Duke and a Jedi

[Voth Toka]

It was a cold, frosty morning on the mountains of New Alderaan. The mountains were still capped in snow despite the weak sunlight that shone on them. The snow was tenacious and stuck together well, perfect for playing in. Voth Toka sighed. He sat on a chair on his balcony. Or at least his father's balcony. His father was a Duke on this paradise and he had been expecting Voth to carry on the long line of Toka Dukes who controlled a large portion of the mountainous terrain. Now Voth was going to be a Jedi and those dreams were gone, replaced. As a Jedi he would be unable to claim the land that was his by birth right. He was torn between a life as a guardian of the Galaxy or the comfort of being a wealthy nobleman with a chance at becoming a king. He secretly still wished he would inherit this land and that the Jedi would let him have his father's wealthy Duchy. It would be of great value to the Republic as it held many ore mines in the mountains which the territory encompassed. Maybe Voth would become both a Duke and a Jedi but he doubted it.

His mother had dressed him in a suit which fitted him perfectly. Today was his final day with his family before he would be taken off-world to Coruscant. His nights had been full of dreams, dreams of travelling the Galaxy and saving people's lives. His family had never had a Force sensitive in their ranks before making him truly something special to them. Voth was his parent's pride and joy, they had used their wealth to ensure he had as good an upbringing as possible. And now he was leaving. It brought a flood of tears from his parents eyes when the day came. He would sit vigil over the spaceport, waiting for the ship that would take him so far away from home.

Despite his good education, his head was still full of questions, specifically about the Jedi. When his family discovered he was Force sensitive they had taught him all about the history of the Jedi, turning them in angelic figures in his head. The real Galaxy wasn't all angels and protectors. Recently he had come to terms with the real world, seeing poverty and disease everywhere. He had broke down in his room after it. It had been his first true lesson of life, he was intelligent but he had been kept from the outside world, playing with his friends in the mountains where few made their homes save a few towns and the Duchy's capital.

He would not be seeing the scenery of New Alderaan again so he continued to scan the horizon, taking in as much as he could before he left. He was excited in truth but he shivered from nerves.

 

[Ben Watts]

Leaving a life that one was accustomed to was never easy and that was why Ben had spent so much time preparing the rooms for the incoming Jedi who would be training on Coruscant. Sure, he could have had the few droids that he had on hand to to do it, but Ben wanted to make sure everything was perfect. He wanted the academy they were erecting on Coruscant to be welcoming, comforting, but also a serious consideration for people. A rinky dink operation was not something he would settle for. If he was going to be rebuilding the Jedi then he wanted it to be just like the days of old. Having grown up as a Jedi, he had a good understanding of what could help with homesickness and make people feel better about their decisions.

It was going to be hard, though, to train so many Jedi who had already had their personalities in place. Changing someone from being able to make their own decisions to having to make the right decision, not just for themselves, but for everyone around them was not something that could just be learned overnight. It was why the Jedi started training so young in the first place, but he really did not have many options. He needed Jedi and the fastest and most effective way was to take people who were force sensitive and start training right away. He did not have time to wait years for someone to develop, they needed to be trained fast and efficiently, which was not going to be easy. But Ben did not sign up for easy, he knew what he was getting himself into, and he knew the risks involved. He just hoped that, if anything, he could keep these people from straying to the dark path and staying on the side with the light.

Once he was satisfied, he left for the landing pad, where the new Jedi were prepared to arrive. One stuck out, another one from Alderaan, one that Ben had never had the chance to meet yet but he was full of optimism. Voth Toka. He was older, sure, but Ben had a good feeling about him. He hoped Voth was ready for the commitment he was about to make, and even if he wasnt, Ben would not lead him down the wrong path.... he hoped at least.

( Ben will be waiting for you at the landing pad )

 

[Voth Toka]

"The Jedi is waiting for you, master Toka." A servant had told him. The time had come. He would say farewell to his parents and then leave for his new life with the Jedi. However, as long as he was on New Alderaan he would be surrounded by four bodyguards except for when he was in a completely safe place, two ahead and two behind him. He did not like it, the security was irritating for Voth but had always been insisted upon by his father despite his protests. Soon that would all be over, he would be able to protect himself as a force of light and not fall to the Dark Side. At least that was what his young mind thought. In truth it would be his greatest challenge, so far he had never had to control his emotions except his slight annoyance to his protection.

Still, at least he knew that his parents cared for him judging by how much protection was used for his life. But sometimes he thought that he was only safeguarded because he was the heir to the Duchy and that he was nothing more than a means to furthering the house of Toka. That would be behind him although he would still have a claim to a plot of land and should the Republic need it, he would be willing to enforce his claim. He would have to be strong, he enjoyed his life but he was moving onto a new one, leaving only shards of his previous one.

He smiled when he heard that the Jedi was ready for him but a wave of sadness fell over him. He was going right now. No more waiting, it was time for him to say goodbye and leave.

"Good. Thank you for telling me." He said before leaving to to tell his parents. It was time he departed, began the long journey to Coruscant and began his training.

After a tearful farewell he was escorted to the spaceport. The air had a crisp smell to it although it was hard to detect. It was a perfect morning that made him only more glum. He would have preferred it to be warmer, he rarely saw a warm day in the mountains, they were usually icy. Today was an exception although it was not beaming with glaring sunlight. The cheerfulness of the day made him resent it, it seemed inappropriate for the day to be so good on such a solemn day.

His parents accompanied him to the Jedi before they left, standing at a distance away, watching as their child soon left them.

He was nervous as he met the Jedi, he had only read about them and had never met one face to face. But here he was, about to leave with one to another world.

"Uh, hello. I'm-I'm Voth Toka although I guess you already know that. So are we going to be really leaving soon?" He asked. His head was full of questions but he wanted to know if they would be leaving anytime soon. That was the key question right now, all the others could wait. He wanted to know more about the Jedi, their history, what he would be doing as a part of the Order...