Josiah Denko

[Darth Metus]

Basic Information

• Name: Josiah Denko
• Force Alignment: Light
• Force Rank: Master
• Species: Near-Human
• Races: Human, Kraljica
• Age: 40
• Height: 6'1"
• Weight: ~182 lbs
• Eye Color: Brown
• Hair Color: Brown
• Skin Pigmentation: Tan
• Force Sensitive: Yes

Affiliates

• The Confederacy: Knights Obsidian
• Master(s): [member="Ben Watts"], [member="Darron Wraith"]
• Mentor(s): [member="Ember Rekali"]
• Apprentice(s): ---
• Successful Student(s): ---

Kin

• Spouse: [member="Mara Denko"]
• Offspring: [member="Auteme Denko-Durren"]
• Extended Family: [member="Ashin Varanin"] (Cousin), [member="Count Morcus"] (Uncle)

Strengths & Weaknesses

(+) Nar Shaddaa Native: As a native of Nar Shaddaa, Josiah grew up with a mindset vastly different than the typical Jedi. In order to survive those "mean streets", he had to adopt the awareness and creativity to make a weapon out of anything...or to find an exit where one isn't evident.

(+) Heritage: Josiah has studied at the feet of three of the Galaxy's greatest Masters. Darron Wraith, Ben Watts, and Ember Rekali each had a hand in cultivating the Jedi Master of the present. As such, he is a rather resourceful individual, strong in the Light, and is not the sort of fellow a Sith would delight in meeting.

(~) Puffcakes: They're damn good. Enough said.

(-) Impulse: Josiah is the sort of person to, literally, call out [member="Ashin Varanin"]. Enough said.

(-) Specialization: As his focus is on a core handful of force powers, Josiah has holes in certain areas. Most prominent of these is the area of mental defense.

Appearance

Despite the fact that his heritage classifies him as Near-Human, there is nothing on the surface that distinguishes him from a baseline Human. He stands at just over six feet in height and sports a honed, athletic build; thereby making stature one of his most recognizable features by far. For the most part, Josiah is not the sort to sport flashy ensembles, regardless of whatever rank he may carry. Formerly, he would have been commonly seen in a rather humble attire consisting of standard, Jedi Robes. However, since his return to the Knights Obsidian, the traditional attire have been changed in favor of the darker, zeyd-cloth robes. Underneath these are typically a small assortment of plastoid plates in addition to a GE-EXO suit.

Notable Possessions

• Armour: GE-EXO
• Weaponry: Imperial Knight Lightsabre
• Transport: TIE/SF Space Superiority Fighter
• Property: Roonstone Cache
• Miscellaneous: ---

Notable Force Powers

• Telepathy
• Waveform
• Battlemind
• Telekinesis
• Force Sense
• Art of the Small
• Artifact Creation

Notable Lightsaber Forms

• Form V: Djem So

Biography

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV

 

[Darth Metus]

Biography​

Part I - The Heir of Nar Shaddaa​

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All men are born equal, for even the mightiest of Kings began as wailing babes. Yet it is the worlds into which they are born that begins the differences.​

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For a King, there are garments of silk and a silver spoon. Warmth. Celebration. Pure Joy that ripples throughout the land. Yet what awaits the progeny of a long-forgotten, Naboo house? Into what sort of world is the descendant of bastards born?

Nar Shaddaa.

He came into being in a cramped apartment overlooking miles upon miles of sordid cityscape. Funds were scarce, so scarce that this sort of entrance into life was all that his parents could afford. Yet despite this hardship...and despite the hardships that would come later in life, there was happiness. There was Love. Sure, it was not the sort of happiness that characterized regal parades or celebrations, but it was more than enough for the newborn Josiah. He had the affections of an elder sister, born only minutes before he. The love of a mother. The pride of a father.

Life was going to be hard. But with these, Josiah could make it.

Growing up was no small task. As the years moved forward, childhood joys were cut short in favor of taking on responsibilities. Although younger than his twin, Josiah was the first to step up in order to help provide for his siblings. Oftentimes, he would accompany his mother to work at the local diner and scrub dishes for a few credits. Just enough to give his sister, and later his baby brother, an extra bite to eat. And why was it that a boy so small had to abandon the joy of childhood? His father, Reuben. He was a man so engrossed with the mistakes of the past that only Corellian Whiskey could bring him to the present.

So he drank and let the chips fall where they would.

For a time, this arrangement worked. The diner provided Josiah's mother, Priscilla, with just enough to scrape by; and with her son's help there was always an extra puffcake or two to go around. However, things began to change in the wake of an unusual evening. It began the same: Priscilla had dinner on the table and all was well. Yet Reuben had finished off the last of his stash and needed to step out in order to replenish it. The drunk, self-loathing animal that left the apartment was not the same man who returned; for he saw someone or something that night that shook him to the core.

