When all Braves fall

[Mythos]

Mythos did not dwell on the thoughts for long. As she spoke he listened and her tales sparked a curiosity in him that entices him to listen closely and heed her words just as he heeded the words of his master [member="Darth Ophidia"]. The comparison was not lost on him, she was so different than his master and not because of her age, Ophidia and her seemed the same in age... yet he knew if his master was here her head would be on a plate and Mythos would never hear the end of it, or never hear the start of it alternatively. Ophidia was Mythos' first love in a way, she gave him the foundation of his power, he would follow her to the death if necessary.. but what his master wanted was a true sith, a sith who would kill her when he or she knew the time was right. Mythos doubted he could do that, yet he knew one day perhaps she would not give him that choice.

He sighed as the thought came to his mind yet he did not show it. He smiled through it hiding his sadness at the fact that he would one day perhaps he would have to kill the closest thing he had to a mother. "I don't think i am a good sith, I'm probably the worst sith of all time, talking to a jedi master instead of killing her, refusing to kill innocents,harboring an enemy of the order inside the area i am responsible for" He chuckled softly as his eyes gazed through the darkness of space "It's a miracle i am even alive and not rotting in a dungeon somewhere" He said jokingly bringing his yellow amber eyes to hers.

She spoke of the diplomat and he said nothing, silence and contemplation surrounded him as she spoke of what she thought of the situation, he offered no retort and simply nodded as she finished her statement. In truth her words resonated within him yet he chose his fate... his fate of a warlord of the sith, he could not turn his back on something so important that easily.

She moved on to a story about the man he mentioned. Master Heavensheild was a legend even in the sith, respected as an adversary because of his prowess especially by the young blood emerging into the order who, like Mythos drooled at the tales of ancient battles between light and darkness imagining themselves as a part of them.

When she said the name, he jumped. "I know who [member="Darth Vornskr"] is" Mythos interrupted quickly and agitated.

His tone of voice deep and not hiding for a second the sheer admiration he had for the legendary sith. "I saw him once, fought along side his blackblade guard yet never have i seen him in battle truly. Like your Heavenshield, Vornskr is someone who acolytes and knights know by tale" he paused for a second before he finished, contemplating the tales in Glee anslem about the Lords. Acolytes loved to exaggerate and embellish yet what he had heard....if even just a smudge of truth tainted the tales... He was not just a sith, he was a monster.

When she spoke of her old grand master Mythos found it hard to look at her in the eyes after glorifying her masters' killer. "I am sorry" He said plainly, truthfully as well. Her story made him think of the old wars in the galaxy, wars he had missed because of his youth and relative newness to the schemes of the galaxy.

She pushed the theme aside and he joined her laugh to ease the tension of the obviously emotionally filled story. "Yes that is what we have heard" he said chuckling softly. "It is in the records of Coruscant the rules of the old Jedi, ermm what was it?" He thought for a second remembering the class of old republic history. "A Jedi cannot know love, fear, anger, hate because they lead to the dark side."

He was taken aback by her explanation, that the Grandmaster himself was married? Now that was shocking to him, he was under the assumption that Jedi could not get married, that it was forbidden, yet she explained that those were the outdated Jedi, the ancient ways that no longer held it's law. "That my dear Jedi friend, is news to me indeed. " he said honestly, the revelation threatening to shake the very core of what he believed in.

His eyebrow raised when she mentioned the 'other things' yet he did not press it the subject, feeling he had already made himself awkward enough a few seconds ago. It was then she shot him with the question and he laughed shortly at the idea of it, his amber eyes met her curious ones in a brief second of unspoken tension. "Love is not something a sith admits to feeling, ironically." he began, biting his lower lip as the image of his love interest blazed through his mind sharply. "The One Sith have given me power, freedom, broken my chains in every way possible. " His voice did not hide the pride he felt serving the one sith and his master, his loyalty and unquestionable steadfast resolve in matters of the Sith.

