Korroth/Page One: Difference between revisions

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== Character History ==
== Character History ==
(N.B. all dates converted to [[starwars:Galactic Standard Calendar|Galactic Standard Calendar]])
=== Utapau ===
=== Early Life ===
==== City of Birth ====
==== Birth and Background ====
===== Before 135 BBY =====
[[File:Utapau and moons.jpeg|thumb|left|200px|Utapau]]


Korroth Karn and his twin brother (born Korren and Turren respectively) came into the world on the 11th day of the 5th month in the year [[250 BBY to 101 BBY#135_BBY|135 BBY]] in the [[starwars:Sinkhole|sinkhole]] of Ika in the equatorial Tarbauri region of the planet [[starwars:Utapau|Utapau]], to parents Mavane Noren (628 BBY-28 ABY) and Tuvon Hroth (653 BBY-[[starwars:102 BBY|102 BBY]]). Tarbaur, in which Ika and a dozen other inhabited sinkholes reside, is a remote region of equatorial Utapau which had had very little outside contact since Utapau’s drastic climate change many millennia BBY. The [[starwars:Hyperwind storm|hyperwind storms]] caused by this climate change meant that little to no inhabited centers could exist outside of Ika and the twelve other city-sinkholes, and the locals seldom ventured to the surface. However, despite the segregation enforced by the hyperwind storms, the thirteen sinkholes had almost always been in conflict with each other. Throughout Tarbaur’s history the city-states had invaded each other, conquered and rebelled against conquerors and burned each other to cinders, with empires rising to command all the sinkholes only to crumble in a matter of years.
'''2 BBY - 9 ABY'''


This state of constant war continued until about six centuries BBY (N.B. average [[starwars:Pau'an|Pau'an]] lifespan is thought to be 600-700 standard years [http://web.archive.org/web/20090604045540/http://www.wizards.com/starwars/downloads/Saga_Ed_Web_Enhancement_Pauans.pdf]), when the warlord of Ika, one of the major powers during that period, was murdered by his trusted Pau’an servant, Tuvroth Hroth. In the chaos that ensued, this servant united the lowly soldiers and peasantry (mostly [[starwars:Utai|Utai]]) of all the sinkholes and convinced them to revolt against the warlords and the nobility (composed almost solely of Pau’ans). This was unprecedented in the history of Tarbaur, because the lower class and the soldiers had always remained meek and subservient to the patricians. Tuvroth was quick to capitalize on this, and after executing almost all those belonging to the higher class he nominated himself Tuvon, autocrat of the six sinkholes, to the acclamation of his people.
[[File:Ika.JPG|thumb|left|x200px|The sinkhole of Ika]]


What followed was almost four centuries of undisturbed peace, achieved by Tuvon Hroth with the deadly application of law and order. The populace was forced back into their obediently state by the threat, constantly reminded to them, of life imprisonment and exile to the planet surface, and by rumors of torture and secret executions. To deal with any persistent “agitators”, Tuvon formed the Arbiters, a covert cabal of what could only have been [[starwars:Force-sensitive|Force-using]] [[starwars:Utapaun|Utapauns]], who used their “[[starwars:The Force|incantations]]” to distort and alter any captured dissenters’ minds until they became docile law-abiding citizens of Tuvon’s regime.
{{Quote|Let the politicians battle for ideals, honour, pride, justice. A soldier fights for home and hearth.|Tuvon Karn}}


Despite Tuvon’s efforts and as the years and decades and centuries passed, a small number of dissenters slipped through the regime’s security net, the most prominent of those being the dictator’s own wife, Mavane Noren. Tuvon never suspected his seemingly loyal wife, and the Arbiters wouldn’t have dared to investigate their master’s own consort, so Mavane was both in the safest position in the thirteen sinkholes and in the best spot to strike a blow at Tuvon. She also had enough influence to protect the other dissenters without arousing suspicion, so over the course of almost three hundred years the underground dissident “Council” was able to prepare the overthrow of Tuvon’s regime.
Korroth Karn was born in [[starwars:2 BBY|2 BBY]] in Ika, a remote [[starwars:sinkhole|sinkhole]] city on the [[starwars:Outer Rim Territories|Outer Rim]] planet of [[starwars:Utapau|Utapau]]. Ika was geographically isolated and both culturally and politically distinct from the planetary [[starwars:Utapaun|Utapaun]] society. This contrast was best exemplified, culturally, by the city's practice of an ancient animistic cult and, politically, by the Ikan City Council's autonomous rule and historical independence from the planetary government.


However, the Council was forced to drastically accelerate their plans when Mavane was found to be pregnant with Tuvon’s child in the latter half of the year 136 BBY. On the 34th day of the 9th month of the year 136 BBY the Council executed a carefully staged coup d'état that overthrew Tuvon’s regime quickly and efficiently, with no bloodshed. Tuvon and his government officials were first imprisoned, then exiled to the planet surface. This was a virtual death sentence, since life outside the sinkholes was nigh to impossible; but at least there would be no blood on the Council’s hands. None of the Arbiters were ever found, as not even Mavane knew their true identities. The Council’s main concern as it began dismantling the structure of the regime were the growing numbers of different parties and factions, which arose from the sudden freedom of expression allowed and each of which demanded the authority to carry out their different policies and ideas. In an attempt to delay the possible outbreak of violent cashes, the Council promulgated a law that allowed a permanent government to be erected only after Tuvon’s regime had been completely dismantled, in approximately fifty standard years. Meanwhile, the Council would function as a provisional government. During this time, the Council hoped to personally attend to the upbringing of Mavane’s yet unborn twins (it was discovered that Mavane was carrying twins sometime in the 2nd month of the year 135 BBY), indoctrinating them to what the Council thought would be the best ideals and aspirations of the future government. Then, in about fifty years’ time, the Council would try to to place Mavane’s offspring at the presidency of the permanent government.
With the effective collapse of the [[starwars:Galactic Empire|Galactic Empire]] in [[starwars:4 ABY|4 ABY]], the re-instituted [[starwars:Utapaun Committee|Utapaun Committee]] began applying pressure on Ika to integrate into planetary and galactic society. Korroth's mother Mavane was a prominent member of the governing traditionalist party on the Ikan City Council. This party took an aggressive stance towards the planetary government's perceived encroachment, and the dispute eventually escalated into a protracted war of attrition. The Utapaun Committee imposed economic sanctions and established a blockade around the entire sinkhole, while the Ikan Civil Guard retaliated with raids and skirmishes against the Utapaun security forces.


Korroth's father Tuvon was a captain in the Ikan Civil Guard. He died on a raid when Korroth was eleven years old. On the day before the raid Tuvon spoke to his son and tried to impress upon the child that, though war ostensibly is fought for honor and liberty, a soldier fights first and foremost to protect the people he loves.


==== Formation and Education ====
===== 135 BBY to 107 BBY =====
[[File:Ika.JPG|thumb|x200px|The sinkhole of Ika]]


By the time that the twins were born in 135 BBY, the political tension had subsided. Since a permanent government, where the parties would be able to gain position and influence, would only be created after the thorough demolition of Tuvon’s regime system, the parties were actually trying their best to collaborate in the reorganization of the political and social structure of the Tarbauri sinkholes. Whilst the parties labored, the Council, of which Mavane herself was part,  was able to dedicate much of its time to the twins’ instruction. Since early childhood Korren and Turren’s mother and various governesses encouraged them to play didactic games, and their mother often read them fables with moral lessons. The Council tried to develop in them the ideas of truth, honesty and honor, friendship, love, loyalty, compassion, poverty and wealth, generosity, and as they grew older the value of peace, nonviolence, freedom, law and order, democracy, equality (especially between Utai and Pau’ans), individual rights, ethical codes and even etiquette. Furthermore, even before their birth, the Council had decided that the twins were not to be told of their father’s real identity, lest they feel compassion or empathy for the ex-dictator and his ways. The twins would be taught the history of the past five hundred years, but they would not know that the dictator was their father. This allowed the twins’ tutors to use Tuvon’s reign as an example of what despotism, cruelty, heartlessness and a thirst for power would bring.
==== Spirit Cult ====


Their formal education began at the age of eight, and by [[starwars:110 BBY|110 BBY]] they were being taught the details of the new and developing legal system of Tarbaur, the intricacies of politics and the government, the ancient history of the sinkholes and prominent works of literature and philosophy, the dialects of the different sinkholes, the skills of rhetorics and the workings of Tarbaur’s economic system. The Council was quite pleased with the progress that the twins were making on these subjects, however they were unsure of what to make of the twins’ growing interest in the more scientific disciplines, like arithmetics, the study of matter and its interaction with space, time and energy, the study of animal, plant and humanoid lifeforms and the study of chemistry and geology. What the Utapauns of Tarbaur knew on these fields was mainly due to the work of Tuvon’s ex-scientists, and only these scientists would be able to impart the knowledge that the twins desired. Most of the Council was reluctant to let Utapauns who had been so close to the deposed dictator hold sway over the twins, but they gave in to the insistence of both the twins and Mavane, under the condition that the scientists would be closely watched for attempts to influence the twins politically (and possibly to make sure that they did not reveal Tuvon to be the twins’ father).
'''10 ABY - 14 ABY'''


As the twins grew into their twenties, their personalities and identities developed and matured.  However, one thing that remained unchanged since infancy was the twins’ devotion to each other. They were inseparable, and they shared every emotion, experience and secrets that not even their mother suspected. They were so attached to each other that they often seemed to have the same thoughts and feelings without needing to communicate, and some Utapauns found it difficult to distinguish between the two of them because they were so alike both in mind and appearance. The twins’ character also developed in other directions. They were both avid learners of knowledge, especially science, as proved by their diligence and enthusiasm towards their studies. Even in their spare time they would engage in experiments that ranged from the effects of antibacterial fungi to astronomical observations. The Council also urged them to take part in Council meetings and political assignments, and at the age of 25 they were appointed Vice-Councillors to Councillor Mavane. With their influence in the temporary government they were able to play a role in various important political issues, like the devolution of power to the single sinkhole city-states, the development of the new judicial system and the allocation of the various responsibilities and duties of government to the different ministries and departments.
[[File:Ikan Civil Guard.JPEG|thumb|170px|An Ikan Civil Guard]]


The only difference noticeable between the twins was their interest in their father. Their mother, who with the rest of the Council had decided not to tell the twins that Tuvon was their father, had instead told them that he had been a resistance fighter who had been captured and killed just before the overthrow of Tuvon’s regime. Turren had always accepted this explanation, but Korren was much more inquisitive. He often asked questions on his father’s past, and he was never satisfied by Mavane’s vague answers. He also queried Utapauns whom he thought might have been close to his father, but even these people (under the instructions of the Council) never gave him straight answers.
In [[starwars:10 ABY|10 ABY]] Mavane enrolled the young Pau'an in the city's Cadet Corps Academy, with the intent that he would eventually become a Civil Guard officer. Korroth took to the military education with diligence, but more out of commitment to his father's memory than any aspiration for a military career. Instead, his real devotion was to the sinkhole's spirit cult. Whenever he could, he would assist the revered spirit guides in healing rituals, the recitation of holy hymns and the maintenance of shrines. It was while taking part in the sacred rites that Korroth first became aware of the spirit world, and he rejoiced in perceiving the manifest spirits pulse and flow in resonance to the passions of the people of the sinkhole.


The spirit cult also had a strong influence on the young Pau'an's developing political position, as his social circle consisted manly of cult initiates. The spirit guides, attuned as they were to the temper of the spirit world, saw that the war against the Utapaun Committee was bringing only grief and privation. In [[starwars:14 ABY|14 ABY]] Korroth and a close group of friends believed the situation had become so dire that they formed a dissident cabal with the aim of removing the warmongering traditionalist party from the City Council. After months of planning and covert communications, the cabal led the security forces of the Utapau Committee through an abandoned cave tunnel and into the sinkhole of Ika. The Utapaun soldiers quickly took control of the city barracks and apprehended the members of the City Council with no fighting.


