Jonaleth Isradia

Template:Krath charinfo Jonaleth Isradia di Plagia is a Dark Adept within the Dark Brotherhood, and member of Clan Plagueis. He is leader of the Isradia family, Loremaster of Clan Plagueis and founder of Clan Exar Kun. He has been a member of the Brotherhood for ten years, and is credited with helping to establish Clan Plagueis at its inception.

Character History

It was more than fifty years before the fall of the Empire when Artur and Morgan Isradia, High Baron and Baroness of Great House Isradia bore twin sons; Erickholm and Jonaleth, Erickholm the older by just minutes. The portents had been seen for their birth; The lands bloomed as they were born, the beasts became still and reverent as they gestated, and the skies had seethed above as they were conceived. Both were born Schiatzhederon, Heralds of God, and they signalled the next Age was coming to Vardor.

Within moments of their birth, the young Archpriest Paul Ranquez, cousin to the boys, blessed them and gave them their titles as Cardinals; Malachai Burgisad, Grand Duke, conferred on them the ranks of Marquis and their uncle, Artur’s brother, Marcus Isradia, spoke Etherite incantations over them. An illustrious way to be born.

They lived up to all that was expected of them. Both boys were inseparable. Piercingly intelligent, cunning and observant, they learned all they were asked and presented with. Given the finest education House Isradia could afford, and backed by the Abbey, they became perhaps the most educated men in the Iperion, and alongside their intellectual pursuits were trained by the elite mystical soldiers of House Isradia, and their Etherite uncle, in the ways of combat and strategy.

Their great Force potential, however, was not neglected. Given the benefits of an Abbey education, their abilities grew beyond the normal level for the Nobility. Their natures as Schiatzhederon, the greatest Vardorians of the last one hundred generations, provided them with power never before seen. It is in their powers that the boys diverged.

Though they were identical in appearance and in much of their personalities, events in their lives shaped their predilections for the Force. His closeness to his mother gave Erickholm skill in the healing and charms of the Red Diocese, whereas Jonaleth’s fascination with law and scholarship sprang from his cousin Paul, a Green.

Heir to the Throne

As they grew, they began to extricate themselves from each other. They remained as personally close as ever, but began to lead separate lives. Eric had chosen a life within the Red Diocese and began to focus on that, eventually being formally confirmed within the Abbey and sent off to begin his training and clerical life.

Jonaleth, not feeling any compulsion for the life of a priest, focused his efforts on the Iperion and House. His fondness for law manifested well there, as did his scholarly nature. He learned from and watched his parents, uncle, their friends and enemies closely, absorbing all he could of the Iperions ways from their successes and failures. He learned how to manipulate, soothe, enrage, threaten and support all with the smallest words and gestures, and each success added to his growing charisma. The Iperion abound with whispers and rumours of this young heir, even more so when he was made a Baron in his own right at the age of just fifteen.

Some began to fear what this young man might do when he claimed the throne of House Isradia. With a powerful House behind him, with his religious connections and his never before seen level of power in the Force, he would be a threat to almost everyone. His charisma had already gained him allies, and his education could provide him with even more power. Already the Landsmen loved him for his compassion and caring. Fear became anger.

How could a mere boy be allowed to reach such heights? What upstart should so threaten those who had worked so hard to achieve what they had? What justice was there for him to be given so much without any visible sacrifice? And anger, as always, became hatred.

His parents were not blind to this, and nor was the Abbey. Knowing the danger he was in, the decision was made to protect him until he was ready to assume the throne for himself. He was sent away at the age of seventeen to Mount Cyney, there to continue his studies and education under the protection of the priests at the Temple-Mountain.

The young Baron spent ten years in retreat there, finishing what he had begun and refining himself to a razor edge. It was there also that he fell in love. The heiress of Great House Eresite, Illyana, was at Cyney also, being groomed and finished by the Red and Blue Diocese to take her place as Tharchion of her House. Their love was tumultuous and star-crossed. It would be forbidden for two heirs to marry or be intimate, lest their union create a House that might wipe away the delicate balance of the others. But their passions could not be halted, and for the years they spent there, their love grew and prospered whilst it could.

At twenty seven, exactly ten years after his arrival, word was sent to Cyney that the High Baron and High Baroness of Isradia were to step down, and Jonaleth was to come forthwith to be appointed Tharchion alongside his brother. Though it tore his heart, he acceded, and left Illyana to accept his duty.

