Welshman Corsair Erinos Tarentae

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Welsh's warbanner, green representing the earth of his nation and the ancient dragon said to have protected his country aeons ago

Welshman Corsair Erinos Tarentae (15BBY-present) a Consul emeritus of the Clan Tarentum and a current member of House Cestus of Tarentum, as well as a member of the Honoured family of the Tarentae.

Character History

Childhood (15BBY-0BBY)

Welshman experienced a rather uneventful childhood living life in relative comfort with his middle-class Imperial Beaurocrat parents. His father was a civil servant in the Yaga Minor shipyards who’s main job was balancing the accounts whilst his mother was a local parish councillor.

Adolescence (0ABY-4ABY)

One of the most defining moments of his life occurred on his 15th birthday, the destruction of the first Death Star, it was during the battle of Yavin that he discovered a taste for everything military and promised himself that a naval career was the one for him. The marvel infused in him by watching the dogfights on the news holo and the courageous deaths sustained by those on the Death Star made him feel a sense of pride and duty to his Empire.

On his 17th birthday Welshman fulfilled that dream by enrolling to the Imperial Naval Academy on Carida.

During his stay at the Academy Welshman discovered he was a natural pilot, often outperforming even some of his instructors, a trait which saw him pass close to the top of his class all the time. Other aspects of study were quickly followed up on to make a better pilot, computing, martial arts and even languages. A well rounded warrior was a warrior who survived.

Two years later and badged as a fully fledged Imperial TIE Fighter pilot Welshman was sent to join the Open Circle Armada operating out of the Core Worlds.

Imperial Service (4ABY-19ABY)

After joining the Open Circle Armada he underwent 8 months of intense anti-piracy and rebellion interdiction missions came the news of the death of Emperor Palpatine at Endor. During the months of upheaval that followed Welshman remained loyal to the forces of the Empire and its leaders.

And on this went until Grand Admiral Thrawn once more gave hope to the Imperial forces, for a glorious year Welshman flew under the banner of Thrawn from the Imperial Star Destroyer Nemesis until the traitorous Noghiri bodyguard slaughtered Thrawn at his command seat.

And so it went for many years and many torturous defeats Welshman staying at the side of Thrawn’s chosen successor, Admiral Pelleon. For 15 years Welshman excelled behind the cockpit of a T/I rising to the rank of wing commander, the man responsible for the whole fighter contingent aboard the ISD Nemesis and it was here he stayed until 17 years after Yavin when he was promoted to General and assigned a groundside office in charge of the planetary defences of one of the few worlds still loyal to the Empire, it was here during the closing stages of the Civil War that he almost met his match. As the planetary shields crumbled and the defence force fled from orbit down closer to the planet Welshman attempted to make his way to the hangers so that he may rally his fighters for a final counter-assault, this was not to be as a turbolaser blast thundered from orbit to destroy the headquarters he had only recently vacated, thrown about by the shockwave and peppered by shrapnel Welshman waited to die.

Brotherhood Service (19ABY-Present)

It was in this state that emissaries from the Brotherhood found him, broken and dejected. Sensing potential within the pilot they placed him in a healing trance and took him aboard their ship. For the whole five day journey from Garqi to Yridia Welshman was cared for by the two Dark Jedi who had been sent to Garqi to attempt to buy unique xenoc agro-products.

Upon arrival in Castle Tarentum Welshman was immediately taken to the medical ward where he suffered a further two weeks of bacta and Force treatment to nurse his battered body back to health however one part of his body was beyond repair, his eyes. To compensate for his loss of vision the Tarenti surgeons fitted him with an archaic looking set of optical goggles to enable him to see.

Once healed he was sent on his way to Lyspair and the Shadow Academy to begin his tuition in the ways of the Dark Side.

After only a few days at the Academy Welshman came to realise that he was destined to follow the path of the Sith, a noble institution and heirs to a great power Welshman became enthralled with the history of the great Sith Lords of the past, Exar Kun, Naga Sadow, Darth Vader and Freedon Nadd. To follow in these great men’s footsteps and to perhaps achieve such power as they did was indeed a great lure to the old Imperial officer.

