Definitions of Destiny: Chapter 20
Title: Definitions of Destiny
Author: Caryn B
Fandom: Star Wars (film canon only - see notes)
Timeline: 6 months after RotJ
Pairing: Luke/Han, slash
Rating: NC-17 overall; this chapter PG-13
Warnings: None
The list of chapters is here
Chapter 20
"What prophecy?" Han asked.
It was a concept that Han struggled with, particularly if it had any connection to the old Jedi order. Prophecies, along with a belief that destiny determined the course of someone's life, were likely to tie in to a future that would take Luke away from him. But then others had tried to define Luke's destiny to Luke in the past and had failed badly. The Emperor had been a notable example.
Tiriss-elain focussed on Han. "You don't believe in prophecies?"
Han shrugged. "People can twist anything to fit if they talk 'emselves into it."
Tiriss-elain nodded. "A prophecy can become self-fulfilling simply by the actions of those who believe it to be inescapable."
"Or those who try to change things in order to avoid it," Luke added.
Han got up from the stone bench, torn between wanting to listen and wanting to block off a conversation that looked likely to lead to nowhere but a dead end. If it was all going to come down to a decision based on the implications of ignoring some ancient prediction, then he'd lost before he'd had a chance to start. There was no logic to counteract that kind of theory. He paced across the width of the cavern and half-way back again, stopping beside the semi-concealed entrance to the final cave. He could feel the chill air from here. It brushed against his thigh and made him shiver.
"Is the prophecy shown in the last carving?" Luke asked.
"The Jedi believed it was."
"What about the Sith?" The slightest hint of challenge in Luke's voice caught Han's attention. He looked on curiously, wondering what had prompted it.
Tiriss-elain didn't answer immediately. She gazed away towards the far end of the cave, seemingly deep in thought.
"We don't know for certain what form the Eellayin association with the Sith took," she said at last. "But it seems clear to me - as it did to our Jedi visitors - that these predictions stemmed from a use of the Force that was not quite as it should have been."
"So the Sith came to Polis Massa?"
Again, she hesitated. "I feel sure they must have. How else could the Eellayin have learned how to see the future with such accuracy?"
"But Perek-tain knew nothing about the Sith links. I startled her when I mentioned it - though obviously I didn't know for sure," Luke explained. "I know very little about the Sith myself."
Although careful to avoid any tone of accusation, the inference of Luke's remark was clear. It also gave Han an explanation for that trace of confrontation. Tiriss-elain had been aware of the links to the Sith, but it looked as though she'd withheld that information from her colleagues. If so, it was an act that went far beyond the omission of minor details.
Tiriss-elain nodded, and her next words confirmed that she'd understood what Luke was really asking. "You're wondering how our research can be valid if we leave out facts that don't appeal to us."
"No... I mean, you must have a good reason for that. And this is just a small part of the Eellayin history anyway," Luke said. "But-"
"You're curious as to why I kept it to myself, and I don't blame you. The reasons are complicated, but primarily it was because the Jedi wished it that way. I promised them not to allude to the Sith connection."
She shifted awkwardly on the hard bench, but whether it was due to the lack of physical comfort or to something less tangible wasn't clear. "It's a promise I've kept - even after I thought there were no more Jedi. Obviously, when I learned about your visit and talked to Perek-tain, I realized the time for openness had arrived."
"Why did the Jedi want you to keep quiet?" Han asked.
Tiriss-elain looked over to him. "The Jedi feared the Dark Side of the Force. It's been a guiding influence on the Jedi way of life for thousands of years. To study these carvings in full, it's necessary to gain some understanding of the nature of the Dark Side, and that was a route the Jedi refused to take. And nor did they want anyone else to take it - the ability to foresee the future would be a huge temptation for some."
"But they did study the carvings," Luke said.
"Yes, but you can study something and at the same time never really see it. It's true that the cave held a particular fascination for the Jedi."
"'Cause it shows what happens if you make the wrong decisions?" Han asked.
"In part, that was certainly the case. Recognizing the reasons for the dictates of their Code was important to them. But it was the prophecy that drew them in. Paradoxically, it was also the prophecy that gave rise to their caution. If they studied the ways of the Sith to comprehend how it came about then they would be close to adopting Sith practices as their own, thus guaranteeing the cycle of destruction would remain unbroken."
Han rubbed a hand across his face, confusion taking equal place alongside frustration. "Is someone gonna explain this properly to me, 'cause I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. If it was a Sith prophecy, why would the Jedi want to make it happen?"
"Because it predicts the end of the Sith," Luke said.
Han frowned. "Why would the Sith record that?"
"Don't forget - we're talking about Eellayin carvings here," Tiriss-elain pointed out. "These were not created by the Sith themselves, but by those who adhered to an aspect of Sith teachings. But destiny is a strange thing, if you believe in it. The Sith appeared to, but it wouldn't have stopped them from trying to avert the prophecy, presuming they knew about it. It's strange to think that the Sith would've shunned the prophecy, just as the Jedi espoused it, even though it stemmed from Dark Side use of the Force."
"Because it worked in their favor," Luke said. "If the Jedi wanted to believe in something, the end of the Sith is an obvious choice."
