sɪɴɴᴇʀs ʙʏ ᴅᴇᴇᴅ ʙᴜᴛ ʀɪɢʜᴛᴇᴏᴜs sᴛɪʟʟ
"And there I beheld them; Wolves fighting Wolves"
— Song of the Akaan'werda
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: Codify a threaded campaign into a series of historical events for public viewing
- Image Credit: The Mandalorian: Chapter 24
- Canon: N\A
- Permissions: N\A
- Links:
- Event Name: Akaan'werda ("The Shadow Crusade")
- Event Specific Links:
- Location:
- Galactic Standard Year: 863 ABY - 875 ABY
- Participants:
- Mandalorian Union(Nite Owls)
- Sith Empire(Death Watch remnants)
- Brief Overview: The Shadow Crusade was a Mandalorian civil war fought between Sith-loyalist Insurgents and the Mandalorian Union. It saw the total collapse of the Mandalorian Union following the disbandment of The Nite Owls, and recovery of The Darksaber.
"Tell the Mand'alor; If he wants a war than look no further. She's coming."
— Apollyon the Betrayer[1]
HISTORICAL INFORMATION— Apollyon the Betrayer[1]
The Shadow Crusade, also called "Akaan'werda" in Mando'a, began Sector shortly after the Liberation of Mandalore. The civil war was instigated by the Dar'manda called "Apollyon the Betrayer", whose proclaimed loyalty to the Sith Empire and her opposition towards Mand'alor the Reclaimer.
MASSACRE OF CLAN LOC - Early 864 ABY
The first battle of the war was fought in approx. 863 ABY on an unnamed planet within the Mandalore sector, When Mandalorian Union forces were dispatched in response to a distress call from Clan Loc. By the time Unionist forces arrived on-world, The majority of Clan Loc had been killed either in battle or summary executions by blaster, blade or flamethrower. Unionist forces killed a number of Death Watch warriors during the battle, but were unable to intercept Apollyon's withdrawal. Survivors such as their Alor, Kragr Loc, would later be absorbed into Clan Krayt.
DECLARATION OF THE SHADOW CRUSADE - 863 ABY
In the wake of this devastation, The Union rebranded their own Death Watch-derivative into The "Nite Owl Reformation", a reconstituted order of Mandalorian warriors led first by Darsch Vizsla, and then by the recently risen Alor Aloy Vizsla, who led the previous dispatch to aid Clan Loc.
The Nite Owls were given the duty of protecting the Mandalore Sector from all threats both foreign and domestic as a Quick Reaction Force and dedicated operatives in the effort to track and kill Apollyon, with Aloy Vizsla reporting directly to Mand'alor the Reclaimer. This mission was called "The Shadow Crusade" from it's very inception, and the Nite Owls were to oversee and spearhead the war from this point onward.
OPERATION RETURN - Late 863 ABY
The Nite Owls had tracked the movements of Death Watch to nearby Wayland and Serreco, prompting a large Unionist military operation dubbed "Operation Return" by the Mand'alor. The operation would have consisted of a two-pronged assault on Serreco to disable Sith-remnant anti-orbital weaponry that was recaptured by Death Watch, and an assassination of Apollyon in the old sith fortress of Mount Tantiss on Wayland.
Unionist assets had already inserted into the system prior, waiting to strike until the arrival of a fleet commanded personally by the Mand'alor as a diversion.
Mandalorian operatives advanced quietly through the jungle of Serreco under the cover of intense storms, while the Nite Owls simultaneously began an effective assault on Wayland's Mount Tantiss by airdropping mandalorian shock troopers via jetpack.
The unionist operation on Serecco was met with a violent ambush led by Apollyon herself, catching them in the open as Death Watch warriors rose from covered fox holes to engage them in CQB. The resulting slaughter saw many Unionist mandalorians fall in battle until the arrival of Mand'alor the Reclaimer himself, which rallied the surviving unionists against the ambushing Death Watch. Despite this, they were now without reinforcements due to the intensity of the storm above.