His brow raised proudly when he spoke. "I am commander of legions, i have brought victory to my order time and time again and have been recognized for my battlefield prowess, i have been made king of my own planet and will of his Majesty the Emperor himself." He spoke truth, he was even being recognized as a Lord soon, something he at the time had no idea."I believe we bring freedom to the galaxy, i have seen the people of Atrisia benefit from the Sith rule that i impose,making them strong once again" Again, he spoke truth. Atrisia had been battered and beaten after the fall of the Atrisian empire and it's people suffered.When Mythos arrived he ushered in a new age of Atrisian law, giving people pride in being Atrisian once again, warriors and glory,it's economy rising and famine and diseases being slowly wiped out by One Sith Medical stations.

What Mythos did not know, was how other planets fared in comparison.... He did not know most planets were not as lucky as Atrisia, he remained blissfully ignorant of the genocides....

[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

She laughed to his words, not to mock him but the truth of them made her laugh. In that case, she wasn't a good Jedi either for similar reasons. But she didn't mind that much because she never claimed that she was one of the good Jedi. "And that's what makes you unique. And being unique is not a reason to be rotting in a dungeon." She was genuine in her words, no reason to lie in this situation. Then she continued. "Hell, it's really refreshing to see one of the people in the opposite side who isn't stereotypical at all. In Jedi history Sith are always the ones that are scary looking, evil, destroy everything kind of people. And looking at you... You don't have these characteristics at all..." Did it sound bad? Probably, for a Sith, he could easily understand it the opposite way she meant. "That's a compliment." Good save, Nima. Good save. And then, she added. "You know, you wouldn't be rotting in a dungeon for being like this if you were a Jedi. Not trying to advertise, but look at me. I use the Dark Side, with the illusions and all. At the end of the day, even if I didn't obey the rules of staying away from the Dark Side, there's somewhere I feel like home. What about you, Mythos? When you break the rules, is there somewhere that you can call home? Or is it the freedom that Sith offer? Obey us, and be free? I don't see any freedom, or any chains broken in that. It's just the illusion of freedom, that the Sith feed upon from their servants, or followers in your case, in my opinion. Illusion of choice that they offer, and all the choices lead to the one choice that Sith wants you to choose. Again, I am not trying to convert you or anything. Just a Jedi Master trying to say her thoughts." Harsh reality, yet it was the words that came to Nima's mind.

The one thing that caught her attention was, the admiration that Mythos felt towards the Sith that killed her master, which could be clearly read from all over his expressions while talking about him. At least he apologized. "It's okay. It has been years, while it still is a wound in my heart that will never close, it hurts less now. Besides," I am stronger today because he killed her. No, saying this would be problematic. She sighed. "there are always loses at each sides. Anyway..." Listening to his words again, it felt good that they knew only little about them. Yet of course, it was also sad that both sides knew too little of each side and their teachings, the information was so outdated that this fight continued because of it. "You can't even admit that you love someone, huh?.." She said again, questioning the belief of the man's freedom. "That, Mythos, is news to me. I thought Sith loved feeling their emotions very much. That's what seperates the Jedi from the Sith according to your teachings, isn't it? Jedi doesn't feel, that's what makes us weak. Love is one of the strongest emotions in the galaxy. Even stronger than hate and anger, that you are 'free' to feel. But I know that you know what love is, don't you?" The last sentence was more serious than the others. She was a good reader after all, and she felt the same pain that he felt, loving someone that didn't love you back. And then, she listened to his last sentences. It was like the clash between Darkness and Light once again, but this time no blood was shed, two people on opposite sides talking to each other like two modern people, that's why she had hope inside that Mythos would understand what she was trying to say to him.

"Maybe Atrisia is okay because you are leading them? Have you ever thought about that? Maybe you made them strong once again, instead of Sith. Maybe Sith helped you, but you were the one to use this help and make your people better and stronger... Because I know for a fact that Sith planets don't have nature, or anything glorious besides lots of manpower and smokes coming from factories inside them. You can't take a deep breath and fill your lungs with oxygen, you can't hear the birds singing every morning that fills your heart with happiness. You can't just sit under a tree and look at the stars daydreaming... No children playing outside safely... It's only darkness, smoke and the voices of loud factories... And people living inside them, it is again, join us or die. People don't have a say... There has been genocides of families just because a Sith Lord didn't like the appearance of a single person. You know how they act, don't close your eyes to it. I don't see it as freedom. It's... you don't force freedom to the people you lead. You give it to them. That's what's called true freedom. Not the freedom that Sith pretend to give you." She said, then added. "You understand me, right? I am not like the most Jedi. I am not trying to say those because I am trying to make the Dark Side look bad, or even I am not saying that your beliefs are entirely wrong. It is the truth, and you know it. No one in the Empire is free, or have a choice to do as they like... It's us, unique people, that have the choice. Have you ever considered... what it would be like... to see the Light Side for once? To embrace it fully... To feel its warmth even only for a second? To taste the true freedom, that the Sith offered you but never gave you?"

