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Chapter Text

The Thaloran Vale was a rough terrain of forested, high- altitude valleys filled with ancient trees and low, swirling mist. The Force was quiet here, nothing like the raging storm that hovered over the wave beaten cliffs and the winding cave networks that ran from the Ashen Expanse, a cracked highland plateau filled with mostly dormant volcanic chimneys and geothermal vents, to the sea.

You came here whenever you needed to think, the Force, a friend as it concealed your Force signature and your emotions. The weaved basket in your hand remained empty as you walked along the narrow path hidden by brush and mist. The moist soil sucked in the sound of your footsteps. It was Red-belly mushroom season, yet your basket remained uncharacteristically empty.

Your Master has been fidgeting all week. It started with a slight discomfort at the trading post, someone briefly mentioning an Imperial census of the planet. You weren’t a fool to take that piece of information lightly, but the anxiousness that followed your master made you think that there was more to it than it seemed. Eredeen Prime was never much use to the Empire, so they mostly ignored it, writing it off as a geological hazard zone with no strategic value. You supposed that was why you were here, there was no imperial interference, aside from the occasional pit stop for fuel and rations by troops.

The oldest tree of the forest stood looming a few feet away, flanked by shallow ponds and weeds that swayed peacefully with the mist. You weaved your way through the small clearing, your boots sinking into the mud. The alcove at the foot of the tree was the perfect place to hide when you didn’t want to do your chores or practice, and your Master was kind enough to never seek you out when your signature blended in with that of the forest. You’ve been on Eredeen Prime for as long as you remembered. Your life consisted mostly of harvesting mushrooms, fishing when the sea was calm and studying old Jedi Texts that survived Order 66.

You crossed your legs and breathed out as your back rested on the bark of the tree. It’s been hours since unease and dread settled at the bottom of your stomach. The Force felt strange, like a rope waiting to snap. You breathed out slowly, reaching out with your senses. You felt the sway of the leaves in the breeze, ash swirling in a whirlpool of air before landing on the fertile soil at the foot of a volcano, and then, rough waves of seawater crashing against the ragged cliffs off the coast. A ripple of fear washed over you. You tightened your grip on the feeling, following until it was too overwhelming to go any closer.

Through the window of a hut, you saw him. Your Master, hunched over a thick dusty book, fingers brushing the edge. It wasn’t one you’d ever seen before. Your eyebrows furrowed and your eyes followed the beads of sweat sliding down his pale skin from his temple. His lips moved slowly under his breath and you strained against the Force to hear the words. Your head started throbbing, seeing white under your eyelids. You pulled back slightly, enough to calm your beating heart and your heavy breaths as you caught the last words.

Visions and the Premonitions.

Your eyes snapped open and your hands fell to the ground, fingers gripping the cold moss covered soil as you panted. You pulled your legs to your chest, your forehead, slick with sweat, dropping against your knee. He had been dismissive when you first told him about the nightmare plaguing your sleep, insisting that it was nothing but the effect of the Empire tightening its noose around the Galaxy. You had taken his words for it, until it started feeling too real even in your dreams. It was always the same thing. A memory, or something like it. You knew every detail before it happened, but it never felt like it was truly yours. A premonition maybe, the Force warning you about the looming danger of the Inquisitors and the Sith Lords hunting down rogue Jedi.

A chill breezed through with the wind, sweeping the mist away from the surface of the pond. It was black and unmoving— like a mirror in the dead of night. Your breath steadied slowly as you stared, the pond bringing your mind into an anchored calmness. Your shoulders dropped against the bark. The sensation of fear had dwindled down to a slight tingle in your fingertips, not strong enough to overcome your senses again, but enough to know it was there.

Your eyes remained on the water— unmoving and calm. The quiet whistling of the wind and chirp of the insects casting a peacefulness over you. You sighed, closing your eyes.

Then, you felt it again.

That flash of dread.

The mist thickened around you and you stood up abruptly. You looked down at your feet, eyes searching for your empty basket, only for your vision to be wholly overcome by the fog. It embraced everything in its wake, the taller brush, the trees, the dangling leaves and the alcove until all you could see was the faint outline of a man with golden eyes standing at the edge of the clearing. The ends of his dark brown Jedi robes remained still, even as the wind picked up harshly.

The stench of the dark side filled the once peaceful forest. You felt the hate, the suffering and the pain burst through every inch of your being.

You backed away slowly, holding your breath in fear of being spotted. A heaviness settled over you, smothering down the light of the Force. You fought against it, mind and soul pushing through the dark for a ray of sunlight, but you couldn’t, not when the sensations running through you threatened to drown you in an endless void. The Force had slipped from your grasp, and you could barely feel the weed inches from your feet or the basket sitting on the moss. Being cut off from the Force felt like being blindfolded, gagged and deafened all at once.

Your hands trembled without permission. The silence around you wasn’t quiet anymore; it buzzed, loud and sharp. Blood rushed to your ears and tears swelled in your eyes as you felt the emptiness of the Force. The pressure of the unseen tightened around you with every breath you held too long. You felt trapped, unable to do anything but feel the weight of pure anger rolling off in waves. The figure shifted in the haze and you stumbled back, feet knocking over the basket and sending you down harshly.

The cold seeped through your clothes as the pond wrapped its arms tightly around you. The smooth surface broke into ripples and splashes, The dim sunlight shining through the canopy shied away as a long sinister shadow fell onto the surface. You struggled against the invisible hold keeping you down, hands reaching for your lightsaber in panic, only to realise you had left it back home, tucked safely away under your pillow. You’d never needed it out, until now.

