Peace is a Lie, There is only Passion

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli smiled as the sun rose upon Coruscant, the light snaking across the floor of her quarters within the Sith palace. Her apprentice had had a few days to adapt to life on the city-world, and as life as a new Sith acolyte. It was time to fully begin her training though.

Summoning a young acolyte to her quarters, she gave the young man specific instructions to bring her apprentice, [member="Sophie Gustav"], to the palace and to her quarters more specifically. As the young man ran off, Taeli turned back to the windows, enjoying the morning sun. It would be the only such light to exist today.

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Sitting her own quaters of the Sith Temple on Courascant Sophie had still been getting used to the entire feeling of being on a Sith controlled planet. It was like being among gundarks ready to pounce on her at any moment, even though she was made to look like one. She felt out of place, which was an obvious reaction to leaving the Jedi and coming to be trained as a Sith. The entire place seemed to seep with darkside energy to where Sophie felt like the very air she breathed was contaiminated.

She'd been sitting at her window as well, only just recently waking from yet another night of sleeping in a Sith temple. Upon having her breakfast she was called by an acolyte who'd told how her master, [member="Darth Arcanix"] , had summoned her. She nodded, telling him to relay that she would be there shortly to see her master. After finishing her meal Sophie went to the cloest, needing to find a new wardobe for her time as a sith. She still refused to wear the robes, feeling she wanted to stand out more. She'd settled on a blue corest-like dress (The one Elizabeth always wears lol) and fitted herself into it.

Once she was dressed Sophie had hurried up to her master's quaters, walking with a rushed pace to her steps. Upon arriving at the doors to her room Sophie stopped and fixed herself, her hair a new style from when her master had last seen her as well. Her entire look was an indication of her change to the darker ways of the force. Finally she opned the doors, seeing where her master was, and only bowed in her presence.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"How are you adjusting, my apprentice?" Taeli asked, turning to look at Sophie. The girl had changed her wardrobe and hair, and it suited her very well. She was glad her apprentice wasn't conforming to the norms of the Sith such as the black robes. Taeli might own several herself, but she preferred her dresses. The girl's presence was lsightly different too, almost as though she had been immured a bit more with the dark side.

'Someone been out and about late at night?' she wondered, smiling internally slightly. She would find out soon enough.

"I trust the other students at the temple are not causing you problems?" she asked as well.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

She did not answer at first. Sophie had felt her master's eyes wander about her and exmaine her. Obviously she could sense something on her. Perhaps her little excursion with a fellow apprentice whom she'd considered a friend at this point. There was no telling what the dark side abilites she possessed could see in her. If they were anything like what she'd been through before when they first met then it was likely [member="Darth Arcanix"] could see into every little thought of Sophie's mind, at least from what she belived.

Fiddling with her fingers Sophie only answered "No, Master. No one has been a problem to me so far."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"That's good," Taeli said with a smile, looking at her apprentice more closely. Yes, there was a darkness in her eyes that hadn't been there before, a spot on her soul had been subsumed by darkness. Her darker attire also was a testament to how much the girl was changing already. That dark spot could only have been caused by killing, so she wondered if Sophie hadn't been invited for some frivolous fun by another acolyte.

"I thought we might begin our first lesson today," Taeli said, turning back to the window and looking over the city. "But, first please recite for me the Jedi Code and then explain what is wrong with it. I'm curious to hear your opinion."

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

When told to recite something Sophie truly felt like a student all over again. She knew the mantra of the Jedi but had never needed to repeat it, at least not for the longest time. Her grandmother had told it to her before but only to remind her what her destiny was to be when she joined the order. When she had arrived no one had ever really asked, possibly assuming she knew or would know eventually.

She twidled her fingers more as she said "The code...yes." It took her a moment to remember before continuing "No emotion, but peace. No ignorance, but knowledge. No....no passion, but serenity. Uh.....no chaos but...um....but harmony. And no death but the force." After that she'd stopped, not sure what would be the right way to say what was wrong with it. She wanted her master to do that for her so she wouldn't feel foolish for her guesses.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"As close a summation as I had hoped for," Taeli said turning back to face her, the sun streaming through the window more and more. "The Jedi have lived by this code for thousands of years, something I can respect from them, even if they are wrong."

