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The War of the Three Families was a short conflict within Clan Arcona towards the end of 29 ABY. It is known in Arconan circles simply as the 'Family Feud'. The three main families of Arcona came to fight against each other as a test of their dominance, the Entars, the Erinos and the d’Tana’s. The origins of the feud started at the combined funerals of Zandro Savric Erinos and Sashar Arconae.
Week One
The basis of the feud comes from the combined funerals of Zandros Erinos and Sashar Erinos, who died fighting for Arcona near the end of the 10th Great Jedi War. The Clan gathered at Doto Rock for the send off of the two Erinos’, though the division and splits in the Clan was clear from the way the groups were stood.
The Consul at the time, Wuntila Arconae, was all too aware of the strife that was present in the Clan as he approached Doto Rock with the rest of the Summit, as he was poised for a personal attack on his life by the son of one of the deceased. All of the Summit had been ordered to wear the Shadesworn robes which had been awarded to Arcona for their success at the Battle of Tython. He was waiting for Teroch Erinos to make his move on the Summit at the funeral.
- "Arconans, I have gathered you here today to say goodbye to two of Arcona’s elite. Two Arconae who lived and died for Arcona. Two individuals who made Arcona what it is today, and helped sculpt many of you into perfect Arconans. Zandro and Sashar, although not here in body, remain with us in spirit. They are the soul, you are the beating heart. We were all there on that fateful day. The day that I gave the order. It was their choice, but it was I to allowed them to make it. Yet they died so that we could live. These are two men who fought for unity, for strength and prosperity. They are to be remembered for their courage and their dedication to this Clan. Nevertheless, what they fought for has failed to happen today. There is no unity between us; there is no camaraderie. Look at you. All of you. Sat in your own divided little groups. I care not whether you think I am the legitimate heir to this throne, or whether you feel I am not the best man for the job. I care for Arcona’s future."
- ―Wuntila at Doto Rock to the Clan
It was after this speech that Wuntila knelt at the base of the two coffins, along with two-thirds of Arcona when the Erinos stood firm. The Consul left shortly after his speech, choosing to leave the Summit Guard behind and instead take another clone, since the clones had been based on the Erinos family in the Summit Guard. Marick was ordered to stay behind and focus on the boiling tension in the room.
Teroch and Wuntila chased each other down, coming in violent contact with each other in an empty plateau in the gaze of the Citadel. Their fiery tempers and ideals colliding, with the Consul offering out a form of an olive branch. Felix, who had been presumed dead, then surprised an attack on Teroch, giving Wuntila the ability to knock him unconscious. The Dragon of Selen then gave the order to Marick to take the Erinos family into custody.
Week Two
Despite having enough sedatives to nullify a Gorax, Teroch was able to escape the restraints and the armed guards around his cell aboard the Lamba-Class Shuttle which was carrying both Wuntila and Teroch. Wuntila focused on regaining control of the clan, since the Erinos had physically risen against the rest of Clan Arcona.
Marick was faced with around 85% of Arcona’s special forces being prepared to die for the mantle that had been put upon a new Alor. He had a family in front of him who thrived on conflict, and they had been in their element during the war on New Tython. They had nothing to keep them occupied in the aftermath of the war.
Whilst trying to soothe things over before they began, the Proconsul was faced with Erinos and Entars alike getting ready to fight. Momentary confusion around the Serpentine Throne threw the clan off for a short breather, but then a move from Malidir pulling out the sawn-off EPL drew the two sides to their own.
It took the Force of a former Grand Master to cease the attack on sacred grounds. Darth Sarin held everyone until the newly appointed Consul returned to Doto Rock. The Elder challenged Wuntila’s rule, asking him what he planned to do in response to events. The newest Arconae’s plan was to arrest the Erinos, ensure their loyalty and kill Teroch. Lord Sarin corrected him, making the Hybrid Human look at things on a different footing.
- "They’re fighting for no other reason than to test you, Lord Consul."
- ―Darth Sarin to Wuntila
Wuntila was being challenged to prove he was fit to lead the Clan. The Former Grand Master left, brushing past the Consul with such force that it made the man stumble. The stasis field release once the Dark Lord had left also caused several Arconans to drop to the floor in surprise.
- "You are my Clan, and I will settle this in the manner I see fit!"
- ―Wuntila to Arcona following Darth Sarin’s leave.
Week Three
The Consul had issued forth a command, regulating the anger felt throughout the Clan into personal Antei Combat Centre matches before he sought to get his head wound treated. It was a method to buy them time to find the missing Erinos Alor. The idea was posed from Timeros to exorcise the entire Erinos family from Arcona since they had been proven as treasonous towards the Dragon of Selen. There was also the point raised that nothing was referenced in regards to killing Teroch either in a fair fight, or even when Wuntila was present in the same star system.
