The Lady and the 'Vamp'

[Ariealla Vareldi]

"Slipped away from history. No sith had ever been strong enough to kill her, and no jedi had ever managed to so much as concern her. She was considered as close to a god as one could be, and then she simply disappeared." She downed the rest of the water and placed the cup aside. She did not lie, she had killed her old body to preserve her legend. And she herself hadnt been killed...

"Her story ends on such a disappointing note, doesnt it? No final battle, no final adventure. And all her own records were lost with the scattering of her library. So much lost knowledge." She sighed and ran a hand through her long silver hair. For once in this encounter her voice would be utterly genuine. She missed that library, even if she arranged the entire scattering of it. [member="Lady Kay"] would easily pick up on this, and perhaps even the longing glimmer in her eyes.

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay had another sip of her tea as she listened and watched her. It was sad for such an end, for what seemed to be an important Sith Lord to be lost in time, and maybe even forgotten. It made her ponder her own mortality and how long it would be before she was forgotten too.

And then she saw something truthful in [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] 's eyes that even her voice matched. Was that sadness couple with a wish that wanted to be fulfilled? "There are plenty that deal with antiquities. Auctions pop up too every now and again. Perhaps some of her old records would be among them?"

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

"Possible... I cannot say it wouldn't occur. Yet those who knew what they held, those decades of history and secrets, they wouldnt willingly part with them. As it is any relic of Aria is a priceless artifact, simply because of its age. Such as her lightsaber." Ariealla felt, odd. She was by no means feeling generous or kind, but somethinv about [member="Lady Kay"] made her feel...

At peace? Or simply calmed, though both could simply be her medicine. Whatever the case, she reached to her hip and retrieved her saberstaff. Clearly an old and loved weapon, the black cored, purple blade sprung to life with a click of the button. "Its a beauty, isn't it?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay sipped her tea. She was relaxed enough until [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] brought out her lightsaber and ignited it. She gazed at it and held her cup on her lap. "I've never seen a saber with that kind of light. It must be infused with a very powerful crystal. Might I suggest something?....There are plenty Darksiders that I know, Mandalorians included, that would try to acquire something that rare and powerful. Please do your best to avoid parting with it? They hoard rare items and then blackmail others with them. It is never about the items themselves and what they offer. It is just about how many of them that they can have."

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

Ariealla shrugged lightly and turned off the saber, clipping it to her belt. She didn't need the information, knowing that she had to and did keep it safe.but, it was nice that someone cared. Even if they were a light sider. " I do what I can. Besides, I'm more than capable of fighting them off. People underestimate a pretty face."

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay nodded, sipping her tea again once [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] put away her saber. "I have no doubt that you can fend for yourself very well. Most that I know are fully capable of doing so. And in this day and age, it is needed." She glanced around them, taking in the trees, the wind, the smell of the campfire in the air. "Are the Sith planning on invading Bakura?.." She hoped not. This was the closest thing that she's had to a home.

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

"In short? Yes. In truth, though it is a matter of when. I know not who leads the Sith, nor do I care. In the grand plans, Sith seek to 'invade', as you put it, all planets. It is not a matter of if, but of when. For now, not likely." she hummed, before making herself a cup of the tea made by Kay, regardless of if she wished to share.

As she waited for it to be fully made, she spoke to May once moee, this time curious of the woman. "You hate me, and all other Sith... do you not? Indulge me in the reason behind this, would you?"

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay didn't like the idea of Bakura being invaded and at worse, destroyed. It could change alliances surely, but she didn't want anything about the planet itself to change.

She didn't mind [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] fixing herself some tea. Kay could have offered, but she was a bit distracted by the weapons.

A brow was raised as the woman asked her questions. "I don't paint all Sith with the same brush, just as I don't with all others. You've given me no reason to hate you, the same with some others. I have allies among the Sith. I was married to a Darksider for a time too. We worked well together..."