[member="Lord Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

Her description of him was only inflating his ego, his legendary quality among all other things. "Well of course i am unique, i am one of the most powerful sith in the galaxy even as far as having a temple carved in My image." Now Nima would begin to understand exactly why he was a Sith...arrogance, pride, excesses and the never ending thirst for everlasting power and glory was the firmament of his character. The noble qualities she had seen up to this point were the only qualities he had. His tone was calm yet self assured and serious served with a smile and a relaxed gesture, puffing away at his ZP cigaro rhythmically. She spoke of the ancient sith and he nodded, his trips to Korriban were the stuff of folklore in the academy, one of the few acolytes in the academy allowed for extra curricular trips into Korriban.... with the supervision of Erebos of course...

"My scars are luckily placed in less visible places than say... Palpatine He said placing his cigar on the smooth surface of the table and straightening in his chair while igniting the table light with the same hand and showing her the complexity of his skin and muscles.

"I have scars in almost every part of my body, i do not like bacta because it removes most of the scars to the point were they are not visible" As he spoke he removed his black cloak and hood leaving his upper body bare to witness clearly with the added lightning. Burn marks, large cuts of plasma, blaster bolts, the re remains of three rip replacement surgeries as well as several vibrodagger marks courtesy of Asaj and many more covered his torso.

The smile never left his lips, nor did he change tone. He was proud and honored to hold every single one of his collection of scars. "Each one of them a badge of honor... as for the destruction of all things" He shrugged and looked at her with eerie yellow eyes denoting his seriousness in this matter. "The destruction of an entire planet if ordered by his Majesty is done for a reason, never have i been present for the annihilation of an entire planet nor have i ever heard of the One Sith committing such an atrocity yet if it did come to pass"

He took his cigar back into his hand and and gave her a serious warring look that emphazied the warning. "We must trust, that his majesty does these things for the betterment of us all. You Jedi think destruction of the weak is atrocious and this is where i differ... the galaxy and the force must serve the strong and only the strong for only the strong are truly worthy." This was the simple indoctrination and philosophy that Mythos let crawl into his heart with loyal and steadfast ferocity from his part.

As she spoke to him about breaking rules, he could not help but to chuckle, yet did not interrupt. His home was now the One Sith either beside his troops or in Atrisia as the world he was entrusted to command, yet his real home... was Naboo. A world he missed on the more dark days in Atrisia.

"When i break the rules" He began once she had said her thoughts with an amused smile. "Like when i single handedly stood against the invading force of the Techo Union on my home world of Naboo. I get called up by the hand of his majesty" He said, remembering the day. He had rallied the late and great gungan army with Boss nosso against the Techo Union and fought the armies of the Techno Union in open ground, then once the battle was over he was commanded to Coruscant to "Face the Music".
"I got taxes to pay now and i had to cover the cost of the repair of the armies i destroyed..." He shrugged and chuckled. "With Gungans mind you.." He finished and took a puff of the cigar in triumph. He paused to let the thought sink in and his mind go back to the day, the screams and death of thousands of gungans and rebels just to defend their planet side by side with him... he had kept a few in Atrisia for special training...

"I was explained why my actions were wrong, I was then given my punishment by the Hand of the Dark Lord like any father would do to his misbehaving child, i wasn't executed, i wasn't demoted or stripped of my rank." He said simply stating the facts in his point of view, gesturing with his free hand to accentuate his words. "I was shown why my actions worked against the order and then put back to my place of command. Now I work in full coordination with my superiors to ensure the triumph of the One Sith against any enemy, internal or external."

When they spoke of their respective grand masters and cheif warlords Mythos stayed as silent as he could, already having spoken too much in his eyes and clearly hitting a nerve with his Jedi companion he thought it best if he just listened and nodded when she spoke of love. "There is no law against it... yet Love is not openly expressed, it is seen as a source of weakness, a flaw in your character to care about those beneath you or around you..." Mythos shook his head and shrugged with in-taking another puff of the large deathstick. "I find this exceedingly stupid... love is a powerful well of power when one is devoted to the darkside of the force.." His voice trailed off, as if speaking to a distant world.

