Dralin Fortea

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"I hate blood. It sets my teeth on edge."

―One of Dralin's many neuroses

Dralin Hakh'khar is an assassin of House Gladius. Beginning as a simple inductee to the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, he has caught the attention of two Quaestors for apprenticeship, became a Tetrarch, was promoted to Aedile, and is now a freelance member of House Gladius on the verge of Knighthood.

Biography

"Looking back, we were quite lucky."

―Dralin Hakh'khar

Origins

Dralin's parents were wealthy business owners who moved to the burgeoning city at the foot of Mount Tantiss at a young age together. Shortly before the city's destruction during the events surrounding Grand Admiral Thrawn's plot to destroy the Republic, Dralin's parents moved off-planet, not wanting to be present during all the commotion while Dralin's mother was pregnant. Soon after New Nystao was established by the displaced Noghri as the new capital of Wayland, Dralin's parents moved back in time for Dralin, and his twin Dreav, to be born there.

Growing up, Dralin and his sister, Dreav, often mingled with the Noghri, and soon grew more fond of the compact Noghri than their fellow Humans. He grew to accept Noghri culture, along with their ideas in honor, friendship, and family. The twins would often spend their entire day with the Noghri children, also taking time out to speak with the Dynasts of the Noghri clans on many different matters, such as politics, philosophy, and literature, much to the Dynasts' delight. The Dynast of Clan Hakh'khar was known to dote on the children, often teaching them different things, while at the same time giving them treats and the like.

At the age of twelve, however, disaster would strike, forever marring Dralin's life. One night he awoke with a great sense of alarm, getting out of bed just in time to hear his sister scream. After sprinting down the hallway, he caught a glimpse of someone jumping out the window, Dreav laying in a pool of blood in her bed. Dralin's parents arrived to find him cradling his twin sister's head in his arms, silent tears running down his cheeks.

Birth of a Murderer

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Dreav's murder led Dralin down a darker path

Ever since the night of his sister's murder, Dralin withdrew, growing darker in his grief. The other residents of New Nystao offered their condolences to the grieving family, but nothing could replace the hollow void in Dralin's life, the bond that he always felt with his twin- or so he thought. As he got older, Dralin noticed certain impulses guiding him, telling him what to do, whispers at his consciousness that gave him information that would be otherwise unobtainable. This information was sometimes as useful as the location of something he was looking for, but more often than not, it offered glimpses into others' lives, their very thoughts betraying them to Dralin. The more Dralin listened to the voice, the more it told him- he knew that his neighbor was being cuckolded; he knew that the mayor of New Nystao had a bit of a spice problem; he knew the dark secrets others didn't want to get out. The voice didn't say these things right out; Dralin had to do some digging. However, when the voice laughed, somebody was doing something funny, and the voice was never wrong.

By the age of fifteen, Dralin came to recognize the voice as his sister's, possibly speaking to him from beyond death, or perhaps Dreav never left him. His sister told him many things, sometimes prodding him to a certain course of action, sometimes leading him to discover information to be used to his advantage. It was never spelled out to him, no, he had to track down the information himself, but his sister was like a beacon, leading him down what appeared to be an obvious path. His sister was never wrong- quite the contrary, his sister would correct his perceptions, whispering in his ear which path was the best choice, flipping her hair in annoyance when he passes what he was looking for. Always she was out of sight, nestled within his mind, his constant companion.

One day, Dralin was walking throughout the city, following his sister's guidance, when he felt a jolt of recognition. Dreav laughed in the back of his head, almost seeming to point at a man shouldering his way through the crowd. Following the man discreetly, Dralin was shocked to realize that he had been following his sister's murderer. He stalked the murderer for days, learning his schedule inside and out- he didn't know what he would do, but this seemed important to him. Suddenly, it clicked for Dralin- he now knew when his sister's murderer was alone and vulnerable. Stealing a knife from his parents' kitchen, Dralin resumed his stalking until his prey was alone. The fifteen-year-old would-be avenger did not manage to kill his target, instead rushing headlong into his kill, spooking the killer and setting off a chain of events that led to Dralin's orphaning.

The killer, recognizing his assailant, took off in the direction of Dralin's house. Not realizing this, Dralin took his time coming home, not knowing the danger he had placed his family in. Even after deadening himself to most normal emotions, Dralin was once again grieved when he came home to find that his parents had been murdered, the murderer standing over their bodies with a grin. In a fury, Dralin felt something suffuse his body, granting him uncanny strength and speed. Launching himself across the room, Dralin reached his arms out, projecting that which he felt within him, creating a strong push, almost like a moving force field, propelling his opponent across the room, killing him instantly. When the authorities arrived, it was deemed self-defense, and once again the community offered their empty condolences.

