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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ankh-Morpork Guard" data-source="post: 3228417" data-attributes="member: 10079">Chapter 422: Past and Present“Hold it tighter...you’ll lose it with a light grip like that.”    Tobias looked down at the lightsaber in his hands and tried to tighten his grip as best he could while keeping the hold on the hilt as he had been shown. It was an...odd grip, really. Not how he had naturally picked it up, and because of that, tightening on it made the hold even stranger. He shook his head and then grumbled, “I don’t see why I have to hold it like this.”    “Trust me. You’ll understand in a moment. Now, I’m going to attack and all you need to do is parry like before...but this time I’m not going to tell you where to look. Watch my eyes, my legs, and how I shift my stance to see where I’m going to attack. But don’t trust your eyes, either...feels my movements. Okay?”    Tobias nodded.    “Ready?”    Again, Tobias nodded.    And then, the light in front of him shifted as the blue-green blade swung around to his left side. It was a slow swing, and Toby had little trouble shifting around to the side to parry it. But then he got a surprise. The second the two blades collided, the blue-green light from the attack reversed, and Toby watched a flash as it spun around and, in another second, was on his right side, all too close to his neck.    The blade was also close enough that the loud thrumming of the weapon was almost a scream in his ear. Which meant it was hard to hear Jyren when he said, “That weapon is an extension of your body...not just a weapon. You don’t need to look at it anymore than you need to watch your own hand. You have to know where it is...okay?”    “But...”    Jyren shook his head, though he didn’t move his blade from its position next to Tobias’ neck, “Listen to me, Toby...you asked me to do this, now you need to just trust me. You’re holding the weapon like that for a reason, but I can’t spell everything out for you. Watch me. Stay focused on me...not my weapon.”    Finally, Jyren pulled back his blade and held it up in the neutral position, “Lets try this again.”    Tobias nodded and pulled his lightsaber up into the same position, looking through the violet glow of the weapon as best he could without going blind and then...    “Tobias?”    He blinked. After another moment, Toby sat up straight in his chair and shook his head, waiting for his vision to refocus. When the reality of the moment finally came back to him, he saw that Venda was standing across from him. He quickly reminded himself that he was on Yavin IV, sitting in the large mess hall of the Jedi Academy there, and simply had been waiting for her to return. They’d only arrived about ten minutes before, and the Jedi woman had herded Toby into the mess before telling him to wait and then disappearing.    “Hm?” was the best he could manage as he was still coming back into reality. Tobias was sure it hadn’t been a dream. He was...awake. But...that had happened, about a standard year before. Was he seeing things? It was too vivid to just be a simply memory but...    It was then that Tobias noticed the tall, broad shouldered human male standing next to Venda. He wore the Jedi robes and was an odd contradiction to look at...the man looked like he could easily break Tobias in half(this was ignoring the fact that, to make things easier on everyone, Tobias was currently human), but had a peaceful smile on his face that belied everything else.    Venda motioned to the man, “This is Master Solusar. He is in charge of the Academy here in Master Skywalker’s absence.”    Taking the hint, Tobias stood and bowed, but since he was unsure of what to say...remained silent. Master Solusar returned the bow and help a smile, “It is good to meet you, Tobias. Though I am...sorry to hear about your father.”    Tobias managed to keep a neutral face at that, knowing that the Jedi Master was simply trying to be polite. An uncomfortable moment passed, but the Jedi Master soon ended it, “I must also apologize in advance for the nervous atmosphere here. I expect you understand why, but because of the situation in the galaxy, it is hard to continue training as we have done before. This is a time where the Jedi are greatly needed...so we must all do what we can to help.”    “That’s why I wanted to be here,” Tobias said softly.    Master Solusar stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, “I am glad to hear that. But before we can place you to begin your training, we must assess your abilities as they are now. Can you use that?”    Following the Master’s gaze, Tobias found his eyes on the lightsaber at his belt...Jyren’s lightsaber. He had to run this through his already overworked mind, but Toby finally managed to nod, “Somewhat.”    The hand on Tobias’ shoulder shifted to his back as Master Solusar began to lead him towards a turbolift, “Good. Then we’ll have to see how well you are with that along with the other tests.”    The turbolifts were very odd to Tobias. Compared to the huge, ancient rocks that made up the rest of the Great Temple, the lifts were as modern as they could be, and looked more like something on a starship than in this ancient temple.     As they silently rode down in the lift, Tobias said quietly, “Jyren...my father said that a true Jedi would never need his lightsaber to win a fight.”    “He was a wise man,” Master Solusar nodded, “And he was right. However...it is an ideal that is not achieved overnight. With the galaxy as it is, we must be able to protect ourselves. Even the younger students are trained in basic lightsaber techniques for their own protection. These are...not the best of times for anyone.”    That, Tobias understood. While the idea of a more militant Jedi order scared him, the need for protection made perfect sense to him. Especially after...after everything he’d seen. It had barely been a standard day since the battle, and Tobias was still having trouble with it all.    “Do not worry,” the Jedi Master cut into his thoughts, “You will learn to control your mind. But the first thing you must understand is that you cannot dwell on the pain. Given time, it will draw you to the Dark Side and that...that is the last thing that anyone needs, especially with a war like this surrounding us.”    Tobias managed a silent nod.    A few moments later, the turbolift door slid open and Master Solusar stepped out, leading the way down a vaulted corridor to a large set of metal doors. They opened at the touch of a switch to reveal a large, open room with a series of obstacles and other objects that had to be for training purposes. The room, itself, was empty beyond that, and so Tobias simply followed where he was led to the center of the room.    “Jedi Venda will be in the observation chamber above us,” Master Solusar nodded to a room above them with a series of consoles that Tobias couldn’t see, “I must admit, it has been a long time since I have tested a prospective student, myself, but...as I have said too many times now, we are quite stretched. We will start with the basics and move from there...are you ready?”    “Are you ready?” Jyren asked him a second time. He could see him there...in front of Master Solusar. Taller than the man thanks to the fact that he was an Alraxian. The fringe of his hair still out in the way of the right side of his face and the metallic blue coloured stripe cutting a very unique look into his otherwise plain, white hair. He stood there, smiling slightly as he waited for an answer from Tobias, bathed in the blue-green light of his own lightsaber.    The lightsaber that was now hanging on Tobias’ belt. The weapon he’d taken so many times when no one was looking just to hold...as if it were a toy. What he’d always dreamed of having, because, deep down, Tobias had always been terrified about his true parentage. He knew what Jyren always said...that no matter who his biological parents were, Tobias was his son. No matter what. And then he’d given Tobias his weapon...his mother’s weapon. A symbol of his family. The only connection to it that Jyren had for so very long...    ...and now it was in Tobias’ hands.    He closed his eyes and tried to go through the quick calming techniques that Marix had taught him, and when he opened his eyes again...Jyren was gone.    “I’m ready.”</blockquote>

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