When is a Sith, not a Sith? (Open)

[Meraxa]

"Peace is a lie. There is only passion..." The words echoed throughout the chamber, the only light source coming from a small datapad.
"Through passion, I gain strength." So too, did these echo, both in the boy's room and in his mind.
"Through strength, I gain power." But no matter how much they echoed, the truth simply failed to come.
"Through power, I gain victory." And without the truth within these words, he could not hope to advance among his peers.
"Through victory, my chains are broken." The problem specifically for him was... well...
"The Force shall free me." He just didn't get how this was supposed to even apply to him, or heck, the Sith as a whole.

He tossed down the datapad, using the force to hit the switch for the lights. The sudden illumination revealed the cluttered mess which was his residence within the Temple. Books, datapads, a great many sources of information were scattered about, some open and ready to read, others appeared completely untouched. And sat at a small table, with some of those books and datapads, was Derriphan. A young sith initiate, who whilst in a way of this world, was distant with regards to understanding the ancient practices that had been founded here.

He slumped back in his chair, face blocked by his hand as thumb and index finger stretched to his temples, before drawing closer to comfort the itch around his nose.
"If peace is a lie... then how does that work with Master Iniquitous' plan?" That was just one of many problems he saw within the code. Master Iniquitous had sworn that the Sith would bring to the galaxy the peace that the Jedi and Republic had apparently promised, but failed to act upon. And of course he didn't exactly feel like he had any chains upon himself...

"Maybe I'm being too literal here?" He sighed as he continued to ponder on the code, as the Dark Jedi (though now fellow initiate) had advised him to. The man had raised Derriphan from childbirth, and yet despite feeling as if he knew much about the man, was often still confused by his actions. The fact that he did not even know the man's name did not help matters. And neither did the sudden shift from practicing the art of lightsaber combat to analyzing an ancient set of sith principals.

He gave a sidewards glance towards the weapon he had constructed. Its blade burned even hotter than a standard lightsaber, a side effect of the Lignan Crystal inside it. It almost seemed wasted just lying there, but he didn't want to make such feelings obvious, or else some of the other initiates might just get cocky. Not that some weren't already around him, considering that he was one of the youngest initiates at the temple. From what he understood, most of the people here would be well on their way to be Jedi Knights if they were part of that particular Order. But here? Even a mere teenager like him could be considered their equal.

Or at least in theory anyway. There were differences within the initiates of course, due to some having previously been fully fledged Dark Jedi, with full training, unlike him, who'd previously been a neophyte at best. That might explain why, as the war against the Jedi hadn't exactly started only yesterday, despite the amount of time available, he had yet to see the battlefield. Admittedly, the chance to not be killing hundreds of people was rather preferable to him, though it did make one feel a bit like a dead weight. As he held such thoughts within his mind, he could feel someone approaching, though not specifically who. He used telekinesis to clean up most of the mess, arranging the various books and datapads into neat piles.
"Its open." Was all he said, just wondering who could want to speak with him. Perhaps they were lost.

[Fell]

Varan Raeth slipped the datapad into his pocket the moment the boy passed out of sight down one of the many winding stone corridors in the Sith Temple. He didn't know what was on it, but he wasn't stupid enough to pass up on an opportunity lying right in front of him on the floor. It was unlikely someone so young would have anything carrying true knowledge and power, but one could never be certain. Besides, anyone careless enough to drop something clearly didn't deserve to keep it.

Once he was back in the safety of his own quarters, Varan searched through the files on the datapad. At first he couldn't believe his eyes; there was some sort of Sith text recorded on here! His excitement quickly vanished, however, when he realized that the words in the datapad were familiar to him. It was a treatise on the Force by the ancient Sith Dor Gal-ram that Varan had read in the library not two weeks ago. No matter, he thought. He hadn't paid anything for the chance to obtain the datapad, so it mattered little if it didn't pay off.

Or hadn't it? Someone as young as the boy would be easy to manipulate. Perhaps a second opportunity was at hand...

* * *

It was easy enough to find out who the boy was and where his quarters were. Varan was intrigued by the circumstances surrounding this Derriphan and his former master. What all of that meant for him was uncertain, but there was a chance to gain power from this, of that he was certain.

