Iron Within
"Born as Varro, son of Mano, a master craftsman on the imperial world Ziost, the Sith later to be known as Grond, was early on shaped in many regards. His father was a smith, not some industrial stomper and mass production reliant, but a craftsman of exceptional quality for very special desires and requests, for both weapons and armour. In his youth Varro would watch his father closely and help him in his forge until an event would split them, not in anger but in pride. One day Varro was tested by his father if he could manage to forge the blade requested, he failed. The boy raged and before he could realise it, he destroyed parts of the forge with the Force which also cost him the skin on his left head side.
His non-Force sensitive father being proud about his son being chosen to be a Force user, sent him to the Academy where his potential was seen and welcome. But before he left, his father gave him a valuable lesson.
"Control and focus your rage onto your goal, a blade must be heated and cooled to grow stronger."
Before he even finished the training at the academy, Varro was taken as an apprentice by a Lord Vargh, a human female Sith Lord, who saw great potential in him. After successfully finishing his trials on Korriban, receiving a side-note by the Overseers that Varro has a strange attitude towards his class, Lord Vargh took her new apprentice with her. She was to be part of an offensive against a minor realm lead by Darth Anfauglith in the galactic North, some sort of rebellion which erupted after Arcann conquered the known Galaxy. First, they ventured out though, she testing her new underling with tasks and trials which ultimately gave him his first lightsaber.
Darth Anfauglith soon put an eye on the young Sith, not because of his blade or force skills, but because of his silent, determined focus. Varro believed and still believes that the Sith Empire will ruin itself at some point if tradition and stagnation are maintained the way the Empress does it. A view that the Darth shared.
The campaign was an exhausting conflict and took several years in which Varro could prove himself in combat and ability to lead. As well as developing a strangely open relationship with Darth Anfauglith, mostly attributed to the achievements and victories of the young Sith Warrior, who aside from his combative-nature, showed a strong talent for command and tactics. Towards the end of the conflict, the Darth tasked Lord Vargh and her apprentice with a mission which should change the lifes of both.
On his way, unknown to him and he never truly found out despite suspecting it, his shuttle had a hyperdrive failure which resulted in it abruptly exiting hyperspace with flaming engines and crashing, thankfully, on a world, a remote place called Yst'vaan. A world torn apart by both its very geography and the people living there.
Not much is known about the world, except that he brought something from there, unknown if he got it or if he made it himself, but Varro, who now called himself Grond, brought a leather-bound book, a grimoire of sort which was chained to his dark armour at all times. Everything else about the world, its location and what he experienced, are only known to him as the crew of the ship which found him, met a sudden and not so mysterious end once he was on board their ship.
Afterwards he made his way to the Trans Vultra sector, joining the efforts of the Vindicators to reclaim the territories of House Song and expanding the power and influence of Darth Novis. Also learning the intricate details and secrets of Songsteel and how to use it. Leading the imperials troops and Sith into battles against rebels and Republic reinforcements, Grond kept proving his focus and skill as a leader in battle.
Once the Lord understood that there was not much further to be gained, he departed, rich in experience for campaigns, training troops, his own lightsaber prowess and especially his armoursmithing capabilities. And he spent the following time honing his skills, pursuing more 'worldly' needs like income and base of operations and looked out for another opportunity. He had certain difficulties in networking and finding contacts among the ranks of his Order, aside from his own powers and strengths, which he would not boast about, he was still a very reserved individual, staying away from the public and society if he could avoid it.
Eventually he would join Operation Razorback of Darth Terminus after the latter ones pushback on Ran's World and rose to his prime lieutenant in the demanding campaign that followed. The mutated, hive-minded swarm they tried to exterminate proved to be one of the most challenging and costly wars which Grond ever heard of and was part of. He could make that assessment, he doubted that Republic, traitors or Hutts or whatever could do what this swarm could. It was bloody and took nearly one and a half years to finish, resulting in extreme imperial losses.
Extract from Imperial Datafiles
Darth Grond "the Builder"
FORGEMASTER | ALCHEMIST | ENGINEER | WARMASTER | INQUISITOR
Last edited: