Chapter 9: Path of the Jedi
Three days later, the Ghost was once again on Lothal, sitting in the middle of the prairie. It was morning and Kanan went to knock on Ezra and Zeb's cabin.
"Ezra, you in there?"
The door opened, revealing a yawning Lasat.
"Nope. No Ezra in here."
Kanan then went out from the cargo bay, and found Jaral, in a light outfit, working out.
"Jaral, have you seen your brother?"
"He and Sabine went to jog a little." she said while doing her sit-ups.
Kanan decided to get back and wait in his cabin, meditating with the holocron.
Ezra arrived almost an hour later and knocked on Kanan's door. The Jedi closed the holocron and used the Force to open the door.
"Hi Kanan." Ezra said with a bit of a guilty tone. "Sorry I'm late, I didn't notice the hour."
The boy leaned against the doorstep.
"So…" Ezra mumbled. "You want to talk about that?"
"About what?" Kanan asked patiently.
"Don't joke about it, Kanan. The asteroid. Me tapping the Dark Side. I know that's bad news."
"Good thing you realize it." Kanan said while standing up. "You made a very dangerous connection to the Force on that asteroid, Ezra. Now, I need to know if you are ready."
Ezra raised an eyebrow, clearly asking 'Ready for what?'
"Ready for a test, a real challenge, one that could determine if you're meant to be a Jedi or not."
Ezra seemed to understand the gravity of that sentence.
"I understand. What do you want me to do, Master?" he said respectfully.
"For now, go prep the Phantom." Kanan said with a bit of enthusiasm.
Ezra left the cabin, leaving Kanan to talk with Hera, who was walking up to them.
"I might regret this."
"You know you have to help him. After what happened on that asteroid you have to make sure." Hera said to him.
Kanan sighed. She was right: it was imperative that Ezra took this test.
Ezra took a moment to inform Jaral of the new mission and reassure her, before heading to the Phantom and make an assessment of the ship's functions.
He found that everything was in order as Kanan arrived, took controls and lifted the Phantom into Lothal's skies.
Then he reached Ezra in the backseats.
"So, what's this all about?" Ezra asked.
"Back in the days of the Republic, there were 10.000 Jedi Knights maintaining peace in the galaxy. Now we're very few. Back then we had a large number of outposts, temples, spread all over the galaxy. The Empire destroyed most of them, but not all."
"And you want me to find one of these temples?"
"You really are smarter than you look." said Kanan with a smirk. Ezra just rolled his eyes.
"What do I do, then?"
"Relax and focus. Let the Force guide you to your destination."
Ezra obliged. He enacted one of the breathing exercises that Kanan had taught him. His mind quickly cleared itself of any superfluous thoughts as the Force started to fill it with its energy.
After a while, he started to figure something in his mind.
"There's a massive stone, with a tunnel, I think, and a bright star inside of it."
He took some seconds more to assess the situation better. To find out where this thing he was looking at was.
Then his eyes opened in wonder.
"And it's right here, on Lothal."
"You sure?"
"I can't give you the coordinates, but I can direct us there."
Kanan went back at the commands and Ezra went to stand beside him, pointing his body to the world outside the cockpit and closing his eyes again.
A couple of hours later, the Phantom arrived near the north pole of the planet. There, among the frosted plains, stood a very tall elliptical rock, surrounded by dozens of similar rocks, only smaller. Ezra was sure that was the place.
"Auto-pilot, disengaged." Kanan announced.
"You knew it was here, right?" Ezra asked not amused.
"I checked the holocron back in my cabin." Kanan answered as he stood up.
"And it told you there was a Jedi temple on Lothal?"
"The holocron holds extensive star maps, but I was as surprised as you that there was a temple here."
They stepped out of the Phantom, walking a few meters before Ezra noticed that, carved in the ground around the rock, were circles and lines, seemingly forming a map.
