"I have never met a strong person with an easy past."
— Atticus

All around me were immense structures. The place seemed like a village, but the huts were castles, the shops were malls, and the Temple... I had no words. The Temple stood taller and wider than anything else. It made the Jedi Temple of Coruscant look like a simple apartment.

Among the village were many creatures, humanoid and animal. Many of them nodded as they passed. Others waved. Some scowled. A few of them had lavishly bright auras that radiated gentleness and hope, but others had intensely dark auras that made me shrivel back and want to cower. Still, some had a mediocre air to them, like they were neither Light nor Dark. They were the ones that made me audibly gasp or gape as they walked by. The sheer power of the Force was reflected upon the few that had found that perfect state of neutrality.

Master Plo took me to the Temple. After my short tenure in the Jedi Temple, I knew what the large building meant: stairs. By my third day there, I had decided that the reason Jedi were so in shape and talented is because they were constantly trying to find ways to get around the temple faster. Usually, the fourteen flights of stairs to breakfast was enough for me, and I did hardly anything else.

The doors swung open. Master Plo guided me through this new maze. Flight after flight of merciless steps, I wondered just how old it was. I decided to attempt Basic.

"How much old is this?" I looked at Master Plo expectedly.

"'How old is this?'" He corrected. "Several millennia, about as old as the grandmaster."

"Like Master Yoda?" I asked.

I could tell he was smiling knowingly under his mask. "It is far older than Master Yoda, young Skywalker."

While I had yet to get used to the time standards of the planet, I estimated it took twenty-five Coruscant minutes to reach the top. The closer we got to the top, the less people I saw. The occasional guard was standing at a post or walking around routinely, and a Twi'lek with an arm full of datapads was shuffling silently at a table.

Then, at a small door, I felt a blast of energy, like I had just entered the radius of the Force itself. Just inside the doors, I could feel the Dark, the Light, and a near perfect balance of the two. I felt a yearning to be in the room, to be engulfed by the Force. When Master Plo opened the door, it took all my willpower not to squeal with excitement.

If the Force had a heart, or a mind, or a soul, that room was it.

They sat in a semicircle like the Jedi did. The twelve of them shifted their unblinking gazes towards me, and my excitement vanished, replaced by pure, raw terror. A few of them raised their eyes in surprise, while others looked at me with an intensely curious gaze. Their stares immediately put me on edge.

The beings looked young, but their eyes seemed infinite. As I met a few of their gazes, I felt like I was staring into the heart of the universe. They were kneeling on the floor in a typical meditative position. Most of them wore expressive robes, nothing like that of the Jedi's. Many of them wore accessories and armor and heavy makeup. Some had tattoos. Each looked around 30-40 years old.

In the middle of the semicircle, a white-haired woman looked at my with crystal-white eyes. Her face was scarred with the dark, corrosive lines that Dark Side-users often attained. I found out later that in Ancient Sith culture, such corroded skin was thought beautiful, a sign that the bearer held great power.

To her left, there was an obviously empty space, as if it was saved for someone who would never occupy it. It saddened me to look at.

The woman at the very end spoke first. "Welcome, Arrainne Leelain Cortana Skywalker." I winced at my full name. It had been many years since I'd heard it.

I felt Master Plo place his hands on my shoulders protectively. "Arrai is not fluent in Basic." He explained, which I was thankful for. "She can understand, but it is still difficult for her to speak it."

I looked up gratefully.

"Then what is your native language?" Asked another towards the center right. She looked at me expectantly.

"It was Huttese, master." I replied respectfully, my voice trembling a bit.

All of them turned their gazes to another person, a red skinned Twi'lek in dark robes. "Soung bees tee-tocky (It has been a long time)." He said. "Kaava settah meendeeya (I think I can still speak it)."

I smiled at the sound of the gruff language. It may have been a gross, ugly language created by evil, slaving monsters, but it still sounded like home to me. If there was a way to thank him in Huttese, I would've.

"We have heard many things about you, Arrainne," said the woman at the end. The use of my first name sounded strange to me. "What do you know of us?"

I looked at Master Plo as if asking permission to speak not in Basic. He nodded. "Neeja chuba (Nothing)," I answered. "Je stuka tu jedai exe nopa chaychay chuba (I know about the Jedi, but not about you.)."

