Private A Return to the Temple | A City of Lights and Shadows

[Ilaria Morvayne]

Opening Post – "A City of Lights and Shadows"

Chapter One - A Return to the Temple
Caelan Valoren

---

Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Personal Quarters

The mirror reflected a figure of perfect composure.

Ilaria Morvayne stood before it, adjusting the folds of her Jedi robes with practiced precision. Not a thread out of place, not a motion wasted. She had been taught that appearance, like discipline, was an extension of control. To be composed in all things was to be prepared for all things.

And yet, today was different.

This was not a lesson in meditation, not a lecture on philosophy, not another sparring match in the controlled safety of the Temple's training halls. Today, she was being allowed to step beyond the threshold of the Order's domain, entrusted with a simple task—retrieving a delivery from a marketplace.

A task so small, so seemingly insignificant, that she might have dismissed it outright.

But she did not.

Because this was not about the task itself.

It was about observation.

For years, Ilaria had known the world only through curated knowledge, through datapads filled with history, through accounts of Jedi Masters who had shaped the fate of the galaxy. She had studied governments, economies, cultures, but she had never walked among them.

The Enclave had been a world apart, the Temple a sanctuary, but Coruscant—Coruscant was real.

And she would see it for herself.

She fastened her belt, adjusting the clip of her training saber at her side—not out of anticipation for conflict, but as a reminder of who she was, and what she represented. A Jedi did not walk the city as a civilian. She was not merely an observer; she was the Order's presence, however small.

Her emerald gaze flickered to the chrono on the wall. The appointed time had arrived.

She stepped toward the door, inhaling evenly before exhaling in practiced control.

For the first time since returning to Coruscant, she would walk its streets.

And she intended to learn exactly what the Jedi truly protected.

​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Caelan was at the temple for a reason quite similar to that of Ilaria. He too had a simple task, to make a delivery for the temple. It wasn't often that he served as an errand boy, but he supposed this task was assigned to him because it was something simple after everything else that had happened recently, such as the battle on Woostri and the loss of his arm as a result.

He was destined to travel with Master Noble on a mission the next day. Perhaps this task was also to get him prepared for that by having him more relaxed but still focused.

Additionally, he was told that another Padawan, a young woman named Ilaria Morvayne, was making a pickup for the temple in roughly the same location, so he thought he would wait at the temples entrance and see if she wouldn't mind some company on the trip. Not that he was against doing it alone, it would likely be faster, but since she was someone he hadn't yet had the opportunity to meet, it seemed like a good way to rectify that. It was important to know as many of his fellow Jedi as possible.

Fate poked his head up and whistled something about why they were waiting.

"There's another Padawan heading to roughly the same place," he answered the droid who was hanging out in the hood of his robe. "I thought I'd see if she minded company. Don't worry. I'm sure she'll be along soon."

---

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[Ilaria Morvayne]

Post #2 – "A City of Lights and Shadows"

Chapter One - A Return to the Temple
Caelan Valoren

---

Jedi Temple, Coruscant
Personal Quarters

​

The grand entrance of the Coruscant Jedi Temple loomed overhead, its towering spires cutting through the golden hues of the early afternoon sun.

Ilaria stepped forward, her stride purposeful yet unhurried, the weight of her task resting lightly on her shoulders. The delivery she was sent to retrieve was of no great importance—a simple errand, a minor duty—yet she had learned long ago that discipline extended to even the smallest of responsibilities.

She had expected to make the journey alone.

Instead, as she descended the last step leading to the temple's exterior, she noticed someone waiting at the entrance. A fellow Padawan.

Her gaze swept over him, assessing with quiet precision. Caelan. She knew the name, though they had not yet spoken. He was older than her, battle-worn, carrying the presence of someone who had already faced hardship. The mechanical limb—evidence of that struggle—was not lost on her.

She did not offer immediate greeting, only a momentary pause, her emerald gaze flicking to the small droid nestled in his hood before returning to him.

"You are waiting for me."

It was not a question.

She adjusted the drape of her robes as she stepped closer, stopping a precise distance from him—close enough to acknowledge engagement, far enough to maintain an air of formality.

"Caelan, isn't it?" Her tone was smooth, composed. "I was not aware I would have company."

It was not spoken as a complaint, nor as a rejection—merely an observation, a calculation of changed circumstances.

