Leia's POV- 2 years ago
I'm standing in the middle of the Emperor's old throne room here in the Imperial Palace. I have no idea how I got here, it was as if I was called here by something and my feet suddenly had a mind of their own. The room is dark and foreboding and it makes me shiver. Even though the Emperor is long dead I can still feel malice and dark taint in here for some reason. It gives me the creeps! I turn to leave but I can't break out of whatever this is. The calling has grown stronger and all I can do is continue forward into the room.
I am led to a far corner, feeling this odd calling grow ever stronger for some reason. Looking down at the floor I spot a tile, it looks completely normal but something is telling me that there's more to it than meets the eye. I step on it and nothing happens. Frustrated I turn to leave, when suddenly a segment of the floor slides open to reveal a flight of stairs leading into a passage way. Surprised, I step into the passage and travel down into it. Still feeling that odd call that first led me here.
After traveling down the steps I come to a medium sized room, with lights coming on as I enter it. There are lightsabers on the wall, hundreds of them of different shapes and sizes! I also see Jedi cloaks and some holocrons, along with books. It's like some kind of Jedi museum or something. Fascinated I take a closer look at the relics of the Jedi Order. I can't believe the Alliance missed this room when they came through here. I have to show this to Luke! I'm glad I came in here now! This stuff will help Luke and the Jedi greatly. I can't wait to show this to him.
I continue looking around the room, taking in all the artifacts. I wonder why the Emperor kept this place? I scan through the books and look over at the holocrons. It's a repository of force knowledge, Luke is going to love this! Suddenly that strange calling returns and I look over at the holocrons, one in particular catching my eye. It is red and shaped like a pyramid, kept in an apparent position of prominence from the others. Before I can think I walk over to it. Suddenly I wonder if I should be doing this, these were kept by the Emperor for a reason weren't they? Maybe I should wait for Luke before I look at these. But that nagging call is still there and I can feel it stronger than ever, as if it is coming from this holocron. Well I don't see how it can hurt...
I reach out and touch the pyramid shaped device. A blinding red light shoots out of it the moment I come in contact with it, filling the room. A face suddenly appears over the device. It's a man, or atleast I think it is, I can't really tell since the person has a red and black mask covering their face along with a black hood. The figure gives off an aura of great power, I can feel it through the force I guess but also in his appearance. The aura is dark like the Emperor's yet I also feel light in it.
"Who are you?". I ask it
"My name is Revan, keeper of this holocron. I lived over 4,000 years ago in the time of the great Mandalorian War. I am the Dark Lord of the Sith".
"The Sith?". I ask in surprise and fear.
"Yes, I am considered to be the greatest of our kind. I can feel your confusion, tell me why have you opened this holocron?"
"I...I was drawn to it, I can't explain why".
"I see, it is the force that has guided you here then. Have you come to learn the ways of the Sith?".
"No! I'll never join the Sith. The galaxy has seen enough of their evil". He appears to be amused by this
"Evil you say? Interesting. And what makes you believe the Sith are evil?"
"I've seen for myself! The Sith are nothing but monsters. I've seen what they do with the Dark Side of theirs. Palpatine and Vader have killed millions, I was tortured by them, they destroyed my home planet!"
"Have you truly seen for yourself child? Palpatine and Vader were only 2, you paint with a pretty broad brush. The Sith Order of my time was large and powerful, there were many Sith at the time. It was us, not the Jedi that saved the Republic from the Mandalorians. They refused to get involved in the war even though they were killing thousands. If not for me the Republic would have fallen to the invaders. Have you ever used the Dark Side? How can you make such judgments without doing so? When you don't even know what the Dark Side really is".
I don't understand. The Sith saving the Republic?
"I see what you're trying to do, you want to trick me into joining you. Well it wont work! I know well enough what the Dark Side is, the destruction it causes. The way it warps the mind".
"How can you know such things without ever experiencing the Dark Side firsthand? The Dark Side of the force is power plain and simple, it's not corruptive. It is simply the emotions of passion- fear, anger, hate, even love. How can one be human without such emotions? I can sense you have all these emotions as well. How is being human evil? Indeed it is the Jedi that teach the suppression of such feelings. They would have you believe these feelings are wrong to have, that there is only peace and serenity. If anything it is the Jedi at the root of most of the galaxies problems".
