Post by Cain on Feb 10, 2011 13:41:42 GMT -5
((Disclaimer: For those of you familiar with the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, this is a nod to him. This short story is a parody of his "Young Goodman Brown". I've used some of my own characters for this parody, and one of Mooney's, so try not to be too confused by the names. xD))
Ryuu found himself then at the beginning of his journey. He stood outside of what he recognized to be his home in the small, familiar village in which he was raised. The days had begun to grow colder and indeed the breath of winter hung heavily on the air. The sun was settling now beneath the trees of the forest where his journey would soon take him, their shadows reaching out from the wilderness and creeping over the threshold of Ryuu's tiny home.
As Ryuu readied himself to leave, his fellow Jedi, Moonfire, Kyo and Master Si Quan came to see him off.
"Must you go, my love?" Asked Moonfire first, her dark hair tied off in the back with a pretty purple ribbon, "Could you not stay tonight with me? Would it be impossible for you and I to share one another's comfort, to hold each other until the darkness of this night has passed?"
"Surely, I wish such were possible," replied Ryuu, "but mine is a task that must be carried out without delay. Hold on to your affections my love. I shall have returned by first light tomorrow, and then you and I might hold each other again."
"Please stay, brother!" Kyo then cried, "We've all prepared a great feast in your honor. Stay with us. Eat, drink and celebrate to your heart's content. Let us lose ourselves in these bonds of brotherhood until the shadows have lifted."
"Surely, I wish such were possible," Ryuu replied once more, "but my task leaves no room for undue celebration. Save your lightheartedness for the morning when I've seen to what must be done. Then you and I may celebrate together."
"Do not stray from us, Padawan," Master Quan finally implored, "remain with us tonight so that you might train. Remember the teaching of the Jedi to which you've so fervently and admirably dedicated yourself. Let that which you have learned guide you through this blackness to the light on the other side."
"Surely, I wish such were possible," Ryuu repeated, "but I must carry out this task, for my own sake and for all of yours. Wait for me, Master. I shall return from my task all the wiser and then I shall be able to become the Jedi you had always hoped I might be."
"Then may the Force be with you," replied Ryuu's Jedi friends, to which Ryuu gave a solemn nod before departing into the wilderness.
Poor Jedi, thought Ryuu to himself, What a wretch I am to leave them there all alone. Each campaigning with such vigor for me to stay as if some precognition of danger had enticed them to lead me a stray from this path I now walk. But no, it could not be as such. I will take this one night, and by the morrow I will be in their company once more!
Satisfying himself with this, Ryuu set off, determined in his evil purpose. He had taken a sullen and twisted path into the forest. The trees bent inward over him, the natural world contorting itself into all manner of unrecognizable, unnatural states. Though the trees themselves commanded a great feel of unease, it was the darkness itself that pervaded all. The shadows that fell over every surface seemed to suffocate Ryuu to the point where one could scarcely tell what devilry resided a meter to either side. Indeed, Ryuu conceived, it was possible that the Dark Lord of the Sith himself could be at his very elbow.
With renewed haste, Ryuu pressed forward until he came to a fork in the road. There the young Jedi paused, glancing down the path which led to the west... then to the east. With some uncertainty he craned his neck back around to face down the path from whence he came. There a shadowy figure sat reclined by the base of a sturdy oak. The old man wore plain, unassuming garments and held a pipe up to his lips which curled in a mischievous sneer upon spotting Ryuu.
"Young Padawan," the old man said, raising himself up to his feet, "You're late. The old clock that stands within the halls of Coruscant had tolled midnight as I passed, and that was some time ago... come, there is work to be done."
