Yoru Shakou
Well-Known Member
..:: Tasgetius Blackwood ::..
"The Netherworld... Few would ever walk its Splendor and its Hell in their lifetime. Few would be able to claim such as when they are living. I wandered those scared lands. I faced my past that was waiting for me. Those that I have taken with my own hand. They sought to keep me in that realm. I am here now, and I have see what must be done. The Knights of Kal'Shebbol are a remnant. In their place House Blackwood will rise to bring a new Exalted March and seek to do what we could not as Knights bound to an Order."
~ Tasgetius Blackwood; 844 ABY ~
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..:: BIOLOGICAL INFORMATION ::..
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NAME: Tasgetius Blackwood
SPECIES: Echani / Morellian
AGE: 50 Standard Years
SEX: Male
HEIGHT: 1.8m - 6'0"
WEIGHT: 75.7kg - 167lbs
EYES: Blue-Grey
HAIR: White
SKIN: Caucasian
FORCE SENSITIVE: No
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..:: POLITICAL INFORMATION ::..
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FACTION:
- House Blackwood
RANK:
- Patriarch
HOMEWORLD:
- Kal'Shebbol
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..:: STRENGTHS ::..
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- Long-lived - The Morellian species is a Near-Human species native to the planet Morellia, located in Wild Space. The species is known for their longevity, usually surpassing that of their cousins. While Tasgetius is only half Morellian, his physiology has shown that his aging is much slower than other beings of a similar age, implying that he still has many years ahead of him.
- Teras Kasi Proficiency - Much of his life was spent figuring out how to counter Force Users, which drove him to seek out those whom were trained in the Teras Kasi Martial Arts. While much of his life was spent in service to those teachers, and learning from them, he has only glimpsed the surface of Teras Kasi. While others might see a master, he knows that he is a mere novice, and many more years are required for him to even be considered truly proficient in the art.
- Echani Martial Art Proficiency - Taught from a young age by his Mother, his skills in the Echani Martial Arts are likewise adequate, and nothing near the levels of mastery that many others have achieved. Though he has seemingly meshed those skills and moves that he has learned with those of Teras Kasi, creating a slightly unique way of fighting.
- Force Resistance - A life spent dedicated to learning how to keep one's mind their own has imparted upon him a partial resistance to mental force techniques. While no where near the natural physiology of the Hutts, Toydarians or Epicanthix. Tasgetius prides himself on his capability of resisting mental attacks longer than many others, permitting him a window of opportunity while fighting or confronting Force Users.
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..:: WEAKNESSES ::..
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- Jack of All Trades - A master of none. While proficient in the Echani Martial Arts, and confident in his own skills in Teras Kasi, his unique blending of the two forms into a singular form puts him at a disadvantage. There are twice as many flaws in the technique as there are the perceived strengths. While he may come to master his own technique, he also understands that he may never truly be a master in either Martial Art.
- Waking Dream - His time in the Netherworld has changed him and not for the better. Whilst he has confronted his past, and spoken with the Spirit of Kialla whom forgave him for his actions, he still sees her. Often it will be for a split second, though it is more than enough time to distract him, or otherwise put him into further danger.
- Survivors Guilt - While he has come to be forgiven, he still has yet to forgive himself. Even though the situation was drawn down to life or death, he feels that he should have allowed Kialla to kill him so that she could live. As the years have continued, he has further begun to doubt his own abilities, while also putting himself into more dangerous situations.
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..:: APPEARANCE ::..
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The years and time have not been kind to his body. What was once prime and pristine has been broken and reshaped numerous times. A gaunt face and heavy brow hide many of the scars that riddle his body, while his facial hair is more used as an aide to hide those scars upon his cheeks and chin. At a young age he lost his left arm, much of which had since been replaced with a cybernetic prosthetic. He never had it covered in synthskin, though that simple fact does not appear to bother him.
Much of his clothing has gone from simple and plain to more regal in the last few years as he rose from his former low placement. Having founded House Blackwood, as well as the Knights of Kal'Shebbol. A suit of armor still remains in his office, ready at all times if he ever needs to don it for any reason.
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..:: BIOGRAPHY ::..
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Orphaned at a young age, Tasgetius would never know his parents. Roughly at the age of three; he was placed in a foster home. While there he grew close to a young girl that was two years older than he, whose name was Kialla. He looked at her as an elder sister whom was guiding him and keeping him out of trouble. Tasgetius' first run in with the Jedi was one he still remembers as the day that they took his big sister away.
