Kylaea Porén (/kaɪˈleɪ.ʌ pɔrˈɛn/) was a female Athan Centurion and Royal Guard of the Golden Empire. She was the elder fraternal twin sister of Malyri Porén.
Biography[]
Training[]
Born on Bolera two minutes and thirteen seconds before her twin brother, Kylaea was a descendant of the Porén tribe in the city of Kezef, capital of Bolera. Unlike the vast majority of Centurions in the Order of Keltrayu, the twins were recruited only months after their birth. Following the obliteration of Red Eclipse in the Ambush at Bolera, Tariun Sakaros was received on Bolera by the ecstatic Athans. Both Sakaros and his Royal Guards sensed the disturbance in the Force caused by the presence of other Force-sensitives, and followed it to the home of the twins' parents. After explaining the children's potential, Tariun was allowed to take custody of the two Athan infants.
Brought to the Sith Star for training, Kylaea and Malyri grew up very close, despite their integration into the Order, which stressed a "sibling" relationship among all Centurions. Though capable of holding their own alone, they truly shone as a team, complementing each other's strengths and covering each other's weaknesses. After experimenting with all the lightsaber styles, Kylaea opted to specialize in Form V.
First years[]
Commissioned as full Centurions within a month of one another in 135 ABY, the twins were assigned an undercover espionage assignment to root out a terrorist group on Haerch. Posing as mercenaries, they infiltrated the group and dismantled it, sabotaging the actions of some cells and simply destroying others. They were eventually found out, but timely intervention by a group of Centurions, led by the ferocious Rajj-Yo, exterminated most of the terrorists and brought the rest to justice in early 136 ABY.
Fresh from their victory, Kylaea performed a number of other investigations and peacekeeping missions, usually with her brother but occasionally with other Centurions as well. She accompanied the more experienced Breek Zagrev into battle during the Conquest of the Chiss Ascendancy at the Battle of Naporar. In the following years, she was often assigned to peacekeeping missions in the newly acquired Ascendancy, keeping seditious groups in line and wiping out Chiss criminals.
In 140 ABY, Kylaea and Malyri were appointed as Royal Guards to Queen Rin Sakaros. They were among the eight who remained Guards after the unit was reduced from twenty-four during the Tribulation, and usually remained as bodyguards for Rin herself. Kylaea became friends with Breek Zagrev during this period, and improved her Form V skills practicing with Breek, who was rapidly become the Order's greatest Djem So master.
Interbellum[]
Malyri and Kylaea were among a party of Centurions who accompanied Rin to Nar Shaddaa, where they met Nagarian Sakaros and his extended family. When they returned to the Empire, Kylaea and her brother continued to work closely together; both Rin and Eskol Kaartinen had learned that they were most effective as a pair, and preferred not to split them up needlessly.
In 145 ABY, Kylaea was Breek Zagrev's second attendant at her wedding to Tariun Sakaros.
In 147 ABY, Kylaea and Menina Robraso conducted an investigation of Quisher Realty and Development, LLC while their brother Baylis Scytha went undercover in Szenjupendri Prison to probe a spike in local crime and recidivism. The three Centurions finally pieced together the corruption underlying the entire affair, and arrested Mondol Ens, the warden of Szenjupendri, along with several agents and officers of Quisher.
The nightmare[]
At the onset of the Nightmare War in 149 ABY, Kylaea and her brother were assigned to the Romasi Sector Fleet under Breek's command. She fought in the Duel on Mandos beside Jira Zaffrod; when Jira stabbed one of the Vyrak clones through the knee, Kylaea chopped his head off.
Not long after, Kylaea, Malyri, and relatively new Centurion Nairasho were sent to find the Reawakened production facility. Though they succeeded in locating Awpierh, they were discovered and attacked by Karshi Saan, Charg, and a group of Vyrak clones. Despite their efforts, the three Centurions were captured, imprisoned, and tortured for information. The twins managed to escape only days after they were captured, but were closely pursued and could not save Nairasho.
Refusing to leave their sister behind, the Athans hid out in the forests around the enemy complex, trying to find a way in. A few days later, Elrabin Ralvik and Luna Raquelsei arrived on a rescue mission. The four Centurions infiltrated the complex and Kylaea used a mind trick to distract one of the guards. When they were discovered, she and Malyri remained behind to fight off the Anzati, giving Luna and Elrabin the chance to get to get to Saan and Nairasho. They fought back-to-back against five Vyrak clones, using their twin bond and knowledge of each other's styles to fight as a single unit.
May your soul be crucified forever in Chaos!
—A distraught Kylaea Porén to Karshi Saan's corpse
Both twins were badly injured; Kylaea sustained burns to her back and forehead, as well as a serious wound to her sword arm. But they killed their opponents, making their way downstairs in time to find Luna and Elrabin with Nairasho's dead body. Infuriated, Kylaea staked Karshi Saan's severed head to his body with one of his own horns. She dragged Saan's body out of the building and back to Luna and Elrabin's waiting ship.
The twins were treated by Tillandra Moraes and Rayne Turgachia onboard the Sith Star before presenting their report to Tariun and Eskol Kaartinen. Though both were deeply embittered and miserable, feeling they had failed Nairasho, their superiors agreed they had done the best they could under the circumstances. During the time they spent recovering from their wounds aboard the Star, Kylaea composed the "Lament for Nairasho" as a way of expressing her grief.
