Gandalf was hardly two hours out of Imladris when the strange presence in his mind became steadily stronger. It had been there ever since his conversation with Elrond, but he had paid no heed. He tried to ignore it and ride on, but it was not easily dismissed. The wizard dismounted and let his horse graze for a while on the roadside ferns as he walked to a rise in the road where he could see the stars through the trees. His eyes focused on the bright pinpoints of light until his eyes went out of focus completely, and truly opened.
Obi-Wan was lost. A dense fog permeated the area around him, which seemed as open and as desolate as space, but not as dark. He walked and walked until his legs gave out beneath him. He opened his senses, but the raw power of the Force was overwhelming. Obi-Wan could not cut himself off from hit, nor did he want to. He felt one with the force; he was no longer afraid. But where was he?
Then, finally, he found he wasn't alone. An echo rang out into the void, questioning, "Who are you? What is it you want?" Obi-Wan searched for the direction of the source but could not find it.
He answered, "I do not know where I am! Who are you? Why am I here?"
"You came into my mind." The disgruntled voice said, suddenly louder, clearer, and much more near, "I think it is you who should be answering the questions, not asking them, young man." Obi-Wan felt sharp jab between his shoulder blades, with what he assumed was a stick. Before he turned around, he thought for an instant that it might be Master Yoda. He was always poking or gesturing with that cane of his, but when he did turn, he came face to face with a humanoid old man with a long beard. His eyebrows seemed to stick out beyond the brim of his very large hat, and his eyes sparkled with both wisdom and wit. He held a tall, gnarled staff with which he poked Obi-Wan again in the shoulder. "I came into your mind?" Kenobi pondered.
The Visions! Obi wondered to himself, but this is not the man I saw in the Volcano. Perhaps… the second vision. The one the first man was speaking to in the second vision. His voice is the same. The details of the vision came slowly back to him. It had felt as if the man had been speaking to Obi-Wan. Could he have been seeing through the eyes of this old man?
"Forgive me," the padawan said finally with a short bow- it didn't hurt to be polite, especially if he was being accused of mind-intrusion, "I am afraid I had no control. Your mind must have opened to me during my vision, which came unbidden- like the first." He explained.
The wizard snorted and proceeded to walk a circle around the apprentice. "You are very young to be having visions. But even so, what did you see, the first time?" the old man put his face inches from Obi-Wan's. He could see the sheer power and knowledge in his eyes. He was not someone to be trifled with.
"Two men, standing on a precipice inside a volcano. One shouted at the other, 'Destroy it'. The other…."
Obi-Wan was interrupted by a silencing move of the old man's hand and a snort. "Enough. I know what you saw, though its importance looks lost on you young man. I must enlighten you. One of the men you saw was Isildur son of Elendil, a king of Men. The other was Elrond Half-Elven, herald of Gil-Galad, the High King of the Noldor who was slain on the slopes of that very mountain. That very event is the reason why our world now stands in jeopardy. What Isildur refused to destroy was the One Ring of Power, forged by the Dark Lord Sauron, whom Isildur had killed moments earlier. But in this Ring, Sauron's spirit survived. Even now, the Ring endures, thus, Sauron still exists."
Obi-Wan was stunned. There was an urgency in the old man's voice that made Obi-Wan feel their very conversation was a hindrance to the man. "And you? Do you search for this Ring? Am I delaying your search?"
Gandalf was intrigued by the boy's intuition. "How perceptive of you. Before I took my time to talk to you I was on my way south to put my doubts to rest. And this second vision you speak of?"
The phrase called the vision to mind, and he found clarity while remembering it. "I saw the same man, Elrond, you called him? I believe he was speaking to you about your very journey. And you spoke as well."
"The conversation you speak of happened only hours before hand." Gandalf said soberly. He was surprised. Was this boy was having visions of current events? "Who are you young man? Where do you come from?" he asked, more intrigued and curious now than annoyed.
"I am Obi-Wan Kenobi, padawan to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. My home is the Jedi Temple on Coruscant."
None of the words the boy spoke held any meaning for Gandalf. "Coruscant? In which kingdom is that? I have been to the far corners of this Middle Earth, and I have never heard of a place by that name. And what are these Jedi?"
