Saga "SONG OF THE NIGHT" (Obi Wan vignette - after RotS)

Title: "Song of the Night"

Author: Magenta_Moonshadow

Timeframe: inter-trilogy

Category: Angst

Characters: Obi Wan

Disclaimer: As always, I don't own these characters - they belong to George Lucas! I'm just making fragile sandcastles on George's lovely beach...

Summary: Just another night on Tatooine... (A vignette)

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"SONG OF THE NIGHT"

The Western Dune Sea sank into the dusky purple twilight as that barren and desolate region of Tatooine once more edged into the welcoming darkness.

Ben Kenobi stood in the doorway of his small home and gripped his battered cloak tightly around himself.

The night was calling him.

With weary feet which compacted the slippery sand, he walked slowly and with difficulty into the darkness once again, along the same path he had trudged many times before, until he stood atop the nearby sand-hill, silhouetted against the all-embracing night.

The blackness spilled across the land from the deep, deep indigo sky. Thousands of stars glittered and twinkled in the crisp desert air which already chilled his breath so it rose like a faint ribbon of smoke towards the distant heavens.

Like a siren-voice which only he could hear, the song of the night swept through the darkness and pierced his soul with hushed whispers of wonder; and of a silent, sacred promise of an eternity yet to come.

Ben Kenobi pulled his cloak around his shoulders, and shivered as he stood there in the stillness of the night. His eyes were pools of midnight blue which glistened and sparkled with their own silent stars, twin mirrors of the universe which lay in transcendent glory above him.

The darkness swept over him, and around him, and he wore it proudly like another cloak. He did not fear the darkness. The darker the night, the brighter the stars shone, and he knew he was a child of the Light.

The darkness could not hurt him. Nothing could hurt him any more. Because of Anakin, he had already suffered the raw, ragged agony of betrayal from someone he had once loved as a brother, and the pain of that loss would stay with him forever.

No, he did not fear the darkness. That friendship, all that Anakin had been and everything that Anakin had hoped to be - all had been lost to a far greater darkness than this. Kenobi had nothing else to fear now, except his own memories and regrets.

Once upon a time - a long time ago, when his name had been Obi Wan Kenobi - he had travelled from one side of the galaxy to the other, but now, all he had was the night, which only reminded him of all that he had lost; and the stars, which tormented him with their pure ethereal beauty, but which were forever out of reach.

Yet whenever it called to him, he had to go. To observe a few moments of hushed silence, in sacred communion with the Force. To stand outside under the soft cover of silver starlight and watch the sweet velvet darkness creep across the shallow shadowy sands as another night rolled slowly by, and to remind himself that he was not alone - that there were other Jedi out there in the galaxy, in exile, as he was.

So, with a heart full of longing over what had once been, and also of wishes and hopeful promises of what might yet - one day - still come to be, he kept his silent vigil in remembrance of his fellow Jedi on far-distant worlds, separated by distance but connected as one through the vast eternal ocean of the Force.

The cool night always made him somehow feel closer to them, whereas the harsh glare of day, almost unbearable as the twin suns reached their noon, made him feel like a desperate prisoner, as it burnished the sky, enclosing him within its molten cage of liquid light. The dry, gritty air parched his throat and the heat stifled his lungs, but, through his own choice, he was trapped on this world.

Only after the suns had set, and the stars shone out, did he feel free. The darkness showed him that there was still a universe beyond Tatooine, and for that glimpse of unreachable free

 

Oh, this is lovely Magenta. Beautiful and sad. I loved the last line, especially as we know what is to come.

Great job, well done.

 

Lovely

 

Kestrel_Kenonbi, Healer_Leona and honour:

Thank you all very much!

I'm glad you liked it!

 

Beautiful. Haunting. Sad.
I am actually sniffling and fighting the lump in my throat.
Poor Ben.
Great job, you really know how to stir emotions!

 

Magenta_Moonshadow wrote: as It bides Its time waiting for the arrival of a new hope.



Very good story! That line was very apt and my favorite, though there were so many good lines and not a word was wasted or out of place. Great story!

 

GEN_MASSIMO and BrentusofGath Aww, thank you very much!

I'm really glad you liked it!

 

Padawan, this is such a lovely, moving piece, and I'm so glad to see it posted! You really have a gift for painting vivid images with words.

 

Thank you for those great words of praise, Master!

I'm really pleased you enjoyed it!

 

And as the night-winds called to him from across the deep and mighty ocean of Creation, he was comforted in the knowledge that the Force never sleeps, but is always watchful, as It bides Its time waiting for the arrival of a new hope.

So no matter how dark the night, even the faintest star could give him hope.

This was beautiful!

As much as I disagree with many of the things Obi-Wan did, I still love him and feel so sorry for him during his exile. In many ways, he lost more than Anakin did and was certainly just as alone. I love the way you tied "a new hope" into the story.

 

Thank you, Anakins _Force I'm glad you liked the story.

Yes, poor Obi-Wan gave up so much to keep his promise to watch over Luke...

 

I like the use of language here and the description of setting to show Obi's mood.

BrightFeather

 

Thank you, BrightFeather

 

thank you for the PM, Magenta_Moonshadow

I really liked this story. Well done!

 

I'm glad you liked it, StarryAngel - thank you!

 

So when the night called to him, he had to answer. To keep his solitary vigil, just for a little while. To bathe his fragile soul in the gentle embrace of distant starlight. And to remember his solemn duty to the small child he had promised to watch over, who was growing up on a moisture-farm not too far away, and whose destiny might one day change the fate of an entire galaxy.

And as the night-winds called to him from across the deep and mighty ocean of Creation, he was comforted in the knowledge that the Force never sleeps, but is always watchful, as It bides Its time waiting for the arrival of a new hope.

So no matter how dark the night, even the faintest star could give him hope.

And hope was all he had.

But whilst he still had hope, he would never be alone.

As always, a wonderfully touching vingette! I very much enjoy reading your work!

Thank you for the PM

P.S. - To bathe his fragile soul in the gentle embrace of distant starlight.: this and the last line were my favorites!

 

That was so achingly beautiful! Your descriptions are so vivid.

Excellent work!

 

Sionnach-Airgid and amidalachick

Thank you both very much - I'm really pleased you enjoyed reading it!

 

I liked this

the descrptions of the night were very well done!

 

That was just lovely. You really felt his emotions of the moment.

 

That was so beautiful. It was sad and haunting, but it also had a sense of hope. Also, it flowed so well and had such a lyrical feel to it.

The darkness swept over him, and around him, and he wore it proudly like another cloak. He did not fear the darkness. The darker the night, the brighter the stars shone, and he knew he was a child of the Light.

I especially liked this.

Bravo!

 

That was so very wonderful, nice to see Obi-Wan taking some comfort even in the midst of his exile. Great job!

 

QuiGonGal, Sara Kenobi, Gina and LilyHobbitJedi...Thank you all so much!

I'm really pleased you enjoyed it!

 

A wonderful Viggi well done

It is so amazing that Obi-wan who was all light
only finds comfort in the dark.
Lovely sad story.
But one filled with the hope that all is
not lost forever