H E G E M O N
INTRODUCTION
The Griffin of Vandemar.
For many decades Aurelian is now working to shape the Galaxy in one form or the other, first under the brutal rule of Darth Tacitus and his emerging Eternal Empire on Kalidan, then as an Imperial Warlord under Rurik Fel and his New Imperial Order and Empire. Service was not opportunistic, it was not random, it was deliberately chosen to suit the greater forces of Order. All the while his work on the developing the perfect army for the ultimate task never ceased: the end of the Force.
He returned to the Eternal Empire as its Overlord under Ingrid L'lerim never to lose sight of that final achievement. Kalidan though should not rise again and through a challenging road, Aurelian pressed on from the faltering Dark Empire to the Galactic Empire under Darth Solipsis - a final offering of measured trust towards Sith rule. A final, disappointing downfall of Imperialism that sealed Aurelian's willingness to cooperate with their kind.
Now Aurelian has returned to his ancient civilisation, to his adopted home of Vandemar to tame the Unknown Regions and find the cure of the disease that rids the Galaxy for far too long. The Force must die and its religions with it.
STRENGTHS
- Warmaster
- Aurelian has walked across battlefields for four millennia, his personal experience alone would put him at the top of the military minds of the time but it is not only down to having seen, felt and tasted everything the palettes of warcraft have to offer but it is his passion. The Griffin believes it is his calling, his design to wage war. Commanding vast armies, mighty fleets, leading his troops into the firestorm of a battlefield or inserting a specialist team behind enemy lines - his tactical, operational and strategic acumen range beyond mortal comprehension.
- Engineer
- While you will always find a conflict to join, no being can sustain itself by limiting their horizon to a singular occupation. The Griffin chose engineering. The most mortal and yet immortal contribution to history and progress is technology and the progression of science. Physics, biology or chemistry, mechanical or electrical engineering, roads or a blade, Aurelian over the long span of his time has acquired and advanced the knowledge of various fields of artificial creation, not to a small degree inspired by his own perfection.
- Logistician
- To handle an operation requires meticulous attention to detail, to execute a battle-plan requires planning and preparation, to raise an army needs capable oversight and supplies, to see a project progress within schedule and budget a balanced handling. Be it for war or civil matters, Aurelian handles streams of information with divine ease and directs them not only to run smoothly but improves them to surpass predictions.
- Swordmaster
- It comes with little surprise that someone who is passionate about warfare is particularly skilled in combat. For Aurelian it is his sword that has the last word in every fight, that he uses to bring down his foes with righteous fury and tremendous finesse. To watch this massive figure fight is to lay eyes on a magnificent display of speed, technique and strength paired with an instinct and natural understanding of combat that is more than mortal talent.
- Justice
- Raised as a Knight of Zakuul and ascending to their highest echelons, it is only natural that Aurelian has a sense of justice. But it does extend far beyond lawful and unlawful. Order and justice, prosperity and progress are as deeply connected to form a working society as the people living in it. He does not believe in giving and taking, but gives, each of them, willingly and in abundance once his conditions are met. There is no Galaxy without people and no progress without life.
WEAKNESSES
- Transhuman
- Having suffered not only centuries of loneliness but also a physical capacity which goes beyond mortal limits, Aurelian has grown beyond many ordinary needs and understandings. Social connections, etiquettes, cultural hospitality or warmth are matters he recognises for their pure influence on his calculations. He does not feel compassion, mercy, curiosity towards other beings, the need for integration or friendship. They are values on a spreadsheet to be handled accordingly when the need or demand arises, but not to be embraced.
- Arrogance
- A sin for many, a natural habit for others. Being above and beyond in knowledge, skill and experience is not unknown to Aurelian and he makes little effort to hide it. Not that he indeed recognises that it may be offending, but considering it a simple matter of fact, he will be direct and correcting at any opportunity to leverage his knowledge and supremacy.
- Subtlety
- While capable of planning, ordering or executing clandestine, covert operations and engage in the game of schemes and plots, Aurelian is not known to entertain or support it. Using deception in war is one matter, but for every other intent and purpose, it is despicable and he will not hesitate to confront and crush opposition where it arises, openly or concealed.
