Post by Darth Nox on Oct 3, 2015 17:12:25 GMT
Vaeros “Darth Nox” Kallig
| 32 | Male | Human |
| Heart of Darkness | Star Wars: The Old Republic | Canon |
appearance
Tall and leanly muscled, Nox keeps his short black hair neatly slicked back. His eyes are a dull yellow, a clear sign of the corruption of the Dark Side, along with the discolouration of the skin surrounding them. He bears a number of miscellaneous battle scars all across his body, mostly blaster burns and lightsaber grazes, and a set of bar-like tattoos on his deceptively youthful face that mark his former status as a slave.
personality
♥ Cunning:
Intelligent and wily, Nox has developed a talent for manoeuvring safely through treacherous political environments. He extends this knowledge to his combat, and his general handling of people, studying them and their motivations in order to learn how best to make use of them in pursuit of his goals.
♥ Confident:
Few Sith are as self-assured, as confident in their abilities, as Nox. More than that, he is under no illusions about what he can’t do, and understands that there will come times when complacency is a luxury he cannot afford.
♥ Wise:
Far from the angry, destructive archetype of the Sith warrior, Nox can maintain a fairly level head in most situations. He values knowledge far more than brute power, and is motivated mostly by his own desire to study the mysteries of the Force rather than any malicious intent to subjugate peers and seize an artificial kind of power.
♡ Arrogant:
Although he professes to know how and when to avoid letting his pride get the best of him, Nox has every reason to be prideful; he was said to be the most powerful Sith Lord for generations at the time of his promotion onto the Dark Council, a master of political subterfuge as well as of the Force. Every challenge to come before him had been crushed in short order. This, of course, can lead him to underestimate canny foes who may take advantage of his complacency - but he hasn't suffered for it yet.
♡ Wrathful:
No Sith fully keeps their composure in the grip of a Force-empowered rage. Nox in particular becomes a force of nature, blasting an almighty swathe of destruction through everything in his path - friend, foe or otherwise - until his wrath is spent. The aftermath leaves the Dark Lord exhausted and potentially very vulnerable.
♡ Solitary:
To put it simply, Nox has no friends. He has learned to maintain a healthy suspicion of everyone who may want something from him; after all, he only got as far as he did by withholding trust and being wary of the treacherous games that Sith so love to play.
history
Discovered as a slave, the young human who would become Darth Nox was brought to Korriban for training at a time in which the Sith Order had decided to accept non-Imperials to be trained as Sith Inquisitors. He was among a group of Acolytes given to the openly disdainful Overseer Harkun, who discriminated against the slave in favour of a pureblood Sith Acolyte named Ffon Althe. The young Kallig was sent on particularly dangerous training missions by Harkun, who hoped to kill the slave off in the unforgiving tombs of the Valley of the Dark Lords - but Kallig took the danger in stride and conquered Harkun's challenges almost effortlessly. Interest was taken in him by the Sith Lady Zash, who assigned him an extra mission to retrieve a text regarding the tomb of Tulak Hord, whose artifacts Zash was studying. Kallig faced down and crushed an ambush by two of Harkun's other students in the process of carrying out this task.
His final trial was to retrieve a map from the innermost chamber of the tomb of Naga Sadow, which hadn't been breached in thousands of years. Standing in his way was a sentient beast known only as the Dashade, which Kallig released from stasis. This creature turned out to be the ancient servant of Tulak Hord, an assassin named Khem Val. Kallig was dragged into a battle with Khem, whose natural resistance to the Force made him a formidable opponent, but he was defeated and pledged his allegiance to the Acolyte. The two battled through the rest of the tomb to retrieve the map, and Kallig was rewarded for his success by being made Lord Zash's apprentice. After being given her lightsaber and a ship, the Fury, as gifts, he met her on the Imperial capital world of Dromund Kaas.
