Serenity is not a reward... [Moonfire]

[Thaddeus]

Balkk approached the MedCentre of the Jedi Temple without anticipation, he had received word from Jedi Healer Amyzon that Padawan Esense wished to see him. Balkk had asked her a few days ago to meditate on the possibility of her becoming his padawan, he believed this to be the will of the Force but it was not his place to say absolutely. He had been engaged this morning in his own peculiar style of meditation, which involved going through the motions and steps of the form which he had practiced with solitary excellence for over 2/3rds of his life: Soresu.

While his lightsaber had spun and whirred through the air, guided not by Balkk but by the Force; as he felt the Force fill him and flow through him, all singularity dissolved into a great multiplicity; a lesson of his own master filled his thoughts: Serenity is not a reward: it is a consequence; suffering is not a punishment: it is a result. This mantra had allowed him to push his body to and beyond its limits. To understand it, to sense it, and to throw oneself into the Force that was to be a great Jedi.

Such had been his morning meditations, for the past few days they had all followed the same pattern. He had two days after seeing Padawan Esense for the first time approached the High Council and asked for their approval of Moonfire becoming his padawan if she too believed the Force had guided him. They deliberated for some time, but eventually they agreed with Balkk that he was guided to her for a purpose. Balkk had thanked the masters for their trust, and left happy that his master's teachings (and his own) would have a legacy in the Order. Outside the Order there was another who had learnt some of the lessons, and Balkk smiled at the memory. He turned a corner and soon found himself at the door to the MedCentre.

"Missstresss Amyzon, I believe Padawan Esenssse isss expecting me." Amyzon looked up at the Trandoshan Jedi, she smiled widely and bowed. "Of course master Balkk, right this way." The two Jedi, who were actually fairly close in age though you would never know it to look at them, made their way past the beds. "She has set up a little table out here on the balcony that overlooks one of the courtyard gardens." Balkk nodded, and once the balcony came into view, added. "Thank you Missstresss Amyzon, I ssshall leave you to your patientssss." The woman bowed and left them.

Balkk bowed respectfully after he had strode onto the balcony, the smell of the tea filling his nostrils - it was quite a pleasant smell. "Good morning Padawan Esenssse, you are feeling better?" He looked up from his bow, the morning sun was still rising in the sky and reflected off the courtyard below. "The tea smellsss lovely." Others may have rushed to the question that mattered, either out of impatience or nerves, but Balkk had neither. He trusted in the Force.

[Moonfire]

A soft, sweet hum whispered through the air as Moonfire moved busily back and forth. Adjusting a saucer here, a cup there as she waited for her companion. The delicate porcelain of the pot felt warm and heavy in her hand, comforting in its weight and dainty size. Would this be enough tea for the Trandoshan, surely enough for a few appropriately sized cups. The young girl had even gone to the trouble of getting a large mug from the kitchens.

The girls movements were stiff, awkward even in their gangly way as she tittered back and forth, setting the sugar just so and the napkins folded to precise triangular perfection.

The questions of their previous meeting weighed heavily on her mind, it had been only a few days but Moonfire had thought of little else. Balkk, the tall yet courtly Trandoshan had felt the Force guide her to him, and offered after some comforting conversation to take over her training. It seemed an easy answer at first. Of course! Of course she'd be thrilled to have such a wise and noble individual be her Master, to want her as his Padawan, to go so far as to request her.

But why was the prospect so... terrifying?

Such doubts weren't for now as the rumbling bass of the Knight's voice ambled down into the courtyard, the little table and chairs set up quiet nicely to display the tea she'd painstakingly prepared.

"Much better, thank you Master Balkk." Moonfire bowed fluidly, motioning to a chair. "I hope you like it, I gathered a new more herbs for it. An old recipe of Teiko's."

[Thaddeus]

Balkk looked at the carefully prepared table before him and smiled, he doubted Trandoshans were usually greeted with the fine china - well in point of fact he knew they weren't. The young padawan seemed to be much better, her eyes weren't red and it looked like she had even managed to sleep. Good he thought, no matter her answer Balkk was truly glad that she was feeling a little bit of peace once again.

Balkk returned the bow, and then made his way to the indicated chair. He took his seat, and pushing the chair back somewhat to allow him to fold on leg over the other as was his habit, looked over the courtyard gardens.

