Private Beyond The Looking Glass

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

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This was perhaps the greatest challenge yet of her stay on Kashyyyk. She had returned to reconsider her place in the Order and her competence as a mentor. Instead, the Jedi Master found herself occupied by teaching the next generation of Jedi. She did so with pride and dedication; for it was truly great to see the young Jedi at work. Although today was a little different. Today, she had to play the part of compulsive liar and illusionist. The Sephi wasn't all too fond of manipulating minds, but the request of the High Council gave her no choice. It had to be done, and so she would commit herself to the task.​

Caden Evesa. An intelligent Corellian teen with a forgiving yet sensitive nature. She had been given a description of the teen, one that would be the foundation of her illusions. For these were his Trials. The Trials of Insight, to be specific. Administered by her in the middle of the night.​

The teen himself knew nothing about the true nature of their meeting. A Knight would rouse him from his sleep per her request. He would not be given a reason why she, on behalf of Coren Starchaser, summoned him. Any other details were left out; for the meeting was one supposed to take place in secrecy.​

In reality, there was nothing going on. No emergency, deaths or Imperial assaults. It was all a ruse to lure him here and distract him from what really was going on. She just hoped that he wouldn't catch on too quickly. For now, however, all she could do was wait.​

The Jedi Master sat in one on the wooden chairs, hands clasped and resting on the table. She appeared the same as she always did. Serene, tranquil and somewhat distant. She was perhaps the only 'real' element in this room. Or perhaps not. It was up to Caden to figure that out.​

The moment he would enter the room, Sakadi would reach out through the Force. "Greetings, Padawan Caden." Her disembodied voice echoed through his mind. Her mutism prevented her from speaking physically, but she had been able to overcome it through telepathy. "I'm sorry to have you roused from your sleep like this." She continued. "I am Master Sinvala. But feel free to call me Sakadi." A warm smile played about her lips. "Now, would you like something to drink before I tell you what is going on?" She asked, her iridescent eyes briefly resting on the first rays of dawnlight that shone through the half-opened windows.​

Caden Evesa ​

 

[Caden Evesa]

Annoyingly he'd been having a pretty good dream all things considered.

He'd been beyond comfortable, wrapped up with his sheets up to his chin. His mind had been wondering through dream land, imagining him flying through the galaxy with Irridia Solensis by his side. He was happy and relaxed and honestly quite happy.

They'd only recently returned from their weekend away with the Queen, their weekend on Domhanda and everything that followed. They'd been diverted to Rhen Var to collect an old Jedi Master on the way back, which had added an extra few days onto their journey.

Yet they had returned and it had been a recent return.

Caden was an early riser anyway, he had been for years. The soldier training had him up at five in the morning every morning. The soldier training had him running and in the gym. It had him ready to go about his day by eight in the morning and by that point he'd already been awake three hours.

But he didn't want to be awake in the middle of the night, especially not dragged out of bed by a Jedi Knight that he didn't know. He didn't enjoy being randomly told to get up and get dressed and follow. He didn't enjoy it, but he knew he had to play along.

Once dressed, the young boy was guided to a room.

It was a room he'd never been to, simply furnished with only two simple wooden chairs and a table down the middle. A woman took up one of the chairs, a face Caden didn't recognize. He was used to faces he didn't recognize, especially after his leave of absence.

What he wasn't used to, what he didn't like was the amount of alarm bells in the force. Every bit of him could sense something was off, could sense that something wasn't right. The woman speaking in his mind only served to further that.

"I'd rather not try any of your drinks, and I'd rather stand. How about you get out of my head and tell me what's going on here? You woke me up in the middle of the night and I'm not okay with it, I was having a damn good dream until you interrupted me."

Maybe it was because he was tired, maybe because of the lack of trust, but he sounded way more frustrated than he intended to sound.

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Some things never changed, and the temper of a Padawan was certainly one of them. In the past, she would've felt offended by his rude remarks. But after having trained a Padawan of her own in Cas Tynen she had learnt to expect such behaviour from the next generation.

A glimmer of amusement washed over the Master's features as she listened with her head resting on her clasped hands. A part of her wanted to respond with a simple 'That's for you to figure out', but that would give too much away. "Is that so, Caden? She spoke softly, but the voice undeniably came from the Sephi herself. None of that was real of course, for she hadn't uttered a word in over six decades. Nevertheless, she still practiced weekly, hoping that her voice would one day 'magically' return. Although deep down she knew that day would never come.

Today, however, that weekly practice would finally pay off. She had used this trick before; projecting illusionary sounds to mimic her old voice. It looked and sounded convincing, but was it enough to fool a Force sensitive? It was the third illusion she had planted in the young man's mind since his arrival. It made her wonder if he truly was up to the task.

"Why don't you tell me about your dream?" Sakadi continued, cocking her head to the side before her expression grew more serious. "I believe it may be linked to the reason why you were summoned..."​