His words strike a chord in me. I can actually see sense in his logic, but I wont believe the Jedi are the evil of the galaxy that is ridiculous. Revan continues watching me as I ponder his words.
"Surely you don't believe the Jedi are perfect do you? They forbade love or attachment of any kind. they robbed children from their parents to train them. The Jedi collapsed because their way just didn't work, they were to blinded by their ambition to see the seeds of their own destruction being sewn around them. You wouldn't have even been born if their code had been followed". He continues
"No one is perfect, but the Jedi were the protectors of the Republic! They fought and won the Clone Wars didn't they? My brother defeated the Emperor. I can't accept that the Jedi were the problem. How can I when I witnessed first hand the evil of people like Palpatine and Vader?"
"You don't know the whole story behind those 2 do you? Your father was once a great man, a powerful warrior that served the Republic. He had great love and compassion but the Jedi frowned on this and he had to keep it hidden. Your father wasn't able to love your mother openly because of this, they wouldn't even allow him to save his mothers life. You can imagine the effect the stress of this along with the horrors of the Clone Wars would have had on the mind. Anakin snapped, yes he did turn to the Dark Side but that had little to do with it. Even those without the force have their breaking points and he was pushed to his by the Jedi and their mundane teachings. His breaking point was when he foresaw his wifes death in labor and the Jedi would not allow him to save her life".
I was shocked at this, how could the Jedi call themselves guardians of the Republic when they did things like that?
"The Vader you knew was evil I will give you that, but it had more to do with losing his mind than the Dark Side of the force. Same for Sidious. They weren't true Sith, the true way of the Sith is to use the Dark Side's power to help others. Vader and Palpatine are 2 bad examples of our order".
Was there any truth to this?
"As for the Jedi not only did they create Vader but they made him 100 times worse than he would have been. It was the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi that cut him in half and threw him into a volcanic pit, Anakin was burned alive and then his wife was kidnapped by them. You can imagine how that would drive anyone into insanity. As a matter of fact the Jedi are to blame for your mothers death as Obi-Wan hid behind her and let her take Vader's wrath. They were the ones that separated you from your brother at birth. They deserve some of the blame for Alderaan's destruction as well". My mind was spinning now as I felt the truth of these words
"B..But the Emperor, Vader and Tarkin are the ones that committed the act!"
"Yes but the Jedi were the ones that hid you on Alderaan, and you were the reason they targeted that planet to begin with. If not for the Jedi you would have been raised on Naboo with your real parents and brother. So now you see why the Jedi are the cause of the war that plagues the galaxy".
My mind is in turmoil as I see the truth, he's right! The Jedi have taken everything away from me, away from my family, denying me the life I should have always had. They made the creature that has always plagued my nightmares and plunged the galaxy into war in the process. My world has been turned upside down by this knowledge. A new perspective that is making me question everything I have believed in and fought for my entire life.
"Think on these tenets young one- Peace is a lie". Well yes it is, I've never known peace in my lifetime.
"There is only passion". Passion is human emotion isn't it?
"Through passion I gain strength". My love for my family makes me stronger.
"Through strength I gain power". Strength is power isn't it?
"Through power I gain victory". You have to have power to win right?
"Through victory my chains are broken". I think back to Endor on this.
"The Force shall set me free". I can feel this as well.
I feel something inside me change as he recites this. A new light, a new understanding of life. As if I had been living in the dark and just came outside. What strikes me is I feel the truth in everything he is saying, I don't question it because I know it is the truth, I can feel it.
"So I ask again how can you judge the Dark Side of the Force without experiencing it for yourself?". He's right, how can I?
"But I don't know how". I whisper
"Focus and concentrate on your passionate feelings. The fear, anger and frustration you have. Bring them to the front and call out to the force. When it answers you will know what the Dark Side is".
I do as he says and reach out to the force, sensing the anger and passion inside me I seize it as I call on it. The sensation that follows is a fiery experience unlike anything I have ever felt before. It's nothing short of ecstasy! I embrace the turbulent storm of energy as it swirls around me, feeling it coursing through my veins. I can feel it making me stronger, I've never felt this powerful before in my life! It feels good, incredibly good! This is the Dark Side of the force? How can this power possibly be evil?
