Sic transit gloria mundi
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
Intent: Codify a character established in rp.
Image Credit: Here.
Role: Bakan is the leader of the Celestial Dragons, a martial order of Qadiri aeromancers allied with Siobhan and Firemane. She is a powerful Force Master, but with a specialised skill set focused on enviromental and elemental manipulation.
Permissions: Can use Firemane tech because I own the Company and she's an ally of Siobhan.
Links: Into Darkness, Order of Fire, Firemane Industries, Qadiri, Xioquo, Semiramis, Kaeshana, Eldorai Exodus, Twilight of the Goddess, Order of Fire, Sistren of the Eternal Flame.
PHYSICAL INFORMATION
Age: 72. Qadiri age and develop at a slower pace than humans.
Force Sensitivity: Master.
Species: Qadiri.
Appearance: Bakana is a Qadiri of above average height and a slender, athletic build. She possesses dark skin, kissed by the Tygaran sun, and pointed ears. Her face has several tattoos with an airy theme, displaying symbols of her order. She looks serene, focused and showy. Outside of combat, Bakana likes wearing jewellry. She is rather fastidious in her dress and appearance. This might lure those who do not know her into forgetting that she is also a warrior, and her body bears the scars.
SOCIAL INFORMATION
Name: Bakana Jai Aramal.
Titles: Like Siobhan, Bakana is fond of titles.
- Lady Commander of the Celestial Dragons.
- Champion of Krolis
- Cerulean Shaper
- Mistress of the Sky Currents
- The Saoshyant's Chosen.
- Colonel-in-Chief of the Black Watch. A ceremonial position granted to her in recognition of the aid she granted Firemane.
Wealth: In theory, Bakana is supposed to serve a calling that goes beyond the accumulation of material wealth. In practice, she possesses significant resources. The Dragons follow a code that stipulates they should only aid those who pursue a righteous cause. Of course, charitable donations are a helpful way of proving one's righteousness. They have also made money by putting out fires or making it rain in lands suffering from drought. All this is to say that she has significant resources at her disposal. Moreover, she is allied to the ruling family of a megacorporation.
Notable Possessions: Owns a Force Imbued Blade that she forged as a young neophyte. Siobhan has gifted her a Sarix. Carries an U20 Field Wrist Link, which is one of the many gadgets and gizmos she has collected. She owns a single bladed, blue crossguard lightsabre with a bifurcating cyclical ignition pulse and other standard systems. She owns a silver, Force Imbued ring. It is a mark of her position. Bakana was awarded the Firestar First Class for her actions during the Tephrike campaign. She has an apartment on the Arx Aeternae, the 'city of the Sky Queen', and a large home with servants on Tygara. Bakana owns a mouse droid which she keeps accidentally zapping. She has a collection of clocks, ranging from the archaic to the extremely modern. Moreover, she owns an X-Wing.
Skills: Bakana is a Master level Force-User. In keeping with the traditions of her order, she is a strong elemental warrior and has an impressive command of alter environment. She is an aeromancer, which means that she focuses on the element of air. One could compare her to an Air shaper. She is skilled in lightning, the rushing winds and rainfalls. Her powers allow her to create strong winds, make it rain, create mist and summon lightning. With enough concentration and focus she can summon a sand, lightning, rain or thunderstorm or manipulate an existing one. Thus if there was a storm going on she would be able to manipulate the lightning, though she is at her best when she can do that in concert with the sisters of her order. Wind and lightning abilities can be used against enemy aircraft by either targeting them directly or messing with their targeting by reducing visiblity.
Moreover, she is talented in Farsight, Tutaminis, Force Sight and Force Weapon. Bakana has strong telepathic abilities and is able to utilise Force Meld. This enables her to pool her power with that of her comrades so that they can draw strength from each other. Qadiri have an inherent navigational talent, and Bakana is no exception in this regard. It can be described as a type of internal compass. This helps her find her way in the worst storms, both on the ground and in the sky. Combined with her precognitive abilities, it makes her a good pilot. Her Weather Sense is well-honed. This means she is attuned to local weather patterns patterns, allowing her to predict the weather. Her control over the air is very helpful for surviving falls from serious height and landing safely. In addition, she is a skilled sailor and pilot. She is a good navigator and can give herself fair winds, too.
Bakana is skilled with a blade. The melee weapon she is most familiar with is a Sarix or a Force Imbued Blade. She has recently been able to acquire a lightsabre, but she is still training, so presently her skill with the weapon is limited. She is enthusiastic about learning how to wield a 'sword of light' though. Moreover, the weapon is a good status symbol because lightsabres were unknown to her people until First Contact and still exceptionally rare. She speaks Zandri, the most common Qadiri language, as well as accented Basic and Eldarai.
Languages: As a Qadiri, Zandri is her mother tongue, since it is the language of her people. She picked up some Prosabia (Vashyada language) and Xio (Xioquo language) on the way. She is better at Prosabia than Xio. Bakana learned Basic after coming into contact with the 'sky people'. She is quite good at it, but rather flowery.
Personality: Charming, boisterous, fearless, brave, merciful, headstrong. Bakana Jai Aramal is the leader of the Celestial Dragons, a martial order of Qadiri aeromancers devoted to Kashara, the Qadiri goddess of the heavens and supreme deity of their pantheon. Some say she is more devoted to gold and her own vanity than to her goddess. Displays of flashiness are intermixed with those of piousness. Her power is not to be doubted though. Bakana is a capable, but also rather flamboyant, prideful leader who can be a little aggressive and reckless at times. She dabbles in extravagant displays and is a notorious a showoff. She is not that popular among those who favour the old ways. Bakana made the pragmatic choice to align herself with Firemane because she recognised they were the winning side. She saw it as the right path to advance her order and her personal self-interest. Bakana is an enthusiastic, but not particularly skilled compiler of tech. Her home is full of gizmos and gadgets. She loves them all and is quite proud of how knowledgeable she is, even though she has a habit of accidentally zapping them.
