“Rites” - From a Certain Point of View

"Rites", by John Jackson Miller, puts us behind the mask of a young Tusken warrior as he attempts the rites of passage to adulthood, by successfully proving himself a warrior. This story follows "The Red One." This story, unlike the earlier Tusken-centered tale, Reirin, tangentially impacts the events in the film.

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WARNING: This is a plot summary of the short story, spoilers ahead:

At the opening of the story, A'Koba, and his twin cousins are battling a krayt dragon in an arena as a rite of passage. Upon defeating the beast, the cocky A'Koba declares himself an adult. After being teased by the clan chief, A'Yark, that the dragon itself was but an adolescent, A'Koba decides to take on a bigger challenge to prove himself. He says that he and his two cousins will head out and find that blue droid that was spotted alone in the desert. The droid itself was uninteresting, but the humans that would undoubtedly be looking for it would be a greater challenge. A'Yark warned A'Koba that a wizard lived in that area, and through A'Yark's long tenure as chief, he learned that the human wizard named Ben was as tough and resilient as they come. If the droid had anything to do with Ben, it would not end well for the young trio. A'Yark decided to tag along with them, and advised that it wouldn't be necessary to kill his opponent, as that might awaken forces that could not be dealt with.

Finding the droid in his rifle sights, A'Koba decided shooting it might lessen the chances of its owners finding it, so they hid. When a speeder arrived with a human boy and a gold droid, A'Koba attacked. As A'Yark had advised, he didn't kill the boy, although he wanted to. The trio began picking apart the speeder, looking for useful items, when they heard the unmistakable call of an adult krayt. Fearing that the mother krayt was seeking revenge for what they had done earlier to her child, they fled the scene. Terrified and shaken by the incident, they were reminded by A'Yark that krayts do not "seek revenge," and that they instead were experiencing a feeling down to their very cores which was "magicked" by the old wizard. They knew they were wise to have taken A'Yark's advice.

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