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

Ariealla nodded, sipping from the tea when she felt it had been fjnally finished. Not bad, though hardly the best. She listened quietly for quite some time, only speaking ip once she felt time had sufficiently passed. "Then I would hope you could tell me what the Sith code is? And what it means, though of course I would doubt you would understand it properly, as many interpretations exist, as with the Jedi Code.."

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

[member="Lady Kay"] <... oopsie, mh bad.>

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay slowly shook her head. "I'm sorry but I don't know it. I'm sure that everyone has their own versions of what was written and how to follow it, each pretending to know better than the other." She finished her tea. Surely [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] thought of her being an idiot or severely knacking of knowledge. But it wasn't as though she went to the Academy.

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

"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.

The words of the Sith. Tell me, what wisdom can you gain frrlom them?" She took a sip and smiled, curious what she would say. There wasnno denying she held some anger towards the Sith, even if she would not say. What.. would Kay think?

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay furrowed her brows as she thought of the words, looking to the fire. "Well...I'd say that peace is not a lie. It is a state of being. Passion is another state of being. One can lead to the other, but more so in the other way. Passion can lead to peace or the feeling of peace towards one's self. As one's strength and power grows, so does confidence. And confidence can bring victory, but not always. I'm not sure what the chains would be. I have often ran missions to free slaves and rescue the oppressed, though I suspect that it means something else entirely. Our experiences are what gives us certain points of view. As we gain more experience, our views can change. I'm sure that if you spoke those words and asked for interpretation both at the beginning and the end of someone's training, their answers would differ."

She looked to [member="Ariealla Vareldi"], resting her empty cup on her lap, fully expecting to be laughed at. The woman seemed keen on looking for something in Kay that might not even be there.

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

Ariealla smiled and set her tea down. This was an interesting, but not uncommon understanding. She then spokr, in a very... teacher like fashion. Her voice would demand to be heard, but lack in harshness or anger. "A very literal interpretation, if you would listen however you might learn something of value.

Peace is a lie, but not because it does not exist. The force itself is an organized chaos, and never at rest or peace. Peace is stagnation, in many regards, and the force is ever changing. The inner self too is never truly peaceful, there is always a darkness in the light. A speck, pergaps, but it is there.

And when it grows, this chaos, it comes to passion. Passion for what one believes in, what they desire. It brings them to seek the power to change it, to grow. It is this power which can bring victory, the fulfillment one desired in the first place. We break the chains of the world, of reality. We refused to sccept our place, and made it that which we believed to be fitting. The force, that speck of passion, gave us our freedom to live as we wish. The sith code, then, demands one make their own freedom, one which none may take from them. Compare it to the jedi code....

'There is no emotion; there is peace.
There is no ignorance; there is knowledge.
There is no passion; there is serenity.
There is no chaos; there is harmony.
There is no death; there is the force'. What then, would you say of this?"

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay had had discussions regarding the Force, and good versus evil before. Every one of them had been different. Everyone had different points of view. She listened to [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] as she spoke, nodding at almost every point. It wasn't as though she agreed with all of it, however. Not all of it applied to her.

And now the Jedi Code. Kay took in a deep breath and released it slowly. "A lot of negativity in there. It almost sounds like a mantra for a meditation to help centre one's self and clear their minds. But I don't live to that code. At times I can seem emotionless, especially when I deny men adding me to their list of conquest, but I have good reason to keep everyone at arm's length, just as I do to try to keep my Force Sensitivity a secret. Such behaviour and thinking is unbecoming of a Jedi. But I will not stray into Darkness.I won't fall because I do not follow their Code."

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

"That it is, the Sith code as well. The difference is in the words, intent. Both wish to describe how their practitioners should act, but while the Sith code demands that one embrace their mortality, their emotions, their self, the Jedi sought to remove these desires.

They saw emotion as a bad trait, and passion as a blinding force. And while perhaps they are right, they only created guilt, chains. They bound their members in self doubt and guilt by demanding they give their selves up for the food of the galaxy. More than a few times this meant they cast the galaxy into turmoil, death.. despair. I have thought much on both of these teachings, when I got bored with the politics of the galaxy. And no matter how much i tried, i couldn't stop growing angry at the Jedi.