==== Revelation ====
The Utapau Committee soon installed a provisional city administrator and lifted the economic sanctions. The blockade dispersed and the raids stopped; the people of Ika were thankful that they were no longer committed to a bloody war. However, they could not forgive the dissidents' traitorous actions, which had slighted their civic pride. Uncontrolled lynch mobs discharged their fatal justice on the young conspirators one by one, until Korroth was forced to flee Ika and even Utapau itself. He took the first [[starwars:Passenger liner|starliner]] he could find, which headed [[starwars:Core Worlds|coreward]] on the [[starwars:Rimma Trade Route|Rimma Trade Route]].
===== 107 BBY =====
The scientists who taught the twins were likely to have noticed this peculiar trait of Korren. One day early in [[starwars:107 BBY|107 BBY]], when most of the Council had gone to an assembly in a neighboring sinkhole, the scientists managed to catch Korren on his own. With Turren busy on some other level of the sinkhole, the scientists told Korren that, if he promised to keep the meeting a secret, they would divulge a significant amount of information about his father. Korren agreed with almost no hesitation, despite the fact that he knew the promise would prevent him from telling even his brother of whatever he learned.


The scientists begun by recounting how, since the beginning of Tarbaur’s recorded history, the  thirteen city-sinkholes had been locked in a state of constant war against each other. By the seventh century BBY, most sinkholes were ruled by a Pau’an aristocracy, which exploited the Utai lower class and heedlessly expended Utai lives in futile inter-sinkhole wars. This was most evident in Ika, where Utai lived in appalling poverty. The scientists went on to relate, in this and subsequent secret meetings, that a young Tuvroth Hroth united the lower castes of all the sinkholes in revolt against their overlords, thus ending the cycle of wars and commencing an age of peace and prosperity. For hundreds of years the “Golden Age” of Tarbaur endured, until the revolutionary Council overthrew and exiled Tuvon in 136 BBY.


Thus far, the scientists’ narration matched the historical events that Korren had been taught, but they were told in such a way that Tuvon was seen to act for the good of his people, rather than for his thirst for power. This was contrary to Korren’s education, but the scientists put his beliefs in serious doubt when they spun a carefully prepared account of how the Council had forced themselves into power with the intention of gradually reverting Tarbaur back to the chaotic times before Tuvon’s reign. To prove them right, the scientists told Korren to ask discrete but specific questions to several people in and near to the Council. The scientists needed only to wait for Korren to work it out for himself, since they already knew the answers he would receive.
=== Slave Empire ===
==== Zygerria ====


Korren spent almost half a year placing these seemingly innocuous questions; he was always careful not to arouse suspicion, especially from his brother. This was difficult and unpleasant for him, because he had never kept secrets from his brother. However, when he had finished, he had confirmed in his mind not only that the scientists’ words were true, but also that Turren and he were the sons of Tuvon Hroth.
'''14 ABY - 16 ABY'''


On the 30th day of the 8th month of 107 BBY he met again with the scientists (whom he had by then identified as the remnants of the Arbiters) and told them of his findings. In a short ceremony in one of the caverns at the base of the sinkhole of Ika, the Arbiters re-baptized him Korroth Von Hroth, son of Tuvroth’von Hroth. For the time being, he would be called Korroth only during their secret meetings, but the Arbiters told him of a plan to thwart the Council’s schemes and return Tarbaur to the Golden Age. This idea greatly excited Korroth. The discovery that the Council and his own mother had been lying to him and his brother about their father, and Tuvon’s true accomplishments, and the Council’s true aim had left Korroth feeling both angry and sad. The destruction of the Council now seemed to him the only option if descent into war and chaos was to be stopped.
{{Quote|There is no purpose. There is solely will. There is nothing... Only me.|Darth Ruin}}


Unbeknownst to Korroth, Turren had followed him to this meeting with the Arbiters and he had heard every word spoken. Turren had for some time noticed changes in Korroth’s behavior. He saw that his brother spent a lot more time on his own, and he seemed to have gradually become more hostile to the Council. He knew Korroth was keeping secrets from him, but what he heard in the caves shocked him to the core. He came out of his hiding place and confronted Korroth, calling on him to see the lies of the Arbiters. Instead, Korroth tried to convince his brother that it was the Council who had lied to them, that if they joined forces they could restore Ika to how it was before. It is likely that, during the exchange, the Arbiters used their “incantations” to alter Korroth’s state of mind, as he felt angrier and angrier at his brother’s defiance. His fury eventually burst out; he felt a powerful force, never experienced before, course through his arm, and he snapped his brother’s neck. As his brother’s last breath left his body, so did Korroth’s rage dissipate. He simply fell into a listless shock when what he had done dawned upon him.
[[File:Aurore-class.jpg|thumb|250px|The Zygerrian slaving ship]]The starliner was still in the Outer Rim Territories when it was attacked by [[starwars:Zygerrian|Zygerrian]] [[starwars:Slaver|slavers]] of the [[starwars:Clan Pr'ollerg|Pr'ollerg Clan]]. The slavers seized every passenger, including Korroth, and imprisoned them in the cargo holds of their [[starwars:Aurore-class freighter|''Aurore''-class freighters]]. Korroth barely took notice of the miserable month-long journey; his mental state was such that the wretchedness of the cargo hold's [[starwars:Slavery|slave]] pens was to him a mere sensory extrusion of the internal misery he was experiencing. The exile from his native city of Ika had sheared all that had tethered him to the mundane galaxy, and for a while the distraught Pau'an withdrew into his own self.


The slave freighter crossed almost the entire [[starwars:The Galaxy|galaxy]] and arrived on Zygerria in [[starwars:15 ABY|15 ABY]]. Korroth was put in a work crew for the construction of a slave master's grand palace. The taxing rigors of the physical labor and the strong-arm rule of the strongest slaves over the weaker ones almost killed Korroth. In this environment, traumatic and hostile from every angle, Korroth came to perceive that any empathetic connection to beings other than the self had been sloughed away. The world was now a simple concatenation of action-reaction driven entirely by self-preservation.


==== Post-Fratricide ====
It is somewhat ironic, then, that what saved him was his rudimentary skills of [[starwars:Force Healing|healing]], taught to him in the form of rites and incantations by the spirit guides of Ika. In exchange for treatment of injuries and illness, the bossiest slaves wouldn't steal his rations or beat him, and other slaves would take over some of his heavy manual tasks. This arrangement might well have saved his life, but it was the Zygerrian slave master Yaj Pr'odek, owner of the grand palace being constructed, who indirectly saved his sanity. Upon inspecting the slave work crews in [[starwars:16 ABY|16 ABY]], she saw him performing a healing ritual on another slave and she bought him for her own retinue.
===== 107 BBY =====
[[File:Ikan Civil Guard.JPEG|thumb|170px|An Ikan Civil Guard]]Korroth awoke two days later in an Ikan prison cell. He was still dazed; he only half heard from the Arbiters in the adjacent cells that the Civil Guard had discovered and arrested them soon after Turren’s death, and now the Council was deliberating on their fate. Sometime later Korroth asked to see his mother, but a message from Mavane herself denied the request. Four further days passed before Korroth was told that he was to be exiled to the planet surface, never to return to any of the Tarbauri sinkholes upon pain of death. He did not hear the sentences passed on the other Arbiters.


Exile to the surface meant a slow and dehydrated death under the beating sun. To the North and West of the Tarbauri sinkholes rose an insurmountable mountain range over which hyperwind storms from the South broke. To the South and East was an endless expanse of shifting sand dunes, of which the boundaries had never been reached by even the most intrepid Tarbauri explorers. However, Korroth hardly cared, and he was barely aware as the whole Council, including his mother, escorted him by [[starwars:Dactillion|dactillion]] to the surface and read to him his sentence. He was set on his way, with little water and food, on the evening of the 1st day of the 9th month of 107 BBY.


At first he wandered eastwards, his thoughts still clouded by the pain from his murder of Turren, and the rejection of his mother. As night descended and the temperature dropped, the cold began to clear his mind. Still marching aimlessly onwards, he put his grief to one side for the moment and attempted to reason with what had happened since he had first met with the Arbiters. Examining both the Arbiters’ and the Council’s views, he was able to discern that the Arbiters had indeed lied about many things. Tuvon’s reign had been a cruel dictatorship, and the Council had liberated Tarbaur from his oppression. On the other hand, it seemed as though the Council may have exaggerated Tuvon’s vileness. Maybe Tuvon did indeed intend to do the good of Tarbaur, only he did it with the wrong methods. Korroth fervently wanted to believe this, because he knew for certain that Tuvon was his father.
==== Queen Scintel III ====


When the sun came up the next day, Korroth realized that his deliberations were futile, because his father and his brother were dead, his mother and Ika had rejected him and he would soon die and be buried under the sand. With his mind sinking back into a well of pain and despair, he continued to plod eastwards along the feet of the mountain range. His food was finished by the third day out in the desert, and  he drank the last drop of water on the fifth day. He expected to be drowned in the sands of a hyperwind storm at any moment, but two further days passed with nothing on the horizon. Finally, on the eighth day, his legs gave way beneath him and he slumped to the sand. Just before passing out, he glimpsed a green flicker on the mountainside above him.
'''16 ABY - 20 ABY'''


Yaj Pr'odek was the captain of the [[starwars:Corona-class armed frigate|''Corona''-class slaving frigate]] ''Queen Scintel III''. She and her crew of [[starwars:Mercenary|mercenaries]], slavers and slaves raked the planets of the [[starwars:Trans-Hydian Borderlands|Trans-Hydian Borderlands]] for rare and exotic slaves, occasionally taking refuge in the [[starwars:Stygian Caldera|Stygian Caldera]] when [[starwars:New Republic|New Republic]] or [[starwars:First Order|First Order]] patrols took chase. Korroth's role on this ship was to keep the captured slaves alive and in good health, initially a task made difficult by their cramped, unsanitary conditions and their state of malnutrition.


==== Rescue and Tribe Zathruma ====
Over the years the Pau'an obtained significant improvements in the quality of the slave pens and the amenities and food expended on the slaves. In Korroth's mind this was simply an expedient ''quid pro quo''. He improved the conditions of the captive slaves; fewer slaves died; Lady Pr'odek made a greater profit on the slave markets; Korroth was spared punishment and, sometimes, even rewarded.
===== 107 BBY =====
The first thing he noticed when he came around was that he was in the shade. Then came his thirst, and then he realized that he was still alive.


Later, when he had fully recovered, a swarthy Pau’an in the tent assured him that he was safe; he had found Korroth while on a scouting expedition to the Tarbauri desert, and now he would bring Korroth back with him to the Tribe of Zathruma. He explained that this was a Pau’an tribe that lived on the lower slopes on the other side of Tarbaur’s northern mountain ranges, which the tribesman called the Med Zathruma (literally the “Peaks that Stab the Sun”). Korroth learned that there were numerous other nomadic Pau’an tribes that travelled the steppes (called the Sazarel, literally the “Sun Lands”) North of the Med Zathruma. They lived on hunting and herding various livestock, and they found water in the deep narrow canyons that crisscrossed the steppes. They survived the frequent hyperwind storms by taking refuge in the mountains or the canyons.
When it needed to hide, the ''Queen Scintel III'' stole onto a forgotten planet inside [[starwars:Sith Worlds|Sith Space]], using an ancient [[starwars:Sith Empire|Sith]] citadel as the hideout. Korroth became fascinated with the crumbling murals and inscriptions on its walls. To recompense his diligent service, Lady Pr'odek granted Korroth the resources and leave to study the citadel. Over the years the Pau'an came to believe that a particular set of friezes depicted the [[Okemi Uprising|insurrection]] of a mighty [[Okemi|Sith Lord]], his defeat by the power of [[starwars:Marka Ragnos|Marka Ragnos]] and his exile into the Caldera.