Erickholm returned from his temple also to be crowned, but because of his priestly vocation, true leadership of House Isradia was denied to him, and was given to Jonaleth. At Urd Nathen, on the steps of the Imperial Palace, Malachai and their parents conducted the crowning of the new Tharchion as fanfares blazed and the Isradian fleet soared overhead. The flagship of Isradia, Belistener stood nearby to ferry the new Tharchions home after their coronation.

The ceremony ended, and the brothers made their way towards their waiting ship, yet as they approached, a single shot was heard. A disrupter rifle blast struck Jonaleth in his stomach, and the force of the impact sent him reeling off the gangplank and screaming in agony, into the warming engines of the ship. Before everyones eyes, the Tharchion was incinerated, and havoc broke loose.

Jonaleth burns in the Belisteners fires.

The Undying Sorcerer

Yet, what was seen that day was not what it appeared to be, for, at the very last moment, the Rose Goddess herself set forth her power, and with a mighty spell, preserved the last of Jonaleths life and body and removed it to Mount Cyney. Deep within the bowels of the Temple-Mountain, Jonaleths broken body, near death, appeared to the waiting priests of the Red Diocese. By their healing arts, they renewed and stabilised his life, but for all their power, they could not wake him, and he remained on the brink of death. For the first time in aeons, the Goddess then manifested on Vardor and beseeched the help of the descendants of her old students in the Traditions; the Ninth Order.

Only the necromancers, with their unrivalled powers over life and death, could hope to save the boy, for, though the Reds were mighty in mystical healing, and House Sandora was wise in medicine, neither could compare the Ninth Orders knowledge of life and death over their aeons of study.

Cyrit, Lord of the Ninth Gate, heard the pleas of the Goddess and agreed to help, on the condition that he should be able to tell the boy about the Order, and Jonaleth should be allowed to join, should he so wish. Though it was abhorrent that her Schiatzhederon should forsake the Abbey in such a fashion, the Goddess agreed if only to save his life, and the Ninth Order went to work.

For nine long months they worked, and never once did Jonaleth awaken. By necromantic magic and healing, by genetic resequencing, cloning and manipulation, they worked tirelessly to restore and preserve his broken body. At the end, what arose was no longer human, but something less, and something more, too.

Its skin was tinted blue from necrosis and chemicals. Its body was as emaciated and withered as a corpse, and its face had lost the regal beauty it had before. It was little more than shambling corpse. Much of its anatomy had been replaced by genetically engineered organs, though some had been restored and rebuilt from the original. Yet for all its costs and appearances, the operation had gifted Jonaleth with a brute strength and resilience beyond any he had possessed before.

Jonaleth was gone after that. He refused the name, saying what he was had died in the engines of the Belistener. Now, he said, he was just Isradia, the monster they had made. His need for vengeance compounded day after day as he convalesced, and his anger and hatred for what had brought this on him darkened his soul from the light and beneficence it had once held.

For ten years, he hid at Cyney, plotting his revenge, coming to understand and discover what had happened that had led to this, and how he might regain what he had lost and bring justice to those who had wronged him. His early fondness of law twisted over time into a desire to seek to justice and recompense, and putting to good use his scholastic training and skills of diplomacy and intrigue, he sought the secrets that had doomed him to this withered, hideous body.

After a time, he came to accept his nature, in a fashion. He saw that he lived still, that the Goddess had intervened as never before to save him, and his life now would give him chance to bring justice to those who would do this to him and perhaps others; a chance for vengeance. What had started as compassion and caring was slowly warped by hatred and anger into a need to protect and preserve. A need for justice became a need for vengeance. Knowledge, law and politics became a means to an end – a way of enacting his terrible plans.

His dark spirit, thus empowered, came to be thankful towards that which had saved him. Cyrit inducted Jonaleth into the Ninth Order and took him as an Apprentice. Understanding of law and politics meshed well with the study of the line between life and death. Knowledge, and his powers with magic, were key to the Ninth Order. The knowledge of necromancy, biology and medicine he thus gained only served to increase his personal power, though in all truth Jonaleth never understood why Cyrit had helped him, despite the Necromancer’s explanation of his agreement with the Goddess.

The Ninth Order attempts to save Jonaleth.

Finally, Isradia discovered the plot which had felled him. Fearful for his position, Grand Duke Malachai had allied with Paul Ranquez and Marcus Isradia to eliminate Jonaleth, and planted evidence making it look like an assassination attempt by aliens. The xenophobic Vardorians needed no more explanation or justification than that, being already sure of alien hostility, and after Malachai’s announcement and accusation, a few hapless outsiders had been executed.

