This prologue is really, really short, but I hope you'll read it anyway. Without it, you probably won't think the story is that good. Don't be fooled by the title of the prologue, because it's really only the beginning.

PrologueThe End

I lay on the ground, gasping for air. All I could hear was the sound of my own breathing, ragged and struggling. Beyond that was only silence. The silence that comes with death. All around me, bodies littered the ground; the bodies of my friends, teachers, and fellow warriors. They had all fought as hard as they could, but it had been of no use. Not against that onslaught. Even though there was no one there, I could hear their screams and cries of pain. Darkness surged all around me. But above that, there was one word that rang in my head. "Why?"

All of a sudden, the silence was disturbed by the sound of footsteps. I painfully lifted my head a little to see down the hall. It was Obi-wan and Yoda. So they had survived. I waited, as they looked at the carnage before them, until they noticed me. Still alive, but just barely.

"Who did this to you?" Obi-wan asked me. His blue-grey eyes, eyes that I had so often seen full to the brim with joy, were now filled with sadness and questioning as he knelt beside me.

I stared at him, my vision already clouding over as I tried to gather the strength to speak. Behind him, I could see Yoda, leaning on his gimer stick, an indescribable look of pain across his wrinkled face. They both looked old and tired.

As for me, I simply felt tired. But I also felt that I was too young to die. How could life, so full of promise, end so soon? As I lay there, my life slowly draining from me, the last couple hours flashed before my eyes. No, I couldn't tell him what had just happened. It would only break his heart. "I-I'm sorry. I can't tell you."

Even those few words caused me to gasp for air. I coughed, and more blood spattered the cold stone floor of the Jedi temple. The temple… It had been such a peaceful place, and now this.

"Meravin, I need to know." Obi-wan again. So persistent. But that's how he was. I should know, because I was one of his best friends. And best friends tell each other everything, right? So I gave in.

It would hurt him, I knew, but there was no doubt that he did need to know. After all, he was probably one of the last Jedi that could right this wrong. The only Jedi that could. But time was running out. Already, my eyelids were growing heavy, and I knew that I was sinking into sleep. A sleep from which there was no awakening. At least, not to this world.

"It was…" I tried to draw another breath, but found it almost impossible. Pain numbed my body, and I could see my vision growing hazy. Everything felt so cold, so grey. I tried again. "It was An…" My eyes closed. I couldn't do any more. My body was no longer functioning, and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before my brain died out, too. So with those last few seconds, I thought.

I thought about what I had done in my life. All the good things I had done, and all the bad things, too. Did they make a difference?

I thought about all my relationships: my friends, mentors, enemies, and anyone who had ever influenced my life, which was now about to end.

But most of all, I thought about my murderer.

And my friend.

Anakin Skywalker.