Playlist:

❶ "The Map Room—Dawn"—Raiders of the Lost Ark OST

❷ "The Sacred Jedi Texts"—The Last Jedi OST

❸ "A New Alliance"—The Last Jedi OST

❹ "The Hologram/Binary Sunset" 2.15–4.08—A New Hope OST

Luke stumbled out of the cursed catacomb. As the tower rained stones upon him, he slid toward the only exit. Three large boulders smacked each other with pounding violence as they collided near the opening, releasing a slew of pebbles and larger rocks across the exit.

As the dust settled, a blaze of sun shone from a crevice above, bathing him in a column of light.

"Young Skywalker, proud I am." The green Jedi Master apparated beside him. Yoda pushed his cane out and settled on the clay floor.

The chamber quaked again, the rock formation rotating, spiraling upward. Luke scooted back. "What's happening?"

"Peace. Be at peace," his master said. "Soon you will see." With a chuckle, the little creature closed his eyes and smiled as the stones rose.

❶ Rough slabs ground each other above, sliding into the tower of rock. The boulders soon gave way to a smooth cylinder of apricot sandstone. Tan, brown, and even pink layers marbled the stone as it rose higher and higher.

"Wha—what is this?"

"Ancient Jedi Temple." The cylinder finally stopped spinning, leaving a sealed circular portal directly in front of them. "In we must go."

Luke approached the door and swept his fingers over the carvings that bordered the round slab. He probed with the Force. A blue light pierced through the etchings in a ripple that started at the bottom of the circle but stopped before it reached the top.

Stiffening his face, he tried again. A burst of light shot into his chest and tossed him to the ground.

Yoda tittered at him. "Oh, Skywalker, when will you learn to ask questions first? Hmm?"

The wizened creature lifted the young man by the hand. "Come. Together we do this. Master and apprentice, as always it has been and ever will be."

They raised their hands in unison, the Force flowing through their combined strength.

Luke luxuriated in the master/apprentice bond once more. Had it only been a few rotations ago I was on Dagobah? It seems like a lifetime ago. Why did I ever leave?

"Concentrate," Yoda said. He closed his eyes and grinned, moving his hand.

The blue light burst through the glyphs, blinding Luke. When the seal flashed, bathing the chamber in sapphire tones, a deep rumble began. The stone rolled away from the door, revealing a darkened tunnel.

Master Yoda stepped through the opening. He turned back to Luke waiting in the antechamber. "Coming, Young Skywalker?"

❷ Luke ducked his head and entered the tunnel. I hope Master Yoda isn't walking into another trap.

Within a few steps, the shaft turned a bend to reveal a circular room. Twelve slab chairs enclosed a mosaic circle of the Jedi Starbird on the floor.

"What is this place?"

"The council room. Come. Meditate we must."

Luke kneeled beside his master and closed his eyes. He stilled his racing mind and entered his meditation state, focusing on the light burning within him. It glowed brighter and brighter until he was certain the light within him joined with the light of this sacred temple.

"Master, I see a door."

"Hmm." The creature smiled. "Only one you see?" He waved his claw.

Light burst forth from two other entrances.

"Three. I see three."

"Choose which you will follow."

Luke stood and walked toward the first door that had shone.

Yoda tittered at him. "This decision make not with your mind. Seek the Force's guidance, or return you may not." The old master gestured to the darkened corners of the room. Sealed doors appeared in the gloom, sealed doors with frozen corpses of Jedi Masters waiting for their charges. "Unwisely their apprentices chose."

The Jedi nodded and closed his eyes once more. As he opened himself to the Force, a compulsion to take the right tunnel overwhelmed him. A hazy white light consumed him when he stepped through the opening.

❸ As the gray mist dissipated, a figure shrouded in a white-and-silver robe nodded his helmet toward Luke. The creature wielded a lightsaber with a silver blade. Its vibrant power illuminated the sandstone walls that stretched ten meters above them. The awkward hum of the blade sent a shiver up his spine.

A silky contralto voice said, "What seek you, Son of Skywalker?"

Luke held still for many moments. He scrutinized the being in front of him. After a few minutes, he answered, "Wisdom."

The temple guard chuckled. "But what will you do with this wisdom?"

"Establish the Jedi Order."

"To what end?"

"To maintain peace and justice in the galaxy."

"Fools."

A mist arose, swirling into white figures with blue and yellow insignia. A chill pierced his flesh, a chill he expected in this trial. Troopers firing at hordes of battle droids surrounded Luke.

"They convinced themselves they were fighting to save Christophsis, Felucia, Onderon from Separatist oppression. But they were pawns. So consumed by fear that their precious Republic would no longer control the galaxy, they sold their souls. In the end, they created the Empire, the reign of terror, and sold themselves to the Sith."

The image morphed into a council room with twelve Jedi Masters in consultation. "Guardians of peace ... in the end, they were the ones who opposed peace. In their lofty towers, far away from the fighting, they based their decisions on fear. Fear of losing control."

As Luke turned, he recognized Yoda and what he believed must have been a younger Obi-Wan—thinner, fewer wrinkles, brown hair instead of gray. "No, Master Yoda would have never acted without the guidance of the Force—nor Obi-Wan."

The guard moved his hand, changing the image to a dark throne room. A hideous Zabrak with red and black tattoos on his face and pointed horns atop his skull lifted his hand and choked a blond woman dressed in blue.

This time Luke heard the creature's words. "You should have chosen the dark side, Master Jedi."

Luke gasped as the image revealed the Jedi—Obi-Wan. "No, that's not true. Not Obi-Wan."

