A/N

So I finally managed to continue this story. Inspiration wasn't coming since summer, but that ended up being for good, since now it connects better to the characters and their storylines after I watched TLJ. I was really surprised how it all fell into place. I look forward to your feedback. Enjoy!

Luke was descending. Painfully. His injured thigh was bandaged and bleeding prevented, but he could feel the internal turmoil of all the swollen, strained and even cut fasciae, tendons, and ligaments. All from one chunk, chopped off from the rock that ought to have killed him.

His life was saved. But it seemed everything else was lost.

He reached for a comlink. Yes, that, too, was lost. Probably dropped off while he was caught in a wind vortex. He grunted as the pain throbbed his thigh for sliding over the scattered pebbles. Such missteps were now painfully punished.

That reminded him why the descent was his least favorite part of hiking. In his youth, he used every opportunity he had to wander over Tatooine's rocky ridges. He always felt there was something purifying and exhilarating in the solitude of conquering higher ground. But he had to admit, Corellia was much fairer.

The view was stretching down the slope covered with pines gently dancing on a wind, and went further over the silky plains whose tall sunlit grass swayed like the hair of a most graceful krahbu. Finally, it ended with the glimmering golden beaches, contrasted with the azure sea whose dark waves were ornamented by platinum linings, interrupted only by the long shadows of Coronet's highest skyscrapers. The air was crystal clear. That is why he could see so many details far away.

But that brought Luke to reality. He must get to the city dozens of kilometers away and he doesn't have a speeder bike anymore. He doesn't even have two healthy legs. Soon, he won't have daylight either. And with its numerous feline predators – razor cats, dire-cats, gurrcats and jaggalors – Corellian wilderness was not the best place for a blood-scented human to spend a night in.

He descended and descended and descended. The mountain seemed infinite. His spirit sank. Lower and lower. The sun has set, and darkness began to stretch over the landscape. He began to hear predators greeting the night's coming. They were far away, but not less chilling for that. With the Force not obeying him anymore, what was there to hope for? His injury was pulsating with increasing pain. He could barely walk, let alone fight. Fully armed Mandalorian war hero Tor Vizsla was eaten by a blood-smelling dire-cat. Will he meet the same destiny? Will this be his end?

After several hours, he made his last steps on the mountain and finally set his foot on the plain. But, far from giving him a sense of accomplishment that hiking usually gives when a speeder is waiting at the foothill, it just reminded him that the largest part of the journey is still before him. He wished he could descend even further, just go down into the black abyss of oblivion. It seemed to him that it would have been better had he never existed in the first place. His whole life seemed like a bad joke the Force had played upon him. He could almost hear it laugh.

Never in his whole life had he felt so helpless and betrayed. No, not even then, hanging from the Cloud City of Bespin, his hand chopped off and his mind aching from the revelation that his father was the arch-villain, while his own Master withheld that truth from him. Back there, he still had the Force. He could call out to his sister with it. But now, the Force was close not to help but to taunt and mock.

As his excruciating steps and ruminations continued, Luke felt he threaded the farthest depths of the valley of despair.

Then a tiny ray of light swiped through his forehead. It was a thought. If the Force does not obey you, it doesn't mean it obeys no one?

Luke halted for a moment to interpret it. Yes. Though I cannot use the Force, someone else could be led by it to come and help me. This was a tiny ray of hope. But it was enough to keep him going.

Then he heard a long growl that sent shivers down his spine. And worse. After it, he heard heavy thumps becoming louder and louder, going his way. Finally, a figure emerged from the bushes. It was not a dire-cat. Or any other feline predator. But that didn't help. It was a razor hound. Its sharp canine teeth almost glittered under the dim turquoise light of the moon Gus Treta. It was not called razor hound without reason.

So, this creature is what you have brought to me? He was about to utter a cynically thankful farewell to the Force as he anticipated a deadly jump. Instead, he heard a startled cry followed by panicked whimpers as the hound turned and ran away as fast as he could, yelping and sniveling on his way.

Luke turned around to see what horror scared this predator away. And he saw it. Three eerie hooded shadows standing beside him. They looked humanoid. Luke was terrified. If the razor hound could be so scared off by them, he should be petrified.

"Do not fear," an elderly voice spoke, extending a hand. Luke was petrified. Yet something in that voice betrayed a non-malevolent nature. Still, Luke was not moving. Finally, another of the three figures turned on a glow rod, shedding dim golden light onto their faces. "Please, let us help you," he entreated calmly.

What was there to lose, Luke thought. He is on a death row, and it's a matter of hours if not minutes when it will come, whatever predator will administer it. And even if all the ferocious beasts would leave him alone, he would not make it to the city before collapsing from pain and then dying from thirst and hunger. No, there isn't any sense in rejecting this offer of help.