The tribesman, called Udhren Uter, continued to explain that these nomad tribes had historically kept their distance from the sinkholes of Tarbaur. This was primarily because of the resources required to scale the Med Zathruma. Also, up until about five centuries ago, every scout or emissary that had been sent to Tarbaur had come back reporting brutal battles and endless wars, so the tribes had tried to keep away from that sanguinary region. However, for the past four centuries Tribe Zathruma had made sporadic contact with the sinkholes, which now seemed to have turned their backs on war.


At this Korroth realized that Udhren’s tribe must have communicated with his own father, because he had been in power during that time. If this was so, there was a remote chance that the Zathrumi had found and rescued Tuvon after his exile in 136 BBY. Udhren confirmed that the Pau’an Tuvon Hroth had indeed been rescued from the Tarbauri desert, much like Korroth. Furthermore, Tuvon was now the Chieftain of Tribe Zathruma. Udhren refused to say more, stating that Korroth should form his own opinion on Tuvon. Because of this, Korroth chose to withhold the fact that he was Tuvon’s son; he did not know if the tribesmen of Zathruma were the willing followers of Tuvon or his subjugated thralls.
==== Felucia ====


While they made their way down the Med Zathruma, Udhren attempted to ask many questions about Tuvon’s reign in Tarbaur, but Korroth himself was not sure if he knew the answers. He was quite certain of the validity of most of the historical events that he had been taught in Ika, but he did not know ''why'' Tuvon had done those things. Was it out of pure craving for dominion over Utapauns and their souls, or was it out of a twisted attempt to ensure the prosperity and peace of the society he had become responsible for? For this reason, he made it clear to Udhren that he would not say anything about this subject for now.
'''20 ABY'''


The two Pau’ans spent a week trekking down the mountains. During this time they became friends, despite the imposed silence on the subject of Tuvon. When they finally reached the main camp of the tribe, the Zathrumi tribesmen greeted Korroth with great curiosity and what seemed to be a shadow of fear, especially when Udhren told them where the outlander came from. But Korroth was not left to think much on this strange reaction, as he soon recognized Tuvon. He was an old and frail-looking Pau’an, but his resemblances to Korroth’s brother made his identity unmistakable. Korroth had to suppress once more the memory of his brother and extricate himself from the crowd before he could talk to Tuvon privately. He tried to be reserved until he could see who his father really was as a person, but eventually he ended up revealing everything to Tuvon, perhaps simply because he was so relieved to be with his true father. He told Tuvon that Turren and he were his sons, then he outlined what had happened in Tarbaur in the last thirty years, and he told him about the Arbiters and even of his doubts about why Tuvon had done what he had done during his reign, and finally he told of how he had killed his brother.
[[File:Corona-class armed frigate.png|thumb|left|280px|The ''Queen Scintel III'' on Felucia]]


Instead of loathing him like the people of Ika or repudiating him like his mother, Tuvon comforted Korroth and told him that what he had done could not have been avoided. Not even those closest to one’s heart can be spared if they stand in the way of peace, he said. In the succeeding days, Tuvon talked to Korroth about how both the Council and the Arbiters had been wrong and misguided. Neither of them had recognized that enduring peace was what a leader was to strive for, with the exception of all else. Whatever threatened to promote war or disrupt peace must be destroyed.
In [[starwars:20 ABY|20 ABY]] the ''Queen Scintel III'' raided the planet [[starwars:Felucia/Legends|Felucia]] and captured several of the [[starwars:Jungle Felucian|jungle-dwelling tribes]]. In his capacity as healer, Korroth was able to establish a limited rapport. He participated in their [[starwars:Felucian Shaman|shamans']] rituals and by it perceived how individual consciousness could blur and dissolve into a greater unity. He understood that the Felucians were, to some extent, mere instances of a single will that encompassed their whole tribe, the jungle, maybe even the whole planet.


This seemed to confirm Korroth’s fears. His father was trying to bring peace to his people, but he was doing it in the wrong manner. The most obvious display of this was how Tuvon had progressively accumulated weapons and trained his tribesmen in their use since he had taken the Chieftain’s seat in the tribe. More recently, he had damaged relations with other tribes by mining ores and stealing resources from their territories. Korroth asked Udhren how Tuvon reconciled to the tribe such bellicose behavior with his ambitions of peace. Udhren answered that Tuvon had explained many times to the tribe that, in order to achieve lasting peace, it was often necessary to take initial military action. Udhren suspected that Tuvon intended to arm the whole of Zathruma Tribe and then march over the mountains to occupy once again the Tarbauri sinkholes. This armed force would be so large that the sinkholes would probably surrender without blood being shed.
As the slave ship departed that untamed world, the Felucians grew hostile and erratic. Korroth entreated Lady Pr'odek to remain on the planet, believing that a jump to [[starwars:hyperspace|hyperspace]] would be fatal to the Felucians, but the Zygerrian was not swayed. The ship sped towards the [[starwars:Esstran sector|Esstran sector]], and the Felucians became wild and violent. They broke free of the slave pens and ran amok on the decks. The ship reached the hideout world, but the crew lost control and crashed onto the surface.


The final straw came when an emissary from Tribe Ezzekiel, a quite faraway group of nomads, arrived at the camp. She had come to ask Tuvon to retreat several of his tribesmen from Ezzekieli land. In response to this Tuvon imprisoned the emissary and started to question her, believing that the smaller western tribes were plotting to unite against him. Korroth was forced to watch as Tuvon’s henchmen tortured the emissary, while Tuvon spoke of sacrificing the few to serve the many.
Korroth survived, barely, and made his way to the Sith citadel. The loss of the Felucians tore him into a state of distraction he had not experienced since his enslavement a decade ago. The Felucians had been a gateway to an understanding of the [[starwars:Force|Force]] far deeper than that granted by the Ikan spirit guides, or his own practice of Force healing. Now, with all their shamans dead in the wreckage of the ''Queen Scintel III'', that path was lost to Korroth. Staring at the friezes of the Sith citadel, the Pau'an resolved to find his way into the custody of beings who could show him the way to mastery of the Force, or die trying. The friezes pinpointed the last trajectory of the fleet of the exiled Sith Lord Okemi. Korroth focused his intent on that [[The Shroud|caliginous swirl]] of the Stygian Caldera and sat immobile. He intuited that, if the exiled [[starwars:Sith Lord|Sith Lord]] had survived, if his progeny had prospered, if they had grown powerful in the Force, they would have sensed the death of the Force-crazed Felucians and the passion of the Pau'an's intent. If not, the path he had chosen would come to an end. Korroth did not waver in mind or body for days, weeks, until he passed out of exhaustion.




==== Escape and Tribe Ezzekiel ====
=== Dark Jedi Brotherhood ===
===== 107 BBY =====
==== Lyspair ====
As soon as night fell, Korroth secured Udhren’s help and they fled the camp with the Ezzekieli envoy, who was by now unconscious. Udhren was an expert scout, so he knew that Tribe Ezzekiel was far to the West. Riding a [[starwars:Varactyl|varactyl]], they were able to put a fair distance between themselves and the Zathrumi camp; however, in the morning they saw that they were being chased by a troop of varactyl riders. They were able to outride them until they entered another tribe’s territory, at which point their pursuers turned back.


[[File:Sazareli steppes.jpeg|thumb|left|250px|The Sazareli steppes]]When they reached the camp of that tribe, they explained their plight and pleaded for hospitality while the Ezzekieli emissary healed from her wounds. Tribe Zagrel, as they were called, had also been offended by Zathruma’s incursions into their lands, so they sympathized with Udhren and Korroth, but they could not risk openly antagonizing Tribe Zathruma. They offered to provide an escort until they reached Tribe Agrazarp further to the West. The three Pau’ans travelled to Tribe Agrazarp, which was similarly unfriendly towards Tuvon and his tribe, and they stayed there for two weeks. During this time the Ezzekieli envoy, Isaha Ezzeki, recovered from her ordeal in the hands of Tuvon. Also, they received word from Tribe Zagrel that Zathrumi tribesmen had come looking for them at the Zagreli camp, but the Chieftain had managed to lead them onto a false trail.
'''20 ABY'''


Thus heartened, they set off on their journey to Tribe Ezzekiel, accompanied by tribesmen from Tribe Zagrel and Tribe Agrazarp. As they rode West through the Sazareli steppes they encountered many other tribes, all of which had, at one point or another, been offended by Tuvon’s actions. Many sent representatives to join, by varactyl or dactillion, the growing party of travelers. As they drew close to Ezzekieli land, there were so many tribes represented in their group that it was decided to call a gathering of the tribes at the Ezzekieli camp, where all the different tribes’ delegates would discuss what action was to be taken against Tribe Zathruma.
[[File:Shadowacademy.jpg|thumb|230px|The Shadow Academy on Lyspair]]


In the course of their journey, Korroth spent much time with Isaha and they grew close. It is possible that Korroth was at first attracted to Isaha’s passion for her own tribe. She was the Chieftain’s daughter, and she had told Korroth of the plans and prospects she had for the future of her tribe. Up until discovering that Tuvon was his true father, Korroth and his brother had looked up to their apparent deceased father as an example of what they themselves should be. Since discovering that Tuvon was their father, this idol was shattered in Korroth’s mind (and even more irrevocably so when he met Tuvon in person), and he lost a point of reference for his own actions, a figure which set what he should strive for. As he got to know Isaha, he unconsciously reshaped that idol into her. However, by the time that they had reached the Ezzekieli camp, Korroth’s relationship with Isaha had grown from what could have been simple admiration to ardent love.
When he awoke, Korroth found himself on the surface of a stark and arid moon. With him were a handful of other aspirants, but they had no water or supplies between them. They all could see the pale contour of a pyramid atop a cliff in the far distance, and though they spoke no words they all knew the nature of the test. They set off across the torrid plain, until they reached some rocky hills. Here many in the group stopped in the shade, thinking they would recoup. Korroth ignored them. His body cried for respite, but his resolve drove him to triumph or death. There was nothing left to him but that triangle of dark stone high in the distance. He trekked through the hills and, with the last light of day, climbed the steep cliff that was the final barrier. Thus, in [[20_ABY_to_29_ABY#20_ABY|20 ABY]], in the reign of [[Grand Master]] [[Jac Cotelin]], in the courtyard of the [[Shadow Academy]], [[Headmaster]] [[Anshar Kahn Tarentae]] initiated Korroth into the [[Dark Brotherhood|Dark Jedi Brotherhood]].


Upon arriving at the Ezzekieli camp, Udhren and Korroth were showered with praise for having saved Isaha from the clutches of Tuvon, both with open celebration and private thanks from Chieftain Ismer Ezzeki. Soon after, all of the delegates from each tribe gathered in the chieftain’s tent and began discussing Tribe Zathruma’s fate. Korroth did not did not speak at the meeting, but during the journey to the camp he had spoken to most of the delegates, and he had persuaded many of them that Tuvon must be stopped. Before the meeting, he had told Chieftain Ismer of what Tuvon had done even before coming to Tribe Zathruma, thus convincing him also that Tuvon was a danger against which the tribes must join forces. In the meeting, the delegates were reluctant to actually start a war with Tribe Zathruma, because in the past the tribes had always contrived to resolve their differences diplomatically. Yet, in the end, they agreed that if they did not take up arms and make a stand now, Tuvon would gradually overcome them one by one. They decided on the time and place where they would muster their warriors, and they elected Ismer Ezzeki as the Grand Chieftain, to lead the combined forces of the tribes against Tribe Zathruma.
His days on [[Lyspair]] were spent perusing the vast knowledge base of this composite and intricate organization. The histories of the great and powerful of the Brotherhood, their command and arcane comprehension of the Force, galvanized the callow [[Journeymen|Journeyman]] and gave him intemperate aspirations. Though he had been rostered with the [[Arcano Signum|Praxeum]] of [[House Galeres]] of [[Clan Tarentum|Tarentum]], Korroth remained on Lyspair; in fact he had barely left the bookshelves and [[starwars:Databank|databanks]] of the Academy's libraries. Once [[EQ2|Battlemaster]] [[Windos Helkin Tarentae|Windos Helkin Bruth'Kothae]], then [[Battleteam Leaders|Tetrarch]] of the Praxeum, elevated Korroth to [[NV4|Acolyte]] for his high performance in the Shadow Academy, the Pau'an transferred to [[Kapsina]] and [[Clan Plagueis]].