Taeli started to pace as she began this mini lecture.

"The entire Jedi code is a chain, a nice nigh-invisible one, but a chain nonetheless. Believing peace is the only emotion one can feel is severely limiting and false. No one can remain at peace at all times, even some of the greatest Jedis gave into their passions. But they sadly allowed the chain to be wrapped back around them, blinding them from knowledge. Which leads me to my second point. If their is no ignorance, only knowledge, then why did the Jedi allow some of their most sacred sights to remain lost and buried, the knowledge contained within them left to rot. The Jedi revoke their own code by being ignorant of knowledge that doesn't follow their strict sense of what is and isn't."

Taeli stopped for a moment to look at her apprentice before continuing.

"Passion is what fuels living beings, allows people to struggle and fight to raise their place in the galaxy. Serenity will only bring one to complacency and stagnation, such as what has happened to the Jedi. They have given up their passions, to become nothing more than mindless drone, content with being martyrs if they die. The Sith are all about the struggle, the climb to the top. Harmony is a lie, it only makes one stay at the bottom of the pit called chaos. Chaos is the ladder on which we climb, to emerge on top of the pile and rule it as it is the destiny of every Sith."

She paused to take a breath.

"Remember this, my apprentice, for we Sith also live by a code. Commit this to memory, allow it to well up inside you, just as the dark side does."

Walking up to her apprentice, she leaned in and whispered, "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall free me."

Turning back, she walked to the window and waited for her apprentice to both memorize and comment on what she had said.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

The entire speech Sophie heard from her master sunk in with every word. She'd agreed that the point of their mantra about knowledge was already false given thier appitude to let the places of wisdom and the like fall to thier enemies. Ossus. And even Courascant itself with the now repurposed Jedi temple belonging to the Sith. It was all proplery torn down with every word [member="Darth Arcanix"] had said about the chains of the creed being what kept them weak. Sophie could see it as well. They allowed their so-called devotion and faith keep them under control and not unleash the true power in the force through evoking emotion and the like.

When her master told of the Sith's creed Sophie had better time understand it than the Jedi one. Peace was a lie because everyone would always fight. Passion, the want of something, was a contant. And through that constant feeling came the strength to take it. And that strnegth required power you could only attain through your own feelings of passion and the like. And through that power comes victory. Victory in strength and power has always been the way battles are won. And through that victory the chains of the oppressive nature of the Jedi and thier so-called lightside of the force would be broken. For in the end the force would lead to freedom for those who knew how to use it the stronger way. The way of the darkside.

"I agree." Sophie finally said. "Everything is accomplished through one thing: the strength of the force."

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"And that will be the focus of today's lesson," Taeli said, nodding at her apprentice's words and smiling. Sophie seemed to fully understand the mantra of the Sith, the unifying code that had been around since the days of Hundred Year Darkness and the Great Schism. The smile turned cold as she asked, "Now tell me about the person you killed and the apprentice that went with you. I am very curious as to what you two got up to before I continue."

Sophie would probably be wondering why Taeli was leaping to that conclusion, but that hint of darkness she saw in her apprentice's eyes and in her Force aura spoke volumes about the activities she had been up to. Her answer would determine what Taeli ultimately decided to do with the morning.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

The sudden mention of the man she'd killed and who she was with made Sophie look both suprised and confused. She did know. Somehow she'd seen through her and saw what she did. There was no real point in hiding it, Sophie confessed to herself while taking a deep sigh. Both of her hands went behind her back as she stood more to attention to be as honest as possible.

She cleared her throat and said "It was a man...and his family. Apprentice Lisa Ticon had taken me as a means to...'initiate' me with the other darksiders. I killed him...she killed his family. They were involved with slave trade and had apparently owed Lisa, or someone associated with her, money that he refused to pay. I....choked him with the force until he was dead. Lisa...dealt with the rest of the family."

