I am a Jedi.
To tell my story, I must start at the beginning of all. You see, I've had a long life and I've accomplished many things, for every great deed of heroism, I've done just as many acts of cruelty and evil. Along with my very eventful life, I've been bestowed many titles over the long years: Jedi Knight of the Old Republic, Sith Lord, Hero, and Villain, Savior and Devourer. I was all these things, and now I am nothing. To tell my story, I must start at the beginning. Not so far as my early childhood, those fleeting moments of young, ignorant bliss, of a family, and friends was of little relevance in the tale of tragedy that was my life.
Not that I had known at the time, but those moments were unimportant after I felt the call of the force, felt it's power and presence pierce my mind, connecting me to every living being out of the countless trillions of them across more than a thousand worlds. Which in turn gave me a choice to make; I could be a light in the darkness, a heroic knight of justice to save those unable to save themselves and being the fight to the evil of the galaxy. Or perhaps I could impose my will and everyone and everything, twisting the very nature of the force to how I see fit, a dark overlord if you will. I was both of those things during different times of my life, looking back its almost quaint. There was so much more to life then such black and white points of it. Now, where was I? Ah yes, The grains of sand falling from the hour glass that represented my life only began to truly fall only once I had completed my first lightsaber at the young age of 14. On the cold, desolate world of Illum, in those uncomfortably quiet and lonely caves.
"The crystal is the heart of the blade.
The heart is the crystal of the Jedi.
The Jedi is the crystal of the Force.
The Force is the blade of the heart.
All are intertwined
You are one."
As a young girl, these were the words my master had said to me shortly before sending me on my quest earlier to find the kyber crystal for my lightsaber. All young Jedi must take this trek soon after being made an apprentice or sometimes even earlier, after all what sort of Jedi would want to be caught dead without a lightsaber to protect themselves or someone else? It's a challenging thing, to find your crystal. You see, not just anyone is capable of finding one, the crystal has to reveal itself to you and it's usually accompanied by some sort of challenge just to reach it. Even then, some apprentices die in the process of trying to get it, or they fall into a nest of the various vicious beasts that called these caves home. Mine was in the middle of a frozen body of water, precariously placed on a plinth of sorts, made of ice. At a distance, it was a bright light but the calling was faint, just at the edge of your awareness, and you can hear its call from almost any distance once it's revealed itself to you, but you it's a sound you'll never forget and you'll know what it means immediately.
Currently I sat on the cold, insensitive ground in deep meditation. The average Jedi would've collected their belongings and left their finished their lightsaber in the cozy, comforts of the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, where they could ask for guidance and bask in the wisdom of the masters with the design of the lightsaber and such. I was not the average Jedi by any means though; I had already completed my design weeks ago, and gathered all the necessary parts for it. I simply couldn't wait; I had figuring out exactly what I wanted in my head, and had gone over it a thousand times in my mind, it Was definitely an advanced choice for one my age. Now, the time was here, the various pieces were scattered out in front of me, to the average, non-Jedi, this would look like a pile of junk. To me, it was my life; the lightsaber was the only property a Jedi had a right to, after all. As I let my thoughts drift away into the nothing, I focused solely on the parts before me, and they rose and swirled through the air. I knew exactly how they fit together; it was like a simple puzzle to me. Within moments they aligned and clicked together, everything going exactly where it was meant to, there would be no mistakes. The completed lightsaber fell softly into my waiting hands, I pressed the activator button and the small cavern suddenly lit up with the light of a blade made of green fire, it hummed and I could feel a bit of myself within it. During the construction process, you're supposed to imbue the kyber crystal with your presence and that's how it gets its color, these crystals have always shared a special relationship with Jedi for tens of thousands of years, and welcomed them. I started with some practice swings, moving across the cavern floor with a surprising grace and fluidity as I grew more and more comfortable with it. An unfamiliar lightsaber always wanted to fight against you, and it was unwieldy and awkward to use, after practice with mine, it became lighter in my hands and I could feel it become a part of me.
Suddenly, the fore screamed at me. I didn't have time to turn around to face the threat; I only managed to dodge at the last moment as a clawed hand, larger then my face just missed the back of my head, managing to make a few superficial cuts on my cheek. I rolled away quickly and turned around. I gasped in fear and surprise as a Gorgodon was staring me down, these were dreaded creatures for they possessed blaster-proof hide, a strong bone structure, and three rows of sharp teeth, all of which made them dangerous foes in combat. Gorgodons had excellent senses of smell and hearing, which they relied upon due to poor vision. Of course! This would've easily heard my antics here and came looking for a quick meal, I was such a fool. I had a stroke of luck though, as there was only one which either meant I was in a nasty surprise as the rest of its pack arrived or this one was feeling bold. It howled with blood chilling scream that drained the color from my cheeks and made my long white hair just a shade whiter. I took a short breath as I allowed the power of the force to course through my veins, strengthen my trembling limbs and refocus my mind. I charged at it with inhuman speed and leap into the air the moment it would've dug its 7 inch claws into my chest. With a single stroke I removed it's head from its body, it fell to the ground and a smoke was raising from where it's head had once sat with a flourish I put my lightsaber on my belt and walked away, heading towards the exit where my master was waiting.
I am a Jedi.