Before - Legends A Burnt Child - A Youngling Obi-Wan Vignette

Title: A Burnt Child
Author: Arwyn Whitesun
Timeframe: Obi-Wan is seven years old
Characters: Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Bant
Genre: Drama
Keywords: Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon, Sith Holocron

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A burnt child fears the fire. Ancient Jedi Proverb

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?I don?t think this is a good idea.?

Seven-year old Obi-Wan Kenobi looked behind him at his best friend Bant. Her silver-colored eyes were glittering in the near darkness of the access duct.

?Well, you picked a good time to say so,? he said crossly.

He didn?t mean to be angry with her but it was hot and cramped and dirty in the duct and such things usually made him very irritable. Also, he too was beginning to think this hadn?t been such a good idea and the fact that Bant was only voicing what was now in his head made him feel both guilty and bad-tempered.

?I?m sorry,? she said, her musically liquid voice somewhat dampened by the closeness of the duct.

?No, I?m sorry,? he said. ?I shouldn?t have snapped at you.?

Bant gave him one of her wide smiles that never failed to lift his spirits no matter how down he felt. ?That?s okay. You?re right. I should have said something before we got into the duct.?

Obi-Wan shook his head. ?No, Bant, I?m beginning to think this wasn?t such a great idea.?

?What should we do??

Obi-Wan thought about that. Based on the structural designs of the Temple he had studied they were about halfway through the duct. It had taken them an hour to get this far. It would take them an hour to go back. It would also take them an hour to reach their destination.

?I say we go forward. We?ve come this far so we might as well finish what we started.?

Bant nodded and grinned. ?Spoken like a true member of the mighty Dragon Clan.?

Obi-Wan threw back his head and roared like a kryat dragon. Bant joined him and their voices echoed in the duct. They laughed for a moment then Obi-Wan drew in a deep breath.

?Ready??

Bant nodded. ?Ready.?

Obi-Wan turned around and proceeded down the duct. The one he and Bant was crawling in was one that Obi-Wan, by chance, had discovered while looking over some of the structural blueprints of the Temple. He was always fascinated by the way things worked and how they were put together so coming across the blueprints while he had been in the Temple Archives doing research had been an exciting discovery.

He had asked permission to check the blueprints out and had taken them to the dormitory he shared with the other members of the Dragon Clan, the cadre of similarly aged younglings who were under the tutelage of Master Yoda. The other younglings had only given the blueprints a desultory glance. They were more interested in Yoda?s lesson of the day, which had involved using the Force to levitate objects.

Later that night, when everyone else was asleep, Obi-Wan had crept over to Bant?s bed and showed her what he had found after having spent most of the night studying the blueprints. He had also told her about his plan. She had been skeptical and had warned him that they could get in a lot of trouble if they were discovered, but Obi-Wan had been so excited about his plan that Bant?s warning was like mist to him. He just moved through it and it faded away. She finally agreed to join him.

They had to wait for the right time to execute the plan. Their lessons with Master Yoda took up most of their day but on the eighth day of the week, the Dragon Clan, along with the other younglings, were excused from their lessons and were pretty much allowed to do as they pleased. As long as they stayed out of trouble, of course.

An hour had passed as Obi-Wan and Bant crawled through the duct and he could not recall a time when he had been sweatier, dirtier or more uncomfortable. His breath came hard and fast and his back cramped. Just when he thought he could go no farther, he saw a sliver of light ahead.

?Bant, I think we?re there.?

?Good,? she said. ?Because I don?t think I could crawl another foot.?

?M

 

A great idea, Arwyn. I don't think that I've read a youngling Obi-Wan story before. Very well done.

 

Great story! I don't think I've ever read an Obi-Wan child story before either. I like all the hints to the future your fic makes. Are there going to be more installments?

 

Great story! Cool premise, and a great job writing. It was interesting to see those three men together in one room, delving into dark secrets. I wonder if Xanatos remembered that, and if contributed to his turning and what he did afterward? Very intriguing.

It was neat to see Obi-Wan as a curious child, and a very nice quote at the beginning to set this up for us. Having tasted the wrongness of the Sith at such a young age, that will naturally shape him, and it lends credence to vehemtn declaration that he will never turn.

