[Fic] Shadow Storm

[Lord Foley]

This is not my first fanfiction, but it is the first that you will ever see, so for the sake of no confusion, this is my first fanfiction.

 

Shadow Storm

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

 

Prologue

 

The Force is everything. There is nothing that is not the Force. Because there is nothing else, the Force cannot be distinguished from anything.

 

The Force, then, is truly nothing; everything is nothing.Nothing is real. Everything is in the mind of the perceiver. The perceveiver creates the world.

 

Anything can happen in the mind of the perciever. The lines of reality have been erased. There is no limit to anything.

 

Even suffering.

 

***

 

There is a great void hanging in the Force. Hanging in the nothing. There is nothing in this void- it is infinitely vast, reaching beyond the eye, beyond the ear, beyond perceptions.

 

Yet there is something.

 

It is infinitely small by comparison. It is a flake of dust, floating mindlessly in the nothingness of existence. Yet it shines brightly.

 

The dust is the galaxy. Within the galaxy, there is bright light, shining forth from all directions. The light comes from things infinitely small, worthless in comparison to the infinitely small galaxy they hang in. They are stars.

 

Around these stars float even less important bodies, a thousand times smaller, with no light of their own whatsoever. These are the planets.

 

Planets are so insignificant, that if one were to burst, be destroyed in a colosal explosion let loose by the stars that they so loyally follow, nothing would happen. Nothing would change. The galaxy- the very universe- would remain untouched.

 

But there is a smaller universe. One that can be measured. One that can be travelled. Affected. And changed. A reality where things exist- where tiny, insignificant things determine the fate of everything. And in this universe, a planet is colosal. A planet is everything.

 

Planets, still, despite their majesty, their amazing presence, their sheer importance, still disappear from existence. Some, it seems, destroyed by the insignificant ones that love them so much. Others, with a cause, a reason, and a will to disappear.

 

One planet was once the centerpoint of the galaxy. It was the crown jewel. And it hummed with the Force, with life, and with glory. And at the same time, it was nothing. Nothing because it had no destiny. It was destined to fall, destined to disappear and leave history forever.

 

Once the center of an empire, then a fallen, ruthless, barbaric world, harboring the secrets of a long forgotten paradise, corrupted by the insignificant ones who took a galaxy by the throat. And then, later still, its secrets were spilled, and with them no longer to themselves, the planet had nothing. All those who had ever lived for the glory of the world were no longer remembered. Their lives were in vain. And the planet itself was lost, removed from history, and forgotten, for a time that let it fade into legend; into myth; into fable... and on, into oblivion.

 

How curious, that after a time so long, it would suddenly be remembered.

 

***

 

There is nothing. And then, there is a thought. This thought thinks: How is the universe?

 

It receives no reply, for there is only nothing.

 

The thought changes shape, and becomes a new thought: What is the universe?

 

There is no answer.

 

It changes again, seeking something beyond itself. Why is the universe?

 

It can feel that there is nothing, now. It can almost- but not quite- see the nothing, hanging just beyond its perceptions. The thought decides that it can see only as deep as it thinks.

 

And so it changes again: Why am I?

 

It can see now. In the darkness, there is something. It is another thought.

 

The thought is: Who are you?

 

The first thought has no answer. It has only itself, changing shape again: Why are you?

 

They can see each other more clearly now. They are the same, despite all their differences. They are all they can see, therefore they are all that exists. The thoughts decide, then, that since they are all that exists, that they can see everything, for they are everything. And as everything that is, their world is only as they think it.

 

They think together, and become one thought, and one thought alone: The universe is real.

 

This is what is now real: A swirling universe of endlessness, beyond perception by any one thought, but understood by all. Each and every thought is the same; all are one entity. They are the universe, and they understand it. And they think together: There is more than the universe.

 

This is what is now real: The universe that they have created, sitting within a bigger expanse. Within the expanse, there are things that are different. These things they do not understand- they are not thoughts; they are beyond the thought's understanding. And they think together: We thoughts alone, but together, we are more.

 

This is what is now real: The universe that they have created is now them. They are not only thoughts, but together as a universe. This universe is beyond the thoughts, and so it can understand things beyond the thoughts. It understands the things beyond itself. The things beyond itself are physical things.

 

The universe understands that it alone no longer is everything, therefore, it has lost its power. And so it decides: There is more than the universe; the universe is more than even itself.

 

This is what is now real: The universe is but part of an existence. This existence is everything. Everything can think alone. Everything understands itself.

 

Everything calls itself a body.

 

EDIT- Stupid Tabs not working. Added spacing.

[The_Catto]

Excellent work. I love the style of writing and how everything is put together. It seems that there was a lot of thought what was put into this.

It made me think.

 

But i'm confused about one aspect of it though, what is the story about? Usually the Prolouge gives an indication of the rest of the story, but i just didn't get that from this one. (I'll probably find that out in the next installment, but i'm impatient, lol. But don't mind me )

 

Anyway, once again, excellent work. Can't wait for the next part.

