Among the Ruins of the Ancients [Aria Vale]

[Darth Imperia]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aas1Qrksls​

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Korriban - Home of the Sith​

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Korriban - inarguably the most famous of the Sith Worlds, the crown jewel of almost every Sith Empire or Order in history. It'd had its ups and downs, to be sure, but no matter what happened, it teemed with Darkness and Danger...and the promise of knowledge and power, if only the seeker was worthy of those gifts.

And it was that promise that kept drawing people to Korriban's surface - Sith, Dark Jedi, even the occasional Jedi creeping ever so close to the Dark Side.

In this particular case, the Seeker after Knowledge was a Sithling. She had no name, nor did she need one - she was the Apprentice, the Acolyte. The lightsaber at her belt, the grey, dead color of her skin and the harsh yellow of her eyes all spoke volumes about her allegiance, and until she proved herself worthy, her allegiance was all the identity the rest of the galaxy needed from her.

The Blood Red Lightning launched from the fingertips of her left hand was also a pretty good indication that this girl was not particularly friendly.

It had started off simply enough. The Apprentice had embarked upon a bit of tomb-diving on her own initiative, scrapped together a bit of knowledge - knowledge, admittedly, that she probably could've found in a library. But exploration was so much more entertaining. A pack of Tuk'ata had gotten in her way. Or perhaps she'd gotten in theirs? Either way, she dealt with them the only way she knew.

Through the liberal application of violence. One Tuk'ata dead, and all it had cost her was a bit of a burnt hand. But more were coming for her, and she could only hold so many off with lightning. The Apprentice had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but alas - her lightsaber flickered to life in her hand, then the life of a Sith Hound was swiftly extinguished. But there was no grace to her movements - they were clumsy, inelegant. The hallmarks of a novice, skilled only in the most basic aspects of Shii-Cho, And whilst the girl was tough, she wouldn't survive long. Not on her own, at least.

----

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Korriban - the planet that had previously been just one of the many others that existed but held no importance to Aria - the planet that was now synonymous with the near-destruction of the Silver Jedi Order. Thanks to one rogue Silver operative, the Order's name had been thrown into the mud and chaos had ensued. That period was nearing its end now however, and so the time was ripe to pay Korriban a visit and see the planet and everything on it first-hand.

As she did so frequently these days, Aria had departed early in the morning - she'd even left a note stuck to her door after the painful result of her last trip away - but instead of seeking out a Sith temple or even looking to see the aftermath of the bombing, she'd poked around on the surface a bit then gone to investigate a tomb. Perhaps it was more ominous, but no matter the impact of the rebellion that had occurred some months back, one could only look at bombsites and feel remorseful for so long.

Thus, Aria was skulking through the hallways when the ever-familiar sound of a lightsaber igniting caught her attention. She turned, calling her saber-hilt to her hand, but she wasn't the one under attack today, thank the Force - instead, at a corner, a woman's figure was attacking a pack of Tuk'ata with a crimson saber. A Sith, then. Oh, that was just perfect. Aria would've kept on with her explorations, but the woman looked as though she was running out of fight. She would regret this, wouldn't she?

Quickly, Aria closed the distance between them, glancing to the woman for confirmation that help was indeed needed before activating the saber that still rested in one hand. Her own skill with a saber was nothing phenomenal - it was hand-to-hand where she excelled - but had more finesse than the other woman's inelegant defense and held back the pack of Sith hounds more easily.

"Are you alright?" Aria asked between flicks of her saber, turning to face the woman - her eyebrows went up at the deathlike grey of her complexion, but she decided against voicing the thought. Another Tuk'ata leapt out of the shadows, and Aria brought her wrist up in a slicing movement to counter. Maybe her job as a Jedi was to save lives, but really - these hounds had better give up soon.