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

"I see," Taeli said simply, allowing her apprentice to sweat a little as she decided upon a course of action. "While I applaud the spontaneity of yours and Acolyte Ticon's actions, she is not your teacher. Be that as it may . . . no harm no foul, but next time you go on an excursion with her, please do inform me."

Turning back to the window, she continued, "Building upon your little escapade and your 'initiation' with the other students, I have a task for you to accomplish. Your first lesson will be to travel into the part of the Undercity that is infested with gangs and Sithspawn leftover from our invasion and retrieve an item that calls to you through the Force. Bring that item back to me. You are permitted, encouraged even, to kill those that stand in your way."

She went over to a desk drawer and pulled out the hilt of a lightsaber she had taken from a fallen opponent on Sposia.

"I give you this weapon and expect it back upon your return, this is a fully functional lightsaber from a Jedi I killed on the Chiss world of Sposia. Use it well for this mission, Sophie. One more thing before you leave. . ."

Taeli snapped her fingers and a shadow on the wall started to shift and move before solidifying into a bird-like creature made of darkness.

"This is a Sith familiar, a creature born of Sith alchemy and the dark side. This will act as my eyes and help guide you while you are down in the Undercity. Now upon your return, I shall teach you both a Force technique I sense you are eager to learn, and you shall receive a gift from me."

Waving her hand, the familiar flew over and perched on Sophie's shoulder, the dark side aura of the bird mixing with the girl's to create a temporary bond and strengthen her connection to the dark side somewhat.

"You are dismissed," Taeli said, turning back to the window.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Hearing her slight dissmiss of her actions Sophie had lowered her gaze from her master's even if she did consider it a small offense. She would keep in mind to let her master known the next time she tried anything like what had happened last night with either Lisa or any other studying sith apprentice. With that said, however, Sophie had hopped for more of them if it meant reciving more side training in the dark arts. The same incedent happened with the Jedi which had proven to be a more han benficial incedent. Hopefully the same would be said of the Sith.

She perked when [member="Darth Arcanix"] had told her her first assignment, as part of her training, involved going into Undercity to find something. Sophie held back her fear as she knew how dangerous Undercity would be; especially with the gangs and Sithspawn mentioned before. She was more than nervous but, with the saber suddenly given to her, Sophie did feel a little more confident. This was the first saber she'd held since her last time seeing her grandmother. The one she had, a blue lighted one, had been taken back by the Jedi Order instead of being left to her. This one, as she checked, was green. It felt like wearing someone else's clothing when holding such an impressive weapon.

When her master had reliquished her familiar to her Sophie watched with amazement at the sight of the black crow made out of the darkside itself fly over and land on her shoulder. It almost seemed so real yet she knew it was a construct. If this was what was in store for her than Sophie was more anxious to learn how to create such things with the darkside.

When dismissed Sophie bowed and walked out. She returned to her room and retrived a black hooded cloak she put on, pulling the hood over her head before xiting the temple. She hailed a cab to take her Undercity, or as close as he could take her, before flying off. The entire time she kept the saber close in her left pocket while letting the familiar rest on her shoulder the whole time. She kept an eye on it as much as it did her, knowing her master was watching her from it. An continuos pair of eyes watching her on her very shoulder.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

While Taeli kept track of her apprentice's movements through her connection with the familiar, she made her way to the forge underneath the palace. Sophie didn't know what or why exactly she was going on this assignment, but she would be thrilled by what the end result would be, if she didn't meet her end as other acolytes had when sent on this mission. A concentration amulet was no small prize and Taeli fully expected her apprentice to succeed. If there was one thing [member="Sophie Gustav"] was, it was driven and ambitious. Teaching her Force Lightning on top of that would be an added bonus for the girl and would certainly further her embrace of the dark side.

'Time to begin gathering the materials I need,' she thought, summoning a soldier to bring two prisoners to her.

