Holocron of Darth Draconis

I am Darth Draconis, Sith Practitioner. This Holocron had been made to serve various purposes. One function is to convey my ideology... My convictions, beliefs, values, methods, and practices. Another is to aid in your growth. Take from me what you will. Retain what is useful - discard what is not.

Salutations...

As I'm still alive and plan to be for the foreseeable future, this holocron is a continuous work in progress. Everything within it is liable to be modified, changed, refined. It will grow and change. It's current state is a far cry from what it once was, but in the not so distant past I decided to overhaul the entire thing; though lengthy and potentially a good resource for others, how it reflected me was to rough, to unwieldy, to in need of a tune up to do justice to what I felt my holocron should be. So I cut everything out and started over. This, however, is where I intend to gradually reintegrate whatever I deem usable from the previous versions of it, in addition to it being new and improved. It isn't so much a new one, as I'd originally intended to make when I left my original in the dust as a piece of history; no, this is something more. An improvement, rather than a replacement. Until this one is up to par in quantity and quality of content, this first entry will remain.

After that... my greeting to you will also be revised to match the rest of this. As it is now, it speaks to the state of my holocron, but it's already slated for improvement because it's to 'in the moment'. In the near future this particular part will be changed into something more appropriate to a holocron. Until then, explore as you will...

A Brief History

Over the years I practiced the Sith Ways alone, with few to lean on. Somewhere along, in the earliest days, I started using the internet in search of inspiration, for anything I could find out about the Sith of our lore. For quite a while that's all I found. Role playing sites with a wealth of fresh perspectives on the Sith philosophy for me to think about and field test to the best of my abilities as a young teen. And eventually I stumbled across the older main page of the FA, a web page that featured a few of the lectures of Darth Moor. At first of course I had thought it was just another source - thanks to his penchant for injecting the mythos so directly into some of the writings he aimed at Star Wars enthusiasts - but then I kept reading, and I discovered for the first time that I wasn't the only Sith, or even the first.

After that I found more. Home of the True Sith, the Jedi Order of Ashla Knights, and a number of other communities. Most of them will have been long gone by now, but I joined pretty much all of them in an obsessive effort to expand the scope of the knowledge and understanding I had of my own way of life. I'd tell you how old I was, but for whatever reason my age at the time isn't something I recall (and is fairly unimportant in any case).

The Order of the Sith was established by yours truly in 2006, October 6th, where I claimed the title Dark Lord of the Sith. Admittedly, in this particular case it was less a mark of progression, and more a tool to be used to fulfill the vision I had; and initially I was not the only one to sport it. I set things up so that there were other Dark Lord's and Lady's helping to give the Order form, to give it shape. It was a structure I changed drastically before very long (along with the accommodations to all other paths that I wished to acknowledge or further, almost in imitation of the Force Academy's system, both of which were abolished for the purpose of re-orienting the Order towards focusing solely on the ways of the Sith). Abandoned though it was for a different approach I feel it deserves to be mentioned, if only to be looked back on as one of many stepping stones toward what the Order grew to become.

Shortly before the reformations that those changes were a part of, I had begun an apprenticeship under Darth Atlas (though truth be told we were in many ways partners and peers) and was invited to a site of his own, called the Sith Empire. (Given the scarcity of Sith resources, communities, and practitioners around the time, I would argue it wasn't nearly as pretentious to call it that as it may seem now, in retrospect.) During my time as a member there I continued with the apprenticeship and helped to run and expand his site, in addition to the Order.

It was around that time that I entered into a training arrangement with two apprentices in accordance with an experimental 'rule of three'. The idea being that it would set up the dynamics for competition between the two students. There were two or three different spins on it, mine and Atlas's being more or less the same, so it was with that variation that both of us tried it out. He decided to teach somebody I can't seem to remember (suffice it to say, he wasn't nearly as useful an asset as I was, nor as interested in advancing his agenda or that of the Sith - one and the same for me at the time), while I worked with Aly Priceless and Ophidious - not the first I worked with, but likely the first two that are worth remembering. At some point, the Empire and most of its members - many of which were also members of the Order - became involved in what some eventually deemed the Adeptus War, which was quite the cliché conflict in having been between Jedi and Sith.

For three years I held my position as would-be Dark Lord, and for three years the Order of the Sith evolved. I think it's only fair attribute a lot of its growth and progression - as a tool for Sith to interact and learn throughout that time - to many other practitioners I had the pleasure (and occasionally the displeasure) of working with, people that invested their time, their intellect, and their passion into it. But on December 22nd, 2009 I officially stepped down, having come to the decision a few days before the announcement. I left the responsibilities of leadership in the hands of two Sith Lords, Miles and Khaos, and from there I sought to remake myself yet again.

