- "The odds, I’m afraid, are against you. I did the math. Twice."
- ―Tehr Lorden
Biography
A Promising Start
The Spires of Harnaidan
Born in Harnaidan, the capital of Muunilinst, to an unremarkable family, Tehr Lorden seemed destined for greater things. A mathematical prodigy, even by Muun standards, Lorden excelled at the rigorous testing that was so common among his people. Though, from a young age, he would often accompany his father to work, swimming through the planet's rich waters and collecting mollusks and algae for nutritional and industrial applications, it was in his infrequent visits to Harnaidan's towering spires that he truly felt alive. The view of the city from above, undulating with the richness of commerce and traffic, was awe-inspiring for the Muun youth. Determined to one day live among those spires with the Muun elite, Lorden dedicated considerable time and effort to honing his intellectual acumen. That future, however, was not to be.
Promise Unfulfilled
It soon became clear, under the repeated stress of his people's testing, that he was possessed of an uncommonly volatile nature, prone to outbursts and bouts of physical violence. Despite his gifted intellect, the boy's defects of temperament led to his being passed over for caste advancement. This was more than a blow to young Lorden. It shattered his dreams and left him disgruntled towards his race.
Promises of Darkness
Diving for MollusksThough his father tried to make the best of the situation and teach him the family trade, Tehr Lorden burned at the disappointment he saw anytime his father's eyes came to rest on him. The situation only grew more strained when his mother died in a traffic accident a few years later. Though his father worked hard to support the two of them, and Lorden, then fourteen standard years old, made a concerted effort to help, there was no mistaking the simmering pride and resentment that grew within the boy. One day, during a mollusk expedition, the resentment boiled over. Afterwards, Lorden could never recall what started the argument, or how it went from shouting - so uncharacteristic for their species - to blows. Yet he could never forget the light dying in his father's eyes as he held him beneath the murky ocean surface.
Lorden told officials that his father had an accident underwater and drowned. Though rare, such events were not unheard of among Muun commoners and the event passed unremarked. His father was buried by the state - the bill soon arriving on Lorden's proverbial doorstep - and he played the part of the grieving son. Beneath the faux grief, though, it was guilt and anger that wracked the lad. Though Muun law and custom named him an adult, emotionally he was little more than an angry child. As he seethed, he grew to hate his people, blaming them for his childhood rejection and for his father's death in turn. In time, his now-empty home seem to press in on him, and he knew he had to escape - his house, his culture and his world. Determined to escape the memory of his guilt and prove his own worth, Lorden resolved that he would escape Muunilinst and make his fortune among the stars.
Promises Kept
Knowing that common Muun were seldom allowed offworld, he knew just how expensive it would be to hire passage. To that end, he sought out connections in Muun's underworld and soon found himself involved in various financial schemes and money laundering. Over the next decade, he saved up enough to guarantee passage offworld, along with a nest egg of credits to see him set up in relative comfort anywhere in the galaxy. Given his underworld connections and his need to get as far from Muunilinst as possible, the Muun naturally booked himself passage to Port Ol'val.
Though the shadow port offered an almost intoxicating change of pace from the rigid propriety of Muunilinst, Lorden soon realized that only the most cutthroat and ruthless could excel in its sanguine streets of stone and steel. Accordingly, he relocated to Naruba City on the nearby world of Selen. Despite his lack of legitimate connections, his natural proclivity for finances and statistics served him in good stead, and soon found himself in charge of DajorRx, a small pharmaceuticals firm. Though the pay was slight compared to his newly-abandoned underworld dealings, he was comforted by the dream that it was but the first step on a path that would lead him to power and riches to rival most of the elite on his homeworld. Holding close to that fantasy, he spearheaded DajorRx's rise, quadrupling the company's value in under a year. From there he ran a succession of small but profitable firms before moving to Selen's capital of Estle City.
