Tales of the Jedi(8)

As with Nova, he had started to go after Cayli but those whispers folded around him like a blanket.

Even now it twisted his stomach into a sick knot. Waves of nausea took hold of him and would not let go until his stomach heaved itself barren.

The whispers came again as they always did when he relived that night. Usually that soft purring voice lulled him back to sleep, but now…

He did not go after Cayli.

That was a terrible mistake.

He lost the only love he had ever known, ever wanted. The only love that mattered.

For what? he demanded to know

The lady of whispers answered, wrapping him in her shadowy embrace… Your destiny.

Dray moaned and tossed in his sleep. He recalled one of the first days of his training.



Ven-Mah Tyrrahl sat down on the tree stump, feeling every one of his seventy years. The old man sighed as he watched the lightsaber haft spinning end over end through the air. The Jedi Master raised a hand, using the Force to stop the weapon’s progress.

“You must learn patience,” Tyrrahl said.

Dray shook his head in disgust, squatting down to rub the tail of his sweat-soaked shirt across his forehead. “When you agreed to train me, you didn’t say it would take an eternity to master the simplest of skills.”

“These are the building blocks. Without a solid foundation, a house will crumble at the first storm.”

“I ask for guidance and you give me children’s sayings.”

“You cannot become an expert overnight, Lian. Years of study and dedication are required before…”

“Why? I’m eager to learn. The others…” He glanced at the assembled group of students in the distance. “Why keep us all together if some can’t keep up? Let me move at a quicker pace.”

“The machine is only as strong as its weakest part.”

“More platitudes!”

Tyrrahl shook his head and tried a different tact. “Tell me, when retreating from a battle would you abandon the lame of your group, the wounded? Leave them for dead?”

Dray’s eyes grew cold. “I don’t run from a fight.”

“Answer the question!”

“Of course not.”

“Everything you learn has applications that aren’t always apparent immediately. You must learn to trust. There’s too much you don’t understand yet.”

“Then teach me…”

“If it were only that simple.”

“It is if you make it so.”

Tyrrahl shook his head. The impetuousness of youth never failed to amaze him. There was so much this boy did not know but thought he did. “Beware,” the Master warned, “the dark side offers a quick and easy path, but the destination is not what it seems. Your impatience in these matters could prove to be your undoing.”

Even without his Jedi intuition, Tyrrahl could tell Dray’s attention was focused elsewhere. Tyrrahl paused mid-sermon and allowed his gaze to wander, until Master and student were staring at the same thing.

It stood like a dark sentinel atop the jagged cliffs of Monfreen’s northern peninsula, overlooking an ancient whirlpool of water whose great maw could swallow all but the largest starship. The keep had stood empty for as long as Tyrrahl could remember and the local lore, usually colorfully descriptive of such an intriguing landmark, was surprisingly indeterminate. The aptly-named Citadel of Shadows held no grand tales of adventure.

Tyrrahl had visited the keep only once, stepping inside the monolithic gates with the fearful eyes of a young child instead of the resolve of a Jedi Master. The place was teeming with the dark side. Perhaps that strong concentration of the Force, albeit an evil one, was what drew him to Monfreen in the first place…

The Jedi Master willed away the memories. His concern at the moment was not his own experience with the Citadel.

Dray wore an expression that both terrified Tyrrahl and excited him. He had seen it before… On his own face, just before he entered the castle.

“Without the proper composure, you may easily find yourself in a dark place where you do not want to be, with no way out.”

Dray finally gazed back at his Master. “The Citadel.”

“You’ve felt its pull, have you?” Tyrrahl said, staring at something on the ground.

Dray’s eyes were drawn once more to the towering spires in the distance. “There is a coldness there, such as I have never felt. The dark side dwells within.”

Tyrrahl fought to keep his voice neutral. “You wish to go there?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Only those adepts prepared to move on to the next phase in their training dare set foot in that place. It is a dangerous test, possibly deadly if the Force is not your ally. Do you think you’re ready for such a burden?”