Public Relic of the Past — Tython Aftermath

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Ashin weighed all that while she rubbed her knee as well as she could while wearing armour. Some Sith, she knew, cultivated connections with Jedi, made common cause and so forth. She'd done so on vanishingly rare occasions. For decades, her interactions with Jedi had centred on bloodshed, captivity, or chilly politesse.

"Yes, but not as myself," she said at last. "It would be a provocation in more than one direction and make the outcome I'm avoiding more likely. I'll pick an appropriate face and identity, probably one of those completely normal Alliance citizens I've been.

"If you'll forgive an old teacher, I have unsolicited advice. Darth Vectivus' philosophy isn't considered orthodox today, but I've found it valuable. Vectivus was a family man who died surrounded by friends and loved ones. He had deep self-discipline; he kept passion and compassion and ambition in their place relative to what he wanted most. And what he wanted most wasn't empire or bloodshed or domination, it was intensely personal. He was willing to make any sacrifice, pay any price, for that personal goal. Many Sith are trapped in others' ideological or cultural control, or stuck in their idea of what a Sith should pursue, but Vectivus' lesson is that there is great value in sitting down and deciding for yourself what you want most, and what barriers need to be overcome for that, and then cultivating the self-determination, agency, and strength you need to make it happen.

"So, Thurion Heavenshield , do you want more out of tomorrow? If so, what?"

 

[Thurion Heavenshield]

T Y T H O N​

The Lion considered long his answer, as he often would. His knee jerk reaction was to tell her he wanted to be with his wife again, whatever the cost. To leave all things behind — burdens, duties, responsibilities — and become One with the Force, if that's what it takes. But these were the desires of a selfish child; a tired, old man in pain desperate for a way out, and they were swiftly set aside. That's not who he is, or wants to be.

Was it his desire to create a lasting legacy? To build an empire? To establish a dynasty to last a thousand years? All obtainable ambitions to someone as well-positioned as he, for he had the everlasting fealty of his homeworld, armies at his disposal, and a cadre of powerful allies. But power never held any allure; he'd never sought the throne nor dreamt of becoming High King. Only a dying brother, whom he loved like no other, could have swayed him so.

So what then? What did he want from life?

Family. Duty. Honour. The words of his house came to him like a whisper on the wind.

"I wish to be of service," came his answer, finally. "To be of use, to..." He recalled a conversation he'd had with Valery Noble last Life Day. "I want to help children learn to smile again. To brighten someone's day. There is so much misery and broken hopes out there, thick with war and calamity, and as time has proven, it's not likely to end in my lifetime. I played my part in perpetuating the cycle, so I am dutybound to make amends in whatever small way I can."

He turned to Ashin, confident in his answer.

"It's what I set out to do when becoming a Jedi in the first place. Before getting roped in with politics and high office. Helping others was how a child healed the pain of losing his mother; perhaps helping others is how a husband might heal the pain of losing his wife."

In what had become an increasingly rare occurrence, a genuine smile found its way to his lips. That hopeful, young Jedi was still in there somewhere, beaten down by loss and buried under the weight of responsibility.

"Thank you, Ashin," he said with absolute sincerity, and bowed. "For your wisdom. I still have much to learn."

Ashin Cardé Varanin ​

 

[Ashin Cardé Varanin]

Ashin allowed herself a wry smile. "You're fortunate that I value discretion. Vectivus is almost heretical these days — totally out of step with Carnifex's Sith-Imperialism and Empyrean's Eternalism — but still, if I shared it abroad that I'd successfully instilled Sith philosophy in a Grandmaster, why, I'd never pay for a drink again."

It was as close to a joke as she'd told in many years, and that realization cast Thurion Heavenshield 's simple goals in a new and oddly appealing light. Not that they appealed to her in particular, but she could empathize, and certainly with the personal scale of it all.

"I came back once, you know, over half a century ago. Turned back to the Jedi, went to a conclave, accepted their judgment, was Force severed back to Padawan, worked my way up again. I was even Watchman of Korriban. Of all my lives it was one of the most interesting. Honesty was interesting. The taste for a simple life is likely what drew me to captain the Pomojema, the academy ship, and teach for so many years. I only retired recently and immediately..." She gestured irritably at the universe. "...so many entanglements. I've well and truly lost my taste for politics. It's easy to see why so many of our greatest predecessors hunkered down to focus on their niche interests, that self-defined meaningfulness at personal scale. Odan-Urr, Baas, Skywalker for all his flaws, Darth Momin, Bane, Calypho, Vectivus of course, probably Andeddu, certainly Vader..."