Yeah, wipe that confused look off your face... it'll all make sense in a minute.
I'm taking a Native American literature class and our big assignment for the semester is to write what our teacher is calling a 3-voice narrative. It's basically a single story that is told from three different viewpoints that is apparently an up and coming modern/contemporary storytelling means. (I can safely say that mine are probably the most unique/most different in the class.)(I can actually see some parallels to the way that KT writes to this format.) Our teacher required us to include a prelude and postlude "letter" to her, explaining what we're attempting to do in the course of our paper, in the event that the concept doesn't work. Apparently one of her colleagues did a similar assignment and it didn't work out that well, so our teacher isn't expecting grand works of literature here, given the difficulties that the format presents. That said, I thought I'd post mine to share, since I do include a Star wars connection.
Some of the formatting here sucks when I copied it over from Word - i was hoping that Yuku would do a better job of carrying that over. I've done what I can to make it quickly nicer. The three voices have to be distinguished in some way through font choices, so that explains the bolds and italics
Introduction
For the most part, I hope that my three-voice narrative on the Trickster is able to explain itself and I will provide a more detailed analysis at the end, but it is necessary to identify the voices prior to reading.
1) Loki, a Native American boy, around twelve years old and his Grandfather in the present time, written in third person.
2) A historical presentation on the role of the Trickster throughout history and cultures of a more documentarian/text-book approach.
3) A first person internal monologue of Jaina Solo, the daughter of Han and Leia Solo from the Star Wars book series, in the middle of what would become a five-year war.
They killed my brother.
"Loki, come sit by me."
Grandfather was up to his old tricks again, Loki decided. He thought that he was a better trickster than he actually was, but Loki was smarter than him. Loki was twelve and twelve was old enough to be smarter than your grandfather. Twelve was also old enough to want to be doing your own thing and not listen to an old man's stories.
"What is it?" Loki asked as he sat in the dusty dirt next to Grandfather's rickety old folding chair.
Grandfather paused, his attention pulled momentarily to the small woodcarving held gingerly between his frail old hands. "Have you heard of the Trickster, Loki?"
"Of course, Grandfather," Loki appeased the man: he'd been in this situation too many times. Grandfather wanted to pass on some archaic element of their Native American tradition that Loki had learned "just enough" about to get by in school.
"Tell me about him."
"The Trickster does what he wants."
Grandfather brought the carving up by his mouth and exhaled forcefully on it, sending a burst of wood shaving into the air. "Is the Trickster good or bad?"
"Does it matter?" Loki grabbed onto the side of Grandfather's chair and pulled himself back to his feet impatiently. "He's not real."
"Oh, Loki." That voice. Loki had heard Grandfather change into that voice too many times. It was a voice of disappointment, of frustration.
Grandfather tried too hard, Loki decided. Tried too hard to get Loki to adopt the old ways, the old traditions and beliefs that Grandfather clung to in his reluctance to adapt to the modern way of life.
"The Trickster is very real, Loki," Grandfather continued. He kept his face directed toward the woodcarving and his knife, but Loki suspected that weathered lines of disappointment had crossed his features. "The Trickster is one of our most important beings and he is found every single day in our life.
"Sometimes the Trickster will appear for good, sometimes for his own amusement, and sometimes for the bad. But he is always there."
"That's nice, Grandfather," Loki attempted to appease his grandfather so he could go do something - anything - else.
"It is not." Grandfather's voice suddenly grew deeper and more serious with a renewed urgency. "You will regret not respecting the Trickster."
Loki couldn't take it anymore: Grandfather was simply old and set in his ways. There was no way he was going to force Loki to take on the same beliefs. Without another word, Loki kicked his feet in frustration, stirring up the dry soil into a small cloud of dust, and turned back toward the village.
Grandfather simply shook his head, content that Loki would soon get the message, and returned to his woodcarving.
It's only been a few weeks, but it still feels like an open wound. It feels painfully real. I have to remind myself that Anakin is dead every day when I wake up. That is, provided that I can fall asleep at all in the first place. Too many nights I lie awake, staring at the ceiling, unable to push the thoughts from my head.