 

[Zion Mirtis]

The eventual drop off point was far away from the Sith temple. Undercity was a dark reflection of the more utopia-like setting above. Sophie could see it even as they eventually landed in a small port deep within the streets. Everything looked more run down and hardened with experience. The bad kind. When she exited the cab, paying the driver what litle it was worth, she stood where she was and reached out with the force. She was supposed to find whatever it was she was looking for by feeling it. That meant needing to extend the reach far enough to scower the entire Undercity. Nothing too easy. Even as she stood there, concealed and with but a dark crow on her shoulder, some had stopped and looked or went about thier business. They knew she was Sith one way or another. Finally Sophie felt something small but present. A pulse to the south of where she was. She turned and started walking onward, keeping that conncetion to the dark power sorce she felt and her current position. Going down one street and turning one corner after the other Sophie felt as though she was inevitably walking into a maze.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli smiled to herself as, through her familiar, she could feel the pulse her apprentice had felt and was heading towards. She fully expected an obstacle, or even several obstacles, to her apprentice's goal. She would keep a close eye on that as the two prisoners were brought before her. One was a dissident they had captured trying to blow up a restaurant frequented by several of the Sith elite, the other had resisted an order to turn over his children to the Sith to be trained.

"Gentlemen, you've been brought of the hole you've been stuck in for a new purpose in life," she said, smiling. The smile didn't reach her eyes however. "I have two paths for you to take, and I would like a volunteer first."

"Go sleep in a gundark's nest," the dissident spat, sealing his fate.

"A volunteer!" Taeli said happily, before racing over and slitting his throat with a razor. As the dissident started to gurgle and his blood left him, she collected it in a bowl, making sure to get every last drop. His corpse would be fed to the spawn. Turning to the other prisoner, she noticed his pale complexion, he was radiating fear. "Oh don't worry, I'm not going to kill you. Guards, chain him up over there and take the corpse away."

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Sophie's jounrey did not go unnoticed. A small group of rough looking men, different species ranging from human to zebrak, had spotted her while she was walking through the streets. Sure she wore a robe and all but to them they were eager and almost desperate men looking for any sort of prize to claim in Undercity. Either for theft or for more "dispicable means" the group had spotted and decided to follow her. Sophie herself didn't notice at first, only continuing to follow the pulse deeper and deeper into the city.

The group concisted of five men altogether, who moved pretty fast as a group without any stragglers or the like. They followed her down every street and around every corner, staying out of sight from her in order to not be spotted yet. They would advance on her soon enough but for now it was just a matter of trailing her.

Eventually Sophie had come to a more darker part of Undercity, the point where she stopped and looked at how much darker it was. She could sense whatever it was she needed was in there but she felt something more. Something darker laid awaiting her and it worried her whatever it was might be too much for her to handle. Looking back to the familiar on her shoulder, knowing [member="Darth Arcanix"] was still watching, she realized she was in no real position to deny her master's wish. This was part of her test and she needed to complete it for her sake.

The familiar had spotted the men who stopped when it began to caw, warning Sophie of thier presence. She looked back to them, her eyes darting out from under the blackness of her hood. Two bold, dark blue eyes that periced through the darkness to see them. The men looked worried now. Wheather it was Sophie herself, the familiar, or the fact she was about to enter what was probably a more dangerous part of Undercity had made them backoff. She left not saying a word and Sophie looked away anc back to the darker part of the city she ineveitablly walked into, eventually dissapearing into the dark.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Taeli looked up, the images from her familiar appearing in her mind as her apprentice was followed by a small gang. She was nearing the source of the Force call, but she could feel the pulses of several Sithspawn in the area too. That would explain why the men were hesitant to follow her into the shadows and darkness. They knew, from living in that squalor, what lurked within the darkness. This would be her apprentice's true test, and the gang would most likely wait for her to return, to steal any valuables, to rape and kill, whatever their little minds came up with. She would be very interested to see how Sophie handled them.

"You seem stressed," she said to the prisoner who was hanging on the wall in chains. "I would think that would be relaxing, allowing your muscles to breathe so to speak."

Not waiting for a reply, she went back to work on empowering the blood collected, tapping into the dark side nexus that was both the palace and the temple.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

It was harder to see in this place. This part of Undercity was dark enough that one could barley see five feet in front of them. Small lights glimmered here-and-there but they illuminated small parts of the street. Sophie had hurried to each of them when she found them while making her way deeper into the complexing area. She still followed through, towards the pulses source and feeling it growing with every few steps she took. But as she progressed she felt something else. The sensation of being watched, and not only by [member="Darth Arcanix"] via her familiar perched on her shoulder.