Before he could leave the Academy, he was confronted by an apprentice of Zash's rival, the cyborg Darth Skotia, who delivered an ultimatum. Kallig refused and a duel ensued that saw the apprentice and his two thugs cut down, and Kallig proceeded to Dromund Kaas. There, he was received at the spaceport and given another threat by Skotia himself. Shrugging off the Sith Lord, Kallig made his way to the Imperial Citadel to meet Lord Zash, who gave her apprentice his mission - assassinate Darth Skotia for her. He was an obstacle that needed to be removed, but everyone would suspect Zash of having a hand in his death. If Kallig were to do the deed, however, they would have plausible deniability - who would believe that a mere apprentice could possibly kill Darth Skotia?
The first step was to infiltrate a bunker owned by Skotia, where Kallig hoped to garner useful information. There, he discovered a relic being kept by Skotia to ensure the loyalty of his Trandoshan bodyguards, and fought through a Sith Lord in Skotia's employ to steal the artifact. He brought this to Zash, who determined that controlling Skotia's bodyguards wouldn't be enough to kill him and sent Kallig on another mission. The rogue Sith Lord Grathan held prisoner a scientist named Dorostech, who had developed an anti-cybernetic weapon which could be used to make Skotia vulnerable. Kallig cut a bloody swathe through the Grathan estate and retrieved the weapon from Dorostech, who he killed as a final measure to ensure there were no witnesses to his presence on the grounds.
Zash was highly pleased, deciding Kallig was finally ready to confront Skotia. He found the Sith Lord in his office, first brandishing the relic to turn his bodyguards against him; but Skotia crushed the life from them with the Force, declaring that they were just for show. Kallig began the ensuing duel by striking out Dorostech's cyber-neutraliser, weakening Skotia enough to be able to fight him on an even footing. Kallig prevailed, and with his dying breath, Skotia warned him that Zash would turn on him as well. As soon as word spread of Skotia's death, Zash was called before Darth Thanaton to answer accusations of murdering Skotia - her airtight alibi saw her promoted to Darth instead.
With Skotia out of the way, Zash and Kallig could continue their search for the other artifacts of Tulak Hord unabated. Kallig was sent to the Dark Temple on Dromund Kaas in search of one such lead; there, he discovered his own ancient roots to a long-dead Sith Lord. Aloysius Kallig, one-time friend and greatest enemy of Tulak Hord, appeared before the young apprentice, recognising him to be of his own bloodline and realising that this young man could restore the Kallig name to greatness. He warned the Inquisitor that the Sith play an endless game of treachery - one that he must win. With the aid of this spirit, Kallig tracked down an artifact hidden within the Temple and brought it to Zash, who told him that she had uncovered leads for four others; on Balmorra, Nar Shaddaa, Tattooine and Alderaan.
Balmorra was the first stop. Kallig made contact with an Imperial supply officer, Major Bessiker, who told him that the artifact he sought lay in an ancient vault which had been converted to a toxic waste storage facility. It was overrun with colicoids; biologically engineered insects which were so resistant to the waste that they could feed on it. Kallig would need a serum to bestow that resistance on himself if he was to enter the vault; to this end, he retrieved a defector scientist named Iannos Tyrek, the only man with the expertise to create such a serum. Though he brought Tyrek safely, Bessiker refused to give any further help unless Kallig rescued his son, a captured Sith Acolyte by the name of Hiran. When he located the boy, Kallig learned that he had been sent to retrieve a weapon of some sort. Deciding he would take the esteem of retrieving this weapon for himself, Kallig killed the Acolyte; when Bessiker found out and turned on him, Kallig cut him down too. Tyrek was ordered to produce the serum, and Kallig used it to venture into the vault and retrieve the artifact.
Next stop: Nar Shaddaa. The third artifact was in the possession of the Sith Lord Paladius, who had manipulated the impoverished and disenfranchised populace to form a personal cult. Kallig met with two former members of this cult, to whom he promised its leadership if they helped him reach the artifact. He began a campaign to undermine Paladius, firstly by earning the devotion of his people by curing them of a disease known as the Rot. When he obtained the cure and began healing the diseased, word of him began to spread through the cult. Next came the elimination of their rivals, the Krayt Gang. Finally, he came to challenge Paladius himself with a display of power. He confronted a holo of the cult leader during a speech and demonstrated his power by "causing an earthquake" - detonating a bomb underground to rock the building with the tremors as if at his command. With his followers turning towards Kallig, Paladius contacted the apprentice and offered the artifact to be left alone. Kallig accepted his terms and met at his headquarters to take it. He fought off the inevitable double-cross - even with his Force powers weakened by Paladius' trap, he slew the Sith Lord, taking the artifact and control of the cult.
