Private Studiis in Tenebris

[Zachariah Conway]

Location: Jutrand
Tags: Darth Empyrean
Equipment: Lightsaber​

Not since his arrival on Jutrand, had the boy stepped foot into the home of the Sith Emperor.

Fear wasn't the word for the boys feelings. He didn't fear his grandfather. He had no reason to believe that the man would bring harm towards any member of his family, adopted or otherwise. Empyrean commanded respect, through both his role as Emperor of the Sith and his mastery of many different aspects of the force. Zachariah couldn't deny that he held a respect for his grandfather, and believed that his grandfather could offer him things many others couldn't.

Srina Talon , wife of Empyrean himself had been approached by Zachariah and asked for her mentorship, however Zachariah wanted to learn more than what she could offer. He wanted to experience different perspectives on the mystic power that consumed everything in the galaxy. He accepted that whilst his grandmother could offer one of these perspectives, there were other perspectives that could be explored and he decided he wanted to start exploring these.

Hence, Zachariah had made his way to his grandfather's abode for the first time since his studies began. For too long had he been left listening to tutors and Sith who had no real interest in exploring the abilities of the force and the different aspects of the force. For too long he'd been in a state of complacency, not expanding his horizons or knowledge in the force. He decided that it was time for that to change.

Slowly, the boys boots tapped on the floor of the Sith Emperor's throne room. He walked the length of the room towards his grandfather, whom he was certain would have been made aware of his arrival. Zachariah remembered the chill of the throne room from his previous visit, the high vaulted celings and the red kyber throne of which the Emperor usually adorned.

The young boy remembered the thoughts from his previous visit. How could you kill what could not be killed?

Zachariah also remembered his previous visit, how his grandfather had exclaimed that it was unnecessary to kneel. He did however opt to bow in respect upon approaching the kyber throne. He would not be seen to dishonour his grandfather, nor would he be seen to dishonour the Sith Emperor of the Sith Order.

"My Lord..." Zachariah spoke quietly, still bowing. "Grandfather. I appreciate you taking the time"

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"Raise your head, child of my dynasty.", the Emperor said with a lifting of his index finger from the arm of the kyber throne.​

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"Think nothing of this. It does well to remind the Lords of this Empire that they are second to my own kith and kin. You've displaced four appointments today - and I could not be happier with the inconvenience you've caused them.", he said - though despite the jest in his words, his tone and expression appeared all too dead.​

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"Now, tell me what you require of me."​

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Zachariah Conway​

 

[Zachariah Conway]

Location: Jutrand
Tags: Darth Empyrean
Equipment: Lightsaber​

The young boy lifted his head, eyes fixed on the figure in front of him kept alive by the force.

The Emperor spoke, confirming Zachariah's thoughts about his feelings towards family. Empyrean had no issue displacing others for the sake of kin, adopted or otherwise. Honestly, Zachariah wasn't even sure if the man even acknowledged the concept of adopted family of if he just viewed everyone as family, as his kin and his dynasty.

"I require access to your library, grandfather. Texts that you have built up throughout your time, knowledge that you have gathered" he spoke, eyes focusing on the man in front of him. "The force, from my limited understanding, is a complex beast. I believe the old texts and scriptures may allow for an understanding deeper than available from current training"

He offered a slight smile towards his host.

"The known abilities of the force continue to amaze me. There are ways to cheat death, ways to survive a certain death. Imagine powers that may be unlocked through study, knowledge of powers and understandings never previously encountered, or lost to time. The power that may be able to be harnessed" he allowed his smile to become bigger. Power, he'd learned, is what every Sith craved. "All may be unlockable through a book".

He hoped, anyway.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

The Emperor was silent for a short time, leaning forward on one elbow to consider Zach;​

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"Much knowledge can be acertained from a book, but to understand the books I have requires a fundamental change in how one things about the Universe.", he said dryly.​

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"What is the Force, and what is it in relation to you?", he began.​

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"These are core questions to reality and a basis to understand greater powers within the Force. I would tell you these answers, but I'm a poor teacher; so I need you to come to the conclusion in your own way as best as I can guide."​

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Zachariah Conway​

 

[Zachariah Conway]

Location: Jutrand
Tags: Darth Empyrean
Equipment: Lightsaber​

What was the force to him?

The question forced Zachariah to pause for a moment. The lessons he had sat through on Jutrand had taught him about the basics of the force, but none had ever allowed Zachariah to truly question the meaning of the force. He was so used to having someone just talk at him about the meaning of the force, he had never truly stopped to think about the meaning of the force.

A few moments later, he spoke. "Many would have us believe that the force is something that effects every living thing in the galaxy. Many would suggest that some of us are blessed with the ability to manipute those effects to our will. There are some who would suggest we serve it, whereas many would suggest it exists to serve us." He paused for a breath.

