Shadow of the Jedi In the great library of Kamar-Taj, her mind was once again drawn to the rich mystical knowledge of this place. Honestly, Celeste was already excited to take it all in.

This place was teaching her to tap into a powerful force, a power that perhaps the ancient Jedi ancestors of her own galaxy had possessed when they first began their order.

As the Kwa people arrive and bring with them small revelations of their knowledge of the Force, Celeste wants to know more.

Sadly, there isn't a lot of information available about ancient Force-sensitive species.

One might think that any description of them would have been lost over time due to poor storage and record keeping. However, the Kwa people in question had been part of this mysterious order for many years. Therefore, information about this race was either deliberately deleted or requested by the Kwa people themselves.

Considering what the Jedi Order did before their own imprisonment, such a thing is possible.

She glanced at Bucky, who was with her this time, and across from him was an unlikely friend he'd made here.

Master Wang.

The two strike up an oddly fast friendship when they first meet, one that only grows stronger in their mutual love of Tolkien.

For Bucky, he was just happy to meet another book reader who wasn't his old friend Steve. It's not that he doesn't like the movie series, Barnes loves them. But there's something special about talking about it with someone who has read the books like he has.

“So this Silmarillion is everything he never released?” Bucky asked with an excited grin.

"In a nutshell, yes. Tolkien basically added things over time and helped expand his story world when he was making the Fellowship trilogy of novels.

"Magic does have its wonders," Barnes muttered to himself, turning to the middle of the book.

“I would rather die than see this book perish,” Mr. Wang said. “Look at how it ended.”

Bucky flipped to the last page of the book and his eyes widened.

Although he had just begun to learn the language of the elves created by JRR Tolkien, he was able to translate roughly.

"To all who travel to Middle-earth, they will always be friends until the day the sun sets." Bucky muttered in amazement. "JRR Tolkien."

"This was his last signature before he died," Wang said proudly.

"Fuckin' shit."

The Jedi Shadow just chuckled and rolled his eyes at their current antics.

However, it shows how one can be truly passionate about something they love and express it in a form.

"You two," she began, gaining their attention. "You are hopeless."

Both men stared at her for a moment before resuming their discussion.

“When the Lord of the Rings movies came out, there were several rings with inscriptions on them. Is that true?” Bucky asked.

"There is more to it than that, my friend." The King looked around for a moment, almost conspiratorially, before leaning closer to Bucky. "The Ancient One took possession of one of the rings and cast an invisibility ward over it."

Bucky’s jaw dropped. “Fuck.”

The king's smile almost broke as he reached into his robe and pulled out a round gold ring.

“Okay,” the occult master said, pulling out the ring and placing it in Bucky’s hand.

“I don’t know if you’re just pulling his leg now. This was Celeste’s skeptical statement, and Bucky looked at the ring in his hand, almost frightened by the black language of Mordor.

Wang just cheekily crossed his arms and waited for the Winter Soldier to hesitate for a moment until he slid the ring onto his finger…

It disappeared after a while.

It only took him a second to remove the ring and reappear with an expression that was close to excitement.

"King!" he shouted happily.

"Oh, for the Force's sake."

Great, now she'll be able to calm down for a few days.

Before the two could express their love for Tolkien's works, the three heard someone clear their throat loudly.

They turned around and stared at a man in his thirties from his appearance. He had a small tuft of white hair tied in a small knot and wore a light orange-brown vest. Beside that man were two other students wearing maroon robes.

"Caecilius," the king said respectfully.

"King," the recognized man said with a slight bow.

Then he looked at the two people sitting with the king, lingering over them both.

"New friends?" Caecilius said. "I've heard of these newcomers, but never had the chance to meet them.

The magic user narrowed his eyes at Barnes.

“Can we help you?” Bucky asked simply.

"You look familiar," the stranger said. "I think I've seen your face before. In a book."

"Maybe you have."

Caecilius hummed to himself and looked at Celeste again.

"you are?"

The Jedi Knight didn't know what to make of this strange man, but she got a very uneasy feeling from him.

The Force might not exist as it did on this planet or in the way she knew it, but she had been learning about it over the past few weeks.

Since then, she has begun to harness the abilities she'd always dreamed of, while also enhancing the abilities she already possessed during her Jedi training. And now, she has an uncomfortable feeling coming from Kaecilius.

"Just a new trainee," she replied politely.

"Ah, then I welcome you to join us," Caecilius said in a friendly tone.

Celeste just nodded slightly when the king spoke.

"What can I do for you, Caecilius?" he asked.

"I need a book." Caecilius said slowly. "The Book of the Mirror Dimension. One of my students is ready to move on to the next level.

The king simply led them to where the book they were looking for might be, and off they went.

“Who’s that?” Bucky asked suspiciously, watching the man and his followers walk away.

"Caecilius," Wang replied flatly. "A master here, a gifted student. He has been with us for over twenty years.

"What about the thug squad?"

"His private pupil."

"There's something wrong with him," Celeste began.

Bucky hummed. “I agree with that.”

"sorry?"

Celeste shook her head. “In the Jedi Order, whenever we feel there is something unusual or dark about something or someone, we attribute it to interference with the Force. Kaecilius… there is a darkness about him that I cannot fully understand.

Wang did not answer immediately, struggling over the matter for a few seconds.

“We can only say that Kamar-Taj tends to attract three types of people to a large extent,” Mr. Wang said. “Those who are looking to understand a higher power, those who are looking to find purpose, and those who ... are broken, damaged and lost in some way, shape or form.

Bucky and Celeste stared at each other for a moment.

“I can probably understand something like this, but the way I feel about it… it’s like it’s been brewing for years. Nothing is going to calm this down.

The king glanced at her and then sighed.

“Kaecilius came here looking for a place to stay when he lost everything he cared about,” Wang revealed. “If you want to know more, I suggest not asking him.

"If you say so. Maybe all I ask is to keep an eye on him," the Jedi suggested.

Wang said nothing, just nodded to both of them, then left to do his work.

Bucky twirled the Ring of Power between his fingers and sighed dejectedly.

“Here, I hope we can find a place of peace and quiet.

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