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Ashura Isradia is a Sith Battlemaster and a member of Clan Naga Sadow in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. He is the current Quaestor of House Marka Ragnos
His fictional character is a Dark Jedi that was born on Pelagon, and belonged to House Pelagia within the Star Wars universe. More recently, following the Eighth Great Jedi War, Ashura was made a Senior Commander in the Dlarit Special Operations Group. He was later assigned as Dlarit Corporation Commissar aboard the ISDII Harbinger due to his involvement defeating the True Brotherhood during the Invasion of Orian. He also replaced Trevarus Caerick as Governor of Tarthos.
Ashura was presumed to be killed killed in action aboard the ISDII Harbinger by Eosara Goratis during the Battle of Lehon, the Seneschal of Trevarus Caerick. However, unknowingly to the Clan it seemed that a few months earlier the Sith had been replaced by a clone, and it was the clone that was killed.
In 4,400 Before the Battle of Yavin, Jedi Seer Nar'del prophesized the coming of the Harbinger in the distant future, that would hail the beginning of the end for all. Nar’del tried to convince the Jedi Council that he saw would come to pass. However many on the Jedi Council were not convinced, as if something like that would have been seen by them, and not an old man who spends all his time going over old books in the Jedi archives. Nar’del saw that the only hope for future of the Jedi would be in his hands. The Grey Jedi set off into the galaxy to find a way to prevent his prediction from coming true. He allowed the Force to guide his way, and was never seen again.
- "Everything that has a beginning has an end"
- ―Oracle of the Matrix (Matrix Revolutions)
Early Years
File:Pelagia Symbol-fairuse.jpgHouse Pelagia Symbol
Ashura Isradia was born Ashura Jared Konden, on the sixth day of Helona during the Shelova Week Festival. He was raised by his mother and father, Baroness Miya Brakus-Konden and Baron Jared Konden, on the planet Pelagon in the Pelagia Province of the Tapani Sector. Miya’s father, Lord Krous Brakus, had been a Jedi Knight of the Jedi Order and had been killed during the Great Jedi Purge.
Ashura achieved incredible prescience, enhanced physical and metaphysical perception at an early age. This proved to in invaluable, as at the age of seven his father made him go through the agoge. A rigorous education and training regime undergone by the noble families Konden and Brakus of House Pelagia.
Rise and Fall of the Jedi
Ashura survived those long odious years due to his connection to the Force, and once graduated the young man left Pelagon to join the newly established Jedi Academy as a Jedi Initiate. He was given a blue training saber to learn the art of lightsaber combat and it didn't take him long to master the training form. The Jedi proved to be highly trained and skilled and was promoted to Jedi Apprentice. He eventually was promoted to Jedi Knight for help defeating the Disciples of Ragnos. However Ashura had to rely on his agoge training to survive, and this caused him to feel the power of the Dark Side. His next six years as a Jedi Knight caused him to walk the fine line between the Light Side and Dark Side. The Dark Side finally won.
Dark Jedi Brotherhood
Ashura left the Jedi Order and joined the Dark Jedi Brotherhood as an Initiate. He arrived at Antei where he attended the Shadow Academy. He achieved the rank of Apprentice, and was transferred to Clan Satal Keto (which later merged with Clan Exar Kun to become Clan Plagueis). The Dark Jedi was promoted through the ranks. Ashura eventually became the Apprentice to Dark Adept Jonaleth Isradia, and through his tutelage he grew more powerful. Jonaleth wasn't surprised when his Apprentice asked about joining House Isradia. Ashura believed that his agoge teaching would give House Isradia a unique quality that it lacked. Jonaleth agreed and made him the Panarch of Tol Mustanen. However the Iperion resisted Ashura ousting, as the Grand Duke was unable to publicly make an appearance to ratify the proclamation. The previous Panarch went rogue in rebellion and formed an alliance with Isabelle Lutah for support, believing that Ashura had killed Jonaleth in a power play. However, Isabelle double crossed and killed him. House Lutah then took control of Tol Mustanen. Ashura confronted Isabelle in Tol Mustanen and her defeated. However instead of killing her, he tortured her in the city square and subdued the woman into renounce her title and leadership of House Lutah. To further humiliate Isabelle, she became a Bondsman in the Imperial House and assigned to Tol Mustanen. Ashura then forced her to undergo the female version of agoge training.
