Star Light, Star Bright: A Navajo Jedi Tale-Part 2

Part VI: Worlds Beyond

The journey to Master Koro's ship was Nizhoni's first time leaving the familiar red earth of her homeland. As they ascended through Earth's atmosphere, she pressed her palm against the viewport, watching the reservation grow smaller until it was just another pattern in the tapestry of desert below.

"Will I see it again?" she asked, her voice steady despite the emotion she felt.

Master Koro stood beside her. "The Force brought me to you for a reason, young one. Your path will lead back home when the time is right."

The stars stretched into streaks of light as they entered hyperspace, and Nizhoni felt herself crossing a threshold between worlds—one she had only imagined in her dreams.

Part VII: The Temple of Many Voices

The Jedi Temple rose before her, ancient stone and modern technology blended in harmony. As they walked through its halls, Nizhoni noticed other younglings from dozens of worlds—some with tentacles, others with scales, yet all connected by the same energy she had felt in the desert.

"You will train with others your age," Master Koro explained, "but your path may differ. The Force speaks differently to each of us."

An elder Jedi Master with green skin and wise eyes introduced herself as Master Salia. "Your arrival was foretold in the Force," she said, studying Nizhoni. "You bring something we have not seen before."

That night in her small chamber, Nizhoni placed her medicine pouch—a gift from Grandmother Emma—beneath her pillow. Inside were sacred herbs and a small piece of turquoise, connecting her to the land she'd left behind.

Part VIII: The First Lessons

Training began before dawn. While other younglings practiced basic telekinesis by lifting small stones, Nizhoni found herself distracted, feeling the stones' connection to the earth they came from.

"Focus, you must," instructed Master Yoda, the ancient Jedi who sometimes observed their training. "But interesting, your perspective is."

When Nizhoni explained how her people saw all things as interconnected—the stone, the earth, the sky, and herself—Master Yoda's eyes widened with interest.

"The old teachings, this resembles," he said thoughtfully. "Before the Temple, before lightsabers, the Force was understood differently."

Master Koro later explained: "The Jedi ways have evolved over thousands of years, sometimes forgetting older wisdom. Your Navajo understanding of hózhǫ́ might help you—and perhaps us—see the Force in new ways."

Part IX: The Dreamer's Path

Three months into her training, Nizhoni still struggled with conventional meditation. While other younglings emptied their minds as instructed, she found herself drawn into visions—seeing her grandmother, the desert, and sometimes paths stretching across the stars.

After one particularly difficult session, a fellow student named Taro approached her. With blue skin and eyes that shimmered like opals, he came from a world where dreams were considered sacred.

"You're not failing," he told her. "You're dreaming differently. On my world, we call it 'walking between worlds.'"

With Taro's friendship, Nizhoni began to find her place among the younglings. Together, they practiced a form of moving meditation that incorporated elements of Navajo ceremonial dance, allowing Nizhoni to access the Force through motion rather than stillness.

Master Koro observed their practice with approval. "The Jedi Code speaks of harmony," he said. "True harmony doesn't come from forcing all beings into the same mold, but from finding how different paths can complement each other."

Part X: The Voice of the Crystal

A year into her training, Master Koro announced it was time for an important Jedi tradition: the Gathering. Younglings would journey to the crystal caves of Ilum to find kyber crystals that would eventually power their lightsabers.

As they prepared for the journey, Nizhoni felt the turquoise in her medicine pouch grow warm. That night, she dreamed of her grandmother singing a healing song beside a fire, the flames revealing a path through mountains that seemed both alien and familiar.

"Master Koro," she said the next morning, "the crystals are calling, but not from Ilum. I feel them elsewhere."

The Jedi Master studied her thoughtfully. "The traditional path is not always the right path for everyone. What do you sense?"

Nizhoni closed her eyes. "Earth. There are crystals there too, connected to the Force, but known by different names. My grandmother would call them the 'stars that fell to earth.'"

Master Koro consulted with the Jedi Council, who eventually granted a rare permission: Nizhoni would seek her crystal through a different journey, guided by both her Jedi training and her Navajo intuition.

"This is unusual," warned Master Salia, "but the Force works in mysterious ways. Sometimes the oldest traditions and the newest paths are one and the same."

Part XI: Walking in Two Worlds

As her fellow younglings prepared for their journey to Ilum, Nizhoni trained differently. She studied ancient texts about the earliest Jedi and how they connected with crystals before standardized lightsaber construction.

"The crystal is the heart of the blade," taught Master Koro. "The blade is the heart of the Jedi. The Jedi is the heart of the Force. All are connected, forming a circle."

Nizhoni nodded, reciting a Navajo teaching: "We walk on a pathway that has footprints of our ancestors, which also has our footprints for future generations."

Master Salia, who had taken special interest in Nizhoni's training, explained, "Before kyber crystals became the standard, Jedi used many forms of Force-sensitive materials. Some even carried stones from their homeworlds that sang to them through the Force."

During combat training, Nizhoni learned to use a training saber, but something felt missing—an extension of herself that wasn't yet complete. She excelled at sensing her opponents' movements before they occurred, a skill her grandmother had encouraged when teaching her to listen to the wind.

"When you eventually build your lightsaber," Master Koro told her, "it will be unique—as all lightsabers are. But yours may bridge worlds in ways we haven't seen before."

Part XII: The Coming Trial

As her second year of training approached, Nizhoni sensed a change coming. In her dreams, the stars arranged themselves in new patterns, and she often woke feeling Darth Vexus's presence like a cold shadow at the edge of her awareness.

One morning, she found Master Yoda waiting for her in the Temple gardens.

"Coming, a time of testing is," he said gently. "Face your fears, you must, before find your crystal, you can."

"Is it time to return home?" Nizhoni asked, feeling both excitement and apprehension.

"The path between stars, complicated it is," Master Yoda replied. "But ready, I think you are, to walk it."

That evening, Master Koro informed her they had received a message from Earth—Grandmother Emma had sent word through channels established after Nizhoni's departure. Something was happening in the desert, something connected to the Force.

"Prepare yourself," Master Koro said. "We leave in three days' time. This journey will test everything you've learned—both as a Jedi and as Diné."

Nizhoni touched the turquoise stone and felt it pulse with energy—a resonance that seemed to connect the Temple to her distant home across the stars. Soon, she would begin the next phase of her journey: seeking the crystal that would help her build not just a lightsaber, but a bridge between worlds.

-S.B.

To be continued...