Into the Dark

Some people—however courageous and capable they might be—still preferred reading stories to living them, and Reath was among that number.

There’s no point in reacting to a lack of calm in a way that makes you even less calm.

Would you like to become a swashbuckling heroic Knight? Or would you rather stay at home and read?

Whenever you feel foolish, remember that you have been given an opportunity to learn. The truly foolish act is to refuse that opportunity.

Few people knew that the Jedi Temple had been built atop a Sith shrine.

How can we split the Force in two? How can we justify such an act of violence—and it is violence, such a dividing, even the darkness divided from the light.

The mere making of a decision sometimes had as much power as any action. Purpose clarified every move, every thought.

Sometimes we all need a reminder to focus on the good things in life.

Master Cohmac sighed. “The darkness is as much a part of the Force as the light. The Order thinks it can bisect the Force so neatly—as though the primal living energy of all existence were a thing to be sliced and served.” Reath took a moment to consider this. “Doesn’t that separation keep us safe?” “Does it?” Master Cohmac said. “Or does the divide only make the darkness darker, more dangerous, than it ever would have been in a state of nature?

In the long run, history isn’t that kind to anybody. But religions are. Myths are. There

His face had paled, which made the freckles on his nose and cheeks stand out. Jora liked it when humans had some face markings of their own.

A vergeance in the Force existed there—a nexus of power and energy that could be put to many uses, both worthy and wicked. Vergeances rose of their own accord; they could not be created, only discovered. In the far distant past of the Old Republic, back during the ancient Sith Empire, Sith and Jedi had often warred for control of these vergeances. The Sith had held this one first.

After that, our worlds began to listen to each other more. We dared to learn more about the galaxy beyond our narrow confines. We learned that independence is an illusion—that no one truly stands alone. We regained the courage to trust, without which we could never have moved forward. To trust is to hope, to believe in a better future and believe that others will work with us to make it possible.

After the musical performance, as they began walking with the crowds toward the banquet, Reath said, “What happens after this, master?” “Anything could happen,” said Master Cohmac. “And that is the joy of it.

That sounds like Master Yoda on spice, Reath thought. Which was either a very good sign or a very, very bad one.

Thanks for the lecture, Master Yoda.

Affie walked into the mess to find Geode. He had more sense than to interrogate her. His silent sympathy broke through where no words ever could have. She leaned her head against Geode’s side and let the tears come. Patiently he waited with her as she cried, for a dozen reasons and none at all.

there was no need to speak of it, and Cohmac had learned to limit his words. It was far too easy to say too much.

He glanced down just in time to see Orla hold out her lightsaber and ignite it—two blades, shining white, piercing the shadows.

For the purposes of keeping their eyes on both patients at once, the other Jedi had taken down the barrier between Reath’s “room” and Dez’s. Unfortunately Dez wasn’t doing nearly as well. Dez lay on his cot, his breath ragged. His golden-tan complexion had turned ashen, and his skin had gone clammy. Despite being bandaged with synthplast skin, the wounds on Dez’s arms and legs remained livid and tender. When Master Cohmac came to check on them, he murmured, “Have you tried a healing, Reath?” “I tried,” Reath said. “Master Jora always said it was worth trying. But I doubt I did much. Not knowing exactly what toxins the Drengir put in his bloodstream—well, that didn’t help.

Force.” “No,” Dez said. “That was broken by the Drengir. The healers have pieced it back together again, but it’s… shaky. The cracks are showing. It won’t hold, not unless I commit myself with all my strength to renewing it.

I might have assumed it was no more than a rogue tree; plants can sometimes be strong in the dark side.