Her gaze flickered toward the city beyond the temple gates. The streets of Coruscant stretched endlessly before them, a tangled maze of neon brilliance and shadowed corners, of power and decay intertwined.

"If you intend to accompany me, I trust you will not slow me down."

There was no arrogance in her words, only certainty, expectation. A challenge, perhaps, but a subtle one—a test of whether he would take offense, or whether he would rise to meet it.

She met his gaze, unblinking.

"Shall we?"

​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

Terse would be a good way to describe her.

"That is my name and yes, I was waiting for you," he said, assuming she was Ilaria given her reaction. "I am tasked with a delivery in the same vicinity as your pickup. I thought we could walk together."

She seemed in a hurry, if nothing else. Put together. Hair done up. Ready to go and not wanting to delay. Everything about her spoke of someone who was used to just doing without taking the time to see. He knew people like that. Lots of them, actually. Nobles on Lazerian IV who spent more time arguing amongst themselves, or doing things that benefitted no one. There was obvious reason why the Valoren family had remained in charge for so long, and it was largely to do with being more inclined to slowing down.

Her comment about slowing her down only drew a small smile from him.

"No. Wouldn't dream of that."

If he'd been able to cross his fingers when he said he would have, but his hands were full with the package he was to deliver. He had no idea what was in the package, but he didn't need to know. He wasn't the type to pry.

Instead, he inclined his head for her to take the lead, and would then move to follow her. Fate perked his head up, studying the girl that walked with them. He usually did that. Hopefully she didn't mind. Caelan paid it little mind. Droids were droids and Fate was the curious type. Ever useful, but always curious. Besides, he wasn't hurting anything, except maybe Caelan's back, but at this point he was used to the added weight so it hardly phased him.

"How long have you been with the Order?"

---

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[Ilaria Morvayne]

Post #3 – "A City of Lights and Shadows"

Chapter One - A Return to the Temple
Caelan Valoren

---

Wider City, Coruscant
Marketplace

​

Ilaria did not look at him as she stepped forward, falling into an even, measured stride.

"Not long."

Her response was succinct, controlled—not dismissive, but carefully devoid of unnecessary elaboration.

She walked with purpose, not rushing, but not lingering either. The cityscape of Coruscant stretched out before them, towering durasteel structures casting long shadows across the temple district. Speeders wove overhead in synchronized chaos, flashing neon reflected in polished transparisteel walkways.

It was all so… excessive.

Her gaze flickered briefly to the small droid that perched in Caelan's hood. Studying her. Watching.

A curious thing.

She was accustomed to being watched, being measured. The Masters of the Enclave had always observed her closely—assessing, critiquing, ensuring that she met the standards expected of her.

But the droid's gaze held no expectation, no judgment.

Just curiosity.

Strange.

She turned her attention back to Caelan. He had not pried, had not pressed for more when she offered little. That, at least, was worth noting.

After a moment of silence, she granted him a fraction more than she had initially intended.

"I trained at an Enclave far from Coruscant."

It was not an invitation for further questioning.

Just a statement. A calculated offering.

"This is my first time studying here."

She did not allow the words to linger too long before redirecting the conversation.

"And you? Have you always served the Order here?"

A deliberate shift.

It was not that she was unwilling to speak—but she preferred to be the one asking the questions.

As they moved deeper into the city, the Temple's presence faded behind them, swallowed by the endless pulse of Coruscant's streets.

For the first time, she began to feel the weight of where she was.

A place where power and weakness existed side by side.

Where order and corruption bled into one another so seamlessly that it was difficult to tell where one ended and the other began.

She did not like it.

And yet…

Something about it intrigued her.

​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

She was clearly not one for expressing a lot of herself. That was fine. Not everyone liked to divulge the details of their lives to strangers. Some people had issues giving that level of trust to people they had just met. He sometimes felt that way, and approached each situation differently. Some people gave off a feeling that, to him, it was best not to tell everything. With her? He hoped that being more forthcoming would allow her to feel comfortable opening up.

He didn't say anything when she mentioned that she trained at an enclave prior to coming to Coruscant. Many Jedi trained elsewhere and came to Coruscant later on, or never at all.