The Dynast's Blessing

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The Dynast of Clan Hakh'khar helped give Dralin's life direction

Not knowing who to turn to for guidance, Dralin went to the one being whose wisdom he respected above all else: the Dynast of the Noghri Clan Hakh'khar. Explaining to the wise old Noghri everything that occurred, Dralin waited for his judgment. After some contemplation, the Noghri decided that Dralin had acted honorably, and also recognized something within Dralin- he suspected that what Dralin thought was his sister's voice was actually the Force, although garbled by Dralin's broken mind. The Dynast, unknown to anyone, had a contact among a group known as the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, and while he knew that Dralin shared the powers of this group, he was leery of sending the boy off without at least trying to help him stay home and heal before doing so. Keeping this to himself, the Dynast adopted Dralin, and began teaching Dralin a way to strike back at his family's killer, as well as hone his skills and tendencies. The Dynast knew that, given time, Dralin could have gone bad and began living a life much like that of the killer he sought, and so also began instilling within Dralin a code of honor to live by.

By the time Dralin was seventeen, he had learned much from the Dynast. He learned self-defense, both armed and unarmed. He learned silent ways to kill both the unsuspecting and the alert. Above all else, though, Dralin was taught to only kill those who deserved to die; his murderous tendencies, born through his life of disturbances, were slaked on the blood of the damned. However, Dralin seemed discontent, unable to reconcile the beast within him, that which demanded blood. So, in the end, the Dynast sent his ward out to the Dark Jedi Brotherhood discreetly, with his training and his blessings.

Arrival at Sword's Sheath

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Dralin's first warbanner

Dralin was sent to the Sword's Sheath, House Gladius' home in the Itaana Belt. He learned much there, and enjoyed the freedom he had to learn about the Force and exercise both his body and his will. At first he wrestled with the concept of the Force, as before he had been personifying it as his dead sister; to this day, he still hears his sister's voice in his thoughts as he uses the Force to perceive his surroundings. Soon, he attracted the attention of at-the-time-Quaestor Kromtal Stormfyld. Master Stormfyld taught him the value of initiative, answering questions his apprentice had. Soon, Dralin's Envoy, Telona Murrage, commandeered him, along with fellow Journeyman Bieten Macht Elols, in what was supposed to be a routine flight. After crash-landing on the surface of Koros, Dralin and Elols followed Telona into the Cestus Complex, surviving the nightmare scenario until help arrived.

Soon after, Master Stormfyld passed Dralin's apprenticeship on to Telona, who had the time to devote to his training. It was then that Dralin was made the Archivist of Battle Team Praxeum, only to gain the position of Tetrarch shortly thereafter.

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Dralin is adept at the physical aspect of the Force.

Telona's Apprentice

Dralin's apprenticeship to Telona Murrage would prove to be both the most difficult thing he would encounter so far, as well as the most rewarding. Telona by no means went easy on Dralin, who would have to prove himself at every turn. Under Telona, he learned the art of Close Quarters Battle, which helped to hone his abilities in self-defense, as well as the true value of independent thought and the proper use of his physical Force powers. One thing that would plague him, however, was his inability to perceive the universe without his twin sister. While Dralin knew that it was the Force that allowed him to do this, he had unconsciously supplanted his twin bond with his Force sensitivity, forcing his mind to personify that which he couldn't have explained previously. It was still unnerving for him to think of his constant companion as an impartial and impersonal power.

During this time, Dralin also reorganized the battleteam Praxeum into Arcano Signum, as the members felt that they were no longer a training institution for new members and needed a change.

Settling In

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The Yuuzhan Vong were among the most dangerous opponents a Dark Jedi could face.

As Dralin settled into being both Telona's right hand and the leader of Arcano Signum, so too was the Clan settling more firmly into the Yridia system. Refugees from the war with the Yuuzhan Vong began flooding the system, causing strain upon the populous and their Dark Jedi nobles. However, certain problems began popping up in the perfect places to cause enough unrest among the people to revolt, these problems seeming to be coordinated to those who knew that to look for. In order to investigate one of these occurrences, Dralin was dispatched by Telona to ply his quiet trade and get a lock on where supplies destined for the Sword's Sheath were being diverted to. Stashed aboard a freighter and disguised as a fellow refugee, Dralin was, in addition to investigating House Gladius' lack of water, supposed to get a feel for the refugees among the freighter, trying to find any connection between them and those that have poisoned Yridia IX's water supply.

