- "Vi Veri Veniversum Vivus Vici."
- ―Faust
History
Childhood: The Beginning 5 ABY
In 5 ABY, a young Miraluka woman had lain with a smuggler by the name of Vorrac. She had recently begun working for one of the nobles within House Reena. When the child was born, the young woman suffered from severe internal hemorrhaging and expired. The boy was adopted into the House and treated as one of their own children. The child was born with the exact same features as his mother, lending him a feminine look as well as vestigial eye sockets without the orbs to fill them. The man and woman who were to become his parents decided to hide the fact that he was a non-human and bound his face with silk cloth to keep his lack of eyes hidden. It would be many years before the young boy would learn the truth of things. He was named Balthier and given a place among the family.
The child, however, grew quickly and soon become more than a nuisance to those around him. Balthier was quick to learn anything new that interested him. Within months the boy was speaking in broken sentences and by the time the first year was over, there was no safe place to hide from the boy's wandering steps.
Childhood: The Early Years 6 ABY - 12 ABY
Balthier’s steps became progressively more noticed as he seemed to have an utterly insatiable curiosity. Locked doors and restricted areas only served to interest the child even more. The young boy quickly found that it was relatively easy to elude detection until people were actively looking. Darkened hallways and quiet doors accompanied his silent footfalls perfectly, especially within the later years of his life.
Balthier’s childhood was quiet and mostly uninterrupted as he learned from hand selected tutors in subjects branching from politics to martial arts. The boy was particularly interested in the the thieves of ancient times, the ones who were willing to steal for the adventure and not for the financial gain as well as architecture.
The years continued their stately march and yielded a boy who’s mind was far too fast for his own good and who had within him a curiosity that always desired to find out what was on the other side of a hill or behind a locked door. The boy seemed to age much more quickly
Childhood: Talented Son 12 ABY - 17 ABY
As the boy-child grew, he began to fill out the wiry, slender frame that he was unable to ever get away from. The boy began to actively exercise, his hand to hand training was progressing rapidly as the child started learning more advanced forms. Balthier's limbers began to show the signs of muscle and started to become highly toned for what little was there to be toned.
His instructors had always been sure to teach the boy that being the largest fighter was not always the way to be the best fighter. They assured him that his size would always come as more of a benefit than a hindrance to him if the time ever came that he would need to fight with his opponents in close quarters. Balthier always understood and comprehended what the teachers were saying in fairly short order. He strove to perfect his mastery of the forms he had chosen to use to protect himself. Two of these forms being the form Verdanaian and the variant form Shadow Fist.
He learned other forms, but the only form he is comfortable in aside from those aforementioned is the Bothan form of Jeswandi. His life was filled with balance and his parents were always eager to hear what he had learned the day before.
Adolescence: Fast Study and the Saber Rakes 17 ABY - 23 ABY
The boy-child turned twelve and was noticed by a small group of duelists who sought out his parents, expressing an interest in teaching the young adolescent. His parents, always knowing how the child hungered for new information, agreed to allow the Saber Rakes to teach the young Balthier the rules of the duel and how to conduct ones self with dignity and honor even in the face of utter defeat.
These lessons were particularly difficult for the young man to master. Standard etiquette was a breeze, but the things the Rakes were teaching the the boy seemed almost inhumanly compassionate and selfless. The Rakes taught him that the females of any species were to be treated with respect as though they were ones own mother. The males of each race were to be treated with respect and honor as a potential comrade or as a competitive suitor for the attentions of a chosen woman.
The young Balthier understood the lessons, but it was many years before the practices actually came into play as they were lessons to be learned the hardest way of all; through pain and error. The young teenager practiced his styles with various weapons as he trained to duel with the older members of the group.
Within two years, Balthier had become well known as one of the preeminent duelists of his family and of that select group of older gentleman. He had beaten all of them at least once and bore the title of Saber Rake, shortly followed by the presentation of his first lightfoil.