"Coruscant isn't in a Kingdom, per say, but it is part of the Republic, which is made up of hundreds of different star systems. It is where the senate meets. The Jedi Order attempts to keep peace and establish justice wherever there is violence or pain. We are warriors and counselors, knights and negotiators." He explained hastily, "Is Middle Earth the name of your planet?" Obi-Wan asked and followed behind the old man who had turned to pace while he listened to Obi-Wan.
"Star systems!" Gandalf exclaimed. "You mean to say you come from the very stars themselves?"
"Well, more like planets within those systems, but…"
Gandalf wasn't listening. His mind was a buzz with ideas. A young Knight from the stars who fights for justice! Could it be that the Valar have not entirely left us to ourselves? Would they let a ray of hope shine down from the stars once more?
Obi-Wan watched the strange old man's pace quicken and his brow furrowed like a newly poughed field. He didn't seem to be listening at all. "Now wait…" he began just as a familiar voice called out his name. "Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan! Can you hear me? Wake up padawan!"
Master? Obi-Wan's attentioned focused outwards, and the fog began to thicken around him, and all began to darken.
"It looks like our conversation has come to a close young Obi-Wan." The old man's voice, now very cheerful, was the only thing that penetrated the mists.
"Wait! Where are you? I didn't even learn your name!" Obi-Wan cried out. A whisper echoed in his mind just as he slipped back into the waking world; "I am Gandalf the Grey, of the Istari. Come to Arda, to Middle Earth, child of the stars, it is our hour of need…"
Qui-Gon sat in a chair pulled close beside his padawan's bed in the Healing Ward of the Jedi Temple. The boy had laid quiet for the entire time, and his face was calm. The Jedi Master stroked his bearded chin thoughtfully. Obi-Wan had been through some difficult situations durring his apprenticeship, but had always pulled through. Qui-Gon felt no reason to worry. But he was puzzled; these new visions had to mean something, but what? He sensed his student was coming back into consciousness. Qui-Gon took Obi-Wan's hand in his own two and squeezed firmly. "Obi-Wan! Obi-Wan! Can you here me? Wake up padawan!" he called softly.
"Wait! Where are you… I didn't even learn your name!" the patient murmurred, and EU-2O4 stopped by his bed. "Is there anything you require Ma…" the medi-droid fell silent as the Jedi waved him away.
Obi-Wan's eyes opened slowly, but he shut them almost immediately against the painful light. "Master?"
"I am here. You gave all the medi-droids quite a scare padawan, they could find nothing physically wrong with you, but could not find the reason for why you fell unconscious. It 'did not compute', or something to that effect." Qui-Gon chuckled and grabbed a cup, already filled with water, from the stand next to the bed, and helped Obi to drink.
After he had wet his throat, Obi-Wan laid back on his pillow to think. Qui-Gon waited in silence for a few moments. "Is your mind clear now Padawan?" he asked.
"Yes Master."
"What did you see?"
"At first, another vision. Then all was dark. But when the darkness dissipated, there was a grey void, filled with a dense fog. I think now that this was a plane of thought within his mind." Obi-Wan explained.
Qui-Gon's brow furrowed, "Who's mind?"
"Gandalf the Grey, of the Istari. He lives on a planet called Arda. We had an… interesting conversation."
"And what did this conversation yeild?"
"An explanation – for the visions I've had. I think that I accidentaly intruded upon Gandalf's thoughts, and entered into his mind." He admitted.
Qui-Gon took a moment to consider all he had heard. This was no simple matter, and he could sense that many things still lay hidden from both of them. "The Council should hear of this. Can you stand?"
Obi-Wan raised himself on his elbows into a sitting position. The sudden rush of blood from his head was most disagreeable. "Not too fast. You have been in that position for some time." He nodded wearily and swung his legs over the side of the bed slowly.
"I'll be fine, it's not a big deal." He stood and stretched his back. "Shall we go to the Council Chamber?"
"If you are ready Obi-Wan. I feel that the meaning of these visions is much more complicated than we first thought."