The Mandalorian Jedi

Chapter Seven

The Crystal Caves of Ilum were quiet. So quiet it was overwhelming, I could feel nothing. See no one. Hear little but the sound of my own feet as I walked through the cave, or maybe I was running, I couldn't tell but I was completely alone. No one was there to guide me. No one was there to calm me. Master Windu had told me this would happen, that I would have to overcome my greatest fear if I was to find my crystal, I'd been ready to dodge around hologramatic spiders or something, not this unending silence, so quiet it was almost deafeningly loud. Rational thought told me I was not alone, that there were others near me searching for their crystal, facing their fears but rational thought had stopped transmitting to my brain the second I stepped into that darkness.

I could have been walking for hours, days and I wouldn't have been able to tell but in the end I forced myself to stop. To sit down and gulp down breaths and close my eyes. I pushed that unbearable silence away and focused on the sound of my breathing, letting my mind reach out. I could feel every crack and corner, every crystal until I felt something, a small light at the back of my mind. I kept my eyes closed, kept focusing on the sounds that I could here and followed that light, twisting around pathways, letting the force guide me through the winding passages until I found that light. Only then did I open my eyes.

Not one but two crystals lay in front of me, their glow lighting up the entire cavern, crystals were everywhere, dim and silent unlike the two that thrummed in front of me, side by side. I had only expected to find one as I had been told I would but here I was, two crystals glowing bright and clear.

Only one other youngling had returned when I came back to the entrance of the cave, I didn't know her name, only that Master Plo-Koon had taken her on as his padawan which everyone found to be rather impressive. Master Windu was waiting there, having a discussion with a Jedi Knight who had accompanied us but he turned when he sensed me leaving the cave, "Did you find your crystal?" I nodded and opened my hand, showing the two crystals laying there, my master raised an eyebrow in question and I quickly said,
"They were both glowing so..."
"Hm, that is very rare indeed, but then again you are a rare child," I couldn't help a small smile at what I assumed to be a compliment and Master Windu continued, "You have shown yourself to be an accomplished fighter even though you have trained for so little time, there are two routes you can go down, either your lightsaber can hold both crystals, making it very powerful or you could perhaps wield a double saber or a dual saber, we shall provide you with the parts for both and you can see where the force guides you." I nodded slightly and he turned away to talk to the Jedi Knight again.

The other girl approached me slowly and stuck out a hand, "I'm Norah" she was a Zabrak I realised, her hair was a reddish brown that flowed down her back and the horns that identified her species showed up on either side of her head, peaking through the thick hair, three horns sat on her brow, peppered with several smaller ones in between and an intricate tattoo weaved between them, disappearing in and out of her hair. I stuck out my hand to shake hers and she grinned,
"I'm Rhea."
"Oh I know," I raised an eyebrow, copying my masters questioning look, "you are the talk of the temple, Master Windu hasn't taken on a padawan in years and he is one of the most senior Jedi, only just behind Master Yoda himself, oh and you are Mandalorian and just to top it all off you are good friends with Anakin Skywalker who is one of the most powerful Jedi and he's still a padawan." I couldn't think of anything to say but,
"Huh." Thankfully Norah seemed to have a lot to say and she carried on talking,
"Do you have any idea how you are going to personalise your lightsaber? They give us all the parts but most Jedi put something sentimental into theirs, for me my grandfathers born was once chopped off by a lightsaber so I'm going to try and incorporate it into mine, he would be tossing in his grave but it will be nice to have something of him with me." I couldn't help a slight grin at that,
"Well that certainly seems ironic. I haven't really thought about it that much, I thought I decide when we made them."
"Well I mean there's always your necklace," My hand jumped to my throat, to the chain that hung there and disappeared beneath my clothes, "Sorry if that was the wrong thing to say but it's a Mandalorian pendant right? It would be like having a piece of your history more permanently with you, as long as you didn't lose the saber." I nodded sharply, swallowing slightly, how she knew what it was I didn't know, the mythosaur pendant had been the last gift my parents gave me, proof that I was Mandalorian if ever I needed help from one. In all honesty the thought of losing it made me uncomfortable and it would be more permanent in a lightsaber but from what I could tell Jedi had a tendency to lose their weapons, but then again Mandalorians didn't and I was Mandalorian.

Ok so next chapter she will construct the lightsaber and I may do a few chapters on her as a padawan but I am tempted to skip forwards to Attack of the Clones just to make it easier and then possibly come back and add more chapters once I have a better idea on what being a padawan is like, I am only on season 2 of the clone wars and that seems to be the best guidance for that sort of thing so I will get a move on with that.
If I got anything wrong I'm sorry and please do tell me, I know Plo-Koon already had a padawan but as far as I can tell the padawan's name, gender or species are never specified so I am taking liberty of that but I do apologise if the timing is off or anything, I am trying my best Xx