A/N

This chapter goes deeper into the galactic history and deals with the "alternatives to fighting", offering bewildering new vistas to Luke on how to stand against evil. Yet they are not completely disconnected with the lessons he gained in his life as a Jedi. Special surprises for the fans of Rogue One. Enjoy!

The surrounding pinnacles, covered with golden-green grass and silvery-purple flowers, gleamed and scintillated under the play of light and shadow as the clouds passed with swift solemnity just a few dozen meters above. It was a breathtaking sight. The palatial mountain pass echoed with rhythmic breathing coming from Luke and the three men as they hiked briskly but with ease, since they walked on a stone-paved path made for convenience in the midst of wild beauty.

"A song of ascents?" Moses asked his hiking friends with a twinkle in his eye.

"Shall we?" Elijah and Enoch responded, to which they all smiled and began singing.

"I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the One, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over his people will neither slumber nor sleep. The One watches over you—the One is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The One will keep you from all harm—he will watch over your life; the One will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore."

The song was short but sweet. Luke liked the melodies, the harmony, and the blend of firmness and grace with which the men sang. It was like no other music he had heard. The lyrics sounded reassuring. He only wished he could fully believe it – that someone benevolent is watching over him. A swarm of unfamiliar crimson-winged birds passed over their heads, whistling and chirping happily. They reminded him of Artoo. The atmosphere was lighter. Elijah's humorous mention of the ducks while they were sitting near the funicular brought a welcome relief to a series of hard revelations. He heartily laughed at it. For a time, cheerfulness seemed to have replaced gravity. But his mind wasn't at rest.

"I just cannot fathom," Luke finally spoke, "that old Ben and Yoda were cooperating with the forces of evil."

"They have not," Moses answered quickly as they hiked.

Luke looked at him confused. "Well, didn't you just say that the Jedi were using powers bestowed by the ancient inimical spirits?"

"Yes, they did. And they did not."

"Oh, you remind me of Yoda," Luke moaned.

"Since the Jedi were striving for the principles of unselfishness and in that cooperating with the One," Moses said, "he had a right to intervene, lending them his power while they thought they were using their own power to control the Force. He thus prevented their continual connection with the forces of evil."

"Well, where is the problem then?!" Luke asked, encouraged.

"Think, son," Moses said.

Luke was thinking for a few moments as he walked the path, enjoying a light breeze, and then realized, "That's deception."

"Indeed. Not with a real desire to deceive, but still, not a true representation of reality. It could be justified only as an interim intervention before the Jedi are presented with the real truth." Moses looked into Luke's eyes as they hiked together. „You don't know how hard it was for the One to negotiate that last intervention in the wind vortex where you were caught in and saved by exercising Force Push."

"Yes," Luke recalled, "I did feel and hear something strange there. At first, when reaching out to the Force, I felt a dark presence eerily close by and I lost all power. But then a presence of light came to my side and it was as if it spoke."

"What words did you hear?" Enoch asked from behind, intrigued.

"Depart. He will know soon," Luke replied, "that is what I heard."

"And that is what is happening right now," Moses said. "The One is fulfilling the promise that you will know soon the true nature of the Force. Back there, when you were reaching out to use the Force, the One was contending with the Enemy to let you for the last time use the power of the One, thinking it is yours. The only alternative was to let you fall and die... or let you use the power of the Enemy, which almost happened and would have resulted in your captivity to his will."

Luke shivered under those revelations.

"Yes," Enoch said, "the end of this galaxy's history is coming quickly. Knowing he has little time left, the Enemy demands of the One to withdraw his power from the Jedi or, if they want to continue exercising supernatural powers, turn them over to him."

Luke began to face the reality. In the end, hasn't he already experienced it himself? He began to be thankful for losing connection with the Force. Or rather, with the inimical spirits. Yet he was fearful. How will he fight against the dark side now that he lost his Force powers?

"What should I do now? Should I fight only with my lightsaber?" Luke asked, breathing heavily as the path was becoming steeper. Answers immediately came to him in the form of more questions. "But what is a lightsaber fight without using the Force? And will the lightsaber function in the first place, since the kyber crystals are dependent on the Force?" A new wave of despondency began to settle into his heart.

"My friend, there are alternatives to fighting," Elijah came from behind and put an arm around Luke's shoulders as they continued ascending. "When people choose to solve problems with fighting, their own heads are often the first ones they cut off."

Luke was comforted by those words, as they connected to some previous lessons he gained from old Ben and Yoda. Maybe the teachings of the One weren't so far removed from theirs. "So you knew old Ben and Yoda," Luke concluded. "I see you like to quote them."

"Brother, we are just saying what the One impresses us to say," Elijah replied. "The One revealed only the most important points of your galactic and family history to us. We do not know all the details."

