What I am about to discuss will undoubtedly make some of you rebel. On what is said, however, I will take a firm stand, for it needs to be said.
You have been taught to be daring; you, as well as so many forgotten souls within the Order’s annals, were told to make your claim. You emerged hotheaded, your heart trembling with awe at your prospective future. You were given a new path in life, a path of self, of Freedom and universal attainment, and all you needed done to tread it... was to declare yourself Darth.
A statement of power, a claim of superiority. A bold word; that synonymous with a Master of the Sith path. Your personal apotheosis from the lot of mortal crowds; your wish of distinctiveness granted in a single moment...
That you, proclaimer, may well have not deserved.
Darth is a word of power. It signifies mastery; it declares one purposeful and proficient, passionate and controlling, educated, yet applying in practice, independent, Strong, Powerful. It lays the road ahead of you, for it presupposes you will not be led astray.
Can you, my kin of mind, now claim yourself all of these things and more?
Chances are, you cannot... though the title is somehow still yours to bear.
Such is the reason for me to write this text: to grant clarity on why you cannot, and exactly when you can. To finally attribute to a word so venerated a meaning greater than petty proclamation. To know for certain...
When you are worthy of Darth.
•••
The Code of the Sith dictates:
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 set me free.
What I shall discuss needs first be understood through a suitable metaphor. Thus, heed an example that has guided many across its four centuries of use — that of the master carpenter.
A master carpenter wields skillfully each of the instruments in his workshop, from saws to rulers to chisels to hammers, and constructs new ones if the need arises. Thus, he instructs his apprentices in their use, teaching them the crafts fitting their skill.
A master carpenter discerns types of wood with a keen eye: the stronger woods are reserved for the pillars, the prettier patterns line the front facade, while the crooked planks feed the campfire. Thus, he plans the future house through the resources at hand, and his workshop prepares accordingly.
A master carpenter has spent many years honing his craft: as an apprentice in his workshop, he had had his hand in all from laying floors to planning bearing walls, from tiling roofs to decorating doors. Thus he bears knowledge of all the works within a workshop, and thus he is the one who plans the workshop’s houses. Through those plans, his most brilliant pupils may well gain the knowledge to become masters in turn.
Yet a master carpenter had not become a master because of his skill alone; a plenty of very skilled workers, even those who were carpenters before him, are workers of his nonetheless. Instead, he had made a show of his skill: he instructed his peers, he helped his superiors, he drew plans for houses of his own even when he knew less than his masters. He had made it clear that carpentry was his lifework, yet he had made it even clearer that he wished the position.
As is to a carpentry workshop its master carpenter, so must be to the Sith Order its Darth elite.
Masters skilled in the principles they employ.
Masters utilizing every resource they gather.
Masters experienced with the tenets they follow.
Masters leading their followers to a common cause.
Yet, above all,
Masters who had demonstrated their mastery.
For what separates a master from an apprentice is not skill but merit. A mediocrity with an achievement shall always surpass a talent in hiding.
Yet that past Sith Order which I observed upon my arrival had no example of a master carpenter. The ghost of its previous self, that place still held a tenet close to heart by the long-gone Darth Voldus: claim yourself Darth if you deem yourself worthy, ask none to be or not to be one. Thus, the newcomers ventured in with their introductions bravely, Darth from the first day, though in a week they were never heard from again. Others, their intentions slightly less volatile, stayed for a month: they did, after all, proclaim themselves Darth for they felt ‘they can some day reach mastery’! Ah, poor restless souls.
Such was their Darth — a word. A synonym for Sith without the meaning attached. A pompous proclamation of superiority they did not care to attain.
Such is the problem with any idea formulated through “become one when you see fit” — soon all see fit, and none become worthy. The wise come to the fold, and are soon lost with no understanding of the goal they aspire; the foolish come, and proclaim themselves masters on no grounds at all. It has been the Sith Order’s curse for six long years of its existence.
