Episode III: A Very Special Bow

There is music at the end of the page if you want to listen! This is music for the final scene of the (Remastered) edition of Return of the Jedi.

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

On Endor, after the events of Return of the Jedi.

It seemed like Luke had just fallen asleep when suddenly he heard a knock on the door of the little Ewok hut he'd spent the night in. He rolled over, hoping that if he ignored the knocks whoever it was would simply go away. He heard another knock and C3-PO's voice called out "Master Luke?" With a groan Luke slowly opened his eyes.

"Yeah?" Luke called out eventually in answer.

C3-PO waddled in, followed by Artoo and one of the Ewoks. Leia called him Wicket.

"Good morning, Master Luke." C3-PO began. "Sorry to disturb you, but it appears our furry companion is in need of our assistance."

"What do you mean?" Luke replied, brow creased in a slight frown.

"The traps we used to defeat the Empire are apparently there for good reason. There are terrifying creatures that roam these woods. They would love to make a meal of these poor little Ewoks," 3PO replied.

Luke sighed, then sat up and grabbed his boots which he'd taken off to sleep. "We'd better get Leia and the others," he finally replied with a small yawn.

"So what are these creatures called again?" Han asked as they walked along the forest floor, looking for the traps.

"Rakshasas apparently. Giant demon-like creatures," Luke replied.

"Oh. Great," Han replied sarcastically.

The group walked on until they found the first of the traps. 3PO translated Wicket's instructions on how to reset the trap set high up in the tree. Luke turned to Chewie. "Chewie, if I push the log over to you can you get it tied back?" Luke asked. Chewie gruffed in agreement, and Luke turned back around and used the Force to leap into the lower branches of the tree. They both worked their way up their respective trees and got the log trap safely reset.

The two of them were just about to climb down when they heard a roar further in the forest. It sounded close by.

Luke could just make out Leia's words from his spot in the tree. "'I've got a bad feeling about this."

A large creature, a Rakshasa, stepped out from the gloom. Its eyes were looking hungrily at Leia, Han, and Wicket. Luke crept along a branch, trying to get a good angle to jump down and take the creature by surprise. He didn't necessarily want to hurt the creature, but it was going after his friends and the Ewoks had helped them defeat the Empire.

The Rakshasa swatted at Leia and Han, who managed to get out of the way. The creature decided to go for Leia, who was backing up towards Luke's tree, firing her blaster at it. The blaster didn't seem to be doing much damage through the Rakshasa's skin, only angering him. As the Rakshasa got closer, Luke leaped down from his branch, lighting his saber on the way down. With a swing of his blade, he killed the Rakshasa and saved his sister.

Leia gave him a huge hug and the whole group cheered. The cheers were starting to die down when they heard another roar and suddenly an even bigger Rakshasa came charging into the clearing. They leaped out of the way, the creature just missing them. Weapons ready, they turned to face this new opponent.

They fired their blasters and Luke swung his saber, but this bigger Rakshasa had tougher skin so it was going to take much more to bring it down. As Chewie fired his blaster, the Rakshasa roared and swiped at Chewie. The blow largely missed Chewie but knocked his crossbow out of his hand. As they pushed the creature back the Rakshasa stepped on the crossbow before Chewie could get to it, breaking it beyond repair.

Chewie yelled angrily, and he was forced to use his paws to beat the Rakshasa back. They walked the creature towards the trap. When it was in position, Luke threw his lightsaber in an arc at the rope that held the trap back, much like his father had done on the second Death Star. The trap collided with the Rakshasa's head and with a crack of the creature's skull it fell to the ground.

They slowly regrouped in the clearing. Wicket said something in his language, which 3PO helpfully translated. "He says that he never wants to do something like that again."

"Tell the little furball that I agree," Han replied.

They caught their breath and assessed their injuries. Just as they were getting ready to finish resetting the traps and head back to the village, Luke sensed someone coming. He turned and saw a figure walking towards them. The figure was humanoid, with ashen-white skin and a blue neck. He smiled at them, and Luke sensed no ill intent from him.

"Greetings. You may call me Shiva. You do not know me, but I've been watching over you. "He turned towards Chewie, who was still upset over losing his crossbow, and continued. "I've come because I have a gift for you, Chewbacca. I saw you lose your crossbow. In exchange for defeating the mighty Rakshasa, I would like to present you with the Pinaka. He is my personal bow, and he's served me well over the years."

Chewie howled in delight, and gently took the bow from Shiva's hands. It morphed into a crossbow much like Chewie's previous one. Shiva smiled. "I'll take that as a yes. I must be going now. It was nice to meet all of you. Take good care of the Pinaka, Chewie."

With that he inclined his head and left. The group was left to ponder just who Shiva was, and why he'd been watching over them.

The End

Author's Note: We've come to the end of our stories! For this one I really wanted to set it in Endor, with the Ewoks, after the events of Return of the Jedi (which is my favorite of the movies so far). I thought it would be the perfect setting for the story I wanted to write. I don't think they left right after the battle. I think they spent the night at the village, so these events occur the day after the battle. I also knew I wanted someone to get the Pinaka, and who better than Chewie, since he uses a crossbow all the time? I thought he'd be the perfect candidate. I also thought I could have Shiva give the bow to Chewie, and I decided I wanted it to morph to fit Chewie's needs. I also needed an effective way for the crossbow to break so that Chewie could have the Pinaka, so I thought a really big creature would be able to break it. There are actually giant creatures on Endor called Gorax, which is why the Ewoks had those traps to use on the Empire and their machines. I based my story a bit on the story on the page about the Gorax. I decided, for the purpose of the course, to rename them Rakshasas. I truly hope you all enjoyed my stories. I had so much fun writing them!

Bibliography. "Pinaka" Wikipedia. Web Source.

"Shiva" Encyclopedia Britannica. Web Source.

"Endor" Wookipedia. Web Source.