In reality, it had been one of Marcus Isradias own soldiers, the Honour Guard of House Isradia which he captained, whom had fired the shot, and had then been murdered in turn by Marcus. With Jonaleth dead, Eric was forced to assume the Tharchionship, though Marcus came to rule in reality as Eric still focused on his religious studies. Paul, conspiring with them, ensured that the Abbey, regulators of Justice, did not investigate further after the death of the alien scapegoats, and was covertly rewarded by the Grand Duke and Marcus, who put pressure on Eric to put pressure on the Abbey as a Cardinal to appoint Paul the next Archbishop for the Green Diocese.

Seething with anger and resentment, the next blow was the one that sealed his soul to the Dark Side. It was bad enough that those whom he had trusted, those whom had been there at his birth and blessed him with their various gifts would betray him out of unfounded, unrealised fears. It was bad enough that family and friends had sought to kill him for their own personal gain, but when Isradia discovered that Illyana, his true love, his soul mate and companion in the long years of exile at Cyney, had married his traitorous uncle, there was no saving him.

Illyana had born Marcus a son and heir. In the ten years he spent convalescing, Jonaleth watched the boy warily and hatefully, seeing him as the embodiment of Illyana and Marcus’s betrayal. The Iperion had shunned Illyana. All were aware of her feelings to Jonaleth, even though their love was forbidden and impossible, and, when she married his uncle a mere month after his death, they felt she had betrayed his memory. This feeling had passed to her child, and, coupled with Marcus’s growing paranoia at the threat the boy-heir posed, he had been sent away aged five to attend the Jedi Academy.

Berserk with rage, betrayal and hurt, Jonaleth could rest no longer in his need for recompense. He had lost his love, his body, his soul, his House and his brother to them, and now they would pay. He left Cyney in a life support suit custom crafted to make his body a more natural shape, drew his hood and veil up to conceal his face, and set about on his vengeance. No more would he let others manipulate him to their own ends. Now, he would avenge himself and be a pawn in their games no longer.

Coming as a pauper to the doors of House Orellius, Jonaleth planned to make use of the knowledge of the Scribes House in his plans. A small House, but with an important role, they would provide him with the platform he needed, and their records and connections would give him the information and proof he required. Yet, the Tharchion refused to house the unkempt vagrant he saw at the door, and spoke harshly to him, denying Jonaleths offer to work for his keep.

When the disguised Isradia spoke of the wisdom of showing care towards the unknown, of how little acts could lead to greater things, Erin Orellius took offence and felt threatened. Striking Jonaleth, he drew his sword and threatened to run him through if he did not leave.

Pushed too far, Jonaleth abandoned this small part of his plan and let loose with his powers. Drawing his own sword, he bested Erin in mere moments, bloodied and beat him, and raised his sword for the death blow. He would simply take House Orellius by force and continue on his way. Yet, Erin begged for his life and weeped his sorrow at his actions. In the fallen Tharchions pleas, Isradia saw great cunning and intellect, and knowing the sudden death of a House leader might give away his plan, he spared the man.

In gratitude, Erin swore an oath to Isradia to serve and protect him, and in that he was truthful, for no Vardorian gives an oath lightly and will not break his word. Using Erin as a front, Jonaleth began to quietly insinuate himself into the Iperion once again. His old skill and cunning, honed by years of practice and study, lead him to where he needed to be. Presented as Erin’s second cousin from another continent, Jonaleth began to make waves in Vardorian society, gaining the trust and ear of many Nobles.

It took nearly two years, but eventually all was ready. Planting rumour that the Grand Dukes wife had been unfaithful, Jonaleth saw to it that evidence became known to Malachai of her infidelity. Betrayal of the House is the highest crime on Vardor, and tradition demanded that she be executed for her treason. Keeping the situation quiet from the Iperion, Malachai ordered his trusted co-conspirator Marcus to have his troops perform the killing.

As the orders were made however, Isradia moved again, acting through Erin. The Grand Dukes wife was only young, he said, and did not appreciate the depths of her sin. She was beautiful, he whispered to Marcus, a worthy woman and lover for any man to have. Why kill her? Her shame would be punishment enough on one so young, and if she were believed dead, she could live on undisturbed as concubine to Marcus, and he would have a beautiful lover to entertain him. Thus, Jonaleth sewed the first seeds of discord amongst his traitorous lover and uncle, and Marcus kept the Grand Dukes wife for himself.