"I arrived here when I was fourteen, on the run from the syndicate that murdered my parents," he said after she asked about his time at the Coruscant temple. "Another padawan found me hiding in the lower levels and brought me to the temple. Been training here ever since, when I'm not on missions or back at home now that we've freed it."

Unlike her, he was used to the hustle and bustle of Coruscant. He'd been to the planet as a kid, and he'd also spent a great deal of time wandering around the streets as a teen. There was a lot to be seen considering the whole planet was covered in city. Lot of crime. Lot of people in desperate conditions. Lot of people in good conditions. Plenty of happy people just enjoying their lives. It had almost every extreme one could think of covered in some form or another.

There were all kinds of shops selling everything from fine clothing and jewelry to trinkets that were overpriced and did nothing but people bought because they came from Coruscant. It really was a glitz and glam thing.

"This your first time here?"

---

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[Ilaria Morvayne]

Post #4 – "A City of Lights and Shadows"

Chapter One - A Return to the Temple
Caelan Valoren

---

Wider City, Coruscant
Marketplace

​

Ilaria walked beside him in measured silence, absorbing his words without interruption.

"I arrived here when I was fourteen, on the run from the syndicate that murdered my parents."

Her expression remained composed, but she filed the information away.

His past was one of violence, of loss. Yet, unlike many who had suffered, he spoke of it plainly, without bitterness. There was no sharp edge to his tone, no indication that he carried the weight of vengeance.

Not all pain bred hatred.

Not all wounds left scars.

She turned her gaze ahead, watching the city unfold before them.

Towering structures of durasteel and transparisteel stretched toward the sky, polished surfaces reflecting the neon glow of advertisements and speeders flashing by in chaotic order. Life pulsed through Coruscant like a great, unceasing current—uncontrolled, unrestrained, yet thriving.

It was overwhelming in a way that the Enclave had never been.

"This your first time here?"

His question pulled her back to the moment, and for a long second, she did not answer.

Then, finally, she exhaled.

"Yes."

It was a simple word, but it carried weight.

The Enclave had been isolated, controlled, deliberate. Every stone in its structure had been carefully placed, every path walked with purpose. There were no distractions, no unnecessary noise, no unrestrained emotion.

Here?

There was too much of everything.

"It is… excessive."

Her voice was even, but there was something unreadable beneath it.

"Unordered. Unstructured. There is no refinement to this place, only motion—ceaseless, relentless motion."

She let her gaze sweep across the streets—past the bustling market stalls selling overpriced trinkets to eager travelers, past the crowds of beings hurrying to unknown destinations, past the towering billboards advertising luxury goods to those who would never afford them.

"It is a contradiction."

She slowed her pace slightly, as if to examine the world more carefully.

"There is power here, and weakness. Wealth and poverty. Elegance and squalor. The Jedi Temple stands in the midst of it all, and yet Coruscant has not been tamed. It is the heart of the Jedi, and yet…"

Her voice trailed off, thoughts unspoken.

And yet, corruption thrives.

She had not intended to think it, but the thought had come anyway.

She studied a street vendor pushing overpriced food to off-worlders, saw the glint of credits exchanged too quickly, the way a pickpocket's hand moved unseen through the crowd. In the distance, a uniformed officer ignored a beggar while speaking cordially to a well-dressed merchant.

"The Enclave taught that peace is achieved through discipline. That without order, weakness spreads. And yet, Coruscant remains—despite its flaws, despite its contradictions."

A pause.

"I wonder why that is."

She did not expect an answer from him.

She was not even certain she wanted one.

For now, she would continue to watch.

To learn.

​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

First timers often found the place overwhelming. He had. Part of the simplicity of the undercity had been somewhat peaceful to him. It was less busy with traffic, there weren't all the flashing lights and glam. It was just people living their lives, doing daily routines. Up on the surface people did things that weren't necessary to survival, were slightly excessive, and were designed to make themselves feel good or to appear of import.

She called it chaotic, unordered. He didn't quite think as much.

"I wouldn't say that," he said, glancing around them. "In every situation there is order to the ebb and flow of things. What appears chaotic does have structure. Even the densest of jungles has structure and order to it. You'll find the same here, it's just... one that's harder to recognize and get used to for those who don't ascribe to that lifestyle."

