And so the training period came to an end.
Two years in the company of a Noghri flew by, not quickly, but eventfully.
I won’t lie to myself that at first Irbis and I were ready to kill each other.
But now…
after all this time, I see him if not as a teacher, then as a good acquaintance.
Maybe even a friend.
Who showed and taught me a lot, despite all the difficulties I diligently provided him with.
Passing the wanderer exam wasn’t difficult for me.
Since Irbis was primarily a humanities scholar, the examining commission — consisting of one Temple Master and a couple of masters in his field — grilled me thoroughly.
Maybe not brilliantly, but the exam was passed, the qualification accepted, the status granted, and essentially, I was no longer Irbis’s student.
During the exam itself, this Noghri almost wiped away a sentimental tear when I answered the questions.
Well, yes, he remembers what we had to go through for me to learn it.
But still, he earned my respect — a very stubborn and, frankly, smart man who just got unlucky with a student.
Hmm…
I’m being too self-critical, but what can I do, I don’t consider myself anywhere near an ideal.
And now, when everything was settled, when he got a couple of days off to rest at the Qigong Kesh temple, and I gained independence, we could stand peacefully on one of the temple’s balconies and look out at the Silent Desert stretching into the distance.
An invisible barrier separated us from it, and it also dampened the excessive Force manifestations of the academy students, to reduce the impact on Tython.
“Well, Irbis…
the time has come for us to part ways.
You know, two years ago when I looked forward to this day, I not only thought about how far away it was, I practically prayed for it to come faster.” “Yes…
me too,” the Noghri chuckled mirthlessly.
“But you know, I’m still glad the Force brought us together.” “Uh-huh.
Sorry I punched you in the face back then?” “What do I hear?” the Noghri recoiled, eyes wide, clutching one of his hearts.
“Say that again, please, I must have misheard!” “Yes, you misheard.
I didn’t apologize; you imagined it.” “Heh.
Good thing I imagined it; I was getting worried about you for a second.
What will you do now?” “Wait for my friends.
We agreed that when we finish our training with the masters, we’d meet here and set off on the pilgrimage together.
It’s safer and more fun.” “Yes…
it’s always more fun with friends,” Irbis smiled at something of his own.
“I remember how my team and I went to the temples in our youth.
There were three of us then.
How many of you?” “Me, Ves, Gris, Ramira, Zeng, and Feng.” “I remember we crossed paths with a Twi’lek a year ago…
what was his name…” “Baal.” “That’s right, Baal!
Wasn’t he your friend?
It seemed to me you were on excellent terms.” “He died.
His ship crashed with his teacher.” “Oh…” The Noghri next to me flared with shame and sympathy.
“Sorry, I didn’t know.” “Unfortunately, he wasn’t the only one who died in these two years.
Lina, our Miraluka and the voice of reason for our battered group, also joined the Force.
I heard from the guys that they died here, on Tython.
Some of our group left this path; others couldn’t handle it and fell to one side of the Force and are now on one of the moons,” I looked up at the sky.
“In short…
everyone who’s left from my group will be here.” “I…” the Noghri wanted to say something but didn’t.
He just put a hand on my shoulder.
“It’s okay, Irbis.” “You’re not upset?” the teach…
Master Irbis was surprised.
“Of course I am.
Moreover, it hurts just to think about it.
But…
I understand what world we live in.
I understand how dangerous it is here.
And that this will happen to all of us.
Besides, my mother always told me that Je’daii don’t die.
We join the Force.
And that we can always ask for help from the friends who have left us.
I don’t know, I can’t say if it’s true or not, I don’t even want to find out.
But I just believe it, Irbis.
Simply because I want to believe that somewhere out there, my friend has found peace in the Force.” “Well, I can say with certainty that yes.
It’s true.
Je’daii really do join the Force, Shade.
But…” I looked at Irbis.
“Ahem.
Yes…
I’ll keep quiet, I think.” We stand, silent, looking at Ashla.
It’s hard to miss the large dark spot in the sky.
Bogan is somewhere out there, beyond the horizon.
