Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Codify a companion for Elpsis Elaris.
- Image Credit: Here. Image search leads to a Tumblr blog called 'Heroes Get Made'. Image is from The Old Republic MMO.
- Role: Warrior, companion for Elpsis.
- Links: Trouble in the Jungle, Sith species, Elpsis Elaris, Order of Fire.
- Age: 24
- Force Sensitivity: Knight
- Species: Sith Pureblood
- Appearance: With her crimson skin, short raven hair and bony tendrils in the place of eyebrows, Nyssa is a typical member of the Sith Purebloods that ruled an empire millennia ago, but have by now become extremely rare in the Galaxy. Generations of inbreeding with humans means that her facial tentacles are less pronounced than they might have been during the days of King Adas, though her family would still insist that they were 'true Sith'. Nyssa is quite tall, possessing an athletic, muscular frame with the physique of a warrior. She keeps in shape through constant exercise. She lacks cranial horns, but has cheek tentacles and sulfuric yellow eyes. All in all, her profile is sharp, fierce and predatory. Her body is marred by a variety of scars. Some were inflicted upon her during training as a Sith acolyte, while others were earned in combat. Nyssa has a low-pitched voice, speaking in a deep contralto. Her right hand was blown up during her duel with Elpsis. It has since been replaced by a sturdy cybernetic limb. The robotic appendage lacks the synthskin applied to some models, and has a skeletal, droid-like appearance.
- Name: Nyssa Vykaris
- Loyalties: Elpsis Elaris, Taryc Ap'Irae, Order of Fire.
- Wealth: Low.
- Notable Possessions: Owns an archaic Lanvarok and a Sith sword that was passed down the generations as a family heirloom. Moreover, she's in possession of her sister Alypia's lightsabre and the holocron. The latter does not teach any particularly remarkable powers, but details Alypia's personal and philosophical thoughts, for the ostensibly devout Sith was actually a heretical Lightsider. Nyssa keeps them in memory of the sibling she killed.
Force abilities:
- Force Barrier
- Force Rage
- Force Sense
- Force Slow
- Force Speed & Jump
- Telekinesis
Combat skills:
- Lightsabre Duellist
- Melee Weapons
- Ranged Weapons
- Hand-to-Hand
Non-Combat skills:
- Speaks and understands the Sith language
- Forging
- First aid
Personality: Brave in combat, cynical and internally conflicted. All her life, Nyssa was raised to believe in the Sith Code, as it was laid down by the ancient Sorzus Syn. Life was defined by pain. Her master brought her pain to strengthen her for battle. There was no place for weakness, for only the strong possessed a right to rule, whereas the weak were nothing but chattel. As the scion of an old Sith bloodline that was obsessed with reclaiming what it considered to be its rightful place of power, she was expected to be an embodiment of the Sith ideology, bringing death to Jedi and heretics alike, while at the same time gaining power.
Her mother, a powerful Sith Master, pushed her children to excel. Nyssa learned to be strong, ruthless and savage, though a number of events caused embers of doubt to manifest inside her. Now she stands at a crossroad, with one foot in a new world, but with the other still in the old one. Disillusioned, she is in moving from the nihilistic ideals of the Sith. But old attitudes are hard to shake off. She is prideful, mildly xenophobic and a blood knight who revels in battle and believes glory can be obtained through it. She's quick to anger when she feels slighted. The Pureblood respects martial valour, initiative and daring.
Presently, Nyssa is more than a litle isolated in the Order of Fire, where she is widely distrusted and closely monitored. This is understandable since she fought against three of the Order's witches on Anderahl and, following her capture, initially intended to use them as pawns to get rid of her rivals in the Sith cult she belonged to. It has also not escaped her attention that while the Order regards Sith as evil, a number of their members are Dark Force-users themselves. This seems a bit contradictory to her.
Nyssa feels a grudging respect for Elpsis due to the pyromancer beating her in combat, though this gnaws at her pride. Rather than torturing her as she expected, Elpsis and [member="Taryc Ap'Irae"] showed her compassion, with some elements of tough love since they're not flower children. Faced with the possibility of something better than the life she's used to, the Pureblood has decided to give her teachings a chance, but still retains her own views rather than doing a 180. What baffles Nyssa is that her prospective teacher seems to have little ambition. She's far too content with her present station. This is inconceivable. So she tries to influence Elpsis to become more assertive.
