Post by ☠War☢Gerbil☠ on Feb 20, 2011 7:20:38 GMT -5
(be sure to read the foot notes below the RP sample)
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Name: Illaina Vari
Nickname: Laina // dark alias: Queen of Blades
Race: Twi'lek
Birth place: Coruscant
Raised on Yavin4
Age: 34
Sexuality: Les.
Language:
Basic - Fluent and literate
Ryl - Fluent
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Height:5'7
Weight:110
Skin color:dark blue
Eye color: red (pink when in Force Stealth)
Her looks are by far deceiving. A petite dark blue skinned female Twi'lek, Illaina masks her inner darkness in more ways than one. While under the guise of Force Stealth aka: Buried Presence she is non-intimidating infact considered highly attractive by most. She milks that for its worth by fronting as an exotic cantina dancer. She wears little when in this appearance other than the bare minimum of clothing one can wear before they're considered naked. Her outfits usually consist of ribbons made of reflective color changing(depending on the angle you look at them) material. When in an establishment with little light her outfits glow brilliantly like at a rave, illuminating the sexy curvatures of her body.
Now...when she's NOT in force stealth, you'll feel closer to death just looking at her.(not implying you'll actually be medically damaged) She sports a white mask with two oval eye holes that are black as space its self. Her eyes can't be seen through the eye holes. The mask is solid white save for 2 red slight crescent shaped stripes going over both eye holes.
Her clothes consist of:
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What do you get when you take a Twi'lek infant+corrupted & sadistic fallen Jedi father+growing up in an ancient dark siders temple on a remote back water planet?
You get a f***ed up persona when that Twi'lek infant gets older, that's what you get.
Although Illaina doesn't remember it all, her life has been comprised of death and darkness since the very beginning. She never knew her mother...only her fathers savage beatings and criticism. A child has a multitude of emotions and ways of expressing them, but not Illaina. When her father would hit her, crying and pleading only brought more blows. Thus she eventually developed a psychological defense by putting on a smile and enduring the torture until her father got bored with the beatings. It may have just been out of self preservation at first, but eventually Illaina lost the ability to show most other emotions. Her perpetual smile became who she is...at least on the outside.
When she's out and about in force stealth she seems like a pleasant happy go lucky dancer. She possesses no emotion of anger and incites no fear in people who meet her.
Even when killing, and oh how she loves killing, she holds a smile behind her mask. She has polite manners and a soft sing song voice which in her fake civilian existence may seem unusual, but wholly admirable. To those on the receiving end of her shoto's, however it's rather creepy and unnerving.
As for love it doesn't exist.Maybe if she could some how turn to the light side she could be influenced by some great person and.....No, her mien is too scarred and she has lost the ability to feel remorse or compassion(albeit perhaps a mind wipe and then rehabilitation). Illaina has massacred families in their houses all the while smiling as if she'd received a compliment. Hell she's even hummed tunes worthy of Cinderella or Mary Poppins amidst screams of the dieing. The closest thing to love for Illaina is her infatuation with blood. Unless in the midst of swirling combat she will usually sample the blood of those she kills. Not vampiric sucking, but calmly stooping to her foes corpse and tasting their blood. She lives for seeing the life leave the eyes of her target and the warm essence of life tingling on her taste buds. It's euphoric to her.
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Faction: Dark Jedi
Rank: Assassin // Master
Lightsaber: Two dual-phase shoto's
Color: red
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho - 5
Makashi - N/A
Soresu -
Ataru - 4
Shien / Djem So - N/A
>>Sub-form Backhanded N/A
Niman - N/A
>> Jar'Kai - 5
Juyo - N/A
Double Bladed Combat - N/A
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 6
Telepathic: 4
Body: 6
Sense: 5
Protection: 5
Healing: 0
Destruction: 5
Specialized Skills: Force cloak (photo-kinetic); Force Stealth
Other Skills:
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 5
Speed: 8
Leadership: 1
Unarmed: 7
Melee Weapons: 6
Ranged Weapons: 1
Force Attunement: -8
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"Gather 'round padawans and listen. The story you are about to hear is one of woe and tragedy...not to disturb you, but to steel you with vigilance. This tale is of a fallen Jedi Master, a walker of these temple halls before your time. I knew him well. His name was Yav Vari, a tall and wise Cerean who had a passion for archaeology, dueling, and stealth. He was a renaissance sort of man. I was proud to have called him a close friend. Know this...Yavari was a top tier Consular. He had done many great things and was destined to still do more...until fate took a turn for the worse in ways unimaginable.
Yavari was on a mission to Yavin-13, but his ship experienced mechanical failures while above Yavin-4. He sent out a distress beacon which we received, but for until help arrived he would have to make do on the planet's surface. His scanners picked up multiple large building complexes amidst the endless stretch of jungle on Yavin-4 so naturally he put his ship down there.
Yavari knew of the temples on Yavin-4, but he had no way of knowing of the pure corruption and darkness they were built upon. The Order had erased almost all information about those temples after an attempt to cleanse them of their dark past almost 400 years ago. Being the archaeologist that he was Yavari was fascinated by the temples. He could feel the dark side energies inside them, but he allowed himself to underestimate their presence. And so for three days he survived off his ration packs while spending near every waking moment studying and exploring the temples. His desire for knowledge played into the dark side aura and he became obsessed with learning about the Sith and ancient Templar of Shokuur.