After the meeting Chieftain Ismer asked Korroth to both join Tribe Ezzekiel and become his aide-de-camp, because Tuvon was likely to employ military tactics that he had originally learned in Tarbaur. Korroth agreed, but to become an Ezzekieli Tribesman he would first have to, as part of a rite of passage, trek on a flightless dactillion across the desert West of Ezzekieli land for four days without food or water. Then he would come back to the tribe and stay for two more days closed in a tent, surrounded by urns full of water, without drinking a single drop of it if he was to pass the test. Korroth was afraid that he would not be physically able to succeed in this test, but he did not give up, because he knew that as a Tribesman of Tribe Ezzekiel he would be able to finally be together with Isaha. Before setting off, Korroth asked Isaha for her hand in marriage, to be wed if he returned successful from his rite of passage. Isaha said yes, and Korroth embarked on his trial with a jubilant heart.


==== Kapsina ====


==== Trial and Marriage ====
'''20 ABY'''
===== 107 BBY to 106 BBY =====
[[File:Karnashu.jpeg|thumb|250px|The Karnashu]]The lands that lay beyond the mountains directly North of the Tarbauri region were mainly semi-arid steppes crisscrossed by canyons, but towards the West they became more and more barren. The Ezzekieli territories were therefore mainly parched desert, and to the West of Tribe Ezzekiel was just sterile golden-yellow sand where no tribes dwelled, a lifeless desert called the Karnashu. Korroth traversed this expanse of sand dunes, riding a dactillion with its wings tied down by ropes as per the rules of the rite of passage, until he reached the Med Ushibri, a tall and narrow peak jutting out of the golden sand. There, he carved his initials, KH, onto the rock (using the alphabet of the Sazareli tribes), next to those of the many other Pau’ans who had come here to complete their rites. Exhausted and with a hyperwind storm coming, he was forced to take refuge for a full day and night in a crevice of the craggy peak. Then he once again set out across the desert, both the dactillion and him fatigued and gasping for water.


When he returned to the camp and was ushered into the tent full of water, he thought the ordeal had finished, and he could simply rest away from the scorching sun. Instead, he soon found out that those would be the two hardest days of the trial. The sight and even the smell of the cool water which he could not touch in those open urns was the only thing on his mind; he could not sleep or take his mind off them, even the stabbing pain in his desiccated throat was overshadowed by his thirst. After an eternity of parched anguish, Isaha herself came to retrieve him and proclaim that he was now Korroth Von Hroth Ezzekieli. Upon the sight of her, his love for her overcame him and he swore that he would not touch water until he drank from the wedding cup that would seal their marriage.
Under the [[Consul|Consulship]] of[[EQ3| Battlelord]] [[Aabsdu Dupar|Aabsdu di Plagia Dupar al'Tor]], Clan Plagueis was an excellent introduction into the wrangling politics of the Brotherhood. Though three years had passed since the so-called "[[Dictum of Two Skies]]" which had merged the declining [[Satal Keto (Clan)|Clan Satak Keto]] and [[Exar Kun (Clan)|Clan Exar Kun]] into the current Plagueis, the turbulent ripples of the event still colored the interactions of the [[Clan|Clan's]] Dark Jedi. In observing the internal acrimony of the Clan, Korroth could reflect on how the whole Brotherhood maintained its effective unity. How could a gathering of self-serving [[starwars:Dark Side of the Force|Dark Side]] zealots, divided into rival power-vying Clans, hold together and not be destroyed from the inside? Korroth's pondering was partly answered when Grand Master Jac Ae-Sequiera Cotelin [[Sons_%26_Daughters_of_Taldryan|Taldrya]]-[[Cantor]] abdicated the [[Iron Throne]] and nominated [[Deputy Grand Master]] [[Sarin|Aristan Dantes]] as his successor. The latter's ascension to the Iron Throne as [[Title#Sith_Lord|Darth Sarin]] demonstrated to the awestruck Journeyman the heights of power that an individual could attain through the Force, and how this individual could drag the whole Brotherhood structure into its current shape.


Thus the whole tribe gathered for a feast to celebrate both the completion of a rite of passage and a marriage. After a rich banquet, the newlyweds departed for a short honeymoon on the shores of the Der Crabsi, a great salt flat North of the Sazarel that stretched northwards as far as the eye could see. They did not have much time to spend together, though, because the armies of the allied tribes had already been mustered, and they were marching towards the Zathrumi camp. Isaha and Korroth reached them by dactillion only when the fighting had already begun.
In the [[Antei Combat Center]] Korroth learned the fundamentals of [[lightsaber]] [[Lightsaber Forms|combat]]. Using a [[Training Lightsaber|training saber]], he practiced under [[EQ2|Archpriest]] [[lan|al'Lan Mandragoran]] and then with [[Combat Master]] [[Dalthid]], who accepted him as a Neophyte of the Combat Center. In practicing the simple movements of [[Lightsaber_Forms#Form_0_-_Banlanth|Banlanth]], Korroth learned the value of focus and awareness of one's own body. He began using the basic katas as a way to center on the self and refine his connection to the Force.


During 20 ABY the Plagueis [[Clan Summit]] pushed efforts to document and gather intelligence on the [[Crimson Tide]], an organization of [[starwars:Pirate|pirates]] that had tormented Clan Plagueis since its inception. Korroth took a minor assistant role in the research team led by [[Proconsul]] [[Valerian Orzon|Valerian di Plagia Orzon]]. The Journeyman's role in this information-gathering enterprise was relatively insignificant, but it helped him to grasp that knowledge gave as much of an upper hand as superior weaponry against the enemy.


==== The Redsand War ====
===== 106 BBY to 104 BBY =====
The size of the allied armies had taken Tribe Zathruma by surprise, and by the time Isaha and Korroth had arrived the Zathrumi forces had started to retreat. However, they did not seem to be fleeing in a full rout yet, and the allied armies soon discovered why. From the East came vast numbers of varactyl-mounted warriors from the eastern tribes that paid tributes to Tuvon. The allied armies were outnumbered and pushed back against the Med Zathruma. Being mainly composed of dactillion-mounted troops, they were able to retreat and avoid being surrounded. Despite the relatively few losses, this defeat disheartened the allied tribes. They had expected the combined forces of the allied armies to be able to overpower and subdue Tribe Zathruma in a single battle, but instead they found that this would be just the beginning of a long and drawn-out war that would involve all of the Sazareli tribes.


The forces that had defeated the allied armies in that first battle had been levied from the protectorate tribes to the East that Tuvon had forced into submission in his thirty years as the Zathrumi Chieftain. After the first battle, Tuvon easily gained total control of those armies and marched West, trying to catch up to the retreating allied armies. All of the camps of the allied tribes had already been dismantled and the tribes were hastily migrating away from the advancing armies. However, tribes like the Zagreli and Agrazarpi, which had been nearest to Tribe Zathruma, were overtaken by Tuvon’s armies and slaughtered to the last Pau’an. Small detachments from the allied armies were sent to skirmish with Tuvon’s armies in an attempt to slow them down, but eventually the allied armies and the tribes that had survived the retreat reached Ezzekieli territory. Here they were forced to stop and make a stand, because beyond was the Karnashu, where the tribes would die from dehydration as surely as from a spear.
==== Antenora ====


Yet, to the surprise of the allied Chieftains, every time Tuvon’s forces attempted to cross the sand dunes to assault the allied armies they were easily broken and forced back by the dactillion-mounted troops. This was, the allied Chieftains realized, because the varactyl-mounted soldiers of Tuvon got bogged down in the sand of the desert, while the flying allied troops showered them with arrows from above. Thus the allied armies were able to push Tuvon’s forces out of Ezzekieli land. They did not dare to advance further into the steppes, as there the varactyls would have the advantage.
'''20 ABY - 21 ABY'''


During this time, Korroth was able to advise Chieftain Ismer and the other Chieftains on many of the weaponry and strategies used by Tuvon’s forces. The tribes of the Sazarel still fought with spears and bows and arrows, but Tuvon had brought many new technologies from Tarbaur, like crossbows and large ballistas mounted on the backs of varactyls. Several scouts even described what Korroth recognized as rudimentary gunpowder cannons. Korroth knew that Tuvon would not be able to carry these across sand dunes, but they still posed a threat if the allied armies ever tried to fight Tuvon’s forces on the steppes.
[[File:Matalok Antenora.jpg|thumb|left|200px|An alien ship over Suzel]]


Almost three years passed without either army making any headway, despite facing each other in battle many times. These battles were often interrupted by hyperwind storms, when the soldiers wold retreat in a sort of uneasy mutual truce. It was during one of these storms, towards the end of [[starwars:105 BBY|105 BBY]], that Korroth realized how to attack Tuvon’s army from behind. They would have to wait for a hyperwind storm blowing from West to East, so that when both armies had retreated and taken refuge in canyons and caves, several units of dactillion-mounted soldiers could fly into the storm and be carried by it well beyond the enemy lines, without even being detected.
Towards the end of 20 ABY Darth Sarin inaugurated a set of Brotherhood-wide military exercises, dubbed "[[Second Darkness]]," in which the Clans would test the mettle of their Dark Jedi against one another. Korroth, a [[JM2|Guardian]] rank at this point, still did not know how to interpret these displays of unity-through-rivalry. He remained on Kapsina and continued his studies. At the turn of [[20_ABY_to_29_ABY#21_ABY|21 ABY]] the [[Dark Tower]] received word that Clan Plagueis had placed third in the [[Rite of Supremacy]]. The fleets of the Clans had gathered near [[the Shroud]] for the champions' award ceremony, and Consul Aabsdu took the opportunity to seal an alliance with Consul [[Braecen Kaeth]] of [[Clan Scholae Palatinae]]. Korroth and the Journeymen still on Kapsina were ordered to travel as emissaries to the [[House|Houses]] of Scholae Palatinae to strengthen these bonds of allegiance, though Korroth thought "hostage exchange" might have been a better descriptive.


He proposed this strategy to the Chieftains, who had to reluctantly accept. They knew this would be a very risky strategy, and many Pau’ans would be lost in the storm alone; however, Tuvon had cut off all routes to the East and North, so that the resources of the allied tribes had almost been depleted, and many Pau’ans were already starving. Two months passed before a suitably mild hyperwind storm approached from the West. The dactillion squadrons were ready and Korroth flew into the storm with them in order to ensure the success of the operation, despite Isaha’s pleading to stay. After almost a full day being tossed about in the air, the squadrons were able to land very far to the East, where the storm had dissipated. Korroth found that less than half of the riders had made it, the rest had been blown away by the force of the storm and were likely dead. They flew close to the ground back towards the West, until they caught sight of the rear of Tuvon’s forces and the allied armies beyond them. There they signaled the Chieftains of the allied armies to begin their attack. This full frontal assault captured the full attention of Tuvon’s troops, thus allowing Korroth’s squadrons to reach the enemy’s rear lines without being seen.
Korroth arrived on [[Antenora]] expecting that he would have to wait for the [[Acclivis Draco|Acclivis Draco]] [[House Summit]] to return from the Rite of Supremacy celebrations. He set out on the streets of the magnificent city of [[Antenora#Suzel|Suzel]], but he did not have long to explore before he received a communication stating that Clan Scholae Palatinae had broken off relations with Clan Plagueis. Korroth took the precaution of leaving the city before trying to reopen contact with his Clan. However, all communication with the fleets gathered at the Shroud had ceased. When he saw figures in the distance fleeing in every direction from the [[Dragon's Citadel]], he concluded that something was badly wrong. He stole a transport and fled South from Suzel until he reached the bleached deserts of [[Antenora#Batnare|Batnare]]. As he crossed into the [[Antenora#Sea_of_the_Rising|Sea of the Rising]], huge ships of unfamiliar make hove into the atmosphere, their prows directed northwards to Suzel. Korroth determined to continue deeper into the desert, away from urban centers.


