Almira Izlay'ti
Character
Dominion of the Black
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Darkness Falls...
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"The Stars are going out. Entire systems have gone quiet. Reports abound of strange vessels that seem to crawl through space, creeping with the darkness. Few vessels have returned, something is coming. Something is reaching out of the Darkness and grasping hold of the worlds in the Unknown Regions."
~ 'Report from Csilla' ~Shrouded in shadows and mystery, obscured by false reports and data. Some call it a cult, others a coven of witches with some pact with a dark being. Few even suspect something more sinister of rising from its prison and reaching out across the void.
The Dominion of the Black is a semi-monastical organization that reveres the Dark Matron, a motherly figure in the form of a Goddess. Few know of the origins of the Dominion of the Black, and fewer can tell the truth from the rumors, here say and legends. Though many of the legends have in their own right grown into their own, and even those within the Dominion of the Black help in pushing some legends along to further shroud themselves in mystery, a ploy that seeks to defend against possible enemies and offer misdirection.
Founded upon the death of the Duchess Magrath, the Dominion of the Black is an entity born of madness and sorrow. Where once there was a path for Peace, there exist a path for War. Once where there was a call for Balance, it is now a call for Vengeance. And once the call for Order through Peace, is now a call for Order at the end of a blade.
The Dominion of the Black was founded by Almira Magrath, whom rather than besmirch the memory of her Mother's Avidonian Dominion as an institution that called for Peace; she stepped down from the position of Autarch and formed an institution founded upon Vengeance. Leaving much of the holdings on Avidon, she has gathered her siblings, the Dread Wolves, and those few remaining loyal friends of her mother's, and struck into the Unknown Regions.
Here is where we find the Dominion of the Black, slowly creeping through the Unknown Regions. Its claw like hand reaching out from the darkness to envelope the next world, and the next beyond. Much like the Jedi or even the Sith Order, the Dominion of the Black is a highly regimented monastic cult, with a strict hierarchy. Much of the daily operations thus fall upon the Listener, the de facto leader, whom is in turn aided by the Blackhand, a group of five Speakers whom are considered the most trusted advisers. The Fenrir Guard, once the bodyguards, have in their own sorrow and madness been reformed into the Dread Wolves, forming the bulk and back bone of the military might of the Dominion.
In terms of their views of those in the Galaxy, they are on a mission of vengeance. Their eyes fall upon a world and it becomes theirs for the taking. They view those whom would aid them as allies, and those that would stand against them as foes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Mother, I hear her, she whispers to me...
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"She never speaks, she merely appears. Her eyes fall upon me, pierce through me. She appears as an armored maiden. Other times she appears as a weeping woman, or even a mother surrounded by her children. It is the same though, she never speaks, for there is only one being in the Galaxy whom the Dark Matron will speak to... Her Listener."
~ 'Unknown' ~The Dark Matron, or the Mother in Darkness, and sometimes called the Whispering Duchess; is a revered motherly figure in the form of a Goddess. Many have spoken on her appearance, having seen her in their dreams. Few have glimpsed her as they lost themselves in meditation within her crypt. All have said the same of the Dark Matron.
She appears to many, yet she speaks only to one. Her Listener, the being that carefully guides the actions of the Dominion of the Black. Whispering into the ear of her Listener, the Dark Matron guides them, just as a mother would carefully guide her children. She whispers secrets and knowledge from the beyond to her Listener, whom in turn sets the Dominion of the Black upon the galaxy to make the Dark Matron's will, truth.
History of the Dark Matron is few and far between. Facts are often twisted, told again and again until all that remains is the legend. Yet there are those whom know who the Dark Matron is, whom lays within the crypt that others meditate in, for it was her own children that created the Dark Matron.
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Howling, horrible howling, Dread...
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"We were charged with protecting the Duchess. Our name was Fenrir. We stood between those that sought to bring harm and that which sought to bring Order. Our chains bound us in our actions. Now our chains are broken, shattered by madness and our failure. Now our actions are that of which shall tear apart a Galaxy. We are Fenrir no more, we are Dread. We are the Dread Wolves..."
