Karrigan'Xalda
Daughter of the Karishzar
NAME: Karrigan'Xalda. In Xioquo culture, the clan name comes first. So Xalda is in fact her given name.
FACTION: Firemane, Daughters of the Destroyer, House Kerrigan-Alcori.
RANK: Witch Spellweaver
SPECIES: Xioquo
AGE: 65
SEX: Female
HEIGHT: Tall.
WEIGHT: Lean.
EYES: Pale green.
HAIR: White
SKIN: Dark Grey.
FORCE SENSITIVE: Yes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES (Required: 2 Weaknesses Minimum) :
Xalda is slightly taller than average for a Xioquo, but also well-built and strong. Long years of gruelling labour and on the battlefield have left their mark upon her. Her skin is a dark grey and her hair is white. Her eyes are pale green, which may appear exotic to an outsider but is quite common amongst her people. Her face, neck and the rest of her body are marred by several scars. A cruel slave mistress branded her to make sure she knew her place. The brand has been removed since her liberation, but a pale scar remains. Her right ear was mutilated and though it was restored, it does not quite look right. Her movements are economical and precise. She tries to stay out of the spotlight, wears concealing clothes and always carries at least a dagger on her person.
Unit:
Force Abilities:
Xalda has only faint memories of her family. Her owners drilled it into her that she was born a slave and meant to be one because the Goddess willed it. However, in actual fact her parents were lower caste Xioquo, who parted with their youngest child after falling on hard times. The girl was employed as a house servant in the household of a Xioquo noble family. As a child labourer, her duties included cleaning, errands, making food and tasting food. Once an assassin tried to murder her owner by contaminating her food. Perhaps it was an unconscious use of the Force that allowed Xalda to survive.
Xalda's stubbornness and festering anger brought her few favours though. Especially since her owner was the type to enjoy the company of pretty young servants. This, coupled with frequent punishments for disobedience and minor transgressions, caused some deep-seated anger issues. Eventually, she lashed out during a slave uprising, unleashing a blast of Force power on her tormentors. She had no training or knowledge of her powers, just a strong rage. The head of the house was badly wounded during the rising, which was brutally suppressed. She ordered all who had participated in it to be made an example of. Captured, Xalda was branded, beaten and humiliated, but unexpectedly spared execution. In her place, a slave a who resembled her was killed. One of the family matriarch's daughters, Xhal'Viraz, had taken notice of the girl's Force-sensitivity.
Realising that the slave could be an asset, she decided to use her as a pawn in her bid to take control over the house. In Xioquo culture, Force-sensitive slaves were trained as slave-soldiers. Those who survived the brutal process formed a sort of janissary corps for their house. Xalda was told in no uncertain terms that serving her new mistress was her only chance to 'redeem' herself - and survive. Friendless, afraid and beaten, she had no choice but to accept. She was still a little child when this happened.
Taken away from the palatial estate, she and a bunch of other prospective slave-soldiers were thrown into the lowest levels of the Underealm, where exiles were commonly sent to die. Here, abominations dwelt, many of them failed or uncontrollable creations of Xioquo alchemists. Given the task to recover an ancient tome, natural selection thinned the ranks of the slaves, while they were continuously hounded. Driven by a need to survive, Xalda endured, refusing to die like so many others. While inexperienced, she displayed leadership, helping organise the slaves so that they could survive as a team instead of competing. Still, natural selection diluted their numbers. Though badly injured and bleeding, she managed to make it out of the pit. Then her real training began.
The surviving slave-soldiers learned how to harness the Force as a weapon, apply military tactics, use muskets, bolt action rifles, swords, bows and arrows. At the end of the training process, they were pit against each other in gladitorial combat. for only the strongest and most ruthless were seen as fit to serve. Forced to fight one of her few friends, Xalda was beaten in sword combat, but then turned the tide by stabbing her opponent with a poisoned dagger. Her commander was pleased and proclaimed her ready.
