Qual'Zyanya
Xioquo Renegade
[SIZE=11pt]Name: Valeska Saderas.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Faction: Why bother? They rise and fall in a few decades at most anyway. Or “return to the shadows”. There is no logical reason to get invested. It’s far more pleasing to stand aside, observe, make snarky comments and watch them try and take over the Galaxy for this or that reason. “Bring order to the chaos and unite the Galaxy” is always a good one.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Rank: N/A[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Species: Space Vampire. Garhoon specifically.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Age: It's impolite to ask her lady her age! Such poor manners. In my time…they were probably just as bad. Old enough to have witnessed the Dark Age that came after a thing called the Gulag Virus brought galactic civilisation to its knees. I know that time period often gets forgotten these days, since even capital planets fall in a few days to bands of space wizards.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Gender: Female[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Height: 1.75 m[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Weight: First age, now weight? Let's say 60 kg.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Eyes: Blue. As luminous and blue as the Naboo lake! No, wait, that sounds ridiculous. Who writes like that? Probably Siobhan Kerrigan’s writer because they’re corny like that.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Hair: White, usually worn shoulder-length.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Skin: Pale, I guess. All vampires seem to be. A tan does not agree with me. For the record I do not sparkle. And I do not sleep in a coffin. Silly stereotypes perpetuated by an ignorant media. All sparkling vampires must be burnt alive.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Force Sensitive: No. I know this might come as a surprise, but not everyone belongs to the 0.001% of the Galaxy’s population, who have somehow commandeered 90% of said Galaxy’s top jobs, despite often lacking even the slightest managerial competence to do so. The Force is infinite, one’s ability to use it intelligently most assuredly is not. I do just fine without it[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Strengths and Weaknesses:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Badass Bookworm: Much like a certain Jedi librarian – the hottest Jedi librarian ever according to Siobhan Kerrigan – Valeska is a very learned, scholarly individual. She even comes with a refined accent and outfit, complete with Badass Longcoat because that is obviously a must. This writer’s love for tropes aside, Valeska is intelligent and has a keen attention for detail. Unlike a certain battering ram she is capable of appreciating a book for more than just a club and when she attends book club that is not an euphemism for indulging in carnal activities…usually. Her knowledge extend to history, archeology, mysticism and many other fields of study. In this the long life span of her species has aided her to accumulate significant knowledge, along with the fact that she possesses eidetic memory. Valeska loves learning and is very passionate about her work, something that might appear at odds with her often cold nature, but animates her. However, she is not merely the type to pour over ancient tomes in dusty archives, publish papers or debate with scholars, but is not afraid to get her hands dirty. What drives her is the thrill of the chase, often as a motivation in itself, and as such she is the sort to brave ancient ruins in search of knowledge, even force artefacts. Of course, as undoubtedly a certain badass bookworm called Phylis Alince would agree, the process of archaeology is much misunderstood by this generation due to its portrayal by popular holovids. You most assuredly do not battle archvillains while searching for forbidden treasures with a map that mark the spot with an X![/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Blue and Orange Morality: Valeska is most assuredly not a Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire. She does not suffer from an internal, deeply agonising conflict about her own nature nor does she have any problems with invading the personal neck space of other sentient beings and feasting upon their blood. She is not on a quest of redemption to regain her soul and do penance for her sins. Equally she is not a sadist driven by the lust for the hunt and the kill because she sees that as...beneath her. To put it plainly she is indifferent to others' lives and fundamentally amoral as opposed to immoral. Kingdoms come into existence, rise, fight and fall. People are born, live and usually repeat the same mistakes as preceding generations, then die - it does not matter whether through disease, plain old age or violence. As an individual she is very curious, but indifferent. She dislikes killing to feed because it is uneconomical, bears the risk of drawing attention to herself and is simply...cheap, but not because she thinks it's morally wrong. It is far preferable to keep a herd of well-fed blood cows that are cared for and will willingly donate to her what she needs. Far less messy and less likely to attract the ire of law enforcement agencies and would-be heroes out to rescue damsels in distress. These...pets tend to be strays and outcasts she has taken in, marginalised existences whom she seemingly takes pity on. After all, the cow that gives the most milk is the one that gets treated well. Her amoral perspective can give her an advantage since she does not let ethical considerations hold her back, but on the flip side it can easily turn against her since more moral individuals would doubtless not work with her and regard her as heinous. She is willing to do virtually anything in the pursuit of her quest.