He came home, prattling on and on about seeing Josiah. But in truth, he was referring to someone else...someone from a long time ago. It was then that Reuben took Josiah by the shoulders and bore his heart to the boy. The pain that he carried, the regret and shame, all came pouring out in a flurry of slurred words. Perhaps it was a drunken delusion that caused this monumental confession...or maybe he really did see the man after whom his son was born. Whichever the case, the Denko family learned that there was much more to Reuben than bottles of alcohol.

He had once been a Jedi Knight. And the original Josiah was his padawan. A hasty decision had led to a mission gone terribly awry, one that claimed the life of his young apprentice. Although he was taught not to grieve, Reuben simply could not overcome the blame he placed upon his shoulders. He chose to Exile himself to Nar Shaddaa, a moon on the other side of the Galaxy from his sin, and began life anew at the bottom of a bottle. In the wake of this momentous confession, Reuben began to forgive himself. He began to see that his mistake had blossomed into something beautiful: a wife, children, and a home. From then on, things began to look up.

Reuben put aside the Whiskey and began to take responsibility for the "dynasty" he had created. Slowly, at first, he began to tell his children stories about the Jedi Order. He filled their minds with fantastical tales of good versus evil; light versus dark. For his siblings, these tales were sources of entertainment and little else...yet Josiah saw them literally. Most likely a result from his receiving the tearful confession, after all. Despite his tender age, Josiah was left with the question why? Why hadn't all the heroes of the Light managed to permanently defeat the Darkness?

Regardless, stories soon became instruction. Josiah and his siblings were taught to feel what was around them. They were shown that there was a perpetual ambience surrounding all things: an energy that would allow the impossible to become very possible. Reuben called it the Force, and before Josiah was even a teenager he was taught to use it. Lessons aside, Reuben began to do his fair share for the household. Although shady, he found work as an enforcer for a local Cartel; and for awhile, credits were hardly a problem again.

Years later, as Josiah was reaching adulthood, that same occupation became the undoing of the family.

A rivalry was sparked between the local Cartels: two underdogs duking it out for greater dominance of the streets. Reuben's talents easily gave his gang the upper hand; so in true Cartel form, the enemy attempted to hit him where it hurt. A hit was put out on Priscilla and it was promptly fulfilled whilst she was working the diner. Enraged beyond reason, Reuben took only a glance at his wife's fallen body before seeking vengeance. When he did not return that evening...or the evening after that...or the evening after that...Josiah was left with only one assumption. Reuben had been killed.

By the end of the month, Josiah and his siblings had begun to be at odds with one another. Abel, the youngest, wanted to avenge his parents' deaths. Josianna, the eldest, simply wanted to get off the Hutt Moon and run as far away from it. And Josiah? He struggled to keep what was left of his family together. Ultimately, his best efforts were hardly enough and he was left alone for the first time in his life. Fortunately enough, Priscilla's employer threw the young man a bone and offered him consistent work as a barkeep. And that offer quickly became Josiah's life.

For the first years of his adult life, Josiah became a reflection of his father. He drowned his sorrows in liquor pilfered from the bar. He tried to stifle the memories with cheap, meaningless flings. If not for his slipping performance at the workplace, Josiah would have probably wasted himself away. Yet a swift and sudden termination shook him enough to garner change. He thought back to the stories his father told him, of the fabled warriors known as Jedi.

And at that moment, Josiah left the world into which he was born behind.

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[Darth Metus]

Biography​

Part II - The Zealot's Path​

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A man cannot truly deem himself mature at a tender age, for maturity is born through mistakes and the taming of expectation.​

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In the same vein, Josiah was indeed an adult. By the laws and standards of all cultures, he was free to live his life as he chose. However, the revolution of a planet about a star did not make him a man. Over time, Josiah would begin to learn the difference between adulthood and manhood: and the start of this journey began on Coruscant.

In those days, the Galactic Republic was in a state of resurgence. Four Hundred Years of Darkness had finally come to a conclusion, and in their wake was the return of many great nations. Chief amongst these, at least in Josiah's humble opinion, was the Galactic Republic...for no other reason than that the Jedi Order chose to stand beside it. Throwing a large heap of saved credits at the ordeal, Josiah made his way across the Hyperlanes until he arrived before the Jedi Temple itself. There was he admitted into the Jedi Order, following an elementary demonstration of his Sensitivity.

