And inside…
it was a disaster.
Not in the sense that we were greeted with a hard time, no.
We were welcomed fine, given appropriate rooms in a wing separate from the Younglings.
Which, by the way, were individual, not paired like the Padawans’.
In the rooms themselves, everything was extremely ascetic.
A small tea table, a wardrobe, aaand…
that’s it.
Oh, and there’s a lamp.
Instead of a bed, a folded mattress.
Also on the floor — a large soft cushion, right in front of the table.
No, I’d expected there wouldn’t be anything superfluous here, but this is ridiculous?
Could have at least given us a bed, you bastards.
Now I knew why I’d been banging my head over Irbis’s manners and tastes.
Now it all made sense.
The poor guy had lamented more than once that I complained about the crappy rooms where we stayed.
Well, yeah — looking at this one, I admit the places we stayed at were luxury suites.
There was no way I was living like this.
We’ll hang something cheerful here, put a Vessira poster here, put a bed over there, replace this junk with a proper desk.
A weapon rack will go in that corner, and a refrigerator in this one.
It’ll be a bit cramped, but it’ll do.
I dropped my stuff and peeked into the next room, where Gris had settled.
“Oh…” was all I could manage when I saw the big guy.
“Hey…
isn’t it a bit cramped for you?” “R-ra-a-ag ag-ru a ar-ri,” the Wookiee replied indignantly, surveying the floor mat…
Or rather, technically it was a mattress, but for a Wookiee — definitely a floor mat.
“Then go ask for bigger furniture,” I choked back a laugh, watching Gris try to sit at the table.
His paws were too big, his knees wouldn’t fit under the table, the cushion was too small…
He gave up and just stood up, knocking over the poor furniture.
“Grea-aar-u?” “Yeah, my room isn’t any better.
But I’m not going to ask — they won’t give it to me.
I’ll furnish it myself.
Or at least, I’m thinking about it.” “Ar ug ur-r-rai?” “What do you mean, ‘where will I get it’?
I’ll ask acquaintances to bring it.
I don’t think the locals will give me everything I ask for.
It’s ‘not allowed,’ you know,” I snorted.
“‘Nothing should interfere with meditation,'” I quoted one of the local masters who had given us a tour, rolling my eyes.
And that was in response to my question: “Guys, aren’t you overdoing the minimalism?” Even the damn hallways look like burial crypts.
I mean, gray, dreary, and creepy.
What if I repaint them for a laugh?
Hmm…
“Ur-r ag-i ir-rau.” “Just thinking about my own stuff.” “Rai ur-r-a?” “Agreed.
Let’s go see what the others have.” We went.
Looked.
Confirmed.
The locals definitely need to visit the Temple of Arts.
All of them.
This is a real disaster — how haven’t they all hanged themselves yet?
On the other hand, now I understand why there are so few people here.
Everyone tries to get out as soon as possible.
And we won’t be an exception.
I wasn’t surprised to learn that most of the masters here were Talids.
Those monks don’t need anything besides meditation to live.
But we’re different!
We’re, uh…
people — I mean, xen — proud and too wild to pompously endure the hardships of monastic service.
To hell with that!
I checked myself and thought it over.
Was it worth the trouble to change things in someone else’s monastery?
They wouldn’t appreciate it, and I’d waste time.
Besides, neither I nor any of my friends planned to stay here long — so what was the point of furnishing the room?
It was easier to just tough it out.
Probably.
Not rushing to conclusions, I decided to first see what kind of place this was — maybe I was wrong in my assumptions?
The very next day, we went to class.
The first thing we had to pass was a test of equilibrium.
We were purposely supposed to immerse ourselves in one side or the other, and then surface back out.
The degree of control was determined by the speed of immersion, duration, and depth.
Of course, there was a certain mark beyond which it wasn’t just dangerous but pointless to go, but you still had to reach it first.
For the test’s demonstration, we had to gather accumulated energy above our hands, forming a kind of Force sphere.
Dark energy gave dark and red tones, light energy gave white, accordingly.
The denser, brighter, and bigger the sphere, the deeper you had managed to immerse yourself in that aspect of the Force.
Shade immediately noted the originality of the approach.
Standing to the side and watching the guys go through their test, he thought about how he would pass it — his situation was somewhat different.
After all, he tried not to divide the Force into black and white, but to use both sides simultaneously.
And he had set himself up accordingly.
Since childhood.
His mother hadn’t worried about it, because either way he was still using the Force.
But now — it could come back to bite him… Oh, could it ever.
Honestly, using both sides, it was a real problem for him to separate them now.
