Darth Vatrir

"His history is great and proud."

- Unknown Sith Lord

During the Seventh Battle of Ruusan, one of the Sith Lords sensed the destruction that was to be unleashed by Lord Kaan's Thought Bomb. Knowing that he would perish in the subsequent blast, Lord Sinive fled the planet, somehow avoiding the notice of both Lord Kaan and Darth Bane. Briefly stopping at the Korriban academy to pillage the archives, the Sinive proceeded to flee into the Unknown Regions, claiming several apprentices along the way. Managing to reach one of the dwarf galaxies orbiting the primary one, they found a planet later named Sithis Prime and settled there. Encountering a humanoid race of primitive Force-users, they set themselves up as gods. Crossbreeding with this race, they eventually became one, with subspecies caused by the different races of apprentices the Sith Lord had. Claiming the title of Darth, Sinive proceeded to build a new Sith empire, which he named the Exile Empire, eventually conquering the whole of the dwarf galaxy. Afterwards, Sinive had an epiphany. Not wanting the Empire he had built to rot and stagnate, he made it into a feudal meritocratic oligarchy. He had the Empire divided into many separate states all serving the Masters Council, a loose confederation of the most powerful Sith Lords and their houses. Sinive constructed an unstable but lasting government that was in a state of constant change. Over the next few hundred years, this bubbling and unstable cauldron of Force Sensitives eventually accumulated so many Midi-chlorians that a new generation of extremely powerful Sith Lords was loosed on the galaxy. Notable amongst these were Lord Psykoe, Lord Dusard, Darth Sinitris, Darth Zaydar, and Darth Vatrir.

Early Life: 200 BBY (800 AE)
"The time of laziness and stagnation is over, the weak are not worthy of the path of Darkness."

- Darth Vatrir

Darth Vatrir was born in 200 BBY into one of the more powerful houses of the Empire; House Koner. Fathered by the obese, hedonistic but undeniably powerful Darth Riagen, Vatrir advanced in the Sith arts quickly, becoming a master of the Dark Side of the Force by age eighteen. At that point, he was more powerful than his father and chafed under his rule. Gaining the support of House Koner's vicious military, he led a brutal coup and overthrew his father. With himself in control, Vatrir personally tortured his father to death and went on a violent crackdown throughout his House, publicly and spectacularly murdering his father’s supporters. The Sith of House Koner knew that the old age of hedonism and opulence had come to a bloody end.

Consolidation of Power: 181 BBY (819 AE)
"Now to cement my rule."

- Vatrir to his advisers and generals

With House Koner firmly under his control, Darth Vatrir began reforming it. Eliminating the stagnation and corruption fostered by his fathers reign, he Vatrir turned it into a militaristic state. Enacting a meritocratic 'survival of the fittest' rule, he was praised by his subjects. Darth Vatrir, thinking himself untouchable, simply sat back and let the Sith of House Koner vie for his favor. However, not all Sith enjoyed the changes.

Lord Psykoe: 179 BBY (821 AE)
"I didn't know my enemies were so desperate they would send out animals."

- Darth Vatrir In 179 BBY, a group of conspirators longing to overthrow Darth Vatrir and return things to the way they were under Darth Riagen hired a renegade Sith Lord to kill Vatrir. Lord Psykoe, a houseless dervish of destruction, one of the greatest combat artists of the day. Psykoe manages to sneak into Vatrir's estate and corners him in the library. The two engaged in a brutal lightsaber duel, Vatrir using his mastery of Form VI while Psykoe utilized Lus-ma in a Jar'Kai format. The duel lasted many long minutes, but in the end, Vatrir was victorious, claiming one of Psykoe's lightsabers as a memento. However, afterwards Psykoe's body vanished, leaving Vatrir to wonder if Psykoe was dead.

The Civil War: 175 BBY (825 AE)
"The civil war was a stupid waste of time and resources, all for an insane rivalry. But at least I benefited."

- Darth Vatrir

Like most wars in a feudal society, the civil war was caused by a domestic dispute gone mad. Two powerful Sith Lords were involved in a 'friendly' competition; one lost and held a grudge. The two became rivals and finally had their houses declare war on one another, then their allies got involved and it escalated. Soon there was a full scale civil war. Vatrir allied himself with Darth Garmoes's faction.

The Alvari Prime Campaign: 175 BBY (825 AE)
"Even by my standards, that campaign was a little too bloody."

