Post by Rugs on Apr 30, 2018 13:41:06 GMT -5
 Nieraan Onin Full Name • Nieraan Onin Title • Darth Aurelius, High Archon of the Cult of Ascension, Gold Pillar of the Sith Empire, Head Instructor of the Sith Order Race • Firrerreo Birthplace • Metellos Age • 40 Gender • Male Sexuality • heterosexual Faction • Sith Empire Concept • Inner Sanctum Member Languages • Basic, Hutteese, Firrerrese Assets • x1 gold lightsaber; x1 dark blue lightsaber; x1 green lightsaber; custom armor suit; Scyllos, a Tuk'ata; the Nyoka; often commands Dominus-class battleship Charybdis;various other equipment, as needed. Appearance Height & Weight • 5'11" 170 lbs Overall Looks • Nieraan's face is young, as he is young, especially for a species that's known to live for centuries; in fact, though he's forty years old, he looks more like a human man that's somewhere in the neighborhood of nineteen or twenty. Even though it's a trait of the Firrerreo, his canine teeth are particularly well developed and sharp, even for one of his species; they're easily noticeable when he's talking or when his mouth his otherwise open. Nieraan's hair is black, with streaks of dark blue that run through it. It's medium length, and usually unkempt. His skin is a pale silver-ish color, with faint hints of a goldish tint to it for one that knows what they're looking for. There are a series of scars from a lightsaber across his back, silver against his skin; mementos from a near-fatal battle against his mother in his youth. He's phenomenally well built, with almost no fat on him; years of hard training and hard living have sculpted his body into a tool that's covered in powerful, lean, well-defined muscle. His build is slender, and though he's muscular and his physical strength apparent at a glance, is tends more toward lean strength than mass. He possesses a great deal of athleticism that allows him to move with a surprising amount of speed and agility if one doesn't know what to expect. His eyes, which were, at one point a vibrant green, are now a tainted yellow -- a side effect of his exposure to and indulgence in the Dark Side of the Force. All credit goes to thedarkestseason for this work Personality Profile Arrogant might be the best way to describe Nieraan. He is, to a fault, completely sure of his strength and abilities, and will not hesitate to make his thoughts--good, or, more often, bad--known about whoever he may be interacting with, regardless of their standing relative to him. Nor will he hesitate to start a fight with someone who draws his ire. If they lose, it's proof that they were weak, and if he loses? Well, what better motivation could there be to get stronger? Now, though he is, for the most part, completely irreverent, that's not to say he can't be pointed in a certain direction to do the bidding of a superior. But, in order to do that, he must be convinced that said superior is worth his time. The easiest way to do said convincing is with a show of strength, to, more or less, put Nieraan in his place. And, though he may grudgingly follow orders at that point, that does not at all mean he has not thoughts of reprisal. But, he'll go along, as long as he thinks he has something to gain from it, be it power, notoriety, money, or anything else that furthers himself and his own goals. Of course, if one was to send Nieraan along to do something that he loves to do, then there would be little need for convincing. One thing in particular that tickles Nieraan's fancy is the hunt, as it were. To him, there are few things more exhilarating than following a target in a chase that culminates with an intense battle. For Nieraan, that's the very essence of living. However, underneath all of the outward arrogance and disdain for others lies a calculating mind. Nieraan's not stupid. Headstrong and brash, yes, but not stupid, though it would not at all be surprising to him if some thought him to be little more than some punk who constantly, pushes others' buttons in an effort to see how far he can go. He wouldn't deny that he does that, not in the least, but there is, perhaps, a method as to why. Though he prefers to be a lone wolf, Nieraan knows of the opportunities for power that have been presented to him within the rise of the new Sith Order. He also knows that, if he is to be a part of the Order, he'll need to make allies, as there's no avoiding the fact that he'll make enemies. And so, as he goes about his usual business of pushing and prodding, his mind is working, keeping tabs on those that might be a threat to him, and those that might be of use. To those who gain his grudging trust, he can be a powerful, generally-reliable ally. His years in the Sith Order have Nieraan a degree of caution. He's learned how to play the Order's game, and has watched too many Sith fall to their own stupidly-applied pride to take the politicking and maneuvering within the Sith lightly. Still, he's carved out a place for himself that only a very small handful of people can rightly consider themselves his superiors, and even those relationships are rarely ones of subservience. He is also extremely protective of a few things, namely his love, Danica Liviana, and his children. Nieraan takes extreme care when he can to keep them--and especially knowledge of his children--as removed from the Sith Order as possible. Background Father • Ared, former Jedi, deceased Mother • Kamirille Onin, 97, Dark Jedi/mercenary, teacher at the school of hard knocks Siblings • none Other Important Connections • Danica Liviana, 35, business empire heiress, romantic partner Marcus, 7, son (stolen) Nadirria, 7, daughter Yhre, 5, other son Cassius Liviana, 55, business mogul, mortal enemy Zexva Vuluha, 24, former student (presumed dead) Janse Fashad, 20, Sith Acolyte and noble heir, student Moor, 21, Sith Knight, on-and-off student, personal assassin Overall History • Tabula Rasa Years 0-15 Troubled Beginnings Years 0-2 Nieraan was born to two Firrerreo Jedi, as the fruit of a forbidden love. Ared and Kamirille where their names, and they were both fairly respected Knights within the Order. Ared, Nieraan's father--who assisted with teaching Younglings (academically) in the Temple--was well known for his soft spokenness and easy temper, along with his proficiency in with the school of sense. Kamirille--or Kami, as she was often called--on the other hand, was fiery, with a tendency to be brash; she was known for her skill in telekinesis, and her prowess with the two blades that the wielded with deadly grace. The duo, fell in love, though, and despite the teachings of the Jedi, one thing led to another, and Nieraan was born. They both knew the cost of what it was they'd done, though. Their love could not be under the strict regulations of the Order, and so they fled, shortly after it was discovered that Kamirille was pregnant with Nieraan. There were few places they could flee to, and the couple, feeling the need to vanish within a crowd, lest the Jedi find them once more, made their way to Metellos. The city world was an excellent choice for disappearing into, with its massive population, but as the couple soon found out, they'd made a very