Cain Ray

Cain Ray was a Jedi Knight during the ancient Republic, and the founding member of the Shade Order on Thyferra. He led a large number of Jedi from the order, who helped him create an enclave on the jungle world. Over the following years, under his leadership, these force sensitives scouted the galaxy for others who could use the Force, recruiting them to their cause and making the order grow to become one of the largest force sensitive schools in the galaxy. He believed very strongly in preserving secrecy and stealth, and managed to keep his students safe from the evils of the Alsakan Conflict in this way.

Beginnings
Born to two, normal, loving parents on Alderaan, it was hard to imagine the destiny he had before him, placed by something greater than any individual, laid down an eternity before he was born. The road may have been hard, difficult, even changeable, and that itself had no definite route, but there was a definite destination. The regularity of his life was fleeting and brief, lasting no more than his first eight or nine months before he was discovered. His mother, once a working woman, but now with her second son, was a full time mother and housewife was looking after Cain, as she had every day since his birth, and was walking through the beautiful city that was Aldera, the capital of the planet, its green, calm gardens particularly busy with the free citizens, enjoying perhaps one of the last few truly peaceful places in an increasingly hectic and urban Republic.

The Jedi Master was dressed in traditional robe, his weathered features hidden in the shadow of his brown hood. His name was Kael Leandar and his weathered features would show evidence of his experience and wisdom. He was actually just sitting and enjoying some time to himself, staying in the small sanctuary laid aside by the Alderaanian government, allowing a small number of Jedi to remain there. He felt Cain’s imprint, moving through the Force, his potential amazing the master in such a peaceful and mundane state. He located the boy with his mother and began to explain to her what this meant. Tears in her eyes, she returned home to see the boy’s father, the persistent Jedi Master insisting on Cain’s destiny lying with the Jedi. His father, who had had great plans for his young son, saw this as a greater opportunity for Cain to make him proud, despite loving him so dearly. On the other hand, his mother was fully against him joining the Jedi, seeing it as dangerous alongside her not wanting him to leave so soon.

Master Leander used his eloquence to implore the pair as greatly as he could, the self-righteous Jedi not wanting to use the Force to persuade them to do something like this, but knowing if they would not relent it was something he would have to do; he knew Cain had to be trained. At last, it seemed he had persuaded them. The father’s pride had overcome his doubts, helped a lot by the Jedi Master’s convincing speeches. He wanted his son to do something great and with tears in his eyes he understood that to become great he would have to do it away from his parents. With Cain’s mother crying in his arms and his other son, at only three years old, not really understanding what was going on, but sad to see the brother he had known for less than a year leave, his father gave a silent nod to the Kael as he carried the boy from their lives forever.

He was brought before the council in the Ossus temple, one of the younger babies brought forth for training, but they did not mind, for they too sensed his aura; his potential; his destiny. But not all on the council were sure he should be trained, some of the legendary masters suggesting his path could indeed lead him very close to the dark side, perhaps too close, his path lying in shadows at this stage, the only thing clear was the magnitude of his tasks, not their nature. Eventually, the rest of the council, and the silver-tongued Master Leander persuaded the doubters to at least allow him to be trained as a youngling, coming to a compromise overall that he be trained provisionally, that is to say he is reviewed at each great stage, and scrutinized at checkpoints between, by Kael, who would discuss his feelings with the council. Living his early years in the nurseries in the temple, his youngling training commencing as soon as he could understand how to speak. Studious and quiet in his early years, he strived to do well in every challenge he was given encouraged mostly, through all of it by the newly appointed councillor, Master Leander. Cain did not mind the extra attention paid to him by Kael, taking it in his stride, thinking of it as though a compliment to be subject to extra attention. He was an avid learner, and very interested in the philosophy behind things as well, rarely happy with taking things told to him as face value. It was at the age of twelve when Cain, a very competent specimen of the training of a youngling, was called up to the council and paired with a master to begin his padawan training, but to his surprise, it was not Master Leander, but a Bothan Jedi Master, on the council too, called Furoar Quo.

