Shades of Red: Fari Philosophy

[Rakai]

Rakai stood in his room, the room his previous Master and lover had owned, given to him upon Knighthood. That seemed like ages ago, and now barely anything of Fari-fax remained in the room, aside from some trophies. The vibroblade stolen from a Jedi, which he had collected himself, her old lightsabers awaiting their new master.

Some new trophies of his own filled the room now, one of which he was staring at as he waited for his student to arrive for their final lesson. The painting he himself had painted, with the blood an sinew of nearly the entire family of the noble Thymes, the last effort he had made to turn a Jedi. This painting held deep meanig to him, proud of the shading he was able to perform with only one colour at his disposal.

What would his Apprentice think, though her demeanour was that of a child, it was still twistwd to his liking, and he did not want her to think less of him for using the pallet offered to him. it was, though, the perfect example needed for his lesson today.

[Fari-Fax]

Fari skipped down the hallway of the Sith temple, past doorways to other private rooms on her way to her master’s. After the past couple of lessons taking place in the Training Arena, being called to her Master’s room seemed both unusual and important. Pausing she twirled to face the door, and gave it a knock before pushing her way in.

First her head tilted over the threshold, then when she saw Rakai in the room, her face beamed in a smile as she hopped in, her golden yellow eyes taking in the trophies that where displayed around the room. Vibroblades, lightsabers, and a painting. Curiously, the little girl moved in front of the painting on display and looked at it. Tilted her head from side to side, stepped to her right, then her left, taking in the entire painting.

“Did you paint this?” She asked curiously to her Master.

[Rakai]

Rakai nodded, not having looked upon his student during her entrance, nut instead concentrating on the painting.

~I did, but that is not paint. I had it preserved to keep it's freshness, since its entirety was done in blood.~

Turning his head from the painting, the Nagai clone moved towarda the two lightsabers running a single clawed finger over them gently.

~I have given you time to interact with other Sith, as well as looking into your past and finding only more questions. For now though, tell me what you have learned from observing your allies? ~

[Fari-Fax]

“Blood?” Fari questioned, her eyes growing wide and turned back to the painting with a new level of curiosity. She never would have though blood could be used in such a way, it was after all what made people live. A life force in a way too. She was about to ask if it was his blood, but quickly thought better of it. No, it would not be his, but from one of his prey. There were many questions Fari wanted to ask him, who’s blood was it, who were the people in the painting and how did he get away with it all, but instead, Rakai turned the questions back on to her.

It was true, Fari had been touring the Temple, sneaking around the hallways, and interacting with a few other Sith. What had she learned? Not much by her perspective, but she had to answer her Master’s question.

“Some of the other Sith aren’t too bad. I went exploring with a couple of other Disciples. There was one, Dink... he’s just as tall as me, but much older. I like him. But... many of the other Sith seem to keep to themselves. They ignore me most of the time.” Fari shrugged her shoulders at that. “Everyone here seems intent on their own needs.”

[Rakai]

Looking over to his pupil to see and sense her slight disbelief gave the Nagai clone a sense of accomplishment. A lot of planning went into this event, and a lot of people died to make it happen, but even now Light's Demise still fed off the residual suffering coming from this painting.

~Certain oils help make he blood plyable, and the amount you use determines its shade and tint. An entire legacy died that day, and the bloodline of Thymes grew that much thinner. A masterpiece of time and dedication to a single event, though Derakai always did have a talent for the arts.~

Finally turning to face his student and guide her away from the painting to the two lightsabers on display, the Sith knight was curious to see her reaction to them. He had only recently dug them up from their owner's grave but they looked to be in pristine condition.

~I have shown you how to gain access to your power, but do you truly understand where that powr comes from?~

[Fari-Fax]

An entire family? Fari’s eyes widened at hearing more about the history of the painting. Rakai must be strong to destroy a family... or they were weak and Rakai was bored. Eitehr way, she was impressed with the artwork, and at the deeper meaning behind it which only tug at the little’s girl gut. She knew there was something more to it that Rakai was trying to impart on her, but her child-like mind only saw the picture.