"It's open," said a voice. Varan opened the door to find Derriphan lounging in a chair in one corner of the room. The boy was not unhandsome, although he was not particularly remarkable. He studied his guest with mild curiosity, but his full focus seemed to be elsewhere. A gentle mental touch by Varan revealed the boy to have basic defenses around his mind. They would provide little protection against a telepath of Varan's caliber, but even so, Varan decided it would be best not to meddle with this one's brain. Derriphan could prove to be a useful ally or tool in the future. Reading his thoughts now was not worth the minor risk of detection, at least not yet.

All of these things happened in the time it took Varan to finish opening the door. He pulled the datapad he had recovered earlier out of his pocket and held it out to Derriphan. "I found this in one of the hallways. The registration says it belongs to you." He emitted the faintest aura of friendliness and trust through the Force as he spoke. Projecting emotions was harder to pull off on a Force-sensitive, but he was confident that such a low level manipulation would go by unnoticed.

[Meraxa]

Derriphan gave little more than a sideways glance as his guest entered the room, though it was enough to take a rough estimate of him. It was one of the older initiates, a man at least into their late thirties if not early forties. Giving a little more focus, Derriphan could sense the initiate's power, which was admittedly quite great. If one were not a sith and thus knew not of those who held the title of Sith Lord, then it might have been possible to mistake the man for one. Well, such a thing would come in handy against the Jedi he supposed...

The man who entered pulled out a datapad, Derriphan looking to one of the many piles he had stacked around the room. Perhaps...
"I found this in one of the hallways. The registration says it belongs to you." The man said as he held out the datapad to Derriphan, who took hold of the datapad, looking to verify the claim.
"Why it would appear that it does. Thank you for delivering it to me." He said as he began to read through the datapad's contents.

It was admittedly largely unremarkable, being written by a Sith Lord who whilst notable, was not worth much when it came to teaching to live by. The fact that the being had been outmaneuvered by Naga Sadow and killed by his own crew helped strengthen Derriphan's opinion of him. Speaking of opinions, his of the initiate was mixed. The man seemed friendly enough, so it only seemed right that he be friendly back. There was of course the risk that this Sith was merely seeking to gain something from the boy - which frankly wouldn't be unheard of - but until an actual attempt was made, he doubted he could jump to conclusions.

"Well, since its obvious you already know my name, how about your's stranger?" Derriphan asked as he put down the datapad, pulling his lightsaber to him with the force, before clipping it to his belt. He picked up a few datapads, before finding the particular one he was after. He tossed it towards the stranger, with the obvious intent that they read it.
"The tale of Yuthura Ban. You'd think the second in command of a Sith Academy would realise she'd enlisted a Jedi, let alone her old boss. I find it rather amusing in my humble opinion."

[Fell]

(OOC: Sorry for taking so long to post. I'm impressed with what you did with Dor Gal-Ram, though. You do your homework. )

Varan caught the datapad and activated it. This particular account of Yathura's life was unfamiliar to him, but he had spent enough time in the temple archives to be familiar with her story. Clearly Varan had underestimated how broad the boy's knowledge of history was, but what interested him more was why Derriphan had chosen to bring up this particular story. Was it a test? Perhaps a signal of some sort? If it was, its significance was lost on Varan. Perhaps he was just being paranoid. It wouldn't be uncommon for a Sith, after all.

He decided to give his honest reaction to the tale. "I've heard of her. She must have been strong to gain such a position, but she was a fool to let herself be deceived twice over. If she had never met Revan I might understand her first mistake, but falling back into the light--that proves her mind was weak even if her skill with a lightsaber and the Force was strong."

Derriphan appeared to be listening, so Varan continued. "Have you ever noticed that no Sith in a position of power has ever been 'redeemed?' " said Varan with a sneer. "Ulic Quel-Droma proved inferior to Exar Kun, and Revan had to have his mind ravaged for the Jedi to reclaim him. The great Sith--Andeddu, Ragnos, Nadd--they remained pure until the end. Redeption is only for those who fail to find the truth."

Varan paused to consider the boy. Perhaps being blunt was once again the best course of action. "Why do you mention Ban?"