The combined front and rear attacks were completely unexpected and enormously devastating. The rear flanks of Tuvon’s army broke under the assault by Korroth’s dactillions and fled to the front. There, they found the front lines already engaging the full allied armies. Tuvon and his generals, who were in tents at the rear of the army, were captured as soon as the fighting had started, so that Tuvon’s troops ran in every direction without orders or officers to direct them. Eventually, when Tuvon’s forces had been fully surrounded on the 12th day of the first month of [[starwars:104 BBY|104 BBY]], Chieftain Ismer called for the fighting to stop and for Tuvon’s soldiers to drop their weapons. He offered them safe return to their lands to the East, under the condition that they would never again march under the banner of a single leader. Many of Tuvon’s soldiers were glad to be free of his tyrannical rule and were relieved to be able to return home alive.
His stolen [[starwars:repulsorcraft|repulsorcraft]] did not last long in the desert sands. The only thing that saved him, after days of wandering without direction, was the sighting of a slow-moving object on the horizon. It was in fact one of the enormous desert-crossing [[Antenora#Byerua|byeruas]], bedecked in the tents and banners of the Ser Gaa. The [[Antenora#Antenorans|Antenoran]] tribe picked him up and nursed him back to health. In his time with these nomads Korroth got his first glimpse of the rich culture and traditions of the native Antenorans.


Tuvon, however, was hauled back to the Ezzekieli camp. There he was sentenced to spend the rest of his life on the Med Ushibri, where food and water would be brought to him by young Pau’ans on their rite of passage. After that, all the tribes gathered one last time to celebrate the end of the two-year “Redsand War”. Korroth went to the Chieftains’ banquet, but strangely he did not see Isaha there. He went look for her in their tent, meaning to urge her to join the festivities. Once there he found her in bed with another Pau’an. At first there was just a stunned silence from both Isaha and Korroth, but then Korroth felt rage surge through him, the same that he had felt before killing his brother. He strangled her with his own hands, until he had squeezed the very last breath out of her. His fury, however, did not evaporate as her lifeless body hit the ground, like it had for Turren. Korroth felt as if he would not be sated until he had butchered the whole tribe. So he ran as fast as he could out of the camp, stealing a dactillion and flying North for the whole night.


==== Dragon's Citadel ====


==== Post-Uxoricide ====
'''21 ABY - 22 ABY'''
===== 104 BBY =====
[[File:Der Crabsi salt flat.jpeg|thumb|left|250px|The Der Crabsi]]At sunrise, Korroth let the gasping dactillion land. He saw that he was far out in the Der Crabsi, the salt flats that extended across the whole of northern Sazarel. To the South the sand dunes of Ezzekieli land had disappeared from sight; to the West and North the dazzling white of the salt plains stretched out as far as the eye could see, apart from a sharp rock formation somewhere in the distance. Extending along the whole eastern horizon was the dark front of a hyperwind storm.  Korroth knew he could not make it back to Ezzekieli land in time to take refuge from the storm, so he started northwards, where he hoped to find a cave or crevice in the rock formation in the distance. By flight and foot, he reached the low hills by nightfall and took refuge in a cave; soon after the hyperwind storm hit them full force, its power unabated by klicks and klicks of flat land.


Hyperwind storms were relatively frequent in the Der Crabsi, because there were no mountains or elevations to stop even the most humble of storms from growing into hyperwinds. Therefore Korroth had no choice but to continue northward, where he could see a succession of peaks below which he could take shelter. He traveled only in the blinding light of day, to reduce the risk of failing to see a storm coming from far off. His only hope was to reach the northern shores of the Der Crabsi before he or his dactillion died of dehydration. By now, the vigorous emotions of a few days past had been eroded away by the beating sun and blasting wind; little else was on his mind other than reaching the next peak before a hyperwind storm caught him in the open. He trudged on for he knew not how many days, until a subdued hyperwind caught him flying in the open; he was hurled to the ground and lost consciousness.
In his sojourn with Tribe Ser Gaa, Korroth observed the passage of more alien ships and the echoes of bombardments from the [[Antenora#Li_Gandor|Northern Oasis]]. A period of calm was then followed by the arrival of the [[The Fleet of Scholae Palatinae|fleet of Scholae Palatinae]], led by the recently dethroned ex-Consul [[Braecen Kaeth|Braecen Kaeth Kunar]] and Consul [[Phoenix d'Tana Palpatine|Phoenix Olkyssagh d'Tana Palpatine]], Emperor of the [[Cocytus System]]. The ensuing space battle and ground assaults resulted in heavy losses for the Clan, but the planets of the Cocytus system were [[Reclamation of Judecca|reclaimed]] from the alien invaders.


Korroth was awakened by the smell of water. He was faintly aware of lying close to a pool, so he dragged himself to it and took small sips, resisting the compulsion to down large gulps. Over the course of several hours he managed to revive himself enough to examine his surroundings. What he saw at first made him conclude that he was in fact dead and in heaven. All around him were leafy trees and verdant shrubs, and the ground was covered with lustrous grass of a vivid green that he had never seen before. The pond beside him reflected the green of the foliage around it, and he saw shimmering creatures darting about in its depths. From behind the trees came the calls of strange animals and above him glided gaudily colored birds.
By the time Korroth had made his way back to Suzel, House Acclivis Draco had returned to the Dragon's Citadel and had started to rebuild. The Journeyman hesitated when it came time to take transport back to Kapsina. Perhaps it was the venerable dignity and camaraderie of House Acclivis Draco, or the pull of Antenora's desert mysteries, but he decided to remain on the planet and join the House of the Rising Dragon. He was welcomed into the Dragon's Citadel by [[Quaestor]][[ RevengeX Palpatine]] and [[Aedile]] [[Cuchulain Darkblade Palpatine|Cuchulain Palpatine]].


At times, namely during the frequent middle-of-the-night parades called by the drunk Aedile, Korroth almost reckoned that he was regretting his move to Antenora, that he could have stayed secure and unperturbed on Kapsina and concentrated on his studies. As he got acquainted with his new House, however, he saw that he would have missed the opportunity to explore and unpick the rich tapestry that connected the Dark Jedi of the Clan, the House, the Antenorans and the rest of the planet.


==== The Renascence Pledge ====
===== 104 BBY =====
As soon as he was well enough to travel he began to explore this extraordinary place. He found that it consisted mainly of a network of narrow steep-sided valleys, sided by high mountains and cut through by several streams. For the next few days he was completely engrossed by the astonishing variety of new lifeforms that he was able to observe and examine. This was until he found his injured dactillion in one of the valleys. The whimpering animal brought back to Korroth’s mind his grueling march through the Der Crabsi. Then, for the first time since his self-imposed exile, he remembered his murder of Isaha.


At that moment, Korroth realized that he might as well have let himself die in the middle of the Der Crabsi, because he had nothing left to live for. As young Pau’ans, he and his brother had lived to serve their people, the Utapauns of Ika, but when Korroth had killed his brother those same people exiled him. He had survived the Tarbauri desert in the hope that he would find his father, and thus find in him a hand to guide him to his purpose in life; but when had he met Tuvon he confirmed that his father was indeed as unhinged as he had suspected. Then he fell in love with Isaha, and there he thought that he could place his heart for the rest of his life. Korroth now saw that he had incited the tribes into entering war with Tuvon, and he had fought and spilled Pau’an blood, not for the good of the tribes or the Ezzekieli people, but solely for Isaha. But then he had killed her. He had ripped from this world the only purpose he had remaining in this life.
==== Sheh Hok ====


Hence, he climbed up the highest peak he could see and poised himself on the edge. He was completely devoid of emotion at that moment; he did not feel sad for what he had lost or angry at the mistakes he had done, because his life had ended even before he poised himself to jump. A gust of wind swept past him and almost shoved him over the edge, and suddenly a spasm of terror gripped him and he threw himself back from the precipice. At first he could not understand what he had done. Then it dawned upon him that his pang of fear, the fear for his own life, had revealed to him the purpose of his life. His raison d'être was his own self, Korroth Von Hroth.
'''22 ABY'''


Standing on the windswept Renascence Peak (as he later called it) on the 33rd day of the first month of 104 BBY, Korroth pledged that from thence his every thought and action would be to serve himself. No person or object would ever again take precedence over his own profit. He knew that to achieve this fully he would have to excise from himself all those emotions that would instead lead him to work for the benefit of others, like compassion, mercy and charity. However, in his current situation he would not have to worry about this overmuch, since he was far from any Utapaun communities and he would not be able to make contact with other persons even if he wanted to.
[[File:Rore Dumon.JPG|thumb|230px|Rore Dumon]]


{{Quote|Give me cash, and I shall get a blaster. Give me a blaster, and I shall use it. Give me an army, and I shall spill its blood. Give me a cause, and I shall ''drown'' it in blood. Don't give me a sharpened pencil, or you'll regret it.|Rore Dumon}}


=== Post-Renascence ===
Early in 22 ABY the House Summit commenced a recruitment drive for the commissioned officer positions in the [[Kraken Regiment - Scholae Palatinae|Kraken Regiment]] (formerly the [[Acclivis Draco Defense Regiment]]), in an effort to reinforce the units depleted in the [[Incursion|alien incursion]] and [[Reclamation of Judecca|Operation Dragon Claw]] of the previous year. Korroth was sent to the [[starwars:shadowport|shadowport]] of [[Antenora#Sheh_Hohk|Sheh Hok]] to hunt for potential candidates among the outlaws in that smuggling haven. He did not find much information on the shadowport, only that it was hidden somewhere below the sands of the [[Antenora#Blood_Plains|Blood Plains]] of [[Antenora#Etnare|Etnare]], but he did not expect that he would need its exact location.
==== To serve the self through knowledge ====
===== 104 BBY to 103 BBY =====
As he looked down upon the lush valleys below, Korroth decided that the first means of serving the self was to pursue the understanding of the universe around him. Alone in the Medri Gamri (Green Crags), as he called them, he would not be able to make use of the scientific instruments and techniques that would have been available to him in Ika, for example. However, the wealth of different life forms inhabiting the Medri Gamri was an opportunity found nowhere else on the planet (as far as Korroth knew). Hence, his aim was to study the organisms of the Medri Gamri as fully as he was able with his current limited resources, and then he would return to a centre of civilization to examine his findings with more sophisticated instruments.


Korroth spent the next two years cataloguing and examining the plants and animals of the Medri Gamri. He observed plants that were completely different from any he had ever seen in Tarbaur or the Sazarel. There were also some that were similar to their xerophytic cousins but had mutations that allowed them to survive and prosper in the much damper and shaded Gamri environment. He noted this in animals as well; for example, Gamri dactillions did not have the ability to close their nostrils (used by Sazareli and Tarbauri dactillions to protect against sand), and they appeared to be much more dependent on river water rather than just the water content of their prey.
First, he arrived at the trading port of [[Antenora#Uvem|Uvem]], in the middle of Etnare, where he began making great fanfare of his mission to rid Antenora of its outlaws and made the round of the residential module's [[starwars:Cantina|cantinas]] asking indiscreet questions about Sheh Hok. Then he proceeded to make frequent outings into the surrounding desert until, during a particularly turbid sandstorm, he was kidnapped and rendered unconscious. Once inside the shadowport, the Pau'an's kidnappers entered into civil conversation. They did not appear hostile, in fact it seemed as though they had done this before, and they knew where he came from. They took Korroth's offered mission without qualms, considering the Pau'an had made it clear it was a test for a more long-term contract.