"The Dark Side is not evil, it's just the force. Always there to be called upon to empower the user. It is just there, like any weapon it is the person using it that decides what it is used for. The Dark Side is always waiting to be called on, to make you stronger. With this power you can protect your family, children and those you love."
"I..I..."
Can he possibly be right? I've seen what the darkness does to people, the devastation Palpatine and Vader brought to the galaxy. But how can this great power be wrong? Why ignore something like this? This is the power I've been missing on? Now that I've experienced it I feel like I can't live without it.
"I want to learn this power Lord Revan".
"Excellent. The force flows strongly in you child, as powerful as anyone I've encountered. I will teach you to wield this power, I will show you the secrets of the true Sith".
I'm suddenly startled by the appearance of a shimmering blue specter in the corner of the room. Looking at the face I instantly recognize who it is, the image burned into my mind after Bakura. This is the face of my most hated enemy, the one who tortured me and my family, the one that forced me to watch the destruction of my home planet. Vader. I recall memories of the black mask looking down on me as the torture droid approaches, the feel of his iron grip on my shoulder as Alderaan is obliterated, the pain of him tearing through my mind, the haunting noise of the respirator.
'And now your highness we will discuss the location of your hidden rebel base'
'Her resistance to the mind probe is considerable'
'Put him in!'
I flare with rage and hatred enhanced by the dark energy I'm still calling on. He looks at me with a sad face and I can sense emotions of sadness and regret coming off of him through the force.
"Don't listen to him Leia. The Dark Side only feels powerful but it isn't, it will blind you and lead you into ruin. Even now you can feel it corrupting you and festering in your soul. Turn away from it Leia!"
How DARE HE! I need this power to protect my family and he would deny me that? Hasn't he already done enough damage? I will not allow him to hurt me again, I will not!
"Shut up Vader, your evil is the only thing here that is corrupting. You've done enough harm to the galaxy and I wont let you destroy my family". I shoot him a fierce glare and send all my hatred and anger at him through the force. I see him wince at my words.
"Listen to me Leia! I have gone down the same road you are treading on now, I have seen how it ends. You know what I became, don't make my mistakes. Turn away from this path before it destroys you like it did me". His words only anger me more.
"I am nothing like you monster!".
"Yes you are right child. Vader was a fiend, one hopelessly twisted by the Jedi. He was never a true Sith, the Jedi twisted him into what he became. He has a connection to you, reach out with the Dark Side and you can break it". Vader then looks over at Revan's holocron
"Leia Darth Revan was a mass murderer in his time, 10 times worse than I ever was. Not even Sidious has as much blood on his hands! Don't you see what's happening? He's using you, and twisting you to serve him. Don't let him do this to you Leia!"
"Did he ever destroy entire planets? Or slaughter innocent children? Did he kill his wife and torture his kids?". I can tell my words have struck him deeply, it feels good to cause him pain.
"Leia I did all those things under the influence of the same darkness you are under now! I fell because I had visions of my wife dying in child birth and Palpatine promised me the power to save her. In the end turning to the Dark Side is what made my visions come true. The Dark Side cannot save or protect Leia, it only knows the power to destroy".
"ENOUGH, I will not listen to anymore of this. You tortured me and cut off my brothers hand, you killed my mother and destroyed my home world. I wont listen to anymore of your lies!"
With this I do as Revan instructed and aim a sudden burst of dark energy at him. Sending a pulse of anger and hatred that severs his connection to me completely. I watch in satisfaction as the blue form fizzles out leaving me alone with my new master.
"Excellent job young one, you must not let yourself be swayed by the lies and ignorance of the Jedi. Remember what I told you about them, how they turned your father into Vader and destroyed your family. They care nothing about others, only the power they possess. It is important that you remember this as you go forward in your training".
"I will Lord Revan".
"Good, now take this holocron with you. Do not let anyone know of it and do not use the Dark Side around the Jedi, especially your brother as they will sense it and stop you. I will conduct your training in your spare time, you will need to find a secluded area for this so that no one learns of it. It is imperative that no one discover me".
"Yes Master"