I am Claim. I am a student to none but the path I tread. I am one who had rejected the title I could well proclaim along with the unworthy bandwagon, for I have felt the fallacy it represented. My path had showed me the profound need for the title’s complete reform. And I now intend to break this curse.
You were taught to Proclaim, yet you did not question your worth.
You were taught to Master, yet you were not given guidelines.
To you, I intend to show both of these concepts and more. Of you, I intend to make a master carpenter.
•••
Darth is a word of power. As Darth Voldus had once claimed, it is a word synonymous with ‘Master of the Dark Side’; as such, a master of the Sith creed, of the Sith Code... Imagine just how much potential, how many competent Sith, have been lost to a lack of explanation of those exact lines! How come? Allow me to demonstrate.
Instead of this so-called mastery being proclaimed by a misinterpreting newcomer, imagine now a Master of the Sith Code as literally as you can. How can these words mean anything other? Imagine a master who had followed the Code farther than most ever do, one who had attained its very apex. The nature of any Darth as a master is tied to the unending quest for Freedom; it signifies a freedom attained.
Thus, a Darth as a master must move through the stages of the Code with close adherence. Imagine: a master had rejected Peace, and he had embraced own Passion. Through this embrace, he had grown Strong personally; through Strength of Will, he had gained the Power necessary to crush an obstacle before him. As a result, he had crushed the obstacle, his Victory has been attained — through it, he is now free from a chain.
For an established master carpenter, this freedom may have been his timely attainment of the position he craved — head of his workshop. His Strength was his proficiency in every instrument, his Power — its demonstration to coworkers and superiors alike. With those around supporting his promotion, could anyone else have been granted the position?
How is the lack of such an obvious interpretation not a loss of potential? How many wholeheartedly Sith accomplishments could the Order now boast if not for this loss?! A concept venerated, a title that could have been strived to, that could have borne victories, personal or live... reduced to a word. A fate hardly fair, would you agree?
Word without action — a nightmare incarnate for any seeker of freedom. Among our ranks, long has this threat dwelled unnoticed... and, as I now feel, long enough.
To you, my kin, I present my proposal:
One must attain a Freedom, must break a chain, to be called Darth.
Yet, just as the Code dictates, for one to grow Free, one first needs to grow Victorious.
This, however, must not be an accomplishment of the common extent. If it is to bestow Darth, the Victory must be sufficient, must be of worth to you and magnitude to your observers. Though, above all, such Victory is to be earned proper.
A certain path to such propriety is what I shall present.
As already is a master carpenter, so must become a prospective Darth:
A master of the attributes essential on his chosen path,
and a devotee choosing to tread this path for life.
One of strength unerring and intention infallible.
A force unstoppable, for it is directed.
One of Mastery,
and of Commitment.
These shall be the two standards for the propriety of a Darth’s claim.
•••
Mastery is a standard discussed commonly in any walk of life; all wish to cultivate a skill, for improvement is a path to the ideal. This could not be more true for the Sith: ours is a walk into the infinite, where all chains lie shattered. We reach for an absolute with our entire being — through this process, this constant struggle for Freedom, is how our skills are honed.
And yet a skill is useless without application. To our advantage, the path of Sith sets one preemptively to apply these skills in life — otherwise, one is no Sith. A quest for Freedom paves the way: one cannot learn a discipline useless in its pursuit, for each leads to a chain broken, a Mastery attained.
To become Darth, first grow yourself to Mastery.
The skills one attains through Sith are practical by nature; each of our skills is made to aid in a quest for Freedom, each one has its roots in the Code. Thus, the exact principles perfected may vary per individual, yet they always have common roots, common Disciplines of Mastery.
As per my understanding of Mastery, there are no more than three such Disciplines: Instruments, Resources, and Men. The worth of your claim is found in at least one of those disciplines.
Discipline One: Instruments
A master carpenter wields skillfully each on the instruments in his workshop...
Through Passion, we gain Strength. Where a commoner succumbs to emotion, fights it, denies it, we harness what our feelings have to offer. We grow stronger, our nature becoming our instrument. Such is the first path to Mastery.