poor choice in their selection of planets. Neither of them had much money, and so they were forced to live with the bulk of the world's population in the endless slums that surrounded the planet's seventeen stratablocks. It was into these rather undesirable conditions that Nieraan was born. He presented a rare bright spot in the lives of the two young ex-Jedi, and for a short time, they were happy. And, as the couple found out shortly after his birth, the boy was Force sensitive. They both agreed they'd train him themselves when the time came, rather than sending him off to the Order they'd forsaken to raise him. But, as Nieraan's first days turned into weeks, those weeks turned to months, and those months became a year, things started to slide downhill. Ared and Kami could find some work, but it was unsteady, and they could sometimes go for short spans of time where they had not work. See, there were very few honest jobs to found in the area of the slums of Metellos they were in. Sure, they were able to land the occasional job guards for a merchant or otherwise upright, wealthy person, but those jobs were few and far in between. Thankfully the pay was decent, so they could make it last during the times where they were in between jobs, but it would at all be wrong to say that they did not really enjoy their circumstances. Of course, Kamirille, who was making a move toward being more pragmatic than idealistic, suggested that they do work for one of the many local gangs, as that was a way they'd always be able to find some work. Ared was still very much a Jedi in some ways though, and refused to allow it, not when they were trying to raise a son. This was the source of some growing strain between them, but they both agreed that something would had to be done to get Nieraan to a place where he could have a better life. Time passed, and the duo did what they could to save up enough money to find a shuttle off world so that they could start anew somewhere else. As the months continued to go by, though, the tension between them continued to grow, and their relationship started to openly deteriorate. Perhaps it was because of the stresses that they endured for Nieraan's sake, or perhaps it was because their circumstances pushed their two distinctly different personalities to the edge of what they could bear from one another. Maybe it was because Ared could sense a growing darkness within Kami, though he could not tell why or where it came from. Whatever the reason, it soon became obvious to both of them that things could not carry on the way they were. Kamirille continued to push for them to do whatever it took to get money, and Ared continued to refuse and push back against those ideas, as he worked to maintain some semblance of his dignity as a former Jedi. As the weeks went on, this lead to more and more heated arguments, and Kamirille often accused Ared of being too soft. Sure, they could wait until they were on a new world, but they both knew the damage had already been done, and it would be nigh-impossible to repair it. But they tried. For Nieraan's sake. They almost made it. A week before they were set to leave, everything collapsed. Ared and Kamirille got into an argument. A very, very heated argument. It started when Kamirille made a joke about Ared growing soft, which was something that had been starting to wear on his nerves a great deal. He made a note about how she wasn't thinking with Nieraan's best interests in mind, with the way she was always going on about working for the wrong people. That tinkled her off of course, and before the two really knew what was going on, they were going at each other. They came near to blows, though Ared put a stop to things before they could get out of hand. Kami told him that their time together had gone on for far too long, and he had to leave. He made no argument, but he asked to take Nieraan with him. He could train Nieraan when he came of age, and he'd take care of the boy. Kami refused. Ared might have left the boy with her, had things not been the way they were. But the darkness that'd been starting to grow within Kami was troubling, and though Ared couldn't know if she would fall, he didn't want to risk Nieraan being trained by one who'd fallen to the Dark Side. So he told her that he'd be taking Nieraan with him, and that he'd train the boy to be a good man, rather than being corrupted by her. Kami was livid. A battle erupted. Nieraan saw some of it, as they moved through their apartment and though he was too young at the time to understand what was going on, or that the fight was over him, he could feel that something was wrong. Mom and Dad shouldn't have been fighting. He'd learn the full story of it when he was older, though. In the end, Ared was able to trap Kami within bonds of the Force, and he took the momentary reprieve from the fight to take Nieraan and flee. Ared used only enough money to get himself and the boy offworld, and left everything else to Kami. He wasn't sure if what he'd done was a mistake, but he'd find out with time. A Second Start Years 2-5 Ared made his way to Ruusan, with Nieraan in tow. There, he settled down into a small town in a valley and tried to, once more, begin life anew. His heart was wracked with grief from the rather unpleasant end to his time with Kamirille. But he'd have to move on now, and so he did. He took up a job working for a local merchant. It wasn't the best work, but it put food on the table. The seasons came and went, and Nieraan steadily grew. Ared knew that the time to start the boy's training was drawing nearer, but he waited, choosing to wait until he was a bit older before starting it. In the mean time, Ared continued to do his work, and became close friends with the merchant, a Balosar named Jejres. Jejres traveled from time to time, mainly around Ruusan, though he would make the occasional offworld trip. One day, when Jejres was working out of his store in the town, he was attacked by a group of men who intended to rob him. Ared was around, fortunately, and for the first time in a long time, he put his abilities to use to thwart the attackers' attempt to get in. Jejres was thankful, of course, and made a proposition to Ared. He'd been in need of a guard to travel with him on his trips, and Ared's talents were just the sort of thing he could use. The offer presented the steady source of money, which was always welcome, and so Ared accepted. Nieraan was four when this second change came, and was well known among the people that worked with Jejres for his boisterous personality. He was well liked, though. Ared took Nieraan along on the trips, since they often lasted for several weeks, and he had no one else to leave the boy to. It was a good change, for them. The trips were, for the most part, uneventful, as Ruusan was a fairly quiet world. Nieraan's fifth birthday came and went during one such trip, and with it, his training began. Learning Years 5-10 Nieraan's training started shortly after he reached the age of five. One evening, his father sat him down and told him about the Force, the mystical field of energy that surrounded all of them and gave