NAME: Ajarod Shova
RANK: Sith Apprentice
FACTION: The Dark Brotherhood
SPECIES: Human (Thraciori)
AGE: 25
SEX: Male
EYES: Blue-Gray
HAIR: Red-Brown
SKIN: Pale
HEIGHT: 1.8m
WEIGHT: 71kg
FORCE SENSITIVE: Yes
Ajarod has survived as long as he has through a careful combination of obedience and knowledge of when to look out for himself. He is something of an opportunist, skilled at reading situations and adapting to them on the fly. Coupled with his difficult experiences, that might seem likely to make him cold, but he is far from it. Living a life with few possessions, and witnessing how cheaply life is bought, sold, and destroyed throughout the galaxy, he places immense value on personal connections. His feigned loyalty is nearly impenetrable, so practiced is the illusion, but his true loyalty is unshakable so long as it is returned.
Ajarod is not a seeker of power or knowledge for their own sake. He sees both as a means to an end: survival, and whatever moments of happiness one can squeeze out of this unforgiving life. He is surprisingly compassionate, a trait he often hides, as his masters have never valued or rewarded it (and have frequently had quite the opposite reaction). He is not ambitious, and strikes a careful balance between planning and experiencing; he draws on negative moments, channeling them toward a hope and drive for better times, while dwelling as long as he can in pleasant ones, allowing him to return there in his mind when he feels he can't go on.
+Survivor: Ajarod grew up in the wild, learning traditional survival skills. He is a skilled survivalist and able opportunist in any situation.
+Empath: Ajarod is skilled at reading people, which also makes him good at deceiving them when the need arises.
+Skilled: Ajarod has a little experience with just about everything, from working with animals to fixing machinery, thanks to his time as a slave.
-Softhearted: Ajarod is compassionate at heart, and easily gets himself into trouble for the sake of others - a poor trait among the Sith.
-Submissive: Ajarod has spent much of his adult life as a slave, and experience has taught him not to stick up for himself.
-Untrusting: Ajarod will go out of his way to help others, but he puts little faith in anyone but himself. This is a lonely path indeed.
Ajarod is a young human male of about average height and weight. His years as a hunter, and later as a slave, have developed his muscles just as they have his mind, and he is well toned - but also scarred and often dirty. Sith runes are carved into the flesh of his face, marking him as property. These healed wounds stand out starkly against the calm, perceptive blue-grey of his eyes - though in moments of action or anger, those same eyes can blaze with furious intensity. His reddish-brown hair has a slight curl to it, enough that it grows thick and tangles easily. The thick beard that runs along his jawline is much the same consistency, and makes him look far older than he really is.
PART ONE: EARLY LIFE
Ajarod Shova was born into the Shova tribe on Thracior, and his early life was spent learning their ways. Even as the galaxy collapsed into war around them, the people of Thracior kept to their traditions, and these became strongly rooted in the young man's developing mind. He came to believe in balance and compassion, and to trust that everything happened for a reason. Although he was curious about the endless stars beyond his home, he knew that his place was with his people. He was close to his family, and his kind and outgoing personality brought him a wide circle of friends. He might have become an elder one day, if things had gone as intended. But it was not to be.
The war machine of the One Sith consumed Thracior, turning what tribes they could into their soldiers and butchering the rest. The Shova tribe, notoriously peaceful and spiritual, fell largely into the latter category. In the course of a single night, everything Ajarod had known was torn away. Everyone he had grown up with was dead or enslaved, and he wore shackles of his own. He learned quickly to hide how much he truly understood, to conceal the fact that he held his people's beliefs close to him still, to obey whatever degrading command he was given... and to always wait for the right moment to seize whatever small advantage he could for himself.
For years he found himself tossed between one owner and another, working in palaces, factories, and starships alike. In time the One Sith Empire began to crumble, warlords scattering across the stars, and it was then that Ajarod found himself and several others captured by Darth Banshee, who was binding together her own order of Sith from the chaos. The Dark Lady recognized in Ajarod something none of his other masters had ever seen: Force potential, part of the secret to his great empathy. And she provided him with a chance to prove himself worthy of the title of Sith... or die on the sands of Tattooine at the hands of another, more worthy contender.