As they followed the winding path, a narrow entrance to the viewpoint was revealed.

"And we have just arrived to your galaxy," Moses added. "We never met old Ben and Yoda."

Getting closer and closer, they could discern a color different from the surrounding verdure. Sunlight seemed to radiate from the ground, reflected in a pale golden hue.

"I understand. But you could still meet them. They will surely appear to good guys like you," Luke said without much thought as they finally reached the viewpoint on the mount. A large viewing platform was cut out of the sand-colored rock, elsewhere hidden beneath the thick layer of fertile soil teeming with verdure and flowers.

The view was spectacular. The cliff was so steep that the sea seemed almost directly below the spot, only thousands of feet deeper. The eastern Gold Beach was now to the left, while rocky cliffs were underneath. Sparkling noon seas were even more enthralling from up here. And the peculiar acoustics of the mountain slopes made distant crashing waves sound much closer. They mingled with the howling of wind that rushed upward through the mountain passes. An exquisite waterfall, issuing from the top of the flower-filled mount above and behind them, provided a soothing counterpart. It cascaded gracefully all the way to the back of the viewing platform, disappearing beneath the ground only to reappear as a stream several hundreds of meters below, gently flowing down the slope to the southwest. Yes, this waterfall was a fountain of the stream that supplied much of the Riverlands. It was amazing that such a humble and unintimidating source could produce so many large rivers.

Finally, Elijah said, "I am sorry to interrupt our silent enjoyment of this natural grandeur, but think about that again, my friend," he paused. "About us meeting old Ben and Yoda."

Luke was at a loss for a few moments, still basking in his first encounter with the enchanting view from this mount. „Meeting old Ben and Yoda," he mumbled to himself as he gazed. Then a sudden realization stroke him. He gasped and looked at Elijah with an alarmed expression. "Oh no. The Force ghosts."

"Yes," Elijah replied, „and remember why us three, and not some other persons, are here."

Luke covered his mouth with a hand, disturbed as the ugly reality dawned upon him. He finally said, „So, after old Ben died, I wasn't really talking to him?"

The silence of the prophets, mingled with expressions of sympathy on their faces, was a sufficient answer.

"I've always wondered about that conversation with Obi-Wan's ghost on Dagobah," Luke said with an absent look. "If he was so wise and one with the Force, why did he not share my conviction that there was still good in my father? He insisted that he's more machine than man, and that I must kill him. He didn't see any other possibility."

"Now you know what kind of spirit has told you that." Enoch sighed slowly, appearing to remember something. "Yoda should have proclaimed of the dead Qui-Gon's voice the same he proclaimed of the Darth Bane's spirit – an illusion – and the error would have been prevented."

"That is so unfair." Luke felt disheartened. "Why does the Enemy have such freedom to deceive?"

"He is free to deceive only those who choose his principles," Enoch paused. "But in this galaxy, it was part of the deal to endow special supernatural powers to its settlers."

"It was a bad deal," Luke snapped.

"But the One has not let one sincere person pass to the control of the Enemy. You see on your own example to which lengths he goes to save," Moses said. "Without his unflinching devotion, you would have been destroyed."

"So the alternative to fighting – becoming a Force ghost – is a no go." Luke continued in his disheartened tone.

"Yes, but there is another, much more powerful alternative to fighting," Elijah said.

Luke was more than ready for a good news. "I hope you're right."

"Prayer," Elijah said with hope in his voice.

"Prayer?" Luke was doubtful. "Isn't that just a word from times past now used only in phrases like, 'Pray the weather is good,' or 'Pray I don't alter the deal any further?'"

"Far from it," Enoch said. "Some of the most important events in your galaxy were the result of prayer."

"How is that possible if no one in this galaxy believes in the One?"

"Remember," Moses answered, "for thousands of generations in this galaxy, there was always a minority which listened to his voice. On our planet, not all who call upon the name of the One are his followers. At the same time, many who outwardly worship someone else, follow the voice of the One. It is the same in your galaxy."

"We heard how a man named Chirrut Imwe," Elijah said, "was a mighty man of prayer in your galaxy, one who walked by faith instead of by sight. True, he used non-conversational repetitive prayers which showed he believed he was connecting to an impersonal Force, but his heart was sincere and sensitive to the voice of the One. He was a guardian of his will. Since he didn't have the chance to learn the entire truth, his reliance on the higher power out of a pure heart was awarded with mighty interventions by the One. Without him, the Death Star plans would not have been retrieved, and today, the galaxy would lie in utter darkness, without hope."

