Beyond - Legends Jedi Funeral Oration

I am currently attending a course on the genre of Funeral Orations in Athens and I thought that it would be cool to write one about the Jedi.

Disclaimer: Not mine.
For Aaron Allston, RIP. "Luminous being are we, not this crude matter."
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When I was initially asked to speak at this cenotaph today, I was at a loss for words. I am still at a loss, but I think that even if I had all eternity to compose this speech, there would never exist enough appropriate words in the known galaxy to properly express the accomplishments of the fallen, for that is what they are, not dead, fallen. Even now, as I agonize to find the words, their agony is already over. Though their mortal bodies will no longer drink delight in the freedoms they won for us, I envy their immortal souls which now rest easy knowing that because of their courage, they themselves will never fade into obscurity. For the darkness is always gnawing at the edges of our souls, enticing us with promises of wealth and power. But those two possessions are ephemeral; only the honours accrued over the course of a noble life are eternal. This ceremony, which Master Skywalker re-instituted into our constitution, continues the practice of the Jedi of old as it allows the opportunity for the fallen to gain the immortal fame they justly deserve. Even so, they had no choice in their fate - the Force had summoned them to its service - and yet, by becoming Jedi, they choose to be instruments of peace rather than weapons of war.

I will begin, as those who have spoken before me have, with our forefathers. They chose to be Jedi, following the path walked by the first Force-users in escaping the fetter of gravity and seeking knowledge out among the stars. However, since we do not have a firm foundation of facts that chronicles their exact exploits, we must therefore resort to the murky marshes of myth and memory. What we do know for certain however, is that they were not conquerors, they were not ambitious, nor did they seek to dominate. Rather they were inquirers, seeking truth. It was the dawn of a new age. The unknown did not daunt them. They went boldly into the darkness, following that beacon of justice that urged them ever onwards, ever upwards, ever outwards. They spread the knowledge they had gathered to distant star-systems, civilizing savage planets and spreading their ways of life. Although they were not yet called Jedi, they had a fundamental respect of life, and thus, for justice. Because Jedi do not fight for peace. That phrase is misleading. We fight for civilization, for only civilization creates peace. We fight for justice, because an unjust civilization is built upon sand and will crumble at the first storm winds.

But I digressed. Despite each individuals noblest intentions to bring peace to the galaxy, there was factionalism within the Order itself. Like a cloud blotting out the sun, a dark shadow was cast across the bright day. Some, lured to the darkness by the irrational lust for power, stepped away from the just path, determined to rule. This factionalism turned friends against friends, sisters against brothers, younglings against their parents. While, others, lacking the necessary temperament to enforce the peace, withdrew from an active role and enclosed themselves in isolation. They acted, not only from fear, but also from cowardice, for there is no sentient being who, having an innate connection with the Force, could possibly abandon his duty to the galaxy for a noble reason. Fear and cowardice were their weaknesses, but never ours.

Nevertheless, to return to my main narrative, for the next twenty-five thousand years, the Jedi Order was firmly established as the guardians of peace in the Republic and brought civilization to scores of worlds. There is not enough time for me to report each individual’s noble deeds but rest assured, of all the forces in the galaxy, they alone were able to enforce a general peace. However, the price was heavy, and the costs, many. But fear did not compel them into isolation in lonely caves; nor did the lust for power lure them into its unbreakable grip. For the next twenty-five thousand years, they dutifully fought on the front lines, and there, nobly died.

Then night fell. During those shining years of peace, the Sith had lain hidden in the shadows, biding their time, waiting for the opportune moment to emerge. The Jedi didn’t stand a chance. The Clone Wars was the catalyst for the long night. Some say that it was not just the end of the Republic, that night was falling on civilization itself. It was a thousand year of hidden Sith exulting over the galaxy. It was the twilight of the Jedi. It was a nightmare, and no one could wake up. Then the nightmare got worse. All across the galaxy, Jedi were murdered by the very clones whom they had trained with and eaten with and played and laughed and bickered with. The fertile fields of freedom were exchanged for the wintry wasteland of war. It is bitter for me to speak of these dark days, but necessary. For our forefathers did not lay down their lightsabers and died peacefully. Instead they faced the dangers both at their front and from their rear, dying in such a fashion befitting this Order, sacrificing their mortal bodies for an immortal fame.

However, not all died during the Clone Wars and the Great Purge that followed. Despite what some would have you believe given recent events, this Order is not composed of durasteel and duracrete. Nor is it anchored to a single planet. The Jedi Order, much like that legendary city of Athens, is composed of the men and women who are willing to defend its customs and constitution even if it requires subterfuge to defeat a tyrant. And so the survivors scattered around the galaxy during that long night, awaiting the arrival of a few who could restore justice to all. And arrived they did. A young farmboy from Tatooine; a security officer from Corellia; a princess from Alderaan; a former assassin of the Empire. Emerging from all walks of life, they responded with the courage which is innate in all Jedi. They defeated the Empire and repelled the darkness. I say repelled because the darkness can never be truly defeated, but it can be kept at bay.

