Hi guys, big ol' author's note here at the top. First off, thanks for dropping by I hope you enjoy; I'll try and keep to a publishing schedule of every other Thursday. This Obi-Wan is just a few months removed from the events of the first season of the Kenobi series, and the Hyrule we go to is about two years post Breath of the Wild. I started writing this before TotK was announced properly so there are no floating islands or other things from the sequel… yet. Hope you guys enjoy! – S.
I
A Sad Man in a Sand Land
Looking back on life, I see many things to regret… Satine, whose loss left a crater-sized hole in my heart, the loss of my master, Qui-Gon, my dear mentor who if he had just fought harder might have survived to train…him, my blindness to the Dark Side throughout the Clone Wars, my soldiers, who he had fought beside me nearly every day, whose blasters trained on me were meant… bred to kill me… but none haunt my dreams more than the loss of my padawan, my friend, my brother, Anakin, to the vile darkness of Darth Vader. There was none I let down more than Anakin, the young boy from Tatooine, strong, and determined, intelligent and resourceful twisted beyond recognition by the Dark Side. But all these losses, all these regrets have led to right here, this point, this boy, the son of Skywalker, the boy who knew nothing of war and the darkness it oozed. No, he just sat there, tinkering with a speeder. This boy with the power to carry the legacy of the Jedi, no, with the ability to make the Jedi more than they were, to bring light to the galaxy. This boy was perhaps even the hope to end the Empire.
Obi-Wan mused on these things nearly every night, increasingly so since his recent battle with Darth Vader, the face of his friend staring back at him, twisted, and maligned beyond his comprehension, infused with machine and hate, lost in the Dark Side. But that boy he met on Tatooine still somewhere deep in there, he had to be, after all why would Obi-Wan leave him alive yet again, alive to still terrorize the galaxy if not for the hope his former friend still existed deep within the visage of Vader. Yoda always said that attachments lead to the Dark Side, but he never said who it would lead to the Dark Side, Maul, Vader, the Empire, all around Obi-Wan his attachments had allowed the Dark Side to flourish, allowed his life to become a nightmare of itself. Nightmares, however, gave way to dreams of hope. A new invigoration as his life had renewed through rescuing the young Leia had filled his life with a joy, a joy he wasn't aware he still possessed. There was still goodness, there was still life, there was still hope. Now, rather than slaving away at a pointless job to maintain appearances, he had rededicated himself to the force, and to the young boy he was sworn to protect, and in such, the training of his old master, training to transcend death and maintain his body in the living force that he might instruct the future Jedi away from the mistakes committed in the fall of the Republic.
Tatooine is a harsh place but "Old Ben", as he is known now, had made the best of it. A small home in the dune sea served him well enough, a bed, and a few personal belongings dotted the room that took up most of the hut. Most days have become a pretty set regiment, wake-up, meditate, train his body, check-in on the Lar's homestead and Luke's safety, then in the evenings, train with the spirit of Qui-Gon. It was a good routine, but Tatooine had a habit of making even the most exciting tasks boring, and Jedi meditation was rarely exciting. But here at this point in his life, this stable regiment was peaceful. "Jedi are keepers of the peace" Qui-Gon's, and nearly every other masters' words echoed in his mind. Keepers of the peace. Did I ever know what that truly meant. So much of my life has been war and chaos, fighting, running, leading, what life was that for a Jedi. But here in his later years the old Jedi was finally beginning to understand what peace truly was, to be one with the Force and have it be one with him. Though the Empire had risen, and freedom fighters sprung up across the galaxy, though Hutts and gangsters still ruled on Tatooine, no such chaos had found its way on or around the Lars homestead, at least not since that incident with Reva, and for that Obi-Wan was grateful, here on this small patch of desert, here was some semblance of peace in a galaxy wearied by war.
"Obi-Wan, you seem troubled old friend." The spirit of Qui-Gon always had a knack for showing up at his most troubled times, at least ever since he was able to make contact with the apparition of his former master.
Peace, within myself was still a long way off it seemed. "It's nothing master, just considering what future this galaxy holds for the boy. I worry you know, what he'll be like. He's compassionate right now, but so was Anakin at that age. Training will take my mind off of it."
"As you wish, Obi-Wan. Now, focus, center yourself in the galaxy. If you wish to join the living force, you must be able to always sense your surroundings. Where are you Obi-Wan?"
Obi-Wan closed his eyes and focused, first on his small hut, then on what lied beyond its walls, binary Suns, beginning to set, a scorching desert all around him, dead to the naked eye, but within the Force, even the harsh desert teemed with life. "I am in my house on Tatooine, master, within the Jundland Wastes. A desert planet in the Outer Rim of the galaxy."
"And what do you feel, my padawan."
"Life, master, there is life everywhere. Life in the boards of my house, creatures throughout the desert. A Jawa scamming another man of his supplies, a Tusken sits beside the fire to tell stories…" somewhere a shriek pierced Obi-Wan's mind. "Anakin! Master there is trouble nearby I felt it!" unconsciously his lightsaber had slipped into his hand.
"Peace, Obi-Wan, I sense no danger nearby, and trust me old friend, I would know if there was. You are strong my friend, perhaps you reached further than you expected to. With the Empire, trouble lurks nearly everywhere in the galaxy."
"But if he is causing harm, I must find a way to stop him, even if I do not go myself."
"You still hold too much guilt within yourself, Obi-Wan. You do not even know if it is him who caused your vision, the force surrounds everything, and in this meditation you will begin to hear all manner of things. Do not forget it was I that discovered the boy and brought him before the council. It was I who made you swear that you would train him, though you were no older than a padawan yourself. If anyone is to blame it is myself, even still, none of the most powerful and wise Jedi could see where the boy's journey would take him. None of us knew what loomed on the horizon. No Obi-Wan, you did the best you could, you raised him as best you could, and you loved him as only you could, none are truly to blame my young padawan, the living force has a way of working itself out anyways. Do not give up hope my friend, for that and the force are your greatest allies." The old Jedi's spectral form shimmered a bit. "Perhaps we have trained enough for today, I will see you again tomorrow Obi-Wan, may the force be with you."
"Thank you master, you are still wise beyond your years" maybe even more so now that he had spent so many years as part of the living force. "Until tomorrow, may the force be with you."
With that Oi-Wan was alone once more in his hovel of a home, just himself and his thoughts that still dwelled on a time that he could no longer go back to. With the twin suns setting on the horizon, Obi-Wan thought it best to rest as well.
Sleep was hardly ever restful for Obi-Wan anymore, waking up in cold sweats throughout the night, the flashes of the Clone Wars still fresh in his mind. The sound of metallic feet marching, the voices of a million identical men all shouting, the look of respect Cody wore anytime he entered the fray. War came almost too natural to Obi-Wan, and he abhorred that idea. Still even the more pleasant dreams often gave rise to nightmares, eventually, and none more seared into his mind than that of his former protégés charred form yelling for him, cursing the name he once loved, wishes for his death. Oh, how I have failed him. This night was little different the sound of battle crowd around him, clones… no, not clones, citizens maybe, yelling around him, of course he must be remembering a siege he took part in, the war was always the worst in heavily populated areas. The screech of droids as they pressed forward… wait droids didn't screech. Even in his dreams Obi-Wan could still feel the memory of the force, the feeling of his memory jumping from rooftops, of slamming into a B2 with supernatural force, but reaching out he felt nothing come to his unconscious call. Bolting up, Obi-Wan realized why this dream felt so real, he wasn't dreaming of a battle… he was in one himself.
