Star Wars: The Age of Peace

When I opened my eyes, the world felt heavy, the air thick with a stifling weight. As always, I was lying in my bed, greeted by the grey ceiling of my room. Slowly, I sat up, and the light came on automatically, illuminating the barebone hole that served as my personal chamber.

I was home.

I blinked my eyes, trying to make sense of the sudden shift that was giving me a strong sense of vertigo. Standing up and looking out the window, it was early morning. Was I dreaming of something? I don't remember. But whatever it was, it was gone as I opened my eyes, and I was here. Home...

Dressing up and exiting my room, I walked the polished marble floors, watched the high arched ceilings, and looked out through the towering windows that framed the ever-cloudy skies of Iskandor. Why did I feel as if it should be different? This was the estate of House Valtherionand, and it stood around me as if I'd never left... yet something was off.

"Wait... leaving?" I muttered after hearing my own thoughts. I never left... did I?

The weight I felt before was pressed on my chest again, a dull ache that radiated through the Force. It wasn't the physical sensation of being smothered; it was something deeper, tied to this place: memories, expectations, and my family's stringent demands.

"Kael!"

The voice jolted me. It was sharp, commanding, and impossibly familiar—no, it was more than that: It was similar to mine. I turned, and there he was—Edran, my eldest brother. He was clad in the pristine uniform of an Imperial officer, looming over me like the absolute manifestation of authority. His golden-blonde hair was perfectly combed, and his sharp blue eyes were cold and unrelenting, used to issue orders to everyone around him.

"What are you doing, standing there like a fool?" Edran barked, his tone razor-sharp. "You're late for training."

"I…" My voice faltered. I couldn't find the words... Facing him, I always felt a heavy air of oppression washing over me, and I could barely find the proper words to speak and answer him.

"Father won't tolerate another failure," he continued, stepping closer. "Or have you already forgotten yesterday's punishment?"

My heart sank. No... I did not. I couldn't forget, no matter how hard I tried. The bruises from the training rod still ached beneath my tunic, but that pain was nothing compared to the suffocating disappointment I felt through the Force. My father's judgment, my brothers' scorn—it clung to this place and through it to my skin like an unwashable mucus, inescapable. Since my gift became as strong as it is, living here has caused me physical pain... I will not be able to hide it for long; I have to learn how to control it!

"Move, Kael," Edran snapped, shoving me toward the training arena.

The halls blurred as I stumbled forward, my body moving on instinct. The weight of my family's expectations mounted on my senses with every step, each breath harder to take than the last. By the time I reached the entrance, my hands were trembling.

The training hall was vast and cold, its walls lined with racks of swords and blunted sabers. The floor was polished to a mirror sheen, reflecting the rigid forms of my father and two older brothers standing at its center, here to oversee my training.

Father was as imposing as ever, his silver hair swept back, his harsh gaze sharp enough to cut steel. He didn't speak as I entered, but his disappointment was palpable, a wave of disdain that crashed over me through the Force. Was it about yesterday... or how I appeared now?

"You're late," he said finally, his voice low and measured. "Again." To his words, I bowed my head, swallowing hard.

"I'm sorry, Father."

"Sorry doesn't matter," he replied. "Results do. Edran and Zaren have already completed their drills. Your instructor is waiting. Don't embarrass me further."

I nodded, stepping onto the mat where my fencing instructor waited. Instructor Vonn was a tall, wiry man with lean features and a perpetually grim expression. If I recall correctly, he fought in the Yuuzhan Vong wars, was injured in one engagement, and missed out on the final push. As for what his injury was, I didn't know because he was still a ruthless swordsman. He held a blunted practice blade, the tip resting lightly against the floor as he watched me approach.

"Take your position," Vonn ordered, his tone clipped. Unlike when teaching my brothers, he never used honorifics when addressing me.

I couldn't argue, not that I wanted... So I obeyed, gripping the hilt of my practice sword tightly as I faced him. The blade felt heavy in my hand, its weight a constant reminder of my inadequacy. That was the feeling I got from everyone around me... Then, the bout began with a sharp clang of steel on steel. Vonn was relentless, his strikes straightforward and punishing. My movements were clumsy in comparison, lacking his fluidity, and my attempts to parry were weak and uncoordinated in the eyes of a war veteran.

"You're hesitating," Vonn barked, his blade slicing through my defense and landing a hard strike against my side. "Do you want to lose? Again? On the battlefield, there is only one loss permitted to everyone because it will mean their death!"

