Saga 'A Single Thread.' Jedi Purge Challenge. One post vignette.

This is my response to the Jedi Purge challenge. This bunny bit me when I was thinking about it. I have some catching up to do on the other posts. Hope you enjoy!

A Single Thread


Just like the myths of old, I had been trapped, in an endless labyrinth of caves, just waiting for the monster to take me in its lethal jaws. Thinking I had been hidden, had been a lie. A lie I told to comfort myself against the inevitable.

My Master had been killed only days before. He had told me to run, to escape, to grasp the Jedi ways and hold onto them. The teachings, he said, would live forever inside of me. I had to escape.

I will never forget his face as he took the blade into his chest. Red blade piercing skin and a life taken in the flash of a moment. My Master, never feared death, but I did. No matter what he told me of the afterlife, of the unchanging essence of the spirit and the force, my nightmares would not let me forget the endless abyss that would someday engulf me forever.

My Master lay there unmoving; his eyes dull as he faded into nothingness under the feet of the Dark One. The fear took me as the masked head looked up, seeming to sense my presence behind the cliff rocks. I wanted to reach out to my Master?s spirit, to comfort him, to hear his voice in the approaching night. But nothing came to me except the ever persistent mind that reached out and beckoned for my presence.

I remember when I called the Dark One a friend. As young padawans, we had dueled many times with sticks to the death, pretending to be great Jedi Knights. And I had always won. Being one of the smaller children, I suspect now that he let me win to boost my confidence. It was the kindness that always drew me to him. There had to be something of that friend left. The one I grew up with, that helped me in my studies and encouraged me, had to be hiddien under the armor and hate that emanated from him.

The old tunnels echoed with disuse and drips caught the top of my head more than once as I made my way to nowhere. But I was merely lying to myself. I was going somewhere fast.

I was going to the end of my existence.

A cold fear ripped through me as I realized I would not survive the night.

He was coming for me.

The force that fed my being and gave me peace, now betrayed my presence. The undeniable force signature that emanated from every living thing, now brought about my demise.

What would it be like to cease to exist? I was not ready yet to go and my very being rebelled at the thought. I could feel my heartbeat steady against my chest as I felt his presence come nearer. I could feel the rumble of machinery and the see the occasional flash of lights through the maze I had found myself.

?It has been a long time, Avil.? The voice was no longer the young boy I once knew. It had transformed into something unliving and unfeeling. He continued with a deep rumbling voice, completely void of emotion. ?You do not have to die here, needlessly.?

The white armored soldiers moved behind me. I was trapped like an animal. And I was sure to the Dark One before me that he thought of me as an animal too.

I ignited my saber, the gesture completely meaningless in these dark caves. Dark blue cutting through the dark. Both pitiful and futile. We both knew this.

He approached me, igniting his red blade. We both knew I would soon die on that blade. I gazed at him through his dark mask, my blue blade reflected in his eyes.

I could not help thinking of our stick fights of old. Now facing him just seemed unreal and I felt like at any moment I would wake up from a dream.

He moved closer to me, and I could feel the menace in his formidable height. ?I feel your fear,? the voice rumbled at me. ?You can use it to survive.?

I still had not found my voice. Every fiber of my being did not want to die. But I could also not surrender. I didn?t think I could hold my feet below me, but I knew in that moment I would never give up.

He seemed to sense my resolve, and m

 

Beautiful! I really liked the ending, so tracigally beautiful... my, all those purge challenges makes me cry...

 

Wonderfully done. I liked how she was afraid of dying, mourning her Master's death and remembering the friend that had turned into a fiend. So sad!

 

Enji Thanks so much for reading! I agree with you, I've been reading the other challenges and they are so well done and very, very sad!

Diane I'm so glad you liked it! I really wanted to portray that fear of death and grief. Thanks for reading!

 

Nicely written indeed. Interesting how the thoughts of the main character developed throughout the vignette.

A cold fear ripped through me as I realized I would not survive the night.

He was coming for me...like the tension here.

It was a very standard attack and I wondered for a moment if we were young again and he was giving me the advantage. I liked the way you paralleled the duels when they were padawans with the final serious one.

I was an observer watching from afar.? this was a cool idea.

 

t_s that was sad!! And the fact that the two had play fought together before! Loved how you bounced back to those memories.

The ending was beautifully done! At peace and can be with the Master again! Great work!

 

There have been some really great responses to the Challenge and this is one of them to be sure. Wonderfully done. Very sobering to go through the range of emotion. Again, great job.

 

Keeper of Swords Thank you for reading! I was an observer watching from afar.? this was a cool idea. Thanks!


Hi Kyn! I worked in hospice for a few years and I've heard some amazing stories from people. I think there is much more to death than we can acknowlege through our senses. Glad you liked the 'stick' duel.

Webogirl Thanks again!

Very sobering to go through the range of emotion Thanks so much!

 

I could feel the heat on my face from his blade. The saber came down against my blade with hardly any force, as if he were testing me. I took a defensive posture and brought my blade half-heartedly to meet his. How did it ever come to this? Friend against friend?

Oh, this was so sad. The idea of friend battling friend.

Great job!

 

Nicely done. First person POV made this even more meaningful. Flashbacks to when they were kids was a nice touch.

 

WOW! Extremely powerful and touching. Your original character was so nicely done! Amazing work.


I remember when I called the Dark One a friend. As young padawans, we had dueled many times with sticks to the death, pretending to be great Jedi Knights. And I had always won. Being one of the smaller children, I suspect now that he let me win to boost my confidence. It was the kindness that always drew me to him. There had to be something of that friend left. The one I grew up with, that helped me in my studies and encouraged me, had to be hiddien under the armor and hate that emanated from him.

VERY, very impressive work. I loved it.

 

Uppers for the Challenge and for the viewing of others

 

Thanks for reading you guys, I really appreciate it!

Keeper of Swords Nicely written indeed. Interesting how the thoughts of the main character developed throughout the vignette. I'm so glad this worked. I appreciate you stopping by!

Kyn At peace and can be with the Master again! Great work! That's what I hope it's like. Thank you so much!

Gina Thanks! Oh, this was so sad. The idea of friend battling friend. There have been so many sad stories on the Purges! I agree with you!

Zane Thanks for reading! I haven't tried first person for awhile, so I was sweatin' about it turning out.

VaderLVR Thank you so much! I've been enjoying catching up on your challenge stories!

Healer Leona Another one that brings tears... That means so much to me!

Thanks for the uppers Kyn!

 

That was very moving and beautifully written my dear. It makes me almost dread seeing Episode 3, knowing scenes like this played out.

 

Hi o_e! I know what you mean, in some ways I'm so excited to see Epi 3 and others, it's going to be sooooo sad!

Thanks for reading!