Private Darkness Descends.......

[PERSENUS]

​

He hummed. Whether in agreement or dismissal, Sola would not know. He seemed to be to be thinking through somethings. Mostly on how these Paladins have made their culture. Why was it so similar to the Jedi? Surely, the morality of the Jedi was rather common but their exact position in the culture of this world was no different to the Jedi outside of it? Then it sparked to him. Lightsabers were here; ancient and passed down for generations. It would be likely that the Jedi themselves started the Paladins. Perhaps this world.... would prove rather fruitful.

"Your lightsabers; you mentioned there were more of them, no?" He asked as he gestured to her weapon. "Some of them do not work anymore? Well, I am rather experienced in their creation and repair. I could fix them if you bring me to this Tower of yours."

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Sola glanced down to her sunfire sword. Lightsaber was a peculiar name for it. Though she supposed that it made some sense. It was a saber that was also a source of light...

But to PERSENUS ' suggestion, she gave her head a bit of a shake as they approached a path of more rockier terrain. "Only Paladins are allowed entry into the Tower. It's a sacred place." However the Lucites had infiltrated it before over the centuries. They were an elusive foe. "However I could have some of them brought to you in Vossport, if the individual Paladins wish it." She couldn't speak for the others. It just wasn't her place. Especially when it came to their treasured weapons.

Shadow made himself visible now, moving alongside them even closer. Sola paid him no mind. She had called the vask-wolf Shadow for a reason.

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"I urge you to reconsider. My master was.... once a Jedi Knight. In my time under him, he had spoken of many things. You Paladins are quite similar to the Jedi Order from what I've heard so far. I want to see if I can impart anything more than just repairs. Those lightsabers belonged to Jedi like my master, they'd be interested to hear what has happened to them." He reasons with her. He was never one for the silver tongue but he was not one to shy away from the potential they had in their temple tower. Perhaps holocrons? If he could present something valuable to the Sith, they may take the bounty on his head off, maybe even return him to the Empire.

It was a strike of hopefulness that was uncharacteristic of this world. A glimmer of hope he had seldom ever had. Perhaps there was a chance, though slim, that he could redeem himself.

 

[Sola Wessiri]

"One doesn't needto be within the Tower in order to speak with the Paladins. Many work in Vossport." It made her curious as to why PERSENUS wanted to go inside of the Adamite Tower. What was he expecting to find? Had he been lying to her all along?

Sola pressed on, not wavering in her pace at all as she continued leading him up the mountain. "You may find the Guild Hall interesting. It's the most awe inspiring building of all of Weik, built hundreds of years ago when the the first ships arrived here. Some even say that the ancient Paladins helped to construct it Now it houses the Trades Guild Members that govern Weik and it's trade routes. I'm sure that they would find you very interesting."

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"You misunderstand. Whatever their legacy may have left behind, it may be in this Tower of yours. Its rather obvious that the Jedi here greatly affected the Paladins, perhaps they were the original ones." He started to share his speculations. These were honest theories of his and in a way, it was true that he wanted to learn something, anything, of the Jedi that were here. Though, not for the reasons he was giving.

"I could decipher what they have left behind. I could bring word back to the order of their fates and I believe it is best that I do it with my own eyes. He said with a passion, well hidden beneath the expressionless face of his. "I do not wish to be gawked at by merchants like I'm some kind of rare, one of a kind merchandise."

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Sola furrowed her brows slightly as she continued the climb, mulling over the words of PERSENUS . There were plenty of secrets within the Adamite Tower. The whole structure was immense, yet one couldn't so easily tell as the majority of it was underground. Hundreds of rooms filled the expanse, some of which were still sealed off. The first Paladins did so in order to hide certain things that they didn't want others to find. It was within one of those sealed rooms that the sunfire swords were found.

"I will ask my superiors later and let you know of their decision." She had no intention of bringing him there right now.

To his remark on not wanting to visit the Guild Hall, Sola merely shrugged her shoulders in indifference. She paused for a moment as she took her water bladder out from her satchel and had a sip, holding it out for him to take some as well. "They would be able to help you find what you need to possibly fix your ship. But if you'd like we could stop at The Skeleton just outside Vossport's walls. It's said to be the remains of a massive ship who's parts were used to help build Vossport itself. The walls are all gone, so it looks like an old carcass. But there's still some things there that could be useful to you."

