This story is set during the time of Episode VII but many things have changed from the movie, so do not expect it to follow the storyline of the film. The protagonist is an OC. Hope you enjoy the story. :)
Star Wars
Legend of the Heroes
Chapter 1 - The old storyteller
The young man walked slowly amidst the snowy trees of the forest. The cold was shivering but he did not mind much as the black fur he wore gave him protection and he was an experienced hunter. He was only nineteen years old but he had been hunting in that forest since he was thirteen. He was tall and well built, with an athletic and muscular body. Yet he did not look like a savage; instead his face was delicate and handsome, with his short black hair, aquiline nose and green eyes.
His steps were slow and from time to time he looked at the snowy ground to see the footprints of the animal he was hunting; a deer. The deer had been cut off from the group, it seemed, probably because it had been injured, and thus presented an ideal prey for the young man. Ian, for that was the young man's name, had a lot of experience in hunting down animals in this forest. He had learned from the best; his uncle Thomas. In his youth, Thomas was renown in Bliz village for his hunting abilities and for being able to survive in the snowy forest for whole weeks without any help at all. Now, a middle-aged man who had not aged well, he spent most of his time home and let Ian do the hunting.
After following its trail for almost a whole day, Ian could finally see his prey resting besides a frozen brook. The young hunter hid behind a tree, drew his laser blaster and aimed at the deer. For a moment there was utter silence that was suddenly terminated with the sound of blaster being fired. Ian had hit his target; the deer lied dead on the ground. Although he did enjoy hunting, Ian always felt a bit sad the moment he killed his prey. But this was the only skill he had and the only way he and his uncle could survive.
He walked to the deer and grabbed it. With it in his back, he began making his way home. He knew that he would not reach it until the next day, but he hoped to make some of the journey's distance before resting for the night. He was not relaxed at all with his 'victory'. Instead, he was even more alarmed and tensed as he knew that a dead deer could draw any kind of wild beasts to him. Not only that, but the forest was rife with bandits too. Few villagers dared to hunt in this place.
After walking as fast as he could for about an hour, Ian knew that he had to rest for the night. The sky darkened and he could not hope to journey for much longer. He placed down the deer and drew a night light device he had brought with him. He placed it down and activated it to illuminate the surroundings. The light would allow him to see if anyone or anything was approaching him. He then lied down on the snow and rested, with his blaster at his hand and ready to wake up and fire at the slightest sound. Thankfully, no one bothered him that night.
The next day, as soon as the sun appeared on clear blue sky, he woke up, grabbed the deer and continued his journey. By afternoon, he had reached the Bliz village. He headed to the local butcher, Tom, a middle-aged short but muscular man. Ian entered his store, a small wooden building. He found him cutting some meat with his laser knife on his wooden table while watching a hologram program.
"Hello Ian, what have you brought me?", a smiling Tom asked.
"A deer.", Ian nonchalantly replied. He was tired and wanted to go home and rest as soon as possible. "I will sell you half of it for fifty credits."
"Forty boy. Don't push me. My daughter is getting married and I have a lot of spending to do.", Tom replied, still smiling.
"Really? Mary is getting married?", Ian asked, surprised.
"Yup. And I was as surprised as you when I've heard it. I met the lucky guy only yesterday."
"I'm glad to hear the news. And I will take the forty credits."
A few minutes later, Ian left the store with the credits and half the deer. He then headed to his home. As all others houses in this small village, it was a relative small building made of wood. It was a far cry from the tall skyscrapers of Nar Shaddaa and Coruscant. Such luxuries and high tech were unknown in the outer regions of space.
He knocked the door of his home and, a few seconds later, uncle Thomas opened the door. Thomas was tall and strong built but his age showed; his face was wrinkled, his hair and beard gray and he coughed from time to time. Yet his smile was radiant and warm. He quickly helped him with the deer he was carrying and greeted him: "Your hunting went well I can see."
"Indeed.", Ian replied. "It took me two days but it was worth it. I have sold half the deer to Tom for forty credits and now we have enough meet for the whole week."