Tol Mustanen once again under the control of the Imperial House Isradia, and Ash was rewarded by attaining the new title of Viscount. As well as achieving the rank of Dark Jedi Knight and constructed his lightsaber. He swore that he would continue to see Jonaleth as his Master. Knight Isradia continued to serve Clan Plagueis, but eventually began to have visions of a male figure cloaked within a ring of fire in the darkness of the abyss, a symbol of death and resurrection. Ashura would have consulted his Master on these visions but he found himself wanting to discover the meaning this on his own and transferred to Rogue, where he spent most of that time trying to see deeper into the Force to understand these visions.
The visions led to Ashura joining Clan Arcona, where he believed that the Arconan Shadowcrafting abilities was the reason the Force led him here. He quickly learned the basic skill of Shadowcrafting and choice the path of Inner Darkness. Ashura had slowly gained standing among his new House. He became Rollmaster of House Oriens Obscurum, and then later on Aedile. The Sith was also promoted into the Equite class with the rank of Warrior. However after a while the visions of death kept plaguing the Aedile, who was unable to find an answer. Ashura saw his death at the hands of his Master on the backwater world of Tatooine. He couldn’t believe that this vision was true but found that he needed to find out.
The Coming Darkness
The Warrior transferred out of Arcona and traveled to the Outer Rim. He arrived at Tatooine and began searching for Master Isradia, but could not sense Jonaleth. He knew the vision had to been false. He planned to leave the planet when he sensed a powerful Light Jedi who had been on Tatooine the same time as the Sith Warrior. It turned out to be Light Adept Erickholm Isradia, Master Isradia's twin brother. The two Jedi faced each other on the sands, and just like in the Equite’s vision, battled each other. Ashura refused to be an easy kill, but in the end he was no match for the Adept. Erickholm's lightsaber pierced his chest, slaying the Darksider. The Light Adept then departed knowing that he had killed one of his brother’s apprentices.
Resurrection and Rebirth (25 ABY - 27 ABY)
- "Once you start down the Dark Path, forever will it dominate your destiny, consume you it will..."
- ―Jedi Master Yoda
Dark Adept Jonaleth Isradia foresaw the death of his Apprentice at the hands of his twin brother, and departed for Tatooine to intercept Ashura, but an Ion Storm prevented the Belistener (a Vardorian Light Cruiser) from reaching the Warrior in time.
The Grand Duke of Vardor retrieved the body of his fallen Viscount, although not directly as the Anzat was not fond of worlds like Tatooine. Upon seeing the deceased form of Ashura, the Dark Adept sensed a residue of life clinging on the very edge of the Abyss. Perhaps even enough to bring the slain Warrior back from the dead. The body was placed in cryostorage for the journey back to Vardor.
Once on the Isradia family homeworld, Ashura’s body was taken to the Vaults of the Dead. Unfortunately, the Viscounts death had been reported to numerous of people, including his Handmaiden. None knew of Jonaleth’s plan, as the Vardorian Necromancer summoned all the other Necromancers of the Ninth Order to come forth in resurrecting the fallen Isradia.
Ashura’s Dark Jedi spirit meanwhile stood upon the threshold of the Abyss, refusing to let death completely take him. Like all people at one point in their lives, he was faced with a choice. As the Sith stared into Abyss, the Abyss stared into him revealing nothingness and yet everything. Everything came down to the fundamental element of who he was... and what he had become.
In that moment of utter clarification Ashura choose what he had become, a Sith Warrior that possessed great anger that had all his life brought him to the brink of utter chaos and destruction! Who he had been before the Dark Side no longer existed, and all that remained was eternal Dark Path that his life had become consumed by. On that day it was destined for Ashura Jared Konden to pass into the Abyss, and for Ashura Isradia to be born anew as the fires of Resurrection claimed him.