The victories were short lived, however as the young man soon found several things that didn’t seem to fit with the stories of his life. His parents both had hair the color of spun gold, his brothers and sisters bore the same hair color. Their eyes were the softest blue and they skin bore a darker complexion than most within the area due largely to the fact that his family was always out of doors during the day.
Balthier had a head full of raven black hair, his skin was pale and bore the color of freshly cleaned alabaster. He had no eyes, but that never stopped him from being able to see. His parents had called it a gift. That he was connected to the Force in ways that they never could be.
Anger and rejection began to fill the young man’s heart as he searched for the truth of why he was so radically different from the people he called his parents. After several months of searching, he had found his answer. The bones of a long dead Miraluka woman were buried in their private cemetery which made no sense as there was no blood from that sub-species within the family.
Further digging revealed that the woman was Balthier’s mother who had died during childbirth shortly after the nobles had agreed to care for the child. The young man touched the silk cloth covering his eyes and wept silently for the life he never knew and what was lost for him to have such splendor.
The tears soon dried and he went off in search of his family. A heated argument ensued which ended with him striking down the man he called father with the ever present lightfoil at the Miralukan’s side. The shock of what he’d done barely had the time to wear off when his mother charging him with a blade drawn with the intent of removing the man’s life. An act of desperation flared Balthier’s temper once again and he lashed out with the weapon in his hand, cutting down his mother as well.
Before his siblings could find out what had happened, the young man fled from the estates and boarded the nearest ship offworld. He had found mention of a place within on of the large tomes his father had kept of the Dark Brotherhood. Resolutely, the young man turned his back on his family and on Reena, departing for the unknown and for the Brotherhood.
Adulthood: Reunion 23 ABY
Balthier soon joined Clan Plagueis where he was approached by an older man known as Kal Vorrac who claimed that the two were half-brothers by way of their father, Tyber Vorrac. The young man vehemently disagreed even to the point of genetic testing to find if the two were produced by the same father. Balthier had since found that his parents had deceived him and knew that he was not human, but to have a brother was unthinkable. The urges to strike the man down were hard to quell seeing as the older Vorrac respected the Miraluka a great deal for some strange reason that was never revealed.
Before the results of the tests could arrive, the Clan was plunged into a bitter war with itself as the Ketoans and the Kunar continued their battle for dominance. Having been one of the Kunar at the time, Balthier and Kal faced off on the field of battle. Having been formally trained in dueling and in the Force, Balthier made short work of the newly minted Knight and Vorrac's left arm was mangled in the brutal fight that ensued. High-force impacts created excessive strain on the joints that lasted for rest Kal's time with said arm.
While the two were conversing one day, the results from the tests came in proving the two were, in fact, brothers which caused the Tapani a serious level of grief that perpetually confused the older brother. As the time passed, the brothers became closer regardless of which house they served in within the Clan of Plagueis. They saw the fracturing of the Houses and knew that it would eventually fall to them to repair the damage.
Adulthood: House Satal Keto 23 ABY - 24 ABY
- "Brother, this cannot continue and we both know it."
- ― Balthier to Kal
The younger of the two brothers was soon selected to be the Quaestor of House Satal Keto. The oldest was currently serving as the tenured Aedile, assigned to assist the Tapani with all matters. The secret held between the brothers at that time continued to remain deep within the shadows that the younger always seemed to enjoy manipulating. Childish delight always seemed to accompany the brothers schemes and soon the two agreed to assist one another in the rebuilding of their home, starting with Satal Keto.
As the brothers grew in strength, the Consul and Proconsul took notice and were afraid that their own positions were not secure as the Ketoans had clearly secured their power base within the House. The approach of the Consul was treated with trepidation and derision from both brothers, though nothing was voiced. Balthier was asked to step down from his position and join the regular troops.
The Prelate did just this, falling once more into the shadows to wait and strike when the moment was correct.
Adulthood: The Shadows and the Vong 24 ABY - 27 ABY
The Prelate rejoined the regular troops, still preaching about class differences and that sitting in ivory towers would not protect the regular men from the dangers of the world. He often asked the question: Why do they deserve this protection? What good have they done for us?