Recovered, the twins partook in Breek Zagrev's assassination mission against Ador Hentral during the Battle of Dolomir, again using their teamwork to fight and defeat several Vyrak clones. Once the ship was seized, Breek left Kylaea in command of it while she herself returned to the Sith Star.
Conspiracy[]
In 153 ABY, Aria Nikina went missing on her homeworld of Daispin. Her cousin, Regent and Consul Syr'ei, reported her missing and presumed dead to Rin, who sent Vem, the twins, and Kelto Nembask to discover the truth, supported by hundreds of elite soldiers. Vem led the search in the forest, while Kelto took Special Environment Division troops underwater. The twins, however, remained in the capital. While Malyri interviewed citizens on the streets, Kylaea stayed in the royal palace, interviewing courtiers, suitors, and palace staff, trying to find a culprit or a conspiracy.
She had developed several theories when Vem contacted her. Though he claimed not to have found Aria, he also claimed he had sprained his left ankle—the one Kylaea knew was a cybernetic replacement, which Vem had gotten after saving Aria's life years before. Vem also advised her and Malyri to stay close to Syr'ei and, putting the pieces together, Kylaea joined her brother and they began focusing their efforts on the Consul herself. Malyri's interviews suggested Aria had appeared drugged, and so the twins searched the capital for someone who might have supplied poison to Syr'ei's agents. Remembering that she had heard of a woman meeting with the captain of the palace guard, Kylaea and Malyri finally found the chemist and herbalist Algan, who had a reputation as a healer and a poisoner.
Vem called as they confronted the woman, ordering them back to the palace. Forcing the truth from Algan, the twins dragged her back with them. Overpowering Syr'ei's guards as they tried to stop the twins from entering the throne room, Kylaea threw Algan at Syr'ei's feet. Aria herself emerged before anyone could share Algan's evidence, and after a brief duel, she broke Syr'ei's neck.
Forced to enter a healing trance due to her injuries and the lingering poison in her system, Aria was placed in her room under the guard of her siblings. Malyri and Kylaea rounded up the other conspirators, placing them in the custody of the Assault Commandos before taking their places as sentinels until Aria woke.
Ongoing service[]
The twins both participated in Operation Broken Chain in 156 ABY, using their compound bows to silently eliminate a number of guards at the Blazing Chain slaver complex. Later, they both stormed the landing platform to assist Arcantha Syr against the last rallied slavers.
The twins also participated in an investigation of the assassination attempt on Jadian Star in 156 ABY. They apprehended and interrogated the Drakonus Lartez, and though he died in custody from poisoning before his capture, they got the name of his employer: Reli Tynblade, grand aunt of Tribune Shaydow Tynblade. Kylaea and Malyri delivered the news personally to Shaydow and Consul Gem Reytal, knowing it would affect them deeply.
In 157 ABY, Aria, now Prefect of the Order, appointed Kylaea Praetor-Instructor for Form V, succeeding Sovi Evnairis.
Powers and abilities[]
Well-trained in both telekinesis and telepathy like all Centurions, Kylaea had a gift for the dominate mind ability. Typically, only those with a very strong will or a disciplined mind (or other Force-sensitives) could resist her commands. This talent allowed her to function well as an undercover operative, as she could both sense suspicion and divert it with the Force.
Specializing in Shien and Djem So, utilizing her species' natural predatory reflexes to add to her own strength and ferocity, Kylaea became a force to be reckoned with when using a lightsaber, though her split focus on both variants of the form gave her a lesser skill level in straight dueling than her primary blade mentors, Kieran Sapphire and Breek Zagrev. Coupled with her brother's Makashi, the twins were an even more lethal force when fighting as a team.
The hard keratin growths on her fingers made her blows painful to others, and Kylaea consequently put a good deal of effort into Var Shek training. However, that same physiology also made her overly reliant on hand strikes in the eyes of her instructors, and her style more closely resembled boxing than true Var Shek.
Rin Sakaros and Vos'elk'eetash both noted that the twins were reputed to be exceptional hunters among their siblings, second only to Vem. They preferred bow hunting; Kylaea demonstrated her proficiency with archery during Operation Broken Chain, when she shot a guard through the head from a great distance, pinning the dead woman to the wall behind her to give the impression she was still alert at her post.
Appearance and personality[]
The same height as her brother (5'7", 1.7 meters), Kylaea also shared his white hair, though she wore hers longer, past her shoulders. It was usually kept loose unless she expected to go into battle, when she would put it in a ponytail. Her skin was light gray, and her eyes a vivid teal which stood out all the more against her dull skin. She wore the customary uniforms of the Centurions or the Royal Guard, although she preferred not to wear gloves, not wanting anything soft between her keratin claws and the flesh of her enemies. Her single lightsaber had a sky blue blade.
Though normally composed and thoughtful, in battle Kylaea was savage and ruthless, aggressively cleaving her way through enemy forces. She looked up the great warriors of her Order, especially Rajj-Yo, Breek Zagrev, and Tarzg Sav'lir. However, she also had an artistic spirit, and wrote poetry in her free time.
Kylaea was extremely close to her twin brother Malyri, and the two were often assigned together. They shared a deep prenatal connection through the Force, allowing them to share thoughts easily and coordinate their attacks around each other in combat. Several other Centurions observed that it was much more difficult to fight both twins together than one at a time, or even two other Centurions together; the sum of the pair was greater than the parts. Among the Order, Kylaea and Malyri together were usually referred to simply as "the twins".