"Yes, but the prophecy isn't specifically about that," Tiriss-elain said. "I've been studying these carvings for over a hundred years, and Jedi have visited these caverns for many centuries before that. The first visitors believed the Sith were already extinct. It's only in the last few decades that the Sith re-emerged."
Luke frowned. "But the carving shows the death of a Sith Lord. The Jedi must've assumed it was referring to the future if they treated it as prophecy. Didn't it prove that the Sith were still around?"
"That's looking at it with hindsight. If you saw this panel in ignorance of recent events, would you think you were looking at a scene from Jedi life or from Sith life?"
"I don't know," Luke admitted. "There's no sense of evil there, like in the other panels. But it comes at the end of a cycle of what must be Sith masters and apprentices, so it makes sense that it follows on. But I suppose it was impossible to have known what it was showing before the events occurred."
"Wait a minute." Han pulled away from the archway and looked at Tiriss-elain. "You said that Luke's looking at it with hindsight. The prophecy's actually happened?"
"Haven't you seen the panel?" Tiriss-elain asked him, surprise in her voice.
"I've only just got here. Luke was gonna show me just before you arrived."
"Then I think you should see it before I say any more, or nothing will make any sense to you."
Han didn't bother to state the obvious - namely that nothing was making any sense anyway. The only thing Tiriss-elain had succeeded in doing so far was reinforcing Han's notion that the Jedi of the past had placed too much credence on arcane theories and not enough emphasis on what had actually been going on around them.
He walked back over to the bench and offered a hand to Tiriss-elain. The elderly Polis Massan hauled herself up with agonizing slowness, one long-fingered hand wrapped around Han's wrist, and the other on Luke's upper arm. She felt light, almost insubstantial, compared to the weight of an average human and, this close to her, Han could see the lines of age etched on her thickened skin.
"I apologize for the poor air quality here," she said, as they reached the cave entrance. "You've probably guessed that it's partly deliberate."
"Keep everyone out, huh?" Han asked. He concentrated on keeping his breathing level, feeling the slight burn in his chest and the odd dizziness he'd experienced before.
The candle Luke had lit earlier was still burning, stealing a share of the cave's oxygen, but proving there was at least some circulation taking place. Luke walked over to it and picked it up, sending dancing shadows across the rocky surfaces.
The final panel proved to be to the side of the entrance, and Han realized why he'd not noticed it before. It was set down lower than the other panels, presumably by intent. They gathered in front of it, both he and Luke needing to crouch down to study it properly. Luke held the candle up to the carving, staying silent so that Han could read the images for himself.
It was the contrast to the other carvings that struck Han first. It had an air of peace about it, and something like celebration. It wasn't the right word for it though, because that brought to mind triumph, and there was no sense of that in the face of the Jedi depicted. It showed death and victory, just as the other carvings did, but it felt to Han as though it symbolized something much more extensive than the defeat of an enemy. He could see how it could easily be read to represent the extinction of the Sith, but he was certain there was more to it than that.
He twisted round, holding his hand out for the candle that Luke still held. Then he passed the flame slowly in front of the chiseled face, and let the light illuminate the detail of the items held in the outstretched hands. There were two of them, almost identical in decoration but for one individual marking on each and a lack of symmetry in the toothed top edges. He studied them for a moment or two longer, before pulling back a little to see the whole scene. The twin suns, so worn that they'd almost blended into the natural rock surface, were the last thing he noticed.
He pivoted slowly around to stare at Luke, feeling the shock of recognition change to a wash of feeling that swept across his whole body. It was a strange sensation, because it should have felt impossible to feel both understanding and a total lack of comprehension at the same time. He stayed that way, holding Luke's gaze, until Tiriss-elain broke the silence.
"Towards the end of the Republic the Jedi accepted that the Sith were still in existence. They fell back on their original interpretation of the prophecy - that the means of its enactment was the elimination of the Sith. Before that, it had become little more than a quaint story."
"Can you tell us everything you know about it now?" Luke asked.
Tiriss-elain nodded, and pointed to the candle flame. Its blue heart had begun to spread upwards under the smothering mantle of poor air. "It's time to move out of here. The three of us together, it's too much..."
She didn't need to finish, and it was relief to move back once more into the larger cavern. The three of them stood for a while, acclimatizing, and letting the warmth seep back into their bodies.
They made their way to the stone bench again, now strangely luxurious after the discomforts of the cave. Tiriss-elain wound her fingers around Luke's arm and eased herself down onto it, leaning her head back against the cave wall. Han wondered how old she was, and how much longer she might live.
"The Eellayin civilization stretches back thousands of years - back to the days when this field of spinning rocks was once a true planet. All we have are fragments. Remnants of a past life. I cannot say, and the Jedi couldn't say, if the prophecy originated here, or whether this is but one representation of it. I do know that the Jedi have been drawn to this world for millennia." She glanced at Luke. "And still they're coming back."
"For a different reason," Luke said. "I had no idea..."
Luke's words tailed off, and Han studied him. Luke had said several times that he believed there was more to his assignment than Senator Danu was acknowledging. For someone once so close to the old Jedi Council, was it possible that Danu had known of the prophecy?