 

[PERSENUS]

[

​

He was satisfied with her answer, although would likely not take a no for an answer if returned with denial. In response, he gave a grateful nod as he focused forth on the path. As he trudged upwards the mountain side, around it towards this town, he would listen to her insistence to visit this Guild Hall. He still did not wish to be given any attention for his extraterrestrial origins. Over the years, running from the Sith and their Bounty Hunters, he had garnered a natural inclination towards being unseen and staying in the shadows. Perhaps there was a time that he wanted the glory, the fame, and recognition, but those days are long gone.

"I will humor them if I deem it necessary." He rose a hand of denial to her waterskin. Sola likely didn't understand the difference between the merchants she knew in the Guild and the kind of merchant Perenus was in his younger days. He sold "unofficial" weapons and all sorts of "unsavory" merchandise. In that business, there was no room for charm or fanciful persuasion, only a sinister, solemn guile and wit. People wanted the goods fast and word of it over. The long, persuasive monologues about the merchandise that ordinary merchants had were rare and often null in the business he had dealt in. All there was to be discussed was a price.

Then came her talk about this skeleton of a spacecraft. This piqued his interest. Perhaps there was something there that he could salvage - with minimal merchants in the vicinity. If only the walls were what were stripped apart, the inner mechanism that they haven't tampered with would have surely been left untouched as they seem inept with any level of technology regarding the such vessels. He wondered if they managed to reverse engineer any weapons, though. However, there was a thought that came to him.

"Paladin, are you proficient in the Force?" He asked, not knowing if she even knew what the Force was.

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Sola merely smirked to herself. PERSENUS seemed to have an air of arrogance around him that she had only seen among the Guild Masters, and of course Varlo . To each their own though. It wasn't her place to judge, but only to see that the laws were followed.

Again there was silence between them as they continued on, her water bladder already safely tucked away in her satchel. Shadow continued to keep pace with them and every once in a while Sola would nod to him.

Her silent exchange with her vask-wolf companion was interrupted as Vin spoke up once again. Sola wasn't certain of how much to divulge with the man. He seemed to already hold knowledge, but he was a foreigner. So the basics would have to do. "Yes, we Paladins are trained from a young age. Our skills vary from person to person. Most Weikians have their lives sorted soon after they are born. It depends on which family you were brought into." Although sometimes there were exceptions, although rare.

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"Another trait you seem to have in common with the Jedi, it seems." Perhaps one thing that the Sith had over them in more rudimentary morals was how they attained new apprentices. The Jedi believed the power must be focused to a cause and one cause alone at a young age To "serve" and "protect", they throw themselves into the most restrictive and constraining lifestyle where their power can be utilized the least. "Anyone that they saw was Force-Sensitive was stripped from their parents at a young age, infancy even. There was no choice in the matter, not for the child, not for the guardians. The only exception to this were children above a certain age, rejected because they haven't been indoctrinated early enough to naturally resist the Dark Side of the Force."

It seemed he knew much about the Jedi and their ways, perhaps suspiciously so, if Sola dared to think deeper of it. However, he did mention his master was once a Jedi Knight. Perhaps some of his knowledge was passed onto him. Perhaps he knew of the Force as well, though if Sola could focus on him, his perfected Force Cloak was still active. He was devoid of any and all presence in the Force, less so than even Non-Force Sensitives. Perenus felt like a gaping hole as if around him was a maw that at the strands of fate itself.

"And as I expect you know, where there is light, there is dark. It seems to me that you and your Paladins follow the way of the Light. Tell me, are there those that walk the path of the Dark here?"

 

[Sola Wessiri]

PERSENUS didn't quite understand what she had meant, but that was expected given that he wasn't from Weik. "Children are not taken from their parents here. My parents were Paladins and so I was trained as one. For parents that are farmers, their children become farmers. The same can be said for wind-ship builders, smiths and so on. Families are not torn apart." Only the Lucites and pirates ever kidnapped people, but they didn't just target children.

As Vin mentioned the Dark, Sola nodded. "There are the Lucites. We don't know how many of them that there are. They are always hiding, elusive, coming out only when they want us to see them." And usually that involved dead bodies or attacks on the populace. Sola knew of the identity of one Lucite; her former friend and training partner. One day she'd discover the rest.

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"Then I commend that resolution. Jedi could not have that, as they were also forbidden to marry. They believed such passion would lead to the Dark Side." He wasn't quite sure around that, though passion does indeed fuel the Dark Side. Love was something different, something separate from passion. But who was he to speak of love. He's never been with a woman, never had the time, especially now.

