Private Of Orchids and Iron

[Aether Verd]

Assets: Beskar'gam | Basilisk
Darksaber | Resolute Dawn​

EVAA'LA YAIM

The stars stretched long as the escort peeled away.

Crimson streaks marked the sky in his wake, trailing behind the black-winged basilisk war droid that bore him across the frozen veil of Evaar’la Yaim. The cold light of the planet crept in through his visor, soft and silver, touching the edges of his beskar like frost clinging to flame.

Below him sprawled a city born of iron and bloom: A’lakua Ta’hyapr, the Orchid Sanctuary. Neither fortress nor flower. Something between.

He knew the name.

House Orchid. Clan Cadera. Remnants of a line once fire-forged in the crucible of Mand'alor the Infernal's reign. They had not knelt in his throne room. They had not been summoned. But they remained. Mandalorian still. And that was enough.

Aether had not come as Mand’alor to command. He came as kin.

The people of Clan Gred had welcomed him with open arms, not out of fear, not for favor, but because they believed in the idea that Mandalorians, scattered as they were, might still find their way home. It was a hope he carried here. Across stars and scars.

His basilisk dipped lower, engines cycling into descent. Towers and factories gave way to green belts and public sanctuaries, all threaded between war foundries and shipyards that pulsed with quiet life.

Here, steel was softened by flowers.

He brought no warband. No banners. No pageantry. Only the weight of his name, and the quiet hope that someone still wore the violet of Cadera beneath this frozen sky.

With a hiss of steam and a hum of stabilizers, the basilisk touched down at the nearest landing platform.

And Aether Verd stepped out into the cold, not as Mand’alor the Iron, but as a son of Mandalore. Here to meet his cousins across the stars.​

Silhana Cadera

 

[Silhana Cadera]

Information

Alor of Clan Cadera, Headmistress of the House Orchid and Bounty Hunters' Guild​

"Galactic Basic" | <"Mandalorian"> | ~"Telepathic" communication ~ | << comm. channel >>​

Objective: Talking to the stranger
Location: A'lakua Ta'hyapr, Evaar'la Yaim
Equipment: 2x PV-16 "Sunfury" Pulse Pistol | 2x Simple short sword | Beskar'gam | Mandalorian vambrace || Stealth field generator || OPBC-01m
Writing With: Aether Verd

I returned from my current patrol not so long ago. Everything was fine, as fine as it can be on a planet that is home to a super volcano that erupted not too long ago. I hadn't seen this place before, only after the volcano had pretty much destroyed everything on it, but when we got it from the Eternal Empire, it seemed like a great place to start over and rebuild our culture. That's why there are several cities and fortresses on the planet, all under the jurisdiction of one clan or another. I lived here, in this one, which was built for my bounty hunter clan and Clan Cadera by the HPI Consortium when we moved to the planet.

And since then we have lived and thrived here. I was not Alor then, just a simple verd'ika, but so much has happened since then. It was as if I was no longer the same person; at least I thought so at times. Although quite a long time had passed, the things Kralmus Orr used to say during our battles were still vivid in my memory. It still hurts to admit that he was able to break me. But at least I didn't give that worm the pleasure of seeing it, because it wasn't until after his death that I crumbled. It took me a long time to get over those times. But here we were, blooming and a new hope, a new dawn for Clan Cadera. And of course, my family was here, my children and Arturo Braga , my husband.

Over the years, A'lakua Ta'hyapr has also changed. At first, I founded it partly for my clan and my bounty hunters, but over the years asylum seekers have moved here, other Mandalorians have moved here, and the city has grown into a fortress city. Sure, it had gardens and parks and such, but it was now a military city. It was needed in this world. And as for the changing of the ages, what happened to so many others in 902 happened to our planet, shifting in space without any explanation. It was on the edge of the galaxy, far from the boundaries of the Galactic Alliance. Terraris and Kalidan became quite close to us, which I didn't regret, nor that we were so far away from everything.

So we have stayed out of any Mandalorian infighting, Mandalorian empires have risen and fallen in recent years, Mand'alors have changed like an ordinary man changes his clothes. To tell you the truth, I gave up following this, I didn't really care. I cared about the welfare of my clan and the other clans on the planet. We were better off here than in the middle of the galaxy where Mandalorians killed Mandalorians. We lived here in peace and did not shed the blood of our brothers.

But back to the present, after the patrol, I was at one of the training grounds, where the younger children were being taught. And, of course, those who joined the clan later. I loved working with them and teaching them. It always reminded me of how the clan took me in shortly after I was freed from slavery and became a bounty hunter. While practicing, a young one ran up to me that an unknown warrior was on his way this way. I looked in the direction the child pointed and soon I noticed the approaching one. I started towards him, and when we were a few meters apart, I stopped to greet him.

<"Su cuy'gar, vod!"> I greeted the unknown man and held out my arm to the traditional greeting. <"Welcome to Clan Cadera's home. What is your reason for visiting us? It's always a pleasure to see new people here.">

 

[Aether Verd]

Assets: Beskar'gam | Basilisk
Darksaber | Resolute Dawn​

EVAA'LA YAIM

Aether stepped forward to meet her, his movements steady, deliberate. When Silhana offered the traditional greeting, he accepted without hesitation, clasping her forearm with a brief, firm grip. His voice, when it came, held the warmth of kinship, not command.