"According to the Jedi, there were two threads that wove together to form the prophecy," Tiriss-elain explained. "An ancient story, its origins lost long ago, was one of them. The story foretold of a time of great darkness in the galaxy, and an ending to all the freedoms that we value so highly. But from that time there would also emerge a redeemer, who would bring an end to the darkness."
Tiriss-elain looked again at Luke. "Of course, the Jedi believed that the legend was referring to a final confrontation between the Jedi and the Sith, each upholding opposing sides of the Force. But there are other, more literal ways, to portray the ending of darkness. What could be more symbolic for a bringer of light than an association with the sun? And the ancient legend referred to the Son of the Suns. It's easy to see why the Jedi adopted the story as their own."
She paused for a moment as though gathering her thoughts, and Han exchanged a swift look with Luke. Tiriss-elain had stated that it was time for openness, but how far Luke would choose to take that was another matter. The words that Tiriss-elain had spoken just after meeting them implied that Luke had already made a more specific comment about the carving. There are things you've understood about it that I never knew...
"What was the other thread?" Luke asked. Han could hear the subtle tension underpinning Luke's question, and knew that a similar feeling was running through his own body. He moved his shoulders, easing the tightness that probably wouldn't disappear completely until he knew just where he stood. And where Luke stood.
"The Jedi were aware that an imbalance existed in the Force, and the future and stability of the galaxy were at stake if that disparity was not redressed. The prophecy tells of one who would restore balance to the Force."
Tiriss-elain seemed to catch Han's eye, and Han wondered if something showed on his face. The Polis Massan's words had recalled his last conversation with Leia, and the strange sensation of imbalance she'd referred to - ...feels likes something's out of step. Sort of... unbalanced... And it had a connection to Luke, and to the Force...
"The Jedi visitors referred to the Chosen One," Tiriss-elain continued. "They believed the carving depicted the final act needed to bring balance back, and they interpreted that to mean the extermination of the Sith. The strong parallels the carving has to aspects of the ancient story of the Son of the Suns are obvious. That, together with the Eellayin ability to foretell events, strengthened the Jedi's insistence that the panel showed a genuine prophecy."
She struggled to rise, and Han stood up quickly in order to help. Luke already had a hand under her elbow, and Han watched as he lifted Tiriss-elain up from the bench. She hobbled across to one of the carved panels that adorned the side of the cave and ran her fingers across the smooth edges. It showed another world and a different species, neither of which were familiar to Han.
"Of course, we think they're all prophecies, in a way. Every carving in every cave. Even those we don't yet understand, like this one." She gestured to the panel beside her. "But arriving at the correct meaning of a symbol is difficult if those who created it are no longer around to ask. All we have are opinions, and the Jedi didn't get it right."
"You mean they misinterpreted it?" Luke asked.
Tiriss-elain turned to look at him, leaving one hand held against the carving. It may have been simply for balance, but it looked to Han as though she was drawing comfort from the touch.
"Towards the end of their time, the Jedi believed they'd found the one the Prophecy speaks of. I had a visitor, over thirty-five years or so back. A Jedi. He was grieving - almost wrenched apart by it and fighting an inner battle with himself to conquer those feelings. They contradicted the Code, you see. He wanted to see the Cave of the Prophecy for himself. The reason he gave me was that he was trying to honor a promise he'd made, and which might ensure that the prophecy ran its proper course. But I could see that he was conflicted. Unsure not only of the course he should be taking, but of the consequences of his promise."
She stroked the palm of her hand down the stone, almost as if she could feel the presence of those who'd generated the visions that lined the walls. "The Jedi had found a child. A slave. Extraordinarily strong in the Force, and the circumstances of his birth as mysterious as any myth could ever recount. They found him in world with two suns and took him away with them. They called him the Chosen One."
The Polis Massan turned her head to look back at the wall, tracing a fingerpad along the outline of a strange, winged creature that formed part of the sculpture. She kept her back to Han and Luke as she spoke. "But their Chosen One failed to fulfill the prophecy, and the one who'd kept that promise believed the prophecy was a trick, plotted to lead to the fall of the Jedi and the triumph of the Sith. And at the time, I wondered if he was right. I never saw him again after that. In time, I learned that all the Jedi had died and that it was the Sith who returned balance to the Force by turning on themselves. Destiny proving itself once more to be inescapable - one Sith destroying another, as it's always been, but in doing so destroying himself. It was a Sith prophecy all along."
Tiriss-elain pulled away from the wall and looked hard at Luke. "But now you're here, and you tell a different story."
Luke stared back at her. "What I told Perek-tain was true. Darth Vader did kill the Emperor, but he killed him as a Jedi, not as a Sith."
Luke sought Han's eyes, and Han understood that it was no longer possible to keep the full story concealed. Not here in these caves, where something in the atmosphere seemed to demand the truth.
"Not all the Jedi died during the purge," Luke continued. "One of the survivors joined the Emperor. He'd trained as a Jedi, but something happened to make him change. He took on a new identity and became Darth Vader. His Jedi side never fully disappeared, and it was that part of him that killed the Emperor."
"This Jedi... Do you know where he came from?"
"Not originally. But he spent his childhood on a planet called Tatooine. It's a desert world in the Outer Rim. A world with two suns."
It was a long moment before Tiriss-elain spoke. "Then the prophecy was true. The Jedi were right all along. It was about destroying the Sith."
