Darth Nyrys

Pyromancy The first forays into pyromancy were explosive and short-lived affairs, leaving an initial legacy of charred bones and evaporated organs. Pyromancy remains an exceptionally difficult and lethal sorcerous pursuit, although that is not the true reason that the Dark Lord who first witnessed it forbade its study. He feared the flame so deeply that his edict against its study was so powerful that it prevented its study for millenia. The original texts on pyromancy describe it as a product of rage, an incorrect logical leap made on account of the tendency of Sith warriors to manifest a flame motif when entering berserker states. This led to the disparity’s initial reputation as an uncontrollably explosive affair that dissuaded even those willing to break the Dark Lord’s edict in search of power. It would actually be the study of Sith alchemy that would provide the dark insight needed to properly understand the nature of fire. The fire is not rage, or anger, or passion, or lust, it is the ever consuming addiction to those emotions. This truth came to be understood by sorcerers experimenting with malignant potions and draughts to ensnare and fog the minds of cultists. In watching the manias and depressions that the test subjects went through, the sorcerers received dark revelation on the nature of addiction. Practitioners of pyromancy come to know a cyclic existence of extremes, riding extreme euphorias in a manic state, followed by feral and bitter states of ashen hunger and wrath. When in an enkindled state, the pyromancer is a charismatic titan of energy, personality, and enticement. The experience of everything around them is magnified, as is the impact of their presence. When that fire fades, the sorcerer will do whatever they deem necessary to get it back, and their earlier charisma is replaced with a desperate and violent hunger. Pyromancy students are taught that the cycle is like filling and emptying a cup, with the cup and in turn the cycles of the pattern getting larger as the pyromancer grows in power. Switching between the two cycles is not something that the pyromancer can do rapidly, with apprentices entering the ashen state for hours to a couple days, lords going for days to weeks, and masters often being consumed by ash for months to years. The Rising Flame Enkindle: The first step in true pyromancy is to create a fire from within through ritual acts of transgression. Pyromancers generally choose a specific vice that distances them from the natural path of the light side, and indulge in that vice in a transformative experience, intentionally creating an addiction that is mirrored in the spirit. There are many forms of addiction, some emotional, others chemical, and the personal poison of the pyromancer is of their own choosing. Wrath, various forms of unhealthy consumption, lust, gambling, faith, alcohol, and drugs are common choices. Enkindling is a definitive experience that provides direction and context to a pyromancer’s powers, and transmutes the energies that pyromancers thrive on. Enkindled pyromancers replace the joy of the light with the pleasure of addiction, chasing a fast burning and ever more elusive high at the cost of mundane happiness and peace. The flames of pyromancy are unusual even by Dark Side standards in that they are a consumptive and transformative energy that feeds on the light to make itself more powerful. Predatory and selfish, the pyromancer’s flame will attempt to consume all light around it, meager or great, in a never ending pursuit of more. Upon being Enkindled, the pyromancer finds themself possessing an alluring inner power that casts a profane light of its own, a mockery of the peace and joy of the Force. Pyromancy feels amazing, and promises its users that if they push harder, consume more, that it will feel even better. Using people, tempting others deeper into their own vices, and over indulgence all feed the flame, although the more the flame is fed, the more it demands. Apprentices usually begin their journey by sacrificing their own humanity, boundary by boundary, while lords and masters find themselves seeking fuel from external sources more and more. The First Taste: Pyromancy asks more from a sorcerer than what they can offer on their own, and so one of the earliest and most vital spells of pyromancy is a parasitic Force bond that allows the pyromancer to feed on the experiences of the bound, and having a vague awareness of when positive forces are threatening their dependency. It is through this spell that pyromancers are able to fuel their powers beyond their own consumption. This bond can also be used to siphon focus and mental clarity, allowing the pyromancer to function at a higher level than everyone else even while partaking, although this requires the host to be sober at the time. The bond can only be created between pyromancers and NFU NPCs. The bond made from this spell is parasitic, and functions more as nuanced manipulation than direct control. A pyromancer who knows that they will be in need of additional power can fan a bound person’s addiction to drive their need for a fix, with the hunger determined by the rank of the pyromancer. More powerful addictions that destroy people quickly offer more power, but require more constant replacing, while subtler addictions offer a steadier but leaner flow of energy. As much as a pyromancer may want to dismiss the bond as being entirely one way, the more people bound to them in this way, the more their own addictions are stoked. Since pyromancy offers no true balm to its own poisons, pyromancers that overreach can fall victim to their vices to the point of death or the total collapse of their own motivations and agendas outside of getting a fix. The ritual itself involves the pyromancer providing some form of addictive pleasure to the victim, with the experience being warped by the Dark Side to feel like a transformative experience that the target needs to experience again. To the non Force sensitive, the ritual is so subtle that it’s unlikely that they will even realize that anything occult is occurring. Even those who are in touch with the Force can have trouble detecting the insidious nature of what is happening. Iniquity’s Siren: The hellish unlight that resides within the pyromancer can be fueled to become a seductive beacon of lost inhibitions. Using the consumed energies of pyromancy, the sorcerer fuels their magnetism and presence to tempt people to let go of what ensnares them from pursuing their own happiness. While using this power, the pyromancer possesses a manic and smoldering confidence, bearing an infectious grin and a look of someone about to confide some life altering truth to you so that you too can find this kind of fulfillment. This is all a lie of course, but people are desperate to escape their circumstances, their fears, their feelings that life should be more, give more. Pyromancers can give this power to individuals caught in their web of vice, with apprentices bestowing it upon victims going through The First Taste, lords able to give it to their Embraced when it suits them, and masters inherently gifting it to any of their victims when the bound indulges. The intensity of the power varies according to the degree of indulgence, the more the flames are fed, the more appealing the ensorceled becomes. Victims often learn to become dependent upon this power and the feelings that it gives them, with pyromancy subverting and replacing the original addiction. Embraced by Flame: When a victim becomes more enamored with the allure of pyromancy than their original vice, the pyromancer can impart upon them a burning coal of their own enkindled soul, immolating their humanity and bestowing upon them a measure of Force sensitivity that while meek compared to lords and masters is life altering to someone who until that point had never touched the Force. The flame within can be fed to become something greater and more terrible through ritual sacrifice of sapient beings, or the ensnaring of more victims for the pyromancer with a diminished version of the First Taste ritual which allows the user to amass their own pyromantic energy, tithing a portion to their sorcerous patron. Advancement on this path follows site rules for rank progression, and Embraced have no inherent energy, everything they do must be powered by energy taken from elsewhere. Embraced can only ever use powers from pyromancy and non class Dark Side/neutral powers. Should an Embraced somehow reject the flame, they lose all of their powers and their connection to the Force. The Embraced are just as susceptible to the consumptive nature of the flame as true pyromancers, and even if their initial intentions are good and kind, the darkness will burn away the root humanity of their soul and leave them ashen and cruel. Many a pyromancer has intended to share their power with friends, lovers, and allies only to watch that power destroy everything within them that they valued. In truth, the fire cannot be embraced, only fed, because it is formless, inhibitionless hunger. Lost to Flame: Cunning pyromancers use the fear of the pure that they might be corrupted to conceal and ward their lairs. Lost to Flame is a ritual that consumes an area with a sense of seedy impropriety, the kind of place that waylays and lures the innocent off of the path of the righteous. People that dwell or work in the area may use the shift in the energy to rationalize misdeeds, the ambience may draw people of vice to it, or the location may already be a den of sin, with the pyromancer just spiritually girding that sense. Places of nature and compassion tend to be highly resistant to this ritual, as are places kept by champions of the light. Upon successfully performing the ritual, the area is imbued with a sense of transgression being the natural order within its bounds. It is a place to escape the hardships of normal life and the uncompromising demands of society. And to the pure, it is a poisonous threat to the spiritual framework upon which they wish to build their moral, mutual society. This acceptance of a place as lost creates a spiritual smokescreen behind which pyromancers can hide their sinister arts and operations. Because vice often starts as a choice, the moral arrogance of society sees victims of addiction as deserving of their situations, and this outlook both abandons addicts to the demons in the smoke and pushes them away from avenues back to the light. The denizens of such areas are broken people that society would rather hide away in conveniently lost places than fix. Devil’s Strangling Embrace: Pyromancers are opportunistic parasites that feed on the weak and the wounded. For people who have been shunned by society, or are feeling crushed under the weight of it, pyromancers can offer honeyed false sympathies and temptations of a way out from the pain of existence, even if it might be a temporary one. This spell heightens the dependency that people they ensnare feel, and binds it more directly to them rather than just the vice. Victims of this spell come to see any pleasure or relief in their life as something that the sorcerer brought into it. The dependency that they feel deepens over time, reducing them to husks that cannot imagine life without the sorcerer. Even if loved ones try to break the victim out of their fixation, this spell makes it easy for the caster to reel them back in. Perverse Miasma: The pyromancer can conjure otherworldly vapors of wispy smoke that engulf the area in sensations, emotions, and tantalizing visions of their chosen vice. While people already under the sway of the pyromancer find this spell enticing, it’s true impactfulness is in securing new acolytes and victims, or confusing and bewildering opponents in battle, as its effects are more potent against those who have not built a tolerance to vice. Panoply of Fools: Pyromancer lords collect addicts that are fully under their sway to act as chattel slaves, adoring entourage, or should the need arise, volatile explosives. These people are too far gone or too enamored with the sorcerer to do much beyond simple tasks, but their subservience is a source of amusement to the pyromancer. Should a threat approach the sorcerer, a simple nudge in the Force can send one of these thralls charging, until their body is flooded with dark side energy like a flask containing a terrible chemical reaction. A thermobaric blast radiates out of the proxy for three meters in all directions, often to the bemused laughter of the pyromancer. Afterwards the other idiots assure themselves that the sorcerer would never do that to them, and the sorcerer refills the ranks as time permits, there are always more broken people to use. An earlier unrefined form of this incantation is what led to the original fear of pyromancy as an uncontrollable form of sorcery. Rising Flames: An attack on the psyche of the target, pyromancer lords can manifest the stress and fears of a target into hallucinations of flames all around them. Lords often use this to drive victims over the edge, causing panic attacks and fears in the victim that their life situation is driving them mad, so that the sorcerer can swoop in with a solution. In the hands of masters, this spell goes from perceived threat to actual danger as the pyromancer transubstantiates those energies into actual flames with smoke that manifests the victims fears and failings. In this form, the spell is an indirect attack on the environment instead of the opponent, setting the area aflame. Unholy Smite: While any pyromancer can cast this spell, it is most heavily favored by the ones that use religion and cults as a means to demonstrate their supposedly divine power. Unholy Smite uses hatred and condemnation as fuel for a fiery orb of concentrated dark side energy that the sorcerer then flings at their target. This attack is more bombastic than bomb, its baleful heat focused into an area a meter wide, with the lethal core usually three to fifteen inches. A direct hit with this spell can cook a person from the inside out, their body popping as their insides rapidly expand beyond the means of their skin and structure to contain them. While Unholy Smite can be blocked or deflected, the orb radiates enough heat for such countermeasures to still result in wounding exposure to the heat. For people of little will or destiny(Unowned NPCs), the pyromancer can conjure the orb inside of them, a trick that they often use while holding supposed holy objects to suggest a higher power acting through them. Keys to the Black Paradise: The narcotics of the pyromancers take many forms, powders, serums, pills, perfumes, incenses, and more, but all of them contain a key ingredient, an alchemical agent that opens the imbiber’s soul to the dark side. Intentional users are affected far more heavily than people who are either unaware or suffering forced exposure. People who are unknowingly dosed subconsciously decide to either reject or embrace the feelings that the drugs bring, while people being forced into being exposed to them instinctively resist their supernatural effects in a contest of will against alchemical guile. It’s worth noting that even if a person resists the spiritual corruption, their body was still exposed to a highly addictive substance. Addiction treatment programs in the galaxy have varying degrees of successful outcomes(IE the exposed player chooses how much they want to engage the story thread). Nearly all pyromancers have learned enough alchemy and chemistry to produce drugs(Although they may push them under other names, like health supplements, perfumes, beauty creams, holy sacraments and incense, energy booster products, etc), and are prepared to teach acolytes that they have embraced into the flame to assist them. Even a lone pyromancer with decent distribution can accrue a considerable amount of off the books wealth, given that their already addictive products are made more seductive by adding the dark side to them. Sith narcotics tend to be engineered to encourage Sith outcomes, stoking emotions, senses, and adrenal responses in enemy territories, or numbing people to a virtually somnambulant state in Sith holdings in order to control the populace. Pyromancers that deal with the upper class synthesize alchemical compounds that dampen empathy to the point of psychosis and lower inhibitions, turning normal people into the kinds of monsters that see the value in Sith ruthlessness for the sake of their own gain. For the pyromancers that use their own product, there tends to be a preference for chemistry that boosts energy, sensory perception, and pleasure, although they can dip into harder narcotics for the dark side version of a drug fueled vision quest. Sith warriors sometimes seek out pyromancers for combat drugs, although the sorcerers tend to be more upfront and wary about such arrangements, either out of camaraderie or self preservation. Masters in particular are aware on some level of the self-destructive effects their drugs can have, and a strung out Sith warrior demanding a fix is never good for the lab equipment. That being said, if the only thing between a pyromancer and certain death is a badly wounded Sith warrior, they won’t hesitate to tip the scales with an adrenal cocktail that puts the warrior into overdrive. Hell’s Garden: The creations of the Sith pyromancers often require considerable space for both the cultivation of rare ingredients and the lab equipment to process it. As such, they tend to create lairs separate from the usual Sith temples that operate under the highest discretion even amongst their own kin, occult temples of vice, sinister biology, and dark alchemy for them to practice their dark arts in. It’s an exceptional honor (or bribe) for an assassin to be given access to these repositories of alchemical components and equipment, a prize that the pyromancers often leverage for services from the shadowy killers. Many pyromancers take a keen interest in botany, both as a source of raw materials for product, and as a hobby either of itself or as a means to synthesize rare alchemical concoctions. The plants are corrupted with sorcery and blood sacrifice to increase their potency and twist their properties. Even without the ability to sense the Force, these gardens create a considerable sense of discomfort. For those that can, a choir of mouthless voices scream in unison with jeering harmony. Although some pyromancers operate through corporate holdings as fronts, most prefer underground operations, as proper business requires legitimacy, and legitimacy often requires data trails, inspections, and government safety testing. The bribes required as part of the cost of doing business are substantial at that level, and too many honest men and women can spell disaster as only so many disappearances of government employees can go under the radar before higher levels of government start investigating. Euphoric Obliteration: When a pyromancer’s web has been spun, and the false flame within them roars like a bonfire, they are prone to indulge in manic bouts of violence by releasing powerful bursts of thermal energy. Manifesting as gouts of unnatural flame, this spell sends forth a hissing narrow cone of fire. These attacks carry with them the manic energies and pleasure of the sorcerer, and victims often die laughing uncontrollably with a rictus grin on their melting face. Survivors of such attacks can struggle to find pleasure in normal life after the experience, as the attack can severely alter how the brain experiences pleasure, leaving victims with an addiction that only the extremes of the dark side can sate. Those that refuse to succumb must deal with withdrawal as they are haunted by the most painful bliss. Because of the aftereffects of this spell, many pyromancers prefer to leave their victims alive, too wounded to fight on but not too far gone to be carried away from the ashes of the battleground all the more broken. A favored prize of pyromancers is a victim that becomes a customer because of their inability to defeat their addiction to the dark side’s power. Such trophies are treasured in the way that other Sith collect victory crystals, although their appeal is all the greater for their fleeting mortality and masochistic submission to the Sith’s power. Disfiguring Beauty: As merchants of vice and studied alchemists, pyromancers have found that rituals that create or restore beauty are particularly tempting bargains for their more elite clientele. With occult rites and bizarre alchemies the sorcerer creates a false mask of beauty and health that they melt and weld to the recipient. This process is in no way a method of healing or revitalizing flesh, it instead coats blemishes and the rot of time with unguents and sorcery to create a veneer of manufactured perfection. This process is not without pain or consequence. After all, the pyromancer is putting dark side concoctions on the person’s bare skin and then affixing it with sorcerous fire. The levels of pain involved depend on the experience and talent of the pyromancer, but the pain is comparatively a lesser cost of the process. The truly sinister cost of this rite is that the application process burns and sears the soul itself, diminishing it and leaving wounds that open it to infection. After enough applications, the soul is too meager to maintain the bond, and so the sorcerer must inject other souls through ritual sacrifice, but at this point the client is too spiritually gone to be bothered by a little sorcerous murder. Transubstantiation of Sin and Virtue: While the pyromancers primarily produce product for ordinary people, they do also possess the means to craft special indulgences designed specifically for Force users. The dark side itself is already a powerful narcotic that can do much of what any lab made drug can offer, so the pyromancers must provide an experience outside of the usual vices. The sorcerers, knowing this, sought a need that they could fulfill, and they found it in the abscesses and withering rot of the Sith soul. The pyromancers have wrought a new creation made through the rendering of souls into a resin or crystal that carries with it the emotional sensations that have long been abandoned by Sith. The resulting philters, serums, powders, and crystals allow the partaker to experience specific emotions as they once knew them, before they abandoned connection for power. There are two markets for these drugs, Sith who find the ability to access their old passions as useful in their path, and Sith that indulge these emotions out of nostalgia or a bid to reclaim what they lost. Either way, a pyromancer can accrue wealth and favors hand over fist by dealing to other Sith, who can rapidly form either a dependency or an addiction to these indulgences. This has led many Sith to be wary of pyromancers, fearing a gilded cage. To create these substances, a pyromancer must cultivate the desired emotions in a suitable vessel, who they will manipulate to concentrate and clarify the internal mixture. The soon to be victims are plied with drugs and mind control, or sedated and left in the care of an assassin who carefully crafts scenarios to elicit the preferred outcome. When the pyromancer is satisfied with the mixture, they fatally render down the body into concentrated crystals or serums that can then be processed into drugs. In addition to creating product, the crystals are often used by pyromancers for the crafting of alchemically infused weapons, hallucinogenic shikkars, and amulets of manipulation and confusion. Perdition’s Razor: A cutting weapon with an edge composed of affixed shards of monomolecular razors made from crystals using the same rites and processes from the ritual of transubstantiation, except the mixture being cultivated is one of fear and suffering. Some pyromancers will heavily indulge an unwitting victim with drugs before cutting them off suddenly and without warning, harvesting from them the symptoms of crushing withdrawal. These weapons come in a variety of forms, and are a common form of payment to warriors and assassins. Excruciator Cane: Given that pyromancers often operate in enemy territory and lightsabers are so high profile, many of them instead carry these flamboyant yet misleading weapons. At first glance, the Excruciator appears to be a fashionable cane with a jeweled head, a common enough mundane accessory that can be found regularly throughout the populace. Even an in depth scan reveals no discernible weapon infrastructure to the cane, allowing it to bypass weapon scanners. Only careful examination by trained Force users can ascertain that the cane is in fact a weapon. The cane is in fact a Sith amulet, with the crystal serving as an emitter point through which the pyromancer can project a number of Force attacks, such as blasts of flame, rays of extreme heat, and thermobaric flashes upon impact with a target. Excruciatiors are made from lightsaber resistant materials, with the crystalline head often being made from the transubstantiation ritual. Lash of Perfidy: A low intensity lightwhip favored by pyromancers as an offhand weapon that they use to taunt and disorient opponents. The lightwhip is alchemically altered to cause narcotic effects, using a crystal created by the transubstantiation ritual. Both to prevent the sorcerer from maiming themself and to allow the weapon’s sorcery to take hold in a person, the lightwhip’s cutting power is virtually absent. Immolator Casque: The greatest limitation of pyromancy is that it conjures flames without fuel to sustain them. However, with the proper time and resources, the pyromancer can synthesize powerful incendiary devices through the use of Sith alchemy, which they often use to cover their tracks and destroy evidence. Despite their incredible power, pyromancers are generally loathe to carry immolator casques into battle on account of their instability and proclivity to pre detonate due to battlefield stressors. As such, they are treated more like a surgical tool than a weapon for direct confrontations. Torc of Whispered Honey: A Sith amulet often crafted in the form of a necklace, with a transubstantiated crystal over where the necklace overlays the neck. The amulet allows the sorcerer to weave narcotic effects into their words when speaking in close proximity to a target. In addition to being a powerful tool for controlling others, these amulets are often given as rewards to loyal enkindled underlings. Torc of Blissful Degradation: Nearly identical in appearance to the Torc of Whispered Honey, this amulet appears to be a piece of well crafted and ornate jewelry. Should the wearer try to activate the amulet they will find it to be less of a key to power and more of a collar of enslavement. Acting as an inverse to the Torc of Whispered Honey, the amulet turns every inhaled breath into a dose of narcotic pleasure, while also fraying the willpower of the wearer. It can quickly turn an unsuspecting victim into a drooling husk of a person, and pyromancers often use it to deal with overly ambitious underlings. Alternatively, some pyromancers may use them to convert followers or imitate divine revelation, ending the effect before it completely destroys the mind of the wearer. ------------------------------------------------------------- Crucible Sages Not all pyromancers choose the poisoned path, some opt for a more disciplined life of direction and carefully crafted purpose. Working closely with Sith warriors, these Crucible Sages collaborate to create arms and armor of terrible consequence. This symbiotic relationship thrives on the shared passion of warrior smiths and learned pyromancers for the art of the forge, as opposed to the more transactional exchanges between warriors and sorcerers of other disparities. For these pyromancers it is the pursuit of excellence that they ritualistically shed their humanity for. Despite their more reserved nature, Crucible Sages are also susceptible to the cyclical nature of fire, although their ashen cycles are brought on by things like the critical failure of a weapon they made, burnout, an inability to navigate a particularly vexing alchemical or metallurgical mystery, the loss of their forge, or the loss of their partner. When you are part of a guild of master artisans that has extreme expectations, you do not cope with failure well. It is more likely however, that the Sage will enter the ashen state by choice rather than as a form of consequence. Crucible Sages are obsessive perfectionists and workaholics. If they aren’t devoting their time to a project, they are studying principles or researching innovations for projects that they want to pursue in the future. If they are prevented from doing either, their temperament becomes rather volcanic. The only exception to this is if they are given an opportunity to talk about their work, particularly with others familiar in the field. In spite of their peculiarities, there is a certain innate mysticism found in the moments where a Sith seeking an artisan finds the right crucible sage. Some partnerships run on shared vision and mutual respect, others conflict and begrudging appreciation. No matter the form, the relationships that they forge tend to be intense and jealously guarded. Crucible Sages have a particular and deep rooted disdain for lightsabers. They see the invention and mass adoption of the lightsaber as a terrible mistake and the discarding of valuable tradition for convenient mass produced slop. In their eyes, the lightsaber is lethal in spite of the skill of the crafter and the wielder, an indifferent equalizer that emboldens the meek and lays low the strong. You can commission a Crucible Sage to build a lightsaber, and it will be of a nearly peerless quality when it’s done, but the sage will forever think of you as a filthy casual and possibly have their warrior friends beat you down in a back alley while calling you a nerd. There’s some amount of leeway given to apprentices who don’t yet have the means to attain real weapons, and assassins who benefit from the concealability of a lightsaber, but everyone else that uses a lightsaber should be ashamed of themselves. Rite of Exaltation: Similar to the transubstantiation ritual, this rite of sacrifice is used to render the living into dark side infused coals, unguents, and ashes, which in turn are used in all manner of rites, alchemic synthesizing, and in the forges of Sith warriors to craft sorcerous blades. Between this rite and the rite of transubstantiation, pyromancers often see people as resources to be harvested, and even success can be damning as potential is a measurable component of alchemical ingredients. The Crucible Sages do not operate in the shadows of enemy worlds, instead overseeing forges housed at Sith strongholds and taking tithes of slaves and prisoners from Sith war campaigns to fuel their industry. Most of these unfortunate souls will be marched into kilns to be processed en masse to create fodder for basic alchemical smithing components, which in turn will be used to make arms and armor for the Dark Lord’s armies. Rather than seeing such weapons as beneath them, the Crucible Sages see it as an ongoing opportunity to practice and refine the fundamentals of their craft. Eye for Quality: Crucible Sages have developed a Force technique for “seeing” the inherent potential of people as sacrifices. It is not uncommon for them to accompany Sith warriors to battle, singling out enemy combatants of surpassing value. Sometimes other pyromancers will ask a Crucible Sage to identify sacrifices for the transubstantiation rite, but the sages dislike providing such a service and see it as wasteful. As such, those that do accept demand considerable compensation and are exceedingly grumpy the entire time. Writ of Alloyed Purpose: The foundational rite upon which partnerships are based for the Crucible Sages, the Writ of Alloyed Purpose is performed through the ritual forging of a slab of Sith steel upon which a contract is engraved. All involved parties are expected to participate in the creation of the writ, traditionally with the pyromancer creating the alloy and performing the engraving, and the warrior hammering the metal into the slab. Writs between Crucible Sages and assassins are rare, but when they do occur, the assassin’s part is traditionally to procure the materials. Beyond producing an eldritch tablet that thrums with the heat of the forge and the passions of the people that made it, the rite also engraves the Force bonds of those involved into the underlying energies of the universe. I’m sure some of you are thinking “Oh, that sounds so sweet and not very Sithy,” but it’s important to keep in mind two things. First of all, this makes the bond and the associated friendship something that no involved party can grow out of or move past the reach of should the relationship become toxic or parasitic. Second, the intense bond makes the Sith involved extremely protective and defensive of their partners around others, treating anything that threatens the bond or critiques members as a threat. While a pyromancer can complete the creation of arms and armor on their own, warriors bring with them a strength of arm and intuition for the nature of steel that sorcerers cannot replicate. Therefore collaborative efforts are both finished faster and produce a superior product. Assassins may be able to secure rare alchemical components or suggest designs that innovate outside of tradition, but offer little when it comes to the actual forging process. One time a group of Sith allowed a naive and innocent childhood friend to be part of the Writ, as a cruel joke their role was that of unwitting sacrifice. Through the power of the ritual, the presence of the innocent was perpetuated in the minds of the involved Sith, and her kindness, forgiveness, and ceaseless optimism drove them all to madness, suicide, or redemption. Crucible Sages are advised to not repeat that mistake. Bonds Forged in Fire: When pyromancers take to the field of battle with their partners, the bonds between them enhance their powers and lethality. The bound can draw upon each other’s hatred and pain as long as they are alive. Furthermore, lord level and higher warriors gain access to molten grasp and lord level and higher pyromancers can wield Sith swords at warrior apprentice skill level. Should a partner be felled in battle, the surviving Sith’s rage begins to cause the world around them to spontaneously combust, a physical manifestation of the Sith’s world burning down around them at the loss. While a bound pyromancer could theoretically bring any Sith weapon with them to the battlefield, traditionally their warrior partner will present them with a blade that they believe will suit the sorcerer best in the time before the battle. This is followed by the pyromancer cursing the warrior’s blade to strike down their enemies. This small but emotional exchange embodies a connection that is rarely seen between Sith warriors and sorcerers. Legacy of Krath: When Dagon restored much of the lost Sith arts of smithing, he tied it heavily to a system of interpersonal bonds that sorcerers were expected to treat as familial. Krath sorcerers addressed each other as brother and sister when speaking to contemporaries, and cousin or kin when speaking to Krath beyond their usual circles. In this environment of shared gain through mutual rediscovery of the old ways, the Krath flourished as artisan crafters of terrible arms and armor. The reclamation is over now though, and the Sith have turned their heads away from the past and to the future, using competition to breed ambition and innovation. Old habits die hard though, and outside of the pursuit of new formulas and techniques, the pyromancers honor the old bonds, aiding each other in times of need as long as that need isn’t research related, and holding pyromancers that embarrass or weaken the value of the Sages’ word accountable for their actions. A Crucible Sage will house a fellow pyromancer whose forge was destroyed, or come to their defense when they are attacked, but there’s no way in hell that they are letting them borrow that sorcerous tome. In a few extremely rare cases, a handful of Sages will swear an Oath of Krath and enter into a mutual pact of family like in the era of Dagon. Krath families live together in a forge and share their discoveries and theories with each other openly. Engraved in Steel: Crucible Sages are taught to honor their contracts and agreements as if they were engraved in steel, and any deal made with people of worth is expected to be carried out honestly and in good faith in order to prevent them from developing a reputation of treachery and deceit. Reputation as an honest and reliable artisan is so important to the Crucible Sages that they will shun or murder any pyromancer smith that risks fracturing that image. Because a Sage is beholden to their word with any individual of merit, this makes them one of the best options to act as liaison in those rare instances where cooperation between Jedi and Sith are necessary. That being said, in true Sith fashion people without merit are fair game to backstab, deceive, and swindle. Adherence to this principle has cultivated in the Sages a peculiar acknowledgement of respect for enemies of worth, objectively evaluating foes and celebrating their successes as proof of having worthy adversaries. Dagon’s Hammer: This spell allows the pyromancer to conjure a focused telekinetic field around their fingertips that can imitate the blow of a smithing hammer. The study of Sith sorcery takes up too much time for sorcerers to develop the physical ability to smith, but this spell provides an alternative that instead calls upon their native mental strength. Some Crucible Sages use this spell as a workaround until they enter into contract with a warrior, or to smith beside their partner, while others use the precision it allows to craft amulets and talismans of sorcerous power. In desperate situations, the spell can be used as an attack, but it’s not something pyromancers rely on as an armed opponent will always have greater reach, and they lack the coordination that would be required to use the ability to turn aside blows with reliability. Infernal Revelation: The art of weaving sorcerous enchantment into weapons is a process that is unique to each Crucible Sage, with students learning the language of the occult from their mentors, but over time developing their own personal dialect through personal experience and the ritual of Infernal Revelation. The pyromancer can enter into contract with non Force users, investing in them a fragment of their power, in exchange for a favor to be determined later. Most people when given power untempered by wisdom are quickly consumed by the fantasies of what they always wanted to do if they had any control over the world. At the moment that the fruit of sin is most ripe, the pyromancer plucks it and consumes it in flame to gain a deeper understanding of darkness. The rite is often finalized with the creation of an amulet of black obsidian that seems to flicker softly with inner fire. Victims are told that the amulet is what lets them use the pyromancer’s power, but in truth it is both a means to track them and record data on the spiritual state of the wearer. When the time comes, the pyromancer reveals the truth of the person in immolating fire. In the time before the sorcerer comes to collect their debt, the debtor is considered an apprentice level Force user, with access to dark and neutral powers of the Force. Since the powers come from the sorcerer and not the immolation of the bearer’s soul like with Enkindling, the number of amulets that can be given out without reducing the sorcerer’s power is limited, one at apprentice, three at lord, and five at master. Dark Familiar: As the pyromancer’s study advances, the need for more learned instruction becomes deeper, especially as few Sith master smiths are willing to share their secrets. As such, when the time is right, a Crucible Sage will seek to shackle a dark side spirit to their forge to serve as an infernal advisor and servant. It is unclear what the origin of these spirits are, some claim that they are Sith that failed in their attempts to claim immortality, others that they are darkness incarnate, or the personification of the Sage’s evils carrying wisdom that they cannot attain on their own. Whatever the case, the Sages have a ritual which manifests and binds the spirit to the forge and the sorcerer’s will. These bound spirits aid the Sage in their studies, assist in their crafting, and protect the forge in the absence of the pyromancer, conjuring visions and madness to overwhelm intruders. Their imperceptibility to those that don’t know how to look for them is often cause for people to think that Crucible Sages are quite mad as they chatter away