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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Before - Legends The Shaman of the Whills (Qui-Gon/Obi-Wan adventure/drama) Now complete!

Discussion in 'Fan Fiction- Before, Saga, and Beyond' started by ForceForGood, Jul 15, 2010.

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  1. ForceForGood

    ForceForGood Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2010
    Yes, I thought I saw you on both sites! Double the stories, double the fun!
    I know what you mean - I hated to do it, but it had to be done!
    I shall take your request under consideration [face_thinking] ;)
     
  2. ForceForGood

    ForceForGood Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2010
    Chapter 11

    Smoke and ashes burned Obi-Wan's eyes. Perhaps that was why tears were flowing down his cheeks.

    He could smell the reek of burning flesh: human flesh. It reminded him of the night he stood by Qui-Gon's funeral pyre on Naboo. But this time it was not his Master who burned. It was his Padawan.

    And this time, Obi-Wan was not an innocent bystander to the destruction of human life. He was the cause of it.

    "I hate you!" Anakin Skywalker screamed at him, writhing in agony on the lava-bank of Mustafar as flames licked at the stumps of his legs.

    "You were my brother, Anakin!" Obi-Wan choked out. "I loved you!"

    And so he had. For more than a decade, he had given Anakin his affections, had poured his heart and soul into teaching him the difference between right and wrong, had laid awake at nights worrying about the boy's struggles with his fear and anger, had shared every bit of wisdom Qui-Gon had given Obi-Wan as a Padawan...

    But his words had fallen on deaf ears. Anakin had looked at the light, and turned his back on it. The boy he trained was gone, consumed by Darth Vader. Gone, too, were all the Jedi, every last one of them. Obi-Wan could not shut out of his mind the sight of bodies strewn in the hallways of the Temple as thickly as autumn leaves on the ground - the younglings, and their teachers, and the wounded who had been recovering in the healers' hall - all of them slain by Palpatine's new apprentice and the clone troops he commanded.

    And this monstrosity - this violation of nature - had been spawned, in a manner of speaking, by Obi-Wan himself. He had taught Anakin everything he knew, had given him all the tools he needed to annihilate the helpless and the innocent. He had been blind to Palpatine's corruption of the boy.

    And yet, through all the webs of confusion and deceit that had been spun around Obi-Wan and the young man he had loved as a brother, one truth came shining through as clear as day. If there was one thing Obi-Wan was certain of, it was this: It didn't have to end this way.

    "You were the Chosen One!" Obi-Wan shouted, his voice rough with emotion. "You could have brought balance to the Force... but you left it in darkness!"

    Darth Vader's only answer was a scream of pain as flames engulfed his mutilated body.

    Even now, Obi-Wan ought to strike the blow that would destroy this serpent once and for all, but he could not. He looked back down at Darth Vader's contorted face, and still he saw an innocent 9-year-old boy with sandy blond hair standing by his side at Qui-Gon's funeral, asking in a trembling voice: "What will happen to me now?"

    Obi-Wan turned away from the sight in horror. He bent down to pick up Anakin's lightsaber, and stumbled away.

    But at the top of the incline, he halted. He knew he mustn't turn back - but he did.

    Incredibly, Anakin was slowly hitching himself forward with his mechanical hand, away from the lava flow. His body was charred black, his clothing melted into his skin, but the flames were flickering out. Obi-Wan was filled with a pity so profound that it swallowed up his fear. "Oh, Anakin," he whispered, extending a hand toward his Padawan. Perhaps, even now, it was not too late...

    A sickening, oily presence in the Force intruded on Obi-Wan's senses. He looked for the source of the disturbance, and caught sight of a figure in dark robes walking swiftly on the lava-bank toward Anakin. Black smoke coiled around the skirts of his robe. In the shadows the man's hood cast over his face, all Obi-Wan could see was the tip of his nose. But somehow, he knew the hood hid a monstrous visage: Darth Sideous. He was followed by a host of faceless clone troopers.

    So Yoda had failed to defeat the Sith Lord. And if Yoda could not, then Obi-Wan had no hope for himself. In a few moments, he would pay for his failings as a teacher with his own life. In the midst of his anguish, he felt a quiet stab of joy. At least Palpatine would put him out of his misery. The story would end here.

    But the story didn't end here, young one, said a voice rising up from his m
     
  3. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Excellent update with a great insight how Obi-Wan turned away from Anakin saving the future.=D==D=
     
  4. ForceForGood

    ForceForGood Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2010
    Thank you! I hope everyone likes this next chapter!
     