The moment came for Xhal'Viraz to make her move, after bribing members of the Xioquo's ruling council to name her mother a traitor and accusing her of conspiring with the nation's enemies. A fierce battle ensued when Xhal's troops stormed the mansion. Xalda slew many followers of her former mistress and got the chance to torment here, ere she was tried by a kangaroo court and executed by being broken on the wheel. During the victory celebrations, she poisoned her commanding officer, the one who had forced her to murder a friend in the arena. Nonetheless, she was still a slave. Resigned to her fate, she served the new matriarch in many campaigns. She fought in internecine Xioquo squabbles, but also participated in raids against the Qadiri and the Vashyada. These attacks were largely about the acquisition of slaves and plunder, rather than the conquest of territory. As a janissary, she was privileged compared to the common slaves, but still the property of her mistress, who was quick to remind her of that.
Times changed when the offworlders arrived. At first, the Xioquo felt smug satisfaction when they received reports about the Qadiri being attacked, but this turned to concern when captured Qadiri spoke of the advanced technology of the outsiders. Xhal'Viraz entered into negotiations with a band of corsairs, sending Xalda as an emissary with a pack of slaves. However, after a joint raid, the foreigners plotted to betray their allies. Taking the matriarch prisoner, they did not realise it was a double, who had been ruthlessly sacrificed to deceive them. Striking during night fall while the slavers celebrated, the Xioquo janissaries massacred most of them. The survivors were taken prisoner, tortured and interrogated. From them, Xalda learned a bit of the greater galaxy beyond Tygara. She dared to dream of a different life.
More and more foreigners came to Tygara. Many called themselves Eldorai, others Firemane. When a large Xioquo force, with Xalda among them as part of her matriarch's strike force, raided a Qadiri town, they were intercepted by the foreigners and their war machines. Xalda fought bravely, but, drawing upon her experiences with the corsairs, underestimated her opponents. The bolters, blasters, and walkers of the foreigners were far superior to anything the Xioquo had. Hundreds of warriors were slain in under an hour while the enemy barely suffered casualties. Wounded in the leg by shrapnel, Xalda managed to escape. The Xioquo mistresses reacted in predictable fashion. Thus war began, as the outsiders signed an alliance with Semiramis III, Shâhbanu of the Amikarese Empire, the most powerful Qadiri state. She felt grim satisfaction when the Xioquo's old enemies, the Qadiri of the state of Lakish, launched a brazen assault on the Underealm, and were repulsed, though a Firemane intervention managed to avert a complete annihilation.
Participating in many skirmishes, Xalda was able to slay an Eldorai Angelii during an attack on a border fort, though overall the assault was a defeat. She began to feel doubts - and so did her mistress. Word of mouth spoke of a warrior who led the Firemane legions, and to whom both the pale Eldorai and the Qadiri deferred. Xhal'Viraz devised a plan to secretly negotiate with this warrior - and murder her when her guard was down. Her name was Siobhan Kerrigan, though to the Xioquo she was known as the Karishzar, which is their word for Destroyer. Xalda was offered to her as a gift, along with a collection of some of the Matriarch's most attractive slaves and valauble gems.
When she reached the Firemane camp, Xalda was in awe. She was impressed by their technology and curious about the the outsiders. Her mistresses had painted them as monsters who were even worse than they. She was even more awed when she came face to face with Kerrigan, whose bearing differed strongly from that of her owners. While strict and domineering, the woman showed her kindness. Still, she had her orders. Little did she know that the human had already deduced her true purpose during the night they spent together in Siobhan's bed. Using sleight of hand, Siobhan replaced the wine Xalda had poisoned with the proper stuff, drinking merrily. Xalda was shocked and certain her life was forfeit when the Lady offered her the original glass. Then the Lady poured it on the floor. Surprised that her life was being spared, Xalda bent the knee and swore fealty to the Lady Kerrigan, whom she came to idolise.