with seemingly no one. With the tutelage of familiars, Crucible Sages better learn the sigils, runes, and scripts that allow them to imbue objects with dark purpose. It’s important to note that the power dynamic of these relationships is unquestionably one of master and servant, with the sage being the dominant element. To serve under anything that is not Sith is to fail at following the foundational principles of what being Sith is. Fleshbound Familiar (Siqsa’Taral): Crucible Sages that have attained mastery over pyromancy will sometimes transfer their bound familiar to a mortal vessel, allowing them to converse more directly, and also physically assist in the crafting process. These vessels develop dark side corruption at a rapid pace, so many Sages replace their physical components often, although some pyromancers let the mutations continue out of curiosity. Even during the early stages, the vessel is noticeably unnatural, speaking with a voice distinctly not its own, moving in a jerky and unnatural fashion, and manifesting unnatural phenomena around them. These dark side spirits use their physical forms to better serve their masters and offer tutelage, but their guidance is not limited in usefulness to the pyromancers, and so Sith of all kinds may retain a Crucible Sage to consult their spirits for guidance and training, especially in arts and techniques thought lost to history. They are still bound to the forge like their unembodied kin (They can travel to another forge, but their powers are gone during the transition and they are afflicted with great suffering and weakness when outside of their territory), and will protect it violently from intruders. Siqsa-Taral are considered to be Force users at one level below their master when defending the forge. Greater Binding: Pyromancy masters can ritually call upon a legion of dark side spirits to temporarily possess marked slaves for the purpose of erecting temples and forges. These thralls can rapidly construct large and complex structures, and take the secrets of their design with them when they leave their hosts, making knowledge of the locations secure from interrogation and necromancy. Brwsh Cythraul: A set of three tools made with the guidance of a dark familiar, the Brwsh Cythraul consists of an engraving tool for the workshop, a pen for scribing dark tomes, and an ensorceled blade for the battlefield. The engraving tool burns at the tip with sourceless heat, and is capable of engraving curses and spells on arms and armor seemingly regardless of the toughness of the material they are composed of. The pen is imbued with encrypting spells and curses of insanity, allowing the Sage to record notes, ideas, and theories without worrying about the prying eyes of others. The ensorceled blade is a long and thin bladed sword meant for channeling dark side energy into curses and spells on the battlefield. It is designed for elegant and precise movements, and to not easily tire out the sage with unnecessary bulk. When the pyromancer channels the Force through the blade, it cuts burning runes into the air of sorcerous power. While this guide provides a couple of sample curses, they should not be considered the only options, and players are encouraged to use the crafting of these pyromancers as an opportunity for creativity. Curse of Wrath: The pyromancer carves a sigil of wrath into the spiritual fundament, taunting and goading nearby martial enemies to commit to violence without thought or strategy. When applied to a weapon, the curse induces a manic state of violent urges. Curse of Vainglory: The pyromancer carves a sigil of vainglory into the spiritual fundament, whispering to and seducing nearby infiltrators and spies to be so arrogantly pleased with their ability to conceal themselves that they burst into sadistic laughter. Curse of Ambition: The pyromancer carves a sigil of ambition into the spiritual fundament, subtly and rationally pointing out to nearby Force users where so much more could be accomplished through using the dark side. Even if the victims rebuff the curse’s implications, its soft but insistent reasonings can disrupt concentration. Curse of Ineptitude: The pyromancer carves a sigil of ineptitude into the spiritual fundament, clouding and disrupting the minds of nearby soldiers, hampering their muscle memory and familiarity with the functions of their arms and armor. Curse of Indolence: The pyromancer carves a sigil of indolence into the spiritual fundament, sapping the energy and will of nearby enemies and driving them towards a somnambulant state. When placed upon a weapon, it becomes imbued with a soporific effect. Curse of Hope: The pyromancer carves a sigil of hope into the spiritual fundament, deluding and manipulating nearby combatants into thinking that hopeless battles are in fact winnable. Curse of Immolation: The pyromancer carves a sigil of immolation into the spiritual fundament, plunging the area into the blistering heat of the forge. In this form, the nearby area becomes swelteringly hot, and flammable objects begin igniting without warning. When placed upon a cursemarked shikkar, lanvarok, or Sith weapon, the properties are focused heavily and the marked arms become incendiary weapons. Cursemarked Shikkar: A traditional Sith blade made of glass, designed to break inside the target as they are stabbed. These shikkars are forged with pyromancy curses, delivering the effects of a curse upon wounding the target. Cursemarked Lanvarok: Most commonly a wrist mounted weapon that launches razor sharp disks, pyromancers have a personal affinity for the weapon as its munitions are easy to curse and to guide after firing. Pyromancers will commonly use immolation cursed disks to create flames that they can then manipulate. Hyal’Won’Yun: A ritual dagger that is gifted by a warrior to a Crucible Sage to indicate interest in a potential partnership. Designed as an extrapolation of the Sith sword as a channel for hatred, when wielded alone the Hyal’Won’Yun acts as an occult focus, allowing the pyromancer to use battle spells with greater potency than normal. Mechanically speaking, their sorcery attacks are treated as being done at a rank higher, but this does not give them access to spells that they otherwise would not have the rank to perform. Hyal’Won’Yun is Sith for “To crave to free two”, and represents the desire to become more through aligning compatible opposites. Upon receiving a Hyal’Won’Yun the pyromancer will inspect it and either accept or reject it. While some amount of difference in rank is acceptable, a warrior apprentice giving a Hyal’Won’Yun to a master pyromancer is considered a huge social blunder. Nuyak’Taral: An ensorceled piece of metal jewelry given as a token of accepting an Hyal’Won’Yun. The warrior that wears it finds their ability to absorb and redirect Sith sorcery attacks with a Sith sword has increased potency, and channeling hatred into their blade causes it to ignite in flame. Can also take the form of a sigil or crest affixed to the warrior’s armor. Nuyak’Taral is Sith for “My Protector”, and signifies the pyromancer’s interest in pursuing a partnership with the warrior that receives it. After receiving a Nuyak’Taral, it is taboo for a warrior to give another pyromancer a Hyal’Won’Yun, with the extremely rare exception being when both pyromancers belong to the same Krath family vow, however a pyromancer can give as many Nuyak’Tarals as they please. This is on account of warriors being more willing to work closely with each other, while Crucible Sages are incredibly paranoid and protective of their work. All parties involved are expected to finalize their partnership with a Writ of Alloyed Purpose within a few months of the exchange, Qo’Sutta: An elegant polearm crafted by warriors and given as tokens of friendship to Crucible Sages, the Qo’Sutta is a well balanced weapon that distances the wielder from combat and rewards strategic flowing movements of give and take over sheer power. The blade is traditionally single edged and curved, relying on sharpness to wound rather than mass and muscle strength. Both blade and haft are made from lightsaber resistant materials, or treated with Sith alchemy to become lightsaber resistant. Qo’Sutta is Sith for “path spear”, and represents the shared path of a warrior and a crucible sage. The creation and giving of a Qo’Sutta is an emotionally charged experience, in many ways the platonic equivalent of offering a wedding ring after a long courtship (Although some warrior/sage relationships are very not platonic, and in those cases a Qo’sutta serves the same purpose as a wedding ring). When not in use, the Qo’sutta is displayed in a place of honor either in the forge or the inner sanctum. In addition to its symbolic nature, the Qo’Sutta is traditionally used to mercy kill a warrior that has defeated all enemies on the field of battle but sustained mortal wounds, with the pyromancer speaking a prayer for the warrior to fight their way back from hell to find them again and cursing anything that would try to stop them. (The abilities of a Qo’Sutta vary wildly depending on the crafter and the Sage, and should represent their relationship, hence why this entry focuses on the general specifications and not definitive powers of the weapon) Hyal’Shâsot and Hyal’Itsukut: An artfully crafted Sith war mask and accompanying rite of ritual branding and tattooing performed as a reciprocal gift for receiving a Qo’Sutta. The mask is the culmination of the Sage’s understanding of the warrior, a powerful Sith amulet tailored specifically to them. The markings of the Hyal’Itsukut give the warrior access to the wisdom and strategy of a dark side spirit that is bound to them through the ritual. Hyal’Shâsot is Sith for “to crave struggle/passion”, and Hyal’Itsukut is Sith for “to crave chains”, and together they symbolize a warrior’s desire to seek out challenges and gain strength through overcoming them. They embody the fact that the pyromancer knows that upon seeing a giant untameable murder beast, the warrior is going to punch it in the face, and rather than telling them don’t, the Sage will provide them with the punchiest gauntlet. More than acceptance of the warrior path, the mask and markings represent an embrace and valuing of it. The Hyal’Shâsot reflects the way that the Sage sees the potential of the warrior, the face that they seek to uplift the warrior to embody. Each mask is unique to its wearer, bestowing power inspired by the storied shared past of the pair. Should the mask be lost or destroyed in combat through defeat of the warrior, tradition necessitates a blood pact between the warrior and sage to train and seek power until they can avenge the loss. Only then can a new mask be forged. Should the Sage choose to walk the ashen path for a time, they will recognize the warrior even in their feral madness. The Hyal’Itsukut is more than a binding ritual, it is the Sage sharing the one thing that they hoard and covet, knowledge. The ritual itself is an intensely emotional experience, with both partners in a state of vulnerability with each other in spite of the Sith propensity of backstabbing, the warrior without their armor and weapons, and the Sage openly sharing some of their most potent secret knowledge. Upon completion of the tattooing and branding, the warrior will benefit from an immaterial dark side spirit that can warn of hidden dangers, offer counsel, and convey secret messages between the warrior and the Sage. Stoke the Fires: The nature of fire is that it requires fuel to burn, and so it is more proficient for pyromancers to manipulate pre-existing flames than to both conjure and continuously sustain a phantom flame. This spell manipulates an already burning fire, fueling it to either explosively expand the fire’s area or raising the temperature at which the fire is burning. Molten Grasp: When the pyromancer uses the Force to telekinetically lift and move metal objects, they can rapidly increase the temperature of them until they are melted into a state of liquidity. This power can also ignite flammable objects as the sorcerer interacts with them. Eldritch Hammerfall: A combat form of Dagon’s Hammer, this spell interweaves the range of Force push with the focused power of Dagon’s Hammer. The spell is often used to launch enemies into fires that the pyromancer has made or enhanced. Apprentices lack the experience to perform this spell, making it a mark of reaching lordship. Hellthrower: A sorcerous weapon that projects flame by igniting alchemical reagents. The oily substance that the hellthrower vomits up feeds the fires that it produces and clings to objects that it falls upon. Most hellthrowers have adjustable nozzles for short and wide sprays and narrow but far cones of fire. Hellthrowers are rarely seen outside of the hands of Crucible Sage lords and masters. Apprentices are not allowed to construct hellthrowers ever since “the incident”, and the Sages don’t like giving a weapon that can bypass lightsabers to the rabble. Most planetary security forces consider hellthrowers a war crime, so they are often encased in frames to make them look like other, more legal weapons, or integrated into armor. Hold to the Old Ways: The Sage gathers pyromantic energies around them and conjures a pulse of severe heat that can damage the delicate internal components of powered arms and armor. The Crucible Sages reject the world of ever present technology and the demystification of knowledge, preferring that the act of creation be guarded by its masters and knowledge hoarded by the worthy. Hellblade: An unfortunate necessity of understanding the principles required to craft a Tsawak’Tyûk is learning how to construct a lightsaber. Some Sages get this crucial step out of the way early on, when there is less stigma among their peers in owning and using a lightsaber. Others wait until the final stages before designing a Tsawak’Tyûk to deal with it, using their extensive knowledge to blow through the process quickly. Sages rarely if ever use hellblades as martial weapons, instead considering them to be more of a toy, interesting curio, or cutting tool. The one exception to this is that many Sages craft their sabers to have adjustable containment fields that can be weakened or directed to turn the weapon into a plasma heat inducer, rapidly heating the area around the blade. Hellblades tend to have orange blades. Flametongue: A script of writing with many varied dialects that Crucible Sages use to encode their messages to each other. The ease with which two sages can comprehend each other’s writing style suggests the level of compatibility in their styles. Warriors and assassins can be taught a specific Sage’s version of Flametongue, with warriors having an easier time of it given their knowledge of the forge. Raiments of the Forge: In spite of the Sith’s disregard for safety railings, Crucible Sages do practice proper safety protocols in their work, and part of that is a protective outfit designed for the hazards of working in a forge. While not comparable to the all purpose armor of warriors, the armored apron suit of the Crucible Sages gives considerable protection against heat, flame, explosions, and fragmentation. This protection is provided in equal parts by competent design and wicked pacts with dark spirits. Many Sages will integrate an air supply into their suit when going into battle, where smoke inhalation is a more pervasive concern. A Temple of Flame and Secrets: Each Crucible Sage has at least one personal forge, a place of industry, study, and theorizing. Despite the blasphemous nature of the Sith, a sense of sacred tradition and mysticism has been draped around the forge. This is not just a place to craft equipment, this is where legends are forged through secret means and ways. A Crucible Sage forge is composed of sections with increasingly guarded access, the most open being the public area in front of the forge, where the smith’s creations are on display and potential clients can seek an audience. Would-be thieves will quickly discover that the inventory is quite cursed until the proper transactions are made. The forge itself waits behind a sealed door, restricted to the pyromancer and a select few. While the pyromancer themself does not use hammers and tongs, they are always kept on hand as a consideration for their warrior allies. The exact design and state of a forge varies from Sage to Sage, some are fastidiously kept workspaces, others are cluttered affairs created by the frantic momentum of manic innovation. Regardless, the forge is a place of great darkness, and are either built on dark side nexuses or become them through a relentless procession of profane acts. The forge’s anvil often also doubles as a sacrificial altar, although some larger forges have both anvils and work surfaces specifically for sacrifice, and the remnants of suffering are palpable in the air. Outsiders commonly feel a sense of being watched while in the forge, particularly if the pyromancer has bound familiars to it. The most heavily secured area of the forge is the study and living area, where the Crucible Sage does their research, theorizing, scribing of their own discoveries, and tending to vital necessities. Only the most trusted allies are allowed past the doors of the inner sanctum, as all pyromancers are paranoid about their secrets being stolen, and none of them care to be shanked in their sleep or poisoned by rivals. Allowing another Crucible Sage into the pyromancer’s inner sanctum is an act of trust that few Sages ever willingly acquiesce to, and many forges that outlast their owners become repositories of lost knowledge that can only be unsealed through the efforts of a cabal of Sith. Even then, casualties and betrayals are common. Sometimes the Dark Lord will call for a time of great industry, commanding all able bodied Sages to gather in mighty forges the size of cities. In these grand edifices of steel and fire, the Sages and warrior blacksmiths toil side by side to churn out weapons for the grand legions of the Sith empire. The quotas are high, and the expectations for creating unique pieces nearly non-existent, but it challenges the pyromancers to perfect their fundamentals and stress test their crafting fortitude. Since the weapons and armor being made are rather basic by Crucible Sage standards, the usual paranoia they experience around others of their craft does not apply here. In addition to whatever reprisals might come from the Dark Lord, it is considered extremely disgraceful to willfully and without just cause ignore the summons to serve in this capacity, and Sages that do so are often branded with a mark that signifies one of the greatest sins in the eyes of their peers, laziness. Marked Sages are shunned by both their peers and their warrior allies. Mask of the Demon: A Sith warmask that has been crafted to house a dark side spirit bound to the Crucible Sage. Any person that willingly wears the mask becomes possessed by it, losing control of their body but remaining keenly aware of their actions. The mask becomes a part of the person, only able to be removed by the pyromancer or by practically tearing the person’s face off. Sages will often use the masks to convert conscripts into skilled soldiers, bypassing the need to formally trade them while also indoctrinating the conscripts and drawing them into the dark side. Not all masks are made for the purpose of warfare, but they are definitely the most common. Masked devotees that prove their worth can be empowered by the pyromancer to gain access to the Force and abilities that would be considered unnatural. Token of Favor: While much of what the Crucible Sages do is adjacent to warfare and battle, they largely consider themselves non combatants and have little interest in dying for flags or empires. Should they find themselves bested by enemy combatants, they may offer a token of favor, a contract to craft an item of worth for their would be killer in exchange for their safe withdrawal. The contract is breached if the Sage then returns to the battle, which earns the ire of the other Sages and their warrior allies, or if the enemy slays them anyway or willfully prevents their escape or allows others to kill them. In either case, the breaking of the contract brands the guilty party with a mark of betrayal on the face that Crucible Sages can intuitively sense. The contract demands that the item be made in good faith without curses or corrupting effects, and delivered in a timely manner. Since this involves crafting for non dark siders, the Sage is assumed to be devoted to research and material acquisition for the next three OOC days, similar to the penalty for dying. Vow of Perfection: A rite performed by Crucible Sages to ensure their focus, the Vow of Perfection creates a sorcerous obsession with completing a specific task at the highest level of quality possible. While the rite unquestionably produces amazing results, the toll it takes on the pyromancer is considerable, especially for those that come to use it as a crutch. The power of the rite can force a Sage to obsessively work through a state of mental collapse and fragmentation, driving them to work even as all other aspects of their life fall apart. Pyromancers have been found dead clutching works unfinished, dying of dehydration or starvation in spite of having a fully stocked pantry. Talisman of Power: Referring to any item of sorcerous ability crafted by the Sage, this catchall term covers the immense number of objects such as amulets, rings, bracelets, circlets, crowns, etc that carry some measure of power, either granting the ability to use specific powers or enhancing one’s ability with a power they already possess. Smaller objects like these are easier for pyromancers to craft without the assistance of warriors, and many Crucible Sages use their creation to bankroll their forge. With enough study and either a willing demonstrator or access to tomes that are often heavily restricted, the Sage can craft talismans that conjure spells from other disparities. New powers granted by talismans can only be performed at apprentice level and can never be powers that require a rank higher than apprentice. Talismans of power are corrupting objects that over time will twist and oppress wearers, with the weak willed being exceptionally susceptible. Force users that wear these talismans can use augmentative talismans to enhance their pre-existing powers, although doing so makes using a power considerably more draining. Furthermore, since talismans feed off of the wearer’s power, there is a limit to how many can be worn at the same time without draining the sorcerer to a state of unconsciousness or a mental fugue. Using augmentative talismans requires a brief five minute attunement ritual, you can’t just dump a bag of trinkets onto a Force user to bushwhack them into a mystical coma. The “safe usage limit for active talismans is the character’s rank plus one. Tsawak’Tyûk: One of the crowning achievements of a Crucible Sage’s research, the Tsawak’Tyûk isa sorcerous energy blade that simultaneously exists as energy and mass, combining the cutting power of a lightsaber with the utility of a physical blade that can be leveraged through martial techniques. While any blade color can be achieved through alchemy, the most common is the orange of molten steel, and the blade can be crafted to reflect its solid, energy, liquid, or near liquid states. The pyromancer can manipulate the physical state of the blade, alternating between solid and liquid states so that the Tsawak’Tyûk can function as both a blade and a lash. Crafting a Tsawak’Tyûk is not a casual undertaking, requiring extensive research, the sourcing of incredibly rare materials and alchemical components, long collaborative smithing sessions between the Sage and a warrior,and numerous layers of counter espionage to prevent theft by competitors. The Crucible Sage will nearly always craft their first Tsawak’Tyûk for themself as a proof of concept, as they would literally rather die than tarnish their reputation by providing a warrior with a faulty weapon. This first undertaking is often the final step of a Crucible Sage’s path to the rank of master, a trial of their skill as artisan and sorcerer. It is a taboo for any warrior that has not attained the rank of master to commission a Tsawak’Tyûk, and the blades are known to be treacherous to wielders that came by them through other means such as scavenging a battlefield. Asha’Saarai: The Crucible Sages by all accounts have no interest in the title of Dark Lord, a peculiarity that is only overlooked by other Sith on account of the usefulness of the sorcerer smiths. In truth, the Sages consider coveting the throne of Dark Lord to be a goal for the small minded. Instead, they seek apotheosis through learning the language of creation and hoarding occult knowledge, so that one day they can ascend to godhood as a divine being. They have seen spells conjure demons and contact unknowable intelligences in the darkness, and seek to use their research to evolve beyond mortal existence so that they may conquer darkness itself. Each major breakthrough in their research produces a word of power or sigil in the flametongue script, which the Sage renders on parchment and then requests their partner to tattoo on their flesh. Any inquiries are waved away with a vague answer of it being complicated sorcery stuff. The effect of the marking is not immediate, instead it seems to mutate dark side corruption into evolution rather than cancer, slowly warping and twisting the body into the Sage’s idea of the countenance of dark divinity. Some Sages regard the Asha’Saarai as a path to be walked alone, with the eventual abandonment of their companions a necessary price of godhood. Others plan to use their allies as favored priests and agents after their ascension, but both of these options tend to fill the pyromancer with melancholic turmoil. Some take the most difficult path and seek to secure a place in the firmament not just for themselves but for those that they love, intending to bring about a new Sith pantheon. Even those that do plan to share godhood almost never reveal their intentions to their allies. (PCs will never fully complete the Asha’Saarai, its mention here is to provide a narrative motivation, add more complexity to the relationship between Crucible Sages and their allies than “Bestest murder buddies”, and explain why they are so willing to play the supporting role despite being Sith.) --------------------------------------------------------------- The Cost of Business Pyromancy is a hustle, but on some mad, bad days the pyromancer can’t catch their breath or a break, and reality comes crashing through the door with a ledger dripping red of debts to be paid. When the false flame goes out, the cavernous abyss within attests to the damage done by its maddening emptiness. It’s an intolerable state of being that pyromancers will do anything to escape, well anything other than get clean. If being enkindled is a state of extreme manic desire, being ashen is a state of extreme desperate need. Force users that have encountered an ashen pyromancer have described their Force signatures as an unnerving awareness of utter lack, both pregnant silence and a howling void like air rushing out of an airlock. Ashen pyromancers are practically feral, rarely speaking complete sentences yet still possessing a keenly predatory intellect. Crucible Sages have a different, more mutual relationship with the ashen state. Rather than being a consequence of being way too far strung out on space wizard meth, for the Sages this existential mode is treated like a full body reset after going hard on a major commission or research project, along with the stresses of playing a supportive role in a society obsessed with selfish ambition. You could see it as vacation, or “Me time”. Since it’s more of a choice for the Sages, they will usually distance themselves from their usual haunts, selecting locales best suited for whatever “fun” they have planned, and possibly engineering the circumstances to better suit them or inviting warriors that they trust to come along for the ride. Crucible Sages describe the ashen state as like a muscle finally relaxing after months of straining and cramping. It is a time for them to experience the world as it is, through the eyes of a predator, rather than the purpose driven perspective of a crafter. Pregnant Sages will often choose to enter the ashen state in order to focus on themselves and the unborn child without distraction, consuming and terrorizing the people around them to imbue their child with dark energies with the intent to make them superior before they are even born. Annihilator Maw: The pyromancer becomes a maelstrom of draining emptiness, instinctively gnawing and tearing at the spiritual energies around them. This void saps the effectiveness of Force powers, weakening barriers, dimming spiritual senses, and sapping preternatural vigor from nearby Force users, with the effects intensifying the closer one gets. At point blank range the pyromancer can intensify the vortex to try and maul the soul in a mental grapple that ignores material factors. Such an attack can temporarily deprive victims of access to specific powers, like severing specific muscle strands to make a limb go limp. Smoldering Ruins of the Self: The pyromancer can project their inner wounds and unsated needs into the world around them, enveloping the area in a bitter smoke that catches in the throat like rusty barbs and claws at the eyes with a chemical sting. While using this power, the sorcerer’s Force presence is diffused throughout the smoke cloud, making them harder to pinpoint through the Force. Repudiation of Mercy: A scathing dark side curse that seeks to unweave light side healing and feed on it to power attacks. While now the curse is commonly used to counter Jedi healing, its name comes from a pyromancer who cursed the Jedi that tried to heal him from his own suffering, and then fatally struck her down with the malformed energies of her own kindness. Bitter Cinders: The sorcerer expels a billowing torrent of superheated ash and smoke at their enemies. While not anywhere as lethal as many other dark side attacks, the spell is incredibly difficult to defend against, its lack of focus both a weakness and an asset. Feast of Debasement: Overwhelmed by feral hungers and unfettered by the pretenses of being above beasts, the sorcerer gives in to the maddening whispers telling them that consuming flesh will in some way fill the hole inside of them. This cannibalistic act consumes meat and soul alike, and the sorcerer greedily sucks the marrow out of cracked bones to get every last drop of sustenance. This vile act gives the sorcerer two boons. First of all, they can sense the bonds of joy and friendship that the person had in life, following them like trails of string to new victims. Second, the sorcerer can vomit forth the blood, bone shards, and acidic bile of their meal in a spray of caustic fluids and penetrating fragments, infused with the horror and pain of the victim’s last moments. Nightmare Stride: Ashen pyromancers eschew their mortal natures and instead wear the mantle of monsters. Their movements develop a broken fluidity of stillness and haste that makes tracking them with a weapon difficult, and they use the Force to scale walls and ceilings like misbegotten spiders. Lair of the Devourer: For pyromancers that suffer longer fits of the ashen state, it is not uncommon for them to start instinctively constructing, for lack of a better term, nests in isolated locations where they can feed without interruption. Equal parts larder and trap, the area becomes increasingly coated in a tar like residue that turns the place into a localized dark side nexus. Insidiously, the pyromancer uses the stagnant energies and consumed memories to sculpt a false patina of hospitality and familiarity that calls out to the friends and family of victims through whispers and dreams. False visions conceal the black unguents and pools of bile where bodies lie half digested, and the dearest memories manifest like lifelike holorecordings. Confronting an ashen pyromancer in their lair can be incredibly dangerous, the fabric of reality is uncertain, and the place is designed to be a killing ground. The dark side is strong in these places, and for anyone with the will to overcome the nest’s deceptions, the reality of them is enough to make most people puke from the stench of decaying corpses, offal, and vomit. Parasitic Collaboration: In spite of their feral state, an ashen pyromancer still retains a Sith’s inherent need to dominate others into submission. They will often isolate and overwhelm weak willed individuals and former subordinates, breaking their minds with the Force and infecting them with the overwhelming hunger that they feel. They then force them to murder and eat someone, an act of trauma that they leverage to ensure loyalty. Filling the minds of their brainwashed lackeys with alternating bursts of cannibalistic desire and fear of getting caught, they position themself as the only one that can be trusted, a confidante that understands the victim’s precarious position. Sorcerers can amass a small cannibal cult through this process, composed of leveraged and then later enthusiastically willing fanatics. Those who earn the pyromancer’s favor and manage to live until the ashen state ends are often rewarded with Embrace once the pyromancer regains their senses. However, the reverse is often true as well, with Embraced allies being sucked into the undertow of the pyromancer’s madness. Crucible Sages take a special interest in these thralls after leaving the ashen cycle, either taking them into their household as favored servants or acting as mysterious patrons that support them from the shadows with money, influence, and talismans. In light of their intentions with the Asha’Saarai, it’s very likely that they are using the relationship to practice for their ascension to godhood. Mediocrity’s Reward: Thralls made from parasitic collaboration that neither impress the pyromancer nor fail enough to feed the Sith’s sadistic desire for reprimands suffer a particularly brutal fate where their stomach swells and distends, filling with acid. When the pyromancer wills it, a final rapid transformation occurs, filling the body with an unnaturally potent bile that exceeds the capacity of the person’s flesh, showering the area in lethal acid like a person shaped acid grenade. Vitiator Blade: An aberration of the lightsaber, a vitiator blade reflects its creator’s insanity through the instability of the containment field, wreathing the blade in billowing black smoke that greatly conceals the light of the blade. The blade chews on the fabric of the world around it, cutting so deep that its movements leave behind chilling gashes of inexistence rather than trails of heat. Its malign aspect makes it exceptional for cutting through Force constructs like barriers and illusions, and damaging Force imbued objects. Possession of a vitiator blade is considered a mark of passage among pyromancers, evidence that they have gone through the ashen cycle and come out the other side at least once. Since Crucible Sages are essentially slumming it when they are in the ashen state, they might create a lightsaber for the perverse experience of its childlike simplicity, in the way that an adult might eat ice cream for dinner because they can. Ensnaring Glare: The pyromancer looks at a victim with an intensity that can be felt to the very bone, attempting to make them freeze in terror by teasing out primitive prey reactions to predators. Taker of Faces: Given the mounds of corpses that ashen pyromancers leave behind, it’s generally a good idea for them to adopt a new identity as they come out of it. In the Sith’s final sleep before clarity returns, they dream of the faces they have eaten, and can choose one to mutate their own appearance into, while also inheriting a muddled collection of the person’s memories. Specific details are fuzzy, but the sorcerer gains enough knowledge to pass as a version of the person who was traumatized by nearly being eaten by a serial killer. Because of the cyclical nature of pyromancy, many cultures have myths about cannibal monsters that infect their prey with a hunger that they will one day succumb to. Crucible Sages use this power to extend their lifespans and to secure vessels untouched by corruption so that the darkness can be guided by the Asha’Saarai. In some cases it may be necessary for them to acquire a new body due to a sigil not functioning as intended or being rendered improperly on their body. Inconceivable Horror: Ashen pyromancers use their wickedness to conjure a mythology around them. People think that the stories are either grim fictions or exaggerated claims, because they desperately want to believe that monsters like the Ashen don’t exist. The sorcerer often focuses this mystical veil most heavily on the local authorities, practically ensuring that any reports or pleas for help go unheeded until it is too late. Unmaker’s Scourge: Master ashen pyromancers can call upon the rot and degradation of the world around them to form violent storms of ash clouds that bite, blind, burn, and scour anyone caught in them. Rot of Decayed Dreams: When people dream of a better life, a better way of doing things, a better government, and then that dream fails to come together, or does so in a monstrous way, a little more doubt, cynicism, and despair comes into the galaxy. An ashen pyromancer can metastasize this residue of broken dreams and abandoned ideals to call into the world a great rot that spreads like mold and filth, eating away at the integrity of all things and withering everything that it touches. This cancerous bloom can either be employed slowly across a large area to extend the sorcerer’s area of influence passively, or quickly in an extremely localized area to diminish the functionality of everything around them. In this latter form, buildings buckle under their own weight, technology falters, and despair accumulates. Chittering Madness: The city vermin and pests that feed upon garbage tainted by the slower version of Rot of Decayed Dreams become bound to the will and temperament of the ashen pyromancer. They can be goaded with the dark side to swarm victims in a living wave of filth and repugnance. While the raw damage of this spell can vary on account of the creatures summoned, being swarmed by rodents and insects trying to burrow inside of you has its own… merits as a form of psychological warfare. Llafn Tyrchwr: A cursed blade first forged when a Sith warrior chose to study and live amongst a small group of ashen pyromancers. The sorcerers could not overcome the warrior, and so chose to tolerate his presence while continuing to predate on the surrounding area. From the cabal the warrior learned of rot, desperation, and an all consuming need to devour, and with these occult truths he fashioned a brutal and malignant weapon. When a victim is wounded by one of these smoke clad weapons, burrowing insects conjured by the blade’s occult curses pour into the wound. The longer the blade finds purchase in someone the greater the numbers and longevity of the blighted creatures. Seeds of Damnation: While many people will be subconsciously driven to attempt to flee an ashen pyromancer’s territory, many find themselves trapped, unwilling prisoners to a blighted cage. Wickedness and madness permeate the air like spores, degrading people and poisoning their better aspects. Psychotic breaks and violent outbursts become common, and trust amid the community frays. This ritual often precedes the ashen pyromancer’s return to a more cognizant state, as if they are preparing the area to be more receptive to what the pyromancer can offer. People afflicted by this ritual are more susceptible to suggestion by dark siders. Mask of Degradation: An ashen pyromancer can veil themself in the guise of a beggar or homeless person in order to be dismissed as irrelevant, both as a form of defense and ambush. In many ways this power allows them to move and stalk with practical invisibility, or to be shooed away instead of properly investigated. Devourer Stone: A Sith amulet created by an ashen pyromancer regurgitating a sable resin composed of the digested essence of prior victims, the stone often takes the form of an egg shape roughly six inches tall and with an oily surface that looks like swirling black smoke. The sorcerer can channel their hunger into the stone and use it to project inky tendrils of darkness that grasp and coil around lifeforms in front of the sorcerer. Upon seizing something, it begins to drag them towards the stone, which acts as a sorcerous maw that chews upon anything that comes in contact with it.

