[center][h2]ZELT VUDO[/h2][/center]

The young Jedi Apprentice was still in awe of the temple as he and his fellow Jedis entered the main hall. The massively carved statues of Masters past and faded ceiling murals most of dated to at least the Old Republic, or at least Zelt thought so with his limited knowledge. On the other side of the hall were several tunnels, leading to darkened areas, only illuminated by the glow of the crystals that were all around the temple.

Zelt’s wondering of how deep the tunnels went was met with an ominous no one knows. According to Jedi Knight Sehl, the tunnels may have been mapped in the distant past, but such records were lost to time. She also advised him to not get lost. Zelt wondered if she was being completely serious, and if there was much danger in those tunnels. He remembered that there was some wildlife native to Ilum, but Zelt thought he could easily avoid them.

What did scare him was the thought of booby-traps. Perhaps he had watched one too many Holo-Dramas, but Zelt was familiar with the concept of the adventurer entering a lost monument of the Old Republic, only to beset by dangerous traps. Zelt’s initial thought was that the Jedi wouldn’t make such a dangerous task for Apprentices, but then again what he did know of the Jedi only came from his studying at the Jedi Temple. Prior to that it had all been conjecture and propaganda of the Empire, painting Jedi as dangerous religious fanatics. Of course Zelt no longer believed that, but he was still at unease.

Rather than making a potential fool of himself by asking about traps, Zelt instead reached out with the Force. Apparently one of these tunnels would lead to his own Kyber crystal, Zelt noticing that his fellow Apprentice Sildarg had already chosen a tunnel. Wishing to find the right one for him, Zelt closed his eyes and let the Force envelop him.

While this place was definitely strong in the Force, it was more like a storm, swirling around Zelt’s mind. There were feelings and words flying by, going so fast that Zelt couldn’t understand them. So he tried to separate the winds with his mind, pulling apart the flurry. After a few minutes of this, Zelt was able to hear what the Force was saying. It was his name, repeated softly every few seconds.

Following the voice, Zelt found himself in front of a tunnel farther to the left of where he had entered. There were a lot less of those bright crystals in this tunnel, obscuring the way ahead. And yet Zelt heard a voice in the shadows, one beckoning him. Remembering to trust in the Force, Zelt took his first step into the tunnel.

[hr]

Zelt walked for an unknown amount of time, trying to not trip in the poorly kept tunnel. The further he walked, the less there was of the glowing crystals. With neither Nagai or Sephi blood granting night vision, Zelt soon found himself barely being able to see in front of himself.

Feeling the walls of the tunnels with his hands, Zelt maintained a slow pace, all the while trying to feel his way around with the Force. He could still hear the murmurs of the Force, though they were softer now. And yet they still seemed to be coming from deeper into the tunnel.

It was at this time that Zelt really wished he had already had a lightsaber. He knew that the weapon of a Jedi could also double as a source of light, which would be greatly appreciated in the dark depths that Zelt had been treading into. But it could be that this was a test for a Jedi Apprentice to have an internal light and not rely of physical things. Or at least Zelt swore that was a lesson imparted by Master Skywalker, they all tended to blur together after a year.

With some kind of lesson in mind, Zelt continued down the darkening tunnel. Only to slip on a broken down pillar, causing the young Jedi to face plant into the ice and stone or the temple floor. Wondering why the Force hadn’t warned him of that, Zelt pulled himself to his feet, only to discover that his nose was now bleeding. Quickly wiping away the little amount of blood, Zelt’s face turned red, embarrassment overtaking his mind.

In that brief moment, the voice of the Force stopped. Zelt whipped around, trying to see if anything had changed. But he was still in the same tunnel, just no more whispers echoed through the stone.

Again, Zelt’s fear of not finding his Kyber crystal returned. In Zelt’s mind he wondered if he truly could be a Jedi. It then took a few seconds to steel himself, before Zelt decided that he would force the issue. Even if the crystal did not call to him, he would still find it. And so he continued down the tunnel.

