EA1 - The Doctor is In

[Delia]

She shrugged, “I did not think it so controversial, really. It’s common in many cultures the idea of two opposing forces becoming one so to speak. Typically the Light and Dark, but one could say the same of fire and water for more primitive peoples or the sky and the earth.”

“But my understanding is that two forces bound together but opposing approach each other and although inimical to each other find a way to be one.”

“Of course to use the light and dark one cpould say that a shadow is the combination of both and perhaps but I see it as the absence of light, they are not combined. They do not coexist, one is either one state or the other and yet somehow there is a balance between the two?”

She sipped the tea and smiled at the flavor before adding, “Balance is a construct of sentient beings that need to make sense of a universe that is beyond their comprehension. Maybe that is why I feel intrigued by the dyadic principle, an idea that two opposed dualities can truly find a union seems hopeful.”

“This is rather satisfying,” she mused about the tea.

[Juri Saizesh]

"I don't know if there can be balance between the two." There was a hint of sadness to her tone. "The Dark grows like a cancer. It can fester inside. Turn to death, and hate, and suffering." The cup was gently set down.

"The balance seems to be in the Light. Living in harmony with the galaxy. The Dark seems to come from pushing your will onto the natural state. Twisting it to suit your ends. I was taught that you could use it, as a tool, as long as you strived to return to the natural order. But I had sisters... teachers... they became twisted themselves."

Why was she opening up? Was it the safety of the clinic?

[Delia]

“That isn’t the Dark, that is simply the corrupting influence of power,” she said pointedly.

“It’s… my grandmother told me a story about such things, well things that some would consider mysticism and religion but it always gave me comfort in an odd way. Sometimes I feel like through her words I am living the story, but perhaps she is just good at telling such tales,” she said.

[Juri Saizesh]

"You and I are of a mind. Though to talk openly about... mysticism... in these troubled times is difficult. I enjoy when I can, in private, of course." Her bright, purple eyes focusing on Delia's own. A wry smile there. "What your grandmother says... aren't necessarily tales."

[Delia]

"She offered me a parable of the undying woman," she said sipping her tea.

"I am not as skilled but it will pass the time."

[Juri Saizesh]

As a woman who relished stories of Lore, she was intrigued. She leaned in, her attention fully given.

[Delia]

Delia put the cup down and tapped the rim of it lightly. She found her words and said, “It’s an old story, she says, it comes from the days of Darth Revan and the fall of the ancient Jedi Order and their return. There was a woman, well she was a child then born to a family of low born artisans, she would have been as they were if she were not gifted with the Force.”

“She learned quickly that made her important and more importantly it would lead her to an obsession with Power and Knowledge. In these old days there were two prominent orders in the galaxy, the Jedi and the Sith.”

Delia tapped the glass and said, “She was Sith, or at least she wore the trappings of Sith, knew the Code, knew the histories, and most importantly understood that she had to be more ruthless and more cunning than her enemies. A Sith in that time only had enemies.”

“She studied at the feet of the most powerful of her Order and even sought to steal their secrets and utilize them and in her hubris nearly destroyed herself. She gained power but lost a piece of herself and was forced to consume others to stave off destruction. She existed like this for a century, steeped in the Dark Side and considered herself the greatest of her generation.”

“It was only when she learned to let go of such ambition and power mongering that she found respite from her condition but in doing so she found an even deeper curse, she found that she would never know the release of death.”

“She watched everything she had worked for turn to ash… enemies waste away, and the ages march forward and the cycle swing back and forth. Whole centuries seem to melt away, she sought redemption in the Light, steeped her heart in the dark and soon learned the truth, that there was no truth… Light and Dark were simply moral simplifications,” she mused lightly.

“She had an infinitum of time only to see she knew nothing, she was just a living relic,” she said solemnly.

“There is no deep meaning I suppose, because the real stories, never truly end,” she said tapping her cup before it cracked and shattered into many jagged pieces.

“Ironic, she wanted power and knowledge, and she had both and neither offered the truth she desperately sought.”

[Juri Saizesh]

Juri says nothing for a moment after listening to the story. Then she smiled, nodding to Delia. "She sounds like an amazing woman. Certainly storied. Does the story say if she ever found peace? Or even moments of joy?" She asked, pure earnestness bleeding into her words.

"Though I took away a different lesson. In that learning she had no power or knowledge, she knew the greatest wisdom - that when we begin to understand, we truly know that we cannot learn it all." A slight tilt of her head.

"Only to keep learning, and pass on what we know."

[Delia]

The cup reformed from the jagged pieces, the cracks were still there but it was whole. Delia poured more tea and then sipped it and said, “That is the real lesson of the journey, Juri.”

She put the cup down once finished and it fell apart again.

