Aria Nikina

Tristaria Zelona Seithe, known almost universally by her nickname and regnal name Aria Nikina, was a half-, half- bastard daughter of Genera Seithe who rose to overthrow her father and become Queen of Daispin. Pledging her planet to the Golden Empire, Aria herself became a Centurion of the Order of Keltrayu, famous the Empire over as the "Scourge of the Witch Queen" and "the Breaker of Tyrants".

Daughter of the dictator
Tristaria Zelona Seithe was born in 118 ABY, the younger child of Genera Seithe and his latest wife, a Tantaari the dictator had found on the street. She was named for Tristarian Zelon, the Human who had defeated the Tantaari to install a dictatorship in 92 ABY. Tristaria's mother died shortly after her birth, and her older brother followed her to the grave in 122 ABY.

Tristaria's father was not affectionate, looking down on his half-Tantaari daughter as something pitiable and helpless. Nevertheless, he sent her to Daispin's most prestigious Academy. Tristaria had difficulty making friends, as no one wanted to draw the notice of the dictator by befriending his daughter. Tristaria's half-siblings from her father's previous marriages were as cold as Genera Seithe himself; with her brother's death, Tristaria was the only part-Tantaari Seithe offspring, and her half-siblings never let her forget it.

In her second year at the Academy, Tristaria met an old Tantaari woman named Onikynah. Onikynah taught Tristaria Tantaari myths and legends, and hinted that she was special. Relieved to finally find someone who did not think of her as a mutt and was not afraid to talk to her, Tristaria went back to Onikynah for stories as often as she could. Gradually, the stories turned into reality, and Onikynah taught Tristaria to harness the power of the Force inside herself. Onikynah knew her pupil was the last descendant of the ancient Kazic line of royalty, and she gave the girl her own tribal name, Nikina, as well as shortening her given name to the nickname "Aria".

While Aria was still at the Academy, she fell in love with a young Tantaari. They were married secretly, but her father found out and had her husband put to death. Grieving and bitter, Aria grew out her hair and wove it into a Tantaari-style braid to honor his memory.

Freedom for Daispin
Aria studied with Onikynah until 135 ABY, when she graduated from the Academy and was sent to be a soldier in her father's army. Her status as the dictator's daughter allowed her to keep her Tantaari-style braid in the Human army. The following year, however, Genera Seithe began a systematic attack on the last pockets of Tantaari resistance. At the 136 ABY Battle of Gantu, he threw his inexperienced daughter to the front lines, hoping to either see her triumph or be rid of her altogether.

Aria went to the front lines, but as she faced the Tantaari, she remembered Onikynah's lessons and her own heritage. Charging ahead of the Human army, she united the Tantaari behind her and led them on a victorious charge against her father's side. Killing three of her half-brothers, Aria fought her way to her father, taking him prisoner and forcing his army to surrender.

The Tantaari hailed Aria, the last Kazic, as the Queen of Daispin, and the defeated Human army conceded. Aria cut off her father's hands and forced him to watch as his friends, collaborators, and favorite lovers were executed. Sentencing him to a life of exile, subsisting only on the charity of the people he had previously dominated, Aria took the throne of Daispin and set out to make things right between the Humans and the Tantaari. Resisting calls from the Tantaari to wipe out the Humans or the Humans to reign in the same way as her father, Aria struggled to hold a middle course.

A new master
In 138 ABY, Aria gained an ally when the Golden Empire arrived at Daispin. Queen Rin Sakaros herself personally met with Aria and convinced the younger woman to ally Daispin to the Empire. In return for Daispin's membership in the Empire and Aria's service as a Centurion, the Empire stationed troops on Daispin to protect the peace Aria had forged. Aria appointed her distant cousin, the Tantaari Syr'ei, to rule as Regent in her stead, and went to the Sith Star to train.

