An Empty Pew

[The Confessor]

[fancybox2]

CORUSCANT
0700 Hours
@EmilyHuene ; @Alhon [/fancybox2]

To pray is to invite a deity into one's life. Spiritual belief is a power that can control a person's life. They give it that power. The invite a knowledge into their lives and let it dictate the how and why of everything that they do. This belief or trust can be shaken, but it can also be solidified into someone strong than love. For even people who love one another, can sometimes love something far more.

Eriana Fox was the only person in the temple today. As she was every day. She wore Sith Maraurder Armor, as was custom to her rank. But hers were tailored to fit her more petite form. She even chose to wear the armor more like a corset, which when coupled with the very leather-like tightness they gave off when hugging her body, gave her a more intimidating and dominating sort of appeal. That and the two curved-lightsabers she wore on her belt.

The Sith did not worship. They did not pray. They did not meditate or reflect. Those were Jedi beliefs. If such a person believed in them. No one had seen a Jedi in hundreds of years. Their way of life was long gone. Only the Sith remained. They built temples for their glory and pride. Sins of error and fault that would one day corrupt a better man. But yet, the Empire stood glorious as it always had. The Dark side proved stronger.

This is why Eriana prayed. She gave thanks. Her life could have been very different had she not been born with this tremendous gift. That and her other special trait. Eriana was born blind. She was literally born into darkness. What other motivator would one need to believe that the great power of the living Force had chose her as its voice? Eriana knew one day she would be someone. She knew it was her destiny to share her wisdom with her fellow Sith. They were animals. Slaves to their emotions. Eriana was not like them. Did she view herself as better than them...? Every day.

One day, they'll see what she saw....

 

[Percy Fleck]

Percy came to the temple to think. It was one of the few guaranteed quiet places on the capital world and somewhere he’d spent a lot of time over the years. Not to pay any particular homage to the Dark Side of the Force, but to the Empire that had saved him, clothed him and trained him. To reason out what it meant to serve the Imperium and how best to lead that life.

He slipped in at the back of the hall, taking one of the first pews. He’d just come from a particularly troubling assignment on Corellia. He and his counterpart had been successful of course, silencing an Old Empire informant. But the whole episode still unsettled the young Sith, leading him to seek out he silence the temple offered.

The informant wasn’t the first man he killed to protect the Empire. He wouldn’t be the last. Percy was almost sure it wasn’t the merchant’s death that was bothering him, more the increasing violence that seemed to be needed to keep their enemy in check. The weeds were sprouting faster than they could pull them up.

He looked up at that statutes and architecture all around, reaching out absent mindedly with his thoughts. Their ancestors had crushed all opposition and brought peace to the galaxy. He was strong enough to do the same, surely?

No answer came. Instead, Percy became aware of another mind further down and across the aisle. He’d never even noticed the woman before, sat statuesque in her dark robes. From behind, she had the look of another Sith.

He rose and made his away towards her, still unsure what exactly he was doing. Reaching her pew, he saw she was staring straight ahead, apparently in deep thought.

“May I sit?” he asked, his voice little more than a whisper.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

“May I sit?”

His words brought her out of her trance. She hadn't expected anyone else to be here. Tilting her head slightly to the side she would try to get a sense of who this person was. He'd feel the Force flowing through her, and also with him. She was reading him, his emotions and his mind, at least what was directly on the surface. Unless he tried to block her out of course then she'd back out completely.

From what she gathered, he was troubled. Something had upset him. Had he come here for answers? That wasn't very Sith-like. Unlike him, she couldn't see what he was wearing. The only speculation that he was a Sith like her was that she could tell a large Force presence inside him. Was it luck that he happened to come here just as she had? Eriana didn't believe in things like that. She was trained not to. The Force was a guide, a mentor, a teacher. She believed that more than anything. The Force had brought this man to her for a reason.

She was already sitting on the end of the pew, so she had two choices. Either let him walk around her and sit, or just move herself. For whatever reason, she decided to be generous and move down enough for him to sit. She didn't ever bother to look at him though. Maybe this was why she didn't leave a lot of room for him to sit? Their elbows would touch now. Had she done this intentionally?

"You work for the Imperium, no? An Acolyte I assume? Do you have a name to go along with that title?"

 

[Percy Fleck]

The woman only got more interesting. She didn’t reply immediately, turning to look off over his right shoulder as if seeing something in the middle distance. She had a deep, dangerous look about her almost made Percy pause, but gave off no open hostility.

Then he felt her. Not her gaze or her hands, but her mind, probing him, reading his thoughts and feelings. He shut her out on instinct, raising his mental barriers against intrusion. He read others. No one read him.

Yet, he almost regretted the knee jerk reaction. The other Sith rose and slid further along the pew to make room for him, her gaze once again straight ahead. Percy found himself sitting down beside her, at such close quarters that their elbows were touching.

“Percy” he replied “Percy Fleck. And yes they call me an Acolyte for now”. He found himself looking forward now; it was hard to scrutinise his counterpart when they were sat side by side.

“What’s your name then miss mind-reader? And do you go searching through the soul of everyone you meet?". He hadn't forgotten the air of danger about the woman, but he couldn't resist calling her out. Besides, he could be dangerous too.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

“Percy. Percy Fleck. And yes they call me an Acolyte for now. What’s your name then miss mind-reader? And do you go searching through the soul of everyone you meet?"