I'm haunted by the memories. Nothing compares to standing back and watching your little brother get killed. Every time I close my eyes, I relive the horror.
Two years ago, the Yuuzhan Vong came into our galaxy, our home, and began this holocaust of our people. Billions died in the last two years. Entire worlds. I saw friends vaporized when we flew in combat missions together. Fellow Jedi were struck down by warriors driven by their crazed religion and belief in their gods.
But none of it ever felt as real as when they struck down Anakin.
He went out in a blaze of glory, no one can argue that. He took out more warriors and displayed more courage with a tempered age far beyond his years than I've seen some of the most prestigious military generals display. But he was too young.
Mom and Dad still can't believe it either. Can I blame them? When Uncle Luke approved the strike team mission and gave Anakin control, did he ever imagine that this is how it would end? Did the great Luke Skywalker have any warning? And if he did… would he have stopped the mission from happening? We completed our task: we killed the Voxyn Queen. They can't make any more of those Jedi killing beasts. But were the ends worth the means?
Multiple Jedi are dead. His youngest nephew killed in action. Jacen, his oldest nephew - my own twin brother - left behind and abandoned during the turbulence following Anakin's death. And his niece left as the only "safe" child of his sister and best friend?
But am I really "safe?" I don't know how to get through the days anymore. I rely on a routine: waking up each morning and dreading the hours that follow, pushing myself through, doing whatever I have to in order to survive and to get through the day, until eventually arriving at sleep. Then the nightmares take over again. I can see Anakin's limp form lying on the hull of that worldship and Jacen's last moments, the last time we made eye contact, the last time we felt each other through the Force.
I'm reminded of the days, years ago, when the galaxy seemed like such an innocent place. Jacen and I would run through the woods playing tricks on Anakin in harmless fun. Or the three of us would team up to pull a prank on Chewbacca.
Chewie. Another casualty of the war. Another life that would never be brought back. Another part of myself that died and left me scarred.
It was all much simpler then. We never felt in danger or had any real reason to be afraid. We always felt safe. After this… how can we ever feel safe again?
The concept of the Trickster expands into dozens of cultural ideals, from Greek and Norse mythology, to the lore of the Native Americans. The specific role, however, varies from culture to culture. Sometimes, the Trickster works maliciously, but other times - usually unintentionally - brings about positive effects. In many cultures, the Trickster appears to be quite jovial, playing tricks and games on individuals, but at the same time operating with a hidden meaning of raising cultural or personal awareness and acting as an "equalizer" within the society.
Other forms of the Trickster would combine in character with that of a cultural hero such as the Native American coyote stealing fire from the gods in order to deliver it unto the people. The Trickster exhibits gender variability throughout different stories and shifts gender role as necessary by the tale.
The coyote is one of the most popular elements of mythlore among the Native American culture and has even been identified as the ultimate Creator in addition to acting a messenger. But many take serious issue with identifying the coyote as the Creator, and instead relate stories where the old coyote merely disguises himself as the Creator. In the stories of the coyote-Creator, he does not take the form of the coyote, but rather can meet and address his animal counterpart, referring to each other as brothers.
As a cultural hero, the coyote embraces an ability of transformation - becoming what is necessary and changing that which needs changed - in addition to combating against monsters and defending the people. This leads to the coyote sometimes being looked upon as a Noble Trickster.
Loki could have done without his grandfather's lectures. The older the man got, the more often it seemed that he felt the need to remind Loki of his tradition. What Grandfather didn't seem to understand was that Loki was part of a younger generation, and they all took it upon themselves to define a new tradition that better met a match to the more modern world that existed beyond the reservation. Hearing this business of Tricksters was just an old root, tying their people down and further preventing them from relating to the larger world. It was nonsense.
He had left his grandfather on the outskirts of the village, the old man content to sit for hours, maybe even days, staring out at the plains and working on his carvings. Content to just be eventually blown away with the winds of time.
But not Loki. He'd rather be somewhere else, in some massive sprawling city with buildings reaching up to the very sky and bustling people on every corner. For now, though, he was forced to be content with their small village and meager dwellings.
