Untitled

You know what-the idea actually works more than I thought? Jaina's relationships with men? Bitter-she burned her bridges with Jag, and Zekk his a friend only, Lumiya's...mixed relationship with Luke to say the least, the shared sense of being damaged vessels, or instrumentality. Jaina was told outright her destiny was sacrifice and loneliness, Lumiya has been terribly lonely for decades.

Jaina would remind Lumiya of who she might have been-had Shira Brie not been shot down, and Jaina might see Lumiya as a warning as to what "Always you shall be in the front rank, a burning brand to your enemies, a brilliant fire to your friends. Yours is a restless life, and never shall you know peace, though you shall be blessed for the peace that you bring to others. Take comfort in the fact that, though you stand tall and alone, others take shelter in the shadow that you cast." really means.

Compare this with "Come Lumiya you will be an instrument of my will" (Essential guide to the Force, Palpatine overheard in a Mara flashback)-Lumiya's own prolonged burden-heir to the Banite sith legacy(something she took up for herself) up to basically seeing Jacen's corruption as her life being basically complete, and her conviction of reforming the Sith into being self effacing utilitarians rather than egoistic warlord sorcerors as something she follows more out of trauma and residual hierarchical allegiance(Palpatine and Vader are long gone after all).

The common underlying theme is burden...burden and obligation. That being the expectation(either internalized or directly imposed) that their personal desires and freedom be sacrificed-for "the greater good" and the profound alienation and pain this creates.

Lumiya's own outsider knowledge-someone who knew Luke and Leia from a very early time, and the "oldest surviving enemy of the skysolo clan" POV-could also give Jaina a degree of insight into what exactly she is expected to serve-"I knew your uncle when he was just an over eager naive pilot"

So...there's more shared ground if not for romance-than at least mutual commiseration or empathy than I thought when writing this.

that is a burden. A heavy burden she didn’t really understand until she had to kill her brother. Another aspect of that is Luke and Kenth Hamner, I don’t want to say groom-but they do heavily, HEAVIlY pressure her into acting as an assassin. She is explicitly told not to spare Jacen’s life under any circumstances-despite her initial discomfort with this. She accepts he has to die once he used the Dathomiri blood trail-(meaning he was going to hunt her and his family). But still-this is a young woman put in an alienated and lonely position. Told “your life is going to be restless violence in service to others, and later-we really need you to put aside any residual attachment you have-don’t hesitate-we want him dead.”

This is a burden her uncle namely(among other Jedi)-impose on her-(force trance notwithstanding).

One-Jacen has never been someone who changes his mind easily. It’s more than you convince him his intuitions and moral reasoning demand Y instead of X. Not that his priors are wrong. Jacen went through the whole pacifist phase in the early Vong war due to a spiritual crisis-not because he was a devoted pacifist or anything of the sort-but because the problem of “what do the Jedi do with regards to the Vong?” Was to him a paralytic trigger. He didn’t know what the right action was-only that there was a problem.

Vergere’s entire teaching “choose and act” isn’t “stop deliberating or factoring your moral calculus” it’s “when you’ve reached an end point-don’t get caught in a cycle of self recrimination-act”. This means by the time he had sided with Lumiya on the home asteroid it was basically too late. His family would have to convince him-not that he was wrong, but to convince himself to argue himself into believing that he was wrong. That is much much harder.

And was at any rate nearly impossible-you see Jacen was already distant in the dark nest timeframe-he hid his presence in the force, meaning his family often didn’t know what he felt or was thinking at any given time. The reason why this happened is many-one-the Vergere experience.

Vergere was the dearest mentor in his life-Lumiya really peaked his interest only when she mentioned Vergere. Not his uncle, whom he respected-not his dad that didn’t really understand him, not his mother who he was honestly more a counselor to then the reverse-not his sister who he was distant from already due to him acting against her in the swarm war. (Only made final when he had her court martialed for refusing to fire on a civilian ship).

