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The dark side is the essence of darkness and power. As such, those along its path are touched by its nature and brought to perceive their world in terms of named values: strength, power, domination, darwinism, war and victory. Those of the dark side seek the challenge within our world and the spiritual world: to overcome their own mortality, to find the source of power that would allow them to forfeit their mortal coil and rise beyond the shackles of their bestowed limitations. They seek challenge and confrontation, to find their limits and expand them.
As predators, we follow the unspoken rules of the hunt: there is the predator and there is the prey. If a predator is too weak to take down his prey, he will seek other predators of same nature and create a truce with a defined means to an end. In such cooperation, there is always hierarchy; there is always a lead. The lead itself is determined by the strength of each individual, by its capabilities as a predator and its ability to kill the prey and defeat those of weaker station. In our world and on this path, the “strength” of each individual is measured by different means: by his knowledge and abilities in the force; his understanding of the path they follow and his ability to promote the development of those who would offer their servitude in said alliance. If the leader is weak, those following him will come to question his strength and test that weakness. In due course, therefore a lead may change or an alliance end, if those of the pack no longer acknowledge the strength of the one who leads them.
In many ways, the nature and success of such an alliance depends on the definition of the prey. Many will come to consider that those of the light side, being our spiritual enemies are such prey. Thus, the capability of the leader to minder their ranks would be the main criteria. Others believe that the prey refers to human kind: the blind sheep who serve our purpose and exist beneath us, or cross our path and must therefore be destroyed. The prey here, is possession of followers. Others again, will conclude that the prey is actually the path of the dark side itself. It is the path that needs to be caught, discovered, unveiled and thus offered for its knowledge and capability to strengthen our own power. In the sum of all considerations, the leader’s capability to offer the prey to his pack lies in his ability to support the desires of the pack and thus ensure their servitude and his lead.
Summarizing these bullets, we can derive that a successful leader of the dark side, must offer, skill in combat and deceit, knowledge in terms of strategy to subjugate mundane society and thus bring forth the spoils of social influence and wealth. But above all, he must be knowledgeable in regard to the path itself: that those who follow him as soldiers may rise to become lords over mankind. In terms of their knowledge and power of the arts of the dark side.
Considering what such a leader must offer, the second step is to also consider how his contribution to the pack is acknowledged.
The pack will await the rewards of their fealty. This is an inevitable fact that can not be denied nor should it be ignored. No pack shall vary from the other in this regard. The only difference is the frequency in which they demand their return reward. And this depends only on the strength of vision the leader can share with his pack.
Any leader must realize if he holds the loyalty of the pack’s swords or also their hearts. If it is only the blades he can rely on, he must ensure a regular return. The danger herein lies in the distraction from the overall strategy. A campaign will take a certain amount of time. A leader must ensure the loyalty of his pack throughout the campaign. If the pack receives their return quickly, they may hesitate and decide to end their fealty prematurely. If they receive a return in between, with a final goal too unreachable in their opinion. They will take what they can and then seek a new prospect. As such, the spoils must be shared equally during such a campaign. When a return is received, the next return must already be perceived as clear and reachable. A leader achieves this on the sole basis of his ability to promote the reality of said spoils. In terms of social influence and wealth, this is an easy task: If the master is skillful in the arts, his followers will soon receive the low hanging fruits of what they sought, of what their mortality requests of them: acknowledgement of status, fear by enemies, loyalty by allies, and wealth to begin shaping their own immediate surroundings and plans. Already at this point, many of the weaker pack members will become unfocused: seeing the immediate fruits of their rewards, many may choose to reside on this level of achievement. For they were never truly followers of the dark side for the sake of the path, but for the potential ability to give them strength over the sheep and make them lords among slaves. They will depart their station and bid their leader farewell. Often enough they remain at this level and never manage to take another step through the valley of shadows, for their thirst has been quenched and their hunger stilled. It is an amusing irony for any experienced master to perceive, as his followers disappear behind the shroud of their mundane pleasures and lose all contact with the dark side: trapped in the shell of the lord of sheep, they return to where they came from and are forgotten by the divine.
