Star Wars: Knights Of The New Republic

Chapter Two: Proficiency and Connections

Chapter Two: Proficiency and Connections

Years went by as the jedi raised the young boy, stressing restraint and limitation in their teachings as a silent way to keep his power subdued. They combined efforts to secretly hold back the boy's power without him knowing with their own abilities. They were still amazed by the boy's ability to learn and adapt.

As is customary, the boy began his training at the age of three. He spent a good equality of time learning between the ways of the force and how to channel it, the galactic history of the jedi order, and, his personal favorite, lightsaber combat.

In the first years of training, he was taught the ways of the force by master Miris. He quickly learned to channel the force and was levitating large objects way faster than the other students. He then mastered the first form of lightsaber training, Shii-cho, under the teachings of master Crovel. When he began to master many of these teachings far quicker than the other students, it was required that he be made the apprentice of a master who was not in charge of teaching classes of younglings. He needed a master who could teach him a balance of combat and the ways of the force.

A reluctant master Taruk took the boy under his wing. Being the most competent of the council and most capable to balance time between the young padawan and the politics his position called for, he took on a second apprentice. The boy was seven years old by now, and the youngest of the jedi masters' padawans. Taruk was forced to teach the quick learner at a very extreme pace. He was silently amused, feeling that his teaching of the boy forced him to grow and begin learning faster ways to teach himself.

The boy was addressed as Wallace. When the boy was able to speak, the jedi allowed him to choose his own name. This was the boy's first step to becoming his own person. He felt a connection to the name that no one understood, especially himself.

By age eleven, Wallace had mastered his third lightsaber form. He was proficient at channeling the force, and he was proceeding to learn at the custom pace Taruk had adapted. When Wallace was twelve, it was high time for him to construct an instrument that he could connect to. Taruk took him to the planet of Ilum, as was the jedi tradition and rite of passage for jedi padawans.

They traversed through the knee deep snow of the planet with only a large cave in site. The ship on which they flew in was some way back. Wallace questioned why they hadn't landed closer so they wouldn't need to deal with the bitter cold. Taruk just stressed the importance of patience and endurance.

Once they reached the cave Taruk told Wallace to take his pack deep into the cave and to keep going until he felt something. Wallace, having years of teachings stressing patience and the importance of obeying an elder, did as he said, despite his confusion. The young boy entered the cave, his master waiting outside.

The cave kept on in one direction, down. It grew colder and darker. The boy began to shiver despite all his padding and layers. The darkness seemed to reach for him, tendrils and fingers stretching to claim a victim. He suppressed the growing fear that rose inside him, remembering his teachings. Fear was not forbidden by the new order, as it was many generations ago with other emotions, but it was not to be listened to if he had no real reason to feel it. He kept on, growing colder and colder, seeing less and less.

Just when the fear began to rise with the cold and Wallace began to want to turn back, a dim glow formed somewhere down the cave. A pulsating aura grew brighter and larger as he approached. A feeling gripped him, a whisper, calling his attention. He listened to his master and followed the whisper. He found himself in a high-ceilinged chamber. Glowing crystals of many different colors stretched from surface to surface. They protruded from every direction and pulsated a glow matching their designated color. It was mesmerizing.