Though distrusted by many in the Firemane ranks due to her background, she participated in the final assault on the Underealm, which ended with the Xioquo's subterranean capital being conquered. During the course of the battle, the 'demigoddess' Mystra was slain by Kerrigan and her allies. Xalda was not among the party, but managed to apprehend and capture her former mistress, who'd tried to escape the Downfall. She made sure that Xhal'Viraz suffered, repaying her for her abuse.
Finally a free woman, she named herself Karrigan'Xalda. In the aftermath of the battle, she was inducted into the ranks of the Order of Fire. The fall of the ancien régime led to a radical social revolution. Firemane put Liavondra, a lightside Xioquo, on the throne and abolished slavery. To set the lower classes free, the old power structures and client networks were broken up. However, the transition was a bloody one. Xalda participated in several counterinsurgency operations against Xioquo partisans who opposed the new order, regarding those that supported it as traitors who had turned their back on their race.
Xalda participated in operations on Tygara, Arkas and Tash-Taral since then, leaving the confines of her homeworld. She was still quie inexperienced, but eager to discover what the world has to offer outside of the bubble she was trapped in for so long. She also joined the Daughters of the Destroyer, an all-female Xioquo cult that idolises Siobhan Kerrigan, and became one of their cell leaders. This can be compared to the position of a parish priestess. In Xioquo society, being a cleric is more like a job than a vocation. This means priestesses do other stuff to instead of being cloistered.
Xalda fought under Firemane's banner on Tephrike. At first Firemane had tried to pursue diplomacy with the totalitarian, Jedi-led Dominion of Light. But the negotiations were sabotaged by extremists within the Dominion's government and the Firemane delegation was attacked. Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori was captured by the Jedi Inquisition. Thus Firemane declared war. When faced with fanatical Jedi crusaders, Firemane decided to counter them with zealots of its own. Thus the Cataphracts and the Xioquo fanatics ended up facing warriors of the Dominion of Light.
Karrigan'Xalda saw action during the assault on Fortress Purity, a key Dominion citadel. She was dispatched by High Priestess Quas'Ziru herself. It was a fierce battle, as many Dominion troops fought to the last man and they deployed Force-Users in large numbers. Xalda's dedication and combat skills honoured her fellow Daughters. During the battle, she fought Dominion clone troopers and Jedi. She distinguished herself, but was traumatised General Kennobi, the commander of the Dominion's forces, sent a unit of Younglings on a futile death charge to cover their leadership's retreat. Xalda was forced to fire on the Younglings. She helped bury them in the aftermath, praying that the Mother Earth would grant their souls peace. She still mourns their deaths. She was among the Firemane soldiers who entered the fortress after finally storming through the Dominion lines. This has made her a bit of a local heroine among the members of her local congregation.
SHIP: N/A
KILLS: N/A.
BOUNTIES COLLECTED: N/A
FACTION: Firemane, Daughters of the Destroyer, House Kerrigan-Alcori.
RANK: Witch Spellweaver
SPECIES: Xioquo
AGE: 65
SEX: Female
HEIGHT: Tall.
WEIGHT: Lean.
EYES: Pale green.
HAIR: White
SKIN: Dark Grey.
FORCE SENSITIVE: Yes.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Xioquo racial strengths. Xalda is extremely agile and quick. She has excellent coordination. Growing up in the Underealm means that she can see much further in the darkness than humans or Eldorai. She also has great hearing and sense of smell.
- Mind of Metal. For Tygara, the Xioquo were quite advanced, before the coming of the Eldorai. Xalda is very new to modern technology, but a naturally curious individual and learns fast. She's fascinated by it and a bit of a technophile.
- Xalda was first a slave, then a soldier. Against all odds, she survived. She can be very ruthless and callous because that is what helped her survive. She's acquired experience as a soldier during military campaigns, fighting Tygaran natives, Kraal raiders and Tephriki Jedi zealots. She is skilled in stealth and elemental Force abilities, with a focus on terramancy.
- Protector. Despite her darker traits, Xalda displays empathy, kindness and compassion for victims, particularly little children and slaves. She sees herself as an avenger and a protector.