"There was another crucial prayer," Enoch added, "in that great endeavor to free the galaxy from tyranny. Rogue One would not have passed through the Shield Gate had Jyn Erso not sent a silent prayer for the entrance codes to be accepted. Yes, she believed she was asking the help of the Force but she too didn't have the chance to know the entire truth, and the One heard her prayer which came out of a pure heart."

"When the One calls them back on the day of the recollection of their dust and life," Elijah said with admiration, "they will have their place in the Beyond." He thought for a moment and said, "In your galaxy, just as on our planet, the One was always treated as an undesirable rogue, rejected by the majority of its settlers. In a galaxy of evil, the One must be a lonesome rebel." A smile of victory graced his face. "Yet a small band that followed his voice was enough for the One to accomplish mighty things, as on our planet, so in your galaxy."

Luke was unsure. "But they didn't just pray. They also fought – something Obi-Wan and you said had alternatives."

"Our people fought too," Moses answered. "The One operated within our limited understandings. It took us a long time to learn alternatives." He let out a chagrined sigh. "There were many misconceptions... Men treated women with disrespect. When the One came as a human, countered the women-demeaning customs and after his victory delegated the first missions to them, he was the first in centuries who pointed to their original position. So," he said, returning to the topic, "the early followers of the Way – of the One after he completed his mortal life and rose again – lived in an Empire very similar to your former Galactic Empire. Yet they did not fight it."

Enoch picked up the story. "They fully embraced the non-violent ways of the One and were mighty men of prayers. As a result, troopers, officers, and even the Imperial guards were often being converted to the Way. Of course, many of them were executed for it. But the more the Emperor tightened his grip, the more of his subjects slipped through his fingers. Throughout the Empire, people were being converted to the One in great numbers, despite the dangers it brought. All without using violence."

"Prayer was their only weapon," Elijah added, leaning on the enclosure of the viewing platform, his eyes observing the distant seas. „The hardest battles are won away from the eyes of the people, on your knees with the One."

"In the end," Moses continued the history, "the Emperor had to change tactics. He announced that he had also converted and he proclaimed their religion an official religion of the Empire. That was the beginning of a long age of deception in which only the persecuted Church in the Wilderness kept the true knowledge of the One. The official Church was ruled by... let us say, a succession of figures very similar to Palpatine. We had our version of Order 66," Moses halted. "But this is a story for another time." He glanced at Elijah.

"The most recent prayer," Elijah turned his eyes from the sea and fixed them on Luke, "was very close to you," he paused. "It was Ben."

Luke's eyes widened, not so much in surprise as in amazement that it really was what he thought it was – his nephew somehow helping him escape death.

"You would not be alive now if he hadn't prayed for you," Elijah vocalized Luke's feelings.

Overwhelmed by emotions, Luke sat on a nearby stone bench. After a minute of silence, he mumbled, "That is what it was. When he knelt with his hands clasped." He held his forehead in his palm, feeling his heart tighten. A tear escaped his eye. "Why did he do it?"

"He still has affection for you as your apprentice and nephew."

"No, why did he walk away after that?" Luke asked out of a broken heart.

Letting out a regretful sigh, Elijah answered, "He was afraid of the power he cannot control. The One inspired him to pray for you when the forces of darkness sought to end your existence, and his heart was soft enough to respond to his voice. But when he saw that it was solely the One who exercised power in saving you, without any of his own help, he became afraid. He didn't want to lose control."

"After speaking with us," Moses added, "he became uneasy about the inimical spirits too and now seeks to deceive himself that he is in charge while using their power. He told himself that we are the Sith, and that the Force is still impersonal. His heart is in great conflict."

Luke stood up and leaned on the enclosure of the platform. "What should I do?"

Elijah watched him with empathy. "I understand your feelings, brother," he paused, looking toward the city of Coronet in the distance. "I watched my people with its corrupted king go after abominable false gods devised by inimical spirits. I was often praying zealously, from the mountain I was living on, that the One would visit them, even with disasters if needed, to lead them back to the way of love and save their lives. Then I would lift up my eyes and see the degrading rituals taking place in the groves. It seemed hopeless. My heart ached beyond measure for them. But I persisted in prayer," he paused, looking into Luke's eyes with persuading confidence, "and it was answered mightily. The One will strive for Ben's heart much longer than you think."

Luke was comforted by these words of hope.

"Luke," Elijah said, "do not let the Enemy present Ben to you in a darker light than he really is at this time and tempt you to act rashly."

"And never," Moses added, "never try to eliminate his darkness in your own wisdom. That could have disastrous consequences which would further affirm him in his darkness. Remember how the One dealt with the Lightbearer. If he had slain him the moment he expressed his darkness, the universe would have been a much darker place today, with many more followers of evil and many more doubts among the followers of the One," he paused. "Pray, rely on, and follow only the plans of the One. He has an infinitely larger view of the events than we have."