As Loki wandered through the village, he came upon an older woman with wind-blown hair and a deep raspy voice carrying a basket full of the most beautiful bushel of wild blackberries that he'd ever seen. Each individual berry was the largest that Loki could ever remember setting his eyes upon; they looked ready to burst at any moment, at the very peak of their ripeness. His mouth began salivating at the mere sight of them - a subconscious reminder that he'd skipped lunch - and Loki knew he had to have those berries.
He asked her if they were being saved for a specific purpose, or if he could get some from her. She told him that they were up for trade, if he had something in return; the woman explained to Loki how her eldest son had spent the entire day picking the berries and she would only be able give him some if he were able to provide her with something in exchange.
Loki thought long and hard about what he had that he could possibly give the woman in exchange for the grueling work her son had gone through to pick them, and eventually pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket. The money at Loki's quick count, added up to about a dollar, which he was intending to put in his collection jar at home. He had been saving for over a year toward buying a portable CD player and the last time he counted his spare change, he was only a few dollars shy of being able to afford it. Loki could hear his mother reminding him that "every little bit counts," but he could also hear his stomach rumbling and knew that he'd rather have the berries in the moment.
Money quickly changed hands and the old woman went on her way while Loki took a moment to admire the berries: they really were the best berries he'd ever seen. It seemed a shame to eat them, to not show them off to his brothers, but then they would expect a share of the berries and Loki had spent his own money to buy them and he was determined to be the only one to enjoy them. He grabbed for one of the berries and tossed it in his mouth-
-and promptly spit it back out. The berry was wretched and quickly killed any appetite that Loki had built up: it was rotten. However perfect the outside had looked, the inside of the berry was spoiled and completely inedible no matter how hungry Loki might have been. He squeezed another berry between his fingers, and then another and another: they all just mushed in his hand, collapsing in on themselves in rotten disappointment. Loki threw the entire handful to the ground, stomped on them, and turned back to look for the woman.
She was long gone - every direction around him seemed deserted and desolate of all life.
Not all life - Loki looked again and saw in the distance, beyond several other houses, lurking in the shadow of a desolate tree, was the slender form of a coyote. The animal, with dusty grey fur, seemed to be staring right at Loki. When Loki looked back, the coyote raised its head toward the sky and offered a mournful call before it turned and ran away.
Loki, in his confusion and frustration, turned and ran as well, heading right back to his grandfather to tell him the story and hope for sympathy.
Uncle Luke came to me earlier with a plan: we have to use the Yuuzhan Vong to fight the Yuuzhan Vong. Break down their mentality, their society, their beliefs by using their own religion against them.
They rely too much on their gods. Yun-Yuuzhan and the rest of that misguided collection of deities.
Luke says that one of their gods, Yun-Harla, might be the way to go.
Harla is their Trickster. I suppose that "Goddess of Deception" is her more technical title, but Trickster has a better ring to it. I suppose Uncle Luke got the idea when I renamed that stolen Vong ship Ksstarr as the Trickster.
What remains of New Republic Intelligence is apparently saying that the Yuuzhan Vong aren't very appreciative of that. Luke said that the Vong think I'm some reincarnation of Yun-Harla. I guess I don't help things by being Jacen's twin… after all, Yun-Harla is considered half of their twin gods.
I can go along with this. I suppose I don't really have that much of a choice: Uncle Luke is already sending false intel to the Yuuzhan Vong to help keep up the illusion. He says that he's going to have all the troopers and Jedi start false-worshipping me. They're trying to give the Yuuzhan Vong a culture shock. And you know what? I think it's going to work.
But I won't lie… I'm a little worried that this is all going to backfire and that the Vong'll all come after me personally, blaming me for this slap in the face. Jaina Solo: one woman against an entire religion. That's an awful lot to be sitting on my shoulders.
Without Anakin, and without Jacen, I don't know how I can get through this without my brothers' strength to lean upon.
Although, maybe I can do it for them. I'll take on the burden in Anakin's memory and in the hope I still have that Jacen will find his way home. I'll function as some kind of sword… a weapon of the Jedi that gets thrust into the very heart of the Yuuzhan Vong's culture. I'll teach the Vong that if they mess with part of the Solo family, they'll mess with all of it.