[Diego Varen]

I agree. The opening is perfect, but like Mr_BFA, is there a plot after this? There must be some reason for why the Prologue is the Prologue. But it is different and I like it. I'm looking foward to seeing more from you. Good work.

[Relenzo2]

Cool prolouge. Kind of like, like a ninja's book of Genisis.

[Lord Foley]

To Topsite and Mr_BFA: I wrote this to do exactly what you pointed out. The story itself starts off elsewhere. The prologue is to make sure you realize that there is more happening than the simplicity of where the story starts. Otherwise, it would look like I was pulling random plot twists out of nowhere with no consistent story. So really, you won't understand what the prologue is about for a few installments, but it makes you wonder what is to come. (Hopefully I'll have the next installment up tonight).

[Salzella]

Clever writing, i like it. I also sort of like enigmatic openings, soi like it. Very philospohical. Keep it up, i look forward to the next installment.

[Lord Foley]

Sorry for the long wait. I was a little bogged down by tests this week.

 

=Part One=

Falling

 

Chapter One

The star hung happily in the sky above the capital of the galaxy, though it shone a thousand times brighter from the ground up. Every building boasted a proud chrome finish; every transparisteel viewport flung the shining majesty back skyward. The tremendous heat that this often created in the thick air was numbed by the many enormous exterior coolant systems located around the vast city.

 

Looking down from the sky, it would have been impossible to tell the state of such a planet. from space, it seemed a dull gray rock, a vibrant world, or a star in its own right, depending on how one looked. From the atmosphere, it seemed a busy-bodied world with much to do all the time; an entire planet that simply would not rest from its urgent agenda. From an even lower vantage point, it would seem as though this was a paradise- the world sparkled in the sun, the buildings were beautifully rounded and sculpted elegantly. The world was clean, efficient and on the move.

 

From the ground up, this illusion was easily seen through.

 

The world was a death pit- for all of its life, it was still a sore on the galaxy, for it was from here that the fall of democracy and freedom was. Every building represented the power of an empire founded on the death of liberties. Every human and alien alike was a symbol of the Emperor's undying control. The very air of the planet belonged to the Dark Side.

 

Coruscant was not what it once was. Once, it was the greatest world in the vast galaxy. Now it was only the greatest in name and military might; the true strength of Coruscant had died thirty-two years earlier with the death of the Jedi, the guardians of peace and justice, and the enforcers of civil law. They were the defenders of the Republic, and it was no surprise that when they fell, the Republic had fully lost all of its strength, forever.

 

There were some, though, who would fight to save the planet. They would throw their lives to the wind and toss themselves into the greatest battle the galaxy had seen in ages in an attempt to restore the ever dwindling beauty that was the Republic, until at last the final shred of the old times was swept away and left to die.

 

And so the Republic was dead. The Empire, bold and deadly, took the galaxy in a matter of only moments, it seemed. So long it had feigned being as great as the Republic; for so long it had hung on to the Senate as symbol of freedom.

 

And finally, twenty-nine years after the Republic died, so did the Senate, and with it, all hope. Freedom was lost forever.

 

Long live the Empire.

***

To be in the presence of the Emperor was to stare the Dark Side itself in the face. And to most, it was not possible; for others, it was the misfortune of the situation that had led them to have no other choice.

 

Darth Vader did not believe this, however. The Emperor was one of the few shreds of true power left in the universe. He was the only one who had realized the true potential of the Force; the only one to have achieved a power greater than any Jedi the galaxy had ever seen.

 

This, however, was not as it should be.

 

This is the mind of Darth Vader, Dark Lord of the Sith: A whirlpool of hate; a core of anguish. His hatred was coated with another layer- this was jealousy. This was where the truth lied. This was where he knew that the Emperor was not born to be the Emperor. He knew that it was he, the Chosen One of the Force, that was born to rule the galaxy; born bring justice to the galaxy.

 

But the galaxy did not understand. It would resist him at every turn, for this was his test. It was his crusade, his undying quest, to bring the galaxy to order, finally bringing balance to the Force. The Emperor was his guide; he had shown him the power that the Force possessed. He had shown him everything about the Force that he knew. The Emperor was a portal into the one true power.

 

The Emperor, though, was not the greatest. It was Darth Vader. He was destined to be the most powerful Sith the galaxy had and would ever see. But he was not just a Sith. Vader was more than a Sith, and this was why he would defeat the Emperor. It was because the Emperor wanted power- he was a Sith, no matter where the path took him. That was not the destiny of Vader. The Sith were a vessel through which he could exert his power. Darth Vader, for all his darkness, his tyranny, and his power, was not a Sith. He was not a Jedi.

 

He was beyond them. He was beyond the Emperor. And one day soon, the Emperor would end. Of this, Vader was certain. He had foreseen it. It was time to start a new legacy.

 

All would remember the Skywalker Dynasty.

***

[Lord Foley]

Sorry, a little shorter than I had hoped, but I have the story chopped into chapters and that's how it fell. The next one will be long.

[Relenzo2]

Hmm.

What, did you want me to say something more thatn that?

[Lord Foley]

BTW, as a note, this story follows canon events, so I'm not going to change anything already set down.