Reminiscence: A Star Wars Fanfic

Chapter 11

"With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity."
—Mark Twain

I found that, for many days after, my training routine was the same. After breakfast, I would meet Master Gi at or near the Sentinel House. While the first day was the hardest, there were days that were worse than others.

The 5 kilometer run every morning sent my untrained lungs into overdrive. Then, as I was handed a stick and told to memorize form after form of lightsaber combat, my arms quickly tired from holding the heavy wooden beam.

Then Master Gi would permit me a few minutes for a meal after a few hours of practice. I would go eat in the recreational room in the Sentinel House, where some of the off-duty Sentinels would greet me and treat me like one of there own despite my age and special sect of Jedi. They would tell stories and I would listen excitedly about their adventures around the galaxy.

They taught me how to move objects with the Force like they were specks of dust. One of them could speak some Huttese, and he helped me with my Basic. They also knew some GSL basics and were happy to teach me so I could communicate better with Yovan.

Master Gi then took me out to the cliffs, simultaneously teaching me how to drive a speeder. She would teach me to meditate for hours. At first, it was difficult. Then, I could hear and feel the lives of billions of trillions of life forms across the galaxy and beyond.

After I had learned, hours could slip past and I would never have known unless Master Gi had not woken me up from my ignorant bliss.

Then, I would return to the mess hall in the Temple, telling everyone about the Basic I had picked up on and trying my best to sign everything as well.

I became more comfortable with the other Padawans every day. They had accepted me into their circles very quickly, making sure they included me in everything they could. Every once in a while, they would take me other places in the Temple.

Niern once took me to the roof, where we could barely breathe, but the view of the stars was just that breathtaking.

Nysa and I would have one-on-one conversations in her room to help me with my Basic, which I did learn very quickly.

Lorna was surprisingly good at doing my hair for me. After I had taken a shower, she would show up to my room, which was right down the hall, and ask if she could try some intricate braid or something of the sort.

I would almost always spar with Chinelo, who was the best with a lightsaber out of all of us.

Surprisingly, after I could finally understand enough GSL, Yovan became one of the most fun people to talk (or sign) to. Apparently, he was into a lot of literature. After a lot of nagging, he got me to read one of his favorite books, The Remarkable Grosli. It quickly became one of my favorite books, as well.

I saw very little of the other three original Padawans. They were completing trials to get accepted by masters.

After a very long, very confused conversation with  my limited Basic knowledge, I found out that the Jedi definition of 'padawan' was different than the Dark Jedi definition of 'Padawan'. For Jedi, the term meant a Jedi who was studying under a master, but, for Dark Jedi, it meant anyone who had not completed their trails to be a Dark Jedi Knight.