"And how did these Lucites come to be, Paladin?." He asked as he would look to her wolf. Animals often had a distrust for him, especially those aligned with the Light. There was no hiding the scent of blood from them, a musk he has earned over the years. These primal beings were more in touch with their instincts and senses than those with higher-conscience. They had an intuition that was rarely ever wrong when it came to Perenus alignment, no matter how skilled he was with the Force. A faint look of displeasure sparked on his face as he locked eyes with it before turning his attention back to the road ahead.

"As there was Jedi, there was Sith. They were once elusive like that Lucites but they have garnered a rather solid foundation in the galaxy. For hundreds of years, there was only two but not anymore. Not since their Empire arose.

 

[Sola Wessiri]

"Then your Jedi sound flawed. Marriage is common here, sometimes encouraged." But Sola chose to focus on her work instead of rearing a family. Her parents were killed by Lucites. She didn't need to lose more family to them as well.

Shadow bared his fangs as PERSENUS stared at him, though he made no growl. He didn't need to. Instead he continued to keep pace.

"The Lucites are a Dark Cult. It's not known when they arrived or were created. At first there was peace on Weik. But not long after there were pockets of chaos. The Lucites stay hidden most of the time, which I'm thankful for. It means they are few in number." The morethere were, the bolder they'd become. That was her reasoning.

 

[PERSENUS]

​

"Yes, they are." He agreed. It was good to see that the Lightsiders here are at least welcome to attachment. It is something vital to life., not only something that powered the Dark Side of the Force. Even then, it could be reasoned that the Dark Side was the natural side of the Force. Perenus believed so. It is the path most beings will find the easiest to walk down, the path that is empowered by the core of a person. It is the internal strength that burned within someone whereas the Jedi looked outside, not knowing what could be found within. The Jedi and every other Lightsider, in Perenus' eyes, lacked substance.

"Tell me, what are your personal experience and understanding of the Dark Side, Paladin?"

 

[Sola Wessiri]

Sola didn't mind so much that PERSENUS referred to her only by her title. Some people were like that, which gave her insight into their character.

"Chaos, lack of restraint, death. That is both my experience and understanding of the Darkness. My best friend and training partner fell to it...." Such a betrayal was difficult to forget and forgive. Varlo was still out there somewhere, popping up only when he wanted her to see him. It was like a game of cat and mouse and at times she wasn't sure of which role she played. "It is a part of the Magick of Weik and can never be destroyed. But it is kept in check." Most of the time. The Paladins throughout history have helped to ensure that the Lucites don't take control of Weik.

 

[PERSENUS]

"The darkness isn't quite so simple, Paladin." He explained as he followed her further along the path. He wondered what these Lucites had within their teachings, what their culture had developed. Of course, the Magick of Weik may simply be magic but sorcery was not beyond that of the Sith. It was a core part to Darksiders; the bending of the Force. To channel the Force and have its will act through them was a Jedi's training but Sith and other darker, more powerful beings, knew that true power was to conquer it - to bend the Force to their will. They bend the Force into something unrecognizable, something beyond anything a Jedi could hope to achieve. Hence, Sith Sorcery.

"The Dark Side is beyond just hatred. It is beyond just chaos. It is a concentrated will, a mind that set upon a goal with little to bind it. It is ambition. It is love. It is pleasure. It is all desires, but it practice of it is not wanton." To be conquered by it - there is no greater shame. To be molded and remade into the Force, to reborn in the Dark Side, it is something all Sith must go through. But even though revived through darkness, they are not defined by it. They do not carry its will. It is their will that carries it. It is what makes them strong. It is what makes them superior to the Jedi. They are fearless and do not let the fear of power hold them back.

"In the darkness, you'll find temperance. Fail to do so, then you do not practice the ways of the Force. You are a slave to it. Tell me, do you think your Lucites are as such? Wanton, irredeemable? Conquered by the power that they so seek?" Perhaps such an opinion would be a disappointment, knowing that Lightsiders like her keep much the same opinion to their counterpart.

Sola Wessiri

 

[Sola Wessiri]

The more that PERSENUS spoke, the more that it seemed as though he was describing Varlo . Full of ambition, passion and desires for many things. His betrayal and apparent hand in the murder of her parents was hard to ignore and even harder to forgive.

