sparky // a padawan story

chapter 40. the gathering.

"This is exciting!" Ahsoka mutters to me as some of the younglings run towards us and R2 on our ship. "We actually get to take them to the Gathering!"
"I guess," I sigh. "Though I'm still not fond of that kriffing cold cave."
"It's not like we're going in, we're just taking them. And I think you need this, Arlo. You've still got a lot you're thinking about, even if you say you don't. We'll have fun. Hurry, younglings!" They stop in front of us before the entrance. I've met all six of the younglings we're taking before, they like to listen to the stories I tell them. Though I haven't really gotten as many chances as I used to. This war continues to rage on, and my service is needed more and more often. There's Petro, human; Katooni, Tholothian; Byph, Ithorian; Ganodi, Rodian; Zatt, Nautolan; and Gungi, Wookie. I've always been fond of the group of friends, and I'm glad they get to do this together. Ahsoka begins a small speech. "You have proven to be the top of your class. And so now is the time of the Gathering. For a Jedi, there is no greater challenge of honor."
Gungi growls something while Petro speaks up. "What is the Gathering, Padawan Tano?"
Ahsoka smiles softly. "Petro, Ganodi, Byph, Katooni, Zatt, and Gungi, the time has come for you to build your own lightsabers." She holds out one of their own for them to see as they cheer.
"I knew it!"
"That's so wizard!"
"Woah!"
"I knew it!"
"Be warned: this is no simple task, and many perils lie ahead of you. Where we are going, there is no place more sacred to the Jedi," Ahsoka says as she crouches to the younglings' level.
"Should we be on our way, then?" I ask them. They cheer as the follow Ahsoka, R2, and I into the ship.
—
I put on a thick, fuzzy winter coat, and a hat with a fuzzy pompom on the top of it as we approach the atmosphere of Ilum. I sit against the wall as I slip on some mittens. Katooni fluffs the fuzzy pompom on my hat with a giggle before she grabs her own coat and slips it on.
"Are you excited?" I ask her.
"Yes! You don't seem very happy to be here, though."
"Don't worry about me. I'm excited for you all. I know all of you have been looking forward to this since I met you. But I'm definitely not looking forward to the snow." She giggles again as the other younglings and Ahsoka come over and put their coats on as I stand up. Ahsoka, R2, and I lead the exited kids onto the freezing surface, where a constant blizzard flurries harshly around us. I shiver constantly as we walk a little ways towards where the cave is supposed to be, hidden by a large cliff of frozen rock towering above us. Ahsoka bends down and wipes some of the snow off of the symbol on the ground in front of the entrance.
"It's a dead end," Petro says.
Ahsoka stands and turns to the kids. "Younglings, outstretch your hands and focus on the Force. Together, and only together, can we enter." Ahsoka and I turn away from them and reach out hands out to the rock. The younglings do the same. I take a deep breath and feel the Force run through my veins. I can always feel it in me, but in moments like these, where it's all I focus on, I feel calm. An unusual calm. One of the few times that I ever feel at ease these days. The Forcw flows through me like an easy river— but when I get worked up, it's wavy, rough, and drowns everything in its path. Ice begins to fall off the wall as the entrance to to crystal cave begins to open. We smile back at the younglings. "Now hurry," Ahsoka says, "the sun has already risen, and we must begin. We walk into the sacred space. Our footsteps echo as we walk towards Master Yoda, who already sat meditating and waiting for us. Statues of the first Jedi line the walls and surround the temple insides. The frozen waterfall towers before us as we approach the center. "Master Yoda."
Yoda looks up at the younglings as Ahsoka and I stand beside him, and he begins to speak to them. "The Force made physical, a Jedi is. Comes great responsibility with that, yes?" The younglings nod at the Grand Master's words. He stands up on the rock he was sitting on. "Protect others, how does a Jedi, hm?" He pulls out his lightsaber with the Force and ignites it in front of the kids, spinning it in front of them slowly with his mind. They let out their oohs and ahhs. "Build your own lightsaber, you shall. But first, harvest your crystal, each one of you must." I chuckle softly as Petro and Zatt quietly bicker over 'who told who'. Yoda turns off his saber and pulls in back to his hand with the Force and puts it away. "The heart of the lightsaber, the crystal is. Focuses the Force from the Jedi, it does." He uses to Force and opens a door above, and a bright yellow light shines into the larger room. He spins the crystal ceiling fixture around, and it shoots a beam of sunlight onto a smaller crystal, and to the frozen water fall. The water rushes down and around the center circle as it melts, and the true entrance to the cave is revealed. "If Jedi, you are to become, enter the crystal cave, you must. Trust yourself, trust each other, and succeed, you will." The younglings walk up a short set of stairs to the cave entrance, while Yoda, Ahsoka and I stand below.
"Once you have found your crystal, do not remain inside. As daylight ends, the door will freeze over again, and you will be trapped," Ahsoka tells them.
