章節 39: 01.34 : The Light Begins to Dim
[21 BBY][On the eve of Operation Thunderstorm]
[Republic Aegis Guard Combat Freighter Stormcrow, Task-force Aegis, 14th Sector Army, Ordo Plutonia System]
I let out a breath, sitting cross-legged in a half-lotus meditative pose inside the ritual circle I had prepared, one linked into the one directly in front of me where all the parts required for the ritual lay. In part it was the nature of my training in assembling of the lightsaber, the Jedi put such focus and meaning on it, that was ingrained in making it 'special' in some ways. The other part was the simpler nature of wanting to bind some spells to the hilt of the blade so none could wield it without permission, or turn it on at an inconvenient moment for this humble mage.
Since one of my...combat styles...relied on precise control and deep bond with my chosen weapons this was something of a requirement. So, with time limited, one would have to take that plunge into the Force and test one's abilities through the Rites to earn a rock solid bond with the crystal. And....being honest rituals and meaning were holdovers even from a previous time, as magic, whether divine or arcane, was oft the imposing of personal beliefs upon reality to invoke a bending or warp of it, or to strengthen some feature to your benefit. Here I desired certain things from hidden weapon, largely related to control and concealment, so time and effort was to be invested in.
'And, don't pretend it doesn't feel good to form your own blade again rather some black market hand-me-downs, and fixed up weapons from a looted Sith tomb. Too much of that Jedi nonsense rubbing off on you innit?' I though with a faint chuckle remembering the first simply joy of finding my crystal in Ilum, and of forming it into a blade. It was easy to understand why Jedi grew so attached to their lightsabers when so little else in their life could be allowed such a bond, or a way to express their personality and desires though the weapon....sorry, noble Jedi tool.
Closing my eyes I opened myself up, within the context of my 'cage' at least, drawing on the Force carefully and steadying my breathing to enter a meditative state. The Jedi Code hadn't helped my much with that, at least the one they'd attempted to drill into me since my early childhood. Words I spoke calmly, eyes closed, as I centered myself and dwelled upon the duality of the power, its dangers, and the various interpretations as I sought the rightness of what was needed as I reached out to the gem of stygium pulsing in a strange half-life. Not alive, but sort of alive, incomplete, but....mine. The one that I had chosen, that had chosen me....that had was closest to being mine.
"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force."
It was a good code....for a certain person, from a certain point of view. The means through which the Coruscanti Temple had attempted to guide Force users away from the dangers of the Dark Side and the negative aspects of a sentient's psyche through denial of those aspects. In truth it was a denial and abstinence based philosophy, Lawful Neutral more than Lawful Good I always felt; another oddity of sorcerers who pretended they were monks while Larping as Paladins from time to time. It just was not a Code I could hold too, even as it unlocked some power dint of familiarity and ingrained ritual...
"Turn back youngling..." Master Yoda huffed, age bending him into a hunch as his cane tapped on the ground of the empty Temple "...lead to blood and pain and destruction, this path it does. Much fear, much darkness will it bring!"
I nodded in agreement, sadly, regretfully "Aye, but all paths led to destruction and blood and pain"
He shook his head in reject "Will of the Force this is not, choice you have, trust in the Force you must!"
I shook my head, denying the Light, denying the Whispers. Will to Power, and the Temple Burned, the air filled with fire and death and smoke "Trust in the Force I cannot, for it will lead only to disaster"
I walked on, blood splashing off my booted feet as the small forlorn shook his head in disappointment, in loss, in pain as the smoke and death filled my nostrils the veil broken. Through the bodies, the fires, and ruins of my childhood I walked on as it pained me. For the Greater Good it must be done.
....for I did have passion, at times. I did have emotion, attachments; a strength and a weakness. For I was not truly serene, no I was the Eye of the Storm, power and emotions swirling around me. The Light was a trap as well, though not in the easy power of the Dark. No, it was the temptation of inaction, of stasis and status-quo, of the passive and submission to the Will of the Force. If times were less imbalanced, less broken, then perhaps it could function but those times had passed and change was needed, destruction was needed. No, it was not a Code I could follow even as the crystal pulsed, the shadows danced as I spoke another philosophy, another rumination on the Force.
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me"
A Code of Freedom and Change, but also of Chaotic Neutral and Chaotic Evil; in truth of Chaotic Stupid at most points in time of galactic history. Trusting in the Force as badly, or perhaps worse than the Jedi in their own way the Sith understood many truths, but doubled down on a vulnerability that was lethal with the Dark. The Force enhanced your emotions, drove them onwards, and the Dark Side tempted, a drug, an addiction, if used in moments of broken will it worsened you. Made you mad, made you want it more. Easy power if you just asked, but ironically the harder, deadlier, path. Trusting in the Force to Free you?