Sophie had turned to see if there was anything around. Nothing. At least not as far as she could see. But then again the place was so dark that it was possible anything could be hiding there. Ahe recalled the warnings given by her master about the sithspawn, creatures that Sophie recalled to be mutaations of speices turned into horrific reflections of their former selves. More ferocious and bred for battle these beasts now mingled in what was left of this part of Undercity, remnants of when the Sith had invaded Courascant for themselves. In all fairness it was easy to understand how not all of the monsters were found and dealt with.

A shiver ran up Sophi's spin as she continued onward, seeing another lighted spot to hurry to. However she didn't make it before being stopped by something that dropped down in front of her. A sithspawn Mon Calmiarian. It's great big yellow eyes reflected in the dark and it's head looked like a shark fin swerving its way twoards her. It opened it's mouth revealing rows of sharp teeth and had claws on it's once fin-like hands. It charged at her with a howl, Sophie pulling out the saber she was given before holding it out at the ready.

Once the monster was close enough she lunged foward, missing as the thing dodged and swiped at her. It missed, snaring her cloak instead, which gave Sophie the chance to counter strike. She gave a grand sweep and it struck the sithspawn in the side. The monster let out a howl of pain before dropping to the ground dead. Sophie kept her saber pointed on it as she retrived her cloak from it's claws and congragulated herself for the kill. But then came the sound of more snarling and other horrific sounds and soon she realized it wasn't over yet.

 

[Taeli Raaf]

Speaking through her familiar, the words being sent into her apprentice's mind, Taeli said, "Be mindful, my apprentice, the beings around you have a highly potent venom within their claws and fangs. One scratch will be enough to send you into waves upon waves of agony, whereupon the spawn will surround and kill you. Do what you must to survive, draw upon the dark side. Show them the power you showed me on Ossus."

Even as she spoke, Taeli continued to work on preparing all the materials for the ritual, a gold chain now lying next to the small work station she was using. At least Sophie hadn't encountered a leviathan down in the Undercity yet.

[member="Sophie Gustav"]

 

[Zion Mirtis]

Hearing her master's words Sophie looked to the familiar, understanding what was at stake. She held her saber out in front of her for protection and light as she could hear more Sithspawn approaching. Without wasting time she turned and began to run towards the source. The sounds behind her indicated the sithspawn were aware of her knowing of them. They were snarling and growling and making all manner of horrible noises as they chased after her, Sophie ducking behind one corner after another to try and lose them.

Twice there had been Sithspawn who tried to cut her off by jumping into her path ahead of her, first a wookie mutation and then a human one. Each was cut down in a swift motion by her saber before she continued to run. At one point her hood was snagged by a ewok sithspawn hanging from the wires above her. She felt it tug on her neck as it tried to pull her up or keep her still until the others arrived. Sophie had cut her cloak off before continuing to run further into the darker Undercity.

As she came closer to what she'd hopped was the source of the darkside pulses a large Kel Dor mutation stood in her way, baring it's claws with the vemon Sophie had been warned of. It changed at her but Sophie stood her ground, her saber out in front of her and ready. She waited until the right moment and dodged, the blade moving to her side and cutting the sithspawn down. She could see others comming from behind and realized she needed to cut them off. Looking up she saw barley standing debris that could be easily knocked down. Retracting her saber Sophie held her hand up and out before reaching out with the force. Once she had the proper hold she pulled the piles down, mere moments before the sithspawn reached her. Some collasped on them while the rest were cut off. From behind the pile she could hear them roaring in defeat.

With near death experiences like that Sophie took a moment and dropped to the ground. She tried to regain her breath as her heart was still pounding from the entire obtsacle she's just been through. She looked, seeing the familiar had flow off from her for a moment during all the running before finally coming back to her. She wondered if her master had seen all of what happened or not.

[member="Darth Arcanix"]