"Good job.", Thomas remarked. "You remind me of myself when I was young, ages ago...", he said and laughed. "You can keep ten credits."
"Thanks."
"Now go and have a good rest. You must be tired."
"I really am.", Ian admitted. "Has anything of interest happened while I was away?"
Thomas thought for a moment and then replied, "Yes. A new storyteller has come to the village. An old man. At night he tells his stories to the villagers who come to listen to him."
"Will check it out tonight.", Ian said. He had always been interested in strange stories about faraway planets and regularly visited storytellers. "What kind of stories does he tells?"
"I believe he tells stories about the Jedi or something like that..."
"Great.", Ian remarked and then walked to his room. His room was really simple, having only a small wooden desk with a small hologram projector on it and a bed. Ian quickly lied on the bed and fell asleep. A few hours later he woke up and dressed casually, letting go of his fur. He washed his faced with cold water and walked out of his room. He saw his uncle sitting on a chair and reading a holobook.
"What are you reading?", Ian inquired.
"A mystery novel. It is quite interesting. Once I finish it, you may want to read it too."
"Well, I will be going out", Ian, smiling, said. "Good reading."
"Have fun!"
Ian went to the tent of the storyteller. The old man had camped in a tent a few minutes of walk outside the village. When Ian arrived there, he saw that the old man was surrounded by old men and small children who had gathered to listen to his stories. The old storyteller was sitting besides a fire. He was wearing a black robe and his face was hooded but illuminated by the fire; Ian could see that the man was was bearded and had a few wrinkles on his face. He looked like an old sorcerer of the stories Ian had been listening to when he was a child.
"Once upon a time, the evil Empire ruled the galaxy with an iron fist.", the man said. "The Emperor was wicked and oppressed the people, so a few brave men and women formed a rebel alliance with the goal of overthrowing him. The Emperor dispatched his enforcer, the fierce Darth Vader, to find the base of the rebels. Darth Vader was a sorcerer of old times with magical abilities that made him the most fearsome man of the Empire. Vader captured Princess Leia, one of the leaders of the rebels, but she was rescued by a young farm boy from the outer regions; Luke Skywalker. That boy was a simple man like you and had no idea that one day he would become a fighter for the rebels. In his task of saving the Princess, he had the help of smuggler, Han Solo, and his Wookie friend, Chewbacca, and had an old Jedi Master as his mentor; Ben Kenobi."
The story had caught the interest of everyone listening to it; especially the children who were enthralled to hear the story of the young Luke fighting against the evil Empire. Ian too was enamored by the story and it was as if the events the old man was describingwere unfolding before him. When the storyteller told of Kenobi's death, many in the audience cried while when he told of Luke's blowing up of the Death Star, the audience, especially the children, cheered. The old man told of all the struggles Luke and his friend underwent until the defeat of the Empire. He then began talking about how Luke was training a new generation of Jedi Knights.
"Luke hoped that the young men and women he was training in his academy would safeguard the new Republic and uphold peace and justice like the Jedi did in the old Republic. Alas, it was not to be so. One pupil of his, corrupted by the dark side of the Force, turned on his Master and fellow pupils. He allied with the forces of evil and attacked the academy, massacring everyone who resisted him and hunting down and destroying the new Jedi order. History repeated itself. Thus Luke was once again the last of the Jedi. It is not known what happened to him, but it is said that he wanders across the galaxy, searching for the destined one to destroy the First Order."
It was then when Ian noticed that the storyteller was looking at him. Their eyes met and Ian felt a bit awkward. As the story had ended anyway, he decided to leave. As he was walking back to the village, he was sensing that something was going wrong. It was as someone was following him. He turned around and saw the old storyteller following him. He walked faster but noticed that the storyteller too fastened his pace. So, he decided to go talk to him.
"Why are you following me?", Ian asked while preparing for any outcome.
"No need to get alarmed.", the storyteller said with a warm smile on his face. "I am just an old man, I cannot hurt you. I just want to talk with you."