Traditional methods didn’t work on him; he had experimented with Irbis before, and they affected him badly.
Seriously, he wasn’t about to drive himself to a state of “kill everything living” just for one experiment.
With that kind of input, Ramira would turn into a maniac too, and she, he noted, was a harmless little flower.
Almost always.
If you didn’t really piss her off.
During the test, Zeng and Feng easily managed to immerse themselves in the darkness, which couldn’t be said for their light aspect.
The Master made corresponding notes.
Gris, on the other hand, easily recreated a bright ball of pure white light, but his dark one came out so-so.
Ves had a tilt toward the dark side, but not as strong as the twins’, so it would be easier to correct.
But who really surprised them was Ramira.
This sweet darling first made a very, very bright ball of light side force, almost blinding everyone in the room.
Shade and Ves got the worst of it, especially Ves — their vision was much sharper than the others’.
Now she had to summon the dark side.
Knowing Ramira, they hadn’t expected anything like that, but… they were wrong.
Disrupting the balance within herself, Rami remembered Lina and the others, and… then something started.
The ball woven from dark energy compressed tighter and tighter, and following it, the furniture in the room began to crumple.
It tried to crush them too, but the asymmetric pressure solved that issue.
Still, it was unpleasant to feel yourself under all-around pressure.
Then it all slowly began to subside.
Ramira pulled herself together and managed to return to balance within herself.
Though… the streaks of tears, clenched fists, and bitten lower lip spoke better than any words about what she was going through.
Zeng was instantly by her side, trying to comfort his girl.
The Master, on the other hand, was very pleased with the result.
In the end, it turned out that Ramira was the only one among them who had passed the test brilliantly and was deemed by the Master as not in need of training at the temple.
Her control was already excellent, so there was no point in keeping her there.
I mean, for the main curriculum, but she could learn something secondary or take an advanced course, which they told her about.
I don’t know about the others, but in my eyes, these monks just fell very seriously.
You have a girl in front of you who feels terrible, and you load her with work material like nothing happened.
Compassion?
Never heard of it.
After Ramira, it was my turn.
And, as I feared, I managed to distinguish myself.
Since I’d never bothered with that kind of crap before, and old habits remained, I didn’t try to throw myself out of balance.
Instead, I simply and straightforwardly directed the Unifying Force to form a sphere of Force.
In the end, I got a genuine black sun.
A black sphere blazing with white fire, with white lightning flashes sparking inside from time to time.
It looked very beautiful, and I even raised it to the ceiling, simulating a star.
And since I formed it with a positive mindset, the light it emitted carried positive energy, making the others smile.
The sphere of Force itself came out large and dense.
Very dense, but still pliable enough to control.
I think this was the first time in my life I allowed myself to release that much Force outward.
On Tython, you can’t really cut loose, and beyond its borders, there simply wasn’t a need.
Overall, I felt very contradictory sensations.
The swollen veins on my arm burned, like my arm was about to burst, but at the same time, a pleasant coolness ran along the same arm.
It strengthened, brought relief, and prevented the destructive energy from breaking out of control.
And then it hit me.
Darkness and light — the second restrains the first.
So that’s how they coexist!
I felt it right here and now, and I finally understood how I could develop this direction further!
Besides me, the others were stunned too, including the Master.
The guys just looked surprised and delighted, but Talid resembled a fish thrown onto shore.
Wide-open eyes, a silently opening and closing mouth… Yeah, I’d better not get into trouble now.
Shrinking the sphere, partially absorbing and partially dissipating the Force I’d invested in it, I turned to the Master, waiting for his words.
“Master?” My voice brought the poor guy back to our world.
Shaking himself, the Talid looked at me anew.
“What did you do, Shade?” “I completed your task.
I performed the technique you specified.” “That’s not what I mean.
How did you combine the two aspects?” “Somehow,” I shrugged.
“I have good control, so I freely manipulate this energy without any negative effects.” “Then why didn’t you separate them?” “What for?
The task was straightforward — focus the energy.
I focused it,” I tried to dodge a direct answer.
“Mmm…” the old Talid chewed his lips, shifting his gaze from me to my friends.
“And you.
Can you repeat his experience?” “No, Master,” Ves shook her head.
“In this, Shade is unique among us.” “I see.
Shade, you misunderstood the assignment.
The task was to immerse yourself in the Force; the energy was just an indicator.” “But I did immerse myself.” “In both aspects at once?” he raised an eyebrow.
“You saw it yourself,” I dodged again to avoid lying.