By the end of 103 BBY, Korroth concluded that he had extracted all the information that he could from the Medri Gamri. So he packed his animal, plant and fungal samples and plenty of supplies on a Gamri dactillion he had tamed, and he set off on the Der Crabsi mounted on his own dactillion. The cross was arduous, especially because two years of living with an endless supply of water had softened him a bit. However, he had come prepared and he managed to make the water last for the whole voyage. After he had travelled about three thirds of the way South, he was forced to abandon the Gamri dactillion and load all the samples on his own dactillion. The Gamri dactillion had not been able to survive the dry air, harsh sun and scarcity of water. This did not cause Korroth too great a problem, since he reached the Sazareli steppes two days later and was welcomed into the camp of Tribe Crabwa soon after.
Korroth accompanied one of the mercenary captains, an old [[starwars:Duros|Duros]] named [[Acclivis_Draco_Defense_Regiment#High_Colonel_Rore_Dumon|Rore Dumon]], as the pirate and mercenary ships travelled to [[starwars:Kwenn Space Station|Kwenn Space Station]]. Their intended target was a team of New Republic [[starwars:hypernautics|hypernautics]] engineers, which they were to capture for Acclivis Draco. Dumon surprised Korroth by hanging back with his mercenary squad while the other criminal teams directly assaulted the station. The Duros then attacked the selfsame outlaws, hailing himself to the station as New Republic reinforcements. In the confusion of the battle, he convinced the New Republic engineers to escape to safety on his ship. While the station forces and the outlaws tore each other apart, Dumon smuggled out with his squad and the engineers. Dumon's ship was thus the only one to return to the Cocytus system. By this point the engineers had figured out their situation and were making loud protestation. The Duros threw them in an airlock and spaced them. Though somewhat shocked, Korroth understood Dumon's meaning. The old captain was a veteran of wars, rebellions and raids. He no longer fought for allegiances, ideals or credits. He fought for the fight. This is why Korroth recommended him to the House Summit and why he was appointed Colonel of the Kraken Regiment.




==== To serve the self through power ====
==== Claw of Suffering ====
===== 103 BBY to 102 BBY =====
In the Crabwi camp, Korroth learned that, about a year ago, Tuvon Hroth had managed to lead a faction of young Ezzekieli warriors into a revolt against Chieftain Ismer. Now Tuvon ruled Tribe Ezzekiel, using his “Peace Guard” as an iron fist to force the Ezzekieli into obedience. However, this time he kept better relations with the other tribes, and no Chieftain was ready to start another bloody war against him.


This hindered Korroth’s plans, but he was not ready to give up. He travelled to the Ezzekieli camp disguised as a nondescript merchant; as long as he did not meet Tuvon face to face he would probably not be recognized. This presumption proved to be false soon after he entered the camp, but only for the better. He was in fact recognized by Udhren Uter, the Pau’an who had rescued him after his exile from Ika. He immediately took Korroth to a safe place, and after rejoicing at his return, he called to the tent several other Pau’ans whose names Korroth barely remembered. He explained to Korroth that, since Tuvon had taken the Chieftain’s chair, Udhren had gradually gathered a group of dissidents who intended to dethrone Tuvon for the last time. Udhren appeared to be of the mind that Korroth had returned to the tribe specifically to lead them in this revolt.
'''22 ABY -


Korroth saw that this would be his first test to see if he was able to serve solely the self, without heed for the plight of others. At first he thought that helping Udhren was an obvious contradiction to his pledge on Renascence Peak. However, after more careful reasoning he recognized that, if he helped ensure the success of the revolt, he would then be standing in a position of considerable power. From there he would be able to obtain resources and assistance for his experiments, and his quest to understand the universe through science would be much facilitated. Because of this, he eventually agreed to assist the revolt.
[[File:ArmoryRed.jpg|thumb|150px|The standardised armory saber]]


That very same day, the revolutionaries led by Udhren attacked the Peace Guard, while Korroth stole into Tuvon’s tent. As the final part of his self-imposed test, he cleared his mind from all emotions and feelings he had for his elderly father and slit his throat. This brought Tuvon’s six centuries of dictatorship to an end and placed Korroth well on the path to eliminating all externally-focussed emotions.
Since the alien invasion and the loss of Antei and so many of the Clans' assets in 21 ABY, the Dark Council had been working to reinforce and replenish the beleaguered Brotherhood. In 22 ABY the Grand Master announced major reforms concerning the dissolution of the [[Society of Envoys]] and the empowering of Journeymen, in the form of mass-produced [[Armory Lightsaber|armory lightsabers]]. Evidently the echelons of power wanted to prepare the Brotherhood for further engagements with the alien invaders.


Almost all of Tribe Ezzekiel celebrated Tuvon’s death, and many tribesmen, chief among them the revolutionaries, called for Korroth to be made Chieftain. Korroth attempted to refuse however, because he considered the Chieftainship to be a burden that would take him away from his scientific pursuits. In the end, he convinced the Ezzekieli to elect Udhren to the Chieftain’s chair. This worked well for Korroth, because Udhren was now partly indebted to him, and he was later able to demand much from the Chieftain.
In Clan Scholae Palatinae the responsibility of training and developing the Journeymen shifted towards the [[Rollmaster|Rollmasters]] and to individual tutoring by the [[Equite|Equites]] and [[Elder|Elders]]. It is thus that Korroth became [[EQ2|Prelate]] [[Lucien Kaeth Palpatine|Lucien's]] student for a time. The Prelate coached Korroth in the use of his new armory lightsaber in the training halls on Judecca. For the first time the Journeyman came to face with the terrifying expediency and compressed ferocity of [[Lightsaber_Forms#Form_VII_-_Vaapad|Vaapad]], which his master used with great proficiency. In this time Korroth came to see lightsaber combat as more than a means to kill; its purpose was rather to shape the internal self, to cut it and beat it into the image of power. Though, of course, Vaapad was still far beyond his capacity as a practicable Form.
 
In this year Korroth had the honor to serve as the Claw of Suffering, [[Order of the Dragon]]: Third Class. The prestigious Order of the Dragon was charged with the defense of the Quaestor from threats external and internal to the Dragon's Citadel. Quaestor RevengeX had instituted the Order in 20 ABY in response to the insidious menace of Acclivis Draco's rival sister House Caliburnus. When RevengeX appointed Korroth in 22 ABY, the focus had already shifted to planetary threats.
 
 
==== WIP ====
 
At the start of 29 ABY, Korroth took part in the [[Independence Games]]. Drawing from his experience of the Clan Artifacts project, he won a medal for his documentation of an alchemical artifact in the Emperor's Storeroom. After the Independence Games he took part as a Temporary Auditor in the classification of a large number of files in the [[Holocron Center of the Brotherhood]]. He was later assigned three more Clan Artifacts to study and document, the Ray of Throes, Tukan's Armor and the Soul Blight. The Ray of Throes was a [[starwars:Hssiss|hssiss]] bone kris used by the [[starwars:Inquisitorius|Inquisitorius]] as a torture device in the time of the Galactic Empire. When the blunt blade of the kris touches skin, a Dark Side force inside the artifact inflicts excruciating pain upon the victim, without causing any physical harm. Tukan's Armor is a full suit of plate armor, originally worn two million years ago by Prince Tukan Akar of [[starwars:Voon|Voon]]. Prince Tukon, a Force-sensitive, perpetrated such bloody atrocities during the wars on his planet that the armor became imbued, through the Force, with the suffering of the Prince's victims. Even to this day, if a Force-sensitive approaches the armor they will experience the waves of agony and torment that the armor has witnessed, and those weak of mind will inevitably go mad if exposed to it for too long. The Soul Blight, the last artifact, is a great two-handed sword used by the same Prince Tukan, later crafted into a [[starwars:Sith Sword|Sith sword]] by the Emperor's Guard, and then cursed by a [[starwars:Duinuogwuin|duinuogwuin's]] dying breath. This curse meant that the smallest cut with the Soul Blight would cause the victim to go mad with the drive to inflict pain to those around him and even to himself. The curse basically robbed the victim of their soul and made them a bloodthirsty beast.
 
Later on Korroth also designed the interiors of the [[starwars:Baudo-class_star_yacht|''Baudo''-class Star Yacht]] Enchantress, a luxury shuttle assigned to the Consuls of Scholae Palatinae. However, because of changes made by the [[Dark Council]] to the Clan regulations for the possession of artifacts and assets, Korroth's work on the Yacht and, crucially, the Clan Artifacts became obsolete and superseded. While the Guardian was still awarded for his work, he was greatly disappointed that his studies and research had essentially been in vain. He decided to retire for a while from Dark Brotherhood life to travel across the planet of Antenora.
 
 
==== Antenora ====
===== 29 ABY to 30 ABY =====
The Krath Guardian met nomad and settled tribes, and visited cities and landmarks principally to learn about the origins of Antenoran religions, and to document the ancient history of the planet. He also researched the existence of two lost civilisations, extinct by tens of thousands of years, which inhabited the planet before its last major climate change. He found evidence of one of these civilisations, the Homoglyphs, in a sacred cave in the city of [[Antenora#Aknah|Aknah]], and he suspected that more remains would be found in the cave networks of the Hollow Lands. However, he did not have the resources to excavate the site, so he returned to Acclivis Draco and the Ebon Cloak Battleteam.
 
 
==== The Scholar ====
===== 30 ABY to 33 ABY =====
Korroth proposed the construction of a new base of operations for the Ebon Cloak. His offer was accepted and the Guardian oversaw the design and construction of the base, the [[Ebon_Cloak#Sedes_Doctrinae|Sedes Doctrinae]], in the Hollow Lands. Coincidentally, during the construction works extensive Homoglyph runic writings were found in one of the caverns. However, Korroth did not have time to study these runes in [[30_ABY_to_39_ABY|30 ABY]] as he took part in the [[Great_Jedi_War_IX|Unification War]] on Antei, where he earned a battlefield promotion to Jedi Hunter.
 
After the Great Jedi War Korroth was assigned a new and more stimulating task: to document the planet of Antenora, its inhabitants, tribes, cities, cultures, religions, climate, tides and ecosystem. In 31 ABY Korroth was promoted to [[Dark Jedi Knight]] for his work on this project and the Sedes Doctrinae. The Guardian remained fully dedicated to the Antenora project for the next three years. This time spent among the people of Antenora began to erode at Korroth's resolve to hold to his creed, to serve only the self. He began to question the purpose of gaining power for oneself, and he drew near to the conclusion that power was only a tool, that the true purpose could only be to serve others, to help those in need. However, he knew that these heretical thoughts could be fatal in the Brotherhood, so he decided to hide his sentiments for the present.
 
In 33 ABY the Krath participated in the ACC Journeyman Ladder, the Scholae Palatinae Spring Games and the [[Disorder|Rite of Supremacy: Disorder]]. In that same year, Scholae Palatinae was demoted to House status, and later Acclivis Draco was disbanded. Korroth was shifted to Battleteam [[Caliburnus]], but in secret he planned a defection to the newly-forming Light-Side House of [[Odan-Urr]].
 
 
==== To Serve the Light ====
===== 34 ABY to 35 ABY =====
In 34 ABY, Korroth officially renounced the Dark Side and joined House Odan-Urr on [[New Tython|Harakoa]]. While working to consolidate his conversion to the "Light Side", the Jedi Knight documented the biology and culture of the native Harakoans for the records of the House. For this work and for his past projects on Antenora Korroth was promoted to the [[Sith Warrior|first Equite rank]] by the Summits of both Odan Urr and Scholae Palaitinae.

