The Bastion

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The Bastion
General information
Founder(s):	Malisane Sadow
Leader(s):	None
Headquarters:	The Bastion
Historical information
Founding:	27 ABY
Other information
Affiliation:	House Ludo Kressh House Shar Dakhan Clan Naga Sadow Dark Jedi Brotherhood
Era(s):	Dark Jedi Brotherhood Era
[ Source ]

Formed in 27 ABY following the defense of the Orian System against the Alien Incursion, the Bastion is an attempt by Quaestor Malisane Sadow to prepare the former members of House Ludo Kressh against future threats and instill a more regimented attitude amongst them. Once Ludo Kressh was dissolved The Bastion returned to an unoccupied and forgotten state, having served no real purpose since the formation of House Shar Dakhan. Currently The Bastion remains uninhabited by any sophisticated beings and is off limits for all citizens and members of Clan Naga Sadow on Aeotheran.

Formation and history

Members wishing to gain entrance pass through a series of trials, that are designed to weed out the weak and the unready with often fatal results. For those that succeed both entrance and survive the rewards are many as well as a status amongst the House members.

The History of the Bastion is a strange one. Following his near fatal accident at Dystopia Malisane sensed a lure drawing him into the Aeotheran Jungle, to a specific location that turned out to be an almost featureless black marble like structure. Upon entering Malisane encounted what he can only describe as an entity that forced him to participate in three tests that nearly killed him before he overcame them. Following his successful completion of them he claims that he was given a vision of the future concerning his House and Clan.

The story becomes a little more complicated there. Malisane, still unsure about the Bastion’s exact nature, brought Robert Sadow to Aeotheran as one of the Clan’s older members. Roberts reaction was extremily negative, first reluctance then anger, before finally revealing it’s history as the original home of House Primus Goluud on Aetheran following the exodus, and was abandoned and forgotten since the closure of the House of the Great Battle.

Despite Robert’s warnings that it would kill those it found to be unwary and doubts that Malisane could control it, the Kressh Quaestor has begun to introduce his members to the Bastion, and their fate remains to be seen. Whatever the entity is it appears to have been dormant until recently and though it’s precise intentions remain unclear it appears to have the Clan’s best intentions at heart.

The term The Bastion refers to the unit, the building and the entity that surrounds them equally.

Entrance to the Bastion

The Bastion is a secret within the House and Clan, and is not discussed outside the unit itself and the House Summit of Ludo Kressh, something that dates back to the time when it was the home of House Primus Goluud. Thus members never seek to join it, or even be aware there is anything to join. Then in a manner to similar to Malisane’s experience, they are drawn to it when they are deemed worthy, a compulsion that leads them to the Bastion without knowing why. There they face the three trials.

The first is the Test of Strength. Each member according to their own ability faces an opponent or feat they must defeat or die. The opponent or task is attuned to the one being tested and an Equite would face the same relative difficulty as a Journeyman. Many do not pass this test and their bodies are left in the jungle for the animals.

Those who succeed face the second, the Test of Loyalty. They are offered a chance by the Bastion to betray the House and Clan for power, wealth or knowledge, with an illusion that is as close to perfect as makes no odds. The exact nature of the illusion is particular to each member based on their past or relationships.

The last is the Test of Self. Going beyond the illusion in the previous test, the member is immersed in a fantasy in their own mind, where a seemless alternate life or existence is offered, with no memory of the Dark Brotherhood or their life as a Dark Jedi, and is close to what each individual would regard as perfect. In order to emerge from this the member needs to find themselves and reject this existence. Some succeed, but many live out the last few days of their lives lost inside their own mind. Despite it’s more prosaic nature this is by far the hardest test to pass.

For those who succeed they are entered as new recruits of the Bastion, and begin a new life within with their brethren, and there is much rejoicing.

Life in the Bastion

The life of a member of the Bastion is both difficult but rewarding and close. Members undergo constant training across the Orian system and beyond, hunting in the jungles of Aeotheran, being hunted in the jungles of Kangaras, survival training on the freezing wastes of Inos, or the barren wasteland of Tarthos, low and high altitude drops over the planets, interrogation resistance training against the best techniques the Clan members and military has, and constant battles against each other and the worst creatures available, all of which are intended to strengthen the body and mind of the members, and continue to weed out the weak.

There is another side though, along with the above there are rituals and feasts intended to bring the members closer together, nights out and drinking and enjoying the pleasures offered by Seng Karash and Lor Zatean, and prestige. The rewards for success match the difficulties endured.

Most of the members of the Bastion do not live at the structure, most choosing to reside in Marakith Skyhook, Seng Karash or elsewhere, but they are drawn there when a threat is detected, or to welcome new members or mourn the passing of an existing one.

The Bastion Fortress

The origins of the Bastion building are unknown. It has a hint of Rakatan construction about it and it's black faceless appearance gives it a darker look. Inside it is much the same, dark corridors, gloomy dormitories, the temple with its cold stone benches and sacrificial pits, and the great feasting hall with its marble furniture and great throne at the end.

However when the building is full of the members it is lively and raucous, with drinking, lewd singing and enthusiastic drinking and dining on red meat and strong alcohol. The members shrug off their usual calm appearance to let themselves go in private and enjoy themselves.