After all, I wasn’t so much immersing as drawing it from within myself.
“Very well.
Now do it properly.
Immerse yourself in the light aspect.” “Eh, no.” “What do you mean, ‘No’?” Talid raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“Master, to be honest, I have certain difficulties with immersing in a specific aspect.
Since childhood, I’ve tried to operate with both at once.
And at this stage, I have a perfect balance, which I’m proud of,” I summoned the sphere again.
“Who else can replicate that?” “Hmm… very well.
I won’t insist for now, since you really do maintain control.
Very good control.
But… if you’ll allow, I’d like to thoroughly examine your phenomenon.” “But the test is passed?” “No, Shade.
You failed the assignment.
It’s not enough to control the Force; you need to be able to immerse yourself in it.
Any Je’daii needs that, and I’ll speak with those who explained this aspect to you incorrectly.” “But it’s correct.” “Can you immerse yourself in the Force?” “Yes.” “Demonstrate.” “But only in the Unified aspect of the Force, not a specific one.” “That won’t do.
I’m sorry to disappoint you, but sooner or later the Force itself will immerse you, and you must be able to return.
Therefore, you’ll stay at the temple for a while until we understand that you can cope with a disruption of balance.
Also, due to the new circumstances, we need to test the limits of your control of the Force.” “Dammit…” Well, crap, I really stood out.
Expecting new problems, I was on edge, but so far none were in sight.
A gathering of Masters, headed by the Temple Master Akar Kesh, simply studied me from different angles like some curiosity.
They scanned me with both the Force and a regular tomograph.
They took blood, repeatedly asked me to immerse in the Unifying Force, carefully watching the process, and conversely, asked me to isolate myself from the Force when exposed to stimuli.
This was harder; my mother’s ingrained reflexes did their job, and I had to restrain myself every time.
Especially when a lead ball flies at your face at fifty meters per second.
Your mind understands — it won’t hit, but the fucker, when it turns away centimeters from your face — it’s stressful!
I honestly warned the Masters about that, but that was precisely the point.
I had to keep the Force inside me under control during an emotional outburst.
And I did keep it.
I kept it even when they tried to disrupt my balance toward the light side inside me.
It didn’t work.
Yes, I felt bad, my head started to ache, but the balance stubbornly refused to break, even when I tried to shake it myself.
They found that insufficient, and it only got worse.
To the point where they sat in a circle and tried to purposely throw me off balance with enormous pressure on my mind.
It didn’t matter which direction — the main thing was to break it.
At that moment, I felt like a rope being pulled in opposite directions by excavators, and mentally I repeated over and over: “I just won’t break.” Because if it tore, it would tear badly.
I was already getting the giggles, and thoughts of twisting someone’s head off for a joke popped into my mind.
Like, everyone’s sitting here so serious, we need to cheer them up.
They also tried to break through my block directly into my head using telepathy, and there — I failed spectacularly in every regard.
I endured when they pressured me.
I endured when they tried to awaken memories in me for an emotional response.
And I was still holding a sphere of Force in front of me for a visual confirmation of control, so to speak.
I endured the illusions when they tried to impose both light and dark emotions on me.
In one case I saw a child, in another I was killing him.
Even then I held on, understanding that it wasn’t me, that these were just visions.
But when those bastards got into my head, when I felt someone directly touch my mind, I couldn’t take it.
Leaping to my feet as if scalded, filled with rage, I performed a powerful release of Force, slamming all the Masters into the walls of the round hall, destroying all the illusions and driving every voice from my head.
Cooling down a little and pulling myself together, I looked at the Masters getting up.
Not all of them got up.
Far from all.
“Gentlemen…” I growled quietly through clenched teeth.
“Sorry, but I won’t allow anyone to get into my head without my permission — be you the god of the Force himself,” I loomed over Enzer Da’Kot, the Master of the Temple of Akar Kesh, who still hadn’t gotten up.
I wasn’t in the best mood already, and now I understood perfectly that one more step and I’d calmly kill everyone in this room.
Congratulations, bastards, you’ve pissed me off!
The Force responded like an old friend, filling my body with destructive energy.
A haze clouded my mind; I wanted to strangle someone right now, and I didn’t care who!
The thought that I was ready to strangle Ves with my own hands suddenly cooled my ardor.
Okay, Shade, calm down.
This isn’t you.
Inhale-exhale.
Control, self-control.
Closing my eyes and taking a couple of deep breaths, I looked at the Master more calmly.
“I did warn you that I react very violently when someone encroaches on what’s mine.
It could be anything — friends, things, mind…” “I remember,” Enzer grunted, healing himself with the Force.