At the beginning, Cain often found himself at loggerheads with Master Quo, a member of the Jedi council for a couple of decades by now and quite an old fashioned, by the book kind of man. Cain often thought his master was overly critical of him, constantly trying to find flaws in every action he took, questioning every statement he made. Of course, then it was from the point of view of an impatient teenager and years later he would respect this training, knowing that it would make him not only a better Jedi, but a better person. Furoar taught the young padawan a lot about the Force and about the Jedi Order, explaining how the eight tenets and the code works, showing him that things like emotion, passion and ignorance are the flaws of sentience, and come hand in hand with it, but also explaining how they can be combated. Cain flourished in these discussions, enjoying to debate with his master about the inner workings of the Force, the universe, life and the Jedi, often impressing his master with his logical and level headed approach to this. He also began to teach him the next level of lightsaber combat, Cain’s emerald bladed lightsaber, which he was given for use during his training, was used often in his spare time as he practiced, taking up the elegant form of Makashi.

Part One: Meeting Terra Zess
It was at the age of fifteen that Cain encountered another young padawan, a girl called Terra Zess, under the tutelage of a Zabrak Jedi Knight, by the name of Mya Ores. Terra was an attractive girl, about the same age as Cain, with short brown hair and soft features. It was a mission for the two padawans to embark upon on their own, to protect an informant traveling from Coronet to Coruscant. The two padawans bonded over the long journey from Ossus to Corellia, finding they got on very well and the foundations of a long lasting friendship were laid.

On arrival in Coronet, they discovered the informant, a Rodian called Lono, awaiting them in the safe house. They took him to their ship, along with two security guards and they boarded. It was mid-flight when problems occurred; the security guards revealed that they were in fact a pair of bounty hunters and they attempted to hijack the ship. Cain and Terra both acted instantly, blades of emerald green and bright blue both flashing in the air as the two hunters realized they had probably bitten off more than they could chew with this one. Unfortunately for the Jedi, the lightsabers did not deter the two assailants, in fact the opposite, encouraging them to fight back, firing a brace of shots at both of them. Cain was confident defending himself, but Terra received the brunt of the attack, being hit in the leg with a low caliber slug. Cain saw his new friend and fellow Jedi fall to the ground and gave into his anger, leaping at the two men, beheading them both with one sweep of his lightsaber.

His expression was an horrific, glowering glare, and as he spun around, each body slowly falling, Terra, wounded and weak, looked pale as a ghost and as scared as if she had just seen one. As Cain saw her like that his anger vanished, his lightsaber dropped to the floor from his hand and he ran to her side. She was close to going into shock, and she would not tell anyone what she had seen in Cain, not for a good few years yet anyway. Cain tended her wounds, mostly with a medi-kit, but too with the Force, keeping her alive for the journey to Coruscant. As they touched down he carried the wounded girl out, the terrified informant following behind to be taken away by much more reliable CSF unit. Cain carried her to their awaiting Jedi Masters, who took them both to the Jedi Monastery on Coruscant. She was unconscious for a few days after the bullet was removed, the shock taking its toll on her, Cain remained at her bedside, feeling it was his fault she was wounded and the fear he felt at the thought of her possibly dying was one of the scariest he had ever felt.

He was still there when she awoke, her eyes fluttering open bringing him relief as he saw she was okay, but his happiness was short lived. His master had allowed him to remain with her while she was not conscious, mainly because he felt Cain would feel better once he knew she was fine, but Cain’s thoughts were still with her as he left for Ossus, the impression they had both left on each other a lasting one; him feeling guilty for putting her in danger, her feeling as though she owed him her life. Master Quo picked up on this, of course, he was a most astute Jedi, but he did not reprimand Cain, attachments, be they friends, or more than, that were allowed by the Jedi Order. But it was always impressed on every Jedi, as the tenet says, that the path of attachment, and the road of love is a very difficult course to tread and one must be very wary.

Cain often thought of her, but was taken on missions with his master more and more often, it seemed, and he rarely saw her in the temple. He wondered if they spent more time together what would become of their friendship, as they were only padawans love was discouraged until they were at least older and wiser. But as his training went on, he saw her less and less and Master Quo gave him challenges to occupy his studious and enthusiastic nature, often reminding him how soon his trials may begin.

And soon enough the time did come for Cain to begin his trials, to qualify him for Knighthood. His first task involved him traveling to the crystal caves to locate a crystal for his own lightsaber, but his master had a greater test for him in mind. Cain left on his own on a sticky, humid morning on Ossus, using the Force to guide him, the feeling of the caves shining out like a giant beacon in the Force. The journey was long and arduous, and all Cain had with him was the Force, he had been told to leave the lightsaber, which he had been given, with his master. After what seemed like an age to Cain, he finally found the cave, wiping sweat from his brow, welcoming the shade and smiling as he became assured leaving his cloak at the temple was a good idea.