"Go on, then." Kanan encouraged him. "It's up to you to find a way to open it. However remember, the Empire has full access to the Jedi archives and they might have this place under surveillance, so we might need to hurry."
As Ezra walked forward to go inspect the rock, Kanan sat on his knees in a meditative pose.
Ezra made quickly circled around the rock, but found nothing. Not a hidden door, not a single crack to hint an access.
Then he remembered that this was supposed to be a Jedi temple. Most likely, he would need to use the Force to find a way in.
He put his hands on the rock, closing his eyes and letting the Force guide him.
After a few seconds, he finally knew.
He walked back to Kanan.
"The temple wants to admit us, as Master and Padawan." the boy said calmly.
"Then together, shall be." said Kanan as he stood up.
The two of them took position inside one of the circles in the ground and both tended an arm toward the rock, reaching out to the Force.
As the two focused, the rock started to turn, moving like a drill but toward the sky, it kept going until it revealed a door, carved into the rock.
"Keep focus." Kanan warned. "We don't want it to fall down on our heads."
The two walked through the door, and found a great hall, adorned with just four small pillars, not higher than Ezra himself, in the middle. Just past them was a heavy door.
As Ezra got past the two pillars in front of the door, he startled as he saw two corpses, cross-legged and wearing a large cape.
The structure began to rumble as the door they came in from started to collapse. Kanan looked at Ezra with crossed arms and an annoyed face.
"You lost focus…"
"Well, dead people are distracting." Ezra defended.
"In here you'll have to face your worst fears and overcome them. And there's no guarantee of success." Kanan explained.
"Oh, I have faith. Faith that you'll keep me on the right track." the boy answered confidently as he moved toward the door in front of them.
Kanan didn't move. "I won't follow you."
"What?! And what will you do, then?"
"I'll stay here...with them." the Jedi pointed at the corpses. "Masters whose Padawans never came back."
"So, you're putting your life into my hands…" Ezra said trying to sound witty, despite his apprehension.
"As you put your training in mine."
Distant echoes coming from the other side of the door, which opened into a long tunnel.
Ezra gave his master a silent nod of determination and stepped forward.
"Good luck." Kanan murmured.
Ezra stood firm for a second as the door started to fall behind him.
"Wait, what am I looking for?" he asked Kanan.
"Nothing and everything," the Jedi simply answered.
Ezra rolled his eyes. If there was one thing he understood from the Jedi training, is that asking for answers about the Force verbally would only give you riddles and headaches. He waited for the door to shut behind him and he ventured into the cave.
Back to the Ghost, Jaral was leaning against the threshold of the cargo bay door, her arms and legs both crossed, as she stared the horizon.
Ezra and Kanan had been gone for three hours already. Since then, she had felt a number of emotions coming from her brother, and she wanted to stop for a second and try to understand better the Force bond she was sharing with him.
She was pretty sure that she had felt a faint sensation of surprise, deep focus, startle, and now a constant sentiment of agitation boiling under the surface since the two Force-sensitives had departed.
"Enjoying the beautiful nothing?" the witty voice of Zeb came behind her.
Jaral turned her head, seeing both the Lasat and Sabine walking toward her.
"Zeb, you really lack any sense of romanticism." she replied with a smirk. "I honestly like a peaceful landscape. From the top of the tower I spent a lot of time just looking at the plains."
"Uhm…" Sabine mumbled, stopping beside Jaral. "It would be even better at sunset, or sunrise, but I agree."
The three took a moment of silence and took in the view. Lothal did have an unquestionable charm even in a nameless plain.
"You worried about your brother?" Zeb asked seriously. Sabine as well turned to Jaral.
She slowly shook her head. "I'm just exercising in using our bond, to perceive what he's feeling.
It's just a theory of mine, but, I believe that we can use it to calm each other down, if the needs arises."
"Speaking of your bond…" Sabine turned her body fully to Jaral. "You want to talk about what happened the other day?"