them life. He then went on to tell Nieraan about how there were some individuals who had the capacity to touch the Force, and use it. Nieraan, he told the boy, was one such individual, and as such, he would soon learn how to use the Force. And so Nieraan's training began. Ared started, as his teacher did, by teaching Nieraan how to touch the Force. It took some work on Nieraan's part, but once he was finally able to grasp how to do it, it came easily enough. The lessons went on to cover basic things, like meditation and very simple applications of the Force. Even from the beginning, Ared put a great deal of emphasis teaching Nieraan to sense the world around him through the Force. It wasn't surprising, given the fact that Ared had widely been regarded as a master of the family of sense abilities within the Order. The lessons were simple at first. Ared would blindfold Nieraan and walk him through exercises that taught him to feel the life around him. As time went on, they'd get more focused, as Nieraan got more and more confident with his grasp on the Force and the abilities that came with it. Nieraan showed promise in using his senses, though that was far from the only area Ared trained him in. All of the areas of the Force that Ared had experience with were covered, though, save the early knack he showed for telekinesis, Nieraan seemed to struggle with most of them. Some came a bit more easily than others to him, but he worked hard with all of them, and that was as much Ared could ask for. Then there was, of course, the beginnings of Nieraan's lightsaber training. That started about a half year after Ared taught Nieraan how to start using the Force. To start, Ared used some of the money he'd collected during their travels around Ruusan to acquire parts to construct a training saber for Nieraan. Finding a crystal wasn't hard, given the world they were on. From there, he laid the foundations for saber use for the boy. Though these initial lessons, like his Force training, were not at all advanced, Nieraan loved them. Nieraan was also schooled, in a way, as he grew. He didn't learn in a school, but was taught by the good people that worked with Jejres. His father was responsible for most of the boy's instruction, of course, and it was a task he was prepared for, given that he had helped with teaching Younglings back in the Temple, but many of the other workers would lend their time to offer what knowledge they could, or even just tell stories. Nieraan enjoyed it. Those times spent together, coupled with their travels around Ruusan, made the crew quite close, like a family of sorts. Advancement Years 11-15 The years rolled by, and Nieraan grew into a curious, if brash, boy. He had a way of acting on impulse, which was often the cause of a great deal of amusement for the others, and frustration from his father. He had a way of running his mouth, and could be surprisingly opinionated to be so young. He had a way of letting his opinions be known to others, and often didn't seem to give a whit one way or the other what they thought. Some were amused by it. It reminded Ared of Kamirille, and he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that. But he paid it little mind, save when it started to get out of hand, and things went on much in the way they'd already been going. Nieraan's training was going smoothly, and Ared was starting to show him some of the more advanced things about Shii-Cho. Nieraan caught on to it quickly enough. As his saber training grew a bit more advanced, so too did his training with the Force. Ared pushed him harder, making him stretch his ability with his senses as much as he could. The training was hard, but it worked. Nieraan made strong strides in sense, to the extent that some of the other areas were left behind. Ared saw this flaw in focusing so heavily on one area and did what he could to try to round Nieraan out a bit, but, as before, Nieraan seemed to have trouble working with the other areas of the Force, save telekinesis. Progress was made, yes, but it was slow, creeping progress. Time moved on, and when Ared started to teach Nieraan the basics of Niman, in addition to the work they did on Shii-Cho. The versatility of the form worked well for Nieraan, and the fact that it relied more on the creativity of the user than on preset movements and attacks meant Ared didn't have to spend as much time pounding away at the form as he might have if Nieraan was learning some other form. Nieraan proved himself to be a clever user Niman, and he was starting to show a natural quickness that worked quite well for him. He took quite the liking to the form. Nieraan's fifteenth birthday came and went, and Jejres brought word to Ared that he was planning a trip to Metellos. Ared was hesitant, as one might imagine. Nieraan didn't understand why his father was suddenly so unsure, when he'd never had much trouble with traveling with Jejres before. Ared told him only that Metellos was a place that had memories he'd rather leave buried. But, in the end, Ared agreed. After all, Kami might not even be on the city world anymore, after almost fifteen years. The trip would be in a month and a half, and Ared decided to move ahead with something he'd been planning to hold off on. One day, he and Nieraan rose early and went out on their own to a crystal cave. On the way, Ared explained that the time had come for Nieraan to build his lightsaber, and he'd need to pick a crystal of his own to do that. Ruusan was a world rich with crystals, though, so he had an wide selection to choose from. Ared went into the cave with Nieraan to be sure that it was safe, and when he was satisfied that it was, he went out to wait near the exit, so that Nieraan could go about his search in peace. Nieraan was in awe of the crystals that were arrayed before him. For a time, he didn't even really know what to do, or how to start. How could he possibly choose the right one, out of the hundreds of crystals around him? He decided it would be best to just meditate within the cave, and see if anything came to him. So that's what he did. He was in there for a few hours, but finally, he heard it. There was a crystal, hidden away behind a grouping of larger ones, that called to him. Nieraan stood to his feet and followed his senses to the crystal, he found it. It a medium sized thing, and was a deep, vibrant gold. Nieraan knew from the moment he touched it that it was meant to be his, and so he took it and made his way back out to his father. Ared explained to Nieraan that now that he had a crystal, he'd have to spend time meditating over it, to imbue it with his presence and bind it to himself. The process took a few weeks, but it got done. From there, Nieraan and Ared went about gathering the parts he'd need to build a lightsaber. Once that was done, Nieraan began the construction of the weapon itself. It was a difficult task. Ared had been going over the process with him during the weeks Nieraan spent working with his crystal, but it still wasn't a light undertaking. But, after a few days of work, it was done, and Nieraan's lightsaber was complete. Its blade was the same deep