A Test of Courage (Star Wars: The High Republic)

by Justina Ireland

Vernestra adjusted her tabard, the luminous gold design of the scrollwork along the bottom edge marking her as a Knight from the temple at Hynestia.

You cannot judge yourself by others, Imri. You can only judge yourself by your own efforts.

If you judge someone by your expectations instead of their actions, you will always be disappointed.

“Lightwhips are used by the Nightsisters,”

“During the Sith Wars the Jedi also used lightwhips,” Vernestra said, clearing the path and walking forward at a brisker pace. Philosophical conversation or no, they still had a massive rainstorm bearing down on them, and they could not levitate leaves over their heads forever. “Have you read the testimonies of Cervil the Uncanny? She states that the whip was sometimes used to defend against the Sith Lords who used the Forbidden Forms.

Imri had heard tales of Jedi who had gone to the dark side, like those ancient Jedi who had started the Sith, and he’d studied the archives in the Port Haileap library about groups of Force users with fewer rules, like the Nightsisters and the Guardians of Javin,

Imri twisted the lightsaber apart and began to point out pieces to Avon. “The entire thing is powered by this battery, and my kyber crystal focuses the energy, which I think you already know. These here are the cycling field energizers, and this right here is the focusing lens. It pushes the energy generated by the kyber out the blade emitter, and the crystal also contains the blade so that the energy stays concentrated.”

There would be no pilgrimage to Jedha to commune with the Force, before heading to the main temple on Coruscant and undertaking the trials.

The Jedi were not supposed to kill. It went against all they believed in.

To be a Jedi is to always trust that the Force works in mysterious ways, Imri. We accept and we try our best, but we do not forget that in the end all is as the Force wills it.

“The Force is not so simple, and neither are the emotions of living creatures. Most Jedi have felt the temptation of the dark side. It is only natural. But we resist it. It is a deliberate path to the dark, not a series of bad days. Being a Jedi is about choosing the light over and over again.”