Altair Kallig (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
kallig) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
boxofmisfits2022-06-15 03:07 am
kallig) wrote in boxofmisfits2022-06-15 03:07 am
Entry tags:
A Sith & A Mage & Hijinks...
It had been a week now since that day they had decided to start traveling together.
It had been nice- traveling alongside someone else, having stories shared with him and even sharing some very heavily edited ones of his own given that edited stories were all he could offer without sounding completely off in the head. It had also been difficult given that Altair had to be very careful to not let even a slip of skin show. Wandering off on his own during times Anders was otherwise occupied to clean himself or to eat or drink.
Still, Altair preferred it to traveling alone- even if he had found a lot of ghosts along the way to talk to. Having a friend among the living was nice too.
As they traveled on this particular day, the light was quickly being replaced with the darkness of night.
Some old and unused path through a forest, that had once been a well-traveled road if the old rock fence he was currently keeping his balance on as he walked along the top of it rather than on the path through the trees was anything to go by- maybe the place had been settled some time ago. Maybe people had lived out here. It seemed likely, all things considered. Maybe they'd find something neat if they kept walking in this direction.
Who knew.
He wasn't so focused on that at the moment though, instead keeping his head tilted back so his face was turned up to the sky- knowing that the stars would be starting to come out soon.
"Do you ever wonder if there's life out there?" He asked his companion, breaking the comfortable silence they'd been traveling in for a little while.
It was a question that had been on his mind, all things considered.
Maybe there was a similar Empire to his own out there. Maybe a Galactic Republic or something like it. Or perhaps all the worlds out there were like this one- still so early in their development.
Altair wondered if this planet had even gotten to the part of history where they were wondering or theorizing about whether or not there was life out in space too. Maybe he was sounding completely insane to Anders by asking.
But then, a lot of things Altair had said and done since they first met probably seemed completely insane, so it really was business as usual.
It had been nice- traveling alongside someone else, having stories shared with him and even sharing some very heavily edited ones of his own given that edited stories were all he could offer without sounding completely off in the head. It had also been difficult given that Altair had to be very careful to not let even a slip of skin show. Wandering off on his own during times Anders was otherwise occupied to clean himself or to eat or drink.
Still, Altair preferred it to traveling alone- even if he had found a lot of ghosts along the way to talk to. Having a friend among the living was nice too.
As they traveled on this particular day, the light was quickly being replaced with the darkness of night.
Some old and unused path through a forest, that had once been a well-traveled road if the old rock fence he was currently keeping his balance on as he walked along the top of it rather than on the path through the trees was anything to go by- maybe the place had been settled some time ago. Maybe people had lived out here. It seemed likely, all things considered. Maybe they'd find something neat if they kept walking in this direction.
Who knew.
He wasn't so focused on that at the moment though, instead keeping his head tilted back so his face was turned up to the sky- knowing that the stars would be starting to come out soon.
"Do you ever wonder if there's life out there?" He asked his companion, breaking the comfortable silence they'd been traveling in for a little while.
It was a question that had been on his mind, all things considered.
Maybe there was a similar Empire to his own out there. Maybe a Galactic Republic or something like it. Or perhaps all the worlds out there were like this one- still so early in their development.
Altair wondered if this planet had even gotten to the part of history where they were wondering or theorizing about whether or not there was life out in space too. Maybe he was sounding completely insane to Anders by asking.
But then, a lot of things Altair had said and done since they first met probably seemed completely insane, so it really was business as usual.
no subject
"I'd love nothing more either. Magic just is, much like the Force in my own world. It's hard to ascribe morals to a force of nature. The Force has a light side and a dark side and there are those who think that the dark side itself is evil, but what ultimately matters is what you do with the gift you've been given."
That was what he believed, anyway. He saw magic in much the same way.
"Plus I think people need to sit down and think about why they think punishing the whole for the actions of a few is justified, when there seems to be about twenty or thirty morally bankrupt Templars for each one of those few mages."
He sighed, and looked into the fire, falling quiet for a moment, "Force sensitives aren't normally treated the way mages are here, but... I wasn't entirely truthful. There are places- certain groups of people- who see us as... Contaminated. Impure. They think that being Force sensitive means that there's something... Wrong with you, somehow."
Altair was small already, though seemed even smaller as he spoke, "My people- the Chiss- see us like that. I wasn't born where my people are from, but... From what I understand, some Chiss are made to use drugs or have surgeries that cut them off from the Force. Some are sent away from all they know- exiled- to try their luck elsewhere. And if any Chiss is found using their powers, then they're executed- without question, without trial."
A very small shrug before he continued, his voice much quieter, "My family saw the Force like that."
He probably didn't need to elaborate on what that meant. When someone saw someone else as being made wrong somehow, it wasn't exactly usually met with kindness.
no subject
As Altair spoke, Anders was suddenly reminded of Merrill, and her insistence that blood magic wasn't any different than regular magic. He didn't quite see how something called 'the dark side' could be used for good, but he trusted Altair on the matter.
When Altair finished, Anders whispered, "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. Nor do other Force sensitive Chiss."
What he described wasn't exactly like being made tranquil, but that didn't mean it wasn't still awful. It was still treating a gift like something shameful, something worthy of death.
"That sounds as bad as what Qunari do to their mages. They see magic as so dangerous, so volatile, that they just break their mages. Qunari sew their mages' lips together, collar them, and turn them into slaves who exist only to obey their handler." The encounter with the Saarebas still stuck with him all these years later.
"Not to downplay what happened to you, or what happens to other Chiss with your power."
no subject
The blessings of growing older, Altair supposed. There had been a time, when he had been a child, where he had been certain that it was a curse. That he had, in fact, been born wrong or invited his sensitivity to the Force somehow. He still feared other Chiss, but no longer saw what had happened to him as being his fault. He wasn't to blame for other people's ignorance.
"And that's... Horrifying."
Altair stood from where he was sitting, to move over to Anders's side, taking a seat beside him and leaning against him slightly, reaching to pet the kitten in his lap, "Sounds like the sort of thing a Hutt might be into. They do seem fond of taking Force sensitives for gladiators for their blood sport, anyway."
no subject
"Sounds like someone Justice would like getting up close and personal with." Obviously Anders didn't know what a Hutt was, but an injustice was an injustice.
Taking one of his hands off the kitten, Anders took Altair's fingers in his own (the one not also petting the cat). "One less secret between us, then. Thank you for telling us. Your trust means a lot."