gold that the crystal was, and Nieraan beamed with pride the first time he ignited it. He had a few days of training with Ared to get used to the new blade, though he kept the training saber after being told that with a few modifications, it could be made into a normal saber. Finally though, the time to make the journey to Metellos arrived, and so they headed out. Corruption Years 15-27 Taken Year 15 They arrived on Metellos, and Jejres went about his business. Ared acted as the Balosar's guard, as he always had, and Nieraan worked in a similar capacity. Nieraan was a bit surprised by the squalor that filled the city planet. He couldn't remember anything from when he'd been there before, so the difference between Ruusan, which, though he'd not been born there, was, to the young Firrerreo, his home, and Metellos was shocking. They'd be there for a little while though, so he'd have to get used to it. At least they were staying within one of the stratablocks. Nieraan noticed a tenseness to his father that wasn't normally there as they days progressed. He asked into but Ared wouldn't speak much of it. Nieraan didn't need his senses to tell him that his father was hiding something, and he told Ared as much. Ared only laughed it off, though. As the days went by, it seemed Ared's worry was unfounded, as they'd seen absolutely no sign of Kamirille. He started to relax, convinced that he'd been worrying for no reason. But he was wrong. Kamirille had, in fact remained on Metellos, and word reached her that Ared and Nieraan had made a return to the world. She'd make herself known soon enough. It came while they were outside of the stratablock with Jejres, meeting with a friend of the old Balosar. Kamirille had made some friends in very low places during the past thirteen years, and those friends had ears and eyes in very many places. It just so happened that Jejres' friend was one of those eyes. Kamirille got wind of the meeting, and decided that would be when the reunion would happen. The meeting seemed to be just like any other. But something was wrong. Ared could feel it. Nieraan could feel it. They couldn't tell what the problem was, but they'd soon find out. Kamirille burst into the building with some armed men part of the way through. Ared was on his feet as soon as she appeared. Nieraan and Jejres were both rather confused. There was a brief conversation between the former couple. Ared's suspicion about Kamirille had been correct; she'd fallen over the past few years, and she'd fallen far. Kamirille, for her part simply accused Ared of being a thief, and informed him that she'd be taking Nieraan. Now, Nieraan was able to piece together from their conversation that Kami was his mother. He didn't really know her, though, but he did know that she intended to harm his father. He wouldn't allow that, though. Jejres was the first to act, ordering Kami to take her men and leave. She responded by giving a signal, which her men followed by opening fire. The Balosar, and the others that worked with him (except for Nieraan and Ared) fell to the ground, dead. Ared moved to attack Kami, but she blew both him and Nieraan down a flight of stairs with a blast of telekinesis; down into a basement, where their battle began. It was evident from the beginning that Kamirille was stronger than Ared. He fought well, but he just couldn't keep up with her. Nieraan get kept getting tossed aside like a toy. On and on, they fought, and Ared's injuries mounted until finally, he was unable to keep fighting on. Nieraan looked on in horror, fearing that his father would be killed, knowing that, realistically, there wasn't anything he could do about it. But he'd do what he could. He lunged at Kamirille, yelling that he wouldn't let her touch his father again. This time, though, instead of throwing him back into a wall as she had been doing, Kamirille humored him. They fought, and Nieraan pressed the attack for a few seconds before she kicked him in the stomach and stepped around behind him, and lashed out with one of her blades at his back. It bit into Nieraan's flesh, and though the pain was nearly unbearable, he turned around to try to attack her again. And so began a process where he would attack, fail, and take another cut on his back from Kamirille's blade. It repeated three times before he finally had more than he could take and collapsed. But Kamirille wasn't done with him. A blast of lightning lanced out from her fingers, hitting Nieraan in the chest and sending him back into a wall. The last thing he remembered seeing before he passed out was her picking up his fallen lightsaber hilt and smirking at him. The Crucible Years 15-20 Nieraan awoke to find that he was in some room, in a building he didn't recognize. The burns on his back still hurt a great deal, and he found himself sitting bolt upright when the memories of Kamirille's attack came back. He looked up to see her standing before him, and fear gripped his heart. But he pushed it down and demanded to know what was going on, or where Ared was. Ared had been left in the building he'd been ambushed in. Nieraan and Kamirille were now on the other side of the planet, safely away from him. Nieraan pushed himself to his feet and again, demanded that she let him go. She laughed and refused. Nieraan attacked her, using only his fists and feet, as that was all he had. She answered with her own fists, and Nieraan was on the ground before he could blink. She pinned him there, and proceeded to tell him of the events that led to her separation with Ared so many years ago. She went on to tell him that she would use him to exact her revenge on Ared. To make him pay for taking her son away from her. She would continue Nieraan's training, and then he would be the dagger to Ared's heart that killed him. Nieraan refused, and she informed him that he didn't have a choice. A few days passed and Nieraan recovered from his injuries. When he was well enough to move about, he tried to escape. It went surprisingly well, and he found himself out on the streets again in no time. He didn't get very far. He could feel Kamirille's presence as he moved about, and he tried to evade her, but she found him when he cornered himself in a dead end in an alleyway. Again, he tried to fight her, and again she beat the crap out of him. He was dragged back to the building he'd originally been taken to, where he had another conversation with his mother. She explained that she'd expected that he'd try something like that, and that further attempts would be useless. Nieraan went on to explain, very frankly, that he hated her. She told him to use it to grow stronger. Kamirille would make Nieraan strong one way or another, and if he had to use his hatred for her as a motivating factor, then so be it. But the only way to get strong enough to kill her would be to take what she was offering. Nieraan finally agreed, and his training began. Kamirille was a hard teacher; much harder than Ared had been. She pushed Nieraan daily, and he suffered for his shortcomings. But, though her methods were harsh, she taught Nieraan valuable things. She gave him both his saber and the training