The Ascendency
"The mysteries of the Force are an enigma to me.
But for all those abilities, all the power, the Jedi lacked the vision for how to wield it."
-Mitth'raw'nuruodo
OUT-OF-CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Put to paper an idea I've had since reading the New Canon Thrawn trilogy and expanding on my interpretation of Thrawn's vision for the future of the Sky-Walkers and the Chiss Ascendancy
- Image Credit:
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links:
- Tradition Name: Chiss Nightdragon Corps
- Tradition Type: Government Para-Military Group
- Tradition Focus: Combat and Infiltration
- Influence: Minor
- Orientation: Light-Leaning
- The Chiss Nightdragons are forbidden to use the Dark Side as it is understood that the Dark Side corrupts absolutely. Despite their abolition of the Dark Side, they do not adhere to many of the ideals found throughout Light-sided ideologies. They use the Force as a tool of the state and not their own personal gain but how they use it could be questionable.
- Influence Area: Chiss Ascendancy Worlds or areas with Chiss interests
- Symbol:
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- Description: The Chiss Nightdragons or the Nightdragon Corps were a para-military force order loyal to the Chiss Ascendancy. They often operated attached to the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet prior to the destruction of Csilla but quickly moved to the defense of important members of the Ascendancy remnant. They acted mostly as body guards, personal agents, and shock troops in the war against the Brotherhood of the Maw. Their connection to the Force and other Force traditions through the Galaxy was tumultuous at worst, strained at best due to their loyalty to the Chiss but they did find common ground. Some even took the ideals of other orders as their own. In recent years, their support of a rather nebulous Chiss Ascendancy rather than one group or another within the Ascendancy has made them important in the political tug of war within the still shattered Chiss Ascendancy.
- Membership: Membership is not optional. Sky-Walkers with great potential are chosen early on by Nightdragon Matriarchs posing as Sky-Walker caretakers or Seekers in the Seeker Program and their abilities are fostered from as early as seven. They are followed until they exit the Sky-Walker corps and are then approached about joining the order. If they refuse they are taken and their memories altered. From then on they are trained as infiltrators, warriors, and assassins. Despite years of research, many Chiss still begin to lose their abilities as they age. While not all do, the possibility was there and so after the age of 45 Nightdragons are promoted the rank of Matriarch or Patriarch. Their combat roles begin to fade to the wayside and they begin taking up tasks such as infiltrating the Sky-Walker Corps, training future generations, or joining the Chiss bureaucracy in some form or fashion.
- Hatchling
- Drake
- Nightdragon
- Matriarch/Patriarch
- Motives: To protect the Chiss Ascendancy from external and internal threats and become the equalizer against Jedi and Sith incursions.
- Rules and Teachings: The Nightdragons are taught to believe that their excellent and powerful abilities exist to serve the Chiss Ascendancy and protect their fellow Chiss. This is drilled from a young age by the Nightdragon Matriarchs. Much of their ethos in regards to combat and military doctrine comes from the Chiss ideals of being a Warrior.
- Reputation: In the past they were entirely unknown. However, after the destruction of Csilla they became a familiar sight protecting surviving members of the Syndicure, important members of the Aristocra, and high-ranking military officials. Though their overall impact on the Second-Great Hyperspace War was negligible and confined almost entirely to the Chiss Theatres, they were vital in defending against Sith and Brotherhood attacks on important Chiss worlds. The Empire would also face them during the Chiss Rebellion as they were sent to aid the Chiss Reclamationists.
- Openness: Absolutely not open
- Characteristic Equipment:
- Synthetic Lightsaber Crystals: Many Chiss not care much about the Force's mysticism. Though many Nightdragons do delve into the arcane, their equipment is state-ordained, and with a lack of worlds rich in kyber they have taken technology developed by the Sith to meet their goals. All Nightdragons are issued synthetic lightsaber crystals. Though the color is modular, the standard color is red.
- Modified CEDF Warrior Armor: Chiss Nightdragons are issued modified CEDF Warrior armor. It is modified to be lighter and less restrictive.
- Military Uniform: The uniform of the Chiss Nightdragons is black, like many Chiss military uniforms, and full regalia includes a cape, medal chain, and polished boots. Much of this is modular within reason.
- Notable Force Skills:
- Force Navigation/Astrogation: As all of the Nightdragons began as Sky-Walkers navigating Chiss warships through the Chaos of the Unknown Regions, all of them have extremely developed Force-based navigation skills and exceptional precognition abilities. They are some of the best navigators in the Galaxy.
- Notable Force Limitations: They forbid the use of abilities tied to the Dark Side in any way.
MEMBERS
Tris
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
In the distant past the secrets of the Force among the Chiss were unknown. They had a grasp of certain abilities such as Third Sight among their people, an ability that gave their military dominance over those of their neighbors in the Chaos. Ozyly-esehembo, they called them. Sky-Walkers. But for all their training, their experiments, their development, all of their Sky-Walkers lost their abilities between the ages of 11 and 14. All save for one. Vah'nya, a powerful Sky-Walker who retained her abilities long into adulthood. Imperial emissary, Eli'Van'To (Eli Vanto) was tasked with finding out why through the use of various datapoints collected over centuries of the program's existence. It was done initially in secret and then expanded at some point before Eli's death. It became known as Project Ivant, named after Eli's Chiss core name and would go on to find, isolate, and propel the Chiss' Sky-Walkers to new heights. Through Project Ivant, Sky-Walkers were regularly keeping their abilities past puberty, into adulthood, and occasionally into their late middle and old ages.
One Chiss admiral within the Chiss Expansionary Defense Fleet saw the potential and latched on, spearheading the Nightdragon project. Mimicking groups such as the Imperial Knights he sought to weaponize Third Sight and develop skills outside of navigation. He brought in foreign experts from across the Galaxy to aid in the training of the first generation of Nightdragons. The project was met with pushback from all angles. The leaders of the Sky-Walker Corps, the Syndicure, and the top brass of the military all saw the lengths the Nightdragons went to find and train their warriors. The cost was seen as too much and too brutal with "little to gain". Their first test would be against the Grysks, an old enemy of the Chiss Ascendancy. Able to successfully stop a Grysk plot to kidnap a group of Sky-Walkers, the Nightdragons were hailed by the Syndicure to be the next evolution of Chiss dominance in the Unknown Regions. The Nightdragons were officially created just before the outbreak of the Gulag Plague but would continue to operate throughout, the autonomy gained in the chaos of the galactic pandemic retained after stabilization. Over the centuries the secretive group grew in number, exploding after the Gulag Plague and the Great Vanishing of 844 ABY.
After the destruction of Csilla, their order became known to the public, appearing to protect the surviving Syndicure and Aristocra and to fight against the Sith and Brotherhood on far-flung Chiss worlds. Though they numbered fewer even than the Imperial Knights, they would serve and protect the Chiss Ascendancy with their all. Considered its own military branch, the Nightdragons would typically side politically with the Chiss Expansionary Defense Forces with their members most often traveling with and their missions being tied to them. Along with the CEDF, they would go on to aid Chiss revolutionaries in Imperial Space during the failed Chiss Rebellions during the tail end of the Second-Great Hyperspace War.
