The moment I walked into the office Master Garos indicated, I stopped right in the doorway. Ahead, behind a desk, sat her… the one I was quietly afraid of. In general, there are only two beings in the world I'm truly afraid of. Mom—and…
"Shade."
"Master Tsikuna. I, um… sorry…" I bow. This woman managed not only to earn my respect, but to become a hard authority figure. And I didn't even understand how… she just knew how to find an approach. The calm she radiated soothed; her power forced respect; and a dash of mischief added positive notes that made me think of Mom.
"Hm?" She tilted her head. "Ah—no, come in," she waved, putting some parts of a device I didn't recognize into the desk. I got curious and stepped closer.
"I'm not getting punished?" I raise an eyebrow.
"No. Turns out the Greatest Monster of Qigong Kesh has its perks," she smiled, returning her gaze to me.
"I'm the monster?"
"Yep. Don't you know what the instructors call you behind your back?"
"Nope."
"Now you do," amusement flared from her.
…
How does she do it? Mock me so subtly.
Embarrassed, I lower my eyes and fold my hands behind my back.
"But that's not why I called you."
"Huh?"
"Shade, do you remember our talk about the Force?" the Temple Master asked, looking at the wall painting depicting two elements: Light and Dark in a Je'daii's hands. In one hand he held a dark sphere, in the other a bright one. "When you insisted the Force comes from within us? And that there's no point in sinking into one side, because both are already with us—with all their flaws and strengths."
"Yes, Master. Master Runa almost tore my head off back then, calling me a heretic," she smiled.
"Yes. Master Runa is very conservative in his views, but that's his personal opinion. What I'm getting at is: your point of view has the right to exist alongside the accepted one. You've already adopted it, and there's no point trying to re-teach you."
"Re-teach me?" I make the dumbest face I can.
"Stop playing, Shade. I can see you do things your way. The way you think is needed. And I can see your methods sometimes diverge from what's accepted. Take meditation. While we're trying to feel the world around us, you're trying to hear the Force inside yourself. I see it. Also, you don't follow the Masters' advice completely the way others do. No. You think through what you're told and adapt it to yourself. And it's hard to say the method is bad. Take that Force blizzard. While padawans spend takedus trying to master that technique, you created it in a matter of days. You didn't copy it—you took it, broke it down, and did it your way. That deserves praise, don't you think?"
…
I stand there, stupidly staring at the Temple Master, who's practically glowing with mischief.
"Surprised?"
"Honestly—yes. I expected you to scold me for my… uh… uh… uh?" I didn't get to finish—she burst out laughing.
"Master?"
"Ha-ha-ha… sorry. No, I won't scold you for that. You're simply curious, and a Master's job is to answer questions. Who's to blame that people didn't take you seriously, and then it was too late," she shrugged. "But you didn't answer my question."
"Well… yes. I'm surprised. I always thought my point of view changes some assumptions about the Force a lot. And that…"
"Could lead to exile," she nodded. "Yes, you're right. It could. But the thing is, unlike your father, you're not saying anything radical. It doesn't change the essence; you're just using a different approach. Besides, someone is needed to bring a new, fresh perspective into our faith. I think that someone will be you."
"Optimistic."
"More no than yes," she replied with a sigh. "As sad as it is, not everyone will accept it. Your mother sent you here specifically because of me. In any other temple they would've tried to re-teach you. Teach you to do things the 'right' way. The way you're 'supposed' to. They would've ruined your talent. In the best case—and in the worst, you know yourself."
"Sorry, you mentioned talent."
"And?"
"Which one?"
"Tell me—what pushes you forward?" she abruptly changed the topic.
"Well…" I hesitate. "I want to be worthy. I want Mom to be proud of me…" Her look grows a little skeptical. "…also I want to be free. I want to live and see the joy of friends and family, hear their laughter, laugh with them. I want to be strong so I can protect not only myself, but them. I want to find my father…" I finish quietly.
"Your talent, Shade, is that you won't back down. You'll dig in with your montrals and you won't give, you won't surrender."
"I don't have montrals," I mumble.
"You understood me. And your goals are clear to me. In that case—shall I help you a little?"
"Hm?"
"Come."
Getting up from behind the desk, she led me after her.
"Where to?"
"You'll see," interesting. So what is it they want to show me?
After walking the temple corridors, we reached a spacious hall. The walls depicted different beings. All in robes, with blades in their hands. I even blanked out a bit at the sight—the concentration of the Force here was stronger than in the other halls.
"This is the Hall of Knowledge," Tsikuna drew my attention.
"Master?"
