Arcturus Gadeskin Xyler

"He is his own worst enemy. Given the right circumstances, Arcturus could rule this Clan, maybe even the Brotherhood. He won't stop. He's relentless. But his ego. That's the thing. It crushes him. Gets the better of him. He would put that ahead of anything. And one day, it will be the end of him. He will go too far."

Former Consul Mejas Doto, shortly after the Giletta Bombing

Arcturus Gadeskin Xyler is a veteran of House Qel-Droma, Clan Arcona. Prior to this, he was the former Deputy Combat Master of the ACC, serving under four Combat Masters. He was also the first person to hold this position. Pioneering the Combat Centre following the Exodus with the help of Combat Masters Cyris Oscura and Mal'ari'carun, Arcturus was a Senior Judge & Trainer. He held the position of Tetrarch for Krath Phyles in Houses Acclivis Draco, Qel-Droma & Galeres respectively. He also held the position of Aedile of Qel-Droma, and subsequently, Quaestorship of House Galeres and was the patriarch of the Xyler Dynasty, taking on the title of the 26th Count Of Gothengromer. However, following a failed coup to topple Vassan Rokir's position as then-Consul of Arcona and an assassination attempt on his own life, Arcturus left Brotherhood space almost seven years ago and has only recently returned to House Qel-Droma.

Character History

Arcturus Gadeskin Xyler was born aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Iron Judge, a ship assigned to the Reithcas Sector fleet, to Colonel Hugo Xyler and Doctor Lydia Mercuro-Xyler, in high orbit over Bortras. However, he would consider Mantessa as his homeworld as the planet is where the family to which he belonged originated. Over the years and his many travels, Arcturus' dialect is known to have a distinctive Mandalorian flair. He attributes to this to the fact that many in his former line of work hail from Mandalore or visit the planet frequently. His early life was spent travelling with his parents and older brother, Kaden Odus Xyler, from planet to planet and sector to sector. At the age of ten, Arcturus was accepted into Utani Finishing School on Averam, a feeder institute for COMPNOR and, specifically, the Officer Corps. His mother, Lydia, was a Bunduki. As a race, Bunduki have a genetic disposition of being Force-sensitive. However, it does not manifest itself until the final stages of adolesence. Because of this, Arcturus' Force sensitivity was not noted by medical practitioners in COMPNOR.

Early Life

In 2 ABY, during his final years at Utani, the Victory-Class Star Destroyer Coruscant's Pride (to which his father and mother were both assigned) was destroyed by Bothan terrorists, acting on behalf of the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Since the incident, the New Republic has disavowed knowledge of it as the agents involved specifically targeted crew quarters and escape pods when planting the thermal bombs that destroyed the ship. It was viewed by many in the New Republic as one of the more heinous acts committed in the name of it's birth.

Orphaned, and with his older brother reassigned to Grand Admiral Ronin's Emperor's Hammer Fleet, Arcturus finished with Utani. Almost immediately after accepting his degree in Spatial Dynamics & Ship-Building, Arcturus headed for the Outer Rim Territories, specifically Nal Hutta. Angry that the Imperial Fleet did nothing to save his parents, he hired himself to various private military concerns and criminal enterprises as both navigator and pilot. During this period, Arcturus gained Force sensitivity. He likened the experience to "waking up for the first time" and, shortly thereafter, received a personal communication from his older brother, Kaden.

From Clan Scholae Palatinae to Clan Arcona

His brother, to whom he had not spoken since his childhood, had split off from the Imperial Remnant and joined an ancient cabal of Jedi known as the Dark Brotherhood. Arcturus first joined House Marka Ragnos attached to Clan Scholae Palatinae. His brother, Kaden Odus Xyler, was a former member and had good relations with Trevarus Caerick, Khobai Wrathraven and Mejas Doto. However, he soon left House Marka Ragnos and transferred to House Acclivis Draco. There, Mejas Doto had risen to the position of Quaestor. Arcturus was schooled in the Jedi Arts under him; he and Doto were one of the first members of the Brotherhood to be recognised under the Master Student Programme, or MSP. This project was spearheaded directly by Mejas Doto during his time within Acclivis Draco. Arcturus rose to the rank of Dark Jedi Knight, earning his lightsaber under the tutelage of Daihok. Shortly after this, Arcturus was given the position of Tetrarch of Drynwyn's Flame. His reign was considered to be one of the longest within the history of Acclivis Draco, leading Drynwyn's Flame to victory in the Phyle War of 19ABY. It was here that Arcturus helped to set up a secret cabal known to the Clan hierarchy as "Iron Claw". The remit of this group was high-level intelligence and sabotage and is considered to be an early precusor of the Acclivis Draco Defense Regiment.

