An Introduction
Darth Atlas, that is the name I have taken for myself as a Sith Lord. Yes I am a Sith, I have chosen to be Sith and my choices have made me what I am today.
The greatest tool in a human's arsenal is that of choice. I am a Sith and yet I remain a devout Christian. This is easily done although you may not see it at first. As a Christian, I love God, and as a Sith, I love myself. I seek to serve myself as a Sith Lord but loving and serving God does both of these for me. I love God and would do anything that he called upon me to do, so to simply carry out his will I serve that which I love; therefore, I serve myself. It's a little tough to understand but when you think about it, it makes perfect sense. By serving that which I love, I gain the warmth of knowing that my service is to something Divine and Holy.
This is possible even for somebody who calls himself a Sith. Let's say you have somebody in need of help, yet helping them will not give you anything. As a Sith and a Christian, I would help him. Why? Because by helping him I protect that which God took time to create and therefore I serve God in my actions. So you see, being a Sith doesn't mean being evil or cruel.
Earlier I mentioned choice. I believe in the divine power of choice that God granted all of us. I chose to be what and who I am. The Dark Side didn't choose me; I chose it. I chose it because I seek to dive into the unknown, to find that hidden strength and power of emotion and will. There are hidden powers in the Dark Aspect, and I seek to reveal them and conquer them. That is why I have chosen the Dark Side of the Force as my guide.
But what of the other Archetypes of the Dark Side? What of the Krath and the Jensari? I believe that these are all just different parts of one entity that is Sith. The means may be different but in the end the goals remain the same. In the beginning, the servants of the Dark Side were Sith and it will end that way too. Krath and Jensari may be different in means and philosophy, but they are still servants of the Dark Side, so they are still part of the original Sith. A Sith does not have to revel in hate and anger; I myself also take part in the feelings of Love and Joy, as does every other human being, dark student or not. But the dark aspect's members all remain a part of the original Sith, if not specifically the Archetype of the Dark Aspect called Sith.
Your emotions are the keys to your life and destiny. Intense feelings can help you see better and feel better than you ever have before. A basic feeling is Pain. Pain is a key to unlocking yourself. I use pain sometimes to look deeper into myself by the use of a meditation style. I sit down and get comfortable, then I begin to think. I think about events and actions that have pained me. I revive the terrible feelings that I felt during those moments and enlarge them, completely giving in to the pain and misery that it caused me. Then I take a step back and observe. I think about why these events and actions have pained me, what about me allows these things to hurt me. I shuffle through these thoughts until I find the answers. Seeing why I am pained, I accept these reasons as weaknesses and show myself that my own weakness must be blocked off if I am ever to become more protected from Pain.
The Pain I feel is a sacrifice to God; he has allowed me to feel this way and it is a gift I should be grateful for. While I am grateful to Him, I accept that some pains are tests of my strength and will and I serve him by destroying these weaknesses in myself. Making myself a better Servant of God, and a better Sith.
The Dark Side
The Dark Side is a fog, a very dense fog where you cannot see where you are going once you enter it. It takes a strong will to enter the fog and even more to continue down the path. If you reach out and you are strong enough, you will eventually grab something; the fog is full of rewards, but it only grants its greatest rewards to those strong enough to take them.
There are many paths in the fog, and one path is made just for you. Nobody's path is the same, for we are each free to choose it for ourselves. As Sith, we are completely free; we have no restrictions besides those that we set upon ourselves, but restrictions are weights, and with them chained to you, you will never know what the Dark Side really is to you.
The further into the fog you go, the denser and hotter it gets. At this point, some are afraid to go on, and thus are the weaker Sith denied. The stronger Sith keep going and learn the more powerful truths of the Dark Side; these are the Sith Lords, masters of themselves and their knowledge.
But even with the title of Sith Lord the fog still holds many secrets, and thus is the learning everlasting. There is always something more that the fog can teach you. It is foolish to believe that you know every secret of the fog. Thus, it is wise to take on several teachers over time so that you have a wider range of knowledge of the Dark Side.
The fog is infinite, and it always has something to teach. To learn its secrets a Sith must never stop walking. You must never hesitate or regret. If you do, the fog will consume you and you will be lost. Keep on walking, choose your own path and walk it without fear, and the fog will lead you to its greatest knowledge and secrets.
∞ ◊ ∞
The Dark Side is an ocean, a vast black ocean. The Jedi float on boats, believing that with the sun shining down on them, they are safe from the waters below. But the water holds many secrets, and sometimes one may find the courage to slide their hands under or rest their feet in it to feel its true warmth. But these are still cowards, for a real Sith dives under and swims to the bottom to find what they want. Only through sheer passion and will do they stop the weight of the water from crushing down on them. But there is no bottom to this ocean; you can always go deeper, you can always find more.
Some dive underwater and hold their breath, forcing them to come back up. But the water is the Dark Side; it is all the air you need. The water is perfect; it contains everything you could ever need or want. The deeper you go, the more you will learn, and the stronger you will become. You must have faith in the Dark Side, in order to grasp its true power.
∞ ◊ ∞
The Dark Side is a vast Universe.
Within this Universe are trillions upon trillions of galaxies.
Each galaxy has stars, each star is surrounded by planets.
Each planet and star is a part of who you are.
Each galaxy a path for you to choose.
As a Sith, you must make your own Galaxy, a Galaxy that reflects who you truly are.
Each galaxy is a Sith, a servant and master of the Dark Side.
Each galaxy is a beautiful thing, a piece of the Dark Side, a piece of the Force.
It is these galaxies that make up the Dark Side.
It is these galaxies that feed its energy.
To tap into this Universe is to wield untold power and have the capability to achieve whatever you want.
This Universe is a vast store of energy and knowledge, just waiting to be studied, just waiting to teach.