The three days passed and on the morning of the 4th day a Jedi rescue team, composed of myself and 2 others, arrived. He was happy to see us, and was able to mask his hesitancy to leave the temples. He came back with us to Coruscant where he was debriefed by the Council. I wish I could say that was the end of Yavari flirting with the dark side...but it gets worse and we never saw it coming.
Yavari went on to explore a temple on Thule as well as returning to Yavin-4. When he came back he would play down his discoveries. His skill at force concealment must have been nonpareil because his mentality and physiognomy never seemed to take a turn for the worse. It was after a successful mission to Tatooine that he split up from the other Jedi he had been working with, saying he was going to head to Ilum to rendezvous with another Jedi.
That was the last we heard from him for 11 months. We know now that he was living on Yavin-4 in the temples built by ancient Shokuur templars1. It was at some point during this time we suspect he encountered the apparition of a primordial Shokuur Dark Templar. Or perhaps he came across one of their holocrons within the catacombs of a temple. We may never know exactly.
What he ultimately experienced is unknown as well, but when he came back to Coruscant he was tainted beyond our saving.
I was in the meditation gardens the day he returned. I had been having a feeling of unease and encroaching darkness. Around midday the feeling dissipated entirely as if turned off, but then it came back stronger than ever an hour later. I wasn't the only one feeling it. As I discussed this disturbing event with another council member a young knight force sprinted through the temple to us.
"He's b-""Where?!""The bottom of the fron-"He didn't even need to finish explaining before we were force sprinting to the front steps. It seemed as if everyone had converged to the front steps as well, but everyone was told to stay back at the top except for myself and the 3 other highest ranked council members.
{{que "Hanging" by Craig Armstrong from Plunkett & Macleane soundtrack}}
Seeing him at the base of the temple steps was spine chilling...heart stopping...dismaying? No word seems to do the experience justice. We gazed down the vast steps at the dark hooded figured; the dark side energies radiating from him even from that distance were liken to a heat lamp in your face.
Then he began walking up. The 4 of us walked calmly down to meet him half way. Those were some of the most tense moments in my life and longest minute of my life. Having to take charge of a situation because it is ones duty...not knowing if you're about to have to strike down an old friend...it's something we must all be able to do and hopefully never need to do it.
Both sides stopped walking when there was about 20 feet between us. An eerie silence fell upon us for a couple of seconds. Then he spoke."I have come back to rejoin my brothers and sisters."Because of Yavari and I's past I was the designated speaker."You've been delving into the dark side of the force Yavari...you can not be allowed to enter the temple.""I've simply had revelation and opened my eyes. Who are you to banish me for becoming enlightened. You can't just cast me aside like a dirty rag."He began to walk forward."By the powers vested in me by the Republic you are under arrest."As we ignited our sabers he snarled and launched himself towards Master Cho-shii. His strikes were fast, precise, and entirely with intent to kill.
His use of Ataru coupled with Jar'kae was phenomenal. Combined with Soresu he was able to hold his own against the 4 of us for a couple of minutes. Maybe some other Masters had started to make their way down the steps or maybe he just realized that he wasn't going to win at this time and place. He used the force to take a huge back flip off the stair platform into the deep chasm-esque cityscape. It was not suicide though. He landed on a passing speeder and hijacked it.
We scrambled a task force of Knights and Masters to search for him. We were all on synced comm-link together. While I was notifying the CSF to be on the look out the CSF themselves got a call to a fresh kidnap/murder occurring at a nearby flat. Details were flooding in by the minute and the situation made me sick to my stomach. Yavari had hijacked a speeder with a Twi'lek family still inside. We thought he massacred all inside, but our nightmare wasn't over. A Twi'lek infant was still alive inside.
...In his dark addled mind he was now butchering innocents and kidnapping, this mons-..fallen master had to be stopped. I scrambled teams to shut down star ports while other Jedi teams worked with CSF to find Yavari. It was all for naught. Yavari was skilled in force concealment. He left like he arrived...without a trace. We suspect if he hasn't been killed then he is a broken husk of a man, the dark side driving him mad and sapping the life from his body on some remote backwater planet.
This story draws to an end now so take from it some knowledge. Even the best of us are not immune to the temptations and allure of the dark side, but it is all a mirrage. The dark side blinds one of the truth and destroys lives. Lean on each other instead of solely relying on your own will and training. Ok, go now, on to your next training session before lunch, may the Force be with you."
Yavari returned to Yavin-4 with Illaina this time to stay. He set up residence in a gigantic temple which doubled as a force nexus. This temple, built by the Templar of Shokuur over a millennia before, was to be Illaina's home for the next 27 years. The Templar of Shokuur were an ancient dark side of the force wielding cult much like the Sith except they predated the Sith. Their primary presence was on Shokuur, however they had also begun expanding to a few other worlds just before their downfall. When not training Illaina Yavari was obsessed with discovering more about the templar. He also used a powerful force concealment to mask his presence in case the Order sent a strike team to bring him and Illaina back.