  5. ForceForGood

    ForceForGood Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2010
    Chapter 12

    Usually, Obi-Wan was mesmerized by the flickering light seen through the viewport of a ship traveling in hyperspace. But on this trip, once he had put the coordinates for the sun-scorched world of Tatooine into the navicomputer, he only had eyes for the face of the tiny infant he cradled in the crook of his arm: Luke Skywalker.

    The Shaman of the Whills had been right, he thought, at least from a certain point of view. Obi-Wan's life was following the pattern of the Sky God's. And although he never would have chosen this fate for himself, he could live with it. He looked down at his hands, and he saw that the grime of Mustafar had been washed away; they were clean. As the Shaman had known they would be.

    "...and in the time of greatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as THE SON OF THE SUNS," Obi-Wan murmured. Luke stirred slightly at the sound of his voice, then sighed deeply and relaxed back into sleep.

    Could the prophecy of the Whills refer to the Skywalker twins? Surely there could be no greater despair than the destruction of the Republic and the genocide of the Jedi Knights. And Anakin's life had followed the pattern of the Sun God, as Obi-Wan had followed the Sky God. If that were so, Luke and Leia would have a place in the story as well.

    But Obi-Wan could not trust his judgment. Once, he had been sure that the prophecy of the Chosen One referred to Anakin. He had been wrong. Rather than destroying the Sith and restoring the galaxy to its natural state in the light of the Force, Anakin had allowed the darkness to grow like a cancer. As much as Obi-Wan wanted to believe that his former Padawan would yet step out of the shadows and fulfill the prophecy, he knew by heart the words Master Yoda had said many times: "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny." If that were true, Anakin was not and never would be the Chosen One.

    He would have to place all his hopes on the Son of the Suns. If only he could know whether he held that new hope in his arms...

    There was only one person Obi-Wan would have trusted to recognize the Son of Suns: the Shaman of the Whills. And she was dead.

    But the Ancient Order of the Whills existed to pass knowledge from one generation to the next. The Shaman who saw the Sky God's pattern in Obi-Wan's soul was gone, but she must have passed her wisdom on to a successor - assuming the Order remained safely hidden on Guatama, as it had been for uncounted years.

    Suddenly decisive, Obi-Wan gently shifted Luke's sleeping form so that he could hit the control to exit hyperspace, and entered a new set of coordinates.

    Then he remembered how leery the Guatamans were of visitors, and thought he'd better give advance warning.

    Although he felt a little foolish doing it, he ignored the communications equipment in the cockpit and instead looked out at the stars and spoke aloud.

    "Siddhari? If you're still watching me, I'm coming to see your Shaman now. I hope that's all right."

    ****************************************************************************************

    The Guatamans were expecting him. The moment he emerged from hyperspace, he received a transmission directing him to land at the base of the mound where the Sanctuary of the Whills was hidden. Obi-Wan was grateful, knowing this time he could not trek through the jungle in such heat with a newborn baby slung across his chest. He climbed the steps slowly and steadily until he reached the peak.

    The grove of trees at the top looked exactly as it had when he had visited as a boy. Memories of Qui-Gon were as thick here as the humid air. Obi-Wan swallowed painfully against the lump in his throat. With all that he had lost in the last few days, why should the death of his Master sting him now, when he had been gone for 13 years?

    This time, Obi-Wan went to the front door. He threaded his way through the trees and rubble on the surface until he came to a shallow set of steps descending into the ground, with a heavy stone door at the bottom. A green-robed monk opened it ju
     
  6. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Lovely update seeing Obi-Wan's old friends again. He will learn from his master.=D==D=
     
  7. Gkilkenny

    Gkilkenny Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2004
    Great updates.=D=
    Nice to see that Qui-Gon has appeared to Obi-Wan. It will give him hope for the future.
     
  8. JediKaren

    JediKaren Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2007
    Sorry for not commenting. I've been reading the story and loving it. Keep it up!
     
  9. ForceForGood

    ForceForGood Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2010
    I was happy to take it back to Guatama. [face_dancing]
    I certainly hope so!
    Glad to hear it. But sad to say, it is almost over!:_| I've had so much fun writing this, I can't even tell you.
     
  10. ForceForGood

    ForceForGood Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2010
    Additional disclaimer: I own no rights to Matthew Stover's "Revenge of the Sith" novelization, from which I used two quotes for this chapter. I get no profit from this fanfic, just fun!

    Chapter 13

    For 13 long years, Obi-Wan had longed to have Qui-Gon back by his side - to tell him about his latest mission, to ask for his advice, to share his triumphs and his fears with his old Master. And now he found he could not say a word. There were no words. His heart was too full to hold them.

    Obi-Wan stepped through the curtain, moving as though in a dream.

    How is this possible?

