Maren opened his eyes. He slept surprisingly deep. Normally he was very jumpy in that regard. There could always be something or someone who wants to shank you. The boy looked out of the window. It had to be very early in the morning. The sun would still take a long time before it would rise above the horizon. Despite that the planet was just as busy as during the day. Maren had still to accomondate to that fact that there was never really a quiet moment on this world. Not like it was different on Dathomir. If you listened carefully you could here all kinds of creatures shuffeling around, but it was a dissimilar. The boy stood up from the comfortness of his bed and went to his roomdoor to take a listen. He could not make out any noice as he pressed his ear on the door so he opened the door to check outside. The whole wing was empty, not a single lifesign. Little lights illuminated the hallway. Together with the moonshine which broke through the window they revealed the floating little particles in the air, made everything appear rather ethereal. Notwithstanding Maren concluded that probably most of the other Jedis were not up yet. His roommate did also not seem to return yesterday. He would definetly have noticed it if he did. Maren always was on edge when he slept. Generally he never needed much. He strolled to the desk where he put his spoils of yesterday. Everything was still in the place he left them. Maren looked what else was he could find on and in the desk. The first things he discovered were some books. Once again he found it weird how he could apparently read and speak a language he absolutely should not be able to comprehend. The books, ten in number were about a pletheror of topics but mostly about the Jedi and the Force. To Maren's displeasure the majority seemed more philosophical in nature than martial. Dissapointing. His neighbour had the same collection so no hope there. Looking into the drawers there were some wodden sticks with black or coloured tips and white sheets. Also a transparent rectangle which Maren had no idea what it was. After some more rummaging he could not anything more interesting, so he put his clothes on, wanting to go on a little stroll. Before that though he took the the sphere out of his little hidey hole. The young Initiate took a educated look at this... thing. It was smooth and round, perfectly so. Nothing should be like this. Touching it almost was... the best way Maren could come up with was mesmerizing. As if it goaded you to keep digging for its many, many secrets, finding out what it could tell you. The funny thing about that was that it was completly silent and unasuming on first glance. No telling you about anything. From afar it looked like a really round ball. Maybe it was just so uncanny for him. One reason could be that his mother was a Nightsister. Regardless he put the ball back in his pocket. Better to be safe than sorry with these kind of trinkets. He has a much better hiding spot for this now as he thought about it. He picked up his little knife from the desk. Half of it was drenched in the now dried green blackish colour of the Nightsister's blood. A grand fetish if he could say so himself. He has to find something to hang it around his neck. First things first though.
After packing his stuff he went back to the place he and his Master went the day before. While he was going in the vents the boy sought after a good hiding spot for the thing. Because he did not want to get lost he used his nails to make scratches on the metal walls. He used more force at the end compared to the beginning, so the deeper end of the cut showed him were he went. A while later he found a good spot. Small, hidden, isolated, no wiggle room to roll around, pretty much perfect. He put the sphere in there and the next thing the boy did was going back to the spot from yesterday. When he reached it he went to the place his Master kept her things. If he did not know were the box was, he would have a hard time finding it, so unassuming it was. He opened it and took and looked into it. There was all kinds of stuff in it. Most of it he could not make sense of, but there was a device he could make sense of. He took the lightsaber out of its container and activate it. With grandeur in his eyes and a cruel smile on his lips the boy basked in its glow. Then he started swinging it around just like the woman taught him the day before. It went definetly easier than before, but somehow it still felt wrong. Nevertheless he kept redoing the swings and stances. After a while he ended his training. The boy looked at the now risen sun. The boy somehow liked how everything was drenched in a red rose tint right now.
'Well now, let us go back to the shower. I kind of like flowing water without the possibility of something in it that wants to eat me', he chuckeled to himself. Just as he wanted to put the weapon he felt something behind him. The Nightbrother immeaduatly turned around and whirled the Lightsaber in an arc to his adversary.
"Meep" came a loud as the Lightsaber crashed against his Master's.