The sting of the blow sent me stumbling back, my breathing ragged already. I could feel my father's and brothers' stares, their judgment like a vice around my chest, not helping with my concentration at all.

"Focus, Kael!" Vonn snapped, advancing again.

But I couldn't. The Force was a storm within me, churning with every emotion I tried to suppress. Fear. Anger. Misery. It swirled just beneath the surface, begging to be released, but I couldn't let it show. Not here. Not now. Trying to calm myself, Vonn's blade came at me again, faster this time, aiming for my shoulder. I raised my sword to block, but my arms were too slow, too weak, and my muscles locked in a perpetual stiffness while I was trying to keep myself steady.

"Enough," my father's voice cut through the hall like a whip.

The bout stopped immediately, Vonn lowering his blade as my father approached. His disappointment hit me like a physical blow, his piercing gaze drilling into me, making my heart ache as if needles were being pressed against it.

"You're pathetic," he said, his voice stony. "You'll never amount to anything if you continue like this. You disgrace this family with your weakness."

The words were not new. But... Somehow, every time I heard it, each one cut deeper than the last. I could feel tears burning at the corners of my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. Not here.

"I'm sorry, Father," I whispered.

"Sorry won't make you strong," he snapped, repeating the same idealistic mantra. "And strength is the only thing that matters. You have one more chance to prove yourself. Just because you are my offspring..." So... not even a son? I wanted to ask but held back. "Fail again, and you'll face the consequences." He turned to Vonn, nodding once. "Push him harder."

The bout resumed, but something inside me had shifted. The storm within the Force grew stronger, no longer a gentle whisper but a deafening roar. Not even a son anymore... So... What am I? Every strike from Vonn pushed me closer to the edge, every failure fueling the fire within me. Was I being expelled? If so, then... who I am? I...

And then it happened.

Vonn's blade came at me in a rapid arc, aimed directly at my chest. Panic surged through me, and I acted without thinking. The Force exploded outward, and I used a technique that I was familiar with yet not at the same time. I knew that it was a... a saber-wielding stance, a move that I learned, but... when? Without thinking, I managed to catch and redirect Vonn's blade mid-swing, wrenching it from his grip by rebounding the force behind his attack. The weapon flew across the room, clattering against the far wall, leaving me there as the victor.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Everyone stared at me—Vonn, my brothers, my father. The intensity of their gazes was suffocating, but the Force was still surging through me, wild and untamed.

"You…" my father began, his voice low and dangerous. "What did you do?"

"I…" My voice faltered. "I don't know."

"You used it," he spat, his expression twisting with anger. "The blur... The speed behind your hands. I saw it once... The Force. I should have known! Your irregularities now lay bare, Kael. It now makes sense."

His words were like a death sentence. The truth was out, and there was no taking it back. The hatred towards anything connected to the Force in my family... was maybe the biggest among all of the Imperial nobles.

"You are no son of mine," he said coldly, his words cutting deeper than any blade. "Get out of my sight. I'll deal with you later."

My vision shifted, the edges of the room blurring as the hall melted away into darkness, and my world came crashing down. I was left standing in the void, the weight of my father's words pressing down on me like a crushing tide.

"You are no son of mine."

The words echoed over and over, each repetition louder and more distorted. I fell to my knees, clutching my head as the darkness closed in around me.

And then, just as suddenly, it was gone.

I gasped, my eyes snapping open, as I found myself back in the cave on Kyrenas. The crystal in my hand glowed softly, its warmth anchoring me to the present that was real and pulling me out of the dream. No, it wasn't a dream; it was a memory... My heart was pounding, my breathing ragged, but the oppressive weight of the memory of how it felt to be with my family was gone.

It wasn't real, I told myself, not anymore, at least. Though the pain lingered like a phantom, receding ever so slowly.

I stared at the crystal in my hand, its light constant, unyielding and warm. It had called me here. Why? To remind me of my past? Something I wanted to forget forever?!

"No..." I answered my own question, feeling that it wasn't the case.

It led me here not to torment me but to remind me of who I was and who I could become. I was sure of it; I felt it. Ignoring the past is not the Jedi way; the Grandmaster's words were very clear in his teachings and notes in the library. We must accept our past and use it to better the future. If I keep it buried and just ignore it, it will be a problem for me later.

"Isn't that true?" I asked the crystal in my hand, "Thank you," I whispered, clutching it tightly as I rose to my feet. "Let's head back... A long walk will help me clear my thoughts."