“So you did it on purpose?” “Yes.
Don’t forget, Shade.
The task was to throw you off balance.” “Congratulations, you succeeded.
And what now?
Why this torture when I already showed I can keep the Force under control?” I almost snapped at the last words.
“A Je’daii must be able to immerse in a side of the Force and emerge from it.” “I’ll shove those words down your throat right now,” I grabbed the Talid by the collar and lifted him off the floor.
They were light and short, so it wasn’t hard.
But… a new wave of light energy swayed the scales.
The organism itself tried to return to an optimal state and gradually stabilized.
Exhaling, I carefully set the monk back on the floor.
“Master, don’t piss me off.
Please.” “But you know yourself that these were necessary measures.
Since you refuse to immerse yourself, we needed to throw you off balance ourselves and see how you handle it.
How do you feel?” “Terrible,” I growled.
“I’ve returned to balance, Enzer.
Satisfied?
Can I go?” “The result is conclusive.
After you rest, we need to repeat it.” “What?” I was taken aback by such audacity.
“You know what?!
Go fuck yourselves!” I pushed him in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
“Have you completely lost your minds?
Am I a lab rat to you?!” I fumed, heading for the door.
“Stop him!” In an instant, a couple of Masters blocked the passage.
Giving them a glare, I sighed and turned back.
“Do you want to live at all?” “You’re not in control of yourself, Shade.
You need to calm down first.” “First of all, if I weren’t in control, you’d already be dead.
That’s a fact,” the grinding of my teeth was probably audible even in the hallway.
“And to kill you, I wouldn’t even need swords, because there are no other fighters in this room besides me,” I paused to repeat the breathing exercise and speak a little more calmly: “And secondly, to calm down, I need to get out, breathe some fresh air, eat, eventually.
And most importantly — not see your faces!” Now I understand Irbis.
Now it finally dawned on me why he drilled me on control.
Why he tried to lead me to tranquility, and never even mentioned others’ techniques, running me through my own over and over.
He knew what awaited me here and tried to prepare me so I wouldn’t kill these idiots on the spot.
Irbis… Forgive me.
You’re no Je’daii; you’re a saint who was handed a demon to raise.
“Well?
Are we going to play staring contest?” I prodded Enzer to make a decision.
“Let him through.” Turning around and reaching the door, I threw it open rather sharply and, leaving the hall, strode down the empty corridor with long, quick steps, not even bothering to close the door.
Phew.
What bastards — they’ve meditated away their last brains, completely lost their minds, the old idiots… and the young ones.
Walking through the corridors upstairs, I passed one of the canteens and stopped on a balcony.
A light breeze cooled my heated face; the light side of the Force obediently answered my call, washing away the dark and helping me return to my previous state.
The scales inside creaked and groaned but leveled out.
I physically felt a stream of dark energy rush into me at that moment.
By the way, the first time in my memory.
I won’t fool myself — the power that answered my spontaneous call was indeed thrilling.
It seemed you were omnipotent, and everyone around you were just bugs crawling under your feet.
That you were the smartest, strongest, and generally the greatest person in the world.
Yeah… an unprepared gifted would fall for that “cheese” completely.
And even a prepared one, as practice shows, would too.
No wonder Je’daii who go too deep into this aspect of the Force completely lose their marbles, ready to carve up even their friends and family, something they’d never even consider otherwise.
I just experienced that myself.
And it’s good that even under those conditions the “rope” didn’t snap, otherwise I’d either die or break.
All this just confirms my theory.
Screw these “immersions.” The Force is one with me, I am one with the Force, and we are a single whole.
Period.
So, inhale-exhale, one more time… “The Force is one and it is with me, and I am one with the Force,” I repeated like a mantra.
It helps.
“Shade?” Ramira’s worried voice came from behind.
“Hey, Rami,” I greeted our healer without turning around.
“Shade, are you okay?” She came closer and, placing one hand on my shoulder and leaning the other on the railing, looked into my eyes.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” “Really?
Because when you rushed through the canteen, you looked like you were ready to kill everyone.” “Are you checking if my eyes have turned yellow?” I smiled slightly, glancing at her worried little face.
“Yeah.” “I’m fine, Rami.
Just came from training, that’s all.” “What kind?” Oh, so much suspicion.
“You know they’re studying me from all sides and running experiments with the Force?” This little flower blinked in agreement.
“Well, these geniuses got the idea to try and break through my mental barrier and look into my head.
And you know how I feel about people who encroach on what’s mine,” she nodded.