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Ice Queen: Let’s be honest, Valeska is a bit of a queen. Well, that’s probably an understatement. She is haughty, arrogant and not that good at hiding the fact that she considers most people to be dull and plain annoying. Needless to say this is not much of an asset when it comes to negotiations. Obviously this also makes her a bit of a loner, which may also come with having lived for a couple centuries. That presumably makes it a bit difficult to make lasting, personal connections.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Not Mind Over Matter: As has been said our friendly neighbourhood vampire belongs to a very specific sub-strata of the galactic population. The one that was not born with magical powers and is incapable of tearing down buildings with their mind, mind controlling other sentients or shooting lightning from their fingertips. She is strongly interested in the Force from a theoretical, dispassionate standpoint, as much as someone who cannot feel its energies is capable of studying it, but is incapable of using it herself. Thus she would obviously have difficulty assessing the power of a force-user and potential dangers in a conflict situation. Of course, with sufficient firepower, numbers and creative thinking even force gods can be taken down, as certain legions of clone troopers showed during a little incident called Order 66, but it’s quite a bit harder! It might also mean that if she were to say pursue a force artefact she would be less capable of assessing the potential dangers it might pose to her. For her part Valeska does not care about Force Alignment and finds space mages equally annoying.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]- Lie to me: Valeska has a tendency to be, shall we say, economical with the truth. This personality trait appears compulsive. Usually it's restricted to topics regarding herself. Related to this she is also inclined to 'appropriate' things which might not strictly be hers! That said she usually tends to honour her agreements if given a contract and not to turn on customers, though she is not above twisting the spirit of her word while remaining true to the letter should this appear advantageous to her.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]+/- Our Vampires Are Different: In case clarification is needed, Valeska most assuredly does not sparkle! Indeed she has a strong dislike of holovids featuring 'sparkling vampires' having cheesy, angst-ridden romances with obsessive teenage girls. Due to her Garhoon heritage Valeska has traits often associated with those of the bloodsucking disposition. Or, as it might be more politically correct to say in this day and age, with those of violators of personal neckspaces! While not a fighter primarily, as a result of her vampire physiology Valeska is far stronger than an ordinary human being and capable of great feats of strength and given the agility of her race she can move at near blinding speed. As a Garhoon she is immune to most of the common sicknesses and diseases. The consumption of the blood and flesh of sentients will extraordinarily quicken her healing process, given her the ability to recover from wounds that might have been fatal and heal lesser wounds rapidly. However, in spite of this she can still die from having sustained too much damage or by not healing her injuries fast enough. Getting pumped full with buckshot at close range is not something that can be shrugged off and likewise beheading is obviously fatal since you cannot just regrow a head. As a Low Blood she possesses a single set of fangs on her upper and lower jaw and suffers from bloodlust. While she has learnt to feed off the life force of others when seriously injured she will probably go into a frenzy in which she loses control of herself, which obviously is not very classy. Full bloodlust is both monstrous and terribly messy. For this reason she has sought to condition herself to become less reliant on blood and to achieve greater self-control so that she can go without it for a longer period. Not for humanitarian reasons but simply out of practicality, though pride plays a role in this as well. She has issues with direct sunlight, being allergic to it. It leads to very painful leision of the skin, swelling of the brain, heart and lungs, blindness and can eventually even lead to death if exposed for extended periods of time, hence why she tends to go covered up or avoid it. Healthily feeding on fresh blood or the life energies of another can enhance her resistance for a certain period of time, though going covered up is better. She has found that the ‘blue blood’ of High Born Garhoon tastes very sweet.