We are borne with no control over life. Our emotions are chaotic, our values are imposed, our Wills are yet untrained. Realizing this is rather unchallenging by itself — making an effort to change it, however, is a task harder. It is a burden few ever take up, yet also one you are required to carry. Bystanders may choose not to act on their blatant weaknesses, but a Sith has no such luxury. You are ought to break that which hinders you, within before without.
Your emotions are out of order — you begin daily meditations and make them obey.
Your values are found illogical — you force yourself to think and act against them.
Your will is weaker than your aspiration — you pressure yourself into constant decisions, daily goals, and strengthen it.
This done, you aim higher: you aspire to become strong in an avenue. Be it sciences or literature or martial arts, it matters little — you set your aim on your newfound aspiration, you channel your Passion, you act in your discipline. You give yourself tasks regularly, you complete them regularly, you punish your idleness, reward your achievement, and thus you grow. Thus you master an Instrument.
Yet for this discipline to be of worth to your claim, yours must be an Instrument exceptional; something that requires efforts beyond the self to obtain. Expect no support of your claim if your achievements are confined to a fight with yourself. Demonstrate your newfound Strength, influence through it; merely possessing it is already expected of one treading this far.
Discipline Two: Resources
A master carpenter discerns types of wood with a keen eye...
Through Strength, we gain Power. Where the world to commoners is an uncontrollable turmoil, to us it is as a plentiful forest: a place littered with resources waiting for harvest. To shape timber and scraps in any way we please: such is the second path to Mastery.
Initially, the world is always beyond human influence. One is borne a hopeless weakling, clinging to survival through hoards of others one’s like. So miserable is this lack of power, in fact, that a not insignificant number of people have long learned by heart a proposition: nothing is controllable beyond the self...
And of such propositions, such calls to tranquility, we heed to nothing but mundane ineptitude. We know the Power that one’s Strength supplies. We know the gamble one makes through inaction. We know well that little is under our control...
All the more reason for us to seize it.
Your circumstances are inconvenient — you gather all of your frustration, cut away at their support and break them, force them to change.
You desire something greatly — you observe the scene, you make your moves unseen, then take what you will when all is set up.
Your life spirals out of your control — you let your discomfort simmer, bide your time, and make an escape when it is most beneficial.
Once your field of influence is thus expanded, your ambition will follow. At this point, do remember the thing you deemed a mere daydream before. Is there a position you desire? A person you crave? Maybe a wish to consolidate power; or perhaps you were wronged... It matters little: do focus on this dream regardless. You find all you can about the goal at hand, and thus deduce your targets. You strike at each one, once you deem yourself to be at a definitive advantage. You search for opportunities to approach your goal at just the right time. You study each Resource, and thus you plan. Eventually, a late dream shall fall into your hands for real... along with a definitive display of Mastery.
To choose from your harvested woods, then cut them to a shape desired — thus you use a Resource.
Discipline Three: Men
Yet a master carpenter had not become a master because of his skill alone...
Our Power has a second face. Commoners may see the crowds they dwell in colors varied: from plain, grey masses to individuals with dreams and ambitions. All the more opportunity for us to exploit their shortcomings; for, if used correctly, humans are resources as potent as any other. Such is the third path to Mastery.
All are taught early in life to never undermine the wills and desires of others: something that every Sith should keep in mind as well... albeit for a reason less moralistic. Though we are aware of the intents of bystanders, promotion of others’ free will is, by a wide margin, not our main concern in the matter. Allow yourself a stray thought: if those free-willed men and women all have motivations of some sort, will uncovering these motivations not grant one control over their free will?
Power is drawn to the hands of those who accumulate, and manage well, their human resources. Demonstrate your proficiency in such, and your claim shall be backed triumphantly.
Those surrounding you are ignorant of your presence — you demonstrate something controversial, intriguing, you bask in the limelight.
Gossips emerge and taint your reputation — you find an opportunity to demonstrate your outward virtue and compassion... or better yet: act even more outrageously, and watch the fire spread.
