The rivalry between Kylo Ren and General Hux after the destruction of Starkiller Base intensifies. So does Ren's hatred for the one who beat him, Rey. In this struggle for supremacy, Ren has the help of a brilliant advisor. However, he soon discovers that not everything is as it seems. [Reylo plus OC as a major character]
STAR WARS
Snow and Fire
I try not to think of the past,
To forget the memories of old times,
To forsake friends and foes,
To leave behind hatred and love.
Prologue - Snow
He was sitting next to the fire. It was freezing cold outside. The biting cold chilled his fingers into clumsy numbness, his lips turned a more blueish hue and his teeth chattered like a pneumatic drill. The fire did little to warm him, but at the very least it lightened the dark cave in which he was hiding. Was he hiding from his foes or from his past? Even he himself did not know the answer to that question. Maybe he was hiding from both. Maybe he just wanted to be alone in a place far away from civilization, in a place where he could forget past enmities and friendships, hatred and love. He was constantly coughing and seemed as if he was ill. He certainly was not a person you would expect to find in a dark cave in the midst of a snowstorm. He was in his early thirties. He was tall, handsome and had long black hair, but his face had a pale complexion and he looked frail and weak. With one glance at him, anyone could tell that this man had suffered a lot.
Yet, despite all the hardships he seemed to have suffered and the bitter cold, he was smiling, at least when he was not coughing. His calm demeanor, his bright smile, the fact that he sitting all alone in this cave made this man look not like an ordinary human but almost like a godlike figure or a sage like the ones mentioned in the ancient chronicles which detailed the lives of the great Jedi Masters of the past. At that moment, a tall and sturdy man walked into the cave. He approached the man sitting by the fire and greeted him. He then said, "Andrew, at last I've found you."
Andrew smiled, but this time his smile looked sad. "Ian, why do you pursue me? I wonder how you even managed to find me here..."
"It was certainly hard to find you and took me two years to do so.", Ian said, with an awkward smile on his face. "You have to take revenge."
Andrew sighed. "I've already refused your request, why do you keep bothering me?"
"You have to avenge our fallen brothers!"
"Revenge is not a Jedi's way."
"But you must seek justice for them!", Ian intervened. "You cannot just seclude yourself in this cave and live like a hermit. You have to take action!"
Before Andrew could reply, Ian, with tears in his eyes, talked. "Don't you tell me that you do not see our brothers in your dreams. Don't you tell me that you don't relive every night in your dreams that day. Don't you tell me that you don't remember their screams as they were being massacred. As one after the other were being killed. Owan was trampled to death, Jai was shot, El was stabbed to death, James went mad and killed himself, James was burned alive, John suffocated due to the smoke, Alex was strangled."
Although Andrew maintained his calm composure, his constant coughing and his stiffening betrayed his sadness. He was barely able to keep himself from crying. He vividly remembered all those deaths Ian described. He still remembered the faces of his dead brothers, their screams, their struggle to survive and their eventual death. All those friends with whom he had shared fortune and misfortune died in a single day. Every death pierced the heart of Andrew like a knife. But he did not show his feelings.
"All of them died before your very eyes!", Ian continued. "Don't you tell me that you have forgotten all about them!"
"I have put aside all enmities and friendships. I no longer feel any hatred. But I have not forgotten the betrayal. You can be assured of that. Vengeance might not be my goal any more, but seeking justice is."
Ian smiled. "Does that mean that you will leave this place and help me?"
"No. The time is not right yet. When the time comes, I will leave this place and I will seek justice for our dead brothers. But I cannot do so right now."
Ian sighed. "Although I am saddened, I trust you and I believe that you will not forget our brothers. You were the most loyal back then, so I believe that you truly mean what you say and that you will seek justice for them. Anyway, our paths have to diverge once more. I will bid you goodbye."
Once more Andrew was all alone, in the darkness. After so many years, he had gotten used to it. Once he was the most outward person. Now he was a man who showed no sign of anger or joy, no feelings. It was as if he was as cold as the snow which covered the cave. As he coughed, he remembered his old days. "Once I was a warrior, now I am just a frail man who cannot withstand a bit of cold". He sighed. "But my illness is also a blessing. It will allow me to seek justice for my dead brothers. All those years I have managed to make peace with myself and my past. Now, the only goal of my life is to bring down the one who caused so much death and misery. Not because I want revenge, but because justice must be done to all those who died due to his treachery. Once this happens, I can die in peace."