Vorin vs. Namari et al After reviewing the duel and discussing it with my second, there is a fair bit that we need to discuss here to move forward and build towards better encounters. Duels involving more than two combatants are often difficult to unravel, and the mod team decided to rule on the players involved individually rather than as a cohesive whole. That being said, one of the major issues that comes up is the lack of coordination by the three light siders. To be blunt, I’m not sure why Aidan was in the duel, and I feel like the first two posts in particular were extremely disrespectful to everyone else in the duel who was taking the time and effort to construct well thought out and detailed posts. If Aidan really didn’t want to participate in the duel, a discussion could have been had about him being on the periphery or being somewhere else during the combat, and if the intent was to troll the opposition through poor play, then this definitely falls under the category of bad sportsmanship. Pandora, to my understanding, is a consular, and yet she is played throughout the duel like a guardian, regularly choosing to engage the Sith warrior in close combat without particularly acknowledging that in such a fight she would be vastly outmatched. Tactically, this made no sense, especially when you had a Jedi guardian present in your line up. Namari, your posts were solid and felt in line with the power level of the character, and your positioning of your troops established a narrative and tactical intent. Blackmorne, your posts were a delight to read and really convey how much of a threat Blackmorne is without devolving into edgelord cringe. The character really shines as a villain even while taking on multiple combatants at once. Given the lackluster effort of Aidan, his attempt at martyrdom fails to influence the outcome of the duel beyond ensuring his death(And the IC framing of “I can throw the duel because I will respawn anyway” can lead to problematic behavior in team matches). While Pandora’s posts are more fleshed out, tactically they feel outmatched and dissonant from the character archetype and the realities of engaging a Sith warrior in close combat. Ultimately the duel came down to the fight between Namari and Blackmorne, and it was very close, so much so that we actually had to clarify final positions and cuts. Ruling: Namari wins after Vorin defeats Aidan and Pandora Namari being able to get her guards around the flank to close range fire on Blackmorne was enough to turn the battle, being near enough to overcome the armor while not needing to defend against an attack.

Imperial Knights Paladins Guide “To the most skillful hands, the sharpest blades.” Paladin proverb. The Paladins of the Imperial Knights are the most in line with the title of knight, questing nobles who shoulder the burden of confronting and destroying threats that are too dangerous for soldiers from more common cut and measure. It is the duty of every Paladin to train and discipline themself to be the champion that the Empire needs, to rise above all others so that the galaxy can know some measure of safety and hope. The Paladins are the most overt symbol of the Imperial Knights taking deliberate and meaningful action to protect the Empire and its citizens, and are what people most often think of when they think of the order. Houses maintain their own lodges of Paladins if they have the numbers, or second them to the lodges of larger houses as Color Bearers. The Empire requires tithes of Imperial Knights, with the greatest numbers coming from the Paladin lodges, who trade their house colors for the Imperial crimson, and bring with them house armsmen. With the loss of the Empress, Imperial Paladins wear various forms of white shrouds and veils in mourning. Exact percentages of tithed Paladins vary from house to house, with martial houses like Blutfalke and Edsbryder treating terms of service as mandatory for all of their Knights. House Corrado has a special exception where they instead command and supply the Vipere Stellari, a naval special forces group that specializes in space combat and pirate hunting. Paladins that don’t have the status to have a family lodge or be seconded under the banner of another house take the title of knight errant, regardless of their place in line of their house’s order of succession, and travel the galaxy in search of deeds to gain the recognition of the other houses. Some rise, some fall, and many find a galaxy indifferent to their aims and aspirations, eventually returning home to quietly live out the rest of their days in ignominy. A particularly promising knight errant might earn a marriage alliance with a house of higher standing, or an invitation to a lodge. Perhaps the most defining feature of Paladins is their willingness to adopt power armor and bracer mounted shields into their fighting style. Their suits are not weapon laden artillery platforms, as they are not common soldiers, but offer excellent protection, enhanced strength, and increased traversal speed(But not necessarily always maneuverability). Squires describe their first experiences in the armor as being like trying to ride a stampeding rancor with no harness, and Paladin training rooms are full of impact craters from novices running into walls, miscalculating jumps, and underestimating how far a dodge to the side would take them. To capitalize on the strength of the suits, Paladins often wield weapons that benefit from increased impact energy. Proper operation of a Paladin’s power suit takes years of training without the aid of the Force, and even accomplished Paladins describe controlling the suit to be more like channeling a storm than an exercise in precise and measured movement. Even the more agile lancer class flight suits require a great deal of intuition to pilot without clipping an obstacle with your helmet and snapping your neck or facing decapitation. However. However, when Paladins that have learned to properly ride the storm enter the battlefield, it is a truly awesome sight to behold. Defensive walls shatter, trenches are cleared in a single bounding leap, and armor crumples under the staggering force of the Paladin’s blows. Each lodge has its own tactics and preferred combat methods, and every house its own code of honor, so for the sake of everyone’s sanity, this guide instead offers classification based off of the suit designations, with the features and powers most often taught in tandem with them listed below. Armor Designations Conqueror Assault Armor: The original and most heavily adopted suit designation, the conqueror series balances strength and weight to create a truly formidable melee suit. Traditionally, this designation comes with a forearm mounted energy shield, but some bold and impetuous knights reroute shield power for additional strength or to allow for a free hand for grappling. Fulfilling the role of heavy assault, conquerors are linebreakers that thrive in the midst of enemy formations. Tremor Stomp: The Paladin strikes the ground with strength augmented by the suit and channeled by the Force, causing kinetic energy to erupt upward with staggering force. If the path of the force is left undirected, it radiates out three meters from the impact, if directed, it travels 9 meters in the chosen direction in a line that is one meter across. Augmented Strike: Sometimes Paladins hit people, with either their weapons or armored fists, or perhaps a body slam or jump kick. In this extremely rare scenario, physics enters a state of sheer panic, and flees the scene in disarray, carrying whatever or whomever got hit with it. This unplanned flight is extremely disorienting and requires considerable combat skill to maintain any semblance of balance or recover from quickly. Premature termination of one’s flight by foreign objects can result in broken bones, concussions, hurt egos, and death. In layman's terms, this suit can hit people and things really, really hard. Reinforced Weapons: Paladins using conqueror suits wield specially crafted melee weapons that by necessity can survive the strain of the forces imposed upon them by the physical power of the suit. Perhaps one day they will be legend clad in their own right, but for now they cannot use heirloom or cycle weapons without using a limiter that prevents their access to Augmented Strike. Augmented Speed: Not to be mistaken for increased agility or dexterity, conqueror suits can accelerate to great speeds and easily clear meters of terrain in a single leap. However, the faster the suit is moving, the harder it is for the operator to change direction. The suit does incorporate kinetic dampener fields(suit operation red lines them too much to absorb enemy attacks, their purpose is to protect the operator from the suit, not act as additional defenses), but the side effect of predictable movement remains. Experienced Paladins can kick or shove off of hard surfaces for drastic course correction, but this has limits and can become predictable in its own way. Shield Boop: A variation of shield bashing techniques that relies on controlled impacts in order to not overload the shield and short it out from hitting the opponent’s face too hard. While not as heavy hitting as an augmented strike, the shield can still stumble and disrupt the concentration of an opponent. Furthermore, the thermal regulation of the shield is less efficient than say a lightsaber’s, and prolonged close proximity can cause considerable melting of armor and faces. The shield itself can protect against kinetic and energy attacks, but Paladins must rely on barrier powers and Force imbued weapons to defend against Force attacks, as the shield is just a shield and not a magic space sword. Maneuverability Jets: Starting at Knight rank, conqueror suit pilots get access to armor subtypes with supporting mobility systems such as jets or repulsors to help reduce maneuver predictability and offer greater control and options of the suit’s mobility. Of course, they can also be used to double down on the suit’s current course, especially with the jets. Known By Our Scars: Paladins that use Conqueror armor suits regularly develop a special affinity for dynastic weapons, allowing them to channel the Force through them more readily, and maintain their power more effectively in their shattered state. Knights and lieges can utilize a fighting style that treats shattered dynastic weapons like whips or flails, utilizing the boundless nature of the Force to hold their blades in loose cohesion that grants greater reach and flexibility. As Without, So Within: Just as their affinity with dynastic weapons allows them to function beyond normal limits, conqueror pilots can use their connection to the Force to empower broken or shattered limbs back into functionality. This power is not the same as healing the wounds, and is more in line with holding themselves together with chewed gum and good intentions. Military Grade Components: Conqueror armor suits are made of military grade alloys, capable of stopping or mitigating most attacks at full integrity, with performance falling off as the armor is compromised. Paladins are advised to kill their opponents before catastrophic suit failure occurs. The wiring inside the suit is hardened against ion and electrical attacks, making it resistant but not immune to them. Over mining of beskar, phrik, and cortosis has made meeting production quotas with such materials impossible, and the suits are too complex to make by hand without risking lethal performance errors. Should a suit be fully compromised and the pilot knows that death or capture is imminent, they are taught to kill themselves and be grateful that their family can afford cloning. Upon pilot death the suit will slag itself internally (Sorry, no glorious self destruct deaths where you take your opponent with you, Imperial Knights fight shoulder to shoulder too often for this to be viable). Many martial houses actually include cloning exercises in their Paladin training, teaching their knights to see death as a setback and potential learning experience, not something to be feared. Dragoon Flight Armor: Fast moving skirmishers that trade the power of other suits for flight capability, greater speed, and a modicum of additional maneuverability. Dragoon Paladins often serve as an intervention force to bolster fracturing positions and extract VIPs as swift guardian angels. Dragoon pilots are most commonly found amongst Knights Errant and Paladins of smaller houses looking to make a name for themselves through a notable rescue or turning the tide of battle at a major point. Augmented Awareness: Piloting a dragoon suit, especially at top speed, is only possible with the aid of the Force or preternatural reflexes. Sure, the suits sport advanced sensor relays and state of the art HUD systems, but even with these tools dragoon pilots require a reaction speed that borders on precognitive. With training, these Paladins can process information so quickly that the world seems to move in slow motion. This does not actually enhance their physical speed on its own, just their ability to comprehend events at high speed. Galestorm Bracer Masers: Dragoons don’t generally carry melee weapons, even with their armor the forces involved in hitting someone at high speed would tear their arm off. Instead, they use short range rapid fire masers mounted on their forearms. Masers are similar to blasters except that they deliver kinetic force on impact in addition to thermal exchange. These masers are tuned for CQB and trade high rate of fire and lethality for an extremely short effective range of ten meters for lethal blows. Dragoons rarely fire these weapons during high speed maneuvers, lining up shots is just too difficult. Sonic Breach: With enough training, knight dragoon pilots can store the sonic energy from when they breach the sound barrier during extended flight, releasing it as they approach enemy contacts to confuse and disorient them. Liege rank pilots can infuse the boom with telekinetic energy, adding to the chaos. Augmented Speed and Flight: The definitive trait of Dragoon armor is its flight capability and incredible speed with which the suit can move. How finely the pilot can maneuver the suit is dependent on their experience and connection with the Force, with squires encouraged to keep things simple, knights having some semblance of control, and lieges capable of performing aerial acrobatics at medium levels of speed and not running into things at ludicrous speed. It should be noted that this is referencing traversal speed and not attack speed or limb movement speed, and that reaching top speeds requires an acceleration period first, you don't just go zero to sonic boom instantly. Slip Blades/Talons: A general classification for monomolecular edged vibro blades with short reach. The Imperial Knights avoid arming dragoons with much reach to counter the instinct to strike while traveling at high speed, because doing so would result in loss of limbs. With their enhanced speed and reaction time, dragoon pilots are exceptional close in knife fighters, using a combination of flight, speed, and disruptive powers to close the range gap. Many of these Paladins wield weapons forged from the shattered remains of larger broken heirloom weapons, too much of the original material lost to remake them, but now serving in a new, subtler form. A unique feature of these blades is their numbing quality, useful both for field surgery and depriving dark siders of the power they would normally gain from wounds. Jubilant Advance: The dragoon pilot uses the Force to manifest a riot of light, sound, and smell that erupt in a torrent of energy from their hands. While most commonly used to confuse and disorient enemies, this power can overload the mind and cause a passive fugue state that lasts for a few days. String Cutter: Dragoon pilots are known for using their anatomical knowledge to disassemble their opponents, cutting tendons and slicing arteries to leave their enemies crippled and bleeding out. Their enhanced speed and smaller weapons allow them to find and exploit joints and openings in armor better than larger weapons with less point control and more mass getting in the way of hitting vulnerabilities. Military Grade Components: Dragoon armor suits are made of military grade alloys, capable of stopping or mitigating most attacks at full integrity, with performance falling off as the armor is compromised. Paladins are advised to kill their opponents before catastrophic suit failure occurs. The wiring inside the suit is hardened against ion and electrical attacks, making it resistant but not immune to them. Over mining of beskar, phrik, and cortosis has made meeting production quotas with such materials impossible, and the suits are too complex to make by hand without risking lethal performance errors. Should a suit be fully compromised and the pilot knows that death or capture is imminent, they are taught to kill themselves and be grateful that their family can afford cloning. Upon pilot death the suit will slag itself internally (Sorry, no glorious self destruct deaths where you take your opponent with you, Imperial Knights fight shoulder to shoulder too often for this to be viable). Many martial houses actually include cloning exercises in their Paladin training, teaching their knights to see death as a setback and potential learning experience, not something to be feared. Field Triage: A stabilizing form of Force Healing that prevents the wounded from bleeding out or otherwise regressing to a worse state from their wounds, allowing the dragoon pilot to exfiltrate a wounded person to proper medical assistance. Eye of the Tempest: Dragoon pilots are conduits of inertia, momentum, and speed. When not traveling at high speed, they can actualize a maelstrom of potential energy around them as a probability storm of ghostly maybes and what ifs. These probability specters are not substantial enough to pass as the pilot under any level of true scrutiny, but they can disrupt targeting systems and misdirect snapfired shots. Chevalier Riding Armor: The noble elite have an extensive history of mounted combat and hunting, and the Chevaliers continue this tradition on the battlefield, augmenting and protecting their mounts with the Force. Chevalier armor is designed for riding, with features tailored to the specific traits of the Paladin’s mount, such as rebreathers for amphibious mounts or limited flight capability for aerial mounts in case the rider is dismounted. Chevalier suits do not house the same physical augmentations as the other suits on account of being mounted negating the need for them, instead they utilize personal shield generators and sensor suites so that the rider can focus on protecting and commanding their mount. Their mounts are often similarly armored as their frame allows, with flying mounts necessitating lighter armor. Symbiotic Defense: The bond between mount and rider is so substantial that the Paladin benefits from their mount’s instincts and senses, while the mount is considered one with the Paladin for the purpose of barrier coverage. The bond also apprises the rider when their mount is hurt and how it will affect their movement. Military Grade Components: Chevalier armor suits are made of military grade alloys, capable of stopping or mitigating most attacks at full integrity, with performance falling off as the armor is compromised. Paladins are advised to kill their opponents before catastrophic suit failure occurs. The wiring inside the suit is hardened against ion and electrical attacks, making it resistant but not immune to them. Over mining of beskar, phrik, and cortosis has made meeting production quotas with such materials impossible, and the suits are too complex to make by hand without risking lethal performance errors. Should a suit be fully compromised and the wearer knows that death or capture is imminent, they are taught to kill themselves and be grateful that their family can afford cloning. Upon pilot death the suit will slag itself internally (Sorry, no glorious self destruct deaths where you take your opponent with you, Imperial Knights fight shoulder to shoulder too often for this to be viable). Many martial houses actually include cloning exercises in their Paladin training, teaching their knights to see death as a setback and potential learning experience, not something to be feared. While Jedi might see the death of an animal companion as a natural part of the Force and ruminate on the dangers of attachment, an Imperial Knight is absolutely going to pay to clone their prized purebred mount should anything happen to it. Blast Smart Shield: An AI governed smart shield strapped to the mount uses its integrated sensor suite to specifically gate damage from anti tank weapons(Clarification, it will not activate for small arms fire). Like any shield, it can be overcome, but it at least provides initial protection from weapons meant to eliminate larger targets. Harrier Hound Packs: Not necessarily always canines, but necessarily well trained and bred, chevalier Paladins often use pack hunting animals to locate and harry prey. The role of these animals is to locate and harry, not to actually bring down a threat, so they are more a threat to the enemy’s ability to conceal and concentrate than their actual lives. Upon finding the prey, they will alert their owner and do their best to encircle it, making noise and nipping at the enemy with probing attacks should their back be exposed. As One: Chevalier Paladins often describe their form of mounted combat as dual control, with both beast and rider informing the actions taken. While in this state the rider is somewhat entranced, and while retaining enough control to stay mounted, their mind is too occupied to coordinate their own attacks. However, they are able to augment their mount’s physicality as if it were their own body when using this power. Gilded Beast: Chevaliers often commission specially designed pieces of armor or modifications for their mounts, particularly focusing on protecting the most exposed parts of the beast when it attacks. These custom pieces are much more likely to contain rare alloys like phrik or cortosis, as they lack the precision engineering necessary of Paladin power armor and are produced in much smaller quantities. Inheritor Class Armor: A more refined implement for houses that possess both the means and the history to possess heirloom weapons and martial traditions for the battlefield. Inheritor class armor is more in line with modern power armor in terms of speed and strength, allowing wearers to use weapons not designed for the strain of the more powerful suits, and be constructed of rarer materials. Artisan Grade Materials: Unlike the other suits, the Inheritor class is able to be constructed on an individual level, and therefore can be made with rarer materials like phrik or alloyed cortosis. Artisans are loath to dip heavily into the reserves for freshly trained Paladins, so squires generally must make do with bracers and pauldrons while the rest is made of durasteel and the like. Knights have their armor reforged to accommodate more rare materials, and lieges regularly make use of cortosis dueling capes. Like the other suits, the electronic components are hardened against ion and electrical attacks. Rise Above: Inheritor class armor is often outfitted with repulsor systems that allow the Paladin to quickly take the high ground or survey their surroundings. It gives them a surreal, dreamlike quality as they float above the earth like an otherworldly being. Heraldic Traits: Properly trained Executors can emblazon heraldic beasts and symbols associated with the Paladin’s house onto their armor, enhancing it with appropriate traits, such as additional resilience, strength, or speed. In truth, these emblems function as channels for powers such as Force Speed, allowing the wearer to call upon them more efficiently and with greater results, while making other physical enhancements more taxing and less effective. Sometimes they instead create more utilitarian functions, such as the House Corrado serpent providing a peculiar winding forward momentum that their paladins often use to traverse vacuum or the House Ecupha Impisi hyena giving an inherent knowledge of scavenged technology. Student of Tradition: Because of the Inheritor class’s more reasonable levels of physical enhancement, Paladins who wear it are more easily able to translate martial styles into use with power armor. Inheritor armor also allows for more precise and refined movements, such as managing edge control and leading an opponent’s blade during a clash. Clad in Names: Inheritor class armor is far more distinctly of its house than other armors, on account of its custom, handcrafted nature. Its symbolic nature and adornments allow the wearer to more easily call upon their heritage and bearing to resist fear and mental effects. It can also be crafted to invoke the legends from the past, similar to Heraldic Traits but feeding off of a person’s legend rather than a mythical symbol. Faithful Blade: Because of the immense value of heirloom weapons, Inheritors are taught a highly specialized form of telekinesis focused on the swift recovery of their weapon should they lose their grip on it. This power actually persists and strengthens should the Paladin lapse into unconsciousness or perish, an echo of will that seals the weapon in a steel grip and repulses any unworthy attempt to recover it with a blast of telekinetic force. Rook Class Armor: An evolution in design of the hazardous environment suits used by the houses on industrial death worlds to oversee production and hunt smugglers and thieves. Rook class suits do not enjoy the same preternatural reflexes as their sister designs, there’s simply too much mass for the power suit to move, but they benefit from far thicker armor, greater redundancies, and significantly more mass behind their attacks. Furthermore, the suits carry massive metal shields into battle that can mitigate even mighty blows and powerful ranged attacks. Paladins who pilot rook class suits are often likened to prudent strategists or chessmasters, moving the pieces into place before crushing an overwhelmed and pressured opponent. Industrial Grade Components: Rook armor suits are made of industrial grade extreme hazard rating alloys, capable of stopping or mitigating most attacks at full integrity, with performance falling off as the armor is compromised. Rook suits can better resist heat and corrosion for longer than other suits, and the underlying musculature of the suit can survive more punishment before failing. Paladins are advised to kill their opponents before catastrophic suit failure occurs. The wiring inside the suit is hardened against ion and electrical attacks, making it resistant but not immune to them. Over mining of beskar, phrik, and cortosis has made meeting production quotas with such materials impossible, and the suits are too complex to make by hand without risking lethal performance errors. Should a suit be fully compromised and the wearer knows that death or capture is imminent, they are taught to kill themselves and be grateful that their family can afford cloning. Upon pilot death the suit will slag itself internally (Sorry, no glorious self destruct deaths where you take your opponent with you, Imperial Knights fight shoulder to shoulder too often for this to be viable). Many martial houses actually include cloning exercises in their Paladin training, teaching their knights to see death as a setback and potential learning experience, not something to be feared. Inviolable Bulwark: One of the trademark traits of rook class suits is its use of physical shields, massive aegises that have been engineered to withstand the force that the suits can bring to bear. Squires are given durasteel and ultrachrome alloy shields, knights are awarded cortosis alloy shields, and lieges are honored with mastercrafted phrik alloy shields. The shields are often emblazoned with heraldic devices or reliefs of historic battles, and designed to channel Force energy to further enhance their sturdiness and redirect concussive force. Known by Our Steel Emblazoned: Rook shields, especially after reaching knight rank, are often crafted with heraldic symbols that can channel the Force into specific effects that emanate from the shield’s front. Stars and suns projecting blinding light, storm clouds and birds projecting overpowering gusts of wind, and mirrors and reflecting pools causing the shield to reflect attacks are all common choices. Support Drones: As mentioned earlier, the rook is adapted from mining power suits, and the engineers have retained the onboard drone bay. The drones are small repulsor hovering units with basic systems and AIs, focused on fulfilling simple roles. Drones might have a survey scanner, cryoban beam emitter, compressed fire retardant foam, electric dissuader, low powered blaster like a training remote, or networked camera that feeds back to the suit. The rook can carry eight drones that need to be set up for their role in advance, with squires being able to operate one at a time, knights being able to operate two, and lieges being able to operate four. Hydraulic Vice: Rook suits are capable of using their power limbs and incredible mass to crush threats, applying so much force that armor buckles and bones crack. Attacks that trap the target between the Rook and a solid unyielding surface have drastically increased potential for ignoring armor. Burden of Power: The Rook pilot can channel the implacable nature of their suit to drastically alter gravitic fields around them, making them greatly resistant to telekinetic attacks like Force Push, and making anyone around them struggle to move with speed or ease. This is an incredibly draining power when used beyond the Paladin’s personal area, but can be used to pin an enemy at a vital moment for a killing blow. Augmented Strike: Sometimes Paladins hit people, with either their weapons or armored fists, or perhaps a body slam or jump kick. In this extremely rare scenario, physics enters a state of sheer panic, and flees the scene in disarray, carrying whatever or whomever got hit with it. This unplanned flight is extremely disorienting and requires considerable combat skill to maintain any semblance of balance or recover from quickly. Premature termination of one’s flight by foreign objects can result in broken bones, concussions, hurt egos, and death. In layman's terms, this suit can hit people and things really, really hard. Reinforced Weapons: Paladins using rook suits wield specially crafted melee weapons that by necessity can survive the strain of the forces imposed upon them by the physical power of the suit. Perhaps one day they will be legend clad in their own right, but for now they cannot use heirloom or cycle weapons without using a limiter that prevents their access to Augmented Strike. Redcloak Imperial Armor: The mass produced armor of the original Imperial Knights serving under Empress Raven in the Imperial remnant. While the original form of the armor used pure cortosis gauntlets, supply issues demanded that current models use an alloyed form that lost the ability to deactivate lightsabers but could still withstand them. Redcloaks trace their origins to renegade Jedi that left the order after their frustrations with the former council’s pacifism grew too great. Redcloaks have far greater access to Jedi teaching than their cousins in the noble houses, and as such function mechanically like Jedi Guardians. I’ve still included some flavor powers for them to express their imperialness outside of combat, and one Redcloak specific piece of gear. Voice of the Throne: Redcloaks are trained to use the Force to control the pitch, tone, and volume of their voice to better direct and command people around them. Every Redcloak has the bearing and voice of an authority figure, and they can easily direct or address even the most panicked or volatile crowd. Writ of Authority: Redcloaks carry an Imperial Writ of Authority that gives them legal authority to access any property on imperial territories and question any imperial citizen without the issuance of a warrant from a judge. Detainment Baton: A stun baton used exclusively by Redcloaks that also can emit stun blasts similar to the E-11 blaster rifle. Redcloaks are as much law enforcement as they are a military force, and they often run into situations where lethal force would be an overreaction. Imperial Network Access: Redcloak armor has suit mounted sensors that are connected to Imperial identification databases, and constantly run scans on everyone they encounter. Potential persons of interest are identified and pinged on the Redcloak’s HUD. Royal Armory Cycle Weapons: Cycle weapons are hybrid energy and mass weapons, with paired energy transmitters on one side and a physical edge or impact surface on the other. A switch on the hilt allows the Paladin to rotate the blade’s facing without having to manually reverse the blade’s edge alignment. The energy component is generally a cutting laser or electrical current, but other options have been observed, such as cryotic beams. Cycle weapons are too complex to withstand the full stress of being used by a conqueror class suit, although some suits have been modified to incorporate limiters in conjunction with them. Redcloaks were the first adopters of cycle weapons, allowing for a mass producible but symbolic weapon for their recruits that didn’t come from the Jedi order, not to mention a weapon that did not require the sourcing of rare, high quality crystals. Titan Weapons: Decidedly simple compared to the other options in function, titan class weapons are sturdy melee implements designed to withstand the extreme forces that the conqueror class armors can bring to bear. While the more pretentious weapon experts might dismiss them as little more than masses of durasteel and ultrachrome, they are masses of durasteel and ultrachrome being accelerated by state of the art power armor that can hit with enough force to shatter normal weapons if swinging without restraint. Titan weapons are commonly constructed to take full advantage of the suit’s strength, being too large and heavy for anyone outside of the suit to wield effectively. Dynastic Weapons: Reforged from the remains of heirloom weapons, dynastic weapons are crafted to serve as better conduits of the Force, at the cost of losing some of their spiritual identity as a weapon tied to a noble house. Former Jedi take to dynastic weapons quickly, and they are a common boon bestowed to Jedi that marry into a noble house, or distinguish themself enough to receive a personal invitation to join the Redcloaks. They are also often found in the hands of minor houses that received them for some notable service or virtuous act witnessed by a house of greater standing. Dynastic weapons share a peculiar trait where they can maintain their cohesive form even after breaking or shattering, although at the cost of some focus on the part of the wielder and reduced effectiveness due to the compromised integrity of the weapon. Subsequent reforgings have been observed to enhance this trait’s effectiveness. Heirloom Weapons: Weapons of particularly illustrious history in battle, or so heavily associated with a noble house that through ritual and ceremony they adopt the traits commonly associated with that bloodline. Heirloom weapons can come from a variety of materials and take an infinite number of forms, but their nature means that they are better suited to manifesting storybound traits than directly channeling the Force. Heirloom weapons can be reforged into dynastic weapons, although the process reduces the mystical traits of the weapon to a pale specter. If an heirloom weapon is truly lost, an Executor can create a replica and pass it off as the recovered original, as symbols are more about belief than truth. Lightsabers: Most commonly found in the hands of Imperial Redcloaks, although occasionally passed down from rogue Jedi either directly or through knowledge of their construction. House lightsabers almost always use crystals from their holdings, with some mining houses producing truly exquisite focusing crystals. House Edsbryder are known to use pulse spears, a variation of lightsaber spear that only activates the blade on the strike but emit a stronger and less energy efficient beam. House Ecupha Impisi lightsabers are each in their own right a masterpiece in design and construction, sporting superior thermal shielding, variable length blade settings, and precision cutting settings, as they are used as much as scavenging tools as they are weapons. Gauntlet Spikes and Mercy Blades: Most Paladins carry on their person or install in their armor a slender stabbing blade for the purpose of finishing off an armored opponent. Gauntlet spikes are generally retractable blades mounted on the forearm, and mercy blades are sheathed in a way that they can be quickly drawn with a free hand in combat. Lessons in Steel, the Paladin fighting styles Stijgende Staking: The “plunging strike”, this style focuses on skewering enemies after advancing with great speed. It is favored by conquerors and chevaliers, whose tactics and gear readily support this form. Despite common misconceptions, dragoons do not practice this style, their suits move too quickly to maintain integrity while striking at maximum speed. When not at war, this style is used in jousting tourneys, and the delivery of a perfect blow on the lists can be a means to achieve fame and glory. Oogstende Snede: The “reaping cut”, this is the preferred form of Paladins who use their suits to carry massive weapons. It focuses on wide arcing cuts that can fell multiple opponents in a single swing, and its training heavily drills the combatant on maintaining proper edge alignment throughout an entire cut. Masters of the form are known to mark their armor or weapons with their highest count of killing blows in a single swing. Doordringende Slag: The “piercing blow”, a style dedicated to the combating of armored opponents, consists of specialized techniques, tools, cuts, and grapples that come together to defeat the defenses of modern, next generation, and occult armor. Doordringende Slag is not just about the killing blow, but creating the circumstances that allow the killing blow to be delivered. Paladins using this fighting style seek to cripple their opponent’s armor joints, exhaust their endurance, exploit gaps in armor plating, and use throws to put opponents on the ground and at a disadvantage. Verstevigende Houding: The “Bracing Stance” is as much a spiritual kata as it is a defensive stance. Its carefully controlled and elegant movements translate into spiritual motions that the Paladins use to conjure defensive barriers. Paladins have a less comprehensive and in depth understanding of barriers than consulars or executors, but they can use the intermediate teachings of a single defensive philosophy. Leidende Rand: The “Guiding Edge” is a fighting style largely reserved for liege rank Paladins and knights in Inheritor armor, and primarily focuses on edge manipulation and blade control to defeat opponents through superior technique. Leidende Rand masters can position their blade like a mercurial serpent, ever present to lead the opponent’s blade astray, yet able to twist and weave around the opponent’s defenses in the blink of an eye. Hansatee Huee Baarish: The specialized style used exclusively by conqueror Paladins, this form of combat not only counters the flaws of dynastic weapons, but builds upon their unique traits to turn setbacks into advantages. Practitioners of this style can turn a shattered dynastic blade into a lash of quivering razor edged shards bound loosely by unseen forces. While in this state the weapon is less capable of penetrating hardened armor, its effects on anything else can only be described as horrific. Privileges and Accouterments Artisans, Attendants, and Blademasters: Paladins have constant access to artisan crafters, attendants that see to the maintenance of their weapons and armor, and blademasters to both refine their current techniques and introduce them to rare and exotic styles. Command centers, Halls of Power, and Lodges: Paladins can be found in both strategic and political places of power, and while the Executors oversee the sourcing and production of most arms and armor shipments,Paladins are often at the beginning and end of the process, requesting specific designs and reviewing finished pieces. Lodge halls are also familiar places to Paladins, where they may train and converse among their own. Discipline and Authority: More so than either of their spiritual cousins, the Paladins have great rapport with the Imperial military hierarchy, with each group respecting the style and professionalism of the other. An unspoken peer network of Imperial soldiers, officers, Redcloaks, and Paladins exists unified under the bonds of men and women who have fought and bled together for shared purpose. Military Endorsements: Paladins often receive endorsements from military corporations, which in addition to additional funds gives them access to military grade technology for their conveyances, armor, and electronics. Cloning Training: Paladins receive extensive prep and training for the cloning process, and are revived in state of the art medical facilities with full physical and mental care professional teams. Esoterica and Errata The Queen of Rats: Once a truly gifted and brilliant noble scion, the Queen of Rats had aspirations of becoming a Paladin, but felt that she was being unnecessarily held back by instructors that did not acknowledge her talent and ability. In secret, she constructed her own variation of a Paladin suit, and began performing vigilante justice. Without proper guidance however, her efforts at justice and goodness slowly became twisted by pride, sadism, and the thrill of the hunt, until murder consumed her. She hunts in the dark places now, with a cult of followers that feel that their value has gone unseen. While her slaughter still maintains a thin veneer of justice, what she considers deserving a death sentence is so erratic that anyone who isn’t a true believer rarely lasts long amongst her followers. The Imperial Knights have launched more than a few expeditions to find her, sometimes to try and redeem her, other times to put her down, but at current she remains at large. Blood Soaked Origins: Many of the styles that the Paladins use as part of their unified training manuals were actually developed by gladiatorial slaves that were granted their freedom during the Empire’s newfound love of liberated populations. Freed gladiators were offered a sum of credits for their knowledge accrued in the arena, and many took the offer having no other prospects lined up for income. Tenders: Heirs whose questionable legitimacy would cause untenable scandal but whose noble parents want to provide for are often selected as caregivers either to their pureblooded peers or the noble menageries. Tenders are allowed to learn the healing arts, if they have the aptitude for it, and quietly fulfill a role that would otherwise be left empty. Hedgeknights: Most houses will hold yearly tourneys in which warriors of notable skill and potential might distinguish themselves enough to earn the position of squire to a knight. Competition is fierce, and to even earn an invitation requires documented feats of valor. Aspirants who seek to raise their station through valor are referred to as hedgeknights. Favor and Fancy: It is not uncommon for Imperial nobles to offer tokens of favor to Paladins that they admire and wish to court, a system that has existed since ancient tradition. However, modern Paladins now also grant tokens called fancies to those who they value and wish to protect above all others. This newer tradition was introduced to help legitimize relationships between the nobility and Force sensitive individuals who were otherwise of common birth, use chivalric storytelling to set the tone of such couplings. Paladins however have also started using it to try and sidestep arranged marriages, which has created a conflict between families securing greater spiritual power versus maintaining political alliances with other power players.

