Rayn: It's a start...

[Rayn Ares]

Rayn awoke hazily to the sounds of birds chirping in the tree above him. For a brief moment he was completely unaware of where he was or why.
Then everything came rushing back to him like a cold wave.Borao, he remembered. He had come here after fleeing the Commenor space port.But, why. There didn't really seem to be any reason for coming here. This planet was home to the peaceful, nature-loving Ithorians. And the last thing on Rayn's mind right now were thoughts of peace...
He looked around at his surroundings. Slashed, broken and destroyed trees; the result of his anger after landing last night. Rayn frowned. Trees will not fight back., that's probably what his Master would have told him. He recalled something his master once told him about anger.
"Though the wise Jedi teach that anger is dark and should be supressed, it is often difficult to do among people. Now don't get me wrong anger itself doesn't lead to much good, but at times when you cannot simply suppress it, you must focus it. Though not in the way a Sith might. The Sith allow themselves to be consumed by anger and use themselves as channels for unleashing that energy. And while it is indeed powerful it is also greatly self destructive; by relying on that power they weaken their own. You must learn to channel this into a raw energy and decisiveness, grabing hold of it with your skill and instincts."

With this in mind Rayn took a couple of deep breaths and began getting back to the subject at hand. He had come to Borao instinctively. Something had drawn him here...
It was then when he realized something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the small cube his master had given him before his death. The cube marked with the Jedi symbol.
Though his master had revealed to him a couple of years ago that he was Kiffar, he had never learned a whole lot about them. From what he knew however, was that some Kiffar possesed the uniqe gift of psychometry, an ability that allowed them to read the psychic imprints left on an object. "Iv'e done it before", Rayn said to himself, "with master's sword.."
He cleared his mind as he would before combat, focusing only on the cube. He bagan to see faint outlines of people, not quite images, more like feeling and thoughts. He felt the presence of his master and others who were strong and wise. But most interesting of all was that he could feel the cube itself, something inside of it. It was as if it had its own presence and life, similar to his master for some reason, but on a different level.
Rayn looked deeper into this presence and felt an attachment between the cube and this place, it seemed almost to be telling him something...
It's telling me I'm supposed to be here. At least now he knew why he was here. "It's probably better if I keep my ship hidden." he said, " Though Borao is a pretty big place to travel on foot..and I don't even know where to start looking.. but at least its a start..."

[Rayn Ares]

After 3 days of walking through the forest, the sun was beginning to set again. "Guess I'll have to find shelter for the night", he said to himself. He could feel that every step he took was bringing him closer and closer to where he needed to be.

It was strange...Rayn had never before experienced this sort of sense, this guiding connection that was apparently 'The Force'. But, he had begun using his birth-given ability on objects he found along the wayi n order to get a better idea of where he was going: abandoned machinery, small ruined structures, a couple of small statues.. With each attempt he would see a clearer image; secenes of happenings long ago, the imprint of those memories still left behind. With each attempt the connection that he felt was stronger..

And he was loving every bit of it.

Rayn was fascinated by these lives long past and the amount of life they had , that they would leave such vivid marks. And this connection to life made him feel more whole more, more grateful to be apart of it.

[glow=red,2,300] But, Master seems to have known something about all this, otherwise why send me on such a vague task. Did he always feel what I'm feeling now. Is it this feeling that motivated him, gave him his ideals of undiscriminative life? Was he really a Jedi?But, if he was a Jedi why did he sometimes speak of the Jedi as if associating with them was rather undesiable to him? I know he belived in exploration and learning, but why break conntact with them? I certainly don't remember him talking to any Jedi for all those years.[/glow] "Of course, I don't think Jedi much believe in combat as a means understanding someone" ,he said, laughing to himself a bit.

Whatever was really going in here, Rayn knew he would soon find out about it. Though, he wasn't so upset about his master's death anymore. It seemed to him now almost as if he had never left, like he was still with him, guiding him. All these things simply made him more determined to see it through.