As for controlling the Force, she knew that she could. It was used for many things; to enhance her speed, to help her communicate with Shadow and to aid her in battle.

Sola kept silent, as she usually did, even after the Outsider had asked her a question. In truth she was mulling it over, trying to imagine if there could be a chance for someone like Varlo to be redeemed. Right now she wasn't so sure. Many nights she had gone over all of the clues that she had missed in regards to where his loyalties lay. It turned out that he was always in it for himself.

"The Lucites are secrative, coming out only when they wish to cause Chaos. As a whole they might not be redeemable. However individually, some might. But not all...." That was as far as she had wanted to go on the matter.

 

[PERSENUS]

"And what are the reasons for the chaos they cause, if you know of them?" He asked. If these Lucite acted beyond accord, beyond reasoning and only to their own base desires, then they are not his allies. They both belong to the Dark, but he conquers it. If they do not see it as so, then they too are weaklings. Weaker than the Jedi or these Paladins too, perhaps. The Dark Side of the Force is not meant to be channeled and exacted with will. The will of the Force is not the will of the Sith, it is not the will of power.

To be a Sith, to achieve greatness, one must be willing to bend and break the Force itself to accumulate the means to exact their missions and goals. Goals that reach high to achieve dominance and rule over the rabble below because that is the place of those with the power to do so. Omission of strength is foolish as apathy is death. "From what I've heard so far, these Lucites seem to be similar to Dark Jedi." He mumbled to himself, though loud enough for Sola to hear.

"Anyways, let's quicken our pace. I would rather not stay here longer than I should."

Sola Wessiri

 

[Sola Wessiri]

"Distractions..." That was all that she was willing to say on the matter. She knew what it was that the Lucites were after, yet she was hardly going to talk about it with an Outsider. Why bring attention to something that was supposed to remain hidden?

"Dark Jedi? What kind of cult is that?" There was much that she didn't know about the Galaxy outside of Weik. There was some historic texts to be found, yet very few had access to them.

Sola quickened her pace as PERSENUS suggested. Shadow did so as well, matching them. "It won't be too much longer. Once we crest this hill, you'll be able to see Vossport's walls and the Guild Hall." Shadow never entered there. He always kept to the woods, while Sola was content either way. Both had their pros and cons, balancing eachother out.

 

[PERSENUS]

He merely hummed when she answered his question, whether or not he agreed was to be seen. He will see what these Lucites can offer in time but so far, he will remain neutral on that stance. Whether they were there for truly meaningful reasons or are just more slaves to the whims of the Force would determine if they earn his respect.

"The Dark Jedi are... different. What separates a Dark Jedi and the Sith isn't well discussed but in my opinion, the Sith are those that bend the Force, and therefore bend fate and create their own destiny, where as the Dark Jedi are those still follow their fate blindly, even though they pursue their own ends. They are drunk and intoxicated by the Force, and are therefore incapable of making decisions outside of it." He trekked along the beaten path up the mound, hurrying along his footsteps to meet the peak. "There is an old belief that the Force has a will of its own, and that will is balance. What this balance is is often undefined. The Jedi believe that the Light is Balance and the Darkness is Imbalance as the former promotes peace of mind and oneness whereas the latter prompts individuality."

"This, however, is simply not true. The Dark Side and the Light Side are two parts of a whole, the Internal and the External, where power flows and what it goes through. To use the Light Side is to open up, and to understand the connection between every living being, and to be one and meld call upon the strength of that knowledge; to use the Dark Side is to search within yourself and find the Force strumming through and out of you, to generate power inside, rage, passion, pain, and sorrow, but yet love, joy, and ambition." As he reached the top, stepping upon the crest before Sola, he would turn to her, his hands behind his back. "Neither is more powerful than the other. Neither is necessarily better. It is a matter of use and of the individual, and how one lives their life. Depending on the world the fate that surrounds you, one may be preferable."

Unlike many Sith, Persenus did not despise the Light Side. Sure, the Jedi were still fools to him, but the Light Side of the Force wasn't something he shied away from, though he has minimal experience in it. Throughout his life, Persenus knew that the Light Side would be of little use to him. It was tied to follow fate, to learn the waves in the ocean as he knew. Those that used it primarily would not be Sith, as they were guided by the Force instead of guiding it, and Persenus knew that while they may be weaker, they were not to be at fault. However, the Jedi as so, fighting their wars, causing conflict in the name of goodness and righteousness, are only scum above Dark Jedi.

Sola Wessiri