Beyond - Legends Luminescence [Dark Luke/Mara Epic with a cast of many. New Post Up 8-19-10]

Title: Luminescence
Author(s): vader_incarnate
Timeframe: post-RotJ
Characters: Luke, Leia
Genre: angst, darkfic, AU
Summary: And it begins anew.
Notes: Um. Two more different inspirations could not be conceived - the Star Tours ride at Disneyland and I, Claudius by Robert Graves. This is Luke-as-Augustus. Written on my iPod Touch.

---

Luminescent. That's what he is in darkness.

Black surrounds him on all sides, starless nights full of nothing. He is cloaked in darkness like silken skies, his eyes shining like pale, cold stars: light radiates from him, cold and bright and dark and beautiful, piercing the uninterrupted darkness of your cell like a beacon of almost-hope, and he looks like a god standing there in the doorway.

Glorious.

There are shadows in his eyes. Dark knowledge and dark power that gleam and glitter and sparkle, and the faintest faintest touch of pure sky blue shines lambent in golden depths.

You haven't seen him since Endor, where you all assumed he had died aboard the Death Star. You hadn't believed it, of course -- you'd have [i]known[/i] if he was dead. You suspected something, but you tried to ignore it, because acknowledging that Luke had turned would have meant despairing, and you had no strength to deal with despair at the time and you certainly still don't now. You doubt you ever will.

It had been a miracle that you survived Endor yourself. The Death Star's blast had destroyed the moon just before Wedge's missile had destroyed the spacestation. Han had somehow managed to hijack a, of all things, [i]Star Tours[/i] vessel that had been passing through the system. It's hyperdrive had been knocked out, though, and you spent a harrowing week trying to make your way back to civilization with little food, water, or oxygen.

You had been the only survivors of the Endor disaster - save for him. But by then, it had been too late. He had just moved so [i]fast[/i].

He calls himself Darth Sol. Dark sun, dark son. Of course. And it's so fitting, so appropriate, so [i]right[/i], that you almost want to laugh. Or cry. But if you start laughing now, you know you'll never be able to stop, and if you start crying now, he'll know that he's won, and you still refuse to give him that.

They had worshipped him. How could they not? They called him the Sun Lord because he would not let them call him Emperor, and they said that his hair was woven from sunbeams and that even his eyes had changed, on his ascension to the throne, from sky blue to sunlit gold.

And in the first few years, it had pleased him to act just how everyone expected. He had the Death Star destroyed. He reconvened the Senate. He refused the throne they tried to force upon him and refused to be known as Emperor. Han had wanted to go to him, then, but you knew what his golden eyes meant, even if the rest of the galaxy did not.

He had been a wise and just ruler until the Corellians unveiled Centerpoint Station at the start of the insurrection. And then everyone realized why he had destroyed the Emperor's greatest weapon - he didn't need a superweapon. He [i]is[/i] a superweapon.

[i]The ability to destroy a planet, or even an entire system, is nothing compared to the power of the Force.[/i]

Palpatine had been too weak. Vader had been too noble.

The Sun Lord is neither, and Corellia is now a fine dust in space, it's pieces crushed smaller than even the lingering chunks of Alderaan.

There is nothing left of your brother here, you tell yourself. Nothing here but a shell: a shattered soul and the pulse of dark power in rotted veins. Luke would never have done the things Darth Sol has. Would never even have been able to contemplate them. You're glad for the gold in his eyes, though, because you don't think you could bear looking into your Luke's bright blue eyes and seeing the darkness shining through.

But somehow it's still Luke's face that looks at you.

"You're not here to rescue me, are you?" you ask sadly, remembering a time not so long ago when a farmboy set off o

 

ELLI!

*snags*

 

OMG ELLI!

*snags and dies*

 

Didn't we just leave this party?

Hi Elli!! Having recently returned from the dead myself it's great to see you.

So at the risk of sounding repetitive *snags*

EDIT: Sorry Bri, I had to make multiple edits in order to go back and clutter my post up with spiffy faces so I could be like you and Vi. *points to LP* See, I was right, it is the same party!

... and they said that his hair was woven from sunbeams and that even his eyes had changed, on his ascension to the throne, from sky blue to sunlit gold.
I think I just reread this sentence three times. Wow.

