KAYLIRA TRAMINO

Fifteen years later…

A throaty birdcall sounded from the tree branches high above the slight, pixie-like form of Kaylira Tramino. The sun was setting over Cialone, and she had to hurry. She walked onwards, until she reached her destination. 

On silent feet, she parted the curtain of bright green vines and entered the meadow. She knew that she was dreaming, because she had been to this place before, and the colors of the plants weren’t so… bright. And also, the detail that conformed this was that her Master was sitting right there. 

“Master Tano, what are you doing here?” she asked her, sitting down, cross-legged, in front of her. 

Her Master was a little short of forty years old; no longer young, but not old either. She was small and compact, with a bright blue gaze that could either be as serene as a pool of water or smoldering with the intensity of coals. Her montrals, nearly straight up on her head, gave her a severe appearance, but anyone who chanced to meet her knew that she had a wicked sense of humor and a heart of gold.

Speaking of gold, when she blinked an eye open, and Kaylira could see that, oddly enough, her irises were now a glowing, golden hue, with a dash of blue around the edges.

“It’s good to see you again. But I am not really here, padawan,” the Jedi Master said, wisdom etching across her face with every word she spoke.

“But how? I can see you.”

The wise Togruta smiled. “You’re dreaming, Kayl.” Kaylira recognized her Master’s old nickname for her. “This is all in your mind. I managed to project my consciousness here to tell you something. Your life is about to change, for better or for worse.”

“Change? I’m fine with my life. I don’t want change,” she said, but her heart wasn’t in her words.

Master Tano laughed softly, exasperated. “But you can’t stop the change, Kaylira. This is why I wouldn’t continue your training until you had overcome this flaw. You’re too stubborn, and it is not the Jedi way.”

Her Master’s words stung. It was true that she was stubborn, but her Master was too. Maybe Kaylira wasn’t truly meant to be a Jedi Knight. It was what she had always dreamed of. But her own ways kept her from accomplishing what she wanted most: to join the rest of the New Jedi Order on Cialone, instead of being exiled to its third, furthest and darkest moon, Uluno.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t turn into what you had hoped,” she said bitterly. “I always wanted more than I should have or could have had.”

“You will overcome this, young one. I have foreseen it. And an unexpected visit on Uluno will change you.”

“You’re coming here, Master?” Oh, there went her other flaw, prattling away: intense curiosity.

“No. When they arrive, you will understand. He will change you.” With these last words, her Master evaporated, leaving behind nothing but a faint golden glow. The glow enveloped the clearing, and then she could see nothing more.