Part Two: Jedi Trial
The cave was dark at first, but with a little help from the Force, his eyes adjusted quickly. He could see none of the crystal formations leaping out of the walls, the kind he had heard about and seen in pictured, no, all he saw was shadowy rock and forking paths through the caves. He closed his eyes and tried to let the Force guide him, but all he felt was that he must go deeper into the cave, but he had no idea which path to take. He spent a lot of time, too much perhaps, merely standing there before he decided, so he thought ‘at random’ on which way to go. But of course there was a reason for him to go that way, a subtlety of the Force, guiding a faint instinct.

Following that path, he eventually came to an open chamber, with a few antechambers and openings leading away. The chamber seemed to glow, and Cain realized he had finally found the crystal formations. They rose from the walls, offering a dim light of greens and yellows, blues and reds, purples and oranges, and white. As he slowly walked around the room, inspecting the formations, he felt the whispers of the Force, like an advisor whispering in the ear of a ruler. Then he heard a sound in his ear. :: Cain :: it whispered, sounding like an eerie rasp, but at the same time it was like Master Quo speaking to him. He spun around looking for whoever had said it, but the chamber was empty, although he did notice a large crystal formation, directly behind him. It was as though the formation was speaking, not just guiding or whispering, but speaking to him. It glowed with an inner white light and Cain found himself drawn over to it. He extended his right arm and tentatively placed his hand upon the formation. It was warm to the touch and seemed brittle, to the extent that as he began to move his hand away a small piece of the formation fell away with it. He stooped to catch it and felt the warm glow of the crystal in his hand; he was not sure why, but in his hand it felt right.

He was ready to turn and leave, placing the crystal carefully into a small pouch on his belt, when he felt something drawing him deeper into the cave. Intrigued he followed the path from the glowing room and into the consuming darkness. He followed it to an antechamber, not as large as the other one, and with no real light source. As Cain looked around, using the Force to boost his sight as best he could he saw the room was strewn with small pieces of metal and plastasteel, ranging from some the size of a needle to other pieces almost as large as his fist. His initial reaction was confusion, looking around the parts. He recognized some for what they were, an emitter matrix, a focusing lens, a grip; they were lightsaber parts, and there must have been enough for a hundred lightsabers, and more. He wondered if he was meant to construct his lightsaber, annoyed a little by these crossed purposes. He thought that, surely, if he was meant to build his lightsaber here, then his master would have told him to, but, then again, Cain feared he may not have know of this rooms existence. Absent mindedly he took out the crystal, filled with a silvery-white light and began toying with it in his hand. Then, as if in answer to his problem, that same raspy voice that he still felt as though could have come from Master Quo, spoke in his ear. Just one simple word, and that was enough for Cain. It merely said :: Yes :: and Cain smiled.

The padawan then froze; he had no clue how to construct a lightsaber from scratch. Of course he had seen them, but he always thought that a padawan was guided on how to make one, rather than expected to do it without any help. But then he smirked at his own thought. There was a guide for him, he just had to relax and trust in it. He sat down in a medative posture, placing the crystal on the floor before him and closed his eyes. As he meditated he felt little pushes and pulls from the Force, each guiding him to build his own lightsaber. He did not know how long he sat there for, whether an hour or two, or six or twelve, but he knew when he was finished. As the last piece settled into place, he breathed a sigh of relief, the silver cylinder floating vertically in the air before him. Cain almost did not want to open his eyes, incase he had made some horrific mistake, or it looked wrong; silly fears really. But he swallowed hard and raised his right hand, feeling his fingers grip the cool metal hilt. He opened his eyes too look at it as he stood, his legs aching a little from sitting still so long, and he gently pressed the switch with his thumb. A brilliantly bright silver blade shot forth and hummed gently, illuminating the room. He traced a few strikes with it, and was surprised about how much more natural it felt to hold this than the weapon he had been given to him by his master.


