I have arrived on Ach-To, the last planet with a Jedi Temple. The first Jedi Temple ironically. My father and mother, Han Solo and Leia Skywalker, are seeing me off to my uncle, Luke Skywalker, who will teach me the ways of the Force in order to become a Jedi Knight. Master Skywalker has opened up a new Jedi academy to take disciples to train in the ways of the Force and the Jedi. I am only 9 years old when Master Skywalker takes me in as a Padawan along with Druane Zaine, Gul Longstar, Zholl Farlance, Coren LeKit, and Dalo Velos. Little did I know at the time that by the time I would turn 23, these five Padawans I would turn into the Knights of Ren.
In my first year of training, Master Skywalker teaches us the Force very slowly. He teaches us to have mindfulness, to be in the moment, and to never give in to the allure of the Dark Side. I make friends with the boys I mentioned. However I seem to get closest to Druane who is from Yavin 4, and Gul, who is from Jehda. We do as Master Skywalker tells us each and every day without question. Sometimes I wondered what my parents are doing and other times I did not. Either way, I was stuck on this planet learning to become a Jedi Knight and I was completely fine with that. That is until I only became mostly fine with that by the time I turned 13.
Four years pass. Master Skywalker has begun to train us in the ways of the Kyber crystals. He teaches us how to find them, mine them, and ultimately how to use them to engineer the creation of lightsabers. Lightsabers always fascinated me during my childhood. The way the laser blade would move and make its sound. It's the sound that makes it unique. The color of the lightsaber I constructed turned out to be green. I figured it was a nice homage to Master Skywalker's lightsaber that he constructed himself so many years ago during the Battle of Endor, which spelled the fate of the Empire and the victory of the Rebel Alliance. That happened just before I was born, and yet, I feel like I always knew about it. The Force somehow made me feel attached to that time period as if I was there.
In the days that followed the constructing of our first student lightsabers, Master Skywalker had us begin to practice dueling. I would usually duel with Druane. Druane was a formidable opponent. He was very quick and light on his feet while dueling. I would rely more on strength and endurance to get through each duel. Sometimes he would get the best of me, and sometimes I would of him. In the weeks that pass that we would have dueling practice, I would always ask Master Skywalker for advice on general technique and how to master the art of lightsaber fighting. I would feel so excited each time we were about to have practice. In some ways I think I enjoyed practicing lightsaber fighting more than using the Force itself, since wielding a lightsaber was at least more tangible rather learning to harness a mysterious, mystic force. Master Skywalker when instructing me about the lightsaber, would always tell me to trust in the Force and let it guide me as I would duel. I would take in his teachings as much as I could, but somewhere along the way, I started to feel as though he was holding something back. But what could it be? Was learning how to become a Jedi not enough? Master Skywalker was deliberately avoiding talking about the Dark Side. That's what it was. But why was I all of a sudden curious about the Dark Side? It was evil after all wasn't it? Why should I learn evil? But then again, when I would think of my father, a smuggler who turned into a general for the Rebels, did he not possess knowledge of those who were considered disgraceful and harmful to the civilizations of the galaxy? My father had at least knowledge about the criminals, bounty hunters, and shady smugglers. So why should we be afraid to learn more about the Dark Side? Was it really that forbidden? I knew I could never ask Master Skywalker though. He made it very clear he would never talk about, let alone teach the Dark Side. It went without saying, it was forbidden.
One night I had a strange dream of a mysterious being with a weird, snake-like face come to me. He would whisper things to me. Whispers of darkness. Whoever this being is, he tells me about the Dark Side. I should be afraid but I'm not. I find what he says to be fascinating. I wake up from the dream and continue with my training for the next day. Master Skywalker has us practice using the Force to pick up rocks on days we are not lightsaber training. I don't tell any of my fellow Padawans about my dream. The disturbing thing is the same dream repeats over and over each night. Each time I wake up from the same dream I am oddly more motivated to train harder during that day. I become so well versed in the ways of the Force and in lightsaber combat that I quickly become the top student in Master Skywalker's academy. Master Skywalker tells me I have a lot of my father and mother in me. Especially my father, Han Solo. Funny, because I never really got to know my father so well. I haven't seen him since I was 9-years old. He's out there somewhere still fighting for the Rebel Alliance against the remnants of the Empire which word has it are calling themselves The First Order nowadays. It really doesn't seem like evil ever completely goes away especially nowadays. My mother use to tell me stories about her old days fighting alongside the Rebel Alliance with Master Skywalker and my father. Even the days prior when she was active during the event that took place in the Battle of Scariff when Rebel spies stole plans from the first Death Star, which was then handed to my mother, and eventually reached Master Skywalker and my father, who aided in spelling the destruction of the super-weapon. She would tell more stories of how her and my father got to know each during the great conflict against the Empire and how my father was entangled with a nasty Hutt in the Outer Rim part of the galaxy, and how he got himself out with a little help. And I would hear how Master Skywalker played a role in fighting the Sith Lord Darth Vader while the Rebel Alliance had one last great space battle with the Empire to end the conflict. I would ask Master Skywalker from time to time about how he defeated Darth Vader and who he was, but whatever information he would impart to me was limited. He would never say anything more than how he was a tragic figure in the galaxy, a once noble and kind Jedi Knight who was twisted and corrupted by the Dark Side into becoming a Sith. Although ultimately Vader found the Light Side still in him in order to overcome his darkness and overthrow the Emperor in the end according to Master Skywalker. Still, I wanted to know more. I would never get anything else, though. My dreams of the figure with the snake-like face continue for the next four years.
