Reading A Letter

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]In the library of Castle Miriamele on Kilia Four, Mara opened a much-creased letter.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Mara-[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Thank you for trusting me with tasks like these. It does my heart good to feel trust again. I hope my experiments and results are useful to you.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]I should also applaud your wisdom in letting me look this over before you delve too far. I understand you’ve already spent significant time with this holocron, but it’s always best to get a second opinion when provenance is clouded. There are some holocrons designed as traps of one kind or another. This one, thankfully, does not appear to be one of them.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The holocron of Master Jem Wyzen is a bit threadbare in some ways. Clearly, it was made at a time when the Jedi Order had reliable long-term records. Master Wyzen didn’t think to record his era, though contextual clues suggest he served the Order during the era of Darth Bane. That would probably mean this holocron was held by Emperor Palpatine at some point (potentially through the massive Grakkus collection, and later Mount Tantiss). If the Tantiss conjecture is accurate, this holocron would have been excavated from the buried but undamaged lower catacombs, at any point over the ensuing eight centuries. More recently, I believe the Wyzen Holocron was held by the Confederacy of Independent Systems and the Templar Order. So much for provenance. [/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Content is similarly pared-down. Master Wyzen made this holocron as an autobiography, but he takes much for granted about his listeners’ knowledge. So far as history goes -- allusions to locations and so forth -- the few useful details offer no unique insights. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]As you mentioned from your own experiments, the Wyzen Holocron presents only one clear-cut advantage: the ability to sever the Force from a target.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]It’s important to mention that Wyzen’s teachings are incomplete, perhaps deliberately. Historically, Force severing has been performed by individuals against equals, such as Nomi Sunrider against the elder Qel-Droma. In the modern era, I believe Je’gan Olra’en severed Matsu Ike on behalf of the Jedi Council. Wyzen’s techniques, however, absolutely require at least three participants of the same strength as the subject. I have certain associates, and I’ve tested the technique alone and with a partner, without success. I believe Wyzen’s techniques can serve as a springboard for a more comprehensive grasp of Sever Force. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]But springboard may be a misnomer. A high degree of sustained effort would be required. I understand you’ve been experimenting with this holocron since you acquired it, but I guarantee you would need to spend a good deal of time on this in order to make it practical. You can’t simply walk around with two other similarly-trained Masters all the time. No, Wyzen’s holocron equips you to take part in communal severance, such as Ashin Varanin experienced during the second-to-last great Jedi convocation. Wyzen’s techniques simply aren’t combat-capable, and you shouldn’t rely on them as such. [/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Not that you’re the sort to jump into battle with a half-baked skillset. I know what you can and can’t do, I believe, and I understand you use it wisely and with discretion. Such things -- and the holocron’s willingness to teach you -- speak to the fact that you [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]are [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]a Master of the Force, no matter how limited your power and finesse might be at this stage. You’re young, but so was Kiskla Grayson when she became Grandmaster; so was Aleidis Ijet when she was named Barsen’thor. Youth is no more a barrier to adulthood than its guarantor.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Thank you for letting me place certain protections on this castle and especially on your library. I flatter myself that I’ve improved structural integrity, nearly eliminated the possibility of hostile farsight, improved clarity of focus, and tacked on a handful of other experiments that are miles beyond the competition. Your chairs are Jal Shey-imbued to aid with focus; so are the Kasha stones inset in walls and furniture. And never fear: it’s all one hundred percent Light-oriented. A good place, a relaxing place, to study the holocron in the context of your books. I applaud your penchant for hard copy and physical note-taking.[/SIZE]

Should you have time to pursue Wyzen’s teachings farther than you have, I’d recommend cultivating some close and trusted allies. Your friend Kaili sounds like a worthwhile addition to your circle of trust. If the holocron recognizes her as a Master, she seems to be a solid candidate. You’ve mentioned her brother a time or two -- perhaps he’d be interested. I would volunteer, but I’m far too specialized to run around learning Force severance.