Soulfire, Solus and the Summit Guard had all been dismissed. Wuntila found too many Erinos’ to be amongst their ranks for him to trust. He kept a few Entars around him instead of the genetically cloned Summit Guard who had been designed to stay loyal to the Consul.
The Consul’s Office had been bombed, a trap set off when the Summit Guard had searched the chamber and there had been no sign of Teroch. The Dragon of Selen had not slept in three days, and he currently had numerous individuals, including Equites, Journeymen and Guardsmen scouring the Citadel for signs of the Alor.
The Human Hybrid suddenly recalled what had been said to him earlier by Timeros, and called forward a footman who was promptly issued with orders to retrieve the datapad with access to the Consular Archives. It was deep in these archives that Wuntila found two specific files from Sashar’s reign. The first one was regarding an order for a clone from Kamino, an exact replica of Sashar ordered nearly seventeen years prior, with the only distincts to the metabolism, an eidetic memory and altered aging genes. The second file was much more recent, dated only six months after the end of the Ninth Great Jedi War and titled ‘The Project’. It contained the details of a genome-targeting microvirus, along with a footnote specifying it was geared towards killing off a very specific type of DNA. It looked as though Sashar had even thought up a way of killing his clone in case anything went wrong.
Marick was summoned to the throne room, leaving no one else privy to the information. The Consul handed over the datapad with ‘The Project’ document open. His orders were simple, to take it to the laboratory and get them to replicate the virus and release it into the ventilation system of the Citadel, and make sure that no one knew about it.
During this conversation with his Proconsul, Wuntila confirmed that the Antei Combat Centre was set up and running with the matches, as well as learning that the Grand Master’s Praetor was being sent with the official reasoning of overseeing the matches. Though the Summit members knew better and the Dragon of Selen cautioned that he was given no reason to report that his reign was less than ironclad.
Later on in the week, Marick and Wuntila were supervising over the fights in the Antei Combat Centre, whilst discussing the reports from the Arconan laboratory. There had been confirmation that the tests had gone well, and were performing as expected. The Dragon of Selen gave the order to release it into the ventilation system.
Talos was summoned to the throne room later that day. Felix had been ordered to strip Soulfire’s Battleteam Sargeant of his weapons and restrain him before the throne. A threat was issued to the cameras watching the scene after Wuntila had bound his fists with the same Crushgaunts that Teroch had tried to kill him with a few months before, Talos was punched in the face, followed swiftly by kicks to the chest and kidneys, making it hard and painful for the Mandalorian to breathe.
- "Every five minutes you delay, I remove something from him."
- ―Wuntila speaking to the camera.
Four and a half minutes later, Teroch threw the doors open. Bly and the Summit Guard had been summoned a couple of minutes beforehand, and relieved to be trusted, immediately formed a semi-circle between the door and the Dragon of Selen. The two males charged for each other, the Guard being barked at to stepped down.
Week Four
The pair met up in the middle of the throne room in a violent clash. The raw energy reverberated around the room before the two males pulled themselves apart, one to catch his breath, the other to bait his opponent.
- "You killed my father and my uncle, and yet you still find it necessary to attack those closest to me?”
”You have brought it on yourself Teroch. You failed to hear my plea."
- ―Teroch and Wuntila in the throne room
Wuntila tried to make Teroch see things from his own view, that it had not only been Teroch who had lost a father during that fatal battle. It had been Zandro and Sashar who had helped to mold the Human hybrid from the raw emotion in thick layers of musculature into the Iron-fist Consul standing in the room before the clone.
Utilising his sheer speed, Teroch used his two nohgri sickles to distract Wuntila by ripping a large chunk of his thigh off. He was poised on the Serpentine throne, before he lunged for the chandeliers. The Dragon of Selen fought through the pain, and fired at the jumping Kiffar using his concussion rifle. Large chunks of chandelier rained down across the hall as the Human hybrid missed narrowly with each shot until Teroch escaped out of the hall and down the corridor.
- "Bly, get the boy to the medical bay. He’s served his purpose."
- ― Wuntila referring to the battered Talos.
Wuntila emerged in his private hangar after crossing grounds through the Citadel. He had been immersed in the Force, and was careful of his surroundings. A spike in the Force made the Human hybrid gather his defences, though not quickly enough to avoid pommel meeting cheekbone, followed shortly by a vicious kick to the Consul’s ribs. Wuntila’s retaliation came in the form of an ionised ball that narrowly missed the boy’s arm by millimetres. Teroch swapped the sickles for his blaster, though the flurries of bolts showed a lack of skill compared to the Exarch. It was primarily to allow for his escape between two of the support craft.
Marick was chasing down the Consul during this attack, the cessation of battle becoming the utmost importance. The virus would soon be thick in the air, and believed to bring the end of the feud.
