- "I endure only the worst to achieve only the best."
- ―Ronovi Tavisaen
Ronovi Tavisaen is an Epicanthix who hails from Yridia IX, an Obelisk Templar in the Dark Jedi Brotherhood, and the current Proconsul of Clan Tarentum. While she may appear to be a blunt, brutal, and slightly reckless character, Ronovi is very much devoted to her clan and exhibits impressive strength due to her heritage and her skill.
Pre-DJB History
Origins
- "I did not fall to the dark side. I was not seduced by the dark side. Falling indicates passivity. Seduction indicates a lack of control. I chose the dark side. I chose power."
- ―Darth Sarin
File:Ronovi training resized.jpgA blindfolded Ronovi is trained in instinct by her father.
Ronovi's father, Zane Tavisaen, was a prominent spacer in the Outer Rim and had a strong affiliation with the Dark Jedi Brotherhood. However, he had never made an effort to become a Dark Jedi because he believed he was not strong enough to be one. After many years of working, he returned to his home planet, Panatha, where he met and fell in love with his future wife. The two married in Tree City before traveling to Yridia IX, where they temporarily resided in Eden, a burgeoning metropolis at the time. When his wife became pregnant, Zane decided that the best thing to do was move to the outskirts of the city, where Ronovi's mother gave birth to a son. She gave birth to Ronovi three years later, in 10 ABY.
Ronovi was raised on strong family values and taught to cherish being with her parents and her siblings as much as possible. Unlike the other Epicanthix, who were notorious for conquering other planets in the Pacanth Reach, Zane wished for a quieter life. He seemed happy enough as a mechanic busily repairing ships and freighters owned by Eden civilians. However, Ronovi's desire was to be a warrior like her Epicanthix ancestors, even though her brother, Yaske, began to follow in their father's footsteps; while her sister, Sarit, began delving into science and literature. It wasn't until she was ten years old that her father took an interest in training her as a warrior, as he himself had practiced fighting techniques when he was young.
Zane told Ronovi to value her instincts in combat and instructed her to maintain perfect control over her reflexes. He also exposed her to a variety of fighting styles, teaching her how to use everything from a short staff to a dagger to her bare hands. While her mother disapproved of her daughter learning how to fight, Ronovi, being the black sheep of the family, wasn't looking back. After the conclusion of the Yridian Revolt in 24 ABY, Zane decided that the family should return to one of the major districts in Eden so he could extend his business in ship maintenance. It was there that he first allowed and even encouraged Ronovi to dabble in darker arts, and she reveled in the power they gave her. She decided that the dark side was the true source of perfection, and that it was responsible for her increasing notoriety as she grew older.
Noticed in the Night
File:Younger Ronovi.jpgA portrait of Ronovi at age sixteen.
Ronovi's decision to become a brawler was mainly due to her city's reputation. While her family was strictly middle class, her residence was surrounded by darker influences. The young woman was introduced to underground fighting rings in a nearby district, where people would go as far to bet on who would get slaughtered in death matches. She quickly earned a name as a suitable challenge for many skilled combatants, becoming infamous for her agility and aggressive moves. However, every altercation would result in one battle scar or another, and soon Ronovi found herself hashing it out with angry rivals on the street as well as in what was considered the most violent part of the city's entertainment business.
Nonetheless, Ronovi was not particularly happy with her level of skill as a martial artist. Her father had stopped training her by the time she turned sixteen, saying that he had taught her everything he knew. Ronovi continued to affiliate herself as a fighter for the next two years, and it was one particular night that garnered the attention of a Brotherhood member who was scouting for new recruits. After several bouts with weaker adversaries, the Epicanthix was matched against one of the toughest brawlers in the underground ring. She began to gain the upper hand just before she noticed that her opponent was drawing a dagger from his sleeve. It was then that Ronovi first demonstrated that she was a Force-sensitive, displaying unnatural power as she threw her challenger halfway across the room before he could stab her.
