The Seventh Wave FAQ

This FAQ contains spoilers for the novel “The Seventh Wave”.

Q: I love Xanatos, but I don't remember him from the SW universe. Is he an original character?

A: Oh, my goodness, no. *g* Xanatos appears in the Jedi Apprentice books, available from Scholastic. In those books, he is Qui-Gon's first padawan, who turned to the Dark Side. The character was quite intriguing, so I fell for him hard, and...you see what happened.

Q: Would you please provide a .zip file of this thing? Clicking from chapter to chapter is a pain.

A: When the novel is complete, it will be available either in a zip file or PDF.

Q: What is the Seventh Wave? Does the title really mean something?

A: Yes, the title has significant meaning. The Seventh Wave was inspired by a song of the same name by Sting. For now, because the novel is not complete, I will only say that the Seventh Wave, in the context of the novel, refers to an ancient Jedi prophecy. I will give more details and explanation when it will not be a direct spoiler for the remaining chapters.

Q: Could you please explain how old Xanatos was when the temple fell? And how old Obi-Wan is, and how old Xan was when they met?

A: Yes. Here is a timeline with the most important events. This should sort it out a bit. Please note that this is an AU, and so I have crunched the ages of the characters a bit. This was the rough timeline I’ve been working with; no sense in picking it apart, because my name is not Tolkien and I am not obsessive about my details.

Everything dates from the year of Qui-Gon’s birth, which I called 000. At the time Seventh Wave begins, the presumption is that Qui-Gon is approx. 59, Obi-Wan is approx. 25, and Xanatos is approx. 31. (Yes, this is different than canon, particularly where Xan is concerned. It is, after all, an AU.)

Qui-Gon is born - 000
Xanatos is born - 029
Obi-Wan is born - 035
The Imperial Uprising (war with the Sith) begins - 036
Obi-Wan is bought from his mother and taken into hiding by the Jedi - 037
Qui-Gon takes Xan as his Padawan – 041 (this makes Xan about 12)
The Temple falls; Xan is captured by the Sith – 049 (Xan is about 20 and has been
     Qui’s padawan for 8 years)
Xan is sold into actual slavery – 050
Anakin is born - 050
Obi-Wan begins his “apprenticeship” with the Sith – 050 (Obi is about 15)
Xan is bought by the Jedi, taken into hiding, debriefed and begins retraining - 051
Obi-Wan becomes Regent of Taganor – 055 (he is about 20; Anakin is about 5)
Xan is sold through the auspices of a Jedi-loyal slaver - 055
Obi-Wan and Xan meet when Xan joins the seraglio – 055 (Xan is 26, Obi is 20 or 21)
The events of Seventh Wave begin - 060

Q: I thought this was a Q/O story. Why'd you turn it into an O/X story?

A: It is what it is; the story guided me where it wanted to go. From the beginning, this was intended to be an Obi-Wan/Xanatos love story; the purpose was to explore the ramifications of bonds, and to take a look at what happens when bonds form in addition to attachments that were forged of love, and how Obi-Wan would handle being bound to two men rather than a One True Pairing. The point of the Q/O stuff is that their bond, even in this universe, couldn't be denied or avoided. Thus my OTP tendencies still emerge.


Q: Please explain your concept of time (cycles) as it relates to the passage of time in the novel.

A: Well. Uh. See, it's like this. A cycle is a term for a day. How long a day is might depend on what planet you're on. On board a ship that originates on Coruscant, a cycle would conform to one day and night on Coruscant. But on Taganor, a cycle could be much longer or shorter. I know it's confusing, but I didn't mean for it to be like days, hours, minutes. It's just...hey, it can be whatever you want it to be. I'm flexible. It’s one of those things I would change if I had this to do over. Adding to the confusion is my penchant for using terms like minutes and hours to describe the passage of time. Eventually, I'll go back and fix all that.

Q: I thought only one bond could exist between Jedi at any given time. So what's the deal?

A: That is fanon of the highest order; I was one of the writers who helped create and perpetuate said fanon, back in 1999. The only canon evidence for this sort of thing is the words of Yoda in TPM re taking only one apprentice, and certain tidbits in the first JA (Jedi Apprentice) book about how bonds are formed and how they exist. And that applies only to training bonds between master and apprentice. The whole "life bond" thing is purely TPM fanon, and I've used this story to subvert fanon intentionally.

Q: I can't remember which chapter has the prophecies. What are they again? What do they mean?

A: The prophecies are quoted in chapter 15. I've listed them below. As for what they mean...you'll need to read the story for that.

From Master Dev Ariy-Arya's Interpretations of Ancient Wisdom, Volume Six:

Master Sedet's strange and convoluted prophecies leave us with little certainty as to the substance of his visions. He issued his divinations while deep in the throes of meditation, yet could offer little clarification once he rose from his state of trance. Three of his prophecies are known to be true in hindsight, though a complete understanding of events in relation to their foretelling did not become available until after the events described came to pass. Deciphering these word puzzles has been the study of lifetimes for hundreds of scholars.

One such prophecy has recently been reinterpreted as the imminent fall of the Order. In ominous verse, Master Sedet has left his veiled warning to the modern age:

From the deeper world, in the time of Darkness
The invisible shall come,
The unseen power swelling in the World
Rising in cities, in lands,
Across the stars,
Over borders, across frontiers,
Nothing shall withstand its reach.
The symbols of fear shall be seen
In every corner and crossing,
Anger and greed, hatred and destruction,
The assassin at hand.
From the deeper world, in the time of Darkness,
The invisible shall come.
At the still point of destruction,
In the center of fury,
In every living thing,
The wave shall rise.
Twice in bondage, thrice in thrall,
One wave of blood, one of death, one of silence,
One of solitude, one of hope, one of renewal.
From the empire of the invisible, in the time of Darkness,
The invisible shall come,
Three for the seventh wave.