"Asss lovely asss ever." He nodded towards the plants and the water all carefully cultivated and shaped. "Glad to ssssee you are doing better Padawan." A hand reached out and grabbed his cup, it was a comfortable size thankfully. As Moonfire added a little more information about the tea he nodded, "I am sssure I will, it ssssmells lovely. There are ssssome culturesss for whom a pot of tea is an elaborate sssocial ceremony, full of etiquette."

Balkk was not one to delay, he was the direct sort of individual, and so as he felt the warm liquid fill the cup he spoke in his usual gentle and calm tones. "Before I assssk you what your reply to my quesssstion, I am sssure you have questionsss. Pleassse padawan asssk me." He sipped at the tea and allowed himself to hiss out a sigh contentedly.

[Moonfire]

Moonfire dipped over her own petite cup, letting the warm brew sit and shift across her pallet, delighting in the subtle notes and brightness of the floral tea. Reaching out she grasped a few small cubes of the crystalline sweetness, tossing a few into her cup before sitting up a little straighter, fingers combing through the black mass of hair as she waited for the cup to cool.

"I've read about the tea ceremony of Naboo. During traditional marriage and courting arrangements they'd have the maiden make and pour the tea for each suitor in turn. She'd blend the teas and brew each cup individually, to show the depth of her devotion to her most beloved suitors." Moonfire piped up, using her bright recitation voice, remembering the passage of the book she'd read only a few months before.

"Its sweet, how she'd lovingly pour over her favorites cup, though it must be rather unpleasant for those who don't have the maiden's favor... They'd get a rather hastily put together drink." A little giggle at the after thought.

Her eyes flicked over his face, smiling brightly and relishing in the contentment in his sigh, obviously enjoying her painstakingly crafted gift.

But rather than go right into her answer, Balkk requested her questions, her concerns. With an exhale of relief Moonfire wondered where to begin.

"I am most honored by your request, Master Balkk, truly." A soothing, centering sip of the warm, sweet drink helping to steady her nerves. "I'm unsure if I can... live up to your expectations. I am not well known for my, ummm... Skills. You are renowned for your combat skills, and I... Well, ummm.. I didn't even qualify for the Padawan Tournament." She laughed, hands clutching her cup tightly to keep from fidgetting.

"I... I have felt the Force guide me towards you, but I question if I am the sort of Padawan you'd..., ummmm, want."

[Thaddeus]

Balkk was impressed as Moonfire quickly rattled off what she knew about the tea ceremony of Naboo, it was rare in the young for them to be widely read. Even Jedi Padawans tended to cultivate only those subjects which related to their studies, but it seemed that Moonfire was one of those rare individuals that enjoyed knowledge no matter what it was. Of course Balkk was elderly enough to know that the unfettered pursuit of knowledge was dangerous, but to seek the truth guided by the Force was not at all reprehensible.

"They hide their disssspleasssure well." Balkk smiled as he recalled the tea ceremony he had witnessed.

Balkk said nothing as Moonfire hesitantly explained herself, he sipped his tea and his face remained its usual study in impassiveness. When she finished he put down the cup and spoke his tone a little warmer than normal, for her humility had made Balkk even more sure of his instincts.

"If the Force guided usss together then it isss not our place to sssay otherwissse." Balkk's hands illustrated his points. "You are a better sssswordsman than you think, I am among the bessst sssswordsmen in the Order..." He said it without pride. "... I can recognissse a good swordsman when I sssee them." He looked at her keenly, and then continued, "What makesss a truly great Knight, Padawan Esensse, is not their ssskill with a sssabre or the Force, no it is none of thossse; what makesss a great Knight isss their understanding of the Code, not merely reciting it, but feeling it, comprehending it, living it." Balkk's hands stopped moving for a moment, and one claw pointed at Moonfire. "I am sssure that in time you will be a great Knight, but the path from here to there issss hard and long. I know the Force sssent me to help you Padawan." He stopped and smiled, supped at his tea and then looked out over the courtyard once more.

"Remember padawan humility isss not taking pride in your own nature or abilitiesss; it isss not denying the truth. There isss no ignorance, there issss knowledge. We musst attend to reality, not embellissh or deny it." Balkk's first lesson.

