, do to the light energy coming from it being unfocused and has a slightly more raw appearance with tiny, small rays of light like tiny, miniature sunbeams.

Stats:

Strength - Above Average
Agility - Superior
Intelligence - Above Average
Charisma - Average

Force Stats:

Telekinetic- Apprentice
Telepathic- Apprentice
Body- Expert
Sense- Adept
Protection- Master
Healing– Adept
Destruction– Unskilled


Combat Training:
Mixed Martial Arts (various hand to hand styles) - Expert

Force Training:
Force Valor - Adept
Ray - Expert
Tutaminis (Force Absorb) - Master
Enlightenment - Master

Other Training:
Artisan Lightsaber Construction - Master
Piloting - Apprentice
Galactic Lore - Expert
Force Lore - Master
Military History - Adept
Artisan Holocron Construction - Adept
Mechanics - Adept

Lightsaber Training:

Shii-Cho- Expert
Makashi- Untrained
Soresu- Specialist
Ataru- Untrained
Djem So- Adept
Niman- Untrained
Juyo- Untrained
Double Bladed Combat- Untrained

Bio:

"I have just three things to teach: simplicity, patience, compassion. These three are your greatest treasures." ~ Laozi

Simplicity has its comfort. Those who have it are aware of it, and many often cling to it jealousy. As it is a guileless life, what can be seen is the genuine essence of what it is. When elements that complicate a provincial life like that, those who possess it retreat to them further. Or burn for some place to escape to where a simple life can be found free of complicated burdens.

Kharda Telai was little more than peasant within Aphithiri society. Free-born as she was, just as her entire family was, there was no hope for advancement within Aphithiri feudal society. In truth, they were okay with that, but the oppression they suffered for it was something they hated, but under the tyranny of the Aphithiri monarchy there was not really much they could do about it. After all, they were simple farmers working the fields owned by Aphithiri nobles, who took the produce that Kharda and her family drudged hours in the fields to get, only to see an iota of it themselves.

Albeit, it was not much different for the neighbor boy, Saoli Fu, and his family that Kharda new for much of her life, going back to when the Fu family first arrived upon Aphithir. They wanted to work the fields desperate for work, though unfortunately were quite ignorant to what they were getting into by choosing a life on Aphithir. They were simply tossed amongst the rest of the peasantry, and got their wish of working the fields as farmers, but it was not the life they expected. There was no bliss in their ignorance, and hope was bled away from them as they found themselves without the money to leave Aphithir, stuck there to suffer under a brutal despot society.

The only true bright spot Kharda and Saoli could find was with one another. Starting out as childhood friends when either were still only knee high. But, as they grew up together, and got older--friendship blossomed into something more--an attraction... young love... first love.

Those who knew the pair wonder what Kharda saw in Saoli, as he was an average looking man. But despite his average looks, he did have quite a boyish charm to him. Albeit, for Saoli, it was far more simple at first--those Aphithiri women, were all quite gorgeous Amazonian beauties in his eyes, the man had a thing for tall women. So Kharda's lovely visage combined with her six foot two inch stature to put it mildly was quite appealing to him, and her willful, upright manner that he grew up with, he simply adored.

The plebeian boyish charm of Saoli and the strong, dignified grace of Kharda, the desirable qualities they possessed were too strong for the other to deny. Both during their trysts in the late hours would speak to their lover of their dreams and wishes to be away from the oppressive feudal monarchy of Aphithir. Yet, they were just dreams and fantasies of two young loves they would always later dismiss. Until one night, Saoli to Kharda's surprise gained a determination and will she had yet to see in the young man, who was usually so easy-going. He suggested they elope, he had other family in Kuat they could stay with until they got their own place, and there they could be protected by Republic law, they would not suffer under the Aphithiri yoke again. A naive thought from the young man, perhaps, but both were in love and both were desperate to share a simple yet better life together. And so, they acted on that dream, eloping to Kuat...

It was always a dower subject, for they mostly lost contact with their respective families on Aphithir. There was a strain on the relationship, more so whenever the topic came up, out of guilt and regret for leaving their immediate families behind. But nevertheless, their love for one another kept them together over the years, eventually gaining their own farm hold. And whatever troubles and strain their marriage begun to have were being mended by the conception of a baby girl within Kharda's womb. That baby girl being, of course, Aeia Fu.

Upon Kuat, it was the sought after provincial life living as simple farmers they wanted, free of vile oppression and tyranny. Though, the sight of Kuat's own aristocracy was a constant reminder of the equally harsh, yet far more brutal Aphithiri monarchy. Still, Kharda rejoiced being away from it all--away from the constant dominating noble houses and status holders. The life she had on Kuat with Saoli, she felt far more at peace. Despite being a mere commoner in Kuat society, it was vastly better than being a peasant underfoot in Aphithiri society. And with a daughter on the way, it only reinforced those thoughts.

Yet... to learn her daughter was Force-Sensitive, that stunned Kharda to her core. For the Aphithiri, Force-Sensitivity is especially rare and uncommon. It was a mystery whether it was an exceptionally rare occurrence coming from Kharda's line, or maybe it came from Saoli's side of the family. Kharda was not entirely certain. But, though some wonder if it was a small lingering respect Kharda held for her Aphithiri culture, but the reality being it was out of mockery, that she named her daughter Aeia, the feminine form of Aerys. To give her free-born half-breed daughter that name, symbolically uplifting her to the same level as the most Force-Sensitive royal line--the head of which even regarded as a "god" in Aphithiri culture, through that name is quite the spit in the face by Kharda.

Albeit, the larger surprise being after when Aeia's blood was tested as an infant, it was determined she could be taken in by the Jedi given how high her midichlorian count proved to be. For that is even more rare a thing, Kharda and Saoli were understandably surprised by it. Regardless of the life they escaped from on Aphithir, for a decade by that time, they had been simple farmers working vegetable crops, and enjoyed that salt of the earth life. Yet, once again something... larger... than themselves came into their lives.

It was only a few days later the Jedi arrived at their little farm hold. Kharda came from a society that valued martial ability and power above most all else, and within that society those of the warrior castes possessed easier lives. That was what Kharda saw the Jedi as, she had no real perspective of them outside of renowned Force-Sensitive warriors. Saoli was conflicted, he did not want to give up his first born child--and really, what parent does? But he did not want to deprive his daughter of a great opportunity before her to do good works within the galaxy, something noble--something more than he ever was or could be.

The talks were on going amongst the family--in fact, it was not until Aeia was four years old a decision was finally reached. What broke the indecision was Kharda, her daughter could be a great warrior--as she understood things, she felt what her daughter could be would be wasted on a farm. A provincial life is what Kharda wanted for herself, and should her daughter ever want it, the Jedi assured that Aeia could come back to it if she ever chose to. But Kharda could not deny her only daughter this extraordinary opportunity. And so with tearful heartbroken goodbyes... Aeia was taken away to the Jedi Temple of Coruscant where her training to be Jedi begun...

In her early life, Aeia was a very quiet girl. It was less out of shyness as simply more out of being a contained child, she was not really outgoing. She liked quiet, she enjoyed tinkering with puzzles or making little constructions. Any form of learning through mental stimuli that could be created with the child's own hands, that is what tended to draw the girl most of all. She did not care for being idle, but nor did she care for simply not being idle. She want to think and do, even as a little child she liked to be challenged mentally.

It was a time when the Republic was yet again trying to recover from upheaval caused by a Mandalorian threat. Aeia was just approaching the age of five years old by its end. But a Jedi Knight seeking to mend her broken heart from that war would eventually became Aeia's Jedi master. The Jedi Knight in question was Xica, one of seven Jedi Knight companions who went off to fight the Mandalorians, not just on the front lines, but on the Mandalorians own worlds--their own soil.

The Epicanthix veteran Jedi Knight always appeared to Aeia since they day she met her as a woman desperate for hope. Whatever she saw, whatever she felt, whatever she experienced in that war, those who knew her, knew her to be full of life and optimism for a better future. But Aeia could see, even at the age of nine when Xica for whatever her reasons chose Aeia to be her padawan-learner--that hope was once there in the woman but had been bled away. It was the same for many of the Jedi who fought in the front lines of war. Aeia did not understand it when she was little, she was too young, but even as a child--she could see the something was different about them. Again, she did not understand then, it was too large an issue for a little child. But with time, as she grew up and could look back--it was clear to Aeia the war wounded them--not just physically, but internally, a piece--or even pieces of their heart had been torn away, their spirit had been maimed.