The feeling that had crept up on Han when he'd crouched in front of the ancient carving had strengthened as Tiriss-elain spoke. He was certain that there was more to the prophecy than a straightforward victory of good over evil. It was too straightforward. Too cut-and-dried to feel right. It also struck him how bizarre it was that he was standing in this cave puzzling over the complexities of ancient Jedi philosophy, and failing to see the logic of the prophecy as seen from the Jedi point of view. It was a long way from his area of expertise, but something remained that they needed to consider, and it was all to do with the issue of balance.
He started slowly, trying to organize his thoughts in a way that might uncover the underlying cause of his uncertainty. "I'm just wondering why the Jedi thought that restoring balance to the Force meant destroying the Sith. I mean, I can see why they wanted to get rid of 'em..."
Tiriss-elain turned her attention to Han. "I'm sure the answer to that was clear to the Jedi. I'm not so sure it's clear to me," she admitted.
"The way I see it," Han carried on, "is if you have two sides standing for opposite things, and one of them destroys the other, you're not gonna end up with a balanced view of anything. There's gotta be a way to meet in the middle."
Tiriss-elain nodded slowly. "I also wonder why the Jedi felt the Force was out of balance during the time they believed the Sith to be extinct."
"Because it was," Luke said. "I think they could feel the imbalance, but they didn't know why it was there. They'd moved so far to the side of good that they'd isolated themselves from everything at the heart of the Force. It's like Han said - there was no meeting in the middle. But there has to be, otherwise there are just extremes with nothing in between. When the Sith re-emerged and the Jedi had found their chosen one, it was too late for them. They couldn't recognize what'd happened to them and they associated the imbalance with the Sith, even though it was just as much their own actions that'd contributed to it. I don't think they understood that the prophecy predicted their own end too."
"So it foresaw an end to the Sith and the Jedi?"
"Because they both represented extremes," Luke said. "If one or other gained total control, there couldn't be any balance."
"And neither side understood that," Tiriss-elain mused. "However much each side tried to use or manipulate the prophecy, it would never have been fulfilled while they practiced absolutes of behavior. The Chosen One was destined to restore balance by wiping the slate clean, so to speak."
"I still don't think that's the whole story," Han said. He fielded the others' quizzical looks with a brief shrug. "You're talking about getting rid of things to bring balance, but what about what takes its place?"
He glanced over at Luke to find Luke's eyes on him. But if Han had expected to see wariness on Luke's face, or even skepticism, he found neither. Instead, Luke's expression revealed that barely-disguised aura of happiness that Han had noted earlier on. It wasn't that it was blatant, and it had more to do with what Han would describe as peacefulness than jubilation, but it had chased away Luke's former, troubled misgivings. And the look Luke returned Han signified full acceptance of whatever Han wanted to reveal.
That was the whole crux of the matter, because as far as Han was concerned, the full significance of the prophecy was too obvious to dismiss. The only reason Tiriss-elain hadn't seen it was because she wasn't in full possession of the facts.
"Those objects in Vader's hands..." he started.
Tiriss-elain inclined her head. "The ekuila. The Eellayin symbol for new life. In the manner of its depiction we have the very nature of the prophecy. I believe the sculptor split the ekuila into two perfect halves in order to symbolize the balance that the Chosen One delivers. A new beginning, but one in harmony with the Force."
"The ekuila stands for new life?"
"Yes. The Eellayin used that symbol regularly, but normally it's associated with birth in a physical sense. The Jedi assumed it implied a metaphorical rebirth of the Force - the balance if you like. But because of what I've learned from Luke, there might be a parallel interpretation. This rebirth may also refer to the experience of Darth Vader - even though he died he was, in a sense, reborn as a Jedi first."
"But what if it meant actual birth?" Han asked.
"A child? But that would've been impossible."
"Not impossible," Luke said. "It may have been forbidden."
Tiriss-elain nodded. "Such an explanation never occurred to the Jedi, which goes some way in explaining how committed they were to their Code."
"The Code was broken," Luke said, and Han was amazed at how calm he sounded. "It was broken twenty-five years ago by a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker."
A notable stillness fell over Tiriss-elain, and she studied Luke with her unfathomable, dark eyes for several long moments.
"Anakin Skywalker." She repeated the name slowly. "And you...?" Tiriss-elain put a hand up to her face, covering it for a moment as though trying to disguise emotions that neither Han nor Luke could see.
When she lowered her hand, her eyes fastened again on Luke's face. "Dear gods, it's you. The ekuila symbolizes you. You're Darth Vader's son."
Luke nodded, staying silent.
"Then... the prophecy..."
"Predicted that Anakin Skywalker would bring balance to the Force," Han said. "And he did. He brought Luke."
Tiriss-elain still hadn't taken her eyes off Luke. When she spoke, it was so quietly that it was almost a whisper. "You're the balance. In you, the Force is once again as it should be."
Luke caught and held Han's gaze, and Han knew that Luke had decided to take this as far as he could. He also knew why. Secrecy and subterfuge came with a price, and Luke had been paying it for too long already. He grinned back at Luke, waiting for him to add the final piece of the puzzle.
