Location: Tython – Eternal Dawn Citadel, Recruitment Wing
Date: 24 BBY – Four Months Before 23 BBY
The halls of the Eternal Dawn Citadel had never been this alive.
Throughout the carved stone walls of the Recruitment Wing, Jedi archivists moved quickly across holotables while runners delivered sealed files and holographic identifications from across the galaxy. Droids hummed along the corridors, projecting translated calls for invitation. It was the beginning of something new, something unbound by old rules—something radically inclusive.
Seris and Anakin stood at the center of it all, overlooking the balcony of the multi-tiered atrium where new arrivals were beginning to land—by shuttle, speeder, and open transport.
Seris held a datapad in one hand, her other clutching the railing. "I still can't believe how many responded."
Anakin smirked. "I can. Cain knew what he was doing when he planted those files."
Dozens of names had come from Cain's secret compendium of galactic knowledge—Force-sensitive or exceptional individuals.
The Eternal Dawn would not wait for fate.
They would forge it.
The first to step off the transport was a towering figure clad in dark green beskar, her helmet etched with symbols of Clan Bralor. She removed her helmet with a hiss of pressure, revealing dark copper skin, golden eyes, and a braided mohawk.
"Vyren Koh," she introduced. Bo-Katan said I would be tested if I came and I want to push myself to be something more."
Seris gave a slight bow. "We welcome your spirit ."
Vyren narrowed her eyes, then smiled faintly. "Good answer."
The second arrival wore the robes of the Jedi but none of the hesitation.
Jenza Rall, a Mirialan Knight who had left the Coruscant Temple just two weeks earlier, carried twin shoto sabers on her hips.
"I heard your message," she said plainly to Anakin. "It reminded me of something Master Fay once told me. 'The Force flows where it is needed, not where it is expected.' So here I am."
Anakin shook her hand. "We welcome you to the path."
Tall, willowy, and silent, the next was a Dathomirian male—a rarity. Cloaked in charcoal wraps, his crimson skin was patterned with white tribal paint. Tulraa, as he called himself, did not speak Basic, but Barriss translated "He was a slave taken offworld at a young age. He never made it back to Dathomir—but the Nightsisters' teachings are in his blood."
Seris nodded slowly. "We'll give him something new to believe in."
Next off the docking pad came a grinning Corellian human with a heavy rifle on one shoulder and a datapad in the other.
"I'm no Jedi," he said. "But Cain sent a message. Said I knew conflict better than most Jedi. Said he needed leaders who'd been in the mud."
Seris raised an eyebrow. "You're Force-sensitive?"
"Nah," Theren replied. "But I've got instincts sharper than a Nexu and five years surviving Black Sun."
Anakin grinned. "Sounds good enough to me."
Last came a figure unlike the others.
She emerged from a sleek black vessel of unknown design—tall, slim, wrapped in midnight-blue robes lined with silver trim. Her skin was pale blue, and her crimson eyes glowed with curiosity and intelligence.
"I am Syla'Thanis'vreln," she said in a perfectly controlled voice. "I come from the Ascendancy, but not on their behalf. I come to study the force they way you all do in hopes understanding it better
Seris blinked. "You're Force-sensitive?"
"Barely," Syla said. "But my gift lies in perception. Patterns. Strategic foresight. I believe I could offer insight and guidance."
Anakin stared. "So a tactician?"
"A chessboard is just a map waiting to be lit," she replied coolly. "Teach me your rules, and I'll show you your future."
Seris looked over the roster. "This is a interesting group we have."
Anakin smiled. "the more different the better."
Later – The Briefing Room
The new recruits now stood in a great stone rotunda lined with sunrise-colored crystal. Cain's voice rang through the holoprojector—recorded for every world across the alliance.
> "Hello and welcome I thank you for answering the call and coming .You are not here by birth. You are not here because of your midichlorians or lack there of. You are here because you choose to be."
"The galaxy needs more than lightsaber-wielders and generals. It needs defenders. Counselors. Healers. Guides."
"You will become Paladins of the Eternal Dawn—not because you were given the right, but because you earned it. You will be broken. Reforged. And from you, a new peace and balance will be born."
The holoprojection faded.
Seris stepped forward, raising her voice.
"You begin tomorrow. At sunrise. First test: a full trial in Tython's wilds. No weapons. No tech. Just instinct and cooperation."
Anakin smirked. "If you survive, we'll start training you."
Back in the Archives
Seris reviewed the updated list of recruits—some from Cain's records, others found through whispers or mutual allies. The files stretched across star systems, cultures, even philosophies.
"They're not Jedi," Anakin said.
"They're more," Seris replied. "They're ours."
Codex Entry 051 – The First Flamebearers
> They answered the call and chose to come for their own reason we will break them reforge them into their best self I just hope I'm worthy of leading them.