I succeeded, forging myself in the flames of my passion, focusing that passion towards my intent to evolve and expand through the dark training program of the FA's Sixth Dynasty. The only one to truly undergo the training offered from start to finish and to invest myself in other facets of the Dark Aspects management, it wasn't long before I was recognized as a Dark Knight there; that was announced August 9th, 2010. Just over a year later, I became the seventh head of the Dark aspect and elicited a special kind of paint to decorate my "face" with as acting leader, a paint made of excuses, shortcomings, and problems within the DA. It served first to bring many of the issues into focus, then effectively brought them to a head as I made myself the focal point, the face of them, the scapegoat.

My background may or may not seem relevant to you. My own take on whether it matters? While I think a persons past has some relevance to who he or she becomes, I do not place much value in it. It's simply a collection of sterile lessons to the onlooker and to the one it pertains to (me, in this case), the memories are only more visceral because they're mine, and to much time dwelling on them seems a good way not to create any more. I think that you should learn from the previous events, experiences, emotions... but to become fixated on the past is stupid and pointless. Learning is all well and fine, but incessant reflection will ultimately get you nowhere.

There Is No Unity

The Sith will never be identified as a whole, under one united front. There are individuals, and some of them communicate with one another through the internet, phone conversations, even gatherings, but there are no singular, all-encompassing orders. Neither unity nor communion correlate to the individualistic nature of our ways. Emma Syncler said it well in stating that our only unity is through diversity. In any group, even the one that currently houses this holocron, the final say on who is Sith, on what it means to be one... falls to the individual. Even at the best of them I would only dare to call the collective just that... a collection of individuals who, by their own will, expose their feelings and thoughts to others who call themselves Sith.

So let me tell you what I call Sith...

A being that guides the transformation of his mind, body, and spirit. Through implementation of his will the path is forged, not followed. This requires mindfulness, based on the foundation of a quintessential awareness. Awareness of Passion! Awareness of its manifestations (emotion) and the objects it reaches for (the things you live for, the things you're addicted to, the things you couldn't live without), as well as of the thing itself (the drive to grow, to expand). Awareness of these things allow for pursuit of them. Through those pursuits... the individual grows stronger. And the importance of strength, shouldn't be overlooked. Without it and the power it brings, no living creature could survive. By extension nothing could thrive without it. No man could bring his dreams to fruition.

Imagine yourself as a world. First... you have to learn the terrain. Then grow beyond it, destroy it. And then begins the task of putting it all back together. 'Did I get it right the first time?' 'Did I get it right last time?' 'What about all the other times throughout my life in which I continually destroy and create?' 'Will I ever get it right in this lifetime?' Will there ever be a time to rest? The answer to all of these questions is No. But again and again we get better at it, closer to understanding what we want it to become, closer to making it what has been envisioned. In other words, we adapt more and more to the darkness, the unknown, the uncertainty that we elect to immerse ourselves within, and reach closer and closer to a state that might be called a kind of at-one-ment with darkness and discovery.

Dark Side of the Force

If you look for them, you can find explanations of the Force that range from elaborate in the extreme to bare-bones simplicity. I myself prefer the more simple of them, as they're often the most sensible, and I have a soft spot for the way it has been described in the lore: a fundamental energy that binds all things, connects them, and flows through them. Mystical and unexplainable, yet also natural and essential. I might go further, to say that the Force is all things, but I'm partial to it because it encompasses all possible forms of it that have been studied throughout human history, from kundalini to prana, jing to magick.

Yet it is simple, and doesn't rely on the validity of any one of these aspects to maintain its own; disagree with one view, you inevitably subscribe to another. And any one of them is just an aspect of the force. Reject the idea of energy practices, throw out the possibility of god, and still the material acts in much the same way the Force is said to: a dead body breaks down, the elements once bound together disperse back into the rest of reality; you want your arm to move and, without even thinking about it, it moves, because of electrical signals and the physical motor skills they control. Even in attempting to cut out the mysticism in favor of a purely scientific outlook, you have energy and matter, their interactions, and all things being connected in a very quintessential way. The only question is how much of the various expressions of it fit in to your world view.

So what then is the "Dark Side" of the Force? It is this, and only this: the true nature of it. The "Truth" of the Force, if you will.

You see, that is perhaps one of the most seductive qualities of darkness. It's the truth of things. Sith ideology is merely a paradigm built upon those truths. Take, for instance, "survival of the fittest". It is not a philosophical idea, it's an observation. There are no attempts at denial or clever 'feel better' concepts. Only a truth put into words, and ways in which it can be put to use. So it is when the "Dark Side" of the Force is spoken of. Coming up with an alternative that sounds nicer - like equality, or love of thy neighbor - doesn't make it any less true, it just makes your understanding of reality skewed. The code of the Sith is no different, it describes a process, and the understanding of that process is built on observed characteristics of life. All it does is present these characteristics in a way that implies they should be embraced.

