Six - The Fallen
It began as a whisper, as these things often do, spoken in hushed tones in shadows and night. The Empire had risen, but a resistance had already began; spread though the galaxy, small pockets of opposition were rising. It began with only a couple and then a handful, growing and growing until dozens of units of fighters existed, toiling to topple the Sith. At the heart of all these units were Jedi. Found by one with an open hand that pulled them out of the shadows they had retreated into. Once again the Jedi were warriors, but now they were fighting for themselves as much as for the innocent.
The growth of freedom fighters infuriated the Emperor. The continued presence of the Jedi mocked all that he had accomplished and yet he could not stop the resistance. For every rebel he found, two more seemed to take their place and with every rebel success, others began to hope: individuals, communities and even whole planets began to shake off the hold of the Empire and know that they, too, would one day be free.
The Emperor could only find whispers of a man who found those Jedi in exile and stirred them to action. A man rumoured to be a Jedi, the last to wear the cream tunics and dark cloak for all to see and who wielded a blue lightsaber as deftly as any war veteran. But none knew his name. The whispers would not speak it and none had been able to identify him from the old Jedi temple records.
This Jedi was a mystery.
This Jedi was becoming a Legend.
It stirred the fury in Sidious, but in Vader something else awoke. It was not his old master, he would know if this man was he, and it was not Yoda, as everyone would have known the iconic master's form too well. It was not Windu or any of the other Council members and if any of them had survived, there was still, no sign. No, this Jedi was humanoid, average height, average build, fair skinned and auburn haired. Still young with grey eyes full of wisdom and years. Vader did not remember such a knight, but something of Anakin Skywalker stirred in his soul. The Light of a boy lost to Darkness began to emerge in memory of another young man. The memory took Darth Vader back to a time of innocence, when the dream of being a Jedi had just began, when no Darkness dwelled in his heart and he found that Anakin Skywalker was not dead after all.
It began as a whisper, the resistance to the Darkness, and it grew in the galaxy and within the soul of a Sith lord not yet wholly fallen. It grew with the legend of a lone Jedi walking in the shadowed places, seeking out the lost and bringing them into the light. It flourished as hope was rekindled and maybe all those that had survived would be saved. Anakin Skywalker held the name of that Jedi close to his flickering Light, buried deep, hidden from his Dark master, knowing that one day soon, that Jedi would come for him and he would recognise the Light once more and the Sith would fall. Anakin, huddled within, remembered the name Obi-Wan Kenobi.