There were times--just a small trice or little moments where she would catch Xica staring off into nothing with a blank face with deadened, sorrowful eyes. But always Xica would snap out of it to Aeia's presence, and offer a warm, gentle smile. Though Aeia could always see in those dark, coal hued eyes of Xica... that sorrow did not wash away, despite Xica's bright smile. As Aeia grew up she begun to understand why Xica sought a padawan, she was looking for an avenue to restore the hope that was once known to fill those onyx hued eyes of Xica. When Aeia was ten, she asked Xica why she just chose her to be her padawan out of the blue, and Xica's answer was because Aeia was the quietest one out of the little youngling clans she saw. The quietest children are often the most patient, and the most patient children are always the most willing to learn. When a teacher teaches, the job is best accomplished with a student who is quiet and actively listening. And that is what she saw in Aeia--a student ready to learn, more than the others she saw. It was that simple.

Throughout Xica's teachings to Aeia, she continuously impressed upon her three fundamentals in which to live by as a Jedi in all things and all decisions: simplicity, patience, and compassion. If the situation is complicated make it simple, if the answer is overly elaborate--there is always a way to simplify it. Nothing should ever be so immediate that one cannot take a moment to think, even for a second about the best possible solution, but it is only possible through patience. And compassion... compassion often said is the hardest lesson of all for Jedi to learn, despite it being the first lesson they are taught. Xica seldom spoke of war to Aeia, but when she did, it often had to deal with compassion; and that was, in warfare compassion is needed most--for what a hollow existence it is to look upon a slain enemy and only see them as just another dead foe.

Aeia recalled overhearing the debates Xica had with some of her peers who also went to war, trying to justify their deeds and what happened in the conflict with the Mandalorians. In her own master she saw regret, and the melancholy that accompanies it. But some tried to rationalize the violence. Her master always said that if one detaches themselves from the suffering of others, they have sacrificed their humanity, but in response Xica would be told war is without humanity, which is why Xica would say--it is for that reason humanity needs to be brought back into it. Aeia did not know what Xica may have experienced in the war, but whatever it was--it shook her, it broke her.

But there always seemed to be some other crisis, something about a dear friend of Xica that she would appear to get in heated debates and arguments with an old Jedi master at the temple. From what Aeia could tell, Xica always seemed to advocate leaving the situation alone, for she felt inserting oneself into the situation will only bring about more pain, but she could never articulate why. But the old Jedi master ignored her requests, and eventually he went off, never to be seen again. Albeit, by Xica's idle moments and lingerings where she and the old Jedi used to converse with one another, Aeia understood why.

But it was not all pensive despondency. As they interacted with one another as master and apprentice, a bond was forming between them. Through it, yes, Aeia could feel the pain within her master--her sorrow, her regret, even heartbreak. Yet... she could feel joy, hope... she felt it strongest in Xica when they were together. And that was how Aeia learned that while Xica sought a student to teach to lend a hand in furthering a new generation into the Jedi Order, she was also looking for something to renew hope--renew that light that had dimmed in her heart; and Aeia was providing that for her. It was a profound thing for--what was--a teenage girl by that point, to realize. That as much as Aeia needed Xica to be there for her to guide her and teach her--even raise her, it begun to dawn on her that Xica needed Aeia too--to heal a broken heart and become whole once again.

Aeia never pressed on Xica to tell her what happened in those battles during the war. She had heard some things, she learned the six other companions of Xica's, only one survived--that being the one who lead them, and they had fallen to the dark side. Aeia felt that if Xica wanted or simply when she was ready to, she would tell her what transpired, otherwise she respected what she knew to be Xica's desire to keep those experiences to herself.

Instead the two more often than not focused on a philosophy of understanding, and often became the modus operandi Xica utilized to teach Aeia. A perspective wrought from observation, taking the time to find a clarity in ones surroundings to understand it in order to become part of it. Little did Aeia know as a fourteen year old girl when first receiving those lessons they would have a far broader and significant impact on her life in later years.

Xica took a quick notice to Aeia's tendency to tinker with things as a little girl, and that never did change even as she grew up. In Xica's mind it was the perfect avenue in which to teach her, her philosophy of understanding, to gain clarity for what is before- and around her. It was a bit of an intellectual pursuit on Xica's part, for given Aeia's tendency to want to solve puzzles or create, Xica thought to teach via methods Jedi Artisans teach their students. So, Xica took the initiative to research and learn how Jedi Artisans train their students, often turning to Jedi Artisans she knew for advice and counsel.

It started out with simple artwork. Taking bits and pieces of varying items of near anything from driftwood and sea-shells to broken droid parts and tools. Crafting them to shape images and structures of small statues of people or models of buildings or even small scale landscapes. And where the philosophical teachings she sought to instill upon Aeia was by seeing what was before her, and looking upon bits and pieces of varying items that were never meant to pieced together, yet still can be forged so long as one looks upon what is before them with a clear mind gaining the insight that anything can be interwoven together into a harmonious creation. It works creating artwork, it works with people, for it is an aspect of life that all these seemingly randomized existences all so different from one another--separated not just by worlds but even solar systems at complete opposite ends of the galaxy, and yet--a symbiosis can still be found between them so long as the earnest insight is there to seek to make it work.

Everything held some sort of philosophical significance in Aeia's training that Xica orchestrated and devised to give it not just purpose but meaning. Back when Xica decided to take Aeia's training beyond the basics, and more into the intermediate to begin truly honing a methodology and personalized style to Aeia's martial ability, she inquired to the girl what it was she wanted to do as a Jedi. The answer was simple, and held a naivete though genuine desire in it, which was she wished to protect the innocent, do justice for the downtrodden, be the protective wall that shields them from harm. Naive but it made Xica smile, but Xica knew just how to train the girl in that moment, and she told Aeia, "I will make you into that wall."

That was when Xica begun training the young girl in her philosophy of acceptance. It essentially boiled down to negation through acceptance--taking on the burden of pain, hate, sorrow, mourning, agony, and merely accepting them for they are and letting it all disperse. This philosophy served well for learning the Jedi arts within the fields of control and/or protection. Using the Force to not push against destruction, but rather to withstand it and absorb it.

Everything is energy, even emotion is energy, one can feel it--even physically--especially through the Force. It was a fundamental teaching of Xica, when one comes at her with rage and hate--not to resist it. Constantly fighting the dark side, meeting it with aggression, only ever serves to strengthen it. But it can be quashed, negated--by merely letting it smother itself against the wall of the Force one forges both within themselves and outside of themselves. She taught Aeia that the more the darkness presses against the light one generates within themselves they can stave back the void.

The darkness is patient, and it always wins. It is everywhere--in everything. Even stepping out into the sunlight with the warmth beaming upon ones face, their dark shadow is cast behind them. Yet, that is not to be despaired, for that is what it seeks to do--overwhelm, and obscure--cloud hope with doubt. While the brighter the light, the darker the shadow it can cast, but so long as that light shines bright the darkness is held back. and the more the darkness presses against it, so long as that light remains true--remains strong, the darkness smothers and evaporates itself within the light's shining brilliance.

That was not a simple philosophical teaching for a Jedi's struggle with the dark side as they walk the path of the light and how to maintain it. It was more than that, it was also a foundation of how to utilize techniques such as Ray and Tutaminis, utilizing the Jedi arts in drawing in and manipulating Force energy to bolster ones defenses or even create barriers and fields of energy. In Xica's view these were the arts that embodied most on a martial and philosophical level of what the Jedi Order stood for in anything it did. For the purpose of these techniques and the very Jedi arts they are connected to encompasses protection, and the techniques themselves favored a being whose mind was clear and their heart shining with inner-light. These were lessons that Aeia carried with her all her life, and became the very core of her own views on most anything from Jedi Order and the Force to one's own day to day to even warfare. The frame of mind and the philosophy behind them could be related to most anything in life in both of their views. It was a driving force behind Aeia, and in time would become where she was at her most powerful within the Force, where she felt most in sync with it.

