A Hawk's Tale

[Arekk]

The look of surprise upon his face quickly made him sink the realization that his weapon was unusable. Something far beyond his grasp had taken over its functionality, whatever he was facing was more powerful than anything he ever faced in his entire lifetime.

"You'll regret this, mark my words."

Not revealing the entire of his reasons was dificult to mask up as if this cloaked individual already knew the answer to his questions. He was in utter anger, the entirety of his existance burning from inside out.

The burst of force power hit him like a brick and caused him to flow backwards, slamming his back at full strength against the rock wall. Falling down on the dusty ground and dazzled due to the impact, Ar'ekk look around with struggle as his eye sight became blurry as the seconds passed.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

"Foolish boy. You will never be a Jedi," the dark man responded, beginning to slowly slink across the stone floor, towards the dazed figure of [member='Ar'ekk'].

The mysterious figure had yet to reveal himself, and his presence in the force was unfamiliar, more powerful than anything the Jedi duo had confronted together.

Within moments, he loomed over the dazed apprentice, the green plasma blade just centimeters away from the apprentice's head. "And you will never win."

Then, the blade lifted through the air, prepared to crash down upon Ar'ekk in a devastating overhead strike.

 

[Arekk]

The hooded figure approached the young man with the plasma blade nearing his head, his eyes looking up at what would be the individual that'd strike him down. There is no emotion, there is peace. There is no death, there is the Force.

"The Force is with me."

He was prepared to die right there and then, no fear of what's to come for him. If he learned something at a young age it was trusting the Force and the Jedi Code, its words becoming meaningful in that instant.

Lifting his chin up and closing his eyes, Ar'ekk was prepared to die. Everything that lead up to that point didn't matter anymore because all he had was the Force.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

The vermilion blade swung with great speed, but instead of slicing through [member='Ar'ekk']'s head, it's path altered midway, hovering briefly over his right shoulder.

"By the right of the council," the dark man spoke, lifting his saber to have now place it above Ar'ekk's left shoulder.

"By the will of the force, I dub thee: Jedi."

With that, the saber streaked upwards, somehow severing the mask from Ar'ekk's face, causing it to crumble into pieces, scattering across the stone floor.

"Rise, Ar'ekk Daesharacor." The cloaked one instructed, pulling his weapon away from him and letting it deactivate by his side.

 

[Arekk]

Disbelief. Thinking this was the moment all life would cease eternally was nothing but a test put in place as part of his trial as a Jedi, taking more than a minute to assimilate what had occured. Once the weapon was deactivated, Ar'ekk rose from the ground as instructed and looked at the cloaked individual.

His gaze wandered around. This was all but a test but couldn't see it through his anger yet at the very end of things he realized, a light always present wherever he went. No such thing as death, only the Force.

Finally and only now, he'd become what he dreamed about. A peacekeeper.

A Jedi.

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

"Now, you are what I once strove to be, a Jedi Knight," the cloaked one continued, reaching up to pull his hood down, before crossing his arms within the long sleeves he wore.

It was Karkko, the Anzat Jedi that [member='Ar'ekk'] had faced and killed in combat months ago.

"One does not truly win when against the dark side, we can only resist such temptations to the best of our ability. It is a lifelong struggle, one that even I could not overcome after one hundred years as a Jedi. Only when the Netherworld calls, do we truly understand."

With a brief smile, the Anzat turned from the young man, cloak billowing wildly as he faded back into the darkness. Then, in the blink of an eye, Ar'ekk would find himself back in the temple's main chamber, slumped against the outline of a door that was never truly there. Tugoro was there too, he had fell into a meditative stance, sitting alongside the skeletal corpses who had also waited for their Padawans to return long ago.

 

[Arekk]

Ar'ekk stood motionless as his gaze focused on the Anzat he once slayed back in Sanctuary, speechless at the same time for being the witness to such a thing. This was all but a dream or perhaps a vision of the future where he finally found redemption as a Jedi Knight, a keeper of peace and justice in the Galaxy.

Tugoro sat in a meditative stance in the middle of the area they found themselves in alongside the corpses of fallen Jedi, his eyes lingered around trying to put words to what he had faced a few seconds ago.

It all felt surreal.

"Master... nothing."

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

Tugoro now knew what this place was. After seeing [member='Ar'ekk'] wander off disappear, the man had slipped into his own meditative state of mind, seated as comfortably as possible upon the temple's stone floor. During his old apprentice's vision, he too had communed with the force, the spirits of the Jedi that had once waited here long ago.

It had made him nervous, but as his eyes opened, he found relief. Slowly standing to his feet, Tugoro turned to Ar'ekk, who seemed to be speechless, beyond words as to what he had experienced. He too felt the same, but he knew that the future was always uncertain. At least, he believed so, for there was still much to learn.

"I, too, believe you are ready. Only time will truly tell." He spoke, bowing in respect to the Jedi Knight. "I suppose it's time to leave."

 

[Arekk]

He nodded. The entire vision was true and it happened all thanks to the Force as it willed it one way or the other, a surreal feeling still. He had become a Jedi Knight after years of hardships and hard training, many things had occured such in their lives that reaching this point felt like being in cloud nine itself.

Ar'ekk couldn't disappoint his mentor and the people who sorrounded him and right there and then made a pledge of always aiming for something greater. Good things come for those who are patient.

"Thank you, master. This is all thanks to your mentorship and I'll be forever grateful."

The young Jedi took a moment to gather his thoughts.

"I think so too."

[member="Tugoro Taidarious"]

 

[Tugoro Taidarious]

"Don't thank me yet, my friend," Tugoro replied, knowing what lay ahead for [member='Ar'ekk']. A Jedi could pass their formal trials introduced by any order, but the challenges one faces in life would never truly cease.

The duo once again traversed the stone corridors of the old temple, making their way towards the Ebon Hawk once they had exited. The ground around the temple's entrance suddenly began to glow once they were at a distance, a bright, intricate white pattern tracing along the hard soil. Suddenly, the temple began to quake, rotating as it slowly sank into the ground, the cave-like entrance once again sealed. The taint of the dark side was still present, but it had now faded to some measure.

"The present really is a gift, though we must be mindful of the future as well. Do not worry about letting me down, but rather uplifting yourself. What the future has in store is unknown, but trust in the force and your instincts will always see you through, no matter what. Let's go."

With that, the freighter began to start up once they were on board, eventually taking off into the skies of Lothal.