When I'm 17 I am still considered the top student in Master Skywalker's Jedi academy. By this point in time I must admit that my friendship with Druane had deepened while a sort of rivalry had built up over the years between Gul Longstar and I. Sometimes he would best me in lightsaber combat and other times I would best him. Either way he grew to not like me very much but I think it was mostly just envy. Zholl was my other friend but unlike Druane and I, he was more in tuned with and interested in learning the ways of the Force. I wanted to learn more about the Force too…but I wanted to know about the Dark Side as well. My dreams continued. The snake-like being was trying to tell me something. Over the years his message became clearer to me. I think he was telling me to go somewhere. Perhaps somewhere I'm not supposed to go to. I contemplate telling Druane but I don't. Why don't I? Deep down I knew the answer to that question. It's because I'm trying to seek out the ways of the Dark Side. Master Skywalker would never allow it. I can't blame him. Meddling with the Dark Side is forbidden. Why should I be an exception? Deep down I knew the answer to that question too. It's because of my father Han Solo, as well as my mother Leia, are both failures as parents. They would send me holo messages every now and then but they never came once to visit me. I haven't seen them since I was 9-years old when they first dropped me off on this planet. That's 8 years. They are too busy fighting The First Order.
When I am 18 the visions presented in my dreams are more vivid than ever. The person with the snake-like face tells me to go to the forest that Master Skywalker forbids me from going to and it is there where I will "learn the truth." But what is this truth he speaks of? And why would Master Skywalker hide something from me if he didn't believe it to be important enough to tell me? My parents haven't been around for me much. Whenever I hear from my mother these days she tells me she has newly ranked herself as a General for the newly formed Resistance for the New Republic. My father went back to being a smuggler. I felt something was off. Someone wasn't telling me something. Either I have been lied to or I haven't been given a crucial piece of information relevant to my life. I started to sense something was not right even before the visions of the forest came to me, but I believed it now more than ever. What could it be, though? I had to find out for myself. Even if it meant it breaking Master Skywalker's wishes. So one night I snuck out of my sleeping quarters to find the forbidden forest on Ach-To.
I enter the forbidden forest and walk through it. Nothing out of the ordinary happens yet. I continue to walk. I flash my lightsaber out so I can see in the darkness. Suddenly I hear a voice.
"You haven't been told everything Ben Solo."
"Who said that?! Who's there?" I said.
A figure appears from the dark. He has the face of the snake-like person from my dreams. From that moment I realize, it's him. It has to be him.
"Who are you? I've seen you before…in my dreams."
"Yes, Ben I have been waiting for you. I am Snoke. I have summoned you here for a purpose."
"And what purpose might that be?"
"To tell you the truth that your parents, as well as Luke Skywalker, has hidden from you all of these years. The truth about your lineage in the Skywalker family. Your grandfather."
"My grandfather? What about him? Wasn't he a Jedi hero who died in the Clone Wars?"
"No Ben. Your father may have once been a great Jedi Knight who served in the Clone Wars, but his allegiance eventually turned to the Dark Side. Your father became known to the galaxy as the greatest Sith warrior that ever lived. Darth Vader. The same Sith that your uncle, Luke, confronted, and ultimately he died."
"No that can't be!"
"Search your feelings young one. You know it to be true!"
"But why! Why would Master Skywalker hide this knowledge from me!"
"It's because of he never he wanted to share the true strength of the Dark Side and how powerful his father, your grandfather, truly was."
"But you also said my grandfather died when dueling Master Skywalker! Does that mean he killed my grandfather?"
"No, at least not directly. Darth Vader was weakened from the fight and in his last muster of strength, he destroyed Emperor Palpatine, the last Sith Lord. All the energy he put ultimately took his life."
"So then if the Dark Side was truly so powerful why did my grandfather destroy the last Sith Lord which ever lived?"
"It's because Palpatine had become blinded by his own arrogance. He had put too much faith in the Empire and not enough caution on how powerful a Jedi Luke Skywalker had become. He should have considered that his own disciple, his feelings would have been compromised by his son, which inevitably spelled his destruction, as well as his own. When Luke came into the picture, everything changed. Darth Vader had softened and this ultimately led to Palpatine's downfall. But make no mistake. The Dark Side is just as strong as ever. If it weren't for Luke, your grandfather would have ruled for generations to come and would have eventually overthrown the Emperor. If he was strong enough he could have either defeated Luke or influenced him into the Dark Side. If that were to have passed, your destiny I'm certain would have been quite different right now."
Ben had a lot running through his mind at the moment. But one thing was sure now. What he had learned could not be unlearned. And that meant that it seemed as though it was only right for him to turn to the Dark Side.