Even the two lightsaber forms outside of the most basic that Xica taught, were both defensive forms--Soresu and Djem So. A blend of Soresu's philosophy of trapping one within their offensive, and Djem So's view for every blocked attack for there to be a counter to it. Both on their own are impractical, situations in combat do not always pan themselves out for every blocked or parried attack to be countered; but the method of Soresu can needlessly draw out a conflict. Interwoven together they compliment the defensive fighter well, drawing in an opponent to continue to engage--attempting to lure them into burning themselves out within an impenetrable defense, yet able to deliver counter-strikes within that stalwart defense. Neither style being beholden to another, granting Aeia much flexibility within her personalized blended style of the two forms. Though, it would still take her years to master them.

Albeit, even in Aeia's early years, Xica could see that Aeia was a little more lenient to manipulating the Force than she herself. Xica was more the lightsaber duelist, and it reflected much in the methods of the Force she taught Aeia to wield. Harnessing the power of the Force and ones own inner-light to enhance their physical prowess, such as within the Jedi's Art of Movement taught to any student within the Jedi arts, but once again, also to manipulate energy for the purpose of forging powerful defenses against--in a way--the very elements of what can bring destruction and harm. But regarding that Aeia was not quite as much the lightsaber duelist that Xica was, she went about having Aeia study the Jedi healing arts, which she showed some aptitude for.

But the primary teachings by Xica to Aeia being bolstering and summoning ones defenses via energy manipulation through the Force, mainly by utilizing techniques as mentioned before, Ray and Tutaminis. However, in symbiosis with those teachings were the Jedi arts for mastering ones own body through the Force in order to achieve feats far beyond what can ordinarily be done, and while this was typically a practice by lightsaber duelists, even for one such as Aeia, Xica only saw benefits for setting her on the path to master those Jedi arts. Yet, she taught Aeia the two forms Soresu and Djem So aside from the fundamental lightsaber form, largely because it suited the girl. But, understanding that Aeia had a bit more of a leniency to utilizing the Force than the blade, rather than go into teaching Xica's other lightsaber form, Ataru, she chose to supplement it instead by having Aeia (as mentioned earlier) study the Jedi healing arts. But these teachings and methods of martial ability and wielding the Force all need a clear and patient mind, none are something one can merely plow ever forward with. And this is what has largely shaped Aeia as a Jedi.

Albeit, Xica was also a firm believer in learning unarmed combat. But she never did stick to teaching Aeia one style, she taught the girl her own unnamed mixed martial arts form taken from a plethora of varying unarmed combat styles. Xica was never one who cared for styles in of themselves. Sticking to a single style in her mind was divisional. Dismissing dogmatically sticking to a singular style as dividing oneself from others out there. So, her own unarmed combat style took bits and pieces of styles from other martial arts styles she had learned and studied and incorporated into her own that suited her. But it also functioned well for Aeia, as the two were about the same size as one another, Xica had always been on the small side for an Epicanthix. Aeia, a diligent girl always adhered to her master's words, and in truth she did enjoy the concentration and focus behind the training unarmed combat. Even the ideal to the practicality to it she liked, seeing that only fool trusts their life with a weapon, and if a Jedi is hopelessly reliant solely to the Force they are hindering themselves severely.

All of that is what encompassed Xica's training Aeia, laying the groundwork for Aeia to build herself up upon. All of it was set Aeia up for greater challenges, Xica in fact did not even take up her former duties as a Jedi Peacekeeper until Aeia was in her upper-teens. She first wanted to focus entirely on training her padawan, which with the amount of time they spent together training with one another in those years developed a deep bond between them. It felt strong, deeper than family even. No words were needed, some times merely a glance, then again often times not even that. It was a bond of complete understanding, knowing just how the other felt and thought. There was only honesty between the two, it was as if deception--the cloud of the dark side dissipated between the light that shined between the two of them.

It was Force-bond of love that forged between them. Nothing carnal based, it was pure and genuine with an innocence untainted by desire. Aeia's guileless silent determination and earnest desire to be taught lead Xica to adore the girl. In turn, Xica was a big sister figure in Aeia's eyes, but more than that the warmth and beatitude she felt in Xica's presence soothed her, and the comfort she received from Xica often helped Aeia to keep a calm disposition. The two complimented one another, and in a way, needed each other. For while Aeia was able to find her center and serenity by being in Xica's presence, it was only because in turn through her sisterly relationship with Aeia that the pain and emptiness caused by a war-ravaged past was being mended and was able to find fulfillment.

It was not until that point was reached in their relationship and in Aeia's training, that Xica felt at ease with the thought of bringing the girl with her to do the duty expected of a Jedi Peacekeeper. It was during her time with Xica performing the duties of a Jedi Peacekeeper aiding law enforcement in quelling violence and protecting the citizens so they could go about their lives without fear of oppression from criminal elements--that Aeia begun to develop a strong sense of social justice and moral righteousness.

Empathizing with others and showing compassion came easy to the girl, especially under Xica's tutelage. But truly acting upon it outside of the temple, helping the downtrodden and those victimized by the self-problaimed 'strong', that was when she begun to feel justice needed to be done. It was an outrage to see people victimize their fellow man. What bothered Aeia most was because with her immense empathy, she could see why the so-called 'strong' would bring harm to the perceived 'weak', but the 'strong' never could see what she saw in them--whether it be denial or simply being blind to themselves--and that is what confused Aeia most of all. Much of her life and training as a Jedi under Xica has been utterly surrounded around being thoughtful, self-reflection, and clarity of mind; and to see those willfully, blindly, or stupidly deny themselves a second of introspection--that she just did not understand despite knowing why. She knew the why was they allowed themselves to be ruled by fear and so that is how they chose to rule others, but what confused her was the allowance of their continued victimization of themselves by not seeing it and seeing what it is doing to themselves.

It was humbling for her to see those weakened by the environment they lived in, simply because they lacked the means to go elsewhere. It gave her purpose and fulfillment to fight for and protect those who did not have the means to fight and protect themselves. And the fact the criminals and scum who preyed on them lacked the humility and good conscience, spoke to Aeia's own moral sense of righteousness that she needed to stop them. Even as a padawan, though by that point in her life she was an experienced padawan, but nevertheless still as a padawan--she was motivated by the drive and the need that there are those who need to be fought for.

Even her lightsaber was constructed during a time of fighting for people ruled by fear. A devaronian crime lord's operations within the slums of Coruscant's lower districts. It was an interesting construction, not for how it was built in of itself, but for other reasons. One being Aeia was twenty years old when she constructed her first lightsaber. Most padawans tend to at least be in their upper-teens when they construct their first lightsaber, but Aeia felt she simply was not ready. Xica thought it a bit strange, though she did not push Aeia, because she did not sense Aeia's choosing not to build one was out of hesitation, but rather a genuine feeling of just not being ready to construct a lightsaber. It first became an issue when Xica took Aeia to the crystal caverns of Dantooine when the girl was sixteen years old, and there Aeia did find a peculiar orange-yellow crystal she felt drawn to, but when she found it--at the same time she felt it just was not her time to build a lightsaber.

The crime lord they were after was hold up within his 'palace' there within the slums. He and his men were cornered with no hope of escape. Albeit as dug in as they were, while they could not escape it was difficult for Republic law enforcement to go in after them, even with the aid of Xica and Aeia. The first attempt at infiltrating the compound proved disastrous. The Republic law enforcement sent in a strike team taking advantage of an underground maintenance shaft, and with the strike team was Xica and Aeia. But it was all a trap as the entire maintenance shaft was blown by explosives. The crime lord then sent in his numerous vornskr hounds he used in his illegal dog fights, after whoever remain alive within the blown out maintenance shaft. Xica and Aeia were separated by the explosions, and in all the chaos and destruction, Aeia lost the lightsaber she was lent to by Xica for when on missions like the one they were on in that moment.

