[IC] Annabelle's Task

[Joslae]

The following Holorecording is titled ‘’Trials and tribulations: a test of spirit - Day 1’’. It would show a young girl sitting in a meditative position in the middle of some sand dune on Korriban.  In front of her were several items: A bunch of stones, a small recording device, a canteen of water and her datapad. She could be seen staring at the stones in particular.

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‘’Right…’’ said the girl, taking one stone in her hand and weighing it. ‘’How hard can this be? I just put this stone on my head, recite the Sith code as instructed all the while listening to that annoying… recording’’. The girl took a deep breath and reached for the recording device, pressing the button that was on it. At first, it would be silent. After some fifteen seconds, it exclaimed a single word: ‘Jedi’. This cycle would repeat itself. Every fifteen seconds, the same word would be called out. For any normal person, this would be a piece of cake. Not for the girl, however. Apprentice Annabelle had intentionally given her this assignment because she knew the strain it would put a strain on her mental state. In spite of this, the girl was determined to complete the assignment.

She balanced the rock on her head and took a few deep breaths so that her heart rate would lower. ‘’Allright, Natellia… just try to keep yourself from wiggling… This is not hard. It’s not ha-’’ and while she was quietly talking to herself, the recorder called out that infernal word again. It startled Natellia immensely. The rock shifted and immediately fell from her head. An annoyed grunt followed. She grabbed the rock and threw it as far away as she could, before standing up and taking a brief walk out of view from the recorder. When she came back, some minutes later, she appeared calm again. Once more, she balanced the rock on her head and awaited for the word to be called again. When it finally did, the recital began.

‘’Peace is a lie, there is only passion…’’. Natellia had clearly studied. The line came out perfectly and without hesitation. A small twitch of her eye was noticeable.

‘’Through passion…’’ said Natellia, with another exclamation of that annoying word interrupting her right in the middle of the recital. Again, she was caught. Her head moved and the rock fell. Again, Natellia took the rock and threw it as far away as she could. This wouldn’t be far, as the holorecording clearly picked up the sound of the rock shattering closeby. The pattern for the young acolyte was clear. Every time she was trying to concentrate, she was interrupted. Every time she tried to focus her mind, her focus was taken. It is safe to say that this annoyed her greatly and though she made attempts to try again and again, her frustration did her absolutely no favors. The hours would pass and the number of attempts she made could no longer be counted on two hands. The girl did not give up, even when the arrival of night had driven the temperatures further down. Some two hours before the end of the first day, she would give it one last shot.

‘’Right, you bastard… you won’t beat me. Not this time’’. In spite of the determined words, Natellia’s voice sounded broken. On the occasions that she’d look into the camera, her cheeks could be observed to be wet. The task was more difficult than she could have ever imagined. She sat down in a bed of rock fragments, assuming the meditative position for the fiftieth time that day. Unlike the previous attempts, Natellia had finally gotten herself to a point where she wasn’t shaking as much every time the word was called out. She also thought that instead of starting immediately, she would wait for several minutes to acclimatize and get used to the voice of Annabelle continuously calling out the word ‘jedi’.

‘’Peace is a lie, there is only passion… through passion, I gain strength… through strength, I gain power… through power, I gain victory… through victory, my chains are broken… the force shall free me…’’

Natellia was amazed. Just like that, she had finally done it. In stunned silence, she looked at the camera as if she had just been born again. The adrenaline of the moment faded away rapidly however and before the girl could even recollect herself, she fell asleep right there on the sand dune.

[Joslae]

Day 2

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‘’Aaaaah…’’ exclaimed Natellia, who had seemingly just woken up. The sun was only on the edge of the horizon and the temperature around the sand dune was still extremely cold. The acolyte herself looked like a right mess, with her hair all tangled and her robes full of sand. The yell was likely due to the fact that some sand had gotten into some… odd place and this assumption was affirmed when Natellia stood up and began shaking the accumulated dust and sand from herself. She extended her hand and summoned a water canteen to her hand, drinking from it and throwing a tiny amount in her face. That still didn’t quite fix her absolutely horrid appearance, but it had to do. She lumbered over to the spot in front of the camera and sat down again in the same meditative position.