"I know what love is my jedi friend..." He said, his eyes not parting from the window of the ship that looked like a painting of stars, melancholy and sadness washing over him at the thought of the missing piece in his heart. He gave little thought to it, harboring his emotions deep inside for when he needed them, never bringing something fully into light so he could use it as strength in a later date. "Sometimes i wish i did not... then i remember that is my most powerful source of strength and power..."

As she spoke of Atrisia he again chose to stay silent until she had finished, there was much truth to her words that made him think yet he did not believe that Sith brought oppression or shackled freedom from its people. Mythos lead Atrisia with the belief that all those who served under him did so freely and without any sort of incentive other than serving the One Sith and of course the natural pay of their office, but what she was saying was in direct contradiction with what he was raised in the order to believe. Auto pilot mode gave the alert of the ship nearing the destination of Atrisia and the orbital shipyard just outside. Lights would flicker on past their windows as the ship naturally made dock with the magnetic overlays of the Shipyard then pulled in and lead to a special port for Mythos with a tractor beam designed for ship allocation installed on the shipyards main port.

"Atrisia is again glorious because of me, in part..." He began his deathstick dying in the table before him as he continued. "But also because of the One Sith, those factories and big smoking forges are there to build the tools we need to bring order and peace thought the galaxy, not just the core words that we control" He shook his head and smiled pleasantly, pausing to let the statement sink in. "Until the galaxy is under our control and every world is part of the One Sith there will always be conflict because tyrants like the prime minister of the Republic would never relinquish control over their people and forsake their massive clone armies for the betterment of peace. Not once have the republic asked for peace nor have the Jedi ever come to terms with us in any bases out of fear and indoctrination. Am I not proof we are not all monsters?" He said taking her hand in his, touching for the first time in a way that was not combat then carefully and gracefully bring his knuckles to his lips and looking straight into her eyes.
"Some Sith Lords abuse their power just like any other corrupt government official yet there are some like myself and my friend Erebos that value honor, duty and loyalty to the highest extent and wish to be seen with respect by both our allies..." He placed her hand back down and gave her a pleading glance of understanding. "And our enemies... last time i fought a Jedi upon Aten II he tried to kill me when my back was turned." He smiled and shot her a wink. "Is that the light you speak of?" He said jokingly, but considered her proposal... to see the light side? a different power? The other side of the force? Surely it could not hurt to see it.

[member="Nima Tann"]

 

[Nima Tann]

The tone of the man changed, and the Sith came out suddenly, the arrogance could be clearly read from the tone. Yet she thought it was another attempt to persuade himself he was an evil, ruthless Sith that craves power only, or the man had multiple personalities. His previous statements weren't the same as the one he was making right now. As he continued to talk about an allmighty Majesty that knows everything, she just looked at him with blank stare, listening to him yet as a Jedi, she just wasn't amused by his words. Now she would be the one to share some Jedi wisdom, but it wasn't what she was trying to do here. By talking all Jedi she would just push him further away from what she was trying to do. So, she listened to the man speaking his piece, then said, her voice was cold, not like before. Now it was his turn to see the other side of the girl. “Oh, so if your Majesty wants to burn Atrisia to the ground some day because they know everything, will you still continue to say they have done it for the betterment of all, Mythos? All you have worked for, all your people, burning to the ground, dead, or worse? Will you still hold that blind loyalty of yours when it’s too late to see the truth? This path you are going, this path I’ve walked before, it gives you glory, it feels like everything is under control, it gives you power, absolute power. Yet when you open your eyes, you see. You see how far you’ve gone, you see that you can’t recognize yourself anymore. Don’t walk that path, or it will lead to your destruction. I am not talking about using the Dark Side, I use the Dark Side too, I am talking about you being a Sith, it doesn’t make sense. ”