She spoke as one who had been sheltered, who had lived a life in a place of harmony. It wasn't all that uncommon and he couldn't hold that against her. People that lived within enclaves were often shocked by the reality of the galaxy around them. Things weren't perfect. Strife coexisted with harmony in most places because that was the nature of life. If it didn't, there would be no need for the existence of Jedi, Sith wouldn't exist, and everything in the galaxy would be perfect.

But it was never like that.

"Weakness will always exist. Without it, there is no strength. Without chaos, there is no order. The galaxy exists in balance. That's how Coruscant continues to exist: it balances itself."

---

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[Ilaria Morvayne]

Post #5 – "A City of Lights and Shadows"

Chapter One - A Return to the Temple
Caelan Valoren

---

Wider City, Coruscant
Marketplace

​

"Weakness will always exist. Without it, there is no strength. Without chaos, there is no order. The galaxy exists in balance. That's how Coruscant continues to exist: it balances itself."

Ilaria slowed her pace, absorbing his words.

Balance.

It was an argument she had heard before—one that many Jedi, particularly the more liberal-minded ones, often clung to. That for every act of disorder, there was an act of order to counter it. That the galaxy, despite its suffering, continued on because of some unseen equilibrium.

She did not immediately reject the premise.

But something about it felt… selective.

Her emerald gaze turned toward him, sharp, contemplative.

"If this city—if this galaxy—thrives because of balance, then tell me this:"

She adjusted her stride, her posture unshaken, her voice measured but pressing.

"Why do we not apply the same philosophy to the Force?"

She let the question hang between them for a moment before continuing.

"We speak of balance when it comes to the natural world, when it comes to the chaos of cities like Coruscant, when it comes to war and peace, to strength and weakness. But the Jedi reject half of the Force and claim only one aspect of it as truth."

Her hands clasped loosely behind her back, a poised stance that mirrored the discipline ingrained in her from years of training.

"We are taught that true mastery comes from the Light. That the Dark Side is a poison, a corruption, something that must be eliminated. But if we accept that all things exist in balance, then should the Force not also exist in balance? Should we not strive to master all of it?"

She was not arguing from emotion—not from desire, nor curiosity.

This was a question of control.

She did not entertain the thought of embracing the Dark. But if mastery was the path to strength, why would a Jedi willingly forsake an entire half of the Force?

"Is it not contradictory?" she pressed. "To acknowledge that the galaxy itself thrives in the balance of chaos and order, yet insist that the Force must be kept only in the Light? To claim that wisdom lies in understanding all things, yet willingly remain ignorant of the Dark?"

She did not expect him to have an answer.

Or rather, she expected an answer, but not one that would satisfy her.

The Enclave had warned her of this very question.

It was the argument that had led many Jedi down the wrong path.

But she was not like them.

She did not ask because she sought temptation.

She asked because control was strength.

Because mastery was the goal.

And because something in his words had unsettled her.

The Jedi spoke of balance when it suited them.

But when it came to the Force, they rejected half of its nature.

That inconsistency demanded an answer.

And if one was not given…

Then perhaps, in time, she would seek it herself.

​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

"Do we not?" he asked her when she asked her question. "The Sith exist as counter to the Jedi. We are one side of the coin, they are the other. We exist to keep each other in balance. I know that's hard for some people to hear, because nobody WANTS there to be discord, pain, or suffering in the galaxy, but there's no life without death, either."

He understood her question. She wasn't quite asking that, she was going deeper, but he had to start with the simple reality of things, at least as he saw them, before he could venture into a deeper discussion of Force philosophy. He'd had a lot of time to think about such things when he was in that aging chamber back on Lazerian IV. Now was the first time he was actually getting to speak to someone about it, though.

"There is a reason we do not seek to achieve that balance within ourselves and why we teach that the dark side is corruption: because it is. There have been people who sought to achieve the balance of which you speak, knowledge of both, containment of both within the self. The result has always been a deeper fall to the dark. The one who came closest was an old Sith Lord named Caedus. He was a Jedi who sought to achieve that balance in the Force in order to defeat the invading Yuuzhan Vong.

"But he could not maintain it, and fell into darkness, becoming a tyrannical ruler. It is not feasible to balance both sides within a single individual because one side is meant to support life and the other is meant to take it away. They are contradictory in nature, but must coexist, which is why Jedi and Sith exist."

