Terentatek are fabled beasts that have wiped out entire legions of Jedi through the ages as they tried to hunt down and exterminate them. Creatures of nightmares crafted from the very essence of the Dark Side, Terentateks are feared throughout the force-using community for their natural resistance to its power. Feared, that is, by all but one group: Arcona.
General
Biology and Appearance
A wild Terentatek
Physical Description
Similar in appearance to the rancors of Dathomir, they stand several meters tall and are unusually broad across the shoulders. Like their (relatively) more common cousins, these carnivorous reptomammals are usually brown, though this does vary on occasion. They are warm-blooded, like mammals; however, while they care for their young, offspring are hatched rather than birthed. Terentateks are bipedal, despite the stubby nature of their legs and lack of fine motor control. While all of this is similar to rancors, there are two obvious cosmetic differences. They only grow to 3.5 meters, one-half to one-third the size of their counterparts. In addition to this, they have a number of spines growing from their back and various joints, as well as a pair of tusks attached to their mouths. These tusks and claws are venomous, able to fell creatures several times their size and toxic-enough to kill a Jedi despite their use of the Force.
Theory of Origin
- "Some say they are products of Sith Alchemy. Others think they were simply rancors twisted with dark-side energy. Regardless, they are aggressive and deadly."
- ―Luke Skywalker
A multitude of theories have sprung up over the millennia regarding the evolution of terentateks. While most xenobiologists insist they evolved naturally on Korriban, fragmented records of both Jedi and Sith disagree - both with the mainstream theory and with each other.
According to Jedi lore, terentateks were engineered by Exar Kun on Yavin IV circa 4,000 BBY. Jedi assert that the Sith Lord created them with the intention of setting them loose upon the Galaxy to destroy the Jedi, a claim backed by their use in the attacks on various Jedi outposts across the galaxy.
Sith legend, on the other hand, claims that the terentateks of Korriban were mutated by the Dark Side itself, distorted gradually until they became the perfect Jedi Killers.
Regardless of which view is correct, terentateks are fearsome by any standards. Their hides are immune to the Force, and nearly as impervious to blaster bolts or melee weapons. When combined with their enormous strength and both their ability to sense and unreasoning aggression towards Force Users, most attempts to capture or destroy these beasts have failed. Eventually, fear of the beasts led to a Great Hunt, with numerous Jedi travelling the galaxy in an attempt to exterminate the species. For all their training and resources, none of the hunting parties were entirely successful. The terentateks went into hibernation, but repeated resurgences over the years proved the species had survived.
Behaviour
While they are warm-blooded and live in groups, their behavior more closely resembles that of a reptile. They do not nurse their young, and even though mothers provide food for their offspring, they are apt to eat them if survival necessitates it. Though their primary prey are Force Users, they will eat other creatures to survive. They subsist entirely on live prey, however, which can make it difficult for packs to survive without cannibalizing members of the group. To offset this, terentateks have the ability to hibernate for long periods of time - hundreds, or even thousands, of years - emerging when either the Dark Side is stronger, or prey is more plentiful.
Drogon
Acquisition
Drogon Captured
Great Jedi War X
Darth Ashen (in an almost unprecedented display of generosity) following the Tenth Great Jedi War saw fit to award his Clans and Houses with information gleaned from the Holocron of Antiquities that detailed how to create various Sithspawn. However knowledge alone isn't enough, and often the Clans and Houses discovered that Sith Alchemy and harnessing Sithspawn was more costly than they could imagine. In recognition of their utter victory against the Jedi of New Tython, Darth Ashen gave the Arconan Summit first choice of the knowledge which he would bestow upon them. Knowing that even Jedi can sow a terrible vengeance, they claimed as their own the knowledge necessary for the creation of a terentatek, preparing for the inevitable day when the Jedi would strike back against their conquerors.
Capture of Rancor on Dathomir
A small team of female Arconans, comprised of Ronovi, Xathia, Socorra and Fet'ai'narun, travelled to Dathomir to secure a rancor for Clan Arcona. After encountering and befriending a group of Nightsisters, they were given the knowledge to capture and tame such a beast. Using a pair of male initiates as bait, they lured the rancor into a trap and bound it with cabling. Though the Nightsisters had originally intended to betray the offworlders, they found themselves impressed with the group’s command of the Force and skill in trapping the Rancor. Rather than attack, they let them leave without further incident, and extended an offer to them to join the band of Dathomiri Force Witches should they ever find themselves tired of the succor offered by the Dark Jedi Brotherhood.
Creation
While the exact details of the terentatek’s creation remain a mystery, a handful of facts regarding the procedure are known. Arconans have long been termed the Shadow Clan, due to their ability to summon Force Wraiths - a necessity for the creation of a terentatek. Mejas, Strategos and Timeros - Arconae all, and the most knowledgeable Shadow Weavers of the Clan - combined their prowess to aid in this creation. Summoning the most powerful Force Wraith possible, they implanted it within the terentatek, hooking its ethereal will into the beast’s body and melding the two into a single creature. The process was undoubtably arduous, and records indicate it took several days of constant struggle to force the Wraith into submission and bind it irrevocably within the rancor.
While it was expected that the process would have significant physiological consequences, the proposed extent of those consequences was hotly debated prior to the procedure. When all was said and done, the extent of the changes the beast underwent were both drastic and frightening, for all that they exceeded expectations. Not only was the melding permanent, as hoped, but it seemed to reverse the usual properties inherent to Force Wraiths. Rather than being immune to physical attacks and highly susceptible to the Force, the terentatek became nearly immune to any Force-based attacks and capable - unlike a Wraith - of feeling physical pain. As if this weren’t odd enough, the new creature’s emotions were highly volatile, filled with a rage and hunger distinctly unlike that found in rancors or Force Wraiths.
Holographic Model of Drogon
Training
Being a Wraith, it is pernicious by nature; though it is bound to follow the commands of the Arconae. Nonetheless, the melding has given it a measure of sub-sentient individuality, allowing it to rail against commands with varying degrees of success. All attempts by non-Arconae, no matter how well-trained or strong-willed, have been met with utter failure. Despite this, each new Arconan is required to attempt mastery of the creature, with rumor of great rewards in store for any who can make it docile.
For all the difficulty in training the creature, there have been a handful of progressive strides. It responds well to Force-based commands from Arconae, and tests have proven that it can be incited to attack - or quelled - by the same, regardless of the target involved. The one exception to this involves Mejas, an historic figure within Arconae. Consul Wuntila was working with Drogon, alongside the mad Dark Jedi. In a fit of pique, the Consul ordered the terentatek to attack Mejas. Mejas, for his part, made no move to stop it - and in the end, none was required. Rather than attack one of its three creators, Drogon turned on the Consul himself. Only with the assistance of Timeros and Strategos Arconae could the beast be settled.
Despite the danger and frustration involved in training Drogon, attempts continue with rocky, intermittent success. While many call it pointless, the Arconae know that there may come a day when the existence of the terentatek - and its prowess against Force Users - could make the difference between Arcona’s continued existence and succumbing to the machinations of their enemies.
Trivia
- While Arcona has long claimed to have a terentatek captured in the Citadel’s bestiary, this has been non-canon. Now, with the rewards given out during the 10th Great Jedi War, the Shadow Clan can proudly display their captured mascot in Brotherhood-wide events.
- The backstory of the terentatek, and its training, were authored by Invictus after the Great Jedi War, and went through several revisions. Considerable input was given by the Arconan Summit, with the section involving Dathomir originally authored by Scelestus.
- To this day, the Clan’s Proconsul Marick still thinks this is a turtleneck.