I also felt a little sad for him, at the end, when he reflected that he would like to have a master like Qui-Gon, though he was afraid he would never be chosen. I was thinking of their first few weeks, of course, and how very difficult it was for Obi-Wan. Poor kiddo.

Great vig! Write more!

 

Great idea and nicely done! Make you wonder if that did contribute to Xan's turning and Obi's nature later in life. Nice work!

 

Great story! I have to echo, I wonder if that contributed to Xanatos' fall later. It makes sense that Obi-Wan would feel strongly about staying away from the Dark side because he experienced that.

 

Sara Kenboi A great idea, Arwyn. I don't think that I've read a youngling Obi-Wan story before. Very well done.

Thanks, Sara! The idea for the fic came from the scene in AOTC when Obi-Wan visits Yoda as he teaching the Bear Clan. I had this sudden vision of Obi-Wan as one of those younglings.

Lost_Jedii Great story! I don't think I've ever read an Obi-Wan child story before either. I like all the hints to the future your fic makes. Are there going to be more installments?

Thanks, Lost Jedii! Hmmm, I hadn't though to write anymore, but I think I may. Writing about Obi-Wan as a youngling was rather fun.

Maychorian Great story! Cool premise, and a great job writing.

Thanks, Maychorian!

It was neat to see Obi-Wan as a curious child, and a very nice quote at the beginning to set this up for us. Having tasted the wrongness of the Sith at such a young age, that will naturally shape him, and it lends credence to vehemtn declaration that he will never turn.

Thanks! That's what I was playing around with, just my take on what made Obi-Wan so steadfast in his assertion, for example, to never join Dooku when Dooku makes the offer to help him defeat the Sith in AOTC.

I was thinking of their first few weeks, of course, and how very difficult it was for Obi-Wan. Poor kiddo

I was thinking of that too when I wrote that ending. It always seemed to be that teen Obi-Wan was never totally secure with himself and I wanted to show the beginnings of that in youngling Obi-Wan. At least that's the impression I got from the JA books, but I should say it's been awhile since I've read them too.

Arwen-Jade-Kenobi Great idea and nicely done! Make you wonder if that did contribute to Xan's turning and Obi's nature later in life. Nice work!

Thanks Arwen-Jade! That was part of my idea for writing the viggie. Obi-Wan, because of his innate goodness, was sickened by the holocron. Xanatos, on the other hand, was fascinated by it. As was Dooku. Qui-Gon, however, shared Obi-Wan's disgust with the thing.

Jedi_Tigris Great story! I have to echo, I wonder if that contributed to Xanatos' fall later. It makes sense that Obi-Wan would feel strongly about staying away from the Dark side because he experienced that.

Thanks, Jedi-Tigris! Yep, that's what I was hinting at. That Xanatos was already predisposed to turn to the dark side, just as Obi-Wan was predisposed not to. Writing about this incident from Obi-Wan's childhood just let me play around with that idea.

 

Oooh, creepy

The writing was beatifully reflective of the story and I loved the characterisations of Obi-Wan and Bant. It's kind of ominious to see Dooku, Xanatos, and Qui-Gon all together knowing how it all plays out...excellent.

 

That was excellent Arwyn. You captured what young Obi must have been like beautifully. It was eerie observing the three Jedi using the sith holocron, knowing the effect all of them will have on his life.

 

I'm glad I found this

 

River Stone The writing was beatifully reflective of the story and I loved the characterisations of Obi-Wan and Bant. It's kind of ominious to see Dooku, Xanatos, and Qui-Gon all together knowing how it all plays out...excellent

Thanks, River Stone! I thought that, at some point, all three of those men must have crossed paths at some point and came up with the idea that a young Obi-Wan would spy on them as they studied a Sith Holocron, with no clue, of course, that later in life all three would have such a profound effect on his life.

Sabe That was excellent Arwyn. You captured what young Obi must have been like beautifully. It was eerie observing the three Jedi using the sith holocron, knowing the effect all of them will have on his life.

Thanks, Sabe! Youngling Obi-Wan has no idea what fate has in store for him, does he?

Padawan Kitara I'm glad I found this

Thanks, PK!