OOC: Cup reformed but held together by the Force.

Delia Move to reform Cup: 7eF 6 Light Side, 4 Dark Side

[Juri Saizesh]

To feel such raw power, for such a simple thing as repairing a broken cup. Juri's hand went to her necklace, eyes wide. Even in her confidence, to feel it so close.

It was awesome and terrible. Her breathing was shallow, letting the power wash over her.

"... I saw a sister of mine. On the ship. One who died. She pointed to you. And with this story... you're her, aren't you?" She was quiet as a mouse, no judgement in her tone.

[Delia]

“She died in much pain your sister, she is more echo than a true shade of the Force, something you carry with you. I saw her too, I did not wish to be revealed so I… silenced her for a time. The Dathomiri are strong and insular, it took some time to earn their trust and learn… a different perspective,” she said honestly.

“I think you have potential, most of my students I have found wanting… some have met my expectations but I was probably not the best of teachers.”

[Juri Saizesh]

"I can only offer to be the best student I can." She responded. "They all did. The forest burned and their droid army were without mercy. We reaped what we had sown in putting our lot with Count Dooku." Tears formed at the edge of her eyes.

"I can't let their knowledge die. I can't let the Empire snuff out the flame of the Force. The Jedi are gone, I am the Last Nightsister of Dathomir. I pray others escaped, but I've found no one." She shut her eyes tight, fighting back the tears, pushing them back.

"You... we have to be careful. An Inquisitor arrived with us. The eyes of the Empire are focused on this, our home."

[Delia]

“I was an Inquisitor… it was a different Empire… different time,” she said wistfully.

“I can feel the surviving Dathomiri across the galaxy, if that gives you some solace. Some have turned from the path others hold to their truths, in time your Order may rise again or be scattered, who can say.”

“You are quick to call yourself a student,” she said calmly.

When she mentioned the eyes of the Empire she said, “The dyadic principle is taking form.”

[Juri Saizesh]

The tears fell at that. Though not of sadness, relief painted on her face, a laugh of joy. "It does. To know that there are others who lived, even if they turned away to survive. It makes the pain hurt far less." Juri wiped away the tears, taking a deep breath to compose herself.

"I didn't mean to presume. I don't seek power, or unlimited knowledge. Only understanding, of knowing my place in the Force." She punctuated her words with a nod.

"Even if not as a student, then certainly as a friend, Delia."

[Delia]

For a moment she almost said an old name but she allowed that woman to rest at least for now. She rose to find something to clean up the scattered pieces and said, “An ally and friend, I am old, far too old to revel in lording over students.”

“Knowing our place in the Force, that is an admirable goal.”

[Juri Saizesh]

Juri rose with her, helping to collect the broken fragments. "Aye, friend and ally. And please, don't worry about being in a rush to find a place to stay. You and your grandmother are most welcome." Juri smiled as she spoke, warmth radiating from her.

"Through the Force, knowledge never dies. I've heard tales of spirits truly living once they are one with it. If such a thing is possible, what I can teach, what I learn, it will grow. In its own way."

[Delia]

“She’s just a lonely old woman, I have given her the illusion I am her grandmother,” Delia admitted.

[Juri Saizesh]

"There is no reason to break that illusion. By acting as her grandchild, you are being her grandchild. Giving her peace and comfort. It's a noble thing." She spoke in almost a sing song tone, finding herself comfortable with her friend.

She worked, carefully taking the larger pieces of the broken cup, collecting them. "Things can be made quite beautiful when repaired. A technique I saw once on Bardotta."

[Delia]

She is quiet as she considered that and said, “I suppose it does no harm.”

She nodded at the statement about repair, interested to see how that would turn out.

[Juri Saizesh]

"They take broken items, and fill the cracks with precious metals. I saw a vase once that had been cracked frok spout to base. The repair used polished chromium. It was magnificent." The pieces collected, and placed on the desk. "I don't have anything nearly that precious, but the effect should be usable, while building beauty from pieces."

[Delia]

"That does sound intriguing, at least aesthetically," she responded.

[Juri Saizesh]

"It can be a focus for meditation, as well. In the process of making something whole, you can also find yourself at peace. It isn't an act of creation, but restoration. Give one time to think." She shrugged, then sighed.

"I don't know. I could also be overthinking that it might just be a nice aesthetic to keep a nice decoration in place."

[Delia]

"Sometimes we just have to trust our instincts, Delia. Do it, or don't; indecision is useless and paralyzing," she offered.

[Juri Saizesh]

She laughed. "Too true. Waffling on a decision leads to a lack of commitment, and places one without a foundation."

Juri mused, looking away. "Trusting that first thought ks usually the right choice anyway."

[Delia]

Delia agreed, "Our first instincts are often the right one in the moment."