Grandfather threw back his head and offered a hearty laugh. In many ways, Loki decided, he looked a lot like the coyote did just before it ran off. But Loki was too confused to continue the comparison any further.
"Why are you laughing, Grandfather?"
The old man turned in his chair to better face Loki and held out his work-in-progress woodcarving. "Do you know what I have been carving this whole time?"
Loki shook his head and took the carving from his grandfather. He turned it over in his hands and immediately recognized the shape of the creature that was beginning to appear out of the block of wood: a coyote.
"How did you know?" Loki handed his grandfather the carving back.
Grandfather shrugged and looked at the boy. "How could I have known, Loki?" He smiled again. "Loki, do you know what form the Trickster takes? Which animal he appears as?"
Frowning, Loki shook his head again, although he had a suspicion that he already knew the answer.
"The Trickster comes to us as the coyote." Grandfather smirked and took Loki by the shoulder. "Do you think it was a coincidence that you received rotten berries and then saw a coyote?"
"I guess not."
"Of course not. I'd say the Trickster was trying to warn you… Old coyote is up to his old games again, and you, boy, need to be ready."
They killed my brother. In doing so, they killed me. Jaina Solo is dead.
I am Yun-Harla, reincarnate.
I am the Trickster.
Sources & Conclusion
The Loki/Grandfather tale is a completely original composition. The story was designed to not only address the split that seems prominent in the Native American cultures between the new ways and the old ways, the alienation that some feel from being able to exist in the much more advanced world versus those that can't imagine to abandon the old ways, but also to illustrate the emphasis on the Trickster in their mythology. As the historical section discusses, the Trickster's role in story telling may be either helpful or harmful, or in some cases, potentially neither. In light of the rather darker voice of Jaina Solo, I wanted to use this voice in more of a jovial means and simply provide Loki with a reminder that the Trickster is always present, always watching him. When creating the character name of Loki, I decided to make him the namesake of the Trickster in Norse mythology, in a bit of irony.
For Jaina's voice, the character of Jaina Solo has been defined by dozens of authors in the Star Wars book series. This specific monologue is newly written for this paper, but takes place during and is inspired by events that occur in the book Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream by Aaron Allston and published by Del Rey books, where Jaina renames a ship Trickster and is approached by Luke Skywalker about taking on the mantle of Yun-Harla, a decision that would end up shaping the entire dynamic in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. In the war's final confrontation, the leader of the Yuuzhan Vong continues to identify Jaina as "Yun-Harla" for the duration of the combat, blaming her for the downfall and failure of the Yuuzhan Vong's invasion. Anakin Solo, Jaina's younger brother, was killed during an earlier book in the series, Star By Star, by Troy Denning. The same book saw her twin brother Jacen become captured by the Yuuzhan Vong after providing a distraction that allowed Jaina to recover Anakin's body. Jacen would eventually escape the Yuuzhan Vong after immense torture and never return the same. As far as I can remember from when I read the series, we never truly explored the mindset of what it was that convinced Jaina that she should accept the plan for her to take on the role of the Trickster, and it was my goal to work through her rationalization.
Combined, the stories of Jaina and Loki illustrate two different concepts of the Trickster, one in playfulness and one in a combination of anger and revenge. Even still, Jaina's voice can illustrate the danger that Loki could face by ignoring his Grandfather's teachings, as showing the fury of the Trickster. Alternatively, Loki's voice hopefully provides a counterpart to Jaina's story that the Trickster is always present and it becomes a matter of self-identification and acceptance of how much to listen to him (or, in Jaina's case, her).
The historical section was an attempt to look at the bigger picture of the Trickster mythology. The information was largely summarized and collected from a Wikipedia article on The Trickster located at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickster
which in turn cites a number of sources for their own information, but it is not clear (and thus difficult to cite) which specific pieces come from which specific source. The connections to Loki's story are obvious in the retelling and passing on of myth, but careful reading of the definition of the coyote can easily be applied to the situation that Jaina finds herself placed in during the war against the Yuuzhan Vong.
