Important announcement

The crowd around them began to clap now that the match was over. As Dorcol began to get up on his own, his now victorious opponent extended her hand down to him. He grabbed it, and she helped him up to his feet.

For just a few moments, they stood there, their chests and bodies only inches away from touching. Dorcol's breathing was still rapid and shallow as his heart thumped quicky within his chest. She was wearing loosely fitting robe-like clothing, but he couldn’t help but start to imagine what she looked like underneath as the blood within his body began to make its way downward.

But before his primal urges and thoughts could grow more, he let go of her hand and quietly thanked her for the good match. To those around watching around them, his flushed face was purely just from the recent fight, but he knew better as he felt his manhood begin to become uncomfortable at half mass under his undergarments.

They both walked off the platform to the sound of the half hearted clapping of their fellow Initiates. Waiting for both of them were the healers, who had already treated the bruises and burns of the other Initiates. Now that their match had completed, their lightsaber practice session was also now done as well.

The Initiates as a whole had mostly calmed down and recovered from Dorcol's earlier outburst. But, now that they had finished practice, they know they would have a gathering instead of their normal meditation session. The majority of the Initiates were unaware of the nature or the reason for this gathering, but all the ones that were part of Dorcol's group knew.

Their nervousness could be visibly seen as each of them lined up. In the way they couldn't keep themselves completely still and kept glancing back over their shoulders, as if a Sith was going to appear behind them at any moment.

After all, to them, the Sith were a group of dark Force users that should have no longer existed. They were the Jedi's version of the boogeyman, in that they were used to keep Initiates reminded of the dangers of falling to the dark side of the Force, and how like the Sith, falling to such a path would only lead to the ruin of both themselves and those around them. But now they knew the Sith had returned, and they may actually be called upon to battle against this old foe of both the Jedi and the Republic as a whole.

Some of the Initiates, within the depths of their hearts, began to wonder if becoming a Jedi was even worth the danger. They had thought themselves as special for being Force sensitive. Being able to train in its ways and become a Jedi, becoming respected and honored protecters of the people, a beacon of hope and light within the galaxy. Fighting criminals in acts of bravery, walking through the streets as children saw them as heroes. It was that dream and those visions of a potential future that had pushed several of the Initiates.

But, in place of those visions, we're ones them dying alone or being captured and tortured. Experiencing the pain that the dark arts of the Sith could only deal. What could have been a life of peace and honor, could very well be a death caused by war and filled with death.

As their unease and fear increased, it also began to spread to those around them due to their shared connection to the Force. Each of their imaginations becoming filled with wild yet vivid images of the ways they could be killed in battle. When suddenly, they were all pulled out of it by the booming voice of one of the Jedi masters with them. He stood on a stage, but had no visible microphone, his voice was simply so loud that they could all hear him clearly.

"I know that some of you have already learned of this development yourselve or have heard of it from others. You already know the purpose of this gathering then, as for the rest of you, I will be blunt when I say this. The Sith, the foes of the Jedi and the Republic that we thought gone forever...have returned," he said as he let out a deep sigh. The rest of the Initiates who had not known this previously were instantly stunned in place.

"I can see and send that you are all afraid. For anything else, for any other reason or threat, I would have told you to bury your fears and let the peace of the Force flow through you instead. But...when it comes to the Sith, you honestly have every right to be afraid, which leads into my next point," he announced as he began to pace back and forth.

"In all honesty, you are not ready to fight the Sith. When it came to your teachings, the only part of the dark side that we taught you was how to resist the personal temptations that may lead you to it. However, we did not teach you how to defend yourselve against the Sith you have studied its ways, who have even masters its terrible powers. That was because we too believed them to be gone for good, that the galaxy would only know peace and the Force would continue to remain balanced. In short, we ended up becoming complacent. They have been gone long enough that I know a few of you even questioned whether if they actually existed, or if they were nothing more than fairly tails."

"You have all trained since you were young in the ways of the Jedi and of the Force. But...it would be cruel of us to force to fight an enemy you have not properly been prepared for. That is why, starting tonight, you can choose to leave these grounds and leave the Jedi. Think long and hard about this, but know that there will be no punishment or repercussions if you choose to do so. However, if you do decide to stay, then know that your training will be changed dramatically. The Jedi Trials that would have come later will commenced as soon as possible. Where you will prove yourselves in front of Masters so that one of them may choose to take you in as their Padawan. That is all, and may the Force be with you no matter what path you choose or choice you make."