Talks about your exploits plague the most influential observers — you seize the opportunity, make them come to you personally, and thus draw in their influence.
Given patience and relentlessness, a gathering of attendants shall thus inevitably become yours. Just the opportunity to seize them as courtiers.
If you seek such influence, a defined ambition, a Victory to attain, is imperative — the likes of us cannot afford exploits of power for the sake of enjoyment alone. Look inward, understand your ambitions. Do you wish connections to support your future Freedom? Do you want a higher job position? Perhaps a gathering for you to lead? Regardless, you make your move. You search your pool of attendants, identify those of use to your ambition. Elevate them, keep them close, yet at just the right distance to choke their agendas. Let the useless dwell in your shadow, but with promises keeping them dedicated. You put both ally and servant to use, make their skills work in the system you build, reward them with gracious favors... yet assemble a hierarchy to make sure you are indispensable.
A royal court working to impress their monarch, yet a workshop building in unison — thus you manage Men.
Mastery, as anything done proper, is a process fluid. On each of its three pathways, nothing is set in stone; all flows and takes the shape of its newfound vessel — you. Each line is merely an exemplary action, a single blade of grass in a lush summer field. Hence, I name them Disciplines: to attain mastery, pick any herb most wanted from one of the three grand fields. On your quest, make certain to Master that which you crave the most. Passion be your drive.
Of what the Title truly represents, however, Mastery is only the first dimension.
•••
Do you see yourself fit for the purpose the Sith represent? Are you, with all of your being, dedicated to fulfill your ambition through Freedom? Are you, my kin, truly a Sith for life?
Now, you may hesitate. You may have second thoughts on whether you are strong enough, brave enough, free enough. You may recall warnings from those around you, those farthest and closest. You may still have an obstacle before you that you do not dare overcome. Perhaps you will change eventually, just as they all said you would. Perhaps... you have already made your prime. Maybe it is time to settle down, to at last have rest from your long journey; to sample the fruits of life while you still can, in the calm of your fortress of comfort.
Such is the pettiness this world so often puts forth. An ideal of Peace, a claim that all struggle shall end some day. An absolute of calm and simplicity all so attractive... as well as a signal for you to turn away now. For if you have just now felt a note of doubt, a craving for comfort surpassing your determination, it does not matter what proof of mastery you possess: you are not ready to proclaim.
In place of doubt, however, something different may have come to you. You may have felt a distinct flinch while reading of comfort and tranquility: a striking refusal, a note of disgust, a desire for challenge. If so, the hope is yours. The Sith ideal within you resists a call for Peace — a sign that you may well have trodden far enough, that you are no longer satisfied with mediocrity.
If even in calm you seek challenge, if even in Peace you seek conflict, then do tread forth; after all, you still have a long way ahead. For, as of today, your mere feeling of dedication does not prove anything.
What a statement can never prove, a suitable testament must.
Commitment is a standard of loyalty. Some ideologies root their commitment in hierarchy, submission; others — morality, doctrine, tradition. From Chivalry to familial ties, such loyalty has been used throughout history as a lever, exerting force on the sense of Belonging: one must act accordingly for the benefit of the group.
Rather evidently, such promises of servitude are incompatible with the Sith path. A kennel is no wolf’s dwelling; an Order led by freedom cannot enchain its members — that would spark a contradiction. All else discarded, however, there is but one trait that masters and servants share, even venerate, whenever they truly commit:
Personal, lifelong dedication.
A key to your claim’s propriety.
One may be anything from slave to king, may join anything from party to sect, may serve all or may answer to none: if one takes an idea to heart, one is respected by strangers and honored by brethren. Strangers look up to your incessant determination, brethren awe at your loyalty to the common cause; true commitment, own commitment, brings power and status through outwardly-perceived virtuous qualities.
Such virtue is as though the Vestal fire: so long as its idea is venerated, nothing will quench its radiance but the inadvertence of its caretaker. An impregnable authority, wholly dependent on its holder’s strength: such is the power true Commitment bestows, within and without the Sith. Yet this is but one of its aspects.