"If I were to turn myself over to the Dark Side, what must I do to achieve my grandfather's aspirations?"
"You must train under me to become a Sith and ultimately destroy what Luke Skywalker has been building and destroy him as well. Only then can we take back what is rightfully ours that the Jedi have stolen from us. The Force will never be balanced so long as Luke Skywalker is training pupils to become Jedi Knights. The Jedi betrayed the Old Republic, and once it was the Jedi, Luke, who toppled over the Empire."
"But there is the New Republic now is there not?" said Ben.
"And the remains of the Empire, The First Order."
Ben thought to himself, "Snoke is right. The New Republic isn't worth anything. If they were so righteous why would there be remnants of the Empire still be fighting them today as The First Order?"
"I will join you, Supreme Leader."
"Very good my student. From now on your name is Kylo Ren. I will train you and then you will train Luke's Padawans into the Knights of Ren."
One year passes. I turn 19 years old. The Supreme Leader tells me I have come a long way in my training. He tells me I am ready to start bringing together the Knights of Ren.
By the time I finally present the Dark Side to the other Padawans one night when we sneak out of bed, some new 9, 10, and 11-year olds have started training under Luke. It was the perfect time to start bringing together the Knights of Ren as there were more students now, and fewer chances of us being noticed of doing something different. It didn't take much for me to convince Druane, Zholl, Coren, and Dalos. Gul, however, was not so easily convinced. He didn't want to join. The Supreme Leader ordered me to kill him. It was going to be tricky to take him out without noticeably killing him with a lightsaber, so the Supreme Leader instructed me on how to Force choke him. I had to act quickly since Gul was already trying to get back to Luke and tell him of the betrayal the same night I revealed the Dark Side to them. I had the other Padawans slow him down in his tracks by lightsaber fighting him along the way. I caught up to Gul and used a Force pull on him. Once I had a hold of him in the air I started to Force choke him. Gul suffocated until I took the life force out of him and his body dropped on the ground. We dragged his corpse back to the academy. The next morning we lied and told Luke that he died in his sleep from unknown causes.
I train the Knights of Ren over the next 4 years without Luke noticing anything. The time has come. I am now 23 years old. I debrief my knights about how we will attack Luke's Jedi Academy as well as his younger Padawans. We plan our attack for the evening of the next day. I sleep that night eagerly waiting the next day. Finally, the time comes and the evening rolls around. My knights and I get into our robes. We start attacking the other students, killing them off one by one. Luke, with startled emotions in his face, tries to fend us off but I counter back with my own knowledge of the Force.
Luke runs outside to try to escape into safety but I chase after him.
Luke, "What's made you turn over like this Ben?"
Kylo Ren, "I no longer go by that name and you are no longer my master. My name is Kylo Ren and my master is Supreme Leader Snoke!"
"Snoke? The Snoke?"
"You are familiar with him?"
"Through my studies of the Force and being a Jedi, yes. Ben, what has made you turn? What has he told you?!"
"He told me the truth Luke Skywalker! The truth about the Jedi, how they betrayed the Old Republic! And the truth about my grandfather, Anakin, he was Darth Vader, was he not?!"
Luke goes pale with a look of despair.
Luke, "Ben. Look I know you're angry with me and I'm sorry I never told you, but it was for the best! You must understand it was for the best!"
Kylo Ren, "Liar! You tell nothing but lies! Only true strength lies with the Dark Side!"
"Then why is that I defeated him and in his dying breath he turned back to the Light Side, Ben? And I'm the one still standing here today to tell the tale?"
"You used your Jedi mind trickery on him! You softened him! The great Darth Vader, you tricked him and brought about his downfall!"
"Then you're mad! But it's not too late Ben! You can still come back to the Light Side!"
"I will never come back to the Light Side!"
With that, I swing my newly constructed crossguard lightsaber at Luke Skywalker. He deflects my blow. We engage in a lightsaber duel.
We fight on and on. Sometimes Luke would say something, sometimes I would say something. At one point I gain the upper-hand on him, but then Luke throws me back with a Force push. I run up to him fiercely and swing my lightsaber, but he successfully deflects the strike and flips away on to higher ground.
Luke, "This is not really you Ben. Your mother and father would never have wanted this!"
Kylo Ren, "I have no mother and father! My parents were never there for me! They just planted me here for you to train me and cover up the truth from me!"
"You're delusional and you wanted to be trained!"
"But never with teachings that were complete! The ways of the Dark Side! The true nature of The Force!"
"You've become just as twisted as your grandfather!"
"You're the one who's twisted! The Supreme Leader is wise! You are the fool! You are the problem!"
Once I said that Luke called to a droid on a comm he had hidden in a pocket. In a rage, I try to use the Force on him but he deflects my blow. Not even a moment later a probe droid appears from the sky and grabs Luke with its legs.
Luke holds on to the legs of the probe droid as they fly away. I can do nothing but watch them as they disappear into the clouds. Luke Skywalker may have escaped this time but he has lost this battle. The Sith are returning and I will be the one to avenge my grandfather Darth Vader, for everything he started, I will finish.