- Darth Zaydar

When House Koner involved itself in the war, Vatrir focused primarily on the Alvari Prime campaign for most of the war. Alvari Prime, home of House Shupenia, was one of the most hotly contested planets in the war, due to its strategic location and many natural resources. In the constant battles, House Shupenia was destroyed and its sole surviving heir was forced into hiding, leaving the planet up for grabs. House Koner's main rival for control of Alvari was House Corbin and its leader; Darth Zaydar. After many bloody battles, Vatrir grew tired of grappling with House Corbin and challenged Zaydar to single combat, winner gets Alvari Prime. Zaydar accepted and the two met in the ruins of Alvari's former capital city.

Drawing their lightsabers, they engaged in a vicious lightsaber duel. Despite holding his own against Zaydar for many long minutes, Vatrir was forced to give ground, unable to stand against Zaydar's mastery of Juyo. Disarmed and held at blade point, Vatrir essentially cheated, but who said Sith were fair. Unleashing a wave of Force Lightning, Vatrir overcame Zaydar. Horribly disfiguring Zaydar and leaving him for dead, Vatrir claimed Alvari Prime and Zaydar's lightsaber and House Corbin's fleets retreated after reclaiming the body of their master. However, Zaydar survived and vowed revenge against Vatrir and House Koner.

Jacarutu Campaign: 172 BBY (828 AE)
"Don't you think this massive army you sent verges on overkill? No, I don't believe that there is such a thing as 'overkill'."

- High General Lady Darth Ungava and Darth Vatrir

Like Alvari Prime, Jacarutu was another hotly contested battlefield. However, its House managed to hold onto it after their neutrality was violated. The House in question, House Carver promptly allied itself with Garmoes's faction. The leader ship of Darth Garmoes's faction sent Vatrir to aid House Carver, and Vatrir, eager for more blood, was more than happy to oblige. Vatrir's fleet of dreadnaughts appeared in orbit and obliterated the enemy fleet and ended most of the surface battles with an orbital bombardment. Personally leading his army in a massive surface attack, Vatrir slaughtered the enemy general, Darth Ungava, in single combat, claiming Ungava's lightsaber for his collection. After a series of bloody battles, the planet was won.

Koriocral Campaign: 171 BBY (829 AE)
"A minor, meaningless spit of a planet. The perfect hiding place, they are there."

- Darth Vatrir

This campaign, unlike Alvari or Jacarutu, was a relatively minor one. Koriocral was not a strategically placed planet and its natural resources were limited to a mild mineral content. However this is what made it so important. Its location and relative remoteness made it the perfect hiding place for the opposing factions leadership. Despite the presence of the enemy leadership, the planet was lightly defended to avoid attracting attention. With only a small fleet of enemy dreadnaughts in orbit, Vatrir was able to take the planet in less than a week. Despite several vicious battles, casualties were kept to a minimum. Capturing the enemy leadership, Vatrir had them executed in cruel and unusual ways. The Civil was over.

Return to 'Normal': 171 BBY (829 AE)
With the end of the civil war, things began to return to normal, or at least as normal as things are in the Exile Empire of the Sith. Several of the Houses devastated by the war began rebuilding, benefiting Houses gorged on the spoils of war, namely planets conquered during the war. Most of the offending Houses on the losing side of the war were destroyed, but the vast majority returned to life as usual, simply with slightly reduced or enlarged fiefdoms.

Vatrir Learning: 171 BBY (829 AE)
"I've read a few ancient texts on Form VI: Niman. The detractors of the style say it is overly demanding and ineffective at anything. I am forced to agree."

- Darth Vatrir

With the wars conclusion, Vatrir thought back to his near defeat at the hands of Darth Zaydar and decided he had to learn from his mistakes. Despite his skill in Form VI, he found it was inadequate against the more skilled blademasters of the Empire, so he abandoned it.

Recruiting the talents of several highly skilled swordsmen, he had them teach him their secrets. Learning and quickly mastering Forms V and II, which he supplemented with Form III, he eventually grew skilled enough to study into Form VII. Becoming a masterful swordsman, an almost unbeatable adversary, he rewarded his teachers with great wealth and small fiefdoms. Eventually learning of Zaydar's continued survival, Vatrir promised himself that he would eventually seek revenge on the leader of House Corbin. Despite Vatrir's victory in the battle, he was still humiliated and humbled; his use of Force Lightning to achieve victory had many calling him a coward unwilling to face the inevitable.

