• More More

Search

My Account Logout
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • twitter
  • other
  • NEWS + FEATURES
  • VIDEO
  • FILMS
  • SERIES
  • INTERACTIVE
  • COMMUNITY
  • DATABANK
  • DISNEY+
  • More More
My Account Logout
  • facebook
  • instagram
  • youtube
  • twitter
  • other

ALL OF YOUR STAR WARS FAVORITES NOW STREAMING ON DISNEY+

All

  • Andor
  • Behind the Scenes
  • Books + Comics
  • Characters + Histories
  • Collecting
  • Creativity
  • Disney Parks
  • Disney+
  • Events
  • Fans + Community
  • Films
  • Force For Change
  • Forces of Destiny
  • Galaxy of Adventures
  • Games + Apps
  • ILMxLAB
  • In Pop Culture
  • Interviews
  • LEGO Star Wars
  • Lucasfilm
  • Merchandise
  • Obi-Wan Kenobi
  • Opinions
  • Quizzes + Polls
  • Recipes
  • Rogue One
  • Solo
  • Star Wars Celebration
  • Star Wars Day
  • Star Wars Rebels
  • Star Wars Resistance
  • Television
  • The Bad Batch
  • The Book of Boba Fett
  • The Clone Wars
  • The Force Awakens
  • The High Republic
  • The Last Jedi
  • The Mandalorian
  • The Rise of Skywalker
  • The Star Wars Show
  • Visions
{:title=>"Books + Comics", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/books-+-comics"}

Qui-Gon Jinn Visits His Former Padawan in From a Certain Point of View - Exclusive Excerpt

October 3, 2017
October 3, 2017
StarWars.com Team

Read a special excerpt from Claudia Gray's powerful "Master and Apprentice" short story.

When Qui-Gon Jinn was struck down by Darth Maul, he truly became more powerful than we could possibly imagine.

Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View, the landmark collection of short stories celebrating the 40th anniversary of Star Wars, hits stores today. In this exclusive excerpt from Claudia Gray's "Master and Apprentice," Qui-Gon Jinn returns to visit Obi-Wan -- now Ben -- Kenobi in the deserts of Tatooine. This beautiful passage gives us insight into Obi-Wan's concern for the boy he is protecting, Qui-Gon's higher plane of existence, and the nature of the Force.

Some believe the desert to be barren. This proves only that they do not know the desert.

Deep within the dunes dwell small insects that weave nets to trap one another, and burrowing snakes with scales the color of stones so that no hunter can find them. Seeds and spores from long-dead plants lie dormant in the warmth, waiting for the rainfall that comes once a year, or decade, or century, when they will burst into verdant life as brief as it is glorious. The heat of the suns sinks into the grains of sand until they glow, containing all the energy and possibility to become glass the color of jewels. All of these sing individual notes in the one great song of the Whills.

No place is barren of the Force, and they who are one with the Force can always find the possibility of life.

Awareness precedes consciousness. The warmth is luxuriated in and drawn upon before the mind is cognizant of doing so. Next comes the illusion of linear time. Only then does a sense of individuality arise, a remembrance of what was and what is, a knowledge of one’s self as separate from the Force. It provides a vantage point for experiencing the physical world in its complexity and ecstasy, but the pain of that separation is endurable only because unity will come again, and soon.

That fracture from the all, that memory of temporal existence, is most easily summed up with the word the fracture was once called by. The name.

“Qui-Gon.”

The name is spoken by another. Qui-Gon has been summoned. He draws upon his memories of himself and takes shape, reassem­bling the form he last had in life. It seems to him that he feels flesh wrap around bones, hair and skin over flesh, robes over skin—and then, as naturally to him as though he had done so yesterday, he pulls down the hood of his Jedi cloak and looks upon his Padawan.

“Obi-Wan.” It is worth the travail of individual existence just to say that name again. So he says the other name, too. “Ben.”

Obi-Wan Kenobi’s hair has turned white. Lines have etched their traces along his forehead, around his blue eyes. He wears Jedi robes so worn and ragged as to be indistinguishable from the garb of the impoverished hermit he pretends to be. Most would walk past this man without a second glance. Yet while Qui-Gon perceives the phys­ical realities of Obi-Wan’s appearance, he is not limited to human sight any longer. He also sees the confident general of the Clone Wars, the strong young Padawan who followed his master into battle, even the rebellious little boy at the Temple that no Master was in any hurry to train. They are all equally part of Obi-Wan, each stage of his exis­tence vivid in this moment.