"Why so?", Ian inquired, still suspicious of the old man and not letting his guard down.
"You seem to be a man of destiny."
At this point, Ian laughed. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I am just a hunter. I am not special. I'm just an ordinary villager in a place in the outer regions."
"Luke too was just an ordinary young man in a faraway planet.", the old man reminded him. "Believe me, I know when someone is special and you are a special person. You have powers you cannot even imagine."
Ian was no longer alarmed. He realized that the storyteller was just a crazy senile old man. Smiling, he replied, "Look, you are a great storyteller and you seem to be a good man, but I have no interest in what you say. The only thing special in me is that I am a good hunter and the only power I have is that of good aiming."
The old man sighed. He was clearly disappointed with Ian's unwillingness to believe in him. But he was not ready to give up yet. "I can prove you that I am not mad and that I speak the truth. At midnight, come to my tent and I will show you."
Wanting to finish this conversation and return home, Ian pretended that he was accepting the invitation. "I will surely come."
He then turned around and continued his journey back home. It was already late night and Ian wanted to have a good sleep after two days in the forest hunting. Even though he had slept for a few hours at home, it was not enough rest after all the hardships he had to endure in the snowy forest. Ian was lost in his thoughts when he suddenly heard the sound of footsteps and heard some people chatting. He saw that before him were three people, walking to the opposite direction. The one in the middle was surely a very rich person and had the looks of an aristocrat; tall, thin, handsome, blond and with blue eyes and wearing expensive clothesmade of silk; a red shirt and black trousers. He was for sure someone from another planet as no one in this place was that rich. On his left was another man, one that looked more ordinary. A black man with short black hair and wearing a brown jacket, black shirt and trousers. Although he did not seem as rich as the first man, he was handsome and fit nonetheless. He had the looks of a fighter. The third person, in the right, was a woman who immediately caught Ian's interest. She had brown hair, hazel eyes, and light skin. She was athletic and beautiful.
The man in the middle was walking pretty fast and had an air of arrogance in him. As he was walking very fast, he bumped onto Ian and pushed him down. "Watch where you are going!", Ian protested.
The man turned around and gave an angry look to Ian. "You are not fit to be my servant, let alone tell me what to do!"
"James!", the woman protested while the other man walked forward and helped Ian get up. "My name is Finn", he said, "sorry for our friend. He is a bit arrogant."
"Its okay.", Ian replied, in no mood to pick up a fight.
"My name is Rey.", the woman said.
"And mine is James.", the rich man said, with a tone of sarcasm in his voice. "Now, can we get the hell out of here? We have important business to do!"
Ian sure was pissed off with the attitude of Jamesbut seeing that his two friends were nice persons, he decided not to pursue the matter and set off for home. As he left them behind, Ian sighed and remarked, "what a bastard!". But his initial anger soon gave way to curiosity. Who were those people and why had they come to this small and unimportant village?
Ian had no idea and he was too tired to think about it. As soon as he returned home, he saw that his uncle was already in bed sleeping and decided to do the same. He went to his room and lied on his bed. He closed his eyes and fell asleep. Suddenly, he saw the old storyteller before him saying, "You have promised to come to me when it is midnight. Will you go back on your promise?"
Ian was so scared that his face became pale white and he was shivering. "What are you doing in my room?", he shouted. The old man did not reply but he approached him silently. Ian shouted and realized that it was all a dream; a nightmare. In no mood to sleep, he woke up and washed his face with cold water. 'This old man is not an ordinary person', he thought, 'I am sure of that. I must go and meet him.'
Ian was breathing fast and trembling. He was more tensed than even when he was at the forest. He rushed out of the room and the house and headed for the tent of the old man. It was not yet midnight but he could not wait until then. Although it was dark and no one was walking outside, Ian was not much scared by it as he had gotten used to being alone in the dark when he was hunting in the forest.
When Ian finally reached the storyteller's tent, he saw that the old man was alone there, sitting by the fire and waiting. As soon as he saw Ian, he smiled. Ian smiled back, although his smile was a bit awkward. "Hi.", Ian said. "So...I came. Maybe I am going crazy, but I was hearing your voice and seeing you in my sleep, so I decided to come."