"Master you do now it is not nice to spy on your student, is it not hmmm", Maren said mimicing her usual demenor.
"Yeah, I should have said something, hehe."
She put her tongue out.
"I wanted to check on you but you weren't in your room so I hoped you were here. I wanted to bring you to your first lesson."
"Hmmm, splendid, but firstly I need a shower and something to eat if possible."
"You like that sloooo -oh yeah let's do it like that."
Maren just nodded and the two of them went back. After his shower the woman brought her droid and they went to the hall. It was early in the morning, so there were not many people here. Now that he got a better look at his Master she seemed a bit... drowry, maybe that is not her time. She must have gotten up early just for him... how cute.
The food was adequate, but the woman was not happy.
"Come on. I show you to your class." A grumpy voice came out of her mouth. After their breakfast the woman, still grumpy, led Maren to the new part of the temple. Massive statues from possibly past Jedi decorated the halls they traversed. It seemed like the temple slowly woke up as more and more people started scurrying all over the place.
"So when does my training start?"
"Oh yeah I didn't tell you. So you go to your respective clan and the Master responsable for you and the other five to ten Initates will teach you the basics of the force, Lightsaber combat, history, math etc.", the woman explained seemingly reminiscing in the nostalgia of the past.
"I do not really care about anything except the first two. The other ones appear to be quite lackluster compared to them."
"Right. But I have to say that the other ones a very helpful in the life of a Jedi, as boring as they are."
"Beebop", the droid confirmed.
The three of them apparently reached their destination because woman stopped in front of an unassuming door.
"So here is your spot. So have a nice day, my sweet Padawan", she hushed in her usual sweet voice. Or was it just Maren's perspective. He did not know and it confused him.
Oh well let us see what the day will bring.
He entered the room and looked around. It was not a very exiting room. It was round, there was.some kind of emblem on the floor and ceiling high windows all around. The more interesting part were the peo...
"Heyheyeheyhey, hereherehere", a voice he recognised yackery-yaked in high speed and it gave him the familiar feeling of wanting to CHOCKE THE LIFE OUT OF IT. Maren focused himself. He did not want to show any weakness. That is his first rule of being.
"Hey, what is up", answered the boy in an even more deeper voice than before, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. He noticed two more people. One was just a little guy in a cloak with a hoddy. Hilarious. He could not see his face as it was hidden in shadows, two yellow eyes examining... analysing him. The other one was a GIGANTIG SLUG WITH ARMS. The young initiate barely could keep his emotions under control at seeing them. What weird creatures there are among the stars. The slug watched him carefully with a displeased look on his... face?
"Come here sit next to meeee", the red girl said in her bewitching voice, comming up to him and taking his arm. Maren let it happen to him, because any other motions would be solely comitted to murdering her. As he sat down next to her on the ground he got even more unpleased looks from the others. It seemed as only Maren seemed to notice because his little friend could. just. not. stop. talking.
"Wherewereyoutoday. Iamsohappywereareinthesameclan. Thiswillbesooooogreat."
"Yeah." Maren was a bit overpowered by her onslaught of words.
Luckily before she could talk his ear off the door opened again and a small, decrepit looking man came in and also sat down. The others immeadiatly stood up, well two of them and bowed before him. Maren, not wanting to cause another scene also stood up and bowed, well more like a nod, but that was the best he could do. He glanced at the man's pale face. The only hair he had was a long thin moustace which went nearly down to his chest.
"Oh a-a-a-and who are you, little tot?", the old man stuttered.
Oh great, merely met a minute ago and he immeadiatly wants to jump at his throat.
'No Maren, you are already under watch.'
"My name is Mar..."
"Whatever we do not have the whole d-d-d-day. Now sit down."
Maren sat down veins popping out of his head.
"So we are doing the same thing we did the last day," he took a deep breath, "again. Maybe today one of you will... not dissapoint. Maybe the fresh meat will help. Hehehe."