These four stood as pillars of peace in the dawning of a new age. The Republic was refounded. The Jedi Order was begun anew. But these four were not the last of the old. They were the first of the new. They could not allow themselves to repeat the mistakes of their forefathers. The galaxy was in such a state of entropy after the fall of the Empire that every misstep would be grievous, every error fatal. These four did not have the luxury that was afforded to our forefathers: they were many, these four were few. Even so, they defied adversity, despite their paucity. They repopulated the Order, not from without, as this left it vulnerable to the influence of chaos and discord and ambition, but rather from within, strengthening the bonds of friendship and family.

Now I arrive at the deeds of those whose names are forever inscribed on the cenotaph before me. Recent holonews reels have termed this recent Yuuzhan Vong War as the greatest upheaval the galaxy has ever seen. I cannot disagree. Terror itself invaded every quadrant, every sector, every star-system of the known galaxy. Was there any source of life these Vong did not drink dry? What there any planet left untouched by their devouring whirlwind of destruction? In the beginning, it seemed, it seemed like it was the end. Our efforts were futile, our situation hopeless. But let me assure you that it was not through cowardice that we did not succeed. No known force in the galaxy could have repelled these invaders. No other organization even dared try. For they were outside the Force, outside of life. They were an abomination, a wrath of furor that, like a river sweeping down from a mountain, flooded all the farmlands and houses, destroying cattle and stables in its wake. How could any sentient being turn this tide? How could any sentient being even try? And so, the inhabitants of the galaxy had ashes where their hearts should be. Ashes because they could not see our Order reforming ranks, because they could not see us, not attacking the Vong, - for attacking is not the Jedi way - but positioning ourselves in the path of our opponent (which achieves the same result). By the strength of their conviction alone, at Borleias, at Ebaq 9, at Coruscant; against every wave of Vong, theses Jedi stood firm, until at last, those who now lie sleeping before me stemmed the tide of the invaders’ advance. Their sacrifice was like a rock in the water, creating concentric circles and ripples of new possibilities. Consider what, at this moment, would be the consequences to the galaxy, if those who sleep beneath our feet had failed in their duty? Consider what would be the condition of the New Republic, if our fellow Jedi, instead of gallantly opposing the Vong in the ranks of death, had instead fled in cowardice, or submitted to the monstrous invaders. No, my friends. We owe it to those who lie in the immortal beds of honour before us, to uphold the values upon which they were raised.

If it ever occurs to you to falter in your life, to waiver from the light, think of the benefits that their deaths have achieved for you. Think of the advantages that belong to Jedi alone. For of all beings in the known galaxy we are the only ones who know our fates after death. We alone can take solace in their passing because we know that they are resting peacefully, now ones with the Force. There is no need to wonder whether the other side is tortuous and painful, hostile or friendly. They knew the truth as you know it too. “Luminous being are we, not this crude matter,” as Master Skywalker is fond of quoting. Death, then, to us is nothing but the next great adventure. Someday, when you find yourselves are on the verge of death, then dead will seem all the more real to you than the living for at that moment you will be emulating the sheer greatness of their deeds. Some of you may be shedding tears of sorrow for the fallen. Remember though, that these must, must be balanced by tears of joy. Joy! For they are now ageless and immortal! And when, once, again, the galaxy is in its darkest peril, then it's their courage, and theirs' alone which we shall call upon when we meet the foe.

If any of the common people ever scorn you, if any scholar denounces our connection to the Force, if any politician questions your judgements, do not heed their words. Any words they throw at you are wasted, for words are ephemeral, deeds immortal. Once they themselves are dead, they will enviously look up and down the streets and point and say with wonder in their voices: “There goes a Jedi, the greatest being that ever lived.”

Take comfort also, in our structure of our Order. It is not subject to the whims and summons of bureaucratic civilians. Nor is it infected by ambition like that of the tyrant, Palpatine, who ruined our galaxy. The gallantry of the fallen has helped to immunize our Order from the disease of personal greed and ambition. Their continuous sacrifices ensure that no single being ever again rises to power. Our education system too, is a model for the entire galaxy. We do not employ a factory of Jedi, but allow each individual to be moulded by experience, considering that to be the best teacher. The galaxy is a garden, and we, believing that our inherent connection to the Force allows us to innately know, in any given situation, which conflict will produce flowers and which will produce weeds, prune accordingly. Because of this, we employ a system of apprenticeships, pairing one Master with one Apprentice, who can show, not through words, but through deeds, the proper way of guiding the galaxy. In this way then, the dead are our eternal Masters, for through the paradigm of their deeds, we have learned how to best serve the Force.