Due to his past experiences Welshman excelled in the martial aspects of his studies besting even those Journeymen who had had long training in ways of the occult. Within months he had progressed enough to be bestowed with the rank of Apprentice and sent on his way back to the Clan which had saved him.

Upon his arrival in House Tridens of Tarentum Welshman assumed the duties expected of a lowly member such as himself his prowess in the cockpit however soon endeared him to his fellow squad mates in Hammerhead squadron and within weeks he had caught the eye of the Quaestor of the House, one Rekio Corsair, who then took Welshman on as his apprentice.

Under the tutelage of his Master Welshman climbed quickly through the Journeymen ranks rising to Jedi Hunter and his own squadron command within a year. With himself at the head of Stingray Welshman prepared for his most trying time so far in the Brotherhood.

The Third Sith War

It was a grand venture to solidify the Brotherhood’s grasp over its new home that gave Welshman his first taste of a Force war. Leading his squadron through battle after battle Welsh distinguished himself in dogfight after dogfight leading to him being given command of a multi-Clan task force in the final battle against the Antaran hordes. The Dark Council’s ships were being kept out of the Antaran shipyards by the heavy Golan defence platforms and Welsh’s squad were given the mission of infiltrating the yards and causing as much damage and destruction as possible before turning on the defence platforms and attacking them from within. This attack was met with great success and the ISD Heresiarch was able to punch a hole in the weakened perimeter and allow Brotherhood forces to flow into the alien’s shipyards.

Due to his commendable actions Welshman was promoted to a Dark Jedi Knight and along with his new lightsabre even newer doors were to open for him in the Brotherhood.

Leadership

Arriving home from Antei exhausted but also exhilarated Welshman was surprised to find himself called to the office of then Aedile Oberst. Tarentum considered Welsh an investment and one they expected to see a return on, as such they trusted him enormously with a position on the house Summit of Tridens, and then began a period in which Welshman would rise from humble Rollmaster of the greatest House of the Sith to one day rule the Clan that had rescued him and given him life.

The Fifth Great Jedi War

The time of peace that followed the Sith War did not last long and all too soon the Brotherhood once more succumbed to war. This time due to an insidious virus which infected the minds of almost half of the Brotherhood causing them to fight against fellow members. Welshman for almost the whole war fought on the side of the Clean against the infected ones and earned himself distinction, rising to the rank of Sith Warrior after a series of particularly lengthy battles however the golden age of this War was not to last long. In a battle against his Consul, Sith Bloodfyre, Welshman was soundly defeated and infected with the mind plague. Under the influence of the insidious virus Welshman travelled to Antei where he took command of a squadron of capital ships in defence of the Infected leadership. His three picket destroyers and frigates however did not last long against the combined might of the Clean fleet and his ships were left drifting and burning until the disease state was lifted from everyone by the Grand Master. Shame burning through him at the thought of having helped the traitors Welshman travelled to Yridia to await the trial he thought would be forthcoming.

Inclusion into the Tarentae

Upon his arrival in Tarentum home space Welshman was immediately escorted to a room he had only been in once previously, on his promotion to Dark Jedi Knight, a dark room in which it was only possible to make the rough outline of half a dozen individuals. His Force senses revealed them to be all members of the Clan’s elite, here no doubt to preside over his trial. Instead this transpired to be one the days in which he felt most honoured, he had been granted the right to use the name Tarentae. His loyalty to Tarentum had now been sealed and only death would break that vow.

Gladius

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Sword's Sheath

Following the tumultuous times of the past Great War and the depletion suffered by al Clans, Tarentum was forced to reshuffle her assets. The once noble House Cestus decimated by war had to be merged with Tridens and Gladius causing a gradual shift of all the Clan’s Houses from the previously well defined single order groupings to Houses which would soon incorporate all the disciplines followed in the Brotherhood. Seeing the potential difficulties Welshman was approached to become the Aedile of House Gladius, once a proud Krath House that had since war’s end seen a dramatic influx of Sith disciples and Obelisk warriors and High Command fearing any backlash decided that a Sith follower on the Summit would be of help to the willy Krath leader, the future Headmaster himself Anshar Kahn.