In the process of acting the part of a refugee, Dralin was noticed by those aboard the freighter, and was subsequently knocked out and stashed in a different room, guarded by a thug. Since they didn't count on capturing a trained Force-user, Dralin easily escaped, but was led to a shocking discovery- those that captured him were military leaders, disguised as refugees, and employing street thugs as subordinates. Before landing, Dralin overheard one of the thugs and their need to get to Eden Greenturf, the warehousing district on Yridia IX, so once the freighter landed, he hotwired a speeder with the Force and sped off.

He arrived to see one of the Clan Elders, Doni Tzu Tarentae, being attacked by dozens of thugs, all acting in a military manner, confirming his theory. Together, Dralin and Doni Tzu prevented being overrun by the hoard, but gained a valuable piece of the puzzle from the mind of a dying "thug": Eliad. Armed with the name of a planet, the Yevethan Elder and the Tetrarch made their way back to government headquarters in Eden City, where Doni Tzu got in contact with the other Elders of Tarentum. It was decided that Doni Tzu and Dralin would be sent to Eliad to skulk around, while the rest of Tarentum would try to learn more from their end. Before the two left for Eliad, however, they were able to discern the involvement Deutta the Hutt of Karideph by listening in on Holonet transmissions, who was somehow tied into the contingent from Eliad. Unbeknown to the two Dark Jedi, however, Deutta had introduced a third party to the equation, armed with the tantalizing knowledge that Yridia was controlled by what appeared to be Jedi, thanks to Jason Hunter's brazen display before a riot.

Disguised as merchants, Dralin and Doni Tzu landed on Eliad to discover the reason for Eliad's attempts to overturn Tarentum's government: money. The nobility of Eliad were placed there by Emperor Palpatine, all of them having been stripped of nearly all their money. In a bid for more land and resources, Eliad had been stealing starwars:Lommite lommite from Yridia IX in order to create an income for themselves, and enlisted the aid of Deutta the Hutt in an attempt to overthrow the Tarentum government and take the Yridia system for themselves. When they were making good their escape, however, Yuuzhan Vong ships, lured to Eliad by the promise of two Jeedai- Dralin and Doni Tzu- by Deutta the Hutt, began dropping out of the sky. During the escape attempt, Doni Tzu was captured by the Vong, and Dralin's ship was shot out of the sky.

Determined to do his part to ensure the survival of the Clan, Dralin opened a communications channel with Telona back at Sword's Sheath, explaining to her the situation, and urging her to get the Clan to strike at Deutta the Hutt, who obviously had information that could destroy the Dark Jedi. Dralin resigned himself to his fate, knowing that his warning got through. Telona, however, had other plans. She warned the Clan of the threat Deutta presented while she geared up to save Dralin and Doni Tzu, accompanied by Ziltopia and Apollo. Once on Eliad, Ziltopia tracked down Dralin while Telona and Apollo attempted to fight their way to Doni Tzu. The two were just in time to see Doni be taken prisoner by the Vong, and so set out, with Dralin and Ziltopia in tow, to warn the rest of Tarentum of the true threat of Yuuzhan Vong in the area, as well as the location of Deutta the Hutt: Karideph.

Settling Home

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Karideph lays both at the end of the Rimma Trade Route and the beginning of the Trition Trade Route

Characteristics

"There is much power in appearances. How else would the wolf get close to the sheep?"

―Dralin Hakh'khar

Dralin Hakh'khar, Scion of Telona Murrage

Appearance

Dralin stands at an average height, as well as weighing in at average. His clothes often appear nondescript while on missions and the like, but his nondescript clothing often conceals hidden pockets for poisons

Academia

Languages

• Bothese
• Galactic Basic
• Honoghran
• Omwatese
• Sith

DJB Facts

Medals

• 1 Crescent with a Topaz Star
• 2 Crescents with a Sapphire Star
• 1 Crescent with a Quartz Star

Degrees

• Dark Maven Degree in History
• Dark Maven Degree in Philosophy

Outstanding Achievements

• Dralin escaped from the old Cestus Complex on Koros.

Brimstone	Apprentice to Telona Murrage 26 ABY - 30 ABY	N/A
Kazarelth	Krath Tetrarch of Arcano Signum 27 ABY - 28 ABY	Ronovi Tavisaen
Apollo	Aedile of House Gladius 28 ABY - 29 ABY	Scion Altera