Part XXI -- Epilogue
"This is a Rebel that surrendered to us."
Xanth's time runs differently from Galactic Standard time, so it could easily have been either years or minutes after their departure from Lake Eerie that Luke and Vader met again. But it was no cordial meeting -- Luke was cuffed and flanked by stormtroopers, accompanied by a slightly gloating Imperial officer.
"Although he denies it, I believe there may be more of them, and I request permission to conduct a further search of the area." He extended a hand. "He was armed only with this."
Father and son spent a moment gazing at each other, not speaking. Vader was the first to break eye contact, turning to the officer and taking the proffered lightsaber.
"Good work, Commander. Leave us. Conduct your search and bring his companions to me."
"Yes, my lord."
They were alone on the lower platform, the lush forests of Endor surrounding them. Neither spoke as they began to slowly walk side by side. Only the drone of insects and the chatter of forest animals intruded on their silence.
Luke had come willingly, but he didn't know quite what to expect. The last time he had spoken to his father, there had been an audience. Now there was only the two of them -- no elf or cat, demon or centaur, magician or unicorn. Just them.
Stang, had it really been nine months since they traveled Xanth together? The memory of their adventures was still so fresh in his mind. He wondered if Vader had played the game at all since. Luke just hadn't had time...
"The Emperor has been expecting you," Vader said at last.
So he's going to pretend it never happened, Luke thought, annoyed. "I know -- Father."
The glistening black helmet turned to regard him. This was probably the first time Vader had heard Luke call him that to his face.
"So you have accepted the truth," he noted. Luke could read the unspoken thought behind that statement -- it's about damn time, boy.
It had certainly been a long, arduous road toward acceptance. Piecing together a shattered ideal of a father was by no means easy. But meeting his mother and learning the truth from Obi-wan and Yoda on Dagobah had helped him become, if not entirely comfortable with the truth, at least tolerant of it.
"I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father..."
"That name," Vader interrupted, turning and shaking the confiscated lightsaber at him like a teacher scolding a disruptive student, "no longer has any meaning for me."
"It is the name of your true self," Luke countered. "You've only forgotten."
They paused in their walking. Vader continued to gaze at him as if puzzled. Didn't he understand that he was trying to help his father? Maybe he couldn't see it, but Luke knew his father still carried a vestige of good inside him. Jenny had recognized it, encouraging it by offering him nothing but kindness and compassion. The Good Magician had seen it -- why else would he call Vader by his true name? And though Obi-wan claimed that Vader had destroyed Anakin and was more machine than man, twisted and evil, Luke sided with Jenny. Anakin existed. He only needed drawn out.
"I know there is good in you," he pressed. "The Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully."
Vader said nothing.
"That was why you couldn't destroy me," he finished, turning and placing his cuffed hands on the railing. "That's why you won't bring me to your Emperor now."
There was a pregnant silence as Vader considered Luke's words. An eerie hum drowned out the sounds of the forest, and he looked behind him to see Vader holding his activated lightsaber, studying it. It glowed a brilliant green, the jewel given to Luke by the imps lending the energy sword its verdant color. The shimmering blade cast emerald light on Vader's armor, reminding Luke of the moment in Darius' fortress when he had healed the Sith's wounds.
"I see you have constructed a new lightsaber," he mused, checking the grip. "Your skills are complete. Indeed you are powerful as the Emperor has foreseen."
He switched the blade off. Luke watched as he turned to stare into the forest. The man seemed troubled, conflicted, at war with himself. What had happened over the past months to tear him apart? Could he reach his father through the turbulence in his soul? There was only one way to find out.
"Come with me," he offered.
***
"Come with me."
Vader didn't respond at once. The offer was a tempting one. He and Luke had braved a wilder wilderness than this before. They could do it again. The thought brought a smile to his lips.
"Obi-wan once thought as you do," he replied, remembering his old master fondly for once. At the end Kenobi had tried to reach his apprentice by reminding him of old times, of their comradeship and the adventures they'd had together. And he had almost won Anakin back.
But Anakin was under the control of a force far more powerful than his free will. He could no more follow Luke than he could break free of his armor. As his life-support systems gave him life and enslaved said life to their whim, the Emperor had given him vast power at a very dear price. He had no agency, but was only a puppet whose strings were pulled by a sadistic puppeteer.
He turned back to his son. "You don't know the power of the dark side. I must obey my master."