When the situation had settled and been almost forgotten, Jonaleth struck again. He sent Erins younger brother to Erickholm with an anonymous note professing undying love for the Marquis. Knowing that the Red priest in Eric could not resist the temptation of love and passion, he watched as the Tharchion searched high and low for his secret admirer, and subtly steered him in the direction of Marcus’s brothel where the Grand Dukes wife was housed.

Soon, the two met, and in a stroke of luck unprecedented, fell madly in love. It was Eric’s wish to marry the exiled woman, not knowing who she was, and in panic at her being discovered and exposing both himself and Malachai, Marcus confessed to the Grand Duke about his actions, not having the authority or power to order Eric to cease relationships with the woman.

Enraged that Marcus had risked so much for the sake of his base passions alone, Malachai hired an assassin to do what Marcus had not and kill the Tharchion and his former wife. Yet, when the assassin struck, he found Jonaleth directly in his way. Isradia fought and killed the mercenary in a last act of compassion for his now estranged brother, sisappearing before he could be recognised or his actions understood, leaving behind a means of escape for them.

Together, the young lovers fled Vardor. Jonaleth, however, had filmed evidence of Malachai’s wife’s existence, and brought it before the Tharchions of the Iperion. In court, the tape was played, and Malachai was renounced as Grand Duke for his wilful disregard for the law in not executing his wife for her betrayal and attempting the assassination of a Tharchion. Marcus was also indicted for his part in the plot. Both were sentenced to death, Malachai for breaking the law, and Marcus for assisting the breakage, and for endorsing a plot to murder a member of his own House unlawfully.

At the execution, Jonaleth was allowed to be the executioner for his part in revealing their crimes. To complete his vengeance upon them, though, he revealed his identity, and put forth the evidence he had gathered of their crimes against him. Shock and horror radiated through the Iperion, and given lawful leave to kill his betrayers, Isradia cleaved off both their heads before the assembled Nobles.

Godslayer

He took up the vacant throne of Isradia, and set his sights on his last betrayer. With the Burgisad throne empty, the now Archbishop Paul made an unprecedented bid for power, never before seen in the Iperion. As Archbishop, he seized the assets of Burgisad and merged them with those of Ranquez. Acting as Tharchion of both Houses, despite the law against priests ruling, he sought to merge Abbey and Iperion into a single global dictatorship under his command, and threw the might of both House’s armies against any opposition. None were strong enough to resist two Houses and the Abbey combined.

Jonaleth, however, would not be lightly denied. Setting his armies against Paul’s, he made tripartite war against his cousin. War for vengeance, war to protect what he had now regained, and war to realise his own dreams of power. This was what became known as the Ascension Wars, the bloody crusade of a vengeance driven sorcerer against a power mad priest.

Millions died in the battles of the war that lasted over a year and a half, and the land was devastated by their passing.

Illyana, heartbroken to see Jonaleth alive, and sickened by his plots against those whom had betrayed him, revealed that the son she had born was not Marcus’s, but his, hoping to quench his anger and hatred and stem the war he fought, and make him understand that she had not betrayed him as the others, but had done it only to protect their baby. He forgave her, and she married him, though horrified by his appearance and the changes that had come over him, but she never truly understood what now drove him.

Mistaking his actions as megalomania and insanity, she never saw how, at its core, all he did was to protect what he loved and get justice for himself. She never comprehended that the kind, benevolent and charismatic man she had known could return after his tasks were done, and she never realised that this was his way of ensuring none would suffer what he did, and none would ever be used as he had. Near the middle of the war, she hung herself in their rooms, leaving him to discover her rigid, cold body.

After that, there was nothing that could return him from the darkness to which he had consigned himself. In the end, Isradia’s learning and training won the war, and he held Paul at the tip of his sword, the last one to know his vengeance. It was then that for the second time in his life, the Goddess appeared to him.

She besought him to spare Paul’s life, for he had only been acting on her wishes. All he had been through was a test, she said, and now, like the Schiatzhederon before him, he had proven himself ready to accept her gift and become a God in his own right. That was why he had a twin – for they were to be the last Schiatzhederon, the greatest of them all, and only one could become a God. Only one was the right choice, and Jonaleth had proved himself worthy of that.

And then, revelation hit him. She had said Paul had been acting on her wishes. She had said that he had proven himself worthy, implying he had been tested somehow. It was she who had done this. It was she who had orchestrated all this. His knowledge of biology came to him, and the clues fell into place. The symbiosis of life on Vardor; the patterns of energy in its core and conjoined life forms; the connection the Vardorians shared with it; Her saving his life, her words, all revealed to him the truth.

