Shadow's Odyssey 2: The Chaos Continues
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Ezra groaned and swatted at his alarm clock. He dragged himself out of bed and went to the kitchen where his parents were making breakfast.
"Good morning!" His mom greeted him.
Ezra grabbed a bowl of blue milk and cereal.
"So what is Master Yoda gonna teach you today?" His dad asked.
"I don't know, he didn't tell me. He just said he needed to meditate on something."
Ezra had been studying the Force with the Jedi for seven years now. He had learned how to move objects with his mind, see things around him without using his eyes, how to influence other minds, and his personal favorite, how to wield a lightsaber. Though Master Yoda told him he was merely scratching the surface of what the Force could do.
Ezra finished his cereal, grabbed his lightsaber, and left for the Jedi Temple. He hopped on his speeder and drove out of town and across the grasslands. Ezra was rather fortunate that the Jedi had chosen to set up their new temple on his home planet of Lothal. If they hadn't, he would have had to leave his parents behind while he went to train with them.
Suddenly, everything around him faded to black. He couldn't see anything; he couldn't feel anything. But he could hear laughter.
"Who's there?" Ezra called out.
He saw a shape take form in the empty void. It got closer, and closer, until Ezra could finally make out what it was.
It was… himself.
Ezra clumsily pulled the speeder over, gulping deep breaths as he tried to calm his racing heart. The other Jedi had described having visions, but they hadn't mentioned how terrifying they could be. They did say that when they experienced a vision, it meant the Force was trying to tell them something. They also mentioned that such visions were extremely vague and open to interpretation. But what exactly was he supposed to interpret from this? Did he secretly have a twin brother somewhere? Maybe Master Yoda could help him decipher it.
Ezra arrived at the Temple and went inside. The Temple had been carved out of a natural rock formation. He went straight to Master Yoda's chambers. He was so eager to tell Yoda about the vision that he forgot to knock and found Yoda floating in the middle of the room, meditating.
Yoda opened his eyes. "Not polite to barge into other people's rooms, it is."
"Sorry Master, but I had a vision!"
"Mmm. And see, what did you?"
"I saw me! But I was really scary somehow!"
"Unusual, that is."
"I know. I was hoping you could tell me what it means."
"Know what it means, I do not. For you to interpret, that is."
Ezra sighed. "That's not helpful."
"Its true meaning, revealed in time, it will be. For now, time to begin the next step of your training, it is. Come, follow me you will."
Yoda hobbled out of the room and Ezra followed.
"What's the next lesson?"
"A lesson from me, it is not."
"That isn't what I asked."
Yoda ignored him. He led Ezra to a room with multiple doorways leading out of it.
"Wait here, you will."
Yoda went back the way they came, leaving Ezra alone.
He looked around. "Is this gonna be another of those weird patience tests? Do I have to guess which door to go through?"
Ezra's pondering was interrupted by a strange feeling. He felt… cold. Ezra wasn't alone. Something was here. Something dark and evil.
He ignited his lightsaber. "I know you're there! Come on out!"
And it did. A dark cloaked figure emerged from the shadows. "Hello, Ezra. I've been waiting for you."
Ezra sprang forward with lightsaber extended and… And then he was frozen in place in midair.
"Well now, that wasn't very nice." The figure removed its hood.
"Master Petro!"
"Yes, it's me."
"The heck! What are you doing! I almost killed you!"
Petro smiled. "Trust me, you were not even close to killing me." He let Ezra down.
"Are you going to explain what the lesson is now?"
Petro became serious. "Ezra, it's time for you to study the Dark Side."
Ezra's eyes widened. "The Dark Side? Really? When do we start?"
"We already have. You just failed your first test."
Ezra blinked. "Huh?"
"When you felt my dark aura, your first instinct was to draw your weapon and attack me."
"But- But you were acting all creepy!" Ezra sputtered.
"All I did was say 'hi' and that I'd been waiting for you. Which I was." Petro pointed out.
"Yeah, well…"
"Your first lesson in the Dark Side, is to learn not to fear it. There are plenty of real things to be afraid of without inventing fears." Petro took Ezra outside. "The Dark Side of the Force is driven by passion. The stronger your passion the stronger your power. Tell me Ezra, what are you passionate about? What drives you?"
Ezra answered without hesitation. "My family. I want to be a good son for my parents."
"And you would do anything to protect them, right?"
"Of course."
Petro pointed to a massive rock. "See that rock there? I want you to lift it."
Ezra had lifted rocks before, but they were fist-sized stones. This rock was bigger than a bantha. He tried to lift it… and failed.
"I can't, it's too heavy."
"Do it again. This time use your emotions. Use your passion to lift that rock."
Ezra tried again, channeling his love for his parents into his efforts, imagining that the rock was about to crush them, and it was up him to stop it.
The bolder quivered, and them it moved. Slowly, it rose into the air.
"I… I did it." Ezra gasped. "This is amazing! Why didn't Master Yoda just teach me this from the beginning?"
"Because Mast Yoda was teaching you to use the Light Side of the Force."
"What's the point in studying the Light Side if the Dark Side is so much better?"
"The Dark Side is not 'better'." Petro admonished. "The Light Side is equally as important. The Dark Side focuses on strength and power. The Light Side focuses on knowledge and wisdom. Together, they form a balance. If one focuses only on the Light Side, they will achieve enlightenment but lack the strength to make use of it. If one focuses only on the Dark Side, they will become vastly powerful but without the wisdom to use it properly, you can easily become corrupted. You would become very dangerous to those around you. And to yourself."
"To myself?" Ezra asked.
"The path of the Dark Side can be very self-destructive."
"I thought you said I wasn't supposed to fear the Dark Side. That sounds pretty scary."
"That's what the old Jedi Order thought as well. And it was the reason why they always failed."
Ezra crinkled his brow. "Always failed?"
"For over a thousand generations, The Jedi have fought the Sith. Back in those days, the Jedi only studied the Light Side of the Force and rejected the Dark as inherently evil. The Sith on the other hand, studied only the Dark and considered the Light to be weak and useless. These two groups collided with each other in battle after battle, war after war, each one trying to destroy the other. Yet every single time, both sides failed. No matter how hard they tried, the Jedi could never destroy the Dark. And the Sith could never snuff out the light. And do you know why?"
Ezra knew the answer. "Because both sides were unbalanced."
Petro nodded. "Exactly. They both failed to understand the true nature of the Force. Neither side could succeed because the Force simply would not allow it. This is why it is imperative to master both sides of the Force, because if we don't, the war between the Jedi and the Sith will continue until the end of time."
Ezra sat in awe. "Wow… that is a lot of responsibility."
Petro smiled. "If you have more questions about how things were in the past, ask Yoda. He was there for a lot of it."
"I see you haven't forgotten what I taught you then."
Ezra and Petro turned toward the new voice. When Petro saw who it was, he couldn't believe it.
"Shadow!?"