"In relation to myself, it grants abilities and powers that are accessable to those of us able to wield it" he looked up towards his grandfather on the red kyber throne. "Through passion, I gain strength." He spoke the line softly, like he was recalling it from memory. "A line I am certain you are familar with grandfather, a line from the Sith Code. It is a belief that I share with many others. That this line refers to the force, that passion in the force allows a person to access strength that is otherwise unobtainable. However to achieve that strength, you cannot allow the force to guide and you instead have to bend it towards your will"

The boy quite enjoyed being able to share his own thoughts for once, that passion came from bending the force to the will of the user and that passion allowed for unknown strengths to be a possibility. He was so used to just being spoken towards by others, it was actually freeing to be able to share his own suggestions on the force for once.

Maybe he was a smart kid after all.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

Empyrean did not interrupt his explanation of his beliefs, he sat unmoving. There was nothing to be said so important it required stopping Zachariah from speaking, so the Emperor let him finish in its totality before nodding and responding in turn.​

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"It is all of those things you've mentioned, and more. You mention our code - 'Through passion, I gain strength'. Familiarity with the words does not necessarily mean familiarity with their true meaning. So let me ask you this -"​

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He leaned forward, probing at the young Sith;​

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"Why does Passion give you Strength in the Force? Secondly, is there a limit to this? Can one eternally build passion, perhaps lose themselves in that heat of emotion, and become eternally more powerful?"​

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Zachariah Conway​

 

[Zachariah Conway]

Location: Jutrand
Tags: Darth Empyrean
Equipment: Lightsaber​

"Familarity with the words does not necessarily mean familiarity with their true meaning"

His grandfather was expecting Zachariah to provide the answers himself, he wasn't just going to hand over his knowledge without the boy working for it. Empyrean was going to make the boy question his limited understanding of the force and Zachariah appreciated it, knowing he could learn from it.. The young Sith took a few moments pause, thinking about his answer.

"To gain power in the force, one must welcome emotion. Emotion allows for the unlocking of the chains, by allowing emotion you avoid the limits imposed by the Jedi. Passion is just one emotion. Anger, hatred, lust" he paused for a few moments. "Suffering. If there is meaning in life, then there must to be meaning in suffering. Suffering is only natural." he finished.

A second question was asked, to which the boy took a moment to think. "This has to be controlled however" he started. "If you give yourself fully over to emotion, such as passion, you risk becoming so wrapped up in the lust for power you lose sight of what you actually wish to achieve and become vulnerable to others who have the same lust for the power you have"

 

[Darth Empyrean]

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For the briefest of moments, Zachariah Conway would see Empyrean sneer - like a flash of something across decrepit features. It faded quickly, and for a moment he was quiet before offering words again;​

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"There is nothing natural about suffering. Not yet.", he said, cryptically as it was.​

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"Your understanding of the Force is good for a Sith, but don't get held down in semantics. Passion is an aspect of emotion speaking to its intensity - I can feel passionate about my love, and I can feel apathetic in my anger. A spectrum - but passion is the piece that gives us strength, while a Jedi loses their strength within the apex of passionate upheaval."​

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"Even still, you're treading water. Why does passionate emotion make us stronger, while a Jedi weakens? Why can we feed off strong emotions not only within us, but others, while its surgical application can destroy a Jedi's connection to the Force?", Empyrean asked as he tapped a finger on a small panel near his throne. After a moment, a Sepulchral Priest entered carrying a copy of a book for Zachariah.​

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"To incorporate your second answer, many Sith Lords of the past have referred to what you speak of as 'The Beast'. When you meditate, feel your home and your people, you can feel it crawl in the shadows hunting and stalking. It is the nature of corruption implicit to our way in the Dark Side, and it demands you draw upon its strength to be eternally powerful. All one must do is reach out and touch it...", he mused.​

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"The question I pose to you is where does 'The Beast' come from? More directly, why does it both strengthen and weaken us? I understand my words are odd, and I can help explain them as you desire - but the realization of truth must be your own in the end, Child of my Dynasty."​

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Zachariah Conway​

 

[Zachariah Conway]

Location: Jutrand
Tags: Darth Empyrean
Equipment: Lightsaber​

Empyrean was right, of course.

Zachariah had but a limited knowledge of the Force. He hadn't been studying it for years. Much of his exposure prior to his time with Arcturus had come from watching his slave master, Brunas Drace using the abilities of the force. Brunas had never bothered to actually explain to the young boy how these powers worked. It was Arcturus who had begun to explain these powers, and his time on Jutrand had begun to expand upon then.

The young boy reached out, hands closing around the copy of the book he had been presented with. It would make for new reading material, perhaps a glimpse and a taste of what the library belonging to his grandfather would contain. He was excited to scour it's pages, however his excitement had to be hidden as his grandfather wasn't quite finished.

The Dead God spoke about the concept of the beast, how it's nature demanded that you called upon it's strength to access eternal power. He listened as his grandfather asked his questions, asked about the nature of this beast and how it both strengthened and weakened a Sith.