[Moonfire]

Balkk had this way about him, this sort of sturdiness Moonfire couldn't quite put her finger on. Even the way his yellow, reptilian eyes stared cooly, evenly in the wake of her nervous admission. Perhaps in the set of his jaw, or the smoothness of his motions as he spoke, the warmth of his voice to compliment the intense cool of his demeanor, the calm and collected air that floated so effortless about him.

There was truth in his words, about her skill and her potential, about what was needed to be a truly great Jedi, like the busts and statutes that adorned her beloved courtyard.

"Yes, Master Balkk... And I hope under your instruction to become the sort of the Knight you see in me." A soft smile accompanying her words as she took another long sip of the tea, quietly accepting his offer.

"And on that note... What sort of Jedi do you see me being? Master Teiko groomed me to be an archivist because that is what he knew, but I don't know where the Force is guiding me." She admitted some, quiet in her insecurity. "Will we be going to Trandosha and Kashyyk? You were Watchman there for a long time."

[Thaddeus]

Balkk said nothing, he just nodded and also sipped at the delightful tea. After nearly 35 years Master Pledesin's lessons would have another pupil within the Order, and his own teachings too would not be lost. A deep sense of calm welled up in him, more than the Trandoshan cared to admit the thought of their being no memory outside the Force of his Master's teachings had caused him much concern.

"All in time." He smiled and enjoyed the serenity of that moment. He had learned that life was to be lived in that instant, troubles stripped and concerns forgotten, only that moment and the Force left. It was this instinctual nature to his life that helped make him a great swordsman and Jedi.

Her question about what she would be prompted Balkk to examine her carefully, clawed fingers stroking his chin, and a low hiss flowed from his closed mouth. It was a little while before he spoke, "The path of the Jedi Ssssentinel liessss before you I think, you would make a great Invessstigator, Recruiter, or even a Watchman I am ssssure. Tell me padawan..." For the first time he did not follow it with Moonfire's surname, rather addressing her just by the title and relationship she now held with him. "Do thesssse rolesss sssseem right to you? It issss your path to walk, I am only a guide, you musssst sssearch yoursssself and disscover what the Force intendssss." He smiled genially, "Though of coursssse there isss much time to dissscover thissss."

Her questions about Kashyyyk and Trandosha prompted a shrug from the Trandoshan knight. "Possssibly if the Council ssssendss uss there again..." He trailed off as he thought for a moment, "Though I may take you there for training in the future, for now though we sssshall be at the Council'ssss command." A memory of his own youth and the wanderlust it had in it prompted him to add, "We will sssssee much of the galaxy, my... our dutiesss will not leave usss much time to ssstay in anyone place."

Balkk placed the empty cup down upon the table gently, "You will become very familiar with Ilum, I am there more often than I am here at the Temple. I find the planet the besssst for meditation and contemplation." He did not know if Moonfire had been to Ilum or not for her crystal. He reached over and poured himself another cup, and offered to pour Moonfire one too, "Thissss isss truly lovely, you will have to bring all the ingredientssss with usss when we travel." He enjoyed the warmness of the cup in his hands and the aroma that wafted through his nostrils before the liquid was sipped.

"Tell me how far had Massster Teiko advanced your training beyond what you had learnt in your youngling yearsss?" Demonstrations would be later in the day, Balkk had not planned to sit idly at tea all day, but for now he wanted to hear his new padawan's assessment of her training and skills to date.

[Moonfire]

A deep sense of calm seemed to flood over the girl as the reality of the situation seemed to envelope her, like a warm blanket on a chilly night over windswept the canyons of Ruusan. Moonfire had a new Master, a new Jedi who saw in her the greatness that could be, and was ready to instruct her in the ways of the Order. She had meditated long on this question, and the relief answering was instantaneous.

All her life Moonfire, like so many others, had been traveling down a wooded road, the Force guiding each step and stumble. Just as she thought she'd seen the path it wanted, the road would fork, twist and turn dramatically. Her meditations had shown her the paths she'd already taken, as well as the life and person that-could-have-been, that disappeared with each decision. The plucky colonist, eldest of a large and quirky family. The hard-working farmer of the agriculture corps. And now Moonfire said goodbye the person she might have been under another's tutelage, who she might have been if Teiko hadn't gone.

