Anakin Skywalker was a child born of prophecy, possibly conceived by the will of the Force itself, on the desert planet Tatooine to his mother, Shmi.
Anakin had long dreamed of becoming a jedi, and as fate would have it, he eventually crossed paths with Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn. Qui-Gonn Jinn made a bet that Anakin would win the podrace with Watto, and when Anakin did win he also won something bigger than the race, thanks to Jinn, his freedom. Anakin�s midi-cholrian count was off the wall, and so Jinn promised that he would have the boy trained as a Jedi.
Anakin also met the Queen Amidala of Naboo, and upon seeing her uttered his famous line, "Are you an angel?" Despite their age difference -- she was fourteen and he, nine -- he professed someday that they would marry and immediately developed a crush on her.
After the liberation of Naboo, Anakin began his training under the new Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi.
When Anakin reached the age of 20, he and Obi-Wan were sent to protect Padm� Amidala, who was now Senator of Naboo, therefore needing protection from assassination attempts on her life. It was the first time Anakin and Padm� had seen each other in a decade. Anakin was more infatuated with her then ever, and his feelings for her were hard to control, even with his Jedi training. When he was assigned to escort Senator Amidala to Naboo, Anakin could barely contain his emotions. In the quiet solitude amid the beautiful surroundings of a hidden Naboo Lake Retreat, the affectionate friendship and deeper emotions shared by Padm� and Anakin began to grow, and soon neither of them could suppress their affection and their bond...and they married in secret at the Lake Retreat.
As turmoil engulfed the galaxy during the transition from Republic to Empire, for reasons still under speculation, Anakin was consumed by the dark side of the Force, and he became Darth Vader, Lord of the Sith and apprentice to the evil Emperor Palpatine.
Vader was responsible for the death of nearly all the jedi, the decimation of Aldeeran, and many other atrocities. All good within him would have perished if not for his son, Luke, who rekindled the spirit of Anakin that lay behind the dark mask who died as one with the Force.
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