Then she continued, she was on fire. “You say you only want strong to survive. Yet, you can’t be strong if you weren’t weak before. You can’t rise if you haven’t fallen down once. You know that. None of us was strong from the birth, we’ve learned from what we did, and became what we are today. If we don’t let the weak to have this chance, then how will they become strong when it’s their time to shine, if we don’t give them that chance, will that make us strong, or cruel, for not giving them the chance to learn from their mistakes and become strong. The Jedi walks that path, we give them a chance to survive, to make them become stronger. You’ve become disgusted for the execution of the innocent, innocent people are weak, unable to protect themselves. Then why did you bother, if you want the weak to perish? Why didn’t you kill me, when I was weak and left for your mercy? Because you know, in your heart that, there’s a force that prevents you from getting further to this path of destruction. The path that I’ve walked before, the path that I’ve been preventing since I understood this path led me to my destruction. “

“Let’s say you’ve been lucky not getting harsher punishments. But can you tell me that it will be the case for the second, or the third time you’ve failed your Emperor? Or break the rules? Do you really believe that they are going to let you go with a simple conversation this time? I have many suspicions that it will not be the case. The best case scenario would be you losing some of your limbs. You may not be a monster, I’ve told you before that you are not a typical Sith, but you can’t tell me that Vornskr guy isn’t one as well.” She said as she was shocked suddenly by him grabbing her hand, yet she didn’t say anything. “Even you know that he isn’t a human anymore. You can’t convince me that all of you are the same, and that is the only thing that I don’t want you to be with them. You have potential, Mythos. Potential to do many great things, don’t waste them with monsters. You know what love is, don't forget what it means. Even though you don't get the love you deserve from the opposite side, feeling love is one of the most beautiful things in the world.” She looked him in the eye as she said that. “Do I look like I love war, Mythos? Look at me and say that. I am a Jedi, but I am talking to you. I don’t want to fight, and let me tell you, the Jedi doesn’t as well. Won’t you believe my words? I’ve been nothing but honest to you.” Then, she took a deep breathe as he made a comment about the Light Side, mocking it, or she took it that way. “In war, people do things that they regret. War never changes. But I hope you won’t oppose an opponent using pure Light Side towards you some day, if you continue going this path. Things would get a bit scary, I tell you. I know some of Sanctum members that use some technique that would severe you from the Force itself. That would be one thing I wouldn’t want to see.” Then she continued, preparing herself for a possible training. Jedi Master training a Sith, well, that would be weird. “I am far from pure Light, but I can show you how it feels. Now, what I want you to do is, just close your eyes, close your mind, and focus on the Force itself. If you want, you can sit down, get comfortable. It’s going to be a meditation of some sorts.”



[member="Lord Mythos"]

 

[Mythos]

Mythos was never held to so much knowledge before, put to trial and thought over everything he had once believed in such a way but yet he was not shaken... he truly believed in everything he did, he believed ever act he took was for the better, was the lesser of two evils in a galaxy that only knew evil and violence. Mythos shrugged. "If his Majesty wishes to destroy Atrisia then there must be a reason why it is not my place to question his judgment is it my place to trust it..." The Cortan Blade hit dock yet he did not make a move to exit the ship until she did, if she did, he felt at home in the darkness of the ship, in the dark nexus that whirled around it.

The rest he could not speak, he listened intently as she put forth a view and statements he could readily combat, she was in the right and Mythos began to see that yet his convictions at the time would not make him budge. He thought that his path was reason enough for his actions, his doubts and personal feelings to this moment had been confined into the realm of duty and training in the dark side and only the dark side of the force. Once he did exhume the aura of light before his master and her reaction to it shun him away from that forever... or so he thought. Here was Master Tann trying to get a Sith Knight to enter the power of the light side through meditation... Mythos said nothing, he listened, she was a master, she was a teacher... he loved to learn. "You don't look like you love war... i don't want to love it as much as i do.... but i enjoy fighting" He said with a smile and nodded. "Fine... it's the least i can do after what i have done. "

It was not easy... it was near impossible, he was corrupted by the dark, inside a darkside nexus... yet he would try. He focused on the force as she said and crossed his legs upon the chair of the room. It was comfortable, anything other than bleeding in cold stone was comfortable to him, he had learned to use a rock as a pillow, to use snow as a blanket.... his life had been suffering but it had payed off with boundless power. He was however, slightly mentally damaged because of it... almost a decade of suffering will do that to a man. He breathed in... then out... "Lets see this light of yours then..."




[member="Nima Tann"]