As for Illaina the first 3 years of her life were composed of relying on her father, like most toddlers. She would watch him pore over his studies and he would speak to her of ancient dark side cults and hatred of the Jedi though she couldn't grasp what he was talking about. At the age of 4, which is about as far back as she can remember, her father put a lightsaber in her hands2. From then on it was training and conditioning every day blended with Teräs_Käsi drills and perverted Jedi teachings. When I say everyday I mean every waking day. She received beatings for less than perfect work which was always since her father constantly raised the bar of expectations as she progressed. Yavari was hell bent on crafting the perfect living weapon(Illaina) to use against the Jedi Order some day and so he never let up on his daughter. She knew why she was being pushed so hard though and looked forward to the day where she could put her teachings to use by killing a Jedi. She never doubted her father. In her twisted addled mind she actually loved him. And she used that love to train harder in hopes to gain praise from her father...something she rarely received.
As she got older and her beatings got worse her personality changed. Having known no other meaning for existence than to please her father and progress in combat, her emotions took a back seat. All except one. Cheerfulness became the only emotion she would or could show on the outside. On the inside she was a twisted cluster f*** of pent up powerful emotions yearning to burst...screaming in anguish. When she was dropped off 2 days distance into the Yavin jungle at age 15 she did so with a smile on her face. When her father commanded her to kill an adolescent woolamander that she had taken in as a pet...she did so with a nod and smile. And when Critokians(more on them in a minute) made various "funny" noises when she killed them in a multitude of ways...she giggled.
Yavari had built her a lightsaber initially, but he deemed her ready for her own weapon(s) around the age of 13. Under his scrutinous supervision she crafted her own red bladed shotos that she would go on to upgrade as she got older. From her studies and personal training experiences she was more drawn to the allure of dual wielding. Thus her father trained her in the ways of Jar'kai along with her usual Shii-Cho. The towering temple walls and obstacle filled jungle lead her to adopt Ataru as her specialty. Her training lessons utilized all 3 forms rather than split them up into separate lessons.
When Illaina was 17 Yavari began training her in the ways of subtlety. He taught her Force Cloak and Force Stealth(separate skills). The former would aid her with innumerable situations. The latter would mask her presence from the Jedi Order until chosen otherwise.
When trying to practice so many types of combat one usually ends up progressing at a snails pace. Illaina had nothing but time. And unlike most other combat practitioners Illaina's life revolved around her studies and her shotos. For the most part, her average daily schedule consisted of getting up early in the morning, apply skills to hunt for breakfast, train, apply skills to hunt for lunch, train, apply skills to hunt for supper, train, sleep, rinse and repeat the process.
In the beginning she hunted woolamander and stintaril. Illaina was forced to put her training to use and hunt with just short wooden spears and clubs to take the place of her shotos. This provided not only food, but also additional training to her father's sparring lessons. By the age of 16 however, she was fighting Critokians along side her father on a regular basis. Critokians, a sentient arachnoid species that were taller than Illaina were at first a formidable foe.
The Critokians had initially avoided the templar temples because their highly superstitious ways shunned the dark side nexuses. It was when Yavari abducted a young Critokian for dark side experiments that the situation changed. Critokian scouts had tracked Yavari and his captive back to one of the temples. When the search party consisting of 5 Critokians confronted Yavari he ordered Illaina to exterminate them. She did, but "accidentally" let one escape. Before her father could bring punishment down on her, for failing to eliminate the whole party, she implored him to follow her. Yavari in tow, she stealthily followed the escaped Critokian back to its colony. Yavari was pleased with his daughters murderous intuition. Together they carved a bloody swath into the Critokian village. They didn't finish off the colony that day because 100's of Critokian warriors was more than Illaina could handle at the time. As her powers and skill evolved though, the Critokians fell beneath her sadistic onslaught. Whole villages would become bloodbaths in Illaina's wake.
Over the next 14 years Illaina endured more sadistic abuse, dished out her own abuse by committing wholesale genocide within a 50 mile radius, and continued to undergo intensive daily combat training. All the while being fed a never ending dose of anti-Jedi propaganda. Illaina never questioned the repetitive and often grueling tasks her father gave her. She had a never ending hunger for more teachings, more tests of ability, more darkness. She grew to hate the Jedi like her father; perhaps even more. Also she painted her bed chamber over the years. Not with paint, mind you, but with the blood of things she killed(primarily Critokians). At first a light blue, Critokian blood turned black after a day outside the body. The walls of her room resembled some sort of horror slaughter house, but she was proud of her work. ;D
Eventually, now at the age of 28, her final test had come. She was to fight and best her father in a one on one fight; a right of passage. During an afternoon thunderstorm on the roof of the Great Yavin Temple she squared off against the man who was both a mentor and menace. He had taught her everything he knew and given her the means to learn what he hadn't. He didn't plan on killing her. To just deem her ready to take on the Jedi though, was not enough. If she failed to defeat him then he would beat her within an inch of her life and continue training her. To pass the test she would have to break through his defenses and "deliver" a killing blow. She would stop her blade just before making contact. In this Yavari would know he had forged one of the most formidable Dark Jedi the Galaxy would ever know.
And so they fought. Illaina utilizing Ataru to stay on the move and keep from being trapped at the roof edges. She remained on the defense while she studied her fathers movements; trying to locate a pattern of flaws in his combat rhythm. A sudden lightning bolt struck the temple roof, distracting her for a moment leaving herself exposed for a fraction of a second too long. Yavari cast force choke on her and held Illaina at the mercy of his telekinetic grasp over the edge of the roof. Her feet dangled above the 550 foot drop.