"The Jedi delayed me..." Ryuu replied, following the old man as he now led the way deeper into the forest. The man himself, though dressed plainly as might a vagrant, seemed to have an heir of dignity about him. It would not have seemed strange to Ryuu to have seen this man in the halls of the Jedi Temple, consorting with the highest of Masters. There was a worldly wisdom to the old man that compelled Ryuu to follow. The only thing that this aged traveler bore that could considered out of the ordinary was his lightsaber. Yes, the weapon of a Jedi was an odd sight on the person of so plain a man, but stranger still was the craftsmanship of this particular hilt. It was made of a material as black as the night sky overhead, and was twisted like some sort of serpent. So remarkable was this resemblance in fact that one might have expected it to slither off from the old man's hip at any moment.
"Hurry, young Jedi!" the man called back to Ryuu, "if the bows of the humbled oaks should impede you then I offer you my lightsaber to ease your passage."
Ryuu considered this offer before stopping his pace, "My friend... I believe I've fulfilled my end of the bargain in meeting you here," Ryuu said uncertainly, "perhaps now it would be best if I turned back and returned from whence I came."
"Oh?" the old man responded, glancing over his shoulder back at Ryuu, his eyes glowing dully over the shadows of the deep forest, "If that is your wish... but let us not linger. Come, let us walk and discuss this as we go."
Reluctantly Ryuu followed, his feet tracing the old man's path as if by a will not his own, "No! We've gone far enough!" Ryuu cried, though still following, "Master Quan never ventured this far, of that I am certain. And surely he would not have had company such as-"
"Such as myself?" the traveler replied, a knowing grin on his face as turned back once more to acknowledge young Ryuu, "It just so happens that I know your master well. In fact, I am well acquainted with all of the Jedi. I was with Master Quan when he witnessed his father's demise. I stood by him as his apathy led his good friend Miles to his doom. Many a Jedi have I guided in times of pain and uncertainty, Young Padawan Sartori."
"Strange that he would not have mentioned you..." Ryuu observed, "I think I might have remembered such an influential acquaintance."
"You might think it strange, but it is of little surprise to me," The old man answered, "My assistance has not always been welcomed by the Jedi. Few among your kind are quick to embrace the assistance I give by name."
Vexed by this, Ryuu went silent to attempt and piece together the meaning of what this traveler with the twisted saber spoke.
"If you might excuse me a moment, young Jedi," the old man said, interrupting Ryuu's train of thought, "there are others in this wood who might require my guidance." Ryuu nodded his collaboration with the traveler and held back while the old man moved off the path the two had shared and into the shadows or the forest. Sinking down behind the gnarled wood of a nearby tree Ryuu watched as the old man approached a woman alone in the dark. It seemed strange to Ryuu that such a frail and fair lady would have ventured this deep into the wilderness on her own. Straining through the darkness Ryuu at last recognized the face of Jedi Master Kitana. She was one of the masters who had taught Ryuu the Jedi Code when he was but a Youngling.
The old traveler approached her from behind and upon laying his pale hand on her shoulder she cried, "It is the Lord of the Sith!"
"Ahhh," The old man replied, "It seems the Lady has not forgotten her old friend, then."
"Certainly not," the young woman proclaimed, straitening up.
"And what would my Lady be doing so off the beaten path in so dark a wood?" the traveler asked.
"My Lord, surely you know," the woman responded with a cackle, "I was on my way to the meeting when I misplaced the blade you presented to me upon our last encounter. Without its light I found myself lost and overcome by the tangling wood. But now that you're here my Lord, let me take your arm and we shall be there in no time at all."
"Lend you my arm? Surely, I wish such were possible," replied the old man, "But you see I have business with the posterity of the Jedi Order this night. Though if it should be your wish I could lend you my own lightsaber..."
As the old man summoned his weapon from his side its blade ignited and its light washed over the forest like a shower of crimson blood. Astonished, Ryuu could only look away and when his eyes regained their composure, Ryuu glanced back only to find his traveling companion ahead of him on the path, waiting.
