Commodore
It had been many years since the downfall of the Dark Empire. Shortly after its transition into the Galactic Empire, it crumbled under the weight of its own internal strife, and the external threat of those surrounding it. Although he was the scion of the late
Ignacious Korvan
, Tiberius did not take part in the conflicts that lead to the Empire’s eventual demise. The whole situation was ironic in many ways. Tiberius was as close to his father as any of his children could claim to be, and viewed his father as a man worthy of his respect and... love, he supposed. After his ‘noble sacrifice’, Ignacious was elevated just shy of godhood; a martyr sacrificed in the name of order and stability according to the Church of the Darkside. Yet, Tiberius knew all too well that his father was not the hero people thought he was.Ignacious was not by nature a heroic figure. During the New Imperial regime, he was a quiet and industrious workhorse, who did things behind the scenes many men lacked the stomach for. This ingratiated him amongst the Imperial elite, which led to him gaining further status and influence. He quickly ascended through the Imperial Hierarchy, until he rose to the vaunted rank of Grand Moff of the Empire - subordinate to the Triarchy, which stood as a regent to the absent Emperor in the waning years of the "Old" Empire (there were too many Empires in all of this) . Even with all of those accomplishments, Ignacious was not the man to bask in the glory and esteem. He consolidated power, prepared for an outcome he and only a few others could see coming...
The collapse of the very state that gave him the power he sought.
Even as the old, former 'New Imperial' Empire shattered into dozens of warring subfactions, he stood among the spare few who brought any semblance of stability and order amidst the chaos. It was then that he betrayed the very values of the Empire he claimed to hold allegiance to. Many on the outside were conflicted by Ignacious’ actions in the Dark Empire’s infancy - but Tiberius now knew the truth, even if he was too blind to see it when it was happening.
His father was weak.
Darth Solipsis entered his mind, and seduced him by the very machinations the New Imperial Order rose up to exterminate. Ignacious led those who trusted him into an ignoble, disasterous end to build the Dark Empire, which became the Galactic Empire.
Yet he was now worshipped by the very people who betrayed him.
It took Tiberius many years to come to grips with how blind he was to what was really happening to his father back then. He shifted between anger, shame, and eventually to a numbness that then led to... conclusion.
His father was weak-willed when strength was needed, a weakness that Tiberius needed to expunge from his very being. But to what end?
The 'New Imperial' Empire - in all its glory and splendor, from the crown world of Bastion to the frontiers of Chiss space and beyond; was a memory. And what stood in its place?
A Diarchy that lacked the soul or identity of any cogent state?
Several successor Empires that amounted to lesser sons of a far greater sire?
Tiberius closed his eyes as he could feel the cold wroth welling up within his heart. As a boy, he was told that the Empire would return, and he would witness its splendor one day. But that was a lie - a lie that his father may have intended as a promise, but a lie all the same.
Yes, he needed to expunge the weakness that his father carried within himself, if there was any chance of the Empire emerging to its former glory. It was born through fire and steel, and one way or the other, Tiberius would find a way to embody that. But he also needed to find a way to consolidate power, and position himself in such a way to herald that change. It was a very far off goal - a dream, more than anything. But he knew deep down, that such an end was the destiny his father had in mind for him.
Even with the weakness of his father, there was also strength and purpose. Perhaps that’s why... he still couldn’t bring himself to fully curse the name of his father. Even though Tiberius was regarded as the mirror image of his father’s cold and impassive presence, it was here - alone, within this room - that Tiberius Korvan wept bitterly. He missed the damn fool, even with the weakness that Tiberius knew his father had.
But he was still his father. For all his faults...
‘NO...’ Tiberius’ face, lined with pain, steeled itself as if a thick sheet of ice immediately fell upon it. It had been over ten years, and while the pain returned even still, the Young Korvan chided himself each time he gave way to grief.
He was strong, and he would exceed the failed vision that his father left behind. There was no other alternative.
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