"Do you remember the code of the ancient dark templar my dear daughter?", he asked her. She didn't respond. Not because she didn't want to, but because she physically was unable. Yavari was squeezing her airways shut. "Hark, the essence of existence is strife. I do not defer, for the darkness empowers me. Wrath is my weapon." Then she noticed it, her other shoto, deactivated and laying isolated on the roof a few feet behind her father. "And my ambition; an impregnable shield.Through hate I gain rapture." His hold tightened and she would pass out in less than a minute. It was now or never. "And through the Force...deliverance"
She focussed all of her remaining oxygen and attention into telekinetically lifting and igniting it.
Upon her blades ignition Yavari's attention broke thus releasing Illaina from the death grip. She dropped over the edge, but had planned for it. Her hands caught the ledge allowing her(with aid of the force) to launch herself back up onto the roof. While airborne she saw her opening and executed a perfect Ataru "hawk-bat swoop strike", something Yavari himself had taught her. With a disturbing happy go lucky smile
she uttered softly,"I am Templar" and brought her shoto down the crease of his spine, cleaving open his back from neck vertebrae to tail bone.
...
Her father dropped to his knees, his right hand relinquishing his still humming lightsaber to the cold stone. She deactivated her shoto and hooked it to her belt. Then casually walking over to her other shoto sizzling in the rain she did the same. Illaina turned around to face her father as he took his last dieing gasps like a fish out of water. He was trying to say some last words. Illaina walked over to his side, knelt close to his head, and put a hand behind his head. He managed to stave off choking on his blood long enough to get ---- words out. "Il..'aina?". His mouth continued to move, perhaps trying to question why, but only rasping and gurgling ushered forth from his lips. Illaina, rocking ever so softly while supporting his head in her hands, began to hum a little nursery like lullaby she had came up with. She sat there, rocking and humming, as the storm continued to rage around them, until she felt the life fade out of Yavari.
That night she cremated his body inside the temple. She went to his room to get his finest robes to wrap him in. It was upon entering his chamber though that she found his parting gift. Neatly laid out on his bed was a mask, armor set, and a holocron of his teachings for her future use. Yavari had planned on presenting her with these if she beat him in the original plan which didn't involve his death.
Five years later and Illaina has left Yavin with a plan and her fathers old ship. She has traveled to Coruscant where she could put her force stealth to use while observing and conspiring against the Jedi. While staying in a flat in the Lower City she masqueraded as a fringer. After observing games of pazaak in the local cantinas. The game caught her interest and she soon found herself at the pazaak tables regularly raking in winnings. In the privacy of her apartment she continued practicing her lightsaber techniques and used Teräs_Käsi on street thugs. For the most part however, action and adventure seemed to have plateaued.
When the entry levels of the hutt sponsored galaxy wide pazaak tournament came to Coruscant Illaina threw her hat into the ring so to speak. Every Primeday, for 3 weeks, she subtly used the Force to cheatingly eliminate the competition. Having won the preliminary rounds on Coruscant she was destined to head to Nar Shaddaa for the semi-finals.
Before she caught a public transport for Nar Shaddaa however she wanted to leave a message for the Order. The night before her departure to the smugglers moon she traveled to the outskirts of the Jedi Temple. She stood at the far end of the long Jedi Temple front walk way where the stairs begin.(a good 400 yards away from the front entrance) Using her fathers lightsaber she hastily carved into the stone:
This would serve as her cryptic overture to the Jedi Order. However, she would not be remaining on Coruscant. Illaina was bound for Nar Shaddaa and eventually the planet Shokuur. From there her conspiring could start to manifest into something tangible. Something powerful enough to use against the Jedi openly.
Illaina strode into the tomb of Tulak Hord with her shotos hanging from her belt at her sides. The soft patter of her feet reverberated through the catacombs hall. The tomb was eerily silent except for her foot steps against the ancient tiles. It was not to remain like this for long though. Fifty yards in and the silence was shattered by a hellacious howl...what she had come for was now close.
The outlines of charging Tuk'ata developed through the shadowy, dusty, dimly lit hall ways. Illaina snatched and ignited her shotos in one swift fluid motion. Suddenly, exploding towards them with force run Illaina closed the distance between the crypt keepers and herself in mere seconds. Forty feet, thirty feet, twenty feet, the front Tuk'ata and Illaina leapt at each other simultaneously. With her shotos trailing behind her she underhand-swung it forward, slicing the leading Tuk'ata's head in half. Already aware that another would be right behind the first she jumped off the still airborne carcass of the first Tuk'ata, did a 180 and cleaved downward into the second Tuk'ata. Her fight was just beginning though as the rest of the pack came barreling out of the darkness towards her.
...
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1 = An ancient cult devoted to manipulation of the dark side of the force for power. They predated the Sith.
2 = He got the lightsaber components from left over parts and whole lightsabers in the ancient temples.
{{Credit and love to Aphrodite-NS of DeviantArt in regards to the 2nd picture. The one of the twi'lek stabbing the woman.}}
Illaina Vari
"I put the laughter in manslaughter"
-Illaina Vari
[/color][/size][/center]-Illaina Vari
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.:Bio-signature information:.
____________________________________________________________Name: Illaina Vari
Nickname: Laina // dark alias: Queen of Blades
Race: Twi'lek
Birth place: Coruscant
Raised on Yavin4
Age: 34
Sexuality: Les.
Language:
Basic - Fluent and literate
Ryl - Fluent
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.:Appearance:.