Straightway, he was directed to Tython in order to receive tutelage. Unlike most recruits, Josiah did not need introductory training in lightsaber combat or Force usage. Rather, he required a heavy-dosage of education in how to think like a Jedi. There was no better place than Tython to accomplish this task...and there was no better man than [member="Ben Watts"] to take him on as an apprentice. To say the very least, Josiah looked up to the man immensely and came to consider him one of his closest friends. However, despite all that he learned under his wing, there was one thing that Josiah struggled with.

Impatience.

As the months rolled by, a glance at any Galactic map would both inspire...and send chills down one's spine. While the Republic indeed grew, and swiftly, there was another force at work. The Sith Empire. It seemed that, for every world that adopted the spirit of democracy, another was consumed under the tyrannical reign of an Emperor. And, to make matters worse, that same monarch had allowed Josiah to live during a basic mission gone terribly wrong. In that wake of that rather jarring event, Josiah was left with a burning desire to see the Sith Empire crumble.

Yet his best efforts did nothing to stop their advance. No matter how many missions he completed, no matter how lives the Jedi liberated...heck, no matter how many worlds joined the Republic, the Empire just continued to grow. And with the growth of the dark nation grew a question at the very rear of Josiah's mind. Why? Why hadn't the heroes of the Light banded together to permanently stomp out the Darkness? As with all things, Josiah came to his Master with this question and was told, time and time again, to be patient. At first, being assured of the eventual defeat of the Empire was enough. But as time moved on, the question began to ask itself louder.

Why?

Around the time that Josiah ascended to Knighthood, his patience had finally worn thin. Although he had finished his Trials and had successfully completed his training, he simply lacked the patience to tarry within the Republic at that time. While most would attempt to stop him, it was his master who allowed him to go. He believed that this was necessary for his Padawan to find his path, the right path, and was confident that it would lead him back to the Jedi. As for Josiah, his departure would lead him into contact with a nation born in the Southern Systems.

It was a Confederacy, one born from the simple desire to remain free in a time of national expansion.

This was a cause that Josiah felt that he could easily get behind, and as such he took up a position within the Confederacy's Templar Order. It was here, within this fringe sect, that he attempted to shelve his preconceived notions. It was here that he was first introduced to beings of the Darkness who used their power for the greater good. For a time, Josiah looked upon these individuals with monumental skepticism and bias. However, as time moved on, he started to believe that maybe, just maybe his previous mindset was sorely mistaken.

That is, until he met [member="Daxton Bane"].

The man was a figure that Josiah had crossed paths within during his time in the Republic, but their interactions were always in the thick of large-scale operations. Yet here, amongst the Templars, Josiah got to know the Zabrak behind the mask. On the surface, he was just a vastly aggressive warrior with a silver tongue. Yet it soon came to be revealed that Daxton was everything that Josiah thought. In fact, he was directly responsible for an assault upon the Templar Stronghold by [member="Jorus Merrill"] and his supporters. In light of this, the preconceived mindset was all but set in stone. What's more, he came to radically believe that the Light existed solely to snuff out the Darkness.

It was in those days, shortly after being recognized as a Master in the Force, that the Confederacy marched to war. Josiah did not ask questions regarding why the typically-neutral nation elected to attack the Black Sun Syndicate; for given their criminal reputation, he did not care. There, upon Barab I, did his zealotry rear its head to the fullest extent: for he challenged and faced [member="Ashin Varanin"] in open combat. He regarded this woman as a Dark Sider worthy only of being destroyed. Yet he did not realize, nor during those moments care, that his blood was the very same as hers. Later hindsight would cause Josiah no end of guilt over this decision, but the man of the present and the man of that era were two totally different animals.

Before the battle of kinsmen could decide a victor, the war had its conclusion. Barab I was taken by the Confederacy, and thus began a long campaign of expansion into Hutt Space. Yet this choice did not satisfy Josiah, who hungered for the decimation of the Darkness. What's more, his opinion of the darker members of the Templars had began to resemble something close to hatred. As such, long prior to the nation's eventual collapse and transition into the Techno Union, Josiah departed. Yet despite the nature of said departure, he would always have fond memories to look back on regarding the Templars. He would always remember his cherished student, Iella E`ron, who would go onto become Grandmaster of the Silver Jedi. He would always look up to [member="Ember Rekali"], who set him on the path of lightsaber combat. He even had the Templars to thank for his introduction to [member="Darron Wraith"]: for without their recognition of his Mastery, he would have never been able to study at the feet of such an icon.


After it all, he began seeking for like-minded individuals who would take the fight to the Darkness with vigor...and it did not take him long to discover the Fel Imperium.