Omg Corellia. Poor Han and Leia, to lose both their homeworlds.

"I would let them live, and I would raise them as my own."
"You would let them live, and you would raise them to be monsters."
Breathe, Leia, breathe. *wondering whether Ben and Mara are on Kashyyyk*

Um, so I just realized that the whole thing was written in the second person. Just now. Which means it was a wonderful choice and definitely didn't detract from the flow of the narrative at all. Also, what an ingenuous choice of title! The whole story seems to build itself around it. The repeated references to the color of Luke's eyes gave me the heebie jeebies. You can sure pack a punch, Elli. That. Was. Incredible. Clearly I am biased because I haven't read anything of yours since we were all like fourteen, but what the kriff woman, this is good stuff.

*huggles Elli* I don't go on AIM anymore but when I used to, sometimes I'd see your sn in the offline list and it made me sad. I hope you're doing well and I, too, demand that you write more!

EDIT FIVE: I now officially have more edits than Bri.

 

Was a bit surprised I remembered my password.

 

EDIT: Apparently LT thought it wasn't much of a party after all.

EDIT TWO: Apparently LT DOES think it's a party after after all.

You know, Elli, I'm nowhere near active in fanfic the way I used to be, the way we all used to be, I suppose, but I still enjoy a good story now and then. Reading this just now, I can't tell you how much I've missed your writing. No one ever did dark the way you do and it's really nice to see again.

I love how the entire vig resonates with reminders of light, things and emotions and people. Even his darth name is perfectly fitting, as Leia makes mention of. I think it's the best one for a dark Luke that I've ever seen.

Edit three: Aw, to hell with it. I'm chatting it up for old time's sake. How are you Elli? It's been a very long time indeed. I hope you've been well, and I sincerely mean it when I say it's nice to see you pop in again.

Lol, don't let us all scare you away before you've returned, even if it is only for a drive-by story post.

 

Elli, Elli, Elli, Elli!!!!! OH. MY. GOD! You're back! I had to blink several times and even refreshed the board to make sure that it was real...that you came back...that you WROTE SOMETHING!!!!

And, my goodness, something so dark, and despairing and luminescent and wonderful!!! Dark!Luke fics are always a treat to read and yours is like a box of scrumptious Godiva! I loved the golden eyes and the name Darth Sol "Dark sun, dark son" wonderful!!!

Write more! I miss you!!!

 

Wow! Great story...emotional and dark and stirring all at once. It is short and yet somehow manages to tell such a detailed story. I especially liked the line comparing Luke to Palpatine and Vader.

That really seems to invoke the depths to which Luke has fallen.

 

Oh my God, it's an HM thread.

Okay, since my first post is likely to turn into a big mess of edits...

It is so awesome to see you here again, Elli. Whether you just pop in every now and then or decide to come back full throttle, I will always be excited to see you writing fanfic or throwing fish and kiwi around a thread. (Wow, I don't even remember whose thread that was on, but it was epic. )

This vig couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me. I've been craving dark!Luke, especially interaction between him and Leia. And I have to say, focusing on the brilliance of the dark side was pretty genius. Not many people focus on how radiant and gleaming and bright the power of the dark side can be (in its own way), and I can totally see Luke being this way as a Sith Lord.

The world Leia lives in is chilling, but I love that she is the one protecting her family - Mara and Ben included - from Luke. I love that he has come after her to find out where his son is, and I love that she keeps trying to remind him of who he once was.

Sun Lord vs. Emperor - I really like this, and it's a great way to highlight how Luke sees himself in comparison to Palpatine and Vader. Of course he wants to see himself as the hero, the savior of the galaxy. Also: Palpatine had been too weak. Vader had been too noble. -- I LOVE this line. Shows just how far Luke has fallen.

BTW, I was not expecting Luke to have a son in this, so that was a very nice surprise. (Reminds me of another story that I keep trying to get Bri to read even though it's not finished... )

Leia's death was beautifully done. I loved how she reached out to her family, and how Han was able to feel her. I love that she dies with hope and firmly on the light side; and I love that she's sort of in the Obi-Wan role, only she believes that Luke can be redeemed. Hell, I just love it all!