Clan Scholae Palatinae's involvement with the Intelligence Division of the Emperor's Hammer is well-documented, and Arcturus was no different. The extent of his involvement with them is unknown, it is rumoured that he was a Cell Leader. He refuses to speak directly about this particular area or what missions he carried out under them. What is known is that he participated in trials for Praetorian Squadron but was transferred to Infiltrator Wing for a period of time shortly before the Exodus.

In 19ABY, the Exodus split Clan Scholae Palatinae in half. As mentioned earlier, the Clan's involvement with the Emperor's Hammer was widespread, particularly Imperial Intelligence. Siding with the Alliance of Seven, Arcturus transferred to Clan Arcona along with Mejas Doto and various high-ranking members of the Clan. He has remained there ever since. During the tumult of the Exodus, Arcturus gained notoriety for his involvement with the Antei Combat Centre. He is considered by many to be one of the leading lights in the early days of the Society and has been awarded both the Steel Cross and the Dark Cross for his efforts. Later, he was awarded the Anteian Cross (formerly known as the “Star Of Antei”) for developing a top-secret project simply known as “The Forge”. This project was later taken on by Dalthid, moulding into a training programme used today by many of the Combat Centre's initiates.

During his stay within Clan Arcona, Arcturus took on several positions, including Rollmaster, Aedile of House Qel-Droma and Tetrarch of Dark Orb. Out of all his achievements, the Archpriest is especially pleased with his work in Dark Orb. His introduction of the infamous “Xyler Laws”, together with his brutish tactics to inspire the Phyle, lead to certain victory over Loreseekers in a bloody war that claimed many lives. Dark Orb under Arcturus was also instrumental in the Invasion of Antares. In 21ABY, Jac Cotelin introduced “Project Rebirth”. What it entailed was simple – the devolution of Order-specific Houses within the Brotherhood. As such, all Clans were ordered to adjust their rosters and make changes to the hierarchy. At this point, Arcturus was Aedile of House Qel-Droma with Vassan Rokir as Quaestor. Due to unforseen circumstances, Vassan was elevated to Proconsul for a short period before being made Consul of Clan Arcona. To allow for a smooth transition, Arcturus was given Quaestorship of House Galeres, the military wing of Clan Arcona. It was here that he met with Demosthenes, the Quaestor of the now-defunct House Oriens Obscurum. The two men were veterans of several wars within the Brotherhood and had vast experience in combat.

Both of them knew that the majority of these were started by Krath diplomacy. As both of them were adherers to the Sith Order, they despised their brethern within the Krath Order. Vassan was the embodiment of the underhanded and slippery ways of the Order, and the focus of their hatred. As such, the two warriors, together with Syn Kaek and Elliad Gavron, plotted to overthrow Vassan and restore the Clan to what they called "the True Arconan Path".

The full text of the infamous Declaration of Boral can read here.

The Coup / Giletta Bombing

In 21ABY, rumblings abounded Clan Arcona of a proposed military junta between House Galeres and the remnants of the now-defunct House Oriens Obscurum, together with House Qel-Droma. Vassan Rokir, a prominent Arconan at the time, received detailed information on the plans of Quaestors Xyler & Demosthenes. Within hours, Vassan, using the private fleet owned by the Rokir family and ships within Arcona loyal to him, staged a devastating attack on the combined forces of Galeres and Oriens Obscurum. What followed has been twisted by both rumour, legend and time. A nightmarish civil war erupted within the once unified Arcona, threatening to destroy both the families of Xyler & Rokir and the Clan. Arcturus and his followers were plunged into a desperate battle with the Rokir family. Upwards of 1.4 million in Imperial credits was spent financing the feud, whole squadrons were comandeered and capital ships destroyed. It was during this period that the now infamous Tana Consortium began trading. The entire Dajorra System turned into a warzone overnight, and within a standard month, Clan Arcona was brought to it's knees. Utilising his superior negotiating skills and the Eye Of The Abyss, Mejas Doto managed to broker a ceasefire between Vassan and Demosthenes & Xyler. Calling the trio to Selen, the Zabrak demanded an immediate end to hostilities and the demilitarisation of Oriens Obscurum & Galeres. In effect, Doto had neutered Xyler's attempts to usurp Rokir and place himself as the Consul. To this day, it is unknown whether Mejas was backing Vassan from behind the scenes or if it was simply the fairest option. The fact that Oriens Obscurum & Galeres were demilitarised, their financial assets seized and planetary weapon systems deactivated meant Vassan Rokir had won.

