A Riddle in Time

[Brandon Rhea]

Present Day

The winds of Empress Teta gently brushed across Jhon’s rough skin. The cool breeze, the faint smell of flowers, and the sounds of nearby waterfalls provided an often-sought serenity when outside of the Sage Halls. There were many memories he had amongst those very halls—the pain over the tragedy on Ardos, changing his life by accepting the tutelage of Errand Khoss, one of the great Sage Masters who came before him, and ultimately becoming the leader of the Sage Halls themselves.

And yet he would never act on the petty notion that he should somehow be superior to the other Jedi, regardless of their rank, who lived, trained, and served in the temple. He did not have to sit in an ivory tower or in a seat of power within a dimly lit chamber to feel that he was in charge of something. He was no different than any other Jedi.

So if one was looking for him, they would find him where most other Jedi were on such a beautiful day: outside, taking in the peaceful day and letting rest wash over him. He felt fatigued, having just come from a High Council meeting where he relayed his vision of the new Sith Emperor to his fellow Councilors.

His eyes fluttered as he began to fall asleep, and, as he did, the scent of the flowers that dotted the temple grounds washed over him...flowers that meant more than many people knew.

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Many Years Ago

As he fell asleep, Jhon’s dreams took him to a time and place he had once been years earlier. It was the slums of Corellia, an orphanage the High Council had asked him to go to—although he wasn’t quite sure why. All he knew was that there was someone there the Council wanted a Jedi Master to speak to, and so they tasked him with doing so.

He stepped out of the rain that was pouring down into the streets, the odor of garbage surrounding him as he did so, and into the orphange’s reception area. Jhon threw back his hood, gently shaking his head to throw off some of the rain water that had seeped onto it, and approached the receptionist.

“Good evening,” he said, folding his arms across his chest. “My name is Jhon Cordatus. I was sent by the Jedi Council, and I understand there is someone you want me to speak to.”

 

[Sreeya]

The receptionist rushed over to the Jedi. Worry was etched all across her countenance, though she desperately tried to hide it. Her mind repeatedly screamed, "take her away!", to where it would explode within the Jedi Master's thoughts. Outwardly, she displayed a smile, ushering him into the orphanage. She spoke as she walked.

"In the time she's been here, she's never once had a family visitor. We attempted to find out where she came from..anything at all, but she won't say.."

She came across a room and paused before entering. She grimaced as she looked at the Jedi. Her voice was significantly quieter now.

"There have been incidents with the other children... nasty things.."

She watched for a change in reaction, dreading that he would leave. When he did not, she continued walking again, knocking on the door.

"Andraste, you have a visitor."

The receptionist quickly stepped aside, leaving the Jedi alone. She appeared to be in a hurry all of a sudden, eager to leave the girl alone.

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The young girl did not look up at first, simply staring out the window. The rain smeared against the glass and she saw a hint of her reflection upon it. She sighed when she felt him walk in.

"Are you here to tell me I'm crazy? I'm not crazy."

She looked up at him and scowled slightly.

"I'm not different. Are you here to tell me I'm wrong? I'm not wrong. I'm not twisted. The other children...they're wrong.."

She stopped talking then, looking at him curiously. He gave off an odd vibe. She did not feel darkness from him, like she had from her lord, but she could tell this man still knew about the it. The Force. Her curiosity was suddenly heightened and she turned to face him, eyeing him suspiciously.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

He listened to what the receptionist told him, but he didn’t speak a word. He needed to...feel the orphanage, he needed to know where he was, the environment he was stepping into. He sensed all the frightened souls around him; lonely, destitute, petrified. Jhon was not one to judge the conditions others lived in, but even he knew that this was no place for a child—unless it was the absolute last resort.

The entire building screamed out in pain and despair. The energies of all that was around him cried for comfort, begged for relief, but he couldn’t provide it. He was not here to save everyone, not today, no matter how much it pained him. Even the receptionist, no matter the fact that she didn’t speak the words, was miserable. Whoever the child was he was about to meet, the woman clearly wanted nothing more to do with her.

When he finally entered the girl’s room, he watched her looking at him with a curious eye. It was if she was trying to sense his thoughts and read his own character, very much with the traits of a Jedi. The Force surrounded her as she spoke. She was clearly attuned to its powers, but whether this was what the Council intended for him to find was another matter.

“Right and wrong aren’t always as simple as we think,” Jhon told her as he sat down, flashing a smile, one of comfort and warmth, “but I’m not here to tell you that you’re crazy.”