Two of the vornskrs chased after a wounded Aeia cut up by shrapnel debris from the explosions they were set off. She had no idea where Xica was, only able to sense that her master was alive and well through the Force-bond the two shared with one another. All Aeia could really do is run, she had no weapon to fight them, and wounded as she was she did not want to fight the beasts unarmed. Running through the maintenance shaft tunnels with the two vornskrs nipping at her heels, eventually she reached an exit, which that exit led straight into small weapons cache that had largely been damage by the explosions. The devaronian crime lord figured it was worth sacrificing to prevent the Republic law enforcement strike team from infiltrating his compound.

But it was there on the floor she saw a damaged polearm as she ran inside. Aeia was not looking for style points or technique, merely survival in that moment as she scooped up the polearm in both hands. With weapon in hand she spun around swinging the bottom end of the polearm at the lead vornskr of the pair, just as it lunged at her. The butt of the polearm smacked across the beast's head cracking its skull wide open, the creature flopped to the ground with a lifeless tumble. But the other came right for her, but she was already mid-swing with the blade of the polearm, and scarcely managed to strike its neck it. It yelped with a crash and roll upon the floor of the weapon storage cache. Before the beast could get back up, Aeia quickly stabbed the creature in its side ultimately killing the abused, bloodthirsty hound. It was only the Force that saw her through that engagement, she has never really used such weapons much in her life. The only reason why she was able to strike them down with her broad, reckless swings of a polearm was because her reaction time due to the Force is far quicker than theirs, and that is all there was to it.

After killing the vornskrs, she dropped the polearm. She needed a proper weapon that she use with more competency, and not be left with relying on solely her quick reflexes via the Force. But the only weapon she has had any real training with was a lightsaber. And it was in that moment, she felt it was time to construct her lightsaber. It was not of a want or desire, but it was out of recognizing a need for it in that moment.

Within the weapon cache, she had plenty of materials to work with. But why she chose to use part of the spine of a vornskr as the hilt one is left to wonder. A lightsaber is a reflection of the Jedi who built it, and using the spiral cord of a vornskr is a bit extreme. Then again many weapons are made from bone, and/or have bone hilts or grips. Though it is usually done as a status or decorative style. And the latter is what Aeia typically tells a person when asked. Artistic Jedi constructions after all is a hobby of hers, and when becoming a Jedi Knight, she did seriously consider becoming a Jedi Artisan in those days.

However, the reality is a bit more macabre mixed with good intentions. Aeia saw the beasts for what they were, tormented creatures abused into being far more violent than their nature originally made them, and then used for a twisted little man's entertainment. In her mind, she though by making her lightsaber out of one the creatures, she could turn what was a simple creature used for heinous acts who in the end met an untimely, violent death--into something for good. Part of it being her lightsaber, it will always be at her side fighting for a just cause, protecting innocent lives, and in this moment used to stop a revolting crime lord.

The lightsaber crystal she got from the caverns of Dantooine, Aeia always kept with her. She never parted with it, during idle moments she focus channeling the Force through it, meditating on it. She did this ever since she obtained it as a sixteen year old, thus for four years she has spent meditating on the crystal, channeling the Force--her very presence even through that crystal. It was as a part of her in a way, she could feel as much of her presence within that crystal than she could focusing solely upon her own aura.

Much of the cache was ruined by the explosions, including the work bench. But there were still plenty of materials she could scrounge up and use to construct the lightsaber precisely she envisioned it. Using simple water and fine sandpaper to clean and shape the bones just as she wanted them. Even the glass to shape around the bone hilt as she intricately constructed each section of the lightsaber within each section of spine. The glass she cleverly reduced to a film, and shaped it over the hilt as a type of mold covering entirely to the hilt itself.

Despite the few hours it took her to construct such a lightsaber, the battle between the crime lord and his men versus the Republic law enforcement still waged onward. The construction of her lightsaber though was a good for her as well, it was a calming process where she could her divert her attention and focus on something less stressful. Aeia took advantage of it, a moment to rest and recover before rejoining the fray. When he lightsaber was finished, there was no hesitation in her running off to rejoin the Republic forces. She followed the tunnels, while the strike team may be decimated by the crime lord's trap, she remained standing and thus could continue the mission.

Backtracking her way through the tunnels, she made her way back to the gutted tunnels of the maintenance shaft where everything was disrupted. Yet standing amongst all the destruction with several dead vornskr laying about the rubble, each struck down by a lightsaber, stood Xica with a serene, warm smile greeting the girl without any words. The dead and wound strike force members they went into the maintenance shaft were being tended to by medics sent with a reinforcement detachment. But upon reuniting, the master and padawan went on ahead of the rest.

The vile crime lord in the end was defeated by the pair of Jedi who infiltrated his compound. Aeia provided cover for Xica who took point to go after the crime lord himself, who in the end was struck down by Xica's blade as he refused to surrender and only kept fighting. With his death and several of his henchmen having been struck down by both Xica and Aeia, or even having been gunned down by law enforcement, those who remained by that point finally did surrender.

The entire affair was a trying ordeal for all those involved, Aeia was no different. It was that battle where she found herself placed into a position where she had to take a life not just for her own protection but others, the pair of vornskrs excluded. Simple-minded henchmen--criminals in truth, they were paid to commit crimes in the devaronian's name. Despite Xica's attempts to comfort Aeia in that she did nothing wrong in taking those men's lives, for if she had not--they would have taken hers or one of the politce officers' without a care in the world, perhaps they would have even celebrated it. Nevertheless, questioning whether it was right to take a life, any life--even in self-defense has been a moral quandary Aeia has had within herself all her life. She recognizes it happens, she recognizes it is not evil--or at least not inherently so, but the question remains, is that the only answer? If not, then why should the inquiry into what are other alternatives be so easily dismissed? Despite never coming to a conclusion, and understanding that the answers are circumstantial to the situation--she felt so long as she still needed to question it to be a good thing, and Xica agreed with her.

The reason why Xica agreed with Aeia fell back to her often teaching Aeia if one is doing something, but has to caution themselves about the dark side--then they should not be doing it in the first place. If all one's actions makes them fear or concern for fall to the dark side, or the dark side corrupting them in some way, then everything about what they are doing is wrong and they should reassess. The reason why is because if one is worried about falling to the dark side by the actions they take, or even if the dark side is what is preventing them from taking a course of action, then they are living an existence of attrition. If fear of damnation is all that is preventing one from immorality or striking another down, then they are simply not doing it because they are afraid--in other words, fear is compelling them not to act. And in fear, lies the dark side--so by even choosing not to take an action one is still being ruled by their fears--ruled by the dark side, and there the slide into the darkness begins.

Thus, so long as Aeia was questioning--that, not if taking an action will lead her to the dark side, but rather if what she is doing is the morally right thing to do. She is not acting out of fear of damnation, she is not acting out of attrition. But rather she is acting out of contrition, a genuine sense and worry of committing a moral wrong, not from fear of the dark side and being damned for it, but for the simple fact it was the wrong thing to do. That was why Xica agreed with Aeia that asking herself such questions is good thing, for when she is placed in the unique and terrible circumstance of having to claim a life whether in self-defense or in the defense of another. Because the questions in of themselves are moral guides. The second she finds herself asking if she will fall to the dark side for taking such and such an action, in truth, she already knows the answer to the morality of the action itself.

((Continued in post below...))

[Apillis]

The battle waged with the crime lord the High Council constituted Aeia fulfilling her Trial of Courage and Trial of Flesh. With numerous shrapnel wounds though minor as they were, for despite not quite being a Jedi Knight yet--still her ability within the Jedi arts for bolstering ones own defenses through the Force, had she not had such extensive training the wounds would have likely been far more severe. But even so, having numerous cuts and gashes from shrapnel, regardless of how minor they were, and continue to fight on is a remarkable showing of endurance and overcoming physical pain to fulfill her duty as a Jedi. That coupled with her bravery in the conditions she found herself in, despite having her master at her side, she still--while wounded--aided the Republic law enforcement, and had a hand in bringing down an entrenched vicious crime lord; and she did so without hesitation. That can only be described as showing a great measure of courage that one should expect of a Jedi Knight.