 * Very well done, Cain. But now you must come with me. :: said a voice Cain recognized instantly. Turning around and switching the blade off, he saw the familiar weathered face of Master Leander. But his voice seemed to echo eerily and the edges of his body seemed blurry. Cain stepped forwards as though to look at him more closely, but in a dark sweeping motion the Jedi Master had spun on his heel and walked deeper into the cave. Cain jogged after him, but it seemed every time he rounded a corner, the master, still walking at a slow pace, had gained another lead on him. Finally it seemed he was about to catch up as Leander took a left turning. Cain skidded around the corner and had to shield his eyes from the bright light inside. But it was not an exit, he found himself looking at the Jedi Council chamber. He recognized most of the faces, including Master Quo, who looked more youthful than he did these days. And Master Leander, instead of sitting in his chair, stood before the council, holding a small bundle that looked like a baby. Cain could not bee seen by the people in the scenario, it was more as though he was being shown a holorecord. He listened to the discussion, discovering that Master Leander had discovered this baby and intended him to be trained. The council agreed that the baby had much potential and future in the Jedi Order, but he also saw that some were skeptical. Of those skeptics, perhaps the most was Master Quo, who adamantly insisted that it was too dangerous to train somebody whose path ‘lay in shadow’. Then Cain’s jaw dropped. Leander called the baby “Cain” and the realization hit him like a thunderbolt. He could not believe that his own master had tried to prevent him being trained. He wondered if he had always not wanted him to become a Jedi, or through his training grown to think of him as good enough. Cain wanted to speak to him and as he felt this burst of anger the scene before him vanished into a dark, gloomy chamber.

His vision obscured by the red hue of anger, Cain ran through the chamber and into the next one stopping dead at the door. Kneeling in meditations inside was none other than his master, Furoar Quo. Cain tried to steady his voice as he managed to ask him why he did not want him trained. Furoar looked up and opened his eyes, replying in his excruciatingly frustrating calm tone that he feared him falling to the dark side, and although his potential was clear, his path was clouded, possibly dark or possibly light. Cain retorted, saying that he should have shown some faith in the teachings of the Jedi, but Master Quo merely said that that was the precise reason that he himself wanted to train Cain. The padawan had one more question for his master and his voice was tentative as he formed the words, “Do you have faith in me now?” All he got for a response was that he had let him take the trials and Cain should know for himself. His anger slightly subsiding, but still nonetheless saddened by what he had discovered Cain stammered a response, but his master merely stood and walked out of the chamber.

Cain made to go after him and in the next chamber there was a figure awaiting him, but it was not his master, but a strange, shadowy figure, dressed all in black, wearing a hood low over his face and holding a lightsaber hilt. It’s edges, like Leander’s had, seemed blurry and Cain furrowed his brow as the man, for that is what Cain assumed he was, looked up at him. He asked where the Bothan had gone and the creature replied in that same eerie voice that he had heard in the cave earlier, saying :: Cain, your master has betrayed you. He has trained you so you may never become a Jedi. You must kill him. And the only way to do that, is to study the dark side of the Force. :: Cain looked at him and replied with a single word: no. With saying that, the man threw his hooded cloak off to reveal a face that Cain recognized and at the same time did not. It looked like himself, but…wrong. His hair was shoulder length and messy, his face much paler, the skin cracking. His thin, cracked lips were curled in a cruel smile and his glare shone out from his eyes, which seemed to glow orange. He flicked his lightsaber on and a bright orange blade burst forth. Cain flicked his own lightsaber on and met the man’s furious attack. The duel was ferocious and difficult, but Cain was sure in his own skill, every time the battle paused ignoring and retorting to the man’s weak attempts at Dun Moch. He saw an opening, but the only mark of contact he could make was a Shiak mark, a stab on his torso that would surely kill him. But Cain had no time to think about it; he had his opportunity to end the duel and he took it, this man would never be redeemed. Before the man had even fallen to the ground, he seemed to dissolve in the air.

Frowning, Cain stepped out of the chamber and following the path, which led outside. Blinking in the bright sunlight, he saw his master sitting before him, meditating. Cain opened his mouth, and said “I’m sorry for doubting you, master, bu-“ But Furoar raised a finger to silence him. Before Cain could continue, Master Quo stood and told him to kneel before him. Drawing his lightsaber, the Bothan placed it at Cain’s shoulder and then to his other, cutting his braid off in the process. He then asked “Cain Ray, Jedi Knight of the Republic,” to rise.