Its monarch, Ronin Fel, personally introduced the zealot to Imperial Doctrine. Josiah, in his desire to see the Darkness quelled, allowed the delusion of "True Order" to penetrate his beliefs. The thought of personal freedoms being sacrificed in order to bring about peace, prosperity, and an end to the Darkness began to sit well with him. And, in time, he became a member of the reconstituted Order of Imperial Knights. Alongside these bold warriors was were many victorious battles fought. The Sith Empire was crumbling, both due to internal and external threats: a fact which seemed to validate Josiah's choice in allies. Before the final nail was driven into the Empire's coffin, Josiah faced off against the reigning Sith Emperor himself: a Graug by the name Krag. Though titanic, the end result was victory for the Imperial Knight; and shortly thereafter the Sith Empire fell to the combined might of the Republic, the Mandalorians, and the Imperium.

In the wake of their victory, a call was made by the Jedi Grandmaster Selena Halcyon. She was bidding all Jedi, departed, rogue, or otherwise, to return home to the Republic. The goal was to continue to crusade against the Darkness: something that Josiah eagerly stood behind. Yet, upon arriving to the next theater of battle, Josiah was met with a shocking discovery. The Republic was invading...Atrisian territory. While true, the nation had only just bent the knee to the Fringe Confederation, there was nothing inherently malicious about the Atrisian Empire. They were, frankly, just there. Free of any known Dark Side presence. Yet here Josiah was, fighting a battle that conflicted with everything he was.

And ironically enough, it was the very same "dark" kinswoman who championed Atrisia at the Battle of O'reen. It was Ashin Varanin and her Fringe Confederation that stopped the Republic from going too far.

After that day, Josiah was left with a horrid taste in his mouth. He needed time away...from everything. He needed to step back and look at the Galaxy for what it truly was.

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[Darth Metus]

Biography​

Part III - Herodias Ren​

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The Belief that turning away from all Mankind is not a new one. After all, the most astute monks retreat to monastaries for a singular reason: Isolation brings us closer to the divine.​

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It was by the very same logic that Josiah Denko turned his back on the Galaxy: and thus was done for many reasons. With his own might did he contribute to the Empire's collapse. Yet with his own eyes did he witness his ordeals challenged. How could he come to terms with what reality showed him? How could he accept that beings who wielded the Darkness would be the ones in the Right? Shaken to the core was Josiah, so much so that he borrowed a starfighter and flew...and flew...and flew. And when it came time for him to refuel, he opted to do more than land upon the nearest world.

Fate...or rather...the Will of the Force would have it that his "destination" would be Manaan. It was there that he temporarily abandoned his vessel and sought somewhere isolated to ease his troubled mind. He needed to be away from others, away from the bustling Ahto City, and as such dove into the perpetual blue. Caverns would be his salvation from the depths, and there he found more than oxygen to replenish his lungs. He found a survivor. A sole survivor of a sect long thought to be extinct. Rather than attack or attempt to dissuade the troubled man from tarrying, the Hermit welcomed Josiah to his humble abode.

There he tarried. There he meditated. There he learned.

The Force revealed to him many things over the days he spent beneath the waves. It showed him just how deep his errors ran, highlighting the common ancestry between he and the woman he once dueled. It challenged his former beliefs at every turn, begging the old question "why?" Why was it that the Force always existed with Dark and Light? Why was it that beings of the Dark were capable of standing in the Right? Why was it that, no matter how many nations rose or fell, beings of both spectrums always awakened?

Although answers to all these questions were hardly discovered, the inquiries themselves were enough to shake Josiah of his immaturities. He abandoned any notions that suggested that the division between Black and White was clearly defined. He shelved the belief that the Light existed solely to destroy the Darkness. Yes, some traces of his zealotry remained...and yes, some vestiges of the Imperial Doctrine were burned upon his thoughts. Yet, for the most part, the isolation allowed Josiah Denko to emerge a changed man.

And, fittingly, the Galaxy he awoke to had changed. Drastically.

In the wake of the Sith Empire was something far greater...and far worse. The One Sith.

Yet, that was not Josiah's battle...not yet, anyway. No, what he needed to do primarily was something far different. Upon departing from Manaan, Josiah managed to track down the woman he had challenged previously. Some semblance of a bridge was built, and from it a relationship that surprised Josiah. He found himself compelled to look to Ashin whenever his meditations were not enough to offer guidance. And she was kind enough to offer her thoughts on the matter. However, when Josiah attempted to contact her in recent history, he found no answer.

What's more, the recent proximity of "The Rapture" had placed concern at the forefront of his mind. What if she-?