His body burned with life once again, but this time it had been tainted by the Necromancers dark magic, and his time spent standing on the threshold of the Abyss. Ashura’s tanned skin faded away leaving it pale and almost unnatural. His dark blonde hair lost all pigmentation leaving it silvery/white, and his once dark blue eye now lit up with almost supernatural brightness. It was if part of him was still dead, which was partly true to a certain point of view. The Sith's changes and appearance were so unique that he could now be classified as Near-Human.
The Sith turned to the Etherites Tradition and Iperion of Vardor to fill the void felt behind. To those who knew the raging man who bloodied and killed that Ashura had been before his death, will not know this man that returned to the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. This half dead, half alive tainted soul that stood on the brink of oblivion and returned to tell the tale is not the Ashura Isradia remembered. This is someone else entirely.
The Abyssal Blacksmith
File:Seph-fairuse-pic.jpgResurrection of the Abyssal Blacksmith
- "If you stare into the abyss long enough the abyss stares back at you"
- ―Friedrich Nietzsche (19th-Century German Philosopher)
Fire and Abyss --- One has the power to give life and other the power to take. But together, contained within a living vessel of flesh and blood, they exist as one.
The ability to bring harmony to those two aspects of chaos is the ability to forge the very nature of chaos itself, and bend it to your will. But there is the enigma itself --- How does one bring order to chaos and create harmony?
That is the very question that Ashura Isradia has asked himself. That is the very answer that he seeks to find. For with it, the ability to forge those two aspect of chaos are his. When that day arrives stars shall tremble and worlds shall weep.
The Harbinger of Death
File:Sparda-fairuse-pic.jpgRebirth of the Harbinger of Death.
- "I have seen his wrath and the misery it will cause."
- ―A verse from the Seer’s Prophecy (below)
Prophecies may say one thing, but mean something else completely. This is the case with Jedi Seer Nar’del, who foresaw the birth of a tainted child that would destroy anything in his path. However, what the Seer did not fully see (or understand), that it was a rebirth of a demon wrapped in the flesh of a man that he had predicted.
Ashura may look like a man, sound like a man, and even be Human by blood. His Dark Jedi essence has become something else entirely. He is a creature of darkness, a monster nurtured by the Void, and brought upon the physical plane by dark life-giving magic. But he is limited by the restrictions of being a man, and of the Human flesh. He can still be hurt, or worse, killed. And he is still flawed --- tempted by desires of love, anger, hate, ect. It is only a matter of time to see if the Harbinger of Death will fulfil the prophecy that predicted his arrival.
The Seer’s Prophecy
“I have seen past the veil of time,
And the future has been revealed to me.
I have seen the horror of his tainted [re]birth,
The pain caused by the fatality of being [re]born.
Yet destined to live this [man] will,
As he comes by death's invitation.
A dreadful fate awaits the future upon his heels,
I have seen his wrath and the misery it will cause.
What mortal invitation to death,
This harbinger will bring forth.”
- Prophesized by Jedi Seer Nar’del, and told to the Jedi Council, in 4,400 Before the Battle of Yavin.
File:Dante Lucia-fairuse-pic.jpgThe Lovers: Ashura Isradia and Isabelle Lutah
The Lovers
- "True love comes quietly, without banners or flashing lights. If you hear bells, get your ears checked."
- ―Erich Segal
Initially after his resurrection and rebirth, Ashura spent time in Tol Rothan, the capital city of House Isradia, as he needed time to regain his strength and recuperate from the transition to the living. The Grand Duke realised that Ashura would need time before he able to get back on his feet, and summoned the Viscounts Handmaiden to care for her Master. Bondswoman Isabelle Lutah arrived at Tol Rothan, and was shocked to find that Ashura had been resurrected as she had been told previously that he had been killed.
The relationship between Isabelle and Ashura before his rebirth had been harsh and cruel on the Bondsman, but that began to change. The man who he was before was dead. This new (improved) Ashura, as he looked and acted like never before, began to show his Handmaiden that he was not the man she knew. Ash showed her passion and a gentle hand. This surprised Isabelle, as one of the first things he had done after he was strong enough was to caress her swollen belly and say in Mardorin, “Son imtah itai porin, par, non quazan sak.” These words were enough to let Isabelle know the depths of his feelings for her, as she repeated them back to Ashura.