Luke shook his head slightly. "I won't turn, and you'll be forced to kill me."
It was a challenge, and Vader knew it. He'd told Luke before that he couldn't kill his sole reminder of Padme. But that was then; this was now. Palpatine had kept a suffocatingly close watch over his every thought and action since he'd returned from Xanth, and he'd spent so much energy keeping himself in tune with the Emperor's expectations that he knew he couldn't escape now.
"If that is your destiny," he said quietly, voice laden with regret.
"Search your feelings, Father!" Luke pressed. "You can't do this! I can feel the conflict within you! Let go of your hate!"
But I hate no one, Vader thought. I only mourn my loss. I lost my freedom, my friend, and my love through the dark side, and I am about to lose my son through that same power.
Had Luke approached him as recently as two months ago, Vader might have found the strength to run. But he couldn't now. It was too late.
"It is... too late for me, son."
And with that, he gave a sharp gesture.
Stormtroopers surrounded Luke, ready to escort him to Vader's waiting shuttle.
"The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now."
It took Luke a minute to reply. "Then my father is truly dead," he whispered, then followed the troopers to the waiting lift. The doors hissed closed like the blade of a guillotine.
"My father is truly dead." The words stung, as most truths do. What kind of a father did this to his offspring? Luke had come to him offering an escape, trying to save him, and he had repaid him by delivering him to the slavers of darkness -- or the gallows, depending on Luke's choice.
He stared at nothing in particular, leaning against the railing, tears pouring down his face, awash in agony. When he'd thought his son had drowned in the flooded Gap Chasm, he had done all in his power to revive him. When they had faced impossible odds together during their quest to destroy Darius, he had protected Luke as surely as Metria had. But now, when Luke faced the direst peril of his life, he did nothing to stop it.
"Jenny," he moaned, "where are you when I need you?" The elf girl had been a voice of reason and his truest ally. If she were here...
But she wasn't. Neither was Metria. They had to face this challenge alone.
He entered the lift.
***
Jenny smiled to herself as the portal closed behind the Players. She had known all along that Vader was a good man. Seeing his son come to accept that gave her a warm feeling inside.
"I wonder when they'll be back," she mused.
"They won't be," the Good Magician replied.
Everyone looked at the old sorcerer in surprise. "And how do you know this?" demanded Metria.
"He knows everything," Wara retorted.
"Not when it pertains to other worlds," Humphrey corrected. "But the Star Wars galaxy is well-known to Mundania, so Kenya was able to educate me." He nodded at her.
"What's going to happen to them?" asked Jenny.
"They'll go back to their galaxy," Kenya replied quietly. "Once there, Vader will be too busy helping his master set a trap for the Rebellion to play the game again. Luke will be too busy helping the Rebellion rescue a friend to play the game again. They will meet again in about a year. Vader's master will set them against each other in a father vs. son battle. In the end, Vader will sacrifice himself to save Luke's life."
Jenny gasped. "That's..." She didn't know what to say. "Horrible" was a totally inappropriate word, but so was "wonderful," even though both words applied.
"He was the Chosen One, wasn't he?" Chang asked. "Vader was the one I sought all along. He helped me achieve my heart's desire."
"Darth Vader was once known as Anakin Skywalker," Humphrey explained. "Because his mother had him without summoning the stork first, the Jedi called him the Chosen One, one who would bring balance to the Force. But he turned on the Jedi Order and destroyed it. The few remaining Jedi now consider Luke the Chosen One. What the Jedi and the Sith fail to take into account is that Anakin will bring balance to the Force by restoring a power long denied both Orders -- love."
"Love?" repeated Wara.
"That's what I said," Humphrey snapped. "Both the Jedi and the Sith banned love for stupid philosophical reasons. The Sith fear the power of true love, and the Jedi fear the power of love scorned."
"But love is the most powerful form of magic ever!" Wara exclaimed.
"Yes, and when Vader dies for his son, he will bring the power of love back to the Jedi Order."
Jenny stared at the ground, tears in her eyes. "Will Vader come to Xanth when he dies?"
"Vader won't," the Magician replied. "But Anakin will."
She looked up eagerly. "Really?"
"So that's why you said Raider needed the talent more than Cloudwalker," Metria noted. "You knew he'd come to Xanth."
"Anakin is lost in the blackness that surrounds Vader's soul," Humphrey said quietly. "But love will save him yet."