Her master then directed her to a pair of lightsaber upon a mantel. Fari’s yellow eyes landed on them for a long moment, but no real feeling came. She looked back to Rakai, wondering if he was expecting her to react to them as she did with the painting. The sabers were important to him, she could see that, but the meaning, was once more lost on the child’s mind.

“The power comes from within me, doesn’t it?” Fari answered, though she was hesitant if it was the correct answer.

[Rakai]

Rakai gave a slight nod, since she was only partially correct in her answer. That was why he had brought her to these examples of the code or rather his personal code.

~The Sith live by a code, wherein fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and finally hate leading to suffering. I have shown you that anger is a strength to be controlled by us, not have it control us.~

Once more, the clawed hands led the young girl back to the painting, letting her take it in as he spoke.

~Fear, a weapon in our arsenal, those that are weak that fear us give us strength beyond the Force or a lightsaber. When a Sith becomes the target of fear, our will to survive kicks in making us move and think faster. The room before this painting was made, before the blood was spilled was filled with fear, causing confusion, making it that much easier to collect my ink. The fear that was felt afterwards though, the fear of loss and doubt was all the sweeter.~

[Fari-Fax]

Fari frowned, Rakai’s words were confusing and seemed to go in some sort of circle when he spoke them in her head. Fear leads to anger, anger to hate, hate to suffering. But... she didn’t feel hate all the time, at least not when she was making that village suffer under her rule. It was fun, and she found a delight in it, not hate. Was there something wrong with her?

He lead her back to the painting where he went on to explain how fear can give strength, and make them move faster and think faster.

“How many different fear’s are there?” Fari asked, her mind starting to hurt. The only time she felt a little bit of fear was when the man Hydrocus came to talk to her upon her arrival at the Temple, then again with the council member and their eyes all looking down at her. What sort of fear did she feel then?

“But... hate to suffering... I don’t feel that much hatred, but those villagers feared me. What exactly is hate?”

[Rakai]

Rakai raised an eyebrow at his pupil's question, noting that perhaps she was a little too young to completely understand the Sith philosophy.

~An apt question Vee-two, for there are many types of fear. Intimidation, the fear of what could come, offering a threat without immediately acting upon it. We can use this as a sort of diplomatic solution, though it would not last as long as true diplomacy. This could lead to Fear of harm or death. When I am trying to be diplomatic, I keep my claws behind my back, for the mere sight of them gives an idea of what I would do with them should I hear something I don't like? The fear of loss can often ply those into doing as you command, to keep what could be lost, safe.~

The Sith clone was unsure of how to dumm things down for the child before him, wanting to treat her as the adult version of herself. There was more lessons to be taught though.

~As for hate, we shall get to that in due time. Anger, as you already know, is our fuel, and as fuel, there are certain limits to how much we should use. As Sith we should never let rage take us over, for it make make us more powerful than our foes, it blinds us as equally. Anger is what we should all carry, as a weapon, not something to hold against an ally, as much as some might seem to deserve it.~

[Fari-Fax]

Fari wasn’t sure if she was understanding all that Rakai said. There seemed to be so much associated with fear, and the young girl only recognized a few of the different types. Fear of harm and death was what Fari knew the most, if only as that was how she took control of that village.

Finally, Fari nodded her head. Maybe one day she’ll grasp the larger picture Rakai is trying to explain, for now, she’d have to only accept that there is more to this Sith life.

“So, I shouldn’t direct my anger at anyone, just use it for myself?”

[Rakai]

~You may find a time where you will not be able to do anything but direct your anger at something or someone. Especially when you are older. But remember that your anger is yours to control and when we lose control we lose focus.~

The next part of the lesson would be the hardest for Rakai, for it was something that affected him even now at the peak of his rank's strength.

