Tsungtiin Kwaartz
Yuuzhan Vong Academic
TSUNGTIIN KWAARTZ
NAME: Tsungtiin Kwaartz
FACTION:
- A splinter group of the Yuuzhan Vong named Revelation of Yun-Ne’Shel (wip)
- Domain Kwaartz (wip)
RANK:
SPECIES: Yuuzhan Vong
AGE: 35
SEX: Male
HEIGHT: 6 ft
WEIGHT: 180 lbs
EYES:
- Right eye = Black
- Left eye = glowing red
HAIR: None
SKIN: Pale Grey, many “pockmarks” all over his skin
FORCE SENSITIVE: Absent in the Force
STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES:
Strengths:
- Analytical Thinker — often seeks an “essentialist understanding” of the nature of all things. This makes him quite adept in science and philosophy.
- Diplomatic — patience, and careful consideration of political situations are qualities that are rare amongst his race, but he is exceptionally adept in these arts.
- Biological Instrumentation Array — Being an extremely unorthodox Master Shaper, he has grafted himself with an array of advanced sensory organs to increase his ability to observe and analyze the universe as he knows it. This gives him enhanced senses and more than the usual five that most beings have. See equipment section for a list of grafted organs.
- Religious zealotry — his devotion to the pantheon Yun-Ne’Shel is what drives him, but such an attachment can be used against him in diplomacy.
- Non-physical — he is not known for his prowess in combat, and does not endeavour to prove himself as a warrior. In a physical confrontation, he would not typically fair well.
- Aversion to Mechanical Technology — while his practice as a shaper is rather unorthodox, he still hates using mechanical technology and will go through great lengths to avoid having to use it.
- Deaf in his right ear — by grafting an echolocation organ into his right ear, he has deafened that side of his hearing to ordinary sounds.
APPEARANCE:
- Usually wearing long Uruun Cloth robes, well-cut to befit his station as a Master Shaper and an Intendant Prefect
- Bald head
- Grey skin with many deep pockmarks all over
- Deep blue eye sacks under his eyes that change shade with his moods
- Left eye glowing red
- Right eye black
- Right hand is a Shaper's Hand
“In the world of innovation, usually, everyone knows and always has known what they want to build. But they are simply waiting for the right catalyst to arrive before the change can begin.
“Tsungtiin is that catalyst.”
Ever since the end of the end of the Yuuzhan Vong war, the Yuuzhan Vong culture was in a strange state of renaissance and reflection. The shamed ones were no longer shamed. The war was no longer necessary. Mistakes were to be reflected on. And most importantly, blame for their humiliations was to be handed around.
Anyone who knew the Yuuzhan Vong society well, knew that blame was not something that any particular caste would take lightly. All of the castes were very distrustful and spiteful of each other, and the end results of the war only amplified the matter of political infighting greatly. Thankfully, the fact that all of the castes all relied heavily on each other was the long, thin thread that kept the whole culture from collapsing in on itself.
The Shapers were in a precarious position. Where they once had the surreptitious power to separate the elevated people from the Shamed Ones, their power in this had been diminished. The elevation of the Shamed Caste to the Extolled Caste meant that they could no longer as effectively manipulate the social structure of the Yuuzhan Vong society by succeeding or “failing” graftings and escalations.
With the political power of the Shaper Caste diminished, the Priest and Intendant Castes gobbled up the scraps. Given the nature of these two castes, the stagnancy of Yuuzhan Vong cultural and political growth amplified and cemented for centuries to come.
Then, the Gulag Virus struck.
In the face of such a plague, sub-factions of the Yuuzhan Vong simply didn’t cower and consolidate. They attempted to strike and grow their way of life once more. It ended in disaster, as the technologies and tactics of the Yuuzhan Vong were the same as they had been since the war. Even weak worlds with rudimentary security forces seemed to be able to ward off Yuuzhan Vong tactics and bio tech with relative ease. This was because knowledge of counter strategies and advancing methods were still widely available to the general public and lesser governments.
The aggressive subfactions were quickly driven back and forced to return in shame. The ensuing politicking that took place after ended up shouldering much more of the blame onto the Shapers and the Warriors, further entrenching the greater powers of the Intendants and Priests.
Eventually, the Gulag Virus subsided and the Vong were able to begin rebuilding. But centuries of societal stagnation made the efforts slow and difficult. The rare Shapers that still favoured innovation struggled to propose challenging ideas, and many of the lesser domains of the Intendant Caste were beginning to greedily see opportunities to grow their power in the clearer galactic climate. But the push-back from the Priests and more numerous traditionalist Intendants was swift and brutal. Many assassinations took place, political attacks on credibility were relentless against those who desired reform, and most of the domains that had entertained the idea of supporting reform were bullied back into their place.
Only two Domains retained their desire for innovation. A sub-group of the Kwaad domain, and a lesser domain of Intendant Caste called Ortz. The Ortz domain had an affinity for the Yun’o, Yun Ne’Shel, and therefore favoured the more creative members of the Shaper Caste. The members of the Kwaad Domain that were at odds with the conservative nature of Yuuzhan Vong politics broke off from their domain and joined their interests with the Ortz to form the first Shaper-Intendant Domain of the Yuuzhan Vong. They renamed themselves Domain Kwaartz.