You have to address that-his relationship with the woman who tortured him, and broke down his identity-at his weakest point, and then built him back up-and I might add-successfully, Jacen after all did end the Yuuzhan Vong war. They never really understood the depth of his bond with Vergere, they knew she had tortured him-but Jacen himself is very defensive of her-Mara notes this is Stockholm syndrome but yes…there is a sort of maternal/teaching love there. And then you have to address the fact Jacen for a brief time basically was the Force-that’s the moment when he became a glowing being of light-defeating the Vong overlord. This was a profound experience and one that no one understood but himself. One that led I think to constant spiritual dissatisfaction-hence the five year trip.

Then of course there is Allana-his own parents didn’t know he was the father until like Revelation I believe. So concealed was Allana’s identity, (everyone knew TK had a kid-but they didn’t pry too far into it given she was a full time head of state and wasn’t officially part of the order anyway). And Jacen’s visits were always discrete and private.

The vision stuff-both the White Throne vision he had near the end of his life and the Dark Man vision-drove his later political interests, along with Lumiya’s other warnings. None of this was known-Luke asks outright in Apocalypse why he didn’t ask for help-and he said. This being Jacen’s last dialogue in the EU(his ghost or shade anyway) “I saw Allana”-Jacen has always taken the burdens on himself-whether it’s the moral and spiritual quandary the Vong pose to the Jedi’s worldview, the Killik threat, or solving the Corellian crisis through his own sacrifice-namely his relationships, his moral compass, his life even.

And that’s the important part to remember here-Jacen is fundamentally even as Darth Caedus, selfless. It may be a warped selflessness, “I’ll alienate my family and kill loads of people but that’s putting other people’s needs ahead of my ego”-but it’s still selfless.

And all of this were things his family just by and large didn’t know at all. Jacen didn’t really talk to them anymore, or explain his deeper motivations or fears.

And by the time of later LOTF-it was clear, he wasn’t going to stop, he was willing to cross every line(killing family, orbital bombardment. Mass internment. Torture and murder)-well his family are still Jedi and they have to also decide “is it worth risking more lives and times trying to reach someone who keeps throwing it back in our faces” or “stop this”.

That’s why Luke and Jaina become so cold, why Han and Leia act so…stilled. Denning isn’t the best at writing emotions-that’s entirely true, but the reason why they are like this isn’t incongruent with the situation.

One of my more controversial views is Darth Caedus is an organic expression of Jacen's internal "Li"(to summarize roughly as I understand it-one's internal Li is one's strengths, dispositions, drives, and character-to act in accordance with one's nature-in an ordered yet authentic way).

Jacen has always been open to new ideas: Listening to Lumiya, despite the family history/her reputation.

Jacen is concerned with suffering/care for others-urgency of stopping an inevitable war.

Jacen has always wrestled with the question of whether rightful action requires rightful intention-Vergere helps clarify not that he should repress that tension-but refuse to let it stop him. "Choose and act"-accept Lumiya's offer. Act.

Yes he makes mistakes, alienates his family, commits a boatload of war crimes, subverts a democracy-and dies unredeemed.

But it was authentic-to he was, to his values, his need to listen, to learn, and to address suffering(or potential suffering)-not just with thoughtless heroics, but with rightful intentionality.

Was it inevitable? Well no-but Caedus isn't "not jacen"-the persona of Darth Caedus is a potentiality of the raw drives and anima that make up "who" Jacen is and is shaped to be.

Let's go over Lumiya's life briefly. Raised an imperial agent-sent to discredit Luke Skywalker, Luke caught feelings, (which may have been shared), force intuition meant she was shot down-Luke got flak for this, shira brie was humiliated and disgraced-not only was she badly injured, but she failed the empire.

She then becomes a hand-and after Palpatine dies uses the Nagai in a brief conflict with the soon to be new republic, is defeated after beating Luke once-flees.

After this-she has a few apprentices(Flint) but otherwise basically flees into obscurity. She does keep some contact with Imperial brass-at least for some time.

By the Vong war-she is alone and isolated, a bitter woman who failed-saw the empire she was indoctrinated to serve defeated, Mara-who was like her in so many ways-end up married to the man who directly ruined her life. She does engage in sabotage during the Vong war-but importantly she meets Vergere.