[member="Mala Arar"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

The Apprentice took a heaving breath during the momentary lapse in combat provided by her sudden Jedi companion. The sight of a Lightsider, and one who was more powerful than her, at that - her Force Sense told her that much - was admittedly slightly distressing for the young Sithling, but she wasn't one to turn down assistance when it was offered.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just lost a bit of blood," She paused mid-sentence, deactivating her saber and delivering a solid punch with her cybernetic arm to a Tuk'ata that hadn't seemed to learn its lesson. Its skull bled, and it skittered back to the shadows. "Anyway... Thank you, sincerely, for your assistance." Despite her rather ghoulish appearance, the Acolyte didn't seem overly hostile or aggressive - her tone and voice were typical of any young Coruscanti woman, not raspy or guttural like one might expect from a Sith. Even her Presence in the Force wasn't exceptionally unpleasant - it was predatory and angry, to be sure, but lacking in any overt hatred or malice directed at the Jedi before her.

The Apprentice sliced at a final pair of Tuk'ata, and no more seemed to come for the duo afterwards. Being relatively certain of her safety, - this was Korriban, after all - the grey-skinned young woman clipped her saber back to her belt and offered a casual half-bow to her companion. Her left hand - the one that was organic - was clasped over her stomach, which was suffering from a bit of moderate bleeding.

"Might I have the pleasure of learning my rescuer's name?"

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Aria watched apprehensively as the other woman punched the life out of a hound with a black cybernetic arm, trying to evaluate both the skill and trustworthiness of the woman. If she had to guess, her ability with a saber determined her as an Acolyte, albeit a reasonably capable one - but the totally civil response to being helped by such an obviously Lightsided stranger was impressive: after all, apprentices within either brethren were typically the ones with the least mature approach to the opposing side. That the woman had defied that archetype right away was enough to garner some of Aria's respect.

"It's no problem." Well, it had been some problem, but Aria wasn't severely injured or in any great pain, so she let it slide. Creatures like Tuk'ata were only deadly when they were plentiful. And Aria was under some obligation to defend against such threats when she could - it was in the nature of her career, after all. Even when the one being defended was probably a Sith and was on the way to resembling a corpse.

The Acolyte put her lightsaber away - the saber hilt's design struck a chord, but Aria disregarded it - and asked her name. Aria had become wary of who she gave her name to, but the woman wasn't trying to oppose her, nor was she overtly threatening. That didn't mean she didn't have the potential to become such at a later time, but with any luck the nature of the encounter would be enough to keep Aria safe from retribution. Besides, Aria had always been quick to lower her guard, whether she realised it or not.

"Aria. Yours?"

[member="Mala Arar"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

"I am the Apprentice of Darth Vitium. Beyond that, I neither have nor need a name," Was the Sithling's casual response, spoken as if it were the most normal thing in the world. She could've used an alias, but she had so many that she occasionally mixed them up. Better to be honest, just this once. "Considering the circumstances, it's a pleasure to meet you, Aria."

The Acolyte took a moment to look over Aria - although not her physical form. No, she was observing her companion's presence. Lightsided, she supposed - but only barely, it seemed to her. Teetering on the edge of Darkenss, or at the very least at risk of becoming Gray. That explained why a Jedi, of all things, was exploring the tombs of Korriban - she was curious. Perhaps she'd always been like this, perhaps she'd been exposed to just a bit too much of the Dark Side to retain her zealous certainty in the correctness of the Light. It didn't matter to the Acolyte - what she saw was an opportunity to make a fellow Sith, and perhaps, she hoped, a friend. Those were a rare occurrence among Darksiders, regrettably. Or, failing that, she might at least further the girl's descent into Darkness.

"If you're here to explore, would you mind continuing on together? There's safety in numbers, after all." She winced as she spoke, looking down to observe the wound on her stomach. It was shallow, thankfully, but it was long and ragged. Overall, it wasn't exceptionally grave, but there was always the risk of infection to consider. Not to mention that it hurt like all Chaos.