Black spots blinded your vision, and in a last attempt to save yourself, you reached out, hand stretching towards the surface, fingertips peeking out of the water.

The figure moved again.

A bright blue hue filled your vision.

You closed your eyes, peace surging through you before you took your last breath weakly.

You came to slowly, as if rising through layers of thick fog. The first thing you felt was cold— water clinging to your skin, your soaked clothes weighing you down, heavy and still. The surface above you rippled light, white, nothing like the blue that haunted you instants ago. For a moment you weren’t sure which way was up, then instinct took over. You kicked, breaking through the surface with a gasp that burned your lungs.

The pond was quiet. No sound but your own ragged breath and the distant rustle of trees.

No buzz of a lightsaber or squelch of heavy steps on the mud.

The heavy mist had gone, covering only inches above the ground. Limbs trembling, you clawed your way toward the bank. Your hands sank into the soft earth as you dragged yourself out, coughing, spitting water, the chill sinking deep into your bones. You laid there for a moment, half in, half out of the water, chest heaving— trying to remember how you had gotten here. Your eyes stung from the water and you blinked, tears running down your blood drained cheeks.

It wasn’t real, you forced yourself to say.

Just a fragment of your imagination playing a cruel trick on you.

A sob racked your chest before you could pull yourself fully out of the pond.

It was him, the same man with the golden eyes.

Except you were no longer in there.

There was no arched granite ceiling of a medbay or the sterile scent of a bacta tank.

He had come to you this time. In the forest. In Eredeen Prime. In your home.

Something was coming, you felt it. Something dark and inevitable.

You walked back home, arms crossed against your chest as you tried warming yourself up. The ends of your cloak dragged heavily across the ground, catching rocks and dust and mud as it dripped water all over. You followed the only path across the field, worn out by your boots from years of cutting through the tall grass instead of going around. You didn’t stay long after you finally had the strength to pull yourself out of the pond with trembling limbs and swollen eyes. The forest hadn’t changed, it still radiated calmness, but something in you had. Your hidden spot was now tainted with the memory of terror, and your conscience diseased with the fact that the Empire wouldn’t have to look too far to find you hiding in plain sight.

A biting cold whispered by, yet you didn’t shiver or pull your cloak tighter around you. The thought of your Master ending up in the hands of the Empire was chilling enough for the breeze to go unnoticed. He had given everything to protect you for as long as he could, ever since the day you were born, the day the old Jedi Order fell into the darkness. You knew he wasn’t the only one to have survived the Jedi Purge, you’ve heard whispers of others, mostly ones aiding the rebel cells to wreck havoc on the Empire. You remember asking him once, where was it you stood in all of this.

Our path leads us elsewhere, he had said.

You thought it cowardly of him to let others sacrifice everything and do nothing in return.

But now, you understood partly. Perhaps what you were meant to do was preserve the ways of the Jedi, passing them along so that they never died out despite all the efforts of the Empire.
Sometimes, less was more.

But that didn’t change the fact that danger was looming too close for your comfort.

The hut was only a few feet away by the time the sun had set. The sky had darkened quickly and the mountains shielded the path from the starlight. You took your wet clothes off, leaving only your inner tunic and pants as you hung them from the clothing line to dry. The smoke swirling from the chimney had you silently cursing under your breath.

“Sorry, I’m late,” you chirped, as you entered the threshold.

Your Master looked up from the cauldron hanging above the fire, eyes dropping from your form to the empty basket by your side. He nodded in greeting as he got up from beside the fireplace.

“Something happened?” He raised an eyebrow and you shrugged.

“Just clumsy. The fog was thicker than usual.” He didn’t say anything. Just nodded again and told you to set the table.

Dinner was a quiet affair. You stirred your stew around, stomach turning at the reflection of the fire burning on the surface. Your Master, if he noticed your quietness, didn’t say anything.

“Why would the Empire want a census here?” you mumbled, peeking through your lashes to observe your Master. He stilled, fingers tightening around his spoon.

“Could be the Watchtower or nothing at all. You don’t have to worry about that, just your studies.” The Watchtower was last used by the Galactic Republic during the Clone Wars. Almost a decade earlier, it was used by some rebel cells before they were wiped out when the now abandoned Kyril Spur trade route was still in use. But now it was just the mating and nesting ground of the giant Fish-catching birds unique to the mid-rim planet.

“I know, it just doesn’t make sense. I thought they already laid it off as a waste of resources.” The patient man exhaled lightly through his nose. Your anxiety bled into his signature, and he softened his gaze.

“We’re going to be fine.” He reached his hand across the table, and you obeyed, clasping your hand in his. He smiled, strained but comforting as he gently stroked your fingers in reassurance.

“What if they’re checking visas?”

“They won’t,” he whispered confidently. The look in his eyes conflicted with the tone of his voice. You swallowed, nodding before returning your gaze to your bowl. Movement in the corner of your eyes broke you out of your stupor.

He gently twisted your padawan braid between his fingers.

“You will be ready soon,” he said, dropping the braid back to where it sat against your neck. You looked back, surprise and shock painting your face, “I’m lucky to have such a dedicated student as my first. All my years as a Jedi have only been as a scholar or a temple guard but I suppose, desperate times call for desperate measures.”

“ I'm lucky to have you as my Master. I wouldn’t be here without you,” you said, eyes stinging.

“Your mother would be proud.” Your heart clenched but you smiled weakly, grateful for the people who had sacrificed everything so you escaped alive and unscathed.