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Cautionary Tale

Summary:

A story of a young Jedi looking for the wrong kyber crystal.

Written for Fandom Empire Bingo 2025 - Prompt: Hyacinth(purple) I am sorry!
and Sweet and Short September 2025 - Prompt: Promise
and /r/FanFiction's Trope Bingo 2025 - Prompt: Snowed In
and Horrortember 2025 - Day 24: “And so he felt he had to prove to everyone he was evil.” | Inadequacy | back against the wall | debt

Work Text:

The initiate was confident that he would have the best, most powerful kyber crystal ever grown. So he went deep into the icy cavern in search of it.

But to do this, he ignored the pull of the Force, guiding him towards his true crystal. He had seen it, glittering in the ice, but it was so small that he thought it could not possibly be his. Without trusting the Force to guide him, he soon got lost. But that did not matter, he reasoned, as soon as he found the right crystal, he would listen again and find his way.

And there! He could see one, bright and larger than his hand, that must be his crystal! He did not think about how it could fit into a lightsaber, he only thought of showing off the giant crystal to his friends.

It was not easy to reach, but he had expected a trial, so he was not dismayed. He climbed, carefully, across the treacherous ice, and at the edge of a precipice he reached across it and grasped for the kyber. His fingers closed on the edge of it, too large to get a good grip. But slowly, he worked it free.

But as it came loose from the ice, it came loose from his fingers, too. He lunged for it, forgetting his caution, and tumbled into the depths.

He survived the fall, but his crystal was nowhere to be seen.

To make matters worse, dislodging the kyber above had destabilized the wall it had nestled in, and far above, it started to collapse. Snow and ice rained down on the initiate, and he realized the danger he was in. He abandoned his search for the fallen kyber, and moved away from the hole he had fallen through.

But there was little room in the area he had fallen into, and as snow and ice piled up, he could do little except press himself against the wall, until he was trapped completely.

And there he stayed. No one could find him, and slowly, he started to succumb…

“Are you scaring the younglings again?”

“I’m just telling them a story before they go for the Gathering!”

The other padawan let out an exasperated sigh, and turned to the younglings. “I am sorry for this idiot. I promise you, he’s just making things up. No one’s ever gotten trapped forever on Ilum. You’ll all do fine.”

“You don’t know that no one’s ever gotten trapped! Besides, Master Yoda says it’s all about facing your fears.”

“That doesn’t mean you need to frighten them on purpose!”