Chapter 20- Color
Ezra Bridger was once again not paying any attention to the argument around him. Why couldn't his friends learn to trust the Will of the Force? Instead, they had completely misinterpreted his statement about the planet.
Luke believed that the planet would enhance the Jedi's powers. Whie agreed, adding that Ezra should summon "The Song" to their aid. Han, on the other hand, was certain that they could harness its power as a weapon. Leia wondered if somehow the planet could call out to the people of the Galaxy, entreating them to put an end to Agati's madness before it was too late.
None of them seemed to understand. Their fate was not dependent on themselves, but on the Creator and the power of His Force flowing through the planet Kyber. Even Luke could not seem to see the full picture. Finally making up his mind, Ezra quietly slipped out of the meeting, pausing to blow Sabine a kiss.
Once outside, he headed straight for the Hill, falling into a meditative state as he passed the White Loth-Cat. The music surrounded him, calling him on, filling his mind with sweet sounds and brilliant colors. He left his shoes at the foot of the Hill and began to ascend, the lush blue grass waving gently around his ankles. He walked slowly, drinking in the strong presence of the Living Force.
Halfway up the Hill, a round opening appeared in the ground, glowing in the rainbow colors of refracted light. Stepping through, Ezra found himself surrounded by the swirling colors. They parted to reveal a path. He walked along, with the kyber's music still whispering in his heart. The path meandered deeper into the mist and Ezra fell deeper into mediation.
At last, he came to an open area where the colors seemed to have condensed into a solid landscape of gently rolling plains, dotted with small hillocks. A multi-colored forest rose on the far end of the clearing. Ezra continued to follow the path until it stopped at the foot of a hillock nestled in the heart of the woods. The hillock was covered in blue grass and crowned by a large blue tree with gently swaying branches.
"Welcome, Ezra Bridger, the One of the Balance." A soft, melodious voice sang at his side. A tall woman, dressed in blue robes, stood at the foot of the little hill, her hair flowing in shimmering waves to meet the blue grass.
"Hi," Ezra waved his hand in greeting. "Thanks for the welcome. Your land sure is pretty. It's a great place for meditating, too."
"The Force is very present here," a second woman, in yellow robes, appeared beside the first. "You are within a stream of the Force, as it flows directly from the Creator. You will find nothing to hinder your connection to the Living Force here.
"My sister speaks truly," a third woman in red agreed. "Much is made clear in this place to those who seek."
"My sisters and I are here to help you find what you are seeking," the blue-clad woman indicated the hillside before them. "A friend is waiting to speak to you."
Ezra inclined his head in a polite bow. "Thank you for your help, Ladies."
"Come."
All three women glided through the blue grass to the top of the hillock. The great tree at its top was heavily laden with blue Loth berries. A large white wolf, bathed in blue light, lay under the tree with a small green figure perched on its back.
"Found me, you have, Ezra Bridger!" the little green creature cackled. "Well done! Hmm, yes. Well done."
"Hi, Master Yoda," Ezra approached and knelt. "It's good to see you. I hope you can help me." He paused and looked around. "You know, I think I've seen this place before, when I was meditating at the Temple on Lothal."
"Yes, many portals to the world of the Force Fae there are, both from your world and from ours. Those who surrender themselves to the Will of the Force, find them they will."
"Master, the planet Kyber is in danger and so is the new Jedi Order. In fact, the whole Galaxy is in trouble. But my friends just don't seem to understand how to trust the Will of the Force. Kyber will give us what we need to defend it from our enemy, but only if we are trusting the Creator. I don't know how to make the others see that."
"Wise you have become, Ezra Bridger," the Jedi Master tapped his walking stick on the wolf, "but another lesson you must learn."
He chuckled again and the wolf raised its head. Its eyes met Ezra's and he found himself gazing into the eyes of his former master, Kanan Jarrus.
"You've become wise and powerful, Ezra. I'm proud of you. But don't forget to be humble." Ezra heard Kanan's voice in his head.
"To your master, you listen," Yoda nodded on his perch. "Great are your powers and strong is your faith. But pride, overconfidence in yourself, dangers you must avoid, these are."
"Yes, Master. I think I understand. I need to listen to the others and their perspectives. Is that it?"
"Only one Ezra Bridger, there is. Make your friends be Ezras, you cannot. Give them your faith in the Creator, you cannot."
"I see what you mean. It just seems like everything would be simpler for Luke and the rest if they would just trust the Will of the Force."
Kanan spoke. "Do you remember when you first learned to trust the Will of the Force?"
Ezra smiled. "It's been a journey. And I'm still learning."
"On that same journey are Luke, Ahsoka, Leia – all the Jedi." Yoda leaned forward. "When the time comes, faith they will be given. Followed you here through the Force, did they not?"
Ezra laughed. "That they did. Masters, you are absolutely right. I'm the one who isn't trusting in the Will of the Force."
"Umhm, a wise observation. Come, now. Let us eat berries." Yoda lifted his finger and blue berries floated down from the tree.
Ezra caught one of the huge berries, so large it took two hands to hold it, and bit into its juicy sweetness. "They're delicious. Is the Force strong with them?"
"No," Yoda chortled. "Just delicious berries, they are. Remember your own words- do not forget the small things."
Ezra ate his fill of the berries then lay down under the tree to rest and allow the Force to flow through him. The blue light swirled and pulsed around him as the Three Sisters sang the Song of the Kyber crystals.
Life and growth
Love and truth
Light and strength
We stand as one.