“Shade.” “M?” “…Thank you.” “For what?” “For making me think.
And…
for your point of view.” “Don’t mention it.
That’s what friends are for, right?” “Friends,” Irbis seemed to savor the word.
Then a smile appeared on his face, even if a little sad.
“Friends.
Heh.
Who would have thought I’d call a Human friend…
But the Force is full of mysteries.” “But I still reserve the right to punch you in the face if you become unbearable again, Master.” “Get lost, you impudent brat.” “I’m proud I ended up with you — proud that I was able to give you something.
I know hard trials lie ahead.
That’s just a fact, and each one will be harder than the last.
I’ve meditated on this long enough.” “Irbis, you might know how to teach, but your pep talks need work.” “Heh, no.
What I mean is, along with those trials, you can expect new and amazing things too.
Your sword alone is worth something, if you manage to perfect it.
And I’ve seen that you will.
That’s just one example.” “If you’ve seen that much, is there anything else you can tell me?” “Alas, I can’t.
The visions are blurry and imprecise — I simply can’t convey them to you.” “A pity.
I wouldn’t mind taking a peek into the future.” “Heh-heh-heh, then you should head straight to the meditation temple,” Irbis laughed.
“And how long would that take?” “I’ve been learning it my whole life.
The result is before you.” “Oh…
no, I think I’ll stick to the old-fashioned way — play it by ear, so to speak.” “Heh-heh-heh-heh…” * * * We stood there a little longer, then said our goodbyes.
We still have each other’s contacts, so we can stay in touch.
Now all that’s left is to wait for my people.
Whoosh!
— a sword flew over my head, and out of the shadows jumped none other than Master Bagi himself.
“Nice try, Master Bagi!” I snorted without even looking.
“I saw you come in.” “I don’t get it…
I refuse to understand — how do you do it?!
No one sees me, but you see…” “It’s a special trait of mine,” I grinned.
“What brings you here?” “I heard you’ll be staying at the temple for a while.” I nodded.
“Want to train?” “Oh!
I’m in.” Sitting alone at a table in the empty dining hall, idly stirring the contents of my mug, I wallowed in gloom.
Yeah…
waiting for the guys takes forever, and I’ve already worn out my beloved teachers.
Truly beloved — when they saw me, they practically slid down the wall, unable to believe their own luck and my return.
So I found myself something to do, just so I wouldn’t sit around idle.
Thanks to Master Bagi, by the way — since he trained at Stav Kesh, he knew how to fight pretty well.
A familiar echo in the Force pulled me from my lunch.
By habit, I constantly send out waves of the Force — unless I’m deliberately hiding — and I always try to monitor my surroundings.
During my time with Irbis, it had saved me more than once.
And now, I felt a familiar response.
Actually, three responses.
“AERO-O-O-O!” a roar thundered through the dining hall.
Turning around, I saw the twins and Ramira.
Standing there, smiling, looking at me.
“Training with a tracker-combat specialist definitely didn’t bring them inner peace,” I snorted to myself, watching my friends approach.
“Hey, guys,” I gave a slight bow.
“Come here, you little maniac,” Feng hugged me, then Zeng.
Yeah…
it had been a while since I’d seen them.
Both Zabrak had toughened up and each had acquired a fair share of scars.
Zeng had a massive gash across his whole cheek, while Feng had serious burn marks on his left arm.
And they were missing their horns.
“I’m glad to see you too, guys.
Ramira,” I was about to give a slight bow, but instead stepped forward and hugged her.
“Shade…” “Yes, yes, I already have a girlfriend, but I’m so happy to see you all!” I pulled back and looked at the three of them.
“So, tell me — how did you end up like this?” “Ah…” Feng waved dismissively.
“As usual, we went where the stars don’t shine,” Zeng added, sitting down at the table.
“Literally.” “And got what was coming.” “Thank Ramira,” Zeng said, putting an arm around her shoulders.
“Through a quiet arrangement with her and her teacher, she followed us like a shadow, so most of the injuries we got were patched up by her,” and the Zabrak kissed his beauty on the temple.