Imperial Knights Executor Guide “I am not the sword of my family, nor am I the face. I am the executor of my family’s authority, I am the hand that wears both steel gauntlets and silk gloves. The Paladins protect the throne from enemies without, and the Falcons protect the throne from enemies within, but I am the one that gives the throne meaning.” Executors are the epitome of knowledge in action, the application of learned understanding to solve problems. The Paladins are often considered the poster girls and boys of the Imperial Knights, but it is the Executors that are building the empires that arm, armor, fund, and legitimize them. Students of political science, the arts, civil engineering, history, and a number of other disciplines, the Executors are the minds that build and maintain the structure of noble claims, treaties, and political initiatives. Executors are common choices to sit the throne or to serve as its closest advisor. Third or later born Executors, like Paladins, are often called Errants and given tasks of great import that require considerable focus and attention, or duties in distant lands or otherwise abroad. The first and foremost role of the Executor is to see to the foundations and inner mechanisms of their house, ensuring that each part is properly outfitted to do its job, and playing the roles intended for them. Despite their role as keepers of the symbols of office and familial identity, the Executors can find themselves in combat just as readily as Paladins and Falcons, as their secondary role is the protection of the people, places, and heirlooms that the house views as important or sacrosanct. While at first glance it might be easy to view the Executors as knock off brand consulars, the focus and utility of these scholar protectors sets them apart. The frivolity and whimsy of academia is not a distraction that they can afford to indulge in. An Executor must play many roles throughout their life, rarely having the luxury of being able to dedicate themselves to a single discipline or purpose. However, whatever they are tasked with becomes the center of their focus, study, and training. Because of the mercurial needs of power, Executors clad themselves in adornments and symbols that declare what their current function is. While the Executors have considerable capacity for flexibility, these shifts do require periods of training and study, so if an Executor should find themself in a conflict, they are considered “locked in” to their current Adornment. Adornments themselves often have little power beyond sentiment or symbolism, instead serving as signifiers of the training and study that largely happens behind the scenes. Adornments: Adornment of Legacy: While the Imperial Knights are relatively young in galactic terms, the noble houses that sponsored them have long and storied pasts. Heirlooms and relics from across the ages are scattered across the stars, waiting to be reclaimed by their rightful owners. An Executor that is trained in the preservation of their house’s legacy is a researcher and procurer of lost or stolen family artifacts. Upon recovery, they can use their understanding of the Force and the item’s history to imbue it with noble purpose and power. These scholars do not just recover treasures for themselves, instead they put these powerful objects into the hands of the Imperial Knights that need them the most. Because of the nature of their duties, Legacy Executors heavily cultivate their bonds to the Unifying Force, using it to both locate lost heirlooms and to evade and outmaneuver opponents. In combat, they infuse their weapons and regalia with the resonant power of their house’s greatest deeds. The stories that they have relived through the unity of the Force can empower blades and turn cloth into a bulwark against the darkness. Adornment of Rule: The most common Adornment for those that sit the throne, but ultimately a tool for any that embody the role of the symbolic leader, Ruling Executors leverage the power of status, symbolism, and authority. Inspiring to allies and seemingly dauntless to enemies, they exude the reassurance of benevolent authority uncorrupted by tyranny or self interest. With quiet inner strength they can voice edicts wrought of steel or subdue attackers with an arresting stare. Should these Executors find themselves in combat, their foremost goal is not survival, but embodying the role that they play. If they should fight and perish nobly, they will have served their legacy far better than succumbing to whispers of cowardice or self preservation, for to stand in service or sacrifice to the dream of liberty and justice is a far more important and necessary victory than walking away. Adornment of Sanctity: The power of the Light is in its ability to protect and preserve that which matters. Sanctifier Executors are protectors of important people and places, making them both similar and different to Jedi Guardians in philosophy, with the Guardians seeking to protect all life while the Sanctifiers focus on protecting the people and places that can do the greatest good. Clad in ceremonial armor, trained in polearms, and possessing a natural affinity for Force barriers, the Sanctifiers are immovable objects on the battlefield. Stealing away the focus of their enemies from more vulnerable targets, Sanctifiers use their defensive style to punish aggression and exhaust opponents. While lacking the prowess or strength of their Paladin cousins, Sanctifiers can still use the reach of their polearm to rebuke attempts to close in. Ranged attackers are equally thwarted by their power to conjure enduring barriers. Adornment of Strategy: While the title might suggest that these are glorious leaders commanding great armies in resplendent armor, they are more accurately described as intelligence officers for the Imperial Knights. It is their job to know the capabilities of the enemy, and advise their allies on the best methods to secure victory. Sometimes this involves combing through combat recordings and intercepted comms, other times its interrogating captives and suspects. In addition to knowing the training and kit of the enemy, Strategist Executors possess supernatural insight into the minds of their enemies. They do not meddle with the function of minds like their Falcon cousins, but they can react to an enemy’s attack the moment that they conceive of it. The Executor does not have full access to their opponent’s mind, but the neural messaging of attacks is generally urgent and less concealed, and therefore easier to intercept and decrypt. Adornment of Esoterica: There is no hiding the dark history of the noble families and their compliance, if not outright collaboration with the Sith and other forces of darkness(Although efforts are still made anyway). The Esoteric Executors are the scholars and inquisitors that seek out the darkness and corruption hiding in the roots of the houses and drive it out with the serene light of the Force. They discern harmless tradition and occult curiosity from true corruption, and sever the tendrils of the latter from the persisting legacies of the past. Esoteric Executors are some of the most likely Imperial Knights to interweave the folkloric traditions of their people into their understanding of the Force while still being recognizable as Imperial Knights, and excel at the application and manipulation of light, whether as a manifested force or dispersing their own light to conceal their power when walking amongst servants of darkness. Adornment of Arbitration: The ambassadors, liaisons, and tutors of the Imperial Knights, Arbitrators create and strengthen the bonds between all who fight for a just and good society. Through networking and power brokering, they uplift the virtuous and suppress the cruel, creating hierarchies that build a better galaxy. They also serve as instructors and advisors to families that have only recently secured Force sensitive bloodlines and haven’t the experience or qualified personnel to properly raise and educate them. Finally, they are responsible for negotiating marriage alliances between the noble houses and testing the caliber of Force sensitives that come from lowborn families but are candidates for breeding the next generation of Imperial Knights. Arbitrators are not combatants and rarely invest the time and energy necessary to upkeep a combat training regimen, instead relying on personal champions provided by their families or earned through the respect that they have cultivated with allied factions. Tools of Power Lightsabers: The Executors have a complicated relationship with lightsabers. On the one hand, lightsabers are powerful weapons that can be deadly even in the hands of a novice Force user. On the other hand, they are heavily associated with the Jedi and Sith, and almost all historic lightsabers are tied to one of those two orders. For Executors that prefer alternatives, reforging heirloom weapons into Force blades, imbuing heirlooms with power drawn from their triumphs, or drawing upon ceremonies of early faiths are all options for creating implements that can compete on the field of battle. Executors that do craft lightsabers tend to use crystals mined from their holdings, and handles often crafted by artisans. Heirloom weapons: Noble families often possess armories filled with the carefully maintained weapons by which they conquered and then defended their fiefdoms. With careful research and ceremony, Legacy Executors can transform these relics of history into Force-imbued weapons, whose true powers are accessible to those of blood or bond to the family. What those powers might be depend on the family and weapon’s legacy, but increased durability is almost so common that it’s a rule of the process. While Executors are limited in their own abilities to use heirloom weapons, they often restore them for Falcons and Paladins. Dynastic weapons: A term particular to the Imperial Knights, dynastic weapons are weapons that were reforged from the pieces of a broken heirloom weapon. This allows for construction more suited to the channeling of Force energies, although the powers woven from the weapon’s legacy are somewhat diminished. In time, dynastic weapons can develop their own legends after taking many forms. Scepters and staves: Traditional symbols of power and rule, many Executors use these symbolic objects as foci for their abilities. Like heirloom weapons, these implements can be imbued with greater power by Legacy Executors, and are often used to signify advancement in rank or title. Imperial finery: Executors generally eschew armor, with the exception of the Sanctifiers, and prefer ceremonial or luxury dress that clearly states their status. Their clothes are often state of the art in design and technology, with data display integration and luxuries like powered climate control, privacy fields, and vocal amplifiers. Some even have built in repulsor technology, allowing the noble to eerily hover above the ground rather than walking from place to place. Core powers Executors are light side users that skew towards powers that involve directly touching, feeling, and manifesting the Force. They do not practice the conduit like approach of Guardians or Paladins in which the Force manifests through supernatural physical feats, or the sapient intuition for people that Sentinels and Falcons share, instead conjuring the Force in its rawest and most untailored form. While some Adornments benefit from additional focus on the skill set, all Executors have a natural inclination towards the various barrier powers, prioritizing it over powers that Jedi Consulars are typically known for such as healing, which Executors see as a response to failing to protect what must be protected. Executors also highly prize the ability to protect one’s mental faculties and capacity to reliably perceive their surroundings, considering clarity a vital aspect of their role as leaders. For better or worse, the legacies and traditions of noble houses have contributed to a stalwart sense of identity that is difficult for others to undermine or warp, and mental warding is regularly trained and tested. Inability to adequately shield the mind can result in an Executor being put on leave or discharged if no improvement is shown. As such, where other Force users emphasize and obsess over fighting styles, the Executors instead develop and define themselves through philosophies of defense. The measure of an Executor’s ability with the Force is often determined by their spiritual fortitude and tactical application which they display in trials of mock combat. Not all options in the following list are meant to be competitive, with some coming with severe drawbacks that are traded for narrative potential. Executors pick up one form at the rank of squire, a second at knight, and master one of the two at liege. Paladins and Falcons can learn the basics of one of these forms at knight rank. Citadel Doctrine: The classical style of barrier defense as taught by the Jedi. The defensive style is seen as conservative and lacking a desire to adapt, but proponents of it point out that its application has been tested and refined for millenia. Herzboden: A barrier technique that is built upon the connection between lord and land, turning the ground into a malleable medium as clay to the sculptor’s hand. When upon natural ground the Executor can form earthen barriers that do not require focus to sustain, while turning the soil beneath their opponents’ feet into mirelike mud. Furthermore, they can staunch and stabilize light to moderate wounds by using Force infused mud, bidding the land to restore what they lost. Mentally, Herzboden has been described as calcifying the mind into unyielding stone when the user’s mind is assaulted. Herzboden is regarded as primitive and shamanic by most Executors, a remnant of beliefs that they have long since moved past. Most often it is learned by Executors who are chafing against the traditional expectations that they are held to, meant as a mocking sort of protest that compares tradition to mud encrusted rituals. Alternatively, it is sometimes taught to the Executors of houses considered provincial or poor compared to more prestigious families as a cruel jab of contempt. Despite this, Herzboden has the advantage of mitigating some of the perceived distance between an Executor and the lowborn, and often casts them as being more in tune with the lands and people that they rule. Between its capacity for healing and the suggestion that practitioners of Herzboden are willing to get their hands dirty to get things done, executors who practice this form enjoy more willing and positive interaction with the working class. All that being said, even the most humble Executor will seek out additional defensive forms when able, due to the style’s dependence on natural earth or hewn stone to work. Cifre del Vuoto: Most people regard void and absolute absence as things of evil and destruction, but for the merchant princes and princesses that oversee the intersystem shipping lanes, vacuum is a day to day part of their daily lives. Citre del Vuoto is the understanding of void that allows its inherent traits to be used defensively, sapping the energy of attacks, tossing enemies about, and consuming projectiles. Often referred to as the Celestial Calculus, Cifre del Vuoto works by carefully applying generalized and concentrated nothingness to the path of oncoming threats, consuming, lessening, or redirecting them. Generalized application, or veiling, saps the power of energy attacks, exposes attackers to subzero temperatures, and can often stun opponents when they first enter into the perimeter of extreme cold. Mental attacks often find themselves lost in a vast and empty expanse, as if the Executor had conjured leagues of void in the space of a few meters distance between them and their attacker. As such, mental attacks are often delayed before taking effect, provided the attacker isn’t gutted and the attack pulled up at the root first. Advanced Cifre del Vuoto techniques are both incredibly powerful and incredibly draining, and require the same immense expenditure of energy regardless of how slight the attack is. Because of this, along with the utility of having something that can cut through a bulkhead on a ship, practitioners of this form tend to build and carry lightsabers that they can use to supplement their defenses with less draining options. Rather than creating a field of generalized protection, the practitioner creates a brief and tightly focused orb of vacuum with enough pull to reroute projectiles that move through its orbit or yank adjacent attackers off their feet as if the area had just suffered a hull breach in deep space. Masters of the form can plot slingshotting trajectories that redirect attacks into their enemies, but doing so adds additional strain to an already costly style. The navigator nobles of House Corrado were the first to develop this defensive form, and it is considered by most Imperial Knights to be the first form truly unique to their organization. Corrado Executors were instrumental distributors of knowledge in the early days of the Imperial Knights, spreading knowledge of Force techniques to eager squires, and Cifre del Vuoto’s potent nature meant that it was a preferred go to for instructors putting arrogant students in their place. It was a massive powerplay that cemented House Corrado’s knights as a force to be respected, especially amongst those that didn’t understand the form’s limitations. Jal Nrty: Developed in secret by Ishvaran nobles who resented their world being treated by the Sith as a planetary sacrificial altar, Jal Nrty is a discrete collection of defensive powers that are difficult to detect and function with minimal overt effort. Jal Nrty teases the Force around the Executor into roiling currents and swirling eddies, causing dark side energy to dissipate and bleed off of Force attacks, and to a lesser extent the energy of mundane ranged attacks. These unseen currents wrap around opponents, creating both resistance to their movements and applying disruptive force to any attempt to perform actions with precision. Sense perception fades as the energies in turmoil distort the feedback that the senses receive, blurring sight, eroding scent, and warping sound. Once the currents have bled off enough energy, the Executor can redirect the flow into a typhoon of the accumulated energy to shut down their opponent with a spiritual form of toxic shock. Jal Nrty practitioners have a dreamlike way of moving while using the form, a dreamlike hybridization of dancing and swimming from which the name of it is derived. This form of mobility is not any faster than normal physical movement, but it can allow for evasive maneuvers that normally aren’t possible for the body. This carries over to Jal Nrty’s mental defense, which attackers have described as making the mind slippery and difficult to find purchase on. Executors who use Jal Nrty are often mistrusted or seen as cowardly by other Imperial Knights, due to Ishvara never joining the rebellion in spite of the abuses delivered upon its people. That being said, they are often sought out by houses with family branches in places where the eyes of the Sith are firmly affixed. The form can rather easily be taught metaphorically over time without overtly revealing to others that what is being shared is light side teachings. Tafki Mai Nunawa: The Force is a guiding power of benevolence that often wears the faces of fallen loved ones to deliver revelation. Tafki Mai Nunawa is an amalgamation of ancestor veneration and barrier techniques that wears the faces of ancient rulers and stalwart conquerors. This form excels at countering single threat damage, but struggles handling attacks from multiple directions at once or area of effect attacks. It works by embodying the protective energy of the Force in the visages of the executor’s ancestors, whose specters turn aside blows with shield and blade. Mental attacks on a practitioner of Tafki Mai Nunawa must contend not only the Executor’s resolve but also the guidance of their forebears. The “ghosts” that this form conjures are not in fact actual spirits of the dead, but rather manifestations of the Force that bear the likenesses of people that the Executor has imbued with great meaning. Since it is not the pale candle of sorcery that Sith use when performing necromancy, it brings about a fuller and truer imprint of who the person was, unclouded by misconceptions and incomplete understanding. This makes their champions consummate duelists that are not limited by an Executor’s grasp of melee combat, although the Force ghosts never attack, only intercepting and turning aside blows. Tafki Mai Nunawa training is often offered as a wedding gift to an Executor who is marrying into a new family, acting as a statement of the spouse now having access to the house’s legacy while also being required to study that very same legacy. Practitioners are seen as having an exceptional connection to the will of the Force, and also benefiting from the wisdom of great ancestors, and so are often highly respected as councilors and sages. Noble houses will often request the presence of a Tafki Mai Nunawa Executor at major ceremonies as a symbolic form of ancestral participation and blessing. Lóngzhū: Across the galaxy, many noble houses have come to be associated with a creature that for many is little more than myth or speculation. That creature is the dragon, the embodiment of elemental power manifested beyond the means for people to contain. Lóngzhū is the study and application of that power yoked by wisdom and compassion. To study this form is to study the duality of water, both a life giving necessity and an uncontrollable storm. Lóngzhū storm walkers accept that nature can be in turmoil but do not use it as an excuse to suffer others, instead using enlightenment to ride the storm to a greater and more noble purpose. These Executors can enshroud themselves in mist, rebuke attackers with mighty torrents of wind and rain, and shatter the poise of their foes with resonating thunderclaps. Any dark sider that tries to use a mental attack on a Lóngzhū practitioner is about to learn a valuable lesson about conductivity as their mind is spiritually flashbanged by the connection. When Executors are researching defensive forms, Lóngzhū is often presented as a middle ground between the intense force of Cifre del Vuoto and the subtle manipulation of Jal Nrty, providing both direct answers and concealing ambiguities. Teachers of the form have likened it to the need for a sword to be both firm and flexible at the same time. As such, Lóngzhū provides the practitioner with a varied suite of options, including empowered telekintic pushes, access to concealment, and incredibly disruptive bursts of energy that can stumble and disorient enemies. The compassion needed to temper the storm that this form calls upon causes most Lóngzhū practitioners to become enamored with philanthropy and humanitarianism, which doesn’t always mesh well with the big picture focus of other Imperial Knights. The Executor’s connection to the storm makes them more acutely aware of the suffering of others, and drives them to act against it. Left unattended, Lóngzhū practitioners will often lose themselves in performing small kindnesses while greater concerns are left unattended to. That being said, their compassion often makes them beloved by the commonfolk, for whom they regularly show great kindness to, and their connection to the Living Force can cause them to become a regenerative font of power that restores the natural world around them. Macayac Ixaci: This form takes a different approach to defensive philosophy, crippling and disabling opponents through precise vibrations applied to specific points on the body to affect the organs. Macayac Ixaci generates a vibrational field around the user through Force empowered chanting that disrupts bodily functions, potentially causing nausea, blindness, migraines, vomiting, loss of balance, and a host of other side effects. While neophytes project a general unwellness about them, more practiced hands can hone in on exacerbating specific conditions and maladies. Practitioners react to mental attacks by attempting to shake the opponent’s brain into a concussion. Macayac Ixaci is efficient in use of the Force but requires heavy concentration. Its wide area of effect makes it excel at protecting against multiple attackers, but if an attacker does manage to pull off an attack the practitioner must rely on other forms of defense to protect themselves. Masters of the form can project the vibrations forward in a cone that has greater range and intensity than the traditional field. Executors who study Macayac Ixaci must also study healing, a fact that they consider to be a source of shame and the mark of lesser users of the Force. While few Imperial Knights would actually display contempt for one of their own being well versed in healing if actually faced with it in the field, it remains a galling aspect of the form that its practitioners do their best to conceal out of embarrassment. Macayac Ixaci also has a peculiar side effect of making the practitioner hungry, but this is more of a nuisance than anything else that makes them prone to snacking. Zatyshna Pisnya: More modernly called the Jubilation or the Woe depending on which aspect of the form is being used, Zatyshna Pisnya is the art of using the Force to silence tempers, second guess the folly of violence, and if necessary, force would be attackers into submission bound by the power of the voice. This discipline of Force use enhances and builds upon the Jedi mind trick to ensnare even normally sound minds or to strike at the will as if wielding a massive sledgehammer. The Jubilation is a subtle technique that pacifies mental resistance and lulls the mind into willing obedience, generally for the purpose of preventing combat before it starts. The Woe, on the other hand, imbues the words of the Executor with tangible force that can still sword strikes and make barbarians bend the knee. Mental attacks on a Zatyshna Pisnya practitioner can cloud the mind with infatuation if they are using the Jubilation, or fog it with dimwittedness if they are using the Woe. Prior victims of the Woe have described its commands as feeling similar to sleep paralysis or being pinned by inertia. Even those that could overcome the commands described it as extremely emotionally exhausting. That being said, the Woe requires the practitioner to be aware of the target’s presence. An opponent bested by the Woe can be convinced that they have been bound and captured, or spend the next three days in the full belief that they are a taun taun. The Jubilation, on the other hand, creates an enrapturing aura around the Executor that draws the interest of those around them and teases their curiosity. Befuddled Sith troopers will stumble out of a confrontation with the Executor having forgotten they were even in a battle to begin with, compulsively humming or singing a song that they have no memory of ever hearing. The Jubilation ensnares positive memories or seeds the mind with false ones to create a temporary manic delusion of being a friend or lover of the Executor, with greater understanding of the target making them more vulnerable to the practitioner. The Jubilation cannot make its victims fight for the Executor, and trying to use it as an interrogation tool can rapidly erode the fantasy away, leaving the Executor with no answers and a now most likely violent threat. Zatyshna Pisnya has something of a sinister reputation amongst the Imperial Knights, both because of its tendency for practitioners to use it subconsciously, and because of rumors that the noble house that first used it was cursed in some way and subsequently fell into ruin. Fear of manipulation is a constant for those who know what these Executors are capable of, and paranoia leads to even the most natural of friendships being questioned. It would be pleasant to think that galactic leaders don’t believe in superstitions like curses, but none want to see their family become the next House Abryct, a tattered shell of a great line mumbling quiet and incoherent warnings. Legacy Powers Remembrance: Infuses a weapon or set of armor with supernatural durability and power, and gives it characteristics that tie into its own legend. While the Executors lack the training to wield more advanced weapons or combat armor, they will readily perform this ceremony for the benefit of other Imperial Knights, especially Paladins. The results of this ritual should be in line with the power level of the Executor performing it, and best practice is to run ideas by a mod for pre-approval. Sense Glory: Executors can intuit the power and quality of arms and armor through the Force, with knights and masters gaining even deeper insight into the capabilities of each piece. Force altered gear and talismans are especially susceptible to this power. Embody Myth: Legacy Executors often wear symbolic faux armor tied to the roots of their noble house, lightweight facsimiles that favor form over function. There have been a number of recorded accounts of Executors that wear them surviving blows that only real armor should have been able to stop, as if for a fleeting moment a pale echo was transubstantiated into an unassailable bulwark. If a Legacy Executor takes the most powerful hit of an enemy attack while protecting others or refusing to give ground against the darkness, their garb momentarily becomes treated as heavy armor. The sudden weight makes melee combat or advanced mobility awkward and difficult, but it can be the difference between life and death. Knights can use this power to turn what would be a wounding blow into exhaustion instead, and masters can stand defiant against even the most mortal of blows, shrugging off rocket blasts and disruptor beams. The power is too exhausting to treat as a passive always on ability, but it can put an aggressor on the back foot to see their strongest blows fail to find any real purchase. Worthy Inheritor: Legacy Executors can use the stories of their bloodline like armor for the mind and spirit, girding them against eroding forces like fear and doubt. Even in the darkest moments, these Imperial Knights can recall past triumphs and acts of defiance that encourage them to persist through hope alone, despite the odds. Ruling Powers Glaring Halo: Manifesting a crown of golden radiance, the Executor blinds those who would raise arms against them with scouring light. This light affects both physical and spiritual senses, and the intensity is dependent on the rank of the Executor The Crown Stands: The Executor is a symbol of people standing united against the forces of evil and darkness, a symbol of hope and fortitude. Ruling Executors can remove mental barbs and steady resolve in others, tending to the mind and spirit in the same way that Jedi healers tend to the body. Symbol of Triumph: The Executor can cow the weak willed and shake the resolve of the cruel with a draconic glare. This power can paralyze chaff soldiers and turn the attempts of more capable opponents to strike the Executor into a contest of wills. Noble Edict: The Ruling Executor can align their commands with the will of the Force, bolstering allies who hold true to their shared path. The Executor issues an edict to their allies such as “Hold the line”, “Protect the innocent”, or “Drive out the darkness”. As long as allies hold to the path of light, they gain increased resistance to mental attacks and eroding morale from circumstance. At knight rank, this power persists beyond the Executor’s death(although at a reduced capacity), martyring them, and at Master rank, the resistance actually increases should the Executor fall. Sanctifier Powers Always Standing: Sanctifier Executors are trained to always maintain their footing, even against the most brutal of strikes. A combination of physical training and telekinetic manipulation, this power counters attempts to knock the Sanctifier off their feet or out of their stance. Coalescing Light: Calling upon the light that gathers in places held sacred, or coruscating around the Sanctifier as they defy the darkness, the Executor empowers the area around them. Dark sorceries struggle to persist in the area, and creatures conjured from the dark or imbued with power from its twisted energies find it difficult to enter or remain in the zone. Dark Side amulets and alchemically altered arms and armor, while not stopped or destroyed upon entry, suffer from reduced effectiveness and power. In cases of the Sanctifier anchoring the zone around themself, they symbolically draw a circle around them with the tip of their weapon, and the area within is considered the affected area. Protector: The Sanctifiers are something of a hybrid between Executor and Paladin, wearing medium armor and possessing above average skills with polearms. Their application of the Force to their spear fighting is not on par with a paladin or guardian’s, but it does let them competently wield the spear one handed while leaving the other hand free to channel the Force into powers such as barriers. Barrier Mastery: The Sanctifiers are exceptionally keen to train their ability to conjure barriers, and have a number of options available to them regarding barrier powers. Inviolable barriers focus entirely on keeping bad things out, and are the sturdiest form of barrier. Reflective barriers only counter Force powers, but send them back at the attacker. Diffused barriers don’t stop attacks but slow them down tremendously, giving the Executor greater leeway in reacting to them. Strategist Powers Intelligence Analyst: Strategist Executors hold information as the greatest weapon, a blade that they sharpen tirelessly. When allies report and document their battle experiences to the Strategist, used enemy equipment and powers becomes in-game knowledge for all allies in battles that the Strategist participates in. Psych Profile: Strategists review and extrapolate on documented conversations and verified histories of major players to build profiles that note strengths and highlight potential vulnerabilities. These profiles are considered in-game knowledge for all allies in battles that the Strategist participates in. This ability should not be treated as omniscience regarding enemy characters, it doesn’t magically provide insight into their psyches, but it does show the value of comparing notes. Probability Web: The Strategist scans the weave of probabilities and senses tremors caused by intention and focus. This translates into preternatural reflexes and the ability for the Strategist to start reacting to attacks before their opponent even starts willing their muscles to move. This does not make the Strategist impossible to hit, but it does allow them prescient ability to prepare themself. Known Enemy: The Strategist uses their understanding of the enemy to disrupt their focus and undermine their concentration. Unlike a Jedi who might use this knowledge in an attempt to reconcile or redeem an opponent, the Strategist utilizes it to goad the enemy into making mistakes and acting rashly. Esoteric Powers Light Diffusion: Esoteric Executors must often move amongst the forces of evil, both mortal and otherwise, and this power allows them to conceal anything that would make them notable. It is not invisibility, but rather a distortion that prevents others from detecting their connection to the Force or perceiving them as remarkable in any way. Using the Force or engaging in conflict ends the effect of this power immediately. Transmutive Barrier: The origin of the Esoteric Executors began with the shadow purge of dark side adepts within the noble houses, a great number of whom practiced sorcery. The transmutive barrier was a natural adaptation, both providing protection and unbinding corrupted Force energy in a process that creates light as a byproduct. An inordinate amount of light that is a pleasant golden glow to light siders and excruciatingly blinding to dark siders. Athame: A general term for a ritual blade that has been ceremonially infused with the Force, often according to pre-Jedi religious traditions. An athame cuts on both the physical and spiritual level, and exploits the connection between sorcery and sorcerer. If the Executor cuts a manifestation of the Dark Side, whether that be an item, creature, or power, the “owner” of that manifestation feels the edge of the blade in their mind. Additionally, when the athame is used in battle, each slash releases a burst of blinding light, as if the blade was cutting a veil concealing an unfathomable brightness. Esoteric knights have learned how to combine the traits of an athame blade with a lightsaber. Upon reaching mastery, the light projected by an athame lightsaber functions like the Sanctifier’s coalescing light power, with dark sorceries struggling to persist while exposed, and creatures conjured from the dark or imbued with power from its twisted energies recoiling in fear as they begin to erode away. Dark Side amulets and alchemically altered arms and armor, while not stopped or destroyed upon exposure, suffer from reduced effectiveness and power. The power of the light trails off over distance. Aurora: Gathering light and color about themself like a cloak, the Esoteric moves in a riot of brightness and iridescence, soothing to allies and searing to enemies. Opponents who look upon them can easily find themselves disoriented, and the glaring luminosity leaves confusing after images in both the physical and spiritual senses. With great enough intensity, this power is known to cause seizures. Privileges and Accouterments Scholar princes and princesses, Executors hold ownership over the legacies and identities of their houses, both bearing and defining the crown. As such, they wield political power and assets Halls of power, throne rooms, archives and holy places: The Executors have the greatest association with the historical roots of the noble houses, and the symbolic places of origin, so they can often be found in ancestral mansions, keeps, and citadels, but also modern political centers and capitals as their role demands. Aides, Staff, and Scholars: The duties of an Executor are often exhausting and demanding of great focus, and so like all nobility, they maintain service contracts with servants, political aides, and scholars. Aides and scholars are generally selected with a priority on accuracy, reliability, and competency. Reputation and Pedigree: As well respected members of the ruling elite, Executors have direct access to other nobility, and can request (or if hierarchically appropriate, demand) meetings with other power players, request sanctuary when under duress, and generally expect royal hospitality when traveling. Keys to the Ivory Tower: Executors also enjoy strong connections with galactic academia, allowing them access to university facilities, labs, and personnel. Quality that defines an Empire: As symbols of power and success, Executors go out of their way to have the highest quality tools, fashion, and means. Luxury and survivability tend to take precedence over flash as the Falcons prefer, or combat performance as is the want of Paladins, when it comes to conveyances. Shot Caller: On matters of state security, Executors are often the final authority that presses the button so to speak. It is within their authority and purview to order, authorize, and fund operations to contain threats to public safety and government function, either through elimination or capture. Errata and Esoterica Dark Origins and the Gravekeepers: Though they would never admit it, many of the defensive forms that the Executors now cherish as tools of the Light originated from questionable if not downright evil practices. Macayac Ixaci evolved from occult cannibal rituals by magi seeking hidden knowledge of the body. Citadel Doctrine was pieced together by reviewing records of imperial interrogations of Jedi. Herzboden used to involve blood sacrifices where hearts were removed from living sacrifices and buried on sacred ground. Lóngzhū came about by studying the notes of a mad noble, and later his daughter, who captured and dissected Duinuogwuin with the mad desire to become dragons themselves. Imperial Knight kill teams called Gravekeepers are tasked with wiping out any remaining traces of these historical scars, often led or advised by Esoteric Executors that purge corrupting relics and review texts for any knowledge that can be repurposed for the light. Lucky Bastards: With the Imperial Knights rising to prominence on the galactic stage, the need for potential recruits has never been higher. The Executors have the unenviable task of tracking down illegitimate heirs that might have potential Force sensitivity and bringing them into the fold. Resentment and the pride of the commons tends to wrap around their bearing like a cloak, but for those that stick around, these unlikely knights find a path to legitimacy and respect laid before them. Most houses have discreet records of extramarital dalliances, usually so that silence can be bought, but are unwilling to let Executors have access to them. There is a growing trend however of the parents themselves quietly contacting Executors with leads. The recovery teams believe that increased connection to the Force, and therefore increased empathy, is the cause. Evidence is however beginning to mount that some nobles are using the increasing acceptance of bastards as a stepping stone to conduct their own little eugenics programs. Seiwatari Commission: An academic organization dedicated to the discovery and research of cultures with alternative Light side understandings of the Force. Without the religious strictures that so heavily define the Jedi, the Imperial Knights are always on the lookout for teachings that could potentially enhance their champions. Seiwatari chroniclers do their best to record and preserve the practices of isolated cultures while deriving what new useful data they can. Artisan Guilds and Certification: The engineers, crafters, and artists that the Imperial Knights rely on for creating their gear are not selected at random or according to affordability. Instead, potential inclusion into the verified network of providers requires heavy vetting and evaluation, not to mention references before an application will be reviewed. While the process is not always above table, the consequences of bribing your way into certification so that you can sell substandard quality items at premium prices have become increasingly steep. Artisan guilds offer a more reliable means to earning certification, sponsoring apprentices that can pass their own rigorous entrance exams, and giving them the training necessary to succeed in their chosen field. Executors often cultivate guild contacts to source the best work when projects arise, and to provide expert evaluation of the works of certification applicants. Malmourral: A black ops task force with the secret mission of evaluating, and if necessary eliminating, noble heirs that are classified as a threat to the realm due to their moral failings or proclivity for the dark side. Malmourral is one of many such task forces, each named after a fairytale monster said to kill misbehaving children. Kill orders require extensive investigation and profiling to be approved, but once issued are considered beyond contest. The task forces do work with psychologists to see if potential threats respond to therapy and positive influences, but unfortunately not all do. Visions and prophecy are largely considered inadmissible as evidence, as the future is always in motion and prophecy can be falsified or misunderstood. The Deceived: Given the willingness of the Imperial Knights to incorporate the practices of smaller Force traditions into their own methods, and the scholarly nature of the Executors, it is not unheard of for well intentioned researchers to go native while researching other cultures, or be ensnared by hidden dark side elements of a culture’s rituals and ceremonies. Collectively called the Deceived, these obsessed nobles tend to drop off the grid to start cults centered around their own interpretations of a culture, or fall in with already existing mystic orders that trade truth and reason for sorcery and the occult. The Deceived tend to slip into isolation, and are considered more of an embarrassment than a threat, but if the opportunity arises the Imperial Knights will send a team to collect or eliminate the misguided would be magus.

