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Tionne's morning ballad fell in a fine musical mist, drenching its listeners with wonder and ancient lore. Jacen sat in the second row with his brandy-colored eyes closed, concentrating on her words, trying to absorb everything the music had to teach him. It was just as well that his eyes were shut, since his view was completely blocked by the colorful bulk of Raynar wearing his finest robes.

As the last notes drained away, Jacen opened his eyes to find his sister staring at him in silent amusement. Neither Lowbacca nor Tenel Ka, who sat beside him, gave any indication that they had noticed Jacen's apparent absorption in the music. Then Tionne spoke, drawing Jacen's attention back to the silver-haired Jedi on the raised platform.

"A Jedi's greatest power comes not from size or from physical strength,"

she said. "It comes from understanding the Force-from trusting in the Force. As part of your Jedi training you will learn to build your confidence and belief through practice. Without that practice we may not succeed when it is most important. This is true of many skills in life.

Listen to a story.

"Once, a young girl lived by a lake. Simply by watching others, she learned much about how to swim. One day when her family was busy, the girl jumped into the deep water. Although she moved her arms and legs as she had seen other swimmers do, she could not keep her head above the water.

"Fortunately a fisherwoman jumped in and rescued her. The woman, a practiced swimmer, had not needed to think about how to swim, but the little girl-who had only learned by watching-did not have the skill even to stay afloat. After they were safely out of the water, the fisherwoman took the girl's hand and said, 'Come to the shallows, child, and I will teach you to swim.'"

Tionne paused as if lost in thought, her pearly eyes glittering. "So it is with the Force. Unless we practice what we learn, and unless we are tested, we never know we can trust in the Force if the need arises. That is why this Jedi academy is also called a praxeum. It is a place where we not only learn, but we put the learning to use. As with swimming, the more we practice, the more confidence we have. Eventually, our skill becomes second nature.

"The next several days I would like the beginning and intermediate students to practice one of the most basic skills: using the Force to lift. For today, practice lifting only something small-no bigger than a leaf."

Raynar interrupted in a blustery voice, "How can you expect us to strengthen our skills if you take us back to a child's level?"

Jacen rolled his eyes at Raynar's rudeness, but he had to admit that he had been wondering the same thing.

Tionne smiled down at Raynar without annoyance. "A good question. Let me give you an example. If you wanted to strengthen your arms, you might lift many stones one time, or you might lift one stone many times. It is the same with your Jedi skills. For today, practice just as I have asked you. It is not the only way to strengthen your skills, but it is one way.

There are always alternatives. I promise you will learn more than just how to lift a leaf."

Tionne dismissed the students. As they left the grand audience chamber and started down the worn stone stairs, Jaina pulled the other three young Jedi to a halt, her eyes dancing. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked.

Jacen, who did not know what she was thinking, nonetheless sensed her excitement and her eagerness to investigate Lowie's mys terious discovery.

Jaina shrugged. "What better place to practice lifting leaves than out in a jungle?"

8

"You sure this seat is safe?" Jacen asked as he squeezed himself into the cargo well behind the T-23's passenger seat.

"Of course it is," his sister replied automatically as she climbed into the front. "You like crawling into cramped spaces anyway."

"Only to catch bugs," he grumbled. "There's no cushioning back here."

The cargo well was much too small to accommodate Tenel Ka, who was taller