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

The shock on Aria's face lasted only a second, but provided the Acolyte hadn't blinked in that moment, the surprise and recognition would be clear to behold. Darth Vitium's apprentice? The surprise wasn't that Vitium - whom Aria preferred to think of as Silara upon having learnt the name; it made her seem less dangerous - had an apprentice. The Sith Lord had certainly devoted a fair share of her monologue to the subject of training Acolytes when Aria had met her. It just seemed so uncanny that of all people Aria would happen upon, it would be Silara's apprentice. Not only that, but where Vitium had been cunning, manipulative and mildly sadistic, her apprentice seemed so...reasonable. Even likeable. What a curious galaxy.

"Nice to meet you too," Aria offered. Alright, so maybe she wasn't too fond of the Acolyte's Master. There was no need to be uncivil; the girl was still an Apprentice - by name, in fact - and not bad company. There was also the possibility that she could further Aria's quest to understand her adversary, but she wouldn't stake her hopes on it. The past had proved that Sith were not so easily tricked into such things as Jedi - or at least, Aria - were.

"I'd be happy to. But do you want to do something about your wound first?" she asked, looking with mild concern at the Acolyte's stomach. Aria was no great healer, but she did have a knack for suppressing pain through a technique known as Crucitorn, which she believed could also be used to increase pain but had never seen cause to use in such a way. Either way, Aria would be able to make the wound somewhat more manageable if such a thing was asked of her.

[member="Mala Arar"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

The Acolyte tried, and failed, to suppress a smirk at Aria's expression. So she'd met Vitium before - probably not on friendly terms, considering her Mistress's temperament. That might've thrown a wrench in her plans to corrupt the young woman, but it seemed that Aria wasn't going to make this into a conflict. First the Feline on Felucia, now Aria - it seemed to the Acolyte that she hadn't run into any idiotic Jedi since the events on Geonosis.

In response to Aria's offer, the Apprentice simply smiled. "If you've got something to wrap it with, or a way to keep it from becoming infected, I'd appreciate it. But other than that, I'll have to pass. The pain helps me focus." Of course, her friendly demeanor was mostly an act. Vitium had chosen the young woman formerly known as Mala Arar as her apprentice for a multitude of reasons, one of which was the similarity between the two. But unlike Vitium, the Acolyte leaned more towards 'convert' than 'kill' when it came to dealing with Jedi. That, along with her civil demeanor, might remind Aria of a certain elderly Sith Lord she'd interacted with before.

"If you've no bandages or disinfectant, however, we may as well move on. I've been through far worse than this and survived." The Apprentice raised her robotic arm for emphasis, and then used it to gesture to the darkness below. "I'm sure this tomb's been picked clean of most of its valuables, but it wouldn't hurt to search."

Whilst the offer itself was more or less innocuous, there was one thing which might give Aria pause - the dark below was more than simply physical. It was Darkness, alien and seductive. The Acolyte didn't take much notice of it; it was a place of power, comforting and familiar to her. For her Lightsided companion, however, it might be quite the distressing sensation.

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Even somebody so unskilled in the art of people-reading as Aria could realise that the Acolyte had noted her reaction to the name Darth Vitium with some amusement. She could've done without that, but it seemed the acknowledgement of their mutual friend would remain expressed through facial expressions alone, and that was fine. No need to test the waters any further.

Her eyebrows shot up again as the Acolyte waved off Aria's offer of help in regards to her wound. Formerly, Aria might've made some disbelieving comment, but she had come to admit the validity of the Sith approach to pain - that was thanks in part, once again, to Silara, who'd taken it upon herself to provide Aria with a thorough demonstration of pain that had proven how little Jedi prepared for such tactics. She merely gave a nod of acceptance at the Acolyte's assurance, seeing no further reason to object. Mentally, Aria had to applaud Vitium on the devotion of her apprentice - such a level of commitment, especially without her Master currently present to encourage it - thank the Force - was impressive. Aria herself hadn't been so fully dedicated to the Jedi until much closer to her Knighthood, but she kept that epiphany to herself.

