User:MPK/The Nine Masters

Protest of the Author
The following is a very short draft which I cranked out on a random whim in perhaps an hour or two, counting dinner and interruptions. Its title is Legends of the Jedi: The Nine Masters. It takes the form of an excerpt from an in-universe document of religious significance, telling the story of a certain event that took place a long time before the rise of the Old Republic. In other words, it is a legend of the Jedi. -MPK, Free Man  02:01, May 2, 2017 (UTC)

Legends of the Jedi: The Nine Masters
They saw then the skies of Ashla split with an omen, the like of which had not been seen even at the coming of the Tho Yor. Not as a storm was it, but a single beam of jagged light, as though a thunderbolt had frozen as it struck the peak of Elstur-Djorn. The Elders beheld it and remembered that it was to that place that they had sent Israfil in exile, and they chose nine of the Masters, saying:

“Go scale the face of Elstur-Djorn, where forty years ago we sent Israfil in exile to ponder the mysteries of Bogan. Seek him out, and if he lives, find from him the meaning of this omen which outshines the gaze of Tythos.”

And the names of the Masters were these: Krandor Seth of Kaleth; Athan-Del Mondus of Akar Kesh; Silus of Anil Kesh; Fallwen Thane of Padawan Kesh; Kavra’ael of Bodhi; Zorujas Blaise of Qigong Kesh; Meltush’ka Mohebbi of Vur Tepe; Galen of Stav Kesh; and Ibis-Yong of Mahara Kesh. To these the Elders spoke.

Then the nine Masters went out and scaled the face of Elstur-Djorn, and for six months they sought out Israfil in the caves and crags of the mountain. The places where he had encamped they found, but him they did not see.

Then in the seventh month the nine masters went up to the peak of Elstur-Djorn, where still the fierce light shone unbroken. Where it touched the ground they saw Israfil, standing in its midst.

And Krandor Seth called out to him, saying, “Israfil, what is the meaning of this great light? What has become of you?”

Israfil replied to him, “Krandor Seth, this light is the nature of the Force, and I am now at one with the Force.”

Then Athan-Del Mondus cried out, saying, “Not so, Israfil. We see that you have failed in your exile, for you have upset the balance of all things and divided the womb of the Tython system with this dazzling pillar of light. Now it shall draw all eyes to Ashla alone, and the Je’daii will see Bogan no more.”

Israfil replied to him, “It is not so, Athan-Del Mondus, for the light is the aid of all beings’ steps, and the wicked alone does it cause to stumble. I have seen the light, and by it I have seen to the depths; and I tell you that I have seen a day will come when Bogan shall fall from Tython’s sky to dissolve within the furnace at her heart, and then the orbits of all worlds will be steady.”

And Silus said, “It cannot be that you have seen the future, Israfil, for no one can. Indeed we know of visions, for them we use to mark the limits and borders of power and thought. But of what shall come to pass, madness alone is gained by the man who desires to know it.”

Israfil replied to him, “I have no desire, Silus, for I am one with the Force.”

Then Fallwen Thane said, “At the time of your exile, some of my students were saddened, for they respected you much, Israfil.”

Israfil replied, “It is not to I but to the Force that your students should look, Fallwen Thane.”

Kavra’ael said, “The beauty of this light is such that never could my brush apprehend it. Could any of us bear to stand in its midst, as you do?”

Israfil replied to her, “It is for this end that every being has entered into life, Kavra’ael.”

Then Zorujas Blaise said, “Will you return with us to Tython and speak to the Elders as you have spoken to us?”

Israfil replied, “I will not, for in order to see what I have seen, they too must come to the mount of Elstur-Djorn and dwell here forty years.”

Meltush’ka Mohebbi said, “Israfil, I would have you tell me of the Vur Tepe, that I may know how many hands my sword shall pass between once I have gone to my rest.”

Israfil replied to him, “Your hands are the last that shall hold it, Meltush’ka Mohebbi, but prophecy will save neither the Vur Tepe nor the Je’daii.”

Then Galen said, “Then who will save us? Shall it be our great warriors, who overthrew the Despots and smashed the machines of the Builders?”

Israfil replied, “All answers lie in the Force alone, and the Force is light."

Ibis-Yong said, “If the Force is light alone, Israfil, then what is the darkness? Are our Elders wrong, and the teachings they received not wise and true?”

Israfil replied to him, “All beings know what the darkness is, Ibis-Yong. The darkness is where the light is not. Wise you are, and wise are the Elders, but wiser still is the Force.”

Then Krandor Seth spoke again and said, “If you will not return with us to the Elders, then what shall we say to them? For they told us, ‘Seek out Israfil, and if he lives, find from him the meaning of this omen which outshines the gaze of Tythos.’”

And Israfil replied, “Krandor Seth, you shall tell them that the light belonged not to Israfil, because no mortal hands can lay hold of it; and you shall tell them that he taught you these words, which those who are wise will preserve:


 * There is no emotion, there is peace.
 * There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
 * There is no passion, there is serenity.
 * There is no chaos, there is harmony.
 * There is no death, there is the Force.”

And with the sound of a whispering wind, the lightning-pillar of Ashla left the peak of Elstur-Djorn and vanished among the stars, and with it Israfil. Upon the ground where he had been standing they found his robe, and it is kept at Padawan Kesh to this day. Krandor Seth witnessed these things and heard Israfil’s words. It is at his instructions that they were written down, and they have been stored in the archives of Kaleth, in the First Library.