As Streams along the River

[Akio Diachi]

What is living but a path to death? And what is death but a passage for the living? Beyond the gateway of the afterlife we know not what lies, though what we do know is the Force will guide us always, through every bend, every turn, every passage, the Force would always be there. The need was not to focus on the trivial, but to hone in on this truth.

Akio thought about these things as he sat perched on one of the limbs of the massive trees. Here on the moon of Endor, they seemed to be exceptionally tall and strong; the Force had shown its power here in mysterious ways. His red eyes surveyed the forest before him, satisfied to see the life growing before him. But something felt.....

Different.

He spent several minutes trying to discern it, to no avail. He needed to check this out, he could feel the Force urging him to. The Chiss nodded, delicately grabbing his walking stick from his legs and leaping in a graceful arc. His bare blue feet hit the soft grassy ground without a sound. The Chiss rose to his full height and began to slowly, calmly make his way towards the pull.

[member="Zhi Chen"]

 

[Juliet Varos]

Zhi stared at the corpse of the Ewok, reveling in her Darkness. She had come to Endor to further hone her skills, specifically with her vibroblade. What made better practice than Ewoks? Well, practice droids, perhaps, but that wasn't really the point. No, the point was that she was increasing her own power, something that the Twi'lek knew was essential to her rise as a Sith. This village had not proven much of a challenge, to her disappointment. She had heard legends of them defeating the Galactic Empire centuries earlier, and had hoped they would have still proven themselves to be capable warriors. But she supposed there was nothing to be done about it now.
With a great sigh, Zhi sheathed her vibroblade, her eyes looking around. She admittedly had no further plans, and decided to simply meditate for a bit among the dozens of Ewok corpses.
@Akio Diachi

 

[Akio Diachi]

Deeper, deeper into the woods he was pulled, though Akio wondered if that was a term to describe an entire moon that was nothing but a forest. No, he was venturing further not deeper, he thought. His bare blue feet were fleet and light as he stepped from stone to mossy floor of the forest, to fallen tree, to forest floor again. His steps were rapid for once, which made him wonder why it was so. He was a slow, quiet person most of the time, his rush now was as if he were being compelled pushed forward into--

What the Chiss saw broke his train of thought. The bodies of the fuzzy, tiny corpses were scattered along the forest floor. Some had been clearly killed fleeing, others were killed in a fight, by the broken primitive spears they held. Some were adults, many were youth and children. Akio did not feel repulsion, pity or aghast, at times the Living Force was also the destroying Force. He was not one to tell the powerful energy how to conduct its desires. He felt--he did not know what he felt.

He wove his way through the dead, careful to step around and not over their bodies. The carnage stretched on for yards in either direction. Some of the methods of death were purely horrendous. The suffering had to have been immense before they died, he thought. He turned the corner before he found who must have been responsible, a pale female twe'lik. Her corruption was almost palpitate, causing the glowing amulet on Akio's neck to glimer with red streaks along its teal coloring. The Chiss rested on his staff as he watched her. He felt pity for this woman, and now he felt pity for the dead. The path was not one that should be tread lightly, in the end there would only be great pain for her.

"What happened here?" he asked in a quiet voice.

[member="Zhi Chen"]

 

[Juliet Varos]

Zhi was not alone.
She sensed the newcomer before he actually arrived, vaguely glancing behind her as he encountered the carnage. When she stared at the corpses, she felt nothing but cold satisfaction knowing she was responsible for a few more beautiful deaths. The primitive creatures should be grateful she had degraded herself enough to end their puny lives.
The Twi'lek slowly rose, not yet reaching for the vibroblade hidden in her robes. Her corrupted eyes swiveled around to @Akio Diachi, her mouth twitching in the vague hint of a smile.
"The natural way of things. The weak were purged, eliminated by the strong, as it should be."
Zhi gestured to the bodies surrounding her.
"I came, and I killed them all. Men, women, children, this entire village. I slaughtered every last one of them."

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio listened to her words, every one of them were wrong. That was not the natural order of things, that was the order of destruction. That was the order of pain, a way that leads down a dark hole of endless personal turmoil and destruction.

"We are all weak," he said gently, attempting to illuminate the point, "As infants we all are reliant upon another being, and cannot protect ourselves. Are you saying we all deserve death then?" He gave her a chance to answer before continuing. His kindness was evident in his tone and intention, "Being the agent of destruction comes at great personal pain. It is a path one does not have to choose, though destruction is a part of the Force, so is life. Being an agent of destruction shall only serve to bring you more turmoil and pain, rather than the peace you seek."

[member="Zhi Chen"]

 

[Juliet Varos]

Zhi stared upon this man, her red eyes narrowing. Just who did he think he was, attempting to lecture her? She was Sith, and attempting to lecture a Sith often led to death for the one attempting to teach a lesson. But he amused her, slightly, so she made no move for her weapon. Yet.
"If an infant is found to be weak, incapable of independence, then yes, it deserves death. If an infant truly cannot be separate from it's mother, then it deserves to be culled like the rest of the weaklings. If a thousand weak infants must die to produce one strong infant, then I would gladly kill them all myself."
In fact, if her own infant proved to be weak, Zhi would smother it and lose no sleep.
"Pain is an instrument. In order to embrace our true power, in order to accept the monsters that we all are, we must accept the inevitability of pain. The path I walk is one of power, and in order to achieve such power, I must endure suffering and agony. These things have been considered, and accepted as necessary."

 

[Akio Diachi]

Akio pursed his lips. She was speaking of infanticide, by her own hands if need be.

"Strength, weakness, what are these but two sides of the same coin?" he asked giving his hand a gentle wave at the world around them.

"What is strong in one way is weak in another. The Tauntaun is strong on Hoth but weak on Tatoowine; the Bantha is strong on Tatoowine but weak on Hoth," he continued, his voice imploring to her reason. "The Force makes us all for a purpose, a purpose that we are all tailored for."

He paused a moment before continuing, "Who are we to judge the workings and makings of the Force? It is the very thing that created us."

[member="Zhi Chen"]