- Faith
- Conviction, determination and focus come easily for Aurelian. They are the foundations of his character and carry his success, his advances and victories since a long time. But they are not exclusively founded on the grounds of his being. Deeply devoted, Aurelian is probably the last living being to have laid eyes on and had his heart and mind embrace the presence of Valkorion, otherwise known as Darth Vitiate. This immortal ascending godhood is what he strives for, what he believes in, what he aspires. A root singularly rotten by the very presence it embraced.
- The Force
- Born as a Force sensitive and trained by a large variety of traditions, orders and brotherhoods, Aurelian has seen the Light and Dark sides respectively, witnessed their narrow-mindedness and dogmatic nonsense. He has seen that there is nothing but eternal war for as long as both sides ideas persist as viable alternatives. He has seen that the Force in itself is the evil which its benevolent interpreters claim it fights, hence why he does not embrace his connection and will hesitate to use it to its full extent.
PERSONALITY
Through the millennia of his life, he understood that it is neither the Jedi, nor the Sith which deserve to strife, to rule or even to exist. They have forfeited their right to roam the Galaxy by adhering to a senseless clash of narrow-mindedness, posed to have no true victor. Led by councils of fools, corrupt politicians, cruel tyrants and succumbing to the same supernatural superstition called The Force.
The Force is a tool, an instrument to enact ones duty, to apply when one sees fit. But it resists this purpose, its sentience casting judgement and chaos upon the Galaxy, bringing forth the wars that harass and destroy what actual sentient beings build, undoing the achievements of the many by the radically random powers of the few. Aurelian wields the Force through pure domination of its will and utter despise of its potential, as a means to end all means. The Force, the Jedi, the Sith - all must be destroyed. The Force must be annihilated.
Aurelian is void of the false values of mercy and humility, his militaristic mind having the absolutes imprinted in them that his path is as just as his goal. Annihilating a world under the orders of Arcann in retaliation and provocation, executing prisoners of the Sith or Jedi, sacrificing worlds for the greater good or invading planets to claim lost artifacts which either serve him or be destroyed, the Griffin of Vandemar feeds on whatever he sees fit. And yet in his wake he does not leave destruction and scorched earth.
An incredible sense of justice combined with an exceptional talent for organisation, logistics and governing make his greater good not only appealing, but terrifyingly efficient. No war can be fought without resources, no soldier will die for a cause if it is not worth fighting for, no civilian will bend the knee to power alone. The promise of order, justice and even prosperity weighs heavy in the hearts of the undecided when the former Zakuulan Exarch appears.
Waging war has been his vocation for more than four and a half millennia now. He excels as warmaster and commander, it is where he finds his inner peace. Commanding from the frontline, leading special forces into clandestine operations or with armies and fleets at his command, it matters not to him, Aurelian will bring victory one way or another.
"A man that kills indiscriminately with the unshakable belief that his cause is just."
✠ ✠ ✠
"Look around you. Zakuul was poised to become the greatest civilization in the history of the galaxy. This empire was forged to surmount all previous works. To span eternity. The Eternal Throne commanded a fleet more vast than any ever built. It had the power to reshape the galaxy into any image that we chose. It is no more."
✠ ✠ ✠
"The Hegemony is not a monument to arrogance, but one to resolute independence, one that is prospering despite the malevolence and terrors that creep up in the dark. We stand firm not because we think we are better, we know we are better. We know we need neither Force nor religion nor mysticism to persevere in this Galaxy of ignorance."
✠ ✠ ✠
"Look around you. Zakuul was poised to become the greatest civilization in the history of the galaxy. This empire was forged to surmount all previous works. To span eternity. The Eternal Throne commanded a fleet more vast than any ever built. It had the power to reshape the galaxy into any image that we chose. It is no more."
✠ ✠ ✠
"The Hegemony is not a monument to arrogance, but one to resolute independence, one that is prospering despite the malevolence and terrors that creep up in the dark. We stand firm not because we think we are better, we know we are better. We know we need neither Force nor religion nor mysticism to persevere in this Galaxy of ignorance."
Eternal Duty · Eternal Loyalty · Eternal Order
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