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Template:Organization infobox
- "The shroud of the dark side."
- ―Battleteam Motto
Ebon Cloak is one of the older Battleteams of House Acclivis Draco of Clan Scholae Palatinae. Ebon Cloak now functions as the training phyle of House Acclivis Draco.
History
Origins of the Ebon Cloak
Also called the Dark Cloak and the Cloak of Command, it was commissioned ca 998 BBY by Darth Millennial. Millennial was an apostate Sith who rejected Darth Bane’s Rule of Two and founded the Dark Force religion on Dromund Kaas, a planet in the outer rim. The planet was a colony world of the original Sith Empire. Millennial gathered Sith alchemists and sorcerers, calling them Prophets of the Dark Side. The prophets became known for creating horrific Sithspawn such as Gorc, Pic, and mutated Noghri, as well as weapons steeped in the dark side of the Force.
The prophets altered Cerullian death spiders, both genetically and through the dark side, to create an incredibly strong spider silk that resonated with the Force. Using this silk they wove a cloak so dark that it seemed to draw the light, as if being sucked into a black hole. A commander wearing the cloak could much more easily access the Force and use it to control beings and creatures with unspoken thoughts, and receive unbidden visions of the future and of distant events.
Any being wearing the cloak would have untold power at his fingertips, if he or she knew how to control and use the Force. Darth Millennial used it well as long as he lived, and upon his death it passed from Prophet to Prophet, always hidden in secrecy upon the legendary world of Dromund Kaas for over 900 years.
Then the Prophets became aware of a human, incredibly strong in the Force, a practitioner of the dark side. Visions of the future showed the Council of Prophets that this Senator would one day conquer the galaxy and destroy the enemies of the dark side. At a secret ceremony, a conclave of Prophets bestowed their most treasured possession upon Palpatine, Darth Sidious, approximately 30 years before the Battle of Yavin.
Realizing that Sidious was becoming reckless and heedless of the tidings of the Force, the Prophets ordered the Emperor’s Mages to watch carefully. When Palpatine died aboard the second Death Star, one of the Mages was able to retrieve the Ebon Cloak from the body of the emperor and escape to Bosthirda. There it remained in the hands of Supreme Prophet Kadann until his death at the hands of his apprentice Azrakel. With the destruction and scattering of the Prophets by Lumiya and her apprentice Carnor Jax, the cloak lay hidden away for a number of years.
Cuchulain Darkblade Palpatine heard rumors of the Ebon Cloak during his galaxy-wide travels, and after a long search found the hidden planet Bosthirda, which even Darth Sidious could not do. There he found the cloak, its significance lost on the Dark Lady who destroyed the Dark Side religion. The cloak has been in the hands of the Palpatine family ever since, helping them control Clan Scholae Palatinae and rule the Cocytus System.
When Tra'an Reith took over as Quaestor of Acclivis Draco, he decided to reopen Ebon Cloak. With Koryn Thraagus already in a leadership position, Tra'an turned to someone experienced in leading a Battle Team and who had proven himself to be loyal to HAD. That someone was Draco Maligo.
During Great Jedi War IX, the battleteam proved its mettle in the invasion of Antei. Three members especially warrant mention for their roles: Tetrarch Draco Maligo earned a battlefield promotion to Krath Priest; Korroth Karn earned his promotion to Jedi Hunter; and Karean fought exceptionally well on the field of battle. Due in no small part to the efforts of Clan Scholae Palatinae and battleteam Ebon Cloak, Antei is again in Dark Brotherhood hands.
Headquarters
The official headquarters of the Ebon Cloak are the offices in the Southern turret of the Dragons Citadel. The Tetrarch’s office is at the top of the turret, while below it there is a meeting room with a long table and computer terminal, a planning room with a large holoprojector and various other spaces that could be set up for any type of gathering or conference.
The main entrance to the headquarters, which spans the whole base of the turret, is where Dark Jedi aspiring to enter the Battleteam must start their journey to the Sedes Doctrina, where their enrolment will be completed. Starting from this room, the Dark Jedi will have to travel, on foot, out of the Dragons Citadel, across Eastern Li Gandor, through Batnare and the Sea of the Rising and finally arrive at the Sedes in the Hollow Lands. Inside the Dripping Hall, the rituals of initiation into the Ebon Cloak will be completed and the Dark Jedi will become a full member of the Battleteam. Obviously, if the Dark Jedi fails to travel from the Dragons Citadel to the Sedes Doctrina on foot, they will not be permitted to enter the Battleteam, thus making this journey a test of the Dark Jedi’s dedication to joining the Ebon Cloak.
Sedes Doctrina
The Sedes Doctrina is the heart of the Battleteam’s operations. It is on Antenora, on the Southern edge of the continent of Batnare, where the Sea of the Rising gives way to the rocky expanse of Af Demizon. It has been excavated inside one of the cave complexes that riddle the Hollow Lands, not very distant from the city of Nas Modeh. The construction of the Sedes was authorized by House Acclivis Draco after the Ebon Cloak showed its potential during the retaking of Antei in 30 ABY. The House Summit intended this facility to be the training grounds for the journeymen of the House, where the future generations of Equites and Elders would be moulded into shape; hence its name (Sedes Doctrina can be roughly translated as temple of learning).
The Sedes is composed of four main sectors that surround the massive natural cavern known as the Dripping Hall. To the South of the Dripping Hall, the entrance consists of the security hub, the MediLab, the reception and the hangar. West of the Hall, the arena provides combat training and exercise facilities. North of the Hall is the archives, where Dark Jedi will go to conduct research, acquire knowledge, study battlefield tactics and attend lectures. Also to the north lies the alchemy labs and the sorcery circle and Krath altar. The residence quarters are East of the Hall, consisting of the dormitories and living spaces of the Battleteam.