Those that remain strong upon the path are those that truly seek the spoils beyond mortality: the power to be achieved in life to pass the divine spark to their very souls and thus increase their power in the life beyond our world and its limits of mortality. Again, the leader will be challenged by his ability to share that vision. To have the answers, where questions are sowed. To know the next step to be taken, when those who follow would hesitate. To understand and guide the dark ones who join his ranks and offer their eternal servitude. For he will lead them through the valley upon which they shall embrace the powers of immortality on the other side. He is their true leader and he will lead them to the pure source of darkness, upon which they shall transcend beyond the limitations of their mortal destiny. Yet this path is much more difficult to prove continuously. Studies are done and the arts learned. Power is achieved and thus pleasures and inspires the hunger of the true followers for more. Yet the more power is accumulated, the larger the risk of mundane satisfaction. Overall, any true follower must learn not to compare himself with the sheep around him, but with the wolves at his side. For we do all compare the quality of our deeds, and measure them by the success of our neighbors. Yet, here lies the danger that all shall be forgotten and we shall again compare ourselves to the mortals we left behind to seek out the divine. Here, discipline and steadiness is required. The mindful and the hesitant will wander upon different paths. And the leader will carry only those who show merit and promise, who perhaps, despite their weakness show the potential to fulfill their journey through the valley itself. If those who are too weak, who will fall, who will turn, remain with the pack for too long, they will endanger their brothers and said quest, for the weight of their sloth, of their shallowness, of their lack to perceive the vision of the true power that lies beyond, until the pack may come to a halt entirely, for the leader bears no longer the strength to make them move on.
Every leader has his own limits, regardless how far he is on the path. He must be mindful for the desires of his fellow predators, he must understand what their motives are and when they will meet their greatest temptation to fail. He must realize when he must leave them and thus sacrifice them to their own undoing. And he must have the faith, the belief, the devotion and the power to serve nothing but the dark side itself if he wishes to reach the end of the valley with his forces intact.
Over the years, with each generation of succeeding teachers and masters, the vision of our true quest, or our true desires has continued to fade. No longer are there those who whisper into the shadows and create that serene echo in the heart of a fellow follower. Each generation, has thus cut down on its targets, wisely understanding their own inability to cross the valley. The first of them focused on the vision. The second of them, explained the vision was not of merit, only the power it bears. The third followed soon, proclaiming the power itself was not real. Only the mindfulness of tactics, the wealth of philosophy, the strength of words could be the weapons to bring social influence and wealth, if an own profession is chosen wisely and followed with appreciation. The fourth came and said, nothing is important for there is no definition. We are all masters in our ability to inspire each other. And therefore we should all be individuals, never bowing to one or the other alliance, for the social influence we seek will be gained by subconscious recognition, for the beauty of our words. For our ability to quote others. For out humor, so witty. And in wealth we shall last succeed, for wealth is happiness. And the divine will know the truth of our words, where no others can shed their jealousy to acknowledge our wisdom, yet in our hearts we know our true unique value and greatness and one day it shall be rewarded.
The dark is not different from the light, in my opinion. There are answers to be found. There is a lifestyle to be embraced, as means to discovering the self and by being the self, therefore embrace happiness. Yet a man, a scholar and a warrior, must also serve something other than himself to develop and maintain purpose. And in this purpose and our ability to serve successfully, we truly define our own value as does history with those that come to achieve renown for their words and more, for the deeds of their time.
It is only in choice of light and darkness that we differ in our true nature. For in our day and age, we come to realize, all of us, light and dark as well, that we do not need serve that which others would dictate to us, but need to discover the secrets and value of the world and the realms beyond by our own means. Yet in this search, we seek within. We listen to discover the voices inside and move forward to see where they lead us and where our true self lies. In this there are those who would come to discover that they are of a darker nature than those around us. And in turn, of recognizing the self and accepting ourselves for what we are, we acknowledge our link with darkness. It is only then, where again boys and men walk different paths, that there would be those who seek to serve that which is greater than themselves, thus defining the scope and magnitude of purpose, which leads them through life and to that which they seek as fulfillment to their existence. Good souls serving the light, or dark souls, serving the darkness, there is not much difference in much of what we do and experience.
In the light, there will be those who can not follow any one or anything, for all are tainted except themselves. There are those who shall settle for protecting the sheep, perhaps because they seek in truth the spoils of recognition and mundane leadership as well. There are those who shall seek the powers to protect others. Again others, who seek the powers to bring their personal definition of good to mankind. Perhaps with or without themselves at the tip of the army who shall liberate all the poor lost sheep from their sins and graciously accept their gratitude. And again, there will be those who walk the path to the end. Who deserve to be acknowledged as the enemies of darkness. For they have understood and resisted the temptation of the flesh and crossed their own valley as they set out to do.
I don’t believe the dark side is only successful within the realm of order. Neither do I believe that its only purpose is to succeed as the antagonist. Where there is light, there is shadow. Such will always be. The rest is only a question of the sheep, the pack and the leader.
For many battles take place…
As our search, as our war, is eternal…
– Moor