Kainan Wolfe
Shadow of War
- Intent: To create a suit of armor for [member="Srina Talon"]
- Image Source: Pinterest
- Canon Link: N/A
- Primary Source: N/A
- Manufacturer: Darth Tacitus, The Devil's Claws
- Affiliation: Closed-Market | [member="Srina Talon"]
- Model: Sith Armor
- Modularity: Vambraces, Boots, Cloak
Production: Unique
- Material: Ultrachrome | Wintrium-coated Vambraces (Alchemically altered into the desired shape) | Kabairan Snow-Wolf Fur | Vinesilk
- Classification: Multipurpose Armor
- Weight: Light
- Resistances:
- Kinetic: Extreme
- Lightsabers: Extreme
- Other:
- Sonic: High
- EMP/ION: Low
- Elemental: Low
- Toxic/Poison: None
- Ziedrich Shield System (Permission: Link): The armor suit's left vambrace features a built-in Ziedrich Shield System, allowing the wearer to generate hemispherical shields of three different kinds
- Ultrachrome Segmented Plates: The suit's chestplate and shoulder pieces are constructed from segmented Ultrachrome plates, offering high protection while maintaining the high degree of mobility required by Echani fighting styles
- Wintrium-coated Vambraces: The vambraces are coated in Wintrium which has been alchemically molded into shape, giving them even higher resistance against attacks
- Vinesilk Cloak: Heart of Cold features a blue Vinesilk cloak, adorned with the emblem of House Talon and trimming made of Snow-Wolf fur
- Eye of Winter: Darth Tacitus bound an amulet into the Armor that is forged out of a fragment of the Ancient Eye, a Darkside artifact of immense power. It gives the wearer the ability to see half a second into the future and anticipate the enemy's moves, however this quickly drains the amulet's stores of power, so it can only be active for up to fifteen seconds at a time, requiring an hour to recharge, afterwards
- Light and Tough: Heart of Cold is a light suit of armor who's design offers the wearer excellent protection against lightsabers and most common types of weapons, while still being flexible enough to conform to the requirements of Echani martial arts
- Eye of Winter: The suit of armor is built around an amulet of immense power which, when activated, gives the wearer the ability to see half a second into the future, for a duration of fifteen seconds once per hour
- Ziedrich Shield System: The left vambrace is outfitted with a shielding system which allows the wearer to project different kinds of hemispherical shields
- Exposed: While offering excellent protection against most common types of weapons as well as lightsabers, Heart of Cold is not a high-tech piece of equipment, relying on the Darkside for its abilities, rather than on technology. As such, it is not vacuum-rated or sealed against the outside environment, leaving the wearer vulnerable to poison gas and elemental threats
- Dark Beacon: Drawing all of its power from the Darkside, Heart of Cold has a very noticeable presence in the Force and other Force wielders can detect it from great distances
- Ysalamiri: Relying on the Force for its abilities, the presence of nullifying objects such as Void Stones and Ysalamiri will effectively neutralize all of its supernaturally imbued advantages
- Force Light: Like all other things imbued with the Darkside, Heart of Cold is vulnerable against the purifying fire of Force Light, which can inflict severe damage upon the suit of armor, potentially even destroying it
War, pain and loss. There are few things that the Sith Lord Tacitus knew better than these. Indeed, he was intimately familiar with all three of these dreadful siblings, each having claimed a portion of his life, each having taken from him a portion of his soul, always hungry, always demanding more and more.
Throughout the harsh, lonely journey that was his life, the enigmatic ruler of the Eternal Empire grew ever more embittered by loss. He had seen those he cared about being broken and then cast aside by an uncaring galaxy, leaving behind only broken husks and desolation where once there was life and hope and joy.
The first woman he loved, was cut down before his eyes. His friends, too, were claimed by injustice and war, until one by one they faded into memory and the Sith Lord withdrew further into himself, raising walls around him and resigning himself to a lonely existence. Yet, over the years, one had managed to break through those walls, an Echani maiden named Srina Talon.
Their friendship was born in the nightmare that was Haven, where the two stood side by side against an eldritch horror, forging an everlasting bond. The years passed and the bond grew stronger, slowly, subtly taking root within the Sith Lord's soul, until he realized that what he felt was no longer just friendship, but something else.
For a while, Tacitus would allow himself a fleeting glimmer of hope, though he would not confess his true feelings to Srina, for fear that the road which lay ahead of him, would ultimately cause her harm if she grew too close to him. Everything would change in the aftermath of the events on Hoylin. Having witnessed her sister's brush with death reminded Tacitus of the true nature of the galaxy: cold and cruel, uncaring and savage.
He would not sit idly by and leave things in the hands of fate. He would deny Death the chance to take from him the last soul he cared about, so he set out to forge a suit of armor for the woman he secretly loved, one that would protect her against Death's cold embrace.
From the vaults beneath his fortress, Tacitus withdrew a shard of the Ancient Eye, a Darkside artifact of immense power that had long ago been broken into pieces and scattered throughout the galaxy. Throughout his journeys the Sith Lord had managed to acquire two of its fragments, this particular one from Dredd, and he now fashioned it into an amulet that allowed one to draw upon the Darkside to see half a second into the future, thus anticipating Death's approach. Fifteen seconds this effect could last, after which the amulet would rest for an hour, fifteen second that could change the course of destiny itself.
He then summoned the greatest sorcerers and alchemists of his realm and tasked them with the forging of a magnificent suit of armor, worthy of the woman who would wear it. No expense was spared, each piece meticulously forged out of Ultrachrome that was perfectly fitted to allow her the greatest possible freedom of movement, while shielding her from that which would cause her harm.
The amulet was encased into the chestplate, over the heart, the metal folded around it through sorcerous techniques, yet the work was not done. Through sorcery and alchemy, the vambraces were coated in Wintrium and a rare, expensive shield was purchased and mounted into the left vambrace. As a finishing touch, Tacitus ordered the fashioning of a cloak of Vinesilk that cost as much as a battlecruiser, bearing the colors and sigil of Srina's House, the collar trimmed with the soft white fur of a Kabairan Snow-Wolf and he gave the suit the name Heart of Cold, after the homeworld of the woman for whom it was destined.
Yet, no defense is perfect, no shield impenetrable and Heart of Cold is no exception. A mystical artifact of immense power, it relies on its connection to the Darkside in order to function. Ysalamiri or Void Stones will nullify its powers and the burning touch of Force Light will erode it away. And as it is the creation of dark sorcery and not a marvel of technology, the suit is not enclosed or vacuum-rated, so it offers no protection against poison gas and fares poorly against elemental threats.
After laboring for many days and nights, the deed was done, the suit complete. And so, the Sith Lord gifted it to the woman he loved mere days before another war would once again drag them both into the midst of violent bloodshed and tragedy: the war to break the Mandalorian hold over Srina's homeworld of Eshan.