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Personality and Characteristics: Curious, arrogant, cold, sarcastic, likes to hear herself talk a great deal more than she probably should, with a tendency to be callous and fundamentally amoral. While she obviously cannot use the Force she has experience working alongside neutral, light and darkside forcers in the pursuit of her quest for knowledge. Garhoon society is very hierarchial and Valeska was born into a clan of Low Bloods nominally bound to the service of the ancient vampire dynasties that formed the clans of High Bloods. However, by the time Valeska was born the old order was being severely disrupted and thrown into turmoil by the Gulag Plague ravaging the Galaxy, and so she no longer feels bound by it. To this day she retains a strong disdain for Garhoon nobles and is quite fond of telling the tale of how she beat down the matriarch of the High Blood clan to whom she was beholden to, and consumed her blood, in the process gaining the enmity of her brethren. Growing up during the darkness contributed to creating a persona that has a tendency to be cynical and on the grumpy side of things. Moral considerations as most cultures know them do not enter into her view of things or her actions.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Likewise it is supposed that for a long time she was affiliated with a flotilla of vampirates who travelled the stars pillaging. Valeska has manifested a strong interest in the Force, ancient myths and artefacts, the wrecked and abandoned Jedi Temple being among the first ruins she saw. She has worked with and learned from light side, neutral and darkside force-users during the centuries she has been alive and wandering the galaxy. It might perhaps be of interest that in spite of her considerable cynicism and the fact that in general she is rather jaded she is also quite religious, believing strongly in the elder god Lilith, seen by some as the first of all vampires and mother of monsters. This faith is tempered by a strong element of cynicism and the belief that the gods help those who help themselves, meaning that she scoffs at those who think prayers will deliver miracles. After all, what reason does a deity have to intervene just to save the lives of comparatively insignificant mortals who must look so terribly small from her elevated plateau? From her perspective none, if there are gods in this universe then they are terrible to behold and one can only appease them, but not expect them to actually care about a being of this lower plane. For a while she pursued the savage Bando Gora and even infiltrated their cult, feigning allegiance to the Chaos Gods, though she was gone by the time then-Exarch Siobhan Kerrigan carried out her brutal exterminatus and crushed the Chaos worshippers on Gehenna. On another note she likes to hear herself talk and has a strong tendency to ramble when in an excited mood. This goes in hand with a tendency to be, how shall we put it, economical with the truth when it suits her.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Biography: In lieu of a formal backstory, a slightly rambling journal entry:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]‘I hear a Protectorate battleship crashed into the Imperial Palace of Coruscant, causing considerable amounts of property damage. Bit of a waste, but then dropping ships and space stations on planets seems tremendously popular these days. It makes the Dark Age seem almost civilised by comparison. Hmm. I remember our Fall of Coruscant, when the Plague was raging. The Clan put heads on pikes in the Hall of a Thousand Fountains. It was terribly puerile but exciting for the first decade so. Clearly some beings never grow up. Substandard tea is to blame, I am sure of it. That, and starcaf.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Anyhow, Gehenna. A hellish, burnt-out husk of a world devoid of life, yet inhabited by the most fascinating creatures one can find. Excluding a native of Soledad or the intelligent zombies of Denon. Hmmph. Denon brings back memories. The original outbreak of the plague is a fascinating study in how good intentions…lead astray. As noble as trying to find a cure for the Rakghoul plague was. Regardless, the original population of my favourite hell world is much decimated. The consequence of an Omegan exterminatus, which has also made gaining passage through the Bando Gora city far more difficult due to an unstable battering ram tearing the mountain down. Abaddon is dead, I hear. He did not make for a bad conversational partner back in the day. I’ve been told the final duel was a thing to behold, until the mountain was dropping on you and you had to run lest you be consumed by lava. Probably for the best I had disentangled myself from the Bando Gora by then. Too Chaotic Evil and mindlessly sadistic for my tastes anyway. There is a certain appeal to this…war-ravaged, inhospitable planet that seems like it was torn straight out of the classical view of hell dimensions from some Illyrian myth. Primal, untamed, freed of the hypocrisies we otherwise see time and again on display. Reaver remnants still scour the planet, now free of their masters but still following their one imperative: To hunt, ravish and kill with reckless abandon. Pure ferocity, unrestrained by humane impulses and a concept of ‘original sin’. In a word, they’re what humans are if stripped bare of their inhibitions. Either that or they’re a horde of teenagers with chainswords after watching too much Corellia’s Got Talent. Both equally valid conceptions.