Bakana speak accented, but understandable Basic. She has a tendency to use somewhat flowery language. For instance, she refers to summoning or manipulating a storm as calling upon the power of the sky-dragon, though she does not mean this literally. She also calls a starship a sky-ship. Bakana carries herself with regal confidence that can come across as arrogant. Dashing would be a good way to describe her. She is a woman who likes grand gestures. Bakana is very competitive and enjoys tournaments. She is rather fastidious in her dress and appearance. While genuine, her flamboyant personality is also a mask to a degree. It gets the less perceptive to underestimate her and be caught off-guard by her cunning. Thus she sometimes deliberately exaggerates it. To enhance her legitimacy, Bakana claims to be a descendant of the Celestial Dragons' founder. As with many such claims, this is debatable. If they share any kinship at all, they must be extremely distant relations. However, Qadiri political and religious leaders tend to claim to be descendants of ancient heroines or deities, so she is hardly alone in that regard.
Bakana is proud, but not cruel. Moreover, she is quick to forgive unless she has been seriously hurt or offended. She is better at looking past insults to herself than to people she cares about. Indeed, she is known for her fair treatment of and clemency towards defeated foes. Many a defeated commander has been invited to dine at her table after the battle is over. However, some ascribe more cynical motivations to her mercifulness. In their view, she is rubbing salt into the wounds of defeated enemies by treating them with condescending charity. After all, one claps a worthy opponent in chains. Others treat it as a sign of humane temperament. Her temper is formidable when roused, but her rages do not endure long. Her temperament means she is a better war leader than day-to-day administrator, so she tends to leave administrative minutiae to advisors, especially her sister. Her skills lie in fighting, battlefield command and representing her people. This obviously can leave her vulnerable to counsellors abusing her trust. However, beneath the bluster she tends to be a good judge of character.
Like most powerful Qadiri Bakana used to be a slaveowner. Abolitionists were few among her people and without influence. The economy depended on chattel slavery. When first confronted about it, she defended the institution. The idea that slavery was evil seemed as absurd to her as thinking that owning pets was evil. However, she saw the way the wind was blowing and emancipated her order's slaves. This allowed her to become their patron and put her in good standing with Firemane. Several of the former slaves still work for the order - often in similar roles. Bakana treats warfare as a daily part of life and politics. It is a way to obtain fame, glory and resources.
She gets on well with Siobhan. Bakana sees human as someone with taste she can properly communicate with. Both are also fond of grand gestures. Any meeting between them is bound to result in both ladies showing off. First time they met, Bakana challenged Siobhan to jump off a mountain and go flying with her. Naturally, the Dark Jedi did not back down. Thus they abandoned protocol and dumped their translators.
COMBAT INFORMATION
Weapon of Choice: Bakana's main weapons are the Force and a blade. She has some skill using ranged weapons and is a good pilot.
Combat Function: Bakana's combat function is centred on her elemental abilities and her command role. She has strong Alter Environment and Air Shaping abilities. The manipulation and generation of lightning, strong winds, rainfalls, mist and so on are within her skill set. She can even summon a weather-based storm, such as a thunderstorm or a sandstorm. This obviously depends on local conditions and require a lot of focus, leaving her vulnerable unless she has others protecting her. The combat applications of lightning are obvious, but torrential rainfalls make it difficult to move fast after all, and can reduce visiblity. Moreover, heavy rain can trigger runoffs, flooding and flash flooding and, in extreme cases, mudslides.
Usually, Bakana commands the Celestial Dragons in battle. They are a long range support unit whose members specialise in Air Shaping. In other words, they have similar skills as her. Her command of Force Meld boosts their coordination, allowing them to draw strength from one another and act in unison. On her own, Bakana is a powerful combatant, though she is at her strongest when she operates as part of a team. She has duelling skills, but is more agile than strong. Bakana has received basic training in the use of a lightsabre, but lacks experience with it. She is better at using swords with a physical blade, such as a Sarix or a Force Imbued Blade. In short, her lightsabre is more of a status symbol. If she uses it to duel someone who has serious skill with using a glowstick, she will lose. In such a situation she would be better off sticking to a lightsabre-resistant, physical blade. Or just attacking them at range.
Furthermore, she is good at piloting small starships such as dropships and shuttles, particularly under hazardous weather conditions. Her combat role focuses heavily on her Force abilities, which means she would be seriously weakened if she was deprived of them. It would mean losing her greatest strength in combat. Bakana is unfamiliar with Yuuzhan Vong and other Force Dead beings, but her air shaping and lightning abilities would make her good at combating them at range. Lightning is one of the few direct Force powers that can hurt Yong and during the Yuuzhan Vong War the Jedi were able to use varying forms of air manipulation to mess with them.
Force Abilities (Force Users Only): Bakana is a strong elemental warrior and has an impressive command of alter environment. She is an aeromancer, which means that she focuses on the element of air. One could compare her to an Air shaper. She is skilled in lightning, the rushing winds and rainfalls. Her powers allow her to create strong winds, make it rain, create mist and summon lightning. With enough concentration and focus she can summon a sand, lightning, rain or thunderstorm or manipulate an existing one. Thus if there was a storm going on she would be able to manipulate the lightning, though she is at her best when she can do that in concert with the sisters of her order. Wind and lightning abilities can be used against enemy aircraft by either targeting them directly or messing with their targeting by reducing visiblity.
Moreover, she is talented in Farsight, Tutaminis, Force Sight and Force Weapon. Bakana has strong telepathic abilities and is able to utilise Force Meld. This enables her to pool her power with that of her comrades so that they can draw strength from each other. Qadiri have an inherent navigational talent, and Bakana is no exception in this regard. It can be described as a type of internal compass. This helps her find her way in the worst storms, both on the ground and in the sky. Combined with her precognitive abilities, it makes her a good pilot. Her Weather Sense is well-honed. This means she is attuned to local weather patterns patterns, allowing her to predict the weather. Her control over the air is very helpful for surviving falls from serious height and landing safely.