Soon Welshman was to rise to lead this great House, the first Sith in an age to rule over a predominately Krath House but not the last. It was around this period that he began training his first apprentice, Nit’Chu, who unfortunately failed to master his grip on the Dark Side and was driven away from the Clan by the power which he could not control. Distraught over the failure of his promising Apprentice Welshman himself apprenticed himself to Warlord Oberst in a effort to learn more about the subtleties of the Force and the skills of leadership. It was this move which first brought him to touch with Clan Tarentum’s area of Force expertise, the power of Necromancy. Under Oberst’s guidance Welshman began on his first steps down the long road to becoming one of the Death Dealers of Tarentum.

Welshman was proud to be the leader of such a fine House for many years, leaving his mark on some of the younger members whom inside them he saw great potential. Indeed a few of his closest friends during this time have themselves gone on to great things. After two years of successful management of House Gladius and the instigator of many a reform Welshman was granted the honour of ascending to the Clan summit.

As an aside it was during his tenure as Quaestor of Gladius that Welshman became involved in the Clan wide action to stop pirate incursions into the system, especially the area known as the Phoenix crest. After the completion of this exercise Welshman was awarded joint ownership of the mining facilities which later grew to full ownership after the defection of the other party to a rival clan.

Clan Summit

His first taste at leading a Clan came during the ascension of his former QUA, Anshar Tarentae, to the position of CON. Being chosen over a pool of candidates Welshman instantly threw himself into his new position, monitoring the Master/Apprenticeship pairings within the Clan and attempting to ingrate newer members into the Clan Hierarchy.

Whilst serving as Proconsul Welsh took part in the Clan expedition to attempt to secure the Obsidian Blade for the Clan, a powerful ancient Sith relic which the lore keepers said were forged by a family of Dark Siders who then sunk into insanity before killing each other for control of the blade. Now recovered, it rests in the armoury of Clan Tarentum.

Under Anshar’s tutelage Welshman began to understand the intricacies of managing a large, committed Clan like Tarentum however the training under Anshar was cut short when the position of Headmaster became vacant and Anshar was chosen to replace Dark Jedi Master Spears, unwilling to take on the responsibility of leading a Clan with his current lack of experience Welshman agreed to remain on as PCON whilst Spears took the rains of Consul. This partnership to was short lived, in the run up to a joint military exercise Spears decided to step down, unable to abdicate responsibility anymore Welshman ascended to Consul and was confronted with having to lead a Clan into a war after an accident.

CP/CSP/CNS/TAR Feud

After a spy had managed to infiltrate the Tarentum flagship Corsair and toggle the power settings for their weaponry so they fired a full power burst into the CSP flagship, almost destroying the vessel. Relationships rapidly deteriorated until two distinct camps had formed, one centred around Tarentum and the other around Scholae. Full scale warfare soon started with skirmishes breaking out between the once friendly forces.

His burgeoning duties as Consul did not prevent Welshman taking an active roll in this conflict. Taking command of the Marauder Corvette Creeping Death he led from the fore taking part in numerous sorties in the Aranna system. Fighting continued for many weeks until the forces of Tarentum and her allies planned an audacious invasion of Scholae’s home system and their command and control centre. The complete surprise and ferocity of the invasion threw the enemy instantly on the defensive and within hours they were forced to sue for peace.

As spoils of this specific conflict Tarentum was awarded the Gunship Stygian to augment its already formidable military prowess.

6th GJW

The months after the war with CSP/CP were mercifully quiet allowing Welshman time to aid in the rebuilding of Tarentum. Under his reign Tarentum began to look outwards, to acquiring new systems from which they could solidify their grasp on the Brotherhood’s economy. Corva Yag and its fields of death became areas where Tarentum’s disciples could go and learn more about the ways of the Necromantics, money laundering houses sprung up on the cosmopolitan Karideph whilst many many more business fronts popped up across the sector offering wares and business which existed only to serve Tarentum. And this was how it continued for nigh on a year until quiet inexplicably the Clans seemed to begin attacking one another.