Betrayal: 169 BBY (831 AE)
"With that disastrous war over, we can now destroy Vatrir."

- One of the conspirators

With the end of the war, the old conspirators who wanted Vatrir dead were able to resume their plotting. Bribing Vatrir's head bodyguard, Darth Sarmue into their service, they promised the now rogue Sith Lord great power and prestige if he aided in their assassination of Darth Vatrir. Sarmue began rounding up the bodyguards he had trained to be loyal to him instead of Vatrir; he eventually had a small army under his control. Storming into Vatrir's estate in the dead of night and killing most of the guards in their way, they charged into his bedroom. Expecting to find Vatrir asleep, they were surprised to find him awake and waiting. Vatrir revealed that he knew all about Sarmue's betrayal and the fact that he had been bribed, although he couldn't identify the conspirators who wanted him dead. Vatrir had allowed Sarmue to go through with the plan out of sheer boredom, wanting to see how far he would have gotten. Enraged at having been baited, Sarmue charged Vatrir and the two engaged in a brutal, though brief, lightsaber duel. Ultimately, Sarmue was bisected, despite his mastery of Form II.

Vatrir quickly called his remaining loyal bodyguards to him, and they together destroyed the remaining traitors. Adding Sarmue's silver-bladed weapon to his collection, Vatrir coldly tortured the surviving traitors to death.

Dusard's Challenge: 166 BBY (834 AE)
Lord Dusard, a malignant psychopathic killer in the same league as Lord Psykoe, the arrogant leader of the renegade House Dunkan, master of Juyo and Saberstaff Combat, challenger of Vatrir. Vatrir accepted the challenge and the two battled in the courtyard of Vatrir's estate in a public spectacle. The battle was long and vicious, both combatants drawn to the end of their strength. The battle eventually degenerated into a brawl when they disarmed one another. Eventually Vatrir won when he Force Pushed Dusard against the east wall of the court yard. Dusard slammed into the wall so hard it cracked, leaving him dazed. Knowing he was too tired and unfocused to continue fighting, Dusard fled. Vatrir added Dusard's forgotten lightsaber to his collection.

Investigation: 166-162 BBY (834-838 AE)
After the battle with Dusard, Vatrir returned to life as normal; subjugating House Koner under his acclaimed militaristic rule. However, over the next four years, he was struck by a series of assassination attempts sent by the conspirators who yearned for a return to the days of Darth Riagen. Overall, Vatrir was content to allow them to attempt to undermine his rule, for all damage they did he could easily reverse, and the assassination attempts kept his skills sharp. Unfortunately, at the first day of the year 838 AE (162 BBY), one of their assassination attempts got too close for comfort, and Vatrir's wrath was provoked. Mounting an investigation into the conspirators, who called themselves the Lords of Nostalgia, he followed their trail. It was a complicated one, for they never directly contacted any of their agents or servants, instead relying on many middle men. Also, the agents were experts at concealing themselves and it took Vatrir over two months to find one.

Trail of Agents: 162-161 BBY (838-839 AE)
When Vatrir finally found one of the agents, she gave a huge fight before being captured. When interrogated, she was highly resistant to torture, but bribery proved successful, as she suffered the weakness/strength that plagued all Sith Lords; self-interest. Revealing her name to be Darth Valdeia, she gave them the identity of her contact; Lord Psykoe. Releasing Valdeia and giving her a small fortune for her trouble, Vatrir turned to hunting down his old enemy. When he found Psykoe, after another two months of searching, the two rematched. In the interim, it was revealed that Psykoe's skill had grown just as much as Vatrir's, utilizing his specialty Lus-ma in conjunction with Juyo and Ataru as well as his favorite Jar'Kai, he proved a difficult foe. However, Vatrir proved too much for him.

"I will not say anything. If you do, I won't torture you to death. GO TO HELL! Fine, if you won't tell me, I'll rip it from you mind. You don't mean... Yes, that ancient technique of ripping open the mind and sifting through it. Last chance. (Psykoe spits) Very well then. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH! Ah, there is what I wanted to know. Thank you, Psykoe. Now rot in hell, scum."