He continued to walk, though, his gait was slowed since they were conversing deeply, and he didn't want to run into anyone.

"This fact is often misconstrued by Jedi into us remaining ignorant of the dark and what it is and its capabilities, but that is simply not what the Jedi Code urges us to do. We should not embrace the dark, but we should study it, be mindful of it, understand it, lest we fall victim to it at the hands of the enemy, or within ourselves. A prime example of this is the Jedi Order from before Palpatine's Galactic Empire. They believed they had wiped out the Sith, endeavored to do so, and fell into a place of imbalance in the galaxy that resulted in a correction via an improperly interpreted prophecy.

"Jedi will always fight Sith. If anyone tells you that our goal is to wipe them out, they are entirely misguided. Our goal should not be to do so, because the end result of that will be far worse than their existence. Our goal is to mitigate their damage and stand against them because if we don't, imbalance will occur, and disaster will follow. Peace should always be our goal, and yes, that includes peace with the forces of the Dark."

---

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[Ilaria Morvayne]

Post #6 – "A City of Lights and Shadows"

Chapter One - A Return to the Temple
Caelan Valoren

---

Wider City, Coruscant
Marketplace

​

"Do we not?"

Ilaria listened, her expression poised, unreadable.

"The Sith exist as a counter to the Jedi. We are one side of the coin, they are the other. We exist to keep each other in balance."

A small, quiet pause.

"So we fight them endlessly, simply because that is how it must be?"

Her voice remained even, but the thought lingered in the air—if the Jedi and Sith were truly two halves of a whole, if one could not exist without the other, then what was the point of fighting at all?

But she let him continue.

He spoke of Darth Caedus, a Jedi who had sought balance only to fall into darkness. He spoke of how the Dark Side was corruption, how every attempt to wield it alongside the Light had ended in failure.

His argument was reasonable.

His history was sound.

And yet, something about it felt incomplete.

"So the Dark Side is inherently corruptive."

She did not phrase it as a question.

"It is not an energy, nor a tool, nor a force to be bent to one's will—it is a poison. Something that once touched, cannot be contained. Something that must always consume."

Her emerald gaze flickered toward him, assessing.

"And yet you say we must study it. Understand it."

She did not press the contradiction outright, but it hung between them all the same.

If the Dark Side was so dangerous, if every Jedi who had sought to balance it had fallen, then why not ignore it completely? Why not pretend it does not exist?

But the Jedi did not.

They feared it.

They resisted it.

They studied it.

"You say the Jedi must never seek to destroy the Sith. That to do so would create imbalance. And yet the Sith would not extend us the same mercy. If left unchecked, they would consume the galaxy. If one side is meant to support life, and the other is meant to take it, then by your own logic, the Jedi must always be at war. Always fighting, always resisting. And if the goal is peace, then…"

She exhaled through her nose, slow and controlled.

"Then peace is a lie."

The words were spoken as an observation, not a judgment.

She had been raised to believe that peace was a fundamental goal, a virtue.

But if conflict itself was balance, then peace was not a state that could ever be truly achieved. It was simply the absence of war for a time—a pause in the cycle.

"The Jedi before the Empire sought to wipe out the Sith. They failed."

Her tone did not carry accusation, only fact.

"And you say they fell into arrogance because of it. That by believing themselves victorious, they became complacent. That they allowed corruption to seep in where they were too blind to see it."

She shifted her stance slightly, the rhythm of their conversation slowing her pace.

"Then by that same principle, the Jedi of today must not only guard against the Sith—but against themselves."

Her voice was smooth, deliberate.

"Because corruption does not only exist in the Dark. It exists in blindness. In self-righteousness. In believing one is above corruption at all."

She turned her gaze back toward the cityscape around them—the bustling streets, the unseen crimes, the people who walked through their lives unaware of the greater war raging above their heads.

"If balance is inevitable, if neither side can be destroyed, then what are we truly fighting for?"

She did not expect him to have an answer.

Perhaps he did.

Perhaps she would not accept it.

But the thought had already settled in her mind.

She did not reject his logic.

She did not refute his history.

But if the Jedi would always be at war—if their purpose was not peace, but eternal conflict—then their teachings were built on a contradiction.

And contradictions…

Contradictions led to weakness.

And weakness was unacceptable.