"Could prove interesting, I suppose," she said in agreement after a beat, gesturing to continue down the corridors. There was the factor of the oppressing Darkness that would be omnipresent deeper into the tombs, but it didn't really affect Aria as much as it had done. Simply through exposure to the Dark Side, she had learned, in loose terms, to tune it out - she knew her stance on the Force. That Aria was a Jedi had been a constant to hold onto for a long time; a tomb wouldn't change that. A person might, but of course, Aria was yet to consciously acknowledge that fact.

[member="Mala Arar"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

Devotion was a must among the Sith, and certainly among the circles The Apprentice and her Master traveled. Anything less than total devotion to the Dark Side in general and the Way of the Sith specifically was grounds to be discarded - and, consequently, eliminated.

That, combined with the sense of purpose Vitium had granted the otherwise lost and wandering Darksider, had endowed the Acolyte with what could only be described as a religious fervor. She had learned the Code of the Sith, disassembled it, analyzed it, and in that process, found meaning in it. She'd plunged herself into the lore of the Sith, as well - their history and the multitude of philosophies that the Sith had operated under - from the glorious Sith Empires, to the weak and heretical incarnations of the Brotherhood of Darkness, the Banite Heresy, the crushing conformity imposed by the One Sith. Whilst it would be incorrect to call her a Loremaster, it was certainly a title she aspired to.

It was this thirst for knowledge that led the Apprentice to, without a trace of fear or hesitation, descend into the tomb below, lightsaber ignited and at the ready - with her companion by her side, of course. She may have been Sith, but she wasn't stupid. Besides, she did always enjoy having someone to converse with, even if that person was her ideological opponent.

"If it isn't too personal of a question, Aria - how did you become a Jedi?"

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Ah, another who wanted to hear the story behind her chosen path. It wasn't an offensive or particularly provocative question in itself, of course - the only thing that was noteworthy was simply that the question was being asked by the opposite side. Not that Aria would shy away, of course. She wasn't really the sort.

"Nature and nurture, I suppose," she answered after a beat. "It was what I grew up around, it was what seemed right. But I actually joined when I was - maybe nineteen? I've never felt as though I didn't want to be a Jedi, so I've never left."

Well, that wasn't strictly true. The desire for a less testing career came occasionally, but it was fleeting - Aria'd never yet tried to act on it - and she didn't need to nitpick. It was a Sith she was explaining this to, after all.

Aria continued at the Acolyte's side, periodically stopping to look at something that caught her eye or to check for incoming dangers. She could feel the Darkness, heavy on her shoulders throughout, but paid it no heed. She was otherwise occupied with her interesting new companion.

"How about you?" After all, a personal question only merited the same in return. "How did you end up a Sith?"

[member="Mala Arar"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

"I'm not Sith. I haven't yet earned the right to that title." The correction was a firm one, but not angry. It was a common mistake to make, after all. "Anyway...Vitium found me on Nar Shaddaa," began the Apprentice. Did she really want to tell a Jedi this story? She supposed she could leave out the exceptionally unpleasant bits, and it'd be mostly fine. "I'd just finished...well, you don't need to know that part. I don't feel guilt over what I did, but it was...wasteful. Artfully done, but done without any purpose beyond my own amusement." The Acolyte chuckled and shook her head, kneeling down to examine something on the ground.

"I suppose that describes my life in full, before I was apprenticed by my Mistress. Purposeless, without direction. I was...empty. I had no beliefs, no ideals or values. The Sith gave me purpose, made me feel alive." The Acolyte looked back at her companion, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. "I wonder if that shocks you. That, in my quest to join the Sith, I learned to look beyond myself. I was stripped of my name, but I didn't weep over that loss. It was the name of a woman who had never done anything of impact or significance, and the name of a woman who never knew anything of sacrifice."