- Glass Cannon. She has the traditional weaknesses of a Xioquo. Though faster than a human, she is physically weaker. As with all Eldorai subraces, she has a fast metabolism and requires more sustenance than a human.
- Living in the darkness for so long has made the sun and other bright lights painful for all of her race. If exposed to the sun, her skin can blister. Thus she needs to wear covering attire whenever she does so, such as robes, hoods, sunglasses and so on.
- Darkness. Xalda has a lot of pent-up anger and hatred inside her. Her trauma as a slave and upbringing in the cutthroat environment of the Underealm has shaped her. She can be cruel, ruthless and vindictive, even to the point of sadism. She enjoys inflicting pain on those who once made her suffer.
- Primitive. She is very unfamiliar with most of the advanced technology most people in the Galaxy take for granted. Before encountering Firemane she knew little of it beyond what would be the equivalent of early 19th century tech. Xalda has adapted well to firearms, favouring hard-hitting slugthrowers and stealthy weapons such as shatterguns, though she can also use blasters. However, a lot of the sophisticated tech that humans take for granted still eludes her. She may know that a certain device will work this way if she performs a certain action, but not why and can be quite superstitious, such as where space travel is concerned. So far she has not learned how to pilot. She has not received training in the use of lightsabres, but can use Force Imbued weapons.
- As a former slave, Xalda was not taught how to read or write. She has started taking classes since joining Firemane, but still struggles with it.
- Zealot. Xalda is a member of the Daughters of the Destroyer, a Xioquo cult that worships Siobhan as a wrathful deity.
Xalda is slightly taller than average for a Xioquo, but also well-built and strong. Long years of gruelling labour and on the battlefield have left their mark upon her. Her skin is a dark grey and her hair is white. Her eyes are pale green, which may appear exotic to an outsider but is quite common amongst her people. Her face, neck and the rest of her body are marred by several scars. A cruel slave mistress branded her to make sure she knew her place. The brand has been removed since her liberation, but a pale scar remains. Her right ear was mutilated and though it was restored, it does not quite look right. Her movements are economical and precise. She tries to stay out of the spotlight, wears concealing clothes and always carries at least a dagger on her person.
Unit:
Force Abilities:
- Telekinesis
- Terramancy
- Cryomancy
- Force Fear
- Force Affliction
- Physical Augmentation
- Control Pain
- Force Rage
- Force Barrier
- Force Stealth
- Force Sense
Xalda has only faint memories of her family. Her owners drilled it into her that she was born a slave and meant to be one because the Goddess willed it. However, in actual fact her parents were lower caste Xioquo, who parted with their youngest child after falling on hard times. The girl was employed as a house servant in the household of a Xioquo noble family. As a child labourer, her duties included cleaning, errands, making food and tasting food. Once an assassin tried to murder her owner by contaminating her food. Perhaps it was an unconscious use of the Force that allowed Xalda to survive.
Xalda's stubbornness and festering anger brought her few favours though. Especially since her owner was the type to enjoy the company of pretty young servants. This, coupled with frequent punishments for disobedience and minor transgressions, caused some deep-seated anger issues. Eventually, she lashed out during a slave uprising, unleashing a blast of Force power on her tormentors. She had no training or knowledge of her powers, just a strong rage. The head of the house was badly wounded during the rising, which was brutally suppressed. She ordered all who had participated in it to be made an example of. Captured, Xalda was branded, beaten and humiliated, but unexpectedly spared execution. In her place, a slave a who resembled her was killed. One of the family matriarch's daughters, Xhal'Viraz, had taken notice of the girl's Force-sensitivity.
Realising that the slave could be an asset, she decided to use her as a pawn in her bid to take control over the house. In Xioquo culture, Force-sensitive slaves were trained as slave-soldiers. Those who survived the brutal process formed a sort of janissary corps for their house. Xalda was told in no uncertain terms that serving her new mistress was her only chance to 'redeem' herself - and survive. Friendless, afraid and beaten, she had no choice but to accept. She was still a little child when this happened.