"For how long?" Ganodi asks.
"For one rotation," Ahsoka answers. "There will be nothing anyone can do for you."
"How will we know which crystal to pick?" Petro questions.
"Only you can know which one is yours. Now hurry," Ahsoka tells them. They turn and start into the cave as the ice begins to creep down slowly from the top of the arched entrance.
Yoda turns to us. "Thank you, for bringing them."
"You're welcome, Master Yoda," Ahsoka says.
"But not the only reason, the Gathering is, for bringing you here, young Arlo."
My brows scrunch in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Reflect, you need to."
Ahsoka smirks. "I told you so."
"Over the entrance, keep watch, Padawan Tano."
"Yes, Master."
"Come, Arlo." He begins to hobble back towards the center. I hesitantly follow behind him. "Good place to meditate, this temple is. Endlessly, the Force flows through it."
"Yes. It flows through it, kinda like the water around us."
"And how it also flows through you, it is. Come, sit on the rock." I put my hand on the side of the rock, but I don't hop on. "Trust me, you can."
"But can I?"
"Come to find that out, you will."
I sigh, realizing he's right, and climb up on the rock. I sit crisscross and look back down at him. "Now what?"
"Reflect, as I said. Your first visit to Ilum, I wish you to recall."
"...Okay?" I rest my hands on my knees and close my eyes. I feel myself... travel? But I stay in the same place.
"Enter, you may."
I look back over to the cave entrance and see a group of six younglings walk carefully in. One of which has a light grey tunic on and hair in a dirty blonde ponytail. That's... me. I get up off the stone and rush after the kids inside. Little me is in the back of the group. We stop at an intersection and the other five turn to me.
"We should all split up," one of them says.
"I don't know. Master Yoda said we should work together," little me replies.
"But if we all stay together, none of us will get out!"
"I guess you're right," I say.
"Alright, you go that way, the rest of us will go this way."
"But I thought—?" The other five walk away, giggling and whispering, leaving little me alone in the intersection. I watch my brows furrow in anger as I storm the other way, talking to myself. "Master Yoda said to trust each other. And myself. But how do I trust myself if even they can't trust me?" I look at younger me in sympathy. If only she knew that wouldn't be the last time...
I walk up to a dead end and look down to a small, frozen-over stream. There's a small gleaming light on a rock in the middle of it. That's it. That's my crystal. But how do I get down? I look for something I could fashion a rope or ladder from, but there's nothing. I can't even climb down the wall. I turn back around and look around the area, looking through other halls and passageways for another way down, but there is none. I make my way back to the dead end and look back down. The crystal is still there. The only way I could possibly get down is my jumping. But I can't do that.
"Arlo!" one of the younglings that came calls over. "What are you doing?"
"My crystal, it's down there, and there's no way to get to it unless I—!"
"Jump? You're crazy. There's no way you can do that."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're not good enough to be able to pull that off, don't be stupid—"
"Yeah? Watch me, then." I jump off of the cliff and down towards the frozen stream, flailing in the air before I realize that I actually have to catch myself. I use the Force to barely land on my feet.
"Good luck getting back up!" the youngling yells down at me, walking away. I watch as I carefully walk across the ice and grab my crystal. I then look back up from where I jumped. I can't get back up. I look at both ends of the stream. They both go on for what seems like forever. I trusted myself enough to get down here safely, but how can I get out?
I look over to the rock I found my crystal on, and an idea comes to mind. I pick it up with the Force and throw it at the cliff, knocking off chunks of rock down to the ground. I take a deep breath and lift the rocks with my mind, creating stepping stones for me to get back up. I observe younger me trying to focus on keeping the rocks afloat while balancing on the rocks, stumbling multiple times along the way. I see myself slip on an icy rock as I near the top of my makeshift stairs that begin to fall. I shut my eyes as I stop their fall, while in the meantime trying to make sure the rock I held on to didn't fall, and I didn't slip from the rock. I take deep breaths.
"Trust in yourself. Trust in the Force," I say to myself. "The Force flows through me, because I am one with the Force, the Force is with me, and the Force is my friend. It flows... like..." I open my eyes when I hear rushing water and see the stones realigned in their path. I look down and see the frozen stream has turned to water, and it rushes like a river.
I open my eyes and, like in the... vision? Flashback? See the water rushing around me.
"What was the purpose of that?" I ask Master Yoda.
"Learned to trust and believe in yourself, that day, you did. Correct?"
"Yes."
"Said you couldn't jump, the other youngling did, yes?" I nod. "Believe her, you did not."
"All do respect, Master, but you're making absolutely zero sense right now."
"Confided in me, your master has. Conflicted, you are, on what you believe. Hear this often, you do, but Qui-Gon Jinn, you remind me of. A curious mind, you have."
"What does he have to do with me coming here?"
