Timeframe: 35 BBY
Age: Cain-5
Setting: Jedi Temple, Coruscant – Bear Clan Training Chambers, Meditation Terraces, Archives, Inner Sanctum Training Dojo
The Bear Clan Training Hall echoed with the sounds of training sabers slicing the air and thudding against wooden forms. Cain stood in position, sweat beading along his brow as he moved through the Form I katas with deliberate grace.
But today, he pushed harder.
He moved faster. Cleaner. With more intent.
Master Dookan Yill watched silently from the corner, arms folded beneath the long sleeves of his ceremonial robe, his green tattoos glowing faintly in the light of the training dome.
"Again," Dookan commanded.
Cain obeyed, but this time, his strikes flowed into Form II—the curved elegance of Makashi—though the clan hadn't formally learned it yet.
Dookan's brow arched ever so slightly.
After the drill, Dookan motioned for his Padawan to step forward. Selani Varn, tall and athletic, with ochre skin and dark braids tucked under her hood, cracked a knuckle and gave Cain a small smirk.
"You improvise well, little one. Know what you were doing?"
Cain nodded, eyes still steady. "Form II."
Selani raised a brow. "He's five, Master."
"Yes," Dookan said with thoughtful silence. "He is."
Scene 2: A Quiet Conversation
Later that evening, Cain sat with his legs crossed beneath the soft light of a hanging lantern in the Meditation Terrace, gazing into a bowl of still water. Master Fay knelt across from him, ethereal as ever.
"You are not like the others," she said softly, her voice like wind through trees. "You feel it, don't you? The current in the Force. The pressure."
Cain nodded. "It's always there. I can feel... people. Threads between them. And sometimes... I know where the threads might lead."
Fay studied him. "what do you see?"
"I think I'm seeing things that break, or bend, if pushed."
"Interesting" Fay said. "Nurture this ability little one, but do not force it. "
Cain nodded again. "Yes Master."
Fay placed a hand on his forehead—gentle, like a parent.
"You are a river, Cain. You may carve through stone in time… but even rivers must learn patience."
Practical Lessons
The next week, Padawan Selani Varn gathered the Bear Clan into one of the lesser-used sparring courts. Instead of sabers and forms, she placed small scenario cubes on the floor, each simulating a basic real-life situation—like rescuing someone from a collapsing room, disarming a trap, or calming a frightened child.
"Combat doesn't make a Jedi," she said. "Reaction does."
Cain leaned forward, fascinated.
Derren struggled at first—he kept trying to "win" the scenario.
Barriss understood the concepts quickly, focusing on methodical solutions.
Seris pushed herself, often trying the hardest cube without asking for help.
Cain moved in the middle—observing everyone, offering quiet advice, adjusting his own methods based on what he learned from watching his friends.
After one session, Selani pulled him aside.
"You don't move like everyone else ."
Cain blinked. "What do you mean?"
"You move like someone who's use to high stress situations and knows how to adapt."
Cain hesitated.
"I haven't."
Selani leaned in slightly, whispering, "Your not in trouble Cain, keep doing what your doing its helping everyone."
Cain stiffened. But Selani only smiled.
"Just don't forget that power alone doesn't change the galaxy. Teaching others how to carry it does."
Lifting Others
By mid-year, the Bear Clan's skill levels began to even out—not because the others caught up to Cain, but because Cain slowed down to lift them.
He showed Derren how to use balance and awareness instead of brute force.
He challenged Seris to pace herself—to focus less on perfection and more on intention. "Perfection is lonely," he told her once during a sparring session. "Connection is stronger."
He studied with Barriss, comparing Force philosophies and alternate methods of meditation. They began integrating healing visualizations and collective breathing techniques—which the other younglings began copying.
Together, they began acting not as individuals, but a unit.
Master Dookan noticed it. So did Selani. So did Fay.
The Test of Potential
In the final week of their fifth year, Dookan Yill held a private evaluation for each youngling. Not to rank—but to understand and help guide them.
Cain was brought into a darkened room and asked to sit in the center.
"You may use the Force," Dookan said. "Do not move. Simply listen."
Cain closed his eyes.
He heard three voices—echoes.
A scream. A lie. A truth unspoken.
He focused on the truth—and the room illuminated a single archway.
Cain stood, walked through it, and found Seris there—struggling against an illusory shadow. He reached out, not with his weapon, but with his hand.
"You don't have to fight alone."
And the shadow vanished.
The illusion faded. Dookan stood in the light, arms folded.
"You are talented," the Master said calmly.
"Your ready."
Whispering Seeds
That night, Cain stood with Barriss, Seris, and Derren on the Garden Bridge, looking out over Coruscant.
"We're better than we were," Derren said proudly.
Barriss nodded. "And we're still just Initiates."
Seris looked at Cain. "I don't think we'll stay Initiates for long."
Cain said nothing. Instead, he smiled and offered them each a small stone—taken from the meditation gardens.
"From now on," he said, "we train together. We learn together. We rise together."
And they did.
For the next year, Cain's guidance, Fay's wisdom, and Selani's practical tests forged them into more than students.
They were future Knights.
But first… they would have to prove it.