The next morning, the Dark Jedi told Zane that he was interested in bringing the eighteen-year-old girl to the Brotherhood. Ronovi quickly agreed to the offer after her father told her of the encounter, and she packed her bags and was shipped to the Shadow Academy to begin her initiation into the Obelisk Order. She was then transported to the Sword's Sheath on the Itaana belt, where she became a full-fledged member of House Gladius within Clan Tarentum.
DJB: The Early Years
New Blood in the Brotherhood
File:Ronovi Rifle.jpgRonovi as a new member of Gladius.
- "Well, this is all rather overwhelming."
- ―Ronovi Tavisaen
Upon arriving at her house, Ronovi was welcomed by her Quaestor, Telona Murrage, and fully inducted as a Gladian. She soon learned that she had been initiated into Clan Tarentum at a time of conflict within the Yridia system. With the recent war against the Yuuzhan Vong over, the clan's new troubles lay with Deutta the Hutt, a crime lord who held dealings with the remaining Vong in order to overthrow Tarentum's government. Therefore, Consul Anshar Kahn Tarentae arranged a strike team to intercept and eliminate Deutta on Karideph. Ronovi became one member of said team, and it was on Karideph that she met Doni Tzu Tarentae, who had been captured by the Vong.
After inadvertently saving Doni Tzu's life, Ronovi became his apprentice as soon as she had recovered from her injuries. Doni Tzu was notorious for being ruthless to both his enemies and his peers, as well as for angering even the most prestigious members of the Dark Council. But with her master's reputation in the back of her mind, Ronovi learned much from his teaching, including being diplomatic, sharp in wit, and adept in meditation and basic methods in the Force. She would continue to learn from him until she reached the rank of Protector, when she succumbed to lethargy and sickness after a house mission that left Apollo, a veteran of the Emperor's Hammer, as the house's new Quaestor. By the time she recovered, she learned that Doni Tzu was leaving the Yridia system.
After her master's sudden departure, Ronovi participated in a clan strike on Prakith. Her work and participation impressed her house summit, and she was appointed the new Obelisk Sergeant of Arcano Signum after her friend Dralin Talismarr stepped down from the position of Tetrarch. Ronovi also began studying military strategy and combat as part of her academics, and Marshal Maxamillian von Oberst-Tarentae, impressed with the young Obelisk's strategic knowledge, made her a Lieutenant Colonel of the Clan Tarentum I Corps in the newly reformed Clan Tarentum Military.
More Details: Settling Home
The Mayhem and the Mantle
Ronovi seen for the first time with her cybernetic eyepatch.
After leaving Prakith, Tarentum immediately moved to inspect the Renegade, a former ship from Oberst's days in the Emperor's Hammer. As the vessel had suddenly appeared in front of the Doomsday, a group of Tarenti, including Ronovi, volunteered to board the decommissioned ship and inspect it. This resulted in a battle between the clan and several angry spirits from the ship's former crew. With these spirits also came the ghosts of seven Dark Jedi once sealed in the Crystal of Tears, and they moved to possess several Tarenti as well as strip the Consul from his body. While the clan was ultimately able to defeat the spirits with the help of the Keepers, including the strange Talitha, the mission came with consequences. In Ronovi's case, she dueled a possessed Kazarelth Talismarr only to lose her left eye when he removed it with his lightsaber.
A cybernetic eyepatch brought back most of Ronovi's vision, and while her dreams of being a physically perfect warrior vanished, her quest to become a perfect warrior in every other way continued as usual. She was recognized for her work on the Renegade, inducted into Tarentum's necromantic order as a Death Dealer, and offered the available position of Aedile in House Cestus. Ronovi stepped down as Sergeant of Arcano Signum and agreed that Balia Donos should lead the battle team as its new Sith Commander. She was then transported to Koros and settled into the VSD Corsair, which served as the Cestians' complex.
