- introduction -

There was a time, when I was very young, that I believed the universe was anything but evil. There was a time I believed that the good and righteous ruled through harmony and civility. It was a dream, shattered in an instant when the fires of the Academy took it all away from us. Since then, the darkness has grown. It grows still, reaching its fingers ever outward to engulf more and more. The greed of this darkness knows no bounds. Before, we sought to escape it. Now, we can only turn and face it.
- Devin Jarrik, Phantom One.

There are many stories that end up in the archives of old libraries. Many will be pored over by old men and women for years, looked into by younger men and women for study, and sometimes by children when they are curious. These stories will be of heroes, told through the eyes of those who knew them or knew of them. These heroes will go on to be bigger than they were in life. Better people than they were in life. They will be immortal.

Unfortunately, history is written by the victor.

There will be nothing written about the Phantom Five. Rumors, perhaps, but no stories of valor and certainly no stories of heroic deeds that saved any great Republic or Empire. That's the thing about Ghosts, they aren't real. They do not exist, except in rumor, superstition, and legend. Their strength is with those who believe, and belief is a very powerful thing.

What began as five scared youths, became a brotherhood of undeniable strength. They grew up fast, developing from the frightened young padawans into hardened spies for the growing Rebellion. For most this meant giving up that human spark, the glowing heart of hope, but for them hope was the only thing worth fighting for. It was all they had.

Many have claimed to have known them. Many have claimed to have met them. Still, most simply claim to have heard of them yet believe it all to be a child's tale spun to give desperate families hope. Freedom fighters that come from the shadows to aid small towns, families, and anyone crushed beneath the weight of the New Order was just too fantastical, too unbelievable. But still the stories past from the lips of one uncredible source to another.

So the unwritten legend of the Phantom Five came to be. Their actions, at times dark and nightmarish, at other times bright and selfless, will only ever be known through oral tradition and speculation. Perhaps centuries, millenia from now children will still speak of them, even when the tales of Jedi Master Kenobi have long since been lost.

Such is the power of legend. Welcome to the shadows.