Author's Note
The only reason I picked up "Dragon on a Pedestal" by Piers Anthony in a thrift store five years ago was the cover art -- I'm almost as obsessed with dragons as I am with Star Wars. But by the time I finished that book, I knew that I had to do two things: find more Xanth books (luckily, our local library keeps me well-stocked) and write a Star Wars/Xanth crossover.
I was still struggling to find my fanfic niche, so the original plot involved Jango Fett and a five-year-old Boba Fett crash-landing on Xanth and having to find the Holey Grail, a vessel full of holes that turned ordinary water into powerful healing elixir, in order to repair the Slave. But the story didn't get written and didn't get written, and anyway, I had no idea how to execute it without turning it into a blatant "Indy and the Last Crusade" ripoff. So I shelved the idea.
Around the time I was wrapping up my previous story, "The Armor of Vader," I decided to resurrect the Xanth idea and see if I couldn't still do something with it. I wanted to make it a Luke/Vader fic, of course, and by then I had read the Xanth novel "Demons Don't Dream," in which two Mundanian teenagers visit Xanth via computer game. After reading about the game, I thought "This is the perfect way for Luke and Vader to enter Xanth!" And the story developed from there. (For the record, Darius Dracotaur, the scheming dragon-centaur crossbreed Magician, was the intended villain for the Fett-based story and was the only original character that survived the L/V remake.)
All in all, I'm pleased with the way "Centaur of Attention" turned out in the end. Though I do not claim it is in any way canon, it can't be classified as Alternate Universe either (unless it's an AU of "Shadows of the Empire"). If anything, it serves as a bridge piece between ESB and ROTJ, bizarre though it is. I wanted to attempt to explain how Luke could violently protest Vader's declaration in ESB and be so eager to bring him back in ROTJ, and how Vader could go from extreme baddie in ESB to tragic hero in ROTJ.
For those of you wondering if Piers Anthony's Xanth works are really as crazy as "Centaur," the answer is no. I actually had to tone Xanth down a bit so the comedy and drama sequences didn't clash too horrendously. I'm not sure Luke or Vader would survive an hour in vintage Xanth. Otherwise, I have tried to keep this story true to Piers' style.
One of the things I love about his books is that they never take themselves seriously. The characters openly talk about the proceedings being written down (though they refer to the books as "historical volumes by the Muses that some yahoo is smuggling into Mundania"). The references to Piers and myself aiding the Muses, as well as Vader seeing the section break in Chapter 5, pay homage to that.
Another practice of Piers' is to incorporate existing people into his books. Jenny Elf is an example of this -- a young fan of the Xanth books was hit by a drunk driver and put in a coma, and as a tribute to her Piers inserted her in Xanth in the form of Jenny Elf. He keeps his fans updated on her condition through author's notes at the end of his books and even published his correspondences with her in a book, "Letters to Jenny."
Other friends and fans of Piers have made it into the books -- but sadly, most of them are given this honor posthumously. It's as if Xanth has become his version of heaven.
I've carried on with this tradition, as evidenced by my cameo in Chapters 7 and 20. The three Mundanians living in the Ogre-fen Ogre-fen in Chapter 16 are all real people, and I honor their memory by allowing them to aid Luke and Vader (whether they appreciate the honor, who can say). Matt Agnew was a classmate of mine in middle school who died in an accidental shooting when he was fourteen. Tracy Edwards, a friend from high school, was killed in a car accident shortly after graduating from high school in 2002. And my grandfather, David "Gale" Behunin, a fellow science fiction fan and avid reader, passed away in 2001 after a heart attack.
The last inclusion in this story was our family dog Mistletoe -- Misty for short. Her pedigree included Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, Chow, and wolf. We had her from puppyhood until she was thirteen years old. She came down with cancer and had to be put to sleep in 2002. I don't need to describe her appearance or nature to you, because you know from the story. (I highly doubt she was Padme in disguise, though she always did seem apart from other dogs.)
Piers Anthony loves his fans and is always eager to accept ideas from them, giving them credit for their ideas at the end of each book. Thus, I had few qualms about making up my own characters, puns, and locations for "Centaur." The following ideas were my own.
Chang Centaur, Wara Werecorn, Darius Dracotaur, the two Aunties in Chapter 5, and the imps of Imp Ire in Chapter 14 were original characters. The rest can be found in at least one other Xanth book. Their personalities in this story match those in the books.
Lake Eerie and Imp Ire are my own creation; the rest of Xanth can be found on the maps included in most Xanth books.
