3rd person

"Over here younglings." Jedi Master Adi Gallia called, motioning towards the cruiser that had landed moments before. Upon hearing her instruction, a small group of children scurried toward the Tholothian. The younglings were composed of several different species, including humans, an Iktochi, a Snivvian, and a Togruta. As the Jedi Master cleared her throat to begin briefing the younglings on "The Gathering," she noticed two of the children bickering while the rest stood by obediently.

"Ahsoka, I'm gonna get my crystal first." a young boy whispered to the Togruta girl, tugging at her robe.

"Yeah right. When have you beaten me, Zevon?" Ahsoka snorted.

"A lot! Like that one time, uhh..." the boy trailed off, thinking. His delay earned a snicker from the Togruta youngling. However, before he could retaliate the two were given a rude awakening.

"Ahsoka Tano. Zevon Boltreaver. The Gathering is a trial only fit for younglings up to the task. If your focus is this lacking, perhaps you are not ready."

"Sorry Master Gallia" the two replied sheepishly. The Jedi Master then continued as if nothing had happened.

"The Gathering is one of the most sacred rites of passage for a Jedi. Ahead of you lies your greatest challenge as younglings thus far. If you succeed, you will earn this." Master Gallia proceeded to carefully disassemble her elegant lightsaber, showing the younglings a radiant blue glow within. A kyber crystal. The younglings were entranced, but the Jedi broke their spell with her final warning. "If you fail, it is likely you will never become a Jedi." Master Gallia then motioned to board the vessel, refusing eye contact with any of the children as they nervously walked aboard the cruiser.

Zevon

While we waited to arrive at our destination, I couldn't help but endlessly hear the Jedi Master's words over and over in my head.

"Do you think Master Gallia was serious?" I inquired anxiously, turning to my friend Ahsoka.

"When has she ever not been serious?" Ahsoka responded sarcastically as she focused on levitating a small rock in her outstretched palm. I knew she was right. Master Gallia wasn't the type to be humorous. The reality of her words was eating away at me, like a mynock syphoning power from a spacecraft. 'What if I don't find my crystal? What if I fail? Will I be assigned to the service corps? What next? A life of monotonous work and boring jobs? No! I don't want that! I-'

"Zevon." Ahsoka said calmly, perhaps sensing my emotions running wild.

"Yeah?" I responded.

"You'll do fine. Just trust in the force and you'll be okay. Stop worrying." She proclaimed before allowing the rock to descend until it yet again rested on her palm.

"Alright, thanks Ahsoka." I replied with a grin. "Can I have a try?" I requested, pointing to the rock.

"Sure!" she answered, returning a smile. As she parted with the smooth stone, I closed my eyes, focusing on feeling the force flow within me. Concentrating on the pebble, I willed it to rise. Surely this time. Surely I succeeded this time. As I opened my eyes to see the result, I was met with disappointment. The rock twitched, it trembled, but it refused to float.

"Come on!" I cried out in frustration.

"You just have to practice. Make sure you focus and feel the force." Ahsoka attempted to console me.

"Easy for you to say, Ahsoka. You're the top of our class." I lamented before hearing the shuffling of feet. Evidently my cries of anguish had attracted the interest of the other younglings in our group.

"Again?"

"Still no luck?"

"Sheeesh." Some of the younglings offered their advice and encouragement.

"If you keep trying Zevon, I know it'll click eventually!" exclaimed Blon, the Snivvian.

"Thanks Blon." I said, rather unenthusiastically.

"Nobody tries harder than you do." remarked Tyla, the Iktochi.

"Don't tell Master Yoda." I responded with a weak smile. However, the next words of advice weren't so optimistic.

"Zevon, I know you want to become a Jedi more than anyone. I admire that, and I admire your resolve. It's because of that that I need to be honest with you. Maybe... maybe you're not cut out for this." expressed Garo, a dark-skinned human. I slowly raised my head to meet his eyes. They contained no malice, no ill-intent. He was being genuine. That made it hurt so much more.

"Why, Garo?" I inquired, trying to hide the anger and frustration in my voice.