Ashura and Isabelle’s relationship had evolved from bitter enemies on the battlefield, to Panarch and his Handmaiden, and finally to beloved husband and wife, as well as caring parents.
- "Ascension cannot be achieved if we do not embrace all that which we are. All that makes us, defines us. We are a sum of all that we have done and that has made us: Embrace all that, and true power, power that cannot be defeated, can be yours."
- ―Jonaleth Isradia
- "I understand, Master. Ascension is true evolution."
- ―Ashura Isradia
Ashura remained on Vardor until late 27 ABY; he spent his time away from the Dark Brotherhood focusing on his duties towards the Imperial House and the Etherites. Upon his decision to return to active membership, he learned an important lesson from his Master, as well as married his lover; Isabelle Lutah.
Ashura returned to Brotherhood space and was offered a home in House Ludo Kressh of Clan Naga Sadow. The Sith Warrior joined thier ranks; it wasn't long before he took on a leadership role. Before his rebirth Ashura had been a member of the Society of Envoys, only this time he took on the role of Clan Envoy of Naga Sadow
As Knight Class Envoy of Naga Sadow, Ashura trained potential Journeymen as House Envoy's, established a Clan wide training program based on the one used in House Marka Ragnos, and advised the Summit on Envoy and training matters.
However, everything began to change for the Reborn Sith; the Yuuzhan Vong attacked the combined forces of the six clans of the Brotherhood. None had been prepared for this and warnings of Antei's destruction from Darth Vexatus were ignored by the Star Chamber.
Ashura had been aboard the House Ludo Kressh flagship, the Wandering Soul, when the fighting started. The ship was boarded by enemy warriors who quickly eliminated the lesser Dark Jedi and crew. The Warrior argued with the Soul's commanding officer on how to deal with the vermin. He decided to take action and headed to engineering; there Ashura activated the fire suppression system and sent most of the Vong warriors into space along with half the crew and most of the House Journeymen. Quaestor Ashia Kagan Keibatsu was not happy when she found out and became Ashura's rival after that. The Wandering Soul still had to be abandoned.
Ashura watched as Grand Master Sarin called for a retreat; Antei was lost to the Vong, and Ashura came to the decision that the Star Chamber's own arrogance led to Vexatus vision being discarded. Thier arrogance had been thier weakness... The weak didn't deserve to live, let alone rule. Isradia saw stronger leadership required and determined he would be the one to lead the Brotherhood into a new era.
Ashura saw the vacant Ravana Squadron Commander position as his opening. The cunning Sith manipulated the Clan Summit into letting him reestablish the training Battleteam. House Marka Ragnos Quaestor position opened up not long after Ashura became Battleteam Leader. The Sith applied for the position knowing his chance was slim; he was right as it went to the House Overlord; Dark Jedi Master Trevarus Caerick. However this wasn't such a drawback as Trevarus made Ashura his Aedile. He would get to learn from a Clan Elder; although Krath’s motive behind why Ashura had become his Aedile would remain a closely guarded secret.
Isradia worked well along side the Krath Master. Through Caerick Ashura began to learn about the Disciples of Ragnos, and the Dark Doctrine of the Sith Lord of the same name; Marka Ragnos.
Rule of Two
File:Ashura saber.jpgAshura Isradia's custom lightsaber.
Ashura was awarded the rank of Knight First Class within the Society of Envoys, as well as being promoted to a Sith Battlemaster due to his service as Clan Envoy, and the changes he brought about. He secretly used his new status in the society to keep a track on all new members incoming into his rival’s House. The Battlemaster focused more on the Rule of Two; although he was only a lesser Sith Master, a mere Equite. The near-human also started to slowly unlock the wisdom within the Dark Doctrine. The Sith’s plan’s nurtured as Ashura was appointed Quaestor of House Marka Ragnos by the new Consul, the man whose job he replaced.
The Sith Battlemaster slowly began to plant the seeds of deception into the minds of certain members; one being to “suggest” Ludo Kressh’s Envoy, Tsingtao Ming, into applying for the open Aedile spot, manipulating the Envoy to serve his purpose. His next move again his rival was to take Tsingtao’s replacement, Faeril Munlear, and make her Aedile of House Marka Ragnos. The Knight showed potential and Ashura wanted to use her in his plans. The Battlemaster incorporated the Rule of Two mythology into the House Summit; one to embody the power (Quaestor), and the other to crave it (Aedile).