The man gave a warm fatherly smile, that did not reach his eyes.
Maren looked around and saw three heads facing the ground in shame.
'Oh my, how interesting.'
"Now my little novices, prepare everything... please."
The three stood up and brought, with some difficulty for the little guy and Maren's lunch partner, three stands from a part of the circular room and put something that seemed like a vase on top of it. The old man came up to him.
"Why do you think you are exempt."
He gave again a sweet unassuming smile.
"Because I first wanted to see what kind of charade we are pulling when it is done, Master~", he said sugarsweet with a hint of venom.
"Oh, are you not a witty one. Now goooo~", the Master answered equally sweet.
Maren accepted his fate... for now and put up a fourth stand and put up a vase on it. The stand was out of pure stone and the vase was also not as light as the boy thought it would.
"Now lift it up, like all those many times you tried."
'Let us see first what he means by that.'
He had a slight idea though.
Each one of them took a place in front of one stand. Then the other Initiats extended their arms aaaand nothing happened for a while. Then the vase of the girl started rumbling a bit and moved away from its initial position on its own. Maren felt this familiar feeling like he had when he saw the woman fight. As if the very the very fabric of reality was moved... maybe he exaggerated a bit... maybe not.
'Like the woman only far less impressive, but hey.'
The girl meanwhile beamed a smile over her whole face, jumped up and down, drumed her little fist widly while mumbling quietyl: "Yes, yes, yes. You did it." As the others wanted to start to congratulate her the Master came up and said: "Now, now no festivities yet. You barely moved it a centimeter, should an initate who is here as long as you are not have done better?"
The smile of the little red girl instantly died and only a defeated "Yes, Master" came out of her mouth.
"Now what are you standing here, waiting for flies to fly in your mouth."
Maren even thought to hear mumble "some would even like that" from him, but he was not sure. Which one of his students could he possibly mean.
Now it was Maren's time to shine. The boy stretched his arm out and tried to replicate what happened. One problem here. He had NO idea what to do. Like a punch or a kick or gast even Lightsaber combat had some form of consistency he understood, but moving things with nothing but your mind was something absolutely different. So he just stood there hoping to recreate the feeling, but it did not come. The other ones were also at it again, but it appeared that their confidence was crushed. During his attempt the Master came to him not letting his sweet smile die down.
"I did not catch your name in the beginning, how are you called or do your people not have names."
'Wow you think you kind of special are you? And did you not dismiss me in the beginning?'
"My people take a look in a fire and then the universe gives us our names and mine happens to be Maren."
That was a lie, but the boy did not care at all if he believed it, not that he tried very hard.
"Oh what a... unique way of doing things. The people of your planet must one of the cornerstones of the galaxy withsuch deep wells of wisdom to draw upon", the Master remarked vile poison dripping from his sarcastic words.
"Oh no, Master," Maren interjected, "we are just extremly good at killing things."
The veins on Maren's head started pulsating even harder. He was not angry that he disrespected his people, more so that he was grouped in together with them as he had really no love for them. Meanwhile the other three stopped to spectate the verbal clash with a mix of fear and uncomfortableness.
"My oh my promises, promises. You know you the new of Phtia are you not?"
Maren listened to his tale. He knew he wanted to provoke him. Problem was it worked.
"Has she already told you that you are the one she saw in her visons. Well you must be the forth or fifth one she saw. Every time she told us this was the one, belive me, but in the end every. single. one was not good enough for her. Everyone was a disappointment."
The next thing everyone heard was a earshattering crack and a singsong of little plings and plongs. The young jedi looked at his test object or better what was left of it. The vase was now nothing more than hundreds of little pieces on the floor and the solid stone stand was broken apart staright in the middle. The two halfs lying sorrowful on the ground. The young Jedi looked up at the Master and said matter of factly: "Seems like I am built different."
"Oh yes." The smile of his now reached his eyes. Soulless and cruel. Not a single light in them.
"I pray you are."