“Of course we have caf, I used to live on it and delivery food in uni. I’m ninety eight percent sure that our caf machines aren’t alchemically altered evil caf machines, but I can double check to be sure, Krath gonna Krath. Can we get some not evil caf for our guest?” The Fair Lady of Iziz was making multiple jumps, both to prevent pursuit and to keep an eye on the galactic comm chatter. Governments that ruled by strength tended to collapse quickly when that strength was challenged and found wanting, so the implosion of the Sith Empire would be upon them rapidly. It was for the best, the supremacy of the Sith had become a numbing poison, slowing their hearts and miring their ambitions in complacency and entitlement. The Fair Lady would not be joining the other Sith at Ziost, those that had become dependent on the Empire’s succor would see her as a traitor, and killing every uppity motherpfasker on Ziost sounded tiresome. Not to mention the crew that served on the ship, who might be considered guilty by association, she had grown close to them through times of battle and the silent pauses in between. Even though she knew that they would lay down their lives for her, it was not something that she would ask of them idly, or dismiss as an expected outcome. “My Lady, we’re getting liquidation orders for a number of sites, including Kamino. Should we maintain heading?” the comms officer queried. Nyrys sighed in frustration. Sometimes the Sith were like puppies, except instead of just chewing and pissing on everything, there was also constant self destructive behavior and painting everything black and red. “No, tight beam them a message that I am coming and that they are to cease liquidation. And if they argue, tell them that it’s not an order, but a prophecy that I will fulfill with violent wrath if they go against my will.” Darth Nyrys turned to the Grandmaster, “My father, the Dark Lord Dagon, kept what notes that he didn’t trust putting on the Sith archives in a hidden lab on Kamino, including his notes on Nhagathul. The Dark City has been expanding rapidly beyond what we used to think its boundaries were, and is showing no sign of slowing down. Dad was tracking it but gave up any kind of combined effort after some sort of betrayal during the battle of the grand death star. I don’t know the details, for me he was just another dorky dad like anyone else’s parents, I didn’t even know that he was a Dark Lord until halfway through my own training. Did you ever meet him?”

With the Grandmaster’s show of faith, what had seemed like a monofilament tightrope suddenly seemed a little wider, marginally less futile. Ailbasí’s sigh of relief was audible. Even though she kept Ca’aran somewhat at a distance in terms of bonds to keep her own darkness from pulling him down, she still felt it when the Scarab’s doom consumed him in immolative fury. It was all on Sheog now to do his part. After this last duty is done, let’s run away together, my love. Our bellies are full of loss and sadness and war, and now I want nothing more than to find some forgotten place and curl up with you by the fire. I’ll be with you shortly. It was a message that would find her champion across the almost immeasurable bounds of distance and void, as his consciousness stirred in a false womb her presence would be there to comfort him. As long as they remained part of the cycle of conflict, his wounds would never heal, his ghosts would continue to remain fettered to his psyche. One last mission and then they were out. “Withdraw the fleet, but set a heading for Kamino for the Fair Lady, the rest will just have to suffer without my charming presence. And have the ground teams retrieve the crusader if she still lives, I sense that she will have a part to play in all of this.” The fleet began a phased and disciplined withdrawal, melting away to leave behind the flames of retributive wrath. Darth Nyrys was glad for the red hue of her skin, it hid how flush the death and pain made her. It was the finest meat and headiest of wines, but like all meals it would pass, fleeting sensation followed by hollow memories. And then hunger. The curse of sapience was to dream beyond the measures of reality. Ambition beyond reach, lust beyond love, hunger beyond need. She removed her mask, as she doubted that her opposite had any plans of low cunning. While not a guardian, this Jedi carried with her the sense of a warrior’s principles. Amusingly, despite her rank amongst the Sith, meeting a Jedi was still something of a novelty for her, rebels and rival Sith had been far more present adversaries throughout her years of service. “Would you like a drink? There are matters that we must discuss of great consequence, and a stiff drink may help with the processing part. I assume that Jedi are allowed to drink in order to cope with the whole… being a Jedi thing.”

Geomancy Sith Geomancers are masters of the craft of remaking nature to suit their own terrible purposes. Similar to fulgurmancers in the use of tools to enhance their sorcerous powers, but instead of ruthless science, the geomancers believe that the emotional and moral alignment of tools are of vital importance. Geomancers call this alignment process the Actualization, and believe that if they can remake key points in the galaxy they can seize control of the natural order and rewrite it as they see fit, an agenda that they call the Great Work. Geomancers seek apotheosis, and are the epitome of better to rule in hell than serve in heaven. And if they have to make the entire galaxy hell to secure their rule, then so be it. Actualization isn’t just some esoteric ritual with occult symbols and forgotten languages, it’s the process of torturing people and then binding them to inanimate objects and places to imbue them with the awareness of pain and suffering. In the temples of the geomancers, the walls are truly screaming. Geomancers also possess a strange fascination with statuary and renditions of faces in various states of emotional expression such as suffering, regret, hatred, and terror. Many geomancers adorn their robes with amulets of these sculpted faces and use them in their rituals. Geomancers also have a tendency to use sculpted faces displaying extreme emotion as masks, as opposed to the faceless masks that Sith often employ. The bleeding of kyber crystals is believed by many to be the origin of this school of sorcery, or at least the seed that eventually inspired sorcerers to attempt the same process on a galactic scale. Crystals are another major aspect of geomantic sorcery, acting as lenses that distort the energies in ways that suit the needs of the sorcerer. Many geomancers are particularly interested in the crafting of holocrons, and the geomancers have a prophecy that when one of their number succeeds in the Great Work that they will use the holocrons of the greatest sorcerers to restore them to life eternal in the new galactic order. Alchemy is a favored pastime of geomancers, and considered a more small-scale expression of the Great Work. They will often offer consultation and tutoring to Sith warriors who seek better understanding of alchemy for the crafting of arms and armor. Geomancers often use rock hammers as ritual tools and symbols of office. Geomancy doesn’t have sects like most of the other sorcerous disparities, since everyone is united by a common goal. Instead, the geomancers tend towards gathering into cults of personality, exalting the most talented and powerful amongst their numbers in the hopes that their chosen horse will cross the finish line first and that they will ascend at their side. Geomancy Spells Crushing Glare: The geomancer presses upon an individual with all of their hate and will, attempting to pulverize the target with the Dark Side. Apprentices who use this spell require both considerable time and focus to make this spell reach its lethal conclusion, and have trouble overcoming the resistance of sturdy armor. Lords have greater fine control over the spell, allowing them to target specific limbs with increased pressure(The head has inherent greater resistance and most geomancers don’t even bother outside of the most simple and weakminded targets), and can compromise the structure of hard armor quicker. Masters can rend armor and incorporate it into the attack, and their victims feel heavily burdened by the power of the spell, leadening their limbs and slowing their movements. Distillation: The ritualistic act of reducing a victim to their base emotions, and then collecting the negative ones for use in the Great Work. There are two methods to achieve this, the collection of the victim in a Sith victory crystal, which preserves the identity of the victim to varying degrees and is such a destructive act that the body explodes with terrible kinetic force, and pulverization of the victim, where the body is ground down like herbs in a mortar and pestle. This latter method produces the more pure results, but in their own ways Sith are creatures of sentiment, so the choice between an everlasting trophy and a perfect reagent is rarely an easy one following a difficult and hard fought battle. This is a post duel victory power. Gaol of Aeons: Geomancers are not the most easy people to be around, and so sometimes they resort to their powers for companionship. Using a variation of the process used to create holocrons, the Sith captures a “snapshot” of a person, and creates a simulacrum that has a level of awareness and sapience that allows it to converse. Only people attuned to the stone or crystal that the simulacrum is trapped in can hear them, causing this to be one of many reasons that bystanders doubt the sanity of geomancers. The simulacrum is unable to be manipulated by the Force, and has no physical body to torture, so Sith who use this power to obtain information usually end up destroying the cage out of frustration rather quickly. Older and more experienced Sith use this power to discuss matters of philosophy and reason with a literally captive audience while they wait for their reagents to complete the Actualization process. The size and intricacy of these prisons determine how complex of a personality they can contain, with the greatest minds requiring structures worthy of being temples in their own right. Attempting to store a mind in a device of insufficient capacity results in the destruction of the prison. Gaols are like the slabs of marble that a sculptor will carve down into a statue, and are a stepping stone to creating golems. Screaming Maul: A two handed ritual hammer with an enraged expression crafted on the face. The geomancer uses the implement to channel concussive attacks ranging from rending terrible gouts into the earth to smashing great breaches into walls. Geomancers are terrible at close quarters fighting, but if they somehow manage to hit someone with this ridiculously large tool, that person is going to have a very bad time, regardless of armor. Pick of Suffering: Another ritual tool, this time in the shape of a small mining pick. This occult implement is used to conjure curses that warp and expand bone inside the bodies of enemies, causing extreme agony from within. Apprentice sorcerers can cause internal barbs of bone to sprout, lords can attempt to twist and malform a victim’s skeletal structure, and masters can try to skewer opponents with great spikes from within. These spells require a great deal of concentration, and interruptions force the sorcerer to start over from the beginning. Wounds inflicted with the pick can cause spontaneous uncontrolled bone growths. Mechanically speaking, this curse requires a set up post of full concentration that the opponent can attempt to break before the curse coming into effect in the following post. Juggernaut: Geomancers believe that they will craft the new galactic order, and so they practice for when the reins of creation will be in their hands. Juggernauts are animated constructs of actualized stone and crystal that are provided a simple level of sentience and the rage of thousands of lives distilled into pure hatred. While not particularly complex, juggernauts serve as a stepping stone towards crafting more intricate housings for minds. Most geomancers make juggernauts ranging from the size of a gorilla to an elephant, but in times of war geomancer cabals can construct massive assault golems with warshines inside of them that can trample cities. Juggernauts are too stupid to understand any kind of weapon outside of big and smashy, and generally discard bladed weapons given to them in favor of something that can be used as a club. Gargoyle: A more advanced form of golem that contains an animal’s mind, gargoyles are often used as animated sentries perched upon Sith temples. While gargoyles possess predatory cunning, like the juggernauts the use of weapons and tools eludes them. Geomancers will often use the minds of their favored pets to make gargoyles, and these constructs are often treated better than most of the slaves and servants. Clockwork Valet: A golem designed to function as a servant and assistant that over time becomes obsessively possessive and protective of their master, often going so far as to murder people that they perceive to be inconveniences or distractions to their makers. Valets are almost entirely sourced from the minds of loyal slaves. Many geomancers both abuse their valets and depend upon them to perform basic and vital tasks of upkeep and wellbeing. There is rumored to be at least one case of a valet putting their master into a coma to keep them safe while the golem sees to the master’s affairs. Marble Idyll: A carefully crafted golem that houses the mind imprint of someone that the geomancer values as an advisor, confidante, or conversationalist. Alternatively, a golem for someone that the geomancer is preserving to offer a place in the new galactic order. Idylls have elaborately decorated shells and meticulously crafted features of stone, and inevitably develop issues with vanity and self importance. If an idyll feels like their creator is in some way underwhelming or undeserving of their intellect, they will abandon them for a greater master. This behavior has led some Idylls to form cults seeking prophesied chosen ones that read like the protagonists of badly written fanfiction. Idylls have a propensity for bringing out the worst convictions in their masters, and enthusiastically push for anything that would bring about the Great Work. Despite their great intellects, the idylls are the truest and deepest believers in the philosophy of the Great Work, to the point of possessing carefully masked zealous radicalism. To these extremists, no price is too steep to pay for the creation of paradise. Amaranthine Heart: It was inevitable that geomancers would turn their attention to that most basic and binding of emotions, love. The Amaranthine Heart is a ritual that is meant to bring about the geomancers’ sick and twisted idea of love, and involves the replacement of a victim’s heart with a Sith amulet similar in nature to a holocron, encoded with the Sith’s insane beliefs of what the perfect lover would be like. Upon implantation, the victim has one of two nightmare scenarios to look forward to. If the host rejects the heart, then they slowly find themself transforming into a golemic being that has been twisted into someone that would accept the heart. This process hollows out the victim, turning them into little more than a subservient echo of who they once were, as their body transmutes into precious materials. Finding the end result lacking, geomancers will generally discard or sequester these golems, or use them as expendable shields in battle. If the host accepts the heart, they become attuned to the geomancer, acting as a battery and signal booster for the sorcerer’s power. Their eyes and bones begin to crystalize, and Dark Side mutations will begin rapidly manifesting. The victim will slowly develop an obsession with and dependency on the geomancer, eventually becoming utterly devoted to their new master or mistress. Rarely, a geomancer will perform the ritual on an apprentice, either out of genuine lustful desire or the intent to use the process as a means of control, or alternatively the sorcerer might implant a heart into someone whose connection to the Force was unknown to them. In these situations, a battle of will ensues for control of the talisman, with failure resulting in one of the two above results. If the would-be victim succeeds in mastering the heart, it alters them permanently, but not in a way that makes them subservient to the one that performed the ritual. Instead, the amulet becomes a reservoir for emotion, a wellspring that the person can draw upon or project onto others. The person can no longer feel of their own accord, but they can collect the emotional energy of those around them, or attempt to drain it like a psychic vampire, and consciously choose their emotions. While the Amaranthine Heart is created in darkness, it aligns itself to the morality of the one that controls it. Cases of non Force users conquering the heart are extremely rare, but not impossible. Cherubic Fetch: Not all golems that the geomancer creates are meant for companions. Geomancy is built on the idea that the natural order can be subverted and controlled, but some geomancers either instinctively are drawn to the concept of creating a legacy and a lineage, or believe that children are another part of the natural order that they will change. Cherubic fetches are child sized golems that often resemble oversized dolls. Many times geomancers obsessed with crafting the perfect legacy will kidnap children that meet whatever insane qualifiers are in their heads and put them into golems as a completely mad form of rebirth and adoption. Another common cause comes about when geomancers accidentally murder their actual children in a fit of rage, and then desperately shove the pieces of their shattered minds into a fetch to try and preserve them until the completion of the Great Work where they might be resurrected by the Sith’s newfound powers. Some geomancers even intentionally murder their non Force sensitive children out of a twisted sense of love, believing that they will be able to remake them as Force users once the Great Work is achieved. Cherubic fetches are smaller than standard golems, move considerably faster, and oscillate between feral violence and the performance of childlike innocence concealing considerable malevolence. Occasionally fetches will have moments of genuine curiosity or glee, but they are the minds of children put in murder robots, so those moments are rare, or inspired by sadistic impulses. Cherubic fetches, if given the opportunity, will gather and form packs, socializing and hunting in tandem with other fetches. Older fetches, driven by desires for attention and companionship, will often try to create brothers and sisters, or if they feel like they’re being neglected, a parent figure. These attempts often produce mixed results, but are always gruesome affairs. Places with considerable geomancer presence often suffer infestations of roaming packs of cherubic fetches that have outlived their makers. Dark Spirits: Not actually ghosts, but rather the use of distilled emotions and sensations to create Dark Side infused liquors. Often colloquially referred to as Sith poison by uncultured ingrates and people that have only been exposed to moonshine equivalent of these beverages, the art of creating these occult libations is heavily valued amongst the geomancers, who see a great many parallels between their sorceries and the alcohol making process. While rage inducing concoctions are the most known form of this process, distillers can instill a multitude of emotions in their craftings, and batches meant for recreational use are generally more subtle affairs. Speaking of affairs, passionate and lurid affair is an actual flavor and emotional note that they can put in the bottle. Sommeliers and distillers can make considerable bank selling quality bottles and serving as drinking advisors to wealthy Sith and nobles with a taste for the forbidden. The most successful have labels that they favor in general but also offer their services in locating or crafting bottles to satisfy the specific needs of clients. Much of the Great Work is funded by these Sith, who share a friendly(ish) rivalry with the vitae vintners of the biomancy disparity. There are also Sith from all paths of darkness that make their livings hunting down rare and exotic ingredients, which are oftentimes specific people. Amulet of Dark Resonance: A crystalline Sith amulet that allows the Sith to take the form of a person that onlookers most associate with a specific negative emotion. The glamour has an ethereal quality that makes it a poor disguise, but its purpose is more along the lines of eliciting emotions from people. Amulet of Diffraction: A Sith amulet that is the Force equivalent to shooting rock salt out of a shotgun, but with greater spread. The beams range from painful to injurious, but are too diffused to be lethal. Amulet of Focus: An amulet that allows the sorcerer to project a concentrated blast of Dark Side energy into an enemy. Apprentices are limited largely to more concussive force than actual penetrating power, while lords can imbue the blasts with intrinsic destructive force, and masters can effectively use the amulet as a death ray, boring holes into armor. Amulets of Focus are not hair trigger weapons, and require a few seconds from activation to concentrate their energies. Amulet of Ceaseless Crawling Torments: This amulet, both valued and hated by geomancers, disperses Dark Side energy in pulsing fractals and spiraling impossibilities in every direction. To be caught in the pull of this maelstrom has been described as feeling like finger sized worms are burrowing their way through the victim’s flesh and organs. It is a fantastic means for disrupting concentration. There’s just one problem, it effects everyone caught in range, including the geomancer. Many attempts have been made to make the effect directional, but none have succeeded, to the continued lament of the sorcerers. Lantern of Sundered Realities: Emotions and sensations aren’t the only things that geomancers can distill out of people. By carefully picking what victims they render down into their base mental elements, and filtering that distillation, the geomancers can refine pure madness into liquid form. Sorcerers can then use this liquid to fuel lanterns that temporarily warp the minds of whoever the lantern’s light falls upon. Some geomancers carry these lanterns into battle hooded so that they may direct their baleful glow on enemies, others use them in holding areas for prisoners to prime them for processing, or to break people so that they might serve the whims of the sorcerer. These are blunt instruments, the realm of madness is more the bailiwick of auramancers, but they remain useful nonetheless. Lantern of Glorious Vision: Discovered through cordial collaboration with the biomancer vintners, this Sith artifact casts a light that shows anything that it touches in the context of the geomancer’s vision for paradise after the completion of the Great Work. If a person is fully in the light of the lantern, it shifts their perspective of everything around them, blanketed by the vision of the geomancer. For Dark Siders and people suffering temptation to the Dark, the lantern reveals an idyllic paradise of pleasure and beauty. For anyone who is neutral or standing with the Light, the lantern reveals a hellscape where the natural order has been destroyed and the power that usurped it has crumbled, unable to emulate the intricacies and balances of creation. These lanterns are made through repeated blood drawings from the sorcerer, which are then used to alchemically treat the lantern’s glass. Particularly devout geomancers will use blood treated glass in the creation of all lighting in their temples and inner sanctums, or in mirrors to test potential apprentices and servants. Talisman of Pulverizing Unmaking: In order to get the most out of their victims, the geomancers will resort to a number of tools and curses to tenderize the meat, so to speak. One of them is a crystal eyed talisman, sometimes crafted as a scepter or amulet, other times worked into the sorcerer’s mask, that inundates those caught in the sight of the “eye” or “eyes” with debilitating shame, regret, and guilt. At close range, a master can use such a talisman to inflict crippling panic attacks on the weak willed and the mentally unprepared. It’s not uncommon for geomancers to use the talismans on slaves, either as part of the initial breaking process, or as a form of discipline for improper attitudes or failings real or imagined. Even slaves of other Sith whisper fearfully of stories of masters calling in geomancers to “re-educate” undisciplined or rebellious slaves. It’s a reputation that the geomancers have leveraged into a seal of “quality” for slaves that have been processed by them, allowing them to ask for significantly higher prices. There was a geomancer that covered her robes with eyes, but it was only a handful of battles before her fellow Sith murdered her in her sleep, having been caught in the crossfire accidentally too many times. The robes were torn asunder and now serve as both historic pieces and reminders that the Great Work will take many hands to complete. Even aside from the cautionary tales of the past, these talismans are somewhat rare, as the crystals are actually formed from alchemically altered tears of the Sith that seeks to craft the talisman. Glove of Dissonance: A talismanic glove that is used for torture, or meditation by the masochistic. This terrible device uses trembling palpitations in the body to disrupt the functions of the organs, impair vital functions, and otherwise toy with a person right up to the cusp of being lethal. Not much else to say here, just straight up torture. The First Sin: One of the most unholy acts that geomancers can do is the one that started their entire disparity. Bleeding Kyber crystals and using alchemy to create unnatural lightsaber crystals are acts of profanity that are performed with the greatest of reverence. For each crystal bled or formulated, the sorcerer has brought their people one step closer to the completion of the Great Work. Geomancer robes are often adorned in some way as to denote the number of blasphemies that the wearer has brought upon the galaxy. Many Sith hold that geomancer bled or formulated crystals are the most powerful, trading gimmicks for sheer might and reliability. More so than other Dark Side crystals, these emit the smell of burnt ozone and possess a red color that makes no effort to hide its transgressive nature. While geomancers are just as hopeless with lightsabers as the next sorcerer, many of their rituals involve the use of lightsabers in ritual displays and katas. Errata and Esoterica Architects, no really, actually architects: It didn’t come up in the powers section, but for obvious reasons another vocational hobby common to geomancers is architecture. The design of temples, palaces, and mansions is considered a form of mental preparation for the completion of the Great Work, and conversing about architectural design is a common go to for geomancers. Civilian architects that show considerable talent are often consulted or abducted by geomancers, and in the latter case doomed to be imprisoned in crystal or transferred into a golem. Saved by Timmy the retail assistant: Geomancer apprentices have to start small with who they capture in crystal, not having the skill, funding, or backing to create a gaol that can hold a more complex mind. Depending on how much the geomancer interacts with these early phantoms of thought, they may question the choices that they are making, and the path that they are on. Coupled with the fact that geomancy demands inhumanity early and often from its students, blatantly evil acts that might cause guilt or regret that can’t be voiced to other Sith, geomancers have some of the highest desertion rates out of all of the disparities. Senior geomancers consider it a culling of the weak and convictionless, and don’t hold any specific hatreds towards these dropouts. Touching Grass: Sometimes however, a master geomancer will experience clarity and either realize the critical failings of the Great Work, or see the natural order as the nobler endeavor. This is considered a wholly different matter than an errant apprentice, and a transgression against the entire disparity to have understood so much about the Great Work and then abandoned it. Even worse, these wayward masters understand the strategies and rituals needed to bring about the Great Work, making them a considerably greater threat to its completion. Geomancers will organize grand hunts and offer obscene bounties for the capture or murder of master apostates from their ranks. Apostates tend to seek out Jedi training in naturalism, and fight to stop the great work before it destroys the galaxy. Nesters: A type of Sithspawn that occurs due to heavy exposure to geomantic energies, early symptoms manifest as anxiousness and hoarding of abandoned or broken pieces of Sith items and artifacts. The victim begins developing insistent intrusive thoughts that whisper that there is going to be a day of judgment, and that only by becoming worthy will they be allowed to enter heaven. As these thoughts intensify, victims begin to implant shards into their flesh, or cut off limbs and replace them with discarded golemic parts. They begin prowling at night, dragging lone strangers back to their home to be sacrificed as a show of devotion, desperately trying to convince their mysterious dark lord or lady that they are worthy. But no one is watching them, and the voices in their heads are nothing more than the ravings of a poisoned mind. Alchemical Refuse: When distilling people, there is always a pulp left behind. Sometimes it’s used to fortify rations, sometimes it’s burned, sometimes it’s shoved to the side to make room for more processing. When left to its own devices, this mass of blood, viscera, and bone shards can develop a level of sentience. Driven only by the desire to consume and expand, these Sithspawn mockingly reflect the true nature of the geomancers. Incredibly hard to kill, and stubbornly immune to any form of command, even of the mystical sort, the Sith are trying to implement better methods for dealing with alchemical waste, but it is the Sith that we are talking about, so there will always be people looking to cut corners. The largest documented case of this type of Sithspawn grew to the size of a city block, and had to be incinerated by sustained orbital bombardment.