Her life was now going to veer down a new and unfamiliar path, just as it had the day she'd been brought to the Temple and the day Teiko took her on as his Padawan.

And for once, she wasn't afraid.

Another deep sip of her tea brought her back from her ruminations, that little contemplative smile still on her fawn cheeks. "A Sentinel... Yes, I think... I think a Sentinel might fit." The marriage of smarts and physicality in the Force. Not quite the glass canon-researchers of Teiko's Consular world or the fierce strength of Balkk's Guardian. She'd be the balance between, the ingenuity born of both. Balance. It seemed fitting, despite her general indecision.

He spoke of wandering the galaxy, of great far off worlds and roaming. A flutter of her heart gave pains of two emotions. Incredible joy and wariness. The prospect of adventure, of fulfilling the deep curiosity that so embodied her spirit was thrilling, but the fear of being so far from all she knew, all she'd ever really known was terrifying. But in all the best ways.

"I've read about the crystals of Ilum, I'd love to see the caverns." She admitted, another warm sweet sip of tea. "And oh yes, I can dry a good deal of the flowers and herbs before we leave... When are we leaving?"

"Tell me how far had Massster Teiko advanced your training beyond what you had learnt in your youngling yearsss?" He rumbled, an important question. And now to answer without her usual self-depreciation. He'd want an honest answer, as honest as she could muster.

"I am proficient in Shii-Cho and I know the basics of Soresu. Teiko thought that was a good form for me, being defensive and reactionary rather than offensive. Teiko thought I had some aptitude for Control and telekinesis, I learned some basic healing and barriers, though I struggle with telepathy." A pained smile. "He always said I was lacking in sense, common and otherwise."

[Thaddeus]

Balkk nodded as Moonfire admitted that she too thought the path of a Sentinel would suit her. Balkk had the eye of a warrior who had seen much in his life, and in the frantic seconds before combat broke out you were called upon to size up complete strangers. Over time it made you into a good and intelligent judge of an individual's strengths and weaknesses. Balkk could sense a new purpose and confidence in Moonfire, it was not without some uncertainity but it seemed that she was more at ease with the uncertainities. Good thought Balkk for the future was always uncertain and unknowable, we must learn to trust in the Force and to live only in the present.

"Your lightsaber'ssss cryssstal isss not from Ilum?" Balkk asked genuinely interested, a lightsaber was a personal statement, and where the crystal came from said much about the Jedi. He was distracted for a moment, quite happily, as Moonfire added that she would be able to dry plenty of tea. "Good, it will make the journeyssss more enjoyable." Taking another satisfied sip before answering her question. "I have leave from the Council to ssstay here for a ssshort while to assesss you." He wanted to go over what Moonfire had learned to date, and to begin a few lessons of his own.

Balkk listened to Moonfire give her own report, and he smiled somewhat as it seemed the Force had sent him a padawan who showed the same aptitudes he had so many years ago - albeit with less proficiency with the saber, for now he added mentally.

"I sssshall alssso teach you the Lorrdian language." He stated it matter of factly. "Sensssse has alwaysss been a difficult ssschool for myssself too, but I have found that the Lorrdian language taught me to pay attention to the tiniessst movements of body language - and it hassss been invaluable." In point of fact Balkk's mastery of the Lorrdian kinetic language and the understanding of body language that came with it had often been misunderstood as telepathy.

Balkk turned his attention to his padawan's statement of proficiency in Shii-Cho, "Padawan, can you tell me the 9 classic marks of contact, and describe them?" He said it as gently as he could, but kept his face impassive. "Take your time."

[Moonfire]

Moonfire nodded deeply, the Lorrdian language was one Balkk had spoken of before, a kinetic language taught to him long ago by his own master. A smile graced the girls lips as she nodded along, eager to learn. "I'm nearly conversational in Kushiban, I'm thrilled to add another language to my repertoire."

His point about helping her observational skills and sense was true as well. No doubt such a thing would be helpful. Remembering though his look of surprise, Moonfire fumbled for her lightsaber, nearly dropping it half a dozen times in the process of unclipping it from her belt and laying it on the smooth white table cloth before him.