A blood duel occurred between Apollyon and Mand'alor the Reclaimer, but later became a stalemate, Though both Wayland and Serecco had been liberated by the union successfully. However, The union suffered devastating losses, seemingly including River Kryze, lover of the Mand'alor and adoptive mother to Aloy Vizsla. Using this sudden loss to her advantage, Apollyon was once again able to escape.
Without news of the trap on Serreco, The Nite Owls continued their assault on Mount Tantiss. They were met with an ambush of their own as Death Watch reinforcements bombarded the fortress courtyard with wrist rockets and missile launchers. Aloy Vizsla was able to rally her forces in a safe location, battling any grounded Death Watch until reinforced by House Solus. This allowed the Nite Owls to breach the inner fortress and achieve victory shortly after.
DISBANDING OF THE NITE OWLS - 864 ABY
Believing her mother to be dead, Aloy Vizsla began voicing her criticisms of The Mand'alor's judgement and that of the Union's standing army, which she believed contributed to the seeming loss of River Kryze. Distrust grew between them and House Vizsla gradually lost influence within the Union government. The Nite Owls were seemingly disbanded, and with Death Watch activity having grounded to a near halt during this time, Aloy Vizsla retired to her home on Roon to attend family affairs following the birth of her child.
Mand'alor the Reclaimer vanished sometime after, to even Vizsla's surprise.
SECOND REBELLION OF MANDALORE - 865 ABY
Taking advantage of this momentary weakness, Apollyon struck again from the shadows, attacking infrastructure and economic stability in a way that caused the Union's total collapse. During this time, a splinter group calling themselves the "Death Watch Crusade" rose within the sector, warring briefly with their Sith-cousins and forming an alliance with Aloy's House Vizsla due to the familial relations between the Ex-Nite Owl and one of the Crusade's prominent leaders.
The two splinter factions arrived on Mandalore just as the Unionist Remnants began to abandon the planet. House Vizsla and the Crusaders sought to claim abandoned equipment and data. In particular, Aloy sought to recover Nite Owl data and weapons caches from various coverts around the system, While the crusaders began to virus bomb the invasive Graug left by the Sith Empire.
Though the Graug were thought to be successfully purged, not all their objectives had been achieved.
Unionist forces were believed to have open fired on The Crusade, and though the Nite Owl caches were recovered, the plan was put on hold with the arrival of Apollyon the Betrayer herself, who sought the data among Aloy's ancestral home, which she believed could lead her to The Darksaber.
In the end, Apollyon escaped with the data and wounded some Vizslas, while capturing both Kranak Vizsla and Stardust Solus, Aloy's sister-in-law and Alor of House Solus.
They would later be rescued by Aloy Vizsla and the Nite Owls, but at the cost of Aloy's own capture.
THE WAR OF 1313 - 865 - 875 ABY
The Shadow Crusade is lead by the wife and daughter of Aloy Vizsla- Tan'yill Vizsla and Tae'l Vizsla- for several years after they follow the remnants of Imperial Death Watch to Coruscant's underworld. This later stage of the crusade saw Death Watch hunted to near extinction by the pair and their allies, but Apollyon herself remained hidden and Aloy under torture until many had given up.
It wasn't until Tae'l recruited the aid of a slicer expert named Shot Sutaz that they were able to track Apollyon to her lair on level 1313. Here, they assaulted the Death Watch safehouse and freed Aloy Vizsla, whose condition was too severe to give chase.
It fell on Kranak Vizsla to pursue the fleeing Apollyon, who followed through a Nether Gate into the ancient Vizsla stronghold for the dead: The Steadhold. It was here that Kranak Vizsla found Apollyon after she had discovered The Darksaber among the dead. Where it had once developed a Force Bond with one of the legendary Vizsla ghosts that transcended even death, It now belonged to Apollyon by rite of combat. The two engaged in a lengthily duel, both fighting until Kranak Vizsla dealt the killing blow, retrieving the legendary Darksaber and ending the Shadow Crusade once and for all.
The tale of this crusade was recorded in many different ways among the Mandalorians of varying factions, but the most prominent is the Song "Akaan'werda".
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