Of the twenty-odd Xanth books, I have read ten -- "Night Mare," "Dragon on a Pedestal," "Golem in the Gears," "Vale of the Vole," "Demon's Don't Dream," "Harpy Thyme," "Geis of the Gargoyle," "Roc And a Hard Place," "Yon Ill Wind," and portions of "The Dastard." The following puns and concepts are not in the above books, but they may appear in one form or another in other Xanth books -- ass-ass-in droids, tulips, wormhole, blast-her, rock 'n' roll, snare drum, going hoarse, pole vault, tarp-pit, jelly beans, soap stone, Taylor, dust bunny, Golden Delicious apples, George Bush (deliberate poke at current events -- sorry), paper wasp, the concept of Xanth and Mundania's dream realms overlapping, porpoise, hole-o-graham, bolt of lightning, starfruit, rock slide, troll booth, all the ships except the Relation Ship, gold and silver oars, allegation snapping turtle, dizzy spell, insani-tree, Well Ee-nuph, Coulda Beans, dreamcatcher, cripple creek, strawberries, air plain, wind bag, air bag, air break, sea-biscuits (another current event joke), triginome-tree, house fly, dewbacks, and the Pillars. All other puns were Pier's ideas (or another fan's.)
Some of you may be wondering why, of all the characters' issues, only Chang and Wara's were resolved. After all, you saw everyone's heart's desires in the dreamcatcher! Rest assured, they get settled. Piers isn't much for downer endings.
I don't know if Jenny Elf ever returns to the World of Two Moons, but I'm told she finds true love in the book "Zombie Lover." Metria's problem is a two-part problem -- obtain a soul and have a child -- so the rest of her story is told in two books, "Harpy Thyme" and "Roc And a Hard Place."
What about Luke and Vader? I intentionally left off at the Endor meeting in ROTJ (my absolute favorite scene out of the entire series) because I'm sure you, the reader, can guess the rest. Yes, I know it's a downer ending, but it's proper, from a certain point of view. For Anakin and Padme are together again in Xanth, and Luke has a means of visiting them there. I really can't think of a better ending than that.
"This is a Rebel that surrendered to us."
Xanth's time runs differently from Galactic Standard time, so it could easily have been either years or minutes after their departure from Lake Eerie that Luke and Vader met again. But it was no cordial meeting -- Luke was cuffed and flanked by stormtroopers, accompanied by a slightly gloating Imperial officer.
"Although he denies it, I believe there may be more of them, and I request permission to conduct a further search of the area." He extended a hand. "He was armed only with this."
Father and son spent a moment gazing at each other, not speaking. Vader was the first to break eye contact, turning to the officer and taking the proffered lightsaber.
"Good work, Commander. Leave us. Conduct your search and bring his companions to me."
"Yes, my lord."
They were alone on the lower platform, the lush forests of Endor surrounding them. Neither spoke as they began to slowly walk side by side. Only the drone of insects and the chatter of forest animals intruded on their silence.
Luke had come willingly, but he didn't know quite what to expect. The last time he had spoken to his father, there had been an audience. Now there was only the two of them -- no elf or cat, demon or centaur, magician or unicorn. Just them.
Stang, had it really been nine months since they traveled Xanth together? The memory of their adventures was still so fresh in his mind. He wondered if Vader had played the game at all since. Luke just hadn't had time...
"The Emperor has been expecting you," Vader said at last.
So he's going to pretend it never happened, Luke thought, annoyed. "I know -- Father."
The glistening black helmet turned to regard him. This was probably the first time Vader had heard Luke call him that to his face.
"So you have accepted the truth," he noted. Luke could read the unspoken thought behind that statement -- it's about damn time, boy.
It had certainly been a long, arduous road toward acceptance. Piecing together a shattered ideal of a father was by no means easy. But meeting his mother and learning the truth from Obi-wan and Yoda on Dagobah had helped him become, if not entirely comfortable with the truth, at least tolerant of it.
"I've accepted the truth that you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father..."
"That name," Vader interrupted, turning and shaking the confiscated lightsaber at him like a teacher scolding a disruptive student, "no longer has any meaning for me."
"It is the name of your true self," Luke countered. "You've only forgotten."