Around this time, Aloysius interrupted his heir. He came firstly to warn Kallig to beware Zash, whose intentions he did not trust, and secondly to inform him that his old Sith mask had come into the possession of Lord Khreusis on Korriban. Kallig returned to the home of the Sith to retrieve it for his own before he continued his search for the artifacts.
He came next to Tattooine. The artifact here was held by pirates who'd taken refuge on the desert world. The former leader of these pirates, Andronikos Revel, offered to aid Kallig in order to take revenge against his treacherous former first mate, Sylas Wilkes, who had usurped him and taken his favourite blasters. They tracked the pirates through Wilkes' ex-girlfriend, only to discover that the artifact had driven them mad and they had betrayed Wilkes as well, taking Revel's blasters and fleeing into the Dune Sea. Kallig tracked them down, retrieved the artifact and the blasters, and left the planet with Andronikos having offered his service.
The fifth and final artifact was on Alderaan - in the possession of none other than House Organa. It was secured in a vault whose key was held by Jedi Master Nomar Organa. Some investigation taught Kallig that Nomar had been engaged to be married to one Rehenna Rist, but had turned her down in order to join the Jedi Order. Kallig contacted Rehenna, manipulating her in order to lure Nomar to Alderaan, where he ambushed and killed the Jedi Master. He took the key, infiltrated the vault and made off with the final artifact.
Aloysius contacted his descendant again with a new task - retrieve his old lightsaber, which had been given to Jonas Escalus for safe keeping. Kallig tracked Escalus' daughter, Mila, to a Nar Shaddaa casino, where she told him that her father had gambled the saber away. He found and killed its current owner to take it back.
Finally, Zash contacted her apprentice and summoned him to Dromund Kaas to carry out the ritual for which the artifacts had been necessary. Kallig discovered that his master was, in fact, much older than her youthful appearance suggested, but the corruption of the Dark Side was killing her and these rituals were barely sustaining her any more. She intended to use this ritual to seize Kallig's body from him so that she could live on. Khem Val interrupted her before she could complete the ritual, however, and she turned it upon him instead. Though her body died, her spirit ended up in Khem's body. She flew into a rage, intending to use Khem's form to exact her revenge on Kallig; however, Khem's resistance to the Force had kept his mind intact, and his bond of loyalty to Kallig forced Zash to bow to him as well. Worse, she had to compete with Khem for control of their shared body!
The victorious Kallig was interrupted by other apprentices that Zash had been forced to take on. One of them, Kaal, accused Kallig of murdering Zash and attacked him; another, Corrin, broke it up to explain that Zash had had a dream where her apprentice would surpass her and lead the Sith Empire to glory. Heeding Corrin's words, Zash's apprentices dedicated themselves to the new Sith Lord Kallig.
Kallig's problems were not over. He had not only inherited Zash's power base, but her rivalry with the firmly traditionalist Darth Thanaton, an emissary of the Dark Council. He sent Lord Kallig into the tomb of Darth Andru, expecting his foe to become the deceased Sith Lord's latest victim. Only Aloysius's timely intervention prevented that. To gain more power to defeat Thanaton, Aloysius instructed Kallig to go to the tomb of the Sith Lord Ergast to learn the Force walk, a ritual that can bind Force ghosts and draw on their power. After binding both Ergast and Andru's spirits, Kallig returned to face Thanaton, but the Dark Lord still proved more powerful and seemingly killed Kallig. Luckily, the two ghosts kept Kallig from dying and Zash's other apprentices rescued their new Master.