"Zevon, you're force-sensitive, but your connection to the force has barely grown since we began training as younglings. It's not that you're messing up or training wrong, I just don't think you're strong enough in the force to become a Jedi. I'm only telling you this because I don't want to give you false hope." Garo explained, gloomily. It was clear that it pained him to say those words to me. I didn't want to believe him, but a small part of me did.

"Ahsoka, do you agree with him?" I called on my closest friend for guidance, even though I dreaded how she would respond. Silence filled the room as she struggled to think of a response. All eyes were on her.

"No, I don't. He may be right about your force powers, but there have been other Jedi who took time to hone their abilities. Also, Zevon, you're probably the most adept in basic lightsaber combat. Aside from me, of course." Ahsoka answered honestly. Her words caused a wave of relief to wash over me. Before we could continue the topic at hand, all of us felt a jolt. Perhaps we had arrived at the place of The Gathering.

"Younglings, we've arrived." Master Gallia called coldly, confirming my suspicions. As I followed the rest of the group down the boarding ramp, I did my best to clear my head of the previous events. 'I can't think about that now, I need to focus. Suddenly, all of us felt a rush of cold. Before us was a massive landscape of snow and ice, and upon closer inspection, the entrance to a Jedi Temple. It was obstructed by a collection of icy spires. "Younglings, we must open the temple together." Master Gallia said in her all too familiar icy tone. Her personality fit pretty well with the scenery. Nevertheless, I extended my hand and opened it, feeling the force flow within me. I had done so countless times before, it was natural for me. Regardless, I'm fairly sure my contribution was negligible as the temple entrance slowly came into view. Upon entering, I was so awestruck by the architecture of the temple I failed to notice the unexpected guest waiting for us. Sitting atop a small elevated platform was Grand Master Yoda, in all his little green glory.

"Master Yoda," we said unanimously, greeting the wise old Jedi.

"The force, made physical, a Jedi is. Comes great responsibility with that, yes?" Yoda expressed. He continued as we nodded our heads in agreement. "Protect others, how does a Jedi, hm?" Upon saying this he ignited his green lightsaber and slowly twirled it above our heads to demonstrate. "Build your own lightsaber, you shall. But first, harvest your crystal, each one of you must." Murmurs of excitement echoed around me, but I was not one of them. "The heart of the lightsaber, the crystal is. Focuses the force from the Jedi, it does."

'Will I even be able to ignite my lightsaber, then?' As I continued to doubt myself, Master Yoda closed his eyes and reached upward, using the force to open some sort of lens hidden in the ceiling of the temple. Out of the lens poured a blinding yellow light that became focused through some sort of crystal. Slowly, but surely, the laser born of the crystal began to melt the large frigid ice wall that stood behind Master Yoda. Water poured out of the opening. 'It's a waterfall, I thought to myself.'

"If Jedi, you are to become, enter the crystal cave, you must. Trust yourself, trust each other, and succeed, you will." Master Yoda imparted his last bit of wisdom onto us before Master Gallia once again took charge of the group.

"Go forth, younglings. Find your crystal. But be warned, if you fail to return before day ends, there is nothing we can do. That waterfall will once again freeze over, and you will be trapped within."

"And what if we are trapped?" Ahsoka asked, cautiously.

"You will remain within those caves for one full cycle. We will have to wait a full day to find you. Those who become lost... are seldom found." Master Gallia answered calmly. Refusing to take any more questions, she gave her final advice. "You will know your crystal when you see it. Overcome your own shortcomings and you will find what you are seeking. Run along now." With that, we had no choice but to enter the frigid catacombs ahead.

After entering the cave, most of us went our separate ways. I, scared to be alone with my own thoughts, stuck closely to Ahsoka.

"Zevon, can you stop following me?" Ahsoka asked, exasperated.

"Ahsoka, you should really think about this. We have to overcome our shortcomings or something, right? Maybe you have to learn to be a little nicer to me, and then your crystal will appear." I replied sarcastically. This particular comment earned a chuckle from the female youngling.

