I found another piece of interest in Rave's notes. It's half a story, but there's enough verifiable truth in here to take it seriously.
It seems that before the Clone Wars, there was a painter on Naboo who could see visions of the future. He didn't know that's what it was. He spent the bulk of his career paining stars and planets and moons -- and that's important, as you'll see in a second. He lived in a hut north of Theed, at the base of a pinnacle and a tall ruined castle. One day he was in Theed selling paintings in the market, and a woman named Padme Naberrie walked by. Naberrie, incidentally, was the Senator of Naboo and former Queen, though the story's vague enough that who knows if she was already Senator at the time. Regardless, the artist was smitten. He felt compelled to paint her. He locked himself in his hut and painted for twenty-four weeks straight. Some of his paintings showed her with children she hadn't had yet.
His hermitage ended when he found a frightening truth in his paintings. He went into town, and stumbled across an assassination attempt on none other than Senator Naberrie. He saved her life, but was shot and nearly died.
Eventually he recovered. When he began to paint again, he found himself painting Alderaan.
What happened from there is even foggier. His landscapes and portraits never found transcendent acclaim. They still hang in dozens of estates across Naboo and around the sector. For obvious reasons involving Amidala's children, I seriously doubt Palpatine ever found out that the artist from his homeworld had a precognitive gift. Around 240 ABY, the artist's work came back into vogue, and a couple of caf-table books were produced. I've compared an old reprint with some of the remaining originals. So far I've managed to identify eighteen of his starscapes. Suffice it to say, they mean a lot more than he thought they meant.
It seems that before the Clone Wars, there was a painter on Naboo who could see visions of the future. He didn't know that's what it was. He spent the bulk of his career paining stars and planets and moons -- and that's important, as you'll see in a second. He lived in a hut north of Theed, at the base of a pinnacle and a tall ruined castle. One day he was in Theed selling paintings in the market, and a woman named Padme Naberrie walked by. Naberrie, incidentally, was the Senator of Naboo and former Queen, though the story's vague enough that who knows if she was already Senator at the time. Regardless, the artist was smitten. He felt compelled to paint her. He locked himself in his hut and painted for twenty-four weeks straight. Some of his paintings showed her with children she hadn't had yet.
His hermitage ended when he found a frightening truth in his paintings. He went into town, and stumbled across an assassination attempt on none other than Senator Naberrie. He saved her life, but was shot and nearly died.
Eventually he recovered. When he began to paint again, he found himself painting Alderaan.
What happened from there is even foggier. His landscapes and portraits never found transcendent acclaim. They still hang in dozens of estates across Naboo and around the sector. For obvious reasons involving Amidala's children, I seriously doubt Palpatine ever found out that the artist from his homeworld had a precognitive gift. Around 240 ABY, the artist's work came back into vogue, and a couple of caf-table books were produced. I've compared an old reprint with some of the remaining originals. So far I've managed to identify eighteen of his starscapes. Suffice it to say, they mean a lot more than he thought they meant.
