Dorian Michaels
New Member
(OOC: Okay, here we go-- newbie to the site, and first new character ON said site...I know, I probably messed up somewhere in here, but, first time, so please be gentle...oh, and in-post, I know I'm confusing the Sith Empire with the Imperial Remnant; the bio is written 'in-universe', so the mistake is the character's as well. Well, enough jawing around-- here we go
Name: Tanon Niathal (prefers to be addressed by his last name only though)
Faction: Neutral (for now)
Rank: Apprentice
Species: Near-Human (Balmorran)
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Height: 6’2
Weight: 191
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Skin: Medium tan
Force-sensitive: Yes (latent)
Strengths/Weaknesses: Niathal is extremely intelligent for his age, which he has turned to an interest in science and technology--he has particular talents for computer programming as well as engineering (chemical, mechanical, and electrical especially-- this, combined with his knowledge of computers, results in particularly enjoyment, and expertise in, working with droids and droid technology), though he is constantly expanding his knowledge into other areas (vibronics, physics, biochemistry, genetics, among others). Niathal also is in possession of what is known as an eidetic (photographic) memory-- he is able to remember most anything he has ever learned, with almost flawless recall.
However, ironically, in spite of his great intelligence and a mind that generally trends towards an analytical nature, Niathal is also a passionate individual, one who is (at times) wont to let his feelings and instincts run away with him. This manifests in an powerful emotional side, one that the young Balmorran has striven to harness, and keep under control throughout his life; Niathal can often be headstrong, hotheaded, and impulsive, leading him to get into trouble when more often than not it can be avoided (with a nasty tendency to butt in other people’s business where he is not wanted or needed). Also, while typically introverted while in private, and in public outgoing and pleasant to be around, when he is sufficiently pushed, Niathal has demonstrated the capability to be vindictive, vicious, and, in extremely rare cases, violent (it helps matters none that he can be overly sensitive and reactive to things that most other people would simply shrug off).
History: Born in 815 ABY on the factory world Balmorra, in the capital city of Bin Prime, Tanon Niathal was a person who, from the day he came into the world, was destined to live a life where everything a sentient being could possibly want would be within arm’s reach, if not offered up on a hand-carved greel wood platter. This was due (in NO small part) to Tanon’s lineage-- he was only child (and thus, only heir) of the Niathal family, one of, in fact probably THE most, wealthy and influential of families on all of Balmorra. This was due to the fact that the Niathal family controlled Balmorra Armaments (often referred to as BalmorrArms for short), the monolithic arms manufacturing conglomerate that owned and/or operated 98% of all the industrial capacity of Balmorra, as well as hundreds of thousands of other, subsidiary businesses throughout the Galaxy (including several very close --and VERY lucrative-- partnerships with the shipbuilding titan of the Galaxy, Kuat Drive Yards).
Those with an especially thorough knowledge of history compared BalmorrArms with the arms manufacturing giants of centuries past-- Czerka Corporation, Merr-Sonn Munitions, and BlasTech Industries (most of which had fallen far from their top spots long ago at some point, either shutting down completely, going bankrupt and being bought out, or being forced to downsize until they were merely a shell of their former selves, events that were almost exclusively due to fallout from the Gulag Virus). Which turned out to be all the better for the rising star of Balmorra, which, over the centuries absorbed their competitors (along the way assimilating much of the remnants of the so-called ‘Big Three‘), building what had once been a single planet company into a sector-spanning empire-- particularly notable is that BalmorrArms not only made personal weapons themselves (and a truly dizzying array of them, at that), but they also diversified into other arenas: such as making shield generators, computer systems and top-grade weapons for military spacecraft-- a good many of the weapons fitted into new KDY vessels had their origins in Balmorra-owned factories; in addition to this, BalmorrArms manufactured military vehicles as well-- from fast, nimble, yet hard-hitting repulsortanks, to slow, lumbering, yet nigh-impervious combat walkers (a Balmorran tradition reaching back to the Galactic Empire of ages past), and everything in between. And these are only two examples of how the weapon- and armor smiths of Balmorra (under the guidance of the Niathal clan) were constantly ensuring that wherever there was conflict, at least one (if not both) sides would be utilizing Balmorran-made products. And Tanon Niathal was born as sole heir to it all.
(Also noteworthy: attempts by every single major governmental entity --everyone from the Empire to the Republic to the Mandalorians-- to secure exclusive distribution agreements with BalmorrArms for their most sophisticated products were rejected almost out-of-hand-- like BlasTech Industries in days of yore, anyone with sufficient credits to buy could own a piece of Balmorra’s finest products.)