Kazarelth and Ronovi, as Quaestor and Aedile, were both significantly younger and less experienced than many others by the time they became the leaders of Cestus. However, with their youth came fresh ideas and proposals to increase recruitment rates and strengthen the house as a whole. As she drew up strategies for present and future objectives, Ronovi reminded herself that Gladius would not forget her contributions, even though her former colleagues were now her rivals. This rivalry blossomed when both Gladius and Cestus were sent to Samur to find shards of the Crystal of Tears, which apparently granted their wielders power. Ronovi became a holder of one such shard after she survived a scuffle with the Yuuzhan Vong, which cost several lives but eventually got the two houses working together to fend them off.
More Details: Of the Past & Shattered Tears
In Shining Armor
- "I know an apprentice normally doesn’t run after the master. But we’re a Brotherhood, aren’t we? So I’ll go after my brother."
- ―Ronovi Tavisaen, to Anshar Kahn Tarentae
File:Ronovi's warbanner.jpgRonovi's first warbanner.
It seemed that Ronovi could finally relax with the joint mission finished and the trophies collected. However, she was suddenly distracted in her duties and assignments when she received a precognition of her master traveling to the planet Corulag. The Jedi Hunter received permission from the clan summit to leave Yridia, borrowed her father's freighter, and traveled to Curamelle in hopes of finding Doni Tzu. Sure enough, Ronovi's master was there, though he had changed drastically in appearance since his departure and now concealed his ethereal face behind a mask. When he was intercepted by guards at the Sienar Advanced Research Division, Ronovi helped him escape before insisting that he return to Tarentum and become a member of Cestus so they could work together more efficiently. While at first Doni Tzu refused, claiming that he had a more important mission to deal with, he finally agreed to his apprentice's request.
With Ronovi's return to the Yridia system came the end of her second year in the Brotherhood, and she was awarded the rank of Dark Jedi Knight by Consul Anshar and Proconsul Dranik Tarentae in response to her latest accomplishments. It was an impressive day for the Epicanthix who had once believed she would never get this far, and it was certainly a triumph for Tarentum. As a result, Ronovi became one of the few females in the clan's history to earn such a promotion as well as one of the first Tarenti to be appointed Knight since the Incursion.
Of course, Ronovi did not gloat for long. War was approaching, and Cestus had to be prepared for it. While she resumed her house duties, she also assisted in training new troops in the Tarentum I Corps as a newly promoted Colonel. She continued lessons with her master, even though he now worked beside her rather than taught her. Now that she was a Knight, Ronovi happily took on her own apprentice, Jaron Kai, whose strength had impressed the Obelisk while they were on Samur. It was during this time that Ronovi was also beginning to be recognized outside of the clan, given awards of loyalty and merit by the Dark Council. Ronovi could not help but feel eager to prove herself in the Brotherhood's efforts to reclaim Antei, which they had lost to the Vong in the previous war.
- "It is my pleasure to say that Ronovi is one of those who have made it, and however far she goes from here will be of her own choice."
- ―Anshar Kahn Tarentae
File:Ronoviantei.jpgRonovi on the Anteian landscape.
Ronovi was one of the many Tarenti who traveled to Antei only to discover that the Vong were dying and the Brotherhood's new target was a sect of Jedi. While on the ground, the Knight worked alongside her master and members of both Gladius and Cestus on several operations to overtake droid forces as well as Jedi forces deployed to the north of Adas. Ronovi also was a victim of a near-conversion to the light side, being saved in the nick of time by Doni Tzu before the Jedi had a chance to finish the job. At the same time, she had to deal with amending her friendship with Apollo, who was displeased not only by Ronovi's abrupt transfer to Cestus, but also by how quickly she was progressing in military rank.
In the final days of the war, Ronovi aided Tarentum in seizing full control of Codei Prison and was a witness to the conspiracies and subsequent death of Sun Vail, sister of the exiled Dark Jedi Bane. However, the Epicanthix would remain mentally affected by her close encounter with the light side, and she swore to herself that she would eliminate her dependence on others for survival. By the time she returned to Yridia, Ronovi ended her apprenticeship with Doni Tzu, moving away from the role of student while still maintaining an alliance with her former master. She would also have to deal with the loss of her apprentice, as Jaron had disappeared during the reclamation.