They paused in their walking. Vader continued to gaze at him as if puzzled. Didn't he understand that he was trying to help his father? Maybe he couldn't see it, but Luke knew his father still carried a vestige of good inside him. Jenny had recognized it, encouraging it by offering him nothing but kindness and compassion. The Good Magician had seen it -- why else would he call Vader by his true name? And though Obi-wan claimed that Vader had destroyed Anakin and was more machine than man, twisted and evil, Luke sided with Jenny. Anakin existed. He only needed drawn out.
"I know there is good in you," he pressed. "The Emperor hasn't driven it from you fully."
Vader said nothing.
"That was why you couldn't destroy me," he finished, turning and placing his cuffed hands on the railing. "That's why you won't bring me to your Emperor now."
There was a pregnant silence as Vader considered Luke's words. An eerie hum drowned out the sounds of the forest, and he looked behind him to see Vader holding his activated lightsaber, studying it. It glowed a brilliant green, the jewel given to Luke by the imps lending the energy sword its verdant color. The shimmering blade cast emerald light on Vader's armor, reminding Luke of the moment in Darius' fortress when he had healed the Sith's wounds.
"I see you have constructed a new lightsaber," he mused, checking the grip. "Your skills are complete. Indeed you are powerful as the Emperor has foreseen."
He switched the blade off. Luke watched as he turned to stare into the forest. The man seemed troubled, conflicted, at war with himself. What had happened over the past months to tear him apart? Could he reach his father through the turbulence in his soul? There was only one way to find out.
"Come with me," he offered.
***
"Come with me."
Vader didn't respond at once. The offer was a tempting one. He and Luke had braved a wilder wilderness than this before. They could do it again. The thought brought a smile to his lips.
"Obi-wan once thought as you do," he replied, remembering his old master fondly for once. At the end Kenobi had tried to reach his apprentice by reminding him of old times, of their comradeship and the adventures they'd had together. And he had almost won Anakin back.
But Anakin was under the control of a force far more powerful than his free will. He could no more follow Luke than he could break free of his armor. As his life-support systems gave him life and enslaved said life to their whim, the Emperor had given him vast power at a very dear price. He had no agency, but was only a puppet whose strings were pulled by a sadistic puppeteer.
He turned back to his son. "You don't know the power of the dark side. I must obey my master."
Luke shook his head slightly. "I won't turn, and you'll be forced to kill me."
It was a challenge, and Vader knew it. He'd told Luke before that he couldn't kill his sole reminder of Padme. But that was then; this was now. Palpatine had kept a suffocatingly close watch over his every thought and action since he'd returned from Xanth, and he'd spent so much energy keeping himself in tune with the Emperor's expectations that he knew he couldn't escape now.
"If that is your destiny," he said quietly, voice laden with regret.
"Search your feelings, Father!" Luke pressed. "You can't do this! I can feel the conflict within you! Let go of your hate!"
But I hate no one, Vader thought. I only mourn my loss. I lost my freedom, my friend, and my love through the dark side, and I am about to lose my son through that same power.
Had Luke approached him as recently as two months ago, Vader might have found the strength to run. But he couldn't now. It was too late.
"It is... too late for me, son."
And with that, he gave a sharp gesture.
Stormtroopers surrounded Luke, ready to escort him to Vader's waiting shuttle.
"The Emperor will show you the true nature of the Force. He is your master now."
It took Luke a minute to reply. "Then my father is truly dead," he whispered, then followed the troopers to the waiting lift. The doors hissed closed like the blade of a guillotine.
"My father is truly dead." The words stung, as most truths do. What kind of a father did this to his offspring? Luke had come to him offering an escape, trying to save him, and he had repaid him by delivering him to the slavers of darkness -- or the gallows, depending on Luke's choice.
He stared at nothing in particular, leaning against the railing, tears pouring down his face, awash in agony. When he'd thought his son had drowned in the flooded Gap Chasm, he had done all in his power to revive him. When they had faced impossible odds together during their quest to destroy Darius, he had protected Luke as surely as Metria had. But now, when Luke faced the direst peril of his life, he did nothing to stop it.
"Jenny," he moaned, "where are you when I need you?" The elf girl had been a voice of reason and his truest ally. If she were here...
But she wasn't. Neither was Metria. They had to face this challenge alone.
He entered the lift.
***
Jenny smiled to herself as the portal closed behind the Players. She had known all along that Vader was a good man. Seeing his son come to accept that gave her a warm feeling inside.
"I wonder when they'll be back," she mused.
"They won't be," the Good Magician replied.