She was only twenty years old at the time, however, and thus not old enough to take the final steps in becoming a Jedi Knight, yet. But she was well on her way given what she had proven of herself. The quite unique and unorthodox construction of her lightsaber turned a few heads as well, not just on the High Council, but among the Jedi Artisans. Several among their number knew of Aeia's interest in joining the ranks of Jedi Artisans, and with her approaching the time to ascend to the rank of Jedi Knight, they were quite open to working with her; albeit, that is not to say they were apprehensive before.

Yet... it was only a couple years later, a few weeks before when the remaining trials she had left to become a Jedi Knight, were to take place that her greatest test transpired. The Jedi Masters tended to keep the matter quiet, but there was someone hunting down padawans, slaughtering them, while sparing their masters to leave them in despair. It had been going on for years, about a decade--maybe a little longer, though, the times it happened were sporadic. She heard it was a fallen Jedi committing the murders, one that fell during the 2nd Mandalorian Rebellion that ended when Aeia herself was three years old. The tragedies of that war still affect the Jedi even this point in her life, she saw it day to day, even when others were unaware. But she could see it by how the older Jedi acted, especially through her own master, though she hid it a little less than they did; but she could also feel it through Xica.

Aeia overheard some of the talks other Jedi Masters had with Xica on the issue, but she never caught more than what had already been mentioned, outside of that Xica had some sort of connection to the murderer. There were times... Xica would be brought to her knees from a darkness she felt clenching at her heart--an evil or a malevolence that did not stem from herself but something other. Aeia always felt that Xica was bonded to more than just herself, but to who or what--Xica did very well at guarding Aeia from it, despite their own powerful bond.

Aeia never understood why Xica never let go of her connection to what or whoever she remained bonded to--affecting her with such darkness. Xica's response was a harsh one, asking the girl if she would also wish for her to give up her connection to Aeia as well. The words were wounding, and she did not know where they stemmed from. Aeia never brought up the issue again. But once again, it was one of those things that went unsaid among the Jedi who were veterans of the last war with the Mandalorians. She had no doubt there were many unspeakable tragedies committed in that war. What she saw through her own master and others was whatever had affected them during it, memories--harsh truths--terrible lessons learned, they all bled into the Order itself, and the next generation which Aeia was apart of, she could see them unwittingly being shaped by it through those veterans' quiet reaction to their experiences in war. It was--in its way inevitable, whether those Jedi against going to war at that time or joining martial conflict altogether, liked it or not. A single war--no matter how brief--can have events cascade across the galaxy, affecting trillions in its wake. The Jedi Order had never been any more immune to this than any other.

The affect of it all, Aeia could not deny it has shaped her as well, and in a way, quite intimately given her master, Xica. Being surrounded by unspoken regret within pensive contemplation trying to understand the full weight of all that had happened. Those murders were one fallen Jedi's own form of embodied regret trying to understand what they had suffered in the war. They may not realize their actions were such, but Aeia could see it, just as she did with her own master and other Jedi in what they did. In quiet moments staring off--locked within a reflective moment in time within their own mind as they tried to piece together what they had experienced, and a part of their own soul. The only thing Xica ever said to Aeia on the matter was off-handedly commenting that the Jedi who assume those went to fight were affected by the Mandalorians through their battles with them were wrong. What affected the Jedi who went to war was their realization that their ability to engage in violence was eerily innate, and that it did not matter how they detached themselves from the violence, the darkness within them only grew. The Mandalorians in all of that were merely a conduit that enabled them to see it in their own actions and to test themselves. The realization that in the end... it was never really about the Mandalorians themselves. Each Jedi reacts to the enlightenment differently than others, and some wind up being swallowed whole by the shadow of death that casts itself over all things done in war. When merely off-handedly told this, to say it was an odd and even a bit dark moment for Aeia would be an understatement, but it was something that remained at the forefront of her mind for years to come.

And while many may not have known or understood it at the time, Xica knew that was the genesis of what started these murders, and was something Aeia while not having real clarity of the situation, felt it stemmed from what Xica had long known and understood. By the little of what Xica was willing to share, as Aeia begun to see the entire issue with the murders, especially by the time they hit the peak of their escalation; what they were was the cries of the dead--the outrage of those lost in torment by the war, made manifest through a broken Jedi survivor.

But it was never believed the height of these murders would arrive nearly at the Jedi Order's doorstep upon Coruscant...

And while she never stated it to anyone, Xica felt the darkness coming, and Aeia felt the foreboding of its arrival through Xica in turn; but also said nothing about it. It was no surprise to either of them when it came, but both acted to stop it. Xica ordered Aeia to stay clear of the confrontation, and leave the fight to her alone, telling Aeia to use her healing arts to help the victims of the fallen Jedi's assault. The fallen Jedi's next murder victim was to be a High Council Member's padawan as the High Council Member was visiting the Senate. The attack occurred just as they exited their shuttle upon its designated landing platform. While the dark side was in the air, the assault itself was still an abrupt ambush and unrelentingly violent in its action.

The High Council Member lost her arm in the assault, the blow struck her down, and in the next moment the fallen Jedi begun draining away the padawan's life through the dark side. But it was then interrupted by Xica in turn ambushing the fallen Jedi. Aeia went unnoticed as she helped the High Council Member and her padawan flee the scene, she used her healing arts to try to stabilize the severely drained padawan with High Council Member's aid.

It was strange though, she could feel the conflict between Xica and the fallen Jedi, but... there was no tension between them... only regret, sorrow, and... love. And through it all she felt with her bond Xica, her master simply being completely at ease and at peace with everything. It was a level of centered being so profound and placid that all the pain--all the heartache just washed away exposing only a serenity like gentle sunlight. In a flash in her mind, she could see Xica's warm, soft and soothing smile... and then nothing.

She was gone.

As they continued to heal the padawan, the High Council Member's eyes turned downcast as Aeia looked to her while a piece of Aeia's heart having been torn from her in an instant. The pain was unbearable, tears flowed from her eyes, she clenched at her heart in agony. The Jedi Master knew what had happened to Xica, she could sense it--but it was Aeia who not only sensed it but felt it. Xica had died, struck down by the fallen Jedi, yet... it did not feel like a violent death--for it felt as though Xica had parted not just at ease, but willingly.

In the end, the darkness that was the murderous fallen Jedi fell away into obscurity, only idle rumors lingered for a time, but even those faded away with time's passing. But the heartbreak of Xica's loss never left Aeia, her loss lingered as an emptiness within Aeia's that to this day has yet to truly be filled. But with it, Aeia begun to at last truly understand what Xica had felt for all those years. And in some ways staggered Aeia to think of the depth of the emptiness one would feel from having suffered the loss of five others they had bonded with, which it in turn only made it even clearer to her why Xica clung to the bond she had with the fallen Jedi who in the end killed her. Yet Xica parted with no resistance, no fear, no malice--only contentment.

It was that contentment that stuck with Aeia most of all. Despite it all, Xica was content and at ease with her death, perhaps in a way greeting it like an old friend. The again, with the amount of death she had experienced in the war with the Mandalorians, and felt much of it through the Force, it was no mystery to Aeia that Xica long since learned not to fear it and even embrace it.

While Jedi often preach for those who join with the Force in death to rejoice for them, for they have become one with it, it gave little comfort to Aeia in her grief over Xica's loss. Though Xica's becoming one with the Force was so complete, so thorough upon her death there was nothing left of her upon her passing other than her clothes and her lightsaber. There was no body, it was as if she had simply faded out of existence--or rather--this existence. But with her vanishing, so did her presence within Aeia's heart, and that is what affected her most.

Yet, it was not vengeance Aeia felt, it was not revenge she wanted for Xica's death. In many ways given all of what Xica had passed onto Aeia, she saw feeling or seeking either would spit on Xica's memory. There was a brief time when Aeia did have such thoughts, but they were abandoned fairly quickly, primarily overshadowed by more grief from the emptiness she felt than anything else. For it triggered memories of her time spent with Xica, and that was what lead to the quelling of any desire of vengeance and/or revenge. In time she begun to even view such desires as petty and small wants.

