The Legend of the Jedi Queen

27. Force Mystic

Nellith walked into the forest a little, to the back side of some of the buildings in the village. On the side of all these buildings was a pattern, a mural that stretched all down the row. A silvery-blue wisp of smoke was the first thing Nellith saw. She instinctively reached her fingers out, and traced the blue wisp, following it up the mural. Strange animals and flowers Nellith had never seen before in any holos set the exotic garden landscape.

The blue wisps emanated from an image of a young woman in white with green hair, an elderly man dressed in blue, and a young man in black with yellow eyes. Nellith recognized the three from the legends around the galaxy. Almost every belief system incorporated the Father, Daughter, and Son. This part of the mural would not have been out of place anywhere in the galaxy.

However, the blue wisps continued, so Nellith followed them. The blue turned to violet, and Nellith came upon a new scene. The three infamous deities looked younger. The Father was a middle-aged man with wise blue eyes, the Daughter a precocious teenager laughing with the Son. The Father had his arm wrapped around a woman Nellith had never seen represented in any incarnation of the myth. The woman was more plain, and while she had a smile, there was something about it that suggested envy to her.

Still, the violet wisps trailed off, and slowly shifted to red. The garden in the background was no longer beautiful, the plants withering and the animals turning to monsters. It all opened to one last, final scene.

Nellith gasped and stepped away, taken aback by the wrongness of the image. On the left, in front of an obsidian font stood a girl bathed in red with long hair. On the right was a boy in blue, emerging from a pool. Both the boy and the girl looked deeply unhappy. In the center, the woman from the middle picture sat, with a wicked smile, on a throne that Nellith knew all too well. It was the throne in her dreams.

Every detail was exact, spot-on. How could someone have recreated it so perfectly?

"Like the mural?"

Nellith turned to see an elderly woman. She nodded.

"When I was younger, I was part of the project to create that," the elderly woman said. "It was part of a religious preservation project. You see, that was during the days of the Empire. They weren't too keen on the Church of the Force, so they were destroying all the texts with our stories and beliefs. That was why we did things like these, things they couldn't destroy."

"You're a member of the Church of the Force?" Nellith asked.

"Most of Artorias is," the elderly woman replied. There was a strange twinkle in her eye. "Our royal family has always been strong with the Force. That was why they went into hiding after Order 66. You must be from off-world."

"I am," Nellith admitted.

"I saw the lightsaber on your belt," the elderly woman said. "As happy as I am to see the balance and the Jedi Order restored, I can't help but be sad when I see children your age already wielding those things. Life with the Force is a terribly heavy responsibility, not for young children like you to bear. Not yet."

Nellith shifted uncomfortably. "Some of us have to bear it earlier than others."

"But do you?" the elderly woman asked. "You should be having fun, experiencing those teenage passions. Not learning how to balance the universe, how to win wars."

"I've never really had a choice in the matter," Nellith said. Visions of the woods calling to her flashed in her mind's eye. She repressed them. "Great power, great responsibility, you know. Can't be a kid when you've got a power you don't understand."

"Poor child," the elderly woman said. "You need to find peace, and find it soon."

Nellith, for once, was thankful to hear Kyp's voice on the commlink. She removed it from her belt.

"What is it, Kyp?" she asked.

"Eyes is here," he said, his voice slurred slightly.

"Who?"

"Luke Skywalker, who do you think I'm talking about?" Kyp cried.

Nellith looked up to the elderly lady. "Gotta run. Thanks for the advice."

The elderly lady nodded, and Nellith ran off.

She burst into the room reserved for their secret meeting a few minutes later.

It was in a small but surprisingly luxurious secret lounge with red curtains lined with gold, and in the center was a round table. Kyp sat on one end, holding another drink in his hand, and on the opposite end was a little alien in orange, wearing practical blue clothing and large goggles.

They both turned to see Nellith come in. The little orange alien hit a switch on her goggles, causing her dark eyes to look much larger, taking up the entire glass.

"Interesting," the little orange alien said. "You have his eyes."

"What?" Nellith's hazel eyes darted to Kyp nervously, but he seemed completely unconcerned by the exchange. She looked back to the small orange alien.

"You've got the eyes of someone with too much power," the alien said. "And of someone who's still lost in the past. I see your mother now."

"You knew my parents?" Nellith asked, trying derail the creepy conversation.

"I know the Solos," the orange alien said simply.

"You're Maz Kanata, right?" Nellith asked.

"The one and only," the orange alien said. "Kyp and I were making a trade in information. He said that Jaina Solo had finally taken on an apprentice."

"Yeah, Aunt Jaina's great," Nellith said.

"She does have a fiery spirit," Maz agreed. "But I'm curious as to you, Nellith Solo. The Skywalkers have been around for five generations now. Some have been firmly on the side of the light, some the dark. Your father, for so long, broke his family's heart on the dark side. But what kind of Skywalker will you be?"

"I assume the light," Nellith said awkwardly. "I've always wanted to be a Jedi. Be like my mum and dad."

"Ah, so you really are a Skywalker," Maz said. "All the Skywalkers, except for one, wanted to join the Jedi. You've got that sense of justice even Anakin had."

"You knew Anakin Skywalker?" Nellith asked.

"Once," Maz said. "Nellith, I have been around for a very long time. You know plenty of the important people to the Force, if you allow yourself to get in the action."

"I see," Nellith said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Your future is unclear," Maz said. "Oh, you do have plenty of light. But the brightest light casts the darkest shadow."

"I'll keep that in mind," Nellith said. "Do you know anything about Snoke. . . Or—"

A name came to her, as if in a dream.

"Abeloth," Nellith finished.

Maz frowned. "That is beyond my time, but I have heard rumors. Where did you get that name from?"

"I don't remember," Nellith trailed off, and reached her hand to her temple.

Maz regarded her with a new light.

"The tragedy of Centerpoint Station occurred before I was born," Maz said. "Abeloth is a creature in the Force older than Snoke, older than most of the galaxy. She is not to be trifled with. Little is known about her. Whatever you know, stay away. Don't look for more."

"Really, Maz?" Kyp said. "What could be that bad?"

"You really don't want to know," Maz said as she adjusted her goggles. "But I can tell you what I know about Andromeda Hux."

Nellith finally sat down at the table. "What have you got?"

"There's a planned trip to Yavin IV for the inner circle, the Bogan Squadron, as they're called," Maz said. "Only Andromeda Hux and the Force-wielders. We don't know what they'll be doing there, but my sources say that in four days, they will be there."

"Interesting," Kyp said. "Anything else, Maz?"

"I'll keep you posted," Maz said. "It was charming, meeting you, Nellith Solo."

"You as well," Nellith replied.