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Progress on study of the Temple of the Flesh is slow but proceeding steadily. Bando Gora idols are decidedly pornographic. Thousands upon thousands of slaves must have been stripped bare of their flesh to…form this monument. Some prisoners have been immortalised forever as sculptures of flesh. Hieroglyphs upon the obelisks bear a strong resemblance to arcane symbols used by the Takana and the Shining Hand, hinting at a connection and influence. Hypothesis further strengthened by the strong death cult aspects of the Bando Gora. Book of Abaddon clearly written in an old Takana dialect. Can confirm theory that Abaddon was an Imperial Inquisitor of the Old Empire. Someone should inform the Atrisians, or one of the countless ‘we are the True Empire’ factions that seem to be shooting out of the ground like mushrooms. Game of thrones indeed. The blood cows, pets, are being fretful. Apparently the planet feels and smells vile to them and they fear the monsters. Why, yes, there are a few there. Such as that magnificent creature Astaroth called a bloodthirster. Shame about Astaroth, she was an alchemist of some skill. Alas fanatically devoted to an evidently suicidal religion. I will perhaps have to be a bit sterner with them. They should be made of stronger stuff than that. It’s embarrassing. Make note to meet Naamah. Girl has her uses…but should really go see a psychologist. Then again she would probably tear the eyes of said psychologist out and put them in a jar. The Tome of Lilith still eludes me. ‘Reliable’ intel places it here. The Temple grounds of the Machine Cult are too ruined to traverse, thank you Kerrigan, as fascinating as getting a close-up view of the ‘Machine God’ would be. Really, who makes mechanical dragons these days? Interrogation of captured cultist revealed something about the splinter groups of the cult having fallen into civil war. Apparently some believe Kerrigan proved herself the stronger god by slaying the Great One, others expect the imminent return of Abaddon if Khorne wills it so. How dramatic. As for world news? The Naboo invasion passed and neither a battleship nor a shipyard crashed into Theed. Or anywhere really. Such uncommon restraint these days.’ [/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Faction: Why bother? They rise and fall in a few decades at most anyway. Or “return to the shadows”. There is no logical reason to get invested. It’s far more pleasing to stand aside, observe, make snarky comments and watch them try and take over the Galaxy for this or that reason. “Bring order to the chaos and unite the Galaxy” is always a good one.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Rank: N/A[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Species: Space Vampire. Garhoon specifically.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Age: It's impolite to ask her lady her age! Such poor manners. In my time…they were probably just as bad. Old enough to have witnessed the Dark Age that came after a thing called the Gulag Virus brought galactic civilisation to its knees. I know that time period often gets forgotten these days, since even capital planets fall in a few days to bands of space wizards.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Gender: Female[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Height: 1.75 m[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Weight: First age, now weight? Let's say 60 kg.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Eyes: Blue. As luminous and blue as the Naboo lake! No, wait, that sounds ridiculous. Who writes like that? Probably Siobhan Kerrigan’s writer because they’re corny like that.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Hair: White, usually worn shoulder-length.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Skin: Pale, I guess. All vampires seem to be. A tan does not agree with me. For the record I do not sparkle. And I do not sleep in a coffin. Silly stereotypes perpetuated by an ignorant media. All sparkling vampires must be burnt alive.