Tags:
Valery Noble
Location: ILUM
The icy caves somehow felt warm as Cailen traversed the snow-packed halls; it felt as though the Force was calming his nerves and pulling him ever deeper into Ilum's crystalline caverns. He could sense something calling to him from further inside, something soothing and welcoming. But as Cailen continued, the cold packed snow crunching beneath his feet, a different tune began to hum inside him.
It was a voice, one so familiar to him that Cailen stopped in his tracks and glanced around the small chamber he had entered. No one was in sight, but it sounded close. "
Cailen, please, we need you..." It was... his mother? "
M-mom?" Cailen called out, his teeth chattering from the sudden icy chill in the air. He looked around, trying to find his mother. But she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe she was in the chamber ahead? Was she hurt? Where was his dad? Questions rapidly filled Cailen's mind, causing him to panic. "
Mom?!" he cried, louder this time. "
Mom, why are you here?"
There was no answer. Cailen stood still, eyes closed, and began to take deep breaths. He tried to focus on the hum of the Force he heard before, the warmth and harmony he felt while following its call. It was still there, but distant. The hum was overwhelmed by a darker song that sang in his mother's voice. "
Cailen, please, we need you..." Cailen tried to calm himself by remembering his final days on Anaxes. His mother and father, proud of their son and the new life he would lead away from the shipyards Anaxes, stood waving their final farewells at the spaceport.
He then focused on Master Noble's words before entering the caves. He needed to trust in the Force. After several moments of focusing intently, he heard the call of the Force once again. And this time, he heard both tunes at once, loud and clear, though this time he could separate them - one song was warm, calming, inviting; it was the Force. The other song was somber, painful, laced with despair and deceit; it masked itself as Cailen's mother, a bitter trick that he shook off.
Still, though, as Cailen progressed deeper into the cave, he couldn't help but look back at the empty chamber behind him. "
Bye, mom..." the young Jedi whispered, pushing her voice away and following the song of the Force.