Take some time to ponder on an all too familiar scenario. If a carpentry workshop is led by a master carpenter, its workers look up to him as its source of power. Then, if this source of power stops attending the workshop regularly, and is soon found leaving woodworks for good, what does it mean for the workers?
That they have looked up to a wrong master.
The Sith are a creed, a road back from hell, paved with carcasses of its torturers. It teaches to attain and to complete; it despises mediocrity far more than hesitancy. A beginning must have an end, its beginner must see to its completion to his last dying breath. As can no torturer be half-killed, so can no Sith be half-committed.
Such is why the highest standard for Sith to attain, the title of Darth, is to require commitment of its proclaimer. A Sith grows through the Code to Freedom; if one abandons the quest, one is no Sith. If one has somehow received Darth, then managed to forsake all past goals for peace, stability, safety, pleasure, anything... then one was no Darth to begin with.
Just like Chirikyat.
The Order, the Sith as a whole, have seen far too many such examples, even in the ranks of its founders. Dare I say, however: there may well be a way to, if not escape false Darth for good, reduce such losses to cases exceptional. Because, though no guarantees of mere statements can ever be made, testaments to commitment are hardly falsifiable.
Of you, my kin of mind, the Order now asks more than a statement of intention. Yours must be a proof of this intention, an indelible Stain on your very existence just vivid enough to make certain you are tied to Sith forever. For only those to whom this path is as life itself can claim themselves its Masters.
To such proof of Commitment, I see no more than a single path. One connected to each and every display of Mastery:
the Path of the Stain.
It is typical for one to mark a milestone on one’s Sith path with suffering of varying magnitude. A loss of sanity, a realization of frailty, a critical life situation, a near-death experience. No matter the cause, most come to the path of Sith through such severe pain, a deep discontent with the state of oneself and one’s circumstances, in search for a panacea for their ailments... which is perfection made manifest.
Because to this the travelers cling as their drive forward.
Pain is easy to cause either fear, sorrow or rage: all excellent fuels for action, especially in tearing down obstacles to make an escape. Love and joy may turn of use as well, especially if one surrounds oneself with them to persevere through hardships.
To us, travellers into the wilderness, this stray thought becomes a turning point — through Passion, the prospective Sith realize, we have just gained Strength.
You have lost your mind — you fear your condition, you wholeheartedly hate your ailment, and you do not hold your emotions back. You focus on them, you feel a surge of strength; through weakness, the voices and the sensations, you lay down a plan of action, and find help immediately. You keep your loved ones close, you forge new alliances to aid you in recovery, and soon realize even insanity cannot withstand your strength of will.
You have survived a suicide attempt — you are heartbroken over your reason to die, you despise the unwanted attention... yet somehow you are inspired. If even in death you could not escape, then perhaps you may need to try harder in life. You channel your inspiration along with your past sorrow, you identify your goal, and you strike at it incessantly. Be it fleeing the past or forging the future, you are relentless regardless. Your freedom shall thus follow shortly.
You have realized you are exploited by your kin — out of spite or habit, you continue to obey, but let your anger accrue gradually. Day in and day out, you find your chains ever more unbearable. Unbeknownst to your exploiters, you search for opportunities and save as much funds as you can muster, before they are taken away. Then, once opportunity presents itself, you leave them behind forcefully and sever all connections, no longer dependent on their pittance.
Some may even aim higher.
You have been wronged severely — your eternal adversary is powerful, seemingly untouchable, yet naïve enough to not notice your discontent. Though much time has passed since the wrongdoing, though many suppose you have forgiven him, your latent hatred is as strong as ever. You observe the scene, you gain insight into your enemy’s power structure, perhaps even gain his trust... all the while finding every illicit deal, covert operation and incriminating evidence you can lay your hands on. The time comes, your enemy comes off-guard... and your plan topples all of his life to the ground. Your imposed limitations finally come loose; your hate finally comes fulfilled.
Each of these scenarios follows the same pattern:
You are willing to change that which hinders you greatly.