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Force Sensitive: No. I know this might come as a surprise, but not everyone belongs to the 0.001% of the Galaxy’s population, who have somehow commandeered 90% of said Galaxy’s top jobs, despite often lacking even the slightest managerial competence to do so. The Force is infinite, one’s ability to use it intelligently most assuredly is not. I do just fine without it[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Strengths and Weaknesses:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Badass Bookworm: Much like a certain Jedi librarian – the hottest Jedi librarian ever according to Siobhan Kerrigan – Valeska is a very learned, scholarly individual. She even comes with a refined accent and outfit, complete with Badass Longcoat because that is obviously a must. This writer’s love for tropes aside, Valeska is intelligent and has a keen attention for detail. Unlike a certain battering ram she is capable of appreciating a book for more than just a club and when she attends book club that is not an euphemism for indulging in carnal activities…usually. Her knowledge extend to history, archeology, mysticism and many other fields of study. In this the long life span of her species has aided her to accumulate significant knowledge, along with the fact that she possesses eidetic memory. Valeska loves learning and is very passionate about her work, something that might appear at odds with her often cold nature, but animates her. However, she is not merely the type to pour over ancient tomes in dusty archives, publish papers or debate with scholars, but is not afraid to get her hands dirty. What drives her is the thrill of the chase, often as a motivation in itself, and as such she is the sort to brave ancient ruins in search of knowledge, even force artefacts. Of course, as undoubtedly a certain badass bookworm called Phylis Alince would agree, the process of archaeology is much misunderstood by this generation due to its portrayal by popular holovids. You most assuredly do not battle archvillains while searching for forbidden treasures with a map that mark the spot with an X![/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Blue and Orange Morality: Valeska is most assuredly not a Friendly Neighbourhood Vampire. She does not suffer from an internal, deeply agonising conflict about her own nature nor does she have any problems with invading the personal neck space of other sentient beings and feasting upon their blood. She is not on a quest of redemption to regain her soul and do penance for her sins. Equally she is not a sadist driven by the lust for the hunt and the kill because she sees that as...beneath her. To put it plainly she is indifferent to others' lives and fundamentally amoral as opposed to immoral. Kingdoms come into existence, rise, fight and fall. People are born, live and usually repeat the same mistakes as preceding generations, then die - it does not matter whether through disease, plain old age or violence. As an individual she is very curious, but indifferent. She dislikes killing to feed because it is uneconomical, bears the risk of drawing attention to herself and is simply...cheap, but not because she thinks it's morally wrong. It is far preferable to keep a herd of well-fed blood cows that are cared for and will willingly donate to her what she needs. Far less messy and less likely to attract the ire of law enforcement agencies and would-be heroes out to rescue damsels in distress. These...pets tend to be strays and outcasts she has taken in, marginalised existences whom she seemingly takes pity on. After all, the cow that gives the most milk is the one that gets treated well. Her amoral perspective can give her an advantage since she does not let ethical considerations hold her back, but on the flip side it can easily turn against her since more moral individuals would doubtless not work with her and regard her as heinous. She is willing to do virtually anything in the pursuit of her quest.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Ice Queen: Let’s be honest, Valeska is a bit of a queen. Well, that’s probably an understatement. She is haughty, arrogant and not that good at hiding the fact that she considers most people to be dull and plain annoying. Needless to say this is not much of an asset when it comes to negotiations. Obviously this also makes her a bit of a loner, which may also come with having lived for a couple centuries. That presumably makes it a bit difficult to make lasting, personal connections.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]Not Mind Over Matter: As has been said our friendly neighbourhood vampire belongs to a very specific sub-strata of the galactic population. The one that was not born with magical powers and is incapable of tearing down buildings with their mind, mind controlling other sentients or shooting lightning from their fingertips. She is strongly interested in the Force from a theoretical, dispassionate standpoint, as much as someone who cannot feel its energies is capable of studying it, but is incapable of using it herself. Thus she would obviously have difficulty assessing the power of a force-user and potential dangers in a conflict situation. Of course, with sufficient firepower, numbers and creative thinking even force gods can be taken down, as certain legions of clone troopers showed during a little incident called Order 66, but it’s quite a bit harder! It might also mean that if she were to say pursue a force artefact she would be less capable of assessing the potential dangers it might pose to her. For her part Valeska does not care about Force Alignment and finds space mages equally annoying.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]- Lie to me: Valeska has a tendency to be, shall we say, economical with the truth. This personality trait appears compulsive. Usually it's restricted to topics regarding herself. Related to this she is also inclined to 'appropriate' things which might not strictly be hers! That said she usually tends to honour her agreements if given a contract and not to turn on customers, though she is not above twisting the spirit of her word while remaining true to the letter should this appear advantageous to her.