Hello there. This is a little vignette about one of my favorite characters in his later years, a character study that came to me as I listened to his theme one night. I hope you enjoy it. I am open to all reviews and feedback is much appreciated.
Disclaimer: Star Wars and all its characters belong to George Lucas and Lucasfilm. But he can keep Howard the Duck.
Ineffable
It comes effortlessly to him, this ineffable being, this spark of life that shines in the universe and will not be dimmed. He reaches out into the universe with his mind and soul and alters that which could not otherwise be altered at will.
All around him are ones like him and yet not like him. For though they hold light and life as well, they do not know the light as he does. They do not see it as he does. They do not manipulate it as he does, nor are they manipulated by it as he is.
But this, he knows, is not because he is particularly powerful, though to some degree he is. He is humbled however, when he realizes that he is only this way through patience, training and practice. Lots and lots of practice. He smiles ruefully and chuckles softly to himself as he recalls his own Master chiding him once on one of his levitation exercises—so long ago it seems. Ages even.
But then he is no longer young and he does not pretend otherwise at all.
Still, his students flock around him, their promise shining brightly and soothing his tired and aged mind. The ones he holds most dear, his own family who lives with him and surrounds him with their love as well as his wise and revered peers, they help, protect and guide him. They also keep him in his place and remind him of just how small he really is.
There is peace now in the galaxy however, and for that, he is content. For many years there has been peace, a peace that he did struggle and fight for, however briefly, when he was younger—much younger. He does not count himself as one of those heroes of days bygone. He does not feel he deserves the honor.
He knows, realistically, that this peace will not last, even as he optimistically leads on the Order that he has headed for years. Even now there are beings, which threaten, or could potentially threaten, the peace that now reigns in the galaxy. This saddens him a great deal, for he would see the galaxy go on as it always has.
But the Force will go on no matter what, he knows, whether or not he personally lives or dies.
His breath does not really matter in this galaxy. And he knows he is far from the greatest Jedi to have ever lived. In this, he humbly sits in mediation in his chambers, reaching out to touch the light in the only way that he can. Order, peace, serenity, these fill his heart and he finds great comfort.
Later, he will show his students lightsaber techniques and laugh at their young and inquisitive minds. He will joke with colleagues and in Council sessions he will deliberate gravely and decide fates.
But for just a moment, he sits, eyes closed and mind open, and feels the rush of the Force, like a great mighty wind filling and flowing through him.
There is a twitch in it then, something almost unnoticeable, but he picks it up almost effortlessly and turns it on its head. He pins it down and scrutinizes it with all his might.
Blue eyes stare at him and slowly cloud with some unnamed emotion.
Startled, he pulls back and at the same time, hears a knock on his chamber doors.
"Enter," he says, slightly panting from the odd vision that he has just received. He slowly grabs his cane and rising from his cushion, turns to face whoever has come to visit him.
It is a Knight, whose name he does not recall at the moment, though the face is friendly. He slightly bows and then delivers his news.
"Master Yoda," he says respectfully. "Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi have returned from their mission to Naboo. They wish to have a Council session as soon as you are able."
He nods reassuringly. "Then have the session now, we shall," Yoda intones gravely. The Knight rushes out to do his bidding.
Slowly, composing himself, Yoda reaches out and finds that calm inside of him. The vision is a vision and nothing more. He cannot allow himself to dwell on it, to turn it into something more than it may be.
Summoning his hover chair and preparing himself for a long and possibly tedious Council session, he sets off through the halls of the Jedi Temple, the Force swirling with change all around him.