Grudgingly, Arcturus accepted defeat as Demosthenes was planning to leave Clan Arcona for greener pastures. Signing the ceasefire agreement, the Archpriest was confident that he could work to bring down his nemesis via political methods. This was not to be. That very night, Arcturus Xyler was planning to leave the Dajorra System to return to his homeworld on Mantessa and meditate. His personal ship, a modified A-9 Interceptor known to many as Black Shuck (due to it's dull-grey exterior hull), exploded as Arcturus boarded. The blast damaged a large portion of Giletta Spaceport and completely destroyed his ship. By sheer force of strength, he pulled himself to safety and received medical attention on Antei. The bomb blast had severely disfigured him. His injuries included an amputated left leg, loss of his index and middle finger on his right hand, shrapnel lodged permanently in his back and hip and severe hearing damage. Shortly after recovering from his wounds, Demosthenes' personal fleet entered Antei and removed Arcturus to an undisclosed location. There, Demosthenes offered Arcturus a proposition - remove himself totally from Arcona and follow him to Satal Keto. The Archpriest's first loyalty was to Arcona. However, since he was effectively banished from it, he chose exile.

Exile / Revenge At Last

Arcturus spent a total of seven years in exile from the Brotherhood. During that time, his Force sensitivity languished to almost nothing, and he truly forgot his life beforehand. Returning to the Core, the Archpriest changed his identity to "Shau'Zyn", an old Corellian word for "Exiled". Casting aside his lightsaber, he returned to his life as a freelance navigator and worked with various consortiums and shipping interests, including those belonging to the Hutt crime syndicate. His life was more or less happy and content, feeling no need to make contact with the Brotherhood or engaging in political machinations as he had done so effectively within it.

In 25ABY, while stationed on Berchest, Arcturus came into contact with a former Imperial Intelligence officer. This person, who never revealed himself, pointed to his old enemy, Vassan Rokir, from a crowd in Calius saj Leeloo. Arcturus tracked Vassan through the crowds and followed him to a disused spaceport. For the briefest of moments, the former Quaestor hesitated at killing his nemesis in cold blood. He knew that Vassan was unarmed, and like himself, had lost his connection to the Force. As if guided by muscle memory, Arcturus clutched him from behind with his forearm and dragged him to his knees. Pushing hard against the ex-Consul's windpipe, Arcturus extinguished his enemy's life. Or so he believed. Quickly leaving Berchest and the Inner Rim, Arcturus made passage for Wild Space and remained there. It is unknown whether he was plagued by guilt at murdering the old man or if it was to escape the authorities on Berchest. It is not even known if he did, in fact, kill Vassan Rokir. The former Consul had, it was believed, made several clones of himself from reconstituted Spaarti cylinders hidden somewhere underneath Estle City. What is known is that a search for Rokir was conducted by Arconan representatives, dispatching agents closer than ever to the Inner Rim and Core sectors. No contact was made by Vassan Rokir in the ensuing years. He is listed by Clan Arcona as "missing in action".

Return From Wild Space

TBA

Personality / Relationships

Arcturus Xyler is, as the former Combat Master Cyris Oscura famously remarked, "probably one of the greatest fighters the Antei Combat Centre has ever seen, but knows it too well." His arrogance and ego was the cause of countless personal feuds both within the Centre and Clan Arcona. It was said that the younger members of Arcona would avoid his tuition sessions as he had a tendency to drone on about his accomplishments and victories. That said, however, he regularly backed these boasts up with action, claiming an impressive winning record with the Centre and victories in battle for Clan Arcona. This arrogance, together with his uncomprosing and stubborn nature, meant he was both unpopular and revered in equal measure. Nevertheless, Arcturus had many comrades-in-arms within Arcona, and was respected throughout House Galeres and House Qel-Droma.

Arcturus had few personal relationships, although it was rumoured that he was conducting an extra-marital affair with Lenzar Demonis Entar's wife, Alexandria Nori Entar, for a period of time. His student and former Tetrarch of Dark Orb, Leara Kato, was also believed to have relations with the Archpriest. Both of these, however, are complete speculation. Like many things, Arcturus will neither confirm nor deny their truth.

DJB Facts

Positions Held

Deputy Combat Master of the Antei Combat Centre (4 Terms)

Senior Judge of the Antei Combat Centre (formerly known as Krath Combat Centre - same position held)

Tetrarch of Drynwyn's Flame & Dark Orb

Aedile of House Qel-Droma

Quaestor of House Galeres

Cell Leader, Imperial Intelligence

Achievements

Awarded Star of Antei by Grand Master Cotelin for developing the "Dark Forge" project.

Opened over 50 matches in the Antei Combat Centre.

Has three of his matches in the Hall Of Fame at the Antei Combat Centre.

Trivia

Is, to his knowledge, one of only three Irish members of the Brotherhood.

Was one of the first people to hold a Judge position in the ACC.

Was the first person to be made Deputy Combat Master.

His band, The Fishes, play gigs regularly in Dublin.