The Twi'lek translated it to Basic for everyone else. They all nodded, like they expected nothing else.

The same woman looked at me again. "I am Master Gi. I will—"

"No," the woman in the middle spoke softly, like she had not used her vocal cords in many years. The other eleven looked at her in surprise. She got up with graceful elegance. Her silent footsteps brought her small frame close to me. "I am Grandmaster Thraina Xedrin. Come with me, young one."

Even Master Plo was gawking at the grandmaster and she led me out the door and into a lift.

She was silent as she stared at the doors, waiting patiently for them to open. When they did, they opened to a small, enclosed garden.

At first, I was surprised by the masses of greenery. We were obviously not outside, but humidifiers and UV lights obviously did their jobs well. Each plant looked especially cared for and groomed. What surprised me even more were the exotic animals, most of which I had never seen. Many leaned toward Grandmaster Thraina as she walked by. Even the plants could sense her powerful aura.

She walked another moment before reaching a shed. Pulling out a small trowel, she handed me several small pots of a budding blue flower. We walked to the back of the greenhouse where a small space was empty.

"I have always enjoyed beautiful things." She stated, kneeling down to dig. "Gardening is a beautiful thing." I could tell Grandmaster Thraina was speaking simply for my benefit. Her accent was unbelievably beautiful, and I wanted her to speak forever. "What planet are you from?"

I could tell by the way she asked that she already knew, but I answered anyways. "I am from Tatooine." I noticed with a jolt that my own developing accent was very similar to hers.

Thought she did not smile, I could tell Master Thraina was amused. "Then we are opposites. I was born on Hoth." It was a cold planet, I knew.

When I said nothing, she continued. "Tatooine is not a place where one finds much plant life. Neither is Coruscant nor Hoth. It was my—best friend—who taught me." She seems to have chosen her words carefully, though I did not realize it at the time. "You remind me of her, somewhat. You may be young, but I sense you can see more than the rest of us."

She looked at me like she knew something that was a secret. "Tell me, what colors do you see from me?"

I raised my eyes, slightly shocked. No one else had ever said anything about the colors to me. It was almost as if no one else could see them. "Gray," I answered, cocking my head to one side to feel the colors better. "And black. And white." Strangely, I could see all of the colors at the same time, but they were not mixed. They flowed together in perfect harmony. "You are a beautiful thing." I said, mesmerized by the patterns the colors made, each complimenting and contrasting each other.

For the first time, Master Thraina managed to crack a smile. "You are very much like Shy." She neglected to elaborate on who the person was, though I assumed it was the friend she spoke of. "I have seen many strange things happen to Force-users. I have seen powers I thought impossible. Yet, I have never seen someone with such a talent for seeing auras as you." She sat back, studying me. "You are an anomaly, Arrai Skywalker, and one I fully intend to one day comprehend."

She reached for a pot in my hand and began transplanting the flower.

{A/N

Hey guys! I'm sorry it's been so long! Blame Cassie Clare and her books for keeping me away from writing!

For any of you who didn't read my old series (which I have started calling my first drafts), everything will be explained in the next chapter or two. Fear not!

To those of you who are on your second time around with me, you'll recognize a few of the characters that showed up.

If you don't remember, Master Gi and Madter Raaj made brief appearances (Raaj only by mention) in a few books. Also, the Twi'lek was unnamed in my
first drafts, but I decided it would be Horus after the Egyptian god. You can expect to see more of him soon, hopefully.

And, as always, my Old Republic favorite, Thraina Xendra. I actually wanted to write a series of her adventures with Shy-Lee Ordin. If y'all ever wanna see a series of them, I would love to do it! Maybe after this main series, I'll do one. Thoughts?

Also, as many of you requested, I will be delving deeper into the Dark Jedi code as well as training methods and culture. When I read my first drafts and I think of the Dark Jedi code, I think of the Hamilton song 'Non-Stop' (I think it is) when Burr and Hamilton go:

Hamilton: So [the Constitution] needs amendments—
Burr: It's full of contradictions.
Hamilton: So is independence!

I feel like my Dark Jedi beliefs are full of contradictions and need to be clarified. Also, the Dark Jedi do have a strong belief in freedom and independence, and I want to address that a little more.

Thanks as always to my beautiful readers, especially to our commenters and you voters! Y'all are my favorite!

Peace, love, and
-Art