Soon war broke out with every Clan for herself as Jedi died for no obvious reason. For weeks this dragged on, Jedi killing Jedi, until fed up and concerned over the nebulous and illogical happenings in Brotherhood space the Consuls met in secret at and for perhaps the first time in years were openly honest about their Clans to their erstwhile enemies. Soon it became obvious that the Clans were being manipulated once more by elements of the Dark Council, alliances were drawn with CNS, CP and Tar siding together in almost open war against the Dark Council with their brothers in Arc and Tal in a rebirth of the TalCona alliance at their side. Within days of their cessation of hostilities and mounting anger at the Council civil war almost ripped some of the Clans apart with Consul Korras being deposed from stewardship of CNS due to the machinations of some key members. These odd moments aside the fleets of the clans stood ready to invade Antei but this is when one of the more bizarre moments in the War occurred, it seemed that there were two Jacs, one the original and one a Clone and the Clone had been behind the spate of attacks and War. The only problem was which GM was the real one…

Real war broke out over this question as Clan fought Clan and even Clans turned on itself as some members proclaimed allegiance to one GM whilst members of their own Houses joined the ranks of the Other. Welshman indifferent to this travesty of a war by now proclaimed marginal loyalty to the “Red” camp and offered them a paltry token of support by sending material aid and a few infantry brigades to defend the GMs base. This indifference was challenged when a severe disturbance began thrumming through the Force calling on all who could feel it to come to the Antei system for the final battle. Hoping to settle a few old grudges and try and claim as much booty and glory as possible for Tarentum Welshman ordered the fleet to Antei and to its destiny…

It turns out the Force disturbance was the two Grand Masters involved in an epic duel one matched in scope of sheer ferocity by the clashing of fleets in orbit and the clamour and death of converging armies on the ground. Taking a troop transport down to Antei along with a batch of reinforcements to continue the siege of the Dark Hall, engaging in hand to hand combat with numerous defenders Welshman eventually broke through into the city surrounding the Dark Hall and allowed reinforcements and supplies to flow to his ground commanders in the sector. Job complete he marched towards the forward post and viewed the culmination of the campaign.

The battle between the two Jacs soon drew to a close as their cadres of Elders fought each other tooth and nail but victory was not so straight forward, the two Grand Masters joined back into one, the war finishing as abruptly and as confusingly as it begun.

Exile

Disheartened by the state of affairs in the Brotherhood Welshman announced his resignation from Consul and allowed Sith Bloodfyre to ascend once more to the pinnacle of Clan Tarentum. Knowing the Clan was in safe hands Welshman appropriated a shuttle and departed for ports unknown…

Return

Whilst visiting his homeworld of Yaga Minor Welshman was caught by a severe disturbance in the Force as millions of souls rushed together into the netherworld his Tarentae senses allowed him to perceive. Shocked, but also slightly thrilled at the prospect of such carnage and destruction, Welshman piloted his shuttle in the direction he felt the disturbance.

After hours in space his shuttle dropped out of hyperspace into a system his computer flagged as Serpindal, a planet of once pristine beauty and serenity, instead his sensors picked up a shattered hulk, planet ripped of its atmosphere and a huge crater gouged out of the crust, the material having been thrown into space to form the beginnings of a small asteroid field. The next fact he detected was the absence of one of the moons and the perturbation caused to the planets orbit. His Force senses could still pick up the tendrils of fear and anger that permeated the vacuum of space around the broken world but no sense of malice. Invigorated by this discovery Welshman forgot about his self imposed pilgrimage and returned to Tarentum to relay this new information, and to prepare for the coming storm...

Lightsabres

The two sabres used by Welshman in his business in the Brotherhood were designed and built by his own hand, like many Jedi before him the construction of his sabre was to be the final stage in his journey to Knighthood. The first blade he constructed, the violet blade, was built after the Third Sith War. The hilt itself is made from black durasteel with a krayt pearl overlay fitted over the bare metal. The pearl itself was treated by Dark Side alchemy giving it its distinctive purple colour, a side affect of the alchemy is that the Dark Side energies now permeating the hilt allows it to withstand lightsabre slices, the immense energy of the enemy blade being transformed into a Force boost that Welshman can use to supplement his own reserves.