Requiring more power before facing Thanaton, Kallig headed to Taris to find another ghost, Kalatosh Zavros. After acquiring the ghost, as well as a new apprentice - former Jedi Padawan Ashara Zavros - Kallig picked up a distress call from Quesh, as Zash's apprentices had stolen the key to Thanaton's private meditation chamber. Kallig managed to gain the key but failed to save the apprentices. On Zash's suggestion, Kallig returned to Korriban to select a new apprentice, to maintain their standing in Sith society. Kallig chose to observe the latest slave group being handled by Overseer Harkun. Kallig had high hopes for the Kaleesh, whom Harkun called Xalek. Kallig made a stop at Hoth to acquire the ghost of Horak-mul with the help of Imperial Reclamation Service officer Talos Drellik.
Kallig then returned to Dromund Kaas to face Thanaton in his private meditation chamber. Kallig killed Thanaton's apprentice Rolan, but as the Lord turned to face Thanaton, the power of the four ghosts suddenly went out of Kallig's control. Kallig's body started failing and the ghosts threatened to drive the young Sith insane; he was forced to flee from Thanaton's chamber. After returning to the ship, Zash went on a search to find a cure for her master. She shortly realized that Thanaton made a switch to the journals of Darth Iratus and Darth Vilus as they had suffered similar problems. Kallig then invaded Thanaton's Private Library, used Force persuasion on the guard captain, and recovered the real journals. The Sith learned that Iratus went to Belsavis and Vilus to Voss to find a cure, but had failed in their search. As Zash and Ashara began researching the planets, Kallig went to Korriban to check up on Harkun. The overseer put his credits on the Gran acolyte, though Kallig still favoured Xalek.
His mission taking him to Belsavis, Kallig retraced Iratus' steps in attempt to heal the decaying body. There, Kallig managed to find an ancient Rakata Mother Machine and, through the help of Rakatan Warden Gorshaa, recreate the body. Upon returning to the ship, Kallig received a call from Moff Valion Pyron, who offered to ally with the young Sith against Thanaton. He explains that to win other Moffs to Kallig's cause, they need to prove that Kallig is more worthy of leading the Empire than Thanaton. His solution was a fleet-killing superweapon, codename Silencer, a project which Thanaton scrapped, claiming that the Force was superior to any new technology. What's left to complete the weapon is a CN-12 chip, which is constructed on Nar Shaddaa. He suggested that Kallig reach out to the Cult of the Screaming Blade, whose allegiance Kallig won as Zash's apprentice, in hopes of obtaining the CN-12.
Returning to Nar Shaddaa, Kallig learned from the cultists that the CN-12 is being held by a trio of cyborgs called the Veil and they only wished to speak with the Sith. And so Kallig did meet with the Veil, who attempt to bargain the chip for control of the cult. Instead, Kallig used a mind trick to compel them to join the cult.
Kallig returned to their ship to report the success to Pyron, who then informed the Sith that Thanaton has ascended to the Dark Council, his predecessor dying under mysterious circumstances. This pleased Kallig, who knows that finally killing Thanaton will also earn his seat. Pyron added that the Dark Council shouldn't know and warned that the other Moffs may not be so eager to oppose a Dark Councillor. Kallig then asked Pyron as to his motives for opposing Thanaton. The Moff stated Sith tradition has held the Empire from crushing the Republic and he believes that Kallig would be far more suited to accomplish this than Thanaton. As Pyron signed off, promising to complete the Silencer, Ashara approached Kallig, reminding her Master that they cannot face Thanaton with the ghosts out of control and suggested they go to Voss.
Upon docking at the Voss space station, the ghosts began mocking Kallig for thinking that an imaginary ritual could subdue them. Ignoring them, Kallig listened to Zash describing the planet Voss. It is apparently a utopia, ruled by the Voss Mystics, who perceive the Force as a conduit of healing and visions. Healing rituals are rare and often forbidden. But before Zash could explain more, Khem regained control. Kallig then decided to meet with an Imperial emissary, Athelis Kallis in the capital city of Voss-Ka.