Once the Hapan and Human-Theelin had met in the throne room, the latter having his injuries healed whilst discussing the differences between the clone who had been engineered to fight, and the Consul who was born to lead. Though it was clear that Marick did not agree with the Consul over the violence, Wuntila reinforced his point.
- "Should an individual threaten the unity of this Clan, every opportunity should be taken to destroy them. This civil war is the result of misplaced loyalty. In this instance, Teroch’s loyalties lay with his brothers, the Erinos. He questions my dominion over the throne. It just so happens that those I trust, my counsel, are fundamentally those of my own. Thus the divide between the two great families. The d’Tanas spotted an opportunity. It is something for which I cannot fault them. As a result, the Clan fractured into these three divisions, the loyalists, the anarchists and the opportunists. It is the misfortune of fate that this is the situation. But it is as it is. In time you shall learn that the top priority is also the most difficult to maintain."
- ―Wuntila to Marick in the throne room
Two men interrupted the Summit. Raken and Darth Sarin. He informed them that the virus was not intended to bring down Teroch as Wuntila had interpreted. It had been meant to destroy Darth Sarin. He had not looked closely enough at the orders in the Consul Archives, and it was now going to greatly cost the Consul.
An hour after this news, all of the Summit gathered in front of the Iron throne. Wuntila ordered a stop to the feud, he stepped aside to allow for Darth Sarin to reiterate amongst coughing up globules of blood that the Clan had been fractured by their petty squabbling and now the time had come to repair it.
- "Your actions have cost a life. But not that of Teroch. The nanovirus you have all heard about was a countermeasure against a particular clone. That much is correct. It was commissioned by Sashar only two years ago. But it was not to defend against Teroch. It was a countermeasure against myself, lest I try to reclaim power or dominion over Dajorra or the Brotherhood at large. It was a last resort. The knowledge died with him."
- ― Sarin’s last words to the Arconan Summit
In private quarters, Wuntila and Marick were discussing the outcome of the virus, whilst the Human hybrid was drinking whiskey. The Hapan paled as he came across a note on the datapad, and rushed to show it to the Consul. Teroch had managed to infuse enough Synox to fell a herd of Rancor. Though it also stated that the antidote was on his desk, it was for Wuntila to decide if he deserved the antidote after the murder of two Arconae, and a Grand Master.
Two hours after the consumption, Wuntila’s stubborn nature had lead to him not taking the antidote. It was a note of resistance against Teroch than anything else. Ronovi entered into his chambers, enquiring after his well being before swiftly punching the Exarch in the face. She swore in anger, listing that even though she had sworn allegiance to the man, he was the reason that the Clan was splintered and that because he had tried to kill Sashar’s son, the very son that he had entrusted with his life to the Summit, that Grand Master Sarin was now dead. The woman jabbed the vial into Wuntila’s mouth after releasing this news, but that refused to cease the argument between the pair.
- "I viewed them with the same sentiment. But you never let Teroch truly see how their deaths really injured you, or how much you didn’t want them to happen. You never really exposed your passion or sorrow. He could have been brought to an understanding. Did you ever think of that?”
“It is not the Arconan way!”
“Yeah. And look how well the Arconan way turned out.”"
- ― Ronovi and Wuntila
When Wuntila came about from his feverish sleep, he found Ronovi and Marick consulting the vials and a datapad. It turned out that it had been an irritant in the whiskey, and Synox had been the ‘antidote’. A trick to spite the man regardless of his decision according to the note left by Teroch.
An hour later, the whole Clan was gathered in the throne room, split only down the middle by which House they were in. Wuntila addressed everyone as a whole, declaring the feud over. Everyone was expected to return to active duty within the next twenty-four hours, and anyone who did not report was assumed to have defected. It was announced to the Erinos’ that Teroch had turned himself in, but Wuntila announced he would not harm the boy in front of Arcona. He finished his speech stating that he did not want the Clan to fragment, especially after what they had all lost on New Tython.
In a private interrogation session, Wuntila pressed forward with Teroch, wanting to know why he had handed himself in. The boy asserted that his work was finished, that watching Wuntila squirm through the traps he had fallen into had been worth it, and that he had not wanted to see the Erinos hated simply because he had not surrendered.
It was during this private talk that Wuntila followed through on Ronovi’s advice. He told Teroch of the decision that Zandro and Sashar had made, and how it had effected the room they were stood in. He reaffirmed that it was Zandro and Sashar who made him into the Consul he was. Teroch attempted to reiterate, saying that someone could have changed the minds of the two so that they would not have died. The Consul verbally struck him, questioning if he knew how Sashar thought and worked, that death to him was martyrdom.
Teroch was to spend the rest of the night away from the Clan, before being released back into Galeres the following day. They both stated their admiration for each other, before reaffirming that it was not to be confused with liking each other.