Ashura knew he could only trust Faeril with Clan and House related issues; he could only manipulate her so far without the Knight starting to question his motives. Isradia decided to bring in his Disciple, Sakura Haruno, to be his “eyes” and “ears”. The girl was not part of the Dark Brotherhood and her cover was maintained as a Subcommander in D-SOG.
The Sith Battlemaster waited as his plan nurtured over time; Ashura sensed a greater deception then his at work within the Clan, his goal was insignificant to what was currently developing, although it could be said that his aims fitted into this. The Governor of Tarthos was not blinded by utter devotion to the Clan Overlord; this devotion was a chain, a chain that needed to be broken. Ashura viewed the clan as a tool, something to be exploited and not become emotional attached too.
Ashura established many working relationships with his Clansmen, making sure not to get too close, too attached to anyone although establishing the deception that he was a devoted Disciple of Sadow.
Isradia's plans deepened after Jade Atema was wounded by her husband and sent to Ashura by her brother-in-law, for him to keep safe. The Battlemaster was enraged that Ylith had broken his oath to honour, love and protect his wife; an oath he made them both swear. Ashura saw a chance to use Jade's anger and need for revenge to unlock her dark nature.
He promised to teach the Knight the ways of the Sith and took her on as his Sith Apprentice, the methodology of Darth Bane's rule of two twisted to serve Ashura's need. He started her training immediately took Jade to various locations throughout the Galaxy with strong the Force. The Sith made the Krath endure hardship on each of the planets the visited; bringing the darkness within her to the surface. They eventually arrived on Vardor, the homeworld of Jonaleth Isradia. It was here that Ashura made her face her own inner demons; whether she conquered them or not only Jade would know. The pair then traveled back to the Orian system where the Battlemaster told her it was the journey that mattered and not the final destination. Ashura helped Jade unlock her potential; she had reached Equite level in her abilities but not yet in name. There journey together had ended, and it would be another who would continue on with her, however would keeping from the shadows.
The One Path
- "Grow in all things, grow beyond the petty confines of what you thought you knew, see beyond to the greater truth of all things. Be no longer blinded by the limited teachings of those who think you their servant. Know the path. Know who and what you are, and gain strength in that knowledge. Awaken, and see the Glory I put before you. Be One."
- ―Jonaleth Isradia
There have been few moments in Ashura’s life when he faced life changing moments; one had been his death and resurrection, and the other happened in the middle of 28 ABY. He began having dreams, or were they visions? He wasn’t completely sure?
These dreams were about the first encounter he ever had with Jonaleth Isradia, the man (or monster) the Envoy’s had sent to train him. He was watching himself as he once had been years before as Ashura Megos, a name he used during the time he joined the Brotherhood; he had dropped his family name for a name that echoed what he believed himself to be at the time – great and powerful. How Isradia tore down those walls of illusion to reveal how weak-minded the Dark Jedi Journeyman really was.
The dreams continued like this every night until one night it changed; the dream started as normal until Jonaleth revealed his face, it was not the face Ashura knew when he first became the Dark Adept’s apprentice, but the face of his Master as he knows him today. The Elder asked Ashura what he had learned and if he knew of the Path. The Battlemaster couldn’t speak for his mind was a blank and Isradia answered his students’ unanswered reply.
The dream reminded Ashura of where he started and where he was going, and what it was leading too. Megos was a name he choose out of selfish desire as he believed he was better and stronger than most; what a lie that had been. But know he knew his weaknesses, he know what he needed to do to walk that path towards his destiny. It was a name he was willing to embrace with new meaning; Ashura Megos Isradia. He now looked into the very embodiment of what his Master had always taught him. The unity of One, the Path to Ascension.
This Path led him to abandon his plans within the Dark Jedi Brotherhood and return to Vardor, and with his Master’s return Ashura began to understand even more where this One Path was leading too. Jonaleth revealed the truth behind it and Ashura became fully committed.