‘’Okay, sleeping on the ground is a bad idea. My back hurts. It hurts a lot. I should have brought something soft to sleep on. Ugh…’’ she grinned and pointed at the camera ‘’Arcukot, I have a lot more respect for you now.’’. While she continued to remind herself of funny things and laughing about them, she began tidying up her spot. The harsh Korriban night had caused almost all of her things to be covered in a small layer of sand, which was a pain to clear. Natellia didnt mind whatsoever. It was a way to keep busy and to mentally prepare herself for another day of frustration.

‘’Two rocks… Two rocks…’’ she’d say, holding the aforementioned rocks in her hands and looking at them with a pained expression ‘’...You know how I said it couldn’t be that hard yesterday? Well! I was wrong. Another day, another chance…’’ she closed her eyes and began stacking the two rocks on top of her head. They wobbled for a moment but eventually remained static. Natellia then went through the same routine again: Regulating her breathing, focussing on the force to keep the rock steady and hoping that the annoying recording did not throw her off again. For now, everything went well. Her slow breathing had caused her heart to not beat as much and her concentration within the force had made her sit almost perfectly still, with the only moving thing being a few strands of her hair. The two minutes of preparation passed, and the recorder began calling out the word again. Then two more minutes passed. Then twenty. Then an hour. Then another. It appears that Natellia had fallen asleep while meditating and even though she was practically unconscious, the rocks remained perfectly balanced on her head. When she eventually did wake up, it was due to the scorching heat of Korriban almost frying her alive.

‘’...Yep. Sure. Back pain and sunburns? Why don’t you give me a hemorrhoid a well?’’ said Natellia, who had carefully taken the rocks from her head while looking up at the sky ‘’...Actually, don’t. Please’’. The girl was talking as if there was someone around to hear her which, of course, there wasn’t. She took the recorders and the stones and shuffled backwards into an area with more shade. She then positioned the stones on her head again and tried to not fall asleep for a second time, which she sortoff achieved.

‘’Jedi…’’ it was Annabelle’s voice coming from the recorder ‘’...Jedi…Jedi...Jedi’’. Every fifteen seconds, the same word. By now, Natellia had heard it so much that she was able to stomach it for at least longer a bit longer than yesterday, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to push her luck. The recital began.

‘’Peace is a lie, there is only passion… through passion, I gain strength… through strength, I gain power… through power, I gain victory… through victory, my chains are broken… the force shall free me…’’

The rocks remained on her head, as intended. Natellia was successful again, but it certainly didn’t go without a hitch. Her entire face was wet from sweat and when she realized the ordeal was over, she slumped back in the shade and let the rocks fall from her head. A brief exhausted look was given to the camera. She flicked her wrist and shut the thing off.

[Joslae]

Day 3

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The camera was once more activated and Natellia’s face became visible again. She looked a little more neat today. It seemed like she had gotten herself a shower and was able to do her hair properly. Above all else, she didn’t look like she could throw herself off the nearest cliff at any given opportunity. ‘’Surprisingly enough, once I told the overseers at the academy what I was doing, they allowed me to use the acolyte showers to clean myself up… and they advised me to stop sitting in the scorching heat, so…’’ she turned the camera around and showed the spot in the shade that she had found. It was at the bottom of a relatively steep rock face with a rock hanging overhead as a tarp. This provided her with enough cover to not end up looking like a pureblood once her tasks were completed ‘’...this is my working spot for the coming days or weeks or months. Who knows?’’