I'm taking a Native American literature class and our big assignment for the semester is to write what our teacher is calling a 3-voice narrative. It's basically a single story that is told from three different viewpoints that is apparently an up and coming modern/contemporary storytelling means. (I can safely say that mine are probably the most unique/most different in the class.)(I can actually see some parallels to the way that KT writes to this format.) Our teacher required us to include a prelude and postlude "letter" to her, explaining what we're attempting to do in the course of our paper, in the event that the concept doesn't work. Apparently one of her colleagues did a similar assignment and it didn't work out that well, so our teacher isn't expecting grand works of literature here, given the difficulties that the format presents. That said, I thought I'd post mine to share, since I do include a Star wars connection.
Some of the formatting here sucks when I copied it over from Word - i was hoping that Yuku would do a better job of carrying that over. I've done what I can to make it quickly nicer. The three voices have to be distinguished in some way through font choices, so that explains the bolds and italics
Introduction
For the most part, I hope that my three-voice narrative on the Trickster is able to explain itself and I will provide a more detailed analysis at the end, but it is necessary to identify the voices prior to reading.
1) Loki, a Native American boy, around twelve years old and his Grandfather in the present time, written in third person.
2) A historical presentation on the role of the Trickster throughout history and cultures of a more documentarian/text-book approach.
3) A first person internal monologue of Jaina Solo, the daughter of Han and Leia Solo from the Star Wars book series, in the middle of what would become a five-year war.
They killed my brother.
"Loki, come sit by me."
Grandfather was up to his old tricks again, Loki decided. He thought that he was a better trickster than he actually was, but Loki was smarter than him. Loki was twelve and twelve was old enough to be smarter than your grandfather. Twelve was also old enough to want to be doing your own thing and not listen to an old man's stories.
"What is it?" Loki asked as he sat in the dusty dirt next to Grandfather's rickety old folding chair.
Grandfather paused, his attention pulled momentarily to the small woodcarving held gingerly between his frail old hands. "Have you heard of the Trickster, Loki?"
"Of course, Grandfather," Loki appeased the man: he'd been in this situation too many times. Grandfather wanted to pass on some archaic element of their Native American tradition that Loki had learned "just enough" about to get by in school.
"Tell me about him."
"The Trickster does what he wants."
Grandfather brought the carving up by his mouth and exhaled forcefully on it, sending a burst of wood shaving into the air. "Is the Trickster good or bad?"
"Does it matter?" Loki grabbed onto the side of Grandfather's chair and pulled himself back to his feet impatiently. "He's not real."
"Oh, Loki." That voice. Loki had heard Grandfather change into that voice too many times. It was a voice of disappointment, of frustration.
Grandfather tried too hard, Loki decided. Tried too hard to get Loki to adopt the old ways, the old traditions and beliefs that Grandfather clung to in his reluctance to adapt to the modern way of life.
"The Trickster is very real, Loki," Grandfather continued. He kept his face directed toward the woodcarving and his knife, but Loki suspected that weathered lines of disappointment had crossed his features. "The Trickster is one of our most important beings and he is found every single day in our life.
"Sometimes the Trickster will appear for good, sometimes for his own amusement, and sometimes for the bad. But he is always there."
"That's nice, Grandfather," Loki attempted to appease his grandfather so he could go do something - anything - else.
"It is not." Grandfather's voice suddenly grew deeper and more serious with a renewed urgency. "You will regret not respecting the Trickster."
Loki couldn't take it anymore: Grandfather was simply old and set in his ways. There was no way he was going to force Loki to take on the same beliefs. Without another word, Loki kicked his feet in frustration, stirring up the dry soil into a small cloud of dust, and turned back toward the village.
Grandfather simply shook his head, content that Loki would soon get the message, and returned to his woodcarving.
It's only been a few weeks, but it still feels like an open wound. It feels painfully real. I have to remind myself that Anakin is dead every day when I wake up. That is, provided that I can fall asleep at all in the first place. Too many nights I lie awake, staring at the ceiling, unable to push the thoughts from my head.
I'm haunted by the memories. Nothing compares to standing back and watching your little brother get killed. Every time I close my eyes, I relive the horror.