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Character History

Utapau

City of Birth

2 BBY - 9 ABY

The sinkhole of Ika

"Let the politicians battle for ideals, honour, pride, justice. A soldier fights for home and hearth."
―Tuvon Karn

Korroth Karn was born in 2 BBY in Ika, a remote sinkhole city on the Outer Rim planet of Utapau. Ika was geographically isolated and both culturally and politically distinct from the planetary Utapaun society. This contrast was best exemplified, culturally, by the city's practice of an ancient animistic cult and, politically, by the Ikan City Council's autonomous rule and historical independence from the planetary government.

With the effective collapse of the Galactic Empire in 4 ABY, the re-instituted Utapaun Committee began applying pressure on Ika to integrate into planetary and galactic society. Korroth's mother Mavane was a prominent member of the governing traditionalist party on the Ikan City Council. This party took an aggressive stance towards the planetary government's perceived encroachment, and the dispute eventually escalated into a protracted war of attrition. The Utapaun Committee imposed economic sanctions and established a blockade around the entire sinkhole, while the Ikan Civil Guard retaliated with raids and skirmishes against the Utapaun security forces.

Korroth's father Tuvon was a captain in the Ikan Civil Guard. He died on a raid when Korroth was eleven years old. On the day before the raid Tuvon spoke to his son and tried to impress upon the child that, though war ostensibly is fought for honor and liberty, a soldier fights first and foremost to protect the people he loves.


Spirit Cult

10 ABY - 14 ABY

An Ikan Civil Guard

In 10 ABY Mavane enrolled the young Pau'an in the city's Cadet Corps Academy, with the intent that he would eventually become a Civil Guard officer. Korroth took to the military education with diligence, but more out of commitment to his father's memory than any aspiration for a military career. Instead, his real devotion was to the sinkhole's spirit cult. Whenever he could, he would assist the revered spirit guides in healing rituals, the recitation of holy hymns and the maintenance of shrines. It was while taking part in the sacred rites that Korroth first became aware of the spirit world, and he rejoiced in perceiving the manifest spirits pulse and flow in resonance to the passions of the people of the sinkhole.

The spirit cult also had a strong influence on the young Pau'an's developing political position, as his social circle consisted manly of cult initiates. The spirit guides, attuned as they were to the temper of the spirit world, saw that the war against the Utapaun Committee was bringing only grief and privation. In 14 ABY Korroth and a close group of friends believed the situation had become so dire that they formed a dissident cabal with the aim of removing the warmongering traditionalist party from the City Council. After months of planning and covert communications, the cabal led the security forces of the Utapau Committee through an abandoned cave tunnel and into the sinkhole of Ika. The Utapaun soldiers quickly took control of the city barracks and apprehended the members of the City Council with no fighting.

The Utapau Committee soon installed a provisional city administrator and lifted the economic sanctions. The blockade dispersed and the raids stopped; the people of Ika were thankful that they were no longer committed to a bloody war. However, they could not forgive the dissidents' traitorous actions, which had slighted their civic pride. Uncontrolled lynch mobs discharged their fatal justice on the young conspirators one by one, until Korroth was forced to flee Ika and even Utapau itself. He took the first starliner he could find, which headed coreward on the Rimma Trade Route.


Slave Empire

Zygerria

14 ABY - 16 ABY


"There is no purpose. There is solely will. There is nothing... Only me."
―Darth Ruin
The Zygerrian slaving ship

The starliner was still in the Outer Rim Territories when it was attacked by Zygerrian slavers of the Pr'ollerg Clan. The slavers seized every passenger, including Korroth, and imprisoned them in the cargo holds of their Aurore-class freighters. Korroth barely took notice of the miserable month-long journey; his mental state was such that the wretchedness of the cargo hold's slave pens was to him a mere sensory extrusion of the internal misery he was experiencing. The exile from his native city of Ika had sheared all that had tethered him to the mundane galaxy, and for a while the distraught Pau'an withdrew into his own self.

The slave freighter crossed almost the entire galaxy and arrived on Zygerria in 15 ABY. Korroth was put in a work crew for the construction of a slave master's grand palace. The taxing rigors of the physical labor and the strong-arm rule of the strongest slaves over the weaker ones almost killed Korroth. In this environment, traumatic and hostile from every angle, Korroth came to perceive that any empathetic connection to beings other than the self had been sloughed away. The world was now a simple concatenation of action-reaction driven entirely by self-preservation.

It is somewhat ironic, then, that what saved him was his rudimentary skills of healing, taught to him in the form of rites and incantations by the spirit guides of Ika. In exchange for treatment of injuries and illness, the bossiest slaves wouldn't steal his rations or beat him, and other slaves would take over some of his heavy manual tasks. This arrangement might well have saved his life, but it was the Zygerrian slave master Yaj Pr'odek, owner of the grand palace being constructed, who indirectly saved his sanity. Upon inspecting the slave work crews in 16 ABY, she saw him performing a healing ritual on another slave and she bought him for her own retinue.


Queen Scintel III

16 ABY - 20 ABY

Yaj Pr'odek was the captain of the Corona-class slaving frigate Queen Scintel III. She and her crew of mercenaries, slavers and slaves raked the planets of the Trans-Hydian Borderlands for rare and exotic slaves, occasionally taking refuge in the Stygian Caldera when New Republic or First Order patrols took chase. Korroth's role on this ship was to keep the captured slaves alive and in good health, initially a task made difficult by their cramped, unsanitary conditions and their state of malnutrition.

Over the years the Pau'an obtained significant improvements in the quality of the slave pens and the amenities and food expended on the slaves. In Korroth's mind this was simply an expedient quid pro quo. He improved the conditions of the captive slaves; fewer slaves died; Lady Pr'odek made a greater profit on the slave markets; Korroth was spared punishment and, sometimes, even rewarded.

When it needed to hide, the Queen Scintel III stole onto a forgotten planet inside Sith Space, using an ancient Sith citadel as the hideout. Korroth became fascinated with the crumbling murals and inscriptions on its walls. To recompense his diligent service, Lady Pr'odek granted Korroth the resources and leave to study the citadel. Over the years the Pau'an came to believe that a particular set of friezes depicted the insurrection of a mighty Sith Lord, his defeat by the power of Marka Ragnos and his exile into the Caldera.


Felucia

20 ABY

The Queen Scintel III on Felucia

In 20 ABY the Queen Scintel III raided the planet Felucia and captured several of the jungle-dwelling tribes. In his capacity as healer, Korroth was able to establish a limited rapport. He participated in their shamans' rituals and by it perceived how individual consciousness could blur and dissolve into a greater unity. He understood that the Felucians were, to some extent, mere instances of a single will that encompassed their whole tribe, the jungle, maybe even the whole planet.

As the slave ship departed that untamed world, the Felucians grew hostile and erratic. Korroth entreated Lady Pr'odek to remain on the planet, believing that a jump to hyperspace would be fatal to the Felucians, but the Zygerrian was not swayed. The ship sped towards the Esstran sector, and the Felucians became wild and violent. They broke free of the slave pens and ran amok on the decks. The ship reached the hideout world, but the crew lost control and crashed onto the surface.

Korroth survived, barely, and made his way to the Sith citadel. The loss of the Felucians tore him into a state of distraction he had not experienced since his enslavement a decade ago. The Felucians had been a gateway to an understanding of the Force far deeper than that granted by the Ikan spirit guides, or his own practice of Force healing. Now, with all their shamans dead in the wreckage of the Queen Scintel III, that path was lost to Korroth. Staring at the friezes of the Sith citadel, the Pau'an resolved to find his way into the custody of beings who could show him the way to mastery of the Force, or die trying. The friezes pinpointed the last trajectory of the fleet of the exiled Sith Lord Okemi. Korroth focused his intent on that caliginous swirl of the Stygian Caldera and sat immobile. He intuited that, if the exiled Sith Lord had survived, if his progeny had prospered, if they had grown powerful in the Force, they would have sensed the death of the Force-crazed Felucians and the passion of the Pau'an's intent. If not, the path he had chosen would come to an end. Korroth did not waver in mind or body for days, weeks, until he passed out of exhaustion.


Dark Jedi Brotherhood

Lyspair

20 ABY

The Shadow Academy on Lyspair

When he awoke, Korroth found himself on the surface of a stark and arid moon. With him were a handful of other aspirants, but they had no water or supplies between them. They all could see the pale contour of a pyramid atop a cliff in the far distance, and though they spoke no words they all knew the nature of the test. They set off across the torrid plain, until they reached some rocky hills. Here many in the group stopped in the shade, thinking they would recoup. Korroth ignored them. His body cried for respite, but his resolve drove him to triumph or death. There was nothing left to him but that triangle of dark stone high in the distance. He trekked through the hills and, with the last light of day, climbed the steep cliff that was the final barrier. Thus, in 20 ABY, in the reign of Grand Master Jac Cotelin, in the courtyard of the Shadow Academy, Headmaster Anshar Kahn Tarentae initiated Korroth into the Dark Jedi Brotherhood.

His days on Lyspair were spent perusing the vast knowledge base of this composite and intricate organization. The histories of the great and powerful of the Brotherhood, their command and arcane comprehension of the Force, galvanized the callow Journeyman and gave him intemperate aspirations. Though he had been rostered with the Praxeum of House Galeres of Tarentum, Korroth remained on Lyspair; in fact he had barely left the bookshelves and databanks of the Academy's libraries. Once Battlemaster Windos Helkin Bruth'Kothae, then Tetrarch of the Praxeum, elevated Korroth to Acolyte for his high performance in the Shadow Academy, the Pau'an transferred to Kapsina and Clan Plagueis.


Kapsina

20 ABY

Under the Consulship of Battlelord Aabsdu di Plagia Dupar al'Tor, Clan Plagueis was an excellent introduction into the wrangling politics of the Brotherhood. Though three years had passed since the so-called "Dictum of Two Skies" which had merged the declining Clan Satak Keto and Clan Exar Kun into the current Plagueis, the turbulent ripples of the event still colored the interactions of the Clan's Dark Jedi. In observing the internal acrimony of the Clan, Korroth could reflect on how the whole Brotherhood maintained its effective unity. How could a gathering of self-serving Dark Side zealots, divided into rival power-vying Clans, hold together and not be destroyed from the inside? Korroth's pondering was partly answered when Grand Master Jac Ae-Sequiera Cotelin Taldrya-Cantor abdicated the Iron Throne and nominated Deputy Grand Master Aristan Dantes as his successor. The latter's ascension to the Iron Throne as Darth Sarin demonstrated to the awestruck Journeyman the heights of power that an individual could attain through the Force, and how this individual could drag the whole Brotherhood structure into its current shape.

In the Antei Combat Center Korroth learned the fundamentals of lightsaber combat. Using a training saber, he practiced under Archpriest al'Lan Mandragoran and then with Combat Master Dalthid, who accepted him as a Neophyte of the Combat Center. In practicing the simple movements of Banlanth, Korroth learned the value of focus and awareness of one's own body. He began using the basic katas as a way to center on the self and refine his connection to the Force.

During 20 ABY the Plagueis Clan Summit pushed efforts to document and gather intelligence on the Crimson Tide, an organization of pirates that had tormented Clan Plagueis since its inception. Korroth took a minor assistant role in the research team led by Proconsul Valerian di Plagia Orzon. The Journeyman's role in this information-gathering enterprise was relatively insignificant, but it helped him to grasp that knowledge gave as much of an upper hand as superior weaponry against the enemy.