"Here, more… advanced forms of the Force are studied. Since you leave in half a year, I decided to personally take on your training. You've already learned all the basic techniques—thanks to Aara—and what you didn't, you refined here. Now I'll show you deeper techniques." I tilt my head questioningly. "You've already learned the general principle of tutaminis, right?" I nod.
"Yes. It's a technique for absorbing, dispersing, or redirecting energy. Without it, Master Uval would've made a cutlet out of me with my own journal long ago."
Tsikuna laughed. Brightly, but not loudly—until tears.
"Oh…" She wiped away a tear. "Yeah… you and him definitely get along. But now you'll practice with me?"
"Huh?"
In response, she lit fire in her hand.
"O-o-oh!"
"The Force has far more facets than one can imagine. It's capable not only of oscillations, but of change as well, and interaction with anything—including at the molecular level."
"I heard about that. From Master Drags. In Stav Keshe they actively practice that direction."
"Correct. It was first discovered there, but here it became something more. For example, the technique I'm going to use is called 'pyrokinesis.' Fire control. If you learn it well enough, you'll be able to walk calmly through any flame," she was already ready to throw the sphere at me when I raised both hands.
"Wait-wait! Why am I getting this honor?"
"You're different, Shade. Maybe you don't notice it, but I see how strongly you differ from the other students. And I'm interested. Interested in how you'll master unfamiliar and fairly complex techniques—techniques mastered on the path to the rank of Master," and after those words, a huge, for fuck's sake, fireball flew at me. "R'K-har!" a shout burst out in my native language. I barely managed to throw up a barrier; the ball ricocheted into the wall. Not even a scorch mark remained.
"Again!"
"No-no-no, I don't wa-a-ant to!" I dodge the next sphere, but the third had to be taken with tutaminis, because it hit me square. The fourth broke through the technique and slammed me into the wall. "Ugh… this isn't help, it's a beating… khah-khah."
"Get up, Shade. We're just starting…"
"I'm afraid I won't survive to the end…" I rasp, getting up anyway.
***
From that moment on, I ended up in Hell. Tsikuna drove me every day like she was preparing me for war. What we covered in the first half of the year didn't compare to what she gave. Sure—that was a general course, and this was already narrow, specialized training for those who chose the path of studying aspects of the Force through techniques.
Pyrokinesis, allowing control of fire. Force stun, capable of knocking out a non-sensitive—and if you hit harder, even a sensitive will be hurting. Ionization, which is a directed pulse that disables tech. Like an EMP grenade, but better. You can regulate density, range, and flow direction.
I'll talk about Force camouflage, which Master Bagi used actively, separately, because to this day we play "Who finds whom." And I won't even speak about "Force Weapon"! This technique allows you to saturate a weapon in your hands with the Force so much that the blade will cut steel like butter! Even if it's made of the exact same material. As one moose used to say, "Phenomenal"!
They also briefly told me about something called "hibernation trance." This ability allows you to fall into a very deep kind of sleep for healing and survival. Especially effective with oxygen deficiency. Such "sleep" can last a takedu or even a year—depends on how much brain you've got. They told me, but didn't teach me, because that's taught at the healing temple. But they did teach me a primitive version, so that if I ever ended up in a radiation or acid zone, I wouldn't immediately die and would have a chance to get out.
They taught me primitive Force healing too, and Crucitorn. The latter is a technique for overcoming physical pain beyond the normal threshold. The technique allowed you to block your own consciousness from outside influences. Through mental intrusion, you could either focus on another sensation, or increase the target's pain sensations to such a degree that a simple touch would feel like hellish pain.
By the way, the last one already counted as an "advanced" skill, if you can call it that, and the fact they were teaching it to me… honestly, I didn't understand. I refused to understand why she would. But if they're giving it, it's not like it's a sin to take it.
I also learned a technique called "Vulnerable Point." This technique allows you to sense vulnerable points in mechanisms, organisms, and even just material. Example: there's glass in front of me. I feel a point, place my hand, give a small impulse. CRACK! The glass falls in shards. Minimal Force input, maximum profit.
There was telepathy too. I did have to tell them about my special inborn talent, causing a whole storm of positive emotions. That maniac started testing and matching different additional properties to my talent, trying to develop it and study it at the same time. The training went so far that when my wave makes contact with an object, I began to feel its emotional background better, and now I can easily determine whether the object is lying to me. Unfortunately, I won't learn to hear thoughts, because that's a completely different discipline.
But the scariest part was that I had to experience everything listed above on myself. Oh, how many times I got burned, how many times I clenched my teeth from unbearable pain, and how many times they tried to pull me back from an incorrect entry into hibernation trance. Even Master Uval, who sometimes dropped by our training, looked ha-a-a-appy at first, but later even he started to pity me. In a word—horror. But there were results, and they were visible to the naked eye.