"I'm not the only one," Luke said. "Just like the ekuila, I'm one half of a whole."
chapter 21
Author: Caryn B
Fandom: Star Wars (film canon only - see notes)
Timeline: 6 months after RotJ
Pairing: Luke/Han, slash
Rating: NC-17 overall; this chapter PG-13
Warnings: None
The list of chapters is here
Chapter 20
"What prophecy?" Han asked.
It was a concept that Han struggled with, particularly if it had any connection to the old Jedi order. Prophecies, along with a belief that destiny determined the course of someone's life, were likely to tie in to a future that would take Luke away from him. But then others had tried to define Luke's destiny to Luke in the past and had failed badly. The Emperor had been a notable example.
Tiriss-elain focussed on Han. "You don't believe in prophecies?"
Han shrugged. "People can twist anything to fit if they talk 'emselves into it."
Tiriss-elain nodded. "A prophecy can become self-fulfilling simply by the actions of those who believe it to be inescapable."
"Or those who try to change things in order to avoid it," Luke added.
Han got up from the stone bench, torn between wanting to listen and wanting to block off a conversation that looked likely to lead to nowhere but a dead end. If it was all going to come down to a decision based on the implications of ignoring some ancient prediction, then he'd lost before he'd had a chance to start. There was no logic to counteract that kind of theory. He paced across the width of the cavern and half-way back again, stopping beside the semi-concealed entrance to the final cave. He could feel the chill air from here. It brushed against his thigh and made him shiver.
"Is the prophecy shown in the last carving?" Luke asked.
"The Jedi believed it was."
"What about the Sith?" The slightest hint of challenge in Luke's voice caught Han's attention. He looked on curiously, wondering what had prompted it.
Tiriss-elain didn't answer immediately. She gazed away towards the far end of the cave, seemingly deep in thought.
"We don't know for certain what form the Eellayin association with the Sith took," she said at last. "But it seems clear to me - as it did to our Jedi visitors - that these predictions stemmed from a use of the Force that was not quite as it should have been."
"So the Sith came to Polis Massa?"
Again, she hesitated. "I feel sure they must have. How else could the Eellayin have learned how to see the future with such accuracy?"
"But Perek-tain knew nothing about the Sith links. I startled her when I mentioned it - though obviously I didn't know for sure," Luke explained. "I know very little about the Sith myself."
Although careful to avoid any tone of accusation, the inference of Luke's remark was clear. It also gave Han an explanation for that trace of confrontation. Tiriss-elain had been aware of the links to the Sith, but it looked as though she'd withheld that information from her colleagues. If so, it was an act that went far beyond the omission of minor details.
Tiriss-elain nodded, and her next words confirmed that she'd understood what Luke was really asking. "You're wondering how our research can be valid if we leave out facts that don't appeal to us."
"No... I mean, you must have a good reason for that. And this is just a small part of the Eellayin history anyway," Luke said. "But-"
"You're curious as to why I kept it to myself, and I don't blame you. The reasons are complicated, but primarily it was because the Jedi wished it that way. I promised them not to allude to the Sith connection."
She shifted awkwardly on the hard bench, but whether it was due to the lack of physical comfort or to something less tangible wasn't clear. "It's a promise I've kept - even after I thought there were no more Jedi. Obviously, when I learned about your visit and talked to Perek-tain, I realized the time for openness had arrived."
"Why did the Jedi want you to keep quiet?" Han asked.
Tiriss-elain looked over to him. "The Jedi feared the Dark Side of the Force. It's been a guiding influence on the Jedi way of life for thousands of years. To study these carvings in full, it's necessary to gain some understanding of the nature of the Dark Side, and that was a route the Jedi refused to take. And nor did they want anyone else to take it - the ability to foresee the future would be a huge temptation for some."
"But they did study the carvings," Luke said.
"Yes, but you can study something and at the same time never really see it. It's true that the cave held a particular fascination for the Jedi."
"'Cause it shows what happens if you make the wrong decisions?" Han asked.
"In part, that was certainly the case. Recognizing the reasons for the dictates of their Code was important to them. But it was the prophecy that drew them in. Paradoxically, it was also the prophecy that gave rise to their caution. If they studied the ways of the Sith to comprehend how it came about then they would be close to adopting Sith practices as their own, thus guaranteeing the cycle of destruction would remain unbroken."
Han rubbed a hand across his face, confusion taking equal place alongside frustration. "Is someone gonna explain this properly to me, 'cause I'm not sure I understand what you're saying. If it was a Sith prophecy, why would the Jedi want to make it happen?"
"Because it predicts the end of the Sith," Luke said.
Han frowned. "Why would the Sith record that?"
"Don't forget - we're talking about Eellayin carvings here," Tiriss-elain pointed out. "These were not created by the Sith themselves, but by those who adhered to an aspect of Sith teachings. But destiny is a strange thing, if you believe in it. The Sith appeared to, but it wouldn't have stopped them from trying to avert the prophecy, presuming they knew about it. It's strange to think that the Sith would've shunned the prophecy, just as the Jedi espoused it, even though it stemmed from Dark Side use of the Force."
"Because it worked in their favor," Luke said. "If the Jedi wanted to believe in something, the end of the Sith is an obvious choice."