Tragedy On Thyferra
Cain had grown a lot from the impatient teenager he had been studying under Master Quo. He was now a Jedi Knight, and had been for over a year by now. He had excelled in tasks he had been given by the council, and he thought that he was very proficient for his young age. He had, however, not taken an apprentice yet. He was very cautious with such things, his trials and doubts in the council although seemingly settled, still festered in his mind, as did the anger he had now felt on two occasions, the anger that scared even himself. Such anger, he thought, could only be the sort that led to the dark side of the Force. Not only was this worrying to him that he felt this anger, but also that his master seemed both not to know and not to care of how close he may be to darkness.

It was one day whilst these thoughts and frets were on his mind that he was called before the council. He entered the antechamber to see somebody he had barely seen since he was a padawan, Terra Zess standing before the doors of the council chamber. It was as though she had grown up between times, and the last time he had seen her he remembered her being different, younger and less matured, but he met the gaze of those same piecing, bright green eyes. He smiled at her, and she returned it, but it appeared to be out of genuine happiness to see him, rather than politeness. After being called in, they discovered they were being sent to Thyferra, to investigate the possible existence of Force caves there. They left soon after, taking a Jedi shuttle, talking animatedly on the journey there. As they came down to the planet they experienced the humidity taking effect on the engines of the ship. Cain steered them to a bumpy landing, skidding down through a clearing and coming to a halt.

Once seeing that neither of them were hurt and the ship was okay, Cain led her from the ship, being hit hard by the humidity, himself, as he stepped out into the jungle world. They began to search, concentrating on locating the caves using the Force, more than chatting now, walking virtually in silence through the vast jungles, and beauteous landscapes of Thyferra. As they searched, they made slow progress through the harsh terrain, and before long the fabled storms were brewing in the sky. As the thunder roared and lightning began to flash, they decided that it would be good to seek shelter. As the rain began to flood down over the great forests, they ran through the undergrowth, searching for anything to stay dry under, the leaves and branches of the trees buckling under the weight of the immense rain storm. Running, and, though they did not realise it, being guided by the Force, they came to an opening in the cliff wall. They both ran inside, breathing heavily and soaking wet anyway. As they investigated the caves they had found, they came across many crystal formations and what seemed to them both a huge imprint in the Force.

As they came to a large chamber which was dimly lit by the glow of crystals, both exhausted they rested. Sitting there, talking in fairly good spirits, considering they were in a strange place. It was clear that they had feelings for each other, and though they tried to ignore it, their being there eventually culminated in a long, passionate kiss. Holding each other so close, it ended abruptly, and awkwardly as both of them seemed to realise that it was wrong at the same time. Cain’s sense of duty seemed to combat his wants in his mind; when he considered it he did love her, and had known her for years, and she seemed to feel the same. But they were Jedi, and had sworn to tread this path carefully. And Cain was not sure he was willing to commit to anything, even, and the Jedi outlook to love was all about commitment. He refused to meet the gazes she shot at him and he stood, saying only “it’s time we left” as they retraced their route to the cave entrance.

The storm had passed and they returned to the clearing in a tense silence, each of their eyes not meeting the other’s. As they both slowly walked back through the damp jungle, neither really paying attention to anything, both of their minds occupied with both the kiss in the cave and the other’s face. Neither of them noticed the great trees, the leaves swaying gently up at the top from the every elusive breeze. Nor did they notice the thousands of creatures wandering through the jungle, some smaller than a coin, others larger than speeder. Nor did they see the tiny arachnid crawl down a strand of web and drop onto Terra’s back. The small creature, scared by the new comers and the moving person it was sitting on, by instinct, sank its venomous fangs into her neck. She felt a small stinging pain, nothing that painful, but enough for her to notice, and hearing a sharp intake of breath, Cain spun around. She seemed fine, however and they continued back to the ship, all the while Terra becoming more tired and drowsy, her thinking it because of the day’s exertions. They arrived at the shuttle and as Cain started it up, she collapsed into one of the two bunks. Cain too, assumed nothing was wrong, and he could not bring himself the break the tension now. Within moments she was asleep, the venom worked, and she would never again wake up.