Two years ago, the Yuuzhan Vong came into our galaxy, our home, and began this holocaust of our people. Billions died in the last two years. Entire worlds. I saw friends vaporized when we flew in combat missions together. Fellow Jedi were struck down by warriors driven by their crazed religion and belief in their gods.
But none of it ever felt as real as when they struck down Anakin.
He went out in a blaze of glory, no one can argue that. He took out more warriors and displayed more courage with a tempered age far beyond his years than I've seen some of the most prestigious military generals display. But he was too young.
Mom and Dad still can't believe it either. Can I blame them? When Uncle Luke approved the strike team mission and gave Anakin control, did he ever imagine that this is how it would end? Did the great Luke Skywalker have any warning? And if he did… would he have stopped the mission from happening? We completed our task: we killed the Voxyn Queen. They can't make any more of those Jedi killing beasts. But were the ends worth the means?
Multiple Jedi are dead. His youngest nephew killed in action. Jacen, his oldest nephew - my own twin brother - left behind and abandoned during the turbulence following Anakin's death. And his niece left as the only "safe" child of his sister and best friend?
But am I really "safe?" I don't know how to get through the days anymore. I rely on a routine: waking up each morning and dreading the hours that follow, pushing myself through, doing whatever I have to in order to survive and to get through the day, until eventually arriving at sleep. Then the nightmares take over again. I can see Anakin's limp form lying on the hull of that worldship and Jacen's last moments, the last time we made eye contact, the last time we felt each other through the Force.
I'm reminded of the days, years ago, when the galaxy seemed like such an innocent place. Jacen and I would run through the woods playing tricks on Anakin in harmless fun. Or the three of us would team up to pull a prank on Chewbacca.
Chewie. Another casualty of the war. Another life that would never be brought back. Another part of myself that died and left me scarred.
It was all much simpler then. We never felt in danger or had any real reason to be afraid. We always felt safe. After this… how can we ever feel safe again?
The concept of the Trickster expands into dozens of cultural ideals, from Greek and Norse mythology, to the lore of the Native Americans. The specific role, however, varies from culture to culture. Sometimes, the Trickster works maliciously, but other times - usually unintentionally - brings about positive effects. In many cultures, the Trickster appears to be quite jovial, playing tricks and games on individuals, but at the same time operating with a hidden meaning of raising cultural or personal awareness and acting as an "equalizer" within the society.
Other forms of the Trickster would combine in character with that of a cultural hero such as the Native American coyote stealing fire from the gods in order to deliver it unto the people. The Trickster exhibits gender variability throughout different stories and shifts gender role as necessary by the tale.
The coyote is one of the most popular elements of mythlore among the Native American culture and has even been identified as the ultimate Creator in addition to acting a messenger. But many take serious issue with identifying the coyote as the Creator, and instead relate stories where the old coyote merely disguises himself as the Creator. In the stories of the coyote-Creator, he does not take the form of the coyote, but rather can meet and address his animal counterpart, referring to each other as brothers.
As a cultural hero, the coyote embraces an ability of transformation - becoming what is necessary and changing that which needs changed - in addition to combating against monsters and defending the people. This leads to the coyote sometimes being looked upon as a Noble Trickster.
Loki could have done without his grandfather's lectures. The older the man got, the more often it seemed that he felt the need to remind Loki of his tradition. What Grandfather didn't seem to understand was that Loki was part of a younger generation, and they all took it upon themselves to define a new tradition that better met a match to the more modern world that existed beyond the reservation. Hearing this business of Tricksters was just an old root, tying their people down and further preventing them from relating to the larger world. It was nonsense.
He had left his grandfather on the outskirts of the village, the old man content to sit for hours, maybe even days, staring out at the plains and working on his carvings. Content to just be eventually blown away with the winds of time.
But not Loki. He'd rather be somewhere else, in some massive sprawling city with buildings reaching up to the very sky and bustling people on every corner. For now, though, he was forced to be content with their small village and meager dwellings.