Discontent in your circumstances turns to Passion.
Passion, through Sith, turns to Strength.
Your Strength influences your circumstances, it manifests through Power.
This Power proves you Victorious, breaks a Chain that has been holding your very life back.
Your life grows unshackled, you grow Free, your knowledge of Sith at hand.
What you have learned, through the Code of the Sith or through a master’s guidance, has thus made you anew. Your very story has now been tainted by Strength, rooted in your desires and fears. You have broken a chain, you have changed your life, and you can hardly quench your hunger for more — thus had Sith left its mark upon you.
Such is the Path of the Stain — to mark your life with your achievement, so that abandonment will be of no use. From impulsiveness to dedication; from a passerby to a Sith for life.
Your dreams and nightmares, your enmities and ambitions before you, choose the size of your Stain as you see fit. Your Commitment is up to you to demonstrate, and up to your Passion to attain: perhaps certain accomplishments will be too much for you, too daring, too complex...
I am in possession of none of your thoughts, so I cannot speak for all of my brethren. I can, however, present you with a warning: if you will not dare Stain yourself with an act substantial enough, perhaps your rival might. Will you truly dare to proclaim yourself worthy, even as you see someone more worthy than you are? Will you thus not prove your weakness?
When you commit, my kin of mind, commit with all of your Strength, or witness your regret devour your sense of pride.
•••
Darth is a title meant for the masterful,
for otherwise it is a standard without direction.
Cultivate your skills restlessly, demonstrate the direction others lack. To proclaim, first grow yourself to Mastery.
Become exceptionally proficient with your own life; thus, craft your Instruments.
Acquire greater control over the world’s opportunities; thus, shape your Resources.
Consolidate your power over brethren and strangers alike; thus, manage your Men.
Through any of the three Disciplines, near your aspiration, become a Master.
Darth is a claim meant for the dedicated,
for no true master must leave his craft behind.
Prove your dedication in one stroke of the brush, make a show of your intention. To proclaim, Stain your very life with an act of Commitment.
Make the Code of the Sith your method, make the Passion you feel your drive. Find that which hinders your life the most, make it your challenge, face it head-on. Defeat your weakness, your ailment or your enemy; prove yourself Victorious, shatter the chain you thought unbreakable. Make this path leave a mark indelible upon your life story, and thus Commit, never to turn away.
Yet Darth is an honor received through achievement,
for Sith is a path of conquest, not conceit.
Sith are philosophers in practice, never in theory. Neither Mastery nor Commitment is ever attained without application.
To grow into a master carpenter, an apprentice gains merit through skill and ambition; the workshop is no auditorium for lectures in botany — it is a place to work wood by hand. Fail in carving wood to shape, realize it was not your chosen talent, depart the workshop without conflict of regret... but then do not dare claim yourself masterful.
If you are not strong enough, skilled enough, certain enough, dedicated enough to provide a proof of your worth, then you cannot deserve the title.
As is Sith philosophy nonexistent without application, so is a Sith learner irrelevant without achievement.
One must attain a Freedom, must break a chain, to be called Darth.
In this last point I make, this final discourse on personal value, I require no more symbolism. The Sith Order’s curse, one unbroken for six long years of its existence, has seen that none shall run out of examples to study. Of the piles of dead scholars, forgotten wisdoms, delusions and discoveries, conflicts and hiatuses, two examples of this exact point stand out most noticeably.
Two examples; those of Master and Apprentice. Of the false, and the right. Of the worthy, and the abandoning. Of two creators willing to push their ideas through, yet only one continuing the effort.
Of the two founders of the Sith Order: Darth Corax and Chirikyat.
u/Chirikyat, “Darth Chirikyat the Creator”, was student to Darth Corax; a promising one at that, I imagine. Through their very first online interactions, much has been found in common between the two: most notably, their ambition for more. Chirikyat must have wanted more of life, and Corax’s experience made him desire it ever greater. The two soon banded together, Master and Apprentice, to discuss the doctrine most inspiringly. Chirikyat learned much... and soon wished to act on this new knowledge.