- Lord Psykoe and Darth Vatrir

Defeated but not slain, Psykoe refused to reveal anything out of pure spite. However, Vatrir had no patience for this and used an ancient Sith technique to rip the information from Psykoe's mind, driving the maniac even more insane. Learning that after being defeated by Vatrir but escaping his estate, Psykoe had permanently joined the Lords of Nostalgia to get revenge on Vatrir. Becoming one of their top operatives, he performed many unnoticed though strategic assassinations, often using his own operative Darth Valdeia as his backup and rearguard. Vatrir saw that his government was becoming much more unstable than he thought, and that the assassination attempts were mere distractions. Although Vatrir's tyrannical, militaristic measures had slowed the Lords plans, they were still in motion. Leaving Psykoe to his increased madness, Vatrir went after the next agent, a deformed, though agile part-Twi'lek named Lord Ungodre XVI.

Lord Ungodre XVI
One of the old Lord Sinive's apprentices was a Twi'lek named Lord Ungodre I. When he started his line on Sithis Prime, he forced his descendants to inbreed, ensuring a strong Twi'lek genealogy as well as a stockpiled midichlorian count. Partaking in genetic manipulation to ensure that his inbred descendants did not suffer madness or mental retardation caused by inbreeding, although he could only limit the deformities. Ungodre's manipulations created specialized castes within his descendants corresponding with the Jedi classes of Guardian, Sentinel and Consular, calling them Blademaster, Balancemaster and Lightningmaster. His powerful descendant Lord Ungodre XVI was of the Balancemasters. "Unless you prove you are my equal in power, I will not give any secrets"

- Lord Ungodre XVI When Vatrir finally found Ungodre seven months later, the Balancemaster refused to reveal any information unless Vatrir proved himself an equal in power. Drawing their lightsabers, the two engaged in a brutal duel, both making liberal use of the Force. Despite Ungodre's mastery of Soresu, his incredible power in the Force, and his flawless balance between the physical and the metaphysical, he was defeated. Giving Vatrir the names of the next agent up the line. He then stated that he felt his defeat was so absolute that he was inferior, and requested Vatrir aid him in committing ritualistic suicide, as the Twi'lek could not bear to live his life as an inferior to anyone. Vatrir did so, cutting off the Twi'leks head and taking his lightsaber.

Final Agent: 161-160 BBY (839-840 AE)
Forced to travel to Jacarutu to find this agent, Vatrir searched for a month before finding him. He met with the agent in the alleys of the capital city, masquerading as Ungodre. At the proper moment, he revealed his identity and dissipated the Force Mask hiding his face. Pinning the last agent to the ground with the Force, Vatrir learned he was the highest ranking agent and had direct contact to the Lords of Nostalgia. Forcing the agent to give him the location and a list of all his subordinates down to the bottom rung, Vatrir set off for Saocratis, the base of operations for the Lords of Nostalgia.

Confronting the Lords of Nostalgia: 160 BBY (840 AE)
Saocratis was a relatively backwater agricultural world on the edge of the dwarf galaxy. Spared from the civil war due to it's lack of natural resources or strategic value, it was generally considered a drab, ugly rock condemned to be the 'food basket of the Empire'. It was a poor world, as it's only major commodity was in agricultural products, it's trade being harshly regulated by it's patron House and the fact that most worlds in the Empire were self-sufficient. It was also where the nonForce-sensitive minority were abandoned to be worked to death in slave camps. All in all, it was the perfect hiding place to conduct a conspiracy from. Arriving there a week after encountering the final agent, Vatrir decided to lay low and wait for the conspiring Lords of Nostalgia to reveal themselves, for on a world such as this, it was easy to get careless. Vatrir's patience was rewarded, for during his snooping around the warehouses, he encountered them. One of the warehouses had been converted into a secret headquarters, filled with computers and communications devices and other stockpiled technologies, and enough material wealth to fill a minor House's treasury. In the center was a makeshift conference room, separated from the rest of the warehouse by stacked crates and containers, and there sat the Lords of Nostalgia. At the table sat several House Koner nobles from the days of Darth Riagen, as well as several representatives from other houses that had enjoyed profitable alliances with Riagen that Vatrir had severed once he assumed power, and several others who just wanted revenge on Vatrir for his destructive sprees during the Civil War. Choosing to reveal himself, Vatrir stepped forward and brazenly approached the table, to the enraged astonishment of those seated there. As Vatrir came forward, all but one of them drew their lightsabers and prepared to attack him. This one hung back and watched, using the Force to hide his presence, making him impossible to identify. The Lords and Vatrir proceeded to exchange threats and briberies before attacking. The battle was a vicious nine on one, with Vatrir barely able to defend himself. Barely, but able. Blades of varying colors flashed and slashed at Vatrir, who viciously counter-attacked. Kicking one of the Lords in the face, Vatrir managed to stab him. Surprised that Vatrir managed to kill one of them, the remaining Lords attacked with renewed vigor, but to no avail. Over the next ten minutes they continued to fall, one after another, until but the one in the shadows remained. When this remaining Sith Lord stepped forth, Vatrir found himself staring at a frightening figure. This Sith Lord wore robes of black and dark red, like dried blood. Beneath them his body was clad in strange wrappings and his face was hidden by a chrome mask. Red eyes shone through the eye-holes. Drawing a lightsaber, this Lord ignited it revealing a strange blade, almost a black rod with a purple glow. This Lord attacked. Their battle was vicious but evenly matched, as this masked Lord was stronger and more skilled than his compatriots. However, Vatrir noticed something in his opponents lightsaber technique that was strangely familiar. He finally deduced that this masked and cloaked Sith Lord was Darth Zaydar, which his opponent confirmed.

