Under Masks Are Truths

[Dmitri]

Geist again did not expect this line of questioning. He had hypothesized questions about the project yet instead focused on him. Did she feel... pity for him?

Geist's fist clenched. "It's the only think left. Art is the only beauty left in this universe, and I shall fill it as much as I can with my art. Life, you ask? Life is too fragile. Especially in the face of the Force. None can defeat it. It only took one argument and a loss of control to lead my father to death's door. It is why I fixate with Sith Alchemy. It's an art that incorporates the Force. Uses it. I do not wish to be bound by such power. I wish to be able to weave it to create beauty, not pandemonium. Stability. That's what the galaxy needs. I will do whatever is necessary to bring it. The Jedi had their chance to bring stability but the only thing they breed is stability and weakness! Do you know how many wars occurred right after the Jedi regained control after Palpatine's purge? So many deaths. So much instability. The Sith, if they can unite and cease killing each other is the stability needed."

Geist paused, startled by his confession. He had not meant to get wild up, let alone reveal as much as he had.

 

[TweedPawn]

Della froze again. There was a long silence in the room as neither of them spoke. The tension was heavy even as Geist calmed himself down. Everything was perfectly still. They were both surprised. It was possibly the very first time they ever shared anything in common with each other.

Perhaps the questions should stop now. Now was a time for reflection.

"Yes, you are right. We all must answer the call of death. But that should be the thing that unifies us, rather than tear us apart. I am not like other Jedi, and you are not like other Sith. Should we call ourselves that and force ourselves into their doctrine, or do we try to strive for something other than dogma? I find my purpose in spreading my Light through story and song. If I can just bring hope to one person, then it is enough for me."

Della gulped.

"Things don't have to be this way. We don't have to kill each other. Violence is a cycle, and you know that. I heard once that long ago was just The Force. No Ashla, no Bogan. By our brethren murdering each other, we drift farther and farther from the truth."

 

[Dmitri]

Geist took deep breaths to relax. This brat had made him lose cool. How many politicians and killers had he confronted and kept his cool. Yet this brat with just one question tore it away. However, her latest comment held truth. There was no reason to fall to violence. She could not harm him.

"Indeed, we drift farther from the truth, so we must grasp our truth for ourselves. But just as there are many perspectives, there are just as many truths. I see no reason to fall the Sith doctrine to the letter. I care little for power. I hold no ambition. My only pride is to my art. I see no domination, or else I would have sought the Dark Council after I killed Darth Kayos, or after Darth Oseth, or after Darth Azrael. I am with the Sith, because they are the only group to allow me access to art. Alchemy is a form of the Dark Side, regardless if the Force was one-sided in the past, Della. Only with the Sith may I use my alchemy, and only with the Sith is stability in eye's glance."

 

[TweedPawn]

"Your alchemy is your art? I know nothing about that sort of thing so I won't form an opinion. I am an artist myself, however." She quietly took the chalk in her hand and began to draw on the wall next to her.

"As an artist I can understand how you would feel if you could not create." She started with a shape, it wasn't clear yet what she was drawing. It was tall, she seemed to count something on the wall. Her eyes darted from Geist to the shapes she was drawing in front of her.

"but, you say that you could never create art with the Jedi. You say that there is no stability with the Jedi." shapes became forms on the wall.

"I did not draw before I met the Jedi. I was unstable and broken by fear and anger when I was found by them. I began to express myself with them and found a talent that had been dormant. I found a focus within myself that allowed me to feel Mercy and compassion instead of anger and fear. I learned to find my own courage." It was an image of a man that started to form.

"As I learned and became one with the Light, I used the Light to create. Just as I am doing now. I create things that are tangible and non-tangible. I see you are shrouded in illusions, I wonder what about that speaks to the person within you." The man wore a dark colored suit.

"Would the sith have allowed this form of expression? Do they really share your thoughts about your form, or have they used it to their advantage? Perhaps they only tolerate your passion because it suits them. I wonder the same with the Jedi. I learned from a Bogan-born named Atreia that darkness did not have to bring suffering and hurt. Perhaps you could never be a part of the Order, but maybe there are more than two paths in front of us." The drawing started to form. It was Geist. An almost perfect replication of him sitting in his chair.

 

[Dmitri]

"I... I..." growled Geist angrily. He paused and took a deep breath. "I've had enough of these childish games. We're done here. I promised I would not harm you today, and I won't."

The door unlocked and swung open magically. Geist's body began to fade. "However, I may not be as kind next time."

Geist's body vanished.

 

[TweedPawn]

She darted out instantly. She had struck something and she understood herself to be incredibly lucky that Geist did not go back on his word. She didn't stop running until she had found a secluded place to shake and recover in. Yet, there was something strange she was understanding. He had lost his composure, but why?

Did he have humanity after all?