The inner demons

[NightSister]

Location: Malachor Sith Temple

Ever since Aria's fateful trip to meet her parents, she had been going out of her way to avoid the Dark Side, which, naturally, only made her more curious to investigate this lifestyle which so many had fallen prey to. For days she had fought an inner battle with herself, until eventually she decided that becoming more educated in the ways of the Sith could be a benefit to her teachings as a Jedi and that paying a brief visit to a Sith temple wouldn't be enough to turn her. She was stronger than that...wasn't she?

Now, standing in the midst of the Sith Temple on Malachor, surrounded by the immense presence of the Dark Side, she wasn't so sure. It felt as though she was being suffocated by the Darkness, as though every Sith who had ever visited the temple was there and trying to push her over the edge. Staying composed was a non-stop war against her inner demons, who were feeding off the Darkness in turn: it was all Aria could do to remain standing where she was.

Determined not to let a creepy temple get the better of her, Aria breathed in and out several times before attempting to send a calming wave of Force energy towards her brain. It helped enough to ease her rigid posture and so she progressed further into the temple, trying her best to understand the mentality and the lifestyle of the Sith. That was why you came, she reminded herself. No other reason. None at all.

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

Malachor. Only a few worlds could offer enough darkness to make a sith feel in tune with the force around them, and malachor was most certainly one of them. Abyss had visited more than one sith temple in his life, but in none none of them the darkness felt so elevating, so alive like here. Every step he came closer to the ancient ruins made he feel stronger, the fire of passion inside him was burning trough the power around him like dieing star.

The power inside the ruins were even stronger, stronger than Abyss could have imagined. He lets his hands wander over the cold stone, listing to echos of the past, feasting on all the anger and hate these who build and died in this temple left behind. Lost in his thoughts Abyss almost missed the other person roaming around in the temple, a woman looking far less excited to be her than. Her presence was like a small candle trying to light a black ocean. Abyss slowly walked towards her, focused on keeping his steps as quite as possible.

"Your a long way from home Jedi. Are you lost? Or have you decided to embrace a power that far surpasses that of any jedi?"

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Eyes closed and lost in thought, Aria started at the voice that had suddenly come from behind. She hadn't even noticed that there was somebody else there - a Sith, no doubt, even before he began to speak of embracing power. It was too late to try and conceal her alignment, but if the Sith wasn't already swinging a lightsaber at her then perhaps she could hope to keep things civil for the time being at least.

All the same, the Jedi and Sith were sworn enemies and Aria was in no mood for manners.
"Who are you?" she said, her voice echoing slightly due to the sheer size of the temple as she tried to sound as powerful as she could. "Why should I answer your questions?"

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Because I could assist you with both options"

It was uncommon for a sith to offer assistance to a jedi, but this was not a common situation. No jedi would travel to a sith temple without a good reason. Abyss could only guess but to him it seemed like only someone would do that wasn't at least touched by the darkness. Maybe she was someone who had left behind the dark side or maybe she was someone who was seeking it. Even if she was neither the one nor the other, the battle between jedi and sith could take many forms, and this one could be one of the mind.

He was walking closer showing her his empty hands. He slowly moved them to his face to take of the mask that was hiding his face, to show her that he was, at least on the outside, still human besides his plae skin and yellow glowing eyes.

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Aria eyed the Sith suspiciously as he removed his mask. Her father had always said never to trust someone who hid behind a mask. Now his mask was off and her father was dead, so it was easy to disregard that particular worry - but the last time she'd come across Sith, she was rescuing a One Sith prisoner and had gone through several of the Sith who were there at the time before she'd managed to get out. It suddenly struck her that her face would have been visible enough to save in their archives and if he was associated with the One Sith, the offer of assistance could be a ploy. Still, there were several different Sith organizations, and several Sith who belonged to none at all, and her curiosity was piqued enough that she was willing to take that chance.

"I'm neither lost nor seeking to join your ranks," Aria said, still with a note of caution in her voice. "I'm here for research." It was close enough to the truth - or at the very least, it was the lie that she kept telling herself.
"But you are here because you are a Sith. I am your sworn enemy and you are offering to assist me, even if is just to help guide me. I know it's not because of your kind heart."

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Why so hostile jedi? I thought your order is about peace and harmony."