"Yes, but the prophecy isn't specifically about that," Tiriss-elain said. "I've been studying these carvings for over a hundred years, and Jedi have visited these caverns for many centuries before that. The first visitors believed the Sith were already extinct. It's only in the last few decades that the Sith re-emerged."
Luke frowned. "But the carving shows the death of a Sith Lord. The Jedi must've assumed it was referring to the future if they treated it as prophecy. Didn't it prove that the Sith were still around?"
"That's looking at it with hindsight. If you saw this panel in ignorance of recent events, would you think you were looking at a scene from Jedi life or from Sith life?"
"I don't know," Luke admitted. "There's no sense of evil there, like in the other panels. But it comes at the end of a cycle of what must be Sith masters and apprentices, so it makes sense that it follows on. But I suppose it was impossible to have known what it was showing before the events occurred."
"Wait a minute." Han pulled away from the archway and looked at Tiriss-elain. "You said that Luke's looking at it with hindsight. The prophecy's actually happened?"
"Haven't you seen the panel?" Tiriss-elain asked him, surprise in her voice.
"I've only just got here. Luke was gonna show me just before you arrived."
"Then I think you should see it before I say any more, or nothing will make any sense to you."
Han didn't bother to state the obvious - namely that nothing was making any sense anyway. The only thing Tiriss-elain had succeeded in doing so far was reinforcing Han's notion that the Jedi of the past had placed too much credence on arcane theories and not enough emphasis on what had actually been going on around them.
He walked back over to the bench and offered a hand to Tiriss-elain. The elderly Polis Massan hauled herself up with agonizing slowness, one long-fingered hand wrapped around Han's wrist, and the other on Luke's upper arm. She felt light, almost insubstantial, compared to the weight of an average human and, this close to her, Han could see the lines of age etched on her thickened skin.
"I apologize for the poor air quality here," she said, as they reached the cave entrance. "You've probably guessed that it's partly deliberate."
"Keep everyone out, huh?" Han asked. He concentrated on keeping his breathing level, feeling the slight burn in his chest and the odd dizziness he'd experienced before.
The candle Luke had lit earlier was still burning, stealing a share of the cave's oxygen, but proving there was at least some circulation taking place. Luke walked over to it and picked it up, sending dancing shadows across the rocky surfaces.
The final panel proved to be to the side of the entrance, and Han realized why he'd not noticed it before. It was set down lower than the other panels, presumably by intent. They gathered in front of it, both he and Luke needing to crouch down to study it properly. Luke held the candle up to the carving, staying silent so that Han could read the images for himself.
It was the contrast to the other carvings that struck Han first. It had an air of peace about it, and something like celebration. It wasn't the right word for it though, because that brought to mind triumph, and there was no sense of that in the face of the Jedi depicted. It showed death and victory, just as the other carvings did, but it felt to Han as though it symbolized something much more extensive than the defeat of an enemy. He could see how it could easily be read to represent the extinction of the Sith, but he was certain there was more to it than that.
He twisted round, holding his hand out for the candle that Luke still held. Then he passed the flame slowly in front of the chiseled face, and let the light illuminate the detail of the items held in the outstretched hands. There were two of them, almost identical in decoration but for one individual marking on each and a lack of symmetry in the toothed top edges. He studied them for a moment or two longer, before pulling back a little to see the whole scene. The twin suns, so worn that they'd almost blended into the natural rock surface, were the last thing he noticed.
He pivoted slowly around to stare at Luke, feeling the shock of recognition change to a wash of feeling that swept across his whole body. It was a strange sensation, because it should have felt impossible to feel both understanding and a total lack of comprehension at the same time. He stayed that way, holding Luke's gaze, until Tiriss-elain broke the silence.
"Towards the end of the Republic the Jedi accepted that the Sith were still in existence. They fell back on their original interpretation of the prophecy - that the means of its enactment was the elimination of the Sith. Before that, it had become little more than a quaint story."
"Can you tell us everything you know about it now?" Luke asked.
Tiriss-elain nodded, and pointed to the candle flame. Its blue heart had begun to spread upwards under the smothering mantle of poor air. "It's time to move out of here. The three of us together, it's too much..."
She didn't need to finish, and it was relief to move back once more into the larger cavern. The three of them stood for a while, acclimatizing, and letting the warmth seep back into their bodies.
They made their way to the stone bench again, now strangely luxurious after the discomforts of the cave. Tiriss-elain wound her fingers around Luke's arm and eased herself down onto it, leaning her head back against the cave wall. Han wondered how old she was, and how much longer she might live.
"The Eellayin civilization stretches back thousands of years - back to the days when this field of spinning rocks was once a true planet. All we have are fragments. Remnants of a past life. I cannot say, and the Jedi couldn't say, if the prophecy originated here, or whether this is but one representation of it. I do know that the Jedi have been drawn to this world for millennia." She glanced at Luke. "And still they're coming back."
"For a different reason," Luke said. "I had no idea..."
Luke's words tailed off, and Han studied him. Luke had said several times that he believed there was more to his assignment than Senator Danu was acknowledging. For someone once so close to the old Jedi Council, was it possible that Danu had known of the prophecy?
