WotH-2 Chpt 12

==War on the Horizon - Chapter 12 / Book 2==
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===Facing Upcoming Uncertainties===
Date: June 17th, 3017/ 25.06.7956CRC (Coruscant Reckoning Calendar)Location: Coruscant, Galactic Republic
If she were returning for her usual duties, Siri would have had the ship she'd taken to Coruscant drop her off at one of the many docks used for Jedi Knights returning from missions. But this was not an ordinary day for her, and Siri walked up the stairs of the Temple the slow way, once again taking in the breathtaking view of where she'd spent her childhood.
 
She reached the top and turned around. The 'surface' of Coruscant was visible, the glorious buildings and plateaus around her shining as if to say goodbye for the last time. And as the local star began to set on the Temple, she turned to enter.
 
"Master," Ferus Olin, her Padawan-Learner, smiled once he saw her. "I was worried that you wouldn't make it in time."
 
"I wanted to see the temple from a different perspective," Siri replied, a smile gracing her face as she embraced Ferus. "I am glad that you passed the Trials. And I am even more grateful that I will be present for your ceremony."
 
"I'm still not sure I'm ready," he shook his head as the two began descending into the Temple and Coruscant depths. "There's so much that I have yet to learn."
 
"Which is the case for all of us," Siri replied. "The Trials for Knighthood are not because you have learned everything there is to learn. Nor are they the final things that you should learn. Instead, they merely prove that you are capable of learning for yourself. That you are willing to develop more skills and that you have learned how to judge some things for yourself."
 
"Running missions without you felt… Wrong," Ferus sighed.
 
"It always does when you first separate from your Master," Siri paused in her stride. "Something I have realized of late, that we do not truly discuss within the Order itself. Is that for all that we preach of separation, of detachment, we do not practice it as many think we do."
 
Siri stopped speaking as she searched for the right words to say.
 
"When we are in our creches, we are as siblings to one another, each Clan a family, with those in charge of our Creches filling the parental roles needed for children. Then, as we mature and graduate into apprenticeships or the Agricorps, Explorer Corps, or many other avenues available to us as Jedi, that parental role is filled by those who step in and begin to guide us on our path to Knighthood. This is exemplified by the training bond that we possess with our masters throughout and after our apprenticeships."
 
"And a padawan's graduation to Knighthood is the equivalent of a coming of age ceremony as many cultures have," Ferus connected the dots. "And part of the reason that some Apprentices complete their Trials later on in life is because of the Master and Apprentice not being willing to separate."
 
"It is that in some cases," Siri agreed. "And in others, it is simply because they are not ready to be on their own in the galaxy."
 
The two stopped at the final turbolift and stared at each other for a few seconds.
 
"I must join the Council in the preparation chambers," Siri gestured to a second turbolift. "You must go to the meditation room and settle your spirit. There is much unrest within you; they will not carry through the ceremony if you are uncertain."
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===Trials of a Padawan===
Ferus felt it when things changed around him. The darkness had seemed oppressive at first when he'd stepped into the meditation chamber. But after centering himself and opening himself up to the Force, he'd been at peace. He had released the stress and emotions of the missions he'd undertaken into the vastness of the force and had simply sat here, requiring neither food, water, nor sleep while this deep in the Force.
 
In the midst of this peace, the snap-hiss of the Council's lightsabers lit the chambers. The various colors glowed and intermixed, revealing the vastness of the darkness that surrounded them.
 
"Has the Padawan completed his Trials?" a diminutive figure asked, his seriousness belied by the fact that he did not speak backward.
 
"Padawan Olin has surpassed the Trial of Skill," Battlemaster Cin Drallig confirmed, his green blade ignited. "Not only throughout his missions but through recent combat as well."
 
"He completed both his Trials of Courage and of Flesh by enduring torture alongside me on Serenno at the hands of the Trade Federation," Siri stepped forward, her violet blade casting shadows onto her hooded face.
 
"He has faced the Trial of the Spirit," Windu's blade joined the others above the padawan's head. "And has proven himself ready to advance."
 
"And he completed the Trial of Insight on his last mission," Plo Koon's blade did the same as Windu's. "There is no question whether he has completed the Trials."
 
The rest of the Council's blades ignited as they completed the tradition, Yoda's green blade carefully removing the Padawan Braid with a sharp movement. "You are padawan no more, rise Knight Olin."
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===Paths that must be Taken===
After the ceremony, Siri stood in front of the Council Chamber doors, calm as she waited to be called in.
 
"Proud you must be," Yoda stepped beside her. "Done well, your Padawan has."
 
"He will be a great Jedi Knight," Siri replied, a sad smile on her face as she looked at the Grandmaster of the Order.
 
"Convince you to change your path. I will not," Yoda looked at the young woman. "Set, your course is."
 
"Have you seen what is to come?" Siri raised an eyebrow.
 
"Clouded, the future is," Yoda shook his head. "Proud of you, I am."
 
"You're not disappointed that I am leaving the Order?" Siri asked, a small tear struggling at the corner of her ear.
 
"For everyone, the path of the Jedi is not," Yoda's voice was filled with pride and sadness, like a parent seeing their child join the military or go to college. "Saddened, I am. But disappointed, I am not."
 
With that last statement, the Council doors opened, and Siri stepped forward, ready to give her final account to them before she embarked on the next stage of her life.
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Chapter 2-12