[Short Stories] - Journal Of The ...

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STAR WARSThe PreserversBy Brendon J. WahlbergFor twenty-four millennia, the Whills have recorded the story of the Jedi and the Republic�until the rise of the oppressive Empire brought an end to their mission.Now the emerging civil war has forced the Whills to side with the newborn Rebel Alliance.But the vengeful Emperor Palpatine, seeking to extinguish the light of truth, has turned his malevolent attention towards the Journal of the Whills�From the Journal of the Whills:120 Life arose on a multitude of worlds and flourished, and life broughtforth the Force, an energy radiated by all living things. Even as livingbeings died, the Force they generated remained. And so the Forcegrew to become the living essence of the galaxy itself. Being a part ofthe great cycle of life, the Force had two aspects, creation anddestruction, each balanced against the other. And the Force came toknow itself.121 The time came when the energies of the Force had grown strongenough to be sensed by living beings. A Holy man named theSkywalker became aware of the Force. After much study, he came tosee in a new way, and his aura and his powers grew strong.The Force spoke to the Skywalker, and he came to know the life-givingaspect of the Force. And he named it the Ashla.122 But the life-taking aspect of the Force was quick to respond to the newthing that the Ashla had done. It, too, spoke to the Skywalker, and henamed it the Bogan. The Bogan desired the Skywalker as an agent tocommit evil and increase the energy of death in the galaxy. But theBogan had not yet learned the way of seduction, and it could only tryto compel the Skywalker to comply. The Skywalker fought the Boganmightily, and his strength prevailed.123 The Skywalker realized that if he taught others the way of the Ashla,some with lesser strength would come to know the Bogan and bringgreat suffering to the galaxy. He entrusted the secret of the Force onlyto his twelve children. The family of the Skywalker brought new life tothe people of his system, and many blessings came from them. Theybecame known as the Jedi Bendu of the Ashla, servants of the Force.The Skywalker joined with the leaders of many worlds to form the greatgovernment of the Republic. The Jedi Bendu became the guardians ofpeace and justice in the Republic.124 And when the Skywalker's work was done, and he had grown very old,he gathered his children, and his children's children to him, and heprophesied.125 The Skywalker said, The Force has been a secret among us, so that noone will use it to bring great pain to others. But one day, our story willbe told in full, and the Force will be known to all. The Republic willgrow very large, and our family will not be enough to provide Jedi Benduto safeguard all of it. The many races of the Republic will provideservants of the Force, and the Jedi Bendu will be numerous enough tooppose the servants of the Bogan where they arise.126 The Skywalker said, Your descendants will go out among the stars andfind a race of great wisdom, called the Whills. They will accept theirdestiny and follow the Jedi Bendu to this system, and dwell in the lightof the Ashlan Nebula. On the fourth planet, they will record our story.127 The Skywalker said, The Whills shall tell the story of the Jedi Bendu andthe Republic, which shall last for over a thousand generations. All theraces of the Republic shall share the story. It is their common heritage.The Whills shall be sustained by their task, but when the shadow of theBogan falls upon them, the Ashla will not desert them, and in the time ofgreatest despair, there shall come a savior, and he shall be known as theSon of the Suns.-The Journal of the Whills, Volume One, 3:120-127. Excerpted from the Testimony of the third son of the Skywalker."Reb, Reb, Reb," the Whill Master snuffled chidingly at the human student, "you must try harder to see the meaning behind my lessons with your spirit, not merely with your mind.""I'm not even sure what you want me to see, Master Resh," said Reb Zakai. "I look at the letters on the page, and that's all I find there. The scribe who made them was very good, but..." Reb trailed off.Resh placed one huge hand parentally on Reb's shoulder, sighing. "The Aurebesh is an ancient alphabet. It has been with us as long as the Journal...its letters have shaped the way we think. In turn, our thoughts have given life to the letters--life, identity, and meaning. They are more than just symbols or sounds. Take the letter Jenth, for example. It gives us the word Jedi, and in turn, it partakes of the mystery and dignity of that name. Its mystical opposite is the letter Senth, which gives us the word Sith.""The ancient enemy of the Jedi," said Reb, with his usual skepticism evident in his voice."Exactly," said Resh, pretending not to hear the doubt. "Even the name of