saber back, and in addition to picking up where Ared left off with his Shii-Cho training, started to teach him Jar'Kai, a form she was a master of. Nieraan took to it quickly. Her methods forced him to. But, other than the fact that he'd endure a great deal of pain for failing to learn quickly, there was the fact that, as with Niman, Nieraan had a genuine liking for Jar'Kai. He was learning as he got older that he was quick, and wielding two blades allowed him to put that speed to work, though it was often hard to tell when the only person he had to fight against was Kamirille. Kamirille also taught Nieraan in the ways of the Force. She taught him more with telekinesis than Ared had, but her Force training was mainly focused on one area: the use of the Dark Side. She pushed Nieraan hard intentionally, with the aim of making his hate for her grow, and as it did, she taught him how to tap into it for power. As the years moved on, she taught him how to make lightning dance out from his fingers, or how to choke the life from another living being without laying a finger on them. Nieraan found that he liked the feeling of power it gave him, when he was stuck under the heel of a woman who, by comparison, made him look quite helpless. And the more he used the power of the Dark Side, the more he wanted to use it. Of course, though he could not deny that Kamirille's instruction was making him stronger, Nieraan tried to kill her. Many times. And in all of his attempts, he failed. It was like she was always on to him, or something always went wrong. Whatever the case, his attempts often degenerated into open combat with her, and that was something he didn't stand a chance against her in. But Kamirille seemed to treat his attempts like tests, and for every attempt that failed, her beating grew progressively worse, as she worked to emphasize how weak he really was. The worsening of his beatings only made Nieraan push himself harder, and his strides picked up a bit, as was evidenced in him doing better against his mother as time went on. But still, it was not enough. Not yet. Perhaps that was no matter though. See, a plan started to form within his mind as his failures piled up. It might work, it might not, but it would be a very long time before he could attempt it. For the time being, though, appearances had to be maintained, lest Kamirille think he was up to something, or, Force forbid, subdued. A Test Years 21-23 Time continued to march on, as it always does, and Nieraan's hard lessons continued. By this point his work with learning Shii-Cho was more or less done, and his lightsaber training shifted to a heavy focus on Jar'Kai. Kami, however, ever the hard teacher, did not leave the gap left by Shii-Cho unfilled. Unarmed training got a bit more time, but she did more than simply teach him to punch people. Another form was introduced, one as that was nearly as rare as it was difficult. Kamirille was a master of two unorthodox forms: Jar'Kai, and combat with a saberstaff. She taught the boy how modify his sabers to lock together, with the clever usage of some powerful magnets and a system of clamps, and then he began to learn the form. It was hard. It was different than anything he'd done so far. Combat with a saberstaff was intensive, and forced him to push his body, both to get stronger and faster so that he could learn the complex, rigorous moves it took to execute the form properly. Nieraan liked the form. He liked the challenge it provided, the emotional intensity that he could use to fuel it, but no matter how much he griped and pushed and begged, Kamirille kept his training with it measured. He had to get the basics down perfectly, she'd calim, else he'd sever himself in the middle of a fight. What's more, she had a knack for reading knacks in others, at least with lightsaber combat. Nieraan was good with Jar'Kai. It came naturally to him, and it would be his main form, at least for the foreseeable future. Perhaps in time he'd replace it with saberstaff combat, but she would not let his learning with Jar'kai suffer to teach an entirely new form. Nieraan complained, but he didn't have any real say in the matter. At the same time, his strength in the Dark Side continued to grow, as Kamirille forced him to tap the deeper, darker parts of him in their spars, which were more all out fights than sparring sessions. As he went further in the more malicious applications of the Force, she advanced his practice of using Force Choke to Force Grip--a much more devastating, and diverse application of the same principle. It took time for him to get it, but with practice, he would, and, further down the line, it would become a favored technique of his. But, though Nieraan's tutelage under her was years from being complete, Kamirille recognized that he was getting to the point where he'd be able to go out and be a threat without getting himself killed. In fact, she believed that he'd be quite dangerous, especially as he continued to get stronger. Kamirille also knew that, if he was to be a real practitioner of Jar'Kai, Nieraan would need to make the adjustments to make his training saber into a real weapon. She decided to test his abilities one day, a little while after his twenty-second birthday. As mentioned earlier, Kamirille had friends in low places on the city planet. Namely, a Lannik that went by the name of Dergos--the leader of a well-run gang that dominated part of the slums on Metellos. Dergos had a number of enemies, Kamirille found out about him and his gang by chance while looking for a way to make money shortly after she'd been abandoned by Ared. She started to work for him, and in the years since, she'd grown to be his most valuable hit man (hit woman?), due to her considerable skills. There was always someone that needed killing in Dergos' business, and so Kamirille decided it'd be best to test Nieraan that way. Nieraan readily accepted the task when Kamirille presented it to him. Though, he thought that, for a moment, his chance to escape the woman had been thrust into his lap by her herself, he threw that option away. Despite his desire to kill her, he knew that there was still more that she could teach him, and he wanted that knowledge, to make himself stronger. Not to mention that, should he try to escape, he'd be in for a great deal of pain if she found him; that wasn't a thought he was particularly fond of. The fact that such thoughts even crossed his mind grated on him a great deal, but there wasn't much to be done about it. His task would be difficult. All he knew was that he had to get to some warehouse that a certain Trandoshan was holed up in and kill him. Nieraan suspected things would not be easy, and his senses confirmed that very fact to him when he arrived at the warehouse. It was packed with guards. Things would be difficult, to say the least; that was compounded by the fact that he only really had one saber that he could use in combat, since, while his training saber could hurt someone, he couldn't kill with it. He'd have to get crafty. Nieraan slipped in and started his work. His first few kills were quiet, but it wasn't long before the