“You are afraid,” Qui-Gon says. He knows why; the events taking place around them are clearer to him than they are to Obi-Wan. “You seek your center. You need balance.”

The living find it difficult not to tell the dead that which they al­ready know. Obi-Wan doesn’t even try. “There may be Imperial stormtroopers waiting for Luke at the Lars farm. If so—”

“Then you will rescue him.” Qui-Gon smiles. “Or he may rescue himself. Or the sister will find the brother instead.”

Obi-Wan cannot be so easily comforted. “Or he could be killed. Cut down while still hardly more than a boy.”

To Qui-Gon, all human lives now seem impossibly brief. Years are irrelevant. It is journeys through the Force that matter. Some must struggle for that knowledge through many decades; others are very nearly born with it. Most never begin the journey at all, no matter how long they live.

But Luke Skywalker . . .

“Luke has a great journey yet to go,” Qui-Gon says. “It does not end here.”

“You’ve seen this?”

Qui-Gon nods. This relieves Obi-Wan more than it should, be­cause he cannot guess the shape that journey will take.

Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View is available on now in hardcover and ebook from Del Rey and as an audiobook for download and on CD from Random House Audio.

StarWars.com. All Star Wars, all the time.

Star Wars Books Claudia Gray Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View

Related Stories

  • {:title=>"Books + Comics", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/books-+-comics"}

    Learn the Untold Story of Jabba’s Last Protocol Droid in Marvel’s Star Wars: Jabba’s Palace #1 - Exclusive Preview

    March 22, 2023

    March 22, 2023

    Mar 22

  • {:title=>"Books + Comics", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/books-+-comics"} {:title=>"Star Wars Celebration", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/star-wars-celebration"}

    Holy Hutch! Star Wars: Hyperspace Stories Annual—Jaxxon 2023 Revealed

    March 16, 2023

    March 16, 2023

    Mar 16

  • {:title=>"Books + Comics", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/books-+-comics"}

    Celebrate Pride Month with Sana Starros and Other Marvel Star Wars Covers

    March 16, 2023

    March 16, 2023

    Mar 16

  • {:title=>"Books + Comics", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/books-+-comics"}

    The Dark Lord Tempts Sabé in Marvel’s Star Wars: Darth Vader #32 - Exclusive Preview

    March 15, 2023

    March 15, 2023

    Mar 15

  • {:title=>"Books + Comics", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/books-+-comics"}

    Master Yoda and Anakin Skywalker Team Up in Marvel’s June 2023 Star Wars Comics – Exclusive Preview

    March 10, 2023

    March 10, 2023

    Mar 10

  • {:title=>"Books + Comics", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/books-+-comics"} {:title=>"Lucasfilm", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/lucasfilm"}

    A Rebel Celebration on the Cover of From a Certain Point of View: Return of the Jedi – Exclusive Reveal

    March 9, 2023

    March 9, 2023

    Mar 9

  • {:title=>"Books + Comics", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/books-+-comics"}

    It’s a High-Speed Family Reunion in Marvel’s Star Wars: Sana Starros #2 - Exclusive Preview

    March 1, 2023

    March 1, 2023

    Mar 1

  • {:title=>"Books + Comics", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/books-+-comics"} {:title=>"The Mandalorian", :url=>"https://www.starwars.com/news/category/the-mandalorian"}

    Mando and Grogu Return to Marvel Comics in New Star Wars: The Mandalorian Season 2 Adaptation – Exclusive

    February 23, 2023

    February 23, 2023

    Feb 23

  • More From Star Wars:
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • Youtube
    • SWKids
    • Terms of Use
    • Additional Content Information
    • Privacy Policy
    • Children's Online Privacy Policy
    • Your California Privacy Rights
    • Star Wars at shopDisney
    • Star Wars Helpdesk
    • Interest-Based Ads
    • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

    TM & © Lucasfilm Ltd. All Rights Reserved