Chapter 5.1

Well, that's how it all went. I used the first free hour for meditation and manipulating the Force, the second one for going through the Archives or whatever I managed to find there earlier, and spent the third hour in the company of Drellig and his other students. And the lessons didn't last just one hour, but two. Plus, there was the time for official fencing lessons. And even regular physical training moved to the fencing hall, because Drellig also taught hand-to-hand combat and on the second lesson, he knocked the arrogance out of me by pitting me against a nine-year-old who had been training with him for a whole year. I lost the hand-to-hand combat in about five minutes, and only because I was spinning around my opponent. The swordfight lasted a bit longer, but I wasn't the one leading the whole fight. Then I was told that my opponent used Makashi - the second Form of lightsaber combat. And to make me feel better, the same guy held another duel using only Shii-Cho. And he just crushed me with brute force. Simple physical force... Okay, I'll be honest with myself - technically, I also lost. The only thing that comforted me back then was the three-year age difference.

I didn't abandon the night training either, but mainly focused on Force manipulation, achieving significant, as I think, results - sixty-four grains of sand. And if the Guardian didn't lie, sooner or later, there should be a breakthrough during which not only the consciousness but also the subconscious mind will understand that size doesn't matter. After all, you can't train understanding - either you understand or you don't. And when my subconscious mind understands... But that's only if my training method is correct. In the Archives, I found an analogue, but there they train with small balls, so, in principle, I'm going in the right direction. What worries me is that everyone trains that way, yet not too many achieve the results of Starkiller, who brought down the Imperial Star Destroyer. Maybe I need to combine small objects, like grains of sand, and larger objects? Or even increase the variety of sizes as much as possible? Where else can I learn about this? It's possible, I'm sure, but I'll have to sift through so much...

I also did not forget about the technical floor. I chose to go there instead of the first or second hour, and sometimes instead of both. About a couple of months later, I started my first, purely self-built, droid assembly. I decided to build a training droid, not those flying balls, a real duel machine. And since my knowledge was modest, it would take me a long time to assemble it. Well, being hasty was inappropriate here anyway. Actually, I could have bought a ready-made training model, but besides the high price, there was another reason, the main one. I didn't need a sparring partner, I needed to learn. And the most difficult thing in this learning process was supposed to be the creation of the control matrix. And the brain of the droid in general. So yes, I won't assemble my duelist anytime soon.

Derosh also did not stay idle. In addition to directly assisting Dzik, I gave him the task of tracking any mentions of my home planet in the holonet. I still haven't given up the idea of sending a letter to my parents. I just need to catch some ship that will pass by Pzob or even directly enter or exit there. After this thought, Derosh's task included tracking the names of ships that I remembered from my life at home. After all, why not? Do they not visit Coruscant? Surely they do. The main thing is to catch them in time when they are here.

And three months later, we started our lessons in Force Forging. The textbooks that were sent to us on the datapad were called "Fundamentals of Force Impact and Modification of Inanimate Materials". And you know what, even the basics were impressive.

After we had settled down in front of the mentor, he telekinetically transported a small metal block weighing about 50 grams to each of us.

"This," the mentor began, "is the most ordinary piece of metal. Its simplest manifestation is iron. If there is anything that can be changed more easily, then I don't know about it." And he paused, levitating another block onto his palm. "Since ancient times, Jedi have been able to influence various inanimate objects, imbuing them with the Force and altering them as they saw fit. The most well-known example was told to you in History class. You remember what kind of swords the Jedi had initially?"

"Swords that conduct the Force," Palatt, sitting to my right, answered.

"Correct," nodded the mentor. "However, that was not the most difficult task, even though it was quite delicate work. The problem with such blades is that they take quite a long time to create. And the best ones, now legendary, were subjected to the influence of their creators throughout their entire lives. And sometimes they were also refined by their students. You will get to know much more complicated work when you are ready to create your own lightsaber. Despite the fact that only very few possess the talent for Force Forging, anyone gifted can learn the fundamentals, which by the standards of the time when everyone used metal swords, were quite average knowledge. After all, time does not stand still, just like development. But let me show you what you will have to deal with."

Finishing his speech, the mentor stretched out his hand, on which lay a piece of metal. For a second or two, and it began to melt. When I saw this, I even closed my eyes for a moment, suppressing the desire to rub them. The metal was really melting, turning into a liquid puddle. After it had completely melted, the mentor moved his hand, showing us the liquid metal. In an instant, he tossed the solidified and transformed piece of iron into the air.