the Aurebesh itself contains a fundamental mystery. The letter Aurek gives us the word Ashla, the good side of the Force as it was once called. But the letter Besh gives us the word Bogan, the evil side. In the word Aurebesh, both Aurek and Besh are combined--good and evil together. And so it is with the Force. There is a dark and a light side, but only one Force.""What about the letter Resh?" Reb asked. "There's no mystery attached to my name that's connected to the Force.""I wouldn't jump to conclusions," the Whill said. "The noble letter Resh gives me my name, and forms the beginning of yours. It also gives us the word Rebellion.""The Rebellion against the Empire?" asked Reb. "What's that got to do with the Force?"Resh sighed deeply. "If only it did. The Rebellion is small, and seems doomed to failure. It would need the Force on its side in order to have any chance at all. I know that the Jedi would have fought on the side of the Rebels, if they had not been destroyed."Reb was immediately troubled by the mention of the Emperor's Purge against the Jedi. Resh saw that he was still haunted by the loss of his parents during that conflict. "I'm sorry, Reb. I didn't mean to remind you of your parents." Reb nodded, but seemed to withdraw into himself. "Maybe that's enough instruction for today," said the Whill sympathetically. "You seem like you could use some time to think by yourself. For next time, though, just understand that what I was getting at, is that no matter what our work in life, it is somehow connected to the living energy of our galaxy--to the Force. And that includes scribes. Especially scribes working on the Journal. Where would we be, if not for the history of the Jedi, and the Force? It has been the meaning of our lives..." Resh trailed off, looking slightly pained. "The meaning of our lives..." Reb was silent, and after a while, the old Whill finished softly, "...but even without it, we still have to go on, to find a reason." Resh suddenly caught the young human's eye. "You understand, don't you, that your future doesn't have to be here? There's an enormous universe out there for you to discover. And it's full of mysteries. The Force still exists, even if the Jedi are gone. What I am saying is, if the end of the Jedi really does mean the waning of the Journal, it could be better for you if-""I'm happy where I am," Reb said, disturbed. "I don't have to go somewhere else, do I? I like being a scribe. I like living here at the monastery."Snout wrinkling slightly, Resh considered the young scribe. Gently, the Whill said, "You will always be welcome here, Reb. This is your home. All I am saying is, someday, you may want to go. It's like that with humans." Suddenly, Resh grimaced with pain. Reb stood up from the library table to give the Whill some room. "Is it another contraction?" he asked anxiously."Yes, that was a strong one," said Resh. "It's going to be soon, a week at most. The child will tell me when it is ready." A happy rumbling noise came from Resh's chest. "I'm looking forward to teaching the new Orenth to be a scribe. Old Master Orenth was quite a revered figure. This baby has its work cut out for it. I wonder what it will feel like to be a parent?""You'll do fine," said Reb, seeming to cheer up a little. "You did a fine job with me.""So," Resh snuffled, "you think you turned out fine, do you? That remains to be seen."Desima Derata watched the old Whill and the young human from her hidden vantage point behind one of the tall, deep library shelves. She liked to observe people before introducing herself; she didn't think of it as spying at all. She just liked to study people, that was all. So she watched attentively as the unusual pair conversed.She was very surprised to find another human at the monastery at all; when the pilgrims to Ashlan Three had dropped her off, the historian of the Jedi had thought she was alone among the Whills. This human seemed to live at the monastery, as he was obviously close to the old Whill, and he even dressed similarly, although in a decidedly smaller brown robe. He was stocky and of medium height. Desima thought he looked about eighteen. His round face topped by an orange-brown bowl haircut made him look young, but his serious demeanor offset that. Critically, she noted that he was a bit unsophisticated looking in his simple robe and worn satchel. But she liked his face with its blue eyes, small nose, and wide mouth. He looked sincere, like someone you could trust. Best of all, he seemed to be the student of the old Whill, and she respected that. Because she herself had come to Ashlan Four to study the Journal, she approved of anyone else who cared enough to do so in these times.Next, Desima considered the Whill. The Whills fascinated her--they were so odd looking,... [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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