It was the heartbreak Aeia struggled with most of all. And it was what made the lure of the dark side start to call for her. Despair and melancholy drowned her in their abyss, for the emptiness left in her heart by Xica's departing wake refused to fade. Then again, it never will, for once someone has bond to another through the Force, and when that bond--that link is severed, the mark of its existence still lingers on, which is the feeling of the void of its absence--that affect never fades away. And for Aeia it never did, and that is where the dark side's pull begun.

Yet... in a bit of irony the source of what caused her despair with time also became the source of her salvation. As mentioned, Xica's memory was what staved Aeia's thoughts and desires for vengeance and revenge for her death. The lessons of acceptance and understanding, the example of Xica's thoughtfulness and peaceful nature, and willingness to take on a burden--shoulder it and move on, and seek out the light and hope not just within but in her surroundings as well. These are the things where Aeia learned to let go of her grief, find the inner-serenity within herself, and at last become at peace with Xica's parting.

They were not easy lessons to learn, no lesson of that nature is easy. For they are lessons learned only over a lifetime, and Aeia to this day states she is still learning them...

But as said within the tale, those tragic events were all mere weeks before she was to take the last of her Jedi Trials. While still in a state of mourning for her master's loss, she had by that point begun to be at ease and find peace in her master's loss. And when she faced the Jedi High Council, they could see it in her. Her having faced the pain of sorrow that enabled the darkness to grip her, at least for a time, for in the end her learning to repel its lure dispelled its influence over her by finding serenity within herself. It was seeing that before them, that they deemed she had passed the Trial of Spirit. Though, Aeia felt no pride or victory or satisfaction in having been told she passed the trial, and in many ways still she feels as though it cheapens the significance of Xica's death for her to be granted a kind of accolade in her path to reconcile the grief of Xica's passing and being without Xica's tangible presence as part of own her as the bond between them is gone.

What remained was the Trial of Skill and Trial of Insight, and it was decided the one to test her in the Trial of Skill was the Jedi Battlemaster, Xica's former master, Ader. While Xica molded much of her style by forging an inverse of another master's teachings, her immense skill with a blade was forged by Ader's teachings. Ader was--as expected of any Jedi Battlemaster--easily among the best lightsaber duelists of his day.

Aeia had never really spoken with him at any significant length, mostly simply speaking with him in very brief moments in passing, or to relay something from him to Xica and vice versa. Xica and his relationship in turn was quite impersonal as well, however, that was only after with the conflict with the Mandalorians a couple decades ago. Before then their relationship was much like Aeia had with her, but time and events can put a strain on many things, and that includes even the strong bonds between a Jedi Master with their padawan-learner. Though, neither seemed to begrudge one another, but rather... grew distant and estranged. On Ader's end, he felt he should give Xica more space, whereas on Xica's end--she felt as though she had disappointed him by going to war; and thus after neither of them took the time to approach the other to speak in depth on the perspective of the other, so only distance grew between them in time.

While it is not uncommon for the Jedi Battlemaster to be the one to give a padawan undergoing their Jedi Trials to test them, especially the Trial of Skill. In this case Ader was specifically chosen because of the relationship they possessed to Xica, one as a master, the other as an apprentice. The trial was moved to the training, which was emptied for the purposes of the trial. And there was where Aeia and Ader stood at its center, facing one another, while the rest of the Jedi High Council surrounded them as spectators as it were.

There were no words between Aeia and Ader in that moment, they just stared straight into one another's eyes with their blades drawn. Their gaze expressed the same, someone who felt the same grief as the other. The meeting and clashing of their blades was without warning from either party to the other. Their confrontation was swift and kinetic, unyielding in their trading strikes at one another. The fact that despite having some skill with a blade but having a lenience to direct wielding of the Force, how she chose to wield it was not in grand displays of telekinetics or telepathy, but rather--amplifying her own physicality to immense extents; which supplemented where she otherwise lacked with her blade work. Her ability to manipulate her own physical being through the Art of Movement was immense, so her raw physical movements and agility took the place of higher precognitive senses or more tempered blade work. This combined with her personalized style of Soresu and Djem So blended together made her a seemingly impenetrable wall of the Force. For an experienced duelist like Ader, her tactic was clear, it was not through devastation or clever out-maneuvering--it was attrition. Her method was to burn down her opponent's strength by turning herself into something of an immovable object.

For a twenty-two year old Jedi to hold her own for as long as she was in the duel, it was nothing shy of impressive. It was not as though she constantly were on the defensive, as her usage of Djem So within her personal style, she returned as good as she got--or at least tried to up against the immense skill and talent of Ader. Which made their clashes an interesting spectacle of numerous counters countering one counter after another strung together in a litany of giving and receiving nothing but counter-strikes.

But as the duel continued to draw on--something did not feel right to Aeia... it just felt too easy. Not in terms of dealing with Ader's skill--in fact, it was the toughest test of her bladework she had ever had. But the concept of it merely felt... too simplistic. It all felt off, eventually pushing away from Ader in their fight, she created a bit of distance between herself and him. She closed her eyes for but a second and sighed with a realization the moment she opened them once again. For there was nothing there, she stood in what seemed to be an void of nothing--just dark space. And before her where Ader once stood, in his place was Xica--with her blade at the ready. Yet, Aeia... all she did was merely smile and lower her own blade. The vision of Xica charged at her, but all Aeia did was still smile softly at her and respond by holding her arms out wide letting Xica's blade run her through.

In that moment the darkness faded and there Aeia found herself standing within the rest of the Jedi High Council still in High Council Chambers. They had never left the room. It was all a collective illusion they constructed to test the girl. None of it was real, for there she stood--within the High Council Chamber with Ader standing in front of her smiling as were the rest of the High Council. The wizened Battlemaster walked over to her and lay a congratulatory hand on her shoulder before stepping aside as the Grandmaster of the Order approached her. The old Jedi Master ignited his lightsaber, and ceremoniously severed Aeia's padawan braid as Grandmasters of the Order have done for those padawans that have graduated into the rank of Jedi Knight for generations.

Her skill with a blade was apparent to them, even within an illusion, for it was an illusion of their construction that in no way hindered her ability or technique. Thus her talent within lightsaber combat and the Jedi arts were more than satisfactory to them. But to realize through the high tempo and the narrow-minded focus from being locked in combat, that none of it was real, but then furthermore be shown a representation of her melancholy, and her only response was to open her arms wide to embrace it--even as that representation ran her through. All of it showed them she possessed the inward thoughtful insightfulness required of a Jedi Knight.

As mentioned though, from when she was very young she liked to build and create, and that craftsman's intellectual curiosity stuck with her all her life. So it is no real surprise she wound up furthering her studies into the fields of Jedi Artisans, but really--it was more of something she did off-handedly to begin with in her career as a Jedi Knight. It was not her primary focus, she became a bit more strident after her Knighthood, as though she felt a need to prove Xica's legacy that was imparted to her as her former padawan--to prove true and right. So she begun by taking up the same path as a Jedi that Xica walked, which was that of a Jedi Peacekeeper.

A significant part of what it meant to be Jedi to Aeia was maintaining and helping civilization prosper. What built civilizations had always been communities, but laws need to exist within communities to quash the acts of the wicked who seek to do them harm. Law and order in Aeia's eyes were wisdom acting upon experience for the benefit of a civilization. Of course, she was under no illusion that law is a construct of fallible beings, and thus need be monitored and maintained to keep it justice for all who respect the order and peace law can bring.

The role of a Jedi Peacekeeper is merely to aid local law enforcement with the intent quelling violence before it erupts. Despite being based in the Jedi Temple, she did not aid the Jedi Peacekeepers working the security of the Jedi Temple nor the district it resides in. She often traveled to other regions of Republic space to lend a hand. She never saw much use is focusing all of one's attention in just one area. It was the reason that the regions she saw where Jedi Peacekeepers had a permanency or long term stake in an area, they became dependent upon the Jedi, when they need to learn to function on their own without constant Jedi intervention.

