- "Ignorance is death."
- ―Lan
Lan, who recently abandoned the complexities of his old name, is a Krath Archpriest of Clan Arcona.
Nobody is quite sure of when he joined the Dark Jedi Brotherhood (not even himself), but everyone knows that was a while ago. Since that time he had the opportunity to serve in every position within the clan structure, from team member to Consul. Currently he seems content in serving his clan as a regular member, but those who've known him for a while know he is always looking after his own interests - whatever they may be.
Lan is, clinically and definitely, insane. Diagnosed with severe schizophrenia his current state could be described as reasonably "stable", but for a long time cohexistance with him was nearly impossible as he suffered from delusions of persecution, reference and nihilism as well as hallucinations, disorganized speech, disorganized or catatonic behavior and affective flattening. He still shows signs of his condition, such as talking to himself when he thinks nobody is watching, occasional incoherent phrases or behaviors and constant mood swings - most people prefer to keep a safe distance from him, but violent episodes have become rare.
But Lan wasn't always insane...
Brief History
Before
Lan's past is a mystery known only to a handful of individuals: his childhood in Dathomir, what forced him to leave the planet, the tragic events that forged his obsession for knowledge. What is generally known about him are some facts concerning his life within the Dark Jedi Brotherhood.
Lan joined the Brotherhood already a young adult, in a time when Master and Student programs were far from being common. As a Journeyman, Lan was an eager and daring swordsman, so much that he was first initiated into the Sith Order in a time when Orders meant something. Where some saw courage in his actions, others saw a death wish. When faced with different possible courses of action he would often choose the one with the least chance of success. Many times it resulted in his near-death and just as many times he managed to achieve near-impossible victory, but it was always clear that something, maybe the Force itself, watched over him.
He was deeply interested in dueling, but despite his intrepid nature he did not have the thirst for fighting and war that molded the Obelisk and the Sith. Above all, he craved knowledge: knowledge of the Force, alchemy, Force entities, death and beyond. His interests would seem like a strange combination to a duelist, but keener minds could readily understand that those were means to an end. But what end? His interests eventually made him abandon the Sith ways and become a Krath, and he wandered the clans of the Brotherhood looking for answers.
His life took a major turn once he learned of the Abyssal Tome, the book jealously guarded by Clan Arcona, handed down from Consul to Consul and from which they learned the secrets of Shadowcrafting. Lan became obsessed with the book and its secrets, and soon would find his way into that clan. His devious machinations eventually made him Consul of Arcona, and he had access to the dreaded pages of the Tome.
That was when everything went wrong.
Insanity
As the months went by, Lan became more and more absent on his duties as Consul as he focused on studying the Abyssal Tome. As Vassan Rokir, the former Consul, had warned him, as an Archpriest Lan did not have the grounding to handle the truths hidden within the pages of the book, so he should proceed with caution. Of course, he didn't.
What followed is a secret known only to four individuals. Lan had not been seen for over a week when his Proconsul, Halcyon Rokir, gathered a handful of the most loyal men he could find and went looking for the missing Consul. They forced their entry into the deepest levels of the Arconan citadel, where Lan spent most of his time locked up, but they were not ready for what they saw: Lan was lying in the middle of a strange arcane circle drawn in blood on the cold floor, holding a knife, and the Abyssal Tome was open beside him. The man was completely nude and the knife bloodied from the tattoos he had carved in his own flesh, covering his whole body up to the neck. Despite the severe injuries he caused himself he did not die: he was lying there, shivering in a catatonic state. His face was somewhat twisted, rugged and mutating, getting years older every few seconds.
Without hesitating for an instant, Halcyon murdered the men that followed him. He picked the disabled Consul, his friend, from the floor and secretly moved him to the clan summit's chambers. There, he summoned Lan's apprentice, a young Zabrak named Akyria, and ordered her to leave with her master as soon as possible, for "he would not be safe otherwise, in his debilitated state". Confused and fearful for her master's life she obeyed, and in that same night the two departed, not to be seen again for years. The news spread of the Consul's sudden "disappearance", and Halcyon stepped up to lead the clan.
Lan returned to the Brotherhood after years wandering the galaxy with this apprentice, and the Archpriest's insanity was on its peak. He arrived completely unexpectedly, one day he simply was there, wandering the halls of the citadel as if he never had left. (To be continued)