“Some of the scars annoy me,” Ramira clicked her tongue.
“It shows a lack of experience — they look ugly.
But it’s fine, we’ll fix them up at the healing temple with the Force.” “No, don’t,” Feng shook his head.
“They don’t bother me, and they look impressive.” “You could have told me the three of you were traveling together on the sly,” I snorted.
“Well, technically you’re not supposed to, but…” Feng paused meaningfully.
“But with your line of work, having a medic handy is essential,” I nodded.
“Shade.” “Yeah, Zeng?” “Remember that conversation?
When you…
showed us Ramira in a different light?” “I re-e-e-member,” I winked at the flustered girl.
Or was she a woman now?
“Thank you.
You were never more right than at that moment,” Zeng hugged Ramira tighter.
“Thank you.
And thank you, Rami.” “Oh please, who else would look after you?” Ramira rolled her eyes, blushing but pretending not to.
“Exactly my point,” Zeng kissed Ramira’s cheek again.
“By the way, Feng.
Where’s Ayana?
You two were a thing, weren’t you?” I looked at the Zabrak.
He darkened and lowered his eyes to the floor.
“She couldn’t handle it.
Lost her balance,” he began, putting a hand to the back of his neck.
“I don’t really know what happened, but something…
drove her mad and she attacked her teacher.” “They were on Tython, weren’t they?” Feng nodded.
“I’m sorry.” “Hey, Shade, where are the others?
Where’s Gris, Vess, Lina?” Ramira changed the subject cheerfully.
“Gris and Vess are still on their way.
Lina has become one with the Force.” “Oh…” “Anyone else from our group?” “Half of them.” We sat in silence, staring at the table.
The whole positive atmosphere from the reunion had crashed to zero.
“Sniff.” “Come on, Rami…” Zeng tried to comfort his close friend.
And right then, the forest ranger arrived and chased everyone off, in the form of the Temple Master of Qigong Kesh.
“Hey, you little ones!” a new voice rang out beside us.
“Why the long faces?!” We turned and saw Tsikuna.
“Master…” I smiled weakly.
“Right, you sit tight,” she looked at me, “and you — get ready!
You’re relaxing too early — in two hours, you’ll be tested for the rank of Wanderer.” “Eh-eh-eh…” “What are you still doing here?!” In an instant, all three jumped up and shot out of the dining hall to prepare for their exam.
“Yeah…
you sure know how to stir things up,” I smiled genuinely, watching my friends go.
Tsikuna, without any pretense, sat down at my table.
“Experience speaks.
But that’s not why I came…
The rest of your group arrives the day after tomorrow.
Gris and Vessira — Aala took him with her.” “And?” “I’m saying, when you set out, be careful.
You especially.
I understand your perspective on the Force, and I even approve of it to some extent.
But others will draw a hard line, so be cautious.” “I’ll remember.” “There.
That’s about business.
Now tell me about your adventures.” “What’s there to tell?
You already know everything from Irbis.” “He gave me the official version,” Tsikuna countered.
“I want to hear the real one.
Like, how did it happen that after your visit to Shikaakwa, an entire clan disappeared, while others started stirring?
Why did a city nearly collapse on Ska-Gora?
And how did it happen that on Nox, one of the leading companies offered the Je’daii Council a simply fantastic deal that was very, very beneficial to us?” “That’s all Irbis — he handled the negotiations!” I quickly deflected.
“Yes, and you stood right next to him and watched,” Tsikuna nodded, though her look was pure Stanislavski.
And even though I never saw him, I’d swear he looked exactly the same!
“Also, I really want to know what the two of you were doing on Krev-Ker that you even rented one of the ships for it.” “Eh-eh…” “What?
I gathered reports and intelligence.
Unfortunately, Irbis has already fled, but you’re still here.” “Damn…
Master, do we have to?” “What do you mean, ‘do we have to’?
Come on, to my office!” “Sigh…” Following Tsikuna to her room, I began my story.
I briefly described each episode as it really happened, not as Irbis had reported it upstairs — and by silent agreement, we were sticking to that official report.