Aria's training with the Academy and Onikynah had given her most of the skills necessary for a Centurion. The Praetors of the Order helped her refine her and, but much of Aria's training was spent with Rin herself. Like Aria, Rin specialized in, and her tutelage increased Aria's own skills. Rin also helped Aria get firm control over her anger, channeling it into something useful in battle.

The Breaker of Tyrants
In 141 ABY, the Tribulation began. After Sorrik went south with Rin to repulse the Ssi-ruuvi Incursion, Aria remained with Tariun Sakaros and the Prime Fleet. Deprived of half his ships, Tariun was forced to improvise and pursue less traditional strategies in undermining the, and Aria swiftly became one of the vital elements of his plan.

Using what information Royal Intelligence and the had been able to furnish, Tariun sent Aria behind enemy lines, often with only a squad of Intelligence commandos and a supply of weapons, although occasionally other Centurions accompanied her. Aria's orders were to incite the enslaved or subjugated populations held by the Vagaari to rebellion. Tariun was familiar with Aria's revolution on Daispin and hoped she could duplicate the effect.

The young Centurion succeeded far beyond Tariun's wildest expectations. She found many worlds where the population despised the Vagaari and simply considered the obstacles to revolution insurmountable. Providing weapons and tactical training, Aria taught them to fight for themselves, although she was often with them, carving through Vagaari troops with her signature paired lightsabers. As worlds fell into internal turmoil, the Vagaari were forced to divert resources to their own problems.

Aria refined her strategies and techniques as the war went on, and even began teaching other Centurions insurgency tactics. In both the Golden Empire and among Vagaari slave populaces, she earned the nickname "the Breaker of Tyrants". One group which had heard of Rin Sakaros's "magical" powers also gave Aria the title "Scourge of the Witch Queen". Both nicknames stuck, and Tariun encouraged them, feeling they both added to Aria's mystique and bolstered confidence in her abilities when she arrived on new worlds. The Vagaari offered increasingly high bounties for Aria's capture, but she evaded their agents at every turn.

Peacetime
In the wake of the decimation of the Vagaari and the fall of their Empire, Aria assisted some of the very worlds she had helped liberate in forging new governments. When the Ministry of Diplomacy took over that role, she worked in a number of assignments throughout the Empire, though she focused largely on law enforcement. She was also given instructional responsibilities, including teaching insurgency courses to Royal Intelligence agents and stealth and infiltration tactics to her fellow Centurions. She helped train the first generation of Nikina Commandos, who were named in her honor.

In 144 ABY, Aria accompanied Rajj-Yo and Vem to to defend Nagarian Sakaros from attacks by the. During a duel with the Sith Lords, she was fighting one while a Sith attacked her from behind. Before she could respond, Vem grabbed the Twi'lek and the two toppled down into the depths. After the Sith were defeated, Aria was distraught over Vem's disappearance, blaming herself. She felt guilty when he was recovered with a mangled leg, which was eventually amputated and replaced with a prosthetic in the Empire. Vem eventually sought her out to tell her she should feel no guilt, as he would have been happy to die to protect a sister.

Nightmare
When the Reawakened began the Nightmare War in 149 ABY, Aria was recalled to the Sith Star. Rin had foreseen an attack on Daispin, and sent Aria to repel the invaders, along with several Royal Army cohorts (including the elite 11th Massassi Cohort) and her fellow Centurion Rajj-Yo. Aria's "command" of the battle quickly became front-line fighting along with the Royal Daispin Militia, leaving tactical command to Colonel Eihwaz. During the fight, Aria dueled the Dark Jedi Sacco Vyrak. Though she had to push her abilities to their utmost limits and endured a broken arm, she managed to kill Vyrak, losing an eye in the process.

After the enemy army withdrew from Daispin, Rin left Aria there to help the planet rebuild and to recover herself. Aria refused a cybernetic eye and did not take to wearing an eyepatch like Breek Zagrev, preferring to wear her injuries proudly. She stayed on Daispin until called again to the Sith Star in preparation for the Battle of Dolomir. When the flagship was boarded, Aria fought alongside Massassi, Royal Marines, dockhands, and Selish Anteran to defend the main hangar bay.

