- "Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. "
- ―Friedrich Nietzsche
Mitsuhide is a Krath Archpriest in House Marka Ragnos of Naga Sadow. He is the current Mythology Professor of the Simus Institute and a member of Night Hawks. His time is spent instructing his students and enjoying the surprise on their faces each time he chooses to speak.
History
Childhood and Adolescence 5220 BBY - 2 ABY
In 5220 BBY, Mitsuhide was born and showed the greatest promise at an early age. He spent his time teasing his older brother soon after he could talk and was continually correcting his schoolwork. There was little that Mitsuhide could not do within an instant of learning of it. Some years down the road, his family died in a random conflict. Mitsuhide, learned of this and sunk into dark despair. This began his slow slide towards the Dark Side of the Force.
Mitsuhide would eventually be taken in by a family that was old and without children. They taught him their family's way of fighting and this would take up much of his time. Learning the way of the sword became the focus of his life, and it would be many more years before he learned the truth of his parents. Mitsuhide's childhood from then on is something that is well known. He was raised by a family of warriors who protected had protected their village for generations. His childhood was largely dominated by respect from the other families of the village, so his childhood was lonely as he was taught he was superior to them. Because of this, he is slow to make friends even so many years after he had lost his feeling of superiority. He never had friends growing up, due to the fact that his family was revered. This simple fact is the reason he still has few friends and spent most of his childhood mastering his family's arts.
On the days that he was not training with his blade, Mitsuhide began to learn to dance. He found great enjoyment in this, find the solace from some terrible loss that had completely taken over his mind. He always knew he didn't belong in this village, but it was his home and he knew the people he lived with as his family. In his dances, his movements always showed a deep sense of sorrow that nothing could contend with. He spent so much time dancing and practicing his swordsmanship, that he severed all Human contact. Something he would find later was a defense mechanism from his parents' deaths.
He grew up quietly and quickly, soon leaving his 'home' after he had watched everyone he knew grow old and pass on. He watched over the village until almost 2 ABY. He left not because he wanted to, but because he simply had an urging to be elsewhere. From his home on Dantooine, he left on a transport to Corellia and from there he worked various odd jobs. He learned how to pilot small spacecraft from the spacers in the port and cantinas, eventually learning everything he could and bought his own ship. He fell in love with a Z-95 Headhunter which was in absolute shambles. He spent the next six months rebuilding every part of the craft, before one day he simply vanished. He considered this final departure from his second home the end of his childhood and adolescence. These were truly the end of his innocence as he journeyed out of Known Space.
Adulthood: The Unknown 2 ABY - 18 ABY
Mitsuhide's journey out of Known Space is shrouded in mystery and rumors. Some have heard reports that he killed more than a hundred men in a single battle, even more say that he has died before and risen again due to an unclean end. All that is really known, is that Mitsuhide dropped of the radar of all living beings for almost a decade. There were few who could find him; fewer still who could keep him found. He doesn't speak of his journeys, his findings nor his life during that time. Due to this silence, people have only been able to speculate what he has done. The truth behind it is simply this. He lived only by his blade and knew that he would die by it. He traveled much of unknown space and in doing so, it has left his mind slightly unraveled. He was alone and faced the blackest of nights with not a soul to talk with. Many times, he nearly found himself sucking space because of the dementia he began to suffer from. His movements had become erratic and his thoughts thirsted only for his death. He stared into the abyss and it looked deep into his soul. He began to lust for violence, a lust that would not be quelled for many more years to come. It was about this time that an alternate personality began to surface. The natives of one planet called it Bhadra, meaning Traveler. It was not always present, but at times was so present that it took over most motor functions that Mitsuhide had.
For many years, this "Bhadra" was his only company. The voice wouldn't name himself, so Mitsuhide gave him a name and even began to refer to him as such. Faram is what Mitsuhide named this voice and it seemed to have known Mitsuhide since he was a child. It knew secrets to his past and called him by his real name, Zalera. Faram was always there, perhaps not speaking but always watching. He used Mitsuhide's eyes and took in everything that Mitsuhide saw and filing it away. This eventually caused Mitsuhide to partition his mind in an attempt to keep Faram from taking control on him.