Upon boarding the station to get transport to the surface, Kallig found a Voss emissary named Sor-Nak, who said that the Mystic Alor-Wan had foreseen that Kallig would destroy the Voss way of life and demanded that the Sith Lord turn back. Kallig refused to turn back after so much hardship, so Sor-Nak left, saying that Alor-Wan had seen that he will not use force and promising that he would find another means of persuasion. Eventually enlisting the help of a Gormak named Hadrik, Kallig was able to successfully subdue the ghosts with a mind-healing ritual before smuggling the Gormak offworld for his assistance. Upon returning to the space station, Kallig and Hadrik found Sor-Nak waiting for them, who declared that by taking a Gormak off Voss, his people will reject the Empire. To preserve Imperial interests, Kallig used a mind trick to make Sor-Nak forget Hadrik.
Harkun then contacted Kallig that the slave acolytes were in their final trial. Returning to Korriban to await the acolytes during their final trial, Kallig maintained high hopes for Xalek. At first, the Twi'lek, Seferiss, arrived with a tablet in hand. But then Xalek turned up and killed Seferiss. This blatant disregard for Sith tradition upset Harkun, who decides to pass up Xalek for the next group. However, Kallig decided to make an exception for Xalek and used Force lightning to kill Harkun.
Kallig then rendezvoused with Pyron's flagship, the Doombringer, on which the Silencer was mounted on. Arriving on the bridge, Pyron proclaimed to Moffs Dolus and Graham that Kallig is the future of the Empire. Dolus expressed hesitancy to ally with Kallig, fearing that Thanaton will have their heads. Graham, on the other hand, was willing to whittle away the ancient Sith traditions which had yet to win them the war. Kallig promised that Thanaton will be dead soon, but Dolus said he wouldn't be moved until that happened.
Pyron ordered Dolus to be silent as the Doombringer jumped into hyperspace, and explained their plan to use the Silencer. They then emerged out of hyperspace as a lone Harrower-class dreadnought was fighting off a small Republic fleet, upon which they would test their superweapon. He then turned to Kallig, who gave a speech to the Moffs about how the Empire must change if they were to win the war. But as they readied the Silencer to fire, they received a distress call from Darth Achelon of the Carnage, requesting immediate aid. Graham identified Achelon as a minion of Thanaton and advised firing the Silencer at him. Dolus warned that purposely firing on an Imperial vessel was as good as treason. Pyron argued that the Republic would destroy the Carnage and not using the Silencer would result in their destruction too, but deferred command to Kallig.
Therefore, Kallig chose not to aid Achelon and left his ship to be destroyed. This gave Kallig the opening to fire the Silencer, annihilating the Republic fleet. Impressed, Dolus and Graham agreed to an alliance with Kallig. In turn, Kallig instructed Pyron to see that their new allies each received a Silencer for their capital ships.
Thanaton soon called for a Kaggath - a ritual duel - on Corellia, an opportunity for one another to silence their foe once and for all. Thanaton put many resources to shutting down Kallig's base of operations and fought the lower-level Sith Lord as much as the Republic defenders. Kallig still managed to get ahead using knowledge and power to avert disaster.
Thanaton finally challenged Kallig to a duel on Corellia, but when it became apparent that he would lose, Thanaton fled to Korriban to plead to the Dark Council for the former slave's execution. Unfortunately for Thanaton, the Sith Lord interrupted his speech before he could convince anyone. Curious to see why Thanaton was unable to destroy Kallig himself, the Dark Council allowed the two to duel again in front of them. After one last struggle, Kallig proved the stronger Sith and unleashed the power of the Force ghosts to bring Thanaton to his knees. Beaten, Thanaton crawled to his fellow Dark Councillors, seeking their aid, but Darth Mortis reached out with the Force and snapped Thanaton's neck, killing him instantly. With Thanaton's seat on the Council now open, Mortis offered his position to the young Sith. Darth Ravage protested, stating that Kallig, as merely a Lord, could not sit on the Dark Council, but Darth Marr silenced his protests, stating that Kallig had earned the right. In light of the reputation earned as a dark side master, Marr bestowed Lord Kallig with the title of Darth Nox, head of the Sphere of Ancient Knowledge, one of the twelve power-bases of the Sith Empire.