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

"You're pretty close. But alright." It was undeniable that the wannabe Sith was impressive in her adherence to their codes; she'd never realised that anyone could be such an ideal Acolyte. Again, almost unsurprising when Aria took into account who was training her, but impressive nonetheless. It was lucky, then, that the Acolyte was so gracious in her approach to the Light side; had she been the type, it was not unlikely that she could soon prove worthy opposition for the Jedi. Luckier still that the apprentice was not yet skilled enough to read minds, or Aria would've thought herself into a pickle about five times already.

"Shocked? Perhaps a little," Aria conceded, giving a small shrug. "Surprised, I guess. The Sith never held that much appeal to me. No offense. But if it gives you purpose to be a Sith then by all means, be a Sith. I mean, it's my job to make people's lives better, so if it makes your life better then who am I to object?"

Admittedly, it probably wouldn't hurt for Aria to be even somewhat more uptight about alignment. She'd once had a pretty average dislike of Darksiders in general - not so intense that she couldn't interact with them without preaching of their sines, but probably enough so that her own position on the scale of light and dark was more concrete. It was so much easier that way.

[member="Mala Arar"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

The Apprentice's smirk turned into a small smile as she listened to her companion speak. Aria was just full of surprises.

"No offense taken, my friend. The way of the Sith -" She paused for a moment, picking up and observing a chipped red crystal - a lightsaber crystal? Perhaps, but it was too damaged to be of much use. With a small scoff, she tossed it back to the ground. "The Way of the Sith is not for everyone, I have to admit. It takes conviction, it takes sacrifice. Many who call themselves Sith," the Apprentice paused again, flexing her mechanical fist. "Have no concept of what that truly means, or the responsibility that comes with taking that title."

Now was her time to strike - not physically, of course. She couldn't take on an obviously experienced Jedi and expect to win, nor did she want to, really. She preferred to Convert rather than Kill. Most of the time, at least.

"I won't lie to you and say that I'm altruistic by nature, or that I truly care for the teeming masses of weak and helpless beings in the Galaxy. You've seen my Mistress, anyway. You wouldn't believe me even if I did say that. But the Dark Side is not evil, and it does not make those who embrace it so. The Sith, from Syn to Revan to Carnifex - yes, even Kaine Zambrano - have done what they have done because they believe it to be good and right and proper. And can you blame them, really? The various Sith Orders - save perhaps the Brotherhoods of Darkness - have been meritocracies. Strict and rigid ones, true, and no one would ever accuse us of being merciful. But can you look at the Galaxy, Aria, and truly say that it deserves to be coddled or shown mercy?"

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

"No, you're right, I wouldn't." For all the ways in which she differed from Silara, simply by the nature of their association - and of course, the purely Dark power that surrounded both - Aria wouldn't be convinced that the Acolyte was the kind-hearted sort. Good thing that she wasn't trying to pretend as much; that would've been rather insulting. True, Vitium wasn't evil for being a Sith, but that wasn't to say she wasn't evil, at least as far as Aria was concerned. It would be a safe guess, then, that if the Acolyte wasn't equally as malevolent, then she'd at least be on the way. Still, until she proved herself worthy of the same dislike she had of Silara, Aria would entertain. She hardly had anything better to do.

"Maybe not, but what else will you do?" Aria countered, happy as always to engage in philosophical debates. "This is the galaxy we're stuck with. It's far from perfect, but there's nowhere else to go. Might as well be nice to it, don't you think? Both Jedi and Sith have what they think is the best way to improve the galaxy, but we consider not just what it could be, but what's already there and what gets sacrificed. Perhaps more gets done when you're not trying to preserve the galaxy, but it's a much safer approach. Unless the Sith are secretly trying to find a new one to relocate to. In which case...you probably shouldn't tell me, actually. "

[member="Mala Arar"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

Darth Vitium's Apprentice simply closed her eyes and smiled. She'd gotten Aria debating, and that meant that she was open to change. With a hiss, her lightsaber disengaged, and she clipped it back to her belt.