"The crystal is from the canyons on Ruusan, not as popular as Ilum, or renowned for combat-stability... But this one helped me... focus?" Almond eyes squinted as her petite nose wrinkled, struggling for the best way to explain it. "Perhaps on Ilum a new one will speak to me."

She laughed, thinking now that Master Balkk must find her quite foolish and overly attached her old home of Ruusan, the rolling hills and valleys, the glittering canyon cliffs. The very thought of it made her blood sing in her veins.

Suddenly though the air of tutelage came over Balkk, his voice taking a stern, yet gentle tone as he requested, quite formally of the Nine Marks of Shii-Cho.

Taking on that studious, regurtitating tone she got, Moonfire's eyes closed, picturing the glowing screen of her datapad.

"Sun djem, to disarm but refrain from injury." Small, wrapped hand motioned towards her saber arm, hilt in hand, an invisible line cutting through the center of the hilt, as though slicing it away.

"Shiim, a minor wound using the very edge of the blade, can be placed anywhere on the body. Ummm... Cho sun, removal of the weapon-hand, Cho... Mok? Cho Mok is removal of the weapon-arm." Another slice, up near her shoulder. Oh the Cho's were always the easiest to confuse.

"Cho mai, the amputation of a limb, leg or arm... Shiak is stabbing." A quick jabbing motion, into her ribs and chest, eyes still pinched closed as she visualized the lessons. "Sai cha, decapitation, Sai tok is... cutting them in half, and finally... mou kei! Mou kei, removal of all limbs in a single, spinning motion."

Moonfire took in a deep breath, pleased at the being able to at least remember the names, though she suspected she'd mixed up at least one of the 'Chos', tricksy questions she hadn't studied for.

Though one didn't really have to opportunity to study before facing a foe, either.

[Thaddeus]

Balkk watched his padawan fumble for her lightsaber, and with what seemed like a great effort place it, at last, upon the table. Nerves at showing for the first time your new master your blade were to be expected, so Balkk was not overly worried that Moonfire fumbled so. Though it did speak to a lack of balance and serenity, but still in time she would find this he was sure. So he said nothing, instead listening intently as she told him of the crystal. When she mentioned that she would find a new one Balkk smiled and placed his own lightsaber on the table.

Gently he levitated it, and piece by piece took it apart until at last the blue crystal at its heart throbbed and glowed blue before them. He explained, "I have had thissss cryssstal sssince I have made my blade; your blade isss an expressssion of your connection to the Force, your commitment to the Jedi Code, and of your own nature. Your crysssstal isss asss much a part of your nature in the Force, asss your own mind." He brought the pieces together and once again the complete hilt rested on the table.

"You are fond of your homeplanet?" Balkk asked, he had not seen his until well into his padawan years but Moonfire he knew had not joined the Order until she was 6. Further thoughts about that though were ended when his padawan began to slowly recite the nine marks. Her eyes were closed tight as if trying to remember some holobook page. When she finished at last Balkk corrected,

"Cho mai issss the amputation of an opponent'ssss weapon hand." He drew a line with a claw over his right wrist.

"Cho ssssun isss the amputation of the weapon arm." A claw reached up sliced across his upper arm.

"Cho mok issss the amputation of any limb." He cut across his leg.

"Not bad though padawan, but you mussst learn to know the marksss without having to think. They are more than theory, they inform all attacksss that we do in combat."

Balkk rose to his feet and picked his lightsaber up from the table, clipping it onto his belt. "Come I think sssome practice and meditation are in order." Balkk practiced an unusual meditation, which involved going through the motions and movements of Shii-Cho & Soresu. It focused the Force onto himself and his blade. He began to walk back through the medcentre, making for the training rooms. As he did so he turned to Moonfire and asked sincerely, "You are ready to begin training again?"

[Moonfire]

A wide smile crested over the girls face as Balkk defended her choice in crystal, showing off his own, a startling blue that glowed as it rotated at the heart off the hilt the metal glinting in the sunlight as it levitated before fitting carefully back together, piece by piece.

"Oh, yes. Coruscant is lovely, but Ruusan is... Well, its home. My blood sings just at the sight of it." Moonfire admitted. "Less though about my ummm childhood there and more the just the land itself. The canyons and the rivers, the valleys and lush hills. Have you ever been somewhere, Master, where it felt like the very air was crafted all for you?"

