Chapter 4 - The troubling arrogance of a young Initiate

Yoda and the other members of the Jedi council debated, it was no easy feat. Another strange child has appeared and it so happened in just a few years, what kind of coincidence could this be? Of course, it wasn't! There are no coincidences with the Force, but how to interpret that? What did it mean?

"Hm, difficult decision, this is. Young Shadow, an apprentice, shouldn't be." Yoda closed his eyes with a rare but visible sign of tiredness, with a headache, he tried peering into the Force, but his visions felt clouded like something was stopping him from looking ahead.

"I must say that this would definitely be too much, once was okay, but it was Qui-Gon." Mace Windu spoke openly. "I can understand if the force guided him directly to the possible child of the Prophecy, but what of Kenobi? Surely the same thing couldn't help twice, and there can only be one child of the Prophecy."

Obi-Wan frowned in face of such comments but he remained quietly listening by Shadow's side who calmly watched everything.

"Surely you jest, Master Windu, it's not Jedi way to deny instruction for those who seek it. Besides, you're letting your prejudice cloud your opinion, what makes you think this poor child is a possible Child of the prophecy is beyond me." Shaak Ti, a female Togruta with red skin and white pigmentations around the eyes smiled slightly as she looked at Shadow who looked at her confused.

"Hmph, you all still consider his words as the truth when in reality, Qui-Gon couldn't possibly be correct about that, there's no return of the Sith, much less a child of the prophecy, if anything you're all jumping ahead of the horses and making hasty conclusions based on little evidence. Accepting Skywalker was a mistake to begin with, let's not add another mistake to the list."

The heated debate continued for an hour, but eventually, it had to stop.

Yoda stood from his seat and hit the ground with his staff. His wisened old eyes glared fiercely at the crowd. Lost in the rarity of the situation they still took a while to recompose themselves but once again, silence reigned within the Jedi High Council.

"Shadow." He started. "To become a Jedi, not possible, it is. Different, your mind is compared to our own. Learn the tenets of the order you might, but comprehending the truth behind it, impossible it may be. If your decision, to stay is. Then Shaak Ti, your guide will be."

Shadow who remained unfazed from all that stood up and turned to Shaak Ti. With a military salute, he greeted her. "Shadow greets the new master. May I learn and follow in thy footsteps from this moment forth. So, please, tell me your first order, I shall dutifully obey without question."

"There are no orders, my apprentice, only lessons to learn. Come with me, I'll show you around." Shaak Ti patted him on the head and headed outside with Shadow closely behind.

...

Lessons were the core of what made most Jedi what they were, for no wisdom could be built without the unending search for knowledge, but that in itself didn't prevent them from being clouded by their arrogance.

— Unknown, 19 BBY

...

"What a creep."

"Did you hear? They say he doesn't even know his own name, what's wrong with him?"

The comments were like the wind, Shadow had to feel their passage but he wasn't so unoccupied was to waste his time with the wind itself.

So ignoring their comments, he continued his meditation session under the alien trees of the garden at the Jedi Temple. A few years had passed since he came to this place, he is no member of the Jedi Order, but somehow they allow him to learn under Shaak Ti's guidance.

Shadow felt weird about her, why did she treat him so well, to begin with? Even when criticizing him, Shaak Ti acted in such a way that he felt difficult not to doubt his own mental faculties. For Genesen the very concept of kindness and friendliness is unexistent. Neither humans treated them well nor the Genesen themselves, there were no ties between them all.

But here, a Togruta was actively trying to form ties with him and that made him feel conflicted, a situation that has been happening more and more as his time spent in the temple increases. Far too many things that he had yet to experiment with had become true here. The warmth of a comfortable room that belonged solely to him, the illogical kindness of his master, the small creatures that took a liking to him and surround him every time he comes to the gardens, they are all things he couldn't comprehend and yet something in his heart was sprouting for them, a feeling.

A squirrel-like animal laid on his knee, looking at it, Shadow's lips twitched slightly. A small smile formed on that cold face, and in answer, ripples continued to spread in the Force.

At this point, any Jedi Master in the Order could feel him from distance without trouble, as the involuntary action became more and more distinct.

Petting the small animal's head, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

"When there is no emotion, there is peace.

When there is no ignorance, there is knowledge.

When there is no passion, there is serenity.

When there is no chaos, there is harmony.

When there is no death, there is the Force."

The words were the amalgamation of his understanding of the Jedi Order, they were an ideal picture of what he thought to be the correct depiction of what he could be. Like this, the code was a force of balance that made him achieve harmony, serving as a mantra that constantly reminded him of his master teachings, and yet...

"That's definitely wrong."

A young voice said behind him.

She was unruly like a beast, bearing the very mark of Togruta in her early years. Her skin tone leaned towards orange, her eyes were blue and pigments around her face and forehead were all white, but their pattern was more complex than that of his master, being also, more pleasing, or perhaps, beautiful to the eyes, not that he would admit that though.

"Who are you?" Shadow questioned without being too bothered by the interruption that scared away his little friends into hiding.

"Ahsoka Tano, I heard that there was someone interesting here so I came to check up." She smiled arrogantly under her self delusions. Like an insect drawn to flames, Ahsoka was a fearless girl, and that fearlessness was born from her arrogant unquestionable confidence upon herself, the best Jedi Initiate in all of the current clans within the Jedi Order.

Shadow wasn't too impressed though, while he had heard about the girl, it was all in disparaging remarks from mean Initiates that wanted to mess with him.

"What do you want?"

Ahsoka snorted at that question. "What else but compare? I heard master Yoda talking about you, something along the lines of 'great talent, he has. The right mind to use it, however, he lacks.' I do not believe that, really, nobody can defeat me in the clans, even the Jedi Masters were impressed during the tests, they all saw how good I was in both theoretical and practical lessons, and yet, they still say you are very talented when you never make an appearance besides when you are in the garden."

Ah, there it is, the true reason.

"So it is jealousy then? The Jedi should be better than envy others, I have no control of what others say about me, and no interest in any of that. If you came here only to impose yourself, then, take my gift, tell them all how you beat me in a crushing defeat. I'll confirm the veracity of such statement to whoever asks."

Shadow's lack of reaction to her statements and actions was starting to piss her off. When Ahsoka heard his suggestion of pretending that he beat her, it was like him hitting the nail in the coffin.

"You! Do you think this is funny? Where is your pride as a man? You aren't a Jedi anyway, so what could you be afraid of? Oh, don't tell me! Let me guess... You don't hit girls? Ah, the old excuse, they all tried that, you know?"

Shadow shook his head. "No, I don't know. I do not give you so much importance to the point of caring about whatever you're doing. I would be pleased if you give me the same amount of attention I give to you."

The underlying comment was like a slap to Ahsoka's face. Decided to not let it slip, she followed closely behind as he stood up and went further inside the Meditation Gardens.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the outskirts of the garden, a beast with keen and intelligent eyes slowly spat on the screws that separated a portion of the Gardens from Coruscant streets, the liquid substance excreted by his glands evaporated on contact, slowly but surely, it's corroding the only thing that keeps it in the garden. How long could the walls endure? Hopefully, the screws aren't too important to keep the beast in there—

*Boom*