Epilogue
After twenty-four and a half thousand years, Arden Lyn was finally coming under the grasp of Death itself. As her spirit fluttered from her body, she was immediately greeted by the spirits of Depa Billaba, Paris Zaarin, and her father Awdrysta Pina. By this time, she had already found out that Xendor was still trapped in the Netherworld of Chaos and wondered if it was for the best. After all, even though he had apologized for hurting her, he never made peace with himself before he died.
Those who did not make peace with their sins before their death were generally doomed to suffer the consequences upon their deaths and there were no exceptions. However, Arden had to admit that she wondered why she was here rather than in Chaos as she expected. "You made peace with yourself before you died and gained passage to the World of Ashla as a result," Pina explained. "But what about my daughter, surely someone will watch over her?" she asked.
"Not to worry, you will be allowed to see her every now and then as well as watch her grow into the powerful warrior she will one day become," Paris assured her. "How do either of you know that?" she inquired. "Before you and I were born, Arden, there was a prophecy uttered that there would be a woman born of both Bogan and Ashla who would stand forever alone in the nexus between them. This isn't the near-equally ancient prophecy of the Chosen but an older prophecy where a child born from a wielder of darkness and raised by Jedi will have the power to wield both near-infinitely.
"Your daughter will be raised by Jedi and was born of a woman who wielded the Dark Side. The baptism of the Prophets only affected her mentality and enhanced her maturity by a few years. She'll need it for the difficult road that is to come ahead as a result of her burdensome destiny," Pina said. So Kadann did something good with that baptism and it wasn't just a useless waste of time and energy Arden thought with a smile.
As she thought this, she continued to watch from the Gateway to Ashla as Luke rescued her daughter and left her in the care of his sister as he had promised he would before ending Arden's life. Way to go Skywalker, you've gained my trust and you are the only one alive who can say that though I am dead and can't share that with you yet Arden said to herself. However, when Cassandra awoke from being unconscious and cried for her mother, Arden really desired to be there. Nevertheless, she appreciated the man called Han Solo comforting her on her behalf and slowly turned away from the last view she would have of her daughter for quite some time.
"Arden, are you ready to enter the Gardens of Ashla with me?" Paris asked. "Yes, sorry: I just had to see our little girl one last time," she answered. "I don't blame you but the road ahead of her will necessitate our temporary return to the land of the living. Dead and trapped in Chaos as he is, something tells me Xendor may yet have a part to play in her life for good or ill before she dies," he stated.
"What are you talking about?" Arden asked. "Though firmly sealed there, the seals around him are beginning to break. It is only a matter of time before they crumble altogether," Paris answered. Though she didn't like the sound of that, she did like that she had broken the curse and that her daughter was safe from harm. On that mostly-positive note, Arden Lyn finally ended her long life.
A/N: Hey guys, thanks for patiently waiting for this installment of the Arden Lyn Chronicles. To date, this is the saddest thing that I have ever had to write and I am glad that I can say I can write a tragedy. Anyhow, I'd like to commemorate my partner Diego for having the initial dream that began as Vengeance From The Unknown and evolved into this. It is my hope that he has enjoyed what I have written based on his ideas as his name certifies his involvement in its birth plus, I would like to thank username Echo2 for his contributions first as the anonymous user Revanachist then as his present username. His reviews of ours stories have each been cherished to the highest degree as far as I'm concerned; if you like these stories as he surely does, please add me to your alerts for further updates and check out Diego's stuff as Forcystus5.
I promise you will not be disappointed by any of it. This is Christopher Cleveland a.k.a. TenkaiNankobo101 signing off.