Aiden sat at the edge of his bed, sweat-damp hair clinging to his brow, the hum of the Naboo night filtering faintly through the shutters. Crickets sang, the river beyond his home whispered, and yet all he could hear was the echo of her voice from the dream. The child. The shadows. Always running. Always just beyond his reach. He rubbed at his eyes, then let his hands fall heavily to his knees. Not only dream. What may come. The words clung to him, carried not only from his subconscious but from the current of the Force itself. He knew the difference; he had learned long ago that visions could be muddled, deceptive, yet they could not be ignored. He thought back to when his father was alive, that meeting that was hosted by Romi Jade, and the visions that were shown there.
His training whispered calm, discipline, detachment. But his heart was not so easily quieted. The girl was alive. Safe. He had made sure of that. Yet the Force had shown him something more. an unraveling thread that, if pulled, could bind the fates of many. He rose, moving to the window. Moonlight silvered the grasslands, casting Theed's distant domes and spires into a faint, serene silhouette. Aiden placed his palm against the glass, and through it he could almost feel the galaxy itself, vibrant but trembling.
"Why now?" he whispered to the stillness.
The Force did not answer in words, only in the shifting weight of his breath, the trembling unease in his chest. Perhaps the answer lay not in what was happening to her, but in what was stirring beyond Naboo's horizon.
Sleep did not come easily again, but when it did, the Force dragged him back into its currents with merciless insistence. This time the visions did not begin with the Temple gardens, nor the laughter of children. Instead, he was adrift in a void. Stars winked into being around him, one by one, before extinguishing just as quickly. Each time a light went dark, he felt the weight of countless lives pressed against his chest, fear, despair, silence.
From the void, a path formed: a narrow bridge of shattered stone, leading into a forest he recognized, Wann Tsir. The trees twisted under a heavy fog, their branches clawing at him as he passed. Shadows flitted between them, always at the edge of sight, never close enough to face, but their whispers came sharp and cold.
"Jedi… protector… liar."
He pressed forward, jaw set, saber igniting in his hand though he did not remember drawing it. The light of the blade pushed back the mist, but only barely. Ahead, the sound of running footsteps. The girl. Breathless, terrified. She stumbled once, called his name, not as a Jedi Knight, but as if she had known him since they met. He reached, stretched every fiber of will to close the distance, only for the bridge beneath him to collapse. He fell into endless dark, the girl's cry echoing downward with him. And then, silence. Aiden jolted awake, body tense, hands gripping out to something that wasn't there so hard his knuckles blanched. His chest heaved, the ghost of her voice still ringing in his ears.
His training whispered calm, discipline, detachment. But his heart was not so easily quieted. The girl was alive. Safe. He had made sure of that. Yet the Force had shown him something more. an unraveling thread that, if pulled, could bind the fates of many. He rose, moving to the window. Moonlight silvered the grasslands, casting Theed's distant domes and spires into a faint, serene silhouette. Aiden placed his palm against the glass, and through it he could almost feel the galaxy itself, vibrant but trembling.
"Why now?" he whispered to the stillness.
The Force did not answer in words, only in the shifting weight of his breath, the trembling unease in his chest. Perhaps the answer lay not in what was happening to her, but in what was stirring beyond Naboo's horizon.
Sleep did not come easily again, but when it did, the Force dragged him back into its currents with merciless insistence. This time the visions did not begin with the Temple gardens, nor the laughter of children. Instead, he was adrift in a void. Stars winked into being around him, one by one, before extinguishing just as quickly. Each time a light went dark, he felt the weight of countless lives pressed against his chest, fear, despair, silence.
From the void, a path formed: a narrow bridge of shattered stone, leading into a forest he recognized, Wann Tsir. The trees twisted under a heavy fog, their branches clawing at him as he passed. Shadows flitted between them, always at the edge of sight, never close enough to face, but their whispers came sharp and cold.
"Jedi… protector… liar."
He pressed forward, jaw set, saber igniting in his hand though he did not remember drawing it. The light of the blade pushed back the mist, but only barely. Ahead, the sound of running footsteps. The girl. Breathless, terrified. She stumbled once, called his name, not as a Jedi Knight, but as if she had known him since they met. He reached, stretched every fiber of will to close the distance, only for the bridge beneath him to collapse. He fell into endless dark, the girl's cry echoing downward with him. And then, silence. Aiden jolted awake, body tense, hands gripping out to something that wasn't there so hard his knuckles blanched. His chest heaved, the ghost of her voice still ringing in his ears.