Strengths:
- Bakana is a Master of the Force and good duellist with physical blades. Her air and lightning powers make her very powerful in ranged combat. She can use them to strike enemies, shape and manipulate the battlefield.
- She is the commander of her order and exudes authority. Bakana and her warriors work well together and are good support players. On the battlefield they can act as force multipliers.
- Good pilot, sailor and navigator. Her skills are boosted by inherent navigational talents and precognitive abilities. Her keen Weather Sense is also a benefit.
- Reliant on the Force. Depriving her of it robs her of her biggest advantage. This makes Force null zones such as those generated by a ysalamiri bubble problematic.
- Lacks experience in the use of heavy weapons. Limited skill with a lightsabre. She is used to swords with actual weight behind them. Her lightsabre skills are those of a Padawan.
- Her sensitive hearing is a double-edged sword. It enables her to pick up on quiet noises others might miss and makes her more aware, but also means she is more vulnerable to high-pitch frequencies such as those emitted by sonic weapons.
- Weather manipulation is a fine art, even for a Master. Basically, anything big and complex requires intense focus, concentration and is best done with support, which is why the Dragons work as a team when playing with storms. Careless use of such powers can hinder allies as much as enemies.
- Arrogant. Bakana has a high opinion of herself and her abilities. This can get her into trouble.
Bakana was born in a time of change and transition. For centuries Tygara had been isolated from the rest of the Galaxy. The origins of the three races that inhabited it, the Xioquo, Qadiri and Vashyada, had faded into the realm of myths. Rather than be ruled by one government, the planet was a hodgepodge of monarchies, principalities, theocracies and city-states. The Empire of Amikaron, a Qadiri realm on the continent of Zhukathis, was the largest state. But even the Qadiri were chronically divided. At the same time, technological development was proceeding apace.
Bows and arrows were gradually being replaced by rifles and gunpowder cannons were revolutionising siege warfare. The Xioquo, the perennial enemies of the Qadiri, had built ironclads and steam-powered tanks and flying machines. And in time people from outer space would visit Tygara and its natives would be thrust onto a far greater stage than she could have possibly imagined. Bakana was one of those leaders who tried to take advantage of it.
Although she cloaks herself in pomp and majesty now, Bakana was not born into the lap of luxury. Instead she was born close to the bottom of society. Her parents were poor peasants. They were not slaves, but their status was an extremely low one. Agricultural techniques were still primitive, and the tithes were high.
Her family lived in a village close to Krolis, the holy city of the Qadiri. Here, the Saoshyant, the high priestess of the Great Goddess Kashara, dwelt. However, they lived far from the giant temples and opulent mansions of the prelates. The children of peasants did not receive much of an education. Only priestesses, nobles and merchants needed to be literate. Instead they had to help out in the fields from an early age. One way out was to be conscripted by the army. This offered the chance of steady pay and advancement, assuming one survived long enough. Another was to be Force-Sensitive, for Force-Users were conscripted by the state or the temple for service.
Bakana would have probably followed in the footsteps of her parents if it had not been for two events. First the land was ravaged by drought, causing famine. The death toll was high. Many peasants died. Bakana's younger brother, still an infant at the time, did not make it. Starvation made people desperate. Bakana's mother was killed while trying to prevent the theft of the family's Ghoush, a beast of burden that could have fed the remaining family for a while. An older sister called Farideh went away in search of food, but never returned.
Angered by the indifference of the nobility, some peasants formed armed mobs, becoming bandits. Her father turned to theft and band But famines were nothing new and there were many peasants. Orphaned, Bakana and her remaining siblings grew up in deprivation. Soon the livestock started dying as well. When Bakana and one of her sisters begged a noble, who was passing by and riding in a litter carried by slaves, for food, they were driven away. Indeed, a guard scolded and beat them for offending the noble lady. Out of desperation, the people prayed for rain. So did Bakana, as her father had taught her.
She probably did not expect Kashara Arcitrax, as the aspect of Kashara in her role as the great goddess of the sky and stars is known, to heed her prayers. But the Great Goddess did - in a manner of speaking, at any rate. But it was not a deity that caused the brief rain storm to come, but a power deep inside the little girl. The rain storm was only brief. Too brief to turn things around.
People still drunk from the puddles and tried to catch the rain. The act of inadvertently summoning the rain was draining for a by now delirious Bakana, and caused her to collapse. She probably believed she was dreaming. However, her fellow villagers were not the only ones who had taken notice. The Celestial Dragons, a powerful order of Qadiri aeromancers, were based near Krolis. They were a warrior order devoted to Kashara. Now at this stage one might ask why a supposedly chivalrous order of air mages did not swoop in to end the drought, or at least share their bountiful supplies with the poor peasants.
Surely, that would have been the honourable thing to do. But honour is a fancy term. Oftentimes it is merely a rationalisation. The Dragons were warriors of the light, but they did not get involved in peasant matters. Famine or no famine, they expected the their tithe to be paid, and their services did not come cheap. A highborn or an influential cleric could persuade them to summon rain by making a charitable donation, but that had not happened.
However, the Dragons took notice of the child who had made it rain. The air mages perceived the Force through the prism of religion, though they had a good understanding of how it worked. To the Qadiri, the Force is Zari, which is also their word for soul. It is a gift from the goddess and an inner flame the gifted can tap into. Those who possess have great potential, but also pose a danger if they misuse their gift. That is why it was the law that they had be trained. Force users, as soon as they manifested their abilities, were usually taken in by either temple or state to be trained. There was sometimes violent competition between state and temple for the best.
In this case, the Dragons got first dibs. The peasants happened to be behind on their tithes. As was their right by law, the Dragons laid claim to the girl. Not all of Bakana's remaining family were willing to give her up. But they could not provide for the child, and it was a matter that concerned the whole village instead of just the clan. The representative of the Dragons declared that they would accept the girl as a donation. She had been blessed by the Goddess, and she would serve her.