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]- [/SIZE][SIZE=11pt]+/- Our Vampires Are Different: In case clarification is needed, Valeska most assuredly does not sparkle! Indeed she has a strong dislike of holovids featuring 'sparkling vampires' having cheesy, angst-ridden romances with obsessive teenage girls. Due to her Garhoon heritage Valeska has traits often associated with those of the bloodsucking disposition. Or, as it might be more politically correct to say in this day and age, with those of violators of personal neckspaces! While not a fighter primarily, as a result of her vampire physiology Valeska is far stronger than an ordinary human being and capable of great feats of strength and given the agility of her race she can move at near blinding speed. As a Garhoon she is immune to most of the common sicknesses and diseases. The consumption of the blood and flesh of sentients will extraordinarily quicken her healing process, given her the ability to recover from wounds that might have been fatal and heal lesser wounds rapidly. However, in spite of this she can still die from having sustained too much damage or by not healing her injuries fast enough. Getting pumped full with buckshot at close range is not something that can be shrugged off and likewise beheading is obviously fatal since you cannot just regrow a head. As a Low Blood she possesses a single set of fangs on her upper and lower jaw and suffers from bloodlust. While she has learnt to feed off the life force of others when seriously injured she will probably go into a frenzy in which she loses control of herself, which obviously is not very classy. Full bloodlust is both monstrous and terribly messy. For this reason she has sought to condition herself to become less reliant on blood and to achieve greater self-control so that she can go without it for a longer period. Not for humanitarian reasons but simply out of practicality, though pride plays a role in this as well. She has issues with direct sunlight, being allergic to it. It leads to very painful leision of the skin, swelling of the brain, heart and lungs, blindness and can eventually even lead to death if exposed for extended periods of time, hence why she tends to go covered up or avoid it. Healthily feeding on fresh blood or the life energies of another can enhance her resistance for a certain period of time, though going covered up is better. She has found that the ‘blue blood’ of High Born Garhoon tastes very sweet.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Personality and Characteristics: Curious, arrogant, cold, sarcastic, likes to hear herself talk a great deal more than she probably should, with a tendency to be callous and fundamentally amoral. While she obviously cannot use the Force she has experience working alongside neutral, light and darkside forcers in the pursuit of her quest for knowledge. Garhoon society is very hierarchial and Valeska was born into a clan of Low Bloods nominally bound to the service of the ancient vampire dynasties that formed the clans of High Bloods. However, by the time Valeska was born the old order was being severely disrupted and thrown into turmoil by the Gulag Plague ravaging the Galaxy, and so she no longer feels bound by it. To this day she retains a strong disdain for Garhoon nobles and is quite fond of telling the tale of how she beat down the matriarch of the High Blood clan to whom she was beholden to, and consumed her blood, in the process gaining the enmity of her brethren. Growing up during the darkness contributed to creating a persona that has a tendency to be cynical and on the grumpy side of things. Moral considerations as most cultures know them do not enter into her view of things or her actions.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Likewise it is supposed that for a long time she was affiliated with a flotilla of vampirates who travelled the stars pillaging. Valeska has manifested a strong interest in the Force, ancient myths and artefacts, the wrecked and abandoned Jedi Temple being among the first ruins she saw. She has worked with and learned from light side, neutral and darkside force-users during the centuries she has been alive and wandering the galaxy. It might perhaps be of interest that in spite of her considerable cynicism and the fact that in general she is rather jaded she is also quite religious, believing strongly in the elder god Lilith, seen by some as the first of all vampires and mother of monsters. This faith is tempered by a strong element of cynicism and the belief that the gods help those who help themselves, meaning that she scoffs at those who think prayers will deliver miracles. After all, what reason does a deity have to intervene just to save the lives of comparatively insignificant mortals who must look so terribly small from her elevated plateau? From her perspective none, if there are gods in this universe then they are terrible to behold and one can only appease them, but not expect them to actually care about a being of this lower plane. For a while she pursued the savage Bando Gora and even infiltrated their cult, feigning allegiance to the Chaos Gods, though she was gone by the time then-Exarch Siobhan Kerrigan carried out her brutal exterminatus and crushed the Chaos worshippers on Gehenna. On another note she likes to hear herself talk and has a strong tendency to ramble when in an excited mood. This goes in hand with a tendency to be, how shall we put it, economical with the truth when it suits her.