A Jedi trained by a Sith. Draca was a curious case, a young Jedi, one that claimed to adhere to the Jedi code but had no apparent influence from a trained Jedi, spending more time with Anderson, a Sith who was as far from a Jedi as anyone could possibly be. Lilina had offered to train with him for two reasons, firstly to offer her guidance as an experienced Jedi Knight, and second to learn more about him, just how much he understood the Jedi Way given his influence. Dark Side was as much a part of The Force as the Light Side, but to learn one from the other was a case that she had never heard of before.
Lilina meditated on her own experiences as a Jedi in a training room she had booked on the Perune Orbital Business District as she waited for Draca to arrive. She had crossed paths with Draca a couple of times, but never spent much time communicating with him one to one.
A Jedi working as part of a mercenary group. Lilina was a curious case. Of course, in today’s galaxy and even several decades ago, such an occurrence would have been far from out of the ordinary. The Jedi Purge and Order 66 had left the remnants of the old order scattered among the stars, many doing whatever they had to do in order to survive.
Was that why Lilina worked with the Vornskr Battalion? Draca had heard many things. Did she owe them her life?
These were questions for later. The Perune Orbital Business District was abnormally loud, far louder than he liked and he kept his cloak’s hood up to mask both his ears and his face. It helped put him at ease, even if just a little.
Thankfully, Lilina’s signature in the Force was like a bright beacon on a stormy night at sea. It wasn’t long before he found her. It hadn’t been long since the last training session courtesy of the Envoy Corps, and he was looking forward to conversing with another Jedi.
They were, sadly, few and far between.
“Hello,” Draca removed his hood and gave a slight bow to her.
“It’s good to see you Draca,” said Lilina serenely. She was the picture of a model Jedi, in traditional beige robes, standing regally with a lightsaber on her hip and an aura of calm about her.
“I understand you seek further instructions in the way of the Jedi. How has your training been going so far?”
“That’s what I’m hoping you can help me with,” Draca spoke with a certain level of unease.
Yes, whilst it was true he was a Jedi, the circumstances surrounding his training were unusual to say the least. Anders did his best, he really did, and he had Draca’s best interests at heart, but the Chiss was still a Sith and on the opposite end of the spectrum to the Jedi.
Well, Anders always told him to branch out more…
Lilina had hoped Draca would have come with questions or specific things he was struggling with and wanted to improve on, whether it was combat, philosophy or ethics. But she could work with a blank slate too.
“What do you know of the Jedi Trials?”
“The Jedi Trials were trials conducted for Jedi Padawans to ascertain if they were ready for knighthood. Traditionally, these were known as the trials of skill, courage, insight, spirit, and flesh.”
Draca relayed his answer like he was reading holotext from a datapad.
“If you don’t mind me asking, ma'am, why did you ask that?”
He didn’t want to be rude, but he had a curious mind. Was she expecting him to do the trials right here? Right now?
“I wanted to check how your training was going under Anders. Being a Sith, I was unsure of how much he had taught you of Jedi traditions. Do you understand how a Padawan passes the trials?”
Truth be told, Draca did not have a good answer to that. How could he? Anders did the best he could given the circumstances, but Draca had never really undergone the rituals and traditions of a regular Jedi. The closest he’d ever come was constructing his lightsaber under Anders’ supervision.
“I… don’t. I’m sorry.”
“There is no need to apologise, young Padawan. This is just a consequence of your circumstance. Under some masters, there is some ritual or test. For others, they are simply deemed to have passed the trials when they have exemplified the qualities required. Obi-Wan Kenobi was deemed to have passed the Trial of Courage when he faced the Sith Lord, Darth Maul, and Anakin Skywalker passed the Trial of Flesh when his arm was cut off by Count Dooku.”
“Or like Luke Skywalker on Dagobah?” Draca asked, seeking praise for his knowledge. Of course, any Jedi worth their salt knew the infamous story of their order.
“Did you pass your trials?”
.
“Very good. You know your history,” said Lilina with a reassuring smile. “Luke Skywalker was sent into a cave to confront his inner darkness, while Master Yoda watched from a distance. Luke was being deliberately tested. I never had a formal test, but was judged to have passed the trials through upholding the Jedi Code. But that’s a story for another day.
"I watched your duel with Bril during Hector’s training session. You fight exceptionally well with a lightsaber. I would consider that display more than sufficient for the Trial of Skill.”
Draca beamed with pride. He did like the praise. He had worked exceptionally hard, despite the outcome of his duel with Bril, on this occasion, resulting in a loss.
He bowed his head. “Thank you so much. I’ve been practicing with a lightsaber since I was a youngling.”
Then, when he raised his head, a curious thought occured to him.
“Are… Are you putting me through the trials?”
“I’m not putting you through anything,” said Lilina softly. “You keep working on your training under Anderson. I will keep an eye ||gah she doesn’t have eyes whatever|| on your progress and whether you have performed deeds worthy of the other trials
Draca wasn’t sure how to react. On the one hand, a chance to pass the Jedi trials? That sounded amazing. It gave him a goal to strive for.
What if he could found his own Jedi Order? Here on Kasiya, maybe? Or maybe in the old temple on Elysia?
Ideas and possibilities swirled in his head.
“What did you do in order to pass your trials? If you don’t mind me asking?”
Time was getting on, and Lilina hadn’t booked the room for that long. She wanted to tell Draca everything about her trials, it would be a great educational opportunity for him, and he would learn a lot from the story.
Lilina smiled at Draca. “I certainly don’t mind you asking. It’s good to have an example to follow. And I’d love to tell, but that will be a story for another day.”