Imperial Knights Falcons Nuance is a necessary aspect of rule, the flexibility of the blade is what prevents it from shattering upon impact. A falcon understands the need for give, that authority channeled, not controlled, can achieve results beyond expectation. In conversation, the subversion of authority and protocol garners respect from those that flaunt such things. In battle, the refusal to meet strength with strength allows the Falcon to flow around the defenses of their opponents. In matters of courtly decorum, the expectation of flaunting tradition allows for measured impropriety without consequence. Where the Paladin and Warden are loved for the offices that they are sworn to, the Falcon applies charisma on a personal level, cultivating an image of self akin to bravos and rogues. There remains a level of aloofness that distances the Falcon from attachment, but displays of humanity make them easier to approach and speak freely to in the minds of underlings and villeins. This casual demeanor allows them to better emulate the behaviors of their lessers and move undetected amongst the populace. Falcons are almost exclusively second born or further, with families heavily discouraging any first born heir from pursuing this path, as their duties and obligations demand the kinds of propriety and decorum that Falcons eschew. In some ways, the Falcon’s path is considered an outlet for the frustrations that manifest in scions that will not inherit crown or throne, consoling them with freedom in exchange for their acceptance that they will not inherit the height of the family’s power. Every Falcon must take a vow upon reaching the age of majority that will give at least some measure of focus and direction to their lives. Families often have preferred vows tied to the needs of their political and financial position, but rarely are such things absolutes. These are Falcons that we are talking about, after all. Falcons also must adhere to the Codes Gallant and the Articles of Nobility, as both combatants and members of the nobility. Vows Vow of Reclamation: The Falcon has been tasked with recovering heirlooms and objects of antiquity tied to their family’s history, or the acquisition of newly sought after pieces of art and prestige. While these Falcons are always encouraged to move through legal channels, in certain cases involving uncooperative collectors or the criminal elements, discreet action in the shadows does occur. Reclaimers can also be found working with archaeologists and treasure hunters to locate cultural relics. Vow of Obligation: When a noble family needs to represent itself on the battlefield, but the theater is deemed too risky or the more prominent members are needed elsewhere, Falcons under the Vow of Obligation are dispatched. These Imperial Knights undergo heavy martial training, and are expected to be current in their knowledge of battlefield tactics and technology, within reason. Functioning more as highly skilled and disciplined specialists than figureheads, many military commanders and units prefer an embedded Falcon over the trouble that comes with a major symbolic leader visiting. Vow of Binding: When a house or family wants to bring in members from outside of the aristocracy, they call upon Falcons who have undertaken this vow. These scions are trained to act as intermediaries between courtly life and how everyone else in the galaxy behaves, integrating outsiders and acting as an approachable guide to the sometimes incomprehensible expectations of aristocratic society. Most Falcons under this vow are dispatched to court individuals of particular interest, but they can also act in a supporting role if a proper heir has fallen for an outsider and cannot be swayed towards a more appropriate match. Vow of Consequence: When insults to the honor and nobility of the family are made, or challenges issued, it is the Falcons of the Vow of Consequence that respond with no quarter. Trained extensively in the use of fencing weapons so that they may duel aristocrats that lack the ability to use lightsabers, these Falcons are trained to be consummate duelists who bear the responsibility of defending the image of their families. These Imperial Knights have the least leeway in breaching etiquette, but are most likely to be considered as next in line should the original heir face an untimely demise. Furthermore, these dueling specialists are often tasked with hunting down and killing disgraced and villainous rogue Imperial Knights, given their specialization in facing elite opponents. Vow of Bravado: The concept of nobility is rooted in the belief that the most qualified and exceptional individuals who have received the best education and training that can be found. This notion must be reinforced from time to time with acts of daring and risk, and it is the thrill seeking Falcons of this vow that perform them. Big game hunting, high speed races, extreme competitive sports, and other dangerous pursuits are the meat and wine of these Imperial Knights, demonstrating the capability of their houses while not risking a chosen heir. Vow of Defiance: In times of uncertainty and potential revolt, a family may resort to the Vow of Defiance to assuage the fears and concerns of the populace. A Falcon who undertakes this vow acts as an advocate of the people as a means to co-opt insurrection rather than the nobility attempting to crush it with tyranny. Families are wary of Falcons who seek out this vow, instead preferring that scions who must be incentivized into taking it with promises of additional lands and titles at the close of the performance. Should order be restored, Falcons that took this vow are permitted to accept a declaration of duty fulfilled, and undertake a new vow. Vow of Vanquishment: The nobility is acutely aware of how important logistics and resources are to the pursuit of victory, and Falcons that undertake the Vow of Vanquishment are tasked with the recruiting and command of naval crews for the specific purpose of privateering actions against the enemy. These Imperial Knights carry letters of dispensation that allow them to conduct corsair operations against enemies of the state and any who would aid or harbor them. While considered indispensable assets, Vanquishers are the most likely vow to go rogue, and so houses go out of their way to ensure their loyalty as much as possible. Implements of Conflict Lightsaber: For many, the lightsaber is inseparable from the identity of Force users, and the Falcons are no exception. Notably, Falcons tend to employ crossguards, finger guard rings, extended emitters that serve as a ricasso, and ornamentation that befits their noble status. Families and houses often have blade colors associated with them on account of their crystals coming from specific mines on their lands. Using a lightsaber in an honor duel against an opponent with a blade that cannot withstand a lightsaber is considered disgraceful. Fencing blade: Forged to the highest standards by family artisans and often augmented through specialized alloys and augmentations like vibrating blades, fencing blades are the means by which Falcons are often called upon to defend the honor of their family or house. For the purpose of honor duels, Falcons train with these blades either alone or paired with a defensive implement such as a parrying blade or dueling glove. Parrying blade: A shorter blade meant to deflect melee attacks while leaving the main blade to attack independently. Generally made of lightsaber resistant material, but not particularly augmented to inflict damage on its own. Dueling glove: A glove or gauntlet made of lightsaber and cut resistant material used to bat away attacks while also allowing the hand to remain relatively free. Falcons are taught to not use a dueling glove to grab a blade for an extended period, as many opponents have a strength advantage over them, especially in regards to Sith Warriors, or sparring with Jedi Guardians. Dueling gloves work best against weightless blades like lightsabers or fencing blades, melee weapons that capitalize on mass are harder to redirect and more likely to smash through the glove’s protection. Quarterstaff/cane: Falcons often go to places where weapons are frowned upon or may escalate hostilities, and so they are often trained in the use of staves and canes. Many young falcons scoff at the use of a staff until their instructors put them in a medbay for a week with an elegantly savage beatdown. Unless a Falcon is going for low profile, staves and canes that they use are constructed with the same quality and artisanry as the rest of their gear. There are plenty of ways to enhance these weapons, but Falcons should be wary that with advanced weapon scanning this may defeat the purpose in some places. Falcons that favor masquerading as custodial staff are known for concealing staves as mop handles. Precision blaster: Falcons are under no limitations by ancient religious orders to not carry ranged weapons, and so they readily employ blasters, albeit in a limited and codified way. Falcons are expected to employ the same precision and control with a blaster as they do with a blade, and so their shots are always aimed and directed at a target. Using a blaster against a target without ranged ability is considered dishonorable. Slugthrowers are largely considered primitive and brutish, and disruptors are viewed as the tools of terrorists and sociopaths. Indiscriminate or wide dispersion weapons are equally frowned upon. Rifles and carbines are the means of line soldiers and not suitable for people of an Imperial Knight’s status. Heavy hunting blaster: Falcons of the Vow of Bravado often carry personalized blasters meant for taking down large game. These weapons are often wired into independent power units and pack a considerable amount of armor penetrating punch in exchange for a slower rate of fire. Otherwise, they are treated the same as precision blasters. Dueling armor: High quality armorweave with light plating on the chest and arms, along with a hardened helmet. Mobility is considered the first line of defense, but these suits make an adequate second line. Parrying shield: A smart energy shield that activates upon detecting imminent explosive or fragmentation impacts. The shield overloads quickly if kept on longer than a few seconds, and is meant to be deployed in short bursts against attacks that otherwise couldn’t be evaded or deflected, such as grenades or rockets. Anti-gravity rig/armor assisted movement system: Some Falcons integrate anti-gravity rigging into their armor to enhance their mobility and lend an air of etherealness to their movements. Or because anti-gravity is fun. Extremely experienced Falcons have the funds and capability to own and operate armor that uses microjets to take that mobility to the next level. Gambits, Obligations, and Principles Without the religious cult approach to Force powers, Falcons instead engage the Force with the philosophy of exceptionalism and noble obligation. They have these powers that elevate them above others, but they are obligated to use those powers to protect the people that they rule over. Falcons refer to instant and fleeting techniques as gambits, and passive applications of the Force as obligations, in reference to the constancy of their duty to the citizenry. Principles are powers that aren’t “always on”, but persist until the Imperial Knight ends them or use a different principle. Principles are too complex and draining to use more than one at a time. Principles of Grace: A suite of powers that focus on using telekinesis on the self to enhance advances, retreats, balance, and sidesteps. Falcons are taught to use these moves in short, controlled bursts, the purpose is to be unpredictable while also not overextending or exhausting oneself. Principles of Counteraction: A suite of powers that focus on using telekinesis on the self to empower defensive strikes meant to deflect attacks, guiding enemy strikes into thin air and pushing aside weapons to create openings. The powers do have their limits, especially against bulkier weapons being used by strength focused combatants. Principles of Precision: A suite of powers that focus on using telekinesis on the self to guide strikes towards joints and gaps in armor. Imperial Knights are honorbound to give opponents the chance to yield before delivering a killing blow, so this principle is always used to wound before being used to kill, and going straight for the kill is seen as a massive red flag for Dark Side corruption. Principles of Liberty: A suite of powers that focus on using telekinesis on the self in conjunction with Force Sense to read both body language and the flow of spiritual currents to dodge the sorcerous attacks of particularly mystical Sith. The Principles of Liberty are considerably more draining than the Principles of Grace, and practitioners must be careful to not exhaust themselves into a loss. Principles of Focus: The Falcon uses the Force to enhance their reflexes, reaction time, and combat awareness to a level that greatly increases their capabilities as a pilot or driver. Often used by Falcons under the vows of vanquishment or bravado. Cloak of Ignominy: Falcons often need to move unnoticed or into places where their kind are unwelcome. This obligation allows the Falcon to blend into crowds and appear like just another citizen. Adopting the guise of custodial staff or maintenance crews are common go tos. Crown of Virtue: The opposite use of Cloak of Ignominy, this obligation represents the Falcon broadcasting their majesty and sense of duty to both enhance their charisma and draw people to approach them about problems. This power is considered vital to fulfilling the noble obligation. Bravo’s Challenge: The Falcon ignites the Light around their form so that all eyes are drawn to them, drawing the focus of thugs and villains away from the defenseless and innocent. The Falcon needs to actually be in the area, no using this power through a video call, etc. Discernment: An obligation that Falcons use to enhance awareness, primarily in detecting threats, although Reclaimers and Binders use it to enhance their ability to appraise objects and read social cues, respectively. Falcons with this obligation have enhanced resistance to Sith illusionry. Authority: Essentially a Jedi mind trick, but more effective on people that are under the Falcon’s family’s rule, and less effective on those who are not. Outclassed: The Falcon attempts to flood the mind of their opponent with false tells and phantom movement in the periphery of their eyes. For Force users and opponents familiar with the speed and unpredictability of Falcons, the power inflames the imagination even deeper. Vigilance: The Falcon is considered to have 360 degree awareness within their immediate zone of control with the Force. Scrutinize: As long as the Falcon has line of sight, they can look at a location as if they have macrobinoculars. Deflecting Slash: A gambit that turns a slashing motion with blade or hand into a concussive wave meant to turn aside weapons and stagger opponents. Works more effectively on grunts than elite combatants. Chimeric Dance: The Falcon co-opts and channels push and pull attacks through the Force into their own momentum. Considered Response: The perception of time (but not time itself) is altered to give the Falcon more time to respond to sudden and unexpected events. Principles of Discipline: The Falcon uses the Force to act unfettered by fear or pain, relying on their years of training and muscle memory. This power does not remove fear or pain, it just allows the Falcon to act in spite of these things. Adaptive Momentum: The Falcon can use the Force to navigate treacherous paths and crowded streets with ease, getting to people in need or away from people that are trying to kill them. In layman's terms this power functions like Force assisted parkour. Principles of Daring: The Falcon uses the Force to overtly and powerfully enhance their movement, whether that’s expressed in Force Speed, Force Jump, or other expressions of Force enhanced movement. Often one of the first sets of principles that Falcons in training learn, it is an early go to for avoiding responsibilities and escaping courtly affairs. Principles of Mischief: The Falcon uses the Force to conceal their presence, commit acts of legerdemain, and open locked doors. These Principles are not taught by any court approved instructor, instead being passed on from Falcon to Falcon, often during family gatherings. Principles of Charm: The Falcon uses the Force to navigate even the most treacherous political waters. Embodying charisma, perfectly recalling names and details of acquaintances and associates, and moving with dreamlike poise, the Falcon excels at putting on a winning public face to balance any prior chaos that they may have caused. Rulers of a Thousand Tongues: This obligation allows the Imperial Knight to communicate with people using unknown languages using the Force, and Falcons often teach this power to Paladins and Wardens, but they pick it up far quicker. Disengaging Strike: The Falcon uses the Force in conjunction with a weapon attack or unarmed strike to fling themself back with great speed and momentum. Humble: When a situation calls for a loud and clear statement, the Falcon can quickly make an example that can’t be missed. The Falcon makes a definitive action, often a violent one, that everyone in the area is forced to notice and subconsciously reflect on. Falcons often use this power to make it clear to violent criminals and malcontents that their behavior will not be tolerated. Different: The Force allows the Falcon to plant the idea that despite being nobility, they are different from the arrogant and rules obsessed aristocracy. How true that is may vary, but this power will open doors with people that have a general distaste for hierarchies. Triumph of Virtue: The Falcon can imbue a weapon or object with the benevolence of the Force, allowing it to withstand attacks and strain that would otherwise destroy it. This can be done ritually for long term protection, or impromptu to create an improvised weapon, although the latter is more draining. Blossom of Aargau: Used most prominently by the more rakish or vampish of Falcons, this gambit was supposedly invented by a Falcon that fell in with a group of Falleen con artists who used their species’ pheromones to defraud the financially rich but morally bankrupt, the nouveau riche in particular. It’s as close to a Force powered “Come hither” as one can get without crossing moral lines, but some Falcons use it mid duel to cloud the minds of their opponents. Ghost Stories: A form of childhood mischief turned useful tool, Falcons often learn or are taught this gambit at a young age, after having it inflicted upon them by older siblings or cousins. This gambit manipulates EMF and infrasound to trick the mind into the sensation of being haunted, and combined with simple stimuli like a sudden loud noise or object moving through telekinesis, it can spook and distract an unwitting target. Sometimes the power is used to haze family members or to test the mettle of a young Falcon, but generally speaking extended use of the power outside of nights around the campfire telling stories is considered a traversal into the Dark Side. Avert Your Eyes: The Falcon conjures a burst of blinding light to daze, overwhelm, and divert the attacks of enemies. Style and Grace The following are sample dueling and combat styles, but should not be taken as the only forms of combat style that Falcons use, nor should their traits be taken as givens in a duel, players are still expected to validate outcomes with solid writing, and opponents still have final say on outcomes of attacks. Furthermore, this is not a best of list, and some of these options are included more for worldbuilding and character development rather than any kind of god tier dueling tactics. Core Regulations Competitive Fencing: The standard competitive sports version of fencing that nobles learn to compete in galactic tournaments. An approximation of a martial art, but it introduces solid fundamentals, is excellent for friendly sparring matches, and knowing its movements is key to predicting the patterns of most courtly opponents that don’t use traditional house styles. The style focuses on footwork, ripostes, and presenting as small of a target as possible to your opponent. Competitive fencing is performed in lanes, so practitioners of this style are less likely to think of strafing movements, but have exceptional close in skills against other fencers. This is a starting point for nearly all young Falcons, but one that they generally quickly move past. Mischief Unto Misfortune: A philosophy of combat shared amongst Falcons, this style, more casually referred to as simply “Mischief”, has the duelist using the environment to leverage mistakes out of opponents for them to capitalize on. The Falcon repeatedly draws their opponent into situations where excellent footwork and coordination are required, or where they must re-engage in less than favorable circumstances. This style is often also used to mitigate the advantages of a group of attackers by disrupting their ability to attack cohesively and allowing the Falcon to isolate individuals and pick them off. It is often referred to as holovid style for its flashy theatrics and similarities to stunt work. Clever Falcons will use this style to equalize duels against opponents with superior mastery of the blade. The Bastillietra Manual: A fencing manual that teaches a martial art focused on quickly and efficiently killing opponents while minimizing risk to the self. The style is observed to have an ebb and flow of momentum, combining measured retreats and lethal presses. It is not a style for use against a single skilled opponent, rather being a guide on how to self defense a large group of attackers unskilled in melee fighting to death. Carefully controlled thrusts are key to this style, and great importance is given to not getting your blade stuck in an opponent while other threats remain on the field. The Cor’Phalos Manual: Not only was the Marquis Cor’Phalos an exceptional fencer who took great pains to transcribe and codify his style, he was also a remorseless troll who took impish glee in the murder and shaming of rivals. Practitioners of this form of combat aren’t just fighting to secure martial victory, they are weaving in psychological attacks and social barbs to embarrass and emotionally ruin their opponents. They are, in short, styling on their opponents. Duels pursued in this manner are as much theatrical displays as they are measures of martial skill, and often involve non lethal attacks meant to taunt opponents into making mistakes and biting commentary meant to goad and rile up the opponent, preferably in front of an audience. These duels do not always end in death, and Cor’Phalos was known to intentionally leave opponents alive to force them to live with their shame. In one particularly well documented incident, the Marquis used a dinner fork to feed a particularly rotund noble who had commented on the figure of the Marquis’s companion his own eyes. The Marquis garnered a reputation as an oddly moralistic sociopath who readily visited violence on anyone who insulted his companions, his sensibilities, or his taste in theater. It was mostly other nobles who suffered the brunt of his wrath, as he dismissed most missteps of the lower classes as a symptom of not knowing better, and only drew his blade for the most egregious behavior on their behalf. Despite making hundreds of powerful enemies, the Marquis died of old age surrounded by the people he had so fiercely protected, despite many, many attempts to prematurely end his life. Falcons of the vows of consequence and defiance regularly make use of this style to make examples of their opponents. Jedi who observe the style have voiced concerns that it very closely resembles the use of Dun Möch, but never within earshot of its practitioners. Even so, Falcons who become too enamored with the style are watched carefully for corruption. The Vastira Manual: Written by one of the most esteemed and sought after fencing instructors to have ever lived, the Vastira manual is not as much focused on the pursuit of victory as it is in training other duelists through nuanced observation and probing strikes. While many Falcons that do study the manual use it for its intended purpose, there has been a growing number of them that have started using the teachings to instead push a dialogue with fallen nobles and Sith with the aim of redemption. When used in this manner the duelist focuses on defensive movements meant to frame aggression as ineffective, while attempting to reach whatever humanity remains in the opponent. If the opponent reveals themself as truly damned, the Falcon generally has at that point gained enough insight into their style to deliver a quick mercy kill. The Ghendrivhar Treatise: An extensive look at the application of fencing principles to lightsaber combat. Given that its intended audience has access to less lethal means to settle disputes and matters of honor, the text is concerned solely with pursuit of lethal triumph over threats. It also heavily interweaves the use of Force powers to achieve its techniques, based off of the assumption that anyone using a lightsaber based style has access to the Force. The primary points of leverage that the treatise focuses on are the weightlessness of the lightsaber blade, the independence of its cutting power from strength or momentum, and the divorce of its ability to cut from the physics of a physical blade’s edge. The treatise focuses on efficient movements and drawing out overcompensated strikes from opponents to create openings that the duelist can exploit. There are no sweeping blows or grand overhead slashes in this martial art, only refined pointwork and calculated strikes. The economy of movement means that practitioners of the style will often outlast their opponents, both in individual duels and in terms of extended battlefield engagements. In fact, exhausting the opponent is a heavily encouraged tactic for responding to highly aggressive strength based fighters. The Nixtalla Codices: A collection of martial arts manuals that were falsely claimed to be ancient texts of a long lost warrior order, however in spite of the attempted con, the books are popular among Falcons who enjoy indulging in theatricality but lack the sadism needed to follow in the footsteps of the Marquis. There are multiple theories of who the true author of the books is, and each theory carries with it a variation of the style. At this point, making cases for who wrote the texts is a common pastime for historians, university students, fencing enthusiasts, and holonet programs alike. The first theory is that the codices are the work of the court jester Vellinia Forkes, in what was meant to be an elaborate but good natured joke on her Duke who was rather fond of collecting various works on fencing without necessarily scrutinizing their provenance. Proponents claim that knowledge of the text spread farther than intended, and the realization that several prominent families had been misled and would likely be out for blood convinced Forkes that denying any connection to the scheme might be her only chance for survival. Forkesian interpretations of the texts focus on the use of the style as a de-escalating tactic, as the style is notably playful and bombastic in a way that might be considered critical of the practice of lethal duels in general. In application, the Forkesian method is used by Falcons in challenges that have arisen out of fleeting passion or the necessities of politics that Falcon is disinclined to resolve with murder. Forkes was known for her ability to talk her way out of situations, and this style can very easily be interpreted as the fencing equivalent of “Bro, chill!”. The second theory is that the codices were actually secret love letters between two master fencers of rival families, who hid their flirtations in the elegance and grace of a dance of blades. The circumstantial evidence for this comes from the reading of the texts as being penned by multiple authors, and the sometimes rather sensually charged phrasing of the text. A holovid based on this theory was released to great critical acclaim, but its distribution is currently in legal limbo on account of both of the families named in the script suing for slander and defamation. The “Lovers theory” reads the text as a sensualist take on fencing, celebrating the joy and artistry of it all and channeling passion into an artform often associated with discipline and control. The perceived “sloppiness” of this variation makes it harder for practiced opponents to read, and the joyful expression is claimed to offer a measure of protection against negative mental attacks. If this theory is true, then the identity of who distributed the texts remains unknown. The third theory ties the books to a notorious ring of falleen rakes and coquettes who were infamous for their scamming of the ultra rich, particularly people of wealth who came from outside of the circles of nobility and refused to conform to those cultural expectations. They were already known for their scandalous endeavors when the codices were “found”, they had a history of using sex as a weapon and means of subversion, and there are accounts of various members of the group claiming authorship. Libertine theory interpretations focus on the use of passion as a tool to undermine an opponent, and to dissuade attacks through seduction. The fourth theory is that the codices are in actuality guides for theatrical stage fighting, written in the form of actual fencing manuals as a lark. The practically winking at the audience approach to killing blows would be detrimental to a degree that contradicts the understanding displayed by the rest of the text, and makes more sense for death scenes than actual duels. This theory doesn’t particularly have a useful application for the read, Falcons think that Mischief does it better, and if someone wants to flip around all over the place then they can do Ataru like a Jedi. The fifth theory is a more sinister twist on the Forkesian theory, suggesting that the Duke had a rival that was both a competing collector and sleeping with the Duchess, and that the codices were bait for an assassination attempt. In this version, the Duke’s copy of the codices is stolen, only for his rival to die of mysterious causes, and gossip of the codices being the work of Forkes conveniently precedes an attempted assassination on the jester that instead claims the life of the Duchess. It’s indisputable that the Duke and Forkes became romantically involved after the death of the Duchess, but whether their relationship was born from a double homicide remains unknown. This interpretation, commonly referred to as the murder theory, is treated more as a reminder of the darker underside of court life, and the power of misdirection. A student of this lesson most likely poisoned their opponent before the duel even began, or ensured their deployment to a distant and ruthless battlefield. Observations of Warfare in the Ysarvian Reach: Dame Ursinia Cawell was never a particularly charismatic or roguish Falcon, but she was born behind several older siblings, and the likelihood of inheritance was miniscule for her, so instead she was “encouraged” to become a Falcon and undertake the Vow of Obligation. Shortly thereafter she was shipped off to a distant battlefield to either find her fortunes in glory or to fill an unmarked grave. Cawell kept a journal during her time at war, and while it is by all accounts a dry and at times overly meticulous account of warfare, it is also a frank and unfiltered look at warfare and how to survive it as a noble. It emphasizes the need to discard courtly expectations and to routinely drill with the implements of total war, such as the blaster, rather than expecting the enemy to conform to your expectations. Observations is considered required reading for any Falcon undertaking the Vow of Obligation, and at this point is the Cawell family’s greatest claim to fame, a fact that irks them to no end. Followers of the book’s accounts put considerable work into pistol marksmanship, tone down the flamboyance of their outfits to avoid the notice of snipers, and develop something resembling a passable rapport with the line officers and soldiers. The finer points of socializing eluded Cawell, but her trial and error attempts at fitting in and obsessive focus on detail in regards to her tasks makes the knowledge in Observations comprehensible for anyone, even if they want to bang their head against a wall while reading it. The Nature of Predators, Memoirs of Master Hunter Castra Sinchler: Despite the accusations of heavy embellishment of Sinchler’s exploits outside of the hunt, The Nature of Predators presents a detailed look at big game hunting, emphasizing the importance of understanding all aspects of what you are hunting, knowledge of the terrain, the importance of staying calm and collected while in mortal danger, and how to beat a hangover while tracking a Kiltik beetle to the nest while also explaining to your Cathar guide that there’s no way that you could be the father. While Sinchler’s fieldcraft is exceptional, and his hunting exploits are both impressive and thrillingly told, the most popular part of the book is a confrontation between the hunter and a near feral Sith Lord driven to madness in the outer rim. Sinchler strongly believed in looking a beast in the eyes before killing it, and like most Falcons eschewed the use of a hunting rifle for a heavy blaster pistol. Charitable Stranger: A style of stave fighting discreetly passed between Falcons, who publicly present themselves above staff weapons, but often make use of them when acting covertly or slumming it with the lower class. Despite the simplicity of staves, Falcons imbue the use of such weapons with a stunning grace and flow that allows them to truly elevate the weapons through the artistry with which they use them. Charitable Stranger foregoes courtly restraint in exchange for extensive flourishes and broad, twirling swings, and is excellent at “dissuading” large groups of ruffians. Privileges and Accouterments Despite the distance that many families hold Falcons at, they are still in the end, nobility. As such they still have access to the trappings of wealth and status, and perhaps can indulge in them more freely due to the roguish personas that they cultivate. Palaces, Mansions, and Penthouses: While the Paladins and Wardens may emphasize leading more austere lives, Falcons are in many ways encouraged to live loudly. And they certainly stand out in stark contrast to the Jedi, who often forego material trappings. While the truly massive residences are often shared amongst the family, Falcons often own private mansions, space yachts, penthouses, and other estates secreted away from the public eye. Valets, Staff, and Courtiers: Falcons, like most nobles, tend to have assistants and servants on hand to handle mundane details, and to insulate them from people. Even Falcons have their exposure to people outside of the nobility carefully limited and manipulated, to prevent dilution of aristocratic culture and the fomentation of the philosophies of the masses. Falcons tend to be… particular about handpicking their staff, their ability to read people allowing them to see virtues and failings that others can’t. As such, those that pass muster are generally treated well and trusted as confidantes. Fame: Falcons carry with them an aura of celebrity that opens doors that are closed tightly with others. People go out of their way to please them, any place that has a VIP list either has their name on it or will in short order, and dinner with A-list celebrities are just a comm call away. Connections: On the other hand, Falcons also maintain black books of courtesans, high stake gamblers, errant socialites, black market dealers, and disgraced nobles that serve as sources of information, power brokers, and the providers of introductions. Or sometimes just as fun diversions. Top of the Line: Whether it’s weapons, armor, or conveyances, Falcons have the credits to obtain the very best on, or oftentimes even off, the market. Generally Falcons focus primarily on the implements associated with their interests and vow, but even tertiary gear is of above average quality. Diplomatic Immunity: Obviously Falcons can’t commit crime without restraint, and they certainly don’t want to draw the attention of the Paladins, but their status does buy them a degree of protection from the law. Errata and Esoterica Harlequins: Sometimes Falcons will find Force sensitives in their travels that possess exceptional character in spite of their ignoble origins, and will offer to train them. Referred to as Harlequins, they occupy an even more grey area than the Falcons in regards to noble propriety, but they come by their place honestly, and smaller noble houses will often seek them out to try and secure future Force sensitive heirs. Purifiers: It’s no secret that many human noble families and houses ascended into prominence thanks to the crusades of the Pius Dea, and some of them continue to secretly follow the cult’s teachings to this day. Purifiers are sanctified zealots that are tasked with culling and opposing the presence of alien influences, particularly in regards to species considered to be immoral like the Hutts. Purifiers claim that their duty exposes them to the taint of unclean creatures that causes them to eventually be overwhelmed and fall, but to any outsider it’s clear that their dogma is an express lane to the Dark Side. Purifiers pursue their genocidal and xenophobic agendas in secret, not wanting to draw the ire of the more liberal elements of the Remnant or Alliance. Provost Tutors: Falcons that tire of the political games of their position or develop an overwhelming passion for the art of fencing can renounce their noble claims and become a Provost Tutor, an instructor dedicated to passing along their knowledge of fencing to the next generation. Provost Tutors are held in high regard despite their reduced status, and are some of the only house staff that can discipline tantruming heirs without fear of consequence. Provost Tutors don’t seek out conflict, that’s not their path in life anymore, but should a threat come to them or their charges, death will follow shortly after. Eyes of Judgment: A secret society that acts as an unofficial inquisition within the Imperial Remnant, tirelessly hunting down both Dark Side apostates and nobles with sympathies for the Sith. They prefer to carry out their assassinations under the guise of accidents or consequences of the lethal churn of court politics, and a great deal of thought is given to spacing out attacks so that their secrecy is maintained. First and foremost though, the Eyes are an intelligence gathering operation, as great care is taken to ascertain the loyalties and innocence of potential targets before action is taken. Mist Sirens: In the Hapes cluster, a number of women introduced to the teachings and philosophies of the Falcons banded together to form a privateering fleet to escape the ruthless politics of their people. Mist Sirens value personal freedom above all else, and tend to raid oppressive governments to fund their operations. Tyrants of Korgotu: A conspiracy of nobles that have embraced the Dark Side but reject the teachings of the Sith, instead focusing on material power and wealth. Their practitioners maintain many of the trappings of court life, making them in many ways a dark reflection of the Falcons, although the Tyrants have a deep love for illusionry and mind control. The relationship between the nobles of the Imperial Remnant and the Tyrants of Korgotu is complicated, and not necessarily a kill on sight affair. Many nobles see the Tyrants as just another collection of noble houses, or argue that their bloodlines can be redeemed with proper guidance. Others consider them a trashy hot mess, but in the fun kind of way. And no noble can say that in their heart of hearts they haven’t wondered what it would be like to rule with absolute power. The Tyrants often swoop in to recruit fallen Imperial Knights, and many times the response is a shrug and something about “Better than them becoming a Sith”. It’s an uncomfortably toxic relationship that often leads Imperial Knights astray, but also occasionally pulls someone back into the light.

