Timeframe: Weeks after Cain's Trial
Setting: Jedi Temple Grand Hall of Light → Jedi Starcruiser → Ilum Crystal Caves
The Ceremony of Ascent
The Grand Hall of Light was silent save for the deep hum of the Force resonating through the assembled Council.
Standing before them: Cain, Seris, Anakin, Barriss, and Derran, all in ceremonial white. They stood still but glowing, each transformed from the children who once entered the Temple.
Master Yoda stepped forward with his gimer stick, the other Council Masters behind him—Windu, Gallia, Fay, Plo Koon, Shaak Ti, and even Jedi Knight Obi-Wan.
"One journey ends… and another begins," Yoda said softly.
"Padawans, you now are."
A long silence.
And then Master Windu stepped forward, nodding once.
"Your Trials were different. Your paths, unusual. And yet… you are more united in spirit than many Knights I've seen."
He looked at each of them.
"Tomorrow, you leave for Ilum. The Force awaits."
Journey to Ilum
They traveled in silence aboard the Temple Starcruiser, Lucent Song. Only Master Fay and Master Piell accompanied them, as guardians—not instructors.
Cain sat in the back of the meditation chamber aboard the cruiser, eyes closed, the Force whispering.
Anakin watched the stars, fingers twitching.
Seris paced like a tiger.
Derran read silently from a datapad on Force harmonics.
Barriss hummed a Jedi chant under her breath.
They were different now.
Older.
Sharpened.
The Crystal Caves of Ilum
Ilum greeted them with cold air and reverent silence.
They were led to the Cave of Crystals, a place where the Force did not speak—it sang. Echoes of every Jedi who had come before whispered across the ice.
They entered together.
Then separated.
Each one would find their crystal alone.
The Kyber Crystals Call
Barriss found her crystal nestled between two roots of a frozen tree. It pulsed gently with a pale green light, then deepened into a jade blue—like healing water. A reflection of her soul's quiet strength.
Derran stood in a tunnel lined with shattered stone—only for the pieces to reassemble in front of him, forming a sapphire-blue crystal in a geometric burst. Logical. Sharp. Brilliant.
Seris was led through mirrored halls—visions of her former self reflected all around her. In the center, atop a pedestal, a yellow crystal glowed like a sun restrained by discipline. She knelt. "I'm ready."
Anakin nearly ran through the cave—but stopped when he saw a storm trapped in crystal. Purple lightning danced inside. It pulsed with anger, with passion—but also clarity. He touched it. It turned amethyst, with a noble fire. The color of someone becoming something else.
Cain's path was different.
Cain's Crystal – The Golden Void
Cain walked until the cavern walls shifted around him—warping into a chamber outside time. The walls bent inward like a shatterpoint.
In the center floated a black stone, cracked open like an egg.
Inside: a golden Kyber Crystal.
Its glow was warm—but shrouded by shadows that bent around it.
He reached out.
The crystal hovered into his palm.
And the shadows peeled away—not because he rejected them.
But because he accepted them.
The blade it would become would be gold, like ancient Jedi temple light…
…with a black hue rippling around the edges, like the memory of every truth the Order had forgotten.
Return and Revelation
They left Ilum in silence, each holding their crystal.
They were no longer Initiates.
They were Padawans.
And the Council was ready.
Master Assignments
Back on Coruscant, the five stood once more in the Council Tower.
Yoda nodded solemnly.
"Chose you, your teachers have."
Anakin stepped forward.
Obi-Wan Kenobi entered beside him, arms folded, a proud smile hidden behind his usual restraint.
"Anakin Skywalker, I accept you as my Padawan."
The others watched, the bond clear already.
Then the rest were called:
Barriss Offee was chosen by Master Luminara Unduli, calm and composed, a perfect complement to her wisdom and serenity.Derran Talvos was claimed by Master Cin Drallig, who saw in him a future tactician and protector of the Temple itself.Seris Vhalan was chosen by Master Adi Gallia, who believed Seris's fire would burn righteously under guidance and experience.
And finally…
Cain stepped forward.
But no Master approached.
Instead, Master Fay spoke.
"Cain… the Force has not shown a single path for you."
The room grew still.
"You may choose."
Cain looked around the chamber. Masters everywhere. Potential paths.
Then his gaze settled back on Fay and Plo Koon, the two who had watched him from the beginning.
He knelt before them both.
"Then I choose to learn from both of you. Wisdom and clarity."
They stepped forward together.
"You already have," Fay said gently.
Plo Koon smiled beneath his mask. "Then let us walk further."