Since she was being given to Kashara to become one of her handmaidens, the Goddess would hear the prayers of the faithful servants and work thorugh her mortal agents, the Dragons, to provide succour. The Dragon who claimed her was a young adept called Esfir Jai Rajava. One day she would lead the order and become Bakana's rival. And so small, emaciated Brakana was separated from her family and given to the order. Barkana's memories of that day would fade. Indeed, so did her recollection of her birth family. But she never forgot the deprivation, the hunger, the fear and the terror. She did not forget searching for and fighting over small scraps of food and coming close to dying from dehydration.
These days would play an important role in determining her outlook on the world. However, for the time being she belonged to the Order. They told her that she was special, and that she was serving the Goddess and helping her people by going with them. She did not want to go, though with time it would become difficult to remember her origins. The Dragons brought her to their fortress high up in the mountains. It was a cross between a military base and a religious temple. Here they lived, trained, prayed and received tribute from their vassals.
The Dragons were supposed to give up titles and personal wealth, but the order as a collective was wealthy. The Order even maintained its own banking service. This had allowed the Dragons to field their own levies and retainers. Slavery was a fact of life on Tygara, and so the Dragons owned slaves. These were, however, property of the Order, not of individual members. Sometimes the slaves were manumitted for good services. A select few could even buy their freedom. Bakana was given a humble room, which she had to share with other acolytes. But she was fed and clothed. Part of her duties were mundane, such as cleaning and sweeping. She also worked in the garden. The rules strict, but she was being looked after. One of the healers of the order tended to her. Bakana was suspicious of her mistresses. When she was given food, she gourged herself on it. This made her sick for a while. For a while she hoarded food. It took her a long time to realise that she would not be at risk of starvation.
Her training started as soon as she had regained enough weight and was strong enough for it to be safe. The Order's instructors were harsh, but not sadists. The training regimen involved a lot of physical training as well as instruction on how to use her powers. She soon received instruction in manipulating the air currents as well as levitating herself. There was a lot of meditation practice. Bakana struggled with the idea of meditation. It was difficult for her to remain calm. This left her frustrated, but she persevered.
In the Order, the term 'sink or swim' had been changed to 'fly or fall'. Initiates like Bakana were blindfolded and taken to the top of the cliff. That was what they were told at any rate. They had to slow their descent before they hit the ground. Because the Celestial Dragons were not idiots, it was actually more like a ten to twenty feet drop into a sand dune. This was still painful, but not mortal. Unlike some organisations, the Dragons categorically rejected the idea of decimating their own people. Such actions were not just barbaric, but also stupid.
Some of the adepts in Bakana's age group were too frightened to make the plunge. However, Bakana jumped. The young Qadiri acolyte succeeded, and removed the blindfold to see that it was less dangerous than claimed. But that was fine. She saw it as a good thing that the Order was not willing to throw away lives over silly points of pride. Members of the Order were supposed to leave their origins behind, but there was obviously a divide between those who came from highborn families and those from poor smallfolk. Bakana got into a fight with a highborn adept who insulted her family and expected the girl to wait on her. After a while, Bakana could not take the bullying anymore and lashed out. Lightning flared from her fingertips, blasting her bully. A fight ensued, as others joined in. For a while she held her bully at bay, but her foe was more experienced, and so she was blasted. Soon she was lying on the ground, trying in vain. One of Bakana's fellow adepts stood up for her.
The fight was broken up by an instructor. Bakana was penalised, and Esfir gave her some discipline she would not forget. Being in the Order was an honour and oppportunity for her. She should not dare jeopardise it. However, after the stick Esfir gave her some personal tuition. Training sessions with her instructors often left Bakana bruised or with small burns, as she learned to cast lightning, but she pushed herself. She would not end like all those people who suffered and died outside of the fortress' walls.
She would not be forgotten or dismissed. She would become someone of significance. She had no parents, so the girl was given a new name: Jai Kashala. As time passed, her memories of the family became less and less vivid, but she did not forget what she had endured. Bakana showed less interest in theological studies, but did well in physical and Force training. The Order hosted tournaments, where acolytes could show their mettle. Bakana did well in these competitions, throwing herself into learning and becoming as strong as she could be.
In one tourney she managed to narrowly defeat the girl who had humiliated her. Her foe was strong and expected to win, but Bakana managed to let go of herself. Channelling her feelings of humiliation and anger, she managed to come out on top. Bakana could not win through brute force, as her foe outclassed her there. Her opponent was levitating herself up in the air, so she used mist and a quick wind to disrupt her control, causing her to fall. Then she blasted her with lightning. However, it was not all play-acting. The adepts were being trained to serve the Order as warriors.
Here it is pertinent to note that there were reasons for why the Dragons did not just go around fixing every issue with the weather other than just greed. Changing the weather or climate of an area was incredibly taxing and time consuming, even for a Master of the Force. Indeed, it could require channelling for days. Moreover, careless use could disrupt the weather elsewhere. So if one made it rain somewhere, one might be messing up the natural weather and causing heavy winds or unintended storms elsewhere.
However, as a young adept, Bakana did not understand this. She remembered how people like her had suffered. The way the Dragons acted seemed callous to her. To her it was only natural for her to demand that they fix the droughts and floods. They had the power, and they kept preaching that they had a special calling from the Goddess. Her teachers explained but she got frustrated and and did not want to listen. When her home village was ravaged by drought again, she could not accept that it was part of the 'natural order'. Her people were suffering, and if the Dragons would not help, she would.
So Bakana ran off. Her teachers had taught her the very basics of weather manipulation. Of course, she was but an acolyte, but she was determined to do it herself. She had made it rain once, and she was stronger now, so she abandoned caution and called upon her Zari. The effort almost killed her, but she succeeded. Her people called her a hero. Indeed, her surviving family celebrated her. However, she more than she bargained for. Bakana had managed to bring forth rain to help her village. But while one village had gotten extra rain, another suffered from a bad drought in its place.
When Bakana learned this, she was crestfallen. She had helped her people, but caused great suffering elsewhere. The Order did not banish her, but they were determined to make her experience the consequences of her actions first-hand. Thus they made her dig ditches and carry water in the village she had affected so that she learned responsibility. Esfir forbade her to use the Force. Instead she was supposed to use her hands to undo some of the damage she had done.