In time, Lorden became the CFO of Naruba Investments
Building on his past successes - and due in no small part to activities of questionable legality - Tehr Lorden moved to successively larger companies in executive roles before finally being recruited as the Chief Financial Officer of Naruba Investments. Selected for both his high intelligence and financial insights, as well as his obvious willingness to bend the rules or act outside the system but in accord with the letter of the law, he was a perfect fit for Arcona's primary economic front. While he had long heard rumors of a large, underground organization pulling strings throughout the Dajorra Sector, he had never never conceived of the Shadow Clan's existence. The realization was a revelation to him, and as his stature within Naruba Investments grew, so too did his unslakable thirst for prestige. Though he knew it was an impossibility, he often found himself fantasizing about being picked to train amongst the Dark Jedi of Arcona and, one day, returning to Muun and bringing his own people to heel.
Promises Broken
Estle City in Ruins
Though his ambition continued unabated, he found success at Naruba Investments, and managed to skim a small fortune in profits to his own, personal accounts offworld. While he long suspected that his superiors knew of his activities, the practice was common enough to pass unremarked as long as he restrained his inherent greed. Thus matters continued until the Incursion. With the advent of the extragalactic alien invaders, Dajorra's infrastructure was rubbled and Naruba Investments - so reliant and real estate and mineral investments - was reduced to financial ruin. This began a downward spiral that grew progressively worse over the next few years. As Chief Financial Officer, Tehr Lorden did what he could to arrest the misfortune, but ultimately the blame was laid at his feet. In 25 ABY, not only did he suffer the humiliation of being fired, but his privileged information regarding Arcona meant that he was driven into exile and forced to hide from a number of assassins.
A Group of Lorden’s Mercenaries
Promised Revenge
Though he was hunted by bounty hunters and assassins, Tehr Lorden was loathe to give up his position and resources on Dajorra. In time, he hatched a scheme to free the mad Dark Jedi Master Mejas Doto from imprisonment, setting him loose to usurp the Serpentine Throne. Though the plot ultimately failed, it was many months before the Muun’s involvement became known to the Erinos and Arcona at large.
In the interim, Lorden settled offworld and used every contact he had made during his career to build up a personal fortune in various business and criminal enterprises. This was facilitated by the remarkable sum he had amassed during his tenure as Naruba Investment's CFO and augmented by his own near-preternatural ability to predict fluctuations in the stock market. Though his short-term aim was liquid capital, his ultimate goal was to hire a Private Military Company, wipe out Arcona's forces and once more seize control of Naruba Investments - and any other Arconan business holdings in the process.
Tehr Lorden
Physical Description
At nearly two meters tall, Tehr Lorden would be imposing if he weren’t so gaunt. His thin body and hairless, elongated head are prototypical of his species, as is his pale gray skin, lending an impression of frailness underserved by his frame. This impression is only heightened by his slender waist and long limbs. His elongated fingers are those of an aristocrat or pianist, and his hooked nose lends him an aquiline appearance at odds with his normally blunt-featured kin.
Lorden prides himself on his appearance. Always impeccably dressed, his clothing can often seem utilitarian or even casual were it not for the exquisite fabric and obvious sartorial skill involved in its custom cut. Fond of overcoats and short capes, the Muun executive dresses to make an entrance in any setting. His one consistent accessory is the chrome-plated blaster at his hip, though whether he wears it for protection or mere accoutrement is anyone’s guess.
Personality and Traits
Lorden is first and foremost a businessman, with an eye always on the bottom line. He’s precise and meticulous in planning, though this is occasionally sabotaged by his volatile temperament. As with most of his species, he is calculating to a fault, a fact reflected in his careful speech and movement. A man of greed and opportunistic fervor, he won’t hesitate to strike at any opening, so long as the odds appear to fall in his favor.
Though usually rational, he has a particular enmity for Braecen Kaeth. As Proconsul at the time, it was Kaeth’s job to ensure the ‘’termination’’ of Tehr Lorden, a fact the Muun has long resented. Despite his reason, Lorden bears the Arconan a very personal grudge.
Though he has the wealth to buy a small planet, Lorden prefers to operate by more oblique means. Eschewing brute force, he relies on industrial espionage, sabotage and small squads of highly trained mercenaries to get the job done.
Like many of his species, he has a weakness for dianogan tea. In spite of the widespread and accepted nature of the drug, his appearance is important enough to him that he gave up the drink and underwent a dozen painful dental procedures to have the purple and black stains removed from his lips and teeth respectively.
Character Sheet
Tehr Lorden's character sheet can be found here.