As Loki wandered through the village, he came upon an older woman with wind-blown hair and a deep raspy voice carrying a basket full of the most beautiful bushel of wild blackberries that he'd ever seen. Each individual berry was the largest that Loki could ever remember setting his eyes upon; they looked ready to burst at any moment, at the very peak of their ripeness. His mouth began salivating at the mere sight of them - a subconscious reminder that he'd skipped lunch - and Loki knew he had to have those berries.
He asked her if they were being saved for a specific purpose, or if he could get some from her. She told him that they were up for trade, if he had something in return; the woman explained to Loki how her eldest son had spent the entire day picking the berries and she would only be able give him some if he were able to provide her with something in exchange.
Loki thought long and hard about what he had that he could possibly give the woman in exchange for the grueling work her son had gone through to pick them, and eventually pulled out a handful of coins from his pocket. The money at Loki's quick count, added up to about a dollar, which he was intending to put in his collection jar at home. He had been saving for over a year toward buying a portable CD player and the last time he counted his spare change, he was only a few dollars shy of being able to afford it. Loki could hear his mother reminding him that "every little bit counts," but he could also hear his stomach rumbling and knew that he'd rather have the berries in the moment.
Money quickly changed hands and the old woman went on her way while Loki took a moment to admire the berries: they really were the best berries he'd ever seen. It seemed a shame to eat them, to not show them off to his brothers, but then they would expect a share of the berries and Loki had spent his own money to buy them and he was determined to be the only one to enjoy them. He grabbed for one of the berries and tossed it in his mouth-
-and promptly spit it back out. The berry was wretched and quickly killed any appetite that Loki had built up: it was rotten. However perfect the outside had looked, the inside of the berry was spoiled and completely inedible no matter how hungry Loki might have been. He squeezed another berry between his fingers, and then another and another: they all just mushed in his hand, collapsing in on themselves in rotten disappointment. Loki threw the entire handful to the ground, stomped on them, and turned back to look for the woman.
She was long gone - every direction around him seemed deserted and desolate of all life.
Not all life - Loki looked again and saw in the distance, beyond several other houses, lurking in the shadow of a desolate tree, was the slender form of a coyote. The animal, with dusty grey fur, seemed to be staring right at Loki. When Loki looked back, the coyote raised its head toward the sky and offered a mournful call before it turned and ran away.
Loki, in his confusion and frustration, turned and ran as well, heading right back to his grandfather to tell him the story and hope for sympathy.
Uncle Luke came to me earlier with a plan: we have to use the Yuuzhan Vong to fight the Yuuzhan Vong. Break down their mentality, their society, their beliefs by using their own religion against them.
They rely too much on their gods. Yun-Yuuzhan and the rest of that misguided collection of deities.
Luke says that one of their gods, Yun-Harla, might be the way to go.
Harla is their Trickster. I suppose that "Goddess of Deception" is her more technical title, but Trickster has a better ring to it. I suppose Uncle Luke got the idea when I renamed that stolen Vong ship Ksstarr as the Trickster.
What remains of New Republic Intelligence is apparently saying that the Yuuzhan Vong aren't very appreciative of that. Luke said that the Vong think I'm some reincarnation of Yun-Harla. I guess I don't help things by being Jacen's twin… after all, Yun-Harla is considered half of their twin gods.
I can go along with this. I suppose I don't really have that much of a choice: Uncle Luke is already sending false intel to the Yuuzhan Vong to help keep up the illusion. He says that he's going to have all the troopers and Jedi start false-worshipping me. They're trying to give the Yuuzhan Vong a culture shock. And you know what? I think it's going to work.
But I won't lie… I'm a little worried that this is all going to backfire and that the Vong'll all come after me personally, blaming me for this slap in the face. Jaina Solo: one woman against an entire religion. That's an awful lot to be sitting on my shoulders.
Without Anakin, and without Jacen, I don't know how I can get through this without my brothers' strength to lean upon.
Although, maybe I can do it for them. I'll take on the burden in Anakin's memory and in the hope I still have that Jacen will find his way home. I'll function as some kind of sword… a weapon of the Jedi that gets thrust into the very heart of the Yuuzhan Vong's culture. I'll teach the Vong that if they mess with part of the Solo family, they'll mess with all of it.