From the beginning, the Goddess had sought to awaken the Dreaming God of Vardor who slept, not yet sentient. An entire planet which would awaken as a single life form that could think and feel and had all the abilities of the planet it embodied. The Vardorians were the carriers for this intelligence, and the Schiatzhederon the final lines of the biological coding. When they died, the last hundred generations of build up passed into Vardor with them, and this time, the final one would awaken the God. Even now he reached critical mass, awaiting the final sequence.

That was why she came now, at this critical moment. She could wait no longer. That was what she offered; not Godhood, but oblivion to the will of another. She had set in Malchai’s mind the fear of Jonaleth that had lead to all this. She had guided Paul’s actions. She had manipulated Jonaleth to prepare him for his true purpose; to die so that a God might be born. The crushing weight of the realisation threatened to kill him anyway.

And still, she pleaded and cajoled him to accept this mighty gift she offered, not realising what he now understood. In the final moment, Isradia smiled as if thankful for her offer and its honour, and with slow, precise, malign hatred, cleaved Paul’s head from his shoulders in defiance of her.

The planet shook with his decision. The critical mass came, and, lacking the input of the final code, the build up of energy exploded uncontrolled throughout the world. Each and every symbiotic planet and animal died in an instant from the overload, and Vardor was cast in ecological and meteorological chaos. The Goddess, linked to the God, exploded in a shockwave of power and energy, and the deities of Vardor perished. Isradia took the lands of Burgisad and Ranquez as payment for their crimes against him, scattered their members, and was duly appointed Grand Duke. The reign of the Broken Lord began.

The Frostfell Witch.

Dark Adept

A further ten years passed. Isradia’s grip on the Iperion never faltered, and now, the Imperial House Isradia had unprecedented control over the planet, a level never seen before. Yet, though there was peace, there was no rest.

The death of the God and Goddess wrought chaos to Vardor. The Abbey fractured with no Goddess at its head, the Traditions revolted, and the Iperion was the only truly stable force with Isradia at its head. The ecological and climateological shockwaves of the death of the embodiment of a planets ecosystem were felt for years, and House Zador struggled to keep the fragile state of the world in balance. Extensive campaigns of repopulation were instituted, and the Houses drew together to stabilise their world.

Eventually, the Abbey stabilised as new leaders took control, and began preaching again, assuring all that though the Goddess was no longer truly amongst them, her teachings could live on. By the same token, the Traditions reaffirmed their goals of transcendence, and calmed.

A delicate balance was formed between the Iperion, Abbey and Traditions, and together, they succeeded in funnelling the life force of Vardor through the Great Beasts, who, being part of the planet as much as the Gods, though considerably weaker, provided enough of a fulcrum for the world to survive. The old laws of them being sacred were renewed with vigour, and each became a protected species, forbidden to be hunted or killed for any reason.

His vengeance complete and his freedom won, Jonaleth was at last at peace, a calmness which moderated the rash, unspeakable violence that had marked his past life. He continued his studies of the old magic of Vardor, and slowly he rose through the ranks of the Ninth Order. In Tol Rothan, he furthered his medical knowledge by building a state of the art laboratory and research facility for his private use.

In the dark mountains near Urd Cytax, he re-sanctified a legendary ancient necropolis called the Vaults of the Dead, laid his dead family members to rest there and began to explore the lost necromantic secrets and artefacts the place had stored since its power had become too much to handle. This energy and knowledge he tamed.

In the deepest southern polar regions, he sought out the Frostfell Witch, a powerful dark seeress and Force user; he searched the deep jungles for the secrets of the King of Nightshades, Kash’ha’rik; He communed with ancient Kraken fathers to learn their deep mental secrets; He sought out the pseudo-living remains of the fallen gods and bound them to his will, and at every point pushed the boundaries of the Iperion further out into space.

Finally, he knew that the knowledge of Vardor alone would never be enough, and flying in the face of Vardorian xenophobia, he opened a small wedge in the borders of the system and allowed visitors to the Nox system for the first time in recorded history.

Those who came were many and varied. Historians, archaeologists, sociologists, theologians, psychologists, Jedi, Force Adepts, Dark Siders, criminals, merchants, the Republic, the Remnant and everything in between from all species was eventually seen. None were permitted to stay however – visitors only for short periods before they were removed.

The influx of knowledge was what Jonaleth desired however, and slowly, he picked up the traces of what he sought. His conflicts with the Light Siders were well recorded – they all felt uncomfortable in the Dark Side taint of Vardor, and more so in the presence of the one whom embodied it, and after Isradia had killed a number who sought to ‘cleanse’ him in various manners, they were banned altogether.

