KAILARIS: THE LOST JEDI

CYCLE 1

Kailaris, nervous, looked around the space inside the lift that was taking her up through the tall building. Everything felt artificial and new, so different to the greenery she grew up around. She felt awkward in this shiny clean space, her nails still filled with dirt from her home, Yavin IV. She felt cold, the crisp air brushing her skin. She missed the dense warmth of the moons ecosystem. But she knew that her being here made her parents proud. She tugged at the sleeve of her new padawan uniform. The linen felt soft against her skin. She was not used to such well made clothing, having only been clad in her mothers rough cut fabrics, always bulking in odd places. It had been fine suited in the jungle, and for her daily tasks. But she felt reborn in the padawan cloth. She felt this deep purpose stirring in her stomach. The clothes she wore noted her new importance. She was to become a Jedi. 

The term filled her with a sense of unease. Throughout her time playing with the only few children her age, the legends of the Jedi were stories carefully told between them. Information from other planets and moons rarely touched their small lives, and so the impression of the importance of these Jedi stories had stained Kailaris' view of the universe around her. And now she was to walk in these sacred Jedi halls, be trained by masters which she had only known to exist within the visuals in her mind. She was excited, yet handled the emotion carefully. She did not want to get carried away, and lose her sense of self, and more importantly, leave behind her home.

The lift slowed to a stop, not noticeable to anyone who did not carry the gift of being connected to the force. But Kailaris felt the easing of the wires and force generators which carried the lift, stopping the moving metal chamber. She felt the easing of speed, and understood the exact moment in which the doors would open. She straightened her back in preparation to walk out.

The doors slid apart with beautiful ease. The preciseness of the technology on Coruscant still astonished Kailaris, as she breathed in the new visuals that the doors of the lift unveiled to her. The halls buzzed with a freshness that felt more alive than any she had experienced before. Tall Jedi's walked with importance past her, cloaks moving fluidly behind them. Kailaris, still only 14, suddenly felt displaced. She knew she had been brought to Coruscant through her connection with the force. Yet she couldn't help but feel as if she didn't belong.

"Come, young Padawan. Follow my lead." Master Billaba ushered forward Kailaris, as they both walked out into the grand hall. On her arrival to Coruscant, Kailaris was designated Jedi Master Billaba as her mentor, to guide her in the ways of the force. Master Billaba had exchanged few words with the young Padawan, yet Kailaris felt an attachment to her master. A loyalty she felt would only grow with training. Her Master was also the only person she knew on this unfamiliar planet.

Following Master Billaba, Kailaris paced past palatial doorways, without time to see the epoch-making rooms that have held the most illustrious characters she could dream of. Her whole body tingled with excitement, and Kailaris fought to control her emotions; she did not want to seem rash and immature, afraid the council might regret their decision to bring her into padawan training, especially as she was a decade late to the training. She had overheard the conflicting thoughts of some of the council members of her being given the padawan title. Many disagreed, what with her being so old; yet Master Billaba alongside many other Jedi council members had argued that Kailaris' connection to the force was too powerful to be left untrained; they feared an unnatural and unguided growth into the force could lead down a dangerous path. It had been this argument that allowed Kailaris to be walking in the halls of the padawan centre. For this, she had to be good. She had to prove that her power was worth needing to be trained.

Master Billaba came to a stop, Kailaris copying, halting her movement. Her Master turned to faced her.

"Kailaris, here you will be trained alongside other padawan your age. Many have been padawan for a long time, and before that had been trained as Younglings. You are to follow their lead. You must not speak out too much, for you have much more to learn. You must copy their discipline, and learn from your peers. Though you are there same age, many are much wiser than you in their knowledge of the force. Few are more powerful than you, but many wiser. Remember that. Do not let arrogance get the better of you. Power is only one discipline of the force. You have a long journey ahead of you, much to learn. Here I will leave you to learn in group practise. I will see you soon, my Padawan. Learn well and learn swiftly." Without another word, Master Billaba turned and walked away. In only a few minutes, Kailaris lost her view on her master, as she merged into the flow of moving cloaks as Jedi's continued to pass by. Kailaris withdrew a breath, and walked into the room. There she saw many other peers her age, sitting cross-legged on the floor, shaped in a rough semi-circle around a Jedi. Kailaris, whilst having had a remote childhood, would have recognised the Jedi in an instant. It was none other than Master Yoda.