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]I wish I had something useful to offer, apart from confirmation that the holocron is trap-free and exactly what it pretends to be. I would suggest, though, that one Wyzen-trained Master [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]should [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]be enough to facilitate a circle-based casting. I’d recommend a larger number than three. I see no reason why you and a handful of Kilian Rangers shouldn’t be able to pull off Wyzen’s technique, whether or not the holocron deems them strong enough to teach. The load on you would increase significantly, of course. Sever Force is a dangerous technique at the best of times, too close to Force Drain for my comfort. I needn’t tell you that it’s a very dangerous technique to get wrong. But I’m your aunt and so I’m telling you anyway. Don’t take that as any kind of master-like presumption. I’m not your teacher; you’re doing a fine job at teaching yourself and finding your own sources of instruction. Far better than I did at your age, and that’s a fact. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]As to the ethics of Sever Force, I understand why you would want to ask about that. Some people think it’s blasphemous or sacrilegious or inhumane. Those people have never seen a Sith butcher a child. Learn this power, use it, and prevent any number of crimes. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Also, come to it slowly, if you can. Treat Dampen Force as a complementary technique and even a prerequisite. Don’t make the mistake of going for the one-hit kill. Attrition is your best friend, especially against the terminally lucky.[/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]But I suppose I should spend more than a minute on ethics, Mara, and represent the other side as more than a straw man. The common contention, so far as I understand it, is as follows.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The Force is integral to all living things; removing it could be considered a blasphemy against whatever will or destiny or mechanism assigned the Force to that being, to all beings. Likewise, it could be considered an innate offence against the being, as if a connection to the Force was an inalienable right. I have no interest in the former argument. The latter, however, touches on matters that affect me deeply. Inalienable rights -- has there ever been a less understood term? Where do such limits lie? I believe, and I think you believe, that my rights end where yours begin. For example, my right to expression ends when it infringes on your right to security -- but not your right to equanimity of mind. Real safety trumps the excesses of free expression, such as hate speech; the right to free expression, however, certainly trumps your right to not hear things that might offend you. There are other examples, some heartwrenching and deeply political. Political in the truest sense. [/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]So do you have a moral responsibility in connection with this ability? Certainly. You have the beskarclad obligation to confine it to circumstances where a target’s right to have a Force connection buts up against others’ rights to safety, freedom, and life itself. In other words, I believe you are justified in stripping the Force from an aggressor in defense of another, just as you’re justified in killing them. The ethical argument against Sever Force relies on the unexamined notion that severance is somehow different from any other removal of rights. Remove the right to freedom and put them in jail. Remove the right to life and cut them down. Remove the right to the Force and sever it. Take all these actions in the proper moment, in the right way, with judgment and skill. Ignore the Jedi who balk at Sever Force but don’t hesitate to maim or kill. Theirs is a poorly reasoned and unexamined opinion, not a doctrine.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]For example, some of them will say that Force severance is worse than death. Death returns us all to the Force. Severance might damage our ability to do that -- our eternal welfare, whatever condition awaits us. It’s a frightening thought, but it’s bunk. Ulic Qel-Droma was thoroughly Force-severed for a decade and a half, by perhaps that ability’s strongest and most legendary practitioner, and still vanished at death. Never fear that you’re damaging a soul’s eternal existence with Sever Force. Never doubt that killing is worse than Sever Force. Objectively, I’d call it comparable to removal of a hand, an action which most Jedi take as naturally as breathing. Disdain double standards, Mara. One action is viewed as less severe because of common practice, inurement, acclimatization; the other is viewed as more severe because rarity has prevented inurement. Such perspectives, though held by good people, are worthless.[/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]And therein lies a practical barrier to utilizing this technique. Consider the following contradiction, Mara. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]On the one hand, most uses of Sever Force will probably require assistance, sometimes from multiple Masters. You must therefore cultivate associations with other Masters, and trust them enough to share this ability and these occasions. You must trust that their judgment and resolve match yours, not just their skill. In short, you must have fellowship, and that is a rare thing. I can think of very few people I would trust to that extent; still fewer would be able to learn the technique; even fewer are still alive. [member="Seydon of Arda"] comes to mind. If anything happens to me -- senility, or an expected or unexpected death -- consider him a resource. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]So you need to have your circle of allies. But as we’ve just discussed, conflicting, idiotic opinions about Sever Force serve as a test case for the conflicting, idiotic opinions found throughout the Jedi Order. Why do you think I never joined it in any of its sub-sects or incarnations? Why would I submit myself to a Council composed according to poor organizational principles? The Peter Principle is always at play: promotions are based on performance in a previous position, not aptitude for the higher position. And decisions are made by those who show up. [/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]That is how you get Jedi Councils and Grandmasters who were decent and reliable field operatives, but don’t have a clue how to be leaders. It’s even worse with Witches. The Sith are somewhat better at meritocracy, and don’t suffer fools gladly, so it’s less of a problem there.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]In case I haven’t outlined the conflict clearly enough, here it is: how can you put together a trusted, high-powered unit when most or all of the Light Side-oriented organizations are uniformly and intrinsically crap? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Some try to solve this dilemma by making their own organizations. Nepotism sometimes proves an antidote; indeed, it might be the only way, assuming it’s applied with good judgment. The most effective Jedi groups have not been sprawling, democratic things. They’ve been small units forged in friendship and bonds of family. Such relationships can be volatile, but no more so than the bruised egos of career Jedi bureaucrats. You’re quite right to have no truck with any of their orders. You’re a Warden of the Sky, not a Jedi, and that’s a wise choice. But even that identity offers no solution to the problem I pose, because Wardens are loners. You may have found something more practical here among the Kilian Rangers. However, we should discuss that at more length.[/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]On the whole, the Rangers are somewhat reliable. Their strictures and taboos against the Dark Side are just as binding as the Jedi Code, and somewhat more effective. Jedi turn all the time. Rangers fall rarely: Kilian Renegades are an exception, not a rule. This may be partially attributable to the Rangers’ historically low numbers; they draw only from a single planet’s population, after all. But still, with reference to their martial culture, their low fall rate is quite a curiosity. It inclines me to think well of them despite their literally medieval attitudes. If I’m called ‘crone’ one more time, I will not be responsible for the consequences.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Consider this, though, before you pursue your experiments too far. The Rangers’ skillset focuses on melee combat and shield-based projectile deflection. It’s rather hard to be tempted toward oppressive overlord status when your conception of the Force is based on a round piece of wood. The Rangers, even the Renegades -- and through your friend Adelar Tionc, I’ve made an exhaustive study -- simply don’t have equivalents for the overblown variety of destructive abilities common to the Sith. In a sense, I believe you could compare Sever Force with profit. When gifted with the knowledge to reach out and control fundamental things, who knows how the Rangers might develop. I sense a parallel with the Matukai, whose fallen counterparts are likewise rare and whose powers are likewise confined to the immediate. This is not to say that a Kilian Renegade can’t crush a skull with ease -- but the desire to reach out and change things beyond you is nearly universal. When that desire is met, temptation results. [/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Then again, knowing your Kilian friends, I suspect they’d simply ritualize Sever Force into a collaborative rite of judgment against Renegades, which would be a wholly satisfactory outcome. Perhaps such a rite could improve your own skill in the technique. I’ve included some preliminary notes, based on Wyzen’s already-ritualized teachings and Kilian customs. Adelar provided some feedback as well. He’s an immensely interesting man -- disillusioned, unassuming, idiosyncratic, unconcerned with public image or first impressions. Bitter but good-natured. I suspect the Force led you to him. He’s an ideal gateway to Kilia Four.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]He’s also hinted at familiarity with the principles of Sever Force. It’s possible that the technique exists in a Kilianized form, so to speak, but was always rare and has been forgotten. Indeed, I might have committed a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. It’s possible that the low instance of Renegades is proof of the technique’s existence, not a result of the Rangers’ lack of projective abilities in general. [/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Mara-[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]Since I wrote the above, I’ve made inquiries via unusual means, and confirmed my suspicions with Adelar Tionc. When I send this letter, or give it to you, I’ll enclose a copy of the Kilian Book of Adjuration, held as a secret among a few senior Rangers. The book comprises sermons on the ethics we’ve discussed, as well as a ritual much like my speculations described. The ritual is comparable to the Wyzen holocron’s instructions in the sense that it requires multiple participants. I say ‘requires’ -- there is also a simplified, highly time-consuming ritual variant for one or two voices. The actual words may be important in the same way as Sith Magic or Dathomiri spellwork, though of course there is no firm answer on the [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]why [/SIZE][SIZE=14.6667px]of that. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]I confess it disturbed me to find an ancient book that so closely mirrors my own speculations and opinions. I flow-walked back to the time of its origination, using the physical book as a link, but found nothing that suggested temporal tampering or paradox. Obviously I withdrew without making any personal appearance or otherwise transgressing the flow-walk’s constraints against change. I can only assume that the ancient Kilian Rangers thought of Sever Force much as I do, for similar reasons. It makes me think better of them.[/SIZE]