The attitudes of the regular troops were harder to sway as they had all been trained thoroughly to protect the Dark Jedi, not the regular men and women. The Prelate's words were heard and the people help him in favor over the ones who rested within their places of power. They demanded that the Feudalistic leaders come out of their towers and share in their pain caused by the Vong. They demanded that the leaders help with the repairs of the sacked villages and the destroyed towns, pleading for refugee camps to surround the castles of the Dark Jedi. Most notably among the protestors and the one calling for change was the blindfolded face of the youngest Vorrac.
The Feudalists left their towers and dispersed the mobs gathering at the gates to their palaces. The Consul had Balthier apprehended and sentenced to life imprisonment within a block of carbonite. The prisoner was simply known as "Prisoner 4N-CHR-98" there were never any other words to signify who this prisoner was and as such, he was lost to time for the next six years.
Adulthood: Imprisonment 27 ABY - 33 ABY
At the end of the Vong invasion, the Consul Aabsdu Dupar and his Proconsul Ethran Isradia captured the Tapani and had him encased in carbonite as a highly dangerous citizen. His tenure was long indeed as the time for the aging Balthier stopped as the rest of the world continued to move forward.
Time passed as the Tapani slumbered within his prison of carbonite. He was checked constantly by the wardens to ensure that the eternal slumber of the man was not interrupted or cut short by a malfunction with the controls. Soon, the wardens stopped coming as the tides of Plagueis turned away from the Feudal era and then the Stratocracy.
In 33 ABY, the carbonite prison was opened to reveal the defiant Balthier. His half-brother, Kal, had located him after years of searching the archives. Finally, the laborious task of the older Vorrac paid off and the Prelate was located deep within the prison’s vault. The awakening was painful for the man, as his body had been encased for six long years.
The Prelate awakened slowly some weeks after his long sleep within the stone. His mind was clouded and his muscles weak and unaccustomed to the movements it took for movement of even the simplest of tasks. His brother Kal was there every day, helping the Miralukan to understand the extent of what had transpired during his six year slumber.
The Feudal Era had ended with a man named Braecen Kaeth ascending to power and dissolving the previous government in favor of something called the Stratocracy. This lasted for a few years and the man left the mark on the system with a prison being named after him. Balthier found this to be extremely bizarre as great men would build schools and not prisons.
The Stratocracy had ended in past few years with Kalidraad taking power in his brother’s place. He used the power attained there to locate the Miralukan through the old records kept by the Feudalists. The days slowly slipped to years as the older Vorrac became nearly obsessed with finding his brother and freeing him.
As the debriefing ended, the Prelate stood and held his hand out to Kal. He informed the Last Son of Plagueis that they did not need someone like him anymore. An old revolutionary’s opinions and tactics die hard. He bid his brother farewell and departed from Jusadih, embarking on a journey that would carry him to his home on Reena as well as very few stops until the he reached the Unknown Regions.
Adulthood: The Wanderings 33 ABY - 35 ABY
Balthier flew his ship slowly as to refrain from attracting too much attention to the ship he had borrowed without permission from one of the residents under the purview and protection of the Clan. He travelled extensively, his movements never suspicious and also proper. The young man never had a set direction in mind, but simply travelled the galaxy in search of good times and decent conversation.
The time slipped by and the Prelate barely even registered his absence until he was contacted by a ghost from the past. An old friend had contacted him informing him of the coming vendetta and requested that since he was not attached to any of the Houses that he join Revan and support them. The Miraluka agreed and soon departed the Unknown Regions, setting course for the Dark Brotherhood once more.
The time that followed the Vendetta was different for the young man. He always seemed to feel like something was wrong, as though no matter his choices, he simply did not fit in with those he had cast his lot in with. As it happened, the young man requested placement within the Clan of Arcona where he found himself accepted and treated fairly.
Positions
Achievements
- Began construction on Umbra Arx Exar's Shadow's Base of Operations
- Dark Maven - Service Degree
- Dark Savant - Service Degree
- Dark Maven - Philosophy
Trivia