"That... that was Master Kitana," Ryuu uttered, "She taught me the Jedi Code!" Unfazed the man beckoned Ryuu forward and with weary consent he obliged. The two pressed onward, the older man quickening his pace as if to press upon Ryuu the urgency of their evil purpose. At last Ryuu could take it no longer. Turning sharply on his heel Ryuu halted his steps and sat himself down upon a fallen log.
"Friend, I've made my decision," Ryuu announced confidently, "I will go no farther. So what if a Master such as Kitana should elect to go into the darkness with the Lord of the Sith when I had thought she believed firmly in the code of the Jedi! Is that any reason for me to leave behind those close to me... my Love, my Brother, my Master!?"
The old traveler nodded humbly, lending credence to Ryuu's arguments as if they were some great thing of wisdom, "Indeed..." replied he, "Though I predict you will think better of this with a bit of time. Sit here then and rest. When you are ready you can catch up with me. I will leave you my lightsaber to aid the remainder of your journey."
With that, Ryuu's traveling companion cast the hilt of his serpentine lightsaber at the young Padawan's feet and, just as quickly as he'd appeared, the old man vanished into the infinite blackness ahead.
Alone now, Ryuu sat and pondered what he might say to the Masters upon his return. Would he still find himself able to look Master Quan in the eye? Oh, what peace might have been his if only he'd listened to the others and stayed back with them this night.
During these long meditations Ryuu was suddenly interrupted by the high pitched hum of an incoming speeder bike. Quickly Ryuu ducked down behind his log to conceal himself from those heading up the path he had been traveling himself. Just a ways down the path a pair of speeders powered down and the two riders began to bicker over the course they should continue on to get to their meeting. To Ryuu's amazement the two riders were none other then Master Quan and Master Maha.
"Truth be told, I'd much prefer the comfort of the library to these late night meetings," the voice of Master Maha spoke to the darkness, "But alas, it seems there is to be considerable youth taken into our circle tonight. Word has even reached my ear of pure young woman who is to have her chains broken at this mass."
"Promising!" the voice of Master Quan replied, "promising indeed! Let us hurry, we would not want to be late, Master." The speeder engines then hissed again and the bikes were off once more into the night. Ryuu pulled himself to his feet before gripping hard on a nearby tree, lest he sink with his idealistic heart unto the ground beneath. In that moment he gazed up at the sky, doubting whether the code he'd been raised to believe was any bit the truth he'd once thought.
No! Ryuu exclaimed to himself, I will not waver! By the power of the Force I will stand against the Sith and all that they represent! Ryuu then sat himself down along the path and closed his eyes in meditation. He sought to center himself, to somehow rekindle the strength of the Light Side which might lead back down the path he'd strayed so far on to; back to his quiet home and simple life.
Then a sound pervaded Ryuu's ear, a sound so faint that he scarcely registered hearing it at first. It was the mingling of familiar voices, voices Ryuu had heard in the halls of the Jedi Temple. Curious, Ryuu rose once more. One of the voices Ryuu could hear clearly, it was the voice of a young woman.
"Moonfire?..." Ryuu questioned. He was certain the voice was hers. She was repeating over and over a chant of some kind, it sounded like the Jedi Code.
"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no death, there is the Force."
Though despite her chants of those familiar words, the unseen masses of others, Jedi and Sith, seemed to encourage the poor woman onward. With great Alarm Ryuu rushed to the source, though despite his haste the forest did not bend back to bade him passage. It left no light at the end of the tunnel for him to come to his Love's side. Instead all Ryuu found was a lone purple ribbon, fallen on the path before him.
With great despair Ryuu fell to his knees, cursing himself and cursing those around him. He cursed them for his being lost in this tangled wood. He cursed them for not making an adequate effort to stop him. But most of all he cursed them for their hypocrisy; for their code with which they themselves shirked in the dead of night, condemning those who held belief in their Masters and the Jedi Code to such a wretched fate.