    It wasn't possible. It couldn't be. And yet it was real. Qui-Gon had joined the Force, as beings beyond count had done since the birth of the galaxy, and yet he had done what he should not have been able to do: remain himself, even in death. He stood there in the sacred chambers of the Shaman of the Whills, looking exactly as Obi-Wan remembered him, down to the same white tunic and trousers he'd been wearing the day he died, and not a hair out of place.

    And yet he was different, too - Obi-Wan saw through a blur of tears that Qui-Gon was translucent, with the pure blue light of the Force streaming through him, and he looked happier than he had been in life, as though the weight of the cares of the galaxy had been lifted from his shoulders.

    A thousand questions leapt to Obi-Wan's mind... but he could not find the voice to ask them. It reminded him of the way he felt the day his apprenticeship with Qui-Gon had been formalized when, after the ceremony was over and the two of them had been left alone in the meditation chamber, Obi-Wan had been struck by a sudden shyness and had barely been able to look his new Master in the eye. Overwhelmed that Qui-Gon would choose him, of all the students in the Temple, even though he still struggled with anger and pride... in that moment, young Obi-Wan had done the only thing that occurred to him: he clasped his hands together and lowered his head in a deep and respectful bow to his new Master, and he had not lifted his head until finally Qui-Gon had to ask him to.

    And so that was what he did now. With his head bent, all he could see were strands of his hair hanging in front of his eyes. Somehow, it gave him the courage to find his voice at last, though he could not keep it quite steady as he spoke: "Master, I've... missed you... so much..."

    "Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon said gently, and his baritone voice was exactly as warm as Obi-Wan remembered it. "I wish I could say I've missed you too, but the truth is, I've watched over you every day since I left."

    Obi-Wan drew in a shaky breath and looked back up to meet Qui-Gon's blue gaze. "Then why didn't you-" he began to demand--

    -- and then stopped himself. He remembered.

    "But you did," Obi-Wan said in wonderment, answering his own question. "You did speak to me. There were so many times I thought I could feel your presence... I thought it was just wishful thinking!"

    Qui-Gon laughed softly. "I'm relieved to hear that you wished to hear me. Our last days together weren't our best days together, were they?"

    "You don't know how much I punished myself for that," Obi-Wan said in a low voice. "For arguing with you about Anakin, for wasting our last mission together by making things so unpleasant--"

    "No, Obi-Wan," Qui-Gon interrupted. "I should not have dismissed your concerns so lightly. And when I told the Council you were ready to take the Trials, I never meant for it to sound like a dismissal... I've been waiting all this time to ask for your forgiveness."

    "No, it wasn't my place to disagree with you about the boy-" Obi-Wan started, but Qui-Gon interrupted again.

    "And here we are again, wasting our time together arguing about who was more wrong."

    They both laughed. It was the first time Obi-Wan had laughed since-- he couldn't remember when. He felt strangely guilty doing it, and yet it was such a relief, too.

    A third voice had joined in with their laughter -- the merry laugh of the old Shaman, who stood in the midst of a blue glimmer jus
     
  11. Gkilkenny

    Gkilkenny Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2004
    I will see to it that Anakin's children know your story, if I have to bring it to them myself."

    Obi-Wan looked at Siddhari in surprise. "But those of your Order never leave Guatama."

    "For my old friend, I will make an exception." Siddhari gave Obi-Wan a warm embrace. Luke squirmed between them.

    =D=
    So Siddhari left the safety of Guatama so he could give Obi-Wan's story to Luke so little Ben would know about the great Jedi Obi-Wan had been.

    You make this story so real. It is great.
     
  12. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    Loved the reunion between Obi and Qui, so heartwarming and a nice touch to Obi-Wan's exile on Tatooine.

    Nice chapter=D==D=
     
  13. ForceForGood

    ForceForGood Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2010
    You've got it! The story has come full circle now.
    It's just so depressing to think of Obi-Wan all by his lonesome on Tatooine, so I'm glad canon established that he wasn't alone after all!

    And now... drum roll please... the final chapter!
     
  14. ForceForGood

    ForceForGood Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2010
    A/N: A special thanks to all my loyal readers - you've made writing this story more fun than a barrel of monkeys!

    Epilogue

    "Darth Vader raised his blood-red lightsaber, but this time, Obi-Wan Kenobi did not lift his weapon to block the blow. He looked to the side, at the young farm boy he had carefully watched over for the last 20 years, although the boy never knew it. The old Jedi smiled tenderly."

    Luke's voice faltered a moment. Young Ben looked at him curiously.

    "Obi-Wan looked back to the terrifying mask of Darth Vader, but he was not afraid. He had learned an ancient secret, one the Sith would never know. Death held no horror for him.