COMBAT INFORMATION
Weapon of Choice: Lightsabre, Sith Sword, the Force.
Combat Function: Nyssa is physically strong, agile and an aggressive fighter. She is a blood knight who prefers leaping into combat head-first, rather than skulking in the shadows or using esoteric techniques. Having been trained as a warrior, she has a tactical mind and knows how to use her environment to her advantage. When angered, she can succumb to a berserk fury. While this empowers her for a short while, it can also easily be used against her. She has a very high pain tolerance, though as her fight with Elpsis shows, this can only go so far if someone has caused your hand to combust. As a Sith warrior, she has been taught to fight dirty. Moreover, she's skilled in hand-to-hand combat. She is proficient in the five classical forms of lightsabre combat, with a particular focus on the offensive power of Djem So.
However, she is comparatively weak against mental attacks. Her defences in this area are more instinctual, making it a vulnerability. This can make dealing with illusionists a problem for her. Moreover, she cannot use the Force to heal injuries. Nyssa is stubborn, headstrong and prideful. This could be exploited by a canny opponent. While well-crafted, her cybernetic hand is vulnerable to strong blasts of electricity, ion and EMP.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
Nyssa was born on Althiss, a haven for Purebloods, as the scion of an old Sith bloodline. Her mother Alia was a powerful Sith Master in her own right, with her own estate, slaves and minions. Aside from Nyssa, she had two other daughters. Alypia was the oldest of the three, while Ghanima was the youngest. The last one was considered illegitimate since she'd been fathered by a slave.
Nyssa's father Samazya had been a powerful Sith warrior in his prime, but grew indolent as he aged, content to pursue the life style of a hedonist. Thus he spent most of his time indulging in debauchery, siring bastards and going on hunting trips. Increasingly, he and his wife began to quarrel as the house's fortunes declined. Growing tired of him, Alia decided to rid herself of her husband. Especially after she heard rumours saying that one of his concubines was urging him to kill her.
Samazya had enjoyed forcing slaves to fight to the death in an arena. Sometimes to spice things up, he pit them against ferocious Sithspawn. His passion for gladiatorial combat was such that he sometimes entered the arena himself. It was a convenient way for him to relive his glory days without putting himself at risk. He also made a habit out of fighting exotic animals, such as Sithspawn. However, during one match he was unexpectedly injured when after being hewed down, his opponent struck him with a poisoned blade.
While he lay in his sick bed, Alia made sure he left it as a dead man. Pinning the blame on his lackeys, she subsequently purged the court of his favourites. This included putting his illegitimate children to death. Nyssa was still a little girl then. The kangaroo courts, grisly executions, which involved alleged traitors being torn apart by wild beasts, and betrayals left their mark on her. She was not only a passive observer, for Alia expected her children to show their mettle by participating. Given a dagger, Nyssa stabbed one of her father's bastards.
Having consolidated her power base, Alia pushed her children to excel. In her own twisted way, she cared for them. There was no room for the weak, and so they had to become strong, ruthless and cunning, if they wished to survive and carry on the bloodline. Thus she fostered a competitive spirit in all three. Alypia was undoubtedly her favourite. Strong, cunning, dashing and endowed with a strong connection to the Force, she seemed destined for great things. Standing in her older sister's shadow, Nyssa felt a bit of an inferiority complex, especially once Alypia had graduated from the Sith Academy. For a while, she was close to Ghanima, as both resented the fact that their older sibling was being given favourable treatment compared to them. However, that alliance did not last. At the Academy, Nyssa was taught the ways of the Sith, undergoing the usual trials of a young acolyte. These included lessons in tomb raiding, murder and betrayal. Throwing herself into her training, she embraced the role of a Sith warrior. She could not help wonder what lay beyond her homeworld. Sporadic missions to other worlds only left her more curious. As it turned out, she would not have to wait for long, for the Purebloods had decided it was time to reclaim their rightful place in the Galaxy.
