Historical Preservation and Presentation, by Sith Tarimra

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Historical Preservation and Presentation

Or: how history should be preserved and presented, with uses in modern society, and a definition of history.
By Sith Tarimra, Envoy of Arcana and Sith Lorekeeper of the Horuset Powerbase

It is known that history should be preserved and presented; such is an unquestionable truth. Still, to do so, we must first determine, what is history? History is all that has been, will be, and is. History is the single string of time through which all progresses; history is that which provides purpose to our lives, it is that which brings us closer to how we may serve whatever we serve.

History is, in most common interpretation, all that has been. It is history that the Pureblooded race was brought to Dromund Kaas by the will of the former Emperor Vitiate, just as it is history that the Jen’jidai landed on Korriban following the Hundred-Year Darkness and that the Sith Order was born from such ancient a union.

Still, we should make a distinction between storied history, and material history. The former would be legends and lessons that the past can teach us, and the ways we may use such in modern society. This includes the tenets of ages that have come before, such as the principles of the Golden Age of the Sith.
The latter, material history, does include the ancient artefacts, scrolls, and tombs left to us by that came before. Here, one should take a stewardly role. Such material things are easily lost (I look here to the many scrolls that have been lost by careless Acolytes venturing back from the Valley of the Dark Lords), for it is, by its nature, material and thus subject to the terrors of age and the whims of time and the elements. Here, one should assume a stewardly role; one should keep material history well-preserved and ready, by keeping it clean and away from the elements. For it is the elements that often make runes vague, and it is the elements that require protection against.

It is my firm belief that storied history should be preserved not in dusty tomes or glass cages. Such history is a constantly-forth flowing tale that directs the will of all and is directed by the most minute action. This lesson should be taught to all that will listen and all that will not.
Indeed, history is a living story, and as such, it should be taught to all who listen; shared with those that will not: it constantly repeats itself, and wisdom comes to those who see the patterns.

Then, there are ways material history should be preserved. Ancient scrolls and artefacts are less well-suited to the constant strains of show-and-tell; while this could and should still be done, there are other, less harmful, ways to preserve and so present such ancient things.
I recommend, in case of scrolls, that they are kept well out of reach from anyone unworthy to view them - I look here to all that seek to carelessly handle such ancient things, with no idea what damage their dirty hands may do upon such treasured relics.

Indeed, every effort should be made to restore material history to its former glory; think of the many tombs that dot Holy Korriban and are in a state of disrepair. It is my firm belief that such material history should not be allowed to crumble further and be lost to the sands of time. If any of the tombs have become unrepairable, all knowledge that can be salvaged from such should be salvaged; relics rescued; scrolls saved, and other history kept therein protected from the dirty and unworthy hands of those that would seek to use it for their gain.

For artefacts and other such items, it should be clear to all that they are far too valuable to be kept anywhere but the private collections of certain individuals or kept in a great collection that only high-ranking Sith experienced with such things may access. They are far too valuable -- and in some cases far too powerful -- to be given to just anyone or shown to the common folk. Indeed, such can even prove lethal - recall the rumours of the many powerful artefacts the Jen’jidai forged in their time as Ari ri Tsis and the many relics their heirs created.

Such things, and many smaller artefacts, should be kept by those experienced with the safekeeping and preservation of such valued heirlooms, and that their art -- that of preservation and handling -- be passed down only to those they deem worthy, so that knowledge such as that may not fall into the hands of the unworthy. I recall the horror I saw when the late Sith Razia held a lesson on Alchemy and gave Sith Amulets and the like to Acolytes and Aliens both. It boiled my blood and I was forced to depart lest I did something drastic.

While I know little of architecture and archaeology, there must be ways in which the ancient power and majesty of the tombs of old can be rebuilt and restored to their former glory without tainting them with the unworthy and the alien, or dispelling the innate power they possess as nexuses of the Dark Side. I recall the many great constructions I read about in my youth, such as Mantero, the burial moon of Serenno, or Veeshas Tuwan, the ancient library on Arkania, built by my ancestors to rival the Jedi library on Ossus.

In the end, the ancient art of preservation and handling of relics is one of the most treasured arts in the profession of the scholar; it is my opinion that such should be protected from the unworthy and the undeserving, taught only to those that prove themselves worthy of tuition in such an ancient art.

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