"Here it is," he showed us the result of his action. "This is what you need to do first and foremost. If you can't 'melt' iron, then it's pointless to move on."

"And what comes next?" I asked.

"Hmm, what's next?" the man smiled. "And then it will be much more difficult."

After that, he again stretched out his hand in front of us and demonstrated how the metal gathered into the shape of a square block.

"This is amazing," I couldn't help but say. "Can you make anything out of anything?"

"Of course not," the mentor chuckled. "There are many limitations to this art. For example, you can't use this method to affect living objects. And even organic ones are very difficult. Stones are even more difficult. You can't make something you don't understand and don't know how it works. I can't make a droid, for example, because I'm not a cyberneticist, not an engineer, and not even a technician. The entire science of Force alteration is based on understanding."

So, in order to build a lightsaber, - I popped up again, - we need to understand how it works. How each of its parts works?

If you want to build it from scratch, using whatever materials you have at hand, then yes. But even in that case, you'll need to either have the necessary materials or possess Force-forging skills at the highest level. And, of course, you'll need a crystal.

What else can be done in this way? - I asked another question. - Or just change its shape?

No, - the man chuckled softly. - Changing the shape is just the beginning. It's much harder to reinforce an object or give it certain functions that are not provided by nature or physics. For example, to magnetize a piece of wood. And it's too early to talk about adding Force attributes yet.

Attributes? What other attributes are there?

Mmm... to make it easier for you to understand... this iron block, - he tossed it in his hands, - can be made to change color depending on your mood. Or make it so that when you touch it, it pushes a person away with a Force push. Wow.... Wait.

And how many Jedi can do that?

Three in the entire Order, - the mentor snorted. Hmm. That's a bummer. I'm hardly that much of a genius.

Oh well, - I voiced my thoughts. - So what should we do now, Master Gassid?

What, ready to get started, huh? Then first, imbue your blocks with the Force.

"I was able to do that," I said, "but as it turned out, not completely. When I showed my piece of metal to my mentor, he noticed that I needed to imbue it COMPLETELY. Not just pump Force into it, but imbue it down to the atoms. When I asked how to do this, he gave a simple answer. First, imbue it as I had done, then "feel" the Force in it, then "sense" it, and then imbue what I had "sensed". And not waiting for the next question, he explained: everything needs to be done gradually, which is why he didn't say it right away. It's just that I'm in a hurry, I can pump Force into objects, but others will need time for this. To which I chuckled, glancing at "my" creatures. They won't stay long, why did I even bother chasing them?

"He also clarified the question about the "leakage" of the Force from the "pumped" objects. I had noticed this before, but somehow there had been no reason to clarify. As it turned out, very few materials in the galaxy can hold the Force within them. Even crystals are not all capable of this. There are even materials that not only cannot hold it, but cannot even absorb it. And there is also a parameter such as conductivity. This is especially noticeable in the case of crystals, whose conductivity varies within very high limits. For example, synthetic crystals hold the Force poorly, but allow it to pass through them with astonishing speed, which can greatly increase the power of a blade. However, much depends on the user. Natural crystals, on the other hand, those that can hold the Force within them, are very often capable of modifying it, imparting certain characteristics. And since it remains a part of the person who imbued the crystal, they get the opportunity to use these characteristics. Which ultimately leads to a real hunt for certain types of crystals. And it also greatly raises the price in credits."

By the end of the lesson, all I had managed to do was "feel" the metal block. This gave me the sensation that, if I wanted, I could "melt" it like my mentor. But alas, it was just a feeling. When Gassid commanded the end of the lesson, I asked him for permission to take the block with me, and he replied, "Of course." The rest of the students started asking for items as well, until the mentor announced that we could take the inventory with us.

And then, the not-so-gray everyday life flowed again.

Another month passed, and I hung out in the Jedi Archives so much that I attracted attention. Although it sounds threatening, this circumstance only benefited me. Slowly but surely, I began to gain the trust of Jocasta Nu, the head archivist of the Archives. The woman, or rather, the grandma, was quite amusing. Despite her relatively good-natured, even kind personality, she was a fanatic... um... a fanatic of the Archives. To put it simply, she worshipped only two things: the Jedi Archives and Count Dooku. Yes, that one. She considered him the best Jedi of all time, and often mentioned him. I'd like to see her face when she finds out he's a Sith. Although, no, I wouldn't want to. However you look at it, she's a cool old lady, and the destruction of one of her ideals will surely hit her hard.