She sat down with her back against the rock and took out her canteen that she had refilled. She took a big gulp of water and had seemingly already gathered the rocks necessary for the exercise ‘’I have… been having these visions lately. Not just last night, but ever since I had that talk with apprentice Annabelle in the library. I… sometimes smell the woods of Alderaan being on fire, I can see my brother falling at my feet and I feel the ground shake as the walls of my elderly home crumble…’’ she sighed and covered her eyes with her hands ‘’...I can hear the anguished wails of my mother as I try to sleep’’. Natellia remained silent for moments after, but the camera did pick up a single tear rolling down her cheek. She started to prepare herself without saying much of anything. She placed the recording device in front of her and began balancing the rocks on her head again. As before, she would regulate her breathing before starting the actual exercise, but it was clear that she had considerable difficulty doing so. Something was irking her, yet she didn’t take much time to calm herself. She managed to steady the rocks on her head and focussed on the force to keep them there. For the first time, however, the weight of the rocks on her head was being a factor as much as the incessant calling of the word ‘jedi’ was.

‘’Peace is a lie, there is only passion… Through passion, I gain… I gain… I…’’ Natellia had started the recital, but found herself interrupted by the word being called out at a seemingly higher volume than normal. This was, of course, just in her head but it had an effect all the same. She shuddered and the rock formation on her head destabilized. They would fall from her head and land straight on her feet, causing her to jump up and scream out in frustration and pain. Her cheeks were now getting increasingly moist with her tears. As if wanting to blame the sky, she rose her fist up to it and began shouting ‘’IS A LITTLE PEACE SO MUCH TO ASK FOR? IS IT?! LEAVE. ME. ALONE!!’’. Her increased anguish had inadvertently caused a small wave of force energy to be cast out from her in all directions. As expected, this destabilized the rock face and it began crumbling quickly. She only just managed to get all her things before they were crushed by the cascading rocks. She jogged away, with the camera still pointing at her face.

Some thirty minutes later, she had finally found herself another spot. It was a small spot under an angled rock face which allowed her to remain in the shade. Most importantly, this rock face wasn’t likely to collapse, or so she hoped. She sat herself down and gathered another trio of rocks. As she gathered them, she would absentmindedly be listening to the recording of Annabelle’s voice saying ‘Jedi’ over and over again. It was a mental exercise, and she sorely needed it ‘’Well then… Natellia the emotional mess. I guess we’re at that point again... ‘’ said Natellia, stacking the rocks on her head. She assumed the same meditative position again and tried to concentrate, having considerable difficulty doing so. The continuous calling out of the word certainly did not do her any favors and by now she would sure have a sore spot on her head from the weight of the rocks.

‘’Jedi’’
‘’Jedi. Jedi. Jedi’’
‘’JediJediJediJediJediJediJediJediJediJediJediJediJedi’’

It was almost comical how odd the word started to sound to Natellia, yet every time she heard it it would still put a strain on her mental wellbeing. She pressed on.

‘’Peace is a lie, there is only passion… through passion, I gain strength… through strength, I gain power… through power, I gain victory… through victory, my chains are broken… the force shall free me…’’

As soon as she realized that she had done it again successfully, she would carefully move the rocks from her head with the force, setting them down beside her. She fell back against the rock face with an exhausted expression, though she managed to conjure up a grin ‘’...If… I smoked… I could sure use a cigarette right about now’’. She waved her hand from left to right and switched off the recording.

[Joslae]

Day 4

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‘’...That better not be a bald spot’’ Natellia said when she started patting the top of her head in front of the camera ‘’...Oh phew, It’s just dust!’’. She sighed in relief and indeed did shake a bunch of dust from her head. A wide grin was shown to the camera. She waved her right hand about and from out of view of the camera, four rocks slowly flowed into view. That same right hand would then open to hold them. Her other hand was holding a small sandwich that she was munching on ‘’You know…’’ said Natellia with a mouth full of food ‘’...I am starting to get the hang of this. My nights are still horrible and my nightmares keep me up, but at least my head has gotten numb enough to not feel those damn rocks all the time. Would it be worth getting a bald spot for? Maybe… We’ll see’’. She finished her sandwich and walked over to her meditation spot.