It was a bitter pill for her to swallow, but showed her she could not rely on her Zari to fix everything. She spent a long time labouring in the village. What she had caused there was a cause of shame to her. Eventually she was allowed to return home to the temple. When a fire broke out, she put her life on the line to save a child who had been foraging. She was able to save the little boy, but suffered burns. However, she was under a cloud and given menial tasks. Some adepts suspected that she would not last long and never become a full Dragon, However, fate had other plans and she was given an opportunity to redeem herself in the Order's eyes.
Though the Dragons concerned themselves with peaceful pursuits such as putting out fires and protecting people from natural disasters, they were also warriors. Warfare was a fact of life for the Qadiri, who were divided into various monarchies, principalities, theocratic and city-states. Time and again, a ruler had tried to themselves on the Qadiri as sole ruler, only to be met with a coalition. The largest of the Qadiri states was the Amikarese Empire. The Dragons were allied with Krolis.
Long before Bakana was inducted into the Order, there had been a schism. The Kashari Church had been split split in two by a schism due to the election of two Saoshyants, who promptly proceeded to excommunicate each other. Amikaron backed one of the two candidates, and its armies sacked Krolis. This was a cause of shame for the Dragons, as sellswords hired by Amikaron had been able to board the flagship of the 'false Saoshyant'. However, while Amikaron had succeeded in conquering Krolis, this backfired spectatularly, as the Shahbânu's soldiers sacked the holy city. It was a public relations nightmare, and the Shahbânu did not live long.
Now many years later the Dragons found themselves in conflict with the Amikarese Empire. Bakana was one of the warriors assigned to a Krolian fleet. They faced an Amikarese blockade. The enemy fleet was more numerous than the small Krolian one. Amikaron had augmented it with sellsails, including Khaimari. They also fielded new cannons. Nonetheless, the Krolians had to break the blockade. Bakana was posted on a ship with a high-ranking Kashari cleric. As battle raged around them, the ship tried to escape.
A cynic might say that the task was considered impossible, so it was given to the know-it-all adept. People were dying and ships were sinking around them. Indeed, the ship Bakana was on was damagd and the captain was mortally wounded by a musket shot from a marksman. Amidst the chaos of battle, her telepathic connection to other Dragons in the flotilla broke down. The suddenn loss of the meld pained her. However, the young adept was able to apply the teachings of her instructors and will her Zari to shift the winds so that they could break out. The enemy was disadvantaged by the wind, allowing the Krolian fleet to assault them. Her actions earned her the favour of the cleric, and some credit with the Dragons.
Her earlier irresponsibility had not been forgotten, but she was not at risk of being banished. More skrimishes against Amikaron and other Qadiri groups followed. The Dragons were also called upon to fight pirates plaguing the waterways. Some were Khaimari, others were the dreaded Xioquo, the arch-enemies of the Qadiri. Every Qadiri child in Amikaron was taught that the 'dark ones' were barbarians who drank the blood of their sacrificial victims and had been spawned by the demons of the abyss. Any Qadiri captured by the Xioquo was dragged back to their dark, subterranean realm to be tortured and enslaved. Here it is pertinent to note that the Dragons did not oppose slavery per se. No one was an abolitionist here. But they obviously objected to their people being enslaved by foreigners.
It was in this period that Bakana got to know a young Qadiri woman called Tahaza Jai Nasara. The two were about the same age. Both were adepts with elemental air abilities. However, Tahaza was not a Dragon or even from Krolis. Instead she was a Khaimari. Her people took their name from the Khairma Peninsula they dwelt on. The difference between a peaceful farmer and a ferocious pirate often comes down to whether the harvest is good or not.
This was true for the Khaimari, who alternated between being farmers and sailors and ruthless corsairs. In a way, Tahaza belonged to the Khaimari counterpart of the Dragons, for she was born into the Sky Shatter Cabal, a sworn covenant of Khaimari aeromancers. They claimed to worship Kashara, but the Dragons insisted that the Cabbalists were faithless pirates who only paid lip service to the Goddess. After all, they had few qualms about raiding merchant ships from Krolis or cities that paid tribute to it. Whereas Bakana had grown up dirt poor, Tahaza was a raider princess. However, after her people had found themselves on the losing side of a battle against their rivals, they had been forced to provide hostages.
Thus Tahaza was separated from her family and her people at an early age, and forced to grow up among their foes. This left the girl insecure about her social and ethnic identity. It was an unspoken but known fact that she would lose her head if her family stepped out of line. The Dragons were responsible for watching over her and did their best to steer her education in a direction they considered productive. Tahaza was withdrawn and broody, but Bakana managed to befriend her. The Khaimari had received some training in the Force before being taken hostage, and so she was a bit ahead of Bakana.
Indeed, she taught the Dragon a bit about navigation and how to use a musket. She was a better shot than Bakana, though the Dragon had more skill at using air and lightning at a distance. The pair once snuck out to visit Krolis. They helped the Dragons rescue survivors when a settlement was threatened by a flood. However, Tahaza found the Dragons patronising. She was treated as one of them, but not really.
She also refused to accept that they were morally superior to her people. As she told Bakana, the only difference was that the Krolians and the other city-dwellers had enough wealth to build great cities and large monuments. Just like the Khaimari, they built their wealth on the backs of slaves and conquest. They would create a wasteland and call it the Goddess' peace. Krolis and Amikaron were rich and bountiful, but the homeland of the Khaimari was poor. Bakana had started to identify with the Order. It was flawed, she missed her family and believed the Dragons should do more, but it was something close to home. However, Tahaza was a friend. She saved Bakana's life when the latter almost drowned while helping civilians. But then Tahaza stole away into the night. Rumours said that hostilities had broken out again.