Neither of us was sure the Council would take certain…
precedents of ours all that well.
I also had to tell her about the unplanned trip to Krev-Ker.
After I explained my idea for the lightsaber to Irbis, we sat down, thought it over, and concluded we needed more crystals.
And kyber crystals don’t exactly lie around on the ground, so we had to make a detour to where they grow and stock up for future experiments.
Now I carry not one but two crystals on me, constantly channeling the Force through them, essentially preparing them for future use.
Hearing about such interesting weapons, Tsikuna showed interest in them too, so I had to explain that project as well.
But when the interrogation was over, I was released and even promised help if needed — she said she’d arrange things with the master of the science temple.
So even if I get laughed at (which I’m leaning toward), it won’t stop me from bringing the project to life!
At least trying to.
Then, two days later, Mom arrived with Vess and Gris.
Before we could even properly exchange pleasantries, both of them were sent off to prepare for their exams.
While they were getting ready, I hung out with Mom, discussing my adventures and theirs.
We also had a few training sparring sessions, where I got my ass handed to me.
She looked at me reproachfully and told me I’d gotten rusty and even lost some of my form.
If Irbis had been here, he would’ve been over the moon, seeing my sad face lying on the floor.
So I had to stay for a few more days, during which I was run ragged.
Just to keep me from slacking off, just to get some of my form back.
One consolation — when I crawled back to my room, a relaxing massage, a cup of hot sweet vork, and a very, very pleasant company were waiting for me.
The only bad thing — Vess, who used to be self-conscious about getting tired quickly, still was, constantly glancing at me with a mix of guilt, embarrassment, shame, and suspicion.
Sigh…
no peace for the wicked, damn it.
But everything comes to an end, and so did my torment.
The guys finally pulled themselves together, said goodbye to their teachers, and now the road to Akar Kesh — the Temple of Meditation — awaited us.
It was the closest temple to us among all the others.
But before we set off, at Tsikuna’s suggestion, we had a small feast.
After all, it was a significant day.
We had come to this temple as Padawans, learned to wield the Force here, and now we were leaving its walls as Wanderers.
Master Garos even sincerely wished us good luck, even though he was usually the one yelling at us.
Mmm, at me in particular, but let’s not nitpick.
But Uval, the bastard, didn’t come — he said I’d be haunting his dreams soon enough.
The festive dinner itself, though loudly named, was actually quiet and peaceful with music and congratulations from the teachers.
Bagi told me in secret that at best two-thirds of students make it this far, sometimes only half.
Besides us, two other groups of Wanderers were setting out.
Well, well…
But the one who really got me was Tsikuna.
Just like everyone else.
She told us point-blank — if we feel like we can’t handle it, we shouldn’t keep taking risks, and better yet, just leave the Order.
At least we’d be alive and healthy.
For a Master, there’s no greater sorrow than burying your own students.
She really is a good woman, a very good one…
even if she can be harsh sometimes — I’ve experienced that firsthand when Uval ran out of ideas for punishing me — but her heart is kind.
The next day, we set off.
Fully equipped and ready for new prob— I mean adventures!
Yeah.
I had a light backpack with my belongings and supplies slung over my back, two swords at my belt, and a pistol on my hip.
“By the book,” we were all supposed to have firearms — if you built it yourself, great; if not, they’d issue one.
The point was, our personal teachers were supposed to teach us how to use them.
As it happened, I was the only one in our group who couldn’t shoot.
Given my profile, Irbis thought about everything except teaching me to use guns.
Mom missed that too — she relied more on the Force than on weapons.
So I still had to learn to shoot.
The others didn’t have that problem.
Even Ramira could aim and hit a small tossed stone from ten meters.
Gris had brought a firearm all the way from Ska-Gora.
Being a local law enforcement officer, they’d given him a bigger gun, though it was technically classified as a pistol.
For a Wookiee, it really was a pistol — but that thing fired with the power of an assault rifle.
And now we were walking through the desert, in a column of two.
Me and Vess at the front, Ramira and Zeng in the middle, Gris and Feng in the back.