Grandfather threw back his head and offered a hearty laugh. In many ways, Loki decided, he looked a lot like the coyote did just before it ran off. But Loki was too confused to continue the comparison any further.
"Why are you laughing, Grandfather?"
The old man turned in his chair to better face Loki and held out his work-in-progress woodcarving. "Do you know what I have been carving this whole time?"
Loki shook his head and took the carving from his grandfather. He turned it over in his hands and immediately recognized the shape of the creature that was beginning to appear out of the block of wood: a coyote.
"How did you know?" Loki handed his grandfather the carving back.
Grandfather shrugged and looked at the boy. "How could I have known, Loki?" He smiled again. "Loki, do you know what form the Trickster takes? Which animal he appears as?"
Frowning, Loki shook his head again, although he had a suspicion that he already knew the answer.
"The Trickster comes to us as the coyote." Grandfather smirked and took Loki by the shoulder. "Do you think it was a coincidence that you received rotten berries and then saw a coyote?"
"I guess not."
"Of course not. I'd say the Trickster was trying to warn you… Old coyote is up to his old games again, and you, boy, need to be ready."
They killed my brother. In doing so, they killed me. Jaina Solo is dead.
I am Yun-Harla, reincarnate.
I am the Trickster.
Sources & Conclusion
The Loki/Grandfather tale is a completely original composition. The story was designed to not only address the split that seems prominent in the Native American cultures between the new ways and the old ways, the alienation that some feel from being able to exist in the much more advanced world versus those that can't imagine to abandon the old ways, but also to illustrate the emphasis on the Trickster in their mythology. As the historical section discusses, the Trickster's role in story telling may be either helpful or harmful, or in some cases, potentially neither. In light of the rather darker voice of Jaina Solo, I wanted to use this voice in more of a jovial means and simply provide Loki with a reminder that the Trickster is always present, always watching him. When creating the character name of Loki, I decided to make him the namesake of the Trickster in Norse mythology, in a bit of irony.
For Jaina's voice, the character of Jaina Solo has been defined by dozens of authors in the Star Wars book series. This specific monologue is newly written for this paper, but takes place during and is inspired by events that occur in the book Star Wars: The New Jedi Order: Enemy Lines: Rebel Dream by Aaron Allston and published by Del Rey books, where Jaina renames a ship Trickster and is approached by Luke Skywalker about taking on the mantle of Yun-Harla, a decision that would end up shaping the entire dynamic in the war against the Yuuzhan Vong. In the war's final confrontation, the leader of the Yuuzhan Vong continues to identify Jaina as "Yun-Harla" for the duration of the combat, blaming her for the downfall and failure of the Yuuzhan Vong's invasion. Anakin Solo, Jaina's younger brother, was killed during an earlier book in the series, Star By Star, by Troy Denning. The same book saw her twin brother Jacen become captured by the Yuuzhan Vong after providing a distraction that allowed Jaina to recover Anakin's body. Jacen would eventually escape the Yuuzhan Vong after immense torture and never return the same. As far as I can remember from when I read the series, we never truly explored the mindset of what it was that convinced Jaina that she should accept the plan for her to take on the role of the Trickster, and it was my goal to work through her rationalization.
Combined, the stories of Jaina and Loki illustrate two different concepts of the Trickster, one in playfulness and one in a combination of anger and revenge. Even still, Jaina's voice can illustrate the danger that Loki could face by ignoring his Grandfather's teachings, as showing the fury of the Trickster. Alternatively, Loki's voice hopefully provides a counterpart to Jaina's story that the Trickster is always present and it becomes a matter of self-identification and acceptance of how much to listen to him (or, in Jaina's case, her).
The historical section was an attempt to look at the bigger picture of the Trickster mythology. The information was largely summarized and collected from a Wikipedia article on The Trickster located at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trickster
which in turn cites a number of sources for their own information, but it is not clear (and thus difficult to cite) which specific pieces come from which specific source. The connections to Loki's story are obvious in the retelling and passing on of myth, but careful reading of the definition of the coyote can easily be applied to the situation that Jaina finds herself placed in during the war against the Yuuzhan Vong.