entire warehouse was abuzz, and looking for him. Thankfully, the Trandoshan's men weren't really the best fighters, and while that made things easier, Nieraan hardly made it through unscathed. But he made slow, steady progress, by engaging a small group of foes and then falling away into the shadows again, rather than attacking everyone all at once. After a while, he found himself standing before the final room, where the Trandoshan and whatever guards he might have had awaited. Nieraan entered, sure of his success, and was surprised to see only one man waiting for him with the Trandoshan. The man's pale skin, white hair and silver eyes could only make him an Echani. Nieraan's cockiness told him that he could handle it, though, and after a short exchange of words, he engaged the Trandoshan's guard in combat. It soon became apparent though that, at least in melee and hand-to-hand combat, Nieraan was in over his head. His gold saber was knocked away, and the Echani was on him with devastating unarmed blows before he had a chance to respond. He tried to fight back, but the Echani was a master of the third tier of the Echani martial arts. Nieraan didn't stand a chance. And so, as he found himself on the receiving end of yet another beating, Nieraan felt his ire building, turning into rage when he considered the prospect of being defeated by this unnamed man, this nobody. He was knocked to the ground, and as his vision started to go dark around the edges, he lashed out with something the Echani did not have: the Force. Lightning exploded from his fingertips, and both the Echani and the Trandoshan were consumed. Nieraan rose again, and focused his assault on the Trandoshan, laughing as screams graced his ears. When that was done, he turned to the Echani, who was slumped against the wall. His emotions were swirling as thoughts of how best to kill the Echani ran through his head, and he found himself doing something he'd never done before. The Dark Side called to him, and as, always, he answered the call. He placed his hand on the Echani's forehead, and when he did, he felt something flow into him. It was exhilarating, enthralling. It was empowering. The Echani's screams faded into quiet moans, and then to silence as Nieraan drained the life from him. Nieraan looked at his hand in wonder when the deed was done, as he tried to figure out what it was he'd just done, and how to do it again. But he didn't know. Perhaps his mother would know. The mission was a success, and when he informed Kamirille of the news, she rewarded him with a crystal. It was dark blue, navy perhaps, and was, unless one counted the various things she'd taught him, the first gift he'd ever received from Kamirille during his training. Nieraan didn't need her to tell him what it was for. With some work, he could adjust the training saber to make it a real weapon, and with that crystal, he could make it his own. As he went about meditating over the new crystal, as he had with the second, he asked Kamirille about the power he'd used in the warehouse. She told him that, from the sounds of it, it was Force Drain, an ability that siphoned the energy from the target and transferred it to the user. She knew how it worked in theory, though it wasn't something she could show him, as she didn't know how to use it; she could explain it, but he'd have to put the words into practice himself. Nieraan remade the training saber into a real lightsaber once he was done bonding the dark blue crystal to himself, and added the dark blue blade to his gold one. Now he could be a true practitioner of Jar'Kai. Now he could really be a threat. His training continued as time moved ahead to bring him into his twenty-third year, as did his attempts on the life of his mother. Though he did better in fights against her than when she'd first started training her, he still could not defeat her; she was, after all, a master, where he was not. But his time would come. It was only a matter of waiting. On the Streets Years 24-27 Kamirille, satisfied that Nieraan was to the point where he could start to focus on some other things. Though his training did not stop, he started to work jobs for Dergos more often, as an assassin of sorts. Often times, this would involve being told the general location of a target and being sent out on his own to deal with them. It was good practice for him, and he learned that he liked the thrill of chasing down a target before ending them. It also gave him a chance to practice using his senses, to see what it was like trying to try to focus on one person out of the massive crowds of people that choked the planet. It was difficult, even as his skills in that area grew stronger, but at least attempting it made him stronger. His work alone on the streets of Metellos brought him experience in tracking down targets, experience that Kamirille believed he'd need to find Ared. The work taught him a sort of cleverness, as he often had to think of ways to overcome a solid opposition to get to the targets. But, in his time doing what he did, only one hit got away. It happened as he'd been pushing through a space port, but the target had too many men in the way, and Nieraan was forced to fall back. They boarded the ship and left by the time he was finally able to press through the people guarding them. And if he'd thought Kamirille's punishments had been bad before, he was in for something else entirely. Dergos was furious at Nieraan's failing, and Kamirille, being the one over Nieraan was the one to get the brunt of his rage. And so later that day, she attacked Nieraan, with the intention of taking him by surprise. However, Nieraan's strengthening senses caught her intent, and he was ready. That didn't save him, though. They fought, and as always, Kamirille defeated him. She disarmed him, but she did not stop then. No, she assaulted him with lightning before laying into him both with her hands and with the Force, pounding away at him until he was too weak to resist, and still continuing to go further. All the while, she reminded him of his weakness, and how he'd always be stuck under her heel. Nieraan would not be cowed, though and fought back, first physically, and when he was no longer able to do that, with his mouth, until he finally passed out. That was one lesson in failure that Nieraan would not forget. It also cemented his resolve to be the one that ended Kamirille's life. The time for that was drawing near, though, judging from the way Kamirille started to talk of finding Ared once more. And, during his time out and away from Kamirille, he'd been practicing Force Drain, which, if he could carry out the plan that was dancing around in his head would be an integral part of offing her. It was hard, without someone to teach him how to do it, and it took from the time he'd first accidentally used it until around the time when he turned twenty seven to finally get how to use it. There was also the fact that, without someone living to practice on, it was quite hard to go about figuring out how the power worked. But, with the abundance of those who were to weak and destitute to contribute anything to society. They