Those conflicts introduced him to the Dark Brotherhood and the Emperors Hammer, who became involved in one such fight. Seeing them as kindred by their ways and beliefs, and learning of the grand, awesome history of the Brotherhood, Jonaleth accepted their invitation to study and learn from them, and leaving Erin in charge of his assets, went on to the next stage of his development.

As a Dark Brother and member of the scholarly Krath Order, he excelled quickly through the ranks, beginning at the bottom despite his age and history. At first he was part of Clan Aquillas, in the House Senryaku, where his making began, and he rose to become second in command of the House. When Aquillas was destroyed by Kedeht, Jonaleth was one of the few survivors. Dubbing themselves Aquillarums in honour of their fallen home, they pledged their ties to each other and went their separate ways within the Brotherhood.

His next port of call was House Gladius in Clan Tarentum. There he forged friendships with many, in particular an aspiring master known as Rhaub D’Aghasett, and rose to lead the House for a time. The house of insanity taught him much on his journey, allowing him to probe the depths of the mortal mind and its powers and potentials, and he was sad to leave, but further learning called, and House Ektrosis of Taldryan became his new home, though now he spent more and more time back on Vardor, seeing to his imperial obligations there.

At one point, he was recalled to Vardor to deal with a rising criminal influence – the Black Sun Crime Syndicate had taken root on Vardor, and after ruthlessly hunting them down and kill them all, he spared their leader, Angelo Darklane, and banished him. Shortly thereafter however, a new challenge presented itself – Clan Alvaak.

Recently reforged, Jonaleth was appointed Aedile of the Krath House Dominatus, and served long and hard to create it from the ground upwards. On one mission, he was assigned to seek and re-commission the Henegemony Armed forces of Empress Teta, and he and a few other Alvaakians ventured to the ancient world of Cinnagar. There, for the first time in years, Jonaleth came face to face with his twin again, in the company of a group of Jedi. His half sister and son were revealed to him then for what they were during the conflict, and neither side wishing to kill the other, they ceased hostilities and left, though Jonaleth swore undying hatred for the Jedi Master whom had trained his family, Tyriel Valor.

Jonaleth Isradia's custom lightsaber.

Heir of Kun

War seemed to follow Jonaleth. He had seen much wiped away by it, and Alvaak was to be no different. When the Great Split came, the Brotherhood divided from the yoke of the Emperors Hammer and Isradia followed, a pariah and traitor to the Clan of the Grand Admiral, reviled and hounded along with the few who went with him.

Adrift in space, these few were visited by the shade of Exar Kun, who appointed Isradia and Khan his Heirs, and appointed them the task of implementing his Final Order, keeping his sacred ways, and founding a Clan in his name. As good as their’ word, they did as was asked, and though the final death of their Dark Master shook them, the Clan survived and thrived. Jonaleth rose through the ranks of the Clan in his turn, bringing with him a select group of apprentices and retainers whom he trained personally, and inducted as the first alien Nobles on Vardor. He used the dark knowledge imparted by Exar Kun to forge a unique lightsaber, crafter to his strenghts and abilities, and began to master the old, primal technqiues of lightsaber combat.

Since stepping on to the galactic stage, Jonaleth had felt a pull from across the galaxy, a strange and unfathomable force that compelled him towards something he did not understand. As the founder of the House of Spies, Byss, the source of this compulsion was finally revealed when a strange reptile appeared before the House’s Citadel on the temperate forest world of Eden. In the company of her adopted brother, the shape-shifting lupine Mune, she had no knowledge of her people or past, but in those very moments, Jonaleth knew he had found his souls reflection.

The bond he felt was immediate and had a mystical intensity unlike even his relationship with his own brother, and though she did not realise it, at that moment Cipher felt it also. Jonaleth took the reptile on as his apprentice without hesitation, and began to tutor her in the Force and the Dark Side, even as he launched his own clandestine investigations into her nature.

Cipher and Mune were the first to join the Imperial House, alongside Jonaleths discovery of a living confluence of the Force, a Zabrak kensai (literally, “sword scholar”) whose abilities with the Dark Side were enhanced by his own rage, causing him to manifest powers far beyond the normal scope. Jonaleth knew what the implications of this might be, and thus brought Vithril into the family and his tutelage. Vithril took well to Jonaleths own studies, becoming a moderately skilled Necromancer also, and as he sunk deeper into the Dark Side and Necromancy, his features began to distort to make him more and more demonic and fearsome.

