A/N: Atlas was a Greek god who held the Sky over the Earth. More information on him can be found at http: // www. greek-gods-and-goddesses .com/ greek-god-atlas .html without the spaces. I used the word "Earth" here for the flow of the piece. I know very well that the Star Wars universe doesn't take place on Earth but in a galaxy far, far, away.
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Once there was a boy born with a yoke. The yoke was called slavery and he was not alone, all of his friends and his mother wore it as well. But he looked about and saw that there were some people without yokes.
"Someday," he said to himself, "I will be like them. There will be nothing to weigh me down and I'll walk straight."
One day he was freed from slavery. But he left his mother to be a Jedi, promising to return to free her and everyone else.
So the boy took Hell upon his shoulders and Atlas bent.
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Once there was a young man who loved an angel. She was to him the most precious creature that every blessed the universe. For ten years he worshiped her from afar. Then the day came and she needed his help.
"Someday," he said to himself, "I will be powerful enough to protect those I love from all things, even death."
Over the days he never left her side. But when she became his wife, he remembered what happened to his mother and swore that he would protect her.
So the young man took Heaven upon his shoulders and Atlas bowed.
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Once there was a man who fought a war. He alone was not affected; it touched all the galaxy. Some were like him, Jedi trained for peace. Some were clones created for war. But he listened and heard the cry "save me, save me" from those who could not fight at all.
"Someday," he said to himself, "I will end this war. Then the universe will have peace and I'll have saved them."
Every day he fought harder, battled longer, and took more risks. But there was always someone else and he promised to save them all.
So the man took Earth upon his shoulders and Atlas knelt.
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The boy could not free his mother. Hell slipped and he lived it.
The young man could not protect his angel. Heaven slipped and he could no longer touch it.
The man could not save everyone. Earth slipped and shattered around him.
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On the day that, beaten and in pain, he learned of his last failure, he recognized that he had freed no one, protected no one, saved no one, and could hold neither Hell nor Heaven nor Earth.
The day he realized that he always failed, Atlas fell.