With the death of Erin Isradia at the hands of his oldest friend; Ashura was elevated to Exarch of the Imperial House Isradia with the rank of Duke. His sister, Cipher, would once again retain what once was hers.
Ashura’s path was now on Vardor; the Sith would take what he learned as Knight Class Envoy, Aedile and Quaestor and reinforce it with the teachings of his Order. He would continue to focus on his weaknesses and eliminate them. He could achieve the same ascension or die trying.
Psychological Profile
Like all those who follow the quasi-religious belief system known as the One Path; Ashura seeks to eliminate himself of all weaknesses and to bring mind, body and spirit into one. Surprising this is something he has been doing for years, but the teachings of his Master are what has enabled him to bring it all together.
During his youth he was trained under a tough training regime know as the agoge. This was to help strengthen his body and remove any weakness; even today he continues with the core teachings to keep his body in prime condition and his fighting spirit alive.
Again, without realising his own choice of actions, he continued to set himself on the One Path even before he knew about it. The Etherite Tradition on the planet Vardor would enable him to bring mind, body and spirit together; or atleast attempt too. Beneath all things there lies a single, unify, omnipotent force, a framework upon which all reality is built, and from which all things come and are made. This was the core teaching of the Etherites; ordered, instinctive, collected and precise. Elements Ashura adapted in his training to help control the chaotic aspects of the life and death within him… another step down the along the Path.
The man no longer seeks to limit himself to one teaching; to become a slave to it. His true weakness had always been that of his mind, weakness he sought to eliminate through the teachings of the Sith and the understanding of leadership. It was through the teachings of Darth Bane did Ashura adapt tools of his Order to his own purpose when seeking to rule among the Dark Brotherhood; patience, cunning and secrecy were tools that would help him to strengthen his mind.
The Warrior Noble; a man of honour and duty taught to him as a boy but fortified through his oath of loyalty, and the position he has found himself in as second in command of the House Isradia and representative of his Master to the Iperion of Vardor.
DJB Facts
Goals
Dark Jedi Brotherhood
House Marka Ragnos
Notable Positions of Leadership
Noteable Awards
Official Letter of Reprimand
Grand Cross of the Dark Side
Seal of Loyalty x 2
Gold Nova
Seal of Retribution x 2
Seal of Alliances x 7
Seal of Conquest x 5
Seal of Pain x 11
Dark Maven of Service
Trivia
- Ashura was on a three month probation period, but that time has now been served. Please see Official Letter of Reprimand (above) for more infomation.
- Ashura was originally meant to be a half-breed Tusken Raider, but it seems that is against Star Wars canon, as Humans and Tuskens cant breed. So there was no point in being a Human Tusken and the character was changed to this version.
- Ashura holds the Isradia Prophetic Title - The Abyssal Blacksmith.
- Ashura's rebirth into the Harbinger of Death was prophesized to happen. This was a fictional device I created to help with the character development of this character. The prophecy itself was inspired and based slightly on the lyrics for Advent: One-Winged Angel.
- Ashura is a Duke within the Iperion of Vardor. He is also the Exarch of House Isradia.
- Ashura Jared Konden was his original name before becoming a member of the Imperial House Isradia. He also holds the title of Baronet within House Pelagia.
- Ashura has a son, Alector Isradia, who was born in 25 ABY. Alector's mother is Isabelle Lutah, who is Ashura's beloved wife.
- Ashura's appearance is based on Dante Sparda from Devil May Cry 2. I have not attempt to copyright the character of Dante, and all pictures used in this article are for Fairuse purposes only. Other character influences include 300, the Chronicles of Riddick, and the Devil May Cry series.
- Ashura Isradia would be played by Mads Mikkelsen if he appeared in a Star Wars movie.
- Ashura's name also belongs to an older version of Ash Ketchum from Pokemon MASTER, a dark Pokemon fanfiction by Ace Sanchez, which is a damn good read. This is where I first picked up the name for my character.
- Ashura is also known as the One Arm Bandit in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. This is because I was born without a left hand. This does make it kind of hard for me to play computer games, but doesnt stop me from enjoying them still. You can find a picture of me here