The next time the two met, they would do so as enemies and cross blades. The Sky Shatter Cabal had mobilised for war. The Dragons responded in kind. Both sects were composed of powerful aeromancers, and could draw upon retainers. The result was a fierce weather duel on the sea. Bakana fought fiercely during the battle. She and her battle sisters summoned winds and lightning of great power. Chaos raged around them. Ships sunk and people died. Amidst the mayhem, their ship was boarded. There, the Bakana had been part of a group of Dragons casting a spell to summon a strong wind.
But a thick fog reduced visibility. But Bakana trusted the Force, relying on her Senses when her sight failed her. Cabalists had used the cover to levitate themselves onto the ship and now struck at them. Defending herself fiercely and rallying her comrades to meet the boarders, Bakana cut down several enemies with blade and lightning, defending the casters. Then her commanding officer was shot by a blunderbuss wielded by Tahaza. Overcome by an intense fury, Bakana destroyed the weapon. Tahaza injured her with a pistol, before responding with the Force. Both clashed on the deck of the ship and in the air, with blade, gun and the power of the Force. It was a furious duel. Bakana's body was scorched by lightning and the gun wound pained her, but she fought on, inspiring her comrades. Lightning shrieked from her fingertips and her gleaming blade. Each drew upon their air powers to punch or slam the other or affect their breathing. At one stage both levitated themselves and fought in the air.
Cabalists and Dragons both drew upon their fearsome power. As exertion took its toll and some members collapsed from the strain, each called upon Kashara to bless them. However, the exertion of power triggered a maelstrom. Several ships were sunk and adepts of both orders drowned. Tahaza and Bakana were caught right inside the maelstrom. Sea dragons, smelling blood, attacked those who had fallen into the water. Tahaza had been injured during the melee and was soon assailed by one of the sea creatures. Bakana was in pain from her own wounds, but felt compelled to aid her former friend.
Once upon a time they had been friends and Tahaza had saved her life. She was able to grab a spear and draw on the Force to enchant it, embedding it inside the sea creature. For a moment, the two air mages melded minds to draw strength from one another. Amidst the chaos, they managed to reach the shore. Both were out of breath and exhausted. Having used the Force to suppress the pain of the gun shot, Bakana now felt it in full. One of the Cabalists saw her and was about to go for the kill, but Tahaza stopped him. When he denounced her, she struck him.
The two former friends shared one last look, then Tahaza left. Bakana beheld the carnage the battle had caused. The raging storm had destroyed ships and consumed many lives. Exhausted and bloodied, she was found by her cormades. Many senior members of the Order had died in the battle. As a consequence, there were plenty of vacancies. Bakana's bravery had been noted and she was promoted. However, it felt undeserved to her. She felt conflicted and guilty.
She tried to deal with her guilt by having a dalliance with one of the slaves of the temple. She spent a lot of time training fiercely and helping the injured. It was small consolation that the Cabal had suffered heavy losses, too. Bakana was made responsible for supervising and training a couple acolytes. She was an exacting taskmistress, though not a cruel one. She now knew that being one of the Dragons was not a game, and so she had to prepare the neophytes accordingly.
When a fire broke out in Krolis, she and her small student group were called in to deal with it. The fire had started in shops were flammable goods were stored, but spread. The night was a windy one, which helped its spread. Bakana quickly took charge of the situation, working together with the Krolian city watch, which doubled as a fire brigade. They rescued civilians and dealt with looters and arsonists who tried to spread the fire or take advantage. Bakana was energetic and threw herself into the task. By pooling their powers, they could bring forth rain to combat the fire as well as summon wind to steer it away. Meanwhile, the city watch used fire engines and had formed bucket brigades. Some burning buildings had to be torn down. However, Bakana had an unexpected reunion during the fiery conflagration.
Her older sister Farideh, who had vanished many years ago, was in one of the burning buildings. It belonged to a merchant, who had taken her as a slave. Bakana found her when she used the Force to fly into the building in order to save trapped people. She suffered burns, but called upon her Zari and Kashara to shield her. Her powers parted the flames, clearing a path for the trapped. Her lightning smote her sister's owner. The two sisters embraced once they had escaped safely. There was little time for reunions though. Relief had to be organised, and there were plenty of people who needed aid.
Farideh stayed by her side though, acting as a scribe of sorts. With all that was going on, no one was going to look for one fugitive slave whose owner was no longer among the living. The use of mind tricks helped as well. Bakana did not object to slavery in principle, but she strongly objected to her sister being enslaved. Bakana's energetic leadership had won her much acclaim. It helped her arrange for Farideh to be set free. Bakana found that she enjoyed the fame, fleeting thought it was.
She was liked by many smallfolk, as she had insisted on helping commoners where possible instead of just protecting the mansions of the aristocrats and prelates. Bakana visited commoners who had been rendered homeless by the fire to help provide relief. She did not have the temperament for minutiae, so she left the details to her sister and provided the energy needed to cut through red tape. Detractors argued that her attitude showed a lack of piety. Eventually the sections of the city that had been destroyed by the damage were rebuilt.
Later, Bakana and her acolytes joined a Krolian expedition to Khajwar. Though also inhabited by Qadiri, it was a foreign land as far as the Krolians were concerned. Khajwar lay on the continent of Zhukathis. The Khajwari had their own customs and dialect. As a consequence, the Qadiri of Amikaron could not understand their cousins. At first it was a good time. Bakana had learned about navigation and could use her powers to give them fair winds. She and the acolytes dissipated a storm that menaced the flotilla. They visited several Qadiri cities, and were generally given a fair reception.
Bakana regaled the local Qadiri with tales of her exploits. During an expedition, she also ran into a local Vashyada tribe. Bakana found the 'wood elves' strange, but friendly. She rejected a suggestion to attack them and take them as slaves. Not because she had a problem with slavery, but because betraying their hospitality violated her sense of honour. Eventually the flotilla sent sails and started to return home. They had only had limited success at recruiting new aeromancers as the local potentates wanted first pick of any promising Force-Users, but their ships were ladden with gifts.