____________________________________________________________Height:5'7
Weight:110
Skin color:dark blue
Eye color: red (pink when in Force Stealth)
Her looks are by far deceiving. A petite dark blue skinned female Twi'lek, Illaina masks her inner darkness in more ways than one. While under the guise of Force Stealth aka: Buried Presence she is non-intimidating infact considered highly attractive by most. She milks that for its worth by fronting as an exotic cantina dancer. She wears little when in this appearance other than the bare minimum of clothing one can wear before they're considered naked. Her outfits usually consist of ribbons made of reflective color changing(depending on the angle you look at them) material. When in an establishment with little light her outfits glow brilliantly like at a rave, illuminating the sexy curvatures of her body.
Now...when she's NOT in force stealth, you'll feel closer to death just looking at her.(not implying you'll actually be medically damaged) She sports a white mask with two oval eye holes that are black as space its self. Her eyes can't be seen through the eye holes. The mask is solid white save for 2 red slight crescent shaped stripes going over both eye holes.
Her clothes consist of:
- Black hooded cloak
- Black "flexible underlay" body suit
- Durasteel chest piece
- Menacing durasteel gauntlets with sharp savage spikes protruding out from the knuckles in the direction the hand is pointed
- Shadow silk black pants with bladed shin/knee guards for protection and lethal weapon when combined with Ataru knee strikes
- Tight black leather boots with top layer metal covering connected(can be undone) to and from the shin guards down to the curvature of her toes. The backs of the boots are just black leather. Both heels contain a spring loaded concealed knife that can be deployed(not a projectile) in a fraction of a second for a devastating surprise when implemented with Teräs_Käsi.
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.:Personality:.
____________________________________________________________What do you get when you take a Twi'lek infant+corrupted & sadistic fallen Jedi father+growing up in an ancient dark siders temple on a remote back water planet?
You get a f***ed up persona when that Twi'lek infant gets older, that's what you get.
Although Illaina doesn't remember it all, her life has been comprised of death and darkness since the very beginning. She never knew her mother...only her fathers savage beatings and criticism. A child has a multitude of emotions and ways of expressing them, but not Illaina. When her father would hit her, crying and pleading only brought more blows. Thus she eventually developed a psychological defense by putting on a smile and enduring the torture until her father got bored with the beatings. It may have just been out of self preservation at first, but eventually Illaina lost the ability to show most other emotions. Her perpetual smile became who she is...at least on the outside.
When she's out and about in force stealth she seems like a pleasant happy go lucky dancer. She possesses no emotion of anger and incites no fear in people who meet her.
Even when killing, and oh how she loves killing, she holds a smile behind her mask. She has polite manners and a soft sing song voice which in her fake civilian existence may seem unusual, but wholly admirable. To those on the receiving end of her shoto's, however it's rather creepy and unnerving.
As for love it doesn't exist.
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.:Faction & Force & Stats:.
____________________________________________________________Faction: Dark Jedi
Rank: Assassin // Master
Lightsaber: Two dual-phase shoto's
Color: red
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho - 5
Makashi - N/A
Soresu -
Ataru - 4
Shien / Djem So - N/A
>>Sub-form Backhanded N/A
Niman - N/A
>> Jar'Kai - 5
Juyo - N/A
Double Bladed Combat - N/A
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices:
Telekinetic: 6
Telepathic: 4
Body: 6
Sense: 5
Protection: 5
Healing: 0
Destruction: 5
Specialized Skills: Force cloak (photo-kinetic); Force Stealth
Other Skills:
- Teräs_Käsi mastery - For all of her younger life Illaina basically ate, drank, and slept Teräs_Käsi so to speak. The fluid and precise movements of Teräs_Käsi are second nature to 'laina after over three decades of training.
- Piloting - Nothing special. Illaina can get herself where she needs to go if she's at the controls of a speeder or light freighter, but she's not qualified for anything beyond that.
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 5
Speed: 8
Leadership: 1
Unarmed: 7
Melee Weapons: 6
Ranged Weapons: 1
Force Attunement: -8
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.:History:.
____________________________________________________________Act 1: Sins of the father
"Gather 'round padawans and listen. The story you are about to hear is one of woe and tragedy...not to disturb you, but to steel you with vigilance. This tale is of a fallen Jedi Master, a walker of these temple halls before your time. I knew him well. His name was Yav Vari, a tall and wise Cerean who had a passion for archaeology, dueling, and stealth. He was a renaissance sort of man. I was proud to have called him a close friend. Know this...Yavari was a top tier Consular. He had done many great things and was destined to still do more...until fate took a turn for the worse in ways unimaginable.
Yavari was on a mission to Yavin-13, but his ship experienced mechanical failures while above Yavin-4. He sent out a distress beacon which we received, but for until help arrived he would have to make do on the planet's surface. His scanners picked up multiple large building complexes amidst the endless stretch of jungle on Yavin-4 so naturally he put his ship down there.
Yavari knew of the temples on Yavin-4, but he had no way of knowing of the pure corruption and darkness they were built upon. The Order had erased almost all information about those temples after an attempt to cleanse them of their dark past almost 400 years ago. Being the archaeologist that he was Yavari was fascinated by the temples. He could feel the dark side energies inside them, but he allowed himself to underestimate their presence. And so for three days he survived off his ration packs while spending near every waking moment studying and exploring the temples. His desire for knowledge played into the dark side aura and he became obsessed with learning about the Sith and ancient Templar of Shokuur.
