But I Am Free
Everything had changed when the Dark Empire attacked.
Kahlil glanced down the emptying halls of the Jedi Temple, a small smile on his face as he did so. There was a lingering air here and now of the threat of war, of chaos and destruction. How many times had this temple alone been rebuilt? The truth was, it didn't matter. He walked with his head high, even as he passed by some of the empty classrooms. The younglings that had once been there were elsewhere now, another temple, safe for the time being.
That's what mattered. They had rebuilt this temple so many times, and they would again. So long as the Jedi survived, so long as they continued to grow and learn. So long as they continued to believe in the good of the galaxy. Shan Pavond was one of those such Jedi. Kahlil had been watching him all this time as his Padawan, seeing the good. The refusal to just dismiss someone as unsavable, as just evil. It was a hard mentality to have, especially for one who grew in peace and experienced the horrors of war.
But he hadn't lost that light. He made the Jedi better for it.
........
"By the right of the council..." Kahlil stood in the center this time. His silvered eyes gazed down to his own Padawan as he ignited his saber to settle just above Shan's shoulder.
"By the will of the Force..." The blade moved, hovering above his head.
"I dub thee," Finally, the opposite shoulder.
"Knight of the New Jedi Order."
He stepped back to let Shan stand on his own, giving a brief and small nod. Kahlil wasn't much for showing emotion, but the smile that had crept over his otherwise stoic expression spoke volumes. Shan was the first Padawan he'd knighted. The first of his own Padawan's he'd knighted. He couldn't be more proud.