However, when violence did erupt--as it inevitability always does, it only reinforced to Aeia why she spent so much of her life studying the fields of Protection of the Jedi arts. Expanding those lessons over the years from not just honing ability with such techniques like Ray and Tutaminis, but also spreading them out to amplifying the prowess of herself those around her through the strength of the Force's light. The study to utilize a technique such as Force Valor, she saw as beneficial to lend further aid to those around her, much in the same line of thought behind the practicality of studying the Jedi healing arts starting when she was young.

But she further such a technique as embodying the very principles of the Jedi and what it means to follow the path of the light. The dark side surrounds all and it is all encompassing, the dark side one wields is not inborn but rather channeled through them--warping their being into a dark one. Whereas the light a Jedi possesses is inborn, it is generated from within them, and shines bright staving off the dark that would otherwise eclipse who they truly are. What Aeia admires about a technique like Force Valor, is it takes the light a Jedi can generate within themselves to make themselves stronger and better, but goes the extra mile in sharing and spreading that light to their allies as the Force is the Jedi's.

It took Aeia around a decade to eventually have the technique completely mastered, but every time she found herself having to use not just for her benefit but others she was glad she did. Such as the time when she was on Onderon, aiding Iziz law enforcement with a band of Mandalorians attempting to relive the glory days of the Mandalorians before their great humiliation a few decades prior. During the resulting back and forth between the Onderon law enforcement who were forced to deal with them the most often until the Mandalorian band's eventual defeat as they attacked civilian targets, it was Aeia application of using the strength of the light within her to amplify the personnel around her that at times saw the day. A humble law enforcement personnel after all, does not have near the lifetime's worth of training a Mandalorian soldier does.

Though, in a way things only seemed to feel like they were getting more and more volatile. Especially when the so-called Sith Aristocrats split from the Republic. Perhaps it was all just in her head, but it seemed that way to her--any time when the word Sith rises once again in the galaxy's lexicon, things become more tense and reactionary. But there was not ever anything directly from them, but the splitting of the Sith Aristocrats from the Republic lent credibility to the Republic as a weakening governing body. So many from pirates to even lowly criminals sought to the test it no matter the pitiable fashion.

As violence seemingly rose in some places for those very reasons, Aeia found herself using her lightsaber less and less to defuse the situations. But rather utilized her hand to hand combat training that she had been taught by Xica for many years, and only expanded upon after her death and Aeia's Knighthood. She continued with the philosophy Xica had on unarmed combat that styles divide people, and only by seeking to learn the styles of others does it bring harmony between what are otherwise potentially conflicting philosophies.

During her time in the Corellia systems, had crossed paths with Warden of the Sky. Many tend to be weary of Jedi as Wardens not uncommonly blend themselves into the Fringe elements of spacer communities if not posing as a humble spacer. They often do not want notice, and Jedi may often do just that. But this particular Warden, she befriended--after catching him smuggling what was believed to be illegal spice. But turned out to be nothing more than medical supplies. When freed by her order to the Corellian naval law enforcement of the space lanes, that was when the friendship begun between them. The usual Jedi after him never had any intention of letting him go if they caught him, whereas Aeia--did not seem to mind, seeing the bigger picture of why he was smuggling medical supplies; which were to Outer Rim regions that did not have Republic trade routes as available to them because of other seedier Fringe elements that sought to control the independent space lanes for themselves.

He became something of a contact for her to learning of various smuggling operations, primarily by Hutts that he often worked with. But in the times they did meet, while he did not teach her the method of what was essentially unique form of projected fighting passed through his family, he did show her various martial arts styles from other regions had picked up. Aeia did the same, in return, both having been to regions of space the other has not--as Aeia primarily kept to Republic space, and he primarily kept to independent regions of space.

Incorporating these styles she developed a method that possessed the harsh technicality of militaristic CQC unarmed methods with the swift flowing grace found in more archaic forms. But the underlining ideal of this is to embody the many rather than one rigid ideal or philosophy, and that is only achieved by incorporating several perspectives and visions--learning what they have to teach, seeing through their eyes to best understand and learn. In Aeia's eyes, what is more adhering to the Jedi ideals of understanding ones surroundings and the galaxy's differing cultures than that?

Though, sadly year later her Warden friend wound up being killed during a smuggling run by a Republic Navy scouting pilot. Aeia herself did not learn the terrible news until some time after the event as he was a wanted man by the Republic by that time, she discovered his from the mentioning of it when speaking with old friends in the Republic military.

It was actually that which lead to her deciding to cease serving the Jedi Order as a Jedi Peacekeeper. Albeit, it was not the only thing that lead to the decision, but more along the lines of being the final straw. After having served as a Jedi Peacekeeper for near two decades, what she saw with each alumni of Jedi Knights, it felt like to her many continued to walk paths to fight. Eager to fight the dark side, run to front lines to meet whatever Dark Jedi they can ferret out with blade upon blade. In her eyes, not enough were focusing on the real elements that maintain and keep the peace within the Republic, it forged first among the people themselves.

Which lead her to deciding to become a bit more of a homebody at the Jedi Temple, taking on the responsibilities of a Jedi Instructor. By that point she had held the rank of Jedi Master for nearly a decade. The classes she taught the ages varied. Often from younglings to padawans in their mid-teens, seldom instructing the older padawans unless requested for tutoring or something comparable. But her leaving the Jedi Peacekeepers was not truly giving up on the ideal they represent, but rather to reinforce it. She figured by teaching the very ideals of justice and the need for law, the philosophies of the protective arts of the Jedi and the strength the path of the light can lend to communities--she could draw students to deciding to maybe take on the duties of the Jedi Peacekeeper or one of its sister occupations within the Jedi Order.

Thus the idea being while the Jedi Peacekeepers lose her in one fashion, they may gain others perhaps even generations of others through her as a Jedi Instructor. Some of her contemporaries remark that she is a "wise teacher, but a methodical recruiter". And Aeia simply accepted that criticism, if can be called such.

However, what was making her weary of being a Jedi Peacekeeper is what it lacking in comparison to the what she was regaining as a Jedi Instructor. Which was hope, when constantly facing criminals, and repeatedly seeking to cease violent situations, which when one ends another begins--and then met with the inevitability of the death handing over those one works with, and knowing that not all can possibly be saved. It wears on the mind with time. And while she accepted it as a reality that is simply apart of life in truth, as nature is no more or less violent than "human nature" can prove to be. Still years of having to try to quell something that can never truly end, the futility one eventually needs to separate themselves from; and in a way she begun to feel as her passed on master Xica felt after her time spent in warfare compounded with returning to her duties as Jedi Peacekeeper years later.

But hope came in the form of the those she taught and trained, whenever she had a student thinking more about the meaning of their actions more than their lightsaber technique, that restored hope to her heart. The more a student sought to understand the Force, rather than seek the most powerful method in how to wield it, that restored hope in her heart. For in them, she knew only good can flourish, only the light can shine.

Albeit, it was when she became a Jedi Instructor, she also begun serving as a Jedi Artisan as well. As instructing classes were not nearly as time consuming upholding Republic law against constants of those who seek to break them. So, she worked on crafts and artifacts for the Jedi Temple with other Jedi Artisans. Such work to her were downtime, moments to meditate and find her equanimity outside of everything else--just time to herself.

And funny enough, that is what lead to her reaching the pinnacle of what many Jedi seek to achieve. The idea of enlightenment is not what many envision of it, or rather reaching of it. It is a culminating thing of where years of study and understanding come together in a natural instinctual form as one learns their place within the galaxy and finds their center in it. It is not matter of searching, but rather knowing. It is hitting the point of finding ones place and center, and understanding what all those teachings for years are simply known. It is one thing to learn and see, but it is entirely different thing to simply know--it is a level all of its own. And it is furthermore not a desire for achieving more, but rather accepting for where one is, and being content with what one has.

But it was not a switch being flipped, or just something achieved overnight, but rather over the course of her entire life. It years of one piece after another falling into place, until all that has been learned, understood, and gathered click into place in harmony. It was simply Aeia enjoying the contradictory simplicities and complexities of creating crafts and artifacts for the Jedi Temple that lead to the final pieces falling into place within her to find a wholeness within the self--a contentment of knowing just where she stands within the Force and simply being at peace within and out.