The three days passed and on the morning of the 4th day a Jedi rescue team, composed of myself and 2 others, arrived. He was happy to see us, and was able to mask his hesitancy to leave the temples. He came back with us to Coruscant where he was debriefed by the Council. I wish I could say that was the end of Yavari flirting with the dark side...but it gets worse and we never saw it coming.
Yavari went on to explore a temple on Thule as well as returning to Yavin-4. When he came back he would play down his discoveries. His skill at force concealment must have been nonpareil because his mentality and physiognomy never seemed to take a turn for the worse. It was after a successful mission to Tatooine that he split up from the other Jedi he had been working with, saying he was going to head to Ilum to rendezvous with another Jedi.
That was the last we heard from him for 11 months. We know now that he was living on Yavin-4 in the temples built by ancient Shokuur templars1. It was at some point during this time we suspect he encountered the apparition of a primordial Shokuur Dark Templar. Or perhaps he came across one of their holocrons within the catacombs of a temple. We may never know exactly.
What he ultimately experienced is unknown as well, but when he came back to Coruscant he was tainted beyond our saving.
I was in the meditation gardens the day he returned. I had been having a feeling of unease and encroaching darkness. Around midday the feeling dissipated entirely as if turned off, but then it came back stronger than ever an hour later. I wasn't the only one feeling it. As I discussed this disturbing event with another council member a young knight force sprinted through the temple to us.
"He's b-""Where?!""The bottom of the fron-"He didn't even need to finish explaining before we were force sprinting to the front steps. It seemed as if everyone had converged to the front steps as well, but everyone was told to stay back at the top except for myself and the 3 other highest ranked council members.
{{que "Hanging" by Craig Armstrong from Plunkett & Macleane soundtrack}}
Seeing him at the base of the temple steps was spine chilling...heart stopping...dismaying? No word seems to do the experience justice. We gazed down the vast steps at the dark hooded figured; the dark side energies radiating from him even from that distance were liken to a heat lamp in your face.
Then he began walking up. The 4 of us walked calmly down to meet him half way. Those were some of the most tense moments in my life and longest minute of my life. Having to take charge of a situation because it is ones duty...not knowing if you're about to have to strike down an old friend...it's something we must all be able to do and hopefully never need to do it.
Both sides stopped walking when there was about 20 feet between us. An eerie silence fell upon us for a couple of seconds. Then he spoke."I have come back to rejoin my brothers and sisters."Because of Yavari and I's past I was the designated speaker."You've been delving into the dark side of the force Yavari...you can not be allowed to enter the temple.""I've simply had revelation and opened my eyes. Who are you to banish me for becoming enlightened. You can't just cast me aside like a dirty rag."He began to walk forward."By the powers vested in me by the Republic you are under arrest."As we ignited our sabers he snarled and launched himself towards Master Cho-shii. His strikes were fast, precise, and entirely with intent to kill.
His use of Ataru coupled with Jar'kae was phenomenal. Combined with Soresu he was able to hold his own against the 4 of us for a couple of minutes. Maybe some other Masters had started to make their way down the steps or maybe he just realized that he wasn't going to win at this time and place. He used the force to take a huge back flip off the stair platform into the deep chasm-esque cityscape. It was not suicide though. He landed on a passing speeder and hijacked it.
We scrambled a task force of Knights and Masters to search for him. We were all on synced comm-link together. While I was notifying the CSF to be on the look out the CSF themselves got a call to a fresh kidnap/murder occurring at a nearby flat. Details were flooding in by the minute and the situation made me sick to my stomach. Yavari had hijacked a speeder with a Twi'lek family still inside. We thought he massacred all inside, but our nightmare wasn't over. A Twi'lek infant was still alive inside.
...In his dark addled mind he was now butchering innocents and kidnapping, this mons-..fallen master had to be stopped. I scrambled teams to shut down star ports while other Jedi teams worked with CSF to find Yavari. It was all for naught. Yavari was skilled in force concealment. He left like he arrived...without a trace. We suspect if he hasn't been killed then he is a broken husk of a man, the dark side driving him mad and sapping the life from his body on some remote backwater planet.
This story draws to an end now so take from it some knowledge. Even the best of us are not immune to the temptations and allure of the dark side, but it is all a mirrage. The dark side blinds one of the truth and destroys lives. Lean on each other instead of solely relying on your own will and training. Ok, go now, on to your next training session before lunch, may the Force be with you."
Act 2: Sweet child o' mine
Yavari returned to Yavin-4 with Illaina this time to stay. He set up residence in a gigantic temple which doubled as a force nexus. This temple, built by the Templar of Shokuur over a millennia before, was to be Illaina's home for the next 27 years. The Templar of Shokuur were an ancient dark side of the force wielding cult much like the Sith except they predated the Sith. Their primary presence was on Shokuur, however they had also begun expanding to a few other worlds just before their downfall. When not training Illaina Yavari was obsessed with discovering more about the templar. He also used a powerful force concealment to mask his presence in case the Order sent a strike team to bring him and Illaina back.