"I respect you, Aria - what I have seen of you, at least. But destruction, I must inform you, is not the way of the Sith. Nor is conflict for the sake of conflict, despite what the Zambranos may tell you. We are change, growth, evolution. Conflict is a sacred thing to us, not simply because it is conflict, but because it is how we grow, how we become stronger." She paused for a moment, and began levitating a quartet of small stones around herself in a circular pattern. They were arranged like planets, each orbit forming a ring inside the last and each just a bit unstable - although it wasn't clear whether that was intentional or a sign of her lack of practice with Telekinesis.

"The Jedi seek to eradicate the Sith, as they always have, and they focus their attention on the loud, the bold and the brash - people like Carnifex and Prazutis. I hold deep respect for the power the Zambranos wield, do not mistake me. But..." She paused, and with a few careful hand motions, began moving the four fragments of stone circling her towards one another. "Their purpose in the grand plan of the Sith is singular - they are a distraction. They know nothing of subtlety and artistry, and they know nothing of these things because they believe them to be not Sith."

Another pause in the young woman's speech, and the four pieces of stone she had been manipulating joined into one - a small stone amulet, which she held out in front of Aria, a silent invitation to take the item. It was a small oval with a harsh, jagged, but carefully constructed rune carved on its surface - it radiated no power, except what little it used to repair itself, and seemed utterly harmless, unless you considered a mildly Dark Force Aura to be harmful. "And they are wrong. The Darkness can be used to create and alter, not just to destroy. It can be used to preserve, as well as erase. There's a price to pay for that Power, to be sure - but that's true of all power. When was the last time that you allowed yourself to express your rage, Aria? To swoon over a pretty young man or woman?"

Whether Aria accepted the small token or not, the Apprentice would release her hold on it after a few seconds. "The Light asks you to repress your emotion. Your lust, your rage, even your love. For an order that speaks of caring so much for life, the Jedi seem all too eager to deny themselves the best of it."

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

Aria looked on with an almost appraising eye as the Acolyte began illustrating her words in a suitably theatrical display of telekinesis. Almost without realising it, she was picking up on subtle snippets of information; the other woman did better with the Force than she did a saber, from which Aria could begin to infer how and for what she was being trained. Small things, but she couldn't pass up anything that could prove useful in...something.

Half enjoying herself and half wanting to preserve the peace, Aria let the Acolyte monologue without interrupting. The stones were amalgamated into a nicely formed amulet and offered to her; she tried without success to think of a way in which such an item could be used with malicious intent and so gingerly took the stone structure, turning it over in her fingers with a look of mild amusement. For the life of her she couldn't figure out what the Sithling's play was, but Aria was having more fun than she cared to admit and was yet to see any reason to cease doing so.

"Control." Aria's tone was even, but somebody skilled enough with understanding people would be able to pick up on the trace of intrigued enjoyment without much difficulty. "Not repress. Very few of us truly deny ourselves the right to feel, because very few of us do a better job of protecting the galaxy when we repress emotions altogether." It wouldn't take a genius to guess that she was speaking from experience. "Our goal isn't power. You don't become a Jedi in the hopes that you'll become more powerful. Jedi are peacekeepers, and when we keep our emotions in check it's because we're better peacekeepers for it. If I express rage and swoon over pretty men and women, then I'm less able to carry out my goals as a Jedi, so I don't, because I want to keep on being a Jedi." Well, when it didn't inconvenience her career to do so, Aria was as liable as anyone else to a bit of harmless fun, but this was a need-to-know situation.

"Have you ever slipped up for having let your emotions get the better of you? Ever done something you wish you hadn't done, only because your feelings outweighed logic?"

[member="Mala Arar"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

Vitium's Apprentice paused at Aria's question. She went tense, and, for the first time in this little encounter, appeared visibly distressed, her calm and collected demeanor cracking for just a moment.