The council that ruled Athiss proclaimed the Resurgent Empire. Nyssa was among those Sith who set foot upon their ancestral homeworld of Korriban, conquering it in the name of the new empire. Then the Sith set their eyes upon Dromund Kaas. Here, she acquitted herself well in battle against the Silver Jedi, killing a Jedi in mortal combat. Having been raised on stories about the Sith genocide, she relished the opportunity to do battle against Jedi. However, she was vexed by the fact that she'd been forced to serve under the command of Alypia, who led their house's forces into combat and got most of the glory. When Alypia claimed several of Nyssa's captives as her slaves, the two almost came to blows. Ghanima, who had been unable to participate in the battle, was left with mundane tasks, which only increased her resentment of her two more accomplished siblings.
After Kaas, Nyssa fought Dominion forces on Serenno. The siblings returned to the family estate with trophies and slaves. However, the rift between her and Alypia deepened, as her older sister became more and more secretive. This caused Nyssa to suspect that she might be plotting against her. In actual fact, the truth was a lot more shocking. For many years, Alypia had been playing a double game. Outwardly, she was devoted to the Dark Side, but in secret she'd turned away from the Sith Code and embraced the Light. For many years, she had kept up the act while subtly trying to do good in small ways and plot her own coup. When confronted, Alypia denied that she'd become an apostate, claiming that she wanted to lead their house to glory by using the best of both worlds. Using her powers of persuasion, she stressed that there would be a place for Nyssa in her regime. The Pureblood seemed to back down and agree.
The day came for the coup to be launched...and it turned out to have been a huge ruse. Far from wanting to overthrow clan matriarch Alia, Alypia had been plotting with her. The entire rift had been a con to get the hardcore darksiders to reveal themselves so that they could be converted, disposed of or exiled, enabling the family to go to the light side. When Nyssa discovered that she'd been played, she was furious. Refusing to forsake her old beliefs, she fled. Determined to avenge herself on her duplicitous family members, she gathered her remaining loyalists, but they were few in number. So she took the step of allying herself with her family's old rivals, House Karishax, which had long been publicly scorned by the Vykalis for having 'impure blood'.
Things came to head during the civil war that marked the end of the Resurgent Empire. Both clans met in the battle and the results were disastrous. Nyssa slew Alypia in combat, but her older sister's parting words proved to be prophetic. As Alypia had predicted, it would all end in darkness and ruin, leaving Nyssa without the power she craved. In the end, that's exactly what happened. Her revenge would turn out to be hollow, especially when her allies turned on her. She was left without power, family or friends. In short, it was a hollow victory.
Pillaging what resources she could, she allied with a group of Sith raiders, cultists and corsairs who had set their eye upon a world called Anderahl. The planet was experiencing a power vacuum, and had no powerful protector or patron. Moreover, there were rumours of a powerful Sith artefact. Intending to take it for herself and slay the cult leader, Nyssa joined their campaign. Unfortunately, things did not as planned. First Taryc Ap'Irae, an Inquisitor in the service of Firemane, killed their leader, causing the rest of the cult to chase her. Then her partner Elpsis Elaris and the Dathomiri witch [member="Maiev"] came to her aid, slaying several cultists.
During the fight, Nyssa engaged Elpsis in a furious duel. She managed to sneak up on the empath and get the drop on her. Quickly the Pureblood put the witch on the defensive with her superior lightsabre skills. However, when she seemed overpowered, Elpsis launched a powerful pyromantic assault, causing Nyssa's hand to combust. Then she assaulted her with a combination of pyromancy and Force illusions. Beaten, Nyssa was taken prisoner rather than slain out of hand. Naturally, the three ladies were smart enough to adequately restrain her first. When she awoke, she found herself aboard Elpsis' tramp freighter. Much to her annoyance, she was stuck inside a box. Her attempts to free herself from captivity turned out to be futile, and so she was subjected to interrogation. To her surprise, she was not tortured. Rather they treated her with kindness, though with some severity. In short, tough love. It turned out that Taryc had her own history with the Dark Side as an Inquisitor in the service of the Primeval's Gods, while Elpsis' father had been a sadistic Sith Lord. Nyssa learned of the latter when Elpsis forcibly melded minds with her. Conflicted, she told the gang of three what she knew about the remnants of the cult - and the artefact they sought. Though she initially intended to simply manipulate her captors into getting rid of the competition so that she could claim the device for herself, in the end she decided to join them for real. Though she had trouble admitting it, their words and actions resonated with her, though she still clung to many of her old values.