He leaned forward, moving closer towards her, “Do the other children think you’re different and twisted, Andraste?”

Jhon watched her mannerisms, listened to her voice, and sensed her thoughts, letting it all flow into him slowly and methodically. Like so many other children, she could have great potential—but even knowing the future was uncertain, hers was more clouded than most. That might not have meant anything, or it might have meant everything.

 

[Sreeya]

She shrank away slightly as he moved closer.

"I don't believe you."

She uttered the words as soon as he mentioned he did not find her crazy. They always lied, all of them. She had delved into the thoughts of those that spoke to her, and they always contradicted the words spoken out loud. She attempted the same with this man, but found that she collided against a barrier, unable to penetrate his thoughts. She looked away when he asked her about the other children. She absentmindedly began to itch away at the scars of self inflicted injuries on her wrists.

"They think I'm different because I can make things move without touching them, control whatever I want, know about things before they happen....and because I can make bad things happen to the children that are mean to me."

She shot him a quick glance as she said this, defiantly. She was always on her guard, overly suspicious.

"But that's because they deserve it! The lady does not understand that. She has had doctors come and look at me. I..made them leave."

There was the ghost of a smile on her face. She looked out the window again, gazing at the rain.

"You know about the it, don't you? The Force? Is that why you are here? I can feel it from you..but you're not like me."

Her small room had various random trinkets. There were small figurines, buttons, a bowl, a hair brush and flowers, lots of flowers. The flowers were all gathered up into a bunch on the windowsill. The collection looked oddly out of place. Her mind was difficult to read, as the Force automatically formed a small cloudy barrier that would only relay fragmented thoughts and memories. She was not aware of this involuntary action, but it was merely an example of the Force always being present within her.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

“You are different,” Jhon said, but with a light, warm smile, as if to let her know that he was saying it more as term of endearment than the insulting way in which other children may have taunted her, “but there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m different too, but I’m also like you in ways you don’t yet know.”

He looked to the windowsill that she was looking at, noticing the flowers. They were out of place, and yet large in numbers, suggesting she collected them.

As he pondered what was happening, sensing that her mind was more difficult to read than most, he realized why the Jedi Council had sent him there in the first place.

“What if I told you that I could take you somewhere where you could be with other children, just like you?” he asked. “You wouldn’t be stuck there, made fun of, or anything else like that. It’s a school for people like us. A school of the Force.”

He looked again at the flowers before continuing, “It’s a beautiful temple in the center of the galaxy, surrounded by vast rivers, beautiful hillsides...and gardens full of flowers.”

 

[Sreeya]

She considered his words for a long moment. She had almost blurted out about her short time with her lord, but bit back from it. Though this man appeared kind, she did not trust him yet. She eyed him suspiciously as he spoke, especially when he glanced over at her flower collection. She had been aggressively possessive of them. As he spoke, she shot glances at him, curious about this temple.

"Will I get to keep my flowers?"

She absentmindedly brought a flower to her nose, inhaling the scent. There was a moment of silence, where it appeared as if she had forgotten he was in the room. However, she suddenly perked up, jumping to her feet. Ultimately, anything was better than being in this hell. She allowed a thin smile to grace her features, though it was difficult to tell if it was genuine.

"Take me! I want to see this place."

She was still suspicious of him, especially as she did not know his name. But she also did not know the name of her lord, and she surmised that those more attuned to the Force simply did not share their names..for whatever reason. She gathered up all her flowers and stolen toys, prepared to leave. She suddenly stopped once again, tilting her head curiously.

"I sometimes talk to the Force. It's very kind, you see. Whenever something makes me angry or unhappy, the Force quickly makes bad things happen to it. I don't even have to do anything. Is that normal for someone like me?"

 

[Brandon Rhea]

For a moment there, he froze, stunned, standing in place like a child who had been shocked with something so horrifying he didn't know what to make of it. This girl, this seemingly innocent child, wasn't all that she appeared. Did the Council know? Doubtful. It's one thing to detect Force sensitivity, but another thing entirely to magically know that the Force was supposedly making her do bad things… And yet that wasn't possible, was it?

"We can leave as soon as you're packed," Jhon told her, brushing off her last comment with a smile, not letting on, either physically or mentally, his reaction to her admittance, "and yes, you can keep your flowers—and pick all the flowers you want around the temple, when you're not learning about how to use the Force, of course."

He put a particular emphasis on that last line. She would learn about how she would use the Force. The Force was the power, not the wielder. Only she could have commanded the Force to do things, to make bad things happen when she was angry or unhappy.

