Almost every morning, the citizens of Veles may observe a dark red robed Togruta on the roof of the local hotel. This Togruta engages in various katas, cuts, and strikes, as well as shadow-fighting, using both a wooden sword and martial arts. Her movements are fluid. The shadow sparring often includes various acrobatics, such as circular kicks with a jump or rolls forward across the ground to quickly cover greater distances, followed by upward slashes of her sword as she stands up and transitions to the next part of a combination. She concludes her morning routine with meditation at the edge of the hotel’s wall.
The young Togruta yet seasoned Temple Initiate often meditates under one of the trees, sitting back-to-back with it as if she has formed a bond with the tree itself. Recently, memories of her past have taken her on vivid journeys. In her recollections, she finds herself seated in a small spaceship, approaching a planet from afar, adhering to Jedi protocols. Behind her, a figure watches silently. She is aware that he is there to assess her performance on this mission, her third test as an initiate. Despite the close bond they share, she understands that she is ultimately on her own in this endeavor. He will not intervene unless the situation deteriorates beyond what they could have imagined. “What could possibly go so wrong?” she wonders, feeling the confidence of her younger self from many years ago.
Opening her eyes in the present moment, her eyes moistened, yet she maintains a neutral and composed expression.
“So much,” a thought passes through her silent mind, addressing her young self.
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In the evening, after several exercises, she returns to the tree, meditating once again. Memories from the past form in her mind, again placing her on the planet of her third test.
Frustrated and irritated, she exits a building in a bustling city during the late evening hours, amidst the lights of a metropolitan city. “This all has no point,” she thinks. “They are not interested in talking with each other, nor in talking with me. They hate the others so much, and anyone who is not like them. Has it really come down to the color of skin and the shape of noses?” She feels overwhelmed by the enormity of the challenge. “I cannot succeed here! I cannot! Why are they sending me into a situation with no chance of winning?”
She sighs deeply.
Then, the memory from the past catches up to the frustrated teenage Togruta: “There exists a challenge, known among the wise as the Trial of Unwinnable Choices. It is a test not of skill with the Force, nor of prowess in combat, but of one’s spirit, leadership, and resolve when faced with the harshest reality: certain defeat,” said by one of her wise masters to the students, Kodasi Maruu, who liked to put students in such situations at least once during their time at the temple, when they were least expecting it.
“What am I to do now? If they continue all this in all parts of their lives, one day they will eventually…” her thoughts stop as the night turns into day. “It’s too early…”
She turns around, looking towards the source of the light — a huge mushroom cloud emerging from behind the horizon and extending towards higher parts of the atmosphere amid the light. “No… no… no… this cannot be true.” Her purple eyes grow larger as they reflect the scene, bright light, and a shockwave emerging from horizon and disturbing the atmosphere.
Suddenly, a pull by the hand yanks her out of the shock. “Move! Now! We have to seek shelter!”
…
Vivid quick snapshots of “Death. Despair. Sorrow. Horror. Devastation. Fear.” of billions over a period of several days follow in her inner eye. The death of a young spacefaring civilisation.
Finally collapsing in the rubles and ashes of what once was a city.
Eyes closing. Slowly. Fading.
Darkness.
“War.”
“Hell.”
Silence.
Emptiness.
Floating.
…
Then a warm light extends before her and embraces her.
The teenage Togruta opens her eyes, lying in a medical bay on Coruscant, with machines that were sustaining her life still standing nearby.
A young, seasoned Togruta opens her eyes, meditating under the tree.