She recalled the last time she visited Ruusan, only weeks before Teiko's untimely disappearance. The rolling hills and the scattering of jarred lizards she'd collected, the dusty tombs and the crystal chambers. And of course the unpleasant reason they'd left before their mission had finished, but that was a thought for another time.

The pair, Master and Padawan, walked swiftly from the courtyard, leaving behind the table and the tea set to be cleaned up after their lessons and on towards the training rooms.

"Oh, yes, Master. Very much so." The girl replied demurely with a nod of her head, anxious some already at the prospect of lightsaber training already. If only she'd know he'd be the type to jump right into things, perhaps she could have steeled herself for this a bit more. Couldn't they just talk philosophy?

[Thaddeus]

Balkk paused and genuinely considered his padawan’s question. He considered Trandosha for a little while, but in truth despite his firm belief in his species’ belonging to galactic society and their honour, the planet itself did not speak to him. Many Jedi thought of the Temple here as the greatest place of peace, but to Balkk while it was harmonious it did not prompt ‘singing in the blood’ as Moonfire had put it. He recalled Rhen Var as being a place he had felt at home when he had visited the planet decades earlier – before the Sith had taken it. Ultimately one planet kept coming to mind, every rejected place was shooed out of his mind by this one: Ilum.

“Yessss padawan.”

Balkk smiled and nodded when Moonfire said she was ready to begin again. As the pair walked towards the training rooms in silence, Balkk looked down at his padawan there was a lot that could be seen in how someone walked. Did they shuffle, stumble, stride, stomp? It spoke to their personality, and to how attuned they were to the Force. A Jedi should seem to glide across the floor, every step light and perfect, as if the earth itself rose to meet their feet. No matter the species, no matter the method of locomotion where the Force was there was harmony and grace.

They reached a small training room, it was completely deserted, Balkk walked over to a corner and removed his robe. Walking back he indicated for Moonfire to remove her own robe.

“There are ten preceptssss which you mussst remember.” He pulled his hilt into his hand, and ignited it. “For thessse preceptsss guide your blade, and you mussst remember that your blade isss asss much a part of you assss your own mind.” He assumed the on-guard stance, and nodded for Moonfire to stand next to him and do the same.

“Firssst: The Force, thisss is what givesss usss life without it our bladesss are nothing, without it we are nothing. There is nothing but the Force.” He lunged forward, expecting his padawan to mimic him.

“Ssssecond: we mussst be determined in mind, heart, and ssspirit to overcome all that unbalance ussss; thissss isss not to say we don’t ssstumble or fail, but that even then we endure and overcome.” He brought his blade up to a high guard.

“Third: everything we do must be precisssse; the Force will guide usss to the right moment to ssstrike or ssstand. No energy sssshould be wasted.” He brought his blade down like cascading artic water.

“Fourth: there issss a connection between all thingsss, what hasss been, issss, and will be, you and I, what we imagine to be sssseparate are really one.” He lunged, parried, and stood once more in a perfect on-guard stance.

“Fifth: underssstand yourssself firssst, then underssstand othersss, and then the Force. Remember: knowledge, yet ignorance.” Balkk’s feet moved with each slash, parry, or lunge and the pair edged closer to the entrance.

“Sssssixth: all thingsss have a rhythm, a time and a place, like your own breathing.” Balkk closed his eyes, and focused on his breathing as once again he moved forward saber dancing in the standard movements of Shii-Cho.

“Sssseventh: The Force guidessss us, lisssten to it, it will tell you when to ssstrike, when to parry, your eyesss will lie.” He twirled his blade around the invisible blade of his opponent, and this time parried and parried, until at last his blue blade struck.

“Eighth: the way of the ssssword issss a well-trodden path, lisssten and ssstudy the masssters.” This time at the end of his movements he adopted the Soresu guard, he turned to see if Moonfire mimicked it correctly.

“Ninth: The Force exisssts at all momentsss, but we cannot. We mussst exissst in thisss moment.” Another simple parry in Soresu, unlike Shii-Cho the movement was more like a breeze than water.

“Tenth: Be decissssive, when the Force guidesss your actionsss trussst it.” He brought the blade down in one final blow.

He sheathed his saber, and turning to Moonfire, “Now repeat.” He pointed in the other direction, back where they had come from.