Luke languidly extended his hand, and the man lifted him up, the other two helping to carry him a couple of meters before laying him on the back of some big animal. Whether it was a krahbu, a sharnaff, or a carrion spat, he couldn't tell, because it was so nicely saddled. And Luke found it hard to make himself stay awake. "Good, I would have hated to die so depressed," he half-ranted, eyes closing. Somehow he felt secure, for a first time in this long day, and as he let this feeling soothe him, he soon lost all consciousness.

There was peace in the Coronet city. The buildings have developed even higher, yet they did not eclipse the sunlight above nor the shining sea below. Their design was blended with the nature to let the light pass through those immense cubic kilometers of transparisteel. The natural environment itself was faultlessly taken care of. Every unsustainable facility was removed centuries ago. The Jedi Temple was installed on the top of the central building. It seemed almost superfluous, as every block of the city could have been considered a Jedi Temple – there were thousands of Jedi on the city streets, terraces and balconies.

The Dark Jedi, the Sith, the Empire, the Knights of Ren, the First Order – all of them were almost forgotten. That's how far back in history they were. Now was a time of the Jedi – and even more than that. Decades passed since they broke the Barrier and shared the gift of the Force with others. Now every person in the galaxy could wield it if they wanted to. The final boundary between the Force-wielders and those who were not was erased. Everyone had the power – here, as well as on every other planet.

The whole galaxy looked like a highly developed paradise. Its worlds and its people were shining. Possibilities were constantly expanding. Yet something was missing. Everything looked beautiful. Everything looked promising. But it felt like a surface shell. Something was hollow about the apparent happiness of the galaxy. There was an abyss in its heart – in every heart. This abyss was not a threat from the Sith or any other dark side entity. It was emptiness. An aching emptiness. And no one could tell what should fill that universal vacuum. A passing Jedi approached Luke, its smiling face about to dissipate under the pull of a terrible void behind the pretending mask, so abysmal that Luke screamed from the bottom of his horrified soul.

That woke him up.

He was breathing heavily. The darkness of the night was impenetrable. All the moons had set. Yet this tenebrous environment felt strangely refreshing after the blinding shine of the hollow galaxy from a paradise-looking nightmare. He was still on the back of an animal. It was trotting evenly in the silence. A moment after, he heard strange verses half-whispered by one of the three men that were riding alongside.

"Indeed the One speaks once, Or twice, yet no one notices it. In a dream, a vision of the night, When sound sleep falls on men, Then he opens the ears of men, And seals their instruction, That he may turn man aside from his conduct, And keep man from pride; He keeps back his soul from the pit, And his life from passing over into Sheol."

The man paused and said, "Rest. You are safe."

Though Luke was not little confused with both the dream and the verses, he was still too feeble to invest his mental powers in reflection. And as before, he intuitively trusted the figures taking care of him. Hoping he would fall into dreamless sleep, he closed his eyes. Comfortable lull soon took him back.

"You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways."

Those were the words that woke Luke up. They were sung. He looked around. He was laying on a golden beach, calm blue sea before him, majestic mountain slope behind him as the early morning sun was rising over its peaks, lighting the tame-looking clouds from beneath. The view to the right presented a miles-long beach, still devoid of people, while the view to the left was partially blocked by four graceful krahbus drinking water. The song continued.

"You have hedged me behind and before, And laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?"

Luke sat up to look. It was sung by a grey-bearded man standing on the shore, some dozen meters in the front. He was accompanied by a brown-haired man plucking on a Hapan lute and a white-bearded man playing an Ewok reed flute. Funny bunch.

"If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there your hand shall lead me, And your right hand shall hold me. If I say, 'Surely the darkness shall fall on me,' Even the night shall be light about me; Indeed, the darkness shall not hide from you, But the night shines as the day; The darkness and the light are both alike to you."

Luke reached for his thigh. It didn't hurt anymore. There was a fresh bandage and it was not soaked in blood. He got up, curious to see those strange men up close. As he came to their side, they suddenly stopped the song.

"We didn't mean to wake you up," the brown man said.

"Excuse our fervor. We are joyous to be on this mission and had to express our thanks in song," the grey man added.

"No, no. Don't worry. I feel good, it was time to wake up," Luke said, inhaling the freshness of the morning air. "What mission?"

"To bring the light to this galaxy, of course," the white man responded in a solemn but cheerful way and then showed him to a stretched blanket some meters away. "Please, let us eat." He pointed to a large plate full of diverse fruits, nuts, and unleavened bread. "We are very glad you are well and rested. But you need nourishment."

All four of them sat down on the blanket. Suddenly, the brown man lifted his hands towards the sky and said, "Our dearest friend and creator, you who are in the highest and reach the lowest, even though our eyes do not see you now, we thank you for the blessed fruit of this planet. May it restore the health of your dear child Luke. Amen," he finished, while the other two repeated that unfamiliar last word. Then all began to eat.