“And here I thought that we were having a meaningful conversation. That lasted all of… what, three minutes?” The Dark Lady shrugged, her expression hidden by her helmet, but her tone one of energetic sarcasm that seemed at odds with the situation. “And after all of the work that I went through to give you your gift. You seem remarkably ungrateful.” “Go. Build your better galaxy, the weeds have been plucked from the garden and this time if anything goes wrong you won’t have us to blame. My people already have orders to withdraw beyond the boundaries of the known regions, we just needed to make sure that the ones most likely to pursue us were declawed.” “Or you can stay here and kill me, if that will make you feel better. There’s something festering out there in the void, an absence that is crawling out of the pit of ash and jagged bone that birthed it, and it terrifies me far more than any Jedi or mortal warrior. A lightsaber blade to the heart seems like an easy out, all things considered. Then again, death has never really affected me with the same finality as most others. Maybe I’m just pfasked no matter what. The galaxy won’t be though. You’re welcome.” The scales were being tipped the way that they needed to be. The Empire, decapitated. The Sith fleet thoroughly depleted by a battle where they focused on victims rather than victory. The Sith army left by the wayside in exchange for the Mandalorians, a people notoriously suspicious of the Force and all forms of sorcery. They would never know, never understand, and the legacy of Darth Nyrys would most likely be reviled as failure by the Sith, but masks could be removed just as much as they could be put on. “So what’s it going to be?”

"What can I say, a killer recognizes a killer.” Darth Nyrys said after taking an introspective breath. “I thought that if the head of the serpent was sundered that… something would change. But I just feel empty and numb. You kill us, we kill you, the cycle continues. There are no Sith or Jedi anymore, there is only the war, and every day we cut away pieces of ourselves to feed it, and then we teach our future generations to do the same. There’s another galactic shakeup coming, I can feel it in the Force, but even as you stand on the threshold of victory do you find yourself any closer to a galaxy that stands on a sturdy foundation of liberty, or will you be sleeping with a blaster under your pillow and haunted by the specters of potential threats? We are all of us consumed.” Her stolen power perched uneasily in her breast, like a feast of delights too rich for the senses to handle. Regardless of outcome, this was the end of her tenure as Dark Lady, for the throne was just another chain, perhaps the tightest chain there was. She would break its stranglehold and find freedom in walking away. It would be a setback for the Sith, but they always rose from the ashes of adversity all the stronger for it.

The chaos of battle was in full swing, with the Dark Side pulsing in otherworldly colors and incomprehensible sounds, sometimes a trickle, other times in great torrents of energy. The presence of a Jedi had revealed itself in the hangar of her ship, drawn by the need for conflict to resolve such dire disparities in reckless proximity to each other. Someone could comment on the clash of good and evil, but both sides had been drenched in blood for centuries. This wasn’t a moral conflict, it was people at war, indistinguishable from one another save by uniforms and flags. There was an element of absurdity at play, in that the bigger the forces assembled were, the less it mattered. The war itself had become a self sustaining cycle of atrocity and revenge. Any measure of justice that might have been found in the destruction of the false empire’s populace eluded her. Nor would this prevent further slaughter of her people, in fact, it may even result in retaliatory strikes of its own. There was no agency to be found here, only people stuck in their roles, playing the parts that the galaxy expected of them. So many chains that she never saw the one around her neck. Her ascent to Dark Lord had come too soon, there was still too much of her inside to just blindly accept the hollow mantle that came with the title. An absence of self was required to be a sharp enough razor to take the throne by force, but the line of succession had been broken when Exodus had left her the throne, and none among the Sith possessed both the ambition and the skill to make her defend her claim. In success, the Sith had lost their edge. The forces opposed to them were equally defunct, having traded morality for the surety of fascist rule. The galaxy could not survive two empires, having already faced terrible destruction at the hands of one. If the end sum of this fight would contain any measure of righteousness, it would be the assassination of Empress Raven. The decapitation of the imperial command structure would most likely result in what had come to pass in history time and time again, the ambitious underlings cannibalizing each other for their spot at the throne. Problematic successors could be managed as needed. The greatest driving political force in her life had always been the preservation of her people and her culture, but the role of Dark Lord was a position of faith that needed to be able to sacrifice all things. The Jedi was here to try and kill Darth Nyrys. So be it. Her soldiers were well trained, but they would be little more than momentary obstacles to a Jedi of the strength of spirit that she felt. “Bring the Jedi to me, I will not idly spend your lives against a foe such as this.”

Vorin vs Charlemagne Vorin, you did an excellent job balancing the distance and the manic intimacy of Cold Mind, with my one criticism being that you ought to put Cold Mind on your sheet as a courtesy to opponents and mods. Charlemagne, there are a couple of issues that I saw on your side of the duel. First off, in your second post you pretty clearly show Charlemagne tapping into the Dark Side, despite being an Imperial Knight. The post makes reference to her having done this in the past, and somehow having found a way to do it without having any consequences. First of all, no. Second, these are the kinds of important events that absolutely should not be done in backstory that isn’t even mentioned until the duel. The story that staff will use to validate your characters’ actions is the story that is told on the site, not any headcanon that only you have access to. The other thing that I want to address is the choice to go unconscious at the end of your last post. That alone in many cases is enough to lose a duel, and I am hard pressed to think of when it would be a good move. At the end of the day, duel posts need to make a convincing argument for a character’s victory, and this choice did more for Vorin’s case than Charlemagne’s. Duel Outcome: Vorin wins

Mavanger vs Cassandra Absolutely wonderful offerings from both sides are on display here. Both Nok and I felt that each player brought their A game. However, we both agreed that Mavanger’s use of emotion as a weapon gave enough extra punch that it carried him into the lead. One final gift from his lost love to his lord. Result: Mavanger ties… I mean wins, sorry, old habits.

Nyrys’s personal battlefleet entered Nar Shaddaa’s orbit and quickly set up combat air patrols as they formed up for the assault. The intel had been correct, and the enemy was relying heavily on mines to fortify their hold on the world. Wasteful and outdated strategies for a people stuck in the past. “It’s like they’re doing our job for us. Signal the Bewitching Lover and the other interdictors to use gravity wells to disperse the fields and rain down upon Nar Shaddaa with the terrorists’ own weapons.” It was unfortunate that the rebels always chose to nest amidst extremely concentrated population centers, but holding back would only let them know that their human shield tactics worked. The best path was to end the war quickly and decisively, so that this behavior would not be repeated on world after world. “Once the mines are dispersed begin the assault, let the galaxy see that the rebellion cannot protect its own.” The interdiction fields of the Sith ships began the task of clearing mines with their fields, dumping hundreds of kilometers worth of mines on the planet at a time. The fascists of the Empire and hypocritical Jedi would have their backs broken here, the levy for the sins of Kamino, Kuat, and Dark Sun Station.

The loyalty of the warriors at Lehon had been secured, and the vanishing of Qaela confirmed. It was time to move forward with her plans, and launch an attack that was long overdue. She would destroy the Sith, and from the ashes the Sith would rise anew, stronger, sharper, and purified of the bloat and corruption of the last empire. One day her own empire would suffer a similar fate, but that was the necessary path of the Sith, to find one’s measure so that the next generation could surpass it. There were Sith that thought themselves above this cycle, that wanted to rule eternal, but such individuals were doomed to fail, and weaken the Sith in the process. “War calls to us again, assemble your forces over the planet of Naboo in preparation of our next strike.” ------------------------- Darth Nyrys had never properly forged a Force bond with Ca’aran, she had always had a creeping fear that her own darkness would pick away at him from the inside, but nevertheless there were still gossamer tendrils of connection between the two. Even through those barest strands she could sense pain, anguish, and loss within his heart. She would not let him suffer those things alone. Leaving the command room she bid a shuttle to take her to her beloved, so that she might be a comfort to him as he had been to her. Ca’aran was perhaps the only anchor remaining for her own sense of decency, an angel with a broken halo who could understand her darkness but also take her hand and guide her to a better path. The shuttle ride was brief, and ended at a Sith excavation site. She disembarked rapidly and without the ceremony, moving with determination into the literal and metaphorical darkness. The excavation whispered to her in alien tongues from a time before the Sith. In different circumstances she would have been overjoyed to study the location, but she was singularly focused on reaching Ca’aran. She found him with his unit, encircling a slight figure, seemingly way too small to be a soldier, yet bedecked in the regalia of a recruit, such as it were. Even through the pain and the stillness she recognized the face of the girl. She had been wrong before in saying that Ca’aran was her only anchor, but in a way it was true after all. The girl had helped bring her back from an eclipse of the soul that threatened to unmake everything that she was and replace it with an unspeakable void. For the briefest moment she frantically considered bringing her back, but it was followed by a spell of clarity in which she realized that what was brought back would not be the brave but gentle girl that she met in the ruins of her ego and failure. Instead, she gingerly took the girl’s pale hand and cradled her. Knowing that it would mean nothing but still compelled to express this feeling of tenderness even if it was too late. It was a cruel realization that she knew hundreds of prayers from her anthropological studies, but none to any powers that she believed in. She looked to Ca’aran, who surely was wounded by this even more than her. “I mourn with you, Major.” relying on proper speech to give some distance to the pain in her heart. “What happened?”

The Abandoned Over a decade ago, on a world of too little consequence for its name to be remembered, necromancers were dispatched by the Sith Empire to assist in the conducting of trench warfare. The campaign had been a bloodbath, and the use of Sith that could raise the dead seemed to be an obvious choice. However, nothing had prepared the Sith for the nightmare that they would be entering. The fighting was so brutal and indifferent towards the Sith belief of triumph through superiority that the sorcerers had to strip away many facets of their beliefs that catered to ego and ritualism, instead relying on blending in and the soldiers around them to survive, rather than their own exceptionalism. The meatgrinder would continue to churn for years, breaking down anyone that survived it into the same rust red coated shell of a person. When the Galactic Alliance was formed and the Empire was largely disbanded, this particular hellhole was simply forgotten. There was no extraction, no orders to stand down, only silence followed by a sudden stop in resupplies. There’s no telling how many soldiers and Sith eventually made it off world on their own, but none of them survived the experience intact. Driven by a hatred for the government that they believe abandoned them, and unable to escape the battlefield that so ruthlessly molded them into something so incredibly broken, these necromancers have returned to the Sith Empire expressly to get vengeance on the people that they believe have failed them. Abandoned Spells and Abilities Razorwire Labyrinth: A maddening sprawl of creeping razorwire infests the battlefield, snaking around terrain objects and choking once open fields. Something about the sprawl of metal feels… hungry, and anyone that has the misfortune to fall into it will suddenly find it quite able to coil and thrash like a serpent. The more the wire claims, the more it expands across the battlefield, like hellish creeper vines. Storm of War: Extensive use of chemical weapons turned the rain into a vicious acid that scourged the vegetation and scoured and pitted metal. While the rain is by no means deadly to larger creatures, it has a catastrophic effect on the environment and can quickly convert a beautiful landscape into the rust red slurry of mud that haunts their dreams. Echoes of Destruction: Resonating throughout eternity, the eardrum shattering force of massive cannons has burrowed deep into the minds of these necromancers, and they are able to call upon it with eruptive force as a concussive sonic blast. No Respite: The necromancer calls forth the vermin and pestilent beasts of the world to feed on the wounded and dying. The fauna summoned are by no means imposing combatants, but they can overwhelm soldiers on the verge of death, and exacerbate wounds by crawling through torn or sundered armor. Poison Mists: Both sides used poison gas in the trenches so often that not wearing a mask was an almost certain death sentence. Every soldier that served remembers the eerie uncertainty of ambiguously human shapes in the murderous fog as allies and enemies intermixed in close quarters. The necromancers can conjure memories of that wretched obscurity onto the battlefield. While not a perfect approximation of poison gas, the clouds that the spell conjures do carry a chemical burning sensation when inhaled, and can cause minor muscle tremors. Nobody Ever Leaves: The necromancers watched friends and allies cut down in numbers beyond counting, seeding the soil with blood and hate. No matter what planet the Abandoned are on, no matter who they are fighting, it is always the same battlefield, the same war. Amidst the churning mud and blood lie the broken bodies of their fallen comrades, bursting out of shallow graves and corpse piles to fight alongside their own even beyond death. These revenants are men who have fought beyond the measure of human endowment that grace had given them and are naught but vessels of fury and desperation, abandoning any semblance of tactics or restraint for brutal melee. Their rifles, having long ago expended their last charge or broken under the conditions, are little more than bludgeons or hafts for bayonet blades. Some, having lost their rifles in the chaos or abandoned them for more suitable tools of trench warfare, and instead bring cudgels, entrenching tools, and combat knives to the slaughter. An Abandoned necromancer can call upon the aid of one revenant soldier per rank of Sith that they possess. By the conclusion of the duel, each revenant will die again, with the necromancer being unable to stop it. While everyone else sees the revenants as the rotted, shattered corpses that they are, the necromancer sees them as the men and women they once were. Revenants only carry melee weapons, and due to the spontaneous nature of their eruptive entrances they cannot be kitted out with special weapons or armor prior to combat. While not possessing any form of superhuman strength, they are the zombified manifestations of soldiers in full adrenaline mode, and trained close combat fighters. Something Like Standard Issue: While serving with their allies in the trenches, the sorcerers modified their robes to be more like the armor of the soldiers, modified to sport gas masks and bolster against fragmentation and concussive force. Black ritual robes were often traded for thick layers and trench coats to keep the biting cold of night at bay. Everything developed a rust red or grey patina of mud that inexorably soiled every piece of kit. The Abandoned wear medium midgrade trench armor designed to protect against indirect weapons fire and grenades, that also conceals their rank and importance as Sith sorcerers, provided they aren’t openly displaying their Force powers. Don’t Be Special: The Abandoned learned early on that brandishing a lightsaber was a surefire way to get singled out by snipers, or bring down artillery or an airstrike on their position. While the motivations of the Sith may have been a mixture of self interest and a desire to protect their fellow soldiers, ultimately many of the Abandoned traded in their lightsabers for trench shields and scatterguns. Both are standard issue but sturdily constructed, the shield being a durasteel engineered plate with a bracing hook on the rim for the scattergun. Forward Patrol: Revenants with distorted features prowl and advance along the periphery of the necromancer, looking for threats. Should they find the enemy, they issue a cry that is equal parts tormented wail and trench siren. Rage Unending: The necromancer’s mental instability results in every enemy they face appearing as the enemy that they fought so long ago in the trenches. As long as their PTSD remains untreated, they will resist empathy and compassion from enemies(or people that they believe to be enemies) with paranoia, fear, vengeful disgust, and extreme distrust. Malignant Gravemaker: An ensorceled entrenching tool carried by these necromancers as a focus in lieu of their lightsabers. It is with this tool that they buried their closest comrades and fought tooth and nail in the most desperate encounters. By calling upon the Dark Side and plunging the shovel into the ground, the necromancer can rend a terrible furrow into the ground, seemingly uncovering a mass grave that erupts with bloated corpses gnawing and biting at anything living within reach. Their mouths and fingers carry the rot and plague of the trenches, and will give rise to rapid infections and disease if not treated quickly. To anyone else that examines the bodies, they will be revealed to be eyeless and noseless facsimiles of people conjured by the spell, but to the necromancer they will always appear as people they buried. The entrenching tool is a serviceable weapon of last resort with sharpened edges that allow it to function as a hand axe of sorts. It does carry within it potent necromantic energies that can be incredibly toxic if the head bites into flesh. That being said, no form of “shovel-fu” ever emerged, and it should never be seen as a primary fighting weapon, only an act of desperation. A sorcerer is still a sorcerer, even if you give him or her a blunt object to swing with. Transitive Suffering: The necromancers of this war were so afflicted that their condition became like a contagion, seeding itself in the minds of others that were suffering from untreated PTSD. Even Dark Side relics created by the Abandoned can have this corrupting effect, allowing this strange tradition of sorcery to spread beyond those who were there. The infected suffer months of severe, hyper realistic nightmares that shatters their ability to tell the difference between truth and seeded trauma. Over time the process mentally hollows them and replaces their original sense of self with this new assumed identity of a wartorn Sith sorcerer.

Tales of madness told by Chosen Myyrdokk (Submitted by Solus) Apart from their exotic teachings of the Force and trainings of Sith Assassins, the Temple of the Spider have gathered a vast collection of data, including stories, myths, and tall tales. Despite most (if not all) of these being works of pure fiction and entertainment, the Temple of the Sith has used many of these to help their own teachings and to enhance their abilities with the Madness. Below are some of the works that Chosen Myyrdokk is especially fond of using in his teachings. More so, these stories seem to hold an ounce of truth to them, indicating that they may be more than just the fictitious works that most force users tend to dismiss them as. Betelgeuse of the Ebon Star Attached image “Before there was life, there was the Force. And before there was the Force, there was the Ebon Star” is how all stories about the great dragon Betelgeuse starts. The stories usually take veering plots, but typically feature two planets orbiting the Ebon star, both with primordial life, and one creating the dragon Betelgeuse to destroy the other one. However, the dragon ignores this and proceeds to consume the matter of several nearby stars, dooming their orbiting planets to eternal darkness. Some of the stories end with the life forms on both planets then revere the dragon as a god, who only then consumes them as well. Other stories end with the Dragon returning to the Ebon star and subjugate the life on both worlds to lives of slavery to build a mate. And finally, some stories remark that the dragon returned to the Ebon star and drove both species to madness so they would destroy themselves. Ideas of what Betelgeuse is and what the Ebon star is are as varied as the stories themselves. The most popular image of Betelgeuse is a draconic being of some kind, big enough to swallow entire star ships, but some place him like a sentient black hole, a living embodiment of a Force Wound, or a star weird with no limitations of power. The Ebon star has been painted as either a brown dot in a sea of black, or something like a black hole, with its accretion disk providing a tiny amount of light around it. Madmen and small cults have tried to map the galaxy to find the Ebon star over the years, but to no avail, usually disappearing outside of the known galaxy. While most scholars consider stories of Betelgeuse to be works of fiction, recent discoveries have left many unnerved. Old stories from Devaronians tell of a great dragon swallowing entire stars. Several stories from different cultures across the galaxy evolving nearly identical stories of Betelgeuse separately. A treasure seeker on Roon discovered pictures of what looked like Betelguese fighting the image of a Starbird. Historians are unclear if this was a historical recording or a prediction. A recent incident launched stories of Betelgeuse into popular culture: The Star Seeker is a ship that crashed into Coruscant a few years ago. While there were no survivors, the corpses were identified as members of a cult seeking the Ebon Star, but on a different ship as far back as 456 BBY. All over the walls as well as the corpses bodies were wildly inaccurate star charts painted in blue ink, as well as the words “Leave it be” tattooed on their arms in the same ink. Chosen Myyrdokk of the Temple of the Spider often uses these stories as inspirations for the Disciples to use in giving into their madness. To summon the image of Betelguese into one's head and calling it forth, giving it a semblance of life, is terrifying to behold, and believing to hear the dragon’s voice can be enough to push one down the path of Madness. Other assassins call up the image of the aliens that helped create the dragon, who are monstrous to behold as well. That Between the Force These lengthy data reports from a disgraced Kaminoan Scientist talks about how in the process of trying to clone Force Sensitives, or by implementing Midichlorians into subjects, small, almost unnoticeable microbaterial life forms seem to surface. They only existed for a short period of time within dying subjects, and vanish after the subject is deceased. There seems to be no evidence they even existed after the subject has died, making it more difficult for the Kaminoan Scientist to prove their existence. However, these ‘life leeches’ as the scientist describes them, seem to be alive, albeit dening most conventional forms of life. They move of their own accord, seeking dying tissue to consume. While they do not procreate, the scientist notes that the ‘leeches’ do gather together briefly as if to converse with each other. The scientist even notes that while she has no proof, she thinks that these things could be sentient, if such a thing was possible. Eventually, the data reports turn into mad ramblings, becoming more like personal journal entries then official reports. The scientist seemed to have made illegal data requisitions into the ‘Whills of the Force’, believing these ‘life leeches’ had some sort of connection to them. “I do not know if these things are the Whills…” The final report states. “...or if these ‘leeches’ are adversaries to them, like some kind of predatory creature. Or perhaps these things are what feeds on Midichlorians? I know, according to religious texts, the Force feeds on life, but i don’t think its meant to be like this. If my research is to continue, I will need more test subjects. Many more subjects. To kill slowly seems to be the only sure way of attracting the ‘leeches’, and I must study them. Who knows what discovery I’m on the brink of?” The final report has some extra information added by an unknown author, stating that the Scientist was restrained and executed for committing crimes against all life. All information from the reports was to be classified and not opened again. Chosen Myyrdokk likes ‘That Between the Force’ because it seems to be proof that the madness has a legitimacy to it, and had the scientist come to the Temple of the Spider, or a Force Wound, she would have been able to understand exactly what these ‘leeches’ are and why they exist. While he refuses to explain what these things are, he points out that ‘some things we should never know, even the Chosen and Disciples’. Sometimes knowing that there is always something incomprehensible out there is more unnerving than any conjured monster. Children of Aboleth Attached image This lengthy novel was found by a Pyke archeologist on Zerm in 5 ABY amongst the ruins of a destroyed village. According to official reports, the village died of a plague virtually overnight, but the lack of bodies and evidence of bodies being disposed of, as well as the lack of reports of the plague numbers, made the entire scene a mystery. The only clue the Archeologist could find was a data novel entitled “The Children of Aboleth” The story detailed a group of people who, through the Force, was able to visit worlds beyond the material realm of this galaxy, where the Force was not only connected to everything, it was everything. However, this small group of people went mad over the following year as they felt touchings of something within this place had touched them and granted powers in the material world. The story then switched to a point of view of an observer who had to kill apparently monsters roaming the streets at night. Descriptions between each monster vary, but the only consistency is they are vaguely insectoid. It was then revealed that at the story's halfway point that the monsters were warped by whatever that existed in that ‘world beyond worlds’. After killing the monsters, the character then killed the rest of the villagers, then himself. The story then went into a full detailed history of several events in the galaxy, and ended with an unknown “knowledge seeker” finding the tomb of ‘The Last Child’, doomed to rise again. While unnerved, the archeologist dismissed the story and dug deeper into the village's destruction. Still lacking bodies, the only further clue about why the village died out was a massive coffin. Inside the coffin was only one body, but it was not a Pyke. Instead, it was something more monstrous, without any signs of decay. The Pyke government quickly covered up the archeology site when this was reported, and the Archeologist was never seen or heard from again. What happened to the coffin and the corpse inside is a mystery. Jedi Scholars are quick to point out the similarities between this story and the Mindwalkers of Sinkhole Station. A world where the Force was everything and not just connected to everything sounded very much like the realm of Beyond Shadows, and the very name of the novel is the same name as Aboleth in Beyond Shadows. The fact that the story was found on a planet in the same sector as the Maw, where Sinkhole station rests, was unsurprising. However, no one can explain the few reports about the archeologist that were leaked, and the Pykes deny the existence of such a village. When Chosen Myyrdokk uses these stories teaching Disciples and Initiates, he seems to focus on the idea that something greater and more powerful than anyone out there exists. The idea of Aboleth, while confirmed, is not widely known to the galaxy, and the fact that the Pyke government and their crime syndicates do not share this information freely indicates that they are afraid. If such a tiny event can unnerve so many, how much more can the Madness outside the Temple do? These lessons also tend to include making images of ‘Aboleth’s Children’ to frighten those who may be especially susceptible to superstitions about what exists in the darkness between the stars, and to cause distractions in battles. The Dathomirian Doll Attached image This collection of ship manifests, government reports, journal and diary entries, as well as several pieces of music literature, works like a found footage story, allowing the viewer to come to their own conclusions. Taking place across an entire century, it tells how a raid during the time of the Empire brought home a supply of prisoners and confiscated goods. Among the goods was a simple doll made of black straw, dried tar, and string. Over the course of the documents, it becomes apparent that the doll has some connection to the dark side, as all the male owners of the doll, or antagonists of the owner of the doll, have gruesome fates befall them. Such fates include spontaneous gunshots, landslides, house fires, animal attacks, and unfortunate mechanical failures with ships. Each time, the doll somehow survives and gets passed on to someone else. The last entry in the collection indicates the doll was being taken to Coruscant to the Emperor’s Office, just before the destruction of Death Star II. Despite the fairly easily traceable evidence, most people wave off the collection as nonsense. Plenty of evidence outside of the collection directly contradicts what the collection states, and no doll has ever been retrieved. That said, people who read the collection can’t help but wonder how much of this story could be true, and how many ‘accidents’ are really works of the dark side. Chosen Myyrdokk seems to especially focus on how stories like this make people lose their nerve over a long period of time, and given enough time, this will spread to other people. By focusing on a person over a long period of time, an assassin can bring even the greatest of foes to their knees, and with the Madness, they can affect entire groups of people. Myyrdokk also seems to enjoy how this story implies that sometimes the force isn’t necessary to drive a being mad. Sometimes, only well placed rumors and killings are more than enough. The Ghosts of Spira This long story novel talks about how on the vacation planet of Spira, with its golden beaches and temperate climate, received a visitor in the form of a large cruiser falling from the sky into the ocean. In the many weeks before the ship completely submerged into the water, villagers and tourists reported their children being stolen in the night, with video feeds showing them being snatched out of their beds by invisible hands. The story only got more bloody from there as guards and investigations turned up slashed to death as if by wild creatures. Then, bodies of children were found in the waters near the sinking ship. The ship itself was impenetrable for the longest time, until a nameless Jedi joined the fight. Together, the author, the jedi, and a small group of men attack the ship in hopes of finding the children who still lived. During this, each member of the team gets picked off one by one until only the author and the jedi are alive. During their exploration, the two discovered that the 'ghosts' were actually Defel wolfmen, genetically altered to be permanently blinded but could sense via echolocation. These near invisible defel were kidnapping children in service to their master, an ancient and near rabid Anzac, who demanded the 'soup of the young', and was a powerful force user in his own right. The story ends with the nameless Jedi fighting the Anzat as the entire ship sinks to the bottom of Spira's ocean, with the author barely escaping with a small group of surviving children. The entire work is obviously fictional, as the work was written at a time when tourism across the galaxy was at a low point, and the novel seems to be a large, albeit creative, advertisement to come to the world. However, the remains of a large unknown ship do exist on the ocean floor of the Shinkaii Abyss, and the local government has outlawed all efforts to see the ship in person. There are rumors that some of the 'ghosts' still haunt the planet. Myyrdokk seems to like this novel just for the fact that it entertains him. He points out that those with an obsession with death are more vulnerable to ghost illusions, and encourages potential assassins to learn how to make ghosts seem all the more real to their targets. The Droid who Wanted Skin Attached image These lengthy bounty reports from a famed hunter talks about a journey to capture the elusive E-110, a droid of unknown make and design. However, the droid avoided capture and destruction multiple times by hollowing humanoid victims out and wearing their skin until the body rotted away. According to the hunter, E-110 even mimicked their targets lives for several days before disappearing. The hunter gives his own theories on where the droid came from, and the psychology behind whoever programmed such a droid. The report ends with the droid supposedly getting destroyed in a fuel explosion, though no body was found. It is noted that at the end of the report, the hunter speaks very differently and it has been theorized that the droid escaped with the hunter as his latest victim. In many social circles, it is debated on the authenticity of these bounty reports. The hunter in question was a real individual, and had a tendency to record his hunts, and the fact that the story appeared shortly after his disappearance makes many think there is an element of truth. However, no other reports about the droid have ever come to light, and the bounty hunter was known to dramatize some of his more mundane hunts. Still, when the reports came out, there was a brief spike in demand for technology to test whether people were actually people or droids in disguise. Chosen Myyrdokk uses these reports as an example on how assassins can use other people to their advantage. Whether it's copying their image or voice through sorcery or surgery, or simply their printed names, chosen Myyrdokk encourages his disciples to never discount the idea of becoming a copycat. And if an assassins identity gets discovered, the paranoia the people will experience afterwards will bring them a step closer to the Madness. Tales Beyond the Tomb A collection of holorecordings featuring an eccentric and decrepit droid, Tales Beyond the Tomb tell numerous self-contained short stories that tend to feature horrific imagery and some supernatural effects that may or may not be connected to the Force. Some of the stories included things such as a rich business man feeding the homeless to his eel farm, a cheating wife behing chased by her dead and murdered spouse, the smoke man of Mustafar continually exhaling smoke after betraying the native insectoids, and a beauty queen staying young forever by slowly freezing in carbonite despite being nowhere near carbonite freezing chambers. While each story was clearly a work of fiction, the imaginative imagery, the grotesque content, and the lively narrator all made Tales Beyond the Tomb a favorite entertainment piece in the galaxy. It is for these same reasons that Chosen Myyrdokk enjoys this collection, and encourages his Disciples to pull the imagery from these stories to frighten their targets. Whether its by making the image of the eel farm filling the landscape, or making a target believe they are being frozen in carbonite, Chosen Myyrdokk says the imagery of horror is an effective weapon.

