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One thing I've seen posted in various places is speculation on the identity of the character known only as Desertwind in the book I, Jedi. This character appears in flashbacks as the third Jedi who fought with Nejaa Halcyon and Ylenic It'kla on Susevfi. Many people believe that this Jedi is none other than Obi-Wan Kenobi.
There are quite a few things in I, Jedi, that would seem to suggest this. He was a general in and a hero of the Clone Wars. He wore brown and khaki robes and smelled of the desert. When Corran is dreaming of the event, he thinks something about this man seems familiar, but he can't put his finger on it. But is the Jedi really Obi-Wan?
Michael A. Stackpole has been asked this very question, but even his response is unable to answer this question fully. He more or less said that he did not positively identify the character as Obi-Wan because he didn't know what George Lucas was planning to do with the Prequel movies. If Obi-Wan's presence here did not conflict with the movies, then it could very well be him. Otherwise, it is not.
Before everyone starts screaming that it's GOTTA be Obi-Wan, hear me out. That's right, you guessed it, I'm saying that Desertwind is NOT Obi-Wan. I thought for the longest time that it was him as well, but then I got to thinking about Obi-Wan's life and background, and there's one thing that The Phantom Menace does supply us with that helped me come to my conclusion. Yes, the rest of this does contain some speculation for Episodes 2 and 3, so if you don't like that sort of thing, don't read the rest of this.
In Episode 1, Obi-Wan and the others end up on Tatooine. Obi-Wan speaks of Tatooine like he's never really been there before. They leave there with Anakin and don't return for the rest of the movie. We're left with the impression that Anakin will return someday to free his mother and the rest of the slaves on Tatooine. (Slightly off-topic...I don't think Anakin will be entirely successful in his attempt, since Jabba still has slaves in ROTJ.) Obi-Wan may or may not be part of this, but I'm guessing he does not go to Tatooine much between this time and the Clone Wars.
Actually, I believe that, besides maybe going to Tatooine when Anakin makes his attempt to free the slaves, Obi-Wan doesn't go there at all until after Luke and Leia are born. He then moves there and becomes a hermit to elude the Empire and to keep an eye on Luke. Keep in mind, this definitely takes place after Nejaa's death.
Ylenic calls the two Jedi he is with Spicewood and Desertwind. Nejaa is Spicewood; I'm guessing his scent is supposed to have something to do with Corellia. Desertwind's scent would also be reminiscent of his home or where he spent the majority of his time, otherwise it would not be a part of him. Desertwind is from the desert, maybe from Tatooine, perhaps from another world which just happens to have a desert as one of its climates.
But Obi-Wan would not have been on Tatooine long enough during this time period to have acquired this kind of scent. I would imagine him as having a scent more reminiscent of the kind that could be picked up on Coruscant or a freighter. The Caamasi seem to rely more on what they gather with the sense of smell than their other senses, so it would seem to me that they can probably tell a lot about the person through that. Obi-Wan happening to have been on Tatooine a few times here and there in the past 10 years would not qualify as being a substantial part of that person's makeup. Even if Obi-Wan had been born on Tatooine, I don't think he would have acquired enough of the smell to have it be an integral part of him, since he's spent the majority of his life offworld.
Think of it this way: I may have been born in a hospital, and I have visited them since, but that smell would not have permeated my being to such a degree that I would be associated with it. The same goes for Obi-Wan. Had a Caamasi met up with Obi-Wan during ANH, that Caamasi could possibly have thought of him as Desertwind, but this is not true of the Obi-Wan of the Prequel Era.
Added 8/25/00: I have had multiple emails suggesting that Desertwind could be Anakin Skywalker. My response to this is that I don't believe we really have enough information to either confirm or deny this. Yes, Anakin would be more likely to smell of Tatooine, but there is just too much of his adult life that we don't know about. Does he wear robes fitting that description? How many pictures of Anakin would have survived the Jedi Purge for Corran to have seen? After all, I don't think that Vader would want lots of reminders about his past life around. Is there room within the time frame for him to have taken a trip to Susevfi at this time? So, on the subject of Anakin Skywalker being Desertwind, I choose to wait until at least Episode II is released before thinking any further on this.
Copryight March 15, August 25, 2000 by Kelly M. Grosskreutz.
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