Akhema's mind had roused from the trauma she had received from the battle with the beasts. With the pain still coursing through her body it occurred to her that the venom was running its course but was a non-lethal substance. The Pureblood writhed for a moment in the bed and opened her eyes to see herself surrounded by Jedi and physicians. Master Noble had not left her in the undercity to perish. It was an honorable thing to do, and though there were core differences in their philosophies they had served together to protect innocent folk.
One of the Jedi spoke first, "I see you're awake, Sith. Master Noble told me to trust her judgment in saving your life. Please, would you be so kind as to sit up for me? I must examine the wounds on your back."
The Pureblood looked away from the Jedi, allowing the young man to perform his medical check, "Yes, and thank you." she said politely. The gashes in her back were deep, and looked nearly infected due to the venom. She was in agony, but the pain was dulled by the overall peaceful mental state in which she had awakened.
"These wounds are quite deep Sith. I will do my best to help you." he said, focusing his energy into the Force to provide healing through the Light. It strained on him greatly. The Pureblood Sith were not just more attuned to the Dark Side, but it served as sustenance on a spiritual level. Without the Dark Side, the Sith species would die a slow and painful death. Akhema relaxed her mind and allowed him more access so that he could at least mitigate the infection before it spread too far.
The Jedi huffed a bit, out of breath from his work, "It is as if your body itself fights the Light. I have never encountered anything like this before." he said, quite curious.
"I imagine not. The Sith species is very withdrawn so I have come to understand. We as a people are inextricably linked to the Dark Side of the Force. We do not just harness it to our ends, but need it to survive. The Jedi in the past learned that quite tragically when the Force was severed from some of my kind while they were imprisoned. They did not survive being separated from its power." she said, looking at the ground of the field hospital. Akhema looked over her shoulder, "Did the young man who came with Master Noble survive the ordeal?"
For a moment the young man pondered the nature of Sith anatomy. "Reliant entirely on the Dark Side. Strange, I should read more into this should I ever encounter more of your people in the future." he said quite calmly. "My name is Jerad, by the way. Knight. And yes, the young man did make it. He had wounds very similar to yours but they were far less severe."
"Good, then it worked perfectly. I had no time to check on him after I inherited his agony. I took unto myself the wounds he received from the Sithspawn that Master Noble and I defeated. I'm pleased to hear that he made it. I would like to speak to him if you would allow it, Jerad." she requested with a bow of her head, "And you may call me Akhema, Dark Lord of Sorrow."
His reaction was one of mild shock to know he had been in the presence of a Dark Lord. He stopped for a moment, and then nodded, "Sure, I will have him come. He was waiting in the lobby for Master Noble."
Akhema waited patiently while the young Jedi was brought in. She looked to him and smiled, in spite of his meekness and apparent shame for his actions. He radiated an aura of contrition and conflict that she had no trouble detecting. "Be calm, young Jedi. I wanted you to know that I forgive you for acting on instinct with the knowledge that you had been taught. It is only natural. We have been taught that our dogmatic differences are irreconcilable, but I appreciate that you came to see me. I harbor no ill will toward you for what you did. But, it would be remiss of me to ignore my instinct to teach. Please, remember in the future that you must use good judgment and not act on raw emotion as you did in the undercity. Your Jedi Code teaches you to remain calm in the face of adversity, and if you fail to do so you will tread closely to the Dark Side. It is not my place to guide you toward your destiny in the Force, you must choose that for yourself, but if you wish to remain among the Jedi you would do well to work on your self-control."
Both the healer and the young Jedi seemed shocked by what Akhema had said. They looked to one another and back to her and stared momentarily in silence. The first to speak was the young Jedi that attempted to battle her, "Thank you, very much, Sith. I will take your lesson to heart and work toward a better measure of self-control. I was wrong to judge you so quickly. I am glad to have encountered you, as it has taught me a very important lesson in humility and discernment. Go in peace, Sith, when you do, and be well." He said placing his hands on his legs and bowing properly. Akhema nodded to him and he departed.
The silence was stifling, until the Knight spoke up, "Remarkable. Akhema, you guided a Jedi toward the Light with your lesson. You gave freely of your knowledge and mind to help him. You likely could have slain him in the undercity. You could have left him to die yourself, but you did not. I have never heard of a Dark Lord of the Sith showing mercy like this.
"Jerad, the Dark Side is my tool and weapon. What I have chosen to do with it, and how I choose to use my power, is not dictated by hatred and violence, but by discernment and judgment. My anger, and rage, are just a means to an end. The power that I wield, I wield to do honor to myself and my blood. There is no honor in slaying the weak or innocent. It is the right of the powerful to rule the weak, but not to destroy them or oppress them, but to guide society properly. While the Jedi and Sith exist at odds with one another, I do not believe that our differences are irreconcilable. The Force is a power that we both wield, and to me, good and evil are strictly in how the Force is used. Do you believe, that the Dark Side can be harnessed to do good? In kind, do you believe that the Light can be used toward evil ends? I find that the people that live in absolutes with no variance are doomed to continue this desperate blood feud to the ends of time." Akhema said, waxing philosophical for far longer than she thought she would. It was a mental exercise though, and she appreciated the time to do it. Jerad sat down across from her and pondered quietly as they both waited for Master Noble. "It might be difficult, but I believe that the Sith and the Jedi can coexist, peacefully."