Everyone looked at the old sorcerer in surprise. "And how do you know this?" demanded Metria.
"He knows everything," Wara retorted.
"Not when it pertains to other worlds," Humphrey corrected. "But the Star Wars galaxy is well-known to Mundania, so Kenya was able to educate me." He nodded at her.
"What's going to happen to them?" asked Jenny.
"They'll go back to their galaxy," Kenya replied quietly. "Once there, Vader will be too busy helping his master set a trap for the Rebellion to play the game again. Luke will be too busy helping the Rebellion rescue a friend to play the game again. They will meet again in about a year. Vader's master will set them against each other in a father vs. son battle. In the end, Vader will sacrifice himself to save Luke's life."
Jenny gasped. "That's..." She didn't know what to say. "Horrible" was a totally inappropriate word, but so was "wonderful," even though both words applied.
"He was the Chosen One, wasn't he?" Chang asked. "Vader was the one I sought all along. He helped me achieve my heart's desire."
"Darth Vader was once known as Anakin Skywalker," Humphrey explained. "Because his mother had him without summoning the stork first, the Jedi called him the Chosen One, one who would bring balance to the Force. But he turned on the Jedi Order and destroyed it. The few remaining Jedi now consider Luke the Chosen One. What the Jedi and the Sith fail to take into account is that Anakin will bring balance to the Force by restoring a power long denied both Orders -- love."
"Love?" repeated Wara.
"That's what I said," Humphrey snapped. "Both the Jedi and the Sith banned love for stupid philosophical reasons. The Sith fear the power of true love, and the Jedi fear the power of love scorned."
"But love is the most powerful form of magic ever!" Wara exclaimed.
"Yes, and when Vader dies for his son, he will bring the power of love back to the Jedi Order."
Jenny stared at the ground, tears in her eyes. "Will Vader come to Xanth when he dies?"
"Vader won't," the Magician replied. "But Anakin will."
She looked up eagerly. "Really?"
"So that's why you said Raider needed the talent more than Cloudwalker," Metria noted. "You knew he'd come to Xanth."
"Anakin is lost in the blackness that surrounds Vader's soul," Humphrey said quietly. "But love will save him yet."
Author's Note
The only reason I picked up "Dragon on a Pedestal" by Piers Anthony in a thrift store five years ago was the cover art -- I'm almost as obsessed with dragons as I am with Star Wars. But by the time I finished that book, I knew that I had to do two things: find more Xanth books (luckily, our local library keeps me well-stocked) and write a Star Wars/Xanth crossover.
I was still struggling to find my fanfic niche, so the original plot involved Jango Fett and a five-year-old Boba Fett crash-landing on Xanth and having to find the Holey Grail, a vessel full of holes that turned ordinary water into powerful healing elixir, in order to repair the Slave. But the story didn't get written and didn't get written, and anyway, I had no idea how to execute it without turning it into a blatant "Indy and the Last Crusade" ripoff. So I shelved the idea.
Around the time I was wrapping up my previous story, "The Armor of Vader," I decided to resurrect the Xanth idea and see if I couldn't still do something with it. I wanted to make it a Luke/Vader fic, of course, and by then I had read the Xanth novel "Demons Don't Dream," in which two Mundanian teenagers visit Xanth via computer game. After reading about the game, I thought "This is the perfect way for Luke and Vader to enter Xanth!" And the story developed from there. (For the record, Darius Dracotaur, the scheming dragon-centaur crossbreed Magician, was the intended villain for the Fett-based story and was the only original character that survived the L/V remake.)
All in all, I'm pleased with the way "Centaur of Attention" turned out in the end. Though I do not claim it is in any way canon, it can't be classified as Alternate Universe either (unless it's an AU of "Shadows of the Empire"). If anything, it serves as a bridge piece between ESB and ROTJ, bizarre though it is. I wanted to attempt to explain how Luke could violently protest Vader's declaration in ESB and be so eager to bring him back in ROTJ, and how Vader could go from extreme baddie in ESB to tragic hero in ROTJ.
For those of you wondering if Piers Anthony's Xanth works are really as crazy as "Centaur," the answer is no. I actually had to tone Xanth down a bit so the comedy and drama sequences didn't clash too horrendously. I'm not sure Luke or Vader would survive an hour in vintage Xanth. Otherwise, I have tried to keep this story true to Piers' style.