 

[Mara D'Lessio Merrill]

[SIZE=14.6667px]One element of the book is especially striking. It had occurred to me, but not consciously; I hadn’t yet put it into words. This observation explains a good portion of my unease regarding the common Jedi arguments against Sever Force:[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]“Wherefore dost thou say ‘tis sacrilege to employ these principles, when thou dost kill armies in defense of life? I must conclude that thou hast a higher opinion of the rights of the Gifted than the rights of any other. To thee, ‘tis a greater crime to sever a brother from the Ineffable Force than to kill an aggressor, or many. What innate worth have we, though Gifted? Whence came the notion that our rights are more sacrosanct than those of any other mortal? I answer: We slay the aggressor until we are past feeling, and few of us shall ever encounter a fallen Gifted, a Renegade of Kilia.”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]The ancient Rangers understood what so many Jedi do not: that being Force-sensitive doesn’t make you innately superior, destined for leadership, more capable. And yet there are Jedi who use phrases like ‘lesser beings’ and ‘pathetic lifeforms’ without irony. Small wonder that they wouldn’t balk at crippling or killing stormtroopers, but debate for hours on Force-severing a Sith Lord. Or simply releasing him on his own recognizance. Jedi justice in the modern era is a travesty. This would be why I’ve never submitted to it, for all my sins. If they want me, they can get off their collective rears and come get me. None of them have ever tried. Jedi don’t investigate or pursue. They take whatever prisoners come their way and make the charges fit. In government, it’s called decision-based evidence-making, obviously as opposed to the converse. The Kilian Rangers are capable of the same, of course, but I see a more proactive approach here. The Jedi are fundamentally reactive, and have been for the better part of a decade. Even their best moves -- the convocations, Jorus’ work with hidden vaults and holocron sharing -- have been reactive. Vain attempts to patch up a dike with handfuls of mud in hopes of staving off disaster. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=14.6667px]He knows this; we’ve discussed it. It was the best he could do. [/SIZE]