"Power gained from other is not true power" he started. "As you stated yourself, we both feed off our own anger and our own emotions however we also feed of those emotions of those around us. Yet, when we feed on those emotions it isn't true strength we are gaining. By relying on others, you are actively weakening yourself. True strength can only be found in oneself"

Slowly, the young boy smiled. "The question you posed, grandfather, is where this Beast stems from. I believe that differs from person to person. Something which we feel passionate about may fuel the Beast which in turn fuels you. When you feel truly passionate about something you can reach out and give yourself over to the Beast" Zachariah paused for a moment. "But when you do, you give yourself over to something which is not true power. You control the Beast, not the other way around. That is the key to eternal power"

 

[Darth Empyrean]

"Ever so close, and yet wrong.", he said flatly, watching the boy through metal eyes.​

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"The Force will tell you to control this 'Beast', so close to yourself you will think it is you who is leading it around on a leash. To your dying moment, you may think yourself in control; but so long as you refuse to see what it is, and where it came from you will fail to be anything more than a pawn."​

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Perhaps harsh, but it was direct and plain.​

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"Think deeper on our code. What are the chains that bind us, Zachariah? Darth Malgus and Yuthura Ban thought it was ones attachment to this world and its people, but they were only half right. Ban had went on to say that it was the Force who was our companion - but this is a bastardization of an idea. The Force is a tool as he said, but it is also the very chains that bind us.", he growled.​

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"Darth Traya was keen on this influence the Force has. Why our cycles continue to repeat, continue to drive us into self destruction as a galaxy. It is Destiny, Fate, and the Guiding hand of Providence. For all that is ill in the galaxy, it is the Force that decrees it; or more accurately, whatever is behind its sentient prophecy."​

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"When one faces the Force, the Beast, or its various incarnations they must realize that it is the subtle and guiding influence of the Force that pulls them there. That is why we can see the Future - because it is the future the Force has defined for us. It is why the Jedi are better at such things as well; but that brings us back to our original question. Why are the Jedi more in tune with the Force and its plans?"​

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Zachariah Conway​

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[Zachariah Conway]

Location: Jutrand
Tags: Darth Empyrean
Equipment: Lightsaber​

Zachariah studied his grandfather as he spoke.

For the first time since their conversation had begun, he had no answers to the questions posed. The instructors under whom he had been studying had always led him to believe that the Sith were more in tune with the force and yet the Sith Emperor was disagreeing with that. The Sith Emperor had accepted that the Jedi were more in tune with the force.

He closed his eyes softly, and shook his head. "A question I cannot offer an answer to, grandfather" he started, eyes turning to the floor. "My understanding of the force is limited still." he continued. "My only potential suggestion would be that the Jedi focus on harmony and balance and this allows them the ability to open themselves up to the living force. They focus on the opposites of the Sith, who focus on power and control. Instead of trying to control the beast, the force, they instead allow it to guide them."

Upon finishing, he cast his eyes down to the book in his grasp quickly before he turned his eyes up to the former man who sat in front of him. He wondered if the book which his grandfather had presented him would provide the answers to the questions that were being asked by his grandfather.

 

[Darth Empyrean]

He dismissed the statement with a hand;​

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"The Jedi are tempted by the Beast, but they only fall to it if the Force defines it necessary for its purposes. It is temptation they fight against, of power and control. It is the faux control the Sith hold that leads them to do the will of a greater entity so assured of their own independence. It is that contradiction, that lead and be lead, that forces a Sith to be guided by the Force through subterfuge and distraction - then be punished for treading too close to the truth.", he mused.​

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"A Jedi, on the other hand, enjoys the simple aspect of 'tranquility'. They do fight for independence, they are one with everything and accept it as it comes. They understand that the Force guides the galaxy, but they do not see that as a problem. They simply accept it - the natural order, as it were. They believe that Balance comes from accepting this, and allowing the Force to do as it pleases so that 'greater ills' may not befall us. This is the words of a slave, who would demand us all to remain in chains."​

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He tapped a finger idly as he leaned forward towards Zachariah;​

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"This is the truth to power, Zachariah. To both wield the Force as an independent entity, unmoored by its will, and accept the righteous costs that come with it. To always be vigilant for its influence, lest it draw you back into its predestined ideas of fate. Be it through those you love, who have not yet realized this truth or actualized its power - or something far more insidious.", he said with a decrepit frown.​

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"I have overcome death because my identity is stronger than the identity the Force attempted to impose upon me. Stronger than the rot, and stronger than Worm. I am the unkilled, because I killed that which attempted to bind me. If you want power such as mine, you must understand that we fight the greatest of enemies; and it is your duty to deny that enemy its control over you. Cut away its influence, accept nothing you have not demanded and dictated upon reality. Then, you will be more powerful than you can imagine - and your true work can begin."​

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"Does this satisfy your questions, kin of mine? Would you ask me anything more?"​

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Zachariah Conway​