The darkness then seemed to saturate every fiber of Ryuu's being. The twisted woods and unspeakable terrors that lurked in the wilds wrapped themselves all around the fallen Jedi, but it was Ryuu himself who was the chief horror of this scene. No longer did he recoil from the deep dark all around him. The wind howled and the trees groaned and Ryuu roared then with mad laughter in response.
"You think this will hold me back, Dark Lord!?" Ryuu called into the shadows, "I no longer have any cause to fear the Dark Side! So hit me then, hit me with everything your dark power can provide you! For I intend to strike out at you as well! Here rises Ryuu Sartori, you might as well fear him as he fears you!"
In a frenzy Ryuu raced into the darkness, no longer with any regard for his destination. He bore the twisted lightsaber of the Sith in his hand and wielded the crimson blade with careless disregard, swinging it to and fro wildly as he charged forward. It was then that Ryuu could see a light off in the distance; a deep red light much more sinister then that of his own blade. Ryuu followed this bloody light and came out upon a scene of unfathomable horror. Masses of Jedi and Sith stood before a ring of fire blazing upward around an alter. Strangely neither the Jedi nor Sith recoiled from the other, instead all were joined in a low rhythmic chant of words which Ryuu, in that moment, could not understand. They were of some alien tongue, likely ancient Sith. Upon the alter sat the old man, Ryuu's traveling companion. Ryuu was then brought up onto the alter and bound next to a fair young woman. Ryuu glanced over at the pale face of his Love who weakly raised her gaze to meet his.
"Moonfire! Do not quit the chanting of the Jedi Code," Ryuu called to her, "All of you! We can drown them out if we only should lend our voices to each other!"
"Welcome, my children!" Interrupted the Dark Lord, "To the communion of your race... Look around you, Young Padawan. Before you you now see all those whom you held in high esteem in your youth. All those whom you considered greater, nobler, wiser then yourself and from whom you sought to hide your own imperfection. But, alas! let it be seen now to you the imperfection of their perfection. Tonight you will learn of the good Grand Master's own judgment of a thousand souls he sent plummeting to their deaths on a whim. You will learn of the kind and gentle Kitana's vanity and attachment to worldly pleasures which perverts the Force she claims to exalt. You will hear the tale of how your beloved Master Quan had dug a grave for his own father and invited me, the sole guest, to the old man's funeral. You will learn of how your own Brother has lusted after your Love and she to him in kind!"
The Lord of the Sith's lips curled, a sneer of wicked satisfaction as the fire around them on the alter grew larger, "Oh... why do you despair Young Padawan?" the Dark Lord asked to Ryuu, "was it that you depended upon these great and powerful Jedi as some symbol of hope that the Jedi Code and the goodness of all mankind was not merely a fable? Now you see the truth! Darkness is the true nature of the galaxy. Darkness can be your only happiness, for there is no truth by any other path! Welcome again, my child... to the communion of your race."
It was then the chanting of the masses became clear to Ryuu's ears. The words of the Jedi Code were drowned out by the black speak of the Sith which now seemed as intelligible as Galactic Basic. Over and over they chanted...
"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."
Ryuu awoke the next morning and wandered wearily through the halls of the great Jedi Temple, his eyes darting and falling upon each Jedi he passed with suspicion and condemnation. Master Maha, on his way to the council chambers, offered Ryuu a friendly greeting, only to have the Young Padawan shrink away from him as if to avoid some sort of plague.
Ryuu then came across his brother, Kyo, his arm slung over Moonfire as the two conversed and laughed together. Ryuu's gaze fixed on the two, and a deep darkness pulled at the pit of his stomach. All too aware of his passions now bubbling up inside him, Ryuu gave pause; had it all just been a vision? Had he passed out in the woods and simply dreamed up the dark mass? Whether it was or was not, it was a omen, a vision of the future, for certain! The future was always in motion, but how could so dark a premonition be anything but the truth?