were his targets. After all, as long as it was done in the dark, no one cared about one missing person, much less those who were, more or less, worthless. Of course, some of them were lucky in a sense, in that they were selected at times when Nieraan couldn't get the power to work. They didn't live, mind you, lest they spread word of Nieraan, but he suspected a lightsaber to the chest was a much easier way to go than having the life force sucked out of you. But there were those that were unfortunate enough to be caught on the times when Nieraan could make the power work. He imagined their deaths were none too pleasant. At least they died for a good cause, though. As he went about his practice, he got better, and despite a good deal of struggling in the beginning, it came more and more naturally over the years, until finally, it got to the point where he could use it at will. That point came just in time, because right after he got there, his mother informed him that she'd located his father, who never left Metellos after the ambush. The time had come to deal with him. Nieraan was ready for it, or so she said. He'd learned all there was for her to teach him of Jar'Kai, he was making strong strides with learning how to fight with a saberstaff, and his grasp of the Dark Side was strong. He was a threat. Finally, she'd crafted him into the tool she'd been waiting so long to use to kill his father. Coulple all of that with the fact that Ared probably would not expect an attack from Nieraan, and he only became a bigger threat. With that, Nieraan knew it was nearly time to set things in motion, in a gamble that could either work marvelously, or end with him dead. The Best Laid Plans... Year 27 It wasn't hard to find Ared, once Kamirille gave Nieraan his instructions. Dergos' men found that Nieraan's father was staying in the area near where he'd been ambushed twelve years ago, on the other side of the planet. Kamirille sent Nieraan out to do what she'd trained him to do, but before he left, she impressed upon him, in no uncertain terms, that if he failed in his duty, she would kill him. She'd tolerated his failures up to this point for the sake of working to make him stronger. If Nieraan allowed Ared to get away, he would die, and she'd kill the man herself. With that in mind, Nieraan headed out. The sources said that there was a cantina that Ared often frequented these days, and so he went there first. Lo and behold, Ared was there, sitting off to himself at a table in a dark corner. Even from the other side of the building, Nieraan could feel the intense grief that wracked his father's heart, and it brought up feelings he'd not felt in a long time. It brought up memories of the days when he'd been young, traveling about with his father and the rest of Jejres' crew. Part of him wanted to go back to those times, but there was nothing to be done for it. Besides, he still had a job to do. So with that, he rolled the dice and went to sit down across from his father. Ared almost didn't recognize Nieraan at first, and he seemed very saddened when he realized that Nieraan had fallen, like Kamirille. Nieraan made no apologies for that, nor would he try to return to the way he'd been before, as he enjoyed the power he'd gained for Kamirille too much to relinquish it. But Ared was still his father, and so he gave him a warning. He told Ared of Kamirille's plans to kill him. He told him that she wanted to use him to put an end to Ared, as one final insult. Nieraan also told Ared that he had a plan, and that Ared would have to trust him. Ared did trust Nieraan, and the two left the cantina and started to head toward a spaceport. Nieraan knew Kamirille was trailing him, and he needed to draw her out; he couldn't think of any better way to do it than by appearing to be helping his father make an escape. As they walked on through an empty alleyway between the back of some old bars, Nieraan talked--a bit louder than he normally would have--about how he'd get Ared to safety and see him off. He also went on to say that he'd escape with his father, and they'd be free from Kamirille once and for all. That seemed to be enough to draw Kamirille's attention. She emerged from the shadows, and Nieraan was greeted by a wave of lightning that sent him sprawling into a pile of garbage. Kamirille might have continued her attack on him then, but as he'd hoped, Ared stepped in to defend him. Kamirille decided Nieraan could wait, and engaged Ared for one final fight. Perhaps Ared had gotten stronger in the years since he'd been defeated by Kamirille, as the tide of battle swung back and forth between the two several times as Nieraan watched on. He suspected that Kamirille thought him too weakened from her initial attack, which, to be fair, had been extraordinarily painful, to do anything, and he was content to stay where he was, still and unmoving to let her keep thinking that. His father could do the work of wearing her down; Nieraan didn't care as long as he was the one who ended her. Ared did a magnificent job of wearing Kamirille down, and though she defeated him again, with a strike that took one of his legs off at the knee, followed by a quick stab to the stomach, he weakened her enough for Nieraan to be able to act. As she stood over his fallen form, telling him how much she'd waited for that, day, Nieraan made his move. Lightning exploded from his fingers, and this time it was she who was thrown back. She was on her feet quickly though, and a short lightsaber duel ensued. Though she was wearied from her battle with Ared, Kamirille was still a difficult opponent. Her prowess in combat had been known through the Order for a reason when she was a Jedi. On top of her considerable raw talent, she knew Nieraan. It was she that had trained him for nearly fifteen years. She knew his ways in combat. She knew his habits and his weaknesses as well he did--maybe even better. Nieraan was in for a very difficult fight. Kamirille's weariness was, perhaps, the only thing that let him stay in the fight against her. The tide of the battle went back and forth, with him pressing his initial advantage before she exploited a gap in his form and forced him back. The force flowed violently between them as lightsabers singed flesh in glancing blows, but neither could press an advantage all the way to victory. As the fight raged, and Nieraan's injuries began to mount, he started to grow desperate. He didn't know if Kamirille would kill him then and there if she defeated him, but he wouldn't risk surviving and having to stay under her. He fought harder, wilder, trying to just wear her down and force her back from the fury of his onslaught. It was risky. It was foolish. It went against so many of the things she'd taught him as a duelist. But as he let the Force feed on his desperation, on his fear and hatred for all the suffering she'd forced him through, it worked. One of her sabers went clattering away as he forced it from her grip. A body blow sent her staggering back. And then, as the sound of sirens and the presence of several men approached, Nieraan struck. His blade pierced her gut and he reveled