However, on the way home they were stalked by a Xioquo fleet. The technologically superior drows ambushed them. Their cannons and rifles were more advanced than the Qadiri's. A Qadiri ship was destroyed by Xioquo cannons; another was seized by boarders. The Dragons joined the crews in defending their ships. Bakana and her acolytes summoned a rainstorm which blew down and wet the powder of the Xioquo, making it easier for the Qadiri to engage them. To her fury, there were Khaimari fighting among the Dark Ones. She and the other Dragons engaged them with particular zeal.
However, the Xioquo unleashed their secret weapon, an enormous kraken. The massive beast tore through them. Bakana and the crew were shipwrecked. This made them easy picking for the Xioquo, who fired on them with muskets and poisoned arrows. One of her acolytes was devoured by the beast. The survivors were pursued by the Xioquo but managed to reach an island shore. The rise of the sun forced the Xioquo to halt their pursuit, but the Qadiri had lost most of their supplies and ammunition. They were forced to hide in the caverns. While trying to plot a way to get out of this predicament and get revenge, Bakana ran into a former friend.
Tahaza and her crew had been shipwrecked as well. Needless to say the reunion was not a friendly one, as the Krolians suspected the Khaimari of complicity. Tahaza confirmed that some of her people were collaborating with the Xioquo, but she was not one of them. Indeed, she was rather angered by this. She was a raider, but a Qadiri raider. The Cabal had a good name that was being sullied by traitors. Her sister and rival happened to be their leader. Bakana was dubious, but agreed to an alliance against a mutual threat.
The Qadiri aeromancers used lightning to strike from the sky and electrocute the beast. That enraged the Xio but as they came ashore they were picked off by traps and ambushed from the two groups of Qadiri. Finally, they stole some of their ships. The Xioquo aboard who were not killed were taken prisoner and enslaved. Most were sold at the slave market of a nearby Qadiri city. The Xioquo who had stormed the island were left stranded. Bakana let Tahaza deal with her sister, though she forbade a massacre of the prisoners. The two parted ways. They could not be considered friends anymore, but also not blood enemies. Before Tahaza left, Bakana exhorted her to give Krolis a wide berth when she went raiding. Otherwise she would not spare her again.
All this excitement delayed the expedition's return a bit. However, on the way home Bakana heard that Krolis was under siege. Compelled to make haste, she used her powers to summon the winds to speed to aid the defenders. Indeed, a large Xioquo armada had attacked the holy city. Their timing was good, because the Amikarese Empire was in the middle of a succession crisis. However, the city was not defenceless. Sahali Jai Bysara, High Mistress of the Sistren of the Eternal Flame, had taken command. The Dragons participated in the defence as well, though the fact that the leader of a rival order was in command vexed them.
Bakana arrived just too late to get into the thick of things, but she arrived just in time at the battle to cut off the Xioquo. Just before her ships got into view, she ordered the captains to hoist Xioquo banners. Indeed, their Xioquo slaves were forced to stand on deck. This deceived the drows, who believed reinforcements had arrived to aid them. The deception allowed her to destroy a number of enemy ships. Many Qadiri had perished on this day and large parts of Krolis were destroyed, but the defences held. Bakana was formally recognised as a Master after this battle.
Esfir, who had risen to become the leader of the Dragons, promoted her in a solemn ceremony. Now close to the peak of the Order, Bakana was able to dispense patronage. She had remembered her village and her surviving family. Some were eager to remid her of their kinship and obtain her favour, but others rejected her as someone who had joined the bigwigs. Farideh worked closely with her. She could not become a Dragon, but she joined the Order as a laywoman. She had a mind for numbers and was good with minutiae. This was fortunate because Bakana was the sort who did not worry much about paperwork, so someone else had to do it for her. The new Mistress also shed her 'bastard' name and reclaimed her family one.
However, new challenges arose. The ambitious Semiramis decided the Amikarese civil war in her favour, acceding to the throne of Shahbânu. Shortly thereafter, the 'sky people' arrived on Tygara. The planet's long isolation had come to an end. The outsiders possessed advanced technology that surpassed that of the Qadiri. Blasters, faster-than-light travel and starships had been unknown to the natives, even to the technologically advanced Xioquo. Opinions on the nature of the space people and the best way of dealing with them diverged. Semiramis, whose people had been attacked by corsairs from outer space, quickly aligned herself with Firemane and the Eldorai Matriarchy.
Esfir distrusted the space people's intentions, and Bakana agreed with her, though she was also curious about what they had to offer. The air mage knew that the Amikarese would try to use the foreigners to their advantage. Bakana was part of the welcoming committee when the apparent leader of the space people, a flame-haired woman called Siobhan Kerrigan, visited Krolis and its vassals. The 'sky queen' arrived with great pomp and fanfare. She evidently wanted to make an impression on the Qadiri. The meeting was more than a little tense. Firemane had made a pact with the Amikarese Empire. Semiramis' tremendous ambition was obvious to anyone. At the same time, many Krolians were awed or intimidated by the outsiders' power. Siobhan's Zandri was not good and she knew only a few words, but it obviously looked good that she made the effort to greet the Qadiri in their own language. For their part, the Dragons were also eager to show off their might. There was a parade, and Siobhan watched them conduct manoeuvres and training exercises.
Bakana found her own way of breaking the ice. While Siobhan was being shown around, she saw a very steep mountain. Bakana explained that the great mistresses of the order jumped from it. She talked about her love of flying, said she had heard about many great feats Siobhan had performed, but wondered whether she could match the great air mages since she had a machine to do the flying for her. Esfir was aghast at what could have easily been construed as an insult. Indeed, a number of Firemane's representatives saw it as one. Then Bakana challenged the human to go flying with her. Never one to back down from a challenge, Siobhan agreed, before her staff could restrain her. She never liked protocol when it got in the way of her doing something fun and dramatic.