While he was thinking these things through, Rayn smelled something in the air. Smoke. [glow=red,2,300]And food.[/glow] Rayn's ration had only lasted him the first day and he had been so busy exploring his new-found abilities, that he had neglected to find something to eat. Luckily a meal seemed to have found him. "Good timing," he said, "it's dark out now. Maybe there will be somewhere that I can spend the night."

After following the scent through several more meters of foliage, he found himself looking at what seemed to be a small village. From where he was, Rayn could count about 12 to 15 stone dwellings with a clearing where there was a fire at the center. There wasn't a whole lot of space in the village as the buildings were build close together, but it was located at the base of a small cliff, so it had some natural protection. He could also hear water flowing near by which meant a steady supply of water. The perfect place to build a village. [glow=red,2,300] Perfect place to stay the night.[/glow]
“Or so you’d think”, said a deep voice from behind.
Rayn turned around and found himself at the point of what looked like a spear being held by a rather large tan-skinned human. “Now,” he said “what are you doing here.”

“What?” Rayn said, as he raised his hands in surrender, “Never been on a hike before?"

“Do not test me boy!” said the large man as he pushed slightly with his spear.

“Come now Torran, this boy is no threat to us.” said a voice from behind Rayn. He craned his neck back from the spear a bit and saw an Ithorian male in a dark brown robe.“Do you not sense the curious glow about him? He seems to be another young one who has awakened to the force.”

The large man, Torran, lowered his spear cautiously. “He certainly seems to be prepared to threaten.” he said, indicating to the sword at Rayn’s waist.

The Ithorian let out a bass sound that Rayn assumed was a sigh. “Well I would not blame him for being armed, Torran. Seeking a Jedi in these dark times ‘is’, after all, quite dangerous.”

Rayn put down his hands and turned to face the Ithorian who had stopped his comrade from trying to skewer him. “Thank you for your kindness.” he said and added playfully, “I wouldn’t want to stay somewhere I’m not wanted.”

The Ithotian looked at Rayn with features that implied hospitality. “Please forgive Torran, we rarely have visitors here. And for good reason, you understand?”

Rayn used his new sense to open up to feel out to the villagers now coming out of their dwellings and felt them feel back with a sense of curiosity. “Your, Jedi.” he stated in a matter-of fact tone, “ you’re all being hunted by the empire.”

“Yes, unfortunately”, said the Ithorian. “Ah, but now is not a time to worry about such things. Allow me to introduce myself; I am Master Gorro Nodan.”

Rayn bowed. “It’s an honor, Master Nodan. To be able to finally meet a Jedi is a truly honorable event.” He looked back up at him. “I found my way here t—“

“Unfortunately I know why you have come”, Master Nodan said sadly. “Come, I have much to tell you.”

[Rayn Ares]

Rayn took in a deep breath... Exhaled.... [glow=red,2,300]Five of them, [/glow]he thought. He reached out with his new senses; extending a sort of bubble around him. [glow=red,2,300]No.. six, [/glow]as he found another presnce.

For the last week, Rayn had been wearing a blindfold as apart of his force sensory training. At first it had been very difficult to get used to, with his senses still blurry and uncertain, but as the days went by he became more confident in himself and in the force. Everday he would go about daily tasks: cooking, eating, walking, helping the villagers,etc. And at the end of the day Master Nodan would have him spar with a few of the students who were adept in stealth. And they were definately adept. Even with the highly trained senses Rayn could not hear, feel, or smell them; they allowed themselves to be sensed only through the force (which he guessed they could also hide themselves in if they chose to do so..).
The first few days of sparring were difficult and Rayn had not won. However he was far from a novice in combat and managed to beat the three he was sparring with yesterday.
[glow=red,2,300]
And today there are twice that many.. But that doesn't matter. Today I can see them clearly. Today I won't struggle; I'll fight.[/glow]
The first came at him from behind. Rayn side stepped as the man attempted to grab him, then grabbed the hand he had reached with and twisted the man's arm behind his back, drawing a grunt from him as he did so.
Then Rayn back kicked, landing his foot in the stomach of another who came at him. Then he planted his foot under the man he was holding and threw him at the next attacker coming in from the left. Another come straight ahead of him and tried to kick at him. But Rayn saw it coming. He ducked under the kick and jumped up, grabbed the man's shoulder and flipped over him; he then slammed the man into the tree that had been behind him.
Suddenly something dropped on him hard from above, nearly knocking him over. Then the now apparent attacker locked Rayn's arms, after which he was hit hard in the chest by the final oppponent. But he wasn't about to go down for the count after just one hit.
Before the assailant who had grabbed him could let go, Rayn grabbed his arms and arched his back as he fell, slamming the man into the ground. Rayn then rolled back onto his feet and got into a low crouching stance.
Now Rayn only had to focus on one opponent, making him appear as clear to him as day. Before his opponent could put up his guard, Rayn ran up to him, jumped and kicked him in the side of the head with a spinning roundhouse, sending his opponent to the ground.