Afterwards, the newly christened Darth Nox returned to Dromund Kaas to enforce dominion upon those formerly of the Sphere under Darth Thanaton and gain their allegiance. As soon as they were all dismissed, the ghosts pleaded to be freed, but Nox chose to keep them under bondage. It turned out to be a fortunate choice; for as the new Sith Lord continued his travels, the galaxy began to tremble and unravel around him. The Fury emerged from hyperspace into a place... quite alien to him.
Abilities
- Highly skilled swordsman: Though not nearly the most talented martial warrior the Sith Empire possessed, Nox was more than a match for most lightsaber combatants who did not truly excel at their practiced forms. He has all but mastered Soresu, a defensive lightsaber combat form focused on protecting the body with maximal economy of movement, and had been training himself in the saber-to-saber fencing form Makashi since acquiring the lightsaber of his ancestor, Aloysius Kallig. His fighting style emphasises defence, striking out with swift counterattacks when the opponent lowers their guard; the Force, after all, is his primary weapon.
- Skilled manipulator: The Sith Empire was rife with treachery and intrigue, with Sith Lords making power grabs of all descriptions to advance their positions. Working with his former master, Nox learned how to navigate these political games skilfully, and is well-versed in committing deceptions and turning enemies against one another.
- The Force: Darth Nox was a true prodigy, his strength in the Force having almost no contemporary equal; fellow Dark Councillor Darth Decimus called him "the most powerful Sith in generations." Nox wielded the Force as both a comprehensive tool and a terrible weapon. The Force has a myriad of applications, pertaining to controlling one's own body, sensing other presences in the Force, and outwardly altering one's surroundings. Vaeros can use the Force to augment his body's muscular strength, in order to run faster and jump higher; read the surface thoughts of others; telepathically communicate with allies over considerable distances; protect himself with precognition, a sort of sixth sense for impending danger; lift and manipulate objects with incredibly powerful, well-practiced telekinesis; and conjure intense bolts of lightning to assail enemies; amongst other applications.
- Force Walk: This most potent of Sith sorceries was mastered by only a handful of Sith Lords in history. Nox is one such individual, able to forcibly bind the restless spirits of long-dead Sith and draw upon their power to explosively augment his own. In this manner, Nox effortlessly overpowered his rival, Darth Thanaton, on the floor of the Dark Council's chamber, although the technique is not without its dangers even to prepared practitioners.
Weaknesses
○ Lack of martial skill: Obsessed as he was with strengthening his connection to the Force, Darth Nox largely neglected advanced lightsaber combat training. Though their numbers are few, those master swordsmen who could survive the onslaught of Nox's Force powers long enough to force him into close-quarters combat could have him at a distinct disadvantage. This very nearly killed him early in his rise to notoriety when he released a Dashade assassin, Khem Val, from stasis as part of his training; bearing a natural resistance to the Force and a talent for killing, Khem Val almost proved more than a match for the then-Acolyte.
○ Force endurance: Even the most closely connected Force-sensitives cannot draw on their powers forever. Exerting one’s will upon the Force is tiring, and although his diligent training has minimised this exhaustive effect upon him, Nox can still tire himself out with prolonged or sudden extreme exertions in the Force.
○ Disobedient ghosts: While the spirits Vaeros has successfully bound to himself with previous Force Walks are his to command, few of them lend their strength willingly. Most will need a little encouragement to do as he commands, and in moments of weakness or distraction, they have even been known to run out of control, hamstringing Nox's ability to use the Force proficiently and even inflicting physical and mental pain upon him.
○ Weakness to magic: Magic as it exists here is an utter mystery to Vaeros. While it seems to coexist with the Force, they do not interact in predictable ways. This leaves Nox with far fewer reliable tools for dealing with users of powerful magic.
OOC
Character Played By: Ross
Other Characters: None!