The actual location of the Sedes is kept a secret from the local population, but the tribesmen of Soba Karemu and Naa Ugo call the area around the Sedes the “Canyon of Howling Souls”, and they believe so strongly that it is haunted that they will not travel anywhere near it. It is possible that this fear originates from the animal and human test subjects that are used by the Battleteam, whose cries of pain can sometimes be heard even from outside the Sedes cave complex. During the Krath ritual to sanctify the Sedes a dark side nexus was created encompassing the grotto, to enable journeymen to advance more quickly by easing their connection to the dark side of the Force.
Entrance
The main entrance can be accessed by a path that winds its way up from the canyon floor to the mouth of the cave, about one quarter of the way up the vertical face of the cliff. The actual entrance and tunnel beyond it are a natural formation, probably eroded into existence by an underground stream. The natural tunnel leads first to the reception, where a clerk can be found and where every visitor is made to deposit their weapons before continuing to the rest of the Sedes. The reception houses the records of the identity and business of everyone that entered and left the Sedes.
The reception connects to the security hub, the Dripping Hall, the MediLab and the hangar.
Hangar
The outside entrance to the hangar is hidden within a recess in the rock face of the canyon. Although this makes entering the hangar slightly more difficult, it ensures that it remains hidden from prying eyes.
The hangar can also be accessed by a turbolift platform that can carry people and small vehicles to the plains above the canyon and back. Although the main entrance is used in official occasions, the Battleteam members most often use this turbolift. The turbolift shaft is hidden from the outside by a stone outcropping.
The tunnel from the hangar leads directly to the reception, so that all visitors, expected or not, have to go through the security check-in.
MediLab
The MediLab is situated near to the entrance and hangar tunnels, so as to allow quick access in case of emergency. The MediLab contains four beds, two bacta-tanks and a diagnostics station. It also has a decently large medical cabinet and a passable operating theatre equipped for basic operations.
The MediLab is always kept well-stocked and up-to-date, since it is the only practicable Brotherhood healthcare centre outside of Li Gandor.
Security hub
Linking directly to the reception, the security hub houses the displays of all the cameras present in and around the Sedes, and it has the controls of all the sealable doors, the traps, the lights and the override switches. The hub is completely encased in duralloy and it can be magnetically sealed by two durasteel doors. A side room with life-support supplies, food and weapons will allow twelve people to survive in the hub for several weeks. The security hub is where the Battleteam would make a last stand in case of a siege to the Sedes.
Dripping Hall
Continuing past the reception, the natural tunnel of the entrance gradually widens into a massive chamber which forms the centre of the Sedes Doctrina. Only the floor of the cavern has been planed; the walls and roof form a natural dome that reaches almost sixty metres in height. The surface of the dome is entirely made up of beautiful stalactites, whose water droplets glitter in the Hall’s scant light. These droplets continue, as they have for countless millennia, to trickle down to the floor of the Hall creating a ceaseless concert of dripping water, thus giving the name to the cavern. It is said that, should all of the stalactites of the Hall stop dripping, a terrible catastrophe would descend upon the Sedes Doctrina and the Ebon Cloak.
At the centre of the Hall, a lone stalagmite rises from the floor and almost touches the giant stalactite that reaches down from the centre of the dome. These natural behemoths (each calculated to be at least 25 metres tall) have been left untouched when the Sedes was built because they hold an important meaning and lesson for the Ebon Cloak. The stalagmite and stalactite started off as the smallest protrusions in the rock of the cavern, but as each droplet slid down the stalactite and dropped to the stalagmite it left a speck of minerals on their tips, thus allowing the two structures, through millennia of ceaseless dripping, to grow to their current size. This expresses to the Ebonites how, no matter how small one is at the beginning, one can grow through patience and relentless perseverance to reach the highest levels of power.
The Dripping Hall is occasionally equipped to host banquets, large meetings or official ceremonies. It is here that new members complete the initiation rites and are draped in the Ebon Cloak.
Being in the centre of the Sedes, the Hall branches out to connect to all of the sections of the Sedes. To the South is the entrance; to the East the residence quarters; the Sith-Krath complex to the North and the Obelisk compound to the West.
Roll of Tetrarches
- Adam Anderson
- Saitou - 12/4/2000 - 4/9/2001
- J'Lek Arcanos
- Tirna Q'jira
- Quowal
- Saitou: 5/3/2002 - 5/12/2002
- Karva Dronaal
- Lorad Desmos: 5/14/2003 - 6/11/2003
- Saitou: 9/16/2003 - 10/8/2003
- Vally Tamalar: 10/19/2003 - 10/26/2003
- Kschamehellan: 12/13/2003 - 12/19/2003
- Issard Jokaat: 3/26/2004 - ?
- Mordecai Orren Vathalan
- Exodius: 1/30/2005 - 5/5/2005
- Uzbad Zol Tamalar: 8/20/2005 - 11/14/2005
- Laurus: 11/14/2005 - 2/13/2006
- Cethgus: 3/9/2006 - 4/21/2006
- Uzbad Zol Tamalar: 4/23/2006 - 6/19/2006
- Radek: 6/19/2006 - 7/21/2006
- Kara Incendia Zor-El: 2/3/2008 - 8/30/2008
- Draco Maligo 2/9/08 - present
(Note: This is an incomplete list. Please contribute to this list if you have any information pertaining to the topic.)
Trivia
Membership Roster
- JH Korroth Karn
- GRD Lailoken
- PRT Karean
- PRT Aro-wan
- PRT Rex Brannigan
- PRT Draco Sangria
- ACO Vascyus Rajax
- ACO Aemilia Rincs
Draco maligo 22:36, 12 May 2009 (MDT)