That's the allure. Truth, and encouragement to straddle it for a ride. With that in mind, the Dark Side of the Force is (that it is) destructive to anything that lives and breathes. It is entropic, moving ever closer to equilibrium. A life span is but a metaphor, a small and observable example of what it does: we burn and coil like cigarettes, but in the end we all go out. We may even generate a certain flavor of energy, like the heat of burning tobacco, but even the living Force that we're vessels for moves toward inertia after birth. Unless it is encouraged, fanned and nourished while it's burning, as one would do with a fire.

So here, then, is a truth of the Force: we all burn. You, me, everyone. It doesn't matter whether you're aware of it, because it happens, is happening, regardless. A Sith is just someone that becomes aware of it and makes the choice to open up to the oxygen that feeds it, and the pain from burning hotter. To become strong enough to harness it. To ride it as a god would ride a storm. It's a poison for the average joe, the mediocre, one that Sith take in willingly. We're willing to pay whatever price it demands, to live with whatever stains on the soul and damages wrought... and to take the risk that we will fuck our lives up if we're too weak to handle it. For the strong it's a great medicine, a source of vitality, and the high price of embracing it is well worth paying.

Exposition of the Sith Code

Passion is darkness, within, only to be found by the individual. Strength is darkness, within, only to be recognized by the individual. Power is darkness, within, only to be felt and exercised by the individual. Victory is darkness, within, only to be attained by the individual. The Force is darkness, within, only to be touched - through passion - by the individual. Freedom is darkness, within, only to be experienced by the individual.

Names of the Sith

Names are important... the one an individual chooses as Sith, even more so. The people that I've watched change names from one day to the next have always been an irritant; in my eyes it gives the impression of casual disregard for the sacredness of the name they're known by. And most of those that change theirs on a regular basis also overlook the value of it as a rite of passage, a sign of commitment to who you've chosen to be, and to the path you've chosen to walk. My stance has long been that the name taken should be a lifelong one.

In my seminal years, when I chose mine, I made a conscious effort to disassociate from the person I was before then; the memories were someone else’s memories, the life before then wasn't mine, not at all. Because I wouldn't be the same fucked over, beaten down, used and abused nice guy that I’d been before. It was in that sense that I’d left behind and condemned the person I had been so that I could become the person I wanted to be, maybe the person I felt I deserved to be. It was the deliberate destruction of my former identity. Who I was before that… simply died. I was born.

If the tradition appeals to you, be aware: there's no set way to go about discovering yours and no rules for what its underlying meaning will be for you. The only real common element that is always present is that it does have meaning. Derived from our own intimate connection to and understanding of darkness, it's meant to describe the creature you've started to evolve into, and the kind of creature you will eventually (and continually) grow to become. It isn't just a nickname, an alter ego, or an alias. To take a new name as a Sith practitioner is to name your true nature.

Still, it should be said that there are some that opt out of the tradition, and that not all of them are at fault in doing so. It's not something to be held against them, because a true Sith will be seen as such by his actions, ambitions, competence, and accomplishments. A lack of personal resonance with the tradition will never overshadow that.

The Darth Title

Ideally, sporting the Darth title implies that a practitioner has devoted his life to the ways of the Sith. In claiming it, he puts forth an unspoken declaration to that effect, and, by extension, a declaration of his devotion to himself - his growth, ambitions, and accomplishments. There are those who have no interest in the title, some even view it as a chain, but for those who place value in it, you may want to ask yourself: What meaning does this title have? What are the possible implications? Is there merit to its use? Why do some work so tirelessly and relentlessly to feel worthy of it?

My answers, in essence, amount to this: in putting Darth before my name, I signify my devotion to the Self, and to the Sith. To my own evolution as a Sith. It implies that I apply the Sith Teachings to my life, in accordance to my will. Its merit is argued against persistently at times, and yet I say that if it has meaning for you it has merit; if you are one of those that think it hollow and worthless, then it will be. As far as worthiness goes, if you're the one lacking, well, without being worth the title in your own eyes it (again) will hold no value.

But for someone that gives it value and matches up to what they believe it should denote, it's of substantial value. That's how I see it; as something meaningful, worth investing in, and worth using. I won't tell you whether you should or shouldn't use it. What I will do is tell you what it signifies to me, and leave you to decided what to make of it. My answers, while not the same as yours will be, are something for you to think on.

Rule of One

In the lore that inspired most of us, there existed a variety of doctrines throughout the history of the Sith Order. They were all subject to adaptation, replacement, and competing factions with doctrines of their own in any given era, which is something that (to an extent) holds true for real Sith.

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