~ 'Colonel Mathias III' ~The Dread Wolves, the back bone of the Dominion of the Black. Once they were the Fenrir Guard, the unit charged with the protection of the Autarch of the Avidonian Dominion. Now their singular failure has driven them mad with rage and hatred at their inability to protect the woman they saw as a beacon of Order.
Led by Colonel Mathias III, his hand is now heavier than it had once been. His orders are brutal and the Dread Wolves sow just as their name sake. Dread and Fear, Sorrow and Pain follow in the wake of the Dread Wolves. Their eyes set upon the worlds of the Unknown Regions.
Once they were chained, bound to an oath to protect and to bring Order through peace. Now they have been free, their chains shattered and the wolves let loose upon the Galaxy. Their oath now remains to Order, yet their actions shall bring Order through Force. Peace through War. Balance through Destruction.
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I Am...
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"What have I become? What has my ambition, my desire, my services to the Dark Matron brought of me? I am blind no longer. My eyes are open upon the truth. I see the Galaxy as it is, and I must unleash my wrath upon it to bring the Order it deserves."
~ 'Unknown Dominion of the Black Slayer' ~- The Listener - That which hears the whispers of the Dark Matron and makes her will known. She guides the Dominion of the Black, making the dreams, visions and desires of the Dark Matron known, who bids those to carry out her will. Her hand guides the Dominion as if a mother guiding her children. - (Akin to the Jedi Grandmaster / Dark Lord of the Sith)
- A Speaker - A force that makes the will of the Dark Matron Physical. They are beheld to none save the Listener. Of all the Speakers, only Five are chosen to form the Blackhand, those that the Listener trusts above all else as her advisers, of which one shall be her successor. - (Akin to the Jedi Master / Sith Lord)
- A Silencer - Those whom dwell upon the powers of the Force. Their mouths remain shut, for they need not speak. Their eyes are closed for they need not see. Their ears shut for they need not hear. Their power is that of the Force, and it is the Force that turns them into those that silence all others. - (Akin to the Jedi Consular / Sith Inquisitor)
- An Assassin - For they seek Balance with the Force and their Blade. They are not strong in the Force, nor does their strength lie within the brunt force of their blade. Their true strength blossoms when the two are united and melded together into one. - (Akin to the Jedi Sentinel / Sith Assassin)
- An Executioner - The Force is not their ally, for they need not drink of it. Their blade is their ally for it shall carry them through the day. Years are dedicated to the mastery of the blade, or their chosen weapon which is carried, for it shall not break. - (Akin to the Jedi Guardian / Sith Marauder)
- A Slayer - Blind to the truth, ignorant of the Dark Matron. A clay to mold, one that shall eventually make the Dark Matron's will known. For all begin as nothing, and all must be crafted into something. - (Akin to the Jedi Padawan / Sith Acolyte)
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That which is rightfully ours...
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"There was a vision once. A vision that my mother spoke of often. After what transpired with Akala, the event in which billions disappeared in the blink of an instant, she saw the chaos. She knew what was coming. She called for Peace. She called for Order. Most important, she called for Balance. Now her words have seen her fall. Now there is no Peace, there is War. There is no Balance, there is Vengeance. I promise this though, the Order shall come, and it shall follow a furious and righteous anger. Order shall come by the Blade."
~ 'Almira Magrath' ~Every Faction has its own goals, and the Dominion of the Black is no less different. Yet it aspires for greatness. It aspires to bring Order through the Blade.
- Securing the Unknown Regions - Spreading members of the Dominion of the Black throughout the worlds of the Unknown Regions. Establishing beach heads and out posts on those worlds deemed vital, whilst burning those deemed non-essential.
- Ensuring the Dominion of the Black - Securing the worlds that fall beneath the control of the Dominion. Creating a series of Fortress Worlds upon the fringes of Dominion Space. Prepare the worlds of the Unknown Region for the rapid expansion and war that is to come.
- Establishing Ties - Reaching out to those beyond the veil of the Dominion. Ensuring our actions and operations do not and are not established within the space of those whom can be and could become allies.
- Bringing Order - The Dominion of the Black shall bring Order first to the Unknown Regions, then to the Galaxy.