One of the things I love about his books is that they never take themselves seriously. The characters openly talk about the proceedings being written down (though they refer to the books as "historical volumes by the Muses that some yahoo is smuggling into Mundania"). The references to Piers and myself aiding the Muses, as well as Vader seeing the section break in Chapter 5, pay homage to that.
Another practice of Piers' is to incorporate existing people into his books. Jenny Elf is an example of this -- a young fan of the Xanth books was hit by a drunk driver and put in a coma, and as a tribute to her Piers inserted her in Xanth in the form of Jenny Elf. He keeps his fans updated on her condition through author's notes at the end of his books and even published his correspondences with her in a book, "Letters to Jenny."
Other friends and fans of Piers have made it into the books -- but sadly, most of them are given this honor posthumously. It's as if Xanth has become his version of heaven.
I've carried on with this tradition, as evidenced by my cameo in Chapters 7 and 20. The three Mundanians living in the Ogre-fen Ogre-fen in Chapter 16 are all real people, and I honor their memory by allowing them to aid Luke and Vader (whether they appreciate the honor, who can say). Matt Agnew was a classmate of mine in middle school who died in an accidental shooting when he was fourteen. Tracy Edwards, a friend from high school, was killed in a car accident shortly after graduating from high school in 2002. And my grandfather, David "Gale" Behunin, a fellow science fiction fan and avid reader, passed away in 2001 after a heart attack.
The last inclusion in this story was our family dog Mistletoe -- Misty for short. Her pedigree included Alaskan Malamute, German Shepherd, Chow, and wolf. We had her from puppyhood until she was thirteen years old. She came down with cancer and had to be put to sleep in 2002. I don't need to describe her appearance or nature to you, because you know from the story. (I highly doubt she was Padme in disguise, though she always did seem apart from other dogs.)
Piers Anthony loves his fans and is always eager to accept ideas from them, giving them credit for their ideas at the end of each book. Thus, I had few qualms about making up my own characters, puns, and locations for "Centaur." The following ideas were my own.
Chang Centaur, Wara Werecorn, Darius Dracotaur, the two Aunties in Chapter 5, and the imps of Imp Ire in Chapter 14 were original characters. The rest can be found in at least one other Xanth book. Their personalities in this story match those in the books.
Lake Eerie and Imp Ire are my own creation; the rest of Xanth can be found on the maps included in most Xanth books.
Of the twenty-odd Xanth books, I have read ten -- "Night Mare," "Dragon on a Pedestal," "Golem in the Gears," "Vale of the Vole," "Demon's Don't Dream," "Harpy Thyme," "Geis of the Gargoyle," "Roc And a Hard Place," "Yon Ill Wind," and portions of "The Dastard." The following puns and concepts are not in the above books, but they may appear in one form or another in other Xanth books -- ass-ass-in droids, tulips, wormhole, blast-her, rock 'n' roll, snare drum, going hoarse, pole vault, tarp-pit, jelly beans, soap stone, Taylor, dust bunny, Golden Delicious apples, George Bush (deliberate poke at current events -- sorry), paper wasp, the concept of Xanth and Mundania's dream realms overlapping, porpoise, hole-o-graham, bolt of lightning, starfruit, rock slide, troll booth, all the ships except the Relation Ship, gold and silver oars, allegation snapping turtle, dizzy spell, insani-tree, Well Ee-nuph, Coulda Beans, dreamcatcher, cripple creek, strawberries, air plain, wind bag, air bag, air break, sea-biscuits (another current event joke), triginome-tree, house fly, dewbacks, and the Pillars. All other puns were Pier's ideas (or another fan's.)
Some of you may be wondering why, of all the characters' issues, only Chang and Wara's were resolved. After all, you saw everyone's heart's desires in the dreamcatcher! Rest assured, they get settled. Piers isn't much for downer endings.
I don't know if Jenny Elf ever returns to the World of Two Moons, but I'm told she finds true love in the book "Zombie Lover." Metria's problem is a two-part problem -- obtain a soul and have a child -- so the rest of her story is told in two books, "Harpy Thyme" and "Roc And a Hard Place."
What about Luke and Vader? I intentionally left off at the Endor meeting in ROTJ (my absolute favorite scene out of the entire series) because I'm sure you, the reader, can guess the rest. Yes, I know it's a downer ending, but it's proper, from a certain point of view. For Anakin and Padme are together again in Xanth, and Luke has a means of visiting them there. I really can't think of a better ending than that.