"It is unusual after so many ages of conversing face to face," the brown man said.

"Yes," the grey man agreed, "it brings to remembrance many hard-fought battles."

Luke was listening to the conversation without a clue of what they were talking about.

"Please, let us not exclude brother Luke," the white man said.

"It's alright," Luke said before he took a bite from a fleshy muja fruit.

The brown man looked like he was about to speak. He seemed both excited and restrained. "It has been awhile since we used our old names, but..." he hesitated as he looked over to his friends who calmly gestured that he should just do it. "I am Enoch, son of Jared."

"I am Moses, son of Amram," the white man followed.

"And I am Elijah the Tishbite," the gray man said with a slight bow of his head.

Luke nodded, mouth full of bread. "I like the small dried fruit in it," he said while chewing.

Moses smiled gently. "I like those, too."

Luke stuffed a fist of nuts in his mouth. He was hungry and this fruity meal was unusually satisfying. There were several moments of silence. It was not awkward. It was a shared time of silent enjoyment. Sea was filling the air with a gentle perfume of salty vapor. Sun was peeping in and out of the clouds with its fresh light. The men inhaled the beauty of it all as they ate.

"Thank you for helping me," Luke finally said.

"Thanks be to the One," Moses responded.

"Anyway," Luke began casually, "what did you do to scare the razor hound so terribly?"

"Nothing," Enoch said.

"Hey, your hooded figures were scary in the dark, but I bet that kind of stuff doesn't scare the predators away." He was eating voraciously.

"Indeed it does not," Elijah said.

"Then what was it?" Luke insisted.

"Nothing from our part. We don't know exactly. But the One did something as we trusted in him."

Luke thought for a moment and asked, "Is that the same One you were talking to right now before eating?"

Moses nodded. "He is."

There was a slight expression of disappointment on Luke's face. Those people seemed nice, but this talking to the One thing savored too much of primitive religion. He knew better. Those kinds of notions were superseded by the superior knowledge of the impersonal Force.

Suddenly, Luke's face was darkened with remembrance. He stopped chewing for a moment, finally swallowed and said, "Excuse me." He got up and went hastily several dozen meters away along the shore. He sat down beside the sea, his legs crossed. He reached out. There it was. The Force was right there. But wholly unresponsive to his attempts to wield it.

So, it was not a bad dream.

He was devastated. All the events of the day before filled his mind again, and it crushed him so intensely that it seemed he could not stand again. Just a minute ago, he felt as a teacher with superior knowledge. Now he was back to the role of an intimidated pupil on his first day of school. He looked towards the three mysterious men. They were eating in silence. That thought came again. Thought that he has nothing to lose and nowhere to look. They were the ones who saved him. What if the Force has led them to him? He got himself together, walked back and sat beside them. "Alright, I'm ready."

"For what are you ready, son?" Moses asked.

"To understand what is happening. To learn from you."

"We are not aspiring to be your masters – if that is what you think."

"Yes, whatever you say. Just explain to me what's happening."

"No, it is not whatever we say. If you want to learn, the first lesson to learn is that you should set your mind to learn from the One, not from us or any other created being."

"Yes, he is not far from any of us," Enoch added. "Be attentive to his voice."

"And I bet I should clear my mind of all questions," Luke quoted the words of his old master cynically.

"No," Elijah responded, to Luke's surprise. "The One does not require blind submission. He wants to quench our thirst for true knowledge and help us find the right answers to questions that trouble us. But everything in its time," he paused. "Often, the time of waiting for the answer is as important as the answer itself, for through it we become changed and prepared for the answer."

"So I am foolish to expect any answers from you today?" Luke sighed and looked toward the sea, arms around his legs as he sat on the sand.

"No, dear brother," Elijah answered, "you will hear new things today, so many and so mighty that you will almost be unable to bear them. Yet there is much more to come in the times ahead of you."

"Let us arise," Moses said, while his two companions followed, beginning a stroll on the beach with Luke.

Sensing anew the benevolence of the three strangers, Luke began his journey of inquiry. "Who are you?"

The sun was now shining above the clouds, and a light breeze began to ripple the surface of the sea, providing a refreshing balance to the rising temperature. As the three men began to expound their life stories and experiences with the One on their home planet in a galaxy far, far away, Luke was quickly drawn into their world and their realities, apparently so different to his own, yet in a strange way similar.

