Chaos Rising (Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy, #1)

by Timothy Zahn

A long time ago, beyond a galaxy far, far away….

Once, thousands of years ago, families had been just that: groups of people bound by blood and marriage and closed to everyone else. But the inherent limitations of such a system had led to decline and stratification, and some of the patriarchs had begun experimenting with methods for absorbing outsiders that didn’t involve marriage. The result had been the current system, where likely prospects could be brought in as merit adoptives, with those who proved themselves especially worthy rising to Trial-born and possibly even ranking distant.

“But while all of us face a variety of paths, we all have the power to choose among them,” he continued. “You have that power as well, the power to choose which of those paths is the right one for you.”

frightening of mental states. If you’re always wondering which way to go, you might freeze up and not go anywhere. If you’re afraid you can’t do something, you might not even try.”

In moments of stress or uncertainty, we tend to fall back on the familiar and comfortable.”