From the Adar Book of Prophecy, Getren Version, Chapter V, Section The Last:

A new age shall dawn; war shall come upon the Order. Seven years shall there be of struggle; seven years shall there be of death; seven years shall there be of despair; seven years shall there be of redemption.

One shall come, Chosen among all others, to restore balance between Light and Darkness. One among many, grown into purpose. By the light shall ye know the Chosen among his people; by the vagaries of fate shall ye know his purpose. Seek not, for ye shall not find him. He shall be revealed to you when the time of the Destroyer is come.

From the Adar Book of Prophecy, Getren Version, Chapter V, Section The Last:

Obeying not the prohibitions, the Destroyer will come, spreading Darkness two by two across the stars. One master shall there be, and one apprentice; yet, the Darkness heeds not the ancient wisdom. Worlds shall fall before the strength of the Dark Side. Two by two they rise unseen, invisible, in the midst of order; three by three shall they be conquered.

Q: How come there were no women in the harem?

A: There are women in the harem, as was noted in the chapter where Obi-Wan recalls choosing some of his slaves. However, I was writing about Obi-Wan's preferences; as stated in the novel, they are for men, not women. This is an AU of the SW universe, and the SW universe has a notable lack of females in prominent roles; I put them in Jedi roles where I could, but I largely ignored them. My novel, my prerogative. There are days where I’ve thought it’s a sort of “everyone is gay” novel. But then I get over it.  

Q: Is Maul a Sith or not?

A: Not. In the novel, it was made rather clear that Maul was not trained by the Sith. He has strong capabilities with the Force, but he did not have sufficient ability to be apprenticed. Instead he became the head of Anakin's security force. I left it ambiguous in the novel as to how he came to know the weapons techniques he knows, but obviously as the head of a world leader's security force, he would be up on some of these things. Being an ambitious toady, Maul would be looking for the best way to advance his status, and if that way is through pledging service to the Sith, that's what he chose.  

Q: Is Ket'al Solo Han Solo's (fill in the blank)?

A: Yes, he is kin to Han Solo. I wasn't specific, so he could be anyone - uncle, cousin, father, whatever floats your boat. To make him Han’s father would violate canon set forth in the books, so I was deliberately vague.


Q: What's the deal with Valorum?

A: He came into Obi-Wan's service when Obi-Wan went to Taganor. He has long been an ally of the Jedi and was assigned to Obi-Wan by them in order to be an ally in hiding there. He has a pedigree of service to the Old Republic and to the Empire; he’s well-connected. That’s all background stuff. It may not make its way into the later chapters.

Q: Was there something that made you want to write Xanatos and Obi-Wan together?

A: Yes indeed. Another song! Oh, stop that. It’s not like this is song-fic or anything. The image of Xan as a harem-slave popped into my head when I heard the song “True Love” by Robert Palmer on the radio one day. It was an old song, but oddly, I heard it several days in a row, and the thing imbedded itself in my consciousness. Now, you wouldn’t think that would be the case with a song so innocuous-sounding, but this one…well, the lyrics are below. I heard it, and I could not get the image of Obi and Xan fucking out of my head. It’s a very sensual song.

True Love
(Mansfield/O'Neill/Palmer)

If I'm not mistaken
My whole universe was shaken when I fell for you
‘Cause all the stars collided when I held you in my arms
I knew you were the one
I was searching for perfection
But love is the exception that proves all the rules
There's a sensuality that only you have shown to me
That steals my breath away

And by the way baby
If there's something that I care about it's true love
And no matter where you are, you are my true love
And I thank the lucky stars above for true love
There was never any doubt about it
True love

(And it's you love)

Total satisfaction - irresistible attraction
I got no excuse
I live in anticipation of your unforeseen temptations
What you gonna do?
I don't have an explanation
You're the only invitation I cannot refuse
And handsome is as handsome does
And you win hands down baby doll
You got it nailed
And by the way baby

(chorus)

All the tragedy and irony of true love
All the agony and ecstasy of true love
It don't matter where you are, you are my true love
There was never any doubt about it
True love

Q: Is there art for the novel?

A: Sadly, no. BlackRose kindly drew me a portrait of Xan as slave a couple years ago, but that's pretty much it. My vision of Xan is very particular, and in my head, there's a lot of masculinity and muscles on all three of the major players here. And of course, since I can't draw, that limits my options.  

Q: Are you going to zine the novel?

A: No. This would require far too much revision in terms of continuity, and my writing style and level of competency has evolved so much since I began writing it that a major overhaul would be required. I did consider zining the story for art's sake, but there's no art, so there's no point. I'll leave it up on the net for a little while after it’s complete.

Q: Why the hell have you made us wait so long for the rest of the novel?

A: Many reasons.

1. Real life forced me to take a one-year break from fandom in 2001.
2. Shiny new fandoms distracted me in 2002.
3. Had to resolve several continuity problems when the story insisted on going where it wanted to rather than where I had planned for it to.
4. A fierce desire to maintain the integrity and quality of the narrative meant that I had to step away and not write when I was bored, so I wouldn’t be tempted to rush the ending and cheat the reader.

Got a question? Email me and I'll answer it.

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