As the Imperial House began to expand for the first time in decades, Isradia’s learning finally bore fruit. After gathering countless pieces for the ritual needed to restore his broken body, and venturing to the deepest depths of the galaxy for the knowledge he desired, Jonaleth at last enacted a ritual within the Vaults of the Dead to restore himself. With Kash’ha’rik looking on, Isradia transformed himself into an Anzat vampire, in the process undoing the incredible damage that had been inflicted on him decades earlier, and becoming whole again.

Now a bloodthirsty unliving killer, Isradia revelled in his new powers and restored features. No longer able to stand the light or heat, he took recluse from these forces, and was thus spared from atrocity as the Great Plague swept through the Brotherhood, as it became enwrapped within a Great Jedi War. Receiving a distress signal from Byfrost, he found his Clan’s home world under attack by the combined forces of Clans Taldyran and Tarentum. The Dark Adept assisted as best he could until he received a summons from the Krath High Priestess.

Slipping through the blockade in a purloined TIE Phantom, Isradia met with Alanna on Antei and was assigned the task of hunting down and bringing back the Grand Master. He took to his task well, though with reluctance, and returned to be hailed as a hero, earning great honour for Clan Exar Kun.

The purge of the ravaging effects of the Plague was not as thorough as he had hoped, however, and unbeknownst to all, the Clan’s Consul was not fully cured. In a moment of madness, the Consul attempted to dissolve the Clan, and war erupted on Byfrost. By the time the reunited Dark Council could act, Clan Exar Kun had been smashed from within and the survivors taken in by their allies in Clan Scholae Palatinae.

After the disaster, Jonaleth resigned to his studies as the wisest and eldest Krath of Clan Exar Kun and became its Loremaster, and began service to the Oracle as a new Consul took the throne of Clan Exar Kun, only to stumble across a kindred spirit, one upstart Corellian named Braecen.

The young Krath was clearly powerful, and deeply intelligent, and Jonaleth began to take a deep and abiding interest in the young mans progress. In Braecen, Jonaleth saw much of himself, though more advanced than he had been at that age, and Braecen seemed to return this fellow feeling. Once inducted into the Imperial House, Braecen proved his abilities and aptitudes to such an extent that Jonaleth took the unheard of and shocking step of making the young man Heir Apparent to the Throne. This stunning political manoeuvre not only secured Jonaleths place – for it would mean an assassination attempt would be pointless, as House Isradia would carry on – but it would also prove a strong lure for attentions both good and bad. The other Houses now focused their malice on Braecen, as future leader, and Dane Isradia, who Jonaleth deeply wished to have by his side, was provoked to jealousy over his fathers actions… And best of all, Braecen would never truly be leader, for Jonaleth was now immortal!

The Wisdom of Plagueis

During his tenure, Jonaleth had become an authority on many things, and had scribed many famous and illustrious works. His abilities were to be taxed to their limits, however, when Clan Exar Kun merged with Clan Satal Keto after a disasterous war with the mercenary Crimson Tide, and in reflection of ancient history, became Clan Plagueis. Many expected Jonaleth to be outraged at this action, and were surprised when he made not a movement, for few realised that Jonaleth had recently unearthed a document of Lord Plagueis’s wisdom, and he chose to share this with the new Clan. In thanks for his work, Jonaleth was awarded the Amethyst Kukuri.

Jonaleths relationship with Cipher had evolved over time. On a return mission to Cinnagar, beneath the great city Isradia had become possessed by the Dark Side Spirit of Ludo Kressh, and using the might of the Dark Lord, combined with his own, he unlocked some of the hidden potential within the now Krath Priestess, granting her the gift of wings. She in turn had bonded deeply with him, and sworn to serve and protect him for all time.

Unfettered by Dark Brotherhood concerns, the two had been travelling the galaxy searching for the answers to Ciphers past and nature, and Jonaleth looking in secret for more clues to the Dark Star Prophecy. Together, they discovered the pieces that would allow not only for Cipher to regain more of her races genetic potential, but also for the fruition of a clause of the Prophecy. On the Demon Moon of Dxun, Jonaleth enacted a great ritual that did what they intended. Yet more unrest was to follow.

In a far reaching plot, a few members of Clan Plagueis sought to overthrow the Summit and replace it with those they saw fit to lead. The Dark Adept was shocked to find some of the perpetrators in his own family; Braecen had conspired with them, and even now sough to overthrow the Grand Duke on Vardor to take the position for himself, being unhappy as a mere nobleman. The traitors were immediately cast out and a bounty placed on them for their deaths.