Antenora

20 ABY - 21 ABY

An alien ship over Suzel

Towards the end of 20 ABY Darth Sarin inaugurated a set of Brotherhood-wide military exercises, dubbed "Second Darkness," in which the Clans would test the mettle of their Dark Jedi against one another. Korroth, a Guardian rank at this point, still did not know how to interpret these displays of unity-through-rivalry. He remained on Kapsina and continued his studies. At the turn of 21 ABY the Dark Tower received word that Clan Plagueis had placed third in the Rite of Supremacy. The fleets of the Clans had gathered near the Shroud for the champions' award ceremony, and Consul Aabsdu took the opportunity to seal an alliance with Consul Braecen Kaeth of Clan Scholae Palatinae. Korroth and the Journeymen still on Kapsina were ordered to travel as emissaries to the Houses of Scholae Palatinae to strengthen these bonds of allegiance, though Korroth thought "hostage exchange" might have been a better descriptive.

Korroth arrived on Antenora expecting that he would have to wait for the Acclivis Draco House Summit to return from the Rite of Supremacy celebrations. He set out on the streets of the magnificent city of Suzel, but he did not have long to explore before he received a communication stating that Clan Scholae Palatinae had broken off relations with Clan Plagueis. Korroth took the precaution of leaving the city before trying to reopen contact with his Clan. However, all communication with the fleets gathered at the Shroud had ceased. When he saw figures in the distance fleeing in every direction from the Dragon's Citadel, he concluded that something was badly wrong. He stole a transport and fled South from Suzel until he reached the bleached deserts of Batnare. As he crossed into the Sea of the Rising, huge ships of unfamiliar make hove into the atmosphere, their prows directed northwards to Suzel. Korroth determined to continue deeper into the desert, away from urban centers.

His stolen repulsorcraft did not last long in the desert sands. The only thing that saved him, after days of wandering without direction, was the sighting of a slow-moving object on the horizon. It was in fact one of the enormous desert-crossing byeruas, bedecked in the tents and banners of the Ser Gaa. The Antenoran tribe picked him up and nursed him back to health. In his time with these nomads Korroth got his first glimpse of the rich culture and traditions of the native Antenorans.


Dragon's Citadel

21 ABY - 22 ABY

In his sojourn with Tribe Ser Gaa, Korroth observed the passage of more alien ships and the echoes of bombardments from the Northern Oasis. A period of calm was then followed by the arrival of the fleet of Scholae Palatinae, led by the recently dethroned ex-Consul Braecen Kaeth Kunar and Consul Phoenix Olkyssagh d'Tana Palpatine, Emperor of the Cocytus System. The ensuing space battle and ground assaults resulted in heavy losses for the Clan, but the planets of the Cocytus system were reclaimed from the alien invaders.

By the time Korroth had made his way back to Suzel, House Acclivis Draco had returned to the Dragon's Citadel and had started to rebuild. The Journeyman hesitated when it came time to take transport back to Kapsina. Perhaps it was the venerable dignity and camaraderie of House Acclivis Draco, or the pull of Antenora's desert mysteries, but he decided to remain on the planet and join the House of the Rising Dragon. He was welcomed into the Dragon's Citadel by QuaestorRevengeX Palpatine and Aedile Cuchulain Palpatine.

At times, namely during the frequent middle-of-the-night parades called by the drunk Aedile, Korroth almost reckoned that he was regretting his move to Antenora, that he could have stayed secure and unperturbed on Kapsina and concentrated on his studies. As he got acquainted with his new House, however, he saw that he would have missed the opportunity to explore and unpick the rich tapestry that connected the Dark Jedi of the Clan, the House, the Antenorans and the rest of the planet.


Sheh Hok

22 ABY

File:Rore Dumon.JPG
Rore Dumon

"Give me cash, and I shall get a blaster. Give me a blaster, and I shall use it. Give me an army, and I shall spill its blood. Give me a cause, and I shall drown it in blood. Don't give me a sharpened pencil, or you'll regret it."
―Rore Dumon

Early in 22 ABY the House Summit commenced a recruitment drive for the commissioned officer positions in the Kraken Regiment (formerly the Acclivis Draco Defense Regiment), in an effort to reinforce the units depleted in the alien incursion and Operation Dragon Claw of the previous year. Korroth was sent to the shadowport of Sheh Hok to hunt for potential candidates among the outlaws in that smuggling haven. He did not find much information on the shadowport, only that it was hidden somewhere below the sands of the Blood Plains of Etnare, but he did not expect that he would need its exact location.

First, he arrived at the trading port of Uvem, in the middle of Etnare, where he began making great fanfare of his mission to rid Antenora of its outlaws and made the round of the residential module's cantinas asking indiscreet questions about Sheh Hok. Then he proceeded to make frequent outings into the surrounding desert until, during a particularly turbid sandstorm, he was kidnapped and rendered unconscious. Once inside the shadowport, the Pau'an's kidnappers entered into civil conversation. They did not appear hostile, in fact it seemed as though they had done this before, and they knew where he came from. They took Korroth's offered mission without qualms, considering the Pau'an had made it clear it was a test for a more long-term contract.

Korroth accompanied one of the mercenary captains, an old Duros named Rore Dumon, as the pirate and mercenary ships travelled to Kwenn Space Station. Their intended target was a team of New Republic hypernautics engineers, which they were to capture for Acclivis Draco. Dumon surprised Korroth by hanging back with his mercenary squad while the other criminal teams directly assaulted the station. The Duros then attacked the selfsame outlaws, hailing himself to the station as New Republic reinforcements. In the confusion of the battle, he convinced the New Republic engineers to escape to safety on his ship. While the station forces and the outlaws tore each other apart, Dumon smuggled out with his squad and the engineers. Dumon's ship was thus the only one to return to the Cocytus system. By this point the engineers had figured out their situation and were making loud protestation. The Duros threw them in an airlock and spaced them. Though somewhat shocked, Korroth understood Dumon's meaning. The old captain was a veteran of wars, rebellions and raids. He no longer fought for allegiances, ideals or credits. He fought for the fight. This is why Korroth recommended him to the House Summit and why he was appointed Colonel of the Kraken Regiment.


Claw of Suffering

22 ABY -

The standardised armory saber

Since the alien invasion and the loss of Antei and so many of the Clans' assets in 21 ABY, the Dark Council had been working to reinforce and replenish the beleaguered Brotherhood. In 22 ABY the Grand Master announced major reforms concerning the dissolution of the Society of Envoys and the empowering of Journeymen, in the form of mass-produced armory lightsabers. Evidently the echelons of power wanted to prepare the Brotherhood for further engagements with the alien invaders.

In Clan Scholae Palatinae the responsibility of training and developing the Journeymen shifted towards the Rollmasters and to individual tutoring by the Equites and Elders. It is thus that Korroth became Prelate Lucien's student for a time. The Prelate coached Korroth in the use of his new armory lightsaber in the training halls on Judecca. For the first time the Journeyman came to face with the terrifying expediency and compressed ferocity of Vaapad, which his master used with great proficiency. In this time Korroth came to see lightsaber combat as more than a means to kill; its purpose was rather to shape the internal self, to cut it and beat it into the image of power. Though, of course, Vaapad was still far beyond his capacity as a practicable Form.

In this year Korroth had the honor to serve as the Claw of Suffering, Order of the Dragon: Third Class. The prestigious Order of the Dragon was charged with the defense of the Quaestor from threats external and internal to the Dragon's Citadel. Quaestor RevengeX had instituted the Order in 20 ABY in response to the insidious menace of Acclivis Draco's rival sister House Caliburnus. When RevengeX appointed Korroth in 22 ABY, the focus had already shifted to planetary threats.


WIP

At the start of 29 ABY, Korroth took part in the Independence Games. Drawing from his experience of the Clan Artifacts project, he won a medal for his documentation of an alchemical artifact in the Emperor's Storeroom. After the Independence Games he took part as a Temporary Auditor in the classification of a large number of files in the Holocron Center of the Brotherhood. He was later assigned three more Clan Artifacts to study and document, the Ray of Throes, Tukan's Armor and the Soul Blight. The Ray of Throes was a hssiss bone kris used by the Inquisitorius as a torture device in the time of the Galactic Empire. When the blunt blade of the kris touches skin, a Dark Side force inside the artifact inflicts excruciating pain upon the victim, without causing any physical harm. Tukan's Armor is a full suit of plate armor, originally worn two million years ago by Prince Tukan Akar of Voon. Prince Tukon, a Force-sensitive, perpetrated such bloody atrocities during the wars on his planet that the armor became imbued, through the Force, with the suffering of the Prince's victims. Even to this day, if a Force-sensitive approaches the armor they will experience the waves of agony and torment that the armor has witnessed, and those weak of mind will inevitably go mad if exposed to it for too long. The Soul Blight, the last artifact, is a great two-handed sword used by the same Prince Tukan, later crafted into a Sith sword by the Emperor's Guard, and then cursed by a duinuogwuin's dying breath. This curse meant that the smallest cut with the Soul Blight would cause the victim to go mad with the drive to inflict pain to those around him and even to himself. The curse basically robbed the victim of their soul and made them a bloodthirsty beast.

Later on Korroth also designed the interiors of the Baudo-class Star Yacht Enchantress, a luxury shuttle assigned to the Consuls of Scholae Palatinae. However, because of changes made by the Dark Council to the Clan regulations for the possession of artifacts and assets, Korroth's work on the Yacht and, crucially, the Clan Artifacts became obsolete and superseded. While the Guardian was still awarded for his work, he was greatly disappointed that his studies and research had essentially been in vain. He decided to retire for a while from Dark Brotherhood life to travel across the planet of Antenora.


Antenora

29 ABY to 30 ABY

The Krath Guardian met nomad and settled tribes, and visited cities and landmarks principally to learn about the origins of Antenoran religions, and to document the ancient history of the planet. He also researched the existence of two lost civilisations, extinct by tens of thousands of years, which inhabited the planet before its last major climate change. He found evidence of one of these civilisations, the Homoglyphs, in a sacred cave in the city of Aknah, and he suspected that more remains would be found in the cave networks of the Hollow Lands. However, he did not have the resources to excavate the site, so he returned to Acclivis Draco and the Ebon Cloak Battleteam.


The Scholar

30 ABY to 33 ABY

Korroth proposed the construction of a new base of operations for the Ebon Cloak. His offer was accepted and the Guardian oversaw the design and construction of the base, the Sedes Doctrinae, in the Hollow Lands. Coincidentally, during the construction works extensive Homoglyph runic writings were found in one of the caverns. However, Korroth did not have time to study these runes in 30 ABY as he took part in the Unification War on Antei, where he earned a battlefield promotion to Jedi Hunter.

After the Great Jedi War Korroth was assigned a new and more stimulating task: to document the planet of Antenora, its inhabitants, tribes, cities, cultures, religions, climate, tides and ecosystem. In 31 ABY Korroth was promoted to Dark Jedi Knight for his work on this project and the Sedes Doctrinae. The Guardian remained fully dedicated to the Antenora project for the next three years. This time spent among the people of Antenora began to erode at Korroth's resolve to hold to his creed, to serve only the self. He began to question the purpose of gaining power for oneself, and he drew near to the conclusion that power was only a tool, that the true purpose could only be to serve others, to help those in need. However, he knew that these heretical thoughts could be fatal in the Brotherhood, so he decided to hide his sentiments for the present.

In 33 ABY the Krath participated in the ACC Journeyman Ladder, the Scholae Palatinae Spring Games and the Rite of Supremacy: Disorder. In that same year, Scholae Palatinae was demoted to House status, and later Acclivis Draco was disbanded. Korroth was shifted to Battleteam Caliburnus, but in secret he planned a defection to the newly-forming Light-Side House of Odan-Urr.


To Serve the Light

34 ABY to 35 ABY

In 34 ABY, Korroth officially renounced the Dark Side and joined House Odan-Urr on Harakoa. While working to consolidate his conversion to the "Light Side", the Jedi Knight documented the biology and culture of the native Harakoans for the records of the House. For this work and for his past projects on Antenora Korroth was promoted to the first Equite rank by the Summits of both Odan Urr and Scholae Palaitinae.

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