~Anger, lead to hate, I told you wer would get back to it, and hatred is a jaded subject. Are we supposed to hate everything? Is everything hating us supposed to give us power? Hatred can be a more powerful tool than anger, for hatred can be the focus needed to fully control anger. I don't expect you to hate anyone or anything yet, since you're lifespan has most likely not even reached a year, but we all find something to hate.~

The Nagai clone had considered showinng Fari the Beast of Destru, but he didn't want her to think less of him in his berserk state. The time to show her would come soon enough.

~Hatred is what sometimes keeps us going, anger gives us strength, but hatred gives us something to strive towards. The hatred of a person, that you feel you must snuff from existence, only to quell a true hatred beneath the surface...~

Rakai looked, to most likely see a confused face after saying that, putting a clawed hand to his face and shaking his head.

~That I you need not remember now, for it is a little too complex for your beginning knowledge. Fear is what givea us power over others, anger is what powers the Darkside, hatred is what keeps us moving forward towards our goals.~

[Fari-Fax]

Fari sat on the bed as Rakai talked. She was worried that once he got to the hatred subject she’d find she had little to associate with it, and that she would not longer fit in at the Sith. She didn’t want that, the village was alright, but here, at the temple it was so much better! But, her master spoke in terms the young child could understand... most of the time.

Anger, she thought she got a hold of now. It made sense, in the terms Rakai put it in, how she had to control her anger, but it held power. Hatred seemed to come after that, anger and hatred seemed to be link... most of the time. Maybe, he was right, and she was just too young and inexperience in the world to have come across anything that resembles hatred. Actually, the more she heard her master talk on the subject the more she wanted to feel this feeling herself. To experience it and then fully know what he means.

“I think I understand.” Fari said with a tilt of her head as she rolled over the information once more. “Fear gives us power, anger gives us strength, then hate helps us focus on our goals. When do you think i’ll find something or one to hate? I want to feel it, to know what you mean, really what you mean.”

[Rakai]

~Your time to find what you will hate can come at any moment. You never know, I may be struck down someday soon, giving you two things to hate. The one who killed me, and no doubt myself for leaving you to soon. Nevertheless it will come to you. Then you will know what Sith like myself feed off of, for hate, leads to suffering.~

Lifting his right gauntlet up and twisting it to show her the crystal chamber opening to reveal a purple miasma flowing from a similar coloured crystal. Light's Demise was an entity in it's own right, with no conscious thought, or true life, only a hunger for the suffering of all living things including it's current weilder.

~Suffering, for Monsters such as myself, is the reward we get for all our hard work, though not all Sith openly seek it out. In a battle, that is the first thing I wish to experience, the suffering of my foe. To make one fear you, gives you power over them for a time, to make one suffer because of your actions, gives you power over them til death. The woman who is not in this painting, left out on purpose, was the target of my greatest achievement in suffering, and the feast for a time never ended. Her immediate family's line wiped out and captured for eternity, whose consequences have for ever change her and myself. I will not taste such suffering again, until the day I face the target of my hatred, and force her to bleed endlessly for what she has done.~

[Fari-Fax]

Fari could see the monster behind Rakai’s eyes, though it was hard for the girl to recognize it. So far, her Master has been good to her, and patient with her slow progress in understanding the ways of the Sith. But deep down, it was as if she felt what he was saying more than understand it. There was a monster in her too, maybe the two called out for each other.

“What did she do to you?” Fari asked with an innocent curiosity. She looked at the painting and at the now deceased family, minus one. She could see how Rakai enjoyed his work, to go to this lengths was impressive and dark. She wondered if she’d ever manage to do anything just as horrific in her own lifetime.

[Rakai]

Looking over his Pupil, tk the lightsabers on display, the red rings around his yellow eyes shimmered slightly.

~She took something from me, at a point where I could do nothing to stop it either way. I can never get back what I had and trying to replace it has proven futile. My one desire is to feed on her suffering for as long as she can live with my claws deep into her flesh. ~

N'yssa Farifax would have to some day pay for what she did, but at his current strength, and lack of number in allies, it seemed so far of.

All that time spent thinking about her though, blood had been trailing from Rakai's palms, the knife-like fingers having dug right through the gauntlets protecting his hands, and all the while he not noticing.