Bakana got on well with the human. However, following the Firemane delegation's departure, her disagreements with Esfir intensified. It boiled down to policy. Both Qadiri were protective of their order wanted to preserve it. But both disagreed on how best to accomplish this. Bakana was willing to cooperate and work with the sky people, whilst Esfir wanted to remain distanced from them. She considered this true to the order's vows and feared its integrity would be compromised. Thus she wanted to maintain its independence. However, Bakana feared that this would lead to their relegation to rural non entities. The aeromancer participated in the final assault on the Underealm, the subtereanean capital of the Xioquo. This gave her the chance to see the humans' technology in action. Both Bakana and Esfir had cultivated a following among the Dragons. This made it inevitable that things came to head. Finally, Bakana challenged Esfir to a duel. This would be a fair way to end the dispute once and for all, without the risk of collateral damage or bloodletting among the Dragons. Bakana did not make the challenge lightly. Owing to the power both Mistresses wielded, the duel took place in the desert, far away from any settlements. After all, a weather duel between two aeromancers could be destructive. It was a hard, ferocious fight, as both called upon the power of wind and storm.
In the end, Bakana, bleeding, exhausted and badly bruised, prevailed. However, she refused to kill Esfir. Indeed, she even offered her former mentor a position, but Esfir declined. Perhaps Bakana's clemency insulted her pride. Instead she placed the Dragons' fate in Bakana's hands and left, choosing exile. When it was suggested to her that she should eliminate Esfir's followers, Bakana angrily declined. She would not start her term as commander by butchering her battle sisters. The Dragons swore an oath of loyalty to their new commander. Bakana made an alliance with Firemane, but on her terms. She would not acknowledge Semiramis as her overlord. She wanted to deal directly with the humans. She took Firemane's side during the Krolis War. This was a conflict that broke out after the death of Saoshyant. Semiramis and the League of Krolis backed rival candidates. Siobhan was more or less reluctantly pulled into the conflict, as Semiramis was her ally. The war began under a bad star Dragons' bastion came under siege.
It was a gruelling battle, and Bakana was forced to make the hard decision to retreat, working with other Dragons to manipulate weather conditions so her warriors could slip away. But the retreat was a blow to morale. Discipline suffered and there were desertions. However, Bakana was able to build some confidence in her leadership by leading several brave raids. Her hour came at the final battle with the League. Siobhan's personal transport had been downed by a sandstorm. Bakana used her abilities to guide Qadiri and Firemane soldiers lost in the storm, ensuring that the beleaguered 'Lady of Flames' received reinforcements. Proving her command of the air currents and raising the morale of frightened soldiers, she flew into the eye of the storm, unleashing destruction upon her foes. She and Siobhan met on the battlefield. In the aftermath of the battle, Bakana ensured honourable treatment for Krolian soldiers who had been taken prisoner. She invited captured officers to dine at her table. She advocated for clemency for those who had risen in revolt and was successful in interceding with Siobhan, much to the annoyance of both Semiramis and Firemane leaders pushing for harsher terms. It was probably to her liking that the cleric who was eventually picked by Siobhan as Saoshyant was neither a partisan of the League nor of Amikaron.
Once the serious fighting was over, Bakana was quick to get involved in Firemane's campaign on Tephrike. Some considered this foolhardy and wondered whether her desire for martial glory had gotten the better of her. But she saw it as a good chance to raise the status of the Dragons. Moreover, it would give them experience of operating beyond the confines of their homeworld. Thus Bakana led a detachment of the Dragons when they made the journey across the sky-ocean to the distant world of Tephrike. This war-torn planet had been cut off from the rest of the Galaxy during the Dark Age and was now Firemane's latest battleground. Here, Firemane forces clashed with the Dominion of Light, a totalitarian, Jedi-led theocracy.
Though Tephrike had technologically regressed due to its long period of isolation, the Dominion was a tenacious opponent. Motivated by religious fervour, many of its soldiers fought to the bitter end when Firemane assaulted Fortress Purity, a major Dominion base. Some turned themselves into living bombs. Moreover, the Dominion deployed Force-Using warriors in large numbers. Through use of a weather control machine, the Dominion troops summoned a storm to negate Firemane's air power. The storm made it extremely hazardous for Firemane to land reinforcements or conduct bombing runs. It also prevented Firemane's warships from simply bombing the base, though they were able to cut off the defenders from reinforcements through orbital strikes. The fighting between the two armies was intense and brutal.
Amidst all this, a transport ship bearing Bazana and her closest acolytes landed unharmed as if on parade. The storm mistress could have landed further away, but Bazana decided to create a show by landing right in the middle of the storm. Theatrics aside, Bazana and her comrades showed their worth after meeting Colonel Varkathras, the commanding officer of the Firemane ground forces. The Dragons were able to harness the storm. Using coordinates provided by Firemane soldiers on the frontlines, they were able to direct it towards the enemy. Bolts of lightning shot down from the sky, striking Dominion armoured vehicles and defensive positions.
This helped a combined force of Firemane and Republican Guard soldiers storm the Dominion lines, though the fighting was still savage. A fierce counterattack by the Vanguard, a unit of elite Jedi warriors, resulted in fierce close quarter fighting. The Dragons continued to provide support for Firemane troops throughout. Dominion sneak attacks compelled them to enter direct combat themselves at one point, clashing with the enemy in melee. When the battle turned ill, the Dominion commanders sent a brigade of Younglings on a suicidal death charge in order to cover their retreat. Firemane and the Republican Guard were able to take Purity, but at a cost. For the Celestial Dragons it was one of their first experiences of warfare outside of their native lands. They were among several Qadiri and Xiqouo warriors who proved their mettle on this day.
This raised their prestige. Bakana was quick to recognise this and intends to use it to her advantage. She awarded the Firestar for her contributions, though she grumbled about the medal not being as prestigious as she clearly deserved. As a parting gift for its Tephriki allies, Firemane bombed Castle Maysaf the headquarters of the Disciples of the Vader, from orbit. The human supremacist Sith cultists tried to retaliate by summoning demons and shades from the Nether. Bakana rallied her Dragons and helped the crew of the Firemane expeditionary force's flagship repulse the Force demons. Now she has returned home, and awaits further adventures.
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