The blade itself is purple caused by a treated crystal. The reason Welshman chose the colour for his first weapon was in tribute to Tarentum’s dedication to the Sith King, purple heralding royalty on many worlds and cultures.

His second sabre was constructed upon his ascension to the rank of Warlord, to both commemorate the event and to allow him to take advantage on the privilege afforded to people of that rank. Constructed out of Mandalorian iron for strength and stability the hilt is of a much more organic shape then many others in the Brotherhood, owing somewhat to a tribute Welshman pays to life which has given way to Death which fuels him. As an aside this blade hilts can be held with one hand or two for added power and has been lengthened to reflect this.

The blade colour of his second sabre is a traditional Sith red, a tribute to both the Sith of old and the mythical Dragon which was said to have guarded over the people of his nation on Yaga Minor for millennia.

His preferred combat form is Jar’Kai Niman for which the two blades he habitually carries around with comes in handy. Other forms he dabbles in include Niman, Shi-icho and Soresu. For many years he was also a practiconer of Makashi, the precise duelling form appealing to the perfectionist in him. While this subtle form has been abandoned in favour of a more attack orientated form, Welshman still remembers the form and uses it occasionally.

Orbalisk Armour

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Welsh's set of armour

Until the Second Darkness Rite of Supremacy, Welshman had spurned the wearing of armour. However as he lay prostrate on the floor of the Well of Darkness he found, to his initial disgust, his body crawling with trilobyte resembling creatures. Attempting to use the Force to pull them off resulted in them sinking their teeth into the Warlord's body. Feeling their toxin pour through his body, Welshman used the Force to neuter its effects, this only seemed to attract more of the creatures which by now had covered his whole body. Remembering a lesson he had taught long ago in the Sith CORE lessons he gave himself to the Orbalisks and came to accept their invasion of his body. He now has in his possesion a set of lightsabre resistant armour which's only downside is the time consuming and painful process of its removal and donning.

Mentality

Ever since his childhood Welshman has been a logical creature preferring to use brain power rather then brawn to solve a problem. This logic pervades every facet of his existence making him a rather atypical Sith. Emotions do not rule him and he refuses to be driven by a bloodlust, instead he makes his emotions serve him most of the time throwing about the power of the Dark Side with cold dispassion. A pragmatic person he will use any tool to achieve his ends even if it means siding with an enemy or using something devised by a hated individual, pride runs against survival in Welshman’s book.

This detachedness however will soon crumble should someone threaten one of the two things he holds dear. His Clan and those he has come to call his friends. Indeed these two are his only weaknesses.

Force exuberance, such as flicking on light switches or fetching fruit is abhorrent to the Tarenti, however he readily delves into the arcane mysteries of Necromantics and the deeper meanings of the Dark Side rising to a high level of knowledge pertaining to the path of the Death Dealers.

Welshman has been known to delight in torturing and then killing prisoners or opponents using the Doom Within power.

Titles and ranks

• Warlord of the Sith
• Member of the Tarentae
• Death Dealer of Tarentum
• Consul Emeritus
• Aedile of House Tridens
• Baron Welshman of Tarentum
• Prefect of Tarentum
• Commodore within the Tarentum Navy
• Eclectic Pedagogue of Sith CORE and Capital Ship Studies
• Former Quaestor of House Gladius
• Master of the Phoenix Crest
• Lord of the Fiefdom of Poen Plains of Yridia VI
• Commander of Battlegroup Mako

Possessions

• The Holocron of Dark Lord Rhiannon
• Set of Orbalisk armour
• Blastech A-280 blaster rifle
• Dual custom built lightsabres
• Optical enhancement goggles.
• Modified Preybird fighter won during a competition hosted by SHW Bloodfyre
• T-65 X-wing liberated from a Republic base
• TIE Defender
• Lambda Shuttle
• 4x Bodyguard combat droids granted by DA Korras

Trivia

• Loves the sheep.