    "Obi-Wan closed his eyes, and Darth Vader struck him down.

    "The farm boy cried out in anguish as a tattered Jedi robe fluttered to the floor, empty. A lightsaber bounced to the floor, never again to be lifted by the hand that had wielded it for so long in the defense of innocents.

    "The great warrior known as Obi-Wan Kenobi was gone."


    Luke fell silent, and bowed his head over the pages.

    "I hate sad endings," young Ben said with feeling, punctuating his criticism with a suspicious sniff.

    Luke was using his left hand, the ungloved one, to rub the tears off his own cheeks. He cleared his throat gruffly and lifted up the book old Siddhari had to brought to him.

    "Look at the book, Ben," he said gently. "This isn't the end."

    Ben looked. There were still a number of pages left to read.

    "How can the story go on, after the hero's dead?" Ben asked.

    "That's an interesting question," Luke said with a mysterious smile. "We'll read the rest tomorrow night, and you'll see for yourself." He set the book on the nightstand, and kissed Ben's forehead. "Good night, son."

    Luke had just reached the doorway and was reaching up to switch off the light when Ben suddenly sat up in bed.

    "Father, do you think Obi-Wan Kenobi was related to Ben Kenobi? The old Jedi you named me after?"

    "No," Luke said. He smiled at his son, the corners of his eyes crinkling as he did so. "No, they weren't related. They were the same man."

    ****************************************************

    When Ben was settled into bed, Luke sat down on his own sleep couch and slowly leafed through the pages of the book, lost in thought. He lifted his head in surprise when a knock sounded on the door.

    Luke opened the door, and smiled at the green-robed man standing there, his close-cropped hair graying and his shoulders stooped with age. "Come in, Your Grace," Luke said.

    The Shaman of the Whills entered the room and looked at the book in Luke's hand. "Well, young Jedi, what do you think of my story?"

    "It was wonderful," Luke said with feeling. "My son loved it, too. I can't thank you enough, Siddhari."

    "It was my pleasure." Siddhari folded his hands in front of him. "And now, Master Skywalker, are you ready to receive another visitor?"

    Luke creased his brow. "Another visitor? Who is it?"

    "An old friend. One who has learned the path to immortality."

    As he spoke, a powerful tremor swept through the Force, and Luke's eyes widened as he saw a pulsing blue light appear in the room. The light grew until it took the shape of a white-haired man dressed in a flowing brown robe.

    Luke recognized him instantly, although his old master had not appeared to him for many years, and felt a rush of pleasure. "Ben!"

    "Hello there," Ben said, with a twinkle in his eyes.

    Luke shook his head in amazement. "I can't believe it - usually you only come when I'm in danger! What are you doing here?"

    Ben raised an eyebrow. "I've come to give you your instruction."

    THE END
     
  15. JediKaren

    JediKaren Jedi Youngling star 3

    Registered:
    Apr 26, 2007
    *gasps* NO! No! How dare you end the story there! We NEEED to know that secret. Dang it!

    That was a seriously cool story. I hope you have plans for more stories?
     
  16. Gkilkenny

    Gkilkenny Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Mar 27, 2004
    Thank you. You gave us a very enjoyable story to read.=D=
     
  17. ForceForGood

    ForceForGood Jedi Knight star 1

    Registered:
    Jan 17, 2010
    I do indeed. I am writing a novel-length Obi-centric AU that will span all 6 movies and the gaps between. Ambitious, I know! That story actually WILL go into a lot of detail about the Force-ghost secrets, but you'll have to be patient for it, because obviously the idea isn't introduced until the end of the prequels!

    Thank you, thank you everyone for your interest and your comments![:D] [face_love] [face_dancing]
     
  18. earlybird-obi-wan

    earlybird-obi-wan Chosen One star 6

    Registered:
    Aug 21, 2006
    WOW an exiting ending to a great well written story. Loved this ending=D==D=
     
  19. jacen200015

    jacen200015 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jan 11, 2002
    This was very well written.
     
  20. dimyavie

    dimyavie Jedi Master star 1

    Registered:
    May 3, 2006
    I just read the whole story in one sitting -- it was a wonderful way to take a break from research papers (the joys of grad school) and continue my all nighter. ;) I love how you wrote Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan, and thanks so much for sharing!!!
     
  21. Siri-the-Vixen

    Siri-the-Vixen Jedi Youngling

    Registered:
    May 3, 2011
    Wow great job on this story [face_peace]
    if i were Obi-wan i would've bolted as soon as i seen those giant spiders especilly meat eating ones
    plus i begon to suspect the secret was the abiltly to become a force ghost the moment Qui gon said that the Shaman had died.
     
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