"According to the Jedi, there were two threads that wove together to form the prophecy," Tiriss-elain explained. "An ancient story, its origins lost long ago, was one of them. The story foretold of a time of great darkness in the galaxy, and an ending to all the freedoms that we value so highly. But from that time there would also emerge a redeemer, who would bring an end to the darkness."
Tiriss-elain looked again at Luke. "Of course, the Jedi believed that the legend was referring to a final confrontation between the Jedi and the Sith, each upholding opposing sides of the Force. But there are other, more literal ways, to portray the ending of darkness. What could be more symbolic for a bringer of light than an association with the sun? And the ancient legend referred to the Son of the Suns. It's easy to see why the Jedi adopted the story as their own."
She paused for a moment as though gathering her thoughts, and Han exchanged a swift look with Luke. Tiriss-elain had stated that it was time for openness, but how far Luke would choose to take that was another matter. The words that Tiriss-elain had spoken just after meeting them implied that Luke had already made a more specific comment about the carving. There are things you've understood about it that I never knew...
"What was the other thread?" Luke asked. Han could hear the subtle tension underpinning Luke's question, and knew that a similar feeling was running through his own body. He moved his shoulders, easing the tightness that probably wouldn't disappear completely until he knew just where he stood. And where Luke stood.
"The Jedi were aware that an imbalance existed in the Force, and the future and stability of the galaxy were at stake if that disparity was not redressed. The prophecy tells of one who would restore balance to the Force."
Tiriss-elain seemed to catch Han's eye, and Han wondered if something showed on his face. The Polis Massan's words had recalled his last conversation with Leia, and the strange sensation of imbalance she'd referred to - ...feels likes something's out of step. Sort of... unbalanced... And it had a connection to Luke, and to the Force...
"The Jedi visitors referred to the Chosen One," Tiriss-elain continued. "They believed the carving depicted the final act needed to bring balance back, and they interpreted that to mean the extermination of the Sith. The strong parallels the carving has to aspects of the ancient story of the Son of the Suns are obvious. That, together with the Eellayin ability to foretell events, strengthened the Jedi's insistence that the panel showed a genuine prophecy."
She struggled to rise, and Han stood up quickly in order to help. Luke already had a hand under her elbow, and Han watched as he lifted Tiriss-elain up from the bench. She hobbled across to one of the carved panels that adorned the side of the cave and ran her fingers across the smooth edges. It showed another world and a different species, neither of which were familiar to Han.
"Of course, we think they're all prophecies, in a way. Every carving in every cave. Even those we don't yet understand, like this one." She gestured to the panel beside her. "But arriving at the correct meaning of a symbol is difficult if those who created it are no longer around to ask. All we have are opinions, and the Jedi didn't get it right."
"You mean they misinterpreted it?" Luke asked.
Tiriss-elain turned to look at him, leaving one hand held against the carving. It may have been simply for balance, but it looked to Han as though she was drawing comfort from the touch.
"Towards the end of their time, the Jedi believed they'd found the one the Prophecy speaks of. I had a visitor, over thirty-five years or so back. A Jedi. He was grieving - almost wrenched apart by it and fighting an inner battle with himself to conquer those feelings. They contradicted the Code, you see. He wanted to see the Cave of the Prophecy for himself. The reason he gave me was that he was trying to honor a promise he'd made, and which might ensure that the prophecy ran its proper course. But I could see that he was conflicted. Unsure not only of the course he should be taking, but of the consequences of his promise."
She stroked the palm of her hand down the stone, almost as if she could feel the presence of those who'd generated the visions that lined the walls. "The Jedi had found a child. A slave. Extraordinarily strong in the Force, and the circumstances of his birth as mysterious as any myth could ever recount. They found him in world with two suns and took him away with them. They called him the Chosen One."
The Polis Massan turned her head to look back at the wall, tracing a fingerpad along the outline of a strange, winged creature that formed part of the sculpture. She kept her back to Han and Luke as she spoke. "But their Chosen One failed to fulfill the prophecy, and the one who'd kept that promise believed the prophecy was a trick, plotted to lead to the fall of the Jedi and the triumph of the Sith. And at the time, I wondered if he was right. I never saw him again after that. In time, I learned that all the Jedi had died and that it was the Sith who returned balance to the Force by turning on themselves. Destiny proving itself once more to be inescapable - one Sith destroying another, as it's always been, but in doing so destroying himself. It was a Sith prophecy all along."
Tiriss-elain pulled away from the wall and looked hard at Luke. "But now you're here, and you tell a different story."
Luke stared back at her. "What I told Perek-tain was true. Darth Vader did kill the Emperor, but he killed him as a Jedi, not as a Sith."
Luke sought Han's eyes, and Han understood that it was no longer possible to keep the full story concealed. Not here in these caves, where something in the atmosphere seemed to demand the truth.
"Not all the Jedi died during the purge," Luke continued. "One of the survivors joined the Emperor. He'd trained as a Jedi, but something happened to make him change. He took on a new identity and became Darth Vader. His Jedi side never fully disappeared, and it was that part of him that killed the Emperor."
"This Jedi... Do you know where he came from?"
"Not originally. But he spent his childhood on a planet called Tatooine. It's a desert world in the Outer Rim. A world with two suns."
It was a long moment before Tiriss-elain spoke. "Then the prophecy was true. The Jedi were right all along. It was about destroying the Sith."