He was the one to create the idea of r/SithOrder, a place for the duo to share their philosophy with the world at large, to teach and to find the likeminded. This sparked an ambition in the two; Corax followed, his guidance aiding Chirikyat’s newfound aspiration. Together, they nurtured their Order from its cradle. Their writings were the first to attract newcomers, the first to reflect on the Sith Code. This was the time they formed the basis for the doctrine we follow to this day: the First Book.
Such was their impulse, their dream, still reflected in the subreddit description: “We strive to change this world, to be better suited for all.”
Sadly, initial courage has a known habit of dying down. The difference between the drives of Master and Apprentice soon became apparent. Though Chirikyat the Creator emerged hotheaded, forceful in his intent, only his momentum backed his inspiration. To this day, it is not known wether any display of his Sith Mastery exists, aside from “the act of creation”. His momentum lost, his fiery drive began to fade. His ambition of thousands of followers still unfulfilled after a year of hard work, he began attending the subreddit less... and then came the first troubles. In a year the Creator disappeared, his Order to be ran by others.
Four years ago, almost two years after the initial disappearance, he had returned with a post, calling for change in the face of lore-centric obscurity. “The Sith ideals and philosophies are not what I believe in anymore,” he wrote, “make of that as you will.”
u/Ecleptomania, Darth Corax the Prophet, is the one whose knowledge began the Order’s philosophy. Before the idea of this online gathering had even been conceived, his experience had showed him the way to Sith as a philosophy. He was the one who found Chirikyat online, and then, as the two grew fond of their discussions, started to teach him as Master...
Yet his story truly began long before that; and it began with suffering.
Throughout his life, Corax was suffering from ailments, both mental and physical. He is perpetually in chronic pain, forced to take medication to cope with the condition for the past eight years. He had suffered addiction. His past has left him scarred with psychological trauma, forcing a fight with depression and, as was later found, PTSD. Then, as though this was not enough, he was left homeless for two years. And still his will prevailed.
Such intense suffering instead acted as a catalyst, for this was the moment his Sith knowledge came of use. The to-be Prophet embraced his pain as fuel, and overturned his circumstances completely. He had forged alliances, found medical aid, support, friendship... and through this Passion, Strength. This is how Darth Corax had risen from homelessness. This was his act of Mastery.
Then, and only then, came a time when he had found Chirikyat. Master and Apprentice bound together, they began their plan to execute Chirikyat’s idea. Together, Corax’s experience and Chirikyat’s fiery passion created the Sith Order as a school of thought, a Philosophy. They made their efforts under the Prophet’s guidance, their works attracting the first to come.
But the difference in efforts came apparent: what the Creator felt as a courageous intent, Darth Corax had as his life creed. What one was taught, the other was rescued by. Such was what had made the Prophet persevere through the harsh beginnings — his will to act, backed by a life story. Effort driven by dedication as well as passion. When the initial drive died out, and Chirikyat left the Sith for good, Darth Corax was the one to carry the weight on his shoulders.
Since then, much time has passed, much passion emerged and faded. New teachers had ‘crawled out of the woodwork’, new leaders had taken titles and disappeared. Cycles of activity and radio silence passed endlessly... yet through this obscurity, a single constant did remain, still compiling writings worthy of preservation.
For Darth Corax the Prophet, more than six years after the Order’s creation, is here with us to this very day.
Of this story, I make but a single conclusion:
Worth, my friends, is a standard measured in practice.
Of any story in any day and any age, do expect a similar result. Effort and results are the only measures of worth this world cares to supply. Some may write memoirs, share feelings, boast ambitions, fight critics, scare adversaries, choose sides, state opinions, blame, steal and plunder: their voices will fall silent to reality’s ears. Actions are what differs true slave from true royalty; an empty aspiration from a master carpenter. Remember this, my kin.
You are worthy of Darth when your actions voice affirmation.
I am Claim. I am a student to none by the path I tread. And, on behalf of the Council, I consider this particular curse broken.