Even when Tarentum had suffered multiple casualties from the conflict, its leaders would not ignore Ronovi's major contributions to the war effort. She was given two field promotions, becoming one of the Equites as well as earning the rank of Brigadier General while still positioned on Antei. Subsequently, she was granted control of the Corps' First Division and further established her place in Tarentum history. Anshar and Oberst also decided to award Ronovi the prestigious Sapphire Blade for her service to the clan and the Brotherhood, and they offered her the open position of Quaestor following Kazarelth's resignation. Ronovi agreed to lead the house with Vai Azexel as her second-in-command as well as Ji K'awiil as the house's Rollmaster, and she made it her primary goal to continue to strengthen Cestus as the clan's battle wounds slowly began to heal.
Traumatic Evolution
Despite Ronovi's attempts to become more self-reliant, she did not expect her past ties to be broken so suddenly. For her first official mission as Quaestor, Ronovi was instructed to return to her homeworld. There, with members of her house, she discussed war recovery efforts and new taxation with Eden City's government. Several Cestians continued to observe the city after the tense meeting between Yridian and Tarentum officials, until a PCL 27 freighter abruptly crashed into Yridia IX's surface. While Ronovi and her sister survived, the two's parents were both killed from the impact and subsequent destruction; Ronovi's brother was not in Eden at the time. Later that evening, the Templar killed Sarit by beheading so that the latter would not tell Yridian officials that the crash was in fact an assassination attempt, and Tarentum the target.
The Eden City Tragedy left Ronovi with a very disturbed mindset. Her father's untimely death affected her the most, and she wished to avenge the man who had assisted her in her journey to the dark side. Her sister's hasty murder, however, left plenty of time for regret, and Ronovi turned to the Force as well as her practices in necromancy for comfort. She was also quick to show her allegiance to her higher-ups by assisting in the search for the one responsible for attacking the still unstable clan. At the same time, Ronovi helped reform House Cestus structurally into the Hieros Lokhos ton Taras, allowing it to operate like a sacred band. Her work paid off, and she was summoned to Castle Tarentum where she was appointed the clan's new Proconsul after Anshar yielded the throne of Prince of Yridia to Oberst.
More to come...
More Details: Broken & Garden of Eden
Characteristics
- "It is never the way of the Dark Jedi to do what is easy."
- ―Ronovi Tavisaen
A portrait of Ronovi with her hood pulled over her eyes.
Physical Appearance
Ronovi holds the typical Epicanthix appearance, being tall, muscular, and dark-haired. She is slightly over an impressive two meters in height, which is actually the average height among Epicanthix, and enjoys it due to the fact that she appears intimidating. Her most distinctive feature is her cybernetic left eye, an electric patch that works as a vision replacement. Ronovi also bears several scars from the many battles that she has endured as well as from her days as an underground fighter.
She is not a person of fashion, mainly wearing her military uniform or civilian attire when she's out and about. For a while, one of Ronovi's favorite articles of clothing was her hooded cloak, which she wore practically wherever she went. Over time, however, the cloak became increasingly tattered and frayed, and she now frequently dons a long black coat decorated with her officer insignia. Ronovi is also seen consistently with a flask at her side, which she usually keeps filled with Corellian whiskey.
Combat
File:SSK-7.jpgA diagram of an SSK-7, Ronovi's preferred blaster.
Ronovi is a frequent wielder of heavy blaster pistols, normally carrying two within her robes during strikes or battles. While she prefers using blasters in the style of the SSK-7 model, she sometimes resorts to using hold-out blasters as back-up. Although she is not a sniper, Ronovi has occasionally been equipped with a blaster rifle, and at least once she has specifically used a disruptor rifle in combat.