Jonaleth continued to work quietly within the halls of Plagueis as the Clan's Loremaster; he explored the history of the Clan’s possessions, developed the new, combined powers of Exar Kun and Satal Keto, and authored the guidelines for Masters and Apprentices in the Clan. His title was formally acknowledged when the Council of the Wise was formed, and he appointed its leader. This work earned him a Ruby Scepter from the Clan Summit and his being named as “di Plagia”, and he began to form tentative relationships with a few others outside his family; noteably Aristan Dantes, Salth Khan and Galaphile al’Tor.

Then, a year ago, Jonaleth simply vanished. No-one in the galaxy had any clue or thought as to where the Dark Adept had gone. He returned not long ago to reveal the truth; his continual exploration and study of melding Force and Matter – a sort of combined evolution epitomised by Cipher and others whom had volunteered for his experiments – had led him to seek out a better understanding of his own predatory nature. Travelling beyond the deepest Outer Rim, to a rogue planet lacking a sun, and so far from the rest of the galaxy the stars were not even visible, he discovered an enclave of Anzat Dark Sider’s, and learned of their ways. Combining their physical talents with the Force, he strove to achieve a perfect union of both, and further his own evolution in the process.

Why he returned has not yet been divulged, all that is known is that Jonaleth is, indeed, back.

Personality

Motivation	To protect what is his – House Isradia and his Apprentices.
Personality	Lawful, Just, Honourable, Respectful, Scholarly, Violent, Angry, Cryptic, Honest, Protective, Noble, Composed.
Nature	Politician, Scholar, Spy, Killer.
Hatreds	Duplicity, Lies, Deceit, Disrespect, Weakness.

Jonaleth Isradia is motivated by one thing alone: To protect what is his. This is the fundamental drive of his existence, and has been since the day he fell into the fires of the Belisteners engines. Through adversary, innumerable conflicts, wars and battles, through learning, intrigue, subterfuge and espionage, he has eternally sought to protect his charges, and over the course of the years, this desire has only grown deeper and expanded to encompass his Apprentices and the members of his family.

How he chooses to pursue this aim however, is at best dark, and at worst, unimaginably evil. Another man might have chosen the Light in the pursuit of these noble aims, but Jonaleth has always had a strong belief in law and justice, which remains to this day, and it was this sense that was twisted by his ordeal into a desire for revenge that drove him to take the actions he did, and which were the key to his fall to the Dark Side.

Jonaleth is also extremely respectful, and he expects the same from everyone around him, brutally punishing those who do not show the correct amount. Being highly educated, he prizes knowledge and learning, and the power and enlightenment they bring, and further to this belief, he has learned the arts of subterfuge and espionage to increase his knowledge when pure scholarship fails.

His upbringing in the Iperion has lent him a natural flair for diplomacy and politics, as well as making him a formidable combatant due to the need to protect himself from attack.

Jonaleth comes across as honourable, just and respectful. He does nothing to hide his violent and angry side when it may be useful, however, or when he is enraged by others disregarding those things he holds in high regard, whether that be the law, showing respect, or people and things he cares about. He is highly protective, as explained, and will go any imaginable length in order to protect those things. He often speaks cryptically, but never lies and is never duplicitous, traits which he despises from his past experiences. When angered, he will lash out quickly and forcefully, and in combat he prefers the visceral sensations of fighting hand to hand, despite his mastery of the lightsaber and staff weapons. He will use the Force to its fullest extent, and enjoys the effect of its more dramatic and horrifying powers; Lightning, animating the dead, fear and telekinesis.

DJB Facts

• Loremaster of Clan Plagueis
• Founder of Clan Exar Kun
• Leader of the Isradia Family
• Dark Adept
• Krath Order

Trivia

• During his tenure, Jonaleth has trained a dozen active apprentices to the Equite ranks.
• Jonaleth has always been Krath, and has never changed Order.
• Before Alvaak, Jonaleth had been a member of every Clan in the Brotherhood.
• Jonaleth is addressed as "Master Isradia", a title earned from his position as Loremaster and leader of the Isradia family.
• Fictionally, Jonaleth does not respond to his first name; no-one uses the name to address him in person, instead using his surname. Jonaleth becomes violent if his name is used, and most respect the tradition of not referring to him by it.
• Jonaleth is part of a necromantic order on his homeworld.
• Jonaleth was a member of Clan Aquillas and Independant House Ar'Kell.
• Jonaleth holds claim to the family names of Clan Exar Kun and Clan Aquillas.