"Su cuy’gar, Alor Cadera. It’s good to see your Clan standing strong!"

He released her arm and let his eyes take in the surroundings: the training grounds behind her, the resilient towers in the distance, and the distant curl of steam where warfoundries met greenbelt.

"I’ve heard stories, but I wasn’t prepared for all this. What you’ve built here is no small thing. I’m glad to see you faring well, especially after the Planeshift threw half the stars into shadow. It speaks volumes of your people’s resolve."

Aether unclipped his helmet, holding it casually under one arm. There was no need for masks here, not with family.

"My name is Aether Verd. The Clans have seen fit to name me their Mand’alor."

His tone did not swell with pride, only responsibility.

"I’ve been traveling...to sit with our people, one hearth at a time. To listen. To remember what binds us. I didn’t come to demand fealty or see your banner flown beside the Empire’s. I only came to share space, break bread, and speak as kin do, when the stars are quiet and the cold bites less."

He glanced toward the nearby foundlings at the training ground, then back to her with a small nod.

"If you’d humor me, I’d like to share what’s happened on Mandalore. The shape of things. What’s stirring in the dark, and what we’re building in its wake."

A faint smile touched his lips, not out of politics, but out of hope.

"Only if you’ve time to spare, of course. I’m in no rush. The company here seems worth lingering for."​

Silhana Cadera

 

[Silhana Cadera]

Information

Alor of Clan Cadera, Headmistress of the House Orchid and Bounty Hunters' Guild
"Galactic Basic" | <"Mandalorian"> | ~"Telepathic" communication ~ | << comm. channel >>

Objective: Talking to the stranger
Location: A'lakua Ta'hyapr, Evaar'la Yaim
Equipment: 2x PV-16 "Sunfury" Pulse Pistol | 2x Simple short sword | Beskar'gam | Mandalorian vambrace || Stealth field generator || OPBC-01m
Writing With: Aether Verd

For a few moments, I almost felt that panic coming over me again, as it had done before. I didn't know whether the man would accept my greeting or not. But in the end he did, and here I felt a little relieved. I guess that's the one thing that never changed, that I was still able to panic in any situation, or just came to be embarrassed. At the man's words, I finally smiled girlishly and maybe even my pink skin turned a slightly darker shade as I blushed.

<"I was… I'm just trying and trying to give back to them what I got from them when they took me in."> I said honestly and maybe a little modestly, but it was the truth.

If they hadn't accepted me at the time, I would probably be dead, but they gave me not just my life, but a family, a big family. Something I hadn't had for a very long time before. I nodded at the man's words, Planeshift had affected us, we had moved from the edge of the Unknown Region to the interior, as had several other planets from the former Eternal Empire. But there were still people nearby we could count on and perhaps even call allies. As for this place...

<"What was built here is not only my merit, but everyone's. Back then, many of us were Mandalorians in the Eternal Empire... the Empress offered us a home. We chose this planet, together with the other clans, so that we would never forget that our people are scattered among the stars, divided... but we adapt and survive, even in the most difficult circumstances. These cities, these fortresses, symbolise our dedication and our people's ability to survive and thrive even in the harshest of conditions."> I told him.

I tilted my head slightly to the side as the man took off his helmet. I didn't recognize who he was, but after all, there were so many clans, I probably didn't know anything about half of them. When he introduced himself and what his rank was, I rolled my eyes for a moment and uttered the following words completely involuntarily...

<"Another one?!"> came out of my mouth in a desperate rush, and then I blushed with embarrassment and closed my eyes in confusion. <"Forgive my disrespect... it's just that... your predecessors didn't exactly hold that title for long and there was a time when there were several Mand'alor at once. If the rumours are true, there's still on this planet the former Mand'alor the Ruthless, who bore that title for thousands of years earlier, Dodhorn Harert ... who is the lover of Khamul Kryze another Manda'lor... and then that's just this planet and not the Galaxy itself."> there was hopelessness in my voice, then I dropped my hands, I think… I had been pointing too much between my words.

Calm down Sil, calm down… I told myself in my mind. I forced myself to take a deep breath, I would have continued my words. A little calmer now.

<"Forgive me again, we don't have the best experience with our own people. We were "reborn" at a time when our people were split into at least eight to ten, Mandalorians killed Mandalorians and looked with contempt on the majority for trying to get along elsewhere. That is why we have decided to try our luck far away, wherever we can be strengthened and perhaps not fear that our own people, our own brothers and sisters, will attack us again. People who have no respect for anything and for whom everyone else is just disposable trash... people who have turned cities into glass because they stood between them and their targets, or people who have kidnapped you and broken you, transformed you to be like them..."> my voice was all sorrow and sadness, often feeling like I had seen too much.

I nodded at the next one, listening for a few more moments, not until there was an awkward silence between us, but just until my voice was normal.

<"I'll be most happy to listen to what you want to say."> I told him honestly. <"Can I invite you to my home, or would you prefer to see the city while we talk?"> I asked him.