When now the Masters spoke of the Jedi Code, Ryuu could feel his blood run cold, and when the other Jedi attempted to impress upon him some righteous wisdom of charity and peace, he only returned them a stern look and some dark words muttered beneath his breath... "Peace is a lie..."
Ryuu found himself then at the beginning of his journey. He stood outside of what he recognized to be his home in the small, familiar village in which he was raised. The days had begun to grow colder and indeed the breath of winter hung heavily on the air. The sun was settling now beneath the trees of the forest where his journey would soon take him, their shadows reaching out from the wilderness and creeping over the threshold of Ryuu's tiny home.
As Ryuu readied himself to leave, his fellow Jedi, Moonfire, Kyo and Master Si Quan came to see him off.
"Must you go, my love?" Asked Moonfire first, her dark hair tied off in the back with a pretty purple ribbon, "Could you not stay tonight with me? Would it be impossible for you and I to share one another's comfort, to hold each other until the darkness of this night has passed?"
"Surely, I wish such were possible," replied Ryuu, "but mine is a task that must be carried out without delay. Hold on to your affections my love. I shall have returned by first light tomorrow, and then you and I might hold each other again."
"Please stay, brother!" Kyo then cried, "We've all prepared a great feast in your honor. Stay with us. Eat, drink and celebrate to your heart's content. Let us lose ourselves in these bonds of brotherhood until the shadows have lifted."
"Surely, I wish such were possible," Ryuu replied once more, "but my task leaves no room for undue celebration. Save your lightheartedness for the morning when I've seen to what must be done. Then you and I may celebrate together."
"Do not stray from us, Padawan," Master Quan finally implored, "remain with us tonight so that you might train. Remember the teaching of the Jedi to which you've so fervently and admirably dedicated yourself. Let that which you have learned guide you through this blackness to the light on the other side."
"Surely, I wish such were possible," Ryuu repeated, "but I must carry out this task, for my own sake and for all of yours. Wait for me, Master. I shall return from my task all the wiser and then I shall be able to become the Jedi you had always hoped I might be."
"Then may the Force be with you," replied Ryuu's Jedi friends, to which Ryuu gave a solemn nod before departing into the wilderness.
Poor Jedi, thought Ryuu to himself, What a wretch I am to leave them there all alone. Each campaigning with such vigor for me to stay as if some precognition of danger had enticed them to lead me a stray from this path I now walk. But no, it could not be as such. I will take this one night, and by the morrow I will be in their company once more!
Satisfying himself with this, Ryuu set off, determined in his evil purpose. He had taken a sullen and twisted path into the forest. The trees bent inward over him, the natural world contorting itself into all manner of unrecognizable, unnatural states. Though the trees themselves commanded a great feel of unease, it was the darkness itself that pervaded all. The shadows that fell over every surface seemed to suffocate Ryuu to the point where one could scarcely tell what devilry resided a meter to either side. Indeed, Ryuu conceived, it was possible that the Dark Lord of the Sith himself could be at his very elbow.
With renewed haste, Ryuu pressed forward until he came to a fork in the road. There the young Jedi paused, glancing down the path which led to the west... then to the east. With some uncertainty he craned his neck back around to face down the path from whence he came. There a shadowy figure sat reclined by the base of a sturdy oak. The old man wore plain, unassuming garments and held a pipe up to his lips which curled in a mischievous sneer upon spotting Ryuu.
"Young Padawan," the old man said, raising himself up to his feet, "You're late. The old clock that stands within the halls of Coruscant had tolled midnight as I passed, and that was some time ago... come, there is work to be done."
"The Jedi delayed me..." Ryuu replied, following the old man as he now led the way deeper into the forest. The man himself, though dressed plainly as might a vagrant, seemed to have an heir of dignity about him. It would not have seemed strange to Ryuu to have seen this man in the halls of the Jedi Temple, consorting with the highest of Masters. There was a worldly wisdom to the old man that compelled Ryuu to follow. The only thing that this aged traveler bore that could considered out of the ordinary was his lightsaber. Yes, the weapon of a Jedi was an odd sight on the person of so plain a man, but stranger still was the craftsmanship of this particular hilt. It was made of a material as black as the night sky overhead, and was twisted like some sort of serpent. So remarkable was this resemblance in fact that one might have expected it to slither off from the old man's hip at any moment.