Jaral sighed. She knew what she was referring to. The day Ezra used the Dark Side in Fort Anaxes. She still remembered the sensation of cold coming from the other part of the bond, it was so strong that took her breath away for a moment. One moment she stood in the cockpit, helping with the navigation, the next she fell on her knees, trying to take a deep breath. But most importantly, she felt a wave of fear rush into her body. She knew that Ezra had just done something terrible, and was very much in danger.
"I already said all I could remember, and everything that bothered me." she replied shrugging her shoulders. "But that's exactly why I'm trying to see if it's possible to do the opposite. If I can be affected by negative feelings, maybe I can compensate with...happy thoughts?" she wasn't completely sure if what she said made some sorts of sense.
A quick look at her friends immediately told her that she didn't. Zeb and Sabine winced in complete confusion.
"Riiiight…" Sabine said. "Any way you can make it understandable for us?"
Jaral snorted. "I'm sorry. That's the best way I can put it."
"Ack…" Zeb exclaimed in surrender. "This stuff it's too complicated. I'm going to get my lunch." and he went away.
The girls stayed there, still looking at the landscape outside. Sabine decided to sit on the ground and Jaral did the same.
"You know…" Sabine decided to speak first. "I almost envy the bond between you and Ezra."
"You mean the personal one or the mystic one?" Jaral chuckled.
Sabine returned the giggle. "I'm not completely sure I understand the mystic one, but I sure envy your personal relation. It must be nice to have a blood relative that would never abandon you, no matter what happens…" her voice now became a bit more melancholic.
Jaral gave her a second of respite, before talking with a careful tone. "You...have a sibling?"
Sabine slightly lowered her gaze.
"I...had, a younger brother." she murmured.
Jaral was actually surprised. Sabine had never spoken about her family before. She looked at her with the usual composure of her expression.
"Had?"
Sabine sighed. "They're not dead. At least last time I checked. But…" she gulped. "I did a mistake. I caused a lot of pain and...I was exiled…" Sabine struggled to keep tears from rolling on her cheeks.
Jaral immediately put a hand on her friend's back and gently rubbed it. Sabine sniffed before turning eyes toward her.
"Hey, if you don't want to talk about it yet, it's totally fine." Jaral said with her protective voice.
The mando girl outlined a smile and nodded.
"Maybe for now, you can pretend like I am your older sister." the Bridger said cheerfully.
"That seems...nice."
Sabine paused a second.
"Would that make Ezra a younger brother to me as well?"
Jaral shrugged. "That's one way to see it. Though I doubt you will keep that point of view for long." she now smirked.
"W-What do you mean?" a shudder of embarrassment ran through Sabine's spine.
"Nothing. Just thinking about the fact that you repaired a very precious holodisc for him without even knowing what there was inside. Or if it would be important for him…"
"T...That meant nothing. It was his birthday! I just wanted…" Sabine's face started to flush as she stammered to find an excuse.
Jaral barely managed to hold a laughter while Sabine pouted.
"What about you, then?" the mando tried to change the subject. "Is there someone you wanted to be more than friends with?"
Jaral stopped the laughter. Her expression changed. She was still smiling, though her eyes communicated nostalgia as her upper body leaned back and she propped her elbows on the ramp, her legs now laid down.
"There was. And I did become more than a friend. Two years ago." she whispered.
Sabine suddenly became interested, leaning forward to listen better.
"There was this…" Jaral started with a smile, but in a second her carefree expression turned into one of deep concern.
"What's happening?" Sabine asked putting a hand on her arm.
"Ezra. He's scared." Jaral said, closing her eyes to better understand what she was feeling from the bond.
Sabine wasn't sure she could do or say anything that may help, so she simply gave a sympathetic expression.
Jaral finally stood up and walked into the cargo bay, Sabine followed her until Jaral sat on the ground, cross-legged, and closed her eyes again.
"All right." Jaral murmured. "Let's see if this works."