Now Vergere being a Sith is controversial and its own (long) discussion-point being, they not only discuss which SkySolo to turn, but also-this renews Lumiya's purpose. She keeps in the shadows, and waits-her goal being not to be the next Sith lord, but to pass on the title and legacy-and importantly to transform the Sith into something more selfless-as opposed to the Banites and ancient Sith's self aggrandizement and fixation with power for its own sake.

Finally-she sets things up to meet Jacen-eventually convinces him to apprentice himself-she doesn't teach him force powers, what she provides is moral guidance-and encouragement.

By the end of Sacrifice-she knows Jacen is ready, he has made the requisite sacrifice(if a bit contrived)-and is ready to die.

Okay you ask-why is Lumiya ready to die? She makes this very clear early on-one does not consider herself worthy or capable of taking the title-due to her cybernetics, and more importantly-she isn't selfish, in her own way she wants to serve something higher than herself-from the empire on.

So when Jacen kills Mara-she is pleased, and more importantly-finally after a lifetime of dissapointment, failure and feelings of inadequacy(very much tied to her body-both beauty and physical impairment)-she's won. She goes off to trick Luke and buy Jacen time-"honor your oaths Luke they are all you have left in the end"-the final exchange between them is so rich. Luke says "I swore I would never let you fall"-he wanted to redeem her, and he's failed, completely failed. His wife is dead, and and he can't fulfill his promise.

Lumiya dies-but not a vanquished bitter ex girlfriend wanting to sabotage a man or a romantic rival-but a woman who finally despite decades of loneliness, isolation and profound pain-has achieved what she set out to do.

She dies with no unfinished business-no shame.

And that is why I will always defend her death-Lumiya has spent her life looking for purpose, and when it is completed-she no longer feels obligated to live-in fact she gives her life for Jacen.

Lumiya is the true victor of Legacy of the Force, she didn't die happy-but she died complete.

Why don't more fanfic writers engage with this? Jacen's two primary(non family) mentors were older women. Both had their own agendas he was used for-but both of them give their lives for him.

I really want to write a post Invincible AU-where Jacen's body is taken to Ebaq 9-where he can be cremated with his true master, Vergere.

That dynamic-torturer and teacher, student and captive, pet project and hope of redemption-i love so much.

The Akallabeth plays it completely straight, yes Tolkien was a Catholic, but as a modern work-a God that does punish a sinning nation in its entirety is usually viewed with horror or criticism-not described with biblical reverence and sadness.

Because that's important to remember-all of Numenor but the faithful perished. Babies, children, the elderly, those that went along with the Sauronic religion out of fear or social conformity-they all drowned. Tolkien does acknowledge this with Tar-Miriel, she wasn't "guilty" but she died anyway punished because of where she was, and because she was not one of the faithful. Because in religion and mythology-divine wrath is indiscriminate, overwhelming in its exercise and not targeted or precise in the slightest.

Compare this to a lot of modern fantasy where divine vengeance or punishment is rarely squared with directly and often never at all.

Power, pleasure, breaking limits. Also claiming Melkor is the true god-not a fallen angel.

Debauchery and blasphemy are not the point-they are the sacraments. Its not a sort of performative middle finger. Cruelty and violence are encouraged-Numenor actually becomes richer, more powerful, more advanced.

because and this is important-Jacen does think, and think things through and whenever he has found an answer-he follows it through with his heart on his sleeve.

Jacen was always going to listen to Lumiya-he isn't going to close his mind to anyone, because he's not dogmatic. Mara was always going to go hunting in the dead of night-because at her core, she always was a predator, a killer-who she's hunting just changed. Luke is so afraid of falling-he denies his own thirst for revenge and let's Jaina take the risk for him, Luke would never fall-though he might come very close.

Han was always going to support his homeworld-if only out of sentiment.

Lumiya could not but do what she always did. It reminds me of that passage in Traitor-Jacen is chomping to die fighting with Ganner, and Vergere tells him he can-but that's not his fate, that's not who he is.

The grim fatalism and spiraling catastrophe is set up in the very first book-and Invincible not for one moment has real levity-its dreary, sad and depressing-because the boy who had whole menageries of animals and was so compassionate the Yuuzhan Vong thought he was an avatar of their god of the downtrodden and marginalized has become an irredeemable monster.