In the aftermath of the war, Rin offered Aria the chance to resign her commission and return to Daispin as Queen-Consul. Aria declined the offer, but Rin left it open to her in the future.

Powers and abilities
Praetor-Blademaster Kieran Sapphire considered Aria the greatest master of in the Golden Empire after Tariun Sakaros and Jadian Star. In addition, she was generally accepted by her siblings as the Empre's greatest stylist after Rin Sakaros herself, and was one of the few Centurions who knew the discipline. Aria's savage and vicious lightsaber style left few of her siblings able to stand against her, and even Sacco Vyrak (himself considered the best swordsman of the Reawakened) was unable to defeat her. When pushed, her battle frenzy could turn into. Her fellow Centurions ranked her with Breek Zagrev and Rajj-Yo as one of the best in the Order in battlefield combat.

Having been trained on Daispin, Aria did not have the heavy emphasis on and  her siblings did, as demonstrated during the Battle of the Sith Star when she followed Selish Anteran's lead in toppling a ship onto a nest of Veracht rather than working in concert with him. However, she was still sufficiently powerful and trained to accomplish the feat along with Anteran. She was capable of precise s and es that sent enemies flying.

A polyglot, Aria spoke Orhyo,, , and Iscali in addition to her native and Tantaari. She was schooled in a variety of martial arts on Daispin and was a quick study of Var Shek as well; despite her small stature, she could defeat or at least match even the best martial artists in the Order of Keltrayu.

As the daughter of a dictator, Aria received extensive early training in diplomacy, negotiation, and strategy. After her victory over her father, she proved herself able to inspire loyalty in others. This early success led to her developing a talent for fostering and guiding insurgency which she perfected during the Vagaari War.

Appearance and personality
Despite her relatively short stature among her siblings (she stood only 1.63 meters [5'4"] tall), Aria was instantly recognizable by her fiery red hair, which she wore with a single long braid to complement her otherwise shoulder-length hair. She had green eyes; after her duel with Sacco Vyrak, her blinded right eye took on a milky color.  Her freckled skin bore numerous scars from duels and fights.  She had an athletic physique and, rare among Centurions, almost never wore her Centurion's uniform, preferring comfortable fighting garments, although she wore her uniform on ceremonial occasions and did wear the Emblem of the Order.  Aria often wore an arm clasp which featured the royal crest of Daispin.  She carried a pair of identical straight-hilt lightsabers with blue blades.

Deeply in touch with her Tantaari heritage, Aria took to wearing her hair in a long braid to match the braids worn by full Tantaari warriors. She was well-versed in the myths and legends of the Tantaari, and often used them to explain concepts to those younger than herself. Normally calm and cool, Aria could become aggressive in battle when those she cared for were threatened, and while her anger drove her on, she sometimes flirted with the line between fury and rage.

"Place a blade in my hand and I will rise honorably to the occasion of battle, for I know and trust that I will always know how to strike a foe at its weakest, especially if my family or friends are threatened... but instead place a scepter in my hand, and I find myself doubting every decision, every move that I make."

- Aria Nikina to Rin Sakaros

Many beings in the Order of Keltrayu, the Royal Army, and Royal Intelligence considered Aria a shrewd tactician and strategist, particularly in insurgent movements. While Aria considered herself an excellent warrior, she was less confident in her ability to govern in peacetime.

Behind the scenes
Aria's nickname "Scourge of the Witch Queen" is based on the title "Scourge of God" attributed to ; Attila was so dubbed because the peoples conquered by Attila thought he was sent to them as a punishment from God.

Aria Nikina is the brainchild of Ahrrie, who granted Sakaros to publish this article to SWFanon on her behalf.