​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

"Yes, because if we don't, as you rightly point out, they will wipe us out, and the galaxy with it," he said, nodding his head. "We fight because we must, and the goal is to protect others and keep them at peace. We must contain the Sith."

Of course she also said the thing he had heard many say before: peace is a lie. It was common to come to that conclusion, but that conclusion was not accurate, it was merely reached by examining the issue from only a singular perspective. There were other elements to the nature of what the Code was implying when it talked about peace that went deeper than the idea of peace in galactic sense.

"Peace isn't a lie, it's a state of being. It sounds like there can be no peace because we must always be at war against the Sith. Indeed, it does imply a lack of peace to be in a constant state of war. However, if you were to travel to my world today, that being Lazerian IV, you would find the people there living peacefully, not in a state of war or fear. They go about their daily lives in safety because people like you and I are willing to sacrifice our lives to protect them.

"For them peace exists, and so peace cannot be a lie. In terms of the Code itself, the peace it speaks of is inner peace. That's a state of being, a lack of turmoil within ourselves. For example, I have made peace with the reality that I am likely to die someday in defense of the Alliance and my people. That is something I am willing to do in order that they may have peace. I do not fear death. When it comes for me, I will accept its embrace and pass into the Force as many others have before. I've already lost an arm in battle. Death is inevitable.

"But no, peace isn't a lie in the grand scheme of things. War and peace exist together. Without one, the other could not exist."

Her next point was somewhat deeper in terms of views on the Jedi. It was something that did threaten to overshadow his peaceful nature, something that still bothered him.

"Corruption does exist within the Order, and the Alliance. We are finite, imperfect beings, and because of that corruption is a part of existence. We must always strive to guard against it and call it out when we see it, which is why I hope that the Council will see fit to do something in regards to one of its members committing regicide recently."

He didn't elaborate, but moved on.

"Why we fight is an easy answer, though. We fight because there are those who cannot, but who deserve the right to live their lives. We contain the Sith, and by proxy they keep us from getting out of hand, and most people in the galaxy get to live free, and peaceful lives, protected from war and violence. Most, but not all. We cannot stop all from experiencing war, but we do what we can. If we did nothing, the galaxy would simply destroy itself, and do we have the right to allow that to happen to those who could do nothing to stop it?"

---

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[Ilaria Morvayne]

Post #6 – "A City of Lights and Shadows"

Chapter One - A Return to the Temple
Caelan Valoren

---

Wider City, Coruscant
Marketplace

"Peace isn't a lie, it's a state of being."

Ilaria listened, walking in measured silence beside him as he expanded on his philosophy.

He believed in peace as something tangible—not as a grand, universal constant, but as something created, something upheld by those willing to sacrifice for it.

A state of mind.

A temporary gift, protected by those who would never truly experience it themselves.

"For them, peace exists, and so peace cannot be a lie."

It was a reasonable argument.

And yet, something about it felt incomplete.

"Then peace is not the absence of war," she mused, her voice as composed as ever. "It is simply a privilege afforded to those strong enough to claim it."

She did not say it as a condemnation.

Only as an observation.

"You say that you have made peace with your own death. That you have accepted the inevitability of sacrifice for the sake of others. That is admirable."

She glanced toward him briefly, her expression as poised as ever.

"But if you must die for peace to exist, then it is not peace at all."

It was a cycle.

One battle after another. One generation of Jedi after the next. Each fighting, each sacrificing, each protecting others from war so that they may live free from it.

But the Jedi themselves?

They would never know the peace they fought for.

"The Jedi do not fight for peace. They fight so that others may have the illusion of it. You say the people of Lazerian IV live peacefully because you and others have bled for them. That is true. But if that peace is maintained by an ongoing war—if it only exists so long as another stands in its defense—then it is not truly peace. It is an illusion. A fleeting state that depends entirely on the strength of those who maintain it."

She shifted slightly, her emerald gaze flickering to the streets around them.

"You claim that peace exists, but you also acknowledge that war and peace must exist together. That without war, there can be no peace. That both are necessary, that both are inevitable."

She paused.

"Then what we truly fight for is not peace. It is control."

Not control over others.

But control over the chaos.

Control over how much destruction is allowed, how much suffering is permitted, how much war can be endured before the balance tips too far.

She had spent her entire life believing control was strength.