No. It was simple enough. Maybe her number changed or she had relocated away from the formerly-Fringe territories. Whichever the case, Josiah attempted to discern her whereabouts by venturing to a world known as Skye. Yet, to his surprise, the planet was hardly alone. In but hours, a new nation had descended upon it, intent upon subjugating Skye and her people. Josiah simply could not stand by and allow such a travesty to transpire; especially not upon a world that once stood within his cousin's nation.

As such, he took it upon himself to defend the Ruling Council of the planet.

Yet in that defense, he encountered [member="Belis Ren"].

Their clash resulted in something...strange. He was introduced to the mindset of the so-called First Order: a nation that carried many similarities to the Fel Imperium. However, the most striking difference was a preference to utilize the Dark Side of the Force.

The younger Josiah would have immediately attempted to cut down this new regime...but the reformed Josiah lent an ear. In the Galaxy's current state, a nation hellbent on Order was not the worst thing. However, their hunger for blood certainly would not do. So, an accord was struck between Josiah, Belis, and the man behind the curtain.

His saber for the lives of the Ruling Council. His support for a solemn vow that innocent bloodshed would be...kept to a minimum.

They agreed. And thus was born Herodias Ren.

Much to his Folly.

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[Darth Metus]

Biography
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Part IV - Stronger Together
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To be fully seen by somebody, then, and be loved anyhow - this is a human offering that can border on miraculous.​

In time, it became very evident that the accord was one founded upon lies. In the beginning, all had been as Belis Ren promised. Though martial in nature, the missions that called upon Herodias did not force him to raise his hand against the innocent. However. As the First Imperial warmachine began to grow, it quickly fell into conflict with the neighboring Galactic Alliance. The clash of democracy and empire was such that the First Order had to exercise dominance in all it did. To resist was to be put to the sword for many months - and quickly, the vow turned to ash. Though bringing Order to a turbulent Galaxy was certainly a cause worth fighting for, it was not one that Josiah could stomach. Not if it meant caking his hands in blood. Not if it meant truly falling.

Thus, in the midst of a skirmish, Josiah made his escape. His tracks were covered as if his starfighter had been felled in battle. He flew as far as the twin ion engines would allow him to fly, ultimately ending up in vastly familiar territory. Supremely exhausted engines had seen him land within the Southern Systems of the Galaxy. But, he was not close enough to "civilized" space to earn a refuel just yet. Here was much better than staining his hands - and it turned out here was a rather quiet world. Known for little more than the occasional mining operation, in fact. But, as he took his first steps, he stumbled upon one who sought more than ore underneath the surface. Her name was Mara, and her intent was to study things that had long-since died.

Happenstance saw it that his strong arms were put to work. Swing the pickaxe, move the dirt, and he'd have earned enough credits to see his vessel fueled to the next port. A fair enough bargain. Yet as the days rolled by, the conversations ran deep. Josiah was able to make the stoic researcher laugh. And Mara was able to distract Josiah from the sins he had committed. When the dig was finally done and it came time to part ways, they simply...didn't. They made up whatever excuse it took to travel to the next port together - and from thence were attached at one another's hip. Though they were the furthest thing from wealthy, a life began to built by their hands. And, in end, Mara took his name. It seemed as though the absolute best had come of his departure from the First Order.

But as these things often go - where there is dawn, there must be dusk. It was early into their marriage that they had welcomed a child into their lives. The pair thought they were happy - but this gem was the cherry on top of their joy. Yet, on a trip to Nar Shaddaa, fate struck their vessel like a hammer. An attack rocked them out of the sky and, though Josiah and Mara survived, their child was nowhere to be found amidst the wreckage. With no other presumption than death, the pair attempted - in vain - to pick up the pieces. Yet the pain was more than either Jedi was able to take. Josiah blamed himself and silently shouldered the burden of his grief. He struggled daily and soon found that even the Light left him. Mara coped by diving into her work like never before.

For the first time since the first dig, a rift had opened between them. And the Denko family split. When Josiah departed, he did so with rectifying his turmoil at the forefront of his mind. He thought it would be a journey of days...weeks at the most. But as he grappled with the absence of the Light - snuffed out by his own anger and sorrow - the journey rolled into months. Years. During his time, he had taken up the blade again for the reconstituted Confederacy. Fighting the good fight in their name whilst he struggled within. And, by the time he saw the Light once more, a literal decade had passed. But where there was dusk, there was dawn. And upon the wintry peaks of Monastery did he begin to piece together his broken world. He found his Mara there, lost in her work as always.

And together, they resolved to see the future as One.

 

[Darth Metus]

Tracker

Current Arc

• Lost Light
• Genesis
• A Splash of Freedom
• Simpler Times

 

[Josiah]

Updated - 9/15

 

[Darth Athora]