As he entered the cavern, Ezra struggled to see around him. It was really dark. He decided that he didn't want to wear his armor, as he sincerely believed that he shouldn't rely on technology for this challenge, and it probably wouldn't work either.
He followed the dim light at the end of the cave, his eyes peeled to watch out against possible traps, or irregularities in the ground that could make him stumble or hurt him.
He came out of there unharmed and found himself in front of three archways.
"Great. Now where?" he murmured.
As he examined the doors carefully, trying to get the slightest hint, Ezra noted a figure into the left one.
"What the...?" he said as he ventured in there, measuring every step.
The young Padawan found himself on the brink of a precipice, and just then, on his right, the hissing of a lightsaber and a red light flooded the cave.
What startled Ezra the most, however, and prompted him to jolt his head to the point he almost twisted his neck, was the scream of a familiar voice.
The Padawan turned around, seeing the Inquisitor, standing next to a knelt and wounded Jaral, who was holding her arm and growling for the pain.
"Ezra...Run!" she screamed.
The Inquisitor only gave Ezra a devilish grin and raised his sword.
"NO!"
Before Ezra could make anything, the red saber fell down, cutting Jaral on her side. The cut was so profound that she immediately fell dead, her eyes still open from the surprise.
Ezra didn't event think before reacting. His muscles acted on their own as he jumped and threw himself at the Inquisitor, his left arm ready to deliver a furious blow to the Inquisitor. But as Ezra reached the Pau'an, this disappeared.
Ezra found himself falling into an abyss, then he slammed on a rocky floor.
As he stood up he recognized the same entryway at the beginning of the temple, only that Kanan wasn't there.
His chest suddenly was washed by a calm touch. Ezra let the feeling flow through him and took a deep breath, raising from a catwalk to a knelt pose. He realized that Jaral was using their bond to ease his tensions and absorb his fears, even though in small quantities.
"Thank you, sis." he muttered before standing up.
His mind quickly regained focus. Ezra stood up and started to act like his sister would: looking around, assessing the situation. With that, he would realize what was true and what was false before trusting in the Force.
The heavy door of stone opened, and the Inquisitor came out of it once again, clasping his hand behind his back as he walked with his usual, arrogant grin toward the boy.
Ezra didn't flinch.
"You are not here. That was an illusion." he said calmly.
"It might have been…" the Inquisitor replied. He stretched his arm and, to Ezra's surprise, actually grabbed the boy's face, before pushing him back toward one of the pillars.
Ezra hesitated again. An illusion shouldn't be able to touch him. Or maybe yes? This wasn't a normal illusion, after all.
"Ready to die, boy?" the dark-sider said as Ezra closed his eyes, not to focus, but in a pretty childish hope that the illusion would go away if he simply ignored it.
"Or are you afraid to face your demise?"
Ezra suddenly realized what he had to do.
"No." he said. Then turned to face the Inquisitor with defiance. "Afraid of losing my sister, and my friends? Sure. Afraid of letting down my Master? Absolutely."
"Your Master lies dead and rotting in a forgotten tunnel. I doubt you could let him down more." the Inquisitor now stood in front of Ezra, still towering over him.
"I'm not afraid." Ezra said, making the Inquisitor flinch.
The boy closed his eyes and bowed his head. The Inquisitor ignited his blade and prepared to strike.
Ezra could feel him but he didn't move, he didn't fear him.
The blade came down with a cry of the dark-sider, but as Ezra predicted, all of that vanished before he was struck.
Ezra let out a breath that he had been holding for a few seconds, then flopped against the pillar behind him. His eyes still closed in meditation.
"Big fears have you faced, young one." a hoarse voice spoke up.
The Padawan didn't even seemed surprised. "Yes."
"Hmm. For what lies ahead, ready are you?"
"I am."
"Come. See more clearly what you could not see before."
"Who are you?"