As in the previous days, Natellia went to sit down in a meditative position and started stacking the stones on her head. Her neck muscles tensed when they were forced the carry the new weight, but luckily did not give in. It would take her longer to regulate her breathing, however, as the ever growing stack of rocks made it increasingly more difficult to keep it balanced. In spite of this, she managed to use the force to keep it steady so that her feet didn’t get pummeled a second time. Before she reached over to activate the recording device, she softly said ‘’...Almost halfway. You’re almost halfway’’. A click was heard and the recording started. Though Annabelle’s was voice was not annoying in and of itself, the repetitiveness of it certainly irked Natellia. During her recital, there were many things attacking her concentration: The weight of the stones on her head, the effort to keep those stones balanced, the incessant voice of Annabelle continuously calling out the word ‘jedi’ next to, of course, the heat of Korriban and the absolutely ghastly smell of the tombs that were nearby.

It could be noted that the longer the recital was drawn out, the more Natellia’s muscles started to tense. Even though there was a gentle breeze blowing through the area and it wasn’t as hot for Korriban standards, she was also sweating profusely. Her eyes were closed and every time she heard the word ‘jedi’ again, her eyes twitched.

‘’Peace is a lie, there is only passion… through passion, I gain strength… through strength, I gain power… through power, I gain victory… through victory, my chains are broken… the force shall free me…’’

The shaking and twitching did not stop after she had completed her recital. In fact, it only grew to be worse. She opened her eyes and lost all concentration in an instant. The rocks fell from her head and luckily didn’t hit her. It seemed that this had been the hardest day for her yet, as she fell back against the stone wall with an almost painful difficulty to breathe. She looked from the camera back up to the sky and raised her thumb to it ‘’I did… good, right? Right? Can I be rewarded with a good night’s sleep? That would be ever so delightful…’’. She eventually flopped forward on her belly and crawled towards the camera, before quickly shutting it off.

[Joslae]

Day 5

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A new day, a new torment. By the time the camera activated itself, the sun was already high in the sky. Natellia could be seen laying sprawled out on the sandy floor, with her eyes wide open and staring up ‘’You know…’’ she’d say in a tired voice, clearly speaking to the camera ‘’...when I was younger, my mother used to always say that I should go to bed early to be well rested in the morning. I regret not listening to her. MOM…!’’ she shouted against the sky ‘’...If you’re out there, know that you were right!!’’. A groan followed and Natellia rolled on her stomach, crawling towards the camera. She put a hand on her head ‘’...Oh, and I’ve been having this absolutely horrible pain on the top of me head, which lead to pain inside of my head. Ain’t that just nice and dandy? And of course the academy doesn’t hand out any pain killers, so here I am munching on old fruit I… liberated from the mess halls’’ a small chuckle could be heard and Natellia put a finger in front of her lips ‘’But don’t tell anyone!’’

She began rummaging around in the little camp that she had made. She had gotten rid of the upper part of her robe and now had only her uninspired gray bra covering her chest. She did not appear to mind, as it was clear that she had gotten herself to a secluded part of the Korriban wasteland. She briefly stepped out of view while going about her stuff and the camera could then spot the girl’s upper robe, which had been folded such to have it function as a pillow. It actually looked quite comfortable, but the dishevelled appearance of Natellia could make one believe that the nights were anything but comfortable. When Natellia stepped back into view, she had gotten herself a nice stack of five similarly shaped rocks. Judging by her broad smile, she was quite happy with them ‘’...This pleases my compulsive tendencies! I found more like ‘em, so I’ll be using those from now on.’’ She positioned the recorder in front of herself and began stacking the rocks on her head. It was clear that her face and her arms and torso had not been equally exposed to the sun. If we’re honest, she kind of looked like a bowl of vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Once again, the young alderaanian girl did not seem to care. She had better stuff to do, like hoping the sand didn’t get into any annoying crevices of her body.