in the look of shock on her face. The Force erupted from his hand and threw her back against the wall. She crumpled to the ground with a gasp. The moment he'd waited for for so long was at hand. Nieraan was battered and bruised, but he was victorious. Already he could feel the life starting to fade from Kamirille's body. A smile twisted his features as he slowly closed in on her, ready to suck the life from her and finally be free. His hand closed around her throat. He turned her head up and forced her to look into his eyes, and as the Force filled him one final time, he began to drain her. But that was when the law showed up. Apparently a fight of such magnitude had a way of drawing attention, and someone--or several someones--had reported their fighting the local authorities. Now they came spilling into the alleyway, cordoning it off and pointing weapons at Nieraan. Nieraan knew what it looked like, with his father laying sprawled out on the ground and his hand around Kamirille's throat. He also knew he wasn't in any condition to fight them all off. And he wasn't about to let himself get captured. So with a muttered curse, he let his mother's neck go and she slumped to the ground. She was as good as dead; her life had faded so much he could hardly feel her in the Force anyway. With a final look to the cops and his father's broken, dying body, Nieraan called the Force to him and leapt up onto a balcony and then to a roof, and from there, to freedom. Independence Years 27-Present Freedom Years 27-31 And, so, with his parents dead, Nieraan found himself, for the first time, to be completely free. Well, to an extent. No longer was he stuck under Kamirille's foot, and he didn't have anyone to directly control him. He liked that, and made a sort of vow to himself that he'd maintain that, within reason. Of course, he still needed to find something to do to pass the time, so he continued to do the occasional job for Dergos. At first he just thought it to be something he'd do every now and then, but as he went on more and more hunts to kill those that needed killing, he remembered how much he enjoyed doing it. So, as time moved by, Nieraan became a sort of regular worker for the Lannik. He was good at what he did, and he gained quite the reputation among the gangs of Metellos. His ego grew as his successes grew, and before too long, he'd moved up to become Dergos' top enforcer, as his mother had been. For a time, everything was going well. Nieraan did things he liked doing, he gained notoriety from it, and he made a good deal of money on the side. Of course, all of his fighting gave him more chances continue to hone and refine his skills, both with a lightsaber and with the Force. Now that he'd nothing else to learn of Jar'Kai beyond keeping his skills sharp, he continued to press himself in learning to fight better with his saberstaff. Progress was slower, without someone there to teach him, but Nieraan continued to push himself and press on. Unfortunately for Dergos, the part of Nieraan that resented being stuck under the command of another started to rear its head again about a year after gaining independence. It came as he realized that, as good as he was at doing what he did, none of the work really provided a challenge, or none of it was anything new, rather. Sure, there was the occasional hard job, but for the most part, he'd grown bored with it. That, coupled with the way Dergos was starting to grate on Nieraan, made things rather dangerous for the Lannik. When Nieraan came to the realization that Dergos was, in reality quite weak, and seemed to enjoy hiding behind him, he decided to act. And by act, I mean he locked Dergos in his home and killed him. He took all the money he had, along with a sizable sum of Degos' money and left Metellos. In the years since then, he's floated around, looking for something that grabs his interest. He worked for crime groups, a few Hutts, and even the Exchange on an occasion or two. The pay was good; money flowed in those circles, but so did other kinds of rewards, physical or otherwise. Recently, though, rumors of Force users gathering on Korriban to form a new Sith Order have piqued his interest. Such a gathering could provide a place where he could grow stronger, and if they were involved in the war against the Republic, then he might have more chances to test himself, and against the Jedi, no less. Of course, the Sith would have to prove to him that they were a cause worth following first. So with those thoughts in mind, Nieraan made his way out to Korriban, and it's there where the next chapter in his life will begin. Changes Years 31-Present Life in the Sith order was different than Nieraan expected. The early phases were full of conflict and asserting himself in the order, and perhaps that wasn't so strange. But as the days stretched to weeks and months, he found friends, of sorts, and quickly established himself as a valuable member of the Order. He even, unexpectedly, surprsingly, found love, in Danica Liviana, a rich Human woman from the Core who he met on a mission. Unfortunately, Nieraan, at the time a newly-minted Sith Knight, learned that Kamirille was far from dead. His mother revealed herself on Metellos, and bestowed a fresh beating upon him before allowing him to escape. He'd find her again on Ruusan, where she met the then-pregnant Danica. Despite the beatings that ensued during these meetings, Kamirille never overtly threatened Nieraan's livelihood. She, as always, claimed her only goal was to make Nieraan stronger, through whatever means necessary. Still, Nieraan worked his way further up the Sith ladder, rising to the rank of Lord and assuming a place as a training instructor. His methods were abrasive -- if not quite as abrasive as his mother's -- but effective. Nieraan played a role in removing Darth Novus from her 'execution' after the battle of Taris, and has, so far, maintained his vow to secrecy in that task. The years that followed brought countless battles, the discovery of a rival--and one-time ally--in a certain Echani Jedi, and an expansion of Nieraan's training duties. Danica bore their children -- fraternal twins -- and her always-meddling father struck and stole away with the boy, Marcus, while they were preparing to move away from Korriban. With the opening of Dromund Kaas and its temple, Danica and Neiraan relocated away from Korriban's desert. Nieraan, infuriated at his inability to prevent Cassius from leaving with one of his children, sought out Kamrille for further training, in the Force, and to learn Juyo. Kamirille obliged, but her training was hard. Still, Nieraan learned the form, and learned it well. On the Sith Order front, Nieraan once again approached the now Empress Renata, who'd overseen his ascension thus far, and sought one more promotion. Renata chided him for waiting so long, but ultimately granted the request. The years since have seen life settle into a sort of routine, with Nieraan trying to help raise his children -- he and Danica had another son after the twins -- while balancing his work for the Order. It's a difficult balance, but one that's worked so far. |