"Just because one says something, does not mean we must believe it. As showed in the cave, you did, all those years ago. Believe everything I say, you do not have to, because all you need is to trust the Force and yourself. Guide your way, the Force will. Brought you here, I did, as a reminder. A reminder to trust your instinct. If tells you to go, it does, then go, and follow your own path. But if tells you to stay, it does, then stay and become the great Jedi the Council and I know you may be."
"He told you I wanted to leave?"
"Yes. But tell me that, he did not have to, because already knew, I did. Shattered, I know, your faith in us is, but restore your trust in us, I hope this does."
"...Master Yoda, is it possible to talk to someone from the grave?" I suddenly ask.
"What do you mean, Padawan?"
"You mentioned Qui-Gon... and, well, when I thought Obi-Wan was dead, I... oh, who am I kidding? It was probably a dream, my imagination."
"Trust me, you can, Padawan Arlo."
I hesitate, but sigh. "You're right. I think I can. It's just... I could've sworn I spoke to Qui-Gon during that time. A few times, actually. But it probably wasn't real. Probably just... guilt. Or grief."
"Heard from him since then, have you?"
"No, Master."
"Then you are most likely correct."
"Very well." I hop off of the rock. "Thank you, Master Yoda. You were right about this."
"Here to help, I am, Padawan."
—
"Looks like I'm the first back with my crystal." We turn from below the steps into the cave to see Petro jogging towards us. He smirks. "That wasn't so hard."
"And the others?" Yoda asks.
He shrugs. "Who knows? I didn't want to gloat, since I found mine so quickly." Ahsoka, Master Yoda, and I all share a look. There's no way he found it that quickly. I was the first one out of the cave in my group, but even I wasn't that fast.
"Show us," Ahsoka tells him. He pulls a crystal from his pocket and holds it out on the palm of his hand, but it melts away. It was a piece of ice. His face falls.
"A crystal, you have found. Water, you have brought," Master Yoda says with a chuckle as he points to Petro's hand with his cane.
"But that's impossible! It was my crystal, I was sure of it!"
"Mm. So certain, were you. Go back, and closer, you must look."
"But the door is already half closed."
"Then you better hurry," Ahsoka tells him. Petro turns and runs back into the cave.
—
One by one, the younglings begin to trickle out. I kneel to the ground as Zatt shows me and Ahsoka his crystal.
"It's so cool!" he exclaims.
I stand up from my knees. "It is. Good job, Zatt, you did well," I say. We all hear a happy growl from Gungi as he rushes out of the cave and holds up his crystal.
"Well done, Gungi," Ahsoka says to the young wookie. "But two still remain." Gungi looks at the door and vocalizes sadly when he sees that the ice door is nearly closed. Master Yoda closes his eyes and focuses, concentrated.
"Will they make it, Master?" Zatt asks.
"We should help them!" Ganodi says as she starts to walk back towards the cave.
Master Yoda holds out his cane to stop her. "Left the cave, you have. Help them, you will not." Ganodi sighs and walks over to me.
"They'll be okay, Ganodi," I assure her as I pat her shoulder. Suddenly, Katooni slides out from under the ice just as it shuts.
She runs to us, panicked. "I have my crystal, but Petro is still inside!"
"Give up on your friend, do not," Master Yoda tells her. The younglings look sadly at the door as I turn to Ahsoka.
"I bet you he's out within 5 minutes," I say to her through the Force.
"Really? I was thinking 10," Ahsoka responds.
"Less than that, it will take," Yoda suddenly says.
"Master Yoda, how—?" Ahsoka starts. The two of us share a look. How'd he know we were talking? No one else can ever hear when we talk through the Force.
"Out in less than a minute, Petro will be," he tells us.
"Okay then, I'll count," I say as I begin to count in my head. Lo and behold, exactly 47 seconds later, Petro breaks through the ice door with a yell. He holds up his crystal to show us, and the younglings cheer excitedly.
Yoda chuckles. "Win anything, do I?" Ahsoka and I giggle at his joke.
"How did he break the ice?" Ganodi questions.
"Only water made solid, was the door. Easy to break, if you have the will," he says with a short chuckle.
"You... You said we would be trapped!" Katooni says, confused.
"Not by the cave, you were, but by your mind," Master Yoda tells her. "Lessons, you have learned." He looks at Byph first. "Find courage, you did. Hope," he says next as he looks to Ganodi, then next, Gungi. "Patience." Then he looks at Zatt. "Trust," he says, then lastly turns to Katooni and Petro. "Confidence... and selflessness. Yes?" He pauses as they reflect for a moment. "Take your crystals back to the temple, and keep them safe, Young Jedi." Ahsoka and I share a smile as the group of friends cheer happily.
—
oops, this is a short chapter, and it's not the best, but at least it's something, ya know? anyways, the rest of the chapters i have planned out for this part are all gonna be exciting and i'm so freakin excited to write them.
thanks for reading! -a 🪐