Niathal’s early and middle childhood passed (relatively) uneventfully-- he was born to parents who, despite their business (and other) interests taking up a great deal of their time, always tried to make time for their child whenever they could; they both proved to be great influences in shaping the man Tanon would become later in life. Perhaps most notable was that both his parents strongly insisted that Niathal never remain idle, and to have as normal a life as he could (in lieu of the sheltered upbringings of many others in his situation). To help in this, instead of his education exclusively consisting of private tutors, Niathal attended actual school, and proved himself a superlative student-- quickly gaining admission to some of the finest schools on all of Balmorra strictly on merit of grades and scholarship alone (though the fact that his parents each had a net worth in the 11-digit range --and were not at all shy about making healthy donations here and there-- certainly didn’t hurt matters). Niathal started a meteoric rise through academia, proving himself very successful in nearly any subject put in front of him, though he had a particular talent for the hard sciences-- many foresaw him becoming a scientist in some advanced field someday. This intense focus and hard work paid off-- in 832 ABY, at the age of only seventeen, Tanon Niathal graduated high school as valedictorian, with a list of extracurricular activities, awards, and decorations trailing a light-year behind him.
However, what was outwardly the pan-Balmorran golden boy, the ultimate success story, the reality was not quite what most would expect. Though he was never unfriendly to anyone, Niathal (when on his own time) mostly kept to himself, finding it very hard to open up to people about his problems and difficulties-- through his wide and varied activities he had many, many acquaintances, but very, very few people that Tanon would truly call friends. What time that was not spent on his studies (and other things school-related) Niathal often spent in other, more intellectual pursuits-- other boys his age and economic bracket were spending time chasing any sentient species with legs and breasts and racing (and wrecking) their personal landspeeders, Niathal often spent it in the study of his family’s mansion, surfing the HoloNet in pursuit of some obscure tidbit of knowledge, or, actually reading a book (and more often than not, one of the many actual paper-and-ink texts contained within the massive Niathal family library). Other times, he would often just sit by himself for hours on end and muse on things. A common subject of thought being how he felt that he was only truly ‘himself’ when he was alone-- that the intelligent, friendly, outgoing, worldly, charming, smiling face that he showed out in public was more and more becoming a mask for him to wear; not that he wasn’t actually many of those things in reality already, just that it seemed that by trying to fit everyone else’s expectations of what he was supposed to be, he was drawing further and further away from what he himself actually was. Usually Niathal put those thoughts aside and turned his interest to something else, but the issue always lurked in the back of his mind, and never quite seemed to go away, no matter how hard he tried to banish it.
Age eighteen--Tanon Niathal had graduated high school, and was at a crossroads; due to his incredible grades and excellent references, he had literally the pick of the litter in regards to schooling; everyone, from the University of Coruscant, to the Rhinnal State Medical Academy, to the engineering institutes of Kuat, Corellia, and Bilbringi, were all but *begging* for Niathal to become a student there. Niathal was tempted by all of them, but an increasingly pressing issue became his parents; they knew they were getting on in years, and despite their encouragement that Niathal could pick any career he wanted and would enjoy their support, they were more and more frequently hinting that their son should perhaps pursue a career in business (with the obvious implication that he take over as Chairman/CEO of Balmorra Arms upon the stepping down ,whether voluntary or otherwise, of his father). Privately though, Niathal had become somewhat bored with his life of wealth and comfort and, in a desire for more adventure and excitement in his life ( and this in NO small way was influenced by the records of history--in particular tales of adventurers long dead and epic quests and tremendous battles long since gone and forgotten by most in the preceding centuries of chaos-- that he loved to read) was actually considering joining the military-- specifically (despite Balmorra at the moment falling under the aegis of the reborn Galactic Republic) the Imperial Academy. Niathal’s dream --and it was a *lofty* one at that-- was to join, and excel there as he had in almost every other venture he had tackled, to become the finest of the finest of all the stormtroopers, from all the thousands of worlds in the Empire; hopefully good enough that eventually he would be one of the extreme select few handpicked to be taken in and trained as one of those warriors unparalleled by none other in the Galaxy: an Imperial Royal Guardsman. Not an Imperial Sovereign Protector though-- Niathal loved to dream big, but that was just too much. Really. (Nice to hope though, and he certainly wouldn’t turn his nose up at it if offered…)
However, covert inquires opened by the young heir into how best to go about joining the Academy would leave a bad taste in Tanon’s mouth regarding the Empire, the government that he had once so loved and believed in --and that had provided so *very* well for his family, in the form of being one of their biggest buyers-- it turned out, was not all that he had been lead to believe it was. Most specifically, it was the ever-increasing influence and control of the Sith Order within said government (to the point where they in fact *were* said government) that came to light; or, perhaps more accurately, the sheer depths of corruption to which it ran--that put Niathal in a bit of a conflict: outer façade or true person, one thing was constant: Tanon Niathal detested the Sith.