[Meraxa]

(OOC: Thanks. Its a habit you pick up in a fandom where even the wrong colour for a shirt makes people scream in anger)

As the initiate began to read the datapad, though still having not introduced themselves, Derriphan began going through some other stories. The First Great Schism, The Great Hyperspace War... thinking about it, there were a number of 'Greats' within galactic history. Couldn't the republic think of more original names for its conflicts between it (or at least, their Jedi) and the Sith? For all they knew, this was going to end up as just another 'Great' war.

He listened to his fellow initiate's understanding and opinion of the Twi'lek known as Yuthura Ban. He particularly noted how the initiate mentioned that Ban had been 'deceived twice over', implicating both her inability to recognise Revan, and her subsequent turn to the Jedi Order. He wondered if she had been truly 'deceived', as that would mean that Revan would have had to use deception to convince her to return. But from what he read of Revan after their memory erasure, such an act would have been odd. Perhaps it was merely that the two both understood a certain point of view...

However, the initiate also brought up a very interesting, if not quite valid, point. No real Dark Lord of the Sith had ever returned to the light of their own accord, at least within their physical life times anyway. But he still somewhat on what the initiate said of redemption being only for those who did not find the truth. And what pray tell was that truth supposed to be? If it was unknown, then how could one be sure that it was the truth? But then, that could also be used as a counter to his own thoughts, so he did not explore such philosophy further.

The initiate soon took the rather direct approach of asking why exactly Derriphan had brought up Ban in the first place.
"Oh, like I said, I found it humourous. I just thought to potentially share the experience. Guess that plan didn't work too well." He gave a small smile, before stretching one arm above his head, arcing his back as he gave a low yawn.
"Ah, sorry about that, a little tired from all the reading. Still haven't had your name, thinking about it." He did want to at least know what to call this one - his former master being enigmatic was a pain, he didn't need two people pulling that act.

[Fell]

Either this Derriphan was a consummate actor, or he was far too relaxed for a place such as this. Varan had kept his guard up since the moment he first step foot on Korriban, but the boy didn't seem to care in the slightest that a complete stranger was in his room. And he was confident enough to point out Varan's mistake in failing to introduce himself... very intriguing.

"You may call me Varan," he replied. "I was a Jedi long ago, but I have come here to study and learn." He gestured toward the books and datapads scattered about the room. "You seem to be doing the same."

As Varan spoke, he noticed something about the items in the room. While the datapads gave no obvious clue as to their content, the titles of the books were all related. While there were a number of typical training manuals and treatises on the Force scattered about, many of the books were on Sith philosophy and the ancient Sith themselves. Varan would have expected someone as young as Derriphan (and many older, for that manner) to only be interested in the simplest aspects of the Dark Side and the Sith. Everyone wanted to be able to slice and dice opponents with a lightsaber or channel the Force to kill a hated enemy, but few really cared about what using those powers actually meant. Varan had to admit that the boy impressed him. That wouldn't stop Varan from stabbing him through the heart if it was likely to benefit him, of course, but even Sith could enjoy the company of others. Then again, maybe he was jumping to conclusions.

"You seem to be in the middle of something," Varan observed. "Are you researching something in particular?"

[Meraxa]

The initiate gave only a first name, assuming they had more than just that. Still, Varan was at least something to go by, so it would serve its purpose. He revealed himself to be a former Jedi, both like Derriphan's once-master, as well as many others within the Sith.
"It would indeed some like that wouldn't it?" He said, responding to the man's comment, as they had gestured to the various datapads and books scattered about.

Varan then asked as to what Derriphan was researching in particular, most likely trying to find an explanation for all of this. Derriphan gave light chuckle, thinking on how to present the answer to that.
"Well, I guess its my old master's fault really." He chuckled again, not a hint of hatred that would've normally been in there with other sith. "I mean he and I are both initiates now, but still he has me learning what I can about the Sith and their history."

He slowly circled the room, recalling fond memories and stories.
"The man was a Jedi once, like yourself. He was charged with watching over the great library of the Jedi temple, a task that he called both drearily boring, but also exciting in its own right. One way or another after that, he decided that the way of the Jedi was for him, and turned to the power of the Dark side." The explanation was brief, mainly because that was all he had managed to pry from the man on the subject.

"I guess it is for the best though. Those that do not learn from the failures of their predecessors, are only doomed to fail themselves. Or at least, thats what he says."