There was darkness in her, but darkness was a choice. It was something that could be unlearned. At the Sage Halls, his priority with her was to ensure she did just that.

 

[Sreeya]

Andraste's curious eyes picked up the pause as soon as her words left her mouth. She could tell her revelation made him slightly uncomfortable. To her dismay, he mentioned nothing of it. She silently grabbed all her things and paused to look out the window one more time.

"I'm really going...really getting out of here."

A smile spread across her face. She looked up at him, her eyes always sharp and intelligent.

"Okay, I'm ready."

She waited till he began walking, following behind him. As they roamed through the halls, she walked past the other children that curiously peeked at her. She offered them a smug grin, letting their toys rattle in her bag as she walked out.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

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Five Weeks Later

It wasn't easy convincing the Jedi Council that Andraste should be trained as a Jedi. They had sent him to learn more about her, of course, but whether that actually meant she could be trained was another matter entirely. There was darkness in her, and they all sensed that. Even Jhon knew it was the case, but that was what made training her all the more important to him.

When a young child, particularly one of her age, already held that darkness within them, it became difficult for them to unlearn it. Jedi philosophy taught that once you walked down the dark path, it would forever dominate your destiny. This was true to an extent; Andraste would always be more vulnerable to the allure of the dark side than most other Jedi, but by overcoming it she would gain a strength that the others did not have that would allow her to make the choice to resist the darkness that whispered in the very depths of her soul.

Now he waited for her in a small garden he had shown her weeks earlier, just outside the Sage Halls, a garden with flowers from countless different worlds all planted there over the years. He believed it would be a calming influence on her, one that would help her focus on the good things in her life rather than the bad. Today would be their second training session together now that she was officially his Padawan learner.

 

[Sreeya]

She was thrilled to be called to the gardens once again. As soon as she stepped out, the sweet scent of flowers filled the air. She inhaled deeply, a smile spreading across her face. Since she had been brought over to Empress Teta, she looked drastically different. She no longer had bags under her eyes, and did not spend every waking moment suspiciously glancing over her shoulder to see if her lord was following her. She knew there would be hell to pay for what she had done. He did not forgive. For now, however, she was safe.

Jhon was a bit of a mystery to her, and she found that slightly disconcerting. Sometimes she wondered whether or not he was applying caution around her. If so, for what? Her curiosity overwhelmed her, but she had kept it in check. She walked out towards him, stopping to pick a flower and inhale the scent. She abruptly looked over at Jhon to see if he would punish her for this. Although she hadn't been punished for anything and had no reason to fear anyone, the pain from her time with her lord was vivid within her mind.

She had trouble with her first training session with him. Where her lord always pushed her to get lost within her emotions, the Jedi asked her to control it. She couldn't decide for herself which was more effective, but this was infinitely tougher so far. She had been used to letting her pain and anguish overwhelm her. Without that as fuel, she was left with having to apply the Force from a neutral standpoint. Quelling her thoughts, she came to a stop across from him.

"Hello, my lord, I've been studying at the archives. I wish to continue our training."

The words sounded as if they had been practiced over and over again. She had been told that she did not have to refer to anyone as lord, but it was a difficult habit to break. She didn't catch it this time, simply gazing at him expectantly.

 

[Brandon Rhea]

Jhon allowed himself a faint chuckle. Lord… What an interesting title to bestow upon a Jedi. It was a title of authority, of control and power. It suggested rulership and even ownership over another. Sometimes it was even used to describe a god.

A Jedi, not even a Jedi Master, was none of those things. Jedi were servants of all beings. For Jhon, he understood his place as a Jedi Master, particularly as a teacher, was not one of authority over a Padawan learner. Quite the contrary, he was still the servant of a Padawan, even his own. He was there to serve her in order to ensure that she became a Jedi, and that she understood, accepted, and followed the Way in a manner that suited her life and the life of all beings. He was to be a master of no one other than himself.

"I'm pleased to hear that," he told her with a smile, motioning for her to sit down in the small clearing by the flowers, "but as I told you yesterday, there is no need to call me Lord. Refer to me as Master if you must use a title, but I much prefer Jhon."

He took a seat in the clearing and folded his legs, sitting in a mediative position without actually meditating. He found it relaxed him, even just sitting there.

"Now," he continued, "we spoke yesterday about the philosophy of Right Conduct. Tell me, what is your interpretation of what is Right Conduct?"