Abyss words were followed by an humourless laugh, a sound as inhuman and demonic as his appearance.

"You came here in search of the darkness and I am here to offer it to you. The fact that you traveled here tells me that at least some part of you has an interest in the power of the dark side, and who am I to deny it to you."

His words were once again followed by a laugh, while the acolyte walked even closer to her, now standing only a few meters away from her. He slowly extend his right hand in her direction, his glowing eyes locked on her.

"Come child of the light, let me show you the path you desire to walk upon."

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Growing more suspicious every second, Aria stiffened as he extended his hand. If there was one thing she knew about Sith it was that they rarely did anything without ulterior motives and any sort of interaction with a Jedi that didn't involve lightsabers seemed very likely to fall in that category.

"It is. And your order is one of destruction and hatred. I didn't come here to join you - I came, if anything, to see what is was that drove others to Darkness so I could avoid making the same mistakes. So unless you are willing to help me with that I suggest you return to whatever it was you were doing here in the first place."

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"The first step to the darkness is always an interest for it, the reasons behind it do not matter."

He slowly moves his hand back in a more natural position, but he was still fixated on the jedi in front of him. She showed resistance and willpower, both things would server her well on the way of the darkness. He knew that she was at the point were a simple promise of power couldn't convince her, but there was something jedi and sith almost equally respected. The force.

"I know the jedi order tells you that all we sith did fall to the dark side, that we were tempted. They try to tell you that the darkness is something dangerous and unnatural ... but let me tell you my story. I did not fall to the dark side, the force called for me, it choose the path that I should walk upon. It was my destiny to become a sith, and if you are a true servant of the force you have to accept that the same fate could be yours."

He laughed again, this time slightly less evil with an actual hint of amusement.

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

"And if it isn't? If it is my fate to remain a Jedi? What then?" Aria said scornfully. She'd by lying if she said that she'd not once considered the Dark Side, but he didn't need to know that. "The Force is an energy field, Sith. It does not decide my future for me."

Aria had never considered herself to be stubborn, but in this case, she was determined not to let the Dark Side win her over, especially not in the form of an arrogant Acolyte. Destiny or not, the Dark Side in its true form was terrifying and all but impossible to escape from and no amount of power or passion or whatever it was that motivated its followers could change that.

Very deliberately, Aria took a step backwards and turned to the side.

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"When the force is out of balance it will return to balance and no one can change that. We might think that what we do is up to us, but in the end it will be the will of the force if we like it or not."

Everyone had a different view on the force, but to Abyss it was obvious that the force was far more than just an energy field, but a power that while neutral and emotionless had its own will and would change the fate of those who could influence the balance between light and dark. For him the fact that she came here meant that it was her destiny to become a follower of the sith. He made no attempt to walk closer to her as she stepped back. It would take time for the darkness to take hold in her mind, maybe just a few minutes, maybe a few years or longer. It didn't matter, she was touched by the darkness and this touch would follow her until hrr death. All he could do now was pushing her in the right direction.

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Aria could feel the blood rushing to her head and sense her temper rising. Although at that moment the Sith was aggravating her and she would have been all too pleased to demonstrate what she'd learned as a Jedi Guardian, the sensible side of her brain - the side that made her a Jedi still - reminded her that it would achieve nothing and would in fact push her further towards the Darkness that he was trying so hard to lure her into. Fighting to stay calm, she breathed in and out, in and out.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five.

Much better.

"I'm not going to tell you to not believe what you believe," she said as slowly and calmly as she could. "You're entitled to your own beliefs. I simply... don't agree with them."

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

Abyss looked at her, feeling a rush of energy inside her. He waited for her to have an outburst, to unleash her negativ emotions and embrace the darkness. He counted the seconds, but nothing happend, she remained calm and controlled. He felt a little disappointment but he knew that it could take time for someone to fall to the dark side. What he just saw was just her first little step, and over time she would stop resisting.

"Can you not feel it? The power that flows trough you whenever you feel anger, hate or fear? With any second you try to resist, it will devour more of your mind until it will consume you."

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

He was right; she was clenching her fists and biting her tongue to avoid saying something she would regret. It was hard, especially when he kept pushing like that, but it helped to know that that was what he wanted and her stubborn streak made her determination not to let him win stronger than her fragile temper.
That being said, one biting line to shut him up would likely do more good than bad in the long run.