The sun was blazing, not a breath of wind — we could have kicked the bucket right there, but thank the masters of the Qigong Kesh Temple for teaching us to create a microclimate around ourselves with the Force.
Sure, even with it we weren’t comfortable, but there’s a huge difference between “hot” and “we’re about to fry.” “Hey, Shade,” Feng called out.
“What?” “Where’s your cheerfulness?
Your optimism?
You used to never shut up in a situation like this.” “Heh.
You want cheerfulness?
Coming right up.
Ahem.
In the green of spring!
Beneath an old pine tree.
Vanusha parts with his beloved.
His chainmail rings, and gently he says, ‘Don’t cry, don’t cry, Marusya the beautiful!'” I sang at the top of my lungs, shattering the silence.
“Feng…
why did you have to open your mouth…” Vess’s ears flattened.
“Gra-a-a-ak.” “Hey, what’s wrong?
You’ve gotta admit — it’s more fun now!” “Ma-ru-sya!
She’s silent and crying…” “My ears are going to wilt, Shade, stop it,” she nudged me with her elbow.
“Heh-heh-heh, how about you then?” “Eh?” “Ves-si-ra!
Ves-si-ra!
Ves-si-ra!” I started chanting, earning approving nods from the others.
“Come on, join in!” I called back.
“Ves-si-ra!
Ves-si-ra!” the guys started cheering me on.
“R-r-ruga-r-r!” “Fine, fine, okay!” Vess gave in.
“Just you wait, Shade…
I’ll remember this.” “Remember away,” I nodded with a lecherous grin.
“I can hardly wait.” “I’ll remember it in your kidneys, smartass!” she gave me a light punch.
“Hmm…
no, not the kidneys — I’m afraid our medic won’t revive me,” I glanced at Ramira.
“And deservedly so,” she muttered, hiding a smile.
“A song…
well, I don’t even know.” “Any song.
Whatever you want.” “Well…
there’s one.
I used to hum it as a child.” “Let’s hear it.” “Alright.
Ahem.
As on a knife’s edge, you wander the path of the Force.
Balancing on the brink, you find meaning in the Force.
Light and Dark, they call to you, they follow like ghosts, but you will not give in, you are Je’daii.
And no matter how the dark tempts, no matter how the light entices, you will endure…” Vessira sang softly, her velvety, purring, enchanting voice.
I didn’t pass the baton to her for nothing — when she wanted to, she could charm with just her voice, without any Force.
And right now, singing about the Je’daii, about the path of the Force, she had captivated us.
All of us.
If you looked at the meaning, the song boiled down to the fact that Je’daii don’t write their own destiny.
The Force itself paves the way for them, and all we can do is follow that path to the very end.
The song had a sad ending, but a beautiful one.
The Je’daii mentioned in the song tried with all his might to change his fate, but he couldn’t.
What must happen will happen, and all we can do is prepare as best we can for the coming trial.
“Hey, Ves, do you know who wrote it?” Ramira asked.
“A Darion Ar’nakal.
He was a wanderer who graduated from the Temple of Arts.
A good Talid — fate tossed him from one extreme to another, but he managed to maintain balance and became one of the most respected Je’daii when he joined the Force.” “Ur gr-r-ra argu-r-i-i.” “Oh!
So you’ve heard his other works?” The Wookiee nodded.
“Interesting.
Shade, what about you?” “I know who you’re talking about, and I’ve heard his compositions too.
I wouldn’t say I really liked them, but…
they’re good.
Just good.” “What do you listen to yourself?
Besides what you come up with,” I raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, I recorded some of your ‘compositions’ on purpose, but I never found them anywhere.” “Oh…
well, I didn’t come up with them — it’s just, so to speak, unadvertised creativity.” “Is that so?” “Something like that.
As for well-known compositions, I like ‘The Immortals in the Force.'” “O-o-oh!” Alas, our conversation was interrupted by sand erupting and flint-lizards emerging from it.
“Sigh…
I’d almost forgotten how much I missed you guys,” I sighed, drawing my swords.
“Musical interlude postponed indefinitely,” Vess added, her eyes darting from one enemy to another.
