Pirate Prince
"Both of them were looking up at the towering statue of Tania Bayern, one of the founders of the Order of Mystics. Clad in long flowing robes and a veil carved from white marble, she held a spear in one hand and a staff in the other. Symbols of holy defense and monastic wandering, respectively." —Rhiannon Dinn
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To codify some lore.
- Image Credit: Jaehong Jeon (edited by me) | Joon Ahn
- Canon: N/A
- Permissions: N/A
- Links: The Reforged Sword of Tania Bayern | A Day Late and a Credit Short | Calabiyau | People Are Always Getting Married in Chaldea
- Media Name: Tania Bayern: A History
- Format: Book/Holobook
- Distribution: Common
- Length: Long
- Description: This is a comprehensive biography of Tania Bayern, one of the most significant figures in Chaldean history. Founder of the Order of the Mystics, her life is shrouded in myth, legend, and prophecy. Professor Nimdok makes an attempt at separating fact from fiction, relying on surviving historical records to tell Tania's story.
- Author: Professor Errik Nimdok
- Publisher: University of Alderaan
- Reception: As the events described in this book pertain only to a single world's history, it has garnered little interest outside the field of those invested in Chaldea.
While most commonly available in holobook form, book copies of the account also exist. The professor owns an author's copy printed on paper and bound in leather.
CONTENT INFORMATION
"The staff was lost some time in the 400s. Capped by a rare, valuable crystal, y'know. Probably stolen. Funny thing is, we don't know for sure what type of crystal it was, only that she used it as a focusing lens. Severed the Force connections of a whole lot of Sith nerf herders with that thing." —Arlo Renard
Tania Bayern first appears in the historical record in the year 578 ABY, right in the middle of the Four Hundred Year Darkness. She emerged from humble beginnings and went on to become a spiritual leader to her people by founding one of its most vital institutions, the Order of the Mystics.
Or so it seemed. Very little is actually known about Tania's life before she arrived in Nezamiyeh and won a duel against a marauding band of Dark Jedi, and the details of the story which was pieced together after the fact don't quite add up. Testing was conducted on Tania during infancy to determine her Force Sensitivity, as was common during the time. The test results purportedly were negative, though the exact records have been lost to time. Yet Tania manifested an incredible power in her late teens. Was the test inaccurate? Is it possible she was a latent Force User whose sensitivity remained dormant until later in life?
Contemporary accounts also note how, despite living to the ripe old age of three hundred, Tania did not appear to physically age. This would not be notable were she a member of a long-lived species, but all records list Tania as being merely Human. Using the Force to keep herself young would have gone against her teachings, and thus the theory has been rejected by Chaldeans as disrespectful to her memory.
An account written by a chronicler who professed to have interviewed Tania's father states that her youth was uneventful and unremarkable—but at the age of seventeen, she suddenly disappeared during what was supposed to be a routine trip to the market. Tania then made the long and perilous journey to Nezamiyeh on foot, where she encountered a group of Dark Jedi and apparently defeated them. How did this young girl, with no prior training, earn a victory over a legion of trained, vicious warriors? Eyewitnesses and Tania herself claim that she simply severed their connections to the Force. Deprived of their mystical powers, the group scattered in terror.
From there, Tania continued to have several adventures, mainly consisting of fighting pirates, Force Users, and other traditional enemies of Chaldea. She also preached to the people the need for a defensive force—at the time, most Chaldean Potentiates were pacifists. Her message was received and accepted by many, and she formed a growing troupe of followers, whom she trained. These students would go on to become the Order of the Mystics.
Eventually, however, Tania faced a foe she could not defeat. Kay Andersen, a former student of hers (and sometimes portrayed as her lover, or at the very least her best friend), fell under the sway of a Jedi Knight and was convinced to abandon Tania's teachings. He sought to persuade Tania to allow the Jedi to come to Chaldea, but she was steadfast and unmoved. Kay grew angry and challenged her to a duel. Tania could not bear to strike him, and as a result Kay slew her.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
"Tania Bayern was a Bamarri! We always suspected it—she never seemed to age, you see, and those who witnessed her death claimed they saw a strange light leave her body. Not to mention 'Bayern' is what the people of the Yellow Plains used to call Bamarre in their own language…" —Persis Solusar
Professor Errik Nimdok had previously written an account of the Chaldean Civil War, which was published during his lifetime. Upon his death, this biography of Tania Bayern was unfinished. The drafts and notes he composed remained in storage until his son Jacen rediscovered them. Using the notes, Jacen completed the manuscript and sent it to the University of Alderaan for publication. He requested that credit for the work go solely to his late father. As a result, the book ends somewhat abruptly and is not as polished as other books written by the Professor, but it does cover Tania Bayern's life up until her death.