Not completely; there were some few things he admired about them-- for one, he admired their passion and the drive at which they threw themselves at any task they chose, and how they could actually seem to get things accomplished (in lieu of just debating it in committee, as so seemed to be the case within the Republic), but what he hated how they used that drive (assassinating people and exterminating entire species simply because they didn’t agree with them, it was simply politically expedient, or out of simple blind xenophobia) was what really offended Niathal. And while he understood the need for firm and steady leadership, in the days following the centuries of strife and chaos following Gulag Virus, he believed the Sith were taking it one step too far, and simply using the excuse of ‘maintaining order’ to quash any and all oppression under their heel and further cement their already nigh-tyrannical rule over their territory rather than doing what they, as the government (and in Niathal’s opinion), should be doing-- helping the conflict-and-plague-rent Galaxy heal and rebuild.
And while Niathal bore little love for the Sith, he bore little more for their light side counterparts, the Jedi. Again, as with the Sith, the Jedi had some good points Niathal liked-- he praised and admired their strong sense of justice, and their belief in the need to protect others who cannon protect themselves against those who would prey upon them. Noble goals, praiseworthy goals…which Niathal felt were rendered completely and utterly useless by the absolutely asinine and insanely hypocritical fact that Jedi tended to (at least as *he* saw it) do nothing but sit on their hands (figuratively) and actually do nothing while innocent sentients suffer simply because ‘the will of the Force dictates it’--a phrase and idea which Niathal has gone on record as saying is, quote ‘a steaming mountain of bantha {EXPLETIVE OMITTED} the height of Imperial Center’. In addition, the whole ‘divest-yourself-from-your-emotions’ ascetic creed of the Jedi Order also stuck in Tanon’s figurative craw-- he believed that not only could no one sentient being ever *fully* separate themselves from their emotional responses, but it was fully embracing and harnessing them that was not only natural, but the only way that one could truly live --and enjoy-- their lives to the fullest of their potential (though, to be fair, Niathal did understand the concept of emotional restraint, having a sometimes-volatile emotional side he tried to keep under control). In short, Niathal disliked BOTH sides of the Force spectrum…but for different reasons.
(Work in progress-- more to come later!)
Name: Tanon Niathal (prefers to be addressed by his last name only though)
Faction: Neutral (for now)
Rank: Apprentice
Species: Near-Human (Balmorran)
Age: 20
Gender: Male
Height: 6’2
Weight: 191
Eyes: Blue
Hair: Brown
Skin: Medium tan
Force-sensitive: Yes (latent)
Strengths/Weaknesses: Niathal is extremely intelligent for his age, which he has turned to an interest in science and technology--he has particular talents for computer programming as well as engineering (chemical, mechanical, and electrical especially-- this, combined with his knowledge of computers, results in particularly enjoyment, and expertise in, working with droids and droid technology), though he is constantly expanding his knowledge into other areas (vibronics, physics, biochemistry, genetics, among others). Niathal also is in possession of what is known as an eidetic (photographic) memory-- he is able to remember most anything he has ever learned, with almost flawless recall.
However, ironically, in spite of his great intelligence and a mind that generally trends towards an analytical nature, Niathal is also a passionate individual, one who is (at times) wont to let his feelings and instincts run away with him. This manifests in an powerful emotional side, one that the young Balmorran has striven to harness, and keep under control throughout his life; Niathal can often be headstrong, hotheaded, and impulsive, leading him to get into trouble when more often than not it can be avoided (with a nasty tendency to butt in other people’s business where he is not wanted or needed). Also, while typically introverted while in private, and in public outgoing and pleasant to be around, when he is sufficiently pushed, Niathal has demonstrated the capability to be vindictive, vicious, and, in extremely rare cases, violent (it helps matters none that he can be overly sensitive and reactive to things that most other people would simply shrug off).
History: Born in 815 ABY on the factory world Balmorra, in the capital city of Bin Prime, Tanon Niathal was a person who, from the day he came into the world, was destined to live a life where everything a sentient being could possibly want would be within arm’s reach, if not offered up on a hand-carved greel wood platter. This was due (in NO small part) to Tanon’s lineage-- he was only child (and thus, only heir) of the Niathal family, one of, in fact probably THE most, wealthy and influential of families on all of Balmorra. This was due to the fact that the Niathal family controlled Balmorra Armaments (often referred to as BalmorrArms for short), the monolithic arms manufacturing conglomerate that owned and/or operated 98% of all the industrial capacity of Balmorra, as well as hundreds of thousands of other, subsidiary businesses throughout the Galaxy (including several very close --and VERY lucrative-- partnerships with the shipbuilding titan of the Galaxy, Kuat Drive Yards).