“What’s the plan?” “Gris,” I called to the Wookiee, who had already bared his axe.
“Distract them,” I got a nod.
“Zeng, Feng, work the flanks.
Pick a target, hit it from the side, then the next one.
Vess, cover Ramira.
I’ll draw the main force.
Work carefully — the last thing we need is to start some kind of storm here for full entertainment.” Everyone silently agreed, and we split up.
Hitting a few flint-lizards, I drew their attention and just led them around while Gris pulled them out one by one and the Bazex brothers chopped them up.
In the end, seven flint-lizards were taken down in mere minutes of coordinated teamwork.
Before, we would have had to run from them…
I caught myself thinking that in this fight, I hadn’t really swung my sword much — unless you counted light taps on the monsters to keep them focused on me.
Vess and Ramira hadn’t joined the fight either, and Gris with the twins looked like kids taking a stroll through the park.
After dealing with the threat, we continued on our way.
Joking with each other, trading quips, showing off tricks we’d learned from our personal instructors.
Vess, honestly, showed me nothing new — more than that, everything she demonstrated to our friends, I’d learned when I was ten.
On the other hand, you couldn’t really compare us — I’d spent so much time with Mom, being homeschooled, while she only had two years, and most of that time they’d been on the road.
My situation was funnier.
Since I hadn’t learned any special techniques with Irbis, I had nothing to show off that would get a “Woooow.” Not like I was going to recount that mountain of paperwork that pacifist had made me study.
But then the twins came to my rescue.
“So that’s why you’re so calm!” Zeng jumped.
“Now it all makes sense,” Feng added.
Apparently, this pair had been racking their brains for days over why I was so quiet.
As Ramira admitted, I had changed even more than they had.
Intrigued, I started pressing my friends and learned a lot about myself.
It turned out that who I was before and who I’d become now were two similar but different Togruta.
I’d become sharper-tongued, more restrained, more cunning.
Where before I preferred to barrel straight through, now I’d cooled down and used my head more.
And in general, I had noticeably fewer sudden freak-outs.
I was actually a bit thrown by these assessments…
Apparently Irbis’s influence had been far greater than I’d imagined.
Or maybe it was the lack of training?
While I was flying with him, I hardly learned any new Force techniques — and what I did learn, I immediately adapted to my own use without trying to copy them exactly.
On that note, we shifted from personal topics to general ones and started listing how everyone had changed over the past two years.
Ramira, for example, had become more confident and serious.
Unlike her previous self, she could make responsible decisions in seconds.
A bunch of crazy invalids…
“A glance at the twins” …who stick their noses where they don’t belong, encourage that kind of practice.
Vess had become craftier and bolder, and a bit sharper — it’s easy to see her mother’s influence.
Gris stayed himself, with the caveat that he’d started taking an interest in machinery.
Apparently, our Wookiee had built his own weapon.
I wonder, is the attraction to mechanisms in these fluffy guys’ blood, or what?
The twins had changed too.
Their self-preservation instinct had atrophied as a given, which showed as a slight touch of madness.
Even the most dangerous adventure didn’t scare them — on the contrary, it attracted them — and the funniest part was that they still maintained their balance.
If I could give out medals for composure, I’d award one to both of them.
They walk on thin ice, those devils…
horned ones.
Lost in these thoughts and conversations, we finally reached Akar Kesh, the Temple of Meditation.
A couple of times, of course, we had to deal with Tython’s “lovely” fauna, but nothing serious.
Akar Kesh itself stood at the junction of the desert and Tython’s sparse forests.
Right next to it, along the border, ran a small stream.
From the outside, the temple was a ring of tall triangular structures, built in a circle with their points toward the center, like a pizza.
And in the center was a weak source of the Force, visible to the naked eye.
A small, perfectly round lake, from whose bottom came a dim greenish glow.
Since we were on a small hill, we could see the academy very well from the outside.
And right above it, the Tho Yor was levitating.
“Well?
Welcome to Akar Kesh,” I snorted.
“Come on, let’s see what’s inside.”
It all helps promote the story.