They sought peace, and condemned the galaxy in their quest. They wished for the galaxy to be a republic, and doomed individual worlds to the will of others' desires. In the end, democracy became the greatest method of enslaving entire systems. Why bother voting, when you already know who will win?

Perhaps it is cruel, what the Galactic Empire did. But in the end, they gave the galaxy a chance to seek its own freedom. To cast off shackles.. live on their own terms. No longer beholden to a corruptable senate. If they had the power to be free... they earned it." she laughed lightly, and quickly sipped her tea.

She knew Kay would disagree, but it mattered little. It was not meant to persuade her, not yet. "Tell me, Miss. What is the Darkness, if not the product of Light? What is the worse evil, making others reliant upon you, or forcing them to grow?"

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay folded her arms across her chest as she listened. Why debate her on this? She followed her own way. Not the Jedi. It was almost as if [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] was trying to blame her for the actions of others, which was stupid.

"I restrict some of my emotions for the protection of others. I lost my husband already to a Sith Lord when we constantly defied him and tried to free ourselves from being under his boot. So I'll not put anyone in that type of danger again."

She also restricted her Force use, believing that using it would send a beacon to that Sith Lord and cause him to break his word and finish her off.

"Darkness is not a product of Light. One cannot exist without the other, just like life and death. I don't force others to rely on me. I don't force people into doing anything. That's not how I am nor what I want to be."

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

"Every action has a consequence. Every single one. Holding in emotions is no different. It destroys a person, bit by bit. Until they finally break, and their mind is consumed by that which they sought to hide. Embracing emotion, can lead to it absorbing one into it as well, if one does not retain their clarity of mind.

And yes, the light creates the dark. Life creates death, the mere existance of reality creates the Force. When a match is lit, it creates light and fire. And that light is what creates dark shadows. And death would not exist, if life never were to begin. Yes, you are right. Neither can exist without the other, but it is only through the existence of one that another is created.

If there were but darkness, there would be no light. If there were naught but death, there would be no life. The cycle perpetuates itself, but it had to be started. Just as a wheel is static, until a single point is turned around. Save a life, give a poor man the credits for a meal. He will find another, poorer, hungrier refugee, and that one will mug him.

Save a slave, and he has traded one master to rely on another, for protection, for shelter, food. Money. The dark might perpetuate light such as you, but does not the light in turn perpetuate the dark?" she hummed as she sipped the tea quietly. Perhaps she was too eloquent with her words, too vague. And her point of view... too difficult to explain.

[member="Lady Kay"]

 

[Kay-Larr]

Kay furrowed her brows. She agreed with some of what [member="Ariealla Vareldi"] had to say, but not all of it. She had been through this conversation before, all from different angles. But just like most, she didn't like to be told that she was wrong. How many times had she been told that freeing slaves was pointless? A lot. But she couldn't deem anyone as not worthy of help or freedom from oppression. Maybe in some ways, she was trying to free herself from something.

"So what are you trying to say? That if there was no Light, the Galaxy would be better off?" She couldn't imagine being dark, evil, power hungry and selfish. It just wasn't a part of who she was. Kay was caring and helpful, and those traits had served her well.

 

[Ariealla Vareldi]

"Hardly, when did I ever say that?" She laughed lightly and set her almost empty cup of tea to the side. She ran a hand through her silver locks of hair as she continued with what she viewed as a 'lecture'. "The Light is the starting point of the Dark. Without the Light, Dark would not exist. It is only after that point that Dark could perpetuate itself, after being started. The Light and Dark have a place and a purpose, but those like the Jedi who envelope in it are oft too foolish to understand. They seek the destruction of the Darkness, the eradication of their opposite that they themselves created in the first place. An individual Jedi might understand this, but the order has, as a whole, failed to realize this. The same can be said of many Sith, too, though in my experience they are often the more open to this understanding.

Now, tell me. What is good and evil?"

[member="Lady Kay"]