"Exactly once, Aria. And it's a mistake I'll not make again. A very dear friend of mine joined me during the battle of Atrisia, at my request. She was fierce, and loyal," and a dog, but let's not mention that. "And we'd been friends for ages. But she wasn't a fighter, not of the sort that you needed to be to survive a warzone. In the same battle that cost me my arm, it cost her her life. And she died because I felt safer having her with me, even though I knew it was exceptionally dangerous for her." Her voice quavered ever so slightly as she spoke, her tone dripping with rage and grief and sorrow. It was genuine, all of it, but even then she had an ulterior motive. There was no better way to gain someone's trust, after all, than to simply be honest with them.

"And now, Aria, a question for you - you mentioned that you wish to continue being a Jedi. Even if I disagree with your philosophy, the Sith respect those who forge their own destinies. But that begs the question - are you a Jedi because you find fulfillment in it? Or are you a Jedi because, as you said, it is what you grew up around, because it is all you know?"

---

[member="Aria Vale"]

 

[NightSister]

As the Acolyte allowed her demeanor to become more revealing of her thoughts, so too did Aria, though in her case it was curiosity and not distress that began to show more visibly. What was almost most surprising, however, was that the Acolyte had friends - not because she wasn't perfectly agreeable if one overlooked the deathly appearance, but because the notion of friendships and the arduous path that was Sith training didn't easily merge in Aria's mind. Interesting that it was during the battle on Atrisia that the apprentice had lost her arm - as could only be expected, Aria had been curious - she'd heard about the goings on over there but not thought to look much into it. When the war wasn't happening to the Jedi, it somehow became less relevant. All very interesting.

"One and the same, no?" The Acolyte was doing a predictably good job with their parley, but that wasn't to say she herself was not. "Isn't it so much easier to want something you're familiar with, that you're exposed to? But in answer to your question, yes. I find the Jedi way to fit me well; I don't just stay out of obligation. Being raised around it may have furthered that, yes, but I imagine if I'd have been happier among the ranks of the Sith I'd have figured it out by now."

In fact, she thought to herself with a humorous mental tone, if the Acolyte had been raised into the same exact situation as Aria herself, the likelihood that she would've become a Jedi through such a childhood seemed almost impossible. If it was vice versa - if Aria had grown up surrounded by the Dark Side - would she still have become a Jedi? Wait - not important. She was a Jedi, she liked being a Jedi, she had no reason to leave the Jedi. That was that.

"I'm sorry about your friend," Aria added, and despite herself her condolences were sincere.

[member="Mala Arar"]

 

[Darth Imperia]

"Not as sorry as the bastard who killed her was," came the Acolyte's blunt reply. Then, she took a breath, and nodded her head. "But thank you. I still miss her dearly."

Many horrible things could be said of the Apprentice, but being emotionless was not one of them. She took a moment to collect and calm herself, then cleared her throat. "To address your question, however - I'm not sure. My mother and father were store clerks." She spat the occupation like it was a curse, her tone and expression a mixture of shame, disgust, and pity for her parents. "So I, unfortunately, was not born into the Darkness, not in the same way that you were born into the Light. I imagine, however, that you are correct." At this point, the Apprentice had given up on trying to convert Aria. She knew it was possible, but her companion was far too dedicated to her role as a Jedi to see the truth as of yet. Still, the seeds were planted. And if Aria ever fell, the Sithling would welcome her as a sister in the Darkness with open arms.

"As much as I've enjoyed our time together, my friend, I fear that I must be going - I have my studies to attend to, and tasks to complete. I do hope that we might meet again someday, however - off the battlefield, preferably. Although I'm sure that you're a sight to behold with that saber of yours." The Apprentice offered Aria a small, playful smirk, and then a half bow, complete with a theatrical flourish of her mechanical arm.

--

[member="Aria Vale"]