Taken away from the palatial estate, she and a bunch of other prospective slave-soldiers were thrown into the lowest levels of the Underealm, where exiles were commonly sent to die. Here, abominations dwelt, many of them failed or uncontrollable creations of Xioquo alchemists. Given the task to recover an ancient tome, natural selection thinned the ranks of the slaves, while they were continuously hounded. Driven by a need to survive, Xalda endured, refusing to die like so many others. While inexperienced, she displayed leadership, helping organise the slaves so that they could survive as a team instead of competing. Still, natural selection diluted their numbers. Though badly injured and bleeding, she managed to make it out of the pit. Then her real training began.
The surviving slave-soldiers learned how to harness the Force as a weapon, apply military tactics, use muskets, bolt action rifles, swords, bows and arrows. At the end of the training process, they were pit against each other in gladitorial combat. for only the strongest and most ruthless were seen as fit to serve. Forced to fight one of her few friends, Xalda was beaten in sword combat, but then turned the tide by stabbing her opponent with a poisoned dagger. Her commander was pleased and proclaimed her ready.
The moment came for Xhal'Viraz to make her move, after bribing members of the Xioquo's ruling council to name her mother a traitor and accusing her of conspiring with the nation's enemies. A fierce battle ensued when Xhal's troops stormed the mansion. Xalda slew many followers of her former mistress and got the chance to torment here, ere she was tried by a kangaroo court and executed by being broken on the wheel. During the victory celebrations, she poisoned her commanding officer, the one who had forced her to murder a friend in the arena. Nonetheless, she was still a slave. Resigned to her fate, she served the new matriarch in many campaigns. She fought in internecine Xioquo squabbles, but also participated in raids against the Qadiri and the Vashyada. These attacks were largely about the acquisition of slaves and plunder, rather than the conquest of territory. As a janissary, she was privileged compared to the common slaves, but still the property of her mistress, who was quick to remind her of that.
Times changed when the offworlders arrived. At first, the Xioquo felt smug satisfaction when they received reports about the Qadiri being attacked, but this turned to concern when captured Qadiri spoke of the advanced technology of the outsiders. Xhal'Viraz entered into negotiations with a band of corsairs, sending Xalda as an emissary with a pack of slaves. However, after a joint raid, the foreigners plotted to betray their allies. Taking the matriarch prisoner, they did not realise it was a double, who had been ruthlessly sacrificed to deceive them. Striking during night fall while the slavers celebrated, the Xioquo janissaries massacred most of them. The survivors were taken prisoner, tortured and interrogated. From them, Xalda learned a bit of the greater galaxy beyond Tygara. She dared to dream of a different life.
More and more foreigners came to Tygara. Many called themselves Eldorai, others Firemane. When a large Xioquo force, with Xalda among them as part of her matriarch's strike force, raided a Qadiri town, they were intercepted by the foreigners and their war machines. Xalda fought bravely, but, drawing upon her experiences with the corsairs, underestimated her opponents. The bolters, blasters, and walkers of the foreigners were far superior to anything the Xioquo had. Hundreds of warriors were slain in under an hour while the enemy barely suffered casualties. Wounded in the leg by shrapnel, Xalda managed to escape. The Xioquo mistresses reacted in predictable fashion. Thus war began, as the outsiders signed an alliance with Semiramis III, Shâhbanu of the Amikarese Empire, the most powerful Qadiri state. She felt grim satisfaction when the Xioquo's old enemies, the Qadiri of the state of Lakish, launched a brazen assault on the Underealm, and were repulsed, though a Firemane intervention managed to avert a complete annihilation.