But for now, the horizon was clear, and since I met the lively old woman, almost every time I visited the Archives, I bothered her with one question or another, while admiring the amount of information collected here. The goal was simple - to achieve free access to the Great Holocron. Of course, as a youngling, they wouldn't leave me there alone, but I didn't plan to uncover any terrible secrets. Not even new ones, really. But learning what I already knew, only more in-depth, could greatly help me. If youngling training was akin to school, then the knowledge of a Guardian was undoubtedly university-level.

So after one of these visits to the library, when I returned to my room and was getting ready to leave for Drallig's class soon, Ahsoka pulled a new trick. She brought another child with her. As if I didn't have enough of my own.

Lying sprawled on my bed, as usual, she was telekinetically tossing my datapad back and forth with a girl I didn't know. If it weren't for her friend, who else could she have brought here, my datapad would have met the floor. But fortunately, the girl who trembled and lost control was backed up by a Shau - a gray-skinned, horned girl with black stripes under her eyes and a tail.

"Um, uh... Rein... and we're here... practicing."

"With my datapad?"

"Oh, come on", - the Shava spoke up, - "what's going to happen to it? It's sturdy, you could throw it against a wall."

.... - I need to compose myself and calm down. -" Who are you?"

"My name is Joss Cileng," - she raised her nose up. - "And I will be the best Jedi in the Order."

"After me," - Ahsoka corrected her.

"After you, everyone else will come, and I will be ahead of all of you."

"Ha! You have to at least catch up to me first."

"Lift your head up, I'm already taller!"

"Hey, quiet down!" - I almost exploded. Only just managing to growl these words instead of shouting. - "I don't care who's going to be better or ahead of who, but if anyone tries to take my datapad again, you'll experience my wrath. Is that clear!?"

"Yes!"

"Yes, of course."

"Give it here, "- I snatched my datapad back from Joss's hands. It was obviously through telekinesis. - And what, are you guys going to cower in the corner in front of two girls? Was it hard for them to take my datapad from you? To which I received incomprehensible answers like "um", "well", "we were".

"Shame on you. You're a sorry lot."

Taking out a flash drive from my pocket and connecting it to the datapad, I transferred everything I had downloaded today from the archives. I could have carried the datapad around, and I did, but once I found out that the droid there had a special library that allowed for a one-time transfer to a new storage device, the choice of what to carry with me was clear. You understand, a flash drive the size of my thumb and a Versafunction 88.

"By the way, you're a year younger than us," Shava suddenly declared.

"Only a year!" Ahsoka quickly replied, standing next to her. "Just a year," she added, turning to me.

"Did you come here with something specific in mind, or just to kill time?" I asked them, sighing.

"We want to train!" Ahsoka cheerfully exclaimed. And I didn't immediately come up with a response.

"I... Oh-ho-ho... I'm busy for the next two hours. You know that yourself."

"And then?" she asked, giving me puppy eyes.

Damn it. Like any child, she had long since learned how to get her way with me. If I refuse now, there will be tears. And I don't think her friend's presence will stop her.

"Ahsoka..."

"Well, Rain, I don't ask you to train with me that often."

She knows her limits. And, well, whatever.

"Alright. What do you want to do?"

"Fencing!"

"Force techniques."

No, girls are something else, especially the little ones. We don't even know this Joss, but she caught the moment very well. Although, if I were really a child, I would undoubtedly have sided with my familiar Ahsoka. How do they feel it in their gut?

"Fencing," - Ahsoka persisted.

"We can fence with each other. You said he's good with the Force."

"He's also better at fencing than us."

"What? Him? Better than me?"

"Him. Better than you," - the Togruta said with obvious satisfaction.

"Well, okay. Let there be fencing."

"Oh my God, give me strength, "- I muttered. - "In two.... and a half hours, be in the fencing hall."

"Agreed!" - Ahsoka jumped up and down.

"This applies to you too," - I looked at the boys. Well, what, should I suffer alone? - Henpecked.

***