LOTF is often criticized for the characters acting OOC-I disagree, the characters are put in extremely high stress emotionally shattering situations and react in accordance with who they are.

But the core of characters like Luke and Jacen does not change-Jacen's fundamentally selfless and love filled core does express itself one last time-everything he did was ultimately for someone else. Luke as cold and calculating as he becomes-still retains his center.

No one really wins in the end-the family is shattered, Daala is installed and there isn't a real happy ending. The family shares a light smile at the end where Jaina meets Allana-but well given the context its very much forced. Even Lumiya didn't get what she wanted-though she is the only person who ended the series I think truly victorious.

Lumiya is the only SW villain that goes to their death truly content-(off the top of my head anyway)-she's won. She's done it, she has completed her life's work. Now whatever happens-she has basically done everything she set out to do in life.

Sacrifice often gets criticized for the way it handled Mara's death(a different topic)-but I still am just obsessed with Lumiya's victory.

She has endured decades of loneliness, bitterness and despair-and now Jacen Solo is her crowning achievement, her lasting accomplishment. All those years on the Home, all that patience-all the grief at watching the empire fall, at realizing Palpatine was a monster.

Now-she gets to settle the score with her ex boyfriend(not really but you get the idea)-Luke can't hurt her anymore, he can't foil her plans, or leave her dead in space. By even meeting the challenge-Luke shows his moral compass has been compromised.

And Lumiya dies-at peace. She reminds Luke that all he has left is his promises-(in this case broken ones). And she can die with dignity.

Many people in the fandom get worked up about the concept of "Jedi lords"-the feudal Jedi warlords in the last century of the New Sith Wars. People use this to say a lot of (usually) negative things about the Jedi.

Firstly I want to emphasize that the Jedi Lords do not seem to have continued after Ruusan-that is, they surrendered all power they accumulated to the Republic without incident. Secondly, they only emerged in the VERY LAST century of the most apocalyptic conflict in star Wars legends(more so than the Vong war or any other). Let me just reiterate how bad the NSW were.

The Republic collapsed completely outside the core-the Holonet was gone, galactic trade had collapsed, the Republic military was unable to do anything but conduct defensive and limited counter operations.

Candorian plague killed, probably tens of billions to trillions of people-and the Sith were free to attack basically everywhere with impunity. So much so-that its the only time in SW history that nihilistic despair really took hold.

Sith Warlords enslaving whole systems, using people for mass experimentation, just a systemic breakdown everywhere.

And in this chaos-entire systems and sectors abandoned, worlds left helpless to Sith, Mandalorian and just regular raids-collapse of trade, only then, only then when Jedi had already ruled the Republic already for 300 years. Did Jedi take the role of hereditary rulers. For...maybe 2-3 generations. Maximum.

Defending desperate people from sith coalitions that were running over Republic armies and smashing local defenses with no difficulty.

I cannot emphasize how bad the New Sith Wars were-or how dire the situation had been-such that technology literally...regressed. That's why artwork shows literal spears used at Ruusan-industrial production had shattered.

And only then-only then, did the Jedi take the mantle of direct political rulership, and Jedi had served as supreme chancellors before-when the Sith turned the tide midway through the millennium-and even that wasn't enough.

The Jedi have in the entirety of legends seized political power or accepted it one time-one time. When the galaxy needed their lightsabers the most-their prudence, justice and hope.

He doesn't. Ever since Allana was born-he spent five years visiting every several months, seeing Tenel ka only a few times a year(or only every few months)-while not being able to tell anyone, not even his immediate family-because it might put TK and Allana at risk of assassination plots. (The Hapan nobility is violently anti Jedi).

Denning to his discredit doesn't really emphasize what a sacrifice this is-but Jacen makes it anyway, its not a situation like Anakin where exposure would embarass him specifically-it would just threaten his GF and baby girl by virtue of it becoming public knowledge-and he keeps it from his parents, from Luke and Mara, everyone. Because Tenel Ka asked him too.

LOTF is a tragedy. And despite its flaws-I will always praise Invincible for in fact-making the reader feel miserable and depressed. That's the point.