The beast stepped down from the dais toward the Jedi, still holding the woman aloft in a Force-choke. "Your emotions betray you. Your fear, and, yes, your anger ... let your anger deepen your hatred."

The guard held the image. "And when fear wasn't enough, they let their love spur their anger, their hatred."

With a flick of his wrist, the image jumped. The Zabrak lit a black blade and thrust it through the woman's heart. Obi-Wan raced to her side.

The woman whispered with much effort. "Remember, my dear Obi-Wan, I've loved you always. I always will."

Obi-Wan pulled the woman to his chest as her body crumpled in his arms and her heaving chest stilled. The man's face contorted, his anguish threatening to transform into hatred.

"No, Ben wouldn't do that."

Cold crept into Luke's flesh, the utter cold he felt above in the chamber of the crystals. The guard in front of him grew dimmer, smudged in a dark mist.

Now an older Kenobi appeared, at night, in a desert that Luke was sure had to be on Tatooine. The beast was there, too. The old Jedi Master ignited his saber first, finishing the Zabrak in three swift strokes.

"Fear always breeds hatred. And if it wasn't fear of losing control, it was fear of losing the ones they loved."

"Blind to their own weaknesses."

"Unable to maintain the Jedi Code."

"Victims of their own lusts."

"So afraid of losing the ones they loved ..."

"They gave their own souls to the dark side."

A murky room with a large viewport overlooking a night sky of beautifully lit skyscrapers appeared. His father appeared, clothed in black Jedi robes, his face cringing as he sat down. "What have I done?"

The Emperor, a younger one than he knew, stood as his father kneeled before the most wicked.

Luke trembled. He breathed deeply, focusing on the light within. In moments, the paroxysm passed having hardly begun.

"You're fulfilling your destiny, Anakin. Become my apprentice. Learn to use the dark side of the Force."

Bowing before Palpatine, Skywalker murmured with heaving breaths, "I will do whatever you ask."

The Emperor's voice dropped lower than Luke remembered. It sent chills up his spine. "Good."

"Just help me save Padmé's life. I can't live without her ... I pledge myself to your teachings."

"The Force is strong with you. A powerful Sith you will become. Henceforth, you will be known as Darth Vader."

The guard motioned again, and the images disappeared. He stood with Luke alone.

"They had wisdom. They had power. But it did them no good. Selfish. Every single one of them." The knight grabbed Luke's chin with the Force and turned the man's gaze on another a vision—a woman, giving birth, the mist obscuring her face. 

"Even you ..." The haze cleared, revealing Leia, her face twisted in anguish. "What would you do to save your sister? Sell your soul, as your father did?"

Luke twisted, holding his arms against his chest. "No."

"You would rather see her die?"

The Jedi reached for his lightsaber. Always in motion is the future. Those words rang in his head, freezing his hand on his hilt. He weighed his options and removed his fingers from his weapon. "That is not certain."

"With great power comes great responsibility."

"Without wisdom, you are right, this power is a menace."

"The Jedi had this wisdom. What good did it do them?"

Luke eyed the figure and flicked his hand. The helmet scattered across the chamber. A hideous pale Paun appeared with red streaks down her long cheeks and teeth sharpened to needle points. Her eyes glowed yellow. A woman? I've only seen eyes like this once before—the Emperor.

Without warning, the creature separated the long hilt of her weapon and ignited a second saber. With a snap, she tossed her blades at Luke. They rotated on a direct course for his head.

The Jedi struggled with the Force to push the blades away. He gritted his teeth as the sabers inched closer to his neck.

"Take your weapon," the shade taunted. "I am defenseless. Strike me down with all of your hatred."

"No. The Force is my weapon."

"Defend yourself."

"No." Luke planted his feet squarely in front of the beast. He closed his eyes and opened himself further to the Force. As the power flooded his senses, he pushed at the blades.

"If you will not fight me, then you will be destroyed." She hissed and spat at him.

He blanched but held his ground. 

For a second, her visage flashed to a hideous skull with blood dripping from her teeth. She lifted her claws, flicking her blades to the side.

No. With a flicker of Force-sight, Luke charged his opponent. As twisting, purple bolts snaked from her fingers, he launched himself above her head. The Jedi flipped over the guard as her fingers followed his ark. 

He trembled as the first shaft of lightning arced across his body. He pulled at the brilliance within, pushing it out. For a moment, the searing pain ceased, giving him just enough time to tumble to hard-packed dirt and slap the glyphs on the portal the woman had guarded. 

A hideous cackle permeated the temple, seeping into his mind. "Foolish Jedi."

The creature vanished as Luke slid into the hidden chamber.

❹ A blinding stream of light illuminated the roots of a tree. On the stump, seven tattered volumes of varying sizes stood with a thick gap between two of them.

"Knowledge these books hold, Young Skywalker." Master Yoda appeared beside him. "Not wisdom. Wisdom comes from within."

"What are these?" Luke moved his hand over the leather bindings.

"The Sacred Jedi texts, save one."

Luke gazed around the chamber. "Where is it?"

"Lost it is. Return it will in the right time." The wizened Jedi Master evaporated, leaving Luke in the beam of light.

His ethereal voice echoed in the darkness. "See much, study much, suffer much. Beware your heart."

Did you know ...

● Obi-Wan loved Duchess Satine Kryze of Mandalore and almost left the Jedi Order to marry her.

● The Mortis arc is my favorite part of The Clone Wars (Season 3). There are two Easter eggs to that arc in this chapter. Did you find them?

Tell me what you think ...

● Was the guard telling the truth? Explain your answer.