Dio Blackmoon's Training

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio nodded once.* "I have heard about lightsabers and have seen a few. I know that they are traditional Jedi weapons, but not much beyond that. I have never possessed or used one."

[Nichos Marr]

"After you have learned to control the Force to your will, we shall begin your lightsaber construction and training."

Nichos stopped walking and stard at a tall tree with many, many branches.

"Now I am going to teach you how to use the Force to strengthen your bones and muscles for battle or dangerous sitautions. See this tree? I want you to use the Force to jump up it. Most padawans clear 50 feet. When I was a padawan I managed 65. You must feel the Force entering you, strengthening you. Then you must feel it in your legs. Then you jump."

Nichos closed his eyes for a few moments. With a quick leap he jumped high, flipping onto a thick branch. He had easily cleared over 90 feet. Nichos climbed back down and stepped back, giving his padawan some room.

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio looked up to the very high branch where Nichos had landed. He made it look so very easy. Dio knew that he could not outclass his master, and he not so much as dared to try to jump that high. He must build his skill from the ground up. Dio began to focus the energy that he felt, and he willed it to congregate in his legs. In a matter of seconds, he felt like a charge had been shot through his legs, making them much stronger than normal. He felt that the time was right... he jumped, high into the air... he could no longer hold the high jump and reached his apex at about 55 feet, landing on a thick branch. He glanced up and could see the form of his Master looking at him from his perch above.*

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos smiled.

"That's great Dio, you accomplished 55 feet on your first try. Even I could not do that. You are very talented."

The Knight watched as Dio came back down. He pointed to a smaller tree, not that tall.

"I want you to do the same thing, but this time use your arm and punch the tree. Remember to put no anger or pressure into this punch. Just let it flow softly with the Force."

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Punch the tree? Sure, it was a small tree. The request would seem odd in any other situation but this one... it seemed as though a whole new world of options had opened, with the Force. He closed his eyes, but Dio was careful not to tense his muscles or let any anger cloud his perception. In his mind he visualized the small tree. He directed his Force energy into his forearms, and wound up. He let a powerful punch fly, right into the trunk of the tree. He felt almost no pain as his fist dug into the tree, almost ripping clean through the trunk. He retracted his fist, and the remaining bit of trunk began to splinter, and with a crack, the treetop fell to the ground. Then Dio began to feel some pain in his fist; there were some splinters in his skin and there were a number of cuts on his knuckles. Well, what did I expect after punching a tree?*

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos nodded.

"Your hand is pretty hurt...as I suspected. It was part of the lesson. You demonstrated your skill in using the Force to strengthen yourself. Now you will learn the art of Jedi Healing. Come..sit with me."

Nichos sat down and crossed his legs.

"You must visualize the Force healing you. Feel the light and give in. Slowly you will enter a healing trance. Use the Force where your body needs it most."

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio sat across from his Master on the ground. He winced in pain as his damaged hand began to bleed a bit more profusely. He closed his eyes and tried to block out the pain with his mind. He once again felt the intense energy of the Force as he began to concentrate. Nichos had said to visualize the Force healing oneself... Dio let the Force flow through him, and in his mind's eye, he visualized his hand, bleeding and most likely fractured. He envisioned the bleeding beginning to stop and the blood clotting around the cuts. He then pictured the cuts slowly sealing themselves until they became smaller and smaller... the pain began to dull... Dio lost track of how long he was in the trance, but when he came to with a pat on the shoulder from his Master, he looked at his hand. Except for a few small scrapes and a very, very faint ache, it was completely healed. Dio looked at his hand, back and front, almost with wonder...* "How long was I in the trance?"

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos thinks for a moment.

"At least an hour or two. In time, you will learn to heal faster. Tell me Dio, when you were in the trance, what did it feel like?"

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio pondered the question for a moment.* "Again, I just felt blanketed by the energy of the Force. I felt incredible, just bathed in light energy. I feel refreshed now..."

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos nods.

"Good...Right now, I want you to meditate on the Force, feel it out. Get used to it's properties. I shall be back tomorrow bright and early to continue training."

Nichos walks off.

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio bows.* "Yes, Master. I will see you tomorrow."

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos returns to his padawan with a smile on his face. He takes a seat on one of the rocks.

"Tell me Dio, how feel you?"

[Dio Blackmoon]

"My hand hurts a little bit. Other than that, just fine. Pretty calm, relaxed."

[Nichos Marr]

Nichos nods.

"That is good. Tell me, have you ever sparred with someone??"

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio nods* "Once, for a little while. Why?"

[Nichos Marr]

"Well Dio, now you will be building a lightsaber."

Nichos lays out a cloth full of different colored jewels. He tells Dio the one he picks will be the color of his blade.

"And here are the blueprints."

Nichos hands him a <a href=http://www.homestead.com/starwarslightsaber/blueprntscont.html>scroll</a>. The Jediu quietly sits on his rock. Beforehand he had set up a table with the proper parts needed to build a saber. He watched his padawan get to work.

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio looked at the small scattering of multicolored gems before him. He looks at each, but finally settles on a bright, almost sunrise-toned amber. He sets the jewel aside and picks up the scroll that his master had left for him to follow to construct the lightsaber. He began to place the parts in the order in which they would be placed in the construction of the saber.*

[Dio Blackmoon]

*Dio picked up what the directions told to be the power cell and examined it. It looked almost new, just a few tiny scratches to the casing. It would do fine. He again referred to the blueprint. Next came the rear grip; the power cell was grooved and screwed into the rear grip. He pulled on it to make sure that it was secure, and when he was satisfied, he moved on to the next part of the construction: the middle casing where the activation switch and safety were located. The casing itself held the activation mecahnism, but it was up to Dio to get the lever and safety connected properly to the mechanism. He picked up the casing and looked at the assembly of wires that would connect the safety to the internal circuitry of the lightsaber. Closely following the blueprint, he wired all of the circuits together. He clicked the button a few times, and it worked fine.*

*He then proceeded to consult the plans to see about attaching the activation lever. The wiring was less complex than the safety mechanism, but was more important, for sure. Again, he slowly but surely connected each wire to the internal components of the saber. Satisfied with his workmanship, he placed the half-finished saber back on the table and stood back for a moment.*

[Dio Blackmoon]

*After a brief break, he went back to work and picked up the next piece of the puzzle: the handgrip and lens assembly. The handgrip easily latched onto the middle casing, and was securely connected, having been tested by a series of hard pulls. The lens assembly also had some wiring that needed to be connected to the main assembly. He slowly connected each wire to the power source and main machinery according to the blueprint, and when he was satisfied with the result, he picked up the last component of the saber, and slowly inspected it.*

[Dio Blackmoon]

*As this was the last piece of the saber, he followed the directions even more closely than before... This wire connects to this circuit, this wire crosses this wire here... it took a while, but he was finally satisfied with the results. He put the final bolts on the casing and slowly rolled the new weapon around in his hand. The time was right. He held it lightly in his right hand, flipped the ignition switch, and a long, slender blade of amber light extended quickly with a loud hissing sound. He held the weapon in his hand and examined the weapon. Satisfied with his work, he closed down the weapon and laid it on the table, proud of his work.*