The feeling that had crept up on Han when he'd crouched in front of the ancient carving had strengthened as Tiriss-elain spoke. He was certain that there was more to the prophecy than a straightforward victory of good over evil. It was too straightforward. Too cut-and-dried to feel right. It also struck him how bizarre it was that he was standing in this cave puzzling over the complexities of ancient Jedi philosophy, and failing to see the logic of the prophecy as seen from the Jedi point of view. It was a long way from his area of expertise, but something remained that they needed to consider, and it was all to do with the issue of balance.
He started slowly, trying to organize his thoughts in a way that might uncover the underlying cause of his uncertainty. "I'm just wondering why the Jedi thought that restoring balance to the Force meant destroying the Sith. I mean, I can see why they wanted to get rid of 'em..."
Tiriss-elain turned her attention to Han. "I'm sure the answer to that was clear to the Jedi. I'm not so sure it's clear to me," she admitted.
"The way I see it," Han carried on, "is if you have two sides standing for opposite things, and one of them destroys the other, you're not gonna end up with a balanced view of anything. There's gotta be a way to meet in the middle."
Tiriss-elain nodded slowly. "I also wonder why the Jedi felt the Force was out of balance during the time they believed the Sith to be extinct."
"Because it was," Luke said. "I think they could feel the imbalance, but they didn't know why it was there. They'd moved so far to the side of good that they'd isolated themselves from everything at the heart of the Force. It's like Han said - there was no meeting in the middle. But there has to be, otherwise there are just extremes with nothing in between. When the Sith re-emerged and the Jedi had found their chosen one, it was too late for them. They couldn't recognize what'd happened to them and they associated the imbalance with the Sith, even though it was just as much their own actions that'd contributed to it. I don't think they understood that the prophecy predicted their own end too."
"So it foresaw an end to the Sith and the Jedi?"
"Because they both represented extremes," Luke said. "If one or other gained total control, there couldn't be any balance."
"And neither side understood that," Tiriss-elain mused. "However much each side tried to use or manipulate the prophecy, it would never have been fulfilled while they practiced absolutes of behavior. The Chosen One was destined to restore balance by wiping the slate clean, so to speak."
"I still don't think that's the whole story," Han said. He fielded the others' quizzical looks with a brief shrug. "You're talking about getting rid of things to bring balance, but what about what takes its place?"
He glanced over at Luke to find Luke's eyes on him. But if Han had expected to see wariness on Luke's face, or even skepticism, he found neither. Instead, Luke's expression revealed that barely-disguised aura of happiness that Han had noted earlier on. It wasn't that it was blatant, and it had more to do with what Han would describe as peacefulness than jubilation, but it had chased away Luke's former, troubled misgivings. And the look Luke returned Han signified full acceptance of whatever Han wanted to reveal.
That was the whole crux of the matter, because as far as Han was concerned, the full significance of the prophecy was too obvious to dismiss. The only reason Tiriss-elain hadn't seen it was because she wasn't in full possession of the facts.
"Those objects in Vader's hands..." he started.
Tiriss-elain inclined her head. "The ekuila. The Eellayin symbol for new life. In the manner of its depiction we have the very nature of the prophecy. I believe the sculptor split the ekuila into two perfect halves in order to symbolize the balance that the Chosen One delivers. A new beginning, but one in harmony with the Force."
"The ekuila stands for new life?"
"Yes. The Eellayin used that symbol regularly, but normally it's associated with birth in a physical sense. The Jedi assumed it implied a metaphorical rebirth of the Force - the balance if you like. But because of what I've learned from Luke, there might be a parallel interpretation. This rebirth may also refer to the experience of Darth Vader - even though he died he was, in a sense, reborn as a Jedi first."
"But what if it meant actual birth?" Han asked.
"A child? But that would've been impossible."
"Not impossible," Luke said. "It may have been forbidden."
Tiriss-elain nodded. "Such an explanation never occurred to the Jedi, which goes some way in explaining how committed they were to their Code."
"The Code was broken," Luke said, and Han was amazed at how calm he sounded. "It was broken twenty-five years ago by a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker."
A notable stillness fell over Tiriss-elain, and she studied Luke with her unfathomable, dark eyes for several long moments.
"Anakin Skywalker." She repeated the name slowly. "And you...?" Tiriss-elain put a hand up to her face, covering it for a moment as though trying to disguise emotions that neither Han nor Luke could see.
When she lowered her hand, her eyes fastened again on Luke's face. "Dear gods, it's you. The ekuila symbolizes you. You're Darth Vader's son."
Luke nodded, staying silent.
"Then... the prophecy..."
"Predicted that Anakin Skywalker would bring balance to the Force," Han said. "And he did. He brought Luke."
Tiriss-elain still hadn't taken her eyes off Luke. When she spoke, it was so quietly that it was almost a whisper. "You're the balance. In you, the Force is once again as it should be."
Luke caught and held Han's gaze, and Han knew that Luke had decided to take this as far as he could. He also knew why. Secrecy and subterfuge came with a price, and Luke had been paying it for too long already. He grinned back at Luke, waiting for him to add the final piece of the puzzle.
"I'm not the only one," Luke said. "Just like the ekuila, I'm one half of a whole."
chapter 21