Zelt would walk for even longer than before, still finding that the tunnel kept going. Zelt had to wonder how long it took the ancient Jedi to carve these tunnels. However, his prevailing thought was annoyance as he thought there was no end to the tunnel. Stopping his step, Zelt his feeling of anger roll of himself, only for it to encounter the Force that remained here. The young Jedi felt his negative emotions clash with the calm of the temple, the two sides of the Force battling. Only for the battle to affect the material world, the floor falling out from underneath Zelt.

The young Jedi dropped about twenty feet, falling into a dark abyss. Quickly reaching out through the Force, Zelt slowed his landing. Still, he hit is right leg on the way down, pain racing up his already injured limb.

Now sitting on the cold stone floor of some kind of chamber, Zelt looked around only to see shadows. There were none of the glowing crystals in this chamber, leaving Zelt alone in the darkness. Zelt rose, only for something to slash his left arm, drawing blood. Recoiling, Zelt realized that it was a sharp piece of ice. Feeling around through the Force, Zelt realized that the entire room was full of these sharp ice blades.

Sitting back down, Zelt felt defeated. Not only had he lost the trace of his Kyber crystal, he had fallen into what seemed a trap room. The young Jedi wondered if any of the Knights would be able to find him, and if he could still be a Jedi if he failed this trial.

Zelt mused on these dark thoughts for a few minutes, before something started talking to him. Once more, he heard his name, this time much louder. It seemed to be coming from the other side of the chamber. Standing back up, Zelt saw that the Force hadn’t abandoned him.

Since he couldn’t see in this darkness anyways, Zelt closed his eyes and let the Force guide him. He began to walk, not feeling any of the sharp bits of ice. The Force would lead Zelt in a straight path, keeping him save from all the dangers of the chamber. Eventually, Zelt would arrive at the wall of the other side of the room.

Zelt then opened his eyes, only to see a brilliant light in front of him. The light was emanating from a small blue stone in front of him. The crystal stood out from all the others in the temple as it was much brighter, with a pale blue glow. Also Zelt could sense the Force surrounding it.

Reaching out with his hand, Zelt would pull the crystal off the wall, hearing his name one final time as he touched it. It seemed to glow even brighter while in Zelt’s hand, illuminating the secret chamber. With its light, Zelt didn’t need the Force to avoid the jagged ice. In fact it seemed to boost the Force in Zelt, allowing him to jump up the twenty feet back into the main tunnel, a new record for his use of Force jump.

Once back in the tunnel, Zelt held his Kyber crystal high, using it to see in the tunnel. With its light, Zelt traversed back down to the opening hall.

[hr]

The trip back was much quicker, given that Zelt wasn’t stumbling in the dark anymore. Before he could even be seen or heard by the other Jedi, the light of his blue Kyber crystal was visible from the tunnel entrance.

Zelt stepped into the opening hall with confidence, grasping the crystal in his right hand. He was aware that he did look pretty beat up, with bruises on his body from falling, a torn Jedi robe, and blood around his nose and arm. Still, he felt exceptional. He had done it. He beat the tunnel and got the Kyber crystal.

He was slightly irked to discover that Sildarg had made it back before him, an unusual Kyber crystal in her hand. Sometimes Zelt still had to be reminded that it wasn’t a competition between the Apprentices, it was actually a shared journey. But years of competitiveness was hard for Zelt to overcome.

But perhaps he could still be the first to complete their lightsaber. Rushing over to Jedi Apprentice Vaa, Zelt saw that she had set up tables for actually constructing their weapons. While still an Apprentice like Zelt, Kada Vaa had built her own lightsaber some time ago. As such Zelt was looking to her for advice.

“Apprentice Vaa,” he said as he rushed over, “Where do I start?”

In the moment, Zelt felt dumb. He had been focusing so much on how he was going to find his Kyber crystal that he had neglected his studies at the temple on saber construction. While he knew the basics, Zelt was definitely out of his depth. In all likelihood, Zelt would just make a basic lightsaber. He would keep it simple and classy.