"Maybe your shortcoming is-" Ahsoka started, but before she could finish we entered an extremely large cavern. In the center was a massive vertical stone spire. A sheer vertical climb. Something had caught the Togruta's eye. Without a second thought, she began the treacherous ascent.

"Hey, Ahsoka! Where are you going?" I yelled, confused.

"To get my crystal, dummy!" She yelled back, before turning around and continuing her climb. With a heavy sigh, I turned around and reluctantly began my search. I needed to confront this fear head on. Maybe if I did that, my crystal would show itself.

I walked, and walked, and walked. Occasionally I passed by one of my fellow trainees. Hours passed. I think. It's hard to keep track of time down here. All I know for sure is that the knot in my stomach grew more as each minute passed without the discovery of my crystal. Blon had found a blue crystal; Garo, a yellow; Tyla, a cyan. I hadn't seen Ahsoka in a long while, even after returning to the cavern I last saw her in. She probably found her crystal. I wandered aimlessly for so long, I surely must have covered the entire network of tunnels. Still no luck. Eventually, it all got to me. The fear of failure. The fear of weakness. The fear of inadequacy. Seeing a small nook in the side of the cavern, I sat down and lay back against the wall, covering my face with my hands. First it was one tear, then several, then I was full on sobbing. I felt the force within myself and my immediate surroundings, but nothing else. No crystal, or outside presence calling to me. After a while, the tears stopped. The feelings... they're gone? Yeah, I think so, now there's nothing. No disappointment, no fear, no anger. I just feel... helpless. Weak. Alone. This void of emptiness had all but consumed me.

Ahsoka

I couldn't take it anymore. The wintery door has long since sealed shut. Everyone had returned in time... everyone except Zevon. Earlier I pushed away the twinges of doubt, he would be fine. There was nothing to worry about. He would be fine on his own. That had been a grave mistake. Please... please be okay Zevon.

"Masters, are you sure there is nothing we can do?" I pleaded with the two Jedi who were whispering among themselves about the current situation. Master Gallia blatantly showed her annoyance as she answered in her usual fashion.

"Yes, youngling Tano. The constraints were stated very clearly."

"But you let him go in! You knew this would happen, didn't you, and you did nothing to stop it!" I shouted in an accusatory manner.

"You would do well to control your emotions." the Master responded, even more harshly. Holding back my tongue, I made my decision. After running up to the solid water veil, I readied my stance.

'Feel the force, let it take hold of your entire body, Ahsoka.' I commanded myself whilst winding back my right arm. After a moment of preparation, I flung my open palm forward while focusing my full connection to the force into my hand. Force push.

"Crack!" The entire lower section of the door shattered, scattering shards of ice everywhere. Before I or any of the others could process what I had just done, I was gone. I must do this one thing; find Zevon!

If I had looked behind me, maybe I would have caught the brief smile Master Gallia flashed.

Zevon

I think the cold is setting in. I can barely feel my hands anymore. Is this it for me? I wanted to do so much more. Well, not that it can be helped. I have no talent in the force. I wasn't even chosen by a kyber crystal. I'm probably the first in a thousand years to be that much of a failure. As I closed my eyes, I heard a faint voice calling to me. Is that... Ahsoka? No... she must have gotten her crystal, right? It can't be her. That was the last thing I remember before everything faded to black.

I woke up to the gentle humming of of a lightsaber. Startled, I bolted upright as I took in my surroundings. Masters Yoda and Gallia had ignited their sabers to provide warmth for me to recover from my hypothermia. Silence filled the air as I looked around, trying to process all the faces around me.

"Zevon! I'm so glad you're okay." Ahsoka cried, nearly crushing me with a hug.

"Return to the cave, Young Tano did. Worried about you, she was." Master Yoda clarified, smiling weakly.

"The door was a trick. It was only a test. If your friend had not gone after you, we would have rescued you safely shortly after." Master Gallia assured you, though she didn't offer the same comfort as Yoda.

"Thanks Ahsoka." I stated weakly.

"Did you get your crystal?" She inquired eagerly. All eyes were now on me. The Masters, my fellow trainees, and my closest friend.

Slowly, it all came back to me. The fear. The shame. The powerlessness.

"No."