Luke listened to the turbulent history of their people who often failed to adequately represent the One to whom they owned existence as a nation. Luke listened how, notwithstanding their enmity and wickedness, the One dealt graciously with them and saw the potential for good in them when they seemed darkest. Luke listened how the One repeatedly sent prophets to his stubborn nation in order to turn them from the path of destruction, learning that Enoch, Moses and Elijah were among them. Luke learned that their ascension to the Beyond was exceptional, while normally all rest, awaiting the recollection of their dust on the last day. Luke listened how the prophecies were given to various prophets announcing the coming of the One in human flesh and were fulfilled centuries later. He was astonished to hear how the One left his exalted position and put aside his powers in order to befriend the human race in the most intimate way, yet was rejected and killed by his own creation.

Hours passed by.

Then the three men began to expound the forces that lay behind the antagonistic behavior of the human race toward the One. Luke learned about the most exalted angelic being called the Lightbearer, who stood at the right hand of the One and had the most profound knowledge of his love and goodness. He served as his highest ambassador of light to innumerable worlds. He was like a brother to the One. Yet there came a day when he began to admire himself and grow dissatisfied that he is not the first one. Though no other being except the One – who created all there is – was exalted higher, this was not enough for the Lightbearer. He coveted homage that belonged only to the One who created all there is. Thus was prepared the way for the First Accusation.

A banshee bird shrieked from the distant mountain slopes.

The Lightbearer began his campaign to slight the character of the One. With patient sophistry, he circulated the idea that the One was selfish and that his law of love was a device to enslave the angelic beings and limit their power. But he clothed that accusation with such smooth language and reasoning that it appeared he endeavored to improve the law of the One and the stability of his government. And when the angelic beings, infected by his dissatisfaction, expressed it as their own, he presented that as a proof that changes have to be made, and that he will do it to reconcile the disaffected angelic beings with the One. He presented himself as a liberator and promised true freedom, equality and a higher plane of existence to all who followed him. A third of the angelic beings were deceived through his inception and gave way to self-exaltation and jealousy that began rising in their own hearts; as they were giving up their light, in its absence began to arise its strangely new, empty counterpart – darkness.

Luke was captivated.

He learned how the Lightbearer was given multiple chances to return to his exalted ministry with the One. He saw once again his gracious, selfless and now even forgiving character. He almost fell to his knees in shame for his arrogance and worshipped the One out of spontaneous love. But he fought this impulse. He recalled that he has already successfully deceived a third of angelic beings and flattered himself with the hope that he could indeed succeed in his cause to rise above the One. The Lightbearer departed forever from his post at the right hand of the One and, now known as the Enemy, formed the Inimical Army of angelic beings he deceived. An open war began in the capital of the blissful Beyond. Loyal angelic beings readily stood to defend the honor of the One they knew and loved, and – just recently friends – angelic stars began to war against each other. There were clashes of fiery swords throughout the blissful realm of the Beyond.

A kid ran right in between Luke and the strangers, following his hover-ball, to which the three men smiled gently and continued the story.

Though the One could have vanquished the existence of the Enemy and the whole Inimical Army in an instant exercise of his omnipotent power, such course would not vanquish the lies about his character and his law of love, now broadcast throughout the universe. Swift destruction would have only instilled fear. And the One does not take pleasure in forced obedience but only in the loyalty that springs out of appreciation of His character. Time was needed for the Enemy to reveal his true self and condemn himself by his own actions before the whole universe. Yet the prolonged war was not permitted to disturb the peace of the Beyond, where the feelings of the majority of its citizens were decidedly with the One, notwithstanding troubling questions that arose in their minds since the Accusation. Thus has the One cast all the inimical angelic beings out of the Beyond and gave opportunity to their leader – just recently his closest associate among the created beings, now his arch enemy – to prove that his government without the law of love is a more desirable order.

Tourists and beachgoers began to arrive at the beach, at times interrupting the conversation. But the story continued.

Luke listened how the Enemy roamed the universe, tempting the representatives of myriad planetary governments to join him, but was repeatedly rejected. Finally, he found a planet whose representatives forfeited loyalty to the One in exchange for a promise that they will become like gods. After defection, the planetary government was transferred to the Enemy. His army of ancient inimical spirits descended on the planet and the war against the One that began in the Beyond continued on this planet, bringing decay, suffering, and death to the formerly perfect creation. Luke learned this was a home planet of the three visitors.

More hours passed by as Luke walked by the sea, listening to the stories of his strange deliverers. He was fascinated as he imbibed the vision of another world but was also becoming increasingly annoyed by the noisy tourists and beachgoers who now thronged the sandy golden shore. He proposed to take a repulsor funicular and ascend up the mountain where there are fewer people and more silence. The visitors agreed.

Luke found an available roofless funicular and reached into his pockets to pay for the ride but didn't have any credits. Smiling kindly, Elijah drew out a few credits and gave them to a Besalisk rent seller. Immediately after embarking, the funicular began its long but quick journey up.