"You've grown more skilled since we last met, but it doesn't matter. You couldn't kill me before with your lightning, and you won't kill me now. Sorry I can't stay and chat, but I have other things to deal with first."

- Darth Zaydar

Zaydar leapt up to the warehouse ceiling, cut a hole in the roof and quickly exited. Despite having finally destroyed the nuisance that had plagued him since he first assumed power, Vatrir was disturbed and felt something big was coming. It was obvious that Zaydar was involved in larger affairs, and Vatrir was determined to root them out.

Powers and Abilities
"What do all men with power want?"

- Darth Horla Darth Vatrir using Rage whilst battling several Sith assassins sent by rivals to kill him. Being born with an abnormally high Midi-chlorians count, Darth Vatrir was able to master the Force quickly. He became an absolute master of the Dark Side of the Force, he was highly skilled in all its abilities and applications. He also practiced several Light Side abilities to give himself an edge over other Sith Lords, and they are as listed below:
 * Force Combustion
 * Force Deflection and Force Absorb.
 * Battlemind.
 * Force Valor.

Lightsaber Training
"Once his skills were inadequate and pathetic, no more."

- Darth Zaydar

Vatrir initially had comparatively little skill with the lightsaber, having only an understanding of Form VI, focusing on his Force Powers instead. While this was enough to beat several highly skilled Sith Lords, it was almost useless against Darth Zaydar. In the aftermath of their duel, he abandoned Niman as his main combat style. Hiring several renounced/infamous Sith Blademasters to teach him their craft, he quickly learned, mastered Form V and Form II, supplementing them with Form III. Eventually his skills grew so great that he studied and mastered Form VII, becoming an incredibly powerful and nigh unbeatable adversary, a renounced swordsman. Vatrir also supplemented these skills with Jar'Kai, Teräs Käsi and Saberstaff Combat. Initially, Vatrir had nothing but disdain for Form I and Form IV, seeing the former as obsolete and the latter as too taxing to be of use in prolonged battle, which Vatrir was in nine times out of ten. However, Vatrir eventually recognized that they did have several useful elements in them. Studying and mastering them, he was able to legitimately claim the title of Blademaster.

Traits and Personality
"Some praise him for strength, I say he is weak."

- Unknown Sith Lord

Darth Vatrir, like Darth Sidious, has a genius level intellect, incredible patience, and a great amount of skill in the realms of engineering, Lightsaber Combat, Sith Alchemy and politics. However, Vatrir is a horrible pilot, due to his severe case of vertigo. Vatrir's only other major weakness is a sociopathic disorder. When Darth Sinive and his various apprentices crossbred with the race of Sithis Prime, all the children sired, while incredibly powerful with the Force, had brain chemistry imbalances that made them all Sociopaths (or in the case of Lord Dussard, Lord Psykoe and others, completely psychotic). Vatrir also suffers from mild paranoia and megalomania, but was ultimately utilitarian and minimalist. However, he does occasionally allow enemies to go through with schemes against him out of sheer boredom. Being born to the Sith, Vatrir is completely addicted to the Dark Side of the Force and has no hope of renouncing it completely. But he is not totally bound to his selfishness and power thirst as most Sith Lords were. His ultimate goal is the perpetuation and betterment of the Sith Order as a whole. Vatrir has a massive bias against nonForce-Sensitives, as he was raised in the ruling class of an empire made up almost entirely of Force-Sensitives. He is so prejudiced that he saw them as little more than worthless cattle. But other than this, he (and the rest of the Empire) have no racial, gender or specieist bias to speak of.