It was then that he became almost barbaric in his ways of fighting, the fluidity of his movements lost for sheer power of the swing; another process that would take many years to revert from. He had lost much of his taste for dancing, his taste for flair. His fighting style was no longer graceful, it was simply brutal and deadly. He traveled for another year and a half before he would return to known space, his mind, however, would never be the same as it was before his departure. It was during this time that he began to feel the fabric of his sanity slipping. He felt his grip on reality slipping and soon began to believe that there were things, both seen and unseen, that stalked him in the shadows.
His silence, in his mind, is well deserved for this subject. No one would understand his life during that time, so he remains reticent about it. His spends most of his time is silent observation, watching as things pass him by with or without his comment or even notice.
Adulthood: The Brotherhood 18 ABY - 28 ABY
Upon his return to Known Space, Mitsuhide learned of the Brotherhood of the Dark Jedi. Finding some small amount of joy in his heart, his lips twisted into a vicious smile and he set the course for the Shadow Academy on Lyspair. His intelligence, it seemed, had not dwindled during his time out in the Unknown, but his demeanor was greatly changed. Within the first six months of joining the Brotherhood, he had smothered six of his fellow pupils and felled another two. He quickly rose through the ranks to Protector. He sat at that rank for many years, seemingly unable to advance further. This, of course, enraged the young man to no end. He almost immediately began to work twice as hard on his studies. During this time, the Dark Brotherhood was breaking ties with the Emperor's Hammer. Mitsuhide sided with the Hammer for a time, before finding that they simply could not feed his needs of power. Contacting the then Grand Master Firefox, Mitsuhide approached him with a humble heart and asked to be allowed into the true Brotherhood.
With open arms, he was welcomed into the ranks of Clan Naga Sadow. He served faithfully under the Keibatsu brothers, Muz Keibatsu Sadow and Nekura Manji Keibatsu. He rose quickly through the ranks, reaching Knighthood faster than he imagined possible. The brothers saw his talent and made him the Tetrarch of the Avatars of Darkness. Excelling marvelously at this new position, Mitsuhide found himself at the forefront of this once dead battleteam. Soon after, however, Mitsuhide suffered from a sense of restlessness and left his home behind for a time. Just before his departure, Consul Korras Aquillarum promoted him to Krath Priest.
With his new robes in hand, Mitsuhide thanked his leaders for the honor of serving under them and he promised to be back soon. Some few months later, he hungered once more for the company of the Dark Jedi. Returning to Naga Sadow, he found himself conflicted with feelings of indifference and struck out once more. Spending a few brief months in Clan Tarentum, Mitsuhide eventually settled into Clan Plagueis under the leadership of Proconsul Aabsdu di Plagia Dupar and Consul Aristan Dantes. Soon, Aristan Dantes found himself taking Grand Master Jac Cotelin's place as the Grand Master of the Dark Brotherhood. With Aabsdu now leading Clan Plagueis, Mitsuhide once more felt the restlessness arise.
After several months, Mitsuhide returned once more to Clan Plagueis. He spent his time now as Clan Envoy and as the Tetrarch of Exar's Shadow. Soon afterwards, he resigned from team leader to focus solely on his duties as Clan Envoy. Soon after, he was promoted to Krath Archpriest and then made Quaestor of House Satal Keto. This venture, however, did not last long. The summit feared another uprising and Mitsuhide was summarily forced to resign from his position. This incurred a great rancor from Mitsuhide and he vowed that one day he would see the Clan that had spurned him fall. He wished no ill will on the members of the clan, nor the clan itself. He would simply be there at the point of it destruction to laugh.