“I was already rattled, so I blew up.
Slammed them into the walls, thought I’d snap and kill them on the spot.
I warned them not to try.
I won’t tolerate it.
But they went for it.
Purposely, because they couldn’t shake me any other way.
Crazy bastards.” “Come on, Shade, calm down.” “I’m calm.” “I can see.” “Hey!
I really came to my senses!
Especially compared to how I flew out of there.” “I believe you, I believe you,” Ramira nodded.
“And look what I have,” she pulled out my favorite energy bar from her pocket.
“Where did you—?!” “Well… I took it from you,” the girl blushed.
“You too?!
Why does everyone steal my bars?!” “Come on, they’re so tasty.” “Munch, nom-nom-nom-nom” — I chewed diligently to avoid erupting in new righteous anger.
“Feeling better?” I nodded.
“There you go.” “Say, where are the others?” “What do you mean ‘where’?
Everyone’s in class.
I have a break now.” “I see.
What are you working on?” “I’m studying the biofield of living organisms, using Force Sight to detect physical and energy damage.
It will help me later install Force-based implants for Je’daii.” “Isn’t that taught at the healing temple?” “It’s taught there.
But the technique this ability is based on can be honed here too.” “I see.” After standing there a bit longer and chatting about nothing, I finally got my thoughts in order.
However, as I subconsciously expected, they didn’t leave me alone — for the rest of the day, someone tailed me, observing, which was a little annoying.
The next day, the training… no, it didn’t repeat.
I just told that training and all its Masters to go somewhere the sun doesn’t shine.
“How dare you say that?!” exclaimed one of the Masters present.
“I dare.
I dare plenty.” “Do you realize this is not only disrespect but also insubordination?
That’s a short step to expulsion,” the Temple Master measured me with his gaze.
“Then expel me,” I leaned forward.
“Go ahead!
I’m ready!
Huh?” The Talid didn’t answer.
Only frowned gloomily.
But our staring contest didn’t last long.
“Fine.
We have nothing to teach you, Aero.
You passed the test, you control the Force, and you can restore balance even after extreme stress.
But your behavior…” he clicked his tongue.
“My behavior is a result of your treatment, Enzer.
No more, no less.
And even if you were the Temple Master three times over, that doesn’t change anything.” “Clearly the son of Aala,” the Talid snorted.
“Clearly a Padawan disappointed in you.” “Shade…” “What?” “Be careful.
The methods we use won’t suit you and will throw you off balance.
I have no idea how you made it to us in your right mind, but well done.
And since you’ve taken this path, you’ll have to adapt them to yourself and only then use them.
Otherwise, we all saw what happens.” “Alright… Thanks for that, at least.” “Now go, wanderer,” they pointed to the door.
“May the Force be with you.” With that, the conversation ended.
And my training at this temple as well.
The locals simply couldn’t give me anything because of the difference in approaches to the Force.
Still, I had to wait for the others for a takedu.
I needed to occupy myself with something, and to combine business with pleasure, I decided to learn how to ride.
The temple had some tamed creatures, like “raptors.” And visually, this thing really resembled the raptor I knew from my past life.
The creature was very dinosaur-like, except it had electrified dangerous ridges on its head, was blue in color, with a mouth full of small sharp teeth and rounded claws.
Cute little beast, basically.
And this was offered to me as a mount, offered like they were offering a kitten.
Well, if you think about it — how is a raptor worse than a horse?
Omnivorous, tenacious, can bite an enemy… And the rider too, of course, but that’s details.
So why not try to break one in?
Said and done.
I listened carefully to the tracker in charge of the animals.
Heeded his instructions and… Well, the first attempt to ride ended with this thing running full speed in whatever direction its eyes looked, and I hit my head on a crossbeam and landed on my back.
The second attempt was different.
I tried to negotiate with the beast and make it understand what I wanted through Force suggestion.
It understood me.
It didn’t obey.
But after a preventive slap on the snout, we finally came to an agreement.
The poor tracker was about to clutch his head over all this.
But after stepping back, he started teaching me.
How to ride properly, how to saddle, how to groom.
He said hitting the beasts is generally not recommended — they might take offense.
The raptor nodded vigorously at that.
And they’re supposed to be stupid animals… No way, they understand everything, they just fake it really well.
So by the time the others finished their training, I could sit in the saddle pretty well.
Too bad we won’t get such critters to take with us; the temple doesn’t issue them.
At least this one doesn’t.
So we’ll have to go to the nearest settlement and buy riding animals there, since the next temple is too far to walk to.
It all helps promote the story.