The same routine was repeated: Breathing exercises to lower her heart rate and waiting several minutes with the recording on until she actually began balancing the rocks on her head. There was something different about today, however. Whereas yesterday, there was sweat covering almost every inch of her face, today saw her with a face that was as dry as the planet she was on. Yesterday, she started shuddering and shaking when the recital began, but today she was almost as static as a statue. The stacked rocks balanced on the top of her head with not even the fairly strong wind being able to throw them off. The only thing that was noticeably affecting Natellia was the weight of the rocks. Her head was red from the concentration and all the muscles around her shoulders and neck were completely tensed up.

‘’Peace is a lie, there is only passion… through passion, I gain strength… through strength, I gain power… through power, I gain victory… through victory, my chains are broken… the force shall free me…’’

The recital was once again succesful. Though Natellia’s eyes were still closed and though she still had the rocks on her head, a small smile was growing on her features. Then, out of nowhere, she exhaled sharply and the rocks simultaneously fell from her head. She fell forward towards the camera and looked as if she had ran a marathon back to back. The smile had faded as well as any energy she possessed to make a witty remark. She simply grabbed the camera and shut it off.

[Joslae]

Days 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10

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The young Alderaanian girl had gotten the hang of it after the fifth day. She knew how to balance the rocks on her head and was getting more and more numb to their ever increasing weight. Her neck and shoulder muscles were still incredibly tensed up, but she had long since passed the point where it appeared to hurt. What did change dramatically was her attitude. No longer did she start day with talking to the camera. She didn’t do much talking at all, in fact. Perhaps she had realized that whatever concentration she could muster should go to the exercise instead of her ill-conceived one-man stand-up comedy show.

The routine for the rest of the week was clear cut: Get up, exercise, eat, exercise, eat, exercise and finally sleep. On some days, she would spent eight straight hours balancing the rocks on her head and only giving herself minimal breaks. Her food regimen could be called meager at best and downright starvation-inducing at worst. By the seventh day, her abdominal muscles became more defined than they had ever been before, which came at the cost of her cheeks becoming ever more hollow. It would not take much to see that the girl was destroying her own body for the purposes of completing the exercise. In spite of this, Natellia didn’t complain. Not even once. The only time she would make her voice heard, in all of its monotony, was when she was reciting the sith code. Even there, she lost all enthusiasm. Who could blame her? For the past week, she had been doing the same thing over and over again. Her entire scalp was red and sensitive from the rocks, her hair was roughed up and dirty, and her skin looked dry as anything. This reached a peak at the ninth day and by the last day, day ten, she had developed small wounds on her arms and legs that had gotten covered with sand and gunk. It was a small miracle that she hadn’t gotten sick.

Day ten was perhaps the oddest day of them all. Natellia knew the end was in sight, but her efforts in preparation were nearly doubled. By the time she properly sat down to do the recital, she looked like a shell of herself. That made the fact that she managed to stack ten similarly shaped rocks on her head all the more impressive. She did that without so much as a drop of sweat rolling down her cheek. Had she finally found the perfect balance? How she got to that point mattered little. She had to finish, right here and now. The recorder was activated and Annabelle’s voice began calling out the word ‘jedi’ for a final few times.

‘’Peace is a lie, there is only passion… through passion, I gain strength… through strength, I gain power… through power, I gain victory… through victory, my chains are broken… the force shall free me…’’

Then… Nothing. The exercise was over. She had successfully completed the task Annabelle had given her and she could not even muster the energy to smile. Yet, it was the twinkle in her eyes that showed how much happiness and pride she felt. The stones that she had stacked on her head gently floated back to the ground. Natellia herself would rise to her feet moments after. In an almost disoriented state, she began gathering her things and packing her bags. Her knees buckled quite a bit and she even fell over several times. Though, she certainly wasn’t planning to have a regular cleaning chore be the death of her. Finally, once she finished, she took hold of her communication device. She sent a message to Annabelle:

‘’It is done’’