Departing once more, Mitsuhide left Brotherhood Space and was not heard from for many months. Where he went, no one knows, but he simply will not talk about it. He was gone for the better part of a year, this time his return to Clan Plagueis was met with deceit and lies. He was brought in as though there was no wrong done in the past and he felt he had the chance to flourish once more. This was not so, however, when the Aedile of House Satal Keto Alaris Jinn confronted Mitsuhide about a small matter with a Guardian named Kara Rohana. Ignoring this officious windbag, Mitushide continued with business as usual. He took on an apprentice, Kalei Basai and began instructing her in the ways of the Force and of the Sword.
Soon, though, events would arise that would cause the Archpriest to leave his home and be inevitably drawn back to Naga Sadow. He would confront Braecen Kaeth the Consul of Plagueis and express his distaste for a Guardian being made Aedile. Braecen, after hearing this, flew into a rage and demanded that Mitushide vacate his clan. Without further hesitation, Mitsuhide beseeched the Master at Arms and asked to be transferred into Naga Sadow. His apprentice was soon to follow as she would soon become villanized by Plagueis and ultimately made to feel as though she were already gone.
Shortly after his return to Naga Sadow, a civil war broke out between the Houses. He soon decided that House Marka Ragnos was not the place he wanted to be, so he departed for Ludo Kressh, the sister House in the Clan. He has since been hard to find as his paranoia leads him to suspect everyone and distance himself from people. He is, however, feeling himself drawn elsewhere. As though someone is looking for him, wanting his assistance.
He now spends his time engrossed in his studies, closing himself away in the Libraries of Naga Sadow. He has utterly ignored all contact and opted only to work on his studies. He closets himself in the libraries and only exits during the night when he feels the absolute need for sleep.
Upon transferring from Marka Ragnos, Mitsuhide quickly joined the House Summit as Rollmaster of the House. Though, however, his near inability to converse with people led him to resign from the position and accepting a teaching job in the Simus Institute. His students are all surprised to see that the Archpriest is, in fact, capable of speaking. He teaches his students much about the mythology of the Clan, the Brotherhood, and the entire Galaxy. He often times finds himself rambling to his students which gives him a few meaningful stares from the Consul Robert Daragon. However, his students sometimes even hear of Myths outside of Known Space from his journeys. Much of his lessons are about things that have been proven to be myth, but some such as those from the Unknown can neither be confirmed as real or not.
With the partitions inside of his head weakening, Mitsuhide once more has to struggle against remembering his past and deal with Faram. Having cast away his birth name, he has truly become the "son" of the Akechi family that had taken him in so many years prior. Though, he subconsciously remembers his training and how to dance, he continues to fail at retaining the memories and they come to him in flashes of grace and nobility.
Adulthood: Change of Heart 29 ABY - Present
Mitsuhide withstood yet another war. He had found that he no longer felt the call of blood, no longer felt the seductive pull of the Dark Side. Shifting his ideals, he took his katana and melted the blade down. After days of working the steel, he placed the razor sharp edge on the inside of the blade with the thick dull end facing outwards. With the reversed blade, he vowed that he would take no more lives in atonement for his past.
He began instructing those who sought his guidance the power of mercy. The freedom it brought with it and the honor of protecting those close to you with a sword.
"A sword is truly a weapon. One that is designed only for death. The innocence of my teaching is nice talk. But, I would like to believe that someday it will be true."
-Mitsuhide Akechi
His mind having unlocked and reformed together, his brother's spirit has gone to rest. He doesn't have violent mood swings anymore and his temperament is more even keeled. He seems to always be smiling as though he had his own private joke to laugh about. His memories had also returned to him, his movements became less disheveled and more like a dancer's exotic fluidity. His grace and nobility had returned with his peaceful nature, granting him peace of mind and the ability to forgive himself of his past. With that forgiveness, he learned that he had to be able to forgive others in turn or his lessons were worthless.
Positions
Achievements
- Began construction on Umbra Arx Exar's Shadow's Base of Operations
- Dark Maven - Service Degree
- Dark Savant - Service Degree
Trivia