As always, you are a master of second person POV. You were actually the first person I ever knew who could pull it off, and I think there are very few who can. I am so glad you decided to stop in and leave us this little nugget of angst. Don't be a stranger, girl!

 

Oh that was marvelously done! So vivid, dark, with gleams of past light. Writing in second person like that is almost as intimate as writing in first.

Your descriptions of Luke -- awesome!

It's complete as it stands but it also cries for more, being so excellent LOL

 

You're back! And with another fantastic dark vignette that sends chills down my spine. Ohhh, amazingly well-done. Your Dark Luke is so creepy and awesome, and the second-person viewpoint is amazingly well-done.

Amazing story! I must admit, you're the author who convinced me that dark Luke stories were a wonderful idea...

 

Wow. That viggie was just plain evil. And you packed so much evilness into such a short little tale, too.

 

Magnificent writing! So powerful and chilling! I loved how you wove together utter despair and tiny, yet bright hope!

So Mara fell in love with Luke after he had turned but fled with Ben when she felt all hope was gone? I'm amazed how much power and perspective that added to the story! To voice Leia in 'you'-form also worked very well!

Superb work!!!

 

*flings kiwi at Vi* I think that was Amsie's epic.

PonyTricks, evil is what I do best.

SithGirl132, Dark!Luke tales are always awesome. Thanks for the praise. I have a few more on my harddrive somewhere that may even see the light of day soon.

Bri, Vi, LT, LP - Yay, the people I love are still hanging out here! Apparently I'm only capable of writing fanfiction when I have a routine to break (like predictable highschool days or a predictable fulltime job), and then my thoughts start turning once again towards tf.net and how best to turn Luke Skywalker to the Dark Side.

This was inspired, in part, by a book I was reading, and I'm off on a bit of a deification kick right now, about the heroes that people turn into gods. Hence, Sun Lord, Vi.

Since we were all fourteen ( ), I managed to graduate from college with bio-sci and chem degrees. I'm waiting on grad schools and have, as you may have guessed, an exceptionally boring lab job where I write about Dark Luke on my iPod during breaks. I was also reently cured of a World of Warcraft addiction.

I'm glad you like his name, Bri and LP. I did, too; Leia remarks on it because I couldn't resist patting myself on the back, alas. But in my fics, at least, that's going to be his name for a while.

I love writing in the second person. Always have. Somewhere, I developed a loathing for writing in first person because of all the unpredictable verb conjugations and resorted to using second person instead. *pulls ESL card out and waves it around* Second person verb tenses are just so much ... easier.

And actually, LT, there're currently on Naboo, and they found unexpected sanctuary with the Gungans, because I thought it'd be ironic if a son of Tatooine found refuge underwater. But Leia's last act of reaching out to the various members of her family inadverdently allows Darth Sol to trace her reaching Force presence to Mara and his son, and Mara will have to move. She takes Ben to Mrykr, where she will find employment with a certain Talon Karrde under an assumed name, and where the presence of ysalimir will hide their presence from the Sun Lord's Force powers.

Han takes his children to Tatooine, and there, they will hide in plain sight amongst members of the Cult of the Suns, the most fanatic of the Sun Lord's worshipers. Nevertheless, since Darth Sol knew that Chewbacca's family had sheltered the Solos, however briefly, he destroys the planet by changing the orbit of it's moon and driving it into the Wookiee homeworld. This act of seemingly unprovoked viciousness stirs fear and rebellion once more, and the galaxy may be on the brink of Civil War.

And kataja, Mara never meant to fall in love with him. She meant to get close enough to him to fulfill the Emperor's last command; it just sort of backfired when he asked her to marry her. She'll never admit it to anyone, but the other reason she left was to protect Luke himself - because despite her best efforts, she knows that that the man she loved still lives, and the Emperor's voice still calls for his death.

Not that I have an epic tale of redemption planned or anything, Jade_eyes.

 

That was brilliantly written! You have a true gift with words. That being said, as much as I hate to think of a dark Luke, this piece was great, though I wish he could have been redeemed at the end.

 

OH so beautiful!!!! I am really and truly blown away! That was stunning...I loved this new (dark!) alternative...I wish there was more, but that in and of itself is amazingly done!!!! The feeling, and the way you wrote dark!Luke was so...just wow

Bravo!!!
Irish

 

Well, then bring on those fics in your hard drive. If this is what happens when you're bored, I can only say...may you always be bored!