Disillusionment with the Jedi
The death of Terra had impacted a huge deal on Cain, he had lost the closest person to him, and before she had dies they had not been speaking to each other, still unsure as to the implications of that kiss, now seeming both awful and wonderful to Cain. His mind was split over it, and no matter how many times he spoke to his former master, or his discoverer, he could not accept it. It seemed as though he had been cheated, and he blamed the masters for sending them there, unbelieving that they could not have foreseen it. In the short time afterwards, he gradually became more and more suspicious of the council, thinking they had deliberately sent her to die, knowing he needed to feel loss, and still not trusting the likes of Master Quo for what he still thought of has his deceptions of never wanting him trained.

Day by day, Cain became more dissatisfied as a Jedi, never openly confronting the council, though, for it would have been against the tenets, and he still had respect for the Order. But if he had this great path set out before him, such great potential as they had said, what was he meant to do? In a last ditch attempt to not become completely focused inwards, he went to the council with a request, a request to take a padawan. He was assigned a young girl, named Natalia Manteli. As the training began, he bonded well with her, even, perhaps wrongly so, beginning to share with her his own doubts in the Jedi Council. His padawan began to ask him questions too, making him doubt moreso, and he spent more and more time taking to the archives, meditating with the ancient holocrons of the Jedi. But there was more in the depths of the archives, only allowed to be accessed by those with the council’s permission.

As Cain spoke to Master Leander of his interest in viewing such things, the kindly Jedi Master allowed him too, after all with such Force potential, he doubted the holocrons would remain locked for him, and he encouraged the quest for knowledge. And access them Cain did, the holocrons locked deep in the depths of the archives, those holding the secrets only the great masters tended to view, most Knights not having access by the librarian, and the few that did, usually the Jedi Historians and Chroniclers, not having the potential for the gatekeeper to let them in. But Cain did have that potential. The same holocrons that even the followers of the Dark Lord Xendor created, over ten thousand years before. Others heralded the stories and thoughts of the ancient Jedi Masters. And Cain discovered what the dark side of the Force was. But, despite feeling its call, he shunned the attractive dark path. He was not a bad person, despite no longer feeling like a true, faithful Jedi.

And there, among the old dusty volumes and holorecords, the oldest holocrons stacked together, Cain found something(The Holocron of the Grey Gatekeeper) of great value. It was just like any other Jedi holocron, from the outside, but as he sat in the meditation chamer, it hovering before him, the small gatekeeper leapt forth. Unlike the others, he did not seem a wizened member of the Jedi Council, but one who identified himself as the Grey Gatekeeper. He explained to Cain about a balance between light and dark, and instilled in the impressionable youth, ever more so, that the ways of the Jedi were flawed, and the council was narrow minded indeed. The Grey Gatekeeper, during many hours of Cain studying whilst his apprentice was doing tasks to improve herself, taught him manifestations of the dark side of the Force, and how to remain in control of your emotions. The techniques had a very Jedi liked philosophy, it seemed to Cain, as controlling your emotions and passions was essential, to avoid falling to the dark side, but by unleashing this power of the dark side, he was no longer bound as a mere servant of the Force.

He did not know how much the master’s knew of this, and he expected they knew very little, considering Cain was very talented at appearing blank and emotionless, even when he was not – a skill he had, from a young age, considered very important and dedicated time to perfecting. But, although he had even learned techniques from the holocron about concealing thoughts and emotions, he knew it was only a matter of time. And so, guided by the Grey Gatekeeper, he began to fulfil the beginnings of his destiny. First, he made a replica of the Grey Holocron, not working of course, but with a similar imprint in the Force and of identical appearance. He replaced this in the depths of the archives, knowing it would be years before it was discovered. Cain took a gamble: he told Master Leander. And Master Leander listened and joined him. He then set about, aided by Leander and a few of his other Jedi friends, after telling them what he had learned, recruiting more to his way of thinking. He even, many times, went before the council, Leander helping him, trying to tell them of what he had discovered, but to no avail.

Many young, impressionable Jedi listened to him, few who were even of Knight level, but those who were influencing their padawans too. But many more listened to Master Leander, who was struck off of the Council for going against their ruling, even though he had openly told them that he believed Cain’s views to be correct. On one cloudy, grey day, Cain once again, accompanied by some of his closest followers went before the Jedi Council one last time. He implored them to listen to him, trying to explain how his perspective could be the route to a golden age for the Jedi, teaching their new students not to fear the dark side, but to control it, almost eliminating the chance of falling. But this was all to no avail, the narrow minded council members did not listen, Master Quo claiming that he should never have been trained and that Cain could end up being as dangerous as the Dark Jedi of Xendor. And that was the day that Cain finally turned away from the Jedi Order, he and Master Leander leading a great deal of followers into self-proclaimed exile, knowing they were doing what they had to.