Secretly, they began a clandestine movement to circumvent the power of the Priests and Intendants that were stuck in their ways. Domain Kwaartz began to create the framework for reform and change, gathering allies from lesser Domains that struggled within the Yuuzhan Vong society. Some Domains had been hard to budge, as the efforts to gain support caused rifts within the smaller Domains that the Reformists were propositioning. Some individuals even went so far as to leave their domains and join either the Kwaartz Domain, while the original domains remained defiant and stubborn.
As tensions began to build between the Kwaartz Domain and the rest of the Yuuzhan Vong, Tsungtiin began to flourish as a prodigy amongst Shapers and Reformist Intendants alike. He had an unprecedented knack for inventive thinking and imaginative political strategy. His talents were quickly recognized and he was groomed by the elders of his domain as early as possible. He was fed knowledge and learning resources daily and was made to study the ways of his people to a level like no other before him. But because he was being groomed as a force for change, he was trained in secret from the rest of the Yuuzhan Vong society. His very existence was considered controversial and when his ambition for invention began to exceed the limitations of his tutelage, he became restless for knowledge outside of the Yuuzhan Vong.
Realizing that his ambition would not be sated, nor could it be contained within secrecy, the elders of Domain Kwaartz decided to carefully establish the Kwaarts Initiative Foundation on the galactic scene. They then gave the company to Tsungtiin with whatever resources they could muster and sent him on a pilgrimage to learn about the galaxy… when he was only 15 years old.
He set out with about a dozen other attending shapers, workers and warriors and proceeded to explore the galaxy as a biological scientist. His team travelled to various biomes, attended academic events, and offered their limited services as shapers to various agencies that could help them gain access to helpful resources. At first, their services were cursory and minimal, as to avoid violating the tenets of the Yuuzhan Vong pantheons, but as more beings learned that the Kwaartz Initiative was offering rare Yuuzhan Vong services, Tsungtiin began to see an opportunity. Him and his team began offering black market grafting and escalation services to non-Yuuzhan Vong beings using organs and limbs that were not customarily Yuuzhan Vong in origin. This was became wildly successful and profitable, and it allowed his little foundation to gain access to more underworld resources to further his learning. Inversely, he was able to use these services to convert many non-Yuuzhan Vong beings to the Yun’o faith, as many of the augmentations he performed were superior to most cybernetics. His foundation also attended many disaster aftermath aide efforts, using their medical prowess to earn the respect of common beings. His following grew, and so he began to gain influence. Some of the rare priests and warriors that were actually supportive of the Kwaartz domain even came to join the foundation, reinforcing their faith in Tsungtiin and his abilities. They all began to revere Yun-Ne'Shel, the Modeller, above all the other Yun’o, and a fanatical devotion began to spread.
As Tsungtiin’s influence continued to grow, he began to see the value of his own workmanship. He began grafting non-traditional organs into his own body to reflect the devotion of his followers as an expression of solidarity. He also allowed the grafting of more traditional Yuuzhan Vong enhancements for fully converted followers that were totally committed to the tenets of the Yun’o and Yun-Ne’Shel. Soon, they began to call themselves “The Revelation of Yun-Ne’Shel”.
After two decades, he returned to his people with his followers. His successes weighed heavily on the both the conservative and reformist factions and the reactions were mixed, as predictable. Some declared him a heretic, but surprisingly many began to speak up about his deeds, declaring him a revolutionary. As a success, he became something of a lightning rod for those who had, until recently, suppressed their desires for change. Many more Domains from various castes flocked to his cause and the volume of his movement threatened to throw the Yuuzhan Vong into civil war.
Warriors of the traditionalist side quickly began to assemble, and war beasts were mobilized. But Tsungtiin and his allies performed a preemptive strike and knocked the traditionalists off balance. Although outnumbered, the Reformists (named the Revelation of Yun-Ne’Shel) used unusual tactics and non-traditional methods that were totally unknown to their opponents. While the surprise bought them time, they were still living on borrowed time until the traditionalists could rally and overwhelm the Revelation forces.
Just as things seemed like they would turn in favour of the Traditionalists, out of no where, a massive, brand new Worldship seemed to appear out of no where. Apparently, the Kwaartz Domain had gone so far as to sequester enough resources to build their own Worldship in secret. Although smaller than most Worldships of the Yuuzhan Vong, it was enough of a surprise to once again knock the traditionalists off balance. It bought the Revelation forces and people enough time to retreat into the massive vessel and escape.
Now it is up to Tsungtiin, the Revelation of Yun-Ne’Shel, and their allies to see if they can make their place in the galaxy…
SHIP:
- A pigmy Yorik-Trema (32 meters long) named Fiinloch.
KILLS:
None
BOUNTIES COLLECTED:
None
ROLE-PLAYS:
WIP