As for Illaina the first 3 years of her life were composed of relying on her father, like most toddlers. She would watch him pore over his studies and he would speak to her of ancient dark side cults and hatred of the Jedi though she couldn't grasp what he was talking about. At the age of 4, which is about as far back as she can remember, her father put a lightsaber in her hands2. From then on it was training and conditioning every day blended with Teräs_Käsi drills and perverted Jedi teachings. When I say everyday I mean every waking day. She received beatings for less than perfect work which was always since her father constantly raised the bar of expectations as she progressed. Yavari was hell bent on crafting the perfect living weapon(Illaina) to use against the Jedi Order some day and so he never let up on his daughter. She knew why she was being pushed so hard though and looked forward to the day where she could put her teachings to use by killing a Jedi. She never doubted her father. In her twisted addled mind she actually loved him. And she used that love to train harder in hopes to gain praise from her father...something she rarely received.
As she got older and her beatings got worse her personality changed. Having known no other meaning for existence than to please her father and progress in combat, her emotions took a back seat. All except one. Cheerfulness became the only emotion she would or could show on the outside. On the inside she was a twisted cluster f*** of pent up powerful emotions yearning to burst...screaming in anguish. When she was dropped off 2 days distance into the Yavin jungle at age 15 she did so with a smile on her face. When her father commanded her to kill an adolescent woolamander that she had taken in as a pet...she did so with a nod and smile. And when Critokians(more on them in a minute) made various "funny" noises when she killed them in a multitude of ways...she giggled.
Yavari had built her a lightsaber initially, but he deemed her ready for her own weapon(s) around the age of 13. Under his scrutinous supervision she crafted her own red bladed shotos that she would go on to upgrade as she got older. From her studies and personal training experiences she was more drawn to the allure of dual wielding. Thus her father trained her in the ways of Jar'kai along with her usual Shii-Cho. The towering temple walls and obstacle filled jungle lead her to adopt Ataru as her specialty. Her training lessons utilized all 3 forms rather than split them up into separate lessons.
When Illaina was 17 Yavari began training her in the ways of subtlety. He taught her Force Cloak and Force Stealth(separate skills). The former would aid her with innumerable situations. The latter would mask her presence from the Jedi Order until chosen otherwise.
When trying to practice so many types of combat one usually ends up progressing at a snails pace. Illaina had nothing but time. And unlike most other combat practitioners Illaina's life revolved around her studies and her shotos. For the most part, her average daily schedule consisted of getting up early in the morning, apply skills to hunt for breakfast, train, apply skills to hunt for lunch, train, apply skills to hunt for supper, train, sleep, rinse and repeat the process.
In the beginning she hunted woolamander and stintaril. Illaina was forced to put her training to use and hunt with just short wooden spears and clubs to take the place of her shotos. This provided not only food, but also additional training to her father's sparring lessons. By the age of 16 however, she was fighting Critokians along side her father on a regular basis. Critokians, a sentient arachnoid species that were taller than Illaina were at first a formidable foe.
The Critokians had initially avoided the templar temples because their highly superstitious ways shunned the dark side nexuses. It was when Yavari abducted a young Critokian for dark side experiments that the situation changed. Critokian scouts had tracked Yavari and his captive back to one of the temples. When the search party consisting of 5 Critokians confronted Yavari he ordered Illaina to exterminate them. She did, but "accidentally" let one escape. Before her father could bring punishment down on her, for failing to eliminate the whole party, she implored him to follow her. Yavari in tow, she stealthily followed the escaped Critokian back to its colony. Yavari was pleased with his daughters murderous intuition. Together they carved a bloody swath into the Critokian village. They didn't finish off the colony that day because 100's of Critokian warriors was more than Illaina could handle at the time. As her powers and skill evolved though, the Critokians fell beneath her sadistic onslaught. Whole villages would become bloodbaths in Illaina's wake.
Over the next 14 years Illaina endured more sadistic abuse, dished out her own abuse by committing wholesale genocide within a 50 mile radius, and continued to undergo intensive daily combat training. All the while being fed a never ending dose of anti-Jedi propaganda. Illaina never questioned the repetitive and often grueling tasks her father gave her. She had a never ending hunger for more teachings, more tests of ability, more darkness. She grew to hate the Jedi like her father; perhaps even more. Also she painted her bed chamber over the years. Not with paint, mind you, but with the blood of things she killed(primarily Critokians). At first a light blue, Critokian blood turned black after a day outside the body. The walls of her room resembled some sort of horror slaughter house, but she was proud of her work. ;D
Eventually, now at the age of 28, her final test had come. She was to fight and best her father in a one on one fight; a right of passage. During an afternoon thunderstorm on the roof of the Great Yavin Temple she squared off against the man who was both a mentor and menace. He had taught her everything he knew and given her the means to learn what he hadn't. He didn't plan on killing her. To just deem her ready to take on the Jedi though, was not enough. If she failed to defeat him then he would beat her within an inch of her life and continue training her. To pass the test she would have to break through his defenses and "deliver" a killing blow. She would stop her blade just before making contact. In this Yavari would know he had forged one of the most formidable Dark Jedi the Galaxy would ever know.
And so they fought. Illaina utilizing Ataru to stay on the move and keep from being trapped at the roof edges. She remained on the defense while she studied her fathers movements; trying to locate a pattern of flaws in his combat rhythm. A sudden lightning bolt struck the temple roof, distracting her for a moment leaving herself exposed for a fraction of a second too long. Yavari cast force choke on her and held Illaina at the mercy of his telekinetic grasp over the edge of the roof. Her feet dangled above the 550 foot drop.