"A guide"
A sudden flash made Ezra open his eyes. When the light abated a little, he noticed what looked like some kind of fireflies, flying around forming a sphere. Ezra looked in awe as the strange swarm of light neared him and then moved in front of the door to the cave.
The boy stood up and followed them without hesitation.
Ezra kept following the fireflies for a while, until the end of the same tunnel he entered from.
Eventually he found himself in front of the same three doors he encountered before having his vision.
"Where am I supposed to go?" he asked to himself more than anything, but the voice of Yoda intervened nonetheless.
"The wrong question, that is".
Ezra sighed. "Honestly, I don't even know what I'm doing here."
The voice chuckled.
"A better question that is."
"Kanan said I was gonna be tested. So far I understand that I was put in front of my worst fear and I overcame it."
"Hmm."
"So what else am I supposed to do?"
"Telling everything, must someone else tell you?"
"Well...no."
"Your path, you must decide."
Ezra closed his eyes again. Eventually, he entered with decision into the central door, with the fireflies following him.
He reached a circular room. He gawked in amazement at the glowing drawings on its rooftop, a cupola with the borders adorned by ancient inscriptions and crossed by lines and circles.
"Tell me. Why must you become Jedi?"
"Well...first because Kanan think I can." Ezra joked, earning a chuckle from Yoda.
"But mostly because I would become stronger, more powerful." he switched to a serious tone.
"Oh. So power you seek?"
"I want to protect my sister. I won't allow the Empire to take her as well!"
"Protect your sister, hmm? What about the others?"
"I'd make the Empire suffer for everything it did." then he screamed. "For everything they took! For my parents!"
"Ah. Jedi way is revenge? Teach you this, your Master did?"
"No! Kanan would never. He's a great master."
"Then why seek you revenge?"
"I don't!"
"Hmm. Inside you much anger, much fear."
Kanan took another deep breath.
"I want to protect my friends, and everyone else that will need my help."
"And this is why you must be Jedi?"
"Yes." Ezra declared solemnly. "Before I met Kanan, I only cared for me and Jaral. But since we two joined the Ghost, I understood something important.
"The galaxy is filled with suffering already. I want to have the ability to find and protect the good. Nurture it, and eventually, when my time comes, I'll leave behind a better universe."
"Good, good." the voice said genuinely.
Ezra could feel the room changing. The rocky walls disappeared, as did the drawings, making him feel like he was floating into the vast expanse of space. Only the dim blue light of the platform he was standing over gave him a sense of direction.
"Ahead of you a difficult path there is, Padawan. A Jedi you may yet be."
Ezra opened his eyes. In front of him, a small object glowing in a blue light was descending to him. The boy slowly raised his hands until the small stone got into his hands. He watched it in awe.
After another hour waiting, Kanan's patience and trust in his apprentice paid off, as the door in front of him raised, revealing a smiling Ezra.
Kanan stood up.
"How do you feel?" he asked amicably.
"Different, but the same." Ezra answered with confidence.
"I know the feeling."
"I was given this." Ezra opened his left fist, letting Kanan look.
"I don't believe it!" Kanan exclaimed with joy. "It's a Kyber crystal!"
"Wait, is this...the crystal of a lightsaber?" Ezra was now sharing the excitement.
The two went out from the front door of the temple and finally saw the light of the sun again.
"When I brought you here I wasn't expecting this." Kanan said. "Getting a lightsaber crystal is a big step."
As they got further from the temple, this started to rumble. The giant rock started to twist back into the position the two originally found it.
"It's weird to think that it's just here. Sitting." Ezra commented.
"And it will be, for now, and hopefully long after you and I are gone." Kanan answered.
"You know, I wonder what else might be hidden there. You think we should try to come back, sometime?"
"I know what's in there, the past." Kanan concluded with a smile, and motioned Ezra to get back on the Phantom.
