FORTUNA / POE DAMERON

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ELARA HAD KNOWN WHAT THE FORCE WAS for a very long time.

One day, when she was five or six, her mother sat down with her and gave an explanation that a five year old could understand about what the Force was. Pandora had explained that the Force was not something to be afraid of, or be ashamed of. It was balance. To use the Force was to understand the Force, and to understand the Force was to use the Force. Her mother elucidated away all of her anxiety surrounding it. The Force was life, and the Force was death. Elara would never forget how her mother was the perfect representation of the Force.

When Elara turned ten, Pandora began teaching her the basics of the Force. Sitting in perfect meditation. How to find perfect equilibrium in gravity. Feeling one with the universe, like a petal on a stream, a feather on the air. Before long, Elara was able to travel through the dense forests of Batuu with a blindfold over her eyes. She could sense every root in the ground, hidden by foliage and dirt. Batuu's flora was hard enough to navigate with your five senses, let alone without your sight to guide you.

Elara never got to complete her training.

Things were starting to pick up more and more in her final days on Batuu, and the final days of her mother's life. Pandora must have suspected the invasion was near, because the last training that Elara or her older brother received was rushed, as if Pandora was attempting to pass on as much knowledge as she could in the small time frame.

The day that Pandora died was the day that Elara swore to never use the Force again.

It didn't settle in her stomach right - why should she be able to use such an ability without her mother beside her to guide her towards the full potential? Pandora Astalles' status in the Force was most likely the reason for her demise. Being one of the two final Jedi Masters in the galaxy put quite a large target on her back.

Still, Elara found herself wandering the woods of D'Qar, stepping over each and every rock embedded in the path with ease. Her eyes were trained on the greenery around her. Elara's mind took residence elsewhere at that moment. Exploring the planet did that to her⎼ the General and her friends expected not to see her for a few hours after mission debriefing. Every time, she got lost in the sapphire skies and the juniper trees of D'Qar. It truly was a beautiful planet. Elara read about the old Resistance bases, during the Empire, and compared to Hoth... D'Qar was electrifying.

Her head turned back at the massive root exposed on the path that she narrowly missed. The grin that spread across her face was enough to make her chest surge. She looked up as she walked, sunlight dancing across her head every once in a while, and the slightly clouded sky was barely visible through the thick vegetation. How swiftly she could get lost in serenity was enchanting; exhilarating, even.