"Well, I've been resisting for quite a while now and my mind seems pretty un-consumed." She folded her arms. "Anyway, I want to know who it is that keeps interrupting my train of thought. Well?"

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"I am called Abyss. And I do not mean to interrupt Jedi, I am just trying to lead you on the path of your destiny."

She way slowly failing to keep her calm, a true follower of the light would just stopped answering his words after realizing what he was. This meant that his plan was working, not as fast as he would've like, but it could be worse. The sith slowly moved towards her again, moving his hands to take of the hood that still shrouded parts of his head. Without his mask and hood the acolyte seemed even more human than before, as he slowly placed himself on the ground, his legs crossed to meditate.

"I told you who I am Jedi, now it is your turn."

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

"And I am Aria. Whose destiny it is to make her own."

Aria wasn't sure what she was doing - he was a Sith and she was a Jedi; why were their interactions so...civil? They should be either ignoring one another or fighting to the death - instead they were talking about philosophy. That said, she knew Jedi with friends among the Sith, lovers even, but did that weaken one's allegiance to the Light Side? Aria wasn't sure.

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"We might have to agree that we disagree on that je ...Aria."

It was weird calling a jedi by her name instead of just calling her jedi like he did with the few jedi he had contact with before. Yet these jedi all were enemies he meet on the battlefield, while she was not even exactly an enemy. She was a follower of the light with a pull to the darkness, and he saw it as his duty to show her the way the force had chosen for her in his opinion. It was in many aspects still a fight between light and dark but less violent and barbaric that one with lightsabers. A lot of sith thought that violence was the only way to power but he learned that fights of the mind did hold the same value to further his strength. They needed as much cunning and finesse as any other.

"Tell me Aria, you said you came here to avoid falling to the darkness, but can you explain why without using the words your corrupted masters have told you?"

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Aria blinked. Was that what he thought, that she'd been sent here by the Masters? Well, let him think that, or it would only support his argument. Although she was sure that at least some of the Masters would have agreed with her course of action, to have been advised to do so would have meant that she would need to own up to what she had done that had led her to come here. Which she intended to do, of course, but...not before she had made peace with herself. Obviously.

"You know, plenty among the Silver Sanctum are Darksiders, Sith even. The difference is that they use their powers for good, to keep the galaxy safe. It doesn't make them corrupted. But in answer to your question..." she paused, sorting out the words in her mind. "I thought that if I could understand what it was that made others turn to the Dark Side it would make it easier to avoid making the same mistakes. No offense."

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"So you have seen that there is more to the dark side than just mindless violence, and that even the sith are nothibg more than people. So why do you fear the darkness so much?"

Now the whole discussion moved to the point were it would be really interesting. Abyss had tried to figure out to what faction of the jedi she was part of. The silver sanctum coalition was one of the more open ones that didn't completely opposed the use of the dark side. Other than the true sith they still believed that power had to be used selflessly, a misconception Abyss never could really grasp.

"You think that those who use their powers for altruistic motives are good and those who do not are bad? I never could understand how people can believe someone is truly selfless, anyone is driven by his own desires even when this desire is to do good."

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

"I know that the Dark Side can be used for good. I fear it because once you've fallen to the Darkness, turning back to the Light is very difficult and very, very dangerous. And I'm not saying that those who serve themselves are 'bad'; not unless fulfilling their desires means that innocent people cannot fulfill theirs. Everybody has the right to their freedom, their beliefs and a long, happy life; and since the majority of the Darksiders I've encountered seem opposed to that idea, naturally I want to avoid going down the same path."

Aria was intrigued now; while she knew of Sith who used their powers for good, she'd never as such been introduced to one and it would appear that that was what he was implying. Maybe coming here was more productive than she'd been expecting.

[member="Abyss"]

 

[Darth Abyss]

"Good or bad are so bland words to describe something complex. What one might perceive as good someone else might perceive as bad and the other way around. If someone had to kill thousands of innocents to save millions would he be good or bad?"

Abyss never really cared about defining what was good or bad, to him it was all the same. Those who did good still had an agenda they followed, an inner desire to do good to feel good. It was simply nature to do what was best for oneself instead of doing what was good for someone else. Still he had to ask her these things to show her that her view was illogical.

[member="Aria Vale"]