Will you be one of its students? Will you step up to who you really are?
Will you stand up and take the knowledge for yourself?
Will you open your eyes and gaze upon the beauty that is the Dark Side?
∞ ◊ ∞
Picture a big room, one side of the room is lit up with lamps and you can see everything there. The only way you can find something new is to look into the smallest cracks in the wall. The other side of the room is full of dense fog. You cannot see anything in there. But absolutely anything can be in that fog and you are struck by the curiosity to find out what is there.
This curiosity is the first step down the Dark Side. It is this curiosity that created the Sith and it is on this curiosity that more fill the Sith ranks.
The fog is the Dark Side, and it contains many wonders. The only ones who will reap its full benefits are the ones who walk into it. Some stay in the light, reaching into the fog and seeing what they can grab. But the fog is clever; it will only grant its rewards to those who devote themselves to it. The Sith choose to walk into it, knowing that the fog will lead them to power. Holding out your hands grabbing what you can reach will only make you another one of those who have lost themselves. While in the fog, you must give yourself direction, choose which way to walk, and walk it. The fog is everywhere, and it is generous, but it will only open up to those strong enough to understand it.
Atlas
My name is Darth Atlas, as I have stated before, it is the name that I have taken as my own. But why? Why take on the name of an ancient Greek Titan? I'll tell you...
Atlas was a Titan who, after being defeated, was forced to hold the world up on his shoulders for eternity. The force of the weight crushing down on him was unbearable, but he had to endure it.
A Sith carries his own world up on his shoulders. It is the weight of his choices, his desires, his wants, his fears—everything about him. What a Sith carries is a vision of the Dark Side. The weight of which can be painful and unbearable.
The difference between the Titan and a Sith is that while Atlas was forced to endure it, a Sith chooses to endure it, for the sake of knowledge and strength, for power.
A Sith must hold up his own world; he must not have other people carry his or try to carry the worlds of others. This will only invite weakness, and your world will crush you.
The Power of the Dark Side is the power to hold up your world and to learn from this power.
Ripples
Imagine the giant sphere that is the world; see past what is physically there and see that it is all one giant sphere of water. This water is the force that surrounds us in life. Anything, the slightest twitch of the finger to waving your arm around will cause ripples. These ripples in the force are what bring about great events and make history. From the moment you are born when you are thrust into the water causing a splash, which will alter the fate of many.
You alone can make an uncountable amount of ripples that will alter history, but there are six billion others in that sphere, with people being thrown into the water and being yanked from it every day. With six billion people each causing thousands of ripples with every decision, the course of history is always shifting, always changing. History is always in motion, the ripples will never stop, and even a single smallest ripple is enough to change the entire course of history.
The Sith
The Sith revel in the Dark Side. A Sith seeks to learn from the darkness and understand it. Some say that a Sith revels only in Hate and anger, this is untrue. Just as the Dark Side is different for every individual, so too is what it truly means to be Sith. Being a Sith means something different to everybody, so there cannot be a single definition of a Sith. However, there are some characteristics shared among Sith. Your average Sith seeks one thing, power. Power is the ultimate temptation for Sith, as most Sith will use the Dark Side to control and conquer. This is the most basic version of a Sith; however, it is not the only one. Some Sith will seek knowledge and understanding of the Darkness, either realizing that this too will bring them power, for knowledge is the most ultimate form of power, or they hope to use this knowledge to better themselves. Some Sith will use the darkness to achieve a form of inner peace; they will look inwards into themselves and see how the darkness applies to them and what they want from it. Some Sith are warriors and conquerors, they thrive on battle and the lust of the fight. They may use the darkness as a source of guidance or strength. Being a Sith means something different for each and every one of you. Even if none of these examples apply to you, you can still learn from the darkness and be called Sith. To be a Sith is to hold onto an energy that is the Dark Side.
∞ ◊ ∞
What is a Sith? What makes one? How do you know if you are one?
I have always firmly believed that this question holds no single all-knowing answer, that I cannot walk up to somebody and claim "you are a Sith" or "you are a lot like the Sith". Why do I believe this? I believe this because I have found that to truly be a Sith means something completely different to everybody. Take Lord Draconis and me for example, while we think upon similar lines or even along the same lines, to view the Sith in a completely different way from one another would not mean that we are any less Sith. In fact, I quite enjoy meeting those Sith who think differently than I do because it provides for a valuable learning experience.
Being a Sith is what it is to the individual, not to the majority. I cannot tell you what the Sith are, for the Sith are many things. However, I can tell you as a Sith what "I" am. I am a Sith because I see the Sith as those individuals who embrace all parts of themselves and life. Not to deny a single thing about who and what they are, but to embrace all of your feelings and emotions, even those some people would classify as 'bad,' to accept that you feel love just as easily as you accept that you can feel hate, and not denying yourself that feeling but to learn from it. We all feel these things because we are human, so I would say that to me being a Sith means embracing your humanity. In my personal opinion, to deny something that you feel, to shut it out and pretend it doesn't exist, is to deny your own humanity and a part of who you are, effectively denying yourself the wonderful thing that is who you are.
Now understand that to me a Sith does feel hate and anger, but a Sith can just as easily feel love and kindness. To me:
- Hate does not make a Sith
- Anger does not make a Sith
- Passion does not make a Sith
These are part of what I believe the Sith embrace, what they can more easily accept, but these are not what the Sith ARE. The Sith are those who are not afraid to feel, no matter what it is that they feel. They embrace each and every aspect of what I believe to be their humanity. That is what it means to be a Sith, at least, that is what it means to be a Sith to me.
My Code
The Goal is Power.
Power through Wisdom,
Wisdom through Knowledge,
Knowledge through Experience,
Experience through Conflict,
Conflict through the Dark Side.