"Turn back..." other me told me, luxuriating back in the sedan chair, the finest wine in his hand, waited hand and foot by faces I knew, yet did not now. Beauty, they were beautiful as they moved, a life of ease and wealthy as other me sat within his library surrounded by a lifetime of accumulated knowledge "...what is the point of this path? What do you gain but suffering and distrust from worthless fools already doomed?"
"Very little I expect, except perhaps betrayal and death in my name..." I answered the blood dripping from my fingers, the blade held there busy from the task at hand "...but, I have to try. And it is not as if the Emperor will leave me alone"
Other me shook his head, resting back against the doorframe of a farm on a distant world, my...his...wife smiling at his shoulder as the children played in safety in regions unknown and hidden from prying eyes "We have the power. Do not lie to yourself, turn back"
"Perhaps....perhaps, but I can't abandon them. They are my friends. I have to try"
Screams filled the air, fire and death and hatred as I cut the illusion down, the world burning beneath my blade as I waded through the blood and smoke. No matter, for myself I would do this. By my own will, by own power, not at the sufferance of the Force. My choices were mine, and I would not be its slave.
The Dark Side was either your Slave or your Master. Trusting in it merely made you its Slave. For as much that peace was a lie, it was necessary. For as much that passion could give you strength, it made you vulnerable too, closed off your cold logic, your reason. And that meant the Power the Sith so desired was built on flawed foundations, gaining Power leading to desiring more Power, uncaring of why they wished it. There was no victory, no true strength there, just new chains. Worse chains for they were ones of your own making that destroyed the very bonds and attachments that gave you true strength.
"Emotion, yet peace.
Ignorance, yet knowledge,
Passion, yet serenity,
Chaos, yet harmony,
Death, yet the Force"
The Old Jedi Code;- closest to me, almost. If it had been better times, other experiences, less impacted by the New Code upon my mind and the Temple, it would truly be my Code. But....it was not, merely my 'official' one should I need to speak the words, to open the doors before those of the Order. Parts shivered, levitating, spinning and moving on invisible strings as they began to knit together. And acceptable compromise for the Temple, though heavily frowned upon. It was still a philosophy of the Light, though more open to the Dark which why it had fallen when the Jedi Lords had faded and Temple rose in the wake of their sacrifice, in a time long past but still holding a death grip upon the modern day. The flaw of the light, stasis, eternal...till it failed utterly and the chaos was so much worse.
"Do you wish me to turn back me as well?" I asked the ancient orc in his shrouded robes, standing in the darkness upon the deck of a bustling command centre. The ghostly figures moved about us, busy in their tasks, but with little true haste as the blackness of space outside was filled with commercial traffic and ships under construction.
"Heh,, No, your path is your path..." the shadow of memories chuckled looking at me with golden eyes "...I am not you, and you are not me"
"But I am"
"Yes, one but separate, but that does not matter..." the other not-me replied old hands emerging from the shrouded robes and gesturing at the ghosts as they froze, hurried panic "...as times they are a changing as they say. What choices we make have consequences, even beyond what we can see and know. It is just a taste of the damage we will do"
The nearest ghost, a young woman in a planetary guard ran through me, hand slamming down on a button as she flipped its lid, voice filled with shock and fear "This is Kuat Astro Control! We have a Case Black! Repeat Case Black! Multiple hostiles, repeat..."
Then died, screaming as the world exploded into flame, as we stood amidst the blackness of space and darkness before us filled with flashes of light. He looked at me, shaking his head as the rivers of blood crashed over me and we were separated, voice carrying over as I was swallowed "This is only the beginning, you must do so much more I fear"
No, it wasn't quite there, but it was close as the Force swirled about me in a vortex of power. Sigils and runes burned around me as I moved the parts with my mind. Sliding together, click, the magicka joining it as the black and silver sheath formed the crystal pulsing. It was not my Code, the oldest one spilling from my mouth as I felt the connection, the Bond, forming, one and whole. An extension of my Will, a Weapon, knowing of the bloodshed and destruction to come;- of an Agent of Order bringing about Chaos, as I grasped the Power with my own strength. Light and Dark, trusting neither, accepting my path, my flaws, my strengths and desires as I reached out....
"There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no fear, there is power.
I am the heart of the Force.
I am the revealing fire of light.
I am the mystery of the darkness.
In balance with chaos and harmony.
Immortal in the Force"
....grasping the hilt in my right hand as it sang to me its rightness. Of the times to come as my eyes opened, holding it before me, igniting it as the room around my was plunged into darkness as the spell ended, the task completed.
Snap-hhhssssss
"You are a beauty aren't you?" I spoke gazing at the shining blade, its surface almost smoking, a mirage, or burning shroud upon its surface as it illuminated the darkness with its baleful light "Now, let us go set the universe on fire"
I stood taking a test swing as it sang back joyously to me "We're going to War"
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
End of Chapter One: The Light Begins to Dim
Next: Chapter Two: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票