Those with an especially thorough knowledge of history compared BalmorrArms with the arms manufacturing giants of centuries past-- Czerka Corporation, Merr-Sonn Munitions, and BlasTech Industries (most of which had fallen far from their top spots long ago at some point, either shutting down completely, going bankrupt and being bought out, or being forced to downsize until they were merely a shell of their former selves, events that were almost exclusively due to fallout from the Gulag Virus). Which turned out to be all the better for the rising star of Balmorra, which, over the centuries absorbed their competitors (along the way assimilating much of the remnants of the so-called ‘Big Three‘), building what had once been a single planet company into a sector-spanning empire-- particularly notable is that BalmorrArms not only made personal weapons themselves (and a truly dizzying array of them, at that), but they also diversified into other arenas: such as making shield generators, computer systems and top-grade weapons for military spacecraft-- a good many of the weapons fitted into new KDY vessels had their origins in Balmorra-owned factories; in addition to this, BalmorrArms manufactured military vehicles as well-- from fast, nimble, yet hard-hitting repulsortanks, to slow, lumbering, yet nigh-impervious combat walkers (a Balmorran tradition reaching back to the Galactic Empire of ages past), and everything in between. And these are only two examples of how the weapon- and armor smiths of Balmorra (under the guidance of the Niathal clan) were constantly ensuring that wherever there was conflict, at least one (if not both) sides would be utilizing Balmorran-made products. And Tanon Niathal was born as sole heir to it all.
(Also noteworthy: attempts by every single major governmental entity --everyone from the Empire to the Republic to the Mandalorians-- to secure exclusive distribution agreements with BalmorrArms for their most sophisticated products were rejected almost out-of-hand-- like BlasTech Industries in days of yore, anyone with sufficient credits to buy could own a piece of Balmorra’s finest products.)
Niathal’s early and middle childhood passed (relatively) uneventfully-- he was born to parents who, despite their business (and other) interests taking up a great deal of their time, always tried to make time for their child whenever they could; they both proved to be great influences in shaping the man Tanon would become later in life. Perhaps most notable was that both his parents strongly insisted that Niathal never remain idle, and to have as normal a life as he could (in lieu of the sheltered upbringings of many others in his situation). To help in this, instead of his education exclusively consisting of private tutors, Niathal attended actual school, and proved himself a superlative student-- quickly gaining admission to some of the finest schools on all of Balmorra strictly on merit of grades and scholarship alone (though the fact that his parents each had a net worth in the 11-digit range --and were not at all shy about making healthy donations here and there-- certainly didn’t hurt matters). Niathal started a meteoric rise through academia, proving himself very successful in nearly any subject put in front of him, though he had a particular talent for the hard sciences-- many foresaw him becoming a scientist in some advanced field someday. This intense focus and hard work paid off-- in 832 ABY, at the age of only seventeen, Tanon Niathal graduated high school as valedictorian, with a list of extracurricular activities, awards, and decorations trailing a light-year behind him.
However, what was outwardly the pan-Balmorran golden boy, the ultimate success story, the reality was not quite what most would expect. Though he was never unfriendly to anyone, Niathal (when on his own time) mostly kept to himself, finding it very hard to open up to people about his problems and difficulties-- through his wide and varied activities he had many, many acquaintances, but very, very few people that Tanon would truly call friends. What time that was not spent on his studies (and other things school-related) Niathal often spent in other, more intellectual pursuits-- other boys his age and economic bracket were spending time chasing any sentient species with legs and breasts and racing (and wrecking) their personal landspeeders, Niathal often spent it in the study of his family’s mansion, surfing the HoloNet in pursuit of some obscure tidbit of knowledge, or, actually reading a book (and more often than not, one of the many actual paper-and-ink texts contained within the massive Niathal family library). Other times, he would often just sit by himself for hours on end and muse on things. A common subject of thought being how he felt that he was only truly ‘himself’ when he was alone-- that the intelligent, friendly, outgoing, worldly, charming, smiling face that he showed out in public was more and more becoming a mask for him to wear; not that he wasn’t actually many of those things in reality already, just that it seemed that by trying to fit everyone else’s expectations of what he was supposed to be, he was drawing further and further away from what he himself actually was. Usually Niathal put those thoughts aside and turned his interest to something else, but the issue always lurked in the back of his mind, and never quite seemed to go away, no matter how hard he tried to banish it.