And you know...the only 2nd person fic I ever wrote was inspired by you because you do it so incredibly well! * bows in homage *

Now, stop basking in compliments and go write more, girl!

 

ELLI!!!! I swear, I miss checking in just for a day, and something like this happens. I was just thinking about you a few days ago, Elli, and hoping you'd reappear at some point. I can't even conjure up any coherent comments about the story itself (though it is the awesome sort of dark angst I've always associated with you ), because I'm so happy to see you again. No more disappearing for ages and ages, hear? *SQUASHES*

 

*flings kiwi at Vi* I think that was Amsie's epic.

Overshadowing the Moon!

Re-reading/skimming some of those comments in that thread, man.... wow.

Bio-sci and Chem? You're a far braver soul than I. *waves her flashy social science background around* Sociology/Criminology and Psychology for me!

That is an awful detailed backstory, Elli. Potential plans of expanding on this or writing more in the vein of this AU, perchance?

 

Ever have a story just kinda jump into your head fully formed, down to the snappy one-liners that everyone's tossing back and forth?

Yeah. The epic continuation of this story kinda did that to me. And I have this mental image of it breaking out of my head like Athena from Zeus' so I feel kinda like I have to write it down before that happens.

I'm attempting to joy it down before it just breaks free ... but I have this habit of modeling my writing style to the last thing I've read, and right now that's a treatise on the Julio-Claudian dynasty and the Year of the Five Emperors, and no one wants to read an epic written like that. I'm also all about poetry and elegant turns of phrase while writing, so epic story-telling has never really been a strong point for me, but we'll see where this goes. It's kinda a story begging to be told.

And by begging, I mean demanding.



Jedi_Jinx - that's what Ben's for. The story's not over yet, even if I never finish actually writing it, you know? But the good guys always win, amirite? I always try to leave an escape route for the heroes when I throw them down the tubes.

Irish_Jedi_Jade - Thanks! I always said I'd eventually get over my Dark!Luke obsession, but it hasn't happened yet. Just as well since it keeps pulling me back to the boards, I guess.

LP - Let me make them less terrible first. Reading things I've written years and years ago and judged not fit for the light of day even then is betimes a rather painful process.

Gabri - Imagine what I have to catch up with, after ... five years. I'm sorry I disappeared! College was weird. Apparently the boards call me back every time I get into a routine again, though. Thanks for the welcome!

Bri - By the Force, I was young. And everyone says that about the bio/chem ... but I was totally that masochist that fell in love with organic chemistry during second year when everyone else hated it. And I have the epic continuation of this story started, because it really wants to be written down, but the last SW novels I read were Clone Wars era, so it might be a little painful characterizing like ... everyone.

 

While I realize that most of your questions were meant to be rhetorical, I'm going to put in my two cents anyway. And incidentally not writing my paper that's due tomorrow what?

Word. Yes.

Speak for yourself. I would so preorder that **** on amazon.

QFT
I feel the exact same way and have told my beta so on a number of occasions. She's all, "But I like the style of your writing!" So do I, and I'd like to keep it that way, which is why I am understandably wary of producing anything over 10,000 words. Because I am convinced that there is a negative correlation between word count and lyrical prose, unless your name is Faulkner. Anyway I just wanted to say that I understand that you might feel ambivalent about the prospect of "epic story-telling." Also that I am delighted to see you continue your tale of epic redemption ... prior protestations notwithstanding. I am sooooo looking forward to more of this!!

 

Beautiful and terrifying, your Dark Luke.

 

For what it's worth, this work doesn't require the history you folks share to enjoy. I'm new around here, so while i don't mean to nudge in on your reunion,I just wanted to say that was a damn fine piece of writing. Sign me up for the epic extension if/when you put it out.

Either way thanks for sharing, good luck with grad school, you're a talented writer.

 

I was just reading your "Not Quite a Hero" fic and wondered if you wrote anything (logged on). I was happy to see you did. I always enjoy Dark Luke fics and really wanted one. There hasn't been many around here, so thank you for submitting this piece of awesomeness!

Hope you will post some of your other fics (if you have them!!).

 

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