Jacen Solo, the son of Han Solo and Princess Leia, has a
problem. He knows he’s ready to wield a lightsaber, but his instructor, Luke
Skywalker, insists he’s not. We learn
this in the first scene of Shadow Academy, the second novel by Kevin J.
Anderson and Rebecca Moesta in the “Star Wars: Young Jedi Knights” series. When his uncle walks into his office and discovers
his nephew battling imaginary foes, Jacen is startled. In his rush to extinguish the blade, Jacen
drops the weapon. He apologizes for
getting carried away while he waited, but cannot help himself. Again, he
asserts he is ready to take up the weapon of the Jedi Knights. When Luke counsels him to be patient, Jacen
leaves dispirited.
WARNING! Although
this post doesn’t cover the novel in depth, or reveal any major plot points, it
does reveal what occurs in the final scene: another discussion between Jacen
and Luke. You have been warned.
Throughout the events of the novel, Jacen will be forced to
take up a lightsaber, not only to preserve his own life, but that of his
friends. He some gains proficiency with
the weapon, but using it takes him into dark territory, mentally and
emotionally speaking. Thus, in the final
scene, when Luke hands him his lightsaber and asks him to demonstrate what he’s
learned, Jacen refuses. He recognizes
that he’s physically capable of wielding it, but he’s not yet ready for the
accompanying responsibility. From now on, he will trust Luke’s judgment. When his uncle
decides he’s ready, only then will he pick up a lightsaber again.
At first, I had difficulty accepting Jacen’s decision. The boy might only be fourteen, but he had
used the weapon repeatedly, had gained some expertise with it, and he had used
it appropriately: to defend himself and his friends. Furthermore, he recognized the responsibility
attached to the use of the lightsaber.
Ergo, he was ready to wield it, or at least begin a course of supervised
instruction.
The more I thought about it though, the more I realized that
Anderson and Rebecca had ended the novel correctly. Maturity isn’t earned in the short term, nor
is wisdom gained in sudden insights. Knowing
the right thing to do doesn’t necessarily mean you’re ready to do so. As the old saying goes, many are called, but
few are chosen. However, that doesn’t
mean that in the long term, you cannot forge yourself into the person capable
of being chosen. While you may not even be currently ready to begin a course of instruction, if you work hard to gain the necessary underlying skills, and seek to adopt the proper mindset, eventually you will be ready...to begin.
Looking back now, I realize that I started writing my first novel before I had the appropriate skills or mindset to do so. Had I done better research, instead of simply assuring
myself I was ready, and leaping right into the work, I might have finished the novel sooner. More importantly, it might have been something publishable, instead of a manuscript languishing in storage. Had I found better authors
as role models, and studied not only their craft but also their approach, I
might be a published author. But I leapt in, before I was ready...to begin.
Still envying Luke’s lightsaber,
Dragon Dave
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