Age eighteen--Tanon Niathal had graduated high school, and was at a crossroads; due to his incredible grades and excellent references, he had literally the pick of the litter in regards to schooling; everyone, from the University of Coruscant, to the Rhinnal State Medical Academy, to the engineering institutes of Kuat, Corellia, and Bilbringi, were all but *begging* for Niathal to become a student there. Niathal was tempted by all of them, but an increasingly pressing issue became his parents; they knew they were getting on in years, and despite their encouragement that Niathal could pick any career he wanted and would enjoy their support, they were more and more frequently hinting that their son should perhaps pursue a career in business (with the obvious implication that he take over as Chairman/CEO of Balmorra Arms upon the stepping down ,whether voluntary or otherwise, of his father). Privately though, Niathal had become somewhat bored with his life of wealth and comfort and, in a desire for more adventure and excitement in his life ( and this in NO small way was influenced by the records of history--in particular tales of adventurers long dead and epic quests and tremendous battles long since gone and forgotten by most in the preceding centuries of chaos-- that he loved to read) was actually considering joining the military-- specifically (despite Balmorra at the moment falling under the aegis of the reborn Galactic Republic) the Imperial Academy. Niathal’s dream --and it was a *lofty* one at that-- was to join, and excel there as he had in almost every other venture he had tackled, to become the finest of the finest of all the stormtroopers, from all the thousands of worlds in the Empire; hopefully good enough that eventually he would be one of the extreme select few handpicked to be taken in and trained as one of those warriors unparalleled by none other in the Galaxy: an Imperial Royal Guardsman. Not an Imperial Sovereign Protector though-- Niathal loved to dream big, but that was just too much. Really. (Nice to hope though, and he certainly wouldn’t turn his nose up at it if offered…)
However, covert inquires opened by the young heir into how best to go about joining the Academy would leave a bad taste in Tanon’s mouth regarding the Empire, the government that he had once so loved and believed in --and that had provided so *very* well for his family, in the form of being one of their biggest buyers-- it turned out, was not all that he had been lead to believe it was. Most specifically, it was the ever-increasing influence and control of the Sith Order within said government (to the point where they in fact *were* said government) that came to light; or, perhaps more accurately, the sheer depths of corruption to which it ran--that put Niathal in a bit of a conflict: outer façade or true person, one thing was constant: Tanon Niathal detested the Sith.
Not completely; there were some few things he admired about them-- for one, he admired their passion and the drive at which they threw themselves at any task they chose, and how they could actually seem to get things accomplished (in lieu of just debating it in committee, as so seemed to be the case within the Republic), but what he hated how they used that drive (assassinating people and exterminating entire species simply because they didn’t agree with them, it was simply politically expedient, or out of simple blind xenophobia) was what really offended Niathal. And while he understood the need for firm and steady leadership, in the days following the centuries of strife and chaos following Gulag Virus, he believed the Sith were taking it one step too far, and simply using the excuse of ‘maintaining order’ to quash any and all oppression under their heel and further cement their already nigh-tyrannical rule over their territory rather than doing what they, as the government (and in Niathal’s opinion), should be doing-- helping the conflict-and-plague-rent Galaxy heal and rebuild.
And while Niathal bore little love for the Sith, he bore little more for their light side counterparts, the Jedi. Again, as with the Sith, the Jedi had some good points Niathal liked-- he praised and admired their strong sense of justice, and their belief in the need to protect others who cannon protect themselves against those who would prey upon them. Noble goals, praiseworthy goals…which Niathal felt were rendered completely and utterly useless by the absolutely asinine and insanely hypocritical fact that Jedi tended to (at least as *he* saw it) do nothing but sit on their hands (figuratively) and actually do nothing while innocent sentients suffer simply because ‘the will of the Force dictates it’--a phrase and idea which Niathal has gone on record as saying is, quote ‘a steaming mountain of bantha {EXPLETIVE OMITTED} the height of Imperial Center’. In addition, the whole ‘divest-yourself-from-your-emotions’ ascetic creed of the Jedi Order also stuck in Tanon’s figurative craw-- he believed that not only could no one sentient being ever *fully* separate themselves from their emotional responses, but it was fully embracing and harnessing them that was not only natural, but the only way that one could truly live --and enjoy-- their lives to the fullest of their potential (though, to be fair, Niathal did understand the concept of emotional restraint, having a sometimes-volatile emotional side he tried to keep under control). In short, Niathal disliked BOTH sides of the Force spectrum…but for different reasons.
(Work in progress-- more to come later!)