And now, without meaning to, he had confirmed it.

"You say that corruption is an inevitability, that it must always be guarded against. You acknowledge that it exists not only in the Sith, but within the Order itself. And yet you still believe in the Jedi."

Her gaze returned to him, measured, searching.

"Do you not see the contradiction?"

Her voice did not carry mockery, nor condescension.

Only curiosity.

"If the Jedi must always fight to preserve peace, then we are not guardians of peace. We are guardians of conflict. If corruption exists among the Jedi as well as the Sith, then the difference between us is not purity. It is simply control over how much corruption we allow before we call it by another name."

She exhaled softly.

"You claim that we must fight so that others may live free, that we cannot allow the galaxy to collapse under its own destruction. But answer me this:"

She met his gaze, calm, poised, unwavering.

"Would the galaxy ever truly destroy itself?"

It had suffered countless wars.

It had been ruled by tyrants, shattered by Sith empires, torn apart by Jedi rebellions, broken and rebuilt a thousand times over.

And yet, it still existed.

Corruption spread. Darkness fell. Chaos erupted.

But the galaxy remained.

"Or do we fight simply because we cannot accept that it will go on without us?"

A pause.

A breath.

"Perhaps the Jedi do not fight for peace."

"Perhaps they fight because they cannot bear to let go of control."

She did not say this because she believed the Jedi to be wrong.

She did not say it because she rejected their cause.

She said it because the contradiction was clear.

The Jedi did not fight for peace.

They fought so that they could control what peace meant.

"Besides, don't we have a package to deliver?"

​

 

[Caelan Valoren]

"Illusion implies a lack of reality," he said, allowing his gaze to briefly flit to her, and then back to where he was walking. "It's not an illusion. They really do experience peace. Yes, that peace can end. All things end. Life itself is the prime example. Inevitably we all die and return to the Force. All is a state of being that is in constant flux. Understanding that is a key to achieving inner peace. Acceptance of reality is peace. A lack of acceptance is chaos. It's why so many Sith seek to live never ending lives. They cannot accept the finite nature of existence."

She was starting to somewhat understand his philosophy on life as a Jedi. He knew he deviated from the norm in that regard and that most people did not believe as he did. In fact, he had a large disagreement with the way some Jedi did things. That was alright, though. They would never all agree on what was right and wrong, because they were all of different beings and not a homogenous mind. No matter how hard they wanted to have everyone feel or believe the same thing, it was impossible to achieve that.

"Yes, we do strive for control. Primarily over us but also over the chaos wrought by those who do not accept reality. We have a gift that many don't and because of that we must use it. Power belies responsibility. Power can also corrupt, both in subtle and less subtle ways. Because of that we must guard against it.

"While I understand you see my belief in the Jedi as contradiction since I acknowledge that the Jedi face corruption, I don't see it that way. I believe in the ideals of the Jedi and I believe that the majority of us strive to uphold those ideals, but sometimes we fall short. For that reason, we must be there to call out those shortcomings and do what we can to eliminate them. They will always existence. Perfection is not something a finite being can obtain, after all."

He considered what she said about guardians of conflict. He could see what she was saying. It wasn't totally wrong.

"I can understand the argument for us being guardians AGAINST conflict, but I maintain we are guardians of peace, because ultimately what we do does allow those we protect to live in peace. With the existence of the Sith, if we were to stop fighting and cease to exist, there wouldn't be anything to stand against them. True, they would fight themselves, but they would cause destruction, terror, strife and worse on a widespread scale if left unopposed.

"Will the galaxy end? Not literally, no. What will end is the ability for people to ever live in peace, without fear, without suffering or pain imposed by others. True, war might end, and that might is doing a lot of lifting because Sith are known to fight amongst themselves, but pain and suffering won't under their rule. I don't know about you, but allowing people to live in pain and suffering doesn't sit well with me."

When she mentioned the package, he looked up and noticed they were at their destination.

"Right. Package."

He approached the stall where the package was to be delivered and handed it over and waited for a receipt before returning to her.

"We can pick up yours now."

---

ATTIRE: Link | WEAPON: Lightsaber | COMPANION: BD-F8 | OTHER: Sigil Bead (Necklace), Prosthetic Left Arm

TAGS: Ilaria Morvayne ​