"Acolyte Eriana Fox. And yes. I do. One can never know too much about another person. And spoken aloud, people lie. They hide things. Would you bare your soul to me if I asked? No? I wouldn't think so. Nor would I. What I do...is see through the lies people tell."

She would sigh and hold out her hand sideways so that he might take hers in his if he so wished, "Will you pray with me Percy Fleck? It saddens me to say our fellow Sith do not appreciate the things they are given. So few venture here to give back."

 

[Percy Fleck]

She was right of course. Percy wouldn’t readily bare his soul to just anyone. He peered into others’ instead, in the same way this Eriana seemed to. He listened intently as she spoke, her voice both wistful and world-weary. There were so many shallow personalities in the galaxy, particularly among the Sith; uncomplicated people with narrow minds and simple desires. Eriana Fox didn’t seem any of those things. She seemed...deep.

Percy liked deep.

“There’s a lot of lies out there” he replied, effecting a mock tone of voice, “you must be quite something to see through them all”.

Then she put her hand out, inviting him to pray. Pray to who? He might have thought her a weirdass cultist if she hadn’t made herself so clear already. She was a Sith, but one with her head screwed on.

Part of Percy bristled at the thought of prayer, but a larger part refused to appear weak or indecisive. He took her hand is his own, their fingers interlocking.

“Ok, Eriana Fox, we’ll pray alright. But how about for what we’ve earned, rather than we’ve been given. I don’t know about you, but I’ve made my own way up to now”.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

“There’s a lot --- through them all”.

Eriana smirked when he spoke. Perhaps he was right. She did think rather highly of herself. It was part of her upbringing here in the Core. But she was humble in a way. She gave back for her pride and confidence with religious offering and gratitude.

“Ok, Eriana Fox, --- up to now”.

"What you have earned," she would start gently. She did not mean to offend, "-was given to you. The Force gave you that opportunity for advancement. But yes, only you could have used the courage and strength you had to take that chance."

She would close her eyes and tighten her grip on his hand as he held onto hers, "But I do not wish to argue theologies today, Acolyte Percy. If you wish to pray to the Force in your own way that business is your own. But I pray to a power greater than which any mortal can understand. And I give thanks to this entity. Such strength we get from using its power. Raw emotion. Clairvoyance. The power to move matter and minds alike. These are no traits we just picked up because we are special. They are gifts given from the Force and we must in turn give back."

 

[Percy Fleck]

Percy turned Eriana’s words over in his mind. He supposed her first point was true if he was honest with himself. The Force had given him the opportunity, if the beginning, on the failing transport in the cold darkness of space. Had he been without it, he would have had no power to stop the pirates as he had. He would have joined his dead parents, or worse.

But once rescued, his achievements thereafter had been his own. He had worked damn hard at the Academy, in training, and since. The Force made his work possible, was a big part of who he was, but it didn’t own him. Didn’t make him Percy Marvolo Fleck.

He wondered, quite naturally, at Eriana’s story. As she talked of strength, emotion and clairvoyance, he couldn’t help but wonder how the Force had raised her up in the way she described. Again, he wouldn’t usually care, but in a few short moments this woman had made herself more interesting than most.

“I give back the best I can” he offered. “I use my powers to stamp out dissent, to hold up an Empire that would have the Force respected and revered across the galaxy.”

“What about you?” he asked quietly “how do you give back?”.

@EmilyHuene

 

[The Confessor]

Percy it seemed tried to mull her words over in his mind. This was good. She had respected him not to peer into his consciousness. It was annoying not to know what someone was thinking. But she'd make do. Their slightest changes in their voice, in their breathing, in their heart. She could sense it. This was how she could tell people were lying.

His words seemed truthful. Loyal. She respected that. Anything to help their beloved Empire. It was the only true way. How else could they have stomped out the Jedi five generations ago? Keep the peace for five centuries. This was true leadership. A perfect example of how the galaxy should work. If only those scoundrels out in the black only understood their stupidity.

"Yes serving the great Imperium is a noble cause."

She had to think for a moment on his question though. How did she give back? In truth...she didn't really know. She'd never done anything to actually help the war effort. But that didn't mean she didn't want to. Growing up she knew more than anything she wanted to work in some sort of position that offered her to get into the minds of the Imperium's enemies. She wanted to be an interrogator. To be someone who could break any rebel loyal to their cause. That was her dream.

"I give back by being alive. Not the way you might think that means. Forgive me. What I meant was, I live to serve the Force. I listen to it. I obey it. And so here I am in this temple hoping to seek answers. I offer my time, my body, my life. If the Will is for me to resume my tedious errands, then that is what I shall do. No more. No less."

 

[The Confessor]

With that, a long silence came over them. Eriana wasn't sure if the man simply had nothing to say, or he couldn't think of anything to say. Either way, Eriana stayed silent. She'd let her words float around in his mind. This was her way of living and serving the Force. She didn't expect everyone to follow her path, but she did wish they would. She wanted to show people a better way of fighting. This is what it meant to be a Force users. Belief and faith. It's what gave her strength. It's what gave her purpose.

After the silence became too much, Eriana would focus on herself. There were no more words to be said. She returned to her prayer and after another ten minutes of silence she would clap her hands on her lap and then move to stand.

"Well Percy Fleck, it has been a pleasure meeting you. Thank you for praying with me. I hope our paths meet again."

The blind Sith would exchange any pleasantries he gave and then head to the front of the temple to leave. She'd been here long enough. Time to return to work.

~END THREAD~
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