But turmoil within the galaxy can only be in its dormant form for so long until it begins to seep outward once again.

Aeia always thought the Sith Aristocrats would eventually make their move for warfare, likely no different than many other Jedi presumed as well. One does not take on the name of Sith and then not seek conflict, whether one be able to perceive the Force or not. Only sought after conflict awaits for any who seek the Sith mantle for power, regardless in what form.

It was a decade after Aeia became a Jedi Instructor within the Jedi Temple of Coruscant, that the Sith Lords emerged from the Sith Empire and the Sith Aristocrats becoming no more. That was no surprise to Aeia, either. For Force-sensitive or not, only death awaits the one who takes on the name of Sith, for with the Sith all things end in death. But it brewed trouble among the Jedi, stirrings of going to war, and many of the younger members too eager to join the war effort. And these 'Blades of the Jedi', were not helping matters in that regard. Aeia could see it in her students, the gears shifting from thinking about their actions being overcome by desires to prove themselves on the battlefield to met the Sith blade on blade. She lost count how many times she had to repeat the lesson that combat she never be a primary desire, and no one should be eager to face the Sith their own arena of aggression.

With the chaotic tides ebbing and thrashing throughout the galaxy with the herald of galactic war with the Sith calling once again. The stresses of leadership positions it seemed to Aeia for several Jedi Council members to step down or just leave their posts, leading to several Jedi Masters being cycled into the High Council of the Jedi Order. To the point most recently, even Aeia herself has joined their ranks. To which like many things in her life, Aeia takes on with a certain unflappable disposition.


RP Sample:

"Adventure is not outside man; it is within." ~ George Eliot (Marian Evans)

Aside from the obvious reasons do to the loftiness of the position, Aeia found it peculiar to find herself as one of the High Council. It had never been a goal of hers, nor something she had ever thought throughout her entire career as a Jedi. So to be one, was nothing shy of unexpected to her. And really, despite having lived a few decades, she felt just as youthful as her visage. To her, being a member of the Jedi High Council was for the old and wizened. Or perhaps, that was just the perspective she had do to that is how the Jedi High Council from her days as Jedi Knight appeared to her. The fact so much time had passed for her to be considered was... surprising to her in of itself, and in a way had never really paid much attention to for many years.

Yet, there she was--one among their 'prestigious' number. It was an opportunity to do more good for the Jedi Order, but also for the Republic as well. So she naturally accepted, yet it meant more responsibility on her shoulders. She recognized she needed help, but she did not want some mere assistant. In her eyes, if one is not actively doing something where they otherwise could be, they are squandering opportunity. Why merely have an assistant, when one can also have a student?

Aeia over the years has had many students, yet never an apprentice--never a padawan. In a way, she looked upon her students each as a sort of padawan. But, she also was honest with herself in that was merely evading the issue, for the truth was she never really felt it was time. Albeit, now with greater responsibility upon her, and with a padawan she can both receive help while also helping guide another. A relationship from its onset being forged from a mutual need of one another. Too often Aeia had seen Jedi Masters with their padawans needing to be dependent upon them in a way, while they are in a position of constantly trying to be above their student. But one thing that Aeia felt made her connection to Xica so profound, was her knowing that Xica needed her just as much as she needed Xica.

But to say that she needed a padawan merely for another to teach, or simply because she needs an assistant would be misleading. For Aeia never truly filled the void in her heart caused by Xica's death, it had always carried with her. And what her current situation had done was provided her a conduit to try to at last try to fill that void. It was not about forgetting Xica's memory, there was nothing in the galaxy that could remove Xica's memory from Aeia's heart and mind, but what it was in its way was a final step toward closure. To help and guide another as Xica helped and guided her.

Going through the list of names of those youths ready to have a master, Aeia eyes fell upon one she recognized. Her head tilted a little somewhat taken aback by the sight of it. Nevertheless, seeing that name was the answer to whom she would take on as her padawan...

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Still working Apillis?

Also, we really have enough hybrids already in the Jedi. They're the second largest group after Humans.

[Apillis]

Oh yes. Just taking my merry sweet time with it. ;D

[Dutch]

Oh snap! Review time!



First of all, love your quote leading into the app. Already gives me a taste of Aeia.

Race: Dire is looking her over as we speak to make sure she lines up with racial stuff for them.

Appearance: Loved this. Got nothing to say XD

Personality: One of the best I've read in some time. Really have an idea of who Aeia is.

Rank: This would be Jedi High Councilor instead of 'Jedi Master'

Ex: Jedi High Councilor- Jedi Artisan/Jedi Instructor (formerly Jedi Peacekeeper)

Also... AN ARTISAN! OSSIM!

Lightsaber: wow...

Skills: Hmmm interesting combo.

Atts: Kosher

Bio: Took me a while to read over it, but nothing game breaking. I like her a lot

Rp Sample: Oooo! Forshadowing!

Well m'dear, I did say that chances are after all this time you've been on SWU, that you'd nail this. Loved the read, good job!



Now go out and craft! Both stuff and the future! >3

[Dutch]

Accepted Stats-

Practiced Lightsaber forms:

Shii-Cho - 5
Makashi - N/A
Soresu - 5
Ataru - N/A
Djem So - 5
Niman - N/A
Juyo - N/A
Double Bladed Combat - N/A

Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:

Telekinetic: 3
Telepathic: 3
Body: 8
Sense: 5
Protection: 9
Healing: 6
Destruction: 0

Specialized Skills:
Force Valor
Ray
Tutaminis (Force Absorb)
Enlightenment

Attributes:

Physical Strength: 6
Intelligence: 6
Speed: 7
Leadership: 5

Unarmed: 8
Melee Weapons: 2
Ranged Weapons: 1

[Dutch]

App Update 2015 edits Approved

Ships/Vehicles:

Equipment:
Lightsaber- Somewhat macabre in its appearance, yet some consider it one of her "master" works as a Jedi Artisan despite being made before her becoming one. It was made from the lower spinal column of a vornskr she killed when she was a padawan. She hollowed out the various sections of its spine to house the various mechanics that composes a lightsaber, and smoothed and rounded it out for a more comfortable grip, even the ridges of its spine were smoothed down to be comfortable grip for her fingers, including one of those ridges serving as the the lightsaber's switch. Glass crystal was then molded over it perfectly to its unique form. But one section of the spine is missing from the hilt, and that being the section second from the top of the hilt where her lightsaber focusing crystal is located. Set with the mechanisms of the lightsaber's construction to forge the beam, though in her lightsaber's case the apparati holding the crystal are heavily reinforced to hold it in place. Reason being in that section the glass is hollowed out for a few small channeling mechanisms within the hilt enabling the plasma energy to swirl and radiate just a little around the crystal itself. It does nothing special for the lightsaber outside of giving a visual effect do to being able to see this energy through the glass, which to many among those that have seen it say it looks like a tiny burning sun within Aeia's lightsaber hilt when the blade is switched on. Otherwise it looks like an ordinary yellowish orange crystal set within a lightsaber giving its beam its signature sun-like hue. The effect does generate light, but not enough to be blinding as it is less bright than the beam itself, do to the light energy coming from it being unfocused and has a slightly more raw appearance with tiny, small rays of light like tiny, miniature sunbeams.

Stats:

Strength - Above Average
Agility - Superior
Intelligence - Above Average
Charisma - Average

Force Stats:

Telekinetic- Apprentice
Telepathic- Apprentice
Body- Expert
Sense- Adept
Protection- Master
Healing– Adept
Destruction– Unskilled


Combat Training:
Martial Arts - Expert

Force Training:
Force Valor - Adept
Ray - Expert
Tutaminis (Force Absorb) - Master
Enlightenment - Master

Other Training:
Artisan Lightsaber Construction - Master
Piloting - Apprentice
Galactic Lore - Expert
Force Lore - Master
Military History - Adept
Artisan Holocron Construction - Adept
Mechanics - Adept

Lightsaber Training:

Shii-Cho- Expert
Makashi- Untrained
Soresu- Specialist
Ataru- Untrained
Djem So- Adept
Niman- Untrained
Juyo- Untrained
Double Bladed Combat- Untrained

[Neology]

Moved to inactive.