In the following months he would wait for her at the door; hoping she would return. Only when it became clear to him that she was gone did he begin to run away. Over the next few years Tasgetius was moved to numerous foster homes. He would run away from them all. It wasn't until his eleventh birthday, or thereabouts, did he fall out of the system and into the arms of the local criminals.
The leader took a liking to Tasgetius; beginning to raise him like a son. He was taught many skills as he grew with the gang that he now saw as a family. Finally having found a home, fate would decide to play a cruel game and bring his past back to him. Due to the Gang's actions and their rapid growth, the government on Kal'Shebbol requested aid from the Jedi Order. This in turn brought Tasgetius face to face with Kialla. At first he was happy until he realized why she was there. Kialla was leading the Jedi send to "clean up" the gang. Seeing what the Jedi trained her to do turned his stomach. Tasgetius could no longer see the smiling face of the girl Kialla once was, only the swinging lightsaber she wielded.
His horror only increased when Kialla took his arm, no longer remembering the young boy that Tasgetius had been; only seeing the man he had turned into. The only reason his life was spared that day was due to the man that had raised him. His father put himself between Kialla as he ordered his men to save Tasgetius. The last time he saw his big sister and the man that was his father was when he blinked his eyes and his father fell to his knees; his head rolling on the ground as Kialla stood before the body.
With the gang broken into warning groups that the government began to clean up themselves. Those few still loyal remained with Tasgetius, going through great risks to get him off world and away from Kal'Shebbol where he now had a bounty. Still dealing with the pain; both of the loss of an arm and what Kialla had been turned into, he was taken away and quickly hidden for his safety.
For years Tasgetius would be forced to deal with bounty hunters from Kal'Shebbol seeking to collect on his head. Each time he managed to get away, only to have another take the place. As he grew into this life style he realized the only way to stop it was to over throw what had already become a corrupt government. Without the proper training though he had no chance of doing so. This would push him towards an old order that had seemed to nearly fall away during the Gulag Plague. Seeking out the Followers of Palawa; he was lucky enough to find a hand full of the practitioners whom still held their age old grudge against the Jedi for a war the Jedi had started thousands of years ago.
Finding a new home with the followers, he was protected by those loyal to him as bounty hunters continued to track and hunt him. With each passing year he trained and master the art of Teras Kasi, in turn teaching it to his own loyal warriors. In an oddly poetic way Tasgetius saved the Followers of Palawa and their history by not only mastering the art; yet also teaching it to his men in turn. Over those years spent in a hunted exile he trained and fought against the bounty hunters that continued to come after him. It was not until he was sure that he was ready did he return to Kal'Shebbol.
Before leaving those of the Followers of Palawa that had welcomed him with open arms, he was given a gift. A new arm to replace that which was taken from him. After which he returned to his homeworld determined to end the corrupt government. With a handful of those that he first hidden him away he once more reunited the fractured gangs that had split off from the original. As they grew in power he and his men began to train their new soldiers in the arts of Teras Kasi, turning a rag tag assembly of petty thieves, brawlers, murders and criminals into an effective fighting force.
Just as he had foreseen, the government once more called upon the aid of the Jedi Order. Once more putting him face to face with Kialla, though this time he realized it was a situation in which either one of them had to die. Sadly by the time the dust settled and the government of Kal'Shebbol had been over thrown; Tasgetius was found cradling the body of Kialla in his arms, holding the dead woman that he had called sister all those years ago. While others would call it taking a trophy, to Tasgetius when he took Kialla's lightsaber it was a form of honoring the young girl that had been trained and turned into a killer.
In the recent years Tasgetius has turned to consolidating his strength and power on Kal'Shebbol. He would revive the Followers of Palawa, though in a new light and in his own image. Crafting an order of his own as a mirror to the Jedi Order; he would found the Knights of Kal'Shebbol, a determined force of warriors and civilians alike that had grown weary and tired of the wars that the Jedi and Sith had caused throughout history.
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..:: NETHERWORLD ::..
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In an instant billions across the galaxy disappeared, all finding themselves in the Netherworld. An ancient evil had risen, gathered an army, and sought to destroy all of creation. There were those that stood against the beast, and in the end those rifts torn across the Galaxy closed, save for two. Tasgetius spent much of his time in the Netherworld seeking answers, and he found them in a familiar face, an old friend that he had not seen since he was forced to take her life. Freed from the confines of what the Jedi had turned her into, he found forgiveness from Kialla, though he still fought to find it in himself.
While the aftermath of that chaotic time still scars the Galaxy, he has spent much of the time since fighting his way through the Netherworld. Emerging from Brokellia, there is much that he must accomplish, and much that the Knights of Kal'Shebbol can no longer accomplish unless they accept the changing future and rise to be more than a simple Order of Knights.