Title: Shadows of War
Author: Lhinneill, aka Stargatefangurl
Summary: One wrong step in these dark times could lead us all to ruin.
Genre: Action/Adventure/General/Hurt/Comfort/Angst/Friendship
Characters/Pairing: Original
A/N: I know these type of stories aren't very popular on ff.n, as it doesn't have any of the canon characters in it, but that's really not the point. I'm writing this because I ADORE these characters and can't not write about them. So, if you stumble across this and decide to give it a chance, thank you! I'd love to hear what you think.
Truen Calladann, Kestry Calladann, Chldrrl, Grish, and a few others which escape my memory at the moment, all belong to my friend Lionchilde. I'm just borrowing them.
This is set centuries after RotJ. The galaxy is once again at war, but this time it is a war between the armies of the Sith and the Jedi. I will explain more throughout the story, but if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I'll do my best to answer them either by PM or in the course of the story.
Wind whistled through the city, sweeping across the roof tops and balconies, lifting a faint cloud of dust and exhaust fumes that swirled around the lone Jedi Knight. She stood with her back to the setting sun, watching the shadows grow and deepen below in the streets of Coruscant. Ships and people scrambled about as usual, happily unaware of the growing storm the Jedi sensed, an ever-present doom in the back of her mind.
The galaxy was changing. Where the Jedi had once maintained peace and order, the Sith now rampaged, spreading corruption and violating all that was once pure. They had even managed to tamper with the Jedi's connection with the Force, with their ability to sense and perceive the future. The Jedi archives told of a time when the Sith had done much the same thing. It had all ended with the horrible deaths of hundreds of Jedi when Palpatine's Order 66 had ushered in the end of the Old Republic Jedi. Now, over two hundred years later, the Order had grown and evolved; it was no longer the Order the legendary Jedi had known.
Sometimes I wonder if it's still the same Order I knew as a youngling.
"Master?"
Skynia Drego turned, smiling gently at her young padawan. "What is it, Jaia?"
With her hands folded behind her back, Jaia stepped up beside her Master. Her eyes swept the city, just as Skynia's had done only moments ago, though now the sun had sunk beneath the horizon. "It's coming, isn't it? Another war, I mean."
Skynia nodded slowly. "It's been coming for a long time."
"Do you think the Council's wrong?"
Skynia glanced down at her Padawan, frowning softly. The Jedi High Council had ruled against deploying more Jedi in a military posture across the galaxy, despite the obvious threat posed by the Sith and the rebellion they led against Galactic government. Skynia knew she wasn't the only one in opposition to the Council's decision. Just that morning, she had spoken to her friend and fellow Knight, Kianna Starflight, about what the spreading darkness could mean for the Jedi. If the Council refused to acknowledge the threat of the Sith, they could lose everything.
"I think that the Council has a difficult decision to make," Skynia said, her gaze distant. "One wrong step in these dark times could lead us all to ruin."
Jaia sighed heavily. "But we're Jedi. We're supposed to fight the Dark Side, aren't we? Why can't we just find these Sith and kill them all?"
Shaking her head, Skynia dropped to a knee in front of the girl, resting her right hand on Jaia's shoulder. "It's not that simple, Jaia. The Dark Side clouds everything. We must be patient."
Jaia's freckled features crinkled in a frown. "So the Dark Side is more powerful?"
Skynia shook her head again and tightened her grip on Jaia's shoulder. "No. The Dark Side is never more powerful than the Light. You could say that, in a way, the Jedi have created the Dark Side. As long as there is light in this galaxy, there will be shadow and darkness. It's something we can't deny, and we certainly can't hide from it. But we can fight it."
Jaia's frowned deepened and she lowered her head. Skynia allowed a thick silence to fall as her Padawan absorbed the lesson.
If Skynia could have had her way, Jaia wouldn't even be here. She would be sheltered, hidden away on a safe world—but there were no safe worlds anymore. And Jaia was not her daughter, no matter how close Skynia might have felt to the girl. Jaia was her student. It was Skynia's duty to instruct and protect her, no matter how difficult that task might be. Jaia was barely past her tenth birthday, but she had already seen more death and reckless hate than Skynia had in her own early years as a Jedi. The galaxy was changing so very quickly, spiraling out of control—and Skynia didn't like the direction it was headed.