A Master's Death and a New Era
To Cain, the galaxy seemed to be falling into turmoil. Every day there were more rumours that war was coming, the Alsakans and the Coruscanti still bore their old feud for the death of a Vicar of the Alsakans and the unfair blaming of the Coruscanti. The galaxy seemed shrouded in darkness and the Jedi Order had lost a councillor, a great Knight and many others besides. Cain did not know why, but he was drawn to Thyferra, it just seemed to him the right place to go. The large group of former Jedi arrived there, led into the humid jungle by Cain. It seemed that they were wandering through the vast heartlands and storms of Thyferra fruitlessly, there was little civilisation there, the climate and jungles making it one of the last few beautiful places in the galaxy.

They took refuge in the caves, sometimes for weeks in the same ones, as Cain and Leander, amongst others, would go out on scouting parties to try and find whatever it was they were searching for. After what seemed like months of futile searching, they stumbled upon it. In a fairly large clearing, but still hidden by the upper canopies, nearby to the crystal caves Cain had stumbled upon what seemed like a different life ago, it stood. It was a large building, looking much like the sort of thing the Jedi would build, perhaps a small Jedi enclave or monastery. But Cain and Leander, both, had never heard of such a sanctuary, or even any Jedi presence on Thyferra before. The place seemed very old indeed, still standing fine, but as though of a different time, and the only evidence that it had not been in use recently were the vast plants and vines growing throughout.

Cain and Leander entered. As they wandered the halls they stumbled across many things, and this indeed seem like an enclave of the Jedi. It even had an archive, however nowhere near as vast as that of the Jedi Temple. Investigating, as the followers brought supplies, gear and even their ships into the hanger, they discovered that this was built many years ago, no actual date given but they guessed it must have been over a thousand years beforehand. Although none of the remaining sources or texts implicitly stated it, it appeared as though this sanctuary was made by a large group of exiled Jedi, who were not Dark Jedi of the kind that rebelled under Xendor, but more like Cain and his followers, who disagreed with the council. These exiles, too, it seemed did not fear the dark side, and saw the greater picture – according to their texts they followed a path which was shaded or grey – not servant to the light, nor contaminated by the dark.

It was as they investigated this place, their followers settling in all around, making the place more modern and fit to remain in more permanently than the caves, that Leander told something to Cain. He was getting older, and looked so frail, and weathered that Cain, at times, felt sadness to look at a great man becoming what seemed to him, as decrepit. As Leander spoke, he explained that his age was taking its toll on him, and he had become sickly, with an illness that would be the end of him. No cure known to man, or no technique of the Force held a cure. Although he did not know how long he had left, he felt he did not have long, and the fact he was not to live long had in fact played a part in his following Cain from the order. He congratulated Cain on doing what he had to do, and told him his new Order would be part of a Golden Age of the Repbulic. With that, he told Cain that he was leaving, he wanted to spend his last few months free, beholden to nobody and no thing, but the Force.

Cain was finally, it seemed, on his own. He had lost Terra, Master Quo and now Leander. But a voice from the door carried to his ear and as he turned around he saw a group of his followers. He smiled and announced to them that they were now members of the Shade Order, destined to follow the path between light and dark, with calm control, and a level mind for the good of the galaxy.

The Step to Masterhood
Cain himself was a master of the Force, in all but name. All the same he was reluctant to bestow the title upon himself, the arrogant nature of the Jedi staying his hand. Even so, as the Alsakan Crisis began he realised that his order needed unity. He called a conclave of the entire order in the enclave and addressed them. He spoke of the evils of war and how now more than ever they needed to be wary of the dark side in the wake of the Jedi schism. Initially he announced how he himself was to claim the title and then he announced the promotions of a number of his most trusted knights, elevating them to the rank of master, and selecting a group of four of them to accompany him upon a leading Master's council of the order.

Personality and Traits
Coming Soon...

Behind the Scenes
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