Setting: Tython – Jedi Sanctuary Grounds
Date: 24 BBY
The sun filtered through the tall trees, golden light casting long, peaceful shadows across the white stone of the Tythonian courtyard. The sound of children laughing drifted from the distance. Jedi in light armor sparred in designated training zones. Mandalorians stood nearby, some teaching defense forms to younglings, others trading barbs and culture with curious Jedi apprentices.
It was becoming a place of blended peace.
Cain sat on a smooth boulder overlooking a stretch of farmland carved just beyond the Temple walls. Anakin plopped down beside him, a piece of fruit in his hand and an unmistakable grin on his face.
"She's happier," Anakin said softly.
Cain smiled. "Your mom?"
Anakin nodded. "Yeah. You should see her, Cain. She and her husband with his son and his son's girlfriend—Cliegg, Owen and Beru Lars, their good people—they're working a few plots out near the west valley. Used to do moisture farming, but they've been learning crop rotation from some Mon Cal farmers we brought in. It's… weird."
"Weird how?" Seris asked, walking over with a datapad in hand.
Anakin grinned. "Seeing her smile. Like, really smile. It's like I finally let go of something I didn't know I was carrying."
Cain's golden eyes softened. "You're feel lighter."
"I think I'm finally free," Anakin said, looking up at the sky. "Like I'm allowed to dream."
Seris chuckled, sitting beside them. "That's allowed here. Apparently."
A quiet chime came through Cain's comm. He tapped it once, and a small holo of Barriss Offee and Plo Koon's niece, Sha Koon, appeared. Both wore medical gear, smiles wide and hopeful.
"We've made some breakthroughs," Barriss said. "The Kaminoans have really opened up. They're curious about Force-healing now—especially how we use empathy and energy transference to accelerate recovery."
"We've even begun combining Force diagnostics with their scanning systems," Sha added. "Soon, we may be able to sense trauma and mental imbalance before physical symptoms even manifest."
Cain beamed. "You're building something new."
Barriss smiled. "So are you."
The comm ended.
Seris leaned back, eyes closed, basking in the warmth. "We're really doing it, huh?"
Cain chuckled. "One step at a time."
"The Nightsisters… they've been acting strange lately."
Cain raised a brow. "Strange?"
"Seris blushed faintly". They… keep coming to me. Asking questions. Watching how I meditate. One called me her 'sister-moon.' I don't even know what that means."
Anakin burst out laughing.
Cain grinned. "Looks like they've found a big sister."
Seris groaned, face reddening. "Oh Force no. Don't start."
But the smile on her face betrayed her pride.
Suddenly, a deep and familiar voice echoed across the courtyard.
"Cain. Anakin Skywalker. Seris Vey."
The three stood to attention as Master Plo Koon, Master Fay, Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Master Galia Thren—approached with ceremonial composure.
Plo Koon stepped forward, his hands folded calmly behind his back.
"You three have disrupted, redefined, and rebuilt much in these last few years," he said. "And in doing so, you've unknowingly walked the path of the Jedi Knight Trials."
Master Fay's serene voice followed:
"You've passed the Trial of Courage—in your missions, in your decisions to protect, to stand in the fire when others would flee."
Obi-Wan nodded. "The Trial of Skill—proven not just through saber or strategy, but through your growth and control, especially in moments of chaos."
Knight Galia added, smiling softly at Seris, "You've endured the Trial of the Flesh. Sacrificing pieces of yourselves—not always physical—for others. For duty. For belief."
Fay looked to Cain. "You walked the Trial of Spirit when you faced Dooku and offered him not a blade, but a future."
"And the Trial of Insight," Plo Koon finished, "in how you've seen through deception, questioned what others blindly accepted, and forged your own truth."
The four stepped forward, robes flowing.
"You are ready," Fay said gently. "Kneel."
Cain, Seris, and Anakin looked at one another.
Cain raised a hand.
"Masters… we are honored. Truly. But…"
Anakin stepped forward. "We're not done."
Seris added with her usual conviction, "We'd rather take the Trials. All of them. Not just walk into the title."
Obi-Wan blinked. "You would refuse knighthood?"
Cain bowed his head. "We won't refuse the path. But we want to know, deep down, that we earned it—not through expectations, or admiration, but through truth."
Silence followed. The Masters exchanged glances.
And then…
Master Fay smiled. "Then you honor the path even more."
Plo Koon nodded proudly. "So be it. The Trials shall be prepared in full."
Galia stepped up to Seris and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I've never been prouder."
Obi-Wan gave a rare, genuine smile. "You three are going to reshape everything. And this? This only proves it."
Codex Entry 029 – The Choice to Be Tested
We were offered our reward, our title, our proof.
And we said—not yet.
Not until we feel it in our bones.
Not until we bleed for it.
The galaxy's counting on us to be ready.
So we will be.