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Biography: In lieu of a formal backstory, a slightly rambling journal entry:[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]‘I hear a Protectorate battleship crashed into the Imperial Palace of Coruscant, causing considerable amounts of property damage. Bit of a waste, but then dropping ships and space stations on planets seems tremendously popular these days. It makes the Dark Age seem almost civilised by comparison. Hmm. I remember our Fall of Coruscant, when the Plague was raging. The Clan put heads on pikes in the Hall of a Thousand Fountains. It was terribly puerile but exciting for the first decade so. Clearly some beings never grow up. Substandard tea is to blame, I am sure of it. That, and starcaf.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Anyhow, Gehenna. A hellish, burnt-out husk of a world devoid of life, yet inhabited by the most fascinating creatures one can find. Excluding a native of Soledad or the intelligent zombies of Denon. Hmmph. Denon brings back memories. The original outbreak of the plague is a fascinating study in how good intentions…lead astray. As noble as trying to find a cure for the Rakghoul plague was. Regardless, the original population of my favourite hell world is much decimated. The consequence of an Omegan exterminatus, which has also made gaining passage through the Bando Gora city far more difficult due to an unstable battering ram tearing the mountain down. Abaddon is dead, I hear. He did not make for a bad conversational partner back in the day. I’ve been told the final duel was a thing to behold, until the mountain was dropping on you and you had to run lest you be consumed by lava. Probably for the best I had disentangled myself from the Bando Gora by then. Too Chaotic Evil and mindlessly sadistic for my tastes anyway. There is a certain appeal to this…war-ravaged, inhospitable planet that seems like it was torn straight out of the classical view of hell dimensions from some Illyrian myth. Primal, untamed, freed of the hypocrisies we otherwise see time and again on display. Reaver remnants still scour the planet, now free of their masters but still following their one imperative: To hunt, ravish and kill with reckless abandon. Pure ferocity, unrestrained by humane impulses and a concept of ‘original sin’. In a word, they’re what humans are if stripped bare of their inhibitions. Either that or they’re a horde of teenagers with chainswords after watching too much Corellia’s Got Talent. Both equally valid conceptions.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=11pt]Progress on study of the Temple of the Flesh is slow but proceeding steadily. Bando Gora idols are decidedly pornographic. Thousands upon thousands of slaves must have been stripped bare of their flesh to…form this monument. Some prisoners have been immortalised forever as sculptures of flesh. Hieroglyphs upon the obelisks bear a strong resemblance to arcane symbols used by the Takana and the Shining Hand, hinting at a connection and influence. Hypothesis further strengthened by the strong death cult aspects of the Bando Gora. Book of Abaddon clearly written in an old Takana dialect. Can confirm theory that Abaddon was an Imperial Inquisitor of the Old Empire. Someone should inform the Atrisians, or one of the countless ‘we are the True Empire’ factions that seem to be shooting out of the ground like mushrooms. Game of thrones indeed. The blood cows, pets, are being fretful. Apparently the planet feels and smells vile to them and they fear the monsters. Why, yes, there are a few there. Such as that magnificent creature Astaroth called a bloodthirster. Shame about Astaroth, she was an alchemist of some skill. Alas fanatically devoted to an evidently suicidal religion. I will perhaps have to be a bit sterner with them. They should be made of stronger stuff than that. It’s embarrassing. Make note to meet Naamah. Girl has her uses…but should really go see a psychologist. Then again she would probably tear the eyes of said psychologist out and put them in a jar. The Tome of Lilith still eludes me. ‘Reliable’ intel places it here. The Temple grounds of the Machine Cult are too ruined to traverse, thank you Kerrigan, as fascinating as getting a close-up view of the ‘Machine God’ would be. Really, who makes mechanical dragons these days? Interrogation of captured cultist revealed something about the splinter groups of the cult having fallen into civil war. Apparently some believe Kerrigan proved herself the stronger god by slaying the Great One, others expect the imminent return of Abaddon if Khorne wills it so. How dramatic. As for world news? The Naboo invasion passed and neither a battleship nor a shipyard crashed into Theed. Or anywhere really. Such uncommon restraint these days.’ [/SIZE]