Ezra could see glimpses of what must be done. But he knew that this time all the Jedi must share the vision, must grasp the simple yet daring plan. They must stand together and draw on the power of Kyber. Each one had a part to play. They had to trust the Creator. He had to trust the Creator.
"What's wrong, Sabine?" Ahsoka looked up from putting Persis and Wani down for a nap. The meeting had ended over an hour ago, with little being decided. Han, Rex and the other troopers were checking their weapons and planning for their most efficient use. Luke and Whie were connecting more deeply with the Force flowing through the planet in hopes of finding answers.
Sabine now stood in the drawing room doorway with Cerulean-Skies strapped to her breast in a shawl. "Ezra's been gone for hours and now I can't find Violet-Meadows. I went to ask Grogu if he had seen her, and he's missing, too. It's the Force, I know it is!"
"Miisha, stay with Wani and Persis. Alora, we need your help." Ahsoka rose as quickly as her pregnancy would allow and the three women hurried out of the house.
Talisbeth met them at the door.
"Have you seen Violet-Meadows?" Sabine asked frantically.
"No," the older woman closed her eyes, "but I sense her presence coming from the Hill."
"I checked there!"
"Maybe we should look again," Ahsoka suggested gently. "She could have been hiding."
Sabine nodded and hurried towards the Hill, calling her daughter's name. Alora followed swiftly behind her, with Ahsoka and Talisbeth moving more slowly. They were halfway up the Hill when Talisbeth stopped, gasped and pointed.
The three others turned to look. A round hole led into the side of the Hill, visible to the eyes of Force-sensitives. Ahsoka stared. Surely it had not been there before. How could they all have missed it?
"What is it?" Sabine's voice quivered with anxiety.
"There's a doorway," Alora began but broke off at the appearance of three figures stepping through the hole.
Sabine sobbed with relief as she ran towards them. "Violet-Meadows? Ezra? Grogu! Where have you been?" She knelt and embraced her daughter, who was munching on a blue berry slightly larger than her own head. Beside her, Grogu was eating an even larger berry.
"We in dere," the little green child explained, inclining his head towards the portal, now slowly closing.
"In the Hill?" Sabine looked quizzically at the three Jedi. "Ezra, what's he talking about?"
Ezra placed an enormous round basket, tightly woven from blue grass, on the ground. "He means we were on the other side of the portal to- oh! You can't see it, can you?"
Stepping forward, he placed his hands on her head. Her eyes widened and Ezra grinned.
"It's a door into a sort Fairy Force World. Kind of like the World Between Worlds, only different. You like the colors, Coco Bean?"
Sabine nodded silently, too overwhelmed by the sight to speak. Ezra bent and unfastened the lid of the basket.
"I've got some extra. Would you like some?" He reached in and brought up a handful of every color imaginable. The substance was not quite powder nor was it exactly a liquid or paste. It was simply color. Sabine's eyes grew even wider.
With a smug smirk, Ezra dipped the fingers of his other hand into the color, then smeared the bright hues through Sabine's hair. "It's living color, Sabine," he intoned solemnly yet eagerly, "and it's radiating with Force energy."
"Living color?" Sabine whispered. "How is that possible?"
"The Force, of course." Ezra pulled a pouch, also woven of blue grass, from somewhere within his orange robes. He poured the color he was holding into it, then handed it Sabine. "Here you go, Bine."
A grin spread across her face as she took the pouch and reverently tucked it into her shawl. From farther up the Hill, voices floated down on the soft breeze. Soon Luke and Whie came into view. When they spotted Ezra, they hurried over and stopped.
Luke made eye contact with Ezra. "We need to talk."
Ezra brushed his color-dusted fingers on Sabine's shawl. "We certainly do. Have you two had visions?"
"Yes," Whie affirmed, "but each was incomplete. Together, they form a clearer picture, and we hope you have the missing piece."
The three Jedi climbed back to the top of the Hill and sat in a small circle. Luke began first.
"As I meditated, I saw the kyber at the heart of the planet. It glowed and sang, alive with power. Then I saw a great lightsaber, its blade lit and swinging. When it finally came to rest, I heard a great sigh as of relief and the sound of cheering."
"And you, Master Whie?" Ezra asked.
"In my vision, I first saw the Hill. It too was glowing and bursting with life energy. I felt the Force pouring through me and I knew it was pouring through the rest of you as well. Then I seemed to know great pain and the vision ended in darkness."
"What did you see, Ezra?" Luke motioned to his friend.
"All of us, bound together in the Force and connected to the Kyber- all of us from the Masters down to Ahsoka's unborn baby. And in our unity, we turned back the enemy by power of the Force flowing from the Creator. I have been through the Hill's portal to the Force world beyond. The Force is stronger than we realize on this planet. If we trust our Creator, we have nothing to fear." Ezra opened his basket and showed his friends its contents.
"What … what is that?" breathed Luke.
"Living color, full of Force energy," Ezra explained.
"We're going to defeat Agati with Force paint?" Luke asked incredulously. "Ezra, I think you've been around Sabine too long."
"Not long enough. But she can help us, if she's up to it."
"Help us do what?" Whie's brow furrowed in confusion.
"I saw the colors in my vision, too. A beam of refracting light that became a single ray – a picture of our unity. That's how we reach the crystal, Luke. And we'll do it here on the Hill, Whie. We'll be the swinging blade with the Force flowing through us."
"Wait," Luke narrowed his eyes in suspicion, "you don't mean for us to paint the Hill, do you?"
Ezra grinned.