The old man laughed. "It is nothing to be afraid of.", he assured him. "You are just discovering your powers."
"What powers?", Ian asked, this time taking the man seriously.
The storyteller did not reply. Instead he waved his hand and a rock got up from the ground. Ian could not believe in his eyes. It was as if the stone was flying. It was surely the work of magic, he thought. He was awed and his mouth was wide open with amazement. "How...how did you do that?"
The storyteller smiled. "I can teach you how to do this. You are special. You may think that you are just an ordinary person with a boring and monotonous life stuck on a planet on the far reaches of the universe, but you are a man of destiny, someone who will impact the wholegalaxy. I understand how you may feel because I've been in your position when I was young."
Ian could relate with what the old man was describing. "You are not really a storyteller, right?"
The old man nodded in agreement.
"So, who are you?"
"Luke Skywalker!"
"Impossible!", Ian said. "Impossible...Luke Skywalker has been missing for years. You told me so."
"Search your feelings, you know that I am saying the truth."
"Wow!", Ian exclaimed. "You are the last of the Jedi?"
"I used to be the last.", Luke replied. "Now I hope that there is going to be another Jedi."
Luke pointed at him. Ian could not believe what he was hearing. He slapped himself to make sure that he was not dreaming. "I...can...be a Jedi?"
"It is your destiny to become a Jedi, and a great one too. You will destroy the First Order. That is the prophecy of the ancient Jedi in the first Jedi temple. I have been searching for you across the outer regions for almost two years."
Ian was enthralledfor a moment, but he then remembered his uncle and the work he had to do here. He sighed and said, "Well, I am honored for this, but I am not sure that I am the right person. I have my uncle to take care of and I have to hunt for him."
"Believe me, I know how you feel. When Ben Kenobi wanted to recruit me, I too had my doubts. I had my uncle and aunt to take care and work to do at home. But destiny cannot be ignored. You have been gifted with extraordinary powers and it is your duty to use them for good. As for your uncle..."
Luke gave a small purse to Ian. Ian opened it and saw that it had a thousand credits, enough for his uncle to live a comfortable life.
Ian smiled. "Look, I thank you for your help. I will go talk with my uncle and will tell you my decision next morning."
"Good. But you must not delay your decision for your powers have awakened and this means that the forces of evil will sense your presence here sooner or later."
"What?!", Ian barked. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."
"Unfortunately not. The more you stay here, the more you endanger your loved ones. The First Order wants to hunt down all force users who oppose them. They will either kill you or, even worse, break you and make you one of them; an agent of evil."
"Then what choice am I supposed to make?!", Ian, enraged with Luke, inquired. "You essentially give me no choice!"
"I am not the one who caused this to happen. You will have eventually discovered on your own your powers and the First Order would have eventually found out aboutyou."
Ian calmed down a bit and apologized to Luke. "Sorry for my outburst but too many things have changed for me in those few minutes and I...I have not been able to accept all of them at once. I just need some time alone to think."
Luke placed his hand on Ian's shoulder and said, "I know you are strong and will not crumble. I understand that your life has been turned upside down. But you must not be afraid. You will have my support and I will do my best to help you."
"Thanks...I suppose.", Ian said and walked back to the village. While strolling in the village's street, he was trying to relax and recollect himself. Suddenly, he saw the three people he had seen earlier heading for the storyteller's tent. He quickly hid in an alley. Once they had passed before him, he silently began following them. As a hunter, he knew only too well the skill of following someone and as such the James, Rey and Finn hadn't noticed him. The three companions finally reached Luke's tent. James walked forward and introduced himself to Luke: "I am James Astrani, the Duke of Astrania. Those behind me are Rey and Finn."
Luke smiled. "What can an old storyteller like me do for a Duke like you?"
"I've been searching for a person who is said to have been at the first Jedi temple and has been missing for years; Luke Skywalker."