Participating in many skirmishes, Xalda was able to slay an Eldorai Angelii during an attack on a border fort, though overall the assault was a defeat. She began to feel doubts - and so did her mistress. Word of mouth spoke of a warrior who led the Firemane legions, and to whom both the pale Eldorai and the Qadiri deferred. Xhal'Viraz devised a plan to secretly negotiate with this warrior - and murder her when her guard was down. Her name was Siobhan Kerrigan, though to the Xioquo she was known as the Karishzar, which is their word for Destroyer. Xalda was offered to her as a gift, along with a collection of some of the Matriarch's most attractive slaves and valauble gems.
When she reached the Firemane camp, Xalda was in awe. She was impressed by their technology and curious about the the outsiders. Her mistresses had painted them as monsters who were even worse than they. She was even more awed when she came face to face with Kerrigan, whose bearing differed strongly from that of her owners. While strict and domineering, the woman showed her kindness. Still, she had her orders. Little did she know that the human had already deduced her true purpose during the night they spent together in Siobhan's bed. Using sleight of hand, Siobhan replaced the wine Xalda had poisoned with the proper stuff, drinking merrily. Xalda was shocked and certain her life was forfeit when the Lady offered her the original glass. Then the Lady poured it on the floor. Surprised that her life was being spared, Xalda bent the knee and swore fealty to the Lady Kerrigan, whom she came to idolise.
Though distrusted by many in the Firemane ranks due to her background, she participated in the final assault on the Underealm, which ended with the Xioquo's subterranean capital being conquered. During the course of the battle, the 'demigoddess' Mystra was slain by Kerrigan and her allies. Xalda was not among the party, but managed to apprehend and capture her former mistress, who'd tried to escape the Downfall. She made sure that Xhal'Viraz suffered, repaying her for her abuse.
Finally a free woman, she named herself Karrigan'Xalda. In the aftermath of the battle, she was inducted into the ranks of the Order of Fire. The fall of the ancien régime led to a radical social revolution. Firemane put Liavondra, a lightside Xioquo, on the throne and abolished slavery. To set the lower classes free, the old power structures and client networks were broken up. However, the transition was a bloody one. Xalda participated in several counterinsurgency operations against Xioquo partisans who opposed the new order, regarding those that supported it as traitors who had turned their back on their race.
Xalda participated in operations on Tygara, Arkas and Tash-Taral since then, leaving the confines of her homeworld. She was still quie inexperienced, but eager to discover what the world has to offer outside of the bubble she was trapped in for so long. She also joined the Daughters of the Destroyer, an all-female Xioquo cult that idolises Siobhan Kerrigan, and became one of their cell leaders. This can be compared to the position of a parish priestess. In Xioquo society, being a cleric is more like a job than a vocation. This means priestesses do other stuff to instead of being cloistered.
Xalda fought under Firemane's banner on Tephrike. At first Firemane had tried to pursue diplomacy with the totalitarian, Jedi-led Dominion of Light. But the negotiations were sabotaged by extremists within the Dominion's government and the Firemane delegation was attacked. Elpsis Kerrigan-Alcori was captured by the Jedi Inquisition. Thus Firemane declared war. When faced with fanatical Jedi crusaders, Firemane decided to counter them with zealots of its own. Thus the Cataphracts and the Xioquo fanatics ended up facing warriors of the Dominion of Light.
Karrigan'Xalda saw action during the assault on Fortress Purity, a key Dominion citadel. She was dispatched by High Priestess Quas'Ziru herself. It was a fierce battle, as many Dominion troops fought to the last man and they deployed Force-Users in large numbers. Xalda's dedication and combat skills honoured her fellow Daughters. During the battle, she fought Dominion clone troopers and Jedi. She distinguished herself, but was traumatised General Kennobi, the commander of the Dominion's forces, sent a unit of Younglings on a futile death charge to cover their leadership's retreat. Xalda was forced to fire on the Younglings. She helped bury them in the aftermath, praying that the Mother Earth would grant their souls peace. She still mourns their deaths. She was among the Firemane soldiers who entered the fortress after finally storming through the Dominion lines. This has made her a bit of a local heroine among the members of her local congregation.
SHIP: N/A
KILLS: N/A.
BOUNTIES COLLECTED: N/A
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