"Do you remember the code of the ancient dark templar my dear daughter?", he asked her. She didn't respond. Not because she didn't want to, but because she physically was unable. Yavari was squeezing her airways shut. "Hark, the essence of existence is strife. I do not defer, for the darkness empowers me. Wrath is my weapon." Then she noticed it, her other shoto, deactivated and laying isolated on the roof a few feet behind her father. "And my ambition; an impregnable shield.Through hate I gain rapture." His hold tightened and she would pass out in less than a minute. It was now or never. "And through the Force...deliverance"
She focussed all of her remaining oxygen and attention into telekinetically lifting and igniting it.
Upon her blades ignition Yavari's attention broke thus releasing Illaina from the death grip. She dropped over the edge, but had planned for it. Her hands caught the ledge allowing her(with aid of the force) to launch herself back up onto the roof. While airborne she saw her opening and executed a perfect Ataru "hawk-bat swoop strike", something Yavari himself had taught her. With a disturbing happy go lucky smile
she uttered softly,"I am Templar" and brought her shoto down the crease of his spine, cleaving open his back from neck vertebrae to tail bone. ...
Her father dropped to his knees, his right hand relinquishing his still humming lightsaber to the cold stone. She deactivated her shoto and hooked it to her belt. Then casually walking over to her other shoto sizzling in the rain she did the same. Illaina turned around to face her father as he took his last dieing gasps like a fish out of water. He was trying to say some last words. Illaina walked over to his side, knelt close to his head, and put a hand behind his head. He managed to stave off choking on his blood long enough to get ---- words out. "Il..'aina?". His mouth continued to move, perhaps trying to question why, but only rasping and gurgling ushered forth from his lips. Illaina, rocking ever so softly while supporting his head in her hands, began to hum a little nursery like lullaby she had came up with. She sat there, rocking and humming, as the storm continued to rage around them, until she felt the life fade out of Yavari.
That night she cremated his body inside the temple. She went to his room to get his finest robes to wrap him in. It was upon entering his chamber though that she found his parting gift. Neatly laid out on his bed was a mask, armor set, and a holocron of his teachings for her future use. Yavari had planned on presenting her with these if she beat him in the original plan which didn't involve his death.
Act 3: The girl next door
Five years later and Illaina has left Yavin with a plan and her fathers old ship. She has traveled to Coruscant where she could put her force stealth to use while observing and conspiring against the Jedi. While staying in a flat in the Lower City she masqueraded as a fringer. After observing games of pazaak in the local cantinas. The game caught her interest and she soon found herself at the pazaak tables regularly raking in winnings. In the privacy of her apartment she continued practicing her lightsaber techniques and used Teräs_Käsi on street thugs. For the most part however, action and adventure seemed to have plateaued.
When the entry levels of the hutt sponsored galaxy wide pazaak tournament came to Coruscant Illaina threw her hat into the ring so to speak. Every Primeday, for 3 weeks, she subtly used the Force to cheatingly eliminate the competition. Having won the preliminary rounds on Coruscant she was destined to head to Nar Shaddaa for the semi-finals.
Before she caught a public transport for Nar Shaddaa however she wanted to leave a message for the Order. The night before her departure to the smugglers moon she traveled to the outskirts of the Jedi Temple. She stood at the far end of the long Jedi Temple front walk way where the stairs begin.(a good 400 yards away from the front entrance) Using her fathers lightsaber she hastily carved into the stone:
Hark, the essence of existence is strife
I do not defer, for the darkness empowers me
Wrath is my weapon
And my ambition; an impregnable shield
Through hate I gain rapture
And through the Force...deliverance
I am Templar
The spawn of Vari lives.
I do not defer, for the darkness empowers me
Wrath is my weapon
And my ambition; an impregnable shield
Through hate I gain rapture
And through the Force...deliverance
I am Templar
The spawn of Vari lives.
This would serve as her cryptic overture to the Jedi Order. However, she would not be remaining on Coruscant. Illaina was bound for Nar Shaddaa and eventually the planet Shokuur. From there her conspiring could start to manifest into something tangible. Something powerful enough to use against the Jedi openly.
.:RP sample:.
Illaina strode into the tomb of Tulak Hord with her shotos hanging from her belt at her sides. The soft patter of her feet reverberated through the catacombs hall. The tomb was eerily silent except for her foot steps against the ancient tiles. It was not to remain like this for long though. Fifty yards in and the silence was shattered by a hellacious howl...what she had come for was now close.
The outlines of charging Tuk'ata developed through the shadowy, dusty, dimly lit hall ways. Illaina snatched and ignited her shotos in one swift fluid motion. Suddenly, exploding towards them with force run Illaina closed the distance between the crypt keepers and herself in mere seconds. Forty feet, thirty feet, twenty feet, the front Tuk'ata and Illaina leapt at each other simultaneously. With her shotos trailing behind her she underhand-swung it forward, slicing the leading Tuk'ata's head in half. Already aware that another would be right behind the first she jumped off the still airborne carcass of the first Tuk'ata, did a 180 and cleaved downward into the second Tuk'ata. Her fight was just beginning though as the rest of the pack came barreling out of the darkness towards her.
...
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1 = An ancient cult devoted to manipulation of the dark side of the force for power. They predated the Sith.
2 = He got the lightsaber components from left over parts and whole lightsabers in the ancient temples.
{{Credit and love to Aphrodite-NS of DeviantArt in regards to the 2nd picture. The one of the twi'lek stabbing the woman.}}