"Well done", said Master Nodan from the edge on the clearing, "your senses certainly seem to have become well atuned. I belive you may remove the blindfold now."
Rayn's eyes stung for a moment while they readjusted to the light.
"You know as wonderful and awe-inspiring force-sight can be, I'm glad to have my eyes back.", Rayn said.

"Rightly so. When born we are given all of our senses. Why not then use them all, as now-you can." Nodan said smiling.

"Thank you Master Nodan. And I will indeed make use of this new sense, as well as everything else you have taught me."

Rayn thought back to when he had first arrived. Nodan had told him that his master had once been a great Jedi Knight who showed promise of joining the rank of Jedi Master. He would have been one of very few in the secret order. But something happned to him that caused him to begin doubting the order and he eventually left. However he had recently sent a secret message to the Borao enclave and asked Master Nodan to have Rayn begin his training in the force. Actually, this was to be their next stop, except...

Master Nodan frowned and said," I do hope you do not mean to take revenge."
Rayn remained quiet. It didn't take him long after he had seen it to figure out what that red streak had been that cut down his master. It could only have been a lightsaber. Meaning that whoever was in command of that imperial task-force was a dark Jedi. Rayn was still confused about whether he wanted revenge; not only was it contradictory to what the Jedi here were teaching him, but his master had not belived in it either. Still... He could not help feeling a dark anger toward the faceless bearer of that saber. Though what probably confused him more was that someone could have actually defeated his master in combat.

"Rayn?"

Rayn let out a sigh, " I know Master Nodan. I will continue my training and forget about it for now."

" Very well, but unless you plan only to use the force only to see, I suggest you go now to another enclave to learn some of the more.. physical aspects of the force."

"But Master Nodan!", he exclaimed, "do you really think I've learned enough here? I've not been here even a month yet."

" I belive that for one such as youself, who like your master, delves in all facets of learning, have learned enough here. Now I suggest you leave soon. It would be best if you learned quickly how to find your master's will for you."

"I understand", said Rayn as he bowed," Thank you Master Nodan. For everything.


That night Rayn had finished gathering his supplies and was back in his ready to leave when he reached into his pocket and pulled out the cube his master had given him. Ryan recalled what Nodan had told him about it:

"That cube is a puzzle box that your Master made. He would often send encrypted messages in these, though each one is unique and require a 'key' to opening it. For example he once sent us a cube with a device that simulated the sounds of a flute. This was in refference to a mission the two of us were sent on to an opera house on Coruscant. By using the notes to the song being played during the mission I was able to unlock the cube. In your case it is likely that some part of your training will guide you to the key to unlocking this cube. This one, your master once told me, contains the secrets of his life over the years, as well as his final will, should he have ever passed on..."

[glow=red,2,300] I'll find the key to this cube,[/glow] he thought, [glow=red,2,300]and then maybe I can finally gain some answers to my masters past. Perhaps even my own..[/glow]

With that he focused on the cube with his Psychometic power and saw a set of numbers. He then took off from the planet and set these numbers into the hyperdrive coordinates. As he wathched the stars stretch and streak around him, he faded into sleep.