"Hurry, young Jedi!" the man called back to Ryuu, "if the bows of the humbled oaks should impede you then I offer you my lightsaber to ease your passage."
Ryuu considered this offer before stopping his pace, "My friend... I believe I've fulfilled my end of the bargain in meeting you here," Ryuu said uncertainly, "perhaps now it would be best if I turned back and returned from whence I came."
"Oh?" the old man responded, glancing over his shoulder back at Ryuu, his eyes glowing dully over the shadows of the deep forest, "If that is your wish... but let us not linger. Come, let us walk and discuss this as we go."
Reluctantly Ryuu followed, his feet tracing the old man's path as if by a will not his own, "No! We've gone far enough!" Ryuu cried, though still following, "Master Quan never ventured this far, of that I am certain. And surely he would not have had company such as-"
"Such as myself?" the traveler replied, a knowing grin on his face as turned back once more to acknowledge young Ryuu, "It just so happens that I know your master well. In fact, I am well acquainted with all of the Jedi. I was with Master Quan when he witnessed his father's demise. I stood by him as his apathy led his good friend Miles to his doom. Many a Jedi have I guided in times of pain and uncertainty, Young Padawan Sartori."
"Strange that he would not have mentioned you..." Ryuu observed, "I think I might have remembered such an influential acquaintance."
"You might think it strange, but it is of little surprise to me," The old man answered, "My assistance has not always been welcomed by the Jedi. Few among your kind are quick to embrace the assistance I give by name."
Vexed by this, Ryuu went silent to attempt and piece together the meaning of what this traveler with the twisted saber spoke.
"If you might excuse me a moment, young Jedi," the old man said, interrupting Ryuu's train of thought, "there are others in this wood who might require my guidance." Ryuu nodded his collaboration with the traveler and held back while the old man moved off the path the two had shared and into the shadows or the forest. Sinking down behind the gnarled wood of a nearby tree Ryuu watched as the old man approached a woman alone in the dark. It seemed strange to Ryuu that such a frail and fair lady would have ventured this deep into the wilderness on her own. Straining through the darkness Ryuu at last recognized the face of Jedi Master Kitana. She was one of the masters who had taught Ryuu the Jedi Code when he was but a Youngling.
The old traveler approached her from behind and upon laying his pale hand on her shoulder she cried, "It is the Lord of the Sith!"
"Ahhh," The old man replied, "It seems the Lady has not forgotten her old friend, then."
"Certainly not," the young woman proclaimed, straitening up.
"And what would my Lady be doing so off the beaten path in so dark a wood?" the traveler asked.
"My Lord, surely you know," the woman responded with a cackle, "I was on my way to the meeting when I misplaced the blade you presented to me upon our last encounter. Without its light I found myself lost and overcome by the tangling wood. But now that you're here my Lord, let me take your arm and we shall be there in no time at all."
"Lend you my arm? Surely, I wish such were possible," replied the old man, "But you see I have business with the posterity of the Jedi Order this night. Though if it should be your wish I could lend you my own lightsaber..."
As the old man summoned his weapon from his side its blade ignited and its light washed over the forest like a shower of crimson blood. Astonished, Ryuu could only look away and when his eyes regained their composure, Ryuu glanced back only to find his traveling companion ahead of him on the path, waiting.
"That... that was Master Kitana," Ryuu uttered, "She taught me the Jedi Code!" Unfazed the man beckoned Ryuu forward and with weary consent he obliged. The two pressed onward, the older man quickening his pace as if to press upon Ryuu the urgency of their evil purpose. At last Ryuu could take it no longer. Turning sharply on his heel Ryuu halted his steps and sat himself down upon a fallen log.