After their return to the Ghost, Ezra immediately got to work on building his lightsaber, spending most of the time into the small workshop of the Phantom. All of the crew contributed to his project, giving him spare parts, modulation circuits, an energy gate. Hera managed to get him the technology he asked, which was incredibly specific, and even Chopper donated a power cell.
Everybody wandered, except Jaral, of course, who everybody understood was the only one that Ezra regularly updated on the progress. Sometimes, she was even invited into the workshop by Ezra for counseling.
Finally, the day came. Even though Ezra didn't ask anyone except for Kanan and Jaral to be present, everybody else wanted to take a look and they all met in the common room in a sunny afternoon.
After finishing the last adjustments, Ezra slid down the ladder. He was holding a curious designed hilt: instead of a single bar, there were two of them.
Everybody stared or gasped in awe.
"Thought I would let you check it out first." Ezra said handing the weapon to Kanan.
The Jedi examined it for a few seconds, clearly impressed. "Well, it's different. But it seems perfect for you. Go for it." he said with a proud smile.
Ezra went in the center of the room, at a safe distance from everyone and ignited the blade. It was a unique sensation. Not only he was proud that his project worked and that everybody in the room shared his enthusiasm, but Ezra also felt that something new in his life was starting.
After trying a few swings, and happy at the simple fact that the saber didn't explode in his hands, Ezra turned off the blade and smiled to Jaral.
"Shall we go?" he said with a confident voice.
Jaral answered with a nod and a smirk. The two started to move toward the hangar bay.
"Go where?" Kanan asked.
"To try the blaster part, of course." Ezra answered with absolute neutrality.
It took a couple of seconds for the rest of the crew to elaborate what Ezra just said. And when they were sure that he indeed said "blaster" jaws dropped and they all rushed to see what would happen.
Along the way out of the cargo bay, Jaral grabbed a crate full of empty glass bottles under her arm.
Ezra took position out in the open, holding the saber as if he was handing a pistol in only one hand.
Jaral was behind him. While holding the small crate with the left arm, she used the right arm to grab one of them and prepared to throw it. The rest of the crew stayed at the base of the ramp, with a perfect angle to look at what they barely believed was about to happen.
"Go." Ezra said loudly.
Jaral obliged and threw the bottle with a light swing. It was strong enough to fly over Ezra, but slow enough to make this test carefree.
From the hilt of Ezra's lightsaber suddenly came out a bolt of blue energy, which collided against the glass, shattering it.
Everybody recognized that was a stunning bolt.
"Hey!" Kanan exclaimed. "Mine doesn't do that…"
Ezra and Jaral repeated the sequence four times, and each time the blaster incorporated into the hilt shoot out a bolt of energy, shattering the glasses.
Then Ezra turned around, relaxing his muscles and exchanging a satisfied laugh with Jaral.
The other too came around Ezra to better look at the new weapon. Sabine was pretty much bewitched.
"I figured that it would take time before I can sword-fight, but anyway, I find myself comfortable with firearms, so I tried a compromise."
"Kid, you continue to impress!" Kanan winked at him.
"You compromise has my full attention…" Sabine said, staring intensely at the saber.
"Maybe I can teach you how to build something similar." Ezra said with the intent of joking, but Sabine looked at him dead in the eye.
"Swear that you'll do that!" she demanded, her eyes still dilated.
Her face actually made Ezra uncomfortable, but he would indeed appreciate the chance to teach something to Sabine for a change, since until that day he was the one learning in their sparring sessions in hand-to-hand combat that he had a lot to learn.
He smirked. "I swear." he said.
Sabine smiled and narrowed her eyes. "I count on it." she said as she poked Ezra's chest with a finger. However, her face also came very close to his.
Ezra blushed lightly. "O-Ok, I said." he stammered as he tried to keep composure.
Sabine saw him blush and realized that she was too close to him. The realization made her face freeze as she straightened back up, only her lips seemed unable to undo a very weird 'U' form.
Jaral snorted not far from there, putting a fist in front of her mouth.