When I stepped up to this platform, I was at a loss for word. Now I realize words are irrelevant. For what words can I offer you as consolation for your loss? Who will you have to nurse you in your old age? Who will ensure the safety and education of their orphans? This Order will. This Order will do so because when it has to make the choice between what is right and what is easy, it will remember the deeds of the fallen. For they too had that choice. It would have been easy to flee, to ignore their calling and to hide away on some desert planet. But they did what was right. It took a lot of character, but they were quite the characters. Now they shall rest forever in the mansion of the Force, their every need attended to, their every desire fulfilled. “The whole earth,” that Athenian orator said, as he stood over the bodies of fallen, “the whole earth is the tomb of famous men.” Let me add to this that not only does the galaxy know of these Jedi’s deeds, but all of time will recall their fame.

We are now at a threshold of a new age. Because of the sacrifices of the fallen we can safety step through and chose which path to take. Some of us may seem to have been broken by this war while other emerged more hardened than ever. But we will always be glancing back over our shoulders, seeking guidance from their past about our future. I have finished my speech and fulfilled this ancestral custom. Go forth and live the lives they no longer live. Go, for it does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live. Go.

Timeline ​

(BBY/ABY - Battle of Yavin = Year 0 (Episode IV: A New Hope))​

~35 000 BBY First Force Orders were founded
~25 000 BBY Great Schism centering around philosophical differences
Establishment of the Jedi Order
19 BBY The Great Jedi Purge and the Rise of the Galactic Empire (Episode III: Revenge of the Sith)
0 ABY Battle of Yavin; Destruction of First Death Star (Episode IV: A New Hope)
11 ABY Founding of the New Jedi Order
25-29 ABY Yuuzhan Vong War
29 ABY Jaina Solo delivers the Funeral Oration at Jedi Academy on Ossus

 

This is a very unusual piece and certainly not a typical fanfic one sees every day. I would not quite any particular part of it, as it's pretty much on-spot, throughout; but I have two questions for you.

1. I saw this on fanfiction.net as well and the version posted there was posted two days before this one here. Did you decide on Jaina as the ultimate speaker during those two days?

2. Since you mention "the legendary city of Athens" and "Athenian orator"; I was wondering about where Athens is in your fanon. Would it be a city on some particular planet that is notable for whatever reason or something from an actual in-universe legend?

Thanks for any possible response.

 

Ewok Poet
First of all, I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to reply. I was not quite sure if this was the right category. I posted it on ff.net and I couldn't find a category for rhetoric.

1. In response to question 1, I listed Jaina as the speaker at the end mostly for the benefit of my non-Star Wars inclined professor. Even so, while I was writing it, I did picture Jaina (for the most part) in my head. There are a few sections, most notably, the talk about the galaxy as a garden, during which I reread Traitor a few times, where I imagined Jacen trying to preach Vergere's philosophy to he Order. In the genre of Classical Athenian Funeral Orations, it was typically delivered by a leading man of the day, chosen by the state. The most famous one, of course, is Pericle's in 431 BC (although Plutarch reports that he also delivered one in 450. Other extant ones, if you're interested, are Lysias 2, Demosthenes 60, Hyperides 6, and Plato's satire of the genre the Menexenus.
All in all, regarding the authorship, I want to leave it up to you, the reader to decide based on the text alone.

2. For your second question, again, it was for the purposes of the class I took, just to throw in a little easter egg for the professor. I included a few other little classics eggs. For example, the "greatest upheaval" is from Thucydides 1.1. If you read the Star Wars EU very carefully, you can pick up on these pleasant little references. I created a forum to specifically address them but just to give you an example, one of the last planets Mara visits before her death is called Hesperidium. The Greek term for the West is Hesperia. (Like Hercules and the apples of the Hesperides). Because the sun sets in the west, it is a synonym for death. In this way, when Mara visited Hesperidium, I knew then that she was about to die.
I put Athens in because all Funeral Orations in the genre deal with that city. Karen Traviss, though, is particularly well known for including real world quotes into her works.
Again, I don't have a definite answer for you, but since there are ships, such as the Chimera, I presume that some of our own mythology, legends and history has bled through to the SW EU and entered into the galactic canon of tales from long ago.

Thanks again for taking the time to read and review. It is a different type of fanfic, but I hope it was just as enjoyable.

 

Superb and eloquent! It is definitely Jaina-esque She has her own, and her mother's eloquence. Coupled with the compassion of Luke - I am sure her audience was completely moved.