"Friend, I've made my decision," Ryuu announced confidently, "I will go no farther. So what if a Master such as Kitana should elect to go into the darkness with the Lord of the Sith when I had thought she believed firmly in the code of the Jedi! Is that any reason for me to leave behind those close to me... my Love, my Brother, my Master!?"
The old traveler nodded humbly, lending credence to Ryuu's arguments as if they were some great thing of wisdom, "Indeed..." replied he, "Though I predict you will think better of this with a bit of time. Sit here then and rest. When you are ready you can catch up with me. I will leave you my lightsaber to aid the remainder of your journey."
With that, Ryuu's traveling companion cast the hilt of his serpentine lightsaber at the young Padawan's feet and, just as quickly as he'd appeared, the old man vanished into the infinite blackness ahead.
Alone now, Ryuu sat and pondered what he might say to the Masters upon his return. Would he still find himself able to look Master Quan in the eye? Oh, what peace might have been his if only he'd listened to the others and stayed back with them this night.
During these long meditations Ryuu was suddenly interrupted by the high pitched hum of an incoming speeder bike. Quickly Ryuu ducked down behind his log to conceal himself from those heading up the path he had been traveling himself. Just a ways down the path a pair of speeders powered down and the two riders began to bicker over the course they should continue on to get to their meeting. To Ryuu's amazement the two riders were none other then Master Quan and Master Maha.
"Truth be told, I'd much prefer the comfort of the library to these late night meetings," the voice of Master Maha spoke to the darkness, "But alas, it seems there is to be considerable youth taken into our circle tonight. Word has even reached my ear of pure young woman who is to have her chains broken at this mass."
"Promising!" the voice of Master Quan replied, "promising indeed! Let us hurry, we would not want to be late, Master." The speeder engines then hissed again and the bikes were off once more into the night. Ryuu pulled himself to his feet before gripping hard on a nearby tree, lest he sink with his idealistic heart unto the ground beneath. In that moment he gazed up at the sky, doubting whether the code he'd been raised to believe was any bit the truth he'd once thought.
No! Ryuu exclaimed to himself, I will not waver! By the power of the Force I will stand against the Sith and all that they represent! Ryuu then sat himself down along the path and closed his eyes in meditation. He sought to center himself, to somehow rekindle the strength of the Light Side which might lead back down the path he'd strayed so far on to; back to his quiet home and simple life.
Then a sound pervaded Ryuu's ear, a sound so faint that he scarcely registered hearing it at first. It was the mingling of familiar voices, voices Ryuu had heard in the halls of the Jedi Temple. Curious, Ryuu rose once more. One of the voices Ryuu could hear clearly, it was the voice of a young woman.
"Moonfire?..." Ryuu questioned. He was certain the voice was hers. She was repeating over and over a chant of some kind, it sounded like the Jedi Code.
"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no death, there is the Force."
Though despite her chants of those familiar words, the unseen masses of others, Jedi and Sith, seemed to encourage the poor woman onward. With great Alarm Ryuu rushed to the source, though despite his haste the forest did not bend back to bade him passage. It left no light at the end of the tunnel for him to come to his Love's side. Instead all Ryuu found was a lone purple ribbon, fallen on the path before him.
With great despair Ryuu fell to his knees, cursing himself and cursing those around him. He cursed them for his being lost in this tangled wood. He cursed them for not making an adequate effort to stop him. But most of all he cursed them for their hypocrisy; for their code with which they themselves shirked in the dead of night, condemning those who held belief in their Masters and the Jedi Code to such a wretched fate.
The darkness then seemed to saturate every fiber of Ryuu's being. The twisted woods and unspeakable terrors that lurked in the wilds wrapped themselves all around the fallen Jedi, but it was Ryuu himself who was the chief horror of this scene. No longer did he recoil from the deep dark all around him. The wind howled and the trees groaned and Ryuu roared then with mad laughter in response.