The Light Within the Heart(Consular) The lightsaber is the iconic weapon of the Jedi, a symbol of the order’s role as protectors and vanquishers of darkness. Most people focus on the weapon as solely that, a tool used for the purpose of leveraging its physical qualities in the deadly dance of combat, but the lightsaber is so much more. It is a limnal gateway between the physical and spiritual planes, a convergence of faith and intent that has defined the order. Any true practitioner of the martial arts begot by lightsabers understands that the weapon is far more than a crude tool of matter and energy, yet the applications for which the lightsaber is used are largely confined to this idea. The stranglehold of glory and the guardian’s legacy is nearly absolute on the perception of the lightsaber, and yet there are other paths. There is a minor sect of Jedi consulars who study the motions of the lightsaber, the traditions of respect, focus, and discipline that cling to it, and turn a weapon into a focus of spiritual resolve. These scholars imbue the movements and etiquette of lightsaber traditions with the weight of understanding and reverence that empowers these actions on a philosophical and spiritual level, even with the blade extinguished. For the enlightened, the blade is only a fraction of the truth of the lightsaber. These Jedi strip away the mundane aspects of the lightsaber to reveal the light that the blade in many ways conceals. To the uninitiated, the lightsaber is little more than a laser sword, the power of which is in its nearly unparalleled offensive and defensive capabilities of its scientific qualities. To the Jedi, it is perhaps the closest that they can come to touching some small measure of the Force, or at least a lens that clarifies, reveals, and focuses its light. The training of the Inner Lantern sect focuses on the resonance of the Force with the movements and katas of lightsaber use, weaving each movement and shift of weight with inner light, without ever igniting the blade. It is by this combination of devotion and restraint that the light is truly revealed. Jedi of the Inner Lantern are not soldiers, nor would they use their lightsabers as implements of murder, however they will not hesitate to banish darkness or serve as a bulwark to the meek. Defeated enemies of these Jedi have described entering a confused state of overwhelming empathy or an abyssal state of philosophical and sensory tumult where their otherness has confined them to a void of ungraspable dimensions and elusive context with no illumination to guide them. Former Sith who repented during the experience claimed that the Jedi was able to place within them a fragile yet vital kernel of light that with nurturing and patience could lead them out of the dark woods. Inner Lantern Force Powers and Techniques Path of Intimate Distance: Jedi of the Inner Lantern intensively study the movements and footwork of lightsaber duelists, but weave their application with the intent of not seeking to physically harm their opponents. The result is a collection of technical movements that confusingly exist in the threshold between engaging the enemy and maintaining distance, making any opponent who dissects martial interaction by the binary of in range and out confused by the ambiguity of their positioning. A skilled Inner Lantern Jedi adopts a state of detached focus, orbiting their opposite without closing in or breaking away, present yet ephemeral. To the onlooker, their movements seem almost casual, yet undeniably graceful and with understated purpose. Etiquette of Introductions: The Consular practices the proper rituals and ceremonial aspects of introduction as both diplomatic and martial tool. Whoever they meet they acknowledge with respect and humility. All have a place in the light of the Force, all have value, none are to be dismissed as nothing. This reserved and humble approach can quite literally be disarming to practitioners of the Dark Side, who rely so heavily on antagonistic relationships to fuel their fury. Even those who are barely touched by the Force often feel a reluctance or hesitation to destroy such a modest and considerate person. Internal Peace Reflected Outwardly: With carefully considered words and thoughtful insight, the Consular interacts with their opponent in an effort to douse their rage and quiet their fears. This is not a Force power, but like the lightsaber can be a conduit for the Force, where the humanity and decency of the Jedi is used as both a mirror and lens to shine light upon forgotten aspects of their own goodness, revealing them like lost and forgotten treasures. This practice undermines the controlling grasp that the darkness has on the heart of a person, and in turn can disrupt the constancy of the rage and other dark emotions that they use to fuel their powers. Lightness of Being: Through self reflection and acceptance, the Jedi enters into conflict blessed with an unburdened spirit. This metaphysical freedom can allow them to ride the momentum of both physical and spiritual attacks, reducing the weight of their impacts and making it incredibly hard for them to find biting purchase. This is a transitive defensive power that mitigates damage but does not entirely nullify it. Experienced practitioners can use this redirection of momentum to to attempt to unbalance or even disrupt the footing of an opponent. Unshutter the Lantern: In a moment of boundless compassion, faith, and service, the Jedi acts as a mirror to the light of the Force, and manifests it like a starlit blade from the hilt of their unignited saber. This is not an implement of physical destruction, but rather a beacon of goodness that sends shadows into flight and diminishes their dominion over the battlefield. Furthermore, the manifestation is intolerably bright and blinding to users of the dark side, while being a source of emotionally healing calm for servants of the light. True Nature: The Jedi’s disciplined training has turned their advanced katas into their internalized nature, an inner truth that remains constant in the face of doubt and oppression. Their trained movements are resistant to interference by mental attacks. Show the Cost: As a mirror of the Force, the Jedi can not only reflect the light, but also reveal the truth of the dark. When an opponent is fighting an Inner Lantern Jedi, whenever they tap into negative emotions, they are reminded of a time when those negative emotions betrayed them and destroyed something that they cared about. Gentle Tree Stance: The looseness of the Jedi’s stance allows them to often adapt with careful redistribution of weight and balance whenever a physical or metaphysical blow would otherwise unbalance them. Moment of Blindness: Whenever an opponent attempts to align their sights on the Jedi, physically or through technology, they inadvertently perceive the Jedi’s inner light in a flash of blinding brilliance that heavily dissuades accurate fire. Unyielding Virtue: An instinctive telekinetic technique developed as part of Inner Lantern training, the Jedi reflexively blocks an attack as if their lightsaber was ignited. This power is never used aggressively, only to defend against strikes, control the opponent’s weapon, or disarm an opponent. Tranquil Heart Bridge: An extrapolation of Unyielding Virtue, the Tranquil Heart Bridge style is a set of techniques that use short range telekinesis to guide and redirect an enemy’s weapon into a calmer rhythm, a metaphorical act that metaphysically echoes within the wielder, sapping their volatile energies. Thought Alone: Experienced practitioners of this style of training are capable of using any reasonable substitute for a lightsaber to use these arts. The true masters can achieve the techniques of this path through thought and gesture alone. Winning a duel as an Inner Lantern Consular: While the Inner Lantern path is a pacifist way of life, there are clear and reasonable victory states in their methods. A total disarm of the enemy, knocking an opponent prostrate while denying them a quick recovery, or the absolute disruption of an opponent’s access to the Dark Side (Not to be confused with severing their Force connection) are suggested win conditions by the author.

“There is no need to atone for an honorable kill, besides the Jedi have always been skittish prey, likely to pick up everything and scatter to the wind whenever they get the slightest sense that someone might have found one of their secret clubhouses. We are participants in a war eternal, and in such matters one can only find victory and purpose within, for no matter how many victories we achieve, there will always be more battles to come. That being said, I am not the Spider, and the fruits of the labor of our intelligence operatives will be clutched to my breast less jealously as we move forward. Speaking of which, I do not know who knows what about that situation, but the Spider has vanished completely. I do not know whether or not he meant to disappear or if he ran afoul of the abyss that he had begun experimenting with, but before he ghosted us he gave me his lightsaber in a way that I assumed was a passing of the torch. It is not our way to transfer power in such a manner, so I have been traveling to each gathering of Sith and offering the opportunity to challenge me, so that we may continue our path under the rule of the strongest. If any here wish to challenge my claim to the title of Dark Lord, now is the time to do so.” On the one hand, warriors of this sort would be the most likely to bristle at the idea of someone ascending the throne without trial by combat, but on the other hand the least likely to be driven by petty politics and ambition. Krath Umbra gave the impression of a Sith that had adapted to a very specific niche within the Empire, more interested in moving chess pieces on a specific board than running the entire show. She hated that she had to do this to begin with, and maybe that is why the Spider did it in the first place, sadistically gifting the title to the warrior who believed in earning everything. The former Dark Lord hadn’t seemed the type for pettiness when she had met him in the past, but here they were. Or perhaps in his own alien way of thinking he thought that he was honoring her devotion to the cause. So many questions left unanswered.

As the shuttle transitioned back into realspace, Darth Nyrys was immediately struck by a very different aura emanating from the world below. Sure there were ancient echoes of a nearly forgotten empire, but from the ashes was erupting a new and visceral sensation. Despite the presence of so many warships, the planet seemed fully intact, and not another victim of boundless destruction. The music in the darkness here was alien, not the familiar songs of the Sith, but the melodies could be changed to serve their purpose. Upon landing, she could feel the wondrous glory of honorable martial battle in resonant tones that made her heart soar. There was both fire and ice in the ether, casting the world in beautiful dissonance through their disparity. Balance was the pursuit of stoned philosophers, those who walked in the world knew that greatness was born of conflict and the clashing of opposites. She approached the Sith command center feeling revitalized, the turgid waters of depression evaporating away as her warrior’s heart sang. Perhaps among these Sith she would find truer kin than the scheming courtiers on Naboo. Stillness gave way to a torrent of emotions, and the weight left the heft of her blade as she entered the current both as the warrior and the river. A Sith warrior with a skillfully crafted greatsword was finishing his report to another Sith as she entered. “As long as the honorable combatants were found and overcome, that is what matters. They are the stone upon which we sharpen our blades. Refugees sap the resources and energy of our enemies, and provided that our soldiers fight with vigor and resolve, spread stories of our glory and might.” “So tell me, who amongst our number fought well here so that there deeds might be commended?”

Darth Nyrys found no joy in the celebrations or the banter. Naboo had been the resultant blaze of the buildup of too much aimless corruption and rage within the order. While such things were tools of the Sith, they needed to be handled properly, the way the sorcerers conducted their strange alchemies with volatile and strange humours. The taste of ashes and pungent sickly sweet rot pervaded the air and the food, offering no joy from the spoils of victory. A more intact Naboo would have been quite the crowning jewel in the Empire’s journey of conquest, a place of art, culture, and beauty, but there was something cursed about this place that brought out the worst in the Sith. It was Emperor Palpatine’s birthplace, perhaps he had scarred it in some way, or it had scarred him until he was the madman that the galaxy would eventually cower before. She left the banquet hall in a pensive state, having nothing else to say to the assembled Sith. The coming storm would measure each of them in ways that they never had to contend with under Exodus’s rule, such was the nature of the slow moving poison that is success. The shortsighted among them would think less of her for it, but the wise would see the strength gained from tribulation and struggle. She had once wondered what great monument or temple she would leave behind upon reaching her time of greatness, but now it seemed more important to carve and shape the Sith themselves more so than any stone or metal. Upon reaching the shuttle pad she saw that she was not the only one ready to leave Naboo. Ca’aran was the anchor that kept her from fully falling into the abyss during her darker moments, the flickering candle that made her a conqueror rather than a reaver. Without him she might have convinced herself that she enjoyed the taste of ash and blight, that the galaxy deserved such things as a consequence for the wrongs that had been done to her. Instead, she was a righteous devil. “Headed my way, soldier?” she asked, the question attempting to bring some levity to her overcast heart, but only partially succeeding. “I am told that we have taken Lehon, and I wish to see what state it is in, whether or not we have enough left of it to proceed with the plan.” The shuttle departed, leaving behind the festering wound that was Naboo. As the ship reached orbit she could still see the dust and smoke from her own dramatic entrance into the battle. Her hands were by no means unsoiled by the conflict, the rage of the Sith being a wildfire that spread like a spiritual sickness from one Sith to another. That wasn’t fair though, that was shifting the blame. No matter what darkness plagued her, it was still her hand that cast the spear…

Children, nearly all of them children. It seemed like they lacked the capacity to speak without using barbed words, subtle jabs, and direct insults. All meaningless of course without the verity of combat or other means of measurable challenge. It was all posturing and bravado without the conviction to make any meaningful claims or reveal any quantified outcomes. Some were more guilty than others, but reforging them into a singular spearhead was more important than naming and shaming individual parties. It’s a shame Master Sheog wasn’t here, he probably would have eaten one of these pfaskers by now, and it would have been hilarious. Sound left the room, followed shortly thereafter by a perceived thinning of the air. A profound sense of emptiness saturated the room, an absence so great that its emptiness inexplicably created the sensation of sound and presence. A true manifestation of how many pfasks she had left to give. Sharpened wills numbed and dulled, words caught in the throat and refused to vacate, and the tyranny of the Dark Lady’s will held dominion over the room in all of its dark glory. “I came into this meeting thinking that we were all professional enough to keep the pettier aspects of our nature in check while we worked towards the betterment of our people and our place in the galaxy. My court is not a schoolyard for little boys to try and validate themselves by bullying each other. From now on you will keep civil tongues in your mouths while we are gathered for the purposes of planning and ceremony, or I will avail you of your tongues.” Now too did the sense of gravity and inner balance fade from the room, making standing a nigh impossible feat. Light itself fled from her presence, until the room was revealed only by the crimson hues of her visceral energies, pulsing and throbbing like a raging heart. From the ether the throaty chanting of ancient Sith traversed time and space to resonate within the chamber. This was the power, the legacy, of the throne that she had claimed. It was high time the others were reminded of it. She plucked Darth Mavanger out of that perilous abyss and steadied him, like a goddess plucking a stone and affixing it in the night sky as a moon, majestic in its own right but undeniably serving to reflect her own presence and purpose. “Warrior. Chain breaker. Conqueror of death. Warlord of the Southeast Quadrant. You have led our armies and our people in battle. You have struck down agents of our ancient foe in single combat. You have put the needs of the order above your own pride and ambition. I exalt you in front of our kin and release the title of master from my clenched gauntlet. May your blade sharpen when mine dulls.” She turned to Tros Ardell, who was not experiencing the same wrathful force as her unruly children. “It seems that my wayward underlings require an education in the fields of respect and hierarchy. I offer you the honor of leading the final preparations for our assault on Nar Shaddaa, with these Sith under your direct command. And if any of them get too uppity I give you my leave to shoot them. Use them as you see fit within their roles. Except for Darth Mavanger, I have a special task for him. As for those of you that have been so carelessly wagging about your barbed tongues, I am instituting a “Pfask about and find out” policy. Any unwarranted insult, any baseless accusation, any whispered snide remark, it will all be considered a matter of honor to be resolved in the ways of forebears, by means of single combat. Now, I have had taskmasters organize refreshments and entertainment in the palace’s feast hall. I encourage all of you to use this opportunity to find value in the skills and talents of your fellow Sith. I have no delusions of this assembly becoming fast and timeless friends, but you should endeavor towards at least professional courtesy as if your lives and livelihoods depended on it.”

The room seethed with unspoken discontent and fear. Many of the younger Sith either considered themselves entitled to the resources of the Sith Empire or tied their sense of ego and value to the strength of it. The Empire was not the Sith, it was a shadow on the wall, a useful illusive construct that was a byproduct of the power of the Sith, but not the end goal. She had read the journals of Sith who had made empire building their end all be all goal, and they had ultimately been left unsatisfied. The essence of the Sith was hunger, not a prize no matter how hard won it was. Outspoken youth had once been a defining quality of her personality, but this was the first time she felt old in the way that only witnessing the puerile arrogance of others could invoke. “Criticism is a necessary component of any plan, and a useful individual can express concern without challenging authority. If you have doubts, find the courage to voice them so that they can be addressed and measured. If you are too craven for that simple feat, then you are of no use to the Sith, or to me.” There was a marked division in opinion between Sith who had been with the order during the time of shadows and those who had arrived after the resurgence of the Sith Empire. The thought crossed her mind of just culling the weakness out of the order, but now was not the time to break her blade, and perhaps in adversity some of these softer disciples could be returned to the fold. They needed a greater challenge than butchering gungans for the fifth time. “Tros Ardell, honored guest, I would see our alliance continue in good faith. I have stood by your people in the past and I am well aware of their worth, both in their warfare and their philosophy. The spider did not make known the details of your agreement, but I would gladly break bread with you to establish terms that suit both our people. I am sure that we can find much common ground, speaking warrior to warrior.” Darth Nyrys gestured, and the room became awash in the blue glow of the holo projector as Nar Shaddaa manifested in the center of the room. It was both the Imperial Remnant’s throne world and the symbol of their campaign to remake the galaxy in a more ordered and secure fashion. The Remnant had been molded by the utilitarian ideals of the Sith, but ultimately had started upon a separate path during the farcical rule of the Galactic Alliance. Their ranks had quickly swollen with former imperial officers and soldiers who were frustrated by the disingenuous politics of the new galactic rulers, who did everything in their power to snub those who were supposed to be treated as equals. It was a great failing of her predecessors that the Sith had not capitalized on this to return them to the fold. Now, they were the greatest potential threat to her plans, and needed to be dealt with. Permanently. The Remnant was the most likely political faction to remain vigilant for a return of the Sith, and the most likely to effectively establish a defense. But fear was the ally and the blade of the Sith. “Our enemies have been far bolder this time around in declaring their revolutionary intentions, openly establishing a capital and primary base of operations on the city world of Nar Shaddaa. We will cloak surgical actions behind the shadow of a generalized punitive strike. Darth Mavanger, in penance for your handling of Naboo, I task you with breaking the Empress, permanently. Darth Sheog has assured me that he has the implements necessary to perform such a task. Under cover of the invasion, agents that will have already infiltrated the planet’s surface will move to secure and broadcast data revealing the purges that the Empire conducted to create their “perfect society”, with the intent to make the other rebels question their resolve to put someone like the empress into power. Cutting off the head, disenfranchising their forces, and distancing them from their allies with revealed secrets and paranoia will fracture them and allow more pliable hands to take the reigns of our enemy’s war machine as they descend into infighting and most likely shatter into smaller warlord territories. Rather than waste the lives of our people on a meatgrinder assault, we will use dark trooper battledroids and revenant hordes to take the brunt of the enemy’s fire, while our regulars prepare for the next war and the expedient transfer of vital assets. We’ve already secured extensive production to build the dark troopers, all that remains is supplementing them with risen troops. While logistics puts together our naval assets for the assault, the Mandalorians will work in tandem with our necromancers to attain fresh resources for the assault. If we only used ancient corpses it is likely that the enemy would deduce that a deception is in play. These raids can also serve to procure any vital supplies and living recruits that we require. During the early stages of our seeming absence, our operatives will work to strain the government’s resources through unaffiliated cults, sedition groups, and criminal cells, credit and manpower sinks that will encourage the politicians to redirect funding and policy change towards internal issues rather than keeping their eyes on the horizon looking for threats. We will dull their blades and their spirits with the stagnation of peace. If any among you feel like they are exceptionally suited to any of these missions, speak up now.” OOC((Still working on finalizing timing on everything with the rebels and Jedi, but will let everyone know when we have a window for Nar Shaddaa moving forward.))

She could feel the ambition in the room, the hunger of the Sith around her. A consequence of the Spider’s unorthodox choice to hand her the title instead of having a successor claim it by force. It would have been easy to return that doubt with bitter venom and vitriol, but there was no need. Any worthy Sith would either challenge her or fall in line, otherwise it was all just bravado masking cowardice and envy. She did not recognize most of the assembled Sith here, many of the old masters had faded away, although even from all this distance she could sense the presence of her old master, Sheog. That eldritch horror operated on a different level, more Dark Side than individual at this point. Reports of Qaela vanishing at Lehon were coming in, but that did not surprise or sadden her, that woman’s ineptitude had already cost the Sith plenty. Perhaps she had been struck down by a final command of the Spider, or maybe she was faced by an opponent that wasn’t an apprentice or an asthmatic toddler. Akheron, on the other hand, was a veteran Sith warrior, an accomplished line officer who had returned to the fold after a period of absence. SSB had informed her that he had fallen in with some new cult, but as long as he performed his duties such things were of no concern to her, besides, an interest in cults and secret knowledge came naturally to the Sith. She herself had started a cult on Onderon. Akheron’s access to forces specializing in reaving would be of great use in the next phase of the war. Not to mention her plans would be of particular interest to him. Darth Mavanger was another veteran Sith, on the verge of achieving mastery over the Dark Side. He followed the warrior’s path, had led his forces on a largely successful campaign, and had defeated worthy adversaries in single combat. Of everyone assembled, he had the most viable claim to challenge, his accomplishments fresh in the minds of the assembled Sith, but she had read him as more interested in martial command than control of the order. The position of Dark Lord required much from the Sith that held the title, and would have inevitably taken him away from his beloved battlefields. Darth Oni was something of a mystery beyond his rank of master, his presence inconsistent throughout the years. He seemed to be following a similar path to Darth Sheog in becoming an avatar of the Dark Side over pursuing personal interests. The entity had reached out to her while she had been indisposed, but she would speak with him at the meeting to see what he offered the order. Darth Inmortos was a relatively fresh face, which was amusing given the state of decay that his body was in. He had played a part in the defense of Dac, was a known practitioner of necromancy, and had enough reputation that she had sent him to assist with the retrieval of plasma from the core. His story was just beginning, but it seemed to have potential. Telperien, another legacy like herself, had done well in keeping herself out of her mother’s shadow. Although she was trained in the occult truths of the Night Sisters, she had always been a presence in the Sith Order that Darksong had always tried to claim but ultimately failed to deliver on. Perhaps one day she would make the leap and join the order, so that she might surpass her mother in every way. Ca’aran was there of course, despite not being a Sith. His presence amidst this dark pantheon of divinities was telling of his worth and value to both her and the Order. He was an exemplar of mortal ways and means, an unrivaled soldier that had survived an endless procession of brutal wars. His counsel prevented the blunders of Sith getting tunnel vision and overly focusing on matters of the Force. Awenydd was there as well, though little was known of her and many of the reports were conflicting. She had served at Coruscant though and had since largely devoted herself to training, particularly an apprentice named Shiro. Akheron and Mordecai had both brought apprentices with them, and this made Darth Nyrys smile. Apprentices were the future of the order and only fools neglected them. The ones before her were an odd pair, one looked to be a tribal warrior descended from the nearly extinct bloodlines of the Sith race, the other… at first it seemed to be a construct of some sort, but after some scrutiny she realized that the machinery was just a shell for an alien mind inhabiting a crystal. How peculiar. Soon there would be plenty of chances for them to prove their worth to the order. The leader of their Mandalorian allies had been permitted to join the meeting as a sign of respect and trust. The rumor mill was suggesting that Tros Ardell had felled the Jedi that had brought low Darth Mavanger, and if true, that made him an exceptionally worthy ally. Darkwatch soldiers, whose loyalty she was certain of, approached and set up a localized jamming along with sonic and visual dampening fields. Rebel spies were always a concern, and her plans demanded discretion. “I know that this is a time of rumor and speculation, unknowns and theories. Allow me to lay them all to rest. Exodus is gone. If this is a play for some greater game, he left no indication amidst his advisors and generals. He did pass his saber on to me, but this is not the way of the Sith, so after I make my speech I will be opening the floor to challenges of single combat, should any of you doubt my ability and possess the courage to act on those convictions.” She had no interest in the theatrics that the Spider had often used amongst his own. It was the way of warriors to speak directly and bluntly, and with her brothers and sisters she would be true and clear. It was the capability of a ruler that was the true measure among an inner circle, not spectacle and illusion. Such things should be reserved for the enemy and the populace at large. “That being said, we live in interesting times. The cloak of benevolence and statecraft that Exodus shrouded us in for so long has burned along with Theed and the rest of the planet, and the people are once again vulnerable to the hopemongers and grifters of democracy. If we were to try and maintain direct control over the galaxy through the Spider’s corpse empire we would face thousands of unknown enemies, without the benefit of whatever schemes he was weaving. To charge ahead on this course is to invite disaster, to trudge through a mire when another, clearer path presents itself to us. We have glutted ourselves on the bountiful rewards that Exodus’s empire has given us, grown fat off of plenty and easy conquest over lesser beings. Now is the perfect time to hone our inner strength and cut away the accumulated fat. We will allow our enemies their republic so that we may expose it as a weak and corrupt institution, led by the self interest of politicians rather than ideals. We will bloat their creation until it festers with stagnation and blight, pumping poison through the veins of their government until the people beg us to return as liberators from the liars and the charlatans. We will exalt their politicians and quietly strike down any who show true leadership qualities. We will distract them from vigilance with pursuits of culture, benevolence, and charity. Meanwhile in the dark we will become as razors. We will scrape away weakness on the whetstones of training, focus, and discipline. We will perfect our crafts of death, war, and darkness. We will not only be worthy of the galactic throne, but have the means and abilities to seize it. A clean cut that severs the head of our enemies, rather than a thousand blind swings at potential threats. In order to facilitate the creation of a hidden Sith temple and to stabilize morale in response to this path, we have been securing the means and power to resurrect the lost world of Ziost. Once the capital of the Sith Empire, it was used in a ritual to contain the rebel fleet while our forces moved to disable the Grand Death Star’s super weapon. The rebels and their treacherous Jedi allies turned the weapon on Ziost, destroying five sixths of their own fleet in the process. While the sacrifice of Ziost was necessary, now its doom can be undone and our ancient capital restored. This is why I dispatched some of you to the hollow core of Naboo to retrieve plasma at the start of the invasion weeks ago, and why our forces are securing ancient Dark Side relics on Lehon. We are at the threshold of a new beginning for the Sith, and it will usher in a new golden age for our order as we decisively defeat our enemies.” She unsheathed her blade in a single, smooth motion, and surveyed the assembled Sith. “Now, as I said before, the floor is now open to challenges. If you think you have the strength to oust me and claim the throne, approach. Know this well, however, challenges will not be met with mercy or hesitation, regardless of rank and experience. This is our path to glory.”

“I am… overwhelmed, this throne belongs to someone else’s empire, and carries with it the blossoming sins of another’s choices. The harvest of all of the Spider’s agendas is upon us, and he is nowhere to be found at the time of reaping. Now the Sith, glutted on power yet starved for blood and flesh, find themselves off their leashes and at arm’s reach of the galaxy’s throat. I might have been among them if not for your own flickering humanity. Strange how it was the compassion of a soldier that spared me rather than the wisdom of a priest or poet, or some other traditional beacon of virtue. This isn’t how I wanted this to happen. I didn’t even raise my blade against Exodus, he just vanished at Felucia after giving me his saber. For all I know I am just another proxy in his schemes, or at least that is his intent for me. The galaxy likes to hold up Naboo as some kind of crown jewel of philosophy and culture, a clever deception to hide the blood that coats the hands of its founders. Now there will be armed revolts throughout the galaxy, and to meet them with blade and bolt will drown us all in blood, another grim chapter in the legacy of the Sith. I have a plan, though, to break both my chains and the cycle. The galaxy has forgotten why it needs a firm hand to guide it, and longs for the aimless meanderings of democracy once more. Let them have their corrupt politicians, and their impudent spending committees. When Coruscant burned, it was the Sith that rebuilt it and drove back the invaders. In absence, the public’s imagination has crafted tales of great guardians and idealistic protectors. They told themselves that the Jedi and the alliance weren’t helping them because we had driven them away, but in truth, the Jedi preferred the safety of isolation over keeping the promises that they had made. But plans can wait, surely I will be neck deep in schemes and plots once I open the doors to the other Sith. At ease soldier, I called you here as my lover and confidante, not for a formal after action report. So come to bed with me, so that this new path does not consume all of me, and more importantly, because I really, really want you to. We won’t have long, I need to address the Sith before they burn down another planet, but without your touch all there is to gain in the galaxy is naught but ash and dust.” She kissed him deeply, hungrily. As loathsome as it was, the planetary pogrom was like doing a freighter’s worth of spice, and its siren call had beckoned to her over the weeks since her arrival. Instead she had sublimated it into more distilled desires, desires to continue her physical training, the desire to enjoy the amenities of the palace, and of course, physical desire. It was rumored that the previous Dark Lord had kept practically an army of courtesans, but she couldn’t help but feel that such extravagance would dull the joy of it all for her. Lust should be lustful. Ca’aran began exploring his own lust, in depth, and together they stole this moment away from an ever demanding galaxy. She had noticed a shift in her mindset since she had created this form for herself, a newly seeded hunger for recognition and devotion from others, and Ca’aran’s love helped feed that hunger. His love felt worshipful in its focus and adoration, and that just felt so appropriate for how far she had come. In time, they would all adore her as she delivered them from the aimless meanderings of democracy. He called her Ailbasí. From anyone else it would have been insulting at best, and a reminder of weaker times, but from him it was endearing. It meant that he still saw or hoped for some measure of innocence and joy in her. She held him tighter. If everything else burned down around her, walking away with this would still be enough to call herself lucky. --------------------------------------------------------- Afterwards, they helped each other clad themselves in the trappings of their roles, but it felt less claustrophobic now. Nyrys had an easy grin that hadn’t crossed her lips in weeks, and the weight of the crown seemed a little more bearable now. She led him by the hand to the throne room, which in truth had more of the feel of an extremely luxurious executive’s office, and granted him a seat next to her. It was a show of favor meant to make it clear that this mortal was off limits to the other Sith. She gave him a final kiss before she put her mask on, figuratively and literally. With the might of her power, she called upon the Sith at Naboo to assemble at her side, so that she may hold court over her generals and viziers. There was one truth that she could not deny, while the Sith could not ever truly be controlled, the darkness and fury of their storm could be directed. Like fire, they never stopped being dangerous, but their power could be put to use rather than left to run rampant.