Ronovi's preferred weapon, of course, is her lightsaber, and she is currently perfecting her techniques in both Shii-Cho and Makashi. She has occasionally been equipped with her sapphire blade, carrying it with her as a back-up in case she is disarmed of her primary weapon. Also, she is quick to use aggressive martial arts forms such as Stava or grappling during hand to hand combat rather than the assassin-like movements of Close Quarters Battle, though she is trained in all three and more.
The Force
As she is more physically skilled than mentally, Ronovi can be considered a minimalist of the Force. For a while, this was partially due to her Force powers being much feebler than those of other clan members, and she did not feel confident using them. Now, though she is keen on using basic Force powers from time to time, she has gotten used to counting on her senses and instincts rather than on her Force control. Ronovi does have a sharp use of Force senses, as she is able to easily detect and observe various occurrences within a large square area. While occasionally she is overwhelmed by the information that she subsequently receives, she is able to channel such readings into proper use more and more easily as she progresses in rank.
Personality
File:Whiskey.jpgA glass of Corellian whiskey, Ronovi's favorite alcoholic beverage.
- "Ronovi is the rare member who gets those who hate working with others to work. She elevates those around her, and makes them feel important so that they're willing to work. But, make no mistake, she is not some sycophant out to appease those around her. She is just as capable of popping an overly inflated ego as she is working to inflate a terribly deprived one."
- ―Maxamillian von Oberst
Generally, Ronovi is an aggressive, impatient character. She lets her gut lead most of the time, especially when she is fighting, and tends to get intensely involved with each conflict she is faced with. Subsequently Ronovi can become reckless yet ruthless in battle, and this can result in potential harm to herself or her comrades if she is not careful. However, Ronovi's ability to cooperate grants her respect from other members.
Ronovi is also frequently blunt, sharp-tongued, and cynical. When other clan members say or do something that she disapproves of, she will first make note of it courteously, then downright bombast them if they do it again. Ronovi is often the target of teasing from her fellow Tarenti, which she handles with her usual wit and sarcasm. On several occasions, she is quite rambunctious, as she has taken up drinking as a hobby since the loss of her eye.
Although she is a fighter at heart, Ronovi prefers that conflict stay on the battlefield rather than within the clan. However, when she sees a situation that requires a specific active role, she tends to play different parts when necessary. One minute she could be arguing as the devil's advocate, and the next she could be working as a mediator or a diplomat in debates. In the end, Ronovi maintains steadfast alliances with several clan leaders and leaders emeritus, and she harbors strong loyalty to Lord Khyron, the Sith King. Also, due to her constant aid to older and newer clan members, she is seen as a well-rounded mentor, advisor, and leader.
DJB Positions
Apprentices
Jaron Kai
29 ABY - 30 ABY
Jaron Kai was Ronovi's first apprentice, beginning her training under the then Dark Jedi Knight after the joint mission with Gladius on Samur. As she was ranked Protector at the time, Jaron had already proven to Ronovi that she was a capable fighter as well as a reliable member of Cestus. The two were also on friendly rather than merely cordial terms, and their master and student relationship was sided with a shared wit and perspective. Unfortunately, Jaron disappeared from Tarentum's set up base during the Reclamation of Antei and has not been seen since. She last held the rank of Jedi Hunter.
Trivia
- Ronovi is based on a previously written Sith character named Darth Desov, which was used by her creator for less formal roleplaying sessions.
- Ronovi's unofficial title, according to Frey Gallandro, is the "Sister of Doom," pertaining to his belief that she and Kazarelth will lead Tarentum "to damnation and total doom."
- Ronovi has a large variety of nicknames, including but not limited to: "Ron," "Ronnie," "Rovi," "Ro Ro," "Ravioli," "Ron-Ron," "Runofi," "Ronovermi," "Ronobi," and "Ronni"; all coined by Odin Vaaj, Oberst, Tlaloc Elols, Kazarelth, Ji, Dralin, and Sirrus respectively.