"You think this will hold me back, Dark Lord!?" Ryuu called into the shadows, "I no longer have any cause to fear the Dark Side! So hit me then, hit me with everything your dark power can provide you! For I intend to strike out at you as well! Here rises Ryuu Sartori, you might as well fear him as he fears you!"
In a frenzy Ryuu raced into the darkness, no longer with any regard for his destination. He bore the twisted lightsaber of the Sith in his hand and wielded the crimson blade with careless disregard, swinging it to and fro wildly as he charged forward. It was then that Ryuu could see a light off in the distance; a deep red light much more sinister then that of his own blade. Ryuu followed this bloody light and came out upon a scene of unfathomable horror. Masses of Jedi and Sith stood before a ring of fire blazing upward around an alter. Strangely neither the Jedi nor Sith recoiled from the other, instead all were joined in a low rhythmic chant of words which Ryuu, in that moment, could not understand. They were of some alien tongue, likely ancient Sith. Upon the alter sat the old man, Ryuu's traveling companion. Ryuu was then brought up onto the alter and bound next to a fair young woman. Ryuu glanced over at the pale face of his Love who weakly raised her gaze to meet his.
"Moonfire! Do not quit the chanting of the Jedi Code," Ryuu called to her, "All of you! We can drown them out if we only should lend our voices to each other!"
"Welcome, my children!" Interrupted the Dark Lord, "To the communion of your race... Look around you, Young Padawan. Before you you now see all those whom you held in high esteem in your youth. All those whom you considered greater, nobler, wiser then yourself and from whom you sought to hide your own imperfection. But, alas! let it be seen now to you the imperfection of their perfection. Tonight you will learn of the good Grand Master's own judgment of a thousand souls he sent plummeting to their deaths on a whim. You will learn of the kind and gentle Kitana's vanity and attachment to worldly pleasures which perverts the Force she claims to exalt. You will hear the tale of how your beloved Master Quan had dug a grave for his own father and invited me, the sole guest, to the old man's funeral. You will learn of how your own Brother has lusted after your Love and she to him in kind!"
The Lord of the Sith's lips curled, a sneer of wicked satisfaction as the fire around them on the alter grew larger, "Oh... why do you despair Young Padawan?" the Dark Lord asked to Ryuu, "was it that you depended upon these great and powerful Jedi as some symbol of hope that the Jedi Code and the goodness of all mankind was not merely a fable? Now you see the truth! Darkness is the true nature of the galaxy. Darkness can be your only happiness, for there is no truth by any other path! Welcome again, my child... to the communion of your race."
It was then the chanting of the masses became clear to Ryuu's ears. The words of the Jedi Code were drowned out by the black speak of the Sith which now seemed as intelligible as Galactic Basic. Over and over they chanted...
"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."
Ryuu awoke the next morning and wandered wearily through the halls of the great Jedi Temple, his eyes darting and falling upon each Jedi he passed with suspicion and condemnation. Master Maha, on his way to the council chambers, offered Ryuu a friendly greeting, only to have the Young Padawan shrink away from him as if to avoid some sort of plague.
Ryuu then came across his brother, Kyo, his arm slung over Moonfire as the two conversed and laughed together. Ryuu's gaze fixed on the two, and a deep darkness pulled at the pit of his stomach. All too aware of his passions now bubbling up inside him, Ryuu gave pause; had it all just been a vision? Had he passed out in the woods and simply dreamed up the dark mass? Whether it was or was not, it was a omen, a vision of the future, for certain! The future was always in motion, but how could so dark a premonition be anything but the truth?
When now the Masters spoke of the Jedi Code, Ryuu could feel his blood run cold, and when the other Jedi attempted to impress upon him some righteous wisdom of charity and peace, he only returned them a stern look and some dark words muttered beneath his breath... "Peace is a lie..."